#tumblr gave me the hardest time uploading these I swear

[pink-flame]

quote

[illicitlimerence-writes]

close friends | t. holland

pairing: tom holland x fem!reader word count: 3.1k warnings: some language, some angst if u squint. otherwise it's just fluff and tom being tom. didn't proofread this. a/n: so tumblr decided to be a little bitch and deleted this t w i c e. so i had to write this t h r e e times. this came up in my head after i got like three notifications that tom posted something on his ig story, and then it turned out he deleted them. as always, english isn't my first language so i'm sorry if this gets confusing bye. also, i was listening to cardigan by taylor swift as i wrote this.

my masterlist

so we all know tom sucks at instagram. that's a surprise to literally no one. no matter how many times you tried to teach him he still doesn't get it, and it was only a matter of time before he finally posted something he shouldn't have.

it was just one of those days, you missed him like hell. he was away filming the third spiderman, and you had to stay behind because of work.

naturally, you relied on face time and texts to survive and fill the void he left behind. you loved talking to him, listening as he rambled on and on about his adventures on set. a love-struck look on your face as you tried your hardest to stay awake despite the urge to close your eyes.

eventually, sleep took over you, and you drifted off with the sound of his voice lulling you to sleep. he stopped talking abruptly when he didn't hear your soft chuckling in reply to the story he was telling.

instead, he saw your sleeping figure, long steady breaths moving your chest up and down. and he cursed himself for making you stay up so late for him. he took one last look at you, taking a screenshot of your sleeping form.

he quickly hung up the video call and opened instagram instead, uploading the screenshot to his story,

'missing my favorite girl, thank you so much for everything you do for me. x @yourusername'

the next morning you woke up to the sound of your phone buzzing. at first, thought someone had died as one notification after another filled your screen. most of them came from instagram, so you opened that app first.

thousands upon thousands of mentions, tags and new followers. you frowned, and suddenly a text from your friend popped up at the top of your screen.

'omg just saw his story. so happy for u both'

who's story? what was going on?

you refreshed your timeline, and tom's icon appeared, a colorful circle around it. an odd feeling sank in your stomach. you tapped his icon and suddenly your screen was full of... you.

a picture of you, sleeping. tom's smiling form in a small rectangle on the bottom right corner.

oh god. you read the words he wrote, over and over again. your heart pounding in your chest, and a sudden wave of fear ran through your body. but then you read his words once more, and all you could feel was love. pure, unconditional affection.

sure, your families and closest friends knew about you, but you hadn't talked about making your relationship public yet, but there was nothing you could do now.

you sighed, leaning back on your pillows. a small chuckle left your throat.

you grabbed your phone once again, quickly facetiming tom. you knew he had an early call today, and you hoped you could catch him while he was still in his hotel.

it ran once, twice, and then you saw him, hair all over the place, bare chest. hands rubbing sleep off of his face.

"mornin', darling." he said, his raspy morning voice making you smile.

"hi, baby. did i wake you?" you asked, sitting up and crossing your legs.

"yeah but it's fine, princess. i did keep you up last night so it's only fair."

"i'm sorry about falling asleep on you, that was a really nice picture you took last night," you lifted one eyebrow, and watched as he smiled at you sheepishly.

"i thought you looked really pretty, you always look pretty," he said, grabbing the water bottle on his nightstand and taking a swing.

"thanks, i hope the whole world thinks so, too," you declared. leaning your chin on your fist, watching him expectantly.

he did not react like you had expected him to.

his breath hitched as he sipped his water, and suddenly all you could see was the cream-colored ceiling, as you heard him spitting out and coughing.

"tom! oh, my god! are you okay?" you asked, getting on your knees and holding your phone up to your face, "tommy?" you repeated when he finally stopped coughing, you could now hear his heavy breaths.

at last, you saw his curls appear from the bottom of the screen.

"wh-what did you just say?" his voice was rough, his chest heaving.

"are you okay?" you asked again.

"ye-yeah i'm fine. babe, what did you mean by 'the whole world'? did something happen?" he asked, frowning. you echoed his expression, watching him for a second.

“you posted a picture to your story,” you repeated, and he nodded.

“yeah, i posted it to my close friends, i-” he stopped mid-sentence, eyes growing comically wide. “oh shit, did i-” he caught himself off as he threw the phone to one side, you heard him fumbling around for his laptop and you snorted. “shit, baby, don’t tell me i posted it… fuck!” you couldn’t keep it in any longer, you broke out laughing.

“of course this is how the world finds out about us!” you continued giggling until your stomach hurt.

“fuck, princess i’m so sorry, i didn’t mean to, i swear i- why are you laughing!?”

“tommy, tommy! it’s okay, baby, don’t worry. i’m not mad,” you stopped once you noticed his pouting. “it’s fine, my love, i don’t mind. sure it’s unexpected, and a little sudden but i wouldn’t have it any other way. i knew what i was getting into when we started dating,” you told him honestly, wishing you were there to give him a hug and kiss him all over.

“darling, i’m really, really sorry. i swear i thought i tapped the green button like you told me to” he continued his sulking, nervous eyes glancing back and forth from his laptop screen to you.

“i know, baby, i know this is not your forte, and i really appreciate the sweet gesture, honestly. i love you so much,” you told him as you bit your lip. folding your legs to your chest, wrapping one around them.

“god, i love you. i swear i’ll make it up to you,” he ran his hand through his hair, giving you a quick peek of his bare chest.

“i’ll hold you to it,” you chuckled, you glanced to the clock on your nightstand, sighing when you saw the time. “i’ve gotta go,” you said as you stood up and stretched. a wicked idea ran through you head. “i’ve got like five meetings today, so i’ll probably be busy most of the day. just in case i don’t reply or something,” you made up you lie quickly. grabbing your laptop and opening a new tab.

“oh, okay. i’ll be on set until like 1 am, so we’ll talk tomorrow?” he asked, eyes bright. you nodded, biting your lip.

“definitely. i love you,” you blew him a kiss. he smiled, and you felt your heart swelling.

