#yes i just wanted an excuse to draw endeavor in a dress! look! he looks good!

[diospore]

Endeavor + Hawks - Undercover Mission! ...Except, Enji seems to think he's better at disguises than he is.

"Dude. Enji. Literally everyone can tell it's you."

"How so?"

"You are literally flaming."

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 306: the beginning of the WHAT

Previously on BnHA: Nana and the Gang were all, “hey Deku, we can read your thoughts and feelings so we should already know the answer to this, but for some reason we want to quiz you on whether or not you’d be down to kill Shigaraki Tomura.” Deku was all, “um okay, well tbh, probably not seeing as Saving People has been my entire thing since literally the start of the series.” The Vestiges were all, “yes that makes perfect sense and again we already knew that, but well, good for you buddy and I’m glad we had this talk. Anyway I guess we should ask these two cryptic fuckers in the corner to finally turn around now before we run out of -- ” and then the chapter ended. Because OF COURSE IT DID.

Today on BnHA: Horikoshi is all “YOU DON’T NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT, WOULDN’T IT BE SO MUCH BETTER IF I GAVE YOU A CONFUSING CHAPTER WHERE EVERYONE FINALLY LEARNS ABOUT OFA, AND GOES BACK TO THE DORMS, AND THEN THE CHAPTER ENDS WITH DEPRESSED NOMAD DEKU STANDING ON A PRECIPICE WITH GRAN TORINO’S TATTERED CAPE FLOWING IN THE WIND.” Everyone is all, “???????????” Horikoshi is all, “also the parents are moving to the U.A. campus, and Jeanist’s neck is two and a half feet long, for everyone that was wondering.” Everyone is all, “WHERE ARE KACCHAN AND TODOROKI AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WHO ARE THE SECOND AND THIRD USERS”, and Horikoshi is all, “:)” and fades away into nothingness like the fucking fae he is. Like a fucking imp who’s kept his end of the cursed bargain. What, the, fuck.

okay guys, so after the longest Thursday of my fucking life, during which I was secretly hoping that my spoiler containment net would be somehow be breached, inadvertently exposing me to theta spoiler radiation, so that I could be all “oh no... spoilers... there’s nothing I can do... I have no choice but to look” (which sadly did not happen), it is finally Friday and the chapter is finally out. so I’ve got my clown kit at the ready and other self-deprecating memes on standby, and I’m ready to go. and I should note that I’m also ready for Horikoshi to pull some absolute bullshit and be like, “oh you know what, we haven’t checked in with Rat Principal in a while have we” and spend the entire chapter on nonsense like that. I’M READY FOR FUCKING ANYTHING so bring it

(ETA: it would be nice if this man wouldn’t call my bluff every now and again.)

oh, right, we were due a color page! wow look at this

isn’t this supposed to be the future?? what’s with all of these staticky CRT TVs

anyway, so! is this the first time we’ve seen Tomura’s stylish finger prosthetic glove thingy in color?? because I didn’t expect it to be red. also, at some point you just have to give in and change your pants into cutoffs or something, Tomura. start a new trend of stylish villain capris

meanwhile Deku is dressed like he’s going on a journey into the desert to find a mystical oasis. actually this cape looks a lot like Gran Torino’s. I have to go back and see if Gran’s is all raggedy like this

(ETA: it wasn’t before but APPARENTLY IT IS NOW. I also forgot that Horikoshi had showed it sitting on a side table in the hospital a few chapters ago.)

lastly, AFO looks like someone’s thumb after they’ve been washing dishes for twenty minutes. you are just the ugliest dude in history, and as always, fuck you

HAHAHA SOB I KNEW IT

oh, Twowy McTwoface is finally starting to turn around? better CUT BACK TO DEKU’S HOSPITAL ROOM THEN. wouldn’t want to accidentally ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS or SOLVE ANY MYSTERIES, god forbid

well, whatever. whatever!! anyway so now someone’s knocking at the door. I say “someone” but we all know it’s Hawks

yep

they were actually standing outside the door for a while hoping they’d overhear another juicy plot conversation, but no such luck this time

lmaooo Jeanist wtf

acting all embarrassed, but you’re really just as curious as Hawks is. making him do all the dirty work for you huh

ARE YOU SERIOUS THIS IS AN INJUSTICE

so like two seconds after Katsuki gets dragged away you open the door for the rest of them!! well, fine!! I really want it to be a more private/personal moment between the two of them anyway so let the other kids check in on Deku first then

and in the meantime, time to see Hawks put the thumbscrews to All Might’s resolve lol

I wonder how much of it Hawks has already put together in the last five minutes. One for All is something connected to All for One that Tomura seems to want. Tomura was apparently targeting Deku. that’s more than enough to make a few deductions right there. I wonder how much Hawks knows about Deku’s quirk. he did watch the sports festival, and he ran into the kids interning under Endeavor that one time

okay well maybe he hasn’t put the rest of it together just yet, but Hawks is making a pretty reasonable pitch here to All Might

also this is a pretty spectacular view. is this a hospital or a hotel??

AHLKJLKJLKJ ARE YOU SERIOUSLY GOING TO TELL THEM

OH MY GOD HE IS?!?!

JUST LIKE WE ALL EXPECTED, THE NEXT TWO PEOPLE TO LEARN THE TRUTH ABOUT OFA ARE GOING TO BE HAWKS, AND BEST FUCKING JEANIST

-- LFKLKKLDK ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS. ARE YOU --

( •̀_•́ )

[sitting cross-legged on the ground pulling up little clumps of grass and letting them fall from my fingers one by one] yeah. sure. okay. fine. sure

-- OKAY, NO. NUH-UH. NO

everybody better hold tight cuz I’m about to pick up this whole chapter and yeet it into the ocean like a fucking frisbee lol

HORIKOSHI I DON’T CARE ABOUT THESE PEOPLE SITTING HERE WATCHING TV WTF

-- OH

well okay then. proceed. though lord help me if they’re about to reveal the secret of OFA to the whole fucking world skdkj

oh snap

well, there it is. pretty much what I expected, but it’s good to actually get to see this moment with him taking responsibility

though at the same time, thank you Horikoshi for not forcing us to sit through the rest of that

their fucking faces omg. okay but seriously, what nation doesn’t secretly love a good scandal

the Endeavor Pamphlets, part two. thank you for giving the country something to opine about on twitter in these trying times, Enji

so now they’re asking about Hawks and Jeanist but I cannot even focus on anything all of a sudden because what?!

is Jeanist even a real actual human being you guys?! are we sure he’s not three kids sitting on each other’s shoulders?? are you related to that one guy with the really long neck from the Jedi Council?? are you Orochimaru, bro??

so now Hawks is apologizing for the murder of Twice, and for hiding the connection with his dad

the fact that he has to give this serious formal apology and beg forgiveness for the shameful crime of Having An Abusive Father is really something else, though. just. it’s realistic, but I still hate it

moving on now to the one thing he actually does owe the public an explanation for

not to go all “Hawks did nothing wrong” on you guys yet again, but seriously. 100% facts. fandom can (and no doubt will) debate this until the end of time, but if Twice had gotten away they wouldn’t be having this press conference right now because there wouldn’t be any heroes left to give one. anyways though, I’ve already said more than enough about that in previous posts

so now some severe-looking lady with the weirdest fingers I’ve ever seen is saying that her mother was injured during Machia’s rampage

and she’s basically all “a fuck lot of good ‘I’m sorry’ does us all about now.” true true

wow she’s really getting fired up

and now Enji is basically saying that he understands that an apology isn’t enough, and what they really need now are solutions. okay, well! SO THEN WHAT IS THE PLAN THEN

hmmfsdgh

this eloquent PEZ dispenser makes a good point you guys

wait, hold up

CERTAIN citizens?? um excuse me, what??

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh shit

holy shit. well, this will go over well

okay! so this tells me a number of things, though

basically the minute that Hawks learned about One for All, he realized that anyone connected to Deku (e.g. Inko) would be a target for AFO. AFO wants OFA, meaning AFO wants Deku, and one of the easiest ways to get to Deku would be to target his family

Hawks therefore realized that Inko needed to be placed into protective custody

but the fact that ALL of the hero course students’ families (and is it only the U.A. hero course, or all of the hero course students across the country?) are being given protection tells me that Hawks and co. don’t want to single Deku out as being important. so then it looks like they’re not going to tell everyone about OFA (or at least not the public. which, good). so rather than drawing suspicion by saying “we’ve got to protect everyone connected with this one kid”, they’re making it seem like all the U.A. kids’ families are getting this treatment

but since the heroes are now spread so thin, they can’t just send a protective detail to each and every family, so they’re bringing all of the families to the same place instead to better keep an eye on them

so that’s all well and good, and a very smart move. except that idk how all of this is going to go over with the general public, all of whom are probably feeling unsafe at the moment, and who will probably see this as preferential treatment -- basically just the heroes looking after their own and leaving everyone else to fend for themselves

(ETA: okay so @hanashimas​’ translation clarifies that U.A. is offering their services as an evacuation shelter for everyone who wants it, not just the families of the U.A. students. that’s much more appropriate so I withdraw my previous “wtf” reaction lol.)

anyway though here’s Mitsuki and Inko

can we take this as confirmation that the two of them really are friends? that’s one piece of fanon that I’ve always hoped was true, so I’m gonna go ahead and say it’s confirmed

(ETA: also this means that Hagakure’s parents (or maybe “parents” in quotation marks) will supposedly be moving in as well. sure am curious as to how that’s going to go.)

now someone in the press crowd is asking whether U.A. can provide adequate security, which is honestly the LAST thing I expected these people would be outraged about lol. shows what I know I guess

(ETA: again though, this makes sense if the “certain civilians” thing was just a translation error.)

LMAO DAMMIT ENJI

YOU CAN’T JUST ALWAYS PULL THE “JUST WATCH ME” TRICK AND EXPECT IT TO SHUT DOWN THE CONVERSATION EVERY DAMN TIME YOU ASSHOLE

-- OH MY GOD RED ALERT

TIME TO ANALYZE THIS BECAUSE OMG

WASH CAN’T BELIEVE HIS FAMILY GROUP CHAT IS STILL SENDING HIM FUCKING MEMES AT A TIME LIKE THIS. HE DOESN’T GIVE A FUCK IF THE DABI DANCE IS TRENDING ON TIKTOK, MOM!!

FOR A MINUTE I THOUGHT MT. LADY WAS HOLDING MIDNIGHT’S TORN-UP MASK, AND BY THE TIME I REALIZED THAT’S ACTUALLY HER MASK AND NOT MIDNIGHT’S, I HAD ALREADY CONSTRUCTED AN ELABORATE HEADCANON IN WHICH MT. LADY AND MIDNIGHT WERE SECRETLY DATING BUT HADN’T COME OUT TO ANYONE YET, AND THEN TRAGEDY STRUCK, AND NOW MT. LADY IS GETTING READY TO SET OUT TO SEEK VENGEANCE. AND WELL, NOW THAT THIS HEADCANON EXISTS IN THE WORLD, I’M NOT SURE IF I’M READY TO GET RID OF IT

MIRKO HAS GOTTEN HERSELF A PROSTHETIC (ROBOT??!) ARM, NOTHING ELSE THAT’S HAPPENING IN THIS CHAPTER IS EVEN SLIGHTLY IMPORTANT!!! HELLO!!!!!

AIZAWA WITH THE EYEPATCH GOOD LORD. THE WORLD ISN’T READY. HE LOOKS LIKE HE HASN’T SLEPT IN NINETY-EIGHT YEARS, BUT SOMEHOW HE MAKES IT INTO THE HOTTEST THING EVER AS PER USUAL

WHO THE FUCK IS THIS FUCKING GUY. ARE WE SUPPOSED TO KNOW HIM? IS THIS KAMUI?? WAS THAT THING WHICH I ALWAYS ASSUMED WAS HIS HAIR ACTUALLY A HELMET OR SOMETHING WHAT

LOL AND MEANWHILE

you tell me, Dabi! weren’t you the one who said that wouldn’t be enough to kill him? what even is your endgame here. I’m starting to worry about the villain brain cell supply you guys. I feel like Compress took most of them with him when he left

OH??

“when asked about One for All, Endeavor fucking lied through his teeth.” well, well, well

SLKDFJLSKGDJLKLKGJL THE DORMS

( ⁰ ⌂ ⁰ )

SLDKJFLKJWLKJLK

WLKDJSLKJFWKELKSDJLKHGLK

HDSMFLKGKL:GDSELK

OCHAKO’S HAND IS SHAKING OH MY GOD

THERE’S YOUR KAMINARI, EVERYONE!!

RHA’S SCANLATION TEAM REALLY THREW DEKU’S HANDWRITING UNDER THE BUS HERE HUH

HE TOLD EVERYONE!?

WHY THE FUCK IS HE WRITING IT AS A LETTER

(ETA: 9. also if he really wrote every kid in his class then that means the U.A. traitor -- or Hagakure as we like to call her around these parts -- also knows about OFA, and knows that Deku has run the fuck off and isn’t at U.A. anymore. so that’s just great!)

OH HELL NO

the hell does that mean, you must leave. leave to go where. son you are not up and leaving to go power up and lead us all into a timeskip. and I swear to GOD, if you left Kacchan too...!!

MY GOD I CAN’T PROPERLY ABSORB ALL OF THESE OCHAKO FEELS RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I’M TOO TERRIFIED TO SCROLL TO THE LAST FUCKING PAGE, FUCK

I JUST GOTTA DO IT. I JUST GOTTA SUCK IT UP AND DO IT. FUCK

FUCK

WHAT. THE. FUCK

y’all I’m not even gonna waste your time with more keysmashing, JUST ASSUME THAT I AM DOING IT NONSTOP, FOREVER. and let’s just jump RIGHT IN HERE

okay so here I thought that All Might and co. had taken him away somewhere to train, but that is CLEARLY not what’s going on here. this kid is standing here in his Apocalypse Aesthetic hero costume which has CLEARLY seen better days, with Gran Torino’s cloak (GUESS THAT EXPLAINS THAT, THEN?? SO DID GRAN FUCKING DIE EXCUSE ME WTF), and a fucking backpack. this little green idiot has RUN AWAY FROM HOME. this is the absolute LAST THING ON EARTH I ever expected to happen so PARDON ME WHILE I SCREAM CONFUSEDLY INTO THE VOID

he does not look okay. you guys he doesn’t look okay at ALL. he has NEVER looked like this. this isn’t just a “I’m sad because I’m leaving all my friends behind” kind of look on his face, or even just a “Gran Torino died maybe and I’m still having emotions over it” look. this is an EXHAUSTED, dead look in his eyes. something terrible has happened

WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR ARMS DEKU. THE PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING DOWN WITH YOUR ARMS GODDAMMIT

love how this random building is just straight up collapsing, like that’s just a normal thing that happens every day now. lovely

APRIL MEANS IT’S NOW FULL ON SCHEDULED ALL-MIGHT-DYING-HOURS, BUT LET’S COMPLETELY IGNORE THAT THOUGH BECAUSE FUCK THAT NOISE

“THE SECOND USER? WHO KNOWS? CERTAINLY NOT ME” HORIKOSHI I SWEAR TO GOD

“BAKUGOU? NEVER HEARD OF HIM!” HORIKOSHI PLEASE

WHERE. IS. KACCHAN

did he go with Deku?? did he get a chance to talk to him before he left?? did he get his own private letter which he read and then promptly blew up in a fit of panicked rage?? is he going to go after him?? DOES HORIKOSHI KNOW WHAT HE’S DOING TO ME RIGHT NOW?? OF COURSE HE DOES, DON’T BOTHER ANSWERING THAT

omg. though actually the fact that we’ve already jumped a few weeks forward makes me hopeful that there won’t actually be another timeskip, or at least not much of one. I’m sure that’ll be the big debate of the week, but I don’t think we can jump too far forward here. for starters because of that All Might prophecy I mentioned. and also because TomurAFO isn’t just going to wait around for months. and also because I’m 100% sure that Deku’s running-away backpack is just filled ENTIRELY WITH NOTEBOOKS and this asshole cannot possibly survive more than 3 days on his own. UNLESS SOMEONE COMES TO HELP HIM THAT IS. OR SOMEONES, EVEN. OMG. omg omg omg. fuck this chapter lmao

[mercarimari]

Chapter One of the Reincarnation AU is ready guys. Read below Title: (wherever you go) Please Take Me Chapter: 1 Fandom: ACOTAR Ship: Rhysand/Original Female Characters WC: 2079

How had she let Mor convince her to go tonight? It had been years since she’d celebrated a Starfall with anyone aside from her mother. By which she meant, several hundred years. As it were, Rhysand had gotten busy. And while things had been good between them in their youth. She was certain that time had killed whatever had potentially rested between them.

Sometimes her thoughts still wandered back to those times. The war that had dragged him and Cassian and Azriel to the front lines to fight. She supposed that was when things had truly started falling apart. The death of his mother and sister— had merely cemented the loss of their connection.

And she’d tried. Perhaps too many times to count in the beginning of the end of whatever had been there. But he’d been falling apart, and she’d lost one of her best friends, her mentor, and him all at once. Just as he’d lost his mother and sister and so many pieces of himself it seemed unfair. The things leading up to him becoming High Lord? That had just been the final nail in the proverbial coffin. The final match to light the pyre.

And still, she’d let Mor convince her that celebrating Starfall with her at the House of Wind was smart. At the House where she’d have to see not one, but all of her old friends. She’d hear Cassian laugh after too many drinks, and see the way Azriel’s face softened ever so slightly in the presence of his brothers and their happiness. And Rhys. She’d see Rhysand again.

Mor tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear, and finished painting a soft shade of pink over her cheeks. It felt strange to wear something formal, but when she looked down at the black and gold gown she wore, she wondered only briefly if Rhysand would recognize the handiwork as his mothers. If he would remember the party she’d been gifted the beautiful gown at, the last one she’d had the honor of attending. Or if it had perhaps been forgotten in the sea of years and responsibility that stood between them.

“Why am I doing this again? I could stay home and celebrate with my mother.” Elizarin murmured, attempting to keep the nerves from her voice.

“Because your mother was invited too. And that means you are celebrating with her.” Mor beamed, “I promise it’ll be fun. Not to mention the view is unparalleled. You remember, don’t you?”

“Yes.” She remembered a lot of things from their last Starfall together. Even if the many years had left the memories tainted. Astraea’s laugh, Vasina’s smile as she watched Elizarin and her son together. How close Rhys had come to— She rose a hand to linger at her lips. “It doesn’t matter what I remember.”

“Lyza, you spend so much time working it’s unfair. Get drunk with me, laugh with us, have fun. You owe it to yourself.”

