#they even managed to sneak one into 1 or 2 backgrounds which I did not expect

[puppyeared]

Callbacks to older episodes

[pocketramblr]

You know, I'm sorry I didn't request some headcanon for an au hades/persephone with duo holders, can you accommodate this request? 🥺

Yes and can I admit my first thought was reccing The Orpheus Trial which has background duo holders but they're more Orpheus and Eurydice than Hades and Persephone soooo let's do that

1- Enji, Nana, AfO, Gang Orca, Pixiebob, and Second are gods who overthrew their titan prior generation together. As a result, they got to cast lots over who got what. Nana got the sky and winds, Orca the ocean and seas, Pixie the mountains and animals on them, AfO the earth and plants growing on it, Second the underworld and dead, and Enji got kinghood and humans.

Second doesn't really... Love his job, but he admits it's better than some of the other options, and Third (Death) is good enough company. Really his biggest problem is there's still so many people dying, he's swamped. He asks Third why, and Third explains that it's twofold- Enji forbids use of fire without his permission, and AfO is careless with food production on a good day and downright malicious on a bad.

2- Second decides to do something, and make a plan- but he can't leave the Underworld, and even Nana can't steal the fire and bring it down to earth. None of the six of them can intrude on each other's domain. But, Nana has a little brother- En was too young to fight in the war with the Titans, and thus didn't inherit anything from it. This means he's weaker, but he's also not barred from Enji's domain like the others. So he sneaks in, gets the fire from the hearth, and hides it under his clothes as he sneaks back. Unfortunately the smoke billowing from his clothes was still obvious the next day, and Enji demanded he be punished. Second stepped in, pointed out he ran Tartarus and could manage. Once Enji was gone Second promptly offered En a job, invisibility helm, and said he could invite his sister to visit anytime since it probably wasn't a good idea to let Enji see him for the next few centuries.

But still, this was only half the problem- AfO's food was the other.

3- Second scouted for a while to try and find leverage. He couldn't do anything about what grew above the surface, but technically he was king of all under the earth, which could include roots and tubers, and Pixie and Orca tried to supplement food with their animals. Still though, AfO could undo their work by tanking harvests, which he did. But one day, Second heard word that it was not just Nana who had a younger brother- so did AfO. Apparently the young god was sickly and weak, and AfO possessive of him, keeping him trapped away from view of the outside world and any other god- in a room on the ground floor, away from Nana and Second both, with no windows to let the sun or other see in. En said there wasn't even a fire in the room, so Enji couldn't know.

The only god that could go in was AfO- and death, of course.

4- because nothing can keep out death, and so Third went to see this sickly god. In the dark, he was thin and pale, his hair lacked luster or color. In the sun, Third knew the god would bloom, but here his hair only gained pigment in AfO's presence. Other than that, he was alone in the dark. No prayers, no sacrifices, no power at all. A dangerous position for a god to be in. Third quietly told Yoichi he was dying. Yoichi shrugged and said he wouldn't fight it. So Third led Yoichi down to the underworld, into Second's domain.

Second had initially only wanted to take Yoichi for leverage, to exchange back to AfO only when he swore to be more temperate in his domain. But at soon as Second saw Yoichi, he was struck in love as if by an arrow.

5- Second gave Yoichi a tour, and several welcoming gifts. As they walked, both the underworld and the god seemed to bloom. Yoichi's dull grey eyes sparked to life - not the rosey petal red his brother's presence forced out, but a shimmering green like a tourmaline gemstone. His hair grew lighter, but not like dried wheat chaff fading in the sun- this was a color strong as bone and pure as lime. And around them the dead seemed brighter, hopeful. The fields of asphodel don't just grow, they blossom, and the trees bear fruit. Yoichi curiously picks one and opens it up, marveling at how many smaller inside there are. Second grabs his hand and warns that eating the food means he'll be tied there forever. Yoichi points out he already is, on account of dying. Second says some mortals have brought back others from the dead, so it's not impossible, especially for a god. Yoichi says if his life is what he has to go back to, he'd rather stay dead, and enjoys the pomegranate.

Time passes, and Yoichi slowly starts leading as well- and taking notice of all the dying. Second sighs and admits it's because of AfO, but there's not much they can do- he was doing it even before Yoichi died, so. Yoichi thinks. Second eventually proposes, and Yoichi accepts. The morning of the day Yoichi is supposed to be coronated as king and full partners with his husband, he slips away to the entrance of the underworld, and calls his brother. AfO cannot cross the river, but Yoichi can, shouting across that as he has eaten food that is half his own power and half the underworld, he is bound to stay in the underworld at least half the year. But if his brother will agree to take better care of the mortals, ensure far fewer of the survive, then Yoichi will agree to return with him for the other half the year. AfO, desperate and grieving, accepts. Yoichi walks over the river, just as Second runs down to beg him to stop. Yoichi turns and says he has to be responsible for their people as Second does, and AfO whisks him away before either can say anymore or let him know that he'll be back in six months.

Second weeps and the river threatens to flood. Third has to drag him back and tell him that Yoichi will return in half a year. But indeed as Yoichi planned, fewer people die. He's taking care of the kingdom just as he said. It means less work for Second, which means he not as busy, which means he feels every painful lonely minute all the more.

+1- he waits by the river six months later, but Yoichi does not appear. Instead, Second finds that he can leave the underworld for once and head into AfO's domain - it's not intruding as AfO broke the deal first, attempting to once again lock up Yoichi. Second strolls into the house and breaks down the door easily, scooping a delighted Yoichi up in his arms. (Yoichi was going to just walk out the next day anyway, since he knew AfO couldn't stop him, but he thought Second would be more mad at him, not clearly still in love.) For the second time, Yoichi is carried off into the underworld to AfO's anger, but Yoichi just smiles as he returns home, and blushes a full color he hasn't been in months when Second shows the double throne that have been waiting for him - since the almost-coronation, Second couldn't bring himself to sit in it at all, just standing by the wall when conducting business there. But now he intends to crown Yoichi the moment they're through the doors, as he traded away half his freedom for eternity for the well-being of people under their care and clearly couldn't be a better choice.

[go-follow-vibingouthere]

Kaimelia Fic Update/Sneak Peek

For anyone that cares...

I'm still writing the post 18x20 Kaimelia fic I posted about 2 months ago lol. Had a bit of an identity crisis after graduating college + the hyper fixation was becoming less... hyper, so I haven't actually worked on it since late June until this week. RN I've got ~3.5k words that are actually useable and good and another ~13k (I know 🙃) of... Over stuff lol (some of it's useable, some of it's redundant, etc.). I won't post it until it's done; I hate disappointing people and wouldn't wanna get anyone's hopes up just to never finish it. I am fucking DETERMINED to get this out before the new season starts.

However... Because I'm a glutton for attention and I know the fandom is in a drought rn... I wanna give y'all a sneak peek of the first 500 words or so. Without further ado:

Kai had never kissed anybody in the rain before… It was nice. Like a scene from a movie. Kai could imagine some grandiose love song playing in the background of this moment, the music swelling when Amelia’s lips met their own. Picture-perfect…

It had been a long day. A long few weeks, really. Whatever anxiety Kai had experienced during that dinner party, surrounded by Amelia’s intimidating web of a family, had only increased after their semi-break up on the swings; and, with it, came wave after wave of self-loathing, anger, and despair. They couldn’t eat, they couldn’t work, they couldn’t sleep, they couldn’t function.

Not even the paper being published—years and years of work and effort finally being recognized—was enough to lift their spirits. Every potentially happy thought about it—every stray thought they’d had since the last time they were in Seattle—just led back to her. Their text to her upon hearing the news (“thinking of you”) wasn’t a lie: if anything, it was an understatement.

The irony plagued them. They had once boasted to Amelia that they needed very little sleep to function and look where that had landed them: impulse buying a plane ticket to Seattle after another restless 24 hours, running through the airport to make it on time, all 6’ 1” of them jammed into a middle seat on a rickety Spirit Airlines flight, their hastily packed carry-on containing nothing but two shirts, pajama bottoms, underwear, and a toothbrush. All without a shred of hope to cling to that she’d even want to see them, let alone take them back.

But she did… at least, tentatively.

She was kissing them, in the rain, and Kai felt like they could finally breathe again. The risk of drowning at sea was averted: her presence alone pushed their exhausted, waterlogged mind back to shore. The monumental pain of their actions was gone. The weight and stress that had sat in their shoulders and upper back had finally dissipated. Relief flooded over them and they were left to ponder happier ideas… like which movies had the best rain kiss scenes.

(They managed The Notebook, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Spider-Man, A Cinderella Story, and that one episode of Friends before Amelia pulled away for breath, her forehead slumped against theirs.)

The rain was getting worse by the second; having started as barely a sprinkle, it was now quickly becoming a considerable downpour. They could feel their hair getting heavier, sticking to their forehead in odd spots, matted after Amelia’s handiwork.

Her hands eventually came down to rest on their shoulders. They stayed breathing each other’s breath, eyes closed and hands still, for a long time, quiet despite the environmental rage surrounding them…

They were tempted to kiss her again, being that close for so long. And they nearly did. Hesitantly brushing their nose alongside hers, receiving no comments or requests to stop, they brought their hand up to her cheek, ready to join their lips again and—

“Amelia!” someone called out from the hospital exit, their voice carrying over the dense rain.

The bubble popped.

Hope you enjoyed :) I hope to have it out in full beginning/mid-September.

[yourbraidlikeapattern]

hi. i still can’t believe that i went to Era’s Tour back in May so i wanna talk about it! :))

so a little background on me is that Debut was the very first CD i owned and i dressed up as Taylor for Halloween in 2010, Taylor Swift has always meant SO much to me, but i could never afford/was able to see her UNTIL this year for Eras tour, when my sister MIRACULOUSLY got floor tickets!

the day of Eras was one of the most fun, exhilarating days of my life, so here’s some highlights!

so first off, for my fit i went with one of my all time FAVORITE photos of taylor! and then obviously the obligatory stadium photo! Metlife N1 begins!!

we found our way to the floor after doing all of the fun opportunities (like the elevator which i can’t seem to find :( ) and two other really sweet swifties took a picture for us!!

the openers section was CRAZY because my sister and i had seen Gayle before and FELL IN LOVE WITH HER so it was so exciting to get to see her on the Eras stage. AND during her performance we were screaming and singing and dancing as much as we could, and her manager brought us bracelets that Gayle herself made for fans!! After Gayle, i noticed Kathryn Gallagher sitting behind me and i knew i had to tell her how much i admired her and she gave me a KARMA bracelet (v important considering how much Karma we got that night!) Next up was Phoebe and i’ll spare you the photos and videos of me sobbing seeing this beautiful woman. (also still not over hearing Emily I’m Sorry live.)

so then, the time FINALLY came to see Taylor. after 16 years of being a fan, getting to see her walk on stage with my own eyes literally felt like i was witnessing the coming of christ. how is she real?!?

i was at Metlife N1, so you know that the second half of that night was one of the most Unhinged nights of this tour, and i only have evidence of 1. so let me just share my thoughts.

1. Getting the Karma MV was SO ridiculously fun but what was even more fun was sneaking glances at Taylor and her dancers watching. they looked SO proud and SO excited. it was radiating off of them!!!

2. JACK MF ANTONOFF ON STAGE FOR GETAWAY CAR. I actually fell to the ground when she announced Jack bc i was OVERJOYED by that news. and it was everything i could have ever wanted AND then some.

3. Maroon was…unreal. immaculate. tears STREAMING down my face. this was my sister’s most wanted surprise song, so it was a big treat for us!!

4. and finally, her bringing Ice Spice on stage to perform Karma at the end was CRAZY fun and a perfect way to tie up a Karma heavy evening.

at the end of the show, we headed back to home and thought about all the fun we just had, all the memories we just made, and the bracelets still clung to our wrists.

the Eras Tour was easily the best concert of my life and i still feel as lucky at 22 as i did when i was 6, discovering Taylor wandering a CD aisle. she is an extremely devoted, talented, hardworking, and ambitious artist that inspires me in my art and life. i hope that i can make it to whatever tours come next for her, but if i can’t and this was my one time seeing her, it was a really damn good time.

[drustvar]

🍄 APPRENTICEMBER - Day 2 🍄

Who is their LI? What’s their relationship like?

Rosie can mesh well with everyone except Nadia and Lucio, I'll give a brief run-down of dynamic and any background since she's not exactly the same as the apprentice in game. This also isn't covering the ships she has with other ocs! ♥

🥀Julian

(Starting with him first since he was the first route I played thru lmao). He and Rosie first met during the plague when they were both working in the dungeons. She was still kind of a mess from her break up with Asra at the time and she's truthfully one of those people who like. NEEDS to be in a relationship. Their personalities are rather similar so its no wonder that she quickly latched onto him and they fell for one another. On her deathbed she left him her amulet and her mother's mortar and pestle, the two most important belongings she had. Post-plague / in his route, she again latches onto him very quickly and becomes very very protective of him. The idea that he killed Lucio (although he actually hadn't) was also something she found very attractive, and she saw him as sort of a heroic figure. He's the one LI that she's really truly batshit about. TLDR; the codependency these two have with one another is not healthy but man is it fun to write LMAO || 🐻Muriel Unlike Julian, who unfortunately seems to magnify and / or mirror Rosie's anxiety, Muriel is fantastic at getting her to chill the fuck out. Out of the LI's, they're the ones who help one another to grow the most. They were friends for a long time, having met one another thru Asra. Their vibes are just very cozy and woodsy. Off the grid couple who minds their own business. In his story, (which I'm doing basically a complete overhaul of) as said before they really foster a lot of growth in one another. Rosie encourages him to stand up for himself, to voice his anger, and to let out his emotions instead of bottling everything up. Muriel encourages her to slow down and not dive head first into things. One of the big things thematically for them is that strength doesn't have to be loud and in your face. Simply continuing to exist in a world that has been unkind is strong.

|| ✨Portia Ohhhh my beloved gorls. What can I really say about them other than that they're like. THE cottagecore cat-girl dream. They have similar personalities, the only major difference (and sometimes point of argument) is how little Rosie cares for / trusts nobility, which obviously puts Portia in a bit of a hard place considering Nadia is 1. her boss and 2. has been so good to her (seriously what other ruler gives their head servant property??) Portia's story is also being reworked to fit Rosie better (mostly just adding more actual content to it), but a big part of their initial story is about boosting one another's confidence and being a confidant to one another, something both of them really need.

|| 🔮Asra

Asra and Rosie met when they were teenagers, when she'd managed to sneak into the Masquerade (something her Aunt had forbidden.) They became fast friends and even though her aunt wasn't fond of him, she did allow he and Muriel to stay in the shed on the property when the weather was bad. Asra was Rosie's first real friend, and really helped her to try to heal and break free from her aunt's abuse and control. They loved one another very deeply and were eachother's rock. Once the plague hit and her aunt died, Rosie felt a need to stay and try to help; the people of the city were all they really had. Asra didn't agree, and this led to a nasty argument that would ultimately lead to their breakup.

Post-plague, Asra sometimes wonders if he made the right choice. If Rosie had known, would she have rather have stayed dead? Her own mortality, her previous life, and their own shared past is something they would have to work to uncover in their timeline, since Asra also forgot much of his own past (be it from magic or a stress response). Once everything is said and done, they're definitely a very chill and laid back couple. But its never going to be exactly the same, be it for better or for worse :")

[arcanelovepile]

and likewise, headcanon meme for: SKRAEL >:)c

Send me a character and I'll answer these headcanons || Skrael Since we know so little about the Order from canon, everybody has their own brilliant take on their background and so on - so heeey, these are for 'my' Skrael.

1: sexuality headcanon Again I should mention that Skrael predates labels - that being said, I feel like pansexual fits him pretty nicely! Warm skin-to-skin adult fun times was such a luxury when he was a human (roughly 22,000 years ago) and gender didn't really move the needle on the level of attraction he felt towards someone. It just wasn't important. Once it was an option for him to enjoy that, i.e. when he graduated from Maurgh's (his mother's/master's) school of Straight Outta The Abyss Evil Shit, he absolutely did.

I'm not saying he used to be a paleolithic fuckboy, but they'd have to be pretty high on his shit list for him to decline an offer. And now? It's not really an itch anymore, it's more a delightful way to be intimate with a partner.

2: otp Ahhhh I'm very Order oriented. Skrael is high key devoted to Bellroc and Nari, and although full poly trio is lovely I guess Skraelroc is the most common one I indulge in. They are the most gorgeous power couple fdhdhkjfk

Speaking of indulging... I'm still happily playing solitaire in my little ship canoe Skrouxie. 🤟💙

3: brotp Ah no, I already mentioned Skrouxie. What the hell, LISTEN even if they wouldn't eventually smooch, I'll take the fragile, trembling sprout of a friendship that might come from Douxie surviving giving Nari shelter from Massive Aggression and Passive Aggression.

