#new oc! still thinking about the girl he’s assigned to but I thought about how and why he was assigned to her

[tinysupervicki]

Meet Nova! He’s a dream guardian assigned to [redacted] for the rest of her life to keep her well being safe by eating her nightmares. Nova’s age is unknown and he’s 15 feet tall.

[2hightocare]

LOVE WAGER! 01

Synopsis: Meeting a crazy stranger who cuts in line, tries to tell you love like the books doesn’t exist—it’s whatever. You won’t ever see him again… right?

Pairings: jungkook x fem!reader

Genre: college au. strangers to friends to lovers. forced proximity.

Warnings: mentions of divorce parents, Jungkook lowkey being insufferable, banter, cussing, a little bit of them being enemies, nicknames, oc being a hopeless romantic at heart, Jungkook being lowkey a cynic… them meeting each other so many times, choking!

a/n: first chapter out!! Woohoo, I’ve been keeping them close to my heart for quite some time. Ever since I listened to “in between” by Gracie Abrams.. I was inspired to write them—the song is so them coded.💌

★ masterlist!

3 years ago…

You were a hopeless romantic.

Most people called it being delusional— by people, you mean the random stranger in front of you.

The first time you met Jungkook, not only did he cut in front of you in line, but he also started shit-talking about how delusional you had to be to think romance books were even remotely comparable to real life.

The line at the cupcake shop was long. You had been wanting to try the new chocolate-covered strawberry flavor from your favorite cupcake shop in the city. The shop was always full, but today it was packed to the bone— the line almost reached outside the door. The people sitting at the cute pastel-colored tables were even leaving because the space was getting so crowded.

It was a Friday, and you had just left school. Your black backpack hung loosely over one shoulder as you stared down at your phone, trying not to die playing Subway Surfers. When your phone died, you internally groaned.

You mentally rolled your eyes before looking forward, where the line was starting to move faster. You were probably the fourth person in line, which was good since you'd only been there for around twenty minutes. You slipped your phone into the back pocket of your jeans before reaching for the zipper of your backpack—pulling out the latest book you hadn’t finished reading amidst all the assignments teachers had been bombarding you with. You thought it was dumb, considering it was your senior year in high school—why not just let you off easy?

You zipped up your backpack before slipping it on, tucking in the small hair that fell into your face when you opened your book. You moved forward as the line advanced, not bothered by the conversations from everyone around you—it was like your own brown noise, which you usually looked up on YouTube whenever you wanted to act like the main character in a movie.

Romance books were your thing. The same went for movies; you loved a good romantic story with the most cliché plot in the world—it did it for you every single time.

Your dad had tried getting you into self-help books, fiction books, or even those thriller books where you had to guess who kills who. He would back this up with actually learning something from reading a book, and you tried all those genres, you really did. You were the most specific girl there could be; if the book didn't impress you within one chapter, you closed it and moved on.

You were basically in love with the idea of love, imagining someone doing all those things you had seen in movies and read about, which filled you with hope that someone could care and love you that way. Yes, you believed in soulmates; you believed that someone, somewhere in this world, was destined to be with you, no matter the circumstances. You believed that if two people were destined for each other, they would find a way to each other, one way or another.

“Hi, baby, you still haven’t ordered? The line is so fucking long.” A strange boy, who looked around your age or maybe slightly older due to his eyebrow piercing, spoke up. He had a navy blue cap with the Yankees logo on the front, and you could see small pieces of his hair. It looked like a dark brown, but at some angles, it looked black, so you thought maybe he dyed it. He was cute, with a sharp jaw and dimples, which you immediately noticed when they showed on his left cheek as he bit his lip, waiting for you to reply.

“I’m sorry—“ you started, only to be cut off by him. “I've been meaning to show you this, babe.” He cut you off before basically shoving his phone into your face. His phone showed his notes app open with a text that read, ‘Please act like you know me so I can cut in line; it’s so long, and I have somewhere to be.’

Your brows furrowed at the pleading guy. You had no clue what his name was, but he looked like he was seriously about to lose his mind if he had to wait another minute in line. You shook your head before nodding— a smile burst on his face.

“Thank you,” he mouthed to you, to which you only shrugged before closing your book. “What flavor are you getting, lovebug?” He said, his nose scrunching in disgust at what he just said. A small laugh escaped your lips since that was the cringiest shit you had heard all day, maybe even all week if you didn’t count your dad trying to write you a poem about his love for your cat.

“I want to get the new chocolate-covered strawberry flavor. What about you?” You said, your fingers fidgeting with the pages of your closed book. His eyes dropped to your hands as you moved up in line, now second in line.

“Is that your book?” He said instead of replying to your question. “Yeah, do you read?” A spike of excitement was clear in your face and voice, only to be squashed when he opened his mouth.

“Do you actually believe anything in there is remotely realistic?” He said nonchalantly before removing his cap, letting his fluffy hair fall in his face before almost immediately collecting it back, placing his cap backward this time.

“I—“ you stutter, your mouth slightly agape, not knowing how to reply without sounding dumb. Because, yeah, you strongly believed romance books were able to happen in real life if someone loved you enough. “Well.. I mean, love happens anywhere,” you shrug, but he only nods his head in a condescending way. Not only were you helping him skip in line—he was basically criticizing your view on love.

“Well, duh, love happens, but all that cringey shit is the dumbest thing our generation normalized. Like, nobody is going to confess their love with a microphone in the middle of a dance-off,” he scoffs. You didn’t understand why he actually looked like he seriously hated the idea of making gestures for someone you loved or cared about.

“Well, obviously, I find that stupid as well, but there are other gestures to show your appreciation and love for someone.” You turn your whole body to face him. He’s not much taller than you, maybe two inches if you really wanted to know, and the cap maybe added another inch, but that didn’t matter since your eyesight was eye level with his.

“Love is embarrassing,” he says, crossing his arms in front of him. You felt the lady behind you both, her eyes bore into you both, trying to figure out why the supposed couple were fighting about love.

“How is love embarrassing?” You scoff before turning around to look in front of you, at the back of the head of the man who was ordering.

“Because love makes you do embarrassing shit all the time; that’s the easiest way I can put it for you, ribbons,” he replies with a duh tone, raising his eyebrows at you, which you see from your peripheral vision.

“Ribbons?” You turn to him, your arms crossed over your book as you glare at him. “Pink ribbon. Don’t you think you look a little too old to be wearing bows?” A grin appears on his face as he casually points to the pink ribbon tied into a bow in your hair.

“The fuck? Not only did I let you skip the line, but you’re a) talking shit about my favorite genre, and b) making fun of me wearing bows.” You turn your full body to him, which he only raises his hands in defense, as if you had a gun pointed at him.

“Damn, my bad. I thought this was a free country; you know your amendments, right?” He raises an eyebrow at you. “Yes, I fucking know my amendments,” you reply, absolutely annoyed at him bringing history into this.

“Freedom of speech,” he says before walking in front of you to the cashier. You were annoyed, maybe even angry. How dare he talk shit and say freedom of speech when you just did him a favor.

“He cut in front of me,” you point to him as you tell on him to the cashier, his jaw dropping to the floor. “Did you just tell on me? What the fuck,” he side-eyes you as you just shrugged.

“I respectfully need to ask you to go to the back of the line,” the cashier says, shooting you an apologetic look. You bite on the inside of your cheek to contain the smile that is threatening to slip out, as he sends you a mocking face, which you return, because apparently, you both were literal children. He rolled his eyes before he walked off.

2 years ago..

The second time you met Jungkook, you almost died due to choking on your coke.

You and your best-friend, Amelia, sat in a booth, munching on pizza, while you hear her ramble about the latest drama on campus.

“I can’t believe he cheated on her. I was so shocked, like I couldn’t believe he would do that after he literally gave her a promise ring—I heard it was expensive as well, bro,” Amelia said, stuffing a French fry in her mouth.

Amelia and you had been best friends since your freshman year at Preston University. She ended up in your dorm room by mistake, until security escorted her to her corresponding room. You both even had your calculus class together, which ended in both of you ripping your hair out because you truly had no clue what the professor was talking about.

“Oh my god, you’re lying!” you gasped, taking a bite of your folded pizza. “Alexandra said she didn’t care, but apparently, she was crying at the frat party we were supposed to go to yesterday,” Amelia said, pressing her lips together with wide eyes. As you were about to reply, she gasped.

“Holy shit, babes, don’t turn around, but there’s this fine-ass guy behind you,” she said. Without thinking you turned your whole body to look at the guy she was talking about.

“Or just turn your whole body, I don't care,” she added, rolling her eyes.

“Wait, who?” you asked, staring at the group of boys in front of you. They were all cute, just not your type whatsoever. “He just turned around, so you can’t see his face, but the one with the black beanie,” Amelia whispered to you as she took a sip of her Dr Pepper.

As you stared at the back of the boy who was engrossed in a conversation with his friend, a loud laugh escaped his lips before he threw his head back, letting you catch a glimpse of his face.

“Oh, fuck, his laugh is hot as fuck as well,” Amelia said behind you, chewing on her crispy fries. “Do you think he has a girlfrien—“ The words melted from your mouth as the beanie boy turned around. “Yeah, he definitely has a girlfriend,” Amelia said nonchalantly, clearly not catching how your eyes widened, as you both stare at the boy who had cut in front of you in line three years ago.

He was taller, much taller, and he was built—you could tell even from his oversized long-sleeve shirt. As much as you wanted to disagree, he was undeniably attractive. The eyebrow piercing was still there, but it somehow looked better than when you first saw it.

“Ribbons?” he said, pointing at you with a chuckle, making you flinch for absolutely no reason. Amelia looked between both of you, trying to read the room.

“Mr. anti-romantic?” You fired back, a huge smile breaking out on his face before he excused himself from his friend group and made his way to your booth. “I see you got a nickname for me... I feel honored,” he said, pressing a palm to his heart dramatically before shooting a nod at Amelia, who waved with a small smile on her face.

You just rolled your eyes. He was the most childish person you had ever met, and that says a lot since this was only the second time you'd ever spoken to him. “I wouldn’t be so honored,” you mumbled, shooting him a tight-lipped smile as he shook his head with a low chuckle.

“Do you have a girlfriend?” Amelia said out of nowhere, both you and the unknown boy's heads snap to the side as a smirk makes it’s way to his mouth, while you throw daggers at Amelia with your eyes for her blunt question. “I doubt he would ever hav—“ you start, only to be rudely interrupted by none other than Mr. anti-romantic himself.

“I actually do, and I was just about to meet her here, but I saw your friend and just had to come and say hello,” he said to your best friend, all while wearing a condescending smile.

“Oof, I feel bad for her,” you shrugged, before placing the straw of your clear cup in your mouth and sipping on your coke.

“Eh, she says I’m a pretty good boyfriend, not a hopeless romantic like someone I know,” he said, watching your eyes meet his before you tilted your head in a mocking way, which he picked up immediately.

“I wonder how you even got her to say yes to you,” you bit back, your eyes maintaining contact with his, not wanting to be the first to break it. But he was too good at it; you almost felt like crumbling into a ball from how intense his stare was.

“I guess you could say there are more ways to please a woman without love letters,” he said nonchalantly. You choked on your coke as the liquid went down the wrong pipe, making you start having a coughing attack.

His and Amelia’s eyes widened as Amelia immediately swatted the man who was right beside you. His hand made contact with your arm, raising it up in the air.

“The fuck are you doing?” Amelia said aggressively, side-eyeing him, as you basically died in front of their wondering eyes. You really didn’t expect him to just talk about his sexual life so openly without a care. You would want to crawl into a hole if your boyfriend ever talked about your private moments like that to anyone.

“My mom said if you put someone’s hand up, it makes your cough go away. I don’t fucking know! I’m not a doctor,” he shot back at your best friend as he raised your arm in the air. Your cough slightly disappeared as you tapped on your chest as if that would do anything to stop it.

“Are you good?” Amelia said as she basically hovered over the table. You felt the whole dinner's eyes on you as you tried to recover from the insane coughing fit you just had. “Y-yeah, fuck,” you coughed, your arms still up in the air from his hold. “I almost for real thought you were about to die. I already imagined myself behind bars,” he said, rubbing his unoccupied hand through his face with a sigh.

“Now I’m hoping I actually died,” you said, yanking your arm away from his grasp.

“We’re leaving, Amelia. Let’s go,” you said, standing up, collecting your jacket and bag, and pushing him out of the way, standing up beside him.

He hovered over you; you almost wanted to jump up to reach his height, but you were already embarrassed enough. So instead, you fixed your denim skirt before looking up at him.

“Well, it was so not nice to see you again, and hopefully we don’t get to meet again, Mr. anti-romantic. Goodbye,” you said as you sent him a fake smile his way.

You pulled on Amelia’s hand before she could say anything and walked out of the dining room without looking back at the boy who was standing in the same place, watching the girl he almost witnessed pass away by choking on coke from him even remotely bringing up sex.

A small chuckle left past his lips as he made his way to the table where his friends were seated.

“Dude, what the fuck happened? Why was that pretty girl coughing like crazy?” Taehyung said, eyeing the door through which you had just left.

Jungkook didn’t know why his heart picked up when his best friend called you pretty. He wasn’t blind; you were beautiful. When he first met you, you both were obviously much younger. If it wasn’t for how much you had grown into your face and the braces you once had were long gone, it would’ve been your aura that gave it away. You were more outspoken, which kinda took him back but sent a sense of excitement through his body.

“No clue. Just some girl I met in my senior year... kinda taken aback I ran into her again,” Jungkook said before picking up the menu from the table, looking for what food he should order. “Maybe it’s fate, bro,” Namjoon teased, which made Jungkook drop his menu on the table.

“You guys know all that shit is bullshit, right? It was just a coincidence. I’ll probably never see her again after this,” Jungkook rolled his eyes, leaning backward onto the booth and crossing his arms in front of him defensively.

“Whatever you say, champion,” Hoseok whistled as he called the waitress.

Jungkook's brain immediately canceled out the noise as he started running through all the possible scenarios that would leave you both at the same place at the same time. His body shook from the possibility of it being fate; he hated the idea of the answer being anything besides actual proven fact. He didn’t care how cynical he might sound; he had trusted so many people in his life, including his parents, who always preached about love and honesty. But flash forward to him having to skip around each house of his parents every weekday and weekend. He hated how he believed them when they said love can get through everything. Absolutely not—divorce.

He just imagined your perfect household, two parents at the same home who still say ‘I love you’ to each other every chance they get. You get to read your books in your living room without a fight breaking out out of nowhere just because someone forgot to throw the trash out.

Love didn’t exist in his eyes. He believed in mutual respect. He doesn’t believe in the whole crazy in love charade. His girlfriend Haneul didn’t really want the whole whispering cute things in each other's ears or dancing under the moon either, and that’s why he chose her.

Plus, he wasn’t an asshole when it came to love when it came to other people. Did he want to ruin their moment and tell them they wouldn’t last? Yes—but he never does.

He saw how broken his mom was after the divorce. He thought about the idea of love and if someone came to love you, you would do anything in your power to not hurt them. It had been five years since his parents’ divorce, and everyone seemed to have moved on perfectly, while Jungkook watched how his perspective of love changed drastically over time.

He was glad that you didn’t have to go through what he had to go through, given your obvious naivety. That was entirely the only reason he shit-talked about love when he first met you, which was the most jackass move he could’ve done, especially after you let him skip the line. But after you told on him to the cashier like a little child, he was thinking of actually tackling you.

Either way, it didn’t matter for him to be worrying or thinking about you in the first place, when he didn’t even know your name. Plus, he would never see you again, that’s for sure.

Present day..

Psychology class was your number one nemesis. You literally begged the counselor to let you have another class that wasn’t psychology. Not only did he laugh, but he said it would do you good. In your mind, he basically called you crazy—maybe you did need the class after all.

As you huffed and puffed to your last class of the day, you fixed your glasses on your face and tightened the high ponytail with the white ribbon that matched the outfit Amelia helped you pick out. You pushed open the door to the class and were greeted by half-empty seats and no professor, giving you the option to choose where you sat.

You were a middle-seat row girl, unable to see far away without your glasses. You also avoided sitting too close to the front, fearing teachers would call on you.

As you took a seat in the chair, a body sat beside you without a word. You didn’t even care to look as you took out your laptop from your backpack, worrying about how this year’s professor might be. You had heard from last year’s students that the teacher might have been the devil’s spawn.

While you were finally seated, you moved your head to your left to see the body next to you engrossed in their phone. Your jaw dropped as you were met with none other than Mr. Anti-Romantic.

“What the actual fuck, are you stalking me or something?” you said, absolutely baffled by how many times you had run into him and from all the empty seats, he decided to sit next to you.

He immediately raised his head from his phone, his eyes widening as he stared at your obviously angry face. “Ribbons? What the actual fuck, I didn’t realize that was you,” he said, throwing his head back in shock.

“You had to know it was me, why else would you sit beside me?” you scoffed, crossing your arms in front of you. He looked the same as the last time you saw him, except now he had a full sleeve of tattoos on his right arm, and the eyebrow piercing was long gone.

Now that he was closer to you, you could see the small mole he had under his lip and the scar on his cheek. His hair was shorter and black, but classroom lights deceived, so maybe it was fully brown, but you didn’t dare to ask.

“Don’t think you’re special, Ribbons. I just can’t see from the back, and in the front, teachers always pick on you to talk in front of the class, and I’m trying to avoid that,” he explained, having the same process as you, but unfortunately, the other half of his brain didn’t process the idea of love.

“Are you sure you have the right class?” you bit out, hoping he had walked into the wrong class and would have to leave immediately. You seriously couldn’t even wrap your head around the fact that he was here and that he went to the same university as you—this being the first time he had seen you around campus.

“Psychology class A65,” he side-eyed you as you rolled your eyes and faced the board, trying your best to ignore his presence.

“You know you can just move to another seat, right?” he said, pointing to all the empty seats beside you. Your head slowly turned to the side to face his face as he gave you a tight-lipped smile.

“Why would I move when I was here first?” you scoffed his way as he shrugged, indicating that he couldn’t care less. “’Cause I truly don’t care, but you obviously seem affected by my presence, so Ribbons, pick your seat,” he pointed to the available seats.

You imagined the easiest way you could kill someone, but tackling him to the ground at this exact moment might bring attention to you both, so you just breathed out of your nose before giving him a fake smile and rolling your eyes.

“I’m not leaving, and for your information, I’m perfectly fine and not bothered by your presence whatsoever,” you said, trying your best to seem as calm and collected as possible.

“For your information…” he mocked beside you, trying to imitate your voice before chuckling. “I swear, Ribbons, I can see smoke coming out of your ears and nose,” he laughed.

“Stop calling me Ribbons,” you gritted your teeth, already at your limit.