“i love you, too. good luck today!” he said as you reluctantly hung up the call.

you immediately got to work, calling your assistant and telling her you were taking a few personal weeks, and to email you in case of emergencies. next, you texted harry, asking him to call you once tom was busy on set.

you waited for the page to load, and once you had bought your one-way ticket to atlanta you hurriedly threw some pre-planned outfits into two suitcases, just in case. your phone rang and harry’s face popped up on your screen. you quickly answered the call, and let him know of your out-of-the-blue plan. he agreed to meet you at the airport and drive you to set. and because of your recent and sudden rise to fame, he suggested you wear all black and a cap. you followed his advice, throwing on some sunglasses as well, as you had seen tom do many times before.

once you reached the airport and checked-in, you bought some coffee and breakfast, as well as some food for the flight. you opened instagram, seeing all the messages and comments. you had seen how the fans reacted when their favorite celebrities announced a relationship, and you knew to expect the meanest comments, and even death threats. for your own sake and peace of mind, you allowed yourself to scroll until you read three of those, and closed the app.

once the plane took off, you tried to catch some sleep, preparing for the inevitable jet lag, but your mind kept buzzing from one scenario to another. so you took out your book and tried to read some chapters, putting in your earbuds, music playing quietly.

when you finally, finally landed, you stretched your legs and grabbed your bags, putting on the cap and sunglasses again, you spotted a familiar head of wild curls. you quickly approached harry.

“what happened to all black and a cap to go unnoticed?” you asked as he took one of your bags in his hands.

“think about it, two kids wearing black, a cap and sunglasses? people would think we’re up to no good.” he gave you a tight hug, you’d missed him almost as much as you’d missed tom.

he caught you up on everything he and tom had been doing these past months, you shifted in your seat in excitement, the sleep that was slowly taking over you on the plane had now disappeared from your body.

in what was probably a 15 -but to you felt like five- minute drive, you got to the hotel to leave your bags and take a quick shower. harry left you alone in tom’s room, making his way to his own room next door. he said he’d order something for you to eat whilst you got ready to see tom.

you took the quickest shower ever known to humankind, and when you walked out of the bathroom after using tom’s shampoo and conditioner, -you’d missed his smell all over you. the few forgotten hoodies and shirts that were once drenched in the smell of his soap and cologne, were now very faint.- you wrapped a bathrobe around your body, rummaging through tom’s clothes until you found one of his shirts.

you pulled it close to your face, sighing at the familiar scent you’d missed so much. you got dressed quickly, grabbing your now fully-charged phone and the key to tom’s room that harry had left on a coffee table. you knocked on harry’s door and he let you in.

“i just texted tom, he says they’ve got like three hours left.” you sat next to him on the couch, the table in front of you filled with food waiting to be devoured.

“my poor baby, they overwork him,” you pouted, reaching for one of the plates.

“it was his idea, said he’ll do anything that helps finish filming sooner.” you stopped chewing your food.

“wait, really?” you asked in disbelief, you knew tom loved his job, and you found it odd that he wanted to cut his time on set short.

“yeah, it’s been rough for him. not having you around, i mean, after he spent months with you. he’s been pretty distracted lately. messing up lines, he’s been waking up late and missing early calls...” your heart sank at the words. you ate the rest of your food with a knot in your stomach, cursing yourself for not getting there sooner. soon enough, you were back in the car, your leg bouncing up and down. you fell asleep on your way to set, waking up when harry parked the car and nudged your shoulder.

you stepped out carefully, your head turning back every few steps you took, in fear that tom might catch you. once you reached the stage where tom was filming, you flashed the visitor badge harry had given you to the guard and he let you both in. you walked in as you leaned down, your forehead against harry’s back, shielding you from the curious stares. harry told you to hide behind a giant box where they kept some lights whilst he spoke to the director.

although the box was big and tall enough to cover you completely, you crouched down, straining your ears for nearing footsteps. you heard two sets of feet approaching, your heartbeat racing.

you were met with your accomplice, a friendly-looking man behind him. you stood up as they approached you.

“this the girl?” the man asked, and harry nodded, “nice to meetcha, i’m jon.” you shook his hand, “okay, so we’ve cleared tom’s schedule for one week, we’ll need him back fully recharged and ready to work like it’s his first day on set, you’re welcome to stay as long as you like, if it means he’ll work better if you’re here you can stay until we're done. i really don’t mind, i just need my guy back.” you blinked at his words, nodding slowly. “we’ve got a couple hours left tonight, i’m all up for some cheesy reunion, but it’ll have to be when we’re finished, i can barely keep him focused as it is.”

with that he left, and harry led you to tom’s trailer, where you caught some sleep while you waited. like that morning, you woke up to your phone buzzing. you reached for it, sleep leaving your body as you read the text.

‘just finished filming for the night, i’m exhausted. miss u, love you. x.’

all rational thoughts left your head, you opened the door to tom’s trailer and sprinted out of there until you reached the set. your eyes finally, finally met his figure, and tears filled your eyes.

your legs moved on their own accord, you mumbled apologies as you crashed into people, but you didn’t care. tom had his back to you, and even though he wasn’t wearing the spiderman costume, you’d recognize that ass anywhere.

“tom!” you called out, stopping a few feet away from him. you saw him whipping his head around, eyes scanning the sea of people. you made your way up to him, “tommy!” you repeated, and he finally turned around.

his mouth wide opened in disbelief, arms twitching, feet running towards you as you did the same. you crashed into each other, your legs wrapping around him, arms around his neck, fingers curling on his soft hair. his hands running all over your back, your hair. pulling you as close as humanly possible.

whispers of ‘i love you’, ‘god, i missed you’, ‘never leave me again’, and ‘i promise’ were exchanged. you tightened your hold on his hair, pulling back to look at him.

“hi,” you whispered, your nose brushing his.

