#we're wondering if their program is new

[ainawgsd]

Last show choir competition of the season. So far this one seems kinda unorganized. Anyway, I'm glad a second middle school is competing (they just signed up this week).

[everybody-hit-the-pyro-cue]

specialized education and gifted children programs are so fucked up I see the purpose but the execution and expectations are genuinely horrific I've yet to meet a single one of us that's doing okay besides from those who just reached their breaking point and chose to stop caring

[shinobicyrus]

I've seen a lot of posts about Batman using his Bruce Wayne alter ego for the good of Gotham: job programs for felons released from prison, orphanages, charities, high wages for his employees, ethical business practices...the legendary post where Bruce Wayne goes to Wal-Mart.

Thus far I've never personally seen anybody really dig into the persona of Bruce Wayne the Billionaire Playboy. A handsome, rich, powerful man who always is seen at fancy galas, art openings, charity dinners, and wild parties with at least one beautiful woman on his arm.

We know Bruce Wayne is the mask, and its Batman who has a...complex love life, depending on the iteration we're talking about. Talia, Catwoman, sometimes Wonder Woman.

Bruce Wayne's dates, on the other hand, are all "normal" people. Maybe they're an aspiring actress, a supermodel, a prima ballerina, the occasional reporter...and every time there's that bit of nervousness at the start.

Sure everyone knows Bruce Wayne. Everyone knows the story with him. Sometimes his wilder parties make the news, but there's never really been anything nasty reported about him. Never...allegations. But he's a billionaire. He's one of the most powerful people in the whole city, nevermind the country. If he did have some skeletons in his closet. Well. Men with power have a way of making those kinds of stories go away, don't they?

As time goes on the Date's fears dissipate pretty quickly. Bruce Wayne is nothing but polite, kind, and at times charmingly awkward in an 'raised by his butler in a mansion' kind of way with his dates. Some of them can tell he's holding back, of course. Maybe the more perceptive Dates notice he's smarter than he lets on - playing the himbo or hamming up the "know-nothing rich boy" act to the cameras or some of his wealthy peers.

He also listens, is the thing. He's always listening to what they're saying, is interested in hearing about their careers, their hobbies, their lives. Really listens, too. Might refer to something a Date said weeks later off-hand. Buy out the whole museum for a private dinner date with a famous painting from an obscure artist they like, or a private performance with another's favorite band.

He has anecdotes and funny stories for days that somehow says very little about his personal life. The Dates know he has kids (it's practically a running gag in the news that Bruce Wayne has adopted yet another orphan) and maybe she might spot one of them at the mansion, but Bruce seems very keen to shelter them from any intense spotlight and scrutiny, and they all seem happy if a bit weird like him.

Eventually, there's drifting. He's a very busy man, with a very busy schedule. On more than on occasion his nice old butler will call and extend apologies that Mr. Wayne will not be able to make it this evening. Sometimes it's virtually impossible to get a hold of him over the phone. After a while they stop trying. None of them feel quite surprised by that. In the end, it just doesn't work. Sure, he's a little distant and doesn't make himself emotionally available...but he's not a bad person.

Especially when the so-called "exes" of Bruce Wayne start networking. Gotham isn't a small city, but the social circles Bruce Wayne travels in aren't as big. They don't quite gossip or complain about him. More like...who else would get it?

(I touched his side once and he winced...like he'd been hurt real bad there. He laughed and said it was tackle polo. How does that even-?)

(Somehow, after two dates, he saw right through me and listened while I told him what that casting director tried to do. He nodded, gave me the contact details of a law firm, and said not to worry about the legal fees.)

(I don't know for sure it was him, but it can't be a coincidence that my building got bought out from under my shitty landlord and we were all able to buy our apartments under market value.)

(He got my brother in the best rehab program in the city after his relapse. It probably saved his life. We'd stopped dating months ago, I still don't know how he found out.)

(He gave me a card with a phone number and told me that if I was ever in trouble to call it. Said one of his cars would come to pick me up, any time, any place, no questions asked. The one time I did have to use it after a bad party, it was Alfred.)

I think any tabloid reporter digging around for salacious stories or dirt about Bruce Wayne's love life would be completely and politely stonewalled when they try asking his former Dates. Even when money is offered. Every single one of them.

[montereybayaquarium]

🐾🌊 Sending a frond farewell! 🌊🐾

 🎉 We're shell-ebrating an otterly amazing journey and wishing our beloved sea otter, Kit, the very best as she embarks on a new adventure at the Detroit Zoo!

🦦Kit turned 14 in December 2023, and after a decade of being a super-mom in our Sea Otter Surrogacy Program, it's time for her to enjoy a well-deserved retirement. Kit has been a pawsome surrogate mom, raising 10 pups and contributing greatly to the conservation of southern sea otters.

🌍Our Sea Otter Surrogacy Program has been making waves since 2001, helping to recover California’s southern sea otter population. Thanks to our dedicated team and partners, we can give orphaned pups a second chance at life by rescuing, raising, and releasing them. Back in the wild, they help restore and support healthy ecosystems–playing a key role in combating climate change.

🙌 Why Detroit? After reaching out to other AZA facilities, we found Detroit Zoo to be the pawfect fit for Kit! They have a wonderful sea otter program, and Kit's presence will be a great addition to their social group. 

🌟Although we’ll miss Kit dearly, her move allows us to continue our important surrogacy work here at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and allows a younger female otter to join our team and carry on Kit's incredible legacy. 

🦸‍ So here's to Kit, our fin-tastic frond, who has been nothing short of otterly wonderful! We wish her the best of luck and lots of joy in her new home. 

💙 See her before she leaves. The last day our guests will be able to visit Kit will be Monday June 3rd. She will then move off exhibit to prepare for her journey to her new home. Check her out in her new home in Detroit later this summer.

[hellyeahscarleteen]

Funding update: We're still short

Co-director Jacob here, with an update on our current fundraising efforts. We sure appreciate your understanding this interruption to the award-winning sex and relationships education programming we’d much rather be spending our time providing for you! Just over 200 wonderful folks have made a donation or become a recurring donor since we started, but we are still short of our goal! We’re still 171 new recurring donors and 5K short of 15K we need to pay our most basic bills through the end of 2024 to help us avoid cuts to our staffing and services in 2025. We'll need just around as many people as have already pitched in to close the economic gaps we're up against, and help from people who value what we do to close them. You know the drill! If you can pitch in financially, and especially as a recurring donor, we’d love and appreciate your help at any level. If you can’t, or you already have and want to help some more, making your own posts about us, why you value us, and directing your circles to our work and where to donate to support it can go such a long way. Thank you for keeping us trucking, especially to those of you who have donated now or in the past, and those of you loudly banging this drum for us out here! Here's the link to donate for yourself or to direct others to:

[scenteddelusion5]

Hello there! I do hope you are doing well! I was wondering if I could request a Hazbin Hotel imagine with Alastor x reader? Maybe the reader works at the Hotel and has for some time but is missing her life back with the living, so she heads to the kitchen to make some comfort food. Reader is from the South like Louisiana or Mississippi and makes Jambalaya. As she is cooking and dancing around the kitchen, Alastor is drawn in by the familiar smells and sit down and lots of fluff ensues? Maybe they get together at the end? Thank you so much and have a wonderful day/night! :)

One O'Clock Dinner

Alastor x homesick fem reader

Note: I decided to just have Y/n be from New Orleans as I'm not too familiar with United States' topography. Not my greatest work but still enjoyable!

Word count: 2174

Alastor definitely wasn't your ordinary demon. He was a ruthless overlord that concurred hell when he just arrived. His terrifying broadcasts were planted in almost everyone's memory, well except those that died when he had mysteriously disappeared. One of them was a certain demon from Louisiana.

Y/n had lived in New Orleans since she was a baby and never knew a different home until the day she died and was cast down to hell. She knew she wasn't the best person during her life but she wouldn't really consider herself so bad to be cast down to hell for eternity, a decade in purgatory maybe. Alas purgatory did not exist, so she was stuck there.

Until half a year after she arrived, she saw a news broadcast of Charlie Morningstar and her redemption program. Everyone had laughed at the princess but Y/n saw this as her chance. She made her way over and signed into the Happy Hotel.

Th Radio Demon knocked on the door only a few minutes after she had checked in.

"Alastor, darling, pleasure to be meeting you! Quite the pleasure!"

Y/n had heard whispers about him but nothing that went into detail, so she eavesdropping on Vaggie telling the story to Angel. The man seemed very dangerous. Maybe coming here wasn't such a good idea after all.

"So we're is your hotel staff?"

Charlie had agreed to take Alastor's help and now he was going around the room seeing what everyone could do.

"What about you, dear?" He had seemingly teleported right in front of Y/n, startling her.

"I-" She stumbled over her words as the Radio Demon's big red eyes were right staring at her. "-I can cook, I guess."

"Wonderful! As for the rest, I suppose I can cash in a few favours." He proceeded to summon a cat, bat like demon who became the bartender and front desk personnel, and a small cyclops demon who would take care of all the cleaning.

As much as she started to enjoy being around these people, Y/n quickly became tired as she had never been able to rest easily after landing in hell.

Before she could leave, however, the wall was blown up. A zappelin floated high on the sky. The demon inside it challenged Alastor but was easily defeated by the overlord.

She stared at the left over rubble. "I'm going to bed." Y/n swiftly left and made her way upstairs to her room.

A week went by and everywhere she went, Y/n felled someone staring at her in the shadows. She wasn't sure who nor why they were interested in her. It was making her squeezy, so much so that every time someone tried to talk to her, she jumped.

"Sorry Angel, didn't see you there!"

"Nifty! Where did you come from?"

"Oh! Husk, right just Husk."

The worst time it happened she was walking up the stairs, looking over her shoulder to search for whomever was following her. Y/n walked right into someone and almost fell from the stairs. Luckily that person caught her.

"You ought to look where you're going darling!" The Radio Demon helped her up the rest of the staircase. "Can't have our staff get hurt, you would be difficult to replace!"

"I'm sure there are other demons in hell who can cook. Besides didn’t you cook the other day?" She asked.

"Well yes, but they wouldn't be half as interesting as you!" Alastor smiled.

When Alastor had first arrived he saw her sitting there. The demon didn't seem to recognize him, sitting in her own little world. He had to admit that the girl was attractive but that wasn't what irked him, no, there was something about her.

From that day on he started observing Y/n, trying to figure out what was so special about her. He had found out she just died half a year ago. He learned about her skills and hobby's, he also had to admit that her cooking was amazing. Maybe even better than his, maybe.

The only reason the Radio Demon had kept his cooking in higher regard was because hadn't tasted any of her southern Louisianan dishes.

Alastor was watching her form the other side of the room. Y/n looked around while walking up the stairs, when she slipped. He quickly moved through the shadows and caught the girl. Her wide eyes were looking up at him. The Radio Demon couldn't get enough of them. How he wished to steal those eyes... He swiftly said his goodbye and disappeared into his room.

Why did he do that? There was no reason to intervene, but he did like the feeling of holding them... Alastor started to scold himself. Perhaps he is just hungry? He hadn't eaten demon for quite some time.

That night he went out and hunted down his victim. The first floor was empty, everyone was asleep. Alastor brought his bag of 'groceries' to the kitchen. He grabbed the left-overs of that night's dinner and mixed in the fresh meat. The mixture of his favourite food and Y/n's cooking was heavenly.

Even when his hunger was satiated, Alastor couldn't stop thinking about her. Something was definitely wrong with him. He kept think about her, her stupid smile and her jokes. The Radio Demon hadn't actually held many conversations with the girl but he had stalked observed her enough to know what kind of person she is.

Alastor knew her and yet, he craved for more. To not only be around her but to make her smile, genuinely smile, and to understand her.

Another two weeks went by and the horrible feeling of being watched only got worse. Now the spectator was even following Y/n into her room. She became more and more reserved, didn't even introduce herself when sir Pentious joined the hotel. Y/n started crying herself to sleep at night, she wished she was still alive with her family. She missed them.

Unconsciously she made her way to the kitchen and rummaged through the fridge. She was craving the food from her home and by chance she had just the right ingredients. Y/n put on her apron.

The Radio Demon was pacing around the room. Y/n hadn't been her usual charming self for the past week. She was quiet and always looking around. It made his gut wrench, what could she be so hung up about that she was crying herself to sleep?