See? Order reconciling and flying off into the sunset, Douxie tip-toeing off in the background to, idk, sweep floors and severely underestimate himself. I want to see Skrael sneaking on him later for some petty revenge. I want to see Douxie seducing him with, say, spotify and strawberry daiquiries. I want to see Skrael's interest going from sadistic to sympathetic to protective because holy shit, Merlin was crap master and that this 900 year old street performer managed to hold Skrael and Bellroc at bay for so long is nothing short of a miracle.

4: notp *squints at smudged handwriting on wrist* Berlin?

5: first headcanon that pops into my head Hair and decorations. He's got a mass of braids with small bone totems weaved into them. All of them have sentimental value and they are there to remind him of different things, some of which time has eroded.

6: favorite line from this character Number one: "You misunderstand our grand vision!" aka 'Nari, please come back, it's only a 200 slide ppt presentation...'

Number two: "This reliquary reeks of Merlin."

You smell like lies, old man. Wash your damn beard.

7: one way in which I relate to this character I, too, have laughed as somebody slipped and fell, and gotten side-eyed by my best friend for my trouble. In my defense, the person on the ground had previously made annoying talking noises and I think their fate was fair.

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character There is nothing about my teacup villain that gives me second hand embarrassment.

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave? A fave! I see nothing problematic with this snow angel.

[tarithenurse]

D&D spam 3/3 (for now)

As I said in my previous post, this last post is going to be dedicated Zilvra’s background but written as prose because that’s the kind of nerd I am.

1 – Meeting Filandrin

She’s 12. Her mother is busy with work, not noticing how little friends Zilvra has made at school.

The distant chatting grew fainter as Zilvra’s feet brought her down the long, dimly lit corridor and the only other sound was the faint shuffling from the dress that her mother had made her wear. Swish-swish, the silk went with every step...but Zilvra felt confident that there was no one around to hear it.

Every door she came by, Zilvra paused and listened through the hard compressed material. Sometimes she could hear voices muffled behind them while other times it was silent and if that was the case, she went to try the handle ever so carefully...finding door after door locked.

Because of the constant disappointments of locked doors, she almost squeaked in surprise when one finally did give, pushing slightly ajar. It was enough to see a sliver of a neatly furnished office but nothing else, so Zilvra boldly pushed further, coming into the room fully where she was met by a scent of lingering perfume.

It was a medium sized office with no windows and lit softly by magical lights as was want in the palace and university although here there was a single mushroom growing in a pot on a side table. The floor was covered by a deep purple rug to soften the cold from the stones and Zilvra stepped onto it to take in the bookcase on one side and the fireplace on the other...and the person standing there.

No taller than her and dressed simply, Zilvra knew instinctively that this was a boy and probably of around the same age as herself. He held a broom closely to his chest as he took in the intruder with a face marred with concern and confusion. Short hair and dusky purple skin, it was his eyes that were striking to Zilvra: violet and with a lingering flame of something that she decided was curiosity similar to what was bubbling in her own guts.

“Hi,” she smiled, sauntering over to the bookcase before turning around again to face the young male.

“Hello.”

Deciding that he didn’t sound convinced, Zilvra powered on. “My mother works here,” she explained, although meaning the building and not the office, “what are you supposed to be doing?”

“Cleaning...and I help teach the other boys,” the boy managed to brave after a pause.

Zilvra looked around, not finding any dust on the dark floor or anywhere else. Perhaps the boy had just finished? And if that was the case perhaps he could show her around instead? Or at least play with her, because she was so bored waiting for mother to finish work.

With sparkling eyes, Zilvra smiled at the boy and held out her hand. “Come, you’re going to show me around...but we’re going to be sneaky! Can you sneak?”

Taking her hand with one of his own and clutching the broom tightly in the other, the boy followed in Zilvra’s wake, doing his best to be quiet as he came to terms with the new situation.

“What’s your name?”

“Filandrin.”

“Hi Filandrin...I’m Zilvra.”

2 – Getting caught

She’s 16. The girls at school hold little interest for Zilvra...she’s got something better, something secret.

Getting the brass key had been surprisingly simple once they knew who had one that worked. Mother’s colleague was trusting and a bit sloppy with where she put her stuff and often left the door to the office ajar for anyone to slip in...which Zilvra had done after hours while Filandrin kept watch.

From there they had made a beeline to the testing facility and listened by the heavy doors: not a sound. Everyone must have gone home for the evening including Mother...which was a bit disconcerting as she might end up questioning where Zilvra was soon. In other words: they were working with a deadline.

“Are you sure about this?” Filandrin whispered as Zilvra stuck the key in the lock.

Flashing him a bright grin, Zilvra turned the key. “Why? You scared?”

She could see the purple of his face grow darker for a moment but his eyes were steely as he answered: no, he was not afraid of anything.

It was a lie.

It was a lie told for both of them because there was no doubt that they couldn’t afford to be caught. This was forbidden territory.

Pushing the door open just enough to slip through, Zilvra grabbed the boy by the hand and dragged him along. Once inside, she handed him the key because of course this ridiculous dress didn’t have any pockets where she could put it and she wanted her hands free now that it was time to explore.

“I’ll-I’ll keep an eye out for anyone coming,” Filandrin volunteered.

Zilvra’s gaze was already roaming the big room with what little light was available: desks with chairs, stacks of documents, contraptions that made little sense to her...and at the far end of the room the floor had been cleared towards the wall where chains and manacles hung. It smelled of magic and soot. Everything seemed to be drab in colour but that might just be the darkness at work. There was a cage in the corner with something in it. A kobold? Some wretched creature for sure: Zilvra could hear it whimpering as she moved closer.

Then suddenly the little light from the hallway was expelled as Filandrin closed the door behind them.

“Quick! Hide!” he whispered frantically into the darkness.

But there was no time.

The door was slammed fully open and the magical lights in the room flared up with an uncomfortable glare, revealing the teenagers scrambling for cover under desks.

“There! I told you!” The voice was triumphant.

Hard steps proceeded the arms that grabbed the intruders and pulled them free into the light. Looking around frantically, Zilvra struggled against the strong hold, but the female (the Head of Guards according to her badge) had an iron grip.

She shook Zilvra lightly. “How did you get in?”

Dark blue eyes demanded an answer and Zilvra was ready to lie for her life, claim that the door had been open and that she was looking for her mother...but she never got that far because a male voice called out.

“A key! The boy has a key, ma’am.”

“I see...” For a brief moment the dark blue eyes were focused on Filandrin and Zilvra found her own gaze following to the panicked boy only to be snapped back to the woman before her: “You should know better than to let a boy get you in trouble.”

“What?” Zilvra had a hard time formulating a sentence: “He di-...wait...no hang o-”

“Be quiet or it’ll be worse for you,” came the warning.

Dragged back the way they’d gotten in, Zilvra tried to fight against the hard grip in her arm. Looking around frantically as they got out of the room and the woman paused, Zilvra caught Filandrin’s eyes. They were so close to each other, reaching out, their fingertips nearly met but just then they found that they were being pulled different ways.

“Zilvra?” Filandrin’s scared voice called out.

Craning her neck to look up at the head of guards, Zilvra tried to muster her most adult demeanour the way mother did it when something was bothering her. “Let us go! Right now!” It had no effect though. “Filandrin! Filandrin!”

Her own name came back as a warped echo, filled with terror. Even after the boy and his guards had rounded the corner could she hear the screams for her until they suddenly were stopped. Abruptly.

“FILANDRIN!” she screamed.

The grip in her arm shook her again. “Oh, cut it out! You’ll never see him again. Worry about what’s going to happen to you instead.”

Any further probing to learn more proved fruitless and Zilvra was unceremoniously brought into an office near the gates and placed on a stool to wait until her mother came to fetch her.

3 – An effort was made

She’s still 16 year old – nearly 17. Bitter and hurt.

It had taken weeks to prepare for this: finding out where to go, getting the lock picking set (that had been a quest of its own) and finally getting mother to let her out of sight.

Now she was here, kneeling in front of a drab office door in the Judges’ House. In there was the answer to the question that had been plaguing Zilvra’s mind since the evening she last saw Filandrin: Where was he?

It was tricky to get it to work with the lock picks even though the lock seemed simple enough...but eventually it worked out and with a subtle click the door opened just a few inches. Quickly, Zilvra slipped in and pushed the door closed behind her, already distracted by what lay before her.

Small and cramped, the office was filled with bookcases and cabinets, every shelf (and probably every drawer) laden with stacks of paper and thick, worn ledgers. The crystal lights in the sconces had dimmed to a barely visible glow but it was enough to lend a bit extra to see by: bare floor, a simple (but flat) desk with a crude chair that sat facing the door, and several stacks of documents piled precariously here and there.

Where to start?

Figuring that the newest reports would be on the desk, Zilvra went over and took the seat there and began sifting through the stacks.

...

She didn’t know how long she’d been at it, maybe just an hour but it could easily have been more. Either way, her attention was suddenly diverted from the search the moment there was a click of a doorhandle being pushed down. Slipping from the chair under the desk, she hoped she was in time to hide herself but:

“Who’s there? Show yourself!” a vaguely familiar voice called brusquely.

Crouching uncomfortably under the piece of furniture, Zilvra decided to stay put, hoping that the guard would leave. This was the second time she tried to hide under a desk and for the second time it would be to no avail as heavy footsteps preceded the arm that reached down to grab her by the scruff, pulling her out harshly.

“You,” the very same Head of Guards as from that fateful night said menacingly as she stared down Zilvra with dark blue eyes, “this time I can’t keep my hand over you.”

It was a blur of motion and barked orders as Zilvra got dragged to the same guard house as last time and again sat on the stool to await the arrival of her mother. She knew better than to demand answers from the Head of Guards although the thought did present itself.

By the time Allaunira showed up, Zilvra sat meekly, silently, under the watchful gaze of the both the guards and an official from the Judges’ House.

4 – Lesson one

Age 17. Dejected, heartbroken, frustrated, fidgeting.

“How was school?” mother asked as soon as Zilvra stepped in the door but all she got in answer was a noncommittal grunt. Not to be deterred, Allaunira continued in a light tone: “Please go and change to something practical and meet me and our guest out back.”

The Shadowsong household was among the richer ones and as such was a freestanding building with a walled enclosure where the mother had taken up tending to their own mushroom and lichen. Still, there was ample space to move about and as a child, Zilvra had often fought many imaginary foes there. It smells of fungus of course, but also of rich earth and stones and fresh water from the aqueduct that’s been routed through the garden to form a little pond.

Now, Zilvra entered the “garden” dressed in her favourite clothes: the subtle leather trousers and silk shirt that made it possible to move about easily and quietly. It’s not that she didn’t like the fancy dresses her mother preferred her to wear...it was just that it was easier to move and climb wearing this instead. Soft leather boots to finish the outfit made her silent as a shadow (at least in her own mind).

“Ah, there you are,” her mother preened, “I’d like you to meet someone.” Motioning towards a similarly practically dressed woman who stepped out from behind a taller mushroom, Allaunira continued to explain, “this is Ellara Loth’Kar...listen to what she teaches you and we’ll talk when you’re done for the day.”

Alright, to call it an explanation was an exaggeration, but it was at least enough to calm Zilvra’s nerves a bit and rather instill curiosity.

The woman before her was lithe and short (even for a Drow) with slate grey skin and shoulder-length white hair that had been tied back carefully and tightly. She was dressed all in black which made her violet eyes stand out more and for a moment reminded Zilvra of Filandrin’s eyes – it made her gut tighten at the thought of her lost friend.

“Here.” The woman, Ellara, tossed something to Zilvra who caught it: it was a wooden dagger, carefully carved to mimic a real one and undoubtedly costly considering the material. “Now defend yourself.” And Ellara launched herself at the young girl with a vigour that she didn’t expect.

The battle was (very) short, finishing in Ellara’s favour, of course.

“You’ve got much to learn, Zilvra, but there is potential. Now I ask you...is the wish to learn there?”

Rubbing her ribs, the younger woman took a moment to consider what might be implied and how she could use this to her own advantage and thus answered with conviction: “Yes. Teach me.”

5 – The talk

Late 23 years old, close to finishing school, starting to formulate an idea for the future.

There was a soft knock on the door to alert Zilvra of her mother’s arrival. “Darling...I think it’s time we talk,” Allaunira began, immediately making her daughter’s mind streak off in every direction as to what she might have done wrong this time...not that she always got into trouble but lately the tasks from Ellara had been the more serious kind and it had gotten Zilvra to neighbourhoods in Menzoberranzan that she was sure her mother would not approve of.

She attempted an innocent demeanour. “About what, mother?” Turning on the chair, she watched as her mother crossed the room and sat down on the bed.

“About you and your future, dearest.” A deep sigh preceded what came next: “You are getting applications.”

Right away, Zilvra knew what Allaunira meant. Although her heat undoubtedly was a ways off, both she and the other girls in her class were maturing and she knew that some of them had also received notifications of interest...she just didn’t expect to get any herself.

“That’s...uhm...” she found herself at a loss for words.

Allaunira was differently capable of stringing together a proper sentence. “It’s early, is what it is...and there are bound to come more. When I was your age, your grandmother and I sat down and decided on my course of action. As you know, I waited a while but when it finally was time, we sorted through the applicants and your grandmother also sought out a few males we deemed suitable for me. After a series of interviews and trials, I picked one...your father.”

“What was he like? You never talk about him.”

Noticing the way Zilvra had perked up at the mention of her father, Allaunira relented: “His name was...is...Kalannar. He was at least back then a captain. A fine – and a bit younger – male.” For a moment, she was lost in the memories only belonging to herself then she shook herself out of them. “But the question remains. You are young and frankly I do not see you settling down with a child yet...am I wrong?”

“You’re not wrong.” Reaching for her wooden dagger, Zilvra began to pick at the invisible dirt under her fingernails. “I’m not...it’s just...there’s so much to do, still!” As if realizing the implication of her words, the young drow held up the hands in defence. “I’m not saying that life is over once you have kids!”

Allaunira smiled. “I know you’re not, my child...and I did not expect you to wish to settle down...in fact...what do you want to do? I have an idea.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“No, dear...you first.”

The mother patted the bed beside her, indicating for Zilvra to come over and she did. Still fidgeting with the dagger, the young woman sat meekly for a moment while gathering her thoughts.

“I need to finish school first, I guess...”

“That would be smart.” Allaunira began to re-braid her daughters hair.

“Hm. Then I need to finish training with Ellara...if that’s possible...she’s still much better than I am...”

The mother’s hands hesitated for half a heartbeat but Zilvra didn’t notice. “That probably comes from experience.”

“Probably.” Bringing the wooden knife to rest in her lap, Zilvra had closed her eyes at the feel of her mother’s fingers through her hair. “I’ve considered the university...”

“Really?” The question came out with a bit too much surprise, making the daughter quirk an eyebrow. “I mean...you have improved greatly with our sessions...but I hardly expect you to aim for the Sorcere? And the military school...?”

The girl shrugged. “That’s the thing...I don’t know what else I should do...”

There was a deep sigh that made Zilvra turn her head to watch the mother as her hands fell to her lap. “Perhaps...perhaps you’ll find your answers topside?”

“Mother!” Zilvra was equally thrilled and scared of the idea that she silently had harboured too.

“I know...it sounds like I’m sending you away....uh, I’m a terrible mother but darling you’re not at peace here! You never have been. Maybe the solution is to see more of the world before settling down.”

Zilvra grabbed her mother’s hands. “No, it doesn’t feel like you’re sending me away! But where would I go?”

“Would it matter? Anywhere, where the society is different and you can see the stars. Am I wrong, my dear?”

“If only I knew...” Zilvra stopped herself. Then a new steely glint stole into her eyes. “No, mother, you’re not wrong.”

Allaunira freed her hand to tuck a loose strand behind her daughter’s ear. “But as you said...finish school and Ellara’s training, will you not? Let me have you for a bit longer?”

“Of course...and know that I’ll miss you once I’m away. Every day.”

They hugged tightly before the mother extricated herself from the embrace and positioned Zilvra to finish the braiding.

6 – A parting gift

She’s 24 years old and restless like never before.

”Gotcha!” Still panting, Zilvra wiped the dirt off her knees while waiting for Ellara to get back up from where she had pinned her a second ago.

The tutor got to her feet and took a moment to examine the gash in the vest: just a few millimetres more and the student would have drawn blood. “Not bad...not bad at all. This is, what, the fifth time you’ve bested me?”

“Sixth, but who’s counting,” came the answer with a cheeky smile. “Go again?”

There was a beat of silence, then Ellara shook her head. “No...this was the last time.”

“What?”

“You heard me...” Ellara stepped over to her dumbfounded student and patted her shoulder, “and you knew this day would come.”

Zilvra nodded, handing back the dagger that she had been borrowing for training. “I know...it’s just...sooner than I expected.”

The look she received was knowing. “Let us tell your mother, hm?”

Anticipation began to bubble in Zilvra’s guts as they entered the house: this was what she had been waiting for. School had ended weeks ago and all there had been keeping her from leaving was the training with Ellara and now...now she could set out. It would be a journey without destination, one meant for bettering herself and learning as much as she could until the day where she returned with a vision of how the Drow world could be. And who knew, maybe along the way she could find Filandrin too?

