#it's fun to bring that attitude to the residential side

[baronmagikcarp]

I just did that post about renting and repairs and records and I'll always remember going with a friend to look over a place she was considering renting. Like I said in the tags, I work in commercial real estate so I know what to look for on a site tour and I asked my friend how hard she wanted me to be. She gave me permission to go nuts. The poor rental agent for the place looked like she was about to freak out when I pointed out the hastily covered water damage in the ceiling, the screwed up flooring they'd tried to hide under the water leak, the damage to the light fixtures, and then topped it off by opening the inside HVAC unit and showing her how her maintenance people had put in the wrong sized filter and because of that the inside of the unit was covered in dust. This was in the first five minutes of me being in the unit. I had a ball.

I also told her that the HVAC unit was probably going to burn out soon because it hadn't been properly filtered and had probably been working too hard for who knows how long. She didn't believe me. The outside unit burned out on the first hot day the next month and the whole thing had to be replaced.

[thenightgazer]

Between The Lyrids

The city is ambushed! In the middle of midnight mission, Vergil meets an unexpected person who later helps him and Dante in battle.

“Sometimes when I look at you, I feel I'm gazing at a distant star."

-Haruki Murakami

---

Midnight is the best time to hunting demons. At midnight, demons are in their fittest shape and strongest condition to hunt. If they are lucky enough to find a portal to bring them into the human world, then it would be the worst time for humans to walk outside their houses. As for tonight, a legion of demons was sighted near the suburban of Capulet City, causing panic among locals.

That explains why the Sparda brothers are on duty right now.

Vergil Sparda is sitting on a stack of dead demons he killed previously, reading a book while trying to ignore the nosy sound of bullets and clashing swords all around the residential area caused by his brother. He briefly glances at Dante who is making his way to cut a demon in two with his Devil Sword, leaving black blood stains over his face and red coat. A shadowy figure of a Fury ran behind him at an amazing speed. But alas Dante is quicker and manages to stop it by summoning Cavaliere, splitting it up into buzzsaws and slicing the Fury to death.

“Hey Vergil!” Dante shouts at him. “You’ll miss all the fun here!”

Vergil flips a page. “Wisdom is knowing when to attack and when to endure.”

Dante put the Cavaliere back to its motorcycle shape and mounts it. “C’mon, there are still hordes of demons to kill!”

“I think The Legendary Devil Hunter could go through with it by himself. I’m occupied with this book.”

“Boring as usual, bro. You have ten seconds to change your mind!” Dante revved the Cavaliere to disturb Vergil’s reading, which is mildly successful.

“Then I suggest you to start counting.”

“Challenge accepted! Ten—!“

Foolish, Vergil thinks as he flips another page. Why bother asking me to come if he’s capable of doing it all by himself?

“Nine… eight— C’mon Verge! Seven—”

The Dark Slayer smirks at his brother’s futile effort. “You need a better persuasion.”

“How about I rip your damn book? Six—”

“—I’ll rip you first.”

“Five— those bats are going to burn this whole city!”

Vergil watches a pack of Pyrobat flying and bursting flames around the neighborhood. He releases a heavy sigh after hearing the residents screaming for help as the wildfire consumes their houses. Vergil stands up and leisurely walks to Cavaliere and swiftly takes a seat behind Dante.

“Now that’s the spirit.” Dante chuckles, much to Vergil’s annoyance.

“Just ride.”

Ignoring Dante’s exaggerated revs and wild ride, Vergil opens his book again. He summons his spectral swords to annihilate demons that are chasing them along the ride. He can’t help but wonder where these demons came from, since the world is quite peaceful lately. It’s likely that someone opened a portal from the Underworld, but that would be difficult to execute. Without Yamato, summoning a battalion of demons requires intricate rituals and strong determination. Someone ambitious and crazed like Arkham could do the ritual, but that option is implausible.

Vergil glances at a beetle-like demon that turns into sand after get stabbed by one of spectral sword as he read a passage :

We call it a grain of sand,

But it calls itself neither grain nor sand.

It does just fine, without a name,

Whether general, particular, permanent, passing,

Incorrect, or apt.

“What?!” Dante shouts.

“What?”

“You’re murmuring things!”

Vergil decides that he needs to decrease his habit of thinking out loud, “Nothing. Just a poem.”

“Ha!” Dante chuckles. “Noticed you brought so many books lately. Don’t tell me now you accept private requests and keep the money for yourself.”

I didn’t buy the book. Those are gifts from Lyra. But there’s no way Vergil would admit that fact to Dante. “I do take private jobs, just like you do occasionally. And don’t ever think I’d pay for your debt again.”

“Twins share everything!”

“Eyes on the road, Dante.”

Dante takes out Ivory from his coat, glancing at the Behemoth behind them. “Alright, maybe not everything. That one is mine. You take the wheel!”

The red devil ambushes the demon before Vergil could protest. Dante fires at Behemoth fiercely as Vergil continues to ride the Cavaliere. It’s not a secret anymore that Vergil hates vehicles. That thing is too slow for him who values speed and precision, not to mention he has Yamato which is more efficient than any vehicle ever could be.

Dante finally landed on Cavaliere, sitting back to back with Vergil. “Dammit, that stupid hippo doesn’t want a quick death.”

“Perhaps that is because you have too much fun. Make haste!”

“Can you not be grumpy for one minute? Anyways, nice ride, bro.”

“Silence.”

Knowing that Dante wouldn’t end this battle soon, Vergil turned Cavaliere around, speeding up directly at the Behemoth. He ignores Dante’s warning to slow down or get them killed in no time, summoning Yamato and cut the demon straightaway, splitting its body into two and making an entrance for Cavaliere to get through between the split body parts .

Dante claps mockingly, “Not bad for an old man.”

“We’re twins, you fool!”

“That explains why I’m four minutes younger than you!”

They were soon ambushed by a swarm of Pyrobat. Dante shot at them like a maniac, laughing and taunting. It seems like his demon blood also burns from the urge to hunt at midnight. Vergil is aware of his little brother’s wild tendency of demon hunting. No matter how menial the jobs are, even if merely weak lesser demons, Dante will kill them all regardless. Yet he still had mercy for those demons who felt compassion, something which Vergil secretly admires. Behind his brash and carefree attitude, Vergil knows that Dante is much more mature than he looked at first glance. This side of the world has never been kind to descendants of Sparda. Spending each day of his lifetime in this world must have made him stronger.

“Dante,” he calls. “That one needs to be eliminated quickly or this city will become a catacomb tonight.”

Dante glances at the Leviathan, a gigantic whale demon that flying above the town, “Ya sure don’t wanna take that thing down?”

“You killed it once. It should be easy for you.” Vergil stops Cavaliere, quickly brushing his messy hair back. “I’ll handle the rest.”

“Okay then,” Dante takes back his Cavaliere and gives Vergil a salute. “See ya, Verge. Be careful, don’t die. No one is allowed to kill you but me.”

The blue devil grins, “Save that for later.”

As Dante heads up to the Leviathan, Vergil turns around to exterminate more demons creeping up behind him. He is slightly surprises to see a legion of demons in Angelo form. Who created these abominable things? His hunch turned out to be right all along. Someone did intentionally summon demons in the city, even went as far as to create Angelo demons. But there was something unusual about these Angelos. Their color was all black with silver, pulsating lines running across their bodies. Some of them didn’t wear a helmet, revealing their demonic faces. They were not only using swords, but also a variety of firearms.

I’ve never seen this kind of demon before.

One of them fired at Vergil with a rocket launcher, which Vergil dodged easily. His hatred towards Mundus and his time as Nelo Angelo came to surface again. He growled in anger as he started to strike, giving them no chance to attack. Sparks fly between the clashing of swords and shooting bullets, but Vergil knew he was going to win as he slashes the demons one by one with light speed and precision. He raised Yamato to block another onslaught, while invading the Angelos with brutal attacks of summoned swords.

They know they don’t stand a chance, but why do they stand still?

“Help!! Please!”

The woman’s plea distracted Vergil enough that he almost lost his guard. The woman was trapped in a burning house, surrounded by Pyrobats. The hybrid speeded up his attack, finishing the Angelos with a final blow with Yamato. The cold rushed in his blood when he realized that the Angelos were previously humans. In their final time, their demonic attires changed to their human form. There is an unsettling feeling of watching them slowly scatter, their fleshes burn and revealing their scorched bones.

Their creator must be a psychopath.

After making a mental note to investigate this strange attack soon, Vergil wasted no time and teleported into the burning house where he spotted the woman suffocating from the smoke. He lifts the woman up and teleports to the safe zone.

“Thank… you…” the woman says after Vergil puts her on the ground.

“Just go away from here.”

Vergil looks up to the sky where he witnesses the battle between Dante and the Leviathan. Unlike Vergil who always gives his enemies a quick death, Dante likes to play with his prey before eventually killing them. He can see his little brother flying around the giant whale in his triggered form, jabbing his devil sword across its belly, causing drops of blood to rain over the buildings under the demon. Although Vergil found it extremely disgusting, at least that little maneuver made the Leviathan lose its balance. He vaguely hears Dante screaming ‘Jackpot!’ while the whale demon finally falls from the sky, destroying the ground with its corpse.

Then I guess the bats are the only scum left here.

The Pyrobats seem to be triggered by the Leviathan’s death. They shriek in high-pitched screams, lashing out at the residents. Vergil jumps to the pack and creates a whirlwind of slashes with Yamato, thus leaving splinters of Pyrobats on the ground. He’s just lands and puts his sword back in its sheath when the remaining fire bats release an outburst of blaze at Vergil. The hybrid prepares himself to trigger his devil form, ready to strike back—

— But the fire never touch him.

An invisible wall stands before him, shielding him from the fury of the blaze. The fire motion seems calmer… like it’s bended by an unseen force.

Could it be Dante…?

Vergil looks at his surroundings, trying to find the force that shields him. Yet he finds nothing. Dante is nowhere to be seen, people are running away from the center of the city…

Subsequently, he sees her standing a few meters behind him.

“Lyra…?”

The librarian looks like she wants to greet him, at least that’s what her hand gesture indicates— the palm of her hand slightly waves at him. But Vergil realizes that she’s not waving at him. She looks like she’s holding… something.

The invisible shield… d id she create it?

“Oh… Hi…!” she finally greets him. “If you’re not too occupied, would you please exterminate those bats already? My hand is stiff.”

The Pyrobats start to ambush her. Before Vergil could budge a muscle, Lyra already moved her hands to bring the fire around her. She twists her body and aims the fire back to the pack until the demons are burned by their own fire, leaving Vergil in awe after witnessing her ability.

Surprise, surprise.

“Where are those demons coming from? They are already in the breaking news… scaring all the people.” Lyra mumbles as she stretches her arms.

“Who knows.” The hybrid shrugs, still mildly surprised by Lyra’s sudden appearance. “We received the call from the mayor… and turns out it’s pretty awful here.”

“I have to be honest. When I saw the flames all around the city, I thought it was you running amok again.”

“I told you before— I have no desire to destroy the world anymore.”

“I know. I’m just joking.”

Vergil silently watches her—looking at her surroundings as if she expects demons to come again. Anxiously she wraps herself tight with her black coat despite the heat from the wildfire, whimpers quietly and glancing at her leg. That’s when Vergil spots a new scar on Lyra’s left leg as he points at the wound with the tip of Yamato’s sheath. “Must be from that fire you controlled earlier.”

“Oh… it’s fine. Sometimes it happens when I’m being sloppy and can’t control my power…”

Swallowing his pride alive, Vergil kneels before her, causing her to jolt in surprise.

“Hey what are you—!”

“Just let me take a look.”

He takes something out from his coat; a bottle which contains a burgundy liquid. He pours one drop over Lyra’s wound. The liquid slowly transforms the burned skin, returning it to normal, leaving no trace of a scar.

“Wow...” Lyra murmurs. “It looks like Lucy Pevensie’s cordial.”

Vergil chuckles at Lyra’s admiration. “Similar, but quite different.”

“Could that heal my limp as well?”

“That’s beyond my capacity. The liquid can only heal minor injuries.”

“I see…”

Don’t show me that blue face. “… but perhaps I could find some spell to cover or manipulate it—“

“No no no don’t bother! And get up, sir! My leg feels better already!”

“Hey Verge! I’m done cleaning up there— oh… hoho…” The red devil in his demon form rests his wings as he lands on the ruins, clapping his hands while he turns to his human form. “What do we have here? My brother kneeling down before a lovely lady? Are you gonna propose to her, Verge?”

Damn you, impertinent brother. Vergil hurries himself to get up. “Shut up, Dante.”

Dante’s blue eyes scan through Lyra who’s smiling at him. He approaches her as he summons Dr. Faust, lifts it slightly off his head before he offers his hand, “Dante the badass devil hunter, at your service.”

