#had kind of an off day yesterday so i skipped posting

[solilakoi]

Monster High March, Day 7: Draw Abbey in the Snow

Abbey my beloved.

[iamasaddie]

consequences

paring: Joel Miller x f!reader rating: explicit warnings: explicit sexual content, light pain!kink, daddy!kink, daddy!dom!Joel/sub!reader, no use of Y/N a/n: the continuation of my writing challenge fic sprinkled with the valentine's day prompt i posted a month ago! thanks to sweetest person in the world for coming to my rescue and bing a beta to this fic @janaispunk ily more than pedro loves frozen pizza 🍕💛 word count: 2k masterlist

After Joel’s call you’d been buzzing all night, tossing and turning in your bed until the early hours of the morning. You hid under the blanket from the mockingly cheerful chirping of the birds that felt like pebbles being thrown at you. The darkness and heavy weight of the blanket soothed you into dreamless sleep until you were once again torn out of it by the buzzing of your phone. You wouldn’t have heard it on any other day ignoring every sound until you got your fill of sleep, but you were too wound up for that right now.

Your hand slid under the pillow, retracting your phone and checking the messages. Just like you thought, there was only one short text from Joel. 

’I just left the house, be ready.’

Sleep has quickly left your body, giving way to excitement and anxiety. You jumped out of bed, stopping for a second when your head went dizzy and your eyes unfocused. Taking a couple deep breaths you hurried to the bathroom; if Joel just left that meant you had approximately twenty minutes to shower, shave where needed, moisturize and pick pretty lingerie. You looked at the big cotton panties you eventually wore to bed yesterday and shrugged. Joel had seen you in all kinds of clothes, in all kinds of states, and found you attractive both in your sweatpants and an oversized ratty t-shirt, and in a silk nightgown you were gifted for Valentine’s day. Still, you felt like you might get off easy if you were extra sexy. Maybe Joel’s mind would stop working as soon as he saw you and his dick went hard. 

You lathered your body in shower gel, the smell of sweet white peaches filling the small room. You scrubbed yourself squeaky clean, humming a song that was stuck in your head, your toothpaste foaming out of your mouth. Before climbing out of the shower you slowly traced your hand over the parts of your body that you shaved, making sure there weren’t any traitorous hairs that you didn’t catch. Happy with the result, your skin smooth and smelling like summer, you checked your phone. Judging by the clock, you had no more than five minutes left, so you quickly dried yourself off and skipped to pick out the killer panties and bra set. 

You settled on a cute black one, the almost transparent material of bra cups and panties was embroidered with pretty red hearts. It made you feel sexy and bold, and it made Joel lose his pants in less than three minutes.

Giggling to yourself, you straightened the bed and laid down on top of your simple pink sheets when you heard your door opening downstairs. As usual, Joel used the key you kept under the flower pot outside to let himself in. He joked about the amount of flower pots in your garden on more than one occasion, considering the fact that you killed any plant you bought within a couple of weeks. You even managed to kill a cactus and that was the last victim of your plant-killing spree that left behind too much evidence in the form of dozens of clay pots. 

With a smirk, you listened to his footsteps growing louder as he made his way up the stairs, your heart pounding in your ears. As the door creaked open, Joel's voice called out.

“I hope you're ready, because you’re not escaping your punishment.”

His eyes settled on you sprawled on your bed and his brows furrowed, his jaw going slack. The unmistakable fiery passion you saw in his eyes sent shivers down your spine as he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. In that moment, you realized that there would indeed be consequences for your playful teasing, but you were more than ready to face them head-on.

“Why aren’t you naked, baby?” He didn’t let your little trick affect his plans like you hoped, your mouth dropped open and you tried to stutter out a reply while Joel rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. You were surprised that he decided to wear something so formal, he usually wore sweatpants or shorts and an old t-shirt when he visited your house. Your mouth filled with saliva as more and more of his thick tanned forearms showed. This time, there was no escaping the threatening notes in Joel's voice as he took a deliberate step closer, his unwavering gaze locking with yours. You knew exactly what kind of mood he was in and your insides shivered with excitement, arousal already staining the gusset of your panties.

“I’m sorry, daddy,” your voice was anything but remorseful, little devils dancing in your eyes, “I just wanted to be pretty for you.”

“You wanted to be bratty for me, and you succeeded. Your little whore self thought you’d get off easy if you met me in this number? Well, lucky for me I rubbed one out before coming here, sweetheart."

“But…”

“Do you really want to finish this sentence, baby?”

You shook your head and Joel leaned down over you, taking your face in his palms, “good girl.”

You got rid of your underwear while you saw him fumbling with his phone and strategically placing it so the camera was facing you. 

“What are you doing?” Your voice was suddenly surprisingly shy, nipples hardened from the exposure and anticipation.

“We’re gonna make a little video lesson for you, so that you know how to please your pretty pussy when I’m not around.” Joel said matter of factly. He checked the angle on the screen, “move a little to the right, baby, and spread that pretty pussy.”

You abided him immediately, without question. It was something you were used to. Not shooting porn with Joel, no, in fact, that was the first time; but trusting him blindly. What he says goes, because somehow he always knew what made you feel best. 

Your fingers slowly traced down your body, pinching your nipples on the way and getting a warning glare from Joel. Going lower you let your legs spread further apart before parting your pussy lips with your index fingers. Arousal covered your burning flesh, and you felt your digits slipping.

“What a gorgeous fucking cunt,” Joel lowered himself on his knees before the bed and dragged you by your ankles so your thighs framed his shoulders. “If only she didn’t have a mind of her own, hm? One that makes my perfect little girl act like the brattiest slut in a Vegas whorehouse.”

He didn’t let you say anything, biting into the soft flesh of your thigh with vigor so that the word you tried to push out was broken by a half scream-half moan. Whatever you thought your punishment would be, you definitely didn’t consider Joel going down on you and recording it. If that was the case you’d have to misbehave more often, you smirked to yourself as you felt your man’s wet and hot tongue sliding through your folds.

“Sweet as sin,” he mumbled, grazing your  throbbing clit with his upper lip,”and twice as dangerous.”

Joel knew your body well, sometimes you felt like he knew it too well, dangerously well. He knew your ticks, and pleasure points, and pain spots and all of the erogenous zones, some of which you didn’t even know existed. He possessed a power over you that would make a normal person terrified, but you were too fucked up in the head, too hungry for the love he’s been giving you to care one bit. 

His tongue drew tight circles around your pulsing clit dropping from time to time to lick the arousal where it leaked around his fingers. The upcoming orgasm made you numb to everything but pleasure and you almost didn’t catch it when first one, then two and then the burning stretch of three fingers started plunging into you and coaxing the release from you.

It didn’t take you long, the movements just right, the pace perfect, and in a couple of moments you were squeezing Joel’s fingers with your contracting muscles, panting heavily.

You tried to catch your breath, but Joel didn’t stop. None of his movements changed and you thought that maybe he didn’t notice you cumming.

“Daddy, I came,” you whispered, your trembling hands sliding into his hair, gripping the curly strands that were more salt than pepper. 

Joel’s hums into your pussy were quiet, but the sensitive skin of your pussy felt the vibrations zap through it. His tongue continued torturing you, never giving you a chance to calm down before ripping another orgasm out of you. Your back snapped, arching so hard you thought you’d heard your spine crack. When you stopped shaking, but Joel was still stubbornly nipping and licking your clit, spitting on it after getting a long inhale with his nose pressed into the soft skin of your pussy and diving back in, you finally understood your punishment. 

Joel was uncharacteristically quiet, usually he would spew all kinds of filth in your ear, but now he didn’t spare a second to mutter anything so as not to give your poor pussy any rest. The only sounds coming out of him were pleased hums and moans that spread from your cunt and to your brain in electric shocks. 

By the fifth orgasm you forgot about everything. You forgot the camera that was still recording you becoming less and less coherent, you forgot the place you were at, you even forgot your own name, the only thing you knew was raw pleasure on the verge of pain that made your eyes water and your mouth plead.

“It hurts, Daddy, I can’t do it anymore,”  you cried, trying to move away from his death grip. Your vision was blurry with tears but you still saw Joel’s head appear from between your legs, smacking his lips intentionally loud. He looked satisfied, a cat that just managed to steal and eat thanksgiving turkey, but two of his meaty fingers continued pushing in and out of your tender cunt.

“Baby, you know Daddy only hurts you because you look so pretty when you cry.”

You felt another orgasm sending electric pulses through your body. It was a constant state of painful bliss, your body was both tired and wound up. You let your tears stream freely down your cheeks, salty water collecting in the shells of your ears but you were too out of it to be bothered or even pay attention. Your voice was hoarse from screaming and whining and begging, unintentional whimpers flowing out of you with every breath. Your eyes dropped closed for what you thought was just a moment but turned out to be way longer.

The next time you opened your eyes it was already dark in your room. Your body was hot, sweat sticking to your back that was pressed into the man spooning you from behind. You started shifting when you realized something about you was different. Squeezing your thighs you quickly realized what that was exactly. Nestled deep inside you was a throbbing hard shaft of Joel’s cock. It felt so right spreading your soft and aching walls that you didn’t feel any discomfort at all, if you ignored the burning sting of your swollen pussy and clit. 

When Joel’s hand traveled to your sternum and cupped your left tit, your pussy squeezed him once again, both of you moaning in tandem. 

“The punishment is over, baby, now let Daddy give you a reward.” He whispered, pressing a wet kiss to the back of your neck as you hummed in agreement.

[mattscoquette]

“ 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞/𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 , 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝜗𝜚 “

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: popular!mean!matt x quiet!introverted!fem!oc

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: a story in which a quiet introverted girl attempts to befriend her popular neighbor

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: cursing, very very slight mentions of a panic attack, mentions of kissing, mentions of drinking

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 3.2k

introduction 1 2 3 4 6

𝐚/𝐧: thank u so so much for 170 followers <333 the fact u guys r liking this series warms my heart so much bc i was SO nervous to post. this story only has two parts left after this :( that being said, my reqs are open if anyone wants to leave anything b/c i'm not planning on writing anymore stories atm so i have more time to write little oneshots or hcs or whatever, just lmk! as always if anyone wants to join my taglist pls lmk and i hope u all enjoy:)

xoxo ₊˚⊹ ୨ৎ

⋆。˚ ౨ৎ

addilyn richardson,

had been absolutely grinding out this science project. she and matt had been working together a little more than a week, and were currently five days away from its due date. not only did they have to create the marble run, but they had to also complete a five page packet along with it, and present their project together in front of the class. addilyn was sitting across from matt, hunched over her worksheet as matt glued pieces of the project together.

“it’s getting kind of late, addy, why don’t we pick up tomorrow?” matt suggested to her. she looked up at him with tired eyes. since that one weird night the previous week, matt had starting acting nicer. at first it started with matt inviting addilyn out to lunch after the hockey game. then he started saying hi to her in science. the absolute cherry on top was when he offered her a ride yesterday morning.

addilyn walked outside, instantly being met with the brisk morning air. boston winters were hardcore, and the heavy wind was only making it worse. wrapping her coat around her frame tighter, addilyn braced herself for the walk up the block to wait for the bus. she walked down the driveway, stopping when she heard her name being called. she looked up as matt walked over to her. he was bundled up in a north face jacket, a pink tint across his cheeks and nose as he shivered.

“it’s too cold for you to walk addy, let me give you a ride.” that was the first time he called her addy. at first, he wouldn’t even call her by her name, only saying things like “tell her to do this” to his brothers if they were around. if they weren’t, then he’d call her addilyn, saying it always with an annoyed tone. but today he called her by her nickname, and it made her heart skip a beat. he offered her a soft smile and she returned it, nodding quickly. she climbed into the back seat next to nick, chatting with him the whole way to school.

she looked over at the clock the sat above the stove. it was 9:45, but she was determined to get more of this assignment done. she only lived next door, after all, and she needed to make sure they got a perfect score on their project. “i’m okay matt, i think i just need a quick break.”

he nodded, offering her a water, and let her excuse herself to go into nick’s room. nick was sat atop his bed, scrolling on his phone when she walked in.

“hey girl,” he smiled at her, “how’s it going out there?”

“okay, i think.” she yawned, stretching her arms and legs out. they’d been working since they got home from school, only taking a short break a few hours ago when chris came barging into the kitchen, asking matt to drive him to get food. “i’m a little tired, though.”

“yeah it’s late, you leaving soon?” nick asked.

addilyn shrugged. “we still have more we need to do. i’m okay going home a little late. the walk isn’t far.”

nick laughed. “why don’t you come sit? we can take a break and watch a quick episode of rupaul or something.”

the tired girl nodded, sitting down next to nick. he got up momentarily to switch off his overhead lights, turning on the soft fairy lights above his bed instead. he climbed back into his bed next to addilyn, turning on the t.v. at a low volume. the change in ambiance of nick’s bedroom made addilyn all-the-more tired, and she rested his head onto his shoulder.

resting my eyes for five minutes won’t hurt, right? she thought as she closed her eyes.

*₊˚ 𓂃✧

both addilyn and nick jolted awake about an hour later to the sound of matt pounding on the door. he’d gone on his phone when addilyn was in nick’s room, not noticing how much time had gone by until chris came down to say goodnight.

addilyn sat up, shaking nick to also get up, and walked over to the door to let matt in. she took in the sight in front of her. his hair was messy, as per usual, and he’d switched out his pair of blue jeans from earlier to a pair of red and black plaid pajama pants. he wore a grey hoodie with his school’s logo on the front, a number 4 on the side of his sleeve underneath his last name. he looked good. “sorry,” he apologized quickly, realizing how loud his knocking was.

“what time is it?” they both heard nick call out from the bed, sitting up to turn off the show they fell asleep watching.

“almost 11:30,” matt replied, looking at nick. he turned back to addilyn “i packed all your stuff up, i didn’t think you’d wanna get back to work.”

she smiled, thanking him for the gesture, as she felt a knot in her stomach. she’d been feeling that a lot around matt lately and she didn’t know why. maybe it was because he was acting nice. or maybe it’s because in the week she’s spent with him, she’d realized she was maybe starting to catch feelings.

it was a monday night, and addilyn was over at matt’s to work on the project. he was wearing a navy blue hoodie that made his eyes look even more blue, and he was currently laughing at an anecdote addilyn was telling him. she smiled brightly at him, laughing along with the boy.

he took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down, immediately breaking out into laughter again as he looked up and met her eyes.

his laugh is so cute, she thought. she looked down at her lap away from matt, trying to push her thoughts into the back of her head.

“you’re really funny, addilyn,” matt told her softly, wiping tears from his eyes. she looked over to him to find him already staring at her.

she looked at his face, trying to read it. she wasn’t the type to normally confuse niceness with having a crush on someone, but something with matt felt different. when nick or chris talked to her, she didn’t get dizzy when they would smile at her, or accidentally brush hands. but she felt it all with matt.

“what are you looking at?” he smiled, leaning forward across the table slightly as his eyes flicked between both of hers. she could’ve sworn he glanced at her lips.

addilyn was feeling bold. “you.” she replied.

he shook his head, smiling softly, and then leaning back against his chair. “we should get back to work.”

“addy,” nick said from his bed, breaking addilyn away from her thoughts. she blinked up at matt as he smiled down at her.

there’s that feeling again.

“do you wanna spend the night? i know you only live next door but i feel bad making you walk back over so late.” nick asked her, walking over to where she was.

“are you sure?” she breathed, “i feel bad.”

“don’t,” nick replied, “i have pajama bottoms and a hoodie you can wear. it’s no problem really.” he smiled kindly at her. she broke her gaze away from matt, looking to nick.

“okay,” she nodded, “i’ll let my mom know.”

addilyn turned back to look at matt. “i’ll go get you your backpack and stuff,” he told her softly, “wait here.”

“i got it, don’t worry.” she told him, brushing past him in the door way as he looked at her go. she heard footsteps trailing behind her. she turned around to find matt following her into the kitchen.

“i need to get my stuff too.” he told her. she nodded softly, trying to keep her cool and act normal.

they made their way to the table, matt collecting all of his belonging he left out on the table. addilyn’s notes and books were all packed away neatly in her bag, which matt had left on the chair for her. she offered to help matt clean, but he just smiled at her.

“i can do it, you go to bed, you worked too hard today.” he laughed, handing her bag to her. his fingers brushed against hers, lingering there for just a second. she felt her cheeks heat up as she took the bag. she looked down at her feet, knowing for sure her face was a bright crimson color. suddenly the room in the air felt thick, and she became hyper aware of matt’s presence in front of her. was he standing this close the entire time? she looked up at him, to find him already looking at her.

“goodnight matt.” she whispered, afraid if she spoke any louder it would break the atmosphere around them. he was standing so close to her, she wondered if he was able to hear her heart beating out of her chest. a smile ghosted across his face, and for half of a second addilyn thought he would lean down and kiss her.

he didn’t, though, only softly replying “goodnight addy.”

she turned on her heel, making her way back into nicks room quickly. she found a pair of fuzzy pajama bottoms and a large hoodie folded neatly on nick’s bed, where he was sat. “you can go change in the bathroom, i left a spare toothbrush in there for you too.”

she thanked him, collecting the clothes and walking into the bathroom. she changed quickly, then paused to look at herself in the mirror as she began brushing her teeth. did matt even like her, or was he only acting this way because she was friends with his brothers? that had to have been the reason. there was no way he felt the same about her. but she couldn't help but think about the way he was looking at her in the kitchen, and how his hand lingered over hers. she sighed, turning off the water and going back into nick’s room. he was already under the blankets, lights off, and scrolling on his phone. he turned it off, turning to face her as addilyn got into the bed.

“our first sleepover,” nick sang, “this is so fun!”

addilyn laughed, making herself comfortable. she loved being friends with nick. they’d only been hanging out for less than two weeks, but they both connected so easily with one another. they both understood one another, and enjoyed the company of each other. nick loved having someone other than his brothers or his teammates to talk to, and addilyn just loved having someone to talk to. “i know.”

despite how tired the girl was when she entered the room, the two teenagers were suddenly wide awake, talking about anything and everything with one another.