Of course Mor would make that argument. Elizarin sighed. “Fine. I’m already dressed anyway.”

“That’s the dress Vasina gave you for your birthday isn’t it?” Mor asked, a twinkle of sadness and a spark of recognition in her eyes. “Rhys will recognize it.”

“I’m going to change.” She didn’t want to draw attention to herself. Didn’t want to be recognized, but with Mor’s assistance, she’d more than definitely be noticed. Like that was the whole point of the endeavor.

“No. You look beautiful. Anyone would be a fool not to notice you, especially my idiot cousin.”

“Even if he does notice me, there’s several hundred years and—-”

“And? You’ve been quietly pining for him for centuries, Elizarin.” The undeniable truth that she wished she could condemn but knew she could not. “I don’t want to hear any excuses. Go to the party with me, please.”

“I already said I’d go. You don’t have to keep begging.” She sighed deep, and shook her head trying to steady herself, and her breathing. Anxiety took a grip of her though. How could she possibly expect to rate? He was the High Lord of the Night Court, and she— She was just Elizarin, another face among the masses in the Rainbow. All title and status she’d had lost to her when she’d fled the infamous Court of Nightmares and her father.

“Good.”

— — — —

The openness of the rooftop was perfect, just as she remembered it. She’d taken up a spot towards the city facing side of the house, leaning to enjoy the view of their home. Her city. Her peace. This place that had become home, had given her the chance to be more than she ever would’ve been should her father had gone through with giving her to Aramias.

Her ex-fiance was a foul and vile little cockroach. He gave her father’s violent streak a run for it’s money and— Too many people like him existed in the Hewn City. Too many people were allowed to do as they pleased.

Elizarin watched the people gather on the streets, watched as tiny dots formed 10,000 steps down in the city below. Behind her, she could hear the idle chatter of the few invited diplomats and city heads, and as she suspected Cassian boasted a loud laugh to something Mor had said. She smiled.

Footsteps approached her, she shifted to look towards the source and gasped softly when blue eyes met violet. “I remember the last time we stood here together.���

The words caught her further off guard. “There’s a couple of voices missing.” They were noticeable, even in her time worn memories. “Astraea would’ve laughed at Mor’s comment about Lady Abernel.”

“And Mother would’ve scolded them both for laughing within earshot of the lovely lady.” The edge of his laugh held sadness. She let the sound wash over her, along side the sound of his voice. He remembered. He had not forgotten.

Their last happy day.

She offered him a sad smile in return. “A thought for a thought?” She proposed. It was a game they’d played when they were both much younger, and much less burdened. He’d started it, a way to get her talking after he and Mor had fished her out of the Hewn City and brought her and her mother to their new home. She’d been so quiet back then. So— Unsure of how to truly live.

“You first?” He gestured with a flourish of his hand.

She pondered for only a moment, “I’m thinking about how lucky I am that I had people like you and Mor back then.” Which got her thinking about all of the people that didn’t have the same luxury. People so set in the ways of the nightmarish hell within the mountain that— They didn’t question how wrong it was.

She watched him, searching his face for any signs that he might share her thoughts. “I think about the others we didn’t help often.” He nodded, “Father maintained that the only reason I was allowed to help you was for Mor. And only because she begged him to help you.”

“But you’re High Lord now.” She challenged, “You could change things.”

“It’s been a process, and changing things won’t be instantaneous. But I have put laws into effect that my father wouldn’t.”

“Oh?” She shifted her head to the side, interested. “Like what?”

“The marriage law, for instance.” He smiled at her. “All arrangements must pass through Mor and I before being finalized. And Mor speaks with the brides, to ensure that they’re not just following through with the arrangements to protect themselves.” She stared at him, almost dumbfounded. “I tried to enact it sooner. I wanted to put it into effect right after we liberated you. But my father insisted we didn’t have the numbers required to maintain such an ordinance. I’ve found I quite enjoy proving him wrong.”

He’d made a law— Her head spun just thinking about it. He’d made and passed a law in her name. Had built it to keep girls like her safe. Cauldron boil her. “That’s amazing.” She breathed.

“So are you.”

A sparkling ball of light raced past her vision before she had the chance to speak again. And then another, and another and another until they littered the sky by the hundreds. As if the stars themselves fell for the moment between them.

“I seem to recall the last time we stood here— we got interrupted.”

As if nothing had changed, as if time, as if they had stood still for nearly three centuries. “I do recall that, yes.”

Her eyes watched the glittering balls of light for a few moments before she turned to face him. Each glowing soul that passed over them, shimmered in her eyes, and in his casting stars and glorious night dancing through them as he smiled. “I’m thinking I’d like to finish what I started, if that’s something you’d like.”

She should tell him no. The smart thing to do would be to tell him that if he wanted to— they should go slow. Things had changed, they were not the same people they’d been back then. But he remembered. He remembered her, he had not forgotten. “I’m thinking I would like that.” She nodded.

He brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, as if he was admiring her more than the shower of stars, “There has not been a day this last three hundred years, that I have not thought of you.” He leaned in, and brushed his lips over hers in what was the ghost of a kiss. “Quite frankly it’s maddening.”

She rolled her eyes, and brought hand to rest against the back of his neck. “If you’re going to kiss me, Rhys. Do it already.”

Her world exploded into a shower of sparks as his lips met hers, and one of those falling orbs slammed into their faces where they met splattering glittering stardust upon their cheeks. When they broke apart, it almost felt too soon. But she allowed it to happen. Allowed herself to take a step away from him.

“So was it worth it?” She whispered into the space between them, “The wait?”

“I wish I’d have done it so much sooner.”

She steadied herself, taking a deep breath, bringing herself back from the clouds and down to Earth. Even with the glittering stardust on her face that kept catching the attention of her periphery, and the lingering feeling of his lips against hers.

“I don’t think we should rush into anything.” She murmured softly, casting her gaze downward, away from him. Onto where her fingers fidgeted with rings in front of her. Items she’d made, items she sold in her shop.

“Then allow me to do this right, Elizarin.”

“It’s still just Lyza.” She cut in, picking at her finger nail.

“Let me take you out, we’ll talk. Catch up properly.” He moved forward, taking one of her hands in his. “We can take as much time as you need, but I don’t want to lose you again. Three hundred years without you was enough.”

After a moment, quiet and contemplating with his hand holding hers, she allowed herself to nod. “Okay.” She nodded again, she needed to make sure he actually wanted her as she was now, and not the memory of who she’d been.

A familiar boisterous laugh pulled her from her thoughts, from the spiral and the crushing weight of words unspoken. Cassian strode over to them, rested a hand on her shoulder, and grinned. “It’s about damn time.” He held out his arms for a hug, and she grinned, slipping into the open space.

“It’s good to see you too, Cass. It’s been far too long.”

“He never shut up about you, Lyz.” Cassian laughed, “It was always, where’s Lyz. I wonder how Lyza’s doing.” And he kept on prattling off things.

“If you don’t shut up, Cassian. I’m going to show you what happens when you piss off your high lord.” As if it were some joke, he turned his attention back to her as he started after the still teasing Cassian. “Tomorrow. Let me take you out for lunch?”

She laughed again, “Yes.”

And just like that he’d disappeared into the crowd, leaving her standing by herself again. She scanned the crowd looking for her mother. She stood idly chatting across the space with Mor. Both of them stopped to smile at her, and she felt lighter somehow.

[hopelesshawks]

Ash and Dust Part 3- Sound the Alarm

18+ Dabi x fem!reader (MINORS DNI)

Summary: You first meet Dabi on the worst night of your life after unwittingly walking into the very bar the League of Villains made infamous. That should probably be the end of the story. You stumble on the remnants of one of the most infamous terrorist groups in the history of Japan, get viciously murdered or call the cops and get them arrested, the end. Except that’s not the end of the story. It’s only the beginning.

Warning for choking

Masterlist Help Lulu <3 (Kofi)

You wake up with a start to the sound of your fire alarm screeching.

Your building just tested its new system a week ago so you know it can’t be a drill. Your heart races, panic making your chest tight and the blood in your veins run cold as you scramble off the couch. You expect to see smoke billowing around you and clogging your lungs as you wrestle yourself free from the blankets but the air is shockingly clear. Just as you finally manage to stand, the very voice you’d been praying to never hear again calls out to you over the persistent wail of your fire alarm.

“Good morning Doll. Couldn’t have you sleeping the day away now could we?”

Dabi is grinning at you as he burns one of your kitchen towels right below the smoke alarm. He only pulls it away and tosses it in the sink once you’re gaping at him. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” you ask incredulously as you scramble over your couch, grabbing a chair on your way. You set the chair down and then climb on top of it so you can press the reset button on the fire alarm, the horrible screeching finally stopping. “Is it so wrong of me to want to make sure you don’t sleep the day away Doll?” he retorts and god what you wouldn’t give to wipe that cocky smirk off his stupid face. Your eyes wander to the clock on your microwave and then widen in disbelief when you see the bright flashing 5:08 staring back at you. “Oh my god, it’s fucking 5am Dabi! Why are you waking me up?” “What can I say Doll I was-“

“Bored.”

You both say the word at the same time and the shit eating grin he’s giving you is genuinely pissing you off now. You’re tired and irritable and unemployed with no game plan and so you snap.

“Of fucking course you were. Y’know what? Fuck this! I’m calling the cops to come get your stupid, beef jerky looking ass,” you growl, grabbing your phone from where it was charging nearby and moving to make good on your threat. You’re just about to dial the number when suddenly you’re being shoved up against the wall, a hand wrapped around your throat, your entire vision filled with Dabi’s cold stare. “No you’re fucking not Doll, you wanna know why?” he asks. You swallow, feeling your throat struggle against his tight grip with the action. “I asked you a fucking question,” he hisses, the hand around your throat starting to get uncomfortably warm. “Why?” you ask obediently as your phone slips out of your limp hand and clatters to the floor. “Because I would burn you to ash and have fucking vanished long before your precious heroes and the inept cops got anywhere near here. Got it?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

His grip eases around your neck but he doesn’t remove his hand quite yet, the cold gaze he was giving you before melting into something more amused. “I respect that you got bite though Doll, you may be even more interesting than I first thought,” he smirks before finally releasing you. “Do you really have nothing better to do than mess with me? Like revenge to plot and shit?” you ask cautiously, hand coming up to rub at your throat as you retrieve your phone with the other. Your mind flashes to Endeavor. You’ll never forget the scene Dabi had made when he first revealed his connection to the then number one hero. The deranged man who had danced for the news cameras is a stark contrast to the smug asshole casually taking up residence in your home. “I’m not an idiot. I can’t exactly draw a lot of attention to myself while I’m still in planning mode can I?” he explains, his tone dripping with condescension. “Well excuse me for not knowing the villain protocol for vengeance,” you grumble, regretting the words almost immediately. Before you can turn panicked eyes to Dabi and ponder the consequences for your sass, the man is laughing. It’s the same cackle from the bar, the one that had been growing on you when you still thought Dabi had a secret nice side. It throws you just as off guard now as it initially did then. When he finally recollects himself he pushes out of the kitchen and makes his way back towards your bedroom. “Thanks for the laughs Doll, but it’s much too early for me so I’m going back to bed,” he grins before slamming the door shut behind him, presumably to get more rest.

You stare at your closed bedroom door in disbelief for several long moments before loudly groaning in frustration. Your uninvited house guest may be able to fall asleep but you’re far too rattled to try and do the same. Between the fire alarm and Dabi’s threat, adrenaline is still rushing around your bloodstream. With sleep off the table you figure you may as well attempt to be productive and go to find your laptop. You spend the next few hours workshopping your resume and job searching. You can’t sit around lamenting your situation forever after all. You even send a message to your boss letting him know you’ll come by the office to finally clear your desk in the morning. By the time Dabi wakes back up, wandering into your kitchen with a stretch, you’ve managed to send in applications to a few new opportunities and decide you’ve earned yourself a break.

“You gonna make me breakfast Doll?” Dabi asks smugly, kicking his feet up on your battered kitchen table across from where you’re sitting with your laptop. “Nope,” you reply easily as you close your laptop. “Oh really? That’s rude considering I’m a guest,” he snarks but even his dramatics can’t ruin your good mood. “Guest implies I invited you and I never said I was a good host. I’m heading out but groceries are in the fridge if you want to make your own damn food,” you tell him cheekily, rising from the table and going to get dressed into clothes you can comfortably paint in. You expect him to be pissed or perhaps to have lost interest by the time you re-emerge but instead he seems to eye you up before declaring “I’m coming with.”

“I’m sorry what….”

“You heard me Doll, lead the way.”

“You’ll be bored.”

“I’m sure I won’t.”

“Dabi I-“

“Get moving before you piss me off.”

“Ok…”

“Good girl.”

A/N: I didn’t originally plan for Dabi to join reader at her art studio but as I was writing the end he kind of demanded to go and who am I to stop him 🤷🏾‍♀️

Taglist: @thechroniclesofawriter @simpsfortodoroki @ahtsuwu @oliviasslut @larkspyrr @oikawaandkuroostan @tina-98 @vibesdontlie

[tinyboxxtink]

“My Fairy Abogado” *Part 5*

What do you do when you’re at a block for a plot? Throw some smutty smut in there! 

I’m kidding, I think I have an idea where to go. But I wanted to practice the smutty writing-- I know you all hate that. 😉

Warning: SMUT SMUT SMUT all SMUT

Tag List:

@wanniiieeee

@chasingeverybreakingwave

@word-scribbless

@dumauier

@objection-argumentative

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 6

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

“Chloe! You should be in bed,” 

“I wanted some water-- what is Rafael doing here?” 

“He was uh…” You racked your brain for an excuse. 

“I was checking on you, princesa,” Rafael approached the stairs, a glass of water in his hand. 

“Aww really?” 

“Of course, I want to make sure you and your siblings are safe,” He gave her a small hug as he handed her the water. 

“I knew Beto was wrong!” Chloe smiled happily as she trotted back off to bed. Rafael turned around to give you a look. 

“...And what exactly was Beto wrong about?” 

“He’s just trying to be protective,” You waved it off, approaching the stairs.

“Now, do you wanna talk about my brother or do you want to resume?” 

“I mean, should we? If Chloe’s still up…”

“Chloe will pass out in 2 minutes, tops-- And my door has a lock, guapo,” You smirked. 

“Well lead the way hermosa,” His grin was devilish, he bent down so that you could jump on his back. You did so, nibbling on his ear as he walked up the stairs.

“Ay, carino do you want me to drop you?” He whispered, trying to suppress a moan of pleasure. 

“Please don’t,” You stopped, not wanting any more interruptions. “There,” You pointed to your bedroom...well, your parents bedroom that you were sleeping in while they were gone. He opened the door and tossed you on the bed, locking the door behind him. 

“Wait is this your--?” 

“Is that a problem?” 

“Well, I mean it’s-- weird,” 

You walked over to your parents dressed and placed their wedding photo face down. 

“Better?” 

“Much,” He pulled you back onto the bed, lifting your tank top over your head and revealing your breasts. They were never anything special, you were kind of embarrassed by how small they were compared to most of the chicas down here. 

To your surprise, Rafa just sat there and stared at them. He then cupped each one in his long fingers, his touch was exquisite. You let out a small moan, which seemed to get him going even more. He gripped them tighter, drawing out a louder moan from you. 

“Your turn,” You grabbed his belt and practically ripped it off, causing a husky growl from him. 

“Alright honey, you better leave the undressing to me. I’d like to leave here with them still in one piece,” He shook his head as he pulled off his t-shirt and jeans, revealing navy blue silk boxers with a very VERY large erection sticking out of them. 

You almost cried, it was so beautiful. 

“...Can I…?” You whispered, still admiring it. 

“By all means,” He grinned, stepping closer against the bed. 

You gripped his shaft in your hands, your long nails softly scratching against it. You heard a small moan come from Rafa, egging you on. You loved seeing men squirm under you, it was a control thing. You tightened your grip as you continued to move up and down, you felt his knees jerking. 

“You okay there, counselor?” 

“...Yeah….” His eyes were closed, the pleasure in him taking over his entire mind. 

“We better switch, I can’t have you passing out on my floor,” You giggled, pulling him onto the bed.  “Now flip over, papi,” You cooed, and he obeyed. 

Now he was fully under your control, helpless to your touch. You could feel yourself getting wet just looking at his aroused grin. 

“Tell me what you want, papi,” You whispered, trailing your nails down his chest and torso in a tickling manner. 

“Mmmmmmpphhhh��� He couldn’t even speak, he just bit his lip and moaned as your fingers went lower and lower, ending with you cupping his balls in your hands. You massaged them lightly, his moans growing louder and longer every second. You studied every movement his face made as you continued; his eye twitches, the licking of his lips. You wanted more. 

You ever so slowly lowered yourself down to his waist, softly licking the tip of his erection. A deep, guttural moan erupted from him. 

“Babe, people are sleeping,” You giggled quietly, loving every second of this. You put your mouth softly onto where you had licked, slowly moving down his shaft while tickling his balls in your hand. His whole body began to grind under your mouth, he gripped your bed sheets tightly doing his best to stay quiet. 

When his entire shaft was in your mouth and a bit down your throat, you clamped down hard, moving up and down quickly and hard. Rafa grabbed a pillow next to him and threw it over his face, loud moans and a bit of a scream came from under it.  Suddenly, you removed your head and sat up a bit.

“You know, maybe we should wait,” You grinned evilly, the pillow flew from his face, revealing an almost in pain Rafael.

“Don’t you DARE,” He practically growled.

“Beg me,” You gave him a tongued smile. 

“Por favor, hermosa...por favor,” He practically whined, his puppy dog eyes in full effect. You always loved it when guys talked in spanish during romantic endeavors, it always sounded way more sexy in your native tongue. 

“Bueno, si insistes…” You winked, the look in his eyes told you he felt the same way about the language fetish. 

You resumed your position, his full shaft in your mouth while tickling his balls. However, his moans were getting too much for you. You removed your mouth and used your free hand to continue the massage motion as you leaned over and popped open the bedside table. You grabbed a condom and ripped it open with your mouth. The sound caused Rafael’s eyes to open, his eyes droopy with arousal. 

“This okay papi?” You placed it on his dick, rolling it down the side.

He responded by sitting up and pulling you onto him, practically popping you right on top of his dick. The sudden sensation of his huge erection inside you caused your own moaning and squirming to start. You tried wrapping your legs around him so you could ride him cowgirl style, but he took both of your hands and rolled you over, so that he was now straddling you. 

“Ah ah ah, papi likes to be in control,” He almost snarled, drool dripping down his lips. 

