#not totally happy with it but mostly in an 'guess i gotta do some studies' way so

[hedonist-aesthete]

One of the pieces we looked at over spring break was A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery by Wright of Derby, and the guy leaning against the Orrery gave such strong Rolan vibes that I couldn't resist

[fanartandfanfiction]

The Saga of Meatball the snake, chapter 3

Ominis was half asleep when he heard his phone vibrate. He clumsily felt for it on the nightstand. Ominis had a special enchantment on his phone that allowed him to read text messages, and he was able to read books in a similar manner. He could also hold his wand to the phone to reply. 

 Melody 11:52 PM: Hey Ominis, it’s Melody. I know it’s late but you wanted me to let you know when I got back soooo

Ominis 11:53 PM: You’re just now getting back? 

Melody 11:53 PM: Yeeeeeah. There were a few more poachers than I was expecting 

Ominis 11:53 PM: Are you alright? 

Melody 11:54 PM: I am now. Got banged up quite a bit. Sharp helped me and gave me a lecture. 

Ominis 11:54 PM: I’m glad you were able to get help. Thanks for letting me know that you returned safely. 

Melody 11:54 PM: Right, it’s late, I’m probably keeping you up 😬 Sorry!

Ominis 11:55 PM: It’s alright, I was awake anyway. Sebastian’s snoring is comparable to a chainsaw. 

Melody 11:55 PM: Eh, hit him with a pillow, he probably deserves it 😊

Ominis 11:55 PM: I’m highly considering it. 

Melody 11:55 PM: So what did you do this evening? 

Ominis 11:56 PM: I’m afraid nothing quite as exciting as what you did. Just studied. I have a history of magic test coming up and that’s my worst subject. Mostly because I fall asleep. 

Melody 11:56 PM: Yes, I know, I sit right behind you 😝

Ominis 11:56 PM: Wait, are you serious? 

Melody 11:56 PM: Yeah, once Garreth and I spent the whole class seeing who could get more paper clips into the hood of your robe 🤣

Ominis 11:57 PM: That was you?!?

Melody 11:57 PM: Yeah. I won btw 😁

Ominis 11:57 PM: I didn’t find them until I took my robe off in the evening and they all fell out. 

Melody 11:58 PM: Don’t take it personally, we do it to Prewett in muggle studies. But that’s just because we like to piss him off

Ominis 11:58 PM: So you’re friends with Garreth? 

Melody 11:58 PM: Yeah, he’s my best friend, aside from Poppy. So I suppose he’d be my best Gryffindor friend? 

Ominis 11:59 PM: So is Sebastian your best Slytherin friend, then?

Melody 11:59 PM: For the moment, but he doesn’t have a cool snake, soooo 😝

Ominis 11:59 PM: You’ll be happy to know Meatball has talked about you constantly. He’s asked a dozen times if you’re coming to see him. 

Melody 12:00 AM: Guess I’ll have to come by more often 😉

Ominis 12:00 AM: I’ve told him repeatedly that your name is Melody, but he still refers to you as “the pretty human”

Melody 12:00 AM: Aaaaaw, sounds like Meatball is a little flirt!

Ominis 12:01 AM: I’m glad you brought him to me. It’s nice having a companion, though he wants to come to class with me. I told him no. 

Melody 12:01 AM: I would TOTALLY take him to class with me. That’s like, instant cool points. 

Ominis 12:01 AM: He’d be a distraction, constantly chattering away. Now I’m going to have another distraction, knowing you’re sitting behind me 

Ominis 12:01 AM: Because of the paperclips, I mean. 

Melody 12:02 AM: It’s not always paperclips. Sometimes it’s just little balls of paper

Ominis 12:02 AM: I’m going to start shaking my hood before I leave. 

Melody 12:02 AM: You’re adorable when you fall asleep, btw. I got up to sharpen my pencil and you had a little smile on your face. It was like, the only time I’d seen you smile. Mostly because whenever I was around you, you just glared at me 😝

Ominis 12:03 AM: I apologize again for acting coldly towards you. 

Melody 12:03 AM: It’s fine, seriously. I’ve gotta get some sleep, otherwise I’m gonna drop my phone on my face. Goodnight!

Ominis 12:03 AM: Goodnight Melody.

Ominis put his phone down with a smile. It was nice chatting with someone besides Sebastian. Sebastian’s snoring went up a decibel and Ominis hurled a pillow at him with surprising accuracy.

He heard the solid thump sound and “HEY!” As Sebastian got hit. 

“For god’s sake, would you turn the other way?! You’re going to suck the wallpaper off with your snoring!” 

“Sorry, crab-ass.” Sebastian rolled over and almost immediately began snoring again. Ominis sighed and buried his head under the covers, attempting to muffle the sound. It worked, and he finally drifted off to sleep. 

Ominis was already in his seat in history of magic when he heard Melody enter with Garreth. 

“Prewett’s asked me for the hundredth time for your phone number. You’ll be happy to know I didn’t give it to him.”

“Ugh. He can’t take a hint.” Melody grumbled as she sat down. 

“He’s not a BAD guy, just give him a chance.” 

“Nope.” 

“Why? Got your sights set on someone else?” 

Ominis’ ears perked up. “Maybe.” Melody answered coyly.

“Is it me?” Garreth asked. 

Melody sighed and sarcastically responded “yes, Garreth, it’s you. I’d like to throw you down on this desk right now and have my way with you.”

“I mean, it’s not the WORST idea, just maybe after class is over? OW!” Ominis heard a solid thump as Melody punched Garreth in the arm. 

“Morning, sleepyhead!” Melody tossed a paperclip at the back of his head. 

“Good morning.” He smiled. 

“I thought we usually waited until he was asleep to do that?” 

“Oh, I told him. It’s more fun if it’s a challenge.” 

“So Ominis, Melody said you have a snake?” Garreth asked. Ominis turned around to face them. 

“Yes, we rescued him. Did she tell you the delightful name she picked out?”

“No, what is it?”

“Meatball!” Melody said proudly.

“I love it.” 

“Hey Ominis, are you free tonight?” 

“I am, why?”

“I thought maybe we could hang out, do something fun.” Melody said.

“I think you’re just using me to get to Meatball.” Ominis smirked. 

“Damn, you saw right through me.” 

“I don’t have any plans, I’ll probably just be in my room studying.”

“Ok! I’ll come by later.”

“Hang on, are you saying all he had to do to get you in his bedroom was let you play with his snake? Wait, that sounded wrong.”

Professor Binns floated to the front of the classroom and asked them to pull out their textbooks. He began reading aloud in his dull, monotone voice, and Ominis was asleep in no time. He woke up when he felt a paperclip bounce off the back of his head. Binns was still droning on about a wizard rebellion, so Ominis pulled out his phone. 

Ominis 8:35 AM: I felt that.

Melody 8:35 AM: I aimed too high. The score is 10-8, I have the lead.

Ominis 8:35 AM: Are you telling me you’ve already thrown 18 paperclips into my hood?

Melody 8:36 AM: 19 now, I just scored another point 😀

“Alright class, let’s go view the portraits and statues in the hall. I want you to choose one and write a report on it.”

Ominis raised his hand. “Yes, Mr. Gaunt?”

“I’m unable to see the portraits, sir.”

“Very well, choose a partner to work with. Come along now.”

They all got up and Melody put a hand on his shoulder. “You were trying to get out of doing the report, weren’t you?”

Ominis smiled. “Perhaps. Now I need to find a partner who doesn’t mind being stuck with the blind boy.”

“Oh hush, I’ll be your partner. Come on, let’s go pick a weird one.” She looped her arm through his and they followed the trickle of students into the hallway. 

“I say we go for a statue, I’d rather not have to listen to one of the portraits tell me how great they were.” Melody said as they strolled along. 

“Agreed. Some of them are very pretentious.”

Melody described the various statues in the hall and asked Ominis his opinion. They ended up selecting a skull belonging to Grimbald Weft, a notable tailor. 

“I don’t think I’d be cool with my skull being displayed after I’m dead.” Melody said, examining it in the glass case. “What did they do with the rest of him?”

“Perhaps the skull was all they were able to recover.” Ominis replied.

“If they’re gonna display my bones, they’d better use the whole skeleton and put me in a fun pose or something.” 

“I think I’d just prefer to be buried.”

“Then I suppose you shouldn’t do anything to become famous! Because apparently, your bones go on display.”

They chatted for the rest of the class and Melody told him she’d come by later so they could work on their report. He heard Garreth speaking to her and she laughed, though he couldn’t hear what was said. He felt a hint of jealousy, which was ridiculous, he barely knew her. But still…

“Melody is coming by this evening.” Ominis said to Sebastian and Meatball.

“You two are really hitting it off!” Sebastian said with a grin.

“We’re partners on a report.”

“Sure, sure. Though the rumor through the grapevine is that she won’t be on the market much longer.”

“First of all, she’s a person, not a slab of meat on the market. And second, I don’t care.”

“I heard Prewett’s really trying to win her over.”

“She said this morning it was never going to happen.”

“I suppose we’ll see.” There was a knock on their door. “Come in!”

“Hey guys.” Melody said as she entered. “There’s my little Meatball!”

“There’s my favorite human!” 

“Excuse me?”

“What?” Melody asked. 

“He just referred to you as his favorite human.”

“Favorite GIRL human.” 

“Right, he’s trying to backpedal now.”

“And Meatball’s my favorite little snake!” She scooped him up out the terrarium and snuggled him, loudly kissing the top of his head. Meatball’s tongue flicked happily.

“Melody, while you’re giving it away over there, how about some love for your favorite Slytherin?” Sebastian asked, wiggling his eyebrows. 

“Terribly sorry, didn’t mean to make you feel left out. Hewwo my wittle Sebastian!” She spoke in a baby voice and pinched his cheek. 

“Are we still going to Hogsmeade this weekend or has Prewett swept you off your feet yet?”

“How did you hear about that?” Melody asked as she sat beside Ominis and crossed her legs, their knees touching.

“The good ol’ Hogwarts rumor mill. So are you going out with him?”

“I don’t know. He’s awfully persistent. I suppose he really likes me.”

“You can do much better than Prewett.” Sebastian said.

“Oh yeah?” She asked playfully. 

“Um, hello! I’m sitting right in front of you. Your knight in shining armor awaits!”

“Please, you’re my dumbass in tin foil.”

Ominis laughed out loud and Sebastian glared. “Woooow. Hurtful. I see whose side you’re on, Ominis!” 

“You are correct.” He replied with a smile.

“Well, I’m going to go take my wounded heart elsewhere while you two work on your report. I heard Lenora Everleigh is single now. Did you put in a good word for me?”

“I put in A word.” Melody replied. “Stop poaching my friends, can’t you go find a Slytherin girl?”

“I could, but I have a weakness for Hufflepuff women.” Sebastian winked and Melody rolled her eyes. “Alright, later guys.” 

After Sebastian left, Melody nudged Ominis’ shoulder. “I warned her in advance so she could hide.”

Ominis chuckled. “He’s not a bad guy.”

“No, he’s not, but I know he likes to see how many notches he can get on his headboard and I’d prefer my friends not to be among them.” 

“That’s understandable. Ready to start on our report?”

“I suppose. How long does it have to be?”

“At least three pages.”

“Oh COME ON!” She groaned. 

They worked for an hour before Melody dramatically collapsed beside him. “I’m dead, Ominis. I’ve died of boredom.”

“Terrible, you were so young.” He smirked. 

“Come on, let’s take a break and do literally anything else.” 

“What do you want to do?”

“What do you like to do for fun?” 

“I’m afraid I’m quite boring. I enjoy reading, going for a stroll, listening to music…”

“That’s not boring!” Melody said. 

“There’s also a game I used to play with Sebastian and Anne. It’s kind of silly, but fun.”

“Let’s do it! What is it?” 

“We’ll have to go somewhere quiet and spacious. I know a place.” 

“Let’s go!” Melody grinned. 

“Go on, Meatball, back to your home.”

“Aaaaaaaw.” 

“Sorry, it’s no place for a snake, you could get lost.”

“Where exactly are we going?” Melody asked.

“You’ll see.” Ominis said with a sly grin.

“Welcome to the undercroft! It’s a secret place, only Anne, Sebastian, and myself know about it. And now you.” 

“Woah! No one else knows this is here?”

“No, it was a secret passed on to me from my family. I spend a lot of time here, it’s nice and quiet.”

“And kind of creepy. You guys never thought to put any lights or furniture in here?”

“I guess not, we used to just sit on blankets or something.” 

“So what’s this game?”

“It doesn’t have a specific name. But you’ll get an understanding of how I live. You’ll put this blindfold over your eyes and attempt to locate me using your other senses.” 

“Sounds easy enough!” 

“We’ll see about that.” He pulled a blindfold out from his pocket. “May I?”

“Sure.” Melody walked over to him and turned around, and he slid the blindfold over her eyes and tied it on.

“This is wonderful if you suffer from migraines. Blocks out all the light.” 

“I get dreadful migraines. Wow, I really can’t see anything!” 

“And the game begins.” Ominis said, further away than she expected. 

“How are you so quiet?!”

“I can be very stealthy.” He said, suddenly behind her. She turned to grab him and he was gone. “Come on, are you even trying?”

“Ok, this is more difficult than I anticipated!” 

“Use your other senses.” Ominis said, tapping her shoulder. 

“Ugh!” Melody closed her eyes under the blindfold. If she stopped straining to see, she could focus on her other senses. She faintly smelled his cologne and stepped in that direction. She heard a quiet rustle of fabric and turned around. She froze and listened for the slightest sound. When she got a much stronger whiff of his cologne, she turned around and lunged at him.

He was closer than she’d anticipated and she slammed into him, knocking him backwards. She thought they were going to fall, but she felt Ominis’ strong grasp on her and they stayed upright.

“You’re not very graceful, are you?” He asked with a smirk. 

“Smart ass!” She laughed. Her hands were resting on his chest and his hands still rested on her waist. She tipped her head upwards and felt for his face. “I never realized how much taller than me you are!”

“Is that why you’re squeezing my nose?” He asked in a slightly muffled voice.

“Yep. How tall are you?”

“6 feet.” 

“Ugh.”

He patted the top of her head. “Look at you, so short. What are you, 5’3?”

“5’4, thank you very much!” She brought her hands down from his face and felt his shoulders.

“What are you doing?” He asked with a small smile.

“Trying to see like you do. Of course I know what you look like, but I’m trying to see if I can figure it out.” 

He stood still as she patted his shoulders and arms. Her hands went back up to his face. “Yep, I can tell. Same cocky smile. I don’t have to see you to know you’re smirking at me, you’re an excellent smirker, you know that?” 

“Is that a word, smirker?” His grin widened. 

“Stop it! Now you’re smiling even more!”

“Are you done molesting my face?” 

“Nope.” She squeezed his cheeks with her hands. She moved them up the side of his head and he closed his eyes as her fingers flitted across them. “You have obnoxiously long eyelashes, it’s terribly unfair. They’re better than mine. And these eyebrows are so often turned down into a glare or frown.” She gave his cheeks one last playful squeeze for good measure. “Ok, now I’m done.”

Ominis cleared his throat nervously. “Would it be alright if I felt what you looked like? You can say no if it makes you uncomfortable.”

“Nope, feel away! You know, I don’t usually say that to a boy.” She took his hands and placed them on the sides of her face. “I’m going to take the blindfold off for now so you feel around better.” 

She was surprised at how bright the room seemed after having the blindfold on. She was also surprised at how close she was to Ominis. She watched his face as he gently moved his hands across hers. He had a small smile on his face as he did so. 

“Let’s see here…what a tiny nose you have! High cheekbones…your lashes seem long to me, but I suppose I wouldn’t know.” He ran his thumb across her lips. “I expected your mouth to be much larger, the way I’ve heard you shout and swear. You’re quite loud.”

“Rude!” She pouted. 

“Now you’re pouting. I didn’t mean offense, just that you’re one of those people that doesn’t hide in the shadows. You’re bold and fiery.”

“Are you describing me or a Taco Bell sauce packet?”

Ominis laughed, a delightful, full on laugh, not his usual polite chuckle. 

He reached around and felt her hair. He started at the top and ran the strands through his fingers. “Your hair is quite long. It’s very soft, and has a hint of vanilla?” 

“I suppose that’s my shampoo. I don’t know, I’ve never sniffed my own hair. Lean down.” She pulled his head down and pressed her nose against his hair and gave an exaggerated sniff. “Mhm, mhm, lovely, yes.”

“Oh? What’s it smell like?”

“I don’t quite know how to describe it. Let me sniff again.” He laughed as she jerked him downward. “I’m not good with smells. I know it smells manly and expensive.” She was sniffing his hair again when the door to the undercroft opened. Melody hadn’t noticed and Ominis was attempting to straighten up but she wouldn’t let him. “I’m not done yet, let me smell you!”

“Hello Melody. Watcha doing?” Sebastian asked with a grin.

“Oh, hello! Trying to decide what Ominis’ hair smells like.”

“Ok…why?”

“Why not?”

“Would you let go of my hair now?” Ominis asked, still partially bent over with Melody’s hand grasping his hair.

“Fine, but it’ll come to me at some point.” She let him go and then snickered. “I didn’t know your hair could stand up like that!” 

“Yes, well, someone was ruffling it up.” He pulled a comb out of his pocket and attempted to smooth his hair back down. 

“Sooooo Melody knows about the undercroft now?”

“Yes. We were taking a break from working and I told her about the game we used to play. She wanted to try it, so I brought her here.”

“It is NOT as easy as it seems. Would you just let me fix it?!” Melody snatched the comb from his hand. “Lean down, you jolly green giant.” 

Sebastian watched with an amused expression. “How’d it go? Did you catch him?”

“Yes, but it was difficult!” 

“She pounced on me.” Ominis smirked as Melody combed his hair. 

“How did it go with you? Did you pester my friend?” Melody asked, forgoing the comb and attempting to style Ominis’ hair in a mohawk. 

“I thought you were fixing it?!”

“I am, I’m making you look cool.”

Sebastian smiled at his two friends. “I struck out.”

“I’m shocked.” Melody said with a smirk. 

“I suppose I’ll just set my sights on another Hufflepuff bachelorette.” Sebastian wiggled his eyebrows at her.

“In your dreams.”

“You already are, love!” He wrapped his arms around her and made dramatic smooching noises. 

“Put me down, you oaf!”

Though Ominis couldn’t see them, he felt a flutter of jealousy. He wasn’t sure why, she was friends with Sebastian first and closer to him. 

“You know what, I want to play too for old time’s sake!” Sebastian grinned. “I’ll take the blindfold.”

Ominis handed it to him and he tied it on. “Alright, spread out!”

It was silent in the undercroft, but Melody knew her shoes would give her away so she slid them off and walked around in just her stockinged feet. She froze as Sebastian turned towards her. “You’re quite terrible at this, Mel!”

Suddenly, she was yanked backwards just as Sebastian lunged for the spot she’d been standing in. Ominis held a finger up to his lips and smiled. 

“Damn! You’re around here somewhere!”

Ominis took a small object out of his pocket and tossed it across the room, making a quiet thud.

“GOTCHA!” They watched as Sebastian lunged at nothing. And Melody was trying to suppress her laughter. “Are you guys still here?”

She watched Ominis walk silently up to him and whisper “Yes” behind his ear, making Sebastian jump. 

“I bloody hate it when you do that!”

A small giggle escaped and Sebastian whipped around towards her. “Now I’ve got you!”

She started walking backwards and crashed into a rusty cauldron, making a loud metallic noise. Sebastian lunged forward and she ran, causing him to stumble.

She jumped when Ominis grabbed her wrist. He tugged her along with him and into a corner of the room. He pushed her into the corner and she was surprised, thinking he was about to kiss her. Instead he just held a finger to his lips before quietly stalking away.

Melody watched him creep up right behind Sebastian and yank the blindfold off. “You’re terrible at this game.” 

“That’s because you have the stealth of a bloody panther!”

“Melody, would you like to go again?” He extended the blindfold with a smirk. 

“I’ll give it my best shot.” She turned around for Ominis to tie the blindfold on her. “Alright, let’s go!”

She was pretty much instantly able to find Sebastian, his breathing seemed quite loud in the quiet room. She tackled him with a triumphant cheer and he swore. “Alright, just me and you, Ominis!”

She could hear nothing but Sebastian’s loud breathing and her own heartbeat. Then she heard it, the sound of a small object thudding on the ground. Instead of turning towards the noise she wheeled around backwards and lunged. Ominis hadn’t been expecting her this time and she took them both to the ground. 

 He landed on his back with a solid thump and she landed on top of him. They were both laughing and she took her blindfold off. His eyes were so pretty, especially when they were full of happiness and laughter like this. She found herself wanting to touch his face and trace the pattern of his moles like a constellation. They both stopped laughing and they were looking at each other. Despite Ominis’ blindness, he met her gaze with accuracy.

“Would you two like me to leave, or would you like to get off of Ominis?” Sebastian asked with a smirk. 

“Sorry Ominis! Did you get hurt?” Melody got off of him and asked.