“if you had to fight any animal with your bare hands, what would you fight?” nick asked, staring at the ceiling.

“what?” addilyn laughed, looking over at him.

the later and later it got, the more and more they opened up. it was currently 1:30 in the morning, and they were both deep in conversation about nick’s coming out.

“i can’t believe i thought i liked my friend when it was really her boyfriend i liked.” nick told her.

addilyn shook her head. “yeah, that’s kinda crazy.”

“have you ever liked one of your friends?” nick asked, sitting up slightly. she looked up at him, thinking.

she hadn’t had many friends her whole life. she had a couple close people that she’d talk to in class, but never close enough to ever hang out with or talk to outside of school. the only people she talked to outside of school were nick and chris. her mind suddenly went to matt. “i don’t think i have.”

“really?” nick asked her in disbelief. “you’ve never thought someone you hung out with was cute or anything?”

matt.

“no.”

“addy, come on, there’s no way.��� nick sighed, laying back down.

“well, maybe.” she felt her voice trail off. she couldn’t tell nick. she wasn’t even sure for herself if she liked matt or if she was just confused. he and chris were the closest thing addilyn had to real friends, and she didn’t want to throw it all away by telling nick she caught feelings for his brother.

“oh my god, tell me!” nick whisper-shouted in excitement, sitting back up again. addilyn laughed and shook her head.

“okay, okay, let me guess.” nick offered, thinking about the boys in the classes they shared together. “david, from art?” addilyn shook her had no.

“liam?” he tried again. she shook her head once more. nick named just about every boy in their class, even began to name random people addilyn didn’t even know that well.

“do i know him?” nick asked.

“yeah,” she breathed quietly.

nick looked at her inquisitively. “it’s not chris, is it?”

“no, no way.” addilyn shook her head. “he’s just my friend, i promise.”

nick looked at her once more, as if he looked hard enough he'd be able to read her mind. he paused, silence falling over the both of them.

his eyes went wide. “matt?”

addilyn stayed quiet. she opened her mouth, then closed it. she couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud.

“addy,” nick said, “do you like matt?”

“i don’t know.” she whispered, turning away from him. he sat up to meet her eyes. “maybe.” he gave her a look once more. “yes.”

she braced herself for the anger. the disappointment. something. but nick just smiled at her. “that’s so exciting!”

she looked at him dumbfounded. “what?”

“i’m serious,” nick started, “you’re so fun to be around, there’s no way he doesn’t like you back. i’ve noticed he’s been acting nicer to you.”

addilyn continued looking at nick like he was crazy. “there’s no way.” she laughed, pulling the covers over herself. “i’m tired, nick, i’m going to bed.”

he laughed, wishing her a goodnight, assuring her once again he didn’t care if she liked his brother, and that he was happy for her. soon after, she heard his soft snores, singling he was asleep. addilyn, however, continued to lay awake, thinking about what she told nick. she couldn’t believe herself, normally she would keep her feelings in, but something in her was off. she wasn’t even sure why she liked matt so much. she barely even knew him, and he didn’t start acting nice to her until a week into their project. it was a small crush, it meant nothing. it wasn’t worth risking her friendship for. she suddenly felt her chest tighten and the instant feeling like she couldn’t breathe. she closed her eyes as the air around her grew thick.

you’re fine. she told herself. nick isn’t mad. you can tell him tomorrow you were kidding. everything will be normal again after the project is done.

she glanced over at nick, making sure he was asleep before she slipped out of bed. she couldn’t lay in her friend's room any longer knowing matt was only down the hall. she softly tore a piece of paper, writing nick a quick note, praying he wouldn’t wake in the middle of the night, and would only see it when he woke up in the morning.

went home to shower and change before school, see you in art!

<3 addy

*₊˚ 𓂃✧

matthew sturniolo,

slept for maybe three hours that night. he couldn’t sleep in his room knowing addilyn was only down the hall. he kept replaying the way their hands brushed as he gave her the backpack earlier.

he felt his fingers lightly graze hers as he passed her the bag. he let them linger for a moment, hoping she wouldn’t notice. she looked down at her feet quickly, taking the bag from matt. their bodies were nearly pressed up against one another. all he wanted was for her to look at him. as if she read his mind, she looked up with a shy smile across her crimson red face. he so badly wanted to close the small gap between them and smash his lips against hers. he didn’t though, only whispering a soft goodnight as he watch her go into nicks room.

he hadn’t stopped thinking of her since his dream. he was obsessed with everything she did. the way she’d twirl her pencil between her pointer and thumb, or the way her brows furrowed as she read. he kept trying to distract himself as he thought about her.

matt had known who she was for a long time, despite addilyn being an “always in the background” kind of person. but the second she stepped foot in his kitchen that day she came over for dinner with her family, he knew it was over.

matt was in the kitchen with chris and nick, arguing about something dumb when she got there. he opened his mouth to say something back to chris, when nick nudged him altering him they had company. matt looked up at addilyn as she stood shyly in the kitchen. chris walked over to introduce himself as matt just started at her. she wore a white cotton dress that hugged her in all the right places, and beat up white chuck taylor’s. matt knew exactly who she was, but he didn’t remember her always looking this pretty.

“i’m chris,” his brother said, sticking out his hand.

she replied to him so softly matt barely heard her. “addilyn.” her voice sounded like honey. matt just looked at her again, before deciding to open his mouth and say “i can’t hear her.”

as matt laid in bed, he stared out his window into her empty bedroom thinking about why he was so mean to her. maybe it was because he liked her the whole time and didn’t want to admit it. sure, she was beautiful, but she wasn’t the kind of girl matt would typically go for. that’s why he was so attracted to her. she was so unlike anyone he’d been with. any girl he’s ever met at a party had been the same. they all seemed to have had the same lives, matt would listen to them talk, then he would tell about himself. that he’s a triplet and he plays hockey and lacrosse with his brothers. that he’s lived in boston his whole life and he loved the outdoors. and that’s how it went every time.

addilyn was different. she didn’t care he was popular, or that he played sports. she was just her normal, quiet, typical self. she wasn’t throwing herself at him, and matt saw her as somewhat unattainable. matt often mistook his attraction to her for a disliking. he felt so guilty about it, but he thought if he was mean, she’d leave him alone and wouldn’t try to get with him. he mentally cursed himself for acting the way he does. if she was already out of his reach, why would he try to drive her even further away?

but that dream he had fucked him up bad. every night since then, he’s thought about it. how soft her hands felt in his, how delicate her voice spoke. how good she kissed him. he wondered if she’d ever kissed a boy before. he secretly hoped she hadn’t, he wanted to be her first. he’d be gentle with her, not rushing her into anything. he’s kissed girls before, but it was always drunk at some party. he never actually liked the girls he kissed, he just wanted them in the moment. and when the moment was over, he went back to his friends and did whatever he was doing before. but addilyn was different, he wanted to kiss her anywhere he could, not just while he was drinking at some random's party.

the light in addilyn’s room turned on, snapping matt out of his daydream. he saw her walk into her room wearing nicks pajamas, walking over to her blinds to close them. he was confused why she walked home, but let it slip his mind. although he knew she couldn’t see him that well, he pretended to sleep anyway knowing she would look into his room. had he not closed his eyes, he would’ve seen the lingering look addilyn gave into his room before she closed her blinds.

Ⓒ 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄 | taglist

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬:

@alorsxsturn @sturniolossss @cammie4298 @bussybandit1 @amorttentia @franticroads @sturnsssbow @cams5sos @strombolilovr @st7rnioioss @junnniiieee07 @mattscurlygirly @simply-a-simper @sturnrc @sturnifyed @freshlovie

[prince-kallisto]

Happy birthday Malleus!! I started this fic a long time ago, but I realized yesterday that it would be perfect time to finish it for his birthday. This fic is from Crowley’s point of view, and Malleus doesn’t actually appear in the story. However, he is an integral part of the overall plot. Haha, I’m not used to posting my fics directly in tumblr…my Ao3 fic might be easier to read? Whichever format you’re more used to ^_^ I’d appreciate any comments! 💖🐦‍⬛

4.4k words (Angst, Grief/Mourning, Dissociation, starts off as Slice of Life, Crowley is an unreliable narrator)

*****

But I Loved Her More

Every other week, the Ramshackle janitor- er, prefect, arrived at Crowley’s office with a stack of photos taken with the Ghost Camera. With a mere click, all shenanigans occuring in the school’s campus were documented and viewed at his discretion. Convenient, yes? Far more preferable over those dastardly reports. Although Mr. Rosehearts was one of Heartslabyul’s finest Housewarden’s, Crowley had to confess (to himself only, for Great Seven knows what a whipping Trein would give him otherwise) to disposing of the reports without giving them a second glance. Honestly, the paragraphs droned on and on over absolute rubbish- frankly, he did not care if ten students didn’t wear pink on Wednesdays or whatever rule 249 was. And imagine being forced to read such drivel twice a month! Ahh, what burdensome work~

Sorting through the photos revealed a pattern of a certain trio of first-year troublemakers appearing more often than others. Spade accidentally broke a beaker in the Alchemy classroom, Trappola snubbed yet another pile of homework, and Grim stirred up yet another rivalry between him and a Savanaclaw student. Crowley bit back a laugh at how the sequence of photos revealed Grim’s unfortunate fate with the Savanaclaw boy. What did Grim expect when picking a fight with a grown beastman nearly triple his size? Well, he was sure Grim put up a noble fight until the very end.

Entertainment for himself aside, this trio’s penchant for mischief vexed him. These boys were a set of promising young mages with…decent grades, but Crowley has had to redo the school’s monthly budget several times due to the destruction of property! Perhaps it meant a few thaumarks here and there were pinched from Ramshackle’s share, but the prefect was a sturdy individual. Skipping a meal or two never hurt anybody, and the lack of a functioning heater builds character! Really, he was doing them a kindness by giving them this opportunity for growth. Besides, if there were any protests, the prefect had no one but themselves to blame for the friends they associated with.

Although no major incidents occured this week, Crowley gasped in utter horror at the next set of photos. Sweet merciful Seven! Making immature gestures towards a rival dorm’s mirror did not befit Night Raven College’s prestigious name! It did not break any school rules, per se, but etiquette was certainly wanting. Did these children learn nothing about cooperating hand-in-hand with their fellow classmates in Vargas Camp?

He slumped into his office throne with a drawn-out sigh. He shan’t get so worked up over a schoolboy’s(schoolcat’s?) typical immaturity. Whether he liked it or not, times have changed since his early days of being a Headmage. Such insolence wouldn’t have even occurred in those boys’ minds back then! Why, they used to bow and unfurl a carpet of praises whenever he graced them with his presence. Now, the boys hardly paid him a second glance when he greeted them! It didn’t bother him, of course. He was an adult, which meant he had thick skin and wasn’t troubled by typical teenage snark. Still, perhaps he should talk with Trein or Crewel about teaching these boys some proper etiquette, such as responding to their Headmage’s greetings with zeal!

He jotted the future meeting down on a scroll. This behavior had to be remedied straight away. Tapping the quill against his lips, he observed his calendar for the upcoming weeks. Hm…he could reschedule the meeting with the Department of Education to next month. If it was important enough, they’d send him another message. Rescheduling his massage appointment was out of the question- getting an appointment with his preferred masseuse was akin to being a gladiator fighting against the odds in an arena. He simply couldn’t risk losing out on a much needed session.

Vargas did not treat his shoulders and neck kindly the last time Crowley complained of an ache. Why, his muscles got thoroughly tenderized from the “treatment” he received. No matter the brand of silk pillows and adjustable mattresses he used, the ache in his bones that never lessened. Crewel claimed Crowley’s age was finally getting the best of him, but he was still quite youthful, mind you! (At heart, at least.) Even now, he felt a tightening ache in his chest and a twinge in his neck. His jaw clicked as he tried to loosen up its tension. There were far too many things to do and so little time. So very little time.

Wanting to rub at his eyes, Crowley scratched the beak of his mask as a compromise. He rose from his seat to further stretch his legs and peered out his office windows. Built from floor to ceiling, the grandiose windows provided him a view of the entire campus- perfect to monitor the comings and goings of all. The leaves of the courtyard apple trees shimmered from the light of the full moon. Night Raven College had not a soul wandering about due to student curfew; it looks like no one tried to sneak out tonight. Even his raven companions found refuge in their nests weaved from twigs and cloth. The poor dears had a tendency to collect trash for the lining of their beds, due to some uncouth students who apparently lacked the self-respect to use a trash can. Crowley often flew into the crevices of campus, cleaning up any nest and provided more suitable materials like fur or wool.

Only the ghosts remained on campus, who were in the process of retiring after a long day of work. Fascinating creatures, they were. Why, if he was granted an afterlife, he surely wouldn’t be spending it as a cook or a groundskeeper. But perhaps he wasn’t the best fae to judge. After studying human nature for many decades now, Crowley drew to the conclusion that the ghosts could only relax for so long, before the remnants of their living restlessness stirred up inside. The idea of a peaceful afterlife simply didn’t exist for humankind. It was in their nature to yearn for more and more.

Sinking back into the velvet cushions of his throne, Crowley swiftly flipped through the photos, paying no mind to the rest of the shenanigans in them. Any troublemakers should consider themselves lucky he wanted to call it a night instead of wasting his time on another pile of reports. The Ghost Camera photos were occasionally hijacked by Diamond, who took photos of himself or artfully arranged drinks- all with the most optimal lighting and flattering of angles. Crowley slid the photos to the side to give them back to the prefect tomorrow- he had no use for these. Besides, he’d have to inquire about the drinks. Perhaps the trendy cafe Diamond frequented would grant him a teacher’s discount!

Crowley paused at the last photo in the bunch. It seems to have been taken in secrecy, due to the low angle, bushes framing the photo, and the unfocused gaze of the subject. Crowley should speak to the Ramshackle janitor to have more respect for other’s privacy, but for once, he didn’t mind. The photograph wasn’t artfully taken, but the subject himself made up for it in spades. This was exactly what Crowley was looking forward to.

As he gently brushed his fingers over the filmy surface, a glow emitted from the photograph. Light filtered through the darkness of his office as a halo of green fireflies burst from the frame, drifting in the air like dandelions. Crowley’s breath caught in his chest. Despite being mere projections, the fireflies tickled at his cheek and danced around his shoulders. He yearned to pluck at a few and keep them safe in a glass bottle to watch them float forever. And yet his hands slipped through the light, transient and untouchable. An inky substance pricked at his eyes, and he dabbed at the eyeholes of his mask with his silk handkerchief. Oh dear, he truly was getting up there in age if this was all it took to lose his composure.

You see, the deceptive nature of the Ghost Camera was its reenactment of the scene of the photo. When the bond between the photographer and the subject grew deeper, a representation of their intertwining souls came in the form of the projections. It seems the Ramshackle prefect managed to worm their way into the heart of the young fae, whose eyes shone brighter than any treasure.

Malleus Draconia.

A name befitting the Draconia family heir, a name honoring the Thorn Fairy herself. How lucky Crowley was to have such a fine student under his tutelage. For a long while he has wondered if he’d be granted such a privilege in his lifetime. The saying is true, that paths do eventually cross in the most unexpected ways.

Setting the photo down, Crowley admired the ghostly image of Malleus, whose miniature recreation roamed around his desk. In the projection, Malleus inspected the bent and rusty gates that caged Ramshackle Dorm, before flitting over to the statues that looked as if they would crumble at a mere touch. Moss and grime lined every crevice of the limestone, making their features much more unsightly. Crowley grimaced at the thought of these creatures coming to life. Gnarled fangs that could puncture the sturdiest of hides, those bulging eyes and wicked claws stirring up a primal fear in a warrior’s heart. Thankfully, those monsters only reside in fairytales. To be fair, so does he. He couldn’t discard the possibility of these creatures indeed existing in the flesh. Miracles of magic could conjure up any beast, as they could be imagined.

Crowley poked at the projection with a golden claw, wanting to peer into the fae’s mind. What was so beautiful about moldy shingles and decaying statues? What was so beautiful indeed, about something ruined beyond repair? Not even the spiders graced the ruins with their prescence, torn lace of old cobwebs blowing in the wind.

As his claw brushed over the projection, the image rippled like water, distoring the fae’s features. Crowley jerked away so quickly, too quickly, that the muscles in his neck twinged in protest. The projection slipped back into its frame, equally spooked from the sudden touch. Crowley cleared his throat as he attempted to regain his composure. Thank goodness the hour was so late. There was no chance that someone bore witness to that embarassing scene. My, my, did the ache in his neck ever smart…

He reminded himself that he would store the photos and call it a day. Store the photos and call it a day. Nothing more, nothing less. Crowley lifted one of the golden keys from his belt, unlocking a drawer in his desk. He shook the knob of the drawer impatiently, the sharp thuds of wood echoing in his office. He would need to have a repairman take a look at his desk- the drawers were ever so cumbersome to open these days. With one final and insistent tug, the drawer flung open.

The pile of photos were carelessly flung into the drawer, scattering as they joined the heap of previous ‘reports’. Despite the mess, a corner of a book peeked out from underneath. Crowley swallowed. Store the photos and call it a day. The mantra looped in head as he made no move to grab the journal nor to close the drawer. It was as if he was frozen in time, the pages coaxing him to take a closer look. Just one peek wouldn’t hurt, right? It was his office- he could do whatever he wanted. The only rules here were his mental ones, and his resolve could easily be shattered.

As he grabbed the book, he shook the Ghost Camera photos off it as if they were disruptive insects. Through his gloved hands, the weaved texture of the cover bumped over his skin. The edges of the book’s pages were speckled yellow and the corners seeped with brown. There were many ways to safely archive such books, of course, but even the bodies in coffins would decay to time. Nothing could last forever, not even this journal he cherished so much. The spine cracked as Crowley pried open the heavy tome, the parchment crinkling underneath his touch. Each page contained excerpts of writing or sketches beside the guarded photos. The archival black ink used decades ago was still etched onto the paper. Did this ink manufactuer still exist? He must have wrote the brand name of the bottle somewhere…he must leave some generous praises online later.