“hey,” he replied, burying his face on your neck again, pressing small kisses anywhere he could reach. his hands settled on the back of your thighs as he spun you two. you giggled, sniffling as a few tears escaped your eyes.

you could not care less about the people around you, all you could think about was the boy wrapped all over you, your favorite boy. tom led you back to his trailer, where you finally untangled yourself from him. he settled you down and you immediately wrapped your arms around his waist, pulling him close to you again.

you had been starved of his touch for so long, there was no way you were letting him go anytime soon.

after many kisses, touches, tears, promises and more kisses, you left for the hotel. harry had already left, getting a ride from another cast member to leave you two alone. at that moment you swore you’d make him godfather of your firstborn child.

as you waited for tom to step out of the shower -you would’ve joined him, but three showers in a day seemed kind of excessive-, you laid down on the bed, throwing the covers over your body, tom's scent engulfing you. you breathed in happily. you tapped on your phone, replying to some work emails when you received a text from harry.

‘i believe the ball is in your court. you’re welcome.’

next, you received a picture of you and tom. harry must’ve taken the picture when you and tom were too lost in each other to even notice anyone around you. in the picture, your legs are around tom, bodies pressed closed together, your noses touching as you stare lovingly into each other’s eyes. it was a beautiful picture. and the black and white filter harry had applied to it made it seem like one of those old pictures of wives reuniting with their spouses after the war.

you smiled, heart swelling with emotion as you contemplated your options. you hummed quietly, tapping the instagram logo and waiting for the app to load.

you quickly uploaded the picture harry sent you tagging both him and tom and adding a quick caption before you shut down your phone. you were drifting off to sleep when you felt familiar arms around you.

you leaned into tom’s touch, your back resting against his chest, legs tangling with his as he interlocked his fingers with your own.

“thank you so much for being here, my love. i love you,” tom whispered into your ear, pressing a kiss to your cheek.

“i’ll be here whenever you need me. i’ll always come back to you.” you turned around, facing him. you kissed the corner of his lips, and he cupped your cheek, his lips meeting yours in a slow kiss, filled with emotion. your fingers played with his fingers as you moved to straddle his waist. “i love you,” you broke the kiss reluctantly. as much as you both wanted to make love that night, you’d made it your top priority that tom took his time off to rest as much as he could, and that included that first night.

you gave him one last kiss, going back to your previous position. the familiar and comfortable weight of his arms around you, the feeling of his lips on your neck, his chest rising and falling against your back, you couldn’t ask for anything better.

the peaceful environment you had created suddenly burst like a bubble as tom’s phone pinged over and over again. you heard him grunting, arms reluctantly leaving you.

tom chuckled, putting his phone on do-not-disturb and throwing it somewhere on the bed.

“you’re perfect for me, my favorite girl.” you smiled, leaning into his touch as he kissed you all over. sleep quickly taking over both of you.

tom swore his heart stopped when he’d seen the picture you posted. you’d never looked more beautiful than when you were staring up at him, your bottom lip between your teeth. the words you wrote as a caption were the last thing on his brain as he finally succumbed to sleep.

‘i said, “i bet you can’t keep this a secret for five months.” he said, “darling, i won’t make it past three.” @ tomholland2013 it’s been 10 months, who won?’

edit: i just saw henry cavill's ig post and omg what is my life. pls respect celebrities' privacy and relationships.

[troped-fanfic-challenge]

Who will be on the CHOPPING BLOCK!?

Fifteen fics were written following a Theme of [Angst], including the Tropes [Stranger to Lovers] and [Road Trip AU], and with a Character focus on [Harper McIntyre]! Voting determined the 8 who would continue in this competition…

We had fifteen (15) INCREDIBLE fics this round, but, unfortunately, not everyone can move on to the next round. In this round, eight (8) authors are on the CHOPPING BLOCK! Thank you so much to all the authors who participated, and, to the authors who were Chopped, we hope you’ll consider joining future Chopped events, and we are so happy you decided to be a part of Chopped Madness! 

Our reviews for these fics can be found under the cut!

The eight authors who have been Chopped are:

Author 1: @iexasheart​ : You can bloom again [Harper x Clarke] [Rated T]

Qualifying Round Fic: don’t be who you were

Author 2: @shen-gong-oops​ - Never Gonna Give You Up [Harper x Raven] [Rated T]

Qualifying Round Fic: The Sixth Bride

Author 3: @justwalkedaway​: Take back my life (Prove I'm alright) [Harper x Monty] [Rated T]

Qualifying Round Fic: Where is the path to Wonderland?

Author 4: @mobi-on-a-mission​ - The Hardest Thing [Harper x Emori] [Rated T]

Qualifying Round Fic: 2199 Nights

Author 5: @kuklash​: I Need You (Like I Need a Gaping Head Wound) [Harper x Echo] [Rated T] **graphic depictions of violence, major character death**

Qualifying Round Fic: There's Gonna Be a Party When the Wolf Comes Home

Author 6: @hopskipaway​ - i wanna shoot the whole day down [Harper x Monty] [Rated T] **major character death**

Qualifying Round Fic: i've got a heart in me (i swear)

Author 7: @vmreed​:  What the Hell is a Pulmonary Embolism? [Harper & Murphy/Clarke] [Rated T

Qualifying Round Fic: How to Kill a Two-Headed Turkey

Author 8: @pawprinterfanfic

Qualifying Round Fic: Simmer Simmer Simmer

—-

Now that you have been Chopped, all the fics you’ve written in Chopped Madness have been revealed and you can post about your fics! Don’t forget to tag us so we can share!

But don’t be discouraged if you were Chopped this round (or unable to participate)! We’ve created a non-anon collection, where you can submit your fics if you would like to write for other rounds, keep pace with the writing period, etc, in a non-competive way! That’s where you’ll find us!!!! We’d love to read your fics and will gladly share them on our tumblr! The non-anon collection can be found here! To submit your fic to the collection, simply enter ‘chopped_non_anonymous’ as the name of the collection when uploading your fic!!!

Non-Anon AO3 Collection Link: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Chopped_Non_Anonymous

To all the remaining Chopped Madness Authors, we hope you’re excited for ROUND 2, which starts TONIGHT, 12:00am (EST) March 26th!! Please be sure to check our google doc for theme and trope explanations! Good luck!

