#like even when they were being OVERLY goofy and being like. '[boy from other team] wants to try too!" he was just like.

[lunetual]

gunwook gets PRANKED!!!!     + the moment he realizes what’s happening

[pufflocks]

Kuroo x bottom male reader, maybe readers riding him?

Summary: Honestly in my mind–, I believe if Kuroo had someone sitting on his cock I believe he would be so touchy. Touchy and impatient— Touching the readers curves and rubbing on his thighs until he couldn't take it anymore. ♡

"You- You are so fucking tight- ugh, I love it." -T.K ❣

Warnings: Slight degrading • Groping • Cum eating • Proof read • porn without plot

Cast: Bottom!M!Reader x Kuroo Tesuro //Kenma Kozumane//

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It was an alluring Friday. Volleyball club didn't have another practice until next week. Leaving an eventful evening afterschool for a certain couple.

"Phew I'm fuckin' exhausted-" Tetsurou exhaled stretching out his long limbs. Many people, according to Y/N would kill for his height. Yet he was always saying how much he hated it. Words only to tick his boyfriend off – which it did.

The rooster haired male slicked back his sweat covered hair. "Oi, kenma I'm gonna head out first since my oh so handsome boyfriend wanted me to take him home early." Kenma nodded quietly, chugging his water down quietly. He gathered his belongings along with the other members of the team.

'I wonder why he needs a chaperone to walk him home..' Kenma sighed. Shaking off the thought since it was not his business. Besides that he started picking up some stray volleyballs. Faster he does this the faster he gets home to play video games with his boyfriend.

You however, was just about to get out of your last period. Thinking about some random things to get out of the fact you and nekomas volleyball captain sending eachother lewd glances throughout the day. One action led to another throughout the day.

You sitting in the back of class softly giggling to yourself once while at your phone and blushing at other texts. Some texts were cute flirts like "I can't wait to see you" or "Coach is being extra angry. He needs pop a chocky milk" Leading to a raging tent in your pants in your last class period when he sent a slick nude of a boner he accumulated in the past hour. Ugh— The clock nearing 3 PM setting you slight edge in your seat.

BRING !

'Thankfully the teacher didn't see me with my phone.'

Sighing tremendously you snatched up your bag that had a cheesy volleyball sticker in nekomas colors with a big number '1' on it. Gifted by your yours truly, Tetsurou Kuroo aka rooster bf. A small nickname you gave him in your guys' first year.

You chuckled at your own humor as you bumped into someone the way out of your classroom.

"Ah-!" You failed to finish your small mental comedy show as your overly tall boyfriend encased you in a nearly bone crushing hug. Lovingly of course.

Your not so obvious erection slightly catching contact on his muscular thigh. "You scared me tetsu- Come on lets go." You grab hold of the mans hand in dire need to fix your lower situation, pronto. One think you hated about your boyfriend was how much of a tease he so unashamedly was.

You both agreed, over text to leave early to do it after class since he didn't have practice today.

"What's the rush doll ? You were just teasing me with that I wanna ride you BS over the phone." He snickered. Face automatically bloomed red as you scoffed in face. Pushy bastard he is.

"Yeah yeah. Come on before people see-" And before you knew it. Your boyfriend took one glace down south to notice you weren't lying. Your small cock pressing up against the unformed pants.

'Cute how eager he is~' he mentally mused.

He took this opportunity to just drag you to an already emptied classroom. The school seemed to empty out earlier on Fridays, you thought. Slowly coming back to your own senses you see just how peckish he really was. Air thickening. Your noticable shudders of arousal not going unnoticed.

"God,, I need you right now." No other words were conversed between you two as he eagerly ripped and tugged the cloth off your smaller frame. Canines slightly nipping at now heated skin and grabbing wherever his hands could easily roam. Sloppy kisses to your neck making you gasp and make your penis twitch in gratitude.

"Please tetsu.. I want it badly~" You moaned wantonly as he was gripping some belly fat lovingly. Tetsurou grinned as if he was a wolf in the night howling at the moon.

Grabbing a nearby chair, after he let you go with a small peck to your nose he sat down and shrugged off his trousers. Hard organ slapping on his lean stomach. The sight making you purr in the presence of this 'wolf'

'I can't wait to fucking ride him..'

The sight of his cock made you rub your legs together eagerly. A small "Hm..~" erupting from your throat. Oh god did it not only have girth and a red bulge of its head – His length and overall cock had been mesmerized in your small pink hole.

"Wanna ride you Tetsu.." you mewled already palming the hard on in your now very tight pants.

He pulled you closer and gripped your chin to make you look at him as he stroked his cock teasingly, "Wanna ride me dry and see if you can come undone or vise verse but you blow me ? Which is it sweetheart ?" Darting dark eyes your way as he audibly purred. Kind to not so kind kisses being placed to your collarbone making you shiver as his cold lips met your hot skin.

New hickies you never minded showing off, just as much as he never minded giving you to show off.

The choices were hanging heavy on your tongue, now realizing his question. Almost obediently, in one swift motion you got down your knees willingly let him unravel you with his slim eyes.

"Such a lucky ass man I am~"

Fuck you wanted him so bad.

"You gonna blow me my pretty Y/N ?" He said stroking your cheek as if you were the most rarest diamond from his thief heist. To him you were not only rare, but valuable beyond his mind.

Grasping hold of his member you lick up his shaft kissing here and there. Making quick work to get to the main course.

Tetsurou smiled. His pretty boy serving his cock like it was something holy. Before he knew it you started gulping down his length. Slobber dribbling at the creases of your mouth. Pretty eyes of yours making their ways to your rooster headed lover.

"Fuck-! Baby I'ma fuckin' cum-" He groaned, head flying backward as you got off hearing him announce he was gonna shoot down your throat. Swallowing every. Single. Drop.

"Shit.. You gonna take daddies cum baby ? Yeah ? Where you want it ? Tell me babes." He was tapping his cock against your now plump and messy lips as he stroked himself off to your filthy face. Fuck, he was using your face for his own pleasure. You wanted him to know how much you enjoyed this.

"Mm- I want it in my mouth!~ please stick your cock deep down my throat daddy!~" You whined pathetically stroking your own leaking cock and using your own arousal for lube. The lewd squlching noises invading your ears.

He snorted at your poor attempts at getting yourself off and opened your jaw enough to shove all the way in down your throat. Tears prickling and threatening to fall down your face. You let out small gags leading to moans from the action as he shot down your throat. You swallowed his seed successfully, sticking out your tongue to show you did.

"Such a pretty boy.. Fuck such pretty boy." Tetsurou praised as he wiped the tears you ignored from your puffy eyes. Also unnoticing the ringing one of your phones was doing. You didn't care though. "We ain't done yet though. Get your sweet ass up here my prince." You joyfully obliged as he helped you off your knees seeing they were red. He started rubbing small circles and kissing your bare shoulders. A way of saying sorry for making you be on yourknees for so long.

'So caring~' You groggily giggled to yourself due to your throat being slightly sore from your guys' previous actions. Damn he was rough this time. Does being found out really get him this riled up ?

He cocked an eyebrow, "What's wrong ? Did a do something silly ?" He wore his signature smirk. The one you loved and hated. A calming and goofy aura being replaced with the once heated lustful one. All you could do was giggle again and cup his face in the moment. Just enjoying him.

"You're just so caring with me and I love you for moments like these." You confessed. Heart beating erratically as he chuckled kissing your nose.

"I know. I'm a big ass softy for my boyfriend believe it or not." You rolled your eyes jokingly. You loved this man, but you also loved his cock which by the way, still hasn't gone soft yet.

Turning around in his lap you wrapped your arms and legs around his form as you whispered alluringly. "Let me do the work cuz my dick is aching now and I needa cum stupid bad." You smiled devilishly. He once again for the umpteenth time, chuckled at your words and throwing his hands up.

"No hands my prince. No hands." You nodded. Knowing full well he would lose it half way of your quote unquote dominance.

You slowly and steadily began inserting his member inside. God, the stretch you fucking waited for was heavenly. Making it all the more nearly impossible to not close your eyes in delight.

Sucking through his teeth your boyfriend let out a long "Fuuuck..~" as groaned instinctively grasping onto your hips. On a loose thread of keeping his promise of letting you in control.

"God, you're so fucking- huge-! Testu~" You whined already grinding the rest of length into your now gaping hole. The feeling all too familiar to your body. Soon beginning to bounce up and down with pure greed. Not giving the slightest flying fuck if someone were to see you through the small class window as you were rolling your eyes back in ecstasy like a expert porn star.

"You- You're so fucking tight.. Ugh- fuck I love it !~" He moaned out aggressively as your bouncing only quickened at his words slapping sounds got louder. "Who's fucking cock are you riding Y/N ?" He growled and huffed bear your neck. His breath tickling the hairs in the area.

Noticing he didn't get any answer to his no rhetorical question, Tesurou slapped your ass harshly leaving a delicious itchy feeling rupture in the spot his heavy hand slammed on. You lost it as an almost unbearable amount of pre ran down your cock.

"You- Ah!~ Fuck it's you Testu!~ Your cock- Ah-!~ is hitting me in all the right places oh my fucking god!-" You shrieked small little tears making their way down your ruined face.

'This slut is really egging me the fuck on today~' Tetsurou mentally grinned.

Not only did he like the words coming out of your mouth, but he lived for those damn tears of diamond racing out the corners of your eyes. "

"Fuck it. I'm pounding the shit out of this ass." He mumbled to himself as he snatched you off of his body as if it was completely nothing and pressed you forward on a desk, your perky nipples grazing the cold school furniture.

He took a second to adjust his angle until ramming into your prostate directly dead on as you let out a high pitched warble. Anyone could mistake your voice for a females out of context. "Fuck-! fuck- MM— FUCK YES~" you moaned as your cock swung heavily in between your legs as Tetsurou began deep stroking every corner inside you. The feelings making your mind go numb.

"Baby boy I'm finna blow my load~ Who the fuck is fucking your shit up right ? Huh ?~" Testu's snarled in your ear. Snatching you up by your neck up to his sweaty hard chest. Your bodies creating an almost unbearable heat between you both.

You whined in a needy voice as the feeling of your prostate getting hammered repeatedly. "YOU DADDY~ YOU YOU YOU~!!! GOD LEMME CUM FUUUCK—" His grip on your neck did not falter as his pace only got faster. Quickly gripping your slick penis and jerked you off all the while placing delectable light kisses around your bruised neck and shoulders. You were nearly seeing stars with overstimulation and his contrast of touch.

"That's exactly what I like to hear my amazing boy~" Tetsurou hips stuttered as you came hard, your eyes rolling back and drool sliding down your jaw. Coming straight after your release he gave one last deep push cumming deep down in your tight little ass. "Fuck babe..- Fuck-" He panted smiling lazily, grip already faltering around your neck. He never would forgive himself if he accidentally choked you to death.

Since you guys literally just fucked in a classroom, aftercare had to be done differently. Slowly laying his head on your shoulder, rubbing your hips and doing anything to ease any after pain off your body. Maybe you'll let him try out a cream he uses on himself after volleyball. Eases the joints and moisturizes your body.

Such a loving boyfriend you bad.

"I love you so damn stinkn' much Y/N.. God I'm so fucking lucky I swear." You chuckled, 'cause he always seemed to be so emotional after you guys had sex. You thought it was cute coming from him. "Let's get out of here cuz' we already stayed here for half an hour." You stated pushing the tall male off your body, much to his unpleasant dismay. He only hummed in response.

"Your house or mine ?" He questioned after pulling up his pants and tugging his extra volleyball shirt on. You stretched while yawning a bit. Sex is tiring.

"Yours. My parents will automatically smell the sex on me and no cologne can cover that." Giggling softly at your statement your boyfriend nodding in a agreement.

"Let's just hope they dont find out we once fucked in your living room-" You glared at him as he stopped, snickering at how cute his boyfriend looked after being roughed up.

"Let's go so we can cuddle now please." You softly pleaded as you tugged his shirt tiredly. You know the first thing you were gonna do when you got to his house was instantly plop smack on his oversized bed.

"Let's go my prince."

Bees are pretty..

Zenna, no.

[amelee23]

Fool | J. YH

Genre: Fluff

Tags: Best friends to lovers, Suggestive themes and sexual jokes, Wooyoung is an accidental wingman, Nerdy gamers having at it, A lot of Need for Speed references

No. Words: 3.5k

⭐⭐⭐

She always loved when they got completely absorbed in their little bubble - engrossed in what was making them tick in the most passionate of ways. Since Yunho came to pick her up and take her to the dorm, she didn’t even realize when they got there - or even that the house was empty -  because they were too caught in a conversation about the new-coming video games of 2021. The small task of taking off shoes or their jackets, the walk to Yunho’s room and the struggle to get comfortable in the gaming chair; these were not memories in her mind. All she could remember was the way he smiled without stop and the sparkle in his eyes as excitement took over his entire being.

Only after Yunho told her he’s been playing old games lately - specifically racing classics, of the Need For Speed series - had she realized the house was too quiet. Yunho then informed her they all left to eat at a restaurant with the manager team, but he asked to be left behind so he could spend time with his best friend. She couldn’t help the warm smile raising her lips at the sweet sacrifice this man made for her.

A few minutes later and she felt the usual competitive side of her kick in, seeing Yunho with a controller in hand, playing Need for Speed: Underground 2, a game she remembered dearly from her childhood. She couldn’t help but feel she could do so much better than him - and that’s how the challenge came to be.

“Yeah, you want to bet?” Yunho suggested, his cheeks raised in a cheeky smile, but his lips expressed something a lot more smug. 

“2 out of 3: sprint, Street X and drift.” The boy laughed at his best friend’s confidence, finding her determination very charming, like always.

“Deal.” He announced, raising his hand so she could high five the deal to completion. It never failed to amaze him, how gentle her high fives felt to him, even though she’s the only woman he’s ever seen break a controller before. “What are we betting on, money?”

“Money is boring.” Taken aback, Yunho had a healthy laugh at her statement. He couldn’t wait to say this sentence again, out of context, and turn it into both teasing material and an inside joke.

“Okay, then what do you suggest?” He asked, still cackling with a half lidded eye smile.

“Let’s do something more… daring.” Trying to act surprised, Yunho opened his eyes in curiosity and hummed. They both got to thinking for about a minute, then she snapped her fingers exaggeratedly to show she had an idea. “Let’s randomly ask Wooyong to give the loser a punishment!”

“Like, with no context?”

“Exactly! After one of us loses, we ask Wooyong to give out a spicy punishment-! No one would be better than him at coming up with something totally ridiculous that one of us will regret for a lifetime!”

“I mean, you’re not wrong. But I’m starting to think you’re a masochist.”

“It’s a 50/50 gamble, so who knows?” She rebutted, wiggling her eyebrows at Yunho suggestively. He could feel his ears heating up so he pretended to need to face his computer for a while. “So, what do you say?” She questioned him, moving closer to where he was, probably intentionally, because she knew how to tell when he was turning shy. 

“I say you’re both crazy and a genius … a crazy genius. But I’m all on board.”

“Yas, leggo baby!” Yunho shook his head as he took in the image of his best friend leaning back into her chair, controller in hands, legs somewhere in between the right armrest and the air. Her enthusiasm dripped from the way she was grooving to the OST of the game. Warmth and an electricity-like feeling began filling his chest.

It took them perhaps a little too long to decide on the first track to play. Eventually, after long minutes of bickering, they chose a winding long race and swore to not try to mess the other up.

Yunho was the first one to drive, his engine roaring as he continued to hold his acceleration button. He had some lucky escapes from running into traffic - and easily overcame his competition. Now in front, he was taking short cut turns, but to her, they looked too time consuming. Yunho was trying to drive as properly as possible, and it was affecting his time; she couldn’t help but puff up as she realized it would be an easy win against him. With a record of 2:27:34, Yunho rolled his chair away from the screen and let his best friend take over.

Hands grasping the controller, she took a deep breath to overly-dramatize the situation even further.

“Eat my dust.” She mumbled, and Yunho gave her a curious side eye.

Swiftly she overtook all the NPCs, climbing up to first place. She wasn’t even worried about them to begin with. As the turns approached, Yunho realized she wasn’t showing signs of taking her fingers away from the acceleration button - not until the last second, at least. Her turns were either taken with the help of crashing into a wall or into a stylish, speedy drift. Yunho was baffled, thinking that crashing on purpose to finish faster should be considered as cheating. But he accepted his defeat as her time was 2:14:58, over ten seconds less than him.

Cracking her knuckles, she wore a smug smile as she let Yunho choose the next race for them to play. It was 1 to 0 currently, so he decided he should spice things out now - by choosing a ‘random’ Street X race. He probably forgot to mention to her that Street X were his forte in this game.

Yunho put his focus face on from the moment the cars showed up on screen. For most, this Street X race was difficult to even beat on first place - but he knew what he was doing. 

“I hope you had your fun.” He threatened, hands moving effortlessly on the controller to take him through the sharp, abrupt turns which were in Street X - a race type specifically made about taking those turns right, not about speed. Raw talent was dripping off of his fingers, but she didn’t want to feel discouraged just yet. Perhaps her method of using walls to take turns could work here, too-

Now that it was her turn, she realized it wasn’t the case - in here hitting walls was the worst thing you could do. Eyes dashing in between her car and the timer non-stop, she realized she was losing a lot of time correcting her direction if she didn’t brake properly before a turn. By the last lap, she already lost hope, as she reached Yunho’s record and wasn’t done with the race yet. 

“Tight game.” She stated, trying to ease the thick competitive air in the room. Yunho just smiled, a sparkle of something naughty in his eyes.

“Would you like to do the honours?” He asked, referring to choosing the drift track, the last race of their competition. He looked so sure of himself, to even offer that she chooses the track; she couldn’t help but feel even more frustrated by that cockyness. 

“Yeah.” She answered, not even looking him in the eyes. She knew what track she wanted - the one on the actual streets of the city, which had two off road areas - those were bomb in doing drifts over 50.000 points. 

Yunho was surprised she chose such a difficult track, but didn’t really complain. He had recently unlocked this track since he was nearing the end of the game, and so he knew the trick of the off road areas too, especially because he failed them enough times. He collected small drifts here and there on the way to the first special area, then he made sure to catch enough speed to send the back of his car in a beautiful curve, following the form of the turn. He didn’t need to, but he took the risk of connecting that turn to the next one that followed and gathered around 74.000 points in that area only. She was biting her lip, wondering if she still had the nimbleness to beat that.

The next special area gained him about 37.000, and with all the other points collected from smaller drifts, he was able to gain over 130 thousand. 

She was already pinching the bridge of her nose, knowing that she would probably lose. It’s been a while since she played this game, and the special drift areas were always a gamble. Yunho couldn’t help but laugh at the tension in her back, giving her a friendly pat to brighten up.

“You got this!” He cheered, because even if he wanted to win, he didn’t like seeing her so discouraged. He often times also got mad when he realized he was being too competitive and not giving anyone a chance to win against him.

She started out just like Yunho, gaining some small scores on the way to the main attraction of the race. As she saw the goal in her eyes, suddenly she struggled to regain control of her car in the midst of the big drift. She was headed straight for the edge, meaning her score would be neutralized if she hit it - so she was forced to stop her car. The special area unfortunately only brought her 55 thousand, a weak number compared to Yunho. She brushed it off and continued on her way, towards the second special area. She had a better feeling about this one, as her car was being much more responsive, and even if the space was smaller, she gained another 50 thousand there too. 

But unfortunately, as she hit the finish line, she realized - they both scored in the range of 130 thousand - but hers was exactly that number. Yunho was closer to 140.

With a little dance celebration, Yunho announced he was the winner of the tournament. Seeing him act so goofy, she couldn’t even bring herself to sulk. It’s not like it was unusual for Yunho to win their dumb little competitions, but it would’ve been nice to win one anyway.

“I acknowledge your driving skills, Mr. Jung.” She said with a smirk, offering him a hand to shake. 

“You weren’t so bad yourself, well… except the part of taking turns with your face.” Now that the tension was lifted, they were back to being all smiley and supportive of each other.

“What can I say? I like using my head.” Yunho chuckled, grabbing the controller to quit out of the game so he could find some movie to watch while they eat. Remembering that he needed to order some food, he pulled out his phone - and read Wooyoung’s name.

“So… do I need to ask Wooyoung to give you a ‘daring’ punishment?” He used air quotes to express the idea of something naughty. For a while he forgot that this was the penalty of losing, the thought completely slipping his mind as he focused too much on doing well in the game.

“I guess.” She shrugged her shoulders, secretly hoping that he had forgotten and she could’ve avoided doing something so embarrassing. 

Hesitant, Yunho opened the messenger app and tapped on Wooyoung’s name. He didn’t know if he was excited about what was about to come.

[Yunho]: Hey Wooyoung, can you come up with a ‘daring’ punishment a girl could do for a guy for losing a game?

[Sent 18:46]

A thick silence enveloped the two as Yunho stared at the screen, waiting for Wooyoung to see his message. They were both hoping the resident jokester of the group would go easy on them this time.

[Seen 18:51] 

Five minutes later, Wooyoung saw the message and Yunho watched the three dots dance for a very short amount of time. And, as it turned out, Wooyoung didn’t ask any questions - he gave a straightforward answer.

[Wooyoung]: Oral

His answer had Yunho opening his eyes in pure shock. He glanced at his best friend, who was looking at him expectantly, and then back at the screen. 

“Uhm…” He couldn’t even bring himself to mutter such a word to her. Before he knew it, he let his phone down and stared into the distance like a deer in the headlights. 

Yes, asking Wooyoung was a bad idea. 

“Uhm? Did he answer?” She pressed on, and Yunho couldn’t do much more than nod. 

“Look for yourself.” He showed her his phone, and she felt as if she just got hit with a soccer ball in the stomach. Blinking at Yunho in disbelief, she let out a confused puff of air.

“I mean, I expected something like a sexy dance…. But not this. Wooyoung really is another level.” She complained, suddenly looking as lost as Yunho. They both looked like ghosts, the colors drained from their faces. 

In truth, both of their heads were racing at that moment - imagining what could happen if they went through with it. Yunho’s face heated up and his body grew heavy, and she was biting her lip. But a common thought was keeping them both grounded; that they were just friends, and nothing more.

Moments later, Yunho was able to collect himself and focus his vision again. She was in distress, even in a haze. He pulled out his phone again, texting Wooyoung to rectify the situation.

[Yunho]: How about something a little bit… more decent. This is my best friend we’re talking about.

Wooyoung read the message instantly after, his fingers fast on the keyboard.

[Wooyoung]: Oh my God it’s her! Why didn’t you tell me! I thought you were finally scoring a lady with those video games of yours!

[Yunho]: I told you guys I was spending time with her today

[Wooyoung]: You did? OOPS

[Yunho]: Yeah, oops. You almost gave me a heart attack

[Wooyoung]: *boner

[Yunho]: DUDE

[Wooyoung]: Okay okay I’m sorry, but you’re the one who asked me outta the blue

[Wooyoung]: Something a little more tame… HMMM

[Wooyoung]: You’re a tall dude, right? How about you have her wear one of your shirts for the rest of the day… but like only your shirt. I bet she’d look cute ;)

[Yunho]: That doesn’t sound that bad, thanks

[Wooyoung]: I can’t wait to get home :P

She dragged her voice suddenly, bringing Yunho back to reality. He didn’t realize how focused he was in his conversation with Wooyoung.

“Uhm, so, yeah! Wooyoung gave you a more tame challenge. He said you should wear one of my shirts for the rest of the day… like, as a dress type thing.” Yunho tried to explain, but he was still nervous from the previous shock and tripping over his own words.

“So wear a boyfriend shirt.” Yunho felt his being vibrate once again at the mention of the word ‘boyfriend’.

“I… guess so.”

“I can do that! That sounds more like a prize than anything, to be honest. You know I have a fixation for your clothes.” She said with a laugh. She seemed to be back to her cheerful self, already walking her way to Yunho’s closet. “Can I choose any shirt?”

“Sure, go ahead.” Still no intonation in his words, Yunho’s mind was not present in the conversation at all. It wasn’t long before he zoned out again.

He couldn’t possibly be attracted to his best friend in such a way. They had a strong spiritual bond, for sure, but it was never anything physical for them. They appreciated each other for who they are, so he never asked himself questions like these before.

Or at least that’s what he wanted to believe. He heard the door handle move and then saw her come back in, legs bare and sexy, her small frame basically swimming in his large shirt. She sat down on her chair and melted back into it without a care in the world. She looked comfortable, even.

“So, are we ordering that food?” She asked, but in Yunho’s daze, he missed the smirk playing on her lips. If only he knew how much she was enjoying this.

Forcing her to stay put, Yunho was the one to receive the food at the front door. He sighed in relief when he managed to put a blanket over her, as they nestled up in bed to watch a movie and enjoy their food. Out of sight, out of mind, they say.

His torture began again as soon as they got back into gaming -  this time choosing to do their usual foolery - playing Minecraft together, one being in charge of the mouse and the other in charge of the keyboard. No wonder they never made any real progress on their world, since they could never be in sync with each other to actually defend themselves from zombies. ‘

Time flew by as they laughed and played, but the rustle of keys at the front door still managed to startle Yunho out of his mind. Panicked, he got up to throw her pants back at her, words leaving his mouth a little too fast.

“How about you put those back on now.” Cocking an eyebrow at him, she hung them on the chair, clearly refusing to do so.

“Why would I? The punishment says for the rest of the day - or as long as I’m here.”

“Yes, but-” Yunho pursed his lips to the side. He didn’t know how to word his thoughts. To add more pressure, the door to his room swung open and San came inside to throw his phone on the bed. He glanced at Yunho’s best friend briefly and they exchanged hellos before he went back to the living room, where the boys were being loud over something.

Yunho breathed out in relief that San was nice enough not to stare. Something about other men seeing her like this irked him, even more so that she was wearing his shirt. 

“But?” She urged him to continue speaking, getting off of the chair to stand in front of him. Being the tall guy Yunho was, it wasn’t often that she had the opportunity to stare him down like that. Yunho gulped as he felt his throat dry up, taking in the image of his friend - no, an attractive woman - looking at him with such a suggestive expression.

“I don’t want anyone else to see you like this…” He mumbled, the beauty before his eyes already making him breathless.

“Why not?” She teased.

