#<- tagging cause i did zero thinking about his age in these and cause it could technically fit lol

[bambiraptorx]

[I.D. Digital sketch page of Baxter Stockman from TMNT 2003 with three pages. The first is a full body, showing him stretching his hands above his head with a tired, bleary expression like he's still waking up. He wears a t-shirt, shorts, and an untied robe. The next two are both from waist up and show him shirtless. One shows him with his arms by his sides and a tired expression, the other with him stretching one arm high above his head and yawning widely. In both, he has a 'dad bod'. End I.D.]

using him for some anatomy practice (all of these drawn from references btw)

i know he was canonically super muscular/buff in that one episode but also since he intentionally made that body to look like that i am functioning on the assumption that its not his actual body type lol

[ukranianacearo]

"Mother", a strong word

Part 2 Part 3

F!reader

Word count: almost 4k

Mention of Innocent zero's real name.

Tw: Mentions of starvation, enslavement (like what Russian empire did to Ukrainians back in 18-19th centuries), mentions of blood, mentions of abuse, mentions of birth, harrasing, and attempts at SA and I think that's all. Please, do inform me if you see more.

Pairing: romantically there's none, but reader has to marry Innocent zero.

Genre(?): angst.

Tags: @aiscreamcake (I thought you would be interested)

Author's note: This has been rotting in my brain for over a week and @fellow-anime-weeb927 post only strengthened this lol. Sorry for any mistakes, I didn't recheck it before posting and English isn't my first language. More under cut.

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

Escaping the empire would be dangerous and risky. But even death would be better than what you had to endure. Your nation has been occupied and enslaved by another nation for centuries already, poisoning your people's minds, destroying your culture and language and killing those who were against the system. You weren't a person. At least weren't considered one. Your lord, the one who owned your family, was a cruel man. Not only towards you and your family, but even to his own kids and his ill wife. When times got tough even for him, you were only 5. His wife's condition worsened, she got bedridden, and there were even talks about her possible death. It was the first time he tried forcing himself on you. Fortunately for you, you escaped. Times got worse with the arrival of international market. Selling got worse and so did your family's condition. Your lord paid less and less, to the point where your family starved for days, sometimes even weeks. The first to die was your youngest brother; he was only 3 years old when he died of starvation, you were 6. Two months later, your mother died. The same cause, the same ground that buried her. There has started to run rumors about the lord marrying you, since his wife will die soon and he had kids to take care of. Your father had no say in it, after all, you and your family are nothing more, but the lord's property.

You were 7 when your oldest brother died at the age of 17. He too, died of starvation. After a few months, your last brother died, at the age of 16. You and your father were devastated, but you only could bury your brother next to your other two brother and your mother. One of the days, you heard your lord talking with his friends about some ships taking people to another land, to another country. But, it was really risky, you could die from any cause there; not that it mattered to you, you could never even imagine having the money to buy tickets for you and your father. So you just continued working. A year passed, then another and now you're 9. One of the evenings, your father didn't come back and you started worrying. You had nowhere to go and seek him, but the lord's house. When you arrived at the door of the house, it was open and you could see your father and the lord talking about something. While trying to focus on what they were saying, you leaned slightly against the door, making sure it didn't move nor made any sound. It was muffled, but you could understand that they were discussing your marriage with the lord. Your father tried to reason that you were just too young for the lord, you were only 9, after all. But the lord didn't care.

That day, you lost your father and killed your lord. That day was also the second time your lord tried to force himself on you.

You buried your father next to the graves of your family members the best you could. It was the middle of the night and lord's kids were sleeping in their respective homes, since most of them were old enough to have it. Not caring about lord's dead corpse laying on the floor of his house, you took the money there was; you didn't know how much a ticket to the other country would cost, but even if you had more than needed, it was better than less.

...

The travel wasn't pleasant at all, but you finally were here. Most people at the port called it The Magic Empire. You didn't know if it was because there was actually magic and people could use it without being punished or if it was because people's dreams and wishes would be satisfied. Noticing that many people had some lines on their faces, you didn't want to stick out so you decided to use your necklace. Clenching it in your hand you increased the zone affected by it. Feeling their magic power being stored in the necklace, you changed the course and way of the magic in the necklace to create an illusion of a mark similar to the people around you. As you put the hood of your cloak on your head, you start going into the city; the cloak covering your figure completely, hiding the broken clothes you wore: a pair of pants and a T-shirt.

...

...

In the past 5 months you lived in the Magic Realm, as people from here called it. You were fortunate enough to know the language that people speak here, since you learned it from a dictionary someone threw out while you were still living in your home country. But, life was still challenging, of course. Although, 'challenging' would be an underrating. This realm worked such as higher your magic power - higher your status. So, you had to lie, to live a lie; you didn't have your own magic, you only could use or manipulate magic that you 'stole' with the necklaces. If you stole it by defeating a person, that person's magic was copied by one of the necklaces, and if you 'stole' it by just increasing the area that was under the necklaces' cancellation of magic, you could use a person's magic for as long as they were in the area and a certain amount of time after they were out.

In these past month you have worked as anything you could: cleaning people's shoes, selling newspaper, running errands for people, etc... You did your best and most of the errands were done perfectly, and your employers were satisfied with your work, paying you a bonus every now and then. You tried to save as much as possible while still eating something at least once a day. Your plan was to go to a middle magic school, but to do so you would need to deceive many people and even the government, so that they could think that you had actually alive parents, at least. For that, you would need to defeat someone who possessed a mind controlling power and you only had three years to do so: that's when middle school start.

It was easier than you thought. That boy really thought he could use you as a punching bag, but ironically, he was the one laying on the cold and dusty ground. Now, you're one step closer to succeeding.

...

...

This mind controlling magic was actually something. You carefully created a well written story for your play, the realm your stage and everyone the audience. The school you wanted to go accepted you, just like you planned. And thus, the played began.

No one has suspected a thing. Which feels kind of weird. But you decide to continue the show, there's nothing else to do.

...

The middle school was good, it had bedrooms for every pair of students, a kitchen and many more things. Just the perfect entrance for a grand show.

...

Few years pass by, and it's time to decide the academy where you'll go. There were three options, the ones that will appreciate the show. Easton Magic Academy, Walkis Magic Academy and Saint Ars Holy Magic Academy; in Saint Ars, rules are the most important thing and rule breakers are punished harshly. Definitely not for you: you would be considered a criminal at this point. Walkis focused only on strength which is also not the best, tho this academy produced the most divine visionaries at this point. So, you're left with Easton Magic academy.

...

The entrance exam was pretty easy. After that you were assigned to the Orca dorm. Not bad. You can work with this.

...

Eyes. No matter where you went, they followed you, like the hunting past. Were you in class, in the kitchen, training or even in the deep past, you remember eyes following you like a predator. When you were in middle magic academy, you didn't have time to ponder about it at all. Nor when you were doing errands for someone to earn extra money. Sometimes, when you tried to look at the one who was the person with such intense curiosity, you only saw white hair of a passerby, who you guessed was your classmate. Trying to follow that person was impossible, it's like they disappeared the moment you approached the place where magic lingered the most. It haunted you. You had a guess who it was, but with no evidence, you could do nothing, but try to be careful around that person. Cyril Marcus. He was the only one who had those long white locks. And his magic... Rather he used basic spells or his personal time magic or even if he didn't use any at all, you could always sense that difference between his magic and the magic of other people. When a person's potential is great in terms of magic, you can sense their magic differently. But this scared you very much. Even if you knew that your necklaces worked on him as well, you were scared. Better treat a gun as a loaded gun and not as a non loaded one. He seemed much eager to fight against you in the tournament for divine visionaries' candidates.

...

Your fight against him just ended. You won. After all, he was nothing without his magic. But, in your opinion, he was more testing you than fighting you. Right now, it was break time before continuing with the tournament. As you sat on one of the couches in the room, you clenched the necklace in your hand. The other three core necklaces were still deep inside your skin, in the same spot, even after all these years. The square body of the necklaces had some difficult artistic style. You still couldn't figure out which one exactly, but it resembled the baroque style very much. The black hook that was on one of the edges of every body wasn't as delicate as it seemed, just like the black chain that went through it, embracing your neck loosely.

- "What do you want?" - There was no need for chit chat, especially between you two. You two weren't on bad terms exactly, but you weren't friends either. Still, your suspicion about him being the person who stalks you was present on your mind.

-"You seemed so brave out there, but look at you now." - You snapped your head towards him, the look of shock on your face making him chuckle. His mocking tone didn't help, as it made you more uncomfortable. But you were used to the feeling, so you didn't let it show just like always. - "Don't look at me like that, it makes me think that you didn't expect me." - Deciding to play safe you calmed down your expression to a neutral one and let go of the necklace.

- "You're so straightforward, as always."

- "It's better to save the time and energy used to talk about nothing." - As you crossed you arms across your chest while Cyril smiled in that typical sly smile, although to you, it looked more like a smirk.

- "This...show that you play in front of everyone is quite the spectacle. I must admit, it took me a while to see the truth."

- "What are you talking about?" - In this type of situations it's better to play dumb. You couldn't afford for the show to end just yet. It would be a fiasco. Anyway, how did he figure it out? Has he been stalking you for so long just because of that? You made sure he couldn't see your thoughts on your face.

- "Don't play dumb. We both know what I'm talking about. At first I thought you were just a 'Disgraceful Mage', just to find out later that you are magicless. I must admit, your cover is good enough to make me think about you and your magic for quite the years. This fight in particular has confirmed my suspicion. Your necklace isn't just an accessory, am I right?" - His words froze you as he pointed at your necklace. The situation got to the point where you couldn't just deny your way out.

- "It would have been better if you continued thinking that I was a 'Disgraceful Mage'..." - You mumbled, making Cyril look at you with a curious smirk. - "What do you want from me? You wouldn't be here just to talk with me, would you?" - You tried to stay calm, but it was the first time someone saw past your costume. Instead of the character in the play, he saw the actor. You already realized why he was going in circles while fighting. He was out of the zone affected by the necklace, so he still could see magic power. Truly, that potential you saw in him would be enough to end your show.

- "What do I have to do with all of that?" - The palms of your hands have started sweating, but you still somehow managed to act calm enough. Hearing your words, Cyril smirked slyly and put his leg on the other.

- "Don't worry that much, I wouldn't want for the show to end just yet. After all, you can call me the most loyal fan of your spectacle. Who else would sit and watch it, while seeing your true form and not the character's?" - It was as is he read your thoughts with magic, although it was impossible, your necklace still worked around you. - "I don't mind your magicless nature, but what about the others?" - He slowly walked closer and sat on the couch in front of you - "I'm sure you know they wouldn't accept you if they knew, otherwise you wouldn't be putting this good of a performance. How convenient that I have just the offer for you, wouldn't you say so? You see, I plan on becoming the perfect human, but for that I need to find more knowledge and strong allies."

...

- "We both know that magic users tend to rely very much on magic - myself included - and you're someone who shifts their situation a lot with just a lift of your hand. Or even without it. As years went on, you taught yourself to manipulate that necklace very well. When the time will come, I want you to join my association and plan. Of course, I, on my end, will make sure the government won't get you." - It was tempting, but the actor can't just disappear from the stage, it wouldn't be fair. You clenched your left wrist with your hand as you looked at him a bit troubled, trying to stay calm. Seeing your hesitation, Cyril chucked. - "Don't worry. I will give you time to think about it. But when I will come for an answer, I hope you will have it." - He said as he got up, walking towards the door in his usual slow and elegant way. You wanted to answer, say at least something. But it felt as if the words got stuck in your throat, sinking in your stomach, leaving you alone with your thoughts haunting you, trying to come up with something, anything. - "So long, dear actress." - He left the room as the voice of a commentator announced the break time over. You were left alone, looking at the floor while your thoughts got to you. How could you afford such a mistake? Your performance was supposed to be perfect, without even the slightest flaw. Clenching the necklace you tried not to let emotions get the best of you. Even if there was a break between the acts, the actor shouldn't forgot that they're an actor. People are supposed to only see the character that they portrait, not the person behind it. One person in the audience saw the actor as they are, but that shouldn't matter. Especially when that person continues to watch the show peacefully.

- "Tell me, Cell war," - You started while watching your 'son' in the tank, or better say, in an incubator. Cell war, who was a creation of Innocent zero, turned to look at you patiently, waiting for you to continue. In the past years, Cyril Innocent zero really weird choice of name got to know that for achieving his goal to become "The Perfect Human", he needed six hearts of blood related family. That's how you got to this scene of the show. The audience changed, but the actor and that one specific person stayed the same people, probably. He mixed his DNA with your to create a life. You promised yourself that no matter what, your 'sons' won't live as bad or even worse than you; you would not allowe it as long as you breathe. - "How do you feel about his plan?"

...

- "If it's something 'father' wants, then it should be done."

- "You shouldn't be up this late." - You said in a scolding voice while standing behind the four young boys that stood outside your bedroom door.

- "Mother!" - They four said in unison, as they turned around to look at you. Fanim and Delisaster immediately went to hug you by your legs, since they didn't reach any higher yet, while Doom and Epidem stood by your sides taking your hands in theirs. They all seemed very exited and happy to see you again.

- "We wanted to see you the day you came back from this mission, so we stayed up." - Doom explained in a shy manner. You patted their heads as you hummed, giving a sign of acknowledgement.

- "That's very sweet of you, boys. But you shouldn't lose sleep just because of me. Sleep is fundamental for your health." - You answered in a caring voice, you truly couldn't be angry at them for long. Hearing your words, they looked between each other and then all looked at you.

- "But, mother is also very important for our health." - Delisaster started.

- "You train and play with us." - Doom continued.

- "You don't get angry at us for the slightest mistake and explain everything that we ask you to." - then Fanim continued.

- "And you give us all kinds of sweets." - Epidem finished. You were shocked. All of them were still so young, but understood so much. It wasn't uncommon in your experience, many kids you knew from the streets when you were younger had to grow up too soon - yourself included. But these four boys didn't live that life. Your best guess was that they were so aware of everything because of Innocent zero, their father. You smiled softly at them as you hugged them all.

- "What would I do without you guys, hm?" - They basked in your attention. - "But you gotta go to sleep now, it's already late." - Hearing that they whined in unison, but obeyed and you guided them to their rooms.

...

- "Did you see mother?" - Delisaster asked Doom, as the later was sharpening his sword. The former couldn't find you for a while now and he really wanted to show you one his new tricks with his pole arms.

- "Do you not know yet? She fell into a coma." - Doom tried to act as calm as possible, but in reality he was devastated. The fact that you just fainted out of nowhere wasn't positive at all, especially for the sons. There was no logical explanation for this and no one could figure it out. The ones who were probably affected the least were Domina and Mash, who were still too young to understand it. The room fell into silence's embrace as Delisaster tried to process the devastating information he just learned.

...

- "Domina, you should be useful. That's what mother and I would want. You understand, right?" - His sly tone of voice echoed in the small dark room that could barely be called a bedroom. He stood in front of Domina, looking at the small boy from his height. - "We must do it so that mother can wake up. Do you want her to wake up? Domina."

- "Yes, father." - The small boy looked pitiful. His pink-ish hair was cut just above his shoulders with bangs covering his eyebrows. He was just around 5 years old, yet he seemed as if he didn't eat enough. Domina was determined to do anything to help his mother regain consciousness and make his father proud. What he didn't understand was that, he shouldn't be the one to fight for it.

...

- "I see you still don't understand, Mash Burndead. If you continue to fight against it, mother won't wake up." - Doom said as he blocked one of Mash's punches.

- "I don't know that mother much, but I'm sure that destroying the world won't help wake her up." - Mash answered in the usual monotone voice as he punched Doom in the abdomen.

...

- "Who is she?" - asked a tall man with white hair and a big sword at his hip.

- "She was retrieved from the castle. Supposedly Innocent zero mixted his DNA with hers to create the six sons. Her name is [Y/N] [L/N]. She studied in Easton Magic Academy back in the days alongside me and Innocent zero. Was reported missing by some acquaintances after graduation. Later on it was discovered that she lied to the government, a lot." - Another tall and old man with grey hair answered.

- "So she's also Mash's biological mother... I wonder why she joined Innocent zero in his plan." - The tall man with the sword murmured.

- "I'm sure Innocent zero had some cards in his sleeves to play to manipulate her. She wouldn't go for such length just because of someone else's desires. Especially Innocent zero's, she couldn't care less about the man."

- "Maybe she was in love with him." - The tall man with the sword suggested turning his head slightly to look at the old man. Right after the man finished his sentence, the old one started laughing; when he finished laughing he sighed and started talking.

- "That's impossible, Kaldo. Not even love potions could make her feel something so deep. She herself said that she was unable to feel such love since birth; her brain lacked in that part. I guess she had a secret that the world shouldn't know and Innocent zero knew it."

- "Like what?" - the curiosity got the better out of the man with the sword.

- "Hmm, I don't know. We should ask her after she wakes up. For now, call Mash; I wanna talk with him." - The man with the sword bowed and walked out of the door, while the old man continued looking at the woman in the nurse bed. - "Mother, such a strong word, huh..."

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And that's it :D I hope you enjoyed this fanfic. If you want to be added into the tag list, please comment.

Edit 1 (11/01/2025): I corrected the grammatical mistakes

[thot-farm]

Domestic yandere Todoroki family part two

So, last post you may have been thinking 'only one of them shows any yandere tendencies, where is the spice?' The 𝓼𝓹𝓲𝓬𝓮 isn't here either, you get to spend time with Rei and you are going to like it 😠🫵.

Small notes:

I am a character ai goon that cheated or skipped all creative writing assignments in school, so if this is dog shit, it is what it is. This might actually be the first post I actually post that features my writing in detail.

I accidentally wrote with she/her and didn't even realize it, but I'm just going to leave it because it's smoother to read than y/n every other word, so if you want me to edit this for he/him or they/them, comment and I will with a separate tag

♡

You wake up in the morning to a cold feeling on your forehead. As you slowly wake up, you are a bit uncomfortable by the cold feeling and open your eyes to see a blurry pale arm and whiffs of citrus, vanilla and amber, Mom's perfume, impossible for you not to recognize. You get a little scared by the change since she hasn't woken you up in ages, you got used to Fuyumi's gentle voice, or Shoto pulling you out of bed with zero struggle like you are made of stuffing. You wonder if you did something wrong yesterday.

"Sh, sh, darling." Mom shushes gently, her hands trail down to your plump cheeks and rest there, her thumbs gently caressing your face, trying to calm you and your worries.

You try to blink away the sleep and fuzziness in your sight. You go to rub your eyes but Mom gently but swiftly takes hold of your little hands and brings them back down by your tummy.

"Sweetheart, Shoto caught a pretty nasty cold, so he won't be able to go to school..." Mom says with her gentle voice as she holds your hands.

Mom smiles as she watches the gears turn in your sleepy little head as you wonder how Shoto got sick, she lets go of your hands, her hands dip out of your view. "It looks like you haven't been bit by the sickie bug yet... Oh no baby... I think I see a bug in your bed." Mom says, her soft voice laced with concern.

You feel a tingling tickling sensation scurrying up your leg, which causes you to shoot out of your bed, kicking away blankets. Mom scoops you right up into her lap. "Don't worry darling," She holds up her hand that's curled into a loose fist "Mama caught the sickie bug, now it can't bite you," Mom says softly.

A small burst of frost comes from Mom's hand, your eyes widen with amazement as Mom kills the totally real bug, saving you from a bad cold and getting revenge on the evil bug that bit Shoto, like she always does when a sibling is sick.

Mom opens her hand, all that is left of the bug is a pile of snow. "Now that there is nothing left of the bug, help Mama blow all the snow away and wish for Shoto to get better," Mom says softly.

You close your eyes and take a deep breath and blow, wishing for Shoto's cold to go away. Once you open your eyes, you see snow flurries and sparkles flying away, you watch with amazement, seeing the flurries Dad never lets you go out and see.

You see red out of the corner of your eye, you look over to your doorway seeing Dad approaching your door. You wonder why Shoto being sick has gotten either of your parents' attention, you would think it would get you less like usual. You fiddle your thumbs together as turquoise eyes look over you.

"Rei, get her ready for school," Dad says, his voice deep, almost unrecognizable to you from how little you hear it. But you smell the same cologne as always, the one that wafts around every morning.

"But-" Mom begins, quickly cut off by Dad speaking again.

"You made a good point about Shoto and y/n needing to be away from each other more. He has been asking about her all morning and is refusing to eat without her, and if her teachers aren't exaggerating about her refusal to speak, then something must be done." Dad says in a serious tone, his eyes narrowed, but not at you or Mom. He doesn't wait any longer and just walks away from your door.

Dad's words leave you wondering what they had been talking about. But hearing Dad acknowledge how overbearing Shoto is makes you feel a lot of things, glad it's not just in your head, upset at Dad for not understanding you, but also worried about how Dad will 'fix' the problem with Shoto's behavior.

Mom stands up and carries you over to your chair and plops you down, facing you away from the mirror. You can tell she doesn't seem to trust Dad that much, but you don't understand why, he said she was right and all, that usually makes people happy or at least calm. But Mom makes the same face Shoto does around the time Dad comes home and she is gripping the hairbrush unnecessarily tight.

Mom, despite her tight grip, gently brushes your long white hair from the ends to your roots to straighten out what sleeping had done to your soft curls. Every time you try to move your head to look at her, she gently rests her other hand on your hand until you stop moving.

"Have you been brushing your hair every day, honey?" Mom asks in a soft tone, looking down into your grey eyes.

You nod confidently. You smile at how Fuyumi always helps brush through and style your hair in the morning. And internally you roll your eyes at how Shoto always winds up touching your hair at bedtime when you and him brush teeth, so you always wind up brushing your hair at night to make sure his icky boy cooties don't knot up your hair.

Mom gives a small smile when she sees your nod and smile, but you can tell she seems a little sad or something. You look up at her with a serious look.

Mom's smile gets wider seeing your baby face get serious. She leans down and kisses your head. "Don't worry, darling. I just want to make sure you're being a good girl. Now go brush your teeth." Mom says in a sweet tone, smiling softly.

You stand up from your chair and walk out of your room, as you walk to the bathroom across the hall, you brush some hair off your nightgown, trying not to wonder too much into Mom's behavior

Part three

[anteroom-of-death]

Teacher's Pet part 14

Synopsis: The Reader gets a potential glimpse into her future. She also makes an enemy.