Alastor's curiosity had grown to an obsession and he knew it. He didn't just want her to be happy, he needed her to be happy. When she wasn't, he was restless.

As the Radio Demon was weighing his options, a familiar scent attacked his nostrils. It gave him a moment of peace. He made his way down the stairs, following the smell like he was in a trance.

Someone was singing in the kitchen. He opened the door to find Y/n cooking and swaying to her own tune. For the first time in two weeks, Y/n had a smile on her face.

"And what are you cooking up at one in the morning?" Alastor looked over her shoulder. "You should be getting your beaty sleep, darling."

"I was just really craving it," Y/n explained after she got over the scare of him standing there all of a sudden. "I wasn't able to sleep."

"What are you making?"

"Just some Jambalaya." She lifted up the lid to show him. "I'm also preparing beignet's."

Alastor looked at the dough, which were waiting for the oil to heat up. "Louisianan?"

"Yeah, I'm from New Orleans." She lifted up one of the beignets and dropped it in the pan. "Learned from the best chefs in the city." The dough slowly turned a darker brown.

"That's such a coincidence! I grew up in Orleans too!" He took another whiff of the Jambalaya. "Mind if I join you?"

"If you set the table."

"It's a deal, my dear!" Alastor joked, even getting a chuckle out of the girl. The sound shot straight to his heart. Oh, how he wished his microphone had recorded it.

When the Jambalaya and the beignets were ready, the two sat down and ate VERY late dinner, or rather early breakfast. It was a surprisingly domestic scene. The two went along well.

"Yeah, I grew up in the big city too. Back then it looked a lot different though. It was overrun by secret speakeasies those were the days." He mused over the past.

"I wouldn't be able to imagine for those being illegal! Hey, what did you do to get send to hell?" Y/n so daringly asked. "I heard you were pretty powerful ever since you first got here."

"Oh well," Alastor blushed like a high school girl telling someone about their embarrassing crush, "I was a serial killer. Ate up my victims and threw their leftovers in the bayou."

Y/n spat out her drink. "Wait!" She screamed while coughing. "You are THAT Alastor. They teach about you in history classes!"

"Do they now? I suppose I was quite the man."

"I wouldn't say that," Y/n mumbled, "But it is impressive how you climbed up the ranks here in hell. I almost feel safe sitting around you." She looked at Alastor's widening smile again. "Almost."

"Why wouldn't you feel safe my dear?" Alastor questioned. "The Hazbin Hotel had both me and the princess of hell protecting it."

"I might sound... Crazy, but I feel like someone has been watching me." She looked down, even though she didn't feel the eyes on her right now. "I haven't been doing too well because of it."

The reason she hadn't been her usual self was because he was freaking her out. It all clicked now for the Radio Demon.

"Well then I have to apologise." Alastor used his shadows to move right behind her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "You see, I have been keeping an eye on you. It was not my intention to make you feel uncomfortable."

"You have been stalking me?"

"No, no my dear. Just... Observing," the Alastor corrected her.

"Tomato tomato." Y/n looked up into his terrifying, red eyes. "And why has the infamous Radio Demon been stalking me?"

"Observing!"

"Just answer the question."

"..." He sighed, "I'm not too sure either. The only way I could describe it is you interest me."

"Well, next time you can just knock on my door. I prefer not to be watched during my cry sessions."

"Oh, but I loved hearing you sing when you thought no one was there."

The two started laughing, treating the stalkerish behaviours of Alastor as a joke.

"No but really, stop. It's creepy!"

"If the lady demands it."

The night went on long after the dinner was over. In a moment of confidence, Y/n implied that she was interested in seeing his radio tower and Alastor happily brought her there. She shuttered walking up the stairs into the little booth.

"Take a seat." Alastor pulled back the chair and when she sat down, scooted it up to the desk.

He started to explain what all the buttons and switches where for and how the antenna's send out radio waves or whatever. Y/n was only listening to half of it. The other half of her attention on Alastor's face. She had never realised how handsome the deer demon truly was. And his voice was incredibly soothing, at least for those who weren't scared of him.

His big eyes were beautiful and his wide smile was incredibly charming. Y/n's eyes drifted up to his head. His ears looked soft and fluffy, she wondered if she would ever get the chance to touch them. The antlers sticking out of his hair gave him a more manly appearance, contrasting the cute ears.

Y/n started leaning into him, getting incredibly close to his face.

"And these make sure tha-" Alastor immediately stopped talking when he turned his head and realised how close the two really were.

His nose was touching hers and he could feel her breath. Alastor's heart started pounding harder and harder, a slightly red blush decorated his face matching his attire and his eyes stared right into hers. He could only think about how beautiful she was.

Unconsciously he moved closer and closer and so did she. Until their lips touched. Y/n took this chance to deepen the kiss.

It lasted only a minute but to the two of them it felt like forever. They wished to keep going, however, they were unable to keep in their breath for that long.

As they pulled apart from one another, the realisation dawned on them. It was quiet.

They went back to their own room, neither of them dared to say a word. Perhaps it was just a fluke or perhaps this would grow out into more. Whatever Y/n was going to do about it could wait for tomorrow, it was 3 am after all and she was tired.

For the first time in weeks, Y/n fell asleep with a smile.

Masterlist/request guidelines

[swearyshera]

In case you've been wondering what I've been up to, here's a little bit of exciting news...

Netflix Announces Live Action Sweary Sweary She-Ra

Entertainment - Embargoed until 1st April

Netflix has announced a live action series based on mildly popular webcomic Sweary She-Ra. The new series, Sweary Sweary She-Ra, will be a more foul-mouthed take on the original.

Commissioning editor for Netflix UK & Ireland, Fiona-Orla O'Leary, said "We really enjoyed reading Sweary She-Ra, but felt that they didn't say the f-word anywhere near enough. Honestly, it really ruined the atmosphere for me, and we're going to put that right, one fuck at a time."

Although a full cast and crew has not been announced at this time, the webcomic's writer, Alice Hancock, will serve as head writer for the project. Co-writer Entrapta will star as an actress who plays Entrapta.

Netflix CEO, Ted Sarandos, told of his enthusiasm for the new series: "At Netflix, we have a long and proud history of championing writers and new programming. Sweary Sweary She-Ra will bring a popular series onto our screens at last, and we look forward to not promoting the show and cancelling it before the first episode has been broadcast."

[wardenparker]

Congrats on your milestone! Can you do a Marcus Moreno w/ “I’ll protect you”?

Marcus Moreno. 4,451 words. "I'll protect you." Co-written with @absurdthirst

Mentions of a stalker/reader in danger. A sprinkling of yearning. Some referenced nudity. Co-workers to lovers.

We loved this one so much we're planning a follow up!

Getting called into Ms. Granada's office was never a very comforting thing. Most of the time, missions would be announced in the Heroic conference room. Open to all, but this is a meeting that the leader of the Heroics program had taken special pains to keep quiet. Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, Marcus Moreno taps on the heavy steel door and waits for permission to enter, feeling the draw of the metal to his palms and licking his lips as he concentrates on not moving it by mistake.

"Come in." The call comes from the speaker above the door of the soundproof office, crackling slightly from the effect of Marcus's powers on the machinery.

Inside the office is the standard furniture -- the large desk and supportive chair for Ms. Granada faced by two armchairs for visitors. Or for those she has summoned. In this case the summoning is more accurate, and the figure that had been nervously perched in one of the two chairs shoots up at attention when the door opens.

You've only worked at Heroics HQ for just over two months. Your position as communications officer for the team of beloved superheroes isn't without its challenges, but the one you're facing now has set in quickly and -- to you -- was rather unexpected.

Marcus frowns slightly at the presence of someone else, unsure of your name, but he knows how you are. "You wanted to see me?" He asks, directing the question to the always elegantly poised Ms. Granada who is standing behind her desk in a vivid fuchsia suit.

He glances back at you again, noticing that you are nervous. Unable to be still as you stand facing him. What is your name? He knows it but he can't quite recall it right now. Even if he's seen you on tv for the press briefings more than a few times. Always impressed by how poised you are.

"Please sit." Granada motions to the empty chair when Marcus Moreno shuts the door and resumes her seat at her desk. "We have something of an issue on our hands, Marcus. And as the leader of the Heroics I would like your input."

"Okay...." it's rare that someone asks his input for press releases, so it can't be that. He sits down and looks between the two women, your name instantly coming to mind, and he relaxes slightly, not feeling foolish anymore. "What's going on?"

"Our new communications officer is receiving some very overt and unwanted attention." Ms. Granada shuffles a stack of suspicious letters in evidence sleeves on her desk before sliding them closer to Marcus. "And not the sort that we can easily brush off. Or identify."

You're shuffling anxiously in your seat, folding and unfolding your legs, picking at your cuticles and fingernails compulsively. "I--" You open your mouth to speak and your voice breaks. The first time you've ever betrayed any nerves in front of any of the Heroics team and you hate it. "I knew there were dangers when I took this job," you say, after clearing your throat. "I suppose I underestimated how quickly it could happen or exactly how I would feel about it."

Taking the pages, Marcus scans them. At first they seem to be filled with admiration and star-struck wonder. Frowning when he sees the shift to obsession and he lifts a brow when he reads about following you home. "A stalker?" He is slightly confused about why this would be something to bring to the Heroics attention rather than the police. Until the next sentence talks about powers. "A....villain stalker?" He huffs, looking back up at Ms. Granada. "Do we know who it could be?"

"We have a few ideas." She nods gravely, not willing to admit in front of your face that they don't really have any good ideas. "But they're escalating. And very quickly."

"I went home on my lunch hour today," you explain, fingers twisting around each other in your lap. "And my apartment had been broken into."

"Shit." Marcus's frown deepens and he looks back down at the pages again. "You obviously can't go back there." He knows that it had to be scary for you and even though he has nothing to do with any of this, he feels guilty. He feels responsible for everyone in this building in some capacity. He rocks his jaw for a moment and shakes his head. "She needs to go to the safe house." He tells Granada, not liking how quickly the messages devolve into the manic ramblings of a mad man. "She's obviously targeted."

"I completely agree." Granada nods, turning her head slightly to type something into her computer. "What I wanted your input with is who her protection should be."

"Tech-No would probably not be the best option." Marcus flips through the potential list of candidates in his mind. "He's working on some new gadget and would get distracted." He shrugs and looks over at you. "Would you be bored to tears to have Miracle Guy talk about himself for hours on end and probably have you take photos for his social media?"

"I can't imagine posting social media photos from inside a safe house is a good idea," you point out gently. Although Miracle Guy is nice enough, being in that close of quarters with him does sound...tedious at best.

From the small smirk at seems to tug at the other woman's lips, Ms. Granada wasn't asking Marcus for his assessment of the team, she was asking him to volunteer. "Missy is at her grandmother's." He volunteers. "Since school is out."

"Oh, I--I couldn't possibly--" It's not that you couldn't. It's that you have a massive crush on Marcus Moreno and you're going to be so fucking distracted being in close quarters with him. Not that you would ever think anything could happen. But you'll be thinking about it.

“Perfect.” Ms. Granada smiles, deciding the matter is settled. “I will have some clothing sent over to the safe house. And groceries.” She nods. “Use the underground tunnels to leave today.”

"Yes, ma'am." That's it. That's your dismissal. And you'll swallow your stupidity and just try your best not to think about being closed up in an intentionally private space with the handsomest man you've ever seen in real life.

Marcus stands and puts the letters back on the desk and turns to you with a reassuring smile. “Come on, we will need to get settled.”

"I'm sorry to pull you away," you murmur as the two of you exit Ms. Granada's office together. He has a family and responsibilities, and he is having to step away from those in order to look after you. It's...well, it's more than mildly embarrassing. If you weren't actually afraid you would feel positively humiliated.

“You don’t have anything to apologize for.” Marcus promises. “You’ve done nothing wrong. You don’t deserve to be afraid.” He guides you towards the hallway where his office is located. “Let me get my stuff and we can go.”

"I have a go bag in my office, too." Situations like this were not unheard of, after all, and you had been told by your predecessor to be prepared for anything. That included a go bag and having coffee and snacks in your office.