“Oh does he?” You smirked, half disappointed you gave up control so soon, half enticed to be dominated. 

“Si,” He kept your hands pinned against the headboard as he began pumping in and out of you, fiercely nibbling your neck. Now it was your turn to grab a pillow, throwing it over your face to shriek into it. 

“Si, gritar por mí hermosa,” He chuckled, now very amused at having you in sorts. 

“Ay, papi…” You muttered under the pillow. 

“Si….?” He pumped harder, whispering into your ear. 

“I’m going to…” You bit your lip as he continued to scramble your insides. You swore his dick was all the way into your intestines by this point. 

“Go for me, carino,” He purred. “Let it all go,” 

That was all it took, you took his cue almost immediately. Your thighs began twitching, your legs shaking erratically as you felt your orgasm crashing over your entire body. You felt it in your entire body. Your fingertips tingle, your toes curled. You screamed so hard into the pillow you swore you might smother yourself under it. 

“My turn,” You heard him chuckle, but you were miles away. You barely felt him pump a few more times and then shake against your limp body with a roar, finally releasing and collapsing on top of you. You both just laid there for a minute, both lost in your own ecstasy. 

After a minute you blinked, slowly returning to consciousness. You felt Rafa’s hands stroking your hair and your sight focused into staring right into his sparkling green eyes. 

“That was…” His eyes looked off into the distance, trying to find the words.

“Yeah, me too,” You giggled, pulling him into you for a soft kiss. 

“I feel comfortable inside of you,” He ran a hand down your side, from your shoulders down to your thighs. 

“Well that’s a new one,” You snickered. 

“Seriously, I could just fall asleep right here,” He moved both of his arms to wrap around your neck, pulling himself deeper into you, his head leaning against your breasts. Your nerves were still sensitive from the earth shattering orgasm earlier, so it felt like an extra bonus.

“Mmmmm...me too,” You closed your eyes and sighed happily, stroking his hair gently.

You were both so at peace and so safe in each other’s bodies, somehow the next thing you knew, there was a pounding at your door. 

----------

“Y/N!!!!!! Beto is hogging the bathroom!!!” You heard Yaz’s muffled yelling through the door. “Why is your door locked?!” 

It took you a second to wake from the best sleep you’d had since you moved back home, but when you did you went to instant panic. You pushed a still half asleep Rafa off you, where he promptly fell off the bed onto the floor. 

“Ow?!” He groaned, you slapped at him to be quiet.

“What was that?” You heard Yaz through the door. 

“Uh, nothing! I stubbed my toe,” You lied, plucking a now dry condom from your insides. You tried not to gag as you tossed into the trash can. You grabbed Rafael’s clothes and tossed them at him. 

“You stay here, until they leave for school,” You instructed him as you grabbed your shorts and tank top, throwing them on and unlocking the door. 

“What’s up?” You peeked the door open. 

“Can I use your bathroom? Beto locked ours,” Yaz asked.

“No!!!” 

“....Why not?” 

“I uh...I got sick last night, it’s gross in here,” You made a face.

“Are you ok?” 

“Oh yeah, I’m still a little icky. So I think I’m gonna--” As you rattled off an excuse the bathroom door flew open and Beto walked out.

“Oh! Well, there ya go, Yaz. You good?” 

“....Yeah,” She looked at you suspiciously. 

“Y/N where 's Rafael?” Chloe came walking out of her room. 

“Excuse me? Rafael was here last night?” Beto walked towards you.

“Yeah he was checking on us, because he's one of the good guys Beto!” 

“YES, yes. Uh, Rafael came by last night. But he…” you glanced over at a still naked and smirking Rafael. 

“You bet I came,” He whispered, making you blush. 

“But he left,” You whipped your head back to face your siblings through the crack in your door.

“....Mmmkay,” Beto shook his head.

“Ok, have fun at school guys! I’ll see you later,” You waved and quickly slammed the door, leaning against it. Rafael, now in his boxers, walked up behind you. 

“That was close,” He chuckled. You went to kiss him but--

“Y/N!!!!”

You suddenly heard rampant footsteps up the stairs and a pounding at your door. You pulled it open, Rafael standing behind it out of sight.

“BETO! Jesus Christ what--” 

“WHY is this downstairs?” Beto held up Rafael’s leather jacket.

“Why...WHY is there a leather jacket downstairs?” You said out loud, glancing at Rafael who was mouthing “OOPS”.  

“He must have forgotten it,” You smiled nervously. 

“Bullshit. Is he still--” Beto went to push your door open wider, but the sound of the bus horn saved you. 

“Oh! That’s the bus! You don’t wanna miss it!” You grabbed the jacket from him and pushed him to go down the stairs. 

“Yeah... you tell him this isn’t over,” Beto growled, heading downstairs and out the door. 

“Oooooh I’m quaking in my boots,” Rafael came up behind you, taking the jacket from your hands and kissing your ear. 

“Not funny,” You spun around to face him. 

“A little funny,” he nodded, pulling you into a kiss. 

“Now what am I gonna do with you, it’s broad daylight! You can’t walk out of here,” You stroked his hair. 

“Well...what time do you open?”

“In like…” You grabbed your phone. “3 hours,” 

“Well, I know what we can do until then,” He wiggled his eyebrows.

“Don’t you have a big boy job there, abogado?”

“What abogado? I don’t see an abogado…” He looked around mockingly. 

“Ha ha. You know what I mean,” 

“I can hang out here for a bit, I just texted my office I had to go see a judge about something before my case today,”

“Lying now, abogado? This doesn’t bode well with you handling my case,” 

“Well I handled you pretty well last night,” He smirked, slapping your ass. 

“That you did,” You smirked. “In fact, it’s still all over me!” You gestured to your waist and legs, covered in “dried Rafael”. 

“Oooh, sounds like you need a shower,” 

“Sounds like we both do,” You grinned, pulling him into your parent’s bathroom.

Time to clean up!

[theonethatwritessometimes]

Show Me?

Y/N had been dating Hannibal for almost a year now. He knew it couldn't go on for much longer, otherwise she'd find out about what he is and then he'd have to kill her or brainwash her, whichever came first. However, she already knew about his food endeavors. She wasn't angry or disgusted. She was impressed by how someone can kill so elegantly and right under Jack's nose.

"Y/N," he called from the bathroom while she was laying on his gigantic bed. Y/N hummed in response, nose deep in a book. "We need to have a talk, dear. Perhaps over dinner tonight? Go home and get ready." Y/N happily nodded and got up from her position and set the book down on the nightstand. Silently walking over to him while he was still in his towel, she kissed him on the cheek and walked out of the house with keys in hand.

When Y/N got home she took a shower. After her shower she moved to her closet to try and find the perfect dress, which was a black knee length dress the hugged her plump curves in a way that didn't make her self conscious. Y/N didn't know what Hannibal wanted to talk about but she was excited. Everything about him made her feel excitement. He's always so elegant and effortlessly beautiful, sometimes she’d wonder why he even wants her but she doesn’t have the guts to ask him. Her friend, Will, called her in the middle of getting ready. "Hey, Y/N. What are you doing?" He asked in a voice that he only really used with Y/N since she reminded him of what having a sister would be like.  "Getting ready for dinner with Hannibal. Why?" Y/N heard him hum, "Just wanted to see if you wanted to come see my new dog."

She chuckled. "How many dogs it that now? It's got to be illegal." Both of them shared a laugh and a few more words before he excused himself so she could get ready.

When Y/N arrived at Hannibal's house something felt off to her, but she pushed the feeling back not wanting to ruin the night. Y/N walked in, having a key to the place but the house being unlocked whenever she’d need in anyway. Y/N made your way to the dining room and sat down in her favorite chair. Yes, she had a favorite chair. One, it was the most comfortable chair she’s ever sat on. Two, it was the one she was sitting in when Hannibal asked her to date him.

She heard him walk out of the kitchen, "Oh, hello Y/N. I didn't hear you come in." He said as he set down the food for the two of them tonight then sat down. He made Y/N her favorite dish and the feeling that something was wrong crawled up her throat. Y/N couldn't hold back, "Hannibal. Are you breaking up with me?" She asks in the most calm voice she could muster. He went rigid in his chair for a second and then relaxed again, he looked at Y/N. 

 “I am. You have always been very perceptive, dear. How did you find out?” He asked. She scoffed, really?, Y/N thought. “Hannibal,” she sighed, “You never make me wait when you want to talk to me. You also don't randomly cook my favorite food.” Suddenly, she realized something. “What is this?” She asked as she pointed to his plate. He sighed, “Veal. You know this.” A small smile made its way to her face but he didn't notice. 

“Sorry, let me rephrase my question. Who is this, Hannibal?” Hannibal's face was one you could call shock, if he actually showed his emotions more, “You know.” He whispered, slowly grabbing a knife. To him, this was it, he had to kill Y/N. 

“Yes, I know. People who annoy you or they get too much into your personal life end up dead with missing organs. Plus you keep everyone's business card for your so called records, babe. It's not that hard.” Y/N leaned back in her chair slightly, “You're lucky that I don't care about that. I care about you, and as much as I don't like you feeding people to other people, I don't like the thought of you in prison or dead, way more than that.” She couldn't tell what Hannibal was feeling, as he didn't show it. He looked into her eyes, “How long...have you known? Why did you stay?” 

Y/N shrugged. “To your first question, I don't remember when I found out, it was just suddenly I knew. To your second question, I care about you. Also, I like what we have. I don't care if you kill, I just want you safe and sound.” He nodded when she was finished.

“The guy who flirted with you when you walked into one of my appointments to drop off my jacket. That's who this is.” Hannibal said, not looking very sorry for what he did. More proud than sorry. She smiled to herself then looked up at Hannibal. “I’m not sure if this is the time or place. However, I’ve never felt love before, but I love the feeling I get when I’m with you.” Y/N moved to eat the dish Hannibal made her, not needing an answer from him to know that he at least cared for her. “Don’t eat that, Y/N.” She paused and looked down at her fork with her mouth hanging open. Looking up at Hannibal, she realised he looked a bit sheepish. 

“I may have gone overboard with the thought of you knowing about my eating habits. You would end up leaving me or telling the police were the only conclusions I could draw.” He said while taking her plate and fork from her, “Follow me to the kitchen, my sweet. Let's make you something else.” Y/N followed him as they both walked to the magnificent kitchen. 

         Y/N watched him as he cooked her a new dish without meat since everything else was human. She was tempted to sit on the counter but Y/N didn't want to bother Hannibal. However, this man Y/N called hers, could basically read her mind. 

       “Y/N do you want to sit on the counter?” he asked while wiping off his hands on his apron. She shyly nodded. Hannibal slowly walked over to you and stood impossibly close to. Grabbing your hands and putting them on his shoulders, he picked you up by your thighs and carefully set you down on the counter. You held your breath and your noses were touching. “Y/N, I can’t promise you a happy ending, seeing as I’m a soon to be wanted man. However, I will try to make right now as pleasant as possible.”

“All I want is right now.”

[lovelivingmydreams]

Paper Flowers: Assumptions

People make snap judgements all the time. About fictional characters as well as the people in their lives. It gets dangerous however when you assume your perception is the truth.

“Hello all you Fanders out there!” the voice over of DarkStarlight sounds through your speaker as the screen shows the title card of their series Fanders illustrated. The concept is simple enough. They talk about things from Thomas’ content or the fan community they liked while showing speeddraws based on it. It’s really fun to see.

“So a while ago I made this drawing based on the names we picked for the Prince’s nemesis.”

The image changes to a drawing of two versions of the character standing back to back. The dark, mischievious Marcus against a dark red background, and the awkward blushy Kevin against a lighter blue, the collors mixing to purple in the center.

“And the comments have been wild!” A blank canvas is shown as they start sketching.

“There were several theories about how these two boys could be one and the same.

The theory I want to draw today is a cute one. So CatPrincess suggested Marcus is an act Kevin puts up to help the prince. Kevin, according to her, is a staff member of the palace. And when the Prince got old enough to start looking for a princess, he needed an excuse, since he’s gay or just not really interested in romance. He never really was invested in any princesses in the vines after all. He’s had the most chemistry with males. Prince is gay confirmed.”

You chuckle. And shake your head. This fandom is wild. You just hope the characters can make a transition to youtube. It seems like Vine’s time is really coming to an end.

“Anyway, so whether the prince knows it or not CatPrincesss didn’t say, but Kevin ends up disguising himself as a villain so Prince can say he’s busy defending the realm and that he can’t pursue any Princesses until the villain is defeated. I really like the idea of Prince and Kevin having little inside jokes and grinning at each other secretly while Kevin tends to the family during dinner as they hear the king and queen complain about the villain. So. What do you think?”

And just like that the drawing is done. It’s Prince and a formally dressed Kevin glancing at each other with subtle smirks while behind them their silhouettes are crossing swords.

You like and share the video before checking in on tumblr, you still have some time to kill before dinner.

 “I don’t see why we even bother still making vines every day. We’re finished, it’s over,” Virgil muttered as he paced the floor of the common area. He really hated being the barer of bad news, but no one was coming to terms with this simple fact.

“We have sworn to entertain the fanders, and it is not over until the fat lady sings,” Roman explained calmly from his spot, draped over the couch, pretending to be more interested in his notes for the ultimate storytime tour.

The announcement had taken the internet by storm and even Virgil was excited, though he never showed that to the others. He couldn’t leave his room for five days because he couldn’t stop ‘sparkling’ as Roman had come to call his excited look. Just in his head though, he was fairly sure Virgil wouldn’t appreciate it.

“What are we going to do after!?” Virgil insisted.

“We could look for a real job?” Logan suggested though he wasn’t very hopeful.

Virgil was nodding to himself, that was an option he supposed.

“We could make more scripted youtube video’s? People have been commenting they wished they could see more of our characters than six second skits?” Patton suggested.

“Brilliant idea Padre!” Roman exclaimed as he sat up and started skribling.

“We could make a series about the dad and teacher! Liam, Fiona and Gavin might like participating… Oh, and we could make marvelous stories about the prince… Idea!!!!”

He jumped up and made a gesture towards all of them. “We could make a series about us!” he declared proudly. “The fanders want to know more about Thomas, what better way to talk about that than by showing them who we are!?”

Patton was clapping excitedly while Logan and Virgil seemed apprehensive.

“Oh, that sounds so fun!!!” the fatherly side cheered.

“I don’t know,” Virgil objected. “It feels too exposed.”

“Indeed, we are a very personal part of Thomas. We should not be shown to the world so carelessly,” Logan agreed, mostly opposed to being displayed as a source of entertainment for others.

“We don’t have to go all in right away. Thomas can start with acting like our vine counterparts and see how the fanders react and if they like the idea we slowly but surely let our real selves shine through. Little steps,” Roman suggested.

Logan cocked his head. “That was, a very well thought out solution…” he admitted. It was odd. When had this started? Roman usually just spat out ideas and took any criticism as a personal offence. When did he start taking feedback into consideration?

Roman gasped and brought a hand to his heart in offence. “Don’t sound so surprised!” he huffed.

“I don’t know…” Virgil said slowly. The fanders liked his character… But that guy wasn’t literal anxiety.

Roman sighed dramatically. “Tell you what. I draft up some ideas. And after the tour we can revisit the subject. Vine won’t disappear overnight,” he reasoned.

Logan and Patton nodded in agreement. “Fine,” Virgil relented before pulling his hoodie over his head and stalking off.

Patton frowned. “He’s never happy is he?” he muttered sadly. Roman bit back his reaction. Patton was both wrong and right. This part of Virgil couldn’t be happy. But Roman knew of other parts that could be the happiest out of all of them. Happier than even Patton could ever hope being.

“Well who’s fault is that?” A voice drawled from the door opening. Roman automatically drew his sword while Patton and Logan reflexively moved to stand a little more behind him.

“Such a warm reception, I’m so touched,” Deceit said, hand on his heart, a sarcastic sting to his voice and a roll of his eyes.

"Well," Roman huffed as he put away his sword. "Maybe if you didn't apparate in dark corners for no good reason we wouldn't assume an attack was imminent. You are lucky you just missed anxiety, he might not have been able yo hold himself back." Realy what was that snake thinking?

"Thanks for the concern Roman, but other than you three, I know how to handle him."

Roman once more bit his tongue. Keeping his promise not to reveal their bond has never been so hard. This particular side was much more likely to catch him evading and omitting.

He rolled his eyes dramatically and crossed his arms in front of him. "Is there anything you needed Deceit?" Patton asked as he stepped forward laying a soothing hand on Roman's arm.

"Just checking in. And I must say I am not impressed. Morality I had hoped you'd put in a little more effort to make Anxiety comfortable up here. At this rate I might have to take him back with me." Roman could feel Patton cringe at that. That's it. Virgil's friend or not, Roman would not let him upset his family.

“Oh drop it scaleface. Empty threats will only go so far,” he said with a hand on his hip and a roll of his eye.

“Who says they’re empty?” Deceit drawled, studying his nails. “The whole reason Anxiety came up here was to reduce his stress, but if you all just keep making him unhappy, what is the point?” Deceit wondered calmly, though Roman could see there was a vague annoyed pull at his eyes. He clearly did not like being questioned.

“If he really was as unhappy as you imply, then why hasn’t he gone back to you and Remus who supposedly know how to ‘handle him’ so much better?” There was a mild flinch in Deceit’s posture, making Roman wondered if he accidently hit a nerve somehow.

“Just say what you came here for, Deceit. We all have other things to do.” Because deceit was rarely straightforward. Virgil hadn’t told him much about living down there, but that much he’d learned.

Janus just huffed and left.

“Charming as always!” Roman huffed as he combed his fingers through his hair.. He let out a sigh and dropped his hand before looking down at Patton.

“Are you alright Padre?” he wondered.

“I… Yes actually. Thank you Roman…” Roman wanted to bid the two bespectacled sides a good day and start writing on the new series and finish of his ideas for the tour, but the he noticed Patton was biting his lip nervously and so he waited.

“Do you really think… he’s not going to take Anxiety back is he?”

Roman smiled warmly down at Patton before turning to Logan. “Logan, could Thomas ‘forget about anxiety’ at this point?” he asked.

Logan cocked his head confused. “No, denying Anxiety is a part of Thomas, the way Thomas refused to acknowledge his presence in the past, is not possible. Deceit does not have the power to force such a change. Only if the three of us were to agree to it, could something like that be accomplished. And I do not intent to participate in such endeavor,” Logan stated. Patton relaxed at that.

“And I suppose I have gotten used to our war of wits. I shan’t permit him to leave until I reign victorious! Speaking of victory! I’m off writing a script so brilliant the fanders will demand more!”

