#then it helped me speedrun like two assignments

[the-aftonsparv]

thank you thank you

i love looking at notes from previous all nighters because what the fuck is this

[radawaycunt]

The Black Kaiser's Nightmare

Duncan Vizla x Assassin!FemReader

A/N: Shout out to beelmons and G for their endless support and help with my fics <3 :') where would I be without y'all?

Summary: You run into your long-time nemesis in the last place you ever expected, but things take a turn for the worst when you find yourself stuck with him during a snowstorm.

WC: 7.2k words

Warnings: SMUT! (18+ ONLY, MINORS DNI), enemies to lovers speedrun into the bed, mentions and depictions of violence, fighting, accidental assassination of a third party, some serious bickering, abundant cursing, rough sex (unprotected, don't do it at home!), choking, very light knifeplay, dirty talk, slight degradation mixed with some praise, rampant sexual tension, ooey gooey lovesick fools who are just SO SO STUBBORN, I think that's it but lmk if I missed anything!

You are responsible for your own media consumption!

----

Triple Oak, Montana.

It’d been a while since you’d last found yourself in such a quaint little town, especially in the middle of winter, but you supposed you’d been in way worse places. It was barely even on the map, which made it a convenient place to lay low. 

You didn’t have to worry about interacting with many people, and you sure as hell didn’t think you’d encounter anyone you knew. At least for the time being, you felt like you could relax just a little bit while you made plans.

In a few more days, you’d continue driving north and cross the Canadian border into Saskatchewan, where you were meant to carry out your next assignment. Your target was a skeevy arms dealer that had to move his whole operation out of Serbia and was now shacked up somewhere in the vast prairies. 

You’d been tracking his activity for some time, slowly narrowing down the list of possible locations. You’d also scored some insider information about a big upcoming transaction with a terrorist cell, and your goal was to get to him before the sale was finalized.

Successfully eliminating him would pay handsomely, and you were already planning on a months-long vacation in which you’d go fully off the radar. Preferably somewhere by the beach, where you didn’t feel the constant threat of frostbite.

You pulled into a small gas station — the only one to be found in a long stretch of the highway between the town and more secluded cabins  — and occupied one of the three measly pumps. There was only one other old pickup truck next to you, but the owner was nowhere to be seen. 

You blew hot air into your hands as you walked into the convenience store, eager for some coffee despite how shitty it was. 

“Hey Lou,” you said to the now familiar attendant, the little bell above the door ringing as you pushed in. “How’s it goin’?”

“Eh, slow, the usual,” he shrugged. “At least it’s decently warm in ‘ere. They say there’s gonna be a snowstorm over the weekend, starting tonight.”

“Shit, really?” You groaned, not only because you loathed the freezing temperatures, but because it would set you back by a few more days. 

“Yup, perfect time to cozy up with the missus back at home.”

You poured yourself a large cup of black coffee and snapped the lid on top. On the way back to the register, you grabbed a couple of magazines and a pack of Ding-Dongs to eat on the road.

“Well, lucky you,” you said, putting everything on the counter. “I gotta find ways to keep myself busy and warm in case I lose power.”

As you spoke, the door to the restroom opened behind you and a tall, rugged-looking man stepped out. His eyes instinctively flickered between the two of you, even if he couldn’t see your face. He lingered close to the back, trying not to bring attention to himself.

“You sure you’ll be good all by yourself out there?” Lou asked. “Enough supplies and all?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I can take care of myself,” you said, fishing cash out of your wallet. “Give me thirty on number two, also.”

“You got it, tough gal.”

You chuckled as he rang you up, glancing outside. The man behind you tensed, gripped with the dread that came with sudden recognition. Your voice was one he knew well, the very same one he’d heard all seventeen times he’d almost died. Well, eighteen if he counted that one brief altercation in Belfast.

And that laugh… How many times had it been directed at him? Taunting him, teasing him, driving him utterly mad. 

It was perhaps the only thing that stopped him from actually getting rid of you that one night you slept so soundly at some shoddy little hotel in Madrid.  He’d watched your chest's steady rise and fall from his spot in the darkness, and he just couldn’t bring himself to do it.

And now he’d most likely have to pay for the consequences of his mercy. 

Lou looked over your shoulder at him, but you didn’t immediately notice since you were absently flipping through one of the magazines. 

“Need anything else, Duncan?” He offered. “Pack of Winstons?”

Your skin prickled at these two very familiar details, but you didn’t move, still staring down at the magazine without actually reading. It was probably a mere coincidence. Really, there had to be dozens of Duncans in the world that just so happened to smoke Winstons.

But then, a very particular smell reached your nose — cheap cologne you didn’t know the name of, with strikingly bitter notes that had flooded your nostrils when his hands were tightly wrapped around your neck.

You glanced up at the fisheye mirror above the register… and there he fucking was, in all his deadly glory. The Black Kaiser himself.

You couldn’t help an amused huff, especially after hearing the faintest rustle of a knife being unsheathed under his coat.

“Are you sure you want to stab me with that, old man?” You said slowly over your shoulder. 

“Less impersonal than a gun. I owe you that much, don’t I?” he said with that deep, gravelly voice of his that always made a stubborn tingle form at the base of your spine.

Your hand just barely inched towards the hidden holster of your gun. “Oh, but you know I get a little crazy when the knives come out.”

Lou looked between the two of you, confusion and a tinge of fear in his eyes. 

“Uh, you two know each oth—”

Before he could finish his sentence, you whirled around and shot Duncan’s head. He ducked, but not before hurling a large knife at you in return. You dove out of the way, hearing it whizz right past your ear, and it sank into Lou’s forehead with a wet thud. His body slumped behind the counter, blood spraying over the stuff you’d intended to buy.

“Hey!” You yelled from your hiding spot. “I didn’t even get my change back!”

“You’re not gonna need it anymore,” he said gruffly, his voice not too far from you. “But before that… want to tell me what the fuck you’re doing here?”

“I could ask you the same,” you said, glancing up at the fisheye mirror once more. 

Unfortunately for you, you couldn’t get a very good look at where he was, but you couldn’t stay put. You slowly began to inch to the end of the aisle, staying low. “Let me guess, you missed me so much these last three years that you decided to hunt me down.”

He scoffed. “Three years was not nearly long enough time away from you.”

You dove around the corner to the next aisle, but he wasn’t there. You started pulling yourself forward, but suddenly you were flipped onto your back. You were about to whip your gun around, but it was harshly knocked out of your grasp, sliding against the linoleum. You thrashed against the weight that pressed down on you, but he pinned your hands down beside your head. 

“Who sent you?” He asked. 

“No one sent me, you paranoid geezer!” You sneered, driving your knee up full force right into his crotch. “Not everything’s about you.”

He growled at the pain, swaying to the side, his grip on your hands relaxing. You pushed him off of you, scrambling to get to your gun. Right as you managed to get a hold of it, he was on you again, pulling you back by the legs. You tried twisting around all the way, firing another shot semi-blindly. It narrowly missed his shoulder, shattering one of the windows.

“Can’t kill me without paralyzing me, eh, little Nightmare?” He taunted.

“Oh, you’d like that wouldn’t you?”

You swallowed a scream as he stepped on the hand you held your weapon with, his heavy boot cracking your wrist. Your fingers splayed involuntarily due to the pain, and he bent down to take the gun. He kept it pointed at you as he removed his boot from your wrist and grabbed your arm.

“You’re coming with me,” he stated, starting to pull you up. 

“Like hell I am!” You spat, but you froze as you felt the barrel pressed against the back of your head.

“You were saying?”

He dragged you to your feet, leading you through the broken window, glass crunching under your boots. The wind seemed icier than it had been when you first arrived, which made you remember Lou’s warning about a snowstorm.

There was no way in hell you’d be stuck with him during it, so you’d have to find a way to weasel out of his grasp… and kill him in the process. 

He led you towards his truck, but you pretended to trip at the last second, bending down and retrieving a knife you had hidden in your boot. You stabbed backward, aiming for his femoral artery, but he moved and the knife stabbed into his thigh muscle instead.

“Motherfucker,” he hissed through clenched teeth, but he didn’t let go of you, tightening his grip on your arm. He fired off a warning shot into the air, which made you flinch a little. “Try me again and I won’t hesitate to put the next bullet through your thick fucking skull. I only have so much patience.”

He shoved you into the passenger seat of the truck, managing to tie you up with the seatbelt. Your bound hands were still slick with his blood, and you smiled triumphantly at him as he slid into the driver’s seat, immediately peeling out of the gas station.

“This is what gets you hard, isn’t it?” you said, raising an eyebrow at him. “You’re kind of a sick fuck, old man… but I didn’t expect any better from you.”

He said nothing, instead momentarily glaring at you. He grunted as he pulled the knife out of his leg, tossing it out of the window. You grumbled about him owing you a knife, but he continued to ignore you. He drove mostly in silence, winding through the icy roads as he gripped his wounded leg with one hand.

So far, it had been one of your tamest encounters. Really, it had all sort of felt like a game, but neither of you had won quite yet. After all, a game such as this could not be left unfinished.

Usually, the circumstances were vastly different. Your respective agencies had assigned you the same target a couple of times, and it always turned into a competition on who would finish the job first. As it turned out, the two of you were very competitive.

You’d left plenty of souvenirs on each other every single time you crossed paths – broken bones, an assortment of scars, and bruises as dark as the midnight sky. You wondered vaguely how much more damage you might make by the end of the day.

Why neither of you had succeeded in killing each other was… a bit of a mystery. Maybe he saw something in you that reminded him of himself, or perhaps he was growing soft with age. He would never admit it, but he’d had plenty of fun in this deadly dance with you so far, and it seemed a shame to let it come to its conclusion so soon. 

He’d have to do it though, after some thorough interrogation.

Soon enough, he pulled up a long gravel road hidden among the tall pine trees. In the clearing ahead, you saw what you supposed was his cabin. It was modestly sized and a little dilapidated, but at least it seemed to be sturdy enough to withstand harsh conditions.

“Nice place,” you said sarcastically. “I don’t suppose you have many visitors?”

“Rarely,” he said without looking at you. “I like the quiet. No one’s going to bother us here.”

“You mean no one’s gonna come running when you scream?”

He grunted, readjusting his position in his seat. You were mostly tied up at the arms so your legs had some room to move. Rookie mistake on his part, which you would definitely take advantage of. 

Before he could pull up in front of the actual cabin, you leaned back and kicked at the steering wheel. The truck swerved to the right, throwing you against the window. He tried to correct it on time, slamming on the brakes, but the snow made it careen right into a tree. 

It wasn’t a tremendous crash, but the windshield still broke, glass raining down on both of you. You were both disoriented for a moment from the whiplash, but then you began to untangle yourself from the seatbelt. You kicked at him when he tried to reach for you, but he managed to pin your legs down.

“Can’t you stay put for one fucking second!?” He growled, fully bracketing you between his sturdy legs as he freed you from the seatbelt. 

You panted heavily, trying to thrash beneath him, but he only pressed his legs tighter against your sides. A small, high-pitched whine escaped your lips as you felt the air being squeezed out of you, and you stopped moving. 

“Satis…fied?” You managed between gasps.

“Not nearly,” he said, grabbing a fistful of your hair as he pulled back. “Come here.”

He kept a firm grip on it as he dragged you out of the truck and towards the cabin. He wobbled a little with each step, his leg still bleeding some. 

“I warned you about the knives,” you said. “Even if you didn’t let me finish having fun.”

He chuckled sardonically. “No, you’re mistaken. The fun is only just beginning.”

He led you inside and locked the door behind him, making you sit down on a rickety chair. He bound your hands and feet with duct tape, wrapping some of it around your torso and the back of the chair for good measure. You decided not to struggle for the time being and instead ponder on your next move, covertly glancing at your surroundings for anything useful.

When Duncan was sure you wouldn’t be able to bolt, he went to grab something from an adjacent room, returning with his version of a first aid kit and a bottle of vodka. He looked at you from the corner of his eye as he undid his pants and lowered them to his knees.

“I didn’t realize it was that kind of fun,” you said, raising an eyebrow. 

Still, your gaze was drawn to his crotch first before trailing further down to the injury you’d caused. Rolling his eyes, he plopped down on the bed, which creaked a little under his weight. 

He took a long swig of vodka and then poured some on the bleeding gash, hissing through his teeth. Your expression of slight amusement didn’t change as he glanced at you once more, taking out a needle and thread.

“I have to be careful about infections, who knows where that knife of yours has been?” he said.

You merely watched as he began stitching himself up without so much as a grimace. His breathing was slow and steady as he concentrated, and you found yourself entranced by the precise movements of his hands.

An obscene thought about those hands wriggled into your mind, but you immediately pushed it away. It was all the more reason for you to get the hell out of there, especially now that his pants were down.

As he was finishing his stitches, you leaned forward onto your tiptoes and then threw yourself back as hard as you could. The chair broke apart under you, the force of the blow and the angle in which you fell spraining one of your wrists. The adrenaline made you barely register the pain, and you quickly wriggled out of the tape wrapped around you.

You pulled a Swiss army knife out of your boot and hastily sawed off the tape binding your ankles. He swore as you stood, lifting your arms and slamming them down to free your hands. You stumbled towards the front door and yanked it open.

Outside, the wind howled ferociously and a thick flurry of snow limited your vision of your surroundings. You felt the unforgiving cold slicing through you as you hesitated, knowing deep down that your chances of survival were very slim. 

Still, you were reckless enough to try and brave it. You started towards the steps when you were yanked back once more, your back pinned against the wall and Duncan’s hand around your throat.

“You just don’t fucking learn, do you?” He growled. 

“You only caught me because I hesitated, old man.”

His grip tightened a little in warning. “Didn’t anybody teach you never to hesitate?”

“There is a very fine line between foolishness and courage, you know…” The corners of your mouth twitched, an amused gleam in your eye. “I wonder how often you cross from one side to the other.”

He clenched his teeth and an absolutely devious, cheshire cat grin spread across your face. The mere sight of it made his blood boil with both rage and arousal, and he felt it flowing southward. Your back instinctually arched towards him, as if you could somehow sense the sudden influx of violent desire, and became infected by it.

You stared at each other for a charged moment before he suddenly fell upon you, intent on devouring you. His lips clashed with yours in a fierce kiss and you buried your fingers in his hair, tugging at it as you retaliated.

You bit his lower lip hard, making him groan into your mouth. You used this opportunity to slide your tongue against his, and he moved the hand that had been around your neck toward your jaw. Without thinking, you pressed harder against him, your fingers about to slide under the hem of his sweater.

He clasped your wrist to stop you, assuming you were reaching for some hidden weapon. You whimpered slightly, painfully reminded that it was in fact sprained. He pulled back to look at you, both of you panting heavily and still clutching each other tightly. 

“I fear that line was blurred a long time ago, and I suspect it’s the same case with you,” He murmured. 

His words broke through your daze and you immediately pushed him away from you, cradling your injured hand against your chest. A maelstrom of emotions roiled inside of you, predominantly confusion and a worrisome throb between your legs. 

“And what now?” You asked, glancing out of the window. “It’s clear neither of us are going anywhere any time soon.”

“Now we weather the storm,” he said, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

“No, seriously.”

“I am being serious.”

You huffed in annoyance, pinching the bridge of your nose. “I… can’t believe I’m asking this right now but, maybe we can… put the killing each other thing on hold for a few days?”

“So you were coming for me.”

“No! I wasn’t!” You threw your hands up exasperatedly. “Not that it’s any of your fucking business, but I have work further up north. This was just a pit stop.”

He assessed you for a moment, trying to find any clues that you were lying. You stood your ground, keeping your eyes on his face. He sniffed, leaning against the wall to get his weight off his injured leg. 

“I’m fine with a temporary truce, but only if we both keep our weapons in plain sight at all times.”

“I am a weapon myself, big boy.”

“So am I. I suppose we’ll have to keep an eye on each other as well, then.”

“Fine,” you huffed, stomping to the couch and pulling it over to the kitchen. “I’ll stay on this side of the cabin, you can stay on the other side.”

“What!? This is my house!” He scoffed.

“Yeah, well, I’m being generous by letting you keep your bed. Not to mention, your life.”

He rolled his eyes, limping back over to his bed. “Whatever you say. Now, can I please fix my stitches in peace for one fucking second?”

———————

There was no sleep for the entirety of the first night. 

The cabin creaked and groaned, straining against the disastrously strong wind. Your breaths fogged up in the air as you shivered under the thin blanket Duncan had given you. The cold seemed to seep into your very bones as if punishing you for your decisions. To distract yourself from the chill, you kept an eye on his prone form across the room, knowing well he wasn’t sleeping either. 

When dawn broke, a thin grayish light filtered into the room. The storm raged on and all you wanted to do was doze off, but you were still on edge. You clenched your jaw to keep your teeth from chattering, irritated by a headache. Your mood didn’t get any better when Duncan rose from his bed, crossing towards the kitchen.

“What do you think you’re doing?” You inquired, not moving an inch.

He stopped in his tracks. “I’m hungry. Don’t you want to eat?” 

Your stomach growled in answer and he lifted an eyebrow in slight amusement. You unwillingly threw the blanket off of you, getting up with an annoyed grunt. 

“I’ll give you the food. Let’s see what you’ve got,” you said, rummaging through the cabinets.

“I could just show you…”

“No, stay on your side. Even better, why don’t you go sit back down on your bed?”

He followed orders, not really wanting to start quarreling with you so early in the morning. You finally found some oatmeal packets in one of the cupboards, and you took out a few and poured them into a pot along with some water. You left it to boil over the stove top, crossing your arms over your chest and turning to face him.

“How’s your leg doing, anyway?” You asked. 

“Fine. Why do you care?”

“I really don’t.”

He chuckled. “Good thing you’re a better assassin than you are a liar.”

You sighed deeply. “Well, it is your house, I should at least have some manners.”

He scoffed, still amused. “We are way past manners. Our only courtesy to each other would be a painless death.”

“Oh, really? Painless?” You arched an eyebrow. “Did you forget Lisbon? And that grenade launcher you stole?”