Crowley smoothed out the wrinkles in the page as he deciphered the scribbles. In one of his many past travels, Crowley unearthed this journal in a withered castle long ago. Its contents depicted the knights and princesses of days yore, reduced to nothing more than a mere fairytale. This book has been his little pet project for quite some time. Perhaps five decades by now? Or was it ten? A hundred years sounds about right, but so does three hundred…In any case, He’s been considering using some of these pages for assignments for third-years to decipher. The script was written in a rather archaic fae language, one that he had no problem with reading, but one he had to take his time with. He ought to brush up on his skills a bit more- this book was the only practice he got with his language in quite some time. Crowley has yet to share this book with Trein or any others. Trein was an old fellow he trusted dearly, and his expertise on human history and magic was one of the finest in the land. But even then, Trein could not yet be privy to this book. Crowley wanted- no, needed- just a bit more time with it.

The photo quality in the journal improved the more he flipped. Technology has improved more swiftly than a blink of an eye. The photos became sharper, losing the grain and burned spotting. Color livened up the monochromatic photos, making its subjects look more alive than ever. As he reached the most recent page, Crowley slid the Ghost Camera photo into the journal, snug in its enclosure of vinyl. The Ghost Camera projections could no longer burst out, the floating lights in his room dissipating into nothingness.

Crowley squinted in the dark of his office, trying to make out the album but to no avail. Oh, how silly of him to forget to light his candles tonight. A brief tap of the candelabra’s wax cast a harsh purple flame in the room. He admittedly preferred the docile fireflies, but this would do for now. He would retire to his bedchambers in just a minute anyway.

Crowley flipped back and forth between the book pages. He’s noticed it quite long ago, but there was a woman depicted in this journal that resembled Malleus all too greatly. Photographs weren’t all too reliable in those days, so there were countless of her in the thin pages, likely mimicking royal paintings. Whoever drew her must have had quite the fancy for her, as there were miniature pieces made from paint, charcoal, and oils. Due to the withering of the journal, the paint has long since lost its saturation, and the charcoal sketches of her figure were smudged. Some of her features were indecipherable, but the curves and ridges of her horns were undoubtably the same as the fae student.

He detested those statues Malleus admired, but those same monstrous features of horns and talons were quite enchanting on this woman. He could not blame the artist’s fancy. With swift gestures made of various mediums, the artist captured not only all her silver regality, but also moments of intimate repose as she slept. Lucky devil, the artist was, to have such a closeness to this lady. Judging from the name he managed to decipher, Meleanor Draconia must be a distant relative of Malleus. Well, distant as she could be, with Malleus’ features being a replica of hers.

Despite being a princess of the Draconia family, Meleanor hardly appeared in the historical texts Crowley could get his hands on, even in the castle he found this journal in. Any scrolls and painting were no doubt raided. Her castle showed signs of being taken over by a rivaling kingdom, with thrones being crudely painted over and banners poorly replaced, and until it too fell. Traces of her beauty were lost to time and conquest, burned beyond repair.

What an embarrassment, to mourn over a woman as if he knew her. But thinking of the liveliness fading from her eyes, her waterfall of hair flowing no longer…it made him want to rest alongside her grave all over again. Crowley could no longer blame the eldest Shroud for his obsession over those characters of his. Perhaps in his own way, Shroud felt a connection to fiction, to the lives unlike his own: stories of grandeur and freedom, of love and triumph. Or perhaps it was a case of usual teenage ennui, and Shroud really ought to get more friends in real life. Speaking of, his parents would not stop pestering Crowley with emails of how Shroud was doing. How’s he getting along at school? Has he made new friends? Has he been practiced healthier eating habits?

How was he supposed to know?! Wouldn’t the younger Shroud have a more accurate report on this?!

But like any respectable and humble Headmage, Crowley responded to each parental concern with complete sincerity. Not because these were the heads of Styx or anything. Perhaps he fudged the truth a bit, but if it made them happier, the better it was for his well-being.

As he shifted in his chair, his spine cracked in the most unpleasant of ways. Oh dear, he truly has been sitting here for far too long. Where was he again? Right, the journal. The journal. His journal. The woman. Meleanor.

The later pages depicted drawings of her with a child- or rather, an egg speckled with stars. Her eyes glowed brighter than any treasure as she cradled her pride and joy. His throat tightened. How unfortunate indeed, that such a life was cut short. Meleanor undoubtedly perished before the hatching of her child, as the journal no longer depicted her beauty. After the last drawing of her curled up and napping with the egg, there were pages upon pages marred with furious stabs of ink.

Her death brought many questions to Crowley. There were infinite possibilities of how her life could have played out if she lived. But in regards to her egg- which, who knew if survived or not- would she have been the doting mother that Shroud’s family was?

Based on the depictions of her alone, Crowley could imagine how she’d coo over the egg as she decided on a name.

“If it’s a girl,” Her spouse began, before Meleanor swiftly cut him off.

“A boy,” She said firmly. “He will be a prince, I’m sure of it.”

Her spouse’s eyes twinkled in amusement, a wry grin on his face. “Is that so? How can you be so sure?”

“A mother’s intuition!”

Levan pressed an ear to the egg. He could feel the soft thumping of a heartbeat inside, his and Meleanor’s blood circulating inside. Nothing really told him whether or not their child was a boy. But Meleanor was likely right, anyhow. “And a father’s intuition tells me that you’re right! So what manner of a name shall we crown our little prince? Mmmm…Maximilius? Melly?” Those were silly names and he knew it, but he enjoyed the way Meleanor giggled. She laughed the same way she did as a child, rather scandulously but filled with mirth.

“Dearest, don’t be so daft! I was thinking more along the lines of ‘Malleus’. Don’t you think it sounds like both of our names?”

It sounded nothing like his name, to be honest. But he’d humor Meleanor and her antics. “Well…I suppose if you sound it out very generously, it does sound a bit like me. Or perhaps more like Lilia? In any case, Malleus has quite the ring to it. I quite like it, my dear.”

Gently lifting the egg from Meleanor’s arms to cradle it himself, he caressed the egg, the bumps and ridges of it reminding him of the feel of Meleanor’s horns. A malevolent star, this child would be. One that would break Crowley’s heart into pieces, yet the shards of himself would still manage to love and love and love, even when little of who he was remained. Malleus. Dear Malleus. Please, do forgive me.

Oh, how times have changed, and how much his little star grew. His star burned bright to the point when Crowley tore his eyes away, the silhouette was burned into his eyes, floating in his vision no matter where he looked, taunting him even as he closed his eyes to rest.

The flow of her hair, the cutting edge of her jaw, and the hundreds of needles serving as her eyelashes. From the way his eyes fit in his skull, to the degree of his cheekbones, Malleus’ features stitched together in a mockery of her beauty. So close, but not quite as Crowley remembered it to be.

His breath shuddering and throat tight, Crowley flipped back the most recent pages, with the new Ghost Camera photograph still safely inside. He slipped the photo out of the vinyl to write in the margins. Uncapping a bottle of ink, Crowley scribbled down today’s date with his quill underneath the photograph to keep track of time. The nib of the quill scratched against the pages as he did. Suddenly, Crowley paused in his writing. He craned his head to look at his desk calender, tapping on his phone to confirm it.

January 18th?

No, surely it wasn’t. It couldn’t be. Yet the spread of information confirmed it, his eyes refusing to be deceived. Crowley grimaced. Yet another set of birthday celebrations would be held for the prince of Briar Valley. Crowley had ordered the decorations long in advance, stretching out the school’s budget just a tad for the extravagance of it all. As the Headmage, it was suitable that he showed up at any birthday of his students. He’d had to remind the Ramshackle prefect to take plently of photos of this celebration. He doubted the prefect would forget, but a reminder wouldn’t hurt. He’d like the capture Malleus’ toothy smile, and his uproarious laughter as he got along with his peers. His little star grew so much. Growing ever more distant, growing ever so bright. Perhaps Meleanor would like to see the photographs of Malleus’ birthday celebration when she came home. Tomorrow he’ll meet her again, with today all being a nightmare, hours stretching into days and months and years and centuries and-

With a startled jerk of his hand, Crowley realized a pool of ink built into the photograph due to him not moving the quill, staining several of the journal pages underneath. His thumb and fingers squeezes around the useless feather. The fireflies in the photograph were obscured with blots of ink. Malleus’ face had ink running up it, and Crowley desperately tried to save at least the view of his emerald eyes. His hand ended up smudging the ink further, his little star’s face hidden for good. The quill in Crowley’s hands snapped from the pressure, ink splattering over his suit and hands. A black substance soaked up into the paper, spreading among the delicate fibers.

As if broken out of a trance, Crowley stumbled out of his chair to see the damage done on his clothes. More damage seemed to be inflicted on his neck and back, as he winced from the sharp aches in his body.

He hasn’t been feeling like himself for a long time. He hasn’t been well for quite a long time.

With deep, shuddering breathes, Crowley felt the ink stains on his previously pristine white sleeves soaked into his skin through the fabric. How unsightly. He would have to go to a dry-cleaners posthaste when it opened up in the morning.

Crowley picked up the Ghost Camera photo, ink dripping from the ruined film. No longer did the fireflies burst from its frame, as the ink covered its main subject. Crowley’s hands trembled as the photo crinkled in his grip. His entire hands, covered with ink he couldn’t remove. His entire face, covered with ink he couldn’t remove. Felt it circulating through his body, his blood no longer his own alongside his heart. His little star was no longer his, as any part of who he originally was broke a long time ago.

A warm glow filtered into his office through the laced windows. Daytime.

Surely it hasn’t been all night? He only settled in at his desk just a few minutes ago, surely. There were already hushed and bleary voices coming from down below, as the students were rising for breakfast. Oh dear, there wouldn’t even be time for him to take a nap! At least the dry cleaners would be open soon. He could clean up this mess and forget any of it ever happened.

Crowley took one last lingering stare at the crumpled and stained photograph of Malleus, before summoning a flickering fire at his fingertip, light glinting off his golden claws. Within seconds, the stranger in the photo began to burn, edges crinkling into themselves. How amusing it was, for how easily his life’s work could be turned to ash in one simple moment. The ashes intermingled with the puddles of ink on his desk, creating a horrible concoction of his own foolishness.

Crowley locked up his journal into his desk drawer again, keeping it safe from further harm. Readjusting his coat and composure, he stepped out his office and locked the door without a single glance back. Meleanor only existed in his drawings and scatterings of his memory- but he’d have the real thing someday soon. The gestures of her figure would come to life, and everything would be the way it was again. He couldn’t quite recall those times, but surely those days were better. Anything over today. Anything over Malleus. He couldn’t stand the mockery of Meleanor’s features no longer- and yet today was a celebration of her son’s life. If only she didn’t sacrifice herself. If only she had left their precious unhatched pride and joy behind. Anything over Malleus. Anything for Meleanor.

Somewhere deep, deep inside, a quiet guilt cried out.

But he loved her more.

______________________

Haha, I apologize if parts of this story felt disorienting! I feel like in my vision of Crowley, his own inner thoughts are rather conflicting, as if he himself cant get the story right. Whether he quite literally can’t get the details right, or just refuses to comprehend his own tragedy- his thoughts spiral quite easily. I hope in the end, it made sense regardless of how strange some sections were. I have a lot of fun with the Crowley-is-Levan theory. I imagine many different interpretations with him, but this one, I took the approach of him being both sadly confused and in denial of his own memories. His own inner dialogue is confused whether he is Levan or that Levan is a desperate entity- and I think Crowley’s guilt has made it that he can hardly recognize himself anymore. He holds a great love for Malleus, but Crowley isn’t always in the healthiest state of mind. I hoped you enjoyed reading, thank you for taking the time to do so! ^o^

[youredreamingofroo]

The Roo-seum...

group pics and other stuff under the cut! (just to avoid flooding the dash lmao)

CAS pics in the NEXT POST

Now onto me ranting.

The Roo-seum is a 16 sim project that's consumed me for the last couple of days (in a good way), this explores most of Roo's lifespan (not implying he's dead LMAO), from the age of 9 years old, up to now, 28 years old, talking about what he went through for each year (for the most part anyways), of course, I didn't start at 1 or 2 years old, mainly because, way back when I made all of these Roo's (roughly back in July '23, this is not an idea that suddenly sparked, I only acted on it because I have a way to show off each age that isn't a Picrew lmao... I can't draw well so I just used TS4), I made them in Picrew, which... at the time couldn't find a Picrew with kids/babies so the youngest I went was around 9 years old, and just built up from there.

Roo is my persona gone OC, around 5 or 6 years ago, I put on this persona of "Roo", which started as "The Unfortunate Roo" and Roo's (or Mine, since this was technically a Persona, doubling as an OC) design was COMPLETELY different back then, He wasn't a he, the design was a sucubus I think, I don't really recall and I really couldn't care for it, it's embarrassing 💀 I don't remember how he came to fruition, but I remember finding this one picrew that I LOVED, and I used that picrew to create ~Roo~, his initial design was akin to the 22-23 year old Roo, there's a lot about his design that I could talk about but will avoid doing so, but just know that his Sims design isn't super on the dot to what his actual design is supposed to look like.

So... what's Piametia?? Why did you come up with that?? How did you come up with that?? To be honest, I never actually came up with a name up until yesterday when writing the note for 10-12 year old Roo, I don't really remember what sparked me to come up with a condition that "has the Patient suffer a sudden loss or gain in pigmentation and melanin in the eyes and hair," I guess 17 year old me thought it was cool, and it is! It opened up a new story for him, where I couldn't provide story (for someone without Piametia), like how being affected by Piametia caused him to go from extremely accepting of himself, to getting bullied into "normalizing himself," While he achieved this, it was really in vain, because he was still bullied for his condition, but as he grew older, out of his teen years and into adulthood, it bothered him less and less, because, well, shit like that doesn't fucking matter, sure it still bothered him, sure it still traumatized him to some degree, but it's just what some stupid kids say, it doesn't determine what his worth is, and he understands that, so after recovering from almost ending his life, he realized that something had to change, he couldn't live in this wallowing ball of agony because some kids determined "hey! That kid is different! They're no longer as cool as we are! Get him!!"

I should also mention that he didn't develop Piametia til he was around 9 years old, which is exactly what the condition does, it's genetic (although it never occurred in Reese or Virginia, the only reasonable conclusion was that it skipped a generation) and it's drilled into the person's DNA and only takes effect before puberty (in the average kid). So Roo was considered a part of the other kids' little cliques and stuff, but only until his hair and eyes changed color.

I kind of hyped this up to be something extravagant and maybe it is, idk, I don't have the eyes of the audience, I'm just a guy who made this and I have a rather critical view of my work sometimes, I try not to, but force of habit lmao. I really liked making this because Roo is an OC who has grown with me, mainly because he's both a persona of me while also being an OC, so where I change and grow, he often reflects that change and growth, in his own ways of course, I often wish he was real, but he's not and that's the harsh reality. Also gonna clarify that his life does NOT completely reflect mine, I'm only 18, he's ten years older then me lmao, where he was 8 I was 10 years to be conceived- Roo is still his own character, he's had his own relationships, all of which have went poorly (reflecting my own), and even had his own stalker (which escalated)- But parts of his life like when he became extremely homophobic of himself and who he truly was is not reflective of myself, I never had that stage in life (whether you did or not however is not a bad thing unless your actually just homophobic, then gtfo like?? 😭).

I went on a rant there, and I probably could've kept going, but figured I should stop at some point lol, but I hope you guys like this, I sure LOVED making this and I love doing Roo related things and posts. I also provided text in the image descriptions in case it's hard to read in the images (I tried to keep it as clear and readable as possible), and in case anyone who uses a screen-reader finds this post :)

[cirilla-fiona-riannon]

Ikemen Sengoku - Kicho

These translations are not intended as a replacement for the game. Please support Cybird by buying their stories. Expect grammatical errors.

TW: Slightly Suggestive

Mai: “Masamune!?”

Masamune: “I heard about the incident in town.”

Masamune: “If Kicho finds out I’m here, it could cause a lot of trouble. Can you let me in quietly?”

Mai: “Okay. Wait a sec!”

I tied the rope I found in the room to a sturdy post and threw it out the window.

I then helped Masamune climb the wall and led him to the sofa in the room.

Masamune: “Things are getting pretty crazy, huh?”

Mai: “Yeah.”

Masamune stopped by Sakai for official business and came to check on us when he heard the rumors.

Masamune: “I heard from a guard that a maid was actually attacked yesterday.”

Mai: “Yeah. That's why I decided not to work and took a day off.”

I opened up about the work Kicho had assigned me to do, and after listening to what I had to say, Masamune narrowed his eye and smirked.

Masamune: “Is Kicho that desperate to lock you in a room?”

Mai: “N-Now’s not the time to focus on that.”

I naturally slumped my shoulders, feeling both embarrassed and perplexed.

Masamune: “So, what do you want to do?”

Mai: “Me?”

Masamune: “Setting aside Kicho’s intentions, what do you want to do about the current situation?”

Masamune asked me seriously, and my heart skipped a beat.

(I haven’t really thought about what I want for myself.)

(I’m scared and anxious, but more than that, I’m worried about Kicho.)

I took a moment to reflect on my feelings and emotions.

Masamune: “It looks like you already have your answer.”

Mai: “Yeah. I...”

(If I don’t leave the room, Kicho will feel relieved.)

(I won’t be next to him if something happens.)

Mai: “I don’t want to stay like this. I need to do something.”

Masamune: “Then it’s settled.”

Masamune: “I’ll be your bodyguard. We’ll find the culprit ourselves.”

Mai: “What!? I thought you were on official business一”

Masamune: “This kind of detour shouldn’t be a problem.”

He stated it so clearly that I had no choice but to agree.

(I’m honestly grateful because I can only do so much on my own.)

(Though Masamune might be in danger if we encounter the culprit.)

Mai: “Why are you helping me?”