And with that he finally did make his exit.

He returned to his room and immediately started on his projects. He was not sure what Deceit was trying to accomplish, but it would not deter him from his mission.

In the commons Logan has left as well and Patton his tidying up. Trying not to let Deceit’s words get to him… Who’s fault was it? His? Roman’s? Was there another thing he was missing?

At the border of the conscious mind Janus was beyond annoyed. It didn’t really matter. The idea of failure was planted, and if he knew the lights at all it’s that they would try harder to make Virgil feel comfortable, if only to prove him wrong. Virgil would not like that Janus had gotten involved, but he was worried. How couldn’t he be? Over the past few month’s Virgil had been acting off. Sure he was being more sociable, but after every interaction he was so rained he more or less disappeared. That was the only explanation Janus had for the times he’d visited to make sure he was alright and find the room empty. He hadn’t brought it up with Virgil, since doing so would most likely end up being more about him entering Virgil’s room without permission rather than an actual explanation.

And it didn’t really matter. Janus knew one thing with unwavering certainty.

If the lights didn’t get their act together, they might lose him.

Next: momceit

[ma-sulevin]

Fuckuary Day 8: “We Have to be Quiet”

Ruthie Campbell x Jesse Cunningham

Words: 1,663

Yes, I’m well fucking aware we’re a week into March now lmao. It is what it is. Jesse belongs to @raisinghellinotherworlds

---

Jesse’s up to something. Ruthie can tell just based on the way he’s been looking at her all evening, but also in the way he lets his hand linger on the small of her back where her dress exposes a strip of skin as they walk through the party, the way he keeps tucking her hair behind her ear just for an excuse to touch her face and watch her blush.

He’s been up to something ever since she walked out of the bedroom dressed for the party and he saw just how high the slit in her skirt reaches.

He lets her in on his plan as he presses another glass of champagne into her hand and a kiss against her temple, bent over and a little slouched so he can reach.

“You look… completely distracting tonight.” His voice is low, almost too low for her to hear, and his fingertips tracing down her spine make her shiver. He flattens his hand at the small of her back and slides it around to her hip and tugs her a little closer so that she’s half pressed against his front.

She tries to ignore the way it makes heat rise through her, but it’s next to impossible. She knows she’s blushing, knows if anyone happened to look right at her, they’d know what Jesse’s whispering in her ear… but that just makes the heat worse.

“Distracting in a good way, I hope.”

Jesse sighs in a way that sounds very much like a groan, his fingers tightening on her hip for a half a second before he relaxes them again. “Distracting like I can’t stop thinking about fucking you inside the coat room.”

“Jesse!” She wants to sound admonishing, like he’s reached too far, but she doesn’t feel like he has, not really. Instead, she starts to laugh, just a little. It’s really almost a giggle, and she can hear his answering chuckle pressed against the top of her head. “We’re at a party.”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m not thinking about the couch.”

Ruthie turns just enough so she can look up at him to see his sly expression, trying to gauge how serious he is. It’s not like they’ve never snuck off somewhere they weren’t supposed to be to have sex, it’s just that this would be the first time where they actually know the people who could catch them.

Even so…

“We have to be quiet,” she says, and Jesse’s face lights up in excitement.

He takes her hand, long fingers twining with hers, and pulls her toward the coat room at a pace just a little too fast to be inconspicuous. She can’t stop grinning, giddy as she follows him through the party, her champagne flute still clutched in her hand. 

Jesse releases her when they step into the little room so he can shut and lock the door behind them. Ruthie pauses to drain her glass, and he takes it from her as soon as it’s empty.

She watches, heart in her throat, as he puts the glass on a high shelf she can’t reach before he pins his entire focus on her.

She can feel her face burning as he takes it in his hands, and she leans into the touch as she puts her hands on his waist in return.

“Hi,” she says, feeling warm and a little silly as she does.

Jesse’s smile widens, showing a flash of teeth before he says, “Hey, baby.” His eyes roam freely over her face in a way that makes her blush brighter as he tilts her chin up a bit. “Have I told you today how fucking gorgeous you are?”

She shakes her head and Jesse gives her an exaggerated frown. 

“I’ll just have to make it up to you, then.”

She stretches up as far as she can and accepts his kiss as he moves deeper into her space, pushing until she’s against the wall and his thigh is pressed between hers, all caught up in the fabric of her skirt.

Her little laugh dissolves into a moan as his hands trace up her waist to her breasts, his touch sending the same sparks through her it always does. It makes her head spin, and she clings to him as his tongue presses into her mouth.

She keeps one hand wrapped around his arm as she sneaks the other down his front, reaching to palm at the front of his dress pants where he’s already half hard. He groans into the kiss, a quiet noise that sends a thrill through her, and she bites at his lip as she strokes him until he’s completely hard and he’s pulling desperately at her skirt to get it out of the way.

Jesse kisses her until his fingers make it between her legs to find her bare and ready for him under her dress. He presses his free hand against the wall by her head and rests his forehead against hers as he pushes his fingers inside her.

“Did you plan this?” He sounds incredulous, almost, but his voice is deep and raspy as he speaks. It makes her shiver and clutch at him tighter as she spreads her legs to give him more space to work. “Ruthie…”

She catches a moan in her throat and starts tugging at his belt without looking away from his eyes. They’re so dark they look black in this light, and she could drown in them.

“I thought…” She catches another moan as he hooks his fingers just right, then starts again. “On the way home, maybe?”

His responding curse is cut off as she finally gets his pants loose enough to free his cock. She wraps her fingers around it and strokes him probably just a little too fast, trying to goad him into action, mindful of the party still going on outside their little room.

It works.

He lifts her, presses her against the wall like it’s the easiest thing in the world, letting her guide his cock until he’s pushing deep inside her and his body is resting against hers.

She wraps her arms around his shoulders and buries the fingers of one hand in his hair to hold herself steady as he turns his head and presses kisses against the side of her neck.

He gives her a second to adjust to him, but only a second before he adjusts his grip and starts to really fuck her with his face still buried in the crook of her neck.

She has to bite her lower lip to stay as quiet as she can, only letting the quietest of moans escape each time he thrusts enough to completely fill her. It’s almost impossible to keep from calling out his name, even when the consistent murmur of voices on the other side of the door gets a little louder as someone gets too close.

Jesse’s breath leaves him in sharp pants, but he doesn’t fight as hard to stay quiet as she does. He just keeps his lips near enough to her ear that he can hear him when he tells her how amazing she is, how good she feels, how lucky he is to have her, how much he loves her.

The stream of compliments go right through her, scorching her, making her clench desperately around him. She’s messing up his hair by tugging on it, leaving wrinkles in his shirt by holding the material clenched in her fist, but she can’t bring herself to care.

He feels too fucking good.

“Jesse,” her voice is breathy, desperate, barely quiet enough to count as a whisper. “Jesse, fuck, I…” She trails off and bites off a louder moan. One of her high heels falls off will a dull thump as it hits the carpet, and she laughs until Jesse finally turns his head and catches her lips in a deep kiss.

He breaks their kiss to draw in a shaky breath and rests their foreheads together once more. “I want to feel you come for me, baby,” he says, voice rough and fucked out. “Can you do that for me? C’mon, baby, that’s it. Let go, I got you.”

Jesse’s cock pushed her to the edge and his voice coaxes her over. Pleasure consumes her, makes her forget where they are, who’s on the other side of the door, and only Jesse’s lips pressing against hers stops her from calling his name as freely as she can when they’re alone.

She’s still shuddering with the aftershocks of it when Jesse thrusts inside once more as deep as he can, his deep groan resonating through her. She holds him as tight as she can, struggling to catch her breath as he comes inside her.

He kisses her one more time, soft and sweet, before he carefully lowers her back to the floor. She whimpers as he slips out of her, but catches her balance leaning back against the wall as he steps back and tucks himself away.

She tries to cool the warmth in her cheeks as she slips her foot back into her shoe, but the smirk Jesse gives her lets her know it’s a useless endeavor.

“Here.” He catches her with his hand on her elbow, holding her in place long enough to smooth her hair away from her face, calming the curls. “Now no one will know.”

She’s sure they will, sure someone will notice as she slips from the coat room and goes straight for the bathroom, but she doesn’t argue. She feels keyed up and excited, ready to drag him out of the party and into bed. 

She looks up over her shoulder at him as she puts her hand on the doorknob. “Let’s give it like… another half an hour and then go home.”

His answering grin is knowing and downright filthy. “Let’s make it fifteen minutes.”

The heat comes back to her face, but she nods. “Perfect.”

[dreamingwithbts]

Demon (Boku No Hero) - Chapter 11

Warning: Swearing

I look at Midnight waiting for the announcement of the second game. “Now then, here is the second game. I already know what it is, but what could it be? What could it be? I just said it, and now here it is....” Midnight says and the game name appears. “Cavalry Battle? So we have to make groups?” I think looking at everyone around me. “Let me explain.” Midnight starts talking again. “The participants can form teams of two to four people as they wish. It’s basically the same as a regular cavalry battle, but the one thing that’s different is...based on the results of the last game, each person has been assigned a point value. Yes, that’s right! And the points assigned go up by five starting from the bottom. So 42nd place gets five points, and 41st gets ten points!” Midnight explains. “I came in second, so everyone will be coming after me. Oh, no!” I think looking at Izuku. “And the point value assigned to first place is....ten million!” Midnight says and everyone looks at Izuku who is petrified. “Oh Izu-kun...I really dodge a bullet, but you got it by a train.” I think looking at the broccoli boy.

“Those at the top will suffer more. You’ll hear this many times as you attend U.A. This is what Plus Ultra means! Izuku Midoriya, who placed first in the qualifier, is worth ten million points!” Midnight says putting Izuku more in the spotlight. “Everyone is looking at me, ready to attack.” Izuku thinks seeing everyone around him. “Except one person.” Izuku thinks looking at Akuma who was smiling at him her thumbs up. “Aka-chan!” Izuku thinks almost crying. “That’s my daughter.” All Might thinks watching her support Izuku. “Now then, I will explain the rules of the cavalry battle.” Midnight says and then starts explaining the second game. “So all I have to do is stole the headbands, the highest one. So if in the same team is at least the two from the top, if one headband is stolen we can still win with the points of the other.” I start thinking of strategies. “During the game, it’ll be a cruel fight where you can use your Quirks, but it is still a cavalry battle. You’ll get a red card for attacks that are trying to make people fall on purpose! You’ll be removed immediately!” Midnight says and I look immediately to Katsuki smirking, and he turns his head away from me. “Tch.” He says and I laugh.

“Now, you have fifteen minutes to build your teams. Start!” Midnight says and then everyone starts running around and many screams at me to be on their team and I tried walking looking for someone. “Where is she?” Katsuki thinks looking for a black and red hair, and then he found her. “Why is she with him?!” Katsuki thinks angry. “Oi! Izu-kun!” I scream going towards the broccoli boy after seeing Lida joining Shoto team. “Oh? Aka-chan?” He asks confused. “Let’s team together, Izuku-kun, Ochaco-chan!” I say now next to them. “Yes! We have Aka-chan on our side!” Ochaco celebrates. “Aka-chan! Thank you!” Izuku says crying. “I think it’s smart to have two of the top to be together in the same team.” I say. “So my headband is stolen at least we’ll be able to pass with your points.” Izuku finish my reasoning. “Exactly!” I say smiling and both smile at me. “We just need one more person.” I say while the three of us look around then suddenly Izuku starts walking determined. “Deku-kun?” Ochaco says. “Should we follow him or?” I ask Ochaco confused, and then he comes back with Tokoyami.

Times up and I look at my team. “Let’s win this guys.” I say determined. “Yes!” They respond confident. “Now then, it’s about time to get started!” Midnight starts. Ochaco and I are behind the team while Tokoyami is in the front with Dark Shadow and the three of us are lifting Izuku. “Uraraka-san. Aka-chan. Tokoyami-kun.” Izuku says. “Yes!” Ochaco says. “Yes.” I say. “Yeah.” Tokoyami says. “I’m counting on you!” Izuku screams determined. “Let’s do it!” I say. Everyone started to attacks us and the moment we were flying Katsuki try catching us by using his explosions to fly to us. “I got it!” I say and use my red mist to throw him away. “DEMON!” I hear him scream very angry then on the ground were face to face with Shoto. “Shit.” I think. “I’ll be taking that now.” Shoto says. “Shit, Izuku, there are five teams coming for us!” I say looking around then Shoto freeze the other teams so for now we only had to battle his team.

In short, we tried to battle Shoto team, and he was able to take Izuku headband, but Izuku got it back or not. “Izu-kun.... it’s the wrong headband..” I say sad. “They got us!” Izuku says nervous in the end we came in second thanks to my points. “Um...I’m really sorry...” Izuku says to us. “We came in second. You have nothing to be sorry.” I say smiling at him “Thanks to your plan Aka-chan.” Izuku says smiling sadly at me. “Don’t worry too much Izu-kun! Everyone was coming at us! That’s why I went to your team! At least we passed.” I say hugging the poor boy. “Now. We’ll take an hour’s break for lunch before we start the afternoon festivities!” I hear Present Mic.

I was walking in the corridor after eating something from the vending machine distracted with my thoughts until someone grabbed me and put a hand on my mouth, and before I could activate my Quirk I hear a familiar voice on my ear. “Don’t scream demon. It’s just me.” It was Katsuki. “Katsuki? What..?” I tried saying with his hand still on my mouth. “Shhh.” He says then I hear Shoto and Izuku talking. “Oh my god, does he think Izuku is Dad love child? Well...almost.” I say trying not to laugh. “I’ll reject him completely by winning first place without using it.” I hear Shoto say. “Oh Shoto I wish I could beat that Endeavor.” I think then we hear them leaving and that’s when I remember I was still against Katsuki very muscular chest. “Katsuki.” I say and that’s when he wakes up from his thoughts. “Did you know about this?” He asks me. “Yeah, Endeavor is a son of a bitch who needs a beating.” I say getting off his chest and now being face to face with him. “Ya.” He says, and he just looks at me, I could see many emotions on his face, one of them being sad. “What?” I ask him. “Why did you choose to be on that Deku team?” Katsuki asks. “I know everyone was going after him, he needs someone by his side.” I say serious. “Tch.” He says now looking at the side. “Why? Jealous?” I ask him teasing him and poking his chest. “As if!” He says. “Do you want me to be by your side all the time?” I say teasing him more then suddenly he takes my arm and pushes me against the wall with him pressing me. “Your mine, Akuma. Remember that.” He says very close to my face, looks at my lips, and then he leaves.

“Aka-chan?” Izuku asks me confused seeing me against the wall blushing for what happen minutes before. “I think Katsuki was going to kiss me, and I’m angry that he didn’t. Son of a bitch!” I say angry. “KACCHAN WHAT!?” A very scared petrified Izuku screams.

“Now that lunch is over, it’s finally time to reveal the last game!” Present Mic screams. I was with Mina and Ochaco when the other girls came to us saying that Mineta and Kaminari told them that we had to hear cheerleaders uniforms because Aizawa-sensei told us to because of some cheer battle and the uniforms were very small. “I have a bad feeling about this, I don’t see Aizawa-sensei agreeing to that.” I say. “Me too.” Yaoyorozu agrees. Even if it smells shadiness, Mina, Yaoyorozu, me, Ochaco, Jiro, Asui and Hagakure went to the stadium dressed like cheerleaders and everyone stopped to look at us. “I feel so ridiculous...” I say. “What’s the matter, Class A? What kind of fan service is that?” I hear Present Mic. “Oh my god, this is so embarrassed!” I say trying to hide myself with the pompoms. “MY DAUGHTER!” All Might thinks fainting after seeing his daughter. “All Might? Are you alright?” Thirteen asks him. “Just fine....” All Might whispers his soul leaving his body. “Mineta! Kaminari! You tricked us, didn’t you?!” Yayorouzu says angry. “I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!” I scream running towards Kaminari and Mineta who run away scared only to be sent away by Katsuki explosions. “PERVERTS!” Katsuki screams angry and then comes towards me serious. “Dammit demon, the things you do to me.” Katsuki thinks seeing Akuma dressed like that and trying not to blush and also trying not to commit murder towards the boys who look at her. “Here.” He says putting his training uniform jacket on me and since it was too big on me, it actually covers enough.” Thanks, Katsuki. This was very embarrassed.” I say blushing. “Tch. Doesn’t your costume show your boobs more than this?” He asks. “That’s different! That’s badass!” I complain. “Both kills me and attracts too much attention anyway.” Katsuki thinks. “But you like both, don’t you?” I tease him getting near me. “Shut up you demon.” Katsuki smirks but doesn’t go away.

“All right, everyone! Let’s have fun competing in the recreational games!” Present Mic screams. “When that’s over, the sixteen from the four teams that made it to the final round will duke it out tournament style, one-on-one!” He continues. “So, were going to battle each other. Hope to fight with you angry pomeranian.” I say smirking at him. “I’m going to beat you to the ground.” He says smirking back then we look back to Midnight who started talking. “Now, let’s draw lots to determine the bracket.” She says holding a yellow back that says lots and I look back and see the other girls still with the cheerleader uniform while I still have Katsuki jacket covering me and I look at the floor blushing not noticing Katsuki looking at me with the corner of his eyes smirking. “Once the bracket is determined, we’ll have the recreational games and then start! The sixteen finalists can choose whether or not they want to participate in the recreation. I’m sure some of you want to rest or save your strength. Now, from the first place team...” Midnight continues only to be interrupted. “Um...! Excuse me.” I see Ojiro with his hand up. “I’m withdrawing.” He says and look at him shocked. “Ojiro, why?” I hear Izuku ask him then Ojiro explains the reason and I immediately look at the purple hair guy, remembering seeing them in the same team. “So he has a mental Quirk.” I think, and I also see Katsuki glaring at the guy knowing he isn’t glaring because of Ojiro. “Poor Ojiro.” I say sad but more surprised with Katsuki who didn’t start insulting him just staring at Ojiro calmly them other start withdrawing too. “Youthful talk like that is something...I like it!” Midnight says getting excited. “Shoda! Ojiro! I accept your withdrawal!” She says. “So cool!” I say my eyes like hearts. “Idiot.” I hear Katsuki. “This is the bracket based on the results of the drawing!” Midnight says showing us the panel.

“So I’m going against pink hair girl, Hatsume.” I say watching the board. “I think she’s in the support class. You’re strong, you beat her in seconds.” Katsuki says not looking at me while I look shocked at him and smile because of his words. “If I win the two battles I’m going either against Izuku or Shoto.” I think looking back to the board then at the boy I considerer my brother and the other my friend. “I’m going to win, no matter what.” I think determined.