“Okay, well, I wasn’t technically aiming at you. You just happened to be in the way,” He argued. “And it’s not like you haven’t given me the same sort of treatment…”

You shrugged one shoulder. “It’s only fair.”

The two of you lapsed into silence as you turned your attention back to the pot. Once the oatmeal was ready, you spooned it into two bowls and walked to the invisible line that divided the cabin in two.

He got up and met you there, reaching slowly for his bowl so as not to seem threatening. Not that you were viewing him that way, anyway. At least not in the clearly exhausted state he was in. 

“Careful, it’s hot,” you said. “Need me to blow on it first?”

He raised an eyebrow at you, resisting the lure of your impish grin. He figured it was perhaps the more masochistic part of him that made him so drawn to you. Always pushing him, testing him, keeping him on the edge. He would never admit it to himself — much less to you — but it made him feel alive in a way he hadn’t for a really long time.

He muttered a quick thank you before heading back to his side of the room, plopping down on the bed and immediately digging in. If he burned his mouth, he showed no indication of it, but you still huffed in amusement. 

When he was done, he said nothing as he lied down, his back to you once again. A little confused and wary, you watched him as you slowly ate. Soon enough, his breath evened out into a steady rhythm, and you assumed he’d fallen asleep.

You glanced over at the dining table, where the two of you had laid out all your weapons, and considered them for a long moment. 

It seemed too easy to have such a window of opportunity. Normally, you’d have jumped at any such chance, but once more, you hesitated. Not out of any sort of newfound benevolence, but something deeper than that. Something that had been gnawing at you since the previous night.

In the end, you opted not to do anything. Surely, it was bound to be a mistake to not have killed him at that moment. But that would be a problem for another day, perhaps when the storm was over. 

You sat down on the floor by the foot of the couch, back resting against the frame. Sleep deprivation was starting to hit you as well, and you knew that if you were to lay down you would certainly fall asleep. Instead, your eyes focused on the suspiciously peaceful sight of Duncan sleeping. 

The longer you stared, the blurrier the lines seemed to get. Literally. His broad form was smudged into a single sphere, and without much thought about it, everything suddenly went black. 

Until… Shit. 

How long were you asleep?

It had been long since you’d last awakened to a man in front of you, let alone holding a knife to your face. The blade shone in your half-open eyes, reflecting the setting sun outside the window. You must have been unconscious for over two hours.  Stupid, so very stupid.

You blinked the haze of sleep out of your eyes and followed the glint to his fingers, his forearm, up his broad chest and shoulders, until it finally landed on his face. 

 “So, the game ends at last, huh?” you muttered, your gaze not wavering from his.

“Could’ve ended long ago, but it didn’t,” he said, once again looking every bit the coldhearted killer he was. You could still see, however, the presence of doubt in his dark eyes. “Why didn’t you kill me?” 

“I knew you weren’t actually sleeping…”

“Even so,” he pressed, straightening to his full, imposing height. “You didn’t even try. Why?”

You blinked, not really having an answer, not one that would satisfy him at least. What's more, you had a set of questions of your own, ones that would likely also have no answer. 

The words slipped before you could even think about them. “Why did you kiss me?” 

Silence hung between you like a heavy drape. You were cornered in more than one sense. Windows for precaution and escape had long since closed, maybe even since the moment you ran into him in that little gas station. And through hardships, you learned that if there’s no way back, the only way is forward. 

The wound in his thigh didn’t seem to bother him as much anymore, so there was no way you could outrun him. You looked down to avoid his scrutiny and he used the back of his knife to force your chin back up. 

He didn’t speak, but his eyes bore into yours, almost as if seeing through them into parts of you that were foreign even to yourself. The flat part of the blade trailed up to your cheek in what could be interpreted as a caress. 

Your hand unconsciously intended to return the favor, running up his knee to his thigh, extra cautious around his wound. You noticed a change of pattern in his breathing, and so you looked down only to find one of the answers you sought — the print of his hardened cock cruelly imprisoned within his pants. 

“Oh,” you breathed, surprised. Then again, when the reality of what you were looking at fully sank in. “Oh.”

Your hand moved on its own accord again, slowly slipping further up his thigh. Again, he tightly grabbed your wrist before your fingers reached their target, and you hissed in pain. He immediately let go, withdrawing the knife as well.

“Are you hurt?” He asked. 

“A sprained wrist isn’t gonna kill me,” you said, keeping your hand on his leg to drive your point across. “Now that, on the other hand, has to be taken care of.”

“Taken care of, huh?” He rasped, his voice hoarse with want and self-directed anger because of it. 

He raked a hand through your hair, gathering it in his first and pulling your head towards his crotch. He pressed your cheek against his bulge, his hips bucking ever so slightly. 

“And how do you suppose that’s gonna happen?” He added.

“I have a few ideas if you’re open to them,” you panted, ignited in a way that almost fully consumed you. 

His eyes searched your face for a moment, drinking you in as he searched for any indications of doubt, and then he whispered, “Are you sure?” 

This time you didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”

He saw the feverish gleam of hunger in your eyes as he pulled away and unbuckled his belt, pushing down his pants. The outline of his cock was even more prominent through his briefs and you couldn’t help a sharp intake of breath at the sheer size of him. He was still holding onto your hair, stepping closer and effectively cornering you against the couch. 

You boldly started to reach for the hem of his briefs, but he said, “No. I want you to use your teeth.”

“Getting a little bold there, old man,” you said with a smirk, keeping your eyes on him as you dipped your head to plant a soft kiss on his thigh, right by his stitches. 

He winced slightly at the contact, but you could see his cock throb against the fabric covering it.  Your smirk only widened, “But I gotta admit I’m pretty impressed so far. Didn’t even have to slip a blue pill in your oatmeal.”

He gripped your jaw, clicking his tongue in disappointment. “I think you need more proof, actually. Allow me.”

With his free hand, he roughly tugged down his briefs and his cock finally sprang free — so thick and long and just fucking perfect — hitting his lower abdomen. The head of it glistened with precum, which he spread with his thumb. You shifted in your seat, biting your lip as saliva flooded your mouth.

“Open,” he ordered.

You immediately complied, wondering when the fuck you’d gotten so obedient. He gripped the base of it and fed it into your mouth slowly. You wrapped your lips around it, feeling it slide smoothly against your tongue. 

A small groan escaped him, his head tipped back at the first rush of pleasure. You hummed a little in response and he felt the vibration of the sound against his shaft. His hips began to move again, shuttling his length deeper into your mouth, until you could feel the head of it reach your throat.

He let you steady yourself by placing your hands on his legs, his hand returning to the back of your head as it bobbed up and down. Then suddenly, when you’d reached the very base, he kept your head down. Your nose was against his pelvis, your deep, even breaths fanning against the fine hair that curled there. 

Your nails dug into the flesh of his legs as you staved off your gag reflex as best as you could. Still, you couldn’t help but squirm a little, already pretty slick between your thighs.

 He cursed under his breath as he let you come up for air, an obscene string of saliva connecting your lips to the tip of his cock.

"If I knew you were such a cock drunk slut, I would have dropped my pants much earlier just to shut you up,” he said with a smug grin, looking down at you.

“More bold words from someone who’s only gonna last this round. I’m gonna have to take care of myself after you’re done,” you taunted lightly, making him pull at your hair.

You kept eye contact with him as you stuck your tongue out and traced it over a large vein on the underside of his shaft. You left a trail of wet, sloppy kisses as you made your way back to the tip, and he lightly slapped it against your tongue a couple of times before pushing your head back down on it. His balls tightened momentarily as he sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth, and you knew he was enjoying himself much more than he let on.

"Well, if it's gonna be only one, might as well make good use of it, don't you think?" He said, pulling you off of him and making you stand up.

His lips were on yours in the next moment, just as desperate and hungry as the first kiss. He kicked his pants off the rest of the way and yanked your sweater off along with your thermal undershirt. He reached for your pants, but you slapped his hand away, extricating yourself from his lips to undo them yourself.

As soon as they were off, he turned you around and bent you over the back of the couch. There was a wet spot in your underwear that made him smirk, but he also couldn’t deny the way his cock throbbed at the sight.

“This is in the way…” he grunted, tugging at your bra strap.

Before you even registered what was happening, he brought the knife back out and sawed the bra off of you. You let out a gasp that was both surprised and indignant as he proceeded to rip your panties off with his bare hands, tossing the scraps of fabric aside.

“Hey! Those are the only ones I have here!” You huffed, glaring at him over your shoulder. “Unless you have a secret stash of women’s underwear, you seriously owe me.”

He nudged your knees apart with his leg. “I don’t think you’re going to need them while you’re here. You were already ruining them yourself, anyway.”

Before you could retort, you felt him push inside of you slowly, grabbing your hips as he let out a low moan. 

“Fuck…” you sighed without thinking, leaning your elbows against the back of the couch. 

“Yeah? Does that feel good?” He cooed condescendingly.

“In your drea–”

His hips snapped into yours harshly, interrupting you. You felt the heat of him against your back as he leaned over you, his breath fanning across the side of your face. 

“If I were you, I’d be careful about lying again. I might just stop and leave you all drenched like this, with your hands tied behind your back so you couldn’t touch yourself.”

He felt you clench around him at that and his smirk turned victorious. He kissed and sucked at your shoulder and neck, making sure to leave plenty of marks. His thrusts were hard and deep at first, hips barely pulling back as his weight pinned you down.

You let out a sound that was a strange mix between a whimper and a gasp as he bit into the tender flesh of your shoulder, hard enough to leave teeth marks behind. The jolt of pain mixed with pleasure – not to mention the slight shame that came with the feeling of your arousal dripping down your inner thighs – only fueled the fire that was steadily growing within you. 

Then, a little mindlessly, you pleaded, “Harder. Fuck me harder.”

He straightened immediately, readjusting himself to start pounding into you at a nearly punishing pace. You bit your bottom lip to try and keep quiet, but wanton sounds of pleasure escaped your throat despite your efforts. He was hitting a spot that made your head spin, tugging you backward onto his cock to meet his thrusts.

The lewd sound of flesh slapping together, along with your collective pants and groans, filled the room. He reached forward to grab your throat again, keeping you semi-upright as he continued to take you. In truth, he was focusing hard to stave off his release. He had plenty of stamina for his age, but the way your cunt took him so perfectly, as if molded just for him, was enough to have his balls tightening again. 

But he would never hear the end of it. 

Your legs began to shake a little as the coil in your belly tightened, threatening to snap. “I-I think I’m gonna cum, fuck…”

“Not yet,” he said firmly, immediately stopping his motions. 

You cursed him under your breath, beyond frustrated. You pushed your hips back, intent on fucking yourself on him, but his firm grip stopped you. He landed a firm smack on your ass, making you involuntarily clench around him. He hissed, feeling the strong urge to give in and continue fucking you until you came all over his cock, but he kept his composure. He wanted to keep indulging you for as long as he could, still not fully believing he wasn’t just having a dirty dream.

“Do that again and I’ll rip your fucking head off,” you snarled as he pulled out, grabbing your arm and leading you toward the bed.

“I told you I was going to make it count.”

He tossed you onto your back on the bed, crawling on top of you and pushing your knees up to your shoulders. He positioned himself between your thighs and sank back into your cunt with no further preambles, his strong body covering yours once more.

His hands cradled your head as he began to move again, reaching impossibly deeper than before. You clawed at his biceps as he ground his pelvis against you, making your brain practically short-circuit.

“There we go… See? I knew you could take more,” he said, kissing the corner of your lips. “Are you scared I'll pull out again? You keep sucking me back in.”

Too dazed to form words, your lips chased his so he would kiss you properly. Your tongue trailed over his upper lip enticingly, and he opened his mouth so his tongue could meet yours. This kiss was deeper, less frantic, finally giving yourselves a chance to taste each other properly. 

Soon you were clenching around him again, too distracted by your mounting pleasure to continue kissing him properly. 

“Fuck, don’t stop, Duncan. Please, please, please, just like that,” you begged desperately, moaning as he moved to kiss your jaw. 

“Yeah? You want me to fill you up, too?” He rasped against your skin. “Claim this needy cunt all for myself?”

You nodded eagerly, face contorting with ecstasy as you held onto him for dear life. Your muscles seized up as your climax washed over you, overpowering your senses. His hips stuttered as you cried out, your hot flesh molding into his like the deepest embrace. 

He kissed you again as he felt his own release rippling over him, groaning into your mouth as he shuddered, unable to hold himself back any longer. He thrusted hard a few more times before remaining fully inside of you, and you felt heat flooding your cunt. 

A whimper of slight overstimulation escaped you, but he soothed you with a whispered praise in your ear. You couldn’t help but smile beatifically, almost purring in content as he kept his cum inside of you.

As you both rode out your highs, your kisses turned lazy, almost tender, and even the way he held you felt different. Somehow, in some deep recess of your mind, it seemed right… and that scared you a little.

Still, you tried not to let it get to you then. Not as he leaned his sweaty forehead against yours, still panting, and said, “I think I tore my stitches.”

You chuckled. “You should probably take care of that, then.”

“In a minute…”

He disentangled himself from you, pulling out and sliding his body down between your legs. You tried to draw your thighs together, but he stopped you, planting a kiss on your mound.

He spread your lips with two fingers so he could see his cum trickling out of you, but then he pushed it back in with those same fingers, making your hips jerk slightly.

“T-this was a one time thing, you know,” you breathed, trying to sound firm. 

He barely glanced up at you, seemingly unbothered. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

But only an hour or so later, you found yourself riding him on the couch. Then, he took you against the wall, over the kitchen counter, off the edge of the bed, and subsequently on the floor. He seemed intent on making sure you never questioned his endurance ever again.

Even throughout the night, you slept sporadically, pawing at each other whenever you stirred. Not many words were exchanged during this time, but that didn’t mean your mouths weren’t put to good use. As usual, you both wound up with bruises, bite marks, and scratches all over each other, but the intention behind them couldn’t be any more different.

The storm died sometime during the night, but instead of fleeing right away, you let him hold you until dawn broke. There were too many new questions floating about in your head, but you weren’t really sure you wanted the answer to any of them for the time being. Perhaps it was simply best to let what happened remain in the past and simply move on.

As quietly as you could, you got up from the bed, cleaned yourself up, and dressed. You sheathed your weapons, avoiding looking at him as you prepared to leave. When your hand was on the doorknob, his voice stopped you.

“You didn’t kill me again,” he said. “Should I take that as an indication that you like me?”

You looked over at him, frowning. “Absolutely not. I’m serious, this was the last time it’ll ever happen.”

“I’m not sure I can trust your word.”

You huffed, irritated. “Well, you’ll have to. I intend to keep it.”

You yanked the door open, about to stomp outside, but you heard the creak of the bed as he sat up. 

“You know, I’m going to be in Portofino in a few months. I heard it’s beautiful there in the summer, and I figured I could use a vacation.”

“Are you trying to make yourself an easy target?”

“...Maybe.”

“And if I decide not to hunt you down?”

He raised an eyebrow. “If?”

You grimaced. “All I’m saying is don’t get your hopes up. I’m a very busy gal, I don’t have time to play cat and mouse with you.”

“And who’s who in that analogy, hm?”

You shook your head, rolling your eyes. “Goodbye, Duncan. Truce is over, do you hear me?”

“I’ll see you in Portofino. Make sure you bring sunscreen.”

The door slammed shut behind you. 

---——-

Part 2 out now!

[kiyocuck]

silly

ok im sick as hell and unfortunately also very bored so im gonna write down some silly naeishimondo scenarios ive been brainrotting for a while

Makoto being sick like me and staying home, meanwhile both taka and mondo barge into his house, bringing in homemade soup and tea (both of which makoto already got), and while they're being sad over the fact their favorite little guy wont be at the academy with them for the rest of the week, komaru steals the soup and tea cuz she woke up sick too (from makoto). An alt ending is them giving makoto a Liiiittle kiss on the forehead, both of them thinking they wont get sick, and waking up with 40°C temperature the next day

Them all going to mondo's house for a hangout-sleepover bcuz hes the only one of the three with a queen-sized bed (lil context, after mondo quit being a biker gang leader [in a universe where daiya is alive cuz fuck you] him and his brother move to a more. "calm" place, just the two of them. they still hangout w the other gang members though). they all watch movies and taka drops dead snoring the second the clock hits 10pm bcuz his brain cant handle staying up later for "no reason" (he has pulled all nighters when it comes to studying). mondo falls asleep second, and makoto just watches them sleep peacefully before snuggling between them and going to sleep too (imagine cringing over what ur writing help)

Going home in the snowy weather after shopping all evening (taka made them both come with him). theyre all holding equal amount of bags, until mondo grabs them all and speedruns to their house cuz hes FREEZING, and boy oh boy does he not like the cold at all. after that he sticks himself to the heater for like 10 minutes, while makoto and taka think to themselves that he looks like hes purring next to it (they both assigned him a catboy in their heads cuz it makes him 10 times cuter (also my version of him has a default >:3 face that all owada family members have (its more noticable on daiya but still))

Continuing the last one, theyre cooking together now!!! mondo kinda sucks at it, makoto is trying his best, and taka is this 🤏 close to chewing a brick over how they cut the vegetables (they look chunky (his autism can't stand it, meanwhile their autisms dont care/dont even notice it (no im not projecting not at all))). eventually they make a nice meal (of unknown kind cuz i can never think of foods LMFAO) and it turned out surprisingly good. yum!