“What else do you want me to call you? I don’t know your name, and you’re still wearing ribbons, I can see,” Mr. Anti-Romantic pointed to the white ribbon in your hair. You rolled your eyes before sending his calm, collected figure a scanty smile.

“Y/n,” you said, tilting your head to the side, as if asking him to tell you his name. “I like Mr. Anti-Romantic, not gonna lie,” he bit his lip, trying to contain his laughter as you were about to lose your composure at any moment.

“You aggravate me, and I don’t know why,” you mumbled, hoping he didn’t hear—but he did, loud and clear. “Jeon Jungkook,” he said, and before you could reply, the professor strode in, wearing the weirdest clothes you could imagine.

“She looks like that one crazy Victorious teacher,” he whispered softly, only for you to hear, smugly bending downward so you could hear better. A small laugh left your lips. “Sikowitz?” you whispered back as both of you stared forward at the professor, who was talking about the syllabus. “Yeah, spot the difference: hard level,” he whispered.

You looked down at your hands, trying to hide the amusement on your face.

For the rest of the class, you guys didn’t talk whatsoever, and honestly, you wouldn’t know if he tried, since you were absorbed in whatever Mrs. Calderon was saying.

“So, here’s where you start hating me, I’m giving you guys a project,” she said, leaning on her desk, making the desk creak. You could hear small groans from students around you, but not loud enough for her to hear.

“It will be a partner project, which I chose randomly, and no, I’m not changing them. I want you guys to be able to work with whomever, no matter what,” she said, a sense of dread passing through you.

“I would email each and every one of you what the project is about. It is due at the end of the quarter, so I better not hear, ‘I didn’t have time, Miss,’” Mrs. Calderon said before picking up a sheet of paper.

"Here are the partners, so after class, come and check who your partner is so you can start talking about what you both will do." With that the bell ringing, everyone stood up and rushed to the paper, including yourself. You held tightly onto your backpack strap as you waited for people to move out of the way—half of the people bitched about who they got, they couldn’t possibly be that bad.

Your heart dropped to your ass as you read your name—Jungkook squished beside you, looking for his name, only to find it where your finger was already on.

You got paired up with Jungkook. What kind of fuckery was this?

As Jungkook read "Y/n Y/ln & Jeon Jungkook," he couldn’t believe his eyes. He almost lost his mind when he realized it was you when he sat next to you, but he tried his best to act unaffected. However, this was too much of a "fuck you" sign from the universe—Jungkook didn’t think he did something so horribly to be rewarded like this.

What the fuck were the odds, and how could he scientifically prove that it’s not the universe trying to mess with him?

Taglist💌— @httpjeonlicious @thekookiedealer @somehowukook @taiwan0618 @gwsjungkookie @seokout @sealuv79 @junecat18 @joonsanswer @letjungcoook7 @skzthinker @ahgasegotarmy116recs @ivygguk (I couldn’t add some idk why😓)

[aakeysmash]

Roommate or boss?

part 2, part 3, part 4

Pairing: f!reader x Katsuki Bakugou.

Warnings: none, really. AND THEY WERE POSSIBLE ROOMMATES, MAYBE?

Context: 3k words. Reader is a barista and she only meets Bakugo at the end of this </3. He’s her boss but she doesn’t know. I don’t delve into this tho, just so you know. They’re both 22.

A/N: never thought I’d write a slow burn but I HATE not giving context. This is just me yapping with zero grammar context whatsoever. The reader is super oc in this one, but all the girl names I thought about were UGLY. Let me know what you think about it!

“No.”

“Come onnnn it’s gonna be just this one time” pleads your best friend from the other end of the phone.

“Ochaco, you know I hate when you pull this shit” you reply, while putting your jacket on.

“I knowww, but listen, me and the cute guy have had NO time for ourselves lately and-“

“And you’re leaving me doing this assignment with who knows who? We’re always partners for physics, you know I can’t do it all alone and you can’t phrase your deductions to save your life. We complete each other. You’re my soulmate. Why are you leaving me for a guy?” you whine, while closing the door of your apartment and walking towards your car.

“It’s gonna be just this one time, I promise! It’s not like we’re gonna fail. I think. I hope…” she mumbles.

You sigh. “If we do fail, you’re getting your ass beaten, I am so for real” you concede after thinking about it. You start your car and put your phone on speaker.

“BABEEE I love youuuu! You know you’re the only one for me! I promise to finally tell you all the details on Saturday” she squeals.

You wince. “Nah, I can’t this Saturday. I have to work, manager is on vacay. Maybe Sunday?” you said, knowing she will start rambling.

“Y/N just leave that place, they don’t even value you as a person, let alone as a worker. Plus, your manager is a bitch” Ochaco says sternly. “I still haven’t got over the fact she makes you work double shifts just because she wants to be in Bali with her new stupid tomboy. Who, by the way, cheats on her. You said so yourself, and I heard him and your colleague going at it that one time I came to visit you last week -not Momo, bless her heart, how is she by the way?- oh and he steals her money. And-“

“I need the money, and I do love to make coffees for the nice old ladies that tip me” you interrupt your more-than-protective best friend, knowing that she could go on complaining for hours if you didn’t stop her. “Also, I just got to the cafe and I’m already running late. I’ll text you when I get off, okay? Love you”.

“Yeah yeah. Don’t overwork yourself too much, love you” and you hang up.

You and Ochaco have been friends since you were babies. Your parents were neighbours back in your hometown, and your moms coincidentally got pregnant in a span of 2 months apart from each other. You have been attached to the hip all of your school years, and fortunately you have been accepted at the same campus at university. You moved to different apartments because you wanted to be independent, but you are still living pretty near each other. You are enrolled in literature, while Ochaco has a passion for astronomy; you had chosen physics as a bonus class for some extra credits since Ochaco said it would be easy and you trusted her, but she didn’t take into consideration that you failed math throughout all of high school, and she had to save your ass multiple times in the past. You’ll never forget her face when she got an 86% on one of the graded tests she did for you: she was so disappointed she made you ask the professor to redo the test, which you barely knew the basics of. She got 100%, and the professor congratulated you (her) for being such an overachiever. You never felt more ashamed of yourself and proud of your best friend at the same time. On the other hand, she made you do her English essays on a monthly basis, so she really wasn’t in the place to complain about doing all the dirty work for you.

You had partnered up with her since she was a genius, but she met this “cute guy” a month ago and was head over heels for him. She still hasn’t said his name to you, all you know is that he is a part of the physics course and he apparently just stole your assignment partner.

You sigh inwardly. Sometimes you wished love could come to you as easily as it comes to Ochaco. She is a lover girl at heart, nicer than anybody could ever hope to be, but she sure could bite if she had to. She has been there for some of the worst moments of your life, and you have done the same for her. You really didn’t know what you would do without her. Maybe you should get her an apology pastry from the cafe’s leftovers to make up for the last two missed Saturdays (“they’re for the girls!” she said, and you meticulously met up every week up until you had gotten a job).

You’re a bit distracted by thinking about her when you get into the place you work at. It’s a cute cafe, a little bit too orange for your taste, but it’s cozy enough to make work pleasurable. Plus, it’s 5 minutes from your apartment (15 if you walk, but you are lazy). They pay on time, the coffee is good and the clientele isn’t too bad. If it wasn’t for-

“You’re 32 seconds late. You’re getting a formal complaint this time” says your manager, waiting for you with her arms crossed.

“Put that on the note that says I worked 8 extra hours a week for the last 5 months. Hello to you too, weren’t you supposed to be in the Philippines or whatever by now?” you say sickening sweet, with the fakest smile you can muster, while you pass next to her to get to the room behind the register.

“Shut your smart mouth up before I get you fired!” she almost screams. Some of the people at the table near her look at her like she’s crazy before going back to their cappuccino.

“My oh my miss Utsushimi, it’s not nice to use that tone before the rush hour” you reply, giving an apologetic look at your regulars next to her.

“Mpfh, whatever. Close up this place when you’re done, the boss will probably be in to ask you for the keys at the end of your shift. I’ll be MIA for the next two weeks, bye” she says to you. Then she turns around and smiles sweetly at the clients who previously looked at her with distaste and lies “pregnancy hormones I hope, me and my man are trying for a baby, I’m sorry for scaring you!”. You know damn well she had an IUD appointment last week, because she made you work instead of working herself. Fake bitch.

Without saying anything else, she leaves the place.

“I hate her ass so much”, says someone next to you.

You snicker. “Who doesn’t, Momo?” you face her with a genuine smile.

“Never leave me alone with her ever again, you know I can’t survive this place without you, work wifey” she kisses your cheek fast, before going back to making coffee for a client at the register.

“Ochaco will be hearing about this and she’ll slap you” you laugh heartily.

“I love her too, she’s my work wifey’s wifey, so she’s basically my wifey” she winks at you.

After a few more laughs here and there, you both go back to work like usual.

A couple of hours pass and it’s closing time. Momo waves you goodbye, clocking out. “I’m so tired I could sleep on the floor right now” she whines.

“Yeah, how about no. Let’s go, babe. We don’t want to drag Y/N’s time” says her boyfriend, Shoto, who shoots you a nod of acknowledgement before placing a hand on her lower back and escorting her out of the cafe. “I remember suffering at closing times, let’s leave her be and go home” he nudges your colleague, smiling down at her. He has been inside the cafe a lot in the years you’ve worked here, sometimes picking Momo up. Momo says he was one of the best bartenders the cafe ever had, but he found a job that payed him more and he decided to leave. You couldn’t blame him.

“See you soon, you two lovebirds!” you reply, waving a hand of your own.

Now all alone since even the waiters have gone home, you clean up the counter before packing up the pastry for Ochaco.

“Damn, I have to wait for the boss to give him the keys” you remember, rubbing your face.

You wait 45 minutes before a redhead makes his way into the cafe. He seems busy on the phone with someone.

“I’m here, let me just get- fuck no I don’t wanna talk to Camie about it, Baku- no, wait- fire? Are you going to take her place and finally come down here like the boss you are? Yes, I know- what? And where would we- what do I have to do with all of this? No, I’m going home- fuck, he hung up” the man sighs, before turning his body towards you.

“Sorry to have kept you waiting, not really manly from me” he smiles, looking sorry.

“Oh don’t worry about it!” your smile was really stretched, and you think he notices, because he says “sorry” again. “The manager said to give you the keys. So you’re the boss?” you say politely, stretching your hand with the keys towards him.

You’ve seen him multiple times, he’s a regular. He always gets the same order (one black coffee and one hot chocolate with extra cinnamon), and he always tips you and Momo well. Today he seems distressed.

“I wouldn’t wish to be the boss, to be fair. You could say I’m his right hand. Where’s Camie? Boss needs to talk to her in private before next week comes” he sighs.

“She said she’ll be gone for two weeks” you reply, confused.

“And who said she could do that?” Kirishima, you think that’s his name since you’ve written it on his order just yesterday, looks at you in disbelief. You shrug. “I don’t ask. The less I know about her, the better I feel about working here”. You start to pack your things up, before going towards the door with the man following behind you closely.

“This is nuts. I hate doing job interviews” he mumbles fast, turning the key in the lock. You raise an eyebrow, what is he even talking about?

“Do you live near? If not, I could give you a ride. I’d hate losing the only barista who makes boss man’s drink good enough to not make him pissy” he says, while pointing to his car.

You laugh. “It’s just a hot chocolate. Tell him he should try it with a few drops of hot sauce in it. Sounds disgusting but it’s actually pretty good. Also don’t worry, I live just down the street”. He nods and you wave each other goodbye.

“It does sound horrible. Thanks again for waiting, see you tomorrow for the same exact order I always make” he grins, then gets in his car and drives away, not after seeing you get in your car as well.

Once at home you call Ochaco, who’s “been worried sick, you never get home this late”.

“Y/N you seriously need a roommate. Did you even eat?” she reprimands.

You sigh. “I have to meet someone tomorrow. But you know, girls tend to look at you weirdly when you say you need them to know how to cook. They feel like you’re looking for a maid. Like, I can’t eat sandwiches every day like I did with the last roommate I had” you explain while opening your fridge. Sausages and smashed potatoes from yesterday will do the job for today.

“The psycho who thought vegetables made her look weak? Freak” you hear your best friend snicker. “At what time are they coming over?”

You groan and say “8 am. It’s a guy this time. Who wakes up before 8 am at uni? He’s already lost 2 points for this” while gulping down your food.

Ochaco’s snicker is now a full laugh. “People who have their lives together, maybe? But pay attention, males scare me” she replies quieting down.

“Yeah yeah. I’m gonna sleep now, text me the deets for Sunday, okay?” you clean your plate and go to the bathroom to wash your teeth.

“Will doooo. Good night, babe” she smooches on the mic before hanging up.

After making sure you locked your apartment door, you go to your bed, where you manage to fall asleep in thirty seconds.

The next morning you’re brutally awakened by the sound of your doorbell. You look at your phone screen: 7:42 am.

“Who the fuck is it now?” you grumble, before going down the stairs and looking through your peephole.

“Shitty hair I swear if this takes me more than 10 minutes… she hasn’t even opened the door. Yeah, she said 8 am, who cares if I’m early? I AM NOT the only one awake on a Saturday morning. Y’all are just lazy fucks” a blonde rudely says into his phone. You can hear him talking loudly from behind the door. You widen your eyes, before screaming “coming! Give me 5 minutes!” and rushing towards your bathroom to make yourself presentable. “Fuck, I forgot about the roommate appointment” you whine, while putting on a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. At least they are clean.

You open the door to find a broad man staring at you menacingly. He’s kinda tall, kinda (really) fit, kinda underdressed for the winter. Kinda hot, too.

“Hi, how can I help you?” you offer him the nicest smile your still sleepy mind can muster.

He looks you up and down, before focusing on your face and levelling you with an indifferent look.

“You must be Y/N. I’m Katsuki Bakugo, we had to meet at 8 am for the spare room offer. I've been here for 15 minutes” he gruffly declares.

You add “rude” to your list of “kinda”. You don’t like his tone. -1 point.

“Yeah, and it’s 7:48” you bite back, your smile faltering while shaking his outstretched hand. He’s definitely going to the gym with the callouses he has.

“Come in, I’ll let you see what you’re getting yourself into”, you say, opening your door more.

You live in a nice apartment, you think. There’s a nice kitchen with a nice island that also serves as a table in front of it, a blueish couch in front of the tv, and a couple of steps that bring you to a corridor with three doors: your room, the spare one and the bathroom.

You describe everything while he stays in absolute silence next to you. It makes you feel uneasy. -1 point.

You just finished showing him the bathroom and are ready to tell him you don’t think he’s a good suitor when he finally speaks up.

“And how much do you pay for this shit?” he asks. Nice voice, you think. Gravelly and rough enough to not sound annoyingly forced. +1 point.

“500 a month” you reply, while returning to the kitchen.

“Your shower needs some work done, it leaks. Also, mold is starting to show on the bathroom ceiling, might wanna check on that. Your oven looks unusable in the condition it’s in. Small tv. At least you’re clean from what I've seen” he begins to say.

You frown and turn to look at him. Did this bitch talk for the first time in 15 minutes only to complain?

“Do you even know how to cook with said oven?” you say, ignoring everything else he just said, and giving him a nasty look.

He tsks. “Yes. Is this your way of asking me to cook you fucking breakfast? I don’t eat with lazy people who get out of bed at 11 am” he makes sure to say.

You scoff. Men really do find the audacity to say stuff like this nowadays? It seems like you've been out of the loop for too much.

“You showed up early. It’s a sign of disrespect, you know? Also no, I know how to fix myself something. I just don’t want you to burn my kitchen down to a crisp and smell takeout whenever I get home” you say in the rudest way you find possible.

He smirks before saying “might wanna check on that fucking attitude of yours too before I poison your food”, tapping your shoulder to get you out of the way and take out some pans. You showed him where to find them earlier on.

“What the fuck are you doing?” you say in disbelief. “This is still my kitchen. Get out”.

He rolls his eyes. “I’m making you fucking breakfast to say sorry for interrupting your princess sleep. Just make coffee while I come up with something. If you know how to make it, that is” he doesn’t even look at you while getting eggs, milk and bread out of the fridge.

You’re baffled. He’s making himself at home when you didn’t even say he was accepted.

“Wait, you’re still not-“

“I'll give you the money at the start of every month. I’ll paint the walls of the room, I hate that fucking green, but painters are scammers so I’m doing it myself. I’m clean, I’ll just need a spare key in a matter of days to take my shit here. I’ll keep myself in my room if you keep yourself in yours. Any further requests?” he interrupts you, assembling his french toasts on the pan.

You’re even more stunned. But you’ve always been quick with your thoughts, so you come up with something.

“I’ll say yes if those french toasts are good. If they’re not, your ass is out” you say, still not looking at him, while making coffee.

“Might say yes if you know how to make a hot chocolate from scratch instead of the poor coffee that machine will make” he watches you from the corner of his eye. You scoff, you’re a barista nonetheless: who does he think he’s talking to? Meanwhile, he could swear he knew you from somewhere.

“Deal”.

“Deal”.

Neither to say, the french toasts were “not that bad” and your hot chocolate was “barely fucking acceptable”.

[sissylittlefeather]

This is the Story

Chapter 3

A/N: I'm sorry this took so long. I had a hard time getting this one down. Special thanks to my besties @elvisfatass and @ccab for helping me with some ideas! I know this one is a sloooooowwww burn, but I'm enjoying the ~tension~ and I hope you are too!

If you're new to the series, this is about the OC Grace Dubois, an author assigned to ghost write a book for Elvis in the fall of 1973. Read the first two chapters here:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Warnings: none really, smoking and cussing, but that's about it. It'll get spicy eventually!

Song inspo:

******

He swallows the lump in his throat and looks towards the door. He has to find a way to get her to come back.

******

"Frank, I'm not going back. You should've heard the shit he said to me." Grace sits in the little office across the desk from her editor, cigarette in hand. It's been three weeks since she came home from Vegas. She's spent the majority of that time playing with Wendy and trying not to think about Elvis. He's tried to contact her several times, including a few phone calls, cards in the mail, and flowers twice. The message is always the same: "I'm sorry. Please come back."

"He actually asked us to have you return. He wants to continue working on the book." Frank looks at her apologetically.

"I'm not going back to Vegas." She insists. He shakes his head.

"He's asked you to meet him in Memphis when he comes home next week. I recommend you do what he's asking." Grace looks up to the ceiling and curses under her breath. She doesn't want to see Elvis again, but it looks like there's no way around it.

******

Elvis is in the TV room when Jerry comes in.

"She's here."

He tries not to sit up too fast or appear too eager, but his heart races and his breathing picks up. It's been almost a month since he read her notes about him. He hasn't thought about much else, despite the shows and the parties and the girls he's occupied himself with.

