#i'll be making a set of them with boot at some point too

[supes9]

Roy + Johnny + Henry 🤎

[woso-dreamzzz]

Injured (Alexia's Version) II

Alexia Putellas x Teen!Reader

Summary: Alexia comes home from work

Alexia comes in from a long day of coaching to find carnage in the house but no more than usual.

Jaume's muddy football boots are scattered in the entrance hall along with his school bag and his training bag. His jacket is thrown callously on the ground and she can just make out the dishes he hasn't cleaned up from his afternoon snack on the kitchen counters.

Her son is found in the living room, whirred into a game of FIFA and talking into his headset to his friends.

Your own ballet bag sits at the bottom of the stairs and Alexia can hear rhythmic thumping from your bedroom. She pops the door open and throws your bag onto the bed.

You're sitting at your desk, breaking in your pointe shoe by thwacking it against the corner of your study space. You're attacking the shank of your shoe viciously while your other one lays perfectly broken in next to you.

You've raided the sewing box too, a needle already threaded so you can sew on your ribbons as soon as you're done breaking in your second shoe.

"Did that one do something to you?" Alexia says and you jolt in shock, not having realised she came in.

"Yeah," You reply with a wry smile," It didn't come broken in." You whack it one final time against your desk and test its flexibility, finally content and get to work sewing your ribbons onto the shoes.

"You left your bag by the stairs," Alexia says and you roll your eyes.

"Jaume left his stuff all over the house," You reply," He's so messy."

"He's a boy. Boys are messy."

"Have you made him clean it up yet?"

"I'm letting him finish his FIFA match. It might embarrass him in front of his friends."

You roll your eyes again, tying off your first ribbons before moving onto the second. "They're so annoying."

"They're hormonal," Alexia replies. She takes your other shoe and starts sewing a set of ribbons on. "They'll grow out of it."

"Can they grow out of it now?" You mutter," I'm sick of them watching me."

Alexia freezes, like a pail of icy water has been thrown on top of her. Her mouth goes dry. "What?"

You give her a look. "Huh?"

"What do you mean they're watching you?"

You shrug. "I don't know. They're hormonal boys. I'm Jaume's older sister." You wrinkle your nose. "They say gross things sometimes. It's not a big deal."

Alexia hates that aspect of you. You're so resigned to the concept that it is what it is. You had problems like this when you were younger too, merely accepting bullying and rude words at you because you didn't think it would matter if you tried to fight it.

It's something that Alexia's never managed to snap you out of but she never thought that she would see it in a situation like this.

"What kinds of things?"

You frown at her. "I thought you knew."

"No! Is that why you didn't tell me?"

You shrug. "I thought if you were fine with it happening then I should be fine with it happening."

"No...Bambi...You should never think that those kinds of things are okay. They're not and if it happens again, you come to me right away."

You nod, not fully convinced. "Okay, Mami."

"Hey," She says," Put on your shoes. We're overdue a catch up."

Alexia's busy coaching at Barcelona most days. She's almost always working but she tries to find the time for you and Jaume both together and alone. It used to be a tradition that she would take you out once a week by yourself to 'catch up' but work has been so busy these past few weeks so you're long overdue some one-on-one time together.

"I'm sewing my ribbons!" You complain and Alexia fondly ruffles your hair.

"And you can take a break. You've just come from a full day of dancing. Go put on comfortable shoes. You can sew your ribbons tonight."

You huff but do what you're told.

Alexia goes back downstairs, switching the tv off.

"Mami!" Jaume complains, pulling down his headset," I was in the middle of a match!"

She gives him a pointed look. "And your stuff is in the middle of my house."

"I'll pick it up later."

"You'll pick it up now," Alexia says," This isn't your room, Jaume. I like my house to be tidy."

He huffs and moves to get up.

"And tell your friends to stop saying foul things to your sister."

He freezes, every muscle in his body going rigid and stiff. "What?"

"I know what teenage boys are like, Jaume, and I understand peer pressure and not saying anything so you can fit in but this isn't school. Your sister deserves to come home and feel safe."

"It...It was just jokes, Mami."

"Was it? You may think they were joking but were they actually?"

Jaume's face grows a little confused. "But they had to be! There's...There's no way they'd come to our house and...and say those things to her and actually mean them! Right? Mami, right?"

"Jaume..." Alexia sighs. It's clear to her now that Jaume genuinely had no idea that his friends could actually mean what they said. Alexia takes some comfort in knowing that, at least, Jaume hadn't done this out of spite or any other malicious feeling towards you. "Even if they were jokes, your sister doesn't need to be made fun of in her own house. If you let them get away with stuff now then they're just going to keep building and building and building on it until it's too late to stop them."

"Mami..." Jaume looks heartbroken now, glancing up the stairs where he knows you're doing something in your room. "They...She...Is she okay?"

"I'm taking your sister out," Alexia says," She's had a long day at practice and she needs some time to decompress, okay? Can I trust you to clean up your stuff and get started on your homework?"

He nods.

"Good boy." Alexia kisses his forehead. "Your Mama should be home soon. No tv until your work is done."

"Okay, Mami."

Jaume sits himself at the kitchen table, going through a mind-numbingly boring Physics worksheet when you come down.

"Ready to go?" Alexia asks and you nod.

"Hey, wait!" Jaume calls out and you stop, turning to look at you. "I love you."

You frown in confusion. "I love you too."

"Good," He says," I mean, it's good that you know that I love you." He nods several times and a small bubble of laughter erupts from you.

Jaume grins like he just won the lottery and Alexia trusts in her son to lay down the law with his friends.

She guides you out the door and to the car, driving down to some quaint café that's opened up nearby.

"A milkshake?" Alexia offers after you've found a table," I heard from Mapi that they do those big monster ones with a cupcake stabbed through the straw."

"Mami," You admonish," I still have dance tomorrow."

"Hmm," Alexia says," You're right. It's probably too big for one each. We can share."

"Mami!" You laugh," I'm trying to stay healthy. The Spring Season starts soon. We have performances to do."

Alexia reaches over to pinch your cheek and you roll your eyes. "Well, I'm your Mami and I say it's okay. You know, I'm quite wise."

"Fine," You say," But if we're getting a milkshake then let's get the red velvet one."

"Whatever you want, bambi."

Alexia orders some cupcakes and a cookie with it and rolls her eyes as you mock complain with no actual annoyance in your tone.

"Now," She says," I've spoken to your brother and he's going to sort his friends out or else."

You roll your eyes, poking at your food. "It's fine. I can deal with it."

"You shouldn't have to deal with it." Alexia reaches across the table for your hand. "Boys will be boys but that doesn't mean they should be saying those things to you. I...I just...Bambi why didn't you tell me?"

You bit the inside of your cheek, eyes darting to the side.

"Bambi," Alexia says again," Come on. You can tell me things, you know that, right?"

You nod. "I just...I was worried that I was being silly. That..." You shrug. "You know, you would think I was overreacting. It shouldn't bother me as much as it is. They're just stupid boys."

"Boys are always stupid," Alexia says decisively," And I don't think you're overreacting. It's going to be sorted out. If Jaume doesn't then I will."

She speaks so firmly that you can't help but agree, saved from replying by your mouth full of cake.

You still look a little awkward talking about it though so Alexia pivots the conversation away.

"So," She asks," What ballet is it this season?"

You're not usually talkative about the ballets you're practising, preferring it to be a surprise when you gift the family tickets to opening night but with the season approaching, you don't mind as much.

"First half of the season is La Sylphide," You say, sipping on the straw of the milkshake," Second half is Giselle."

Those words mean nothing to Alexia but you look excited so she decides to be excited for you.

Your cheeks go a little red and you pick at your cake. "Actually...I...er..."

"Is something wrong?"

"No...I...Do you remember when I told you that a few of our soloists got injured?"

Alexia racks her brain. "I think so. You said it was after the Nutcracker performances, right?"

You nod. "Well, they're still not back and the balletmaster decided to start doing understudies in case of injuries and sickness."

Alexia nods along. It's a smart choice, like rotating the players in a team.

You don't look at her, staring down at your plate.

"They're guaranteed one night though, you know, as the lead."

"Okay?"

"Mami, I'm playing Giselle."

Alexia chokes. "What?"

You finally look up at her. "I'm playing the lead, Mami."

"I..." Alexia whips out her phone. "What day is it? I need to check I'm not busy. No, I'll rearrange my meetings if I am. Oh, we'll have to call your Abuela and your Tia. Oh! And Mapi too! Jenni, as well." She starts typing away at her phone. "Wait, let me just text Olga. We'll have to get Jaume a proper outfit if you're going to play lead. And-"

"Mami," You cut her off though your voice is soft and quiet," It's not that big of a deal."

"Not that big of a deal?!" Alexia scoffs," You're seventeen years old, playing the lead in a professional ballet company! How could you keep this a secret?! Oh, bambi, we have to sort out tickets. What day did you say it was?"

You laugh. "I didn't, Mami."

Alexia crams the rest of her cake into her mouth. "We have to get home. We have to tell Jaume and Olga!" She looks at you for a moment. "So grown up! My little baby, playing the lead!"

You slouch in your seat. "Mami, calm down. It's for one night. People are staring."

"Up! Up!" Alexia insists," Come on! What do you want for dinner?"

"Mami-"

"You choose. Anything! Anything you want!"

"Mami-"

"What about that fancy place near Alba's house? I think I can get us a reservation."

"Mami!"

"Sorry, bambi. What did you want?"

"Can I just have a hug?"

Alexia pulls you into a hug, cradling the back of your head with her hand. "You make me so proud, bambi. I love you so much."

[dresshistorynerd]

Ranking Men's Costumes in Renaissance Period Dramas - Part I: The Bad

Part II: The Good

I have a bone to pick with Renaissance costuming of male characters. Films and TV never seem to understand French hoods or the concept of tied up hair but the crimes committed with female characters costuming seem to pale in comparison with those committed with male characters costuming. It would be easy to find some atrocities that should be brought in front of the Hague from the bottom of the barrel shows like Da Vinci's Demons and Reign, both of which costuming is basically black leather jackets, pants and boots. If we're lucky, they have some vaguely Renaissance details imitating doublet or jerkin. But these shows make absolutely no effort, even the women's costumes are straight from modern fast fashion shelves (often literally). But I have noticed that even costuming that has some effort otherwise put behind it, still costumes male characters with the most boring costumes and minimal effort. The Tudors didn't have good costumes, but there's some effort towards historical immersion, even if quite lackluster, but the men's costumes are still so sloppy.

My theory is that they think men's Renaissance fashion was too goofy and embarrassing to fit their cool and sexy main male characters. Also men dressing up and taking care of their appearance? That's obviously homosexual behavior, and these hot men who the main female characters are fawning over are Manly and Heterosexual. So they don't dress up in fancy clothing or colour!

To give a fair change to the costuming, I will be selecting only shows and movies which have good costuming for the female characters. If they are not even trying, it feels kinda pointless to point that out. I have selected 10 period dramas. I haven't seen all of them so I'm not going to analyse the costuming any deeper than how good and well made they look and how well they evoke the historical setting. I don't demand historical accuracy, but I will be more harsh on that front if the women's costumes are succeeding in that. But one of the point of period dramas is to immerse into a historical setting, so if the costumes can't evoke that feeling, I think they have failed. Obviously this is not some objective ranking, but my opinions. This is in two parts (because of Tumblr image limits), so I'll start with the five worst costumes in order of best to worst.

5. Ever After (1998)

Ever After is supposedly set in Renaissance France, but the costuming resembles late 15th century and early 16th century Italy much more. It's not very historical, and clearly not really trying to be, going for more of a fantastical style. It works, I think because they make it cohesive and very pretty.

Men's costumes resemble also resemble Italian styles. The Lombardian style sleeves, short doublets and tight pants land it right there. The men's costumes are much more boring than the fun and fantastical women's costumes, but they got the least worse spot in this worst costumes list for several reasons. The pants are actually tight and they have codpieces. The sleeves are actually really great I love them. And there's no leather pants or doublets.

And look at this, at least one doublet is closed with lacing!! (I apologize for the very low image quality, it was the only picture I found of that costume.)

The biggest gripe I have with the costumes are the boots. Just let these male characters show of their calves. At least not everything is black but the lack of colour is still disappointing too.

4. Becoming Elizabeth (2022)

The female characters have quite excellent costuming. The fabrics are rich and gorgeous, the bodices are extremely smooth and crisp, some of the best I've seen, partlets are on point and correctly used. My only complained is the occasional open hair and yet another case of the weird upward pointing crown-like French hoods.

French hood didn't have any crown shaped thing, it was a hood and the headpiece is actually several headpieces made to reveal the lining of the hood in a crescent shape. So it is very much flat against the head. (I've written about French hood's construction before.) And sure they look more early Tudor fashion, the sleeves should be much more dramatic and the bodice elongated. Like here's a portrait of the actual young Elizabeth. But I think the detailing, great construction and good looking materials make the costuming beautiful and feeling enough like Tudor era.

So how does the men's costuming hold up? Pretty okay, which is why this show is so high up in the list. I haven't seen any leather pants on anyone. Leather jerkins were an actual thing, they just weren't black, and though the leather jerkin in the show was dark brown and not smooth hide, it was not black so that's something. Edward VI does have actual stockings and Renaissance shoes, which is great, but he is a kid and I didn't see any grown man rocking that style which is very cowardly behavior imo. There's some colourful silk jerkins in there too. And they even could get away with all black since that was very fashionable at the time. They are all wearing slashed trunk hose. AND! They have actual accurate codpieces sticking up! That is so rare especially in this period when the codpiece was not just a flat piece of fabric.

Unfortunately this is where the good things I have to say end. All of these court people are for some reason wearing riding boots inside and everywhere all the time. The hose are way too long and the jerkins are way too short. The hose should be just peaking under the hem of the jerkin. Obviously none except the kid uses thigh high stockings. One of the worst things though imo is the lack of structuring in the men's costumes. The women's costumes are so well structured, but the men's costumes are just wet rags hanging on them? The doublets were heavily structured to create a pigeon chest and hourglass effect.

In conclusion, there's clearly some effort made, some very nice historical details, but the overall look is very costumy and sloppy because of the lack of structuring and lacks the historical silhouette.

3. Mad Love (2001)

The movie is set around 1500 Neatherlands (and Spain). I think many of the costumes are gorgeous (like the examples below), though overall the costuming is quite inconsistent. Most of it fits at least okay to the time period and setting, though the red dress here is more along Italian styles, but not entirely off either for early 1500s Low Countries. Some costumes though are 50 years from future. Of the women's costumes alone, this would probably be the worst costuming on this list, though I think better than most Renaissance costuming, which is why it still ended up on this list.

The men's costumes resemble more early 16th century German fashion than Low Countries fashion, which was more similar to French fashion than German. In the red ensemble there's some weird jerkin looking overgarment, but jerkins were not a thing yet and they were never in this style. I will excuse the lack of codpiece since in Low Countries' fashion it was hidden under longer overgarments, even though in this more German style it would have been left in view. The hose are no where near fitted enough, and the boots should not be here at all. Overall this is kind of a mess, but it is better than the last two. We have skirt, we have weird sleeves, open neckline and most importantly, we have colour. Also while this shoulder-length curly hair wasn't in fashion outside Italy at the time, I still appreciate the sluttiness of it.

2. The Borgias (2011-2013)

Now we are getting to the territory, where the lack of effort is starting to be very obvious. Like the costumes till now were not particularly good, but clearly they at least attempted, even if not very hard. So, The Borgias. The show is set in the early 1500s Italy. The women's costumes are gorgeous. Not always the most historically accurate, but at least close enough and very pretty.

The men's costumes however... a deep sigh. Some of them are not that bad, like this first one has kinda Lombardian sleeves and a too small doublet showing off the lacing (in Italy the lacing was almost always ladder-lacing though regardless of gender, but it's something I guess). Most of it though, especially of the leading men, who are supposed to be cool and hot, is absolutely garbage. The same black leather jackets and pants seen in the bottom of the barrel shows. Like the costumes of the female characters and some of the male characters feel like they are from two completely different shows. Like sure they have codpieces, but their pants are so loosely fitted they wouldn't even need the codpieces. (I explain the use of codpieces in this post). And of course they have boots. Of course. In Italy it was even common to not wear shoes at all, they just sewed leather soles at the bottom of the hose. And even the men's costume that have tiniest bit of effort, are so dark and lacking in colour, when the most fashionable young men at the time wore these wildly multicoloured hose and doublets. The feeling I get the showrunners were so god damn afraid of giving the cool male characters any elements or details that could in anyway seen as feminine today, they stripped all the historical elements away. Like they couldn't even give Cesare lacing, they had to make it Manly Buckles?? It's such an insecure performance of masculinity. I admit the last image here is the worst offending example and there were some with a bit of color even, but in other ways most of it is exactly this bad. I will have to hand one thing to them though. They did manage to get the slutty shoulder-length hair right.

If this man is supposed to be sexy, prove it to me by showing his ass with lovingly fitted hose.

1. Rosaline (2022)

This is roughly set in the same time in Italy too as The Borgias, based on women's costumes, I'd say at the very end of 15th century. And those women's costumes are honestly great. They even have hand-sewn eyelets, ladder-lacing and cartridge pleats. Even some of the most high effort costumes don't get these details right. Honestly I only have issue with the hair, the hair goes from okay or outright terrible. They even made this super historically accurate Renaissance apron for a maid.

This got the lowest ranking so you know what comes next. The men's costuming is absolutely unacceptable. I feel like it would be excessive to even describe all the ways these costumes fail since to me they are so obviously bad. The difference between these women's dresses with such gorgeously crafted details and these men's costumes that give absolutely nothing is so stark and gives such a massive dissonance. They are just wearing modern skinny-ish pants, all the colors are so muted and dark, there's no shape, no structure, no codpieces, just sloppy bland jackets and pants. Even less effort than men's costumes in The Borgias have. Except one thing they have over The Borgias, they were able to ladder-lace that doublet. Otherwise these are just bland, boring and actively ugly. And it's so weird that they took this "gritty gruff "realistic"" route, when it's a comedy about Romeo and Juliet? You afford to be a little goofy with a comedy and yet you did this.

Extreme disappointment, do better.