@iexasheart​ Mods’ Review

The concept of this story, with Harper having Nightblood on the Ark and no one knowing or even understanding it, is so cool. It plays such a relevant part to really drive the whole story. Harper and Clarke are such a good ship, they’re a perfect match, like it's shown through the fic, they’re both survivors, they both can push through and make it through anything. This pairing added a nice layer to the story! Harper being kidnapped and held hostage for months was super dark, and very angsty! “She catches bits and pieces of conversations, when she can, and learns that they’re keeping her there just in case she is a Commander. Through her tears, she screams at them that she’s not, that she doesn’t know what this means, but they don’t ever listen.” This was such a good scene, we were genuinely terrified for Harper and so concerned about her. We loved this as a rationale, and that it makes it worse for Harper because she isn’t and doesn’t understand, it was a really nice touch to add an extra layer of angst! We also really loved the catharsis of the moment when Harper finally gets free. Harper getting to express her pure fury and rage was a nice character moment, a chance to let her feel her pain out loud. “She hasn’t moved from that spot, but for the first time in years, Harper takes a deep breath in and feels a fleeting sense of freedom” this quote really captured that moment so well! It was a nice touch to let Harper learn that being a nightblood kept her alive, giving her a chance to see that the thing that caused her so much pain and misery was also what kept her alive, letting her appreciate something unique and special about her! Them digging up Polis together was such a cool scene. It added an extra layer to the scene we saw in canon, and it also gave a little extra mystery (to Harper at least) when Clarke found Lexa’s throne! And the ending, such a nice way to relieve the angst of the story. Them being happy in Eden felt like a natural and easy conclusion to a story where the characters didn’t get much ‘easy’. 

@shen-gong-oops​ Mods’ Review

This fic was ANGSTY. Best friends who were never allowed to hug or touch? Who had to go on a roadtrip in seperate cars just to be able to share an adventure? So good! And Raven being introduced as the surrogate Monty chose was a great way to incorporate the strangers to lovers trope! Also, so cute, that it was so clearly a set up. The fact that they had been planning this trip since they were kids makes the angst hit even harder, the idea that they’ve spent years wanting to get to be normal kids and be together, but they never could. There were a lot of great character moments, but some of our favorites were Raven ironing, and Harper getting to express her anger. Raven ironing felt super in character, a way to maintain order and structure in the chaos, a nice way to show that she likes to be in control of her life, and a nice way to show how much its hurting her that she might not be in control after her accident. Harper getting to express her anger and frustration with the world and its unfairness was very sincere and felt very earned for her character, and it was a nice way to show how Harper was really feeling about the hand she’d been dealt! As soon as you mentioned Raven being an organ donor, we KNEW you were going to have her get hurt, and we were already upset about it, but the scene was so well done. It was angsty and sad, and scary, but by adding that cheesy rom-com joke about Harper having Raven’s heart, you were able to add a little levity and a breath of air to the scene in a way that was super natural and so well timed! 

@justwalkedaway​ Mods’ Review

First off, Monty and Harper feeling like strangers in their own marriage, and coming to realise they loved each other in a different way than they did 10 years ago was such an angsty and super creative way to incorporate the ‘strangers to lovers’ trope! This fic was so angsty, and painful to read! Little things like Monty forgetting their anniversary, and Harper being aware that Monty was attracted to Miller even though they were drifting apart were really great ways to establish where they stood in their relationship! We really enjoyed the ending, with them getting a chance to talk to one another and realise they were on the same page about their feelings, and then letting them start to forge a new path forward. We especially liked the line “They would never have to be strangers again, that their love as friends would help them grow together. Everything was going to be okay.” The paragraph at the end, where you really explained that the connection between them was so good, and allowed for a slight tint of hopefulness for their future while maintaining the angst at a 10! 

@mobi-on-a-mission​ Mods’ Review

This fic used the combination of the character, theme, and tropes so well! Emori x Harper is such a unique pairing, and it definitely works great! The set up of the Mountain Men killing all of Skaikru is really eerie and angsty, it adds a really unsettling air to the fic where you feel like both of them are unsafe at every turn! “I’m an invader too” the idea that Emori is an invader because she was left out to die, and they see her as a stain, an unwelcome piece of their community is so good, this was a really nice character moment! Harper copying Lincoln’s map, and wanting to carry on with their plan to go to the see was a great way to tie canon back in and set up the ‘road trip’ they were going to go on! Emori teaching Harper the same way she taught Murphy was also a really fun addition! Harper waking up screaming from her nightmares to marry an angst plot and a romance plot together, letting them be physically comforting and hold each other through it, this was a really nice detail to incorporate! The story kept you really invested the whole time, and having Harper be kidnapped towards the middle/end of the fic was a really great way to do that. It was an opportunity to add angst and danger, but also a way to show how Emori had grown during their relationship,  to not only love Harper, but to put Harper’s safety above her own. “She was always light, so light, so light… She was the sun” this quote is so lovely, and such a nice way to describe Harper!! And that final kiss? “Tears welled in her eyes and smeared against Harper’s skin as they kissed”? So angsty, so good!!

@kuklash​ Mods’ Review

To start off, 90’s political thriller? Corrupt government officials and spies on the run? Like…someone make this movie for us, but it has to be Chelsey Reist and Tasya Teles as the stars! On to the actual fic though, a kidnapping and being forced to hit the road is a great way to hit all the tropes! Maintaining the kidnapping for a while helped the story feel serious, and made the stakes higher, adding a little fear and letting us know Harper wasn’t going to be safe in the story, which was a great way to add more angst! This fic had a lot of great character moments that really showed who Echo and Harper are in really great ways. “..but she has to stay strong. If she wants to survive she has to be strong”, this line is a great way to show Harper’s characteristics! We loved that Echo was her false name, but Ashe was her real name, and we loved the reveal being a soft moment of peace. It was a nice way to involve a canon element, but in a way that fit the story, because of course a spy on the run wouldn’t give her real name. It was also a nice way to show Echo slowly warming up to Harper! Echo’s death scene was SO well executed, even though we knew they weren’t safe, we were still stunned when she died! And don’t even get us started on the ending, so eerie and creepy and a great way to tie off the story with a slightly ambiguous ending!