He nods his head and walks out to meet her. When he sees her in the foyer, standing awkwardly with her purse under her arm, he has to stop and take a deep breath. She's wearing the brown pencil skirt again with a light blue button-down shirt. Her hair is pulled up in its signature style and her glasses have started to slide down her nose. He also notices a sheen of sweat on her forehead. Despite it being September, the weather is unusually warm. Still, even though she's sweating, he's attracted to her.

She's looking into in the living room and hasn't noticed him standing next to the staircase. He can't believe how seeing her again is impacting him. Why? She is not anything that he's looking for in a girl. First of all, she's not even a girl. She's a woman. That alone makes him nervous. And she's a mother. Normally, that would bother him, but with her? It's the opposite. It feels like she can understand his love for Lisa and he appreciates it.

"You're here." She whips her head around to him.

"Yeah, I was told I didn't have a choice." Her words sting a little, but he can't really blame her considering their last encounter.

"Well, I appreciate that you came, even if it's not your choice." He tries to keep his voice even, matching her chilly demeanor.

"Let's go to my office." He turns and gestures for her to walk up the stairs in front of him. It takes everything in him not to watch the back of her skirt as it moves from side to side with her hips. He clears his throat and tries to gather himself when they reach the landing at the top. He points to the office and she walks in, sitting in the chair across from the desk. Once he's settled in the one behind the desk they make eye contact, each waiting for the other one to speak.

"So-"

"What-"

They start talking at the same time. He chuckles awkwardly.

"Go ahead."

"Thanks. So, you wanted to talk more about the book?"

He swallows hard. Not really, but if it gets her back here then he'll let her write whatever she wants.

"Um, yeah. I figured we had a good start before... well, before."

"Yes, so we had gotten up to just before you were drafted. However, I seem to have misplaced my notebook, so we might have to go back a bit."

"Oh, I-I, well." He opens one of the drawers of his desk and sets the notebook down in front of her. Her eyes widen.

"Did you-"

"I didn't read it." He lies. It's better to let her think he has no idea what she wrote about him. And technically, he didn't really read the notebook. She flips through it and he prays she won't notice that the little notes are probably in the wrong place. She doesn't seem to, though, because she accepts it from him without commenting.

"Thank you."

"I tried to catch you as you were leaving but you left in such a hurry..."

"Yes, well, I was pretty upset." He looks down at his hands, unsure of how to respond. He keeps his head lowered as he speaks.

"I know. I'm sorry. What I said was uncalled for and mean. And I'm sorry." He looks up at her and meets her eyes, searching for a sign of how she's going to take his apology. She's difficult to read, though.

"I appreciate that and I'm sorry too, Mr. Presley." His heart sinks. This might be harder than he thought. But he's not exactly one to back down from a challenge. Especially one as rewarding as this one could be.

"Thank you. So you want me to start with the army?"

"That's what comes next, I believe."

******

As he talks, Grace notices that he's not quite as animated in his storytelling as he was the last time. But she's having a hard time paying attention anyway. What if he read her notes? Would he figure out how much she had liked him before? It doesn't seem like anything is out of place, but it's been so long it's hard to know for sure. But surely he wouldn't have asked her back if he did. This man views her with little more than contempt. She knows she's only here to satisfy the Colonel. If he had read her notes, he would've sent her packing and never wanted to see her again, she's sure of it.

"And then my mother..." His voice catches and he trails off and looks over to the side away from her. She forgot that talking about the army means talking about his mother's death. He sniffs and rearranges himself in his chair, still not looking at her. Inside, her icy demeanor melts. Seeing him so affected has her wishing she could walk around the desk and comfort him. She doesn't. But she wants to.

"Your mother got sick." He looks back at her. The softness in her voice seems to have caught him off guard.

"She did. So I came home. And-" He cuts off again and looks up at the ceiling. She can tell he's trying very hard not to cry. Again, she's overwhelmed with a need to hold him in her arms and let him feel the sadness fully. Instead, she reaches across the wide desk and puts her hand on his. When he looks back down at her, she's just as shocked as he is. This is the first time she's really touched him, aside from the handshake on the first day. The feeling of her hand on his is electric and her heart jumps. His mouth drops open a bit and she pulls her hand back quickly.

"I'm sorry."

"No. It's okay." It seems like he wants to say more, but he doesn't.

"Maybe that's enough for today." She needs to get out of this house before she does something she will regret. She stands to head for the door but he stops her.

"Oh, wait, I have something for you. Or, rather, for your daughter."

"You have something for Wendy?"

"Yes." He pulls a pink envelope out of the desk drawer. "It's from Lisa Marie."

"How does your daughter know about my daughter?"

"Because I told her. She has a hard time making friends because of, well, me. We can't just invite anyone over here."

"Invite? Is this an invitation?"

"She just wants to meet Wendy. I thought she could be a safe friend for Lisa." Grace looks at the envelope in her hand and feels her cheeks flush. It has "Wendy" written in kindergarten scrawl on the outside. How he managed to remember her daughter's name, she will never know.

"Yeah, okay. I'll see if she's interested." The prospect of coming back here for something that isn't work related terrifies her, but Wendy struggles to make friends too, with her mom working so much.

Once she gets out to her car, Grace looks again at her notebook and then at the envelope. This Elvis Presley is far more complicated than she thought.

******

When the door closes behind her, Elvis leans against it and sighs deeply. His mind is reeling from everything that just happened. First, she called him "Mr. Presley." Then, she seemed to melt a little when he talked about his mother. He didn't do it on purpose. That's just how thinking about her makes him feel. But she seemed to be affected by it somehow.

And then she touched him. He's not sure if she felt the electricity too, but based on how quickly she pulled her hand back, she must've noticed something.

He lays his head back against the door and closes his eyes. What kind of hold does this woman have on him? Does she feel anything for him other than disdain?

"You good, boss?"

The sound of Jerry's voice jolts him back to reality.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm alright." He walks back down to the TV room. Hopefully, she will accept the invitation to bring Wendy over.

******

"Mama, pleeeeease. She asked us to come swimming. I love swimming. Can we please go? Pleeeease?" Wendy begs Grace. She had originally intended to say yes, until she realized the invitation, which appeared to be written by Elvis but dictated by Lisa Marie, said "swimming". She also made the mistake of not reading it before she gave it to Grace.

"Wendy, I don't know. We barely know these people. And you've never even met Lisa."

"Mama, her name is Lisa Marie." Wendy has chosen a side. She will be Lisa Marie's friend whether she likes it or not. Grace knew it was no use arguing at this point.

"Alright, we'll go."

******

On the Saturday of the big swimming play date, Lisa Marie is bouncing on the balls of her feet, looking out the window for her new friend. Elvis feels the same kind of nervous excitement, but instead sits on the piano bench with a cigarillo that he's smoking way too fast. He tries to play something to calm himself down, but he can't focus enough. What if she changes her mind? She had called to confirm several days ago, but things happen. Just then, he hears her car coming up the drive.

"Daddy, they're here!" Lisa Marie squeals with excitement. Elvis tries to temper his own excitement and casually walk to the front door. When he opens it, though, Lisa sprints out to the car. Wendy jumps out and they greet each other with a hug like they've been best friends for years. He hears them chattering about the swimming pool as he opens Grace's car door for her.

"Oh, thank you." She seems surprised and he's not really sure why he did it.

"Is it okay if I park here?"

"Of course. Come on in." He wants to offer her his arm like they're in some Victorian novel, but he realizes how strange that would be and instead settles for walking beside her. The girls are already both in their bathing suits, so they move through the house quickly to the yard where the pool is.

"Can Wendy swim?" Elvis asks.

"Yes, she's had lessons."

"Good. Should we sit by the pool?" She nods. They walk through the doors to the outside. The weather is perfect for laying out and for the first time, he's glad for the hot September they're having.

As the girls get in the pool, Elvis and Grace settle on the chairs. He's wearing a robe over his swimming outfit that he takes off before sitting down. He can feel her eyes on him, but he's not sure why she would be looking at him. Once he's comfortable, he tries really hard not to look at her while she slips off her cover up. He was right to want to see her legs on the first day. They're slender and shapely and coppery tan from a summer spent in the sun with Wendy. She slips off her sandals and her feet are just as beautiful as her legs. Her black bathing suit accentuates her curves and he has to actively look away to keep his eyes off of her breasts. Seeing her like this takes his affection for her to a whole new level. He prays she doesn't notice the physical effect she's having, even though his shorts won't conceal much. He pulls his robe across his lap, just in case.

"So, how are you liking Memphis?"

"Oh, aside from the weather, it's fine. Wendy seems to like her new school. Thank you for arranging that, by the way." He had enrolled Wendy in school and set Grace up with an apartment, so she could stay close and finish the book.

"Oh, you're welcome. Thanks for coming today. I really wanted to... keep working on the book." He stopped himself just in time from saying that he really wanted to see her again.

"You want to talk about the book now?" She raises her eyebrows.

"N-no, not really I guess." He looks over to the girls, who are taking turns jumping into the pool and giving each other scores on how big the splash was. "Can you believe how well they're getting along?" He nods his head to the girls. She smiles.

"I'm afraid Wendy is a little friend-deprived too. She was so excited to meet Lisa."

"Lisa was excited to meet her too. We have a hard time finding people who take the time to get to know us for who we really are." He says we but he's talking about himself now. When he looks over at her, she has her head cocked to the side with a soft look on her face.

"What?" He smiles.

"Nothing. You're just... not what I expected." She says with the same soft look.

They continue talking about everything and nothing and he's surprised at how easy it is to talk to her, even outside of the context of talking about the book. He also listens eagerly as she speaks, loving the sound of her voice when she's passionate about something. They connect on topics like books, spirituality, family, and music. When the girls decide it's time to go inside, he's reluctant to let the conversation end.

"Why don't you girls play in Lisa's room for a while?" He says, not breaking eye contact with Grace. She nods.

"Go on Wendy." They run off to play and Elvis takes her on a tour of the house. He lightly touches the small of her back to lead her from one room to another and again the contact sends sparks all through his body. They end the tour at Lisa's room and there really isn't much reason for them to stay, other than he just wants them to.

"Mama, look at this!" Wendy comes running up to Grace with a toy in her hands. It's a little mock movie camera that plays actual short movies when you crank it. "Will you get me one of these? Please?"

"Oh, honey. It's very neat, but I don't think we could afford it at the moment. Now, let's say goodbye to Lisa Marie and Mr. Presley."

"Aw, Mama, do we hafta?"

"Yeah, sweetie, I think it's time." She turns back to Elvis and smiles. "Thank you for having us over."

They all make their way down the stairs and to the front door. When they get there, Elvis searches desperately for a reason they should stay, but can't come up with anything. Wendy and Lisa Marie embrace again with promises to see each other soon.

"Thank you for coming." He wants to hug her or kiss her cheek, or not her cheek. Still, he knows anything more than a handshake is inappropriate. But when she puts her hand in his, he lifts it to his lips and kisses it softly before he even realizes what he's doing. She freezes, her eyes widen, and her cheeks flush.

"Goodbye, Elvis." She practically whispers, her hand still in his. Finally, they break apart and she and Wendy make their way to the car.

******

"Lisa Marie is my best friend." Wendy is chattering in the backseat, full of excitement about the day. Grace can't stop thinking about the day either. The way he looked in his shorts, how easy it was to have a conversation with him, when he touched her back as they toured the house, and the kiss. Every time he touched her, there was some kind of fire, but the feeling of his lips on the back of her hand sent lightning bolts from her fingertips to her toes. She shakes her head, trying to remove the fantasy of what his lips would feel like on other parts of her body. This can't happen.

******

Grace continues going to the house everyday to talk about the book. Nothing of note really happens and she starts to think she imagined everything at the play date. Then, on Friday, she comes home to a large package that's addressed to Wendy.

"Mama, what is it?"

"Well, let's open it and find out!" As Wendy rips the paper off, two cards fall to the ground. The first is for Wendy from Lisa Marie. Grace can tell by the handwriting on the outside. But, the second has her name on it in Elvis's script. She is so distracted by the card that she isn't paying attention to what's in the box.

"Mama LOOK!" Wendy squeals. It's a toy movie camera just like Lisa's. Grace's heart skips a beat and she tears open the card.

Grace,

I hope this is okay. I enjoyed our time together last weekend. I'd like to do it again sometime.

Yours,

Elvis

Grace stares at the way he signed the note: Yours.

If only.

******

Chapter 4 coming (hopefully) soon!

Taglist:

@ccab @elvisfatass @elvisalltheway101 @ashtag6887 @aliypop @your-nanas-house @dkayfixates @everythingelvispresley @xanatenshi @returntopresley @p0lksaladannie @deniseinmn @jaqueline19997 @that-hotdog @mykievolturi @18lkpeters @joshuntildawn13

[dododrawsstuff]

IkePri OC Ruri

I think I got possessed yesterday at the con, I wrote most of her story and sketched her. Meet Ruri, my beloved, I just want to hug and squish her.

OC Taglist: @olivermorningstar @keithsandwich @bicayaya (let me know if you want to be part of the taglist or removed)

(@aquagirl1978 I'll tag you because I definetly think she and Charlotte would be friends and she would ask her so many questions about Clavis, let me know if you want me to remove you from this post)

More about her under the cut

Name: Ruri

Age: 25

Nationality: Lazullian

Titles: First Princess of Lazullia, The Fake Prince (some people from her country created that ‘title’ to mock her, though she has some supporters)

Story: She is a princess from Lazullia, a very military oriented country. Being an only child and the heir to the throne, a lot of pressure was put on her. She had to excel in studies, manners, fighting since a young age.

Her father always made it clear she was a burden and it would be better if she was born a boy instead. That's the reason she always dress in male clothing when attending social events.

Ruri’s the best fighter in her country, but not because she is a genius or enjoy it, she was made into a weapon. Her body is covered in scars from training and combat. She’s a very competent strategist, and observant. It’s still not enough to prove her worth to her father.

Ruri has a much better relationship with her mother, she’s the one who named her, since her father didn't even want to help her mother choose one.

Her first trip to Rhodolite is when the foreign princes visit it, when Emma’s just assigned as Belle. Her father thinks it’ll be a good way to get closer to other countries. Since Lazullia is a small country, poor in resources and fairly new on the international political scene, he is mostly after an alliance with Obsidian, despite her voicing her concerns to him.

Ruri meets Clavis before the ball, when she almost falls in a trap, he was nearby hoping it was Yves who walked by, Ruri thought it was an legit attack so she threw him on the ground, straddling and locking both of his arms with her legs in the process while pointing a sword to his throat. ( Clavis fell for her right then and there)

Once Clavis clears it up he wasn't trying to harm her, that it was just a prank, she gets off of him much to his disappointment. They meet next on the ball, where he asks her to dance with him.

Personality: Has a very stoic persona, since she was not allowed to express her feelings as a child. The only moments she alllows herself to show her emotions and relieve all the pent up stress are when she is training, alone. Ruri is very socially awkward in casual situations and doesn't have many friends because she was always busy studying or training.

She is loyal to those she considers close to her, and is ready to die for those people (her father included, even if he doesn't care about her).

She says her biggest dream is to earn her father’s respect and become a good ruler to her country and people, but her actual dream is to be able to live like a ‘normal’ girl, fall in love, and live peacefully, because he hates war. But it’s not something she’s willing to admit, because she has a very strong sense of duty.

Pair: Clavis

Ruri is drawn to him at first because of his outgoing persona, she admires how he is able to express himself and smile and have fun despite hardship.

As she grows closer to him, she admires him more because she can relate to him in a lot of ways, feeling like he is not good enough, having to work a lot harder because of that, always being compared to someone else.

Random headcanons:

She can spar with Chevalier on pretty equal ground and she has earned his respect because of that, so much that he remembers her name (because I can do that)

She loves sweets, even if she doesn't eat it that often

Love is such a distant concept for her, she is sure she will marry out of obligation

She has always wanted to wear pretty dresses, and live like a “true princess” at least once

Ruri is a weapon expert, she trained a variety of different weapons, but she is better in melee combat

Has a bit of pudge, despite training a lot (because I can)

Her mother is from Ruby ( I won’t elaborate too much because I have basically no knowledge about the new countries)

As always, I'll keep editing this as I develop her more.

[tornrose24]

TGAMM Aladdin AU ideas part 1

Was thinking of those TGAMM Aladdin AU doodles I made and thought of adding more details to that AU:

-This version of Agrabah used to be ruled by a tyrant (the Chairman) with an iron fist until the Chen family overthrew and disposed of him. While Reuben and Esther are far more benevolent in comparison as rulers, the kingdom is still slowly recovering and is a shadow of what it once was.

-Jinx liked how things were ran under the old ruler and wants to overthrow the Chen family and claim the throne. This is where her need to find the lamp would come in.

-The McGees aren’t poor, but they are just barely getting by. Pete desires to restore the kingdom to its glory days and he and Sharon do whatever they can to make money. Molly is the same way. Darryl is still getting into shady stuff to make money the easy way, but tends to get cheated out of whatever he makes.

-Esther and Reuben are seeking potential future brides for their son and to form a political alliance that could help the kingdom. Ollie would rather focus on restoring the kingdom without resorting to that. June is more of an inventor who keeps to herself and has no interest in getting married off either.

-Molly and Libby are still good friends, and Libby’s mother is also barely getting by as a bookseller and poet for hire. Especially after her husband abandoned their family.

-Andrea is one of the potential brides who doesn’t make the cut. (She’s secretly relieved because she already has her eye on someone else).

-I did not assign anyone to Dalia’s role, because I’m leaving that spot open for anyone’s self-insert/oc.

-The way Molly and Ollie meet up would be like in the 2019 film, which would also involve trying to get her brother out of trouble. (Again.) Like in the 2019 film, she would sneak into the palace to meet up with Ollie, who is trying to pass himself off as a servant. Molly is aided by her brother and Libby in sneaking into the palace.

-The two bond over wanting to help the kingdom's people and to restore it back to what it used to be.

-Molly sneaking into the palace is what gets Jinx’s attention. The woman has Molly, Libby, and Darryle captured and claims that she will only let them go without being reported on IF Molly enters the Cave of Wonders. She doesn’t bother mentioning the real identity of the boy Molly visited since its a waste of her time.

-The trio do find a magic carpet.

–Molly finds the lamp. However Darryl is the one who tries to take some treasure for himself, which triggers the collapse.

-While the magic carpet gets Darryl and Libby out of the cave, Molly gets knocked off at one point and becomes trapped. The carpet leaves so fast that Jinx doesn’t see it happen and assumes that her efforts were all for nothing.

-So yeah, no surprise–Scratch is the genie of the lamp. And he is NOT happy that his new master is a very excited young girl who is delighted to have made a new friend who has magic.

-She still manages to trick him into getting her out of the cave and back home though.