“Zilvra?” Allaunira’s voice brought the young woman back to reality. “Ellara? Why are you not training?”

Ellara smiled her crooked smile. “I have no more left to teach her...your daughter has excelled and what she lacks now she will have to learn through experience.”

“I guess it’s time I give this back,” Zilvra began to pull the wooden dagger from her belt where she always kept it.

The teacher’s hands shot forward to stop the motion. “No, that was a gift. Keep it.”

“And speaking of gifts,” Allaunira explained, “we knew this day would come and we got you something.”

Pulling out a chest, she held it out for her daughter to open. With trembling hands the latch was slid aside and the lid lifted to reveal a set of beautiful daggers.

“Thank you!”

Hugs were exchanged (even between former student and teacher) before Ellara took her leave for the last time.

7 – Departure

She’s 24 and life has caught up with her.

The night had been full with a lavish dinner together with the family but now as the morning hour had been struck from the Tower, it was just Zilvra and Allaunira walking arm in arm towards the city limits. Not a word was spoken before the two of them reached the last watch towers of Menzoberranzan and the awaiting caravan came into view.

“My dear...” Allaunira’s voice crackled and the daughter felt the same pain sting in her own heart.

“I know...I will...”

They hugged ferociously and Zilvra found herself inhaling her mother’s scent one last time before turning on the heel and marching away with the head held high. Oh, how she wanted to look back. To turn back. But something stronger was calling for her and kept her feet moving.

8 – Stouvania

She’s 24, broke and confused in Stouvania.

It felt good to have the feet on solid ground once more although the trip aboard The Mermaid had been comfortable...too comfortable, too comfortable maybe because the young Drow had spent the last of her coin on the passage to Stouvania.

And now she was there, broke and just as aimless as before in a city that looked at her like she’d fallen from the moon.  

Passing through the market, Zilvra had deftly snatched a bit of food before the stalls closed down for the evening, grateful for the training she had had with Ellara that had made her quick and discreet of hand.

Then she sought for a park and found one with tall trees blocking out the growing night sky. Even here in the city it was possible to see the constellations above, but it would be better with a higher vantage point...and it might also give her some much needed cover against the eyes that kept finding her no matter where she walked.

Down the street, into an alley and the next one, finding a low wall that she could climb up on quietly before accessing the roof on silent feet. Back against a chimney, she could enjoy the rest of the food while watching the beauty above.

That’s where she sat when she heard the a window of the adjacent house open. Looking over, she could see an elderly guard leaning out, pointing at her.

“You there!” he said brusquely, “come down at once.”

She considered running away...but where could she run to? She was a stranger in a foreign land. And to top it off she could hear the sound of people from the alley on the other side of the house she was on. Glancing down, Zilvra spotted several guards surrounding the building.

“Alright,” she relented, “I’ll come down.”

Pointing towards the wall she had used for her ascend, she explained the route to make sure they didn’t thinks he was running. She could. There was no one on the other side of that wall...or so she thought but they might be on their way and so she did as promised. Either way, she could just explain what was going on.

Landing on the ground, she was immediately surrounded, long spears pointed at her.

It took a moment for the man in charge to join them but when he did he wasted no time before pointing at a young man in the circle around Zilvra. “You, take her weapons.”

She did protest at that. And again at the manacles that they forced on her before marching her away.

...

The cell was comfortably dark at least and there even was a bit of straw to protect against the cold from the floor...not that the straw had been clean, but Zilvra had chanced cleaning up a bit with some magic even though it made the prison guard nervous. All of her belongings had been taken from her so she couldn’t pick the lock...and she probably wouldn’t have gotten far anyways.

She never saw the guy that had been in charge of the arrest before the trial. That day he throned in the stand, explaining how bravely he and his men had acted to end this taunting crime: “Roof walking”.

Zilvra had been asked what she could say in her defence and she opened out with saying that she was new and didn’t know of said law. She accepted that she could have surmised that she was trespassing...but roof walking was something she’d never heard of. She did apologize although she secretly didn’t feel it was needed: a humble approach seemed the smarter path.

It didn’t work. Or if it did, then the original punishment must have been much more severe.

“You shall work off your debt through adventuring,” the judge had declared before continuing, “and to prevent you from escaping, you will be placed in Bonds.”

As no explanation was given as to what these bonds were, Zilvra ventured to raise her hand and ask. Moments later she thought the people of Stouvania were barbarians: the bonds would tighten around her wrists and neck over time, eventually breaking her bones and strangling her unless she returned to have them magically loosened!

[owlixx]

CoD Notes: BO1 Finished

I had been worried that Black Ops 1 would unfairly feel like a step backwards for me since I decided to do MW1/2/3 back to back and MW3 came out a year later. This was not the case. Black Ops feels like such a revelation to the franchise. The story isn’t high art, but it feels so much more involved than anything else in the franchise up to this point. The voice cast is far more stacked than ever before. Alex Mason as a protagonist is far more interesting than any previous protagonist. I think his largest competition is Soap, who only gets to be more than silent player avatar in MW2/3 and even then isn’t as interesting as Mason.

I mean, this one game has so many more memorable characters than any other Call of Duty. Ed Harris’s Hudson, Ice Cube’s Bowman, Gary Oldman’s Reznov, Woods all stand out but even Weaver, Dragovich, Steiner, that one scientist guy in Kowloon, are all so much more vivid than the tryhard wannabe NPC’s of something like Ghosts (oops, I beat many games in a row without taking notes).

The plot twist alone elevates this game from “stupid annual release” to video game hall of fame. I’d argue that video games are the best medium for plot twists. It’s no Bioshock, but the Reznov twist is so fun and so well executed. I remember it blowing my mind as a kid and it was a ton of fun to see all the little hints as I went through this time. But I’ve already talked about the game at large twice. Let’s get into the last few missions.

Crashed plane assault mission was fine. I noticed the radio shout out a “Sergeant Blundell” which I recognized as Jason Blundell, the main Black Ops guy, this time. Also very funny and on the nose to have a section set to Sympathy for the Devil.

Snowy mountain assault was just okay. The top-down tactical part was clearly a stepping stone to the Strike Team missions of Black Ops 2. Didn’t love that section. But it was kind of funny to get to play as Hudson. This series seems to have some sort of quota to meet on having multiple playable characters. I did struggle really hard on one checkpoint in this level.

Then is the Vietnam mission where you get to fly a helicopter. I remember liking that part as a kid and it’s fine now. I’ll admit that these ‘Nam levels blend together for me.

But then we’ve got the Rebirth Island assault where you sneak around as Mason and do a gas-mask armored strike as Hudson. It’s pretty cool to get to see the same moment from two perspectives, a rare good use for having multiple playable characters. I will admit that Hudson’s breakable gas mask ended my life many times though.

Then the big plot twist as a cutscene mission, which is very fun.

Then finally the big boat assault and underwater base. Nothing too special gameplay wise, but generally a nice capper on the game.

And I love the implication that Mason killed JFK. I mean, it’s a very strong implication, but I suppose they never outright confirm it was him who pulled the trigger. I half expected the final scene of zooming in on Mason photoshopped into the background of a JFK pic to turn into a “JFK assassination simulator” for a second, but instead it transitions directly into the opening cutscene for Five, which is such a treat.

I did manage to get to round, like, 9, I wanna say, on Five. Sadly died right I before I could PaP because I forgot how the weapon thief mechanic worked and ended up double buying a gun. The voice lines in this map are even funnier to me as an adult who has more context on this era.

Overall, I think this game is peak CoD as far as campaigns go. First, set out to tell a story that would work even outside of this series, then drench it in a particular era and add a bunch of fun weapons and setpieces.

In the rankings so far, I think this is going at the top.

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 308: VIBE: CHECKED

Previously on BnHA: Lots and lots of Shindou idk what else to tell you.

Today on BnHA: Tired Nomad Deku rescues Shindou from Muscular, and us from Shindou. Muscular is all “OH BOY I SURE CAN’T WAIT TO FIGHT DEKU AGAIN AFTER HE TOTALLY KICKED MY ASS THE LAST TIME!! I’M SURE THIS TIME WILL GO DIFFERENTLY SEEING AS HE’S HAD ALMOST AN ENTIRE YEAR’S WORTH OF ADDITIONAL TRAINING, AND ALSO HAS SIX FOURQUIRKS NOW, IN ADDITION TO THE CONFIDENCE THAT COMES WITH HAVING EIGHT OTHER PEOPLE’S SOULS CHILLING OUT INSIDE HIM OFFERING MORAL SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT.” Deku is all, “[kicks Muscular’s ass effortlessly].” Muscular is all, “[gets his ass totally kicked].” I for one am very satisfied with this, and with respect to all, I would like to hereby declare this post a discourse-free zone. I’m just happy to see my son out here making good use of his FOURQUIRKS, and more importantly beating Muscular in less than seventeen pages so we can all go on with our lives lol.

damn Deku since when were you allowed to look this cool

from this perspective and with the smoke, cape, backpack, and mask more or less obscuring his actual profile, he looks less like a sixteen-year-old boy and more like a grownass man

OH SNAP

we got a glimpse of this in the cleaned-up scan of 307, but seeing both of his eyes looking so distinctively All Might-esque here is... whoa. I mean we know that his face still looks pretty normal underneath the mask and he doesn’t actually have the black sclera, but still, this is an awesome look. mini-Might

lol Muscular

you and me both. I mean no offense, but yeah

so Deku is just standing there silently

typical Deku. tight-lipped and expressionless. mum’s the word. quiet as a mouse. silent as a grave

okay no but seriously this is so weird and creepy though you guys. Deku please say something or else I’m just gonna mindlessly say whatever stupid things come into my head in an effort to make things less awkward

so Muscular is all “I should probably make a cool speech about revenge but Horikoshi couldn’t think of anything good so I’m just going to stand here clenching my fist real slowly”

“I’m not here to go on a monologue” he says, as he monologues about not monologuing

okay you guys I confess I have only read through/watched the Deku VS Muscular fight once because the arm-breaking is just way too uncomfortable for me to revisit. and so as a result, I have completely forgotten Whatever The Deal Is with Muscular’s eye lmao so let me go look it up real quick

okay so it’s a prosthetic, obviously, and he changes it out according to his mood. that part does sound familiar. I just can’t remember which eye is supposed to indicate which mood. don’t tell me I actually have to go back and reread this shit

lol I’m skimming through chapter 75 now and remembering/realizing that I hardly paid any attention to this the first time around because as soon as I found out the villains were after Kacchan my brain was like “TIME TO FOCUS ON THIS AND ONLY THIS NOW AND FOREVER” and yeah. ah memories

anyway so he started out with the flower-looking eye, and then later on he was all

which begs the question, how on earth could I have ever forgotten the most ridiculous panel I’ve ever read lmao

anyway, but so after all of that, I'm only just now realizing that this isn't one of his previous eye prosthetics in the current chapter; this is an ACTUAL FUCKING ROCK that he's just randomly shoved into his eye socket fkdsjlk

so basically (1) I did all of that painstaking research for nothing, five whole minutes of my life wasted THANKS A LOT, and (2) what, and I have never meant this more emphatically, THE FUCK

anyway so now he's leaping at the building that Deku is standing on top of. but he’s not aiming anywhere near Deku though, wtf

(ETA: HAHA YOU BROKE ALL YOUR MUSCLES YOU LOSER.)

...huh

lmao okay then. I hope those annoying citizens in the building next door are watching this go down and rethinking their life choices

dlkdkljk

just keep standing there pressed right up against the window, why don’t you. “WHAT’S GOING ON THIS SUPER CLOSE COLLAPSING BUILDING IS BLOCKING OUR VIEW.” well, folks, we’ve long since known there’s a critical shortage of hero and villain brain cells, but what we’re learning now is that civilian brain cells are also in short supply

OH THANK GOD DEKU IS FINALLY TALKING THAT WAS ACTUALLY UNSETTLING AS FUCK

SO HE’S STILL OUR GOOD, POLITE, WORRIED, CONSIDERATE DEKU UNDERNEATH THAT COOL AND MYSTERIOUS VENEER. for real, thank fuck, because I swear to god if he suddenly started acting like the Dekus in all of the vigilante AUs my interest in this series would have dropped something like 50% lol. just because he dropped out of school and ran away from home and is currently dressed like the physical manifestation of a Linkin Park playlist doesn’t mean he’s not still the WORLD’S BIGGEST DORK okay

I MEAN, THIS RIGHT HERE. THIS IS WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT. HE’S APOLOGIZING FOR THE DELAY

PLEASE FIND THE ATTACHED SHINDOU YOU REQUESTED. BEST REGARDS!!!

OH MY GOD WHY IS HE SUCH A BADASS

something about making bold, confident statements while obscured in smoke?? idk but damn it fucking works

ffjkkl

more importantly, should you tell him you actually need your copy of Shindou in excel format and not pdf?? on the one hand you don’t want to sound ungrateful, but on the other hand what are you even supposed to do with this

this chapter so far consists of like 50% smoke, but on the other hand Deku VS Kacchan 2 had a lot of cinematic smoke too so who am I to complain

OMG IS IT HIS ARMS

IDK DID YOU?! TELL ME YOUR SECRETS. PLEASE, AT SOME POINT THIS FIGHT HAS GOT TO ACTUALLY ADVANCE THE PLOT

OHHHHHHH

IT’S EN’S QUIRK!! OH MY GOD OKAY THAT’S ACTUALLY AWESOME

I CAN HEAR THE SOUND OF DISCOURSE RUMBLING IN THE BACKGROUND BUT I DON’T CARE LOL. WON’T CATCH ME EVER SAYING NO TO ANOTHER SIXQUIRK. GO AHEAD, BRING THEM ON, I WANT TO SEE THEM ALL but take it easy though Deku. don’t want to give yourself lung cancer or anything

also it’s good to see that in a very real sense he’s not fighting alone. the Vestiges really did mean it when they said they could appear more easily now. this is on a whole other level

so is this whole next page still En talking, or someone else? because whoever it is sure is chatty

okay, several things

pretty sure it is En, because he keeps saying “I suppose.” for someone who never said two words until one page ago, this guy sure never shuts up. we can’t all follow Muscular’s lead I suppose. oh my god now I’m doing it too

really like the suggestion of Deku using the SIXQUIRKS like tools in an arsenal, because that’s what he’s good at! it’s almost like he’s been training for this his entire life. “you value quirks too much” LOOK HE JUST THINKS THEY’RE COOL OKAY IS THAT A CRIME

where the fuck did all this rope come from

not gonna ask what the fuck that thing is sticking out from the back of his utility belt. Horikoshi will surely explain this

is that a fucking jetpack. I’m sorry Deku were six fucking quirks not enough for you. you can fucking float??? but JUST TO BE SAFE, LET’S STRAP A PAIR OF ROCKETS TO OUR SHOULDERS IDK

-- or wait, is this all supposed to be like a visual representation of En’s metaphor?? OH MY GOD AM I JUST STUPID LOL, DON’T ANSWER THAT. NEVER MIND. NEW LIST!!

rope = blackwhip

jetpack = float

radio = danger sense

and so I’m guessing that this ridiculously phallic thing is supposed to be a flare or something?? and that = the new quirk, smokescreen. well that was a fucking ride lmao we now return you to our regularly scheduled chapter

so now Deku is floating to his heart’s content and thinking that he’ll just sneak up on Muscular and vibe check his ass or whatever

WOOOOOOOO DANGER SENSE YESSSS I LOVE THIS FOR HIM

okay guys, I'm gonna press pause here for a sec to make a serious note, because I am loving the shit out of this, but tbh I'm having trouble enjoying it as much as I want to because I keep getting anxious thinking about the discourse. I know that a lot of the fandom has very strong opinions on Deku's character development one way or the other, and I want to respect that. but I also really have no spoons to debate this topic at all beyond what I’ve already weighed in on. so if it’s all the same to everyone, I plan on staying out of this discussion, at least this week

anyway! that said, YEAH BOI GET HIS ASS

VIBE: CHECKED. CURB: STOMPED. HOTEL: TRIVAGO

-- OF COURSE HE’S STILL FUCKING FINE LOL HE CRASHES INTO BUILDINGS FOR FUN IDK WHAT I WAS EXPECTING

dammit Muscular. how many fucking quirks does it take to beat you?! the annoying thing is that even with all of his cool new powers, Deku is still something of a mismatch against him. anyway r.i.p. to all these poor buildings

OOOOOHHHHH

you guys have no idea how intrigued I am at the prospect of watching Deku try to play both good cop and bad cop here lmao

anyway so Muscular says he doesn’t know, go figure

“I’m not here to make small talk or anything” he says as he small talks about not small talking

OH MY GOD DEKU

are you really gonna talk no jutsu all of these villains from now on?? that last battle really did have a profound impact on you, huh! interesting

you guys he’s really doing it omg

Deku this guy tried to murder a five-year-old literally just for fun. I mean more power to you, but holy shit you’re really gonna try to defeat Muscular with anger management therapy huh

I MEAN

WHO COULD HAVE SEEN THAT RESPONSE COMING dlkjslkjk

FUCK’S SAKE DEKU, I KNOW YOU MEAN WELL BUT THEY CAN’T ALL HAVE TRAGIC PASTS KIDDO

but. I have to admit, I do still like that he tried. probably knew just as well as we did what the end result was going to be, but still. he made the effort in good faith and I respect that

uh oh

why do I get the feeling Muscular just got a whole lot deader

oh my god oh my god he’s doing the “powering up” stance ffff don’t fucking tell me you can still use your fucking arms here, Deku

BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY WHAT’S THIS??

okay so basically he’s saying that whatever it was he sensed in Tomura, he doesn’t sense from Muscular. which, yeah, that sounds exactly right. good judge of character here lol

AHHHHAHAHA YESS

WHOOPS, GET FUCKED I GUESS

WOOOOHOOOOOOOO

lmao so apparently this is the belated result of Shindou’s attack from chapter 307?? I’ll be damned. good for you Shindou!! I always liked you buddy. please just take my word on that and don’t fact check that statement

okay lol the one tiny bit of discourse I will allow is that it’s bullshit that he just did that with his right arm. like, I’ll fully acknowledge that. that makes no fucking sense, and I demand an explanation from the Great Plot Hole Filler himself. he’s never let us down before when it comes to continuity so I’m trusting him not to suddenly start now

that said, we love to see a rematch against a boring guy settled quickly and decisively within the span of a single chapter. THANK YOU

I like that Deku implies that his power is being a smart nerd who battles villains using the power of ANALYTICS. he basically didn’t do anything except restrain Muscular and wait for Shindou’s attack to take effect while halfheartedly checking to see if he regretted any of that murder and stuff

(ETA: and almost forgot to mention, he made excellent use of all four of his active SIXQUIRKS. it’s like the chapter title said; this is basically him fighting all-out, and it’s a sight to see.)

also, as cool as the mask was, this just feels right. like, we had our fun, now let us see his face, yes good

anyway, I think this was a good start towards establishing What’s Up With Deku Right Now! so if it’s all the same to Horikoshi, I would next like to take some time to explore Why’s Up With Deku. that, and What’s Up With Everyone Else, Especially Kacchan. por favor

[pies-writes-and-more]

the first time saying I love you p. 2

Warnings: nothing! Maybe some swearing but all fluff!