A/n: yeaaayyyy. More fun. Fuckery world building. Thanks to all my readers. I should probably do a tag list instead of zapping ur inboxes. Uhhh....yeah. to my mutuals who have to deal with me and aren't attached to this, I am sorry. I love you and I would donate my organs to you.

Grades were posted. Most were good, nothing to really write home about. You did far better than you expecting. The self-doubt really was deep-rooted, wasn’t it?

Except one. That stupid alien gave you a near-perfect. Just one point shy of an absolutely perfect one-hundred percent.

So much for no favoritism…

You’d take it anyways. And not bring it up…

Work was slow but it was steady.

He even met you between shifts at your park.

You started feeling a tad insane without him. Did love feel like this? You admitted you had little experience with love. Just what you attempted to create in the past. And trashy books and television shows and movies and songs…

You needed him like you needed a cigarette and a stiff drink after a long day.

Bella Swan would be so proud of you, you degraded yourself in your mind.

“How is work going?” The Doctor asked with genuine shine of curiosity in his tone and face.

“The amount of professors in now…I have to dodge them! I do think the statistics professor I had two terms ago recognized me!” You spoke in a shocked, scared tone. You didn’t need that getting out. Could ruin your future plans.

“Oh no!” He chuckled, as he handed you a bit of sandwich.

“You aren’t forgettable.”

You skeptically glared over at him.

“Any who. How was your gig at the student union?”

“No one appreciated the irony of Pink Floyd.”

“And?”

“Everyone loves Doctor Disco!” He flourished then played air guitar.

You burst out laughing. With a quick roll of your eyes, you shook your head.

“You’re such a nerd.”

“I invented the concept!”

“Probably true!” You let yourself think of his time on Earth. Who knew what funk he has spread? You weren’t going to delve into it much more.

Yet.

One day, when you felt brave enough.

“I have to go to London for a while in two weeks. Just maintenance of the Black Archives…I need to streamline some stuff for making it easier for my next few regenerations. And update some things about a plan for proxy since another organization is down to a woman named Gwen and her husband and she’s thinking of retiring the entire engagement. Her…leader hasn’t returned to the planet in ages. I doubt he ever will. This planet has caused him too much pain. Which, ironic, since his ancestors came from here. Talk about mother wounds! Just upload all the databases for UNIT to deal with.”

“Inviting me?” You clarified.

“Yeah…I think it’ll take a week. Especially with the layers of bureaucracy that is in place these days.” He looked over, his hair caught in the wind. “Could you spare a week? No TARDIS, no time travel. Just hop to, hop out, the slow way around.”

You licked your top row of teeth and scraped it back into place.

“Sure?”

“Perfect. I’ll have them ready a room, a better room for us.”

“One with a window?”

“If they do have those.”

You nodded.

“It’s a date!”

“Fantastic.” He smiled but seemed to flash in his eyes some hidden response from just the one word…

You chewed your shared sandwich and sipped your can of Coke Zero. The weather was getting warmer and the sun was actually shining in one of those perfect, photo-ready days.

“The vitamin D feels good, doesn’t it?” You turned your head to face the sun. The heat felt too good on your skin. You let a little moan slip through your lips.

“Perhaps. I might need a sun crème soon.” He replied.

You snorted. He was bone pale, but you didn’t know how alien skin worked yet.

“Yeah, you are pretty pale.”

Your alarm went off and you had to go.

Final good-byes said and you stalked off.

You had to plan out your little London escape. If it was hard work for him, you wanted to kill time in comfort. Do some sightseeing. Nothing major. London had tons of viral cafés and pop-ups.

The time flew by…

And suddenly you were off and away in another fancy armored Range Rover with armed escorts.

He did do you a bit of justice and got you a room with a view. Just not a particularly stunning one…

He went off, rather rapidly if you did say so yourself, because something needed him to submit his DNA and he couldn’t have any radiant interference. Petronella needed to be with him to get her DNA analyzed or something. You were not going to try to comprehend.

Fine by you, you’d nose around. There were so many floor and he gave you some sort of weird blank paper he said would get you through anything you needed.

“It’s psychic paper!” He said, smile up to his ears.

“Looks like a piece of printer paper shoved into an old wallet to me.” You replied as you regarded the object.

Fine by you, you stuffed it in your jean’s pocket.

You found yourself on the first floor, and saw a door open. There was a sign posted on an easel. ‘Companions and Surviving Family Support Group’, it proclaimed.

You put two and two together. It was probably in reference to the man doing who-knows-what.

You weren’t a companion per say. The Doctor assured you as much.

Did you invade? Did you go look at your future? Or a potential future? It mentioned family members…

Your curiosity got the best of you. Like that damn cat!

You walked in, it was set up like a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. Coffee, sweet treats, chairs all in a circle.

There were already a crowd of people.

And your entrance wasn’t exactly planned.

You slid onto the chair that was closest to the door. An east exit if this was too much.

“Oh! A new face!” A woman with a lot of life etched into her face with a kind smile and a mop of white-shock hair, her lips as red as blood.

“Does, is…am I late?” Was the best you could choke out. You could feel your eyes start to bulge. You swallowed hard. All eyes were on you. You didn’t like it. You preferred anonymity.

The mistake was already clear in your mind.

“No, dove. Right on time! We’re still waiting on Ian! I’m Jo!” She scooted her chair closer to you.

You thrust your tongue out and bit it’s side.

“I’m (y/n).”

A short woman with a leather jacket and all the authoritarian air of something that placed your hairs on the back of your neck at attention glared at you and Jo. “Why don’t we save it all for introductions…”

You got up and grabbed a bottle of water and sat back down.

An ancient man wandered in and sat down.

“Oh! Ian, love! We got a new straggler!” Jo said to him and gave him a hug that seemed too strong for her aged body.

The bossy girl cleared her throat. “Now we can start.”

You hated her already. She clearly ran this group with an iron fist.

There was Jo, Ian, the bitch’s name was Yaz, Martha, a woman who called herself Ace, a married couple named Nyssa and Tegan, a grandmother and grandson duo named Graham and Ryan, a Mel, and some young man named Luke…

Quite a big group.

It came down to you, you introduced yourself. And were supposed to give some brief synopsis of your relationship with the Doctor.

You stared off into space.

“Yeah, he’s here…doing something. I don’t know. I’m his…girlfriend. He’s also a professor at my university.” You stared at your left palm and gauged the reaction. “Nothing major. I’ve got his promise that he’s not going to get me in the way of death.” You finished with a shrug. “He introduced me to his…ex recently. Some milf named Missy. Have you lot met her?”

Yaz’s eyes could have make entrails out of you…

“What? Did I not brush my teeth correctly?” You pointed that faux-question towards her.

“She told me she didn’t do relationships.” She spoke in a tiny voice eventually.

“Well, maybe I’m special.” You shot Yaz a shit-eating grin masked as an innocent smile.

“Oh! I heard the Master went female!” Jo broke up your brewing tiff. “He was such a softie towards me! I enjoyed our little battles.”

You laughed and covered up your palm.

The conversations went on. Mainly centered around Missy now. Apparently she was the prime minister and tortured Martha and her family. Also, body-snatched Nyssa’s father. And became a cat. She’d certainly done her fair share of damage. No wonder she was chained up in a basement in Bristol of all places.

That explained her feline nature.

“Which Doctor are you with?”

“I don’t know. Tall? Thin? Scottish? Severe face? Plays guitar? Wild grey hair. Dark roots, too handsome…yeah.” You didn’t know how many or what the Doctor looked like previously.

“Oh. So the one before Yaz and Graham and me!” Ryan piped up. “She mentioned being a grey-haired Scot right before we met her.”

“Oh, so he got his wish of being a chick next.” You affirmed.

“Wonder what happened to you!” Yaz said, venom starting to leak into her voice.

“Nothing I need to know about, okay?” You pressured back. Two could play this game.

She clearly had sour grapes over you getting chosen and not her.

More conversations broke out, more story-swapping. You started to feel beyond way out just out of your depths. You had to keep your calm. Especially in front of your new foe. Any weakness and you were going to be either throwing down with her or she’d do something unspeakable.

She was apparently a police officer, after all!

“So you’ve never gone on an adventure? To space? Not even back in time? Or forward?” Ace spoke incredulously.

“No, I’m not going to put my life at risk. I made him promise to not. He’s retired. He just needs to help UNIT and rehabilitate Missy.”

“She doesn’t stay good!” Yaz spit out. She then told her tale of him and how the only way to break free from him, the Doctor had to hand Missy over to the Nazis.

“Not my problem.” You said, after finally scraping your jaw off the floor.

“And wow, what the fuck happened between now and when? Handing over someone to the literal Nazis?” You shot up an errant hand and glared. “And hanging around cops. No offense. It’s like historical Jesus versus American Jesus.” You made the decision to bite your middle finger nail in a covert attempt to flip her off.

“Maybe you had something to do with it.” She accused.

“Oh, yeah. Blame me.” You said.

Others attempted civility between the two of you.

Martha seemed between two minds here.

“Just remember how powerful your emotions are!” Ian called out. “Especially how deeply the Doctor evokes them in us!”

It dawned on you, and you decided to take the highest of roads. “Yeah, were dealing with some alien. Like…damn. We really are out here getting….cut up over an alien. He’s our weird alien. But yeah.” He was your alien. And you were going to defend your man, but you didn’t want Yaz and her feelings to make you any less powerful. “His body count has got to be in the millions.” You used the term in a way to dig in that the Doctor picked you for the mainstream meaning and not Yaz. But it worked for companions too!

“Who knows how many of us he’s taken a shine to!” Suddenly you felt yourself heart plummet. You knew you weren’t special as part of a group, but you decided to soothe yourself with your marked differences. No magical abduction story. Just a normal, morally-grey student and teacher relationship. Only it was your luck to end up with the most ran-through alien.

And, it did suit you. You too were ‘ran-through’.

You wished he was free and you could get some comfort here…

You felt yourself return to normal, and decided to pass the ultimate catch.

“Sorry for getting heated. The past month or so since he’s revealed his double life to me, has been…shattering. I’ve only recently discovered that he was…you know, not some man I hang out with. I only recently started calling him Doctor. Not Professor Smith.”

The though of him not taking anyone else as a lover after you did fill you with a sense of pride. Whatever impact you had, that was a mark in your favor. Loyal to you…even if you were dead or broken-up or whatever your fate was to mess around with anyone else.

A permanent (y/n)-shaped hole no one could even get close enough to fill.

When he was done with his task you’d have to slap him and then suck him off.

Martha finally put in her two cents.

“Just don’t get hurt. The last time he was in love when I was with him…so bad. The ending was enough to destroy me.”

“Thank you.”

The conversation went back to normal. You really enjoyed Jo’s stories. Apparently he was a white-haired debonair sort for her. You were curious to see what that had looked like. You doubted it could compare to your particular Doctor, but it was probably very close.

You found yourself laughing and getting along with most. Except for Yaz. You both kept finding yourselves shooting daggers at each other.

You tried to rise above it.

However. You were only human…

You heard a sharp rap at the door and turned at the noise.

It was your Doctor.

“Sorry. I was going to the toilets. Heard some nice familiar voices. Smelt the coffee! I love a cup of coffee after genetic sequencing…Hello!”

There were nary a word as he strode over and made a cup, dumping about a dozen sugar packets in.

“I’ll let you all talk amongst yourselves. Oh, and (y/n), I have tickets to walk through the Chelsea Physic Garden at three. Will you join me? And Martha, I am so deeply sorry for all I’ve done to you. It’s weighed on my conscience since I was a young man in a bow-tie. Truly. From the bottoms of both my hearts. And, oh, faces I don’t know yet, catch your laters.” He shot a quick peace sign.

He breezed out with the same ease that he came in with…

You flushed hard and felt yourself wanting to kick your legs hard. The smile that crept up around your face was probably very goofy. You felt suddenly very giddy and lovesick. And embarrassed.

You swore you heard Yaz mutter something about “Daddy issues”.

You wanted to snap and fight her on the floor.

Jo and Ace heckled. “Oh, he’s back to being a groovy gentleman.” Jo said. “I recognize that red jacket!”

After a while, everyone seemed to wrap it up.

You received quite a few warnings about how passionate a relationship with the Doctor is, and how it would eventually run it’s course.

You didn’t know whether to heed it, or believe him. You were airing on the side of him. After all, he could have popped down here in his TARDIS, but he was following your regulations down to the letter. Changed behaviors, and for whatever reason, when you were long gone, and he was a she, the Doctor didn’t take Yaz up on her romantic offerings.

You felt ashamed of your ‘I can fix him’/’I am the only exception’ mindset. You were a rebel to the idea of monogamy usually. You also didn’t believe in true love. Not after all that you’d seen at work and even experienced in your personal life. However, the beating of your heart and the ache in your soul and the throb of your cunt interfered…

You felt like you were his favorite.

Maybe you were.

You were delusional enough, you decided.

With final hugs and you swore you’d get down and learn more about your shared alien, you’d exited to go and text him that you were out front, smoking.

“You know, maybe you died from lung cancer.” Yaz materialized, carrying some stuff to her car. “Or emphysema.”

You blew out a puff in her general direction.

“I don’t need a lecture. He’s already on my ass enough to get me to quit.” You played back.

“So, lady Doctor. What does she look like?” You asked. Curious. You tried a friendly route. “Still Scottish?” The two incarnations of Time Lords you had met had been. It was an honest question. You even tried a cordial laugh.

“No, definitely not Scottish.”

You nodded.

“She’s blonde and has the most amazing eyes! I took her to get her ears pierced. She’s the most incredible and infuriating person I’ve ever met.”

“Apparently that’s par for the course.” You agreed.

She gave you some agreement.

“Does she still play guitar?” You offered an opportunity to bond, girl to girl. You may have hated her, but a cop on your side may come in handy. One day. And you both were tied to each other now.

So…you had to act your age or whatever.

She was a little younger than you. You could remember being her age. Empathy.

“No, she can’t even carry a tune. She sings all the time.”

You had to let a small snort escape.

“He can sing really well.” You cupped a palm to your mouth. “It’s a bit annoying at times, you know. He frequently does during his lectures.”

“So…that hadn’t changed.” You could see the gears in her brain turning.

“Wait, he’s your professor?” She exclaimed.

“Not currently.” You shrugged, as his text saying that he was coming down popped up, absolved of guilt.

“That’s so wrong!”

“Honey, the Doctor abducts barely legal girls with a degree of regularity. I think a tame affair with a student who started uni later than most is the best-case scenario. You included.” You flicked a bit of ash off your cigarettes end. “No offense.”

“Yeah…” You clearly won.

He swanned into the little front garden at the entrance of UNIT. He changed to a hoodie and simple black blazer and a relaxed pair of checked trousers.

It made your heart skip a beat.

“Hey. I was thinking Italian for dinner. Or Thai. In the fifty-second century there’s a great collision of their flight colonies.”

You smacked your teeth together and let out the final puff of smoke.

“You’re the Doctor before my Doctor.” Yaz gazed up, a look of pre-mourning in her eyes.

“As my wife, River, would say, ‘Spoilers, sweetie.’ It’s nice to meet you early. I’ll try to wipe you from my memory to make it easier for my future self.” He gave Yaz’s shoulder a squeeze.

“Yeah, good luck. See you soon?” You called out as you let yourself be swept off your feet by your particular Doctor.

“Sure?” You heard her say.

A few blocks later and going on the Underground, you pulled him close by the lapels. You gave him a firm kiss and slapped his ass. It was a ‘thank-you’ in a small, simple way. You’d never end up, all things go as planned, like any of those perfect victims. Who knew, maybe you’d dump him. It was all open-ended.

You had your entire life ahead of you. More or less.

For now, it was just you, the Doctor, and a walk in a garden with a fabulous dinner date.

“What was that for?” He looked at you quizzically.

“You’ll never know…” You grinned immensely and a little psychotically. You felt your nose crinkle a bit.

“Oh?” He replied back, skeptical in tone.

It was a start.

“Yeah…” You breathed, inhaling this moment. Inhaling the scent of him, you felt sane, safe, stable and most importantly- in love and loved back.

The train pulled up.

A perfect start to a perfect week.

He snaked out the psychic paper and tapped it like it was an oyster card. You entered the platform and smiled up at him...

Yeah, life was beyond awesome.

[finniestoncrane]

Hello Finnie! I was curious, How long have you been a fan of the riddler? What caused you to realize how much you like him as a character? I've been a big fan of him for about nine months now, ever since I first played arkham Asylum! Anyway, I hope you have a wonderful week! 💚

IT GETS YOU DOESN'T IT!? it gets you FAST lmao

my 2 year tumblr anniversary is in july this year, and that will mark 2 years of pining after that beautiful loser lol so i'm fresh to him like you are u-u 💚

SO i thought i hated batman for the longest time because my husband only showed me the nolan trilogy and that's just james bond with pointy ears, so i avoided it like the plague

then the batman came out, and i didn't see it in cinemas either, but my husband did. tiktok kept showing me all these edits of a round headed buffoon and i was like "OK GIRL" and my husband (knowing that i once had a mental breakdown and thought i could solve the zodiac killings) was like "i think you should see this"

head over heels. the theatrics? the drama? the obsession with batman and the dumb ass little riddles?

then i came back to tumblr after a veeeeeeery long break and in the riddler tags people kept talking about arkham riddler, and luckily my husband had played all the games and owned them so he helped me play the asylum and i was like GIDDY whenever eddie was mean to me

each riddler after that was bestowed upon me like a gift from my beloved friends, i think i went soft for gotham riddler first, then zero year(?) and then i just sort of found the others as i went along

i think i have ranked the boys before, but i will say arkham remains my favourite boy, specifically arkham knight. i love me a dishevelled man approaching his mid-50s with a receding hairline and the ability to be a psychosexual nightmare father figure to me lmao

i feel like i'm right in heacanonning him in his 50s, youngest late 40s for arkham knight, it just tracks. like he's had it rough but not that rough, it's natural aging for that range. and i like old men. that's a BIG thing for me >:3 he also has big strong forearms and a nice amount of body hair (he could stand to have more, but it's fine i can cope). i also like dumb nerds with round glasses. AND i love when someone's mean and grumpy. AND AND AND my dad is a terrible person, so my grandparents were my father figure, and my papa used to let me sit in his garage while he worked on making things, so there's a nice bit of nostalgia with arkham riddler, like i know he would smell like my childhood and my safe space (i'm warped but i have a therapist it's fine) 💚💚💚

who are your favourites?? who are all of you guys' favourite riddlers??

[hellowhisperingstars]

Chapter Nine: The Drop

Summary: A night at the bar doesn’t go how you and Eddie thought it would and it ends with you getting punished. Eddie lets you in on some of the darker moments of his past that no one really knows about. 

Pairing: Rockstar/Bar Owner!Eddie Munson x Baker!Reader 

Words: 9K

Warnings: 18+, dom/sub dynamic, smut, spanking, vibrators, fingering, safe word used, sub drop, alcohol, mentions of drugs, jealousy, an almost bar fight, angst, cussing, overuse of pet names, Y/N used, talks of past jail time, the word whore is used a lot, mentions of canon character death by suicide. Please let me know if I missed anything.

A/N: Hello! Gonna be honest this chapter was hard as hell to write. I had zero motivation and I ended up re-writing a part of it like three times. I'm sorry it's been so long since my last update but here is chapter nine! As always the girl in the gif does not represent what the reader looks like, I just needed the aesthetic of a pinky promise! Please tell me what you think! Also I've never experienced sub drop so I probably didn't portray it correctly please be nice about it!

Likes, comments, and reblogs are always greatly appreciated! <3

Please let me know if you would like to be added to the tag list! I will be double checking if you have your age in your bios! AGELESS OR BLANK BLOGS WILL NOT BE ADDED TO THE TAG LIST!

Previous - Masterlist - Forward

They say that time heals all wounds and you knew that was what you needed for your heart to get back into shape. After taking a few days to grieve you easied your way back into work, knowing Nana wouldn’t want you to dwell on her passing and soon you found yourself back in the swing of things. The kitchen was a place where you could let your stress melt away, letting you focus on the task at hand; currently that was a cupcake cake in the shape of a dinosaur. You went about adjusting the cupcakes into the perfect spots before you were confident enough to start frosting it. Outlining the dino with white buttercream you then moved onto filling it in with the light green and blue buttercream for its skin and spots. Cartoonish. Cute. The kid will love it. 

“Y/N,” Emma said as she poked her head back into the kitchen. “Mrs. Reynolds is here for that dinosaur cake.”

“Just finished!” You smiled as you picked it up and placed it in a box for your customer. “I’ll bring it right out!”

“I’ll let her know!” Emma smiled as she moved back into the front of the shop. You heard her quiet. “It’ll be out in just a minute.”

Slapping the sticker on top you picked it up and maneuvered your way out of the kitchen into the shop towards the empty register. “Mrs. Reynolds?”

“That would be me!” The red-haired soccer mom said as she stood up from your cafe table and bounced over to you. She seemed more excited about this cake then her kid probably was.

“Your order is ready!” You smiled as you placed it on the counter pushing it towards her. “I hope the birthday boy likes it!”

“I’m sure he will!” She smiled as she touched the top of the box. “Can I look?”

“Be my guest!” 

You watched as she lifted the lid and did an excited little dance. “Oh my it’s perfect! I knew you wouldn’t let me down!”

“I’m so happy you like it!” You laughed in glee holding your hands to your chest. This. This reaction is why you decided to open the bakery in the first place.

She smiled brightly at you as she closed the lid on the box and pulled it carefully into her arms, gave you a little wave, and headed towards the door with a little bounce in her step. 

Grinning, you headed back into the kitchen to finish a few more orders until you had to leave. Tonight you were going to the bar for the first time in a few weeks. You hadn’t been ready to face a lot of people since the funeral but Eddie had convinced you to come out cause the boys were playing again and getting the chance to get out and listen to your favorite band with a few drinks with friends is just what the doctor - or in this case the Dom - ordered. Plus the band would be leaving for New York soon to work on a deal and a new album with their record company and Eddie wanted to spend as much time with you as he could before he had to hop on that plane out of state for a few weeks. 

Looking at the clock you nodded to yourself and got to work on a new order. Just a few more hours and you can see your boy.