“Because…” There wasn’t any logical answer in his mind, or even a concrete idea. “I think we need to reevaluate our relationship.” Letting out a healthy laugh, she wasted no time to climb in his lap. Yunho was happy, perhaps the most relieved he’d been the entire day. He didn’t know there was such a sexual tension in between them until it finally dissipated. 

“Finally!” She exclaimed.

“You think so too?” She hummed in response, eyes locking with his lips as she did. 

The kiss itself felt good - like two magnets clicking into place. What felt even better though, was being able to accept all the feelings he’s been burying deep inside himself. He was wrong in thinking something more wasn’t possible between them.

A loud knock echoed from the door, and Wooyoung’s voice could be heard screaming from the other side.

“You two decent?” 

“No!” Yunho yelled back. They certainly weren’t a sight he’d want his bandmates to see - his shirt was hiking up on her thighs, their arms tangled around each other’s bodies. 

“What do you mean ‘no’??!” This time it was HongJoong’s voice, and Yunho knew he messed up. Almost effortlessly, he got up with her still around his hips and grabbed her pants on the way to the bathroom. 

“Okay, but seriously get dressed now.” Yunho said, and only got a wink from her in response. He rolled his eyes and went back into the room to let her change. 

He really was a fool to think this wouldn’t work out - he already loved every second of it.

[purplerose244]

It was always you

Hello everyone!! 😊

I’m a bit late but I really wanted to contribute to the @lukadrien-june event, I hope this is okay! Based on the third prompt, while throwing in some character study for sunshine boy! 💛

Enjoy!! 😙😙

Summary: Love was supposed to be easy, at least in his head. A pure perfect fairy tale... except it was not. Adrien takes probably more time to realize it than other people but he is getting there. Especially not alone.

Read it on the AO3 here

If there was one thing that Adrien wished he had known, before giving up homeschooling once and for all and finally starting to build a life, was that loving wasn’t nearly as simple and dreamlike as his extremely well-developed imagination had led him to believe. He truly wished that he could borrow Bunnix’ Miraculous sometimes, just to head back to that room where he used to spend his entire time on his own dreaming of himself and his soulmate and getting married at sight, and tell him that if living was hard outside, heart matters were even harder.

Love wasn’t that ideal, it wasn’t reductive.

It wasn’t nearly that basic either. It took him a while, but he had figured it out.

It had all started with Ladybug of course, most of his new experiences in the real world had started with her. He had fallen in love with her pretty much two days after meeting her… granted, being stuck into his own house for years thinking of himself as a poor prince in waiting of a savior rather than a knight out to get the princess, might had developed in him a bit of an eagerness for romance. She was smart, beautiful, courageous, resourceful and a hero, what was there not to love? Besides they were Chat Noir and Ladybug, they were meant to be… because… that was Ladybug. The moment he had realized how much he loved that image – if he used to fantasize before looked at him now –, and how he had started to slowly care less and less about knowing what was hiding behind it, that was the dealbreaker. He didn’t want to be in love with a figure, an icon for Paris, because it was what all people had always reduced him to. It would have not been a good way to start, and it would have not been fair for her either.

Getting over all those dreams about the marriage, the children and the hamster – oh the hamster, heart stay still – that he had wished for so intensely had been… easy? Not exactly, but smooth. A strong emptiness and pain that had slowly faded away with time. After all, Ladybug was never going to be far from him, and she cared about him a lot, he knew that much. He could love her, no matter what, no matter in what way.

After that singular and very one-sided experience, a spectacular sequence of disasters had made him slowly and steadily feel aware of how much messier the concept of relationships really was. One thing was dodging Chloe’s overly affectionate tendencies or his fans’ intense assaults over him; the other realizing that Kagami was ready to commit into something he wasn’t sure of, that Lila was still somehow convinced that he wanted something to do with her after all of her lies – for a fox this sly she sure was in denial… why did that sound hypocrite? –, and that Marinette had apparently harbored feelings for him almost as soon as they had met – oh yeah that was why. Life, a real, multifaced, worth living life was chaotic and confusing, it hurt, and it saddened, and he was behind everyone, struggling like mad to catch up.

Rejecting so many people he cared about had been awful. Some of his closest friends, all important parts of his life in different ways, and all because he wasn’t smart enough to understand feelings and his own clearly weren’t right. When Marinette had smiled at him with tears in her eyes, saying that it was okay and that she understood, Adrien had decided that it was enough. He wasn’t going to attempt anything else, if it always ended up with hurting someone he cared about.

He could deal with his feelings on his own, he always did, without paining anyone. There was no problem anyway, after Ladybug no one had ever shaken his heart.

No one, no one at all… and during that time, between slowly realizing that perhaps looking for wedding rings after two days sounded a little unreasonable and somehow managing to hate his face plastered all over Paris even more than before, the Music Festival had occurred, along with the awakening of Captain Hardrock. The famous tripping over the bridge had happened, a goofiness that had somehow gotten him into a band.

Him had happened. The charming, kind, intriguing guitarist of the Liberty, that had welcomed him the moment he had been there.

Luka Coffaine.

… Adrien was starting to hate his heart a little bit.

Luckily or unluckily, around that time he had found himself too caught up in his and other people’s messes to even realize how he had always unconsciously smiled at the boy whenever he was there, and how it had become normal for him to stay with him after band practice, without caring on how father could had reacted to his delay – just how dense was he about his feelings… never mind. It took Lila to finally focus on something other than plotting, Chloe to start paying attention to her own life instead of worsening others, and Marinette and Kagami to begin exchange sweet looks for him to finally find some normality to think – and develop an extremely intense fanboy soul.

Enough to realize that ever since Desperada, with the brilliant introduction of Viperion to the team, Adrien had found himself as Luka’s confidant, the only one besides Ladybug aware of his secret identity. Exciting stories, confessions, insecurities, all while the guitarist was making such an effort to communicate with words, because he trusted him enough not to judge his mind.

And Adrien was enjoying the confidence, the vicinity. A lot. Truly a lot.

… way too much for it to be normal.

It had woken him at night. He had teared up in his bed, curled on one side while Plagg had been purring next to his ear all night. It was the first time that being in love had felt this terrifying. He didn’t want to mess everything up, not again, not with Luka. The freedom he felt with being on the Liberty, the time spent with his friends in the band, the warming welcome he had always received from captain Anarka and Juleka – and by extension Rose, those two always came in pair –, and every single moment spent without having to care about who he was and what did he represent because Luka didn’t care about covers, he cared about the real music coming from people. Everything could disappear in a moment.

With that set of mind, he had spent some of the most tense moments of his life, constantly pondering about what to do next. What exactly was a person supposed to do if he liked another without making a mess? What was the alternative to confess his undying love and hope to plan a wedding at the end of his studies? Was there an alternative??

His anxious attitude had inevitably gotten the attention of his group of friends, that for some miracle hadn’t gotten tired of his denseness, especially Marinette. She hadn’t seemed to care much, especially not while distractively holding the amulet Kagami had made for her – somehow love life had made the fencer even deadlier during practice, like she was fighting was someone, impressive. It had taken them to bribe him with a new recipe of croissants from the Dupain-Cheng bakery to be forced to talk, a necessity that had exploded out of his lips the moment his friends had been gathered on Marinette’s bed to listen. The sweets had been amazing. Just a bit salty… but that was probably because he hadn’t been able to talk without tearing up all over the food.

At the end of the discussion, Marinette had squeaked so loudly his ears had started to ring.

“You have to confess and get together, you two would be a great couple!” To which he had responded that he didn’t want to risk it, especially since he didn’t know how it was going to end.

Alya had slammed her hands over her own knees – ouch –, standing up.

“You have to man up! Don’t think about what could happen, go for it and make him yours!” To which he had said that he didn’t want to be insensitive again in case it didn’t go well – also that that kind of wording was a little confusing, enough to turn him bright red.

Then Nino had looked up from his phone, looking a little baffled. He had changed too, considering that love matters used to make him all nervous.

“Why don’t you ask him out first and see how it goes from there? You don’t have to become boyfriends if it feels too soon.” The table had gone silent, all eyes were on the DJ, who simply arched an eyebrow. “… you do know you can go on a date with someone, realize that it’s not working without actually get together, right?” More silence had followed. Adrien was sure that he had felt a weird mixture of disappointment and relief, while Marinette had looked so very shocked.

In conclusion, Nino was amazing. Like that was new.

Starting from there the blonde had been practicing in front of the mirror every day, terrified of rejection but less tense over how things could go. Despite fans and admirers his past relationships, if those could be called, weren’t giving him much of a booster or a good feeling about how this chance was going to play. Somehow it hardly mattered. Luka was a very reasonable person, he was going to reject him very nicely. It had been almost uplifting the idea of the guitarist treating him with absolute kindness, even while shattering all of his dreams.

One day Luka had called him over for an improv session. It happened often, this artist was extremely instinctive when it came to music, and he had told him that having a more rational and accurate player like Adrien around grounded him to his usual style. It was flattering every time he was called for that same reason, it was an occasion that made the blonde ignore all about his current schedule – of course he was at fencing right now, Kagami could cover- uhm, confirm for him –, to finally focus on something that he really wanted to do. Luka was always waiting over the bed of his room, playing a few notes, stopping for minutes then going again. It was calming and endearing, like Adrien was allowed to hear the inside of his mind.

He had been standing there, legs crossed at the end of the bed while Luka was lying down with the instrument. There had been only sounds for all of this time, without additions or suggestions or anything. It was nice. Really nice. Adrien had wondered what else could he discover out of him just by stay close like this, and how much he wanted to. The need to let those words out had been steadily growing without him realizing it.

“Luka?” Until they were out. “Do you wanna go on a date with me?” Mirror practice had helped, it had come out almost mechanically. There was a spark into his stomach, the adrenaline pouring out. The melody in the air had stopped for a pretty terrifying second.

Then it had come back as a full, real song. It was timid, sweet, and sincere.

“I’d love to.” In his own giddiness, Adrien could admit of being wrong. Yet he was almost sure he had seen the calm and controlled guitarist blush the tiniest little bit.

A single date at the restaurant where Alya’s mother worked at without people in the way – he loved his friends so much – had followed another one walking hand in hand through Rue Montorgueil in disguise – at last he had achieved his long-lasting dream of looking like someone else without the mask –, that had followed another one at a secret party Chloe had organized at Le Grand Paris for her classmates – she had given him such a smirk at seeing his plus one, gossip was coming. It had nothing to do with the dates of his daydreams, the ones he had lived through his head for years: every single time his stomach was so tense it felt like it was burning, painfully, making him question if he really wanted this. Then, the moment they were there talking, engaging themselves into an interesting topic while letting time pleasantly leave them behind, the stress was gone and there were only the two of them.

They had gone like this for months. Some absolutely lovely months. At some point Alya, stopping him at school, had calmly stated that him and Luka combined with Marinette and Kagami were making her feel single, and she had a boyfriend, so it was probably time to make it official. He had agreed with her, of course he had. He liked Luka… yeah right, he loved him. Everything with him felt so real, so close and intense, like he was finally living.

His feelings weren’t the problem… Luka’s were.

Not that he doubted him. Not after all the little orange blossoms left over his keyboard before band practice – they meant eternal love, oh heart stay still once again –, the songs sung for him whenever he felt upset or angry at his father, or the hand kisses at the end of every single date, like he was being cherished every single time. One of the guitarist’s biggest qualities was his sincerity, Adrien was absolutely sure he could trust him and his heart. Just how he had never blamed anyone before, not Chloe, not Kagami, not Marinette, not even Lila, for their feelings towards him.

They had been real, like his own feelings for Ladybug used to be… but they were for Adrien only, the supermodel, Paris’ iconic pretty face and perfect boy. That perfection in him, one he had been forced to practice in order to please his father, that was attracted others, but it wasn’t in any way all that was in him.

What was all the rest? It was also there. But it came out only whenever he wore the mask.

With time, the image he had been forced to wear for the profit of his father had grown into an uncomfortable, old sweater that he hadn’t known it had felt unbelievably itchy until he got the possibility to take it off, to try something else. And that black-leather armor was his absolute favorite. Nothing felt like freedom as that, nothing felt like him as those moments, whenever he jumped into the sky holding hard onto his staff. Thanks to his Miraculous he had discovered himself. Thanks to that he had found out that he liked making jokes, he loved puns, he liked making a fool of himself for the sake to have fun. He liked risking, he liked dancing, he wasn’t too keen on closed places, and he absolutely loved how the moon reflected into the Seine at night after patrol. Everything was him, so vividly him it made him choke a little at the mere thought of it.

Adrien Agreste was another mask, one he was growing considerably tired to wear. He had been through some love experiences now, even though they did not end quite well: there was no point into pretending to be someone he wasn’t, there was no meaning into hiding himself when he truly wanted to establish a bond with someone. He had known this, he knew this.

But if everyone liked Adrien better… if Luka liked Adrien better, how was he supposed to do that?

The tension coming from those thoughts was there only when he wasn’t around his favorite guitarist, making him at least forget about the dilemma coming with. Even so, around those times he had found himself at least wondering exactly what kind of opinion his date had about Chat Noir. He wasn’t sure, they had never talked much in their superhero personas, because of the urge of the moment and because with his lady’s strategic mind and a power like Second Chance it was unfairly easy sometimes to solve the situation – Ladybug needed to start bringing Viperion more often and yes, maybe just a little bit to see more of Luka in sexy snake cosplay. He was fairly sure he didn’t mind him, he seemed to even smile at him sometimes – total heart eyes –, but he wanted to be sure.

It had been night at the Liberty, they had ordered pizza. Sugary drinks made Rose giggle like mad, so Juleka had brought her to her room to take a nap and probably cuddle, leaving the two of them alone. That wasn’t weird. Wondering if the guy Adrien was dating liked his cat counterpart, that was weird. At the end, looking at how relaxed the boy over the sofa was while distractively bending the last pizza crust, he hadn’t been able to do pose a potentially confusing question, asking instead what he thought about Ladybug – he had made a mental post-it to whine loudly into his pillow later.

Luka had brought up stuff he already knew, how she was a great leader, an inspiration, extremely smart and courageous. Despite the failure of questioning him Adrien had smiled, he was weirdly happy they thought the same about his partner.

“She has a huge responsibility and deals with it incredibly, that’s commendable… with that being said, my favorite is Chat Noir.” A boom inside. “He’s hot.” A second, bigger explosion had occurred into Adrien’s head – in a feeble spark of lucidity he had begged his brain not to produce smoke out of his ears. Luka had laughed, playing some more, without looking directly at him. “And he’s such a selfless, reliable person, you can tell from how he doesn’t hesitate to help others or support me or Ladybug. He’s incredibly loyal, and… really funny.”

It had taken perhaps a second too long, in which a thousand of tiny little Adrien running all over his brain had been screaming out loud hysterically about how this handsome guitarist was a Chat Noir fan, and it had been the best day ever. Then he had managed to talk, ask, his voice was a little raspy.

“You… you like his puns?” Luka had scooted closer to him, smirking a little.

“It’s our little secret.” With that he had put a hand around his shoulders, bringing him closer to him. The blonde had abandoned himself into the embrace, trying to hide the giddy smile in his chest.

It got easier to let himself go from that moment forward, knowing that at least some parts of Chat Noir Luka didn’t mind at all. Having Nino groaning like mad after they had all taken their matchmaker ice creams from Andre, with Adrien coming out with a “I scream for an ice cream”, had been worth it just to see the guitarist rolling his eyes with an endeared smile. It had felt good. He couldn’t fully let go, being a model and famous and all that baloney, but he could stop pretending for a moment and embrace a little bit more about himself.

It had hit him much later that perhaps, maybe, possibly, the matter of telling Luka about his superhero identity was meant to come up at some point. It hadn’t seemed an important matter before, he was not supposed to do reveal it anyway according to Ladybug. Then again, this wasn’t a relationship behind masks like that one, it was as open as it could be. Also Plagg wasn’t exactly the biggest fan or rules anyway, he had doubted he would have minded. Hearing Luka talking about his latest adventure with Viperion, basically summarizing everything Adrien already knew from his point of view, made him feel a bit guilty about not coming clean. Still, it was hard to recall that unpleasantness with Luka always ending the discussion making a comment about Chat Noir, probably catching up over the fact that Adrien was also a ‘fan’. Knowing that such a charming boy like Luka considered his pun machine alter ego attractive, stating that the only blondie with green eyes as handsome he knew was Adrien, was definitely a good way to end the day.

Then, that had happened. Apparently, Hawk Moth had thought that the idea of unleashing once again Gorizilla over the powerless city of Paris was a hilarious idea. It had taken them forever to calm him down, the bodyguard had been all agitated since there had been no sign of his protegee – at least for what he knew. Cataclysm, Lucky Charm, Miraculous Ladybug, the script was old and overused and after the most tired pound it ever Adrien had called it a day, sinking into his own bed as soon as he had been home.

The unconscious was a calming place, a pleasant one, just like Luka.

Just like Luka… Luka… the date.

Out of pure will and terror he had managed to get on his feet, realizing with horror that not only he hadn’t just fallen asleep, but he was also late. Two. Hours. Late. Dread didn’t describe properly the feeling that had taken over. Begging a very annoyed looking Plagg he had launched himself into the night sky, running on all four out of pure despair. When he had arrived at the restaurant, miserably closed, Luka was leaning over the wall of the entrance that was off, humming a very mellow, very melancholic melody. And he had dressed up, for once in his life wearing something classy, a white dress shirt and a black jacket without sleeves. His hair had grown a bit in those months, enough for him to pull a little ponytail.

What a waste, Adrien had thought. What a waste on someone like him, this beautiful person lightening up as soon as he was there, running to hug him, saying that he knew there had been an akuma today and he was happy to see he was okay. Except he wasn’t, this wasn’t, it was not okay. He was taking advantage of his position, the fact that there was stuff he was keeping for himself. It wasn’t fair for himself, most importantly it wasn’t fair for him.

“And you’re okay with this?” He didn’t know what he had been implying with those words, he had felt the need to get them out. To be heard. Because Luka always listened.

The guitarist had given him a weird, aware look, holding up his hands.

“I am if you are.” Unfair. Unfair. Unfair. Nothing but that feeling of guilt had filled his heart, and Adrien had rushed in, hugging him as closely as he could. Luka had embraced back, caressing his back slowly and gently as it was his way of being, telling him that they could postpone on a day with a less dangerous akuma terrorizing the city. Adrien had kept his eyes shut, choking silent sobs against his jacket. Thinking that maybe it was okay, maybe they could still keep going like this. H was scared, besides there was no need to change anything, or even better there was no need to say something that wasn’t needed. This was enough, this could be enough.

Adrien had then opened his eyes, only to feel them pinching. From the window of the restaurant, he could see the lonely white table with two dishes and two glasses, and all around… were candles and roses. Luke remembered. He had remembered the mention of the romantic gesture the blonde had done for a girl that hadn’t gone as planned. He had remembered how Adrien had always wished for something like that for himself. He knew how much of a hopeless romantic he was. Luka knew him.

At the same time, he didn’t. He didn’t know him. It was not okay.

It was not okay, and it was not enough.

Mirror sessions were back after that, more frantic than ever but less frequent than he would have liked – he was dense he could admit, not enough to proclaim to his father or Nathalie that he was Chat Noir while in the shower. He had wished it was like preparing for a shooting, or even imagining to be an actor like mom was. The tension was nothing like. The number of warnings coming from all directions was massive, starting from how once again his friends were getting worried about him – he wasn’t going to resist the bribe of chocolate chip cookies for long –, how Ladybug had expressively told him no one was supposed to know about their real identities, how there was no telling how Luka was going to react over the fact that his date was the cat boy with whom sometimes he fought crime with – man that was a weird line to say out loud. He had found it hard to sleep, too tense to get lost into his dreams, questioning his decision all night long.

One night, after a particularly harsh internal battle between him himself and he, he had rolled over a little too much forgetting about his poor little cheese-eating friend. He had been on his way to apologize to the squished kwami, but with a single firm gesture coming from his tiny arm Plagg had gotten him to shut up, eyes widened and extremely pissed.

“You’re telling him.” His eyelid had twitched a little. Right, he had kept him awake as well. “I don’t care what Ladybug says, I don’t care what Tikki says, you’re telling him.”

“Huh, okay?”

“It’s not a question Adrien, it’s an order. Do it or else you won’t find Atlantis that much of a natural disaster.” Wasn’t for experience he would have doubted that this tiny guy was able of much. Good thing he did have precedents, so Adrien had opted to nod and lay down once again. Following orders was still pretty normal for him anyway. “… besides…” Plagg had scooted closer to him, nudging against his shoulder while closing his eyes. “No secret is worth taking away your happiness, kid.” Adrien had found no problem sleeping from then on.

At last, after a bit more of self-convincing, it had all come down on the matter of when. Adrien wasn’t exactly sure if the news was particularly good or bad, consequentially he had no idea if the reveal had to be organized during a joyful or tense situation. Was a date a good idea? Or was it better to simply invite him over, or go to his house and talk? Luka was a great listener, but he didn’t always like to talk much, maybe he was going to feel pressured in the second case. He communicated better with songs… but writing a jingle about how he was a superhero in a leather suit with a ring that could pulverize the Tour Eiffel didn’t sound like a hit – maybe… or maybe it was, he had to ask Luka later if the matter was going to be solved. After so much time pondering, he had been left with nothing concrete, no ideas. He couldn’t ask his friends, nor Ladybug. Maybe this was a bad decision after all – never mind Plagg that was still glaring.

He had been trying to focus on his Chinese homework all afternoon, his mind running miles with him unable to make it stop. Then his phone had lightened up, a welcomed distraction that had blossomed into absolute delight at reading the sender’s name. Despite the migraine coming along with the situation, it was all worth it just for a chance to be with him.

Melody: Hey Sunshine

Melody: If I remember right you’re free tomorrow

Melody: Do you want to come over?

Me: Of course I do :)

Me: My schedule ends early afternoon

Me: Is the evening okay?

Melody: Perfect

Melody: Dress nice, it’s a date

Melody: A special one, for a special day

Me: Why? What’s tomorrow?

Melody: Wanna guess?

Me: …

Me: Thursday?

Melody: Ahah, well also

Melody: But also exactly one year since the Music Festival

Melody: It’s the day you and I met

Somehow while melting into an absolute puddle of tears and adoring whines, Adrien had realized that this guy was too wonderful. In his heart the last thing he wanted to do was ruining something good, especially a night Luka had prepared for him. But this wasn’t about himself anymore, this was about giving him what he deserved. Hopefully they were going to have a date still after this.

Hopefully. Adrien had tried to forget about that eventuality, at least enough to finish his homework. It had taken him a while to fall asleep that night – Plagg had simply whispered “thin ice” in a very grumpy tone.

The next day he had used all his experience as a model to look his best, raised two thumbs up at his mirror, and headed out. He had begged his bodyguard to leave him alone on this one and the big guy had actually agreed, somehow seeing his seriousness and commitment more than his father – granted that the bar was pretty low on that one. The path leading to the Liberty was not exactly short from his house, yet he had felt the absolute need to rethink everything. Perhaps to find it in himself the strength to blame himself for wanting to come clean only now. It had been a year, a year since he had met Luka. He had changed so much, his thoughts, his world, himself. He was there to make just another change and take control, it was terrifying and exciting…

…

… and there he was.

When he saw the Liberty, his stomach did that fluttering again. Pure tension and longing mixed together, because this was about him and it was making him grow terrified; but this was about him, and he loved everything that involved him. The sight of the ship covered in aromatic candles and roses with the table prepared on the bridge, the most romantic place once again, should had not surprised him after all. He still had to close his eyes for a moment to recollect himself.

Luka was waiting on the dock, smiling at him. It was such a lovely view, and when he extended his hand towards him it turned into the perfect view.

“You look amazing. You’re ready?”

He was. He finally was. Adrien sighed, shaking his head.

“I have to tell you something first.” Huh, something was wrong. The guitarist had changed expression, he looked so confused and hurt all of the su- wait. “Ah! No! Not that kind of ‘I have to tell you something’, an actual ‘I have to tell you something’!” He had practiced this moment for so long, how was it possible he had never noticed how off it sounded? Luka let out a nervous laugh. Ah, his hands were sweating already, where was Chat Noir’s confidence when he needed it? “I really need to get this out of my chest.”

“Oh, okay. I’m listening.”

“And if afterwards you have doubts about…” He didn’t like it, but he needed to state it as it was. “… all of this, I’ll understand.” He was in. He was doing it. No turning back. That most likely didn’t sit right with Luka, he wasn’t looking any less distressed.

He reached for him, grabbing one of his hand for comfort. Even though he didn’t understand, he was still doing his best to be there. Gosh, Adrien loved him, so much.

“Don’t jump to conclusions, tell me what it is and then we can talk about it.” He looked for communication in his relationships, he had told him from the start and even before, during the times they used to talk about anything and everything, waiting for the sun to set behind the bridge over the Seine. The blonde hoped they were going to talk too.

He closed his eyes again, took the deepest breath in his life, and nodded.

“It might sound crazy, but please listen to me and believe me.” Luka nodded immediately. “I…” He had composed a whole speech about how much these last months had been amazing, how he was sorry that he had kept quiet over something important for so long, and how he hoped that they could still try and be together for real. A convincing discussion slowly leading to the reveal. “… I’m Chat Noir, and I love you.” Out of all of that he had taken seven words max and blurted them out without a single thought in his head.

The cat was out of the bag, classic cat superhero style. If only that knowledge wasn’t making him feel worse. He was tense, sweating, completely still, waiting for his judgement. Every second was turning into a minute then an hour then it was getting lost into his own misty head.

It was warm outside, even at that hour.

Those long fingers clenched around his hand.

Adrien looked up. Luka was smiling tearfully at him, his blue eyes were mesmerizing. He laughed happily, then he reached for his cheek. Heartbeats echoed into the blonde’s head as he got closer, eyes narrowed but still open as to catch any kind of rejection. It hit him very very slowly that this was actually true, this out of world fantasy was not a fruit of his messed up imagination, and the moment the realization took over Adrien closed the distance between them. Wow. Luka kissed nothing like he would have expected. His hand on his cheek was careful and gentle like him, but his lips were caressing his with want and passion, like they had lost all the patience behind the moment they had met in electric need. Closeness was something Adrien had missed for such a long time and could never get enough of. Luka’s closeness was whole, real, his. He reached for his jacket, just to hold onto something and have another proof that this was happening.