Lyra politely shakes his hand. “Nice to meet you. Dante. I’m Lyra.”

“Well then, Lyra. I hope my glorious appearance earlier and my brother’s gloomy face didn’t scare you off.”

Lyra laughs as she shakes her head. “Not at all. Your brother’s quite nice. He saved me from those bats.”

“’Nice isn’t exactly the right word to describe Vergil, unless he’s really fond of you…”

“You may let go of her hand already, Dante.” Vergil warns before Dante says something to embarrass him further. “Or shall I cut yours?”

“Whoops! Someone’s jealous here. So tell me, babe. Where did ya meet my bro?” Dante winks at the librarian after he releases her hand, ignoring Vergil’s deadly glare.

“Your brother is a loyal guest of the library where I work.” Lyra glances playfully at the blue devil.

Dante lets out a laughter and taps Vergil’s shoulder, which is repelled by the latter. “Now I get where those mysterious books came from! Guess you owe me the complete story, Verge.”

“Quite the contrary, I have no obligation to tell you anything.” Vergil snarks, to which Dante responds with a careless shrug.

“Mmmm… gentlemen?” Lyra interrupts the twins and pointing at the demon in front of them. “I do believe your job hasn’t ended yet.”

Vergil makes a stance as he prepares Yamato, glaring at a colossal spider which disgorges lava everywhere. He has seen this demon in one of his hazy memories, even one of his former familiars was taking the shape of this demon, although he couldn’t recall its name. But Dante already makes his way to face the demon, flippantly mouthing off the arachnid.

“Hey dumbass!” he shouts in casual tone, like greeting his own friend. “Thought I killed you years ago!”

The spider demon seems recognize him. “You… the detestable son of Sparda…!”

“Ha! I’m impressed you still recognize me! Phantom, was it? How can you still be alive and crawl back here? Is your little nest in Hell not comfortable enough?”

Phantom wastes no time to spew lava at the three of them. Vergil quickly grabs Lyra’s waist and teleports to a safe ground whilst Dante already sits on the roof of a building. Vergil shouts at him angrily, “How thoughtful of you, little brother. You risked Lyra’s safety just to taunt that scum!”

“Sorry, babe.” Dante gives the librarian an apologizing wink.

“It’s fine.” Lyra winks back at him, which causes Vergil to automatically roll his eyes.

Their casual banter makes Phantom get more angry and finally lose its temper. “Don’t take me lightly, Sparda! I’m stronger than before! All of you will die in no time, and I will unleash the magma to melt this cursed city down!”

“Well, well, that big mouth of yours needs to be silenced!” Dante looks toward Vergil. “What do you say, bro? Should we take it down?”

“Naturally.”

“Jackpot!”

“I’ll help.” Lyra volunteers.

“It’s too dangerous. I know you’re more than capable to defend yourself, but…” Vergil takes a glance to Dante who charges at Phantom without waiting for them. “I don’t think you would like to show off your power in front of my brother.”

“Of course not.” She takes something out from her coat. “But I got this. I have it with me all the time, just in case I have to fight manually.”

It’s a devil arm, Vergil notices. Lyra holds an expandable white staff with complicated golden rune across its body. She presses the center of the staff to bring out blades on each edges. He couldn’t hold his confusion. First, she appeared out of nowhere and shows him her telekinetic ability. Second, she actually had a devil arm inside her coat all along and he had never noticed it even before. Third, all these new revelations just make him like her more than he should.

“Would you do me a favor, Vergil?” she whispers to him, taking a glance at Dante. “Don’t tell Dante, or anyone else, about my power. It’s complicated and would take me too much energy to explain everything. But since we’re friends, I’ll tell you the reason later.”

The devil smirks slyly, “In exchange of what?”

“Unless you want to lose the only supply of free books in your lifetime…”

“What in the seven hells— Fine! You better keep your promise then.”

Lyra holds her laugh as the elder son of Sparda reluctantly obeys her order. They’re soon join Dante who’s already having a good fight with Phantom. He lets the spider demon attacks him over and over again, just to see how strong his opponent is.

“That all you got?!” The red devil mocks, sending his sword into thin air. “I’m starting to get bored here!”

“You pest!” Phantom attacks Dante with its scorpion tail, only to be blocked by Yamato. Knowing Vergil joins his brother to fight, Phantom gets angrier. “You…?! You were supposed to serve The Almighty Mundus! Traitor!”

“My time as servant of Mundus has ended, and you shall die by my own hands.” Vergil spins his sword before put it back inside its sheath.

Dante scoffs as he approaches beside him. “Always making a dramatic entrance, brother. And didn’t ya forget that twins share everything?”

“Was the Leviathan not enough for you?”

“Do you two always fight like this?” Lyra asks as she tilts her upper body from behind Vergil’s back to see the twins’ interactions.

Vergil shrugs. “He is always the one who starts it.”

“That’s because you’ll always be the boring one!” Dante makes his first charge while summoning Balrog as he strikes Phantom until the demon is pushed to the burning buildings. “One point for Dante!”

“Reckless as usual, brother. That thing is still alive.” Vergil murmurs dismissively, watching the recovered Phantom. He manages to dodge the lava attack from the demon and fire his summoned swords.

Dante shrugs nonchalantly at Vergil’s remark. “I’m just waiting for the right time to kill that bastard for real— heya babe, nice shiny staff there. I’m worried it will break if you step in on the party.”

Realizing Dante is trying to stop her, Lyra snorts. She presses her staff at the center again until the staff changes its shape to a white, slim semi-automatic rifle. She aims at Phantom’s scorpion tail before she pulls the trigger, blasting golden bullets at the tail, causing Phantom to shrieks and its tail to fracture.

Lyra smiles at Dante. “We live in a world full of demons, Dante. You really expect people to be defenseless for the rest of their lives? Now if you excuse me…”

As Lyra walks to where Phantom stands, the rifle starts to change into the staff again. The shining blades on the tip of the staff blinds Phantom’s sight. The demon tries to mock her, “Human…! How dare you attack me! You cannot defeat me! You’re just a sack of blood and flesh… you won’t stand a chance! Don’t you know who I am?!”

“Eh… no? We’ve just met.” Lyra spins the staff slowly. “And it’s rude to yell at someone whom you’ve just met.”

Phantom charges his pointy feet to stab Lyra, but she is a bit quicker. She spins the staff to wind up a wide arcing swing, utilizing the length of her staff to block and reverse the attack by maneuvering a spinning hop and knock down the foot, causing Phantom to loses balance. She uses this chance to swing the staff upward shocking its skeleton, then executes rapid thrusts to its abdomen.

Dante, whose jaw is dropped in astonishment during the battle, turns his head to Vergil. “I like this woman.”

“Don’t you dare—“

“Ohh look at that pinky little blush on your face!”

“Dante.”

“Yea yea I know~ back to business! Don’t make a lady wait!”

The twins finally join Lyra. Dante lashes a huge blow to break Phantom’s back while Lyra continues to block attacks while aiding Dante by occasionally changing her staff into the rifle and shoots the demon’s abdomen to create a bigger wound. Sensing that Phantom couldn’t hold itself much longer, Vergil releases a Judgement Cut to end this battle, slicing the demon into pieces.

“Wait… what was that?” Lyra furrows her brows in confusion since her eyes couldn’t follow the movement of Judgement Cut.

“One of the exaggerated techniques of dear ol’ Vergil.” Dante replies, glancing at Lyra’s staff. “Convenient one. Looks like Gandalf’s staff. What’s the name?”

“I don’t know the demon’s real name before it turned into a devil arm, nor do I have a name for it.”

“Can I borrow it? Just to test the power.”

“Uh… it complies only to me, but do give it a try.”

As Dante reaches to touch the staff, his hand phases the weapon as if it refuses to be held by him. “Whoa. This weapon is kinda shy to strangers. You don’t have to worry if someone wants to steal this one.”

“Indeed.” She points at Dante’s gauntlets curiously. “And that one?”

“Formerly the King of Fire Hell, Balrog.”

“… did it drag you to the depths of Moria?”

The devil hunter’s eyes spark in amusement as he chortles. “And made me say ‘Fly, you fools!’?”

The sight of them laughing and bantering jokes creates a deeper crease on Vergil’s forehead. They’ve just met for twenty minutes, yet they already form a friendly conversation compared to him which took three months to even have small talk with her. Dante seems to genuinely like her— his rugged face gets relaxed almost immediately and his gaze is softer as Lyra tells him another Lord of The Rings jokes. Damn, he even lets her touch his weapons! Vergil doesn’t like it at all, this unfamiliar sensation inside him. It makes him… angry? Uneasy? Hollow? Fed up?

This is… awful.

He sheathes Yamato and sends it into thin air. “We already exterminated all demons, Dante. You better collect our payments.”

“Sure thing, bro. Hey babe, come with us to the mayor’s house—“

“It’s almost midnight. Lyra has to work tomorrow.” The coldness inside Vergil’s voice is undeniable, as if his statement was a death sentence. “I’ll take her home.”

Dante smirks, noticing Vergil’s mood swing as his older twin turns his back without waiting for their responses. He taps the librarian’s shoulder in protective manner. “Take care of my bro, babe. Adios.”

“See you again, Dante. Feel free to come over to the library whenever you want.”

Dante flippantly waves at her as he watches the two of them walk away from the ruins of of the city, slowly disappear in the crowd of people. A subtle smirk curves on his mouth, pondering since when his brother started to truly befriended someone. Mysteriously alluring. She could make that prideful, cold-blooded jackass kneel before her. Must be a hella fine lady, that Lyra.

“Oh brother… you lucky bastard.”

He hurries himself to collect the money, making a mental note to soon tell the girls about this one peculiar woman whom successfully enchanted Vergil.

---

The silence falls between them for almost ten minutes. As the temperature gets lower, Lyra feels her blood start to freeze as she watches Vergil’s back. To be with Vergil in total silence isn’t a new thing for Lyra, but this time is different. Of course she notices his drastic change of behavior, but she couldn’t comprehend the reason behind it.

“You know,” she speaks lightly. “People that walk fast are reported to be less happy.”

That makes the hybrid halt abruptly. Lyra silently giggles at her little aphorism, quickly stopping besides him. “You know tomorrow is my day off. Why did you lie to Dante?”

“… because you look exhausted.”

“I’m a little bit knackered, but overall I’m fine. You don’t like me being friendly with your brother?”

“It’s not that,” he sighs deeply. “I guess I’m just… jealous of him.”

“Why so?”

“… ever since we were kids, Dante is always a talker. He’s cheerful and full of energy. A trash mouth for sure, but… he’s a good man inside. More importantly, he makes people comfortable and trust him.” Vergil unconsciously smiles at his memory of the younger twin. “That’s something I lack. Not that I want to be like him. I just find that trait to be… extraordinary.”

“You are you. Dante is Dante.” Lyra gives him a wink. “You’re a good man too, Vergil.”

Vergil chuckles in disbelief. “… thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now, in order to get rid of that foul mood of yours, how about we go somewhere exciting?”

“To where?”

“Somewhere dark and quiet, away from the fuss.”

“What are we going to do in such place?”

“There’ll be a Lyrids meteor shower tonight! According to some ancient historical Chinese text, it was seen over 2700 years ago, making it the oldest meteor shower to ever be recorded! It’s worth to witness such a phenomenon, don’t you think?”

“Meteor shower, huh?”

“That’ll be fun! If we’re lucky, we could witness an outburst of nearly 100 Lyrid meteors until the dawn!”

“… very well then. I believe I know the perfect place to observe it.”

“Splendid!”

Her eyes are already full of meteors, Vergil secretly laughs at her enthusiasm. He draws his sword and cuts the space, creating a dark portal.

“Watch your steps.” Vergil warns his companion once the portal shuts. “We’re on the top of a ravine now.”

Although the airglow and the starry sky are the only thing that lightens the dark, he can clearly see Lyra’s love for the night sky just by seeing her observe the night sky in adoration. Her mouth hums in a satisfied tone, which Vergil recognizes as a habit of hers whenever she fancies something. She abruptly turns her sight to Vergil, clumsily giggling at him when she finds Vergil gazing at her.

“Well… Thankfully we don’t have to bring telescopes to observe the Lyrids. Let’s have a better look by laying down.“ She proceeds to remove her coat to cover the ground, but Vergil grips her shoulder to stop her and taking off his own coat.

“But—“

“Mine’s wide enough for both of us.” He lies down without waiting for her.

“Aren’t your feel cold?”

“I can survive even in extreme weather.” Vergil folds his hands in front of his chest. “When will the shower start?”

“It should start anytime now. Patience, Vergil. Patience.”