-So desperate to get rid of Molly, Scratch tells her about the three wishes and fully intends to screw her over with each one. Except there’s 2 problems. One is that Molly realizes that she has way too many wishes (mostly to better her kingdom) and cannot narrow them down to save her life. The other is that she doesn’t want to lose Scratch THAT fast and refuses to actually make any wishes until she knows for sure what she wants.

-Naturally, he is NOT HAPPY ABOUT THIS.

-Scratch has a much easier time granting wishes of Molly’s very shocked, but also delighted family, though they quickly wise up to the fact that he’s screwing them over on a few.

-He has even less luck with Libby who is VERY genre savvy about genies. She has to coach Molly on how to approach the matter when she is ready.

-Eventually Molly remembers Ollie and tries to go see him, only to find out that he is in fact the crown prince. She is crushed since she hasn’t seen him since before the cave, but there’s no way she can see him if she’s not even a child of nobility.

-However she knows that he cares about the kingdom as much as she does, and decides upon a wish that can do a lot of good. One that can be both selfless AND selfish.

-Molly tells Scratch that she wants him to turn her into a princess. One wealthy enough to gift the kingdom with enough money and goods to keep it going for a decade or two. If she gets the royal family’s attention, she can visit Ollie once more. Scratch is not entirely impressed with the plan, especially after realizing Molly has a crush on the boy, but hey she’s finally making a wish.

-Molly then makes an offer–since she’s had a hard time coming up with wishes, she will use her final wish for Scratch. Whatever he truly wants, she will wish it for him. He admits that he doesn’t exactly enjoy being forced to grant others wishes and wants to be freed from the job. He’s surprised at Molly’s offer, though he’s sure it won’t come to pass.

-However what he does NOT tell Molly is that if he is freed from the lamp, he will be reduced to a powerless mortal capable of dying and without a place to call home, and that idea terrifies him.

-So Scratch grants Molly’s first wish, even if he’s pretty sure its not entirely going to end well. He turns himself into a human and passes himself off as her advisor to keep an eye on things (and to get a front-row seat because this is BOUND to be somewhat entertaining). Libby also wants in and is made Molly’s handmaiden since she doesn’t want a large role that also forces her into the spotlight.

As for what happens next… well, keep an eye out for part 2.

[raccoonfallsharder]

cicatrix .⋆☁︎:･꧂

chapter seventeen. keyframe. [new 7/26] ✩

18+ only | rocket x f!oc | 17/30+ | wip | word count: pending. masterlist, notes, & moodboard | chapter seventeen. keyframe. ART: portrait of pearl | pearl & rocket's bunk chapter one. nemotia. art by @/frostedwitch

a raccoon, a girl, and a kylosian walk into a throneroom. see below for warnings & notes.

“I don’t want to adopt an abilisk,” she reasons quietly. “I just don’t want them to die out.” She chews her lip and eyes the Kylosian nervously. She’s not sure how much he’s inferring from any of these conversations, or how careful she needs to be — but then, she’s always tried so hard not to underestimate people the way the High Evolutionary does. So instead, she just offers Rocket a pleading little half-shrug, and she looks out at the stars, wondering how far the herd still is. The distant celestial bodies glow and shimmer, studding the expanse of space with patterns that are simultaneously familiar and new. Eucleia. Penthus. Elpis.  Adrestia. Dice. The words unfurl on her tongue like a blossom, petal-sweet, before she’d even known they were growing there. “I hate to think of us all here, just playing out the roles we were assigned.” She slants her eyes downward to her beloved survivor. “Don’t you?” His eyes widen, molten sunsets and bonfires. She sees his chest hitch on an uncertain, startled breath — and then those same eyes narrow.  “You’re the second-worst frickin’ thing that’s ever happened to me.” She feels her smile wobble. “I know.” “Who assigns these roles?” Drax asks.  “The first-worst that’s ever happened to me,” Rocket answers dryly. He rolls his eyes and leans on the cascabel. “Okay, kitten. I hope this idea of yours is a frickin’ good one.”

read more on ao3 | masterlist, notes, & moodboard

holy shit i wrote plot!!! but it seemed way better when i drafted it and revised it 27 times than when i just edited/posted it so uhmmmm thanks for bearing with me.

a story about scars. two survivors learn about themselves, each other, hope, and the universe.a freakish little monster visits the high evolutionary’s bride on her wedding night. an adventure of intergalactic proportions ensues. aka raccoons make plans; the universe laughs.

WARNINGS for this chapter: brief glimpses into rocket’s typically-filthy thoughts, pearl’s anxiety, and wyndham’s dickishness.

fluff ✮ | spice ✩ | some smut ❤︎‬ | much smut ❤︎‬❤︎‬

banners & rose dividers by @/saradika-graphics pearl dividers by @/thecutestgrotto taglist ♡ @evolvingchaoswitch ♡ @glow-autumz ♡ @wren-phoenix ♡ @suicidalshitstick ♡ @pretty-chips

[ashiemochi]

(don't) go easy on me - ii

✠ (don't) go easy on me ↳ not bad for our first time, huh?

➶ pairing: OC x Piers Nivans ➶ genre: mostly fluff, slight angst, gore (like a broken bone), first time! smut, cliche mean clique (like two girls) ➶ word count: 5.8k

prev -> next

✠✠

Everyone give it up for our spectator; Cindy Lloyd!

With Captain Magath still away, she and her squad were still ordered to train with Captain Redfield. It was all going okay with Cindy choosing to spar with her best friend Vivian Marie to pass the time or at least seem busy to the eyes of their sub-captain.

 

"You heard about the new rookie?" Cindy asked, sending a blow, "His name is Finn something and, apparently, he's assigned to be in Redfield's team."

Vivian looked surprised, dodging the attack and threw one back, "That quick? I thought it was difficult to be a part of his team."

"I know right?" Cindy huffed, blocking the hit before swinging her leg, "Think he got a free pass like you-know-who?"

Both of them looked over at the Han girl by the wall, seeing her sitting down with her phone in her hands. Cindy let out a sound of disgust, shifting her attention back to her friend.

"Un-fucking-believable, she gets to sit on her ass while we have to train our ass off every day?"

Vivian winced at the hit landing on her shoulder, giving her a knowing look, "We're not training with her every single day. We don't know what her schedule even looks like."

"Don't defend her, it's probably what she wants." Cindy retorted, "She goes through one incident and suddenly she's BSAA's little princess. We've been through missions exactly like the H-Outbreak – you don't see us lumping around uselessly!"

Her attacks got harsher, actually hurting Vivian who kept up her tough parrying skills for her sake.

"We fight! And we keep fighting because when you're strong, there's always someone stronger than you." Cindy snapped, roundhouse kicking Vivian and she actually stumbled back with a hitch of a breath.

"You always take this a little too seriously," Vivian glared at her, rubbing her arm, "Keep that up and you won't have anyone left to train with."

Cindy swallowed her tongue, jaw clenching silently. 

She excelled in her team, being basically a second in command to Magath. She took her training sessions to the heart, practising and sparring day and night to keep up with the regime. She could take down any of her squad, hence why they were ordered to train with Captain Redfield's team as they were the closest one to such a high rank in the BSAA.

Her eyes darted to Chris walking with Piers to the spacious ground where most soldiers spar. Piers was seemingly not in a good mood, ranting to his captain who only offered a smile and patted his back. There were several more trainers and captains here and there. Then-

"Alright Team Beta, listen up!" Chris' authoritative voice boomed, "As you all may know, your captain Sett Magath returns tomorrow from his mission overseas. He's expecting full improvement in your performance. Today you will pick someone on my team and spar with them to test your abilities. Our trainers and coaches will observe the session to ensure all ground rules are followed.” 

"Do a good job and maybe I'll put in a good word for you to the captain. Got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Opposite team, huh…" Cindy trailed away, watching how the training around was starting to get busier with her team going to his, probably trying to find someone to spar with.

A man from her squad, Ryder, approached Piers and asked if they could spar. Piers didn't seem all that interested, giving him an annoyed stare with crossed arms when he recognized him as the guy who hit on So Ah. Then he nodded, shaking his hand, and Ryder visibly flinched at the grip, but he pretended to be okay with it, giving Piers a thumbs-up.

"You got a good grip on ya', haha!" 

"Guess Ryder got himself into trouble again," Vivian spoke blankly.

"Viv, who are you picking?"

"Hmm," She trailed her eyes around, landing on Finn chatting with So Ah, "The rookie. I could teach him the basics and see what he knows. What about you?"

Vivian watched Cindy turn around and face So Ah, and she couldn't help but sigh.

"Please don't tell me you're thinking of fighting her."

"Someone has to show her that not everything can be served on a silver platter," Cindy spoke lowly, nudging her head at them, "C'mon. Let's pick our partners."

Vivian followed her begrudgingly, a little embarrassed to be dragged into this battle of hers. 

"Hey, Han." Cindy said dryly, catching her attention, "Let's fight after Piers is done. We can have Captain Redfield spectate us."

"Ah," So Ah blinked in shock at the assertion in her tone, giving Finn a look who only returned it, "Yeah, sure. I was actually suggesting Finn to spar with you since you're pretty much known around here to be good at this."

"I don't want him. He'll make it very easy for me." Her eyebrow twitched as she folded her arms over her chest, "Vivian will be sparring with the rookie."

Again, Finn gave So Ah a look of uncertainty and she only nodded, giving him a small smile.

"Go, it'll be good practice! I'll wait for you at the cafeteria when we're done." She encouraged him.

He seemed hesitant before nodding and he stood up, "Okay."

Vivian looked at Cindy, silently warning her not to go too far and then she and Finn moved to find a free coach.

So Ah stood up, dusting the back of her pants, voice polite, "I don't think we've properly met before. I'm H–"

"I know who you are and I frankly don't care." Cindy interrupted, not hiding her resentment as she turned around to observe Piers and Ryder fighting, "I want to prove to Captain Redfield that you have to work hard to earn this position."

She glared at the Han girl from the corner of her eyes, "Not like some people."

So Ah blinked, lips parting in surprise. Before she could speak, Ryder let out a grunt, having been brought down to the ground. Piers was standing tall, albeit breathing heavily but it didn't seem like he broke a sweat. Chris kept his broad stance, giving Ryder advice about his fighting technique and Piers only stood beside him, not even offering to help Ryder up.

Ryder was too exhausted to bother a quip or two, so he pushed himself up onto his feet, thanking the captain before walking away, most likely to join his team – or those who finished training.

Cindy silently moved towards the two men and So Ah hastily followed. Piers' eyes darted to Cindy, automatically locking onto the Han girl instead and the corner of his lips twitched upwards.

"Captain, I'd like for you to watch us," Cindy said like a soldier.

Chris glanced over at So Ah, who only shrugged, and looked over at his watch, "I suppose I can squeeze in one more before my lunch break. Also, So Ah."

"Yeah?"

He opened his palm towards her, giving her a firm knowing look, "No phones on training grounds."

Red rushed to her cheeks and she grumbled, avoiding his eyes as she gave him her phone, "Sorry, Captain."

"Don't let it happen again." He waved the phone at her with a subtle smile, not quite mad, "Now go, we don't have all day."

Cindy couldn't believe it. This was the most strict captain?

If Captain Magath catches anyone with their phone when they're supposed to be training, they can kiss their phone goodbye.

"Good luck, Toadette," Piers flashed So Ah a wink and she rolled her eyes, walking past him.

"Eat it, Yoshi."

As So Ah and Cindy got into position, Chris handed Piers the phone who took it and shoved it into his pocket.

"She couldn't have picked anyone else?" Chris asked himself.

Piers looked at him, "What do you mean?"

"What you are to me is exactly what Cindy Lloyd is to Captain Magath," Chris explained, "She's the toughest one in his squad. Maybe So Ah wants to push her limits today."

Piers went quiet, trailing his eyes back to the two girls. Then Chris quipped.

"So, when were you going to tell me that she beat your ass in Mario Kart?"

Piers' eyebrows shot up, pink coating his ears, "She told you?!"

"It's what she told everyone on your team."

As that was happening, So Ah gave Cindy a strange look. The Lloyd girl was stretching her arms and her neck, a masked annoyed look on her face.

"Why'd you pick me?" So Ah voiced her curiosity when Cindy got into position.

"I told you," Cindy eyed her sharply, "To prove to the captain that you have to deserve to be here."

So Ah frowned deeply but didn't say anything, following suit and she threw a glance at Piers who gave her an encouraging look with a thumbs up. That made her chest bloom and she nodded to herself, his presence and support making her more confident.

Alright, she can't be that bad.

Getting into position, she barely blinked before Cindy initiated a fight.

OH SHIT, SHE'S QUICK.

So Ah blocked and dodged most of the attacks, making sure to keep her distance every time Cindy gets too close. That was her technique; defence then switch to offence once the assailant tired out. As she relied mostly on her legs, she needed the space to perform some attacks.

"It's goddamn unfair how they let you in," Cindy breathed heavily, roughly jabbing her side and earning a hitched sound from her, "Some rich pompous girl who doesn't know jack shit."

So Ah kept her mouth shut, glaring at her attacker. She had dealt with enough hate from the public to build some sort of resistance to it. It still hurts like a bitch, knowing that a handful of people continue to blame the Han family for what happened in California a little over a year ago.

And deep inside, she agreed with Cindy. She doesn't deserve to be at the BSAA – not after all the soldiers they had lost trying to capture her at the facility.

Cindy picked up on her always staying far away and growled, charging at her, "Stop running and fight back!"

And she did.

So Ah lowered herself to avoid her swinging arm and shifted her feet. She grabbed onto her arm and flipped her over her back and to the ground with a loud thud.

Cindy grunted, pain shooting through her back and So Ah was quick to step back, trying to keep her breathing stable. Cindy pushed herself up, stumbling a bit as she wiped her jaw from the dirt and sweat.

"You're right, I don't deserve to be here," So Ah said, huffing and narrowing her eyes down, "But I'm here for my family, and I'm not going to let someone like you take that away from me."

Cindy heaved, scoffing, "Someone like me?"

She cracked her knuckles and her demeanour changed into that of controlled rage. So Ah blinked at that, moving one of her feet back to prepare herself for what was to come.

"I'll show you what someone like me can do." Cindy promised with piercing eyes, "And then you'll know who truly belongs here."

The sparring continued, but So Ah noticed she could barely keep up. It was as if she was against Piers – and she never really brought him down. He'd teach her certain moves to stay ahead, but he'd know how to counter them, easily knocking her off her feet. 

Piers never really went that easy on her. That was her request; fight her like he fights the other soldiers. Besides, he'd usually treat her with food or a massage to untie any uncomfortable knot in her body. 

So Ah hopped back to avoid yet another attack but this time, Cindy picked up on her technique. She swung her leg at her ankles, sending the Han girl down with a gasp. 

She tumbled to the ground on her side and tried to get up but she was shoved against the floor. Tears sprang to her eyes instinctively when her nose got hit and then–

"You rich people are the fucking worse," Cindy snapped, setting her bent-up knee on So Ah's midsection, applying pressure which caused the girl to grunt, "Always buying your way into anything."

So Ah knew at that moment that Cindy was taking this spar a bit too seriously. It wasn't to train and enhance her skills. It was personal.

That was not part of the ground rules.

"While we had to work our asses off for a position like yours," Cindy snarled, yanking her right arm to press it bent up against her back in an armlock and pushing her shoulder down to stop her from squirming, "You get to play princess and just waltz in like you own the fucking place."

So Ah wheezed out air at the pressure intensifying on her back and her wrist. She couldn't even look up at Chris or Piers, forcing herself to glare sharply up at Cindy as she kept attempting to struggle back.

Piers threw a glance at the gathering soldiers and he deadpanned at the little snickers and inappropriate comments. God forbid those men get some action in their bedroom.

"Look at that," Piers nudged Chris.

Chris tore his eyes away from the two girls and looked at the audience, unimpressed, "Those men are hopeless."

"I have as much right to be here as you do." So Ah retorted, shifting her other arm so it went bent up in front of her, "I didn't ask for any of this."

"Right, because if it's not for that freaky virus of yours, then maybe they wouldn't have even looked twice at you." Cindy sneered and So Ah's eyes widened.

Another quiet yelp came from her when her arm was tugged and she went to tap the ground to surrender. The ache was getting too much to handle and she really didn't want to deal with any broken bones at the moment.

"No, you fucking don't." Cindy shoved the back of her head down so her mouth was pressed up against her arm, effectively shutting her up and stopping her from tapping out, "You don't get to run from any of this anymore."

That was when Piers looked back, picking up on the uncharacteristic panicking of his girl with her feet scraping the ground to try and gain some leverage against the death grip Cindy had on her.

"Maybe that'll teach you a lesson," Cindy tightened her grip on her wrist, slowly pulling on her arm almost involuntarily, "You're useless here."

The crack was dull but she heard it. Both of them did. So Ah's shriek came out muffled, hitched in her throat and she squeezed her eyes shut at the immense pain shooting from her shoulder and all the way down to her wrist.

The sound seemed to have snapped Cindy out momentarily but it was all So Ah needed to twist her body around to push her off of her. Cindy fell to the side with a huff but grunted when So Ah slammed her foot hard against her chest to kick her away. That forced a series of coughs from the Lloyd girl, holding onto her chest.

So Ah panted heavily, teary eyes wide as she held her arm to her chest. Her chest was heaving as she was gulping air like water, trembling as she tried to hide her pain when multiple footsteps were quickly approaching.

"Hey, hey," Piers was the first to get to her, helping her up with concern written all over his face, "Are you okay?"

So Ah stayed quiet, worried if she'd speak then only pained sounds would emit. She hugged her wrist to her body when Piers gently held her arms, brows furrowed deeply at her silence as he tried to read her.

Multiple coaches were also nearby with Captain Magath's team going up to Cindy, helping her up onto her feet. Chris' team rushed to the Han girl but did not surround her, keeping their distance as they had a vague idea that she didn't really like that much attention. 

"So Ah, are you hurt?" Piers pressed on and she shook her head.

Vivian shot Cindy a knowing glare, clearly disappointed at her best friend going too far. 

Realization hit her a little too late, Cindy fucked up. She was going to be sent home, losing everything she worked so hard for all because she lost her temper.

"I'm fine," So Ah finally spoke, giving her team a small meek smile, "She just scared me when she had me all pinned."

Chris stepped forward, noting the look of uneasiness on Cindy's face before shifting his attention to the Han girl, voice firm when he spoke.

He was asking for the truth.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Chris asked, snapping his eyes down to her wrist and then back up.

So Ah hesitated for a bit and glanced over at Cindy for a second, nodding. She released her wrist to wave slightly, keeping the movement to the minimum but enough to convince her team that she was good.

"Mhm! All okay! Nothing broken, just another little trick to get away," She giggled nervously, "Sorry I made you guys worry, it won't happen again."

Mutters and murmurs came from the soldiers, gradually dispersing to continue whatever they were doing. Piers stayed close, keeping his perceptive eyes dead set on her arm as Finn gave her a worried frown.

