#{ they both have carried each other in the weird route… }

[teammateswap-au]

i try not to spoil too much about the weird route but you guys have to know that noelle carries berdly home

[meiluu]

Tis' The Season

Peter Parker one-shot

Peter Parker/ Female Reader can be any peter :) cw: SMUT 18+ MDNI, this is basically pure filth that came to me in a dream and i had to write it, mating season *wink*, breeding kink, creampie, feral and protective peter.

*not edited*

peter pov.

When Peter got bit by that radioactive spider, then waking up in a new body, being able to do what he thought was impossible. He thought that he would be the only one in the world who was like him. But as the universe would have it, there was another.

 It had been a rather uneventful day of swinging around New York, catching would-be robbers or the occasional purse snatcher, when he had decided to take a different route back to his apartment. He didn't know why his body acted on its own accord- almost like it was possessed and on a mission. Slowing down his pace, quietly landing on the roof of a building his eyes locked onto a girl. She was carrying a couple of boxes into what Peter assumes is her new apartment. But the moment he's able to get a full look at her his spider senses are buzzing, electricity shooting down his back. 

This was a wholly new sensation, whenever his senses went off it usually indicated danger and sent his blood rushing as his body pumped adrenaline into his veins. but this- it was like a melody, a soft tune that lulled his body into a state of comfort and familiarity. It was like his body was telling him to go to her. Though embarrassingly enough Peter had been gawking at her and with his senses singing around him it was almost like they sent a message to her because in a quick motion she was looking out the window and towards peter. Thankfully enough Peter was quick enough to duck down, getting cover from the edge of the roof, shielding himself from her view. A huff left his lips, god what is wrong with me?, a multitude of thoughts ran through his head a majority of them shaming Peter for being a creep. Although a small portion of those thoughts were relishing in what they had just witnessed, She was so beautiful...

With that little encounter Peter was quick to head home, hoping to forget the weird experience. 

It was a few months later that Peter would eventually meet her again. Throughout those months Peter would always feel that same soft and comfortable feeling in the back of his mind, like she was always near him. Come to find out she had actually been following Spider-Man, but it proved more than difficult to follow the superhero. She had been essentially guessing on where he would possibly show up, hoping to get lucky and catch a chance to talk to him. Whenever y/n moved into her new apartment she had mainly locked herself up, given the drastic and terrifying changes her body was undergoing, she never got the chance to turn on her t.v. But when she did, a surge of hope blossomed within her chest. Spider-Man was the source of that hope. After doing a bit of investigating she was able to uncover that he was someone like her, maybe not bitten like her but he showcased all the things that were happening to her. And so she made it her mission to talk to him- and to hopefully find out more about herself, and to maybe make a friend along the way.

And that day finally came, after spending a couple of hours on the roof of a building where Spider-Man frequented- there he was, standing right before her. Her senses buzzed in pure happiness, and his senses were singing to him. "Hey." Peter was breathless, lost in the feeling that was coursing through him and it didn't help that she was absolutely angelic looking as the sun casted a golden glow upon her skin. "Hi." a timid voice was all she could muster, all her words becoming stuck within her throat.

And from that day onwards they become each other's salvation. Finally after coming to the conclusion that Peter would be the only one that was like him, it was a very welcomed surprise to find someone who was just like him. Your relationship started off slowly, as you both got to understand how you both were changed- answering one another questions. you both moved onto asking questions like, "Which star wars movie is your favorite?", "what’s your favorite place to get pizza?". Then one day it was, "Can I show you who I am?".

The day that Peter took off his mask was a day neither of you would forget. That day Peter felt a weight be lifted from his shoulders, no longer held back by the barrier that the mask created he could finally be with you as Peter parker. 

Slowly lifting the mask from his face, his eyes locking onto yours. Your face split into a smile so big your cheeks had started to hurt. His brown locks were messy from being underneath the mask- and he was so handsome, you were utterly lost in his visage. Peter had been slowly inching his way towards you, getting close enough to catch onto your familiar scent and warmth. Looking down at you Peter raised his free hand, gently cupping your cheek. "Can I kiss you?" his voice was nothing but whisper meant only for you. "Yes, please." your cheeks where dusted in a rosy blush, and with such care Peter leaned down enveloping your lips with his. Dropping his mask, he now has both hands cupping your face like you were made of porcelain glass. Sweet and soft lips, dance together- you lips tasting like your favorite lip-gloss. Gathering up the courage Peter tentatively bites your bottom lip, asking so sweetly for entrance. Opening your mouth your flooded by the undeniable taste of him. Unashamedly you'll admit that you and Peter spent the better part of that day making out, until the sun set behind the horizon, and only then did you both finally separate from each others embrace. And from that your relationship reached a whole new level, trust within each other bloomed and with that came love, an unfathomable amount of love for one another.

—

You and Peter had been together for a little over a year now, your bond with one another growing with each passing day- and with that growth came a new discovery. After being together for an extended amount of time your senses along with Peter's had become attuned with one another's. You could feel Peter's presence from halfway across the city, and that went for Peter as well. He would catch himself periodically checking up on you while he was swinging throughout the city. And no matter where he was he would always find his way to you, with your senses always calling out to him.

Peter had woken up this morning, turning on his side and seeing you buried within the sheets of his bed, heart swelling at the sweet sight. And like any morning he had, he got up to start his routine but something was off. His senses felt like they were in hypervigilance, with this looming feeling that he needed to secure his apartment, hairs raising and goosebumps erupting across his skin. Peter had quickly thrown on his suit and started patrolling the area around his apartment. Although Peter didn't understand why he had this need, seeing as his apartment was well protected by the many gadgets he had implemented, as well as it being high above the city in a nice area. But he followed his instincts, seeing as they have never proved him wrong before… and it wasn’t like he could ignore them. So he spent the next few hours making sure that there were no threats around his home. And like a timer going off his body completely switched its motion, senses now wholly focused on you. He needed to get home now. Quickly maneuvering through an open window, landing softly on his feet, his mind and body on a one track mission on finding you. Giving into his senses he allows his body to guide him to you.

Opening the door to his bedroom, he is immediately hit with your mouth watering scent permeating throughout the room. And with his eyes zeroing in on you he sees you webbing- his mind pauses at what he is seeing, how can you be webbing anything without his web cartridges'? Then he’s whipping his head down to his own wrists seeing how he never reloaded his web-shooters before he left this morning. How did he not notice that he was producing organic webs? But before he was able to begin his theories his mind had begun to solely focus on you, your scent and watching as you made some sort of nest. The nest so far consisted of your duvet cover, pillows, and was all being held up by your webs. A part of him wants to go up to you but the more instinctual part of him tells him to wait, telling him that what you are doing is very important and you needed all your focus upon what you were doing.

With one last pillow, Peter's senses buzz with your call- you were using your senses to communicate with him. Your hair was still untamed from sleeping all night, but you looked so beautiful right at this moment. Sitting perched in your nest eyes full of love as your senses begged Peter to come to you. And in a swift movement Peter is jumping and latching onto the ceiling crawling his way towards you. Reaching you, Peter envelopes you within his strong embrace, burying his head within the crook of your neck. mumbles of 'I love you.', 'So pretty.' , 'Smell so good.' tumble from Peters lips. You sigh at the praise, reciprocating his love tenfold.

Through the soft kisses that Peter litters across your face, reaching your mouth his tongue dives in dancing with yours. The heat within him grows. A need so strong it has him whimpering into your mouth- and it seems you are on the same page. Hurriedly discarding each other's clothes, a wave of relief floods through him, finally feeling your bare skin. "Baby-Fuck." Peter groans as his fingers get a feel of how wet you are. A needy whimper leaves your slightly swollen lips, "Peter...please, I need you so bad." Peter's entire body tenses up at your words, a near-growl rumbling from within his chest echoes around you two. Spreading your legs, giving Peter an open invitation to fuck you, and he accepts it without hesitation. Lining his aching cock that's dripping pre-cum at your cunt, only a moment later is Peter sinking into you. Satisfied noises of pleasure leave the both of you, pushing to the hilt- hips flushed with one another. Peter is leaning over, his face over yours, and his arms are snugly wrapped around your body.

Grinding his cock further into you, eyes rolling back at the feel of your walls trying to suck him in further. Another whimper of Peter's name has him losing all semblance of care as he starts at a rough and fast pace. Your cunt is warm and dripping, and with every harsh thrust of Peter's hips it has your eyes rolling into the back of your head- moans of pleasure being punched out of you with every harsh plunge of his cock. Latching onto his muscular back, trying to keep yourself grounded to him- seeing as it's not enough you twist your head to the side biting down hard into the skin where his shoulder and neck meet. A loud 'Fuck' accompanied with your name tumbles from Peter's lips. Manhandling you, Peter moves your legs to rest upon his shoulders as he latches onto the blanket and pillows around you. Fucking into you with every bit of strength within him, mind and body on the sole mission to mate you and to truly make you his. Your body in tune with his, you are spreading your legs wider as your hands latch onto Peter's backside, trying to communicate with Peter but failing as a messy jumble of words is all you can muster. But thankfully Peter catches onto your message, sliding his hand down to your backside he tilts your hips upwards towards him. Allowing him to reach so deep into you, you swear you could feel him within your throat. Thrust after thrust, you feel yourself reaching closer to euphoria, thighs quivering in anticipation as your cunt continues to dribble its arousal around Peters pistoning cock. Leaving one side of Peter's backside you snake your free hand to your clit. Rubbing hasty circles around the bundle of nerves, and not too soon later you're cumming. Cunt rhythmically squeezing around Peter's cock, begging it to fill you. A moan tumbles from Peter's lips as he feels your walls tighten around him, feeling hot pleasure roll down his back before he feels himself cumming into you. Sloppy thrusts of Peter riding out both of your highs slowly come to a stop. Breathless and flushed in residual pleasure you both gently turn to your sides, making sure to stay connected as you both come down from your highs. Exhaustion is quick to take you both, wrapped in each other's embrace, still connected as one. 

Peter doesn’t know what time it is when he wakes, all he knows is that he needs you and you need him. Maneuvering you onto your hands and knees, sinking into you. A pleasure filled moan falls from your lips, jutting your hips up giving Peter a better angle to fuck you deeper. Hips pistoning into you, latching onto the blankets around you trying to keep yourself steady with Peter's brutal thrusts. Unhappy with how far apart you are Peter is leaning forward, front to your back. Face right next to your ear. Your mind is soon flooded with the sounds of Peter's pleasure. A moan  leaves you as Peter bites down onto your shoulder, and brings one of his hands to your clit. Swirling his fingers around your bundle of nerves, your body is quick to go pliant under him. Letting him fuck and fill you to his content, your body sings in happiness when you cum around his cock and Peter is soon to follow in your lead. Warmth pools within your belly, a content smile takes over your face. And with that you are snuggling deeper into your nest, falling back asleep.

Peter huffs out a breath, slowly removing himself from your cunt. His mind is the most clear it’s been since the last time he was awake. Making sure you are secure in your bundle of blankets, Peter quietly descends from your nest, putting on a pair of sweats. Now Peters mind is trying to figure out how long you’ve both been in your nest, doing nothing else but fucking. In the haze of his memories he sees that he would periodically leave the nest to get you both feed, would fuck again and then fall asleep with you. Peter heads over to his phone, quickly doing mental math…and shit he’s been with you for nearly 5 days! But before he can stress about that fact, his senses are going into overdrive.

Someone was coming to his door. Thankfully the apartment was dark, with the only illumination being from the full moon seeping in through the curtains. Peter is jumping to the ceiling, a whirlwind of protectiveness and anger swirling within his chest. Then he hears the front door open. Using the shadows to his advantage, Peter is quietly crawling into the living room. His mind is flooding with all the ways he could kill the intruder. Looking down from the ceiling he can make out a couple of figures, voices merging together. Readying his arm, waiting until…Now! With fast and precise movements he’s webbing the intruders to the adjacent wall, but before he can web up the last intruder his mind is halted by his voice being called out. “Peter! What the hell kid!” Tony’s voice rings through his head. “Jarvis, turn on the lights.” Light floods the living room, and with it Peter is able to see Tony with his hands up in surrender. And to the adjacent wall he sees, Steve, Bucky and Sam webbed to the wall. Mind reeling at what he sees, shame floods through his body. He was going to kill them! What is wrong with him…”Kid, you need to calm down- or you're going to pass out.” Tony's voice is soothing, and with that Peters is able to realize he’s been hyperventilating. Slowly calming his breathing, he lowers his arm backing away from Tony. “What, what are you doing here?” Peter's voice is barely above a whisper. A concerned look crosses Tony’s face, “Kid you’ve been M.I.A for 5 days, we were getting worried when you didn’t respond to us.” Peter's body is slowly relaxing, “I- I’m sorry, I’ve been…busy.” Cringing internally at the word ‘busy’. “Kid, you're gonna have to give me more than just ‘busy’. We haven’t seen you in 5 days, no sight of you swinging around New York. Thank god you have Jarvis installed, because without him we wouldn’t even know if you were alive.” 

Peter's gut churns, shame and guilt swirling within him. “Can I come by the tower tomorrow, then I can explain everything.” Tony has a sympathetic look upon his face, “Peter-“ Peter soon stops listening to him when he feels his senses buzz, you are awake and you're terrified. Worried that Peter wasn’t there when you awoke to what sounded like a fight going on in the living room. Whipping his head to the bedroom, he tries to communicate that you needed to stay in the bedroom. Then in the corner of his eye he sees Tony moving towards him- getting closer to you. “No! Stay back, don’t take another step.” Shock mars Tony’s features, Peter had growled out his words. They were nothing short of a command, his face was painted in anger and fierce protectiveness. Arms ready to web him to the wall. “Kid! I’m not gonna hurt you.” 

“I know that but I can’t let you get closer to her, you guys need to leave. Please..” Tony takes a moment before nodding his hand and then makes his way to the others that have been stuck to the wall this entire time. Quickly cutting them free, Peter watches as they eventually leave, now his body can finally truly relax. Shoulders slumping in relief. But that relief is short lived with the weight of what he was supposed to do now.

How in the world was he going to explain this Tony and to you now that you’re awake?!

[dashielldeveron]

soulmate trope | aizawa, part two.

Aizawa's route of soulmate trope.

Part two bc tumblr formatting weird (also it's formatted the texting sextions oddly. pls be patient). Part one here.

Warnings: BTS mention. Reader is explicitly a kissless virgin to make Aizawa feel Worse. Part one: reader gets a mild hand injury. Threat of dub-con. Claustrophobia. Sexual content, with virgin-y themes. Part two: alcohol consumption (not by reader). Sexual content, with virgin-y themes. Fem reader.

Remember that U.A., for the purposes of this fic, is a university. Lore dropped carries over to previous and subsequent chapters.

~38k overall. ~18k for part two.

The semester trudged on.

It ripped you apart, interacting with Aizawa in class as if you were the same as every other student, when you knew what he ordered at his favourite hole-in-the-wall ramen place, what he looked like shaving in the morning, what type of cat treat Konpeito preferred—the trivialities were stacking, and you savoured each one.

YOU

i had a dream about you

SHOUTA

Should you be texting during class?

YOU

Yamada-sensei has abandoned his lesson

YOU

in favour of recording noises for put your hands up radio

SHOUTA

Noises

YOU

bleep bloop

YOU

hey ya howdy doodle doo

YOU

etc.

Present Mic knew about the soulmate bond, as you’d suspected. While you’d been grading for one of Midnight’s underclassmen classes, Aizawa conveniently had been in the faculty lounge at the same time. You still had to be careful, hanging out, because it’s a tenuous boundary to walk, and you never know who’s watching.

For example, Present Mic.

He’d walked by at the same time Aizawa had mumbled a sorry about that in regards to how ill-stocked the faculty lounge was to preparing coffee, and Present Mic had only heard what he wanted to hear.

“OOOH,” he’d shouted, and he’d dropped everything in his arms and contorted his back over the arch of Aizawa’s leather office chair to hang upside down. “ARE YOU STILL GROVELLING FOR BEING A LITTLE BITCH, LOVER BOY?!”

You’d also felt like screaming.

“Don’t call me that.” Aizawa had whacked Mic’s face away, but he’d kept hanging around and slapped his hands to his cheeks.

“OH, HO? SHOULD I SAY LARGE BITCH, THEN?! YOU SHOULD TELL HER HOW HARD MIDNIGHT BLEW INTO YOU FOR BEING A HUGE DICK.” Present Mic had slithered farther into Aizawa’s seat and nearly into his lap.

Aizawa’d reached for his sleeping bag. “Midnight…was pissed at me for treating you the way I did,” he’d said, tucking his feet in and yanking the yellow fabric up around his hips, and he swatted at Mic again, who slinked his way into the sleeping bag, too. “What she’d heard from you—”

“SHE MADE HIM RIDE HER THIGH,” Present Mic had said, somewhat muffled in his headfirst descent into the sleeping bag, “TO GET RID OF THAT SEX QUIRK. SHE SAID IT’D BE ESPECIALLY HUMILIATING AND PATHETIC IF HE CAME WITHOUT HER HELP.”

Aizawa had upturned his sleeping bag to dump Present Mic out of it, and, muttering under his breath, he’d zipped himself in and rolled over to the faculty couch, curling up underneath the coffee table.

Present Mic had spun Aizawa’s chair twice before sitting in it, and he’d propped his chin on both fists. “So! How are you doing? Does he know about your contraband cat yet?”

YOU

he’s trying to bribe dark shadow into bellowing the opening jingle

YOU

i think i’m gonna throw up

SHOUTA

I’ll intervene if the lights pop out again

YOU

rolling around in a sleeping bag is not the fastest method of travel

SHOUTA

Ground yourself. Head between your knees, if you have to

YOU

(◕‿◕✿)

YOU

thanks i’m cured

YOU

but yes back to dream about you

SHOUTA

It isn’t explicit, is it?

It was still all frustratingly platonic and professional from his end. You understood, but that didn’t mean you didn’t hate it. Sometimes you trained with him and Shinsou, but that was all that you could officially schedule. Everything else had to fall as a tired coincidence.

It meant being in the same area of the library doing work, at tables far from each other. Casually bringing him tea when you’re making your rounds through the faculty offices for Midnight. Joining the regular rotation of Eri’s babysitters—but only if Togata or Monoma couldn’t make it that day, and oh, Midoriya’s out, I guess I need someone else who’s not doing anything right now?

(Babysitting meant that Aizawa would be out, but Eri liked you, especially since you brought Dango over to play with Konpeito. If Aizawa had noticed the different type of cat hair on his shitty couch by now, he hasn’t said anything.)

SHOUTA

Don’t put that sort of thing in writing

YOU

of course it’s explicit. how could i tell you any details if it’d been vague and nebulous

SHOUTA

Pedant.

YOU

you love it

SHOUTA Debateable

YOU

(❁ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)

YOU

anyway so in dream we’re at some sort of outdoor awards ceremony

YOU

and the ground is covered in dead wet leaves

Just like Ito said, there’s been an increase in romantic clichés in your life—but, as you discovered (and reported back to both Midnight and Ito), you have to lean into the cliches for them to happen. A backburner signal goes off in your brain when the opportunity for a romantic cliché arrives, and you apparently have the option to ignore it. Which is nice, because the signal only bleeps (more of a gut feeling, really) at what could be a first step, without elaborating what situation might unfold.

You found you have the most energy for the first step signals surrounding coffee shops, and those have been very stare-at-each-other-from-across-the-room-in-unvarnished-lust (although, one time, you were handed an application to work there. You declined). What turned out to be a forced-to-be-roommates cliché brought about the destruction of your dorm room, and only your dorm room, by a training accident and your first step of opening your window overnight, but the whole cliché was subverted, because not only did Aizawa refuse to let you choose his flat over one of your friend’s dorms, but Cementoss and his team repaired your dorm by bedtime.

YOU

we are alone at the shittiest, kind of broken table at the back of the venue

YOU

and there’s still pressure to keep our relationship secret bc people are weird about professor/former student stuff

SHOUTA

Nice to hear you plan on graduating

YOU

sensei (derogatory)

YOU

and you let me scoot my chair as close to you as possible and h*ld your h*nd. intertwining our fingers. letting me k*ss them. you positioned yourself so that no one else would see

YOU

(notice how i censored the sexual parts. yer welcome)

YOU

you had your hair half-up half-down, some of it pulled back in a bun. v v v sexy btw, you should do this irl more often

SHOUTA

I’ll see what I can do

YOU

and you let me play with your hair a bit, with you leaning into my touch. we shared a very sugary pear that i had to fight Yamada-sensei at the buffet for. v v v v v warm and intimate

YOU

the sharing of the pear. not the fight. obviously

YOU

i swear, not knowing what kissing/physical romantic stuff feels like makes my brain come up with the most intimate shit on the planet

YOU

so yeah i dreamt some damn this bitch lonely hours about you

YOU

/ᐠ - ˕ -マ

YOU

…shouta??

YOU

you’re not in class rn, right??

SHOUTA

You tell me that you subconsciously devised an act so fondly intimatewith me adn hagve the nerve to say yo’ure fuckngi lonely

SHOUTA You’re going to rip me apart

Aizawa still hasn’t touched you in any way that matters. The soulmark flitted from behind your ear to your fingertips, your forearm, the back of your hand, and carefully back into its hidden place behind your ear. If anyone’s noticed, they haven’t said a word. You’ve been careful.

(The terribly, awfully, evilly romantic touch that made your head spin when it happened [and now when you think back on it] hadn’t even been skin to skin. It had been, in a small group of people, his hand flattening and lingering on the small of your back for just a bit too long, in congratulations for getting selected to student-teach a stealth section of a class for hero-course first-years.

Because you know it was an intentional decision to touch you like that. He could’ve just clapped you on the shoulder, like he would’ve done for any other student.

But he chose to spread the warmth.)

YOU

funny. that isn’t on the itinerary until after graduation

SHOUTA

You’re on thin fucking ice

YOU

and if i fall in??? whatcha gonna do, rescue me???

One of these days, when you shift in your sleep to his bed, you’re going to wake up with his arm around you. You can feel it.

***

The academic situation the week before graduation was a joke.

Less than a third of the seniors bothered to show up to class, and those who did sat through classes on their phones and with their friends instead of in the dumbass seating arrangement. Sero, honest to God, brought his switch to class and played Mario Kart with Todoroki and Kouda, and that was the most intellectually stimulating conversation unfolding.

You attended, because Aizawa had to. You figured you could lighten the mood, and the odds of you shifting to be next to him were significantly lower if you were in the same room.

The lax attitude permeated Sakura Grove, too. Ito was incredibly receptive to all rehabilitation efforts, accepting everything thrown at her with enthusiasm, so long as she got to have access to some way of watching hot people. She was easily coerced into tough recovery shit purely through the promise of BTS interviews and josei manga.

She was even allowed to have her home collection of josei and shoujo manga shipped to her, usually in a care package from her aunt. It wasn’t worth the effort it took you to go through them to approve their contents, but you still scrutinised and logged everything according to Grove standards.

Hell, the candy you were sneaking out of your backpack right now was from Ito. You were eating a goddamn villain’s sweets from home, and it wasn’t even the first time. Ito’s aunt apparently confused her flavour preferences with her sister’s, so you got the flavours Ito didn’t like. And everyone, including Midnight, was strangely okay with this.

(Midnight tried some, too, the first time Ito offered, after the bag had been put through the fucking rungs. Days of processing to ensure its safety, and the moment Midnight put one on her tongue, she spat it back out onto her desk, where it rolled off into the carpet and picked up fuzz. She ended up asking the on-site translator what the fuck the Dutch label said, because when you expect caramel and get salted liquorice, it’s a shock.)

Ito hadn’t wanted these little lemon-lime-flavoured bitches, even though Jungkook was beaming into a bouquet of daffodils under the logo, so here you were, a semi-hard green ball surreptitiously stowed in your cheek as you struggled to bite down (they had a bizarre inside texture. Interesting enough to keep eating them despite your caution, because something deep in your gut told you to keep eating them. Signs of addiction, anybody?). Your book splayed open on your desk (actually yours in the seating chart, since it was the closest to the door and therefore sweet, sweet freedom), but you were half-reading it, half-scrolling through your phone in your lap.

The sleeping bag slowly rose and fell from its place lying across the teacher desk, the only indication that Aizawa was awake at all being the sluggish deflation of the applesauce packet he was sucking on. The end of the sleeping bag dangled off the edge of the desk, with his boots mutedly knocking against the metal side when he exerted enough effort to take a deeper breath and thus upset his oh-so-delicate position lying on his back. Cosy little bastard. The instant you graduate, you’re climbing into that thing and sucking the soul out of his cock.

Nothing was happening online, and you were pissed at the protagonist in your book, since she was getting to go on a date with her hotboy emo assassin boyfriend, and you weren’t. And Todoroki’s sudden screech at losing again really kept you from concentrating, but, y’know, it’s not like anything’s going on… You checked the wall clock. An hour left, and then there’s only two more school days until you’re out of here.

You cracked the candy in half, caught a strange, flaky texture against the roof of your mouth, and swallowed it down before sneakily reaching for the next one. Out of here. Out of U.A. Now, that’s actually debatable for you, and it left a weird feeling in your stomach. With the work you’ve been doing for Midnight all these years and what Present Mic and Aizawa have shown you about the academic process, you were doubting yourself: you’ve always planned on being a pro-hero, but (cringe) teaching was actually really fucking appealing. Yes, parents were insane, and emails were the devil, but teaching itself was a goddamn delight. The way those first years’ faces had lit the fuck up as they connected things you’d taught them in the stealth section was the best thing you’d seen in a long, long time. And they were as excited about it as you were.

You low-key hated how much you liked it. Because if you stayed on at U.A. to teach (and Nezu has hinted that he’d be interested in hiring you), you’d never escape the professor/student status with Aizawa, even though you’d be his peer on staff. Because everyone around you would remember, and everyone who didn’t know would connect the dots.

If you taught somewhere else, you wouldn’t get to see him much at all, and you might not even get to teach hero-course-relevant material.

Your tentative plan, agonised over in detail with Midnight, was to keep sidekicking under her at Sakura Grove as a steadier job with more routine, especially since Ito would probably be approved for parole soon, and to work as a pro-hero somewhere else as well. You’d groaned and she’d laughed when you came to the conclusion that, with your skill set, you’d be most useful working as an underground hero like Aizawa.