Part II: The Good

[thatfreshi]

We, are going to be okay - Astarion x Reader

TW - self-harm

I don't write angst often but this concept just hit me too hard not to try and execute. Astarion tries taking others' perception of him into his own hands, and it comes with a cost.

Recommended Song: What Was I Made For? - Billie Eilish

For as long as you and Astarion have lived together, he starts every day the same. Then again, the both of you are creatures of habit, and you usually wake up soon after he does. Your lover can be found in front of the vanity, trimming away at whatever isn't perfect. He'll take scissors to dead ends, cut his cuticles, occasionally pluck eyebrows if they happen to be out of line. He does this every. Single. Morning.

At this point you're used to waking up to the sound of blades running through hair, a slight hum from Astarion as he focuses on all the details of his perfect appearance. Sometimes he doesn't even notice that you've woken up. Despite not being able to see his reflection, he's quite precise. And you have never once questioned this ritual of his.

You then are awoken by a cry of pain, a most unusual noise at dawn.

"Darling?"

You ask groggily, wondering if perhaps he cut a nail back too far. You wipe the wave of sleep from your eyes, trying to focus over at the vanity.

Red.

Red down his face. Suddenly you're soberly awake, and you stumble out of bed to see what he's done now.

"It's alright my love, just a knick."

Shaking voice, he wipes the blood off his face, and it just pours more. A slash clean across his cheek.

"That is absolutely not a knick!"

You grab a nearby rag and start applying pressure to the cut.

"How in the nine hells did you manage to do this?"

He pauses before answering, and then simply shrugs. You notice he grabs something off the vanity table, quick enough you don't see what.

"Who knows, perhaps we have a poltergeist?"

While Astarion is usually a fantastic liar, he has slowly lost the skill around you. You get suspicious, as he's still shaking from the wound. Gazing at the table, you notice everything is where he leaves it, in it's nice tidy place. Scissors back in their hiding place.

"Astarion, my love, what are you hiding from me?"

He says nothing, averting his gaze.

"Darling, please, tell me."

You take his hands in yours, bloody rag set aside. He still refuses to make eye contact. Instead, he wriggles his hands out of yours and goes to grab something out of his boot. A dagger. He tosses it on the floor. It's so slick in crimson that some red specks fall on the hardwood floor. Suddenly he chokes up, unable to speak as you keep staring at his dagger.

"Oh my love, my precious one."

You also find yourself at a loss for words, as your throat closes and the tears form at your eyes. You look back up at him. He seems ashamed, embarrassed, frightened by the blade on the floor.

"Why?"

Your voice cracks, almost unable to get the single word out into the air. You retrace your steps back to his hands, squeezing them tight, as if he'll evaporate in your grasp.

"I... I don't know. I just sat down and all of a sudden, there was all this rage, all this sorrow. I can't even see myself and everyone just decides everything they need to know about me based on something I'll never be able to comprehend. A barmaid assuming I'll flirt to get a free drink, a stranger whispering to a confidant whilst eyeing me up and down. This body, it's only ever been a facade, a trap to pull people in, a tainted memory of Cazador's reign. And I thought about upkeeping it once again, and I just-"

He is cut off by another sob. You have no idea what to say. You had no idea he was struggling like this, that he felt so judged.

"It's okay darling, it's okay."

There's nothing. You are filled by the void. You've heard the stories, Astarion going through hell and back. You've been awoken by the nightmares, you've had the long talks about his boundaries, but you never thought he would ever hurt himself. Somehow that twists your heart worse than any stories of vampire lords and monster hunters. But right now, it's not about you pitying him. He needs you.

You wipe at your eyes once more and go to check on his wound. You silently thank the fact that he's as meticulous about sharpening his weapons as he is about everything else. As you dab at the wound again, he tries to speak. You pause, to try and let the words come out. He grabs onto your forearm, holding on as if you're going to disappear.

"Do you think it'll scar?"

You shake your head immediately.

"No, it won't. I'll get whatever healer we have to, I'll pay whoever we need to."

A vampire bite, a cruel poem, he didn't need one more reminder of the past.

"I'm sorry."

You hold his head in your hands, wiping away at the mist falling down his face.

"It's okay. You'll be okay. We, are going to be okay."

He gives you a pain-ridden smile, something unsure resting on his lips, but he trusts you. He trusts that you're there for all of it, the drunken nights in town, the flirtatious glances, the moments where he forgets he's home. He reciprocates your affirmation.

"Okay."

Somehow you feel a little bit better, that you're here for him. It's going to be a lifetime of ups and downs, but you'd only want to share them with him, and he's grateful. The good, the bad, and the ugly, that's what they all say. And you'll be there for all three.

[megapocalypse]

CW: Mpreg

I think if Bingqiu/Bingyuan had children that they'd have a dozen or so more of them. Not exactly by choice, it just happened one day when Shen Qingqiu woke up feeling sick and lightheaded, even with the blood mites and his cultivation body for some reason his Qi felt off.

He goes to Mu Qingfan who does an inspection on him (to Binghe's dismay 🥺😤) and it turns out Shen Qingqiu's got like 10 of those fuckers in his belly.

Shen Qingqiu thinks to himself 'flush it' but then reconsiders, he has to consider how Luo Binghe would feel...

Binghe certainly has a lot of baggage with that sort of thing doesn't he, and Shen Qingqiu thinks that maybe, well, he certainly is fond of children. And if he's carrying Binghe's children well-

"Flush it" Binghe says.

Welp, that settles that.

"You can't" Mu Qingfan chimes in. "You're already 3 months pregnant"

So that's why Shen Qingqiu's belly was getting fuller recently, he just thought he was getting chubbier.

But how exactly did Shen Qingqiu get pregnant in the first place?

"Did you have protected sex?"

"No."

They end up keeping the baby (not much choice in the matter with how fast heavenly demons grow in the womb). Luo Binghe makes sure to take care of Shizun and make sure he's resting properly and eating right, while Shen Qingqiu knits the babies their heavenly demon robes with little mittens and gloves to boot. Of course, he makes a matching set for Binghe too.

They set up a baby shower at the palace to celebrate. Shang Qinghua is the chaperone of course, leading the guests (a begrudging Liu Qingge, the sect leader, and Mu Qingfan) towards the backyard. Yes, Binghe's palace has a backyard and Shen Qingqiu likes to garden there.

Shen Qingqiu sees that they walk by, appreciating the gifts in their hands. Mu Qingfan had brought the snack platter by Shen Qingqiu's instruction, and he's admiring the assortment of food decorating the board, he advised Mu Qingfan to specifically design it like a charcuterie.

"What's a charcuterie?"

He asked him to have a plate and to make it look nice.

At some point he has to kick Shang Qinghua in the shins for trying to hog all the snacks, after all Shen Qingqiu called dibs- well, it's for the guests, of course. Yes.

He opens the presents, starting with Liu Qingge's first he finds a bloody bag inside the box, Shen Qingqiu is really getting "dead dove do not eat" vibes.. he finds the heart of a three headed monkey spider.

"Mm, I'll keep it in my collection Shidi." He gives him a smile.

Liu Qingge only grunts.

Luo Binghe tries to give him the death stare, but it almost looks comical when he's wearing the knock-off burger king hat that Shang Qinghua made out paper for him, the word "Daddy" scribbled on it.

He opens up Shang Qinghua's gift next, and it's ten tiny shirts that spell out "Pride Month" that slowly spells out "demon". And at the bottom of the box is a parenting pamphlet... written by Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky...

Shen Qingqiu only gives him a pointed stare.

Shen Qingqiu opens up gift after gift, with each one accompanying awkward clapping from the crowd.

Yue Qingyuan got him toys for the babies, Mu Qingfan brought the necessary toiletries. Liu Mingyan gave them some clothes, Sha Hualing gave them tiny knives (he'll just throw those out later).

A month or so passes by and Shen Qingqiu had finally gone through the terrifying ordeal of childbirth, as in he didn't, really. He was asleep for most of it actually, score for him! Go cultivation setting!

Mu Qingfan was the one to deliver, he handed him one kid after another to the passed out drooling Shen Qingqiu, while Luo Binghe stood by his side sobbing like a mess. Each baby had an assortment of their features, one had a cute button nose that looked like Binghe's, another had curly black hair and brown eyes, another one had the shape of Shen Qingqiu's sharp eyes.

As expected of the protagonists babies, they were so cute!!! It's like holding a bunch of white lotuses in his arms, so many fluffy small heads he can pat! Shen Qingqiu nearly had hearts in his eyes over how cute they were.

"What will you name them, Shizun?"

"They're yours too, don't you want to name them?"

Luo Binghe only shakes his head, "You have the honor to name our children Shizun," he gripped his hand and gave him a bright smile. "That would make me the happiest man alive."

And so Shen Qingqiu thought to himself long and hard about their names. He considered, they are Binghe's children so they should carry the "Luo" surname. Yes, he's got it:

Luo Bingye, Luo Bingfei, Luo Bingyue, Luo Bingren, Luo Binghan, Luo Bingluan, Luo Bingliang, Luo Bingbing, Luo Bingfu, and Luo Bingchun.

Shen Qingqiu smiled to himself very proud of his naming choices "welcome to this world," he said. Luo Binghe looked in awe and adoration.

And Mu Qingfan nearly passed out.

[thatwritterbeach]

So About that Alley .3

Jason Todd x fmc

DC masterlist ALL OTHER PARTS FOUND HERE

Unedited***Also I swear Tumblr is messing up my spelling on purpose cuz everytime I re-read something I know I fixed it's wrong again

Alex: short, curvy, red hair, green eyes, redheads go through pain meds way faster than normal people to the point I personally don't even take them, it's a joke, they last 30 min at best

Summary: Alex finds out her bf is red hood, after she spills some not so great secrets to the masked man while stitching him up.

Warnings: Vaginismus* angst, sexual assault, self-harm, depression, drug use by Alex, violence, cursing, NSFW, smut, thigh riding, vaginal fingering, guided masturbation?, p in v (not overly described), pain during s*x, hiding said pain, hickeys?, self-hate, insecurities, eating disorder, weight loss

A/N: I do not own dc booho

stop what is this gif lol^^

"Hey, Jay," she asked in a totally calm totally cool manner the next morning, completely numb thanks to the nice little combo she'd whipped up. Not floating or un-present but not in pain, even where the arm of the couch was digging into her side as Jason squished into her, laying fully on top of her.

"Yes, my beloved?"

"Don't make me take away your books you little dork. I was just wondering if your family knows about you...you know, not being dead?"

"Uh, yeah, why?"

"Just if I happened to run into them I wouldn't wanna be like 'oh I'm dating Jason' and they'd be all 'wtf is wrong with this chick, he's dead' you know."

"I guess. Alex," he said grabbing her hand and pulling it to his mouth," I'm gonna introduce you, I'm not ashamed of you or whatever the hell else your mind is trying to say. My family is...overwhelming for most and I didn't want to scare you off."

"I get it dude, and since I just recently placed you as Robin you would have had to hire a family, or spill you deepest secrets to me. Lucky for you, I am the most understanding woman on the planet."

"I'd argue, but you're right. I'll text Alfred, the leader of the gang, and see when we can come for dinner. Be warned though, it could be tonight, they've been trying to get me to come home for a while now."

It was in fact that night. Alex scurried around for a clean pair of jeans, then after a glance in the mirror at her too large reflection she ripped them off and tossed them to the floor. A dress? No, that one has a tear. This skirt? No, it's too short. Jean short, they're clean but who the fuck wear jeans shorts to a mansion. Business slacks, no that says trying too hard. Ah ha, a superman t-shirt, and black leggings, then top it off with one of Jason's zip up hoodies.

"Is that what you're wearing," he asked with a laugh as he came into the room. In fact the laugh became a full blown fit and he doubled over nearly to the ground clutching his stomach and wheezing. With each second she got more and more self-conscious. Of course she couldn't wear what was basically pajamas to a fancy place, what was wrong with her. With a sigh she took off her boots and slid out of the leggings and switched them for her jeans, that she hated but whatever. Searching in vain for something that wasn't a graphic tee, or a business blouse she was half way through her closet when Jason recovered enough to notice what she was doing.

"No, put it back on, it's great, doll, I wasn't laughing at you, I was laughing with you."

"I wasn't laughing," she said without emotion.

"Hey, come 'er." Much to her wiggling protest he pulled her tight against him and placed several loud kisses along her scalp.

"Everyone else will be in pj's I solemnly swear, in fact I was just about to change into my matching flannel set, someone amazing bought it for me, but I can't remember who," he said tapping his chin with mock thought.

"Really?"

"Cross my heart," he said, though his fingers were crossed behind his back.

"Ok," she conceded trying to get free. He held on for another minute before spinning her out away from himself and winking when she fell back onto the bed. Matching pj's in hand he headed to the bathroom, not for privacy but to send an urgant group chat explicity stating lounge clothes were to be worn.

See masterlist for more

[coveholdenmyluv]

I. Midoriya - New Beginnings

Synopsis. Stained and calloused, the commission has nurtured your palms into silent artillery and trained you to fight the wolves they throw you in with. Not at all accounting for the possibility that you too might learn to bite the hand that feeds you.

Or alternatively - in which the Hero Commission recruits YOU to go undercover as a student in UA to keep a certain class, who already seems to be a magnet for trouble, in check...

It's safe to say you get a little more than what your briefing covered.

A story of the finding of self love, a family, and a new beginning.

Series masterlist.

Chapter warnings. emotional manipulation, minor death, this is sort of a set up chapter?, kind of a long chapter, the latter half is very chill. pls read prologue first!

Chapter synopsis. You’ve been summoned to the HPSC headquarters! Hopefully they’re planning on giving you that vacation you dream of.

1| Only in Our Dreams. 10.9K words

"Mercy, please! I swear, we meant no harm. It was just for some extra cash, I've got my girls at home!"

The man cowered near the back wall as you intimidatingly stepped towards his hunched position. The leisure steps you took barely made much noise at all, yet the soft pats of your boots were deafening. His whimpers reached their maximum volume when the soles of your feet came into contact with a limp limb laying on the concrete, and his head flew every which way to gaze at the lifeless bodies of his companions strewn around him.

He feared to meet the same fate.

"Do they have a mother?"

"No!" The man shrieks, "That's the reason that I'm doing what I'm doing. I just want to give them a better life." He explains honestly. "I've barely even found a babysitter, I've got my ma watching them!"

You chuckled bitterly at his justification - instantaneous hysteria that you've heard countless times before.

"Illegal drug trafficking, right? How's that working out for you and your girls?" You asked in a sneering manner, to which he simply sputtered as he struggled to elucidate any further. "I've gotta say, you're good at what you do. The police are having a hard time tracking you down. But of course, your little side hustle has been causing the citizens in Kyushu to grow rampant. The heroes based in the area are beginning to go into overtime, thus leaving them tired and malnourished. We can't have our dutiful saviors walking around enervated, can we?" Your right palm lifts into the air and a crisp chill invades your palm whilst the radiant gleam of your dainty sun mark begins to swell.

"No, please! My girls- You're a hero aren't cha'? You can't- you wouldn't!" He squeals and squirms as you corner him. His eyes gape at you in horror and look to nearly burst out of their sockets as his pitiful cries reach their peak.

"Your girls will be better off with your ma." You state as your palm draws near his face. "Scum needs to be dealt with, you understand, don't you? This is for the good of our cause."You rasp, steeling yourself to proceed with the actions that will surely haunt you until the moment you reach your deathbed composed of wilting and withering black dahlias.

"You're no hero, you're the devil incarnate. An angel of death! You'll get what's coming to you, Aeron. Mark my words, I'll be cheering for your downfall from hell-" He begins, only for his ardent proclamations to dwindle in their power as your palm finally makes contact with his rugged skin.

You watch as his limbs go limp, surveying his body for the telltale signs of the remaining life to dispel. Though, those aren't what notify you of your completed mission, instead it's the warm draft that floods your body and inhabits every crevice available.

The feeling is supposed to invigorate you, supposed to bring forth newly born vitality, but in reality it makes you nauseous to the point where you yearn to clutch that wretched right palm onto your lips.

"Go ahead and save me a spot then. If those are the consequences of fulfilling my purpose, then so be it." Your excruciating voice grinds out. You can nearly taste the bile adhering to the walls of your throat, forcing your retreating hand to clutch into a fist and fingernails to pierce into the skin of your palm.

Nausea.

You hate the rising feeling of nausea - with nausea comes profuse perspiration, retching, dyspnea, and remorse.

Your line of work bears no room for penitence.

With corpulent and dense inhalations, you gather your bearings to go forth with the completion of your mission. Slipping your cell phone out of the pouch strapped to your waist, you dial the numbers ingrained into your muscle memory - carved and sealed with cement into your bones.

"Assignment fulfilled. Another clean job." You state in a low tone into the speaker.

"Nothing but the bodies is being left behind, correct?"

"Affirmative. Not an ounce of blood spilt."

"Heavenly. Flawless work once again, Aeron. Attain the photos and head west once more. We have more to discuss, my dear."

"Roger that, ma'am. Arrival time should be soon, expect my appearance at ten past eleven hundred."

"Noted. You've done us well, hero."

The long tone indicating the call had ended allows the knot in your chest to lessen its grip and release the breath you hadn't quite heeded before. The hand clutching your phone lowers itself to your side as the corner of your lips soften and warmth fills the apples of your cheeks. The crease to your brow alleviates and you can feel the effect the praise has on your conduct.

It's almost pathetic how easily your nausea fades at the approval the woman expresses for your actions.

After you comply to your post mission orders, you make your way to the vehicle delegated to take you to and from your superiors. There, a very much not unexpected ring tone chimes in your ears.

"Gooood morning!"

Your hand instinctively pulls the device away from your ear drums, a wince creasing your face. "Well, it was just a second ago." You grumble into the speaker.

"You left the house before I could tell you, punk. What did we say about wanting to start having breakfast together again?"

Your eyes soften and guilt paws at your insides at his reminder. "I know, I'm sorry. I had an early mission and didn't want to wake you. It was very last minute too." You explained.

"They aren't overworking you again, are they?"

"What? No, it's fine- I'm fine. It was an easy one today, so."

Keigo audibly sighed on the other end of the line, "I still don't like how all of your missions are classified. You'd think that I of all people would be spared some info, but alas, I guess I'm not trust worthy enough for that."