"Are you sure? Your arm seems a bit…"

"I'm okay, Finn. Really. I did the same thing with Piers yesterday," So Ah reassured him and then looked up at Piers, "Right?"

Piers folded his arms, clearly unconvinced. His sharp hazels stayed like a hawk, staring her down.

"Right." He only said.

So Ah tried to seem unphased but knew she could hide nothing from him. Instead, she turned to Finn with that soft smile of hers.

"I'll wash up and we'll meet you at the cafeteria, okay?" 

"Okay…" Finn returned the smile timidly, "I'll save us a table. Do you want me to get you any–"

"Go away, Finn." Piers interrupted, not bothering to hide that he wanted a moment with his girlfriend.

So Ah avoided his eyes as the rookie scrambled away, a habit of hers that he didn't really like very much. 

If she was flustered and couldn't look him in the eye, then that he adored – but lying?

"Are you planning on keeping this shit up or what?" Piers questioned sharply, referencing her arm.

She rubbed her wrist, muttering lowly, "What's it to you?"

He blinked at her, his brows shooting down to knit in the middle. That pout was back on her lips and he unfolded his arms.

"Ow!" She let out when he flicked the back of her head and her hands shot up to rub the spot but he grabbed her good arm, silently dragging her away.

Anyone could see he was seething.

"Alright, that's enough for today. Hit the showers," Chris called out, his eyes settling on Cindy at the last bit, "And go home."

Fuck, fuck, fuck–

"Are you proud of yourself?" Vivian stepped up to Cindy with a glare.

Cindy could only watch the couple enter the building, the training ground slowly emptying. 

She lied.

So Ah lied.

"But she… I actually…" Cindy whispered, "Why would she do that?"

Why didn't she tell them I broke her hand?

"You really don't get any of this," Vivian shook her head with a scoff, crossing her arms as she moved past her.

"Just be happy Captain Magath isn't here to witness this childish side of you."

✠✠

It had been a slow couple of hours of having lunch, spending time at the gym for more training, showering, and finally, she could leave. At the cafeteria, Piers kept trying to convince her to report Cindy while she continued trying to convince him that her hand was fine. It was obvious she was lying, but she wasn’t going to admit it.

Piers had gone silent when she refused and that was when he left the table, leaving his tray of food behind – which was worrying in of itself considering his appetite.

So Ah was standing outside by the gates, eyeing her dominant hand. Twisting it right and left, everything in it was healed as if nothing had ever happened. With a faint whine, she dropped her arm, feeling like utter crap about the sparring session.

Cindy was right – anyone else more worthy could’ve had her position in Chris’ team. 

So Ah checked her watch; Piers was late. She knew he was upset, but she didn’t know what was taking him so long. When he left the cafeteria, he was livid. His hands were clenched tightly till his knuckles were white, veins growing more pronounced. She could’ve gone after him but knew he wanted his space. 

Chatter reached her ears and she turned her head to look at Finn and Marco. They were making their way towards the gates when they noticed her. 

“Hey, Han,” Marco greeted.

“Hey, you two heading home?” So Ah asked with a small smile.

Marco replied, “Nah, there’s a new arcade that opened down the road so we thought we might check it out and then hit the bar later, you wanna come?”

“Oh, no, thank you. I’m waiting on Piers…” She shook her head, glancing over at the building, “Did you guys see him around?”

“I haven’t.” Marco shrugged.

“Last I saw him, he was talking with Chris,” Finn answered and she stiffened. 

“Okay, thanks.” So Ah smiled, bowing, “Hope you two have fun tonight.”

“See you around,” Marco chuckled, turning to make his way down the pavement as Finn followed him.

He waved at her with a wide smile, “Have a great weekend!”

She waved back, giggling a bit and then her arm flopped next to her side. Growing anxious by the second, she wrung the straps of her bag as she looked over at the doors. He couldn’t be reporting Cindy himself. He wouldn’t do that.

Would he?

“Where is he…” So Ah muttered to herself, now contemplating going back in.

✠✠

“I still can’t believe you.”

“Seriously, you’re still mad at me?”

Vivian glared at Cindy when she mimicked her tone, “You want me to be over the moon that you broke her goddamn hand? Cindy, if she hadn’t lied for you, you’d be packing your shit by now.”

Cindy went quiet, walking by her to her car. The rest of her day was spent on her nerves, completely expecting Chris to walk into the gym and call her out in front of everyone. Hell, every time she walked by him, she’d be on edge – but he’d only spare her a curt nod and go about his day.

“Ugh, I don’t get why she’d lie but,” Vivian sighed roughly, irritated by the situation and she looked at her friend, “I’d thank her if I were you.”

Cindy scoffed, stopping in her place, “As if.”

“You’re unbelievably dense, it’s insane.” Vivian rolled her eyes as she rounded her car to the driver’s seat, “Whatever, let’s go. I need a drink.”

She opened the door and set her foot inside just as Cindy went to the passenger seat but a voice called out her name.

Instant butterflies fluttered in her stomach and her cheeks reddened when she turned to look at Piers. She had watched enough romcoms that usually this would be the part where a heartfelt confession is made with the sunset giving everything the soft golden glow. 

The way Piers stood with that dry look on his face though; she knew it was about his girlfriend.

He asked, “Do you have a minute?”

Cindy faced Vivian, nodding at her, “I’ll meet you at the bar.”

“Okay…” Vivian gave her a knowing but unsure look then barely waved at the male soldier, “Bye, Piers.”

Piers only nodded and the car roared to life before driving off. Cindy turned to him as if timid. They barely had any one-on-one talks, more focused on their job than chitchatting. She’d gaze at him from afar, knowing to keep her distance as he was persistent in his training to be the greatest soldier. 

Yet, it didn’t seem to have been the same case when she joined the BSAA, all shy and anxious. Chris had given So Ah an encouraging pat on the back with an equally encouraging smile, lightly shoving her towards Piers who stood there with folded arms. 

His eyes, at first, were harsh but they have grown gentler by the second they spend time together. He was her trainer as Chris had trusted Piers quite enough. With the Hans still on thin ice, So Ah was expected to be around people she was sure wouldn’t hurt her.

But why her?

Cindy kept her distance because she thought Piers was doing the same – but the guy wouldn’t even spare her a second look whenever they’d cross by each other in the hallways. 

“What do you want to talk about?” She asked, initiating the conversation to try and cut the suffocating silence. 

“That stunt you pulled back there.” He merely said, his hazel eyes focused on hers when she didn’t say anything, “You’re really lucky she doesn’t want Chris or your captain to know about it.”

“Yet she told you,” Cindy retorted, “Captain Redfield’s second in command.”

“She didn’t say anything. I can tell when she’s lying.” Pier scoffed, crossing his arms, “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t report you.”

Cindy bit her bottom lip, brows twitching and her heart wrenched into itself, “What do you see in her?”

It was his turn to be surprised. 

“Huh?”

“What do you see in her?” She only repeated.

His brows furrowed deeply, confused, “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Everything.” Cindy answered, gesturing around her vaguely, “I read the papers you’ve written about the H-Outbreak. I know about all the soldiers we have lost because of her.”

She breathed in, narrowing her eyes at him, “Even till the end of that night, you too almost died saving her. What the hell is she good for when all she does is run?”

Piers stepped close with his voice dropping an octave, unfolding his arms, “Watch it, you don’t get to talk like that about her–” 

“Then who can?!” Cindy shot back, “It’s like she’d got the entirety of the BSAA in a trance or something because any normal person would see who she really is!”

She groaned, rubbing her face, mumbling, “I expected way more from the legendary Chris Redfield and Piers Nivans,” She snapped her eyes to him, moving close, “You and I know how much of a waste she is. We both rank high in our teams, so what is it about her? Pity?”

Piers stared at her darkly, approaching her, “So that’s what it is? Jealousy?”

“What?” She reeled back, defending herself, “I’m not jealous of her. Why would I be–”

“That’s bullshit.” He scoffed, “I’ve seen how you act whenever I’m around, I’m not stupid. My whole shtick is subtlety.” 

“What’s more stupid is the fact you think I’d ever be with you with how you are with your teammates.” He basically scolded, “We at the BSAA treat everyone like one big family, not our personal punching bags.”

Her face had gone redder at the fact he knew about her feelings towards him. Utterly aghast, Cindy was speechless and flustered, still processing his words. He rejected her before she could even think about confessing.

Piers straightened up, exhaling through his nose with a slitted look, “So I’d suggest you apologize to her.”

“Funny, because my friend said I should thank her for…” Cindy spoke quietly, trailing her stinging eyes down, “For not telling Chris about what I did.”

Piers huffed, rudely retorting, “Glad to see someone in your team has some common sense.”

“And If I don’t?”

He tilted his head to the side, brows knitting in the middle, “Excuse me?”

“What are you going to do? Snitch on me?” Cindy stood her ground, glaring back at him through a sheer wall of tears, “That… Han bitch deserved it and you know damn well it’s so unfair that she gets to be a part of your team. She had that freaky viral outbreak from her own facility that made everything so much easier for her! Killing millions just to be accepted into the BSAA's top team?!”

Heaving in air shakily, she ended with resentment heavy in her tone, “If I could go back in time to that moment, I’d do it all over again.”

Any hint of peace in his honey eyes disappeared, sharpening down to a piercing glare at that last bit. He snapped at this, towering over her with an intimidating concealed anger in his eyes. She didn’t step back but her whole body froze at the close proximity. 

“You better watch your mouth,” He snapped lowly, “So Ah is the kindest person you can ever meet and you could always count on her when in a rut. Despite you having a stick up your ass all the damn time, she still thinks you don’t deserve any punishment.”

Piers then sneered, “What does that sound to you?”

Cindy stared up at him, lips parting; no way was he…

“Sounds to me like you love her…” She replied, picking up on the way he froze at her words, “Which makes you biased.”

Piers shook his head incredulously, moving away from her, “Believe whatever you want, Lloyd. Worry about getting your shit together because you won’t be so lucky next time.”

Something was swirling in his eyes endlessly. Was he in denial?

“What is that supposed to mean?!” She asked aloud as he was leaving her.

Piers stopped to partially look at her over his shoulder, glaring at her as his voice was dangerously calm, “It means if you lay a finger on her again, you can kiss your position goodbye.”

✠✠

Intersect at O, Washington DC.

A foot reached out from beneath the water and shut the tap water to stop the tub from overflowing. So Ah tilted her head back onto the folded towel with a heavy sigh, closing her eyes in the process.

A nice hot bath after a harsh training day at work was always heavenly. It eased all of her nerves, making her feel like jello. The scent of vanilla and Shea butter filled the bathroom, causing her to relax even more with a hum. 

Letting her mind wander, So Ah couldn't help but think about her sparring session with Cindy. The hatred in her eyes reminded her so much of the ones at the pharmacy where a grieving man had a gun on her. Except for the ones of the man was agony – Cindy had pure resentment.

She didn't know why the first thing she did was lie. Even Cecile told her that she should've told Chris or any captain but So Ah couldn't. The girl was younger than her and around Piers' age. It didn't help that Cindy also seemed to like Piers a bit too much to be considered 'just co-workers'. 

Cindy most likely thought her joining the BSAA on the whim was unfair – which So Ah would agree with. She doesn't get hefty missions as she has press conferences to attend. All she'd do was train and get her usual check-ups on the virus in her – and the tracker embedded into her spine. 

Yet, despite all of that, So Ah was a soldier at the BSAA for one thing and one thing only. 

To clear her family's name.

Fluttering her eyes slightly open, So Ah stared silently at the ceiling. 

Piers didn't show up when she waited outside for him. Seojun had arrived and she couldn't stay longer. She ended up texting him that she had to go home and all she got in return was; okay, stay safe.

Which was weird.

She called him when she got home like she usually did and he didn't pick up.

Which was weirder.

Ever since Cindy broke her wrist, Piers was intimidatingly silent. He'd press on, insisting that she tells Chris or even Magath when he returns from his mission. She fully believed Cindy was just not mature enough to really understand her case. 

And she fully deserved that injury. 

She had it easy her whole life, she didn't want anyone to be easy on her or treat her like a secret bodyguard for the Hans would jump them if they even looked at her wrong. 

Piers was understandably upset when she refused to report her. That was when he left the cafeteria. He couldn't stand watching her getting pushed around anymore; much even watching her taking everything.

So Ah sighed, blowing bubbles underwater with a pout. Maybe she could call him again and–

Ringing coming from her phone interrupted her train of thought and she never scrambled so quickly to dry her hands and reach for her phone. Her heart skipped a beat at the contact and answered the phone.

“Piers! Hi!” She winced at the excitement in her tone, hearing him chuckle lightly.

“Hey, baby, what’s up?” 

“Nothing much, just taking a bath. I might paint later. What about…” So Ah shifted to lay comfortably, eyes on the ceiling, “What about you?”

“Just out,” He said and she could make out the distant busy road on the other end, “Sorry I couldn’t see you after work today.”

“No, no, it’s okay.” She reassured him, recalling what Finn told her, “You were busy.”

It was quiet for a second before he spoke, his tone changing to that that brought her butterflies, “What are you doing tonight?”

She tilted her head to the side, “Uh… Nothing actually, why?”

“Okay, now you’ve got plans.” Piers asserted, “I’m coming over.”

“Oh!” So Ah straightened up in surprise, the water splashing over the tub at her movement, “Okay! What do you wanna do?”

“Doesn’t matter, we could sit and watch paint dry for all I care,” Piers shrugged with a snicker, “I just wanna see you.”

Holy GOD.

“O–okay…” So Ah whispered, clearly growing flustered at how blunt he was.

She could hear the smirk on his lips when he spoke, “I need around thirty minutes, is that good?”

“Mhm, it’s good.”

“Okay, see you later.”

“Bye…” So Ah lowered the phone, cheeks still blazing red and she muffled her giddy squeals into the rolled-up towel. She should get up and fix herself up before he'd arrive. Remembering what Cecile told her, So Ah bit the inside of her cheek.

Tonight might be the night if she plays her cards right – and doesn't purposefully try to lose instead to save herself the anxiety of him seeing her completely naked for the first time. 

She shook her head as she unplugged the bathtub and slowly stood up to finish showering. 

Ah, please let tonight go well.

✠✠

[jeongyunhoed]

As seen on my FF.net

Following the events of fifth year, a new adventure awaits for Norah Lee. Boys, exams, school events, common room parties, and old foes outside of Hogwarts. Even battling pensieve guardians was easier than this.

Main Pair: OC/? Genre: Adventure/Angst/Fluff (it's a little of everything, tbh)

KEEP IN MIND: Characters are aged up (even if the story's got them in sixth year) to make it more appropriate. Time period is leaning towards the modern day so in case you might find anachronisms in the dialogue or references, this is why. This may also be quite a lengthy fic too.

BE WARNED: Social anxiety, mentions of blood and injury, grief, drinking, kissing but nothing more than that, death (this is Hogwarts Legacy, after all)

P.P.S: Another terrible attempt at poetry ahead, and introducing Henry Abbott (if we were to link this to the canon, he may be a great great uncle/great great grandfather to Hannah Abbott hee hee). I might do more of these in the coming chapters. It's fun brainstorming another relative to the canon characters.

Masterlist

Chapter 7

It had been a while since Norah had a girls-only hangout with Natty and Poppy. The three of them opted to study together near the kneazle pens, at the spot where Highwing used to drop in. Norah gladly let the hippogriff out to hang around them while she had her time to fly in the open before returning to the vivarium again.

The more there is, the less you see The answer to this riddle is another step to find me Your wit, your banter Most are truly lucky to encounter Indeed like the wife of the famous sleuth The answer to this may reveal some truth Whisper it to a close friend, and remember, The answer also means foreseeing danger.

You will know if you are right, Wait for my note on another night.

Your Nick

"Merlin, this Nick must think I'm as smart as a Ravenclaw," Norah sighed as she read the note over and over again, making the two girls look up from writing their assignments.

Natty and Poppy giggled. "You say that yet you managed to do everything you did in fifth year," The Gryffindor pointed out. "You will figure it out."

"Darkness," Norah blurted out, still staring at the note. "The answer to the riddle is darkness."

The two girls broke out into fits of laughter. "What did I say? I told you!" Natty pointed out, almost looking victorious. "No wonder this Nick admires you. I say he's truly mad for you, and this is his only way of expressing it."

"I've been reading this since last night, so it's taken me a while to figure it out."

"That's so romantic," Poppy swooned. "Can you imagine it? Norah might end up getting a boyfriend from Ronen's assignment."

The thought seemed to make Norah stare at the note even longer, nearly spilling her ink bottle. She didn't even know how she felt about this person. "Easy now, Poppy, it's too soon, don't you think? Ronen just started this assignment," She said with a slight chuckle. "With everything we're doing, I'd rather fight Ranrok again."

Natty somewhat sensed how uncomfortable she had gotten, and patted her on the shoulder. "Poppy's just too enamored with the one who took her name, leaving her love notes and gifts. She was like that during Care of Magical Creatures earlier," She said. "I think she already knows who it is."

Poppy's smile only grew wider as she nodded. "Andrew! It's Andrew Larson!" She said, holding up the yellow card that had her name on it.

"How did you know it was Andrew?" Norah was curious.

"He told me he was going to take my name from the board," Poppy replied.

They stared at her. "Merlin, he must fancy you loads," Norah said. "He was the one who left you bonbons in Herbology, wasn't he?"

Poppy nodded excitedly. They knew of her crush on the Ravenclaw boy since they started hanging out more often. She couldn't admit this to Amit, out of fear that he might tell Andrew, but surprisingly, it seemed like Andrew felt the same way. Norah guessed that if they had gotten around to brewing amortentia, Poppy could only smell things that would remind her of him.

"Who do you think took your name?" Norah rounded on the Gryffindor this time.

It was when a smile crept up on her face, shyness somehow coming over her. "I have a feeling it's that Ravenclaw boy, Henry Abbott," She said, showing her the red and gold card with her name on it.

"Whoa, it seems like two of my friends are fancying Ravenclaw boys," Norah chuckled. "It must be their wit and charm. If Amit didn't become my good friend, I think I would've fancied him too."

Natty shook her head profusely, but Norah could tell that a blush was spreading across her cheeks. "No, no! I don't fancy him! Not at all!" She tried to deny, but the Slytherin girl only gave her a look. "Well, he is rather handsome. He tried his hand at Crossed Wands the other day, and he made it to the second round."

Norah looked impressed. "He must have been fancying you since we took down Harlow in fifth-year," She said. "That's always a story you can brag about. And breaking into that Ashwinder camp."

The blush on Natty's cheeks only seemed to be more evident. "I wonder what my mother would think, me possibly getting a date to the Yule Ball, or possibly a boyfriend. Ronen's assignment ends the day before the house party too. I hope he comes."