It was both shitty and gratifying that everything in your life seemed to point towards him.

God, this class was dragging on. You willed the hands to spin around the clock faster as you sucked on a fresh piece of candy, determined to suck down to the centre to see what the odd inner texture was about instead of chomping down again like Ito into a picture of Suwabe Jun'ichi.

Maybe you should play a round of Mario Kart. Might take your mind off things. I bet I can run Todoroki into the lava first try, you thought as you swirled the increasingly porous ball around with your tongue.

Yeah, that sounded brain-numbing enough. Shutting your book, you slid it to the corner of your desk and started to get up, giving up and swallowing the damn candy.

But you’d evidently gotten past the hard-candy coating to something large and dense blooming rapidly right as it hit the back of your throat, and you were choking, loudly, drawing the attention of even a Shy-Guy focused Sero, and after coughing up an embarrassing amount of yellow-green spittle, you unceremoniously hacked up a surprisingly realistic daffodil blossom, unfolding to its true size as it lay in your thickened saliva.

“Eurgh,” you said, testing, and you cleared your throat again, prickly and grating. You had only closed your eyes for a second, but Aizawa was standing in front of you, eyes widened in horror at the flower you’d coughed up. How had he gotten out of his sleeping bag so—?

Before you could get a word out, Aizawa grabbed you by your (bare) forearm and rushed you out of the classroom, arm sliding around your waist before he even shut the door behind him. The pink ink smeared down your arm as he led you to the closest empty hallway, where he skidded to a halt and clamped his hands on your shoulders, looking directly at you with the most serious expression he’s ever shown you.

“I haven’t been kind; I haven’t been honest,” he began, all apologies and concern and a desperate sort of tenderness, “I’ve been putting it off because I’ve been selfish and have wanted so hard to do this right, because I don’t deserve anything as good for me as you, and you don’t deserve anything thoroughly fucked up like I am.” Aizawa’s obscenely large hand cupped your face, taking up your entire cheek with his fingertips grazing your earlobe and neck (oh, man, choke me about it), the pad of his thumb hovering over your lower eyelashes; he jerked you towards him, his gentle grip trapping your arm between your bodies.

What the fuck?

I mean, you’ll take this. You’ll take it.

What the fuck’s he on? Those applesauce packets have addled his brain.

He must have read your complete bewilderment as encouragement, because he kept going like he had to vomit up these words or else get shish-kebabed for Mic’s end-of-the-year barbecue. “But now that you’re fucking dying—God, it wasn’t supposed to be like this. I had—plans. For you. But now—Christ—you should know that I haven’t thought of you as a stu—”

“Oh, my fucking God,” you said, your jaw dropping in the smuggest fucking grin and shaking your head, “Oh, my God. Shouta.”

He was flushed and panting, but he stopped to listen. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed.

(Oh. You’ve never said his name aloud before.

You made a note to tease him about that later. You have something worse to make fun of.)

“You are the dumbest fuck alive,” you said with a shit-eating grin, reaching up to finger-comb his hair out of his face, “I was eating in class. I swallowed a piece of flowering candy at the wrong time. Hanahaki disease isn’t real.”

Aizawa untangled himself from you and took a step back, and then another. “Neither are soulmates,” he said carefully.

“Okay, okay, I can see the logical jump,” you conceded, holding your hands up, “You may continue with your sordid confession now.”

Aizawa blinked, weary again now that the adrenaline was draining away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, fluffing up his capture weapon to cover most of his face.

“Oh, you—you prick! You’re going to hell.” You grinned, poking your tongue into your cheek. “It’s two more days until graduation, and the minute I’m off that stage, I’m yours. C’mon. You can bend your rules with two days left.”

For some reason, he sank more into his scarf. “Let’s go back to the classroom before Todoroki lights something on fire.”

***

You’re vibrating out of your metal chair at the commencement ceremony. Glassy-eyed, you went through the motions of the walk, the pictures, the handshakes, sad goodbyes that aren’t even real, because people were going to the same places and agencies that they’ve been working at for the past few years. Just as pros.

Aizawa’s right there, and his hair’s slicked back, and he’s wearing a suit, and he’s avoiding your ravenous gaze like a good professor should, instead bowing to parents and entertaining the small but constant group that swarmed him.

Hiss, hiss. Back off. He’s yours. You've waited.

When Jirou asked about the twitch in your left eye, you decided it was time to leave. You’re driving yourself insane, watching him like this.

You sat on the front steps of U.A. with Shinsou as the sun sank past the horizon, jovially engaging with your friends who stopped to talk before going out to celebrate. He didn’t ask after whom you’re waiting for, though it was clear you were killing time.

When the night chill swept through the courtyard, Shinsou stood, his hands in his pockets. “I’m beat.” When you didn’t join him, he continued. “D’you wanna go get ice cream, or something, before turning in?”

Aizawa’s still inside. “I’m okay,” you said, stretching, bones cracking, “I think I’ll stay here a bit longer. You go ahead.”

Shinsou stared at you oddly for a second, but he nodded. “Right, then. I’ll go.” He jogged up a couple of stairs before calling back, “You shouldn’t wait out here too long.”

You waved him off.

Eventually, a night wind came that had you pulling down on your sleeves, hunched over on the stairs and rubbing your upper arms. You dug out your phone—no messages—and called him.

He answered after a few rings, his voice groggy and hoarse. “Hello?”

“Where are you?”

“Where am—I’m in my bed. I’m sleeping,” said Aizawa, yawning distantly (he must be tilting his speaker away). He sounded a bit more awake when he asked, “Where are you?”

Fury overtook you. “Where am I? You dense mother—”

You’re straddling his hips in his bed, layers and layers of blankets between you and him.

“—fucker.” You glared down at him, hair mussed up and splayed on his pillow. You hung up your phone and tossed it off the bed; you grabbed his and flung it into the wall. “I waited for you to come out of that building,” you said, planting your hands on either side of his chest to loom over him in what was hopefully a threatening way.

Rubbing an eye with the heel of his palm, Aizawa said, “I hoped you wouldn’t. Shouldn’t you be out with your friends? You’ve graduated. You’ve completed a tough stage of your life.”

“Correct. But aren’t you omitting,” you said, bunching up the fabric of his black henley in a burst of courage (though you didn’t know whether to put your weight on him or not, so you just kind of hovered), “that I’m not your student anymore? I’ve graduated, Shouta. I’ve waited. It’s time. We can start our lives together for real. Aren’t you—aren’t you going to kiss me about it?”

Aizawa’s chest rose and fell underneath your fist, and when he didn’t respond, you released his shirt and sat back with all of your weight on his legs. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding.” You crossed your arms, uncrossed them in a nervous fidget, and crossed them again so that you wouldn’t touch him in any way that grossed him out. Though every cell in your body shouted not to, you climbed off of him, kneeling at his side instead. “What’s,” you started, hesitating, “Is anything wrong that you haven’t told me? Is there anything I can do to help?”

Barely perceptible in the crack of moonlight through his partially drawn curtains, Aizawa gave you a sad smile. “There’s something fucked up about waiting until graduation to kiss you, isn’t there?”

“Goddammit,” you said, crumpling and burying your face in your hands, “I get it. I get it.” You ran your tongue over your lower lip. “I hate you.”

Aizawa reached out to brush hair out of your face, not that you really needed it. “No, you don’t.”

“No, I don’t,” you said back, shaking at his cool touch sliding behind your ear to fix the soulmark.

***

The next ten months of your life were a blur.

In an attempt to not feel so terribly lonely, you buried yourself in work, Sakura Grove during the day and moonlighting as an underground hero after dark. You had to be a pro to be a professor at U.A., so you pushed yourself not just to be good but good enough. Hopefully, you’d be firmly established as a pro before you went back.

Nezu had discussed that with you in an unofficial job talk that last week of school. You’d also taken the opportunity to confide in your soulmate situation, and God bless Nezu for being so discreet and understanding. He promised to keep your student ID active so that you could still scan into doors on campus and that you could leave without hassle when you shifted to Aizawa (it did tons for your self-esteem when Nezu suggested going ahead and upgrading your student pass to a faculty one; you’d walked out of that meeting positively glowing).

You haven’t been shifting to Aizawa as often. You figured it was because you were suppressing your desire to be next to him as much as you could—still fucking difficult, since it crossed your mind every day. You kept it as low-stress as you could—you most often shifted to him in your sleep, so you could sneak out before the bastard woke up.

(You didn’t want to think about how he’s keeping to one side of the bed, using bedding and blankets instead of his sleeping bag now. You continued to leave nothing but your indent on the pillow.)

(You could count the number of times he shifted to you [that you were aware of] on one hand, but once, as you blinked away sleep, he was scratching Dango’s neck in what appeared to be a familiar way.)

The ache made its home in your chest again.

***

Then came a mission.

To quell the PLF action outside of Mustafu, a team was going undercover to PLF bases throughout Japan to extinguish them. And hey, who do we know who has amazing track records, already work well together, and aren’t too well known by the public and thus are able to go undercover?

Class A reunited in the back of a rented-out, hole-in-the-wall ramen place (Class B was the other team and met in a different location). The cook waved at you, having recognised you from the times you and Aizawa have picked up takeaway, and you shuffled into the back room, dimly lit, private, and pungently smelling of broth.

Aizawa’s surrounded by the half of the class already present—Mina’s showing him a video of a dance she taught primary school kids; Kirishima, hair ungelled and loose around his shoulders, was asking for advice about perpetually split fingernails; Asui’s handing him a juice box with the straw already popped in.

When Aizawa wrapped his lips around the straw, he locked eyes with you, dance routine video playing on without an audience. He’s looking painfully handsome in a black turtleneck and long coat with his hair pulled back, and he only got prettier when he gave you some semblance of a smile: more around the eyes than the mouth.

The moment was broken when Kaminari slammed into Aizawa in a hug, knocking him off balance, so you were grinning when you neared him.

Recovering, Aizawa grasped Kaminari’s shoulders. “Put someone in your own agency as your emergency contact.”

“But Daaaaad,” said Kaminari, his whine eliciting a few giggles from Yaoyorozu and Jirou, “You’re gonna take care of it better than anyone else.”

“I am no longer your professor and am therefore exempt from responsibility. The last two times I was called during class,” said Aizawa, setting his juice box on a booth’s table, “It’s nearly impossible to find a substitute at the last second.”

“But you did.” Kaminari shoots him a double thumbs-up. “You’re the best, but sure, I’ll add someone else to the list.”

“Ooh, during class—there is a new Class A that you’re latched to,” Mina said, turning off her phone and stowing it, “They’re not as cool as we are, right?”

“They’re certainly less trouble, at the very least,” said Aizawa, and he glanced over the former students who had arrived. “Why don’t you work on pushing the tables together?”

They scattered. You stayed.

The ache lessened now that you were near him.

You bit your lip. “Is it okay to hug—”

“C’mere,” he said, and you did, wrapping your arms around his neck and inhaling deeply the scents of pine and sandalwood. You had to step out of his embrace hastily, since anyone could notice something off, but the soulmate warmth had flooded your system like a sugar rush, especially with the observation that he’d pulled you close by your waist, as opposed to when he’d gawkily hugged Kaminari around his shoulders.

You stepped out of his personal space, clasping your hands behind your back. “I know I’ve said it a lot, but you smell incredible.”

“Thank you,” said Aizawa, picking up his juice box, “The shampoo you’re using is particularly nice, too.”

“Thanks,” you said while he slurped, “Is Eri doing okay?”

“She’s doing well. She misses you,” he said, and after a beat, he smirked. “She wants you to bring Dango the next time you shift.”

You sucked in through your teeth. “Ah, ha, you know who Dango is?”

Aizawa was really and truly smiling now, eyes half-lidded and soft. “Eri told me about how you would bring Dango over to play with her and Konpeito. I’ve known from the start.”

“I can’t believe I now have beef with a primary schooler,” you said, “She promised not to tell.”

“She also didn’t seem to understand why you couldn’t bring Dango during a shift,” said Aizawa, leaning back on the table and tilting his head, “You’ve been leaving before she even gets up. Does your work at Sakura Grove start earlier than regular businesses? It’s a long commute, sure, but you leave earlier than it takes to be on time. I’d told you to stick around, if you wanted. You seem to have forgotten that since you graduated.”

“Oh.” You stared blankly, and you blinked. To fill time, you joined him in leaning against the booth table, the hands between the two of you almost touching. “I, uh. Huh.”

Aizawa leant closer to your ear, a strand of his loose hair tickling your skin. He spoke quietly, in that infuriatingly rumbly voice of his. “If you’re distracting yourself by overworking, I advise you to ease up.” The tips of his fingers grazed yours, exploding in pink. “You haven’t been answering my calls; you’ve been sneaking out in the morning. Midnight called me to ask if you were all right, and it was shameful that I couldn’t answer her.” Your jaw quivered at the brush of his hot breath against your skin, but if he noticed (and he probably did, that perceptive bastard), he didn’t say anything. “If you work yourself to the bone, you won’t be any good at your job, and you won’t grow. You don’t have to push yourself. You don’t have to prove yourself. Stop rushing. Take your time.” He leant back, sitting upright. “Linger when you shift to me.”

You tapped your pink fingers on the table; it was a relief seeing the mark, instead of just knowing it’s behind your ear. He’d been rather close rather quickly, saying all of these caring, helpful things with an undertone of innuendo, and it was a lot for you after the long dry spell, so there wasn’t anything left in your brain besides looking up at him full of yearning and saying, point-blank, “I’m in love with you.”

Aizawa kept soft eyes on you while covering your hand with his, clumsily lacing fingers together. “I know.”

Your friends erupted in a wild cheer when the last stragglers, Bakugou and Midoriya, finally pushed their way through the double curtains, with Midoriya waving brightly as he joined them and Bakugou ducking his head and averting his gaze.

You jumped out of your skin at the noise and placed a hand over your heart when you realised what it was—and Aizawa was fucking laughing at you. His fingers curled more tightly into yours while he covered his mouth with his other hand, unable to conceal a terrible sort of wheezing laugh and a wide grin.

He’s beautiful.

Tempted to ask if he were having an asthma attack, you instead pouted, pursing your lips. “Hey, you know that when you’re doing hero work at night, you have to be alert for any sort of unusual sound—”

“Correct,” said Aizawa, trying to reel himself in, “but you may want to work on having a work mode and relaxation mode, with clear boundaries. If you’re on guard all of the time, it drains your energy. I’d like you to have the space to live.”

Jirou called the two of you over now that everyone was present. Aizawa stopped you from joining your friends at the end of the table, subtly pointing at the chair beside him.

Knowing that everyone would want to catch up, Aizawa announced he’d be waiting until after their food arrived for the debriefing. While you talked with Shinsou, seated at your other side, Aizawa examined the menu but ordered the same thing he always did.

Aizawa ate his ramen faster than normal and pulled a manilla file from his long coat, quieting most of the table with the gesture—it reminded you how careful you have to be in your actions, your inflections, because all of these people instinctively paid attention to him.

“You all have been split into sub-teams based on the size and structure of each Paranormal Liberation Front base and your individual abilities to infiltrate them. The majority of you are going to Tokyo, but to those going to less urban locations, your job is just as important in quashing extremists.” He passed the file to Midoriya, on his right. “Take the envelope with your name and a moment to read it before getting in your group. No, Iida,” Aizawa said before Iida could gesture more, “Midoriya is only involved in the planning stage. As he and Bakugou are the most well-known by the public, they will be staying here to maintain a sense of normalcy.”

Shinsou handed the file to you, and you took the last envelope while Midoriya took over explaining to the table. With Aizawa watching you in his periphery, you ripped open your envelope.

Hero commission stationery. Cute. Secrecy of mission, dedication of self…You’re going to Tokyo. Great, you’ll have to burn your city-grimed clothes at the end of each day.

“Who assigned these teams?” you whispered to Aizawa.

He finished his bite of noodle, swallowed thickly, and tucked loose hair behind his ear. “I did.”

You narrowed your eyes. “My team is you.”

“It’s only logical,” he said with a sly smile as he reached for his drink. “Keep reading.”

You scanned the rest, the soulmate trope signal growing in your gut. “Since when does the PLF have connection with the yakuza?”

“Since the families in opposition to Chisaki bolstered their defences against heroes. Keep going.”

Your heart dropped into your stomach. “Their headquarters is in a club?”

“Beneath it,” said Aizawa, and under the table, his knee nudged yours. “So, tell me: what would be the purpose in sending two underground heroes there?”

You took a deep breath, bouncing your leg. “Heroes specialising in stealth would be trained already in how to infiltrate a place unnoticed. They would be accustomed to reading people, to recognising the details that betray intention. And they’d be less likely to be recognised by their faces. Well, goddamn,” you said, reading over your letter again, “Logical. But again: why am I going to a club? I’ve never been to one and have never wanted to.”

“Because you need to grow.” Aizawa tucked that loose strand into his ponytail. “You’re not at your best in large, social situations. Your crowd work needs to improve.”

“So, you’re sending me to a fucking club—”

“Not sending you,” he said, “I’m coming with you.”

“Pedant,” you grumbled, secretly pleased that you’re rubbing off on him. “Seriously, I don’t know if I can do this.”

Aizawa shook his head. “I do.”

***

You were teeming with envy for your classmates sent to rural PLF bases when five o’clock brought vast hordes of businessmen and freshly released workers onto the train to uptown Tokyo.

You have a firm stance on personal space; you’re not used to touching people or being touched, so you grew more and more visibly flustered as more people packed on. A faint call of the soulmate signal echoed in your gut, and you panicked—is it a romantic cliché to get fucking groped?

But before it can escalate to a true panic attack, Aizawa set his duffel on the floor and reached for your waist—you jumped at his touch but relaxed when you saw it was him. He guided you in front of him, unbuttoned his long coat, and wrapped it around both of you, pulling you back against him with his arms hugging your waist, large hands covering more of your body than you’d imagined. Back against his broad, warm chest. Feeling tucked in under the coat.

Tilting your head back to look at his tired eyes, you mouthed Thank you.

Aizawa nodded, and when you settled into his arms, he rested his chin on the top of your head.

***

The A/C in your hotel room conked out an hour before infiltrating Club Magenta.

“There’s a pin that the yakuza has issued to PLF members for club access,” called Aizawa from the bathroom, the door cracked to let out steam, “It’s a visible marker for who’s safe to confide in, since PLF members haven’t been sworn into the yakuza.”

You pulled the fan chain through its cycle of settings again, and no, that was the highest it could go. “Wait, a pin? Would either of mine look like it from a distance?”

“Unless you’re coincidentally wearing the eye of Horus—” The bathroom door slammed open, steam and light outpouring. “Why are you wearing pins on a mission?”

“It’s to contribute to my I-am-open-and-not-hiding-anything vibes by providing more information about myself than necessary,” you said, kneeling on the bed, crawling off of it, and being slapped with 80 psychic damage at the sight of Aizawa’s clubbing disguise.

How annoying. He’s got on this unbearably irritating all-black ensemble (though that form-fitting button-up peeking out from underneath that stupid leather jacket was more of an ashy-grey-black than straight black), but a flash of his socks revealed neon kittens—if you could get past those funky, leather boots with flowers painted on. He’d shaved away all but a shadow of stubble, and his hair was up in that half-up, half-down bun style that was horribly, horribly attractive.

You had to sit down on the edge of the bed.

Aizawa strode over to you, squinting down at the pins near your left shoulder (the tips of his boots parted your legs where he stood). The expected wave of disappointment washed over his face as he read Good Pussy Gang and experiencing sensory overload—both in pastel, the latter with cartoon frogs.

“What the hell is wrong with you,” said Aizawa, unconsciously edging further between your legs.

“Well, the other options for pins up for borrowing from the girls could imply some things that could turn out badly for me in this situation. There was my sun sign is cocaine, but then what if I were offered cocaine? I don’t wanna do that,” you said, grinning, “And the one that said don’t bully me; I’ll come was a little too close to home, and you’ve taught us to never be that vulnerable about our true selves when undercover. Fuck Nasty wears its joke out quickly. It was tough choosing, though. Runner-up was crab rangoon.”

Narrowing his eyes, Aizawa plucked at the charm on your necklace. “And this, I presume, is the entire clitoral gland?”

“It’s a wishbone,” you said.

He set the charm back against the hollow of your throat. “Figures. Just—just what the hell are you wearing?”

“You’ve seen me in a dress before.” It’s really not that bad: also all-black, long enough to feel safe—but since you’ve been informed you have nice boobs, it’s also got a square-cut neckline to show them the fuck off.

“No, I meant—” Aizawa hooked a finger underneath the leather strap on your shoulder and yanked, pulling you upright and rather close; you laid your hands on his chest to balance yourself (oh, hohohohoho, his chest! You’re successfully touching it).

“That,” you said, biting your lip as his hooked finger ran down the strap from your shoulder to the side of your boob, “is called a harness, Shouta. You seem like the type to know a lot about—”

“Not the point,” he said under his breath, his hands resting at your waist (!!!), just below the leather going across there, thumbs rubbing at your sides. He ran his tongue over his lower lip and then cleared his throat. “Enlighten me. Why do you have a harness?”

(“Because it pushes your boobs up and together, and men are weak,” Mina had said.)

“It’s from Momo’s failed Attack on Titan cosplay,” you said, truthfully, “She got the placement of the horizontal strap wrong. See, it’s supposed to go here.” You drew a line across the tops of your boobs, watching his pupils follow. “But she made it here, under the boobs, like an underbust corset. She was going to throw it out, but I thought it looked good on me.”

He rubbed his thumb over the leather one last time before dropping his hands. “It does,” he said in a sort of croak.

You soared on the high of that croak the entire uber ride to Magenta.

Tinged pale pinks and greens under spotlights, the line outside stretched around the block and into the night. Bit embarrassing how Aizawa’d had to explain ratio to you, and a couple of eavesdropping woo girls thought it was simply adorable that it was your first time in a club and agreed to latch onto you two to be let in. The bouncer talked to Aizawa, not you, but let you pass, stating that first-timers at Magenta need to stay on the first floor unless otherwise invited.

“Can everyone just look and me and tell I’m a virgin?!” you hissed into Aizawa’s ear as you were led down a pitch-black corridor. “How come no one’s talking to any of the other women like that?!”

Harsh drops in the music coming from somewhere shook the walls more and more as you walked farther into the dark, and a heavy, steel door (with a glow-stick around the handle) opened onto a pulsating sardine can of a dance floor coated in way too many people, all writhing and twisting to the beat. The floor sectioned into a panelled grid, with each panel somehow lit from underneath, flashing pinks, greens, and black. The ceiling was similarly gridded but only with white light, from the view below, and you could see the silhouetted footsteps of dancers on the floor above.

Aizawa guided you to an edge booth before going to the bar; you, keeping an eye out for the Magenta pins, camped out and shazam-ed the incomprehensible electro-pop song currently vibrating the chairs away from a nearby table (the table was bolted down, but the chairs weren’t).

When Aizawa slid into the booth with drinks, you dragged him close to you, pressing your face into his shoulder and inhaling deeply. “Thank God,” you said, refreshed by the pine and what was apparently new leather, “Too many people are vaping for me to breathe. And it’s so fucking humid in here.” You popped up, accepting the glass of fancy-as-fuck pink lemonade as he skidded the glass across the table to you (you’d decided ahead of time that you weren’t drinking on the mission tonight). “I’m glad Mina told me not to rely on makeup too much due to the sweat, but fuck, this is kind of awful.”

“Yet the humidity’s from crowds of young people dying to experience this flavour of awfulness,” said Aizawa, the glass of some sort of whisky-based drink eclipsed by his hand (big hand…big hand could hold you…), “Seen anyone interesting so far?”

You cupped your hands around your glass, savouring the cool condensation. “Perhaps. Mostly I’ve been acclimatising myself to my surroundings—”

“Spoken like a true hero and a huge nerd.”

“—and I haven’t seen an eye of Horus pin, or any pin, for that matter, but I’ve seen a couple of people, I think, not dressed for a club leaving through a different door. Just there,” you said, raising your glass in that direction and to your lips. “And I happen to like being a nerd, thank you.”

Aizawa’s knee touched yours under the table when he turned in to speak more quietly. “The bartender was wearing an oversized jacket with pin-holes in the lapel.”

“So, not her jacket. Bartender doesn’t qualify?”

“Suppose she doesn’t have to. Only has to deal with the alcohol and kitchen, not crime. Though the price of their scotch comes close,” said Aizawa, taking a sip—and the chokehold his Adam’s apple has on you when it bobs, yikes. Oof. He leant in closer, his breath grazing your neck, to say, “And trust me, if anyone knows you like being a nerd, it’s your sensei.”

Your life flashed before your eyes (lots of reading, lots of yearning, not enough telling people to shut up). Your face felt tight from suppressing a reaction. “Incidentally, didn’t you say you could handle alcohol well?”

“Correct,” he said, smugly taking another swallow, and the soulmate signal erupted in your gut.

Not…the greatest sign.

“If you’re going to try to harass me about how well I can hold my liquor, which is perfectly well, then allow me to make another extrapolation about you.”

You nervously took another swig of your lemonade. “Go ahead.”

No mercy in his expression. “You have a book in your purse, don’t you?”

“Well, fuck,” you said, shifting in your seat, “Is my not-like-other-girls complex showing?”

“I don’t know what that means, but since it flusters you, yes.”

You tried to down the rest of your lemonade, but the glass was really big. Whatever. You pushed on the table to stand. “I’m gonna go dance. I have no idea how, but it’ll be a learning experience, right, fuck-o?”

Holding his glass in from of his smile, Aizawa rolled his eyes.

“I’ll see if there’s anyone out there wearing the pin who doesn’t fit a stereotype and get to talking. See if there’s any more exits,” you said, successfully finishing your lemonade this time and slithering out of the booth, “You stay here, being effortlessly, excruciatingly handsome, and watch the flow of traffic, yeah? See if anyone approaches. Is the soulmark in place?” You spun around (with a bit of traction from the beer-soaked floor) and gestured to your ear.

When he didn’t touch you, you faced him again. Eyebrows raised, Aizawa was frozen, his glass an inch from his lips.

“You think I’m handsome?”