"Don't say that, it's just... different." You attempt to expound without unveiling what the commission deems as too much. Tip-toeing the edge of compromise and divulgence. "Besides, I'm never allowed any details pertaining most of your missions either. It'd be unfair if you were the sole exception. You're not as special as you think you are, Hawks." You subtly tease.

His buoyant guffaw resounds in the confined space of the cabin you sit in, forcing your lips to purse in amusement. "Ouch, I'd beg to differ." He retorts. "Anyway, where are you headed now? It sounds like you're in a car." He asks.

"Yeah, I'm heading west. Wish me luck. Do you think they're finally summoning me for that vacation time I requested? Bali sure is calling my name." You suggested sarcastically. In reality, you knew the notion was far too good to be true, though that never stopped you from entertaining the idea.

"Only in our dreams. Maybe if you told them you were going somewhere nearer than Indonesia? What about Honshu? Mount Fuji might be cool to see, right?"

You appreciated Keigo's willingness to join your wishful chants, even if it was all for naught. "Do you think it's possible to build a house directly on it?"

He laughs at your question and you can almost visualize the way he clutches his stomach, which he is definitely doing considering the slight wheezes you caught lingering in the sound. "No sane person would risk their life to live on a volcano, psycho." He berates.

You shrugged, "But, just imagine the view. Hell, even a home at the base would be divine." You suggested, telling yourself these were merely words, though deep down you know that some amount of truth laid hidden in the thick of their woods.

"Tell you what, in a couple of years we'll actually start looking into it. Who knows? Perhaps by some work of a miracle we'll be in a situation that allows exactly that by the upcoming." He offers, and a fond smile paints the skin of your lips as your eyes soften once again, though this time it was not because of grasping praise. This time, your cheeks filled with warmth at the thought of one day living in a cottage in the middle of nowhere with nothing but yourself and the man you see as your own blood. Well,him and Kitty. "By the way, I'm talking about the vacation thing, not the living in a volcano idea. That is suicidal."

"Only in our dreams, big bird." You sighed in resignation. "Anyway, how's Tsukuyomi doing?" You asked.

"He actually just walked into the office," He announced and you could hear the faint excited greeting he dealt the boy with upon his arrival. "We might head out on a patrol soon." He informed you, which you assume was his way of making the teen on the other side of the line aware of as well.

"Alright I'll let you go, but take the boy out for a walk along side you, at the very least. Don't leave him behind, you know he's the only one who genuinely still attempts to sustain the same pace as you." You reminded. The intern had expressed his annoyance with his lack of contribution towards any successful arrests during his time at the agency so far, and to be frank, you couldn't blame him. To most, Hawks moved too fast to be able to cooperate with properly.

The man also continued to claim that his interest in mentoring a student from UA was nothing short of a sudden change of heart, which you still don't quite believe. While your trust in him runs deep within your veins, with every passing day you grew more wary. Something in your instincts warns you that there has to be some underlying issue revolving the situation. An issue you wouldn't be surprised to be signed and dated by the Hero Public Safety Commission themselves.

But, you knew when not to pry.

"Yeah, yeah." He had begun to leisurely waft away your advice, before his tone of voice differed from any he had used in your entire short conversation. "Hey," The words he spoke next were low and dangerous.

"Be careful."

The leisure grip on your cell phone tightened, your fingers acting as the bars to the cell withholding the quiver of your lip, masking the trepidation creeping its way up your throat and replacing it with insouciance.

"Aye aye, captain."

Heavy footsteps coming from yourself and the guard behind you reverberated off of the long barren walls of the hollow hallways in the Heroes Public Safety Commission headquarters. The aroma that filled your nostrils was overbearing with the scent of recently used cleaning products and your dead dreams...

Okay, perhaps you were being a tad bit dramatic, but not without good reason!

Although you pledged your life to the commission's cause and would never dream of disobeying your saviors, you were still at the peak of your adolescence - with raging hormones that demanded an eye roll every fifteen minutes. Every time you trudged the same path down the abyss hallways, a minuscule portion of your soul would wither. It was not always like this, though as you aged, the officers that directed the trails that which your life would take grew bolder. So much so, that the last dozen twists and turns had left a sanguinary in their wake.

The exchange would go as such: you would receive the orders and complete them without error.

It's what you are a paragon at, obeying orders was a phenomenon that was drilled into you as a small child. These missions and interactions with the higher ups were meant to stay within the walls of this very building, meaning you couldn't even vent to the sole person that could possibly understand. Keigo was excellent at keeping the two of you in check for the public, while you were the perfect underlier pulling the strings to keep the public in check for the commission.

After all, it's what you were born for. The reason you were gifted with the quirk that you wield; your inherent purpose.

Knuckles meeting cold metal pulls you away from your thoughts, muscle memory working in your favor, having knocked on the slate grey door innumerable times before. It doesn't take long for it to be slid open by another man dressed identical to the one behind you. They donned all black attire bar the small pieces of armor in different locations of their body, presumably to better suit their specific quirks. Once all of the weapons strapped in various places on your body were removed and within the safe keeping of their arms, the guard behind you turned his stance to guard the door you stepped through.

Security doesn't abate for the higher ups anymore, not since the incident with the former chairman years ago.

The slight shuffle from the black boots of your hero costume announced your arrival. Near the wide windows and before the ash colored desk placed in the vacant room stood the woman you've acquainted yourself with since you were young. A woman well into her fifties dressed in a lilac pencil skirt, and matching button up with white heels, crossed her arms and upturned her nose well into the air at the sight of you. She had always done that, you presumed the reason was to assert her rightful place above you, something you found that you never minded and had coerced out a side of you that forced your own nose to face the ground in submission.

A man not too far behind her in age was also a ways away from her side, though you had never been in contact with him as you were with the woman. He sported light slicked back grey hair and a black suit, with a stern expression gracing his wrinkly features. You had met him over the years, but due to the strict rules of your earlier tutelage, you were never given the chance to interact with many other than the few you are still allowed to now in the present.

"Good morning, Aeron. Thank you for coming here on such short notice, and especially after a mission so well done." She spoke gently.

Aeron is who she spoke of, your hero name and the only moniker attached to you to exist. Whether she still remembers your birth name or not you were clueless of. The only person you knew of with that knowledge was Keigo, albeit even he only made use of it in the safety of your own home. Though he never failed to remind you he thought it suited you better than, 'Aeron, goddess of battle, slaughter, and war', chanting about how smoothly the name you were born with rolls off the tongue.

'Always the charmer, that one.' You reminisced with an affectionate smile.

"Good morning, Madam President. As always, I am glad to have been of aid to you and make it my duty to meet your expectations." You say as you bend over in a bow to present your respects.

"We're enrolling you into UA High." The man spoke curtly.

Sustaining your position while nodding your head, you reply, "Yes sir, UA High- wait what?!" You end with the raise of your head as you direct your shell shocked irises their way. The woman herself froze along with you, it seemed as if she was going to keep the small talk flowing before her intentions were thwarted. It was almost comical how large her turquoise eyes had widened. Standing upright, you clear your throat and speak with noticeable cracks littered in your question. "P-pardon me, could you repeat that?"

'Hooooly shit, oh my gosh. Okay, I've never asked for shit but just this once, can any celestial being work their magic or whatever and make them not make me kill a kid!? I'm gonna need so many vomit bags if I were to go through with this. Screw that, would I even be able to? Well... maybe if one were to turn out to be a sick pervert with no boundaries and god awful balls on their head, than yeah okay I can roll with that-'

Not without giving the man a dirty glance, the chair woman tries her best to mend the unraveling situation before her. "What he meant to say was that, we need you to go undercover as a student at UA High." She says, satisfied and clearly very confident that her statement would be enough to ease you into compliance.

It's safe to say that it was far from enough, very far. Like, miles away. What ever happened to 'hello' or 'how was your day'?

"Right, uhm... If you don't mind me asking, why would I need to do that?" You ask, masking your dubiousness with a forced comprehensive expression.

"I'm sure you've heard of the recently infamous class 1A, correct?"

"Yes, they're all the citizens are speaking about. Especially, due to the recent events of the sports festival a few weeks ago." You answered, before the realization dawned upon you. "Wait a minute, are you trying to tell me that my mission is to enroll into class 1A? I'm not understanding, why the hell would I need to do something so distressing?"

"Calm yourself, Aeron. We simply want you to be and act like a mere late enrollment. We need someone on the inside to keep an eye on those children. They need to be kept in line." The president says.

"I assume you're aware of the USJ incident? After their performance at the sports festival, we know for a fact that the USJ won't be the last of the trouble they get themselves into. Most recently, we have reason to believe that a group of three students, all from class 1A, were heavily involved in the Hosu incident which involved The Hero Killer: Stain. Far more involved than the reports state they truly were. Of course, we don't know this for a fact, so we won't act on this situation specifically, but that alone is enough to raise alarms for us." The man explains.

The Hosu incident happened just two days ago, in which The Hero Killer: Stain was finally apprehended and sent to Tartarus Prison. The reports stated that The Flame Hero: Endeavor was the hero that defeated and arrested him, saving three student interns. You hate to admit it but considering the class was only in their first year, if what they were suspecting is true then these instances were very alarming.

"The group of three students you believe to be heavily involved, they were the interns, weren't they? Who were they specifically?" You ask.

"If the reports were telling the truth - Tenya Iida, Shoto Todoroki, and Izuku Midoriya. All of which made it to the top ten in the Sports Festival."

You hummed in thought, "Tenya Iida and Shoto Todoroki... both of these students hail from powerful families. I'm assuming if your theory is true, the cover up was not purely for their sake. Something like this could tarnish the reputation of hero society as a whole, considering one of them is the youngest son of the number two hero. Someone had to have taken this into consideration..." You deduce, but these thoughts only thrust you into confusion once more.

The only person you could think to make the decision of fabricating headlines for the sake of hero society's reputation is the woman before you. But if that was so, why was she acting clueless?

"Aeron, I know that look. Don't go poking your nose in situations you have no place in, this isn't the first time and I can certainly make it so that it ends in the same way it did last time, if you're so hellbent on making this a habit." She warns in a sickeningly sweet tone, her voice contradicting the fangs presenting themselves in her eyes.

"Apologies, President." You hastily correct yourself and force yourself to redirect your attention to the situation at hand. "That won't be necessary."

"We simply need someone to act as a sort of bodyguard for the time being, as well as giving them slight shoves in the right direction. If even one of them shows signs of acting up, you know what to do. You'll need to send reports of your time with them and if any extra measures need to be taken, we'll handle it. It won't be forever." The woman said in an attempt to ease your worries, though you couldn't tell if her sympathy was authentic or spurious, which admittedly frightened you to no end, considering one of your redeeming qualities involved easily reading the people around you.

"So... a spy?" You point out, which was not far at all from the truth. They want you to send reports of your time at UA, which more than likely will be done in secrecy.

"Well, more of a bodyguard spy sort of situation..."

"They would never let me in this late into the year, they're most likely gearing up for final exams right now. Not to mention, babysitter was never on the resume that I turned in." You state matter-of-factly.

"Except, you never turned in a resume, Aeron."

"...My point still stands."

"You're the only one we could trust with this, and the only one with the skills to pull this off."

"That's just because everyone else here is an ancient geezer-"

"Aeron." The woman cuts you off sternly, and in another much softer tone of voice, she tries another tactic. "Remember, we're the ones who saved you from your old home. Don't you want to repay us in the form of your loyal services? You've pledged your life to our cause, you certainly remember what that cause is, correct?"

In a matter of milliseconds, your expression alters itself. Your eyes soften their natural edges and your body translated every form of meek. Almost robotically, you site the words ever so familiar to your tongue. "I pledge to lie my life down for the cause of protecting and serving our society, bettering the lives of the many civilians housed on our soil."

"That's right, and you were cursed with a quirk that directly contradicts life as we know it. We're the only ones that can aid you in putting it to good use and help you repent. After all, the only thing that it's useful for is death, you're lucky that I'm here to guide you and allow you a way to do good things with it. You're already on the route to becoming a true hero." She explains and then gifts you a gentle and motherly smile. "This is your purpose."

She poke the truth, and that fact was the reason you sometimes despised the ability you were born with.

"Right," You utter softly, and after a few more seconds of your pondering, in a voice more fragile than before, you ask, "And this is absolutely necessary? Those kids are training to become heroes, you saw their performances. In my opinion, they're more than capable of taking care of themselves. I'm not so sure they need my guidance." You say sincerely.

This time, the man speaks up. "It is just a precaution. You said it yourself, those kids are very promising, they're our future. You and Hawks are the best of the best that we have had here with us, but that just isn't enough. It'd be a shame to see such talent go to waste."

You allow another round of seconds to escape your grasp as both adults await your response in silence.

"I'll think about it."

"..."

"..."

"Oh, you're not asking me, are you?"

"No no, we'll allow you to think it through this time." The woman assured you. You nod in appreciation and let your gaze fall to the ground as even more beats of silence gloss the room. Both adults seem to find the ceiling highly interesting.

"Have you thought about it?" They ask in unison.

"Why bother calling this a proposition when you know that I can't possibly refuse?"

"Well, technically we never called it a proposition-"

"Fine, you're right. We won't try to deny it." The woman admits, suddenly getting serious.

You exhaled in exasperation, giving the idea further thought. This particular mission differs from any of the others you had ever embarked on. The closest experience you've had to attending a class is the sporadic lectures run by Mera you are required to attend whenever your superiors see fit. Actual school is something you had never thought you would have the chance to experience, and you were unsure if you ever truly wanted to. Though, this would allow you to brighten society's future without using your quirk for sin. A path to brighten Keigo's future and aid in the accomplishment of his long term goal, something you longed for:

Aiding in the achievement of his dreams, his prosperity, and his happiness.

You bow once again, the small wisps of hair on your forefront falling forward along with you. "Enrolling into UA High School - If babysitting some brats is what it takes to ensure a bright future for our people, then I'll gladly take on that task."

You are Aeron, a mere girl whose hands have been stained alizarin crimson with sins that could never be undone. You long to live in a world where peace and tranquility are innate, especially to the person you hold dearest. You've pledged to lie your life down for the sake of society's future, but you intuit that you'd lie down society's future for his.

"Wait wait wait, can we hit the pause button for a sec?" You blurted as you sat in a cushioned rolling chair. Your elbow was propped onto the table as your palm held the weight of your right cheek, and countless files with the words 'Top Secret' stamped in red ink were sprawled across the table before you. "I'm still not so sure this can truly be considered top secret, taking into account how frequently I'm seen with Hawks. I don't mean to sound like I've got a big head, but we can't ignore the fact that I'm not a complete nobody. People are bound to recognize me as Aeron and word will get around that I've joined UA... not that I'm doubting these orders, but wouldn't that just garner more attention towards these students? Bringing further problems their way?"

The last two weeks have been filled with back to back meetings regarding your mission. Yokumiru Mera, a member of the HPSC that you had come to know since your youth, was dictated as your supervisor for your time at UA and he is not enjoying the responsibilities it entails anymore than you are.

His heavily lidded eyes gradually slid to acknowledge you without so much as an ounce of enthusiasm painting his dark irises, and in a weary voice he replies, "The mission's endgame itself is the aspect we consider to be top secret, Aeron. Your identity wouldn't, nor could it, be kept a secret. We understand that you're no stranger to the public's eye, and although you might not be as relevant as Hawks currently is, you certainly aren't too far behind."

You brow quirks curiously, "Right," you hum, "So, I'll keep being regarded as my hero name for the entire time that I'm enrolled into UA... because that isn't suspicious at all." You mutter.

The man was either too sleep deprived to recognize your sneering or he was purposely ignoring your attitude. "Yes, that's precisely what you'll be doing. Since your birth name has ceased to exist for a while now, it'd be far more suspicious to suddenly present yourself with a newly constructed alias. You'll just be the Aeron the citizens have already acquainted themselves with - a late enrollment with no connection to working directly under the commission's command as an agent aiding the next generation of heroes and making sure none of them get themselves or anyone else killed. At all costs."

You sighed dreamily, "Ah, yes. Aeron: the alluring, mysterious, up and coming, symbol of hope, poster girl-"

"Aeron." Mera grumbles harshly. "You haven't even been in any posters." He mumbles.

Your concerns made sense, there was no doubting that fact. But, like always, the commission had already taken care of most details, so in full transparency- it was the hours upon hours of sitting in meeting chairs and browsing PowerPoints that was inducing your complaints.

"We've taken care of your admission, so there is no need for an exam to determine your eligibility. According to these documents, you were enrolled through recommendations." He assures you.

"What about my living situation? Am I expected to walk to Musutafu every morning?" You question, and then move to thread your fingers together and wring them pleadingly, "If that's the case, can I pretty please with an ice cream sundae on top be assigned a driver?" You plead.

"We've already secured your housing in an area near the school. Of course, you'll be living on your own for the time being." Which wouldn't be a problem, considering independence is lulled along with the territory of being a child soldier.

"Did you get me an Airbnb?"

"That is irrelevant. Now, onto the next topic that we need to cover." He diverted and then altered the screen being projected onto the wall to display the first of many files you were expected to review and memorize.

"These are the students you will be required to befriend in order to make the job easier."

That is a detail that should not prove to be difficult for you, having had interpersonal skills drilled into your psyche from a young age, making you a master at deception and infiltration... if only you were taught how to wield those skills against the teenage mentality and intellect.

"First up-"

A photo of a boy with lustrous blond hair parted on its side and gleaming amethyst eyes appeared on screen, along with a list of various details regarding the flamboyant adolescent.

"Yuga Aoyama. Age is fifteen and birthday is May thirtieth." Mera begins to read the information on the list whilst you held a copy of the file in your hands.

"Oh, I know a fake French when I see one." You mutter to yourself, squinting at the photo.

"One hundred and sixty eight centimeters tall, or five foot six. His quirk is Navel Laser, which grants the user the ability to fire sparkly twinkling laser beams from their navel." He continues in a drowsy tone. "His recently chosen hero name seems to be 'Shinning Hero: Can't Stop Twinkling'."

With your brain already working on committing every possible detail to memory, your eyes narrow in inspection, "Okay, that weirdly makes sense. I just hope he doesn't regret that when he's older."

"He seems to highly value vanity, as well as always have a smile engraved onto his face. He can usually be seen eating alone, by choice, and is an overall highly flamboyant person."