Characters: Iwaizumi Hajime, Oikawa Toru, & Tsukishima Kei, all with a Fem!Reader

A/N: Thank you so much @livy384​ for asking for a part 2 of this idea!!! I was so excited to see someone wanted to see more of one of my headcanons haha. So here you go lovely!! A big thank you as usual to my inspiration babies @thisnoodlewritesao3​ and @satan-ruler-of-hells​ <3  Also I’m sorry I know Oikawa’s is shorter than the others but I’ve never written for him or thought about writing for him so i’m so very sorry if it sucks xD

pt. 1

Iwaizumi Hajime Who says it first: Neither of you

It was supposed to have been a really cute date - Iwaizumi had remembered you telling your friend that there was a market near by that you’ve always wanted to go visit, but never had anyone to go with. Naturally, Iwaizumi tucked that information in the back of his brain and planned.

It was a Saturday and Iwaizumi had somehow managed to get himself away from practice, making you smile wide when he asked if you wanted to spend the day together. You knew he felt a little bad lately, being so busy with volleyball, and as much as you never blamed him for it, you were happy to be spoiled with his presence. When he started walking you towards the market, your eyes went wide, looking at all the cute stalls that you wanted to visit and the items you wanted to check out.

“Iwa!” You grinned up at him, shaking his arm excitedly. “How did you know I wanted to go here?”

He just shrugged and gave you a smile, patting your head gently, “Let’s find some cute things for my cute girlfriend hm?” You beamed and happily took his hand, the two of you going around to each stall.

There was too much to look at honestly and you wanted nothing more than to carry bundles of everything home. Iwa managed to sneak away from you for a second while you talked to a stall owner, picking out a necklace for you and holding it close to his chest for a moment, just thinking of you. Meanwhile, you managed to find a beautiful lucky charm to give him for his next game. He never really needed it but you always liked the gesture of being the one to give it to him anyways.

It was a perfect date so far.

And then Oikawa showed up.

“Iwa!” He grinned, waving from afar. You laughed, realizing that Oikawa had most likely followed you guys here. You never minded him tagging along on your dates (though the girls that followed him were sometimes a bit extreme), but Iwaizumi on the other hand... never seemed too happy to see his best friend.

Iwaizumi groaned loudly, annoyed at himself for casually mentioning that he’d be bringing you here this weekend, “Why are you here?” He grumbled, glaring at his friend as he made his way over.

Oikawa just pouted, “I just wanted to make sure you were being nice to Y/N!”

“When am I ever mean to Y/N?”

“I dunno, but you’re mean to me and I’m your best friend so I just assumed it was how you show affection,” Oikawa chuckled and gave you a wave, “Are you two having fun?”

You nodded and glanced around at all the other stalls you still wanted to visit, “There’s so much to look at! Are you looking to get anything, Oikawa?”

The boy just smiled and looked around, “I dunno, I’ll have to look around some! What did you two get?” He asked, nodding at the little bags and packages you were holding.

“Oh! I found this cute little decoration for my parents’ kitchen,” you explain, showing off some of the little knickknacks you found. “I wanted to find some sort of accessory for myself. Maybe like a barrette or a bracelet,” you admitted, eyes drifting away again as if you would be able to find something from where you were standing.

“Like this?” Oikawa asked, peeking into Iwaizumi’s bag and pulling out a little jewlery box, opening it to see the necklace that Iwaizumi had bought you.

“You asshole! Give that back!” Iwaizumi’s eyes went wide, realizing he had had his eyes locked on you the whole time you were talking because you were just so cute, he hadn’t even noticed Oikawa practically pickpocketing him.

Oikawa’s bottom lip just stuck out again, huffing and holding the item farther away from his best friend, “Why are you so mean? If you bought it for her, shouldn’t you give it to her? What, were you just going to let her buy something else for herself and waste her money?”

Iwaizumi’s whole face was red. He didn’t want to yell out his whole plan to the market, let alone to Oikawa when you were standing right there, laughing at the whole encounter.

“Stop being so shy, Iwa,” Oikawa cooed, smiling as he looked at you, “I’m sure she thinks it’s really cute that you buy her things to show her you love her!”

“Shittykawa, please shut the hell up,” Iwaizumi glared at his friend, still trying to grab the box away from him.

“Aw don’t put words in his mouth, Oikawa,” you giggled, smiling up at your boyfriend and his friend, “I think he just does it cause he’s sweet.”

Oikawa noticed the way you were so quick to dismiss his words, glancing between you and Iwaizumi, completely confused, “What do you mean?”

“Oikawa, I swear to god, please go before I kill you,” Iwaizumi was practically clawing his hands up to Oikawa’s neck, his whole body feeling flustered.

“Iwaizumi, did you tell her you didn’t want to be embarrassed in front of your friends? It’s okay! She can know I know! It’s not like you don’t talk about it all the time.”

“Talk about what?” You asked, growing more confused as the conversation went on.

“About how much he loves you! He talks about it all the time with the team!” Oikawa beamed, finally letting Iwaizumi grab the jewelry box from his hands.

Your eyes go wide, looking over at Iwaizumi, who seemed suddenly very concerned over kicking some dust on the ground. His whole face was red, eyes looking literally anywhere but at you.

“You love me?” You squeaked out nervously.

“No! I-I mean, yes but- hang on,” your boyfriend groaned. He had the whole thing planned out, he had wanted to tell you a whole speech about how much he loved you and now that whole plan was absolutely ruined.

Oikawa’s body froze as he watched the two of you, sheepishly laughing, “Oh... I spoiled it didn’t I? That’s what the necklace was for hm?”

“Shittykawa, if one more word leaves your lips-” Iwaizumi huffed, punching his arm with an annoyed look on his face.

“I’m sorry, Iwa! I didn’t mean to spoil your first love confession! But honestly, I’m such a big part of your life, maybe it’s better this way-” Oikawa grinned, obviously trying to lift up some of the tension.

“I’m going to count to three, and if you’re not gone by the end of it, I will literally bury you alive.” There was something different about this death threat, a growl in Iwaizumi’s throat building with his anger.

Oikawa’s smile tensed and he just turned to you with a little wave, “I suddenly remembered I have to be literally anywhere else but here. Have a nice date! Please convince him not to kill me!”

You had never seen Oikawa dash away so quickly, his figure gone almost immediately after waving goodbye.

Iwaizumi seemed so angry, all you could was offer a small smile, “You okay?” You asked softly, touching his arm gently.

He seemed to relax a bit at your touch, sighing and just turning to look at you, “Yeah. Please don’t listen to anything he says. He’s literally an idiot.”

You smiled shyly, rocking on your heels awkwardly, “So... you don’t love me then?”

Iwaizumi’s eyes widened immediately, shaking his hands in front of him quickly in denial, “N-No. I mean. Yes. Just don’t listen to him. But yes, I love you.” He hesitated for a moment, seeming to watch your eyes. “Unless you don’t love me back, then we can just pretend none of this happened,” he mumbled shyly, rubbing the back of his head.

You couldn’t help but giggle, pushing his arm playfully, “You idiot. Of course I love you.”

He blinked in surprise, staring at your face and trying to make sure you weren’t just joking with him, “Oh. Well in that case, this is for you.” He handed you the small box holding the necklace, watching as you open it to find a small pendant of your favourite animal. “The heart ones just seemed so cheesy,” he admitted with a shrug. “But I hope you think of me whenever you wear it.”

Your heart literally grew three sizes, this boy was being so cute and sweet. You nodded up at him happily, still admiring your new necklace, which was exactly what you had hoped to find at the market, “I will.”

He whispered another “I love you” to you as he helped clasp the necklace behind your neck, pressing a kiss to your cheek from behind and sending a tingle down your spine. 

He said “I love you” to you every hour after that - if his surprise was going to be spoiled, he was going to spoil you with those words over and over again, never wanting you to forget how he feels about you.

Oikawa Toru Who says it first: You

Oikawa was literally the worst person to study with - he was always so distracting. How could someone who barely looks at his notes during your study dates be in Class 6? He was always busy with volleyball anyways, so how was it possible that he had any other time to do work?

“Hurry up and finish your work so we can go do something fun,” Oikawa hummed with a smirk on his face, having already finished his homework. He refused to let you look at his answers, or even help you, because “how are you supposed to learn, Y/N?” Smug ass look on his face how rude. “I might just have to go on some adventure on my own while I wait for you to finally finish.”

You just roll your eyes and mumble something about hating him making him laugh.

“Aww, is someone pouting?” He teased, ruffling up your hair happily. “I’m sorry, baby, I just love looking at your cute concentration face!”

You rolled your eyes, glaring at him playfully, “You’re refusing to help me because you want to look at my face? Take a picture why don’t you.”

“I already have,” he beamed, showing you the new background for his phone. You did not look the least bit attractive in your opinion, but Oikawa was smiling so happily at the photo, how could you argue?

“You’re an idiot,” you mumble with a huff, scribbling a half-assed answer on your sheet of paper.

“Aw come on, Y/N,” Oikawa smirked, sliding closer to you and tilting your chin up with a singular finger so you were forced to look him in the eyes. “You know you love me,” he teased in that fake sultry voice of his.

Normally, you’d just get a bit flustered - there was just something about those bedroom eyes of his eyes that made you squirm. But here, just sitting here with him and realizing that even when he took ugly pictures of you, this perfect pretty boy still wanted to be with you... you realized there wasn’t a single person you’d rather be with right now. Or ever.

“Ya you’re right,” you smiled up at him, pulling away from his teasing look and turning back to your homework. “I do love you.”

The expression on his face was probably photo worthy and later, you’d wish you had snapped a picture of it. The utter shock was enough to send all the blood flying out of his face, a nosebleed soon ensuing.

“Oikawa! Are you okay?” You asked with wide eyes, rushing to get tissues.

“F-Fine! I’m fine!” The fact that all the blood was rushing to his rosy cheeks probably wasn’t helping his nosebleed, only making it flow faster.

The two of you laughed when his bleeding was under control, Oikawa blushing enough to look like a marker colour, “You can’t just say stuff like that to a guy, Y/N! That’s so mean! Teasing me like that.” He pouted, crossing his arms like a child.

You tilted your head slightly, watching him for a moment before saying, “Teasing? What do you mean? I meant it, Oikawa, you idiot.”

His eyes would just widen and suddenly homework wasn’t all that important anymore.

“Oikawa! it’s due this week!” You insisted as he dragged you out of the house, your hand firmly held in his.

“Too bad! We’re going for ice cream!” He declared with a grin. “Oh and Y/N?”

“Hm?”

“I love you too. Idiot.” His smile was as wide as ever but there was a genuine love in his eyes as he looked at you, soon leaning down to press a kiss to your cheek.

But don’t worry, later he’d help you with your homework. As long as you said “I love you” to him one more time.

Tsukishima Who says it first: Him

Tsukishima says he loves you in actions more than he does words at first, throwing you snacks that he carries with him specifically for you, when he notices you getting hungry. He’ll bring an extra hoodie or wear one when he knows he’ll get too warm for it, because he knows you like to be comfy and warm. He offers to come over and study with you when you’re getting nervous over a test, holds your hand and squeezes it gently if he notices you getting anxious over something, and he walks you to and from home every day.

He loves you. And even though you can feel it through his actions, you weren’t quite sure if he was ready to hear that you loved him too.

Honestly, you would’ve been fine just going about your relationship the way that it was. But of course, what good would having upperclassmen in his volleyball team be if they didn’t annoy the shit out of him and talk about your relationship?

Tanaka had been going on and on in the club room about how badly he wanted a girlfriend, pouting to himself because he was still unsure of how Tsukishima, a salty brat, managed to get a cute girlfriend like you before he did.

“God it must be so nice to have someone to hug and hold hands with and tell them ‘I love you’ every five seconds! If I had a girlfriend, I wouldn’t let her leave my presence until she knew how much I loved her!” Tanaka was saying, Noya nodding aggressively in agreement.

Tsukishima’s ears perked hearing this, pulling his gym shirt over his head as he got ready to head home for the night.

“How did you do it, Tsukishima?” Noya asked randomly, a grin on his face. “I bet you’re secretly super romantic aren’t you? You got her flowers and chocolates and stuff huh?”

“How did I do what?” Tsukishima asked flatly, glancing back at them. The second years shared a look and then looked back at him, both tilting their heads simultaneously.

“How did you first tell Y/N you loved her,” Tanaka explained, his eyes narrowing as he watched Tsukishima’s eyes move away from them. “Wait a minute, you haven’t told her yet?”

“Tsukishima! You asshole! Don’t you know how lucky you are to have such a cute girl on your arm? Always doing cute things for you like that time she made you a bento box? Or when she comes to our games and always cheers the loudest for us?” Noya’s yelling was soon turning into a tearful whine, still upset that he didn’t have these things that Tsukishima did.

The blond boy just tried to turn away, packing up his things as his upperclassmen moaned.

“Tanaka, Noya, leave the boy alone,” Sugawara scolded. “I’m sure Tsukishima’s going to tell her on his own time! Aren’t you, Tsukishima?” His voice was so sweet, as if he was only trying to help him out, but Sugawara’s eyes told a different story - one where he was really trying to pry an answer from the first year.

All eyes were on him once again and Tsukishima was silently wishing he had left earlier without getting dressed. The question loomed over the club room like a raincloud, pressure on Tsukishima’s answer building the more the silence lasted.

“Sure,” he answered finally before leaving the room, shifting his bag on his shoulder slightly. He hadn’t really thought about it before. Why hadn’t he told you yet? He knew he loved you, it’s not like he was an idiot in denial over it. He had spent a good year in denial but he wouldn’t admit it. He knew he loved you but why hadn’t he said anything yet?

The idea of telling you made his whole face feel hot but why? It’s not like he hadn’t sent you songs about love, or watched those sappy romantic movies with you and thought about you the whole time. So why hadn’t he said it? It was just three words after all, wasn’t it? Three little words.

There you were, waiting for him again outside of the gym. You had that cute little smile on your face that you always had whenever you caught his eye. He loved that smile.

“Ready?” You asked happily, him holding out his arm for you slightly and you link yours with it and just look up at him with those gorgeous eyes. He loved your eyes.

“How was practice?” You asked as the two of you walked and he told you all about how annoying Hinata and Kageyama was, you always laughing when he expressed his annoyance. He loved your laugh.

At some point while you two were walking home, Tsukishima felt himself stop. He could feel Tanaka and Noya’s words starting to get to him, an uneasy feeling in his stomach making him feel... different. He knew if he didn’t say it now, he never would.

“Tsukishima?” You blinked up at him, noting the way he stopped so abruptly. “Are you okay?”

He took a breath - if you were going to reject him, that would be fine. Everything would be fine. No it wouldn’t, he heard that little voice in his head say. What the hell would we do without you?