“Just bruised my ego.” He smiled. 

“You guys wanna do something? Or are you going back to work on your paper?”

“Ugh. I really don’t want to. It’s not due for a bit, I say we hang out. But I am BEGGING YOU to let me conjure some furniture down here. I know it’s your space and if you say no that’s fine, but do you really want to keep sitting on the floor?” Melody asked Ominis.

“I have no objections. Sebastian?”

“Go for it.” 

“Excellent!” Melody grinned and set to work. 

Sebastian walked over to Ominis and spoke quietly. “I’m shocked you brought her down here. You’d have my head if I did that.” 

“I think we can trust her to keep the secret.”

“I’m actually surprised you’ve warmed up to her as quickly as you have. You’re usually quite the grump. Or perhaps it’s her feminine wiles that have changed your tune?”

“Or it’s the fact that she adores Meatball and she’s a lovely person that I get along with.” 

“Where is the little scaly cretin?”

“I left him upstairs. I didn’t want him to get lost or hurt down here.”

“So it wasn’t to be alone with Mel?”

“Would you let it go?!” 

“Fine, fine, I’m just saying, she seems to fancy you, and-“

“Fancy me? What do you mean?” Ominis asked quickly.

“I mean she likes you, likes being around you. She’s a lovely girl and if you wanted a girlfriend-“

“Drop it.”

“Fine. Woah!” Sebastian looked up and grinned.

“What?”

“It’s like a new place! There’s comfortable sofas, a nice rug, a FIREPLACE, how did she conjure a fireplace?!”

“Well?” Melody asked with a grin.

“Mel, this looks fantastic!” Sebastian grinned back.

“I’ll have to take Sebastian’s word for it.” Ominis said with a small smile. 

“You may not be able to see it, but I know you’ll feel the difference!” She grabbed his hand and brought him over to the sofa. “Go on, sit down.” 

Ominis sat and smiled at her. “Much better than the floor!”

“See? You don’t have to live like cavemen down here.” She plopped down beside him on the couch with her legs crossed and her knee was touching his. 

“Mel, will you do that thing with my hair?” Sebastian asked. 

“Again?”

“Come on, I’m heartbroken!”

“Over what? You didn’t even care about her until you found out she was single!”

“Please?” He pouted.

“Fine, get over here you big baby.” 

“What do you do with his hair?” Ominis asked. 

“Mostly just twirl it around my fingers. Sometimes I make tiny braids. I did it for him once when he was upset and now he pesters me all the time.”

Sebastian sat on the ground in front of her with a satisfied smile. “I should put you to work painting my toenails while I do this. You know what? This is your last free one. After this it’ll cost one pedicure.”

“Do you really want me to paint your nails?” He smirked. “In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t have the lightest touch.”

“I’m aware.” She began working her fingers through his hair. “My mother used to do this to me when I was upset. It always felt so good.”

“It does.” Sebastian leaned back against her. “So did you give this weekend any more thought?”

“I’d like to go but I don’t want to impose.” 

“The weekend?” Ominis asked. 

“I think Mel and Anne would get along great, and Anne would love to meet a new girl her age. I invited Melody to come to Feldcroft with me this weekend. I would’ve invited you but we don’t have that much room.”

Ominis didn’t like the idea of them going away for the weekend together. “I’d like to visit Anne too. What if I rented us a cottage? Would you be comfortable with that, Melody?”

“Sure! Sounds fun.” 

“Are you sure Ominis? It’ll be expensive.”

“It’s my parents’ money, I’m happy to spend it.” 

“Then we’re going on a trip this weekend! You can even bring Meatloaf.”

“Meatball!” Melody yanked his hair.

“Ow!”

“He’s my Meatball, my precious boy, and little angel.” 

“Mel, you’ve known Meatball for like, two days.”

“So? He’s a special boy and I love him.”

“He’s enamored with you.” Ominis said with a small smile. 

“I think I’m going to get him a little hat.” 

“Why?” Ominis asked.

“Because I think he’d look dapper.”

“Can a snake look dapper?” Sebastian asked. 

“Meatball can. He’s special.”

(P.S. I bet none of you picked up on the fact that my main character is named Melody Carlisle, or MC :D )

[neverevan]

20 questions for fic writers

I was tagged by the lovely @jesuisici33 thank you mwuah 💛

I'm gonna put some of it under the cut bc it got kinda long uhh

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

15

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

188,136

3. What fandoms do you write for?

currently consumed by 911, but most of my fics either belong to The Witcher or Stranger Things

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

789 – Long and Lost /geraskier, 9.7k, explicit/

707 – It might walk like a duck /steddie, 10k, explicit/

656 – The Companion /geraskier, 6.9k, mature/

634 – A promise I could not make (But what if I was wrong?) /geraskier, 16.4k, mature/

451 – Of Banquets and Destinies /geraskier, 5.4k, gen/

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Absolutely!! I love everyone who takes the time to comment on my stuff, it makes me so happy and excited whenever I get the email 💛

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I'm a firm believer of heavy angst + happy endings, but I gotta say But where they lay, they cannot stay is hands down the angstiest, because it can barely be classified as a happy ending oops

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I guess Spare me your dreams has a pretty sappy ending lol

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No, but once I got a comment on the last chapter of a multi, saying that they 'liked it up until the smut' because I made them use spit as lube and apparently 'I was promoting unsafe sexual practices'........ love, this is fiction and not a sex ed class. The characters in question weren't even fully human, come on now.

I have been moderating my comments ever since, because I'm just not willing to give the time of day to idiots like that.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Funnily enough I wasn't big on smut for a really long time and though I felt that some stories needed it, I always just wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible (I also used to skim sex scenes when I was reading) because I just didn't really find them interesting... that kinda changed when I found some truly exquisite fics and realised that smut can be written just engagingly as the rest of the story and now I include explicit smut in most of the stuff I write. I just really enjoy getting into that part of the characters' minds and finding different scenarios and new nasty things for them to do 😊

What kind? Hmm. Not sure, I like to sprinkle in some sub/dom undertones and a little bit of a praisekink or edging even for the most vanilla stuff. I wouldn't say my stuff is that kinky?? Though I did write watersports, public settings and some degradation too, but who even knows what's considered kinky nowadays...

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I don't write crossovers, I don't even read them... it's just not for me, I guess.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of, so hopefully not

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope, or at least I can't remember anyone asking

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

It was the way I used to RP in high school... I'd write a paragraph and then my roommate would write the next and we'd pass the notebook back and forth until we finished... it was mostly smut though and I have no idea if I could actually co-write something publishable 💔

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

I have a few forever fandoms and forever ships... but I gotta say buddie is the most fun I ever had in fandom so far, so I think they deserve the title (hah)

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

fuck, so many 😭 but I have a long steddie fic (26k already written and it's about halfway done) that I regret not finishing, because it was the ultimate angst and character study and I just... yeah, it would've been great, but maybe I get into the mood when season 5 comes out (or it'll just make me wanna never touch the fandom ever again, who knows)

16. What are your writing strengths?

Not sure what counts as strength, but I love learning the speech patterns of the characters I'm writing for and I guess I've gotten kind of alright at it??

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Writing fluff is definitely something that doesn't come easy for me

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Worth it if it makes sense in context and you can make sure that you translate correctly (or realistically incorrectly, if that's what you're going for). Overusing another language just to show that you can is not a good reading experience though, especially if you only put the translation in the end notes.

Also, making a character that rarely ever speaks that language speak it extensively without a good reason can take me out of the story real fucking quick... generally just use it when it makes sense and you can make sure that you're not butchering it.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I think the first one I ever posted online was a RyoDa fic (jpop rpf, respectively) and the first fandom I posted for on ao3 was Stranger Things

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Hmmmm. It kinda changes as I move along. I always felt like Hunger at last was pretty under-appreciated compared to my other witcher fics, but It might walk like a duck was something I wrote in about 2 days because it came to me so smoothly and I really enjoyed writing it... The Companion is a big favourite for me because I think it was a pretty unique idea to work with... also it's not even posted yet but the mudslide fic already has such a special place in my heart, plus it has my favourite confession scene I've ever written so...

idk I'm not a very decisive person lmao sorry

✨no pressure tagging: @forthewolves @eddiediaztho @daffi-990 @callaplums @ladydorian05 and anyone who wants to do it 💛

[franciskirkland]

Fic Writer Questions

Thanks for tagging me @fireandiceland 🔥🧊🇮🇸

1.) How many works do you have on AO3

7 🍀

2.) What’s your total AO3 count?

Word count currently at 191,103. Hit count 3,468. We gotta pump these numbers up these are rookie numbers 📈💁‍♀️☝️

3.) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

We write Hetalia here Sir 🧐🌍

4.) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. Boys Don't Cry (🇬🇧🇫🇷)

2. Dancing With A Stranger (🇬🇧🇫🇷)

3. Sugar, We're Going Down (🇬🇧🇫🇷)

4. (You'll Be My) American Boy (🇺🇸🇫🇷)

5. (Hit Me) Baby One More Time (🇬🇧🇫🇷)

5.) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

🤔😈 That's a hard one bc like most of my major works are pretty angsty but they're also mostly unfinished! I would have to say Boys Don't Cry is the angstiest in general but it'll have a happy ending!! 🥰

6.) What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

See above. All my stuff will eventually have fluffy endings 🥹💖 That being said, La Vie En Rose is a domestic fluffy oneshot! 🌹

7.) Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Nah, hasn't really come to mind.

8.) Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do! Not a ton, and I have to be in the right mood for it. What kind? Idk how to answer that 😅 I guess I can write rough fucking or gentle lovemaking and whatever in between 🤷‍♀️ Idk. Also I exclusively write Franny on the receiving end (also topping from the bottom is 🤌 *chef's kiss*) and Artie more dominant bc that's just how I see them! Mommy and Daddy 💕 Don't h8 appreci8 😘

9.) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Always!!! 🤩 I looooove any and all feedback and I try to reply ASAP

10.) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Mmm no but I got anon hate for the first time telling me my characterization sucks and it's like 😭 Are u 13??? Go study for your math test girlie xoxo

11.) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No and I will go ballistic if that ever happens ☺️🤪🤙

12.) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope! I try to include a fair amount of French when I'm writing France, but I write in English and no one has ever translated it. If you'd like to, go ahead!

13.) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I do get a lot of input from friends here and have been inspired by some ideas from others (with permission to make them my own stories) but no, I'm more of a solo writer who takes requests!

14.) What’s your all time favorite ship?

Arthur/Francis 🇬🇧🇫🇷 I looove ScotFra too, and US/Fr 🤤 Honorable mention for CuCan but I haven't written anything focused entirely on them yet!

15.) What’s a WIP that you want to finish but you don’t think you ever will?

Never say never. I always come back to my works even if it takes me a while 🥹

16.) What are your writing strengths?

I've received a lot of compliments on my characterization and also descriptions of settings so! That must be it! I'm a details girlie ✨

17.) What are your writing weaknesses?

Mmm writing fluff without adding angst. Don't get me wrong I love fluff I just can't help but do a little Suffering 🥺😈 Also time management, dragging things on, getting distracted 🥴😵‍💫

18.) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in fic?

I do often write Francis speaking in French! (and I usually call him François bc that's the French spelling sorry hhhh) If it's a long piece of dialogue or a phrase that isn't well known, I will usually provide a translation, but if it's something like "Voila!" or "Je t'aime", y'all can figure that out for yourselves.

19.) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Hetalia I think 🫡 I'm not rly in any other fandoms.

20.) What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Oof I don't play favorites, seriously I try to give all my WIPs equal time and attention. Sometimes if I'm not feeling something as much I'll put it off, but like I said I'm excited to write all of them!! 😁💕💘

Tagging:

@koolkat9 @swagtalia if you haven't already done this! (no pressure as always 😚)

[itsrottenwork]

Hiii mj!! Secret Santa here!! Happy Thursday, hun!! (Or Friday!! Yay Friday!!) ✨

I apologize this came later than usual!! The last 48 hours have been hectic. Typing this in the airport as we speak! 😅 nonetheless, the ask is here!! Also want to give a heads up that I might be a little more sporadic with these asks only because the area I’m in in PR doesn’t have very good signal. I will do my best to keep up the pace!! ✨

We gotta go on a deep dive to find more dramatic reads videos!! That’s the goldmine of content!! I’ll see what I can dig up!

That’s so cool!! Even if you don’t know them fluently, the ability to recognize that many languages is still impressive and should be recognized!! Since my parents speak Spanish, it’s more of a given that I had to learn when I was younger. I can read/understand Spanish better than I can speak it tho. I did take two years of German in middle school, but never continued learning it after that. I would like to keep learning it though as well, along with sign language!!

Speed Round Questions!! Oooooo, do you have a fav. type of tea? I’m basic, so I would usually say a good chamomile tea with honey is always a good way to go! Do you consider yourself a morning or night person? I despise having to get up before 11am, so I would probably say night. When you fist meet someone, what’s the one thing you notice first about them? For me, I always tend to notice their tone of voice before reading any facial expressions. When someone is content/annoyed, you can def. tell without really needing to look at them. Do you have any tattoos/piercings? I don’t have any tattoos, but I would love to get some in the near future!! I do have piercings; one flat and three lobes on each ear!! 🎄✨

no worries, it's totally fine!! the holidays are supposed to be a chill relaxing time of year but in reality they mostly just end up busier than normal in new and different ways. have fun on your big pr trip, I can't wait to hear about what you get up to!! and if I'm honest, I will also be going on a vacation in a few days so I totally understand. I'll definitely have internet, but time to sit and properly answer questions may be a different story lol

ooh spanish is such a useful language to know though!! sign language as well, I really wish I knew that!! for all the languages I've ever tried to study, I don't think any of them were ever like, something super useful in my day to day life, but when I lived in texas I'd always make my roommate order for me when we got texmex takeout because a lot of the places only spoke spanish. the united states needs to have better early age language education, I think if someone started teaching me a different language in elementary school I'd be better off, but I couldn't start taking language classes at my school until 9th grade

speed round answers!!

tea: oh def, for a black tea I'm very partial to lapsong souchong, though I will admit the flavor is not for everyone, I also like vanilla chai, I just got some actually and it smells like snickerdoodles omg. I also have a ton of different like, floral or fruity herbal blends, fancy tea is so fun to get into, but those two are like, solid go-tos for me

morning or night: morning for sure, I really am not the kind of person who can stay up late, but I usually wake up ~7:30 in the morning just naturally (though it's easier when the sun actually rises before 8am lol)

first thing you notice: I guess like, hair color/style? I know a lot of the time when I'm watching a show, if I didn't catch a character's name I'll just know them in my head as like, "guy with spiky hair" or whatever until they actually get around to saying the person's name again

tattoos/piercings: just my ear lobes!! and no tattoos on me unfortunately, I love the idea of tattoos, and I love them on other people, a lot of my friends have really nice ones, but I'm just too afraid of commitment to go through with something like that

have a good flight and enjoy your trip!! 🛫💖

[fanfiction-fantasies]

Hiya! Real big fan of your x reader works!! I was wondering if you do BOTW x Readers. If so, perhaps Sidon, Link, Zelda, and Buliara?

Sidon

Anyone who knows Sidon knows that he is an incredibly supportive and strong person. If you have a problem you need help solving, he’s the one to talk to. This sweet fish prince loves helping those around him.

And that goes double for anyone he is romantically interested in!

If you need help with something, he will do everything in his power to help. If you need help coming up with an idea, he will listen to you and pitch in with his thoughts on how to proceed. If you need to vent, he will listen and offer comfort.

His love language is words of affirmation and physical touch. He always has a compliment on the tip of his tongue, and he is always ready to hold your hand or scoop you into a hug at a moment’s notice.

What can he say, he thinks you’re simply amazing! He figures that if no one else is going to tell you how great you are, he should be the one to do it! It is a job he will take on with pride and honor.

Despite how confident he seems, he can be rather bashful. Compliment him, initiate physical contact, or give him a gift? He will turn away to try and hide his smile.

This sweet fishy boi loafs you

Link

This boy is chaos incarnate, and his affection reflects this.

He’ll bring you a beautiful bouquet of flowers, smiling at you despite having just fought a mob of monsters.

Either that, or he will give you some mundane trinket after having ran across Hyrule because “It reminded me of you!”

Since Link is mostly nonverbal, he uses sign to talk to you. Don’t know sign? He’ll teach you! It doesn’t matter to him if you're a fast learner or if you struggle, he is infinitely patient when it comes to you.

As you might have already guessed, his love language is giving gifts! Because of how often he travels, Link will have no shortage of things to give to you. Jewelry and sand seal plushies from Gerudo desert, cool lava rocks from Death Mountain, luminous stones and unique plants from Zora’s Domain, maybe even a bow from the Tabantha region!

Link is not only chaotic, he’s also a dork. He will make an absolute fool of himself to make you smile and/or blush.

He definitely does the eyebrow thing.

Zelda

Oh honey, you managed to catch the eye of the sweetest cinnamon roll this side of Hyrule.

In public, she’s curt and impersonal with you. In private, or when she’s out exploring? A total 180. She is sweet, excitable, and loving. She could talk your ear off with all the cool tech knowledge she’s got in her head!

She’s a princess, so you know you’re gonna be a lil’ bit spoiled. Nice jewelry? New clothes? Any and all tools needed for any hobby you may have? You don’t even gotta ask, she will provide.

No, she won’t try and make you eat frogs. That ‘privilege’ is for Link only.

Her love language is quality time! Spending time with you and sharing her interests is her way of showing her affection. She has to trust someone quite a lot to be able to open up about her interests, so this is also her way of showing trust.

Your relationship with Zelda would have to be a secret at first. Her father hardly even lets her study relics, so a relationship? Just another distraction according to him.

Don’t worry, he’ll come around once he sees how genuinely happy his daughter has become since knowing you.

Buliara

Strong, loyal, protective… What more could you want?

She is honestly a great choice for a romantic partner. Sure, it takes quite a bit to impress her, but once you do, it’s really just a matter of time.

If Riju approves of you, you can bet that she is gonna be the best wingman.

Although Buliara dedicates herself to her job, that doesn’t mean she won’t have time for you. She will absolutely take time out of her day to spend with you! (Riju definitely messes with the schedule to ensure this)

Her love language is quality time and acts of service! She enjoys spending time with you, whether it’s training with you or watching you do something you enjoy. If you ever need help with something? You hardly need to ask, she’s already up and assisting you!

She will definitely want to train with you. Teaching you how to defend yourself will be something she enjoys, because not only does she get to see you improve, it also takes away some of her worry. If you can defend yourself, she won’t need to look over her shoulder to make sure you’re okay. She’s a warrior, and a worrier.

Her ideal date is a picnic out on the cliffs at the edge of the desert at night. Good food, stunning views, and you? Dream come true for her.

[bbugyu]

can i kiss you yet? + hong joshua

a mutual friend always made a great excuse to see you, but he definitely wanted more.

wc.2.4k | joshua x gn!reader, fluff, first snow au, foreigners in korea squad up, josh is a tutor u are an ambiguous worker everything is vague shhh, there are really no warning this is just fluff, oh drinking, but only the once, miss park chaeyoung please text me back

haha..... i am....... im not........... im in my joshie feels ok do not talk to me about it im embarrassed. thanks @babiemingoo for ruining my life by saying joshua would fall in love with me, and i quote, "no cap."

~

you spent a lot of time with joshua. by proxy, mostly, but you enjoyed his company nonetheless. your best friend called him her brother - they weren't related by blood, but by circumstance, having separately moved to korea at an old enough age to take care of themselves but young enough to still need the support of someone going through something similar. they were neighbors, and rosie had no way of stopping him from barging through her front door at all hours of the day. she always yelled at him to let her have some privacy. he insisted that if she was doing something that required privacy, then she should tell him beforehand. you always just laughed from your spot on the couch.

joshua would smile and put up a hand when he pretended to notice you for the first time, as though you weren't the express reason he had made an excuse to show up. "hi, y/n."

you would smile back and wiggle your fingers at him. "hi, josh."

this happened almost every time you came over to rosie's apartment, and while you never intended to see him, you would be lying if you said it wasn't a lovely benefit.

she rolled her eyes. "don't you have a job?"

"that's the great thing about being an online tutor," joshua said, making himself comfortable on the opposite end of the couch from you. "flexible scheduling."

you realized you had never asked him about his work. "what do you tutor?"

he looked at you, and you thought you saw a flash of nervousness in his eyes before he grinned. "english. and korean. and algebra. and calculus, sometimes."

"that's, like," you paused, your head knocking to one side. "impressive?"

