#( always down for brainstorming !! these are just to get the ball rolling and some ideas of what i'm looking for

[monayen]

how about jealously with randal n reader? :3 like reader is jealous that randal is hanging out with satoru more than her while dreaming so reader hangs out with sebastian, making randal jealous ?? sorry for my bad english, its not my first language :))

Jelly | Randal Ivory

➷ Paring - Randal Ivory x Fem!Reader [Randal's Friends / Ranfren]

➷ CWs - master/pet play, fingering, unsafe sex, praise, licking/biting, possessive tendencies, jealousy

a/n - exams have been a bit occupying unfortunately :( i still have a lot of concepts and requests i want to get to, you guys have awesome ideas and i love seeing them in my inbox !! u should see my google docs rn lol

It's hard to not scoff when Randal wakes up and immediately starts talking about his dream. It's become an annoyingly common thing now ever since Randal informed you about his little dream friend, Satoru Tsukada. Even seeming disappointed when he doesn't get a dream with him in it.

Almost every night he snuggles up against you in his coffin, nibbling at your ear and whispering cheekily, “I really hope you come into my dream tonight, imagine the fun we’d all have!” He pulls you closer, elating how proximity raises the chances of this happening.

You suck in any annoyance and nod because you're still his good pet. Though, internally you fight the urge to roll your eyes and admit “I don't really care about that guy.”

A gripping feeling twists in your stomach each morning when you wake up without the shared lucidity, hearing about all the fun Randal had that night. 

Sheepishly, you push it down and let him talk. 

Though, you tune out most of it – for your sake, as an overwhelming feeling of envy washes over you whenever you do pay attention to his words. 

A thought reverberates about not being enough for him. Is the novelty of a new friend enough to push you away? It's not like you don't already share Randal’s attention. Sebastian exists, of course. 

You two got along well enough, much to Randal’s satisfaction. Though, you admit that your focus lied more on the unpredictable gakuran-clad young man.

And despite your initial standoffish attitude when Sebastian was gifted to Randal, you quickly learned he wasn't a threat at all. He just had some unfortunate circumstances and ended up here.  

Therefore, you didn't have to fight for attention and Sebastian seemed to appreciate that you were at least cordial to him. Nobody was in the way.

So maybe this is why you have so much more of a problem with this Satoru character. You don't know him, and the only way you could is completely up to chance. 

How do you compete with that? Based on Randal’s stories, they tend to have a ball of a time. You really try to convince yourself that you're better, that you're overthinking and Randal isn't losing interest in you. 

But at night, when his arms wrap around your body, it's clear his mind is somewhere else. Satoru is a part of him, always in the dream-plane, waiting for him with open arms. Somewhere where you aren't.

Jealousy ten-folds and insecurity festers within as time goes on. Your own stressed voice tells you to relax, but an even louder one continues to complain. 

On a day where Randal is occupied with Luther, leaving you and Sebastian alone in the house, you can't seem to keep it in anymore.

Words seep out of your mouth, “Am I doing something wrong?” It's quiet and Sebastian immediately looks uncomfortable. 

“Um… with what?” He shifts in his seat in the living room, avoiding eye contact with you. He's not to blame, you rarely had conversations that didn't involve Randal. Maybe you should have put more of an effort to get to know him before dumping this on him. Still, you continue. 

“I don't know, what if Randal doesn't like me anymore?” You speak softly, but the candidness is clear. Sebastian isn't used to this vulnerability, he was just brainstorming an attempt to escape (again) but now he has to comfort you… 

Thing is, he doesn't know how to do that. Maybe he would feel more sympathetic if Randal wasn't a complete freak, (he still doesn't understand your affinity for the young man) but you haven't done anything bad to him. He doesn't want to be rude to the only normal enough person here.

“He definitely likes you.” Which is the truth, anybody with eyes could see the relationship dynamic. You always doted behind Randal, doing anything he asked of you. And Randal was more than happy to have you crawl around for him if it meant you’d get a kiss.

It goes to say that you might seem more like a lover to Randal than a pet. He thinks himself lucky for not walking in on you guys yet…

Which might be why he was taken by Luther, Randal probably finds it more fun to torment and bother someone who wasn't as willing as you–

“Wait… I dont– I don't want to steal Randal from you! I actually want to get out of here–” He stammers before you cut him off with a laugh. A change in tone, good sign. “I know that, don't worry.” 

Sebastian sighs and relaxes a bit, but still fidgets with the white sleeves of his god awful outfit. It then clicks it might be about that dream guy Randal hasn't stopped boosting about recently. He almost certainly wants to roll his eyes. “Is it Satoru?” 

Immediately, you jump up and grab at Sebastian’s arms. “You see it too, right?! It's so annoying, I’m so sick of hearing about it every morning! We haven't even met the guy, but apparently they are best friends. Fucking stupid.”

Sebastian nodded along to your words. To him, it was annoying but it also occupied the eccentric weirdo. Better he’s entertained by Satoru than him. Still, he lets you complain, and it becomes evident to just how much this was eating you up inside.

You both don't realize how time has passed until Randal stampers into the room with an ominous black bag that is dripping green slime. Neither of you question it. 

“Whatcha’ talking about?” He swings the bag over his shoulders and nearly falls back with the force, catching himself.

