#i think i did alright? it was mostly like situation based with some technical questions thrown in there and i did okay

[skeletons-in-ur-closet]

yall why was my interview panel 10 people today

[phosphorus-noodles]

ok so basically- uhm.

// tw for child abuse. among other things. but not super in depth 👍

so callum lives in this empire called silver hills. if you look on a map of canon empires there's a mountain range in the bottom right corner, it's there. it's an underground cave based empire full of bats and cave dwelling type creatures and their export is precious gemstones and rocks and things like that (not really goblands though, more dwarven than goblin almost??)

callum is a prince there (about a year or so older than oli and joel) and is like. a fox bat hybrid?? i think? but he's technically a sentient rock because royals are born from magic rocks. or something like that. i don't really remember but it's not that important,

anyways. callum's life sucks. like a lot. lives in a cave with no sunshine etc and is not let out ever bc his parents are awful. like physically abusive and violent awful. like joel has some mental stuff going on but this is worse in many other ways by a very large margin. and he's stuck there like a caged animal and it's sad. idk how to describe it so you can use your imagination. but the situation is Bad

silver hills has very few allies bc they're very reclusive + hate everyone + everyone hates them, but they do have an agreement with wind chime valley to get fresh produce so their citizens don't starve and die. but like. no one dares get closer than that bc they have a bloody and brutal reputation as an empire

-

so my original thought for a storyline thing was at some point when oli is maybe 7ish he hears about martyn/ren (head of state(?)/army) leaving to make a brief business deal in a far away dangerous kingdom he's never heard of and oli's like ohh. i want in on that actually. and sneaks along with them to go visit this scary place

SOMEHOW he runs into callum, and is like "!! oh! a new friend to play with!" and convinces him (or drags him) outside bc the caves are too gloomy for his whimsical energy. is this a very bad idea? yes. but seven y/o hyperactive oli is very persistent (and callum is probably like a learned helplessness dog that's like well. this might as well happen, since punishment is coming anyway. sad :()

so oli introduces him to the wonders of being Above Ground and the forest and it's fun for a second until he realizes callum is just standing there petrified with fear and he's like "oh wait something is wrong" and then he hears his stomach growling and sees he's covered in scars with some fresh ones still healing and he's like "?! oh there's REALLY something wrong here what HAPPENED to you ?? D:"

he definitely tries to help him as much as he can, but there's only so much you can do when you're a seven year old in an unfamiliar place you're not even supposed to know about. and he probably tries to go back on different occasions to sneak him snacks and make sure he's alright as he can be but it's hard when you're a kid and it's a long distance and still dangerous etc etc. but he is very much attached to this poor fox boy now. it's not necessarily a romantic seepeasound (bc they're little kids) but they're definitely still close. they care about each other :(

-

now. this is hard to make fully canon to my au for a few reasons. mostly bc it's distracting from the "central point" being oli n joel, since this happened before the boys had even met. i do think it would be kind of interesting for oli's character since later on he's really good at calming joel down (it's mostly in my unseen wips atm. just trust me) like ohh ok he learned that from helping callum in the past that's cool. but then there's the question of why did he stop doing that and what happened to callum, which i don't really want to address dhfjdfd... and surely oli would've told his parents "HEY there's this kid that needs our HELP" and it would be a much bigger deal overall but it's not really central to the story

i guess i could sort of justify callum disappearing one day with his kingdom being super restrictive and reclusive, like they just went into lockdown one day and no one has heard from them since, but that almost creates the vibes of a dark past full of regrets for oli and i'm not sure i vibe with that a whole lot?? it just makes things more convoluted than they need to be. also idk how to write callum at all lol

and all that combined with the fact that while i came up with a lot of this au as it now stands most of the core concepts and the entire subplot with callum came from someone else, and even though i feel like i've created enough of a 'spinoff' to justify calling this my own au now it doesn't feel right to use this part since it wasn't mine at all really, and the person who did make it doesn't really like me now. so y'know. but it is interesting to think about sometimes...

(@unguidedhand there you go <3)

does anyone want to hear about callum (and seepeasound by extension) from my empires au.... it's not going to be canon anymore i don't think but i was thinking about it again

[erimeows]

Dreaming Of You

Rough, grey lips on his, large servos resting on his hips, and ruby red optics trained on his sky blue ones seemed to haunt Optimus’s dreams more and more.

Maybe it was some weird manifestation of the new stress that had come to his life since Megatron had been rebuilt, or maybe it was just the deep, dark desires he had for the affection he’d been craving for so many light years finally taking over his processor and giving themselves away to him in the form of Megatron of all mechs.

Either way, he hated it; the dreams. They were too risque and too much about a Decepticon he should’ve absolutely despised for him to confide in any of his teammates about it, but they were too incessant to get rid of, so he was simply... Stuck.

Optimus was sure that he was dying inside when he jolted awake on the living room couch, sitting straight up as his optics shot open. This dream had been particularly bad; something blurry about him and Megatron sharing a berth, him tangled up in the warlord’s arms and falling asleep against his chest.

Weirdly enough, he found himself craving that.

Due to the sheer everything happening on planet earth, he had been so stressed that he hadn’t been able to recharge properly, and all he wanted was another bot to lull him to sleep, maybe cuddle with him a bit and sing to him or tell him a story, but he didn’t have anyone like that, humans were too small and hard to socialize with, and his team was off limits since they were technically subordinates.

He hadn’t even realized he’d fallen asleep on the couch until he woke up there, clearly panicked until his optics landed on Bumblebee, who was staring at him with a concerned look etched into his face plates.

Optimus knew that, considering the dream he just had, he probably looked like he’d seen a ghost- though that probably would’ve been better than what actually happened. Falling asleep on the couch had most definitely been a result of his exhaustion, because all he remembered was that one second, he was sitting on the couch to calm down, and the next, he was asleep.

”Optimus? Bossbot? Prime? You good?” Bumblebee asked, getting up and in Optimus’s face. The red and blue bot could only stand up and shake his head.

”Uh... Yeah. Definitely... Just don’t think I’ll be recharging for a while-” After realizing what he said, he quickly cut himself off with a sharp sigh before continuing again. “Never mind. I’m going on a walk.”

With that, Optimus left, ignoring any of the stares he got from his teammates as he walked outside the base, and walked, and walked. He didn’t even think about where he was going, simply listening to his instincts and allowing them to guide him. 

The walk had been intended to clear his head, but as he reached a weirdly familiar looking forest, he realized that his thoughts were only growing more and more convoluted, spark pounding against his chest plates.

Oh, shit. He was right by the Decepticon base.

Why would his processor- no, his spark, he could feel it- lead him here of all places? What the hell was wrong with him? He was almost certain that his exhaustion was making him go crazy.

Right when he thought the situation couldn’t get any worse, he heard a deep, smooth, baritone voice in his audials that made them twitch.

“Autobot... How did you find me?” When Optimus turned around, Megatron was just... There. Sitting on the grass, back against a tree, arms crossed over his chest and one leg crossed over the other in front of him. “Why are you not fighting me?”

That was a good question. Megatron was just staring at him, too, clearly waiting, ruby burning into sky blue, almost as if the Decepticon was challenging him with his optics, a smirk on his kissable lips. Optimus knew he should’ve either ran or tried to apprehend Megatron right there, but he found that he couldn’t even move.

Their relationship was weird. Even though they were sworn enemies, all Optimus could do during battle was stare at him, and Megatron did the same in return- it was almost as if there was some sort of draw that they had to each other, but as hard as he tried to resist it, it wouldn’t go away, and he was sick of resisting it.

“Megatron.”

“I feel as if I should be concerned,” Megatron mumbled, sitting up again and quirking an optical ridge. “You aren’t fighting me, but I also don’t feel inclined to attack you, and you seem exhausted... Do you need to recharge? I’ll be surprised if you don’t drop to the ground any nanoklik now.”

“Mhm,” Was all Optimus could give in response, able to feel himself grow increasingly drowsy with each second that passed. Megatron’s voice only made it worse, and before he even realized what he was doing, Optimus found himself laying on the ground next to Megatron and laying his head over the warlord’s warm thighs, optics fluttering shut.

It was wrong, and he was sure it would come to bite him in the ass, but it was also exactly what he needed. 

“What the hell... Alright. This is fine, I suppose, we can do this and then pretend it never happened... Just for a little while,” Megatron sighed and rested a servo on Optimus’s helm, gently petting one of the Autobot’s audials, and though it was a touch far more intimate than it should’ve been, he couldn’t help how his engines purred at the affection he’d been craving from another since he arrived on earth. “I could even tell you a story. Once upon a time, on a planet far away, there was a strong, powerful warlord with a cold spark, but that all changes when...”

And, as Optimus fell into recharge, he found that the last thing he heard was Megatron’s voice in his audials, lulling him to sleep- just like he needed.

When Optimus Prime woke up, he was no longer laying on the ground of the forest with his head rested across the expanse of Megatron’s thick thighs, but on the berth in Ratchet’s med bay, the team medic hovering around him, optics raking up and down his chassis.

All he could remember was sleeping on Megatron, but if he was in the med bay-

Optics wide, the Prime looked at himself up and down. No bandages, no wounds, no pain anywhere... Actually, he felt perfectly fine minus the lingering sleepiness, so why was he here?

“Prime, what happened?” Ratchet demanded, sitting down at the stool next to the med berth and scrutinizing Optimus carefully.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“You stormed off base and everyone was concerned when you didn’t come back after a few hours, so we split into teams and came looking for you. I found you in that forest near the Decepticon base a day later, sleeping on Megatron of all mechs,” A day. He’d slept for an entire day, and his teammates had caught him... He could only hope and pray that they didn’t realize exactly what was going on with him. “So what happened? Did he incapacitate you or did you do it... Willingly? You were out for a while.”

“I uh... I don’t know how to describe it,” Optimus murmured, not wanting to admit that it was fully optional and that he’d given in to his newfound desire to have Megatron, if only for a little bit. “I was just so tired when I left. I don’t know... Don’t remember anything too clearly, I probably stayed in recharge for so long because I was exhausted. Actually, I still feel pretty tired, but is everyone okay? Did anything else happen?”

“Yeah, they’re fine. Megatron left as soon as he saw us, the cowardly dolt... It was weird though, that he didn’t kidnap you or try to attack any of us- you were asleep, and it was just me and Sari, so he could’ve overpowered us if he played his cards right. Maybe he was in a rush to get somewhere else.”

“Makes sense.”

And no, it didn’t make sense- nothing Megatron had done during the course of that made sense; not him being so kind to Optimus, letting him sleep on his lap, telling him a berthtime story, and sparing his teammates- all of it was weird and fucked up, and he found that he almost missed when things were simpler, when Megatron was nothing but a blown up body and a half-working helm in Isaac Sumdac’s basement-lab.

“I doubt that it’s anything serious, but I have a couple questions for you, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Go ahead,” Optimus tried to act calm, but his face plates were burning red and his vents were producing nervous crackles that were loud enough for both he and Ratchet to hear.

“Have you had any odd dreams recently during your recharges? Since Megatron got his body rebuilt, I mean.”

“Uh... Yeah,” The blue and red bot trailed off, gulping.

How did Ratchet know? Was he that obvious?

“Tell me about them.”

“I’d rather not-”

“Trust me, it’s important that I know these things. Medic’s honor, I won’t disclose what you’re about to tell me to anyone.”

“I have a lot of dreams about Megatron,” Optimus confessed with a sigh. Surprisingly, Ratchet looked like he was almost expecting that answer, nodding. “Mostly just meeting him in that forest or a berth, sleeping... Sometimes we talk and do other more unmentionable things.”

“I wonder...” The medic paused with a hum and tapped his digits against the med berth.

“Just what are you thinking, Ratchet?”

“It’s incredibly rare, but occasionally, when two Cybertronians who have a lot of chemistry encounter each other, they develop what’s known as a spark pull. It’s nothing like a spark bond- not even close, but it just means that the two are uniquely bound to each other in a way until they either bond or have a falling out that kills their chemistry. It’s like the soulmate concept that Sari and some of the other humans talk about in their romantic stories.”

“So... What does that mean? Am I going to be okay? Is there anything I can do to get rid of it?” Optimus asked, tilting his head. He was a bit panicked, as this was a whole new thing that he didn’t know how to handle, but at least there was a somewhat scientific explanation for his feelings instead of them just existing. 

“There’s no need to worry about it, Prime, you’re perfectly healthy minus the lack of rest you get- which you need to work on, by the way- but you’ll be fine. Unless you bond with Megatron- you better not- there’s no getting rid of it, considering that the two of you should already hate each other.”

“I, um... Symptoms? Are there any aside from what I already know?”

“There hasn’t been a lot of research done on it since bonding is generally looked down upon in Autobot City where all of our medical studies get funded on Cybertron, but from what I’ve seen and heard... You’ll intuitively be able to ‘feel’ where Megatron is when he’s in close proximity, have a desire to go near and look at him whenever possible, have dreams about him like you’ve already been experiencing, and going through a sort of physical and mental ‘weakness’ when he’s around- from what you’ve described, your weakness is just allowing yourself to be vulnerable and relaxed around him, which is actually quite common... Shame you can’t allow yourself to do that with who he is, but it is what it is.”

It was a lot to take in all at once, but Optimus found that he handled it surprisingly well as he stood up from the med berth and stretched his joints.

“Anything else I should know?” 

There was something new lighting his spark; a pounding, circuit-wrenching want that began to consume him. Now that he knew where his feelings were stemming from, he couldn’t help but want to interact with Megatron again, just to see if the older mech was feeling what he was feeling, and to see if he knew what was going on between the two of them as well.

His instinct was telling him to go back to the forest.

“No, that about covers it, so you’re free to go whenever... But Prime?”

“Yeah?” The blue and red bot looked at Ratchet, who was staring right into his spark, it seemed.

“Don’t go after him when you leave. I know you want to.”

“...Okay.”

Only, that’s exactly what Optimus did. The second he was out of the med bay, he was sneaking out through one of the hallway windows and running as if his life depended on it, passing through the busy city scenery of Detroit until he reached the more rural area that the forest was located in. He was staring at the ground as he ran so fast that his engines were revving with the force it took to keep him going, but he got so consumed in where his spark was telling him to go that  he bumped into someone-

“Be more careful, you insolent f-...” Megatron’s voice flooded his audials the second that the older mech’s arms were wrapped around his small body to catch him, pulling him against a hard, broad chest. Optimus looked up at the warlord, optics going wide and face burning bright red. Oh, it’s just you, little Autobot... How did you find me again?”

Megatron’s question was filled with confusion, those ruby red optics slightly squinted and full of uncertainty.

“I, uh... Do you know what spark pulls are?” Optimus stammered and earned a groan from the Decepticon in return.

“You’re kidding.”

“I wish I were, but no one else is here and that nap last time was the best recharge I’ve had in lightyears. Do you mind?”

“...I suppose not,” Megatron sighed and let go of Optimus, then moved to lay down on the grass and stare up at the clouds. Optimus, albeit a bit awkwardly, laid down next to the mech, resting his helm on his chest- right over the purple, glaring Decepticon symbol that he should’ve detested, but instead found himself cuddling into.

“Why don’t you finish that story you started the other day?”

“A-Alright, but only because I’m feeling quite generous today. As I’d been saying last time, once upon a time, on a planet far away, there was a strong, powerful warlord with a cold spark, but that all changes when he meets a kind, passionate warrior from an opposing faction. At first, the two are against each other, but the warlord quickly realizes that something about the warrior has caught his interest, and before he knows it, he’s falling in love...”

Before Optimus could pipe up and ask any questions, he was falling into a peaceful recharge yet again, dreams of Megatron already plaguing his processor.

[feralthoughtdump]

Only Angel

Part Two of Kiss With A Fist

On the way to Madripoor, Bucky and his acquaintance talk about names. 

Word Count: 5.5K

CW: violence, talk of killing people, TFATWS ep. 3 spoilers, stitching wounds, smut, unprotected sex, sub!bucky, technically a reader x bucky but he gives her a new name.

“So, we’re headed to Madripoor?” She questions, adjusting the straps of her harness.

Bucky adverts his eyes as she unbuttons her jeans, not answering her question, but she doesn’t seem to notice. They were standing in the back of the jet, a curtain obscuring the two of them from Sam and Zemo. 

“Help me really quick. I have a holster in my bag.” 

He reaches into her light blue duffle back, rifling through the articles of clothing and various weapons until his finger wraps around the leather.

“Thanks, you’re a godsend.” She chuckles. “Tell me about this mission of ours. I need to know what I should wear.” 

“We’re going undercover. Zemo is just… Zemo, Sam’s going as some big shot, and I’m… well-“

“The Winter Soldier?” 

He silently nods. 

“You scared?” 

She buckles the holster around her thigh, tightening it so it slightly squeezes at the flesh.

“Not sure.” He grumbles. “I’m worried, you know, I might end up..” his words trail off.

“Relapsing?”

“You can say that.”

She pulls her jeans down past her ankle and places them into her bag.

He clears his throat and looks away, unsure if she’s okay with him looking.

“Oh, don’t be shy, Buck.” She hymns, reaching into her bag. “What do you think? Shorts or a dress?” 

He looks back up, eyeing the black slip dress in one hand, and the leather shorts in the other. 

“Shorts I guess. Easy mobility.” 

“Smart.” 

As she’s pulling the shorts up past her waist, Bucky stares out the plane window. 

“Do you still go by Angel of Death?” He asks.

She looks up at him. 

“I never chose to go by that name, you know? The public did.” Her hands dig into the bag, pulling out a gun and a few knives. “Angels of death are serial killers in caregiver positions and I have nobody under my care. But they gave me that name because they saw me as some vigilante, someone who took down bad people.”

“Do you like the name?”

“I don’t really care. It’s factually incorrect but names don’t matter when you have to kill the person standing in the way of a paycheck.” 

“Is that how you see them? Just another person you have to kill so you can go buy a fancy handbag?” He scoffs. 

“You have no idea who those people are do you? Those people are corrupt. Evil. People who have no regard for the lives of innocent people.”

“And you think you’re any better?”

His tone is less accusing, rather it’s more curious. 

“Maybe not, but at the end of the day, it’s my job. And if my job means I’m killing morally corrupt people, then I really don’t care. And if I’m as bad as them, then maybe you had a right to kill me ten years ago.” 

Bucky shifts on his feet. 

“You know my mission wasn’t to kill you.” He confesses. 

“Then why did you stab me?” 

“I think for the first time, I felt scared. I was confused and I panicked.” 

“Fair enough.” She takes out a dark red trench coat. One made of soft crushed velvet. Bucky runs his flesh hand over it, taking in the feeling of the soft fabric. 

“I was supposed to take you away, hand you over to HYDRA. I think they wanted you to work for them.” 

She snorts, humored by his words. 

“So they wanted me to be a weapon, huh. Fry my brain until all my free will is gone and come up with a few words in Russian to make sure I’ll do their bidding.” 

“Most likely.” He crosses his arms. “You’re good at your job. You’ve wracked up kills in the hundreds, and I thought I was the one with the high body count.”

“Do you know why I’m good at my job?” She laughs, pulling her hair into a tight bun and securing it with a gold hairpin. “Do you know why I’m one of the best female assassins in Europe?”

Bucky shrugs his shoulders. 

“Every time I’m assigned a job, I’m walking into a life or death situation. I need to be prepared for any type of outcome so I won’t get caught off guard.” She pulls a black, satin, dress shirt over her shoulders. “But do you know the real reason as to why I’m the best?” 

Bucky parts his lips. 

“Tell me.”

“It’s because I never let my feelings get in the way.”

“But you have to feel at least something.” 

“No. I don’t think I really feel anything.” She tucks the hem into the shorts. “I haven’t felt anything in a very long time.”

He doesn’t know what to say. As he observes her concealing weapons within her outfit, he thinks about the past few decades of his life. One mission after another. He thinks about the bloodshed. He thinks about Yori and his son. Did he feel anything when he put a bullet in that boy? Not at the time. But now? All he feels is guilt. Shame. But here she stands in front of him, dressed to the nines, hidden weapons strapped to her body. I haven’t felt anything in a really long time.  No guilt, no shame, no emotions. The silence hangs over them like a thick, heavy fog.

His mind wanders to their first interaction. Though he can’t remember much, he often revisits it in his dreams.

Don’t you want to know my name?

The question she asked him before he plunged the knife into her abdomen. 

“Ten years ago, you asked if I wanted to know your name.” 

“I did.” 

“Were you ever going to tell me?”

“No. I would’ve just given you a fake one.”

She sits down on the leather seat and stuffs her feet into a pair of heeled boots. Bucky takes a seat next to her.

“What name would you have given me?”

“I was reading Anna Karenina at the time so probably Kitty.” 

“Do you have a name?” 

“I have many names.”

“No, a real name.”

She zips up her left boot.

“I do. Well, I did.” She sighs, moving her fingers to zip up the right. “I don’t remember it anymore.” 

Bucky frowns.

“Do you want to remember?” 

Her head falls onto his shoulders and she nuzzles her nose into his neck. 

“Not really. Sometimes I think it’s better that I’m nameless.”��

Bucky doesn’t want to say he pities her, but he does. Maybe it isn’t pitying, rather sympathizing. 

“Can I give you a new one?”

She smiles, relishing in the feeling of his stubble against her skin. 

“Sure.”

“I’d like to call you Angel.” 

A hum of content passes her lips and she presses a soft kiss on his skin. 

“I’d like that too.” She whispers. “I’ll be your angel.”

They sit together for a good five minutes, syncing their breathing together, enjoying each other’s company.

“We should go back to your friends.” She mutters, grabbing the coat. 

“We probably should.”

Sam gives the two of them as they walk past the curtain. Bucky sits across from him and he watches with a slightly annoyed eye as she takes the seat across from Zemo. 

“How do you two know each other?” Sam queries.

“Oh. Bucky stabbed me ten years ago.” She bluntly states.

A humored smile crosses her face as Sam’s eyes widen and darts between the two. 

“He stabbed you?”

“Hey, I wasn’t really myself back then.” Bucky quickly defends himself. “Plus, she tried to kill me a few hours ago.” 

“In her defense,” Zemo interjects “being stabbed isn’t something you can just forgive and forget.” 

“Oh, and you know everything about forgiving and forgetting.” Sam shoots back. 

Sensing oncoming tension, she quickly changes the subject. 

“Bucky told me you three needed a tour guide. Someone who knows the place well.” 

“I’d consider myself-“

“Oh Baron,” she laughs “after everything you did in 2017, I doubt it’s easy for them to trust you.”

Zemo’s eyes widened. 

“You know who I am?”

“Of course I do. I’ve been to Sokovia before.” 

Sam furrowed his brows.

“What led you to Sokovia?”

“Business meetings.” 

“Jesus, Bucky, who is this girl?” 

“Oh, yeah, I never actually introduced myself. I’m Angel.” Bucky smiles at the use of her name, affection blooming in his chest. “I work for a small company based in Europe. We mostly sell cosmetics.”

Bucky’s impressed by her ability to spit out a convincing story with no hesitation. 

Sam doesn’t seem to buy it, but he lets it go. 

“Anyways, what role do you three want me to play?”

“Well,” Zemo shifts in his seat, “I was thinking you could be my date-“

“No. No” Bucky grouses, a deep frown cutting across his face. “Absolutely not.”

“Relax, James. I won’t try anything with her. I know you two are… close.” 

Bucky scrambles out of his seat to wrap a hand around Zemo’s neck but he steps away at the feeling of Angel’s gentle hand on his bicep. 

“Calm down, Bucky. Everything’s going to be fine.” She looks at Zemo with an amused grin. “Alright. I’ll play the part, but I have a few rules.” She points her thumb up. “One, no kissing.” Then her pointer. “No silly pet names. I don’t want to hear you calling me baby or kitten. It’s patronizing.” Finally her middle. “And three, I don’t drink. My tolerance is low.”

Zemo and Sam nod in agreement and eventually so does Bucky, but the anger in his eyes refuses to fade away. 

It’s nighttime when they arrive, but the bright, neon lights illuminate the city. 

Loud music seeps out from the clubs and the air smells of smoke and booze. They’re surrounded by crime, and Angel smiles at the familiarity. She can spot a few familiar faces, but she never bothers to say hi. It’s best she stays faceless, unknown, invisible. 

Zemo wraps an arm around her waist and Bucky side eyes him. She can read his annoyance. His jealousy. Yet, his cold, emotionless expression doesn't change. He’s fallen into character and he’s doing a damn good job of it. 

Whispers of ‘is that the Winter Soldier?’ pour around them as they enter the bar, but they all do their best to pay no attention. 

“Wasn’t expecting you, Smiling Tiger.” The bartender nods towards Sam. 

“His plans changed. We have business to do with Selby.” Zemo interjects. 

Selby. 

Angel remembers that name. She’s heard it in whispers on the streets. 

Angel takes a seat on Zemo’s lap, leaning her head against the fur on his coat. 

“Who’s the girl?”

“Close friend of mine,” Zemo smirks.