“Is that what you’re focusing on? C’mon, Sho, you’re the most beautiful creature alive, and you know it. I wanted to drop dead when you walked out in your slutty little outfit earlier. You’re playing to my exact weaknesses, you cunning little fuckslut. I already want to quit the mission and make out with you, but I know you won’t allow that, so let’s get the ball rolling so we can finish, yeah?”

He set his glass down with a loud clink. “Right.” He ran his tongue over his lower lip. “Let me fix your soulmark.”

After that, you fucked off onto the dance floor, a bit discombobulated from the nearly-strobe-but-not-quite lights from the floor panels, but you guess the advantage would be if anyone saw you embarrassing yourself, they wouldn’t be able to get a good look at you.

Dancing was out of your comfort zone, but making people laugh? All too easy. All you had to do was compliment a woman on her heart-shaped nipple stickers, and she invited you over to her friends’ dance group. You elected to lean into the everyone-can-tell-this-is-my-first-time-in-a-club bit, and by being honest and awkward within the boundaries of your mission persona, the more experienced club-goers delighted in teaching you some basic club dance moves.

Yes, the music throbbed through your skull as you pulled questionable moves in a dense, sweaty pack of bodies—but hey, your mission persona’s new bestie said that everyone besides professional dancers fake knowing how to dance, so you do you, girl. Besides, Haru was fishing out her phone to show you pictures of her cat, and Kisa was shouting over the music the premise of her PhD dissertation that she was defending next month (she invited you to the defence, and though you won’t have any good questions about the usage of prosthetic limbs as moral denotation in English Victorian literature, you genuinely planned on attending).

(No pins, no outsiders, no one not young and exceedingly drunk—)

“I think you’ve got it!” Haru yelled, her features illuminated in pink, “I think that’s all the basic solo moves! Do you know how to grind? Should we move on to grinding?”

Outward shouts of agreement from the group. Internal screaming on your part. How do you say my ass belongs to my stupid soulmate undercover?

All too quickly, Haru introduced you to Kazu, who waved politely and offered an honestly endearing smile, but you were pressed up against him way too quickly, with too many people touching you, with multiple pairs of hands on your hips trying to guide their movement, and hey, is that an eye—

When Aizawa yanked you out of the cluster, you could breathe again.

“Oof, ouch, I’m sorry; we’re sorry, sir. We didn’t know we were swarming her,” Kisa was saying while you were reorienting yourself, “She should be just fine, though! Nothing bad has happened to her since she’s been with us, and until now, it’s just been us girls—”

More of that language. Assuring Aizawa, like you weren’t even there. And, like, these were women! Some of whom were in academia and medicine, and shit, fighting the good feminist fight! Why were they talking about you like you were—

“They think I’m your dom,” Aizawa said as he steered you towards a roomier part of the floor, “They want to ensure you’re not in trouble with me.”

You turned to face him. “Shut up. No, they don’t.”

Aizawa didn’t have to say anything—just let his gaze sink to your harness.

“Oof,” you said, clasping your hands behind your back. Biting the inside of your cheek, you bounced on the balls of your feet, and you met his eyes. “Am I in trouble with you?”

“No,” he said evenly, “but you’re not going to learn to grind on anyone but me.” He closed in on you, body heat mingling, and looked down at you, eyes half-lidded. “Do you seriously not know? Do those books you read teach you nothing?”

Aizawa took mercy on your headshake no, spun you around, and grasped your hips, his thumbs digging into the swell of your ass.

(He’s touching you, and it’s lower on your body; it’s intimate. You need to go lie down to think about this. You can already feel you’ll be processing this touch for a long time—)

Aizawa jerked your ass back against his pelvis, and your brain emptied.

“Now,” he said, his voice low in your ear (though you’re already sweating, a different heat started to build in you), “The first step is to relax. The movement will be smoother if you’re not wracked with tension.”

“How can I relax when you’re—” Realisation seized you like a sailor grasping for a fish flopping around on deck. “You’re drunk, Shouta,” you said, sighing, chest heavy with compassion and disappointment that he wasn’t flirting with you entirely deliberately, and you reached up to cup his face in your hands. “Let’s go back to the booth and wait it out. I’m going to take care of you.”

He snatched your hands away before your fingertips could even turn pink. “No, little girl,” Aizawa hissed, forcing you around and pinning your hips against his, his splayed hand pressing down hard on your lower stomach, “I’m going to take care of you.”

You would like pink lilies at your funeral.

“A step-by-step lesson, since you’ve managed to make it this far being so woefully ignorant. Some people say grinding can be for fun and nothing else, but for you, since you’re with me, grinding is always sensual.” Aizawa took your twitching hands in both of his, and he dragged your hands up your thighs, plucking at the hem of your dress before trailing them up to your waist. “Usually, your goal would be to get me hard. Luckily for you—”

Grunting, Aizawa ground his erection (?!) against you, rolling his hips from top to bottom to make you feel everything from the tip to his balls, putting so much pressure on your hip and stomach that you grew aware of your goddamn hipbones (this man is bringing up your skeleton, among other private, inner things you don’t want to think about, and it’s just a dance).

“—I’m already there. So, you don’t have to worry about any responsibility. You just sit pretty and let your sensei teach you, hm? I know you’re a quick learner. You’ll catch on.”

Aizawa tapped the back of your knees, making you bend them when you flinched, but he motioned for them to stay bent, doing the same himself. “Move your hips to the beat, matching my speed. Some songs call for moving your hips in a figure-eight, but most work better if you’re moving them in a circular motion—”

“Circular how?” you asked, swaying along to the beat just barely, not even realising you were doing it, “Like, are we talking circle on the y-axis or the x-axis?”

Aizawa scoffed into your hair. “Fucking—it’s not that simple; it’s not two-dimensional. It’s,” he said, raising a hand in front of you to make a flattening gesture, “There’s another plane intersecting. Not just the y- and x-axes. God, what is it called when there’s a third—forget it.” He huffed and nuzzled against your neck. “Think of the movement as Saturn’s rings.”

You looked back at him, grinning. “Are you Saturn?”

“Cheeky,” he said, and he directed you to face the front again by sliding his thumb along your jaw, “or should I say brat. Jesus, am I Saturn—no, sweetheart, but I’m losing my patience for you. Pay attention.”

Sweetheart.

Sweetheart.

You have the mental image of popping champagne while Midnight and Ito throw confetti.

You’re almost too overwhelmed by the new and very good and oh? to keep absorbing more information and observing more sensations, but the only way out was through.

So, Aizawa taught you the right way to roll your hips, to adjust to different songs, what to do with your hands, with every point of contact along the way feeling like a lit sparkler, and you’re a light that won’t go out.

Both present and far away, you couldn’t keep it together (maybe you were experiencing sensory overload). Being so close to Aizawa, with him wanting to be near and nearer to you, unfurled a heady thrill up your spine as he slid his hands over your hips and ass and waist, tugging back on the harness when your back strayed too far from his chest. The way your bodies moved together, slowly, sultrily—his hips twitched involuntarily against you.

“Let me look at you.”

Grabbing your chin again, he turned you towards him, and your hands trembled under his as he encouraged you to run them down his chest (half of his features highlighted in a flash of pearl green, he smirked at you when you lost your nerve and broke eye contact, gathering the fabric of his shirt in a frustrated fist before noticing you were grazing his abs and let go). But he kept you close.

Head swimming, you hooked a finger into his belt loop and yanked to close the scant space between you. You found yourself saying nonsense, like your sentences were rice-paper butterflies that couldn’t float off your tongue and into the dark fast enough. “I want to take a nap inside your ribcage. I want and love every part of you, even the ones I don’t know yet, even if you want no part of me. I’m always yours, in every iteration of me, in every timeline, forever. I don’t care if everyone else forgets me or hates me so long as you know me. I’m going to make you pancakes in the morning. I’m going to give you the best blowjob of your life. I’m going to eat you alive. I’m also possibly experiencing sensory overload and may pass out, so we may need to rain-cheque the mission and leave soon.”

Nodding, Aizawa leant in to kiss you.

The music and lights and people faded away, and you were weightless, in freefall, with a spark of yet more heat kindling low in your stomach.

(From there, the details escape you—and that kills you when you look back at this moment, because it’s your first kiss. But you don’t remember if his lips were chapped or how it tasted or sounds, or anything [possibly because of how bombarded your senses had already been], but you remember how he made you feel: like you’ve been exploring an endless garden, searching, and then seeing him when you turn a corner, his back to you as he waters greenery, and how blinding his smile is when he turns to you.)

***

The mission. Right, the mission. Really hard to care about it once you’d kissed Aizawa.

It went fine. You returned to the booth and read aloud from your book to him until he decided he was sober enough to continue, and you’d scouted some pin-wearers and sneaked downstairs. The PLF stragglers split you and Aizawa up during the fight, so it thrilled you to bits when the soulmate bond made Aizawa shift to you when he couldn’t get loose from multiple yakuza holding him down. Good shit.

Nothing happened when you made it back to the hotel, because Aizawa passed the fuck out within a minute of unlocking the door, which was fair.

You’d been summoned to aid Hagakure and Kirishima at a base just outside of Tokyo, so you’d taken care of that and were now driving back home.

(He’d told you he’d rented the car because he didn’t want to risk your feeling overwhelmed on the train again. Magnanimous fucker.)

Unfortunately, most of the car ride had to be spent reporting to a hero commission employee and then listening to the next step of the plan on speakerphone. You found yourself nodding off, despite the hard copy of the mission report in front of you waiting to be filled out.

The hero commission had to hang up abruptly (something something Best Jeanist?), and the second Aizawa hung up the phone, it rang again. Groaning, he answered it, turning on speaker again and replacing it in his cupholder.

“Eraserhead speaking.”

Crying out, you hunched over in the passenger seat, the soulmate signal cutting so suddenly and severely that it was as if your stomach had been sliced open with a blunt knife.

A hand flying to your shoulder, Aizawa slammed on the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road.

“…been trying to reach you all morning,” the voice on the phone was saying (another hero commission employee, from the legal side, it sounded like), “but I haven’t been able to get through.”

Shaking your head, you held up a hand to Aizawa to let him know you were okay, that it would pass. Still, his jaw tensed, and he slid his hand from your shoulder up to cup your cheek, rubbing his thumb over your cheekbone.

“—because it looks you left some of your financial agreement blank; did you mean to indicate that yes, your wife should be paying child support for Eri?”

Aizawa dropped his hand from your cheek and stared blankly at the phone in the cupholder. “I’m sorry. What?”

“Child support for—”

“No, hold on,” said Aizawa, gesturing and shaking his head even though the other person couldn’t see, “Actually, before we—listen, I don’t have exclusive custody of Eri; she’s under the care of U.A. as an institution. She happens to be near me the most because she bonded with me first. You must have inaccurate—inaccurate information.” He shot a questioning look to you, and you shrugged, excitement bubbling in your gut.

“Allow me a moment?” Mouse clicking was heard. “Okay, well, I’ve got you and your wife’s bank account information pulled up here—”

“When was a quirk incident form for me last processed by your system?”

Aizawa shot you a warning glare while you proceeded to silently lose your shit, clamping a hand over your mouth to stifle your laughter. You unbuckled and reached over the console to pepper pink kisses all over a sulking Aizawa’s face while the speaker rattled off an apology for the delay in processing hard copies of paperwork when they’re used to digital, ultimately confirming that due to a mistake in filing and your little jokes on paper, you two have been married for eight months now.

Running your fingers through his hair (sandalwood sandalwood sandalwood), you pressed your forehead to his, and while the speaker was still apologising for the error, you whispered, “I am going to give you the most egregious road head.”

Aizawa laughed through his nose, making a horrible sort of snrking noise, and he slipped his hand over his own mouth to cover the wheeze in his laugh. You kissed the tip of his nose and leant back to your seat after giving his hair a final, gentle tug.

Steeling himself, Aizawa the pink-nosed reindeer cut the hero commission employee off. “I understand, but I’m still in the field right now. Please forgive me, but I’ll have to call you back later.”

The moment you hung up for him, Aizawa let out a loud groan, tilting his head back and sinking down in his seat, digging the heels of his palms into his eyes. “Jesus Christ,” he said over your burst of open laughter, “You got what you wanted, I suppose.”

“Ohhhhh, no,” you said once you got a breath in, “I’m married to the person I love more than anyone, boo hoo. Do you—” A harrowing thought sobered you. “Do you not want this?”

Aizawa peeked from under his hands, and he dropped them to his lap with a sigh. “Well,” he said, sitting upright again and turning the key in the transmission, “It’s certainly not how I wanted to propose.”

Your throat ran dry, and you smiled through it. “Can’t be helped, I guess. Would it make you feel better if we went to pick out rings?” you asked, not quite joking but not quite serious.

You got to see the way his cheeks and ears tinged bright red as he checked behind you to merge into incoming traffic, and he tucked his chin into his scarf, as if he didn’t want to be seen. “The ring’s already at home.”

***

You were to take over teaching Midnight’s classes. Your duties at Sakura Grove would taper off as other employees learnt how to replace the both of you.

You were also to give her eulogy.

As her former student, close friend, and only sidekick, you were the natural choice. You didn’t want to do it, but you knew if someone else did it, they’d fuck it up.

You deliberately didn’t look at anyone in the crowd (students, heroes, and civilians whose lives she’d affected) and instead focused on the clock on the far wall. If you looked Yagi or Yamada in the eyes right now, you’d crumple.

So, you started talking. You have control over the jokes, this way, over the stories, by doing it yourself. You were doing fine, speaking in a disconnected way, until you noticed, for the first time, that Nezu was sitting on a couple of bibles to see over the pew.

For some reason, that made your grief-stricken brain lose the last threads of composure at which you were grappling, and the first fat tear trickled past your waterline.

And you shifted right into Aizawa’s lap, in front of everyone.

His wheelchair was parked on the outside of the second pew (he wasn’t even supposed to be out of the hospital yet and didn’t yet have a prosthetic), so those attending could see the shift without even having to turn their heads much. Gasping, you were straddling/kneeling in Aizawa’s lap with your arms around his neck, his chin almost in your boobs, and he looked just as taken aback as you did.

You ignored it, instead standing, wiping the tear, and continuing where you’d been cut off mid-sentence as you returned to the podium.

You shifted four more times during the course of the eulogy.

So, Midnight celebrated romance even in her death: amidst condolences came the curious congratulations on finding your soulmate.

***

You woke up in his bed.

When the bed creaked and a warm, muscular arm draped over you, there was no scrambling off of each other. No panic. He grumbled something against the back of your neck and tightened his grip around your waist, curling into you.

You woke up in his bed.

“What—why are you leaving?” came Aizawa’s rasping morning voice, his hand emerging from under the covers to grasp your wrist. “S’not daylight yet.”

“I know,” you said, putting a knee back on the bed to lean over him, and you brushed hair out of his face, trails of pink following. “But I can’t go straight to Sakura Grove like this; I need stuff from my flat. One of my replacements starts training today.”

“Mm.” Aizawa blinked blearily up at you, a sleep smile growing as he held your palm to his cheek. “Take some shoes for the commute, at least.”

“I was planning on it. Is my pair of All Might socks still here?”

“Yeah. I washed them,” said Aizawa, and with a grunt, he moved to sit up.

Hands on his chest, you pushed him back down. “No, baby, stay in bed. I’ll get them. You need all the rest you can get.”

You woke up in his bed.

It’s empty, so you followed the scent of coffee into the kitchen, where a shirtless, pink-sweatpants-ed Aizawa stared into a mug with amorphous cats that Eri painted.

“You’re adorable,” you said, opening the cabinet next to him and scanning the mug selection.

The slurp he made was monstrous. “Eri misses you.”

“I miss you, too, Shouta.” You selected a #1 Dad mug from Kirishima, and Aizawa poured the steaming coffee into it for you. “We’ll see each other more when school starts again. The next time the teaching certification test is being offered is late next month, and then I can start orientation here.”

Aizawa nodded, resting his elbow next to you on the counter, grazing your fingers cupped around your mug. “I know you’re still working the fifth district at nights, but is there a chance you could take a leave of absence for this weekend?”

“Hot date?”

He hummed into his coffee. “If only. I’ve got a short mission out of town, and there’s no one I’d trust more to watch Eri.”

You smiled at him, with Konpeito rubbing against your legs. “Of course.”

You woke up in his bed.

“Thank God,” said Aizawa, rolling on top of you and burying his face in your neck.

“It’s only a few more weeks,” you said, wriggling in his hold when his breath tickled you.

“No, I mean—the ring’s finished being resized,” he said, sitting up, “and I’ve been desperate to see it on you.”

Aizawa retrieved the box from his bedside table and slid it on your finger: white gold with an emerald embedded, all strategically designed not to catch on anything—made with your hero work in mind.

You wiggled the fingers on your left hand, the emerald catching the morning light. “I’m going to throw up. It’s gorgeous.”

“Hold your nausea for when you hear Hizashi’s latest ideas for our ceremony.”

“Oh, fuck,” you said, plopping back down onto the pillow, “Does he not understand simplicity? Or not being a fucking tool?” When Aizawa shook his head, grinning down at you, you lifted your hand to run your thumb over his lower lip, and his tongue darted out to meet it. “All right, my love. Lay it on me.”

You woke up in his bed.

Dango had jumped on you and meowed loudly, because she didn’t understand that the feeding schedule was a little different now that she lived in Aizawa’s apartment.

(Dango had pre-emptively moved in before you, because the sooner Dango and Konpeito bond, the better. Eri got so upset when they play-fought.)

You woke up in his bed.

“Shouta,” you said, rolling over towards the lit lamp, “What are you doing up already?”

He crossed out something in red ink. “I’m reworking some of the written tests for my new curriculum. I meant to do it last night but went to bed early instead, and I’d rather do it now than this evening.” Aizawa slid his glasses down his nose, his good eye glinting at you playfully. “Nothing’s come up? You can still come over tonight?”

“Yeah,” you said, scooting over to feel his body heat, “I haven’t seen Shinsou in so long, either, so I’m glad he’s coming over to dinner, too. You aren’t going to keep him busy long, right?”

“We’re setting up the room at the end of the hall for a new tenant, so we should be done by the time you get here.” Aizawa rolled his shoulders back before setting his papers to the side, and he folded his glasses to set them atop them. “What, are you planning something with him to get back at me?”

“Nah,” you said, rustling the sheets as you sat up, “I just need his phone at some point. It’s really fucking weird that my best friend is my soulmate’s, like, ward-mentee, because Shinsou’s got my contact name as Mommy. With a little heart.”

Wincing, Aizawa guided you into his lap, his hands light on your waist.

“I’ve got to change it back to my name,” you said, wrapping your arms around his neck to sink into a hug. You pressed your lips against his neck—not really a kiss, but more of just resting them there. “Who’s moving into the room at the end of the hall?”

Kissing the side of your head, Aizawa stroked your back through your sleepshirt, his fingertips trailing heat down your spine. “Well,” he said, his voice morning-gravelly, “Let’s say it’s another ward-mentee. U.A. wants me in charge. You’ll see.” You felt him smile against your ear, and he kissed it before biting the cartilage gently. “When are you moving in?”

“School starts next Wednesday,” you said, “so how does this weekend sound?”

You woke up in the bed you shared with Aizawa, slammed the alarm clock off, and flipped back over, spooning Aizawa with your nose smushed between his shoulder blades. He laced his fingers back through yours and kept them over his heart.

***

On a weeknight two weeks into the school year, you’re dangling your legs off the top of a water tower, forehead pressed against the railing, watching cars pass under streetlights below.

Being a teacher was tough. Being a teacher and an underground pro-hero at night was tougher. You now understood Aizawa’s need to carry a sleeping bag around. You hadn’t caved and done the same, but you kept a pillow at your cubicle in the faculty lounge because it was just too damn hard to stay awake during your off period.

(At least things with Sakura Grove were wrapping up. You’d stay in their contacts as a consultant, especially for Ito, but you didn’t have to go there anymore. Sad that that part of your life was ending, but it scooted over on the couch for new beginnings.)

You’re dancing around the point: because of your endless exhaustion and the difference in your and Aizawa’s schedules, you’re still a goddamn virgin. It’s stupid as fuck. The longer you put it off (which you’re not even doing intentionally!), the more of a stressful event it’s going to be.

“Sleeping on the job?”

You jolted awake, cold indent of the railing cutting into your forehead, and your head whipped around in search of him. “Dozing,” you said, tilting your head back far enough to watch Aizawa slide down from his crouch atop the water tower, “Too shallow to be real sleep. You don’t even get to R.E.M.”

“All of that to say that you want to go home,” said Aizawa, and he nestled up behind you, placing his legs on either side of yours and wrapping his arms around your waist to pull your back to his chest. He pressed his cold nose to your neck (you yelped) while the ends of his capture weapon trailed onto your lap.

“I guess, but I only have about half an hour more of my patrol,” you said, covering one of his hands with yours (pink didn’t blossom there, probably because he kept brushing his lips where your neck met your shoulder), “I can wait it out.”

“Mm, if you say so. Right now, I’d rather have you in bed. I miss you too much.” He inhaled deeply before placing one final kiss behind your ear and said, “I have something for you.” He took a moment to riffle through the pouches on his utility belt, and your heart dropped into your stomach when he reached around you to retrieve the knife hidden in your boot (oh, my God, the intimacy of knowing where on your body you kept your weapons). Aizawa brought his arms around your waist again, this time with a brown-sugar-coated pear in a brown paper sleeve cupped in one hand, the other cutting into the soft flesh of the pear.

He held the blade to your lips, which you closed around the slice of pear, the brown sugar grains melting on your tongue. He fed you another slice before cutting one for himself.

The pains and care he took for you compounded and curled on your chest like an overweight cat, and you cracked in half: you started fucking crying.

As soon as the first tear track shone under the streetlights, Aizawa, brow furrowed, turned your chin towards him (you automatically took the pear and knife to hold them in your lap).

“What’s—”

Taking in your weak, shaky smile, he took on one himself. “I see.” Aizawa finger-combed some of your hair out of your face and rested his curled fingers at the roots of your hair at the back of your neck. “Still,” he said, swiping away a fresh tear with his thumb, “I can’t have that—not my pretty girl crying.”

No matter how thoroughly he dried your face, it didn’t matter: it started raining on the way home. Both of you were soaked, grinning as you scanned into U.A. under the torrential rain funnelled from the awning where faculty entered, dripping onto the floor when you checked in on Eri for the night (All Might had put her to sleep earlier), and just fucking dropping your wet hero support items to the tile in the kitchen, your shit tangled up in his capture weapon and knocking against his goggles.

A low rumble of thunder shook the windowpanes as Aizawa kissed you, opening his mouth before you even kissed back, the edge of the kitchen counter smarting against the small of your back while you breathed in your soulmate in the dark.

Parting to breathe, you managed a grin as a flash of lightning illuminated his ruddy cheeks and soulmate-pink lips. “I feel like if I go to bed tonight, I’m going to die in my sleep,” you said, panting.

“Good thing sleep’s not on the agenda,” said Aizawa, and his lips seared into yours (fucking peach chapstick, you were of sound mind enough to note) as he fumbled for the zipper on the back of your wet costume.

It plopped with a squelch to the floor, and the chill of the A/C sweeping over your bare skin made you huddle into Aizawa’s chest—but you swore and flinched away, since his body temperature didn’t really help with how wet his clothes were.

Scowling, you kneed him away and rubbed your hands up and down your arms. “Take this off,” you said, plucking at his jumpsuit, “It’s fucking frigid in here.”

Lightning lit his smirk this time, and Aizawa started undressing, the sodden splat of his socks hitting the tile first.

“You gonna let me wear your clothes this time, pretty boy?” Watching him strip, you shivered for more than one reason. “Last time, you only gave me towels.”

Aizawa scoffed. “That’s because if I’d had to see you wear my clothes, you wouldn’t’ve made it farther than the bedroom.” His jumpsuit made a weird noise, and he fished his utility belt out of the belt loops to set it on the counter.

When you gestured towards his boxer-briefs, he shook his head. “Not yet. Yes, they’re cold, but I want to focus on you right now. Leave your underwear on, but go ahead and leave your wet hero costume in here. They can drain in the sink,” he said, tossing his socks in.

“Okay,” you said, doing the same, “but please at least change into dry boxers, or something—”

“I will,” he said, undoing the rest of the buttons on your pants once you’d done the first, and he fucking lifted you onto the counter, kissing you, to drag them down your legs before putting them in the sink. “You with me?”

You nodded and pulled him in for a hug—skin still slick-moist but warmer now that body heat mingled together, and his breath heated your neck while he sucked a wet mark onto it. “I’m with you, Shouta. I love you.”

Grunting against your throat, Aizawa hugged you tighter. “Oh, I love you, too, sweet girl. So much.”

He eased you down off the counter, and you flinched again at the cold. “Oof, ah, I have to get out of this wet fucking bra; it’s too fucking cold in—”

“Want me to go adjust the thermostat?”

“No, it’s fine; it’s fun. I just,” you said, kissing his shoulder on impulse, “need you.”

His eyes fell to half-lidded, and a roll of thunder nearly masked his low chuckle. “All right, then. If you’re sure.”

Aizawa led you to the bedroom, hardly space between the two of you while running his hands over your arms and waist to generate heat, his voice rasping in your ear the whole way (so much louder than the constant sound of raindrops assaulting the windows as the wind picked up). “That time you shifted into my shower—the image of you is burned into my brain,” he was saying, nudging the bedroom door shut with his foot so his hands wouldn’t have to leave you, “You were so confused but keen to do what I said. I was trying so hard to be good, noble, like you said, but the part that stings above all is that I liked the handprint on your back. I liked having my mark on you, on display, in such a large way that anybody could see. Killed me to have to cover you up. Lights on?”

“Let me open the curtains instead,” you said.

“Good. I’ll change into dry underwear so that you don’t worry your pretty little head about it. Don’t look,” he said, releasing you from his hold.

You drew back the first set of curtains and fiddled with the pullstrings to raise the blinds. “Are you telling me you beat yourself up-slash-off about the way you thought about me?” you asked, smiling at your own dumb joke, “I get it. I do, but c’mon, baby. You’ve made a home in my heart and in my own damn blood. What’s the shifting into your bed while I’m dreaming been besides my body calling out to you?” Oh, fuck yes, the blinds went all the way up this time. You crossed to the second window. “What’s my—hey, nice ass. Very cute.”