"is it?" he laughed. "i just voice chat with high school students in sweats."

you shrugged. "i'm bad at math and i'm pretty sure i'd be bad at teaching, so anything like that is impressive to me."

he nodded, the corner of his mouth quirked upwards. it was hard for him to believe that you could be bad at anything, but he figured math was an okay thing to be lacking in. "noted."

rosie coughed loudly, making you both direct your attention to where she was leaning against the kitchen counter. "if you guys are done, i would love someone's help deciding what kind of pizza to get."

when you left hours later, rosie asked joshua why he even came over, trying to imply that he was taking too long to admit he liked you.

he pouted out his lips and shook his head. "no reason. i just heard you talking to someone and wanted to make sure you're not inviting over weirdos."

she gave him a sideways glare, knowing that if that were the truth, he would have come over when mingyu showed up the day before. or wonwoo last week. or any of her other friends that frequented her studio apartment. but conveniently, he only ever barged in when it was you, and she had a suspicion that it was because he had learned to recognize your laugh through the thin walls.

the first time you ever met joshua, it was at a bar. you and some work friends had agreed to get drinks together, and when your coworker-turned-bestie got a call from her neighbor saying she got a package, you nudged her.

"is he your oppa, like, just a guy, or like a boyfriend?"

she squinted at you, registering your language switch "ew! oh my god, he's just a guy. he's like a brother."

you heard an indignant noise over the line at her exclamation, and you giggled as you guided the straw in your cocktail to your lips.

"am i lying, joshua?" rosie said, rolling her eyes. "are you not like my brother?"

"joshua?" your eyebrows quirked up, realizing he had an english name, and only processing after the fact that he also understood her. "is he like us?"

"foreign?" rosie asked, looking at you. "yeah, he's from la."

you looked at her expectantly. "well, is joshua free tonight?"

she laughed at you, but redirected the question over the phone anyways, then promptly invited him out to join you at the bar, and he said he could be there in 45 minutes. he arrived with 6 minutes to spare (not that you were watching the clock, but you totally were), and rosie waved him down to join your table, quickly introducing him to the coworkers you had deemed fun enough to hang out with.

"and this is y/n," she said, grabbing your arm. she leaned over to joshua, pretending to whisper. "the other foreigner."

you laughed and shook his hand, saying it was nice to meet him. he smiled back, warmly, and returned the sentiment. he was korean, you realized, despite being from america, and he was incredibly handsome. like, absurdly so, in a way that felt impossible in reality, yet here he was, gaze flickering over your face as you brought your (new) drink to your lips, and the liquid almost caught in your throat when you saw an entire galaxy twinkling in his eyes. you blinked when he went to get a drink, thinking you must be drunker than you thought to have mistaken the reflection of the fairy lights that littered the bar as galaxies, but for some reason, your initial impression seemed to suit him more.

months later, you went to rosie's apartment just to drop off some food - you were teaching yourself how to make korean side dishes, and she volunteered to be your auxiliary food tester if you made too much, which, big surprise, you absolutely did. she made fun of your cooler bag and your big puffy jacket, saying you reminded her of the grandma down the hall, and you laughed heartily as you made your way to her kitchen.

she had an essay to write, so you didn't stick around. shortly after you announced your leave and exited to the hall, the next door opened.

"oh," joshua said, hand still gripping the handle of his front door as he made surprised eye contact with you. "you're leaving already?"

you pursed your lips to hide a smile, wrapping your scarf around your neck. "already?"

"you usually, um," he paused, his hand going to the back of his neck, the other pushing into the pocket of his jeans. "you're usually around for a few hours."

you giggled. "i was just dropping off some food, rosie has an essay to write."

he puffed out a cheek and nodded slowly as he let it deflate. "i guess i shouldn't bother her, then."

you watched him avoid your gaze, then peeked slyly past him into his apartment. you had never been, but it looked neat. neutral. comforting. it seemed like him.

the jig was up, joshua thought, studying your eyes briefly. you clearly knew he only ever barged into his neighbor's apartment because you were there. he had obviously just given it away, but maybe you had always known, and you had just let him think he was convincing when he said he had no idea you were over. but maybe he was okay with that, because you never complained. and maybe that meant you liked seeing him, too.

"are you busy?" he asked suddenly. "i don't mean to keep you, but-"

you shook your head quickly. "i don't have plans."

"uh," he turned to his apartment before looking back at you briefly. "let me grab a jacket, i'll walk you home."

you couldn't help but smile. "okay."

joshua made sure he was quick to get his winter coat and a scarf, but instinctively adjusted his bangs in a mirror and checked his breath. he silently scolded himself for making this out to be something that it wasn't - he was walking you home, not taking you out. but he hoped he would work up the nerve to ask before the end of the walk.

"ready?" you asked, pushing off the wall you were leaning against as you waited.

he smiled at you, silently hoping he was. "yeah, let's go. it's gonna start getting dark soon."

when the two of you exited the apartment building, hands shoved into pockets, joshua commented that it felt like it was gonna snow.

"i think the forecast said tomorrow," you mused, looking up at the overcast sky.

he stared at you as you walked beside him, your lips curved upward in a vague smile as you thought about how much you liked the snow, and when you looked over and caught his gaze, he redirected his eyes just a little too late, then laughed at his own behavior. "sorry, you looked really cute just then."

you couldn't help but smile, nuzzling down into your scarf to hide it. "as opposed to normally, when i don't."

"not what i said," he defended immediately. "i think you always look cute."

you giggled into your scarf, hoping he couldn't see how flustered you felt. "thank you. i think you always look cute, too."

you caught a small smile sneak onto his face as he looked down at his shoes. "thanks."

joshua had never once seemed shy to you. a little hesitant, maybe, when you had first met him, but he exuded confidence. you got the impression that he knew himself better than anyone, and he was happy to express himself genuinely around people that accepted him. he was a bit of a smooth talker, you thought. he had a way of saying exactly what people wanted to hear, whether it was true or not. but today, now, he seemed genuinely reserved. quieter. like he wasn't quite sure what to say to you as you walked side by side on the sidewalk, headed to your apartment.

"what kind of food did you bring to roseanne?" he asked, trying to fill the quiet.

"standard fare," you said, smiling at how he used her full name. "kimchi, seasoned beansprouts, sweet potatoes, fishcakes."

"oh, korean?" he asked, looking at you. "i didn't know you cooked like that."

your lip quirked into a smile at the reaction. "i'm practicing. gotta please a korean husband if i wanna get a permanent visa, y'know."

"right," he said, nodding at your joking tone. "a korean husband."

you blinked, eyes focusing on something in the air, then looked up. "oh my god, is it snowing?"

joshua tore his gaze from you, looking around at the flakes that were gently falling from the sky. "i told you it was gonna snow."

"but the forecast said tomorrow!" you laughed, pulling a hand out of your pocket to try to catch some flakes. "has it snowed yet since new year?"

his heart fluttered lightly as he watched you shove your hand back into your pocket. "no, not yet."

you looked over at him and giggled at how much snow had gathered on his dark hair. "oh, jeez, it's starting to come down." you reached out to him, brushing some flakes off his bangs, and he hoped you thought his ears were just red from the cold. "if we don't hurry, you're not gonna be able to walk home."

that wouldn't be the end of the world, joshua thought. maybe if the snow fell heavy enough, you would tell him to sleep on your couch instead of trekking home. maybe the two of you could chat, alone, just enjoying company until too late in the night. and maybe your heating would go out again, like you often complained about, and maybe the two of you could wind up under the same blanket as you got sleepier.

"do you know that belief?" he asked, glancing at you as you walked. "what koreans say about first snow?"

you looked over to him. "no," you said shortly, switching to korean. "what is it?"

he laughed, but continued in english. "they say that if you're with someone during the first snow of the year, you'll stay together for a long time."

you stopped in your tracks, and he only made it two steps in front of you before he turned, looking at you questioningly. "together?"

he gave a short affirmation, blinking and looking away as he shifted his stance. "yeah, like-" he paused. "supposedly, if you confess during the first snow, it's good luck. or something like that."

you stared at him, studying his eyes as he avoided your gaze, a tiny smile creeping across your face. "josh."

he looked at you, eyebrows quirked. "w'sup?"

you giggled. "are you talking about us right now?"

"oh, are you confessing to me?" he asked, eyes wide and making you laugh as he slowly closed the short distance between you. "confessing during the first snow, wow. you must really like me. y'know, i always kind of thought you had a crush on me."

you rolled your eyes. "yet it took you four months to mention it?"

his nose scrunched up as he grimaced apologetically. "i'm sorry for making you wait," he said, quietly and in korean, close enough that you felt his breath on your skin. you just shook your head at him.

"i made you wait, too."

he looked between your eyes, and you couldn't help but feel like the snow was melting around you from his warm you felt. "can i kiss you yet?"

you let out a breathy giggle, enjoying the way his eyes creased as he smiled at you. "of course you can."

this moment, joshua realized, was one that he had imagined a million times in his head. in a million different scenarios throughout the last four months, he had imagined how incredible it would be to feel your lips against his. and when he finally found himself there, his fingers brushing against your cheek as he pulled you into him, the first snow of the year falling around you, he realized he had imagined it all wrong. because despite thinking that you definitely had the most beautiful lips that he could ever press his to, he had not accounted for the fact that you were smiling, and he was too, and that made them the sweetest. the most fun. the most exciting.

and he hoped you would let him keep kissing you for a long time.

[behindthekitty]

Apple Juice Royalty au!

Some of you might have seen my posts about it but basically i have created an au in which Epel is a prince and Deuce is a knight. I will talk more about them with their chatacter sheets ♡♡

First up our new prince Epel! If you cant read my handwriting I'll type it all out here

☆ Generally pretty emo

☆ Hates the cape and crown, but secretly likes the rest of the outfit

☆ likes horses and swordfighting and sports

☆ Was a boy in the village doin alright then he became a prince overnight now hes gotta figure out how to do it right so much to learn and see up in the c-

Epel is new prince adopted by the king. Under what circumstances, I'm not sure. Its possible his parents died and he was left all alone before Vil scooped him up. Despite what hes been given he's really miserable having to stay in the castle and learn a totally new dialect and manners and study all the time. He hates it. He wants to leave, and so he does. Epel escapes his home often. Also he's basically a disney princess at this point lol

About the outfit: Its based off of epel's dorm uniform and i also used some references from pinterest and Halloween costumes lol

Next is King Vil!

☆ In his 20's or so

☆ sighs a lot

☆ Having ro lead a country + lowkey raising a teen + looking good all the time is stressful

☆ But he manages

☆ Help

Vil became king, most likely when his father died. He decided to adopt an heir early on to save himself the trouble, but it really caused more trouble than it prevented. Epel's a handful and also really angsty. Dealing with him is bothersome, especially when he somehow keeps escaping even when Vil posts more and more guards around the castle, he always gets out somehow. It used to make him angry but he decided it wasn't worth the stress after a little while. Now he just sends people to go look for him whenever he escapes.

About the outfit: I used the same combination of references as I did for Epel, but i was also able to take influence from the evil queen.

Knight Deuce Spade!

☆ Takes his job seriously!

☆ a little too seriously!

☆ Obviously in love with Epel but will deny it to hell.

☆ Can't tall to Epel without blushing and sputtering

☆ Has a weakness for pretty boys

Deuce is a new knight trying to do everything right and make his mother proud. His backstory is the same as it is in canon. Wanting to do right by everyone ends up with him taking his job a little too seriously but he's also terrible at the job he tries so hard at. He's not a good fighter and also dumb. But lucky for him, nothing truly dangerous ever happens in their country.

His conflict is wanting to do his job right and also being head over heels for epel and wanting to see him happy.

About the outfit: I didnt design it, i stole it from some kid. But it fits him doesnt it? source

Chief Riddle Rosehearts!!

☆ Bite-sized knight

☆ Will actually destroy you

☆ Also tired of Epel's BS

☆ I wanted to draw him holding a sword :(

Riddle is another who takes his job very seriously. And he has to. He's the Chief knight and is thus the leader. Everyone has to follow his lead, no ifs ands or buts about it. If you argue, he'll yell at you and thats never fun.

Riddle is the guy Vil calls on whenever Epel escapes. At this point whenever Riddle is called in, this is what he expects the reason is. Riddle puts his all into finding Epel everytime and honestly cares more about it than everyone else does.

I wanted to draw him holdinga sword but couldn't figure it out

About the outfit: I couldn't find many refs of the kind of armor i was going for but it was fine. I took a lot of inspiration from his overblot form. Ignore the fact that he's on a tilt.

Other less important characters!

Trey!

☆ follows Riddle around

☆ Help

Cater!

☆ literally only became a knight to get closer to Vil (simp)

☆ commissions many paintings of himself

Ace!

☆ Messes around, isn't taking this seriously

☆ bad influence

Rook!

☆ Royal advisor

☆ What does he do? Vil doesnt even know.

Everyone else in hearstlabyul is a knight and so please imagine them in the same outfit as Deuce but with their respective symbols.

A lil plot i guess

Epel started sneaking out not too long after he became a prince. As soon as he had settled in he got tired of it. So he'd just leave. These early escapades happened at night whenever Epel was feeling especially emo. He'd normally go to the horse stables and take a ride to clear his mind, or climb a tree and stargaze, something like that. Stuff princes shouldn't do. He'd never leave the castle grounds, though. His secret was only exposed when Deuce found him. He should have reported Epel but that weakness for pretty boys and the empathy he's known for prevented him. It was basically love at first sight when Deuce saw Epel up close for the first time, not that Epel could tell.

After that, Deuce and the other knights (besides riddle) who gradually found out began helping Epel truly escape, like out into the real world. With their help, He could be out for a few days, or weeks even. And as Epel and Deuce start spending more time together, they get closer and closer 👀

My other ships might be here too but I don't really want to design an outfit for Rook lol so mostly just TreyRid on the sidelines maybe.

I do want to make a comic but uhhghnbchg i always quit those lmao I get so unmotivated.

Anyway thank you 4 reading! If you have any suggestions for this au, lmk. If you're wondering, I probably won't add any more characters to this au, since i see no reason to. this is it 4 now

[idontknowwhattodoherelmfao]

Deja Vu

Bakugo x fem!Black!reader

Word count; 9.06k

Character count; 40.93k

Genre: Smut

Warnings; AGED UP AU! Everyone is in their 3rd . NSFW, oral (Bakugo receiving), choking, hair-pulling, fingering, vaginal sex, unprotected sex (Don't worry, you're on the pill), aftercare, swearing, light degradation.

A/n; Hello, welcome to my first FINISHED fanfiction. I have a LOT of WIPs saved but I actually finished this one a while ago. I have been really insecure about my writing but after sharing me of it with my sister and my friend, they convinced me to at least try and share it with the people of tumblr. Also, I deeply apologize for any mistakes because most of my fanfiction is written really late at night when i simply cant sleep or a good idea pops in my head so I can barely see my keyboard and my brain is fuzzy. Well, I hope you enjoy and I encourage you to request suggest anything such as headcanons, scenarios or just anything really. Again I hope you enjoy babes.

You. step inside your classroom, ready to start your journey of being a hero. Yet, you're imediantly struck by chaos. "That is extremely disrespectful Bakugo!" "Shut up, you damn extra! Not this again!" "Woah! I'm getting serious deja vu! It's like 1st year all over again!" You just stare in silence. No one pays attention to you until one person looks at you, then another. Soon, everyone is staring at you. "It's chaotic in here, huh?" You chuckle nervously. "Yeah, but it's mostly this guy's fault." A yellow-haired boy points to someone sitting weirdly. "Yeah right! Shut up!" The ash-blonde-haired boy yells. After, his crimson eyes stare at you, piercing your soul. "Well, lookin' forward to this year." You laugh. A cotton-candy girl comes up to you and wraps an arm around your shoulder. "Yep! A lot of stuff happens, but it's really fun nonetheless!" She exlaims enthusiastically. "So, you're the new kid?" She points for your answer. "I'm (Y/n)! I look forward to this year with you." You wave to everyone. Suddenly, your smile falls and your face goes dead-serious. Everyone's expression melts into concern and nervousness. "Now, everyone tell me your names from seating order, from the back left corner to the front right corner!" You command. Surprisingly, everyone obey's, telling you their name. Well, except for 1 person. "I don't have to tell you shit." The same ash-blonde boy states. "I'm surprised everyone else did tell me. Haha! I was totally playing!" You laugh. You walk over to the boy. "Hey, you got spunk. What is your name?" You ask. Crimson eyes soften a little at the surprise, but they quickly turn cold again. "What are you, deaf? I said, I'm not speaking, extra." He huffs. A spiky red-haired boy puts a hand on your back. "He's Bakugo Katsuki. Don't mind him, he's a little hot-headed." He chuckles nervously. "Don't speak for me!" Bakugo yells. "I gotta say, your mom must be psycic or something. Your name totally matches your personality." You scoff. "You just got here. Enlighten me, what do you think my personality is?" He grins smugly. You scoff again, matching his grin. "Well, when you act like that, it's easy to tell, so don't get cocky. You're obviously really strong, which is why you have the right to brag and show off and all of that." You explain. "Are you insulting him or praising him?" Denki says. "Why can't it be both? Praise and respect for being like this, but at the same time, damn bro." you sit down in the nearest chair, which conveniently is your assigned seat. He scoffs and looks away. "What do you know." He mumbles. You cup your face in your hand to look at him. "Aw, don't get grumpy. I'll feel bad." You fake-whine. "I'm not grumpy! And even if I was, if that were to be enough to make you feel bad, maybe you shouldn't be a hero!" He yells. "Hm. You do know that I was joking right? Well, for the most part anyways. I would feel bad, but if this was a real life situation, trust me. I wouldn't feel nearly bad enough to disobey something for you. So don't worry, ya got nothin' to worry about." You pull your bottom eyelid down teasingly. "Shut the hell up." He grumbles. You comply, as the homeroom teacher comes into the class. You cross your legs into the chair, and you see Iida eyeing you from across the room. His eyes shift to beside you, where you see Bakugo doing the exact same thing. His eyes dart to you, as you quickly undo your feet and rest your head on your chair and let out a heavy sigh. "You do that too?" You look at him. "Copycat." He mutters. "Am not. I always sit like this." You whisper-yell. "Yeah right. You tryna be some kinda wannabe rebel or something?" He chuckles. "Rebel? Now, you just pulled that out your ass, didn't ya?" You ask. "No. You're clearly tryna be disrespectful. It's not a good look for you." He smirks. "Doin' this is disrespectful? Since when? It's always been cute to me." You huff. "Are you forein or something, or are you just a dumbass?" He turns his head to you. "Not exactly foreign, but I spent a generous amount of my life in America. I did this all the time there,

it's not counted as disrespectful, in fact people find it rather cute, so what's your excuse?" You put your hand down. He looks away from you. "Thought so, wannabe rebel." You chuckle. The rest of class is normal, and soon enough, the school lunch bell rings. "Hey, mr teach?" You raise your hand while everyone leaves. Well, except for Bakugo, Mina, Kirishima, and Denki because they were being disrespectful and talking during the lesson. You were wondering why Bakugo was caught and not you. For punishment, the disrespectful students had to pack up chairs and sweep the classroom. "Yes, (L/n)?" The teacher responds. "In a normal highschool, we're allowed to leave campus during lunch. Does that apply here?" You ask, looking around. "Yes, you're allowed to leave at any time as long as you fill out a leave campus paper. They're in the teacher's lounge." He points to the door "Go left, at the first turn, turn left, and 3rd door on your right." he explains. "I don't know if i'm leaving, I was just askin'." You say. "Hm, I dunno. Hm." You put a finger to your chin in thoght. "Hey! I'm heling you guys now!" You point to Bakugo, Mina, Denki, and Kirishima. They all give you s confused look. "What? Why would you wanna do this?" Kirishima asks. "Maybe she's a bit weird in the head. Hehe, our first crazy person. Just the icing on the cake, huh?" Denki jokes. "I'm not crazy, just bored." You pick up a broom. "Yeah, I think she's a bit crazy." Mina whispers. "Heard that."  You roll your eyes. "Why're you bein' so quiet, wannabe rebel?" You cock an eyebrow. "Don't call me that!" He yells while raising his fist. "You called me that first." you scoff. "Exactly my point. Who calls someone something they called them first?" He says. "Hm, maybe I can be a trendsetter." You give him a smug smile before sweeping some of the dirt on the floor. Suddenly, Bakugo starts yelling. "You idiots! You're doing this all wrong!" He screams.  He points to Denki. "Where the hell are you sweeping, the wall!?" He points to Kirishima "Stop staring into space!" He points to Mina. "And you're not doing anything! When was this a time for music!?" Mina was drumming her hands on a desk while humming. He pointed to you. "And you're-" He stops midsentence. You lean on your broom. "Go on, what am I doing?" Your face looks serious, but he can tell you're fighting your smile. The corners of your mouth twitch as his cheeks turn a very subtle pink, but you picked it up. "Mhm. too bad for you, I don't get caught lacking." You say sing-songy. "Y'know, if you're so serious about cleaning this place, why don't you do it?" Denki suggests. "Well, you're all punished, so I don't think ya'll can just leave." You laugh. "Maybe we can if someone takes over our spots. Ah? Ah?" Denki nudges your shoulder. "Maybe you're right.." Denki's eyes light up, and everyone looks to you. "It would be faster if you were gone, pea-brain." You sneer. "I mean, I'm happy you'd let me leave, but c'mon! Pea-brain?" You laugh, along with Mina and Kirishima. "How mean!" Kirishima says through fighting snickers. "Haha! It's totally true though!" Mina, on the other hand is guffawing and holding her sides. "Your grades are jsut as bad!" Bakugo yells. "Dang, am I just surrounded by idiots? Studying isn't really that hard." You shrug. "Oh please! How good are your grade!?" She points and huffs. "Me? Eh, not half bad if I do say so myself. Usually above average, but math and history is always a struggle. But at least I can manage to have an A average." You shrug. "A...average!?" Mina dramatically throws herself back. "Yeah. If you guys put some sort of effort into your grades, you'd be the same way." You explain. "Shut up, we need to get this done and over with, you trying to keep us here all day and night!?" Bakugo yells. "My thoughts exactly. Great minds think alike I guess." you roll your eyes and begin sweeping again, glaring at Denki and taking his broom. "Hey!" He says, at your snatch. "Honestly, at this point you're just stalling." "Do something useful for once." Bakugo adds. "Jeez, when did you