The bar was busy tonight as you pulled into an open space in the parking lot. Grabbing your purse you pull it over your shoulder and exit your car, bumping your hip against the door to close it after you locked it. It was nice out, the heat of the day had diminished enough that your sundress could be paired with a light jacket and you were comfortable. Walking up the steps to the patio you smiled as the sound of the bass rattled your bones before you even opened the door, pulling it open as you stepped inside. By the looks of it you were late to the party, Eddie was already on stage, singing his heart out into the mic with his guitar in his hands but once he saw you his face lit up like the fourth of July. Mid song he gestured for you to come over to the stage. He wanted his hello kiss. Didn’t matter to him that he was in the middle of a performance or that you haven't even sat your purse down yet. He tossed his guitar over his shoulder so it hung against his back before he pulled the mic from the stand and knelt down, holding his hand out to you which you gave as he sang. You laugh a little at the attention he was giving you and for a moment it's like he's singing just for you, completely forgetting the crowded bar behind you. 

Once the lyrics had momentarily stopped to allow for a good second guitar solo from Jeff, Eddie moved the mic away to pull you closer with your hand, placing a kiss on your lips before he pulled back his voice starting to get raspy from singing. “Hi baby.” 

“Hi.” You smile up at him, your sweaty rocker. “You look sexy up there.” 

“Yeah?” He asks, his eyebrows disappearing under his bangs as he fakes shock before a smirk graces his plush lips.

“Yeah.” You nod before tapping his hand holding the mic with a little smirk of your own. “You have a song to finish. I'll be at the bar.” 

He nodded with a chuckle pulling you back in for one more kiss before he let you go with a wink and let out an over exaggerated groan as he stood up just to make you laugh. Puting the mic back on the stand he pulled his guitar back into place as he started to sing again.  

You mouthed the words along with him as you walked to the bar, knowing the song by heart since college, and a smile flashed on your face as you noticed Lizzy sitting with her back to you. Slowly you crept up behind her and placed your hands over her eyes laughing as she jumped in surprise. “Guess who?!”

Lizzy’s hands came up quickly to grab yours, her fingers feeling around for anything that would give away who it was. “Well the band’s still playing and these hands are way too soft to be Jeff’s. I was just talking to Robin so… it has to be… Y/N!”

You laughed as she pulled your hands away so she could turn on the stool to face you as you perched yourself on the stool next to her. “Hey!” 

“Hey! How have you been? Are you doing okay?” She asked with a low concerned voice, her hand rubbing up and down your arm. 

“I've been alright,” You smiled tilting your head a little with a small shrug. “Finally getting back to normal.”

“That's good. If you ever need to talk you know Robs and I are here for you.” Lizzy said as Robin slid you your usual drink order.

“Thank you.” You said for both the drink and her offer. It was nice to have friends like the ones you made here at the bar, you’ve missed them. “Where’s Steve? I thought he was working tonight.”

“Over there.” Robin said pointing behind you. 

Steve seemed almost back to his old self. He was always able to move on with things faster than you ever could, but Nana's passing took a toll on him, you could see it. His smile wasn’t as wide as it normally would have been but by the look of it he wasn’t doing too bad of a job flirting with a girl at a table by the stage. 

You smiled at your cousin when he looked up at you with his own little grin. Yeah. You guys would be okay. Moving your gaze back to the stage you watched as the band finished their last song on a strong note, Eddie always loved a big finish when it came to his performances on stage. He was sweaty and winded but smiling at the ceiling lights as the last note was played, he really loved what he did. Turning to Robin you ordered Eddie a water knowing that his throat would need it after all that singing.

The crowd went wild as the band moved off the stage to take a break and mingle with the patrons of the bar. Eddie stopped at a few tables on his way to the counter, to you, he was checking in on the crowd seeing if they were having a good time or needed anything else. A few people slapped him on the back making him laugh with a well placed joke or comment. Soon he was behind you, his arms going around your waist so his chin could lean on your shoulder. “There’s my beautiful girl.”

“Well hello handsome.” You smiled as you looked at him the best you could from the awkward angle he was forcing. “You sounded great tonight. Sorry I missed most of it.”

“It’s okay. We’re playing again another day.” Smiling he kissed the side of your neck before he pulled back with a fake little pout. “And are you saying I don’t sound great every other night?”

“Yeah…” You smirked, it was time to mess with him. “You were a little pitchy last time.”

“Pitchy?!” He gasped as he leaned back to look you in the eye, his eyes narrowed when he saw that little gleam of mischief in them. Tickling your side he pushed his nose into your hair so he could whisper in your ear. “Oh you are such a brat.”

Your laugh was interrupted as the small redhead from open mic night walked up to Eddie. She was back in her tight corset and short skirt.“You were great tonight Eddie!”

“Huh?” He asked as he pulled back a little to look at her. Misty. She was a nice girl but extremely pushy. There was no telling how many times he had turned her down. “Oh, thanks Misty.”

“Can I buy you a drink?” She asked, lifting her hand towards the bar, cocking her head to the side in a flirtatious manner.

“No thanks, Misty. I’m good.” Eddie said as you passed him the water that you had asked Robin for. “My girls got that taken care of. Thanks baby."

“You’re welcome.” You smiled as you looked over at her before you turned around to take a sip of your own drink. 

“Then maybe I can buy you dinner sometime?” She batted her eyelashes at him this time. She was laying it on thick, trying to get Eddie to fall for her in some way shape or form. 

This whole conversation was awkward to be in the middle of and you looked over at Lizzy and Robin with a wide eyed glance. Was this girl really trying to pick up your boyfriend right in front of you? Lizzy gave you a knowing look back while Robin just shrugged and went about making a new drink for another customer. She had seen this time and time before, she knew Eddie wouldn’t go for it.

Eddie sighed, leaning his head against the back of yours as he rolled his eyes and whispered into your hair so quietly that you barely heard him, “She doesn’t give up…” Before he lifted his head and looked over at her. “No, thank you. I’m not into cheating. The only girl I’m going out to dinner with is this pretty girl right here.”  

“So… You're dating someone?” She asked in shock as she looked you over behind your back. Her tone made you look over your shoulder at her. “You told me you weren't interested in dating anyone right now.” 

“And I wasn't. Then I met her and I changed my mind. As a fully functioning adult and human with free will I'm allowed to do that.” Eddie said as he set the cup down on the counter next to your drink after he took a gulp of it, one of his hands caressed the small of your back while his other one sat on his hip.

Misty's lips puckered like she just sucked on a lemon and her eyes narrowed. “I've been trying to get your attention for months and this chick walks in one night and you fall all over her?!”

“Look Misty,” Eddie sighed as he dropped his hand from his hip to your thigh rubbing it up and down. “I don’t have to explain myself to you. If you don’t like the fact that I’m dating someone you don’t have to come back.”

“But that’s not fair!” She snapped looking at you again with a glare. You didn’t look like the type of girl Eddie would go for. What could he see in you? “She’s not even your type!”

Eddie blinked at her before he turned to look over at you, he took in your hair, your eyes, the little smile you always gave him when you looked at him. “Nah, she’s definitely my type.”

All of Misty’s questions and arguments were starting to get to you. So what if you didn’t dress like her? Sure you didn't dress the way people thought Eddie would like, you weren’t a metalhead or even a punk but Eddie was your boyfriend, your dom. He likes you for you. Rolling your eyes a little you look back at your drink trying to ignore Misty the best you could. 

Taking a deep breath Misty straightened her shoulders and stomped away back to her spot at the other end of the bar. 

“Well she's pissed.” You mutter at Eddie as he invades your space again. “Does she bother you a lot?”

“Yeah. She started coming around for a few months before you did and I made the mistake of sleeping with her. She has not left me alone since.” He shrugged as he laid his chin back on your shoulder. “She'll find someone else to cling on to, that's kinda what she does. I feel bad for hurting her feelings but she won't take no for an answer.”

“My offer to fight her still stands, Eddie Bear.” Lizzy said as she took a drink looking a little too eager to fight the redhead.

“And while I appreciate it, I think Jeff would kill me if I let that pretty face get hurt.” Eddie said as he poked her nose before he leaned over giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you for the offer though.” 

You and Eddie laughed as Lizzy put her fists up punching the air in front of her slightly. “Just say the word.” 

“Hey Eddie!” Someone shouted over the music getting his attention. The older man waved in a come here motion. 

“Be right back babe. Behave. Both of you.” He said kissing the side of your head and ruffling Lizzy's hair, cause he knows she hates it, as he went by to see what was up.

“One day that boy is going to learn the hard way about messing with a black woman's hair…” Lizzy snarked as she fixed her ponytail. 

“I would pay to see that!” You said raising your drink in her direction. 

Lizzy lifted her own drink and tapped your glass with hers. “And I will take your money!”

After a while Gareth had taken up residence on the stool next to you, leaning over the bar to grab a lime slice to go with his tequila shot. “I have been looking forward to this shot all night!”

“Only one shot?” You asked as you watched him down it before he bit into the citrus in his hand.

“I promised my wife I wouldn’t drink a lot tonight.” He muttered around the slice. “She wants to have a serious conversation and being hung over is not an option.”

“Ooooh…” Lizzy smirked as Jeff wrapped his arms around her. “Trouble in paradise?”

“Maybe she’s pregnant…” You offered as you gave him a playful wide eyed look that made him nervous.

“Stop it.” Gareth quipped as he threw the rind at you. “I’m not ready to be a dad yet!”

You and Lizzy laughed at him as you took the last sip of your drink. Putting the empty glass on the counter you smiled as Robin and Steve joined you both behind the counter passing out drinks and taking payments. Eddie flitted about the bar going in between loving on you, taking smoke breaks, and talking to the people who had come out to see them play. It was just like old times and exactly what you needed, well except for the glares of a certain redhead being thrown your way from across the bar, you could have done without that, but you just ignored her. She wasn’t your problem.  

One of the times that Eddie had found himself behind the bar you hopped off the stool you were perched on and went around the counter. Since you were the boss's girlfriend you were more than welcome behind the bar but you mainly stayed on your stool more than content to watch them mix and serve drinks, you didn’t like feeling like you were in the way. Tonight though you had a plan to mess with Eddie. You needed to make a little bit of trouble to get back into the swing of things so to speak in your dynamic with him. He’s been treating you like spun glass since Nana passed and while you were grateful you were ready to go back to your regularly scheduled program. 

Coming up behind Eddie you wrapped your arms around his waist as he leaned on the counter talking to an older gentleman you haven't met before. His hand dropped down to hold yours as he looked over his shoulder at you, “Hey sweetheart. Come here I wanna introduce you to someone.”

You let him pull you around so you were standing between him and the bar so you could see the older man. “Hi.”

“Hey kiddo,” He said in his gruff voice. He was balding and the little hair he did have was gray and white, scruff covered the lower half of his face. He had the same kind look in his eyes that Eddie did. 

“Y/N, this is my Uncle Wayne.” Eddie introduced as he smiled down at you. “Wayne, this is my girlfriend Y/N.”

“Nice to finally meet the girl that Ed doesn’t shut up about.” Wayne smiled as he held his hand out for you to shake.

You laughed as you shook his hand. “He’s told me so much about you too! Please tell me you have embarrassing stories?!”

Wayne laughed as he took a sip of his beer. “Oh you bet I do. That boy’s been an adventure since the moment he stepped foot in my house!”

“Fuck...” Eddie sighed leaning his head back towards the ceiling. “This was a terrible idea.” 

The three of you chatted for a while laughing as Wayne told you of the time a young Eddie tried and almost succeeded in befriending the raccoon that dug through their trash at night. “That animal bit his arms up real good. He’s lucky there was little to no scarring. We spent almost a full night at the ER making sure that boy didn't get rabies!”

Snorting into your water you looked up at Eddie as he rolled his eyes. “A raccoon really?”

“What?! They’re wearing masks! They look like cute little bandits! I thought I could teach him to help me steal snacks!” He laughed. “I went for an easier pet next time.”

“A possum.” Wayne laughed into his glass as he finished the last mouthful. “He kept a possum in his room for three days until I found it. Little bastard started hissing at me from under the bed.”

“I would have gotten away with it too if you didn’t go searching for cigarettes.” Eddie mumbled into his own beer.

You shook your head as you laughed. 

“Laugh it up babe,” Eddie smirked as he leaned down to whisper in your ear, making you bite your lip to hold back your smile. “We’ll see who gets the last laugh later.”

Wayne smiled at the two of you as he pushed his empty glass away and stood up from his stool. “Time for this old man to head home. This is enough excitement for me for one night. Moving from the night shift to the day shift has me all tired.”

“You know you can always retire.” Eddie said as he watched his father figure stretch his tired muscles. “I can pay your bills as you do whatever you want. Shit you could go fishing everyday for all I care.”

“Maybe next year. But you ain’t payin’ for shit, I got my money handled just fine.” Wayne said with a look at Eddie before he turned to you. “It was nice meeting you sweetheart. You and Ed should come by for dinner soon.”

“I would love that!” You smiled.

“You two have a goodnight. I’ll talk to you later, son.” He said, leaning over the counter to pat  Eddie on his shoulder. Taking his wallet from his back pocket he dropped a couple bucks on the counter for his beer and gave you both a little wave before he moved through the crowded bar towards the door.

“I like him.” You smile as you look up at Eddie as he grabs the money off the counter and puts it into the tip jar. He would never tell his uncle that his money was no good here. So no matter the amount Wayne left on the counter it went straight into the tip jar for Robin and Steve to divide up later.

“He likes you too.” He smiled as he wrapped his arms around your shoulders. 

“You think so?”

“I know so.” Eddie nodded as he looked down at you. “He wouldn't have invited you to dinner if he didn’t.” 

The thought made you smile, you had somehow won over his uncle, that was a big step. But you had no time to sit in that moment because now it was time to put your plan into action. Slowly you slipped your hand into the pocket of your sundress and produced a shitty pair of plastic handcuffs. It was the type you would get in a childs police officer costume. A kid at the bakery insisted on trading them for a cookie, a free cookie, but hey a trade was a trade. They were easy to break and wouldn’t hurt Eddie but it would get the point across and that’s what mattered. Quickly you slapped the cheap cuff onto his wrist and the otherside onto the handle of one of the fridges that sat under the counter. 

Eddie raised his brows at you as you ducked away from him when he went to grab you, a little smirk on his lips. He jostled his wrist that the plastic was holding him hostage. “Really?”

Jeff and the other boys leaned on the counter to get a better look and laughed at Eddie's plight. Biting his lip Jeff chuckled at him. “Gonna be the sub tonight Ed?”

“Shut up.” He muttered as he pulled a little on the cuff before looking over at you. “You wanna play this game?”

“Maybe,” You shrugged, sticking your tongue out at him. You winked as you took a step back out of his reach when he lunged for you, the tiny fridge door opening as he moved. “Careful baby. Don’t want to hurt your wrist.”

“The only thing that’s going to hurt tonight is that cute little ass of yours.” He smiled as he took a step back to close the door and fiddle with the cuff until it fell off his wrist. Standing up straight he pointed to the ground in front of him. “Get over here.”

“Hmmm,” You hummed as you rocked back and forth in your converse. “No.”

“Child.” A scoff sounded from behind you. 

Turning you looked at Misty as she rolled her eyes at you. “Excuse me?”

“I said you’re a child.” She sneered as she propped her head on her palm. “Why would you embarrass him like that? In his own bar? In front of his band?”

“I wasn’t…” You shook your head. You were just playing. Your brows scrunched together as you stared at her, your hands balling into fists at your sides. It was just a prank.

“Misty.” Eddie said in warning as he came up behind you. “Don’t listen to her baby, you're fine. You didn’t embarrass me.”

“I don't know what he sees in you…” She said ignoring Eddie. “You’re nothing special.”

Your eyes narrowed slightly as you stared at her. 

“And you think you are?” Lizzy asked as she leaned on the counter to get a look at her from where she sat not too far away. Jeff put his hand on her shoulder in warning.

“I would be better for him than you will ever be.” Misty said as she leaned in towards you. “I wouldn’t embarrass him or act like a child. I would be the perfect submissive.”

“Enough.” Eddie warned as he put his hand on your shoulder. “Don't listen to her Y/N… Hey. Look at me.”

You turned and looked at him, he didn’t seem bothered by your prank, so instead of dwelling you took a deep breath and rolled your eyes at Eddie to show your frustrations and shook your head turning back to look at Misty. “I’m not having this conversation. I’m sorry you feel slighted but that’s not my fault. Have a goodnight.”

“Scared I’m right?” She called as you started to walk away.

“No,” You shook your head again at her. “I just think this conversation is stupid. You’re just mad that Eddie made a choice and it wasn’t you. Simple as that.”

“Come on baby.” Eddie said, pulling you away from Misty. He wanted to get you as far away from the bitter woman as quickly as possible.

“I bet he’s only putting up with you cause you put out like a cheap whore.” Misty snapped, throwing one more jab at you as you turned to walk away. 

Your steps faltered as you snapped your head around to face Misty. You were getting really tired of people who don’t know or care about you calling you a whore. “Wanna say that again?”

“I said. You’re. A. Cheap. Whore.” 

Eddie could see you were about to fly over the counter at her so he grabbed you around the waist pulling you back to him. Your back slamming against his chest. “Okay, calm down, feisty pants.” 

Looking at Misty he glared at her for a moment before he was distracted by you. You were fighting Eddie's hold on you not caring that your nails were digging into his arm as you tried to get at her but he wasn't having it. Leaning down so only you could hear he muttered in your ear. “Take it easy, she's not worth it.” 

“Eddie. Let me go!” You said as you tried to lunge for her, making her take a step back in shock she hadn't expected that. She had expected you to sulk like a child not try to fight her. The other patrons of the busy bar turned to see what the commotion was about. “I'm not going to hurt her, I'm just going to rip her hair out!” 

“No you won’t.” Eddie said sternly as you struggled in his arms.

“I’ll do it…” Lizzy said moving to get off the stool but Jeff pulled her back with a hand on the back of her neck. That shut her up quickly but she was still seething.

“Let me go Eddie!” 

“Nope.” Eddie announced and lifted you off the ground easily, carrying you out from behind the bar and over to the stairs. As he placed you back down on your feet he blocked you from getting back down the steps. His dom voice in full effect as he pointed at the ground “Stay here.” 

You tried to push past him but he wasn’t going to budge. Sometimes you forget how stupid strong your boyfriend is. You wouldn’t know it by looking at him but he wasn’t a pushover. With both hands on the railings as he took a step up so he could now tower over you. “Enough Y/N. Get upstairs. Now.”

Glaring at him you stomped your foot like the child Misty said you were. You hissed out his name before he gave you a stern look making you huff in anger before stomping up the stairs muttering the entire time.

He watched you go before turning around to look at Misty. The anger he felt in his chest for her was overpowering. He had never regretted sleeping with someone more than in this moment. She had put some weird claim on him and that was ending right now. He was never comfortable with the attention that Misty had lavished him with but he dealt with the photos and her slipping him her number, not wanting to look like some asshole rockstar but tonight he wasn’t having it. Enough was enough. You had finally felt okay enough to come back out and she had to open her big mouth. Dom voice still out to play he moved back to the counter glaring at her. “You need to leave.”

“She tried to attack me!”

“You provoked her.” Eddie said, trying to stay calm. “Everyone saw it.”

“But Eddie..” She muttered as she looked around. 

“No.” He said with a shake of his head. “I’m not interested in your excuses, Misty. Whether you like it or not, I have a girlfriend. So I won’t be having dinner or drinks with you tonight or ever. It’s time to let that idea go. You’re no longer welcomed here. Get out."

“You made a mistake picking her. You'll see.” Misty seethed for a moment before she flipped her hair over her shoulder and grabbed her purse muttering about not wanting to be in this shit bar anyway under her breath.

“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.” Eddie yelled back at her. Watching her leave he sighed as he looked at his friends. “Make sure she doesn’t come back, yeah? I need to check on Y/N.”

“No problem..” Robin said with a nod. She was happy to see her go but watching that scene had ramped up her anxiety a little. She would not have pegged you for the fighting type.

“I'll make sure of it,” Steve said with a nod and a serious look on his face. It had been a long time since he's seen you like that and he hated every single second of it. Moving around the counter he followed Misty’s path and stood at the door watching as she got in her car and drove away. 

Nodding his thanks, Eddie walked through the crowd and up the steps to the top landing, moving around the walkway until he was at his door. He took a moment to calm himself a bit more before he opened the door. He needed to go in with a level head. Twisting the knob he pushed the door open slowly, he could hear you muttering to yourself and he had to duck the moment he walked through the door as a pillow sailed through the air towards his head hitting the wall next to him. Closing the door behind him, he grabbed it from the floor and tossed it back on the couch. “Easy babe."

“I'm… ugh!” You cried as you paced around the living room. “You should have let me hit her!”

“That wouldn’t have made the situation better.”

“It would have made me feel better!”

“Calm down sweetheart.” Eddie said, holding his hands up. “She’s gone anyway.”

“Tell me to calm down one more time.” You threaten glaring at him as he walks farther into the room. Huffing you watched him cross his arms again, his eyebrows disappearing under his bangs. 

“If you don't lose the tone I’m going to beat it out of you. Take a breath.” Stepping into your path he grabbed your shoulders rubbing his thumbs over your spaghetti strap covered shoulders. “Don't let her get to you like this. She’s not worth any of this.” 

“Did you hear what she said? She called me a whore. I'm so sick of being called a whore for no reason. First my dad and then that bitch! She was acting like we didn’t belong together. Just cause I don’t dress or act like her… like she’s so fucking special.” If the situation wasn’t so hostile Eddie would have said that angry look on your face was hot. But now was not the time and you were still ranting. Once you got started it was hard to stop. “You make me happy… and I make you happy right? So she has no place to talk about our relationship…”

“Yes baby you make me very happy and you're right she doesn't. But right now I'm very disappointed in how you handled that situation.” He said as he cupped your jaw in his big palms.

“What? Why?” You asked, your eyes wide with shock. It's not like you actually hit her. 

“Let's count. You handcuffed me to a fridge, almost started a fight in my bar, was a complete brat on the stairs, and then you threw something at me. If we count all those offenses up you owe me… five per offense… so twenty hits.” 

You whined at him with a pout wanting to protest. It wasn't your fault! “She started it, that's not fair Eddie!”

“Nope, nuh uh, not getting out of this. I understand you didn’t start it and that you were upset but you almost jumped someone. I've never seen you act like that, and as incredibly hot as that was, that’s not how good girls act is it? So..” He kissed your forehead before he grabbed your hand and pulled you to the couch making you face away from him. “Get undressed.”

“But Ed-Sir I-”

“No more buts. Strip and wait for me.” He said as he gave your ass a slap. “That doesn’t count as one.”