“Good girl.” Marcus opens the door and moves over to the locker where his Heroics tac vest and his bag are located.

That should not be sexy. That should absolutely not be so damn sexy. Studiously ignoring any sort of natural reaction to those words coming out of his mouth, you wait in his office for him to gather his things and shift awkwardly in place while his words play over and over in your head in spite of yourself.

Marcus zips up his back and turns back to you. “Let’s go your office.” He tells you.

"It's upstairs from you." He has never had to go to your office for anything before, being typically the best behaved of the Heroics, and you doubt he ever had to visit any of your predecessors either. "This way."

Marcus dutifully follows you, feeling more secure in the Heroics headquarters than he would on the street, but he still glances around. Making sure that nothing is out of place. The security has been breached before. His eyes dip down to your ass on the stairs and he feels guilty, remembering that you’re scared and vulnerable as he pulls his eyes back up to your back.

"This way." You murmur, turning down the second-floor east hallway to your office which glows cheerily in the morning sun. All those windows have been unnerving these last few weeks. You can't help wondering if you're being watched at work as well as at home. "I'll grab my things quickly." Your go bag is a carryon bag to make it look less conspicuous, because you often travel for work, and you grab your purse along with it but stop to tuck some snacks from your bottom desk drawer into your purse. Anxiety makes you snackish. "Okay. That's everything."

Marcus can see that you are scared and he reaches out to take your bag off your shoulder. “Don’t worry.” He flashes you a small grin. “You’ll be safe. I’ll protect you.”

As scared as you are, as shaky as your hands are when he comes close enough for the two of you to brush against each other, you can't help but believe him. "Thank you." Soft. Relieved. And entirely honest. The words are too little, but they're all you have right now.

“Come on.” He opens the door for you. “We will get to the safe house and you can tell me what snacks you shoved in your purse so we can make sure we’ve got more ordered.” He chuckles. “I’m more of a Shark Fin cookies man, myself. What about you?”

Biting your lip sheepishly, you reach into your purse and pull out a little blue pack of the frosted shortbread cookies that your niece and nephew got you hooked on. "My sister's kids went through a phase of eating only these and nothing else. And then of course they got sick of them and haven't touched them since. So the Costco crate of cookie packs that she had left went to me. I love these things."

.”Missy likes those.” He chuckles. “And I have to admit they are good dunked in a cup of coffee.” Getting you to open up and relax slightly is a good thing as he guides you towards the elevators that lead to the sub levels.

"Frosted cookies shaped like sharks," you laugh at the simplicity of it. Laughing is good. It's...better than a panic attack, anyway. "What's not to like?"

“Exactly.” The elevator is quick to arrive and completely enclosed. “We won’t be coming into the office until they track this guy down, but they will. Don’t worry.”

"I just..." The elevator door closes swiftly and Marcus pushes the button for one of the subterranean levels, which makes your stomach flip all over again and you tuck away the cookie packet. "I don't know what I did to make this person think the advances are welcome..."

“A lot of times….no one does anything.” Marcus admits. “It’s- whoever it is, they are ill. You are just the unfortunate person they fixated on.”

"Thank you." Two words and yet they're all you can really think to say in the moment of quiet the falls between you. "I know that this...this is your job. But I appreciate it. Really."

He hums as the door open to the parking garage and he pulls his keys out of the jacket he is wearing. “It might be my job, but it’s more than that. You are a part of our team. Our family.”

"Ya know." He opens the car door for you and you're momentarily flabbergasted, but this is Marcus Moreno. He's the closest thing to an actual Superman that the world has. "Most of the time when a workplace says that, it's a corporate bullshit way of saying that people bicker and talk behind each other's backs but smile to each other's faces. This is the first place I've ever worked where it means that people take care of each other."

“We have to.” He flashes you a grin. “The work can be soul crushing, the hours suck, there’s no personal life and the coffee in the breakroom is terrible. We have to take care of each other.”

He rounds the car and gets behind the wheel, and you find yourself actually laughing again. For the first time since all of this got serious you don't feel alone or isolated, and it's bolstering your mood. "We could just get better coffee, you know. It's not hard."

“Every time we do, Tech-No adds his “special ingredient”.” Marcus rolls his eyes. “Shit tastes like motor oil.”

"Don't let Tech-No near the coffee pot. And don't drink coffee if he has been." You nod sagely at the inherent advice. "Got it."

The tunnel for the secret Heroics exit is only used for emergencies and special circumstances, needing an access card to open the gate to its entrance. Everyone had that access who works in the building, but the record will be logged and kept tract of. The window slides down and he presses his badge against the pad to allow the steel door to swing open. The tunnel will let you out five miles from the gates surrounding the headquarters.

"Is it a long drive?" It doesn't make any sense to ask him where you're going. It doesn't matter where the destination is, you're going somewhere safe. But if you need to pick out some driving music it's best to know if this is a pop album kind of drive or more of an occasion for lengthy rock anthems.

“Only about twenty-five minutes away.” Marcus tells you, the florescent lights of the tunnel bouncing off the narrow road.

“So not long enough for an entire rock opera, got it.” When he sort of half raises an eyebrow at you plugging in your phone, you shrug. “I never drive anywhere without music. Do you have a favorite? Or something you hate?”

Marcus chuckles and shakes his head. “I haven’t gotten to pick the music since Missy was about four years old.” He admits. “It’s on whatever she left it on.”

"Well..." You're fiddling with your phone, making sure anything that could broadcast your location is shut off, and look over at him. "I don't have a ton of music on my phone without an internet connection, but I have enough. Should I just put it on shuffle?"

“Nothing wrong with being surprised by the next song.” He reaches down and hands you the cord to plug into the car. “Here you go.”

The effort to distract yourself seems so small and insignificant but the irony of "Oh mama, I'm in fear for my life from the long arm of the law..." coming out over the car speakers makes you visibly fluster. "I...really like Styx," you laugh, shrugging sheepishly.

He nods. “Although the lyrics are a little ill timed.” He admits with a snort. “Hopefully this guy isn’t law enforcement.”

"I feel like it could be anyone." And that fact alone makes you feel a little helpless.

“We won’t let him get close to you.” Marcus promises, aware that you have to be feeling nervous about everyone right now. “Granada will have him figured out soon and we’ll make sure that he’s taken care of.”

He's probably right. That is her reputation anyway, and you're just going to have to put aside whatever stupid adolescent crush you have bubbling under the surface to survive a safe house with him. "The only thing for us to do now is wait, I guess."

“Waiting is probably the toughest thing out of all of this.” Marcus admits, glancing over at you. “We’ll have to keep you distracted.”

"I hope you have some ideas." A sort of half-disbelieving laugh huffs from your lips. "Because I don't suppose the safe house is going to have a closet full of board games or a spacious home library for us to pick through."

“It’s a regular house.” Marcus explains. “With upgraded, state of the art security.” He shrugs slightly. “I know that there’s tv and a large kitchen?”

"Well, that's something." After all, you'll have to eat. So at least you'll have time to cook, which you never have time for in your daily life anymore.

“I can have some books sent.” He offers. “When they deliver fresh groceries.”

"Is reading enough to keep you distracted, too?" It occurs to you, that despite finding him handsome and having noticed a few little quirks about Marcus Moreno around the office, that you don't really know that much about him.

“The last time I read a book?” Marcus chuckles. “I swear it was ‘Goodnight Moon’.” He admits. “It might be a refreshing change from the reports that make my eyes cross in boredom.”

“We could be an odd little two-person book club.” It’s a sweet, harmless thing to say but it makes you laugh with nervous embarrassment nonetheless. “If we like the same sorts of books, I mean.”

“You’ll have to give me tips on what’s good.” He hums, slowing down as he reaches the exit of the tunnel and prepares to scan his badge again for the exit to open. “Really? The last book I read was probably one of my late wife’s romance novels. She was a sucker for them.”

“You read her romances?” That surprises you, mostly because you don’t really think of men as being big consumers of the romance genre. Sure your best friend does, but you’ve always considered him to be the except that proves the rule.

“Yeah.” He might be a little embarrassed to admit that, but it seems like the kind of information that you might like. Or at least make you feel a little easier about being cooped up with him in a strange place for some undetermined time. “She had a lot of them. Always said that while it was female porn, if you wanted to know what women really wanted, read their romance novels.”

“She’s completely right.” You agree immediately. “Although, some of my favorites are both.” Why are you telling him this? You really don’t have any idea yet you can’t seem to stop yourself. “Romance and porn in one.”

He scans his badge and rolls the window up. “Those are my favorites too.” He huffs shamelessly. “For obviously single reasons.”

When he lost his wife it was front page news all over the country. The world even. Not even superpowers could stop cancer. But something in you tells you to stay positive for him, and not let him descend into grief when it isn’t necessary. “Do you like fantasy settings? Otherworldly creatures, faeries, magic, that sort of thing? Or maybe historical fiction?”

“Pirates.” He tosses you a grin. “Arrrrrgh. Always wanted to be one when I was younger.”

Pirates. It could be such a sweet, unassuming answer. Or it could mean he likes spicy romances with reverse harems. Both are equal plausible. “Then we’ll have to find you some pirate romances to read.”

He smirks slightly and wonders if you are just being nice to him in a difficult situation or if you have some idea of how that could be taken. “We will have to exchange notes as we read.”

“The world’s smallest book club.” It sounds charming when you say it this time, instead of slightly damning, and you manage a smile. “We can make it fun.”

Merging onto the roads is smooth and Marcus makes sure no one is following. “Just think of it as a book retreat.” He jokes.

******

It’s well past sunrise when his phone rings, but with the curtains drawn it’s hard to tell. Sleep has been deeper for the last several weeks, and days more relaxed despite the obviously very tense reason for being in a safe house.

Almost six weeks, but this morning it’s the sound of a phone call that wakes him, from a private number on a secure line.

Marcus gropes blindly for the phone, groaning as he shuffles and nearly drops it before he squints and taps the button to answer. “Moreno.” He rasps out, voice thick with sleep.

“Good morning.” Ms. Granada’s voice chirps down the line. “Sorry to have woken you, but I think you’ll be pleased to hear that you are safe to return to civilization as of this morning. The stalker has been apprehended and is being held without bail.”

“That’s good.” His eyes focus and he shifts slightly, sitting halfway up and talking quietly. “I- I’ll let her know.”

“I’m requiring you both to take a week to reacclimate yourselves.” Granada adds, almost as if she is tacking it on at the end of a thought. “You’ve been in isolation for six weeks. You need some time with your families and to breathe.”

“I’m sure that will be appreciated.” He clears his throat gently. “Thank you.” He ends the call and sets the phone back on the nightstand, deciding that he will talk to you about it later. He turns back and curls around you, thankful you had turned over when the phone rang.

“What was that?” You half mumbled, curling backward into his arms the moment you feel him turn over to wrap around you. Air conditioning keeps the house cool and you feel asleep naked and sweaty again last night so his warmth is the perfect defense against the chilly air of the safe house. “Delivery day early this week?”

“No.” Kissing the expanse of bare shoulder available to him, he hums softly. “We are free to leave the safe house.” He tells you quietly. “He’s been caught.”

Such a small, simple announcement makes you pause for a moment before rolling over in his arms, searching Marcus’s face for any trace of hesitation or concern. A trace that might telling you he isn’t telling you the whole truth. But there is no such trace — only his soft and loving eyes taking in your features with as much concern as you feel. “They…really?”

“Really.” He leans in and presses his lips softly to yours. “We are to take a week to get used to being around other people, see our families.”

“You must be thrilled to see Missy again.” It’s been far too long, and you feel guilty admitting that you would be just fine staying cooped up in this little house with him. It took only a week of being each other’s constant companions for you to fall into bed together, and since then a part of you has feared what will happen to this bond when your time together was arguably over.

“It’s been a long time.” He admits, although he’s talked to her on the comms like and video chatted with his teenage daughter. “Anything special you want to do?”

“I should check in with my sister, probably.” It was imperative to keep your whereabouts unknown, so while Granada had contacted your sister on your behalf, you haven’t seen or spoken to her in weeks. “She’s probably out of her mind by now. She was worried about me taking this job.”

“Yeah.” He bites his lip, hating how his first reaction to this is disappointment. He hates that he’s disappointed that the stalker has been arrested, that you won’t be sequestered here with him. “Do you-“ he stops himself, knowing that it’s selfish to ask.