become so mean?" He walks away. "I became mean when someone pissed me off." You reply. "What did I do?" He raises his voice a little. "Not much, I don't even really know why I'm kinda pissed at you. Maybe it's your piss hair." Mina points and laughs again. "Everyone here is mean to me." He whines. "Let's hurry up and get this oevr with, I'm getting bored again." you start sweeping a bit faster. "If you're bored, why dont you just leave? No one's stopping you." Bakugo says. "Eh, I dunno, just don't wanna leave I guess." You shrug. "You'd really just rather just stay here and clean? You're pretty weird.." Mina groans. "Hey, you're witnessing a rare sight. I don't really get bored often." You chuckle, and sweep the dust and dirt into Bakugo's pile. "You've been silent, wannabe rebel." You tilt your head in front of his face. "I said stop calling me that, dumbass. You must be deaf." He says. "You got all this talk but you're not doing anything. Try insuliting me when you prove you can do something better than me." You spin around and continue sweeping. Mina and Kirishima are silent for a few minutes. "Hey, me and Kirishima are done, we're gonna dip." Mina finally speaks. Kirishima nods. "Ugh, can I go? (Y/n)'s not letting me do anything!" Denki groans. "Because you do it wrong." You explain. "Yeah, we're gonna head to the cafeteria before they're out of Onigiri!" Mina exclaims. "Hope we're not too late." Kirishima rubs his stomache. "Haha! Good luck with being stukck with Bakugo (Y/n)!" Denki waves his hand and they all run out the room. "God, what did thet even do? Wiped an already clean table?" You scoff, sweeping some more while spinning a little. "Why are you here?" Bakugo questions. "And you're gonna call me deaf? I said because I was bored." You laugh, the noise echoing throughout the classroom. "Now, hurry up, I wanna get out of here." You continue sweeping again, but he stands still. "What now? You forget how to sweep? Here, like this." You slowly sweep, while laughing to yourself again. "Shut the hell up. If you wanna get out of here, why don't you? You like me or something?" He gives you the slyest grin as you growl. "No one else here likes you, why should I?" You copy his grin. "We've all been together since first year, you just got here. What do you know?" His grin fades as he sweeps. "Hey, what's your quirk?" You ask. "Huh? What the hell for?" He yells. "I wanna spar with you!" You beam. "Yeah, OkAy." He says sarcastically as he scoffs. "Tell me your quirk first." He says while sweeping. "Hm." You ponder. "Do you not know what your quirk's name is or something?" Bakugo looks at you, and stops sweeping. "No. My quirk is enhancement. I was just thinking if I should tell you or not." You respond, sweeping yourself. "Enhancement" Bakugo wonders." "Yeah, you know, I can make something or someone really strong, blah blah blah. What's yours?" You ask. "Explosion." He grumbles. "Explosion? Now we gotta spar! I know you're strong, so c'mon!" You say, putting the broom down. "..Fine, but pick your broom up! We're not sparring here, and in case you didn't know, I'm still punished." Bakugo grumbles. "Fine, let's hurry this up then. I don't know how much time of lunch is there." You look at the clock. "Usually, there's about a 50 minute lunch break, we've been out for about 20 or maybe 25. 30 at most." You do the math in your head. "You could have just took the time lunch ends and subtracted it by the amount of time you've been wasting here, extra." Bakugo grumbles. "Well, even if it was 30, we'd still have 20 minutes to spar! That's more than enough time for me to beat you!" You say. "I'll kill you." He grumbles, sweeping a bit faster. You join him, and the room is spotless in no time. "Hurry up!" Bakugo yells at you. "Don't yell at me!" You yell back, jogging after him. You end up at some clearing. Bakugo is stretching his arms and cracking his neck. "1, don't set any tree's on fire. 2.." He gives you a glare. "Hope you have another uniform packed." He smiles to wide his gums are showing. You are in shock a little, but

you smile too. "And same to you." You crack your knuckles. "Actually?" you stop. "What." bakugo stops himself as well. "This time, let's not use our quirks." you say. "Why? You scared that mine is better?" He laughs. "No no, nothing like that. It would be better to spar to better our physical skills first, then we can add quirks later." You say. "Alright, let's just get this over with." He rolls his neck. You both come at eachother at the same time, throwing punches, kicks, and blocking for what seems like forever. You see his hand start glowing, signaling he's about to make an explosion. Most likely to propel himelsef towards you, but still. You grab his wrist and hold it up. "Ah! I said no quirks and you agreed." you point to his hand, as the glow fades. Deku comes up to us, a bit shocked at the scene. "Uhm, lunch is over." He nervously says. Bakugo snatches his wrist back from you, and walks away, sucking his teeth. "This isn't over." He brushes past Deku, who immediantly turns back to you. "Hey, were you fighting?" The green-haired boy rushes over. "Yeah, we were." you shrug. "Are you hurt?" He asks. "Why aren't you asking Bakugo this stuff?" You ask. "He was bullying you, right? I can't believe you stepped up to him though-" Your erupting laughter interrupts him. "A-are you okay!?" He waves his hands. "Oh my god! You thought he was bullying me? I came up with the idea of sparring!" You gasp for air. "You were just sparring?" Deku asks for clarification. "Yeah, didn't you notice he wasn't using his quirk? Well, until the very end, but I stopped him." You catch your breath. "O-oh. i'm sorry I misunderstood." You slap him on the back. "It's all good, it's not your fault Bakugo just gives off that vibe! Welp! Time for class, right?" You begin marching towards the forest, Deku nodding and following suit. While you're walking to class, you replay the sparring match in your head. Your brain stops at one scene, when you grabbed his wrist. You didn't see it before, but now that it's replaying, you see his eyes in your small vision. They were softened, but hostile. You giggle at the thought, to which Deku notices. "What are you laughing about?" He asks. "Just how you thought Bakugo was bullying me." You run in front of him, hoping to catch up to Bakugo. "Hey, Bakugo!" You yell for him, he stops and turns around. "What?" He grumps. "When are we gonna spar next? You said it wasn't over." you explain. "After school, what'd you think I meant, dumbass." Bakugo says. "I thought you meant the same time tomarrow or something, don't get your panties in a bunch." You playfully push him. "Should we reschedule that sparring match to right now?" Bakugo growls. "I dunno, I feel up to another round. This time I'm gonna kick your ass." You smirk. "I'll win in a second. Because next time we spar, we're doing quirks and all." He scoffs. "Now now, didn't you hear the phrase the cockiness killed the cat?" You tease. "I'm not cocky, I just know I'm gonna win." He shrugs. "Mhm, I admire the confidence, but it's just gonna be hilarious when I beat you at this point." You snicker at the thought of his face. "Well, get that thought out of your head because it's not happening." Bakugo lightly smacks the back of your head. "Yes it is! But just because you think you're gonna win, don't try to go light on me!" You point at him. He swats your hand away. "Calm down, I wouldn't dream of it. What made you think I would?" He asks. "You seem like those type of people that would 'pkay with their food' when their prey is especially weak." You say. "Well, that's just inefficient. I'm pretty sure we're late, so hurry your ass up!" He yells as he walks faster. "I could use my quirk and we'd be there in a second." You suggest. "What's your stupid quirk gonna do?" He asks. "Enhancement. I could enhance our legs to make us walk or run faster. But, you'd probably crash into a wall at the sudden change of speed. But I could totally carry you!" You beam. "I'm not getting carried." He walks up the stairs. "Would you rather me drag you by the shirt?" You suggest

jokingly. "No, I'm walking myself. I don't need your help to walk to my damn classroom." He says. "Fine, then I will too. It'll look like i'm showing off if i use my quirk without you." You huff. "DO you see anyone here? No one gives a shit if your showing off." Bakugo says. "Well, I'm not budging, but let's hurry up." You say. "Don't tell me what to do!" He yells after you. When you enter class, surprisingly enough, the teacher's not there. "Lucky ducks! Where were you?" Mina says. "WEre you really sweeping all lunch?" Denki asks afterwards. "We w-" "Well anyways!" Mina interrupts. "I'm totally having a party at Yamomo's! I just need a theme or kind of party. Should it be a rave, or maybe a dance battle!" Mina beams. "How're you gonna throw a party if you don't know what it's gonna be?" You ask. "Well, I don't even know if I'm gonna have it at Yamomo's, but most likely, I will. Maybe I can find an abandoned warehouse instead!" She beams. "Maybe we could have some kind of boxing match like how (y/n) and Bakugo were sparring!" Ochako suggests. "No way, Bakugo would beat everyone in a heartbeat, so there'd be no surprise." Denki objects. "Why don't we have some sort of nightclub vibe?" You suggest. "That's perfect! A nightclub! Purple lights, a dj, it'll be PERFECT! You're a GENIUS (y/n)!" Mina swings her arms around you and squeals. "It just came to mind when I thought of a party." You explain. "Okay! I have everything under control! I'll text you the place and time! I'll set up everything!" Mina shreiks. "You sure you can set up a party by yourself?" Kirishima asks. "I got connections. Leave it to me!" She shows a thumbs up. "Hey (Y/n)! I never got your number. Wouldn't want you not coming." She gives you her phone and you type your number in. She texts you a thumbs up for comfirmation. "Okay class, settle down." The math teacher walks in. "Took him long enough" you mutter. The school day goes by easily, and before you know it, the end of the day bell is sounding. "Hey, Bakugo. Are we really gonna spar now? What if we get the text for Mina's party in the middle of it?" You ask. "Knowing her, it probably won't be till late, to 'set the mood'." He turns off his phone and shoves it in his pocket. "We got time." He walks in front of you down the stairs. "Well, okay. The dorms are this way, right?" You point to a nearvy building. "Yeah, but why're you going there?" Bakugo asks.  "This is my chance to change into more comfortable clothes for better mobility. Also, my only spare uniform might not be able to fit me after the party." You joke.  "You should take this oppertunity too." You suggest as you walk in. After you change, you walk back out, Bakugo's leaning on the side of the building. "Geez, what took you so long?" Bakugo groans. "You just change fast." You stick your tongue out. "And you did your hair?" He scoffs. "Yeah? You didn't?" You say sarcastically. "No winder you took so long, it's like you planned this outfit." He sucks his teeth. "Are you gonna stop staring at my clothes and fight me or what?" You crack your knuckles once more. "Quirks this time, remember?" Bakugo clarifies. "Hell yeah. Wanna time your loss?" You laugh. "Shut up." He grumbles. Suddenly, he's infront of you, his hand glowing. You block, and stumble back a little. "Geez, that was dirty!" You say. "All's fair in fighting and fighting." He chuckles. "Ugh." You groan, as you speed towards him, throwing an enhanced punch at his blocked face. The fight continues on forever, taking small water breaks and continuing. Bakugo is appalled at your raw strength, only helped with your enhancement quirk.  You chug your water, noticing his mixed expression of shock, and exhaust. "What time is it?" You check your phone, the time being 10 o'clock. "Damn, we've been sparring for 5 hours? No wonder my muscles are so sore." You stretch your arms a little. Suddenly, yours and Bakugo's phones go off at the same time. "Seems like Mina's got the time and place. I didn't think she was gonna go through with it." You say. "Well, that's that extra for you." Bakugo shoves

his phone in his pocket. "The party is in 2 hours, and you take forever to change apparently so I suggest you get started now." He growls. "What about..? Fine." You give up. Mina and Momo arrive at your dorm. "OH. My. GOD!" Mina squeals. "What is it? And aren't you supposed to be at the party?" You ask. "I went shopping with Yamomo for...your dress~!" Mina says sing-songy. "She picked it out." Momo hands you the dress, covered in a bag. "Uh, you didn't have to do this." You scratch the back of your head. "You're the new kid, so we wanted to help you get ready!" Mina beams. "Go on, try it on! I think it'll look great on you now that I'm getting a good look of you." Momo says, a finger to her chin. "Fine. Come in, sorry it's a bit messy." You say, walking towards your bathroom. "Don't forget to take a shower, you smell sweaty!" Mina teases. "And how do you call this dirty? One outfit is on the floor?" Mina picks it up and puts it in the hamper. You feel like a completely new person in the shower, washing away your sweat, filth, and problems. You also wash your hair, remembering you forgot to do it last week. You get out and reveal the dress, your eyes widening at the red beauty. You try it on and look in the mirror. "Uhm," You call out to Mina and Momo. "Is this really what you're supposed to wear to a nightclub?" You ask, steppinf out of the bathroom. Mina and Momo gasp at your appearance in the dress. "Oh my god! Yes!" Mina rushes over, examinging you from every angle. "Is that the answer to my question? Aren't you supposed to dance at a nightclub?" You ask. "Yeah. You aren't just wearing the dress. Don't worry, you'll be able to dance the night away." Mina reassures you. "You sure? It's a bit tight." You tug at it around your thighs. "It's not tight, it's just...y'know, like a pencil skirt. it's just fitting." Mina explains. "I don't think pencil skirts are made for dancing." You laugh. "Well, I'm probably not gonna dance anyways. And if i did, I'm probably not gonna be breakdancing or anything, huh?" You chuckle. "That's the spirit." Mina gives you a thumbs up. "So, you said this wasn't the full outfit?" You sheepishly grin. "Yep! Don't worry, babe, just leave it to us." Mina smiles greatly and Momo gives a warm small smile. "Alright, but if you're gonna do my hair, be gentle." You tangle your fingers in your black sea of curls. "Don't worry, my head is sensitive too." She scratches her hair. Soon enough, you look like you had a full glow-up. Mina and Momo snapping pictures to put on their story, also taking photo's of eachother and themselves. "The party's at midnight, right?" You check your phone again. "Yeah, it's friday night so we don't have to worry about waking up early for school!" Mina says enthusiastically. "And since it's at one of my guest houses, we can even have a sleepover." Momo suggests. "C'mon, we wouldn't wanna be late." Mina says. "What are we even celebrating?" You ask. "Nothing. Sometimes, a party celebrating nothing is just what you need!" Mina says. "I...guess that makes sense..?" You laugh. You get in Momo's convertible, vibing as you pass the aux around. It feels like you've been in the car for such a short time, as you pull up to her guest house's driveway. You swear you can hear the music booming from where you were standing. You walk in, and are greeted with booming music, bright and dim lights, and decorations everywhere. "Tada!" Mina squeals. "How'd you do all this?" You gasp in awe. "I knew a guy." She says proudly. We hear another car pull up, and we greet the people coming one by one. "Wow, this party is amazing!" Kirishima looks around, getting lost in the crowd. At this point, people you didn't even know were arriving. You assumed Mina and  Momo's friends, and people the other classmates invited. Bakugo comes in and eyes you up and down. "Hm, I thought you wouldn't be here for another hour, slowpoke." He smirks. "Maybe you should higher your expectations then." You flash him a fake-mean look as you both walk to a wall. "Ha, just 2 hours ago we were fighting behind the dorms, and

now we're at a party." You laugh at the randomness. "I am actually surprised you were here before me though." He says with a phony shocked expression. You shove him playfully. "Well, guess I have Mina and Momo to thank for beating you. Maybe I should dedicate my trophy to them." You teasingly ponder aloud. His expression changed to a mix of irritation and laughter. Mina suddenly drags you away, to dance with her in the middle of the floor. At first you were embarrassed, but once you were feeling the beat, you forgot all about the people eyeing you and cheering you on. You were having a total blast, singing and dancing to the busting music. She said she mixed hers and Jirous playlist together, and you compliment their taste in music, and you and Mina begin dancing together. You and Mina stop, panting and laughing as she compliments your dancing skills. "I'm gonna get a drink." You point to the food and bevarages table and she nods. You walk through the crowd, hearing some cheers and compliments towards you, even some whistles. You drink some water, and lean on the wall watching as Mina continues dancing with Ochaco. Suddenly, you feel a yank and you're dragged away, and into a room. You hear the door slam as you're met with your back on a wall. You grunt on impact. Everything happened in a blur, so when you can focus your eyes again, You look around for a split second, realizing you're in some kind of office. But, you're met with fires of red. "Why the hell are you wearing that?" A booming familiar voice rings through your eardrums. "Bakugo? What do you mean?" You say, stunned that the words actually came out of your mouth. "I'll repeat myself just this once; Why the hell are you wearing that?" He says. You're absolutely shocked. "Well, you didn't seem to have a problem with it when you first saw me with it!" You say. "Well, that was before you decided to give everyone here a fucking 'show'!" His grip gets a little tighter on your shoulders. What? What did he mean by show? You weren't even paying attention to yourself or anyone else while you were dancing, did you really..? "W-well, even if I did, what's that got to do with you?" You recollect yourself. His grip on your shoulders tighten even more, making you groan a little. "If you were gonna do that, why the hell would you wear this?" He looks you up and down again. "I don't even know what I did, and it's not like I plan my dance moves!" Your voice raises a little. "You don't even know what you just did in front of everyone?" He looks shocked, not even the sightest bit irritated anymore. His grip seems to loosen and tighten at the same time. You get a little anxious, as he comes a little closer. "What do you see in your head when I say the word 'show' in the same context I just did?" He says. You gulp as you imagine it. "Yep, you just did that, in front of the whole class, plus others. It's pretty rich that you didn't even realize it though." Bakugo chuckles a little, but it quickly fades. "T-that's impossible, my body..can't do that." You try to huff, but you're too nervous to do a solid one. "How humble." He loosens his grip and backs away, making you breath deeper. But suddenly, one of his hands grabs your right thigh as he brings it up to his waist, and snakes his other hand onto your back, right above your butt. You're now pinned on the wall. "But you and I both at least have some idea of what this body of yours is capable of." He growls, his face just whispers away from yours. You take another deep breath, but it's more of a gasp. You lean your head up onto the wall, taking a deep gulp. Bakugo watches as the little bubble trails down your throat. "Well, if you really don't know.." He licks his lips as he watches another bubble travel downwards. "Want to find out?" He catches the third bubble, licking it. You snap your head in surprise as he gives you a teasing smirk. His left arm snakes down further, grabbing your ass as his right moves your thigh higher. Your head is spiraling, and you open your mouth to speak, but you're interrupted by an intruder of the

mouth. You couldn't help the moan from escaping as he tastes you, licking his lips afterward. Your lidded eyes meet his, but they quickly move down to his mouth, and then to his eyes again. "I'm just glad you aren't wearing lip gloss or lipstick." He mumbles, before giving you another tongue kiss. You wrap your left leg around his waist, as his right knee bends to touch you. He can feel your folds clench at his touch, which forces the smallest gasp from you. "If you only did that show for me, I wouldn't be pissed at you." He furrows his brows at you. "Why?" You manage to say. "You're that dense, huh? Maybe words won't go through your brain." His right hand leaves your thigh, and grabs some of your hair behind your head. His eyes flicker from your eyes to your mouth, open from your decreshending breaths. "So maybe this will." He licks the opening of your mouth, his tongue sliding in before turning it into a kiss. His mouth leaves yours just barely, before both of your tongues stick out, crashing onto eachother like waves, as your lips connect once again. These kisses were different, more passionate, including the unique sound they made compared to the others. When your lips disconnect as a finale, he unwraps your leg from his waist and lets go of your butt. His lidded eyes give you a (Not a command, but not a wish either, I couldn't find a word for it lmao.) as he sits down in the nearest chair, his right hand now cupping his face as he waits for you. You get a little shaky, but you oblige, moving towards him. You lower to your knees as he watches your thighs get thicker from the press of your lower legs. You move towards him more, as your hands go onto his knees. You erotically slide your hands up his thighs, as if you really were giving him a show on his own. Two index fingers dance towards the center of his pants, where a mountain stands. Bakugo lightly groans as he feels his pants getting more confined. Your hands lightly struggle at the tight button, but you manage to quickly undo it. Bakugo's large dick springs up at attention, precum almost dripping. You lean over it, and a few hairs cloud your vision. You tuck them behind you ear as you notice Bakugo's facial expression, seemingly annoyed. You put him to your mouth as you rub his tip with your index finger. He nods with a small groan, and you give his dick a small lick. You lick all of the sides at least once before sliding his dick into your mouth. You flatten your tongue as you fit more of his cock into your mouth, spilling a louder groan from Bakugo. Alas, your curls kept moving. They didn't exactly pose a problem to you, but the thick fingers that carded through your hair said otherwise. You stop to look at him. "Just wanted a view." His smirk grows. You continued, but using your tongue as it swirls around his tip. Bakugo's large hand clenched a handful of your hair, forcing you to take his dick. You moan at the slight pain and force. You rise your head to his tip, before stopping. His facial expression changes to confusion, which you take as your cue. You swiftly take as much of his dick as you can, and hold your head there. The shock forces a loud erotic moan from Bakugo, followed by curses, and his thick cum flowing into your mouth and onto your face, satisfying you.  Bakugo's covering his red face with his huge hand, panting along with you. "I...didn't expect that." Bakugo pants. "I...hah...said to...higher your expectations of me..didn't I?" You wipe your chin and lick your lips. "God, I should just face-fuck you right now." He exhales deeply, catching his breath. "Then why don't you?"  You ask. "Because as much as I'd love to shove this cock down your little throat, I also want to make you feel good." He uses a finger to lift up your chin, and close your mouth. You both stand up, and Bakugo lightly pushes you onto a table and stands over you, both of his arms by your sides, pinning you there. "I bet while you were giving your show out there, all the guys- hell, maybe even some of the girls- wanted to rip this dress off of you." Bakugo chuckles to