They parted, and then got closer, kissing again and again, happily trapped into a bubble in which time and space couldn’t reach them. When they back away with trembling breaths, Adrien felt his lips getting immediately cold and couldn’t help himself as he reached for one last peck. Luka laughed into it, pressing back then leaning his forehead over his. There was an amount of sweetness into those eyes that it made the blonde want to look away, his sight getting all blurry.

“I love you too.” His hand was still over his face. “Will you be my boyfriend?”

The answer was the clearest of his life. It was screaming from the bottom of his stomach, it was highlighted in neon in the middle of his brain. He was almost tempted to tackle him to the ground and let his actions speak for himself – alright he needed to chill for a moment –, then confusion hit him. He… he said it, he had said it, right? He told him the truth about his identity. Then what was this lack of reaction? Where was the amazement, the fright, the confusion, even the anger? Adrien Agreste had just confessed he made a habit of running over the roofs of Paris in full cat cosplay and this was the reaction?

“I… you… what’s going on?” Luka giggled, probably still caught up with the latest nice mood. Maybe he didn’t believe the blonde, maybe he didn’t hear him at all. For a musician this talented it sounded farfetched to miss a sound, but you never knew. “I’m… I’m Chat Noir, Luka.”

The guitarist blinked, smile slowly decreasing but without disappearing.

“Yeah, I heard that.”

“As the superhero, Chat Noir.”

“Yeah, I know that.”

“Then why aren’t you saying anything about that?” A little shrug. The last thing he would have expected was this nonchalance. It was maddening. “I’m a superhero, I’m Chat Noir! Why aren’t you mad? You deserved to know! You should’ve known for a…” Suddenly the guitarist’s eyes were not as easy to find as before. Like they were hiding something. “… a… while…” Again, Adrien was extremely dense emotionally, and some things were harder to understand for him. But he wasn’t stupid, most important, he couldn’t ignore that little guilty grin of his taking over. “… you knew.” The pressure that had assaulted him for the last period disappeared completely, now there was only absolute shock. “You knew I was Chat Noir?!? What in the world, since when?!?”

The guitarist passed a hand over his neck, looking a little reluctant. It was a little weird of an emotion on him, on someone so on track with himself and proud of his persona. He took his hands, gently guiding him onto the bridge. That was one relief at least.

“To be honest, I was never completely sure. If you hadn’t told me I wouldn’t have known one hundred percent… but at some point I started to have my suspicions.” He led him near the rail, the moon was mirroring into the water of the Seine. His heart soared at the view. “It was the kind of thought you pay attention to only when something comes up, so I never actively tried to prove it was real.” He sounded relaxed. Perhaps he had made peace with it for a while.

Adrien nodded absently, feeling a weird limbo between relief that he wasn’t completely recognizable and that there were at least doubts in people’s minds.

“Okay, but there has to be a time when you started to think about it.”

“… there was a moment.” Once more Luka looked guilty, while smiling still. He looked at him, raising his hands. “Again, it was a doubt, not a certainty. I never actively knew for sure you were Chat Noir, okay?” The blonde frowned but nodded. “Well… remember the Desperada incident?”

He gaped, so strongly he almost chocked.

“You have a suspicion for months?!” Luka laughed a little, that managed to calm him down a little.

“An idea, a speculation, call it what you want. It got me and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.” He leaned against the rail, looking pensive. “We were hiding in the lockers, and while I was in there I heard you opening and closing a locker… then opening and closing a door.” Holy Miraculous he was an idiot. “When I found you with Ladybug in the sewer you left, and I got the snake Miraculous. Right after that Chat Noir was back.” He grinned, eyes lightening up. “From that moment the possibility has never really left my mind, and nothing has happened that made me think it couldn’t be real.” Of course not, Adrien was never around Chat Noir and Chat Noir was never around Adrien. It almost made sense – sure, ‘almost’.

Adrien took a few deep breaths, still recovering from that sudden reveal – a confession that did not go the way he would have expected. He looked at this guy who so calmly was taking everything in, a view that was calming like very few other things and, slowly, he smiled, joining him at admiring the Seine. He let his head fall onto his shoulder, closing his eyes for a moment.

“I was so worried about this.”

“I’m sorry, I really didn’t know what to do. On one hand I didn’t want it to be true, because it made me feel anxious whenever I looked at the news and saw another dangerous akuma.” He wrapped his arm around him protectively. It felt so nice. “On the other, it was kind of an endearing thought, that the two gorgeous blondes I knew just happened to be the same person.” Gosh he was going to die, this person did not hold back with compliments with either of them.

Speaking of…

“Wait, if you were thinking about it since back then… were you teasing me on purpose whenever you talked about Chat Noir in front of me?” Whoa, he had to take in the fact that this very zen guitarist was able to make such a suggestive smile. I made his entire face burn. “Oh my gosh.”

“You were always blushing whenever I did it, I couldn’t help myself.”

“For real??”

“It was too adorable. At that point either you were really him or you found him attractive as well… which I would’ve understood.”

“Stooop!!” Adrien covered his eyes, his heart bursting out of his chest, laughing out what was left of his fear. “… you really don’t care? I’m the one who asked you out, not Chat Noir.” A bit a sadness made him step away just a little. “And people like me better when I’m not him…”

“If people aren’t into you when you’re a blonde superhero with a sexy catsuit, maybes there’s something wrong with them. I suggest blindness.” It got him to laugh. Luka brought him closer, arms around him. “Besides, there aren’t two people here. You are Adrien, and you are Chat Noir. Being a superhero is a part of you. And I love it, because it makes you… you.” Truly sincerity was his biggest quality. Adrien didn’t doubt a word that had come out of his mouth. He leaned his head into the crook of his shoulder.

“Are you sure?” Luka nodded, his hair tickling his cheek.

Then he pulled away. He put a finger under his chin, raising it up. Their eyes met. There was such a calm, comfortable world behind those blue globes. It made him want to never leave.

“You’re a rare symphony, Adrien Agreste, one that had been kept hidden for far too long. I wanna hear that song, your soul, finally free to be heard. I want to know its beauty, because the echo alone is astonishing.” He knew him. He knew all of him. “The kind and selfless to a fault, the professional and determinate model, the mischievous and enchanting superhero, these are all notes that play in your life, that make your life. And I wanna be part of that song, if you will let me.” He pressed another, shorter kiss on his lips, as to seal this moment forever into his body, forever into his heart.

There was no way Adrien would have been able to stop tears. Luka gulped. The blonde smiled, a horribly wide, unsophisticated curve that would have made all of his photographers shudder at the same time. Perhaps that was why it felt so immensely good.

“You… y-you’re not allowed to say you’re not good with words after this.”

The guitarist laughed, relieved, holding him closer.

“It’s a yes then, Sunshine?” Adrien smiled, reaching forward again, thinking that there was no imaginary world of his able to replicate this.

“It’s a yes, Melody.”

This was pure, unparalleled, wholesome reality.

[wakaoujisenhime]

Hello!~ Can I ask for 200 event funny scenario about Rakuzan cute manager, who gets a lot of confession, so Rakuzan boys get jealous and want to protect her?

A/N: This turned out quite differently than I had originally planned it, but I hope you’ll like and enjoy it nonetheless! (∿°○°)∿ ♡  

Also, can someone explain to me why all the fluffy images of them are mostly without Mayuzumi?? This man deserves way more love (/ _ ; ) watch me edit him in there one day

Tags: Rakuzan x reader ✅ SFW ✅  fluff ✅

━━━━☆ ━━━━☆ ━━━━☆

Love letters - Rakuzan x reader

A small light blue whistle dangled from your neck as you shouted out to the jogging members of the basketball club: “Come on, guys, just one more round!“

Since your first year in Rakuzan, you had joined the basketball club and had become their manager. In the beginning, you weren’t really noticed by the team, but that was not surprising because the captain was being trusted and listened to more than the actual coach.

Akashi’s judgment was truly impressing, and you couldn’t help but respect him as well...but there was no way in hell you’d just sit back as the rest and leave every responsibility resting on this young man’s shoulders.

Much to everybody’s surprise, you’d just butt into their conversations and share your view on the topic. That action alone left a lot of your classmates and upperclassmen flabbergasted, and just some days later, the school had labeled you fearless for daring to directly speak with these overly respected men.

Back then, you didn’t know about their reputation and titles at all, so you acted purely instinctual. If someone had told you beforehand who they were, though, you probably would’ve kept your mouth shut. But that lucky ‘mistake’ was the exact reason for your wholesome relationship with them now...

You see, all these boys ever wanted - outside of the basketball club - was to be accepted by someone the way they were. They were also ‘normal’ students like you and your classmates...the only exception was their immense talent and sincerity for the sport they loved, so why did they get treated like some kind of abnormalities?

Their peers’ rumors and reserved attitudes seemingly didn’t bother them that much, but you knew better and managed to see past their façades. You genuinely cared for them and everything that involved their person.

At first, it seemed really unnatural to them. The fact that someone as adorable as you was out there, willing to invest the majority of their time for them and their talent truly made them happy.

Slowly but surely, they began opening up to you. After just a few months, you became their most trusted person, whom they could always go to in order to discuss any- and everything, so the moment something or someone stood between you guys, they wouldn’t even bat a lash to show their true colors.

——

“Good morning, manager!!” a chirpy and a deep voice simultaneously called out to you.

“Kotaro and Nebuya! Good morning you two.”

You were about to open your shoe locker and continue your daily conversation with the club members. Still, when you unlocked that small door, something pushed it open and ended up startling anybody who was remotely close to you.

“Are these...”

“Love letters?”

With a small and slightly uncomfortable smile, you kneeled down and picked the few envelopes up from the floor, turning to the two young men behind you whose wide eyes were about to pop out from their sockets.

“Yeah...someone has been putting these in my locker every morning for the past few weeks,“ you explained and giggled silently at the cute little stickers your mysterious admirer had chosen this time. Upon seeing that angelic smile of yours, the two basketball players began panicking internally and started bombarding you with one question after the other.

When did you receive the very first letter? Is there some kind of signature for the sender? Have they been following you around? Are they bothering you?

Just as you were about to answer them, the school bell interrupted you, and as much as you wanted to continue your talk with them, your classes were more important at the moment. So the three of you rescheduled that talk for later, during club activities, and went off to your respective classrooms.

——

“Huuh?! A secret admirer?”

“Yes!! Can you believe it?”

As soon as the last bell for today rang, Nebuya and Kotaro had sprinted to the gym to inform the others about today’s discovery.

Finding out that someone as valuable as you were being admired by someone else was no surprise, of course, but it still hurt them, and it even awoke a feeling they had never experienced before...jealousy.

Mayuzumi watched them discuss this topic with such seriousness that he couldn’t help but laugh at them internally, and as their upperclassman, he felt the urge to tear them off a strip.

“I hope you guys are aware that (Y/N) has a life of her own and is allowed to do whatever she wants with whoever she wants; it’s none of our business now, is it?”

The others had turned towards him and were wide-eyed by the fact that he had even openly spoken up on a topic that concerned you. He’d usually either choose to remain silent or pretend like he wasn’t listening.

Akashi nodded with a small smile and took it upon himself to answer the grey-haired young man. “I am pretty sure they’re aware of that, but you have to be honest with yourself and admit that it’ll be a huge loss for all of us if she were to find a boyfriend right when our team’s at its prime time.”

The third-year squinted his eyes at his captain. “You do know that you’re overreacting, right? I mean...all you have are her words and some envelopes that fell from her locker.”

“But they were sealed with cute heart stickers, right Ko-chan?!”

Reo chirped in as his light-colored eyes darted over to the blond in question, whose answer consisted of some energetic nods. Mayuzumi was slowly losing his patience with them, and just as he was about to counter that statement, your cheerful voice echoed in the entire gym, greeting your fellow club members.

It should’ve surprised you to see them stand this close to each other, but you figured that they were probably discussing something basketball-related, so you kept your questions to yourself and began preparing for today’s training.

They used that short moment to arrange a short meeting after practice to plan their next steps.

——

“Ok, what’s our way of procedure, guys?” asked Kotaro in an unusual humorless tone. Nebuya, who was standing behind him, couldn’t help but laugh out loud at how serious his goofy friend was. The bigger man wrapped his muscular arm around the boy’s shoulder and told him to relax. Reo watched the two of them fool around with a bothered expression. At the same time, Akashi smiled to himself, bringing the cup of tea to his lips. Mayuzumi, on the other hand, watched that somewhat controversial scene unfold in front of him. It was beyond him how you believed the obvious lie they told you at the end of today’s training.

The five of you had made it a tradition to always go to either the station or the nearest bakery after practice, and even though the third year himself never really wanted to accompany you all, you always made sure to drag him along...even if it was against his will. So when you had asked them if they wanted to go to get something sweet today, they all refused for the most ridiculous reasons, and he was sure that you’ll see through these obvious lies. But when you just innocently smiled at them, he figured that you either turned a blind eye to it or you truly believed that Nebuya was on a “no-meat-diet” and that Kotaro was going to study and do his homework.

“I do not entirely agree with this since it seems to be a rather...drastic approach,” answered Akashi after the muscular man next to him asked what he thought of the plan. He just suggested, “what about you, Mayuzumi? What’s your take on this?”

Said boy sighed and replied tiredly that whatever conclusion they’d reach would be too overdramatic and drastic.

“You do know that if she decides to get to know her secret admirer better, she won’t be having that much time to read novels and recommend them to you, right?” asked Reo with a mischievous grin.

Silence...

The grey-haired young man leaned forward and looked at his teammates.

“Ok, what’s the plan?”

——

1st step: obtain a letter from her locker...

“Good morning (Y/N).“

“Akashi, good morning!“

You were just about to open the small door of your locker, change your shoes and see if you had received another love letter, but that’s when the captain of the basketball club had stopped you. Wondering if something was wrong, you asked him if you could help him in some way.

“Oh, nothing is wrong; I merely wanted to inform you that one of your teachers asked the basketball club to visit some of the classes and advertise the club since a lot of the first- and second-years appear to not have joined any after-school-activity. So I wanted to ask if you perhaps know someone that might be interested in joining a club.”

While the two of you continued that talk, you failed to see how Kotaro sneaked up behind you, looked in your locker, gave the red-haired young man an unobtrusive signal that there was no letter to be found, and vanished as quickly and quietly as he’d come.

...if the first step fails, we just need to keep a good eye on her surroundings and look for people interested in her...

“(Y/N), someone’s here to see you!” said one of your classmates as they pointed to your classroom’s door, where Reo was standing and nonchalantly leaning against its frame. You thanked them and hurried over to where one of your best friends was standing.

“Hey, sweetie, sorry for bothering you, but I wanted to ask you if you wanted to join me during the break.”

It has been quite a while since the two of you had spent a break together, so you had no reason to refuse and happily accepted his invitation.

With Reo, you could always talk about every kind of topic, whether it was about the last wrestling match you watched on TV or the cute keychain you saw hanging from your neighbor’s bag. The two of you would always get so invested in your dialogue that you completely missed how some of the students were glancing at you and how some even turned their heads when you passed them. On the other hand, your companion noticed every single one of them, and with his keen eye for outer appearance, he managed to memorize their most prominent features.

...next up, we’ll look for our suspects and interrogate them, but some of them won’t be very talkative, so I suggest we pull out the big guns right from the get-go...  

Thanks to the descriptions Reo forwarded to the others, they quickly formed an ‘intimidation squad,’ distributed the students equally amongst each other, and went ahead to do their job.

Nebuya, as the tallest and most muscular out of the rest, was assigned to the first-year students. It was an easy and quick job to intimidate them. All he had to do was stand at the door and ask whether the person that fitted Reo’s description is present and that he wanted to talk about their interest in the club’s manager. Of course, no one gave the student in question away out of fear and worry about what the basketball team's center might do to them, but the message was successfully forwarded.

Mayuzumi, as the main team’s third-year, had to take care of the second-years. Thanks to his low presence and high self-pride, he expected that he’d get treated with the necessary respect as these students' senior. That was the case for two or three with whom he talked to. He was quite eloquent, and thanks to his broad novel expertise, he knew how to skillfully ask them whether or not they harbored any strong feelings for you that might have resulted in daily love letters. Others, though, didn’t seem to care what he had to say to them and when you became their talk’s topic, they started mocking him and calling him your stalker...and that’s when he lost his patience. His presence might be low, but the moment he gets annoyed, he’ll make sure that everyone knows about it. Mayuzumi took hold of the boy’s collar and brought him close to his own face.

“I don’t mind you insulting me, but stay away from her...if you don’t...I'll make to follow every step of yours, and you’ll have to constantly be on the lookout for me. You know what’s going to be so fun about it?... You’ll never know whether or not I’m there, so you better speak up and leave her alone or else...”  

The person who took care of the third-years was no other than Akashi himself. For him, it didn’t matter which year he had to talk to; he was respected, feared, and known by the entire school anyway. Like Nebuya, all he had to do was go to the people in question and ask them what their business with you was, and luckily the majority of them broke the moment they saw his icy glare. Unfortunately, one thought that he shouldn’t care about who this rumored emperor was and act according to his status. A bad decision, really...he was lucky enough that all Akashi got his hands on was a broomstick and not something sharper like scissors or even a compass. Long story short, the third-year was successfully interrogated and intimidated, another job well done.

While they were running around and collecting information, Kotaro and Reo were given the task of distracting you and constantly standing by your side, hindering any other people from coming too close to you. But when someone played with the thought of wanting to talk to or even look at you, the blond would only glare at that student until they gave up. Those who had more courage and didn’t get that easily intimidated were chased away by Reo’s overly interested attitude. The moment someone came up to you and just interrupted your talk with them, the black-haired young boy would butt in and start showering them with compliments until they either were too creeped out or completely mesmerized.

...our mission will only then be considered a success when she stopped receiving those letters, understood?

A week and a half had passed since the execution of their plan, and one afternoon, Kotaro and Nebuya decided to ask you about those letters.

“Oh, those? I stopped receiving them some days ago..”

You weren’t as affected as they had expected you to be, but they were glad and happy nonetheless, knowing that their plan had worked. Now, you were theirs, and no one else’s, and anyone who wanted to take you away from them is hopefully prepared for the consequences...

[cozykozume]

Growing Pains

Slow Burn Tendou x f!reader 

Chapter One - Orientation

WC: 1479

OC’s below:

Daiki, Ho-sook, Jules, Sofia - Readers high-school friends

Jazmin - Daichi’s girlfriend

Lysette - Ushijima’s girlfriend

Ayanna - Kuroo's girlfriend

I have tried to keep any identifying information out (body type, skin tone, hair color, etc.) but there may be some instances where it alludes to a curvier y/n.

Thank you so so much to all my beta readers so far, especially @hispipsqueak, @lemonadencran and @anime-nymph

You met Tendou during your freshman year of college. He was one of the freshman team leaders and of course you had been assigned to his group. Granted, compared to a lot of the other team leads, you had gotten one of the fun ones. Tendou constantly had goofy things to say and kept people laughing. But when you looked in his eyes, it wasn’t humor that you saw. There was a depth to them, something darker hidden in those scarlet hues that you couldn't place.

You were fairly quiet during orientation. Since you were surrounded by people you didn't know, you preferred to watch them a bit more before interacting. You found it easier to observe the people around you and adjust yourself to the environment, mixing into the background rather than standing out. This behavior was something that you had brought with you from your high school years. It had nothing to do with not wanting to make friends; rather it was just easier to skate by on the outskirts, no risk but also no reward.

That's not to say you didn’t have friends in school. Throughout elementary and middle school, you were friendly with a number of people, some of them you are even still friendly with today. It wasn’t until you were in high school that you met your now best friends. Actually, the four of them had been friends before meeting you, but Ho-Sook invited you to sit with them at lunch during your 2nd year of school and she kept doing it until you kind of just became part of their group.

Ho-Sook was definitely the friendliest of the group and the one you connected with the most. Daiki and Jules became best friends after going to an all boys middle school, and Sofia lived down the street from Ho-Sook since elementary school so they had always kind of stuck together. Sofia and Jules were both very serious about their studies, both wanting to get into very competitive fields. They met during cram school their first year and that was how their group of friends came to be. Naturally, you always felt a little left out because of their history together but you figured it would get better with time. And it did somewhat, but there was still something missing, or so you thought. It wasn’t like you had a lot to compare it to, so you were truly happy with the friends you had.

Thinking about your friends, how they were doing, and if they were missing you as much as you were missing them took up a lot of your thoughts while orientation dragged on. This was the slower portion where they were going over campus safety and what to do during different situations. You should have been listening, you really should have. But you couldn’t bring yourself to care enough to zone back in and focus on what the overly happy team leader had to say.

“This could be useful information at some point you know,” a hushed voice said from behind. You gasped softly, whipping your head around to be met with two piercing red eyes. A few people around you looked back, their eyes shifting between you sitting in the chair and Tendou crouched close behind you. He smiled at the others, motioning with his hand for them to turn back around. The unhappy look on some of their faces humored you, causing a small smile to paint your face.

“Ahh, so she does smile…” He whispered again along with a small chuckle. You looked at him, attempting to wipe the smile off your face as you rolled your eyes. “So you can smile for me, gasp for me, and even roll your eyes. Yet you haven’t said a single word to me all day. Tsk tsk where are your manners?” He teased, sitting on the ground next to your chair. As he pulled his legs up to set his chin on, you looked down at him.

“And what do you expect me to say to you exactly?” You whispered, another smirk playing at the corners of your lips. Tendou’s eyes zeroed in on your lips as your tongue peeked out to wet them.

“I have a feeling that you don’t operate according to anyone else's expectations…”

This caused you to laugh softly, the people around you once again twisting in their seats to see where the noise was coming from.

Tendou waved his hands at the people who turned around while facing you. “Shhhh, we’re in an orientation you know.” He said just loud enough for you to hear, his voice dripping with sarcasm. You once again rolled your eyes, your arms crossed over your chest as you attempted to zone back out.

But each time you tried to zone back into your intricate daydreams, this head of fiery red hair would pull you from your inner thoughts. He could not sit still for the life of him. If he wasn’t rocking back and forth while listening to the leader at the front talk, he was picking at the dirt on his shoes. And if it wasn’t the dirt on his shoes, then it was the dirt on YOUR shoes.

Any other circumstances, this would annoy you to no end. But for some reason when this redhead did it, it made you smile and want to laugh. “Do you think that you could sit still for five minutes? I’m trying to listen to this very important information being given to me.” You whispered to him, not even attempting to cover the smile that had formed on your face.

Tendou’s eyes lit up as he picked up on the teasing tone of your voice. “Oh yeah? Can you tell me what she’s talking about right now?” He asked, his tone matching yours. You looked forward, trying to remember anything the woman had said within the past ten minutes.

“Well, that’s the point. I haven’t been able to listen because someone has been distracting me. I can’t focus on what she’s saying,” you retorted, biting your bottom lip to keep yourself from laughing at your own outrageous statement.

The glint in his eye caused your stomach to knot up as he licked his lips. “For some reason, something tells me you aren’t a good listener to begin with. You need some...gentle reminders to listen and behave well.”

You opened and closed your mouth several times, trying to come up with a snarky comeback but your mind was completely blank.

The clapping around you caused you to jump, looking around and clapping your hands to keep up the appearance that you knew what was going on. Tendou smiled, standing up as he began clapping as well. You could feel the fire in your cheeks as you stood, grabbing your bag and looking around for the nearest exit.

“Here, I know a quicker way out of here,” Tendou whispered in your ear, grabbing your elbow. In your mind you knew you shouldn’t follow him, but your body clearly did not care about reason or logic. Before you knew it, Tendou was weaving through people, making his way to the front of the room.

You both slipped through a door into a dark hallway that led to a flight of stairs. The only thing you could feel was your heart beating erratically, causing your body to vibrate with excitement and Tendou’s long slender fingers intertwined with yours. After a few more twists and turns, Tendou pushed open a big metal door and your eyes were blinded with sunlight. You looked around as you stepped outside, covering your eyes with the hand that Tendou was not holding hostage. You were in a back parking lot within view of all the other orientation students.

Tendou laughed, walking slowly towards the group as they headed away from you guys. If not for his fingers still locked with yours, you would have stood there just staring. “Where did you think I was going to take you?” He chuckled, “Think I was gonna kidnap ya?” He joked, his eyes staring straight into yours like he was reading your entire soul. As much as you tried to look away from him, you couldn’t seem to break the intense eye contact. Finally you both jumped when you heard a whistle, signaling it was time to break for lunch.

“Did you bring something with you or do you need to go to the café?” Tendou asked, dropping your hand as he twisted his backpack around to the front of his body. He began digging through his bag, pulling out extra clothing and a few empty water bottles.

“Uhh no. I actually packed something to eat for today...I wasn’t sure what kind of food they were going to have in the café.”

Tendou smiled, pulling his lunch out of his bag and looking back at you. “Great. Then we can eat lunch together. I know a great spot.”

[getreadytosmash]

Small smash headcanons I was thinking of and to put out my reboot designs

Skaar

Skaar took a more gladiator look from his time on Sakaar and no longer wears the loin cloth except for when he's on off days

His hair gets to around his upper back and often tends to be in buns and ponytails

Working on his reading and writing and gets help from Hulk and goes to the Xavier Institute for sessions with his mind control and memories

Got introduced to queer stuff by Rick and he was THRILLED to find out about this stuff and the footage of Skaar carefully picking out non binary, asexual and panromantic stuff was trending for a month

Yes I'm going into pridecanons a little more

Skaar's very happy with his own feelings of being nb. The rocks below him whisper about it always being fine and he doesn't need to care about what others say anyway. Not when they're too busy calling him a monster to care about his gender

Anyway. Skaar's sex neutral and I say this because its quite often the theory that all ace folks won't have kids blah blah but??? Some aces want sex to have kids and that's Skaar.

Ridiculously good sword fighter and often meets up with Nightcrawler and Shadowcat to have sword fights and compare tricks

Lots of whipping scars on his back and some around his mouth that hardly anyone knows are from

Has a matching scar with Red of a circle on the back of his neck as well as running lighting scars up his hands and feet with Rick, Red and Jen from where the Skrulls tried to harvest their gamma

Absolutely has the tattoo and has no clue about it

Occasionally has days where he can't remember the entire event and Skaar's become rather thankful that they can rely on Rick's cameras to guide him home if needed.

Adores the Savage Lands and is best friends with Kazaar and Zabu

Sometimes copies memes from Rick and it’s terrible

Likes having Jen help him with normal stuff, especially when she helps him learn stuff like reading and writing 

Rick

Yeah, can’t feel anything and that causes a few secret depression episodes aha 

Big on other sensory stuff now. Really likes to savour sights, sounds, taste and smells since he lacks a big ass part of it now. It really isn’t that uncommon for Rick to have a low of flowers within his bedroom and shit. 