"I hope so too. I don't think I've got any classes with Abbott this year," Norah tried to recall, shaking her head when she couldn't. She smiled, amused at how her two friends were gaining romantic attention. She was absolutely happy for them. Poppy with Andrew, Natty with Henry, Amit and Samantha maybe, but what about Sebastian and Ominis? She didn't really get to ask them about their efforts. But did she really want to know? There was a nagging thought at the back of her head that maybe she didn't, but she wanted them to be happy after what they went through in fifth year.

Highwing landed while Poppy and Norah gave her some of the cauldron cakes the Hufflepuff girl took from the kitchens. The white hippogriff happily devoured the cakes while Norah brushed her feathers, the winged beast enjoying the care and attention given to her.

The familiar sinking feeling was coming back again, something Norah felt in waves. There were a lot of things she needed to do, and what she told Professor Weasley still held true. The power she ended up taking in from the repository was filled with the pain and sadness, from everyone Isidora took from. She felt like she was teetering on the edge of being sad and being angry. The grief she felt seemed to only add onto this feeling that grew stronger. It was getting difficult to focus whenever it came.

But with everything that needed to be done for their classes, Norah knew she needed to hold it out a bit longer. She needed to be strong.

They heard a slight commotion coming from the Flying Class lawn. The all-too-familiar setup of Summoner's Court had appeared, making several students who were nearby excited. "Norah! Norah!" Samantha Dale was waving at her to come over.

"Back in the nabsack, Highwing, I'll let you back in the vivarium later," Norah quickly opened the bag, in which the hippogriff happily returned. She sighed, turning to Natty and Poppy. "I wonder who's up for playing this year."

"Ooh! Might we see Nick amongst the crowd?" Poppy grinned as they cleared out their things to approach the platform.

Norah and Natty side-eyed her, shaking their heads in amusement. But the closer they got, the more they, Natty in particular, realized who was up to try their hand at Summoner's Court this year. Henry stepped up, looking as determined as ever next to Leander, who challenged him. "Non-verbal Summoner's Court, the ever-changing game," the redhead declared, to cheers from some of the crowd.

Norah and Poppy started to giggle when they saw Natty get flustered, trying to hide behind them. It was easy to see why Natty, and possibly everyone else, might have fancied Henry.

He was as tall as Leander and had an intelligent looking face. Henry also happened to come from a family of purebloods, which mattered to those who were particular about it. His green eyes shone like emeralds and couldn't even be obscured by the wire-framed glasses he wore and his blonde hair that was tousled in a way that he meant to do so. In short, Henry was seen as one of the most handsome boys in Hogwarts.

"Oh, Henry Abbott finally trying his hand at non-verbal Summoner's Court," Samantha was grinning next to them. "If he gets past Leander, he's got me next, and then Grace, and then Charlotte, and then Professor Ronen," She tilted her head toward Norah. "And then you."

Norah sighed. "Me too? Really?"

"Yes, as the reigning Summoner's Court champion, you're the final opponent Henry faces if he gets past the rest of us and Ronen," Samantha looked proud.

"Then I look forward to being defeated," Norah looked impressed at Henry's turns, as well as Leander's efforts to knock the other balls out non-verbally. "What?" She laughed when Natty nudged her.

"You shouldn't go easy on Henry, just because I like him," The Gryffindor mumbled. "Let him win on his own."

Norah laughed. "Alright, alright, I won't go easy on your summoner," She teased.

Just after she said it, Henry had beaten Leander, whose face was ruddy from experiencing quite a loss in front of a crowd of people. The Ravenclaw managed to spot Natty in the crowd and smiled with a knowing look. "Well then, looks like Abbott's got me to face next," Samantha grinned. "Don't worry Natty, we promise not to go easy on Abbott," She said, making the Gryffindor girl even more flustered.

"Chin up, Leander!" Norah made sure to encourage the redhead, who seemed to be sulking even as Henry shook his hand, showing some sportsmanship. "Congratulations Henry!"

Both boys seemed to wave at her direction before walking off in separate directions. Samantha shot Natty another mischievous look before running off to catch up with her fellow Ravenclaw. "I believe he was inspired by Miss Onai over here to win," Poppy smiled.

"Bloody hell, best believe, I will be there when Nick makes himself known to you, Norah," Natty warned.

-

When free period hit, Norah thought to make another return to the map chamber, wanting to see if what she was thinking would work. Taking the enchanted wand she had made with the pensieve artifacts, she was about to head down to the bell tower when she saw Ominis also on his way, followed by Sebastian.

"Norah?" The blonde suddenly asked. "I heard Henry Abbott's having a go at becoming the new Summoner's Court champion."

Without thinking, she grabbed both of them by their sleeves, taking them by surprise as they followed her out of the common room. There was no better way to let them know what she planned to do than by pulling them along with her. "North tower dungeon, you-know-where," She muttered.

"Alright, alright, I think we got what you mean," Sebastian pulled his arm back, curiously following her, as did Ominis.

"Are we going back there again?" Ominis questioned.

"Yes, there's something I need to try before I can proceed," She said quietly, low enough for them to hear, but not audible enough for anyone else to catch them. "I need you two to be there just in case."

"Just in case of what?" Sebastian was getting concerned, as was Ominis, whose often calm expression changed into that of worry.

"In case I might not make it out? I don't know, but I thought you two, most of all, should know, right?" She said.

"If this is going to get you killed, surely there must be another way," Ominis surprisingly, reached out for her wrist as they went down the stairs leading to the dungeons where the so-called sleeping dragon was. "Norah, please tell me you're not going to get yourself killed."

"I don't think it'll be harmful, but it might take a lot out of me," Norah assured him, patting his hand as they went down the spiral staircase that finally led to the map chamber. She knew to pack a lot of wiggenweld potions in case it would once again be a repeat of fifth year.

It was as if it had only just happened. She was barely holding on when she mustered up the remaining strength she had and delivered the final blow to Ranrok, effectively killing him. With only a drop of wiggenweld potion left on her, she barely made it out of the caverns alive had it not for Professor Sharp and Professor Hecat, who found her and brought her to the hospital wing. Nurse Blainey tended to her wounds in the quiet hospital wing, under the watchful eyes of Sharp and Hecat. Professor Onai also checked on her while she recovered.

"We'll be standing by, ready," Sebastian was the one to assure her this time, when she opened the doors of the map chamber.

The three of them stood on the edge, away from the space that revealed the map of the country, including the four locations of the keeper trials. Norah took out the white wand from her bag and tried to concentrate.

The wand began to emit a light, and to Sebastian's and her amazement, the floor revealing the map further lowered to reveal another set of stairs and the door. "Bloody hell," the freckled brunette muttered, staring at what was in front of him.

"It worked," Norah said, still as amazed. "It's going to work after all," She felt relief. But it wasn't over just yet. "I have to send an owl to Professor Weasley about this."

"So this is what you went to Professor Weasley about, wasn't it?" Sebastian said.

"Yes," Norah admitted. She hated how she could find herself being vulnerable with them. "This power, the ancient magic from the repository down there. It's too much to bear for me. I feel everything, I feel the pain from all the people Isidora Morganach took from. It was wrong of me to use this, to try and build on it without really considering the consequences."

Ominis's expression turned from worry to sad. Sebastian's expression also fell. "I just hope it's not too late to rebuild it. One day, it will be reopened, to people willing to learn about it. I am the living keeper of this magic, and when the time comes that we can reopen it again, knowing what it can bring."

Sebastian tried to wrap his head around what she was saying. But it was also then that he realized how much pressure she was under. Even Ominis was beginning to understand why she felt what she was feeling. The way she had been trying to stay strong until she couldn't, not wanting to be seen as weak because Merlin forbid she disappoint anyone.

Her wand-bearing hand fell to her side as she looked down. "I can't keep this power. I can guard it, but I will not take it upon myself to use it for my own gain," She said quietly. "This is what Professor Fig, Miriam, George, Lodgok, and many others died for."

"Norah," Sebastian said as carefully as possible. "We can never know what it's like to be in your place. Ominis said it when we went to Keenbridge, and I think it bears repeating. Please don't throw yourself into something dangerous without knowing that there are people around you that will help you. You need only ask. You know I'll be there for you."

"We can't carry the burden you may have on your shoulders for you," Ominis chimed in. "But we can help you walk."

That was all she could say about how she was feeling. If she told them that she would never forgive herself if any one of them got seriously hurt. Just as how she couldn't seem to forgive herself for Professor Fig's death. Even Lodgok's death felt like it was her fault. All the more she knew she needed to make things right, even if it seemed to be too late.

When the floor moved back up, covering the door that led to the caverns, Sebastian stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her in a big hug. Ominis put a hand on her back, rubbing circles to sooth her. Sebastian tried to hold back the urge to kiss the side of her head, and instead hugged her a little tighter. He wanted her to know that he would always be there for her, and that he never wanted to see her unhappy or feel like everything was her responsibility.

The three of them quietly left the map chamber, the mood having become a little somber following Norah's explanation. This mood didn't last for very long, and Sebastian's expression changed into that from supportive into slightly annoyed when as they returned to the common room, Violet McDowell handed Norah another letter from Nick.

To Norah Lee,

Tear one off and scratch my head, What once was red is black instead. Answer this riddle to get to me, You've answered my riddles easily. I've always admired this about you, So be assured that my feelings are true. Whisper this to a close friend's ear, You'll never know, that your summoner's near.

You will know if you are right, Wait again tomorrow night.

Your Nick

"A match," Norah replied, pocketing the letter.

"A match? Did he give you another riddle?" Ominis asked.

"Yes he did," Norah said. Turning to Sebastian, she explained what she had been receiving. "But it seems like he's trying to give himself away now that we're getting closer to the end of Ronen's assignment."

"Well, I'm set to meet mine at the party. She said she wouldn't be making herself known on the end of the assignment yet," Sebastian frowned.

"What about you, Ominis?" Norah turned to the blonde.

Ominis shook his head, as if on reflex. "I'm not telling either of you. You'll have to know when I figure out who she may be," He said. "I believe I best be going back to my bed and finish my Transfiguration essay."

He quickly went in the direction of the boys' dormitory, leaving Sebastian and Norah in the common room. "He must be writing to Anne again, isn't he?" Norah smiled

"Perhaps. But I genuinely think he's still got to finish it. We were working on it in the library," Sebastian shrugged. "How are you feeling now?" He asked.

"Better than earlier, thank you," She nodded. Norah went over to the chairs nearest to the windows looking underwater, where Ominis would tease the first-years about mermaids. To their amusement, there were still some first-years on the lookout for mermaids. They soon tried to disperse them gathering, telling them that they wouldn't see some, at least in the part of the lake where their common room was.

"Nerida Roberts can tell you all about the mermaids if you're curious," Norah told them, and they walked away, talking amongst themselves about what she told them. "She'll be the future liason for the mermaids in the ministry soon."

The way Norah managed to get them to disperse and keep their interest was amazing to Sebastian. He had always liked that about her, how she was able to get through to anyone. With what she revealed earlier, Sebastian hoped he could return the favor, and he was determined to be there for her no matter what.

[zabala0z]

Oh lovely Zabala, about the OCs, is there any drama brewing between them and how long did it take the others to figure out Carter could see weird stuff?

Most beautiful ask I’ve ever gotten. I’m about to rant.

Drama is brewing. Endless amounts since they’re sophomores in a small town. Mini introduction with them:

Carter Rosales. He sees ghosts, demons, supernatural creatures that wanna tear his soul apart and he’s unfortunately used to it as a 15 year old boy. Generally sarcastic, nervous and quick to assume the worst. Town knows him as the crazy guy since he’d talk to himself (ghosts) and in elementary school, would rave on about the things he was seeing that teachers and counselors would get concerned, calling his parents.

So obviously in a small town, everyone kinda stayed clear of him. He has beef with like half the people in the drawing for example-

Gabrielle Thompson. Popular because everyone knows her since she’s the schools top journalist but unpopular because her label is “the nosiest girl in school”. Secretly, she just really wants a friend since the people she surrounds herself with don’t really like her because she’s “desperate”. She also has ADHD because I said so. In freshman year, she talked with Carter and they actually had a good time. He told her about his troubles as the schools freak. In her dense 14 year old brain, she wanted to try and fix his reputation by writing in the schools paper and trying to defend him. Made things worse and now he just avoids her. She still tries.

Then there’s this bitch (sorry bro)

Jack Miller! Does three sports, popular and is generally a rude guy. Mostly because he’s not very socially adept but still. He hangs around kids that make fun of Carter and while he doesn’t partake in it, he’s still pretty condescending to him because he thinks he’s weird. He says that to his face. Multiple times Later, they get to be friends but for now, they both hate each other.

He’s actually super awkward behind the golden exterior. Most likely has ADD. He also hates Rowan who we’ll get to in a moment.

The rest are more neutral with Carter

Lian Xiāo. Kid who’s just trying to find themself by picking up thousands of hobbies they’ll abandon in a week. Tries to stay out of drama. Carter is the warmest to them the most because they had a group project together in middle school and Lian was the nicest to him. They both have orchestra together as well so Lian is the closest thing to an ally Carter has in the beginning of the story. They also are apart of the journaling club like Gabrielle but takes the photos.

Last one! Rowan Demski! A new kid which is a shock in this town and was the talk of the school the whole freshman year. Now she’s just chillin. Rather temperamental, especially to Jack. They both hate each other violently. How did it happen? Who knows. They forgot but they can’t stop now. She doesn’t talk to Carter much but they were in the same home ec class in freshman year and since she loves cooking, she helped him hold a knife. Also super tall. Girlie is 6 ft.

As for the “how long did it take the others to find out he can see weird stuff?” question, kinda depends. In my brain, it takes until sophomore year that they take him seriously due to a fun lil incident called a near death experience ❤️❤️ everyone at school knew he “thought he saw creatures” but they didn’t believe him cause y’know. They’re the first people to actually take him seriously.

Trauma bonding is insane.

Anyways, hope this wasn’t too much of a rant! I love these characters and my brain is full of scenarios of them. Anytime we do creative writing in English, I always manage to write about Carter. So here’s my favorite line from an English assignment I did

[saiilorstars]

Even in the Distance

Pairings: Spencer Reid x OFC 

Summary: Aitana and Spencer are assigned separate cases, leaving no time to see each other despite living together. After what seems like eons, they get to talk over the phone while they're miles apart. Even their littlest companion gets to join in on the video call. 

A/N: After watching CM: Evolution, I started to think about how Aitana and Spencer would be by season 16 so here we are. There’s no spoilers of the new season though!

[Aitana’s Masterlist]

Taglist: @ocappreciationtag​​ @arrthurpendragon​​​​​ @anotherunreadblog​​​​ @maaaaarveeeeel​​​​ @stareyedplanet​​​​​​​​ @averyhotchner​​ @foxesandmagic​​​​​​​​​​​​​

[If you’d like to be part of this OC’s taglist, let me know!

It was impossible for Aitana not to drag her feet coming home. She unlocked her door and stepped inside, immediately dropping her go-bag on the floor. All she did was kick it to the side, lock the door behind her and then walk forwards. She was beyond exhausted and she just wanted to see her—

"Mommy!" A little four year old girl came running into the foyer, throwing her arms around Aitana's legs.

"He-ey!" Aitana stumbled back with the sudden hug. For a four year old, her daughter had quite the strength. But that was Audrey — she was full of surprises.

"You're back!" Audrey exclaimed, squeezing her mother's legs tighter.

Aitana gave a tired laugh but a laugh nonetheless. How could she refuse such a hug? She detached Audrey's little fingers from her legs then picked the girl up into her arms. "Mi corazoncito!" She left a few exaggerated kisses over Audrey's head. "Aren't you supposed to be at grandma's and grandpa's right now?"

At that moment, Aitana's mother, Paulina, walked in from the living room. "Hola mija," she greeted Aitana with a kind smile. "We weren't expecting you today."

"I know, I managed to finish the case earlier," Aitana said, settling Audrey on her hip. "And you guys? Thought you were going to be en la panaderia?"

Paulina nodded. "The bakery was a little emptier than we thought so I figured your father could take care of it and I could bring Audrey by for some clothes to sleep over but I guess we won't need to do that anymore, huh?" She looked at her granddaughter who hadn't stopped grinning yet.

"Mommy's home now!" Audrey said happily, bringing her arms around Aitana's neck for another hug. "I want to stay with her now."

"Yes…" Aitana said, unable to stop smiling and unfortunately expressing how tired she was at the same time.

Paulina saw it as well. "Long case?"

"They're all long, mamá," Aitana said with a sigh, "Especially when you're doing them on your own now." Ever since the BAU was forced to split their agents to do individual cases, the Aitana felt like it took more out of her. She had it in good authority that the rest of the team felt the same.

"If you want, I can still take Audrey home with me," Paulina had barely begun to offer the idea when Audrey rejected it.

"No! I want to stay with Mommy!" Audrey looked at her mother then. "Is Daddy coming home today too?"

Aitana let out a small sigh at the question. "I'm sorry, baby. Daddy's still got his own case to do."

"Still?" Audrey pouted. "He's away forever."

Aitana chuckled. "It does feel like it's been forever, huh?" Audrey nodded disappointedly. Aitana kissed the top of her daughter's head. "I know, maybe we can call him tonight or tomorrow to see how he's doing."

The idea was enough for Audrey. Unfortunately, the conversation had brought Aitana's mood down a bit.

"Is Spencer still going to be away, then?" Paulina asked

Audrey squirmed to be put down on her feet so Aitana gently lowered her down. The four year old scurried into the living room.

"Yeah," Aitana answered her mother, "He and Matt were assigned some classified joint case that nobody can know about." Aitana laughed sourly. "Not even me."

"But that was weeks ago," Paulina said, "How long do these cases last?"

"There's no concrete number," Aitana shrugged lightly. "Just however long it needs to."

"Meanwhile you get to handle the rest, huh?" Paulina smiled sadly at her daughter.

"I can do it, I'm fine, I just…" Aitana produced what could only be described as a miserable smile, "I just really miss him. And so does Audrey."

Paulina agreed. "Do you want me to stick around and help you get settled in?"

Aitana shook her head, thanking her mother for the offer. "I've been away for days. My daughter's been away from both her parents for more than she should've."

"Okay, but you call me if you need anything, alright?" Paulina gave her daughter a nice tight hug.

"I will," Aitana promised. "Thanks."

The two went into the living room shortly after Paulina filled Aitana in on what happened with Audrey while she was gone. Then, Paulina said goodbye to Audrey. When she left, Aitana dropped on the couch for a bit of rest…until Audrey started bouncing on the cushion next to her excitedly wondering what they were going to do that afternoon.

Aitana drew in a breath and within the next minute, she snatched Audrey mid-jump and collected her into her arms. Audrey was a mess of giggles, crying to be let free from her mother's pepper-kisses. After that, Aitana succumbed to practically all of her daughter's wishes.