The elastic waistband snapped in that final rush to pull them up. “I told you not to look,” said Aizawa, frowning as he joined you in tying away the opposite curtain, “Are you really gonna be a brat this early in the—” He cut himself off, slapping a palm over his eyes as he stepped back from you (successfully raising these blinds on the first try!). “No. No, I shouldn’t. Not for your first time.”

Closing the distance, you took the hand over his eyes and held it against your cheek. “You could a little.”

His thumb loosed itself from your fingers, falling to your mouth, and you kissed it, parting your lips to lick the pad just barely.

He swallowed visibly. “Get on the bed.”

You did, and you wormed your arms around your back to unhook your wet bra (fucking frigid half-dried in the A/C, plus you were betting the feeling of your nipples grazing his chest was fucking stellar), whipping it off the bed before he could even join you.

“Notice I didn’t say you could do that,” Aizawa said, laughing through his nose, one knee on the bed. “But that’s all right for now. I like how vulnerable you look, how needy, how—” Aizawa crawled over you, eclipsing you. “—how out of touch with anything but me.”

His lips were warm, soft (peachy), and more consuming than when you’d met them earlier that night, and when his tongue brushed the roof of your mouth, he secured an arm around your back to arch you closer to him, boobs pushing into his chest and held like you’re something precious.

“I’m sure you know this,” Aizawa said, thumbing into your mouth and dragging the spit down your neck (cooling in the night air), “but you have absolutely perfect breasts. Whenever I’ve felt them against me before, I’ve gone fucking crazy—and now I get to—” He kissed you again, giving a firm, final bite to your lower lip (smiling when you tried to suck his tongue back into your mouth but shaking you off anyway), before pulling back to look at you, his wet thumb trailing down between your boobs and then circling up around one of them, pausing when you tensed up before he touched your nipple.

His eyes were dark when he glanced up at you again. “Do you trust me?”

“With everything I’ve got,” you said, feeling your heartbeat pulse in your lips now that the pressure of his was gone.

With a wry grin, Aizawa tilted his head. “Yet you’re not relaxed. I’d say you’re a bundle of nerves, but…” His eyes flicked down towards your crotch, and you rolled your eyes at the dumb clitoris joke (hell, yeah! You’re rubbing off on him).

“I’m trying; I thought was I doing good so far—”

“You are. But let me give you a little task so that you’re not concentrating on feeling nervous, yes? One you can handle.” He kissed your cheek and waited for your minute nod before continuing. “I want you to keep your hands by your head,” he said, moving them on the pillow where he wanted them, “You’re not allowed to move them. I get the feeling you’d like them to be tied there, but we’ll save that for another time, yes?”

You arched up to meet his lips, and he let you, moving his against yours, letting your tongue cross into his mouth before breaking away again.

“Good. You’re so good for me, and sweet. And another thing,” said Aizawa, squeezing your wrists to draw your attention back to them, “I want these hands open. Palms up. You’re not allowed to make a fist, sweetheart.” At your baffled expression, he kissed the corner of your mouth. “Just an extra challenge, but I know you can do it.”

You huffed, pouting (and he laughed over it, that horribly endearing, wheezing laugh). “Sure. Yeah. You want me to relax, so you give me what suspiciously sounds like a test. And wow, we know that I have some sort of stupid complex about being the best and getting the approval—”

“And you can get it so easily, should you do this well enough for me.” He shuffled down your body a bit, fingers sketching around your nipples before squeezing your boobs (crazy insane maniacal ridiculous how his hands cupped them perfectly…).

“Oh, you’re evil,” you said, shaking your head.

“You have no idea,” said Aizawa before he wrapped his lips around your nipple, tongue flicking and swirling around it, languidly, heavy with saliva—careful, dark eyes scanning every reaction from you.

Jumping at the contact—but no, don’t bend your fingers even a little. Flat. Flat against the pillow, where he put them. Okay. Okay, we’ve got a handle on it. The initial shock was just—

“Fuck!”

(No, no—keep them against the pillow; sink them into the down if you have to—)

Aizawa’s teeth had ever so lightly grazed you, and his smug little laugh through his nose burned you up inside, so you refused to look at him. Though anger wasn’t the only reason for heat: it was starting to coil in your lower stomach, too, spreading as your thighs clenched—oh, yeah, you have legs, so you rubbed your thighs together in what was hopefully way he wouldn’t notice (but fuck all if he noticed, though, because at the rate your breath was hitching and how frequently you were twisting away from his mouth, any shred of your remaining pride would be crumpling into nothing before he even made you—)

You were writhing, arching your back, eyes scrunched shut, at the moment Aizawa both closed his lips around your other nipple and pinched the first one, and he kept at it, circling it with his tongue as you came back down, stilling.

“Holy shit,” he said, eyebrow raised, pulling his mouth away with a wet puck, “Are you getting off already?”

Aizawa was reaching for your face, but (there’s a split second where you wanted to bury your face in your hands, but the man liked his technicalities) you screwed your eyes closed again and hid yourself to the side in the pillow. “I’m sorry I’m such a stupid virgin who gets worked up easily. I didn’t mean to upset—”

“No, no, no—open your eyes, darling,” he said, hands cupping your face, wiping away the tiny bit of sweat that’d broken out at your hairline, “You’re fine. You’re perfect. There’s nothing to apologise for. Open your eyes. There. That’s my good girl. Thank you.”

You, biting the inside of your cheek and scowling, dug your head out of the pillow to face him, but you kept your eyes averted, still not looking at him.

(Unfortunately, you were not immune to good girl.)

“I’m not upset. How could I, when I know my pretty little wife is feeling so good?” Aizawa pecked your forehead. “You’re just more sensitive than I anticipated. And that’s good. That’s fine. That’s fun for me.”

“Oh, my God,” you said, wincing, trying to sink farther into the pillow to get away from this beautiful man, “You’ve got to shut the fuck up. You keep hitting me with these lines that knock it out of the park. It’s too much.”

Thunder shook the windows, the bedframe rattling with it.

He grinned, and you wanted to punch him. “Is that so?”

“Shut up, holy fucking shit. Just fuck me already.”

And Aizawa was frowning. “Are you—I don’t think you’re ready enough—”

“Oh, come off of it,” you said, gritting your teeth and averting your gaze again, “I’ve already come once, and you’re so overwhelming that I’m going to pass the fuck out just from you talking. I don’t care if I come again; I just wanna get this o—just penetrate me, I guess.”

Scowling. Scowling now. Grimacing, even. “You don’t really want me to do that.”

“Yes, I fucking—”

“You’re not wet enough,” he said with a growl. “Yes, you’ve orgasmed, but you’re not ready for me.”

“You can’t be that—”

“I am,” said Aizawa, a hand sliding down his stomach (holy shit, he’s got muscles) to hook into his waistband, snapping it, “above average, sweetheart.” When he said the word, his voice teemed with scathing condescension, and your stomach dropped. “When I say you’re not ready, I know you aren’t.”

Your cheeks began to feel blotchy, but you weren’t going to cry. “Would you—please—try? I think I might be overwhelmed already, and I want you to feel good.”

Aizawa sighed, and he crawled back over you, reaching towards your hands flat on the pillows to lace his fingers between yours. “It’s not about me right now. We’re focusing on you, baby.”

You lifted your cheek, leaning into the kisses he was pressing onto it. “I know,” you said quietly, “but I think I would feel good knowing you feel good, so, ish, in a fucked-up way—would you try? Please?”

His lips met yours again, just briefly, and he said, “Okay. If you hurt, we’re stopping.”

“Well, hey, that’s pretty much guaranteeing that we’re—”

He cut you off with an exasperated look while he tossed his underwear off to the side, not bothering to unhitch his prosthetic leg.

Aizawa was pushing into you, beginning to stretch you open on his cock, and he’s only gone just barely what could be considered shallow, not much more than a squeeze around the swollen tip of his cock, and you’re clenching down around him, clamping down tight, and you didn’t even notice your eyes stinging with tears for the strain in your cunt.

But Aizawa did. He pulled out before they overflowed down your face, and he’s kissing them away in apology. “We can stop here. I won’t mind. You’ve already done so, so well for me. Thank you for trusting me.”

After a bit, you managed to get a hold of yourself, and you moved to—well. That first, you supposed. “Shouta,” you said, wiggling your fingers interlocked with his on the pillow, “may I move my hands? I’d like to touch you. Just a bit.”

“Go ahead.” He released them.

You placed your palms on his tits/pecs and instantly felt better (not cured, or anything. But definitely better). “Okay,” you said, scratching him gently, “I’ve had a moment. I’m not as overwhelmed anymore. Fuck you for being right about—about wetness.”

“Thank you,” he said, similarly scratching your head while sliding a calloused hand to your waist.

“Listen, Sho. I was scared that if I didn’t make you try to get in me then, you’d try to make me come again beforehand, and I’m scared that I’m gonna pass the fuck out if I have three orgasms as good as the first one you gave me.”

“Sweetheart, you don’t have to come if I eat you out, even though I’d like you to,” said Aizawa, smiling at the way your eyes fluttered when he scratched a certain spot, “I can simply go down on you to stretch you out. Everything’s fine. All that’s happened is that you’ve come earlier than expected—which, I assure you, was fucking hot—and now you need different preparation to take me. You’re fine. We can stop here, or—”

“Would you be cool with going down on me?” You bit the inside of your cheek and averted your gaze again. “Or, or, actually, you don’t have to do that. You can just—”

“You’ve got to stop overthinking, baby,” said Aizawa, grabbing your chin to kiss you again, which he did deeply and so hard that he was gasping when he broke away, “because I have been breaking myself over the thought of tasting you. I’ve been—please don’t think that I don’t want any part of you, because I want even the things you don’t like about yourself. Whatever you want, I also want, enthusiastically and desperately. This soulmate shit has reduced me to freshly popped edamame whenever I—”

Aizawa cut himself off at your laughter, sitting back on your hips and crossing his arms.

“Oh, babe, Shouta, that’s,” you said, grasping at his hands to drag him over you again, “I appreciate the effort. I do, really. But that’s a bad metaphor. Doesn’t fit the tone of the situation. Plus, I would argue that edamame bursts instead of pops. It’s a bean, not a pea.”

His ears were tinged red. “Whatever it takes for you to laugh again, you fucking pedant,” he grumbled against your neck, and his fingers trailed between your boobs and down your stomach, took a moment to curl into your pubic hair (tugging), and sliding between your folds, spreading what wetness was already there.

You eased your laughter to a smile, and you plopped your hands, palms up, on either side of your head again. “So, are you gonna make me wet or not, Shouta?”

“And you say I’m evil,” said Aizawa, grinning and shaking his head, and after another kiss, he slithered down your body, kissing and licking as he went, eyes dark and fixed on yours (his good one, anyway), even as he spread you and pressed his lips to your clit for the first time.

He’s right. He’s right. He’s always right: the task of keeping your hands flat and in one place distracted you from getting worried about how you looked or tasted or whatever, and you were laughing at yourself for how hard you were finding it to keep from forming a fist—but that’s the impulse, apparently, when the goddamn love of your life is sticking his tongue as far as he can go into your cunt and moaning like a whore about it in that stupid fucking rumbling way.

“Sweet girl,” he was saying as he licked the inside of your thigh, his scruff scrabbling pleasantly against your skin, “Are you with me? You look a little unfocused.”

You shook yourself and glanced down at him. “I’m good—”

“You are.”

“I mean, I’m with you,” you said, heat flooding your cheeks the fastest it ever has. “You’re very good. As well.”

“Is it all right for me to add a finger into this? All right, sweetness, relax,” said Aizawa, and he dragged his middle finger over your clit, circling it before drawing it back up, this time knuckle-side down, and it’s that finger that first slid into you with a soft wet noise—barely there, but still audible—and dragged and pressed inside you, aimlessly feeling you out, totally unrushed.

Your own fingers strained to lie flat.

After more licking and prodding, he added his index, and the suction on your clit lent a distraction from the stretch when he parted his fingers inside you, though there’s a soft wince from you, regardless. Under your assurances, Aizawa continued, working more space between his fingers though you clenched around him, and the third made your stomach burn, your hips chasing his fingers as your insides wound tight. He’s kissing and sucking your clit, keeping watch over your expression and the growing squelching and spasming of your cunt, and you, a bit dizzy, whimpered without meaning to when he started to pump his fingers in and out of you. You felt his smug grin against you as it reformed into a pucker to give your clit a particularly harsh suck, and you’re falling apart just a little, but it’s cool, it’s fine, and you found yourself coming, again, but this time it’s gentle, a smaller crest, under the careful watch and tongue of your husband—and when he slowly withdrew his fingers, your cunt complained the whole way, leaking and squelching around them.

The smug-as-shit bastard waved his fingers towards you, strands of arousal connecting them and seeping down into his palm. “If you want a taste, this is all you’re getting,” he said, touching your lips for barely a second, “because the rest is mine.”

Your head emptied at the way his tongue slathered the rest of it up, sliding between his fingers.

“I believe you’re wet enough for me to fit,” said Aizawa, still licking at his fingers.

“Hold up! I didn’t get to see you earlier,” you said, sitting up, “Do whatever. I need to see your cock.”

And you immediately saw red, because this motherfucker? Stupid. Stupid as hell. Stupid and hell and handsome and above average, my ass. You were insane for not wanting to prep much earlier. You’d gotten some of what he looked like when Serendipity’s quirk was affecting him, but you’re going to die. You’re going to die and then be able to talk to Midnight about her friend’s cock (too soon? You shook it off), because he’s infuriatingly pretty, and it just isn’t fair.  

Jolting, your hand flew to his wrist when he thumbed over your clit again, circling it.

“You told me to do whatever,” said Aizawa, nudging your thighs a little wider apart.

You shot him a look before returning to trying to fucking grasp (figuratively) his cock. You’re shaking your head at it, sucking in through your teeth. It’s fucking stupid—tilting a bit to the right, a little veiny (artery-y?), flushed a dark pink at the tip, and absolutely fucking weeping for you, cum dripping for the first time onto your thigh and the mattress.

Your hand darted out, hesitating, to touch the trail of dark hair on his abs leading to his cock, and once your ring finger grazed half of that maddening v, you retreated, scooting back an inch or two on the bed as you jerked at his brushing against your clit.

Aizawa raised an eyebrow when you looked up at him, wet fingers stilling.

“I’m going to kill you,” you said on impulse, wide-eyed.

Aizawa opened his mouth and closed it again. He blinked and after a beat, said, “All right. Not the most encouraging thing to hear in reaction to my dick.”

“Yikes. I mean,” you said, cringing and biting your lip, “Maybe you’d ought to prep me more?”

At the very least, you’d expected a burst of laughter from him, but to make matters worse, he took you seriously.

“Noted,” he was saying, kneeling again to put his mouth on your clit, “When I was feeling around inside you, I was thinking that I’d have to work to open you up to take me. You have such a tiny little cunt—”

“Oh, my God, never mind,” you said, burying your face in your hands, “You’re a menace. I’m leaving. I’m leaving forever.”

Laughing to himself, Aizawa peppered kisses over the backs of your hands. “I’m only joking, love. I said it to fluster you.” His hand cupped you, fingers rubbing in slick while you kept spasming every few seconds. “I know you’re ready to take me,” he said, and (your life began and ended in a second), he started slid his cock up and down your folds (swollen from coming twice already), covering it with your slick and dripping pre-cum onto you.

When a choked noise escaped your throat the first time his cockhead caught on your clit, you clapped a hand over your mouth, horrified, but a gently smiling Aizawa released his grip on one of your shaking thighs to uncover your mouth, with his smile twisting into something darker when he put your hands flat on the pillow again.

“Oh, you are the worst.”

“It’s just for a minute more. Then you can touch me. I promise,” he said, watching the way your cunt was trembling erratically when he wasn’t even inside, “You’re probably gonna come the moment I get seated inside you, yeah? Look at you twitch.”

Adjusting your legs around his waist, Aizawa took your hands in his as he pushed in, breaking you open with slow, gentle thrusts. “Easy,” he said, when you grappled with his hands, almost thrashing, to squeeze them harder, “Easy, sweet girl. I’ve got you.”

Lightheaded.

And very, very warm.

You might be holding back tears. You’re not sure.

But you’re certain you’re taking deep breaths, as instructed, and you shook your hands out of his to wrap your arms around his chest, to feel him close and warm and over all of you, grabbing at him blindly to hold more (a small voice in the back of your head hoped you were scratching him up).

Aizawa struggled to breathe as well, but he gritted his teeth, his face and heaving chest fucking flushed. His hands shook as they travelled down to your waist, unable to still your shuddering hips underneath him. “And here I thought you were soft all over,” he grunted out, “Turns out that you’re softest inside. Fuck.” He screwed his eyes shut. “My lovely little wife. My soulmate.” Aizawa carefully exhaled before opening his eyes again. “Is it okay if I move a bit more?”

At your nod, he rolled his hips shallowly, keeping a careful watch on your face for any minor reactions that he couldn’t hear, and each time he thrust into you, the further away from any reality but Aizawa you got. You blanked, feeling nothing but how you strained around him, spasming and pulsing, and how your muscles were seizing, how—how it wasn’t feeling like you were full, or that you and he were overlapping, but that hey, this is how it’s supposed to be, soulmates—you and him, together. And separating yourselves just didn’t make sense, in the way that you can’t separate the hydrogen from oxygen and still have water; to have you or Aizawa, you needed the both of you. Package deal. Bonded pair.

And wow, the tears you’d been holding back now flooded down your face, pausing at the resistance from each time his hips met yours before continuing down your cheeks and neck, and you’re out of it, out of anything besides Shouta when you cup his reddening face in your hands (pink handprints blinking before the next thrust) and manage to whine, “Sensei—”

Aizawa broke, expression flashing pure vulnerability, and he kissed you before you could say anything more, and he smushed his hips against yours, hitting you more deeply as he finally circled your clit again. The orgasm was torn out of both of you, but it’s torn in the way that the wind tears a kite away from its flyer.

When you opened your eyes, the bedroom was filled with floating, pink dust, glittering when lightning struck. You had to encourage Aizawa from his spot, buried in your neck, to see it, and the two of you watched it shimmer and dissipate as the storm picked up again, rain audibly hitting the glass.

“Do you think that happens every time?” you asked as Aizawa helped you out of the bed.

Aizawa turned the knob to the bathroom and flicked on the light. “I’m sure we’ll find out.”

He had to help you walk, since your legs were shaking so badly. Luckily, you had a good laugh about it. Aizawa set you up (or rather, down) in the shower, telling you to warm up while he changed the sheets and that he’d join you soon.

By the time the two of you were out of the shower, the soulmate dust had vanished. Aizawa got into bed first (and he had to take a moment to calm down when he saw you wearing his pyjamas), and you climbed in after him. After some brief experimentation, you found that, if you shaped your hands just right and pulled them away all at once, you could leave a soulmark in the shape of a heart. So, you did, just over his real heart, and you leant back, pleased with yourself.

Aizawa glanced down at his chest and grinned. “Adorable. But I’m afraid it won’t stay for long, my love.” He held his hand mere inches from your head, wiggling his fingers in a taunt. “I doubt I can go for long without touching you.”

You caved without hesitation, leaning into his touch as a chuckling Aizawa ran his hand through your hair. “That’s fine. That just means I can constantly make it anew.”

“You’re ridiculous,” said Aizawa, and he wrapped his arms around you to pull you close, snuggling into you. “Go to sleep. You can mark me again in the morning.”

soulmate trope taglist: @bakugouspsycho, @pansexualproblemchild, @doonaandpjs, @sunsetevergreen, @the-coffee-is-on-fire, @liberace2, @ladymidnight77, @nonomesupposedto, @gooooomz, @kissmebakugou, @pachiibatt, @celestair

[maleyanderecafe]

Pretty Boy Panic (Visual Novel)

Created by: Bingzi

Genre: Horror/Otome

This game, as many, is still in it's demo state and it's actually created by the same person who made Pocket Lover. Currently, there is only one route available, which is Li, one of the MC's neighbors, thought there is a bit of another boy Tao, who is currently still in the development that's in the game. There are three ending so far and a guide. It's not too long of a game, but it does bring up yandere elements.

The story starts out with the Tan Xin waking up and being annoyed because of their neighbors who are being loud. They haven't slept well in a while because of them and the sounds range from lewd to suspiciously like murder. Tan Xin works in marketing with their friend/neighbor Kelly. Their boss (who just got a promotion) has been very tough on Tan Xin, making them pick up his extra work, much to their dismay. While going home, Tan Xin is extremely tired and has the option to kick one of the neighbor's doors in frustration and out comes Li, a surprisingly handsome neighbor. Tan Xin vents about how loud the neighbors are, and though most of it seems to be a different neighbor's fault, Li promises not only to talk about keeping the noise down but also buying the Tan Xin's food. After going to sleep, Tan Xin notes that it feels as if someone is watching them sleep. Tan Xin wakes up the next day to hang out with Li and while talking sees a beat up neighbor come out. It turns out he had quite a stern "talking" to by Li. Li and Tan Xin go to someplace sweet to buy food and the two talk about themselves- like Li's job and hobbies. After a while Tan Xin develops a crush on Li and sees him bringing boxes into his room. If you offer to help carry them, he snaps at Tan Xin before apologizing- as it seems there are some important computers in there. Tan Xin gets sleepier and sleepier as the days go by and even starts to lose things. One particular day, Kelly has to wake Tan Xin up before they oversleep and they head to work. Kelly asks Tan Xin to write James up for workplace harassment and the two go back. Li sees both of them coming back and asks the MC if they could start dating since they like each other. He says yes on the condition that Tan Xin stop talking to Kelly. The next day Kelly seems to have moved or gone on vacation (sure, that's what happened lol) and Li invites them into his house. There, Tan Xin notes a weird smell and while looking around, finds the dead body of Kelly. After finding out, Tan Xin finds out just how yandere Li is (stealing the MC's teeth and getting jealous). There's an option to tackle him, but either way the MC gets tased and taken into Li's home. There are a couple of other endings, one where Li breaks up (?) with Tan Xin because they don't have much in common and one where Tan Xin doesn't even confess and gets tased anyways.

If Tan Xin decides to not kick on the door, they will wake up the next day to find Tao as he gets slapped by another woman. As Tao cries, Tan Xin tries to comfort him and they start talking. Upon going to bed, Tan Xin ends up getting a call from James about the fact that they need some work done, promising to get them a good word so that they can get a promotion. The passing week is a big pain for Tan Xin, either having to work extra because of the project that James gives them, or are being forced to do extra work for refusing James. To take a break, Kelly brings Tan Xin to a bar, and ends up having to talk to one of her friends there, leaving Tan Xin alone. There, she interacts with the lady that slaps Tao, which can result in her letting it pass or flipping her off. Either way, Tan Xin ends up drinking a lot, leading to them talking to Kelly and Tao as he seems to be at the bar as well. There is a decision on whether or not Tao should bring Tan Xin home or if Kelly should, with the two compromising and both bringing them home. Tao ends up giving Tan Xin a piggy back ride and they end up sleeping at Tao's place, which slowly builds Tao and their relationship together. Later on though, Tan Xin learns that both Games and Kelly have died, with someone leaving their body parts all over the place. While going home, Tan Xin walks in on Tao and the lady from before hugging. Tan Xin runs off, devastated, but Tao runs after them, reassuring them and talking to them about how much they mean to him.

In the good ending, Tao and Tan Xin end up living together as a couple, but Tao ends up suggesting that the two of them move after learning about Kelly and Jame's death as he wants them to be safe from the serial killer.

In the normal (?) ending, Tan Xin notices a strange smell in Tao's place and looks around, only to find the lady amputated and dying. They try to help her, but Tao ends up knocking them out, only to wake up to having lost limbs just like the other lady.

In the bad ending, Tao ends up knocking Tan Xin out after the talk at the end and wakes up to Tao cutting off their arm. He mentions that now that they've lost an arm, they can be with him, unlike another girl that he seemed to be projecting onto them.

If Tan Xin goes back to their room and wakes up much later, they will end up meeting Hu, a college student that is working at tech, though he wishes to do something else. Hu apologizes for making noise and talks about his hobbies about pictures, and later offers to buy them lunch in response to them making noise. They end up going to eat at the same place that Li goes in his route and the two of them get a parfait. We find out that Li and Hu are actually brothers, catching the two talking to each other in the hallway. While at work, Tan Xin has to make James a coffee, which ends up with James eating glass and bleeding to death. Hu ends up following Tan Xin around, taking pictures of them while they sleep.

The two endings that are a bit similar are Hu and Tan Xin meeting under the cherry blossoms (after hiking for a bit, I believe), though in one ending if their affection is lower, Tan Xin will tell him that he doesn't want to have a relationship with him, while the other they simply just hike together.

In the bad ending, Tan Xin and Li talk for a bit, but Hu ends up catching them and kidnapping him. He ends up chaining them when they go out for classes, feeding them sweets to sustain them.

This game has a bit of spelling errors, but other than that it's a pretty good start. While I do think that I currently like Pocket Boyfriend a bit more since it has more elements of horror, I do think that Li himself has some good potential as a yandere. I think it's pretty neat seeing Li slowly cause Tan Xin to drift deeper and deeper into sleep as well as steal Tab Xin's molar (which is... a weird thing to steal and shrug off to be honest). We also see that he's pretty jealous, not only killing Kelly but also beating up our other neighbor for being too loud. It's very likely a lot of his "computer" hobbies are more of a cover up, considering how he reacts when Tan Xin asks to help carry boxes for him. It makes me wonder if he will get rid of James as well if Tan Xin asks him too considering that he is the source of a lot of the Tan Xin's problems. It's weird to me that there's a "bad ending" where Li doesn't see Tan Xin as someone datable and yet still tasers them in the end. It's actually comedic in a strange way, and it makes me wonder when Li started falling for Tan Xin in the first place.

Tao I feel like I have mixed feelings of as well, considering that he is a playboy but he also cries a lot. I generally am not as big of a fan of playboy characters in games, but I do really like crying. This is such a pain. In any case, Tao seems to be a projecting yandere, where he is trying to replace Tan Xin with another girl (as I remember), though we don't actually get to see who she is or what she even looks like. He also murders both James and Kelly, presumably for getting too close to the MC as well as the lady he was seeing at first. Still I don't really understand or know why he ended up meeting her again near the end since it's not really explained what they were doing together, which kind of put me off with his character. Still having a playboy type yandere is a pretty bold move regardless, so I think that it does deserve some props. Really wish we knew about his previous obsession though since I think it would really shine more into his backstory.