Masamune: “I'm worried because you're not smiling.”

Mai: “Thank you.”

Masamune: “Do you know Kicho’s plans for tonight?”

Mai: “He’ll be gone until dawn for a meeting.”

Masamune: “Perfect. In that case, I’ll pick you up again later tonight.”

Masamune: “We’ll go on patrol to see if any suspicious men are lurking around the trading post or in town.”

Mai: “Okay!”

By the time Masamune left the room through the window, the sun had started to set.

As I put away the rope and closed the window, almost simultaneously, the door opened.

Kicho: “Did you hear any noise just now?”

I desperately tried my best not to flinch in surprise.

Mai: “I just shut the window, so I guess that’s what you heard.”

Kicho: “..........”

(What should I do? I feel like he’s getting suspicious!)

(If he finds out about Masamune, he’ll know I’m going out tonight.)

(I need to find a way to cover it up somehow!)

I struggled to come up with a good idea as my anxiety made my thoughts spin in circles. Then he slowly approached me.

Kicho: “Your smell has changed.”

Mai: “What does that mean一Waah!?”

As I stopped and pondered the words he muttered, he suddenly hugged my shoulders.

Mai: “Kicho...?”

Kicho: “I knew it.”

He buried his face in my neck to check my scent, and he immediately pulled away and spoke up.

Kicho: “Who was here? No one in the trading post should have this scent.”

Mai: “That’s...”

I involuntarily stepped back, and he closed the distance between us by two steps.

After a few more times of this exchange, I fell onto the bed.

Mai: “K-Kicho, wait.”

Kicho: “I’m not going to wait any longer than I have to for your safety.”

Mai: “Ah...”

Before I could even get up, he quickly climbed onto the bed and pinned me down.

Kicho: “If you intend to remain silent, there are other ways to make you say it yourself.”

Mai: “No…ah…”

My voice trembled as he stroked my sensitive areas to show he was serious.

When his fingers approached the sensitive spot he knew so well, I hurriedly shook my head.

Mai: "I-It's not like that. Actually..."

Mai: "I got curious about the new perfume, so I sprayed some on myself!"

Kicho: "........."

Mai: "Sorry for using the sample without permission."

(Good thing I saw a sample perfume when I sorted through the documents earlier.)

(I think this is the most acceptable explanation, but will he buy it?)

I looked up at him with a feeling akin to waiting for a verdict.

Kicho: "As long as it's a sample and not an actual product, you can use it however you like."

Kicho: "Let me know if there's a specific scent you like. I'll give it to you as a gift."

Mai: "Thank you."

I felt relieved seeing him looking convinced and relaxed.

He then stroked the corners of my eyes with his fingertips, and his eyes suddenly darkened.

Kicho: "When I look into your eyes, I can't help but think that you might do something reckless."

Mai: “Huh? Ah...”

His fingers sank into my unguarded and unprotected spot, turning my question into a sweet sigh.

Mai: “Wait...ahh...Kicho...”

Kicho: “Mai.”

I became increasingly aroused by his relentless, teasing fingers, and all I could do was cling to him desperately.

Mai: “Mn.”

As night fell, I finally woke up, having fallen asleep due to exhaustion.

(There’s no one here. Kicho probably left for the business meeting already.)

Kicho: “Don’t go anywhere until I return in the morning.”

Kicho’s voice, which I heard just before I fell asleep, came back to me vaguely.

(But it’s almost time to meet with Masamune.)

Mai: “I have to get ready.”

I tried to get up but felt a pulling sensation and ended up sitting back down.

At that moment, I finally realized that my right wrist was bound and tied to the bedpost.

Mai: “No way.”

(The rope is only long enough to reach the edge of the bed.)

(I won’t be able to contact Masamune at this rate. What should I do?)

I tried to untie the rope, but couldn’t even loosen the knot with my left hand alone.

*Clack*

(Hm?)

Suddenly, I heard the window open, and a slight breeze blew into the room.

Hoping it might be Masamune, I looked towards the source of the sound, only to find an unfamiliar man standing there.

Man: "I finally found you. So you're the woman of the head of this trading post, huh?"

Mai: "----!"

He put a sack over my head without even giving me a chance to shout.

(Kicho...)

I called out the name of my beloved in my fading consciousness.

Kicho was on his way to a business meeting when a shadow blocked him.

Kicho: "Masamune."

Masamune: "I know what's going on. And I'm here to ask you what you want to do about it."

Shot through by his one eye reflecting the moonlight, Kicho quietly opened his mouth.

Kicho: "I..."

Part 1┆Part 2┆Premium End┆Epilogue

[stephstars08]

Still Alive ~ Chapter Three

Ethan Landry x Reader

Warnings: Adult Language, Alcohol, Fighting, Physical Fighting, Some Angst but also some Fluff, and Anxiety (Sorry if I forgot any)

Word Count: 2,697

Author’s Note: Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter. Sorry for the longer wait. I didn’t realize yesterday was Mother’s Day. I promise the chapter schedule will continue with every release on Friday and Sunday so chapter four will be posted this Friday! I ALSO WANT TO MENTION THAT THIS CHAPTER INVOLVES THE PARTY SCENE FROM THE MOVIE SO THIS WILL INCLUDED THE SCENE WHERE TARA ALMOST GET’S TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF SO IF THAT MAKES YOU FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE I SUGGEST YOU EITHER SKIP THIS CHAPTER OR JUST SKIP THAT WHOLE PART! I ALSO WANT TO MENTION THAT I DID PICK OUT A COSTUME FOR THE READER BUT IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT YOU CAN JUST USE A DIFFERENT COSTUME! Anyways I hope everyone enjoys this chapter!

Y/N was at the Halloween frat party sitting on a couch with Mindy and Anika. Y/N was dressed as Rosie the Riveter. She had the costume left over from last year when she played Rosie in a musical for school. Mindy wasn’t dressed up since she said it wasn’t her vibe, says the horror fanatic. She just had on a sweater and a pair of jeans. Anika had on a pumpkin tank top with blue jeans and an orange bucket hat with a knife design on it.

 Y/N wasn’t going to lie, she felt like a third wheel sitting next to Mindy and Anika, so she looked around for Tara, Ethan, or Chad. Suddenly she saw someone dressed as Ghostface which quickly made her blood start to boil. It angers her how people dress up in that stupid ass costume acting like it’s just another Halloween costume. “Hey Y/N.” She heard Mindy say which broke her strong glare away from the jackass. “You good?” Mindy asked her with concern noticing how tense her best friend is. “Yeah, I need a drink.” Y/N said as she got up and walked away.

 She walked into this one room with flashy lights and people dancing. She spotted a table full of different kinds of shots, so she walked over to the table. She grabbed one of the shots that was whiskey and downed it fast. She winced at the burning feeling in her throat. Y/N isn’t the biggest drinker but tonight, she really needed to get wasted. She wants to get wasted. Before she could grab another shot she spotted Ethan with Chad. She watched them take a shot together. She giggled a little bit after seeing Ethan spit the liquid right back into the shot glass. He’s not the biggest drinker either. Another thing they both have in common.

 Y/N couldn’t help but scoff at Chad’s costume. Chad had on a cowboy hat on, no shirt, and a pair of jeans on. However, Y/N couldn’t help but think Ethan looks so damn adorable in his costume. She noticed he also had cardboard cuffs on his arms that he hadn’t shown her before. She knew Chad was trying to get Ethan to score with the girl wearing a Harry Potter costume. The girl just laughed at Ethan and turned back to her friends and continued to dance. Y/N couldn’t help but feel bad for him. Of course, Ethan had that shy and nerdy type of energy but he was still so fucking hot. But, besides his looks, he’s such a sweet and caring guy. Any girl would be lucky to have him as their boyfriend. But, of course hoping that one day she’ll be that lucky girl.

 Y/N was about to walk over to the boys till she spotted a familiar girl wearing a pirate costume making her way to the staircase with a random guy. “Shit!” Y/N hissed and quickly made her way over to Tara. “Hey! What’s going on?” Y/N said getting Tara’s attention. “I’m taking Tara upstairs.” The guy answered for Tara which already sent a red flag to Y/N. “You wanna come too, cutie?” he asked her with a flirty smirk. Y/N wanted to slap that fucking smirk off his stupid fucking face. “No thanks, fuck boy! Not interested.” Y/N snapped as she sent a dirty glare towards the asshole. “Tara, why don’t you stay down here.” Y/N said to Tara, but she shook her head. “Y/N, it’s okay.” Tara told her with a reassuring smile. Y/N knew that Tara was completely wasted, and this dick was trying to take advantage of that.

 Mindy and Anika noticed what was going on so they both quickly got up and walked over to them to help Y/N out. “Hey, wanna call it a night?” Anika asked with a fake smile on her face. While Mindy and Anika were trying to talk Tara into staying downstairs Y/N walked back into the other room to get Chad. “Hey, big guy.” Y/N said tapping Chad on the shoulder which got his attention and Ethan’s. “You’re needed.” Y/N told him with a serious look in his eyes. Chad and Ethan didn’t even ask questions. They just followed Y/N back towards the staircase where Mindy and Anika were arguing with the guy.

 “Hey partner.” Chad said stepping in front of his sister and Anika. “Tara, she’s good down here.” Chad told the guy. “I’m sorry, what was that?” The guy asked playing dumb. “You are such a fucking idiot!” Y/N snapped with annoyance making sure everyone heard what she said. Mindy and Anika laughed at Y/N’s comment. “What was that cutie?” The guy asked giving her that stupid ass smirk again which made her more annoyed if that was even possible. Before Y/N could snap back someone else did.

 “Don’t call her that!” Ethan snapped as he stared at the guy with a furious look in his eyes. Y/N was in shock by Ethan taking up for her. She’s never seen this side of Ethan before, and she really liked it. She’s never seen the look he has in his eyes right now. She’s never heard him use that tone before.

 “Guys, it’s okay.” Tara said finally speaking. “I want to.” Tara told her friends which made the guys confidence shoot up even higher. “See, she wants to.” The guy said in a taunting way. “C’mon.” The guy said roughly, grabbing Tara’s arm and started to drag her up the steps which made her fall because of how intoxicated she was. She ended up falling on her ass. “Tara!” Y/N said with worry as she quickly ran to Tara’s side.

 Chad grabbed the guy and threw him off Tara and down the steps. “Why don’t you get your fucking hands off her!” Chad snapped with anger as he glared at the guy. “Get the fuck off me!” The guy snapped back pushing Chad off him. “Guys!” Tara said as she let Y/N help her stand back up. “Guys! Stop it!” Tara said, raising her voice a little bit. Y/N would try to break it up but to be honest, she wanted Chad to beat the fuck out of this asshole. “Fuck you!” The guy snapped pushing Chad again. Before Chad could retaliate someone stepped in front of him.

 “Sorry to interrupt.” Sam’s voice rang out. “I’m just going to tazze you in the balls real quick.” Sam said in a calm tone as she took out her taser from her back pocket. Everyone watched Sam tazze the asshole right in the balls. The guy groaned out in pain as he fell to floor holding his groin. Y/N couldn’t help but laugh watching the guy role around groaning in pain. She’s definitely going to have to give Sam a high five for this later. “Don’t ever lay your hands on my sister!” Sam hissed staring down at the guy with a death glare. “Fucking bitch!” The guy hissed out in pain. Tara was fuming at what her big sister just did.

 “Sam, are you fucking kidding me?” Tara snapped letting go of Y/N’s hand and walking over to her sister. “You’re stalking me now!” Tara added very upset. Tara walked out the front door before Sam could say anything. The group started to hear people referring to Sam as that psycho girl thanks to the stupid rumors that are flooded online. “We should go.” Mindy said, moving Sam out the door. Anika and Chad followed behind Sam and Mindy. Before Y/N met Ethan outside the door she kicked the guy in the knee which made him hiss in pain. “Take that, cutie.” Y/N mocked him and walked out the door. Ethan looked at her with a proud smile. “Nice one!” Ethan complimented her as he took off his cardboard helmet. “Thanks!” Y/N said giving him a wink as they followed behind their friends. Ethan’s cheeks turned a bright red from the wink she gave him.

 Tara was walking faster than anyone else. Sam was trying her best to keep up with her because she wanted to talk to Tara but clearly Tara didn’t want to. Ever since moving to New York Sam has been very protective over Tara, which Y/N understands why but she mentioned to Sam to not go overboard because that’s what her mom did and look at where they are.

“Tara, will you stop.” Sam called out to her. “I cannot believe you did that! You embarrassed me!” Tara called back out as she kept on walking. “That guy was a dick!” Sam told her in a stern tone. “He was going to take advantage of you!” Sam added trying to get through to her suborned sister. “So!?” Tara hissed as stopped walking and whipped around to face Sam making her slam on the breaks. “So?” Sam said in a confused tone. “If I want to hook up with an asshole that’s my decision. My decision!” Tara explained with frustration in her tone as Y/N and the rest of the group finally caught up to the sisters. “Okay.” Sam said still confused on why Tara was acting like some asshole taking advantage of her was okay. “It’s not about you!” Tara said is a harsh tone. “I mean you-you’re out of my life for five years and then you can’t leave me alone for five minutes.” Tara said stumbling over her words because of how angry she was and the buzz she had because of the alcohol wasn’t helping either. “Because you’re not dealing with what happened to us.” Sam said starting to get frustrated with Tara. “Have you even gone to see the counsellor once?” Sam asked in a stern tone. “No! I’m not going to!” Tara told her in the same tone her sister just used. “Why not?” Sam snapped, starting to lose her patience.

 “Because I’m uninterested in living in the past like you.” Tara snapped, striking one of Sam’s nerves. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Sam asked taken back by what Tara just said. “Hey guys- “Chad said trying to stop the tension that was growing more and more but Tara cut him off. “It means that I’m not gonna let what happened to us for three days define my life.” Tara explained to Sam. What Tara just said really struck Y/N hard. She feels like she’s holding more of a grudge from what happen than Tara and Tara had a lot more happen to her. Tara got attacked way worse than Y/N did but she’s not having nightmares. Yeah, Y/N got stabbed by Amber in the side but that’s it. Y/N doesn’t understand why she’s still so angry. She killed Amber. She got revenge for her father.

 “Hey!” A voice called out breaking Y/N out of her deep thoughts. She saw a group of girls walk towards Sam. One of the girls splashed their drink all over Sam leaving her shirt soaked. “Murder!” The girl hissed at Sam making her friends laugh. Sam shoved the girl back as her blood was boiling hot. “WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!” Sam yelled as Chad and Tara held her back. As the girl and Sam screamed at each other one of the girls said something. “You guys should stay away from her. She knows what she did.” The girl warned the rest of the group. “I didn’t fucking do anything!” Sam snapped full of anger and frustration. “She killed your dad!” The same girl said to Y/N which made her start to get worked up as well. Thanks to her mother’s stupid fucking book, the whole world knows what happened to get dad. “Don’t believe everything you read on the internet you dumb bitch!” Y/N snapped as she glared at the girl with fire in her eyes. Ethan put one of his hands onto her shoulder which quickly made her calm down. “WALK AWAY!” Mindy yelled at the girls, and they did just that.