“I’m Moria.” She extends a hand and the bartender politely shakes it. 

Bucky glances down at his fingers. Of course, her name here would be fake. 

“The usual?” The bartender asks.

Sam and Zemo reply with a nod. 

The four of them watch as he pulls a snake out of a jar, cutting its organs out and placing them in a shot glass. He moves on to pour out a shot of vodka for Zemo.

She grins and runs a hand from the fur collar of his coat to his chest. A soft, flirtatious giggle slips past her lips. Oh, Bucky wanted to take Zemo’s shot glass and throw it at the wall but he can’t. Not when the stakes are so high. 

She suppresses a giggle as she watches Sam struggle to down the shot. 

“Got word from on high,” A man approaches Zemo. “You ain’t welcome here.”

“I have no business with the Power Broker. But if he insists, he can either talk to me…” 

He gestures towards Bucky.

Angel surveys the bar, observing the patrons around them. Most of them are staring at the four, suspicious eyes being thrown their way. 

Her concentration is broken when Zemo speaks.

“Winter Soldier” He orders in Russian.

She remembers Bucky’s words on the plane. He’s afraid of relapsing. 

“Attack.”

Compassion, something she hasn’t felt for a long time, floods her body and before he can strike, she finds herself twisting the man’s fingers. Another approaches them and Bucky takes the lead, kicking the man to the ground. Men charge towards them and she fights along with him. He’s throwing kicks, punches, a sight that Angel is all too familiar with. Bucky takes hold of a man thrown his way, slamming him down onto the table, metal arm wrapped around his neck.

They freeze at the sound of weapons around them. Her eyes dart around the room, seeing the guns trained on them. Slowly, she reaches under her shirt, feeling the knives she has strapped to her body. 

Sam places a hand on Bucky’s arm and Zemo quickly stops him. 

“Stay in character or the entire bar turns on us.” 

They all stand as the bartender turns to them. 

“Selby will see you now.” 

She looks at Bucky, then Sam, then Zemo who opens his arms, beckoning her towards him. She lets him place a hand on her hip as the four of them walk away.

“You should know Baron,” Selby’s voice rings through her ears. “People don’t just come into my bar and make demands.”

“Not a demand, an offer.” Zemo replies. 

“Well, a lot has changed since you were last here. By the way, I thought you were rotting away in a German prison. How did you escape?”

“People like us always find a way, don’t we?” He chuckles.  Zemo releases his hand on her. 

“You’re taller than I heard, Smiling Tiger.” She purrs at Sam, who glances away. “What’s the offer? The girl?”

“No. Something better.”

He walks over to Bucky. 

“Tell me what you know about the super-soldier serum and I’ll hand him over.” Fingers trace over his face, from his cheekbones down to his chin. “Along with the code words to control him. He will do whatever you want.”

A Cheshire cat smile cuts across Selby’s face. 

“Now that’s the Zemo I know.” She settles into her couch. “Yeah, you were right to come to me. Arrogant but right. The serum is here in Madripoor. Dr. Wilfred Nagel is the man you want to thank… or condemn.” She shrugs. “Whatever side you’re on.” 

“Is Nagel still in Madripoor?” Zemo inquires. 

Selby stands. 

“The breadcrumbs, you can have for free, but the bakery’s going to cost you.” She sighs. “Your arm candy, Baron, she’s extraordinary. There’s no way a little bird” Selby points her finger up and down at Angel “can fight like that without years of training. Come here, darling.” She beckons her over. Angel turns to Zemo, and then to Bucky, a worried expression on her face. Zemo falters for a second and releases his hand on her shoulder. 

“Go ahead, darling.”

She stands and walks over the Selby, who looks her over with an inquisitive eye. Selby runs a manicured finger along the collar of Angel’s coat. 

“I’ll tell you what,” Selby decides. “You hand both of them over to me, and I’ll tell you everything about Nagel.” She grins, pulling back the strap of Angel’s thigh holster and snapping it back onto her skin. 

“Don’t touch me.” She snarls.

Selby cocks her head, an amused smirk on her face. 

“I have to say, she’s quite the fiery one. I’d like to call her my little firebird. Have her sing for me.”

“A firebird and the Winter Soldier.” Zemo seethes. “Clever.”

Their attention turns to Sam when his phone rings.

Selby saunters over to him. 

“Answer it.” She demands. “On speaker.”

Angel bites the inside of her cheek, waiting with bated breath as Sam speaks to Sarah. He rambles on about money laundering and having a banker killed until Sarah calls him Sam. 

Her blood runs cold. 

“Sam?” Selby questions, voice laced with accusation. “Who’s Sam? Kill them!” 

Without hesitation, Angel pulls the gun out of her holster and unloads a bullet in the woman. 

“We need to get out of here.” She yells, stuffing her gun back in place.

One of Selby’s bodyguards cocks his gun and Angel sends a throwing knife into his head, Bucky takes down the other, knocking him out with his fist. 

“Jesus Christ, Angel!” Sam yells. 

“We don’t have time to unpack that.” she pants, ripping the knife out of the bodyguard’s head. “The second people get word that she’s dead, we’ll have a million-dollar price tag on our heads.” She shoves the knife into a pocket on her holster and bolts to the door.

The four sprint out of the exit and onto the streets, laying low, trying not to get noticed. They walk at a brisk pace, shoulder forward, eyes straight. 

The sound of rapid gunfire sends them scrambling. 

“I can’t run in these heels!” Sam yells.

“Oh, tell me about it!” She replies. The shock from her boots meeting the pavement sends pain up her calves.  “I’ve been running in heels for years and it still sucks.”

“That’s not humanly possible. How do you do that?” He pants.

“I got used to it.” 

Angel grabs her gun and cocks it. She one bullet after another and when the wind blows back her coat, Bucky can spot another pistol tucked in the waistband of her shorts. 

Motorcycles start to barrel towards them and they pick up their speed. A bounty hunter throws a dagger, slicing at the skin of her thigh. Despite the gash, she can’t feel the pain. Not with the adrenaline coursing through her veins. 

They cut to a halt when they find themselves in an alleyway, surrounded.

Gunshots ring through the air saving them from impending death. 

“Looks like we have a guardian angel.” Zemo notes, his run slowing down into a walk. 

They look around, catching their breath.

“Well, this is too perfect.” The four turn to see a blonde walking towards them, gun pointed in Zemo’s direction. “Drop it, Zemo.”

“Sharon?” Bucky inquires. She rolls her eyes and turns to Angel. 

“Nice to finally meet you, Angel of Death.” 

“What? How do you know her?” Sam asks.

“I was investigating a politician’s death a few years ago. I managed to get my hands on her picture but Bucky over here caused a bit of a stir.”

She chuckles. “Nice to meet you too, Agent Carter. 

“I used to be an agent, not anymore.” Sharon states. 

“What are you doing here?” Bucky asks.

“I stole Steve’s shield, remember?” Her words, laced with bitterness. She points her gun at Sam “I also took your wings” then to Bucky, “so you could save his ass” finally, to Zemo “from his ass. Unlike you, I didn’t have the Avengers to back me up.”

Angel stands by, watching Bucky ask for Sharon’s help, paying no attention to the cut on her leg. Unfortunately, the adrenaline finally wears off, sending pain up her leg. Her hands press on the bleeding wound, covering her fingers with blood. She hisses in pain, causing Sharon to turn to her, brows raised. 

“This isn’t over.” She spits at them and makes her way over to Angel.

“You might need some stitches for that.” She sighs, handing her a tissue. “I have a place in High Town. You’ll be safe there.”

… 

Bucky takes a seat next to Angel, who is tending to her wound on Sharon’s couch, legs propped up on a glass coffee table.

“She’s stitching herself up.” Sharon smiles. “Best you don’t distract her.”

“I’ll be fine.” Angel murmurs, eyes trained on the needle piercing her skin. “Thanks for the suture kit by the way. I left mine on Zemo’s jet.” 

“No problem. I got myself some first aid supplies when I was on the run. Figured they would come in handy.”

“My calves hurt. You have anything for that?” She grumbles, carefully knotting the thread. 

“There’s probably some ibuprofen in there.” Sharon chuckles. “Those heels are gorgeous but damn, they look painful.”

Bucky gently wraps his fingers around her ankle and looks at her. 

“May I?” 

“Such a gentleman. Of course.”

She places her legs on his thighs and sighs with relief as he massages the sore muscles of her calves. 

“Does it hurt?”

“My calves? Or cut on my thigh.”

“Your thigh.”

She shrugs, pulling the thread.

“Not too much. It’s nothing Advil can’t fix.”

Sharon throws them an amused look. 

“So, what’s going on between the two of you?” 

“James seems to have formed a little bond with her. In more ways than one.” Zemo smiles at them over a glass of whisky.

“I’ll knock that drink right out of your hands.” Angel barks. 

“I have to say, it’s quite ironic. James, you swore that you’d leave your assassin roots behind, yet you’ve taken up the company of one of the most prolific hitwomen in Europe.” 

“He’s got a point,” Sharon says, rifling through racks of clothing. “The irony part, I mean. When I was working the Death Angel case, both the FBI and the CIA profiled you as a psychopath. Someone unable to form proper emotional bonds with others-“

“Sociopath.” Angel interrupted with a roll of her eyes. “Not a psychopath. Psychopaths have no moral compass. But I’d say I do. Sociopaths are still able to discern right from wrong.” 

Sam walks into the room, shrugging a jacket onto his shoulders.

“So why’d you become a hitwoman?”

Though he asks out of curiosity, Bucky still notes the way her eyes narrow, the way her lips twist into a frown. 

“I was getting paid. Plus, they aren’t the type of people you’d like to have dinner with.”

“Let’s drop this, yeah?” Bucky grumbles. “I don’t think Angel wants to continue this conversation.”

Angel. She still hasn’t gotten used to that new name, but she likes it. 

It was nothing like the names the authorities and the public had slapped on her. Killer, psychopath, evil, monster. 

The hardened shell she had built around her has started to crack, but only for Bucky.

For the first time, she wonders what it would be like. To be free from the title of an assassin. 

Maybe she’d live in a quiet Parisian apartment or a sun-filled home in northern Italy. Maybe she’d be alone. She’d be okay with that. Maybe she’ll be with someone else. Maybe with Bucky. She’d be more than okay with that. 

She envied him, even if she shouldn’t. She didn’t go through what he went through. Being taken away, stripped of any control, and then having to live in a world he knew nothing of.

However, Bucky had something she didn’t have. He had good within himself. 

She’s pulled from her thoughts when Sharon hands her a small pile of clothing.

“Here, these seem to be your style. I know some higher-ups so I’ll ask about Nagel. So, while I’m at it, enjoy the party.” 

“Thanks, Sharon.”

“I’ll let you get changed.” Zemo stands and walks away, offering her privacy. 

Sam and Sharon nod, leaving the room, but Bucky stayed behind. 

“Are you okay?” He quietly asks. 

“Yeah. I’m okay.” She curtly nods. 

Bucky reaches for a pad of gauze and presses it to the closed wound. 

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. You don’t need to worry about me.”

He holds the gauze in place while she tapes it down. 

“You’re really good at that.”

“Thanks.” She huffs. “YouTube has some great tutorials on bandaging.” 

The music from the party downstairs echoes through Sharon’s home, bleeding into the room. 

“Alright.” Angel stands and grabs the clothing that Sharon gave her. “I’ll change and we can head downstairs.”

She walks into the bathroom and shuts the door.

Bucky cleans up the used suture supplies and throws them in the small trash can in the corner while waiting for Angel to finish. 

He wonders what would have happened if he had successfully completed his Berlin mission in 2013. What would have become of her? Everything she does, she does it with a flair. From the way she dresses, to how she acts, even in the way she kills. She was spirited, creative, and clever. He can’t bear the thought of anyone, not just HYDRA, taking that away from her. 

“Hey, Buck?” She walks out of the bathroom, holding her hands across her chest. “Can you help button me up?” 

His mouth goes dry when he sees her. She’s ethereal, not of this world. The forest green satin of her dress compliments her gold jewelry, illuminated by the soft lights of Sharon’s home. 

“Um,” he swallows. “Sure.” 

She walks over to him and turns around so he can hook the buttons through the loops. 

“Pretty isn’t it. Sharon has great taste.” 

“Yeah.” He breathes. 

“Do you like it?”

“I guess so.”

She turns to face him with a mischievous grin. 

“What do you mean ‘you guess so’?” 

“I was born in 1917, I know nothing about modern fashion. You look beautiful, though.” 

Bucky sits back down and she crawls into his lap. “You’re so sweet to me. Maybe too sweet.” She giggles. 

“Oh, by the way.” Her hands rest on his shoulders. “I never returned the favor from this morning.” 

She leans in and presses her mouth against his, kissing him with fervor. 

Bucky tucks her lower lip between his teeth and bites, smiling at her little yelp. He reaches up to cup her face in his hands, rubbing his thumb over her soft skin. She deepens the kiss, letting her tongue brush against his lips. 

A whine leaves his lips as she pulls back and stands. 

He pouts and reaches his arms towards her, hands making a grabbing motion. 

“Another kiss. Please?” 

“Oh, Bucky,” She giggles, lowering herself onto her knees. “You’re too cute.”

Her hands reach for his belt, undoing the buckle. She pulls his jeans down, letting them pile around his feet. He stops her hands right as they reach for his briefs. 

“Wait, I-” He stutters. “I haven’t done this in a long time.” Blushing in embarrassment. 

“If you don’t want to, we can stop.” She says sweetly.

“I want to.” He lets go of her wrist and lets his hand rest in her hair. “I just forgot how it feels.”

“If you want, I can take control for a little bit.” She rests her head on his thigh. “Make you feel good.” 

Bucky blinks owlishly and nods. 

“Yeah. I’d like that a lot.”

That was the green light. She pulls his briefs down and Bucky kicks them aside along with the jeans. He grins as he watches her eyes widen. 

“You-” She gasps. “Oh, wow, you’re big.” 

“Yeah?” He chuckles, reaching down to stroke himself. “You think you can take me?” 

“I can try.” 

She spits on her hand and wraps it around his cock. He sucks in a sharp breath when she thumbs over the tip. 

“Oh.” He gasps when she licks the underside. “Oh!”

“Feels good?” She presses a kiss on his thigh. 

“Yeah, really good.”

Her lips wrap around his cock, saliva dripping past her tongue and onto his skin. 

He lets his head fall back, a quiet groan slipping past his lips. 

“Oh, Angel, you’re amazing.”

She flutters her lashes and looks up at him. 

It’s a beautiful sight, he thinks, the way she’s all doe-eyed and blushy. 

He grabs a fist full of her hair and pulls her closer, letting his cock hit the back of her throat. 

She gags around him and tears prick at her eyes, yet she doesn’t pull away. She bobs her head back and forth, sending electricity through his veins. 

Spit dribbles down her chin and Bucky tightens his grip on her hair. He lets his other hand cup her cheek. 

“Relax for me, love.” He murmurs. He holds her head still and pushes his hips forward. She squeezes her eyes shut and grabs onto his thighs. Bucky hisses at the feeling of her nails digging into his skin but the pain is overshadowed by pleasure. Her mouth is so wet, so warm around him and he can’t get enough. 

He’s only had his cock in her mouth for a few minutes but he can already feel himself getting closer. 

“Wait, wait!” He gasps. 

Angel pulls off, eyes wide with worry.

“Are you alright? Did I hurt you?” She asks. 

“No,” He caresses her face. “You were perfect. I just- I’m gonna cum soon and I want you to feel good too.” 

She smiles affectionately. 

“Oh, baby, you’re too good to me.” 

As she moves to straddle him, Bucky takes hold of her waist and pushes her onto the couch so she’s lying underneath him.

“Don’t want you hurting yourself.” He kisses her nose. “Your wound is still healing.” 

His hands push up the hem of her dress, the satin pooling around her waist, exposing the soft skin of her tummy and the scar he left her. He leans down to press a gentle kiss on the scar and he playfully nips at her skin. 

“No biting, puppy.” 

He whines at the name. It makes him feel all soft like he wants to give all of himself to her. His head rests on her tummy and he blinks at her with soft eyes. 

“You wanted me to take control, so I’m taking control.” She coos, running a hand through his hair. “Give me a kiss, baby.” 

He kisses up her body and when his lips meet hers, she takes this as an opportunity to roll themselves over. 

She straddles his hips, letting her cunt rub against his cock. Her eyes close and she sighs in pleasure. 

“You want to fuck me, baby?” She giggles. 

“Yes.” He groans. “Oh god, yes.” 

“What do you say?” she taunts, voice laced with authority. 

“Please.” Bucky pants. “Can I please fuck you?” 

“Mmm. Asking so nicely.” She muses. “Of course you can.” 

His eyes roll back, chest heaving. His mouth drops open but she presses a hand against his mouth. 

“Gotta stay quiet. Don’t want everyone hearing you do we?” 

Bucky nods, biting down on his lip. 

“Good boy.” She leans down and kisses his forehead. “So good.” 

She lifts her hips and presses his cock against her entrance. 

Bucky rests a hand on her hips but she intertwines their fingers and presses his hand onto the couch cushions. 

“No touching.” 

Unfair. She’s being unfair. 

As she lowers herself onto him, Bucky squeezes his eyes shut, trying not to moan. 

“Beautiful.” She whispers, eyes hooded and lips parted. “You’re beautiful.” 

He thinks he could cum right then and there. 

“Am I making you feel good?” She whispers. 

Bucky nods, quiet moans on the tip of his tongue. 

She gasps and tightens around him. Bucky bites down on his lip. Hard. 

“M-move.” He whimpers. “Please.”

She replies by moving her hips back and forth. 

“You feel so good, sweet thing.” 

Bucky hums in content. 

“Thank you.” 

With every movement she makes, with every sound that leaves her lips, Bucky’s convinced she’s going to kill him. 

“Do you know what la petite mort means, baby?” She asks him.

“Mhm.” Bucky opens his eyes. “It’s French. It means a little death.”

They’re nose to nose, both gasping into each other’s mouths. The gold necklaces she’s wearing dangles in his face and he bites down on a chain with a smile. 

“It means more than that, baby. La petit mort refers to an orgasm. And from the looks of it,” She teases, “I think you’re coming close.” 

Bucky groans, letting go of the chain. 

“You’re gonna be the death of me.”

“Are you close, baby? Are you gonna cum?”

“Yes.” He whimpers with desperation. “Can I cum? Can I cum for you?”

“Tell me I’m your angel.” She whispers into his ear.

“You’re my angel. Can I please cum?” He begs.

“No, not yet.” She laves her tongue over the shell of his ear. “Tell me I’m your only angel.” 

“You’re my angel. My only angel.” 

She squeezes around him and quickens her movements. Her hands press down on his chest as she lifts her hips and sinks back down onto him. 

She’s an angel. His angel. In this moment, he’d do anything for her. Anything for his angel. 

“I’m gonna- fuck.” He groans. 

“Gonna cum?” She asks, voice silvery and low. “Gonna cum for me baby?”

All he can do is nod. 

“Alright.” 

She lifts herself off of him and before he can protest, she’s got her lips wrapped around him. He bucks his hips forward and empties himself into her mouth. 

He watches in awe, chest heaving post-orgasm, as she swallows him down and pulls off of him. With a quick swipe of her hand across she smiles. 

She crawls up his body and places a gentle kiss on his cheek. 

“So good. You were so good for me.”

[a-world-in-grey]

Galahd-Lucis Fealty and the Situation Post-Burning

@secret-engima more Lucis worldbuilding!

.

Alright, if you haven't read this post regarding oaths of fealty and the ones Galahd swears to Lucis, I recommend it, since I'll be jumping directly off those headcanons.

First however, establishing the situation of the Galahdians in current day Lucis.

Short version: Not great.

Long version: Little Galahd is very clearly not the wealthiest part of Insomnia. One could even call it the slums (though I'm sure in-verse it's merely referred to as 'the bad part of town,' no need to acknowledge why it's that way).

We also see significant anti-Galahdian sentiment in Insomnia, even in just the little bit in the Kingsglaive movie, which means there's probably a whole lot more off screen that we don't see.

So the Galahdians are likely living from paycheck to paycheck in substandard housing (barely up to safety code if at all), with difficulty getting jobs that pay enough, all the while enduring racism from the native Lucians.

We don't know how ugly that treatment gets - if the Galahdians have to deal with corrupt police, hate crimes, discrimination from vendors, educators, medical professionals, etc. That is entirely dependent on the author.

In the various SoHL-verses, two members of Lucis' ruling council actively discriminate against the Galahdians - the Lord of Housing/Urban Development and the Lord of Finance. You can probably imagine how that affects the Galahdians.

So where does Galahd's oaths of fealty come in?

Their treaty with Lucis when they submitted to the Lucian Empire and how it relates to the Great War and the Burning.

Specifically, it relates to the clause where the Galahdians promise to stay in Galahd. And Lucis promises to stay out of Galahd.

I don't doubt there was a very detailed clause that specified how much of the population had to remain in the Isles for it to count as Galahd staying in Galahd, and may have included a number of clauses defining exactly who counted as Galahdian, rather than Lucis assuming 'people from Galahd,' and Galahdians assuming 'One of the Clans.' (Then again, maybe the treaty didn't specify, which could lead to some spectacular misunderstandings. And by spectacular, I mean messy.)

I also expect there were specific clauses defining what it meant for Lucis to stay out of Galahd, or rather defining who was allowed in Galahd for certain purposes and just where they were permitted to go without explicit permission from the Clans. Which can basically be boiled down to 'merchants are allowed at these specific ports for the purpose of trade,' with more clauses in the event of a shipwreck.

Now, the important question is if the treaty included a clause detailing what would happen if one of Lucis' enemies invaded Galahd, or what would happen if Galahd became uninhabitable.

The former is very likely, especially given the clause that Galahd will only fight wars on Lucis' behalf, which makes them a military target even before one considers their strategic location.

The latter, on the other hand, I find far less likely to be included. If only because I doubt anyone would have thought Galahd would be razed to the ground or made otherwise uninhabitable. The Galahdians are no strangers to disaster, hurricane season is probably a nightmare for Clans, but there was probably the assumption that they'd be able to fall back on aid from other Clans, like they've always been able to do.

I doubt anyone thought something could happen to displace everyone.

So, Galahd promises to keep at least the majority of their population in the Isles. Lucis promises to stay out of Galahd, but also to aid Galahd if they are invaded by the enemy. For centuries, this works out (mostly) fine.

Then the Great War happens.

And Mors pulls the Wall.

Suddenly, Niflheim is occupying Galahd.

Now, there are a couple different paths to take with the occupation. It could be a full military occupation with the intent to bring Galahd into the Empire. Or, it could be Niflheim corporate interests moving in to exploit Galahd's natural resources, bringing along private mercenaries that are technically civilian.

(I suppose it depends how you want to define 'invade.' And if you would have Lucis count 'armed civilians' as an invasion.)

At this point, depending on the clauses in the treaty, Lucis breaks their fealty to Galahd if they fail to sufficiently aid them against enemy invasion.

(And even then, one could still argue that Mors broke fealty when he pulled the Wall, because he failed to defend Galahd after they swore loyalty even though he was capable of doing so. Because I fully hc the Mors did not have to pull the Wall all the way back to Insomnia.)

Which means Galahd is no longer required to hold to their oath of fealty to Lucis.

Then the Burning happens, and everyone in Galahd is displaced to Lucis. At which point Galahd breaks the treaty, and Lucis is no longer obligated to hold to their agreements.

Now, at this point in history, it has been centuries since Lucis and Galahd signed that treaty. How long has it been since anyone truly read the thing? Who has read it, both in Lucis and Galahd?

How many Galahdians who know the details survive the Burning?

How many of the Galahdian copies of the treaty survive?

Few, if any, surviving Galahdians know the specifics of the treaty their oaths of fealty are based on. The surviving Chiefs and Keepers will manage to keep their oaths yes, but those oaths are more along the lines of 'I the Chief swear fealty on behalf of me and my Clan to the King of Lucis, by the terms agreed to by our forefathers' than anything truly specific.

And in Lucis, it's likely equally few actually know the specifics, because it's been so long since anyone truly needed to consult the thing. Sure, the King and certain council members will have read it at some point during their schooling/training, but they won't have it memorized.

It could be that everyone's forgotten the whole 'Galahdians stay in Galahd, Lucians stay out' part anyways, because modern day trade between the two is fairly bustling, and there could be some tourism on both sides too. And I doubt they'll think to consult it when the Galahdians come to Lucis - after all, the Galahdians are technically Lucian.

Unless some skeevy corrupt politicians do look at the treaty, to see exactly what loopholes they can exploit.

So we've got two potential scenarios here.

One is that Lucis broke fealty first, and therefore no Galahdian is obligated to uphold their oath of fealty, which includes submitting to Lucian rule. (Those in the Kingsglaive would be different, because they are swearing themselves to service instead of fealty as well as swearing service after Lucis broke fealty.) This means that any further corrupt bullshit from Lucis is Lucis' fault and the Galahdians can rightfully demand reparation or legally revoke their oaths.