Vergil’s excruciating, uncontrollable heartbeats don’t want to stop. He can’t throw the agitated feeling away when Lyra finally lies besides him. The view is almost ethereal— her deep, quaint eyes muse at the dark. Her breath is surprisingly calm, a contrast to her quiver by the chilly night breeze as she envelops her body with her coat. He tells himself to calm down and show some respect to their friendship as he pulls away his gaze from the librarian, then ignites his demonic power to warm her up.

“Thank you.” She utters gratefully, taking a glimpse of Vergil’s demonic aura. “I thought your power’s color would be red like Dante’s, since the two of you are twins. But it makes sense now, by looking at your clothes. Is your demon form similar to him? Reptile arm and leg, spiky head and wings?”

“Quite similar, but with one or two differences.” And we’re supposed to be twins, huh?

“May I see yours?”

“Not at the moment. I’m afraid I need to recharge my energy after a long battle.”

“Alrighty the— Oh look!” she cheers, pointing at one of the Lyrid. “That’s one!”

“99 more to go, if we’re that fortunate— look, another one.”

“And that!”

The blue devil seems to forget his nervousness and relish this moment, pointing at the meteors as his inner child squeals in exhilaration. How long has it been since he last felt the freedom to express his excitement without any hesitations, to really cherish the moment? He can’t believe that a small thing like witnessing celestial objects warms his heart in such a way, releasing his burdened soul.

“Aaand that’s eleven!” Lyra’s joyful voice disrupts Vergil’s secret reflexion. He chuckles softly, much to her confusion.

“What’s with the laugh, hm?”

“Nothing.” He still chuckles. “I just find it… amusing.”

She turns her position to look at Vergil, pretending to glare at him. “What is it?”

“Well, seeing you watching the Lyrids...” He points at another meteor. “It’s like the Lyra constellation watching Lyrids falling from the star Vega.”

Lyra bursts in laugh, holding herself to not stuttering. “Now that you mentioned it, it’s kind of ironic, right?”

“Quite the contrary, it’s a captivating phenomenon. Be proud of yourself.”

She doesn’t reply, which is curious to Vergil. Instead, she looks up at the sky again with an unreadable expression. Did I sound like I’m lecturing her?

“No you’re not. I’m just thinking.” replies Lyra, snickering after accidentally receiving Vergil’s thought. “Blimey, Vergil, it’s like you’re screaming inside my head.”

“I— Sorry.” He blurts, then curses himself for blurting and letting his guard down. “I mean— what are you thinking of?”

She goes silent for a while. He told me everything about him, shouldn’t I respect his sincerity by telling him something about me? “I... I’m grateful that you don’t tell your brother about my power. It’s not that I find him untrustworthy…”

“I don’t want to lose my only source of free books.” Vergil grins, half teasing her. “And you’re welcome. I’m well aware that power can lead to cataclysm.”

“Well… with great power comes great responsibility.”

“That’s an interesting philosophy.”

“I quoted it from a comic book.”

“Typical.”

“Actually I’m puzzled.” She admits. “Since I revealed my telephatic ability, you asked nothing about my power.”

“I think it would be improper to ask. It’s your power, not mine. You are the one who has the authority to tell anyone as you please.”

“Thank you for being thoughtful.” She grips her coat tightly. “As I told you before, I don’t know when and how I acquired this power. It just happened. I never learnt witchcraft, nor did I want to. Sometimes I think, what if I am like you— a half human and half demon. But demons are never interested in me aside from the fact that I’m their potential meal, nor do they recognize the power within me. And from observing your and Dante’s power, I know for certain that mine isn’t demonic power. It has no similar aura. Lately I’ve been thinking if someone intentionally cursed me.”

Her giggles sound like a lies in Vergil’s ears. He knows it all too well, to become different from everyone else. To have a constant identity and existential crisis, second-guessing his role in this world; is he a human or a demon? He never forgot the fear he felt when his power arose for the first time. He didn’t know how to control it, making it hard for him to fully reflect on the purpose of his life.

“Therefore I decided to leave it be. Thinking of who I actually am and why I have this power would only rot my brain.” She continues. “If fate decides for me to put my nose in people’s business all the time, so be it. It could be a curse, but it’s also a part of me. It’s like removing one of your organs. The more I tried to cast it away, the worse it would affect me.”

“Ignorance is definitely a bliss.”

“Acceptance isn’t the same thing as ignorance.”

“I know. I’m just messing with you.”

Vergil can sense her elbow his side.

“Where did you get your staff?” he asks.

“Antique shop.” She points at the sky again, her finger follows the meteor’s movement. “I was looking for a book there when I spotted this staff. I didn’t know it was a staff since it looked like a generic stick, but the shopkeeper told me that it’s a devil arm and expandable. She claimed that the staff revealed itself out of nowhere. No one can touch it or remove it from its place, since it would turn intangible whenever someone tried to touch it. She tried to reach the staff to make her point, and it did phase her hand like it didn’t want to be touched by her. But when I did…” she shakes her staff proudly. “I felt like I successfully pulled out Thor’s hammer.”

“I’ve seen devil arms that could change into various weapons, but I never encountered a fastidious devil arm like yours. There must be something about you for the arm to deem you worthy.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows. As long as it help me to defend myself.” She shrugs. “How many meteors fell already? I lost my count.”

“Seventeen.”

“Still a long way to go~!”

“Seeing those shooting stars reminds me of your horrendous riddle. Remember back then when we were observing syzygy at Red Grave?”

“I remember your grumpy face when I told you about it. Do you want another one?”

“If you fail to give me a good one, then you shall never riddle me anything for the rest of your life.”

“Challenge accepted. Okay, what’s the first day of the week called in outer space?”

“The Big Bang on Day One?”

“Wrong. It’s Moonday!”

“… I should’ve seen that.”

“Does that mean that I win the challenge?”

“I guess today is your lucky day.”

“Ace!”

Vergil groans at his defeat, but only for a second since his blue eyes caught a brighter meteor compared to the previous ones. Apparently Lyra spotted that too, gasping in excitement. The view lasts for three seconds, yet it’s the most beautiful meteor Vergil has ever seen.

“Have you made your wish?” asks Lyra.

“I never believe in superstition.”

“Now I understand why Dante constantly calls you boring.”

“I don’t bother with that. What did you wish for?”

“I wish my limp would heal. Probably have my own library or bookshop and grow rich. Writing a best-selling horror novel that would make Stephen King bend the knee to me. Then maybe I could get a scholarship in astrophysics, so one day I could go to space.”

“I don’t know if you’re a full-time daydreamer.” Vergil chaffs at her. “Nevertheless, I hope you can get what you want.”

“Thank you.”

“Tell me. Do you fear height?”

“Not at all.”

“Falling?”

“None whatsoever. Why?”

“I thought you fear the fall, since… the day you fell from the tree.”

Is he interrogating me? “If anything… it’s the landing that sends the chill on my spine.”

“Why so?”

“Because the landing is your latest hope; you survive or you die.”

“I see… now I understand.” The blue devil tightens his gloves and gets up. “Then I shall grant you one of your wishes.”

“What?”

“Get up. I won’t tell you a second time.”

Even though Lyra’s head is full of questions, she doesn’t dare to ask, for Vergil’s stern face seems unyielding. He pats his coat to remove the dirt on it before wrapping himself with it. The blue demonic aura around him blasts as he triggers himself to his half-demon form— a pair of wings attached to his back. He flaps it slowly, but enough to mess Lyra’s hair up.

“Blimey…” She brushes her hair back, her eyes traces the devil in front of her.

“You said you want to go to space. In my devil form, I could go outside the atmosphere since I don’t need oxygen to breathe, but I’m afraid you don’t possess the same ability…” he taps his fingers on his mouth. “Therefore, I’ll take you up there.”

“Seriously?!”

“Why, don’t you want to witness the meteor shower up-close?”

She gasps, almost screaming. “Of course I do!”

That approval warms Vergil’s heart. He carefully carries her in his arms—one arm under her legs and the other supporting her back. She seems doubtful with this position, but eventually her arms cling on Vergil’s neck.

“Ready?”

She nods anxiously. “If you dare to drop me—“

“I’m not a lunatic to drop you up there, Stardust.”

The wings flap as the blue devil carries the librarian up to the sky. For a moment Lyra forgets how to breathe as Vergil caries her with rapid speed, causing the midnight wind to crawl on her skin. When she feels Vergil’s heartbeat, she knows that this is happening for real. I’m flying! That realization makes her adrenaline flow inside her body, releasing her breath slowly.

“Open your eyes,” says Vergil. “It would be vanity if you close your eyes right now.”

The first thing she sees when she opens her eyes is Vergil looking at her. He curves a slight smile at her anxiety, then looking up to show her the ocean of the stars. The view is magnificent— she can clearly see the meteors falling from every directions like raindrops. She loses her count again, but now it doesn’t matter to her. She looks down to see the lights of the city fades as Vergil takes her higher. She won’t always get the chance to observe this beautiful part of life. It seems everlasting, as surreal as fantasy.

“It’s beautiful!” she yells.

It is you that is beautiful, he ponders. “Do you want to take a closer look?”

“You bet!”

“Hang on there.”

Vergil fastens his speed while peeking at Lyra’s face. He’s sure he has never seen that kind of excitement before. Her eyes are radiant, beaming like a child. It blinds him, the urge to give her more happiness. But why would I do that? Why should I? I already gave her what she wanted. Why do I want to give her more?

Yet he doesn’t dare to define his puzzling actions.

“Searching for a poem to describe this majestic view?” asks Lyra, realizing his unusual stillness.

“I have one, actually.”

“Oh, shoot!”

Actually he doesn’t. He’s too occupied with his own head and unexplainable feelings about Lyra, but there’s no way he would admit that to her. He quickly searches a suitable poem from his brain storage before he accidentally forms mind connection with Lyra again.

“Stars, I have seen them fall,

But when they drop and die

No star is lost at all

From all the star-sown sky.

The toil of all that be

Helps not the primal fault

It rains into the sea,

And still the sea is salt.”

Vergil stops speeding up, idling his wings as he reaches below the peak of the troposphere. “This is your limit. One more kilometer and you’ll be suffocated.”

“The poem,” Lyra states, ignoring Vergil’s warning as her forehead wrinkles. “That sounds pessimistic.”

“Contradictory, I think it tells us a degree of optimism.” Vergil looks up at the horizon, a sudden memory of his fall to Netherworld sparks in his head. “Just because you fall, doesn’t mean you couldn’t get up and fly again.”

“Only if you’re not dead, of course.”

“But we survived the fall.” He breaks his gaze and turns over to Lyra. “We have scars to remind us that we survived. No star is lost it all.”

Lyra’s smile seems bitter and pessimistic in his eyes, as if she doesn’t believe him. No… it was almost like she’s reflecting another story in her head. Yet she nods, despite her perplexing behavior. “Then I’ll try to have faith in that fact.”

“You don’t have to believe me.”

“Do you believe me, Vergil?”

He stares at her in confusion. He wanted to say yes, in fact he starts to free himself from any obstacles that prevent him from believing in her. But her eyes— those eyes again— tell a different story. How could he believe those eyes? And why does he feel like he needed to find out something that could be nonexistent?

In the end, he says nothing. That makes the librarian chuckles, as if she expected it.

“Then you don’t have to believe me, Vergil.”

“… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Building trust is hard for both of us, isn’t it?” Lyra tightens her grip on Vergil’s neck. “But it seems like, to some degree, I believe in you. See? I believe you won’t let me fall.”

Lyra looks up to the sky again, followed by Vergil. He almost forgets his reason for flying up here if it was not because of her. He wonders if it’s normal to have doubts about a friend, but considering he generally doubts everything… that should make sense, right? He lets out a heavy sigh, flapping his wings slowly, “In that case, we don’t need to rush everything.”

“Agreed.”

“Though I earnestly want us to trust each other.”

“So do I.”

Their smiles say it all. They lock their promises deep inside their hearts, throwing the keys to each other. The time flows slower between them as the devil speeds up again to take her to another part of the sky, letting Lyra watch her stars falling around her. He’ll let them be for now, for Lyra was right. Building trust is difficult. It will be there when the time is right.

Hopefully.

---

You watch him walk away from your house before you lock yourself inside.

You didn’t expect to meet him tonight, yet there he was.

To be honest, that was a mesmerizing trip. You always wanted to fly and observe the skies from the space. You’ll never forget such a memory.

A surge of unexplainable emotion fills you up when the picture of Vergil Sparda comes up in your mind.

You are still not sure whether it’s a mistake to befriend him or not. But if it is, why are you smiling right now? Why do you feel at ease whenever you’re with him? When was the last time you felt like this? You don’t remember, and this probably is your first time.

Is that because he reminds you of yourself?

You head to your kitchen and turn the lamp on. You curse when you spot a knife come out from its holder again. That knife started to annoy you lately. You might be a telepath, but sometimes you’re frustrated of how forgetful you are.

You put it back in the holder, pondering why you always forget to put it back.

Your thoughts rewind to Vergil again.