Despite his conflicting thoughts on the matter, Tsukishima pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to silence them as he managed to get out weakly, “I love you, Y/N.”

You just stood there for what felt like forever. Why weren’t you saying anything? His heart fell a little as you just stared at him, your face not betraying any of your emotions.

“What?” You squeaked.

He sighed frustratedly, unsure if you were trying to give him a way to go back on his words, or if you were really this deaf. “I love you,” he repeated himself, his voice louder and firmer this time. If he was going to get rejected, it wouldn’t be because he backed down. He would make sure of it.

But soon your lips were curling into that smile that he loved, your eyes were sparkling up at him, and a giggle fell from your lips, “I-I love you too, Tsukishima!” You beamed, hopping a little where you stood in excitement.

He couldn’t hide how happy that made him. His lips turned into a smile and he reached up to pat your head, his arm wrapping around your shoulders, “Alright, stop looking at me like. It’s late, we should get you home,” he told you, scolding you as if you had been the one to stop first.

But it didn’t matter. Because Tsukishima Kei said he loved you and those were the last three words you had ever expected him to say, even though you had felt the same all this time.

For the first time ever, Tsukishima actually took the advice of his upperclassmen and made it his promise to himself that he would never let you leave his sight without telling you “I love you”, even if it had to be over text because he wasn’t quite ready to say it in front of everyone else yet. But he would tell you over and over again, because even when he was annoyed at you or in a bad mood, Tsukishima loved you and he didn’t ever want you to think otherwise.

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[hongism]

1:58 am - c. jongho 18+

↣ pairing: jongho x fem!reader ↣ genre: fluff, smut ↣ wc: 2.0k ↣ for @ppersonna​​: “HELLO MY BESTIE RATTY PLS JONGHO WITH 25 - Being somewhere you’re not supposed to be 34 - “It’s 2am. Go back to sleep.” ↣ warnings: language, oral sex: f

In your defense, Jongho is both a maniac and insatiable. What started as a lovely movie night between the two of you, with his roommate Yeosang curled up in the armchair by the couch, has quickly devolved into leagues of stress for you and endless amusement for Jongho. Yeosang is (thankfully) off in dreamland and fast asleep despite the movie still going in the background, although that does nothing to quell your current nerves as Jongho’s hand is moving further up by the minute. 

It started at your kneecap, two fingers tracing mindless patterns into your skin under the blanket. Then he slipped to the inside of your knee and clutched tight at your flesh before pulling up the inside of your thigh.

Now, he has a hand basically over your crotch, close enough to make you sweat but far enough away to have you refraining from squeezing your thighs shut over his fingers.

And being a cocky little shit, of course Jongho knows exactly what he’s doing to you — if the smirk curling over his lips is any indication at least. You aren’t about to scar yourself or Yeosang by fooling around on the already stained leather couch in their apartment, as much as you really want to give in to his lingering touches.

You haven’t been paying attention to the movie on the screen for at least an hour, maybe longer than that because you don’t even recall the name of the damn film at this point, and all your focus is honed in on the fingers pressing into your thigh. Jongho won’t stop teasing with his touches either. Every few seconds, he squeezes just enough to startle you into sitting up straight just when you’ve recovered from the last touch. You’re certain he’s trying to seem interested in the movie given the way he keeps making interested noises or scowling at the screen, but then his smirk returns and you know what he’s really up to.

In short, you have had more than enough of his fun and games, growing increasingly frustrated with each passing second. Your body is so pent up and overheated that sweat is pooling at your brow, and that’s what makes you nudge his hand away as a last-ditch effort to save yourself from this teasing hell he’s trapped you in. Yet this isn’t your apartment and you can’t very well escape to his bedroom without looking suspicious to Yeosang. As far as his roommate is concerned, you and Jongho are still just friends, even if there is an ungodly amount of sexual tension lingering between the two of you like this.

Water. Yes, you need water. And where can you get water? The kitchen of course. Perfect plan. You should be safe from Jongho’s antics there, no?

“Feeling alright, Y/n?”

As it turns out, you are very much not safe in the kitchen.

You nearly throw the glass in your hand at Jongho’s head out of sheer shock when he sneaks up on you, creeping into the kitchen behind you like a damn ghost. You manage to hold back from doing that, but a small yelp escapes your lips instead. Jongho laughs at that, continuing to chuckle under his breath even when you try to level him with a sharp glare. He has the audacity to look absolutely delectable at nearly two o’clock in the morning wearing nothing but a stupid black t-shirt and stupid grey sweatpants with his stupid hands shoved deep in the pockets like he wasn’t trying to practically finger you on the couch moments ago.

“I don’t know, am I?” It made sense in your head, although that might be because of the haze of arousal over your brain because once it actually comes out, you’re wondering why the hell you said that.

“Well, you felt more than alright just a few minutes ago.” He’s smiling again, another lascivious grin that has you sinking your teeth into your lower lip.

“Not here,” you hiss back as a last-ditch effort to talk yourself out of this (again).

“Because Yeosang is in the other room? Come on, Y/n, you know half the fun is in the risk of getting caught.”

A scoff passes through your lips, loud enough to resound through the small kitchen.

“You’re insatiable.”

“And you’re painfully aroused. Are we done stating the obvious?”

Throwing this glass at his head is a lot more tempting now, but that would certainly cause a ruckus and Yeosang would wake up in a heartbeat.

“Only because you were fucking feeling me up on the couch like it’s your goddamn job!”

Jongho crosses the kitchen in three seconds flat, suddenly so close to you that you can’t breathe your own air without feeling the heat of his breath against your lips. You stumble back and hit the edge of the counter behind you. Jongho doesn’t give you a moment to recover, catching your wrists in his grip and pressing them hard against the surface of that same counter.

“Careful there, doll, you wouldn’t want to wake anyone up, would you?”

“No, that’s not what I want,” you exhale. It’s not enough to quell the desire in your gut, especially not when Jongho’s fucking thigh is pressed between your legs and leaving you squirming. He knows how you feel about his thighs thanks to an unfortunate admission on your part one night when you had too much alcohol (and unfortunately Yeosang knows too since he was an unwilling participant in that conversation).

“What do you want then? Although, I’m fairly certain that I know.” Again, Jongho’s gaze flicks down over your body, enough to be obvious about the way he’s checking you out from head to toe, but he returns to staring you in the eye after a second.

“Shut up and eat me out already,” you hiss under your breath. In the same sentence, you free your wrists of his grasp and push down hard on his shoulders. It’s nothing compared to his strength — he’s more than strong enough to resist your futile efforts, but he goes along with it anyway and lets you push him to his knees in front of the counter.

“You’re lucky I never make you beg, baby. If I did, you’d never get to cum.”

Tempting, you think, but right now you aren’t in the mood to be edged or teased anymore. Jongho did his fair share of that for over two hours, so all that is on your mind is a release under his skilled tongue.

“Please, Jongho, I’d like to do this before Yeosang wakes up…”

His hands are already curled around your pajama shorts, taking the soft fabric into his grip and pulling down with no resistance. A sharp inhale follows as the cold air hits your nether regions, and Jongho lifts one of your legs up to his shoulder as he bunches your shorts into the palm of his hand.

“Be glad I didn’t take you on the couch right in front of him then.”

Then Jongho is smiling up at you from between your legs, and you would be lying if you said that isn’t one of the hottest things you’ve ever seen in your life. You brace yourself on the counter, knuckles white from the effort of clinging to the marble, and the man beneath you takes his teasing a step further. Soft lips caress the inside of your knee over the spot he clung to for the better part of an hour, then he follows the same path his hand took as well. He doesn’t stop until his nose is flush with your folds, and even then he exhales against you in a way that has a chill rushing down your spine. Your curl away from the counter, unintentionally pressing your hips closer to his mouth in the same fluid motion. It’s enough to make his nose hit your clit dead-on in a way that has a strangled moan escaping your lips. You fling a hand up to your mouth (too late as it does absolutely nothing to conceal the sound).

“Now it sounds like you’re trying to wake Yeosang up, doll.”

“I’d like to see you stay quiet when I’m sucking you off next time.” You manage to smirk a little, just enough to be playful and throw him off a little. He’s just as quick to retaliate, which is both a good and bad thing for you because his next move is to hoist your other leg onto his shoulder, and it takes every ounce of your willpower not to clamp your thighs around his face. You have to bite the side of your thumb to quell the noises bubbling up your throat; your remark seems to have been enough to spur him fully into action, his tongue brushing between your folds until he reaches your hole with practiced ease. You can’t count on one hand how many times you’ve indulged in this — his tongue pressing at your entrance like he has no other purpose in life, eating you out with more enthusiasm than ever, drawing so many noises out of you that it’s getting difficult to keep quiet.

“Jongho?”

The man between your legs freezes but doesn’t move away from your cunt, staring up at you from between your legs without blinking for so long that you think he’s truly stuck like that. Admittedly, you’re stuck where you are too, both because he’s got your legs around his face and on account of Yeosang’s sudden intrusion on your otherwise intimate moment. Your gaze goes straight to the archway to the kitchen. The kitchen island is tall enough to block the view of your lower half, but if Yeosang steps even one more foot into the room, he will certainly see what Jongho is up to. There’s no telling how long it’ll be before he does enter, and you’re watching with peaked anxiety as Jongho sidles up your body into a standing position again.

His hands find your hips, and next thing you know, he’s moving you around and pushing you until your back hits the kitchen island. It protects you from possible exposure to Yeosang, which proves to be a good move on his part because Yeosang pokes his head in the archway a second later. Jongho moves to the side enough to avoid suspicion but you’re still quite nude from the waist down and screwed if Yeosang decides to come further in.

“Oh, there you two are. The movie’s over?” Yeosang says, easing his weight against the doorframe.

“Yeah, you fell asleep pretty early on honestly. But it’s 2 am. Go back to sleep. We’re just picking up some snacks we pulled out while you were asleep.”

You think that excuse is far too easy to see through, especially if Yeosang decides to even so much as glance around the kitchen to see that you are certainly not doing any cleaning whatsoever. You squeeze your eyes shut. Looking at Yeosang right now would be a mistake and you would probably give away what you and Jongho have been up to in the blink of an eye.

“Yeah, yeah, okay. I’m too sleepy to help you anyway. See you in the morning.” Yeosang stifles a yawn, lifting the back of his hand to his mouth, then lets his arms fall into a stretch. He lingers for only one more second before disappearing from the archway. You exhale the second he disappears, shifting to stare Jongho down as your heart continues to race rampantly in your chest without relent.

“That was a fucking mood killer,” you mutter before crossing your arms over your chest. Jongho huffs out a sigh and puffs his cheeks full of air. He stretches a hand out to touch your bare hip again.

“Let me make it up to you?”

[fa-headhoncho]

Untitled TFATWS Fic: Part 2

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Prompt/Background: After turning yourself in to the government following the events of CA:TWS, they lock you up for the crimes you committed during your time at Hydra. Spending years there until Captain America got you on parole during the blip to help fight Thanos. Now, after doing community service acts and helping the broken society, when they give the new Captain America the shield, you’re thrown back into a life you didn’t want.

Word Count: 1719

Reader: Female

Warning: parole officers? canon level violence, john walker

Author’s Note: uh, hi. i'm shit at fighting scenes so... Also, slow burn, I'm sorry. I'm a whore for slow burn fics. GIVE ME IDEAS FOR A TITLE PLEASE

Masterlist Part 1 Part 3 Part 4

=====

“So, how’d you end up here?” Walker screams over the loud roaring of the helicopter, trying to make conversation as the pilots drive you where you were going. You roll your eyes at him, did he really not do any research before recruiting you on this mission?

“You’re the one who cut my parole.” You scoff, not looking up to speak to him. You were too busy fiddling with the tactical gloves they gave you. The velcro sticking to the material of the ridiculous suit frustrated you, it was too tight. It matched Battlestar’s, red and blue but yours didn’t have a star on the side and his wasn’t as fitted. “Why did you, exactly? I haven’t been on a real mission since my Hydra days and you bring me into what? Taking down a terrorist organization that we have little to no information on?”

The Captain shakes his head, a small smile slipping onto his face. “You’re a good asset, a great addition to the team I’m building.” He simply answers before looking out of the open door of the copter.

You roll your eyes once again, if he thinks you’ll be a part of his team then he’s really in for it. This was just one favor you were going to do for him before you would be released out into the public again. You owed him this but you weren’t about to become a team with this imposter.

Deciding it would be better to not respond, you just vaguely nod your head. You weren’t about to tell him off in fear that he’d just snap his fingers and have you back into jail for not complying with him.

“They’re right there.” He suddenly gets up and holds onto the tether above for stability. The helicopter carefully lowers as he exits, throwing his shield before hopping down onto the truck.

Standing up, you lean over to get a better look to see who else was fighting. Anger bubbles up as you see Sam being pinned down and Bucky being restrained by masked figures. “You guys didn’t tell me those two were going to be here!” You turn to shout at Battlestar.

The dark-skinned man just shrugs, a sly grin on his face, “You wouldn’t have come.” He merely offers before jumping out and swinging in to help his friend. Letting out a frustrated groan, you follow him.

Using the rope to drop down, you land on the other semi where Sam is. Two of the masked people have him pinned down. They were too distracted with the two landing and throwing the shield around to notice you sneaking up behind one of them.

You swiftly kick right under the back of their knee causing them to fold back slightly. You take the advantage and spin, the roundhouse kick sending them off the side of the trailer. Sam looks up at you from below, a pained expression on his face.

“Oh no, not you too.” He sighs out in which you return with a sad smile. He lets out a groan before turning to deal with the other enemy holding his right arm down. You help him stand up just as Battlestar lands right beside Walker.

“Sam. John Walker, Captain America.” Walker decides this was a good time for introductions and sends the Avenger a salute.

“Lamar Hoskins.” His sidekick steps in after they do their little forearm bang. The two look at you, waiting for you to introduce yourself but you just glare at them.

“And that’s (Y/N) (Y/L/N).” He points to you.

“Yea, we know.” Bucky spits out, side-eyeing you. You don’t even need to look at him to know he was pissed off. The guilt starts to wash over you but you push it down. It wasn’t the time now to talk to him, you needed to focus on taking down these abnormally strong people.

“Looks like you guys can use some help.” The Captain continues before turning and hitting the redhead with his shield. The rest of the Flag Smashers pounce as well. The four that were on your side try to come at you causing Sam to try to fly away. Noticing that they were all targeting Sam, you unhook the bolas from the side of your suits.

Using the rope to swing the balls at the end around, you throw it to wrap around one of the guy’s bodies. It tightens around him and you give it a hard tug, sending him to the floor. They still manage to pull him back down and attack him.

The guy you were fighting grabs the rope and pulls you towards him, you let out a surprised squeal at his strength. You release your grip on the rope before he could tug you down to his level but the person you thought you knocked off wraps his arms around your shoulders.

You struggle against the man, his fingers digging into your shoulders would definitely leave bruises but you didn’t care. It’s been a long time since you’ve been out in the field like this and you were trying to think back to your Hydra training to figure out an escape.

The man you pulled down finally gets up and drags his feet over to you. Behind him you see Bucky jump over and help Sam with the two other Flag Smashers. The man gets close enough and you use the leverage the other has on your upper half to lift your legs and swing them around his neck and jerk your body to the side.

The movement causes the guy to release his hold on you, letting you and his partner fall off the side. You luckily catch the side of the metal, watching the guy roll onto the grass on the side of the road. You turn back to see the other guy hovering above, his foot coming up to step onto your fingers that were gripping on for dear life.

Just as he was about the step on them, you see Sam’s wings hit him off. Letting out a sigh of relief, you pull yourself back onto the roof of the trailer. Sam was still fighting off two of the Flag Smashers but Bucky was nowhere in sight.

Then you hear grunting from below so you peak your head over to see Bucky hanging on by the bottom of the truck with a guy trying to stomp his arm off. Sam seemed to be handling the one person on him so you decide to help the super-soldier first.

“Bucky! Hang on!” You call out to him, looking around to figure out a way to get him safely off the bar.

“That’s what I’m doing!” He yells back while tightening his grip inside of the torn metal.

You watch the new Captain America and Battlestar struggle slightly to keep the soldiers off of them but you weren’t too concern about them, Bucky was your main priority now. Taking out your knives, you throw one at the woman attacking Sam. It slightly stuns her before she rips it out and throws it aside. “Sam! Go get Bucky, I got this.” You demand and he just nods.

The woman turns to you as Sam flies off right before the woman plows through the road sign. She lets out a roar before charging at you. She swings her arm to hit you in the face but you dodge it. It didn’t take a scientist to realize that these people were super-soldiers so you knew that the last thing you wanted to do was take a blow from them.

The years of training with the former Winter Soldier have taught you well for this standoff. She tries to recover from the miss but you elbow her in the ribs making her go off balance for a few seconds. Taking the opportunity, you kick her chest to send her lying on her back.

You walk over the woman, scowling down at her before leaning down and sending a hard punch to her head, knocking her out. You peak over at the other two just as the gunshot goes off. The person behind Battlestar retracts but doesn’t loosen his grip on him. The other takes advantage of Walker being distracted and throws him off the back of the trailer.