Which means if the Galahdians ever get access to the Lucian copies of the treaty, they could take the government and probably no few individuals to court and likely win.

The other is that Galahd is the ones who break fealty first when they violate their agreement to stay on the islands. Which, yeah, extenuating circumstances, but it still counts. Which means Lucis can legally disregard their agreements in the treaty, which could very well include the Galahdians' status as Lucian citizens.

(Because I hc that Iedolas was only able to spend so long trying to conquer Lucis because Niflheim holds a grudge from when Lucis conquered them, and likely kept them as second-class or noncitizens of the Lucian Empire. And by willingly submitting to Lucian rule, Galahd was able to avoid that.)

In this case, it means that any skeevy stuff certain corrupt politicians and other individuals get up to are completely legal, depending on what said skeevy stuff is.

At least until new laws are passed because I doubt Regis would stand for that if he knew about it, but any corrupt stuff before that wouldn't be able to be prosecuted.

Regardless of the political situation following the Burning, we eventually get to Regis' treaty with Niflheim. And despite both Regis and Niflheim knowing it to be little more than a sham, it still counts in regards to Galahd and their oaths of fealty.

Because one could argue that Regis broke fealty when he failed to defend Galahd, instead surrendering them to Niflheim. There is a little room for debate here, since you could also argue that Regis was not capable of defending Galahd when he surrendered the islands to Niflheim. But Galahd could argue that Regis did not try, and use that as justification to legally revoke their fealty to Lucis.

Which means that every Galahdian not under an oath of service to the Crown - such as the Kingsglaive or the Crownsguard - could not betray Lucis as they did not owe loyalty in the first place. This includes Libertus and any other Galahdians who left the Kingsglaive before the Fall. They were no longer part of the Kingsglaive, and as such their oaths of service no longer applied.

And unless Galahd renewed their oaths to Noctis, they would no longer have to bow to Lucian rule.

(Though the point sort of becomes moot when the Long Night happens.)

So, tl;dr, depending on the specifics of the treaty between Lucis and Galahd, either Lucis or Galahd broke fealty first. Depending on that, the treatment of the Galahdians in Insomnia could be legal to a certain point, or could justify the Galahdians revoking their loyalty to Lucis altogether. Regis' surrender of Galahd to Niflheim could possibly justify the same, leaving only the current Kingsglaives who owe loyalty to the Crown.

[votederpycausemufins]

Just about everyone is back together. There’s only a few minor concerning things happening. I’m sure it’s fine.

@petrichormeraki and @helleborusangel

Bad had taken Grian and Jrum back to Jrum’s section of his house, helping plug the bot into his charger. Grian couldn’t find a chair immediately, so he just quickly built one, leaving Bad blinking in surprise.

“So, I don’t think I introduced myself. I’m Grian, one of Jrum’s dads.” And he held out a hand while fumbling for his comm with the other. 

Bad shook Grian’s hand hesitantly. “I’m BadBoyHalo, or just Bad. I adopted Jrum while you weren’t showing up.”

“Yeah, Tommy sent me a message about that earlier.”

“Wait so that really was Tommy we saw earlier? He’s not dead?”

Grian shook his head. “No. He’s been living with us and some friends in a different world for a bit now.”

“Oh… then… he’s not going to like hearing some bad news.”

Grian tilted his head, worried. “Why? What happened?”

“Just after those two showed up,” Bad gestured to Jrum. “A message showed up that Tubbo died and he didn’t respawn.”

Grian leaned back in his chair. “Oh, no he’s alive too. My guess is your admin lied to you so you wouldn’t question his disappearance. Philza and Techno have also been away, so anything you’ve heard about them is probably also false.”

“Wait… so if they haven’t been here, who’s dealing with Ghostbur?”

“Who’s that?”

“Phil’s son Wilbur. He died but came back as a ghost and now he goes by Ghostbur.”

Grian looked down at the ground. “Right… Wil’s dead…”

That took Bad off guard. “Did you two know each other?”

“Yeah. Yeah we did. But I hadn’t seen him in years.” Grian then distracted himself by reading his comm finally. “Well it looks like I’ve missed a lot.”

<MumboJumbo> Found EX. He’s seen both the boys. Jrum’s got a nylium problem and Grum is… 

<MumboJumbo> I think I want to throw up.

<Tubbo_> Tommy and I were sort of kidnapped by Dream, and I think he also did something to Ranboo.

<Tubbo_> but we’re out now and have Grum. I’ve also got Michael.

[Eyes] Current X-S, Y-S, Z-S

[Eyes] End X-F, Y-F, Z-F

<EvilXisuma> What do you mean Tommy is with you? He’s with me.

<EvilXisuma> give me an answer!

<Ph1LzA> I found Ranboo, but he’s got no clue what happened.

<Ph1LzA> no sign of Dream either.

<EvilXisuma> fuck

<EvilXisuma> that’s got to be Theseus with Tubbo, and he’s going after Dream to try and revive his version of him.

<Tubbo_> Hi! We’re fine now! Mumbo found us, though uh, Theseus and Dream are gone now.

<EvilXisuma> that’s… mostly okay. Has anyone heard from Grian or that pig guy.

<Grian> hey! I’m here! I found Jrum and he’s doing okay now! Though just to get things out in the open, I do not quite remember how.

<Grian> whatever was possessing him is gone now though. Still trying to deal with the angry parent who adopted him.

<Grian> How’s Tommy doing btw?

<EvilXisuma> he’s still not awake.

<Grian> any chance you can bring him here? I’ve got Jrum charging and I think we should all meet up in one place.

<EvilXisuma> Pretty sure the giant thing in this place is also a charger though.

<Grian> It did sound like the boys were split up, so that makes sense. Can you still come over here?

<EvilXisuma> Fine, but only because you blacked out before

Grian sent his coordinates and then set his comm down. Then he started crying. Jrum’s condition had been bad enough and the fact that he still seemed upset at him without the plants controlling the bot hurt Grian. And then Mumbo’s reaction to just hearing about Grum without seeing him was terrifying. What had they done to his kids?

His wings flared open when a large hand touched him and he glared up to see the blurry form of the demon that was helping him. “Don’t touch me right now.”

“Just trying to make sure you were alright.”

“I’m not. My kids are… they’ve… it just hurts. It’s only been a few days but they’ve been alone for months and I couldn’t do anything! At least when they were stuck where we first built them we could visit, but even with everything I have, I couldn’t get in.”

“What do you mean?��

“Do you- Have you ever heard of the Watchers?”

There was a slight hum as Bad thought. “Yes, though I haven’t really looked into them. I just know they’re really powerful and occasionally interact with various worlds.”

“Well, I’m that. And I’ve been trained as an admin. And based on what I have learned in the past few days, my mom is literally death, so that’s fun.”

“Is that related to you being able to kill the egg?”

Grian let out a short laugh. “No. That’s uh, Mother Spore. She tried using my body as a host, I tried killing her, we have a bit of a stalemate now.”

“You’re not going to-”

“It’s fine. It helped, didn’t it?” Grian asked.

Bad nodded, it had indeed ended up helping them. “Just making sure it doesn’t cause more of the same.”

Grian nodded before looking back over to Jrum. He was currently in sleep mode as he charged which was fine, but Grian still wished the bot was awake. His eyes then fell on Jrum’s empty arms. He checked his inventory and was glad to find one of the backups on him, so he pulled out a faux diamond block and carefully put it in Jrum’s arms. The bot stirred slightly, but then hugged the toy when it was in his arms.

“Oh, you have another one of those?”

Grian nodded. “Yeah. Jrum and I were out one day and found a trader selling them. We got eight of them for an emerald and a real diamond block.”

Bad’s eyes widened. “You must really love him if you’d spend that much.”

“It’s not actually that much to me, but I would have gladly spent more if it would make him happy.”

Bad nodded and then went over to a chest and pulled out an identical toy that seemed to have been dyed red. “Here, this is the one he had before. He got upset when it turned red. The egg was able to change blue things red and red things to white.”

Grian nodded and took the toy. “I’m pretty sure I can fix this. Just not until we get back to Hermitcraft. I’m pretty spent right now and still need to get us back home.”

Then Xannes was suddenly in the room holding Tommy in his arms. “Get me somewhere to put him down.” Bad jumped up and grabbed a bed for them to set Tommy down on while Grian started checking Tommy over. He looked mostly uninjured, but he seemed to have a large scar that hadn’t been there before over his stomach area. Grian carefully tested the area and was glad to see he was at least reacting to what was going on, but not in pain from the new injury.

“How’s he doing?” Xannes asked as Grian continued to look Tommy over.

“Well, him still being unconscious is extremely worrying, but I’m not seeing any physical injuries other than this large scar.”

“He got killed and revived. I didn’t get a good look at what happened, but I would assume that scar is from what killed him.”

Grian nodded, then carefully worked on sitting Tommy up. “Any head injuries?”

“He ended up against a wall, could’ve been slammed there.”

“Good to know.” Grian moved Tommy’s hair around to see if he could spot anything that was hidden. “You said revived?”

“We have a three life system here.” Bad spoke up. “If a death is important enough, we lose a life. After we lose all three, we’re dead for good. Though there are exceptions.”

“Yeah, Tommy mentioned those. Took us a while to convince him we didn’t have that.” Grian looked over to Xannes. “How do people normally react when they’re revived?”

“Normally they’ve got ghost pains for a while and are more violent.” The helsmit explained. “But everyone has a different reaction. I’m also not sure how different this is from hels, plus the fact that it was an instant revival.”

“That’s probably it then.” Grian frowned. “Makes me almost consider trying to contact Ellen. But she might not be around anymore…”

“Who?” Xannes asked, but Grian brushed him off.

“Our best bet is to try and kill him again and let him stay dead for a few minutes before reviving him again. I… It’s not the greatest thing in the world, but it… should work. And he should be linked to this bed.”

“Wait, are you just going to kill him again?” Bad asked, making sure he was really understanding the situation. “That seems like it would make it worse!”

“I know! But it’s probably that he died and got revived quickly enough that his mind or soul or whatever you want to call it didn’t catch up.” He then sighed, noticing his hands trembling and trying to calm them down. “I mean, I still can’t be sure… but again, best bet.”

Xannes looked skeptical, but relented. “Fine, but we try this once. Even if it only sort of works, we’re not trying it again.”

Grian nodded. “Alright, so I’ll just step outside while you do that… okay?”

“What, you’re making me do it?”

“You’re the one with evil in your name.”

“My name is Xannes!”

Grian held up his communicator. “Yeah, but it’s evil on here, and you got to choose that for yourself, so don’t complain.”

Xannes grumbled, but accepted the answer as Grian stepped out of the room.

“Grian finally got back to us.” Tubbo told Mumbo since his hands were still full from carrying Grum. “He’s also got Jrum with him and I’m guessing he’s killed the egg.”

“The what?”

“Uh, a plant that was possessing people.”

“Ah, EX did mention that.” Mumbo nodded. “Anything else?”

“Well he says he doesn’t remember how he did it.”

“Ah, have to talk to him about that once we get back home to ask if it was a conscious decision or not.”

“And Michael, someone found Boo and he’s okay.” Tubbo told the ziglin, who oinked happily. He then read more and looked back to Mumbo. “Still nothing from Techno though, but Grian wants us to meet up with him at some coordinates. Xannes and Tommy seem to have already moved there.”

Mumbo nodded, pausing to heft Grum up a little to readjust his grip on them. “Which way is it from here?”

“It’s on our current path. Closer actually. That’s the location of Bad and Skeppy’s mansion. Technically the house you had us going towards would have been closer, but only because of the trident path.”

“That makes sense.” Mumbo nodded, before noticing something in the distance. “What’s that?”

Tubbo squinted to make it out at first, but then it was obvious what it was to him. “Pandora’s Vault. It’s a prison Dream commissioned. So far it hasn’t been used as far as I’m aware, but obviously a lot has happened, so I’m not sure anymore.”

Mumbo nodded. If there weren’t more pressing matters at hand, he would be curious, since Tommy had said large builds such as that weren’t common on the server if they existed at all. He was still staring at it when Grumbot suddenly stiffened up and he nearly dropped the bot in shock.

Life Counter active. Entity Check TommyInnit. Death: canon. Life counter: Infinite lives remaining. Commence Respawn.

Just as soon as it had happened, Grumbot was back to normal, though trembling again. Mumbo hugged the bot just a little tighter for a moment before looking at Tubbo. “Are you sure there’s not a faster way?”

“The only other option is still boats.”

Mumbo looked down at Grumbot. There was no way for the four of them to all sit in one boat. He couldn’t row since he needed to make sure nothing happened to Grumbot and obviously the robot wasn’t in any condition to row instead. Theoretically they could manage to get the two of them and Tubbo into the boat if Mumbo scrunched up and continued to hold Grumbot in his lap, but that would involve leaving Michael behind since the child couldn’t row a boat on his own.

“Right, okay. Still walking.”

The group continued to travel, Mumbo and Michael both getting spooked by suddenly getting mining fatigue as they got too close to the prison. There was a small river which they were able to cross easily, but a second wider river had them pause as Tubbo built them a bridge. “The mansion is essentially right on the other side of this river. We’ll just be passing the entrance to the prison first.”

“Is it that place made of quartz in the distance?”

“Yeah.” Tubbo answered, before getting a second look at it. “Looks like they got an extension built onto it though. So that’s new.”

“Might be where the others are. You said they were charging Jrum. I saw the one charger in the other house and it had to be built pretty big. That might be where it’s housed.”

Xannes came out in a few minutes to bring Grian back into the room. “I didn’t need to revive him. He respawned naturally, which isn’t a good sign. Because of that, nothing’s changed.”

“A-Are you sure? Nothing at all?”

Xannes rolled his eyes but did his best to keep Grian from spiralling. “Yeah, but that’s just from trying this. We’re still waiting on the others to show up and they should be able to come up with other ideas.”

“R-Right… I guess you’re right.” Grian nodded before going back to his chair.

Bad moved closer to Xannes and whispered to him. “I’m guessing he’s close with Tommy?”

“Obnoxiously so. I’ve heard a number of stories from Jrum about Grian and Tommy doing something together. Honestly not sure how they didn’t realize they were related in the first place.”

“What the muffin?!”

“...Did… Did you just use the word ‘muffin’ as a curse?”

“Maybe I did! Now what do you-” Bad cut himself off to go back to a whisper. “What do you mean they’re related?”

“The two of them are brothers. Not sure the current state in this dimension, but as far as I know, Grian’s a triplet and Tommy’s younger brother to the three. Same parents too.”

“Tommy’s mom is also a fridge?”

This time it was Xannes’ turn to be shocked. “Their mother is a what here?!”

Before much else could be clarified, there was a whine as Jrum woke up. “Stop yellinggggg. I’m sleepyyyy!”

“Jrum! You know that’s no way to act when guests are over.” Bad scolded, but Grian stopped him.

“Let him sleep. Charging in the middle of the day always messes with his sleep schedule.” Then Grian pulled out a certain shiny blue rock. “Besides, it just means he won’t get any diamonds.”

Immediately Jrum was fully awake and jumping off the bed to grab the diamond out of Grian’s hand. “Give give give give give!!!” Grian tried to hold the diamond up in the air, but Jrum just started climbing up him like he was a tree.

“Calm down! I’m not- mmph! Don’t step on my face! Okay fine! Take it!” Grian gave the diamond to Jrum who instantly put it into his inventory. “I’ve never seen that before.”

Now that the diamond was safely in his possession, Jrum realized exactly who was there and went back to his bed with a slight angry frown. “Well what do you expect when you just offer him up a diamond like that?” Bad asked, going over and patting Jrum’s head comfortingly.

“For him to wake up for it. I mean, he did, but the climbing and being very grabby is different.”

“Again, you offered up a diamond. To Jrum. He’s got a love for diamonds that could rival just about anyone. More than once he killed someone just because they hadn’t put their diamonds in their ender chest quite yet so he took them.”

“Jrum!” Grian scolded the bot, who just got angrier.

“Why do you care? You weren’t here.”

“Jrum, I swear we were doing everything we could to find you and Grum. Your daddy and I would never want to lose you. Some bad people just made things really hard for us. But once we could come to find you, so many people wanted to help because they know how much your daddy and I love you and how much you mean to us.”

“But why’d it take so long?! You should’ve figured it out sooner!”

“Well, you know the stories I’ve told you about my time machine, right?” Grian asked, Bad looking over to Xannes and mouthing the words as a question for clarification. “Well, it was like someone took this whole world and put it in the time machine, so that way everything seemed so much longer for you.”

“Well that’s stupid.”

“It is! But now we’re here. And I know you’re upset. You’re upset like I was at your grandpa.”

And that was what got through to Jrum. Back before any of this had happened, when Phil had first arrived and Grian had been upset at the older avian, Jrum was worried about ending up the same way with his dads. He didn’t want that to happen, but now it was starting to. He started crying and mumbling out apologies, but Grian just hugged the bot and rocked him. “It’s okay. You don’t have anything you need to say sorry for. It was scary and we weren’t there. But it’s okay now. It’s okay.”

The door opened up with a slight slam, making everyone there jump. “Oh thank goodness, you’re all here. Along with… a very tall… man?” Mumbo questioned, his previous train of thought already out the window.

“Demon actually.”

“Alright. Now what was I going to say?”

Tubbo poked his head out from behind Mumbo. “We’re back with Grum.”

“Right! Yes that was it!”

“I’ll get another bed.” Bad said, leaving the room to find one. While they waited, Grian and Mumbo met eyes and smiled sadly at each other, glad that at the very least they had their boys back.

“How’s Jrum doing?”

“Okay. Just upset that he was so angry at us.” Grian answered, rubbing the bot’s back for some comfort. “What about Grum?”

Mumbo frowned and looked down at the bot in his arms. “Not good. He’s a mess to the point I’m worried we’d have to…” He trailed off, not wanting to complete the sentence. “The admin ended up abusing the fact that he was a robot, barely treated him like a person. God… he’s in such disrepair just physically, and while Tubbo said he was speaking earlier, he hasn’t said a word since I’ve seen him.”

��Well, maybe once he wakes up, he-” Grian started to suggest, but Mumbo cut him off.”

“No, Grian, he’s been awake the whole trip here.”

Grian’s eyes widened and he shifted to calmly speak to Jrum. “Can I set you down so I can look at your brother?” Jrum shook his head and held Grian tighter. “Alright then.” Part of Grin wanted to push to get Jrum to say yes, but he also knew that that could just find a way to make things worse.

Bad finally returned with a bed and put it down between the two already existing beds. Mumbo tried to put Grumbot down, but the robot refused to let go and they ended up needing to pry it off of the redstoner. They nearly stopped trying when it was enough to get Grum talking, it simply saying ‘no’ a number of times. But still, they needed to get a good look at Grum, and being held in Mumbo’s arms wouldn’t help with that.

For the most part, Grumbot was still the same as when Tubbo had found it. The only difference was the screen flickering back and forth between the one it had been stuck with and its regular face. Also, instead of lying down on the bed normally, the moment Grumbot was on the bed, it curled up into a ball.

It hurt Grian to see his son in such a state. He didn’t realize he had been holding his breath until Mumbo was next to him taking deep breaths for him to follow with. He slowly helped Grian lie down on the bed with Jrum, obvious to the fact that the avian needed rest with everything going on around him.

Xannes pulled Tubbo out of the room at one point, and when they returned, the two of them were accompanied by Phil and Ranboo who talked in hushed tones. When Grian had finally gotten to sleep, Mumbo took Jrum into his arms to discuss things with everyone else.

Tommy pressed his hands against his closed eyes. He hated how sore he felt, but he supposed that’s what happened when you get your last life taken. Then he paused. If he lost his last life, was he alive? Tommy pulled his hands away and opened his eyes. He didn’t look see through, but his skin definitely wasn’t supposed to be ash gray.

He cursed and got out of his bed, looking around. That was his bed, but not from the SMP. The wood around him was all from Grian’s old hobbit hole, and the last place he had slept before… well before everything happened. 

Tommy started looking through chests, glad to find a spare comm in one of the chests. He turned it on and was glad to see it was one of the backups X had made him after the first time he managed to break one. He hadn’t wanted to accept it at first, but apparently a number of the hermits lost or broke their communicators a lot, so he was more willing to take one.

<TommyInnit> Alright, hey guys. Guess who is having a crisis

<TommyInnit> btw, how long has it been since I left?

<GoodtimeswithScar> What seems to be the problem?

<Xisuma> Not that long. Definitely under half an hour.

<TommyInnit> I think I’m dead.

<TommyInnit> I died in the smp and I guess I lost my last life, but I respawned here

<Iskall85> Okay, and?

<TommyInnit> Well I didn’t respawn right. I look like I came out of some of those photos Grian had of demise.

<Rendog> black and white?

<TommyInnit> Skin yes, clothes no. blood is currently blue.

<Xisuma> I’m on my way over

<StressMonster> Does it hurt?

<TommyInnit> I mean, I’m sore? But not really. It’s not raining, right?

<joehillssays> nah, you’ll be fine Tommy

<TommyInnit> Okay.

<TommyInnit> panickign more now

<TommyInnit> i cna;t fucking get outside

<ZombieCleo> Someone blocked the door?

<TommyInnit> np. Nothing theere.

Tommy had tried going outside, but ended up running into something invisible. He tested it and found it was just a sort of invisible wall in front of the door. He remembered Xannes making something similar to trap dream in, so for a moment he thought it was the helsmit's doing. So Tommy broke a hole into the wall and tried going through that. But he just ran into another invisible wall. Had it been just outside where he mined, he would just be upset, but this time it was right in the space where he mined. He tried not to panic too much, but it was hard not to.

<TommyInnit> i’m jus stuck

<TommyInnit> help

[prettyboyreid]

can you write one where the reader is learning French and goes to spencer all the time for help since they both like each other. One day he snaps at the reader for how annoying it is, so the reader starts asking help from Emily and he regrets being mean to her. Fluffy ending pls!!!

parle moi

Reader overhears a conversation between Spencer and Morgan, which leads to her ignoring him for a few days.

Spencer x Reader

Word Count: 2,869

“Hey Spence?” you asked almost timidly as you approached his desk.  He looked up from a large book, which you probably assumed was some technical book on quantum physics.  He marked the page before turning his full attention to you, giving you a soft smile. 

“Hey, Y/N, do you need something?” he asked, sitting up slightly in his chair so his back was pressed against the soft cushioning.  I felt so much more anxious now that I was actually face-to-face with him, like he would laugh in my face and think I was an idiot for what I was about to ask of him. 

“I, uh,” you started, fidgeting with your hands behind you nervously as you tried to figure out a better way to say what you wanted.  “I wanted to know if you could help me out with some of these pronunciations?  It’s kind of hard for me to understand what I’m supposed to say based on a book, you know?”

You had been trying to learn French for a few months now.  You were going to a family friend’s wedding in Paris in a little over a month, and you wanted to be able to get around a bit without having to look at Google Translate every five minutes.  Spencer, thankfully, was fluent in it.  You had been asking him to help out every now and then, and he’d been more than happy to help.  But lately, he seems to get annoyed every time I ask him. 

He let out a heavy sigh but nodded reluctantly, running a hand back through his hair as he stood up and followed you to your desk.  You had an old workbook Emily had found when she went to school in France, and she had loaned it to you so you could learn a few basic phrases that should get you through your trip.

“What are you stuck on?” he asked, looking over the problems in the workbook as he waited for your response. 

“Um, number six?  The one about which one you want?  I feel like I can’t get it right…” you said, sitting down at your chair as your eyes raked over the sentence once again.  “Set celui que je vuks,” you tried pronouncing it to him, chewing on the inside of your cheek as you watched him shake his head.

“C'est celui que je veux,” he corrected you, folding his arms across his chest as he looked down at the book.  “You’re using English pronunciations on the words.  French modulation is much smoother, they don’t accent on words as harshly as we do,” he explained, his voice slightly hinted with annoyance.  You gave him a soft nod, thanking him quietly as he turned and made his way back to his desk.

Since it was an office day with no case and just some paperwork to catch up on whenever it did come across your desk, you just kept penciling in your answers in between files.  Around lunchtime, you got up to go fix yourself another cup of coffee over in the little kitchenette area.  As you placed your mug under the spout of the Keurig, you couldn’t help but overhear Morgan and Spencer talking by the entrance to the BAU.

“So, pretty boy, how do you like playing professor with your favorite student?” Morgan taunted him, undoubtedly with his infamous grin as he did so.

“It’s… alright,” Spencer answered almost numbly, like he had rehearsed what he was supposed to say. 

“You don’t sound all that excited, considering you’ve been begging Emily to pair you two up on cases so you can get alone with her,” Morgan replied.  You picked up your mug and added some sugar to it, trying your best not to listen to them (though you couldn’t really help yourself.)

“I know, but… I don’t know.  It’s just… annoying, I guess is the best way to put it.”