“Yes, Sir.” You mumbled as you started to pull your dress off your form. You listened as he moved around the room, the sound of a drawer opening caught your attention as you tossed your dress on the usual spot, the one chair he had in his living room, your panties soon joining it after you toed off your shoes and socks. You heard him walk back towards you, felt the heat of him against your back but he never touched you, not yet. You wanted so badly to look over your shoulder at him but you also wanted to hear him call you a good girl again so you had to listen. 

Eddie moved around you, setting down the items he had in his hand before he took a seat on the center cushion of the couch holding his hand out to you. “Come on baby. No more waiting.”

Sighing, you took his hand and let him pull you over his lap adjusting you to his preference, your ass on his lap and your chest on the cushion next to him. Then he started your punishment, by kneading the fat of your ass. You gasped and wiggled when he gave a couple of quick slaps to your sit spots. 

“Sit still.” He commanded as he continued his slaps breaking them up with more kneading. 

“Sorry Sir.” You whispered as you counted the slaps in your head when he went past twenty you glanced back at him. 

“This is just a warm up baby.” He said giving you one more powerful smack before kneading the spot. Once he was sure you were ready, the blood flowing to your bottom heating your skin, he grabbed the wooden paddle and showed it to you. “Twenty hits. Count them out for me, you can cry if you gotta. What’s your safeword?”

“Red, Sir.”

“Good. Deep breath.” He waited until you took your breath before he started, the sound of the paddle making a loud crack against your skin had you gasping and your eyes closed at the pain. He was starting out easy.

“One.”

Smack.

“Two.”

Smack.

“Three.” You clenched your fists on the cushion. The hits were getting steadily harder as he hit you in quick succession. “Four, five, six.”

“Why are you being punished, baby?” He asked as he smacked you again.

“S-seven. I almost started a fight..” You muttered your eyes starting to tear up. This hurt so damn bad. “A-and I was a brat and threw a pillow at you.”

“And?” Another two smacks on your sit stops. 

“Eight! Nine! I handcuffed you to the fridge!” You cried as you tried to not focus on the pain when he smacked you again. Shame welled up in your chest making you feel terrible. “Ten!”

He took a break then, rubbing the small of your back as you tried to control your breathing tears falling down your cheeks. “Doing so good, baby. Ten more. You can do it.”

The last ten hurt so badly that you shoved your face in the cushion to hide your sobs as he hit harder and harder and you counted higher and higher. At one point you swung your arm back to try and stop him but he just grabbed your wrist and held it tightly at the small of your back. “Don’t do that. I could hurt you. A bruised ass is nothing compared to broken fingers.”

“I’m sorry, Sir!” 

The very last one was the worst, making you cry out into the room. “Twenty!”

“That’s it. All done. You did so good sweetheart. So good for me aren’t you, baby?” He said as he dropped the paddle on the cushion next to him out of your line of sight and pulled you up carefully to sit in his lap. Your flaming cheeks hitting his jeans made you hiss out in discomfort as he cuddled you. “Deep breaths. Good girl. My sweet girl.”

“I’m sorry,” You mumbled into his shoulder as you leaned into him. “I’m sorry, Sir.” 

“It’s okay baby. Water under the bridge right?”

“Y-yes Sir,” You nodded sniffling. That feeling of shame was still sitting heavy in your chest, this punishment didn’t make you feel better at all. How could you have been so thoughtless? Trying to fight that girl, you were just as ugly as she was. Nana would be disappointed in you. She taught you better than this. Whore.

He leaned back on the couch letting you get comfortable on his lap as he ran his hand up and down your arm, whispering sweet things to you as you settled down. “You okay? What's your color?”

You didn’t feel okay but you nodded anyway. Placing a kiss on the side of his neck you looked up at him as he maneuvered you to straddle his thighs with his hands on your hips. Sniffing you wiped under your eyes. “Green, Sir.”

“You sure?” He asked as he watched you. He searched your eyes trying to see if he needed to call it.

“I'm okay," You nodded. You felt heavy in a bad way but you continued to nod anyway. “I'm okay.”

“If you're sure, beautiful.” He mumbled as he looked into your red and mascara smudged eyes. “You gonna continue to be a good girl for me?”

“Yes, Sir.” You nodded.

“Took your punishment so well. I think you deserve a reward.” A mischievous little grin grew on his face as he manhandled you so you were standing between his legs with your back to him as he brought your hands behind you and placed a pair of leather cuffs around your wrists. 

Usually this would have done something for you. Excitement would have burst through your veins but all you felt was a tightening on your chest and a sick feeling in your gut. You didn't want to do this. Your safeword was at the tip of your tongue but when he turned you around the smile he gave you made you swallow it. He looked so proud of you and happy to be doing something you usually both found fun and you had caused him so much trouble tonight. Could you really ruin his night even more? Giving him the best smile you could muster, you let him move you around so you were back on the couch, the fabric rubbing against your abused bottom as you laid down. You moved around until you found a comfortable position for your hands and watched down your body as Eddie picked up the vibrator from the same cushion the paddle sat on. 

You heard it before you felt it and jumped a little as the head of the vibrator hit your clit. Closing your eyes you tried to focus on that, just focus on how the vibrator made you feel. It felt good but you still couldn't get into the right headspace. You were thinking too much. Whore. Shame still bubbling inside you. He said you didn't but you couldn't stop thinking about how you had embarrassed Eddie in his own home, in front of his friends and patrons and fans. Tears bit at your eyes making them sting. Whore. You felt his fingers start to prod at your entrance but you weren't wet enough. This wasn't what you wanted. The tears you were holding back finally pushed through and you were sinking into the shame that was drowning you as you gasped out your safeword. “Red... Eddie red. Red.”

His eyes snapped up to you as he stopped immediately, you felt him move his hand away from you and heard as he tossed the vibe on the table. His hands came back towards you grabbing your shoulders gently and pulled you to him to lean on his chest as he reached around you to get the cuffs off. Tossing them to the side he pulled you into his lap again his arms holding you tight as if he could hold you together while you cried into his shoulder. “Shhh it's okay baby. You're okay.” 

“I'm sorry,” You repeated as you sobbed. “I'm sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm sorry I didn't notice you weren't in the right headspace. I'm proud of you for using your safeword. Such a good girl.” He whispered into your hair as he rocked you, shushing you the whole time.

“I have to go. I need to leave.” You muttered as you tried to pull away, shaking your head. You needed to stop being a burden and hide away with your shame. You embarrassed him. You weren’t any better then Misty, and you brought shame to yourself and the memory of your grandmother. Was she watching you right now? Was her spirit mad at you for being so weak and letting Eddie do this to you? Did she think you were a whore too? Everyone else seemed to think you were. 

“No baby, no.” Eddie said, shaking his head. Leaning back so he could get a good look at your face he cupped your jaw gently, his big brown eyes searching yours as you cried. It was finally happening. You were dropping. “No sweetheart, you're not going anywhere. I got you. I'm right here. I’ll take care of you.” 

You shook your head but continued to let him hold you as he grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch. Pulling it over you to warm you, tucking it around your body, careful of your stinging ass. He simply held you for a long time. Knowing that after a scene you needed that closeness as he brought you back down but today the quiet did nothing to settle your racing thoughts but having him just holding you helped a little. You started to calm down and your tears were finally drying up. He moved, bundling you up more and laying you gently on the couch before he got up and went into the bathroom to get some lotion for your butt. You watched as he moved into the kitchen to get your aftercare snacks. He managed to juggle all the things in his hands as he came back over setting them down on the table. 

Handing you your water bottle he stroked your head calmly as he watched you take small sips before you handed it back and he gave you some fruit snacks. Placing your bottle on the floor next to you for when you needed it. He also had your favorite chocolate sitting there in case you wanted some. Holding up the bottle of lotion, he smiled at your little nod and helped you turn around lifting the blanket up and off your bare ass so he could rub some on. You hissed a few times but made no real objection to his gentle massage. The lotion was cool and it felt nice as you wiped your nose on the blanket.

“I saw that,” He chuckled as he finished rubbing the lotion into your skin. Pulling the blanket back down he set the lotion back on the table and helped you turn back around moving your head so he could sit down and you could use his thigh as a pillow. His hand is now sitting softly on your chest while the other stroked your hair some more. “Feeling better?”

“Not really.” You mumbled.

“Wanna talk about what happened?” He asked as he played with a lock of your hair. “You can tell me anything, you know that right?” 

“I know.” You hiccupped as you looked up at him. You thought for a moment and then you told him everything. All of your feelings, the shame you felt, how you were sure your Nana was angry with you, how you were starting to feel like everyone was right and maybe you are a whore. 

“No.” Eddie shook his head. “None of that is true. You have nothing to be ashamed of. You're not a whore, and your grandmother isn't mad at you.”

“It's not the first time someone's called me a whore you know? There was this guy in college. We had been fooling around for a while and I brought this up and he rejected it. Told me that this kind of stuff was for whores and he couldn’t be with a whore. I told him to fuck off. I don't know why it bothered me so much this time.” You sniffed, biting your lip.

“First of all, if you ever see that guy, point him out. I’ll punch him in his stupid face. Second, you've had a hard few weeks, baby. A lot has happened that’s thrown you for a loop.” He said as he dragged his finger over your forehead and down your nose. “Not to mention we rushed into this today. It was your first night playing in a while and I had to give you a punishment and not one of the fun ones you like. I misjudged that. I'm sorry.”

“It's not your fault.” You said taking your hand out of the blanket to reach for his face. You smiled a little when you felt him kiss your palm and hold it to his cheek. “I know I was being a brat. Are you okay? I didn’t upset you did I?”

“No baby you didn’t.” Eddie said as he shook his head. He was now only disappointed in himself for not seeing the signs but all he could do was make a note of it and do better next time. No one was perfect, not even him. He smiled down at you. “I'm fine. I could use some cuddles though. Wanna get in your Pj's and watch TV while we cuddle?”

“Yes please.” You nodded as you went to sit up, Eddie helping you with a little push on your back to help you. He followed you up not long after, watching as you walked to the bathroom to wash your face. He took a detour to his dresser to grab your Pj's.

It's been about an hour since the start of your drop and you still weren't feeling like yourself. This is the first time you've ever dealt with it so you didn't even know how long it was supposed to last. Has Eddie ever dealt with this? Did it always feel like this? Sighing, you adjusted on the couch as you curled into Eddie as best you could. You both had been mindlessly watching some cartoons on the TV. You think it was Futurama, that's what Eddie said it was at least. 

“You okay baby?” He asked as he played with the back of your sleep shirt. The one you always wore here, the Iron Maiden one. Eddie tilted his head at you, his hair being mushed by the pillow under it. 

“Just thinking.” You said looking up at him. “You said you were a sub before you were a dom right?”

“Mhm.” He nodded. 

“Have you… dropped… before?” 

“Plenty of times.” He confirmed as he looked down at you, his hand still fiddling with your shirt. “I would hit a real low sometimes. I had a lot to work through at that time and the drops only made it worse. It felt really lonely.” 

“This doesn't feel like loneliness…” You give him a sad look. “How long does this usually last?”

“It’s different for everyone. It could be a few hours or a few days. All we can do is make sure you're feeling comfortable and safe. I'll be right here with you for as long as you need. I'm not letting you go through this alone.” 

You nodded looking back at the TV. You needed something else to distract you, the cartoon wasn't cutting it. “Tell me about your time as a sub? How did you get into all this?”

Eddie stared at you for a bit, like he was thinking of a way out of this conversation and for a moment you thought he was going to avoid it all together but instead he sighed and closed his eyes. “It's not a fun story and I'm not proud of it. I made mistakes when I was younger and I paid for them but I need you to understand that I'm not that kid anymore. I've grown up a lot. Can you listen with an open mind?”

You nodded your head. What could he possibly tell you that would make you think any differently? “I will. I promise.” 

“Okay.” He said as he took a breath trying to figure out how to start his sad tale. “Remember how that night on the porch when we talked about our parents, I told you I lived with Wayne until I was about twenty?”

“Yeah.” You nodded blinking up at him.

“When I was twenty I was still living with Wayne in that one bedroom trailer, I was in my third year as a high school senior, and no matter how much I tried I couldn’t find a job in that town to save my life. Everyone thought that I was no good. The town freak. Because I didn’t dress like the others, or listen to their shitty music, and I played D&D. I was the devil sent to corrupt their children and since I was doing so poorly in school I was seen as unreliable for the workforce so no one would hire me. Wayne was working long hours at the plant to keep us above water but money was tight so I did the only thing I could. I met up with the local dealer, Reefer Rick, and I started dealing for him. I was good at it. Jocks, cheerleaders, burnouts, nerds, desperate housewives, stuffy business men; you name them I gave them drugs. Weed mostly, a few pills here and there, but I never sold the hard stuff and I tried not to sell to minors.” Eddie always tried to be smart about who he sold to. He closed his eyes as if he could look back in time and see where it all went wrong. “There was this one girl that year, Chrissy, she was the Queen of Hawkins High. Popular, a cheerleader, always smiling but no one knew how terrible her home life was. She was stressed, had trouble sleeping, and just needed help. She asked to meet up after school for a deal and I tried to sell her weed but she needed something stronger, so I sold her Special K. Ketamine.”

You blinked at him completely enraptured by his story. He looked so sad. You had never seen him like this before, so you did your best to wrap your arms around him as he took a moment. Saying her name after all these years made his chest tighten and he took in a little stuttered breath, his hand stopped moving as he clenched your shirt in his fist. 

“What I didn’t know was that she had been stockpiling the pills. Her mother was hard on her, she always had to be perfect, and one day she just couldn’t do it anymore. She OD’d on the drugs I had sold her. If I had known this was her plan I would have never sold them to her. Her friends knew she was buying from me so when that happened they told the cops where she got them, they came and searched the trailer. Found my stash and I was arrested for possession and the selling of illegal substances. They tried to get me for her death but since I just sold the pills and didn’t force her to take them they couldn’t. I also got a lighter sentence because I ended up cutting a deal and giving them the name of my supplier. In the end I was sentenced to five years in prison.”

“Oh, baby.” You muttered as you hugged him. “Five years?”

“I only served three out of the five I was sentenced to. Got out early for good behavior with one year of probation.” He looked down at you now, that sadness was still pinching at his features. “Does that change how you see me? Knowing I was in jail on drug charges? Slightly responsible for the death of the one person in that fucking school who was ever nice to me?”

“It wasn’t your fault.” You said, shaking your head. “None of this changes how I feel about you.”

“Good.” He sighed in relief as he moved his hand to cup the back of your head. “I don’t want you to be scared of me or anything because of this.”

“I'm not scared of you.” You whispered, pressing your face into his chest. "Never could be."

“I’m glad.” He smiled at you a little. He took a moment to let you take in all the information before he continued with his story. “I got out just after my twenty-third birthday and I was… angry. Really angry. No one tells you about the shit you have to deal with when you’re on the inside of a prison and how it would make you feel once you’re out. I was so scared that Wayne was going to hate me, that all he was going to think was that I was just like my old man. But he didn't. He would visit every week and when I got out he welcomed me back home. I crashed on his couch until I was able to get a job as a mechanic with the help of my probation officer and saved up enough to get a shitty apartment in town. I was careful for that first year I was out, never did anything that would make it so I had to go back. But when that year was up… I spiraled. Hard. I’m talking about drinking, drugs, anything to make me forget and it was bad. I barely remember this but I was at a bar in Indianapolis one night and I was plastered apparently but I got into it with this biker guy, he almost murdered me, but some guy in a business suit stepped in and saved my ass. That guy was Daniel Christianson.”

“I’ve heard of him.” You spoke up then. “Seen his billboards on the highways and around town when I go into the city.”

“Big time lawyer man.” Eddie laughed a bit then. “Well mister big shot, don’t tell him I said that, took me to his place to sleep it off, said he didn’t trust me to make good decisions so he revoked my driving privileges. Stole my keys right out of my pocket. The next morning when I was more or less myself I wanted to leave but he didn’t let me, not until we talked about what happened that night. I was about ready to fight him but he put me on my ass. He saw that I was lost, and angry, and that I just didn’t care about what happened to me. He had been in this community for a while but hadn’t had a submissive for a few years. He brought it up carefully saying he could help me and gave me his number and time to think about it after he dropped me off at the bar so I could go home. I sat on it for a few days, BDSM was something I hadn’t really thought of before. I mean, I’m a guy, so yeah I’ve seen the porn, had a ridiculous amount of dirty mags that kinda leaned towards it, so I thought what the hell. I’ll give it a try and if I don’t like it I can leave. So I called him, we set up a meeting, and he became my Master. I stayed with him as his sub for about three or four years. He helped me get my head on straight and taught me a lot, he helped me let go and forgive Chrissy and myself. When I decided I wanted to try being a Dom he took over my training, everything I know is because of him. He was with me when Corroded Coffin got back together, when we got our first record deal, when we bought the bar, and everything else after that. He’s actually my lawyer.” He sighed as he played with a lock of your hair. “And that's the whole story.”

“Damn,” You muttered as you blinked. All of your issues seem so frivolous now. “You had a rough couple of years. I’m surprised none of this has gotten out before.”

“Dan looks through all our contracts and interview questions so no one can ask questions we don’t feel comfortable answering,” Eddie said, his fingers tugging at your hair. “It wouldn’t look good for the record company if my history got out so no one knows anything we don’t want them to. I told you because I trust you.”    

“I won't tell a soul.” You promised as you held up your pinky. A little giggle left you as he hooked his pinky with yours and pulled it to his lips dropping a kiss to your knuckles with a little grin. 

“Thank you sweetheart."

Tag List:

@eddiesprincess86 @haylaansmi @micheledawn1975

[avengedbiologist]

Anderdads unite 💪

Headcanons below

Now, I haven't fully thought these headcanons through, I was just throwing stuff on that I thought worked.

Wilbur Zero:

Hairy guy, I don't take criticism 🤨

A few scars from various run in with aliens and training gone wrong or maybe even just Johnathan being Johnathan 💀

I know he's like fully grey in the show but (just like Jeff) I feel he's only just going grey, tho it probably makes more sense him being fully grey from stress 💀

Short, both he and Elenor are short <33

Also note I think I've perfected his froggy face in my style and I love him so much.

Jeff Tracy

U guys know me and my love for Jeff (bet u didn't expect this lil lesbian to love all the dads >:), it's not my fault there's no mums, besides Mrs Zero /ily queen/ so I gotta go to someone 🙄)

Anyway, Jeff scars from missions (they r all gonna be like this I apologise.) But also added gun scarring cause yeah.

Partially greying like big man zero.

Idk if I drew it but he has lil dimples like scooter

TOS Jeff= short🫡 TAG Jeff= Tall, absolute unit 💪😔.

Had surgery on his leggie that's why it's got a scar on it.

Has alot of moles.

Ian 'Mac' McClaine

The softest of dad's, if anyone hurts this bastard I'm throwing hands 💪🤨

Anyway he's a big lad, a unit but not in the same way of TAG Jeff. (I did an eh job of drawing this apologies) but he does have a dad bod, he's a dad what do u expect of me 🤨

He has stretch marks because of it (again hard to see 💀) 👉👈

He's really tall, he's the soft giant of the trio, Shane's a lil shorter and Sam's even shorter (idk why I didn't have those guys in the line up)

He's freckly 👉👈

Minor scars, mainly from working in a lab or the occasional times he goes on a mission.

Charles Gray

He's tall and slim (OS focused, NCS white is a bit wider.)

Bullet wounds again (as well as other scars), from missions and being a military fella

Surgery scar on his stomach. (Don't ask what for cause I haven't thought about that) 🤔

Little freckly👌

I will always draw him with fully white hair cause even if he is one of the youngest and may not like be fully grey at his age I just find it funny if he dyed it/went white rlly early and it just happened to match his code name perfectly. (even tho it bugs me that he's col WHITE and his name's Charles GRAY)

Sam Shore

Dun dun dun another hairy guy! 😔

Alotta scarring, mainly around the abdomen and lower back (can't see them from this view) from his accident.

His skin is quiet mottled around his legs and stomach as well.

Scar on nose as well

Lightly freckled 🫡

Wowie me drawing hair right💀 he has little stripes of grey in his hair and I love it 👉👈

[storiesbyjes2g]

Remembering my legacy story...

That tag has me thinking about my legacy story and how the story was shaped by my discoveries and ignorance while learning about this game. The first few generations were kind of tragic. I played vanilla and on normal life, and it took me until the day before X's birthday to get married. I was so scared he was gonna die without children, causing me to fail the challenge on the first try lol. He actually was engaged before, but his fiancé showed up the night before the wedding as an elder!! My boy had to start all over. UGH! He eventually found someone, but he had to propose to her three times! FINALLY he got married and had two children before he croaked.

His wife died on their son's teen birthday, leaving both children an orphan! I was terrified social services was gonna come and take them away! 🤣 I didn't know yet that teenagers were just baby-faced adults. 😑 But man, that period was hard. Those poor kids had to grow up way too fast. They got jobs to pay the bills, and they had almost zero free time. They were tired ALL the time because all they did was work. They had their jobs, but they also had a garden they had to take care of because the flowers paid the lion's share of the bills. They stopped doing their homework because it took up too much time. Their grades plummeted, and the principal called every day. But somehow I discovered you could have their birthdays at any time, so I aged the oldest one up like 4 or 5 days early because those poor kids needed a break!

(more generations under the cut)

At the end of generation two and through three, I felt like I had a good handle on the game and what it could do, so my curiosity came out and so did Stories By Jes2G lol. That's when this story started to get real messy LOL. My heir had a girlfriend, but the relationship wasn't really going anywhere so he started seeing this other girl. But he didn't know girlfriend #1 was pregnant! He fell all the way in love with girlfriend #2, moved her in (learned my lesson from gen 1!!), married her, and knocked her up. They had a happy little family for a while. No sooner than he forgot about girlfriend #1, the bastard son showed up at his door all casual like my mama said you're my daddy...nice house! 🤣 That did not go over well. As a matter of fact, his wife was very upset and tried to burn off some steam on the treadmill. But she was an elder and... RIP Adalynn.

Generation four was when I learned just how much you can learn about your characters just by letting them be autonomous and watching them go. The tragedy of this generation was what happens when two horny teens get married out of high school lol. Those two had nothing in common and led two separate lives under the same roof. That was partly because I was focused on making them complete their aspirations, but also they rarely interacted with each other when they were autonomous. The wife was a career woman and was not interested in having a third child. But the first two were girls, and this legacy was a strict patriarchy and I needed a son. That caused a lot of drama in the story, but he found a way to make her give in. But things were never the same, and she eventually divorced him and left the kids which of course affected the next generation.