You are scared of yourself, right? You know he saw it the moment he mentioned your eyes.

Now here’s the real question :

Do you want to save yourself, or save him from yourself?

---

The poems are quoted from "View with a Grain of Sand" by Wislawa Szymborska and "Stars, I Have Seen Them All" by A. E. Housman

Tagging : @harlot-of-oblivion @queenmuzz @drusoona @shiranyaaww @andieperrie18 @rubixa-seraph

Masterlist | AO3

[sailor-manga]

👀 eye am seeing you doing matchups! first up, congrats on the 300! um imma tall babe, on the older side 😭 blonde undercut grey eyes and an attitude for dayyyz but i also get into my own head from time to time and am very protective of anyone i deem worthy (pretty much everyone lol) but im also like super hyperactive and random YOUR RESIDENTIAL HYPE GAL for all your hype needs if you could maybe match me with someone from the BNHA fandom or hell even LEAGUE OF LEGENDS i will scream thank you sm

Thank you so much, I appreciate it! Since you’re giving me the option, I’m going to pair you with a League boi, and that League boi iss... 

Ezreal! 

♤ Even though Ezreal is a cocky little bastard, he would find himself insane attractive to those gorgeous gray eyes, not even Lux could compete with that! 

♤ He would admire your protective personality, and almost long for you to protect him, just so he could have your attention. 

♤ The main thing that would draw him towards you is that HYPE GAL personality! Ezreal is all about that. Whether he’s in his Star Guardian get up, or Explorer attire, he’s always down to have some fun!

♤ He would love bringing you around so he can show off his skills, obviously flexing his K/D/A for you so you would possibly be impressed.

♤ If you weren’t he’d just try harder, after all- the only one he wants is you. Your the only validation his cocky bot laner needs! 

[giggly-squiggily]

Gold and Silver Rival Headcanons

Heyo! So, in my previous post, I said I wanted to make headcanons for other rivals, and I mentioned Gold and Silver. Here we are! X3

Just a quick disclaimer: I am writing these based off the manga counterparts; mainly because I could find barely any information on Ethan and Kris’ Game version characters. I hope ya’ll enjoy!

Gold: Residential tickle monster of all the dexholders! Gold is incredibly dangerous ler in tickle wars and will start one out of the blue because he feels like it. He’s not the most ticklish of the pair, but his worst spot is his knees and stomach, so if you want to tickle him; go for there! His laugh is cackly and nerdy sounding, contrasting with his “cool guy” persona. He’s very nimble in tickle fights, however, so be prepared for him to whip out some hidden ninja skills to pin you down and utterly destroy you. Of all the dexholders, he targets Silver the most because the redhead is too ticklish for his own good.

Silver: First of all, can I just say how much I love this character? He’s such a quiet, gentle soul that deserves lots of love. I’d say he’s a dependent switch, but leans more towards the lee side of things. His worst spots are his armpits and ribs, but really any spot will earn you the sweetest giggles and snorts. He doesn’t really fight back in tickle fights- again, depending on who’s tickling him is whether or not he even stands a chance. If Green(F) or Gold’s tickling him, he’s doomed, there’s no saving him. If he’s in a tickle war with Blue, he kinda stands a chance? He’s more likely to just kinda give up. As a ler, he’s super gentle and sweet, more likely to tickle you if you’re sad.

Crystal: She’s such a hard worker! Crystal is always doing her best to fulfill the Pokedex and help out where she can, which makes her the perfect candidate for relax tickles. Sometimes she gets so caught up in her tasks it’s up to her friends to bring her back. Her ticklish spots are her legs. From hips to feet are guaranteed to earn you cheery, squeaky giggles and laughs. She will kick you if you try to sneak up on her with tickles, so be careful! As a ler, she’s an excellent tickler, destroying you with teases and nimble fingers in your worst spots. She’s just so incredibly sweet and kind about her tickles, and will make sure you’re smiling and happy by the end of the day.

Bonus:

Rival!Silver: He’s an complete and utter grouch that needs cheer up tickles stat! Like his manga counterpart, he’s pretty ticklish under his arms and along his ribs. Unlike his counterpart, however, he despises tickles and will fight back immediately if someone dares try to tickle him. His laugh is hilariously loud,  full of angry swears and meaningless threats. If he’s a ler, he’s absolutely dangerous and will destroy you with revenge tickles. Naturally Ethan and Lyra tickle him the most; immune to his grouchy attitude and determined to make their rival smile. Silver will claim he hates it, but deep down, he kinda likes it. He’ll just never admit to it, though.

Gah! These were so much fun to write! I hope you all like it!

[zalk909192]

Animal Sanctuary

AfuHiru Month - 22.08.19 Day Five_ Animal Sanctuary Rating_ Very light, very softies. What’s in here?_ another first contact between the blondies of my heart, reptiles and rodents, obnoxious friend  Ao3 here, folks (Prompt List) by Nene~

He has never loved animals.

Animals were all his life until that point.

He was scared of them, cats were too subtle, dogs too loud and messy.

He loved every kind of animal. Each one was different and they deserved food, a warm or cold place to live, a lot of petting and a bunch of love.

Animals didn't like him, anyway. They've avoided him for all of his life.

Animals loved him. Since he had memories to remember, they felt the love and looked for him.

That's why he had no animals in his life.

That's why he had an animal sanctuary.

__

Hiruma had no love for animals. It's not like he hated them, he didn't have any interest in them. They were like aliens, he didn't understand them and he preferred to be far away from them for both of the parts' sake. Dogs were too loud, too messy and too consistent, and attention-seeking. Cats were too subtle, too independent, too cold. And he was a little bit uncomfortable with cats. Birds and rodents... and if he was a little afraid of feathers, lovely furry little friends were afraid of him. So both of them were a nope. Anyway, his life was full enough even without a pet by his side. He had just got his bachelor and was looking for an apartment in the city, tired of the common ground of the campus. But not even to say, prices were out of his league. He was looking for a room, then, and he found some nice accommodations; the first was with no windows and near the airport and the railway, the second had mold everywhere and the third... the third was totally fine for its price, the only problem was the flatmate. Her name was Anezaki Mamori, she was the owner of the place and her passion was cooking. This means he had a very little space fo his things in the kitchen and that the kitchen could have been full of noise even in the night, but Hiruma couldn't care less. The room was big, nice, clean, and with a private bathroom. Perfect. The second passion of Mamori was being obnoxious, but he found out this detail later. After a while, they clicked with each other and eventually, they became friends. At least, they spent a lot of time arguing over nothing important just for fun. Animals were one of their favorite topics. She insisted so bad about Hiruma and his indifference because she believed he just didn't have found the right species for him yet. Hiruma always laughed at her thesis until one day she looked in his eyes and "We are taking a pet with us." And Hiruma was "Not a chance." "The house is mine." "I pay my rent!" "You can choose." "That's like I'm taking a pet. No." "Come." "Where?" "To the Sanctuary." "To what?" "The Animal Sanctuary. Shut up and come. And take the coat! There are 8 degrees in the street, you can't go out with just a shirt!" And rolling his eyes, Hiruma went with her. And his coat. Even if a coat was unnecessary because he was always hot like Hell.