@hopskipaway​ Mods’ Review

The set up for the road trip was great, a nice way to tie the angst directly into that trope, and Harper and Monty never meeting until this point was a great addition. It added the strangers to lovers part, obviously, but there's also a nice amount of angst involved in bonding over the loss of a friend. There were so many nice character beats that really showed Jasper’s bond with all of them, like when Harper knew Monty’s favorite candy just because Jasper had talked about him so much, and how Jasper thought Harper would be cute for Monty. It worked really well to establish how much they all meant to him. We loved  the moment of all of them finally arriving at the bar together. It felt very much like a community of strangers who were really joining through loss. We really liked the dynamic of the entire bar scene. “I worked with him.” She wasn’t sure why when someone dies you trade around excuses and explanations of how you knew them, like it was some sort of grief currency.” This line was such a great way to express the uncomfortable feeling that situations like that can have, and it was a nice touch. The delinquents coming together after Jasper’s Death was PAINFUL, and a great way to establish a sort of Found Family dynamic in a way that definitely hit the angst mark! Definitely crying at that last bit. Also, great use of the song Jasper was singing in the Rover being on the Jukebox!! 

@vmreed​ Mods’ Review

Harper’s outsider POV on the Strangers to Lovers Story was such a unique twist on the trope, and the use of a bus crash within the ‘road trip’ was also a really great take on that trope! This fic was a great way to showcase how the tropes we give for Chopped can be used in unexpected ways! This fic had a lot of great character moments too, like Murphy being so obviously grumpy and sullen that Harper knows not to try with the cute Tour Guide move is so good. A nice touch of characterisation that was added in a very natural and interesting way. Harper losing Carl was also a great moment for characterisation! “Carl stopped breathing, and Harper died a little bit too” this was such a sweet touch of angst, and a nice way to show that Harper’s life exists beyond this story, and that she and Carl were friends. We loved the very real action drama of the bus crash, with Harper running back in over and over to save people, the chaos and the fire, the acknowledgement that people actually died. With all those deaths, it sounded like the Road Trip from Hell, but the trio really jumped into action and it was great to see their interactions. The whole scene was an exciting and fun read! 

@pawprinter​ Mods’ Review

The Qualifying Round was so great and your fic was a lot of fun to read! There are so many callbacks to early Bellarke and it was great to see their relationship bounce back on their journey. When Russell warns Bellamy that they can only trust each other...he can only trust Clarke, and then all he does to save her...well, let’s just say this fic gave us all the Bellarke feels!!! The idea of Sanctum beginning anew, and going back to harvest the land, is a very human thing to do on a foreign planet. “The sky glittered with stars, showing constellations he was unfamiliar with. He missed the stars from Earth more than he realized…” This line is so good. Can you imagine looking up and not recognizing any part of the night sky? This is such a cool thing to add, and we loved it! The vines are SO creepy! We loved how creepy and scary you made the Hansel & Gretel fairy tale with the vines scene. It really upped the stakes and had us on the edge of our seats. AND THE ENDING?! Bellamy frantically searching for a cure that likely doesn’t exist, only to stumble upon a mass grave from the cannibal lady in the woods?! INSANE, and SO well executed!

[ibelieveinahappilyeverafter]

To Land On Your Feet - Chapter 01

Bonjour, mes chers! So, near the end of March I wrote and posted the majority of this first chapter on my tumblr in response to a Popular Fic Meme post I took part in. I also, however, said that this would be continued on April 2nd, so here we are; the official To Land Land Your Feet Erasermic and Shinson story!

I meant to post this yesterday, but my body gave out on me as soon as I got home from my 11-hour school day. Hopefully you don't mind it's a touch late, but I added some more detail for those who have already read this - specifically around the fight in the second-to-last scene.

The uploading schedule for this will be a new chapter (maybe more) every Tuesday and Friday. There might be chapters outside of that, but those are the set days where you can expect new content. If this changes then you can expect me to give you a warning on my tumblr, and then with the latest chapter.

With all that out of the way...

Enjoy!

                Click here to read the work on Archive Of Our Own.

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Summary: Aizawa Shouta had a good life. He was a happily married pro-hero teacher, had two cats that loved to make his life difficult, and soon, if things went well, he would have Shinsou Hitoshi as a son. Thanks to an unexpected attack by a man with the League of Villains, though, Shouta is turned into a cat. While he had a fondness for cats, that never meant he wanted to be one, especially when no one seems to recognize him and his friends and family are trying to find him when he's right there.

He had been planning to find a way to change back, but instead he ends up following Shinsou Hitoshi to the foster home he lives in after hearing some worrying information from the teen himself. Shouta himself was guilty of venting his frustrations to cats, but hearing that Hitoshi would be locked outside in the cold if he was late getting home was just another clue among countless that something was wrong. He has to get back to normal, but he'd be a poor hero and a shit father-to-be if he didn't follow the kid and make sure he was okay. 

Besides, quirks like this usually had a time limit. Right? 

                                             <<Next Chapter>>

                                                Chapter One

“Shouta… I think it’s time that we had a serious talk.” Fingers twitching from where he was checking over his utility belt, Shouta looked to his husband, studying his expression for a moment before taking a deep, steadying breath. “It’s about your current batch of students.”

There wasn’t an ounce of seriousness in that man’s gaze and Shouta could see the laughter that Hizashi was fighting to hold back. “What about them, ‘Zashi?” It was an effort not to smile, himself, but Shouta knew from experience that smiling would only encourage him. “I told you not to do the lesson on English swearing.”

“Hey! Students love that lesson!” Hizashi’s complaint was more of a squawk than anything else, Shouta only humming to show that he was listening as he went back to checking over his belt. He was running low on caltrops. He would need to remember to place an order in for some more later. “A lot of them are improving, you know. Kaminari managed to get a 70 on his last test, even! A 70!”