You internally questioned how they had even acquired such personal information, including his eating habits. Given the numerous photos to support these claims, you guessed that the commission already had their eyes trained on these students far before they decided to ask for your support.

Though you soon would be replacing those exact eyes acquiring the information they deem necessary, and the thought of such espionage left a bitter taste on your tongue.

This time, the screen flickered to display a girl with a rose colored complexion that matched that of her hair. Her irises, though portraying a vivid yellow, contrasted the pitch black of her sclera.

"Next, this is Mina Ashido. She is currently fifteen years old and her birthday is July thirteenth. Her quirk is called Acid which is pretty self explanatory, it allows the user to create corrosive liquid from their skin, with it being naturally resistant to the acid it produces. Her chosen hero name is 'Pinky', and she seems to be highly outgoing. She doesn't excel academically, but more than makes up for that in her athleticism."

"Mina Ash-i-do." You drawl out the syllables of her name. "These first two students were matched up for the first round of the one v one battles during the sports festival. If my memory serves me right, Ashido displayed her athleticism by swiftly dodging Aoyama's spurious attacks, leading to her victory." You ponder aloud.

"Having a quirk that conveys power has little to do with victory. If you're loaded with stamina, that alone has the ability to take you a long way, as you know." Mera adds with a knowing lilt. "Moving on."

The photo faded to display a pale skinned girl with pitch black pools for eyes and swamp green long pin straight hair.

"Tsuyu Asui is fifteen years old and was born on February twelfth. She's on the shorter side, at one-fifty centimeters tall, making her four feet and eleven inches."

Your head tilts and your eyes squint as you inspect the image before you. "She... sort of looks like-"

"She wields the quirk called frog, which is so self explanatory that I won't even bother to elaborate. Her hero name also hints at this, being the 'Rainy Season Hero: Froppy'."

"Kermit." You finish.

"She's a straightforward and aloof child who can sometimes come off as very blunt. She's the eldest of her siblings and would quite frequently act as their main caretaker, this resulted in the molding of her very mature and responsible ethics. She also excels in aquatic environments."

Before Mera had uttered a peep about her quirk, you had already held an inkling of what it might be. While she was still undeniably human, her appearance did, oddly enough, resemble that of a frog.

From what the man in front of you has told you, she, nor the prior two students, would not pose a threat to your mission. This was a good sign.

"Next, Tenya Iida."

This boy being shown had inky navy blue slicked down hair and eyes the color of freshly bloomed saffron, framed by a pair of silver eyeglasses.

"He's fifteen years old with his birthday being August twenty second and he is one hundred and sixty nine centimeters tall, or five foot ten and a half."

"This is one of the students who made the top five in the sports festival, though I don't recall seeing him at the award ceremony." You utter aloud.

"Because he didn't attend the award ceremony, I'll get to that soon." Mera answers your obvious question. "His quirk is engine, which allows the user engine-like protrusions somewhere on their body, allowing them to move at extraordinary speeds. This child has them on his calves,"

"Which is almost too perfect for the intended use." You finish.

"Precisely." The man agrees, "His hero name was formerly 'Tenya', but has recently been changed to 'Turbo Hero: Ingenium'."

"Like his older brother, which if I remember correctly, had those engine-like protrusions on his arms. He was also a recent victim of the Hero Killer: Stain, wasn't he?" You ask.

Mera nods his head, "Correct, unfortunately we have yet to know if or when he will make his recovery, but it seems that Tenya has taken the liberty to keep the legacy going."

"I see."

"You are to keep an extra eye on him, Aeron. After all, he was one of the three children who encountered the Hero Killer, and we still don't have a clue if the reports were tampered with. If it comes to be that he engaged in combat with Stain, that means he is more likely to break the law once more in his deluded sense of justice. You are to prohibit that, by all means possible. Or, at the very least, do what you can to keep him from being caught." He whispered his last sentence underneath his breath, though he couldn't bring himself to meet your eyes.

"Essentially, I am to act as his PR specialist..." You mutter in return. Was all of this simply a ploy to make the President's job easier for her? You suppose you shouldn't complain in that case, as you were grateful for any opportunity to repay your debt towards the woman.

Still... you couldn't stop yourself from internally groaning at your new job description.

"As you know, he comes from a family of successful heroes, which means he doesn't fall short on the topic of wealth. An influential family like that should not have their name tarnished by the scar of a mischievous adolescent. See to it that it doesn't." Mera continues swiftly, "He is also the class representative and extremely dedicated to his studies. He previously attended Somei Private Academy, and placed sixth in the UA entrance exams, with fifty two villain points and nine rescue points. He is a stickler for the rules, ironically, and will snitch on you if given the opportunity."

"How fitting."

The photo then transitions to that of a female with short auburn hair and doe auburn eyes. Her full cheeks were adorned with a natural rosy blush, adding to her enchanting charm.

"Wow, she is beautiful." You utter breathily.

"Ochako Uraraka, age fifteen, with her birthday being December twenty seventh. She is one hundred and fifty six centimeters tall, which translates to five foot one and a half. Her quirk is called zero gravity, which allows the user to remove the effects of gravity from solid things upon touching them with the pads of her fingers."

Your brows raise at the description of her power, "That has a grand amount of potential, if honed correctly."

"Her hero name is 'Uravity', and she placed third in the UA entrance exams, with twenty eight villain points and forty five hero points. She is bubbly, empathetic, determined, and a quote 'cutie patootie'."

"A what?-"

"Unlike her previous classmate, she received the short end of the stick when it came to her financial situation."

'She reminds me of Kirby...' You entertain yourself.

A boy with blond hair slicked forwards, instead of the common opposite direction, and pitch black eyes came next. "Mashirao Ojiro is fifteen years old and was born May twenty eighth."

'Kind of plain looking.' You think.

"He stands at one hundred and sixty nine centimeters tall, five foot six and a half, and has a quirk named tail, which grants the user a prehensile appendage that extends from their lower posterior. His chosen hero name is 'Martial Arts Hero: Tailman'. The only other notes we seem to have gathered are that he has a quote, 'wack quirk and wack look that certainly won't help him climb any ranks after graduation' end quote."

"Oof, so harsh yet so true." You wince.

"Don't be rude." Mera offhandedly scolds. "Moving on, Denki Kaminari is fifteen years old and his birthdate is June twenty ninth. One hundred and sixty eight centimeters tall, making him five foot six short."

"He was born with his future merch logo imprinted in his hair. I'm not going to lie, that's kind of iconic." You comment regarding the boy with blond hair, and a unique black lightning bolt on his left side. His eyes, which were arguably the most striking thing about him, were a shade of metallic yellow that nearly mimicked pots of gold.

"His quirk is called electrification, which grants the user the ability to charge in electricity and emit it out of their body as a sort of protective aura that electrocutes anyone who attempts to form contact."

"Which they'd be stupid to do." You comment before shaking your head in disbelief, "So many powerful quirks with so much potential in one place, it's almost unreal."

"His hero name is 'Stun Gun Hero: Chargebolt', and he's a very friendly himbo with excellent social skills. He's a well meaning jokester that hits on women, and sometimes men, respectfully."

You give yourself a moment to digest the information, pondering if this was actually imperial to your mission, which you realize is probably not the case.

"Who is writing these notes?" You ask.

"Irrelevant." Mera answers curtly, "Next is Eijiro Kirishima."

"Oh, this was one of the guys who had the only tie in the sports festival. If my memory serves me right, he won that tie breaker, correct?"

"Very correct, like the others, he is fifteen years old and was born on October sixteenth. He's one hundred and seventy centimeters tall, making him five foot seven. His quirk is called hardening, which gives the user the power to harden any part of their body. This quirk protects them from most physical threats. His hero name is 'Sturdy Hero: Red Riot'."

"That's my favorite one so far."

"He is a beefy himbo that placed second in the UA entrance exams with thirty nine villain points and thirty five hero points."

Your brows raise slightly, "Impressive."

"He has a scar right above his right eye and... hmm..." Mera seemingly begins to trail off, his dark eyes squinting at the file he holds in his hand.

"What?"

"These notes are stupid, I don't want to read them." He states and the screen flickers as the next student's portrait is displayed instead.

"No way hold on, I want to know everything Mera. What if I need this information one day?"

"Trust me, you won't need to know this. Much less, see it in writing. Let's move on-"

"You know, you saying that is just making me want to know more. Come on, I thought we were cool."

"I am cool, you just wouldn't leave me alone since the day you learned my name."

"It's a cool name, I like names that roll off my tongue like that."

"I digress, if you want to know so bad, read it yourself." He says and slides his version of the file across the table, having it land directly before your eyes.

"Oh." You sigh, reading the bullet point that Mera was being dramatic about, "He has a 'big ahh forehead'..." The urge to look at the small photo of the red head at the top of the page was instinctual, anyone would have done the same. So that's exactly what you did. "Well, they're not wrong."

"Aeron." The man grits, rolling up one of the many files he had left and bopping you on the top of the head with it. "Don't be rude. You have to learn to be their friends, that can't happen if you don't learn to filter your opinions."

Fixing the hair at the top of your head, you groan, "Aren't you supposed to be able to be yourself with friends? What's the point of establishing myself as their companion if I can't even do that?"

"Not in this case, no. Keep in mind, this won't be a normal 'friendship', your relationship with these children will be completely fabricated. Fake. You need to put a leash on yourself and, if needed, present yourself with an entirely new persona in order to fool them."

You grumble, "Well, don't be surprised if I don't end up their friend at all. I'm not going through with this to make friends."

"You kind of actually are, that's sort of the entire mission."

"Well, I won't be enjoying it."

Mera chuckles, "There's no harm in milking this for what it's worth, why not go and bask in the positives your mission might bring you? Friends your own age would do you some good, at least I think so, anyway. Not to mention, a break from whatever the President has cooking up for you in the future."

You stutter, "What? Don't state it like that, I'm very grateful for the opportunities the President has granted me."

"Sure, kid." The man relents, and for a moment, if you were somehow a passerby watching this moment from the outside in, you could have see the turbulence, or perhaps guilt?, knotting and twisting itself in the visible disruption on his face. The hesitation he feels in continuing to push you so far, in aim to create some robotic servant who would never even think to make the same mistakes as the ones before her.

"Let's continue," He decides. "Now, Eijiro Kirishima is known to be a very kind student, and his hair takes a full three minutes to set. He is also a fake red head."

"What's his natural hair color?" You ask, intrigued.

"Black."

"I could see that."

"Next, we have Koji Koda. Age fifteen and birthday is February first."

This student's appearance surprises you, as it seems his body is a permanent version of Kirishima's hardening quirk. This boy has no hair at all and was only blessed with small beady irises.

"One hundred and eighty centimeters tall - six foot one. His quirk is anivoice and it allows its user to communicate with and command animals through speech. His hero name is 'Petting Hero: Anima', and despite his quirk, his personality is much mellow, as he rarely ever utters a word."

Mera doesn't waste time exploring this student further, as he swiftly moves onto the next. This student dons dark brown spiky hair and black eyes. Though, his lips were the most attention stealing aspect about him, considering they were bigger than the average pair.

"Rikido Sato. Age fifteen, birthdate June nineteenth. One hundred and eighty five centimeters tall making him six foot one. His quirk is sugar rush, which allows the user to multiply their strength five-fold for three minutes for every ten grams of sugar they ingest. His hero name is 'Sweet Hero: Sugar Man'. Due to his quirk, he has developed a grand skill for baking."

"I'm so jealous right now." You mutter, "Do you think he'll make cake when I join the class? Considering I'll have to be their friend, it'd be stupid to decline, right?" You ask Mera.

"I'm glad you're taking my advice of milking this for what it's worth, though I'd prefer if you went about it for the interactions these children could bring you." He answers.

"So, is that a yes?"

"Probably." He answers, "Next, Mezo Shoji."

This student had silver hair that was parted and styled to obstruct his right eye. A light blue mask consumes the rest of his face, leaving very little of his actual face to see the light of day, and unlike the two most people are born with, this boy has six arms.

"He's fifteen and one hundred and eighty seven centimeters tall, making him six foot two. His quirk is named dupli-arms and it grants the user a set of arm-like tentacles adjacent to their arms that can transform into duplicates of any other body part. Hero name is 'Tentacle Hero: Tentacole'. The only notes we have of this one are: always has a mask on, gentle giant, selfless, and empathetic."

"This quirk just screams that he'd be an ideal scout." You determine.

"Kyoka Jirou," This time, there was a girl on screen. She has short length indigo hair and triangular onyx eyes. Cables the color of her pale skin were connected to her earlobes, making her quirk a simple guess. "Age, fifteen, birthdate, August first. She's one hundred and fifty four centimeters tall, making her five foot one and three fourths. Her quirk is names earphone jack and it grants its users long controllable earlobes that work like headphone cables. Jirou's earlobes are shaped like jacks at their ends, allowing her to plug them into a variety of objects. Her hero name is 'Hearing Hero: Earphone Jack'. She has a very laidback personality, is a talented musician, and can be empathetic towards those she deems her friends."

'She has bottom lashes to die for.' You notice, though you decide to keep that thought to yourself.

"Hanta Sero is fifteen years old and was born on July twenty eighth. He is one hundred and seventy seven centimeters tall, which translates to five foot ten." This student has pin straight black hair that went to about his neck, and matching color eyes. He also has probably the most straight teeth you had ever seen. "His quirk is called Tape, and it allows the user to eject adhesive tape from openings located on both of their elbows. His hero name is 'Taping Hero: Cellophane'. The notes on him are claiming that he is very sociable and laid back, though also loud and humorous."

"Tape elbows?" You hum, and Mera could have sworn he saw a visible question mark floating above your head. "I'll admit, I like the hero name. It's catchy."

The next student was someone that has recently become very familiar to you, given his internship at the Hawks Agency.

"This is Fumikage Tokoyami, he's fifteen years old and his birthday is October thirtieth. He is one hundred and fifty eight centimeters tall - five foot two inches. His quirk is Dark Shadow, which grants the user a shadowy, monster-like being from within his body that they can materialize and de-materialize at will."

It's almost comedic to hear Dark Shadow described as some sort of vicious 'monster', considering during which the time that you had acquainted yourself with its owner, he was anything but.

"His hero name is 'Jet Black Hero: Tsukuyomi'." Mera continues.

"Hearing his hero name in full is always so damn cool."

"He is relatively reserved, noble, dependable, and regarded as a very strong student. He placed ninth in the UA entrance exam with forty seven villain points and ten rescue points."

"Considering the amount of aspiring contenders, he placed pretty high in those rankings." You point out.

As the screen transitioned to another student, you realize that you recognize this one immediately as well, his two toned hair being a dead give away.

"Shoto Todoroki is fifteen years old, and stands at one hundred and seventy six centimeters, making him five foot nine inches tall. His quirk is named half cold half hot, and it allows the user to generate ice, frost, and low temperatures from the right side of their body and fire, flames, and high temperatures from the left. However, the user is unable to manipulate either element that comes from an external source; additionally, they can only create them from within their own body. His hero name is 'Shoto'."

Pursing your lips, your fingers tap against the desk as you squint your eyes at the portrait. "A boring hero name is bad for marketing. Though, at least he's good looking."

"He would formerly come across as cold or aloof, but he has recently noticeably grew to be more open and friendly. Although, he is highly intelligent in his studies, he is on the denser side when it comes to social interactions. He is wise, powerful, intelligent, popular with the ladies and also very fortunate when it comes to his parent's financial situation. Which is expected as the son of the number two hero."

"It seems he underwent character development?" You ponder, "I support that, I guess. Wasn't he also one of the students that was implied to have been involved in the arrest of the Hero Killer: Stain?"

"Great memory, Aeron. Indeed he was, which is why he is another you will have to keep a mindful eye on." Mera advises you, "I've heard he is a tough one to decipher, but I trust that won't pose too much of a problem for you."

"It won't." You confirm.

"Now this next student is," He changes the photo displayed on the wall, but for some reason it seems the projector has ceased to function.

"Mera, what happened?"

The man gives you a blank stare in return, "What do you mean?"

"The projector isn't working. It's not showing the photo, I've told you before, this thing is ancient. Who even uses projectors anymore?"

"Nothing is wrong, the student is right there."

"Are you blind? There's nothing there."

"Aeron, that is the student. Toru Hagakure, age fifteen. One hundred and fifty two centimeters tall, making her exactly five feet. Quirk, invisibility. Hero name is 'Stealth Hero: Invisible Girl'."

You remain silent, mouth slightly ajar and eyes anywhere but the man before you. "Well... now I feel bad."

"Take it in stride, Aeron. Don't embarrass yourself any further. Anyhow, moving on, she is very outgoing and girly." Mera continues, not at all deterred by your glare.

"Whatever." You grumble as you cross your arms before your chest, "She totally stole my brand with the stealth part."

"Next up, Katsuki Bakugo. Age is fifteen years old, birthdate is April twentieth."

Though, your pouting doesn't last long as you almost explode with laughter at the arrival of the next photo.

"His quirk is called Explosion and this quirk allows the user to emit explosions from their hands by detonating the nitroglycerin like substance that they sweat. His hero name is still undecided and he placed first in the UA entrance exam with seventy seven villain points and zero hero points. His personality seems to match his quirk. He excels both physically and academically. He perfected reading at the age of four and is considered a natural born genius. Though, he has trouble working in teams and is victory thirsty. Due to his parents both being fashion designers, he grew up very fortunate."

"They should have kept his photo blank like the last student, they did him so wrong using the one from the sports festival." You murmur, before you begin to dwell on the information Mera had provided you. The blond seems very well off. Granted, the only view you were granted of the boy was at the surface, but if you were to judge him at that level, you wonder why he looked so angry all the time.

The photo of the blond boy then transforms into another, creating an almost comical contrast.

"Izuku Midoriya, age fifteen. Birthdate is July fifteenth. Height is one hundred and sixty six centimeters tall making him five foot five and one fourth. His quirk is a physical enhancement type of quirk that boosts physical abilities. His hero name is Deku, and he seems to be timid, polite, determined, and he also talks to himself a lot. He placed seventh in the entrance exam with zero villain points and sixty rescue points."

You hum as you inspect the photo, the one that Keigo had pointed out had made him look as if he desperately needed a toilet, and yet again you get that annoyingly nagging feeling creeping up the back of your neck.