 “I’m so tired of this shit!” Sam said with a heavy sigh as she tried to wring out her soaking shirt. “I-I have some tissues.” Ethan said taking his hand off Y/N’s shoulder and dug through his jean pocket. Ethan took out a small amount of tissues. “I have like, three tissues.” Ethan said counting them and handing them over to Sam. Sam grabbed the tissues and started to dry her neck and chest off from the sticky liquid. Y/N noticed everyone but Sam was starting to walk away so she grabbed Ethan’s arm and followed the group.

  ~~~~~~~~~~

Y/N was at Sam and Tara’s apartment with everyone. Y/N was sitting at the dinning table by herself. Chad went to bring Tara some medicine for her hangover. Y/N knows they both have feelings for one another but they are both too shy to admit it to each other which Y/N obviously knows that feeling. Mindy and Anika were in the living room sitting on the couch eating popcorn and watching TV. She didn’t know where Sam was.

 “Hey.” Y/N heard someone say in a soft tone. When she looked up she saw Ethan standing in front of her with a soft smile. “Hi.” Y/N said returning a soft smile as she pulled the red bandanna out of her hair. “Can I sit with you?” Ethan asked sounding nervous which made him cuss at himself, but Y/N let out a giggle since she thinks it’s adorable. “You never have to ask.” Y/N told him. “Ha, yeah, right.” Ethan said with a nervous laugh as he took a seat on the chair next to her.

 “Where’s your costume?” Y/N asked in a curious tone noticing he wasn’t wearing the cardboard suit over top his long black sleeve shirt. “I threw it into the dumpster before I came up here with you all.” Ethan answered her. “Didn’t help me get with the ladies.” Ethan added. “Yeah, I um saw you strike out with that Harry Potter chick.” Y/N said as a frown appeared on her lips. “Of course, you did.” Ethan said with frustration as he ran both of his hands down his face. “Ethan, it’s okay.” Y/N said pulling his hands away from his face. “It’s her loss, not yours.” She told him. “Really?” Ethan asked in a surprised tone.

 “Ethan, you are such a sweet guy. You are a great and amazing friend.” Y/N told him as she put one of her hands on top of one of his. “If she doesn’t want a guy like that, then fuck her.” She told him as she stared deep into memorizing brown eyes that shinned in the light. “Thanks, Y/N” Ethan said has he stared deep into her eyes as well. Her eyes were his favorite thing about her. He always gets lost in them. “Ugh, will you two just make out already!” Mindy called out to them with a groan which startled them.

 When they looked over into the living room, they saw that Chad and Quinn had joined Mindy and Anika in the room. They were so deep into conversation that they didn’t even notice Chad and Sam and Tara’s roommate walk in. “Forget that we are here?” Chad said with a teasing smirk on his face. “Here we go!” Y/N mumbled letting go of Ethan’s hand to hide the redness of her cheeks. Ethan’s cheeks were glowing red as well.

 “Um, guys.” Anika said pointing to the TV. “Oh shit.” Mindy said as her mood quickly dropped after looking at the TV. “What’s wrong?” Y/N asked with worry as she stood up and walked into the living room. Ethan got up and followed her. When Y/N looked at the TV she felt her heart drop all the way down to the floor. It was a news report about a Ghostface attack.

 “Oh my gosh!” Y/N said as she stared at the TV with wide eyes. “Hey guys wh- “Tara started as she walked into the room wearing regular clothes but cut herself off after seeing what was on the TV. “Go get Sam.” Mindy told Chad in a stern tone. Chad just gave his twin a nod and quickly walked out the door.

*Tags*

@sweetirilly @aqellano @igotmajordaddyissues @athenalive @hotweeb @ghostlyboiii

[spacewitchqueen]

First Date/Blind Date

A/N: Written for @sleepysnk Valentine's Day Event 💖 I hope you like it, it's short and sweet. I meant to post this yesterday but then life happened.

Pairing: Doctor!Chishiya x Doctor!Reader

Warnings: None, it's all fluff

Summary: Your friend Kuina convinces you to let her set you up on a date. What could go wrong?

You were late. You checked your watch for the third time in as many minutes and sighed loudly as you made your way to the hospital’s cafeteria. It wasn’t your fault, you weren’t doing it on purpose, it had just been a very busy day. Why had you agreed to do this? Your shift had been brutal, you could be on your way home but instead you were begrudgingly joining someone for lunch. 

‘Kuina, I swear I will strangle you,’ you muttered under your breath as you scanned the tables. You were about to give up when you spotted him, sitting by himself, reading a book like Kuina had said.

Kuina had been insisting for the longest time to let her set you up with her dear friend who happened to work at the same hospital. You refused at first, because you didn’t really see yourself dating a doctor, but eventually you accepted just so she would drop the subject. 

When Kuina finally told you who her friend was, it took you by surprise. Chishiya didn’t strike you as the kind of guy who would ask a friend to set him up with someone. You had never really spoken to him before but you had seen him around the hospital. You knew he was aloof, professional but standoffish, though apparently he was great with patients. All in all, you would be lying if you said you weren’t a bit impressed and intimidated by him. You were reconsidering agreeing to do this but you were already at his table. 

‘Hi,’ you said as you sat in front of him.

‘Hello?’ He raised an eyebrow. 

Your heart skipped a beat. Was he disappointed because maybe he expected someone else? ‘Hmm, look. Let’s be quick about this and then we can tell her it didn’t work out,’ you said. Chishiya stared at you with genuine curiosity. Had you been rude to assume he wasn’t interested? ‘We can still talk of course.’

He gave you an assessing stare and then put his book down. ‘What would you like to talk about?’

‘...’

After an initial moment of panic, conversation flowed naturally between you. You were starting to think Kuina might be a good matchmaker after all. A shrill sound interrupted you. An alarm on Chishiya’s phone.

‘It was nice talking to you, but I have to go now. Rounds,’ Chishiya explained.

‘Right, of course. This was actually kind of fun… not that I expected it wouldn’t be.’

‘Just a question. Who are you?’

‘I’m… what? I’m Kuina’s friend, she must have told you. She begged me to have lunch with you because she said you asked her to set you up with someone… she said—’ Comprehension dawned on you like a bucket of ice cold water. ‘You never asked her to set you up with someone, did you? Oh, I am going to kill her!'

‘Please don’t, she’s a good friend.’ The corners of his lips twitched.

‘Fine, Kuina is off the hook. I’ll just go deal with my embarrassment somewhere else.’ You kept your eyes down, blushing crimson.

‘I hope that doesn’t take long, but in any case see you tomorrow?’

‘Tomorrow?’  

‘To continue our conversation.’

‘Yes, of course.’ You nodded. 

‘It’s a date,’ he said and then turned around and left. 

‘It’s a date,’ you repeated to yourself. ‘Our second, by Kuina’s count.’

[fourseasonsfigs]

Building Block Figs - Basking in the Sun

Following up on yesterday's Beautiful Fight Scene in the Middle of the Lake Part One and Two, we have another building block set!

I won't go into all the backstory on these sets (please refer to Part One for a lengthy story), if only to keep this at one post instead of another two-parter.

The name of this set is actually just "Tavern". This inspiration for this scene is actually my favorite scene in the show. It's the Basking in the Sun scene from Episode 12, where they are drinking in front of the tavern and talking about good and bad people. Wen Kexing has my favorite line: "I just feel, that to be alive, to have the sun shining, and having someone’s name for me to call, is so good".

Both A-Xu and I agree, he's right.

Before we get started, a few specs: this set is 1,726 pieces, measures 8.4 x 16.8 x 12.8 cm, and is rated 11 hours of assembly time. This is the longest rating out of any of them, with two others clocking in at 10 hours each. I will say that I have found their assembly times to be extremely accurate.

Here's what the finished model is expected to look like, along with the directions for each piece. As you can see, we have both figs, the tavern table, the (open) door behind A-Xu, and a lantern.

Once more into the breach! The kit looks so small and innocent there in it's box, doesn't it? It doesn't look like 11 hours at all.

Like yesterday's set, this comes with the small black utility tool, the sticker with the tiny image of the finished set, and the QR code for the directions.

You'll notice there's already quite a few bricks sorted behind the unopened box. Those are all the left overs from my previous projects in this line. I didn't want to waste all the time I had put into sorting the bricks, and since the color palette is so limited, I end up using the same ones over and over again.

It really doesn't look that bad, huh?

In order to encourage myself and give myself a sense of satisfaction from completing a piece, I skipped over the figs and went straight to the easiest component - the lantern.

It was indeed quite satisfying to finish this up and put it to the side.

Next up is the tavern door. I admit when I saw this I was a little confused - I know A-Xu was leaning up against a pole kind of thingy, but the background with the flags didn't really register to me. So, I went back and watched the scene again, this time for the background:

It looks pretty good!

It was a lot of building up. As I mentioned in the last post, they don't have thicker bricks, so it's all 1-ply bricks here.

Looks good! I like how they have one of the doors open.

Well, at this point I could no longer put off the main part of the set. Nor did I want to - I was excited to get into it.

Onwards and upwards!

I'll save you the bulk of the gory assembly details, but here's a shot of my counter with all the sorted bricks all lined up, along with the base that I have just started working on. You can see what I mean about the limited size and color palette. By limited I don't mean as a criticism, it's just what we have available to work with. 3 different colors of blue, 3 different colors of grey, and then pretty much just one of each other color.

As you may recall from the last post, here's a sample of the directions from one of the sets. It looks flat and 2-D here, but I can pinch and swipe my phone's screen to rotate completely around to see from all angles. You can also see the step's bricks listed there, along with the left arrow to go back if you need to check your previous work, and the circle with the number of how many steps you have left. As you can see, I'm pretty far from the end.

Here's my progress that matches the corresponding direction. I haven't gotten very far, here!

It's been funny for me to watch the progress of light and shadow across these pics - you can literally see time passing with the day going into the night!

At this point, I had finished the base, was well as the bottom robes of A-Xu and Lao Wen. You can see the steps behind A-Xu, and the table they are both leaning on.

Last progress pic (a couple days later). Now you can really start to see the figs take shape!

Here's a little bit of a better illustration of how I can rotate the instructional image to see different areas. Only 46 more steps here to go!

And here's the final assembled piece. I love it!

The way they modeled the poses are just excellent. We have Lao Wen's relaxed sprawl here, and A-Xu's equally relaxed pose on the stairs.

A little peek through the open door.

You'll notice that A-Xu's drinking gourd here is a pretty neon shade of orange, and that one of the dishes on the table is a similarly neon shade of green. This is again due to the limited color palette - there's no light brown or light green in this world.

Their hair is not as dramatic in this scene as it is in the fight scene from yesterday, but that makes sense, they're just basking in the sun. I still love it - we have A-Xu's multicolored guan and Lao Wen's silver guan rendered in tiny brick form.

They decided to show exactly how happy A-Xu is here by giving him a big smile! The same neon orange color as the gourd, unfortunately.

You can see here the way they have rendered the robe's drapery. And Lao Wen's little black boot there.

A full view of A-Xu's big orange smile! I could remove it if I wanted - as you saw, I have plenty of leftover bricks. I could take the orange off all together (which I think I will) or just leave on a little bit for his cheeks.

Here's the official Basking in the Sun figs to show the size up against these figs. This set is quite a bit bigger, but still not too bad, space wise.

Let's get a couple close-ups of our main stars...

A-Xu's smile is so funny! You can also see his bangs here, which I really like, and a little more detail on his robe. I think they did a fantastic job on the robes in general. Very evocative of the show.

Here's a top down view, with a particularly nice view of the hair crowns.

Ah ha! I was able to squeeze in one last picture before I hit the 30-pic limit. Here's our bottoms up pic - not very good I know. It's hard to do these ones with the bases.

In closing, I will say that when I told my husband I was putting together the "Tavern" scene set of building blocks, he got a puzzled look on his face and said, "which tavern? weren't they at taverns for like half the show?"

Fair. Very fair!

Material: Plastic building blocks

Fig Count: 504

Scene Count: 34

Rating: Let's drink!

[link to the Master Post Index]

[enid-rhees]

i’m back 😭 could you do an enid x reader story where enid has feelings for reader and constantly flirts with her but she can’t confess because shes dating ron and she doesn’t want to hurt him, but in the end they end up getting together? (it’s kind of like in the show but ron doesn’t shoot readers eye out and beat their ass 😭) ty and i love ur writing <33

i absolutely love this ask and the last part made me laugh 😭 although it did give me a small idea ,,, anyways! tysm for ur kind words all the time and your requests! it means a lot :) hope you enjoy !

genre: friends to lovers <3

warnings: bit of angst

A/N: hope you all enjoy this! if you’d like to request, all info is listed in my pinned post <3

“you look so pretty today.” Enid commented. your face heated up when you looked up at her. “thank you, Enid.” you smiled. you guys were currently in her bedroom, reading comics and talking about whatever.

it had been a pretty chill day, leaving you guys with no chores or work to do. whenever you had a free day like this, you guys would hang out in either of your rooms.

“did you do anything different?” she asked. “with your outfit or your hair?” you shook your head, “it’s the same as always.”

“hm,” she hummed. “guess you’re just getting prettier by the day then.” you leaned your head down, embarrassingly hiding your face. she always did this to you, and it worked on you every time.

she knew just how to make you flustered. it was like a special talent of hers that you couldn’t figure out how she did it. Enid was the only one who was able to do this to you.

“why are you hiding? i wanna see your pretty face.” Enid said. you lifted your head up and she smiled. “prettiest girl i’ve ever seen.”

while you loved her flirtatious statements, it confused you. she was in a relationship with Ron. and everyone knew that. it was undeniable that you had a massive crush on her, how could you not? but it was clearly unrequited.

and while you loved everything she said to you, you knew she didn’t mean it in the way you wanted her to. it was only platonic to her. she meant it as a friend.

you took a look outside, noticing it was now dark. “i um,” you coughed, sitting up for Enid’s bed. “it’s late. i should get going.”

Enid blinked, “oh. yeah- yeah. i’ll see you… tomorrow?” she asked. you gave her a small smile and nodded. “yeah. of course.”

she followed you downstairs to the door. “bye.” she smiled at you. “bye.”

Enid pulled you into a hug unexpectedly. you wrapped your arms around her neck. you guys stayed like that for a few seconds before you pulled away.

you waved awkwardly, opening the door and leaving. after you stepped off her yard, you exhaled a breath you didn’t even realize you were holding in.

you made it back to your house and skipped up the stairs into your room. you fell back onto your bed with an exasperated sigh.

Enid went back up to her room after grabbing a bottle of water. when she closed her door, she noticed your sweater on her bed. you forgot it.

she picked it up, debating if she should quickly go to your house or return it tomorrow. before she could decide, she was knocked out of her thoughts when there was a tap on her window.

when she looked up, Ron stood there. she gave him a look before opening her window. “what are you doing?!” she hissed. “it’s late. you should be home.”

“Enid, i haven’t seen you since yesterday.” Ron told her. “are you okay or..?” his eyes trailed down to the sweater. “isn’t that Y/N’s?” he asked.

her hands fumbled with the fabric, “yeah uh… she was just here a bit ago. she left a few minutes ago.” she said quietly. there was a sudden change of aura in the room. it was heavy.

“you’ve been with her a lot.” he commented. “is that why i haven’t seen you?”

she hesitated, “yeah. it is. sorry.”

there was an awkward silence between them for a moment before he spoke up again. “i’ve seen the way you look at her, Enid.”

she sucked in a breath, “i’m sorry.” she whispered. she didn’t know what else to say.

Ron had an unreadable expression on his face. she wasn’t sure if he was pissed or sad. or maybe both.

“so, what does this mean? do you want to be with her? you want to break up?” she stared at him, unsure what to say. this was the hard part.

“i’m sorry.” she said again. there was no way she was able to hide it now, coming clean was the only option left. “i just- i didn’t want to hurt you. i didn’t know what to say to you.”

“so that’s it?” she nodded. “i’m sorry, Ron.” he nodded but didn’t say anything back. slowly, he started to back up towards the window.

“see you around, Enid.” he spoke dully before going out through the window. Enid ran her hands down her face, sighing deeply.

her mind raced. she didn’t know what was gonna happen now. how Ron was gonna handle this. but she knew it was the right thing to do.

_

morning hit, and the first thing Enid did was grab your sweater and leave her house. she walked the small distance to yours and knocked lightly. Rick opened the door, furrowing her eyebrows slightly.

“hey, Enid? what do you need?” he asked. “is Y/N awake? she uh, she forgot her sweater at my place last night.” she explained, holding up the sweater..

“yeah, she’s up in her room.” he moved to the side to let her in. she mumbled a quick ‘thank you’ and walked up the stairs.

your bedroom door was cracked open, so she walked right inside. you noticed her instantly, giving her a warm smile. “hey, Enid. you’re up early.” you chuckled.

she blushed, handing out your sweater. “you forgot that when you left last night. wanted to give it back.”

“oh- i didn’t even realize i forgot it. thank you, Enid.” you told her, setting it on your bed. she sat down next to you on the bed.

when you made eye contact, you frowned a bit. “you look really tired. did you get enough sleep?”

the truth is that Enid didn’t. she couldn’t stop thinking about this very moment. you knew her almost better than anyone, if she lied, you would know instantly.

“no, i didn’t.” she admitted. “what’s wrong?” you asked. your voice was full with concern.

“i uh… i broke up with Ron.” your mouth dropped open slightly. it wasn’t what you were expecting at all. “oh.” you spoke in surprise.

“um- wow. are you-

“i’m not upset.” Enid interrupted. you looked at her with confusion. “what do you mean?”

she looked at you, eyes sinking into yours. it was always easy to get lost in them. her eyes then trailed down to your lips, and before she can think it through, she pressed her lips to yours.

you sat frozen for a moment, not knowing how to process it. her hand landed on your thigh, snapping you back into reality. finally, you kissed her back.

it went on for nearly a minute, neither of you wanted to pull away from each other. when you did, she continued to hold your thigh.

“i’ve been waiting so long for that.” you told her. “i assumed you meant what you would say to me in a friendly way. i didn’t think you liked me.”

“i’m in love with you.” she corrected. “i have been. for a long time. i just didn’t know how to break it to him.” you nodded understandingly.

“so… does this mean you’re my girlfriend?” you asked with a smile. she mirrored the smile, her face burning red. “yeah. and you’re my girlfriend.”

[zuzsenpai]

Little delights from my day

that post I reblogged yesterday (4/9/24) where you tagged the little positive delights from your day.... I feel like that might be a fun challenge to do every day, or as many days as I can remember. I almost never stop to think about those things, and I do think it might be nice to look back on and read every once in a while. So that I don't bother everyone with this daily quest, I'm going to just update this post every day with a new bullet point (under a cut), and I'll link this post in my pinned post. If that makes sense.

List of daily positive delights under the cut:

4/9/24: My pomegranate arils were NOT expired. Someone spilled maple syrup in the microwave at work and now it smells really good every time someone uses it

4/10/24: Was able to pre-order the new Apollo Justice Trilogy plushes