Hiruma was expecting a cottage, a chalet, a zoo, a church maybe, but- He wasn't expecting another apartment, sixth floor of a normal residential building. When they arrived he looked at Mamori and she shrugged her shoulders. "You'll be surprised by the number of abandoned animals we have right here in this city." No other words, she rang the bell. After a second they heard a voice screaming "I'm feeding the baby ferrets, one second!" Hiruma looked at Mamori and he saw a smile he didn't like so much. He felt like he was trapped. And he was ready to left and went home when the door opened and he saw a man standing in front of them. "Oh. Mamori, how could I have forgotten your visit." "Nah, I've nothing for you. But I have a friend and he is going to take home one of your needy friends~" "Mamo- no- absolutely, I'm not here to adopt, I'm sorry, but animals hate me an-" "Animals can't hate." The tone of voice was candid but dangerous. "Well, they avoid me very often and I don't have... interest. Mamori made up this thing but-" Afuro shook his head with a kind smile. "Don't worry, you've come this far. Come in, both of you... even if I've told you to bring only conscious people!" And he looked at Mamori harshly. Hiruma thought his eyes were powerful and scary at the same time. And they were red. A strange color. He entered the room and he finally was able to take off his coat with a sigh of relieved, and quickly to follow the flow and hanging it over a hook near the door like Mamori did right before him. Then he turned around and he was completely astonished by the vision. The entrance of the house was full of shelves and every shelf was full of cages with every possible kind of rodents you could think of and possibly more. "Oh." He has never seen anything like that. But like always, the rodents in the room started to squeak a bit and Afuro instantly noticed it. Not a single of his little friends were looking at the new human. Strange enough to make him frown; they were always happy to see new faces. It was sad. It wasn't hate. It was fear. "Let's have some tea, shall we?" And he pushed the new guy in the next room, followed by a chuckling Mamori. There were few cages, but isolated one to the other and covered with dark drapes. Hiruma was strangely uncomfortable by the exact moment he was in. "What-" "Nocturnal. Almost birds of prey, you know. They are waiting for another Sanctuary to be accepted, they are here just for a stall, I don't have the space to treat them well enough." He seemed really sorry about that and Hiruma didn't pry more. But that room wasn't the final destination. The door after was the final one. A nice kitchen, with three chairs and a round table in a corner by a big window. It was cozy, warm, and... "That's a-" "A fox. She is good, don't worry. Her name is Pollon. She is a softie by heart." "I've never seen a fox. Live." "Go ahead, then." Hiruma was surprised again, when could you see a fox in such a random moment of your life? He approached her gently and Pollon smelled him for a moment. Like some serious shit was going on. Then, she simply retreats. Fast. Hiruma was a bit hurt by avoidance, but he accepted it. He knew it. Afuro was freaking out inside. He looked at Pollon, she was already following Mamori, who was in charge of the tea like always, hoping for a snack. Oh, poor- wait. What was his name? "I'm Afuro Terumi, owner of this Sanctuary. Yes, I rescue animals for a living. Take a seat, the maid will be here soon with the tea." He said out loud and the hissing of Mamori was perfectly audible from where they were. Hiruma laughed and sat, looking at the fox. What a pity. "I'm Hiruma Yoichi. Friend and flatmate of the maid." "I can hear you." Afuro smiled, looking at him like he wanted to know his deepest secret. "Happy to finally meet you, then. Mamori says you are a pain, but a funny one." "I hope so or I should ask myself why she hadn't evicted me yet." Afuro was... nice. He left the impression of a confident person, gracefull, even dangerous but with a golden heart. Hiruma liked him like a bee could like a colorful flower. Or like a mosquito could like the blue light of the death. Afuro asked him about animals. He asked about his attitude towards them and with some unmotivated shame, he apologized for his fox behavior. Hiruma laughed. It was fine, nothing new. If animals couldn't hate, they couldn't offend too. But Afuro was offended by the universe. How could a man scare animals so much? And how dare his animals to fear such a nice young man? He was nice, gentle. Yeah, ok, he had sharp teeth, pointy ears, but he had met scarier people who were loved at 100% by his fox. He was the exception he didn't want to know about. The maid and their teas arrived and the talk about life in general for a while. Then, Hiruma asked about his animals. Only rodents, a fox and some occasional stalls? He was ironic, Hiruma was thinking that much was more than enough but Afuro's eyes widened in surprise. "Of course no! Mamori... do you tell him about the reptiles? You know I don't want to have people who don't know..." "Ops. I forgot." Hiruma was looking at them. He wasn't scared of reptiles in general. He hadn't seen one in his life. "Yes, I rescue rodents and reptiles." "Can I meet them or...?" Afuro looked at him. He hesitated. After the weird reaction of the others... but he used the word "meet" and not the word "see". He liked that. A lot. "Yes, of course. Follow me." Afuro returned in the rodent's room and opened a door leading to... it was amazing. Snakes. Even some salamanders, iguanas, chameleons, frogs, but- Snakes. Hiruma walked through the door and his mouth fell open. Afuro had a nice smile on his face, while he was going straight to the nearest glass-case and starting to explain something Hiruma didn't hear at all. There was something strange going on. Like he was looking at them, they were looking back. At least thirty pairs of eyes were following every move he did. With their nose pressed on the glass, their eyes wide opened like they were really interested. Afuro noticed it after some seconds and his mouth fell open as well. "They- they've never reacted like this." Hiruma took a few steps until the first glass cage. Mamori had a strange smile on her face when he lowered his face to look in the eyes of the snake. He was a ball python, a pretty common one. They glared at each other like they were having a conversation, then the python gently booped the glass with his head. Hiruma smiled. Mamori went straight to the point. "I told you. You hadn't met the right one yet." Afuro was already next to Hiruma, watching by himself at what was happening. "You hypnotize them?" He was speculating, with a soft voice. "She is Narnia. She likes to abscond under the fridge." "And what about that?" Hiruma was looking a bit higher, now. "He is a Cobra named Zen. He sleeps most of the time and he is an aggressive son of a- mh... Not with you, it's miracle." He whispered the last part because that situation was too abnormal: Zen wasn't in combat mode, he was almost waving at the finger Hiruma put on the glass. Insane. Afuro did it once to see the reaction and he didn't even want to remember it. Talking about his snakes, he described them to Hiruma until he stopped by the glass of a black python. It was the newest, found in a box not far from there five days before like it was a kitten. "And about...?" "He doesn't have a name. He's a Coulbert constrictor, I think. I can't say if he is young or aged, it's only thirty centimeters, but some of his kind only reach the fifty centimeters." Afuro shrugged, looking at Hiruma furtively, by little glances. His expression was pure gold. He felt a bit for it. "If you want you can hold it." For the first time, since Hiruma stepped into the room, he looked at Afuro instead of a snake. "Can I?" But Afuro was already on a chair, removing the little one, who immediately strangled his wrist. "Being a constrictor he is going to strangle you. Don't make it go to your throat. He can't kill be it can be annoying, ok?" Hiruma was already staring at the constrictor and he just accosted the hand to the snake, but at last... it wasn't necessary. The black one was ready. When that hand was near enough, he crawled with a little hiss around the palm and then the wrist of Hiruma, who chuckled a little. "It's cold." The snake, by the way, seemed to have found his paradise. And Afuro could see why. He accidentally touched Hiruma's skin and he was hot. Really hot. Like ha had a fever, but he was fine all the time, so... The constrictor rolled up against his arm and Hiruma dared to boop his head. He was a little confused, maybe, the fact is he saw the shirt of Hiruma and he decided to run away, right through the gap between the buttons. Hiruma laughed, letting him do whatever he wanted e Afuro, once again, was surprised by the confidence the snake had with that guy. And vice-versa. "Maybe because you are so hot?" Another guessing, just some words he didn't think he was saying out loud. Hiruma looked at him and started laughing. "What kind of hot?" Afuro blushed a little. Maybe every kind of hot. "I mean, your temperatures." He touched the forehead of Hiruma like he wanted to see if he had a fever. "At least 37 degrees. Maybe 38. Of course, he loves you. You are hot." "Only this kind of hot? It's a shame." But he was distracted by the snake, he was on his back, crawling up straight to the shirt collar and Hiruma turned his head to face him with a smile. What a stupid and vacant look he had, he was funny. Hiruma, with firm hands, took the little guy and it crawled to strangle his wrist lying his head on his palm. He hissed quietly. But he was put again in his glass cage and the two guys talked a lot about snakes, about their habit in captivity and in the wild, about what every one of them liked to eat. Hiruma listened to Afuro, at some point, caressing a boa named Bliny. She was long around three meters and her weight was at least thirty kilograms. Afuro told him the previous owner was forced to gave her away when he had to return to his hometown, in Russia. Bliny is, of course, the name of some traditional crumpets. Hiruma started with Bliny on his shoulder until she crawled all around his body, trying to undress him for being in contact with his skin. Hiruma struggled a bit, then he nervously accepted and took off his shirt. Afuro, inside, had a bit of a heart attack, because the vision was almost erotic. The dark greyish scales of Bliny on the white skin of Hiruma were hypnotizing. He liked it. Hiruma was thin but strong. He had Bliny on his shoulder for almost an hour and he was still standing like it was nothing. Afuro could feel the warm Hiruma was emanating, staying next to him. Then, Hiruma gently moved Bliny to her glass box, and back to the door, he dared to ask. "Can I touch Zen?" Afuro glace at him. "He is a fucker. And he is venomous." "He seems adorable." "I don't want a corpse." They changed the subject of the conversation and Afuro was so relaxed he forgot about Mamori. And by the way, Mamori had left them alone ages before, going to read a book in the kitchen. Nobody cared enough to notice and Mamori was ok with that. Hiruma was taking home a little friend, she knew it. She was happy to stick around for a while. Pollon was on her lap to keep her company. What else could she ask? But eventually, Afuro noticed her absence and leaving Hiruma alone, he did go to find her, like the nice host he was. After some words, he returned to the reptiles and he held back a cry. Hiruma was the most inconsiderate person on the planet. He had Zen in his hands, out of the case, he was talking to him with a calm voice and Afuro thought, and not for the first time that day, that he would love to have sex with Hiruma. But- "Put him down, please." Soft voice, but both Hiruma and Zen looked at him. And Zen wasn't happy to see him, because he hissed and his hood popped out in a matter of seconds. Hiruma was so surprised he whispered an "oh" and Zen turn toward his face with another hiss. Hiruma smiled and... Afuro was done. "HOW DID YOU DO THAT." Because Zen was snuggling against Hiruma's neck like a dam cat. "I don't know!" And Hiruma, caressing him like he really was a kitten, put him back in his little glass house, safe and sound. When the risk was off again, Afuro frowned and went to Hiruma looking pretty angry. "God, I don't know if you are lucky or talented, but I know you are an imbecile! What the heck did you think?" "Nothing happened, right?" "That's not the point!" "Yeah, well, I just wanted to see if- ok, your snakes, you know them. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done it." ...but he was clear he wasn't sorry at all, with that obnoxious grin on his face. Afuro sighed, be he wasn't so angry about it. Hiruma was thrilling. He was probably a natural. "Since you like them so much, you should come again to help with the feeding." "Oh yes, please." The instant reply was pleasant. But it was just for the snakes or...? "I mean, I don't want to bother you." "Not at all, I like your presence here. And they like it too, can't you see?" Afuro was smiling at him and Hiruma suddenly reminded himself he was half-naked. He reached for his shirt and put it on. "We should exchange our numbers" he suggested with a cunning smile. "It seems like a good idea." ...maybe it wasn't just for the snake. The smiled at each other and just in time, Mamori was at the door, yawning. "I'm going. Afuro, this is your free evening, right?" "Yes, well, Suzuno and Nagumo should be here in less than an hour. Why do you-" "Then you should come to our house, Mamori made a pretty decent lemon cake." Mamori muttered and frowned because her lemon cake was perfect, not only decent, but Afuro was happy just looking at the snake whisperer. "Why not, then?" They ignored Mamori and went out of the house even before her, laughing when she complained about the fact that she didn't exist for them. But inside, Mamori was happy. At last, Hiruma took home a needy one, right?

[mybeautifuldecay]

Private Tutor. Chapter Seven: Woe Is All I Possess.

Part One. Part Two. Part Three. Part Four. Part Five. Part Six. 

Anonymous said: Can these two in The Tutor do the naked pretzel already? Hwat!

Getting there, anon, getting there. A wee bit of slow a burn. 

I hope Sunday is treating everyone well...here’s part 7, enjoy <3 

Kicking at the dried mud that lined the pavement, Claire wandered aimlessly in the dark. The credit card (the only one in her own name) burned a hole in her pocket as she considered simply booking herself into the nearest hotel for the night. Pure stubbornness kept her walking onwards though. It didn’t matter that it was *her* card, Frank could still track her spending and the moment she checked into somewhere, he was sure to turn up and she was in no mood to face him again.

As the night slipped on, Claire walked herself out of her small neighbourhood and closer to the city centre. It was clear where her feet were taking her, back towards The Mitchell, but it was certainly closed by now. She sighed. With no mobile phone she had no way to contact anyone. Jamie had given her his mobile number and Claire’s heart skipped a beat as she realised that it was scrawled messily in her own handwriting in the back of her Moleskine.

The trouble came with finding a working phonebox, she was still in a mostly residential area and the advent of mobile phones had virtually decimated all of the red BT boxes that used to litter the streets.

“Shit.” She cursed openly as she trudged onwards.

It was the lights of a pub that caught her eye as she remembered Jamie saying something about his uncle, who managed the pub somewhere in the city. Walking with more purpose now, she headed into the outskirts of Glasgow until she managed to find a phone box that seemed to actually have a working landline hooked up to it.

Dialling the number she held her breath as she waited for him to answer. It rang out for quite a while but just as Claire was about to replace the receiver when a familiar voice answered.

“Hello?”

He sounded sleepy and Claire immediately felt bad for waking him.

“Hey, Jamie, it’s Claire,” she said holding the old phone close to her ear, “I didn’t know who else to call...I mean,” she continued stumbling over her words, “I *have* nobody else to call.”

“Dinna apologise, lass,” he said, sounding more awake now, “what’s wrong? Do ye need me to come and get you?”

“I--” she began, not knowing what to say now she actually had him on the phone, “I’m close to the library. Frank and I, we had a row and I walked out. I just left. I’ve been walking around for hours not really knowing what to do. I know I can’t go back to the house and I can’t book into a hotel.”

“Ye dinna need to be alone, Claire, tell me where ye are and I’ll come and get you, aye? Dinna fash.”

“I’ll walk to The Mitchell and meet you there.” She replied, the nervous butterflies in her stomach easing at his suggestion. “And Jamie?”

“Aye, Claire.” “Thank you...for this.”

“Nay bother.” He said, smiling as he replaced the phone and grabbed his car keys.

--

Claire had been silent for the entire journey back to Jamie’s flat which sat above the public house. The patrons of his uncle's pub were still drinking away when they pulled into the car park.

“This is me. Murtagh’s running the late shift tonight so we can go straight upstairs if ye like, or we can go for a wee tipple? Whatever ye fancy, Claire. Have you eaten?”

The questions bubbled over as Jamie took the keys out of the ignition and turned to Claire who was still sat, stoic, in the passenger seat. Wanting to give her time to relax, Jamie hadn’t worried about her being quiet on the drive over but curiosity was getting the better of him now they were sat in the empty lot.

“A drink would be perfect. I don’t think I can sleep just yet.”

Nodding, the pair exited the car and walked the short distance to the entrance of the pub. Jamie opened the door, letting the warm air waft over them as they found a small table away from most of the action.

“It wouldna usually be this busy but the football was on earlier. It always gets quite jolly…” he said diplomatically as Claire looked around, glancing at the more than inebriated clientele of the bar.

“Jolly.” Claire echoed, chuckling under her breath. “Great description.” Her shoulders sagged a little as she sat back in the comfy booth.

“Whisky?” Jamie asked, taking a punt on the type of drink she might like.

“God yes.” She replied, a large smile forming on her face at the suggestion.

“Anything ye like in particular?”

“I don’t mind too much, just no single malts.” She said, winking as she twiddled a beer mat between her fingers.

When he returned, Jamie had two tumblers in his hands and a bag of salt and vinegar crisps between his teeth. Placing the doubles on the beer mats and the crisps on the table, he sat beside Claire and pointed over to the heavily bearded man behind the bar. “That’s my uncle Murtagh. Him and his wife, Suzette, bought this place outright a few years ago. They work really hard to keep business booming. Susie cooks in the kitchen mostly and I help when I have free time - in return, Murtagh lets me stay in the flat above.”

“It’s close to the university and the library,” Claire noted, “a very good deal, I’d say.” Holding her glass up, she clinked it against Jamie’s before slugging back the amber liquid in one shot.

“Christ, lass,” Jamie exclaimed, his eyes wide, “if ye keep that up I’ll be carrying you upstairs in an hour when yer legs go from under ye!”

“Are you saying you think I can’t hold my booze, sir?” She returned, a naughty glint in her eye as she held up her now-empty glass. “Because I can assure you, Jamie lad, I am very...adept...at drinking. Bring it on, Fraser.”

--

“Ye have to tell me,” Jamie said, his voice steady and sure with no hint of the huge amount of alcohol he and Claire had just consumed, “what de ye and...erm…”

“Frank,” Claire interjected, nudging Jamie’s side. He knew Frank’s name, Claire was certain, but the more drunk they got, the more playful and daft Jamie became. It was like a breath of fresh air to be out having fun instead of stuck in a stuffy old hall, mansion or Masonic lodge, surrounded by consummate professionals talking business and quaffing ridiculously small glasses of port.

“Aye, that’s the fella. Ye and Frank, what did ye fight over?”

“I’ve spent too much time being his trophy wife, the mostly silent woman on his arm. I’m fucking sick of it.” She replied, her jaw clenching with anger as she thought back on their heated argument.

Taken aback by her swearing -he’d never heard her curse before- Jamie spat a mouthful of whisky back into his glass and spluttered until he’d regained himself once more.

Claire quirked a brow, clinking her wedding ring against the crystal tumbler as she placed it back on the table and grabbed another crisp from the dwindling packet that Jamie had opened out onto the varnished wood that separated them. “He came home early. We had an engagement in the diary and I’d gone out for the afternoon, I didn’t even check so I had no idea and when I finally came back he was waiting for me. Frank lives his own life, he goes to work, buggers off for weeks on end to events and then expects me to be at home like a good little wife. But he didn’t even have the decency to tell me when he was coming back, never mind the funding dinner he’d arranged. So I told him where he could shove his patriarchal bullshit attitude...and left.”