Every generation up til like...seven had some kind of drama/tragedy, and I didn't realize it until I stopped and read the story myself. I was like WHOA! This is so much! This is what I put my readers through? LOL I made sure to tone things down in the second half of gen 8 because we needed the break. We had peace and happiness for a while followed by a veeery slow burn. Then I kicked the drama back up and ended on a hopeful tragic note, bring back the fall out from the gen 3 mess. It was a great ride!

I used to love building in The Sims 3, but something about this game's building mechanics completely turned me off. To be honest, I don't quite know what it is about building that just infuriates me. So the generations two through like...eight(???), my legacy house was made up of styled rooms lol. I honestly don't know anyone else who even used those things. I'd just piece together those rooms and close them in with walls lol. Needless, the legacy house was very odd and much bigger than it needed to be because of all these oddly shaped blank spaces. 😅 I made use of every single one of them too!

[hibewriter]

Baby, I'm Jealous

Masterlist   Read it on AO3

The Rings of Power / Lord of the Rings | Haladriel / Saurondriel | 3.4K | E 

Tags: faux-cest | Step-Siblings | Infidelity | P in V Sex

Honestly, she should’ve seen it coming. The days of zero communication, the parties she wasn’t invited to, the fucking random ‘ I love you, sorry I’ve been busy today ’ texts. She should’ve known what was going to happen. She should’ve known that it’d all come crumbling down with a ‘ Hey girl, sorry to tell you this…’ . Fucking bastard. 

She inhaled through her nose, trying to remember what it was to breathe as she stared at the texts. One after the other. 

               Maybe we should go out sometime?

               ?                Oh you have a bf? It’s fine I have a gf we just won't tell. 

              It’ll be fun :) 

The bastard had the audacity to say it’d be fun. As if Celeborn was a catch for the ages. 

She huffed, flopping back to her bedspread, the usual comfort of the fluffed pink duvet lost on her as she swiped to the next picture. 

                A shower, without me? ;) 

Who the hell did he think he was? She glared, eyes glassy and red as she swiped. Nearly fifty messages, varying degrees of desperation and horniness to the same account. She wanted to punch something, to stab maybe. Fury radiated through her bones as she thought about it. The audacity. Was she not enough? She could’ve dated any man in Lindon, but she chose him. And he decided this wouldn’t get back to her. 

           Incoming call: Disa ❤️

She sniffled, wiping at the tears that refused to come as she sat up. 

“He – hello?” 

“Galadriel!” The honey–deep voice of her friend came through the phone. Almost a creepy calm came over her as she listened. “What’s the SOS, who do I need to kill?” 

“He – sniff– fucking cheated on me.” 

“What? Who?” 

She sighed, pulling the phone away from her face and finding the photos again. Taps of her fingers and the swoosh of a text message sent, before inhaling a shaky breath and pressing speaker on the call. 

“Check your messages.” 

Seconds passed, and she could practically hear the restrained anger from her friend on the other line. The deep breaths with each passing word. She didn’t need to see her friend to imagine the fury in her golden eyes, a rage not readily concealed. Not that Disa was known for concealing her feelings. She waits through another pregnant pause, wondering what words will be said to make her feel something else besides this vile mix of rage and self-pity that she’s been dragged into. 

“So,” a surprisingly calm voice came through the receiver. More even than Galadriel could have ever attempted. “Do you want comfort from me, or do you want revenge?” 

Now was her own turn to pause. What did she want? To get rid of this pain in her chest? To break bones? To let fury overcome her as she made Celeborn feel exactly how he made her feel? She took a deep sigh, closing her eyes as she contemplated. 

"I – I want revenge." 

__________

She hesitated outside the door, staring at it with some mix of trepidation and disgust. Disgusted at the boy man on the other side or at what she was about to ask, she couldn’t be sure. But it definitely replaced the self-pity and anger from before. Now the horrible concoction faded its way into nerves, threatening to upend the contents of her stomach all over the carpeted floor. 

Deep breaths, Galadriel . She inhaled, not bothering to knock as she steeled her resolve and opened his door. 

“Halbrand,” she called out, voice more confident than she felt. She didn’t want to meet his gaze, but it was inevitable as he turned in his desk chair to face her. 

“Gal-gal,” she instantly regretted even thinking of asking him, glaring at him. Not that he seemed fazed by her withering stare. She’d caused grown men to cry in her classes when fixing the same glare toward them. But Halbrand seemed only amused by her ire, a self-righteous smirk firmly in place as he twirled a pencil in his grasp.  

“Don’t call me that,” she snarled, crossing her arms. 

“Fine. What is it you need, my queen ?” He seemed on the verge of laughter at her continued glower. This was not the mood she needed.  

“For fucks’ sake I was going to ask you something but you can’t even go five seconds without being insufferable.” 

“No, I can’t. Not for you.” She wanted to hit the smirk off of his face. “What can I help you with, oh shining beacon of light?” 

Glares were useless, but she swore that if looks could kill… Or maybe if she had a dagger. Her step-brother would be bleeding out on the floor in a flash. 

“I can see this was a mistake.” She turned on her heel, prepared to go down the hall, call Disa back, and tell her they needed another plan. But quicker than a flash, a hand was wrapped around her wrist, pulling her back into a solid chest. A soft woosh of air escaped her mouth as she collided with him, her arm pinned uncomfortably behind her. 

“No, no.” His mouth was hot against her ear, and she squirmed. A futile attempt at getting away from him. “You don’t get to barge in my room, stop my very important work, and expect me to let you go without even telling me why.” 

She huffed, slamming her lips closed as he spoke. She could glare at the wall outside his room for hours if she had to. His other hand came to grasp her chin, tilting it up so she was forced to make eye contact with him over her shoulder. It wasn’t particularly comfortable, and she still wanted to slap him. 

“Just tell me and I’ll let you go.” 

His eyebrows raised expectantly, taunting her with his steady gaze. It made her want to squirm. 

“Celeborn cheated on me.” 

A small widening of his eyes. If it were a different situation she would’ve smirked, satisfied with shocking him. But instead, she waited, face blank as she met his gaze. 

“...and what does that have to do with me?” 

“I – needed your help.” 

“I’m not going to jail over Celeborn.” 

She rolled her eyes. He had loosened his grip on her, slightly. Enough that she could lean slightly away and her arm would no longer hurt. 

“I’m not asking you to. I just…wanted to make him jealous.” She ripped her head away from his hands, breaking the intensity of his gaze as she felt the burning of her cheeks. She nearly toppled over when he let her go, stumbling before catching herself in his doorway. 

"How?"

"How what?" She huffed, annoyed. She blew air at her face, trying to move the blonde strands that fell forward. 

"How did you want to make him jealous?" 

Oh. That. She shook her head, refusing to turn back and face him. 

"Doesn't matter. I'll just break up with him." 

"And you think that's proper revenge? You think that will hurt him?" 

She turned – Halbrand's neutral expression was somehow a taunt. It felt like a trap, no matter what she did. Storming away seemed like another way to satisfy his smug pretentiousness. Staying somehow felt worse.  She frowned as he stepped closer, slowly crowding her against the doorframe.  

"So what went through that pretty little head, hm?" An arm of his reached out, swiping her phone from her pocket so quickly she felt whiplash. "What plan did you and…let me guess, Disa? What did you come up with?" 

She was frozen, by anger, fear, or shock she couldn't tell. She just knew she could only watch horrified as Halbrand put in her code, which he apparently knew, unlocking her phone and navigating the perfectly sorted apps with ease. It was like watching a bomb count down as he scrolled, not taking but a millisecond to find her conversation with Disa. 

If she were a betting woman, she'd say his eyes grew darker as he read the ill-conceived plan. His gaze traveled slowly from the phone to her, as if seeing her for the first time. She didn’t like the expression in his eyes. Was it curiosity? A desire long buried since their parents wed, forcing them to be close but never close enough? Whatever it was, it paused time. Seconds dragged to hours, a minute felt like a year, and all he did was stare. At her, at the picture in her phone, the idea that she had concocted with Disa. 

All of it out in the open as she stared back. She wanted to scream, to shake him, and force him to open his mouth. But if he was silent she didn’t have to accept the inevitable embarrassment. The stinging rejection of someone she didn’t even want . 

“You were going to ask me to do this?” 

She bit her tongue. How could he sound so calm? A mild curiosity at best. Did he just not care? About anything? Or was he just better at pretending than she was? 

“Well,” she averted her eyes, swallowing thickly. She hated the small whine her voice took on, embarrassment seeping into every word. “Like I said it was obviously a bad –”

“Okay.”

“Okay?” 

“Yes, okay.” He said it like it was a fact. As if this was just something siblings agreed to do. “If I were dating someone it’d certainly piss me off to see my girlfriend like this with another man. Give me like…ten minutes.” 

Unceremoniously he gently nudged her out the door, putting her phone into her dumbstruck hands. Before closing the door behind her, leaving her much as she arrived. Staring at the piece of wood wondering about the man on the other side. 

___________

“Ready?” 

She bolted up from her position, staring at him. He’d taken his shirt off, and left in just black gym shorts. Her eyes fell from his face to his waist, the thick black band of his boxers just barely visible over the stretchy material of his shorts. She swallowed thickly, meeting his eyes and nodding again. She didn’t want to think about the knowing smirk on his face as she stood. 

The bathroom, so large all her life, was suddenly the size of a broom closet in her mind. Halbrand’s heat at her back pressed into her skin, even through the thin fabric of her tank top. She jumped at his hands touching her waist, where her shirt met the edge of her shorts. 

“For the picture to work, princess, this is gonna have to come off.” He was so close to her, breath tickling the hair next to her ear as she bit her lip. Deep breaths, Galadriel. She swallowed thickly, nodding her acquiescence as the pads of his fingers hooked underneath the fabric. She wondered if he was taking his time to torture her. Inch by inch he raised the thin fabric, bunching it and tugging it until she raised her arms, and suddenly she barred to him. Automatically, she wrapped her arms around her chest. She was in the mirror in front of them, the smirk as his hands, wrapped so fully around her wrists, came to pull hers away. 

“I’m going to have to see them, Galadriel.” 

Her face heated, nodding as she reached forward and grabbed her phone, opening up the camera. She purposefully didn’t look at his face. She didn’t want to know what he thought of her chest, or how her nipples pebbled at the cool air before his palms came to engulf her breast in heat. The phone in front of her face did little to hide the blush that began to creep up her neck. Her fingers fumbled sweetly as she tried to concentrate on opening the app and not the fact that her stepbrother was holding her breast in his hands. 

A sudden jolt ran through her as he shifted, no longer engulfing her breast as he used his thumb and index finger to pinch at her nipples. She squeaked, nearly dropping her phone and jumping away from him. 

“Halbrand!” She attempted to squirm, but he held her still against him, not bothering to stop his ministrations. 

“What?” As if he wasn’t touching her. More than she agreed to anyway. “You looked nervous. You need to look turned on.”

“You didn’t even ask,” she huffed, before biting back a moan as he continued his practiced movements. 

“Do you not like it?” His voice felt deeper as he leaned forward, abandoning her left breast to snake down her front towards her shorts. “Do you need me to help you?” 

She wanted to shake her head, say no. But instead, she was being pressed into the counter as she felt a warmth on the hollow of her ear. 

“Don’t worry, I got you.” 

She couldn’t bite back the moan that tore itself from her throat as he slipped his hand down the front of her shorts. Quickly finding her slit, causing her hips to press back into his as his fingers began to search, feeling her wetness with expert strokes of his fingers. He found what he was looking for, that little bundle of nerves that made her nearly drop the phone again. He pressed against it, circling it as she felt her body come alight. 

She could only grip the counter with her free hand as he played her like a fiddle, letting out a loud gasp as he began to slide further down, inserting his finger into her. He let out a hiss, something she almost relished before he pressed his hips into hers. She felt it, hardness at her backside as he fingered her. His movements gently coaxed those embarrassing sounds out of her – her eyes slamming shut as she felt the tight coil beginning to wind in her belly. 

She could’ve killed him once he removed his fingers, so close to the precipice. She cried out as he hauled her back up, hands returning to cup her breast. 

“Come on, take the picture,” his voice was ragged, deep, and out of breath as he held her. She bit her lip, bringing her phone back to its old position as he straightened. She leaned her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes at the fake shutter sound from the picture snapping. 

“Let me see.” 

She didn’t even fight, raising the phone slightly for him to see. 

“You can still see our shorts.”

“I mean it has to get –”

She dropped her phone this time, Halbrand’s hands moving with quickness as he immediately tugged down her shorts, getting them past her waist before he let them fall to the floor. She blushed, trying to move to grab them off the ground again while he moved. But she was being pressed forward, a gentle hand at her back pushing her into the counter. 

She could see in the reflection of the mirror, his hand at her back while he tugged his shorts and boxers down one-handed. Her mouth dropped open when she saw his cock come out before he guided it to rest in between her ass cheeks. He grabbed her phone, dropped just next to her, before pulling up the camera. 

“This is a better picture, don’t you think?” She should’ve shaken her head, should’ve said no as she felt him thrust between her cheeks, coating the underside of his cock with her own desire. She should’ve done a lot of things, shoved him away, and ran out of the bathroom. Asked her mom if she could go live with her father far away from Halbrand and his devil hands. 

But instead, she bit her lip, nodding slightly as the sound of the shutter filled the space. Once, twice, his cock nestled perfectly in her ass as he clicked photo after photo. 

“Hmmm,” he hummed, as if deep in thought and not rubbing himself on his sister. Step-sister. 

“Wh-what?” 

“I think we can make this a bit better.” She shook, scrambling to stand but his hand kept her pressed forward. “Don’t worry it won't hurt.”

“Halbrand, wh-what are you trying to do?” 

“Don’t worry, it’ll just be the tip.” 

She shook her head, hands scrambling at the counter as she felt the panic rise in her chest. 

“Wait, no - I haven’t…”

She bit her lip as he placed the phone on one of her cheeks, using his now free hand to guide his head to her opening. 

“Not even with Celeborn?” he asked, eyebrow quirked in curiosity. She shook her head, no. Her eyes pleaded with his in the mirror. 

“I wanted to be in love.” She thought his face softened, a bit of sympathy from him for sure. But then she felt the stretch, a slight pinch as he pushed. He kept his eyes on hers as if waiting for her to scramble away. But his hips stopped, and she just felt herself, stretched wide on him as he held her still. 

“You don’t love your big brother?” 

“I – I,” she scrambled, his hips pushing again, and she was being filled. She thought she was fine, whole, and intact, but Halbrand made space for himself where there was none. Pushing, pushing, pushing until his hips connected with hers and all her thoughts fell to the wayside as she was just consumed with his cock filling her. The stretch, the pain, caused her to whimper as he held still. 

“You do, don’t you?” he murmured, phone falling off of her as he grasped her hips with both hands, finally letting her prop herself up on the counter. She could’ve tried to push him off, make him leave as he nestled his head in her shoulder, kissing the bare skin. She bit her lip, determined not to say a word.

“You love your big brother, even when he does things like this ,” he groaned, pulling his hips back only to thrust back into her. Her mouth hung open, she should’ve closed her eyes, but she could look away from his own, staring at her as he began a slow rhythm. Each draw of his hips took away the pain of being filled for the first time, replaced with a sick sweetness. A rising pleasure caused her to cry out, eyes finally slamming shut as he just took each sound from her. 

“Fuck, yes, Halbrand,” she cried, his lips moving to kiss her neck as his pace increased. The bathroom filled with the sound of flesh on flesh, her soft whimpers, and his groans as he crowded her against the sink. One of his hands left her hip, moving forward to come again at her clit as she whined, head dropping forward as she felt her orgasm approaching. 

She didn’t want him to stop, all thoughts rushing from her brain out of her open mouth. Tears accumulated as he kept filling her, over and over until she was shaking. Her limbs tightened, her body clenching around his cock as she fell over the edge, his groans accompanying her as she slumped forward again. She barely caught herself on the sink before he began to lose his rhythm, his hips barely leaving hers as if he could bear to be away from her heat for more than a second. 

Distantly, she could hear her own voice, drowned out by her step-brother’s grunts of pleasure. Not inside, not inside . She knew she needed to stop him, to ask him to pull out. But as her hand flew back, pushing at his hip, he simply grabbed her wrist, tugging so she arched into him. Her second orgasm crashed through her, a shock and unannounced as she seized up. Tears caught in her eyes and then she felt it. 

The warm sensation of being filled. Halbrand’s hips slowed until he merely held himself to her, his cock pushing his spend back inside. She didn’t want to think, couldn’t, as the haze settled in around her. Their breaths came out in pants, sweat sticking to their bodies as they came down from that high. Several minutes passed, Halbrand leaning carefully against her. She could already feel the bruises forming where he gripped her, where the sink edge bit into her thighs, but she still couldn’t bring herself to care. 

___________

New Voicemail: Celeborn

“Hey babe, sorry I’ve been off the grid. Remember Celebrimor’s party? The one me and Halbrand went to like…three weeks ago? Yeah, I lost my phone, sorta been flying solo without it. Call me back, we’ll get sushi and you can catch me up on all I missed. Alright, love you, bye.”

[moon-beam-pie]

15 questions, 15 mutuals

thanks @dearcmurphy for the tag!

1. are you named after anyone?

no, but am thinking of using a new name (Zero) which is also not named after anyone but has the added bonus of sharing with a fictional character (Star Trek Prodigy) & Gerard Way song

2. when was the last time you cried?

probably today or yesterday I cry very often, in fact I’m tearing up just thinking about the act of crying lmaoooo. don’t remember the last time I like bawled my eyes out but it would have been in the past week probs

3. do you have kids?

Noooo way I’m only 22 and very single haha; I would not be a healthy parent and no child deserves that

4. do you use sarcasm a lot?

Probably, but not an excessive enough amount for me to notice it?

5. what sports do you play/have played?

I played basketball and did martial arts as a kid, but I don’t think either were to a particularly high level, although I did get invited to the black belt club at my studio (not an actual black belt but was very dedicated) - had to stop martial arts when I was about 9 due to breaking my arm a few times and them moving locations

6. what’s the first thing you notice about people?

I’m not really aware of what I notice but it’s probably vibes

7. what’s your eye color?

Hazel

8. scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings but only because I am too easily affected by scary movies I have never been able to watch thrillers or horror or even listen to scary stories on like school camps and stuff; I’d get mad nightmares and it would be all I could think about for ages - it’s so bad I couldn’t/can’t even watch buzzfeed unsolved

9. any special talents?

depends how you define it but probably nothing I can think of off the top of my head.

10. where were you born?

Melbourne, Aus. No I am not doxxing myself the city has 5 million ppl living here

11. what are your hobbies?

I don’t have anything solid other than stuff that I don’t talk about online. I guess I like drawing but even that I’m not great at and only get into occasionally

12. do you have any pets?

I have a cat! I’ve had him for about 14 years and I love him very very much. We adopted him and his mum together and they were both strays, but sadly his mum passed away in late 2020.

13. how tall are you?

176cm. I feel like this list of questions is about to ask me my mothers maiden name

14. favorite subject in school?

I loved maths and physics and chem

15. dream job?

Anything that involves acting, stage, screen, etc

Not gonna tag anyone cause anxiety but please feel free to take this as a tag if you wanna do it (actually genuinely, feel free to tag me in the post too if you want to!)

[xsilverberryx]

Oh you wouldnt believe how much grief (affectionate) this caused me after getting back into TAG recently after falling away right before season 3- What do you mean it was 8 years?? How long does the actual main series goes for then-? I got so obsessed with it that I made multiple calendars to try and visualize this-

(ignore that the last one says long haul, i mix up the names for long haul and the long reach a lot) (also yes alot of these birthdays are HC, it took me too long to notice Alan's and Virgil's birthdays are just their ones from TOS and by the time i did, i got attached to the HC birthdays me and my partner came up with for the others- Scott just barely missing a January birthday was too funny to me.)

SOS and Signals happens about July-August of 2061, giving plenty of time for Gordon to recover and the Zero-XL to be built...

... It also means the anniversary of Jeff's "death" was recent (No, long reach being in June as well was not intentional and if it was, i evidentially forgot that i put it like that)

How i imagine a timeline going is:

2048:

- Lucille dies. For my Headcanons, they were going out skiing/snowboarding in January and it was for early birthday celebrations for Scott's 17th. This gets cut off before it can even start by the avalanche.

- Jeff starts his planning for what becomes International Rescue around halfway through the year.

Late 2051-Early 2052:

- International Rescue starts up, Lead by Jeff, with Scott, Virgil, John, Lee Taylor and Kryano as the main operatives.

- Thunderbird 5 is currently a (mostly) unmanned satellite for now. Maybe no space elevator yet? Isn't as needed since when there is someone manning it, if a call that needs Thunderbird 3 cones in, whoever is there (most commonly Lee or Jeff taking John up for training) can just launch from there. N/A for the Scott, John, Virgil age order.

- As a whole, IR is run more like in TOS, except Jeff is taking active part in them. They're more selective to what missions they take and Mobile control is needed when no one is on TB5.

Mid 2053:

- The Zero-X Incident happens. IR shuts down for about a year or two, so family can recover.

- Kyrano retires and Kayo decides to stay behind with the Tracy's.

2054/2055:

- IR starts operations again. Lee Taylor stays with them for a bit but eventually leaves for the Moon base.

- Scott is trying his best to command like Jeff did. Mobile Control is still needed whenever John isn't in TB5.

2056/2057:

- If you want the Hyrdofoil incident, now is the time, when Gordon is 16 and starting his own training. I don't think time as apart of the WASP can fit in, but he could have been trying to decide between joining IR and the WASP before the incident.

2058:

- Gordon joins IR, John is spending more and more time on TB5 and the Mobile Control Station is rendered obsolete. IR is also starting to slowly take on more and more missions.

2059:

- Kayo joins IR and development of what becomes Thunderbird Shadow starts.

- Alan manages to little brother his way into starting training early (As if various brothers weren't secretly convinced individually to let him have turns in the training simulations before that.)

This is very reliant on me and my partner's headcanons I think, especially the birthdays. But even then, with those 8 years of Jeff being gone, there's so little time for the boys to have much outside of IR... Which sucks for multiple reasons!! Give these bitches boys a break!!!

TAG timelines are so confusing, because I want the boys to have time to have done all the things in their usual fanon backstories (NASA, USAF, Olympics, hydrofoil crash) plus (all but Alan) having had some experience running IR with their Father, but their ages are out of whack with the fact Jeff disappeared 8 years ago by the time of the show.