Has to file down his spikes since they keep growing and often Hulk does it for him while Rick falls asleep

Rick needs a lot more protein now and often eats eggs or fish and gets into big fights with Red over it daily

Uses a stylish for everything since his fingers don’t work on touchscreens anymore

Often wears sleeveless jackets with different pins. Owns four of them with three of them entirely dedicated to alien, mutant and bi rights

Well known Youtuber and I really need to get around to writing some videos he’s done god someone remind me to put out that shit

Hardcore gamer and still screams at Samuel to help make a dating sim come oN-

Can hold his breath for an hour and a half and didn’t realise until he fell asleep in the bath and got woken up by Hulk panicking and tossing him out of the water

Very intent on mutant rights and often helps out with teenage mutants and raising the social status of the school 

Loves bi culture and is very defensive over aspects of his identity after years of feeling lost among the orphanages 

Has gotten more comfortable with his gender since he’s been wearing kilts and skirts for almost two years now

Used to have scars across his hands and thighs from years of canings from the nuns but now has a large cracked scar across his chest after Abomination ripped his shell off

Red unintentionally fathers him and blames Hulk 

Best pals with Jen and Betty and is the only one who gets to join them on Ladies Night with Lyra and Marlo

Stands on his tip toes when talking to Hulk often because he wants to be tall and it amuses Hulk to no end

Jen

Has a lot of different costumes she changes regularly and Rick always posts a vote on “What outfit has Jen got this week?”

Freckles and curly hair galore 

Hulk paints her nails and she does the same for him and it isn’t long before Skaar joins in

Works in New York but stays at Vista Verde for her time off

Yes i do want a all female gamma mutate team and yes they are A-force

They consist of Jen, Betty, Lyra, Carmilla and Marlo but are sometimes joined by other female heroes

Wears sweatband wrists, left one is the bi flag and the right one is the trans flag

Was afraid about being open towards loving women for a few years since Jen knew her father didn’t do anything about Bruce’s abuse, what would happen to her if Brian found out she liked more than boys? Came out after hulking out and is happier than ever

The same goes for being trans since Jen’s form is based heavily on her mentality of her body. Gamma gave Jen the body she wanted and she was SO pleased with it

tbh I do imagine she was more comic/noodle armed at the start since Jen wanted to look rather feminine but over time she’s gotten more comfortable with her body and idea of who she wants to be and slowly she got beefier 

Has two wardrobes at the base and makes Red help rearrange stuff for laughs

Pals with Samuel and often enjoys sitting around and dragging him out for shopping and starbucks while discussing cases

The one who appears in Rick’s youtube videos the most 

Can never finish a book and feels deep seeded adhd guilt

Sings outloud to every thing she hears 

Likes grape flavoured stuff and she is so thankful that she can’t die for that sin

BEST pals with Betty and Rick. Like. There’s a reason my “Betty is the OG Hulk and is a lil wlw with Jen” has happened honestly 

Has vitiligo patches of grey around her arms that were left over from her more traumatic transformations

Watches Red bake if she’s having a panic attack and the videos don’t help

Red

Has a lot of scars over his body from where Ghost Rider’s chain dug into him and left him burnt. idk seems really fucking cool

Like Jen, has yellow patches along his spine and hands from where he was joined mentally with Zzzax 

Still gets nightmares about said incident and is still scared for the day that a nightmare is actually happening

Started to bake because it helps from when he couldn’t control his heat powers or during ptsd attacks

Tends to get lost in work alongside Samuel, especially if they’re overly excited about a certain idea

Hulk fondly calls him a nerd for this exact reason and Red tackles him over it to this day

Tech reacts to him badly sometimes due to his possession issues and there’s been once or twice where he’s had some...odd experiences when it’s come to certain technology or alien tech

Stays the same mostly with his outfits but occasionally wears a leather jacket and fuck it takes his shirt off a lot he’s a dilf he can do that 

The one who crouches for humans the most and it isn’t uncommon for him to do it purely to unsettle the humans. Ass

Uh. Likes women but??? Sometimes there’s an annoying guy and shit being able to be easily suplexed now means that anyone who can do it can kinda catch his eyes and he fucked a demon- uh. Red has a lot of thoughts now about dating and it’s nerve-wracking

Still does missions with his Thunderbolt team and still hangs out with Hell’s Circle team when he met others that had been dragged down to hell as well

Gets courted by vampires and hates the fact that the others laugh at it 

Gets nightmares of crashing, of electric burning him away but doesn’t want to admit to the fact that he has some ptsd 

Not really Red but fuck it Betty has her own team and I’m shifting the Gamma Corps for Betty so her team involves; Betty (Harpy), Marlo (Sirin), Clay (Hulkverine), Lyra (Athen), Carmilla (Scorpion) and Gwen (Daydream) 

Right. Uh. So for those who don’t know who Daydream are, basically the writer at this time had been going through a bad divorce and he treated Betty like SHIT which involved breaking Bretty up before they could have a child, making Betty suffer a miscarriage, killing her and having the villain Nightmare raping her in her sleep and having Betty give birth to Daydream who appeared for one arc and was never seen again. So. I’m mad. 

anyway fuck him but I did like Daydream so instead she was an experiment from gamma base as a unique weapon that got used to infiltrate the Agents sleep but was later on rescued along with the rest of the gamma experiments. Got adopted by Betty when she found out Gwen had her DNA and went “oh worm?” to getting a baby i have more thoughts about this but u know. carry on.

Hulk

So Tired. Part time team leader and Avengers and even has his many own adventures of trying to help so many people out

I imagine he has a lot of the same issues as Steven in suf where Hulk often stresses out more about not being able to help people since he worries about the worst case scenarios 

Gets forced to take days off by each of the team and appreciates it but dear god if he doesn’t get anxiety about the whole situation every time

SomeTIMES he wears a blue shirt but only sometimes and that’s if he’s actually prepared for missions. Also has boots Red got him but Hulk keeps those clean and safe instead

Team dad for a reason. Fathers anything he can get his hands on and well known for it enough that Rick and Skaar get him something for fathers day every year and Jen gets him goofy ties because she KNOWS he doesn’t throw them out

Pretty relaxed about being pan and yes he makes jokes about being attracted to kitchenware he’s THAT terrible Rick wants to die and not come back pls 

Buys a lot of pride stuff for the others. Skaar owns so many nb and ace colour chalks he needs help

Really wants to own a guinea pig but he’s worried about scaring it or not being around all that often to take care of it properly

Falls asleep through almost every movie that he usually starts one half of it one day and finishes it the next day

Meets up with Ben Grimm and Logan Howlett every Wednesday for a night out. Usually they do bowling, play cards or go out to eat. It’s isn’t uncommon for other heroes like Spidey or Gambit to join them occasionally

Has business lunches with Betty to discuss movements of gamma mutates that turns into a fun brawl because they’re immortal children

Keeps a whiteboard in his room so that he can have arguments with Joe and Bruce.

Samuel

Keeps his outfit relatively the same but adjusts it slightly so it isn’t the exact same outfit he wears back when he was evil

Tends to cover up more after he gains a power that lets him control people just by touch

Aware of this power and thus often awkwardly flitters when someone near him might be upset and keeps spare gloves or arm sleeves on hard just in case

Has the sharpest teeth of all the hulks and actually tends to file them down so he doesn’t need to “scare people off” when in reality he’s self conscious about his teeth and the fact that he keeps biting his tongue by accident 

Buys and redesigns Icarus’s cage every other month to make it more elaborate, is currently fighting the constant urge to buy more rats for this reason

Demiboy! Fine with what he is, doesn’t give a shit. He rules hell and he’ll send you there if you argue with him so who the fuck cares if Samuel wears dresses and makeup?

Big stupid bi. Cannonly into women who are more powerful than him with examples being Rikki (Aka Brilliance, a female Leader) who kicked his ass and threw him across the room with her more advanced mind, Betty Ross...who can blame him, and lately is that one scientist in Hulkverine who Samuel literally fell for within one night sksksk

Big manipulator for people he cares about. Samuel has and will make elaborate plans to keep someone he cares about safe and is more than willing to kill anyone who has hurt his loved ones

Owns a large collection of nail polishes and tends to vary them when he’s bored and creates amazing art. Red watched Samuel once spend and hour re-creating all of Van Gogh’s paintings on his nails

Really good friends with Betty surprisingly, mostly because she can make jokes about being dead and he’ll just snort and go “same” 

Has the second best sense of smell after Skaar as he can smell early signs of sickness as well as a wider range of emotions

Info dumps so much and has long winded theories about the oddest things that resonate really well on the Youtube channel

talks to his oversized rat so seriously

Suffers nightmares and currently runs the Down Below and is so tired

Has actually died from exhaustion twice already 

Has large sockets in his back due to the fact that Samuel physically cannot hold the information he knows all the time and uses it to charge his phone

Still hangs out with villains like Loki and Mystique tho

[tortuerex]

My honest, humble, and not-objective-at-all opinion about THE CLONE WARS : STORIES OF LIGHT AND DARK

THE CLONE WARS : STORIES OF LIGHT AND DARK by various authors, published in 2020 (canon)

To be really honest, this book wasn't supposed to be the next on my « to-do » list. I'm currently reading Lords of the Sith and enjoying it, and was willing to make my next review about it, but the last two weeks has been a rough time and I couldn't manage to read a single page.

So instead of making you wait longer, I'll use the Clone Wars book as a filler, because I think I can be quick on this one (I think ? Let's see how many pages I'm going to write then).

In case you're not aware, Stories and Light and Dark (let's just call it SLD) is a short stories collection about the Clone Wars, each different story being about a set of Clone Wars episodes you already know about, but from a different point of view, focusing on one character being the narrator.

If you haven't seen the Clone Wars TV show yet, this book will probably be very confusing most of the time, because clearly what's at stakes isn't the story itself but what's going on in the head of a certain character. You'll probably end up thinking « yea that was cool I learnt about what was thinking Kenobi at this point but I haven't had any idea what was going on. »

Since every story is independant and was written by a different author, I can't give you a summary of the whole book. I'll give my opinion on the book at the end of the ticket but I'll take a bit of time to say what I thought about each story first.

Get your seatbelt on because we're going to start the SLD rollercoaster now :)

SHARING THE SAME FACE by Jason Fey

Not bad but no overly interesting. The whole point is to tell us how Yoda feel about the Clones, but to be honest we don't learn really much more in the story than in the episode.

I liked how Yoda compare the Clones to children and how different from each others he make them feel, reassuring them that they are all different and they all matter for him. That was nice.

Not much more to say about it.

DOOKU CAPTURED by Lou Anders

Probably the most goofy story of the book, based of some of the goofiest episodes on the show. It's telling us from Dooku's point of view the story of how he was captured by Hondo Ohnaka and had to team up with Obi-Wan and Anakin to escape.

It was really funny to read but also really awkward (faithful to the show...), and in my head I was constantly thinking « there's no way he's going to tell all of this stuff to his master without being slowy burned by his own shame ». At the end of the story, when Dooku changes his mind and decides to delete his holorecording and never tells his master about this whole story, I was like « yas boy I would have done the same, just keep it to yourself ».

That's the kind of story that put a smile on your face but leaves you with a bit of « wtf did i just read »

HOSTAGE CRISIS by Preeti Chhibber

This story suffers from what will a major problem in others stories : telling us something we already know without sounding redundant. It's the whole «Cade Bane and his crew taking the Senate hostage » but from Anakin's pow, and... the show was already mostly on Anakin.

It wasn't bad, not gonna lie, I liked reading how Anakin was feeling about Padmé, their relationship and her job. But it was only the first pages of the story. Once the hostage-taking has begun, it's just about describing us Anakin trying to save the day (and I've seen the show, I know how it goes) and not much about how Anakin feels. Yet it could have been interesting, Anakin being under the urge of saving his wife, the stress and the anger against Bane... but I didn't feel any of that. Just a Jedi doing Jedi stuff and being the hero at the end of the day.

To me, this story is a missed opportunity to show us how the Dark Side of the Force is strong in this one.

PURSUIT OF PEACE by Anna Ursu

Before reading this story I wasn't sure about how I felt about this whole book. This was the first one allowing me to make my mind and to think I was glad I bought it.

Unpopular opinion (depending on how you feel, of course) : I'm not a fan of Padmé. I liked her in The Phantom Menace, because she's a young, fierce, and powerful girl trying to make her way as the queen of Naboo. In Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, I feel like she has been switched from « young powerful woman » to « Anakin's love interest in need of being saved ». I know that's not completely true and I know she can still make her way with a lasergun, but like a lot of female characters in stories, once she is completing her role as a love-interest, there's not much left for her except waiting for her husband at home and making children.

That being said, that's not her fault if her character was poorly written in the AotC and RotS. I feel like The Clone Wars is trying to correct it and make her a stronger character, even leading some episodes of the show.

And because this review is already longer that the other ones, I'll try to make the rest of it short : I can say I loved this story. It's about Padmé meeting her separatist friend Mina Bonteri with Ahsoka, and how she tries to stop the war.

We see how strong and determined she is, how aware she is of the mask she has to wear in public as a senator, how far she's ready to go to stop the slaughter. How hard it is to be a female senator wanting peace.

I liked that, like the matching episodes, this story isn't all black and white with bad separatists and good republicans. I liked having a glimpse at Star Wars politic too (not-so-unpopular opinion : I'm not a fan of politics either).

Over all the rest, I loved that this story made me appreciate Padmé more that before.

Big thumb up.

THE SHADOW OF UMBARA by Yoon Ha Lee

As you could guess, this is the Umbara quadrilogy episodes, and it's from Rex's pow. And my biggest disappointment of the book. I loved The Umbara quadrilogy, even though I feel like it could have been a trilogy instead because sometimes it's a bit repetitive, but I loved it.

This story is nothing more that the description of the TV show. I'd love to say « no more no less » but it won't be true, since in the show we can see the sacrifice of Hardcase. The only bit you'll get is « Rex wanted to mourn Hardcase properly, but there was no time. » That's all, case closed, move along.

Oh, and when Clones realise they were shooting each others and were fooled by Krell ? « Rex clenched his hand as Waxer took his last breath. » Not a SINGLE word about how he FEELS.

The episodes was more effective in showing us Rex's dilemma with facial expressions than this story is with words.

So this story would be better called « No more than the Umbara quadrilogy, only less ».

It made me really angry because so more could have been said. I still wonder how this story passed the quality test to make it to the final book.

BANE'S STORY by Tom Angleberger

Or, as I like to call it, « Bane's story, by Bane, with Bane as the hero »

This was sooo fun and good to read. Bane is one of my favorite Clone Wars characters and I really felt like Bane was the one telling me the story. A breath of fresh air after the Umbara failure.

It's about these episodes when Obi-Wan disguise himself as Hardeen, a bounty hunter, to foil Dooku's plan to capture Palpatine, but all from Bane's pow. And he's so sassy about it.

I could hear Bane talking directly to me, with his words and his personality. Some of my favorite sentences of the book are in this story.

When they get chased by Anakin and Ahsoka and he tells us « I always heard Jedi were supposed to be in control of their feelings, but the two crazies on our tail sure weren't in control. » and « She had two lightsabers and was swinging them around to much I thought she was going to cut off her own horns. »

Or when he met Dooku : « I hope he wasn't expecting me to kneel like Eval. That's one thing I won't do. Another is call some old man my lord just because he's got a long beard and a big house. »

And a last one that made me laugh so hard, when they're about to abduct Palpatine during his speech on Naboo : « If you ask me, listening to that old bag of wrinkles run his mount ain't no festival. If we could kidnap him before he started, the Naboolians or whatever they're called would probably give us a medal ».

That's what I wanted from this book. Episodes I already knew about but told from a new perspective. And it was such a pleasure.

THE LOST NIGHTSISTER by Zoraida Córdova

Another bet won for SLD. It's about Ventress joining the Boba crew to earn some money, by protecting a certain box on a certain train (you know what I'm talking about if you saw the Clone Wars).

Maybe not as insightful as Bane's Story (definitively not as fun, but clearly it wasn't the point), but really intersting too. It takes us into Ventress's mind after the Dathomir massacre and the despair is palpable. And while the show leaves us uncertain about why Ventress is saving Pluma, the story is very clear about it and gives us some introspection about Ventress, her sisters, her family.

It could have been a little further, but still it was really good to read. I honestly don't have much to say about it, not my favorite but I genuinely liked it.

DARK VENGEANCE by Rebecca Roanhorse

or The true story of Darth Maul and his revenge against the Jedi known as Obi-Wan Kenobi

(just to be clear, this subtitle isn't by me, it really is in the book :D )

I hated to admit it, but it was a liiiitle bit of a disappointment too, but that's just because I expected so much from it (in case that's not clear by now, Maul is my absolute favorite and I got his face tattooed on my leg okay?).

I'll focused first of what I loved from that story. Maul talking directly to the reader, as if he was talking to a child. That gives a strong feeling of power from him, good characterisation. He apologizes when his description are too bloody, justifies his slaughter of innocents, really talking like he was relating what was going on in his mind, sometimes interrupting or correcting himself. That was good. Like Bane's story, I felt like the character was adressing to me directly.

So, why the mitigated opinion, why the disappointment, you'll ask ? Maybe because the story was uneven. Sometimes I really was into Maul's mind, but sometimes it was just plain descriptions of the episodes I already saw. I may be hard on this one. I liked Maul's reactions to Kenobi teasing, how he want to crush him and make him swallow back his words.

I liked the fact that Maul sincerely, deeply, thinks the Jedi are liars and hypocrites.

I didn't really like the fact that sometimes Maul was sounding just like he was complaining. Like, you know, in Clone Wars, when someone is like « Hey Maul, how are you today ? » and he's like « MY PATH HAS BEEN SO DARK ».

… well, after all I guess it's faithful to the show :o

Don't believe everything I wrote before. This story was good, it's about Maul. Go read it.

ALMOST A JEDI by Sarah Beth Durst

About how a bunch of kids and Ahsoka escape pirates, then Grievous.

Another usually unpopular opinion : I don't like kids in stories or TV shows (nor in real life). I always feel like kids are supposed to be the comic relieves, or the cute factor, making you say « aaaw look how adorable and naive and dumb that little kid is » and I'm always rolling my eyes and thinking « get your shit together kiddo, that's an adult story and you're ruining it ». (I might be a little excessive on this one, I'm not always doing it).

In the quadrilogy about the young apprentices and Ahsoka, most of the kids were going on my nerves, and I'm glad I didn't felt this way about Alsmot a Jedi. I'm so glad Katooni was chosen to be the narrative instead of Petro.

Overall it was a good story. Katooni's insecurities were touching, her admiration for Ahsoka was too. Like in this passage, « I wanted to scream. But I didn't, because Ahsoka wasn't screaming ». She's so afraid, so petrified to be unworthy. I really cared for her. And her relationship with Hondo is great too. (And Hondo is great, what did you expect?)

That was cool and refreshing to read.

KENOBI'S SHADOW by Greg Van Eekhout

This. This is my favorite story from the whole book. It was so dark, so growling with sadness and anger and pain.

I don't think I can describe how it was to read it. That is how I wanted to feel. I wanted to know how Obi-Wan felt when Maul murdered Satine before his eyes. Now I know and I want to hide in a hole and not mess with that Jedi, ever.

Obi-Wan is usually used as a fun character in Clone Wars, with his deadpan sens of humour. It was heartbreaking to see him in the Mandalorian episodes, and reading it... well it was heartbreaking but frightening too.

An absolut must-read. Believe me. I was shocked.

BUG by E. Anne Convery

Bug is a original story, not an adaptation of a Clone Wars episode, thus it can't be treated like the other stories.

Real real quick plot summary ? Bug is about a little girl called, well... Bug, living with her parents, running an inn on a planetoid, near an abandoned military relay tower. One day a witch from Dathomir comes to the inn and wants to use the tower in hope of finding tracks of her disappeared daughter.

It was good.

Ok that's the end of that review, thanks for reading and nah I'm kidding.

Why was Bug good ? First of all, because it was the only original story of the book. And even though some of them were really really good, it didn't bring the curiosity of discovering something new. You lack suspens and surprises. Bug brings them back. I wanted to learn so much more about this young girl and the witch ! And Falta's story was hypnotizing. Litteraly. Hooray for learning more about Dathomir, about their culture, their history and the relation between the witches's clans. (Not hooray for learning that loving for the sake of love and not power is unthinkable for Talzin. I wouldn't have wanted her as a mother if you see what I mean.)

I hope so much that we'll see more of Bug and Falta in the future. This was too interesting to be left apart as a one-short story.

So, if I had to FINALLY resume my opinion on The Clone Wars : Stories of Light and Dark ?

PRO :

- getting involved inside the mind of characters in situations I already knew about

- some really fun, dark and/or insightful stories

CON :

- an overall mixed feeling about the books because some stories are not up to the rest.

- you'll have to get through some passages that are just formal descriptions of what happened in the TV show

TO CONCLUDE :

This took way more time than I expected and I should definitively not have called that review « a filler ».

As I aleady said, SLD is an rollercoaster. You'll get stunned and you'll get disappointed, and go through all the emotions between.

Was the book worth the money ? Well, the hardcover is pretty and some illustrations are cool, but the quality is irregular.

If you're short on time or money, I'll suggest you find a way to read only the stories that are really interesting you, based on any review you'll find on the internet.

Cheers to everyone reading me, thanks so much for all the notes, follow and reblog. It means a lot. Take care of you and your relatives during these hard times.

Tagging @maulpunk <3

[necromaniackat]

Dare

It started with a dare. That’s all it was. That’s all it was supposed to be. A dare. Not even a good one at that. Although, it wasn’t a bad one either.

It started one uneventful Saturday night, after dinner someone -Tony- convinced the team that playing games was how they’d spend their night off. His drug of choice was Monopoly, but everyone protested against that idea, saying he was too good at that game and by the end of it he’d have all the properties and money, leaving everyone broke and pissed with him. Plus, that game could go on for hours and nobody had the patience for that. Eliese, the mind master 2.0, suggested Mario Kart and that won by popular vote. Steve and Bucky sat the first few rounds out, learning how to use the controllers and understand how the game worked. Eliese made a snide comment about how their ages were showing, this earned a playful headlock from Steve and a spirited tap on the wrist from Bucky. Mario Kart turned into Jack Box after about two hours of watching Steve and Bucky drive off the edges of Rainbow Road a billion times. Then regular Jack Box turned into drunken Jack Box very rapidly. Steve left the room very quickly when a game of Tee K.O became overly sexual after Eliese’s shirt was presented reading ‘More anal, more power’ with the abstract drawing of something nobody could quite make out. The conversation then went ass over handlebars down the rabbit hole of sexual experiences. 

“I think ‘Liese has us all beat when it comes to the amount of experiences,” Tony announced from one end of the sectional sofa, tipping his drink back against his lips. Eliese cocked an eyebrow at his comment. A pale pink covered her already rosy cheeks as she was soon thrown into the deep end of the conversation after spending the majority of the time silently listening to the others ramble on about their good and terrible experiences.

“Why do you say that?” She piped up curiously from her spot on the ottoman beside the sectional sofa. Natasha scoffed, almost choking on her drink.

“Because we live here too. And we see the people trying to sneak out without being noticed the morning after,” She laughed into the opening of her beer bottle.

“People?” Bucky emphasised on the word with an arched eyebrow. This caused Natasha to giggle into her beer while the rest of the team looked at the hundred-year-old super soldier as though he was way behind the learning curve, and it was the most amusing thing to behold. Eliese’s face darkened in redness and she groaned to herself, knowing where this was headed.

“Boys. Girls. People who we can’t quite figure out their genders,” Tony listed the genders of the people who’ve left the newest Avenger’s bedroom for a fun time. The pale red colour on Eliese’s rosy cheeks deepened into an almost maroon colour. She bowed her head down between her shoulders, letting her thick dark hair hide her away from being seen. This earned an awe and a pat on the knee from the red-haired assassin. Bucky turned his attention to Eliese with a puzzled expression.

“So, you’re gay, doll?” He quizzed, almost sounding disappointed. Eliese snapped her head up at his inquiry and shook her head with a goofy smile. Never in her life did she think she’d ever hear the words gay and doll put together in a sentence. It was rather amusing in her mildly drunk mind.

“No,” She drew the word out slightly. “–Gay is liking the same gender as you.” Eliese corrected the super soldier, still holding her goofy grin as she did so. This did not clear things up for him in the slightest. He held the puzzled expression, if anything the creases between his furrowed brows deepened. Eliese figured out quickly she was going to have to spell this out for him. She turned her body to face him, he sat on the other side of Natasha at the end of the sectional while she sat on the ottoman on the opposite side of the feisty red head and clasped her hands together in her lap with a heavy sigh.

“Bucky,” She uttered his name in a monotonous way. “–I’m pansexual. This means I like having sexual interactions with people of all genders. Basically, if you’re game, I’m game. I don’t care what you identify as.” The redness of Eliese’s cheeks died into a pale pink colour once again. She’s usually okay with educating people about the different sexual orientations and gender identities, but for some reason having to explain it to Bucky made her feel exposed and vulnerable. It was easier to explain this stuff to Steve than it was to explain this to Bucky. Why was this so difficult to explain to him? She’s gotten the same responses from the whole team; she knew they were accepting and understanding. But for some reason, spilling the beans about her sexual escapades to Bucky, even in the least amount of detail, made her feel extremely exposed. Like she was just caught being naked in public.

“So, you date all sorts of genders, doll?” Another uncomfortable question from the ex Winter Soldier. Eliese was all for explaining these things to people who wanted to know, as long as it didn’t include her orientations. She was always afraid of judgement, coming from a very religious State where she was a Pastor’s daughter and attended church every Sunday as well as Sunday school. This was before she high tailed it out of there when she was eighteen and headed to New York to pursue a career after university of course. New York was a far better suit for her, all things considering.

“‘Liese doesn’t date!” Tony exclaimed in a bout of hysterical laughter. This earned an even more confused look from Bucky.

“But you…”

“–Hook up sites.” ‘Liese cut the question from Bucky short. “–I don’t usually date people. It’s not my thing.” Her face was now beet red, even her neck and ears were glowing like the embers of a campfire on a hot summer night.

“Hook up sites?” Bucky drew the words out with an arched eyebrow and a grim line drawing his lips.