“Do I…?” You prompt, nervous from the look on his face that he might prefer to end things here. As much as you might have dreamed during these last few weeks, the reality may be that he doesn’t want to change his daughter’s life in that way.

“Do you want to maybe….” He gives a one shoulder shrug and smiles self consciously. “Go out on a date? Let me take you to a restaurant?”

The concerned pinch of your eyebrows smooths instantly and you nearly laugh, but he looks so worried. Like he actually thinks you might say no. “A little old fashioned isn’t it?” You tease, wrapping one arm around his waist. “To ask a girl out more than a month after you start sleeping together.”

“Haven’t exactly had an opportunity to be a gentleman.” He snorts. “Missy knows.” He admits softly. “She told me that I would be a ‘bone head’ if I didn’t take you out.”

“Missy knows?” That’s news to you, and your eyebrows shoot up in response. You really hadn’t thought that he would have told her yet. If at all.

“Are you okay with that?” His brow furrows in concern, worried that he had overstepped.

“Of course I am.” You surge up to kiss him, soothing away any concern he might have. “I just…I know I told my sister about you but I guess I never really expected that you would have told Missy already.”

“I figured it would important to let her get used to the idea.” Marcus admits, but he chuckles. “She told me it was about time.”

“That practically sounds like a ringing endorsement.” In a way that makes your stomach flip and flutter downright girlishly.

“It is.” He chuckles in relief and his fingers start to stroke your stomach from where he is curled around you. “And I’m not exactly happy about the idea of not sleeping next to you.”

“We’ve gotten used to it, haven’t we?” It’s been constant. Practically every second — sleeping or waking — has been spent together like a honeymooning couple instead of people hiding out for safety. “I don’t like the idea of it either, if I’m honest.”

“We will have to figure out a way to make sure everyone is happy.” Marcus muses.

“Everyone?” When you raise an eyebrow at him this time it’s playful, although there is an admitted note of worry underneath. “Even your formidable mother?”

“Are you scared?” He teases, knowing that despite her age, Anita Moreno was well respected and slightly feared at Heroics Headquarters.

“Honestly?” You’d be insane not to be, and you pride yourself on doing your best to make sense of most things. “I’d have to be out of my mind not to be at least a little scared.”

“Don’t worry sweetheart.” Marcus smiles as he leans in and kisses you again, struck by how he had said these words six weeks ago, and now they have a far more intimate meaning. “I’ll protect you.”

______

Master Tags: @pixiedurango @chattychell @winter-fox-queen @lady-himbo @artsymaddie @princess76179 @paintballkid711 @missminkylove @pedrosbrat @ew-erin @sarahjkl82-blog @sharkbait77 @justanotherblonde23 @lv7867 @recklesswit @mylittlesenaar @f0rever15elf @gallowsjoker @steeevienicks @athalien @sherala007 @skvatnavle @thatpinkshirt @jaime1110 @girlimjusttryingtoreadfanfics @goodgriefitsawildworld @greeneyedblondie44 @littlemousedroid @harriedandharassed @churchill356 @ajathegreats-blog @haylzcyon   @beardsanddetectives @kirsteng42 @ladykatakuri @adancedivasmom @madiebear @tanzthompson @emilianamason @bigsdinger @xocalliexo @pedr0swh0r3 @avaleineandafryingpan @charlyrmv @avidreader73 @iceclaw101 @loveslide @elegantduckturtle @becsworld @julesonrecord @its-nebuleuse @itsrubberbisquit @mikeyswifie @guelyury @lizzie-cakes @for-a-longlongtime @vabeachazn @purplerain04 @weho2kcmo @madnessofadaydreamer

My Masterlist!

[thezombieprostitute]

Tech Tuesday: Steve Rogers

Summary: It's only your first day on the job. That's way too soon to have an office crush. Right?

Warnings: None at this time. Please let me know if I missed any!

A/N: Reader is female. No physical descriptors used.

Tech Tuesdays Masterlist

Don't stare at his ass. Don't stare at his ass. Don't stare at his ass. Your internal mantra had changed from this morning as Steve from IT helped you set up your work laptop. It didn't help that he was currently plugging everything in underneath your desk, his ass just begging to be smacked. It's not like he'd see you ogling him, but your coworkers would.

Then again, some of them had definitely given appreciative looks so maybe they wouldn't judge if you let yourself stare a little?

Steve is suddenly out from under desk and on his feet, cancelling any further moral dilemmas about staring at him. Now you're wondering how such a large man can move as quick and graceful as an acrobat.

"That should be all the network, power and accessories plugged in," he tells you. "Would you please log into the laptop and we can double check?"

You nod as you sit in your chair. You type in your credentials and start testing things out.

Steve leans in close to you, looking over your shoulder, "would you be willing to right click on this icon here?"

His words barely register because you're caught up in feeling the heat emanating from him. You try to take a calming breath and do as he requested.

"Are you okay?"

"Umm...yes?" Your voice sounds shaky even to you.

"Oh, geez," he blushes as he backs away. "I'm so sorry about that. I'm...I'm not always the best judge of personal space." His hand rubs the back of his head and you're practically melting at how adorable he looks with reddened cheeks.

"It's okay," you're quick to reassure. "It just caught me off guard, is all." There's an awkward pause between the two of you before you turn back to your laptop, "so it was this icon, right?"

"Yes," Steve eagerly jumps on the change in topic. "I just need to check some connection settings, make sure you're connected and that the VPN isn't interfering."

Steve gets back to the cubicle he shares with Bucky and lets out a dreamy sigh as he sits. Bucky looks at him with a furrowed brow and he feels himself blushing again.

Before he can get back to work, Pine knocks lightly on the cubicle wall. "Steve, how did setup for the new employee go?"

"It was pretty standard," Steve nods. "I double checked that all of her systems were working and she was able to log in to the needed programs."

"Excellent," Pine nods. "I know it was very unexpected, so thank you for being willing to take on the task."

"Not a problem," he smiles.

Pine leaves and Steve turns back to his computer. He tries to get back to work but is stopped by Bucky.

"That explains all the blushing," Bucky teases, a small smile at the corner of his lips.

Steve feels the heat rushing to his face again. "I don't know what you're talking about," he grumbles.

"Sure you don't."

"It was nothing but doing my job."

"Whatever you gotta tell yourself."

A minute of silence passes before Bucky asks, "so when are you asking her out?"

Steve scoffs, "when you ask out the barista you keep visiting."

Bucky glares at him, "I just prefer their coffee to the swill they have in the break-room."

"Oh?" Steve raises his eyebrows comically high. "For someone who watches their budget, you're sure paying a lot of money to the latte tax."

"I watch my budget so that I can indulge in it," Bucky growls.

"So we're agreed," Steve says. "There's no romantic interest for either of us."

Tech Tuesdays Masterlist

Tagging @alicedopey; @darsynia; @delicatebarness; @ellethespaceunicorn; @icefrozendeadlyqueen; @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory; @late-to-the-party-81; @lokislady82 ; @peyton-warren @ronearoundblindly

[gingerlee-holds]

Ok ok so and idea for a fic: Alastor broadcasts one of his frequent tikl attacks on Vox so everyone in hell knows about his weakness (any length is fine)

oh!!! thank you for the idea and request anon/lovebug!! i hope you enjoy this!! its not directly related to the series im currently writing about ler!alastor, but its related, so maybe its on the same storyline just in the future- enjoy!!

aaaa i absolutely did not proofread this so ignore the terribleness xD

Tune On In

Words: 2228 Warnings: not proofread lmao- also mentions of alastor's violent tendencies but its offhanded

Pentagram City, among the only metropolitan areas in Hell, was bustling. Cars honked in endless traffic, clubs blared out noisy music, guns were fired, and demons screamed in agony or ecstasy, often both. There were a few moments when the city was blissfully serene, though these were rare occurrences accompanied by tragedy. For instance, after the formerly annual Exterminations, the entire city held its breath for the toll of the clock tower to signal that they were spared. These minutes of agonizing silence were rarely enjoyed, though.

There was only one other time when Pentagram City was so quiet: when the Radio Demon made a broadcast. Each radio and speaker in the city played the single, agonizing transmission. The hair on the neck of every sinner rose in fear, and every overlord held their breath. The terror and respect Alastor garnered by broadcasting the suffering of his victims made him the second most feared being in Hell, second only to Adam. Now, though, the commander of the Exorcists had been disposed of, meaning Alastor now had the top spot. And when the speakers across Pentagram City suddenly became overwhelmed by static, the Radio Demon smiled to himself, knowing he had the rapt attention of every demon in the Pride ring. 

"Testing, testing~! Is this thing on?" Alastor's voice echoed through the now-silent streets. “Salutations, sinners! Thank you all for joining me on this lovely morning! The temperature today is a downright balmy eighty-six degrees, and we're getting reports of a chance of acid rain in the southside around ten o'clock, so keep those umbrellas ready, folks! Now, I'm sure you're all wondering who I have with me as today's special guest on the program, and I'm thrilled to introduce him~!" 

Alastor spun around in his chair, grinning with delight at his victim, who lay on the floor of his recording studio, bound by magic tendrils. The businessman glared up at him, mouthing, "Don't you fucking dare," to no avail.

"Yes, it is my absolute pleasure to welcome everyone's favorite wannabe, the overrated picture box himself~! Everyone give a hand to Vox, CEO of VoxTek Enterprises and peddler of the same useless trinkets and gizmos corrupting today's youth! Yes, a big hand for the pixellated prince!" Alastor pressed a button on his soundboard to play a recording of raucous applause. 

Velvette looked up from her phone, blinking with realization. She cringed and looked over at Valentino, who looked like he was about to throw another tantrum. "How was he stupid enough to get himself captured?" she mumbled as she ran to the security cameras. Alastor continued his monologuing as Velvette watched, dumbfounded, the recording of Vox reading a letter before storming into a power outlet. She looked behind her as Val grabbed the letter from the table and began to read it silently, fuming.

Alastor wanted to prolong this as much as possible. "How have your stocks been doing, old pal?" he asked innocently, extending his microphone staff for his guest. 

"Just fine." The mic was sensitive enough to pick up Vox's angry sparks and glitched voice as he spoke, struggling to seem level-headed now that he was being recorded. 

The Radio Demon giggled. "Any new products you'd like to promote?"

"No."

"Ah, but enough of business. Let's get on to business!" Alastor laughed at his pun, standing up to walk around his victim. "You're very nervous, chum!"

"Get real. This has got to be the trashiest- ACK-" Vox froze mid-sentence as Alastor pressed the tip of his cane on one of his antennae. 

"Careful. Don't forget whose guest you are~!"

Vox growled in annoyance and squirmed a bit in Alastor's magic. He hadn't even bothered to wear his suit before running over, which he regretted as he lay on the floor in a button-up shirt and slacks. Looking down, his heart sank further: he was still wearing his slippers. 

Alastor removed his cane, walking towards those slippers. "Still pissed I almost beat you that time~?" 

"Uh… fuck you!" Vox snapped. 

"Just saying~!" Alastor grinned. 

Val looked up from the letter. "He stole my line. That bitch! He stole my goddamned line! I swear, I'm gonna-" he growled before storming off, leaving the paper on the table. 

Velvette quickly ran over and skimmed, murmuring to herself. "'To whom it may concern,' blah blah, 'scheduled for a meeting,' yada yada, 'meet an associate at 6 to…'" She stopped and squinted at the page. "Hell does 'vouchsafe' mean?" Her brows furrowed as she connected the dots. Alastor must have sent this letter to lure Vox out, and Vox, thinking he was late for a meeting, ran from the tower without telling anyone. "That idiot!" she yelled, punctuated by Val throwing a wine glass against a wall two rooms down. 

Alastor let a sinister chuckle escape his lips. "I think you have some things you should share with our dear audience! For instance, what exactly did you suggest I do seven years ago?" He waited patiently for the question to sink in.

"I- what?" Vox raised an eyebrow, not seeming to understand.

"Seven years ago, you came to me with a proposition. What exactly was it?"

The question finally clicked for Vox, but he scowled at the Radio Demon. He'd die before he gave that prick the satisfaction. He stayed silent, sparks shooting around his body. 