Note: Hope you like it! New chapter every Friday! And Happy Easter!!

Tag List: @holaaaf

[writerwrites]

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x Reader, Steve Rogers x Reader

Summary: Protégé to Bruce Banner, Rosemarie finds herself working closely with and befriending the Avengers. Friendship, lust, heartbreak, and so much more find her along this heartbreaking journey into new adulthood. Rosemarie discovers her self-worth and that home is where the heart is… she’ll just have to figure out what her heart is saying first.

Word Count: 2.5k

Warnings: Smut 18+, language, angst, fluff, language, ye ole slow burn, and eventually death, pregnancy, love triangle… or love adjacent to a triangle? It’s complicated.

playlist . masterlist

A/N: This WIP is intentionally made to ruin all of our lives with feels. You were warned. It’s just my writing style, but I use a name for the reader, in this case Rosemarie, so adjust your imaginations as you read, fam. Also, I do what I want, so don’t come at me for MCU canon timelines. The most notable YOLO in this series is that Bucky/Winter Soldier is an Avenger pre-Blip, Banner isn’t in space, and though there’s tension between the Tony and Cap ‘sides’ of the Sokovia Accords they’re all trying to work together. Avenging is not a main point to this story, but that’s the clarification I will give you. I hope you enjoy my first posted fic, leave a comment, review, message, etc.

Introduction: October 2016

--- BANNER SCIENCE TECHNOLOGIES (BST); MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY ---

“Anything? Anything at all? Bueller?” Rosemarie looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, trying to spot some sort of subtle difference in her appearance. Though she had been searching for a job in her field for months, the ‘spooky’ elevator music chirping through the bathroom was an indication that she was just shy of that November 1st tuition payment start up. Her May graduation felt like a distant memory and all the years of hard work and applications to various schools, and even scholarships for being gifted and a minority hardly made a dent in the mountain of debt that came with attaining a doctoral degree. So, the prodigy looked, hoping for even a crinkle in the corner of your twenty-two year old eyes or a crease in her forehead. A little guilty knot formed in her stomach, as she thought no one ever wanted to ‘grow up’ faster than she did.

Rosemarie had been an intern for Stark Industries during her undergrad and worked a part-time research position for Stark while she looked for the right fit. It had been the CEO and his wife, Pepper, who had tipped you off about Dr. Banner’s small new company, Banner Science Technologies. No amount of ass kissing or overtime seemed to get the young woman a chat with Tony Stark, who was providing significant financial support to his friend and her boss’ endeavor, and she had all but given up until three weeks ago. That fateful email felt more like an unexpected termination. The fear of going ‘upstairs’ for that meeting amused Tony, he’d told her so much when he cackled that he had watched her self-talking on the journey up.

Now at BST, Rosemarie was leading a medical research team that rivaled Elon Musk and every major university in neuroscience. But there she was, leaning into the mirror on Day One, wishing she felt like she knew what she was doing, like she didn’t look like a dork in your square black rimmed glasses, or that she would look older than she was because she wanted to be taken seriously. The young doctor hadn’t realized that her accomplishments had already done that for her because almost no one ever blew through a public education, let alone Yale, like she had. The emotions tied to repeated social rejection; however, began to bubble in her chest like poison before her badge glimmered on her hip and snapped her out of the trance.

Oddly, in that interview for BST, Banner didn’t ask the doctor about her research. He asked Rosemarie about her mental health, how she balanced work and life, and what her definition of world peace was. It had somehow never occurred to her that both Banner and Stark shared the unnatural gift of intellect since they were young too and that, at least to some degree, could relate to her experiences. There was a steady and natural intimidation that came with working for an Avenger like Bruce, but seeing the rest of them in passing at the lab in Stark Industry’s famous tower made the young woman slowly catch glimpses of their humanity, taking off the rose colored glasses placed on every stranger’s face by the media’s interpretation of them. Nevertheless, Rosemarie was a nobody, a lab rat, scientist, doctor, dork, and perpetually invisible to everyone at work. In fact, she had been her whole life, special but not special enough to warrant connecting with on a personal level. She told herself you’ll learn to appreciate the anonymity, but after being an academic shining star in college and spending a half a year looking for a job in the field, any semblance of confidence left in her small frame had certainly faltered.

Before Rosemarie could hit the ‘wallow in self pity’ button on her emotional circuit board, the bathroom door opened. Quickly straightening up and without looking at who came, she turned on the water to wash her hands and only upon reaching for the air dryer did she realize that the woman was the curvy redhead Avenger known for her skills in espionage, linguistics, weaponry, and combat; Black Widow. Rosemarie blinked, making a mental note to not call her that if she managed to speak at all. She looked at the young doctor curiously, her eyebrows slowly drawing together in confusion. “Are you really going to the party dressed up as Bruce? We try not to do ‘the Avengers’ at this thing every year.”

Whether it was from Agent Romanoff’s use of air quotes or the fact that she was speaking to a person that saw themselves as invisible, Rosemarie’s mouth bobbed open and closed, head tilting to the side like a confused puppy. “Party? Bruce?” Please, Rosemarie, save yourself from chronic rambling, she mentally monologued, only showing she was in her head through the pursing of her lips and a fleeting nod of acknowledgement; both of which hadn’t gone unnoticed by the spy.

“Bruce really forgot to invite his top dog? Typical. I swear I told him three times this week alone.” She walked around toward Rosemarie with speed and grace. Her gaze was analytical of the body in front of her, despite the majority of it being tucked underneath a pristine new lab coat, as she kept talking, “The annual Halloween costume party is tonight and you and the other two department leads…” she waved her hand when she realized she’d forgotten their names. “Anyways, it’s a party Tony throws every year and it’s always been Stark Industries, Rand Corp., and some other companies in Stark’s pocket that get all the big faces together for a few drinks, laughs, and a good time. Banner Sci. Tech. has Tony at the table and Bruce in bright lights. You’ve got to be there,” Just as a protest was about to pass the girl’s lips a finger went to them, “No excuses, Rosemarie. Consider it a part of the ‘other duties as assigned’ clause on your employment agreement.” She wiggled her fingers dramatically, but there the lab rat stood, utterly dumbfounded. A new question was on her mind: What could she possibly add to a conversation with a bunch of brilliant wealthy CEOs and superheroes? “Soooo, naturally, the people that are the glue of this place should come and rub shoulders. You know, show ‘em why you’re so fantastic. Get to know the people your tech will likely be used by, little like that.”

“But, I’m… me?” The words were quiet, disjointed, and felt like you had more confidence giving your first valedictorian speech to a crowd of Seniors that had bullied you for walking with them at the age of twelve.

“Exactly, Dr. Smarypants. You’re you, which is why we’re going to mine and getting you some costume that doesn’t make you the laughing stock of introductions. How old are you, anyway?” Natasha opened the bathroom door and the doctor walked out feeling like she was about to get the Princess Diaries treatment with some sort of Nightmare on Elm Street plot twist.

“I turned twenty-two last February.” The answer was offered up in the tone of an apology but she disregarded the awkward timbre and stuck to the facts, making Rosemarie’s shoulders relax just a little.

“Well thank God for that,” The Avenger’s laugh echoed through the hall. “I was half worried you wouldn’t be able to drink and then you’d be both bored and silent at the party.”

With a finger up she skipped over to the main lab’s window where Bruce was squinting at four screens and banging on a tablet. When he finally looked over at the redhead, everyone in the vicinity noticed his expression quickly melting, something Rosemarie had certainly never seen. Natasha pointed to her watch, to Rosemarie, and gestured little walking legs with her fingers. Dr. Banner acknowledged her with what looked like a mouthed ‘I love you’ but before Rosemarie could even smile at the site he offered her an apologetic nod, unnerving her once more. In the blink of an eye, Natasha was dragging her out of the office, arm in arm, and out of midtown Manhattan.

--- BRUCE AND NATASHA’S LIMESTONE; UPPER EAST SIDE, MANHATTAN, NY ---

Despite asking a few times over what she had in store, Nat, as she asked to be called, gave her little to go on. Sitting on a bench at the foot of her boss’ California King bed, she watched Natasha rummaging through the walk-in closet. “Clint’s daughter dragged me to Disney a few months back. She insisted we go ‘Disneybounding’ and I have more wigs than I’ll ever need.” She was processing her choices and more than once Rosemarie picked up something that flew out of the walk-in closet at her head. A shimmering ruby red dress landed to the left and her mouth fell open in horror at the plunging neckline and thigh extra-high slit. Nat came out with a few things on her arm and laughed at the look of pure exasperation, “Don’t worry, babe, that’s mine… and this,” She plopped the garments into her victim’s arms, “Is your get up. There’s a bathroom down the hall, the only door on the left. I’ll be over in a bit to help with your makeup.”

Rosemarie wasn’t sure if she should take offense to the fact that it wasn’t a question, but remained too intimidated to say anything. Once in the bathroom with her back to the mirror she took off her white lab coat and untucked the seafoam green tie-neck satin blouse and skinny black slacks. As she folded the discarded clothes, she sighed at how proud of the outfit she’d been just this morning and how it now felt like a bland choice by the time she saw half of the spy’s closet. Like the pang of emotions set off a bomb, Rosemarie was self-talking about how nice Nat was being to her and to see this as a professional opportunity rather than a terrifying obligation. The mental chatter was enough to get her into the outfit which, surprisingly, required no sucking in, tucking, or wiggling to get on. It wasn’t until she turned to the mirror that Rosemarie registered what ‘Disney bounding’ was, immediately placing the character the ensemble was meant to resemble.

The high-waisted yellow shorts with their two panels of brassy buttons hugged Rosemarie's hips and made her see the curves of a defined hourglass frame for the first time in clothing other than yoga pants. The off the shoulder royal blue crop top had enough draping and a built-in bra to make her comfortable about wearing this around other professionals, just the tiniest hint of the tan skin of her upper stomach when she raised her hands or posed, neither of which she planned to do tonight. The red bow against black hair was the perfect final touch to make it obvious the outfit was a modern Snow White. Before Rosemarie could overanalyze going to a work event in the getup, there was a rhythmic knock on the door and, even though she thought she’d locked it, Nat was walking in, items in hand. At first she whistled, taking Rosemarie’s hand in hers and spinning her around. Nat smiled when she saw the heat rise up the bashful doctor’s neck and color flooded her cheeks. “I have one last thing.”

Until Nat pulled black heels from behind her back Rosemarie hadn’t even noticed Natasha had changed, but when she did her mouth went dry. “You look…” With a knowing smirk, she put her hands on Rosemarie’s hips and spun her back toward the mirror, her chest pressed to the doctor’s back as she studied her features, the pouted lips and high cheekbones, the long eyelashes underneath the ridiculously hipster glasses. Rosemarie felt naked in front of her, no one having ever really looked at her that way before and her body naturally reacted with a shiver that caused her hips to roll back into her host. As Rosemarie was about to apologize, Nat simply smiled and shook her head no, getting to work on their makeup with both expertise and speed.

Rosemarie thought she had gotten away with the embarrassing and obvious moment of unrequited attraction when the Avenger popped the lipstick into a wristlet purse that looked like an apple. Then she leaned in like a panther pouncing on her prey and, somehow, the doctor didn’t cower back. Nat was intrigued by that, a little curve found its way to the corner of her crimson lips, two shades darker and glossed compared to Rosemarie’s, “Let’s have a good time tonight, Snow. Something tells me it’s going to get very interesting.” She bit her lip, noticing that Rosemarie was holding your breath and assumed that it was a combination of her looking great and being the girlfriend of the girl’s boss, she wasn’t wrong. Nat still dipped down between her legs and slipped the heels onto the young woman’s feet, letting her fingertips tickle her ankle before they were holding hands and heading to the party.

--- STARK INDUSTRIES: THE TOWER; MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY ---

The closer they got to Tony Stark’s ‘Tower’ the more Rosemarie wanted the stroke of midnight to hit so she could get out of dodge. Nat worried, even if she hid it well. She’d playfully asked her a few casual questions about her time at Yale, what the parties were like, and what the doctor liked to do for fun. She quickly and accurately surmised that the twenty two year old had been in love once and upon some bad sex and the dropping of the ‘L’ word, she’d been dropped like a fly. The pity never reached Natasha’s face, but it was there. It reminded her of more than one person that would be at the Tower tonight, and as she cooed compliments to the anxious new girl in town, she hoped that offering the invitation was the right thing. Rosemarie nodded and blushed, hoping accepting was the right choice too, though she didn’t hide it well at all.

As Natasha entertained that young woman with pleasant little stories about how harmless everyone was, she couldn’t help but think that, with the tension of the Sokovia Accords, you might not be up for the mental olympics the attendees would undoubtedly be going through. As the elevator doors closed behind them, Rosemarie didn’t notice how worried Nat was and instead tried to calm herself down in the bustling room. Her matte dusty rose lips pressed into a closed mouth smile as she tried to remember little details about the people in front of her, people that she had only heard about on television or seen through a lab window. “Here we go,” Nat spoke with surprising pep and with a sigh, Rosemarie followed. She was glad Natasha let her walk down the stairs behind her as the crowd funneled in both in front and behind them. You can do this. You’re smart, a good person, you can do this. This is totally normal. Just smile and nod, fake it to the bar, fake it ‘til you make it. The doctor’s gaze brushed across the room after Natasha moved away toward Bruce. Immediately Rosemarie froze, a few heads that had turned to greet Nat now turned toward her. Well, shit.

CHAPTER 1

Taglist: @caplanbuckybarnes​

[therainroguefanfiction]

🔥 ℝise Ⱥbove I̾t ◈ Chapter 030 [Scavenger Hunt]

📑 Table of Contents | ◂Backward

Word Count: 2,494

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

〈“So we’ll keep on starting the fire, thinking we’ll smoke out the liars. We don’t give up when we’re tired, that isn’t the way that I’m wired. Someday, we’re gonna rule the world.” Zayde Wolf, “Rule the World (Generdyn Remix)”〉

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“Hey, kid!” Shimatsu grinned as I approached. “You were awesome in the cavalry battle!”

“Thanks,” I smiled softly. “Can I get three?”

“Coming right up!”

I glanced around at the spectators, chatting excitedly about the first two events of the sports fest. Several pro heroes were stationed around the stadium, keeping an eye out on the off chance some villain was dumb enough to try attacking. I spotted the chick from earlier, making a face at one of the food stall guys to get free food while the Woodsman scolded her for doing so.

Heroes… what does that word even mean, really? From what I remember from the TV shows and movies back home, the definition of a hero is someone that saves or helps others without ulterior motives and without personal gain. But in this world, being a hero is a job, one that young people across the globe aspire to have. People want to go pro for the fame, the fortune, and the power… If you have the title of hero, you can basically do whatever you want if Endeavor is anything to go by.

I wonder… why did my mother become a hero? Surely she got paid a lot more being a villain, so it couldn’t have been about money. She was already famous as an assassin, too. Was it the power she wanted? That doesn’t make sense, either. The world of villains makes it ten times easier to gain power because there are no rules or laws. What was her reasoning for changing her life? Did she have a dream? A goal she could only accomplish as a hero? I wish… I wish I could ask her.

“Kid?”

I snapped my attention back to the old man.

He wasn��t smiling, his brow furrowed. “Are you okay? You seem distracted.”

I took the box from his hand, staring down at the individually wrapped tacos. “Nah, I don’t think I am. But… I will be. So don’t worry.” I grinned at him. “Thanks for the food, Ojin.”

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“Get those foam fingers in the air, it’s almost time for the last round! But before that, good news for everyone that didn’t make the finals – since this is a sports festival, we’ve prepared some super fun side games everyone can participate in! We even brought in cheerleaders from America to get your blood pumping! Hold up…”

“What are they doing…”

“Looks like class 1-A is going full-on fanservice!!”

The fuck is that cockatiel going on about now? I glanced around, my eyes landing on my female classmates. Uhh, why the fuck are they cosplaying as cheerleaders? Ain’t our class getting enough attention already? Sparky and Mineta look awfully happy about this… I swear if they are responsible.

“What?! You tricked us?!” Momo cried, glaring at the two boys. “You’re gonna regret this!!” Fucking called it. I sighed, approaching Momo as she sunk to her knees. “Why is that I always end up falling for that little pervert’s stupid schemes? I even used my quirk to make these outfits…”

I scratched my cheek. “Haven’t you learned not to believe anything those two dopes say? You’re too naive, Momo, and they keep exploiting that.”

“Ugh!” Punk threw her pom-poms down, face completely red. “I hate those guys!”

“Well, we go have a little time before the finals start and I kinda like these uniforms, so~” Invisigirl started frantically waving her pom-poms and I could hear the smile in her voice. “How about we just roll with it?!”

“Are you crazy?!”

“Wow, Toru, you’ve got skills.”

Momo glanced up at me with a defeated expression. “I tried looking for you to let you know. I was worried that you might get into trouble for not participating, but now I’m glad I wasn’t able to…”

“I would’ve happily gotten in trouble,” I deadpanned. “I would die before wearing that shit.”

“R-Right…”

I smiled, patting her on the head. “Thanks for lookin’ out, though, Momo.”

She smiled back, nodding her head.

I turned toward the two boys, who were too busy watching Toru as she jumped around to notice my advancing toward them. I grabbed both of them by the back of the neck and slammed their faces together. They cried out in pain, wiggling in my grasp, but my hands started to heat up and they stilled, not wanting to get burnt. I smiled brightly, my voice low. “The next time you fuckers mess with the girls, I’ll give you a taste of pure hell, mkay?”

“Y-Yes, ma’am!” They cried as I threw them to the side, scurrying away with their tails between their legs. Fuckin’ idiots. I felt a tug on the back of my shirt and I turned around, raising a brow at Punk.

She shifted, her face still red in embarrassment. “Thanks for that.”

I hummed. “No problem. Sorry about that day in the locker room, I was kind of a dick to you.”

She smiled, “It’s no big deal. Water under the bridge.”

I scratched my cheek, a bead of sweat rolling down my cheek. “So, uh, what’s your name again?”

She sweatdropped. “You’re just like Bakugo, jeez. Kyoka Jirou.”

We shook hands, exchanging a grin. Huh, maybe this socializing shit ain’t as bad as I thought it was.

“Have fun competing in these side games, everyone! After they’re over, the twenty students from the top five teams will be duking it out one-on-one in a tournament-style fighting competition! I promise you’re not going to want to miss these match-ups!”

You’ve got to be kidding me. First, we gotta run around like chickens with our heads cut off, then we gotta work together and socialize, now we gotta beat the shit out of each other? Maybe I shouldn’t have dissed the idea of playing a game of golf…

“Ah, yeah! Finally getting a chance to show what we’re made of!” Kiri grinned brightly. “I watch these finals every year and now I’m actually in them!”