The man jumps over to you and tries to wind up a punch but you barely dodge it, tripping over the woman you just knocked out. “Fuck,” You whisper out, eyes flicking from the man in front of you over to Battlestar getting tossed off like a ragdoll. The rest of the group turns to you, seeing you as the last person standing.

They get distracted as the Captain appears again, a sense of hope washes over you but he just gets shit on. They were easily attracted to him since he was the star of the show so they let the one guy handle you. You look straight past him as he takes his time to stalk over to you. These people were cocky and you couldn’t blame them. They just took out four well-known figures, well-known fighters, and were left with you.

It wasn’t an ideal situation and you needed to find a way out. You couldn’t even keep count of the super-soldiers since they kept popping up and you weren’t enhanced enough to take them all on nor were you about to get captured. Seeing the road sign approaching from behind the man sparks an idea in your head.

Making eye contact with the Flag Smasher, you throw your last tool past him. He watches it zoom past his head and looks at the sign approaching. He braces himself for the impact, busting through the metal before whipping back around to look at you. But you weren’t there.

You used your last bola to wrap around the metal bracing and use a steel grip to hold onto your end. Letting out a grunt at the rough pull as the rope drags you off the trailer to hang from the sign. You let out a sigh, watching until the soldiers and trucks are out of view before jumping down onto the ground.

This was a lot more complicated than Walker said it was going to be.

_____

taglist: @crowleysqueenofhell @mischiefmanaged71 @thewinterrbucky @lizajane3 @ahahafudge @spookycereal-s @a-girl-who-loves-disney @kittengirl998

[angellbarnes]

Forgotten Love - part three: lions and tigers and secrets, oh my

series summary: You’re new to the Avengers. In joining the team, there’s a lot that no one yet knows about you. And there’s some unusual tension between you and a certain brunet. Under a pseudonym and with completely fresh start, and background, you hope for a chance at a new life. A better life. But how long will it last before someone figures out the life you’ve hidden away?

chapter summary: Quite some first mission. And some close calls, too.

pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader

words: 1.9k

warnings: only killing those hydra goons

A/N: Ooooh I’m actually really happy with this chapter. Hope you all like! As always, likes, comments and reblogs are much appreciated☺️

series masterlist

The jet speeds off to an unknown location. FRIDAY is left in charge, of course. Everyone else either sits at the sides or is preparing for when you land. You get up from your seat and walk to the middle of the jet, where Tony, Steve and Nat are all looking at a hologram of some sort of concrete building.

“Hydra base.” Nat states.

“We’ve gained intel to a specific experiment they’ve got going on. They’ve been trying to recreate more of the supersoldier serum. We can’t let that happen.” Steve informs you, in his patriotic, ‘I’m Captain America’ voice he likes to use.

“Right.”

“Fury’s informed us that they may be closer to recreating it than we thought. He’s picked up some new radiation that’s coming from this building.” Your gaze falls from Steve back down to the hologram. With a flick of his fingers it spins, giving you a 360 view of the place. The sight makes you feel uneasy, in a way unknown to the team.

“If you haven’t guessed already, our job is to get rid of whoever and whatever is causing this.” Tony adds. “We take out the bad guys, steal their shit, and boom. Avengers win.”

“Always so serious.” Nat jokes. You smile at her and head to the weapons area, grabbing a few knives and a handgun, and slotting them into various places on your suit. Bucky is also there, picking a few similar knives but a much larger gun.

“This is your first mission, right?” He asks, not even glancing at you. You think for a moment, not quite sure how to answer.

“Yeah. It’s my first.”

“Don’t sweat it. We’ll be in and out in no time. It usually goes according to plan.” He finally looks at you, smirking, and gives you a wink as he walks away, leaving you with more conflicting feelings.

“5 minutes to landing.” FRIDAY announces.

“We’ll head down now to scope out the area.” Rhodey says. The back of the jet opens and he heads off in his War Machine suit, followed by Sam, followed by Tony using his nanotech and jumping out before he’s fully suited.

“Looks like you’re rubbing off on him.” You hear Bucky say to Steve.

The jet lands in the clearing of a nearby forest, leaving the rest of you to venture through it to the base, undetected under the cover of the night.

“Ready?” Steve asks as you head out.

“So ready.” You reply.

You, Nat, Steve and Bucky all head through the trees and it’s not long before you reach the large, grey building. As you approach the facility, you would have guessed it was abandoned by now if it wasn’t for what Fury had reported.

“Emily, we’ll head through the front and you boys can go around the back.” Nat orders.

“Yes ma’am.” Steve salutes her with a smirk and you head off in your different directions.

You and Nat find a small side door where the front of the building is and to your surprise, it’s unlocked. Both of your guns are up at the ready as you sneak down the eerie corridor. Only dim ceiling lights cast any glow amidst the darkness, the kind that are always flickering in horror movies. You come up to a split in the corridor and push Nat up against the wall with you when you sense an unwanted presence.

You close your eyes, concentrating on the way this person is moving. Though the footsteps are inaudible, you can feel it: the vibrations through the floor, of a male, walking with the rhythm of a robot. Patrolling the grounds. The vibrations get stronger as he nears. When he reaches the corner is when you pounce, catching him in a headlock and choking him silently unconscious, until he falls limp in your arms. You snap his neck. One swift motion and you lay him down on the ground, letting the logo on his uniform get to you more than it should have.

“Damn, Quinn, you sure have some surprising moves up your sleeve, don’t you?” Nat comments, stepping over the agent’s body. “A force to be reckoned with.”

“Buck, come on.” Steve picks up a jog as the pair head through from the opposite side of the premises, but Bucky is still looking over his shoulder every 2 seconds.

“Sorry.” He mumbles, and picks up his pace to match Steve’s.

They head further into the maze and, after taking out a few HYDRA heads, they find themselves in a corridor with a single door on the left hand side, reading ‘WS room 1’

“Winter Soldier.” Bucky speaks softly. “That’s what it stands for. Winter Soldier.” He takes a stammered breath. “This is one of the places they tortured me.”

Steve pays his friend a sympathetic glance. Bucky halfheartedly smiles but resolves to staring at the floor. He walks up to the door and takes a look through the small square window. Through it, there’s a small room, encased by glass, with computers and other equipment as such. Ready to make notes. Observations. Beyond that is a larger room with a stand consisting of various panels and buttons and a lever, which is attached to the large-framed chair beside it. The mere sight of it causes Bucky’s skin to crawl with the pain of the past. It almost makes him jump when Steve places a hand on his shoulder, signalling the time to head off again.

“Uh, guys, you might wanna check this out.” Tony’s voice crackles through the coms. “Get to where I am right the fuck now.”

You and Nat start running down the halls now, checking Tony’s location using the new tracking device he installed into everyone’s suits. Taking out numerous faceless HYDRA agents on the way, you make it to a door, a huge metal door, where two agents lay dead either side. Bucky and Steve arrive just as you do.

Steve opens the door.

With a loud creak, a blue glow emits from within the room, and standing in the middle is Tony, surrounded by viles and viles and bottles and machines. Paperwork is piled up messily throughout the place. You all head inside, slowly making your way around, taking notice of all the colours in various glass beakers, tubes and containers, some smoking, some not. Glancing at all the scribbles on the paper scattered around, and on the walls, it’s clear that this is the testing room for their serum. And by the look of the fridge in the corner, filled with bright blue viles, they succeeded.

“Wait, have they already figured it out?” Steve questions.

“No!” Bucky slams his fist on the table, angered by the despairing truth.

“They did it. They actually did it. And God knows how long they’ve had this. For all we know, there could be dozens of newly created supersoldiers walking among us.” Tony says, taking out a vile and holding it up to the light. You take a sharp inhale and turn away from the rest of the group, suddenly feeling light-headed. As you focus your breath and lean against the workspace, you also focus on the paperwork in front of you. It’s a file. Your soul leaves your body as you stare at the black folder, a blood red HYDRA logo stamped to the front. Underneath, some writing:

‘CONFIDENTIAL - SS test subjects 1-12’

SS. Supersoldier.

You hesitantly open it. Nameless faces are enclosed, reduced to nothing but numbers. All have red stamps over their files, labelling ‘FAILED’ in red. Every one is the same; a face, a name, ‘FAILED’.

Until you reach number 12.

You slam the file shut and jolt back upright.

“Emily? You okay?” Nat asks. You spin to face everyone, who now looks slightly concerned by your sudden outburst. You release the breath you were holding in.

“Yeah. Sorry. Seeing this just makes me so angry, you know? How they just want to create monsters with this stuff. No matter the cost.”

“Tell me about it.” Bucky comments. Everyone gets back to what they were doing before.

You sigh in relief, as if you were expecting them not to believe you. You discreetly slide page 9 out of the folder and fold it up small enough to fit into a pocket in your suit.

“This seems too easy.” Bucky says, as he looks over a page of scribbled formulae. You all gather round and look through what seems to be the final renditions of their recreated serum. As you read through, trying to make sense of the cacography, an overwhelming sense washes over you. You shut your eyes, trying to focus the feeling, pinpoint the source of it.

“Guys,” You open your eyes wide. “we need to get out of here. Right now. It’s everywhere. Let’s go, come on!” You yell at everyone as you feel the heat rise beneath you. You run, and the others follow. Nat grabs a load of HYDRA’s work, taking whatever looks important enough, and heads out with the rest of you.

You make it out of the building and keep running towards the forest. Rhodey and Sam meet you from where they were on lookout outside.

“Get down!” You shout, and everyone covers.

The facility is blown to smithereens, the sound of it erupting through the dawn’s serenity. Bright orange fills the sky, melting into the sunrise.

“Let’s get the hell out of here.” Sam urges, to which everyone gets up and heads back, exhausted, to the quinjet.

You let yourself fall onto a seat, leaning your head back against the wall and releasing a long-awaited breath.

“Thank God we have you on our team, Quinn, otherwise we would have been barbecued.”

“Glad to be here, Stark.” You manage to push yourself up, gathering with everyone around the table, where the team is examining what Nat managed to pick up. You scan what’s in front, and your heart falters.

“Where did you get that?”

“Grabbed it on the way out.” She replies. “Looked important.”

“Well, yeah, files with huge capitals that say ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ usually are.” Sam remarks.

You’re tense the whole flight back, biting your nails and lip as you all go through the papers. And when you land, you’re the first one off the jet.

“How did it go?” Wanda asks when you’re back in the compound.

“You want the good news or bad news first?” Tony pours himself a drink.

“Tony, it’s like 7AM.” Steve states.

“Well done, Cap. You can tell the time.” Tony carries on pouring and takes a large swig, holding his glass up to Steve as he swallows.

You rush to your room in silence before anyone starts recounting the mission and passing round that file.