4/11/24: Found a cute, nice-looking font to write fanfic with. Hoping that using a fun font will motivate my writing. UPDATE: I wrote close to 1,500 words with the new font today!

4/12/24: My manager took the day off so I got burritos with my coworkers. The chicken wasn't too spicy this time, so I enjoyed it a lot

4/13/24: I saw a lot of Homestar Runner posts on my dash because it’s Homestuck day. Can’t find this shit on any other webbed site.

4/14/24: It was 72 and sunny so I spent some time writing outside

4/15/24: Got a nice comment on a fic I never get comments on

4/16/24: Sweet potato tempura roll my beloved. Oh okay also that post on tumblr with the map of all the locations those idiots on Supernatural went and they literally went to my city

4/17/24: My own writing made me cry, in a good way

4/18/24: Saw a really interesting lost media video on YouTube

4/19/24: Cute spider on the wall in the hallway at work

4/20/24: Decided not to skip this day after all. I played some Animal Crossing Wild World

4/21/24: I really am lucky to have caring friends. Also kittens in the discord!

4/22/24: My friend made a fun picrew

4/23/24: I set up a humidifier and an air purifier in my office to help with my dry/itchy/red/painful eyes. I think it might be working already????? My eyes feel good today

4/24/24: I did a request for an isolated Digimon BGM and it came out really good!

4/25/24: Made a neocities page and messed around with templates

4/26/24: Had a yummy impossible burger

4/27/24: Went to a craft fair and found a necklace that goes really nicely with the shirt I'm wearing today. Also pad see ew with beef happened

4/28/24: Went bowling and got some writing done

4/29/24:

4/30/24: It’s gonna be May!

5/1/24: Working on Digimon BGM again!

5/2/24: Some ship pins I ordered on Etsy arrived

5/3/24: Not to be repetitive, but Digimon BGM work is very delightful!

5/4/24: idk crispy chicken blt wrap

5/5/24: Whole pomegranates at my grocery store

5/6/24: Had a really productive writing sprint

5/7/24: Told my boss about my Digimon isolated BGM project and she seemed proud that I was able to master some audio editing skills

5/8/24: Been doing this for 30 days and only missed one! Proud of myself

5/9/24: Got through a stressful doctor’s appointment with composure and bravery

5/10/24: My friend and I bought friendship earrings in the shape of Ty Beanie Baby tags

5/11/24: Went to a local hockey game and there was an AMAZING parody video they played on the jumbotron.

5/12/24: Got some good writing done.

5/13/24:

5/14/24: Got some phonecalls done that I had been putting off. I know this isn't really a little delight, but I'm proud of myself.

5/15/24: Received a really kind and detailed comment on a fic that I wasn't confident in when I published it

[broccoliboix5peepeeman]

Midoriya-sensei AU

Chapter 12: Sports Day

I've decided I'm going to officially change updates to the 15th of every month, because I just don't have to time to post twice a month considering the chapters seem to be getting longer (who's fault could that be? ^^') and I don't want to disappoint

Also, I made a POLL regarding a minor side plot, so let me know if you're interested or not!

Part 11 | Ao3 | Part 13

[Sunday 8th October]

Me [1812]: I'm sorry im watching ths news and.erm did you jut use YOUR FIRE???

Me [1813]: Thats so amazing you look great I'm so proud of you!

Me [1814]: I will be screaming to you about this next time I see you but for now I'll just scream over text

Me [1814]: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Shoto-kun 🙏 [1833]: 🔥

***

Izuku, understandably, felt extra excited when he walked into work Monday morning. It had been over a week and not only had Shoto taken what he’d said to heart, but he’d actually started training his fire!

Initially, Izuku had been concerned—Shoto’s replies had been slow and abrupt since their hangout, and Fuyumi had even noticed that he’d been staying back at the agency later than usual—but after his friend’s shift yesterday evening, a phone call had quickly put those worries to rest. It turned out that Shoto had simply spent the past week training his left side; he’d even called for private coaching from Eraserhead and Endeavour, the latter of which was surprising but logical.

‘He’s not a complete bastard wank anymore, and what good is my father if I can’t take advantage of his knowledge?’ He could practically hear the shrug in Shoto’s voice. ‘He was pretty helpful, and Eraser was his usual brutal self. I learnt a lot.’

‘I’m really glad!’ Izuku’s cheeks hurt from smiling. ‘So you’re feeling more confident?’

‘The past week’s been hell, and I still have a lot of catching up to do, but yeah.’ A pause. ‘I feel confident to begin using my… my fire, in the field.’

Izuku honestly couldn’t wait to see Shoto’s growth. He was already so proud of his friend, and he knew his family would be too, especially Rei. It was a huge step—he was going to need to compile a new notebook dedicated solely to Shoto's left side.

He was still grinning about it, even as he walked across the field, setting up the obstacle course for the students.

Part of Izuku was also thankful for the timing, as Shoto's news was what was currently suppressing the anxiety bubbling in his stomach. After all, today was sports day, and while the event was typically one of his favourites in the academic calendar, they were also using it to implement their last minute plan to help Hiru.

They couldn't afford for anything to go wrong.

‘Hey.’ Fuyumi walked over, smiling gently. She’d already finished helping one of the other teachers set up the beanbag toss. ‘How’re you doing?’

‘Ask me again in approximately eight hours.’ He chuckled humorlessly as he lined up the tunnels, before positioning the skipping ropes on the other side. 'I'll be honest, I'm feeling a nervous poop coming.'

'You sound like Natsuo.' She snorted, immediately reaching down to help him with the equipment.

‘I’ll take that as a complement.’ He stuck his tongue out in response. ‘Thanks.’

His lower body grumbled with discomfort and he pulled a face. ‘Once this is finished, I’ll pop over. Just the sacks left after this.’

‘Don’t worry about it, I’ll finish off here.’ Despite her kindness, there was an assertive air to her voice which told Izuku that she wasn’t accepting no for an answer.

That was fine with him.

‘Really? Thank you! You’re the best honestly!’ He immediately dropped everything and ran to the building. Once inside, he beelined for the staff toilets. ‘Thank fuck…’

Once he was finished, Izuku checked his phone to find that it was only a few minutes before the first bell. Luckily, his classroom wasn’t too far. Anxiety still lingered in his body—he suspected it would for the duration of the school day—but it wasn’t overwhelming; he still smiled brightly as he greeted his students and took the register, before leading them to the assembly hall. They had all come to school in their PE kits, so it was rather amusing to see them wearing their usual school shoes instead of their trainers, due to being inside.

Izuku then took his place next to Fuyumi, like clockwork, and the two of them watched the other students filter in.

‘Did you get sorted okay?’

‘Yeah, all good.’ She shrugged. ‘Did you have a good poop?’

‘Y’know, I’m still not sure… but I certainly needed it.’ He answered shamelessly. There wasn’t really a filter between them at this point—they’d seen their students do more horrifying things over the years.

The Head soon began with the usual topics—reminding the faculty about the HQA information session that was coming up in a few weeks—before he eventually brought up the giant elephant in the room.

‘I can practically hear you all vibrating with excitement, even without my quirk, so no point delaying. As you’re aware, today is sports day!' He paused while the students cheered. 'This year, however, we’ve put a special twist on it…’

Usually, grades were kept separate—the two classes competing against each other—but this time, there would be four distinct teams: Lemillion, consisting of classes 2B, 3A and 4B; Dynamite, including classes 2A, 3B and 4B; Shoto, of which Fuyumi’s class, 1B, was a part of, as well as 5B and 6A; and All Might, encompassing the final three classes—Izuku had been fierce in his demand to be put on the latter team. So, while each grade would still go around each activity together as a whole, the allotted points they’d accumulate went to their designated teams.

That meant that Hiru and his antagonists had to rely on each other to win, and the prize was a trophy for each winning class.

The formal reason behind the team set-up was to encourage the different grades to support each other and build a rapport. Hopefully, it might also allow certain individuals to reflect on their differences.

Hopefully.

‘Now that you all have your teams, it’s time for the schedule.’ The Head brought up the next powerpoint side, showing a table. ‘Some of you will notice that your homeroom teacher is running an activity. That is why each grade will walk around together. So, for example, grade one will follow Todoroki-sensei, while Midoriya-sensei runs the obstacle course. Make sense?'

A sea of heads immediately bobbed up and down.

The Head smiled. 'Great! Now, your teacher will also have a copy of the schedule, so there's no need to memorise it…'

There were a few more minutes of technicalities—a few kids clearly becoming impatient—before everyone was finally released. While Fuyumi gathered their students together, Izuku quickly made his way back out to the field, along with a few other teachers. Some parents were already congregating around the activities, eager to support their kids. He smiled in greeting and exchanged pleasantries with a few, but otherwise remained silent as he waited.

He rocked back and forth on his feet, imagining all the different outcomes of the day. Hiru was the fastest runner in his grade—probably the older ones too—due to his quirk. That was why they’d deliberately scheduled the whole school for the relay race at the end of the day. That way, they could set it up so each team could cheer each other on for the final event.

His thoughts were interrupted before he could truly get lost in them, as a flock of children suddenly swarmed the field.

There were five other events, not including the obstacle course and relay. Tug of war was fairly self-explanatory, as was dance; along with the bean bag toss—throw as many beanbags into your team’s basket as possible before the time runs out—and the cavalry battle. Admittedly though, the latter wouldn’t be as impressive as UA’s infamous cavalry battle due to the lack of quirk usage.

The event that was often the most confusing for foreign students was oodama, but that was just because of the name, which was just “giant ball”. Essentially, each team had to carry a giant inflatable ball together to the goal point; if they dropped it, they’d have to start again. Izuku really hoped Hiru had brought along his personalised cover for his quills, otherwise they might have some issues with that one.

‘Namaste, Midoriya-sensei!’

He smiled as the sixth graders surrounded him, all bowing simultaneously. They were the year below his previous homeroom class—when he’d had India for global month—so naturally, they’d all joined in during the legendary “Namaste phase” and made sure not to let it die out entirely.

Indulging them, he put his palms together and bowed.

‘Namaste, bachche! How're you all doing?'

He snorted when they immediately began speaking over each other—clearly excited—and waited until they’d all calmed down before taking them through the usual rules. There would be six races, with roughly ten students per race. Then, the winner of each race would enter the final, and points would be assigned based on their placement.

It wasn’t too difficult considering the sixth graders had already done the course before—with just a few minor changes—but once they’d moved on, his next group was the first graders.

‘Hey, Sensei!’ His students greeted excitedly. ‘We just did our dance routine!’

‘Did you?’ He gasped. ‘How did it go?’

‘It went really well!’ Hana jumped up and down. ‘Our parents all watched as well, which was super fun! Okaasan took pictures!’

‘We didn’t win though.’ Haku pouted, crossing his arms as class B joined them.

‘It was really close!’ Fuyumi tried to placate. ‘You were all really good! Like professional dancers!’

‘Like Pinky?’ Izuku offered, knowing his students would appreciate the comparison. When Fuyumi quickly agreed, they brightened up significantly, and he explained the rules.

It ended up being a close one, but after the first set of races, the finalists were decided: four from class B and two from A. Luckily though, Hiru and Touta managed to bag the top two spots, bringing the scores to a tie as they went off to the next activity. Izuku waved farewell as he quickly prepared everything for the second graders.

By the time lunch came around and the scores were tallied, team All Might were in joint second with Dynamight, while team Shoto was in the lead. It was pretty close, which was to be expected—especially to build suspense and competition—but it still made Izuku nervous.

His leg was twitching.

'Stop overthinking.' Fuyumi nudged him from where they were sitting: a picnic bench in the playground, as the children played around them. 'We've set everything in motion, it's up to the kids now.'

'I know.' He sighed, exasperated. 'But I'm a worrier!'

'And I'm not?' She scoffed with a laugh. 'Come on. There's nothing else you can do for now.'

'Only because I haven't thought of something yet.' He argued weakly.

Maybe there was some way he could figure out a plan to have the different grades work together, or set up an ethical way to jeopardise-

‘Nope. Not going there.' Fuyumi interjected, before slurping up more noodles. He must've been staring at his bento for too long and mumbling out loud. 'Tell you what, I'll change the subject. How was your weekend?’

Not even subtle… but Izuku chose to take the bait. Worrying made his stomach hurt.

‘Pretty uneventful…’ He shrugged, using his chopsticks to move his food around. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't quite keep the smile from his face as his mind recalled a certain hero. ‘Y’know, other than the obvious. You?’

‘Yeah, I was pretty much the same.’ She laughed halfheartedly. 'You really must be nervous for Hiru, considering you haven't even brought up Shoto until now, and that was with some prompting.'

'I've just not had the time to properly gush about it.' He placed a hand over his chest, then eyed his friend cautiously. 'Plus, I wanted to check first: how're you feeling about it?'

She flashed him a grateful smile, then shook her head affectionately.

'It's… I'm feeling hopeful, I think.' She pursed her lips, pondering. ‘It was just… surprising, to say the least. As you know, we were all concerned about him the past week, but then, before he went to work yesterday, he told us to keep an eye on the news and promised that it was nothing bad…' Her tone turned sarcastic. 'That didn't worry us at all.’

‘Of course.’

‘So we kept the tv on during dinner, then all of a sudden, okaasan called my name, and I rushed in, and on the screen was Shoto using his fire to catch a villain, like some kind of fever dream!’

She hesitated then; Izuku tilted his head to the side.

‘Was that good or bad?’

‘Oh, definitely good!’ She was quick to clarify, then looked down at her noodles in thought. ‘We just… never expected it. Shoto had always been so against using it in combat. Something must’ve happened.’

She paused and slowly looked up to meet Izuku’s eyes. ‘Hang on.’

He chuckled nervously.

Her eyes narrowed. ‘You never said what your argument was about when you hung out at the house, just that you disagreed on something. Come on, spill.’

As she looked at him expectantly, Izuku tapped his index fingers together and bounced his legs under the table.

‘He kinda… told me about why he didn’t use his fire, so I kinda… to sum it up, basically called him immature and explained why he was being dumb.’

‘Izuku!’

‘I know, it was stupid, I don’t know what I was doing. I guess I was just…’ He faltered. His phone buzzed in his pocket, but he ignored it. 'I was just…'

‘Being your usual self.’ Fuyumi eventually finished for him, causing him to look at her quizzically. ‘He’s needed telling for years, but he’s stubborn and all of us were afraid of the consequences. Our family’s been through so much, we didn’t want to risk breaking it again.’

She sighed. ‘After everything that happened, I think he’d resigned himself to not using his left side… because otherwise he’d have to admit to not “giving it his all” against Touya. He didn't "try hard enough" to save him, if that makes sense?’

‘I didn’t think about that.’ Izuku murmured, guilt immediately washing over him as he slapped his forehead. ‘Of course he feels responsible for what happened, and I was so insensitive.’

He groaned, twitching as he recalled the argument. He made several more little noises of annoyance and shook his head. Fuck, it’s a wonder he doesn’t hate me…

Fuyumi regarded him carefully, chewing the inside of her cheek. She was used to his stimming by now, so didn't mention it, which he was thankful for.

‘I don’t know what you said specifically.’ She began slowly. ‘But whatever it was… it worked, so don’t beat yourself up too much like I know you’re currently doing.’

‘You know me too well.’ Izuku snorted. 'Gahhh, I just… he looked so sad and angry.'

‘He’s been sad and angry for a while, but he used to be worse.’ She conceded, but her tone wasn't accusatory. ‘Therapy has done most of the work to get him where he is today, but he’s always been so adamant about his fire… until now. You don’t need to feel bad for telling him what he needed to hear, promise.’

Izuku tightened his lips and searched her expression.

‘Are you really sure?’

She snorted.

‘If Shoto hated you, you’d know it by now.’ She told him simply. ‘Has he messaged you today?’

Izuku paused.

‘Well, yeah... He wanted to wish me luck.’

‘See?’

‘All right, all right, fine.’ Izuku smiled despite himself, as he took his phone out of his pocket. ‘It was really thoughtful-’

He paused when he realised Shoto had actually messaged him a few minutes ago.

‘Yeah, he fretted over the wording for ten minutes this morning.’ Fuyumi divulged—Izuku doubted her brother wanted him to know that little bit of information—before taking a sip from her drink. ‘So you’ve got nothing to worry about… and I know that smile, you’re looking at his messages, aren’t you?’

‘Hush.’ He stuck his tongue out, but before he could unlock his phone, one of his students suddenly appeared at his side. ‘Oh, hello, Nagisa-chan.’

‘Hi.’ She swung her arms out. ‘What happens when you die?’

Fuyumi choked on her drink, while Izuku just took a moment to process the question.

‘Erm… me specifically, or just people?’ Despite asking for clarification, the answer would remain the same: he didn’t have a clue.

‘Well, is it different for you?’ She tilted her head to the side.

Point taken.

‘I’ll be honest, Nagisa-chan, I’m not sure.’ He admitted. ‘That’s the thing about dying… you can’t really come back and let everyone know what happens.’

‘What about people who die and then they come back to life with the electric oven gloves.’

Izuku’s left eye twitched.

‘You mean a defibrillator?’ He asked, slowly.

‘I like my name better.’

‘Yeah, me too.’ Fuyumi chipped in.

Izuku hoped the name comment would distract her from the question, but alas, Nagisa continued to stare at him expectantly.

‘Er… well, I guess if they’re brought back to life, they couldn’t have been truly dead?’

‘Even Jesus?’

‘Do you… believe in Jesus?’

‘Not really.’ She sighed, looking over at where some students were playing hopscotch. ‘So what DOES happen when you die?’

Izuku bit his lip to prevent any muttering—he could go to various lengths about different religions and their beliefs, along with potential theories—but figured no one would appreciate that.

‘What do you think happens?’ He asked instead.

‘Hmmm.’ She placed a contemplative hand on her chin. ‘Probably… if you’re a good person, you turn into a dog or maybe a butterfly, but if you’re bad, you turn into… a wasp.’

‘A wasp?’

‘Yeah. No one likes wasps.’

‘What about good people who don’t like dogs?’ Fuyumi asked.

‘I guess… then maybe you turn into your favourite animal if you’re good.’ She twirled some of her hair around her finger. ‘And if you’re bad, you turn into something you don’t like.’

‘I can get behind that.’ Izuku agreed, then finally asked what had been on his mind since the start of the interaction. ‘What made you ask the question?’

‘My goldfish died last night.’ Nagisa pouted. ‘Okaasan flushed Floella down the toilet.’

‘That’s sad.’ Izuku frowned.

‘Yes, very.’ She put the hair she was playing with in her mouth and started chewing. ‘Anyway, see you later, sensei.’

Before he could say anything else, she sprinted off to join those playing hopscotch.

‘That was lovely.’ Fuyumi commented, as the two of them watched her go.

‘I think I have whiplash.’ Izuku deadpanned, before finally looking at his phone.

Shoto-kun 🙏 [1239]: Hope it’s going well

Me [1250]: So far so good! How’s work?

Shoto-kun 🙏 [1251]: On my lunch now, so can’t complain

‘Mei-chan, don’t you dare put that worm in your mouth!’ Fuyumi suddenly shouted, before bolting off towards the aforementioned student. ‘It’s every other day with this girl.’

Izuku snorted, then scanned the playground. The rest of the children seemed to be enjoying themselves, whilst most parents chatted with each other around the many picnic benches; some families stayed together, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Me [1253]: Same… 7 more minutes left tho

Shoto-kun 🙏 [1254]: That’s rough buddy

Shoto-kun 🙏 [1254]: What time do you get off?