“Bakugou has been forcing the annoyances to study,” Shouta snorted, checking the next few pouches quickly and efficiently. His patrol would start soon - hence why he was near the door and Hizashi kept trying to devise ways to get him to go back to the couch where Shouta had been happily napping before his alarm went off. “He insists that if they have enough energy to be annoying, then they have enough energy to apply themselves to their schoolwork.”

“For being a delinquent, he has pretty good grades.” It almost sounded like a complaint and, considering it was Hizashi saying those words, Shouta couldn’t stop his laugh. “I can tell when you’re laughing at me, you know.”

“I just find it rich that you’re calling someone a delinquent with good grades considering your own record.” Shouta grinned at Hizashi as the man sunk down on the couch, giving him a dramatic pout. It was even funnier considering this was the man who still held the school record for the most detentions in a single school year. He had also graduated top of the school with test records that remained unbroken. Nedzu had given him a little plaque for being an Official Pain at graduation and it was still hanging on their wall. “Stop pouting. I’ll be back soon.”

“You’re a full-time teacher,” Hizashi grumbled and whined, Shouta feeling his heart clench at the genuine worry that was hidden under those words. “Even I cut back on my patrols after a while. And with everything that’s been going on…”

Shouta couldn’t blame Hizashi for his worry. There had been an increase in villainy even before the school year started, but now with USJ, Kamino Ward, and the dorms being implemented, well, Hizashi was right to worry. That didn’t mean that there wasn’t still work to do.

“You have your knife, right?” The single question had Shouta sighing as he tugged his boots on and began lacing them up, trying to avoid Hizashi’s puppy eyes. “What about your caltrops? Juice pouches? Energy bars? Shouta, you made sure to get more of those smoke bombs, right? You said you were out last time. Oh! Did you-”

Having crossed the short distance to the couch while Hizashi was talking, Shouta quickly cut off the rapid questioning with a soft, familiar kiss, slowly working Hizashi down from his worry and lingering in the kiss until the man was relaxed and pliant against him. It was a shame when he had to pull away. “I’ll be fine, Sunshine.”

As always, the pet name Shouta had been using since high school had Hizashi flushing, a pretty pink blush spreading across his cheeks. “That’s cheating, Shou-chan.” Hizashi’s fingers curled into his costume, tugging him down and giving him another soft kiss. “You still have at least fifteen minutes before you have to leave, you know.”

“You’re so exhausting,” Shouta sighed, not meaning a word of it as he slumped down onto the couch, Hizashi sliding and bumping into him from the force and bursting out into bright laughter. It was a much better sound than his whining and complaining. “So. Students?”

“Your class is getting better,” Hizashi groaned, collapsing against Shouta’s shoulder and tugging at the thin silver chain around his neck, finger hooked in the wedding ring that Shouta hardly ever allowed himself to take off. “Suspiciously so. It looks like they’re getting advice from someone who actually knows decent English - or is married to an English teacher.”

“Strange.” Shouta kept his tone even and steady, trying his hardest not to smile as Hizashi pouted up at him. “How’s Kan’s class?”

“A little below yours,” Hizashi snorted, shoulders shaking with the force of it as he curled more into his shoulder, cheek rubbing against him. “You two are so competitive, I swear.”

“It’s not a competition when I’m winning.” Shouta tugged at the loose bun Hizashi had his hair in until it came apart, immediately running a hand through the strands and picking out whatever tangles Hizashi had missed. Hizashi was humming in delight after a few seconds. “How are the other departments?”

It took a few moments for Hizashi to answer, the man much more relaxed than he had been when Shouta had been ready to leave. “Not bad from what my minions tell me, but not the best, either,” Hizashi mumbled, tilting his head into the hand Shouta had on his scalp, Shouta smiling and rubbing gently.

“You know, most teachers call their ‘minions’ teacher assistants and adjuncts.” It was hilarious, though, the first time Yagi had heard Hizashi complain about his minions. The man had looked torn between amusement and deep concern.

“Mm, different names, same work. Although, there is one star student in the General Studies department that one of my little minions can’t stop gushing about.” Hizashi had dropped Shouta’s ring and was rifling through the papers still in his lap. Shouta knew what was coming a moment before it happened. “Apparently they keep suggesting that I allow Shinsou Hitoshi to be given second year English work.” The test being held up was filled with Shinsou Hitoshi’s loopy scrawl. There was a 103% scribbled across the top. Hizashi must have noticed his look because he gave a stifled laugh. “I give the longer tests extra credit. He didn’t miss one answer on the entire test.”

It was harder than it should have been to hold back a proud smile. Hizashi knew him far too well, however, and he was already laughing even as Shouta attacked him where he knew he was ticklish, mumbling ‘threats’ against him, “Keep laughing like that, ‘Zashi, and I’ll give you something to actually laugh at.”

“Sho- Shouta!” Hizashi’s shrieks of laughter were bouncing around the apartment and causing squeaks and yowls from their cats, Hizashi squirming and writhing against Shouta as papers fell and scattered across the floor, one of their cats pouncing on Hitoshi’s paper and then flopping down on it.

Letting Hizashi suffer for another minute or so, and taking a moment to marvel at his husband’s absolute control over his quirk, Shouta finally let up. The result was a flushed Hizashi that was heavily panting in his lap with glazed eyes and crooked glasses and was edging into a tired and satisfied smile. Shouta was really starting to think about calling in sick for his patrol.

Brushing Hizashi’s hair out of his face and fixing his glasses, Shouta bit back a smile as the other curled towards him, rubbing his cheek against his chest. He then pouted at Shouta, “Don’t think you’re getting out of this. Hey! You should invite Hitoshi over for dinner, again. He was so much fun to talk to!”

“I don’t know if talking involves quizzing him on his knowledge of languages,” Shouta snorted, pulling Hizashi to sit up a bit more while kissing at his cheek. “I don’t think he’d accept, anyways.”

“What? Why?” Hizashi was up at once, Shouta leaning into the hand that was placed on his cheek. Hizashi frowned, lowering his voice. “Hey, Shouta, what’s wrong?”