That (roughly) puts Alan at 18-8 = 9 (at the oldest: no wonder he barely remembers Jeff), Gordon 22-8 = 14, Virg 25-8 = 17 John 27-8 = 19, Scott 30-8 = 22 when Jeff vanished, which are all pretty young so... does that mean the boys made International Rescue on their own? Maybe in his memory, not their Mother's. Only, there was clearly some sort of IR was running at the time, as Jeff is in uniform for eight years straight and he knows about the Thunderbirds and isn't surprised by his boys piloting them??

Maybe it was the older three with Gordon in training, but still, unless they're older (and there's a bigger gap until Alan which doesn't really sit right as an idea), that's pretty young.

If any of y'all have thoughts on this I'd love to hear them.

[agent--swan]

Close to Home

In which the reader interrogates a suspect and is reminded of some shit.

One of these days I’ll write a decent Criminal Minds fic.

Well, I’ve got some personal bullshit going on, so here! Have a self-indulgent angst fic! As if I haven’t written enough of these already. (See: @swan--writes.) You can also find this fic on AO3.

Warnings: childhood trauma, emotional/psychological abuse, all offscreen, Hotch is an angsty boy who cares about his team, show-typical violence, Swan-typical language

Words: ~1,420

Other Stuff: reader is gender neutral but was raised as a daughter, you could read this as Hotch x Reader but it could easily be read as platonic

The first time Hotch noticed was on a case.

He wishes that the first time he noticed wasn’t on a case.

He wishes that it had happened on a relaxed day, when there was nothing going on but consults and reports and accounts and logging. He wishes that the rest of the team had been so busy with paperwork that they wouldn’t notice him pulling you into his office to sit down and talk about it. In retrospect, even he could admit that there were benefits to not being at Quantico, and therefore not having a private office to pull you into. There was more time to think about what he wanted to say – to be gentle.

You were on a case somewhere in the Midwest, but neither of you would remember exactly where even two months after it was over. The unsub was attacking teenaged girls. The unsub’s type was specific: ages between fourteen and seventeen, brown hair, brown eyes, most of the girls had freckles, and all of them were chubby. That seemed important to the unsub. It made you see red. You only had one survivor – your only material witness – but she was holding back, feigning memory loss. Morgan was certain that the cognitive troubles she was having weren’t genuine, but he had no way of proving it. That was his pet project while you were on the case.

Reid was on the geographic profile as always. JJ had her hands full with the media circus, teenaged girls always got extra attention. Rossi was leaning pretty hard on the principal of the school that all three of your victims had attended, along with your one attempted victim. Prentiss was covering the guidance counselors. The school had three. She had her hands full. You did not envy her.

That left you to speak with the mother of the attempted victim. Hotch had asked you to handle her before the jet even landed, and you had readily agreed. It was the first time he had handed you your own angle since you’d joined the team just a few months earlier, and you felt more than capable. You were good with mothers, Hotch knew that.

Hotch had never tried to limit your role in investigations, not even in the beginning. He knew that you were capable when you joined the team, and he saw that you were a fast learner. He wasn’t cautious with you, didn’t watch you too closely, didn’t take you under his wing. Hotch let you do your thing and facilitated where necessary. It wasn’t often necessary, you fit right in.

So, Hotch asked you to talk to the mother, and you thought nothing of it. Until you started asking her questions.

It was subtle at first. She was defensive of her daughter, and defensive of her parenting. You understood that, it wasn’t uncommon. What was uncommon was the way she seemed to interpret your questions. “Why did you insist she only apply to in-state schools?” became, in her mind, “Why are you holding her back?” “Why do you limit her social life?” became, “Why are you isolating her?” The less accusatory you tried to sound, the more her hackles raised. It wasn’t entirely unjustified, every time you walked out of the interrogation room you learned something new about the way she had held her daughter back or isolated her.

You started leaving the mother in the interrogation room by herself for longer and longer stretches of time, though never an unprofessional length of time. You were careful about that. It was just that you were finding it harder and harder to catch your breath. The tinnitus in your left ear seemed to be growing steadily worse, and you couldn’t force your hands to stop shaking. That wasn’t when Hotch noticed it, though. He asked if you were alright once but dropped it when you told him you were.

Finally, Rossi cut the principal loose and Prentiss came back to the station. You were in interrogation when the others realized who the unsub was.

Surprise, surprise, it was the mother of the survivor.

Morgan had been right. Your survivor did remember who attacked her and was terrified to admit that it had been her mother. In the survivor’s mind, her mother was a huge, tyrannical figure who could talk her way out of anything. Even a murder investigation.

The rest of the team gathered around the one-way mirror and watched as you and the mother of the survivor – as you and the unsub – zeroed in on each other. Reid wondered aloud if they should intervene, but Hotch insisted on waiting. Hotch watched you closely. Later, he would wonder if he had been watching you more out of interest than a genuine belief that you could get a confession out of this unsub. He would feel badly about that.

You were standing. The unsub was seated. You were leaned over her and shouting. She was watching you with venom in her eyes, and though you held firm, Hotch notice the way you were pressing your hands into the table. The way you slid photographs toward her instead of picking them up and dropping them in front of her; a more aggressive move that any of the rest of the team would have used.

“You couldn’t stand it, could you?” you asked while the unsub openly glared at you, her jaw set, her expression stern. “You couldn’t stand the idea that your daughter would never be you. She was never going to stay at home and be mommy’s perfect little helper, she was never going to forget about the pain you caused her. You gave her everything?” You shook your head. “Well, she took it, and she learned how to be a decent goddamn human, and instead of letting her grow and maybe, I don’t know, being proud of her? You insisted–” you slammed the table right beside a photograph of some of your survivor’s worse injuries “–on making her pay for your bullshit.”

You were shouting right in the unsub’s face when she lunged with an enraged cry. The team moved as one to back you up.

The unsub managed to scratch your face before you could react. You managed to get her hands behind her back and pressed forward against the wall by the time Morgan and Prentiss reached you.

“Get her out of here!” Hotch commanded.

“After everything ungrateful little leech put me through, she got exactly when she deserved,” the unsub spat.

Hotch didn’t spare the unsub more than half a glance, he just went straight to you. You had never heard his voice so soft as when he asked if you were alright. He moved to wipe away some of the blood trickling warmly down your face, but you pulled away before he could and insisted you were fine. Of course you did.

The case ended there, four victims deep but one still alive. It was a relative victory and the team treated it as one. They chatted comfortably on the ride back, but not you. You curled up on the couch at the back of the jet, facing away from everyone. You didn’t have a book, you didn’t have your headphones in. You just lay there with your eyes closed, fighting tears that you tried very hard to blame on your migraine. Your head killed; your heart hurt. As horrific as parents hurting their children always was, there was something about this case – something about a mother and a daughter – that was more painful, more personal, and hit even closer to home for you.

You couldn’t help thinking about how the unsub had killed three people but hadn’t killed her own daughter. You wondered what that meant. You wondered if it meant anything.

You stayed still at first when you felt someone sit down at your feet. They didn’t move for a long time, and when you finally gave in and opened your eyes, you saw Hotch. He looked at you with more concern injected into his normal frown, and there was something in his face that was gentler than usual. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t try to comfort you. He just watched you, watched the tears gather at the corners of your eyes, watched as one made its way down your cheek like blood dripping from a wound. You knew you looked miserable, but you watched him right back, and you knew he understood. He did.

.

.

Please reblog if you’re comfy with it

If there’s any interest I’ll make a tags list

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 305: Worst Intervention Ever

Previously on BnHA: Shinomori, whose name took me an entire week to memorize, was all, “nice to meet you Deku, I’m ten feet tall, do you want to know how I died?” and without waiting for an answer explained that he kicked it from old age at forty thanks to good ol’ OFA. Deku was all “wait a minute, then how come All Might, who’s fifty-five and is definitely dyeing his gray hair, is still alive?” First and Shino were all, “we really have no fucking clue but we think it’s cuz he’s quirkless, JUST LIKE YOU!” So basically, since quirkless people don’t exactly grow on trees these days, Deku is probably going to be the last user of OFA. The chapter ended with Nana being all, “psst, Deku, about my grandson. Uh, can you kill him?” which is sure to lead to a very interesting conversation this week.

Today on BnHA: Nana And The Gang are all “so, Deku, how can we put this delicately. The thing is, we’re pretty sure that AFO really fucked my grandson up, so on the off chance you can’t save him, how would you feel about, you know... [throat slitting gesture].” Deku is all “idk you guys, I kinda feel like he’s really just a traumatized child at heart and he’s in a lot of pain and stuff and so I should try to help him.” The Vestiges are all “BUT WHAT IF YOU CAN’T” and Deku is all “BUT I WANT TO TRY, DAMMIT” and the Vestiges are all “well when you put it that way, we, uh, were just testing you, so congrats, you passed!” The chapter ends with First being all, “ANYWAY SO WHY DON’T YOU TWO SHY BOYS STANDING OVER THERE IN THE SHADOWS COME SAY HELLO” before we CUT AWAY FOR ANOTHER WEEK, goddammit.

seriously, Nana

just... have you met Deku?? look, if you really want Tomura dead, just sic him on the U.A. first years and tell Shouto and Honenuki that it’s a training exercise

oh my god lmao

we’re too far away to see Nana’s face here so I will just assume that she turned and is staring DIRECTLY INTO THE CAMERA for this one line lmao. “I just wanted to clarify in case anyone felt inclined to take my dialogue out of context and spend an entire week complaining about it”

oh my god?! are you all purposely trying to make me sad??

someone stop me before I launch into an impromptu rant about all my Tomura feels. WHY IS NOBODY STOPPING ME. oh my god but yes, exactly. he’s just in pain all the time. this is exactly why I think Tomura has such high redemption potential even though so far he seems to lack so many of the redemption arc essentials such as feeling remorse, wanting to change, and taking responsibility for his actions. the reason why I’m willing to overlook all that in his case is because Tomura has essentially had zero agency his entire life. AFO molded him into a killer by making sure he was in constant mental agony, and making it so that the only thing that even slightly relieved that agony was killing peeps. like, please don’t think I’m making excuses for him or anything, but if you take a child and manipulate their existence to make it virtually impossible for that child to grow up as anything other than a killer, and basically never give him the chance to be anything else, then no shit he’s gonna be a killer?? he’s basically never had the choice not to be. it’s never been an option for him. anyways I feel like I am EXPLAINING MYSELF SO BADLY but nonetheless I am prepared to die on this hill

anyway so now Nana is all “that’s a rhetorical question btw because Our Hearts And Minds Are One so we can feel everything you feel bro.” so yeah, that’s interesting

now Banjou is getting started on the “let’s try and talk Deku out of wanting to save Tomura because it’s insane” part of their OFA Mystical Space Void Reunion agenda

look, Banjou, I feel you, I really do. you guys don’t think it’s realistic that Deku can defeat Tomura without killing him. so if it’s a choice between killing Tomura vs letting Deku and everyone else in the entire world die, then duh, you think Deku should kill him. I get it! and if this were a real life mass murderer I’d totally agree with you. but the problem is that this isn’t real life, this is a sympathetic shounen villain with a tragic past who might as well have FUTURE REDEMPTION ARC RECEIPIENT stamped on his forehead at this point

so First is all “look, there’s absolutely no doubt my brother has fucked this kid up good and proper by now”, which, again, fair

though, that’s kind of exactly my point though. everything that Tomura is, everything he’s done, he’s done because of AFO. AFO has so effectively shaped his personality and his worldview by this point that it’s all but impossible to penetrate that. he’s AFO’s puppet. but the problem is that rather than treating him like a victim, you all are treating him like a casualty. like he’s already a lost cause. but good luck trying to convince Deku of that

WHOA WHAT, RANDOM SUPER-IMPORTANT AND BIZARRELY UNRELATED EXPOSITION DROPPED IN JUST LIKE THAT??

way to still not reveal Sixth’s name, btw. THE PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW, DAMMIT. but also so this confirms something we basically already knew already, which is that not even AFO can steal OFA. it literally can’t be taken away by anyone unless the owner wills it. SO SUCK ON THAT AFO YOU EGG

(ETA: so I have no idea why this was omitted from this translation, but apparently the Sixth’s name was revealed as “En”, which is obviously not his full name but at least it’s something. also he most likely has a fire or smoke-related quirk based on the kanji used, 煙.)

so Banjou is saying that Deku’s “lack of an iron will” could be a disadvantage against AFO. hahaha what?? Midoriya “I’ll break all of my bones without blinking an eye just to protect someone” Izuku lacks an iron will? do tell

he says this is going to be a test of Deku’s determination. well yeah, no shit. but just not in the way you guys think

OH HELLO AGAIN

darker hair again here! but I don’t trust the contrast in these scans at all after last week. his coveralls are way darker than they looked before too, and you can clearly see he’s standing in the shadows now

(ETA: yep, once again the raw shows that his hair is considerably lighter than what’s shown in these scans here. although there’s no mistaking now that his hair is consistently being colored in this slightly darker shade, and it’s not just the lighting.)

anyways lol First was saying something about how AFO can’t steal OFA, and they’ve spent all this time cultivating it as the ultimate weapon against AFO, and blah blah blah. go on then, keep lecturing

NANA GODDAMMIT NONE OF THIS IS YOUR FAULT

girl what?? you did everything in your power to protect your family, and AFO, fucked up man that he is, targeted them anyway. there is one person and one person only to blame for what’s happened to Tomura, and that potato-faced asshole needs a good kick in the balls

NANA GODDAMMIT DON’T MAKE ME COME OVER THERE

SO HELP ME GOD!! I WILL GIVE YOU THE BIGGEST HUG YOU’VE EVER HAD!! THAT IS A THREAT

so now Nana is all “I’m just going to call my grandson a Thing to ensure that fandom has only the freshest, grass-fed no-hormones-added discourse this week”

I don’t even need to drop into the tags to know exactly which specific people are going to respond to this, and what kind of posts they are going to write lmao. everyone’s all caught up in the “that thing”, and meanwhile I’m over here completely hung up on this “nay” that’s appeared out of NOWHERE you guys. look at that. she really said “NAY”

Nana, my love, my dearest, I feel you girl I really do. but he’s not an unforgivable manifestation of pure evil, Deku is exactly right actually, he’s a boy in pain. you guys need to stop questioning Deku’s shounen protagonist instincts here and just let him work his sparkly magic. “let’s try and convince Midoriya Fucking Izuku that he can’t save someone” is a plan that is NEVER going to turn out well you guys

“DEKU GODDAMMIT WHAT IF WE CAN’T SAVE HIM” lmao it’s like an intervention

“DAMMIT DEKU JUST ADMIT YOU HAVE A SAVING PEOPLE PROBLEM!”

RED ALERT IT’S ANOTHER CLOSE-UP OF THE BACK OF MISTER TWO BON CLAY’S HEAD OMG

(ETA: I was too distracted with freaking out about Two and Three to really appreciate how ridiculously handsome First looks in this panel. but on my second readthrough it stood out so much that I had to go back and add an extra bullet point just to talk about how hot he is. look at him. wtf.)

THAT IS DEFINITELY AN UNDERCUT. THE PLOT THICKENSSSS. also those are fucking exhaust vents on Mister Three’s neck. MISTER THREE COULD YOU POSSIBLY BE RELATED TO THE IIDAS, PLEASE TELL ME YOUR SECRETS I’M DYING OVER HERE

so now Deku is launching into what will undoubtedly be a “saving people problems require SAVING PEOPLE SOLUTIONS” heroic counter-speech!

I mean, they can already feel the “lol nah I’m gonna try and save him” feelings running through him lol. ~OuR hEaRtS aNd MiNdS aRe CoNnEcTeD~ and all that. this is just a formality, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love a good shounen protag speech

oh wait hold up, do you mean to tell me that the whole “hearts and minds are connected” thing I was just mocking just a paragraph ago actually allowed Deku to feel what Tomura was feeling?? like literally feel it??

YET AGAIN these Tomura feels are pounding on my front door you guys?? they just will not quit?? people my house is already full of feels, does it look like I need you to sell me any more of them?? -- what do you mean, they’re free??

AW YISS THAT’S IT DEKU. THAT’S SOME GOOD SPEECH RIGHT THERE

I appreciate the contrast here between the Douchebag Triumvirate of Overhaul, Muscular, and Stain versus the Misguided Twosome of Gentle and La Brava. never let it be said that Deku doesn’t know the difference between a redeemable villain and an unredeemable one

OH NO -- OH MY GOD

someone please help me I need directions to the OFA Spooky Galactic Nebula Realm in this fictional Japanese manga land. it’s not on google maps. I need to give these two babies a big hug and wrap them up in a blanket and treat them to some McDonalds Happy Meals please help

other things: (1) ENDEAVOR CHILLING OUT IN DEKU’S “PEOPLE I HOLD DEAR” PANEL LMAO NEON DISCOURSE EXTRAVAGANZA, (2) “ONE FOR ALL IS A POWER TO SAVE, NOT TO KILL” I’M ABOUT TO CRY DEKU I LOVE YOU SO MUCH HOW IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE TO FEEL ALL THIS LOVE, (3) [SLAMS HANDS ON TABLE] THERE’S YOUR MOTHERFUCKING IRON WILL!!!!!!!! -- I’m sorry, please don’t call security, I’ll be good

I just randomly remembered that Deku is still saying all of this in his muffled “FMMPHHMMPHMM” voice and I’m somehow cracking up lol. so actually it’s a very good thing Their Hearts And Minds Are Connected, otherwise they’d no doubt be all, “...what?”

(ETA: so I completely missed this on account of it literally not being visible in the scan at all, but in the raw you can clearly see Baby Kacchan and Baby Shouto fanboying over All Might in two of these panels, and excuse me, ma’am??

thank you very much Deku for including them in your montage, particularly since you’ve never seen Baby Shouto before lol. amazingly accurate image you managed to conjure up, all things considered.)

SDKFJLSKHG -- AS IF ON CUE???

HE’S SO ADORABLE HELP?? Trippy Space All Might looks like he’s about to cry, and First is all “don’t crack a smile... you have to be Firm and Serious here... dammit, don’t smile” omg

anyways! YOU GO DEKU. “MY QUIRK MY RULES, BITCHES” damn, son

KLJLKKHLG TRIPPY SPACE ALL MIGHT LITERALLY ACTUALLY IS CRYING ALL MIGHT HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME

“I JUST... [CLENCHES FIST] REALLY LOVE SAVING PEOPLE” FUCKING HELL LMAO THIS IS THE WORST INTERVENTION OF ALL TIME

Deku is literally all “sure, maybe I’ll have to kill him, but have you guys also considered, MAYBE NOT??” it’s no use Nana he’s too powerful

LMAO FIRST

“like I’ve been saying this whole time, you should definitely try saving Shigaraki Tomura.” “but, uh... First, didn’t you just -- ” “shut up”

(ETA: clearly it’s not just his brother who inherited those smooth-talking genes.)

so now Deku has turned back into a sixteen year old and his clothes have gone missing again. just OFA things

dskljdlsklgk

yes... sure... “testing” you...

HEY

FIRST OF ALL, DAMN YOU HORIKOSHI YOU MADE NANA CRY. even if I’m pretty sure they’re actually tears of happiness/relief. and SECOND OF ALL, “TELL MY BOYFRIEND I SAID HI” DJSKDLKJJL ANYWAY MAYBE GRAN, NANA, AND MR. SHIMURA WERE IN A THROUPLE

[SCREAMS]

WHY WOULD YOU END IT THERE?? WHY WOULD YOU END IT THERE!!!!!

(ETA: and two-to-one odds that we cut away to some other scene once they finally start to turn around next week. I’M CALLING IT NOW. giving myself a week to brace myself for the rage.)

fucking hell. well if anyone needs me I will be adding Horikoshi fucking Kouhei to the list of irredeemable villains, peace

[andypantsx3]

statistically significant | 2 | bakugou/reader

length: 23,490 words | 7 chapters

summary: You’re the scientist who developed a neural net to model the value of assists. Now that your work is feeding into the hero rankings, pro hero Ground Zero has a bone to pick with your results.

tags: romance, enemies to lovers, sexual tension, reader-insert

warnings: aged up characters, eventual smut, m/f threats of violence, problematic behavior

note: I cannot overemphasize that this interpretation of Bakugou is based on season 1 Bakugou, which means he behaves very questionably at the beginning. Please heed the warnings!

Present day

Miruko’s agency was large, much larger than you had expected.

From the street, it had looked unobtrusive enough, a moderately-sized office building with a modern-looking glass front. You could see into a large reception area on the ground floor, and open workspaces on the next few floors, conjoined desks piled high with paperwork and slightly wilted-looking office plants. If not for Miruko’s name emblazoned over the entry in bold, metallic letters, you could have taken it for just another office building.

Once inside, however, the building became much more than that. After checking in at reception, you were led deep into the building, and gestured into an elevator that took you tens of floors down. When the doors opened, they let out into a cavernous space, stretching under what must have been the entire block. The floor was equipped with a gym, several reinforced training spaces the size of office buildings themselves, and what appeared to be a surveillance room where footage from the training spaces could be replayed.

Your mouth dropped open. Did all hero agencies hide deep underground like this? How many other underground floors were there? How big was Miruko Agency, really?

Your guide had enough tact to ignore your inelegant expression, instead leading you towards a training room. A huge, clear window tens of meters across looked into the space, but you would bet anything that it was made of some material much stronger than glass, which was especially evidenced by what you could see going on beyond the window.

Rubble littered the room, scattered in towering piles that gave the appearance of a post-doomsday cityscape. You didn’t know if the room had been set up this way, or if the rubble was the result of the battle going on within; there were two heroes that you could see darting around the space, both appearing to be causing maximum chaos.

Closest to you, a woman with wild pink curls was emitting a powerful stream of some cement-colored substance that ate away at anything it touched, causing it to smoke and hiss and crumble. She melted a huge hole in a pile of rubble, and a man with a shock of golden-yellow hair leapt away from what had probably been his hiding place, backpedaling wildly.

You perked up when you realized who they were--Ashido Mina, the number twenty-nine hero Pinky, and Kaminari Denki, the number thirty-three hero Chargebolt.

Kaminari threw out a hand, and a crackling wave of lightning struck out at Ashido. The lights flickered out briefly, and even behind the window, you could feel your hair stand on end. You blinked past the powerful flash that had temporarily blinded you, casting about for Ashido who had surely been struck down, only to choke on a laugh when you caught sight of her flashing Kaminari the middle finger, sliding away from a huge chunk of rubble she’d dislodged with her acid to use as a shield.