Pet assigning. as i mentioned makoto n taka have assigned mondo a cat/catboy, but the same applies for the others. taka is a dog, obviously, but specifically a husky BECAUSE (im gonna be so annoying about this): Hes black and white, hes dramatic and loud like how huskies are, very loving (as every dog), and when his hair grows out more and mondo touches it, it reminds him of how fluffy huskies' fur is. makoto is a bunny, but i unfortunately dont know many bunny breeds so i will probably elaborate more once i look up and decide. hes just short/"small" and silly like one, and his ahoge going down when hes sad resembles bunny ears going down. (btw if ur curious mondo is either a tiger (still a cat!!!) or a persian cat. bcuz i cant help but imagine him as a chonky orange persian cat that on one occasion scratches your eyes, and on another cuddles on your shoulders. la creatura)

i think thats all for now! most of my other scenarios are even more generic, like going on dates (aquarium, cafe, cinema etc) so i dont have that much to write LOL.

if you read the whole thing, heres some items for yuo 🍀🧭💎

[decepti-thots]

🔥wreckers saga

Oooh hm. Let me do a speedrun of Unpopular Wreckers Opinions, as I don't think I've shared any before really, lol.

I think Wreckers is certainly dark and clearly influenced by horror relative to the franchise it represents and certainly I would feel comfortable labelling it such things without tempering myself. However, ngl. I think people REALLY overstate it at times. I have seen people scared off reading it convinced it is on the same level as some unrated horror movie that is just 90 minutes of simulated disembowelment or whatever, and it really, really is not that! Sins of the Wreckers in particular both draws more on actual explicit horror conventions (with Tarantulas and the imagery around him in particular, and the entire conceptual set up with the Ostaros reveal) and at the same time... like, it has less violence in it than some parts of MTMTE, which I'd never call a 'horror comic' outright. Seriously, if you handled the darkest issues of MTMTE or whatever, Last Stand is maybe one or two steps up from that and the rest of it is absolutely on that level tbh.

Both Last Stand and Sins make it very obvious that Magnus' implied relationship with Verity, while affectionate, was very much one of adult peers, and MTMTE fandom's tendency to try and frame it as a parent-child (emphasis on 'child' here) thing is insufferable to me at this point tbh. Magnus sent her a subordinate to help her go get shit done on the apparent understanding she was going to go do a bunch of unauthorized 'undercover work' (probably just. terrorism. i mean i kid but), I mean...

Anyone who thinks Requiem should have ended with Verity remaining a Wrecker and not going to find her estranged mother because 'ugh why would you Break Up Found Family and not let her keep Cool Robot Found Family!!!' has completely failed to internalize a single one of the eventual themes of the comics as a whole, and is assigned the homework of going back and reading it again. Did you pay attention to Anything, or do you see characters who exist in proximity to each other while hardship happens and have the thought FOUND FAMILY!!! WHICH = GOOD!!! and immediately stop paying attention. (Sorry. This one really really bugs me.)

[sidecharactersdomatter]

Hi! I recently read Disenchanted rewrite and from the snippet I saw, I find it to be better than the movie. I especially love how you gave the two sisters an actual relationship with each other.

Oh my, this is really huge for my rewrite, thank you so much for your simple and really helpful feedback. While we’re at it, how about I break down the first 5 things on my fic to do list to help share why I’m rewriting Disenchanted:

I rewrote Disenchanted because I had to: This is going to be really quick, the reason I’m rewriting this sequel is because I got so pissed off by how out of character Giselle, Robert, and Morgan were depicted in the movie I couldn’t get past the first act satisfied and ended up looking at spoilers on wiki and Moderngurlz’s review. Since Disenchanted got sent to streaming and the sneak peeks ended up killing the hype, this movie never stood a chance with the Rotten Tomatoes critics and the Oscars. Hopefully, once Wish comes out this November it’ll end up avoiding the pitfalls Disenchanted ended up in. Let’s face it, no one on the Disenchanted writing team actually understood the assignment.

2. I rewrote Disenchanted’s prologue because I felt like it: Let’s just say I didn’t like the chipmunks recapping the first movie and speedrunning the whole prologue. That’s why I had Morgan and Sofie recap the first movie to make it more audibly tolerable for the readers.

3. I made Morgan the main protagonist because I felt like it: Let’s be honest, Morgan was done so dirty in the sequel, because the whole movie had Giselle be the main character (*cough* main character syndrome *cough) I really did not like how her portrayal as a stereotypical angsty teenager felt really forced and the excuse got old super fast. It also shows that nobody knew how to write an authentic teenaged character. Mirabel, Camilo, Mei, Miriam, Priya, and Abby worked because they were all given their own unique traits that made them likable to the audience, while Morgan in the first act felt pretty irritating and unoriginal. That’s why I drastically changed her personality in my rewrite.

4. I aged up Morgan’s little sister Sofia to be 6 years old because I felt like it: One of the issues of Disenchanted that ended up being executed poorly, was Giselle having a new kid, Sofia. The downside why it didn’t work out was that in the film Sofia doesn’t really impact the story since she’s just a freaking infant that doesn’t do much. The problem with writing infant characters especially under one is that they don’t really have much agency in the story and end up becoming living props.  Heck, Mayday Parker from Across the Spiderverse was a more compelling character cause she was animated really well in her own movie. Oh yeah, Across the Spiderverse works so well as a sequel because it respects its characters. More infant characters that actually work in a story are Jack Jack (Incredibles), Sunny Baudelaire (A series of unfortunate events) and Grogu (The Mandalorian) In Disenchanted, Infant!Sofie existed as a plot device just to show how tough city life(well not really to me) got for the Philips and why Giselle decided to move her family to Monroeville.  She existed as a plot device just so knockoff Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather could find someone to babysit.  She existed as a plot device just so Edward and Nancy could give her a wand.  She exists as a plot device as a true Andalasian(oh yeah spoilers that doesn’t really touched upon in the movie) to make Morgan feel inferior in her own family. Maybe they should’ve had her be played by a child actor instead of twin infants. Not only would that have given us an interesting dynamic with her older sister Morgan, but it also could have subverted the mean step sister trope, (that whole trope subversion gimmick never happens in the sequel, that’s when you know this was gonna be disappointing.). Or if they wanted the evil stepmother personality shifts to make more sense, they could’ve just had Giselle be pregnant until the end of the movie (no wait, that topic would be too sensitive for Disney to show). Or just not have a new child to keep the focus the conflict between Morgan and Giselle, not much would change. That’s why Sofie is 6 in The Fairytale of my life, and I’m going to show her dynamics with her 3 family members.

5. I gave Morgan and Sofie a really good sibling dynamic because I had to: This answers the topic above. Disenchanted is one of the prime examples that shows why a sibling age gap between a teenager and an infant does not work. One of the positive traits I wanted to give Morgan was being a good role model for her new sister and it’s going to be shown throughout my fic.

Well, I hope this satisfies your ask. I’m going to be very busy finishing Ch 2 and writing the rest of my rewrite

[miraculous-lesbeans]

I went to a very small college. Like between 1000-2000 students total small. So I had some of the same professors every single year. I also had the luck of having my top two favorite professors as both advisors (one my freshman advisor and one my major advisor) and profs almost every year.

Dr. B was my psychology major advisor. She was near Vulcan in her logic, a fact she would take as the highest compliment. She deserves it. I adore her to this day.

But one of her courses was structured differently than normal, in hopes that it would be more accommodating for students with mental illnesses. (A very high percentage of the average psychology department). I was part of the first class she structured that way.

It was built with no hard deadlines, with clear suggestions of when things should be turned in to stay on track. Which is, in theory, a great adhd accommodation, right? How many times have I wished that I could speedrun a boring course whose content I already understood and spend more time on things I was learning for the first time? The lectures were pre-recorded, and edited to be the best explanation of the subject she could give. Class time was for working on what would normally be homework. Dr. B was available to help during class and office hours, and often lead our labs during this time. She stated that one of her goals was to make the ‘homework’ portion of the class possible to complete in our allotted class time. So we’d only have those pre-recorded lectures to do outside of class.

However: you could not progress to the next assignment without satisfactorily completing the previous one, and your final grade was based on the linear point you got to in the course.

There was this portion of the class that required you to install software to analyze data, and my laptop wasn’t compatible with the software. If I didn’t have experience modding games, I probably couldn’t have ever gotten this software to load on a computer that actively considered it malware. Because of the ‘default to accommodation’ course, I couldn’t move on until I finished this one Nightmare Task.

One of the essential lessons college students, especially disabled students, learn is time management. In many institutions the workload is actively meant to be more work than a person could thoroughly complete. One of the simplest ways to balance this is on most syllabi. You can look at the percentage of your grade an assignment will make up and say ‘is writing a 6 page analysis of a research paper every single week worth doing, knowing the full semester of these totals to 5% of my total grade and they don’t build to bigger assignments? (True story, the answer was no, but god did I try anyways.) And a handy follow up, if I drop that one assignment, or don’t address one part of the rubric, could I still get the grade I want in the course?

Any other course I would have gotten a bad mark on the assignment, because the deadline would pass before I could complete it, and that would be that. In this course I spent a month having panic attacks and working out technical issues on what was, for all intents and purposes, a minor assignment meant to visualize concepts I already understood, and my grade and stress levels suffered for it.

I can definitely sympathize with students who get worse grades because a deadline passed them by. It’s happened to me many times, especially as I got sicker in my later years of college. But I also know that ‘no deadlines’ as an ADHD accommodation really only works if the student can keep up with the course load in general. Deadline or not, you do HAVE to do the work eventually, usually pushed into a big deadline at the end of the semester. Looser deadlines just mean the work piles up.

There was only one class I struggled in more than the one built to accommodate by default, and it was the one with a professor who believed it was her responsibility be a barrier to her students’ success.

I don't know if this is anyone else's experience but

Professor with oldfashioned way of teaching who just has the generic disability accomodations statement in syllabus: Just email them explaining the situation and the answer will probably be "sure, just let me know what you need and I will try to help you"

Professor who actively and consciously tries to make their teaching style "accessible" and think about differences in learning needs: you're about to have the worst, most stressful experience ever trying to figure out adjustments to an environment that has no clear expectations or procedures to begin with, and communicate those to someone who is more resistant than usual to realizing their teaching environment has accessibility barriers

[fluffydancer618]

So yeah about that post, here it is

Close-ups and rumbles about the plot under cut

1 - So as I said in the other post this is based on No One Lives Forever by Oingo Boingo animatic I had in my head. And, according to plot of it, c!Fluffy having a stress dream due to selling their soul to c!Adam (by "dream version" of which the song is sang in that nightmare btw. Like a way of mocking Fluffy's mortality), facing all their fears related to that situation, with the main fear being the fear of death.

2 - Cause yes, despite being all "I don't care about death" and stuff, deep inside c!Fluffy: a) do realize they do not want to die in a young age and going to hell; and b) can't stop pondering Adam's line about the ones who sold their souls and how they don't tend to live for too long after that.

3 - One of the main things c!Fluffy hates the most - aka secretly scared of - is not being in control of something they believe should be fully controlled by them. And, by selling their soul, they pretty much give major control over their life - and, if you think about it, death - to c!Adam. Like, sure, the soul still in their body, but it's really easy to fix. Unnervingly easy to fix.

Also yeah, it's the pose similar to the one c!Fluffy did on their first appearance on the board post, aka "Everything is under my control" pose, because cinematic parallels my beloved

4 - Because the assignment was just to draw 9 frames, I had to choose what pictures in my head are more important and easy to draw cause friendly reminder I was speedrunning it at night so not all scenes made an appearance here, obviously. But for your information, after this moment with c!Fluffy's soul being captured by c!Adam, a few golden chains attempts to seize them, but Fluffy dodges them (barely) and runs away.

5 - As they run from Adam, dozens of knives flying towards them.

This one is here mostly because of the "Cuts cuts cuts but he can't get me" line and hehe throwing knives at the knife-thrower I am funny

6 - So, originally it should've been mirrors that popped from the ground and show different variations of c!Fluffy's possible deaths (choking, falling from a big height, cutting their own throat, etc etc) instead of their actual reflection, but 🙄for some reasons🙄 we're not allowed to depict brutal deaths in our college's works so here it's just regular mirrors (which.. would also work if not the context actually, cause c!Fluffy does afraid of their own self in some extent because of rᒷᔑsoリs). Just imagine something traumatizing on them.

Either way, Fluffy sees this all, starts backing up, stumble on the mirror behind them, slowly turns and sees themself as a demon (according to the plot it's still dream version of c!Adam messing with them, so Demon c!Fluffy is just Fluffy with Adam's eyes in official clothes). Because that's another their inner fear: What if, when they die and go to hell, Lucifer will in fact break them making join his army?

7 - On "No one lives forever!" line Demon c!Fluffy (aka c!Adam in disguise) breaks the mirror and pushes Fluffy making them fall. But instead of landing on the floor, they fly down to the dark void.

Fun fact: While eavesdropping on what the teachers say about my works, I definitely heard how one of them referred to this frame as "two eyes looking at the fly" which is hilarious but also pretty poetic and fitting cause like. the character who's often being compered to a spider is currently experiencing the role of the fly trapped in a web and- You get it

Suddenly, they start falling through a bunch of golden chains, entangling in them in the process until they hit the ground. They try to stand up, but they're exhausted and the golden chains are heavy. But then, they notice a person that stands in front of them. Not any person, their friend. Fluffy, covered and seizes in chains, look at them with the hope in their eyes, silently begging for help. Only to face their final inner fear...

8 - What if it wasn't even worth it? What if the person they lost their soul for, agreeing on an endless suffering, gonna leave them behind and doesn't actually care about them as much as Fluffy thought? Was it really a friendship or just an attempt to ruin them? Why do you trust them? Why did you make this decision? W̷̳̩͘ḩ̶̟̗̽̕͠a̸̻̟̖͆̅t̷̞̠̏ ̴̖̉̇̑͜t̸̼̟́ẖ̴̂é̷͇̂ ̵̰̈́͊f̵͎̣͕̍́͘u̷̝̯̓̓c̵̲̓͑̊k̷̺͙̩̑͆ ̷̙̩̪̋h̷̛̟̜̜̀̍a̴̖͓͂̃v̵͈̭͛̒ȩ̵̙̾̈́͝ͅ ̸̼̿ỳ̶̳̫̑o̴̲͛̌u̵̠͛̍̂ ̷̫̖̈̎d̸̪̊͜o̸̘͐ņ̵͍̫̏ě̴̼͝,̸̻͕̄ ̸̦̼̟̃̅͑F̸̹͎́̚͝ľ̴͉͆̍͜u̵̙͛f̸̡̌̀̊f̸̛̺̗͖̈́͝y̸̻͍͑̿̊͜?̴̧̅̔͘

9 - And then they wake up in a cold sweat at The Lair. The End <3

Canonically they don't have a bed - or any furniture in general - in there and obviously should wear the hat but it would be too much to explain + it was 5am I literally did not care that much at this point

So yup that's it, thank you for reading my insane rambles I appreciate that

[grymmnox]

weekly fic recs #20

20 weeks of this??? god damn

anyways here we go! yk the drill

fandom(s): bungo stray dogs, avatar: the last airbender

ship(s): soukoku, ranpoe, sukka, and ofc some gen fics

Oneshots

dusted in folly; mxlysar - bungo stray dogs

mature | 8k words | chuuya/dazai, chuuya & ranpo, dazai & ranpo, poe/ranpo | READ TAGS

summary:

Leaning forward, Ranpo’s gaze opened, striking Chuuya far deeper than he ever liked—gods, how he hated Ranpo’s probing stare.

“‘Zai was captured on his last assignment. Mori handed me the task to handle it,” he blandly stated, expression blanketed by a sheet Chuuya couldn’t see through.

Not that he could right then, in any case. His hands cramping made him realize how tightly he’d been gripping his own arms, bruises surely lining his skin now.

(Or, Chuuya is forced into a mission with Ranpo, and it is entirely Dazai's fault)

The Heart of Your Murderer; full_moon_pills - bungo stray dogs

not rated | 7.2k words | ADA & dazai | READ TAGS

summary:

“Dazai,” Ranpo interrupts. “You do the emergency surgery.” He’d foolishly believed no one would make him do these things anymore—that he was free.

or: Dazai is forced to operate on Poe, and unwanted memories arise.

grim’s notes: think i might’ve already put this one on a previous list, but i bookmarked it this week so

Sweet Reassurance; Scarlet_Nin - bungo stray dogs

not rated | 1.6k words | dazai & ranpo, dazai & mori

summary:

Kunikida was the last one to know Dazai has been part of the Port Mafia. But the first person to realize it and have it confirmed has been, to no one’s surprise, Ranpo.

All because of a visit to a bakery.

Twin Flame; insi - bungo stray dogs

teen and up | 10.2k words | chuuya/dazai

summary:

Chuuya wakes up to Dazai's name tattooed on his forearm, and a phone call that has no business coming through at three in the morning. The situation devolves from there.

(aka - Chuuya and Dazai struggle with the idea of soulmates and fate while personally dealing a soulmate au speedrun).

to the most important people; sunnysizhui - bungo stray dogs

mature | 8k words | chuuya/dazai | READ TAGS

summary:

“Have you figured out where we are yet?” Yosano says dryly, flicking her eyes up from her drink to glare at Ranpo. “Or how to get out?” Ranpo absentmindedly bites into a chocolate and adjusts his glasses. “These are definitely Dazai’s memories,” he says. “The suspect we were chasing has the Ability to cast people into a person’s memories. What we’re seeing are the memories Dazai wanted to keep from us the most - “ he pauses, considering. “- or the things he’s wanted to tell us the most.” Yosano frowns. Dazai has always been secretive - and rightfully, considering his past that she only understands too well - and occupying his mind and emotions doesn’t sit right for her. “So when can we leave?” Ranpo looks grim. “Whenever we finish the memory.”

thank you for your trust (i won’t let go); sunnysizhui - bungo stray dogs

mature | 6.9k words | chuuya/dazai | READ TAGS

summary:

in the aftermath of the memory incident, Dazai attempts to take his own life. no one finds it funny this time around.

-

alternatively, chuuya and dazai finally have a long and much needed talk

look both ways before you cross; sunnysizhui - bungo stray dogs

mature | 10k words | chuuya/dazai | READ TAGS

summary:

love is a two-way street, and Chuuya has plenty of his own thoughts.