“Websites or apps where you can meet people for meaningless sex, Buck.” Bruce answered hastily, sensing ‘Liese really didn’t like all these questions being asked about her and what goes on in her private life. She could only nod along with Bruce’s very clear explanation about what a hook up was.

“Oh,” Bucky breathed as though he hadn’t taken a breath of air in a long time.

There was a small bout of silence as the blue-eyed man processed the information he’d been given. He had a lot of questions, but he didn’t want this to turn into an educational night seeing as Tony would probably kill him for being a buzz kill. And boy, was Eliese glad he didn’t have anymore questions. She could feel her heart beginning to beat a bit faster than usual making her body heat up exponentially. Her head fell back down between her shoulders and she pulled the draw strings of her black hoodie to castle her reddened face behind the scrunched-up fabric. The sudden rush of heat radiating off of the young woman sitting next to her caused Natasha to sit upright and glance over at a red faced Eliese.

“‘Liese!” Natasha exclaimed with a mock Louisianan accent. ‘Liese jolted her head up in sudden excitement, throwing the hood of her sweater back.

“Truth or dare,” She added completely out of left field. This made everyone sitting in the living room swift with an antsy feeling. Eliese drew her eyebrows together at Natasha confusedly. She wasn’t sure if she heard the assassin correctly.

“Excuse me?”

“Truth or dare,” Nat repeated herself, knowing full well which one ‘Liese was going to pick. Eliese was a feisty master mind, and mind master, from bible thumping Louisiana who couldn’t pass up a good dare, even in her junior years. Unbeknownst to Eliese, this was a trap and the smirk that curled half of her face evilly said dare me.

“Dare,” She replied, leaning towards the assassin cockily. Natasha shared an equally evil smirk as she matched Eliese’s body language, leaning towards the twenty-four-year-old. Nat wiggled her finger to pull Eliese closer so she could whisper the dare. ‘Liese followed the untold instructions and leaned in real close.

“I dare you to show Terminator over there what your sexuality really is,” Nat whispered to Eliese in broken Cajun French. Eliese cocked an eyebrow curiously.

‘How so?’ Eliese planted the question in Nat’s mind, intrigued and giddy to see how and where this will go.

‘Show him everything you’ve ever done or wanted to do with someone.’ The words were cooed into Eliese’s mind in response. Eliese’s onyx coloured eyes found the super soldier, he was curious as to what was being said even though he could hear it, he had no idea what was being said. His icy gaze was trained on Eliese’s face with a look of trepidation.

‘Like plant the thoughts in his head or?’ Eliese questioned mentally. She pulled away from Natasha who was nodding with an evil smile writing devious all over her face. This made ‘Liese smirk at her knowingly.

‘And the purpose of this is?’ She asked curiously, wanting to know why this was such a big deal. Eliese was sure he’d just ask her to help him Google all of this, or even ask Steve for some education.

‘Super soldier hasn’t gotten laid in an exceptionally long time. This is just to get under his skin a bit. Y’know, show old school the new school ways.’ Natasha was evil, she really and truly was. ‘Liese guessed she’s been wanting to do this for a while now. Now she has a weapon slash accomplice, a motive, and a plan. Truly evil.  

“Now?” She asked out loud, realizing they hadn’t said anything out loud in a few moments. Natasha laughed and shook her head, waving a hand at the young woman.

“Take your time. Whenever you want to do it, do it.” Natasha just made things very interesting. Very interesting indeed.

After an extremely exposing game of truth or dare that lasted until the wee hours of the morning, everyone packed up shop and went to bed. But not before ‘Liese imbedded a tiny innocent thought in Bucky’s head before they parted ways in the hallway. It was nothing over the top, nothing that would make him think she was the one who put it there. Just the image of her holding hands with another girl which slowly switched to the image of her holding hands with a boy. Bucky had looked back over his shoulder at her, she saw his reflection in the doorknob. She felt his eyes scanning her up and down, taking in her appearance from behind before he scurried into his dark room. Eliese didn’t go to bed right away. She sat cross legged on her bed for an hour or so, scheming away cunningly.

The next morning Eliese was one of the first ones awake. She went down to the kitchen and made herself a bowl of multi grain Cheerios with a cup of coffee. The racket she made woke most of the team up and they came trickling in, in search for coffee and food to help cure their hangovers. Steve, on the other hand, was just fine, even though he had his fill of beers last night. Hell, he even went for a run that morning. He and Eliese made pleasant conversation about several things including the next week’s training schedule. Somehow, his schedule was changed when he wasn’t looking –Gee I wonder who could’ve done that– and put ‘Liese and Bucky in the gym to train together, alone.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear! Sauntering in was a freshly showered Bucky. His wet dark hair was slicked back from his face and he seemed to glow a very clean glow. Like polished silverware in sunlight. The Sargent sported mildly baggy grey sweatpants, a white wifebeater underneath a black hoodie that was halfway zipped up.

Eliese was mid way to her mouth with a spoonful of cereal when he came in. Her dark amber eyes watched him like a hawk, almost forgetting the clever plan she had put together when she went to bed last night. But the moment his brilliant blue eyes fixated on her; she threw the image into his head of her lustfully kissing an androgynous looking boy, or girl. Eliese couldn’t remember that person’s actual gender. His eyes immediately fell from her to the countertop between them. ‘Liese so badly wanted to smirk at his reaction, but that’d give her away to him.

The rest of the day was filled with doing an ungodly amount of paperwork. Eliese had a fair amount of paperwork to do, mainly sorting through bills and budgeting for the next few weeks. ‘Liese hated relying on the government for her funds to live. So, she did freelance podcasting for some extra cash in between saving the world and training. For most of the day, Bucky loomed by Eliese with his nose a few hundred pages in a protocol handbook. Whenever ‘Liese felt his gaze on her for longer than a few seconds, she’d imbed innocent images and thoughts of her and various gendered lovers in his head. His eyes would evade her quickly soon after.

Monday was your typical Monday. Everyone was up at an unreasonable hour of the morning, weaving in and out of the kitchen and living areas. Bucky actually avoided being in the same room as ‘Liese most of the morning. He wanted to avoid having the thoughts he’s been having and the only salvation he’d get was when he wasn’t around her. Although, he couldn’t avoid her when she came into the empty gym early that afternoon to do some training with him. Luckily, his laser focus kept him from thinking about her in such ways. But that didn’t save him from the thoughts and images that invaded his mind during dinner and the hours after dinner before bed.

Tuesday Natasha pulled Eliese aside and asked if she could amp up the antics a bit more. Eliese took that as the green light to unleash the wrath of her desires and her past experiences. So, after breakfast Eliese scouted Bucky out. She found him swimming laps in the pool outside. ‘Liese went to the poolside and began doing some yoga on her plush mat, wearing a pair of loose black short shorts that flared out around her thighs and a matching loose black racer back tank top overtop of a purple sports bra. Bucky nearly drowned when she implanted a very NSFW scene in his head. He, in a very fast sequence, escorted himself from the pool, muttering curses under his breath as he tied a towel around his waist and stomped his way back into the tower. Natasha was so pleased to have been there to witness this. She hysterically laughed into a decorative pillow on one of the lounge chairs. The rest of the day was uneventful. Eliese did not want to over do it and blow her cover.

Wednesday Eliese left Bucky well enough alone, even during training and especially when the topic of sex came back from the grave, the same way Church the cat did in Pet Semetary. With revenge and pure inhumane evil. This time, Eliese excused herself from the group to avoid having the topic becoming directed towards her again. But it didn’t stop her from thinking about past experiences and hopeful future experiences. This time, Bucky was the one to get into her head. It only made her more vengeful to get under his skin.

Thursday started with Eliese waking up much earlier than everyone else. She quickly got dressed and then tiptoed her way across the hall to the super soldier’s door. She silently hovered outside as she fed the unconscious man a very sexual dream. Not too long after she began feeding him this scene, she could hear the faint muffled groans and moans through the door. Soon after, Natasha woke up and came out of her room, eyeing Eliese outside the man’s room, holding in her giggles. She smiled to herself and pat ‘Liese on the back as she wandered past on her way to the kitchen. When Eliese heard Bucky jolt awake, cursing to himself, she scattered away and went back to her room as quickly and quietly as she could.

Unbeknownst to Eliese, Bucky was cursing to himself because he woke up when he spoiled his newly cleaned bed sheets. But she got the hint that he did in fact enjoy the dream when the two of them opened their bedroom doors in unison, coming face to face with each other. Eliese’s face became a pale shade of red, the same shade as Bucky’s. He was holding his balled-up bedding in his arms. The two of them walked side by side to the kitchen, Bucky dumping his dirty bedding into the laundry shoot on the way. Eliese couldn’t help herself. She had to replay snippets of the scene she had fed him in his head as they walked and chatted about that day’s plans. Eliese had to admit it though, he could keep his composure very well. But she was unrelenting and amped up the images and scenes, adding her wildest desires which included him binding her hands and feet together with her own clothes and spanking her until her ass was red and bruising before he face fucks her and makes her gag on his engorged manhood and finally for the big bang of a finishing act, edging each other into a tailspin of pure jubilation.

Bucky cracked under the pressure, avoiding her for the entire day after breakfast. He didn’t even show up to their training session. Which frustrated and aggravated Steve since Eliese needed a training partner and according to the schedule Bucky was supposed to train with her. So, he was upset and rather confused when he saw her in the gym all alone, beating a dummy to a pulp. When Steve found Bucky later that afternoon, he chewed him out about it. Bucky could only say he got caught up with something else, which wasn’t a complete lie. Bucky did get caught up in something else, after he went to the gym and saw Eliese doing pre warmup warmups in tight black shorts that rode up in places he hasn’t been able to keep out of his head the last few days, a loose fitting black graphic tee shirt that also rode up her stomach and back as she stretched into extremely flexible yoga poses. He had to leave after seeing that. The images and sounds that have taunted him since Saturday caused him to flee to the privacy of his room. Eliese didn’t even know he showed up, so she didn’t get the chance to plant more thoughts in his head. And she didn’t see him all afternoon.

He only showed his face at dinner, silently praying he could keep his mind elsewhere. But his efforts were fruitless. The moment he saw her sitting at the table his breathing hitched, and unfortunately for him, the last spot was right next to her. This time, when Eliese implanted images in his head, they weren’t as heavy handed as this morning. They were sweet and sensual. Bucky didn’t stick around after dinner; he had his third cold shower of the day and then went to bed early.

Friday, Bucky was up earlier than everyone else, including Eliese. He had his breakfast quickly then went into hiding, staying as far away from Eliese as he could possibly get. The team was beginning to think they had some sort of falling out about something. Natasha and Eliese knew better. Their plan was coming together rather nicely. To be honest, ‘Liese thought it’d take much longer than a few days to even begin to get under his skin. He mustn’t have gotten laid in a long time if it’s this easy to get his blood rushing. But her heart would break a little whenever she’d find him in one spot, he’d immediately get up and leave to go somewhere else. Avoiding her because he was flustered was one thing, but this wasn’t that thing. He was avoiding her out of anger now. He was angry, and it made her feel incredibly guilty for playing with him like this.

Eliese let out a heavy sigh as she entered the gym, setting the heavy bag down on the floor by the wall and giving the empty gym a once over. She couldn’t see or hear anybody else in there. Bucky wasn’t there. She doubted he’d even show up.

‘He probably has Steve or someone else coming to train with me.’ She thought sadly. When she got the training schedule, she was happy that finally she was having some alone time with Bucky. Dare or no dare. She just wanted to feel him close to her. Not just in a sexual way either. That revelation scared ‘Liese half to death. She isn’t one for romance. Lust is her game, and romance is her biggest fear. But with him, she wanted him to woo her and she wanted to woo him too. She’s begged Steve to let her train with Bucky for months but Steve didn’t think it was a good idea considering their size differences. He was scared Bucky might get a little too into it, like he usually does, and seriously hurt Eliese by accident. And then on Sunday when the schedules were given out, ‘Liese knew Nat had tampered with it so she and Bucky were in the gym together alone. But that didn’t stop Eliese from being elated with the idea of being that close to him. Dare or no dare.

Eliese squatted down and pulled her phone out from the pocket of the gym bag. She opened the text messages she shared with Natasha and frowned.

Okay. I think I’ve gotten under his skin enough. Do I win the dare yet?

Immediately her phone pinged, signalling a new text.

Not yet. Just a little longer and we should be good. 😉

‘Liese let out exasperated sigh as she examined the empty gym. She didn’t like this. Yes, this was fun in the beginning but now it’s not. Bucky’s her friend and teammate. She didn’t want to lose him at the expense of a damn dare.

“It wasn’t even a good dare,” Eliese whispered to herself harshly, throwing her phone onto the bag in frustration.

“What wasn’t a good dare, doll?” A raspy male voice asked from behind her. ‘Liese jumped to her feet, spinning around to see who was there. To her dismay, it was Bucky. He was standing a few feet away tying the draw strings to his loose-fitting grey sweatpants. Eliese looked from Bucky to her phone then back to Bucky in a quick succession with her mouth hung open, flabbergasted.

“Ugh.” ‘Liese was at a loss for words. “–Nothing,” She added then rethought that answer. Clearly it was something and he’d pick up on that. Eliese closed her eyes for a moment, trying to come up with something to say.

“A friend. Back in Louisiana was dared to do something extremely stupid and now she and somebody else are suffering.” She opened her eyes to see a bemused Bucky standing in front of her.

“What was she dared to do?” He asked curiously, crossing his arms over his puffed-out chest. As if his shoulders and chest could get any bigger!

“Lead somebody on.” The words fled Eliese’s mouth in shame. She pursed her lips and looked down at the floor in disgrace. ‘Really? That’s what you came up with? Why not just tell him that Natasha dared you to implant those thoughts in his head and play with him like a goddamn toy? How mad can he be? You know, not having control over his own mind for seventy years and all. Oh god, he’s gonna be pissed. I’m gonna die. He’s gonna kill me.’ ‘Liese thought to herself cruelly.

“Yeah, that isn’t a good dare. Playing with some else’s emotions is a very dangerous game,” Bucky mumbled, nodding in agreement. ‘Liese nodded as well. She jumped when Bucky clapped his hands. Her ochre coloured eyes found his again, a playful smile was spread across his face as he rubbed his large hands together.

“Let’s train, shall we?” Bucky was eager to get this over with. ‘Liese nodded again.

The two of them began with stretching and warmups. A few laps around the gym, Bucky taking the lead in front of a much smaller Eliese. Her eyes couldn’t help but wander his form from behind as he jogged, taking in the way his hips moved with each step. Then came a harsh round of push ups and jumping jacks. Again, her eyes couldn’t seem to pry themselves away from the way his dark grey tee shirt rode up his torso with every jump which had his arms hanging above his head for a brief second. Or how his shoulder muscles flexed and relaxed with every push up.

Eliese was done with this dare. She wasn’t going to put anything else in his head, if anything she wanted to undo everything she’s done. She was completely and utterly finished with getting to his head. But now, he was getting to hers. Especially now that they’ve begun stretching and most of the stretches required physical contact from the partner of some kind.

‘I deserve this.’ She thought gruellingly as she raised her hands above her head and leaned back as far as she could. She nearly toppled over when she looked over at Bucky, his shirt had ridden far up his upper body. His sweatpants hung extremely low on his hips, showing even more skin. A small trail of dark hairs led up his abdomen and under his shirt from the band of his sweats. Eliese had to look away and tightly close her eyes, scrunching her nose.

‘I deserve this! I deserve this! I deserve this!’ Eliese repeated this like a mantra to herself. She hated this but she also knew this was karma coming back to bite her in the ass.

‘I deserve this.’ She kept repeating to herself over and over again. Deeply and desperately believing this was true. She deserved the cruel merciless punishment karma was serving icy cold on a silver platter.

If Eliese thought warmups and stretches were torture, when they finally got on the mat to begin hand on hand combat; she was really in for it. Bucky was in no way gentle with her which caused ‘Liese to think that maybe the others were going easy on her and she really wasn’t that good of a fighter. This only egged on her need to prove herself as a rightful part of this team. But Bucky was not going to make that an easy task to do. He continuously threw her to the floor and he even chuckled about it.

Eliese scrambled to her feet after being thrown to the ground for the hundredth time. She was huffing and puffing but it wasn’t from the intense workout, it was out of pure frustration. She was sweat soaked, making the thin material of her tank top almost see through and her dark hair to cling to her skin. Her already rosy cheeks were a very deep shade of red now.

“Give up yet, doll?” Bucky asked in a mocking tone. He could only stand there looking down at Eliese with his signature smirk tugging half his face. He had barely broken a sweat. ‘Liese snickered at him and shook her head.

“I don’t give up that easily,” She replied, throwing her right leg forcefully up at him, aiming for his waist and lower ribs. There was no way she was going to aim for the shoulders, she’d break her leg against those things! To Eliese’s dismay, Bucky didn’t even blink even when he grabbed her ankle. His entire hand was able to wrap around it. ‘Liese braced herself for the inevitable fall to the floor. But it didn’t come. Instead, Bucky strode closer to ‘Liese with her ankle still in hand. His blue eyes only left her amber coloured ones when he stood a few inches away from her, holding her ankle perpendicular with the floor. He gave the view in front of him a once over. His eyes greedily eating her alive as he licked his lips. His eyes found hers again, sharing a glimmer of artfulness with another half smirk.

“Oh, I know.” He drily said. “–You’re a merciless little dame.” A shiver was sent screaming down Eliese’s spine as his came out as a raspy half whisper.

“And you need to be put in your place.” Bucky gave a swift kick to her other ankle, taking it out from under her as he let go of the one he’d been holding. Eliese landed on her back on the floor with a loud grunt. A cunning plan hatched in her head the moment her body hit the mat. She coiled her body into a ball on the ground, hands holding onto her hip as she cried out in pain. A weight crashed into Bucky’s chest as he gazed down at her rolling onto her side in anguish. His nerves became shattered as he dropped to his knees in a panic, quickly examining her for any obvious broken bones. He didn’t mean to hurt her. He didn’t think that would hurt her.

“Oh shit, ‘Liese. I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean,” His apologies were cut short when Eliese twisted around, propelling her legs upwards until they wrapped around his shoulders and she thrusted her weight to the side. Bucky didn’t know what happened, one second she was crying in pain and the next she was straddling his upper chest with his arms trapped at his sides between her legs.

‘Liese shot him a cocky smile and settled her weight down on him, pinning his much larger body under hers. Although, her cocky smile was wiped away when a low growl erupted from Bucky’s chest, sending reverberations rampaging through Eliese’s lower body. This caught her off guard. Unwillingly, her eyes tightly squeezed closed, she hummed in enjoyment at the sensations and fell forward, her hands caught herself before she ended up smothering Bucky with her chest. When Eliese shifted her weight so the majority of it was off his chest, Bucky hooked his arms around her legs and pulled himself into an upright position.

‘Liese didn’t even notice this, not until her back was gently laid down on the cool mat. Her hips had slid down his torso until their hips were pressed together. Eliese opened her eyes slowly, widening in mortification when her gaze landed on the obvious wet spot on his shirt where she was once settled. The look on her face caused the super soldier’s brows to fall together confusedly. He followed her gaze down to the very obvious wet spot on his dark grey shirt. The air got caught in the back of his throat when he realized what had happened, or rather, why that happened.

He let out a nervous chuckle and looked at the red-faced girl laying on the ground between his outstretched legs. Eliese snapped out of her horrified state and met his gaze. Her heart was racing inside her chest and the words she wanted to say slipped away before she could say them.

“Buck...–I’m sorry. That wasn’t,”

“–Ah, that’s okay, doll. Nothing to be ashamed of,” He confidently supposed with a chuckle. Before she even could do or say anything, he tucked his legs underneath him and leaned forward. His arms still wrapped around her now shaky legs, bringing her hips up until they were snuggly pressed into his as he loomed over her. He lowered his face down, stopping beside Eliese’s ruby red face.

“I’m not ashamed of what I’m doing to you,” He huskily alleged in her ear. The feeling of his body heavily pressing into hers and then the way he whispered to her, this caused Eliese sharply inhaled as goosebumps rose up on her skin.

“Are you ashamed of what you’ve been doing to me?” His voice had dropped an octave or two as she spoke into her ear. His hot breath tickling her skin as he spoke. Eliese was only able to manage a shameful nod. Bucky chuckled again, sending vibrations searing through Eliese’s tiny body underneath his. It was like being set on fire from the inside, a slow torturous burn that could go on forever and ever, and ever.  

“Don’t be,” He said lowly, his voice was almost a guttural growl. This was getting too much for the smaller to handle. She knew she wanted him in ways she’s never wanted anybody else, but that was just a fantasy. This was getting too real. She couldn’t handle the excited and immoral feeling bubbling in her stomach and the wildfire roaring through her veins.  

With all her might, Eliese tried to wiggle her way from underneath him. But her efforts were futile when the super soldier tightened his arms around her legs and dragged her back towards him, pulling her hips flush against his. Eliese had to bite back the staggered and, to some extent, excited squeal when she felt something big and hard press against her butt firmly. And it wasn’t his leg. Although, for the sake of comedic relief, one could say it is a third leg. A very big, hard leg. And now it was firmly nestled against the apex of Eliese’s thighs. To both of their reliefs.  

“Oh no, no, no. Where do you think you’re going, doll?” He darkly chortled, holding her firmly against him. He pressed some weight down onto her to keep her from being able to wiggle away again. She could only lay there staring up at him wide eyed, her flushed face was glowing a hell fire red and her body was throwing off the same heat.

“Bu…  –Bucky, please,” ‘Liese pleaded in shallow pants. She pleaded with her entire being to him. Her dark eyebrows were pulled together, and her dark amber coloured eyes begged him to let her go. Her mind was begging him to let her go, but her shaking body deserted her with her desires, begging him to make a move already, otherwise she was going to explode with tension.

“Please, what?” He goaded. His iron gaze never left her trembling body or her pleading face. He licked his lips as his stare stayed on her.  

“You don’t like it when people play games with your emotions?” He questioned, his voice dipping lower than before. His usually bright blue eyes were darkened with lust as they bore down into Eliese’s soul. As if he was watching every secret desire she has, like a movie on the silver screen. This made the smaller female feel exposed and vulnerable, but she’d be lying if it didn’t entice her to keep going, see how far this could go before either of them broke.

“With your desires?” He asked, again dropping his voice lower and lower. Eliese could feel tears beginning to form behind her eyes. The look of fear made itself known across her flushed face. This made Bucky unwrap his arms from her legs, giving her the option to get up and leave. But she didn’t move an inch. ‘Liese stayed half laying over his lap and half on the polyester mat that was sticky from sweat and the heat from their bodies. Bucky took this as a sign she wanted to stay, even though she was scared senseless.

“FRIDAY lock the gym doors,” He demanded in a raspy voice. He kept his eyes locked on hers, watching the fear transform into need and want; a primal selfishness that darkened her already dusky eyes. Without thinking, Bucky dipped his head down until his lips crashed against hers in a burst of needy passion. He grinned into the kiss when her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer to her as the lust fuelled kiss became needier and needier. Her hand found the nape of his neck, tangling in the long strands that were dampened by the light sheen of sweat seeping from his hairline. Eliese could swear hell wouldn’t be nearly a hot as her skin felt in that moment. Especially when his hand found her hip tightly. This made ‘Liese gasp unwillingly in excitement and surprise. Bucky took this opportunity to slip his tongue past her lips as the hungry kiss became more heated.  

His large hand easily engulfed her narrow hip, his fingers curved over the round of her butt while his thumb sat in the crease of her thigh. His fingers dug into the fabric flesh of her butt headily. Eliese so desperately wished for his thumb to extend so it’ll follow the natural valley to where she wanted him the most, to where she needed him the most. To utter her dismay his hand did the exact opposite and disappeared, as did his lips crushing hers.

Oxygen flooded her brain as she opened her eyes to see where he had gone, and why he had gone. But the newly found air inflating her lungs leaped from her chest when she saw his once vibrant blue eyes were now a midnight blue and nearly overwhelmed by his dilated pupils. His dark hair had fallen from the bun, shadowing his face and his dark eyes burrowing into her soul. His broad chest heaved deep breathes, his lips parted slightly. He was now sitting upright between her quivering legs. The way he looked down at her, it was as though he was looking at her like she was his prey and there was no getting away. It both terrified and thrilled the smaller.

He carefully wrapped his hands around her hips and slid her off his lap until she laid on the mat at his side. Eliese was finding it impossible to do anything beyond laying still, staring wide eyed at him as she forced her lungs to take in any amount of air. Her body shivered noticeably when his hands moved from her hips up to the waistband of her black yoga pants, hiking up the black tank top to reveal the thick band of her pants. His darkened eyes moved from hers to the fabric wrapped around the pale flesh of her waist then back to hers. He fingered the thick band as though asking if this was okay. Eliese had lost any ability to speak so in response to his unasked consent, she jerked her hips up from the floor.

Prudently and excruciatingly slowly, he began pulling them down inch by inch. A gasp of air got caught in the back of her throat when his knuckles grazed over her thighs. A jolt of nervousness and exhilaration screamed up her spine at the feeling of his skin brushing one thigh while the cool metal of his other hand touched the other. Bucky stopped immediately and watched her face, looking for any signs that she wanted him to stop what he was doing. But there were none. So, he continued, pulling the black leggings down her jittery legs. An amused grin fell across his face when he saw the white fabric of her panties, tie-dyed with greys, purples and oranges. Obviously one of the many Halloween themed panties in her collection.

“I never took you for a tie-dye person,” He said, admiring Eliese’s charming choice of panties. “–Eat me, hey?” He cocked an eyebrow at the shimmery purple lettering on the front of the panties. Eliese couldn’t help but hysterically and nervously giggle at this moment. When she chose her underwear this morning, she wasn’t thinking they’d be seen by anyone but her, nevertheless by the super soldier she’s been playing a game of cat and mouse with for a week. But it didn’t break either of them from continuing the moment. Bucky resumed back to pulling the black leggings down until they were bunched up around Eliese’s ankles. His eyes took in the dark red and purple-blue splotches that littered the smaller’s legs. ‘Liese stifled a laugh, knowing he was wondering where, why and how the many bruises came to be.