Why does he always give you goosebumps?

"This one and the one before look as if they are total opposites, even their points in the entrance exam were basically inversed." You point out.

Mera chuckles slightly, "It's funny you say that. According to our espionage, they've known each other since childhood."

Your head tilts in curiosity, "So, they're close?"

"You could say so."

Your eye twitches in irritation, "I still don't think I like this guy. He gives me the heebie jeebies. I mean, come on... nobodies hair is that fluffy." You grit.

"I think there are more pressing matters regarding this one, Aeron. For example, this was one of the other students involved in the arrest of the Hero Killer."

"Yeah well, I had already gathered that he's someone I needed to keep on my radar even before the president had informed me of that incident. Considering the fact that he uses a quirk like a toddler first manifesting their own. It's so weird. I don't know of any other quirk that hurts someone as much as his hurts himself, and especially as a teenager. You'd think he'd have a grip on it by now."

"It'd do you well to keep in mind that, that is what UA is for. Helping teens learn more about and improve their quirks. Perhaps he was just a late bloomer? Or maybe that's just the card he was dealt. Quirks evolve with each generation, implying we cannot rely solely on past records. We have to learn how to adapt with the new age of heroes we are being dealt. And, considering this year's sports festival performances, we've got a long way to go in regards to preparing for the year they graduate and become pro's." Mera continues to school you, only forcing your pout to grow in volume. You hate it when he makes sense.

"I'm still going to be wary of him. That much you can be sure of."

"Well, why not make it apart of your mission to aid him in learning to control this quirk? Since his inability to handle it is bothering you so much." He suggests.

"What? No way. I'll avoid him every chance I get."

The blond man simply sighs in resignation, probably deciding the argument was not worth whatever he was getting paid to be here. "Sure, let's move on." Mera alters the photo to display the next student.

"Oh, brother." You mutter, recognizing and already feeling the incoming headaches this next student would bring you.

"Now, I don't want to spend any more time than I have to on him. So, forgive me if I skim over his file." Mera decides, and his dark under eyes only seem to deepen. "Minoru Mineta, fifteen years old and born October eighth. He is one hundred and eight centimeters tall making him only three feet and six and a half inches short. His quirk is called pop off and it allows the user to produce sticky spheres from their head that they can pluck painlessly. His hero name is 'Fresh-Picked Hero: Grape Juice'. Mineta is perverted, small, and surprisingly intelligent. He is one of the ones you'll need to keep an eye on the most. Specifically because you are female, a quality he takes great interest in."

"Blech."

"And finally-" Mera begins, the screen displaying the photo of a girl with long silky black hair tied into a high pony. "Momo Yaoyorozu, age fifteen, and birthday is September twenty third. She is one hundred and seventy three centimeters tall, making her five foot eight. Her quirk is called creation and it allows the user to materialize different objects, such as weapons and tools, from any part of their body. Her hero name is 'Everything Hero: Creati'. She is highly intelligent, self conscious and another one fortunate in the money department. She is also the Vice Class Representative and gained some popularity due to her recent internship. You can probably see her on a billboard due to a popular commercial." He finishes with a sigh.

Your brow raises in intrigue, "Really? Good for her. Not to mention she is rich, pretty, and smart. Whoever sits up on the high throne certainly does pick favorites."

"Now Aeron, I know I've already reiterated this plenty of times, but I feel like I need to do it once more. The key to success is to gain the favor of at the very least, most of these students. That means, you'll have to appear affable and sociable towards them. So you know... not yourself." Mera explains, gesturing towards your slumped form.

His words have you rolling your eyes in order to hide the way in which your jaw almost dropped at his blunt words. Though, Mera certainly was never one to filter his own sentences. "I know, Mera. I have to learn to get along with them."

"Not only that but we want you to become someone that they can rely on. It is both beneficial for the mission end game and for the information that you are expected to relay back to us." He elucidated. "Think of it as becoming, somewhat of an older sister figure towards these kids."

"I could never be an older sister to anyone."

"Well, try."

"That reminds me, I'm a year older than all of them, what's up with that?" You ask.

"Paperwork is very easy to forge miss Aeron, during your time there, instead of a sixteen year old, you'll go back to being a fifteen year old instead. Which shouldn't be too much of a change, there really is no difference."

What he said was true... to most. But to your sixteen year old mind, there was a colossal gap between the cerebrals of a sixteen and fifteen year old. Withholding yet another eyeroll, you simply nod your head as stiffly as you could.

Mera stifles a yawn and rubs his eyes in exhaustion. "Alright, let's call it a day and get some food into our systems, yes?" He offers and you swore you could've kissed his feet.

"Yes, please." You say exasperatedly. "What do we have on the menu today?" You ask, expecting the normal portions that included your protein, carbs, fibers and vitamins. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Why don't we get sushi today?" The man offers, and you can almost see the ghost of a smile playing on his lips. "My treat."

"Wait, really?" His offer understandably astonished you, leaving you gaping at the older man, before you narrow your eyes suspiciously. "What's the catch?"

"Don't make me regret this, just come on." He says and wearily starts his waltz towards the door.

Your eyes widen in shock at his kindness, and an excited smile embraces your face. Not needing to be told twice, you very quickly gather your files into a pile and place them into your bag.

Madam President and as well as Mera had made it crystal clear that if these files were to fall into the wrong hands, it'd be the demise of UA...

...so they very wisely let you, a teenager, handle them.

And so with another day of review complete, you make your way to the sushi place across town for the first time ever.

As you step foot into your eerily quiet penthouse, you yawn and stretch your arms high above your head, feeling as though you could touch the clouds even though you were nowhere near your elevated ceiling. The only word that roamed your mind as you thought of your subject today was... unique? Or perhaps interesting was a better way to describe the class, but one thing you knew for sure is that they were bound to be a handful.

You briefly wondered if they had ever heard your name in passing, or perhaps glanced at a photo online that the paparazzi had taken of you. What was their opinion on you, a mere stranger, and how would that opinion change when the day to meet them face to face had arrived?

For a second, you even pondered if your opinion of yourself would some how alter itself.

But, that was obviously a stupid thought. There's no way a measly group of teens would ever affect you that much. Not that you've ever met or interacted with a group of teens before. In fact, if not for Tokoyami, you would have never interacted with someone your age up until this point. You hoped the rest of his class was at least somewhat as tranquil as that boy had came off in your short interactions.

Soft snoring suddenly reaches your ears and forces you to follow the sound. Those snores lead you to your couch, and as you walk up behind it, you take in the sight that was Keigo, fully decked out in his silk sleepwear, sprawled out on the cushions. Though, the detail that really makes you reel is the fact that he's not alone.

Kitty is curled up on his back as Keigos supple wings cradle her slightly. Kitty seems to have awoken, blinking her sleepy eyes up at your form. And for the first time since you've been recruited for the mission, the fact that you'd have to leave them behind, even if just for a short while, fully marinates within your brain.

And it hurts you, because they're the only constants you have in your isolated life. The only constants that you don't mind, and the only ones that bring you peace.

You detest the fact that you'd be leaving Keigo alone, yet again, due to the commissions orders. But what else was there to do but accept it? It's not as if you could go against their commands, and even if you could, you don't think you'd have the will to. Because, as independent as you truly are, it doesn't escape your mind that at the end of the day, Madam President is a person you would always recognize as one of your main dependents. It was simply the way in which you were raised.

After slipping out of your clothes and replacing them with what was, coincidentally, a matching set of silk sleep wear as Keigo, which was totally not done on purpose? You have no idea why anyone would suggest that, you grab two blankets from the closet, and carefully drape the first onto the form of the man currently snoozing and use the other for yourself as you settle in beside him.

And after one large red wing subconsciously decides to drape itself over your frame bring you closer to his body, you decide that no matter how many expensive or fluffy blankets you coddled yourself with, none would compare to the warmth that this moment brings you.

You're grateful for the peace you are allowed and you secretly hope that your slumber isn't intruded on by the horrors of your nightmares once again.

As you allow your mind to doze off, you can't help but wonder how school- or your mission would go about. You don't quite recognize the feeling that is in your chest at the moment but you know that what ever it is, you don't want it to flee.

A/N: two chapter set up is DONE. Let’s get into some canon content next! The next two chapters are out now!! Lmk if you want me to make a tag list!

[eyra]

I hope you’ll forgive my selfishness, but I am dying to ask: What did Remus think the first time he saw Sirius in Beneath a Big Blue Sky??

today is your lucky day. I've mentioned a few times that I've dabbled in the possibility of one day writing more bits and pieces in the Beneath a Big Blue Sky world. whether or not this will ever all see the light of day I'm not sure, but since you asked, I'll share a little snippet of Remus and Sirius meeting for the first time - from Remus's point of view.

enjoy 🐑🐑 x

“Mr Lupin, is it?”

Christ.

Remus nods slowly, shaking the other boy's hand. "If you like," he mutters. If I must be, he thinks. What a mess. What an absolute pain in the arse. "Two strong lads," Lyall had asked the agency for, and Remus knows because he was in the next room listening, and still smarting over the fact that his old dad wanted to hire help anyway. "We'll be reet," Remus had insisted, shaking out his left arm in proof that his shoulder was mostly healed, which it was. They would've managed: he still had his other arm, and all the ewes looked in good health so far, and bringing in two strangers to help run the season seemed like a fine waste of money to Remus and something they'd not done since he'd turned fifteen and proven that he was good and capable of handling just as much work as Lyall during the lambs, and he'd felt all kinds of embarrassed when Lyall had implied that this year he might need some help. As if he were now a problem to be solved, or somehow less of a man this year than he was last year, and certainly less than he ought to be.

But if they must get help - if Lyall must hire someone for a few months - then at the very least Remus had hoped that the workers who arrived would be up to the job. A couple of veterinary students, or something; someone who knew their way around a sheep, and it hadn't seemed too big an ask. As it is, the two boys standing dumbly in front of him on the station platform look less suited to farm work and more like they should be standing in a shop window somewhere, with their brand new boots and spotless, neatly-pressed cream trousers. Cream trousers, and all.

Remus remembers, one night in the late winter not long after the accident, being laid up in his bed in front of the fuzzy little television Hope had insisted on setting up in his room to keep him occupied during his recovery. It had a remote held together with Sellotape and a funny round aerial which didn't quite pick up the Freeview signal, and he'd been mindlessly flicking through the scant channels when he'd happened upon some reality programme or other; something about a load of toffs titting about London with daft haircuts and those cream trousers, and he wonders now if the two boys standing in front of him have seen the show, or realise how ridiculous they look.

Or at least, one of them looks ridiculous. The lanky one with the glasses and the palm that's far too smooth to have seen any real work in its life. He's still beaming down at Remus with a sort of manic smile, which sets Remus's teeth on edge - man looks insane - and then Remus lets his eyes slip away to the shorter boy standing next to him. And he's something else altogether. He's all cheekbones and soft, shoulder-length hair, the colour of Whitby jet, and it's tucked on the one side back behind his ear and then there's one pretty strand hanging loosely over his brow, and he's watching Remus uncertainly and when they make eye contact - when the noise of the four-by-four across the car park fades away to static, and the train on the platform huffs out a great cloud of smoke that Remus doesn't see - Remus feels his cheeks grow hot under his tan and something funny happens in his throat, and he thinks to himself: "Wow," and then, straightaway: "That’s bloody inconvenient."

They drive back to the farm in silence, mostly, and Remus swallows three times before asking the boy in the back seat for his name. Sirius, as it turns out; the dog star, and Remus suddenly recalls a night a decade ago when they'd been up on the fell and the air had been balmy and close and Lily had been reading out of that funny old book about the constellations. "What's that one?" Remus had muttered, pointing at a cluster of stars somewhere over the top paddock. Lily had yawned, and flicked over a few more pages. "Canis Major," she'd said around another yawn, and then: "That bright one's called Sirius, it says here," and Remus had squinted up at it, and frowned, and thought it was pretty good, as stars go. 

⋆｡°✩ ⋆｡°✩

[tunnelsnacks]

A longish list of Fo4 mods that hopefully won't break your game if you're playing on Next Gen (This list is very much catered to my specific play style and my love of the Minutemen and the Railroad, BOS look elsewhere)

I'll add more or edit this list when I find other mods that I like which play nice or if one's on here are incompatible

The Technical Ones:

Extended Dialogue Interface You'll need F4SE For this one though I'm pretty sure you need it for quite a few. The extended dialogue interface does what it says on the tin and removes the short four options you have for responses and gives you exactly what your sole survivor is going to be saying so you don't end up being incredibly racist towards Nick when the option says 'sarcastic'.

HUDFramework is a UI framework that makes it possible for mods to add new UI elements to the HUD (I say don't worry about this one until it's in a requirement for mods you're getting)

Cheat Terminal Yes, yes I know how some people feel about this kind of mod. I've been playing fallout 4 for like 10 years, I don't have fun scouring every corner of Boston's armpit looking for clipboards. This is a holotape cheat menu that lets you add anything in the game to your inventory, SPECIAL points and other bits. It also lets you teleport companions to your location if they get stuck in an elevator, fix some faction quest if they get broken. This one is great for me because in my little make believe world I have my soul survivor is either a Courser or the Kellogg guinea pig and there's options to make you a little more deadly

Workshop Framework For Players: New controls and faster, more stable workshop scripts. For Modders: Add new resource types, override settings, and generally change the way settlements work dynamically. You'll need this bad boy for a few of the mods on this list They'll be in the requirements for them on nexus

Fallout Priority Next-Gen - CPU Performance FPS Optimizer Does what it says on the tin and stops me from ripping my hair out. Improves performance by elevating the CPU Priority of the game process and minimizes input lags and prevents stutters caused by other processes.

Workshop Menu Missing Tabs Fix Sometimes your workshop tabs will just disappear which is really really annoying. This fixes that with a holotape

The Immersion/Gameplay Ones:

Realistic Death Physics - No Animations decreases the amount of force of both melee and ranged attacks (especially crits) to more realistic levels

Lowered Weapons I hate how your character is always pointing their gun foward 100% of the time in first person, this has your character relax their hold on their gun when not firing it

Improved Maps and Visible Roads A much better high contrast world map with roads, topography, and waterline all clearly visible. Optional number grid and regions

Reverb and Ambiance Overhaul Increases the diversity and dynamics of in-game sound, Great on the ears if you're playing with headphones. My one problem with it though is that it's a little too loud for me and the settings keep resetting every time I boot up the game, but that can be fixed by going into your sound settings, and it takes less than 5 seconds

Enhanced Blood Textures Mixed blood look a little more like well... blood

Vivid Fallout all-in-one In many cases they sharpened the games original textures somewhat, made new normal maps and enhanced shadowing.It looks really good and the textures are less V-Ram heavy than the original ones

Skip Kellogg's Memories I hate that Bethesda felt the need to try to make me sympathetic towards that man, and so I skip his memories all together. Wouldn't recommend for a first play through

Raiders Nonaggressive Raiders are now name "Wastelander" and they are no longer immediately hostile. If the player gets to close the Wastlander will warn you, if you continue to get close the Wastelander will draw a weapon, if you continue to move forward from there they will then attack

Gunners Overhaul makes the Gunners friendly to the player at the start of the game. It also makes all containers and useful items in Gunner areas belong to the Gunner faction, which means you have to steal it from them.  It basically makes them the mercenary/militia faction they're implied to be

Extremely Long Lasting Stealth Boy There is different scales for the length but I do the one that extends it to 1 minute

Pip-Boy Flashlight This one is one of my personal favorites, it overhauls the flashlight on your pip-boy as well as on power armour making it look more like an actual flashlight and like the light is coming from your pip-boy. You can customise what kind of light it is too and some of the options are really cool

Settler and Companion Dialogue Overhaul reduces or eliminates repetitive companion dialogue and adds new situation-appropriate dialogue for companions. They'll have more to say and seem more aware of their surroundings. Settlers are aware of your quest progression, and while they still occasionally complain about "my back hurts, my feet hurt…", they display increased awareness of the dangers lurking in the Commonwealth, expressing gratitude for the protection you've provided them

Better Third Rail this one makes the 3rd rail a little more lively in a lore friendly way

Combat zone restored-restored brings back the cut content that made the combat zone more than just another dungeon

Friendly East City Downs restores the content where this isn't just another dungeon

Fiddler's deliver animation retexture ooooh my god I'm obsessed with this one it makes the loading animations for unarguably the best gun in the game beautiful. And if you're wearing your wedding rings still you can see it in the animation and it makes my heart hurt each time

Natural expression fix helps make the expressions the player and emphasis have a little more...normal

Project reality footsteps changes almost all footstep sounds into more realistic ones. Including subtle gear and backpack rattle

Commonwealth encounter adds almost 300 new encounters to the game

The Faction/Companion Ones:

Afiinity Gains This changes the rate of how you gain affinity with companions. I choose the one that halves it because of the way I play, I get deacon's conversations a lot sooner than I feel is in character for him

Companions Infinite Ammo Gives the vanilla companions infinite ammo for all weapons, just like settlers. As long as they have 1 round in inventory they can fire indefinitely

Companions Stealth Distance Companions can sneak is the one I got before this but it's no longer compatible. It prevents your companion from charging up your booty at full speed whenever you enter stealth. Also slightly increases their follow distance. Now also prevents Dogmeat from entering player crosshairs every damn time you stop

Immersive Dogmeat Makes him a little more sneaky and a little more deadly. He'll wait for you to attack before doing anything for the most part. It also removes his level cap

Everyone's Best Friend Speaking of dog meat, this mod let's you take him with you and a companion at your choice like how it was originally intended before the game was launched

Preston Garvey No Radiant Settlement Quests Until you take the Castle, Preston will give you the quests as normal. After you have control of the castle and the radio powered up again, he'll stop giving you new quests every time you speak with him. Now to receive further quests you simply tune into the Minutemen radio station and will receive the alerts from there.