-

chuuya helps the ADA out. they hunt down the memory Ability user and are reminded, once again, how little Dazai tells them.

if there’s another way to go; MusicalMoritz - bungo stray dogs

general audiences | 11.8k words | dazai & fukuzawa | READ TAGS

summary:

“I don’t have any money,” the child speaks, voice uneven. “Whatever you want, I can’t help you with, so leave me alone.”

Fukuzawa relaxes his posture, trying to appear as disarming as possible. “I don’t want anything from you,” he chooses his words carefully. “I just want to help you.”

“I don’t want your help.”

An AU where Fukuzawa finds Dazai instead of Mori

under wraps; coffeebiscuits - bungo stray dogs

teen and up | 5.3k words | chuuya/dazai | READ TAGS

summary:

“Knew you’d be awake. Didn’t want to bother anyone else. You know me, I love to annoy you.” There’s humor in Dazai’s voice, but then Chuuya hears a pant of effort and another thump.

“Chuuya,” Dazai says, and for a second there’s genuine fear and desperation in his tone. “I can’t get up.”

“Shit,” Chuuya swears, and a knot of worry settles into his chest. “I’m coming.”

—

Dazai gets injured. Chuuya comes to the rescue.

Feelings are revealed along the way.

troubled water running cold; GoldenAvenger02 - avatar: the last airbender

general audiences | 1.8k words | hakoda & zuko, hakoda & katara

summary:

How he could never really get a full breath in without doubling over, how blood would coat his tongue and stain his teeth when he coughed if he overexerted himself, how he had to keep perfect posture when his chest was bound tightly so they healed correctly. It was practically routine at this point in his life.

Takes place after The Boiling Rock

the boy who kept even death at bay; iriswords - avatar: the last airbender

teen and up | 1.6k words | sokka & zuko, hakoda & zuko, hakoda & sokka, azula & zuko

summary:

As they escape the Boiling Rock prison, Zuko gets injured during his fight against Azula. He decides that not telling anyone about it is the right way to act, and is quickly proven wrong.

andante, andante (tread lightly on my ground); allofthecaffeine - avatar: the last airbender

teen and up | 1.7k words | toph & zuko

summary:

Snoozles and the Sugar Queen were easy to lose in a crowd, their heartbeats both a sensible andante, so she paid special attention to the added rhythm of their footsteps and the patterns of their breathing. Twinkle-toes was easier to find; his heart beat quick and bird-like, a moderato just fast enough to make her anxious before she got used to its rapid flutter. Allegro meant someone was scared, or angry, or probably hiding something; the sharp thud-thud, thud-thud, thud-thud so jarring she was amazed that no one else could feel it. She’d never felt a heartbeat faster than allegro before, outside of the adrenaline buzz of battle.

Never, that is, until she met Zuko.

Banished Dragon; VelvetPanda - avatar: the last airbender

not rated | 5.1k words

summary:

Everyone knows about Ozai's beastly child and how he had to be put down at the tender age of 10. Nobody knows what had become of him. ~~~~~~~ AU of an AU where zuko gets dumped in the woods to die and instead grows up closer to his dragon side than ever

manipulation for friendship, fun, and profit; r_astra - avatar: the last airbender

not rated | 2.3k words | aang & zuko, aang & katara & sokka, katara & sokka

summary:

“You’re a nice kid,” Zuko says, squinting at the boy again.

“I am? I mean, yes! I am! Especially to my friends!”

“We’re…friends?” Somehow, this idea seems strange. He definitely trusts the kid, though. There’s this urge to…find him. Protect him from other people? Was he kidnapped or something?

“Yep!” the kid says, a little manic. “That’s us! Best friends! In fact, you were just helping me escape from this Fire Navy guy Zhao, he’s the worst!”

…Sounds fake, but okay.

Complete Fics

death offers no absolution; Zairielon - bungo stray dogs

mature | 10 chapters | 62k words | chuuya/dazai | READ TAGS

summary:

After so many years in the Port Mafia, Chuuya thought he couldn't be phased by anything - that he had carried out the worst orders that would ever be given to him. Then he sees things he never saw before. He sees horror, cruelty, needless suffering. He sees death in every step he takes.

Chuuya is only human, too. Eventually, he breaks.

OR, Chuuya leaves the Port Mafia and attempts to escape his bloodstained past.

(Rating and archive warning only apply to the first chapter, which can be skipped.)

I’ll Look After You, Like You Look After Me; Scarlet_Nin - bungo stray dogs

mature | 3 chapters | 15.9k words | dazai & ranpo | READ TAGS

summary:

„Listen,” Ranpo says, sharply, observing how Dazai’s spine stiffens the moment their eyes meet for the first time. “When I call or text you, you answer. When you need help of any kind, no matter what time it is, you let me know. This isn’t just for work, got it? Those are the rules. Break one and you’re fired.”

Dazai’s eyes drop to the phone held in Ranpo’s tight grip to the uncompromising set of his jaw, mentally weighting his options.

“That’s fair,” he huffs, holding up his palm in a ‘gimme’ motion. “I guess if it’s Ranpo-san, I can make an exception.”

Or, Ranpo is the only member of the Agency Dazai is not allowed to ignore or hang up on. Naturally, when the day finally comes, Ranpo knows, with inevitable dread, to expect the worst. He's right to.

Incomplete Fics

teenage nightmares commit atrocities; forever_wandering - bungo stray dogs

mature | 11/? chapters | 54.7k words | chuuya/dazai | READ TAGS

summary:

“Tsushima Shuuji,” Chuuya reads out loud. “A bright, optimistic young man with a pep in his step and a zest for life. Hang on–is this referring to you?”

“Unfortunately,” Dazai laments, sighing dramatically. “You just got away with ‘science nerd’ and ‘soccer player,’ but I’m supposed to be an artist! I hate art! It’s useless!”

“Shut the fuck up. That’s not the problem here. You? A ‘zest for life?’ Looking forward to each new morning? Hah! Rimbaud would sooner come back to life.”

Dazai turns to Chuuya with the barest facsimile of a smile painted over his lips.

“I,” he says sweetly, “am going to gut you open like a fish.”

Dazai and Chuuya are seasoned mafiosos at the ripe old age of almost-seventeen. They’ve fought gang wars, interrogated prisoners, and done all manner of unspeakable things. Now, they face their greatest challenge yet: going (undercover) to a real high school. With regular teens (who may or may not be desperately trying to get them to kiss). One thing’s for sure: this school is unprepared for the absolute calamity that is Double Black.

Written for the SKK Big Bang 2022 feat. art by videogamelover99 & beta'ed by Airini.

You’re A Canary, I’m A Coal Mine; PlayRough - bungo stray dogs

teen and up | 3/? chapters | 27.1k words | chuuya/dazai, chuuya & dazai | READ TAGS

summary:

“What the fuck, Dazai?”

“Chibi?” Dazai is barely able to lift his head as he seems to have finally realized Chuuya is there, which is worrying because usually nothing gets past him.

Chuuya immediately puts his hand on Dazai’s forehead.

“Fuck…” Chuuya grimaces, Mackerel’s absolutely burning up. The soft whimper that the younger lets out while leaning in to the touch is pitiful.

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

Completely shameless fluffy schmoopy skk sickfic, set in the early ages when they're still clumsily figuring out their feelings for each other. Hurt with the MAXIMUM legal limit allowed of comfort included, of course.

Can’t we all just get oolong?; SummerBummin - avatar: the last airbender

teen and up | 1/? chapters | 4.8k words | toph & zuko

summary:

On a whim Toph Beifong decides to check out the Jasmine Dragon tea shop, and meets an awkward moody waiter who's definitely lying about his name. Intrigued, she finds herself hitting it off with “Lee” and they become fast friends.

However, Zuko has a lot of secrets, and Ba Sing Se is a dangerous city. He enjoys his newfound friendship in the plucky earthbender, but the looming war is making it hard for any semblance of peace. Zuko can’t ignore his past or his duties forever. Eventually, everything will catch up to him.

The only solution? Honestea.

Breathing In Ashes; VelvetPanda - avatar: the last airbender

not rated | 5/? chapters | 69.6k words | iroh & zuko, zuko’s crew & zuko | READ TAGS

summary:

Zuko went through the worst day of his life, was given the worst quest in history, and then was banished by the worst man in the Fire Nation. So now he's stuck on a rotten ship surrounded by people who hate him who would without a doubt give him the teasing of a lifetime once they found out he didn't know how to maintain his new nails.

Or, Zuko is going through the weirdest puberty in the world. He thinks this is normal. His crew begs to differ.

Free Hugs & Burnt Fingers; ladylangst - avatar: the last airbender

teen and up | 3/? chapters | 6.4k words | the gaang & zuko, sokka & zuko, katara & zuko, toph & zuko, iroh & zuko, azula & zuko, aang & zuko, katara & sokka, aang & katara, sokka/suki

summary:

Zuko’s right in the middle of the second-worst day of his life, and then he sees the weirdo with the Free-Hugs sign.

grim’s notes; fic is marked as complete, but technically isn’t (as of now)

[yostresswritinggirl]

hi! ik sojourner's already ended but i have an(other?) idea in case u ever pick it up since i love ur albedo 😳😳 ok so

what abt a reader who is rlly excited abt alchemy, but they avoid talking abt it bc they start rambling and stuttering and stumbling over their words bc they're so excited? they get assigned/asked to go w/ albedo bc they're rlly good at alchemy too, but they end up fidgeting a lot, muttering and stopping just a few words in before their volume rises and giving short answers when w/ him bc they're afraid of rambling (since they do it to think better when alone, sometimes insulting and arguing w the objects when they don't get the expected result) & being seen as annoying or unprofessional?? i'd like to see how he reacts to these and what he'd think!! and how or when he discovers the reason reader is acting like that

it's kinda (a lot, rlly skowkskdk i always have ideas but never write them) specific, but i rlly like the idea!! i'd love to see what u do w/ it if u ever pick it up in the future :D hope you're staying hydrated and well🥺🥰 -🌌

What do you mean Sojourner's already ended, Sojourner is eternal, Sojourner is forever-

Kidding aside, this is too cute to pass up, even if it's quite a lot! Cute Albedo brainrot moments always please. It might be too much sometimes but I hope you enjoy my interpretation of it! Scenarios format! Starry night, oh I'm always hydrated, thank you and I hope you're well!

For the Record

Albedo working with a Reader that's highly enthusiastic about alchemy but insecure about rambling... (masterlist)

You dealt with Alchemy a year before the Kreideprinz entered Mondstadt, your attunement to the mystic arts baffling and intriguing you every time. During that period, you're not really sure of what art you're doing but in the end, you kept doing great that the people had acknowledged your talents.

Through your own effort and self-study even if unnamed, you managed to put your talent into this art of Alchemy and created discoveries regarding powders and mineral-focused ingredients. It was a shame there was no one to share it to, and when you talk to scholars/practitioners alike, you end up rambling so much to the point that on their end you barely make sense. Whether this was caused by your eaten words or lax and personalized vocabulary over the matter, you're not sure.

Their confused and judgmental stare haunts you, leaving you alone with your raging thoughts and overworking mind when you just want to learn and expand your discoveries to other people without driving them away. Your enthusiasm is great and all, but it's not enough to make others understand.

So when the Chalk Prince entered Mondstadt, blessing the city with his scholarly knowledge and boundless creations, he easily made a name for himself and in extension the city itself.

Before Sucrose and Timaeus, you were called upon by the Grand Master Varka to accompany Albedo and be his temporary assistant seeing as his field in the division is still quite new and you were the only other 'Alchemist' in town besides him. You're both giddy and nervous, like really, really nervous.

You've heard of Albedo and maybe a caught a glimpse or two, but you've never actually interacted enough to know exactly what he looks like or how he is as a person. All you know is that he's a very, very attractive person overall.

"Good-looking, carries this aura of wisdom around him, he's just really charming," were the words that rang through your mind as you pointedly watched your steps, following the carpets leading to Ordo Favonius' laboratory while Lisa's words rang through your head.

Is he really that kind of person? You've heard that he's quite stoic too, but if he's really that distracting, you're scared that it would be harder for you to focus and help out. Honestly how would you even deal with him when your fields of Alchemy are so different from each other?

You have no idea how long you've been thinking, standing in contemplation in front of the set of double doors that leads to the workshop with nothing but doubt in your mind. But upon realizing the teal gaze of another person silently waiting instead of wooden doors, you figured it was far too long.

"Ah, I'm sorry! I was in my head, I wasn't expecting you to-!" You flailed your hands around comically before abruptly stopping, noticing the now confused stare of Albedo of which are distracted by your hands. Clearing your throat, you extended a hand towards him to shake, trying to stare anywhere but his face. "I'm (Y/N), I'll be your assistant until you're well settled in the city. It's nice to meet you, Ma-"

His hand finds yours in a firm grip, a firm shake so sudden you bit your tongue back, "Albedo, Kreideprinz of the Art of Kemia, but just Albedo is fine, I'll be under your care."

Albedo finds it intriguing and surprisingly not that distracting whenever you talk to yourself or to the ingredients whenever you so much as feel the slightest frustration. "Ugh, this Zinc powder is so stubborn, clingy," you angrily mumbled under your breath as you washed off the blue powder that spilled at your hand, "So, so clingy." Since you're facing the sink, you couldn't see the way he was holding himself from laughing audibly at your amusing antics.

You seemed lively and open, is what Albedo thought when he first met you. But this observation soon shattered when he kept getting hanged upon your abrupt stops when delving into your field, something he was really irked about the first few times. Your art of Alchemy is much different from his and he's wishing that you'd clarify and expound all your learnings to him, but in the end, you somehow step back everytime your words became lengthy.

Are you hiding something? Did you not want him to learn the same arts as yours? If those were the case, he couldn't bring himself to ask a simple question such ad why. Every time it crosses his mind, it brings a purse of a pout to his lips and furrowed eyebrows.

Every response you gave always hints even tiny bits of trivias and tips he's never heard, Albedo always takes note of your spills that always cuts before reaching its climax. "-sorry, yes, this is activated charcoal Geo and Pyro slimes reaction." He lets out an audible sigh upon your retreat, your frustrated mind too occupied to notice.

"Please," his desperation drips in his word when he looks at you with eyes filled with raw emotion you'd never know he'd be able to pull off. Your tightly locked lips only pressed on further at his puppy eyes, "Please continue, I wish to know more about your Alchemy, if you would be so kind."

"It's not really- I'm not really the best at explaining it..." You're almost fidgeting, cheeks aching from tensing and warmth. But he regarded you with a blank stare, forcing you to fill the silence, "If I- If I start, my ramblings may not uhm they're not easy to comprehend... or something."

Albedo had been watching more than he'd like to admit, and he's come to relieved (yet still confused) realization that your treatment with him wasn't his alone. You always step back before things get lengthy, words then cutting short and concise with a steeled expression. Lips caught between teeth.

"I digress," his hand motions to yourself to emphasize his next clause. "As your field and sole practitioner of this art, like my own condition, your word of mouth is the best ground of knowledge."

If he was irritated, he's doing a very good job in hiding it. And even with the respectable yet close distance in between you still felt cornered. This is still your master and it's not professional to refuse a scholarly talk, "The electro crystals when charged... ionized? create sparks, while also producing the same result when smacking- mining!"

The scribbles of his pen against his clipboard as he nods in attention urges you on, realizing his focus and sincere interest on the topic, "So when you put the little tidbits or even powdered version in a beaker thingy, depending on the material, they interact with the spark. Honestly, I'm unsure yet how lethal it is but if you put the sparks under fire too, they make like those makeshift gunpowder as well as additional reactions such as-!"

The lilt and proceeding high pitch in your voice usually signifies the approach of your insecurity as well as the climax of your enthusiasm. At this point, you pull your hand up to shut your mouth forcefully, and when Albedo really detests the abrupt end of the conversation his hand would shoot forward to grasp your own.

He'd intertwine your fingers to distract, before urging you to continue with a challenging stare, as if daring you to use your other hand to pull that off again. This whole scene felt oddly scandalous, but oh boy does it send your mind into a bambling, overloaded mess. A heated head forces your lips open even if they sometimes come out in a jumbled string, he learns to decipher them.

The more you get used to or feel more comfortable, Albedo uses that fondness skillfully whenever he wants. "Can you tell me more about the scarlet chunks from Dragonspine?" He throws it so casually in the silence as you two work back to back in your stations, without a beat as your mind is partially preoccupied, you answered into a narrative of trivia. It almost feels like you're talking to the flames of the bunsen while you wait, but Albedo smiles at the now filled silence as he listens with divided attention.

He really likes your voice, and the word of wonders you bring along with you.

"For the record, I don't mind it at all," his breath hovers on your lips, cold and prickly, "Whatever comes out of these lips, I want to hear it all."