You felt your heart sink at the words and your face contorted into a frown, picking up your mug before making your way around the desks and back to your own, out of their line of sight.

You hadn’t meant to be a burden on him, you just figured it would help you learn easier.  Plus, you had an excuse to talk to him.  You didn’t often get that.   Next time, you’d just make sure to ask Emily.

-

Spencer’s POV

“So, pretty boy, how do you like playing professor with your favorite student?” Morgan asked as we came back into the bullpen from visiting Penelope.  I rolled my eyes at the question, but just shrugged as we stopped towards the front so no one else would hear.

“It’s… alright,” I told him.  I wasn’t necessarily lying, I just wasn’t being entirely honest with him.  He raised an eyebrow at my answer.

“You don’t sound all that excited, considering you’ve been begging Emily to pair you two up on cases so you can get alone with her,” he said with a teasing tone, grinning at me as he sipped on his coffee.

“I know, but… I don’t know.  It’s just… annoying, I guess is the best way to put it,” I tried to explain, but when I noticed both of his eyebrows raised, I knew I had picked the wrong choice of words.  “Not-not like that… I just mean… I hate that it’s all I really talk to her about anymore,” I said, folding my arms across my chest.  I blew air out through my nose in a huff as he still looked confused, racking my brain as I tried to figure out a better way to express what I was thinking.  I never was good at that.

“We used to talk about everything, you know?  She always would come to my desk when she had free time just to talk to me about anything… Now every time she talks to me it's only to give her a quick language lesson,” I tried to explain to him, my hands moving with my words as an extent of my expressions.

Morgan just hummed and took a sip of his coffee, shaking his head at me with a grin.  “You could start up your own conversations with her, you know,” he told me, which only earned him a scoff as I sipped from my own hot mug of coffee.  “I’m serious, kid - You can’t complain about not being able to talk to her when you’re not making any of the first moves,” he reminded me.  I huffed softly, folding my free arm across my chest as I begrudgingly listened to him.  

He clapped his hand over my shoulder before bringing me closer to him with a grin and chuckle, leading the two of us back to my desk.  “At least think about it.  You’ll never know if you don’t try,” he reminded me. 

-

Reader’s POV

It had been a few days since you’d overheard Spencer and Derek’s conversation, and you had done your best to avoid him almost completely.  You didn’t have a case this week, which was rare but also a bit of a blessing right now.  Every time you had a question, you went over to Emily’s desk and asked her.  She was always so eager and happy to help, even giving you more common phrases that people were more likely to use.

Spencer, of course, had noticed.  Every time he saw you get up from your seat after a while, he got excited for a moment before he watched you go in the opposite direction.  He would sink back into his chair and just continue to do his work, ignoring everything else around him to try and focus on the task at hand. 

Morgan, as expected, was the first to notice this.  He picked up on you isolating yourself from him (and really everyone besides Emily), as well as Spencer becoming more and more easily aggravated.  He all but bit Derek’s head off when he moved his chicken tandoori lunch to a different spot in the fridge.  

He figured he needed to intervene before it got any worse; he knew how explosive Reid could be. 

You were finishing up one of your files before you opened up your workbook yet again, tapping the eraser end of the number two pencil you held before a call came through on your desk’s phone.  You picked it up, answering in your usual cheery voice. 

“Hey, pretty girl,” you heard Morgan on the other line, smiling a bit as you leaned back in your seat.  “Any chance you can spare me a minute down in my office?”  he asked you.  You checked the time on your watch before nodding, setting your pencil down in the book to mark your page before standing up.  

“Always.  I’ll be down in a sec,” you told him, hanging up the phone before taking the last sip of your coffee.  You headed out of the bullpen and down towards Morgan’s office that Penelope had set up for him a while back.  Given the time of day, the hall was mostly empty, so the only sound was the echoing click of your heels until you opened the door to the office.  You saw him sitting at his desk, going through an old file.  You assumed he just needed help with it. 

“Hey, Der,” you said, closing the door behind you before making your way further into the office.  “What do you need?” you asked, sticking your hands into the pockets of your slacks as you spoke, looking around the almost barren office before your eyes landed back on the tall man.

He looked up with a smile the second his door opened, setting down what he was doing before leaning back slightly in his seat before gesturing to the seat in front of his large wooden desk.  “Have a seat, I just wanted to talk to you real quick,” he said, the pads of his fingers tapping against the arms of the leather chair.  

You sat down as instructed, crossing one leg over the other and rested your hands clasped together in your lap.  “Is everything alright?” you asked almost nervously.  He wasn’t technically a superior to you, but he did hold some power over you.  

He shook his head quickly and chuckled, pulling his chair closer to his desk as he spoke.  “Nah, nothing like that,” he assured you, folding his arms over each other as they rested on his desk.  “I just wanted to know what’s up with you and the kid.”  

You instinctively flinched at the thought, almost forgetting about the entire situation with Spencer until he had brought it up.  “Oh, it’s nothing,” you lied through your teeth, your hands mindlessly tightening around each other.  Morgan frowned.

“Come on, I know I’m no boy genius but I can tell when something’s off with two of my closest friends,” he reminded you, raising his eyebrows as he waited for you to elaborate.  You sighed, chewing on the inside of your cheek as you leaned back into the cushioned seat.

“I heard him say he was annoyed with me the other day,” you confessed to him.  As you saw his raised eyebrow, you let out a breath of air through your nostrils before you explained everything to him. “You two were talking and he said me asking him for help was getting annoying, so I just started going to Emily instead.”

“And ignoring him in the process?”  Derek asked, his arms folded across his chest.  He didn’t mean it to be intimidating, but it still came off that way.  You nodded softly, and he did the same. 

“Maybe you should talk to him about it.  I know for a fact that wasn’t what he meant at all, and I think the both of you need to just sit and catch up before he bites someone’s head off and before you have to go another day without talking to your favorite profiler,” he said with a grin, nodding his head up towards the door as he let his hands fall into his lap.  You gave him a soft smile before getting up, thanking him before making your way out of his office. 

Thankfully, you didn’t have to venture far before you saw the doctor you were looking for, especially since he practically knocked you over as you turned the corner to head back to the bullpen.  His amber eyes went wide for a moment, and his mouth opened and closed a few times like a fish out of water as he tried to think of what to say.  You figured it’d be easier if you said something first.

“Can we talk?” 

He nodded quickly in response, looking around for a moment before he led me back to one of the empty offices.  You assumed he thought you didn’t want to talk in the public eye of your unit, and you were grateful for that.  He opened the door and let you inside, leaving the lights off so people wouldn’t see them as they passed before closing the door behind them.  

You looked around at the room littered with cardboard boxes, a few seats, and a desk, opting for one of the seats identical to the ones in Morgan’s office before crossing one legs over the other.  You watched as Spencer looked around the room quickly and anxiously before leaning against the wooden desk in front of you, waiting for you to say something first.  He almost always hated starting a conversation with you, because he wanted to make sure you said what you needed to before him.

“I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding you,” you began, clasping your hands together in your lap as you looked down at them, almost ashamed of your actions as you thought them over.  

“I just… I heard you saying that I annoyed you and I got upset and figured I just shouldn’t bother you anymore.  I went to Emily instead because I hate to think I annoy you because I don’t want you to end up hating me or something, so I just avoided you entirely so you could have a breather from me,” you rambled off.  You noticed that you started doing it a lot more after you had met Spencer, but you everyone assumed that you had always done it and the two of you were just very alike.

He paused for a moment, to make sure you were finished and to figure out the best way to articulate his response, not wanting to say something to push you away even more.  “I’m not annoyed with you,” he started.  He needed to let you know that first and foremost.  “I was more annoyed with myself, I suppose.  All we were talking about was just… a stupid language and we used to talk about everything.  I missed that and I was frustrated that I wouldn’t even try to talk to you about anything else but God it was so much better than not talking to you at all.”

You watched the way he talked with his hands, the way he avoided your eyes so he could stay focused on what he was trying to say - like he’d forget how to speak if he even looked at you.  His eyes finally met yours as he finished, his hands fishing to the bottom of his pockets as he chewed on the inside of his cheek.  

You stood to meet him, folding your arms across your chest as you gave him a soft smile.  “I’ll make you a deal:  You can help me learn some more French, and then you can come with me to the wedding and we can talk about anything you want for a week,” you propose with a smile, which only grows as you watch his face perk up at your offer.

“Are you sure?” he asks you, standing up a bit more from his position, his hands pressed into the hard wood of the desk.  “I don’t want to be a burden or anything.”

You shook your head quickly in response, shifting all of your weight to one foot as you looked up at him slightly.  “I’m positive.  I needed a date for it anyway; I’d rather it be you than anyone else.”

He raised his eyebrows for a moment before they furrowed together, watching as his eyes darted across your face, making sure he had heard you correctly.  “You-your… your date?” he asked, his cheeks flushing a deep pink at the thought.  

You let out a quiet laugh before nodding softly.  “Yes, Spence, my date.  Unless you don’t-”

“No, no, no, I want to,” he cut you off quickly.  “I just- I didn’t want to impose or anything if you were uncomfortable.”  Ever the gentleman, you couldn’t help but grin as he always seemed to think of others before himself. 

“I’ll send you the flight information,” you told him, leaning up on the tips of your toes before pressing a soft kiss to his cheek.  You turned on your heels before letting yourself out of the office, doing your best to hide your small smile and your faint blush you felt that heated your cheeks. 

[nightswithkookmin]

Hi Goldy! I am curious about your take on how Jikook are edited in the behind the scenes clips since October (such as the ones for the Life Goes on music video, ABC Holiday Dynamite, and the Japan one (search on youtube for BTS japan shoot || behind the scene of Japan)). Do you think Jikook are interacting less, being just friends, being more professional, or is BigHit editing their interactions out? It just seems so different from the ones before Oct (FILA, Dynamite MV, Season's Greetings 2021)

Huh???😲😲😲

BigHit is doing what what now?😥

Do you mean that as a fact or theory?🤔

Why though?👀 They are not Tae Kook? 😥

There's Bangtan video of Jimin with his third leg dangling loose in the air somewhere on the internet, I don't think BigHit is that savvy.

Lmho. I mean I see what you mean but they are editors and cutting is what they do for a living. But this is Jikook sis. I don't see BigHit's incentive for 'cutting' Jikook's moments and you shouldn't assume that-

Unless...

You don't think Jikook's been groping eachother homoerotically on set lately have you? Cos, chile I'll believe that! I don't trust Jikook anywhere near eachother's vicinity and personal space.

I've seen enough to traumatize the devil himself. Chilee. Lol.

Bighit, in recent times, mostly tend to cut scenes and moments if they are a bit risqué. Like JK shoving his butt in Jimin's groin face, sliding his hands down Tae's chest...

Often times too they cut moments if its redundant. If a part of a scene is already in the main content they don't bother showing it in the behind scenes. From my observation.

When an interaction is awkward they skip it too, I feel. I mean I am still waiting to see JK touching all over Jimin and feeling him up in Run 106- honey, I'll pay to watch that shit with my kidneys. Lol.

Often too they save some scenes for memories or some other shit that they use all those pent up footages for. Lol.

BigHit is a business, they produce content that per their research and analytics garners more engagement, audience retention and a whole other metrics. They put a lot of creativity into what they do as creatives and artists- I mean if the baby noises is anything to go by. Those bites are tired!

But often times too, they're tired and they're lazy, and they just put anything together and toss it out there without giving it much thought- isn't that how they leave Jin or Tae out of packages, how certain Jikook moments that should have never made it into screen time ended up in screen time- how JM's third leg made it to the internet? They should have cut that shit before uploading it with those subtitles and yet here we are.

I think people give BigHit too much credit- talking about JK shouldn't gay panic and run away from certain moments with JM if he knows BigHit editors are going to cut those moments.... JM's dixk begs to differ. Chilee, Jimin you should have just worn pants. Can't trust these phony ass editors my guy.

The editing is really not a big deal. Not to me. But I love your question anyway. Especially the bits about what's different about Jikook and the content BigHit has been putting out since October.

Well something sure did go down in October, I don't care what anybody says.

I keep saying BigHit banks on the bond and intimacy of the boys, and the boys are more than happy to showcase their bond for the cameras just as Tae said and confirmed in a recent interview- Tuktukkers y'all did an Oopsie on the whole Taekook don't like to show their bond on cameras! Lol

Tae said it himself not me- he lives to showcase his bond with the other members. *where is my skull head emoji. Lmho.

I think what has changed since JM's birthday in October to now, to me where BigHit is concerned, is the general marketing strategy of the company.

It seems to me the company is adopting a marketing module opposite of the strategy they had been using before the pandemic. I think I've talked about this though...

Hate to say I said it, but I said it. Lol.

They are limiting access to the boys to drive sales as and when. BTS dominates the internet and have amassed greater reach and attention partly due to the free content they put out on the internet. But those were never monitised- not in a direct or significant way.

In the wake of the virus, they've had to monetize their online presence. A single tweet from their Twitter account is a phone brand promotion as I pointed out in past posts. There's been an increase in their sponsorship collaborations, in Soop and many of the content they've put up this year. They even turned on ads on their YT channels it seems.

Like I've been saying, this situation is global and novel, they are going to experiment with means and methods till they find that sweet spot and that is what I feel we are experiencing- amongst other things.

Unfortunately for us, our access to Jikook is gonna take a hit like I said before because the numbers are in their favor. I mean go to their YouTube page and see the metrics for yourself.

Jikook's holiday remix pulls way ahead of their counterparts. If their going to monetize any ship brand in BTS it's Jikooks. Trust. But that doesn't mean any ship in BTS is spared.

Someone asked me a while back, when I talked about this, whether all these changes the company was going through was going to affect the way Jikook interact on camera and I couldn't answer that with conviction then.

But I mean we are seeing a subtle, if not drastic change in the way Jikook interact with eachother and with their glass closet.

What that means for us, I think, is the company is going to choose when and where to show us content and certain interactions but that doesn't mean Jikook aren't interacting- know what I mean? I mean they have them. The juicy moments that's gonna make us slap our mamas. BigHit has it all. They are just gonna save it for as and when based on their marketing strategy, if you know what I mean.

I mean we all saw that blackswan performance, we all saw the holiday remix performance etc.

And you are right about the less interactions post October and I've shared my thoughts on it so I won't go into it. But I will state again that they are not broken up either, not to me. Lol.

I think we need to examine what interacting less means. To me, I consider Jikook interacting less if they have an opportunity to interact and they don't interact in a way that is usual of them.

Majority of the content we've gotten in recent times are pretty much very official contents, interviews, etc. The entire BE era, as I said is not about Jikook or even BigHit.

It's about BTS, all seven and Jikook can't monopolize the shine like they tend to do in other BigHit marketed contents in my opinion.

Jimin tried to be funny and chill in the dynamite mv and RM nearly went ninja turtle on his ass when he called him out for not taking things seriously enough during the shoot- Left to grandpa Joonie, the kids will sleep at five. Lol.

Seriously though, there is a huge gap between what BTS views as marketing and marketable and what Jikook or even BigHit views as marketing, in my opinion. And conversations like that between RM and Jimin goes to prove it.

Another interesting thing about this whole marketing approach is how BigHit isn't substituting any other particular pair in Jikook's stead. I see them giving equal screan time to the individual members- well not in a technical sense but I think you know what I mean.

Are Jikook required to be professional in certain situations, absolutely. And in previous years, I think they took too many liberties with it. But as I said, now more than ever they are learning and need to learn to read the room because they wouldn't be able to get away with much if they don't.

BE is a self produced project, after Soop- after when they were isolated to help them bond and repair fractures in their bond. If there were anything they were not happy with that led to Soop, trust that they are going to fix it post Soop and it's going to reflect in every sphere of their interactions.

RM for example has chilled on his monitoring and censorship of Jikook, Jikook have been pretty considerate of the group and have tried not to do anything to have RM pop a vein, Tae has been stepping up too- with the members going out their way to praise him and push him to the fore front of the group unlike in previous years *cough cough I don't want trouble but chilee.

I mean Jimin pointed it out in the Be behind when he said Tae was working hard and putting his best foot forward because the members had been showering him with lots of compliments in recent times and he wasn't kidding.

In the LGO comeback live, RM praised Tae for working hard forgetting it wasn't just Tae and JM's reaction was telling. Of course he backpedaled to compliment JM too.

Suga did the same thing in the Be behind video when he was talking about JM and praising him- I mean it's Suga and his Jimin, uWu. But then he too backpedaled to compliment Tae when he realized what he was doing and I was like CAN SOMEONE PRAISE KOOKIE TOO PLEASE AND THANK YOU. Lol.

Anywho, the company is equally chilling on their Jikook agenda which I have speculated on several ttimes so won't get into- it's all so very kumbaya and God, I hate it. Lol.

Give me the chaos goddammit!

I feel Jlkook loosen up in contents that aren't like super official business moments and that's when you see their domesticity. Lol.

You see them having their me time in the background of some of the content, and in one of the interviews where they were sat a good feet apart but they kept moving closer and closer till eventually after their lunch break cut, they were sat very close to each other.

I'm not a fan of the cameras being shove in their faces during their private moments- Kookie certainly doesn't appreciate that either.

But they are working for a living nonetheless and making content is what they do for a living. So we are definitely gonna get the content from them alright, the fanservice, the organic moments passed off as fanservice, the moments that should never make it to screen- all nine. Lol.

We are just not going to get them in a way we are accustomed to. And it certainly doesn't help that they are each on their own personal growth journeys- gradually disconnecting from their fanbase, I mean Jk's been long gone duh, and Jimin did say he has come to the realization not everyone in the fandom loves him and he is learning to react less strongly to them; which to me translates as bye bitches you don't deserve me. Lol.

I mean dude didn't bother posting for new year this year- y'all Jimin is done with our ass. We might as well pack our bags and join him in Kookie's Casa. I call dibs on the broom closet under the stairs. Lol.

Jikook gets called fanservice and other creepy slurs in this fandom but people forget all of this is their choice too. They choose, are choosing to share all the bits of them they share with us, with us. Inspite of all the hate and insults, they choose to do that- if they did it for the fanservice don't you think they would have called a time out on it long ago because it's not worth it?

I hate it here.

I guess what I'm saying is, you are right about these observations you've made and some of the things you've pointed out are facts.

But we have talked about all of that so it really shouldn't be anything new? Kindly check my previous posts. I think I shared my point of view on what I think is going on with Jikook, BigHit and BTS.

Other than those, I don't think there is anything major up with Jikook honestly. I keep saying I don't think they are broken up. I don't see either of them closed off, emotionally open to connecting with the others.

If anything I said I feel Jimin is falling in love all over again with Kook. I mean when he looks at him he looks to me as if he is seeing Kook in a different light.

And it's funny how all through out 2020 he kept reiterating how his friends and family and relationships were important to him, shading the ef out of Kook during the Japan Stay Gold promos claiming his relationships were important to him and was what was Gold in his life.

He even went on to talk about picking an accent spending time around his friends and talking with his friends around his birthday but suddenly in the Be behind scenes he was talking about how he's come to the realization BTS is his only true friends and how friends come and go.

Clearly he's had an epiphany of a sort and has been through something post his birthday that has him setting his priorities straight in the aftermath.

In his Weverse magazine, he mentioned how he's recently discovered something about himself, about how he loves to be loved. He then went on to clarify that when during festa he talked about having a desire to perform with the members for a long that that he meant to say he wanted to be with them for a very long time.

But then JK said Jimin said that bit to him first. And if this is the interpretation Jimin is giving to that statement then- one plus one is two honey. Numbers don't lie.

Dude don whispered those sweet empty nothings in JK's ear telling him he wants to be with him for a very long time and shit.

And now homeboy out here setting up roots in gay boulevard. I don't think their well is drying up any time soon. Lol.

They are in a honeymoon phase again and they are not showing us. Stingy bastards! Lol

And when JK said to JM in response, that BTS is his home- wow. He really said that...

He is Jimin's home. Literally. Please, my heartu😭

Jikook is real. Please support them.

Signed,

GOLDY

[sunseteyes]

♪♫.ılılıll your voice ˎˊ- chapter 9

NINTH SONG — MY LOVE

kenma was awakened by the natural light, one that lit the whole room and also his entire system, urging him to come and see the beauty of the morning. due to his bed being close to the window, there was no escaping to the light’s temptation and challenge, making him accept whatever was in front of him and wake himself up. and yet before he could even think about how his day would go by, a searing pain hits him on his head, his hand immediately shooting up, hoping to at least relieve the pain, but it proved to be useless.

“you’re awake, good.”

the voice was unfamiliar, it doesn’t even sound like his parents.

wait-

“what are you doing here?” he immediately shot up from his bed, only for his headache to worsen, making him drop down as fast as he got up.

no matter how much you strained your laugh, a small chuckle left you before you sat down by the corner of his bed, still keeping proper distance as much as possible.

“ho...how? how are-why are-why are you here?” he stuttered much more than he ever did in his life. he sits up again, but slowly this time, and when he was able to, he wondered if he was dreaming--i mean, how could you have been here when you were in miyagi? with that semi guy? is he dreaming about you again?

“sorry if i had to barge in your dorm. i just wanted to know what you were talking to me about last night so i head on straight here, i hope it’s alright.” you elaborated, looking over his state to observe his expressions. “is your head aching? i brought meds for you and i also made soup.”

you suddenly stood up to jog out of the room, before he heard you adding, “though i had to ransack your kitchen and buy a couple more ingredients by the market before i was able to make it.”

he was frozen there for seconds, even maybe a minute, contemplating about the situation in his own mind, thinking about how this is happening--more in a good way.

“what? do you want me to feed you?”

“no, no, i’m fine.” he instantly said, taking the bowl from your hands and realizing just how hot it was. and when he did, you were already sharing the same predicament, holding the bowl, along with his hands.

“i told you, maybe i should help you? here, i’ll hold the bowl while you take the spoon.”

kenma didn’t know why he didn’t argue, but it didn't mean he was not embarrassed. eventually though, he had already gotten used to the setup, mostly because he was surprised at how easing and delicious the soup was. he had never had this kind of soup, but he was too shy to ask for seconds anyway. there’s no way he could just make a request like that to someone like you when you already did it for his sake beforehand.

“i cooked a whole pot for you, do you want me to bring you some more?” you suddenly inquired, “or… is my cooking bad? does it taste bad? i’m sorry i didn’t get to taste it-”

“it’s delicious.” he immediately interjects, cutting you off from your rambling. “i’d like another bowl, please?” he sounded hesitant then and somehow, you knew why.

you chuckled, grinning gleefully whilst rushing out to go and get him more of the soup. when you did, kenma already found his way out of the room, with you suppressing a giggle that came out of your lips when you saw how cute he was in his sleeping attire. you wondered how he even managed to change himself when he was close to being drunk based on what keiji had told you.

“uh-are you sure it’s alright if you stay here? i mean-what would people say? you know, since you’re basically a famous person now. well, not that i’m saying you’re not famous before.”

“don’t worry about what other people say, ken. and besides, it’s not like we’re in a relationship-” you stopped yourself, taking in his reaction just in time for you to add, “actually, that’s what i’ve been meaning to talk to you about that today.”

“talk? about what? is there something wrong?”

you brought down the bowl on the table and sat on one of the seats, urging him to do the same in front of you.

“you should eat while i talk. it’s a very long story that i just thought i should say to you.” you say, your mind racing thoughts all around immediately at what you were doing.

and then, you began to tell everything about how you came to be where you are right at that very moment.

“babe? eita?” you brought your phone away from your ear, feeling your chest tighten every second that passes by. you stared at his name over and over, trying to believe that he will call you back,

but nothing came, of course.

your heart sank then, dropping your hands to the side as your eyes met keiji, then your eyes turned blurry once again as tears started to form on them.

keiji was quick to move, stepping forward as he caught onto one of your tears with his thumb “what? what happened? y/n-”

“i’m ready, keiji. let’s go.” you pulled away from him, grabbing onto your luggage and walked off, not even waiting for him to follow you because he knew he would do it anyway.

“your bus ticket, please.”

absent-mindedly, you gave your ticket and whip you gaze back to the window and the view outside, trying to calm yourself down.

“you can cry if you want to, it’s safe to cry here.” you could hear keiji mutter next to you, and just then, the hot tears came back once again. this time, you couldn’t stop them from coming.

that day, you fought with your boyfriend, but he didn’t break up with you. however, since then, you never talked to each other. by the time you did and eventually got reunited, eita tried to get back to you by doing the same thing over and over again.

the difference is, you already knew what was coming before things had gotten worse.

“wait,” a hand grabs your arm, forcing you to halt from your steps and meet semi’s eyes.

“what? is there something wrong, semi?”

you didn’t like how his eyebrows twitched, because by then, you knew you still had an effect on him. you saw the change of emotion in his irides, but he didn’t question you about it anymore. for you, he was your eita back then, and now, he was just semi.

so semi does the only thing he knew he could do; he leans in close to you, holding you in place.

you turned your face away just in time, making his lips land on your cheeks instead, and you even have to close your eyes to restrain the memories that flooded your mind at that moment.

semi was your first love, and he will always be, no matter what happens.

sighing, you turn to face him again. now that he had pulled away, you could see the genuine tangled emotions in his expression, struggling to commit to one feeling, just like when he was with you before.