"Suddenly, the chatter-box is quiet~! Such strange times we live in. Don't worry, folks, I know how to make our guests talkative~!" Alastor quickly used his cane to flick away Vox's slippers. 

Demons looked away from their radios, wincing preemptively at the agony they were about to hear. Overlords felt beads of sweat rolling down their faces. Velvette leaned closer to the radio, pursing her lips, nervously fiddling with the pens on the table. Vox squeezed his eyes tightly shut, expecting Alastor to break his toes any moment now.

The moment stretched on. Vox tried to hold his breath, but when he couldn't, he finally exhaled slowly, and when he did, the Radio Demon struck.

“H-heehee- n-nohow wahahait, hohOld oHon a sehhec-!” Vox shot upward, looking down to see Alastor lying on his stomach, his legs swinging behind him as he gently traced one claw up and down Vox's sock. “T-theheere’s n-noho wahahy youhuhu're- c-cuhuhut ihihit ohuhut!”

"Hm, feeling a bit bubblier, are we~?" Alastor grinned impishly, slowly adding the rest of his fingers to scribble over Vox's feet. Now realizing what the Radio Demon had in store for him, Vox clamped his mouth shut, every muscle in his body straining to contain his laughter. An electric current had formed between his two antennae with the effort he was using.

Suddenly, Alastor's voice appeared next to his ear. "Go on, you little gigglebug, let it all out~!" Vox shot a glance sideways to see Alastor's shadow whispering to him. "Besides, we both know you're far too ticklish to resist~!"

"F-FuhUhuhUCK! YoUhuHUHU oHohOLD-TihIhIMEy PRiHihiHICK!!!” Vox snorted and arched his back as much as he could. Teasing was just too much!

Velvette's shoulders relaxed a bit. It didn't seem like Vox was in trouble… However, when she double-checked her phone, she saw that social media was blowing up about the CEO of VoxTek being tickled, which had unfortunate results on the company's stocks. At least she could rest a bit easier knowing that her friend- no, business associate was in no real danger. She was shaken out of her thoughts by another staticky shriek.

"Come now, I know you wanna tell all our lovely viewers about how you-"

"NoHoHOHO!" Vox shook his head, but his eyes bugged out when he felt tendrils squeezing at his hips. 

"And now~? Let's change that channel~!"

"OKAHAHAY!! OKAhAhahAHAY! FuhUhuhUCK!!" Alastor slowed down but didn't stop the gentle tickles to keep Vox in a giggly state of embarrassment. 

"Go on~! What did you propose to me all those years ago~?"

“T-thahat… thahahat youhuhu chahahange youhuhur nahahame tohoho Vahalahastor-!” Vox’s screen turned red as he remembered the thought.

Alastor cued the laugh track again. "That's right! Since you wanted me to become a member of your polycule so much-!"

“IT’S NOT A POL- EEHEHEHEEEK!” Vox's indignant shout was cut off by a squeal he couldn't contain when he felt Alastor's claws scribbling against his shoulder blades. 

"Now, next question!" Alastor pretended not to hear the squealing mess on his recording studio floor. "When we fought those years ago, who won~?"

"NEhehHITHER!!" Vox desperately tried to weasel his way out of the question and his tickles, but with both, Alastor kept him pinned. 

"Technicalities!" Alastor smirked and added shadowy tendrils to the back of Vox's knees as punishment for his insolence. "Nobody technically won, but only because…?"

“THEHEHE VEEHEEHEES!!!” Vox bluescreened as electric shocks flew off in every direction, making Alastor step back a bit and slow down again. “Theehehe Veeheehees cahahame in ahahand sahahahved meehehehe!” 

"Right, since I was about to win~!" 

Vox growled in frustration, trying to get his composure back. "Yeah, but how about that fight with Adam? Talk about- ACK-!" Vox was again cut off by the cane on his antennae, and he looked up into the face of the radio demon, with eyes in the shape of dials and horns extended. A radio hiss filled the studio, echoing out across the city. 

Alastor waited a few moments before responding. "Many nasty rumors are going around about me, Vox, mostly thanks to you. Only one is completely and wholly true, and it's this." He bent down close to Vox's face, making him flinch away. "I do have a special appetite for the flesh of other demons. Vox, my good old friend, I need you to know I am famished at the moment."

"Y-yeah-? W-well-" Vox tried to think of something clever but came up short. "Y-you're not going to eat me, Al! I'm all wires. Wouldn't taste good!" 

Alastor hummed in thought. "Perhaps you're right. I have a refined palette, and junk food would just ruin my mood." He smirked at the insulted stammering Vox let out before continuing. "However, I just can't resist a little taste~!"

"What? WaitwaitAlasTOHOHOHOR!!!!” Of all the things Vox expected from his worst nemesis, nothing could have prepared him for when Alastor bent down and began gently nibbling his teeth over Vox's ribs through his shirt. Oh, he would never hear the end of this from anyone. 

"Final question," Alastor chuckled. "What is your biggest weakness~?"

'Oh, fuck, no, please don't make me say it!' Vox's mind raced. Was Alastor seriously going to- 

The Radio Demon let out a raspberry on the middle of his ribcage, sending him into silent hysterics. Yep, Alastor was going for the kill… metaphorically. 

"IHIHIHI'M!! IHIHIHIHIEAHAHAHAHA!!! AHAHAHAL!!!" Vox tried getting the words out, the words he knew would spare him from this hellish tickling. Alastor, mercifully, stopped and let Vox catch his breath, pointing the microphone on his staff to Vox's face. Vox sighed, feeling the built-in fans on his head whirring crazily to cool him down. He whimpered softly, defeated and made into a giggly mess, so he mumbled pathetically, "I'm deathly t-tihihicklish…"

"Yes, indeed he is, ladies and gentlemen! Thank you so much for joining us today. I hope it was as enjoyable for you as it was for me! Although, I know Vox appreciated it the most~! Tune in next time for another exclusive interview~! Vox, will you be coming back on the show?"

"N-nohohoho…" Vox tried to hide his face in the tendrils but wasn't very successful. 

"What a shame! We have so many more laughs to share, don't you think~? I'm sure we'll all hear from you again soon~!" With that, Alastor flipped a switch, and the studio's large 'ON AIR' sign turned off. Across the city, speakers began playing their regular music again, and the city's noise returned in all its chaotic, messy beauty once more. 

The radio demon released his tendrils, and the businessman slowly and wearily rose to his feet. Every muscle shook, and he leaned against the wall for support. "This… This isn't over. You won't get away with this." He turned back and glared daggers at Alastor, sparks shooting off his hands.

"I have! Now, don't dawdle! You need to address the media~!" Alastor pointed out the window, and Vox turned to see a gathering crowd of reporters and camera crews assembling around the front of the hotel. 

"F-fuck." 

"Off you go~!" With a gentle push, Alastor sent Vox on the most embarrassing walk of his life as he stumbled through the hotel, his slippers in hand. 

Charlie, face glued to the front window nervously, whirled around when she heard footsteps. "Oh! Please, come again soon!" She smiled and waved at the demon, who simply huffed.

"I won't," he said under his breath, pushing open the doors to be greeted by reporters shouting and snapping pictures. What a mess. 

When he finally got back to V Tower, he got quite the earful from both Velvette and Valentino. However, when they were alone together, Velvette grinned and scribbled a hand over Vox's ribs to make her friend giggle. It was cute, and goodness knows she needed a stress reliever now and then. Maybe she had to thank Alastor sometime for unintentionally gifting her such precious information. At least Vox didn't lose a limb in there: only every last shred of his dignity.

[2smolbeans]

Yandere Asmodeus x Cupid Mc

A/N: This was unedited and scrambled. I might add on to this in the future- but for now this is just some brain rot lol. If anyone wants to add on or use this idea for themselves, feel free! Just give me credit ^^

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Cupid! Mc who would spend centuries doing their duties as a cupid, walking amongst the human world and influcing the feeling of love amongst people.

Cupid! Mc, who was the cupid of Eros, often pondered if demons could ever fall in love. Love is a natural feeling, whether it be platonic, romantic, or familial - so could the worst of the worst feel something genuine like that?

Cupid! Mc was curious when they heard about the exchange program for angels, demons, and humans to get along. Maybe they would get to meet new creatures alike!

Cupid! Mc, who decided to apply to the program out of pure wonder if a creature who was neither angelic, demonic, or human could join the Royal Academy of Diavolo.

Cupid! Mc who often found themselves the main attraction of the school. Somehow, always finding a group of demons staring at them with malicious intent.

Cupid! Mc who somehow found themselves befriending a group of incubi and sucubi. It was eye-opening meeting a bunch of beings who were the polar opposite of you. Regardless, they helped you around while they bombarded you with questions.

Cupid! Mc, after staying in devildom for years, would eventually be introduced to the king of lust himself, Asmodeus. With the personification of love being in hell, of course, the personification of lust would come along.

Asmodeus! Who would rush at you with exciment, stating how he's it's been a while since he's encountered a cupid and asked how your goddess the "Bitchy jealous Aphrodite" was doing.

Asmodeus! Who would always stick by your side, claiming how a dove like you should be careful in hell. Generously offering to be your tour guide while he showered you with companionship.

Asmodeus! As the king of lust, was surprisingly modest with you. To your surprise, he was in no rush to get in between your pants but rather trying his hardest to keep his reputation with you on a good note.

Asmodeus! Who you soon got to know as a close friend was a selfish individual. Casually sleeping with those left and right while breaking hearts along the way simply because he was bored.

Cupid! Mc, who doesn't expect much from the avatar of lust just simply accepts him for who he is. They don't understand why lust is so tempting for someone.. Regardless, they simply turn the other way and continue to treat Asmodeus as a friend.

Cupid! Mc, who begins to find themselves closer with Asmodeus. No longer seeing them just as the avatar of lust - but a trustworthy friend they could gossip with and someone to go to advice.

Asmodeus! Who is conflicted about how he feels about Mc begins to question them and their relationship. After all, someone always wants something..

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"Why are you still here with me? I'm not trying to be pretentious or anything, but..I'm..Well y'know? Isn't that enough to drive you away?"

"No..Not really. I mean I know what you are, and I know what you've done. You can't help it! It's just who you are"

"W-Well, yeah..I guess. But you're okay with that?"

"Ruining people's lives, preying on innocent people. No. Of course not! But, you've been good to me, and I think that's the best you've done. Why? Aren't you usually like 'Oh! Well they deserved it!' Or 'Meh, sucks to be them'?"

"I mean yeah! They were asking for it. It's not like I directly ruined their lives. They came to me first! But you..Aren't you disgusted of me?"

"No, actually not at all. I get it. We're similar actually. Constantly chasing a high that only someone can give us..Yeah?"

"Yeah..You..You get me"

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Asmodeus! Who gained a new perspective about you eversince that conversation begins to feel..Anxious about you. He's never felt this way, and he hates it. He's never felt so insecure about his relationship with someone.

Asmodeus! Who begins to scratch at his skin whenever he sees you talk amongst other demons. Jealousy..He's never felt it before with others.. Why was it with you?

Asmodeus! Who wants to get rid of this awful feeling, sleeps around with whoever he can find. Trying to distract himself from you plauging his mind. But no matter what, it never helped..

Asmodeus! Who slowly loses his mind whenever you speak your mind. When was the last time someone spoke to him without wanting something? If you were to leave, would he ever have that again?

Asmodeus! Who slowly reveals his ugly flaws around you. He's slowly falling at the seems with his alienated feelings towards you..

Asmodeus! Who finally snaps under the pressure of his internal struggle decides to do something about it. His solution? Keeping you locked up until he figures out what you are to him and what he wants with you.

Asmodeus! Who sweetly smiled at you, wrapping his arms around your waist while cooing those words that seemed to mush inside your head.

Asmodeus! Who had successfully lulled you inside his room keeps you locked up in a nice set of chains.

Asmodeus! Who reveals himself to be a desperate and emotionally starved demon, whines for your attention and affection. Threatening to clip off your wings whenever you ignore him, blaming you for bewitching him to fall in love with you. That's what it was, right?!

Asmodeus! Who after pulling you into a kiss realises what you are to him. You're more than just a typical hookup or 'partner'. You were someone he genuinely loved. Which was embarrassing him to admit since he always believed:

"Love and lust cannot mix. Literally, I'm not capable of it. No matter how much someone treats me good, unfortunately for them, I won't fall in love. Hell, I don't think I've ever had an actual butterflies in my stomach crush for anyone!"