“Yer so brave, sassenach.” Jamie returned, his eyes growing heavy as the pub grew quiet around them. Most of the drunken football fans had filtered away throughout the last hour but Claire and Jamie had been so lost in one another that they’d failed to notice Murtagh locking the front door and sneaking off to bed.

‘Brave?” She replied. “Or stupid?”

Jamie shook his head and placed his hand over hers, rubbing the backs of her fingers with his own. “Definitely brave.”

“For so long I’ve been plodding along, all *woe is all I possess…* like Cathy in ‘Wuthering Heights’ and when I came home to Frank’s bad attitude, something in me just snapped.”

“He doesna ken what he has.” Jamie whispered, his head bending closer to Claire’s as she shifted closer to him.

“We used to love one another, I think.” she sighed, closing her eyes as she tilted her head. She could feel Jamie’s breath now as it fanned across her face and immediately forgot what she was trying to say, her mind thinking only of Jamie and what he might feel like pressed against her.

“I can stop…” Jamie murmured, his mouth coming dangerously close to hers, “I dinna want to, but I will.”

“It’s alright,” Claire replied, her free hand coming up to cup his jaw as she ran her fingers through the short bursts of stubble that had grown in throughout the day, “because I don’t want you to stop either. Is that wrong?”

“Nah.” He sighed. “No’ wrong at all.”

“Good,” she said before her lips moulded to his, stealing the rest of the words from her mouth as his tongue caressed hers - neatly fitting one to the other in the dim light of the West End family pub as the grandfather clock in the corner chimed midnight.

[welcome-to-my-daydreams]

Man in the Storm 4

Summary: It’s rut season at the compound. Omega Reader plans to ride it out alone, locked in her room away from any unwanted Alphas. But she finds that to be a lot easier said than done when the team’s strongest Alpha pays a visit.

Pairings: Alpha!Thor x Omega!Reader

Type: Series (A/B/O Dynamics)

Warnings: exes fighting, aggressive behaviour that gets slightly physical, mention of arousal. Bucky stans might be mad at me after this.

Word Count: 1,676

A/N: My first time really writing angst and I had fun! Thor’s a sweetheart and I just want to hug him.

Part 3, Part 5

Masterlist

After training day had finished you B-lined it straight to your room and stayed there for the whole night. The next day you told Wanda you weren’t feeling well and bought yourself another day of solitude. You weren’t lying. Not technically anyway. You weren’t feeling all that well. The fluttering in your stomach and your racing mind had been exhausting. You tried everything to make yourself feel better. From taking a nice long bath with epsom salts and watching your favourite movies to drinking sleepy tea and napping all day.

This was one of the most annoying things about being an Omega. Sometimes you simply had no control over your body and it could betray you at any moment. Everything could be thrown off course in a matter of seconds. All it took was an Alpha that had all the goods and you’d basically have to hand yourself over to your second nature. 

 This hadn’t been a problem for you for so long. 

Until he arrived.

It wasn’t just the physical attraction that your body was responding to, either. He had ignited a curiosity in you. You enjoyed his company and wanted to listen to more of his stories from Asgard. To here is deep, rumbling voice. To train with him again, to ask him more about himself. You wanted him close to you and feel his touch on your skin. 

Only you were too stubborn to actually go to him.

You just met him, after all. Yet somehow his presence had you laying in bed, wrapped in a blanket watching Netflix with what felt like 2 million butterflies in your stomach. You felt in this subtle sense of arousal all day and though you tried to ignore it, you had to give in and relieve yourself a few times. His smell stayed with you and any time he walked past your door to his room it got stronger. You could tell where he was on the residential floor at all times. 

It was like you were connected.

You weren’t going through your heat yet, but you knew it wasn’t too far around the corner. Some of the team had already been set off and the smell of the compound was growing ever thicker. You realized that you had run upstairs so fast the night before that you had forgotten to stop by Banner’s lab to get some more pills and the one you took yesterday had warn off. 

Wanda came to check up on you sometime in the afternoon. She joined you under the covers and you watched some tv together until she finally addressed the elephant in the room. 

“I can feel the tension coming off you from across the property, (y/n). Are you feeling ok?” You sat up and rested your back against the headboard, releasing a deep sigh, “I’m exhausted. I thought I could handle this season alone, but it hasn’t even really started and I’m already a mess.” 

Wanda nodded, “Are you sure it’s the rut? And not a particular Alpha that you’ve been spending time with?” She smiled knowingly.

You cocked an eyebrow and laughed, “Did Wilson talk to you?” she nodded yes. You shook your head in disbelief, “He’s such a gossip!” You both giggled at your true words. She sat up next to you, “Look, we don’t have to talk about it. I just hate to feel you suffering. I know you wanted to go this season alone so if you ever need help, I’m here.” She reached into her pocket and pulled something out.

“Banner and Tony have left for their conference, they won’t be back for a few days but I found a bottle from before Vis and I were together and there was one pill left. Take it.” She placed a pill in your hand and smiled. You hugged her, thankful to have her looking out for you. “Thank you Wanda, you’re a lifesaver.”

“Do you want me to help you get some sleep?” She asked, wiggling her fingers around and producing a small amount of red smoke. You shook your head no, “I think this will give me all the help I need.”

She gave you a quick kiss on the forehead before heading out of the room and closing the door.

Once you were feeling more of yourself again, you made certain that everyone had gone to bed and snuck out of your room. Heading to the private kitchen that Tony had installed on The Avenger’s floor (for those days when he really didn’t want to eat with the pack). 

When you turned the corner you noticed a dim light was already on and you found Bucky sitting at the kitchen island eating some cereal. 

You were surprised you didn’t recognize his scent but then realized it was well mixed with Melissa’s by now. You smiled hello at him and grabbed yourself a bowl and sat across from him. 

“Can’t sleep?” You asked.

Bucky answered by shaking his head, “I didn’t want to wake her.”

You nodded and continued eating the cereal in your bowl. But you stopped when you felt eyes still on you. You looked up to see a confused look on his face.

“What?” You asked him. Slightly annoyed that he was staring at you. 

“You smell different.” He said with slight hostility. “Do I? I took the pill earlier, maybe that’s why.” You offered. But Bucky shook his head, finally breaking his gaze.

“Nope, that’s not it.”

“Oh.” you said. You went back to your cereal, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. Bucky continued after a long awkward silence, “You shouldn’t take that shit anyway, Omega. It’s not good for you.”

You put your spoon down and took deep inhale. You were tired, frustrated and full of pent up tension and you did not want to be lectured now. “What does it matter to you anyway Barnes?” You challenged him. Trying to make it clear that now was none of his business. 

Bucky’s face turns dark at your sudden attitude. “Just trying to help you out Omega.” He rolled his eyes.

You clenched your jaw at the thought of him helping you out. Just like how he’s been helping you out ever since he dumped you. You then remembered your earlier conversation with Nat about how Bucky just likes to hold on to things that were once his. 

And it hit a nerve. 

“Oh wow Buck. Thanks! What would I ever do without my Alpha to tell me what to do? Oh wait. You’re not my Alpha!” You see his eyes grow dark and his nostrils flare as he clenched his jaw. He was not one to be spoken to like this, especially by an Omega. 

“Watch your mouth, Omega.”

But there was no stopping you now. “In fact Barnes, I’m pretty sure you were never my Alpha. You made that pretty clear when you started fucking your precious Melissa without even telling me you were done with whatever it was that we had. So stop it! Just let me move on with my life and stop trying to “help me out” all the time!” 

With that Bucky got up from his chair and marched over to you, getting right in your face and pushing your back into the granite counter. “Move on? Move on to who exactly? Is that what I smell on you?” He growled. His flesh hand had a hold of your wrist and you tried not to wince from his squeeze.

You steeled your resolve and stood up straight. Not backing down to his attempt at intimidation. 

”Don’t be like this Bucky. It’s not you. Just go to your Omega. It’s for the best.” He paused for a moment, then gave up the fight and stormed out of the room. You looked down to see pieces of the granite countertop had chipped away under his metal hand.

You took a deep breath and pushed your cereal to the side. The adrenaline pumping through your veins was ruining your appetite. At first you were bothered by the ridiculous interaction with your ex just moments before. But you also felt strangely empowered by it. You had never stood up to an Alpha like that before and you were wondering what had come over you. 

But you were reminded of the answer as you walked back down the hallway to return to your room. You stopped in front of your door as you picked up the scent that had been taunting you for the last 2 days. 

You looked down the hall to where his room was located. He was so close.

You let go of your door knob and made a few steps further down the hall towards Thor’s bedroom. But stopped yourself again. 

You tugged at your bottom lip with your teeth and debated back and forth over the idea. Eventually deciding to turn back. 

When you got inside you closed your door behind you and fell face first onto your mattress.

Thor was standing next to the back of his door as he heard you return to your room. He had sensed your argument with Bucky. Not on purpose, but his heightened senses made it hard to ignore the energy coming off of both of you. 

It took all his power not to intervene and toss Sergeant Barnes across the room. It wouldn’t have been hard, but you had seemed to have it covered. 

He was moments away from opening the door and inviting you in when he smelt you coming closer to his room. But as intoxicating as you were, (and as much as you had drove him crazy by holding up in your room all day) he could sense your hesitation.

He walked over to his bed and stretched out over the sheets, bringing his right arm up to rest under his head and smiled to himself before closing his eyes.

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[let-it-go-and-let-it-live]

Reckless

Steve Rogers x Aria

Word Count: ~3200

Warnings: Language, Angst, SMUT, Dom!Steve

Summary: Bucky and Natasha take it upon themselves to ease the tension between Steve and Aria... by locking them in a room together. 

A/N: Just a little background: So the other day, I was angry for pretty much no reason. I channeled that anger into the first part of this. I will admit I was expecting this to go a slightly different direction. That’s to say the dom/sub thing was not technically supposed to happen but whatever. It’s here now. Have fun.

It’s been ten minutes. I’ve been banging relentlessly on this door since Natasha shoved me into the room.

“Let me out of here, Natalia!”

“You can scream and beg all you want, but I’m not letting you out.”

I groan, kicking the door and stomping away from it. I hear the whirring of the mechanical lock, but before I can rush the door, Steve is shoved inside and the door is slammed shut again.

“Oh hell no!” I shout, quickly returning to my assault on the door.

“Give it up, doll.” Steve sighs, “They had FRIDAY seal the door. They’re probably long gone by down.”

I turn on my heels to face him, “Was this your idea?”

He scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest, “What makes you think I would choose to be locked in a room with you?”

“Hell if I know, Captain. Maybe you’ve got some weird kind of fantasy you’re trying to live out. Then again, you’re such a fucking prude, something like this is probably way out of your league.”

At first, he looks shocked. Then shock turns to anger as his nostrils flare and he slowly lets out a deep breath that punctuated with a growl-like sound.

“What’s the matter, Stevie, cat got your tongue?”

He pinches the bridge of his nose, speaking through clenched teeth, “Will you shut the fuck up?”

“Woah.” I gasp, feigning shock, “Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”

“Do you ever stop talking?” he shouts, “All you ever do is run your mouth, and it always gets you into trouble. The funny part is you only argue with me. If Natasha or anyone else gives you an order, you’re quick to do whatever they ask of you, but God forbid I try to give you an order…”

“You wanna know why I don’t listen you?”

“Enlighten me.”

“I don’t like you. In fact, I kinda hate you.”

“You hate me?”

“I hate that ‘holier than thou’ attitude you seem to have. You treat everyone else but me like an equal. I know I’m young. I know I’m new, but I’m just as qualified to be on this team as anyone. It seems like you don’t fucking see that, but why would you? The great Captain America can do no wrong, right? He’s the leader of the Avengers, the Star-Spangled Man with a goddamn Plan.” I heave a deep sigh, throwing my hands out in defeat, “I don’t feel good enough to be here, and that feeling makes me hate you because I blame you.”

“Aria…” he takes a step toward me.

“Don’t!” I shout, taking a step back, “You don’t get to pull that sympathetic tone with me.”

“Look. I don’t mean to treat you that way, but you said it yourself. You’re young. You’re new, and the risks you take on missions are not worth it.”

“This risks I’ve taken have saved lives on this team more than once.”

“But you’re no use to us dead.”

We stare at each other in a heated silence, the tension is the room practically tangible as it surrounds.

“FRIDAY, I need you to open the door.”

“I was instructed_”

“Just open it. Please.”

The mechanical sound of the lock sliding free is like music to my ears. I turn away from Steve and go to the door, wrenching it open. Bucky and Natasha are leaning against the opposite wall, and they both look guilty, like they know they messed up.