Hu despite being the youngest and most harmless of the yanderes actually probably has the worst ending out of all of them considering he basically kidnaps and keeps them in his studio. I do like the description on how Tan Xin struggles when they are captured by Hu though since you can really feel the hopelessness of it. I think it's also cool that Hu mimics a lot of things from Li's route since they both go to the same sweets shop and both stalk Tan Xin for a bit, though in different ways. It makes a lot more sense when you know that the two of them are brothers and that Li is actually helping Hu with getting along with Tan Xin. I think it adds a bit more of a layer to it considering that we kind of understand where Hu is getting a lot of his advice from. I think for that reason, I quite like Hu's route.

I played this first when it originally was just Li's route, so some of the opinions here might be a bit dated. I think that it's impressive they were able to finish a game with three different yandere love interests, since that's not a common thing nowadays, with all the demos. Still I think while it is great that it's a finished game with multiple routes, there could be some polishing done as well. I feel like since Li's was the first route made, he's actually one of the more weaker writing characters, where I feel like Hu is probably one of the better ones because he's more recent, so if the creator ever goes back to rewrite the other routes, I think that Li's route could probably be more expanded on. I also think that Tan Xin's name is kind of funny because it basically means like greedy in Chinese (assuming I'm using the right characters), which kind of is how you can view them considering they have like three yanderes after them. Kelly is the best character though, she stays by our side through thick and thin.

Overall, not bad for a full game, especially since it had a bit of development time. It's often rare to see a full game for yanderes now a days since currently most of them are currently in a demo state. I am curious to see if this creator will make anymore yandere games in the future that I'd like to cover.

[loopdile]

✨ loopdile prompts ✨

for anyone who wants to make loopdile ^^ feel free to use these ideas, with or without credit, though i would love to see whatever you make!

scene ideas:

they're sitting outside in the sun together, odile's reading and loop's taking a nap

loop tries on some dumb shit at a thrift store and odile pretends she doesn't think it's funny

they go for a walk but they find. a kitten!!

they're up late/early cuz they can't sleep, odile is sipping tea, loop is drawing or carving or smth

loop threw a snowball at odile and now she's going to Get Them

sasasap!frin has a particularly bad loop and odile helps them out or calms them down or cheers them up somehow

odile figures out loop's identity and loop maybe freaks out but maybe it's nice being seen like that, too

odile charts out the stars on loop's skin

loop gets hurt and odile has to patch them up but it's kinda weird bc it's not the same as a human injury

odile gets hurt and loop has to patch her up, maybe they're panicking, maybe they're teasing her, maybe they're teasing her to stave off panic, there are many directions this could go

they run into each other at some point post-canon, having not seen each other since the king.

they sit on the beach and and talk about what loop remembers about the island (basically nothing). friendquest redux between two people who have heard about that convo but not actually participated in it?

during the loops odile visits for the favor tree for some reason and ends up chatting with loop

dynamics i enjoy:

odile helps loop figure out how their new inhuman body works, maybe just for fun, or maybe in order to craft it to be something they're more comfortable with. or maybe they have to accept that it's something they can't change, instead.

loop's funny drama + odile's deadpan humor = they can keep a bit going for days. possibly they get mean about it but that's just their love language it's probably fine. probably.

loop lashes out bc they're a self-destructive mess and odile doesn't feed into it but she doesn't put up with it either. and loop, who still feels guilty about their failures and the 2hats fight, feels safer knowing that odile is willing to do what it takes to protect the party, even from loop. and loop from themself.

odile doesn't care for romantic love and loop hates the thought of being in a mushy sweet relationship like isabeau+siffrin are, so they kinda just do their own aloof-yet-intense thing together

loop wanders between isafrin and odile like an outdoor cat with two homes

loop is really bizarre and an absolute mess and odile is so into it. like why tf did you do that. i need to take notes on your psychological profile and/or put you in a maze like a lab rat. maybe loop acts even weirder on purpose to throw her off (but tbh loop's not very good at that despite their best efforts).

AU ideas:

odile loops au

sci-fi au with alien loop

post-apocalypse?? wandering the wasteland…

meet cute at a community art class, odile is trying to get out of the house occasionally and loop picks up a new medium every semester to add to their weird abstract collage/sculptures

meet cute at the library… they both need the last book on [topic] right now and get kicked out for fighting over it so they both have to go to the other library but that means they’re taking the same bus route and end up talking about their very different reasons for wanting the book

meet cute they’re next to each other on an airplane and odile is freaked out by the turbulence so loop distracts her

coffee shop au but they work at rival coffee shops but they both secretly think the other is better so they clandestinely trade drinks in the alley during their smoke breaks

murder mystery au?? odile assigns herself the role of detective, obviously, someone’s gotta do it

meet cute one of them slips on ice and breaks something and the other has to bring them to the hospital

wait meet cute loop has an allergic reaction to pineapple and odile happens to carry an epipen <3

vampire au ^^ either direction is fun… canon-adjacent or urban fantasy… so many possibilities

secret research lab au where loop is being studied for morally ambiguous/corrupt reasons and odile rescues them

i could do this all day. au where they are apples on a beautiful apple tree together. ok that’s a joke but how about au where they meet at a pumpkin patch / petting zoo. odile is there with bonnie and nille bc nille doesn’t have a car so they needed a ride, loop likes to hang out with the baby animals, they meet bc loop helps odile get her shoe back from a goat. and then they share a warm apple cider… life is so beautiful

they meet at a parkour competition… odile has stopped competing herself and only coaches/teaches, and is probably about to retire from that too soon, but perhaps she’ll teach one last promising competitor…….

rivals at the local farmers market. they both keep coincidentally buying the last of the thing that the other person wanted. nothing like a silent vendetta against a total stranger to make you wake up at 6am to be at the farmers market the moment they open. but maybe one day one of them is having a bad day and not getting their yummy treat is the last straw and the other feels bad and shares?

(not sure how to make loop be, well, loop, in a no-magic au? i usually make siffrin and loop headmates in a system. but you can also just keep magic around in a modern au if you want, the world is your oyster.)

(want to do a more-human post-canon loop? absolutely do feel free to use your own design/ideas, but if you’d rather borrow mine, here they are!)

[armpirate]

Soundleasure | Choi San || CH. 1

Pairings: Soft!San x fem!reader || Strangers to lovers, fake dating

Genre: smut, angst, fluff, online sex, ghosting

Warnings: inexperienced!San, fem!reader, masturbation, online sex, camboy, first times.

Summary: You can do whatever you please and be whoever you want on the Internet. And San knew that a little bit too well.

After finally following all the signs the universe was throwing at him, he started living a double life that no one was aware of. Everyone in his daily life knew him as Choi San, the reserved and quiet boy who wouldn't raise his voice, and would barely communicate with anyone outside of his comfort group. But only a few knew him as Soundleasure, the man with a sexy voice and a filthy mind that had their toes curling just with his narrations.

He never thought of the possibility of those two lives ever meeting, he had always tried for them to follow a parallel route and had always played safe to keep his friends from ever suspecting that side even existed. But his plans will start to crumble when he gets a little too close with one of his subscribers and she invades his real-self and altergo's universes without being able to stop it.

Y/n will not only help him to keep his secret from his circle, but will also show him there's more of Soundleasure in him than he'd like to admit. 

Next >>

MASTERLIST

Aprox. time of reading: 12 minutes

Chapter warnings: Audio porn, camboy, female masturbation, explicit talk

He looked at her with a weird smirk, that far from being cute and attractive made him look like an even bigger asshole. It wasn't like she was too into him when they started texting, but at least she wasn't disgusted by him like she was then.

She didn't care about picking him up at the station, when it was late at night, mainly because he had previously told her he was new in the city and he still didn't know how to move well around. And she also was able to laugh it off when he whistled at her from afar when she walked past him, instead of just calling out her name. Y/n could shrug it off, and blame it on him being new on dating apps and just meeting new people in general.

But there was something off around his vibes.

And she should've run when he started mentioning how desperate people in those dating apps were, and how lonely they should feel in their lives to recur to meeting strangers and trusting them. He had a point there. She shouldn't have trusted his nice talk at all, because that way she wouldn't have been in the uncomfortable moment she was in.

They both were walking next to each other, while Y/n grasped the fabric inside the pockets of her jacket while trying to hold herself back from giving a bad look or a bad response. Maybe he was just nervous, and he was just trying to break the ice between them.

—Shall we get in somewhere? —he suggested, walking past the line of several restaurants.

—I'm not really hungry —she shook her head, dropping a small nervous smile.

—Me neither —Jordan scoffed—. Let's just get something to drink somewhere. It's too cold to be walking around.

When his lips curved, and she was able to see his crooked teeth with a gentle smile, she chose to give it another chance. He was cute looking, with his tanned skin and his gleaming green eyes. She was being too harsh on him after just fifteen minutes.

Y/n insisted on going somewhere else when he stopped in front of an establishment with wide crystal walls that allowed to see the decoration inside. Although it seemed like a pub at first glance, she spotted some people sitting on the tables having pizzas and pasta. And even the empty tables had the cutlery placed in front of each chair, for the moment someone would take those seats. Despite her mentioning it probably wasn't the type of place they were looking for, Jordan carried on, convincing her that they'd be allowed to only have a drink.

Five minutes later after sitting and being handed the menu, she moved her eyes up at him.

—Let's get something to eat. We can share a pizza if you like —he closed his menu, pointing at hers with his chin—. Pick whatever you like.

—Are you sure? —she asked, eyeing the different types of pizzas they were offering— Is there something you don't like?

Her question was genuine. Because even though Jordan already said it was her choice, she wanted to pick something he'd be fine with eating.

He shook his head, and assured her he ate anything that was served in front of him. Still, she went for something safe and asked for a Pepperoni pizza when the waiter stopped by their table to take their order. Although Y/n would've hoped he had stayed for a bit longer when silence knocked at their table.

The darkness outside didn't allow her to see further than her own reflection on the window, but it was better than looking at Jordan's uncomfortable face as he found nothing to talk about. And it'd have been like that on the way to the bay if she hadn't brought up random topics, like asking for how long he had been in Boston and what was the reason that took him there. She wasn't the outgoing type, but she still found the way to build a conversation to fill the silence. She was showing some type of interest.

She couldn't say the same about him, when she found the lighting of his phone illuminating his face, after she turned to him.

She still gave it a pass. There was no point in discarding someone only because he was shy.

Jordan was also weird. After saying he didn't have a problem with any type of food, she found him taking the slices of pepperoni from his half of the pizza, and even poked into the cheese with his fork to take the remaining. And seeing him struggling with his food made her feel bad, because maybe she should've opted for a more basic option so his dinner wouldn't be ruined.

She regretted those thoughts three seconds later.

—I thought you said you weren't hungry —he commented, after she was done with her half.

Biting her tongue, she held back any type of rude response. Her eyebrows frowned slightly though, confused by the comment, and unable to know what she should answer to that.

They'd pay for that food anyway, was she expected to take a slice and then leave the rest of her half there?

She just giggled the comment away, moving her eyes over the restaurant and stopping at the TV placed at the corner where the counter ended. She had never been interested in football, but that day it seemed like the best entertainment for the night. Only moving her eyes back to her table when Jordan called her attention, after hearing two of the waiters speaking in Italian.

—You said you spoke Italian, right? —he hurriedly asked.

During one of their late night conversations, she did mention she spoke Italian. Not a big amount though. Just enough to keep a simple conversation, after being able to learn some words and understand the way their grammar worked after her ex-boyfriend explained it to her. Not like it was useful though, because when they went to Milan to meet his grandparents she barely used the language. Mattia adopted the role of the translator without giving her a chance to speak once.

—Well, I said I knew some words —she nervously smiled—. That's quite different.

—Why don't you ask for the bill in Italian? I bet they'll think it's pretty cool.

Or they'll think she's a dumbass mocking them.

She had nothing to lose though. She could give it a try, and not step inside that restaurant a single time again in her life.

Her pronunciation was poor, and she struggled with the words when the pressure of having all those eyes on her finally kicked her. And, while the waiter smiled gently and nodded after she was done, she heard a chuckle on her right that activated the last nerve.

—You tried, at least —he kept scoffing, shaking his head and drinking.

Her lips were pressed tight against each other, dying to set free all the mischievous words going through her head, but avoiding to make a scene.

She didn't fight to split the bill, she didn't comment on anything, Y/n just wanted to get back home, delete the dating app and forget that date ever happened.

—I'm not the type to fight. I really don't like violence. But if you're being an asshole, I have to bring you back to reality, you know?

Wow.

What was she even supposed to answer?

Y/n just nodded, seeing the light when she was able to spot her building from afar. But peace wasn't reaching her that easily yet.

She was ready to say goodbye, open the door and never see him again, but he sat at the small stairs that led to her door, lighting a cigarette and keeping the monologue while looking into the distance.

Maybe her skin was way too thin, but she couldn't find the way to feel interested about anything that was coming out of his mouth after what happened in the restaurant. Maybe she had been so hopeless about love after so many failing dates, that she found herself bothered at the slightest thing.

—I guess we'll meet again —he threw the cigarette to the road in between the two vehicles parked in front—. Next time you're the one paying —he reminded her.

—Sure, sure.

Before Jordan was able to hook her in a hug, she walked up the steps, looking for her keys in her bag and opening the door before she finally said goodbye to him.

—Get home safely.

If he expected to get in her bed that night, he'd have a shocking reality check.

A loud sigh and the keys tingling when she dropped them over the green sideboard at the entrance informed of her way back home, having Julius -a black cat with a bit of overweight-, peeking his head over the corner to confirm it was its owner uninterestedly.

After closing the door, she saw the golden hooks she bothered herself to hang so she wouldn't be leaving her keys anywhere. It was cute, and it went perfectly well with the style of the house, but she was so upset over the evening she had, that she couldn't find herself picking up the keys and hanging them there.

She could only pray Julius wouldn't jump over the sideboard and drag her keys to the floor, so he could play until he pushed them under the couch like the last time.

On her way to her room, where she was looking forward to hiding once she reached her bed, she felt her phone buzzing in her hand. Her head fell back with an exasperation moan when she saw the dickpic blasting on her screen.

What was even the reason for that bullshit?

Loverboy6577 shot higher than what he could reach. Well, at least he was straightforward and he wasn't wasting her time.

She snuggled inside her bed, finally taking the decision of deleting her profile and letting go of any possible hook up, or relationship, that could come with it. She wasn't going to be delusional anymore.

Boys just weren't worthy of her time.

At least not any that were at her reach, or realistic to her. That was what she convinced herself of when she found herself smiling excitedly when a notification popped up at the top of her screen over her social media.

*Soundleasure has just posted a video*

Reaching for her earpods inside the drawer of her nightstand, she lied on her back, clicking on the notification to be redirected to his page.

If someone in her circle knew she was wasting money on content like that, she'd probably be judged and dragged to shreds. Fuck, she was the type to laugh at people paying to consume that type of content before she found him through a random video in a porn site -after another failed date, unsurprisingly.

Dating was difficult, love was non-existent for the possible partners she had met. What was the point of wasting money and time going out with them, in exchange of some lame sex, when she could enjoy herself with a sexy voice and her own imagination?

When she first met him, it was cheaper. And it wasn't like he had many subscribers either. But his exposure increased with the passing of time, having her little secret increasing the pricing in subscriptions.

When she played the video, she was met with a completely dark screen -something usual from him. It was one of the things that attracted her the most, not being distracted by some random nudes or sex scenes, and being allowed to let the arousal properly build up.

—Was it a hard day today? —he asked.

Y/n's head instantly nodded to his question, feeling like he posted that video purposely for her and her mood, trying to make up for what the rest of the irky males around her made her go through. Although she probably would've been okay with his rough side as well, like some other times. She would've been happy with whatever was the mood of his audio.

—Hmm, does my baby want me to make her feel better? —he rustled softly, caressing her ears so gently that she moved her head to the side, as if he was actually next to her.

His breathing was light, before the sound of his pecks came. At some point she swore she could even feel his lips against her skin, washing the tension away with every kiss.

—I'll make it better, babe —he assured through the mic—. Let me kiss you.

She loved his content, but that part always took her out, turning her into a giggling ball while cringing over the sound of his lips trying to mimic the sound of a wet kiss, gasping for air with every move. It helped her to get an idea of what his lips looked like though. They probably were a pale pink, adopting a darker tone after a make out session that could suck their souls.

He proceeded to describe how he moved down her neck, worshiping every centimeter of exposed skin in her body until he reached the elastic of her panties. She could perfectly picture a pair of fierce eyes looking over her mount, before he asked:

—Can I take it off?

Along with his audio, her pants and panties were long gone under the sheets, going in sync with his voice.

—Look at you, so wet already —he groaned.

The mix of his heavy breathing, mixed to the wet sounds coming from her core when she slipped her fingers through her slit, almost made her back arch.

All her hairs raised when she heard his breathing cutting off before he sucked on something, skillfully moving his tongue and sucking his lips onto her hard button -that was trapped in the slow circles two of her fingers kept tracing.

—You taste so good —his words were followed by another open-mouthed kiss—. I'll make you feel alright. I gotcha, babe.

He spitted, making her tiptoes curl when she imagined his spit rolling down her folds before he sank his face into her core again. Her fingers kept moving over her clit, mimicking the twirls of his tongue, wishing for the millionth time that it wasn't only an audio, but a reality.

—Cum on my tongue. I'll make you cum on my cock after.

Along with his voice and his sounds, her back arched and her pussy clenched around nothing as she allowed the pleasure to invade her after he motioned her to cum.

She still went on with the audio, touching herself to mimic the situation he was settling for her, trying to make it as real and vivid as possible while she heard his groans and moans when he slipped his cock in her. It was insane for her how he was able to have her moaning, pressing her thighs together when she finger fucked herself while listening to his whimperings and praises.

There was only one problem there, and it was that she bet her moans would sound perfectly mixed with his in that audio, while they did in real life what he was promising in the video.

Maybe it was her low self-esteem for the night acting up, or maybe her brain was still fried by the two orgasms he helped her having, but she only felt encouraged to enter his profile while she was still recovering, unstable breathing while she tried to type a message for him.

Usually, he just seemed so out of reach. Soundleasure was a thing, she forgot he was even a person after cumming. He was just content that she consumed, because she felt lonely and needy, and no real man would make her reach her high the way he did with his voice only. But it didn't seem like she thought like that that night.

"Good video... But maybe next time you could have my moans in it" she wrote in his private message.

Y/n didn't want to think about it too deeply after sending it. If he answered, good. If he didn't, then he'd keep being that content she consumed randomly at night when loneliness knocked at her door. 

[stormsbourne]

the real thing of it for me is that I played cf first and as a result I can kind of understand, a hair, a sliver, where this stuff comes from because, since cf was a last late addition, there's just a lot less meat on the bones and more space to fill in and some people have chosen to do that with 2010-20s politics that do not gel at all with the few times edelgard tells you her plans and goals

and I mean a lot of properly understanding every character in the game (but especially the lords) is seeing what happens with them in other routes. in cf dimitri has not even lost an eye and seems like he is doing at least a little bit better than he is on the other routes as he hasn't been in feral hiding mode for 5 years and he's had his support system intact. meanwhile on other routes edelgard is using forcibly transformed demon beasts and actively working with the actual villains of the game -- and no I don't think the slithers are just an addition to fool normies into centrism ala your daisy fitzroys or whatever, because that is not something this game is concerned with lol. feel like people deploy this accusation about centrist both sides bad villains every time ever since they saw it done in a youtube video and it's just not something that applies here

and also I'm sorry to say it but cf is just unfortunately not super good. it's shorter than the other plots, the characterization sometimes involves a lot of idiot ball carrying, there's sometimes a severe tone problem like the bit where the game goes from edelgard lying and telling everyone rhea blew up fort merceus (it's weird how nobody ever brings this up!!!) to anime shenanigans from the other beagles. who btw are written way more seriously and with much more depth in silver snow, the route that was originally intended for them before cf got added in at the end. there's no fucking reunion anime clip after the skip?? it's actually vaguely unclear byleth even falls into the crevice or whatever because edelgard just suddenly shouts as byleth goes off screen?

also again, the delightful complexity of edelgard believing the ends have to justify the means or her suffering meant nothing, I find that super interesting. but that's not the character people want to write and while I -- kind of -- get it I do think that it's just less compelling

I'm editing this to add another thing which is that each route has at least one commoner in the pre-recruited class to provide the working class take on what's going on and dorothea, the ONLY pre-recruited commoner for cf and ss, has never been less happy with the war than she is in cf

anyway

conflicted complicated morally gray edelgard is just a more fun concept to me

[blackjackkent]

Minsc, buddy! \o/

"Breathe deep, Boo! The smell of hero sings from every stone in this place!"

Some of the routes through this conversation imply that Rakha hasn't seen Minsc since the Netherbrain, but I think actually that she and Minsc spend a fair amount of time together in Baldur's Gate. Minsc (as we'll see shortly) is keeping himself quite busy all over the city, just as Rakha is, so the two of them find it easy to run into each other.

He drops by her house for a meal a lot, or the two of them go to visit Jaheira together, or Rakha enlists his muscle on some of the rebuilding efforts she participates in. Or sometimes they will just wander the city and talk - or, rather, Rakha will listen while Minsc talks, since he mostly carries the conversation in these instances. He tells her about the work he is doing alongside the Guild, or about Boo's shenanigans, or places he has been in the city that might need support.

She has always seen him as a bit of an aspirational figure during her darker times - how wild and strange and mad he is and nevertheless good. These days, she is not quite so wild herself - but she is still strange and fully conscious of that fact. So she still admires him and tries to take some inspiration from him, even if she will never quite be able to emulate his manner.

Today, though, Minsc's attitude is all celebratory.

"To meet again where your journey began, my friend - an honor. For Minsc and his hamster both." He beams brightly at her, and then gestures at the small, unfamiliar halfling standing at his side. "Oh - and for Happy also."

The halfling gulps. "Yes, erm. Honored, of course," he mumbles.

By now Rakha knows a number of Minsc's Guild contacts in the city; this one, though, is unfamiliar. "Who is this, then?" she asks, bemused.

Happy flinches with a soft, fearful noise, and Minsc laughs jovially.

"Hah! See how your very presence snatches the breath from his chest? And it is no wonder! It is just this day that Happy learned of your legend - while we gazed down upon the very city you saved!"

"He d-dangled me from the High Hall," Happy mumbles. "Upside-down. For two hours."

"The Guild should not go creeping in high places if they do not have the stomach for them, hm?" Minsc says with a chuckle. "It is well for Happy the strange portal appeared when it did. Minsc's arm was growing achesome."

Rakha raises an eyebrow. "You're still chasing after the Guild?" she asks. "I thought you'd made your peace with them." It is the subject of much of their talk, in fact; Minsc is still getting his head around the nuances of good and evil that allow him to work with criminals in pursuit of good effects, but he has for the most part settled into a comfortable rhythm.

"So I have!" Minsc says cheerfully. "Though it is a peace made more from blade and boot than it is any sense of brotherhood. Nine-Fingers forbade any looting of the illithid's fleshy vessels, and so Minsc guards what remains of the battle-site, even from her. But... where Minsc might once have thrown any sneaking scoundrels from the tower-top, now I tell them of you."

He smiles broadly at her. "How you ruled the wickedness within. How they might do the same."

Rakha feels a quiet little flicker of warmth at this. She still doesn't really feel herself someone worthy of admiration... but she is touched that Minsc treats her victory over the beast and the tadpole as something worth boasting of.

"Yes, yes - I'll rule it! I'll be better!" squeaks Happy, on whom the nuances of this conversation are somewhat lost.

Minsc makes a show of thinking about this. "Though, of course, it is still for Boo to decide if they live or die..."

"Oh... Oh gods..." Happy mumbles.

Minsc chuckles. "But enough, my friend! I cannot tell your tale if I do not know the whole of it! Minsc and Boo would know where you have been, what you have done!"

(A/N: Again - bit weird here since I think Rakha and Minsc hang out a bunch in the city. But we shall say that he is asking her to summarize her recent adventures so he can add them to his tale. XD )

Rakha smiles ruefully with a slight shrug. "Happily putting all this behind me," she murmurs.

"Bah, Boo does not believe your bitter words!" Minsc says earnestly. "You stepped through the dusty one's portal willingly enough, no? And without Minsc even there to toss you."

True enough, Rakha reflects. She may wish to put her past behind her - the terrible things she has done, and the terrible battles she had to fight to escape them - but these people, and the person they have helped to make her, endure. As they should.

"Now, halfling." Minsc turns briskly towards Happy, lifting his voice with his best attempt at a professorial air. "Boo will not have you embarrassing him in front of his friends. So you ought to know the *rest* of the company you keep!"

"Wyll Ravengard, the Blade of Frontiers. Devil-horned and angel-hearted!"

"Lae'zel of Creche Killer - true child of Gith and true friend to Boo, though she will 'chk!' and say it is not so."

"Gale, who now names himself a *god*. Though in truth, Minsc has known few wizards who did not think of themselves so."

"Shadowheart! Two gods tugged at her soul, but she managed to keep it all for herself in the end. Wait... Boo... did she do something with her hair?"

"Halsin, Archdruid of Arch... somewhere. He is a much better man than he smells."

"And there, the champion of... having tentacles! Karlach! (She was once very tall and strong, like Minsc, but we still like her as she is.)"

"And finally... Jaheira. If this is a name you do not already know, then not even Boo can save you."

(A/N: Aww. XD Also LOL that Minthara gets completely skipped. XD Presumably this is because Halsin's here, but I checked the dialogue files and Minsc's line about her is: "And Minthara. Yes. She is here, also. Repenting of her wicked ways and performing charitable acts, no doubt!" which is also pretty funny. XD )

"Study them well, sneak-thief, for the best among them will be a guide for your Guild! Heroes who put the city before themselves, who never falter in their duty. And, more than this..." Minsc trails off and then fixes Happy with an imperious look. "Who never arrive to a party without even a gift for the host."