himself. "You said that your body couldn't do a show like that. Remember what I said? If you didn't know, wanna find out?" He recaps, and you nod. "Well? What's your answer to that?" He asks genuinly. You chuckle. "You're really gonna wait until you got your dick wet to ask me that? Psh, and you called me dense." Your chuckle erupts to a laugh. Bakugo clenches your hair again. "Just answer the damn question." He growls. "Yeah, I wanna find out." You reply confidently. He gives you a slightly surprised and confused look, to which you answer by swiping 2 fingers along his member. He lightly grabs your neck, forcing your head down onto the desk. A noise you didn't know you had in you echoes throughout the room. Even Bakugo's shocked by it, and he's the one who forced it out. But he quickly catches on. "Ah, somebody's got a little kink, huh?" His hand grabs your hair again roughly, a similar moan coming out as he lifts your head up and moves his mouth towards your ear. "You like to be fucked niiice and rough, don't you?" The low rumble in his voice makes you shiver. "You like to be teased, even though you act like you don't, huh?" He sneaks a touch at your folds through your panties. You lightly moan at the sudden act as your head moves upwards and your thighs clench together, as Bakugo's hand barely escapes your thighs crashing together. "You like...the pain with the pleasure, don't you?" He bites your ear before licking and peppering kisses onto it. Your breaths grow heavier as your body heats up. He continues with the teasing, forcing your legs open, putting his knee between your legs and carressing your inner thigh, and pressing onto your clit as he nibbles on your ear some more. He slips off shoes, then your pantyhose, and then your panties as his teases get harsher. Suddenly, two thick fingers of his slip between your velvety folds. You moan as your walls try to fend off the intruder, as he steadily pumps his fingers into you with rhythm. "God, you're so tight." He groans, as his dick twitches. Your breaths are still heavy, but more apparent. "Oh, god, fuck." Your head is thrown back onto the desk. Bakugo's firey eyes burn into yours. "This feels nice, doesn't it?" He says. You let out a whiny "Mhm." To which Bakugo chuckles. "It feels nice, sure, but I want to make you feel good, no, amazing, the best you've ever felt." His slides turn into thrusts as his fingers quicken their pace. "F-fuck." You moan grows long. You couldn't help but roll your hips and grab one of your breasts, trying to rush your release. "Ke-hah-ep going." You're barely able to keep those words together. "Now, don't rush yourself. I was gonna be the one to make you feel good." He hits just below the spot you've been longing for, and you can feel yourself coming close, just a little bit more. If that wasn't enough, he curls the tips of his fingers to hit your sweet spot, right on the money, and he can tell too, noticing how your body quivers and your eyes closed tightly. Suddenly, his fingers exit your folds. You give him a confused look, panted breaths taking over your words. "Sorry princess, but when you cum, I'm gonna be inside you." You watch as Bakugo seperates his fingers, watching as your slick webs between them. "Didn't think you could be this wet." Bakugo chuckles. Suddenly, he puts the two fingers in his mouth, licking your slick off. When his fingers leave his mouth, a string of slick falls from his mouth as well. You swallow at the sight. He gets up and grasps your neck, forcing your head down again, making the same noise, but slightly more lewd from the teasing. "Haha, you slut." He chuckles while exhaling deeply. He runs his hands down your frame, admiring your curves. He pumps himself a few times, reminding himself of how you just treated his dick. He grabs your thigh, observing how your flesh molded into his hand. He's moves his hand, but you catch his wrist. "Wait." You say, sitting up. He backs away with a confused look, and you stand up from the table. You stretch your arms a bit, but you suddenly push him, your enhancing quirk

making it powerful enough to crash him onto a couch. "Wha-" He has no time to react as he watches you push him again to lay him parrallel to the couch. He wasn't expecting this, and he couldn't deny the facts, it made his dick that much harder. It twitched at your boldness. You straddle him, lining his cock to your throbbing and oversensitive pussy. "Being bold, huh (Y/n)?" His confused open mouth grew into a smirk. "Mhm. Watch just how bold I can be.." you moan as his tip enters you, taking a bit before you bottom yourself out, your pussy swallowing him whole. Long moans exit both of your mouths, as you put your arms behind your back to support yourself as you slowly roll your hips, giving Bakugo a good view of you gushing onto his dick. "Fuck, you're even wetter and tighter than before." Bakugo says through groans and gritted teeth. You laugh breathily as you roll your hips rhythymically, beign engulfed in ecstacy. Suddenly, Bakugo's hand grasps your neck as he forces you down onto the couch, him now towering over you, his cock twitching inside of you. "B-bakugo." You moan. "You really are bold. But you're doing the opposite of what I said you'd do. Remember?" His grip tightens onto your neck, as you nod profusely. "Also, drop the last name. It's Katsuki. Got that?" He chuckles. "Katsuki." You repeat, thinking it sounds familiar. He sucks his teeth. "You're begging with your eyes, you slut." He begins thrusting into you, lifting one of your thighs with his free hand to drill deeper. His thrusts grew quick and harder quickly as he pounds into you, a gasp or moan coming out of you with each individual thrust. His hand around your neck just added to the pain and pleasure you felt. "K-katsuki!" You have a shaky smile with tears in your eyes. "What's wrong-fuck- too rough?" He tries to hide his pleasure as well, but it's getting harder for him as his dick slides perfectly, your walls adjusted to him instantly, as if it was waiting for his cock only. "Damn, it's like you were -shit- made for me." Expletives interrupt his sentences as he stops trying to hide his pleasure as his hips meet yours. His smile is the widest you've ever seen, showing his gums. He moves your other thigh up, allowing him to go even deeper. "K-katsuki..fuck!" Your moans seem to get breathier and a bit more highpitched. "Don't worry, I know where to go." He assures you, as he flawlessly hits your sweet spot, just like with his magical fingers. "Yes! Right there, fuuuck~!" You put your hands on his arm as his grip gets even tighter onto your neck, and as he ruthelessly abuses that spot, rubbing on it fast. Your eyes begin to roll to the back of your head as his pace gets even quicker. "Keep going, Katsuki, so close, so fucking close just keep going!" Your fingers don't know what to do as you try to grip the couch, your hair, but they stay at his shoulders, your fingernails digging into his skin only makes him pound harder. "Go ahead, cum on this dick, (Y/n)." He grunts loudly, feeling himself become undone as well. "It's...too good." All you can see is white as you reach your high, your back arching, your eyes completely into the back of your head, and your insides being painted white. His long erotic moan matched yours, as you panted and came down from your peaks simultaniously. While you were seeing white, however, you were getting visions, memories of stuff you didn't remember. It was you and Katsuki, as children, playing together, him coming to your house with his mom when you were little, and you playing competitive sports outside as your moms talked. You remembered everything from when you were little, and started questioning how you could forget. You also saw something else, you going away, when you moved to America. When you said goodbye to Katsuki, and shared a hug, that no one else was gonna get. "K-katsuki.." you pant, giving him a nostalgic look. "So, you've remembered." He chuckles through panted breaths. "Took ya long enough." He says. "Huh?" You give a confused look. "I wouldn't have sex with someone I just met hours ago. And knowing

you, you wouldn't either." He moves from on top of you, sitting down next to you. It sparked a question in your mind. Why did you have sex with him, if you didn't remember him? Maybe it was your subconcious that knew him. You yawn, now completely down from your high. "I gotta say, it was fun getting to know you all over again and play along." Katsuki laughs. "And your quirk improved dramatically. Remember when we were little, when my explosions were really small,  and you used to enhance my quirk to make explosions like I do now?" He recalls. "Yeah, I was probably the only one who you've ever complimented before." You lay your head on his lap. "Damn, you really spent me." You yawn as he takes his phone out, "Hell yeah I did." He sucks his teeth as he begins texting someone. "Who're you texting?" You say. "Just go to sleep, I'm texting Mina, the pink-haired chick you were twerking with in front of everyone." He says, his face going back to annoyed. "Geez man, I didn't know." You suck your teeth yourself. "Well, I got to fuck you, so I guess I can't stay mad." He shuts off his phone and pets your head. "We gotta get cleaned up, I'm not sleeping like this." He grumbles. "Sleep? Who said anything about that?" You tilt your head. "The way I did you tonight? Yeah, you're not gonna be able to go home." Bakugo laughs "What did you think I texted Mina about? I told her to send everyone home and that we're spending the night." He says. "Wouldn't you text Momo about-" You're interrupted by his phone chiming. He checks it and begins laughing. "Phaha! Guess what? We weren't the only ones fucking." He shows you his phone, and you see what he texted Mina first. "Why'd you just flat out tell her we had sex!?" You say, scrolling down to read he reply. "Psh, Todoroki and Momo? Even Deku and Ochaco?!" You laugh. "Yeah, I thought Deku would remain a virgin his whole life. Crazy, huh?" He chuckles. "Also, Mina been knew we woulda fucked. Look." He shows you another message. "Soooo tonights the night, huh😏? Use protection⛑️! Or don't, but no kids😤!" The message reads. You roll your eyes. "So everyone knew that we had history together but me, right?" You groan. "Pretty much." He laughs again. Suddenly, his phone chimes again. "OK, the guests r gone, all of the wasted temporary residents r all 🛀 ☝️ and 😴, ur turn. the 🛀 is nice and 🏃! i also brought a stretcher for (y/n) because i know she'll need it lmfaoo🚶" it reads. "Translation; the party people are gone, everyone else who fucked is washed up and asleep, so we can take our time." Bakugo sighs. "That extra does the damn most." He facepalms. "Wow, how reliable. But shouldn't we be asking Momo for permission to sleep here?" You ask, and your answer comes with another chime of his phone, the new message reading "i already asked and yamomo understood completely so the house is all urs 4 2nite. yw i know im the best😌" "Geez, she couldn't stand to use grammar every once in a while?" You laugh and roll your eyes. "C'mon." He stands up. You move to get up, but he ends up picking you up. "Wha-? Hey! Put me down!" You lightly hit his back. "Don't bother, you can't walk." He says. "Who says?" you grunt. "Fine, try." He puts you down on your feet gently, but you immediantly crash dwon onto your butt, which is also feeing sore from his tight ass-grabbing. He chuckles. "How come it took me to try standing up for my legs to start feeling sore?" You groan. "Told ya. It's not my fault you like it rough." He teases as he picks you up and slings you over his  shoulder. This time you don't fight, just making a pouty face and groaning from embarrassment and your sore legs. You lock eye contact as Mina patrols the main area. She uses body language to tell you she heard almost everything, and you shoot her a dirty look as she laughs and continues patrolling. You're surprised with a bath that's ready for you, courtesy of Mina. Maybe you can't stay too mad. He takes off your clothes and sets you in the bath, as you relax and rest your head on the could outer ring. Bakugo's eyes dart to your neck, dark

markings telling exactly where his hends went. It was like your own litte version of a hickey, which put a smile on his face. "Who knew you had a choking kink? that was a real surprise to me." He smiles meanly as you hide your face in embarrassment. "I didn't know." You groan in sheer embarrassment. "Relax, I won't be choking you gain anytime soon." He gumbles in slight annoyance. "But what if a villain does?" You ask. "Shit, I forgot about that. Haha! Just imagine that villains stupid face when you let out a moan because of him choking you." He chuckles. "Wouldn't you get jealous? Another man, maybe a woman, choking me?" You turn to face him. "Well, it's my job to beat their ass regardless so they're gonna end up dead anyways. 1, for being a villain, and 2, for putting their hands on my girl." He explains. You didn't need his hand, you almost choked on the word girl. "Yeah, I said it." He pours some shampoo in his hand, lathering them together and scrubbing your hair. "You gonna deny it?" He grumbles. "No, just didn't think you'd say it first." You admit. "Well, surprise surprise, I'm not the same kid I was back then." He sucks his teeth. "You kinda are. You always sucked your teeth like that and you have the samer personality if we're speaking vaguely." You explain. "Well, I changed a lot, idiot. What do you know?" He massages your head with his yet again, magical fingers. "I know that the only reason you're not yelling is because you're thinking of everyone sleeping. Funny, you weren't when you got a taste of me." You say matter-of-factly. "You always were a smartass. I don't even know why I ever liked you." He grumbles. "Yeah, that's probably gonna stay a mystery. I don't know why I like you either, you were always an annoyingly smart guy for yourself." You grumble as he rinses your hair and you wash yourself. Bakugo briefly leaves and comes back with an oversized t-shirt and underwear. You change into them while sitting on the toilet seat, and Bakugo's eyes widen a little as he comes to a realization. "Hey, that's my shirt! The bitch stole my shirt! How the hell'd she even get into my dorm!?" Bakugo yells. "I have my ways!" You can hear Mina call out to him. "God, she's lucky I'm tired." He groans as he scratches the back of his head. "And she's lucky that you look good in it." He smirks as he looks you up and down seductively. "What, round 2?" You ask. "No, I put all my energy into round 1." He sighs. "Good, so did I." You let out a big exhale. "Now your turn." You signal him to get in. "I'll wash myself, you're obviously in no condition to." Bakugo says. "I can." You huff. "Please, you'd have to crawl to get over here." He rolls his eyes. Your eyes drift to the sink as you see your favorite scent of lotion. You look to your knees, they were beginning to get ashy, so you grabbed the bottle and began applying it to your skin. Bakugo's watches as you massage your legs, like they weren't on fire now. He observed as your hands moved up and down your legs almost as a signal, and he actually started considering a round 2. He shook the thoughts out of his head as he washed himself quickly, and got out himself and changed. After brushing your teeth with the spare toothbrushes-Geez, Mina and Momo really thought of EVERYTHING, huh?- Bakugo carried you to your-of course she would- shared room. It wasn't until he was laying next to you, settling into bed, when the smell of your lotion hit him. Like a million bricks. He recognized it quickly, his favorite smell in the whole world. "Mmm." He hums as he brings you closer to him. "Is this..?" He asks. "It was just there. I know you like it," you said, teasing his nose with the smell. "Apple Spice." You say in unison. He hugs you, putting his nose in your shoulder as he inhales the smell deeply. "God, I haven't smelt this in so long. you used to wear it all the time when we were little." He sighs. "When I moved, I never stopped." You hug him back, snuggling into his chest. His breathing slowed, and you could tell he was about to fall asleep."(Y/n)...?" He sleepily says. His words

are slurred, and his eyes are closed. "Mm?" You hum, getting sleepy yourself. "I love you." He says, pulling you closer to him. The softest 'I love you' you've ever heard in your damn life. "I love you too." you replied softly. You thought that'd be the end, but Bakugo kept repeating it. "I love you so much, so fucking much, I love you." His repeats grew softer, as you repeated him the same amount of time he repeats himself. "So fucking much." are his last words before his breathing slows and silence follows you sigh of relief. "Finally, thought he'd never shut up." you laugh in your head, as you follow suit, saying a final 'I love you' be before drifting off to sleep in his arms.

Fin

[dreamties]

Slashers x S/O in a LDR

A/n- Oh, anon! Same hat! Same hat! I’ve considered making something like this a few times, I was so happy to finally make them!! :D

I’m currently working on stuff for Randy Meeks, Kurt Kunkle, and Lester Sinclair- but if there’s still a character you wanted but don’t see here? Feel free to let me know, and I’d be glad to whip something up for them, as well!

Characters: Billy/Stu and Norman Bates

T/W: mostly fluff with a side of abandonment and mommy issues. and some swearing? (is damn a swear word? I used it a lot)

Billy Loomis & Stu Macher

Word  Count: 992

Y’all met in high school- the three of you practically inseparable. But then college happens- and you would’ve loved to stay with Billy and Stu, but the sort of situation arises where you can’t possibly turn away the opportunity. It would be such a mistake, especially for the line of work you’d like to be in. 

And now you may be thinking, Stu’s family is rich rich, right? Couldn’t they just,, buy they’re way in, so you didn’t have to part? Well...I guess they could? These boys aren’t afraid to take what they want, no matter what that entails- but I feel like there might be a lost sense of pride buying their way in. 

...plus...they may or may have not tried...and the school definitely did not accept that shit.

So with that, the three of you end up at different colleges- well, Billy and Stu are at the same place but...you’re so far away 🥺🥺

You’re still in California- but you’re far enough away that they can’t do one to two day trips to see you. It still hurts so much to be apart from them though- especially since both of these boys are so, hmm how to put it...they’re very affectionate and needy (while that last bit may be more so Stu, Billy still fits the Bill on that one).

You only visit each other on holidays and during the summer- and you always stay much longer for the summer.

When Stu sees you again, the first thing he does is wrap you in the biggest, almost suffocating hug- Billy trailing close behind him, laughing at his antics. He basically holds on to you for the entire ride from the airport back to the house (depending on who’s visiting who- but you’ll often come back to Woodsboro, and stay with Stu). 

They think about you all the time when you’re gone. It’s kind of nuts. They’ve got so many other things going on in their lives- they’re still participating in Ghostface murders, they’ve got college and Real jobs ((Stu doesn’t even need a job, but he likes staying close with Billy and having something to do !! He doesn’t like staying by himself too much :(  )) and even with all that? You still end up worming your way into their brains. Collective brainrot over you lmao /j

You call each other everyday- or every other day if schedules are tight. The good thing is...is y’all are both in Cali !! There are no stupid time zones, y’all don’t gotta worry about that >:( 

They want to make sure they know everything that’s been going on with you- even if it’s some boring class, it’s totally worth it just to hear you talk.

There’s lot of them telling you all the things they want to do to/with you when they finally see you. It’s all about the heavy yearning folks. The ache that you feel when you realize you can’t do that right now. And not for a long time. 

You just want to stay with your boys, cuddled on the couch, watching B-rated slasher films. You want to look them in their pretty, perfect eyes, and let your fears and worries melt away, while you tell them how much you love and missed them. And to finally feel your boys’ hairs through your fingers again.

And the crashing, sudden realization, after they drop you off at the airport- and you have your drawn out, tearful goodbyes...the kind you see in movies- that you won’t see them again. Not like that, at least. And not for months. It was back to counting down the days again. Being thankful for every little moment you had with them- and every call, and every weird text message they sent. Allowing every soft, intimate moment away from each other to guide you back home.

Billy’s not great at dealing with his emotions...especially in positive ways. The relationship can definitely be super hard on him, even if he doesn’t really show it. It brings up a lot of his abandonment issues with his mom :( Having you go off to college is losing part of his support system, and it physically pains him to not see you in Woodsboro. You’re part of his little found family with him and Stu. And when you’re not there? Sometimes it feels like he’s lost you. that you’re not coming back from school, and you’re going to have left for good. Which is not true at all, and he knows that...but god damn is it hard to not listen to that dark, nagging voice sometimes. 

And for Stu? He doesn’t mind as much. He doesn’t share this same trauma involved with it that Billy seems to have. But it still hits him in all the wrong places. He’s more likely to show his true emotions than Billy. And that’s actually really good !! He’s able to properly communicate with you whats going, where he’s at with things. 

It can be kind of exhausting trying to translate Billy’s feelings to you- for all parties involved. Or Billy, who’s learned a certain way to communicate that works, and then having to find a new way that makes sense over text and phone calls. Since you can’t see all his body language, and the way he tenses up when he’s filled with Big Emotions. 

TLDR; dealing w/ emotions is tough, doing it via limited technology is harder :(

and y’all know it’s tough on each other- but like hell you’re not gonna make it work with each other. Y’all are meant to be, even if the relationship is in a bit of an odd spot right now. 

You always have to remind the boys that this is only temporary. just until your 4+ years of schooling is over, and then you can move back to Woodsboro. Then you’ll have all the time in the world to plan your lives together.

Norman Bates 

Word Count: 784 

You meet Norman at his motel. You’re just passing through, on your way to a gathering with some of your family. He’s a little odd, but such a gentleman, that you make a note to stay at his motel on the way back home, as well.