“Aria…” Natasha speaks, her voice laced with the hopeful effects of the oncoming apology I don’t let her finish.

Instead, I scoff, dismissing her with a wave of my hand and walking away. I go straight for my room, bypassing and ignoring the concerned stares of my teammates. I collect my gym bag and head for the workout room to beat my frustrations into a punching bag or two.

…

I don’t know how long I’m in that room.

A layer of sweat covers my body. I’ve had to change the wraps on my hands and feet at least four times. I’ve got three bag set up around me: two hanging and one standing. I can’t hear much over the music that fills the room. I’m somewhere in the middle of “Wreak Havoc” when it shuts off.

“What the fuck?” I groan, dropping my fists and throwing my head back.

“We need to talk,” It’s Steve’s voice that reaches me, “and I mean really talk.”

“I’m done talking. Now turn my music back on and leave.”

“You want to take your anger out on something, take it out on me.”

“Steve.”

“I’m the one who caused it, right? You said you hate me so prove it. Come over here and kick my ass.”

I sigh. My hands go to my hips. My head drops, and I look up at him through my lashes. I trail my thumb over my bottom lip, shaking my head and walking toward the mat he now stands on.

I get into my stance, putting my right foot forward and raising my fist to eye level.

“Take your best shot.” He says.

I bring my right fist back, feigning a right hook as my right foot meets his side. He grunts but recovers quickly. When my right fist comes up again, he moves to block my foot but instead takes my fist to his cheek.

“Damn it.”

“You told me to take my best shot.” I chuckle, “Now fight back!”

He lunges at me, but I duck out of his reach. We fight after that, trading blows that probably would have severely injured anyone else, but he’s a super soldier and I’ve been trained to take the pain.

He catches my left wrist in his right hand. My wrap my hand around his wrist and turn to flip him, but he takes the upper hand when he kicks my feet from underneath me. I land face first against the mat. I roll over the get up, but he positions himself over me, his knees on either side of my body. I groan on displeasure, raising my hands to start swinging at him. His expression is serious as he shakes his head and catches each one of my wrists in his hands.

“Aria!” he warns, tightening his grip when I start to fight against him, “Aria, stop!”

I take a deep breath and let it all out at once.

“You’re a great fighter, and I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for this team. I know you think you’re doing some kind of great service by fighting to protect us, but your life is worth protecting too.” He sighs, “I’m sorry I make you feel inferior. It’s not my intention, and I’ll work on that.”

“That’s all I wanted.”

Even though we’re both smiling now, the tension is still there, though not as volatile. He shallows thickly, his smile fading as his tongue passes over his bottom lip. His gaze flickers to my lips and back up to my eyes as if asking for permission. He’s still holding my wrists so I can’t pull him to me. I decide to raise up from the mat, catching his lips in a kiss so heated I can practically feel my body temperature rising.

Then, rather unexpectedly, he gathers both of my wrists in one of his hands and breaks the kiss. He pins my wrist above my head. He breathes heavily through parted lips, his eyes locked with mine.

“You called me a prude.” His whispers, his lips hovering barely an inch over mine.

“I did.”

“Well, I’m gonna need you take that back.”

“Can’t do that, Captain.”

“And why not?”

“Because a simple kiss does not prove sexual prowess.”

His smile is full of mischief. His eyes trail my body, the fingertips of his free hand grazing over my collarbone, over the zipper on my sports bra, down the plain of my bare stomach before teasing them under the waistband of my shorts.

“You know, everyone has it in their heads that I was a virgin before I went under, but they all seem to forget that I was Captain America for years before then. Women threw themselves at me, and while I didn’t sleep with all of them, I enjoyed my fair share of them. I know things, doll, and I would love to show you what I know.”

“Then show me.”

He shakes his head slowly, “You have to earn it.”

“I’ll admit I was wrong. It seems you might have a bit of a dark side.”

His knee presses against my thighs, urging them to open for him. His other knee joins the first, spreading my thighs even further. He turns his hand, fingertips moving further down. I roll my hips into his touch as he teases my entrance. I moan softly as he slowly drags his fingers through my folds and stops at my clit.

“Come on, baby doll, tell me what you want.”

My words catch in my throat as he applies a gentle pressure, the pad of his fingertip moving in slow circles.

“Tell me, doll, or I’ll stop.”

When I don’t answer right away, he pulls his hand away.

“No.”

“No?”

“Please.” I whine, “No.”

“Then say it. Tell me what you want.”

“I want you to go faster, harder.” I struggle against his hold on my wrists, “I want more.”

“No more reckless behavior.” He says roughly, grinding his hips down against mine.

“I’ll be good for you, Captain. I promise.”

“Good.”

With more roll of his hips, he pulls away completely and rises to his feet.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“We’re not going to do this here.”

“But the others…”

“I’ve already thought about that. We’re going to go back upstairs. I’m going to drag you along as angrily as I can. You can choose how you deal with that, but you can’t look happy about it. I don’t want their suspicion or their scrutiny, so if you give us away, you will pay for it.” He takes my chin in his hand, “Do you understand?”

I nod my head slowly, “Yes, Captain.”

“Good girl.”

Then he takes my hand and pulls me toward the elevator. Once we’re back on the residential floor, his expression falls serious, so serious in fact that it’s almost scary. I bite my lip, trying to look both annoyed and angry. I spare a glance at the others as we pass them. Natasha and Bucky both still wear their masks of guilt. Her expression changes first to one of confusion when she sees the way he holds my hand; then it turns to understanding. Bucky’s expression follows suit while the others seem to remain in the confused state.

I hear Sam’s voice from down the hall, “I’ve never see him so mad.”

“I know what angry Steve looks like, and that’s not it.” Bucky says, and I can hear the smile in his voice.

Steve sighs as he opens his bedroom door and shoves me into the room.

“What did you do?” he asks, practically slamming the door shut before he presses me against it.

“Nothing. Bucky knows you, Steve. Did you really think you could get this past him?”

“You promise you did nothing to give us away?”

“I promise.”

“Good.” His fingers hook around the waistband of both my shorts and panties, “That makes this much easier.”

He drops to his knees in front of me, pulling the tight fabric to my ankles in one swift motion. I step free of it and he tosses it to the side. He hooks one of my legs over his shoulder, sending shivers up my spine as he kisses along my inner thigh. His hands move under my ass, pushing me up and forcing me to put my supporting leg over his other shoulder.

He looks up at me, smirking before flicking his tongue out and running it in a feather-light touch over my hip. My head hits the door as I gasp, his tongue now working its way around my sensitive little bundle of nerves. I try everything to keep from rolling my hips into it, but his movements have me shaking while my hands search for something to grab onto. I fist one of them into his hair while grabbing his shoulder with the other.

I whine, looking down at him when he suddenly pulls his lips away. I bite my lip at the pressure of two of fingers slowly pushing into my slick entrance.

“You ready to take it back?”

“I’ll take it all back if you just keep going.”

My back arches as his fingers slide all the way home in one, swift motion. My soft moans turn to strangled cries of pleasure as his fingers move inside of me.

“Do you wanna come, doll?”

The roughness of his voice brings my gaze down to his.

“Do ya?”

I nod my head furiously, combing my fingers through his hair. My tongue licks over my bottom lip, pulling it between my teeth as his fingers curl up and pass over that sweet spot deep inside. He keeps this movement up as his tongue moves deep between my folds and finds my clit again.

“Cap, baby, I’m so close.”

He moans against me, and the vibrations alone send me reeling over the edge. I choke on the scream that begins to rise so it comes out like a soft squeak. He eases me back to the floor, his hands on my hips as he rises to his feet. My head falls back against the door, my eyes closed and a content smile on my face.

“We’re just getting started, sweetheart.”

First, he grabs the zipper of my sports bra and pulls it down. I let it fall from my body and to the floor. Then he pulls me away from the door, guiding me toward the bed. He lands a sharp smack against my ass as I climb onto the mattress.

He stands at the foot of the bed. A primal hunger brightens his eyes as they scan my body. I watch as he strips off his clothing layer by layer. His muscles flex with every little movement as he joins me on the bed. His touch against my cheek is gentle as he brings his lips down to mine. He raises my leg, my knee notched at his hip. Though lost in his kiss, I am well aware of the slow joining of our bodies. My lips tremble against his as he pushes deeper, every inch of his manhood stretching and filling me in the best way. I hold tight to his shoulders, my grip tightening and loosening in time with the rolling of is hips.

His kiss moves down my jaw when I turn my head, moaning through clenched teeth. He takes my hand from his shoulder and kisses my palm before lacing his fingers with mine and pinning my hand to the pillow beside my head. He does the same with my other hand. He leans away from me a bit, his eyes still on mine. He moves faster, harder; I press my feet into the small of his back to push him deeper.

“Fuck…” he hisses, his head falling forward.

“Cap…” I moan, “I want…”

“Tell me what you want.” He growls.

“Top.” I whimper, “I wanna be on top.”

He shakes his hands free of mine and pulls out, rolling onto his back. I move quickly to climb on top of him. My fingernails dig into his chest as my body readjusts to him. He holds my hips but lets me set my own pace as I roll my hips over his. I start slow, relishing in the sight on him beneath me. His pupils are blown wide, his eyes focused on where our bodies meet.

He groans, throwing his head back. I grab his chin, crashing my lips hard against his as euphoria clouds my mind. The tightening of my walls around him forces him to his own release. The movement of my hips slows as we both come back down.

I push myself up on his chest, smiling down at him. He smiles back, chuckling softly as he runs his fingers through his hair.

“What?” I giggle.

“Nothing.” He taps two fingers against his chest, “Come here.”

I bite my lip as I smile, laying my head on his chest. He trails his fingertips up and down either side of my spine. We stay there like that for a while in silence as our hearts and lungs settle back to normal. He breaks the silence.

“You said you hated me.”

“I did.”

“Did you mean it?”

“At the time.”

“And now?”

“I don’t know.”

His hands stop moving, resting flat against my back. He sighs, pushing me off of him and sitting up. I hug a pillow to my chest, hiding behind it as he finds his clothes.

“Steve…���

His back is to me as he pulls on his underwear and jeans.

“Steve, please, will you just listen to me?”

Though I expect to see anger when he turns to me, I only seen pain.

“Did you really expect everything to change just like that?”

“No but I thought it might be a start.”

“How can it be a start when it doesn’t mean anything?”

“Who said it didn’t mean anything?”

I shrink back from the strength in his voice, casting my gaze downward as I whisper, “Did it?”

The bed shifts as he kneels in front of me. He takes my face in his hands, raising my gaze to his, “Of course it did. The question is: did it mean something to you?”

I close my eyes, wrapping my hand around his wrist, “For the longest time, I just wanted you to see me for what I was really capable of, and I hated you for treating me like I was weak.”

“I know what you’re capable of, and I never thought you were weak. You’re behavior in the field just scares the hell out of me.”

I open my eyes to look at him, “I’ll try to do better.”

“And maybe, while you’re at it, you might try to hate me less.”

“Maybe hate was too strong of a word.”

He smiles, pulling me closer to kiss me.

“We should do this again some time.”

“Well, damn Cap, you could at least buy a girl dinner first.”

“That,” He kisses me again, “can definitely be arranged.”

I giggle, tossing the pillow away and wrapping my arms around his neck. A knock on the door pulls us away from one another. Bucky’s voice filters through the door.

“Does this mean we’re forgiven?”

Steve and I look at each other in silence for a moment before rolling over in laughter.

[aaronsniderus]

Housing Starts to Show Mixed Results – Market Update

I went with a few of my teammates from here at work to check out Black Panther this past weekend. Avengers: Infinity War is hitting theaters this Friday, and our partnership with the movie has me back on a comics kick.

There’s been an uptick in the stock market lately that’s at least equal to my uptick in superhero content consumption. I’m not going to claim a total correlation, but one of the movie ticket sales recorded in the retail sales numbers in March was from when I first saw Chadwick Boseman bring the Black Panther character to life.

I promise to cool it with referencing all the superheroes, but you can’t blame me for trying to make economic data a little more fun.

Headline News

Retail Sales

Retail sales were up 0.6% in March after falling slightly in February. Vehicle sales were a big reason for this bump, up 0.2% when cars and trucks were taken out.

Gas prices fell sharply in March. When these were further removed, retail sales went up 0.3% on the month. It’s also worth noting that prices of individual group categories, which excludes gas and other items, were up 0.5%.

Housing Market Index

Home builders have been just slightly less confident in the market for new homes in April as the number came in at 69, down from 70 last month.

Current sales are still strong at 75, despite being down two points. Meanwhile, future sales in the next six months were down a single point to 77. Finally, traffic of prospective buyers in new homes held steady from March at 51.

In terms of regional data, the West is the strongest region, coming in at 76 followed by the South at 72. The Midwest comes in at 64, with the South the laggard but still growing at 55.