“I bruise like a peach.” She tried to sit up on her elbows, but she fell back down with force when Bucky’s hands pressed on her shoulders, pushing her back down into some sort of submission. ‘Liese let out a squeal when her bound legs were yanked on until she lay diagonally from her previous position, and her legs were hoisted up on Bucky’s shoulder. He leered at the small woman as he leaned forward until his hands were on either side of her head and his hips loomed over hers teasingly. He tauntingly tilted his head as he looked down at her, a devious smirk curving half his face.

“You like them, don’t you?” He asked dryly. He rocked his body forward slowly, making sure not to let his hips touch hers. He wanted to tease her until she’s begging him. He loves it when she begs him. Whenever he’d tease her in a joking way; holding something she wants above her head, just out of her reach and she’d beg him to give it back; that is the first time he wondered what she’d sound like if she was begging him to make her orgasm after a long string of teasing. She didn’t need him to put those thoughts in his head, they were already there. Those thoughts are what made Bucky go to Steve and determinedly request not to put him and ‘Liese in the gym to train together.

Eliese let out a penurious whimper as he steadily rocked his body over hers, avoiding any contact between their hips. Her brows rutted as she tried to wiggle her hips for any sort of friction. Bucky darkly chuckled and shook his head.

“If you don’t answer me, I’ll keep you like this. And you know I can keep this up all day,” He began. “–I’ll ask again, do you like it when your lovers mark you, leave bruises and love bites?” He asked as he ghostly rolled his hips over hers, just enough to let her know he was there but not enough to give her any satisfaction. Frustrated and lust fuelled tears spilled from Eliese’s dark eyes as she tried to find her voice which had once again abandoned her. She could only whimper beneath him. She so desperately wanted to answer him, but she couldn’t. She could see him growing impatient above her which only scared her voice away further.

In the blink of an eye Bucky had sat up and flipped Eliese over onto her stomach. He rested his chest over her back lightly, brushing her dark hair behind her ear. He leaned his face down until his hot breath smothered the side of her face. Eliese could only let out shaky pants of air as her cheek was pressed against the blue wrestling mat. From the corner of her eye she saw Bucky’s form over hers.

“Because judging by what you showed me yesterday, you love it.” With that Bucky brought back a hand, raising it above his head before it swiftly moved through the air until it met the pale flesh of Eliese’s ass. Eliese let out a gaudy lude yelp as the cold metal met her soft flesh harshly. A vibrant red handprint was left in its wake. He waited a moment for her to answer him, and when she didn’t, he repeated his actions with a tad bit more power. Each time his hand contacted her she’d let out an equally loud and lude cry, which caused a noticeable twitch from Bucky’s untouched erection each time. Tears made puddles on the plush wrestling mat around Eliese’s face, out of pure frustration, nervousness, and needy want.

“Eliese, if you don’t tell me, I’ll leave you here. Untouched. Exposed. A mess. Horny to the point where only I will be able to satisfy you,” He said to her lowly, after bringing his body and hands away from her. Eliese let out a barely audible needy cry that was mixed with hindrance. She turned her head away from him, burying her face into the mat under her to hide whatever emotion was most prominent on her flushed face. She shook violently, begging her voice to come back so his promise went undone and she could get some form of release. Bucky hummed at the sights and sounds in front of him.  

“Yes,” She whispered shakily. She took a deep, uneven breath. “–Yes, I do.” This earned an approving hum from the super soldier before he planted gentle kisses across her shoulder blades. She could only let out shaky whimpers when his assault on her backside subsided and was replaced with the soothing feeling of his cool hand gentling rubbing the scorching abused skin. Eliese closed her eyes at the feeling, turning her face so her cheek was back to being pressed against the mat.

“Do you want me to mark you up?” He asked, gently but firmly tapping the dark red bruising skin. A wave of pain ridden but satisfactory shakes screamed through her body. Eliese’s face scrunched as she took a steadying breath.

“Mhm,” She could only hum in response. Bucky chuckled as he ran his fingertips over the dark red spots where his abuse of her ass was more evident.

“I need words, doll,” He said, giving another light tap to the purpling place amongst the redness. Eliese inhaled sharply, her body tensing at the feeling. She had to stabilize herself with quick shallow gasps.

“Yes.”

“Yes, what?” Bucky demanded forebodingly; his hand gently followed the curve of her backside to between her shuddering thighs. His touch ghosted over the wet, hell fire like heat between her legs. Unwillingly, Eliese’s hips jerked back to follow his trace but his other hand firmly grasped the back of her neck to hold her in place.

“Bucky,” She squirmed under his grasp.

“Yes, what?” His voice dripped with dominance and the will to drive the smaller into submission. As lightly as he could he ran his fingers the length between her throbbing clit and her desperate and soaking wet entrance. Eliese shuddered at the feeling.

“Please,” ‘Liese innocently begged as all morality began to vanish from her mind.

“Yes, what?” This time his voice came out as a sinister command. Eliese’s face scrunched at the feeling of his fingers ghosting over the drenched part of her panties. The tips of his fingers taunted her entrance lightly. And with that, Eliese snapped into submission.

“Yes! I want you mark me. Please!” She cried as loudly as her trembling voice allowed. A grim chuckle left Bucky as he rested his hand on the small of her back and removed the one from the back of her neck.

“Now,” He whirred against her ear as he rested over her trembling body. “–Was that so hard?” ‘Liese peeled her eyes open and took in the shadowy figure that loomed over her. She let out a soft sigh when his lips pressed against the shell of her ear. Without thinking she reached back to touch whatever part of him she could get her hands on. Her fingertips ghosted over his cheek, feeling the rough stubble that shadowed his jaw. He turned his face into her touch momentarily to kiss her palm before going back to pressing his lips to her ear.

He pulled away from her, causing ‘Liese to wince at the lack of contact. But she gasped when his large hands had found themselves wrapped around her waist and flipped her over onto her back again. Bucky took in her appearance, noting how the fearful expression was entirely gone now and was replaced with a heavenly semblance. Her face was still flushed and wet from tears. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, catching quick breathes between her parted lips to supply her brain with the oxygen she’s struggling to obtain. Her half-closed dark eyes seemed to be entirely black due to her blown out pupils.

He smiled at the sight of her completely consumed by the state he catapulted her into. He leaned down, placing his lips on hers gently. Eliese sighed against his lips as her hands found their way into his soft hair.

“Such a good girl,” Bucky purred against her lips. His mouth formed his classic smirk when she softly moaned against his lips in response to his praise. His smirk broadened when she stifled a whimper when his hand gently trailed down her exposed stomach to the bright orange lacy band of her underwear. His hand stayed there, curling, and uncurling his fingers gently over her skin. Unknowingly to Bucky, Eliese untangled one of her hands from his hair, letting it fall onto her torso before it sneakily travelled from her body to his. His nerves became fiery when he felt her hand linger over his flexed thigh, delicately brushing the back of her hand up it. This time it was his turn to gasp in surprise when her fingertips danced over his needy erection.

The super soldier had to pull away from ‘Liese, bowing his head down against her breastbone as his breathing hitched and his once sturdy arms shook. The steady, rushing rivers of pleasure coursed through his entire body and his mind was merely river rafting down it, with only the blind hope he’d make it out on the other side in one piece. He hadn’t realized exactly how badly he wanted to be touched until her fingers lightly skated up and down his length.

“‘Liese,” He breathed against her chest, lifting his head to look at her equally pleasured expression. “–You need to stop that.” Eliese watched his jaw clench when she curled her fingers over the obvious figure pressing against the grey sweatpants. Her dark eyebrows furrowed in playful curiosity, lighting grabbing hold of him.

“Why?” She innocently asked, flexing and unflexing her fingers around him in a rhythmical way. His entire body violently shivered at the feeling.

“Because,” He panted heavily. “–I’m close.” ‘Liese shared a quizzical expression as she continued her actions. He’d twitch in her hand with each delicate and calculated movement.

“Close? Close to what?” She questioned in an equally innocent demeanor, but it was laced with playful mischief. Eliese continued to gently touch Bucky’s erection, loving the reaction she was pulling out of him. She yelped when Bucky swiftly grabbed her wrists with one hand, pinning them down against the plush mat. Eliese twisted her hips around so her ass was facing his hips, getting ready for the inevitable. With his other hand he pulled at the waistband of his sweatpants, pushing them down around his knees. Bucky pushed Eliese’s panties aside and in one swift motion he entered her.

Both of their minds reeled at the feeling. ‘Liese loving how his large cock stretched her, pressing against her walls firmly. She couldn’t help but twitch and squirm underneath him. Bucky held himself inside of her, loving the feeling of her walls pulsing around him. He was amazed by how hot and wet she was as she squeezed him. He stayed there, letting them both get used to the physical feeling of their bodies being connected.

“Are you okay?” Bucky breathlessly asked, peering down at Eliese. Her dark eyes were practically rolling at the feeling of being filled like this. A dopey smile fell across her face, she nodded blissfully.

“You can do something now,” She said softly. Bucky nodded in acknowledgment. He slowly, pulled his hips back until the head of his erection was barely inside her before roughly thrusting back into her. This earned a low moan from the smaller. He continued his movements, still pinning her wrists down.

His thrusts began to get faster and harder. Bucky was beginning to lose himself in the moment, completely enjoying the experience and sensations overrunning his mind and body.

“Is this what you wanted, little girl?” He growled, wrapping his free hand around her throat firmly. “­–You wanted me to fuck you like this?” Bucky began to squeeze his right hand that was wrapped around her throat. Eliese’s mind was entirely vacant of any coherent thought. Feeling his cock stroking every inch of her walls with each thrust, on top of his hand firmly squeezing her throat, had sent her mind and body into a state of euphoria. Her head was lost in the clouds and her body felt like it was floating.

“You wanted me to fuck you like a slut?” He remarked through gritted teeth. Eliese let out a high pitched moan, loving the wet sounds coming from their lower regions mixed with Bucky’s growling degradation.

“Is that why you showed me how badly you wanted me? Wanted me to make you my slut?” He snarled lowly. He released her wrists momentarily to rip open the gym shirt and sports bra, exposing her chest to the cool air of the gym. Her nipples immediately hardened from the contact the air condition room. He gripped her throat a little tighter, making sure not to choke her out but enough to send her into a dizzy haze. His leaned down and bit her left breast hard enough to break the skin. Small pools of blood immediately showed up and a dark blue-purple mark accented the bite mark. This earned a loud cry of pleasure from Eliese. Bucky continued to thrust into the smaller at a fast and rough pace while biting down on Eliese’s chest, leaving more bite marks and bruises.

Eliese could feel it, the inevitable rollercoaster approaching the highest point feeling. The air in her body lifted as her skin cooled down. Tingles ran from her toes to her knees. Her eyes tightly closed to shield herself from the drop that was coming next.

“Mmmmmm,” She hummed as the approach was getting closer. “–Bucky…almost…there,” She murmured between heavy breathes.

“Not yet, you’re not.” Bucky smirked to himself, stopping all movement. He released her throat and wrists, sitting up with his cock still inside her. Eliese groaned in disapproval, trying to wriggle her hips in such a way in hopes Bucky’s stilled erection would hit that one special spot to send her flying into euphoria but she couldn’t find it.

The super soldier pulled out of her, earning another disapproving groan from the elfin woman. He grabbed her hips, flipping her onto her knees. He hoisted her ass up while keeping her face against the mat. Bucky, grabbed onto the hem of her panties and pulled them down her thighs, stopping at her bent knees.

Eliese had no idea what he was up to. She started to twist around to get a better view of him but that was interrupted by the feeling of a hot and wet tongue dipping into her core. Eliese squealed in delight. She fell down, face planting into the wrestling mat as her legs shook.

Bucky grinned to himself as he lapped his tongue from her clit to her entrance, probing the wet entrance confidently. With his left hand he reached between her legs and found her clit. He gently pinched it between his forefinger and thumb. Every time Eliese would moan Bucky would hum in response, probing his tongue deeper. He chuckled in amusement when ‘Liese screamed in pleasure when the metal touching her clit began vibrating. Her legs shook as she rocked her hips back against his face. Bucky removed his mouth from her entrance and watched as she kept rocking her hips back towards him.

“Mmm, you taste fucking delicious,” He told her, slapping her bruising ass with his right hand. Eliese shrieked loudly, clenching her thighs around Bucky’s hand. Bucky chuckled again, running his right hand from her welting and bruising rear to the soaking wet entrance. He gently traced her opening with his fingertips while he kept his other fingers wrapped around her clit. Sending a new wave of tingles rushing through Eliese’s legs and toes.

Finally, Bucky pushed two fingers into her core. He began slowly stroking her walls. Eliese’s moans became broken as her eyes rolled. A loud cry erupted from her when she felt Bucky’s fingers curl against her A spot.

“Please, please, please,” Eliese mindlessly begged. “–Please let me cum!” Her cry came out wobbly and desperate. Bucky thrusted his fingers into her deeper and faster, curling his fingers against her walls.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you. Can you say that again?” Bucky mocked in a low voice. Eliese gave him a throaty moan, throwing her hips back into his hand. She so badly wanted more. Her greedy cunt wanted more.

“Bucky, please!” She cried out loud. “–Please let me cum.” Eliese’s begs and pleads caused Bucky to darkly titter at her. Eliese swore her legs were going to give out before Bucky was done with her.

“You’re a greedy little slut aren’t you?” Bucky asked, pushing his fingers knuckles deep into her core and curling them against her walls. He grinned widely when he felt her walls begin to pulse around him, signaling her orgasm was near.

“Yes, I am,” She huffed. “–I’m a greedy little slut,” Eliese practically screamed. Her sore throat was somewhere in the back of her hazy mind, but she was too busy floating around in the euphoric feeling Bucky was supplying her.

“And you want me to let you cum?” He quizzed with an arched eyebrow. From his point of view, Eliese was looking like a slice of heaven on the floor. Her body trembled, a light sheen of sweat glistened over her flushed skin. Eliese’s eyes were clamped shut, brows furrowed, and lips parted slightly.

“Yes, please. Please let me cum!” She replied with a hoarse voice. Eliese let out a whine when Bucky’s fingers left her. But she was soon filled to the brim once again. Bucky thrusted his cock into Eliese without warning. His hands were tightly holding onto Eliese’s narrow hips, sure to leave dark bruises in their wake.

Eliese was completely blissed out at this point. Bucky could throw her at a wall, and she wouldn’t care. She was lost in all the sensations overruling her body. It felt as though she was floating along a lazy river. Her head was swimming. And these sensations translated to her core squeezing and pulsing around Bucky’s member.

This made him thrust into her faster and harder. He grabbed onto her ponytail and pulled it, bringing her back to meet his chest. His other hand wrapped around her throat. Bucky could feel Eliese’s heart beating quickly in the artery in her neck.

“Okay doll,” Bucky murmured in her ear. “–Cum for me,” He gravelly growled against her ear. That was all Eliese needed to hear. She didn’t even realize she was consciously holding back her orgasm until she could just let go. Warm tingles erupted up her legs into her spine. Her mind being catapulted over the highest point of the rollercoaster. Eliese’s body violently shook against his as he continued to thrust into her, riding out her orgasm and chasing after his high.

After a few more thrusts Bucky’s hips stiffened, burying his cock deep inside of Eliese. He was overcome with the feeling of warm water rushing through his groin. His entire body exploded with tingles as his mind was sling shot into the same euphoria Eliese was currently lost in. All while his cock was filling Eliese’s core with his cum, letting it drip out and down her thighs.

The pair of them collapsed onto the plush wrestling mat. Bucky, being careful not to land on top of the smaller. They both panted heavily as they came back to their senses.

“That was…”

“Ugh-huh,” Bucky agreed, knowing what Eliese was about to say.

“You were… wow,” Eliese was at a loss for words. Bucky laughed and nodded in flattery.

“You were wow too,” He told her. Eliese immediately beginning to giggle from all the emotions and sensations her body just went through. Bucky couldn’t help but chuckle along with her. Their giggles were silenced by Eliese’s phone pinging from across the room.

“Looks like you won the dare,” Bucky said. Eliese closed her eyes and nodded in agreement.

“I totally won the dare.”

[bespectacled-panda]

after seeing dumpywoof’s post I was inspired to do a tier list of my own!!! and boy howdy do I have some hot takes of the century it turns out,,,

the seasons are more or less organized in descending order within the same row as well (e.g. MC 4 > MC 5). also, shamefully copying dumpywoof & putting a detailed & overly verbose explanation for each season:

S Tier

Terraria 3: For me, absolutely nothing compares to Terraria 3. No other season combines such perfect participant dynamics with such heart-wrenching drama—not to mention the existence of Team New Kids who make me cry on a daily basis, or the incredible fake twist ending. It would be a sin to put this season anywhere but alone at the very top. Also props for being the only (1 of 2) post-show that actually includes all of the cast.

 A Tier

Minecraft 4: This is the best season for shenanigans alone, hands-down. It’s largely just the participants shooting the shit together, especially in the latter half of the season when it gets down to just the four of them. & I have a huge soft spot for men being wholesomely foolish together I suppose, so here it goes fhdhfhd.

Minecraft 5: To be honest, I have not seen this season since it released, which is a crime, I know, I’m sorry :orb: But I remember it being very very good, & I cannot imagine my taste will have changed that dramatically in just a few years, so. in truth, this one might be actually better than MC 4, but as I have not seen it in many years I can’t say that for certain. Either way, though, it’s definitely one of the best seasons out there.

MineZ 1: To me, MineZ 1 is the reverse of MC 4: low on shenanigans & high on drama. It’s pre-Todd era, but the editing in this one is honestly Todd-level, I would say. It’s so incredibly tense, especially the scene with McJones & PBG trying to escape the caves, and I feel like the sheer stress of it all brought out a new side of a lot of the participants, most notably Dean—who sounded genuinely agonized at times. A very very quality season all around, IMO.

Terraria 2: This season probably objectively deserves to be B tier, but I am it giving A tier for personal bias. I just,,, love the dynamics okay. Jeff & McJones especially made for a killer duo. It was a rare instance of McJones being the funny man himself rather than being the straight man to someone else’s funny man; he was super uncharacteristically goofy & almost borderline flirtatious at times, it really made for some good moments fhdhfjd. Plus then you got McJones solo commentary at the end which I greatly enjoyed. Just,, a very enjoyable season, very mid-HC era, very light & easy to watch, all that good stuff.

Diablo II: Man,,,,this absolutely 100% does not deserve A tier, I know, I’m sorry, but I just can’t bring myself to put it lower. I have A tier love for it :orb: Admittedly, the game is horrendously ugly and confusing to watch, but the shenanigans + the cast dynamics win me over in the end. Paul especially was great in this, & I hope he makes a return someday. Loving fathers Paul & Jirard with their sorceress son McJones making their way through the end-game just cannot be beaten. (Anti-shoutouts to Ross though, I don’t know anything about him, I am sure he is a lovely man, but GOD. WHY DID HE KEEP RUNNING OFF ON HIS OWN & GETTING LOST BUT THEN FORCEFULLY REFUSING HELP,,, ROSS YOU ARE THE WORST DHDHFJDJD)

 B Tier

Minecraft 7: Boy,,, this is going to be a controversial take fhhfjdjf. I just don’t know how to explain it, but something about MC7 felt,,,, Very off. I don’t know what it was, just something about the season seemed very,,, almost like you could tell things were falling apart behind the scenes, & they were trying to pull it back together but weren’t quite succeeding. It’s not a bad season in any regards, of course, I just,, don’t enjoy it nearly as much as a lot of others,, it’s missing that crucial spark of life in my opinion,, also Dean leaving to go to work was kind of strange,, I get it, it’s probably difficult to work around his real-life job,, but it felt strange,, he got like temporary immunity. Nothing like that had ever happened before I don’t think. And also they never even explained why Dean wasn’t there for like three episodes fjdjfjhd,,

Minecraft 3: God I feel like I just keep digging myself into a deeper & deeper hole here fhsjfjd,,, but man, I did like MC3 to be honest. It wasn’t the best season, it kind of went nowhere, but I liked the cast & there was a lot of good funnymoments. Smooth & Shane were very good guests who I feel like really rounded out the season, & Jontron did not come off as terribly overbearing as I believe that he has in other seasons. Overall, pretty decent, I’d say.

 C Tier

Minecraft 2: MC 2 & MC 3 are very similar, but I think MC 2 is slightly worse, both in terms of entertainment & cast. NCS & Kyrak did not hit like Smooth & Shane did,,, and I feel like just everything that happened in this one was fairly forgettable. I was torn as to whether this should be a B or a C, but I put it here in the end just to drive home that I really don’t like it as much as MC 3, I don’t believe.

Minecraft 6: Oh lord, this is a nuclear take fhdjfjd. Again, this isn’t a bad season at all, it has its good moments, especially Chad & Dodger, they are angels & I love them & want them back. But boy,,, just. Many things went wrong here. None of the twists panned out like,, at all, which I know isn’t necessarily anyone’s fault, the concept of this twist & of twists in general is very good. But it fell so flat here, especially with the revival. There was,, no debate at all about what to do. They hyped it up like they had this big decision to make, but then nobody made any effort to dramatize it at all. It was basically just Dean deciding by himself and everyone just sitting back & letting him. For the record, I have no qualms with the fact that Dodger was revived, I fully agree that she deserved it over McJones, but it was not played well at all IMO,,,      I do have to admit, though, with a fair amount of sheepishness, that the thing that most sullies this season for me is McJones’s death. Just,,, his horrible, so so avoidable, insanely early death, coupled with his retirement shortly thereafter & him becoming so jaded with hc that he expressed borderline hostility & hatred towards it just,,, hurts. I kinda don’t wanna see the events of MC 6 now knowing the aftermath. I understand fully that this particular point is not something most people care about to say the least dhfhdjd, but,,, in all honesty, I really don’t have any desire to rewatch this one, as objectively good as it might be. It was a win but it felt like a loss, if that makes sense. Also the post-show lacked all three people I actually wanted to hear from fhdjfjd neither the two people who could’ve been revived nor the actual person who did the reviving were there to share their insight & perspectives on it :pensive: 

 D Tier

Starbound: man,,, starbound. This is a very mixed bag for me. On one hand, I disagree with people who say that it was boring or that nothing happened, I found it very tense, Todd’s editing had me on edge throughout every episode. But on the other hand,,, man. Very few memorable moments, what even happened in this one,, also I feel like the game mechanics/plot weren’t explained very well, I feel like I remember being vaguely confused all the time as to what was happening. Probably will not ever rewatch either.

 Have Not Seen

DayZ: I will not ever be watching this season both because I do not know anything about DayZ & because from what I’ve heard it was an absolute disaster, I’m just not interested in getting involved in that fhdhfjdk

Terraria 1: There’s not really a reason I haven’t watched this one. Just,, I haven’t made my way down to the earliest seasons yet. Although as mentioned before, I have seen a few clips of this season, & Jontron seems to be pretty obnoxious in this one, so I don’t how much I’ll enjoy the parts with him in it, but I definitely do want to watch it someday.

Minecraft 1: The same as Terraria 1, I just happen to not have seen this one by chance. But unlike T1, I am much more looking forward to actually watching it, it seems really good, I want to experience that legendary very first season at last dhdhfjd

MineZ 2: Man,,, many things about the behind-the-scenes of this season make me sort of uncomfortable honestly. Just,,, the visceral second-hand shame & embarrassment of someone in the hc fandom being so rude & bothersome to the cast,, somehow it makes me feel personally responsible even though I didn’t do anything fhdjfj,,, Also,, once again continuing with the trend of me being saddened by McJones expressing dislike for seasons fhdjfjd,, I do recall him saying, regarding this season, something like “I think it would’ve been better if we just never did this,” which,,, ow. That doesn’t make me particularly enthused to watch it fhdjfjd. I probably will end up watching this season someday to be honest, but I’m not looking forward to feeling the cast’s frustration & unhappiness with the situation,, (EDIT: I want to be clear that there is no actual drama surrounding minez 2!!! it is a perfectly fine season, there is nothing wrong with it, it just happens that I personally am bothered by the fact that there was a lot of like,,, frustration coming from the participants regarding the player who was stalking them. this in no way means that minez 2 is an objectively bad or problematic season!! if minez 2 is your favorite season I completely respect you, there is nothing wrong with that!! there is a lot to like about the season as a whole!!! I just personally care too much about mcjones having a bad time in seasons bc it’s what ultimately led to his retirement, & that makes me sad fjdhfjdjd. but it has come to my attention that my wording made it sound like there was drama about minez 2, which there never actually was, I am very very sorry for my unintentional yet poor choice of words.)

[urlocalkpoptrash]

Barely Human| Kim Namjoon.

Kim Namjoon x Reader

Genre: Fluff, Angst.

Warning: None?

Concept: Worn out and frustrated, namjoon finds himself trusting a bartender he just met, getting himself into a little bit of a pickle.

A/N: This took me so long to write, and I’m proud of it. I will add the ‘read more’ option when I get on my laptop later.

- - - -

“I’ll take another shot,” Namjoon tossed his glass across the bar, the single bartender catching it in the curve of his hand.

“Rough night?” The man asked, lifting a brow.

“Hah, you could say that,” He grumbled, rubbing his face.

It was the last night in America. They had been on a press tour, discussing their upcoming album, and how it tied into the rest of their concept. It had been amazing with all the place they had gotten to see, and the American ARMY’s that they would have never met, if it hadn’t been for the publicity they were trying to get. He was beyond grateful, but the fatigue of barely sleeping, and constantly writing for their new album, he was unbelievably irritable and overly tired.

He was almost always level headed, and was usually the one to keep everyone in line. He was the leader after all, that was his job, and he did it well, a real overachiever. So, when he exploded tonight on yoongi, of all people, he knew he had to get out and get some air, or in this case, some whiskey. It was stupid, really, he left the hotel without any security or telling anyone where he was going to go. His phone was blowing up, mostly calls and texts from the other members, but the worst of them being from the managers. He knew he would be in a world of hurt when he got back, but right now, he couldn’t care less.

It was his third shot, and his sorrows still sat at the bottom of the glass, tempting him to drown them with the only warmth he could find. He was so deep in his own self deprecation that he hadn’t even heard the front door open, but he did feel the gush of cold that swirled around the lonely bar room, greeting his turned back with chills. He didn’t bother to turn around, it was probably best that no one saw him anyways.

He felt like hours had passed while he had his head down. He could hear a faint female voice coming from behind the bar, and the male bartender was saying his goodbyes to her, thanking her for coming in on such short notice. Joon finally sat up, his eyes fighting to crack open. The lighting was dim, but the alcohol had already started to fill up his eyes, blurring his vision.