Happy gulps. "But-- wait--"

Rakha, who did not bring a gift either, raises an eyebrow, but Minsc just grins at her.

"Go, my friend. Be among our friends. There is much work yet to be done before this one is fit to join them."

[tremendouskoalachild]

The Acolyte timeline

or, my attempt at figuring out over how many days the present day events take place.

we'll be looking at episodes 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 8, broken down by location. estimating elapsed time is quite tricky here, because the narrative takes us to many different places on various planets (which, if we want to get technical, won't have the same length days and be synced time-zone wise. for the purposes of this write-up i'll do as star wars does and ignore multiple timezones on a given planet, and assume 24-hour day-night cycles). the show also has several main characters whose stories don't necessarily happen concurrently in the order shown. the hyperspace travel routes, around 11 with some being traveled multiple times, appear to be quite short in the show.

Episode 1: Lost / Found

Ueda – at some point during the Uedan day, likely afternoon. takes place mostly in real time, with Mae’s trek from her ship to the bar shortened.

the Fallon – seemingly starts in the morning of ship time, as Osha wakes up at what seems to be a normal hour for her (the lights come on gently, and don’t seem connected to the alarm that sounds a little later). she gets dressed and asks her colleague what the emergency is, implying there was little to no time skipped. the jedi arrive a short time later, and presumably within 12 hours or so of the Ueda events, since those are “last night” relative to the ship’s time. they are directed to her room and wait there, seemingly just the time it takes her to get back from the ship’s exterior and change, though it is possible she has other work tasks that aren’t shown. there might be a larger skip between getting identified by the eye-witness and boarding the prison ship, but it doesn’t seem very likely. at most several hours pass between Osha waking up and being transferred to the prison ship, and it is conceivable that the events take place in less than an hour (the screentime is about 8 minutes, and most skips are for gearing up/walking from place to place).

Coruscant – starts with Sol’s youngling lesson, which takes place in mid- to late morning (he ends the lesson with “time for lunch”, and even though Vernestra’s arrival might end it ahead of schedule, that would be a weird thing to say at an entirely different time of day. this also suggests the Fallon is synced to Coruscant time). Vernestra informs him of Osha’s arrest, which she would have heard from Yord and Tasi, so it necessarily happens after the entirety of the Fallon scenes, presumably very shortly after (if it wasn’t time sensitive at all, Vernestra wouldn’t have needed to interrupt the lesson; if it is a matter of her availability, we know she has Mog or other padawans like Jecki to carry messages for her). later Vernestra calls Sol (still in the same room, reminiscing) to the detention level, after the other prisoners from the Palwick are captured. Sol obtains permission to go to the crash site on Carlac, gets changed into mission robes, gets Jecki plus Yord, and sets off. this presumably happens in quick succession, as it is both a rescue mission and apprehending an escaped prisoner.

the Palwick prison ship – appears to take place over hours at most, but likely far less. from what we see the ship is clearly intended for short transport trips. the attempted prison break starts with the other prisoners and Osha having what seems to be their first interaction after Osha’s transfer to the ship, including Osha first noticing the subdued criminal, and it would be somewhat odd to have an icebreaker conversation after several hours of sitting next to each other. we see the breakout in its entirety, and know Osha is knocked out in the crash. (this gives us extra information for the Coruscant timeline and travel times – the first temple scene happens while or shortly after Osha is transferred to the ship, and the second immediately after the attempted escapees get automatically transported to Coruscant. Yord gets back from his mission in the meanwhile.)

Carlac – Osha spends some undetermined time unconscious. she wakes up and sets off on foot. Sol, Jecki and Yord arrive a relatively short time after she leaves, examine the wreckage, and follow her. their travel time appears to have been relatively short, unless they only started discussing the mission minutes from their ETA (but hours at most, since Carlac has to be en route from the Fallon to Coruscant, and earlier Yord made the trip in a short time, in a starfighter; Jecki appears to have had the time to read through Osha’s file, although this could have happened earlier). the team catches up to Osha and takes her to their ship. the hike there and back, plus Osha’s unconscious period, was likely short, since she doesn’t seem to have experienced hypothermia in her clothing unsuited for cold weather (even completely ignoring the weather aspect, it was clearly hours at most). we can assume she got to the ship, was given medical treatment and food/water, and possibly went to sleep for a short while – the next time we see the characters, they are discussing her situation for the first time with her onboard.

Unknown Planet – the scene only contains Mae arriving at the Stranger’s hideout, presumably at a prearranged time for a debriefing after her first assassination mission. it takes place after Mae’s departure from Ueda and before her departure for Olega, where she presumably heads together with “Qimir” after this scene. it is the closing scene but definitely doesn't take place after all of the episode's events, since the episode 2 scene taking place shortly after Osha's arrival to the ship references Mae's actions on Olega.

estimated time from Indara's death to Osha being taken onboard the Polan: 24 hours or less, but certainly more than 12. the time spent on Carlac is the biggest variable here. to simplify, i'd argue the episode's events take place over one day, morning to evening, with the cold open happening in the evening of the previous day.

Episode 2: Revenge / Justice

Carlac – the scene starts with Osha resting, possibly waking up from shallow sleep. she had a get-to-know-you conversation with Jecki, and Sol and Yord discuss Osha’s situation for the first time since she was brought onboard. Sol contacts Vernestra for the first time since apprehending Osha, all suggesting the scene takes place shortly after the team’s arrival back to the Polan. Vernestra informs him of Mae’s break-in on Olega, which has to have happened after Sol’s team finds Osha for Osha to have a clear alibi, as Vernestra says. the team departs for Olega.

the Polan – the travel from Carlac to Olega is unspecified but appears to be one of the longer ones in the show. Osha is in the middle of working when she is interrupted by Sol and they have a heart-to-heart. they arrive during Olegan day, and they departed after receiving recent news of an event that happened the previous evening/night on Olega.

Olega – starts sometime during Olegan night, but early enough that people are still out, the Jedi in the temple are walking in the hallways conversing, and it isn’t seen as suspicious for a child to be playing on the street. we see Mae’s first assassination attempt in full, assuming she didn’t spend a very long unseen time prowling through the temple. she leaves the premises and returns to Qimir the next day – at a time late enough that it is odd for him to still be asleep, and the street outside is bustling with activity. he makes her a short-lived poison on the spot, and she immediately sets off to use it. Sol’s team arrives concurrently to this, since they have a quick chat with local Jedi on the street, get taken directly to Torbin, and find him already dead. it is highly unlikely he has been like that any longer than several minutes, if that – he is in an easily accessible open space with several entry points, the temple is on alert after a break-in the previous night, and both Osha and Sol react to Force sensations relating to the situation in progress.

the Jedi team regroups on the temple’s balcony with view of the street, presumably right away, since they are investigating a crime that just took place. they make a plan to investigate the apothecary and execute it right away, but agree to wait for that night, as Qimir convinces them Mae will come then. she does appear as promised, some time after dark but while main streets are still somewhat busy, and escapes again. Sol informs Vernestra, hoping to follow Mae’s trail immediately, but she recalls the team to Coruscant. the local Jedi keep watching the building into the next day, when Mae confronts Qimir there, and the pair make for their ship together (it is unclear what time of day this happens, but i'd assume morning).

estimated time from Mae's first assassination attempt on Torbin to Mae and Qimir escaping Olega: around 36 hours, assuming the closing scene does take place in the morning: two nights and one day.

Episode 4 and 5: Day and Night

Coruscant – starts at some point during the day at the Jedi temple, late enough that the temple corridors and hangar are busy with Jedi and outsiders alike. since episode 2, the team has arrived back at Coruscant, Sol went to debrief with Vernestra’s council, Osha got Pip serviced, and Jecki went to a lesson with her peers. Sol finishes his briefing and obtains permission to lead a team headed for Mae’s next target. he catches up with Osha about to leave Coruscant, persuades her to join the mission, assembles the rest of the team and they set off, most likely quickly as they assume time is of the essence.

the Polan – the travel time is unspecified. we see only a snippet of the journey, seemingly towards its beginning, as it includes an introduction to Yord’s briefing and Osha getting to know a fellow traveler on the transport for the first time.

Khofar – Mae and Qimir arrive, with the implication that it is their first stop from Olega, while the Jedi team took a detour through Coruscant (though the duo left the day after Mae’s escape from her confrontation with Sol, while Sol and his team likely departed immediately and left the locals to watch out in case she remains on planet. i find it quite likely Mae and Qimir got there later). they land in an area not commonly used as a spaceport, with three hours of sunlight left, and spend the whole time hiking towards their destination, with Qimir knowing the direct route. Mae arrives at Kelnacca's shelter the very moment the sun’s last rays disappear.

the Jedi team arrive at some point during the day, land in a designated landing site with a local presence, and spend the rest of the daylight hours on foot, searching for Kelnacca. they have a vague direction from the locals, Sol’s senses, and their professional tracker’s information, though they lose sight of him for a while. they arrive at Kelnacca’s shelter at the same time as Mae, at sunset. the Stranger arrives and knocks Osha out, starting the fight.

the next episode starts right after the previous one ended, with Osha waking up after being unconscious for a presumably short time (the Jedi are engaged in combat with the Stranger a short distance away as she comes to, one man down already). the bulk of the episode’s action – various chases and confrontations between different characters – takes up the entirety of the night, and doesn’t stray too far from Kelnacca’s shelter. at dawn, Mae and Osha reunite and Osha is knocked unconscious. at this time, Sol is still stunned by a blaster shot and the Stranger fighting off an umbramoth swarm in the air, possibly with Bazil trailing him.

Mae takes some time to disguise herself as Osha and finds Sol a short distance away as he comes to. assuming she didn’t re-stun him in the meantime, this is likely shortly after he went down the first time – Mae herself gets stunned earlier and wakes by the end of the same uninterrupted scene to shoot Sol with the same weapon. they immediately set off for the Polan, several hours away on foot, but likely with a better idea of direction than the previous day. the Stranger finishes fighting off the swarm and lands somewhere relatively nearby – Bazil appears and collects Pip’s head before heading for the ship, where he arrives shortly after Mae and Sol. the Stranger unhurriedly collects his items and a still unconscious Osha.

estimated time from the team arriving on Coruscant to Sol and disguised Mae returning to the ship: 24 hours. one full night, a morning the next day, and at the very least hours of the previous day.

Episode 6: Teach / Corrupt

Unknown Planet – Osha wakes up, examines her surroundings, and gets dressed before leaving the cave. during her unconsciousness she was at the very least carried to the Stranger’s ship (roughly 3 hours away on foot), transported to the planet, and carried into the cave. her wound was treated at some point, though this could have taken place during hyperspace travel. after arrival the Stranger also arranged Mae’s clothes for her to find, made food, and took off for a bath, likely intentionally shortly before she woke up. it isn't clear how much time has passed since their arrival on the planet, but i'd guess it hasn't been long.

the Stranger ends a scene by asking if Osha is hungry and the conversation continues in their next scene arriving back at the cave, presumably minutes later, and later resumes after another scene break with Osha eating soup, implying little time has passed. the episode ends with Osha putting on the cortosis helmet shortly after.

Coruscant – the Jedi temple receives Sol’s unclear message and Mog passes it on to Vernestra, who orders him to quickly dispatch a team to Khofar. she gets changed and prepares to depart with them within minutes.

Khofar – Sol and Mae’s storyline resumes immediately after the previous episode’s events, with them and Bazil taking off in their ship after Sol sends a message to Coruscant. their conversations and Mae’s encounter with Bazil and Pip appear to take several minutes, then she is stunned and restrained by Sol, who pilots the ship away from Khofar. the jedi rescue team arrives immediately after, implying the travel time between Khofar and Coruscant is within minutes with their transport, and that the Coruscant scenes take a very short amount of time. Vernestra’s team talk to locals and head into the forest. they arrive at Kelnacca’s shelter presumably hours later, without Bazil’s help but guided by Vernestra’s Force connection, and investigate the site. they prepare the corpses for burial, return to their ship, and depart the planet.

estimated time elapsed during the episode: several hours, less than a day. the Sol/Mae storyline appears to take place almost in real time, and the unknown amount of time Mae has been unconscious after Sol stuns her allows it to catch up to the other plotlines. Osha's scenes seem to happen fairly quickly, with several short timeskips covering walking from place to place, but she too spends an unknown amount of time unconscious at the start of the episode. the Vernestra storyline is the most demanding one time-wise, because it necessarily includes the on-foot trek through the forest, twice, and however long it took to prepare the bodies.

Episode 8: The Acolyte

Unknown Planet – Osha experiences a Force vision after putting on the helmet in the final scene of episode 6, and the Stranger finds her a short time later. they decide to go to Brendok together and depart shortly afterwards, changed into more appropriate outfits and with their gear.

Coruscant – Vernestra gets back from Khofar (still wearing her mission robes) and immediately gets pulled into a meeting with Rayencourt. she tries to get in touch with Yoda before Mog informs her Sol has turned his beacon back on, and is currently on Brendok. she immediately makes preparations to depart with a team of Jedi once more.

Brendok – Mae interrupts Sol’s explanation and escapes the Polan, now orbiting Brendok. Sol chases her through Brendok’s moons’ rings and Mae’s escape craft crashes on the planet, in relative vicinity of the abandoned fortress. Sol lands nearby, activates the beacon, and sets off for the fortress, while Bazil stays on the ship. Osha and the Stranger arrive a short while later, while Sol is entering the courtyard, and land nearby. Mae finishes climbing up the fortress’ pit and heads for her childhood bedroom, where Osha finds her shortly after and the two talk before breaking into a fight. Sol is concurrently confronted by the Stranger.

both duels are interrupted by the arrival of Vernestra’s ship, which lands a short distance away from the fortress. Mae joins the fight between the Stranger and Sol, before Osha arrives and executes Sol. the Jedi team disembarks right afterwards, joined by Bazil and led by Vernestra to the fortress. Mae and Osha escape the fortress and stop at the bunta tree – quite a trek through the forests, as we’ve seen in episode 3. Vernestra finds Sol’s body and sends Jedi with Bazil after the sisters, while the Stranger observes her and disappears to catch up with them. the sisters say goodbye and Osha departs with the Stranger right before the Jedi team catch up. meanwhile, Vernestra apologizes to Sol and gives him a burial.

Coruscant, again – after the Brendok mission Vernestra attends a Senate tribunal before (or possibly right after) talking with an amnesiac Mae and enlisting her help. she then makes contact with Yoda. Mae appears to have been brought to Vernestra from the transport, by the Jedi who apprehended her, so it likely hasn't been long since their return.

Unknown Planet, again – Osha and the Stranger, still in the clothes they wore on Brendok, hold hands dramatically, likely right after returning to the planet.

estimated time elapsed on Brendok: hours at most. the plotlines are lined-up in this episode, and apart from the epilogue post-Mae's arrest most timeskips are fairly short, allowing characters to reach the fortress/bunta tree. the epilogue skips forward a little bit, but appears to take place during the same day.

tldr: there's no way to know for sure, but we can make a (very) rough estimate based on the sequence of events and storylines influencing each other, day/night cycle of two planets, and the assumption that characters aren't sitting around wasting time (almost) at any point. the first arc (episodes 1 and 2) takes place over around 2 days, 3 at most. the second arc (episodes 4 and 5) lasts a bit over a day. the final arc (episodes 6 and 8) happens quickly, most events definitely unfolding within a day.

[rorywritesjunk]

Down in the dark where the waves won't go, I'm bound to find my way.

Sunny and Buggy disagree over the next steps of their life together leading to them spending time apart.

Rating: PG-13 to be safe for swearing and arguing. Warning: Each chapter will have a specific warning. This one has the couple fighting and disagreeing. Talk of starting a family. Buggy is a jerk and Sunny is stubborn. Word Count: 2,647 A/N: The direct sequel to "No locked upon land...", the fic that started it all. I do not use "You" in this as now that Sunny is an established OC I decided not to go that route. This will be several chapters. Originally (lol) it was just two parts but... but I had to expand but I don't expect it to go much longer than the original fic.

Title comes from "Sailing Song" by S.J. Tucker

Chapter 1 + Chapter 2 + Chapter 3 + Chapter 4 + Chapter 5 + Chapter 6 + Chapter 7 + Chapter 8 + Chapter 9 + Chapter 10 + Epilogue Taglist (only because you seem to express interest on these posts, let me know if you want to be removed!): @hey-august @lostfirefly

Chapter 1

Buggy was wondering if his hearing was going or maybe his ears were full of wax. Maybe all those years of cannons and Buggy Balls finally took their toll on him because he wasn’t sure what he heard his lovely wife just say to him. She had brought him lunch wearing one of her cute dresses - a bright yellow one with orange accents embroidered on. She had her hair down, framing her face, and if Buggy didn’t have to take a shift at the helm he would have made sure to let her know how prettier the dress would look on the floor of his office.

But then she said something as she was putting the plate down and he… he wasn’t sure he completely understood what she said.

“What didja say, babe?” He asked as he took a bite of the sandwich she made. “I don’t think I heard ya.”

She sat down next to him and reached over to hold his hand. She made him such a big sandwich that he needed both hands to eat, but this seemed important so he reluctantly set the sandwich down and let her hold his hand.

“Honey, I love you.”

“I… love you too.” He said, frowning at her words as she gave his hand a squeeze. What was going on? Why was she acting so weird? Was this her way of finally asking for a divorce after all this time? Was she finally throwing in the towel with him? He accidentally kicked her while they were both sleeping last night, but that couldn’t be it, could it? “Babe, look, I’m sorry-”

“Buggy, I’m ready to have a baby.” She smiled. “Or several, I’m not picky.”

“-about-” He stopped, the words entering one ear and out the other. Kids? Why the hell would she want kids? She knew what he was like as a kid, why would she want to raise that? He stared at her, mouth hanging open, before he pulled his hand back and started laughing. “Is this a joke?!”

“No?” Sunny frowned. “I’m being serious.”

“Why the hell would you want to have kids?!” He asked frantically. “Kids with me?! Why?! You saw what I was like, why the hell would you want to deal with that for years and years?!”

She half expected this and she knew how he could get when he was panicky. This would blow over. He had even made an offhand comment a few weeks ago about how having a kid might be nice to carry on his legacy someday. He certainly enjoyed the process.

“Buggy-”

“What’s wrong with you?!” He asked. “That’s a dumb thing to want!”

She crossed her arms and waited for him to calm down. He had pulled his hand away, shaking his head, chattering on how they weren’t ready, it wasn’t the right time, raising a kid on the ship would be horrible, and why would she want a kid with him? She knew that any kid they had could come out looking like him: big red nose in the middle of their face. Why would she want that?

“Should we talk about this later, Buggy?” She asked. He shook his head.

“No! Never! We’re not having kids!” He told her, voice high pitched, almost squawking. “That’s a terrible idea, babe! One of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard!”

Sunny frowned and sat back in her chair. She didn’t expect him to talk to her like that. Maybe she needed to try again later, but what kind of reaction was that? Then again, why was she surprised he was acting over the top? It was very much like him to overreact at times, but his words hurt. She pushed her chair back from the table and stood up to leave but his hand grabbed her wrist. He was looking up at her and she wondered if maybe he would think about it.

“Can you bring me a drink since you’re getting up, babe?” He asked with a grin. “Pleeeease?”

She clenched her jaw and pulled away from him, nodding as she tried to fight back the tears. She managed to keep it together until she left and went to the kitchen.

~

Sunny had hoped to try and talk to him about it again at bedtime but her feelings were hurt. It might not be the best time. He must have forgotten about their lunchtime conversation because he crawled right into bed next to her, wrapping himself around her and giving her a big kiss on the cheek.

“I love you~” He told her with a grin as he nuzzled her cheek. “You looked so cute in that dress today, babe.”

Well, at least it kind of did the trick. “Yea? Was it cute when you hurt my feelings?”

“I did what?” He looked at her funny. “When? What did I say?”

“Buggy, I told you I wanted to have a baby.” She reminded him. “I’m ready to be a mom.”

Buggy stared at her. He had hoped maybe it was a flight of fancy, that it was something she would have forgotten about. They had talked about kids long ago when they first got married, both agreeing that it wasn’t time, but as time went on and other things came up, he was certain he was never going to be ready. After being in charge of himself as a child for a few days with her a few months ago, he was certain he would never be capable of being a father.

“Yea, well, what if I’m not?! We’re still young!” Buggy insisted as he pulled away from her. “We… we got time, you know, why do you want to rush this? We haven't been married that long!”

“We’ve been married 11 years.” Sunny reminded him. “We’re not getting any younger.” 

“We’re not ready.” Buggy shook his head.

“I think we are.” She insisted.

“It’s a terrible idea!” Buggy told her. “Us being parents is the dumbest thing I can think of, you know!” He scooted away from her on the bed and crossed his arms. “We’re not having kids. They’ll ruin my plans.”

Sunny stared at him, feeling the tears well up in her eyes again. “Your plans? What about mine, Buggy? I’ve done so much for your plans, you know, ever since I met you! I’m asking just one thing from you!”

“That one thing that is a lifetime commitment!” Buggy shot back. “We’re not having kids and that’s it!” He huffed in frustration and laid down on the bed, frowning up at her as she looked away from him. “Don’t pout, babe. Go to bed. You want a baby so bad maybe I can get you a tiger cub so Richie can have a friend.”

Sunny wiped at her eyes and sniffed, saying nothing to him as she stayed sitting up. He rolled his eyes. He knew she’d get over it in a few days, hell probably even by tomorrow. He reached over to touch her arm, wanting to cuddle, but she jerked away from him and climbed out of bed.

“Where are you going? It’s bedtime, babe!” He said as he watched her slip on a pair of boots and grab a jacket. “You’re in your pajamas!”

“I need to walk around the ship.” She told him. “I-I need to think, Buggy.”

“Babe, it’s dark out there. Think tomorrow.” He sighed, rolling his eyes again. “I’m serious about getting you a tiger cub. That would be so much better than a kid.”

“Shut up, Buggy.” She snapped at him, catching him off guard as she stalked out of the bedroom, slamming the door behind him. He sat in bed, surprised that she actually left. He figured she would have stayed in the room.

~

Sunny not talking to him was one of the worst things Buggy ever endured. He spent one week early in their marriage getting the cold shoulder from her and a week had passed since she brought up having kids and she wouldn’t speak to him, not even look at him. He felt she was overreacting to this but he had a surprise for her to make her talk to him again and forget about the idea of ever having kids. He planned a route to swing by the place where they first met, go to the lake where he professed his love to her, and bring her some duck feed. That’s all it would take for her to apologize and insist that Buggy was right all along and that having kids was dumb.

It took them a few days to get there and Buggy kept trying to talk to her, dropping some hints about what he was up to, but she just ignored him. He stomped his foot at one point when she walked right past him after he tried to flirt with her while she was carrying a laundry basket.

“Will you stop ignoring me?!” He whined. “Babe, come on! I got something fun planned for us!”

Sunny stopped, her shoulders drooping as she turned to look at him. Buggy froze, staring at her as he gulped. She wasn’t smiling at him which was upsetting. There was no sparkle in her eye, no happiness in her voice when she spoke. She just… she looked depressed.

“Babe?”

“What, Buggy?” She asked with a sigh. “I’m busy.”

“Oh yea? Too busy to go on a date with me in a few days?” He asked, feeling a dagger to his heart at her just saying his name. She hadn’t been calling him ‘honey’ at all since that argument in the bedroom. Using just his name was hurtful. He at least kept using his nickname for her. “C’mon, it’ll be fun!”

She just shrugged, shifting the basket from one hip to the other. Buggy rubbed his nose and looked away. It was a little weird to him to see that, reminding of when she carried the kid a few times when he had been upset or tired. She looked natural in those moments and admittedly, Buggy had thought maybe they could do it, raise a kid together, have the flashiest brat on all the seas, but just the fear of something going wrong, something happening to Sunny, was enough for him to not want her to go through with it.

“Do I have to?” She asked. His jaw dropped and he stomped his foot again, clenching his fists. “It doesn't sound fun right now.”

“Yes! I’m the Captain and I order you to go on a date with me!” He told her angrily. “And it’s going to be romantic and you’ll have fun, understand?! You’ll forget your stupid idea of having kids and realize I was right for once!”

She stared at him before turning away and heading to their bedroom. Buggy hated that she walked away like that without talking to him, so he added, “Wear that cute pink dress of yours, okay?”

Sunny said nothing and disappeared into their bedroom.

~

Buggy gave her instructions on what to do, where to go, and what she should wear while they had a breakfast of plain toast and cold bacon. She didn’t have it in her to cook which bothered Buggy. She always cooked the best breakfasts for him but since their fight it had just been… soggy plain toast and cold, greasy bacon. He complained once and after a steely look from her in which she said he could cook his own food next time, he didn't say anything else.

Was his marriage over? 

If that was the case, he really had to make sure she remembered why they were in love with each other, that he made her laugh and that she took care of him. Buggy had to make sure his wife didn’t leave him and that she remembered how much she loved Buggy and how much he loved her. They didn’t need to have kids to be happy, they had each other, and if Buggy tried, he could send Mohji out to find Sunny a pet or something to take care of.

He made sure to look his absolute best for this: he shined his shoes, the buttons on his jacket, made sure his clothes were clean, and that his makeup looked fresh. He looked at himself in the mirror, grinning and looking smug as he struck a few poses, winking at himself in the mirror. Sunny was going to love seeing him looking his best. He even wore the cravat she gifted him on his birthday after they first met. She would see that and would realize how much he loved her and that she was being silly for getting upset.

He put Mohji in charge before heading out. He made Sunny leave earlier after getting ready. She didn’t put up a fight which he was pleased with. He had heard that her old boss was about to retire so he suggested she dress up and visit the old hag. He ignored how she glared at him calling Miss Pins that, but she left without a fight.  She even wore the dress he wanted to see her in as well as some jewelery.

He had a picnic basket in one hand and a bag of duck feed in the other as he waited by the lake for her. He set things down and crossed his arms over his chest, looking smug at his plan. It definitely had to work. She would show up, impressed he remembered these details, and apologize to him for suggesting they have kids. 

Five minutes passed after their agreed upon time. Buggy figured the old hag was talking Sunny’s ear off.

Ten minutes and he wondered if he needed to go rescue her.

Fifteen and… she was coming, right, maybe she got lost?