Housing Starts

Housing starts increased 1.9% to 1.319 million units on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis in March. February revisions were also higher, coming in at 1.295 million units.

Unfortunately, the strength came solely from the multifamily housing segment, which increased to 452,000 units in March. However, single-family houses fell 3.7% in the starts category to 867,000 units.

On the permits side, these came in up 2.5% on month at 1.354 million. Single-family permits were at 840,000, 5.5% below where they were in February. Permits on the multifamily side were up 19% to 514,000.

Single-family unit construction completion was down 4.7%, with overall conclusions falling 5.1% overall to 1.217 million. The good news is housing under construction rose 0.3% to 1.125 million, the highest number since July 2007.

Industrial Production

Industrial production was up 0.5% in March. This is 4.5% higher than where it was a year ago. Manufacturing rose just 0.1%, while mining was up 1.0% as oil and gas digging were up. There was a 3.0% increase in utility production as well.

There was also more space being utilized in factories as capacity was up 0.3% to 78.0% overall in the month of March.

MBA Mortgage Applications

Mortgage applications were up 4.9% last week as the average rate on a 30 year-fixed conforming mortgage remained at 4.66%.

Purchase applications were up 6% and refinance applications were up 4%.

Jobless Claims

Initial claims were down 1,000 to 232,000 last week. On the other hand, the four-week moving average was up to 231,250, adding an additional 1,250 claims.

Continuing claims were down 15,000 to come in at 1.863 million. However, the four-week moving average was up 6,750 to come in at about 1.859 million.

Mortgage Rates

Last week, mortgage rates rose to the highest level they’ve been all year. If you’re looking to take cash out or buy and you see a rate you like, it makes sense to lock your rate.

The 30-year-fixed rate mortgage averaged 4.47% with 0.5 fees in points last week, up five basis points from the week prior. At this time a year ago, the rate was 3.97%.

In shorter terms, 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.94% with 0.4 points. This was up seven basis points on the week. Last year, this rate was 3.24%.

Finally, the 5-year treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) with 0.3 points in fees was up six basis points to 3.67%. Last year at this time, the rate was 3.10%.

Stock Market

It was a bad day for Apple stock on Friday as analysts at Morgan Stanley said iPhone sales for the June quarter will likely to fall short of investor expectations. This sent the company’s stock down 4.1% on the day and sent the Dow and Nasdaq both tumbling despite strong earnings from General Electric. Even on a bad day, it shows just how much of a tech giant Apple is.

The Dow Jones industrial average was still up 0.42% for the week despite being down 201.95 points on Friday to close at 24,462.94. The S&P 500 closed at 2,670.14 points, down 22.99 points for the day but up 0.52% on the week. Rounding things out, the Nasdaq was down 91.93 points Friday to finish at 7,146.13, still up 0.56% on the week.

The Week Ahead

Monday, April 23

Existing Home Sales (10:00 a.m. ET) – Existing Home Sales tallies the number of previously constructed homes, condominiums and co-ops in which a sale closed during the month. Existing homes (also known as home resales) account for a larger share of the market than new homes and indicate housing market trends.

Tuesday, April 24

FHFA House Price Index (9:00 a.m. ET) – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI) covers single-family housing using data provided by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The HPI is derived from transactions involving conforming conventional mortgages purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

S&P Case-Shiller HPI (9:00 a.m. ET) – The S&P Case-Shiller Home Pricing Index tracks monthly changes in the value of residential real estate in 20 metropolitan regions across the U.S.

Consumer Confidence (10:00 a.m. ET) – The Conference Board compiles a survey of consumer attitudes on the economy. The Consumer Confidence Index is based on consumer perceptions of current business and employment conditions, as well as their expectations when considering business conditions, employment and income.

New Home Sales (10:00 a.m. ET) – This measures the number of newly constructed homes with a committed sale during the month.

Wednesday, April 25

MBA Mortgage Applications (7:00 a.m. ET) – The mortgage applications index measures applications to mortgage lenders. This is a leading indicator for single-family home sales and housing construction.

Thursday, April 26

Durable Goods Orders (8:30 a.m. ET) – These are based on new orders placed with domestic manufacturers for factory hard goods.

International Trade in Goods (8:30 a.m. ET) – The Bureau of Economic Analysis has begun breaking out the goods from the remaining international trade numbers to get an idea of import and export estimates for GDP calculations.

Jobless Claims (8:30 a.m. ET) – New unemployment claims are compiled weekly to show the number of individuals filing for unemployment insurance for the first time. An increasing trend suggests a deteriorating labor market. The four-week moving average of new claims smooths out weekly volatility.

Friday, April 27

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (8:30 a.m. ET) – This measures the monetary value of all final goods and services produced within the U.S. This report is released on a quarterly basis.

Consumer Sentiment (10:00 a.m. ET) – The University of Michigan’s Consumer Survey Center questions 500 households each month on their financial conditions and attitudes about the economy. Consumer sentiment is directly related to the strength of consumer spending.

There’s a metric ton of economic data hitting next week that includes both new and existing home sales numbers as well as durable goods orders and GDP to give us a line on overall economic growth.

This stuff is important, but it doesn’t necessarily hold your attention on a Monday. We’ve got plenty more home, money and lifestyle content to share with you if you subscribe to the Zing Blog below.

If you’re looking for something to take your mind off the world for a while, check out this quiz that tells you which Avenger you would be based on your house preferences. Yeah, I’m having a hard time overcoming my inner child to get actual work done this week. If you’re going to see Avengers: Infinity War this weekend, enjoy the ride. Who’s your favorite Avenger? Let us know in the comments.

The post Housing Starts to Show Mixed Results – Market Update appeared first on ZING Blog by Quicken Loans.

from Updates About Loans https://www.quickenloans.com/blog/housing-starts-show-mixed-results-market-update

[mikebrackett]

Housing Starts to Show Mixed Results – Market Update

I went with a few of my teammates from here at work to check out Black Panther this past weekend. Avengers: Infinity War is hitting theaters this Friday, and our partnership with the movie has me back on a comics kick.

There’s been an uptick in the stock market lately that’s at least equal to my uptick in superhero content consumption. I’m not going to claim a total correlation, but one of the movie ticket sales recorded in the retail sales numbers in March was from when I first saw Chadwick Boseman bring the Black Panther character to life.

I promise to cool it with referencing all the superheroes, but you can’t blame me for trying to make economic data a little more fun.

Headline News

Retail Sales

Retail sales were up 0.6% in March after falling slightly in February. Vehicle sales were a big reason for this bump, up 0.2% when cars and trucks were taken out.

Gas prices fell sharply in March. When these were further removed, retail sales went up 0.3% on the month. It’s also worth noting that prices of individual group categories, which excludes gas and other items, were up 0.5%.

Housing Market Index

Home builders have been just slightly less confident in the market for new homes in April as the number came in at 69, down from 70 last month.

Current sales are still strong at 75, despite being down two points. Meanwhile, future sales in the next six months were down a single point to 77. Finally, traffic of prospective buyers in new homes held steady from March at 51.

In terms of regional data, the West is the strongest region, coming in at 76 followed by the South at 72. The Midwest comes in at 64, with the South the laggard but still growing at 55.

Housing Starts

Housing starts increased 1.9% to 1.319 million units on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis in March. February revisions were also higher, coming in at 1.295 million units.

Unfortunately, the strength came solely from the multifamily housing segment, which increased to 452,000 units in March. However, single-family houses fell 3.7% in the starts category to 867,000 units.

On the permits side, these came in up 2.5% on month at 1.354 million. Single-family permits were at 840,000, 5.5% below where they were in February. Permits on the multifamily side were up 19% to 514,000.

Single-family unit construction completion was down 4.7%, with overall conclusions falling 5.1% overall to 1.217 million. The good news is housing under construction rose 0.3% to 1.125 million, the highest number since July 2007.

Industrial Production

Industrial production was up 0.5% in March. This is 4.5% higher than where it was a year ago. Manufacturing rose just 0.1%, while mining was up 1.0% as oil and gas digging were up. There was a 3.0% increase in utility production as well.

There was also more space being utilized in factories as capacity was up 0.3% to 78.0% overall in the month of March.

MBA Mortgage Applications

Mortgage applications were up 4.9% last week as the average rate on a 30 year-fixed conforming mortgage remained at 4.66%.

Purchase applications were up 6% and refinance applications were up 4%.

Jobless Claims

Initial claims were down 1,000 to 232,000 last week. On the other hand, the four-week moving average was up to 231,250, adding an additional 1,250 claims.

Continuing claims were down 15,000 to come in at 1.863 million. However, the four-week moving average was up 6,750 to come in at about 1.859 million.

Mortgage Rates

Last week, mortgage rates rose to the highest level they’ve been all year. If you’re looking to take cash out or buy and you see a rate you like, it makes sense to lock your rate.

The 30-year-fixed rate mortgage averaged 4.47% with 0.5 fees in points last week, up five basis points from the week prior. At this time a year ago, the rate was 3.97%.

In shorter terms, 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.94% with 0.4 points. This was up seven basis points on the week. Last year, this rate was 3.24%.

Finally, the 5-year treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) with 0.3 points in fees was up six basis points to 3.67%. Last year at this time, the rate was 3.10%.

Stock Market

It was a bad day for Apple stock on Friday as analysts at Morgan Stanley said iPhone sales for the June quarter will likely to fall short of investor expectations. This sent the company’s stock down 4.1% on the day and sent the Dow and Nasdaq both tumbling despite strong earnings from General Electric. Even on a bad day, it shows just how much of a tech giant Apple is.

The Dow Jones industrial average was still up 0.42% for the week despite being down 201.95 points on Friday to close at 24,462.94. The S&P 500 closed at 2,670.14 points, down 22.99 points for the day but up 0.52% on the week. Rounding things out, the Nasdaq was down 91.93 points Friday to finish at 7,146.13, still up 0.56% on the week.

The Week Ahead

Monday, April 23

Existing Home Sales (10:00 a.m. ET) – Existing Home Sales tallies the number of previously constructed homes, condominiums and co-ops in which a sale closed during the month. Existing homes (also known as home resales) account for a larger share of the market than new homes and indicate housing market trends.

Tuesday, April 24

FHFA House Price Index (9:00 a.m. ET) – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI) covers single-family housing using data provided by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The HPI is derived from transactions involving conforming conventional mortgages purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

S&P Case-Shiller HPI (9:00 a.m. ET) – The S&P Case-Shiller Home Pricing Index tracks monthly changes in the value of residential real estate in 20 metropolitan regions across the U.S.

Consumer Confidence (10:00 a.m. ET) – The Conference Board compiles a survey of consumer attitudes on the economy. The Consumer Confidence Index is based on consumer perceptions of current business and employment conditions, as well as their expectations when considering business conditions, employment and income.

New Home Sales (10:00 a.m. ET) – This measures the number of newly constructed homes with a committed sale during the month.

Wednesday, April 25

MBA Mortgage Applications (7:00 a.m. ET) – The mortgage applications index measures applications to mortgage lenders. This is a leading indicator for single-family home sales and housing construction.

Thursday, April 26

Durable Goods Orders (8:30 a.m. ET) – These are based on new orders placed with domestic manufacturers for factory hard goods.

International Trade in Goods (8:30 a.m. ET) – The Bureau of Economic Analysis has begun breaking out the goods from the remaining international trade numbers to get an idea of import and export estimates for GDP calculations.

Jobless Claims (8:30 a.m. ET) – New unemployment claims are compiled weekly to show the number of individuals filing for unemployment insurance for the first time. An increasing trend suggests a deteriorating labor market. The four-week moving average of new claims smooths out weekly volatility.

Friday, April 27

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (8:30 a.m. ET) – This measures the monetary value of all final goods and services produced within the U.S. This report is released on a quarterly basis.

Consumer Sentiment (10:00 a.m. ET) – The University of Michigan’s Consumer Survey Center questions 500 households each month on their financial conditions and attitudes about the economy. Consumer sentiment is directly related to the strength of consumer spending.

There’s a metric ton of economic data hitting next week that includes both new and existing home sales numbers as well as durable goods orders and GDP to give us a line on overall economic growth.

This stuff is important, but it doesn’t necessarily hold your attention on a Monday. We’ve got plenty more home, money and lifestyle content to share with you if you subscribe to the Zing Blog below.

If you’re looking for something to take your mind off the world for a while, check out this quiz that tells you which Avenger you would be based on your house preferences. Yeah, I’m having a hard time overcoming my inner child to get actual work done this week. If you’re going to see Avengers: Infinity War this weekend, enjoy the ride. Who’s your favorite Avenger? Let us know in the comments.

The post Housing Starts to Show Mixed Results – Market Update appeared first on ZING Blog by Quicken Loans.

from Updates About Loans https://www.quickenloans.com/blog/housing-starts-show-mixed-results-market-update