You shut and lock your door, sliding down it and letting your face fall into your hands. You reach for the piece of paper you took and unfold it. You can hardly bear to look at it, feeling sick to your stomach. You barely recognise yourself.

~~~

“Did they all make it out?”

“Unfortunately.”

“And her?”

“She’s with them now.”

“We will have her back. She can’t hide from us. Number 12 will be back with us soon.”

[rivers-rambles21]

The one with the surprise

Part 5 of The one where Bucky has a cute neigbour series!

Pairing: Bucky Barnes X Reader (f)

Summary | Reader and Bucky become friends after he saves her from  a creep in their apartment building. Each chapter explores a different  point in their friendship - very slow burn!

Warnings | 18+ only, Smut in later chapters (this is a slow burn), swearing, unprotected sex, oral sex, cockwarming (later chapters)

Will include elements of TFATWS in later chapters

Chapter 5 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 1 | Masterlist

“C’mon, where are you taking me doll?”

Bucky trailed behind you, his feet dragging as he continued to moan about your late night adventure. You’d lured him out with a promise of pizza but as you exited the train in Queens, his mood had turned sour. 

“Not much further, I promise” You waited for him to catch up and looped your arm through his. “Have I ever steered you wrong?” 

“Pineapple on pizza comes to mind” He muttered, eyes darting around the quiet street.

With a sigh you dug into your purse and retrieved your secret weapon “I’ll give you these if you stop whining” You shook the bag of cashews you’d picked up from the store in front of his face before swiftly moving it from his grasp. “Nope! Hey!” Bucky had made a grab for the bag but you’d quickly anticipated his move and spun on the spot, taking it out of reach. 

As you turned, Bucky’s arm moved with you, pulling him into your back as you bent over in an attempt to stop him from getting his snack.

You laughed as he snaked his arm around your side, pulling you flush against him as he tried to take the bag from you, his fingers brushing your sides in an attempt to tickle you. 

With a jolt, your ass pressed back into him in a vain attempt to free yourself from his grasp. You both stilled as your behind pressed into his crotch, acutely aware of just what you were feeling. Bucky was the first to act and swiftly removed his arms from around you, glancing around in embarrassment. 

Standing straight, you adjusted your dress which had become dislodged. “Shall we?” You asked, trying to act as though nothing happened. 

“Yep.” He responded, a bit too quickly. 

To try and ease the tension, you ripped open the bag of nuts. “Here” You threw one toward him which he caught with his mouth effortlessly. “Thanks doll” 

You smiled back and looped your arm back into his, directing him down the road. 

A few minutes later you arrived at your destination and you held your breath as you both looked up at the building. 

“What do you think?” 

Bucky simply glanced down and smiled at you, his white teeth catching the light from the street lights. 

“This is one of the very few perks I get with my job, I figured who better to enjoy it with?”

“How do we get in?” Bucky asked, pulling you towards the doors at the front. 

“Security will let us in, they’ll be doing the odd patrol as standard but apart from that, we’ll have the place to ourselves” 

“Y/n… this is incredible” 

“Yeah well… I knew you wouldn’t come here because of the crowds and I didn’t want you to miss out.”

You’d brought him to the New York Hall of Science in Queens way past closing time. After dedicating to a ridiculous amount of unpaid overtime, your boss had finally relented and given you access to the contacts who ran the museum. Using your company's connections, you’d manage to swindle full exclusive access to the museum for the entire night. 

Over the past few months you’d picked up on Bucky’s interests, one of them being technology. Despite spending most of the last 70 years in a big freezer, he loved technology of the modern age, often speaking of the projects Shuri was working on in Wakanda.

You spent the next hour or so strolling around the many exhibits, reading up on each subject and interacting with the activities throughout the building. Bucky didn’t know where to look next, each section of the museum peaking his interest more and more. 

“Okay so I may have one more surprise for you” You confessed as you gently steered him towards the theatre.

Bucky remained silent as he felt himself become overwhelmed. He was genuinely touched by the thought you’d put into the entire evening, slightly bewildered why you even bothered with him in the first place. He knew he could be hard work, he often spent days being a miserable bastard, responding with only sarcasm. Yet you stuck around and got to know him and his quirks. Heck the two of you had gotten that close you knew how he’d been eager to pay a visit to the museum but hadn’t due to the worry of being recognised.

He’d now stopped kidding himself and accepted he felt something more than friendship for you. At first he brushed his feelings off as purely physical as afterall it had been over 70 years since he’d been with a woman and he’s not blind. Everything you did drove him insane. It took all his self control to stop himself from kissing you senseless every time you hung out. 

The closer you both got, the deeper he fell for you. He tried his best to find fault with you but he came up short every time. 

He loved how easy you were to talk to, how you never pushed him too far or tried to change him into something he’s not. He loved how selfless you were, always thinking of others before yourself. He also loved how thoughtful you were, constantly coming up with plans or ideas on what you both could do so he wasn’t cooped up in his apartment all day. 

Bucky had fallen hard.

“Now we do have other options if you’re not feeling it but I thought we could watch the original Dracula!” 

Bucky couldn’t hold back his smile as you looked up at him with excitement etched across your face. All he wanted to do was kiss you. 

“So what do you think?” You asked, waiting for his response. 

“I think you’re incredible.” You beamed up at him and led him into the quiet theatre which was housed within the museum. 

“Grab a seat and I’ll be right back” 

Bucky nodded in response and picked one of the seats in the middle of the empty theatre, pulling his phone out as he did. He flicked through some of the pictures you had both taken throughout the evening, landing on the one of you both in the space exhibit. He’d bent down to your level for the photo to be taken, your arms not quite long enough to get you both in frame otherwise. You’d flashed a smile for the photo, leaning back into him, pressing your face against his as he did his best to pose for the photo. It had been a long time that he’d had a photo taken that wasn’t linked to a crime. Smiling to himself, he updated his settings and set it to his background. 

The lights then dimmed and the screen changed as the movie began. A moment later the door swung open and closed as you entered the theatre, your shoes stomping down the isles as you raced over to Bucky, eager to get there before the film started.

“I remember seeing this when it first came out.” Bucky confessed, a small smile gracing his face as he recalled the memory. “Me and Steve snuck in shortly after it started, we were too broke and young to get in on our own. He was so worried we’d get caught he spent the entire movie watching the door.” 

You laughed along with him, struggling to imagine the Captain America you’d seen on the news sneaking into a movie theatre. Reaching into your bag, you pulled out the blanket you had brought with you and covered you both in it, sinking into the warmth it gave as the movie began.

Although it was a horror, you both couldn't help but laugh at some of the scenes, special effects had come a long way since the 30’s. 

The evening had gone exactly as planned. You’d wanted to do something special for Bucky for a while, knowing he didn’t venture out much due to the large crowds making him a bit uneasy.

Your friends at work had teased you about it after they heard the hoops you had jumped through to pull the entire thing off; knowing you wouldn’t put in so much effort for someone you regarded as just a friend. 

You’d wanted your relationship with Bucky to develop into something more for a while now; you couldn’t deny the attraction you had with him and the bond that had developed. Deep down though, you knew he had a lot going on that he needed to work through and you didn’t want to get in the way of that. You heard his tortured screams on a night as the nightmares took a hold of him. You never brought it up but you saw how it affected him. The dark circles under his eyes were always a dead give away.

Although your body craved something more with him, you were content on leaving things how they were. You genuinely enjoyed spending time with him and wouldn’t risk losing it.

It was the early morning when you both left the museum, having thoroughly enjoyed yourselves. Due to the late hour you agreed on hailing a taxi and sat in comfortable silence on the journey home as you struggled to keep your eyes open. Begrudgingly you watched as Bucky paid the driver as you reached your apartment building and accepted his hand as he helped you out of the cab. 

“Thank you for tonight” 

“Don’t mention it” You replied as you entered the empty elevator, pressing the button for your floor. 

“The last person who did anything like that for me was Steve” He confessed as he rubbed the gold markings on his vibranium hand, not quite knowing what to do with himself.

“You’re making me blush Serg” The nickname slipped out without you realising and you glanced a peak over at the man beside you. 

He simply shook his head, grinning to himself as he followed you out of the elevator. 

[gifted-burnout-archive]

The Other Side of Hollywood

Part Two

Word Count: 5.0K+

Author’s Note: So... Y’all quite like this one, I’m glad to be of service to you. Just started writing Part Three the now, so that’ll hopefully be up tomorrow. Uh, what else? I made a gif for this! that one up there, that was fun! Enjoy part two, let me know if you want on the taglist, thank you for reading the nonsense I write.

Warning: brief discussion of death (how the reader died), otherwise I think it’s all clear.

Check out ‘Part One’ here, and the masterlist here.

--

Y/N didn’t actively go seeking out Luke or his bandmates after the night at the club for two rather prominent reasons:

1)      Caleb had explicitly told her not to, and after 25 years in his employ, Y/N knew better than to face the wrath of the most powerful spirit she knew,

2)      She was actually nervous to talk to him again.

So, while Willie skated around the city to try and catch a glance of Alex, Y/N stay firmly put in the club for the following days. She had the privilege of going out, she normally used it to follow Willie about LA as he skated or go see new bands at her favourite music spots around the city, but those few days she barely left her apartment in the hotel.

In fact, when she eventually met Luke, it was by complete accident.

Luke had spent that past few days with Alex and Reggie, trying to convince Julie to re-join the band. They tried singing her back in, tried bribing her after Reggie managed to finally grab a cupcake from the fridge, and nothing worked. It was only on Luke’s birthday, after seeing how he acted with his parents, that Julie finally agreed to continue the band, now labelled ‘Julie and The Phantoms’ thanks to Flynn, and they were able to confirm their first proper gig at a club downtown.

It was a showcase more than anything, a chance for managers and talent scouts to find fresh faces for records, the perfect opportunity for them. Sure, Julie had to sneak out after her dad and tía grounded her, but it was worth it. The boys met her at the venue, as did Flynn, and they found spaces in the crowd to wait for their turn.

“Am I late?” Julie asked Flynn as she rushed in, to which Flynn shook her head with a sigh.

“No, you’re early.” She muttered, gesturing to the stage as Carrie walked on stage with Dirty Candy, a sight no one expected to see that night.

“Carrie? How did she get in?” Julie asked Flynn, trying her hardest to contain the eye roll as the five girls on stage took their positions.

“Daddy probably made some calls.”  Flynn muttered, Dirty Candy’s track coming on in the background.

“Isn’t she the one dating the guy you-” Luke leaned forward to ask, wiggling his eyebrows, but he was shushed by Julie quickly, who folded her arms over her chest, making Luke and Reggie chuckle a little. When the third laugh of Alex didn’t appear, the pair glanced around, only to find their bandmate had disappeared.

“Where is he?” Reggie asked, only for Alex to appear on stage with Dirty Candy, dancing his heart out along with the girls. He flounced and twirled in time with the music, though his lanky frame made every movement a little clumsy and jagged. It was only a matter of moments before Julie, Reggie and Luke were all laughing beside a rather confused Flynn.

“It’s the guys..” Julie muttered, and Flynn just nodded, Alex reappearing right beside her. “You having fun out there?” She asked Alex, who took a few deep breaths.

“It’s not me… Uh…” He smiled a little, looking over to find Reggie with a dubious look on his face and Luke struggling not to chuckle. “It’s my feet.” He explained, a grin growing on his face. “Put me back in coach.” He muttered before poofing away back onto the stage, the action earning a laugh from behind the guys and Julie, making them all stop for a moment.

Luke and Reggie shared a look with Julie, all of them confused. They were the only ones who could hear their conversations, could see one another, so why had they heard another girl laughing? Reggie turned to investigate, his eyes widening as he spotted a familiar face two tables back, and he quickly nudged Luke. When Luke didn’t respond, Reggie yanked his arm and turned him around.

“Gotta say, I really thought you were the dancer of the group Denim… But I think Alex’s takes first place.” Y/N spoke over the noise, lifting her hand to wave her fingers. “Hi Reggie.” She said with a smile, the boy gulping and waving back, before waving a hand in front of Julie’s face to get her attention.

“Reggie wh-” Julie swivelled and stopped, looking at Luke and the girl Luke was staring at, who then looked back at her with an equal amount of shock.

“Why do you look terrified?” Flynn asked suddenly, noticing her best friend had done a 180 and was staring into space.

“I can… see her…” Julie said slowly, while at the same time Y/N asked Luke a question.

“Can she see me?” Her eyes never broke from the pretty Latina girl, probably a half year younger than herself, and Luke glanced between the two. The girl looked oddly familiar, like Y/N had seen her before, met her before, but she couldn’t place it.

“I uh… I guess so. Julie,” Luke snapped his fingers in front of Julie’s face, and the girl blinked quickly, nodding to show she was back from her daze. “Julie, this is Y/N. Y/N, Julie.”

“I wish I looked as amazing as you do in turquoise.” Y/N said quickly, trying to relieve some tension before turning back to Luke, and getting a baffled ‘thank you’ from Julie in return. “Why can she see me?”

“Oh, Julie can see all of us. She’s the one that brought the guys and I back… Not sure how she can see you, but I’m new to the whole ghost thing, I’m not gonna question it.” Luke shrugged, earning a smile from Y/N. “Why are you here? Stalking us like Willie has been?”

“Not at all, if you can believe. No, I’m… I’m a big music fan, this is one of my favourite spots. Like to listen to the new age rock coming out of LA… Not whatever this is.” She gestured to the stage, one of the lights shining on her: she was dressed quite the same as the last time Luke had seen her, this time a band tee and denim skirt with doc martens on, her hair in braids. “It’s almost like I perform for a… for an after-living.” She paused on the right word for it, getting a sweet laugh from the mop-haired boy. “Why are you interfering with my personal time?” She questioned right back as Alex reappeared with the song’s ending. He took one glance at Y/N and bent over to whisper into Julie’s ear, causing her to cover her mouth and squeal.

“We, uh, we’re performing next...” Luke said quickly, glaring at his friends and shooing them away. With the action, Julie and Flynn rushed away, the former whispering in Flynn’s ear as they went, while Alex and Reggie left to ready themselves for the performance. “Sorry about that.”

“Good things, I hope?” She giggled a little, and Luke went red. “You know, I knew you were in a band, I just didn’t think it would be with a lifer. How on earth does that work?” Y/N asked with sincerity, and Luke smiled.

“You’ll have to wait and see, darling.” He teased before disappearing, leaving Julie on the stage alone.

--

Luke thought he had got off lucky, that with so much focus being around getting Julie back on board with the band would let Alex and Reggie forget about what happened after their night at the club, but as soon as they all got back rehearsing, the subject of Luke’s mystery woman came up again: the first time had been late the night after the club, when Reggie mentioned it out of the blue and got him and Alex talking it over for an hour.

“Julie, I know you’ve been busy…” Reggie started the afternoon before their show with the tell-tale signs of oncoming gossip, causing Luke to look up from his song writing journal. “But the night of the club, sorry about that by the way, Luke got more than a stamp.” He dished, and Julie stared at him wide eyed.

“It was nothing, stop talking crap Reggie.” Luke tried to defend himself, but Alex had snuck behind him and pinned him to the couch, and Reggie was already rolling up his sleeve to reveal the faded markings of a telephone number.

“Who is she?” Julie gasped, moving to the edge of the couch and resting her chin on her hands.

“No-one… Her name was Y/N… But it doesn’t matter because I won’t call her.” Luke huffed, shaking off his bandmates and turning back to his journal.

“What? Why not?” Reggie asked, appalled. “You like her, she clearly likes you… Calling you Denim all night, dancing with you…” He trailed off, but it was enough for Julie to squeal.

“A nickname and dancing? Luke, why don’t you call her?!” She demanded answers, all three of them did, quickly forming a line up of folded arms in front of the couch Luke had gotten comfy on to write. He sat up, frustrated, and slammed his book closed.

“Because, right now, we’re focused on music! Last thing I want, or need is a…” He stopped, wondering what on earth he would even call dating a fellow ghost.

“A ghoulfriend?” Alex offered, the trio stopping for a moment before laughing hysterically, leaving Luke groaning and covering his face with a pillow.

--

Watching them perform was a level of exhilaration Y/N hadn’t felt since she was… Well, alive. It gave her ghost bumps on her arms, had her tapping her feet and dancing along, triggered every happy feeling she could muster.

After a slight hiccup with the band’s name, and Luke admitting that his handwriting sucked, Julie corrected the host as she sat down at the piano.

Julie’s voice was angelic, and watching her play the piano struck chords in Y/N’s heart she didn’t know were there anymore, and she found herself standing beside Flynn, Julie’s friend, as they watched together, though very separate. Her voice brought the whole room to life after the Candy Girls’, or whatever they were called, performance: people quickly went from focusing on their drinks and food to focusing solely on her.

And then, like magic, the boys’ and their entire set up, instruments and all, appeared on stage for the chorus. Even as a ghost, Y/N was as surprised as the other audience members, who had grabbed out phones to record and done double takes when the rest of the band appeared on stage from thin air.

She couldn’t help that her gaze fell on Luke, strumming away on his guitar in the sleeveless tee that just proved her point from a few nights ago about his arms: he was more than distracting, he was striking, and she couldn’t bring herself to look away. Not as Julie sang like a member of heaven’s choir, not on Alex’s drum solos, never: her eyes were caught on him.

It seemed that quite soon after her eyes had found their home on him, Luke’s eyes found their home on her. As he sang along with Julie, he couldn’t seem to stop the passion in his voice, the unwavering eye contact that the pair held with Y/N letting her know that whatever the lyrics meant, they were for her in some way. The eye contact didn’t go unnoticed by his bandmates, Reggie and Alex finding themselves sharing a glance at Luke’s grin as he sang, Julie getting in on it as they came to the song’s final bridge. Luke dragged his eye contact from Y/N to look over at Julie, who couldn’t stop smiling, wiggling her eyebrows for a moment to make Luke chuckle as he sang.

And then, the song ended, and Y/N watched the boys vanish the same way they appeared, earning another gasp from the crowd before the audience erupted with applause. She took it as her cue to go home, opting to save the congratulations for the band at another time instead of passing them on through Julie.

Within a moment, she was down the street from her home, from the hotel she had called home for 25 years. Each step along the quiet street took her high from the performance further and further away, until it was simply a spark in her heart, and she was humming the song as she started towards the building’s side entrance.

“So, what did you think?” The voice caught Y/N off guard, causing her to spin round with the intention to maim before she matched the voice to the person: Luke was a few paces behind her, still in his clothes from the concert, fiddling with a guitar pick between his fingers.

“You want the honest or the kind review?” She teased back, walking towards him with a smirk, one of her hands coming to undo her first braid. Luke watched for a moment as she quickly unfurled the hair until it bounced past her shoulders in waves, only looking back at her eyes once she had moved to the second braid.

“Honest, always.” Luke replied, smiling as Y/N slipped the hairbands onto her wrist and ran her fingers through her hair before replying.

“Well…” She paused, a smile forming on her face as she shook her head. “I think it might be the best musical performance I’ve ever had the privilege to watch. You were all just… Electric.” She concluded, thinking over each word, leaving Luke with a dumbfounded expression.

“I thought I said honest.” He chuckled, and Y/N grinned.

“The kind review wouldn’t have fluffed your ego so much.” She replied. “Take the truth however you want, but I’ve spent years watching bands perform and I have never seen any as good as you four.” She said with a blush and a smile that Luke could only just catch in the dim lighting.

“Can we go somewhere?” He asked after a moment, causing Y/N to look up into his eyes with a grin.

“The beach two blocks away is deserted any time past 10…” She suggested, and Luke held out his hand to her, offering to travel together. She took it with one last look back at the side door entrance, and for a moment she could have sworn she saw someone… But they disappeared before she had a good look, and a blink later she was on sandy shores, the waves rolling and causing her to smile.

“Where shall we bunker down?” Luke asked, and Y/N kept a tight grip on his hand, leading him to her favourite spot on the beach.