That last part eheh

Woah, this went long. Like reader babbling hahaha. I said I'm gonna speedrun, not freaking write this long smh

@zelos-simp @legionqueensav @snackgod @rxsalinee @cala-ran @wind-wheel @lilydewi22 @yellowflowre @traveler-lumine @nonniechan @creation-magician @hanniejji @gojos-baby @just-some-stars @volleybloop @tartuu @moaa @dandelion-dreams @witchsungie @lehra @albaedhoe @xiaophilia @heisenwurst @childe-simp-exe

[pen1ag0n]

moving hacks from someone who moves a lot and has a lot of things:

before you pack anything else, grab a medium bag you can carry easily (not too big, not too small) and pack essentials for a week worth of existing. meds, pjs, toothbrush, towels, change of clothes, plushie, some snacks, all that. it will help you later when you are in the new place, tired af. you won't waste time going through boxes to find this one thing you need, stressing yourself

tidy your space before you start packing. it may feel like a waste of time since you are leaving anyway etc etc. but believe me, it's much easier to pack things that are already folded and gathered in one place thematically. too many times i made the mistake of having to do a triple threat task of organizing, decluttering and packing things Along with tidying everything up as i go (maybe not in this order but you get the gist). i wasted too much time. it's annoying to find a plate, having already packed "all" kitchen stuff. also seeing things you forgot you have will distract you. go through things before you pack them. i do the light version of marie kondo method, but you can do whatever you find most helpful

label boxes with a number rather than 'clothes'. write the number on each side. assign a number to each box and write a list of roughly what's in each box. make a copy of the list and keep a backup it in safe place (laptop than just phone, or send yourself a dm). first you will know how many boxes there are exactly and what's where, what to open first when you are at your new place. it's easier to find 'box 14' than 'shoes and winter coat' scribbled somewhere. usually i write '14 shoes' anyways, but a numbering system makes things easier. dont do any confusing things like 14b 14a. trust me, moving tends to take a toll on everyone's mental state and that can affect comprehension and logical thinking, keep it simple

before you start packing and buy extra boxes, suitcases, ikea bags, vacuum seal bags etc, try to gather what you already have. preferably in one place, and check how durable everything is, how much stuff it can fit, count it all up. it's helpful to write down exactly what you have. most likely it will help you avoid spending extra money on containers. personally i get very overwhelmed when shopping for storage related items. i end up getting things i have to later find use for, rather than things i actually need. so going through things first and making notes saves me some headache

dont forget about trash bags. i also try to gather in advance scrap paper to wrap things up plates etc, like all old magazines and catalogues. the paper is less flimsy and less prone to ripping than daily newspaper paper, abeit it can be smaller in size. do two layers too, write on the outside sheet what's inside. later you wont have to partially unwrap/rip the paper to find your favorite mug (or you can put it in your one week essentials bag)

i already said it but just remember you pack things into boxes. the boxes aren't beasts you need to feed before they eat you... they exist to serve as storage. don't think 'i need to fill this box', rather 'where can i put x' (here boxes are short for whatever storage things you use)

don't start filling 5 boxes at once. do max two at the same time. finish filling one box before you start another. makes it easier to keep track what's where and it might save you from mixing things that shouldn't go together

sometimes its a good idea to first put things into trash bags and then into boxes. if a box rips, things wont fall out or get dirty - they are wrapped up. it also might prevent moisture from rain or even bugs from ruining your things. mold growth? always a speedrun, you blink and it's already blooming. i always try not to rip the trashbags so later i reuse them to actually throw away stuff

mix things. don't put just plates in a single box. line the bottom with a blanket, place more fragile or sturdy stuff on there and do some layering, with items that could cushion it - clothes, duvets, pillows etc. heavy things shouldn't all go to one box

don't overload boxes. never pack more than you can physically carry without too much effort. moving is stressful and tiring, even if your body can handle lifting 15kg normally, after few rounds of carrying things around most likely you will lose a lot of strenght. trust me, dislocating joints is not fun. don't overestimate your stamina and don't underestimate how stressful moving can be

you can use spare space in shoes as storage for things like socks. i wrap them in a bag and fill my shoes like it's day before christmas and i'm an overworked single mom trying to make my kids happy by putting a lot of nice things in their christmas stocking

if you use any of those vacuum seal bags, don't overfill them. make sure things are dry and clean. you can put a bar of soap inside (you heard it right) to prevent the stale smell you get sometimes. i hate that smell with burning passion. i never used scented vacuum seal bags, they are tad bit more expensive for all i know. i just buy nicely scented cheap soap in bulk and put it in the center of bag, inside the clothes somewhere. and get the most durable vacuum seal bags available. the type that won't rip or won't have flimsy seal parts. save money on extra features like scent but don't go for not yet tried and tested but cheap ones. pack the bags, put them in one place and fill all at once. it will save you time bc you can move things on the spot,

stuff that seems obvious but is easily overlooked: hydrate, get enough nutrients, eat, use gloves and knee/joint protection, wear comfortable clothes (stuff you wont cry over when it rips etc) and always overestimate how much time you need. it's way nicer to deal with 'huh we did it so fast! still an hour left' than 'fuck we need to leave in 20 minutes but there's still so much to doooo'. start doing everything as early as you can, prep yourself for the move days before it happens (unless it's an emergency move ofc). but don't do shit like wake up 6am to pack, all tired bc you normally go to bed 3am. make sure to sleep well and get enough rest. especially if you plan to drive later

also - if you can, get help. if you have a reliable family member / friend, ask them for help. dont feel embarassed. do that much in advance, not 2 days before. again, this applies to less emergency moves ofc. if you had plans to move for weeks, it's not wise to procrastinate (speaking from experience here, again). be prepared to bribe them to agree to help you! with things or favours. moving is hell... if you do it alone you might overthink less important things and miss things that are crucial. having another person with you is priceless. most likely they keep you grounded and notice things you might have missed. but yea, it can be hard to find anyone willing to go extra 10 miles and subject themselves to do... this

last thing - when you reach your new place, and all your stuff is there, before you unpack Always clean the space. vacuum the carpets, scrub the kitchen counters etc. you will have blank canvas, get a better idea of the space and how to use it. i used to get excited and just unpack on the spot without much planning but yea, prepare the space before you start opening boxes and all that

side note: i live a country with no storage unit culture, only recently it came an option but the prices aren't exactly affordable (yet?). so i take everything with me everywhere. also i grew up with hoarder adults around me so yea. pardon any typos too!

[scoups4lyfe]

Hebi Anon

I need to stop going too fast when writing out long thongs because I forgot another extremely important thought I have about Taro's "relationship" with the others

Understanding is a two way street. Haruka at least has shown that she's putting in the effort to understand. Going to Jin to learn Taro's history and asking the questions of what is happening to try and understand their shared predicament of the Noto Layer. These are actions taken to understand Taro.

However, as I said before, I feel that Taro's not trying to understand on his end, which is frustrating to me. I'm neurodivergent and the word runs off of what I see are strange and arbitrary rules, so I ask questions and seek answers to understand. Trying to understand and failing I can get, but not trying at all is just AGH

(Yeah as you can probably tell, I don't like Taro. Sorry about that)

Haahahahahaha It's okay yo -- I'm more than sure that I'm liking Tarou enough for everyone else in this entire world

LOL

I can understand your frustration here :33. As someone used to actively seeking answers to understand whatever my lil homie's got going on would be More Than infuriating (lol).

But the thing is ---and I think this is important to state here ---

there are some things in life that you have to learn.

My friend Sushi is exactly (handshake) with you when it comes to asking questions and seeking answers when you fail to understand, because that would be the rational thing to do right?

Well I'm the opposite

(HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA rip)

And this is because I'm DAIJI ™ .

I was raised the same-ish way where since everyone else did everything for me, the idea of searching for answers (that, for example, my parents would just tell me) NEVER pops into my head first

instead I speedrun through all the stages of grief and have a full-on meltdown and then, MAYBE I'll think 'Oh yeah -- I can just google this?'

This is my learned helplessness nerfing me in the face (yeehaw). I'm used to being handed answers, to the point that I never think about asking questions ---that even the mere IDEA of asking when I'm confused doesn't ever pop inside my head

9/10 I go "Guess I'll die" and hope that I understand enough to get whatever confusing thing or situation solved.

For a long time I didn't understand show versus tell. But when I did BOOK CLUB with J and Nacho, their live-blogging of the material we read each month gave me that skill. Hearing Nacho say:

"Okay author-nim, why are you telling us this??? You should be showing us this instead" had me going

"O!!! That IS telling!!!!" and now I'm a pro when it comes to that topic.

Book Club started in November of 2020 -- so this skill was developed relatively not too long ago, but it wouldn't have developed at ALL if I didn't hear my comrades honest thoughts and criticism.

It's the same with analysis, I remember in my freshman year of college, after reading passages of the assigned literature, the professor (this is for english / english LIT classes) would ask: "Thoughts? Questions?"

And no lie it would be like

"You people got thoughts on these things??? Y'all got QUESTIONS????" ....But after experiencing class discussion enough, it became easier and easier to begin to learn how to ask questions or how to analyze the material I was consuming. Because I learned what questions I needed to be asking.

This happened because of (1) Proximity, (2) being challenged, and (3) learning through Osmosis.

I said in the previous ask, that Momoi hasn't ever been challenged. So while it might be obvious to ask questions and try to find answers, Momoi's never learned this. He's never needed to learn this.

Because he's been good at everything he's ever done, and had no one to help him grow (say, socially) he doesn't have the skills to ask questions. Why would he need to ask when he just does it easily, anyways? When he never had any trouble? He's never had to ask --so now he doesn't have the language he needs to learn how to understand, or how to seek out that understanding.

Something he DOES have trouble with is the social aspect of life. But again, all he knows is that he's wrong somehow --- he doesn't know why, he doesn't understand, and he has no one to ask, he doesn't even know how to ask.

He just accepts it as fact.

And because of this he operates on Momoi™ logic.

[enderspawn]

dream smp asagao au, aka the very specific high school au

also aka the post thats very self indulgent for me and maybe 3 other people.

in short: its a dsmp high school au based on the game asagao academy, where everyone is part of a gaming club and compete against one another in tournaments. more in depth info about the AU/Asagao itself, as well as more info about the plot and roles of the AU itself.

Asagao Academy Basics

So to start, let’s cover the basics: what is Asagao Academy. ….well, an old Youtuber dating sim game (which, despite unfortunately including some fairly questionable CCs, IS still really good and well written and I recommend it) But what is it for AU purposes?

Asagao Academy is a highly elite world-wide boarding school set in Japan for those who are either rich enough to afford it, or those skilled enough to get scholarships. Within the game, there are two main clubs: Normal Boots and Hidden Block. They’re both gaming clubs, and joining is seen as super exclusive since they’re ALSO the most popular people in the school.

The two clubs compete with each other in various tournament events with specific categories. For example: Satch (from NB) and Jimmy (from HB) both compete in the “Tech and Invention” category, where they have to create/invent something related to gaming and have it judged at the event like a science fair. Meanwhile, Jared (from NB) and Wallid (from HB) both compete in “Dance” aka DDR and the person with the highest score wins.

The other categories featured in game include: Puzzle games (like Bejeweled or Tetris), Video Game Trivia, Pinball, Retro Platformers, a three-person fighting game, and 100% completion speedruns. So tldr; the categories can be kind of fiddled with and be whatever you want them to be, because even the original ones are pretty wack.

Also, there’s no rules against competing in multiple categories— in fact, most of the HB members in game do! It’s more about balancing time and practicing for them alongside school and other activities.

The winner of the competition is the team/competitor(s) with the most total wins.

Another thing to note: despite competing as clubs, they’re all actually pretty good friends. It’s all lighthearted and fun in the end, hell the leader of the opposing club even helps the main character join the main club just because he wants a decent challenge.

Speaking of… the main character! Hana Mizuno! I don’t have any current plans to include her in this AU (a la new dating routes), but I wanted to mention her for a few reasons.

For the main reason: her hair. Even as soon as she shows up, Mai (her best friend and roommate, who can break the 4th wall) immediately calls her out for her hair for looking like a main character which as we learn… isn’t an exaggeration. She’s literally a born protagonist, thus being born with naturally pink hair and a tragic backstory. Not only that, but other people are also born protagonists with pink hair as well— she isn’t an exception.

About the AU -- Revolution Era

A few things to note: in this au, when I first drafted it I… wasn’t looking to include 20+ people. I cut a lot of characters, but instead working with the idea that they’re still THERE, they just… don’t compete? Either they aren’t in the club and are just friends with the members, or they’re members who just don’t compete professionally. It’s nothing personal against those CCs and tbh as times goes they may get added more, but for now they’re just in the BG vibin.

It covers a really basic retelling of s1 for most of the planned au. It starts with One Club: the Dream Team. Members include: Dream (sophomore), Sapnap (sophomore), George (junior), Wilbur (junior), Eret (junior), and Fundy (freshman).

For reasons, possibly just as a goof or spite towards their American counterparts, Wilbur declares independence from the Dream Team and makes his OWN gaming club: L’Manberg. He takes Eret (a close friend from his grade) and Fundy (the freshman he immediately adopted) with him, causing the two teams to be 3v3.

But Wilbur’s got a dastardly surprise up his sleeve: TOMMY, HIS YOUNGER BROTHER (bc I am nothing if not a dedicated crimebros stan), AND TUBBO. They’re both too young to actually attend Asagao yet, but theres no age rules in the actual competitions so its fair play. They’re Wilbur’s secret weapon. After all, a 5v3 where the team with the most wins wins the competition? That’s a massive advantage.

… we all know how this goes though don’t we. Wilbur’s day be so fine, then BOOM, Eret betrayal 😔

In this case Eret feels it’s a LITTLE unfair to blindside them like that, plus Dream promised to make him the Leader of the Dream Team and, yknow, that kind of stuff DOES look good on resumes, so…

TLDR; Eret rejoins the Dream Team crew, as well as informing them of Wilbur’s plan with including Tommy and Tubbo and becomes leader. They’re still letting Dream and Co. basically actually do the leading, they don’t care that much, the title is just nice. L’Manberg cusses her out and promises to hold a grudge, but it’s all in good fun. After all, they’re just teens goofing around and playing. The clubs are again 4v4.

Dream tells the L’Manberg club that they can separate, sure… under one condition. They have to win the competition. If they lose, they have to rejoin the Dream Team club.

L’Manberg accepts, but come competition day… they lose. Tommy outright challenges Dream post awards to a speedrun competition for L’Manberg instead. …which Dream professionally competes in, and Tommy DOESN’T.

He loses, but he puts up a good fight despite having little to no actual practice put in, so Dream “grants” L’Manberg their “Independence”. (In this au, instead of being like… weirdly obsessive over Tommy, it’s a lot more “he sees himself in Tommy and wants to support/mentor him” and a “friendly rivalry” kind of deal bc its a damn HIGH SCHOOL AU)

So L’Manberg can be it’s own club! …Next year, when Tommy and Tubbo actually attend, since Wilbur and Fundy aren’t allowed a two person club.

About the AU -- Election Era

SO time skip! Congrats, everything up to now has been BACKSTORY. It’s now the next school year, with two main clubs (I’ve tried to keep them fairly balanced, which is why not all CCs are featured, sorry!)

Dream Team club:

Dream - junior

George - senior

Sapnap - junior

Eret - senior

Punz - junior

BBH - senior

Awesamdude - junior

Ponk - junior

L’Manberg club:

Wilbur - senior

Tommy - freshman

Tubbo - freshman

Fundy - sophomore

Schlatt - senior

Quackity - junior

Niki - sophomore

Jack - sophomore

(Also fun fact! Their grades are loosely based on the CCs actual ages! …Except Fundy, who got Baby-fied to fit the “Wilbur’s Kid” joke, and Eret bc it fit better to be the same age as Wilbur I thought. Oops HEKANDNSN)

So, for whatever Reason (listen this was an au I made in like one night when plagued with brainrot, it’s not all figured out), L’Manberg holds an election. Maybe it’s related to Wilbur wanting L’Manberg to be meaningfully different from Dream Team, maybe it’s a joke, idk!

…. SOMEHOW, Schlatt wins. Which ticks off Wilbur a lot. It’s his damn club, and the whole point was to avoid Americans, tf?? The two start to feud a lot and it threatens to split the club entirely via ppl taking sides. Worse, it means people aren’t practicing for the competition.

All while this is happening, there’s a new intrigue building. Dream catches word of an infamous player in the area, someone known to win entire competitions against teams of people all by HIMSELF. A man with bright bubblegum pink hair called Technoblade. That’s right, literal universe-assigned protagonist Techno. If Dream could enlist him, there’s no doubt in hell they’d be able to beat L’Manberg.

L’Manberg hears of him too and works to try and enlist him as well, so he basically gets courted by both clubs trying to get him to play for them to mixed results. He’s pretty chill vibin by himself, so what’s in it for him? (….I don’t know, remember how this is a WIP au I worked on once?)

Eventually, a teacher named Phil (who’s been the honorary sponsor of the L’Manberg club) gets pissed at Schlatt and Wilbur’s fighting and bans both from competing (aka this AUs version of them dying). Which fucking SUCKS for L’Manberg. They’re now going 6v8 with a wildcard player who’s undeclared on which side he’ll join, if at all.

… honestly, that’s as far as I got. Theoretically, Techno joins L’Manberg to reflect Pogtopia and they win. I never had plans to go into s2 due to its darker theme, but there are definitely changes that could (and might?) be made for the s1 plot just so it flows better.

I already had to shift Wil and Schkatt’s “deaths” to fit, unless I were to have them LITERALLY make a new club. Maybe Schlatt uses his power as Club President to make them work with Dream Team (to the point it basically merges the clubs). Sure, they might be guaranteed to win now but it removes the competition and fun as well as the spirit of OG L’Manberg. So then Wilbur rebels and makes his own club AGAIN, calling it Pogtopia with the intent to get L’Manberg back. Then Techno, intrigued with this group of like 2-3 ppl going against a team of like 13ish people, decides to join them. Idk! Alternative possible plot based more closely on s1 I guess!

I’m gonna add a list of characters in full with their age, their club, and what they compete in (if it’s already brainstormed, most ppl are unknown) below

Character List

dream (DT) - junior - speedrunning

george (DT) - senior - coding/tech and invention

sapnap (DT)- junior -

eret (DT) - senior -

wilbur (LM) - senior - rhythm game/guitar hero-esque

tommy (LM) - freshman - (possibly pick up speed running during election arc?)

tubbo (LM) - freshman - chess

fundy (LM) - sophomore - coding/tech and invention

schlatt (LM) - senior - he never actually declares what he plans to play and then gets banned anyway, aka no game kekw

quackity (LM)- junior - dance

niki (LM) - sophomore -

jack (LM) - sophomore-

punz (DT) - junior -

bbh (DT) - senior -

awesamdude (DT) - junior -

ponk (DT) - junior

technoblade (SOLO) - junior - multiple categories

FINAL BIT

here’s some scraps for ppl who know Asagao already as well as small bits I didn’t bother to write up any further

- Karl, much like Mai, is ALSO aware of the 4th wall and has time travel powers because of it.