Thinking on how to phrase what he wanted to say, Shouta finally shook his head. “I don’t think anything’s wrong, but he seems withdrawn, lately. He’s always been quiet, but he’s hardly talked in our training sessions the last few days. Maybe you can talk to him, tomorrow?”

“What- Me?” Hizashi blinked, looking more startled than he had a right to considering this was Hitoshi they were talking about. “Shouldn’t you talk to him if something is wrong? You two are close, after all!”

“And you two aren’t?” Shouta raised an eyebrow, pleased at Hizashi’s silence. That always meant he was losing. “He’s less likely to tell me things that are bothering him - especially if he thinks it’ll make him seem weak. He trusts you, though, when it comes to talking about… emotions.”

Hizashi laughed, loud and bright and sudden, and Shouta smiled at the sound. “C’mon, Shou-chan, there’s no need to make the word emotions sound like a swear.”

“Present Mic is his second favorite hero, you know,” Shouta said quietly, smirking after a moment of letting Hizashi swell up in pride. “And Yamada Hizashi is his favorite teacher.” There was a pause, a beat of silence, and then Hizashi’s cheeks were flushing. “He doesn’t let many people call him by his first name, yet, if I’m remembering correctly, he’s gone out of his way to let both of us know that we’re welcome to call him Hitoshi.”

Pushing Hizashi off onto the couch in a quick, smooth motion, Shouta stood up before Hizashi could latch onto him and drag him back down. He did relent and pull the man into a kiss, though, parting with a quiet, “I need to get going.”

“Shouta,” Hizashi whined, arms wrapping around his shoulders and tugging him back down towards another kiss. Shouta didn’t even try to fight it, relaxing at the soft, almost tired kiss Hizashi pulled him in. When they parted, they were still close enough for Hizashi to simply tilt his head and kiss at the corner of his lips. “Stay home.”

“Don’t worry, Sunshine,” Shouta near whispered, grabbing Hizashi’s left hand and pulling it up to press a quick kiss to the single gold band that was wrapped around his third finger. “I’ll come home to you.”

“You better,” Hizashi muttered, flush back on his cheeks as he cupped both of Shouta’s cheeks. “Be safe. We’re having company over for dinner tomorrow and I need you alive for that.”

“We are, huh?” Shouta grinned, mirroring Hizashi’s own smile. They both knew who they were dragging home for dinner tomorrow. “He’s going to try and escape, you know.”

Hizashi grinned even wider, stealing one last kiss and then giving a wink. “Good thing I’m so good at getting surly heroes-in-training to take a break and eat, then.”

Finally letting Hizashi go, Shouta hid a sigh and walked over to their front door, making sure everything was in order. Maybe he should start cutting down on his patrol hours even more. There were enough heroes on the streets to deal with the type of villainy that was out there, after all.

“Shouta?” Pausing at the threshold, Shouta looked back to where Hizashi was giving him a warm, soft smile. There was no Present Mic in his demeanor. The only one there was a happily smiling Yamada-Aizawa Hizashi. “Your binding cloth is in the bedroom, still.”

Going still, Shouta slowly reached a hand up to where he felt nothing except the chain of his wedding ring and the collar of suit. Giving Hizashi a slow blink, Shouta shut the door quietly and kicked his boots off before walking towards their bedroom.

Hizashi’s bright, cheerful laughter followed him the whole way.

                                                             ::

“It would make sense. Hizashi and I both have our foster licenses. We’re pro heroes, we have a steady income, we have multiple jobs between us and yet one of us always has the chance to be home most nights, we’re closer to his school, and we have full reason to believe Hitoshi would be happier in a different home. It’s logical, don’t you think?”

A warbling meow answered his words, Shouta’s lips quirking into a smile as he offered a few more cat treats to the bedraggled stray that was purring in delight at the food. Shouta scratched behind the cat’s ears, not minding when the stray clawed his way up onto Shouta’s shoulders, surveying the world happily as Shouta stood up and returned to his patrol route.

While he didn’t make a habit of seeking out the strays in his district, he didn’t complain when he stumbled across the occasional friendly one. Besides, Shouta had always found them great listeners.

“It’s not that hard an assumption to make. Bruises have to come from somewhere.” In the beginning, Shouta had noticed the bruises on Hitoshi’s arms and legs and chest and thought he was merely pushing the boy too hard in his training. Even when keeping a careful eye on things, however, the bruises persisted. While Shouta didn’t want to jump to conclusions, it was logical to assume something was happening outside of school to give him those bruises.

Shouta was only hoping that the bruises came from disagreements with foster siblings and neighborhood punks rather than anything else. It was a conversation he would need to have with Hitoshi and Hizashi both. Tomorrow over dinner would be a good time to at least hint about it; it was already obvious that Hizashi saw Hitoshi as his own, after all. If there was anyone that loved that kid more than Shouta, it was his husband who was already trying to find out Hitoshi’s birthday.

Deciding to think about it more later, Shouta paused at the familiar sounds of a tripped alarm. Slinking into the nearest alleyway, Shouta heard low, fierce hissing from the cat on his shoulders, a glance across the street showing the broken window of a jewelry store.

“How cliché,” Shouta muttered to himself before making a clicking noise with his tongue and getting the cat’s attention. As soon as he had it, he picked the cat up and set him on the ground gently. “Go on, then. I have work to do.”

One hand wrapping around his binding cloth, Shouta pulled his goggles over his face and waited until he saw a hunched over figure stumbling out of the broken window with a satchel full of what was no doubt stolen jewelry. A quick glance told Shouta that this man was new to what he was doing and was obviously not confident in his abilities. That was good. He could deal with this, finish his route, and then go home and get some decent sleep. Hizashi might still be up, even.

Shouta backed up and couldn’t stop a snort of amusement as he saw the man was running towards the alleyway he was currently in. That just made his job even easier, he supposed.

The thief managed ten steps into the alleyway before Shouta had his quirk activated and the binding cloth wrapped tightly around his chest and upper arms, stopping him in his tracks and earning a fierce storm of swearing ending with, “You don’t know who you’re messing with! Let me go!”