“the moment you ended the call when i was going to tokyo, it’s the time when our relationship ended, semi. you know that. we’ve been fighting about it for over a week, i knew you were tired of it.” you say, glancing down at the ground, barely able to look at semi on the eye. “we knew it was the end for us.”

“it’s not. we can go back together.” he leans in to you again, whispering the words, like when he was trying to ease your anger back then, when you two were still together. “i still love you, we can still fulfill our dreams-”

“our dreams?” you cut him off, looking back at him with a scoff. “-this is my dream. what we had was your dream. your dream was to make your voice heard. you used my voice for your dream, semi. i chose this path because i thought this is the only thing i could give you. you made me think like that all the years we had been together.”

“then that means… the rumors-”

“they’re not true, technically.” you answer, pulling a smile from your lips. “why? are you affected by it?”

he looks away, pursing his lips by then. “not really-not much. i mean-no, why should i be? it’s not like we’re-you know… together.”

this time, it was your turn to fidget, biting your lip at one point before finally speaking up. “i’ve been thinking… are you interested in me, ken?”

“huh-what? did akaashi-uhm…”

“if you are,” you paused, kind of hesitant, “-do you want to try this out?”

kenma questions again, “try what?”

“us,” you answered, “try us—if we’re going to work out.”

TRIVIA:

i somehow wanna make a prequel for semi and y/n tbh

i personally think semi must have loved y/n either way (lmao what are u doing u’re the writer)

INTERMISSIONS:

well taglists are still open for the last and final chapter! feel free to send an ask only to @ftkenma :))

so this will be the second to the last chapter and yep sorry no smau-ish today, also, i’m sorry that i only updated now. stuff happened and it’s a good thing i finished this today.

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[starcrossedyanderes]

Beauty and The Birds Part 9

Warning: This chapter contains former abuse from parents, religion (mostly cult-ish stuff), mentions of  ‘The Catholic Church’, and supposed witchcraft. A long with general harm of a person because of them being different. If any of this effects you I recommend possibly not reading this. If you are facing any of the above (except for maybe supposed witch craft) you can access this website for help https://www.thehotline.org/ this is the domestic violence hotline and are generally good for a lot of situations.

Disclaimer: I, as always, do not condone this behavior in any sense. A made up sort of cult-like religion is brought up that tries to hide itself as The Catholic Church. I have absolutely nothing against the catholic church as I am personally a protestant (but of course you know how us protestants feel) and I have nothing against what people believe in as long as no one gets hurt. This is based off of the sad incidents of exorcisms and how the are most commonly performed on regular children and how they quickly turn violent. Please, this is never acceptable. You should never be harmed by your religion or because of your religion.

~Previously on Beauty and The Birds~

“Isn’t that cannibalism?”

“Doggo!”

“Sheepies!”

“No. Other birds. I don’t think there’s another like me.”

~Back to Beauty and The Birds~

“It’s a uh.. long story that I haven’t shared with anyone. As you can tell I’m not exactly the best at communicating-“

He physically backed into himself with a blush on his cheeks and a hand rubbing his neck. You physically drooped as you started to walk away.

“Okay, I guess you don’t want to tell me-“

“NO!”

At seemingly the speed of light and a large ‘whoosh’ the bird man appeared right in front of you with his hands spread.

He had this deranged look on his face that seemed to become more and more common as the days passed.

He stepped closer to you with a shaky crazed smile on his face.

“No, no! I’ll tell you! I would tell you anything.”

He placed his hands on your shoulders to pull you in closer as his smile only widened.

“I would do anything for you. You just have to ask and I would tell you whatever you could possibly want to know. As long as you stay so couldn’t care less. It’s all worth it.”

Hm, he seems to show a lot of territorial behavior and desperation. Could this be part of a courtship sort of thing. He seems to be quite attached for only knowing you for what? 2 days? You’ll have to look into that later.

His smile and piercing gaze finally softened as he seemed to return to his normal self.

“I will admit this is a rough topic for me so I would rather if we could instead talk in the nest.”

You eagerly nodded your head as you gripped your discreet recording device as you were flown up to the top floor’s glass observatory.

It seems the nest acts as a comfort sort of place for him. Somewhat how some animals do during heats and pregnancy’s. From what you can tell he isn’t in a heat (although it could explain some things) and he certainly isn’t pregnant so it is quite odd behavior for a bird to exhibit.

~|~

You were currently perched inside the nest as you awaited on Avery’s return. He, to your annoyance, insisted on getting a few snacks

You irritably clutched on a corviknight plushie you found in the nest before it was quickly abandoned on Avery’s return. 

In his hands he carried various junk foods but there was an odd one that stood out from the rest.

Tater tots.

After putting down the foods on a little side table he quickly joined you in the Blanket Void TM and quickly into you. His wings wrapped around and whilst spreading sent a turtle duck plushie off of the bed. He quickly let out some gentle cooing as he nuzzled deeply into your neck.

“I’m ready to answer your questions now.”

“Alright, how about an easier question to start off. What’s with the tater tots?”

Of course this question was just a ruse to make sure your device was recording and genuine curiosity.

Avery’s head pulled away from your neck and a frown pulled at his lips. He then proceeded in what you like to call his ‘bby voice’

“Is there something wrong with them? They’re my favorite.”

That-that was not the answer you were expecting. Huh, that’s odd.

“Oh, nothing. Just genuine curiosity.”

Avery immediately relaxed back into your arms after popping a tater tot into his mouth. 

“Now, you say you don’t think there’s anyone else like you. Is it because you believe to be the last of your species?”

He stiffened up once again before digging himself more into you.

“Well no, I think. I don’t believe I am part of a species. This may take a while to explain and please bare with me. This is a rough topic that I haven’t really been able to share with anyone.”

You eagerly nodded your head and made sure to give him some headpats which only induced some coos to leave his throat.

“Well my family were rather wealthy and owned an airplane company and I think we did general logistics stuff. We were also rather catholic although now I think we don’t quite fit that term. At least hope not for the sake of people who are actually catholic.

My mother was the heiress and received a lot of suitors. She was supposedly cursed by one of her suitor’s mother after turning him down. We think this may have led to me.. being me.”

You felt rather disheartened but also even more intrigued by this information. So he doesn’t seem to be part of a species, but an odd mutation? (You highly doubted this is from some curse.)

“So where exactly is your family now”

After speaking you popped a tator tot into your mouth.

“I think about 5 years ago my parents, ironically enough, died in a plane crash. I was pretty much only allowed on the estate, the woods, and the church after my wings developed so I wasn’t allowed with them. That was probably a mistake on their parts.”

You waved your arms a bit.

“Hold up, you siad you weren’t allowed anywhere after your wings developed. Does that mean you weren’t born with them.”

Avery let out a reflexive chuckle.

“Ha ha, well I technically was born with them. I was a healthy baby but I had these bumps on my back. Of course everyone was concerned about these being tumors so I was tested frequently. Turns out they were merely bone and somewhat.. hollow. As I grew the bumps started grow into my wings today. The bone thing is also why I take a good bit of calcium since they’re so fragile.”

“But why weren’t you let anywhere after they developed?”

Avery let out a sigh as he mentally prepared himself.

“After the doctors kinda figured out I was somehow growing wings paired with my purple eyes my parents were very excited for me to be an angel like thing. Yeah, I don’t know their understanding either. Maybe consider me as a miracle of the lord of something? Either way they were rather hopeful of this and treated me like a regular son with giving me an education to run the business. But then I got my feathers. Their dreams of an angel were crushed upon seeing that were not pure white but instead a dark black. They became horrified and I was forced to spend a lot of time at the church and was forced to have exorcism after exorcism performed on me. It.. wasn’t pleasant to say the least. My parents quickly hated me and locked me away. But they still needed an heir and they feared to have another child so I was still given an education as I sometimes needed to appear to confirm that they were nice enough to keep me alive.”

You felt some water cascade down your neck as you could place your arms around him in a hug.

“A-Avery that’s awful. I-I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

Avery gained a small smile as he pulled away from you hug with tears still gliding down his face.

“Y-You’re the first person to every say sorry to me.”

“Oh, Avery. No one should be deprived of that.”

You forced a small grin on your face to try and cheer him up.

“Ok, no more hardcore questions. Stuff that shouldn’t make you cry now. Sorry to open those wounds like that.”

“No, no. It’s fine. I said I would tell you anything. And I’m honestly over joyed to share anything with you.”

How can someone say something so creepy yet sat at the same time? “Alright then, if you’re sure you want to continue. You’re able to communicate with birds from what I can tell. Do they see you as they’re leader or something?”

“Since I was only really allowed in the woods birds quickly became my only friends and company. Also I’ve done a lot of rehabilitation work that a lot seem to feel indebted to me. A lot of birds tend to follow the bigger bird naturally and they see me as a really big bird so they just kinda.. naturally do what I tell them. It also helps that I feed them too.”

“Makes sense, I guess. Like when I saw this heron in a pond one time and a bunch of ducks just followed him around. Last question for the day, alright?”

Avery nodded his head as he pulled you closer.

“I brought like 3 scarves here but I can’t find any of them. I have a slight feeling you may know where they are.”

Of course you couldn’t see it but a dark blush covered Avery’s face.

“W-well two of them are in the nest. I’m afraid that some of the birds got their hands on the other one somehow and are currently using it to snuggle. I’m working on getting them another scarf so you can get yours back.”

Huh, so he puts many different things in his nest. Also now you had to deal with the conflict of you taking a scarf from some cozy, snuggling birds.

“The birds can keep my scarf. I couldn’t just take it from them like that.”

Avery smiled against your neck and cooed.

“I’m sure they’ll be estatic for their cuddling not to be ruined. Now enough questions, more cuddles and movies.”

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 17: Together Forever (originally posted on July 5, 2021)

AN: Welcome back my loyal readers! Sorry to keep you all waiting these past few months, but I know the wait will really be worth it. The final two parts of Alternate Future might be some of my greatest writings yet, and I'm more than excited to share it all with you starting today. Now without further ado….

Synopsis: Steven tries to become Connie's official boyfriend.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven

Estelle as Garnet

Charlyne Yi as Ruby

Erica Luttrell as Sapphire

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl

Grace Rolek as Connie

Dee Bradley Baker as Lion

Kimberly Brooks as Cherry Quartz

Noël Wells as Black Rutile

Featuring Ray Chase as George Ikari

--

Pearl stood in line at the Buddwick Public Library alongside many other parents and parental figures like her, waiting as a bearded, glasses-wearing Japanese-American man signed books at a table.

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to not be from around here, right?" a single dad standing behind Pearl asked her.

"Well, technically yes," Pearl informed the father. "I come from a planet of beings similar to myself who are all based around gemstones, which explains my appearance. Also, just last week I helped save your world from a sociopathic revolutionary, so you're welcome."

"You foreigners say the craziest things!" the father giggled in disbelief of Pearl, who just groaned flatly as the line began to pick up.

Eventually, Pearl was at the front of the line and now face to face with childcare author George Ikari, who had his fingers clasped together as he gazed at Pearl.

"Let me guess, you are here because of your own son, daughter, or whatever pronouns your child prefers to be dubbed?" George asked Pearl while he took out another copy of his book, titled "When Your Child Wants Time Apart", to sign for the Gem.

"Well, he's not really my son, but Steven is the closest thing my team, the Crystal Gems, have to one after his mother died giving birth to him." Pearl explained as George got to signing. "And that's not even getting into the fact that his mother was a former despotic alien conqueror who grew tired of her life and the constant neglect from her fellow despots, so she faked her death because of how much she valued your planet as part of a big war, then thousands of years later she met a rock star and fell in love with him before they consummated their relationship and she gave up her physical form to give birth to Steven."

George just stared in shock at Pearl's tale before she tried to continue. "And just last week, there was this other Gem with a vendetta against Steven's mother who tried to destroy the planet and kill us a-"

"Stop." George commanded Pearl with a raise of his hand before handing over the signed book. "Just take the book and leave. Your tales are holding up the line."

"What did I tell ya, foreigners say the craziest things!" the single father from before laughed.

"I'm deeply sorry Mr. Ikari, it's just that Steven has been going through some rough times lately." Pearl apologized to the author.

"I completely understand miss." George said while pulling out his phone to show Pearl a picture of his own son, a young man with scruffy brown hair, a white dress shirt, and a nervous expression on his face. "My son Shane has had his fair share of troubles ever since his mother died, troubles that he insisted on running away from rather than facing them maturely."

"Just like Steven." Pearl compared the two boys sympathetically. "I am deeply sorry for your loss sir."

"Thank you for your kindness." George smiled, putting away his phone. "The best thing I feel could work for a situation like this is to let things play out and discuss his problems when the time is right."

"Thank you very much George." Pearl thanked the author as she finally began to leave the library with her new book in hand. "Though I doubt that'll be of any use to Steven."

--

Not too far away from the library, Steven was sitting in his room talking to Connie on the phone while she was on her study break.

"Wow Connie, looks like you got all this college stuff figured out." Steven laughed with his dear human friend over his phone.

"I've got a whole plan figured out for early admission into the University of Jayhawk, but I'm still not sure about my major," Connie explained to Steven. "Maybe I should major in political science and minor in sociology, or perhaps the other way around."

"Did all our galactic adventures together get you interested in politics?" Steven asked.

"Maybe." Connie chuckled. "But I'm thinking more down to earth, as far as long-term careers go." As the two laughed at Connie's pun, the timer on her phone began to go off. "Wow, fifteen minutes went by pretty fast."

"Aw man, these study breaks are too short." Steven complained before he realized something. "Hey wait, you left a brochure at my place last time." He stated, pulling out a brochure for Connie's college of choice to show her. "You want it back?"

"It's alright Steven, I still have two more, and the Internet too." Connie answered smiling.

"Oh, right." Steven realized. "Well, call me when you still wanna hang out, okay?"

"You know I will, silly!" Connie beamed. "Okay, for real now, bye!"

After Connie ended the call, Steven turned over on his back and gazed at the brochure in his hands. "The University of Jayhawk, huh?" he muttered to himself. "And how far is that from here?" Steven then opened up the brochure to learn how far the distance between Beach City and the university's location in Kansas was. "Oh, that far."

Once again, Steven began to glow pink as he sadly sank into his bed, fretting over how little often he'd be able to see Connie regularly. Gazing at his rose-colored hand, he then started pondering on whether he should do something about this new condition, as he had been thinking about since the titanic battle with Black Rutile.

--

Soon, Steven had decided to get up off his bed and walk downstairs, to which he found Garnet standing in the living room dressed in a hat and kerchief. "Oh Garnet, you're still here?"

"Steven." Garnet greeted Steven tersely.

"I could really use your advice right now." Steven declared racing over to the fusion. "It's about-"

"Not right now Steven, I gotta split." Garnet cut Steven off before un-fusing into Ruby and Sapphire.

"I'm terribly sorry Steven, but I'm running late for my lecture on alternate timelines." Sapphire apologized while taking off the scoutmaster's hat and giving it to Ruby, along with a kiss on the cheek, before racing off to her lecture. "See you soon!"

"Sapphire might be going, but you still got good ol' Ruby to talk to." Ruby said to Steven as she went to fetch a backpack. "Let's walk and talk scout, I got things to do."

"Oh, okay." Steven agreed as he followed Ruby to the Warp Pad, and the two set off.

--

Later that day, Steven had joined Ruby's class, consisting of Onion, Zebra Jasper, and Little Larimar, as they strolled through the woods on a gorgeous afternoon. When the class got to a good stopping point near a stump, Ruby hopped up on the stump to speak. "Okay everyone, you remember what we learned last week, right?" she asked her students. "Well, today is the day! Brace yourselves, 'cause today we're sketching nature and the animals around us!"

Onion and his Gem classmates excitedly took out their notepads to draw on as Ruby continued. "Draw to your heart's content scouts!" Ruby declared. "Feel the beauty of everything around you, and you'll have the honor of receiving this Nature Sketching Badge!" She then presented a patch depicting a paint palette and brush in front of depictions of a wolf and a bird. "Got that? Now get to drawing!"

As soon as the three pupils left to go draw the beauty of nature around them, Ruby took it as her cue to jump down from the stump to talk with Steven. "So, what did you need Garnet for?"

"It's about Connie." Steven admitted to the small red Gem. "Every time I talk with her, I feel like she knows exactly what to do with her life, mostly thanks to her parents, and I don't. When we're together as Stevonnie, I feel so ready for anything, but on my own, I feel so lost. Just, what do I want with life?"

"That's tough Steven." Ruby declared sympathetically.

"Exactly!" Steven replied. "Connie is gonna go super far away for college, and I'm gonna be stuck here in Beach City where barely anything can go right for me nowadays and I don't know what to do about them! I want to be with Connie forever, like how you and Sapphire are basically together forever as Garnet!" That was when he came to a conclusion. "Wait, if I want to be together with Connie, then she's my future!"

Steven's revelation made Ruby super excited, and she began scuttling in place with stars in her eyes, her rapid footsteps creating a small fire beneath her feet. "STEVEN STEVEN STEVEN STEVEN STEVEN!" she cheered, but stopped short once she noticed the fire she created. "Oh my gosh, one sec!" Ruby quickly ran off and came back with a towel that she used to put it out. "Anyways, STEVEN, YOU GOTTA PROPOSE!"

"Wait, propose?!" Steven exclaimed in shock. "But, we're only teenagers, we can't get married yet! But then again…"

"Don't say you haven't thought of it!" Ruby added cheerfully. "Besides, aren't there couples in this country that get married at 18 or something?"

"Y-yeah, I thought of it." Steven began blushing, which he tried to hide within his jacket. "I mean, we just had this discussion."

"Well, what are you waiting for?!" Ruby yelled happily while jumping up and grabbing onto his head. "DO IT, DO IT, DO IT! DO IT LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!"

"Are you still really sure?" Steven asked the overly eager Gem. "As I said, Connie and I are still only teenagers."

"C'mon, we told you about how it worked for Sapphire and I." Ruby responded. "And if you're successful, you'll have the honor of receiving this!" She presented Steven with a badge depicting one figure popping the question to another. "The Proposal Badge! And if you're not so sure, well, seeing the future would be really helpful here."

Steven gasped, knowing just who Ruby was implying.

--

Far away from Ruby, Sapphire sat down with her class, made up of the Watermelon Tourmaline fusion, two of the Nephrites, Orange Spodumene, Cherry Quartz, and Angel Aura Quartz, while drawing lines in the sand with a stick.

"Okay class, let's begin our lesson." Sapphire announced to her students when she spotted Steven racing towards her with a big smile on his face. "Ah, Steven. I've been expecting you."

"Hi, Sapphire." Steven greeted Sapphire. "I'm sorry to interrupt your class, but I got big news! I've been thinking about my future with Connie lately, and a chat with Ruby convinced me that I should propose!"

"Wait, don't you have to wait until you're a grown-up to do that?" Cherry Quartz inquired with a raise of her hand.

"Let me guess, you're here because of my future vision?" Sapphire asked. "Let's run the numbers then." She then let Steven stand next to her before beginning to speak to her class. "Okay class, let's review what we've learned today." She began while drawing complex math equations in the sand. "Using the concepts we discussed so far, let us calculate the probability of Steven succeeding in asking Connie to marry him. Let's begin with the probability that she'll want to spend her life with someone, and then we'll multiply that by the differential factor in sociocultural marriage acceptance. Next, we multiply that by a possibly happy cohabitation, the factor of fear of engagement, the intensity of the love you share, and finally the robustness of your goals in life." As Sapphire finished her equation, she finally turned back to Steven. "Are you following so far, Steven?"

"Uh, maybe?" Steven answered as he stared at the equation Sapphire had jotted down for him in the sand, but it wasn't long before the ocean tides began to wash them away. "Oh no, your work!"

"And there we have it." Sapphire declared with a chuckle. "Don't you get it, Steven? My marriage to Ruby, our fusion as Garnet, it eluded my future vision for so long, defied the odds, and perhaps even changed the course of time itself!" she declared encouragingly. "We could just write equations in the sand all day, but then a wave of chance can come crashing in and wash everything away! Love is truly unquantifiable! Even with my gift of clairvoyance, I know far better than anyone that love can make the impossible possible! And that is why I say do it! Do it, Steven, just do it!"

"Yeah, you're right!" Steven began getting pumped up before turning to Sapphire's class. "Get one last good look at me, everyone, because after today you're gonna be calling me Steven Quartz Cutie Pie DeMayo Diamond Universe-Maheswaran!"

The class began cheering vibrantly, bringing a big smile to Steven's face as he finally realized what his future now held.

--

As the afternoon slowly began to give way to evening, Ruby and Sapphire reunited by rushing towards each other on the sand, excited about the big proposal.

"Steven told me first, and I led him to you!" Ruby cheered, spinning her little blue wife around by the waist.

"I told him to go for it!" Sapphire laughed. "Oh, it's going to be so wonderful!"

As the two fused back into Garnet, she stood still for a few moments, contemplating her components' decisions before coming to one of her own. "I take full responsibility for their actions." Just then, Garnet heard footsteps and found Pearl walking behind her, her pointy nose stuck in a book. "Pearl, I'm guessing you want to see me about the book you're reading."

"I was just thinking about calling up you and Amethyst," Pearl announced as her gaze turned from the pages to her leader. "Where's Steven?"

"Oh, nothing much," Garnet answered. "Just going to make a rash decision that'll emotionally damage him in the long run."

"Oh, that's ni-" Pearl began before she did a double-take. "WAIT, WHAT?!"

--

As for Steven, he was too busy getting ready for an evening with Connie without a care in the world, picking up a cake from Spacetries that said 'Together forever!' on it, buying some flowers from Crazy Lace Agate, lighting up the glow bracelet that brought him & Connie together to begin with and dressing up in some nice clothes. If all goes well, he would soon become Steven Quartz Cutie Pie DeMayo Diamond Universe-Maheswaran.

Meanwhile, at Connie's house, Connie kept on studying for the University of Jayhawk when she heard a roar coming from outside her window. Walking over to the window, she discovered Steven parked outside her home with Lion by his side.

"Evening Connie, how are you doing?" Steven asked his ladylove.

"Steven?" Connie replied. "What are you doing here, and why are you all dressed up like that?"

"You got a fifteen-minute study break in two minutes, right?" Steven inquired, gazing at his watch to check if his timing is correct.

"Whoa, spot-on!" Connie exclaimed, gazing at her phone to learn that he was indeed right. "So, what did you come here for?"

"You want to go for a walk with me?" Steven offered. "I'm sure you could use some fresh air."

"That's very sweet Steven." Connie smiled. "I'd really love to, but I-"

"Don't worry, we can take Lion, and then I'll bring you home in fifteen!" Steven declared with a thumbs up.

"Okay, let's do this!" Connie accepted the offer and left her room to meet Steven outside, taking a moment to tell her parents along the way. "Bye Mom and Dad, I'm spending my study break with Steven!"

Once Connie was out the door, she and Steven mounted on Lion's back and he ran away from the Maheswaran residence.

--

"Remember when we first met here?" Steven asked Connie as they dismounted from Lion and began walking down the beach.

"You mean when you tried riding a bike in the sand and then started running away screaming?" Connie replied with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I was trying to get your attention." Steven added.

"Last I remember, I was more focused on my book than your silly antics." Connie stated.

"Well, that all happened right here." Steven declared, gesturing to a picnic at the very spot where he and Connie first met all those years ago. "You like what I have here?"

"Steven!" Connie exclaimed in awe at the picnic set before them. "I don't know what to say! I also can't believe you still remember this exact spot!"

"I just remember it like it was yesterday!" Steven exclaimed just as eagerly before running over to a nearby rock to sit on.

"This is too cute." Connie squealed while blushing.

"And without further ado," Steven announced as he picked up a guitar to play while Connie sat down. "There's something very important that I'd like to tell you today." With that, he started strumming the guitar and began to sing. "I'd rather be tall, I'd rather be smart, I'd rather be sure you know I care." He sang for Connie. "Wherever you go, wherever you start, I'd rather be sure you know I'm there. I'd rather I always be a part of whatever you do. I'd rather be me, with you."

Although Connie was a little turned off by the deeper meaning of Steven's song, she chose to just keep those feelings hidden to not hurt Steven's while he continued singing. "Wherever we go, I already trust, I'd know what to do if it were us. I'd know what to say, I'd know how to be, I'd know your entire syllabus." Steven continued as the song reached its climax. "I can't think of any other thing in the world that I would rather do. If I could be, I'd rather be me with you."

"Oh Steven, that's so beautiful!" Connie applauded the love song. "If a little unsettling, but I'd rather not say it out loud because-" Steven then got down on one knee and presented him her old glow bracelet. "Huh?"

"Connie, will you marry me?" Steven popped the question at last.