- Purpled (undecided if he’s a solo player like Techno or has his own team he competes with that’s not a formal club) plays Literally Bedwars in competitions

- Callahan is the Dream Team club sponsor, Phil is L’Manberg’s club sponsor

- Karlnapity is real and canon bc I say so

- both for balance/laziness, every person only competes in one category. also bc it makes Techno that much more Protagonist-y that he does

- I made this AU in like February man idk I’m just vibin

- Fuck I never even included Ranboo huh

[kangaroo-sniper-imagine]

Mercs who didn’t pay attention to their family trees

-I’m only doing a few mercs, cuz otherwise this would be huge-

Scout and Spy

When Miss Pauling introduced their newest recruit, The Thief, everyone was at least interested with the new blood. They were useful on the field; fast, silent, deadly, quickly able to steal the info case and dashing back to safety in record time. They were closed off at first, like many are in a new environment, but quickly opened up as soon as they were settled in.

The only person who didn’t quite connect with them was Spy (shocker). There was something about the new recruit that stuck him odd, something familiar about them that he couldn’t just put his finger on. The Frenchman’s son felt similarly.

“It’s like I already know ‘em; which is weird ‘cuz I’m dead certain we’ve never met before.”

It wasn’t until several weeks later, as the ten of you all were joined in the rec room, just enjoying each other’s company after a successful match. Jacque sat in the corner with Mick {not to derail but I totally think that they’re secret best friends who roast each other on the field}, both sipping at their drinks and idly talking as Jeremey sat with them, having a loud conversation with Jane from across the room.

Then they heard it. A deep, throaty chortle that was extremely unattractive, coming from across the room, coming from you

Both Jacque and Jeremy froze, the sound too familiar for it to be comfortable, eyes snapping to you, where you were wildly laughing with Travish. The Scotsman was sloshed and laughed along with your, his thundering laughter almost drowning out your own. Almost.

The sniper took a slow sip of his beer as he as well looked upon the commotion. He hummed in thought, and turned to the frozen spy. “Izzit jus’ me,” he drawled, gesturing with is beer can to you, “or do their laugh sound a lot like yours?”

Scout slowly turned to his father, rage in his eyes, but all Spy could do was watch you laugh that awful laugh. His brain slowly connected the evidence, memories of 20+ years ago invaded his mind, a dalliance with a woman who looks shockingly like you, the nose that you share with him and Jeremy, your strange obsession with your appearance, and most damning of all; the shitty laugh that you’ve seem to inherit from Jacque.

With a deep breath, the Frenchman stood up, determined to get out of the room and hide in his abode so he could scream in peace, but the sudden influx of the realization, rather, caused him to faint.

He awoke, what he assumed, several hours later, in a familiar camper bed. In his peripheral, Jacque could see Mick smoking a cigarette and reading a newspaper with one hand, a mug of coffee in the other. Without even looking up to confirm that the Frenchman was awake, the sniper spoke.

“Your kids are right pissed at you, mate.”

Jacque cursed.

Heavy and Soldier

Pauling was ecstatic to introduce more help, probably under the impression that this person to pick up the slack the other leaves so that her evenings won’t be filled with killing and covering up murders and thefts. Some young thing with a thick, almost indiscernible accent who spoke rarely and quietly. You were called the Electrician, for your… odd choice of weaponry.

Your gun was one of your own design, one you were very proud of, that rather than bullets shot out electrical charges, either stunning your opponent to help assist another teammate in a kill or give off a charge so intense it kills. You spent most of your free time in your assigned work shop improving your gun’s design and creating new weapons.

More than once, the team would hear a loud scream and the sound of a loud thud, only to come and find your door blown wide open and you stuck in the adjacent wall, hair shocked to stiffness and a new white streak added to your hair. Needless to say, you kept the team on their toes with your eccentricities. For some reason, your antics made Mikhail exceptionally worried. It was a weird knee jerk reaction he had, something that hadn’t flared up since he was younger, watching over his sisters.

About a month after your arrival, Jane caught you in his raccoon infantry pen, cooing over the animals that flocked to you. It was the first time he saw you smile since you’ve gotten there, and the first time he’s seen you out of your combat gear, now you wore a too large tee shirt and denim shorts, toes in the Arizona sand, scratching the chins of the furry animals. Deciding to try his luck, Jane approached you with a bellowing welcome, startling you, but you greeted him back regardless.

Jane noticed how much you liked watching the raccoons play with each other, but noticed you looked sad too.

“What’s the long face for, private?”

Your face pinched. When you spoke your words were slow, not used to English. “They have… family. I do not.” With a heavy sigh, you tried to elaborate. Jane didn’t mind waiting for you to collect your thoughts or your thick accent. Years of hanging out with Travish and Ludwig extremely sloshed had taught Jane patience in regards to others when they’re trying to speak an unfamiliar language.

“Mother was from… Russia? But father was from Norway, and mother went to there with him. When mother and father… died,” Jane’s heart twinged at the way your face fell, “I do not know how to find mother’s family in Russia, and father had no family in Norway. So I stay in Norway.” A beat of silence passed as you scratched the head of a curious baby raccoon that strayed closed to you. “I stay alone.”

Jane busted out crying, pulling you into a bear hug and vowing to be your surrogate family for as long as you want. He made it his mission to figure out who your family is. The first thing he did was write down the name of your parents, fully planning on hunting down your relatives after some good old fashioned American bonding.

Just as he was about to reunite with you after grabbing a baseball form his room, the American ran into Mikhail, who seemed pissed off

“You touch Sasha?” He accused, one large finger jabbing into the soldier’s chest. Jane couldn’t find it in himself to get mad at the accusation, he was a man on a mission to cheer up a sad kid and no angry Red was gonna stop him.

“No time,Sputnik! There’s a sad private who needs a moral boost and a good old game of catch!”

Rage quickly turned to confusion, then mild understanding. “Electrician is sad?”

Soldier gave a speedrun version of your sad backstory, even going as far to show the names of your parents to the Heavy. The Russian surveyed the sheet and he sighed. “That is not how name of mother is spelled.” He informed.

Jane scoffed. “And how would you know?”

Mikhail threw the American an unimpressed look. “Because family name is mother’s name before marriage.”

There was a second of realization.

“... is it a common last name?”

“... nyet.”

“... you might want to call your mother to confirm something.”

“... Heavy just might.”

—-

The next morning, Mikhail knocked on Jane’s door so early in the morning, the vet wasn’t even awake yet already doing his morning exercises.

The American looked up blearily to the Russian, one hand scratching his buzz cut head.

Mikhail looked grim. “Heavy call mother. Mother says that Electrician’s mother is cousin to her.”

Soldier mulled over the information. “So… your mama’s cousin is Private Zappy’s mama, so that makes us-

“Makes ME second cousin.” Mikhail insisted.

With an air of smugness, Jane flashed his left hand, displaying a wedding band. “Then I’m their second cousin in-law.”

Mikhail grumbled in annoyance and rolled his eyes, complaining in Russian. “Right. Sister Zhanna’s big mistake.”

With a sense of new found energy, Soldier stuck his chin up high and began marching towards your room, seemingly not aware that he was in only a pair of his tighty whiteys.

Mikhail sighed again but followed Jane regardless to tell you the news of your newfound family.

Medic (italics is German cuz lets be honest, who wants to translate all that)

After months of complaining to Pauling, asking for more on field medical help, upper management finally relented and hired a new mercenary, some bright young thing going by The Nurse.

You were studious, and compared to Ludwig you were very tamed. You saw this opportunity as a job to perform and not a way to finally experiment legally on people without getting arrested the way Ludwig does. You took your work seriously, dutifully dressing every wound, handing out pain medication, assisting Ludwig in his surgeries. You certainly helped lessen his work load during battle, helping with minor injuries so that the doctor could focus on his Ubercharge and on more serious injuries.

You two were professional to each other; despite showing you weren’t exactly sadistic you never chastised Ludwig for his somewhat cruel experiments, and you were always respectful to him and everyone else around you, which is something that impressed him (considering how noting the rest of the team is).

One day while experimenting on Heavy, you solemnly standing next to the doctor with your face covered like the good little health professional you were, the Medic fuzzed in German, adding, “I need a bone saw.”

Without him translating, you turned to your side and snatched the instrument off the tray, passing it to the doctor.

After a moment of thought, Ludwig spoke again. “You speak German?”

“Ja, I am from Germany after all.”

The russain’s rib finally took the blade and now was slicing easily. “What a coincidence. Which part?”

“Munich, but I left while I was very young when my family moved.” After another brief pause, you add, “I actually wanted to become a nurse because of Munich.

Ludwig didn’t mention that he, as well, came from the same city, rather, he decided to prod you and learn more. It was so rare to meet someone he could have a conversation in his mother tongue with.

“What in Munich made you want to become a nurse?” Reaching into Heavy’s chest with a scalpel, Ludwig began to sever the arteries attached to the heart.

“The University. My family lived nearby, and seeing the students come and go made me want to join them… actually a relative went there. My family was very proud of him and I wanted to go with him, but, ah, I was only a child.” Without being asked, you held out a silver pan that Ludwig deposited the heart.

The doctor started the timer, watching the mutilated chest cavity, waiting for the oregano to regrow due to his most recent experimental ‘medicine’. “Hmm, which relative?”

“Oh, my father’s brother’s wife’s…. something.” You replied idly, fetching a notebook and pencil to record the time. “Nephew or cousin’s nephew or something. It is a distant relation. Lost his license though.”

“Really? How?”

“He removed someone’s skeleton if you can believe it.”

Ludwig’s fist clenched so hard that the stopwatch broke. Dammit, now he has to start the experiment all over again.

[macgyvermedical]

Why N95s Work for Medical Professionals, But Not For You:

First, I just want to point out there that this is take #2 because tumblr ate the first one and I’m pissed. The first one was really good, but now I don’t have 3 hours to dedicate to this one, so screw it. This is the speedrun. I’m gonna try to do it in an hour. If it doesn’t make a ton of sense, that’s probably why.

You may have come across someone on social media pointing out “why do medical professionals ‘need’ N95s specifically if we’ve all been told they’re no more effective than surgical masks/cloth masks? Isn’t that a bit of a double standard?”

The short answer is that N95s are really helpful and really important if they fit, are worn correctly, are worn in environments where they actually need to be worn, and are worn with other equally important pieces of PPE (how medical professionals wear them), but they don’t do as much for you personally if all of these conditions aren’t met, and you can ultimately accomplish close to the same thing (not getting sick) if everyone wears a cloth mask and washes their hands in public.

Let me explain:

1- N95s that aren’t fitted don’t do the N95 thing:

N95s are masks* with filters that can stop 95% of airborne particles 0.3 microns in size or larger. There are a lot of sizes, brands, and models to choose from. In order for them to actually do this level of filtering, there has to be a near-perfect seal around the outside of the mask, which forces the air through the filter (which would otherwise be a path of most resistance).

To be sure the air is actually going through the filter, the mask needs to be professionally “fit tested” (see link for more on the actual process, which is pretty extensive). It’s not uncommon for people to have to try two or three different kinds/sizes of masks during a fit test before they find one that actually fits their face. Others have a face shape that just can’t ever get a good enough seal, no matter what mask they try. If you’ve never been fit tested, the mask you’re wearing probably isn’t a whole lot more effective than a surgical mask or cloth mask- good for stopping droplets of other people’s saliva from hitting your mouth and nose, and from your saliva droplets from hitting other people (still really good things, obviously, but nothing that actually requires an N95-rated filter).

2- You genuinely don’t need an N95 to protect you in a community environment, but we actually do in a hospital environment:

The good news is you, as someone in the grocery store, is not in a situation where you need all the real protection a fit-tested N95 can give you. A truly fit-tested and properly worn N95 is designed to stop you from breathing infectious, aerosolized particles, which is a whole lot of overkill in most situations. Aerosolized particles are particles of (usually saliva in this context) that are so tiny and light that they can hang in the air and get breathed in even after an infected person leaves the area (unlike the larger saliva droplets that tend to fell out of the air pretty quickly).

Someone with covid-19 does not naturally shed aerosolized particles full of virus. They would have to actually do something to artificially aerosolize that infectious saliva. Something like:

An aerosol (nebulizer) breathing treatment

Artificial respiration/intubation/mechanical ventilation/CPR

Using a BiPAP or CPAP machine

Suctioning a tracheostomy

Notice that these things should not be happening at the grocery store, and if for some reason they are, it would be pretty easy to avoid that aisle. But those things happen a lot in a hospital, and a lot of times the medical professionals involved can’t avoid being in the area where they’re happening, which is why they do, unlike you, need a fitted N95 mask.

3- Yes, we do follow all these same guidelines in a hospital setting:

In a hospital setting we’re not just wearing N95s willy-nilly. We wear cloth masks when we’re not in patient rooms to prevent ourselves from spreading the virus! We wear surgical masks (or sometimes non-fitted N95s depending on the number of surgical masks we have) when we go into patient rooms for things other than aerosolized procedures (they can be worn a lot longer than surgical masks in situations where we’re running out of all PPE). We essentially only wear our one personal, assigned, fitted N95 in situations where we absolutely have to, or when its in the best interest of making what we have last as long as possible (its better for the masks to continuously wear them than to take them off and put them back on a bunch of times).

4- In summary

In summary, medical professionals are wearing professionally fitted N95s in environments where they are likely to need the protection that only N95s can provide. Similarly, people who aren’t working in hospitals right now both will likely not be in a situation where they actually need an N95, and if they’re wearing one, they’re probably not wearing it correctly anyway. That’s why you’ve probably heard both sides of that argument.

Hopefully that decreased some anxiety for people.

*Yeah, I know they’re actually called respirators, I’m using the colloquial “mask” in this post because that’s a different discussion and I’m on a time crunch.

[axther]

where the lord does not look

todoroki shoto/female!traitor!reader 

In which Todoroki Shoto blackmails a classmate and pays the price. 

warnings: blackmail, violence, questionable kiss

It felt wrong. It always did. 

YN L/N watched Aizawa Shouta talk about the importance of pack thinking, of teamwork, of loyalty, and it felt cruel. The sun was shining through the door window, Sero and Denki were passing notes about something, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ochako casually glancing at Midoriya. There was the smell of spring in the air and the taste of hope on the tip of everyone’s tongues. 

And YN wanted to scream at the top of her lungs. 

She didn’t know how she got involved with the League of Villains in the first place. Her quirk, while powerful, wasn’t necessarily villainous. She was never teased, never abused for anything in her life except for insignificant bullies. She had no obstacle or hindrance. She just remembered asking for power to a man with no face. 

And here she was. Helping plot the downfall of the pillar of the hero youth. 

She knew it would crush so many. Midoriya was the first to come to mind, with how hard he worked to enter if the rumours were true. But everyone else who decided to throw their lives on the line for a job that fatal at worst and exhausting at best would be forced to relocate, reconsider. 

YN held her head up a little bit higher when she realised that she was slouching. The last thing she needed was for anyone to ask her if something was wrong. She knew that she would burst like an overfilled dam. 

The bell rang and YN almost shakily rose to her feet. Her bag was in her hand when Mina and Tooru grabbed her arms on either side, tugging her away. 

“Hey, hey, hey!” Mina yapped, poking a finger into YN’s cheek. “What’s got you so upset?” 

YN felt panic rise in her chest but masked it with a concerned look. “What are you talking about?” 

“You were all wimpy during class. What’s up with that?” Tooru chirped. 

“I was thinking.” YN raised an eyebrow. “That’s you’re supposed to do in class. Though, I suppose you wouldn’t know that.” 

“Hey!” Mina let a mock frown grace her cheeks. “That’s mean!” 

“It’s true.” YN smirked, letting the panic start to flow away. 

“Well, what were you thinking about?” Tooru began, a teasing tone on her voice. “Was it...Todoroki?” 

YN jumped, nearly stopping the two in their tracks. “What? That’s-!” 

“Ha! We were right!” Mina howled, puffing up her chest and thumping her fist against it. “Ah, young love~!” 

“Mina, we’re the same age-” 

“Doesn’t matter! So, where are you gonna confess?” Tooru pitched in. 

They had a point, of course. YN had a crush (albeit a small one) on Todoroki Shoto. It was bred out of unspoken respect; he had every right to be a villain if what YN had heard was right. He had a terrifyingly powerful quirk, a terrible childhood, and little social skills. And yet, he did the one thing that YN could not. He prevailed and walked on the path of light. 

YN sighed. “I’m not going to. I don’t stand a chance.” 

“No way! He was staring at you all throughout class today!” Tooru giggled. “He couldn’t look away.” 

“What?” YN stared wide-eyed at the space where she guessed Tooru was at. “Bullshit.” 

“Nope! I even got a pic!” She pulled out her phone (with a cute Mount Lady charm on it) and showed a picture of Todoroki that was clearly taken underneath her desk. He indeed was staring at YN’s back, but it was more the look of glaring daggers than anything.   

“That...doesn’t look positive.” YN murmured. 

“He’s emotionally constipated! He’s probably head over heels!” Mina said, entering the cafeteria. 

“Uh-huh…” YN was about to break off when she felt a tap on her shoulder. All three girls turned only to see the young man they had just been talking about. 

“T-Todoroki!” YN yelped, literally jumping when she saw him standing there. He looked neutral, watching her intently.

“May I have a word with you, LN? There is something I’d like to discuss.” 

Both Mina and Tooru squealed as YN nodded, clasping hands and jumping. Though they didn’t say anything otherwise, the message was obvious. 

YN followed Todoroki through a side hall, keeping a bit of distance between herself and the student. Though she hated to admit it, she felt hope grow. All the talk of him liking her back was getting to her, and she just hoped that Mina and Tooru were right. 

He stopped just outside, where no one was around, and YN nearly ran into his back. She stumbled as he turned. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-” 

“I’ve been watching you.” 

YN stopped talking, blinking up at him with wide eyes and a blush rising on her cheeks. “Pardon?” 

“You take a lot of calls, late at night. And you send letters.” 

YN froze. “I’m sorry?” 

“One of the letters fell out, and I planned on putting it back in the mailbox for you. But there was no address on it.” Todoroki looked deathly serious like he would try to kill YN if she tried to move. His bangs made his face shadowed, and it was enough to make YN’s heart stop. 