Norman’s completely enamored by you, and you say “I’ll see you soon” that first time, he can nearly feel his heart skip a beat. He’s a smiling, happy little mess about it. You wanted to come back here, for him? He can’t wait for it.

Part of him was worried you wouldn’t come back, and that part of him was very scared- but you were so genuine, he could tell you’d be back. For real.

He still finds himself surprised, when a few days later you’re back there. When you leave, you give him your home phone number and address. Letting him know if he was ever going through your town, and he needed a place to stay that...well...he was always welcome at yours.

Y’all aren’t even dating at this point, but you definitely felt this spark- this connection- when you met. It was unlike anything the two of you had ever felt before. So...your relationship starts off slow. It builds overtime. 

It had been a few weeks since you met- with Norman’s work at the motel and whatever work you do, it was hard to find time between it all- but you’re finally able to start weekly phone calls with each other. Catching up with each other, asking him about the motel, and his hobbies...he’s so thrilled when you talk to him about the taxidermy! Not many folks are very er...into it. So it’s a nice surprise for him that the person he likes...cares about what he likes.

Further into y’all’s relationship, the weekly calls will turn into twice a week and sometimes and slowly, slowly melt into sending letters with each other as much as you can. Every few weeks or so, you’d get the sweet pleasure of seeing Norman’s simple letter in your mailbox. Smiling as you spot your name in his nice, neat handwriting.

Often you’ll include clippings from articles or magazines that reminded you of him, and little photos of yourself, your family (and pets if you have any) and critters, and bugs and shots of nature. He loves the ones you send of birds and trees the most- but he keeps every single one you send him. He has a whole drawer full of your letters.

A while into exchanging letters, the two of you begin signing off every one with an “I love you”. It’s not until you see each other in person again that you fully realize your feelings. I mean, they were always there- but it took the pair of you an impossibly long to speak it out loud- to make it official. 

It had been just under a year since you met- and you’re finally back at the Bates motel. There’s no special reason, you’re not seeing family, per se. But you’re starting something you should have started ages ago. Every part of your being is teeming with nervous excitement- what if you had read the letters all wrong? Every I love you, meant as friends?

You're quick to let him know of your arrival- he’s surprised, he didn’t expect you and you wrap each other in a large hug. You don’t let go for sometime, and when you finally do, you still clutch on to his smooth, slender hands. You lean into him, “I’ve missed you.” He looks at you with soft, shiny eyes, lost in your own. You press a subtle kiss to his lips, and pull away soon after. You feel your face get hot, and you can only imagine that Norman’s face would be bright pink.

He doesn’t say anything at first, simply squeezing your hands. “I did, too,” he smiles. It’s so delicate, and you can’t help but hold his face in your hands- studying every little detail. Of course, he sent you photos of himself from time to time- but it wasn’t the same.

The week that you spend with him is magical. When you leave you already find yourself missing the time you had with him- but you suppose that feeling and the wait to see Norman- was worth it. Plus, you still had the phone calls and all the letters with I Love You in them. Besides, with time, you’d be back at his motel- or he’d finally take you up on your offer, and you could finally spend a sunny morning, lazing around cuddled with each other in your bed, in your town.

[fakeloveaskblog]

Janus, have you and Remus hung out other then when you go to fake therapy? You should ask him out? Keep it open, maybe not outright ask him for a date but to hang out!

(Words: 2140)

Janus: "Oh you know me anon. I am so totally known for asking people to hang out. Yes me and Remus have been eeeverywhere together /s No we have never hung out.......But I suppose you have been very wise so far. So I shall try and go ut of my comfort zone and ask him he would like to spend time together"

They were in that same spot they always stood after the fake therapy. Where they were supposed to part ways. Remus had his phone out, checking the bus times. Janus knew he had to say something now or else yet another week would pass and he would never have the courage to ask.

"Do ehm is you- fuck-" Janus wanted to smash his head open on a rock. He was a idiotic mess who couldn't even say a simple sentence.

"What?" Remus looked at him with a smile. Jan swore he had specifically practiced that smile so it made him melt internally every single time.

"Do you maybe possibly have anything to do today?"

"Oh yeah all booked up with exorcising demons out of old ladies' houses. you know how it is!" He let out a short screechy laugh "Come on Snakey y'know I don't have a job or any plans on robbing banks right now. Of course I'm free!"

"Noted. Then I am totally not asking you to perhaps do something like going to the movies?"

Remus' eyes widened and he shone up into a huge toothy smile "YES!" He grabbed Janus' hand while flapping with his other hand "You gotta be psychic or something! I've been wanting to see this movie made by a director I'm hyperfixating on but I didn't wanna go alone and my sister is still out of town SO this is great!!"

He didn't waste another second. He dragged Janus with him as he began to very quickly walk while continuing to stim.

All Janus could do was stare at their hands. Their palms pressed against each other. His love's thumb brushing up and down his skin. He had never been happier over forgetting his gloves at home.

His cheeks stayed rosy red the entire walk. It was like walking on air. He didn't even realize Remus was still speaking until they got the cinema.

"-And that's why I thought it would have been better if the hamster had died!" He concluded.

".............Fascinating" Janus replied hoping it was a good answer.

"I know right!"

He looked down and realized they were still holding hands. His happy expression instantly dropped as he let go of Janus like he was made of fire.

"Oh fuck buckets! I should have asked if you were okay with like ehhh touch beforehand! Now you're gonna cut my head off!" Remus gasped out.

"Indeed, I do now hate you and I have already hired an assassin to kill you" Janus replied sarcasticly "It's okay, I promise"

Remus let out a breathe of relief in the most cartoon balloon leaking air way possible. "Neat!"

It was 3 pm on a Thursday so there weren't any people in line. Remus didn't even give his friend a chance to pay for his own ticket. He also got a big ass popcorn and a bag of eyeball candies.

He dumped the snacks into the arms of Janus as his eyes caught on a poster on the wall advertising another movie. He jumped up and down while pointing at it, like the excitement was too much to be contained in his body.

"It's my sister! She told me she would be in this one!" The poster didn't show the actresse's face since she had on a cloke to look dark and myserious (tm) "That's her I swear on the last human tooth I have!"

"I believe you. You could be her perfect stunt double"

Remus shoot his arms out "That's what I've been saying too!!! You really are a psychic! Being a stunt double is literally the dream job! I get to pretend to be killed in so many ways! I get to jump off of buildings!! Sadly she mostly does dramas and romances and all that boring stuff"

"Well I for one would love seeing you get stabbed on film" He held his hand over his heart as he said it.

"Omg snakey!! Thank you!! Means a lot!"

He had that wide smile on his lips again. Janus wished he was able to make him smile like that every day.

"Oh the movie is starting soon! Ahhhh exciting! Horror really is the best genre!"

Janus paled "Horror?"

"Yeah! I told you all about the movie on the way here remember? You're okay with horror right?"

"O-Of course! I have watched halloween alien on elm street like 5 times!" He lied.

Remus chuckled "Sure sounds like it"

They went into the screening room. Ads were running on the big screen. They were the only ones there. Remus found their seats right at the back in a corner. He sat down and triumphantly put his feet on the seat in front of him.

"Look at that snakey! We've got the whole room to ourselves! Only...."

His eyes suddenly stopped and shifted to stare out into air. His happy expression slowly disappeared leaving a hollow look on his face. He moved his legs up to his chest and sat completely still.

".....Only us......"

Janus slumped down in the seat next to his. Remus leaned away in his seat so he was further from his friend.

"Indeed. I could poison you and no one would be here to stop me. But I won't...yet" He hoped a joke would make his love lighten up again.

Remus forced a halfhearted smile "Sure that"

The movie started. Janus was already stress eating popcorn from fear by the time the first scene had ended. Which only made him even more stressed over making Remus think he was a fat gluttonous disgusting mess! Which he was! But he didn't want him to know that!!

Whenever he glanced over to Remus he looked just the same, As if the movie was fucking mamma mia or something.

He didn't want to seem unclassy and close his eyes like a 5 year old so he tried to comb his hair in front of his eyes instead. He couldn't stop his racing heartbeat or his unsteady hands though. He didn't do well to loud sounds. Or screaming voices.

He jumped in his chair at an extra gory scare. The popcorn landed all over his body. His cheeks went red enough to be mistaken for a ladybug.

Remus glanced over at him "You don't have to hide that you're scared y'know. The audience reaction is like half the fun"

"Me? Scared? I haven't felt scared since I buried a body in 1967! This is just how I show my appreciation for movies!" He blurted out the lie in a panic.

His love threw his head back as he let out a loud laugh. He couldn't stop as he buried his head in his hands. His shoulders moved in rhytm to his giggles. It seemed to calm his nerves a bit.

"Holy shit snakey that was such a horrible lie! You're such a dork! I say that with affection I promise"

Janus couldn't help but chuckle along "Dork actually means something really dirty. I know since I was practically married to my dictionary when I was youn-"

"WHALE PENIS! I know!! You're the first one who also knows!"

"I suppose that means we're soulmates now" Janus couldn't help but say it.

"Penis soulmates!"

Janus sighed "Yes"

In the movie a man's torso was ripped from his body. Remus flapped his hands. Janus let out a quiet whimper.

"I could infodump a bit if that would make you less scared"

Janus leaned closer to respond but Remus instantly flinched back. He made sure to keep keeping his distance "I would love to hear"

He shone up into a smile. It wasn't quite as carefree and happy as the other ones but it was still his smile and Janus had caused it. It made him feel warm.

He started rambling about the director's other movies and how the themes tied in with this movie. About how the director had studied to be a doctor so he know enough about biology to make all of the gore extra realistic. About how the movie soundtrack's added to the scare even though they were often silly. All while stimming. Sometimes he went quiet to focus on the film while Janus curled in on himself and closed his eyes.

Honestly Janus could have heard him go on for hours but sadly the movie eventually ended. And they eventually got out of the cinema. And eventually the snacks the shared while sitting on a bench outside also ended. And the conversation died out.

It was only around 5 pm but the sky had already started to darken. The streetlamps were getting lit one by one, and a few people were standing in line for the next movie. Janus feared having to say goodbye.

Luckily he didn't have to as Remus quietly asked "Could you like follow me home? The apartement is only 15 minutes and a minor murder spree away"

"Of course!" He replied a bit too excitedly.

He made sure to not walk too close as to not make him flinch again. Remus started to subconsciously hymm on a song after some time of silence. Janus couldn't stop feeling over the moon at the fact that he was hanging out with someone! And he seemed to like him!! And he was in love with him no less!!!

"Snakey I think I gotta admit something kinda dorky-"

"Is it the murder in 1967? We've all been there"

"Actually it was in 1987. Okay but really.....The only friends I've ever really had has been my sister and my ex, and some online friends here and there I guess but we lost contact really quickly. What I mean is that I'm really rusty on this whole friend thing and I'm just glad that you don't get annoyed by my infodumping or stimming or....or the whole me!"

Janus' eyes widened and he slowly let up into a laugh "Oh! Oh I have been so worried for nothing then! I've never had any friends, at all! This was literally the first time I ever went to a movie with another person! We're the same!"

Remus giggled "We really are penis soulmates!"

"I am begging you to not let that become a thing"

"Too late! It already is! We're both friendless dorks you motherfucker!! Of course we're penis soulmates!"

Janus sighed "I am suddenly so glad we are close to your place so I can get away from you.....That was a lie"

Remus lightly punched his shoulder "Better be. Or else I'd have to kidnap you!"

He stopped in front of a series of building of obviously quite glamorous apartements. Janus was honestly starting to wonder if he had a sugar daddy and or sold drugs. Or else he had no idea how he could afford all of this.

They stopped right in front of the entrance. Remus crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. Janus fiddled with his sleeves. Neither of them wanted to say goodbye.

Janus shuly glanced at his love's face. His birtmarks which he so wanted to press kisses to. His fluffy hair he would love to nuzzle into. His full lips which he thought about running his finger over every time he looked at them. He was beautiful. Just beautiful.

"Sooo....I guess I will either see you in hell or in fake therapy next week?" Remus asked.

"For sure"

He awkwardly opened the door "Well I will see you then then!" He did fingerguns "Bye penis soulmate!"

Janus rolled his eyes while waving "Bye.....phallus companion!"

The door closed and he was left in the silence. It took a few second and then

"YES! OH I did it! I survived! Aphrodite would be so proud of me!!"

Janus had to sit down. He was going to explode. He couldn't stop moving his hands around. He was going to pass out. He had never been happier. He deserved a whole soup bowl of ice cream.

He took off his beanie to drag his hand through his hair. He felt breathless from happiness as he stared up at the sky. He had never felt more in love.

He looked at where he imagined you would stand if you had a corporeal body.

"So I suppose your advice worked quite well. It did sound like he wanted to hang out again...So anon....or whatever voice that is in my head that asks me things......Do you have any suggestions on what we should do on our next hangout?"

[queenlua]

You're a druid and an ex-evangelical, right? What does being a druid mean to you? How did you get from evangelicalism to where you are now? And of course feel free to ignore this if it's nosy. (sincerely, a Christian who wants to leave but who doesn't know what to do)

this is going to make me sound ignorant as hell, lol, but i'm happy to share

under a cut because this got very long, sorry, lol.

my personal progression was: "vaguely christian -> VERY christian -> christian agnostic -> agnostic/atheist -> agnostic/druid -> some sorta druid-neopagan-animist thing."  i guess i'll just go through what made me switch between each of those, and close out with some high-level thoughts that may be helpful for you?

okay, so when i was

VAGUELY CHRISTIAN,

i went to Sunday school every week because That's What You Do, and because my whole hometown was very southern Baptist, i never questioned the veracity of its teachings much... until they ran a whole weekly series on "why [x] is wrong," where [x] is some other group

e.g., we had a week on why Mormons are wrong, and i didn't bat an eye because i hadn't even known Mormons existed until that moment

then we had a week on why Muslims are wrong, and that... bothered me, because i had a friend who was Muslim, and she was just objectively a better person than me, and i was like "any universe where she goes to hell and i don't seems really fucked up"

then we had a week on why EVOLUTION was wrong, and that just absolutely threw me, because while i hadn't thought about evolution much (i think i was in fourth grade or so), it seemed common-sense? scientists thought highly of it? "adaptation over time" just seems logical?

so i went to the public library every day after school for like a week, read some Darwin and some science books, and came back to my Sunday school teacher with, like, an itemized list of objections to the whole "evolution is wrong" thing.  and he came up with some standard Answers In Genesis rebuttals, and i did more research and came back the next week with more science, and we repeated this a few times until he was like "lua, you just gotta take some things on faith"

which.  lmao.  full existential crisis time, because no matter how hard i thought, i couldn't *not* believe in the science, but i also didn't want to go to hell, so i was like "maybe if i believe SUPER HARD i will SOMEDAY be able to unbelieve the condemn-me-to-hell bits"

so i decided to become

VERY CHRISTIAN

and my frantic googling for shit like "proof of god" and "god and evolution" *eventually* broke me out of the Answers In Genesis circles of the internet, and into some decent Christian apologia, like, think First Things and various Catholic bloggers.  and there, i found some way to square my gut sense that evolution was right, with a spiritual worldview.

like, i remember finding some blogger who said:

"young earth creationists get tripped up when they try to explain stars that are millions of light-years away, and end up basically arguing that God's tricking us somehow, and—no!  my God lets you believe in the evidence of your eyes, my God does not demand that you make yourself ignorant or stupid, my God expects you to use your brain"

and i just started crying at my computer, because no one had ever said "using your brain is Good and part of God's will," i was like *finally* here's someone who won't tell me i'm going to hell for just *thinking* about things

(st. augustine does a much better riff on a similar theme, fwiw, but i only found him later)

still, it was an uneasy fit, because, the more i learned and read about world history, the more it seemed... weird... that the One And Singular Path To Salvation was... the successor to some niche desert cult... which didn't even occur at the *beginning* of written history, like, it was all predated by that whole Mithraism thing, etc... and like, sure, i could trot out all the standard theological talking points for why Actually This Makes Perfect Sense, but gut-level-wise, the aesthetics just seemed kinda dumb!  and no level of talking myself out of it made that feeling go away!

so at this point i started referring to myself as a

CHRISTIAN AGNOSTIC

i mean, not aloud.  i still lived in southernbaptistopia and i didn't want, like, my hair stylist to tell me i was a horrible person.  but in my *head* i called myself Christian agnostic and it felt right.

and i started church-hopping, which honestly was really fun, would recommend to anyone at any point.  i visited the fire-and-brimstone baptist church, the methodist church, the episcopalians, the universal unitarians, etc.

unfortunately, while this gave me *some* new perspectives, each of the places either had the same shitty theology as my old megachurch (i remember the *acute* sense of despair i felt when i was starting to jive with a methodist church... only for the dumbass youth minister to start going on about evolution), or, they just lacked any sense of the *sacred*.  like, the Church of Christ churches, with their a capella services, *definitely* had it; i felt more God there in one service than i did in a lifetime of shitty Christian rock at the megachurch.  but their beliefs were even *more* batshit, so.  big L on that one.

having failed to find a satisfactory church, i was basically

AGNOSTIC/ATHEIST

by the time i went to college, but honestly pretty unhappy about it; while it was harder than ever for me to actually *connect* with the divine, i didn't like thinking that my previous experiences of the divine were total lies.  because my shitty evangelical church, for all its faults, could not *completely* sabotage the sense of God's presence.  there were real moments in that church where i do believe i experienced something divine.  mostly mediated by one particular youth minister, who in hindsight was the only spiritual teacher in that church who didn't seem a bit rotten inside, but!  it was something!

so when i happened upon a bunch of writings on the now-defunct shii.org (that's the bit that makes me look WILDLY ignorant, lol), i was utterly captivated.

said author was a previous archdruid of the Reformed Druids of North America, an organization that was formed in the 1960s to troll the administration of Carleton College (there was a religious-service-attendance requirement; they made their own religion; their religion had whiskey and #chilltimes for its services).  however, this shii.org dude seemed to take it pretty seriously.  he was studying history of religion and blogged a lot about his studies, both academic and otherwise.  while RDNA had started out as a troll, that didn't mean they hadn't *discovered* something real in the process, he said.

this, already, was going to be innately appealing to me; i've got a soft spot for wow-we-were-doing-this-ironically-but-now-it's-kinda-real? stuff in general.

in particular, shii.org’s discussions on the separation of ritual from belief was really interesting to me: most religions/spiritualities have *both*, but like, you can do a ritual without having the Exact Right Beliefs (if there even is such a thing!), and it can still be useful to you, it can have real power.  (he had a really lovely essay, speculating on the origins of religion as just a form of art, but that essay is now lost to the sands of time, alas.)

(note that i wouldn't really recommend seeking out *recent* writing by the shii.org guy; he kinda went full tedious neoreactionary-blowhard-who-reads-a-lot-of-Spengler at some point?  sigh.)

the shii.org guy led me to checking out a bunch of books on the history of neopaganism & also books by scholars of religion in general, and the more i read, the more excited i became.  and i started doing little ritual/meditation stuff here and there.

then i was fortunate enough to attend some events with Earthspirit (this was when i lived in Boston), which cemented my hippie dalliances into something more real.  the folks there, being from Boston, were all ridiculously overeducated (a sensibility that appeals to me), but also, being the kind of folks who drive out to a mountain in the middle of nowhere for a spiritual retreat, they tolerated a full range of oddities (everyone from aging-70s-feminist-wiccans to living-on-a-farm-with-your-bros-Astaru to dude-who-started-having-weird-visions-and-is-just-trying-to-figure-out-the-deal to Nordic-spiritualist-with-two-phds-from-Scandanavian-universities-on-the-subject, etc), which gave me a lot of room to explore different types of rituals, ceremonies, "magic", etc.

(polytheism in general lends itself well to this sort of easy plurality!  i can believe other people are experiencing something real with their gods, and i can be talking to a totally different set of gods, and that’s just all very compatible, etc)

anyway, i started calling myself

AGNOSTIC/DRUID

around then, because i knew i'd found *something*, something that felt like all the realest moments i'd ever had in nature, and all the realest moments i'd ever had in that shitty megachurch, but i wasn't quite ready to put a theology to it.

but, idk, you do the thing for a while, and you start encountering some things that you may as well call gods, and you realize you're in pretty deep, and you ditch the "agnostic" bit and just throw hands and start describing yourself as

SOME SORTA DRUID-NEOPAGAN-ANIMIST THING

because that's the most precise thing you can muster.  in particular, the druid bit resonates because nature's still very much at the center of my practice; the neopagan bit resonates because i'm not especially interested in reconstructing older traditions or being faithful to any actual pre-Christian traditions, and animist resonates because what i sometimes call gods seem to be tied pretty tightly to the land itself.  it's all very experiential; all this mostly means i'm some weird chick who sometimes grabs a car and drives out someplace very lonely and hikes for a while and does some hippie shit to try and talk with the land or the god or whatever is there.  and sometimes i come back from it changed, or refocused, or what-have-you, and hopefully i'm better for it.  i'm aware this makes me look a little ridiculous, and is an unsatisfying answer, sorry!