Asmodeus! Even though obessed and greedy for your attention- it is pathetically starved for your approval. He won't push any moves on you, but he'll constantly shower you with kisses, self care, and gifts just to see you contempt!

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(Annd that's all I have. I'm too sick to write anything else. But I have a lot of thoughts about these two! So I'll add more in the future)

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_____________________________

[hiskillingjar]

Do you think you can make more of ren Hana x reader please and keep doing amazing amazing job 

yeah sure.

1300+, hyperfem mc, kind of...au post BTD2 ren where he's trying to be a normal guy and. doesn't work out for him. cw for ref to CNC but we're all freaks here so......

College was supposed to Ren's fresh start.

Well, community college was supposed to be, anyway. A full bank account and a computer full of fake documentation software and malware couldn't get him into a regular school (what with a lack of a GED and all).

So, he had applied to the closest community college with a sob story (something something abusive relationship that forced him to drop out, something something he’s trying to build a life for himself again) and gotten in on a partial scholarship to finish his high school diploma, and to study coding and programming after the fact.

It was good. Or, at least, it was movement to start a new life for himself, a normal life, a life he could be proud of that wasn’t built off of the legacy of-.

Then she happened.

He wasn't going to do this, he had told himself from the beginning. He wasn't going to let himself get caught up in the dazed and familiar spiral of infatuation and dangerous obsession, as he was so prone to do.

She deserved better than that. She was good and he was going to be good, too.

But...he was never that good at controlling himself.

Which was why they were making out in the college library, his hand up her frilly skirt (he was a sucker for that kind of thing and she almost leaned into it) and his tongue down her throat.

She moaned little whimpers against his lips, pressing her fingers in to his hair, her fake acrylic nails occasionally scratching at his scalp and rubbing the base of his ears, making him totally melt against her.

They were decorated with ‘My Melody’ charms this week, the pink matching the pale streaks in her blonde hair.

Like she had been plucked right out of his fantasies and placed in front of him.

Like a steak in front of a starving animal.

“Ah, Ren,” She gasped sweetly, wrenching her lips away from his as his fingers stroked over the front of her underwear. He pressed two of them against the slightly damp fold, and idly circled the plush flesh underneath, feeling the wet fabric cling to her skin. “Mmm…noooo, don’t…”

“You like that?” He whispered, dipping his head down to kiss her neck.

She smelled of perfume and powder foundation, and he was addicted to it.

“Stoooop,” She whined with the slightest pout, pressing her face into his shoulder and gripping his hair a little tighter, pulling a little too hard for it to feel good.

“Ngh,” Ren let out a little grunt, pulling himself away and shaking his head (like a startled animal) before staring at her, his brows knitting together as he drew his fingers back from her panties. “Are you not into this? Should I stop?”

“Huh?” She blinked as he pulled back, her fake lashes fanning against her cheeks, making her eyes look even bigger and doll-like. God, no wonder he was crazy about her. “Oh, no, I’m…really into it, actually.” She admitted shyly.

“But,” He tilted his head with a confused look. “You were telling me to stop…”

“Um…y-yeah,” She giggled, her cheeks flushing a soft pink, matching her blush, as she idly scraped a lock of pink hair behind her ear. “Ah, not to freak you out out or anything, but, mm…I’m kind of into that sort of thing…consensual-non-consent, roleplay…stuff. And, you know, we’ve been seeing each other for a while, so…”

Ren blinked too, his ears tilting back as his expression gave away even more confusion.

"Non-consent? You...think about that stuff?" He asked, idly hooking a fang over his lip and biting down.

"Ah," She shook her head and covered her face to hide a bashful smile. It was a ridiculously adorable gesture. "I-It's not that big of a deal...and a-a lot of girls are into that stuff, more than you think!"

"Isn't that kind of messed up, though?” He continued to press, drawing his hand back from her thigh and letting it trail down to her knee, where her sock was slipping down.

“I mean, I know it's a little messed up, even if it’s not...the real thing," She insisted, her hands back in her lap (like she was chasing after his hand, chasing some way of grounding her body to the Earth) and looking at him, sweet sincerity in her big eyes. "I know it is. But it's like a...reclamation kind of thing, you know?"

Ren frowned.

"Reclamation, wha...?"

"Like, taking bad things that have happened to you and,” She paused, biting her lip to hide a thoughtful frown of her own. “...Putting them in a situation that you have control over. A situation you can stop, if you need to."

"Huh..."

He’d never considered anything like that before.

Ren did know, probably more than most, that there were a lot of…weirdos out there (pot calling the kettle black, he knew), but he hadn’t considered that she might be like that too.

It didn’t make sense to him. She dressed in pink and white, got new nail designs every two weeks, and told him extensively about her plans to program a game about cat sitting when she had finished their course.

Girls like that didn’t have the darkness that he had, did they?

She was his ‘sweet one’, after all, his innocent, little angel, his doll, his Madonna, his-

"Please don't think I'm weird..." She murmured, her smile dropping at little at his extended silence. “I was being a little hasty, I know that. We don't have...I was just trying-"

She was so nervous. She was so worried that showing her darkness was going to scare him off.

If only she knew how often he though the same.

"No, no, I-" Ren cut her off with a slight chuckle, rubbing her knee affectionately. "It's okay," He then said, giving her an encouraging smile (trying not to let it grow into something bigger, scarier, more threatening, more honest). "I...I like it too, I think.” He knew, but he didn’t want to tell her too much. Not yet. “I like that you like it, too. We can keep going."

Her eyes widened a little and that sweet, innocent smile came back to her face.

"Really?" She said, her voice filled with something close to awe.

"Yeah," He dipped his voice down low and moved in closer again, reaching up and wrapping his fingers around her wrists and squeezing tight, keeping them pinned together (in lieu of any bondage) as he gave her a fang filled smirk. "Let's keep going."

She shivered, trying to wrench her wrists away from his grip as he pressed his smirk to her neck for a harsh bite.

“AH!” She gasped, her soft thighs pressing together as he dug his teeth into her skin, bruising her, marking her as his. “No, no…s-stop-“

He paid no attention to her protests (uncaring if they were even real or not) as he dug his teeth in a little harder, feeling the first pinpricks of blood welling against his lips as he reached one hand back up her skirts and began to knead at her panties again.

She was much wetter than she had been before, and he didn’t stop himself from purring lowly in delight.

“Dirty girl,” He murmured hotly, laving his tongue over the bloody bite on her neck. Her cute blouses weren’t going to hide that one, and he struggled to contain his delight about that. “Getting off on this, aren’t you? Me touching you when you don’t want it.”

“Nghh…” She kept twisting in his grip, her bottom lip swelling as she bit down even harder. “I’m not…getting off-“

“Yessss, you are,” He drawled, suddenly pulling the gusset of her panties to the side and pressing his fingers inside of her. Thank god it was late, and the library was empty. “Look at that, angel…I think your body is smarter than your head~”

“Fuck,” She swore, pressing her face into his shoulder again and tensing up even tighter. “T-That’s good…”

“I know,” He crooned, pressing a wet kiss to her cheek and sliding his fingers deeper. “I know it is. Good girl…”

“Just let me take what I want, now…”

[pokequirks]

bakugo katsuki x male!reader

note: just a thought.

"the fuck are you doing here?" katsuki growls, seeing the masculine figure with head inside the fridge.

"i live here," he responds, taking the cold dinner and a beer, "ya should buy more meat."

katsuki's eyes follow the trace of stains that the clothes of the man has. he sits on the couch and turns on the tv.

"that shit is blood, isn't it?"

"oh, fuck, fuck, sorry kats, i'll clean it later," the man says, taking his cargo pants off and leaving them on the floor.

katsuki sits on the other couch, remaning quiet and watching the tired man in front of him. messy and long black hair, eyes bags under his tired eyes, small smile forming as he watches the program, scratched neck, blood stained legs on a lotus position.

"could you stop looking at me like that?" he whispers, leaving the can on the coffee table and laying on the couch "i'm close."

the man closes his eyes and turns. suddenly, the man coughs.

"fuck…" the man stands and rinses the blood off his hand. katsuki exhales, standing and walking towards the room.

"if you wanna sleep with me then take a shower, ya nasty as fuck."

katsuki entered the bedroom. 2:50am displaying on the digital clock that remained on his side table. he layed on the left side, on his arm. he tried to go to sleep while hearing the other man silently entering the bathroom and water crashing with his body.

he pretends to be asleeps as the man barely dresses with clean underwear and takes refuge with him under the sheets. the man holds katsuki's waist tight and presses softs kisses against his back.

"i'm sorry, kats, i'm really, really close," he murmurs, "you don't deserve this."

katsuki stays still as he feels his shirt wet. the man coming undone as he falls asleep.

it's 6am and he's not there. katsuki goes on with his usual rutine. eat breakfast, clean the mess and get ready for hero duty. he walks to the agency, where the case that he and his sidekick have been working on waits for him.

"good morning, boss. we have new info about the case," katsuki sits and the sidekick continues, "we think the organization is falling into pieces. ghoul has been seen movilizating to another province. informants say other suspects have traveled too."

"he's probably forming an army of his own."

katsuki nodds and lets them retire. he looks at his phone, no calls, no messages. how much more time he'll need, he wonders. katsuki sighs and goes out on patrol.

couple of days pass on without a single word from the man. he's neither gone home since that day. katsuki cooks for him, three cold dinners already in the fridge, waiting for the man to eat them. he stays awake, waiting for him to arrive all hurt, but he doesn't.

as kasuki makes another dinner his phone rings. unknown number.

"hi, kats," soft voice coming from the other side of the line, "how ya been?"

"we decided to make an incursion tomorrow morning," he says.

"don't talk to me about work, baby, tell me something else."

"don't call me baby, mother fucker," katsuki growls and the man laughs softly. he knows he's tired "i bought wagyu meat, ya shall came and eat that."

"that sounds delicious," he whispers, "i love you, kats."

"don't say that shit that way, ya sound like saying goodbye to me," katsuki sighs, "finish that shit and come home, i don't care if you die, you have to come back or i'll kill you."

the man burst into laughter. it's sweet hearing him like that.

"tell me ya love me."

"i'll tell you when you home."

"i have to go, kats," the man warns after someone calls hims, "i love you."

"love ya too."

"you told me you love me, ha!"

"cut that shit off! stupi..." he hung up.

katsuki sighs and continues cooking. that would be the fourth meal.

"we're going to start the operation, in one," the heroes took position, katsuki and the sidekicks beside him, "two..."

katsuki takes a deep breath, he feels all his body now ready.

"three!"

the crowd moved towards the entrance of the abandoned building. quick paces as they started covering the area and weird looks started to appear between the teams.

bakugo reached the last floor. there was no one there. not even a stain of blood.

"sir, team leaders said they have found nothing. this site is clear."

katsuki returns home in the evening. the night is almost setting. he opens the door, there's no shoes in the front door, no blood stains on the floor, but the tv is on.

he runs, the window is covered in a trace of blood. the fridge is barely open and he's there, laying on the couch, a hole in his stomach.

"shit, who did this to you?" katsuki asked, sitting on the floor next to the man.

"hi, pretty boy, how are you?" a small smile painting his croaked lips and one eye still closed.

"why the fuck are you in that state? you are barely alive," katsuki remarks, now noticing the missing eye.

"if i would die, i prefer that you kill me," he says. katsuki looks at him, frowns and a feeling of impotence covers all his body. suddenly the man holds his hand, "i did it, kats, i'm out of that shit."

katsuki remains silent, just looking at the man. the jacket he liked so much now was covered all in dry blood, his shirt with a hole that almost covered it, new skin just starting to generate.

"i look bad, don't i?" katsuki nodded and the man barely laughed, "i'll be the sexy man you fell for in a while, i have been eating well."

the man pointed at the coffee table, the containers with all of his dinners were there, a spoon on the side with food stamps. the black mask is also covered in blood. katsuki stayed on his side for a while. soft breathing as the man rests.

without a word, katsuki helped him reach the bathroom. he helped him take a seat in the bathroom stool and started undressing him.