She felt bile and panic rising. The letters were shipped to the League, through someone they had in the post office. And the calls were given to Toga, who would change into someone else every time so that if anyone heard, there would be no vocal leads. 

“During the USJ attack, you and I were placed in the same division. While, yes, the villains attacked you, they put in noticeably less effort, and you never made any attempt to actually hurt them. With your quirk, you could have easily put them all to sleep. But you made it hard.” 

YN started hyperventilating, eyes flicking left and right in hopes of looking for an escape without having to hurt Todoroki. “What are you trying to say?” 

“You’re the traitor.” Todoroki put it bluntly, and yet, YN felt as though he hadn’t said nearly enough. It felt like the world froze, with YN’s eyes glazing over in terror. Her breathing was laboured and she even felt a little faint. Her world was collapsing, she wasn’t ready to go to jail, she was terrified. There was a white-hot rushing in her veins, and she fell to her knees. 

“I won’t sell you out.” Todoroki looked down at her like one would look at roadkill-intrigued, but disgusted. “For a price.” 

YN looked up, tears ruining her vision. “What is it? I’ll do it.” 

“I have favours. First, I don’t really feel like doing this week’s homework. I already know of all it.” He paused, looking neutrally cruel. “Actually, this entire semester. I don’t feel like doing it. Understand?” 

YN mutely nodded. 

“Good. If any one of the assignments fails, then it’s over.” 

Todoroki left, purposing hitting her shoulder with his knee so she would fall over. She couldn’t get up, nor did she even move, until Mina and Tooru came rushing out. 

“Oh my god!” Mina knelt, grabbing YN’s face with care. “Are you alright?”

“We saw Todoroki leave, and he didn’t look...happy…” Tooru started but trailed off when a fresh wave of tears overcame YN. “Oh, no...sweetie…” 

All three girls stayed huddled together, the two cooing at YN until Mina paused.

“So...did you get...you know…?” 

“Rejected?” Tooru finished. YN sniffled loudly, before nodding. After all, there was no way in hell that Todoroki would love someone like her, now. 

“Oh my god...I am so sorry…” Mina wrapped YN in a hug, while Tooru was fuming. 

“What a jackass! He should’ve accepted you! He has no taste!” She stood up, crossing her sleeves. “I’m gonna have a talk with him!” 

“Tooru!” Mina called out. “Don’t. Not right now.” 

Tooru relaxed, watching YN break down even more. “...You’re right. Sorry.” 

“And we’re sorry...for telling you that…” Mina fell silent. “We’re sorry.” 

“It’s not-” YN managed to get out, trying to talk past her sore throat and sobs. “It’s not your fault.” 

And there they stayed, even with Midnight offering condolences for a rejection that never happened and offering the rest of the day off. 

The sun set low, and Mina and Tooru had to leave as the stars came out. The cold came creeping up YN’s arms, and yet, she stayed. 

And in the distance, a young man watched. 

YN paced the length of her dorm, holding the phone to her ear. 

“Himi...Himi, please, it’s me.” 

“Oh? YN-chan? What’s wrong?” The voice was initially a deep baritone, a man’s voice, but it dripped into a sweet honey tone, that of a schoolgirl’s. “Were you crying?” 

“Himi, they know. Someone knows. They...he isn’t telling right now, but…” 

“What?!” She heard from the other side. “Someone knows?!” 

There was more shouting from past the phone, some from Shigaraki, others from Twice. They were talking before Toga went back on the phone. 

“How long can you shut him up? Who is it?” 

“T-Todoroki Shoto. He...he’s blackmailing me into doing stuff for him in exchange for him keeping quiet.” 

“Stuff?” Toga yelped. “What stuff is making you do? It’s nothing creepy, right?” 

“Creepy?” YN heard Twice yell. “We can’t even let him touch her! If he tries anything then-” 

“Oh, would you shut up?” Shigaraki sounded strained. “She slipped up. She has to pay.” 

“The little bitch just exposed the whole operation! Fucking kill her!” Twice hissed. “She needs to be pulled out and saved!” 

“YN-chan, what stuff is he making you do? It’s not talkin’ about us, right?” Toga said. She sounded worried, but coming from her, it wasn’t comforting. 

“No...homework is what he’s starting off with, but I have a feeling he’ll go further. He won’t be satisfied. I know that I’ve already exposed the breach, so if there’s any way to hurry up the operation…” YN glanced at her door when she saw a shadow pass by, and lowered her voice to a whisper. 

“Ughhh. This is trying to do a speedrun! This is unacceptable!” 

“Shigaraki, it is only a matter of time…” Kurogiri said. “It is almost complete.” 

“What, we rush the whole thing and fuck it up? No, no, no, no, no…” 

“YN! We’ll come and get you and we can play a game together!” Twice yelled. “I hope you fucking rot, you slimy-!” 

“How did they find out?” Kurogiri’s voice came clearly over the phone. YN took a deep breath. 

“He said that one of the letters...the postman dropped it and saw there was no address. He…” YN stopped. She was already lying to save her own skin on both ends, so what was another lie in the wall that of half-truths and deceit that would save her?  “He opened it and read some before accidentally burning it in anger.” 

Kurogiri sighed. “Then I suppose it couldn’t be helped on your end.” 

“Fucking useless piece of shit!” Shirgiraki bit. “I knew he’d fuck up!” 

“Shigaraki, please.” Kurogiri’s voice had turned away from the phone before turning back. “We will try to speed up the operation. Can you give us two weeks?” 

“I’ll try.” YN whispered. “Thank you.” 

“Stay safe. Do not disappoint us.” 

“Love ya’, YN-chan! Make sure to come back to us!” Toga yelled, probably from over Kurogiri’s shoulder before the line went dead. YN let out a shaky sigh before deleting the call log and moving to her desk. Both her homework and Todoroki’s was out, and that meant that she had to forge his writing in order to make it work. 

She was writing away, late into the night, taking no pause out of fear that Todoroki would find some flaw and alert the whole school. She worked and she worked until the clock hit two A.M. She looked up, feeling almost woozy when there was a knock at the door. YN jumped in her seat before walking over and answering it. 

On the other side was a wide-awake Todoroki, who glared at her through the crack in the door. 

“The homework. Hand it over, while everyone else is asleep.” 

YN nodded, sulking over and grabbing the sheets of work. He snatched them out of her hands, reading it over and checking that it was all done. 

“Alright. Today, I want you to be the one to tell my father that I will not be seeing him this week, but instead doing such things as hanging out with friends and attending parties.” 

“But...but how do I contact your father?” YN felt her head pound. Todoroki met her eyes with a raised eyebrow. 

“Figure it out.” 

He turned and left, and YN gave a heaping sigh. She turned to her bed, her own homework only half-finished. She was exhausted, rightfully so, and collapsed into the pillows. Regret pooled in her gut. Some part of her still loved Todoroki, but it was quickly dying. 

It was dying, along with the rest of her. 

The next five days were hellish. 

She supposed the second day, where she had to approach Endeavour, was kind. While he was upset about his son not even bothering to talk to him, he didn’t lash out onto YN, nor send a message back. It could’ve gone much worse, she was well aware. The next day she was forced to make his meals, though it wasn’t that hard. And after, she was to do his laundry. All were relatively easy deeds. 

But the day after that Todoroki ordered her to clean his room. And when she entered, it was so torn apart that she was sure he ripped everything out of the drawers on purpose. And the day after, she was told to take up all of his chores for the dorm, confusing both Sato and Midoriya. 

Mina and Tooru took notice of YN’s behaviour but didn’t ask. Mina was still beating herself up for hyping up YN, and Tooru was still furious at Todoroki’s supposed rejection.  

And for YN’s feelings for Todoroki, they were absolutely and completely quashed. 

She had no idea he could be as heartless as he was acting. Anything positive that she had for him was gone, replaced with deep scorn. 

And the only lifeline she had was calling the League every night. Toga, while crazy, did provide some comfort, with the promise of doing each other’s nails and hair when the attack arrived and YN was taken to the home base. The regret and fear she had of being a villain before was slowly disappearing with every night that she fell asleep to the sound of Toga and Twice babbling about video games. 

On the sixth night, YN called to Toga specifically, venting left and right about the things that Todoroki was making her do. 

“And then, he told me that I had missed a spot, and when I went to look, he went and picked up a tissue that definitely wasn’t there before!” YN hissed into the phone receiver. 

“No way!” Toga barked. “What an asshole!” 

“I know, right? He just wants to make my life hell. I can’t wait for you guys to get here.” 

“Ugh! Same! Me ‘n’ Twice have been stocking up on the goods so that way when you get here, we can have loads of fun!” Toga laughed loudly, and YN heard Twice laughing, too. “We’re getting excited! It’s only a week away!” 

“Yeah,” YN murmured, a soft smile on her face. “Thanks. I’m gonna go and get some sleep. You guys make sure to rest up, too.” 

“Maybe~! Love ya’!” Toga hung up and YN felt the silence of the night draw in. She felt oddly content, and she let out a soft sigh. 

There was a feeling of content that she hadn’t felt in days. With all the work that Todoroki had piled on and the stress of keeping it all under wraps, she could feel her eyebags during the day and wish for the sweet release of sleep during the night. 

YN rested her arm on her forehead, letting the darkness consume her eyes and try to soothe the headache that was coming on from even thinking about Todoroki. 

“Yikes,” She sighed, rubbing her temple with her spare hand. “I’m screwed.” 

Meanwhile, Todoroki was no better off. 

While he had no headache, he was staring at his ceiling with the covers of his bed pulled up to his chest. His arms were folded, but his eyes were narrowed in thought. 

Before he had learned about YN being the traitor, he hadn’t thought much of her. She seemed like a meek girl, with a terrifyingly powerful PSI quirk. She stuck to her friends and stayed in her lane. 

‘The perfect candidate for traitor,’ Todoroki thought. As far as he knew, she had no terrible history or actual motivations to become a villain. So when he found the letter and put and two and two together, he was shocked. He wanted her to vehemently deny it, to say that it was maybe a love letter or a secret note to somebody else. 

But all she did was cry, and Todoroki had his answer. 

He didn’t know why he chose to blackmail her, of all things. He should’ve turned her in, as a hero would have. But he didn’t. And at first, he didn’t know why he wanted to spare her so. Was in how miserable she looked while she was crying? Was it how she didn’t even look angry, but just scared? He didn’t have an answer. 

Until he made her clean his room. 

To be honest, he tore it apart just to see what her reaction was. He wasn’t a messy person but he wanted to make it tough for her. So, periodically throughout her cleaning, he would check up on her. At first, it was to make sure she didn’t throw away anything important, but once he realised that she was doing something so domestic, it made him feel warm on both sides. She had a broom and trash bags, and a bandanna to hold back her hair. She worked ferociously, determined to finish quickly. The hair came loose at times, and sweat grew over her as she lost herself in the cleaning and her thoughts. 

He realised that it was exactly what she would look like if she was a housewife. 

He realised that the entire time, he had her doing things a lover would do-calling the parents, helping with work, cleaning, cooking. None of them were dangerous, and she had them all done in three hours at most. And as Todoroki laid there, he started thinking less on the favours than it was YN herself. 

She was a girl. That was the first thing that came to Todoroki’s mind. Even though no one was around, he nodded with confirmation. It was a safe thought. It was a fact. 

She trained well, sometimes even out of school time. He had come across her in more than one situation where she would be using her quirk to make Bakugou levitate, with him howling the entire time. Her eyes would glow too, like changing lights in a pool. Todoroki always thought it was pretty. 

That, too, was a fact. Her eyes were pretty. 

Todoroki’s eyes snapped open. Yes, it was a fact, but it was not a safe thought. He imagined shoving it into a box and kicking it far away, into the depths of his mind. 

He closed his eyes again, sighing. 

She was strong. That was a safe thought. 

She had nice arms. That was not a safe thought. 

She did her best to take care of her skin, judging from the occasional skincare products he’d find lying around. Was that a safe thought? He wasn’t sure. 

She was smart, but not terribly so. That was a safe thought. 

She looked nice in her tights. That definitely wasn’t a safe thought. 

And as Todoroki thought more and more about YN, he began realising that he thought most things she did were good, technically speaking. She helped Denki with school sometimes, was positively receptive when Midoriya wanted to write about her quirk in his notebooks, and always supported the girls in any of their endeavours. She was kind and pretty, and smart and strong and sweet. 

And then, with wide eyes and a quelled feeling of horror, Todoroki thought, ’Oh my god,’ 

’I’m in love with the traitor.’ 

“What now?” 

Todoroki stood in front of YN’s door, hands in front of him and looking strangely innocent. His hair was combed, which was weird, and if YN took a deep breath, then she would smell some sort of cologne. 

“There is a girl in the General Course. Ai Suzuki. I want you to reject her for me.” He said it was a completely straight face, as though he was telling Aizawa that he couldn’t come into class the next day. YN blinked, processing the order, before jutting her head out in shock and recoiling again. 

“What? That’s terrible! You need to reject her yourself, for her sake!” She looked appalled and was about to slam the door shut when he put his arm and foot in. 

“Remember...YN.” 

From behind the door, YN stopped, before groaning and opening the door again. 

“Fine. And when the poor girl is miserable and goes around slandering you, don’t come after me. And we’re not friends. Don’t call me YN.”  

She shoved past him and locked her door, storming down the hallway and making tracks for the General Education dorms. 

“What floor, jackass?” 

“She’ll be in the greens,” Todoroki called back, sounding ready to laugh. YN turned and walked through the doors, keeping an eye out for a girl standing alone. 

Sure enough, a student who reminded YN of a doe stood with her hands in front of her, looking side to side. It broke YN’s heart that Ai would have to be rejected in such a cruel way, but it was her or YN’s entire wellbeing. 

“Hey, are you Ai Suzuki?” YN approached the young woman, who jumped. Ai’s brow furrowed. 

“Y-Yes. Where’s Shoto?” 

YN sighed. “There’s no easy way about this, especially since he’s such a coward.” 

Ai’s entire body seemed to slump, her eyes watering and hands shaking. YN felt the guilt bubbling in her stomach, but she continued.  

“But he wanted me to tell you that he’s not interested. I’m really sorry that it had to be this way, but-” 

Abruptly, Ai reached forward and slapped YN across the cheek. Tears were streaming down the young lady’s face.

“You-! You-! I…!” Ai seemed to be grasping for words while YN nursed her stinging cheek with her hand. YN didn’t retaliate but tried to help Ai sort out her emotions. 

“I know it’s terrible, and if you want, I take you to him so that way you can work out what you need. I get that-” 

“Just shut up!” Ai snapped, before flushing. “Please. I…” Fresh tears made their way to Ai’s face before she ran off. YN turned to head back, only to see Ai run headfirst into Todoroki. He seemed surprised, glancing up at YN before looking down at Ai. Ai stared at him, eyes wide before sobbing again and running to the General Education dorms. Todoroki watched her run with curiosity, while YN watched with pity. 

“I see it went well.” Todoroki turned back to YN, about to say more when he realised the red mark on her cheek. “Did she hurt you?” 

“Why would you care?” YN snapped, glaring at him. “You’re fucking terrible, and that’s bad, coming from me.” 

She stormed off, letting Todoroki watch her leave. He seemed stunned, standing and blinking dumbly at her retreating figure. 

“...”

YN held an ice pack to her cheek, staring at her ceiling, watching the blades of the fan spin. She wished that her mind was empty and aimless, but concerns surrounding Todoroki arose. 

He had become more casual than he ever was, something that didn’t happen even before he found out about her ties to the League. It was as though he was trying to seem pleasant, but it all seemed like a trap. 

“Fucking ice-for-brains.” YN pouted. “Bitchboy.” 

YN’s phone abruptly rang and she jumped. It was several hours earlier than the League usually called, so when she picked it up and saw the contact ’L’, her brow furrowed. 

“Hey, everything okay?” She asked, worry lacing her tone. She heard broad laughter, and then Toga giggling. 

“More than okay! We can come sooner!!” 

“Wh...what?” YN blinked, flabbergasted, before rushing to her door and locking it. She held the phone to her shoulder while stuffing towels along the bottom so no one could eavesdrop. “What’s going on?” 

“Shiggy found a way to mass-produce the Nomu so we can get to you in, like, two days!” Someone spoke, but it was too distant to hear who before Toga started talking again. “Tomorrow! We can get to you tomorrow!”  Toga was audibly jumping, and YN felt her shoulders go slack. 

“No way.” She breathed. It was like the world was on her shoulders, and that it had been slowly lifted. “Are you serious?” 

“Yup! I wouldn’t joke with you on this,” Toga said. “Probably.” 

“Probably?” YN laughed for the first time in what felt like forever. “You have no idea how happy this makes me.” 

“Well, we’ve got a bonus for you! For hangin’ on!” 

“Yeah? What is it?” YN fell onto her bed with a grin. 

“Well, according to Shiggy,” (Shigaraki, in the back, howled ‘Don’t call me that!’) “Had everyone accounted for except for one! And, well, he just so happens to have been doing some no-no stuff lately…” 

“I get to kick Todoroki’s ass?” YN sat up from her bed, excitement on her face. A deep part of her felt disgusted at the glee in getting revenge, but it was quickly put down at the thought of Todoroki begging for forgiveness. 

“Yup!” Toga tittered. “And then Kurogiri can take you back with us and we can do whatever! It’s not like we’ve got any parents to regulate us there, anyway.” 

“That was a twenty-five cent word, Himi. I’m glad. What’s the time of the attack? I wanna set an alarm.” 

“Hey!” Toga yelled over the phone, and YN winced. “Shiggy! When are we gonna see YN-chan and Deku and Ochako?” 

“If everything doesn’t get fucked up, then we should get there by six in the afternoon. Don’t fuck it up.” The phone was clearly pointed in Shigaraki’s direction, but he still sounded a bit distant. 

“Yessir,” Though he couldn’t see it, YN saluted. “You got it.” 

“We’ll see you soon, YN! I looove you!” 