By night time, Aitana had no idea how she managed not to drop dead. Her feet dragged into her bedroom, barely taking her to the foot of the bed where she could let her body drop. She only got a few minutes from Audrey under the guise that she wanted to change into pajamas before tucking Audrey in for bed.

Audrey was smart enough to tell time which was impressive given her age but a challenge for a mother who just wanted to bargain for a little rest. She absolutely blamed Spencer for that one. A genius prodigy would of course inherit that to their child.

And speaking of, Aitana heard her phone vibrating as she was taking her shoes off. As soon as she saw the I.D. on her screen, she threw her shoe and grabbed her phone before the video call went to voice-mail.

"Hi!" She exclaimed with excited wide eyes, unknowingly the same way that Audrey had greeted her earlier. She passed on a couple things without realizing it. "Hi stranger…" She greeted again, feeling her face flush with how stupidly excited she must have sounded the first time.

Even if she had sounded like that, Spencer didn't notice a thing. "Hey stranger," he returned the greeting with his own smile. "I didn't wake you, did I? I-I wasn't sure if you were home or doing a case, uh…" It was strange not knowing of each other's locations for so long and yet for them it had become a usual thing.

"I got home earlier," Aitana told him, scooting back on the bed until she could lean against the headboard.

"Oh, you did?" Spencer said, briefly surprised until a smile took his face again. "I bet Audrey loved that."

"She did," Aitana nodded, chuckling, "We, um, had a whole afternoon together after not seeing her for days."

"That sounds so nice, you don't even…" Spencer said, his smile becoming strained. It had been weeks since he got to see his daughter in person, got to hold and kiss her.

Aitana felt for him because she knew exactly what he meant. "She misses you. We miss you."

"Me too," Spencer told her, nodding. "It's kind of lonely over here…"

"What, you and Matt aren't keeping each other company?" Aitana's question had them both chuckling. "Thought you guys would be besties by now."

"Um, yeah, we're good, but we both agree that we would much rather be at home with our wives and kids." Spencer couldn't look more miserable in that moment. "Aitana, I really miss you. I need you."

Aitana felt an ache in her heart hearing him say that. "Me too," she whispered. "A lot. I've been—"

"Mommy! Mommy!" Audrey's voice carried into the room seconds before she came running in. "I'm changed now! And so is Lana!" She was indeed changed into her pajamas and the teddy bear in her arms was also sporting a pajama set. "Who are you talking to?" She made a face. "You said you were changing too."

Aitana chuckled. "Why don't you come over and find out?"

Audrey made a little face with her brows knitting together like someone else Aitana knew. She dashed over to the bed, easily jumping on. She crawled up beside her mother to where she could finally see Spencer on the phone screen. She gasped so deeply, so shocked, that Aitana burst into laughter.

"It's Daddy! It's my Daddy!" Audrey snatched the phone right out of her mother's hand and brought it to her face. "Hi Daddy! It's me! It's Audrey!"

Spencer laughed hard, feeling like he was getting a dose of medicine he didn't even know he needed. He heard Aitana trying to get the phone back from Audrey and when she couldn't get the girl to give it up, she settled to at least bring the phone away from Audrey's face.

"There we go," Spencer said with a lingering chuckle. He could now see Audrey's perfect little face looking back at him. "Hi Audrey…"

"Hi Daddy," Audrey wiggled her fingers at him. "Are you coming back now?"

That forced the smile on Spencer's face to strain. "I'm sorry, not tonight. I'm going to be away for a bit longer."

Audrey pouted. "More?"

"Yeah…"

"I miss you, Daddy," Audrey said, her pout deepening even more. Spencer hated being the cause of it.

"I really miss you too," he promised her. "I'll try to call more, okay?"

"Okay…" Audrey nodded lightly.

Aitana finally managed to take the phone into her hand and position it so that they could both see Spencer and vice versa. "Audrey and I made something for you today."

"Oh, really?" Spencer said, beginning to smile more when he saw Audrey's face light up.

"It's a fish model! I made it look like Mercury in our fish tank!" Audrey explained then leaned forward, dropping her voice to a "whisper" that wasn't quite a whisper. "But Mommy got confused building it. I had to read the instructions to her again."

"Anyway," Aitana said sharply, pulling Audrey back beside her, ignoring the way the girl laughed at her. She did, however, notice the way that Spencer laughed. "Keep laughing and you'll find the locks changed when you get home. Local genius left outside of his own home."

"Ha, ha," Spencer rolled his eyes.

"The box said ages eight and up and your daughter is doing it better than I am!" Aitana let out an exasperated sigh.

It was really hard for Spencer not to laugh. He could picture it in his head. It was no secret, nor a surprise, that Audrey was very advanced academically which often meant he would work with her on things that most four year olds wouldn't comprehend. Aitana loved it, but she loved it even more when all she had to do was just watch.

"I can't wait to show it to you, Daddy," Audrey spoke up, still wearing a very proud grin on her face.

"I can't wait to see it," Spencer assured her, "I bet it looks great, but hey…" He leaned closer to the screen, whispering his next words, "You should still thank your Mommy because she's doing everything she can to help you."

Audrey nodded obediently then looked at her mother. "Thank you, Mommy!" She leaned up on her knees and kissed Aitana's cheek.

"Oh, thank you mi corazoncito," Aitana said, kissing Audrey's head and hugging her. Audrey hugged her mother back on the spot.

Spencer wished he could be a part of that hug. He never knew he could miss someone so much that it actually physically hurt him. He'd never read any facts backing that feeling up but he just knew that it was true.

"Okay, Audrey, why don't you say goodnight to Daddy now?" Aitana said, pushing back one of Audrey's curls from her face. "You have school tomorrow."

"Aw, but you said you would brush my hair first!"

"I will, I will, but you gotta wait for me in your room, okay?"

Audrey reluctantly agreed then turned to the phone. "Goodnight, Daddy."

"Goodnight, Audrey," Spencer waved a hand at her.

Audrey grabbed the phone from Aitana and brought it close to her. Both Aitana and Spencer chuckled when Audrey kissed the phone screen.

"Thank you for the goodnight kiss," Spencer said, patting his forehead where Audrey's kiss supposedly went. "Be a good girl for Mommy, okay?"

Audrey nodded. "Okay!" She grabbed her teddy bear beside her and hopped off the bed. "Mommy, you're going to brush my hair, right?"

"Yes, I promise I'll be in your room in a bit," Aitana said. Satisfied with the deal, Audrey skipped out of the room. Aitana chuckled. "She's got your unruly curls, you know."

Spencer laughed as well. "Yeah, I've noticed."

"Got everything from you, actually."

"Mm, I wouldn't say everything" Spencer said, shaking his head.

"Oh, c'mon. She's a carbon copy of you minus the freckles on her face. That's about the only thing I can claim that's mine."

"She's got my curls, yeah, and the whole prodigy thing but she's also got your laugh, quirkiness and the ability to make everyone love her. That's all yours. I would know — that's what I love about you."

A soft smile spread across Aitana's face. She felt the warmth in her chest spread quickly up to her face. Oh, how she missed that, missed this and —

"I miss you so much," she whispered. Her fingers gently grazed the screen of her phone, wishing desperately she could actually touch Spencer's face.

Unbeknownst to her, Spencer wished for the same thing. He was not a hugger, nor did he like to receive anything of the sort but everything was different when it came to Aitana — and Audrey of course. He found himself wishing for things that he used to genuinely fear.

"I want to hug you so badly," he admitted in the same whisper. "Hold you."

"It's actually safer to kiss, you know," Aitana said, giggling.

Spencer playfully rolled his eyes at her. "Well, I wouldn't mind doing that too."

"Mommy!" Audrey's voice called from the hallway.

"You've been summoned," Spencer said, chuckling, "I'll let you go. Audrey should go to bed."

"Yeah, I know," Aitana said with a sigh, "Call me again soon, okay?"

"I will," Spencer nodded.

"Even if it's 2 a.m and you've got a free moment — call me, okay?" Aitana wouldn't take no for an answer. "I need to know that you're okay and…I just need to talk to you."

"Me too," Spencer admitted, "A lot. I love you, Aitana."

"I love you," Aitana said, pressing a kiss to her fingers and bringing it to the screen. "Come home soon."

Spencer could only promise to try. He wanted nothing more than to go home and be with his family. He could just picture the kind of welcome he would get from Audrey — an exciting babbling four year old sounded just perfect to him. It was true what he said: Audrey inherited a lot more of Aitana than the latter realized. And Spencer couldn't be any more happy about it. He missed them so much, he would work twice as hard to finish his case already to get home.

[nirikeehan]

“Halla fur caught on tree bark” for whoever you like?

I. Look I'm sorry.

For @dadrunkwriting

Characters: Samson & Mareth (OC, his seneschal in nightmare!AU)

WC: 701

CW: Samson is a creepy sad sack

---

Caught in the dead tree trunk was a soft white tuft, fluttering in the cold breeze. Samson reached out and plucked it with his gauntleted fingers. He couldn’t feel it, but it looked downy and delicate. 

“Halla fur, that is, ser,” chirped his Dalish seneschal from behind him. 

Samson let out a long-suffering sigh. “Did I not say I wished to be alone, Mareth?” 

“Er, so you did, but Lieutenant Rylen said you’d been gone so long that I should look for you. The column is near ready to march again, milord.” The redheaded elf peered over Samson’s shoulder. “I was sure the halla’d all have died out, what with the…” He gestured vaguely up toward the churning green-grey sky.

 “Are you saying there might be one alive round here?” Samson demanded. 

Mareth shifted his weight from one foot to the other, scratching behind a long ear. “Possibly. On their own they sometimes travel in herds, but… I wasn’t sure there’d be any this far east. We’re a long way from the Dales.” 

Samson was only partially listening. He brought the tuft of fur to his cheek. The sensation was intense — the fur was cool and warm at once, one of the softest things he’d ever encountered. These many months encased in heavy, burning armor, and the many years before that, sleeping on the hard cobblestones or the humble templar’s bed, it didn’t matter which. Comfort was only a vague concept to him. 

He remembered his dream; the girl’s silky skin had been near as soft as this. And there’d been a halla there too: a giant stuffed specimen, for the express purpose of fucking on its back. He quaked a little, aroused. Samson knew little of halla, aside from the brief glimpses he’d caught while on assignment for Corypheus in the Emerald Graves, but the thought of Thalia’s legs snaked around his waist, the two of them pressed against the velvety fur of the majestic creature, her breathy moans in his ear—

“How easy are halla to hunt?” Samson asked, cutting off his own reverie. 

“Hunt?” Mareth stared at him, aghast. “Halla are not creatures to be hunted; to the Dalish, they are the most revered animals of—”

“I don’t care what they are to the Dalish,” Samson sneered. “I care about whether we’ve time to kill one.”

His seneschal looked ready to either faint or be sick, perhaps both. “I am begging you, that would be a most cruel thing to do. If the halla are not already extinct, you would put them one step closer to their grave? Merely harming a halla would be desecrating our most sacred beliefs!” 

Samson loomed over his subordinate. “Does it look like that matters to me? Do you forget, Mareth, you’ve a new god now, our good lord Corypheus?” 

Trembling, Mareth shook his head. He stood to his full height, which was still a good head and shoulders shorter than his boss. “O-of course not. Milord.” 

“Good. You’d best keep that in mind going forward.” 

He opened his mailed list and let the tuft of fur waft into the air. Mareth dared not reach out and snatch it, and soon it was lost among the rest of the rotting forest. 

“Speak to my men. Surely there’ll be a platoon to spare for a side mission. Have them report to me at once.” 

Mareth let out a resigned sigh. “Yes, ser.” 

Samson stalked past the elf, headed to the Red Templar war camp. They were to march, of course, but if one unit could track down a halla for when they reached Thalia’s hiding place, so much the better. Was he fool enough to think she might be excited by the idea? Considering how boring things were bound to be between her and Cullen, maybe. Perhaps he’d have to talk her into it. That alone had its appeal; the women normally at his disposal submitted themselves to his whims with nary a peep, and it was only recently he didn’t have to pay them for the favor. 

No, it would be nice to have an equal at last, even if she might prove skeptical now and again. Samson allowed himself a secret smile.

[mccarthawrites]

Drops of Jupiter - Chapter 6

Relationship: Howard Stark & OC!Clarabeth Davis

Rating: General Audiences

Summary: Howard takes Clarabeth out to lunch on her first day as a nurse. They discuss finding and office to start their business.

Author’s Note: It’s been so long since I updated. Also friendly reminder that Jenna Coleman is the face claim for Clarabeth

Words: 1,004

Howard had promised that on Clarabeth’s first day at the hospital, he’d treat her out to lunch. He walked into the hospital, up to the front desk.

“Hello. How can I ask you?” A redheaded nurse asked.

“Hi. Do you know where I can find Clarabeth Davis? She’s a nurse.” Howard asked.

“Do you know what floor she’s on?” The nurse asked.

“No idea.” He admitted. “It’s her first day.”

“Oh. She’s one of the new girls. Check with Molly on floor three. She’s in charge of training the new girls. She’ll know where she is.”

“Thank you.” Howard flashed her a smile before walking to the elevators. He waited, silently watching the hustle and bustle of the hospital. The elevator gate opened and Clarabeth stepped out. “Hey.” He smiled.

“Howard, hi. I thought you were going to wait outside for me.”

“Really? I thought I’d meet you inside.” He replied. Looking her over, he couldn’t fight the smile. “Never thought I’d actually see the day you wear the nurse’s uniform.” He teased.

“Don’t be a disgusting.” She rolled her eyes.

“How’s your first day going?” He offered her his arm.

“It’s been quite the morning to say the least. They’re assigning me to the maternity ward. I’ll be helping bring new life into the world.”

“You don’t sound so thrilled about that.”

“I am. I just- that’s not exactly what I pictured when I decided to become a nurse.” She admitted.

“Well, when Stark Industries becomes a reality you won’t have to work at the hospital anymore.”

“I don’t know if I want to quit this job so soon. Just until we get the company on it’s feet.”

“Means if it all goes under you’ll still have a job to fall back on.”

“Are you planning on quitting the railway?” She asked.

“Haven’t decided yet. But we can do this, right? We will do this.”

“Yes. If there is anyone I believe in, it’s you, Howard.” Her admission made him smile. “Don’t make me regret saying that out loud. Don’t let it get to your head. You’re still an idiot sometimes.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Gotta keep you humble some way.” She laughed.

Howard and Clarabeth sat next to the window of a small deli a few blocks from the hospital.

“You know, you never told me how your date went with that son of a senator.” He told her. She sighed. “That bad?”

“Oh gosh. It was- it wasn’t a complete disaster. Just- he was exactly like all the others my mother introduces me to.”

“But I thought you said he was different.”

“Becuase I thought he was, but- we just didn’t agree on an important matter.”

“Which is-”

“Do you think a woman has to quit her career after she gets married?” She asked.

“Depends on the career.” He shrugged.

“If I got married tomorrow, should I quit my job as a nurse?”

“No.”

“If your company was up and running should I quit that?”

“No, but I don’t see you being a stay-at-home wife or mother. So- it’s different with you. Most women- that’s all they want.”

“Most women? Is this how you’re telling me you’ve slept with most women in New York City?” She asked. Howard laughed. “I don’t think that is what most women want. That’s just been the status quo forever. No one’s thought to challenge it. If Elish Graves Otis didn’t challenge anything, we wouldn’t have elevators and I would have had to climb three stories in these pumps today.”

“Fair enough. I hear what you’re saying, Clara.”

“Jack wants a meek submissive housewife.”

“Which you are not.”

“So it’s not going to work out.”

“Oh well. What about Jim. Are you still seeing him?”

“I haven’t spoken to him since our last date, but he’s busy. I understand that.”

“You know the offer is still on the table.”

“What offer?”

“We get married and split your inheritance.”

“Howard, I love you, but not like that. I will not allow my mother to win.”

“We could use that money to start the company.”

“I thought you had investors.”

“I have people who are interested, but they want me to have something to show for it before they’ll give me their money. Which is understandable.”

“Maybe you’re not whoring yourself hard enough to the lonely housewives.” She teased.

“Wow. That is not what I am doing. I am simply showing them attention their husbands don’t. And they give me gifts. Which sometimes comes in cash.”

“Howard, you’re a whore.”

“I am not.”

“You so are.” She laughed. “And I still love you.”

“I only accept this abuse from you.”

“Because you have no other choice, do you?” She asked. “My mother did say if you found an office, she’d be willing to invest.”

“I know. We have to go look at them. There is one on 52nd and one above my mother’s dress shop. I think I’ve mentioned them to you already. Maybe we can go next week to look at them.”

“Why do you need me for that?” She asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe because you’re my partner. We’ll both be working out of the office so I think it’s important we both agree on it.”

“What about Sunday? I’m working an early morning shift. I’ll be out by one.” She informed him.

“Sunday sounds good.  I’ll pick you up at one and we’ll go give it a look over. There’s also a space above a bakery on East 86th we can look into.”

“I don’t care where the office is. It’s only temporary until we get the company on its feet.”

“Yes, but as my partner I’d like your input.” He told her. “I’ll set it up so we can look at both on Sunday.”

“It’s a date.” Clarabeth smiled.

“Great! Would you be able to borrow your mother’s engagement ring? We’ll have a better chance if we look like newlyweds.” He explained, making her scoff. “What? You know I’m right.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

[incognito-insomniac]

The Erim one and the Hogan's Heros one!! I am 👀ing both of those

Thank you so much @funkypoacher! I see you eying Erim. I am still working my 30 day OC challenge for him and Miranda. It will happen one day.

So DA-I Erim is the collector document for all WIPs about Erim Lavellan (except for 30 day challenge stuff which is hiding in my OneNote pages)

And you had to pick the one file I was considering throwing in my archive. Hogan's Heroes - thirteen is a very old WIP where i created an OC female bomber pilot, Captain Sadie Bates, who goes down in a field in Germany on her first trial mission then gets thrown into Stalag 13 with the rest of the Hogan gang. Aaaaand antics ensue. Because it's Hogan's Heroes.

Here are some snippets from both which are mostly all script format because I never finish anything:

Have Erim and Liam before their relationship! With bonus Scout Harding.