Deacon outfit change change stop deacon from changing clothes every three seconds. This one's for my own little game play reasons where he gets to a point where he feels like he no longer needs to change his clothes every 5 seconds when he's with Wanderer

Improved Railroad Overhauls the Railroad faction (in a lore friendly way) to more closely resemble the Underground Railroad and put them on the same level relative to the other major factions

Cleaner Railroad HQ Environment This is when I instal a little bit after joining the railroad, it gets rid of all of the trash and random bricks scattered throughout HQ

Railroad redone is an overhaul of HQ Even though the Railroad is a struggling faction in the commonwealth at the start of the game, I still feel that their base of operations in vanilla fallout 4 is extremely underwhelming. This mod fixes that by changing the physical environment. There's now personalized spaces for iconic characters like Desdemona, tinker-tom, deacon and others. The Player character also has their own quarters with a private terminal, bed, and power-armor station. It cleans up all trash -and some bricks and re-navmeshed the cell. And there's a pathway across the waters in the escape tunnel

More railroad exits adds a small little dungeon and two more exits into the inner city through the escape tunnel

Diverse railroad adds new faces to the unnamed NPC associated with the railroad

Railroad redemption This adds more bits to for the railroad associated with settlements, and allure friendly way it makes the railroad feel bigger and outside the scope of just the player

Railroad perks All of the quest reward perks for Railroad quests were cut before the game was released. This mod enables them at the appropriate times in doing Railroad Quests through a scavenger hunt style "quest"

You and what army Have you ever felt like the minutemen were a bit lacking? Perhaps the settlement system feels tedious, extra, or simply lacks real progression for you. Maybe even wondered why the minutemen seem less relevant the more you play? This mod aims to fix that, using your settlements as a base to expand the Minutemen and improve their ability to help the commonwealth. No longer will everything be entirely on the shoulders of one general. I love this one because in my head Preston and I are co-generals

We are the Minutemen The Minutemen are supposed to be the best alternative for rebuilding the Commonwealth because : More settlements = More resources = Better materials = Better fire power and a larger presence in all the Commonwealth. But currently this is not the case, this mod attempts to fix that

We are the men an alias framework gives the Minutemen ranks and lets you find out their names using the Alias Framework.

The Pretty Ones:

Forest Transforms the Commonwealth into a dense and overgrown forest landscape without disabling precombines. It's my favorite nature overhaul. Tree Trim is a 2024 patch for it that improves tree placement and compatibility (but you can open console commands and type 'disable' after selecting one if there's a tree in a place where a tree shouldn't be)

Animated Traffic Lights This makes the traffic lights thought the Commonwealth work again which I think is fun and goes nicely visually wise with the next one on my list

Lighting Series - All In One lights up red rockets, Starlight and other diners neon, bus stops adds, and illuminates billboards in the Commonwealth

Lightweight Lighting The lighting overhaul lighting mod I use, there are others out there higher on the endorsement list, but this is the best I've found for not tanking my fps while still looking fantastic

Interiors Enhanced - Darker Ambient Light and Fog Ambient light power and fog brightness inside all interiors reduced by 60%, without touching any directional light sources whatsoever, keeping lighting 100% true to vanilla except for those dark corners and unlit areas. Subways are actually dark and scary! Not just a filter, actual light data has been altered. 10/10 my fav lighting mod

Enhanced Lights and FX creates more atmospheric and realistic lighting. It overhauls the lights, effects, ambient light and creates a new mood for interiors. If you get a weird teal light at some locations it might be because of this mod

Darker Nights The lighting ones above look really cool with this. I have the lower setting that doesn't make the nights longer but adds just a little more night

The Flora and Fauna Ones:

Glowing Animals Emit Light Makes glowing animal variants emit light, scaled to their size

Fireflies This adds fireflies at night. It gets a little heavy at the start for my taste but there's a holotape that can tweak the settings

Wildlife overhaul less aggressive creatures and companions This mod makes prey cautious but still scared - also stops companions from hunting them down without cause. Additionally randomizes the animals height slightly, and adjusts some stats. Adds aggression radius to most creatures and robots

Squirrels of the Commonwealth there's squirrels now :)

Mutant Menagerie is a real fun one with all new creatures gathered from a wealth of public access sources. These new, lore-friendly creatures come with unique drops and hand-placed spawns. This mod also adds in dozens of dynamic spawns for new, vanilla, and DLC creatures alike! I'm not going to tell you what it's using as a shell but there's a giant hermit crap and the first time I saw one I was genuinely afraid

More Radstags adds more radstags

Commonwealth Chickens and Rabbits adds, you guessed it! Chickens and rabbits

Commonwealth wilderness overhaul adds a ton of hand placed scenes, objects and creatures across the entire commonwealth wilderness

DECAY makes feral ghouls terrifying

The Player and NPC Ones:

Rusty face fix so there's this bug right? Bug changes the colour of your characters and NPC faces and it's really annoying. This mod fixes that

Classic Ghouls Redux Every Ghoul in the vanilla game gets a Fallout 3/NV ghoul look. It gives them that gruesome falling apart look like the older games

FCO - HD Eyes My fav eye mod that just enhances the vanilla eyes. There's the eyes of beauty but I feel like that mod is too over the top and the eyes, while beautiful, don't fit the game

Ponytail Hairstyles This is the hair mod I think fits best with the vanilla textures, also 13 is my favorite

Lore-Friendly Maxson I don't even see his stupid face in my games, I just need to know that he actually looks like a 23 year old before I blow up his stupid blimp. But seriously, there's something more heavy about knowing that you're destroying a ship whose captain is someone who is so so young

Magnolia is not a cartoon makes Magnolia look a little bit more like the fantastic Linda Carter who is her voice actor. Hi Linda!

Shawn goes to bed this one's a spoiler so don't click on it unless you know what happens at the end of the main quest but now your son goes to bed at night

Eli's Armor Compendium Adds a bunch of new lore friendly armors and outfits to the game

Wasteland fashion also adds a bunch of more friendly outfits and armors

Black Metal pip-boy Makes the pip-boys in game black

Player comments and head tracking makes your character speak other then just in dialog scenes. Includes combat taunts, player hello's, responses to NPC's and much, much more including player head tracking

The Settlement Ones:

Transfer Settlement Blueprints This mod is currently not working if you're playing with the next gen. The author's most recent update on the 5th of June says that their hard work's paying off, and they're getting to a point where they're testing the mechanics of it. Basically this mod lets you download other people's settlements that they've made and posted on Nexus to have them be in your game and vice versa. Since this mod is currently out of commission, I won't include any transfer settlement mods in this list but Fiddleflaps has the best one's in my opinion

IDEK's Logistics Station 2 Adds a system to automatically manage supply lines, improve the efficiency of inter-settlement resource sharing, and adds a handful of minor convenience features.

Place Everywhere My beloved, makes building where you want them a lot easier

Scrap Everything And in game version of a console command disable that lets you delete things while you're in build mode. Be very careful with this 'cause if you delete a part of Sanctuary's road I'm not responsible for the 30 minutes you had to reload to

Icebreaker Settlements 400+ new carefully selected lines of settler dialogue to reduce the repetitive sound of the 168 original. All lines in the original actors' voices. Intended to blend in very naturally with the default lines. Settler dialogue lines that insulted the player character were also tweaked

Graygarden Planters Unlocks the ability to craft the planters at Graygarden after you clear the water purifying plant and talk to Supervisor White. Each planter yields the same amount of plants that are visible in the planter

Proper trading stores and animation Changes how trading stand look and settler animations to be the same as the crafting workbenches So now, an armor-smith who sells your armor would be seen like he actually made the armor

Settlers Go Shopping Your stores in your settlement are no longer empty and silent. Settlers occasionally go shopping and start different randomized conversations with the vendors. Or maybe just the vendors asks them about buying something. Invisible Shopping Marker version is available too

Dino's Decorations Gives you the option to craft static clutter, makes settlements feel more lived in

Sanctuary Hills Overhaul is my favorite Sanctuary mod and the one I used for like 7 years straight . It makes it so there were a few plane crashes near sanctuary and previous settlers used the bits of those planes to build walls and homes

Rickety restored Sanctuary bridge fixes the bridge in Sanctuary but in a lore friendly way

Anom's Sanctuary Hills Overhaul makes the houses there somewhere to the ones and the rest of the commonwealth instead of 'houses of the future' It also adds a community centre and a hotel in a lore friendly way

Starlight bus barricade is an overhaul of Starlight Drive, it's very fun but very big

CVC Dead Wasteland Workshop adds 1000s of unique, lore friendly items to build in your settlements and I love it, The candles and other lighting they have or an excellent touch for low/no power settlements

Settlement supplies expanded is another workshop expansion , this one adds about 400 things

[dokidokitsuna]

RWBY: Next Steps

This is just a design collection (remember when I used to do those? 'Winter Mission', 'Summer Tour'?? Fun times~)...and it may be my last. Its only real purpose is to give me something fun to draw for the NeverFell Projects wrap-up series. The recent Adam and Cinder designs are technically part of this collection, too. ^^

These were much harder to do than those two, though...I've spent ~2 months chipping away at this set, trying and retrying to address several different RWBY design criticisms while still making the girls look good. ಥ_ಥ I've finally begun approaching success, though, so I wanted to talk a bit about these ideas.

Ruby The only one I managed to design in one try. ^^; This was my answer to the question I felt was posed by Ruby's Vol. 7 design: i.e. "how do we do a new Ruby design that feels more 'mature'??" Because I never liked how the V7 design attempted to do that. :/

Between the new hairstyle and the new 'generic adventurer' clothes, it felt less like they were trying to evolve Ruby Rose and more like they didn't like her original design and wanted to get as far away from it as possible. V1-Ruby was such an iconic look (and STILL IS), and yet there's no trace of it in V7-Ruby. None of the goth-lolita style or playful edge that even V4-Ruby managed to preserve...instead they just scrubbed everything out to start from scratch, with a new design that's honestly 'meh' at best.

So what I did was stick closely to V1-Ruby, while adding just a few big changes to make the look distinct. You say a 'combat skirt' is too childish for an older Ruby? Well then we'll make it shorts...but shorts that are just as frilly and cute as the original skirt, with a similar overall shape. You say her original hairstyle is too boring and 'safe'? Well, then we'll change it...by simply shaving half of it off. It's a much edgier look that simultaneously preserves the original shape of her hair: from every angle except front and back, her silhouette will remain the same.

You say you want to give her new shoes, but don't want the fandom to make fun of you for covering them in dozens of belts again? Here's a wild idea: cowboy boots. ^^ A totally unexpected, unique item that still fits in with the antique-ish vibe of her goth clothes.

Basically, I just wanted to prove that you can do something dramatically different with Ruby without completely abandoning her fashion sense.

Criticisms: The details are still lacking; I think I should work some red accents into her corset and boots. Also, I originally designed this outfit with a white shirt, and I kinda want it back (she had the team colors! R, W, B, and Y! ;_;)...the problem is that it clashes with the sheer thigh-highs. One must go...I'm sure I'll figure it out

Weiss The toughest of the bunch: I did three different Weiss designs before landing on this one. ^^;;; The big epiphany came when I realized that Weiss looks her best when she mirrors Ruby. The girls' original design concepts share a lot of features; I feel like the characters were designed to look like they belong together, and figured I might as well honor that.

ALSO-- and this was the biggest priority for Weiss' design-- I firmly believe that she should not look like a princess anymore. From a character designers' perspective, it is ludicrous that they gave her the giant Disney ballgown in the same volume where they put classism at the center of the plot and have her send her bourgeoisie father to jail. That right there is the definition of mixed messages...

I thought the whole point of Weiss' character arc was to distance herself from the uber-rich parasites of her family and fellow 'Atlas elites'. I thought we cemented that when she officially lost her "heiress" title in V4. o_O I expected her next look to ditch the crown and visually show that she's past the point of 'rebelling'-- there's no more authority in her life for her to rebel against; she's free now! But alas...

So as usual, I had to do it myself. This Weiss outfit is definitely still fancy, with the coattailed vest and ruffled sleeves, but there's a lot less 'decoration'; fewer jewels, fewer details. The construction is straightforward and simple. And of course, no more tiara. Instead I decided to give her a li'l snow pea flower and ribbon, which ended up inspiring her new periwinkle purple-y color scheme. Like her original design, it's actually fairly colorful, but does its job and puts the emphasis on the white elements.

Criticisms: ...Not many, this came out pretty good. ^^ I might reconsider the black coattails, but if I do I'll probably just switch it out with the indigo inner vest. I like the idea of her outfit construction mirroring Ruby's, but her color scheme mirroring Blake's, since they have a closer bond in NeverFell.

Blake Blake designs are notoriously difficult; if you wanna hear some great reasons why, I suggest you check out this old Twiins iink RWBY design ranking video, which always helps guide me when I do redesigns for the main 4. Anyway, this phenomenon makes it hard to describe what I did...I guess you could say I tried to combine all the best elements of all her outfits, while clinging to the 'fancy action girl' vibe of her original design.

I'm most proud of her new hairstyle-- I dunno why, I just enjoyed working on it and making those decisions. ^^ It's hard to tell, but it IS shorter; now shoulder-length instead of back-length. We make up for this with additional volume, emphasizing the waves in her hair texture by pushing them outward. And most notably: she keeps the ribbon. She just wears it differently, using it to accentuate her ears instead of hiding them. This way, we keep the point of interest on her head while still showing her character growth.

Criticisms: Infinite, countless. This is a good look, but something is definitely still off. ^^;;; I think some additional detail in certain places (not sure where yet...) might help 'finish' it, so to speak. Maybe some extra yellow accents...? Also, the bow obviously gets lost in her hair this way. I've tried several color changes and don't like any of them; I think I may just have to texture it differently in the final product. Fingers crossed...

Yang Another tough one...I only made 2 design drawings, but the colors took several rounds of trial and error. I think my excitement over finally arriving at a good color scheme TODAY was what spurred me to make this post. ^^;

Anyway...there is a specific piece of Yang design criticism I hear fairly often that drives me up the wall: people commonly complain that she doesn't wear enough yellow; that she doesn't represent her character color well because all she wears is a yellow shirt. And the character designer in me wants to rip my teeth out whenever I hear this, because it blindly ignores the giant fairy-tale-inspired mass of yellow that is her hair, and the purposely attention-grabbing pops of yellow that make up Ember Celica. They're not "clothes", technically, but they're still part of the design! It's like saying a character with green skin can't represent the color green if all their clothes are black...without realizing that maybe their clothes are black BECAUSE they have green skin, in order to draw your attention to it...!! (╬▔皿▔)╯I just jifjkdsnfksahujknsjnfufh

...Anyway, anyway...the point is, it's difficult to take a character design with so much natural yellow in it and add yellow clothes and still have it read well. But because I like a challenge, I decided to take it on. I think the difference between the mustard leather and neon yellow hair is large enough to make it work, while still feeling casual enough for everyday wear. The champagne off-white she wears in her 'Hunter' outfit (which heavily inspired this) looks great, but it feels too 'classy' to me; like something specifically meant to dazzle the audience with her beauty for one special adventure, not for her to wear often.

On that note, my secondary mission with this design was just to make Yang look cute again, by following the structure of her V1 look, and even adding a little skirt on top of her battle shorts, which looks surprisingly natural considering she almost never wears one.

I don't know what happened in the canon to make the character designer forget the 'Yellow Beauty' part of her character concept; tbh even if her gender presentation gets more masculine she can still look pretty. Designs like Ozma, V7 Qrow and V4 Ren show that they understand this, but choose to cover Yang up in flavorless sheets of beige anyway. :T Making sure she always has a boob window isn't enough; the clothes themselves need to say something too.

Criticisms: ...Honestly, none? I think this might be solid. :> We'll see what happens when I draw it properly. I hope the white socks work out, because then she'll successfully be wearing the RWBY color scheme, which fits her (former, implied...) role as the glue holding the team together.

[shankss-magnificent-ass]

Imagine Halloween with the Beast pirates

Maria: enter the maze if you dare.

Sasaki: It's full of that illusion mist of yours is int it?

Maria: ... No

You: She's lying, I can see something distorting the air inside.

King: It's her illusion mist, it makes you relive your worst memories.

You: Joke's on you, I don't need your mist to do that, my brain does it for me.

Sasaki: that's sad... so race through the hallucinogen filled maze?

You: *gets into position* and looser has to be the one to go get drinks for the group*

Sasaki: Deal

King: ready... set... go!

Sasaki: *shoves you and bolts through the maze* haha, have fun being our booze bitch for the entire night!

King: *flies leisurely overhead and watches you two get pelted with candy by crew members in the maze*

After loosing Sasaki in the maze, and needing a lift from King

King: *notices you're pouting* It's okay, he actually cheated, he used his devil fruit.

You: that son of a-

Kaido: Oi!! *Gestures for you two to come over* Come on, the food has just arrived, and I've got Saki.

King: May (y/n) join us for a while? *Lands and puts you down* they just lost a race to Sasaki over at Maria's maze.

You: King, why'd ya have to tell him.

Kaido: wohrororororor ! Fret not, there's plenty to go round. *Gestures to the servants*

You: *gets handed a glass of liquor* ah, thank you, booze, your favorite!

Kaido: it is my favorite, how do you know that?

You: Just a lucky guess, *shotguns the drink*

Goon: Kaido sir! Ulti has started a fight with your son, they are currently destroying the east brain banquet hall.

Kaido: *pinches the bridge of his nose as he composes himself*

You: Backpack leash, you should get one.

Kaido: what?

You: it's an animal-shaped harness and leash for a child.

Kaido: ...Tell Sasaki to stop what he's doing and go break up the fight.

King: what is it with this crew and fighting so much. They don't even fight to kill, and without killing what's the point?

You: It's because the only things that they have that are lower than their collective IQ are their emotional intelligence and conflict management skills.

Kaido: It's fine, don't bother, let them fight amongst themselves. They'll be too divided to even think about unifying against us.

You: ... You really are the scariest motherfucker around, Kaido.

Kaido: *playfully bats his hand at you* stahp, you're gonna make me blush.

King: Kaido-san, will you think of joining us to go to the carnival games after dinner?

Kaido: Why not, I have an order of apple cider doughnuts with a caramel glaze to pick up over at the the cat café's stall.

After dinner at the cat café with Kaido and King

You: I didn't take you for a doughnut man. *Buying sweets as well*

Kaido: I'm usually not, but I happen to once a year to enjoy one with a nice cup of stiff whiskey, while enjoying an autumn moon.

You: that sounds delightful.