Izuku furrowed his eyebrows.

‘Have you finished your lunch?’ Fuyumi was suddenly at his side, a little out of breath. When he nodded, she scooped up his container. ‘No problem, I’ll pop these back in the staffroom while you chat up my brother.’

‘I am not-’ He faltered when she quickly sped away out of earshot, then grumbled as he turned back to his phone. ‘I wish.’

Me [1255]: The school day finishes at 3 15 but I won’t be leaving till half past. Why?

He tapped the edge of his phone as he waited for a reply, periodically monitoring the students.

Shoto-kun 🙏 [1257]: Just wondering for when Fuyumi comes home

Izuku tried not to feel disappointed with the answer.

Me [1258]: Fair enough. Anyway, I gotta start rounding up the kids. Speak to you soon!

He quickly put his phone in his pocket and got to his feet.

Once everyone was organised and lunch was officially over, Izuku left the first graders with Fuyumi and jogged back over to the obstacle course, anticipating the fourth graders. In truth, he handled them relatively easily. They were especially boisterous, but the rowdiness didn't manifest into disobedience, and the parents watching from the sidelines cheered them on in good sport.

It wasn't until they left and grade five appeared that Izuku felt anxiety return. He tried not to let it show as he explained the rules to the students, who seemed particularly riled up, as teams All Might and Shoto were currently tying for first place.

'Ugh, I hope those annoying first graders don't ruin it for us!' One rolled his eyes, while his friend groaned with frustration.

'I bet they do! They're so useless!' Hiru hadn't provided him with names, but Izuku knew enough to suspect who the bullies were. 'Especially that mutant porcupine-'

'Have you got something you want to share with everyone?' Izuku interrupted, stern. When the rest of the grade turned to share at the duo, embarrassment flooded their cheeks and they shook their heads. Izuku tried not to pay attention to the way some parents turned to whisper to one another and even point at him. 'Well then, I hope you were discussing the rules, because it’s time to split into teams.'

His smile returned as he continued on with the event. However, his eyes did occasionally scan certain individuals for longer than he usually would.

'Is that him?' He'd hear some of the adults whisper. 'The Quirkless one?'

He'd heard similar questions and hushed comments throughout the day—not all malicious, mainly curious—but right now, Izuku was struggling to ignore them. Maybe it was because there were parents among them who were overtly and dangerously quirkist. Realistically, he knew that he was safe and that he was doing his job to the best of his ability, but he still felt like he was under the spotlight; if he fucked anything up in front of them, then he was setting a bad example for his fellow HQ community.

Luckily, whispers aside, the remaining forty five minutes passed without any incidents, and Izuku exhaled with relief once he was left to pack everything away while the students and parents made their way to the athletics track. It was only a brief interlude—it was easier putting everything away compared to setting it all up this morning—but he welcomed it all the same. It gave him a chance to briefly recharge and gather his bearings.

Once everything was sorted, he—along with a few other teachers who had also been on clean-up duty—jogged over to join the rest of the school. It was loud, many voices cheering and whooping. From the look and sound of it, the third graders were competing, which meant that there were only two more races left.

He hadn't missed the final then.

Izuku spotted the first graders sitting together with Fuyumi, and smiled as he strode over

'How's it going?' He nudged her gently and joined her on the grass, leaning back on his ankles. He tried not to alert the students of his presence so they could enjoy the race. 'Miss anything?'

'Your initial predictions were right, as usual.' She crossed her arms and nodded towards the blackboard by the finish line. 'If team Lemillion win, which looks like it's about to happen, then no matter how team Dynamight do in the grade two race, they still won't be higher than third. That puts our kids competing for the overall first place in the final round.'

'Seriously?' His eyes widened. 'I never expected it to go that smoothly, especially considering I don't know the other grades as well as ours.'

'Yeah, but I distinctly remember walking into your classroom after school to snap you out of your three hour strategizing session because housekeeping was about to kick you out.' Fuyumi shrugged. 'Once you get fixated on something, that's it, so I was pretty confident with what you'd come up with... even if it requires me having to console my poor students after their inevitable defeat.'

'Look, it's not my fault the fastest first grader is in my class.' Izuku grinned when Fuyumi mock sneered at him. 'I just hope it's worth it.'

His friend hummed, but didn't comment further, as the race came to an end. As expected, team Lemillion won—which meant both teams were out of the running for first—but that didn't prevent the second graders from giving it their absolute all in their race for third place. While that was going on though, Izuku tapped his class's four candidates on the shoulder.

'Hey, sensei!' Hana and Tomoyo both exclaimed, while Hiru waved.

'Are you here to escort us to the start line?' Touta asked, straight to the point.

'You bet I am!' He smiled, gesturing for them to get up. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Fuyumi do the same with her students. 'Are you ready?'

'Yes!' They jumped up.

'Do your best!' Haku called out, prompting the rest of the class to shout their good luck.

'I believe in you!' Nozomi pumped her fist. 'Show them what you're made of, Hiru!'

'Gotta go fast!' The aforementioned giggled, as they made their way around the course.

Instead of the typical 400m relay, they had painted a track half the size; therefore, to run a full lap, each student participating would run 50m. It was the ideal size, as it meant everyone had enough space to spectate, including the parents.

By the time they made it to the starting line, the penultimate race concluded, as teams Dynamight and Lemillion shouted accordingly—the cheers outweighing the groans of the losing team. Izuku wasn't quite sure who had won, until he heard Tomoyo inform Touta that Lemiilion had made a last minute comeback and had beat Dynamight by one point.

'Alright, everyone!' The Head announced through a loudspeaker; Izuku winced at the volume. 'Has everyone enjoyed today?' He paused as the field filled with whoops and excited "yeah"s, before continuing. 'It's time for our final race of the day and the battle for first place! Show some support for the first graders!'

Amongst the noise, the students got into position and the first runners were given their baton.

'I was telling the others about how you can start running before your partner gets to you.' Touta informed Izuku. 'That way, there's no stopping, which could slow the race down, but I also told them not to start running too early. Don't worry, we practised yesterday during playtime!'

'Is that so?' Izuku nodded in understanding. 'How did that go?'

'Very well! I'm confident we'll win!' Touta nodded firmly, before getting on the ground into the proper position, unlike the other student, who was just standing normally and side-eyeing him.

Izuku quickly stepped to the side and gave a thumbs up. Anticipation set in as the Head counted them down, and suddenly they were running. Touta—ever idolising Ingenium—had an intense look of concentration as he hand chopped with each stride; somehow not losing the baton.

True to his word, Tomoyo started running as he came closer—not too fast and with her arm stuck out ready—and the transition was fairly smooth. Despite Touta's start, the race was still neck and neck; the class B girl running against Tomoyo was very fast—Izuku could feel Fuyumi’s smirk from here—so they quickly took the lead. His heart almost burst as Tomoyo’s face went red in her attempt to frantically catch up, but it was no use.

It wasn’t over yet though. Once the baton went to Hana, they were able to make back some of the gap. By this point, everyone was cheering and shouting—Izuku included, whilst trying not to let the desperation show in his voice—hoping for victory. Hana did well to pick up their pace, and once Hiru started running, nothing could stop him; he easily overtook his opponent and sprinted towards the finish line. His quills shook where his sports shirt had been modified, his nose bounced with each step, but his face was determined, focusing only on one goal.

Izuku looked around him, searching everyone else’s expressions. Most were watching with amazement, others with delight, whilst those on team Shoto were clutching their heads in anguish. When his eyes scanned over the fifth graders from earlier, he was glad to see them staring at Hiru with wide eyes; their mouths agape with shock. That was progress, at least, and when Hiru crossed the finish line—an easy victory—they punched their fists in the air and cheered with everyone else.

Izuku let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and turned back to Hiru—who was being crowded by the rest of class A—and joined them in their congratulations, making sure to commend the other runners as well. The background noise all mingled into one, so once he'd said his piece, Izuku made his way back to Fuyumi, a smile on his face…

Until he passed the adults.

'To let a mutant participate in this event is ridiculous.' He overheard one of the parents complain. 'They clearly have an unfair advantage.'

‘Exactly! That’s what I’ve been saying for the past three years!’ Another chimed in. 'They should have their own category or something, especially when the normal kids aren't allowed to use their quirks.'

Izuku's jaw tightened and he turned.

'Excuse my intrusion.' His heart pounded against his chest. What was he doing? 'But I hardly think a children's sports day warrants any extra categories based purely on physical attributes—we don’t split the beanbag toss up depending on height, after all. Plus, one member of class B's relay team also had a heteromorph quirk, so I don't think there was any "unfair" advantage.'

'Of course you would think that.' The first parent rolled her eyes. 'Everyone has an advantage over someone quirkless, so it's all the same to you.'

Wow, no hesitation there.

That stung, but Izuku wasn't about to submit.

'I have a joint-honours degree in both teaching and quirk studies, with a postgraduate specialisation in the development of quirks.' He replied, easily. 'So I don't think you can just write me off as not knowing what I'm talking about simply because I'm quirkless, which is a prejudiced argument if I've ever heard one.'

'Well if you're so smart, then you should know about how these genetic mutations are illnesses-'

'Illnesses?' He couldn't help but scoff. 'Do you believe everything Speak Out tell you? Do you know the studies they cite are super dodgy and often anecdotal?'

'That's because the scientists doing peer reviews are politically motivated.'

'No, it's because the studies' methods are shi- rubbish, and the word "illness" is thrown around too liberally.' Izuku remained steadfast. Luckily, they hadn't attracted a crowd yet, but he could tell some of the other parents were looking at them. 'Anyone with critical thinking knows that.'

'Are you saying I have no critical thinking?'

'Well, if the shoe f-'

'Midoriya-sensei.' Fuyumi suddenly appeared at his side, her smile placating. 'Why don't you let me take over? Kimura-san and Shimizu-san’s children are in my class. I'll meet you in the staffroom.'

She looked at him deliberately, but Izuku didn't retreat straight away. He held her gaze for a few seconds first, clearly not happy about the situation.

'Alright.'

Casting the parents one final glance, he took his leave. As he made his way through the crowd though, he clenched his fists tightly and bit the inside of his cheek to prevent any angry muttering.

It's always one step forward, two fucking steps back.

***

'So, you told me to ask again in eight hours.' Fuyumi said as they walked out of the school building. 'How're you doing?'

Izuku sighed, kicking a small stone.

'At least the kids are acting in a friendly way.' He tried to focus on the positives. 'Those fifth graders even called Hiru cool.'

'Yes… But that's not what's on your mind.' Fuyumi stated pointedly. 'It's that conversation with the parents that would’ve escalated if I hadn’t intervened.'

Izuku chuckled humorlessly, still staring at the ground.

'You got me.' He conceded, spreading his palms in surrender. 'It was just so frustrating.'

'I know.' Fuyumi waved at the school caretaker over by the bins, prompting Izuku to also wave politely. 'I wasn't able to talk much sense into them after you left, I'll be honest, but I pointed them to the information session we'll be hosting—they said they'll be there.'

'Yay.'

'You stop that now.' She swatted him without any real malice. 'You were the one who…'

Izuku turned to look at her when she trailed off, only to find her staring at the school gate, mouth agape. Confused, he followed her gaze and baulked when he saw red and white hair.

'Shoto-kun?'

The aforementioned was leant against the wall, still in his hero costume, and scrolling through his phone. When he noticed them approaching, however, he pocketed the device and nodded in greeting.

'What a lovely surprise.' Fuyumi sounded almost amused. 'What brings you to this side of the world?'

'Midoriya told me what time you'd both be finishing, so I thought I'd walk home with you.' Shoto answered easily, like this was perfectly normal behaviour. 'I figured if he was going to scream at me, may as well do it in front of an audience.'

'Scream?' Izuku took a moment to process what he meant. 'Ooooh, the texts. I said I'd scream at him next time I saw him because he used his fire… Good screaming.'

'I was beginning to worry.' Fuyumi snorted. 'Good idea. Izuku could definitely do to let off some steam with a distraction.'

Shoto's expression immediately shifted into concern.

'That bad?'

Izuku sighed.

'I'll tell you about it later, but for now…' He paused for dramatic effect. 'Tell me everything about your fire!'

By the time they parted ways—the Todorokis turning left at the crossroads and Izuku going straight on—he couldn't deny he was definitely in a better mood than he had been an hour ago.

[thekatebridgerton]

I read your post yesterday about if - and how- mad the Bridgertons will be once they know Penelope is LW. You said 50/50… And i’m still confused about your reasoning, because i feel like you don't mention all.. so I decided to send you this message, and I hope you'll respond :-).

You talk about limited impact? How about her being cruel and malicious towards Marina to make herself feel better. (she could've just told Colin, left him a secret note if she was too afraid, why ruin her????) If they kill off Marina later on, it’s due to Penelope’s actions, because Colin would’ve married and they could’ve been happy. Colin probably would be because in s2 he was still in love with her. Also: how is calling Kate a beast and betraying your (best)friend like that, okay??? The Bridgerton’s should be very angry and i’ll hope they will be.

You know I debated on if I should answer this today, considering that I usually answer oldest to newest and there are more than 20 asks ahead of you as we speak.

But you had to go and send a message like this on a monday Morning. (my side of the hemisphere) right before I had my daily dose of chamomile tea, and gosh, I kept wondering what kind of person sends a message this strange on a Monday morning.

My answers came up as follows 1) Someone who got cero sleep on Sunday night and the day before 2) someone who hasn't been treated very nicely by their surroundings in real life 3) Someone who obviously didn't realize their message would reach me on Monday morning, Theory #4) that's the one that would be mildly offensive to hear because there's a chance I may be right about the kind of negative people you've been surrounding yourself by

Admittedly I may be projecting, after all I was kinda sleep deprived when I wrote the post you were talking about. So I went again and read it...And I still don't get what you're talking about. I sounded pretty logical to my ears.

Because remember, the post asked if I thought the Bridgertons would be mad at Penelope, not if I thought her actions were right or wrong.

Note that as a viewer and as a woman I don't hate Marina, I think she's a pretty neat and pragmatic character. But you're about to hear the protective sibling in me throw some Marina slader around. So stop reading and skip this post.

Because this is from the perspective of a protective sibling. Not from the perspective of a woman, or an omniscient viewer, or a friend, or your friendly neighborhood spiderman.

Here's the thing anon, I get that you sound like you don't have siblings over the age of 17 but I do. And moreover I'm very protective and loving towards my siblings. So here's my humble perspective since you were left confused about my reasoning:

If one of my brothers was about to be duped into marrying someone who didn't love him and she was planning on making him take responsibility for children he had no hand in creating. The person who let the gossip out about her, wouldn't be the bad guy in my eyes. Rather, the girl who tried to dupe my brother would. (whether that girl's life was destroyed or not, would be irrelevant, because I care about MY BROTHER, not some stranger who tried to trick him into marriage).

Actually add that to my list of questions dear reader. Why did Daphne care more about Marina than Colin in s1 again? and why does Eloise?. Because as a person, they don't know her or her tragic backstory from Eve, and Colin is their brother, who they're supposed to have loved since diapers.

I'm with Anthony and Benedict on this one. I think the concerned sibling in me, wins out on the women supporting women side of me. If siding with the woman in the situation means my brother gets lied to by some girl who doesn't love him and tricked into step fathering kids. I don't care that my brother loved the girl, she didn't love HIM, and my brother deserves to be loved. So hear me, I'm picking the side that gets my brother out of that mess even if he ends up heartbroken.

And if it turns out that years down the line, that same person who spread gossip about that girl. Ended up marrying said brother. I still wouldn't think she's the bad guy.

Actually I'd probably be more angry if I had to endure a sister in law who tricked my brother into marrying her, despite not loving him and being pregnant with another man's baby.... But If you're okay with a sister in law like that and think your brother would be happy in that marriage, well, that's on you anon.

Me? I'd be pushing my brother to divorce that person as soon as I found out she doesn't love him and lied to him about it.

There's no accounting for one sibling taste in women, but if I had to chose between two evils, I'll take the sister in law who likes to publish people's dirty in her gossip column. Because if worse comes to worse, at least I know that one loves my brother and thinks honesty is the best policy. whatever methods of telling truth she may use. We may even get along in that aspect.

Also If my sister's best friend, published an article about her on the news that said she was hanging out with political radicals in a red light district on the day of MY wedding or any of our sibling's wedding. I wouldn't think my sister's best friend was out of line. I would be ripping off my wedding dress and holding my sister accountable for her behavior. AND then, after talking to my sister, I'd get mad at her best friend for not talking to me about it. But I'd definitely understand why she wouldn't. Because she's my sister's best friend, not mine and I'm older and I've given her no reason to think I'd believe her.

I think the only thing I'd realistically be mad at, would be if that girl spread gossip about one of my sisters not being good enough as a diamond for suitors to be flocking at her side, without my sister ever doing anything to deserve it. Because yeah, that wouldn't fly in my book. That's hurting my siblings feelings just because another one of my siblings is scaring away all her prospects and that's not her fault.

If the girl that's marrying my brother had her fun spreading gossip about people who aren't me and my family. I realistically wouldn't be mad at her. Not really. Why would I be?

Furthermore if she called my brother's girlfriend a beast, before that woman was even my brother's girlfriend, why would I be angry about it, it's not like I knew my brother liked that person back then.

So when I say it's a 50/50 what I mean to say is that to big families gossip is really easy to get over when there's another thing for people to talk about later on.

Yes people usually remember stuff 20 years down the line, but in big families we all know the aunt or the girlfriend or the cousin who used to be a gossip before she married in (the cult) the family. There's the uncle who has tattoos, and the other one who was in a country band. Everyone who marries in, had their own past, so chill.

In fact if you're from a big tight knit family, we all know stuff from everybody, and yeah we all gossip about it. Doesn't mean we love each other any less, or that we wouldn't beat up anyone who lets the story outside the family walls. But if my sister got caught by a paparazzi sneaking out of our brother's wedding to go to a political rally, excuse me but I'll hold her accountable, not the press, and then maybe I'll have a laugh with my mom about it when the fuss dies down. that's just how families are, or maybe that's just my experience with mildly functional ones.