“Hey there, stanger,” you said softly, walking across the back of the bar, a towel dragging over the used wood, and water rings from drinks left too long, “I thought we might have lost you to the daniels,” you grabbed his empty glass, dropping it in the sink.

“Hey,” he dragged out the word, as if it were more than a four letter word.

“Hey to you too,” you laughed softly, walking over to the taps. You poured him some water, and a small amount of ice.

“What if I wasn’t done drinking?” He tried to straighten his back, as if he was attempting to prove his sobriety.

“I’ve done this job for long enough to know when someone has had enough,” You set down his water, leaning over the counter to cup your chin in your hand, resting your elbow against the rag you left out.

“You don’t know me,” he challenged, leaning the same way you did, trying to mimic your actions, hoping to annoy you a little.

He was taken back when laughter fluttered from your chest. His eyes widened slightly, now leaning in so he could be a little closer to you. His vision had finally started to come back, and he could really see your face. You were gorgeous, and it wasn’t something that was lost on you. He could tell you knew you were attractive, but you never used it as an advantage. You tried to downplay the way your face expanded when you smiled, or the way your eyes almost closed when you laughed. You wore your emotions so clearly on your face, a raw human being, unafraid to unapologetically be yourself.

“So, sorrow boy. What are you trying to numb?” You asked, nudging the water towards him.

He took the hint that you wanted him to actually drink it, and in his crusade to get you to like him, he took a sip of the water. He looked up to you, his lips tugging to one side, morphing into a lopsided smile. He tried to clear his throat, not that anything was stuck, except for his words.

“You don’t have to tell me,” you started to pull away, dragging the cloth away, but Namjoon was quick to grab your wrist. It was a gentle, but urgent gesture.

“Oh shit, sorry. I didn’t mean to grab you like that,” he immediately started to apologize, and never once trying to justify his actions, but was truly apologetic.

He rubbed the back of his neck, his ears that had been peeking from the messy brunette tendrils started to turn a shade of red. Your heart melted in your chest a little, he was completely appalled at what he had done.

“Hey,” You reached over, patting the top of his hand, “It’s okay. I know what you meant, you don’t have to be sorry.”

He looked at you, an unknown emotion washed over his face for a moment, but as quickly as it came, it faded. He took a deep breath, and nodded, his hair shaking from the motion.

“Do you really want to know why I’m here?” He inquired, unsure of your motives.

“If I didn’t want to know, I promise you, I wouldn’t have asked,” you settled back into your resting position. You prodded him on with questioning eyes.

He nibbles on the inside of his cheek, contemplating whether or not he should tell you. It wasn’t like he’d ever see you again after tonight, and what would be the harm in finally being able to talk about what’s going on in his life.

“I work in the music industry,” he admitted - believing you had not idea who he was, because why else would you actually treat him like just another person, “and the group I’m apart of has been doing a lot of press, while finishing up an album. Not only that, but I’m the person everyone goes to. I don’t mind it, I do love my members, they’re like brothers, but we’re all getting worn out. Everything we do is always being watched, whether it’s our vacations being broadcasted, or us doing live streams for the fans. I can’t even go out to get coffee in the morning without a full security team, because our fans can be… unpredictable at times. I feel like I’m living in a cage, watching the world around me go by. I don’t know who I am outside of the personified version of myself that I try to sell to everyone,” He exhaled loudly, as if a physical weight had been brought off his shoulders.

“It sounds like you have everything,” you said, watching him immediately deflate, thinking you didn’t understand what he was trying to explain, “but, you’re not really living. You’re not enjoying life, because you’re running on low all the time. Your mind and body never has time to adjust,” you have all but climbed over the bar and sat in his lap, you two were close enough to each other that you swore he could feel your breath against his cheeks.

“I feel like I’m a robot on autopilot. Most days, I feel barely human,” his eyes fell, looking at the bottom of his water, rolling the glass between his palms.

You didn’t know this boy, you didn’t know his life or to what extent his problems branched, but for tonight, you wanted to erase them. You pulled away from the conversation, NamJoon’s head snapped up, the fear in his eyes was evident. He was afraid he had scared you off, or that you didn’t actually care for his problems.

“Come on. I’m closing up early, I want to take you somewhere,” you began the closing ritual, but made it as quick as possible.

You put the money from the till into the safe, which was in the back office. You went down the line, turning off all the lines that led to the taps. You could feel his gaze on your back as you moved about, switching off the lights.

“What if someone tries to come in?” He asked, a little bit of worry dripping from his question.

“Ah, yes. The busy hours between 2am and 4am,” you teased, glancing over your shoulder.

He caught your eyes immediately, that same goofy lopsided smile had founds its way back on to his lips. You bit the inside of your cheek, turning away to finish up what you had been doing. What had you been doing? You had completely lost track of what you were in the process of, he really made your mind go blank.

“Let’s go,” you closed the register with your hips as you walked by, the small door to the back of the bar swinging behind you.

Joon stepped off his stool, keeping a firm hold on the metal that separated him and the bar. You giggled to yourself, usually you found drunk guys to be rather annoying, but he was sweet, and clumsy. You took a step towards him, offering him your hand. He stared at it for a moment, as if your fingers had transformed into man eating snakes.

“I don’t have cooties, I swear,” grabbing his hand anyways, pulling him out of the door, the chairs taking a rather tipsy beating as his feet stumbled over themselves, crashing into the furniture.

“First of all, we’ve got to get some food in you, and sober you up.”

He didn’t disagree, partly because he was starving, but mostly because he was afraid this was all a drunken dream, and that he was bound to wake up at any moment.

“How did you find this place? Especially since it seems that you’re extremely recognizable,” you wrapped his arm around your shoulders, letting him lean some of his weight on you. You hadn’t truly realized his height until now, which somehow made this so much more adorable.

“I just started walking, honestly. There is something freeing about getting out of a place that has four walls,” he lean his cheek on the top of your head.

“And sometimes you need those four walls to protect you,” you reached up, gently wrapping your hand around his fingers, which were dangling over your shoulder.

“It sounds like you may have the same kind of mind as me,” he paused for a moment, “And I’m sorry for that,” you could hear the sadness rounding out the corners of his slowly sobering speech.

The rest of the walk down the street to the only hotdog stand open, was quietly, except for the soft pitter patter of both your feet tapping against the pavement. He never moved his head, but his fingers played with yours, absentmindedly. The man standing with the cart smiled towards the both of you.

“Hungry love birds tonight?” He chirped, getting some buns ready for your order.

Namjoon went to open his mouth, but you nudged him, and he quickly closed his lips, burying his nose in your hair. His shyness was starting to make another appearance.

“Two dogs, fully loaded, and two water bottles,” you reached into your pocket, pulling out some money that had been through the wash too many times, and it smelled of detergent.

You two exchanged money and hotdogs, while Namjoon walked slowly over to the bench. You watched from your spot, making sure he didn’t stumble over his intoxicated limbs. He plopped down, with a loud push of air leaving his chest. You walked over to him, two water bottles under your arms, and the hot dogs in your hands. You sat beside him, sliding close, so that both your legs touched. He took a water and hot dog, leaving one of your arms free.

“Thank you,” He said between hurried bites.

“Man, you really were hungry,” you laughed, taking a sip of your water.

He looked down to hide his shy smile, “Yeah… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t eat so fast,” he slowed down his bites.

“You don’t have to apologize, you’ve done nothing wrong,” you patted his knee.

“Has anyone ever told you how comforting you are?” He asked, after taking a sip of water.

Now it was your turn to blush, “A couple times, but it’s hard to believe, only because believing good things about yourself is much harder than it should be,” you shrugged, crumpling up the little paper that was holding your hotdog.

“I know exactly what you mean.” He grabbed both of your trash and stood up, clearly gaining some of balance back.

“Thank you,” you said softly, watching him walk. His long legs striding across the sidewalk.

You stood up when he walked back over to you, and he reached out, draping his arm around your shoulder, but this time it was just to have you a little closer to him. You looked up at him, catching his profile. His long neck, meeting the angular curve of his jaw. You were mesmerized by him, feeling as if you were the one who had drank all that Jack Daniels. You hadn’t even noticed that there was a group of girls following pretty far behind you, but joon had. He picked up his pace a little, turning his head to look down at you.

“There are some girls following us, and I can’t have them seeing your face, I don’t want you caught up in my life,” He was serious, and you really just started to realize how well known this guy may be.

“How fast can you run?” You asked without moving your head to look at him.

“I mean… not that fast,” he admitted, which would have been slightly endearing if it weren’t for the gaggle of girls following you.

“I’m going to need you to run as fast as you can, and don’t let go of my hand, got it?”

He nodded, wordlessly agreeing to your plan. In all honesty, you could have been working with them. You could trap him in a corner or hurt him somehow. He didn’t know you, and here he was trusting you. This brought a whole new meaning to blind trust. He dropped his arm from around your shoulders, and you found his fingers, tangling them with yours. You glanced over at him, and he was already looking at you. You couldn’t help the smile that snuck onto your lips.

“Go!” You yelled, taking off with him slightly behind you.

You could hear the girls behind you taking off as well, which pushed your legs faster. Namjoon was following behind you, but tugged on him, and with great effort he picked up his speed. You turned down a street, heading into a suburban area, houses that all looked the same. You could feel him losing momentum around the third block, but you needed one more block from him.

“We’re almost there,” you called back at him, and he groaned, but kept his pace.

The girls were gaining on you, so you had to make a detour, running in between the fences of peoples houses, pulling joon around the trees. You could see the high school just in your view. There was always a broken gate around the back. Unfortunately, for joon it was an extra minute of running. He was panting behind you, and you could also feel your legs giving out. The gate was so close, you reached around little door, opening it from the inside. You shoved it open, yanking joon into the courtyard with you.

“Namjoon! Namjoon!” The girls called out, and if their words were whips, he shuddered away from his own name.

Once you two made it towards the auditorium, you started pushing on all the doors till you found one that was open. You grabbed the front of his shirt, stumbling into one of the locker rooms. You forced the door closed, latching the lock just in time to hear the smack of multiple hands hitting the metal door. You hunched over next to him, both of your breathing heavily.

“Holy shit,” Namjoon had started to laugh between deep breathes.

You looked over at him, and the laughter that was sitting in your chest trickled out slowly. Soon, both of your were laughing hysterically. You both had just out ran a group of fangirls, and broke into a high school. Neither of you could believe what this night was stacking up to be. After a few minutes of falling into each other with giggles, you finally caught your breath, standing up straight.

“This has got to be the boys lockers room,” You crinkled your nose, the stench of unwashed jock straps and sweaty socks filled the air.

“I think you might be right about that. We need to get out of here,” he turned towards the door, but you whipped around, grabbing his hand.

“Wait!” You pulled on him, which made him turn on his heels to look at you.

“What? They should be gone,” his eyebrows sinking to the middle of his forehead.

“Come on, I want to show you something,” you tugged on him, and he followed you. He was starting to think he would follow you anywhere.

“One time you’re going to tell me to follow you, and you’re going to lead me to my death,” he laughed softly, watching you from behind.

You turned your head to look back at him, and in that moment he knew he never wanted to forget your face. He took a mental image of you, and how beautiful you looked under the dim fluorescent lights above the two of you. He’d never forget the way you looked at him, the way you made him feel fully human.

“As long as you hold my hand, I promise I won’t let anything happen to you,” you swore, and you meant it.

His breath caught in his chest, and without a second thought, he knew he’d do anything to keep you safe. You were a stranger to him, he didn’t know your name, he didn’t know your story, or if you were a sister, a girlfriend, a best friend. He didn’t know you, but he wanted to spend a lifetime figuring it out. The echo of a door opening brought him back to reality. He looked around and he was in what looked like a swimming area.

“I used to come here a lot when I was younger. My friends and I would get drunk on really shitty vodka and break in for a swim,” you started to pull off your shirt, tossing it on the ground.

Joon opened his mouth to speak, but choked on his words, coughing. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen a girl take her top off, but you were so nonchalant about it, like you two had been best friends for years, and you were comfortable with him. You lifted a brow, gesturing towards his shirt.

“Do you swim fully clothed?” You asked, cocking a brow up.

He swallowed and started to remove his shirt, while you stripped from your jeans, wiggling your hips. He quickly looked away, his cheeks blazing a deep shade of red. You tossed your head back and laughed.

“You’re so cute,” you walked towards the pool, “but cute won’t get you a kiss,” you looked back at him, diving into the pool.

Suddenly, he felt a fire blaze in his stomach. He practically ripped his pants off, stumbling as the bottom of his jeans clung to his ankles.

“Oh come on,” he cursed, flailing his leg around wildly.

He was finally free of the grip his pants had on him. He almost sprinted to the pool, jumping in haphazardly, his body making a small wave that washed over you. You laughed loudly, as he swam over to you, but you couldn’t let him win that easy. You dove under water, swimming between his legs, popping up behind him.

“Darn, so so close,” you splashed him as he turned around.

“That’s it!” He lurched forward, causing you to squeal.

He captured you in his arm, wrapping his limbs around your waist, but the water lubricated your skin, making it easy for you wiggle free by dunking his head down. You tried your hardest to swim away from him, but his fingers attached to your ankle, pulling you back to him.

“No! No! I’m sorry!” You tried to beg for your freedom, but he got you, and he wasn’t letting you go.

He finally had you pressed against his chest, and this time you didn’t fight him. Instead, you wrapped your legs around him, hanging your arms around the back of his neck. He leaned forward, and for a split second you thought he was going to kiss you, but he placed his forehead against yours.

You both sat in silence, just the sound of water splashing the edge of the pool, and your gentle breathing. He had closed his eyes, but you didn’t dare do the same. You weren’t ready to miss a second of his face. The water had taken off any makeup he might have been wearing and his bare skin was showing. It was the prettiest color of tan you’d ever seen, just enough of a sun kissed glow to make his skin look perfect. You could see the small freckle under his lip, and you had the strongest urge to kiss it.

“You’re looking at me,” he whispered without opening his eyes.

“I don’t want to forget anything about you,” you replied in a hushed voice.

In a flash, his cheeks bloomed into a beautiful hue of pink. You’d been able to see him blush before, but now it was so much more intense, you were so close to him now. His lashes fluttered before he opened his eyes, looking at you.

“The sun's coming up… we should get you back to your group,” you brushed the tip of your nose over his.

“You’re right, even if I don’t want you to be,” he sighed, swallowing back the leftover words that he wanted to say, but never would.

After both of you got dressed, soaking your clothes from the wet undergarments you were both wearing, you had started to walk back the way you came. The sun was painting a masterpiece of orange and reds, you swore that if heaven was real, this is what it would look like. You walked hand in hand, joon swinging your arms lightly. You could see the bar getting closer, and you knew this was coming to an end.

“I wish the sun would never rise,” he confessed, stopping in front of the bar.

You smiled sadly, the corner of your lips never fully reaching your eyes. You placed both your hands on his cheeks, running your thumb over his bottom lip.

“You spend too many hours in the night, you need to take a walk in the sun,” you watched as he placed his hand over yours, leaning his cheek into your palm.

“You do the same,” he turned his head to press his lips into your hand, “can I ask you one thing?” He said, barely loud enough for you to hear, “what’s your na—“

He was cut off by your finger over his lips, you shook your head, “Let’s not do that. If you know my name, than it’ll make it harder.”

He looked at you for a moment, searching your eyes. He didn’t want to say goodbye, he didn’t want this to end, but his plane was leaving in just a few hour and his members were losing their mind, not knowing where he was.

“If you ever find yourself back here, you know where to find me,” you glance at the bar, and smile.

You lean into your toes, and he brings his head down slightly, dropping it lower. You press your lips into his forehead, and he hugs you tightly from around the waist. You can’t bare to stay that way, because you’re starting to wonder what would happen if you didn’t let go, so you had too.

“Goodbye, sorrow boy,” you whispered.

“Goodbye, beautiful girl,” he caressed your cheek, before turning away.

He started to walk away, but when he got to the end of the street, he turned around to see you one last time.

You were already gone.

[inevitablies]

It hasn’t been like this since just after Bucharest. When things were freer, and the pressures they faced were that of stressful jobs and overly cheery bosses. But it was different then. Excited and fast-paced, the thrill of twelve years of lost time to be caught up on, exploring every part of their new relationship.

It’s different now. For the first time in sixteen years they’re completely out of sync. She knows how to make a home in his arms as well as he knows how to hold her but the missing time has taken its toll. She hates the betraying voice in the back of her mind telling her that she married a different man. He doesn’t want to tell her what happened because he doesn’t want to hear about what happened during the gap in his memories. The blank spot in which her version of himself was with her. He doesn’t want to hear about him. The way her heart broke, he sees it in her eyes.

Daisy pulled him aside after he got back and held him tight- possibly tighter than Mack.

“Yeah, missed you too.”

“I don’t know what we would have done- I can’t lose you.”

He swallowed dryly. He doesn’t like seeing Daisy cry. He misses when he first met her, when she smiled and laughed and made goofy jokes and never once imagined that her life could change this much in so little time.

She looks at him and searches for any trace of the boy with the untucked plaid shirts and curly hair who had a puppy crush on her for about five seconds all those years ago. They seem like two entirely different people.

“If you hadn’t come back,”

“I know,” he said, not wanting to hear it.

She shook her head. “No. Jemma wouldn’t have made it. She was going mad, Fitz. It was like I lost my two best friends at once.”

“I’m here. I’m home.” It’s a mantra that’s been playing in his head since he got back to earth, grounding him, even when it felt fake.

“This isn’t home. We deserve- you deserve a real home. We can’t keep living like this.”

She’s right.

“Fitz?” Jemma calls.

“Go.” Daisy pushes him away lightly. In a different context, on another day it would be playful. “She needs you.”

Still, as appreciated as it is, the sex is just another way to avoid talking about it.

He doesn’t know how to talk to her without reminding her of the husband that she lost, that she can’t ever get back, and she doesn’t know how to make it so that he isn’t obsessed with that other version of himself. Communication was their gift. So in tune they could read each other’s minds. It’s not that they’ve forgotten how to, but that they’re both resistant. Neither wants to be the one to start the talk, dredge up all that pain and anger again just to relive it. But they know how to do this. They know how to wrap around each other until they forget everything but the sensation of being in each other’s embrace and they can pretend that everything is normal. That if they open their eyes the sun will be streaming in the bedroom window and they’ll be living a nice, normal life, some farfetched fantasy that they could believe in just a few years ago. The idea of running away together feels so out of reach, but every moment they spend in the grips of near-death, saving the world exhausts them a little more.

She sometimes thinks that she’s given all she has to give and if all they can do for the rest of their lives is hold each other just so, that would be good. Honor and duty are all fine and good, but at a certain point, it’s all moot. She’s not sure precisely when the line was crossed, but it’s been years too long. They need to leave.

They can’t leave.

He doesn’t want to think about it. With her in his arms, snuggled tight in the warmth of their bed (not the one he remembers, from the Playground, but she’s comfortable there, and where ever she is becomes home) he briefly entertains the notion of just, staying. Just like this. They’ll take Deke up on his offer, let him buy them a castle, two, three castles. He’s made enough to support them for the rest of their lives if they don’t do a thing, and he does sort of owe them for his existence. They could raise a family. Or not, he’s not sure whether they can handle that at this point, after all they’ve been through.

(There’s always been an unspoken agreement that eventually, inevitably, Simmons will discover she’s pregnant and they’ll freak out before fading into awe and pride and jubilation and they’ll stay at Shield for a bit but by the time she’s showing they’ll be settling into a cottage in Perthshire, somewhere where his mum and her parents can visit and the team can drop by to say hi, meet the baby, and then hop back on the jet and go back to saving the world. They could even put in a home laboratory in the basement. Or they could swear off science altogether and devote the rest of their lives to breakfast in bed and being the sort of parents that will raise a daughter that won’t marry the sort of a man who will cause her to eventually have a child that will turn out like Deke.)

But that was always in the future. A set of decisions made easy by a swift-approaching deadline and their commitment to their little family. They’ve lost their direction, unable to make the decisions to take themselves out of the equation, to safety, when it’s only their lives at risk. Their futures. No one wants to make the next move, not when everything around them is falling apart. Let this be a constant. Let them be the constant. They’ll stay because they’ve always stayed, and always will.

This is familiar. No version of them doesn’t know how to do this, doesn’t know how to seek each other out and hold them until their minds don’t have to force the world to make any sense because the world fades to the background, and only they are left. Because of course they are. They’ll always be left with each other. That’s the promise, the vow so sacred that saying it aloud does nothing to lessen it. A truth, so fundamental and constant it might as well be taught in the courses they took at the academy, right next to the laws of thermodynamics. They know it to be true, and so it is. Obviously.

They’ll always find their way back to each other, because how could they not? As the world falls apart around them and they struggle to speak they know that they will end up with each other, whatever it takes.

[aesjae]

Boyfriend! Jaemin

#12 of Boyfriend! Series

Taeil | Johnny | Taeyong | Yuta | Kun | Doyoung | Ten | Jaehyun | WinWin | Jungwoo | Lucas | Mark | Xiao Jun | Hendery | Renjun | Jeno | Haechan | Jaemin | Yang Yang | Chen Le | Jisung

Style/ Genre: Headcanon/-  Word Count: 2,312 Date Posted: 18 October 2018

honestly a relationship with jaemin would be so fun and light-hearted (?)(?)(?) ( i know i said this for several other members too but sERIOUSLY, nA JAEMIN.)

jaemin would be the typical middle-school first love boy

the kind of boy who captures your attention with his charming smiles, sparkling eyes, bubbly personality, his sweet and gentle words

the kind of boy that makes you think that having a relationship with would be like a dream

he would be flirty to you since it’s just natural to him

sometimes he would be overly flirty that even he realises it

at those times, he would suddenly become very shy and hide his face from your sight

i think jaemin would be the type of guy that would find comfort in skinship and affection

he would often have some form of skinship with you

like lacing his fingers with yours

or have his arm around your shoulders

but his favourite would always be the former

because somehow he really likes the feeling of your palm against his

fingers gently but firmly intertwined

where you can feel each other’s subtle pulses

even when you tell him that your palm was starting to sweaty and attempt to pull away

he would clasp onto your hand even more tightly

and say that it doesn’t bother him with a bright smile on his face

he would sometimes whisper soft words into your ears

mostly out of affection

“you’re cute”

“you make me feel blessed”

“let’s get your favs after school”

“i lub you”

sometimes to third parties, it might seem like he was telling some sweet secret words to you

but really he would actually be spouting some random things

“dododododododo- bunny”

“what do you get if you cross a dolphin and a lettuce? chen le!”