“They’re idiots,” a voice intoned from your side.

You nearly jumped out of your skin, turning to find Miruko herself standing next to you, powerful arms crossed over her chest. Despite her words, a little fond-looking smile flickered at the edges of her mouth.

You schooled your slack jawed expression into a smile. “I don’t know--their personalities are mostly why they’re so popular, so they must be doing something right. I did a little digging into everyone’s results before I got here, and they stood out among a lot of the rest.”

Miruko’s gaze flicked over you. She was short, maybe even shorter than you, but her keen red eyes and very lethal-looking biceps more than made up for her stature. She was intimidating in person, an air about her that told you she could snap and turn on you at any second. Despite the fact that she had asked you here herself, you felt like she might seize you and bodily throw you out of her agency.

“And that’s why they’re idiots. Their results are buoyed by their personalities,” Miruko sniffed. “They need work.”

You prickled a little, feeling like you should say something in their defense, but the truth of it was, you were here to help them work on things.

Some weeks ago, Miruko had contacted the Public Safety Hero Commission with interest in the ranking model. Your version had been in production for close to a year, and you had recently been making scholarly noises about feedback loops, asking for permission to provide pro heroes with individual results breakdowns. Miruko had caught wind of this and demanded on site assessments for her “team of frigging clowns” as she had so eloquently put it. And so you had been loaned out, with the idea of helping to direct the training for the heroes at Miruko Agency, providing them a real time comparison of their training footage to the generic hero ranking model results.

If this trial run was successful, if you could help any of the heroes measurably jump ranks, then the Commission had committed to providing individualized results for the thousands of heroes employed today. The Commission had also expressed interest in your idea of creating and packaging smaller models that took less technical skill to operate, for heroes to use to direct their own training. They had even seemed receptive to giving you a small team of research scientists and software engineers to build such a product, so you would be looking at a pretty sick promotion, not to mention.

Miruko made her way over to the surveillance room, beckoning you after her, and you watched as she leaned over a desk, pressing down a button with one gloved finger.

A crackling sound echoed overhead and her voice followed. “Alright, brats, recess is over. Anyone not heading out on patrol, meet in the surveillance room now.”

The flickering light from Kaminari’s lightning fizzled out, and the door to the training room opened not long after, Kaminari and Ashido spilling out in a chaotic whirlwind of limbs and petty squabbling. They were the first to arrive at the surveillance room, and Kaminari visibility perked up when he saw you.

“Hey!” he exclaimed, interrupting himself on a gasp when Ashido’s elbow caught him in the ribs. “What the fuck, Mina--! Why are your elbows so sharp? Can you just not--?” He grabbed her elbow. “Stop, look, it’s stats girl! From the Awards!”

You startled a little, shocked that he had remembered you. That had been almost a year ago, and you’d only exchanged a couple quick comments in the stairwell.

Ashido looked up from where she appeared to be attempting to crack one of his ribs, her expression shifting into something altogether too interested. You flushed when a sharp grin broke out over her pretty features.

“Oh my god, you’re stats girl? I have been waiting forever. It’s an absolute honor to meet you.” She held out a palm, waggling her rosy fingers expectantly.

A rising sense of horror grew within you. Did...did Kaminari remember you so clearly because he’d told people about the incident? What exactly had he mentioned to her? Who else had he spread the tale to?

“Um, yeah that’s me,” you managed, trying to tamp down your embarrassment.

Ashido grinned wider, leaning forward. “I was totally convinced Denki and Eijirou made you up, except that Katsuki wouldn’t stop plotting revenge out loud for months. You’re, like, a legend. Do you do autographs?”

You gaped at her, your mind sticking on the phrase Katsuki wouldn’t stop plotting revenge out loud for months. A nervous, hunted energy crept over you. Revenge...for months.

Miruko’s rabbit ears twitched and she turned to you, frowning. “I wasn’t aware you’d already met some of my circus monkeys. Is this going to be a problem?”

You dithered nervously, not actually sure if it would be. You’d known Bakugou worked at her agency, considering you had done a fair amount of pre-work collecting everyone's results. But you’d honestly put off thinking about this. Bakugou had been in quite the rage at the Hero Awards, but that had been almost a year ago. And Ashido had phrased his revenge plans in the past tense… Surely he didn’t still hold as much of a grudge now?

Miruko eyed you suspiciously for a moment, but she was distracted when the scuffle of boots indicated the approach of other heroes, and a pair of burly men with curling satyr horns rounded the corner, one of them leaning forward to speak to her. Ashido sent you a wink when Miruko turned her back, mouthing something that looked suspiciously like later.

In the next few minutes, a small group of heroes assembled, ranging from relatively well-known heroes like Ashido and Kaminari, to a couple of heroes who ranked deep in the hundreds--you only knew some of their faces because Miruko had provided you with a list of her employees for preparatory research purposes. They formed a small crescent around the surveillance area, chattering lowly to themselves and eyeing you with speculative curiosity.

To your eternal relief, her most famously explosive employee was conspicuously absent, and you felt yourself relax when it seemed like everyone had turned up who was going to.

When it seemed like the crowd size was finally large enough to please her, Miruko barked a loud “SHUT UP” at them. The din of low voices instantly died down.

“Alright brats. Over the next few months, Y/N will be working here at the agency with us. She has been invited on behalf of the commission, and will be analyzing your quirks, your methods, and your recent work,” Miruko said. “She has individualized results pulled from the current hero rankings that can inform you how to improve. I expect you to take full advantage of this opportunity.”

She gestured to you, giving you a meaningful look as if she expected you to introduce yourself. You gave a little wave, glancing at the heroes around you.

“Um, hi,” you said. “As Miruko-san said, I can give you a little advice based on your current results breakdown. I also plan to analyze video of your training in the coming weeks, and build parallel models to simulate future results given your performance. We can compare those to the current rankings for an idea of how much work you will have to put into particular skills for you to move up in the ranks.”

A small murmur went through the crowd at the prospect of moving up in the ranks. Some gazes sharpened in interest.

You continued, “This is also a good chance to work on specific growth areas -- I can train smaller models on subsets of videos so you can compare your skills more directly with each other or with other heroes from other agencies. Please let me know if there is anything special any of you would like to focus on.”

Miruko stepped back in front of you. “Y/N is going to set up in the surveillance room for the next few weeks. I’ve already established checkpoints for all of you to meet with her, but I encourage you to meet with her more often if you can.”

There were a couple of nods, and a few interested whispers from somewhere at the back of the crowd. Miruko took a breath like she was going to say more, but then--

“Hard pass,” a voice growled from your left. Your hackles instantly raised, and it took your brain a couple seconds to catch up with your instincts. You whipped around wildly when you realized you knew that voice, and you almost jumped a full foot in the air when you caught sight of those familiar blonde spikes over another hero’s shoulder.

You hadn’t noticed his approach, but Bakugou had clearly returned from a fight only minutes ago. His hair drooped a little with sweat, there was dirt streaking the points of his high cheekbones, and his costume was shredded by a thousand tiny tears, like he’d been thrown through a glass window. And...was that blood on his gauntlets? Was it his?

You were torn between immediate annoyance and something like concern at the sight of him so obviously roughed up.

“The meetings are not optional,” Miruko’s voice took on a hard edge.

“I already know what this fucking nerd has to say,” Bakugou drawled dismissively. “And I don’t give a shit. I don’t need assists if I’m the one busy saving the fucking day.”

Your mood edged cleanly into annoyance. It seemed he hadn’t changed any, then.

Miruko’s face darkened. “It wasn’t a suggestion.”

Bakugou bared his teeth. They gleamed almost blindingly white against the dark dirt on his face. “No.”

A wild look entered Miruko’s eye at the challenge. “Everyone is dismissed. Except Katsuki,” she uttered in a low, dangerous tone.

There was a small pause. The heroes around you looked at her askance, and her features darkened even further. “I said scram. NOW!”

The effect was immediate. It felt like no sooner had you blinked than the hall was suddenly clear. The sight of Kaminari and Ashido wheeling around the corner was all the proof you had that the team hadn’t suddenly vanished from existence.

Bakugou snorted and propped himself lazily against a column, affecting a slouch, one pale eyebrow raised over his insouciant expression. It looked almost too perfectly arrogant, and you wondered if he practiced it in the mirror sometimes.

“I said the meetings are not optional, Katsuki,” Miruko hissed, taking a step closer to him. “You can ignore her suggestions all you want, but you will attend them.”

Close as they were, you could see she was almost a full head shorter than him, but the force of her anger seemed to make her larger somehow--she wasn’t towering over him, but she was certainly terrifying. Towering under, your mind supplied unhelpfully.

Bakugou, for his part, held his ground. His mouth curled disdainfully. “What’s the fucking point? The nerd’s just gonna tell me stupid shit. And I’m not going to listen.”

Your fingers twitched in irritation. Data wasn’t stupid shit -- it was mathmatical fact, almost as divorced from human bias as it was possible to be. How was it humanly possible that he hadn’t learned anything or grown even the littlest bit? How was it possible that he was just as infuriating as he was a year ago?

But fine. He could have things his way if that’s what he wanted.

Miruko’s face twisted in a scowl, and she took a deep breath like she was ready to start yelling. But you got there first.

“He has a point,” you said, giving him a hard look over the top of Miruko’s head. “I would hate to waste my time on someone who’s been stalled in the rankings for a year now. He wouldn’t know how to implement my advice even if I were to give it.”

You paused, letting an uncharacteristic smirk curl your mouth, trying your best to channel his disdainful energy. “Isn’t that right, Number Eight?”

Bakugou’s gaze sharpened over Miruko’s silver hair, twin pinpricks of red narrowing in on you. He abandoned his slouch, his body tensing like a hound that smelled blood. “What did you just say?”

You pushed down the petty satisfaction that rose within you at his reaction. He was so fucking prideful, so easy to bait.

“Hmm, cognitive delays,” you said, pretending to tap your chin thoughtfully. “Very worrying. Further evidence he wouldn’t be able to process the information, though. No, I think it’s best if we don’t meet.”

Bakugou pushed himself off the column, edging around Miruko as his mouth drew into a snarl. You were immediately reminded of the Hero Awards, that same overwhelming prickle of power edging over you as he stalked closer, the same scent like caramel and gunpowder.

Miruko’s eyes flicked between the two of you curiously, an eyebrow raised in interest. You hoped it meant she was interested enough in your data analysis to intervene if Bakugou tried to sauté you like an onion.

“If you melt through this blazer I really will sabotage the hero rankings and dip you all the way to number five hundred,” you threatened, edging away from Bakugou as he drew closer. “And also you owe me money for that dress.”

“I’m not gonna fucking give you shit,” he announced, looming over you when he’d decided he was close enough to intimidate. He was near enough that you could feel the heat of him, but he hadn’t put his hands to you yet. It seemed Miruko was enough of a deterrent to curb his bad behavior. “And I’m not gonna meet with you.”

“Good, then we agree,” you said, tipping your head back to look him in the eye. “You’re not good enough to do better anyways.”

Bakugou growled, the phrase clearly still enough to tick him off a year later. “Fuck you, I’m the best.”

“That’s not what your ranking tells me,” you clicked your tongue, feigning disinterest. With the dirt and scratches all over him he looked wilder than ever and you would be a fool to ignore it, but Miruko’s presence made you bold. And something else, some latent streak of frustration and pettiness told you to keep going, to keep pressing the buttons that were getting this reaction from him.

“Your ranking tells me you haven’t even improved the tiniest bit in an entire year. At this rate, you’ll never even hit the top three, never mind be the best. I don’t think you could improve even if you wanted to,” you said.

Bakugou looked like he wanted nothing more than to tear your head off with his teeth. “I can do whatever the fuck I want.”

You opened your mouth to reply but there was a sudden motion at the edge of your vision, something pink and blurry and wild. You glanced past Bakugou’s shoulder to find Ashido leaning around the wall, waving a hand frantically and mouthing something at you. You squinted, watching her lips shape themselves carefully: make a bet.

What? Make a bet?

She wanted you to make a bet?

You looked back up at Bakugou, taking in the oppositional expression, the angry curl of his mouth, the straight slope of his nose, and those keen, blood red eyes glaring down at you. This was certainly the face of a man who wouldn’t be told what to do, who couldn’t be told what to do.

But despite your words and your inherent distaste, there was no denying he was actually your best shot, the cleanest pathway to your promotion. Bakugou was smart, driven, and absolutely lethal. If anyone could turn around a rank at top speed it was him.

But he couldn’t be made to do it. He had to want to do it.

Ashido waved in the corner of your vision again, enunciating with exaggerated facial expressions. Make a bet.

Things clicked into place.

“Hmm, I wouldn’t be so sure,” you looked away from Ashido, inspecting your nails casually, like your focus would rather be anywhere than on this conversation. “In fact, I would bet almost anything that you wouldn’t know how to implement my suggestions, even if you tried.”

Bakugou froze, red eyes passing over you curiously. For one heart stopping moment, you thought he was on to you, but he just leaned down instead, putting his face close to yours.

“I’ll fucking take that bet.”

You tried to push down your sudden swell of excitement, fighting to keep your expression neutral. You knew he wouldn’t cooperate if he thought you were happy about this.

“Fine. You have two months to jump a rank,” you said. “Or I win. And you’ll pay me what you owe me for the dress.”

Bakugou smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. This had the effect of emphasizing both the tears in his shirt and the swell of his biceps.You quickly attached your eyes firmly to his face--that was so not what you needed to be focused on right now.

“I’ll do it in one,” he said. “And then I win, you smug fucking nerd.”

You gazed at him steadily. “Agreed. Miruko’s number seven--you think you can beat your own boss with just a month of work? You’ll never.”

“You haven’t heard what I win yet,” he said.

You stared at him, eyebrows drawing together in confusion. “You go up in rank. That’s what you win.”

Bakugou’s handsome face shifted into an uneven smirk. “Oh no. This is twice now you’ve opened your little know-it-all mouth and acted like you know what the fuck you’re talking about. When I win, you’ll tell me I’m the best and I was right all along.”

You suppressed an eye roll. If he moved up a rank, the point would very obviously be that you were right all along. Was he really so unreasonably competitive and spiteful that he needed to be told he was right?

Then you remembered he’d quite literally dragged you into a stairwell and implied he'd fry you to a crisp when he found out he was number eight. Of course he was.

Well, a few throwaway words were worth nothing compared to the promotion you’d be getting. He could have his sense of self satisfaction when you were knee deep in software engineers and fat stacks of money.

You took a deep breath, holding out a hand. “Okay. If you win, which is a very big if, then I’ll admit it. Deal?”

Bakugou considered you for a long moment, red eyes watching you closely, before a calloused hand engulfed yours. “Deal," he growled, a crooked grin flickering at the edge of his mouth. "Get ready to eat shit, nerd.”

You suppressed another eye roll, hoping to god this was going to be worth it.

This was going to be the longest month of your life.

[subarashiihibi]

THANK YOU FOR THESE NOTES... i didnt think my incoherent words would resound with people this much lol im flattered. >__< but YES and you actually reminded me of that... izaya didn't have much interest in socializing when he was younger and i think even in some of middle school he spent his time in the library too. i don't think the anime shows this part but izaya actually took a while before he finally agreed to shinra's request to start a club together.

he mulled over it a lot and realized that shinra was his complete opposite in that he had absolutely zero interest in people and the world around him and that fact was what made izaya want to figure him out more.

ANOTHER THING! and this is something i particularly found amusing when i first read this part idk how i missed it when i was making this post last night lol.

the last paragraph is so good to me. not only does narita specifically point out izaya's desire to keep a distance from other people, but he also mentions how it 'could be broken very easily', to the point where it surprises izaya himself. i feel like to some extent this is how is truly is and it's most definitely due to his parents' frequent absence growing up, along with forcing his little sisters on him before he was even in middle school. it makes me wonder if he even feels human at times when he sees other kids with their parents but that's just me getting off track.

something i've always thought about is the parallels between izaya and anri, of all characters. i don't know if he particularly dislikes anri, but he seems to really get on her for her approach at life, and her relationship with mikado and masaomi specifically.

considering izaya also distances himself from everyone, including his only 'friend', it honestly sounds like he's bitter and jealous here. because she has people who are willing to care for her and yet she pushes them away? to izaya, who has no such thing, does he take that personally? does he feel the same jealousy he does towards shizuo, because they are both 'monsters' who still manage to have more close connections than him?

i have to wonder if it's also a remark directed towards himself as well.

but i got terribly off-topic sorry. back to the tags (the entire point ofthis reblog...). the point about him maybe taking inspiration from oscar wilde is good!!! i can definitely see him doing that especially if he was reading his literature from a young age. it's funny you mention that cause that's kinda what vorona did isnt it...i think it's interesting you can draw parallels between izaya and so many charas in drrr. or maybe thats just me looking really hard and going 'how can i make this about izaya' like i do with a lot of stuff. either way thank you again for the tags i'm glad i could put into words how he speaks like an old man 😭

my thing about izaya is that he's so strange and weird and i love that so much. i didn't want to ramble too much in the notes of that poor person's post but i find the way he speaks and the words he chooses so interesting so let me ramble a little bit. this may or may not even be coherent so bear with me here im just going to speak my thoughts.

ok this got really fucking long and all over the 0place so im putting this under a read more sorry.

so i have volume 9 of the novel in both english and japanese. i only have two novels in japanese and that is this one and yuuyake wo. so i'm pretty crazy about this izaya speech analysis shit. anyways i was rereading thru the jp ver the other day just to compare it to the eng and i kinda realized that like.

a lot of people you can separate their speech in either formal and informal speech right? someone like shizuo speaks really informally and uses a lot of rough, dragged-out versions of words and stuff (しゃーねえ vs しょうがない) and then someone like shinra who speaks in a ton of yojijukugo and generally sounds like a nerd emoji gijinka.

izaya on the other hand rly... doesn't fit in either? i mean sure he sounds like another nerd emoji gijinka but it's kinda different. it's not so much the words he speaks but rather the intonation and his tone...

and he has his moments where he speaks pretty seriously and whatnot of course, but in general he just... doesn't sound very human when he speaks? i don't know if that's a conscious effort or not. is it his attempts at distancing himself from his own individual humanity? or is it just because he's a weird guy? i dunno. but it's interesting nonetheless.

one thing i will note though is that despite his somewhat inhuman speech patterns, it's also pretty...dramatic? to the extent where it's really exaggerated but also very cute and charming. (this part is important.)

i think a lot of what makes izaya's speech so weirdly inhuman is because he doesn't really use a lot of slang or similar lingo that people his age would typically use. i know mikado said in the novels that he doesn't really try to fit in with his age group's fashion sense either so it makes sense but still. he's like an old hag it's so funny. and it's because of that that when he says stuff like 'i don't get all hot and heavy over headless women' or whatever he said to celty it's really amusing to me because like... why is the strange man saying this?💀

another example i kinda giggled about on my twitter when i read it it's not even crazy and i sound corny and cheesy and stupid but theres this scene in vol 9 where izaya messages celty for business and hold on let me just put it as a quote.

he sounds so old saying 'video game' like 😭 idk it's just funny cause he barely even knows anything abt games like bro knows nothing im crying

in the jp hes like 「…ゲーム中なのかい？」 and then when celty tries to explain herself he says 「何を言ってるのか、良く解らないんだけど」 and im rly bad at tling parts of sentences and stuff but just know that the way he words it makes it sound like this gif to me

i love both versions i think the original jp makes him sound like hes so lost and confused (hence why pw gif cause lord that man always looks lost LMFAOOOO) and then eng tl just blunt ass "I don't know what you're talking about." makes him sound like full on hag 😭😭😭

OMFG WAIT I HAVE TO MENTION THIS FUCKING SCENE WITH SHINRA ITS SO FUNNY.

first i think it's funny the translation has izaya say fuck here cause he very rarely swears and i did read this one thing about how he only swears when his mask slips so to me this is like genuine bewilderment that he cant even hide LOL. second why is he so excited to hear about 'whatever sexual fetish' shinra has im crying he's so damn nosy . okay but this is not the funniest part let me add that now.

???

ehy the hell is izaya orihara talking about foot fetishes???😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 im crying bruh i was so flabbergasted when i read this i was like WHAT did he just say? he says it in the jp ver too which just makes it even funnier. this goes back to what i said earlier but i always get so amused when izaya has something to say about sex or whatever cause he's so fucking weird and unsettling why does he know that

(i mean i also get so hard i nearly pass out thinking about izaya tlaking about sex but thats probably just a thing with my heart condition and stuff)

oh also another scene i think is really cute and amusing and funny is back when shinra was first still trying to get izaya to form the bio club w him.

1. shinra is funny as fuck in this scene but also izaya's "Hmm. Can I punch you?" made me havbe a good laugh. in the jp he says 「んー。殴ってもいいのかな？」 which is pretty much the same thing just with the intonation of like 'hmmmmmmmmm should i hit u or not...' sorry like i said im just bad w explaining this stuff. but i felt the need to point it out not cause im one of those annoying ppl who praise the original jp ver and reject translations and localizations i just think it's important for izaya specifically cause i love him and i want to analyze his speech patterns as best as i can.

i was going thru the novel just now for other stuff i wanted to mention and i forgot abt this part but it's so funny.