Liam is in a medical tent in the Hinterlands with Scout Harding, he is in the slow process of removing his leather armor. Harding is crying from laughter Liam: I took an arrow to the ass, Harding. Stop laughing. It’s not funny. It could have been in my back. Harding: Come on, it’s a little funny. Liam: Maybe once it doesn’t smart so much. I can barely walk. Harding: Oh, Janet, will he survive from this fatal blow! Janet: Most definitely. It may fester if he does not let me see it soon though. Liam: It’s a little hard to move, and she’s very distracting. Can we remove her from the tent? Harding: Oh, Hebert, you’re such a cry-baby. Liam: Shut up! Erim walks into the tent Erim: What’s going on? Harding: Captain Hebert had to return from his cushy assignment on a stretcher. Liam: I was shot in the ass Erim: That must hurt. Liam: It does! Thank you for your concern, Herald. Some people are less sympathetic. Harding: Some dwarf thinks you’re a wuss. Erim: So why am I here other than to abate the Captain’s wounded pride? Harding: He has news on enemy movements I thought you should hear straight from him. Liam: Well first off, I’d like to lodge a formal complaint. He throws off his leather chest plate, the final part of his armor, leaving him in a sweaty cotton tunic and trousers. Erim can feel a slight blush emerge on his cheeks. He tries to ignore it. Liam: We need better armor. This shit is worthless to arrows and most blades. Don’t even get me started on blunt weapons. I refuse to lead another mission before- Erim: I will speak to Josephine and see what we can do. Liam: Oh…alright. Thank you.

I read through my Hogan WIP for a while trying to find a good snippet. I forgot how much I enjoyed it (no archive folder for Sadie for now). I'll stick with the opening scene even though it doesn't really have Sadie in it because it's just so cute and has all the boys in it.

Newkirk and LeBeau are on watch outside. Newkirk sits on a barrel with a pair of binoculars Newkirk: Transport approaching. They all pile around the barrel with him Hogan: New prisoner? Kinch: Can’t tell yet. Carter: I hope it’s those Red Cross packages. I didn’t get any chocolate from the last one. LeBeau: None of us did. Shultz ate it all. Kinch: It’s definitely a prisoner, a high ranking officer most likely. They got the security detail to prove it. Newkirk: I’ve been in this camp too long, because that looks like a girl to me. He hands the binoculars to Hogan. Hogan: That’s because she is. She’s a WAC officer. Kinch: But how? WACs are only operational in the States. Hogan: That’s what I want to know.  Kinch, radio London about our new arrival. Kinch: Yes, sir.

[anxiouslittlesunbeam]

hi idk if ur requests are on or not but if they are :,) may i request deidara x female oc headcanons where the oc is like a femme fatale who ends up becoming his akatsuki partner instead of tobi? it would mean the absolute world to me thank u sm!! no rush <3

Requests are open so I will be happy to write Deidara for ya! 

Warning: Suggestive content, mention of death

💥 His man, Sasori bit the dust, huh?

💥 In this line of work it wasn’t guaranteed that your partner would always be able to stick around whether it be from disbanding oneself from the organization, a temporary switch if your partner was out of commission until further notice, or in this case; the death of the one you once worked alongside with

💥 Deidara wasn’t expecting to need a replacement so soon. He supposed he would miss his man, Sasori. Anyone who respected art as a whole was on his good side even if they had very different types of views on the subject

💥 Before Pein had a chance to pull Deidara to the side and explain to him who he would be working with from now on, he went over the possible candidates that he could potentially end up with

💥 Zetsu typically works on his own in most cases; working as the Akatsuki’s main spy. Maybe it was due to his seemingly split personality that made up for it but from the interactions, Deidara had with him he wasn’t sure if Zetsu was even human. A mutated version if he ever was 

💥 Tobi never seemed to take his role seriously and Deidara could almost still feel the vein coming out of his forehead after their last encounter. The male was a bit too clumsy for Deidara's liking; getting in ones way but he was recruited for a reason like most Akatsuki were. Deidara just wished he knew what was under that mask of his

💥 Lastly was their newest recruit who joined just days before their attack on Suna so Deidara didn't know much about her yet besides her name and where she came from

💥 She had been introduced to the others by Konan who had gone out to retrieve her; the cuts on her arms that were thin enough to be from paper indicated a battle she had lost to the other woman resulting in her fate in the hands of the Akatsuki from now on

💥 Going to pull his hair up, Deidara muttered out a few curses as he felt his hair tie snap; hitting against his wrist that left a red mark on his skin

💥 “Need a hand?”

💥 Turning his head when he felt a hand run its fingers through his hair, Deidara looked up to see the woman he had just been thinking about. She pulled out an extra hair tie from her pocket, placing it into his hand as she sat beside him

💥 “I thought you were spending the day with Konan?” Deidara questioned as he was able to fix his hair in its usual style

💥 There was a change of plans it seemed. Pein needed them both to travel to the farthest outskirts of the other side of Amegakure where a few of his and Konan’s spies would meet with them and relay some important information needed for some upcoming missions

💥 It kind of sounded like Deidara wouldn’t get a chance to use his clay unless they ran into a little bit of trouble which meant this assignment would be more of a chore than it should be but at least he knew who his new partner was now

💥 After an hour of preparations, Deidara and the new girl set off together to the opposite side of the Land of Rain. There was no way they could travel straight through with how tightly guarded the land was so they would have to go the long way and travel all the way around without being detected

💥 “You’re from the Land of ____, aren’t you?”

💥 Wanting to start some sort of conversation instead of walking in silence, Deidara confirmed that she was from where he thought saying that he had traveled through there a while back; the architecture almost too beautiful to be rearranged by his art. 

💥 Keyword: Almost

💥 “So that was you, huh?” Y/n tilted her head back over her shoulder to glance at the young man behind her. She left her village long ago so she didn’t feel any real remorse but seeing how they had plenty of time to reach their destination and weren’t required back by a specific time, Y/n thought she could make this trip more entertaining for herself if she toyed with him a bit

💥 “I should punish you for destroying so many beautiful buildings that were once home to me but..”

💥 Deidara blinked a few times as she turned her body around and reached her hand out so she was cupping his chin now

💥  “It would be an even bigger crime to mess with features such as these..” She almost purred as she stroked her thumb over his cheek

💥 Seeing her up close like this suddenly, Deidara could see that her features were quite stunning. The way her hair framed her face almost made Deidara want to reach his hand out and tuck the strands behind her ear so he could get an even better look at her

💥 While most Akatsuki robes were loose fitting, Y/n wore hers so it hugged her body just right and the front was unzipped enough to show a little bit of cleavage. Something Deidara got a view of as she moved closer to him

💥 “If this partnership works out between us I might let you take a peek but only if you acknowledge which one of us is going to be in charge.” Y/n gave a little smirk as his eyes shifted down to where her breasts were

💥 Forcing himself to snap out of it, Deidara reminded her that they were supposed to be on a mission and he would rather give this bore of a task over with so they could return to the base before nightfall

💥 Y/n could think of a few ways to make this more interesting but she supposed they should close the distance between here and there a little more before she continued to mess with him a bit

💥 They had traveled for another half hour talking about a few interests of theirs to get to know each other better when Y/n began to lower the zipper even further past her breasts to show that she only had a bra on underneath

💥 And just when she got his attention with her movements she zipped her robe back up, grinning at him as she called him a perv

💥 He was the perv? She was the one being seductive towards him; repeating her actions just to tease him farther

💥 The worst part was that he was letting her get away with it. Sasori would never have tolerated such foolish behavior but then again Deidara never unzipped his pants around the older male unless he was taking them off so he could change into his night clothes when they would stop at an inn to stay the night at 

💥 They were more than halfway now and just as Y/n went to grab her zipper again, Deidara grabbed her wrist to stop her actions

💥 “Are you always like this, hm?”

💥 Damn, it hasn’t even been a whole day yet. If she kept this up she’ll surely be the death of him

💥 Y/n let out a few light giggles saying that making him flustered was just too amusing to pass up. She was glad to have been partnered with someone close to her age that was easy on the eyes

💥 Feeling a few raindrops begin to hit her skin, Y/n pulled her zipper back up since they were almost at their meeting point now. She’d give him a little break from teasing him with her breasts for now but that didn’t mean that he was safe altogether

💥 Before Deidara had loosened his grip on her wrist, Y/n twisted her hand free and pressed her palm against his

💥 Deidara raised a brow at her actions until she looked downward with an amused expression. His face turned a similar shade to his former partner’s hair as she measured their hands, therefore, measuring his-

💥 Pulling away, Deidara wasn’t sure if he should scold her for trying to turn him on in the middle of an assignment or to wipe the smirk off her face with his mouth

💥 Instead of doing either, the male thought he should have a turn trying to make her flustered instead. She couldn’t have all the fun, right?

💥 He cupped the side of her face and moved in a bit closer; noticing that she was watching him carefully to see what kind of move he would make

💥 Y/n felt something warm and somewhat moist travel along her jawline, having to fight a shiver that tried to escape her

💥 Shifting her eyes to his hand, Y/n could see the tongue from his hand moving teasingly towards her neck; pulling away just before his hand could slip under the collar of her robe

💥 She knew what he was trying to do and she had to admit that a man attempting to be dominant with her was just as much of a turn-on as seeing them squirm beneath her when she was the one in charge

💥 Reaching her hand up to gently grab his that had grazed its teeth against her earlobe, tugging it down towards her zipper to see if he was just as into the moment to open her jacket without much thought

💥 She didn’t care that the rainl had picked up. She would expose more to him

💥 Deidara had lost sense of what he was supposed to be doing and found himself drawn to his new partner after only meeting briefly ago

💥 He had unzipped her down to her upper stomach and might have even leaned his actual mouth onto her own lips when both of them heard someone clear their throat. They turned to see the spies that they were supposed to meet with, standing only a few feet away; trying to avert their eyes from the free porn show that could have taken place if someone didn’t stop them when he did

💥 “I know you’re young Deidara and have urges but please try to control yourself and act professional around your ally during these circumstances.”

💥 “I tried to tell him we had a mission to focus on and that it could wait but it seems Deidara is a little impatient when he sees a pretty face..”

💥 Deidara blinked both at the man and Y/n. Why was he the only one getting lectured?!

💥 “What are you going on about?! You’re the one who- Hm!” Deidara was caught off by Y/n placing her hand over his mouth to prevent him from speaking anymore

💥 Moving closer once more momentarily so she could whisper in her ear, she said that she would make it up to him once this was all done and over with; giving him a wink to fluster him once last time before pulling away and going to give a proper greeting to the group

💥 Deidara watched as she walked away wondering how he ended up involved with a woman as seductive as she was. Would she have still shown interest in him if his former partner didn’t die?

💥 He would miss his man Sasori but there was a lot more new fun to be had with Y/n now

💥 As long as she agreed with his views of art he just might take her up on her offer to make it up to him. She was a dom but he didn’t mind. A woman taking charge was something he could get behind but before he could picture her towering over him, he had a meeting to get through first

💥 It seems that this mission wasn’t a bore after all. He almost couldn’t wait for their next assignment together now that he knew what could be in store

[cornsobsessions]

These fics weren't all published in 2021 (in fact many of them were not) but I did read all of them in 2021.

They cover a wide range of ratings and topics so please read any of the writers tags and content warnings before reading.

Anything in Italics is my thoughts. This post is long, sorry

1. it all started with 1 (one) twitter DM (series) by rickysims (@omg-whiskey) whiskent | 400k Kent Parson and Connor Whisk didn't exactly mean to fall in love, it started out with one DM and it kind of snowballed from there... One of my all time favorite fics that I have read countless times

2. No Matter How Small by weneedtotalkaboutsherlock (@weneedtotalkaboutfic) zimbits | 125k "Elliot," Eric says, "this is Jack. Jack, this is Elliot."

3. After Me by rayemars zimbits, kent/omc | 250k In 2009 Kent "living Taylor Swift song" Parson goes first in the draft, moves to Nevada, and starts an NHL career that includes one Stanley Cup win, one league lockout, a lot of media manipulation, bad blood with several teams, a captaincy, big city politics, and the pressure that comes with some questionable sponsors for a club located in the gambling heart of the United States. Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Aces learn how to work around the ghost of Jack Zimmermann. (Not literally.) A wonderful story of life and growth. The original characters are amazing and I could not stop reading.

4. consider the hairpin turn (do not choose sides yet) by jjcofeesa (@30samwiches) zimbits, holsom, shardo, pimms | 50k You are not in a car with a beautiful boy. You are in a car next to a beautiful boy. And in a car behind your ex. And in a car ahead of your best friend. If you're Jack Zimmermann, current World Driver's Champion, that is. If you're Eric Bittle, you're too nervous about your rookie season to be thinking about what the boys in the other cars look like. (You tell yourself you're too nervous, anyway. You do think about it.) If you're on Twitter, well. They're all beautiful boys, and you wish you could be in the car with them.

5. with grace in your heart by iridescentoracle and mutuisanimis zimbits | 140k When Kent Parson shows up at Epikegster 2014, he doesn’t mess up Jack and Bitty’s relationship, but it is a turning point.

6. Begin Again (series) by aleia kent parson, ptater | 320k When Jeff Troy agrees to billet new rookie Kent Parson, he assumes he's going to be stuck with teenager trying to party and bring girls back to the apartment. That's not at all what he gets. (Description from Part 1)

7. Dear Jack by WrathoftheStag (@wrathofthestag) zimbits | 20k Just after his overdose, Jack Zimmermann meets patient Eric Bittle at New York–Presbyterian Hospital and the two make an immediate connection. When Bitty leaves the hospital and Jack begins rehab in Montreal, they start a correspondence that will forever change their lives, and hearts. This absolutely murdered me but it was also so so so beautifully written

8. Ethics of Journalism by rosepetals42 zimbits | 12k When Dan Erikson is assigned to write an article about Jack Zimmermann's years in college, he thinks he knows what he's getting into. Then he meets Professor Simpson, Jack's photography professor.

9. Something Like This by emmagrant01 zimbits primarily | 285k Jack thought his first year in the NHL would be 100% about hockey, but the reality is so much more complicated. The OCs and storytelling are just so good

10. out in the open by wit (@parvuls) zimbits | 35k TMZ ✔ @TMZ · May 23, 2019 22:36 Jack Zimmermann and Eric Bittle’s Friendship Goes Viral After Release of Providence Falconers Video One thing is for sure: this isn't what Bitty expected to happen when he first DMed NHL forward Jack Zimmermann. The formatting, the story telling, all of it was just magical

11. Firecracker by procrastinationfairy patater | 18k Kent's best friend (with benefits) tells him she's pregnant with his child, and if he doesn't want the baby, she'll adopt it out. Kent doesn't want the baby. He's still dealing with issues from his childhood and every failed relationship. He's not ready to come out. He's not ready to be a father. He doesn't want to be. (Except he does.)

12. Ice Crew Please! by rosepetals42 zimbits | 61k Jack Zimmermann was drafted first by the Providence Falconers when he was eighteen years old. He is good at hockey. Very good. His team won the Cup his second year and now, in his third year, they are looking good. Jack should be on top of the world. And some days, he manages to convince himself he is. He’s not, of course. Enter the Ice Crew.

13. DREAMBOY by chillmari patater, zimbits | 22k Alexei Mashkov was number 7 of the Providence Falconers, and he couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. When he was on the ice, he knew that it was his new home. Beneath it all, Alexei was scared to live in Russia. The constant ghost of who he was meant to marry haunting him no matter where he went. Everyone back home always asked him if he had settled down yet. If he had finally found the woman of his dreams. In Providence, he found his home. He knew that within the black ridden puck and beneath the hidden cracks of the ice, that he found comfort in the brisk air, and silently appreciated the warmth he felt in his heart that came from the frozen fractals of the ice. He didn't have to worry about his sexuality. He didn't have to worry about his dream girl. Everything in Alexei’s life was going smoothly. Until it all didn’t.

14. Like Real People Do by xiaq kent/omc | 154k “So still two dates to go then?” Parson continues. “I—what?” “We’ve got a roadie coming up but then we’re home for almost two weeks. When does your semester start?” “You want to do this again?” Eli asks. Parson stops idly twirling his spoon. “You don’t?” He does, Eli realizes. He really does. Because apparently he actually likes Kent fucking Parson. while not available on AO3 anymore, that is because it is being published into a real book in spring 2022, it is really good, and if anyone is interested in reading before then i have a pdf i downloaded and can send you (as that does appear to be allowed, if that changes please let me know)

15. roads all even and peaceful by ahermioneh (@zimms) olliewicks | 13k In which Ollie and Wicks definitely don't run hockeyblr blogs. No way. And they definitely aren't mutuals. No. Not at all. I love the way their lives, friendship, and relationship are portrayed through tumblr posts and messages

16. northern lights at dawn by weneedtotalkaboutsherlock (@weneedtotalkaboutfic) zimbits | 8k He's at a party reuniting some of the most beautiful people in the world, he's single, and lord, nobody can fault him for thinking that, perhaps, he could be making out with a cute boy by the end of the evening.

17. i hugged you close in the parking lot by acornfield (that's me) jack and shitty | 300 Sometimes life happens and before you know it, it's been two years since you've seen your best friend. Yes I put my own fic in this list, that is because I am very happy with it and think about it all the time

18. Heart of the Haus (series) by cricketnationrise (@cricketnationrise) smh in some way or another | 15k A collection of timestamp fics, all under 1k, set in the haus. The little snippets into life in the Haus are just so fun to read

19. Excuse Me While I Kiss This Guy by PorcupineGirl zimbits | 8k Jesse Snowden knows all the best restaurants and gourmet food shops in Providence, so when Jack Zimmermann starts bringing in incredible baked goods, he's eager to find out where the new bakery is. When he meets the man behind the pies, he decides that there's no way Jack could really appreciate this guy's talent the way he does, even if they are friends. He starts hiring Jack's chef on the side, in the hopes that maybe once Bitty's done with college he'll come work for Jesse. Good thing there is absolutely no way whatsoever that Jesse could possibly be misinterpreting this situation.

20. Bits of Heaven by WrathoftheStag (@wrathofthestag) zimbits, nurseydex, shardo, holsom | 22k At age 44, NHL legend, Jack Zimmermann, knows three things for sure: retirement is boring, love is probably not in the cards for him, and his aging father makes a pretty good roommate. When the bakery "Bits of Heaven" opens up down the street, Jack finds that a happily ever after is possible—even late in the game.

21. collapsing everything he once knew nurseydex | 79k Its Dex's senior year. He's stepping into the shadow of Bitty's leadership, pressure building onto him. This year will collapse everything he once knew about himself, wading through uncomfortable waters, balancing his schoolwork all while realising that he might not be as straight as he thinks he is. “--but I know you enough that you hate new things,” Nursey says. Dex has to stop himself from moving, they’re not close, how does Nursey know him so well like the back of his hand? “So if you need help, me and Chowder are here. Denice is here as well.” “Cool,” Dex manages to breathe out, not wanting to raise his voice any louder. “Cool." A wonderful look into the future of SMH

Making this list and then ordering it was so ridiculously hard as you all are so incredibly talented and I read hundreds of fics this year and loved every single one of them (I just looked and I have 31 pages of AO3 history from this year--what). All of this to say that this was so hard, you all are so talented, and I cannot wait to read more <3