“So wait, is it always a tournament?” Alien asked curiously, bringing her finger to her chin.

“The final’s always a one-on-one competition, but they switch it up every time.” Flex Tape answered. “Last year, it was a foam sword-fighting match.”

I started laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Kiri asked in confusion.

“I just… I pictured hitting Bakugo with a foam sword on the head…”

He paused, lifting his head as he imagined it. Then he started to laugh with me.

“Come closer and draw lots to see who you’re up again!” Midnight announced. “And then enjoy the pleasure of the recreation games before we start. The twenty finalists have the option of participating in these activities or sitting out to prepare for battle. I’m sure you all want to conserve your stamina. I’ll start with the first-place team.”

“Um, excuse me…” Tail raised his hand in the air, looking sad. “Sorry, but I’m withdrawing.”

“Ojirou, no way…”

“But this is a rare chance for you to get scouted!”

“It just wouldn’t be right,” he responded. “I barely remember anything from the cavalry battle until the very end of it. I… think it was that guy’s quirk.”

I scratched my cheek thoughtfully, closing my eyes. Who was he partners with again? I don’t even remember seeing him once during the battle.

“I know this is a great opportunity,” he continued. “I wish I could take advantage of it but my conscious won’t let me.”

“Just think about this,” Izuku spoke softly.

“I have, okay?!” Ojirou’s brow furrowed as he held up his fist. “Everyone gave their all in round two, but I was just someone’s puppet. No way. I don’t want to advance if I don’t even know how I got here. It wouldn’t fair.”

“You’re making way too much of this!” Toru said cheerfully. “Just kill it in the finals and prove you should be here!”

“Yeah, what she said!” Alien added. “I didn’t do much in the battle, either.”

“That’s not it!” He covered his face with his hand. “I’m talking about my pride here. I refuse to give that up!”

Ah, men and their pride.

“Also… why are all the girls except for Winchester dressed like cheerleaders?”

“Because Mineta and Sparky are perverted dipshits,” I answered.

“Right…”

“Nirengeki Shoda from class 1-B,” A short boy with soft blue hair stepped forward. “I think I should withdraw for the exact same reason. Regardless of how strong I am, this isn’t how I wanted to get here! It would go against the values of the festival to advance without earning my spot!”

“Listen to these guys, they’re so manly!” Kirishima cried, making me sweatdrop and pat his back.

“Well now, here’s another weird turn of events.”

“We’ll have to see what Midnight has to say about all this, she’s the one in charge.”

Because letting the R-Rated hero be in charge sounds like a banger of a plan. What could possibly go wrong.

“This sort of talk is incredibly naive, my dear boys. That turns me on!”

“What the fuck, man.” I groaned, smacking my forehead. Thinking of Midnight being turned on is the last fucking thing I want burned into my skull.

“Shoda! Ojirou! You’re both withdrawn! Now, let’s see… We’ll move four students from the sixth place cavalry team so we have enough contestants.”

The orange-haired girl from class B spoke up. “We were frozen most of the time. Honestly, we barely did anything in the cavalry battle. Isn’t that right, girls?” She looked at the three standing on either side of her, who nodded in agreement. “You should choose from the group that kept fighting the whole time – team Tetsutetsu.”

“Kendo!” The silverette spoke up, surprise lacing his voice.

She smiled. “I’m not doing this as a favor. It’s just fair.”

“Seriously, you guys… thank you!!”

“And so, Tetsutetsu, Shiozaki, Honenuki, and Reggian have advanced to the finals. Take a look at the bracket, my dears! These are your opponents!”

Let’s see, I’m fighting some bitch named Regina Reggian? The fuck kinda name is that, fam? That’s almost as bad as Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu…

“Hey, you’re Winchester, right?”

I glanced over my shoulder to see the black-haired guy with the air chain. “Depends on who’s askin’.”

“I’m your opponent,” he grinned. “The names Regina Reggian, but you can just call me Red.”

“Isn’t Regina a chick’s name?”

He sweatdropped, rubbing the back of his head. “Ah, well, my creator thought it would be funny. Pretty sure they hate me.”

“Right…” This bitch is definitely nuts.

“Listen up!” He pointed his finger in my face, pink eyes flashing as he grinned. “I’m gonna beat your ass like Jotarou beat Dio!”

“I don’t know who either of those people are, bro.”

“Whack.”

“Okay! Let’s press pause for a momentary interlude! Before the battles begin, it’s time for some pulse-pounding side games! First, how about a scavenger hunt?!”

Cards were handed out to those wanting to participate.

I flipped mine over and my eye twitched. Where the fuck am I supposed to find this shit? I glanced around the field, eyes stopping on Bakugo who was leaning against the wall looking pissed off at the world. Oh… Well, then.

I grinned as I approached him. “Oi, Bakuhoe. I need you for somethin’.”

“Huh? What for – What the fuck are you doing, bitch?!”

I ignored his protests as I threw my arm around his upper thighs and hoisted him over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “Fuck, you’re heavier than I thought. Go on a diet.”

“Fuck you!” He smacked the back of my head. “Put me down or I’ll kill you!”

“Quit squirming, you fuck.” I scowled, coming to a stop in front of Midnight and dropping him onto his ass, holding out my card that read ‘犬 Dog’.

“I’m not a fucking dog!!” Bakugo screamed.

I scoffed. “You sure fucking yap like one, chihuahua.”

“Die!!”

Midnight smacked the top of my head with her whip. “Denied!”

“Che, that ain’t fair, Midnight!” I scowled. “Where the fuck am I supposed to find a dog, huh? Am I fucking game to you?” I pointed at Bakugo’s face. “This is the closest fucking thing to a dog in this stadium! I demand a different card.”

“Denied!”

“Son of a -”

Bakugo shoved his hands in his pockets, glaring at the side of my head. “Instead of doing this stupid shit, you should be getting ready for your match! I won’t fucking forgive you if you lose to anyone but me!”

“Yeah, yeah, whateva.” I sighed, deeply, turning and walking away from them. I was a few feet away when I heard a high-pitched voice.

“Hey! Miss!”

I glanced up at the stands, seeing a young boy about nine or ten leaning over the railing and waving frantically. “Uhh…”

“Catch me, ‘kay?”

“Wait, what, OI -!” He jumped over the railing, making the nearby spectators cry out and try to grab him. His aim was pretty on point, not gonna lie. His body slammed against mine and I lost my balance, falling back onto my ass with him in my lap. “What the fuck were you thinkin’, huh? You coulda got seriously hurt, kid!”

He grinned brightly, showing off a gap where he was missing a top tooth. “I had faith that you’d catch me, big sis!”

Sis? What, is he a fan of James Charles or somethin’? “You shouldn’t be down here, your parents are gonna be mad.”

“Mom’s at work and dad left us when I was three.”

I sweatdropped. “Who brought you here, then?”

“My big brother! But he’s too busy getting rejected by Mt. Lady!” He giggled.

“For fuck’s sake,” I slapped my forehead. He giggled again and I narrowed my eyes. “Do not repeat anything I say. Clear?”

“Kay~” He grinned. “You need a dog for the scavenger hunt, right?”

“Yeah.”

His body started to shift in my arms, getting a bit smaller as his skin and clothes were replaced by fur. The boy was now a dog, his legs and belly white while the rest of him was a soft orange. Now, I’m not a dog person at all, but he’s pretty fucking adorable. What is that, a corgi?

He licked my cheek, making my eye twitch in annoyance. “Sorry, I can only talk to people I’ve licked!”

“…alrighty then.” I returned to Midnight, holding the kid up like I was holding Simba.

She raised a brow but didn’t question where I had gotten him from. “Approved!”

“Dope.” I brought him back to my chest. “What’s your name, kid?”

“Riku Reigen!”

“Alright, Riku. Let’s find that idiot brother of yours.”

He tilted his doggy head to the side, ears flicking. “But what about the other events, big sis? You’re gonna miss them!”

I shrugged. “I was only doing it because it was easy and I had nothing else to do. Plus, I’m in the finals so I don’t have to participate.”

“Okay, if you’re sure!” He barked happily. “Let’s go~!”

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

▸ Forward

📜 Read more by checking out my masterlist 📜

[polar-stars]

Hi if it’s okay, 🕸 Rei/Kei and 🥧 Hironori/Kiyoko :3?

Fall-Themed Starters

Of course, it’s okay ! I initially didn’t plan to write today, but to be perfectly honest your requests were so cute and for the first one I quite instantly had an idea and so welp, I just got really excited to write these and now here we are !!

I hope you’ll like them, I certainly had fun ;w; 

Marketable Duo Rei/Kei - Send 🕸 to pick out a Halloween costume with my muse

“Come on now, before all good costumes will be sold out!” Rei commanded while dragging Kei through the mall. Her companion’s brows furrowed and he snarled. “Why the fuck am I here?!”

An indignant “Hmpf” escaped Rei, before she asked in an equally snarky tone. “It’s true that you technically do not need a costume for Halloween, because your fashion sense as it is is scary enough. However that still won’t get you a girlfriend, so consider this a chance to finally get something decent on!” “Maybe I don’t fucking want a girlfriend right now?!” Kei shot back immediately but it fell on deaf ears as Rei just exclaimed “We’re here” and accelerated her walk, pulling Kei into the costume spot she had aimed for. 

Once they were in, Rei shot a warning look to the fellow blonde and hissed. “Now, if anyone talks to us, watch your manners! I don’t want your image rubbing off on me!” Kei snatched his arm away from her grip and only rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” 

For one more second, Rei looked at him with narrowed, suspicious eyes before she finally let them trail to what she came here in the first place: The costumes. It was a more expensive shop, meaning the costumes were overall made out of better material and more detailed in their design than your regular Halloween Design. But of course that showed in the prices. Something that Rei did not mind however, but rather welcomed. She got money from Shigeo earlier, anyways. 

And so, Rei only began looking through the shop’s stock and inspected the various clothing varying from dark to colorful, from innocent to sexy, from devil to skeleton to policeman to hippie. Kei followed her close behind with a grouchy look on his face and his hands in his pockets. 

“Hm...” Rei mused while looking over a witch-costume. “Let’s see, I need something that will get Soren-senpai to notice me! So that he’ll realize, that I’d be the most perfect girlfriend.” She hard Kei groan behind her and afterwards saying. “Just pick something that you fucking like?” She swirled around and put her hands on her lips, pouting. “That’s not how it works, Kei!” Before she could give Kei the chance to respond, she seemed to have an enlightenment and exclaimed. “Oh! I got it!” She snapped her fingers. “A princess! He’s a prince after all! Yes, I should go with a princess dress! I have the overall personality of one already anyway.” 

“Jeez.” Kei’s yellow eyes rolled upwards again. But Rei pretended not to hear and only turned away again to search for princess-costumes. 

However just then, a woman dressed in a fine uniform approached the two. She had the typical saleswoman-smile and the perfect friendly voice. “Excuse me?” Rei made a turn once again, while Kei moved his head into the woman’s direction as well. The woman nodded at Rei. “I couldn’t help but notice your conversation and I would gladly offer my services for your endeavors. So may I give a suggestion?” 

“Oh!” Rei’s eyes lightened up. She considered for a few seconds before she gave one nod. “Why not?” 

The ends of the woman’s smile widened slightly and she bowed, before walking off. 

“Once she comes back, I should ask for a costume for you..” Rei commented and then eyed Kei from head to toe with a disapproving look. “That would be a real challenge for her. I look cute in everything, you however....” Kei’s teeth gnashed. “Yeah, yeah. You fucking said so already.” “I wouldn’t even know what you should dress up as!”

Before the discussion could continue however, the woman returned and to both of their surprises she had two costumes in her hands instead of one. One purely, white dress with a shining silver belt and an equally white, Kimono-esque robe with a brown belt. 

“There we go.” She chirped. “They newly got it most recently, a Princess Leia costume and a Luke Skywalker costume. Closely modeled after the original costumes in the movie and only made with the finest material of course. I figured it would be perfect for a pair of siblings and a classic, that always earns admiring looks.” 

“Wait....” Kei, raised an eyebrow and pointed to the costume of the world’s most famous Jedi. “You brought one for me as well?!” The woman blinked, as if surprised by that question. Meanwhile, Rei was examining the costumes with narrowed eyes while rubbing her chin.  She tilted her head, left and right, in deep thought.

Then she suddenly exclaimed. “I like it, let me try the dress on.”

The woman handed her the dress instantly with a sweet. “Wonderful decision.” But Kei gawked. “What the hell?!” 

Instantly, Rei gave him a sharp glare. “Leia’s princess dress is beautiful enough and I could tie my hair into those buns of her’s, that would be adorable! And the woman is right. Matching costumes always draw eyes on them and while I most certainly would prefer a matching costume with my one true love than my with my hooligan-half-brother from another universe, it’s good enough. And everyone likes Star Wars, so everyone will like me.”

Normally, Kei would continue arguing, but then he thought about how excited Rei had been when Shigeo had given her the money for the costume-shopping earlier and how clearly ecstatic she was for the party.

And so, he let out a loud sigh and held out his hand for the woman to give him his costume. “Fine, I’ll fucking try that on then.” 

“Stop cursing! You’re Luke Skywalker now, behave like Luke Skywalker and be noble!” “I am already going along with your damn plans, let me talk however the fuck I want!”

(The Saleswoman noticed their marketability)

Hironori/Kiyoko - Send 🥧 to bake a pie with my muse

“Thank you for the help, I suppose...” Hironori muttered as he took out the finished, baked macarons out of the oven. 

Kiyoko, who had just finished placing the icing on a small strawberry cake, gave a nod. “But of course! It was my pleasure. It’s such a lovely idea of yours to make a cake decorated with macarons for Kazue to give to Rei-chan. How can I not help with that?”

She took three of the macarons of the baking sheet that Hironori held out to her. One was light pink, the other was dark pink and the last was white with small pink sprinkles. She placed them neatly onto the cake and afterwards added a few additional raspberries to the arrangement. Hironori sprinkled bits of white chocolate over it. 

Their finished work was a professional, mouth-watering little cake fit for a princess. 

Kiyoko went on her tiptoes and reached out her hand to pat Hironori’s head, after they had inspected the cake long enough for them to decide it was perfect as it was. “Great work, today. You’re a very talented, young man. Though it’s not an all too big surprise, you’re a Saito after all.” 

Hironori raised an eyebrow at her eager patting but then just looked to the side and muttered. “Thanks I guess.” 

Kiyoko’s patting didn’t stop just yet as she continued her praise. “And additionally you’re being a good older brother to Kazue as well. I am very proud of you.” 

Once she finally took her hand off his hair, she clapped her hands together. “Now, time to make something for you to give to your suitor.” 

Now that took Hironori by surprise, as he quickly turned his head to her and exclaimed. “Huh?! Suitor?!” A light blush appeared on his face. “What suitor are you talking about?! I have no suitor!” 

Kiyoko only took out new ingredients while happily smiling, completely unbothered by all of Hironori’s denials. “We’re going to make a pie inspired by a dessert named ‘Feteer meshaltet’.”

“That’s.....That’s something Egyptian.” Hironori heard himself saying, almost as if he spoke before he could even process the information truly in his head. As if some sort off button had been pushed. Once the words reached his ears however, his head just got more red. 

Kiyoko giggled. “Seems like you got the idea. Now let’s get started on the dough.”

[xoruffitup]

Adam Driver/Pale in Burn This

It’s now a week since I saw the play, and less than a month until I go back for Opening Night! Now that I’ve had some time to process past the initial fangirl feels and “He was so incredible, HOW?!”, I’ve finally got more substantive reflections on Adam’s performance and character. (Warning: Spoilers abound!)

This has got to be one of the most interesting and demanding roles Adam has ever played. (Except for maybe that weight loss for Silence) The character of Pale encompasses practically the entire spectrum of human emotion - Including the primal extremes of soul-wrenching grief and violent, blistering rage; along with the tender stillness of affection between the two. The amount of energy Adam expends traveling between these polar extremes so often and so quickly throughout the play is simply awe-inspiring. Somehow, there’s never a moment that feels forced or melodramatic. The most compelling and compulsively attractive quality of his character is his overwhelming vitality - His overzealous emotions, the honest brunt of his emotional expression that is abrasive and shocking and disquieting, because there’s never a single moment when it is filtered through niceties, excuses, or pretense. He is the embodiment of primal instinct and the depth of hard, gritty human emotion most of us would often rather not confront. 

(Also, he has a New York accent through the whole thing. Think the coffee shop skit from SNL.)

I already explained in another post how I saw the play, at its heart, being about the conflict between socially-mediated and disingenuous human emotions vs. the chaotic but purpose-giving deeper forms of human experience. Burton and Pale are representative of these two different modes of being, and Anna finds herself torn between them. Although Pale’s character is brash, crude, and insensitive, his unapologetic honesty and the sheer force and size of his personality make this a performance that is unforgettable in its authenticity and compulsion. He is truly perfectly cast. The director, Michael Mayer, stated very aptly: “Adam has this explosive, dangerous, unpredictable animal quality that really is this character Pale.”

Before I recount the particularly memorable moments of Adam’s performance, I do want to examine the character himself a little bit first. I have to admit, I think I would feel a lot less charitably towards the character had anyone else portrayed him. This is half because Adam has a way of making the character insistently charming, and of course half because I have an instinct to always love Adam on sight. :)) But because I can never quite turn off my feminist analysis lenses, there are still plenty of aspects to this character I have problems with. 

Yes, he’s technically separated from his wife, but he’s still cheating and the fact that he doesn’t tell Anna he’s married before they sleep together is highly suspect.

He lapses into violence when he and Burton meet, and never knows when to draw the line when it comes to being antagonistic. He never pulls his punches, neither in actions nor in words.

While it’s clear Anna reciprocates the attraction, he keeps assuming his welcome and access to her sexually, before giving her the space to work through the many complications their relationship causes. 

He makes unacceptable comments about Anna’s body before they’re intimate. (”You know you got no tits at all.” Yes, it’s a funny moment and Adam pulls it off for genuine laughs without it sounding lecherous, but still a red flag.)

He never confronts or admits the fact that he should have been more present for his brother. Anna says that Robbie talked about Pale and liked him, but Pale never seems to give full recognition or respect to Robbie’s sexuality or his artistic endeavors as a dancer. (It sat heavy with me when he used a slur to refer to Robbie and Larry.)

There were a couple moments when the character vacillated a little too close for comfort towards thoughtless, irreverent masculinity. Without Adam to endear the character to me, it’s likely I would have come away disliking him in full. 