King: *nods in agreement*

Kaido: alone *walks off*

You: fine, I'll find a different spot to get drunk, stuff my face, and look at the sky! *Takes a chomp out of a cookie*mmmhh! Butter pecan, my favorite. *taps some of the powdered sugar from the cookie onto King's boot.*

King: *uses his calf to push you* ay! I outta make you lick this shit off.

You: You'd enjoy that wouldn't you.

King: probably but you know you wanna play some of the games with me. You can pick the first one, come on.

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[jealousveronya]

Would've, could've, should've - Chapter 1

Summary:

Everyone at the Spring Court always talked about how menacing and ruthless the High Lords were, especially the strongest High Lord, the High Lord of the Night Court. And Feyre did fear him, but when the entire world seemed set on reminding her how she needed to be protected, something even her husband couldn't accomplish without her sacrificing her freedom, she couldn't help but imagine a reality where he wasn't a threat, but the one she clung to breathlessly every night.

After all, if she needed to be protected, the company of the strongest should suffice.

However, that was just a fantasy Feyre created to escape to when she couldn't get out of bed. It meant nothing. She hadn't even met the lord of the night.

But what happens when she does and can't stop a blush from creeping onto her face as she finally puts a face to all her sensual fantasies?

Read Chapter 1 on: AO3 or continue reading

Seven thrones, crafted out of purest white marble, encircled a pond that shimmered in the daylight with lotuses gently drifting across its surface. The seven thrones were meant for the seven high lords, the rulers of Prythian. Six were occupied, but one remained empty, a truth no one dared to speak of yet, nor its implications.

It had been a considerable time since the high lords held a meeting, their mutual disdain apparent in the uneasy silence that hung over the gathering.

"For how long do you intend to keep us in the dark, Beron?" Tarquin asked, scratching his chin, a hint of mockery woven into his words.

"I have a court to attend to. Explain the reason for this meeting at once, or I'll return to it." Tarquin crossed his legs. A slight wave in the pond splashed Beron's leather boots, prompting a mischievous smirk to dance on the High Lord of Summer's face.

Beron, the high lord with auburn locks, exhaled as his fingers drummed against the throne. He behaved as if he were the father of five insolent brats he'd summoned for a lecture.

"I had honestly hoped someone else would be the first to admit it, but I see it all comes down to me. Very well." He leaned back in his throne.

"A spark of my power has vanished," he declared.

Whatever smug expression had been on Tarquin's face instantly evaporated into thin air.

In a world where even a spark could mean the difference between life and death, high lord or slave, the danger of this confession did not go unnoticed.

"Am I the only one?" Beron asked, looking at the other high lords with a narrowed gaze.

"Regretfully or fortunately, you are not the only one," Kallias began. "I noticed it too. I was at breakfast when I felt it just... leave. That was about two months ago."

"I have also experienced it," Tarquin added.

The other high lords followed with their agreements.

"It's just a spark now, but who is to say how much more will vanish, how much weaker we will get?" Beron balled his hands into fists, slamming them against the throne. "It's natural to suspect Hybern—perhaps they've found a way to drain us of our power slowly; Cauldron knows how much they'd want that. But we also can't dismiss," he looked toward the seventh throne, the empty one covered in dust,

"him."

Silence flooded the room.

The seventh throne was meant for the death incarnate, the strongest high lord, the High Lord of the Night Court, Rhysand—the only male in Prythian who could make all the other high lords take a step back, even if some wouldn't admit it.

"Well, shouldn't he be here then? So we can ask him? If he's responsible, he already knows—there's no point hiding it from him." Helion broke the silence. He had been avoiding Beron's gaze the entire meeting. Although the rumors of his affair with Beron's wife were old, the bitterness between the two males was still palpable.

"And if he isn't to blame and was somehow unaffected unlike us, do we need to let him know we have grown even weaker?" The high lord of the autumn court spat.

"I have to agree. We can always plan a second meeting with him, but perhaps we don't need to tell him everything from the beginning." Tarquin followed.

"So what would be the best way to handle this?" Kallias spoke as he leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. His power was leaking from him, so much that the part of the pond in front of him was slowly freezing.

"I recommend sending spies to the night court. We need to see if Rhysand is planning a war, and whether he is gathering armies. As strong as he is, if his goal is to weaken us so he can take over, he still won't try it without an army. If there is no army, we'll meet again to discuss what should be done further" Beron suggested.

Agreements could be heard from all sides of the hall, except for one. Beron's eyes followed the silence until they stopped at a male dressed in green, blonde strands of hair covering his already unreadable expression.

"You've been awfully quiet, Tamlin. Is there any reason for that?"

Tamlin hummed in dismissal before replying.

"No, you have just said it all. In fact, I volunteer one of my spies for the mission."

Upon the end of the meeting, Tamlin had winnowed back to his manor.

His hands were shaking slightly, his vision blurred, claws growing longer every second as the beast inside threatened to come out.

He had barely kept it inside during the discussion, gripping the armrests of the throne for dear life.

Since he'd gotten the letter from Beron that called for a meeting he had prayed to the Cauldron that this wasn't the topic. That no one had noticed the missing sparks of power. Or that if they had noticed, that they didn't care enough. They were just sparks after all. They were so insignificant compared to the entirety of a high lord's power, power capable of maintaining an entire court, keeping a season everlasting.

He took slow steps up the staircase. The weight of his secret was threatening to push him back down.

What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to handle this? Right now they believed Rhysand or Hybern was to blame, but it's only a matter of time before they find out the truth.

The all-too-familiar scent hit his nostrils. It was the sweetest scent he had ever known. He relished in inhaling it before his feet followed its trace. 

Slowly opening the door, he peeked inside.

It was a moment to behold. Water was splashed everywhere, bubbles were spilling out of the tub. Light from the windows passing through the bubbles reflected rainbows on the marble floor. And inside the tub lay a female with golden wet hair framing her face and one leg lazily draped outside, swinging back and forth.

The sight of the female he held dear to his heart was a momentary reprieve, forcing the beast to retreat within the chamber of his soul as if her presence alone could pacify it.

As if for the first time ever, Tamlin exhaled, only for a second though  as the sight of her was also a reminder of the ever-looming threat.

The meeting had been a threat, a warning, because of who she was - because around her shoulders, that were peaking out of the water, tiny water wolves were frolicking - water wolves that she was creating. Her face wore a concentrated expression with furrowed brows as her delicate hands shaped water into wolves and gave them life.

Finally breaking her focus, taking notice of Tamlin, she looked up. Her blue orbs graced him with their sincerity as a smile found its way on her lips. Her skin started emitting a glow with intensity similar to one of the sun.

If he wasn't mesmerized he might have squinted to protect his vision.

And as the final punch to the gut, to remind him again of whaz she was, instead of speaking, she gently entered his mind.

"I missed you."

Tamlin could spend an eternity in that tub snuggled up against Feyre, kissing the nape of her neck, listening to the faintest of her moans, her fingers tangled in his hair, if the Cauldron only allowed it.

His teeth grazed her skin in between his kisses causing Feyre to shudder and pull on his hair harder.

The beast inside of him wanted him to mark her, to declare her as his as if that would protect her.

“Are you ready to talk about what happened?” Feyre asked using her daemati powers, trailing her nails against the inside of his mind. As much as he was settled inside her physically, she was inside him mentally.

He bit her neck eliciting a sharp gasp from her. It wasn’t enough to mark her, just enough for her to feel the sharpness of his canines and how easy it would be for him to pierce her skin.

“I prefer it when I hear your voice.” Tamlin pulled on her plump bottom lip with his claw. He wasn’t interested in containing his claws like he had been doing at the meeting. Not with her. With her he didn’t need to hide or fake control.

And the reality from who she had gotten her daemati spark wasn’t really allowing him to even try concealing them. The fact his magic was running through her veins now was eating at his heart, especially when she was so determined on using it so frequently.

Violet eyes flashed in his mind, but he quickly composed himself.

“Fine. Are you ready to talk about what happened?” Feyre asked audibly now, pink covering her freckled cheeks.

“No,” Tamlin murmured before shifting his hips. Feyre breathed out a song of pleasure as her eyes rolled back into her head. “Fuck, Tamlin.”

He licked the sensitive place he found above the collarbone. 

He’ll protect her.

He’ll protect her from everyone. 

No one will take her from him.

His jaw closed around the curve of her neck, this time with enough force to draw blood.

“Feyre,” Tamlin started as his tongue tasted her blood.

“Hmm,” Feyre moaned.

“You’ll cook us alive.”

At that Feyre noticed the rising temperature of the water, a consequence of her skin getting hotter and hotter, almost igniting fire.

“Cauldron, sorry.”

Tamlin’s chuckle echoed against his mark.

”I can’t- I don’t know how to stop it.”

At that Tamlin picked her up, her legs wrapping around his waist as he stepped out of the tub and headed towards Feyre’s bedroom. He made a point to step on one of the water wolves following them, turning it into a puddle.

“HEY!”

Tamlin only laughed in response.

“I need to practice. I need to get better at using my magic.” Feyre sounded disappointed.

“Nonsense,” Tamlin commented as he walked over to the bed, leaving a wet trail behind them.

“I could help you with the court, I could do so much.”

He lowered her onto the silky sheets. “You are already helping me.”

She looked to the side out of embarrassment.

“I could help you in other ways.”

“I am the high lord. I think I’ll manage. Besides, I want to take care of you. Not the other way around.” He kissed her breasts.

“Well, then I guess I’ll have to stop taking care of you.”

“That,” he warned “is an exception.”

His kisses started to get lower and lower. “Which we will get to later.”

“I just think that I should train, get better at using it.”

But Tamlin did not respond.

[deftosweet]

Faint Signals.

Where you and Kratos cook something together.

No tw! Enjoy ^_^

Hunting was something you usually enjoyed doing, it wasn't a heavy or boring task... Except when you didn't find anything.

It was quite late, the sun had already set a few minutes ago and you were walking back to your little cabin in the middle of the forest. Your boots crunched the snow under your feet as you walked tiredly, and somewhat frustrated by your useless outing. You were close to your home when you could notice in the distance that there was someone outside your home, with some caution, you continued to approach until you noticed who it was, Kratos.

“What are you doing here?” — You asked as you walked in his direction to enter your cabin, before answering, he simply looked at you and noticed your apparent tiredness. —“You didn't hear me?” —You asked him again, somewhat irritated this time. The useless hunt put you in a bad mood all the time, but you didn’t want to be rude to your friend, much less if he took the trouble to come to your home so late… For whatever reason.

"I wanted to see you."

Kratos answered directly, as usual, but to your surprise, his voice sounded a little softer than usual. — “You look tired. I'll leave if you want.” — Kratos added with an understanding tone, you could feel how he seemed to analyze you with his gaze, and he looked a little worried.

“Oh, I’m fine, don’t worry… I didn’t find anything for today, so I don’t have anything to offer you if you want to have dinner” — You joked a little to lighten the mood, you didn’t want him to worry too much about you, after all you could take care of yourself and be on your own without him accompanying you all the time.

“Dont worry, I brought you something.” — You were a little surprised to see how he had brought a couple of rabbits to have dinner together, handing them to you while avoiding looking you in the eyes, you thought it was a nice gesture on his part for having thought of you.

The two of you used to keep each other company often, since Atreus wasn't around, Kratos usually sought to be with you (even if he wouldn't admit it). Having dinner together was a regular thing for both of you, yet you felt it was something very personal to him, since he wasn't the type of person to share much with others.

“Wow… Thank you, really.” — When you thanked him, he didn’t seem to give it much thought, and simply walked past you to enter your house with you.

As you entered, you left the rabbits on a small table in the area where you were cooking, preparing everything you would need to cook them for dinner.

“Would a stew sound good to you?” — You asked as you glanced at Kratos, only to notice him staring at you. He quickly looked away from you and you simply laughed a little. Kratos nodded and you were ready to start cooking, yet you could feel him occasionally looking at you.

“Why don’t you make yourself comfortable? Food will be ready shortly.” — You pointed to the chair where he usually sat to eat, but he didn’t nod or obey, he just stood there as if he were thinking about what to say. — “I was thinking I’d help you out,” he admitted quietly, just enough for you to hear. — “I thought… It’s kind of unfair that you do everything while I sit and wait for the food.”

You looked at him again with a tender smile, you didn't know he could be empathetic with things like that. — “Well… You could prepare the meat while I take care of the vegetables, is that okay with you?”

Kratos nodded and walked over to where you were, you left the rabbits with him and gave him a knife so he could prepare them. Meanwhile, you started cutting up some vegetables for the meal.

“Could you… cut them smaller?” — You were minding your own business when his voice snapped you out of your little trance. You stopped cutting the vegetables to look at him for a moment with a playful smile. — “What, you don’t like them?” — You chuckled, not maliciously, you just found his request curious. — “It was just a comment." — he replied, but he didn’t sound annoyed, in fact he seemed to play along.

You sighed with a chuckle and continued cutting vegetables, this time agreeing to his request to cut them smaller.

The two of you were silent for a few moments, the sound of knives doing their work, the night breeze, and the crackling of the wood on the fire being the only sounds present. Although Kratos thought it was an awkward silence, the lack of words didn't seem to matter to you. You even thought it was nice to be able to have such close situations with someone like him.

After a while, you had finished preparing your part, leaving the vegetables in a plate, you walked to the fireplace to boil the water for the meal.

You let the water heat up while Kratos finished preparing the meat, you watched him from afar, until you decided to try and chat with him to ease his discomfort.

You approached the counter where he was concentrating on working on the meat and leaned on it, watching him as he was busy. — “Are you always this focused when cooking, or is it because I’m here with you?” — You joked as you approached his side, perhaps too close…

Kratos kept his serious expression, but inside he felt somewhat nervous. He glanced at you out of the corner of his eye without taking his hands off the knife, finishing skinning the meat to start cutting it up — “I just like to do it right.” — he murmured, his low and firm voice hiding quite well the tension he felt from your proximity. You laughed softly at this, enjoying how the idea of ​​making him nervous crossed your mind — “You could relax a little, I'm not judging every move you make” —

Kratos stopped for a second, looking directly at you now as he let out a sigh — “You're trying to distract me, aren't you?” — You noticed how he got a little closer to you the same way you did.

The intense but brief way he looked at you made you pause for a moment, feeling your cheeks heat up at his slight change in attitude. Still, instead of backing away you only felt more drawn to him.

— “I don’t know, am I distracting you?” —

The space between you two became a little smaller, at the same time as the sound of his knife against the counter stopped. Kratos looked a little more withdrawn, he gulped, but didn’t back away — “Sometimes.”

You didn't expect him to admit it, after all he was someone quite serious and focused, so knowing that such simple actions could break his concentration made you feel quite special.

“Well, then I should just shut my mouth, right?” — You asked him with a laugh before adding — “I must be really annoying sometimes…” — You pulled away for a moment while sighing as if you were disappointed in yourself.

Before you could get any further away, you felt his hand grab your arm, his grip was gentle and didn't hurt you, but he still held you in place — “I didn't say you were a bother.” — Kratos looked into your eyes as he held your arm, you felt his olive green eyes staring into yours without him hesitating.

You didn't know what to say, you just nodded slightly and he let go of your arm. After he let you go you felt your heart beating faster than usual and your cheeks burning from blushing. Still, the feeling was nice, the butterflies in your stomach kept fluttering as you thought about what was going through his head right now.

“I think… I'll go check on the pot” — You spoke after a brief silence between the two of you, as you walked over to the fireplace you could feel his gaze fixed on you, which made you more aware of your movements. While you waited for the water to be ready, Kratos approached you with the vegetables and meat ready for the meal. He gently touched your shoulder and you nervously began to cook the ingredients. The two of you remained silent until Kratos handed you a ladle so you could check the food and prevent it from burning. As you took it, your fingers briefly touched his, but you quickly pulled your hand away and returned your attention to the food.

“So… you usually cook alone, right?” — You asked to break the ice. Kratos looked at you, his intense gaze now seemed to have something more to it this time

— “Yes.” — He answered simply — “I didn’t expect to do it today though.” —

The answer took you slightly by surprise and the atmosphere felt denser for you.

— “And how do you feel doing it now?” — You added, even if your heart was beating hard now, you appeared confident.

Kratos looked away before answering, looking at the fireplace as he replied, “Not bad.” — His words were soft and sounded sincere, but he still didn’t look at you.

— “…Actually, I like doing things with you. You’re nice.” —

You felt your face heat up even more, the way he admitted how nice he found your company took you by surprise, especially considering that Kratos was usually distant and quiet, even more so with his feelings.

— “It’s not that big of a deal…” — You answered trying to relax, joking a little.

— “It is for me.” — He interrupted you before you could speak further — “You make me feel good. I hope I’m returning the favor.” — He added as your gazes met, and this time, he didn’t take his eyes off yours. You didn’t know what to say, you just stared at him for a moment until the smell of food brought you back to reality, but before you checked on the food, you responded to his words:

— “I like being with you too.” —

-----------------------------------------------

Author's Note: This is my first time writing fanfiction, hope y'all like it! Sorry for any grammar mistakes, english is not my first language and I'm using a translator! ^_^

[darkchocoboo]

don’t make me lose you. i already found you so late | joel miller

TRIGGER WARNING! SH

Su**ide attempt! Detailed description of how they feel. They’re really in a bad mind-set. If this triggers you please please don’t read. (And remember you worth more than everything on this universe. Please don’t be ashamed and seek for help.)

cw: darkness, anger, MAJOR mental breakdown, curse words, guns

summary: Everything in this world feels fucked up and at some point you can’t take it. But Joel wants you to know that he’ll be there for you everytime you need him. He’s your savior.

A/N: I know everything seems so dark but it will get better I promise.

"Look at me Ellie.  I need you to pull yourself together, okay? Can you do that for me baby? C'mon Els. C'mon babygirl.  We don't have time for that. We can't waste time. Joel is waiting for us. C'mon. Get up. I need you. I need you strong baby. You're stronger than me.  If you break down I break down. We can't afford that. Please, please, please, get up. What we saw in there is not easy on anyone. I know, believe me.  If we had time, I would cry my eyes out here. But I can't, fuck. Fuck this. Fuck me. Remember what Joel told you, Els? Repeat it. C'mon. Say it out. C'mon." You kicked the rocks under your boots.  Hands caressed your hair as you try to hold back your tears.  

"Fuck, Ellie. Say it!" You yelled at the girl sitting on a concrete.