Twenty minutes and he noticed a little girl wandering around the shelter he and Sunny had to take cover in when he told him how he felt all those years ago during a downpour. 

Twenty five minutes passed and the little girl noticed him, smiling brightly as she walked over to him. He stiffened up, looking around to see if she had any other adult she could go talk to, but why was she coming to talk to him?

“Are you a clown?” She asked with a big smile. “I love clowns! They’re so funny! Can you do any tricks?”

“W-Where are your parents, kid?! You don’t just walk up to strangers and ask them that!” Buggy scolded her as he tried to spot any other adult in the area. It was just the two of them. “Go away, my wife is gonna come and we have a date!”

“Ohh.” The little girl looked around. Buggy wasn’t good at ages, but he wondered if maybe she was around 10 or so. She looked around the same size as the kid, maybe a little shorter. “Um… I don’t… I don’t know where my mama and papa are.”

“Well, go find them!” Buggy insisted, giving her a little shove. “I can’t be distracted, now beat it!”

Her little head kept swiveling around, trying to see if she could spot one of her parents. Her blonde hair was pulled back into two braids with little clasps securing them that had two green stones on them. She had freckles on her face, bright eyes filled with tears, and as she looked up at Buggy, sniffling loudly as it dawned on her that her parents weren’t around, he wondered what he just got himself into.

“W-What’s your name, kid?”

She sniffled, tears rolling down her cheeks as she tried to dry her eyes. “M-My name’s Sunny and… and I’m lost!”

She began to cry and Buggy started to panic. This would be the perfect time for his Sunny to walk up and fix everything.

[fxckn-sxck-fr]

oh wait I meant like yan Scott and Remy work, but this time reader will be their yandere protégé

🖤 anon

𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐓𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐘 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐀 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐆𝐄…

!!! GN reader, manipulation, Scott and Remy can’t agree how to parent mentor you, reader is little sibling-coded, mentions of physical affection, clothing thief reader, overprotectiveness, separation anxiety, they try to set boundaries with you.

RAAAAAAAAA, RATTLING THE BARS OF MY ENCLOSURE RIGHT NOW.

Poor fellas… don’t even know what they’re in for. The strict dad and chill uncle dynamic is back, but now with a dash of weirdo younger sibling! Again, completely uncoordinated. They lowkey sound like your two divorced dads who are trapped in a never ending custody battle over you and they don’t even realize it.

(YOU’RE SUCH A LITTLE SHIT ABOUT IT, TOO. Scott will tell you to stop climbing something, and you’ll hit him with a, “Gambit lets me climb things,” and he gets so pissed off, it’s hilarious. Then a very disgruntled Remy will track you down after suffering through a lecture about being a responsible role model, and you’re pretending to be completely innocent. “I didn’t say anything at all! I have no clue what you’re talking about!”)

But anyways. Because they’re lowkey kinda focused on undoing each other’s influence on you, there’s a huge grace period where you can essentially get away with anything. Want Scott to give you words of affirmation? Pretend to act insecure the next time Remy teases you. Want Remy to take you out for sweets? Insinuate that Scott’s been really harsh lately. If you play your cards right, you’ll have them wrapped around your finger based solely on their opposing mentoring tactics. Just remember that subtly is key; they’re extremely perceptive. Use this mainpulation tactic sparingly to keep their suspicions low.

For any sort of psychical affection, you’re gonna have to play the long game. I highly recommend going the little sibling route. Both of them have a soft spot for that endearing naïveté, so of course Scott has to give you head-pats while Remy teasingly uses you as an arm rest. It also provides a good justification for you constantly going in for hugs and hanging onto their arms. Yeah, they may find it a little weird at first, but you only do it cuz you look up to them, right? With enough time, they’ll begin to reciprocate your touches, maybe even going as far as giving cuddles!! You may find it easier to coax Remy into cuddling than Scott, though that’s not to say Dadclops cuddles are out of the question!! Scott’s just trying to maintain his professionalism (booooo, so lame).

Honestly, I think you can get away with stealing their clothes. Definitely not by going into their rooms or anything (especially Remy’s; you can’t convince me that man doesn’t have his room boobytrapped from hell and back), but they’ll practically hand you their sweatshirts or jackets for free if you act even the slightest bit cold. Just don’t expect to keep Remy’s favorite trench-coat. He’ll let you wear it, but he’s shaking you out of it like a carpet when he wants it back. Other than that, everything else is free game. Enjoy your forever growing collection! Use it well, use it wisely (i.e. making a nest on your bed. Obviously).

It doesn’t take long to figure out that Scott folds under the power of puppy eyes. As long as you keep up good behavior, you can basically wring anything out of him with the right amount of pleading. You want him to carry you around the mansion? Well… that’s a bit strange, but you’re such a little sweetheart, so maybe just this once. Meanwhile, trying to hit Remy with the puppy eyes is like hitting a brick wall. “Nice try, petit, but y’gonna have to try harder than that to convince Gambit.” Luckily for you, he doesn’t really question things as much as Scott does. You could throw yourself into his arms and he’d be like… oh, okay. Guess we’re doing this now. Cool.

If you’re the overprotective type, missions will be absolute hell for your anxiety. It’s hard to watch both of their backs at the same time when Remy usually goes off to do his own thing. You may find yourself choosing to stick by whoever looks more vulnerable, or even bouncing between the two periodically. This doesn’t go unnoticed by Scott, who will try to talk some sense into you. He appreciates the concern, but you can’t keep going off mission like this. He’ll even enlist the help of Remy, who reassures you that there’s nothing to worry about. He and Scott know what they’re doing!

That’s when you pull out the crocodile tears. You can’t help it!! You’re just worried!! What if something happens to one of them? They’re like your big brothers… you don’t want to lose them!!

If anyone say your sly smile while they each separately give you a reassuring hug, no they didn’t.

So, Scott sort of relents. You’re still expected to follow through with missions, but he at least makes sure you’re stationed near Remy or himself to help ease your worry a bit. They’d be lying if they said the extra cover wasn’t helpful. As long as you give enough room for Scott to make orders and Remy to be flashy, they’ll get used to your protective presence.

(“Slim and the Cajun got themselves a loyal guard dog,” says Wolverine.)

I think they’d eventually meet with each other to talk about your behavior. You’re obviously super attached to both of them — almost to an uncomfortable degree — and they’re not really sure what to do about it. They may not see eye to eye on most things, but they at least agree they both care about your well-being. Whatever this is… it’s unhealthy.

For now, they kind of settle on separation anxiety as the cause. It may not explain all of your weird behaviors, but it at least explains why you’re in absolute shambles when either one or both of them are away on a mission while you’re stuck at the manor. They figure the best course of action is to accommodate for you… which unfortunately means working together. Who would’ve guessed the uptight Scott and reckless Remy would actually work together?

Finally they’ve got some sort of coordination going on. As mentor-figures to you, they’ve gotta make sure you’re taken care of… without feeding into your weird behaviors (little do they know, giving you any sort of attention is already feeding into your weird behaviors). Expect them to start setting boundaries, still letting you do certain things while softly explaining why you can’t do certain things. Manipulation tactics really start to lose their edge now, so you’re shit out of luck if that was your main tool.

But don’t get discouraged!! Remember that they’re still trying to accommodate for you! If one’s away from the manor, you get to spend the entire day with the other!! While they may not be as effective as before, puppy eyes still work on Scott, and it’s not like Remy will stop being so lax anytime soon. You can get what you want out of them separately with careful enough plays.

Overall, I really like the idea of Scott and Remy slowly realizing overtime that something may be wrong with their little protégé. They don’t wanna believe it, but they’ll eventually have to face the unfortunate truth as this goes on.

[salemcantupdate]

So this is my updated shipping and favorites perspective, given my prior one I no longer agree with.

First things first, I believe in big polycule ship, everyone is together and dating. (Sobs in that’s not the case).

But! My favorite ships that isn’t just massive polycule (preface I am a multishipper):

Gale and Astarion, aka, Bloodweave. Listen, it’s all big now, we all know about it. Opposites but the same, walking the same path, they can make each other so much worse or so much better. Hubris vs self preservation, both essentially having the possibility to become a god. Both have been beaten down and belittled by beings far more powerful than them, one knowing the abuse and the other not. Also the manipulative hatefuck to love would be incredible.

Lae’zel and Shadowheart, aka Silverheart. Classic enemies to rivals to lovers. Both have been mislead and brainwashed by evil female goddesses that demanded total obedience, that both people completely dedicated themselves to until they realized everything they knew was a lie. Whats more romantic than fighting and getting bloody and then fighting over who tops?

Wyll and Karlach, (I don’t know their ship name, may I suggest Devilbound?) is one that I’m still kinda iffy about honestly. I’m not sure if I can see them as explicitly dating, but I can see them being best buddies who fuck sometimes. I can see them making a deal like “If neither of us are married in a decade let’s just marry each other.” Like they aren’t actively in love or awed by each other but there is deep respect and they would fight and die for each other. And I also headcanon that if you romance Karlach and then go to Avernus with her, Wyll HAS to join and it’s gone be a weird little polycule thing I don’t CARE.

So, another thing. I really really like a threesome of Karlach, Lae’zel, and Shadowheart. The Ladies. But like, Lae’zel and Shadowheart both immediately love Karlach. Lae’zel being like “You WILL respect her” and Shadowheart like “She could carry me to safety.” Are they not blatantly simping??? Like I think they would hatefuck and then stare at Karlach and be like “We need her too.” Two scary women and then the golden retriever girlfriend.

Wyll and Astarion isn’t one that really calls to me, though I get the appeal. Monster and monster hunter, Wyll being the hero that Astarion always dreamed of saving him so long ago. So on and so forth. I just prefer a Redeemed Durge playing that role for Astarion?? But I definitely get the appeal.

Wyll and Gale, I haven’t seen anything for. I don’t know if anyone ships them. But listen, these two would try and one up each other in wowing and wooing the other, Gale with the weave and Wyll with the stories of old. Imagine Wyll trying to get old and out-of-shape Gale to dance in his physical body. They are both 100% into worshipping their partner, so them worshipping each other would just be so cute to me.

Now, this one really surprised me. But I really like Karlach and Astarion??? Like, cause, OK. If you romance Astarion as Karlach, you can’t actually have sex with him in his first romance scene cause it’ll burn him. This causes Astarion to panic, immediately forced him out of his comfort zone, and also ensures a route in which you never have to have sex with Astarion??? Which I know I wish I could do in a normal route! So lowkey adore those two. Also, they’re literally black cat and golden retriever??? Someone who literally went through Hell and lost all bodily autonomy for so long but still laughs and smiles and has so much hope compared to someone who was beaten to hopelessness. It’s cute! But I also ship this in specifically the asexual way. They kiss and cuddle and bump heads and are adorable, but I can’t really see them having sex. That’s just me though haha.

Durge and Gortash obviously fucked and were so in love with each other in such a horrible twisted way. If Gortash ordered it, Durge would stay their hand. Durge prayed for forgiveness, begged for it, promised, swore, vowed that he would still kill everyone, kill all. But he was in love, he was obsessed, and Gortash may have been able to pull Durge from Bhaal’s grasp, only for Gortash himself to fall to the depths of depravity. I need more fucked up fics for these, with all the gore dirt and blood. I want it to be like the movie Hellraiser.

Durge and Astarion is by far my favorite for “canon” routes. It’s just, Astarion doesn’t feel like he’s a damsel in distress being saved, he doesn’t want that. He wants to be your equal, he wants to help you, and as Durge you are able to save each other from the hunger, from the urge, from the “monster”, from the Father. Both were created to be a tool, to be used, for a singular purpose to serve. And both break free, and then have the choice. Shall they become what they were made to be? What they are destined to be? Or take a shit on destiny and be truly happy?

Now for bear-daddy Halsin. He’s more difficult, as his story isn’t fully explored in the plot of the game and he was mostly added as a proper companion because he was so popular. Which I’m extremely happy about cause I fucking love him. But! Due to this, it’s hard for me to ship him with anyone. I’ve seen some people argue for Kagha or Rath, but I personally disagree. I do like Astarion and him, or a poly with him, Astarion, and Redeemed Durge. Fighting the “beast within” and all that, Halsin in the more metaphorical sense. BUT, let me offer something up as an idea, a concept if you will. Gale and Halsin. NOW, now, let me explain. This isn’t JUST them being my two favorite romance options and me being sad I can’t be with them both. But! Both were young men suddenly thrust upon with a massive amount of responsibility and faith put in them; Halsin becoming a commander and archdruid as an apprentice during the war against Ketheric, Gale with being chosen by Mystra, taught by her, and then becoming her romantic partner. A literal goddess. And I’m one of the people who headcanon that their interactions started when Gale was a teenager. Gale both believes he is the best and deserves to die, Halsin has never once believed in his ability to lead. Also Halsin explicitly notes he will miss the library at the grove, and GUESS WHAT GALE HAS? A library. But like, imagine Gale making a magic teleportation circle thing that goes from his tower to the middle of the forest with a little cabin that Halsin lives in and they can easily travel and visit each other and fbskfhwkfjw. Also, both of them having weird sex scenes (that I absolutely adore). Gale with astral projection and Halsin with bear. I bet Gale is one of the few companions who’d be like “Oh you’re a bear? Chill, not the weirdest sexual experience I’ve had.” Halsin would also smile and nod along and sip tea and Gale goes on his long long rant and then— gah it could be so cute. Cottagecore meets academia. I’m gonna call their ship name CottageAcademia. I will take criticism on that name. I’m dumb.

Speaking of, if I failed to mention, Halsin and Gale are my absolute favorite romance options. Gale makes me giddy every single play through and I break my heart every time I have to say no to him for a different romance (like Astarion). He’s just… I find him so charming and cute and I love him and I GAJDHAKSHQK.

Anyways, npc involved ships. (Also I can’t say anything about Minthara cause I literally don’t know her, never played evil route)

Karlach and Dammon is cute, but, eh? I don’t get much from it personally. I think Karlach and Alfira would be cuter.

A fucked up ship that I like is Astarion and Raphael. It… yes, I know, it’s terrible, it’s abusive. But it’s juicy, it’s delicious, the best of the poisoned apples. There’s a fic on AO3 that’s just fantastic even though it’s only got two chapters so far, it’s called Palmarosa by thespectaclesofthor

… The Emperor and Gale. LISTEEENNN, it’s just, Gale is the only one ok with mindflayer Tav. And like, Emperor is smart. It’d be funny. Come on.

Another fun fucked up ship that I haven’t seen much of, Minthara and Orin the Red. It’s bad, it’s terrible, it’s so fucked up, but I like it.

Barcus and Wulbren, no, I don’t think it’s healthy. But Barcus clearly loves Wulbren so damned much and I just want the poor stupid gnome to be happy godsdammit all.

Apikusis and Kagha. So, I don’t know if anyone else has spoken to the Druid Apikusis, but she is one of the few druids who is desperately against the rite. And when I spoke to her after, she said she saw the old Kagha in the woman, was desperate that what she saw was true. What if they were girlfriends? Then Kagha fell to the shadow druids, and now that they’re back they can fall back into love? I just see so much possibility in them!

Olly and Rugan got down and dirty after barely surviving the gnolls and I’ll put money on that.

Omeluum and Blurg, they just seem like science husbands. They’re married and I refuse to take criticism on this.

That’s all I can really think of, but for characters I’m just absolutely obsessed with: He Who Was and Abdirak are my favorite npc’s. Gale and Halsin are my favorite companions.

Now, my personal opinion on class/race Tav/Durge romance for each character.

Shadowheart: Selune Cleric for obvious reasons, race I don’t think super matters. But I do like Durge, connect on amnesia. Just figure out how cleric and a Durge works haha.

Lae’zel: Githyanki who defected from the gith and has been living peacefully in hiding until recently (so a class that gives peaceful options) Tav

Astarion: Redeemed Durge, any race any class. I’m personally doing a Drow Spore Druid. But a paladin or cleric could also be super cute.

Gale: Wild Sorcerer / Bard, and I personally prefer gnome? But any race is still fine. Also Tav or Durge work fine to me, he’s gonna be a big simp. Though, I do personally like the idea of you becoming the mindflayer in this route. He would use magic to disguise you and it’d be cute

Wyll: Tiefling Bard… I know it’s the first that’s so specific but come on. He becomes a devil, he loves stories of old, y’all dance together. I think it’s cute. I also prefer Tav here, I just can’t see a circumstance where he looks past the murder of Alfira to romance a Durge.

Karlach: Honestly she’s the one I’m least sure over, other than I like being smaller for her. I also like the idea of a paladin / bard for her?

Halsin: Literally anyone and anything as long as you’re down to fuck a bear.

These are all just my own opinion, added it cause I know sometimes I wanna see what other people think is the best “romance route” for a character.

But that’s the closing! These perspectives might change again, but for now this is my thoughts on everything shipping and romance related (that isn’t explicitly canon).

[fishrpg]

2024-12-09: Minnesota (Hex 9)

The sights along the road alternate between lakes and farmland. Scents of a distant farming operation carry on the breeze. The ways to the north, southeast, and southwest are prone to delays.

Notable Feature: Town of Bondeby (Settlement)

Literally meaning “Farmer Village” in Swedish, this town was founded mostly by Scandinavian immigrants in the mid-to-late 1800s who came in search of opportunities and affordable farmland. The town happened to be located right on an entrance to The Routes that is surrounded by another entrance to The Routes, which meant that far more farmland was available to claim than would be possible in just the real world. Unfortunately, that’s also the root of the town’s biggest problem. By being built atop a place where reality doesn’t line up, it’s incredibly easy to get lost in this tiny town of just under 2,000 people. It happens so often that the locals even have a name for it: “vänsterman” which translates from Swedish roughly as “left-turning man.”

Bondeby doesn’t have the amenities of a big city, but it does have rustic versions of the necessities: restaurants, a 6-room motel, two farm supply stores, a post office, and a well-attended Lutheran church in addition to the service station on the outskirts of town. Aside from the risk of getting lost, the town is quite safe and the residents look out for both strangers and each other. Bondeby’s location also provides a rare opportunity to rest and let your guard down along The Routes. However, it is incredibly difficult to get off The Routes here (or anywhere else in Minnesota) as the exits have a tendency to loop back to Bondeby.

Hidden: The Anti-War Militiaman

In the Minnesota countryside is a modest farmstead that is the headquarters for a secret militia known as the Voluntary Guard who want to abolish military conscription because of how the US got involved in the Vietnam War. The group is headed by a poet named Will Karlsson, who often laments the rise of imperialism. Will has a contact at a major newspaper in Vermont, and Will is trying to convince them to write several articles about the Voluntary Guard to give it some credibility and raise awareness of the group in a way that will motivate more people to join the militia group. If the party is able to convince Will’s contact to do the stories, the party can potentially receive armed assistance from 1d4 members of the group for up to a week if their services are ever needed.

Service Station: Eriksson’s

Eriksson’s is a service station that primarily caters to refueling and repairing heavy farm equipment, so the pumps are farther apart than at other stations. However, Eriksson’s takes this to an extreme, with a single pump at each of the four corners of the property: gasoline on the north side of the property, and diesel on the south side. Travelers pay at a tiny shack in the middle of the property, though the same weirdness that makes The Routes diverge from reality allows the shack to have much more space inside than the outside dimensions would allow. The current owner, a bearded man named Per, operates a large convenience store out of this shack and even has a spot inside where he occasionally plays films on a reel-to-reel projector to entertain lost travelers.

The reality-warping weirdness moves around slightly (though always within a very small area) and Per has the pumps so far apart to prevent the tanks for diesel and gasoline from mixing because of the movement. Although this arrangement does keep the fuels from mixing, there are some other quirks that come with filling up here.

Each time someone uses the pumps, roll 1d10. On a roll of 1, the pump registers more fuel going through the pump than is actually going into the vehicle and filling up costs twice as much. On a roll of 10, though, more fuel flows into the tank than is registered by the pump and making it cost half as much to fill up. On any other roll, the pump functions exactly as expected.

Items From Other Hexes

The wedding that Tony Watson (Hex 3) wants to stop is being held in this hex. Matilda Watson and Victor Pellegrini are very much intent on getting married, though they can potentially be persuaded to give up their wedding bands as a token of "proof" that the party broke up the marriage. However, Tony will expect one of the rings to be an heirloom from his family, and if that is not provided, he will automatically assume that the party is being dishonest and attempt to attack these "foul and deceitful creatures of the realms beyond."

[caffedrine]

Keith Howell and Leon Dompteur- He is Me and I am Him?! - Event Summary

If anyone gets the idea that I know what I’m doing, then we have both made a giant mistake. I do not guarantee anything, much less accuracy in this summary.

This was a pretty fun event, you should definitely support Cybird when it comes out in English and buy/read it.

Warning: Mid-route spoilers for Leon's route.

Emma had been having a nice, calm morning, as was usual in Rhodolite. And then she comes across Keith and Leon, who are crouching down next to each other, clutching their heads.

Emma rushes over and asks after them, but they both assure her that everything is fine, they just bashed their heads together.

Assuring Emma that he’s fine, Leon asks after Keith, admitting he had head-butted him as hard as possible. Keith assures him he’s fine, oddly enough it doesn’t hurt that much. 

Leon is happy, it sounds like Keith’s hard head came in useful for once. Leon admits that his forehead is still tingling, but it’s not very painful. Keith notes that he himself also has a head as hard as stone. This turn of phrase confuses Emma.

Leon focuses on Emma and asks about the book she is holding. Is it because- 

Emma explains that she had an appointment to practice reading it with Keith this afternoon.

Keith is very confused, and when Emma focuses on him, Leon cuts in. He heard about the donation Keith had made to a local orphanage on behalf of the Kingdom of Jade, and as a publicity stunt, Keith was going to read a book to the orphans the next day. 

Emma is impressed that Leon heard about all of that. But yes, some of the kids don’t know how to read or write, so this is an opportunity to get them interested in books.

Keith remembers and apologizes for forgetting their practice appointment. Which is weird, Keith usually is very conscientious about remembering his appointments.

Leon offers to join them, after all, he is also interested in books. Emma is surprised, Leon is infamous for hating books. 

Leon awkwardly explains that maybe he can handle it if she and Keith read the books?

Oh, that makes sense.

Keith assures both Emma and Leon that he’ll do his best to meet their expectations. Emma suggests they move to the garden, where they can practice privately.

Emma reads a few pages of her book out loud and asks about her cadence and volume. Leon praises her, and Keith marvels over her reading talent.

Well, it’s now Keith’s turn.

Looking weirdly depressed, Keith accepts the challenge. Keith picks out a child’s fairytale from the stack of books Emma brought, but she corrects him, he was supposed to read a more advanced book. Looking like he was about to cry; Keith opens the book and complains about the small print. 

Leon asks if he’s okay, and Keith assures them that he can handle a mere book. 

He gets about two sentences into the book, before abruptly falling over, unconscious. Emma hurries over to Keith, wondering if he is sick. In a panic, Leon starts calling for someone, shouting that Leon has collapsed.

Emma looks at Leon, really confused. She ‘reminds’ Leon that he is just fine, it was Keith who collapsed. Awkwardly, Leon corrects himself, calling out for someone to help Keith. This is the most upset and panicked that she ever saw Leon, it is almost like he’s a completely different person.

Knights help carry Keith to the infirmary, even though he woke up halfway there and insisted that he was fine. Leon, looking frightened, was able to convince him to be examined by the doctor, who had diagnosed Keith as perfectly healthy. They conclude thta Keith had just fallen asleep. 

Emma is quiet, enough that both Keith and Leon notice. She explains that they’re both behaving weirdly, and Leon is the one who famously falls asleep while reading. And besides that, why had Leon called Keith ‘Leon’ earlier? And why is Keith oddly calm despite the commotion?

Emma finishes by saying it’s just like Keith and Leon switched bodies or something. Instead of laughing, both Keith and Leon have serious expressions. 

Keith(?) apologizes to Leon, calling him ‘Keith’, saying that it’s impossible to deceive Emma. Leon(?) apologies to Keith, calling him ‘Leon’, saying that it’s his own fault, he’s just a useless weed.

Emma looks at them in growing horror as she realizes that they have actually switched bodies.

In Leon’s body, Keith explains that he woke up this morning like this. It was the same for Leon, inside Keith’s body. He explains that when Emma had run into them, they had been trying out different methods to switch back. 

If they can’t switch back, they’ll be in trouble, as Emma can see, Leon can’t read books. Keith admits that he was very surprised by that. 

Their first problem is that they don’t even know why or how they switched bodies. Emma volunteers to help them. She has read many novels with body switches; she has a few ideas that can help them. 

The first idea is for them to retrace what they did the previous day, maybe something weird happened that caused the switch. When both Keith and Leon’s faces light up, Emma thinks that they might be onto something.

They decide to start with Leon’s day.

To reproduce his movements, Leon sneaks the three of them into the kitchen like thieves. He and Keith ensure that they are totally alone, and Leon asks if Emma was able to obtain the ‘items’. Emma was, as long as they are still talking about Yves’ cookies.

All Emma was told was that Leon had a few of Yves treats the other day, but by the way he’s acting, she gets the impression that this may not have been on the up and up. Besides, Yves always brings and serves his treats to everyone in the domestic faction’s office. She asks Leon if he stole Yves’ baking.

She gives him a hard look, but even with Keith’s face, Leon manages to put on a defiant smile. He explains that he had been working with Jin until midnight and had been starved. He and Jin went to the kitchen to see if there was anything left over and saw the delicious looking confectionary just sitting there, unattended. He thought that Yves wouldn’t be upset if only two of his treats went missing.

With Emma still giving him the ‘look’ Leon promises that he plans on buying Yves a nice meal next time they go out. Keith notes that Leon isn’t very remorseful, and probably intends to do the exact same thing again later. Leon agrees, apologizing to the absent Yves.

Emma decides to pretend that she never heard Leon’s confession, and mentally apologizes to Yves for this.

They place the bowl of cookies on the table, and Leon carefully reaches it and picks one up before putting it into his mouth. He suddenly starts, and both Emma and Keith look at him expectantly. Leon explains that he was just surprised at how good these cookies are.

Keith calls out to them that he can hear footsteps approaching. Emma panics, she knows that if it’s Yves they’ll be in real trouble.