But then - There were the touching, debilitatingly gentle moments that Adam portrayed with such feeling, it was impossible not to be taken in and share this character’s pain. 

He weeps. A lot. I mean full-body, hiccuping, sniffling, red-face weeping. Adam would sweep his hair back from his face, and that wasn’t the face of an actor working to manufacture tears - It was the face of an utterly broken man trying desperately to hold the tears back.

The sounds that are impossible to distinguish between screams and sobs. The first time he breaks down, he sinks to his hands and knees and with his head hanging, just starts screaming under the weight of everything he’s feeling. It’s jarring and unexpected, after his character spent the last 10 minutes in a rapid-fire, curse-laden monologue bitching about parking and how dirty and shitty the whole city is. But these screams aren’t angry anymore. They’re so full of every other emotion, they’ve become empty and helpless. Rather than extending the blistering, raging energy Pale charged in with - The primal sound is him breaking apart and all of the rage cracking open to abandon him, leaving him utterly hopeless. 

Although he makes comments about Anna’s body and her state of undress when she answers the door that hint yes, he notices her, he does seem to fall into their intimacy just as haphazardly as Anna does. This is a very, very fine balance Adam does a fantastic job portraying, because if this were lost then the character would lose any shred of likability or respect. He’s not preying on her because she’s grieving. If anything, it’s actually the opposite. He’s the grieving one in need. When they first sit down on the couch together and he puts his arm around her to hold her, he seems to be the one seeking comfort more than she. Their first physical contact is gentle and respectful, and Pale seems to seek it because he’s the more vulnerable in that moment. And its out of that vulnerability that they share a moment of profound connection. When they kiss, it doesn’t just feel like a distraction. It feels like the first genuine form of mutual understanding that’s happened on the stage so far. 

Although yes, he takes it a bit too far in assuming they’re a ~Thing now and of course they’ll continue sleeping together, this intimacy with Anna is just as bracingly genuine as everything else he does. And although the character can be insensitive, this is not selfish. The intimate moments with Anna are achingly quiet and fragile, showing that both of them are on equal terms to the extent that they’re exposing their true selves to the other. Pale becomes slow, quiet, and tender - The effect equally as impactful as his massive, violent moments; And devastating in its difference from his louder moments.

This line alone - One of the most memorable moments to me, the first time they kiss: “Let’s just start up the engines real slow here … maybe go halfway to the city and stop for somethin’ to eat … You talk to me, okay? … You’re gonna find out there’s times … I’m a real good listener.” He’s opening up and being honest with her about the extent of his own grief, but at the same time wants to give comfort just as much as he’s seeking to receive it himself.

The fact that he LISTENS when Anna breaks thing off, and finally gives her space to think everything through and make choices independently. The way he silently got dressed, tied his shoes, gathered his things, and gave her that last soft kiss before he left. 

“I’m gonna cry all over your hair.” - Delivered as a chagrined apology.

While looking up the script, I found this quote in a summary of the play and it really captures Pale’s essence perfectly: “Menacing, profane, dangerous and yet oddly sensitive, Pale is both terrifying and fascinating and, in the end, the one who brings to Anna the unsettling but compelling love that, despite her fears and doubts, she cannot turn away.”

NOW, let’s talk about Adam. It’s no exaggeration to say his first appearance on stage is as a literal hurricane. He doesn’t appear until about 15 minutes in, but then remains on stage for about 30/40 minutes in a blistering, restless bundle of raw energy. He is utterly absorbing, even entrancing. First he’s stalking around the stage yelling about the traffic, bitching that his pants and shoes have dirt on them, criticizing Anna and her apartment. Then he and Anna begin probing the topic of Robbie, and he starts coming apart - His rage unraveling into loud, dramatic misery. Once he sinks to a level of such wretchedness that Anna begins trying to comfort him, their exchanges turn gentle and sympathetic. She leans against him to comfort him, he puts an arm around her, and next thing you know they’re gently kissing. It’s nothing short of a stunning progression, considering that during Adam’s first five minutes yelling on the stage when he seemed clearly repugnant to Anna, I could not for the life of me see how these two were going to end up attracted to each other. And then within a half hour together, it happens. And it’s believable and incredibly touching - Thanks in large part to Adam’s insane range that enables him to embody such polar opposite emotional states and unite them within a single convincing character. 

LET’S TALK ABOUT THAT PURPLE ROBE SCENE. He comes out from Anna’s bedroom in her purple silk kimono-style robe and it’s THE MOST HILARIOUS SHOCK I’VE EVER SEEN. My brain needed a moment to process which was a DAMN SHAME because he first comes out with the robe untied and just underwear underneath before he ties it. So people - Be ready to check out that chest for those couple seconds it’s on display!! :’D

He then spends a few minutes struggling to get his massive arms through the billowy sleeves with holes in weird places, and it’s simply hilarious. As if him wearing this robe (and paired with knee-high socks!!!) wasn’t enough, this entire scene just becomes more and more golden. When Anna’s roommate Larry offers him tea, Pale admonishes him for making it wrong and goes to make a proper pot of tea himself. So picture this - Adam in a women’s purple silk robe, expertly fussing with a kettle on the stove, then very precisely pouring out tea with a dishtowel wrapped around the kettle handle (to keep from burning him of course.) I just.... cannot believe I was blessed to witness that. :’)

I honestly don’t know how Adam doesn’t lose his voice! He does an insane amount of yelling and screaming, and holds nothing back. But even as he’s yelling most of his lines, he’s sending the audience into hysterics every other minute. Pale’s monologues are absurd and bizarre and only half lucid. It would be so easy for both actor and audience to just get lost adrift in these long verbal onslaughts - But Adam manages to give meaning to everything, and also somehow convey a connection between his far-fetched rants and some emotion the audience can tap into. The way Pale sees the world and the descriptions he uses are thoroughly unconventional and strange - And yet Adam’s delivery elevates them to more than just the ravings of a man on amphetamines. He becomes insightful, perhaps even clever, with a total lack of self awareness and thus zero pretensions. 

All in all, the two most important elements of Adam’s performance:

He can deliver the kind of sweeping, consuming, all-encompassing emotion and desperation that this character demands

He can balance the spectrum of the character’s explosive emotional displays with just enough control to make Pale someone we can still root and feel for. He makes Pale just purposeful enough that he never quite hurdles past the point of losing self-control or becoming unhinged. Yes, his character is unsettling and threatening in some moments (we certainly believe Anna when she says she is scared of him), but he is not aggressive or violent by nature. The audience can recognize that the volatility within him is just as likely to turn him gentle and sincere as it is to cause the explosive moments. We can feel all too easily why Anna cares for him so quickly and deeply. 

Not only does Adam bring the character to life with unforgettable spirit and biting intensity, he also brings heart and sympathy to a character who - for me - could easily have had neither on the page. I’m so thankful I got to see this stellar performance, and it’s truly no exaggeration to say Adam is hands-down one of the most talented actors in the biz. I hope lots of fans will get the chance to see him in this insane, brilliant role. <3 If anyone has any further questions at all, I would be more than happy to answer!

[real-good-now]

Riverdale Books: a Bughead One-Shot

Loosely inspired by the movie “You've Got Mail”.

Summary: Jughead really just wants to find a book for Jellybean. He happens to get lucky when he goes into a small bookstore in Riverdale. 

As Jughead approached the quaint little bookstore in the dinky suburb of Riverdale, he felt nothing but defeat in his heart. 

It has to be here.

He had been searching high and low for this one book, a special edition, limited print of the only book Jellybean has ever liked, and this was his last stop. Her birthday was tomorrow and if the novel didn’t turn up here, then he would have to surrender his “Best Big Brother” Mug and give her an insincere Amazon Gift Card and an “I’m sorry” smile. 

It has to be here.

He took a deep breath in before entering the store and being greeted by the charming ring of the bell above the door. A cursory glance around the front room told him that the store was certainly not as small as he had originally anticipated. There were shelves and shelves of books, ranging from the obscure to the commercially known, all organized by the color of their book jackets, something that couldn’t be a simple endeavor to maintain. 

There seemed to be no one at the register and a large hoard of people huddled in the back, in a room that was alive with vibrant colors. He drifted toward the area, taking peeks here or there for his target. 

When he arrived in the rear of the store, he understood exactly what had everyone so enraptured. 

Three was a young woman, around his age, he presumed, who sat in a chair with a children’s book in her hand, surrounded by a group of enthralled five-year-olds and their parents. Her light blonde hair was tied in a tight pony-tail that moved with the turn of her head and her fair skin was complemented by a free-flowing floral dress. 

Though her looks seem to draw him in, it was absolutely the soothing lilt of her voice that surely captured the attention of everyone who entered here. He could listen to her talk for hours, about anything, and never tire of the gentle timbre that she used. She had a calm about her, despite the craziness that must come from owning a haven for rambunctious kids. 

Jughead was sure. He had to meet this woman. 

He waited for her to finish the story book, applauding when the baby bird finally found his mother, and watching as all the mothers and fathers gushed about how much their kids loved her story time. 

It took at least twenty minutes for the commotion to die down and most of the little ones and company to filter out, some even purchasing the book she read. 

She was at the register when he finally decided it was time. 

“Excuse me, Miss?” He said, already regretting his choice of an opening line. He didn’t “have much game” as his buddy Archie would say, but he could have certainly done better than that. 

He was momentarily stunned when she turned around and her eyes met his. They were the most beautiful shade of green that he had ever seen, something could spend hours pouring over on his vintage Underwood but never truly capture. 

She smiled brightly at him, warmth radiating through her features, “Yes! How can I help you?”

“I’m looking for this book”— he held out the warn out copy that Jelly had given to him “as a lone only”—“that they just had a limited release of a few weeks ago. I have looked through every Barnes and Nobles for 20 miles of the city and cannot find it for the life of me. Could you help? You are kinda my last hope.” 

“You’re in luck!” She quipped. “I happen to have a few copies of it behind the desk. It is one of my favorites and I didn’t want to sell it to anyone who hasn’t read the regular edition.”

He sighed in relief at the news as she presented the book to him. “Oh, I haven’t read it myself…Its a gift for my sister. Her birthday is tomorrow and it is her absolute favorite book. Something I try not to take offense to as an author myself.”

She laughed at his comment, already hard at work on the gift wrapping before he even uttered the last of his thought. “Ahh, a writer. Anything I may have read?”

He blushed. He was proud of his work, but it was always awkward when people found out who he was. He wrote because he loved it, not for the paychecks or the recognition. “Mostly crime and mystery. Occasional satire.  I write as F. Jones III.”

She smiled timidly at him, but the excitement in her eyes betrayed her. She knew him. “Yeah, I have definitely read your stuff. Look at the bookcase behind you. Third shelf from the top.”

He turned around to see the wood piece labeled “Owner’s Top Picks” and found the shelf she had mentioned. On that shelf, sat all of his published works. “My own shelf…I’m honored.” 

The phrase came out as a joke, but, honestly, he was honored. This woman had a sincerity that is hard to come by. She obviously has a somewhat refined taste, judging by some of the notable literature that filled the shelves of the bookcase in front of him. He felt…special, to be among these greats, to be loved by her.

God, Jughead had only just met her and he was sold. 

“It might not be there for long. Looks like they are constructing a new chain right down the block. Could really stamp us out,” she said, a wave of sadness clouding her delicate features. She finished the gift with a curly bow and handed it to him. “On the house. From a fan.”

“No! I insist, really.”

The woman looks at him, amused. “And I insist you take it. Get your sister the author’s new release when it comes out.”

Jughead cannot believe this woman. She wants to give him this limited edition book, which is easily over $100, probably much more. “I have to do something.” I have to see her again, he thinks, as she walks away from the counter, a broom in her hands. “Can I at least get your name? I’m Jughead.”

“Betty. Betty Cooper. So, what does the ‘F’ stand for?” She asked with a bemused expression on her face.

“How about I tell you over coffee?”

______________________________________________

That coffee date was the first of many. 

Jellybean loved her birthday present, but was even more excited when Jughead brought a date to her party the following week. 

Turns out that Betty meeting Jughead was the best thing to happen to the store. When it threaten to go under after a new corporate giant appeared down the street, Jughead’s book signing brought in enough traffic to keep them open for years to come. 

Jughead thought that that meeting Betty was the best thing to happen to him. 

He made sure to tell her that, a year later, when he got down on one knee in the middle of the store. 

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! I promise that Letters to Juliet will be updated soon. Hope you all like it!

[crochetawayhpff]

Apothecary Games

This is a gift for @thesilverlioness who requested a funny, fluffy, smutty Snamione. I think I got one out of the three, sorry my dear. It’s rated M for the smut, read below the line at your own risk. Here you go anyway:

Severus Snape stormed through the door of his apothecary on a blustery fall day. Thankful that his shop assistant was competent enough to mind the till alone. Severus had been through seven shop assistants until he found one with such capabilities. The general public was littered with dunderheads, and now that Severus was no longer trapped at Hogwarts, he endeavored never to be around dunderheads if he could help it. It was most of the reason behind locating his apothecary at the entrance of Knockturn Alley instead of Diagon Alley proper. That and his brisk trade in slightly legally grey ingredients. He had a strict no ask policy when a customer came through looking for something most apothecaries didn't carry.

The bell on the door rang jauntily as he closed it behind him. He stalked through the aisleways on his way to the backroom when he came upon a sight no red-blooded man would be able to ignore. A woman, with a deliciously round backside, was bent over at the waist, digging for something on the bottom shelf. Mugwort, most likely, as that was where it was kept. Her feet were encased in shiny, black stilettos and braced hip-width apart, as she bent over to retrieve her items. Severus felt his breath pull up short at the way her matching black pencil skirt rode up her thighs, exposing a long, creamy swath of skin that begged for Severus to run his tongue along.

Feeling a tightening in his groin, Severus adjusted himself subtly as the woman came to standing, rolling her body up and clutching a fistful of Mugwort.

"Ah-ha," she muttered as she straightened her skirt and strode away from him. The swaying of her bottom was intoxicating. Severus trailed his eyes further up her body to find a tucked in waist and long, curly brown hair, halfway down her back. He had no idea who this nymph was, but suddenly he wanted to know her. He wanted to know the way her curves felt beneath his hands, the way her tight cunny would grip his cock as he plowed her from behind. He wanted her in a way he hadn't wanted a woman in years.

She disappeared from view as she rounded the corner at the end of the aisle and Severus hurried to follow after her.

"... heard you could supply Venomous Tentacula seeds," the woman was asking his shop assistant, Alfred.

"Well, that's true, but usually we ask that customers deal directly with the owner for those sorts of requests," Alfred said giving her the line he was taught. Severus wanted to know exactly what was going on in his shop.

"Oh, dear," the woman lamented. Neither she nor Alfred had seen him yet. He was about to step forward when she spoke again. "See, the thing is, I don't think the owner would be inclined to see me. And I was so hoping I could be in and out before he even knew I was here," she laughed lightly and leaned forward on the countertop. Severus watched as Alfred's eyes darted down, toward the woman's chest. His own heart sped up and his eyes narrowed. Clearly, she was up to no good if she was attempting to seduce poor Alfred.

"Well… it's just I don't…"

"Do you not know where he keeps such items, perhaps?" the woman asked.

"Oh, no. Of course, I do," Alfred told her, puffing out his chest. Severus wanted to roll his eyes, men all acted the same when it came to a pretty woman flattering them. He ignored the thought that he wouldn't mind if the woman was flattering him that way.

"Of course you do, dear," she patted Alfred's hand. Alfred's eyes darted down when she didn't remove it. Severus couldn't see her other hand, but judging by the look on Alfred's face, she had done something to enhance Alfred's view of her cleavage.

Severus considered interrupting, but he deemed this a good test for Alfred. If Alfred could hold his own against such a battle than he would be worth keeping around.

"It's just, I've been forbidden to sell to customers without them first speaking with the owner," Alfred lamented, not taking his eyes off the woman's chest.

"I see," the woman responded, standing up straight. "Well, in that case, I'll just have to take my business elsewhere."

That was Severus' cue. He stepped forward from the shadow where he was hiding and Alfred spotted him immediately above the woman's head.

"Oh, no need miss! The owner is here now," Alfred smiled at her encouragingly.

"Blast it," the woman muttered and Severus felt his eyes narrow further. Who was this woman who needed something so illegal, and yet seemingly didn't want to deal with him?

She tossed the periwinkle cloak she had draped over one arm around her shoulders, drawing the hood up and turned, with her head down, trying to move past him.

Severus snaked out an arm and grabbed her wrist before she could, "Not so fast," he said silkily.

"Unhand me," the woman demanded, keeping her face pointed toward the floor.

"Not until you tell me who you are," Severus responded, pulling on her wrist until she was standing before him.

"It's no matter. I will do my business elsewhere," the woman said through clenched teeth.

Severus reached out his other hand and pushed the hood back. The woman still wouldn't look at him, so he grasped her chin and tilted her head back. She looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place her.

"Professor," the woman ground out.

"Miss Granger," Severus responded and dropped both her wrist and her chin as if she'd burned him. He had been lusting after a former student. Although, she was a long way from girlhood with the curves she had shown off today.

"Excuse me," Granger tried to go around him.

"What do you need the Venomous Tentacula seeds for?" Severus asked, unable to stop his curiosity.

"I was told you didn't ask questions," Granger replied.

Severus narrowed his gaze at her, she was right. He didn't normally ask questions.

"Alfred, I think it's time for your lunch break," Severus responded. "Please close up the shop." He didn't take his eyes off Granger the entire time.

"It's fine if you won't sell to me, Professor. There are others who will," Granger insisted, trying to go around him again.

"Don't be so hasty," Severus drawled. "I'll sell to you. For a price."

Something in his voice must have given him away because when she met his gaze again, she appeared contemplative.

Alfred left the shop with the doorbell tinkling merrily and a scrape of a key in the lock. Granger unclasped her periwinkle cloak, pulling it from her shoulders and Severus got an eyeful of what she had been trying to bribe Alfred with.

"What price?" she asked, her voice had dropped to a husky tone.

"What do you think would be fair?" Severus asked as he took a step toward her. She took a step back, keeping a small distance between them. The air of the shop suddenly felt close and Granger darted her tongue out to wet her lower lip.

"I'm sure we can think of some arrangement," Granger replied. She dropped her cloak and took another step back. A quick flick of her wrist and her dress unbuttoned further, showing the top of her bra. It was green. Slytherin green. Severus' eyes narrowed further as he wondered just how planned out Granger's appearance today was. Severus followed her as she stepped slowly back until she was trapped between the counter and him. He was hard and he hadn't even touched her yet.