"Come again?" Connie asked, completely taken off guard by such a proposal.

"Let's get married and live together as Stevonnie, just like Garnet!" Steven reiterated for his possible wife.

"Are you serious?" Connie chuckled at the marriage proposal. "I think we should talk about this first."

"You might think I'm being sentimental, but this makes sense!" Steven exclaimed. "I don't know what you'll be studying, but I'm sure Stevonnie will! We can go to Jayhawk together!"

"I really appreciate this little date, but come on! You're still young!" Connie said as she stood up. "And acting a little clingy, I might add." She added under her breath.

"What was that?" Steven asked Connie.

"Nothing!" Connie lied. "Like I said, we're still young. And even if some couples get married at like, eighteen, I don't think we're fit to be one of those."

"So, you don't want to be Stevonnie with me?" Steven asked despondently, but Connie was there to comfort him.

"Of course I'd want to be Stevonnie, but I'd like to be my own person too," Connie answered reassuringly. "You get that, right?"

"Yeah, but," Steven began while putting the bracelet away as Connie hugged him. "Is it a no?"

"I'd say it's not right now." Connie answered.

"But if we're going to spend our lives together, why didn't you say it now?" Steven kept on inquiring fretfully.

"We got plenty of time." Connie declared, moving on from hugging Steven to holding his hands. "Don't you worry."

"I'm not worried, honest." Steven tried correcting his best friend. "I'm just happy when I'm with you."

"I'm happy around you too." Connie replied. "It's just that-" Before Connie could finish, the alarm on her phone went off. "Oh snap, my alarm!" she yelped in realization while pulling her phone out. "Forget studying right now, I don't think it matters."

"But it does matter to you!" Steven yelled.

"And you're just as important!" Connie responded, beginning to notice Steven getting more stressed out.

"I'm fine, we can talk about it later." Steven began rapidly panting. "Look, Lion's still right there, you can go now."

"Are you sure Steven?" Connie wondered sympathetically. "You're looking a little on edge. Maybe I can hook you up with a good therapist. She's a good friend of my mom named Dr. Rebe-"

"I'm sure I'm fine." Steven cut Connie off. "Now go."

"Okay." Connie obliged before giving Steven a goodbye hug. "I'll call you again tomorrow at noon." She said before walking towards Lion to have him take her home.

"Have fun studying!" Steven continued putting up a happy front as he bid Connie farewell. But as soon as she was out of sight, that front completely fell. "Nobody I love ever wants to stay."

With that, Steven fell back-first to the sand and turned pink, the resulting impact ruining the nice picnic around him as he wallowed in a crater of his sadness, and stayed there for the rest of the day.

--

Many hours later, Steven kept on lying in the crater long into the night with tears in his eyes, and when he finally decided to get up, Garnet was there waiting for him with the picnic basket containing the cake still intact.

"I assume it didn't go well." Garnet theorized as she helped Steven up from the crater and began walking him home.

"I don't get it," Steven muttered cynically. "Ruby and Sapphire said I should go for it, and I did, but everything went wrong."

"I apologize on their behalf," Garnet stated. "You just can't trust love advice from hopeless romantics like those two."

"Then why didn't you stop me?" Steven asked the fusion.

"I couldn't see a future where you didn't try proposing to Connie," Garnet answered. "However, there were quite a few where after she said no, you forced her to fuse with you and subsequently went insane."

"Of course." Steven moaned. "Even in alternate timelines, nothing can ever go right for me."

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Garnet comforted her half-human ward with a hug to the side. "Your soulmate should be your complement, not a missing piece. Ruby and Sapphire may deeply love each other, but they still have their own thoughts, feelings, and lives." The pair soon reached the beach house and sat down on the steps together. "Whatever hole you have in your life Steven, I want you to know that Connie or Stevonnie might not fill it."

"It's just that you guys make it so easy!" Steven revealed as he took the basket from Garnet. "Can't believe I'm saying this, but it's kinda your fault for being so dang perfect!"

"I know you're upset Steven, and I take responsibility for your plight," Garnet apologized to Steven. "but blaming others as much as you blame yourself won't help."

"Then maybe shoving this adorable cake in my face will!" Steven declared as he opened the picnic basket to reveal that the cake was in pieces.

"It probably won't." Garnet deadpanned, but Steven didn't listen and started eating the broken cake anyways.

"Well, I'm still gonna do it!" Steven exclaimed, his mouth now full of cake.

"I know," Garnet added as she gazed up at the sky. However, what she didn't catch was a fly buzzing around her and Steven, and its green eyes started blinking.

--

"Ah, romance. So utterly futile." Black Rutile grimaced as she watched the live footage of Steven drowning his sorrows in cake through a hard light welding mask. "Still, all that trauma could be useful in the future."

As Black Rutile was spectating on Steven's pain, she was hard at work on her plans for revenge, using a blowtorch to put together the final touches on a special wrist-mounted device. Once she was done, the villainous Rutile aimed the device at a rock carved into the exact shape of White Diamond's gem and fired. The resulting blast destroyed the rock and left a massive cloud of ash where it once was, but she wasn't satisfied with the smattering of pebbles that once made up the rock.

"Hm, need to work on the disintegration aspect a bit more." Black Rutile pondered while retracting the welding mask into her visor and began going back to the drawing board.

--

Guess who's back? Back again? Black Rutile's back, she's no friend! And on that rather sad turned ominous note, we conclude the first chapter of Part 3. Now that we have Steven's romance issues out of the way, expect to see the following in the coming chapters, in no particular order.

Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl re-enact Ace Attorney while Steven becomes even more scarred for life.

Viva Los Diego! Lapis & Amethyst get involved with a James Bond parody, Garnet & Bismuth solve mysteries together with a police officer who's basically the Plumber from Ratchet and Clank, Pearl matches wits with a snooty film director who's like Michael Bay, David Cage, Neil Druckmann & Zack Snyder in one, and Peridot tries promoting her CPH reboot.

Steven hangs out with Spinel and plays basketball with Wolverine.

Peridot finally gets her own song.

Jasper finally gets her own song.

A certain Stevonnie-chasing jerk dares Steven to reform him.

And finally, Black Rutile plays a role in a certain event in Fragments, the final chapter of this part.

Have I gotten your interest yet? Good, cause strap in everyone, it's gonna be nuts.

[blueoatmeal]

what do they eat????

the surface culture in KATAOW is Very Strange, and part of that strangeness is what people eat

when there was only one sapient species on the planet, humans, it was easy to draw the line between what was morally okay to eat and what wasn’t. broadly speaking, anyway. Don’t eat other humans; why? because they’re sapient. they’re people. just about everything else is fair game. humans will eat anything

not very complicated. and generally when humans thought about hypothetical other sapient species, whether they be mutants or aliens or whatever, they usually came to a similar conclusion: despite being a different species, the other sapients are still sapient, still people, and so would be off-limits, if they did exist. the What Measure is a Non Human trope does start to come into play here, because it is easier to question a being’s sapience if they are different from humans. But generally speaking, to humans, sapient = not a menu item

Here’s where things get complicated.

In KATAOW, humans are no longer the only sapient species on the planet. Far from it, in fact. I can name about thirteen just off the top of my head.

Now, if they were aliens, they’d have come from their own entirely separate ecosystem. Usually in media there is an unspoken “one sapient species per origin planet” rule. This rule is rarely broken. this wouldn’t be a problem, as long as all the sapient species agreed to not eat any other sapients. The more there are, the less likely this is to happen, but it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine, as humans usually do, that assuming the alien sapients have their own supporting ecosystems already, they could all agree not to eat each other, as a moral compromise if nothing else; a truce of sorts, a show of respect

Well. the new sapient species in KATAOW are not aliens. 

They mutated, or evolved, from existing species in Earth’s ecosystem. In many cases (but not all) they seem to have entirely replaced their ancestors. For example, the Timbercats are the only example of modern ex-domesticated felines. There are no little kitties that can fit in a shoebox. None. None that we’ve seen, and Benson implies there aren’t any.

With birds, however, it’s different. We see examples of wild bird mutes (Beakbeak), and sapient bird mutes (Hummingbird Bombers). Is this distinction based on individual species? I don’t know.

In an inversion of the cat situation, the bunnies, or rather, megabunnies we see, are the only bunnies we see. But is it possible that there is now also a branched-off separate sapient species of bunny that we just haven’t met? I don’t know.

What causes some creatures to develop sentience, and others not to? They all seem to have changed in some way, but only some are intelligent now. Why? I don’t know. Humans seem to have, generally, been exempt from the mass mutation event. As we learn more about the world, this information may change, but this is what we know now.

Regardless, the fact remains that the creatures, the fauna of the world changed drastically, and with that change their needs changed too. Many plants and I would have to assume fungi and bacteria, archea, viruses, etc. have thankfully ALSO changed drastically. Is the ecosystem balanced, then, after such a drastic disruption? I’m not sure. The mutated life survived for 200 years though, so the environment coped well enough not to just kill everything, at least.

But still, food. Balanced or not, stuff definitely changed.

Let’s get the humans out of the way because they’re simpler:

Something happened to drive the humans underground, leaving a lot of food behind. They stay down there, so obviously they found ways to grow and hunt food down underground. If we can do it on Mars, a burrow is no problem. Humans were already eating whatever they wanted, so not much changed. And unless a lot has changed over 200 years, humans would still be averse to eating other sapient species. That’s been our history.

There are a few humans on the surface. Wolf implies that she won’t eat a mute if it’s sapient, when she first catches Mandu. Wolf and Benson seem to live off of old abandoned human food and non-sapient mutes. This works fine because there’s only a few surface humans; otherwise the supply of abandoned food would quickly run dry.

And that’s it for humans. 

Non-sapient mutes will eat whatever, regardless of sapience. Beakbeak doesn’t care that his prey is intelligent. He’s an animal in the traditional sense of the word. Wild animals continue to be wild animals, just like before the mutation. Nothing new there.

But the sapient mutes? The sapient mutes are weird.

Just so we’re on the same page, here are a few sapient mutes we know:

The Mod Frogs, the Newton Wolves, the Hummingbird Bombers, the raccoons, the Dubstep Bees, the Scooter Skunks, the rats, some elephants, that waterbear/tardigrade guy, our insect bud Dave, the Snäkes, the Timbercats, Scarlemagne and his assorted primate gang, and those rodent ppl in Umlaut Valley--prairie dogs? Punk Prairie Dogs? Etc.

Quick note, there are a few that are questionable mostly for lack of information (Mandu, dragonflies, flies) and I’ll touch on them later. For now we’re working with indisputably fully-sapient mutes.

So.

Obviously their diets changed from their wild ancestors’, but I think we can assume that generally, their broad dietary range didn’t change. Strict herbivores are still built to handle plants only. There’s no reason their digestive systems and various feeding adaptations would have changed that drastically.

Herbivores? Probably mostly still herbivores. The Dubstep Bees seem to still rely on plant products, and don’t care for meat. Elephants are also obligate herbivores, and we see some with, what, some popcorn and cotton candy? That tracks.

For the sake of simplicity, I’ll be glossing over the fact that most carnivores I know do occasionally eat a bit of plant and can thus be considered technical omnivores. That’s not relevant right now. There are plenty of plants and none of the plants are intelligent, so there isn’t an issue.

Omnivores need a bit of both. Raccoons, rats, and skunks are our best examples. They have plants, so that’s fine. There seems to be enough variety of non-sapient mute prey for them too. These mutes are urban too, so just as their ancestors did, they supplement their diets with human food. There is no need for them to eat sapient mutes, and as far as I can tell, they don’t. I’m pretty sure most primates fall under this category too. Insects vary, but Dave seems to be an omnivore. Wikipedia tells me tardigrades go here as well.

There are some animals that are generally herbivores but occasionally eat meat, like Hummingbirds, but again, there seems to be plenty to go around, and no reason for those few meaty meals to be sapient mutes.

Carnivores. Yeah. I’ve been waiting the whole essay to write this part. Who’s left? The Mod Frogs, the Newton Wolves, the Snäkes, and the Timbercats. If they can’t eat meat on the regular, they just can’t survive.

The Newton Wolves, Timbercats, and  Snäkes express their willingness to eat humans. The Snäkes also are implied to be regularly eating sapient prairie dogs. The Newton Wolves are known to hunt and eat Mod Frogs and humans. These are all hard facts.

Little bit more speculative here: The Timbercats, like irl cats, would probably be more keen on eating Snäkes if they weren’t so venomous. I don’t think they’d be opposed to it though. The Snäkes are large enough that wolf could potentially be a menu option. Wolves have historically been known to eat cats and snakes, so their sapient counterparts are probably fair game too. I don’t think the cats would want to eat wolves, though that thought is based largely on size and the fact that irl domestic cats don’t hunt irl wolves. Could they? Sure. I just don’t think they’d go for it when there are other options. Likewise, various omnivores would be considered prey to various carnivores, with practical and historical considerations determining their exact place on the food chain. Snakes and cats regularly eat frogs irl, so that’s that on that.

You may have sussed out my main driving question by now, but before I get to that, let’s take a little detour: humans as prey

No animal specifically hunts humans in the wild. We are not the prime prey animal of any species. Well, besides some bacteria, and a few parasites, but until we see a sapient bacteria or tapeworm, that’s not relevant. But these new mutated species, much larger and more intelligent than their ancestors, seem to see humans as just another prey option. And rightfully so! We are bald primates, just clever little mammals. Heck, even the rats are bigger than us now! If a mute would eat a rat, how different would human be? Different shape, but otherwise? Not much! I’m just saying I get it. Humans have been established as equal to other sapient mutes, and susceptible to the organization of the food chain in a way we’ve never been before. We’re not special anymore. We’re not even in power! We’re in hiding!

Now I don’t know, but I have to imagine that the reason several sapient mutes are okay with eating other sapient mutes is twofold: history and demand. 

All these animals were, before mutation, accustomed to eating beings on a similar intelligence level. That was their normal. So when a few of them mutate and gain sentience, what reason should they have to stop what they’ve been doing for all of history? Inter-species communication isn’t new, just easier.

And demand? Demand is more speculative. All of the mutes are much larger than their animal ancestors. So they need more food. If their main food source grew as well, and wasn’t sapient, there’s no issue... until you keep going down the food chain and run out of what they eat, and so on... But anyway, that could be alright. No moral issue, certainly. If their main food source stayed small (intelligent or not tbh), there’s going to be a food shortage for the predator.

This is all VERY simplified, btw, ecology is complex as hell and I could spend years mapping out all the causes and effects here

Back to the point: if there’s a food shortage, you either find a solution or die. Predators are probably gonna want to hunt prey of an appropriate size. So they either find different prey, change their preferences, adapt as many animals have had to do for ages. Difficult sometimes, and a hassle, but doable. OR... if their prey did grow, but also gained sapience? Screw the morals, which are historically more human-based anyway, and eat them. For both prey and predator, it’s not very different from what they’re used to. It’s not new.

Alright. That all makes sense to me. So what’s the problem? What’s that big question? I’ll tell you what’s been bugging me:

What the fuck are the Mod Frogs eating!?

“Well Blue,” you might say, “Just big insects and stuff, right? There are dragonflies and flies in the show. Why should the frogs be any different from the other predators in the show?”

They shouldn’t be any different, by the logic of this whole essay, but they are.

All the other animals, I’ve been able to find reasonable food sources for. But then the frogs subvert the whole thing by having dragonflies and flies working for them. The two most obvious and recognizable prey animals for frogs. So, are they in some kind of weird servant-prey Stockholm syndrome relationship?

Okay, possibly. I don’t have any data to disprove that. But it doesn’t fit with the rest of the kataow vibe and also I don’t like it. Like, the predator and prey stuff I can understand, but that is a special kind of fucked up, sapient or otherwise.

So if not that, then that’s gotta mean the frogs aren’t eating them, right? Okay, that makes some sense, I mean, they use the dragonflies for transportation and the flies are?? Also transportation????? Or assistants??? Its unclear. How that arrangement came about, I don’t know. 

Are the flies and dragonflies sapient? I’m not certain. The flies wear suits, so that’s a point for Probably Sapient. The dragonflies are largely treated as non-sapient but intelligent animals, like a domesticated horse. So maybe they’re like Mandu? Only they can speak. Dave knows and speaks their language. You don’t say “oh I speak a little Horse, lemme talk to them.” That’s not a thing. So the dragonflies for now are Probably Sapient, But It’s Complicated

Alright, alright, enough of that nonsense, there are plenty of bugs! Large ones too! And small mammals, irl frogs will eat those too! If they can get it in their mouth and it’s an animal, an irl frog will be willing to try and eat it. There’s no problem! What’s the point of this! They just eat big bugs! Just not flies because they’re sapient and--

Ah. Aha. No; see, that’s just it. Because they’re sapient. But hang on, didn’t I just say I wasn’t sure about the flies’ sapience? Yeah, I did, and I also said they probably are sapient, and even if they’re not, I have more.

ALL of the obligate carnivores in kataow reacted to Kipo’s gang in the same way; “Oh, that’s food.” And then only later, even if just a minute later, and usually reluctantly, “But maybe friends instead?” All the obligate carnivores EXCEPT for the Mod Frogs.

“That’s because humans are too big and--” Bullshit. Humans are the perfect size for mute frog prey. Sorry, that’s just a fact. And not only that, but they treat Dave and Mandu the same as the humans. Why? Why? Dave is a freaking insect!!! And the perfect size!!! And Mandu would be a great snack! Wolf almost ate Mandu, and she’s got a strict “if it talks it’s not food” policy.

Alright so I don’t have an explanation for Mandu besides “their sapience is uncertain and maybe that’s enough.” Maybe they’re too focused on the humans? I don’t know.

But Dave?????? When they captured him with Benson in the beginning, why didn’t they at least threaten to eat him??? Huh?? My proposal: because he’s sapient.

...So ...what?

So, if we go with this logic, the Mod Frogs are the only carnivores who care AT ALL about sapience of their prey. The omnivores and herbivores have the privilege of way more options, so they don’t get an opinion.

Why do the Frogs care? Why? And why is it just them?

This is where I run out of answers.

And yeah, there are probably other sufficiently-sized non-sapient prey animals for the frogs. There was a big spider and that’s probably enough proof for that point. They’re fine. They have stuff to eat.

But that doesn’t take away the fact that while they seem to choose not to eat sapient animals, none of the other carnivores do. 

Why.

Is.

That?

Jamack caught a Dubstep Bee in his mouth and what did he do?? He spit it out! Why would he do that if sapience wasn’t a factor? Why?

Seriously though if you have answers PLEASE share them with me, I am absolutely bewildered

[thetriggeredhappy]

I have a scout headcanon where he's not a murderer and the other team respawns so he's not a murderer but sniper is. Before the job, he was an actual assassin, payed to kill people who respawn. Maybe you could (given that you have free time) write a short fic about scout realizing that sniper is an actual killer?

this was actually a conversation i kinda wanted to try to squeeze somewhere into Taking Shots but i’m not sure if i’m gonna be able to. so here’s a way heavier version of it since i can do that since outside of the fic

ft. catholic guilt and a lot of semantics

-

Scout had dropped by both to hang out and to listen to the game that night, not wanting to deal with the hustle and bustle of the common area and arguing over what the radio would be set to. And apparently his team won, and then the radio was shut off, and Scout was just finishing off the beer Sniper’d handed him earlier, fingernails tapping against the glass as he looked up at the map on Sniper’s wall.

It was criss-crossed with various marks in varying colors of pen, fading after having had it for so many years, so many contracts.

“Is travelling, like, fun?” Scout asked suddenly out of the blue, looking at the map.

Sniper shrugged. “Can be. Or it can be stressful, if I schedule contracts too close together,” he replied. “What, don’t you count base transfers as travel?”

“Nah,” Scout said. “Not really.”

There was another long pause.

“So it was mostly just… when you were on contract for stuff, then? Before you worked here?” Scout asked.

“Mostly,” Sniper confirmed.

Fingers tapping on glass. “Must’a paid well.”

“Mercenary work usually does,” Sniper shrugged.

Scout took a drink, put the bottle back down again. Looked at it. “I keep forgetting that most of you guys have kinda been, like… doin’ all this shit for years and years. Like, outside of the team. One of those things of like—like when you meet someone and they mention their hair used to be way longer or shorter or whatever and you just can’t imagine it because you’ve only known them lookin’ one way.” Fingers tapping on glass. “That you’ve, like… pretty much always been used to all this.”

“You weren’t?” Sniper asked.

Scout shrugged. “I mean, I pretended. Took a few months to start getting used to it. The dyin’ thing was new for everyone, so that was fine, but… not much of the rest of it.”

Sniper’s brow furrowed. Scout continued after a moment, clearly uncomfortable with the silence.

“I mean, I guess it was kinda like how you guys all had to get used to livin’ with a whole bunch of people. Like, Heavy kinda got it since he’s got all those sisters, and Engie had a bunch of roommates in college and stuff, and you just live out here so you don’t gotta deal with that shit, but I’m the one who lived with like half a dozen other guys for most’a my life growin’ up, y’know? So everyone else had to kinda play it cool with that, and I had to play it cool about killin’ people, it balances out, right?”

Sniper looked him over. Fingers tapping on glass.

“Yeah, nah. Those aren’t the same thing,” Scout said quietly, ducking his head a little.

“You’d never…?” Sniper asked slowly. Saw Scout recoiling a little, changed directions. “Most everyone got recruited from some sort of criminal background. You saying they picked you up right out of… a desk job or some other nonsense?”

“No,” Scout said, voice a little quiet. “No, I… I did what I had to do, alright? And… I always kinda figured if it ever came down to it, I’d… keep doin’ what I had to do, to stay alive, to make it back home again. But I never got beyond fistfights, mostly. Knife fights. Shit like that. Never killin’. So… this was new.”

Sniper shifted. “I could never tell, if that makes a difference,” he mentioned, trying for a lighter tone, and Scout’s lip only quirked for a second before dropping again.

“…Snipes, let me ask you a question real quick,” Scout suddenly proposed, sitting up a little and looking up at Sniper for maybe the first time since the conversation started. “Do you think what we do in our day job counts as murder?”

Sniper considered the question. Scout elaborated.

“They come back again. So if nobody’s really dead, then it’s like nobody died, and if nobody died then nobody got killed. Then technically there’s no killer.”

“I don’t think it counts,” Sniper said decidedly. “Like you said. Nobody’s dead, nobody’s a killer.”

“I… feel like maybe it does,” Scout said carefully. “I feel like it’s about intent, y’know? Like… you’re tryin’ to beat the shit outta someone until they quit breathing, that’s killing, even if they don’t really die. Like in those murder mystery books and whatever where someone gets like, shot in the chest and then fakes dyin’, and the person thinks they killed someone. Ain’t that kinda still murder?”

Sniper sat back, looked at Scout, his fidgeting, the guilt on his face. “I think that’s a real Catholic way of looking at it,” he finally said, and Scout looked up at him, a little surprised. “You said you were raised Catholic, right?”

“Yeah,” Scout nodded.

Sniper exhaled, tilting his own bottle around idly, watching the few drops at the bottom rolling around, considering his words. “I don’t think it’s about intent,” he decided. “I think it’s about… cause and effect. The effect at the end. I don’t think you’re responsible for much of anything that goes on in your own head—you can only control that so much. All you can really control is your actions, and if your actions are automatic or out of your control, more of a… fight or flight response, then you can only control whether you take responsibility for it.”

“What if you do somethin’ and then somethin’ happens that you didn’t mean to happen?” Scout asked.

“Then you still need to take responsibility, if it could be your fault. And… that goes for good or bad, right or wrong. If you’re brilliant on accident, you’ve got to take responsibility. If you do something awful on accident, you’ve got to take responsibility. It goes both ways. Assuming that everything makes you a bad person—that causing lethal harm to someone who can’t die makes you a murderer—that’s just a very Catholic way of looking at it. Constantly finding yourself at fault, assuming you’ve done something wrong, deciding that every choice you make is…” He trailed, losing track of his words for a second.

“Is…?” Scout asked, and when Sniper looked up, Scout appeared to be clinging to his every word.

Sniper paused for another second or two. “Assuming that with everything you do, you’re responsible for the worst possible outcome of the situation regardless of whether it happens or not,” he finally decided. “Everything you do, thinking of the worst case scenario and deciding you’ve earned the guilt of that happening whether it happens or not. But you can’t live like that. You need to focus on what’s actually happening, what you’re actually capable of. Not the semantics surrounding whether you’re technically, legally, morally a murderer. Intention isn’t much of anything, really, but result is, and what you’ve done in our day jobs has never resulted in anyone being dead in a way that matters.”

He finished his little soapbox rant, and wished he could take a drink to dispel his nerves, but his bottle was empty. Scout seemed to be considering something.

“…Sometimes, Miss P sends you on jobs,” Scout said slowly, looking up at him. Sniper nodded. “You kill people on those, right? Real people, not people that come back.” Sniper nodded, more hesitantly. “Do you… count that?”