“See ya, Himi.” 

YN hung up, laying back down on the bed with a giddy smile. She rolled left and right, hugging the phone to her chest as she laughed. She knew she was being loud, and if Todoroki heard, then he would be suspicious, but she didn’t care anymore. She was so close to freedom, so close that she could taste it. 

So close. 

Classes were unbearable. 

YN felt like a kid on the last day of middle school, right before they go to Disney or some other amusement park. The day trudged on, and no matter what Mina and Tooru did to try and get YN’s attention, her thoughts always returned to the League and the attack. 

Sure, she was nervous. It was entirely possible that everything could go wrong and it all fail. She could be arrested for treason, Todoroki could decide to expose her, and the League could choose to leave her behind. It could end in absolutely disaster for her. 

But YN had hope. 

And that hope remained after classes had finished. YN was near skipping, waltzing past Todoroki on her way to her dorms. 

She knew she needed to pack her things. It was all simple stuff; clothes, her toothbrush and toothpaste. She had to leave her phone behind, which was regrettable, but it had a tracker in it that her parents and select friends could see. 

And speaking of friends, YN needed to get Tooru and Mina out of U.A. before the attack, and have them be gone for long enough that they would remain safe. There were ways, but YN knew she needed to keep discreet. 

So, when she walked to her dorm, she eyed the clock. It was five fourty-three, which mean that she could have them take a relatively short trip and still be kept in the clear. YN caught Mina and Tooru on her way. Mina near jumped, nervously grinning. 

“Hey, are you okay? You’ve been weird all day!” 

“Yeah, yeah. Um, I have a favour to ask you two.” YN pulled them aside, taking out her wallet. 

“What is it? Is something wrong?” Tooru presumably tilted her head. 

“Ehh, sorta?” YN faked a grimace. “I, uh...my period started.” 

Mina blanched, and Tooru placed a hand on YN’s shoulder. 

“What’dya need?” 

“Yeah! We’ll go get it!” 

“God bless, you two. Uh, you know that mart that we came across that had the best f/s? It’s like, fifteen minutes by the train?” YN shelled out the cash, making sure there was extra. “I’m craving that, to be honest. And you guys can get something else, of course.” 

“Sure!” Mina took the money and shoved it into her pocket. “Let’s go, Tooru! We’ll see you later!” 

YN waved as the two dashed out, knocking Todoroki on their way to the doors. Mina shot him a half-hearted apology before they were gone. YN gave a languid wave back, feeling almost sad. She wouldn’t see them again. It pulled against her heartstrings, but she knew that she was too far in to back out. 

“They’re certainly energetic.” Todoroki walked up to YN, eyeing the doors with his hands in his pockets. 

“Yeah. Whatever.” YN’s peacefully happy demeanour changed. She glared at him before walking away. Before she could successfully escape, though, Todoroki put a hand on her shoulder. 

“I want to talk to you.” 

YN glanced at the clock. It was ten before six, and she felt nervous. “Not right now. I’m busy.” 

“Please, it’ll just take a second. I’ll come with you.” He took his hand off of her shoulder, and she rolled her eyes. 

“Fine. But make it quick.” YN began speed walking to her dorms, not caring if she looks suspicious. “I have shit to do.” 

“I wanted to actually ask you in private. It’s something...a bit personal.” 

YN stopped walking, eyes wide. “You’re not going to…?” 

Todoroki recoiled, shaken. “No! No, it’s not. It’s an emotional matter.” 

“Oh, joy.” YN rolled her eyes again before almost jogging to her dorm. She eyed a different clock, and it showed five fifty-two. 

“I’ve been thinking about it. About you,” Todoroki began as they walked into her dorm. YN grabbed a backpack off of her wall and began throwing whatever she could find in there that she would deem necessary. Todoroki shut the door, but stood by it as YN spun around. 

“I know that I’ve been...complicated towards you.” Todoroki said, rolling his hands to help elaborate. 

“Uh, yeah. That’s a nice way of putting it.” YN threw eyeliner and mascara into the front pocket of her bag. Todoroki huffed, upset that it backfired. 

“I think you’re pretty,” He tried again, leaning a bit towards her and sounded hopeful. “And smart.” YN said nothing, but paused and gave him a look that was a mix of confusion, disgust, and ‘duh’. “And I know that I’ve been making you work because of circumstances that were out of your control.” 

“What’s your point, Todoroki?” YN threw the last of her underwear in the bag and zipped it, spinning around with her hands on her hips and the bag over her shoulder. “Get to it.” 

Todoroki faltered, eyeing the bag. “What are you packing for?” 

“None of your goddamn business. Speak, or else I’m ignoring you.” 

This snapped Todoroki out of his staring contest with a video game pin on your bag, and he swallowed. He was stiff, and anxious, and hid his face with a ninety-degree bow. 

“Please be my girlfriend.” 

YN froze, shock on her face. “What?” 

“Please date me.” YN shook her head, snapping out of it, before her jaw dropped and mixed emotions came over her face. “You’re fucking…” She trailed off, unable to finish her sentence. 

“I know that you must hate me. But I’m sure that you’re not the traitor by choice. If you choose to date me, my father and I can help you leave the League. We can protect you, and we can-” 

“Protect me from what? Wait, wait, wait. You’re saying that they guy that fucking blackmailed me wants to protect me from people that have done nothing to me?” 

“Done nothing?” Todoroki rose from the bow, looking both confused and hurt. “They’re villains, YN. They are absolutely going to hurt you!” 

“Bullshit. They...they’re the only ones that gave a damn the whole time!” YN threw her bag on the ground, throwing her hands up in the air. “I fucking-! I can’t believe-!” 

“And what about Mina? And Tooru? And I could have sold you out at any point!” 

“Oh, so that’s how it’s gonna go?” YN felt heat rise to her cheeks and her stomach turn in rage. “Yeah, okay. Mina and Tooru were great. And that’s why they’re not here right now! But you wanna fucking hold it above my head that you could have had me fucking arrested?” 

“That’s not what I was trying to say!” Todoroki’s voice lowered from the shout, desperation in his tone. “No, I..! I was trying to say that I love you! And that I didn’t want you to get hurt. Please. We can get you out of this.” 

Todoroki grabbed her shoulders, not forcefully, but intimately. He could feel her breath on his face, and the tears beginning to show in his eyes. 

“You...unbelievable!” If Todoroki looked close enough, he could see traces of betrayal. “I have no idea what you think asking someone out is. You can’t just walk in an-and expect love!” YN voice rose with every word, until Todoroki leaned forward and placed a kiss firmly on her lips. She let out a muffled yelp, frozen, but Todoroki didn’t move. 

He savoured it, because for just a moment, when he closed his eyes, he could imagine you loving him back. 

But then a blaring alarm from YN’s phone went off. 

YN shoved Todoroki off, coughing and rubbing at her mouth furiously. Todoroki stood still, a blush on his cheeks. YN licked her top teeth as the alarm sounded, hearing the constant, stinging ring, taking a moment before a sick joy rose in her.

“YN, please...We can work this out together. We can get you into the witness protection program, or something-” 

“Too late,” YN hissed. Todoroki faltered, taking a step back. 

“What?” 

“I said, you fucking reject,” She muttered lowly, looking up at him with her head hung. “Too. Late.” 

“W-What? Why?” Todoroki began to puff his chest in some indiscriminate mix of rage and sorrow when he felt something close around his throat. It was as though he was being choked, but no one was touching him. His hands flew to try and relieve the pressure only to be able to claw at his own neck. There was the sound of glass breaking outside, and people screaming. He could hear Present Mic calling for help. 

“You really thought...” YN began as furniture began floating, along with Todoroki himself. He kicked his feet and struggled, but he was thrown back through the dorm door and into the hallway wall. YN was sweating, the alarm still going off on her levitating desk, and she looked thrilled, with her eyes pulsing out of her skull and her hair flying in front of her face. Her bag levitated towards her, and her jacket fit itself onto her shoulders before the backpack followed. Todoroki could only watch in pain as she approached. 

“You thought you could control me forever?” YN wheezed. Todoroki turned to see Midoriya and Bakugou running towards them before a smoky, inky black portal consumed them both. His eyes went wide when he realised what was happening. 

“I thought heroes were supposed to do the right thing, Todoroki.” YN spat, grabbing his chin so he could stare her in the eyes. They had begun sparking all sorts of colours, even ones that he had never seen before. More furniture in the living room and open dorms were floating and Todoroki felt his heart in his throat. 

“You…” He choked, one eye closing from the pain in his spine. “You bid your time…” 

“Abso-fuckin-lutely.” She grinned, eyes crazed, before using her quirk to pick him up again. This time, he wasn’t choking, but he couldn’t move. “And now, you must suffer the consequences.” 

She waltzed from the dorms to outside, dragging Todoroki behind her. When he passed the doors, he had to look away from the heat and the light, but when he opened his eyes, he felt tears swell. 

The main building of U.A. was up in crystal blue flames, with students and staff alike running out screaming and crying. Someone fell out of the windows, on fire and wailing the entire way down, and there was a sickening crack when they landed. The heat scorched his cheeks, and embers flew into his eyes and hair. When he opened his mouth to yell, he could taste the copper of blood on his tongue. He could see Midoriya and Ochako trying to fend off Toga, and Kirishima and Sero trying to restrain a Nomu, only to fail. 

He knew that even if he could make any noise, if he could move, if he could use his quirk, he wouldn’t be able to. The shock set in his bones, and he felt the weight of the world.  

“You know, they were supposed to come about a week from now.” YN waltzed across the burning grass, putting it out before she could burn her shoes. “But when they heard you were blackmailing me, they sped it up. Isn’t that sweet?” 

“How could you?” Todoroki managed to spit out. He saw the gentle smile on YN’s face, and he felt his heart snap. “They were...our friends…” 

“No. I mean, at first I was guilty. Actually, I really was guilty right up to when you found out. Then I realised that they didn’t really notice me.” She hummed, clearly in a good mood, with the terror and chaos around her. “Mina and Tooru kinda noticed. But they bought whatever I told them. They’re still good people, but they didn’t care that I clearly had something on my mind. Least of all you?” YN turned her head to look at Todoroki. “Did you know I used to have a crush on you? You didn’t so much as glance at me for the entire time before you found out.” 

She looked back forward, making her way to the swirling black mass. Kurogiri and Shigaraki stepped out, and when Shigaraki saw YN, he took to scratching his neck. “You didn’t fuck up.” He sounded surprised. 

“Nope!” YN chirped. “I’m ready to roll once this place is dust.” 

Shigaraki let out a dry laugh at her choice of words before looking over at Todoroki, who was trying to struggle. “You already had him?” 

“He was trying to ask me out.” YN crossed her arms. “So I just took advantage of the opportunity.” 

“Cool. Dabi’s already gotten the main school-” 

“Clearly.” YN piped in. 

“So the damage has been dealt. I just need to recall everyone.” Shigaraki gestured at Kurogiri, waving a lackadaisical hand. “Originally, I was just gonna leave you, actually.” 

“Wait, seriously?” YN grimaced, completely ignoring Todoroki’s squirming. 

“Yeah. But then he found you out.” He turned to Todoroki, who froze and glared at Shigaraki. “When are you gonna fight him?” 

“I dunno. I kinda wanted everyone to be here, but if we can’t make that work…” 

“Get it over with.” 

“You’re the boss.” YN shrugged, giving Todoroki only a moment to be afraid before crushing him against the nearest wall. His eyes were overshadowed by his hair for a moment when his entire body curled in pain, both against his will and YN’s quirk. He felt bile crawl up his throat, and spit came out when he coughed. 

“Y...YN...please…” He looked up at her, tears flowing down his cheeks and crushing sorrow on his face. “I know there’s good in you…you’re not a villain…” 

YN winced, and for a moment, she looked conflicted. Todoroki felt hope, his eyes widening, until the conflict was abruptly gone. In its place was rock-hard disgust and he was picked up again, before being smashed into the dirt. YN began throwing him violently, increasing the strength and rate of the hits. She didn’t stop until his head hung and he was panting. Blood was everywhere, and when he looked up at her, it was flowing into his eyes. 

“It’s not about good or evil anymore.” YN whispered. It was potent, even amongst all the chaos and noise. “There is no good or bad anymore. Just power.” 

YN looked almost deranged, eyes blown wide and panting heavily. Her hair had fallen into her face, and Shigaraki looked surprised, again. 

“Wow. Didn’t expect you to go loose.” 

“I hope it’s okay, sir.” YN let Todoroki fall, blowing the hair out of her face and composing herself. 

“Yeah, sure, whatever. I don’t care.” 

YN nodded and Kurogiri placed a hand on her shoulder. 

“You did well. Welcome to the League.” He watched YN give a huge smile, as though she didn’t just help slaughter an entire school, and rather had just been given a star spot in a play. 

“Thank you, sir! You won’t regret it!” 

“I’m sure we won’t.” Kurogiri nodded, looking sagely at the destruction and the approaching forms of Toga, Dabi, Spinner, and Twice. 

“I’m sure we won’t.” 

a/n: hi this took WAY too fucking long i am so sorry 🥴 i sabotage myself but anyway!! this was interesting to do bc i never really did a traitor!mc but i am a sucker for angst 🥴🥴

[axemetaphor]

Hey, I'm that guy from ao3. I was wondering, do you have a specific place you get inspo for monsters in Auckland? I'm making a DnD campain in the J&D world, aaand I kinda need help haha. Yours are like perfect <3 (Also, if you wanna join us, you can, we haven't even had our zero session and we're not playing actual DnD, I don't know how to play that, so it's ok if you don't know that, it's super easy and fun i swear, you can get a link to our discord, love you)

:0 oh shit hi !! a jdate DnD game sounds cool as fuck! im really bad at games like that tho so im gonna politely pass on that one but wish y'all the best of luck!!! 

as for making monsters my inspo is Kind Of Weird? i mean i look at a lotta horror art for sure (my favourite artist atm is Trevor Henderson aka slimyswampghost on most medias, u may know him as That Guy Who Made Sirenhead but he has a lot of other fantastic art as well!), but since i dont wanna feel like im rippin other people off i actually Dont often use that as inspo! aaaand heres where its gonna get a bit weird

aside from the times i pluck a creature from my nightmares (and boy, do i have a lotta material to work with there), i usually either look into folklore (bein mindful of closed cultures like, i believe most Native American monsters are off-limits for non-Natives to write; im white as hell so i try to stick to british/irish/more recent american shit) or... i look to this one game i played Obsessively when i was in elementary/middle school: Spore (which you can find on Steam i think or their hilariously hasn't-been-updated-in-a-WHILE website). I literally played it so much I can just kind of... imagine the whole creature-creator process. I think it’s a curse. I think Todd Howard cursed me for the crime of Having No Friends.

Now, if you dont wanna download a probably-poorly-aged EA game from 2007 (i dont even know if it’d run anymore if you Just Now bought it, i remember the security measures that thing had damn near broke the game before i could even play it, thanks EA) and play through the first two stages (theyre Long) to unlock the creature creator and all the Bits for it, you can either watch people play that shit on YouTube (Monster Factory is a favourite of mine, they did I Think a 3-video run of Spore) or, 

You can also do somethin that I once did as an assignment for Character Design class: go to a random animal generator, let it spit out 2-3 animals (or as many as you like, i guess, but i find 2-3 to be a Manageable number) and mash those motherfuckers together! Hell, you can even start to mix in stuff like objects/minerals/whatever the fuck too. Make something that’s a dog, hammerhead shark, and the concept of entropy. Go nuts! Here’s an example, some shit I made for that class (which mayyyyyy appear in Auckland...... perhaps. if i feel like it) :

They can range from “cute” to “nightmarish” as you please! Fun fact, that spider/shark/scorpion is meant to be the size of a house. I honestly come up with a lot of messed up shit by just asking myself "What's the worst thing I can think of right now?" and then I just Go For It with whatever my brain's thrown at me. I did that with Nightmare E.T. and the fucked-up ostriches. 'Scary' is often a sort of personal thing for people, like phobias and shit, you know? Lookin inward can be pretty helpful there. Not like you have to make something of your phobias, just maybe run with something that disturbs you a little. If you press yourself for why it bothers you sometimes you can find something deeper and maybe more universal in it. I'm not talking about unearthing trauma or anything tho that likely Wouldn't Be Healthy just like... if you think spiders are creepy, ask yourself Why: is it the eyes? the legs? the venom? the way they just kinda creep up on you, like, you dont notice em til you see them? etc.

As for the monsters in Auckland while most of them aren’t gonna be references (maybe a few more in future chapters...) I will admit the “morning wood monster” is a reference to the Pokémon Trevenant; the "most fucked-up dog [Dave had] ever seen" was a creature from The Moomins just described as horribly as possible--I can't find it on the wiki anymore??? it was from the 2d animated one, though; the Shitsucker is a regular ol’ Wraith (following a specific mythos where they aren’t just Random Ghosts but beings that feed off negative emotional energy, I can't re-find which one I'm sorry lmao); and the haunted ship thing at the beginning is a vague reference to the Buzzfeed Unsolved episode on that big ass boat. Isn't directly tied to it (obviously, 'cause Buzzfeed Unsolved never has much Actual Ghost Activity, let alone one Throwin Shit At Em jhgfds), more just inspired by it.

Maybe when the thing is done, I’ll sort them all into one of three categories--references to stuff/folklore, things i had nightmares about, and things i just kind of thought up. Make a post on here about it, idk

wow! this was fuckin long. i hope at least some of that is helpful!! also im adding this here cause i just remembered some people use Spore to sculpt like?? beautiful monsters and shit?? like i Know i watched a “speedrun” of someone creating a beautiful ass dragon in it. there’s probably a whole community of people out there making epic and/or fucked up shit and you could watch them build it or just scroll through thumbnails for inspo, but i do feel like Building Stuff Yourself is best, cause it just kind of Feels Nice to make something yourself and go “hey man, look how fucked up this is ! scary, right?” and get that Success Feeling when the other guy recoils and goes "yeah man what the fuck though"