"i didn't know you had these kinks with a barely alive man, kats," the man laughed, a sudden pinch on the place where his stomach would go.

"shut the fuck up, asshole," katsuki opened the warm water key, the bathtub filling slowly.

in silence, katsuki cleaned the man's body with a towel. light red water falling as the man stayed quiet under katsuki's touch. he was gentle with him. taking care of not touching the hole. then covered up the injury.

"look, my eye is coming back," the man smiles, katsuki does too.

they ended up in bed. both wearing the matching pajama set that the man had bought some time ago.

"please, come with me," the man pleaded. katsuki couldn't say no, slowly he accommodated himself next to the man who embraced him.

"how did you end up like this?" katsuki asks.

"i... i turned into a monster, kats. had to eat them all," the man said, purely referring to those who fell in battle, sad tone and expression on his face "while i was full of energy the regeneration worked at its peak point, i used all battling him, i pierced his heart and separate his head from his body so he left me with this hole... i'm finally free, kats."

katsuki stayed quiet, barely being able to recreate the image in his head. he caressed the injured man's skin while the man played with his toes.

"what's the plan now? after you heal."

"i should look for a job, cannot let my beautiful wife work her ass off," the man grabbed katsuki's ass with a cocky smile on his face.

"i'm not your wife," katsuki whispers, controlling himself in order to avoid hitting him.

"ya not? i have bred ya a thousand times and ya already have the tits," the man puts katsuki above his pelvis, just below the injury, he squeezes katsuki's chest with both hands.

"don't, you hurt," the blonde says as the other rubs his skin below the clothes.

"like it hard, don't ya?" cocky smile on the lips. the missing eye is almost full again, "hug me and tell me ya love me."

katsuki accommodates himself next to the man, one arm over his chest, reaching the face. he stays there, comfortable, just in silence. wonders how much time this bliss could continue.

"i love ya, dumbass."

"i love you more, baby boy."

days pass by. the man soon got a job due to this excellent resume. katsuki still does hero duty, patrol in the morning, paperwork after lunch, and by dinner he's already home. a happy smile and welcoming hug there, waiting for him.

"ya have been making dinner lately," katsuki remarks.

the man nods, "the least i can do."

both man eat dinner together, seated at the dinner table while sharing a chat. the man speaks the most, talking about his engineering work and the co-workers. katsuki listens and sometimes asks something, he avoids talking about his hero duty, so the man being a chatty one is perfect for him.

"we should go see your mom and dad, don't think it is right to delay that when i'm already free, tomorrow's your day off, right?" katsuki nods, eyes fixed on his food, "could we go tomorrow? i'll pay for dinner."

katsuki nods again.

after sharing an intimate moment in the bathtub and then in the bed, katsuki's left with his own thoughts as the man sleeps beside him. he knows this has to come to an end.

"the old hag said my father isn't feeling good, we'll have to reschedule our dinner, i'm sorry."

"oh, it's okay, i hope your dad gets better," the man says and starts taking off his blazer.

"we could go to that park you like and eat something there," katsuki says, the man's eyes now filled with joy as he nods quickly.

he changes for the new jacket that katsuki gave him after the last one was completely unusable.

"thanks to the gift of ma wife, i look damn hot, don't i?"

"yeah, you do."

the man smiles and takes katsuki's hand, heading to the apartment door and chatting about nothing while leaving the building.

soon enough they arrived at that park that the former villain liked that much. they ate some street food before having ice cream and walked to a more private place.

"here, we meet here for the first time," the man said, a nostalgic feeling covering his chest, "you told me to die when i asked you for your number."

"yeah, i did. fucking weirdo that asked me out when i first meet him," katsuki growls, one hand inside his pocket.

"but ya fell so bad for your sexy, awesome husband, don't ya?" cocky smile on his lips as he tightens the grab on katsuki's.

time to finish this off.

"give me your hands," katsuki ordered, the man showed them to him, the blonde took the handcuffs out of his pocket and said, "you're under arrest."

"oh, kats, yer getting kinkier over time," the man said, laughing a bit and getting close to the red eyed man, "let's go home so ya could have me real nice."

the man got under alert when people in costumes started appearing. heroes. the man looked down, handcuffed hands, looked up, cold red eyes. a detective showing him his plaque and talking to him.

"kats, what's this? these yer friends?" the man stuttering.

"you're under arrest, ghoul."

"kats, take this thing off me, please," the man said, policeman taking him by the shoulders, "kats, please, please, don't go on with this joke, please."

the man was sweating cold, heavy breathing as the people surrounded him. he was getting anxious. pleading eyes looking at katsuki, who remained there, standing still.

"katsuki, please," the blonde negated his head, a heart breaking and suddenly all felt in silence. he looked down, a policeman holding the security wrap, "could you please not? i... i go with you."

police man looked at the man, then the number one hero.

"i'm sorry, it's protocol."

after that the black haired man was taken to the prison.

after months katsuki was able to visit the man in prison. the only purpose was to convince him to talk more and give the detective more information about the villain organization.

he was seated in the middle of the room, no more security around him than the guns on the roof ready to shoot if he activated his quirks. lost eyes, slow breathing. the hair was longer, he had gotten back the eye bags and he looked way too skinny.

"how are you?" katsuki asked, the man remained quiet, not even looking at him, "don't wanna talk to me?"

katsuki huffed, waiting for him to answer something. his patience grew smaller with each second that passed by. foot hitting the floor while looking at the man. he couldn't stand it.

"i'm out this shit," the blonde standed and walked towards the door and before he could get out the man speaked.

"why... why did you do that?" slow words, tired heart, "i understand you position being a hero, but i still think you could have gave me some sign..."

both remained in silence.

"did you felt the same way as i did? was all a farce? the nights we spent together, when you told me you loved me? was all that part of the mission?"

katsuki couldn't answer.

"for a long time i had nothing, just one thing to protect and then i met you and thought i may be able to have a life, someone to get back at home," the man looked up, tears running down his eyes, "you should go, katsuki."

"have you been eating?" the blonde asked, still without looking back at the man.

"sure... i'm sorry i can't be helpful to you. i'm not snitching on my friends," a large sigh came out to him, "this will end soon."

"what do you mean?"

"you saw me, i was at my best when you first met me and before being here," katsuki frowned when hearing the man's words, "cow meat is great for keeping me alive if i have it in big amounts, if i don't eat human flesh right now i'll die."

"so you'll just die? tell them what they need to know, they will lower your sentence and i could bring you all the wagyu you would need."

"it doesn't work like that, kats. this power was given to me and it will kill me. you shouldn't worry about my former co-workers, they're on the right track, i took care of that."

katsuki left. no words, no goodbye.

"kacchan, i'm sorry i-"

"shut the fuck up, deku."

the service was held at a small venue, surprisingly for the few policemen, the detective and a few heroes the venue was full. people would give their respects to katsuki.

"sir always said you were a pretty blonde, sure we didn't expect you to be a man nor a hero," one man said, chatting after the corpse was cremated.

izuku standed next to katsuki, trying to support him.

how did you know him? if i may ask," the detective intervened.

"he helped me and my sons get a job, he was a great engineer."

"yeah, he was," katsuki whispered and retired.

"hi, kats. i'm sorry you have to see me like this, lately i have been a jerk with you, i'm sorry about that. i know i'm dying soon, i feel weaker each day and... don't know just i thought i should tell you that i love you and you shouldn't feel bad about this, you did what you had to do, only brave men do. you never deserved this, to get involved with me and my stuff, i hope you can forgive me and i will always love you."

katsuki closed the laptop screen and huffed.

"stupid son of a bitch."

in the front building were too black silhouettes, one holding some binoculars watching inside the apartment.

"sir, we should go now, you're still weak."

"yeah, just let me have this a little more, this is the last time i see my wi-... i see him."

[matan4il]

Update post:

Today is the 180th day of the war. Almost 6 months since the Hamas massacre started this war. And still, when I came across a video clip of TV announcers broadcasting on Oct 7, 2023 and I heard the words, "hundreds of Israelis have been killed" (even as I know that the number was actually greater than that, something that took time to confirm back in October), it still felt like it just happened, like it's still hard to believe it's real, and not a nightmare that we might wake up from any moment now.

A combined terrorist attack (vehicular and then stabbing) took place over night. A 26 years old Arab man drove his car into 4 policemen, injuring them, one initially was in a serious condition. The terrorist then drove on, stopped by another group of police personnel, where he got out of the car and tried stabbing them. He was neutralized.

Obviously, everyone in Israel has heard about the aid workers killed in Gaza. IDK yet how it happened, what the details are, we're all waiting to hear, just like other fair-minded people are (I'm not talking about the anti-Israel crowd, who have made up their minds before the incident even happened, they come pre-programmed with the belief that everything wrong is both Israel's fault and intentional). For now, it looks like a huge, tragic mistake, based on misidentification in the middle of the night (such mistakes sadly happen. The accidental death of 3 Israeli hostages in broad daylight was an example that it does, and other "friendly fire" incidents that have happened to Israeli soldiers are another. That's war, there's tragically no army with zero mistakes on its record). I am SO sorry for the innocent people killed, and their loved ones. I feel for them, for their pain and loss.

That said, how do I know it wasn't intentional? For one thing, because World Central Kitchen is actually one of the few humanitarian aid organizations that tried to help both Palestinians and Israelis. Which is one reason Israel very much wanted WCK to be a major factor in aiding people in Gaza in the long run, not just during the war, and the last thing it would want, is for these workers to be hurt, and for this organization to stop working there. The other thing is that we know an incident like this might provide enough international pressure to force Israel to stop the war, while our hostages are still held in the hands of brutal rapist terrorists, and while Hamas still exists, and threatens more massacres like the one we saw on Oct 7. What logical country would sacrifice the safety of its 9.8 million citizens (and the 8.4 million non-citizens it sees itself as responsible for, too) just in order to kill 7 random people, who were perceived as helping it, and who aren't even a part of the group that supposedly this country is targeting? It's not a logical call to make. Anyone who thinks Israel did this intentionally, is treating the Jewish state as if it's a comic book evil villain. I wonder why. When a humanitarian aid airdrop accidentally killed at least 5 Palestinians, and at least 18 were killed during another, I don't remember that anyone was quick to say it was intentional without so much as an investigation, or that those responsible for it must be stopped, rather than that they must study what went wrong, and continue while taking precautions that it won't happen again.

In Belgium, a home for Holocaust survivors has been vandalized with supposedly pro-Palestinian graffiti, reading "Gaza free" and followed by a swastika. This is pure antisemitism, very thinly veiled.

Here's a reminder that if Hamas is allowed to continue existing, and ruling Gaza as a dictatorship, that's not just a threat to the lives of Israeli and Jews, it's also horrible news for Palestinians. IDF soldiers found in Gaza documents that reveal how Hamas had tortured and brutally executed one of its own commanders back in 2016, based on the accusation that he's gay. Anyone who claims to be pro-Palestinian, but is silent about the human rights abuses that Palestinian suffer at the hands of their own leadership, is not that at all, they're just exploiting the Palestinians to demonize Jews.

This is 22 years old Dor Almog (right) and his best friend, Amit.

Amit invited him to the Nova music festival, but he had to miss most of it due to an exam he had. Dor planned to study, and then join his friend at the end of the party, but he fell asleep, and was woken up by the sirens alerting everyone about the thousands of Hamas rockets fired at Israel at 6:30 in the morning. "That was the last time I saw Amit," Dor said about the moment his best friend left for the party. "We've been friends since the age of zero." Amit went to the party and was murdered by Hamas terrorists. Dor and the rest of Amit's friends decided to get his tattoo on their body, and that at some point they would travel to India, which was his dream that he didn't get to fulfil. Dor fought to be called for reserves duty in Gaza. He's the only soldier who survived the deadliest incident there, in which 21 Israeli young men were killed, the last operation his unit was supposed to be a part of, before being discharged. When the explosion took place, he was in a building that collapsed, he fell two floors, and the building crashed over him. "I smiled, because I thought I was about to die, and be with Amit again. But then I literally saw a light at the end of a tunnel, and started crawling there." He was kept in a coma for 5 days, to help his body cope, and only 2 days after he woke up, was he told the news about what happened to his friends in the unit. "That was the real blow." When asked about being a hero, he said, "I'll be that when I get back on my feet."