She remedied that by placing a hand on the center of his chest, fiddling with the buttons of his frock coat, she looked up at him through her lashes.

"What sort of payment would you be requiring?" she asked as she slid her hand down his chest, meandering her way south. Severus' belly tightened as her hand brushed past it toward his trousers.

"I have some ideas," he said finally as she began tracing the outline of his cock with her fingers. He clenched his fist to keep from pulling her to him, even though he desperately wanted to bury his hands in her hair as he crushed her body to his.

Without warning, she dropped to her knees and began working on the placket of his trousers.

"Miss Granger!" Severus half-shouted as she worked him free.

"Hmmm?" she hummed. The hum turned appreciative when she found what she was looking for. Severus gripped the counter with both hands as she leaned forward to kiss the head of his cock. Her lips were petal soft, but her tongue was burning hot as she flicked it out to taste him.

"Merlin," he breathed as she engulfed the head of his cock in her hot mouth. She hummed and he was ready to shoot his load right then and there. Where did she pick up this skill? Granger ran one hand up the front of his thigh, resting it there. It was hot through his trousers and she wrapped her other hand around the rest of his cock, pumping him in time with the swirls around his head.

"Fuck," he muttered when she hollowed her cheeks and sucked him as deep as she could.

Suddenly, she popped her mouth off him and looking down at her, she smirked. "Can I touch myself?" she asked.

"Sweet Circe, yes," he groaned. With another smirk, she took him in her mouth once more, the hand leaving his thigh to dip beneath her skirt. He watched her eyes flutter as her hand pleasured herself. Gods, that was erotic, he pulled both hands from the counter and dove them into her hair, guiding her head as she slid her hot mouth over his length.

He didn't want this to be the end, it couldn't be the end, not yet, so he pulled her from him and urged her to stand. Once she was on her feet, he pressed his lips to hers, tasting her for the first time. They met in a frantic kiss and he soon was gripping her waist, lifting her so she could sit on the counter behind them. She wrapped her legs around him, trapping his erection between them. That's when he discovered she wasn't wearing knickers, he could feel her slick folds as they slipped around his cock.

"Please," she begged as he pulled away from her and began kissing down her neck, intent on finding a nipple. Her own hands scrambled at his back, one burying itself in his hair as she tossed her head back, offering herself to his seeking kisses.

He found a nipple through her lace, green bra and greedily sucked it into his mouth. Her hips bucked into his and her legs tightened around his waist.

"I need you," she told him plaintively, as she clutched at him closer, attempting to rock her hips in just the right angle that would impale her on him.

"Why didn't you say so?" Severus muttered, he pulled away just long enough to align himself properly and sank into her tight, wet heat.

"Good Merlin above," she swore as he stretched her.

He grunted his own approval and dropped his head to her shoulder, planting small kisses on her skin as she rocked her hips into his.

"Come on, move, dammit," she whined and he obliged her by grasping her hips tightly and pulling him to her, sinking further into her sweet cunt. He pressed a hand to her chest, pushing her to lie down flat on the counter. She raised her arms over her head and gripped the counter behind her as he began pounding into her.

"Fuck, yes, don't stop. Severus," she shrieked, and in response, Severus raised her left leg and placed it on his left shoulder, her pussy became impossibly tight in this new position and she keened, arching her back into him and holding onto the counter for dear life.

Severus' assault did not stop, although he could feel his balls drawing up, tightening. He slipped his left hand between her pressed together thighs and found her clit. A few swipes and she was clenching and crying out her orgasm over him. He tried to hold back, wanted to hold back, to take her another way, but he couldn't and soon after she fell boneless to the countertop, he grunted through his own climax, finally stilling inside her.

She moved her left leg from his shoulder, so he stood between her legs once more as he dropped his had to her abdomen, pressing soft kisses until he became soft enough to fall out of her glorious cunt.

"Merlin," she breathed.

"Indeed."

He took a deep breath and raised his head, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to a sitting position.

"Next time, leave Alfred out of it, Hermione," he told her, stealing a kiss.

She giggled lightly, "Poor Alfred, I hadn't expected him to be here."

"No, and he doesn't know about you. Hopefully, I can get the stench of sex out of here before he comes back from his lunch break."

"I'm sure you'll manage," Hermione smirked at him, as she began adjusting her clothes. "I have to get back to the Ministry anyway."

"With no knickers?" Severus asked.

"I haven't been wearing any all day. Why would I start now?" she asked saucily. "Besides, how will you be able to assault me the moment I walk through the door tonight if I have knickers in the way."

"Minx," he growled, nipping at her neck. Just then, they heard the rattle of the door handle, and the jingle of the bell. Biting her lip, and smoothing her hair the best she could. Hermione pushed Severus from her so she could get off the counter and wrapped her cloak around her once more.

"See you tonight," she gave him a small secret grin and swept from the store.

As much as Severus wanted to curtail his wife's love of games when she came up with ones like today, how was he to stop her? It had been just as fun for him as it had been for her. He tapped his lip with his finger as an idea began to form in his mind of retribution.

Find it on FFN and AO3 here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12844576/1/Apothecary-Games https://archiveofourown.org/works/13747938

[thundercaya]

Friendship is Magic (Chapter 2)

(Chapter 1)

To really sell the idea that it was a group outing, Alex and I also invited Aaron and his girlfriend Theo, as well as John and his boyfriend Frank. The friend that Gilbert invited, Thomas, brought his boyfriend James. I realized right away that Gilbert and I were highly outnumbered by couples, but I didn't mention it.

We went in two cars, my friends and I in Theo’s van, Gilbert and his friends in Thomas’ purple Jeep.

Eliza and Theo sat up front and spent the ride complaining about condescending professors. In the back, John, Aaron and Alex argued loudly about the latest superhero movies. When Aaron referred to Marvel as “that Disney shit,” John threw his Funko Pop Black Panther keychain at him. Frank shot me an exhausted look as he heaved a longsuffering sigh.

“Is it just me or are they unbearable when it’s all three of them?”

I just shrugged, not telling him that if I wasn't so preoccupied about Gilbert I would have been right in the fray with them.

Thomas, Theo and I were the only ones who were twenty-one, so we had to go to an 18+ club. I didn’t really care, though as we approached the line to get in, Thomas complained that the 21+ wristband would clash with his outfit.

“Just don’t drink and you won’t need a wristband,” James said.

Thomas scoffed, wrapping his arms around James as we settled into the line. “As if I’d go to a club and not drink.”

The other couples fell into similarly affectionate stances. I flashed a smile at Gilbert and considered getting closer to him, but he was wearing a crop top and the tightest pants I had ever seen; I felt like I’d combust if I so much as brushed shoulders with him. I was also drawing a blank on how to open up a conversation, or do anything other than keep adjusting my headband. John seemed to notice this and broke the silence.

“I heard Herc is making you a hoodie.”

“Yes!” Gilbert said. “I’m very excited.”

“They made me one, too. Well, a Pokemon one.”

“If you have any pictures I would love to see. They have an incredible talent.”

“I have pictures,” I cut in, picking up the baton John had so graciously held out for me. I pulled out my phone to pull up the pictures.

“Who is that strangely-dressed woman?” Gilbert asked of my lock screen.

“Oh, she's a wrestler.”

Gilbert chuckled.“It seems I have a lot to learn about you. I wouldn’t have pegged you for a fan.”

“It’s why I started sewing,” I said, flipping through my pictures. “I wanted to make myself a cool wrestling outfit.”

“Well, if you were that serious about it, you must have some moves. I hope you’ll show them to me some time.”

I nearly choked, and rather than answer him I shoved my phone into his hands, a picture of John’s hoodie on the screen.

“The one of John wearing it is the last one,” I said hurriedly. “Then there's progress shots of yours, so don't go past it if you want it to be a surprise.”

Gilbert grinned at me. “Well, I do love surprises.”

When we entered the club, Gilbert put a hand on my shoulder and whispered in my ear what I’d already noticed. “It would seem that we are the only ones who are not paired off.”

“Looks like it,” I agreed, heart pounding at the closeness and his breath on my ear.

“Will you dance with me, then?”

I wanted to--God, I wanted to--but combustion was seeming more and more likely and I wasn’t sure I could handle it. “Well….” I glanced over at Thomas and James who had found a booth and were settling into it. “Your friends aren’t dancing. We can hang out with them.”

“James is not one for dancing, true, but if I asked Thomas to dance with me, I’m sure he would. You can sit and talk with James if you’d like.”

“No,” I said quickly. I took a deep breath and pressed on. “We can-- I’ll dance with you.”

The first few minutes were pretty normal. We kept a friendly distance between ourselves and I couldn’t help but think back on high school dances, chaperones watching like hawks from every dark corner, ready to appear in an instant and remind us to leave enough room for a basketball.

Gilbert locked eyes with me and his lips twitched up into a smile. The next thing I knew, he was grabbing my hips and pulling himself closer. I wrapped my arms around his neck, following his lead. Soon there wasn’t enough room between us for a page of the coach’s playbook.  Heart racing, I grinded against him as eagerly as he did against me. There weren’t many coherent thoughts in my head, my rational thinking forced out of my brain by the electricity coursing through every part of me, but I had to think that surely this wasn’t the way Gilbert would have danced with Thomas.

I was starting to think the moment couldn’t be any more perfect and thrilling when Gilbert pressed his lips to mine, soft and warm. We continued the friction and pressure between our bodies and our lips and just when I thought I was going to lose it in an 18+ club in front of all our friends, he pulled back from the kiss and stopped his motion against me. He smiled as if we’d been lounging around eating snacks and and telling jokes instead of having fully-clothed public sex and said; “we should get out of here, don’t you think?”

Thinking had nothing to do with it, but I nodded my head and had a Lyft booked before we even walked out the door.

When I woke up the next morning, the spot in my bed that had been warm and occupied by a pleased and spent Gilbert when I’d fallen asleep was cold and empty. My stomach knotted up and my chest grew tight before I could stop them, and all I could do was try to rationalize the reaction away. He probably had a good reason to leave, somewhere he needed to be this morning. My organs persisted in their distress; couldn’t he have woken me up? How did he think I would feel waking up alone after...that? I groaned, a hand pressed to my face. This was my own fault, really. What was I doing messing around with someone I hardly even knew? I should have expected this outcome instead of being disappointed by it.

I forced myself out of bed and threw on some clothes. Alex may have known better than to come back to the room last night, but there was no telling when he’d return now that it was the next day. After fishing around for them in my sheets, I threw the condom wrappers into the same waste basket where Gilbert and I had thrown our condoms. After a moment’s consideration, I just took the entire thing out to the garbage chute.

There was a very cautious knock, then the door opened a mere inch.

“Is it safe to come in?” Alex asked.

I sighed, arranged my face, and said “yeah, he left a while ago. Come on in.”

Alex entered the room grinning and shut the door behind him. “So?” he asked, sitting down on his bed, bouncing a bit as if he were a child about to open a bicycle-shaped Christmas gift rather than a college student hoping to get a recap of a friend’s sexual endeavors.

Well, Christmas wasn’t coming just yet. Instead of answering I said; “Did you stay with Eliza?”

“Yeah. Her roommate made me sleep on the floor but I consider it a worthy sacrifice.” He faltered, presumably wondering if my lack of enthusiasm meant nothing had happened. “That is, assuming things when well with Gilbert. So… how did they go?”

“Great,” I said. At least, the part he was asking about had been great.

Alex’s grin returned. Merry Christmas, Alex. “Awesome! I'm happy for you. Are you gonna get together again?”

“Oh…. We didn't really talk about it.”

“Well, it's not surprising if not much talking happened. Make sure you follow up.”

“Yeah….” I cleared my throat and adjusted my beanie. “How was the club?”

“Good. Gilbert's friends didn't stay much longer after you left. The small one obviously didn't want to be there. Clearly they were winging for him just like we were for you.”

“So I didn’t mess up Eliza’s good time by making you invite more people?”

“Naw,” Alex dismissed. “Eliza loves Theo and all those idiots as much as you and I do. It was a good time.”

I personally found myself wishing we’d invited fewer people; they’d all want a follow-up on how things had gone after Gilbert and I made our quick exit. I decided to just delegate the task to Alex--I was sure he was dying to talk about it anyway.

On Monday I showed up for class just as it was starting.

I may have done this on purpose.

Since there was no time for a chat, Gilbert merely flashed a smile and waved at me. I waved back somewhat awkwardly, ducking my head even as I forced a smile. I told myself it didn’t make a difference. Even if I showed up earlier, it wasn’t something we could talk about in public. I told myself that again as I made a quick exit at the end of class.

It was a couple hours later when I got a text message.

You left in quite a hurry, dear friend.

I hesitated, but my “not in public” excuse didn’t help in this situation.

Yeah sorry. I sent back. I had some stuff to work on. Your sweater included.

Well I am certainly looking forward to seeing my completed sweater but I’d much rather see you.

Okay. So he wasn’t just smiling at me in class to be polite. Still, he had referred to me as his friend. That kind of supported that nagging idea that he’d left because he wanted to, not because he had to.

I’ll see you Wednesday in class. That seemed a little dismissive so I added Highlight of my day. before sending it off.

Mine as well.

I made the same quick entrance and exit on Wednesday.

I could feel Alex hovering behind me as I loaded a new bobbin into my sewing machine.

“Nothing yet?” he asked.

I didn’t stop my task or look up. “He messaged me, but-”

“Come on Herc, don't chicken out now!” Alex said, shaking my shoulders. “You've already slept together, so the scary part is over.”

I dropped my arms to my side and heaved a heavy sigh. “Alex, he left.”

Alex let go of my shoulders. “What?”

I turned around in my chair to face him; he was going to pity me whether I saw it or not, so I might as well. “After we slept together. I woke up and he was gone.”

Alex knitted his brow. “Okay, that's... not ideal… but you said he messaged you, right?”

“Yes, but…”

“Then he still wants to talk to you.” I started to speak, but Alex cut me off again. “At least give him a chance to explain himself. If you don't like his explanation then that can be the end of it, but don't give up before you've given it a shot.”

Of course Alex was right. I knew that before he even said it. But not doing anything was always easier than doing something, and just like how I’d spent ten weeks admiring Gilbert and had never once tried to talk to him, that was what I defaulted to. But Gilbert had done something, and if him texting me meant anything, then he was trying to do something now. I should let him.

I took a deep breath. “If it goes badly, can you get me some brownies?”

“With or without weed?”

I huffed out a laugh. “I’ll let you know.”

I messaged Gilbert late that night.

I'm gonna be at class like 15 min early tomorrow. Meet me?

There was no response by the time I went to bed. Not surprising. He was probably pissed at me. What was surprising was that I woke up the next morning to his response.

I'll be there.

When I reached the front of the building, Gilbert was there, leaning against the wall next to the door and staring off to one side. I stood for a moment, watching him, remembering when I thought he was too perfect to be alive. Would I have handled this better if I’d seen him as a person all along and not just in the few weeks since we started talking? He turned his head and we locked eyes. I gave him a small wave and nodded towards one of the big trees in the quad. He started over to it and I met him there. For a moment we just looked at each other, tense and unsmiling.

“So, my dear Hercules,” he said, ever making the first move, “are you going to tell me why you’ve been avoiding me?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “You left.”

He knitted his brow. “Yes….”

“Well, it kind of made me feel like you didn’t want to see me anymore,” I explained. “You didn’t say goodbye so-”

“Wait,” Gilbert cut in, lifting a hand to stop me. “Yes I did.”

I blinked. “What?”

“I told you I was leaving. That I had church in the morning?”

“Church,” I repeated distantly. It was so counter to my idea of him that I was sure I would have remembered if he had mentioned it.

“Yes, church! That’s what I said.”

“Said when? I don’t even remember having a conversation.” As far as I knew, I’d been exhausted from nerves and overwhelmed by the release and gone right to sleep.

“Well, you weren’t drunk so I don’t see why you wouldn’t.”

I rubbed my forehead and tugged on my headband. “Okay, look, I believe you. But...when you said you were leaving, what did I say?”

“Nothing to make me think you’d be upset. You just said mm-hm.”

“Okay, yeah, that settles it. Gilbert, I wasn’t awake for that. Sometimes when people talk to me when I’m asleep I’ll answer them, but for me it’s like it never happened.”

Gilbert winced. “So as far as you remembered I just left you?”

“Yeah.”

He heaved a sigh. “Well, I can see why you would feel hurt. But I would have hoped that if you were upset with me, you would talk to me about it so we could work it out.”

“That’s what I should have done, yeah. I’m so sorry. I’m an idiot.”

Gilbert sighed deeply. “I don’t think you’re an idiot so much as inconsiderate.”

I cringed.

“Maybe a bit selfish.”

I cringed more.

“And you hurt me when I tried to reach out to you only to get shot down.”

If I cringed farther I’d probably gravitationally collapse and form a black hole.

“But you did apologize, so I might be able to forgive you, with time.”

“Yeah,” I said hurriedly. “Of course. Take all the time you need.” I looked at him hopefully. “And is there’s any way I can even begin to make it up to you?”

Gilbert tilted his head and pondered this for a moment. “Maybe show me that you do want to spend time with me?”

“I want that more than anything,” I said, the most earnest words to ever leave my mouth. I cleared my throat. “I, uh, finished your hoodie last night. You want to come get it after class?”

“We could do that,” Gilbert said thoughtfully, tapping his chin. A grin broke out across his face. “Or we could ditch and go now.”

When Alex saw us, I didn’t even need to ask him to leave.

“I was just on my way to the library to work on a very long essay,” he said, sweeping what seemed to be a random assortment of books straight into his backpack and closing it up, “so I’ll probably be gone for a couple of hours. Call me if you need anything.”

“I really like your friends,” Gilbert commented once Alex was gone.

“I think I’ll keep them,” I replied. I coughed into my fist. “So, uh. Here’s your hoodie.” I walked over to my closet and pulled the sweater out. “Why don’t you try it on?”

Gilbert took a moment to look the hoodie over, admiration clear on his face as he turned it this way and that, fingers running over the seams and the cutie mark. Finally he slipped it on and zipped it up. I closed the closet so he could inspect himself with the mirror on the door. “It's a perfect fit!” he declared, arms out. He turned to me and smiled. “Thank you so much. It’s beautiful.”

Just like you. “I’m glad you like it,” I said instead of voicing that last thought. “Are you sure you won't let me give it to you as a gift?”

He put a hand on my arm and smiled warmly. “Hercules, we’re becoming friends again.That is gift enough.”

My arm burned under his touch and I hoped some day we’d be back at a place where he could make me burn all over once again.

“Well,” I said, trying not to let my mind stray too much in that direction, knowing we weren’t there yet. “Friendship is magic.”