'Let's not get hasty. Type calmly, please.' its not even funny or nothing i just find it so amusinf whenever he talks like that💀 i will say though the english translation kind of makes him sound more weird and inhuman than the original. that line in the original was basically just him telling her she needs to calm down enough to at least type properly LOL. idk if im just being nitpicky cause this is izaya tho so feel free to ignore that. fwiw i like the eng tl bc while it's a different intonation than the original japanese ver i think if he did speak english it would probably sound smth like that anyways.

this too made me laugh like ??? seriously he is really nosy when it comes to people's intimate affairs. in the jp ver he calls them an 'intimate couple' which just is like .. ok bro💀

does anyone else see my vision of izaya getting cucked by celty (does it count as cucking when celtys the one dating shinra) while he looks sad and pathetic and miserable that he never decided to shoot his shot w shinra back in the day

if i were commenting on the actual stuff going on in this scene rn this post would be a lot olonger and even more terribly all over the place so im just gonna focus on how i think it's funny izaya says 'easy, man...' this is like one of the only times his words are somewhat natural and sound like smth you would hear someone else say. in the jp ver it's 「おいおい…」 which is somewhat less out of left field in terms of coming from izaya but still it's pretty surprisingly normal. i have to wonder if in that moment he's too worried about shinra to care about keeping up appearances.

this is just random and me making fun of izaya as usual but why the hell does he weigh himself after his showers💀💀💀 it's cute and endearing and only adds to his strong gap moe but still... it's strange...

speaking of cute things this is from a volume i forget but he says this one phrase a couple of times and it is just both really cute and also kind of idk... saddening. one of the times i can remember he says it is when namie was making fun of him or something and he replies 'Don't tease me. I'm only human.' or something along those lines and it's like . hm. ok.

i think it's cute he says 'dont tease me' a few times cause eughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh (trying to ward off severe brain damaged incoherent thoughts) but 'im only human' is like... are you really? even after you try so hard to escape your own humanity and individual self so much... im going to try and give my thoughts on it here but this is just based off my hc that izaya has bpd so yanno. im basing a lot oif this on my own experiences sorry. i do that a lot. (gestures over to all the posts i make abt fob/mychem fan izaya)

when it comes to just straight up acknowledging his humanity izaya has no problems with this because 'sure, i'm human. isn't that obvious?' is probably something along the lines of what he thinks. it's easy for him to just say that because it's just that. it's just words. it holds no real meaning and shows no true insight into how he actually perceives himself. but when it comes to actually having to come face to face with his own humanity and the fact that yes, he is only human, it's a lot more difficult because now it's out of his control. i wonder also if he has problems with perceiving his own self.

i say this a lot but i truly do believe izaya is so so so beautiful and i love him so much. also i just saw a funny post on twitter so i wanna say this here idk if yall know this but izayas actually a latina hes got chismosavirus❤ ok thats all i have to say sorry for rambling so much

[rumblelibrary]

Hello, it's me again, your friendly neighborhood... Hungarian?!...👀❤️

Can I request a Sebastian Zöllner fic, where he is a coworker of Reader, and there's an obvious sexual tension, attraction in the office, they sit opposite each other, legs touching sometimes, hands touching... Idunno... Things like this 👀🔥 but nothing happened... Yet...🔥🔥

Never an Enemy [Sebastian Zöllner x Fem!Reader]

Word count: 5k

Warnings: A bad mouthed journalist with strong opinions about art and performance that might offend

Author’s note: Did I let this idea simmer in me for ages? Yes. Did I ever stopped thinking about it? NO.

You hummed softly while the music blasted in your headphones as you made your way up the stairs to the headquarters of the Art Tribune, the art focused magazine you worked for since over a year.

You liked the job even if to deal with artists was hard and the pay check could really deserve an improvement, it was stimulating and surely kept you on the edge. That morning in particular you needed to revise some background stories and just loads of reading to do to work on a new article for an upcoming exhibition. Just the usual fact checking, but you just couldn’t do it at home the day before so you decided to come early and enjoy some peace and quiet at the office.

You arrived at the top of the stairs of the fourth floor with a groan, you told yourself you had to do the stairs because you spent 70% of your life sitting in front of a computer, kind of self care, but brutal. You groaned lightly going straight toward the little kitchen installed for the team when you noticed something in the empty shared room full of desks. It was actually a really nice place with big industrial style windows that let lots of light inside, a very smart environment to work in, with areas where you could relax, free Wifi and loads of facilities. Usually people were put in big desks together, facing each other, trying to push a sort of ‘community feeling’.

Inevitably most of the people created barricades with books, and pictures of their dogs or even empty coffee cups. Yes, all cute and artistic, but do not talk to me.

That’s what also the attitude of the man you shared your desk with on your first day. He whined like a child for twenty minutes, complained he was happy to work alone, followed the assistant of the editor around the office and created a barricade of catalogues between the two of you so thick that you wondered if it was also bulletproof, only to rest his elbows over it half an hour asking if you had the change for the vending machine. Yes, that random man was you colleague and friend, Sebastian Zöllner.

The same that you are witnessing now asleep on the desk, head resting on his crossed arms while a stand of saliva went down on his shirt, wild hair and shoes taken off.

He could be considered an attractive man if he wasn’t a bloody nightmare of a person. You actually worked a lot with him and enjoyed his presence most of the days, your characters folded nicely and you would bounce off his attitude. He was strong on biographies and annoying the shit out of others, so he was always nagging at someone, you included.

You smirked slowly tracing his hair with your fingers, he never looked so innocent and you were always surprised to learn how those messy hair were so soft. It wasn’t the first time you did that gesture, sometimes he did lean his head like this only to be touched like an annoying mewling cat that needs attentions. “Kaffee” He mumbled making you chuckle, such a an annoying brat and he didn’t even open his eyes.

You carried on walking to the little kitchen room to prepare some coffee for you and your desk partner. You shook your head aimlessly as you started wondering why the man is here at this hour and if it was really a good idea to wake him up. To have him awake means to be able to do little to zero.

You watched the coffee get ready, the comforting tune of your morning playlist getting you still on the good side of your mood as you poured the coffee in your mug.

Then you saw it, an arm sneaking in front of you and taking the mug from your hand, you jump scared in a second almost pouring the rest of the coffee on the whole kitchen counter only to encounter Sebastian sleepy figure behind you bringing the mug close to his nose and inhaling deeply the aroma before having a gulp, you stared at him as his jaw clenched, his eyes got a bit teary. “Fucking hot” he whined making you chuckle, he deserved it for stealing it, luckily you were already doing some more for him so he stole your favourite mug but you had some coffee for you left.

You pulled off your headphones leaning them on your neck “No idea you’d be sleeping at the office, weren’t you off on some interview ?”

He shrugged “yeah, well me neither, but interviewing sculptors is always annoying as shit and those are always supersensitive” he said opening the freezer and pulling out some ice cubes from their box and putting them in the coffee mug. “Scheiße!” He cursed as the ice cube landing in the mug caused the coffee to spill onto his white shirt. You pressed your lips tight against each other not to laugh into his face, but he was already pissed off and it wasn’t even proper work time. You watched him lean over the sink trying to wash it off somehow without even bothering to take it off, just adding chaos on chaos.

“Y/N! Do not laugh and try to help me! Beside, the heck are you doing here at this hour?” You rolled your eyes at that comment, but you didn’t indulge him in that request.

“I was just looking for silence”

He nodded like he didn’t believe a single word of it, he was just an asshole and you had to deal with it like it or not. You almost hated how he was so freaking good at writing and that’s probably why many people indulged him. Even you knew his pieces on the magazine and didn’t expect to find out he was so…so Sebastian.

You let out a breathy chuckle taking your mug and making your way to your joined desk letting him wrestle his balance over the kitchen sink trying to get the stain wet and not shower himself in the meanwhile.

You sat down at your spot leaning the mug on side, hands covering your face trying to keep a clear mind letting out a big breath “okay, let’s do this”

You turned on the lamplight on your desk pulling out your laptop from your backpack. As the computer was ‘waking up’ you stared at Sebastian side of the desk compared to yours.

You had like a little citadel of books around you, but it was pretty neat, a little succulent gifted by your friend for your first day at work with the name tag ‘Danny’ on it sitting beside the lamp, lots of pencils and pens of different colours and notebooks to no end. If you had something in common with that beast of a man was that you both still relied on paper for sketching ideas and write down impressions in the moment, then onto the typing.

His side, however, was like a contemporary artwork in itself. Half empty cigarettes packages everywhere, the ashtray filled up, paper inside books and books filled with more papers. Notes everywhere, the damn king of neon yellow post-its, stains of coffee and crumbles of food invert corner, his red laptop showing off like a punch in the eye and his satchel bag always hang or thrown around.

You often wondered if the cleaning stuff just gave up on him. Your lucky guess was that he would probably throw a fit if anything was moved, so everyone just played the blind eye.

He was good at throwing fits.

You watched him come back sitting in front of you, half of his shirt soaked in the attempt to clean it up, he licked his lips picking one empty package of cigarettes looking in it and throwing it away until he found one with still something in it and he lighted his cigarette as he turned on his laptop. You sighed opening the window to let the fresh air not getting you intoxicated.

You went back to sip your coffee and stare at the screen quietly, every now and then your eyes falling onto the little cloud of smoke in front of you.

Sebastian was an attractive man, that was undeniable and you were sure that made him also a successful interviewer even though he was so random and chaotic, when he was silent and collected in thoughts he was indeed a sight to be seen. The dark hair framing his face like he was some cherub, his deep eyes staring into the void of his own words as he typed. He had a sort of decadent look on him.

Slowly the office begun to get filled, people coming here and there to tease Seb about coming early and he just waving his cigarette around asking for silence.

“Zöllner””

The chief editor shouted getting into his office without even turning around. Seb rolled his eyes looking at you as he pushed the cigarette in the ashtray waving his hand around to dissipate the smoke around him before standing up.

“I wonder how he managed to survive few days without shouting my name” he smirked.

You looked at him and mimicked his smirk.

What a chaotic man.

You had finished your reading by then and started to make a first draft of the article you were meant to work on.

“Y/N!!!” Sebastian voice rang through the office making you jump on your seat and he gestured at you to go with him with a big wave of his arm.

You looked at your screen with an helpless sigh, it seems like you will not write that article anytime soon, you’d better just have slept an hour more.

You stood up following that incessant wave as Seb put his hand on your back to get you in a bit quicker.

“Good morning”

You said as the chief editor nodded quietly “Look Y/N, it is a big favour I have to ask you” he begun frankly as you were beginning to get worried “you did your time with silly articles, so I thought it could be interesting to pair you up with Sebastian to go to tonight’s exhibition of Evita Schnecke”

Your eyes went wide as you looked at Sebastian shrug his shoulders.

“I need somebody to keep the horse with tight rains” Mr Megelbach continued gesturing with his pen at Sebastian and then at you “and you will dip your toes in those big time artists environment, but we really need to make sure Sebastian won’t hurt anyone’s sensibility, her interview has been obtained with lots of hard work”

“Yeah, we all know that hard work” Sebastian whispered in your ear earning a glare from Mr Megelbach who handed you a couple of catalogues from that artist and the invitation.

“So, put on hold your current article for today, make a plan with this train wreck and please make sure he doesn’t show up dressed like that”

“That was unneeded”

“All precautions are always needed with you, and now get out of my office the both of you”

You nodded moving out of the office, you were a bit anxious. Those artists were unpredictable just as Sebastian.

You made your way back to your desk with him as you sat down looking at the invitation. “So, it begins at 9 pm” you said almost understanding why Sebastian shouldn’t be allowed to go unescorted because the invitation on the dress code had: Wear something that talks about your soul. Only that could bring Sebastian to have an aneurism.

“I hate that bitch”

“Seb, that’s not a good start for an article”

He smirked as you said so but shrugged

“I mean it, this woman was born into privilege, she portrayed herself to be this underground rebel, but her simple black dress was a Chanel and her everyday boot Balenciaga, so I don’t trust her for a reason”

You smirked as you could agree with that and showed him the two catalogues the boss gave you

“Choose your fighter”

He groaned so loud he could have stabbed his toe and he leaned over his side of the desk picking one from your hand giving a light pinch on your side “teacher’s pet”. You chuckled softly as he always said that.

“Tell me if you read something that it is not about the performer’s way of life” he mumbled opening it in front of him.

You begun your reading and it was indeed the hell pit of a vey spoiled kid who was told to be the greatest since the first day of life, you picked your notebook and opened it taking notes on things that you could ask about.

Sebastian in the meanwhile lighted up another cigarette rolling it between his fingers mindlessly, his eyes looking above the paper at you every now and then among the little curses in German about the stupid things written there.

After some time it was becoming really a torture to read and you leaned your back on your chair stretching your legs forward for Seb to catch one of them among his.

You smirked as you often joked to him he was like some bear trap with those legs always catching yours.

He put his hand under the table bringing your leg up onto his thigh as you shifted even lower on your seat, his hand touching your ankle mindlessly as he had a talent for little massages like that. He did it the first time a while aback, a summer day where it was so hot and humid that you couldn’t feel your own legs.

So it became a little ritual among the two of you. You had many of those rituals, it was like an unspoken collection of attentions. Like you making the coffee in the morning because he was a grumpy ass. Or him always buying you some chewing gum or little treat when he went to buy cigarettes.

“I guess I am not the only one that needs a restyle”

He said bringing you away by the tenderness those little actions brought to you when he pushed his finger in your Vans shoe deepening a hole that you were trying to ignore from months.

“Seb, don’t do it, I wanted to make them last another season”

“Another season? These can’t last the end of the month, no doubt why your sex life is a train wreck”

You frowned at him taking your ankle off his hand to push on his chair making him roll back thanks to the little wheels underneath it, but he held on the desk and pulled himself closer again.

“What do you even know about it”

He looked at you, eyebrows raising up on his forehead

“Y/N, if I was your boyfriend I wouldn’t allow you to leave the bed that early in the morning to go to the office and that’s a fact”

“Oh, and how on heaven could you detain my passion for this job?” “Well, I can write you a list about it, you can consider it a to do list on your next date” His smirk was so wide, he enjoyed to tease you like that, the bastard, he knew to be an hottie and he always acted like half of the world was up to fuck with him.

“Oh please, do it, I want to see”

You teased him and he leaned in elbows on the table staring at you.

Oh the sexual tension with him was too much, you always went down on this hurricane of remarks, always him mentioning how you need more orgasms or implying it, or even implying how good he is at giving them.

“But be careful, because any act should be performed and not only lived”

You said quoting the artist you were reading about and he whined so hard like you really stomped your foot on his balls.

“Horrid witch”

“Me?” “No, that one”

He huffed and puffed picking another cigarette. Sometimes cigarettes just died on his fingers as he forgot to actually enjoy them more than waving them around.

The artist herself wasn’t remarkable, she used themes seen over and over before, she had a background as performer/dancer and she added painting to that, but more than talent she had an amazing marketing squad. You read her story and her commentaries about living like in a poem, which always sounds pretty easy with a big bank account.

You did all you could to stay neutral even if Seb was going down to massacre the woman, you two shared a bundle of two sandwiches (or better say, your brought a package of two and he was skipping his lunch so you just handed it to him) until you decided to get parted and go get ready at home.

That evening you were waiting for him in front of your apartment, when a taxi stopped in front of you and his figure appeared waving at you to come in on the back. His eyes widened in surprise “Well, well, well, look who got all fancy here”

He smirked as his eyes travelled on you shamelessly, the dress was actually one of those you brought ages ago and never used, also to wear heels felt like new, last time you went to a fancy event almost hard to recollect.

“Just move and let me in”

You said chuckling as you looked at him being so elegant when you noticed it, the price tag on his shirt.

“Seb, did you just buy this shirt?”

“Yes, and I am going to take it back tomorrow”

You looked at him puzzled

“What?” He groaned “I suck at ironing stuff”

You looked at him as a little laugh escaped your lips as he told you not to, but it was too late for that, you shifted closer to him anyway helping him to hide that price tag better behind his neck. Nevertheless the white shirt was really fancy and fitted him perfectly.

As you arrived in front of the gallery you sighed and made your way inside.

The place wasn’t crowded but few eyes turned as you got in.

“Would you like some champagne?” A waiter asked and Seb picked two flutes immediately downing one in a gulp on his own as the other was still in his other hand, he put the empty glass on the tray and then picked a third one handing it to you.

“Drink Y/N or you won’t make it to the end of the evening”

You smirked as he was always over dramatic, but indeed the evening seemed to be made for posh people to show off how cool they are.

You spotted the artist pretty quickly wearing a Valentino bright red dress, she surely had the dancer figure and gestures which gave her some kind of an edge.

"She is all yours"

You looked at Sebastian already half way through his drink, giving you that cheshire cat smirk.

"Are you sure?"

"You know I will insult her in a second if she names her dancing background one more time, I saw the videos, she looked like a three ready to collapse on the ground" he chuckled as you smirked shaking your head at his metaphor, but he is probably right, he is too much biased.

"I didn't notice the open back before" he said referring to your dress as he caressed over your skin with his fingertips making goosebumps raise up your spine.

"What? Am I too sexy for your own good?"

"Probably" he commented not losing a beat to answer you. You were taken aback from a moment, his eyes still down on his hand touching your back before raising up to find yours.

Then he took his hand away and pressed the cold champagne glass against it making you hiss "Now go, I'll check this bourgeois art"

You frowned but you just moved away from him. He always did it, he teased you and then made it a joke. You gave it back to him too, it was your relationship, that's how you balanced it.

"Good evening " you said to her with a smile holding your glass in your left hand before offering your right hand to her "I am Y/N, from the Art Tribune"

She went from neutral to smiling in a second

"Oh, I was waiting to meet you" she said leaning to kiss your cheek, surely she was a woman with charm, with a degree of boldness that made her charming and also, you noticed, extremely touchy-feely with everyone.

"We can define this a sort of retrospective of your previous works, I liked to see the evolution of it" you lied, because you just saw the catalogue.

But that was fair enough to have her go on about her, guess what? Past as a dancer, about how she needed to express herself, how she was her own muse and all the stuff you already read.

"What is next for you then?"

"I want to follow my dream, I have always wanted to found a space with my name where people could rent the rooms to perform dances and arts"

You stared at her. For real? Like there weren't other hundreds in the whole city?

"What will keep you apart from all the others that did this before you?"

"Nobody is me" she smirked like it was clear and obvious.

You asked few more questions, but you were sad to admit Sebastian was right. There wasn't art there, there was just profit, selling a name, a brand.

This saddened you because you met many artists that had less than a chance to make it but double the talent of Miss Valentino Dress.

"Y/N" Sebastian warm hand was on your back as you were downing the last bit of champagne "Come, come ,come quick" he said pushing you away as the artist clearly recognised him but he dismissed her with some insult or whatever he just mumbled.

"Seb, I was working, what the hell?"

"Elke is here"

You still didn't understand, you were puzzled as the reason of that anxiety was still unknown to you.

"Like your girlfriend Elke?"

"Put an ex in front of it" he said looking around frantically

"Oh, I am sorry, I didn't know"

"No, me neither, I thought she was just bashing around, she always did" his arm sneaked around your waist pulling you closer "please, act sexy for once"

You were one second from hitting his guts with your elbow when Elke herself approached.

"Oh, I didn't expect to see you here" she said waving her glass around

"Yeah, well I work for an important Art journal if you remember"

"How could I forget?" she groaned looking at you then as Sebastian's hand rested onto your hip. Really? Was he acting like you were his date?

"Hi, I am Y/N"

You said politely to her and she chuckled "Run when you can, this man is a leech and you don't even know it"

She mentioned it almost casually, but you could feel all the poison implied on your skin, Sebastian's hand giving you a soft squeeze, you had never seen him like this before. He looked like a dog that just got kicked, his back hunched over you lightly both trying to protect you and for protection.

"Well, thank you for your advice, I must be a real torment too because we actually have lot of fun together, I like his unpredictability"

You said it from your heart, you didn't want to insult her or anything, but you felt bad for him. Even if he probably deserved it, to be humiliated like this must be hard in any circumstance, in particular in a place where he is supposed to work and being known.

He looked at you a bit surprised, he leaned slowly pressing a kiss on your temple and you smiled because of that gesture so enveloped in that feeling of tenderness.

"Your shot" Elke said clearly a bit annoyed that you as she just moved along followed by a man that must be her date.

"Lets go out"

You suggested as Seb nodded and just followed for once, he held your hand as you guided him and for once he wasn't talking or commenting anything.

As you went out he sat down on the sidewalk pulling out his package of cigarettes taking out one immediately.

"Hey stand up" you said to him as he looked up at you and you snatched that cigarette off his lips "let's go away"

"Where? Don't we have to stay until she gets naked to dance?"

You smirked "No, we have all the material we need"

You took his cigarette away offering him your hand as he picked it and you guided him.

He was silent, which is rare, when he was silent it meant he was upset in some way, he always had a nice comeback line for everything usually.

His head leaned on side like a scolded child as he slowly laced your fingers together.

You walked across few streets, your heels clicking on the cement until you made it to your final location pulling him inside.

"Constatinopole?"

Seb asked looking at the sign, it was a kebab place, your favourite by the way.

"I am hungry" you just said making him lower his head and smile like a kid with cue breathy chuckles.

You ordered for the two of you as he went to sat down putting another cigarette between his lips when the man behind the counter glared at him and he just put it back in the package.

He sat down slouching as you did some small talks with the guys there, you clearly knew them. The soft music from the radio holding the place into a sort of magical aura as his eyes travelled over your naked back once more, the need for a cigarette becoming even more urgent.

You two dressed so elegantly really were so noticeable in the bright lightend place, he smiled to himself thinking it could be a nice painting by Hopper.

You came back offering him his kebab with a soft drink, very thoughtful because he was indeed already a bit high on champagne.

You ate quietly together, it wasn't uncomfortable, your silences were happening often at work and always filled with a sense of common understanding, you leaned your leg up like you always did at the office and rested it on his thigh as you sat sideways beside him. His hand flying naturally on your ankle to give his usual massage, his thumb tracing your skin with imaginary patterns as his other hand held the kebab close to his mouth.

The speaker at the radio announcing next song as Rocket Man by Elton John filled the room with a melancholic vibe. You couldn't help but think the song suited perfectly Sebastian, his being out of this word, out of control.

"Thank you" he said at some point as he tried his best not to ruin his shirt, you looked up at him as he was staring, his eyes telling you something on their own "You have been the best girlfriend I have ever had"

He added with a bitter smile diverting once more his gaze, you smiled back at him, he looked so resigned. Maybe it was the alcohol, but you have never seen him so fragile before.

"I could be"

His eyes darted up to you, his surprise evident as he put down the kebab, the soothing voice of the British singer still giving a dream edge to the moment as he moved closer. You slowly shifted your leg to give him room of movement as his right arm sneaked to rest on the back of your chair closing the space between the two of you.

His lips tasted still a bit of champagne as he pressed them against yours, you kissed him back slowly as his left hand travelled on your thigh pulling you closer to him probably staining your dress because of his greasy hand.

He pulled back almost immediately before leaning onto you again titling his head on the other side. This second time the kiss was more deep, more intense. Your hands slowly cradling his face before pulling back yourself.

He smiled against your lips and you smiled back.

Maybe tomorrow you will regret it like Elke said, maybe not.

Tagged @cazzyimagines @lieutenantn @handmaiden-of-mischief@thesunflowersutra @zemomybeloved@fictionlandslanddreams@charistory @greeneyedblondie44@apparrio @hb8301@whatawildone @rhymerhymerhyme  @thehuiabird @lilith-blackrose @unbeatablecurlgirl@obsidianlaszlo@alindeluce@zemosimp05 @baronesszemo-blackwood @nocapesdahlingLet me know if you want to get tagged to my publications too <3