May Amit's memory be a blessing.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[dronebiscuitbat]

Oil is Thicker Then Blood (Part 6)

Mrs. Rayn was making her rounds in the nursery the next day, checking each crib and droneling dutifully, making sure each were plugged into their cribs and charging, there were only two, one in for an overnight stay… nervous new parents fretting over nothing. And little Tera.

She was running hot again. And Rayn wasn't sure if it was her own fault; her filters getting too old to do their job properly, or something else, as the other dronelings didn't seem to have the same problem.

Regardless, she sighed and picked up the excitable baby, who was awake and rolling around in her arms happily.

“Alright… time for a-” She heard the front door open and two pairs of footsteps step in warily. Probably those new parents, ugh, they needed to chill out.

“I told you two already, visor glitches are completely normal until the AI… settles…” She came hobbling to the door with Tera in her arms, still giggling happily with being held. But she didn't see who she expected.

Uzi and her murder drone “friend”. Both looking slightly embarrassed to be here.

“Oh? What are you two doing back here?” She asked, eyes glancing between them, slightly worried, she hoped they weren't going through oil that fast.

“Uhm… we wanted to check on Tera, Uzi-” The girl in question elbowed him roughly, although it didn't look like enough to truly hurt, and he started again. “-We didn't want her to feel abandoned, so we came to visit!” N explained, rubbing the back of his head with his hand.

Rayn smiled, Uzi worrying over a baby was something she'd seen often believe it or not. When Nori was still alive they'd both be here, almost every other day, making the rounds with her. Uzi had always been doting, she was glad to see that hadn't changed, as so much about her had.

“Well that's real nice of you… I was just about to feed her since she's running hot again. Would you like to-."

“Yeah, I can do it.” Uzi immediately offered, and Rayn sat the droneling in her arms, Tera squealed as if she remembered them and rolled around excitedly.

“Hey, we're back. Hope you didn't miss us.” Her voice once more immediately fell softer, Rayn caught N's smile get larger out of the corner of her eye, and his tail began to wag.

For a murder drone the boy was ferociously polite, bowing slightly in greeting, although it looked like something in his programming was forcing him, as he winced while in the action. She wondered how he'd managed to hurt anyone with how friendly he seemed.

She watched as they made their way into the observation room, Uzi walking briskly and N walking behind her, eyes trained intently on the both of them.

She really did wonder how a hybrid child would look, she had the feeling she might live long enough to find out.

Uzi smiled down at the baby drone, already seeming to put down her shields in favor of being soft for the little one. Tera rolled into her chest, the pillbaby equivalent to a hug.

She totally didn't feel her core split in two with how adorable it was, nope.

“Here N, can you hold her while I get the bottle ready?” Uzi asked, looking up from the baby and turning around to face him, he looked out of it, but seemed to immediately reign himself in.

“Oh! Yeah! I can!” He nearly vibrated a hole in the floor, he wouldn't lie and say he wasn't excited to be holding the baby again. He'd been slightly perturbed after his thoughts last night, but being here seemed to ease them.

Tera looked at him curiously before giving him a wide smile, N smiled back, and he lifted his hand to steady the little one, before she rolled out of his arms with how excited she was.

“Don't get too excited buddy, you don't have any arms to catch yourself!” He laughed, and his hand rested on top of the soft silicon. Tera blew another raspberry at him.

Did that…tickle?

Without thinking his fingers danced lightly across her silicone, and Tera exploded with a peel of laughter, eyelights squeezed shut and rolling around uncontrollably.

He grinned even wider, stopping his assault and finally holding her steady, looking up at Uzi.

She'd just finished filling another small bottle, because he saw her rubbing her side with gritted teeth. Concern danced in his core for a moment, showing on his visor.

“You good?” He asked out of habit, and Uzi rolled her eyes but still nodded with a smile, looking back up at him.

“Do you wanna feed her?” Was her next question. Holding out the tiny bottle that was only slightly longer then the full length of one of his fingers, he stared at it for a moment, before slowly taking it in his hands.

The bottle was slightly warm, and Tera looked up at him expectantly, eyes looking curious. He felt a little strange, holding a bottle full of his best freinds oil, but he quickly pushed the thought away.

He found the panel Uzi had opened before, and the small opening that was slightly stained with oil, he felt nerves creep up his back, and his eyes flashed up to meet Uzi's again.

“You're doing fine N.” She assured him, an amused smile on her face and her arms crossed. But he still wasn't assured enough.

“Do I squeeze it or just let it drain?” He asked, not wanting to hurt the droneling or look stupid in front of Uzi- no what?

“Here.” She came to his side, adjusting his hold on the baby by lifting his arm before laying her hand over his.

Her hand is so small…

She led his hand down to the port and gently squeezed, he copied the pressure into his own hand and watched as Tera’s eyelights fluttered shut, and he felt her core hum slightly louder.

“Like this.” Uzi finished, although she didn't remove her hand, instead watching as the bottle was slowly drained, he idly realized her other hand had gripped his arm. He felt an unfamiliar tugging on his core.

His eyes drifted from the baby to his best freind, she had a small smile on her face, and seemed to be in a trance before snapping out of it, her eyes then locked with his and if anything her smile got wider, before she seemed to fluster and looked away.

Had her smile always been so bright?

“Why are you looking at me like that dude?”

What?

“What do you mean?” He asked, he wasn't looking at her any differently then he always did, right?

“N-nothing.” Was all she said, making him even more confused, was he being weird without realizing? He hoped not!

But he had no time to dwell, Tera had finished the bottle and was back to babbling up at him, distracting them both from whatever had just happened.

“I've never seen a baby so happy.” Uzi laughed, booping the little ones visor gently, sending ripples through it and causing another bout of laughter from the droneling.

“Feel better?” He asked her softly, surprising himself, and apparently Uzi too, as she seemed to look away from him again before she answered with a silent nod.

“We should probably put her back on charge, babies are power hungry.” She informed, leading him by the arm to Tera’s crib.

“Do you want to set her down or do you want me to?” She asked, cocking her head slightly, making her look somewhat like a curious cat.

“Uh, I can.” He replied dumbly, holding the little one close to his chest for a moment before laying her gently in the crib, he felt Uzi reach in with him.

“And you plug them in with this.” Her body was pressed tightly against his side, legs hanging off the side of the crib, holding a small charger in her fingers and looking at the baby instead of him.

He took it from her hand as she gently rolled the baby onto it's side, revealing the smallest charge port he'd ever seen in his life.

“She keeps getting cuter…” N hummed, making a soft laugh bubble out of his freind. He felt heat rush to his visor breifly, had he forgotten to top up this morning?

“Priorities, N.”

“Right.”

He plugged in the pillbaby, causing her eyelights to glow slightly brighter with the power surge. Tera giggled, rolling around.

“Do babies normally roll around that much?” N asked, feeling concerned that she was going to unplug herself.

“Not normally at this age… if she's moving around so much it might be better to get her a toddler body so she can make use of all that energy…” She trailed off, sliding off the side of the crib after double-checking she wouldn't unplug.

“Of course, that's up to her parents to decide when she gets adopted.” Uzi added, almost as if she was reluctant to. That he understood, he really hoped whoever adopted her was as knowledgeable as Uzi was.

“Maybe we could mention that, to the new parents I mean.” N suggested, fidgeting with his hands.

“I'm sure Rayn’s already noticed. There's probably no need.” Uzi's voiced changed, closing herself back off to the world. Which meant was about to sugges-

“We should head out. If you want, we can go out scavenging? I still need parts for my railgun.” N was dissapointed, but at the prospect of spending another day hanging out with his best friend, he lightened up.

“Yeah! Sure! I love doing anything!”

Next ->

[nasa]

12 Great Gifts from Astronomy

This is a season where our thoughts turn to others and many exchange gifts with friends and family. For astronomers, our universe is the gift that keeps on giving. We’ve learned so much about it, but every question we answer leads to new things we want to know. Stars, galaxies, planets, black holes … there are endless wonders to study.

In honor of this time of year, let’s count our way through some of our favorite gifts from astronomy.

Our first astronomical gift is … one planet Earth

So far, there is only one planet that we’ve found that has everything needed to support life as we know it — Earth. Even though we’ve discovered over 5,200 planets outside our solar system, none are quite like home. But the search continues with the help of missions like our Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). And even you (yes, you!) can help in the search with citizen science programs like Planet Hunters TESS and Backyard Worlds.

Our second astronomical gift is … two giant bubbles

Astronomers found out that our Milky Way galaxy is blowing bubbles — two of them! Each bubble is about 25,000 light-years tall and glows in gamma rays. Scientists using data from our Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope discovered these structures in 2010, and we're still learning about them.

Our third astronomical gift is … three types of black holes

Most black holes fit into two size categories: stellar-mass goes up to hundreds of Suns, and supermassive starts at hundreds of thousands of Suns. But what happens between those two? Where are the midsize ones? With the help of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, scientists found the best evidence yet for that third, in between type that we call intermediate-mass black holes. The masses of these black holes should range from around a hundred to hundreds of thousands of times the Sun’s mass. The hunt continues for these elusive black holes.

Our fourth and fifth astronomical gifts are … Stephan’s Quintet

When looking at this stunning image of Stephan’s Quintet from our James Webb Space Telescope, it seems like five galaxies are hanging around one another — but did you know that one of the galaxies is much closer than the others? Four of the five galaxies are hanging out together about 290 million light-years away, but the fifth and leftmost galaxy in the image below — called NGC 7320 — is actually closer to Earth at just 40 million light-years away.

Our sixth astronomical gift is … an eclipsing six-star system

Astronomers found a six-star system where all of the stars undergo eclipses, using data from our TESS mission, a supercomputer, and automated eclipse-identifying software. The system, called TYC 7037-89-1, is located 1,900 light-years away in the constellation Eridanus and the first of its kind we’ve found.

Our seventh astronomical gift is … seven Earth-sized planets

In 2017, our now-retired Spitzer Space Telescope helped find seven Earth-size planets around TRAPPIST-1. It remains the largest batch of Earth-size worlds found around a single star and the most rocky planets found in one star’s habitable zone, the range of distances where conditions may be just right to allow the presence of liquid water on a planet’s surface.

Further research has helped us understand the planets’ densities, atmospheres, and more!

Our eighth astronomical gift is … an (almost) eight-foot mirror

The primary mirror on our Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is approximately eight feet in diameter, similar to our Hubble Space Telescope. But Roman can survey large regions of the sky over 1,000 times faster, allowing it to hunt for thousands of exoplanets and measure light from a billion galaxies.

Our ninth astronomical gift is … a kilonova nine days later

In 2017, the National Science Foundation (NSF)’s Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and European Gravitational Observatory’s Virgo detected gravitational waves from a pair of colliding neutron stars. Less than two seconds later, our telescopes detected a burst of gamma rays from the same event. It was the first time light and gravitational waves were seen from the same cosmic source. But then nine days later, astronomers saw X-ray light produced in jets in the collision’s aftermath. This later emission is called a kilonova, and it helped astronomers understand what the slower-moving material is made of.

Our tenth astronomical gift is … NuSTAR’s ten-meter-long mast

Our NuSTAR X-ray observatory is the first space telescope able to focus on high-energy X-rays. Its ten-meter-long (33 foot) mast, which deployed shortly after launch, puts NuSTAR’s detectors at the perfect distance from its reflective optics to focus X-rays. NuSTAR recently celebrated 10 years since its launch in 2012.

Our eleventh astronomical gift is … eleven days of observations

How long did our Hubble Space Telescope stare at a seemingly empty patch of sky to discover it was full of thousands of faint galaxies? More than 11 days of observations came together to capture this amazing image — that’s about 1 million seconds spread over 400 orbits around Earth!

Our twelfth astronomical gift is … a twelve-kilometer radius

Pulsars are collapsed stellar cores that pack the mass of our Sun into a whirling city-sized ball, compressing matter to its limits. Our NICER telescope aboard the International Space Station helped us precisely measure one called J0030 and found it had a radius of about twelve kilometers — roughly the size of Chicago! This discovery has expanded our understanding of pulsars with the most precise and reliable size measurements of any to date.

Stay tuned to NASA Universe on Twitter and Facebook to keep up with what’s going on in the cosmos every day. You can learn more about the universe here.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!