WRT YOUR SITUATION

i don't know you or your situation, obviously, but if i wanted to give former-me some advice to save her some angst, i'd say

-> Christendom itself is far wilder and more diverse than many churches lead you to believe.  if you still want to be Christian on some level, and it's just a shitty church that's convinced you the whole project is fucked, i'd honestly explore, i dunno, your nearest Quaker meeting.  they're invoking the Holy Spirit with regularity but they're not raging douchenozzles about it.

-> if you're specifically interested in druidism, i found John Michael Greer's "A World Full of Gods" really nice.  (caveat: Greer has *also* gone full right-wing nutjob these days, sigh, so like.  would not recommend a great swath of his writing.  but that one's good)

-> deciding that a just God wouldn't give me a brain and then ask me not to use it was hugely comforting to me.  like, that was the start of the whole process, that was what made me feel ok searching for other churches and trying to find something that fit.  obviously you should take this with 800 grains of salt, because obviously i'm no longer Christian, and thus maybe i'm just some poor misguided fallen soul, but... i still kinda believe that!  maybe if you can make yourself believe that, it'll seem less scary?

idk, happy to answer more questions, sorry for the long ramble, hope it helped~

[i-am-just-a-kiddo]

fic writer Q&A

thank you @vishcount, this was a ton of fun 💕 it’s tough to talk about my writing, but this felt like a nice retrospective on what I have done so far. 

tagging once again, @the-cloud-whisperer, @cortue, @intyalote and @not-saying-revolution-but! love hearing about your writing processes if you feel like sharing! 

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

53

2. What is your total AO3 word count?

448.439

3.Top five fics by kudos

heart made of glass (The Untamed, wangxian, post-canon oneshot) - 696 kudos

and we were in flames (The Untamed, wangxian, post-canon oneshot) - 604 kudos

Take Me Into Your Skin (BTS, Mafia AU, multichaptered) - 526 kudos

leave our troubles in the sand (The Untamed, wangxian, post-canon oneshot) - 396 kudos

The Dreams I Could Explore (SKAM, Evak oneshot) - 346 kudos

4. Do you respond to comments, and why?

absolutely, I’m  incredibly grateful that people read my work and let me know with their own words? so it only feels appropriate to answer. and sometimes when people have more thoughts to share I enjoy talking with them!

5. What’s the fic you have written with the angstiest ending?

oh boy. it gotta be my taegi little mermaid AU (just breathe through me) and my Nie Huaisang/Mo Xuanyu oneshot (ink stained nights, fingers, hearts). I think an explanation for both is unnecessary - they both end with major character death and in both cases it’s not a ‘comforting’ passing. both endings are just incredibly heartbreaking and part of me hated doing it, while the other part had too much fun. i also count my taegi historical Silla AU (blackened skies) as quite angsty, because the entire situation of that feels hopeless. there wasn’t even a possibility to make it a happy ending

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

oh despite my very angsty fics, I have a ton of stories that end quite happily. though while doing this, I realised that majority of my fanfics are open ended because they rarely focus on plot? what turned out incredibly sweet however was my taegijoon hanahaki disease AU  (i can’t rip you out) and my aforementioned mafia AU - I don’t know how happy I’m about the latter’s ending, but it definitely is a very sweet and happy ending. I feel like I could’ve improved a lot on tying up the plot. 

7. Do you write crossovers, if so what’s the craziest one you have done?

I’ve never written a crossover? Once I wrote a fic loosely based on Good Omens but that’s the closest I got. 

8. Have you ever recieved hate on a fic?

not really, I once got a comment on my earlier mentioned little mermaid AU complaining about killing off gay people even in a fantasy setting which. okay? so not even the tagging and the very clear statement that it’s based on Hans Christian Andersen’s story wasn’t enough to stop you? I was just a little bit flabberghasted lol (not to mention assuming I, a queer, kill gays for shits and giggles)

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

this is difficult to answer because I have written smut before, though mostly because I wanted to try it out? I have a few smutty scenes with my wangxian fics but those are very tame, and then I’ve been writing some smut for wenzhou, but that is not posted (and will never be, probably). I always try it out because for some pairings it’s an amazing tool for character studies, and I also want to challenge myself by writing something outside of my comfort zone? but I feel a little bit awkward about it, especially because I’m ace myself so what would I know about it. I guess that is something other people have to judge how well I’m doing

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that I know of

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

yes! a few of my works have been translated to Russian by lovely people.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Here I’m giving the same answer as @vishcount did - yes! We wrote one together and I know they said it feels like it’s more like my fic than theirs, but I still very much consider it our joint work!! white plum blossoms turning red - it’s a wangxian wedding fic that I came up with and wanted to include many character’s different POVs. Vishie was so lovely to give her part by writing Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen - which was absolutely wonderful. Am still very grateful? This whole fic is very cheesy and I never thought I would write weddings in my life but somehow I needed this. Thank you for being part of it 💜 would love to do it again sometime!

13. All time favorite ship!

i hate this question so much. i have so many and choosing is absolutely horrible. I guess I’ll choose wangxian, because they just became one with my heart? they gave me so much and they were incredible to explore. I’ve never written so much about one pairing/universe and I still feel I could forever dwell in their lives. I guess I also want to mention Nie Huaisang/Mo Xuanyu because they became my own on a very intense level.

14.What’s a WIP that you want to finish, but don’t think you will?

My Original Sin case fic. I started writing that in winter and only recently I read what I’ve written back then. It’s not too bad? I really wanted to challenge myself by writing a case fic, mainly because I suck at plotting. Lu Li and Chi Zhen are amazing to explore so I somehow don’t want to give up on that? Maybe I will rewatch the show and it will bring my motivation back. Am just too dumb for my own plot lol

15. What are your writing strengths?

after having many talks with vishie and my other friend, it seems that my characters are okay? I enjoy writing characters a lot, so it’s what I focus on the most. I also like writing atmospheres and just. VibesTM. idk what else I could mention here tbh. maybe my dedication to do (historical) research? often it’s more fun than the thing itself.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Plotting. Am trying to get into it a bit more? I also over-write many things which I want to change - I will never stop being pretentious but maybe being simple about it is better sometimes. Also I need to improve my English a lot, but that is a lifelong journey. I bet there are a ton more weaknesses but I feel like other people can judge that more clearly than me - my own writing is just a hazy mess so I can’t judge it unless I read it years later.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?

not really my thing ig? If someone does it well, maybe it’s good, but yeah. I think it really needs to add to the story to make it work

18. First fandom you wrote for?

Hmmm. When I first discovered fanfics I wrote Ouran Highschool Host Club fics on my phone when I was 12-13 yo, but I never published them? and soon after that it was Denmark/Norway for Hetalia (yeah i know, shut up). that was my pairings of pairings back then and I even published it? I think even a Japan/England Pirate AU????  oh boy I haven’t thought about this in ages, it’s cursed.

19. Fave fic you have written?

It’s hard to choose between your kids and there are a few I could mention, but after being in a very bad writing slump for the past year, I’m quite confident to say that blackened skies, my historical taegi AU set in Silla Korea, is my favourite? For some reason it feels like I peaked - maybe it’s because I haven’t felt truly happy with anything since then, or maybe it’s because I combined a ton of historical research and tied it to my writing? I don’t really know. I guess that together with my Nie Huaisang/Mo Xuanyu fic it feels like my magnum opus that burned me out completely and now am still recovering. Are they any good? I have no fucking idea, but it sure took a toll on me.

if you’ve read all this, thank you! and am always happy to share writing talks! 💗

[ladynox]

20 Questions - Writer’s Edition

Tagged by @kaydeefalls & @im-the-punk-who

How many works do you have on AO3? 15. I use to be a pretty profilic writer when I was a teenager (before AO3 thank fuck 😂) but I lost interest. Picked it up again somewhere in my 20s, only to lose interest or the drive or something again. Roswell's the first fandom I've written for in almost decade. Hopefully this time I'll be able to stick too it. Id' forgotten how much I enjoy writing. What’s your total AO3 word count? 233292. Most of that is from just the last year alone! Crazy! How many fandoms have you written for and what are they? Currently posted to AO3? Just three. Yu-Gi-Oh!, Captain America and Roswell New Mexico. If we're counting the stuff lost to long dead Yahoo groups or forgotten notebooks, or the stuff still on the internet because I can't remember my password but I will never own up to? Probably 8? With the addition of Gundam Wing, Sailor Moon, Digimon and Final Fantasy 7. There might have been more but I can't remember anymore. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? The 1-3 and 5 were co-written with @beautifulcheat 1. The Great New Mexico Fake-Off (Roswell, malexa, complete) Michael takes up baking after watching The Great British Bake Off and starts gifting his bakes to the people he loves. Mostly fluff and pining. 2. Milestones (Roswell, malexa, WIP) based after the series, in that nebulous well adjusted future we dream of for our favorite idiots. 😂 Maria, who has been living in a v poly relationship with Michael and Alex for years, realizes she's pregnant. Michael is ecstatic. Alex is conflicted, which dampers some of Maria's joy. Still a pretty fluffy and very domestic fic. This one's on hold because we're both busy with work, school and certification exams. So we only really have time for one, which is the following monster of a fic:

3. The Truth is Right Here (Roswell, malexa, WIP) X-Files/White Collar fusion where Michael is both Scully and Neal, and Maria and Alex are both Mulder and Peter. Yes you heard right. The alien is the skeptic. But the agents don't know he's an alien yet. hahah 4. Testing the Bonds (Captain America, Steve & Bucky) Bucky comes out to Steve during the war. 5. Petit Fours (Roswell, malexa, complete). Companion piece to Fake-Off. An assorted collection of text fics or short fics. Mostly about everyone else's reaction to how bad Michael is at keeping the secret that he's the one baking the cake. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? Hmmm looking over these fics, I realize that I don't really write angsty endings. I tend to like my angst with a happy ending, or a hopeful one. Whatever that might look like given the subject matter of the fic. So I guess the closet would be The Message (YGO, puppyshipping, complete). The fic starts after an incident of domestic violence. Jou is basically working through the horror/guilt he feels at what he's done. It's not a happy ending, but there's hope different decisions will be made. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending? A New Year, A New Hope (Roswell, malex, complete) is entirely made up of marshmallows from start to finish, so likely that one. Fake-Off's also tooth rottingly sweet. Surprising no one I'm sure hahaha. I love happy endings so I write a lot of fics with those. Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written? Yes I do! I'm counting fusion fics as crossovers too. I *love* AUs in general. They're super fun. As for craziest.... well I've already mentioned Truth above, which is likely the craziest because of how ambitious it is. I both love and regret ever starting this monster. Have you ever received hate on a fic? Oh yeah definitely. hahaha One day people will figure out the back button. Do you write smut? If so what kind? Yeah but not a lot. I want to write more smut honestly but I have a hard time writing it. I don't have a problem with action scenes so it's all mental. Just start thinking it's gonna suck or it doesn't make sense or it's boring. Dumb brain, cockblocking me. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of? Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope. Have you ever co-written a fic before? All the time. It's the best. Everything Kat and I write is just to amuse the other, makes writing so much fun. Also, she and I have opposite writing strengths and weakness so it really works out well. What’s your all time favorite ship? Er? I gotta choose just one? Seems kind of pointless to pit different fandoms against each other. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? I mean I have every intention of going back and finishing it but probably Six. A malex The Last of Us AU that I had a lot of grand ideas for but have lost all drive to finish. I do think that what's written can largely stand on its own as a 1 shot. One of these I'll go back edit it, give it a good "in conclusion" so to speak. XD What are your writing strengths? Hmm? Character voices/studies, I think. I like doing stream of consciousness a lot. What are your writing weaknesses? Everything. Kidding. Kidding. Probably smut and dialogue. Though I think I'm getting better at dialogue. Lately I've been getting the dialogue on paper before the descriptions. That use to not be the case! Yay! Improvement! What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? Use it sparingly and carefully. Most of your readers are probably not going to be able to read that language. The last thing you want is to confuse or annoy your readers. What was the first fandom you wrote for? Gundam Wing 🤣 All of those fics are lost to time and I'm totally ok with that. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written? I am proud of everything I've posted to AO3. Um... @beautifulcheat, @maeglinthebold @jocarthage, @tasyfa and anyone else who wants to do it.

[creativeskullcreations]

Outside chapter 25: What Comes Next

And here it is, the final chapter. It's been a wild ride, y'all, but more on that in the next chapter. Also can anyone guess who the sequel will involve? There's a hint, though it'll be a while before I get to it.

Stacy chopped the vegetables for the upcoming stir-fry as Scout watched from the other side of the sink. Will was working on measuring out the rice, hopeful that this time it would be the right amount. Scout hoped for another rice-explosion.

Rice cooker started, Will washed his hands and headed down into the basement. Nick and Riley sat in cages along the back wall, tied up and gagged. Riley glared at him as he approached, but Nick stared into space, unmoving and unseeing. Will came up to the cage and poked the Puppet's face with a pen, and on finding no reaction took the artist out of his cage, manually closing his eyes as he went.

Will laid the body on the table, untying him an removing the gag before wrapping him up like a mummy. Wrapped up in fabric and bound with silver infused rope, he was laid gently into a velvet lined box, that was closed and locked up tight with a key and code. It was placed on top of the box that held Mortimer, right next to the one that held Daisy. Right next to the many other boxes lining the wall.

Will finished checking in with the other dolls and toys, finding no change or escape attempts. He went to leave, but stopped first to look at Riley. She was obviously tired, no longer struggling against the ropes that bound her. Instead she opted to give a death glare, which he returned with a steady stare.

"You're next, you know." He told her quietly. "Don't worry, you won't get a different treatment from the others." She just glared harder, and he went back upstairs, heading back for the kitchen.

"Nick's gone dormant." He told Stacy quietly as she cooked the vegetables and rice in a pan. She frowned and nodded, but didn't reply beyond that. Scout was on the table, messing with the forks, and neither of them wanted to bring it to her attention. As he went on to stop the Puppet from her tower building, Stacy breathed a sigh of relief.

'Three down, just one more left.' She sighed in relief as she scooped the food onto four plates. 'It's almost over, then.' She set them up on the table while Will went off to find Canon. He returned quickly, no Puppet in sight.

"Yeah she's still up there, and not coming back down. But she did yell at me to go away this time, so I think we're making progress." He said, taking a seat. Stacy dumped the food that would've been Canon's into a tupperware before taking her own seat.

Scout, true to form, had already started stuffing her face. She stopped briefly, swallowing her mouthful with some difficulty. "I don't even know why you fucking bother. If she wants to be miserable, let her be miserable. Better than having her bothering me all the time." Another scoop of rice went into her mouth. "Why are we eating this again? It's fucking gross."

"We have to have at least two nights where we eat real food." Stacy told her. "It's healthy."

"It's. Gross." Scout repeated. "Didn't you make a cake? Where is it?"

"Cake comes after dinner. Eat your rice." Will told her. And, with some grumbling, the Puppet continued to shovel the stir-fry into her mouth.

"My Dad wants me to come home for Thanksgiving." Stacy said, after a few minutes of silent eating. "I think I should probably go this time, rather than just call."

"Might be a good idea." Will agreed. "Doesn't Danny need to, uh, do something anyways?"

"That's another reason I'm going. And why Scout is coming too."

"What? Ew no I don't wanna go." She dropped down into the chair behind her. "I like this house."

"It's just for a few days. Besides, I want you to meet my brother. It's important."

"How important? Also isn't he the one who can't hear? That's weird." Scout commented, peering over the edge of the table like some sort of gremlin.

"Yes, and yes he is weird but not because he's deaf." A pause, as Stacy realized something. "So don't tell him that that's why he's weird."

The two stared at each other, long enough that Will sighed and reached over to pull the Puppet back up onto the table. "Finish your food so we can get to the cake already." He grumbled, stabbing into a larger piece of carrot. "Also has Lisa gotten back to you on that project she's working?"

"Not yet, but apparently it's been more difficult than she thought. Neither Stitch or Bonzai are cooperating, and Scout doesn't even want to know what she's working on." Stacy side-eyed her Puppet, who glared right back.

"I want no part of that crazy bitch's plans!" She insisted, and was met with two sighs.

"You don't even know what it is." Will pointed out, and got a handful of rice in the face for his trouble.

"I don't fucking care. It involves fabric, and I don't fucking trust her!" She went to grab another handful of rice, only to find her plate gone, and Stacy halfway to the sink with it and the other two plates.

"Who wants some cake?" She asked with false cheer, holding the pan and a knife up. Scout cheered, and Will just sighed, though with a small smile.

-----

Lisa sighed heavily, pulling at her hair as she stared down at her notes. Nothing seemed to be working, though not like she could even test her theories with nobody cooperating with her. Even Stitch, who had agreed to help, and been swayed into not helping by Bonzai.

Finally, she stood and swept the notes into a folder, shelving it for the time being. She had classes to plan for next year, and should probably get on that. She grabbed a fresh notebook and opened it up. 'I wonder is Stitch would be willing to come with a few days out of the week.' She thought as she started on the plans. 'She's not that creepy, and isn't as loud as the others. And kids always love a Puppet.'

A light smile crossed her face as she thought of vague scenarios and sketched in small notes on where the Puppet could fit. She wasn't sure if her supervisor would even allow it, but it was nice to fantasize. Unfortunately, her fantasies were soon broken by a loud crash from the living room.

'Oh what did those three do now?" She stood and left her study, to find the little train Mason had set up crashed into a wall. Her roommate was doubled over laughing behind a camera, while Stitch and Bonzai were arguing. She leaned against the wall, watching the scene.

"I hope you got some good shots, cause it's time to clean this up." She told them, and instantly he sobered up.

"Aw, come on Lees, they love the train. Just look!" He pointed to the two Puppets, of which Stitch was actively strangling her brother.

"It looks like they're trying to kill each other." She leaned down, scooping the Puppets into her arms. "Besides it's gonna be time for bed soon, and I don't want to trip over this again tomorrow morning."

"Ugh, fine." He pulled his phone out and snapped some pics so he could put it back together later. He then started grabbing track pieces and putting them into a nearby bin. Bonzai let out his own groan, just now noticing what was going on.

"Hey wait don't put it away!" He struggled, but couldn't break Lisa's hold on him. "I wasn't done with that! Stop!"

"Ah but my Host has spoken. You are done with it." Stitch intoned smugly, to be met with a hard glare. He was ignored as Lisa carried them to what had been a guest room, but was now set up as their room. Not much had really changed about it, save for there being more toys and some kids' books around. It was mostly a temporary place for them, that had become permanent.

"You guys really gotta clean this place up." The blonde muttered as she stepped over things to put them in the bed. Bonzai tried to escape the second he was let go, but Lisa grabbed him again and almost forcibly tucked him in beside his sister. He crossed his arms and sulked while Stitch looked far too happy to be fussed over like that.

"Glad you're enjoying this humiliation." He muttered.

"It is only humiliating if you dislike such actions." Stitch whispered back as she watched her Host put away some of their things. "Personally, I feel like this was an optimal outcome. Look at her, cleaning for us."

"Well I wasn't done playing with Mason." He grumbled, just loud enough that Lisa heard.

"What were you guys doing, anyways. I saw Mason had his camera set up." She said, coming to sit down on the bed with them.

"We were making a movie! With fun action sequences and a train chase!" Bonzai told her excitedly. "It was totally awesome!"

"He told us he would put it on the internet when he was finished." Stitch told her, and Lisa frowned briefly before covering it up.

"That sounds so cool!" She said. "I can't wait to watch the finished thing. I bet it's gonna be awesome!"

"Hell yeah it is!" Bonzai agreed, and received a small pat on the head for it. He quickly brushed her hand away while she gave Stitch an identical pat, then stood to leave. Turning the light off as she went, she made sure the door was tightly shut before heading back to the living room.

She took a deep breath. "You're going to put them on YouTube?!" She whisper-shouted with a squeak.

"Uh, yeah? I'm not gonna make a whole ass movie just to let it sit in the camera." Mason told her, putting the last of the track pieces in the box.

"You can't do that! What if somebody sees? Oh man we're gonna get in so much trouble!"

"Lisa, relax. Stacy made a whole TikTok account for Scout, and nothing's happened to them." He pointed out.

"That's Stacy though! She has, like, supernatural luck or something! We're gonna get caught and they'll be taken away!"

"Look, Lisa, it'll be fine. And besides, the movie's not done yet. There's plenty of time to see if Scout gets caught because of TikTok or not." He grinned, which faded at the hard look Lisa was giving him.

"If anything happens to anyone because you put that video on YouTube, you're dead." She told him, but he just grinned back.

"Fair enough." He said. "But don't worry so much. It'll be fine, I'm sure of it!"

-----

Sammy walked into his half-dark apartment, not bothering to turn on any other lights. His backpack fell to the floor with a heavy thump as he wandered into the kitchen for a soda from the fridge. Drink gotten, he opened it up as he wandered into the living room, sitting on the couch and lighting up a joint.