"He, he told me to keep you safe." She wiped her tears with back of her hand. Got up.

You hugged her with pain in your heart. Shook of the guilt and anger that you felt for yourself. You had to be strong for Ellie. You had to be strong for yourself. You had to be strong for Joel. There was no place for weakness.

"Let's go Els. He's waiting for us." You hold her hand as you walked on the concrete road. Sun was setting on the empty road. Gun's strap on your shoulder was cutting into your skin with its weight. Twisted ankle's pain was spreading over your body with every step you took. Blood on your your skin dried with the cold breeze. Ellie was quieter than she ever was. You just wanted to open her brain and erase everything she saw because of you.

Joel asked only one thing from you since the beginning. Only one thing. To take Ellie as he handles other important stuff. And meet him where you decided before. And you fucked it up. You screwed up so bad that now Ellie was hurt. You hurt Ellie. You wanted to grab the gun that was hanging from your thigh, put the tip in your mouth and pull the trigger. Knowing that you failed, weight was crushing you.

When sun was down and weather was cold, your destination was a mile away but your legs was about to give up. The smoke from Joel's fire was in sight in clear air. When your knees gave up and your swollen ankle was in unbareble pain you dropped your body under the nearest tree. You pulled your knees to youe chest, your head falling on them.

"Ellie, you go. I will be there in a minute, okay? Tell Joel I'll be alright. Stay with him. Never leave his side. Run. Go. Signal me when you're with him." Ellie wanted to resist but was too tired to do so.

When she turned back and walked away from you the tears you were holding back the whole time started running down on your cheeks. Leaving a trail of dirt and blood. Fingers brushed over the gun on your leg. Your mind getting dizzy with the idea. Idea of being that. Leaving everything behind. The Clickers, the chaos, the pain, Ellie, Joel.

Joel.

The man who saved you. The man who gave you everything in the middle of nothing. The man of your dreams. The man that you love. You were sure that he loved you as a friend, or a sister, a daugter. But you couldn't help yourself falling for him.  You couldn't stop your feelings for him. That was another topic that you failed him. He protected you from the world like he protected Ellie, but you loved him in a different way. You desired him, even. The way he talks, walks, stands, sleeps, eats. That man triggered something inside you.

It was all over now. Your life was gonna be over in seconds. You pulled gun from its case. Cocked it. Put the muzzle on your temple. Cold from it soothed the thin skin. Your finger walked to the trigger. A small shaky breath left your lips. Eyelids closed with the relaxation. Knowing that everything was gonna be over.  

"Hey! Hey! Put the gun down. What the hell are you doin'?" Joel's paniced voice filled your ears as he panted.

"Put it down. PUT IT DOWN Y/N!" You opened your eyes when he yelled at you. Never stopping tears was now faster. Your eyes started to burn.

"I fucked up, Joel. It's over. I failed Ellie, I failed you. I fucked everything up."

"No, babygirl. No, she's safe. You're safe. We can fix everything else. Give me the gun." He took a step towards you. Your hand raised to stop him from getting closer. You didn't want your blood over his shirt. You wanted him to stay out of this.

"You'll be better of without me, Joel. I'm just a failure. Just let me do it."

"Ellie needs you Y/N. Fuck. I need you. Can't do it without you. Please. Let me help you. Baby, please." His voice was now weak, he looked smaller to you. He mumbled things under his breath but your mind was to busy to understand. Your head started to spin, your stomach was burning up with the intense feeling. You tried to stop yourself from puking but it was to late. Gun dropped from your hand as you leaned over with the gagging reflex. He grabbed the gun as you emptied your stomach. Unloading it with shaky hands.

"You're okay baby. I got you. I got you." He pulled you to your legs, wrapped his arms around your waist.

"You gonna be fine. I got you." He kissed the temple that was touching with the gun's muzzle. "We got this." His hands caressing your back with soothing motions.

"Joel, I," Your tears left wet patches on his dark colored flannel.

"I don't know what to do. I, I can't keep going." He squeezed you more with each of your words.

"Y/N look at me. Ellie wouldn't be here without you. I wouldn't be here without you. You took a fucking bullet for that kid, remember?"

His hardened fingertips found the scar tissue on your shoulder. A spider web shaped, darkened skin. Still hurting everytime you think about it.

"I need you. I need you to be right by my side when I need you the most. Like you always did."

You dropped on your knees, taking him with you. Sharp rocks cut your skin and dig into your knees that your ripped jeans left unprotected. Pain made you sob. Harder than before.

You looked through his dark orbs with dove eyes.

"Is Ellie gonna be okay, Joel?" He pressed his lips to your forehead.

"She fell asleep. You wanna talk about what happened or do you wanna talk when you're better?"

You closed your eyes in pain.

"She saw it. Went into that room before I could stop her. I was slow, Joel. I couldn't protect her. I had one job. I failed. She may be alive but I know it will hunt her dreams for the rest of her life. Joel. I'm useless."

"She's stronger than you think. It's gonna be alright. But, baby I know this is not the only reason. What got you so vulnerable?"

Your nails dig into his biceps. Pain in your heart never going away.

"I don't know Joel. Nothing. Everything. I feel tired. I feel small. I feel useless. I feel lost. I feel alone. Like you have Tommy. Ellie has you. Who do I have? All alone in this fucking fucked up world trying to survive. Fighting for my life everyday. And it all ends up with nothing in my hands. Just more pain in lonely cold nights."

Joel's big hands grabbed your chin to make you look at him. You could see the pain in his eyes under the dim moon light.

"You have me, baby."

His eyes dropped to your scarred lips in the silence of the night. Thumb brushed against bottom lip, looking through every expression on your face for courage to do it.

"Don't make me lose you. I found you so late already."

He pressed his lips to yours. Washing over every feeling away from you for a moment.

[matchingbatbites]

fireworks | 1.4k

@steddie-week Day 3: First Kiss Steddie first meeting/kiss with some minor Buckingham. Fun fact: this was a Valentine's ficlet that I forgot to post. :) Enjoy.

For someone who claims to be Steve’s wingman, Robin is doing a great fucking job of keeping guys away from him. The guy Steve has been chatting with for the last few minutes gives him a strained smile before slipping off, and Steve turns to look at Robin, who has basically plastered herself to his side. 

“Robin, what the fuck? That’s like the third guy you’ve run off!”

“I know, I know, but he wasn’t right for you! Waaay too douchey and uptight.”

Steve rolls his eyes and takes a sip from his drink. “I’m after a kiss, not a boyfriend, Robbie. Maybe a blowjob in the back if I’m lucky. I’m not exactly looking for a sparkling personality here.”

“I know, but-” She pauses, knocks back the rest of her own drink before turning to face the dance floor. “I just don’t want you to regret your first guy-kiss. I’m not saying it has to be like, fireworks and shit, but you should enjoy it.” 

“Honestly, at this point I think I’d rather just get it over with, if it will get you to chill out a little.”

“I’m just trying to help, Steve!” Robin says, and Steve rolls his eyes. She opens her mouth to say something else but stops when a girl walks up to them, her blonde ponytail swishing gently behind her, and Steve bites back a smile when she steps into Robin’s space. 

“Hi there,” she says, and Robin’s face instantly flushes with color. “Oh, uh, hi.” 

“I’m Chrissy, and you’re like, super pretty,” the girl, Chrissy says, and Steve can practically see the gears in Robin’s brain grinding to a halt as she bats her eyelashes at his best friend. He bites into his lip as Chrissy reaches up and slips a finger under one of Robin’s suspender straps, giving it a gentle tug. “Do you maybe wanna dance with me?”

Robin’s eyes snap to Steve and he gives her an encouraging thumbs up, and after a quick, eager nod, Chrissy is giggling and pulling her off to the dance floor. Steve chuckles and shakes his head before he downs the rest of his drink. He sets the empty glass on the bar top just as he feels someone moving in next to him. 

“Your friend is awfully protective of you, isn’t she? I’m not surprised, considering how gorgeous you are.”

Steve turns to face the new voice, and his stomach flips. The guy is stunning, with a riot of curls and brown eyes that look almost black in the dim lighting. He’s wearing a leather jacket over some band t-shirt, paired with ripped black jeans and scuffed black boots. Steve is definitely interested, and he leans in a little as he smiles.

“Mm, she’s supposed to be my wingman, but she’s being a picky little shit.”

The guy grins and Steve’s blood rushes at the bit of silver that flashes behind white teeth. “Yeah, I noticed. I had to get my friend to distract her so she wouldn’t be able to run me off too.”

Steve can’t stop the laugh that escapes him as he beams at the guy. “Chrissy was your idea? Holy fuck, thank you for that. I love Robin, but she’s kind of been suuuuper extra tonight.”

“Well, I’m glad I could give you a break. To be honest, though, Chrissy was already kind of eyeing her before I asked her to step in.” He glances out to the dance floor and Steve follows his gaze, sees Chrissy with her arms wrapped around Robin’s neck, the two pressed close as they dance together.

“Chrissy is gonna eat her alive," Steve says, and the guys laughs. 

"Too fucking true," he replies, and turns back to Steve. He holds out a hand. "I'm Eddie, by the way."

Steve takes Eddie’s hand and glances down, takes in chunky rings and nice fingers that have heat swirling in his stomach. "Steve."

Eddie’s thumb swipes over Steve’s knuckles, showing no sign of releasing his hand as he asks "Well, Steve, can I ask what you're looking for on this fine evening?"

Steve hums in consideration before saying "I'll tell you, but you can't make fun of me, okay?" and Eddie makes an 'x' over his heart in a silent promise.

"So, I'm bi, but I just figured it out recently. I've never kissed a guy before, and Robin brought me out here to hopefully get me at least that much, but as you've seen, she's been pretty picky about it. I’m honestly just ready to get it over with at this point."

Eddie’s eyes go hungry and he tugs on Steve’s hand a bit, pulling them even closer together. “Well, if you’re interested, I’d be more than happy to help you accomplish that, baby.”

Steve feels a bit weak in the knees as he nods, and Eddie gives him a lopsided grin before he pulls Steve away from the bar, back into a little hallway that leads to the back door.

The lights are even more dim back here, but the glow from the exit sign feels bright as it reflects off Eddie’s rings, as it bathes the apples of his cheeks in red. It feels like they’re in their own little world now that they’re away from the crowd, and Steve is grateful for the little bit of privacy and quiet.

Hands move to hold Steve’s waist and Eddie guides him where he wants him, moving Steve so his back is pressed against the wall, and he finds that he definitely doesn’t mind Eddie taking the lead like this. Eddie leans in close and Steve can’t resist sliding his hands up into that gorgeous hair, gets briefly distracted when he uncovers Eddie’s ears and sees the jewelry littering them. 

“See something pretty, sweetheart?” he asks, amused, and hazel eyes snap back to chocolate brown. 

“I like your jewelry.”

“Well, thank you.” Eddie smiles and his grip tightens. “I’m gonna kiss you now, okay?”

Steve nods, says “Please, Eddie,” and the man is closing the gap, leaning in until their mouths are slotted together and Steve melts. Eddie tastes like tequila and lime, and he kisses Steve like he means it, like Steve is something he’s been waiting for. It’s addicting, especially when Eddie’s tongue finds its way into Steve’s mouth and he gets to lick the unforgiving metal of the piercing that runs through it. 

Everything feels sparkly and explosive in the best way possible - Robin said something about not needing fireworks, but Steve thinks he's found them anyway, thinks Eddie might feel them too.

Steve quickly loses track of time as Eddie kisses him within an inch of his life. He wasn’t prepared for this, for Eddie, but he knows now that he’s had a taste, it’s going to be hard to just walk away from the other man.

It’s far too soon when Eddie pulls back, pressing a final peck to Steve’s mouth.

“How’s that, sweetheart?” he asks softly, and Steve gives him a dopey grin as he twirls one of those curls around his finger.

“Pretty good, but I think you should do it again, juuust so I can be sure.”

Eddie chuckles and kisses him again, chaste and far too brief, before muttering against his lips. “Why don’t we get out of here? I’ll kiss you as many times as you need, all night if I have to.”

With a grin and a nod, they head back out into the main area. They split up briefly, Steve making his way over to Robin who is still wrapped around Chrissy, and he taps her on the shoulder. When she turns to face him he jabs his thumb towards the door.

“Hey, I just wanted to tell you that I’m heading out.”

Her face drops and she grabs his arm. “But we haven’t gotten you a kiss yet! I’m sure we can find someone to-”

“Robs, you already missed it.” 

“What?!”

Steve rolls his eyes and grabs her before pointing at Eddie who is currently paying his tab at the bar. He hears Chrissy laugh and he turns to give her a big smile and a smacking kiss on the cheek. 

“Thanks for your help distracting Robin, Chrissy.” 

“No problem. You two have fun,” she says with a giggle and a wink, and Steve looks at Robin. 

“You should keep this one,” he says, only giving her a second to sputter in indignation before he’s walking off. He throws a “Don’t wait up for me!” over his shoulder, and grins as he heads back to where Eddie is waiting, eager to taste the fireworks again.

[martitheevans]

So I made this post and people seemed to like it so I did a little bit of a drabble thing for it. It's nothing much I just thought it'd make a cute little vignette

(Not really set in any particular episode, probably about Season four or five)

The Impala began to drift towards the centre line on the road for what had to be the fifth time in since they began driving, Sam sighed and clicked his fingers in front of Dean’s face. His eyes flew open and he swerved the car back on track. 

“Sorry,” he mumbled and turned up the barely audible tape in the deck. “Nodded off.” 

“Just pull over, man,” Sam suggested, too tired to drive himself. “It’s late, nobody’s going to find us. We’ll be fine.” 

“There’s gotta be a town soon. Get the map out,” Dean replied, Sam wasn’t entirely sure he’d even listened to his suggestion. “A motel. I don’t know about you, but I could go for a slightly warm soda from a vending machine right now.”

“Dean,” Sam insisted. “Stop the car.” 

“Stop your face,” Dean retorted, sighing dramatically. 

“Look,” Sam pointed over to a wooded area that was cleared up for hikers and families, complete with a car park. “Park there. We can sleep.” 

“It’s always nag, nag, nag, with you,” Dean commented and tutted, but he began to turn into the parking lot. “Yes, honey, I'll pull in right here, is that alright?” 

Sam tsked at him and they pulled in. Dean announced their arrival by braking abruptly, making Sam nearly headbutt the dashboard. He looked proud of himself then got out. Sam glared at him as he went. 

“You sleeping in the front or the back?” he asked.

“I’ve been too tall for the back since I was fifteen,” he replied. Dean opened the boot of the car for the blankets the kept for times like these. “But you, on the other hand, are just the right size for it. Hell, we could put you in the glove compartment.” 

“I'm not even that short-!” 

“Where’s the other blanket?” Sam interrupted when Dean pulled out one old, polyester blanket. Dean narrowed his eyes and searched around some more, then sighed. 

“Remember when we had to camp overnight for those vampires?” he asked, Sam groaned. “And somebody had to put out the campfire with it because they set the fire up somewhere it would easily spread-” 

“And that was nothing to do with the fact that someone had the genius idea to throw ‘just a little bit’ of gasoline on it because it ‘wasn’t lighting fast enough’ for them?” Sam retorted. “Nobody does that, Dean! That’s insane! You nearly lit the whole place up!” 

“Look, the point is,” Dean began waving him off. “We have one blanket and two of us.” 

They glared at each other for a seconds, before silently agreeing to a rock/paper/scissors battle. After a tense few seconds, Sam used rock, Dean used scissors. 

“Always scissors,” Sam jeered. Dean glared and shook his head. 

“Best of three,” he suggested. Sam sighed but obliged him. Rock, paper, scissors, shoot. Dean used paper, Sam used scissors. 

“And whenever I point it out you always switch to paper,” he continued. Dean groaned, they needed to figure out other ways to figure out stalemates than a game which is impossible to play with people you know too well. 

“I hope it’s filled with bedbugs,” Dean grunted, tossing the blanket at Sam’s face and closing the boot. The chill in the air already starting to get at him, no doubt beginning to have its affect in the car. 

He climbed into the car and curled in on himself in the backseat, keeping his jeans on, as uncomfortable as they were, to stave off the cold. He wished Sam night, and tried to get to sleep before the temperature fully set in. 

Even as his mind began to fall asleep, he was still aware it was getting fucking cold. He was shivering and his sleep was far from sound. Why was it so damn wintery in May anyway? 

Cas appeared in the car, which was stationary in a parking lot outside of a forest. He looked around in the dark for who he had come to see, spotting Sam first. He was stretched out as much as the footwell would allow him in the passenger seat. Dean was lay to Cas’s side, with his head pillowed on Sam’s empty, rolled-up canvas bag. 

Human sleep cycles were a mystery to Castiel, they seemed to waste so much time with it, or maybe it was just the Winchester’s that were so peculiar. Rarely they were ever asleep when it seemed to be the ‘appropriate’ time of day to do so. 

Something he did know was that when you wake a human, they become slightly hostile. So, he quickly decided that whatever he had come to tell them could wait, it wasn’t very time sensitive. Plus, he had been watching over Dean periodically since he had last seen him, he had to have been exhausted. 

He was about to leave when he cast a cursory checking glance at Dean and noticed his shaking form. He wasn’t awake, but he was cold, a sensation Cas had never felt but understood as unideal for sleeping conditions. Castiel couldn’t just leave him like that. 

Quietly, he shouldered off his trench coat, hoping it would be enough to keep him warm. He placed his over him, tucking it around him with the utmost gentleness so as not to disturb him. Dean seemed to almost immediately become more comfortable in it.  

Cas decided he quite liked the sleeping version of Dean, not any more than the awake version. It was pleasant to see him uninhibited by the literal weight of the world on his shoulders and lacking in the bite and sharpness that seemed etched into his sense of self. He was calm, and Cas liked seeing him calm. 

Then, he composed himself. Dean Winchester was an enigma to him. but he ought to remain that way. If being an angel as long as he had been had taught him anything, it was that resisting temptation was often the best route to take. He needed to remain professional if he wanted to keep his place. 

He left Dean wrapped in his coat, resolving to get it back the next day when the two brothers were awake, and disappeared. He didn’t stay around for the next morning, when Dean found himself strangely comforted by Cas leaving his coat to keep him warm. The feeling welling up something warm in his heart he hadn’t felt in a very long time.