“Yeah,” Sniper said, concentrating every molecule of his body on making his voice light. “That definitely counts. I’m making independent choices, knowing the result will probably be someone dead, and then someone’s dead for real.”

Scout took a drink, set his bottle down, nodded. Like he’d already known, already come to terms with it, which he probably had. Like he’d only asked because he wanted to know what Sniper thought. Paused. “Sometimes I go on contracts. And it ain’t exactly my job to try and clear out places, I’m more of a… get in, grab somethin’, see somethin’, fuck right back off again before I get shot,” he said. “I’ve never pulled a trigger on someone who dies for real. Only ever maybe whacked someone upside the head if I gotta get past them.”

“Not a killer, then,” Sniper said simply, but Scout shot a look at him and he stopped again.

“Here’s the thing though, is I go in there and figure out where shit is. Where they store explosives, where the exits are, who lives and sleeps where, the layout of places,” he continued. Tipped his bottle from one side to another, drained the last of it and leaned to drop it in the trash can. “Snipes, I ain’t an idiot. I know Miss P thinks I am, all the guys think I am, but I ain’t an idiot.” The bottle shattered against the bottom of the can, startling Sniper a little. Scout didn’t flinch, though. “I know Miss Pauling goes, or sends someone else, and kills basically everyone in there once I tell her how to get in.”

 He got comfortable again, shifting a little. Sniper just watched him warily.

“That’s basically the same thing as me putting the bullet in their head myself, isn’t it?” Scout asked, looking back up at him, expression hard to read.

Sniper hesitated. “Maybe,” he said slowly. “But… I don’t think I’d count that, either. Not properly.”

Scout sank back, and that hard to read expression shifted into frustration. “Look, okay. Maybe I don’t personally kill people,” he said, tone short. “But I sure as hell hurt people. Sure as hell fuck up their whole shit. And I dunno if that’s worse, but it’s not that much better. Like, Jesus Christ, I mean, everyone on the team’s got nightmares these days, I can’t hear a car backfire in town without wanting to take a swing at someone. I won’t be able to make it living with regular people once this job finally runs out, and neither will most of us, and neither will most of those other assholes on the other side of the field. In all the ways that matter, that dumbass piece of shit kid Jeremy died on his first day on the job. He doesn’t exist anymore. Now,” he said, and his throat seemed to go tight suddenly, and he looked off to one side, swallowing hard. “Now I’m just Scout. Now I just hurt people. Because it’s the only thing I’ve ever been any good at.”

Sniper didn’t know what to say.

Scout swallowed again, visibly steeling himself. “I’ve got another question for you,” he said.

“Go on,” Sniper prompted gently.

“Is a killer someone who’s killed people before,” Scout asked, “or is it somebody who tries to kill people because it’s the only thing they know how to do?”

[imaginesforyourfandom]

Somewhere - USWNT Imagine

(Y/N) POV:

I groaned as I felt pain shooting throughout my body. I was trying to think really hard about what happened to cause me to get here, but I was coming up with nothing.

“Okay sweetheart…we need you to relax.” I heard someone say as I tried to open my eyes again. I saw multiple people moving around me.

“I don’t think she has any serious injuries, but witnesses say she hit her head pretty hard.” I heard a man say as I closed my eyes at how bright the lights were.

“Okay so potential head injury…someone page Dr. Regan.” A woman who was working next to me. “Hi (Y/N) can you understand me?”

“Yeah…” I said my voice coming out hoarsely as I she gave a small smile. “What happened?”

“You were hit by a car.” She said as I laid there trying to remember if that had actually happened. “It doesn’t seem like you have any serious injuries…but we want to run some tests if that’s alright…”

“Sure…” I mumbled as she then ordered some of the other nurses to do stuff that I couldn’t quite comprehend.

It was another hour before I was sitting in a room by myself. The lights in the room had been dimmed because they had been giving me a really bad headache. I had done some tests, so I was currently waiting for the results to make sure there was no swelling or anything. They had already determined I had a concussion that was a grade 2 based on my symptoms. My arm was determined to be broken so I had it in a sling. My legs were fine thankfully, but I did have a nasty gash on my side from where the car made impact. So, that in turn resulted in a couple broken ribs.

“Hello (Y/N)” I turned to see the nurse who had been in and out coming into my room.

“Hi.” I said with a small smile.

“How are you feeling?”

“Oh, I feel great.” I said a little sarcastically. She gave me a small smile as she seemed to look around for a moment.

“Is there no one here with you?” she asked as I shook my head. “What? No friends?”

“I think calling my friends will only make things worse.” I commented as she shook her head.

“You know it’s surprising how many people actually think that…”

“You don’t know my friends…they are extremely overprotective.”

“Don’t you think they are going to worry about you if you just don’t show up at all or talk to them…?”

“Touché.” I mumbled as I tried to think realistically about if I was able to keep this a secret.

“So, the doctor told me to inform you that you will need to stay overnight just for observation.” I groaned a little earning an amused smile from her. “Yeah, definitely going to have to talk to those friends…”

I nodded my head turning to reach for my phone that was sitting on the table. Luckily, it had not been destroyed in the accident. I had a ton of messages from each of my teammates. I was supposed to arrive to camp today. I had technically, but none of my teammates had been there yet so I went on a walk and ended up in the hospital.

My stuff was there, and I was not so therefore they were worried. It had been hours since I had gone on that walk so, I could only imagine what they were thinking. I bit my lip as I read through the messages. Ash and Pinoe both threatening bodily harm if I don’t answer. Alex, JJ, Christen and them just being worried about my whereabouts. I sighed pressing the call button as I waited for someone to answer.

“I just need to check on your stitches real quick and then I will be done.” The nurse said as I nodded my head.

“Hello! (Y/N) oh my god…are you okay? Where are you?” Alex’s voice floated through the phone as I tried to think of an excuse. There really was no way out of this situation.

“I am…somewhere.” I said as the nurse shot me an amused look.

“What the hell does that mean?” Kelley said as I sighed to myself.

“Why am I on speaker phone?” I asked as I heard a couple groans from them.

“Don’t avoid the question. We are all worried about you. Now, where are you?” Christen asked as I thought about telling the truth. Maybe I could just draw this out and they would give up.

“I am in a place.”

“What’s that beeping noise?” I shot a scowl towards the heart monitor that was beeping very loudly.

“Ow!” I jumped turning towards the Nurse as she gave me an apologetic look. She finished applying a bandage to the wound on my side before turning to exit the room.

“Are you okay?” I heard frantically from various people.

“Okay…I am going to tell you where I am…but you can’t freak out.”

“No promises. Where are you?” Alex said as I sighed again to myself.

“I am in the Hospital.”

“What?”

“Oh my god.”

“Which hospital?”

“What happened?”

“Jesus Christ…” I mumbled as questions were being thrown left and right from all of them.

“One question at a time.” Pinoe said as everyone quieted down. “Which hospital?”

“Is it bad that I don’t actually know?”

“(Y/N)!” Christen yelled as I stared at the phone in shock. She was the last person I expected to yell at me. “Where are you?”

I quickly told them the name of the hospital before they told me they were on the way. It wasn’t long before my door flew open and in came the Calvary of players who immediately flocked to my sides.

Christen occupied one side while Alex was on the other side. They were followed closely by Tobin, Kelley, JJ, Becky, Ash, and the rest of them.

“Oh my god…are you okay? What happened?”

“I was a hit by a car.” I said as they all gave varying degrees of horrified looks.

“WHAT?” I shied away from Kelley’s shout feeling my headache intensify just a little.

Christen immediately glared at the defender running her fingers through my hair slightly. All of them seemed to back off just a little to give me space. I leaned back on the bed as Alex and Christen both occupied the seats on either side of me. Christen was on the side of my uninjured arm so she took my hand and was rubbing soothing circles on it. Alex sat and started talking with Becky and Pinoe about what they should do.

“Do you know what your injuries are?” Becky asked after a moment as I thought about it.

“I have a grade 2 concussion, my arm is broke, and I have a couple broken ribs.” I said as she nodded her head.

“Okay well…at least your legs are okay.” Ash joked as I smiled. She stopped when everyone else glared at her.

The door opened and in walked a doctor and nurse. He gave me a smile as everyone stared at him expectantly.

“Hello (Y/N). How are you feeling?”

“I am about as good as you can guess.” He nodded his head before opening his chart.

“So, all your tests came back and it seems you’ll be fine. It doesn’t appear that there are any long-lasting injuries to be worried about. I still want to keep you overnight just for observation, but you should be free to go tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.”

After that, he talked for a few more minutes before exiting the room. I sat there talking with everyone for a little bit before they decided it was time for them to go. This then led to an argument about who was going to stay with me overnight. Mostly everyone gave up when Alex and Christen started arguing with JJ and Kelley about which one of the four of them deserved to stay.

“You pick” Becky said after a moment while staring at me.

“What?”

“You’re the one who is stuck here. So, you pick who gets to stay with you.” I stared at her for a moment as everyone stared at me expectantly.

“So, you guys are going to rock paper scissors on this.” I said as they groaned but quickly started doing it.

JJ ultimately won after beating Christen who had beaten Alex. They each said their goodbyes before taking their exit. JJ took a seat next to me as she took my hand in hers and rubbed it softly.

“You had us worried sick.” I frowned at her taking note of the serious expression on her face.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. Had I known this is what was going to happen…”

“I know…I’m sorry it happened to you. You don’t deserve this.”

“Thanks.”

“You’ll get better though. I believe in you.”

“I appreciate that.”

“The whole team is behind you.” She commented as I nodded my head.

“Yeah I know…I told the nurse that I didn’t want to call you guys at first because you are so overprotective.”

“I know, but its because we care so much about you.” She intertwined our fingers as I smiled.

“I care about you guys too.” We stared at each other for a moment before she let go of my hand and leaned back in the chair she was occupying.

“You should get some rest.” She said as I nodded my head.

“Thanks for being here Julie.” I said as she smiled at me.

“I’ll always be there for you.” She stood up and gave me a kiss on the forehead before heading into the bathroom. I smiled as I felt myself begin to drift off into sleep. My teammates are insane but I am forever grateful for them.

The End.

[dismas-dumbass]

Mom says that a house is like a body. And every house has eyes and bones and skin. A face. This room is like the heart of the house. No, not a heart, a stomach.

-The Haunting of Hill House

Hackett Siblings wanted for some absolutely chaotic drama!

CW: suicide, ptsd, mental trauma, death, substance abuse

henlo, welcome to the ad where i lose my shit cause i’ve lost control of my life. anyway! i have the idea for a rather messed up group of siblings slightly based off the Haunting of Hill House show. The basics are that there’s a large house, there’s a large family, something reaaaallyy rreeaally bad happens to the family when the kids are young that have fucked them up for the rest of their lives, fun stuff like that! obviously the situation is more subtle/personal rather than what goes on in the show [i’ll try to be vague due to spoilers] but i think it’s still something that can be rather creepy~ pretty much 95% of the info presented in this version of the ad is rather flexible and flimsy and i definitely don’t mind working with y’all to make it something amazing!! also, no knowledge of the show is needed whatsoever but just be a tiny bit careful if you do wanna see it/don’t like being spoiled mostly just due to the fact that with the themes that will be in the ad the show will probably be discussed as well!

a loooootttt of the details aren’t set in stone btw! i’m pretty much outlining my thoughts and the general concept but things may/will change and things will be added/subtracted as more people contribute to the idea!

if you have any questions or even if this strikes your fancy you can contact me on discord [mine’s dismas#9766]! if there’s more than one of ya then we can get a group chat going so that way we can see what ideas we all have for this! i can’t wait to write with y’all! <3

Backstory

alright, so the gist is that the Hackett family used to live in a rather big and fancy house. why they were there is up in the air so here’s a few suggestions: A. like the show, their parents were fixing it up. now, whether that means they’re going to sell it right after or live in it is open since both angles are rather interesting! B. they inherited it. from who? who knows! could be a relative that one of the parents knew, could have been random. it’s just a harmless house right? it might be good for the family! C. they just moved there. weird house for a good price? why not! it might be fun! 

whatever the reason, the siblings were in the house for some time. whether they’re natives to Dyrne or outsiders is open since all of the concepts can cover those possibilities easily! there’s no strict timeline yet as to how old they were when they were in that house but more than likely the youngest [twin] siblings were no younger than 6 so make of that what you will with the age ranges~ i would say that they were in that house for about a year or so? technically not too long in their lives but enough to cause lifelong damage?

their parents were good people. they had their flaws obviously and raising literally seven kids was an undertaking but they managed fine enough. mostly through the power of having the older siblings taking care of the younger. but even then they were loving parents. their father was a bit of a mess but well-meaning [think: one of the little siblings learned a swear word from an older one and their father tries to track them down, shouting throughout the house ‘get your ass in here now or else you’re grounded!’] and their mother was more organized yet didn’t hesitate to create a tiny bit of harmless chaos every once in a while. they loved each other, they loved their kids.

now, obviously, there’s the subject of the house itself. what’s the history behind it? that’s definitely left open due to the very reason why they’re there. but there’s probably something wrong with the house. physically? spiritually? mentally? whoever walks those halls won’t exactly be coming back out the same, that’s for sure. And that’s sort of what happened. the official story was that the Hackett family lived in the house for year, doing whatever, and then a fire broke out which caused the death of their mother. the rest of the family was able to escape and the father gave the testimony that it was an electrical fire -when investigated, he was proven innocent of any wrongdoing.

so what’s the actual story? It’s a bit of a mish mash of weird memories, mostly. it’s not really known whether the house is actually alive alive or if its history is just a horrible set of coincidences of bad stuff happening to people. the actual night was a blur to the siblings, all of them being ushered out of the house by their frantic father and herded into the car. when they asked where their mother was their father didn’t answer so they were just left crying after their missing mother. they didn’t even know that there was a fire even though maybe one of them said that they smelled smoke. they didn’t find out until one of the officers at the scene talked about it. for whatever reason, each and every one of them were silent on why they were brought out of the house by their father.

it’s still something they don’t know about.

to be fair, it was almost a partial relief to be out of the house. as i mentioned with the family they were held together well enough and were loving but things started to change when they moved to that house. slowly, surely, they started to encounter strange happenings, feel strange things, and started to view each other differently. what exactly happened to each family member is left open since they mostly don’t speak of their experiences except for the youngest. even their father, who may have experienced quite a lot, was tight-lipped about what happened to him, especially on the night of the fire. the experiences changed them, messed with them, and caused them to splinter and falter and break. after the death of their mother there was obviously quite a few years before everyone split up but they eventually did, going off to do their own things with their own scars hidden beneath their lies. some moved away, some stayed, but they still stayed in touch in some fashion. just not enough to be considered personal anymore.

what brought them all back together was the death of their father not too long ago. The poor man must have been consumed by guilt of some sort and took his own life, leaving his children behind to deal with the aftermath. they still never got any secrets from him nor any answers so all that’s there are feelings of confusion and loss. where the story begins is the revealed news that all the siblings are going to be living under one roof -in that house. the youngest daughter, for whatever reason, decided to purchase their childhood home back and has been in the process of restoring it. the reason why each sibling decides to go along with this is up in the air but the end result is the same: all seven siblings, plus any other family they may have, are now living in that house again.

Siblings

all the siblings except the one i’ll be playing are not set in stone! i’m going for a redheaded family sort of feel so the face claims i’ve put for each of them are something that i prefer but! tbh i’m super flexible and and at the end of the day it’s not a dealbreaker to choose someone else~ since i don’t wanna restrict folk’s fun over a fc choice! overall the sibling's interactions between each other are not that amicable -some may try to cooperate but old wounds come up and oftentimes a fight arises. they still have their weird traditions such as drawing straws if they need to do something and nobody wants to or they all fall silent at the same time [not often, obv., since they're mostly shouting over each other] that cause people on the outside to look at them strangely. at the end of the day, they can't escape the fact that they are siblings and are from the same disturbed family.

beliefs as well are varied and open! none say that they believe their youngest brother whenever he tries to convince them of what happened at the house though whether or not they believe that inside their heads is another matter entirely~

also! don’t feel as though you have to base your characters off any from the show! it’s just a nice start-off point and if you’re inspired but it’s definitely not a requirement whatsoever!

tbh a lot of the siblings aren’t fleshed out a lot & what happened to them in the house is also open so feel free to go wild!! i mean it; you can add as much as you want so that you can create a character that you’ll love to write for!

Eldest Son- 51. Toby Stephens.

being the eldest, he was the one to usually look after the younger children if their parents needed to do something. he built up a sort of protector complex where he has to make sure that he knows where all the other siblings are at all times. he fails constantly, of course, since he can’t even manage to have one of them listen to him. still, he feels responsible for all of his other siblings and takes it personally when he can’t get something done for them. he has his flaws, obviously, in that he tries to say that his way is the right way and can be as stubborn as an ox so despite his best intentions he clashes with some of the other siblings. this may be why none of them tend to listen to him.

Second Son- 50. Tony Curran.

He is one of the quieter siblings, preferring to be by himself when not needed. It isn’t that he dislikes his siblings; he just likes to be alone rather than among them. he’s kind and thoughtful so whenever one of the others needs help he’ll try to be there but besides that don’t count on him being somewhere on his own. Actually, it may be difficult to count on him in general because he loses track of time often and before he knows it he’s two hours late to moving some furniture for someone. this is probably the reason why he tends to be by himself -he doesn’t seem to grasp the passage of time as others have.

Eldest Daughter- 47. Sarah Rafferty.

she’s cruel. not absolutely cruel but cruel enough. she likes to poke and prod her siblings and see what sets them off. she thinks it’s funny and likes to observe the aftermath of her machinations. she likes to claim that she’s just bored but in reality she’s absolutely insecure herself and wants to bring others down to feel better about herself. don’t tell this to her face because she will absolutely try to turn it back on you and make you out to be the bad guy while she is the victim. also, don’t try to get revenge -she’ll just be more inclined to do something worse to you.

Second Daughter- 46. Amy Adams.

she’s neutral towards, well, everything. she kind of just exists and she doesn’t like that. not a lot of passion, not a lot of purpose. maybe she tries something daring once in a while to feel something but comes up short. it’s difficult for her to emotionally connect with others in a deep way and oftentimes she finds herself alone. she doesn’t like being alone, though, since being alone means she’ll be alone with her thoughts and she hates that. If she can even feel that properly, anyway. she’s not emotionless in the sense that she is sociopathic but her difficulty feeling things has caused her to have a sarcastic and thorny exterior towards anyone she meets, fueling her involuntary self-isolation.

Third Daughter- 43. Jessica Chastain. Reserved for spooky spice

she's the face of the family. the most energetic. the most chaotic. the one to threaten to break someone's kneecaps if they dare harm her siblings. she'll give a show-stopping smile and then tell you to eat shit afterwards. due to the minimal age difference she always had to watch the twins and therefore she is close to them, especially Thomas. some joke that she's actually Thomas' twin -she can sort of just sense whenever the youngest Hackett is in trouble. she's not happy about anything seeming messy, of course, so she spares no second to chastise anyone [including Thomas] about what they have done wrong. her status among stardom cannot afford any blemishes so catch her changing the subject whenever an interviewer brings up the fact that her younger brother is a drug addict. trust her, she knows. she knows all too well. and maybe her motivation for buying up the Hackett siblings' childhood house was to try to get Thomas some actual help after he failed out of rehab for the umpteenth time. their father's suicide may have just reinforced her decision to go forward with this.

Twin One- 42. Michael Fassbender.

maybe he’s one of the most normal. maybe’s he’s the most normal. maybe he has to be -his twin is an absolute trainwreck of a human being and his family is an equal amount of mess. maybe he’s just good at saving face and hiding the damage caused by the house [and maybe by his siblings]. some days, he sort of forgets that he’s a twin and that said twin is a drug addict. when they were young they were close though he would often play kind of cruel tricks on his younger twin such as locking the door to the basement after daring Thomas to go down the stairs, leaving him in a room alone with the lights off, and things like that. he grew out of it, matured, and tries to ignore the fact that he may or may not have been part of the reason why Thomas is the way he is now. he's too focused on being a professor at the college to fully see the cries of help his younger twin is showing.

Twin Two Thomas Hackett- 42. Michael Fassbender. Taken by Dismas.

so you’re asking me if i have a problem. i probably do. the youngest of the Hackett family; he’s probably one of the most heavily affected by the events at the house. for those familiar with the show think a combination of inspiration between Luke and Eleanor Crain, but also with even more issues maybe as well as none of the siblings being on his side whatsoever on anything. he had quite a few strange encounters ranging anywhere from encountering something in the basement when he was locked in one time by his twin to being trapped in a room with so much noise that he passed out for hours. now, figure, he’s a young kid when all of this happened [probably around 6 or so, could be a tiny bit older] so he doesn’t know how to deal with any of this. this really fucks him up. on top of that, whenever he told his family, none of them ever believed, further fueling the feeling of being unwanted. he was probably the closest one to their mother, being the youngest and the most vulnerable of the children, so he was absolutely devastated when she perished in the fire that fateful night. he blamed his father, thinking that he did something to her and tried to hide it with said fire. he never stopped believing in that, nor in the experiences he had in the house, and it pretty much ate at his soul. not only that but nobody still believed him so he always felt useless. he developed a bitter and angry attitude to try to hide this but the wounds were never able to be covered for long and so he eventually turned to drugs to soothe his pain. obviously, it never fully did so he just fell deeper into the rabbit hole. he dropped out of high school and started to do all sorts of jobs and favors in order to get his next fix, oftentimes winding up being arrested for petty crimes. he earned a bad reputation around town and the only reason why he didn’t face too much jail time is due to one of his siblings always bailing him out. wash, rinse, and repeat.

nowadays he goes between being sort of okay and having his own place to being absolutely drugged out of his mind and having to crash at a sibling’s place if they’re local -mostly his twin or the youngest daughter of the family. he’s failed out of rehab recently which may have been one of the reasons why the youngest daughter decided to purchase and fix up their childhood home; so that he can have a stable over his head for once and maybe recover from his habits. little does she know, or maybe care, that the house was the reason for his down spiral in the first place so he is not thrilled whatsoever to be stuck in the same building with all the same people who did not believe him. he hates it here.

Other Ideas

this is pretty much going to be only the possible family of the siblings woops but with the house being rather large there’s a ton of room for more than just the siblings themselves and more than likely some of the other siblings are going to be in some sort of relationship unlike Thomas. now, of course, maybe not all of the spouses/partners/children live in the house after all but then again they might! i have a few small ideas:

the loyal partner- this partner is loyal to the sibling they’re married to/with, always making sure they’re alright and making sure the sibling is well taken care of. maybe even spoil/indulge a little too much the whims of the sibling. they may seem a little more oblivious to the chaotic dynamics of the siblings and the strangeness of the house. they just think that everyone needs to get along and everything will be okay! except it’s never that easy and they probably just look foolish for suggesting that.

the angry partner- they hate it in the house. all the fighting and the tension and the drama; they think it’s a bunch of bullshit. they especially think all the spooky~ stuff that apparently happened in the house is all bullshit too and won’t hesitate to call anyone out if the supernatural is even entertained. they just want to live their life in relative peace with the sibling they’re with 

the mediator partner- they may not necessarily believe in the unbelievable -in fact, their career hinges on finding out why people process stuff the way they do [ex. a therapist or psychologist]- but they still try to see all angles. they’re typically the one trying to quell the arguments between siblings and trying to see why the siblings feel the way they do about things (and about each other). they’re curious, however, about the house itself and may start poking around in the wrong places to try to discover the truth.

[one tiny suggestion! perhaps the mediator partner is married to Thomas’ twin brother and they have a kid with the face claim of Reece King? ;^; he has slightly similar facial features to Michael Fassbender + i think it’d be sweet if the partner tries to see why Thomas is fucked up the way he is and maybe even begins to sympathize/believe him after they start to figure stuff out?]

Plots

alright! so the obvious plots are going to be the interactions between siblings~ their personalities may give a hint to who they do or don’t get along with but in all honesty they all have bad enough blood with each other to have issues one way or another. so! drama! one of those ‘if you leave them in a room for long enough they’ll find something to fight about’ type of things! they do love each other -really, they do- but their experiences in the house changed them forever and there’s no gaining that back. they can only move forward.

they’re already living in the house for a short period of time [maaaybbe a month? a few weeks?] so they’re all settled in and dealing with the presence of each other and it’s not going exactly swimmingly for obvious reasons. maybe some try to cooperate with each other? others not so much. there’s plenty of fighting and slamming doors and shouting and leaving the area/the house to cool off. on more than one occasion Thomas has already stated that he’s leaving for good and going out on his own. he never follows through with the threat -he can’t. he’s as tied to the house as everyone else is and now he can’t escape. but you get the gist. it’s going to take a while for them to see eye to eye with each other. if they ever do, anyway.

future plots to explore are, of course, up in the air but they can deal with the siblings learning more about each other, learning more about their parents, and learning more about the house. and, of course, learning more about their town as well! Whether things start to get better or if they down spiral even further is going to be rather interesting to see~

for initial threads it could be fun [in a morbid sense] to do a past one where they’re attending their father’s funeral since that was kind of actually a shitshow. imagine all the siblings, with their awful traits, having to deal with the death of their parent and just in terrible pain. so, what else to do than to cause issues with each other and create quite a few commotions? obv. when the sibling’s personalities are solidified we can discuss this further! overall the first types of posts will be their interactions with the site plots, the town itself, and between them when they’re at the house so there’s plenty of room for drama!