“coffee is great cause it helps me espresso myself”

honestly you can’t help but burst out giggling or laughing sometimes

which may capture some of the members’ attention and leave them in confusion

jaemin would always know how to brighten up your day whenever you’re feeling down or jaded

he never ignores any signs of you being in a bad mood, and try to lighten up your mood instead

he always makes sure to let you know that he will always be there to support you through thick and thin

and will never leave you in the lurch, even in difficult situations

whenever you’re feeling insecure about yourself

jaemin would always sense or notice it, even if you do not verbally express it

he knows how to read your mind inside out

even though jaemin is somebody who can talk a lot, given his cheerful and bubbly persona

at such times he would display a mature image filled with sensibility and sensitivity

he would try to encourage or comfort you through little physical actions

such as squeezing your hand, arm or shoulder

instead of his clear brown orbs brimming with excitement and adventure,

they would be replaced with a very gentle yet assuring glow

giving you a sense of warmth and solace

coupled with his heartwarming smile, he would make you feel better instantly

jaemin is the kind of person who would probably choose sunset dates over sunrise ones

bring you out for dinner at a simple local diner

cheap good food but quality time with him

you can be chatting about the most trivial stuff yet feel so alive talking to this bubbly boy

and him never failing to make you laugh every few seconds with his cringey jokes, attempted aegyos and flirts here and there

he is the kind of boy that would make you find yourself unconsciously making heart eyes at while sipping on your smoothie

admiring the boy opposite you and wondering how you were able to meet someone like him

as he stares at how his smoothie is gradually depleting as he continues sipping on it

and when he suddenly looks up and catches you staring at him with such an enamoured expression

you’d be taken by surprise and both of you will just stare at each other for a few seconds as if time paused

until his staring gets too intense for you and you break out of your reverie,

avoiding his gaze, embarrassed, suddenly feeling self-conscious about the fact that he caught you redhanded

as you continue sipping on your smoothie furiously to avoid jaemin’s gaze,

you’d hear his soft chuckle as your cheeks get warmer by the seconds

afterwards, he’d bring you to a nice open grassy place ( somewhere like along han river ) to sit down

and as both of you lean against the trunk of a tree

both of your hands would be intertwined, and jaemin’s head would be on your shoulder, as the both of you watch the beautiful sunset silently

taking in the picturesque scenery as your hearts pulse in unison

jaemin is also the kind of boyfriend who would bring you to watch fireflies in the dark night

maybe somewhere on a grass field near a bridge

where it is not far from the bustling city

but enough distance away to provide both of you with the quietness and privacy that you appreciate

honestly, i feel that jaemin would be a romanticist

just that he’s not very vocal about it

despite his flirty nature

he would genuinely and truly desire a kind of relationship that would make him think about the other party the whole day

with his youth overtaken by idol training

he would kind of be deprived of the normal teenage life

not that he didn’t enjoy training with his precious team members

but it’s undeniable that he would miss the normality and mundaneness of being a normal teenager instead of a kpop idol

hence, while jaemin never verbally discusses his romantic desires or ideas

he would try to execute them into action with you

the thing is, he wouldn’t even realise it

because being the love-struck teenage he would be,

he would just be thinking about spending time with you

thus, when you narrate the dates jaemin planned and other romantic things he did for you to the other nct members

he would suddenly be very shy about it and hide his face behind his hands as you continue recounting, having fun teasing your boyfriend

seriously na jaemin would make such a cute boyfriend

when both of you are lazy and settle for home dates instead

y’all would like to bake random stuff

but somehow it would always end up with both of you licking on some cookie or brownie dough

resistance to temptation is futile 

at the end of the day, both of you would find the kitchen messy 

with both of you faces stained with some remnants of dough, flour or chocolate

yall would know that yall would get scolded when jaemin’s parents came back home to discover the mess

but as the both of you looked at each other,

you can’t help but smile

knowing that all these little moments with boyfriend

may all seem like part and parcel of an immature youth

but to you, you would never trade them for anything else

as much as people and memories come and go, you wanted to treasure the feelings you were experiencing 

and the feelings you had for jaemin

as you knew that they were genuine 

jaemin would be looking at you with just as much adoration 

sparkles in his eyes, goofy smile

uall only broke away when jaemin suddenly remembered how screwed uall would be if you did not clean up the kitchen soon

hence both of you would rush making the kitchen look new again

even though it was tough since playful jaemin would like to play with you

hindering the process of cleaning up

when it would finally be time for you to go home

jaemin would send you back home

jaemin would always insist on sending you right to your doorstep, as he would be worried otherwise

in the bus, uall would always opt for sitting right at the back of the bus

privacy for a sweet couple

pda ahem ahem 

he will like to lean his head against your shoulder

if you’re much shorter than him, jaemin would never even complain about his neck aching, because he liked this position

usually on bus rides back home after a long day,

both of you would be silent 

just silently admiring the night view outside, 

hand in hand, rested on one of your laps

sometimes when you tilt your head towards him to peek at him

he would snatch a peck on your lips

leaving you flustered 

while jaemin smiles triumphantly 

when both of you finally reach the front of your house

jaemin would say the usual stuff 

“make sure you bathe and sleep early tonight”

“give me a text before you go to sleep alright~”

“drink lots of water too okay, i want to hear your beautiful voice tomorrow too”

he would envelope you into a warm hug and kiss your forehead/ the top of your head before letting you go

and the moment that you turn your back and enter your home, 

he would miss you already

-

also! since jaemin is still a high school student, let’s also dive into high school boyfriend jaemin!

let’s just say that you and jaemin being a couple would be widely known among your cohort 

your friends would probably like to tease you about it too

jaemin would like to purposely pass by your class during breaks

sometimes he would just stay by the windows and say hi or make small talk with you before having to head off back to class

sometimes he would daringly come into your class and give you a backhug or something, while you are in your seat

when he does that, your classmates would all whistle and go “OoooOOoOhHhHHHH” 

i mean they all already know about the both of you but

cUte coUPLe PdA oVERLoAD

as much as you would be embarrassed, you enjoyed it too 

every week, both of you would have 1 or 2 days when you two eat lunch together, instead of with your respective friends

occasionally, both of your friends, together with our beloved couple here, would eat all together at the same table

unexpectedly, jaemin and you would sit opposite each other, at the side of the table

both of your friends would talk animatedly amongst themselves, 

many times about both of you

your friends telling jaemin’s friends about how you are so into jaemin

and jaemin’s friends spilling about how jaemin talks about you 24/7

your friends leave the both of you embarrassed

so after a while, jaemin would take you by the hand

and both of you would silently escape to somewhere else to be by yourselves

usually, it would be to the school’s garden 

both of you would sit on a bench and just relax

the garden would be a frequent hangout spot for both of you

especially when both of you (occasionally) skip lessons when they get boring and overwhelming

nearing exams, both of you would study together

jaemin would often be distracted,

playing with your fingers, playing with your hair, looking over at your study materials instead

you would gently chide him for not concentrating

but after a while, you might give in to him

study dates that end up as cafe dates instead

but despite jaemin’s playful nature, he would work very hard as well

as a boyfriend, he wanted to look good to others and prevent anybody from getting the chance to tease you because of him

hence he would work hard to get good grades

sometimes when you fall asleep while studying with jaemin

and you wake up and peek open your eyes,

you will see jaemin studying very seriously, 

him looking like he’s glaring daggers at the notes

multiple empty cups of coffee on his side of the table 

shall we end off with jealous jaemin? 

jaemin might be very easygoing

but he would also be very protective and possessive of you

i mean, being a boyfriend right

jaemin would usually show signs of subtle jealousy even when it’s just your own good friends

but jaemin is also very level-headed and would usually not make a big fuss about it

maybe, he would just mumble his dissatisfaction under his breath

“he thinks he’s all great and lean and muscular and handsome and good grades and good manners. he thinks he’s awesome. ........ he is tho.... nO SHUSH JAEMIN YOU ARE JUST ARE DESERVING OF Y/N)! ! !”

jaemin may do this frequently that you would probably have noticed it too, without him telling you about it

so sometimes when you are a distance away from jaemin, talking to your friends

and when you look over and you see him mumbling things under his breath with a disgruntled look

you can only chuckle at jaemin’s cuteness

afterwards, you may act extra sweet and intimate towards jaemin to show him that he would still be the only one for you

oh yes very very last part

i just saw jaemin’s disappointed face after his in-game character died (HAHA)

so imagine jaemin showing you the exact same face when you refuse to share your food with him

food is precious, as much as sharing is caring,,,,, food,,,,,,,,,,,

his whole expression would drop and show a glimpse of betrayal in his expression

as if his face silently conveyed his thoughts 

‘i can’t believe my own partner refused to share with me their food. who’s more important,,, me or the food? seems like it’s the food........... i can’t blame them though........ but.......... 😞’

okay the end!

hey but let’s just say you couldn’t help but have your heart melt at the sight of sad jaemin

so food would be shared and all would be good! :D

[unedited]

[very-grownup]

Can you believe a kraken STILL hasn’t eaten Nitori over summer vacation?

I'm going to talk about Free! Dive to the Future now that three episodes have aired.

I have not seen any of the films produced between the end of Eternal Summer and the start of this third series. They are not available on English streaming services and I'm going to be real with you: in 2018 there is so much media to consume that is legally and easily available, I'm disinclined to figure out how to obtain fansubbed anime in this the year of our lord 2018.

I loved Iwatobi Swim Club and Eternal Summer. They were well done, tight, self-contained coming of age series, one about a character overcoming an angry and isolating adolescence, one about a character learning to overcome the inertia of fear that often grips young adults when they're confronted with the inevitable change of going from adolescence to adulthood, of having to make a choice. The first two series were masterfully directed by Hiroko Utsumi and a breath of fresh air: a show helmed by a woman, for young women, and not based on an otome game or another property centered on the relationship between the male characters and a female avatar.

Hiroko Utsumi did not direct any of the film entries in the series and is not directing Dive to the Future (she's directing the incredible Banana Fish anime) and I admit, when I read Utsumi was no longer involve the series, I became skeptical about its direction and quality.

Now that I can actually watch an entry in the series made without Utsumi, I don't have to be skeptical. The kindest thing I can say about Dive to the Future is that it's obviously floundering for direction. But this is the internet, so I can also go into a far more thorough and much less kind discussion of missteps, questionable choices, and things that are actually not good.

There's one problem that stands out for me, because a lot of the others can be bracketed with expectations of what sort of show Dive to the Future is trying to be, but this one part, a small fraction of the runtime of the three episodes, undoes, or at least undermines, something the first two series did in the characterization of one of the only girls in the series. Gou, the younger sister of protagonist Rin and manager of Iwatobi High School's swim club. Gou has no romantic interest in any of the boys on the team, unlike the female manager in (shounen) sports series. Gou isn't interested in swimming, either; this isn't a substitute or displacement because there is no girls' swim team. Gou initially becomes involved in Nagisa's desire to start a swim club in their high school as a tool to reconnect with and help her distant, unhappy brother.

Gou continues managing the swim club because she unabashedly enjoys looking at muscular dudes. Again, she isn't interested in dating any of these boys. She just enjoys being able to look at these living swimsuit pinup boys. She's a teenage girl vocalizing an aspect of her sexuality and keeping it for herself. She loves muscles. They're hot. While the narrative is about the boys, Gou's presence acknowledges that a lot of girls in the audience are watching this for very simple, non-narrative reasons.

And that's okay.

In media targeted at women, especially young women, the acknowledgement of sexual desires as a component of a romantic relationship is still relatively new after centuries of women's feelings being portrayed as chaste. In a post-Twilight world, media is starting to allow that maybe girls are as sexually attracted to that boy they're crushing on as it's given that boys are to girls.

Gou's characterization says: it's normal to be attracted to boys, even if you aren't interested in dating right now. It's a quite, understated bit of characterization and representation, but it's appreciated. Gou's presence really cements the sense in the first two series that this is something being made by a woman for other young women.

Dive to the Future introduces a Japan-obsessed Russian swim coach who is fixated on Rin and wants to work with him, and only him, in Sydney, Australia. He's an authority figure who is overly focused on an eighteen-year-old boy who is in a foreign country, away from his friends and family. Although this may, understandably, raise some concern and discomfort, Free! is not the kind of series that is going to be dealing with something as serious as authority figures taking advantage of young athletes sexually. This character is just a joke, a goofy, out-of-touch adult who thinks he's cool and is also slightly camp. He's very obsessed with muscles.

In episode three this is brought up again, as Kirishima, a wandering swimming hobo, tries to bribe the coach, Mikhail, into taking him on, offering up various sexually exciting photobooks and magazines featuring muscular young men. Cut to Gou back in Japan, trying to convince her new kouhai of the importance of the same photobook. An equivalency is drawn. Coach Mikhail and Gou are the same, their interests are the same, they provoke the same reaction. A comical obsession, a gag, an out-of-touch character who can't read the room. A teenage girl's interest in the bodies of teenage boys is the same as a grown man's interest in those same bodies.

It's gross.

The most charitable reading still sees Gou's healthy, normalized if quirkily expressed attraction being reduced to a gag, robbing the character of the understated, positivie representation of adolescent sexuality she offered originally. It's unneccessary and unkind to girls in the audience like Gou.

The idea of the carnivorous woman who knows what she wants, sexually, is not equivalent to an older man in a position of authority viewing the vulnerable individuals around him as a source of voyeuristic pleasure.

After unburdening myself of the surprising level of anger resulting from a single scene, nearly blink-and-you'll-miss-it length, the other problems with Dive in to Future seem less important, but they all concern larger elements of the program. It's just that they're problems of something not being done very well, not the problem of the reveal of a potential hostile or contemptuous attitude toward a part of the audience.

Nevertheless.

Dive in to Future doesn't know what it wants to be. I stand by my assertion that Iwatobi Swim Club and Eternal Summer were never sports anime. They were coming of age journeys for two different characters who had different problems to work through. They were, quite simply, never structured to be a series like Slam Dunk, Prince of Tennis, Kuroko's Basketball, Haikyuu, insert-your-preferred-shounen-sports-series-here. The focus isn't on a team, it's on a group of characters, four of whom are going to the same school and are in the same club. At the end of Eternal Summer, Haru, Rin, and Makoto, three of the five core characters, are going to be graduating, moving on to the next stage of their life, Rin in Australia, Haru and Makoto in Tokyo. That transition, those three characters growing up and away from their younger friends, is a major component of the story told in Eternal Summer, culminating in a teary happiness. It's sad they won't be friends in the same way, but it's natural, inevitable, and full of potential excitement for the new things these changes will bring.

There are a lot of directions that could have been chosen in doing a third season. Staying in Iwatobi, focusing on the changing, growing swim club. Going to Tokyo with Haru and Makoto, building upon those themes of change and growth as two codependent childhood friends find their own, separate paths. Going to Sydney with Rin, a protagonist returning with new eyes and confidence to a place where the festering anger and unhappiness that burdened him in Iwatobi Swim Club originated. You could follow any of those threads and double down, focusing on one of them, on turning the series into an actual sports series with a large cast and rival teams and tournaments and competitions. You could continue telling the story of these specific friendships, five boys in three different places, figuring out how their friendship can evolve and continue in some form.

Dive to the Future seems to be trying to do all of those simultaneously, not wanting to commit to a particular focus because it would mean sidelining some of the characters. It's about Rin in Australia but it's also about Haru and Makoto in university and also Haru's university swim team and maybe actual swimming competitions for that university swim team with maybe a rival university of evil swimmers but also the club back in Iwatobi and after three episodes I couldn't tell you which of all those the series is actually going to be about. Maybe Haru's university swimming life will more clearly come forward. But it could easily go on like this, a jumbled series of characters and incidents without any underlying thematic glue bringing things together. There are solid individual scenes scattered through these episodes (Rin's morning routine in Sydney from the third episode stands out for me) but as someone who loved the first two series, the overall impression is ... that it's fine.

Dive to the Future also sees the introduction of characters from the films, specifically the prequel film made after Eternal Summer. The first episode of Dive to the Future feels like they dumped all these new characters into the mix at once, a sensation I'm sure is exacerbated by my not having seen the movies. There are also new characters in Iwatobi so the swim club can continue. There are boys swimming with Rin in Australia who have names, probably. More characters on Haru's university swim team. The previously mentioned evil university. All the characters from the first two series.

It's so many characters, all at once, with little regard for their significance.

For comparison, Rei is introduced in the third episode of the first series, after we've had a chance to become familiar with the characters who have a history together.

The unfocused narrative and the glut of characters go hand-in-hand, an ouroboros of problems.

Finally, another disappointing undercutting of what's come before: in this mess of characters and plot threads, a lot of screen time does seem to be devoted to characters being concerned about childhood friendships that were lost as kids moved to other parts of Japan and other countries. There's an obsession and guilt over it, instead of recognizing it as a natural thing that happens. The desire to reconnect with those people is also guilt propelled and it feels like a retread of the attempt to reconnect with the angry, distant Rin from the first series and a complete memory wipe of the lessons of growing up Makoto and Haru specifically learned in Eternal Summer. There's a worrying sense that with Dive to the Future, despite the name, is going to see characters who aren't allowed to grow and learn and move forward and change, but instead just go through variations on the same beats in an increasingly bland animated purgatory.

The final product is fine, I suppose, but fine may as well be failure when the previous product managed to achieve excellence.

[the-real-coronium]

The Setup

“Are you sure about this?”

“Well if you’re gonna doubt me, then I guess we can call the whole thing off. . .”

“No, no, no, I’m not doubting you. Honest. It’s just that-”

“Good, ‘cause just remember that you came to me for help on this. The least you could do is try to act like you believe me.”

“I do. I promise. I’m just a little nervous, is all.”

“Well don’t be. With me as you wingman, you’ve got this in the bag. Just remember to be yourself and everything will go just fine. Now go, I can hear her coming.”

“Wait, but I’m not-“

“Go!”

As she walked through the halls, Raven Branwen couldn’t help but feel that something was off. Sure, it may have seemed like a normal day at first glance. They had gone to the same classes, listened to the same lectures, eaten the same lunch, and even walked the same paths as they always did. There hadn’t really been a single thing that set her off, but she still couldn’t quite shake the feeling.

If she had to put a name on things, it would be that everything was too quiet. When you bunked with Qrow, nothing ever happened quietly. There was always something going wrong, or some sort of awkward conversation happening, and it always ended with a headache for her. Despite what Qrow may have believed, it wasn’t always due to his semblance either. Sometimes it was just that fact that he was her younger brother and like all younger brothers, he liked to irritate her whenever he got the chance. She grumbled as she started remembering every time he had gotten under her feet over the past few months alone. Things had only gotten worse after they had met the rest of their team the year before. One of them had caused quite a bit of discomfort in her life much more so than the other. As she turned the corner, she almost bumped in to said worst offender.

Taiyang Xiaolong, the blonde member of team STRQ, resident goofball and endless source of bad jokes stood there in what had to be the worst joke costume she had ever seen.

He wore jeans so faded and ripped that she knew it must have gone through about three different second hand shops, dark sunglasses, dark boots, and an almost comically oversized leather jacket. The dark sunglasses he wore were the completely wrong type to match the rest of the ‘outfit,’ and she was sure that he had gone with the first non prescription glasses he had come across. To top everything off, an unlit cigarette hung loosely from his lips, and she had the sinking suspicion that it only remained unlit because he would have been a coughing mess had he so much as thought about lighting it. He rested his back against the wall, one foot propped up as he tried to look nonchalant. She paused for a moment before shaking her head and deciding that this wasn’t something that she needed today.

She was half way past him when he realized that that whatever his plan was, it wasn’t working. To his credit, he recovered pretty quickly.

“O-oh, Raven. I almost didn’t see you there.”

She turned around and raised one eyebrow, resting a hand on her hip.

“Really . . .”

“Yeah, I was lost in thought.”

She couldn’t help but smirk. “Oh, I didn’t realize you were the deep thinking type.”

Taiyang frowned slightly, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, nothing, nothing.”

“I do plenty of thinking,” he protested.

“I’m sure you do. Like the time you thought that the best way to beat a giant Nevermore was to let it eat you so you could, hold on, how did you put it? ‘Punch it in its stupid grimm kidneys’ ?”

“Well it worked, didn’t it?”

“Tai, you were half way down its throat when you panicked and started thrashing around.”

“But did it die?”

“I had to cut you out while it choked on yoy, flailing about like a chicken.”

“But did it die?”

Raven actually somewhat smiled at the memory, though she refused to let herself laugh. “Well, I suppose you got me there. I’m sorry I doubted your brilliant strategic mind.”

Her tone seemed to slide off of him completely as he smiled his usual goofy smile. It was something she had grown accustomed to seeing, and she had to admit she didn’t find it completely terrible to look at. The smile lasted for a few seconds before he seemed to remember just what it was that he was supposed to be doing. He quickly settled back in to his ‘bad boy’ persona.

He did his best to look off in to the distance looking as aloof and ‘unreadable’ as he could manage.

“Yeah, what can I say, I’ve got a lot of things to think about. Problems that need to be dealt with, you know?”

“Oh I’m sure.”

“Yeah . . . sometimes things don’t always work out the way you want them to.”

The sudden shift in his tone made Raven pause.

As he finished his sentence, he slowly reached in to one of the large pockets on that ridiculous jacket and pulled something out. It took her a moment to realize that it was the handle of a switchblade. The cheerful atmosphere disappeared immediately. Her eyes widened for a brief second before she managed to bring herself back under control. She had always expected Ozpin would figure out who they were and send someone to deal with them, but she had never expected that it would be someone from her own team. She supposed she should have seen it coming. That stupid looking outfit had been to throw her off and give him a chance to hold a weapon in a pocket he didn’t normally have. It would mess with her expectations and her reaction time. Her hand immediately went to her side before she remembered that she was unarmed. Of course she was, they were only supposed to attend a few classes that day. She cursed her lack of preparation and tensed, waiting for his next move. Her eyes narrowed as he pressed the button.

A comb popped out of the handle, and Taiyaing tried to brush back his unruly mop of blond hair as coolly as he could. Raven felt her knees go weak and she almost slapped herself for forgetting just who it was she was dealing with. Even the stupid way he tried to comb his hair was overly dramatic, like something you might have seen young punks do back in the day. He had probably picked up the move from a bad movie that had been old before they were born.

“Plans go wrong, and you’re left trying to hold the pieces together. I’m a troubled man.”

“ . . . Well you’re definitely troubled, alright. So I’ll just leave you to you brooding.”

She suddenly needed to get as far away from this blond heart attack as humanly possible. He panicked, and started following her.

“Well, I mean, you don’t need to leave right away. There’s plenty of time left in the day to finish my deep thoughts. You know, later.”

“Are you sure? You seemed awfully absorbed in them a moment ago.”

“Y-yeah, I’m sure. They can wait.”

“Oh, how generous of you,” Raven replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

He actually reddened at the comment, and she could finally see just how embarrassed he seemed to be. She hadn’t even thought that he knew the meaning of the word. He always just laughed everything off.

“ . . . Well, actually there was something I was hoping you could help me with.”

There it was, the whole reason for his little charade. His ridiculous outfit, those dumb moves, her near heart attack, all had been so he could get to this conversation. Raven sighed, and realized that if it was important enough for him to  pull this stunt, she could at least hear him out. She paused, raising an eyebrow, and he quickly took the hint.

“Well, one of the things I’m having trouble with is this Friday.”

“A whole day of trouble? Shocking.”

“Well, not the whole day, no. Just the evening.”

Raven mentally kicked herself. If she had known getting this out of him was going to be like pulling teeth, she would have just kept walking. “And what’s going on Friday evening?”

“Well, you remember how Qrow and I snuck out the other night and got caught?”

The memory was as vivid as it was humiliating. Her brother and their esteemed team leader being dragged practically by the ear back to their dorm room by the Deputy Headmaster. The two had been scolded, but Raven and Summer had not been left out either. They were a team, after all, and letting the two idiots sneak out reflected poorly on them as well. She shook her head slowly.

“I remember . . .”

Taiyang smiled apologetically, but continued.

“Well, I already had my session cleaning up around campus, but Qrow’s session is this Friday.”

“And why is that a problem?”

“Well, we were supposed to go for a guys night out, but it doesn’t look like he’s going to be able to make it. “

“Oh how will you ever recover . . .”

The sarcasm wasn’t lost on Taiyang this time, so he hurried to get to the point.

“Well, the reservations have already been made, and I really don’t want to waste them. It took me forever to get them, after all.”

Raven raised an eyebrow, “Reservations? To a guys night out?”

“Yeah. At ‘The Dancing Crane,’ have you heard of it?”

Raven actually had to pause at that. She stared at Taiyang incredulously.

“You . . . and my brother . . . had reservations . . . at the fanciest restaurant in town,” Raven asked.

Taiyang’s expression told her that he hadn’t actually thought out just how odd that might have sounded before he said it.

“Um . . . Yes?”

“Right . . .”

“Your brother’s very uh . . .romantic?”

Raven sighed as she massaged her forehead with one hand.

“Let me guess, you need someone to take his spot.”

“Well, it would be a shame to let it go to waste.”

She could already feel a headache coming on. The more she heard, the more she realized what had happened.

“And let me guess, you thought I’d be more likely to say yes if you were dressed up like . . .” she gestured to his costume, “That.”

He at least had the decency to blush. Because of course, she obviously liked ‘bad boys.’ Why wouldn’t she? She already knew exactly who put that idea in to that gullible head of his. She could feel a vein threaten to pop out on her forehead. Almost as in confirmation, she could hear the course, mocking laugh of a crow circling overhead as it thoroughly enjoyed the scene below. The sound scraped the last of her nerves. She looked up at the blond standing nervously before her and took a deep breath.

“You know what? Sure.”

“Yeah, I figured you might be busy, don’t wo- Wait, did you say yes?”

There was blessed silence followed by the entirely all too satisfying sound of a crow hitting a brick wall at full speed with a pained squawk and falling to the floor. She smirked.

“You would rather I say no?”

Taiyang frantically waved his hands, “No no no, not at all. I’m glad to hear it. The uh . . . the reservation is at 7, so lets plan to meet at 6:00?”

“Make it 5:30, In front of the bullheads. Don’t be late.”

“Of course! Five Thirty sharp!”

“Good. Just . . . promise me you’ll never wear that getup again.”

“Consider it burned!”

Raven nodded and turned, leaving Taiyang to his silent celebrations. The fool hadn’t realized that his shadow could clearly be seen dancing on the wall in front of her.

She had no idea that for the next week, whenever he thought no one was looking, Taiyang would have a goofy smile plastered on his face. She had no idea that Summer would excitedly flutter to and fro, trying to help her get ready and pestering her with all sorts of questions or factoids out of the latest fashion magazine. She had no idea that she would burst out laughing when Qrow walked in with a limp and a sore neck later on that day. Or that she would smirk at him for the next week as he realized that his little prank had backfired but that he couldn’t do anything about it without openly admitting to it. Raven had no idea that Taiyang would show up to their date in a suit he had borrowed from his dad. She had no way of knowing that one of his stupid jokes would actually make her laugh. She couldn’t have known that she would actually enjoy Friday evening, or that she would enjoy the Friday after that, and the one after that. She had no way of knowing that in a life filled with fear, carnage and betrayal, she would look back at this moment as one of the few decisions she wouldn’t regret.

Still, as she walked down the hallway, she could feel the hint of a smile tug at the corner of her mouth.

[ghostsofalola-blog]

||ANGST DRABBLE||

((Have a Zeke drabble!))

On the outside, Zeke’s a normal grunt. Somewhat quiet, but overall a goofy, fun guy, like all the rest of the comrades in Team Skull. The usual slang throwing, dancing goofballs that had a worse bark than bite. They were all the same goofy adults with nothing better to do other than to be thuggish punks. But, even upon never meeting Zeke, you knew something was...wrong with him. He didn’t seem as seriously into this thug stuff as everyone else. It seemed like it was covering something. Something you’d think no human being would be hiding. If it were you, you’d scream to the rooftops, if you knew what went on behind that Skull bandanna. Though, some could even see the benefit of keeping such secrets under wraps.  How anyone could think you’re crazy if you told them you’re haunted by ghosts. Within the confines of his head, spoke ghosts of many kinds. Inner demons, literal ghosts, teeming at the brim of it, clawing and snarling. Not even the most esteemed psychic could fathom the insides of his mind. No hex maniac or medium could see a way out of this situation he had wrapped himself into, like the prey of an Ariados. You know when you see someone screw up monumentally, and you wonder for days afterwards, “how could someone screw up that bad?”? That was the life of Zeke.  It was almost instinct when he picked that ticket like item up. It radiated bad energy, something that gave Zeke a queasy feeling when he picked it up.

Even so, he picked it up, something he regrets today, in twenty one years of life. Like he had just caught scent and sight of a corpse, he can still hear the cackle in the wind of the dusty decrepit place. Even when he forced the ticket from his hands, the feeling remained, even when he went home that day. How old was Zeke when he picked up that ticket? About ten, he can’t remember exactly, but he was a normal, jovial kid! Your typical problem child with a heart of gold. But now, he’s grown distant, like a iceberg on the horizon. Sure, he can play the dumb grunt part just as well as those who aren’t playing any sort of part, but what lies beneath the shoddily crafted facade is rather disturbing. 

He’s debated if the ghosts are real. If he’s just crazy, or if it’s really a curse. He sees them, and the fright that comes in a powerful wave every time he sees those eyes. It’s not just one, it’s multiple ghosts who have nothing better to do, than to just ruin his life. Maybe he’s a legend in the making. The boy who picked up an item in a cemetery tower, and can see the undead. Like some cliche, edgy horror movie character, maybe this story of him going crazy and soon doing something irrational to end the suffering would spread across the whole world. 

That’s it, isn’t it? He’s nothing but a cautionary tale. A cautionary tale that even someone with an inkling of common sense should know. The overly cautious people be damned. Damned that Zeke wasn’t born one of them. His regrets and his doubts all combine into a big mass that slams into him like a hammer whenever a ghost is caught in peripheral vision. The reminder that he follows to this day, whenever he sees something on the ground. 

Some items are not meant to be picked up.  -- ((I’m still working on the real backstory and lore for this character, but I’m sure I’ll fill in the gaps with some story-cement. To all those who wish to see this character grow from the initial idea, send in your thoughts!}}