I can't be the only one from a big family who wouldn't be mad if my brother ended up marrying Lady Whistledown. Because gossip comes and goes. But if someone really loves your sibling and you all as his family by extension, a lot of stuff can be forgiven, including what that girl has said in her gossip column.

But maybe that's just me. Dear readers with siblings you don't totally hate (and maybe even love). give me your opinion.

[cotecoyotegrrrl]

Once Upon A Time - Still Kind Of Beautiful

Not exactly a holiday story

Sorry it's taken me so long to post the last chapter, work has been exploding getting ready for winter break and the end of the year.

You can find of this story in its entirety on A03 and FF

Part 4 

She hadn’t meant to do it. Not any of it. Not at all. But seeing Gail so close last night, actually touching her, holding her if even for just one moment opened a door Holly couldn’t seem to close. She knew that it was stupid, unscientific, impulsive, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. Gail Peck felt like home.

An endless amount of teasing had already begun yesterday when her sister discovered she had made a date with Traci at the Penny to meet Gail’s daughter that night. Holly had tried to brush it off as taking a professional interest in a young woman who was important to Traci, and wanted to join her field of expertise. But her sister wasn’t fooled.

“Oh my God Holly! Just stop stalking her and talk with her already!” Laurel commented, with a superior smirk, when Holly told her where she were going last night, “What is this, Junior High School?!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not stalking Gail! I’m meeting her daughter Sophie, Traci’s niece, to talk about her first year of pre-med at McGill!” Holly tried to sound indignant, even though she knew Laurel was right.

“Then why do you know exactly who and what I’m talking about when I haven’t even mentioned her name?” Laurel continued, raising one pointed eyebrow.

She was busted!

“Oh look! You’re blushing! That’s so cute!” Laurel laughed right in her face as the room suddenly became unbearably hot.

“I am not!” Holly sulked.

Later that night she was hoping her sister would be asleep when she got home, but no such luck. Laurel fixed her with a knowing stare when she “had that look in her eye” as she came in the door.

“You saw her, didn’t you.”

Holly shrugged, adjusting her glasses, smiling dreamily, not wanting to tell her sister she had actually hugged Gail this time.

“Seriously Holly, when are you going to stop pining away, and either ask Gail for another chance, or get over her? It’s only been ten years of this stupidity!” Laurel continued.

“I’m not pining away! And I have had other relationships, Ms. Smartypants!” Holly protested weakly.

“Whatever you say Holly. Then why do you always find an excuse to ditch perfectly nice women after no more than six months together? And why is it, on any given day, I could ask you what Gail has been up to, and you would know, and be able to give me a detailed answer?” Laurel needled her with a wry expression.

Holly sighed and declined to answer, concluding that it was probably best to say nothing in response. Her sister had, of course, been right. She always, annoyingly, was.

Gail still smelled the same, like sandalwood, and baking cookies, and coffee. It was intoxicating! Holly had almost forgotten, until last night. And now it’s all she could think about. It had driven her into the car with a weak excuse about checking out the new facilities at the morgue, only to find herself here, at Gail’s door. Like a woman possessed, climbing the front stairs, ringing the bell, feeling foolish, hoping no one is home, and praying that Gail is here all at once, Holly feels so out of control. When the door opens, the sight of Gail wearing her old blue hoodie, the one she left at Gail’s place a decade ago makes Holly’s heart skip a beat. It makes her ramble, and stutter, and stumble. As Gail catches her reflexively to stop her from completely falling, she can feel Gail’s arms tighten around her waist, pulling her closer than necessary. She can feel Gail’s heart beating right through her sweater. Looking up into those clear blue eyes, Holly knew she was a goner. She hadn’t meant to do it, but Gail’s lips are like a magnet, drawing her in.

The kiss is hungry, starving really, as she buries her hands in Gail’s hair and her tongue in Gail’s mouth. She hears the front door slam behind them, as Gail moans and sighs into her. Her knees begin to buckle at the sound. And just like that, Gail’s body is slamming her up against the nearest wall. She came here to talk, to try to catch Gail alone, to see if they could find a way to start over, or at least be friends, and yet somehow, they ended up like this. Maybe this is how they are meant to communicate, she thinks fleetingly, like a lightning strike in a forest, burning off the old to allow for new growth. It takes her back to interrogation rooms, and bathtubs, and her old office at the morgue, not that she’s complaining. Not when every cell in her body is on fire and rejoicing in the same way she is sure a wilting plant reacts to water. She can feel herself breaking, years of regret, and disappointment, and holding herself back, come crashing down at their feet, and pouring out from beneath her closed eyelids as Gail’s fingers slide inside her sweater and her coat, pushing them to the floor with a soft thud, without breaking the kiss. Salty, bittersweet tears flow onto Holly’s mouth changing the taste of Gail’s tongue from want to need, as she realizes with a gasp that Gail is weeping too. Cool, soft hands slide up her back, under her shirt, pulling her closer still, leaving a trail of fire on her skin. They are melting together, gasping, and shaking and clutching desperately at each other. Smoldering brown eyes open to lock with the blue grey storm that pierces her very soul. In this moment there is only them, there is only this.

“Oh my God… MOTHER!” The anguished cry rings out behind them, as the front door slams open breaking the spell.

Gail’s lips are ripped from hers and a cold breeze from the open door hits her like a slap where Gail’s body has just been. Holly lurches to her feet, awkwardly attempting to straighten her blouse, and put herself back together as she watches the scene before her unfold. Sophie standing wide eyed, mouth agape with shock in the doorway of Gail’s home, looking in horror from her to Gail and back before pushing roughly past them and running up the stairs, giving Holly a disdainful look as she goes.

“Sophie?” Gail calls softly to her daughter.

A bedroom door slams upstairs.

“Gail…” Traci begins, standing breathlessly on the doorstep, also looking from Gail to Holly and back, but with big motherly eyes this time.

“Don’t.” Gail warns her away with a vague wave of her hand.

The bedroom door slams again and Sophie descends scowling murderously at them all.

“Sophie! Where are you going young lady?” Gail commands, hands on her hips.

“What do you care?” Sophie shoots back, grabbing a very confused Leo by the arm. “Out! With people who I’m not interrupting! Come on Leo!”

Leo gives them all an apologetic half shrug and smile as he allows Sophie to drag him to her car.

“Sophie Katrina Peck! You get your ass back in this house right this second!” Gail storms after her, only to be stopped by Traci’s hand on her arm.

“Let her go.” Traci says quietly.

“Fuck!” Gail’s whole body deflates as she watches Sophie and Leo speed away in Sophie’s Honda Civic.

She digs the heels of her hands into her eyes as she sits abruptly on the stairs,

“She’ll be alright. At least Leo is with her.” Traci says quietly.

“Maybe I should go.” Holly says softly, getting her feet beneath her, feeling like her chest has been stomped on by an elephant.

“Don’t you dare!” Gail’s hand shoots out to grab her wrist hard, and then turning to glare at Traci, “What are you guys doing home so early? I thought your movie ended at five.”

“We went to The Human Genome Project at the Museum of Science instead.” Traci says with a shrug.

“Oh.” Gail says looking sadly up at her.

“She heard that Holly had a part in putting it together and wanted to impress her by having seen it.” Traci replies  “Great.” Holly sighs, “And now she hates me.”

“No, but I do think she has a school girl crush on you, and walking in on you making out with her Mom may have burst her bubble.” Traci says with a smirk.

“Oh. That.” Holly shakes her head with a sad smile

“She does know about your past with Holly, right Gail?” Traci says as gently as she can.

“Nope.” Gail hangs her head and won’t look at either one of them.

“O – Kay…” Traci sighs

Gail continues, “ It… ah… never came up..? I mean it’s not like I’ve really dated anyone since I’ve had her.”

“No one?” Holly asks quietly.

“Nope.” Gail says, turning to face her, “She lost everything when her mom died, and I wasn’t going to bring someone else into our lives, just to have them leave and break her heart.”

“Oh.” Holly says sadly, feeling the impact of Gail’s words like a punch to her solar plexus.

“I’m sorry.” Gail says, seeing the pain register on her face, “I didn’t say that to hurt you, Holly.”

“That’s ok. I might kind of deserve it if you did.” Holly replies, deflated, unable to meet Gail’s eyes.

Traci clears her throat, “As much as I hate to break this up, I’m going to go home and wait to hear from Leo there. You two have a lot to talk about. And remember Gail, everyone deserves the chance to be happy, even you.”

“Thanks Traci.” Gail gets up to give her an unexpected hug, “I’ll call you when Sophie comes home.”

“You’re a good mother Gail.” Traci says as they part. “You know that, right? And I’ll see you later Holly!”She turns to go with a smile.

Gail is still pacing, and Holly can tell that her mind is running about a million miles an hour like a hamster wheel going nowhere. It’s the sheer helplessness she feels that keeps her glued to the couch in silence, watching Gail pace instead of getting up and reaching for her. Helplessness and guilt. Why did she think she and Gail ever stood a chance? She isn’t sure why she’s still here, but Gail insisted that she stay.

It’s nearly seven o’clock when the front door finally opens and Sophie comes storming in.

“What is she still doing here?” She demands in an icy tone, glaring at Holly.

“Sophie, “ Gail turns to face her daughter. Her tone is hard, but her eyes hold a softness Holly has rarely seen before, “She’s here because you invited her to dinner, and because she is my friend.”

“A friend. So that’s what you call it.” Sophie scoffs.

“That’s right.” Gail counters. “Or at least I hope we are.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” Sophie glares at her.

Gail sighs and sags a little, “It’s complicated, Kitten. When I got you Holly had just moved to San Francisco, and you needed someone who would always be there, and I knew I couldn’t divide myself between the two of you if I was going to be able to be the parent you needed.”

The air has grown thick and hot making it hard for Holly to breathe around the growing lump in her throat and the pressure behind her eyes.

“But you’re right Sophie, Holly and I were never just friends.” She concludes, moving over to stand by Holly sitting on the couch.

“Is that why you never date anyone?” Sophie asks, crossing her arms.

“In part.” Gail reaches out to squeeze Holly’s shoulder. “And in part because I wanted to give you the most stable environment I could growing up.”

“Oh.” Sophie says, chewing on her lower lip, like Gail does some times.

“While I’m sorry you got upset by walking in on something you weren’t supposed to see, I’m not sorry that Holly is here.” Gail squeezes Holly’s shoulder again, and smiles at her for the first time.

“Ok…” Sophie says cautiously.

“I know we all have so much to talk about, but right now I’m starving! So go get ready for dinner young lady!” Gail says finally.

“Yes Mom.” Sophie turns and goes almost meekly up stairs.

As she leaves Holly gets up as well, the emotional rollercoaster of the day leaving her drained and exhausted.

“Maybe I should go…” She begins softly, looking into Gail’s clear blue eyes.

Gail reaches for her then, kissing her tenderly with soft lips as she cradles Holly’s head in her hands.

“Stay.” She whispers into her lips.

This is the one word Gail never said to her before, the one word that could have changed the course of their lives so long ago. Knowing with all her heart that there is no other choice, she can only nod and kiss Gail back, powerless to do anything else, come what may.

[prnanxiety]

12/13/23

Gave a haircut to someone for the very first time in my life! This post was actually due yesterday, I just forgot to do it.

It was actually for our guy who's been served his papers for a more than one year term on our unit. He's been really pissed since he lost his bid for his freedom, enough so that he put a staff member in a headlock.

Yet the staff still manage to be sympathetic to the guy. Nobody wants to be in his shoes; he just needs to find placement at an outside facility so he can leave. He would have been gone months ago if it were that simple. But since he's too psychotic to live on his own, he can't just be let out the door, legally. Even though at this point a lot of the staff kind of want to just let him out, free willy style.

We're all aware that the system's failed him. There's no hiding it. He's closing in on four months locked in a unit designed to keep people about a week, with no end in sight. And he doesn't want to talk to any of us because he doesn't think he can trust us. So he spends all day, sincerely 22 hours of his day, lying in bed, lights off, doors closed. Sometimes he skips every meal.

But yesterday, after his fight, for some reason he wanted a haircut. In fact, he was engaging with staff and the other patients more. He actually sat at a table in front of the TV out of his room for a few hours and talked about previous jobs he'd had, and about how "Tax time" was coming soon. Some of it was delusional talk that I won't get into here, but he smiled! He laughed! And he asked me for a haircut, of all things! What was I gonna do, say no?

Okay, maybe that would have been a smart call, since he did just attack someone. But I gave him the simple run down; Gotta get a doctor's permission, if I feel the need to stop at any time I'm going to stop, and I want you to have realistic expectations because I'm not a barber. But he was fine, because he just wanted to be completely bald and shaved. So I grabbed an electric clippers and had at it.

It wasn't lost on me that, for as close and careful as I was with him, at any given time he could have grabbed me or swung at me. But he never did! He was completely chill the whole time, let me know if I missed a spot he wanted to get, let me know if I was hurting him, etc. Poor scalp was all dandruff; the technician knew where some moisturizer was to treat that.

When it was all over my charge nurse pulled me into the med room and scolded me. "We don't normally do that here, because now all the other patients are asking why they can't have haircuts." But, damn, I mean... So long as they have realistic expectations and they want us to do it, and cooperate with us, Can't we give them cuts, too?

[grambini]

Field Notes- Rüdiger "Odin" Torvik

Some shrink told me to start writing down my thoughts during operations. Said it would help with the flashbacks or some other kind of psychological bullshit. Feels like I'm writing a damn diary if you ask me. Oh well, doctor's orders am I right?

Day 1:

We came to our destination late last night. 'Area was clear, the others went and camped out at the safe house while my operation had just gotten started. But wait, I'm supposed to be telling you how I'm feeling, correct? This isn't some mission report, huh?

Alright fine, here you go, doc. I'm tired. I haven't slept in more than 48 hours. The grease paint on my eyes makes them stick together worse when I can barely keep them open as is, but ain't no way I'm closing them anytime soon. Other than the constant nagging nightmares, my operation is more involved than the commissioned jævler you have back on base. I'm not even part of your jævla unit, but if I want to get my money I had to promise to make these damn reports. But I digress, you got on to my ass for using too much profanity in my last entry already. Back to the sappy stuff even if it makes me feel like Å drite seg ut.

Day 2:

I officially separated off the main unit last night. Took more of their rations than I meant to (someone smuggled a bottle of bourbon so don't shoot me for taking it). Anyway, I'm posted next to the objective location. I'm sure the others would be bitching and moaning about the cold right now, especially that squat one named Frost. Ironic though, isn't it? How am I supposed to write about my feelings if I myself don't even understand them?

Day 10:

Large skip in days, huh doc? I guess now is better a time than never to really "let down my walls" as you call them. Dritt hit on day 3 of the operation. The enemy knew that the little task force was coming and ambushed them. I could hear the shots from my recon point miles away. By the time I made it back to base to give the drittunge my help, they had already scattered like mice. So naturally I followed your English ways of doing things and called in what happened. They told me to keep at it. Said I was a "wild card" because they didn't know I was here. So yes, it is just me out here in the middle of fucking nowhere. Oddly enough though, it feels like home. I've taken the rest of the rations left by the unit and have been surviving off those. The enemy is still on alert. 'Thinking your force is going to regroup and try again. Uff! Like they would ever do something so noble. I've still got a check waiting to be cashed once this operation is over, so there isn't any room for me to turn tail like your little posse did.

-a large expertly drawn hand giving the middle finger is drawn-

Day 25:

Things are finally moving forward. Funny how one man can make two weeks' worth of rations last 20 days. Just kidding. Still, my spirits are high. Killed a couple of the svin yesterday. They let down their guard finally, so I plan on tonight being my last night here. I was given permission to do whatever necessary to get the intel I was sent here for. Why else would an organization hire a mercenary? Still, this might be my last entry and you'll find this book on my cold dead body. Or I'll be seeing you in a week where you'll psychoanalyze every word I write and the way I write it. My answer still stays the same. I'm not translating my language for you. Let me have some of my words not get banned by your posh preference of vocabulary. Uff! Even that sounded like something you'd say. So... Faen!

Day 30:

Turns out I needed more than a day. There were more of them than I thought. Like breaking down walls in an old house and hundreds of mice scampering away. I had to resort to blowing up their entire base including me. found the perfect little detonation spot. Stockpiled all their grenades and other explosives as well as their fuel tanks in a single location close to the middle of the building they occupied. 'Was on my way out when one of them decided to take a look at the racket I was making in the middle of the night. It was about time too. I started at 2300 and finished at about 3000. Luckily I got the drive before I finished my explosive pile. Un-luckily(?) I had to detonate myself with it. Got thrown a couple yards away in the blast and managed to bust my leg pretty good. I was able to get far enough from the location so if they did send reinforcements I wouldn't be found.

Day 31:

They say that people can change. But can they really? I've done so many things in my life. My crimes started when I was young. I've learned every underhanded war tactic there is. Using my training and knowledge to commit so many atrocities Normally I can keep them inside. Keep them hidden within me. What am I even saying? This mission has made me soft. No, not soft. But aware of what I've done. Are these the "walls" you were talking about, doc? Anyway. I've slowly been dragging myself towards the extraction point.

Day 33:

I stumbled upon an abandoned church today. 'Couldn't help myself but to go inside. There are skeletons everywhere. The place looks like it must have been ransacked long ago. A piano was at the far end of the room. Completely ruined and wasting away. All the keys were worn and broken. None made a sound. But yet, as I played I could hear the music clearly. The song my mother always played sounded in my ears as I pressed down on the stiff keys. It took me back to those quiet warm evenings. I would finish with my tutoring and sneak down the stairs to listen to her play. My sister would also join me on the stairs, hidden in the corner. When she played thinking that no one was around, it would feel like her feelings would merge with the songs and it would take flight, carrying you away with it to her world. It wouldn't last long though, once she learned she had an audience she'd quickly usher us down and turn back into a teacher rather than a mother. The music she played would give us more warmth and comfort than any of her lessons. Sometimes I wonder where I'd be if the accident never happened. If my life was never turned upside down. Would it still feel as empty as it does now? Feeling the cold from having a family without affection, or the cold from the winter plains somewhere in Russia.

Day 40:

I got a message from base today. They'll be picking me up at 2100.