[yamayamawrites]

Like Friends Do - TodoDeku

A/N: Hi friends! Recently, since my sisters and I are finally under the same roof again (due to quarantine), we sat down and watched My Hero Academia together. As a result, I now have another fandom that I couldn’t bear to go without writing for. I’m looking for constructive criticism from anyone who’s willing to offer it to me! I’m not as confident writing for this fandom just yet, but I really want to get better. So, if you have some time and are also in TodoDeku hell like I’ve found myself in, please take a minute to read through this and tell me what you think! It would mean a whole lot to me!

Summary: Neither Todoroki nor Midoriya truly knows what friendship means. Todoroki ignored friendships in middle school in favor of developing his Quirk; Midoriya couldn’t seem to find a friend because he was Quirkless. When they find a similarity in each other, they form a special bond - one that might just overstep what one considers “friendship”. 

Todoroki had never been the “friendly” type, and of that he was certain. At least, he had been certain, until his duel with Midoriya during the sports festival.

Something about Midoriya’s ability to penetrate years of psychological abuse regarding his feelings towards his left side left Todoroki in awe. After all, he hardly knew Midoriya as anyone more than the kid in class who scored lowest on their very first test of abilities before the event, or the kid who jumped out to save All Might when the League of Villains first attacked. And then, Midoriya went and blew both him and Bakugo away in the first trial of the games in order to take the lead. That grabbed Todoroki’s attention more than anything; while he knew Midoriya was not the best at using his quirk, he had the most heroic mindset of anyone Todoroki knew – besides All Might.

He supposed it surprised him that following the sports festival, battered and all, Midoriya made an effort to talk to Todoroki, the way Todoroki assumed friends did. It started simply enough – Midoriya sat next to him at lunch, and soon after Todoroki became comfortable with Midoriya, Ochaco and Iida were sitting with them, too. Sometimes Todoroki felt uncomfortable surrounded by that many people, but then Midoriya would say something just for him, ask him if he was okay or if he needed some time alone, and everything felt alright.

Except sometimes that left an uneasy feeling in Todoroki’s stomach. He’d been trained by his old man, Endeavor, to be cold and distant and instead focus on developing his Quirk. Midoriya’s friendship sometimes felt intruding and intimidating, and sometimes even terrifying, with the way Midoriya read him like an open book.

But then Todoroki noticed that it had nothing to do with him; it was just Midoriya. Despite his powerful Quirk, sometimes Todoroki wondered if Midoriya really possessed the ability to read minds, or if he’d just developed a sixth sense for catching onto people’s emotions.

Todoroki noticed this one day when Iida came to class exactly two minutes and twenty seconds late. Todoroki could tell something was different about him, but he assumed maybe Iida had forgotten to brush his hair or something. Later at lunch, he saw Midoriya pull Iida aside in the lunch line. “Hey, I noticed you’re looking pretty sore,” he had said, passing Iida a pill bottle. “I had some painkillers in my bag from Recovery Girl.”

“I thought I hid it well,” Iida sighed. “I can’t look weak – I’m the Class Representative!”

“Oh—it’s not like that,” Midoriya shook his head. “You hid it really well! I just recognized that you were relying more on your right leg when you walk, and I remember you got hit on your left side yesterday…” he rubbed his neck sheepishly, and Iida chuckled and patted him on the shoulder.

“Thank you, Midoriya.”

Todoroki almost asked, a few times, how Midoriya did that. One time his sister had the flu and Todoroki didn’t even notice until she got up and fainted on her way to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Up until that point, he had assumed she was just…hot. Overheating? Did she do that, too? Todoroki supposed he never bothered to ask.

All of this is to say that Todoroki eased up around Midoriya, especially after they moved into the dorms. In such close proximity to Midoriya, to everyone, really, Todoroki got a bit anxious. He thought of times when he had nightmares as a child and woke up because his room had frozen over, or worse, his bed had caught fire. That hadn’t happened in years, but Todoroki feared it might come back just to haunt him. But whenever Todoroki’s mind began to spiral about all the dangerous situations he could put Midoriya in, Midoriya would always grip his shoulder. Subtly. Never for too long, and never noticeably enough that anyone would call them out for it. Midoriya somehow knew just how to soothe Todoroki – and that would have scared Todoroki early on in their friendship, but at that point it didn’t.

Shoulder grabs turned into more casual shoulder nudges. Just a little moment that Todoroki and Midoriya shared, like a quick message to one another to say “Are you doing alright?” or “I’m thinking about you.” The shoulder nudges had at first been meant to replace the shoulder grips, but it became easier and easier for Todoroki to lean over and nudge Midoriya, or for Midoriya to nudge Todoroki to ask if he was alright. It turned into their own little language at some point, because the two began to mutually understand that longer touches meant something was wrong, and if the other touched their fingers, they needed to get out of there.

This was especially efficient one night when Midoriya and Todoroki decided to take a short walk after class. The sun was setting and usually they’d be required to be home before dinner, but Midoriya had told All Might that he and Todoroki were doing a bit of extra training and of course All Might supported their efforts to becoming heroes. Midoriya felt extremely guilty, but technically he wasn’t lying; he was sure heroes had to go on walks sometimes and unwind. They were training for that part of heroism.

Todoroki nudged his shoulder. “You look like you’re going to be sick, Midoriya,” he said. “We can turn back if you want to.”

“No,” Midoriya shook his head. “I’ll just explain when we get back. You told me you needed to talk about something.”

That was true – Todoroki had asked Midoriya earlier that day to accompany him because he had a few questions about heroism. At least, that was how he kept his nerves from getting the better of him while he waited for the moment to arrive when they’d be far enough away from campus that Todoroki wouldn’t be scared to actually talk to Midoriya. After all, Midoriya knew little to nothing about Todoroki’s past besides the whole “my old man is a scum bag” bit. Todoroki never really told Midoriya why Endeavor was so cruel, not fully, but he didn’t need to. Any time he mentioned Endeavor, Midoriya immediately scowled that way Midoriya does (which is, to say, his face contorted in a way that was meant to seem intimidating and angry, but Todoroki just found it…cute).

While they walked away from the campus, Todoroki and Midoriya talked mostly about their classes earlier that day. They had done a training exercise in which the class was divided based on Quirk types, and Midoriya and Todoroki had spent a majority of the afternoon separated from one another. Todoroki would have been lying if he said it didn’t make him nervous spending so much time away from Midoriya. He brushed it off as being worried for his classmate that somehow always found himself in Recovery Girl’s office after trainings such as these.

Actually, Todoroki decided to venture straight to Recovery Girl’s office once classes finished for the day. He was surprised to find that Midoriya stood next to Todoroki’s locker, patiently waiting for him, with no bandaged limbs and no prominent wounds. Midoriya’s face lit up with a smile once he saw Todoroki, and he waved and they left and now they were here, just past the boundaries of the Yuuei campus.

“…and Kirishima almost got me!” Midoriya said with an exasperated sigh, flailing his hands and sometimes his feet to act out the events of their training earlier that afternoon. “His Quirk is super strong! I tried to kick him but he didn’t even flinch! And then Mineta did—well, something, I didn’t really see. But then my feet were stuck to the ground!”

Midoriya always spoke with an excitement that would normally drain Todoroki. But he had gotten used to it, and he found it rather endearing now to listen to Midoriya go into incredible detail about the battles they fought – whether they were in his work study or at the school. A smile unknowingly crept to his face and Midoriya immediately put a finger up to Todoroki’s lips, grinning himself. “You must have had a good training session, too,” Midoriya teased. “Did Kacchan try to blow you up?”

“Of course he did,” Todoroki muttered, and Midoriya laughed a bit.

“Of course he did,” Midoriya repeated.

Midoriya went back to describing their training session, speaking highly of each of his classmates as he did. Todoroki supposed Midoriya knew more than anyone how hard it was to earn a spot at Yuuei, so he often made a point to brag about his classmates’ abilities anywhere he could. Todoroki often got embarrassed when Midoriya bragged about him, because never did Midoriya brag about the awesome Quirk he had—he knew that was a touchy subject—but rather Todoroki’s control, Todoroki’s strength, Todoroki’s knowledge. It was like receiving the praise Todoroki never got as a child, like validation for all the years of intense studying and physical training.

They reached a bridge stretching over a creek just as Midoriya began to describe how cool Iida’s use of his Quirk had been. Midoriya sat down and let his legs hang from the side of the bridge, and Todoroki soon followed suit. They sat shoulder to shoulder, as they usually did when they got the chance, and continued to chat about the previous school day. Midoriya could tell Todoroki wanted to talk about something, so he wrapped up his thoughts and waited patiently for Todoroki to find his voice.

“Um,” Todoroki said after a few moments of silence, “Midoriya—”

Both of them heard a splash come from behind them in the creak. Out of habit Todoroki nudged Midoriya’s shoulder, tapping on his fingertips, a feeling of dread and nervousness that they’d been followed looming over him. He wondered if this would be it, if the league of villains had found two of the best heroes in Class 1-A, if they were able to catch them so off-guard—

But then there was crying, a small child, and they both whipped their heads around quickly. A young boy stood at the edge of the stream, screaming, while an even younger girl drifted down the creek, head submerged. “Shit,” Todoroki whispered, quickly throwing his hand up and creating a wall of ice to stop the child from floating further downstream. “Midoriya!”

Midoriya had already thrown himself over the railing of the bridge, falling into the water below just in front of the ice wall Todoroki had made. Todoroki’s Quirk made the water much colder than it already was (which, during the early spring, was quite cold in and of itself). He bit his tongue to keep his teeth from chattering as he scooped up the young girl, using the strength in his legs to boost them out of the water and back towards the boy at the edge of the bank.

Todoroki met them there after dismantling the ice wall. The ice floated down the creek unceremoniously as Midoriya knelt next to the children. “What happened?” he asked the young boy, speaking as gently as possible. Todoroki always let Midoriya do this part (in the very few instances they’d used their Quirks outside of class).

The young boy sniffled, trying to quell his tears. “W-we just were playing tag! And s-she fell!”

The young girl’s teeth chattered, and Todoroki took off his school jacket to wrap around her shoulders. “Everything is okay now,” Midoriya assured. “Let’s walk you home, okay?”

The kids’ home was a few blocks away. When they arrived, the children’s mother (Midoriya presumed, anyway) delivered a scolding to them. “What do you tell these nice gentlemen?” she said finally, after reminding them for the third time that they were specifically told not to play by the creek.

“Thank you!” both the children chirped, seemingly missing their mother’s entire message. The mother removed Todoroki’s jacket from the young girl’s shoulders and replaced it with a towel. Meanwhile, Midoriya found it much harder to hide the fact that his teeth were chattering.

“Young man, do you want to come in and towel off?” the woman asked once her children went back to running around the small home. Midoriya shook his head and smiled.

“Our school is just a few blocks from here. I’ll be alright. Thank you very much.”

“Thank you,” she replied quickly. “I don’t even want to know what would have happened if you weren’t there.”

“Good thing we were,” Todoroki murmured quietly.

After having to decline payment—several times—Todoroki and Midoriya made their way back toward the school campus. Midoriya’s teeth chattered openly now, and almost immediately after they left the woman’s house Todoroki threw his jacket over Midoriya’s shoulders. He kept his left side pressed up against him, his mind so preoccupied on keeping a stable temperature that he nearly missed when Midoriya uttered a soft, “Thank you.”

“For what?” Todoroki asked, bewildered, the heat in his side dying quickly.

“Throwing up that ice wall,” Midoriya replied with a grin. “If she would’ve slipped past me, then I don’t know how long it would have taken me to get to her.”

“Oh, but she didn’t slip past you,” Todoroki pointed out. He honestly felt like he hadn’t done much in the situation.

“But you were there if she did,” Midoriya grinned up at him, and Todoroki felt his chest flutter. His cheeks dusted pink and Midoriya laughed cheerfully, nudging him with his shoulder. “We make a good team, don’t you think?”

“I could have told you that,” Todoroki scoffed.

Midoriya’s teeth didn’t chatter so openly when he carefully wrapped his arms around Todoroki’s left arm. The feeling immediately made Todoroki’s entire left side heat up, and Midoriya could see some steam rising from the cold water coating him, but he didn’t let go. Todoroki regulated the heat quickly, apologizing several times (“But you didn’t even burn me,” Midoriya argued). That was how they presented themselves as they walked back through the doors to the Class 1-A dorm – Midoriya clinging to Todoroki’s arm, Todoroki concentrating all his attention on making sure he didn’t spontaneously ignite. Todoroki wore a bright pink blush, both from concentration and from having Midoriya cling to him like a lifeline.

Someone whistled when they walked in. All Might looked up from the couch and immediately rose to his feet, approaching the two. “You were training, huh?” All Might asked, eyeing Midoriya up and down. Under All Might’s gaze Midoriya let go of Todoroki and crossed his arms over his chest in defense.

“Well…”

“A child fell in the creek,” Todoroki said quickly. “We were on our way to go train, but…”

All Might shrugged. “Well, I’m glad you were there, then. Go take a bath, Young Midoriya. You look pretty cold.”

“Y-yes sir!” Midoriya bowed quickly, taking off toward the baths without a second thought. The group soon lost interest in the exchange and so did All Might, leaving Todoroki to return to his room.

Todoroki’s mind reeled thinking about Midoriya again. He’d acted on pure instinct, had already launched himself into the water before Todoroki could even act. Did he have that much faith in Todoroki? Did he have that much faith in himself? Todoroki began to imagine what would have happened if he wasn’t there. Sure, he hadn’t done much to actually help the child, but would Midoriya have gotten sick without him there to keep him warm temporarily on the walk back?

Todoroki blushed suddenly, remembering the feeling of Midoriya pressed against him. Suddenly his mind was stuck on that detail of the day, like a broken record. He’d thrown himself onto his bed and had been lounging there for maybe ten minutes, still deep in thought, when his phone went off. He squinted at the bright screen and saw that Midoriya had texted him. Four times.

M: hey uh, this is embarrassing

M: but my clothes are still wet

M: and well I don’t have anything to wear

M: please help I don’t want to run through the dorms naked!!!

Todoroki snickered silently at the message (the closest he’d ever gotten to laughing, he thought) and stood and stretched. He wondered if Midoriya meant for Todoroki to grab clothes from his room, or if Todoroki should just take a set of his pajamas. While he wavered on whether or not to supply Midoriya with a set of his own clothes (the thought of Midoriya in Todoroki’s pajamas made his chest feel tight for some reason), Midoriya texted him another two times.

M: please Todoroki! I’m getting cold :(

M: omg are you sleeping? Sorry I’ll ask Iida!

Todoroki thought absently that, if he had been sleeping, his phone would have certainly woken him up. He sent a quick text back to Midoriya saying he’d be down in a second, to which Midoriya responded with seventeen smiley-face emojis, and grabbed a set of old pajamas from his room.

When Todoroki walked into the locker room, he found Midoriya on a bench – wearing only a towel. Something about that flustered Todoroki; despite having all changed together in the same locker room plenty of times to prepare for trainings and such, Todoroki felt a sort of embarrassment walking in to just Midoriya. He supposed some of the embarrassment could have been a result of his blatant overthinking of Midoriya clinging to his arm just an hour or so prior.

He cleared his throat and Midoriya whipped his head around and smiled, his cheeks flushed from the steam of the bath and his hair clinging to his cheeks. “Thank you thank you thank you!” Midoriya chirped, bounding across the room to grab the set of clothes. He eyed them suspiciously, and if Todoroki didn’t know any better, he might have thought Midoriya’s cheeks grew even pinker.

“What’s the problem?” Todoroki asked finally.

“I thought you’d bring my clothes, is all,” Midoriya laughed and rubbed his neck nervously. “Thank you all the same! I’ll get these back to you as soon—”

“Keep them,” Todoroki said with a shrug. “They don’t fit me anymore, anyways.”

A laugh bubbled out of Midoriya’s mouth, almost nervously, as Todoroki turned to leave. “Oh, Todoroki?” Midoriya called just as he pushed open the door.

Todoroki turned around again. “Yes, Midoriya?”

“Thank you again. This means a lot!”

By then, Midoriya had the pajamas on, and Todoroki flustered. His chest felt tight and his cheeks grew hot as he observed the way his clothes were just one size too big on his smaller friend. The tee shirt Todoroki had grabbed hung just far enough off Midoriya’s neck for his collarbone to peek out, and Midoriya had rolled the shorts once to keep them from falling down. Stop it, Todoroki thought, he’s going to notice you staring.

“They’re a little big,” Midoriya admitted sheepishly under Todoroki’s gaze, “but I might grow into them someday.”

“Maybe,” Todoroki said with just a hint of a smile. He turned away and left, then, trying to use his right hand to cool off his cheeks.

***

A number of times in the weeks that followed Todoroki and Midoriya’s impromptu child rescue mission Todoroki felt that same strange (albeit not entirely unwelcome) feeling. One day while Todoroki and Midoriya were studying in Midoriya’s room, Midoriya let a pencil hang out of his mouth while he puzzled together the English homework they were working on. Todoroki stared for a moment, his chest feeling like it might implode, before he finally reached over and plucked the pencil from Midoriya’s mouth. “Hey!” Midoriya had said, trying to mask a giggle with a hurt expression. Todoroki fought back a smile.

During their lunch break another day, Midoriya, Iida, and Ochaco invited Todoroki with them to eat outside near the dorm area. Iida and Ochaco gladly led the way, arguing about some television show that Todoroki had never heard of. Midoriya and Todoroki walked a few paces behind them, bumping shoulders every so often. “Right, Midoriya?” Ochaco interrupted her and Iida’s conversation to turn around and gain some sort of validation from him. However, Todoroki could tell that Midoriya was just as lost as he was, and the flustered sputtering that followed made Ochaco and Iida laugh, and it made Todoroki want to melt into a puddle. It must have been a little obvious, because seconds later Midoriya asked, “Todoroki, why are you steaming?!”

Those weren’t even the worst of it. Todoroki began to lose track of how many times Midoriya caused Todoroki to feel that strange weight in his chest. Though, he couldn’t say he despised the feeling. Not truthfully, anyway. Something about it felt warm, but not in the same way that his left side felt warm when he used his Quirk. That warm was sweltering and dangerous, but this warm felt more like a weighted blanket that laid just across his chest, almost…comforting.

He finally decided that the feeling was nothing more than that of a reminder of how much Todoroki cared about Midoriya, as a friend. If Todoroki was being honest with himself, he’d never really experienced friendship before Midoriya, so the most logical conclusion he could draw was that this was how all good friendships were. That didn’t stop Todoroki’s need to bump shoulders with Midoriya every chance he could, but Todoroki passed that off as friendship, too.

He assumed Midoriya felt the same, knowing a small bit of Midoriya’s past. He recalled one night that they were studying alone in the common area, both bent over the same book in awkward positions to each be able to read it. Their shoulders touched every time one of them shifted, and neither of them said a word about it – that felt natural, at least to them. And Midoriya had broken the silence as they tried to work through a mathematics problem in their heads by snapping the book shut and groaning up at the ceiling, flopping backwards.

“I’m never going to need this again,” he mumbled to himself. “Why do I need to learn it?”

Todoroki shrugged. “Maybe you’ll meet a villain whose Quirk is calculus?”

Midoriya laughed, but Todoroki hadn’t entirely meant to joke. He knew a variety of people with intelligence-based Quirks, and to him a calculus Quirk wasn’t impossible. Abnormal, certainly, but not impossible. He supposed it did sound sort of silly, and let out a small chuckle.

Midoriya looked up at him from the floor, wearing a soft blush across his cheeks from laughing. “Do you know anyone with a calculus Quirk? Maybe you could call them and ask them for help.”

Todoroki looked down at him curiously, then glanced away. “No, but it’s not impossible.”

“I guess you’re right. I was hoping you had someone in mind, though, so I didn’t have to keep worrying about this.”

Todoroki finally laid down next to him, letting their shoulders press together as they stared at the ceiling. Midoriya turned his head, and instinctively Todoroki turned his own, and their noses brushed together, making both of them blush. Midoriya didn’t move, but Todoroki sat up quickly, that heavy feeling in his chest growing stronger and a bit uncomfortable. He wondered if Midoriya felt it, too.

“Todoroki,” Midoriya began cautiously, “what was middle school like for you?”

“That’s a bizarre question,” Todoroki said idly, breathing slowly to lift that warm weight from his chest.

“S-sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“I didn’t really talk to anyone,” Todoroki cut him off, leaning back on his elbows and looking back to the ceiling. “Nobody wanted to talk to me, and I wasn’t about to go out of my way to talk to them.”

“Oh.”

Todoroki could hear Midoriya fidgeting, and then he felt Midoriya’s shoulder against his own once more. “I didn’t really have any friends, either,” Midoriya continued in a soft voice. “Except Kacchan, but I don’t think you could really call that friendship. He was just my neighbor, and we spent a lot of time together as kids.”

Somehow Todoroki couldn’t imagine a universe in which Midoriya didn’t have friends. Everyone in Class 1-A had looked up to Midoriya at one point or another because of his kind heart, and Todoroki felt a pang of anger thinking about anyone who didn’t appreciate that. He already had his eye out for Bakugo and would, if it came down to it, freeze him to the ground to keep him from coming at Midoriya (and actually did, one time, and immediately got scolded by Aizawa for using his Quirk so recklessly in the school hallway).

“Why?” Todoroki asked finally, almost to himself, but with him sitting in such close proximity with Midoriya of course the other heard him.

“I was a really late bloomer,” Midoriya said sheepishly. “It’s easy to pick on the Quirkless kid, or whatever.” He sighed then, shaking his head. “Sometimes I wonder if that’s the only reason I have friends now.”

“Absurd,” Todoroki scoffed immediately. Midoriya looked over at him with wide eyes.

“You don’t think so?”

“I’m not friends with you because you can punch and kick super hard,” he deadpanned.

“Well, why are you?”

Todoroki had a hard time thinking of all the reasons he enjoyed Midoriya’s company, and perhaps Midoriya took Todoroki’s hesitation to answer the question the wrong way when he laughed, a little bitterly, and stood up. “It’s getting late. I should probably head up to my room…”

“You were the first person to care about me,” Todoroki said finally. He supposed that encompassed a lot of the reasons he loved having Midoriya around so much. And it was entirely true; others in Class 1-A may have chatted with Todoroki before he and Midoriya faced off at the sports festival, but none of them seemed to actually care about Todoroki’s well-being. With Midoriya, it felt like Todoroki was the only thing in the world that the boy cared about whenever they were together.

The way Midoriya’s face lit up, cheeks flushed bright pink, made Todoroki think maybe he’d overstepped. He felt a little like maybe he should have been embarrassed, but he held his ground, because it was true. If it was an embarrassing thing to say, well, he didn’t care; Midoriya deserved to know just how much Todoroki appreciated him.

“Wh-what do you mean?” Midoriya squeaked, that cute stuttering mess beginning to poke through.

“Exactly what I said,” Todoroki replied. “Before you, nobody spent time with me because they cared about me. You make me feel like you care.”

“Because I do!” Midoriya said quickly, nodding his head for emphasis. “I care so much about you! And Iida, and Ochaco, and Kacchan—”

They were interrupted as Aizawa came into the room, half-stumbling with sleep, his eyes still piercing and frightening even in his groggy state. “Go to bed,” he grumbled, making his way to the kitchen.

“R-right! Sorry, sir!” Midoriya bowed apologetically as Todoroki pushed himself off the ground. They walked to the elevator, bumping shoulders as they went. Once inside, the two turned and immediately laughed to each other – something Todoroki was only comfortable doing when Midoriya was around and nobody else. Even then, it was rare, and Midoriya cherished his laugh every time he heard it.

“Did you see his bunny slippers?” Midoriya giggled, and Todoroki nodded, chuckling ever so softly.

“They had the same red eyes as him,” Todoroki noted.

When the elevator stopped on Midoriya’s floor, Todoroki walked him to his room. Midoriya insisted it wasn’t necessary – after all, it was just a few paces down the hall – but still Todoroki felt the need to spend as much time by Midoriya’s side as possible. When they finally parted ways at Midoriya’s door, the smaller boy let his fingertips brush on Todoroki’s, and he wished him goodnight. Todoroki lingered outside his door for a moment even after Midoriya closed it, trying to calm his racing heart.

Still, even now it hadn’t occurred to Todoroki that perhaps his feelings weren’t just that of friendship. He almost felt incapable of love, and so it never even began to cross his mind that he might have a crush on Midoriya. In his mind, Midoriya was his best friend – and anything more than that felt impossible.