It was on the rocks, far enough back that the sea could never reach it, and high enough that they were given a perfect view of the whole bay, cliffs blocking the crystal clear water in on each side. The rocks were free of algae and moss, and too low for birds’ nests: the perfect spot on the beach.

They found themselves quite soon after sat cross-legged beside one another, watching the stars twinkle above them and the sea roll in, crashing quietly against the rocks further out.

“You certainly found the best spot on the beach.” Luke said after a moment, his voice so quiet it almost blended with the natural sounds around them. He didn’t like the idea of disturbing such tranquillity with his voice, and his choice of volume brought a beautiful smile to Y/N’s face.

“It took me most of my childhood, but I did it.” She said with a half-hearted chuckle, beginning to poke her finger through a hole in her top. Neither of them was quite sure what to say, so Luke took lead, turning 90 degrees to face her, prompting Y/N to do the same, the pair now face to face inside of side by side.

“20 questions, easiest way to get through all the simple stuff.” He proposed, and when not met with a no, he continued. “What’s your full name?”

“Y/N Y/L/N. Yours?”

“Luke Patterson.” He replied, and Y/N got the feeling she knew the name.

“Age. I’m 17.” She asked, and he smiled.

“17, a month away from voting… Favourite colour?”

“Don’t have one and I don’t think you do either.” She responded, met by a laugh and a nod. “Interest outside of performing?”

“Songwriting… You?”

“Nothing really…” She trailed off a little at that, and Luke frowned, reaching out and taking her hand in his.

“When did you die?” He asked, and Y/N smiled. She liked that they had moved on to what they actually wanted to know about each other.

“My birthday in ’95.” She shrugged with a sad smile, and Luke nodded. How uncanny, for her to die on her birthday, for it to be his…

“’95 as well, would you believe… Can I ask another question?” His thumb started rubbing the back of her hand. “How long have you been… Like this?”

“I uh… Coming on 25 years now… But it feels like 7 when you work at the Club.” She shrugged. “I uh… A lot of my co-workers, they tell me about this dark room they were in… Some of them for decades, but it felt like a day… I never got that… Did you?”

“25 years of it, actually… I appeared here about a month ago.” Luke answered, and the pair fell silent for a few minutes. There was a question eating at them both, neither quite courageous enough to ask. Instead, they held one another’s hands, rubbing their thumbs in circles, feeling the occasional jolt of electricity.

“How did it happen?” Y/N finally asked, though when Luke looked up her eyes were on their hands.

“Reggie, Alex and I all died on the same night… Same thing.” Luke sighed, letting out a laugh. “We ate some bad hot dogs, died within the hour.” He shrugged, and Y/N let out a giggle. “Yeah, I know. Weird way to go… What about you?”

“I uh… I don’t know exactly.” She stopped for a moment, removing her hands from his and placing them down on the rock below. “It was my birthday, obviously… My cousin convinced me to get a tattoo, promised me my parents would get over it. So we went to this parlour on the boulevard at Venice, they put on my favourite song to calm me down, the tattoo took maybe a half hour?” She gestured to her wrist, where a stamp from the club lay. “It’s under the stamp now. But anyway, thought my parents wouldn’t mind, but they went crazy. Livid. And I mean I wasn’t a perfect kid by any means, but for whatever reason the tattoo tipped them over the edge. They told me to leave and never come back… And I didn’t.” She looked up finally, seeing Luke’s brows furrowed from her story, urging her to go into the more grisly details.

“It’s been so long I don’t remember my birthday, I never celebrated it enough to care and remember the date, not even as a kid, but I remember that year, on my birthday, it was uncharacteristically cold. Not just for LA, but for the season, whenever it was. And I spent most of that night wandering. I didn’t want my cousin to know the bad news, or my aunt to see the tattoo, so I just wandered… Stumbled upon the beach… Found my rock…” She trailed off for a moment, and Luke glanced down at where he was sat: it became painfully clear that this is where she had died.

“I don’t really know what got me in the end. If it was hypothermia or some undiagnosed heart defect, you know maybe something happened when I fell asleep and I didn’t know. All I do know is… I woke up that next morning and… And I looked at my body from above, and my lips were blue… I went to the funeral, not a lot of people came, and then I just wandered again… Meet Caleb, rest is history.”

“I’m so sorry, Y/N… I really am.” Luke whispered, wiping a tear from her cheek Y/N hadn’t even noticed was there. She sniffled and let out a happy sigh, however forced it was, and patted the stone beneath her.

“It’s just what happened… I’ve enjoyed my afterlife a whole lot more.” She quickly wiped her cheeks again, making sure any stray tears were gone. “Are you better at singing or guitar?” she asked, trying to get the game back on track, and Luke obliged her.

“Well, you tell me. You, after all, are the musical critic.” Luke leaned forward as he spoke, earning a quick intake of breath from his counterpart. It felt nice, making her nervous… It felt nice to talk to a girl again, to hold hands with her like he wasn’t dead…

“Ah, but that’s not fair. I don’t play guitar, I have an uninformed opinion.” She refuted with a smile, and Luke’s eyes seem to light up for a moment.

“You sing?” He asked, and Y/N’s face dropped. She hadn’t said that, had she? But, by saying she didn’t play guitar, she implied she sang. Shit…

“I uh… No, not really.” She tried to brush it away, searching for another question to ask like she could pick it out of the air, but nothing came to her, and Luke watched her quick grab at escape with befuddled amusement.

“Your words say no, the look on your face says yes…” He said, bringing her back from her search with a hand on her shoulder. “I’d love to hear you sometime.”

“What? My voice? No, no you would not. I’m about two paces from a strangled cat compared to you, compared to Julie and the guys? You all sound perfect.” Y/N smiled, blowing a loose strand of hair from her eyes. The wind was picking up a little, and the faintest of tingles brushed their skin.

“Perfect isn’t everything… Seriously, if you ever want to, my offer stands.” Luke smiled at her, and she felt her heart beginning to race a little. His emerald green eyes were boring into her soul, sending a blush to her cheeks and nonsense to her lips.

“I… Uh… I’m…” She didn’t like the feeling, letting her guard down in front of him, letting him in on a guilty pleasure. It felt like she was digging underneath some invisible barricade she had created, stepping into her personal space with reckless care and abandon. “It’s getting late… You should be getting home, as should I.” She said quickly, standing up and brushing off the dust from her shorts. Luke followed suit, a frown on his face at the sudden ending of their get together.

“It was…  It was really nice to see you again.” He said with a half-hearted smile, and Y/N looked up at him.

“You know… Maybe you should think again about Caleb’s offer… I sing sometimes, at work… Just backing vocals really, but.” She stopped, running her hand up her arm as the cold settled into the salty air. As much as she liked her beach, she hated it on nights like this. “I’d really like to see you again… Come by the club if you get a chance…” She said quickly, walking over and pressing a kiss to Luke’s cheek in a surprising turn of events. For a moment, she was so convinced she’s just leave, just let it go and not look back, leave the job up to Willie. And yet, there she was, practically asking him out.

“I will. Come by the club… See you again.” He responded quickly, his hand coming up to his cheek absentmindedly. She just… It left a soft feeling, warm and gentle and he wasn’t quite sure what else, but it made his heart thump a little harder.

He had forgotten what crushing on a girl felt like.

“Good…” She nodded, the pair falling into an awkward silence, neither sure where to go from there. The wind was picking up again, and looking back inland they could both see the sky was slowly changing colour from a midnight blue to a pastel, with tinges of green welcoming a soft yellow. Morning was fast approaching, and they both had places to be. “Well, this is now a little awkward…” Y/N laughed a little, running a hand through her hair. “I’m gonna go… See you around, Denim. Tell your band they were great for me.” She waved her fingers as she took a few steps back, vanishing in a flash and leaving Luke to stare out at the ocean, decorated with the reflection of the overhead stars.

He walked back to Julie’s studio that night, keen to ponder the happenings of the night as he made his way through the city. He didn’t mean to pass the Orpheum on his way, but he did, stopping outside for a moment and glancing up at the neon sign that suddenly flickered off with the morning arriving. By the time he had gotten back to Julie’s, it was about time she would be heading for school, and he entered the studio to three expectant faces: Reggie, Alex, and Julie, all looking fairly worried for his safety.

“Where have you been?” Julie asked, Luke simply shrugging in response as he went over to the couch, lying back on the comfy pillows.

“I went for a walk.” He shrugged, glancing over. Their expressions had changed from worry to excitement all of a sudden, and it was freaking him out. “What?”

“Lipstick on your cheek says otherwise…” Alex mumbled, turning back around to his drum kit as Reggie and Julie sat on each side of Luke, Julie on the couch end and Reggie in the middle, making it rather difficult for Luke to escape. “Never seen you smitten before Luke. Was it the girl from the club again?” Alex asked with a toss of his drumstick, spinning it in the air before catching it with ease and taking a seat at his side of the room.

“Wait, the girl at the bar last night? The one I could see? Y/N?” Julie asked, receiving nods from Alex and Reggie, the latter of whom was closely examining Luke’s cheek. “She was pretty.” She drew the words out in a childish tone, craning her neck and batting her lashes to make Alex laugh from across the room, and Luke frown.

“I can’t believe she would be into you… You should have seen her at the club Julie, apologies again, I mean… She looked like a movie star.” Reggie rambled, and Luke had to flap him off with a laugh.

“Why don’t we stop pestering me about nothing and get back to rehearsal… And you, Julie, need to be at school.” Luke reprimanded her with a grin, “Isn’t it your big dance performance with a Mr Nick?” He teased, quickly getting the attention from him onto Julie as Alex and Reggie bombarded her with questions as she headed for the door.

“We’ve got a gig, tonight. We can sort out the order of the set list later, but pick what you want to show off. Dad’s getting it filmed for us.” Julie called, and she glanced back, catching Luke’s eye as she opened the door, the look they shared letting Luke know he wasn’t done talking about his mystery girl.

--

“You look sad, my little sunset.” A voice called to Y/N from across the club as she stood behind the bar, a row of polished glases to her right. she had spent most of her morning there, and as Caleb’s voice sounded the absentminded movement her fingers played on the countertop halted. The night before had been a success, one she was meant to attend, and by the tone of his voice and the fact he walked to her instead of teleporting, Y/N knew Caleb wasn’t happy with her.

“I’m fine.” She dismissed him and picked up another glass to polish, but the answer clearly wasn’t good enough.  A blunt object came under her chin, Caleb’s cane, tapping her head up and away from the glass she was polishing to look him in the eye.

“Y/N, how long have we worked together?” He asked.

“25 years, Mr Covington.”

“And did I not give you everything you ever wanted? A home, a family, a job you love?” He asked again and Y/N gulped.

“Yes, Mr Covington… You did.” She managed, the cane moving away from her neck, and for a moment she thought she had satisfied his ego.

With a forceful swoop of the cane, Caleb ran the metal topper through the row of freshly cleaned glasses Y/N had been working on, drawing a scream from the girl as glass shattered around them.

“Then why is it you run around behind my back?! HUH?!” He bellowed, and Y/N took a step back, lifting herself onto the back side of the bar to avoid the glass, to be further away from Caleb. “First Willie, now you… Your job was to tempt the boys back to the club, not go to their shows and fall for their lead guitarist, Y/N!” He continued, and she felt a tear roll down her cheek.

“C-caleb I’m… I’m sorry I…” She tried to apologise, but he cut her off as he jumped over the bar, his feet crunching on glass as he landed. Their faces were inches from one another, Y/N doing her best not to let out the sob that was clogging her throat.

“25 years… I taught you every trick in the book, everything I knew. I made you management material, I made you powerful…” He hissed, causing Y/N to flinch. “And look at you… A few days with some 90s teen heartthrob on your mind and it’s all been undone.” He sighed, the disappointment so clear to Y/N, it only made the tears run faster down her cheeks. “Take an hour. By the time you get back, you’ll have left your childish crush and fantasies somewhere else, you’ll come back to work the strong girl I know.” He started away, smashing one last glass for good measure, and earning a scream from the terrified girl.

“Whatever that boy did or said, remember this: love is weakness, and I don’t tolerate the weak.” Caleb reminded her, starting his saunter to wards his apartment, just beyond the backstage area. 

“It would be such a shame if I had to let you leave us, Y/N. Weakness is a breach of contract after all.”

--

Part Three is here...

--

Tags: @im-a-writer-right​ @elioelioeli0​ @jenjen889​ @walkingonshunshine​ @parkeret​ @lolychu​ @leahstypewriter​ @j-mar-memester​ @sunsetcurve-h​ @musicconversedance​

[inessencedevided]

A very overdue cql/mdzs fic rec list

for @accidental-child ​

I am so sorry this took me so long Axel! The pandemic has really done a number on my time-management skills and things like this often fall behind :/

The fics complied here are the ones i have not recced in the list for @helianthus21 before. You can find that one here, so you can check it out as well :)

The Wei Wuxian makes a wish series by natcat5

My attempt at a summary: this is a madoka magica AU (which i had not watched prior to reading this fic). Cultivators, in this universe, are created when a teenager makes a wish to the creature named Kyubey, which than grants them their wish and the power to fight witches, strange and destructive creatures of despair that lure people into their labyrinths. Wei Wuxian, at the beginning of the story is not a cultivator, but his friends are and so is the mysterious new student at his school, lan wangji, who follows him everywhere and seems to be obsessed with preventing him from making a contract.

My comment: my attempt at a summary does not do this story justice and is really just a setup. Honestly i cannot put into words how much I loved this story. It kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. It made me laugh, it made me cry for entire chapters, it drew me into it's world so much that I freaking dreamed about it! (I'm not kidding, I really did) Honestly, this fic deserves so much more attention than it is currently getting. Not only is the plot expertly crafted, with reveals that shock you and leave you reading, but the author also just gets the characters. The best thing an AU can do, in my opinion, is take familiar characters, put them in unfamiliar situations and then manage to make the way they react believable. And this AU nails that! The conclusion and the choices that Wei wuxian and lan Wangji make in the end felt exactly right. Not to mention, it has a stellar ensemble cast! Everyone is here (except Xichen sadly and I kind of think it is deliberate because without him, Lan Wangji lacks a support system). Again, I cannot recommend this story enough. It is, without doubt, my favourite fic series in this entire fandom. (Caution however: Do read the warnings in the tags and notes and take them seriously. They are there for a very good reason.)

Agapé (home is in your arms) by estel_willow

Author’s summary: Lan Xichen is in isolation. Wei Wuxian visits him. Together they find their way back to happiness, to clarity and to home. 

My comment: This one focuses on both Lan Xichen’s and Wei Wuxian’s issues and lets them resolve them together. I am such a fan of their characterisations in this fic, as well as Lan Wangji’s even though he is not the focus. I love it when non-romantic relationships are the focus of fics and especially when they are central to the character’s resolving their own issues and moving forward in life and that is exactly what happens here.

until you're big enough by lostin_space      

Author’s summary: Lan Zhan is sad and not hungry; Lan Xichen asks Nie Mingjue to help him. 

My comment: This one is a really short and sweet read about how Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue parent the their younger brothers. I just really liked how the author portrayed todler Lan Zhan, as well as these two teenagers doing their best to be the parents that both he and Nie huaisang lack. 

Night Music by Manogahela                

Author’s summary: There is a music that plays in the night at Cloud Recess....but there isn't suppose to be. Lan Xichen investigates the mysterious dizi music that can be heard from the Jingshi at night following the Siege of the Burial mounds.

My comment: I absolutely adored this one, mainly for two reasons: 1. I love an outsider perspective and Lan Xichen’s, at this point and with his limited knowledge is absolutely wonderful. First, he isn’t even sure is what he thinks is happening really is happening and when he is sure, his feelings are, understandably very conflicted. 2. The author’s style compliments this fic so well. Since most of it happens at night and Xichen isn’t entirely sure that he can trust his senses, there is a certain dreamlike quality to it that the author writes beautifully. This fic is part one in a series. Part two is a WIP, but also very much worth the read!

Company by WithBroomBefore                

My summary: In which Wei Wuxian is whipped within an inch of his life by Madam Yu when he is fourteen and comes to stay at the cloud recesses. He and Lan Zhan become friends.

My comment: My summary once again does not do this fic justice. Because it is so much more than just that. It’s such a beautful exploration of friendship and love and bodily autonomy. Wei Wuxian has a lot to work through in this fic, but really, so has Lan Zhan who has the opportunity to make friends at a much more mellow pace than in the novel/show and panics a little less because of it. The war still happens but has much less dire consequences. All in all, this fic left me with a wonderful warm feeling in my chest.

you are safe / loved / worthy / enough by everythingispoetry                

Author’s summary: One of the more timid-looking posts, in pale greens and creams and yellows, says Hello, I'm managing to be fairly high functioning right now but I'm really not doing as well as it may appear, and Lan Zhan feels as if someone sneaked into his mind and read his most secret thoughts, the ones he's never even dared to admit to himself.

(In which Lan Zhan, to his own dismay, finds himself with the help of the most obnoxious, cheerful, cheesy self-care instagram account known to men.)

(And Wei Ying.)

My comment: Listen, I have a complicated relationship with fics that depict mental health struggles in characters. They are all so incredibly valid and I’m glad they exist (every single one of them, no matter if i like them or not) but due to the fact that they tend to come from the author projecting their own issues onto characters (which is NOT a bad thing! that is what fanfic is for!) they are often hit-and-miss when it comes to characterisation. But this story ... it just GETS Lan Wangji. If someone told me a scenario in a modern AU that leads to him developing an anxiety disorder and depression, this is what I would have come up with. Because let’s be real, Lan Wangji is a perfectionist to boot, insanely competitive and needs to live up to his family’s expectations, while also not having much of an emotional support system outside of his brother and uncle. That’s a dangerous cocktail in the modern world and just screams of a burnout waiting to happen. So Lan Wangji, off to university, living alone in a strange city for the frst time, spends all his time in a carefully calculated study routine but slowly realises that the path he set out on was not one he chose because he liked it but simply the one that was laid out for him by his background and family, which then leads to him questioning the reason behind what he does. That reads as incredibly real to me. A good AU, in my opinion, takes the characters and their inherent characteristics and lets them meet new and unique challenges that they never would have encountered in canon, which then leads to new and interesting character developement. And this AU manages that perfectly! (Plus, if you are a university student like me who sometimes suffers from crushing anxiety about the path they chose in life, this is insanely relatable. What? I never said I wasn’t biased :P)

porn (but not actually) and waiting (a lot of it) by hyacinth4maria    

Author’s summary: Lan Xichen sighs as he settles into the couch next to Lan Wangji.

"What are you looking at?"

Lan Wangji, without pausing from typing the names Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian in the Love Calculator 3000, says, "Porn."

Lan Xichen chokes.

- Lan Wangji has a crush. Lan Xichen hadn't realized his little brother was growing up.    

My comment: this one was hilarious! Just Lan Xichen being both absolutely exasperated and amused by wangxian’s pre-teen drama. I almost choked laughing at the line that coined the title. The author has these characters down to a T and they used their powers to attack my laugh-musccles :D

the field meets the wood by astronicht     

Author’s summary: Wei Wuxian is a dark shadow in the barley. Wei Wuxian is sorry for the kind of compassion that he is about to hand out.

(in which Lan Wangji is stolen for salt, and Wei Wuxian unravels the world, a little)

My Comment: HOLY FUCKING SHIT THIS IS SO GOOD. Do you ever read a story and just marvel at the author’s mind? This is one of those. The sheer genius of giving Wei Wuxian the ability to pull entire beings into non-being! The absolute galaxy-brain idea to link the canon mythology to modern astrophysics!!! Wei Wuxian creates a motherfucking black hole in this one!!! And it’s SO well written, too! The author does not shy away from Wei Wuxian’s sharp edges and his darker side but goddamn if he is not still loveable anyway. Just GO READ THIS FIC!

Abandon your post by StarsAlignNomore        

Author’s summary: After months as Chief Cultivator and separated from his soulmate, Lan Wangji follows Wei Wuxian out into the world. He searches for him. He finds him. He kisses him. They reunite, they talk, they resolve. Sometimes Bichen lends emotional support. Chenqing bites. Little Apple is there too.

Your typical Post-Canon-Reunion-Fic with much more emphasis on their spiritual weapons than expected.

My comments: This one just left me with a lot of mushy feelings. Also I adore the way the author emphasised the relationship between Lan Wangji and Bichen. And by the end, Wangxian finally figure shit out through actual open communication. Absolutely beautiful!