With the ease of one who has done this before, Leon, still wearing Keith’s face, pulls all three of them into a corner of the kitchen that is shadowy and hard to see. At this point, Emma can also hear the footsteps, so she doesn’t complain and holds her breath as the footsteps grow louder, then softer as they recede.

The three of them all relax and step out of the shadows, sighing in relief. Keith apologizes for how big his body is, and Emma assures him that he’s fine.

Honestly, she was surprised at how efficiently they all moved. Leon immediately reacted to Keith’s warning, as if they had been training together. She wonders if they actually get along really well.

Leon sums up the exercise, while delicious, the cookies probably weren’t the cause of the switch. Eating together did nothing.

They decide to retrace Keith’s steps next and ask him what he did the previous day.

Yesterday, Keith had decided to take a brisk walk on the hiking trail Licht told him about. Emma is excited to try it, but Keith, still in Leon’s body, looks concerned.

Later, as Emma is convinced, she is dying, she understands that look. The hiking trail wasn’t a smooth road, but a steep trail up a cliff. Even Leon calls Keith out on calling this a ‘hiking trail’.

Keith explains that this is a training course built by the legendary Rose Knight of Rhodolite way back when.  Though, he adds Licht improved it so that it would build muscles faster. He tells Emma that she doesn’t need to overdo it and can wait for them back at the castle.

Emma assures him that she’s fine, and she has already come this far. Besides, Keith had promised that the view of the stars from the mountaintop would be beautiful, and she wanted to see it too. It’s her reward for all this hard work.

Leon promises to help her but warns her not to overdo it. He marvels over how well Keith’s body is handling the hike and praises Keith. Keith shakes his head; all he can do is be big and awkward. It’s Leon’s body which is strong and beautiful.  

(Keith approves of Leon's sexiness)

Finally, Emma asks the burning question, are they actually friends?

Leon considers this question, but Keith denies it. There is no way he can match Leon, but they did see each other regularly as they grew up. Leon adds that the first time they met was at a noble party as children. Still in Leon’s body, Keith’s face clouds over and he awkwardly agrees with Leon.

Emma is quickly distracted from Keith’s expression by the trail, which abruptly ends in a rock wall. Keith assures her that this is the path, and Emma asks him to explain. Leon realizes that part of the hiking experience is to scale over the rock wall.

Weakly, Emma agrees that they should climb over it, maybe that will solve their problem.

Clover End: Leon

Leon has never gotten along with the Prince of Jade. Keith was on friendly terms with most of his brothers, but distantly respectful of him and Chevalier. Chevalier, Leon could understand, as he was a very intimidating presence. But Leon can’t recall ever doing anything off-putting to Keith. In fact, every time they meet, the distance between them seems to grow farther and farther.

~Flashback Time~

A few days ago, Leon attended a tea party with Yves, Licht, and Keith, Leon had asked Keith to be less formal around him. Keith only shook his head, explaining that he was too embarrassed to be anything other than respectful. Leon asks why he’s so friendly with Yves and Licht, and that has the opposite effect. Instead, Keith apologized to Yves and Licht if he had been too informal with them.

Keith explains that Leon is like the sun, and a weed like him will get burned if he gets too close. He honestly respects Leon and cannot bring himself to be on the same level as him. Internally, Leon grumbles that Keith is unexpectedly stubborn.

Leon points out that when they first met as children, Keith had called him ‘Leon’ without any honorifics.

~Flashback in a Flashback Time~

The first time Leon exchanged greetings with Keith was when he attended a party held by a neighboring nation. He had seen a boy standing against the wall, looking around as if searching for someone in particular.

Leon had openly approached him and greeted him. The boy had called him ‘Leon’, but then apologized and introduced himself as Keith Howell, prompting Leon to introduce himself as well. Very cautiously, Leon asks if they had met previously, but Keith assures him that this is their first meeting.

While Keith’s gaze continued to restlessly wander about them, Leon considered what he knew. ‘Leon’ had never mentioned this Keith to him during their time together.

~Flashback in a Flashback End~

Leon asks Keith if he has done something wrong to Keith to cause this misunderstanding between them. Keith assures him that he has done nothing wrong, and Leon asks if that means they can get along now.

With the diplomacy worthy of a prince who has spent his life studying it, Keith diffuses the situation by stuffing cake directly into Leon’s mouth, telling him to eat it. With his mouth suddenly full, Leon is unable to say anything and instead has to savor how truly delicious the cake really is. But he is now positive that Keith is hiding something from him.

~Flashback End~

On top of the mountain, they marvel over how quickly Emma fell asleep. Leon muses that while Keith is conditioned to handle the harsh hike, this is all new ground for Emma. However, the scenery had been spectacular, and Emma had exclaimed when they finally reached the summit.

Currently, Emma is asleep on the blanket in the camping supplies Keith had brought with him. Leon is impressed at Keith’s forethought to bring camping gear with them today.

Unfortunately, after Emma had gone to sleep what little camaraderie that existed between Leon and Keith faded, and they now sit together awkwardly in silence. Leon ponders, rather than what caused the switch, why was it Keith he switched with?

Unexpectedly, it is Keith who breaks the silence. He asks if he really hates books that much. Leon assures him that rather than hating them, it’s just that reading makes him sleepy. Keith then apologizes; a few years ago, he had gifted Leon a book for his birthday, he must have hated it. Leon tells him not to apologize, and besides, it’s not like he doesn’t read books at all. Honestly, he was happy to receive a book for his birthday.

But he has always wondered about it, there were safer and more generically traditional gifts to send foreign royalty. Why did Keith choose that book in particular? Keith tells him that the book just happened to catch his eye, but looking at him, Leon can tell that he is lying. Keith isn’t the kind of person to spontaneously send books as gifts.

‘Leon’ had enjoyed books though. It was the one thing that he couldn’t imitate no matter how much he tried. He had thought that no one knew about that, but now . . .

Leon asks Keith about the ‘Leon’ he used to know.

Keith immediately assures him that he’s not confused, he knows that the Leon in front of him hasn’t changed since they were children. Ever since they first met, Leon has always been shining like the sun, standing at the center of people’s attention, and amazing at swordplay. He cannot begin to compare, no, even trying to compare is an insult to Leon. Really, Leon is a splendid person, both as a human and as a prince.

Leon assures him that he has said enough.

He’s been curious for a while now, but he’s beginning to think that ‘Leon’ who had been prepared to die hadn’t forgotten to talk about Keith. Maybe the relationship between ‘Leon’ and Keith had been something he didn’t want to share with him.

The awkward silence between the two of them resumes, though Keith looks like he wants to say something more.

Emma stirs awake and catches both of their attention. Emma apologizes for falling asleep, and Keith assures her that it’s fine, she was obviously tired after the hike. Emma is about to say something else before she falls silent, looking at the stars. She exclaims over the view, and how it is the reward she wanted for the hike.

Leon realizes that he never actually looked at the sky after night fell. He looks up now and the starry sky fills his vision. Emma is right, it does feel like a reward. Keith notices a shooting star, but by the time he calls it out, it’s gone.

Emma promises that the next one they find, she’ll wish for them to return to their original bodies. Leon agrees with the sentiment, he’ll drag down Keith’s reputation with all the food he intends to steal when they return to the castle. Keith adds that he also wishes to not damage Leon’s reputation, so he will also wish for them to return to normal quickly. After all, he’s a useless weed that can only grow in a damp place far away from the sun.

Leon reminds Keith that weeds are important too and are often used to cure illnesses. He assures Keith that he is a fine prince, and to be more confident in himself. Keith promises to try his best.

The three of them offer their prayers to the stars, with Leon adding on a wish to get along with Keith a little better.

Heart End: Keith

Leon has always been friendly to Keith, but no matter what he says, it can’t soothe the discomfort in Keith’s heart.

The first time they met had been a pure coincidence and accident.

~Flashback Time~

When he had visited Rhodolite with his father, Keith had slipped away from the party and wandered aimlessly through the palace. Eventually, he came across a room where he could hear someone coughing violently inside, and, forgetting that it was someone else’s room, Keith opened the door and entered.

He introduced himself as Keith to the boy inside and explained that he heard the coughing from outside. The boy, who was sitting in bed with a book open on his lap, apologizing for coughing so loudly. Even from across the room, Keith can see how pale he is, but the boy doesn’t send him away.

Keith asks about his health and the boy admits that he’s a little sick, so Keith offers to retrieve him some medicine. The boy assures him that he has some and notes that he’s very kind. Keith assures him that he’s not particularly kind, he’s just worried about someone in front of him who’s in trouble.

The boy introduces himself as Leon and asks him to call him just ‘Leon’. Keith begins to introduce himself, but only gets as far as his first name before he stops and gasps, he’s read that exact same book. It’s an introduction to herbalism. Sensing a common interest, Keith gushes over his love of herbs. Leon agrees, noting that a lot of weeds growing along the roadside are in truth medicinal supplements.

In retrospect, taking the book and just talking about the various herbs was the height of rudeness. However, Leon looked happy as he listened to Keith talk about all the herbs the book illustrated, and Keith thinks that though they were about the same age, Leon was far more mature than he was. While Keith talked, Leon would occasionally give him a thumbs up, and it delighted Keith to the point that he couldn’t stop.

Eventually, Keith stops, realizing that he had been the only one talking for the past hour or so, and apologizes. Leon tells him not to apologize and assures Keith that he had enjoyed listening to him. Keith promises that he’ll listen to Leon next, and Leon wonders which of his books he can talk about. Keith loses track of the time as he listens to Leon.

Eventually noise leaks in from the outside, and Keith realizes that the party must be over, and he must leave soon. Leon tells him that he’s happy they had this chance to talk and is pleased that he made a good friend. But he now has a favor to ask of Keith, about the next time they meet.

The second time they met was at the party Leon had told Emma about. He had been looking for him, but Leon had found him first. Without thinking, he called out to his friend but then remembered the promise he made to Leon.

Leon didn’t want his doctors to know he was playing with a friend and scold him, so he asked Keith to pretend that the next time they meet is their first meeting. In fact, just forget about this meeting entirely.

And Keith has just messed up. Hopefully, Leon won’t be too annoyed.

Keith formally introduces himself to Leon, belatedly fulfilling his promise. He thinks back to the last time they met and wonders why Leon had looked so sad when he promised to see him again, while Keith thought it was a good thing to see one another again.

However, the Leon in front of him really didn’t seem to remember him at all. Keith wonders if Leon genuinely forgot that first meeting, or if he’s just really dedicated to acting.

With Leon’s prompting, Keith falls into the lie that this is their first meeting. Leon presses him, and Keith distracts him with food, a strategy that becomes very useful in the future.

~Flashback End~

However, every time Keith sees Leon, he just feels uncomfortable, which might have been his own personal problem. Other than pretending that they never met that one time, it’s still Leon, but  . . .  Leon had fallen asleep while reading, and Emma had said it was a common occurrence.

Finally, Keith is convinced. This isn’t the same Leon he met all those years ago.

In the present, Keith notes that Emma is asleep, and Leon notes that it had been an exhausting trail. He is correct, it was a steep mountain trail, followed by climbing cliffs and even more steep slopes. However, the scene at the end was just as spectacular as it had been the previous day.

When they had arrived at the summit, Emma had been obviously exhausted, so Keith had unrolled the camping gear he had brought with him and Emma had fallen asleep on it in seconds. He tucked the blanked over Emma’s prone form.

And now, without Emma to fuss over, things had grown awkward between him and Leon. Keith curses himself for being a poor conversation partner and decides to bring up a topic. He talks about books, asking if it’s true that Leon is bad at them.

Leon assures him that rather than hating them, it’s just that reading makes him sleepy. Keith then apologizes; a few years ago, he had gifted Leon a book for his birthday, he must have hated it. Leon tells him not to apologize, and besides, it’s not like he doesn’t read books at all. Honestly, he was happy to receive a book for his birthday.

But he has always wondered about it, there were safer and more generically traditional gifts to send foreign royalty. Why did Keith choose that book in particular? Keith tells him that the book just happened to catch his eye, but it is a lie. That book had been about herbal medicine, a supplement to the book Leon had been reading when they first met.

If this Leon is someone different, then he must have felt bothered by it. But how can Leon be a different person than the one he met? Though, with the situation between them being what it is right now, it doesn’t seem quite as impossible as it was yesterday.

Suddenly Leon asks Keith to describe ‘Leon’ to him, and Keith starts, wondering if Leon has spontaneously gained the ability to read his mind as well. Keith is careful with his words, and compares Leon to the sun, standing at the center of people’s attention, and amazing at swordplay. He cannot begin to compare, no, even trying to compare is an insult to Leon. Really, Leon is a splendid person, both as a human and as a prince.

But the Leon he had met back then had also been like the sun, but a gentle sun, filtered through the leaves of a tree. That Leon had a charm that gently enveloped people, rather than pulling them in.

Can Keith ask the real question?

Is this the real Leon?

But which one really is the real Leon?

Why is this so confusing?

Emma stirs, distracting Keith. Emma apologizes for falling asleep, and Keith assures her that it’s fine, she was obviously tired after the hike. Emma is about to say something else before she falls silent, looking at the stars. She exclaims over the view, and how it is the reward she wanted for the hike.

Keith remembers that Emma was keeping up with them because she wanted to see the stars. Following her example, Keith looks up and is enveloped by the night sky. Nearby, Leon muses that this is a reward for the trek.

Keith notices a shooting star, but it is gone by the time he is able to direct their attention to it.

Emma promises that the next one they find, she’ll wish for them to return to their original bodies. Leon agrees with the sentiment, he’ll drag down Keith’s reputation with all the food he intends to steal when they return to the castle. Keith adds that he also wishes to not damage Leon’s reputation, so he will also wish for them to return to normal quickly. After all, he’s a useless weed that can only grow in a damp place far away from the sun.

Leon reminds Keith that weeds are important too and are often used to cure illnesses. He assures Keith that he is a fine prince, and to be more confident in himself. Keith promises to try his best.

Sometimes Leon acts like this too, and Keith is convinced that this is his Leon after all. Maybe his Leon is still there, inside of him.

The three of them offer their prayers to the stars, with Keith adding on a wish to get along with Leon a little better.

Epilogue

The morning after, Emma is full of regrets. Sure, she wanted to help Leon and Keith fix their situation, but she had not expected to have to pay this price. Right now, she is alone in her room, lying in her bed, every muscle screaming in agony.

Keith had warned her that it was a spartan training course designed by the legendary Rose Knight, then improved upon by Licht to build muscles quicker, but the meaning hadn’t really sunk in until today. If this is what it takes to become a knight, then that path is closed to Emma.

With a herculean effort, Emma tries to get up and out of bed, but her legs fail her, and she sinks to the floor.

Just then, there is a knock on the door. Unable to personally greet the person on the other side, Emma resorts to calling out to them. It’s Leon’s voice . . . which means that it’s Keith. Emma explains that she can’t open the door, but to please come in.

The door opens, and not only Keith but Leon come into the room. They both pause at seeing her on the floor and she awkwardly asks them to help her.

They fuss over her, asking if she’s fine and if she fell or something, prompting Emma to explain that she is too sore to move. They quickly realize this is a reaction to the training course from the previous day, and both reach out to her. They ask her to take their hands and let them help her stand. With Leon supporting her left side, and Keith supporting her right, they are able to return her to the bed.

Keith explains that he has some muscle recovery salves in his room, and Leon promises to bring her something from the infirmary. With Emma’s permission, they both leave and quickly return with supplies.

Keith instructs her to lie face down on her bed, and when she complies, he lifts her nightgown to the knees. Both begin massaging a salve into her legs, before wrapping them up in a compress. Keith explains that he has a poultice that is famous in Jade and is a common export. Leon has a poultice that’s more common in Rhodolite. Emma is just happy that both poultices feel cool and comfortable.

Emma laments that she seems like someone who is infirm, and she would be helpless without Leon and Keith with her today. She asks if they’re in similar pain at all.

Keith assures her he’s fine, there are mountains even in Jade and he climbs them whenever he gets the opportunity. Leon is in pretty good shape himself, so he’s only a little sore. Leon offers to carry her around for the day, but Keith cuts in saying that it’s fine if he does instead. Leon isn’t in the mood to yield, but Keith points out that he has a larger body and is better suited to carrying people around than Leon is.

It's been obvious to Emma for a while now, but she finally asks them when they switched back to their original bodies. Leon explains that he woke up in his original body as miraculously and unexplainable as the original switch. Keith adds that they came to Emma’s room to tell her about the switch back.

Well, as interesting and unusual for Leon to be in Keith’s body, there was a giant problem with it. He can’t very well seduce Emma with another man’s face. Keith agrees that it makes sense to him, if she wasn’t in the middle of helping them switch back, he himself wouldn’t be able to talk to Emma in another man’s body either.

Emma thinks their reasons for not liking the switch are weird. In any case, they can read to the orphans without any problems. Keith can agree to that, his reputation is already so low, he doesn’t want to also be known as the prince who faints in front of children.

Yeah, Leon gets it, he’s pathetic as a prince. But he’s always looking for opportunities to improve and asks Emma to read with him in the future. Keith offers to help as well, and Leon complains that Keith is an unexpectedly difficult opponent. Keith tells him that it’s the same for him.

Despite their words, Emma gets the sense that they’re getting along a lot better than they have in the past. There’s no hesitation when they speak to each other, and both seem to be having fun. She wonders if this is because of the switch and if so, maybe it was a good thing.

Keith asks if he and Emma can do another practice reading session, and Leon insists on her practicing separately with him.

Maybe the switch wasn’t a good thing for Emma after all.

[beevean]

So I just had a realization about Lenore and her ring.

The common argument from the "Lenore did nothing wrong" crowd is that she just had to do what she did. She had to slip that ring on Hector's finger to ensure that he wouldn't hurt the sisters, and by doing so, she made sure that he'd live a comfy life, not stuck in a cell. So really, she was only looking out for his well being! She was being a diplomat and making everyone happy!

Right?

"These are slave rings. One of them found its way on to Hector’s hand while he was swearing his loyalty to me."

The ring, when you think about it, functions in a weird way. The bearer has to pledge loyalty to the owner: thus, the bearer has to consent to being enslaved. This already makes the ring redundant. But fine, let's say that the function is to make sure that the bearer doesn't change their mind later on.

Does the bearer has to mean those words? Or do they just need to pronounce them, no matter their state of mind? That I don't know. What I do know, is that Lenore spent the whole season buttering Hector up:

"So… what do you want?"

"Oh, I don't have to lie to you. I have no interest in faith. Faith makes for terrible diplomacy. This is simply commerce. In commerce, we don't have to have faith in each other, do we? We don't have to guess. It's simple. There are rules. I give you something, you give me something."

And this, from their scene in the balcony (Episode 6) that I can't find a clip of:

Lenore: Does it hurt? Hector: No. It just reminds me of the last time someone put a collar on me. Lenore: In Braila? Hector: When Carmilla almost killed me. Lenore: Well, she does have a temper. But she would never have meant to kill you. Hector: No. Because she needs me to be her forgemaster slave. Lenore: No, because if she'd meant to kill you, you would quite simply be dead. Hector: Hmph. Lenore: And if she'd meant to torture you, you would have arrived here carrying your guts in both hands with a spike up your arse. Hector: I suppose that's true. I mean, I can see her doing it. In nightmares and such. Lenore: She does have a temper, but she's logical. She never lets it run away with her to the point of, oh, I don't know, condemning the entire human race to death? Just a recent example of what being genuinely insane with murderous rage looks like. Hector: All right. Lenore: You may not have been treated like a boy king on your way here, but you did show up alive. Hector: Might have been nice, though. Lenore: Have you considered that you're only alive because you listened to Carmilla back in Dracula's castle? Hector: I hadn't. She tricked me. Lenore: I don't think she did. I think she made complete sense to you, and you felt guilty, understandably, about how it all played out. Hector: She made me betray Dracula. Lenore: No, she didn't. She showed you the old man was insane, and she saved you from the consequences. Nobody here wants to harm you. We just don't quite trust you yet. Hector: Trust me? Lenore: You did try to hurt me, Hector.

She made a whole show about listening to him, trying to cater to his needs like his desire for new shoes, actually asking him what he really wants; she tried her best to convince him that his situation wasn't so bad after all, and Carmilla was a better master than Dracula, a saner one.

By all means, it looked like Hector was well on route to agree to work for them on his own volition. By that point, Lenore had beaten over his head that Dracula was stupid and used him, but Carmilla, bad temper aside, would be a more just master. Had Lenore kept the ruse, I'm sure Hector would have, as fans love to joke, "simped" for her and given in.

Ironically, it's exactly what the sisters chewed Carmilla for: ruining a perfectly good manipulation game by hurting Hector at the end and breaking his trust for shit and giggles. Because we love creative writing.

But alright, Lenore wanted to be absolutely sure that Hector wouldn't turn on them, and perhaps show her sisters that he could be trusted. That ring was there mostly as an ensurance. It would have broken Hector's trust once more, but it would have made the sisters happy - you know, the compromise she talked about.

So… why didn't she slip her ring as they were talking? They ended up sitting side by side: Hector was comfortable enough to be close to her. By this point, she literally could have asked him to swear loyalty to her while talking, and he would have done it!

Instead, she lied by pretending she's no longer confident in the council plans, and switched mid-speech from "I'm loyal to my sisters, so I can't let you go" to "What we're doing is wrong, so we can flee together". which i still think it's one of the stupidest examples of writing.txt in the script, but that's besides the point

She wanted sex from the get-go. She came with the ring in her pocket, a comfortable blanket, and immediately changed tactics to say something she never would have said before. Not only she wanted sex, but she wanted to deliberately lower Hector's guard, so that he would "swear loyalty" while not in his right mind (because his judgment was clouded by arousal at best). She knew this. This was deliberate. She wanted this exact situation, to make sure that Hector would be not in his right mind, and also to get that nice hecock as a reward for her efforts.

At this point, I can safely say Lenore crossed the line from selfishness into cruelty, and no justification, nothing about her diplomacy, or how she secretly was fond of Hector and wanted to "keep him safe", can hold any water.

And by the way, this makes her act rape, since Hector was not in his right state of mind (you know, since he was effectively tortured and psychologically beaten down through lies, manipulation and humiliation) and had no idea about the ring's existence so he could not consent to it. Just so that we're clear, since some people seem to unironically believe in the "not if you enjoyed it" rationalization.

[thenationaltreasuregazette]

Interpersonal Aftermath: Abigail and Riley Edition

Ben and Patrick | Ben and Abigail | Ben and Riley

Whereas I think Riley and Ben are both very aware that Ben is the protagonist of their shared story, Riley and Abigail have much more “best friends each separately think of the other as sidekick” energy. And I love that for them.

Their relationship is incidental to the story in a way all of the others are not. As we discussed in the first of these relationship deep dives, all of the main dynamics that drive the story forward pivot around Ben. This is especially true of Patrick and Abigail, because Ben and Riley’s relationship doesn’t evolve much during the film—they start and end as a team. But even still, Riley’s relationships to Ben as his accomplice, voice of reason, and comic relief are all central to the plot and tone of the movie.

For Abigail and Riley though, this isn’t true. As long as they can get along well enough to orchestrate Ben’s escape from FBI custody with Ian, their relationship with each other does not affect the plot. Whether they hated each other, become instant besties or anything in between, the movie doesn’t change. As long as Abigail doesn’t hone in on Riley’s role as tech wiz and voice of reason/resident pessimist (she doesn’t) and Riley doesn’t interfere with Abigail’s role as love interest (he doesn’t*) then their dynamic doesn’t influence the narrative.

*In the actual film. Headcanons may vary.

However, when we explored the missing time in National Treasure—the moments we don’t see on screen—we discovered the Riley and Abigail actually spend a good amount of downtime together, particularly in Philadelphia.

As I wrote there:

In any of the routes that take them on a bus, Abigail and Riley would spend a lot of time together. Remember, it’s Ben that Abigail’s really connected with so far. He’s the one she’s been flirting with, he rescued her from the catering truck, she learned about his family and his relationship with his father, and he’s the one she risked her career with testing the Declaration. She was talking to Ben only during both the late night car ride and while clothes shopping. To her, Riley has been the weird sarcastic guy tagging along. That’s not to say she hasn’t had any interactions with him. Her “I look pregnant?” comment is directed to Riley, so she’s clearly not afraid to engage with him. But she has gotten to know Riley way less than she’s gotten to know Ben. She’d probably be curious about how Riley got involved in the treasure hunt, and for preparation purposes I’d imagine she’d have lots of questions about Ian—who his henchmen are, their dynamics, the kinds of weapons they carry, etc. But after that the conversation might run a bit dry. Riley doesn’t know much about history; Abigail doesn’t seem like much of a conspiracy theorist. Though, idk, she jokingly brought up bigfoot during their first meeting so Riley might see how far he can run with that.

I also came up with this little moment earlier in the Philadelphia sequence, which I have no textual evidence for, but like a lot:

At some point they send Riley into a drug store to grab a few necessities—granola bars, bottled water, maybe some bandaids. A bottle of ibuprofen because Abigail’s shoulder is starting to bother her and at least one of the three of them has a pounding headache at any given time from here to the finale. Riley takes pity on Abigail’s increasingly smudged makeup and grabs a travel pack of makeup wipes as well. Abigail hasn’t paid too much attention to Riley up until this point, but she’ll always remember that gesture.

In any case, they have had time to get to know each other, and while Abigail and Riley might never have become friends if they met under other circumstances, here they are united by being the two “odd men out” swept along on this adventure—Riley because he doesn’t know much about history, and Abigail because she doesn’t know much about Ben and his quest.

Ben and the treasure might be the thread that initially brings and holds them together, but I have to believe they do become genuine friends in their own right. First of all, they’re the only other person each of them can go to when Ben and the treasure and the whole PR tour that it might entail become too much.

Also, I imagine each of them finds the other to be a grounding influence in their lives. Riley finds Abigail grounding because she’s the kind of put-together person who works a prestigious 9-5 and files her taxes early (not a lot of such influences in Riley’s freelance world). And Abigail finds Riley grounding because where her job, and probably any friends she has from professional world, rely on Business Speak™ Riley will simply voice his opinions bluntly (and often humorously). She needs more of that in her life.

Bonus:

When in the film did they become friends? Sometime before this moment:

That is friend banter and I'll hear no arguments. (Unless you want to, lol)