“I would, but I think that store over there might like their stolen property returned to them. Thanks for tripping the alarm, too. It saves me from having to call the police myself.” The average time between a burglar alarm in this area and the appearance of the police was roughly five to eight minutes. It wasn’t too long of a wait.

“Just who the fuck do you think you are?! Let me go!” The man was squirming and wiggling around and Shouta frowned before releasing his hold on his quirk, pleased when nothing happened. The man, most likely, didn’t have a quirk suited for any type of combat. Good. Shouta might be able to end this night without a headache. “This is brutality!”

“Not really.” Loosening the bands of the binding cloth so he could better restrain the man, Shouta jerked back when the man attacked quicker than expected. Was he so afraid that adrenaline was giving him an extra boost? It was possible he had a quirk that altered his physical status in some way.

Activating his own quirk again, Shouta dodged the man’s attempt at an attack, keeping him at a distance before biting back a swear at the ensuing struggle as he was rushed. For looking so new to crime, this one seemed to know an awful lot about putting up a fight. It was minor, but it was enough to give Shouta a little extra force to his punches.

It was a short fight, Shouta scowling at the fact his goggles and belt ended up on the ground, his pant leg torn open by sharp nails in the ensuing struggle to wrap the man in the binding cloth and pin him to the ground. The fight was only a few minutes, at most, Shouta working on calming his pulse down as he kept a boot on the criminal’s back, pinning him further. “If you’re going to rob a place, at least be prepared for the consequences.”

“Like you were when you let your students get attacked?” It wasn’t often that Shouta felt himself truly surprised or shocked. He wished he could have said that now was one of those times. “Surprised? You shouldn’t be. Half the world probably knows about that shit hero school and their ‘teachers.’ You were even on the news, weren’t you? What kind of pro lets their students get captured by villains, Eraserhead?”

While his immediate reaction was to recoil and defend himself, Shouta took a moment to think on just why a petty thief would immediately know his hero name as well as what had happened at the training camp. It wasn’t secret knowledge to any extent, but to have it used against him when this man had barely, if at all, caught a glimpse of his face… Shouta didn’t like it.

“You really think those dorms at the school are gonna work forever? The kids have to go home, eventually, and that League of Villains group don’t seem like the type to leave kids alone just because they’re kids.”

A heartbeat passed and Shouta had the man on his back and tied up even tighter than before, staring into a smug face that no longer looked scared and overwhelmed by his first robbery. Something was wrong. “Is that so?” Shouta asked, ready to reach for his quirk at a moment’s notice after dropping it with a blink. “You seem to know a lot about all of this.”

“There’s two things that always manage to grab a pro’s attention,” the man said, voice sickly sweet and face completely relaxed and smug. “A cry for help and the sound of a tripped alarm.”

The realization that this was a trap hit Shouta with overwhelming clarity. Jerking his head up to quickly scan the alleyway for any possible ambush, Shouta realized that this man hadn’t been running towards the alleyway. He had been running towards him.

“Sorry, Eraserhead, but you and that quirk of yours are in high demand.” Shouta tightened the cloth and activated his quirk, but it was too late. He felt an overly hot palm pressed against the skin exposed by his torn costume and jerked as it felt like he was shocked. The feeling didn’t leave, however, even as the hand did. “I guess you should have been more careful. Hey, maybe your students will end up learning something from you, after all.”

The words just barely registered in his mind, Shouta only half aware as he went crashing to the ground, a burning, twisting, searing pain working its way through his body. It was like he had been lit on fire, Shouta biting down on the scream that wanted to tear its way out of his throat as he felt like his body was both too big and too small for all of him. There was burning, twisting, changing, pain pain pain so much pain it hurt so badly he couldn’t breathe please please please make it stop make it stop make it stop-

“...back to Shigaraki… Too soon... Fucking police-”

“Stop right there! ...hands up!”

“...Detective Tsukauchi. Seems he was in a fight…”

“...pro heroes on duty in this area…”

“Eraserhead…”

“Goggles and belt… Cat… Villain has been fully contained.”

“...Yamada-Aizawa Hizashi…”

Out of all things, it was the sound of his husband’s name that had Shouta forcing his eyes open, panting heavily as he pushed himself to his hands and knees on auto-pilot, looking around to try and gauge where he was. When he saw it was the same alleyway as before, Shouta felt himself on edge even more.

It was the same alleyway, but he was completely alone. Why go through the effort of incapacitating him just to leave him? Shouta hadn’t even bothered to take his phone out on patrol, that night, since it was going to be a short one, so there was nothing to steal from him. Had the police arrived?

He had heard sounds and words of movement, but if they were the police, then why did they leave him on the ground? One of them would have at least woken him up before trying to drag him into an ambulance.

Something was wrong. He needed to get home and check on Hizashi. If he really had heard Hizashi’s name, then it was possible something was… Paws.

Shouta had looked down to where he was on his hands and knees still, but instead of seeing hands, he saw black paws. Leaning so he could lift his right hand up and flex his fingers, Shouta watched as the paw went through the exact same motion.

Jerking his head up, Shouta looked around the alleyway - truly looked - and saw that everything was larger than it should have been. What he thought were his knees, as well, felt more like he was on his feet. It felt like he was standing on both his hands and feet. He was looking at paws and felt like he was standing on his hands and feet.

Carefully, very carefully, Shouta inched his way over to a puddle of leftover rain water that was lit by a flickering streetlight. There, reflected by a puddle of rain water, was the face of a cat Shouta had never seen before.

The cat had thick, curly black fur that looked heavy and dense, but what stuck out most was an off-white ruff that looked like bands wrapped around the neck. The only other disruption on the fur was a matted, scarred area under the right eye in a crescent shape that was remarkably similar to Shouta’s own scar.

Shouta stared at thick, curly black fur with bands of white around the neck, as well as a familiar and distinct scar; all features that reflected back up from the puddle. Slowly blinking, Shouta watched as the reflection of the cat blinked with him.

Shouta realized, with an overwhelming clarity, that Hizashi was never going to let him live down the fact that he had been turned into a cat.