He blew out a mouthful of smoke, barely noticing as Bit appeared on the couch. She crawled over to lay her head in his lap, letting out small coughs occasionally. He stroked her hair absentmindedly, slowing down as his mind drifted with the smoke.

"You need to stop doing that." Bit mumbled, coughing again as Sammy finally passed into a weed fueled haze. She got no reply, so she sighed unhappily.

She'd been expecting something... more with Sammy once they got back. And her siblings seemed to have gotten that, even if Canon was being a weird bitch about it. But all she got was a Host that left her alone for days at a time, only to come home and smoke himself into oblivion. And then he'd leave again the very next morning.

He didn't talk or play with her like the other Hosts did with her siblings. It was almost enough to bring her to tears when she was left alone in the dark apartment. Almost. She never actually cried from it(not like she'd admit it, anyways).

She was tired of the taste and stench of the smoke, however.  It made her cough, and smelled worse than anything in the Studio. She wished he could get through one day without smoking. She knew that the next time they all met up, she was going to stink.

-----

Stacy brushed her hair, sitting on the bed next to Scout, who was deep into playing an old Gameboy that had been found in a box. As soon as her hair had been tied back into a braid, she lifted the Puppet into her lap and gave her hair a few quick strokes with the brush.

"Okay, it's bedtime now. Save the game and turn it off." Stacy said, putting the brush away. She unhooked her prosthetic and set it down beside the bed, in easy reach for the next morning.

"Can't save can't pause gotta keep playing." Scout mumbled. Her Host sighed before grabbing the game and pausing it, then plugging it into the charger on the side-table. The Puppet reached for it, but was held in place as Stacy turned off the light and laid down.

"Bedtime is now, Scout. Will's already asleep." She muttered as she settled down, and Scout finally stopped fighting it. Stacy would go limp soon enough, anyways, and then Scout could go back to playing.

And, just as predicted, once Stacy was fully asleep it was easy to squirm out of her loose grasp and grab the Gameboy. She settled into the corner of the room to play, when she noticed a light go by the open door.

Too low to the ground to be anything but Canon, Scout eased through the gap between the door and door-frame. She followed her eldest sister to the kitchen, just in time to see her pull the tupperware of gross rice out of the fridge. It landed on the floor with a thump and she pulled the lid off to shove the cold leftovers into her mouth.

"You know that tastes better warm, right?" Scout asked, and Canon jumped, then hunched over her food and glared at her sister.

"Shut up and go back to your Host!" She hissed before chomping down on another mouthful of food. Hunger satisfied for now, she put the lid back on and hefted the container back into the fridge. She then closed the door, plunging the kitchen back into darkness.

"C'mon Canon, Will's worried about you. I think." Scout scratched her head. "It's honestly hard to tell with him sometimes."

"I. Don't. Care." Canon said simply, pushing past Scout in order to get back to her hiding place.

"But he's your Host!" The elder sister paused, leaving Scout feeling safe to continue. "Everyone else likes their Hosts! Did... did something happen or-"

"Just because the rest of you are happy to be pets doesn't mean I am." She stated. "They'll all get bored of you eventually, so don't drag me into your delusions." And then she vanished, leaving Scout with a rebuttal dying on her lips.

"Well, fine then! Be a bitch, see if I care!" She grumbled as she made her way back to the bedroom in the dark. She Jumped onto the bed, crawling under the blanket and up against Stacy.

"We're not fucking pets." Scout muttered. "They care about us. Stacy cares about me. I know she does." She sniffed, burying her face under the covers. "Why does she have to be such a bitch about it?"

-----

Somewhere far away, in a different, rainy city, sat a small building. Out of that building, through the boards covering the door, a tiny figure made of wood squeezed out, dragging an envelope with him. Holding it over his head, he raced to the nearby mailbox sitting at the corner. It took some work, but he was able to climb up and stuff the letter he was carrying inside.

And just in time, too, as a flash of lightning showed a stark white figure about the size of a child standing just inside the doorway. Thin strings wormed their way out through the boards, attaching themselves to the puppet's limbs. It screamed, a high-pitched, sharp sound as he was dragged back inside.

The rain continued to fall as the city slept on, completely unaware.

[h3rmitsunited]

The Heart Line

Dirk learns palm reading...sort of... and Todd can totally deal with it... sort of. (Disclaimer: the author (me) knows nothing about palm reading so forgive the errors...it’s totally intentional...)

Todd couldn’t really remember when the joke started. Some case months ago, an offhand comment Amanda had picked up on when visiting for a few days that just stuck, and turned into Dirk pretending to get hunches off the lines of his palm.

It turned into, “Todd!” He rubs his fingers over his hand. “My hand lines say it’s over here!” and “I don’t think my dinner line thinks that Chinese is good for dinner tonight. It says pizza is a better idea,” and Amanda’s favorite, “the lines are saying Todd is being a grumpy party pooper right now.” And Amanda loved it, and she knew how much Dirk loved using it to mess with Todd, so she played it up every time she came around, which Todd… just… loved.

Which led to Dirk’s birthday, Amanda grinning as Dirk ripped the wrapping paper off the rectangular present, and breaking into a fit of laughter as he revealed it to the rest of the party. In bold black letters, Palm Reading For Dummies. Dirk gave Todd a pointed and amused look, which Todd responded to with a dramatic eye roll. He didn’t open the book immediately, but after a while, after they had finished opening the rest of his gifts and ate too much pizza, Amanda tossed the book into Dirk’s lap and held her hands out.

“Alright, Mr. Dirk Gently Palm Detective, let’s see what you got.” Dirk sputtered a moment before the curious glint sparkled in his eyes and he cracked open the pages. Amanda’s took a while to read as he tried to figure out the book, but Amanda sat quietly smiling as Dirk flipped through the pages and ran his fingers all over her hands. She ended up quite satisfied with his (mostly embellished) report on her future. Todd, on the other hand (pun intended), was suspicious that any of Dirk’s predictions were actually things that he learned to read from that book, particularly because he was pretty sure palm reading wasn’t specific enough to tell you that you’re going to adopt a hedgehog, or find a box of jeans under a bridge in three weeks. As soon as he finished reading Amanda’s palms, the rest of the Rowdy Three, apart from Martin, leapt up, racing towards Dirk and thrusting their hands out in front of him, and excitedly yelling questions about the free clothes they would fine. Dirk flinched back, an instinct from their more… vampiry days, despite not having been their meal for a while now, but then relaxed again, his soft smile returning.

“Okay, okay, wait your turns,” Dirk said with a chiding laugh. Todd watched as he took Vogel’s hands in his. His ears seemed to tune out Dirk’s words, his attention preferring to focus on the careful ministrations of Dirk’s slender fingers, the way his fingertips brushed gently over their skin, the delicate way he leaned over the book and flipped through the pages, his forehead wrinkling as he lost himself in his swirling thoughts. It was one of Todd’s favorite Dirk looks. Todd tried to ignore the pit in his chest, the desperate hunger that was spiking in his stomach at the sight of Dirk giving his touches away so freely. Dirk glanced over, catching Todd’s yearning stare. He smiled and the edges of his eyes crinkled and Todd lost his train of thought, blushing and smiling back. Bea (the rainbow monster from Wendimoor, who was sort of domesticated now), laid across the back of the couch directly behind Dirk, her head resting on the top of the cushions as she watched Dirk continued to talk over Cross’ hands, attempting to explain what the head line means. Todd laughed under his breath as Dirk’s predictions became simpler and simpler as he went through the rest of the Rowdy Three. He got to Bea who was happy just to have her “bibbit” hold her hands, and her palm reading was a very simple, “you’re going to get a cookie,” and he handed her a cookie off the tray on the coffee table, which she snatched away and hopped off the couch to rejoin the rest of the Rowdies on the floor.

“Alright, anyone else?” Dirk said looking up, straight over at Todd’s now empty seat. He frowned, noticing Todd through the doorway to the kitchen, washing up a couple dishes. Tina hopped up from the floor, slightly giggly and curled up on the couch next to Dirk.

“Me, me, me!” She said holding out her hands. “Where should I put my feet?” Dirk’s eyebrows furrowed and he shook his head.

“Um, it doesn’t matter, Tina. I just need your hands.” Tina nodded seriously.

“Alright, I’ll put them on the floor.” Dirk smiled, raising an eyebrow up, and shook his head again, taking Tina’s hand in his just as Todd walked back out of the kitchen. Dirk noticed he seemed distracted, his eyes pointedly not looking over at him, and wondered if he may have done something wrong. Dirk shook his head, fighting the instinct to blame himself for everything, and resolving to ask Todd about it later instead. He returned his focus to Tina, and on reading the lines on Tina’s hands. When he finished, Tina shoved Farah over, then Sherlock; Amanda convinced Martin (and if Dirk’s hands shook a little more than usual reading the intimidating Rowdy leader’s hands, nobody mentioned it; and even Mona popped up near the end of the party for her palm reading, though she was shaped as an orangutan, so Dirk isn’t really sure if they use the same book. She seemed happy with her reading in any case, and shifted into a small black cat before wandering out of sight. He finished her reading, and sighed, dropping his head back into the couch cushions.

“That’s it, right? I think I might be all hand readed out.” He flopped the paperback book onto the coffee table and yawned. Half the Rowdies were asleep curled together on the floor, Farah yawned from the other end of the couch, batting away Tina’s wandering hands from where she was pestering her on the floor, and Sherlock was fighting heavy eyelids from where he sat in the armchair. But someone was missing. Dirk looked around the room, peering through the doorway to the dark kitchen.

“Where’d Todd get off to?” Dirk asked, trying to sound casual. He didn’t really like when Todd went off by himself, he knew he was mostly okay, usually, but Todd’s stories about Amanda’s attacks had gotten him a bit paranoid about him drowning in the bathroom without Dirk noticing.

“Probably went to the bathroom,” Amanda said with a yawn from the pile of cuddled Rowdy bodies on the floor. She pushed herself up, smacking their shoulders, and waking up the dozing leather clad men. “Well, you’ll have to let us know if he has any weird stuff too, especially anything I can tease him about-“she winked- “We gotta get going, early morning tomorrow.” Dirk smiled and nodded, pulling Amanda into a hug.

“I’m glad you were able to make it.” Amanda waved a hand and punched his shoulder, smiling.

“Of course, dude. It’s your birthday. It needed to be celebrated.” She gave him a pointed look. “And listen, we love you. You ever need a break from my brother, you let me know. That road trip invite doesn’t expire.” Dirk smiled sincerely, pulling Amanda into another quick hug which turned into a dogpile of slightly smelly, leather clad Rowdy bodies surrounding him.

“You’re British, but you’re Drummer’s friend so we like you!” Cross shouted way too loud right in Dirk’s ear.

“It’s your birthday!” Vogel added from somewhere underneath them.

“Alright, let’s go boys.” Martin slapped Dirk across the back, breaking up the hugging and started walking to the door, the rest following after him. Todd walked out of the hallway from the bathroom as they reached the door. Amanda gave him a look before she rolled her eyes and pulled him into a hug.

“See you, loser.” Todd laughed, and pulled her tighter.

“Love you too. Be careful… or whatever.” Amanda broke apart from him and gave him a finger gun before following the Rowdies out the door.

“We’re gonna head out too. Long drive back to Bergsberg tomorrow.” Sherlock said, helping Tina up from the floor. Tina grappled Dirk into a tight hug…or tackle… and they both hugged him and told him another happy birthday before heading to the door too, giving Todd a pat on the back as they walked past.

“I’m going to walk them out. I’ll see you at the office tomorrow?” Farah pointed at Todd, who nodded reluctantly. “Good. Okay. Happy birthday, Dirk.” She pursed her lips and then gave Dirk an awkward side hug, nod, and pat on the shoulder. Dirk smiled. Todd shut the door behind her as she left, and the apartment was suddenly very quiet. Todd walked back over to the couch dropping down onto the cushions with a big, tired sigh. Dirk followed suit, dropping down, leaving just a few inches between their legs. Dirk glanced around the room.

“Did you see where Mona disappeared to?” Todd sighed and shrugged.

“I’m pretty sure I saw a black cat sneaking into your room again. I’d guess she’s hiding under your blanket again,” Todd said and raised his eyebrows. Dirk smiled and laughed under his breath.

“Thanks for the warning. Don’t need anymore surprised Mona cat scratches.” Todd huffed a laugh in response, but didn’t say anything. Dirk studied his face for a moment before reaching out and grabbing his hands. Todd jerked back slightly, but didn’t pull his hands out of his loose grip.

“Wha-“

“I never got to do yours. You kept disappearing all night.” Todd shrugged, watching as Dirk grabbed the book off the coffee table, one hand still wrapped around Todd’s palm.

“I wasn’t disappearing. I just needed the bathroom,” Todd knew he sounded less casual than he hoped, and he knew Dirk noticed, but he hoped that maybe Dirk wouldn’t-

“Is something going on? You’re acting weird.” Todd laughed. Mostly at the fact that Dirk could sometimes be so completely oblivious and yet at other times way too perceptive. Dirk frowned. “It wasn’t… I didn’t do any-“ Todd quickly shook his head.

“No. You didn’t do anything. I’m fine.” Dirk raised his eyebrows. “I promise, I’m fine. Just a little tired. Read my hands and it’ll tell you how fine I am.” Todd shook his head quickly. “I don’t mean like how fine I am as in like… attractive, just… like I am… okay. Mostly.” Dirk smiled and his eyebrows quirked upwards, amused.

“Okay, you weirdo, I don’t think that’s how this works, but I’ll see if there’s a line for that.” He laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners again, and sighed. His fingers started to brush softly over Todd’s hands, running over the creases in his palms. Todd had to keep from gasping, and he wondered with fear if Dirk could feel the way his pulse had jumped in his veins when his fingers had started moving. Dirk’s smile faded into something… something else. Focused and intense. His thumbs caressed across the crease across from Todd’s thumb.

“This one is the lifeline. The book says it’s not great for beginners to talk about this one too much. Don’t want you thinking you’re going to die soon or something.” Dirk leaned forward and Todd could feel the heat of his breath wafting over his palm. Dirk’s index finger traced the line again sending tingling pulses through Todd’s nerves. He twitched and Dirk looked up at him in surprise and apology.

“Sorry, it’s a little ticklish,” Todd said, slightly breathless. He hoped he wasn’t blushing. Dirk just smiled and turned back to his hand.

“It looks pretty long to me, so I think you’re probably alright.” He moved his fingers slightly over to the crease next to the life line, skittering so lightly, like the feet of a butterfly, that Todd suspected he was doing it just to torture him.

“What’s that one?” Dirk ran his finger down the line, and Todd’s breath hitched in his throat.

“The fate line,” Dirk responded huskily, and turned his head towards Todd, looking up at him through his eyelashes. “It looks like it’s pretty deep, means that your life is currently greatly influenced by external circumstances.” Todd smiled and rolled his eyes.

“Hmm. Imagine that.” Dirk smiled and passed over to the next line, a smaller crease at the edge of his palm.

“This one is called the sun line. It’s supposed to indicate your public image, your legacy and fame.” Todd pulled his hand closer to his face, nearly dragging Dirk with it. He gasped in surprise and looked up at Todd.

“Oh, does it say the Mexican Funeral is getting back together? I knew we were going to make it big someday,” Todd said jokingly, trying to cut some of tension in the air. Dirk rolled his eyes and pulled Todd’s hand back to where it was, laughing and sending another wave of warm air over Todd’s hand. His fingers rubbed across Todd’s palm absently.

“I don’t know about that, but I think it’s a good one. You’ll probably be successful… in something.” Todd barked out a laugh.

“Wow! Thanks for the confidence.” Dirk sat back up and shook his head grinning.

“You wanted me to read your palms, I’m just saying what I see.” Todd’s forehead wrinkled and he cocked his head.

“Did I? I seem to remember you grabbing my hands without me asking.” Dirk raised an eyebrow and shrugged. He dramatically dropped Todd’s hand letting it fall to the couch cushion. Todd winced at the loss of Dirk’s fingers on his hand.

“Okay, fine.” He said and turned toward the television. “I don’t have to read it.” Dirk sat quietly, his eyes flicking over at Todd periodically until Todd sighed and rolled his eyes, holding his hand out again.

“Okay. Dirk, would you please finish reading my palm.” Dirk glanced over at him, hesitating before he smiled and nodded.

“Well, if you insist.” Todd rolled his eyes, but smiled softly.

“What’s the next line?” Dirk pressed over a longer line that crossed diagonally near the top of Todd’s palm. He followed the waves of the line, and then looked up at Todd.

“This one is called the head line. It’s supposed to show your intellect, and the pursuits that you learn about. Yours seems pretty long, which means you learn about a lot of different things-“

“Sure, I mean last week I had to become an expert in rat care, and the week before we were investigating corruption at the YMCA. I’d say I learn about a lot of things…” Todd raised his eyebrows and rolled his eyes.

“AND,” he cut back in, emphasizing Todd’s interruption, “the depth mean how deeply you learn about things, and it looks… not that deep…” Dirk said and smiled up at Todd, who frowned and shrugged.

“Sure, well, I mean I have Google, I don’t need to be an expert in things.” Dirk shook his head mockingly, and patted Todd’s hand.

“No, of course you don’t,” he said in a condescending tone. Todd pulled at his hand, still caught in Dirk’s grip.

“Great, are we finished? Was that the last one?” Dirk held tighter.

“Not quite, there’s one more.” Dirk looked up at Todd, the mocking expression now replaced with that same intense look from before. “The heart line.” Todd felt his chest tighten, now worried about what his traitorous hands might be able to tell Dirk. If he could somehow read what he had been feeling. That’s stupid though because this is all fake nonsense… but he also thought Dirk was fake nonsense, so… He fought against his rapidly beating heart and watched as Dirk studied carefully over the lines on his palm. His eyebrows furrowed together creating little rippled wrinkles on his forehead. After what seemed like forever, Dirk sat up and sighed, looking conflicted and nervous. He nodded. Todd raised his eyebrows.

“And? What did it say?”

“Nothing?”

“It says nothing?” Todd held up his hand, staring at the mess of lines and wondering what Dirk saw that made him say that. Dirk pulled his hand down away from his face and shrugged.

“I don’t know. It’s all nonsense, you know? Maybe you’ll live happily ever after, maybe you won’t. I don’t know what it means.” Todd frowned, studying the strange look on Dirk’s face.

“I don’t understand. You read everyone else tonight, all those other lines on my hand… why…” He didn’t want to read into anything. Dirk did weird things for Dirk reasons, not because… “Why not this line?” Dirk frowned and shrugged. Todd could see a soft pink flush rising on his cheeks, and the tightness in his chest seemed to return again, but for a new reason. A more hopeful reason. Todd fought back a smile.

“It doesn’t matter.” Dirk started to stand up to leave the room, but Todd grabbed his hand. Dirk looked at him confused, and almost scared, but he sat back down.

“I think it’s because you’re just not as good as me at reading palms,” Todd smiled, enjoying the feeling of running his hands over Dirk’s palms, the feeling of Dirk’s hand’s twitching slightly under his delicate touches.

“What are you talking about?” Todd shushed him and smiled.

“My turn.” He ran over the first line on Dirk’s hand. “The life line. Easy, you’re going to have a long and happy life. Boom. Done. Next,” he passed across to the next line. “The fate line, you’re going to have good things happen to you even though it gets crazy sometimes. Boom, next. Whatever this line was, I don’t remember, don’t tell me, but it means, you’re amazing and do good things, boom. Next, the… uh…” Dirk pointed down at the book on the couch, and Todd quickly read the line upside down. “Head line, yes, I remembered that myself, thanks. This one says you’re very smart and capable about a lot of things.” Dirk was smiling now, his face much pinker than before, watching Todd raptly, wondering what was coming next. Todd paused, his breath catching, as his fingers crossed over the last line.

“Todd? What about… what about the last one? What about the heart line?” Dirk’s voice was nervous, and hesitant. His hand started to pull away at Todd’s silence. Todd squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath for just a second.

Todd dropped Dirk’s hand, quickly moving his hand to Dirk’s cheek and stroking over the soft blush that colored his face. Dirk’s surprised expression softened and the crinkles returned to the edges of his eyes, which Todd took as permission. They both leaned forward, synchronized with each other’s movements and their lips met in the center, as gentle and delicate as their fingers had been passing over each other palms. The softness gave way, replaced with the reverent exploration of each other’s lips, a hesitant brush of tongue, hands joining to touch skin and hair and, then they pulled apart, breathless and smiling. Dirk swallowed thickly, and Todd smoothed the mussed hair sticking up on top of his head.

“So, uh,” Dirk started still catching his breath. “What did it say?” Todd grinned leaning in again, only to stop just an inch away from Dirk’s lips.

“I can repeat myself, if you’d like?” Todd said, his words wafting over Dirk’s mouth. Dirk smiled.

“Oh, yes, please,” he said moving in the last inch. As they kissed, Todd slipped his hand into Dirk’s smiling into Dirk’s lips as his fingers started to move softly over Todd’s palm, tickling over his skin. He decided he didn’t mind the palm reading so much after all.