Sebastian notices how you immediately smile at Randal despite the complaining you've been unloading onto him for the past couple hours, how ironic. “O-Oh, nothing much. How was your outing with Luther?” 

Randal shrugs and then drops the bag onto the couch, undoubtedly staining it with the goopy substance. Luther will have a problem with that later. 

“Within bounds. Now I’m just tired… how about we go to sleep!” He says it more like an order than a suggestion.

Your smile immediately drops, “It's like 6PM.” 

“Actuallyyyy, 6:38.”

---

You want to smack yourself for not being more welcoming to Sebastian, he actually isn't that bad of a guy. He’s still a bit awkward, (he seems to constantly radiate it) and he has no shame in expressing to you how he wants to escape the house. You giggle and give him a “good luck with that”

Still, he's easy to talk to with the ever growing free time you have now. Though, despite your attitude, a part of you still craves to be around Randal.

You wish you could prod into his brain and yank Satoru out of there. If he really wants Randal, he can fight you for it. You doubt he’s even strong outside of the stupid dream-plane he lives in. 

Unfortunately, you haven't been paying attention to the conversation with Sebastian, and now he's pausing for your reply. Sweat dropping, you let out a laugh, hoping it fits as a response.

He stares, “You think my goldfish getting run over is funny?” 

“No, no, I don't– wait? Run over? How’d–” 

The bewildered sentence doesn't get the chance to finish before the sensation of oddly cold, but familiar, hands wrap around your waist and drag into an adjacent room. 

“Randal– what do you want?” It comes out more harsh than you expected, and you can see the slight grimace on Randal’s face. 

His hands leave your waist, now folding across his chest, “Long time no see.” You fight the urge to roll your eyes, “Well, you've been a bit busy.”

Randal pauses before letting out a big laugh, “Doll, I always have time for you!” A traitorous blush spreads across your face, huffing, “Doesn't look like it.”

Randal steps a bit closer, “I thought Sebastian was keeping you plenty company.” His lips tug upward, “You two have gotten close, that's cute.”

His eyes contrast his smile, there's a clear coat of irk behind them. Holy shit, is he… jealous? You perk up, suddenly gaining some confidence… and leverage. 

“Yeah, we talk.” You show him a coy smile, his eye twitches for a second. “Awesome… about what, exactly? Tell me all the deets.”

“Oh, y’know.” 

“I don't, I literally don't.”

“What does it matter?” You hum cheekily before adding, “Anyways, isn't it past your bedtime right now?"

It was far too bold, but god, did it feel good to say. Randal reacts accordingly by pinning you against the wall. He's peeved, and you should really be scared, but you can't help but buckle at the proximity.

Randal’s voice is unusually low, his eyes staring into yours, “You’ve forgotten who you're talking to, doll. I think I need to remind you, heheh.”

Your confidence is beginning to crumble, but you still manage to get a reply out through quivering lips, “Sebastian is right outside.” Randal grins, “Good.”

A gloved hand trails your torso before it finds its way under the hem of your shorts and underwear, tugging them down and past your ankles. You have to hold back a gasp when a cold finger circles the pearl of your clit.

Randal draws closer, his hot breath pressed against your neck. A warm tongue laps up and down the side before teeth bite down and suckle on your sensitive skin.

Adrenaline and ache build as the latex of his fingers push into your entrance, pumping in and out of you. “Randal–” A moan gets caught in your throat when he speeds up slightly, angling upwards with his movements. 

Randal rasped, continuing to mark your neck with bites and hickeys, “No-no, pet, you know my name.” 

You do, “Master, please, m-more!” It’s shameless, and it’s aloof to how upset you were earlier. Now, you burn for more, bucking onto the length of his fingers.

You couldn't help but surrender to the overwhelming emotions – the hold he had over you was a force you couldn't deny, and certainly not control. There isn't anything holding you back from this. Not Satoru, not Sebastian, not even yourself.

Randal’s mouth hovers over yours, words tracing quivering lips, “That's right,” He grinds his erection against the tender flesh of your front, “ah–, let me hear those pretty noises!”

His touch only accentuates the pure excitement washes over the both of you, neither being able to remove sweaty hands off one another. 

Randal pins you further, hiking your legs up around his waist. His exposed cock rubs against your slick and pleading heat, relishing in the intoxicating shudder of your body. 

Your head rests on his shoulder, mouth agape as fingers tug at his hair, “S-Stop teasing!” 

You wrap your legs around him tighter in any attempt to heighten the friction, and Randal responds by gripping the bottom of your ass harder, “So needy, aren't you? Is that why you’ve been in such a mood? Can’t– ah, can’t handle not being the center of my attention? So jelly!”

An onslaught of groans fill the room, sputtering and begging for more. Randal grins against your neck, “Hah, how about you show me how much you need me?”

Randal then puts you down and pulls away, ignoring your whines about the wait. He shuts you up by motioning you to where he now sits, legs spread with his cock erect in his lap. 

Sweaty gloves hold onto your waist as you eagerly hover over his lap, “Can I? Can I, master, please?” Randal gives you a dopey smile, leaning to kiss your cheek, “I love it when you beg!” You groan and rut against him impatiently, “Oh, oh, yeah – get to it, pet.”

He’s right, you are incredibly needy. Despite all the sass and complaints, you truly can't help but rut into him. 

For now, you’ve completely given up any resentment towards Randal, instead relishing in the awaited pleasure he's giving you. A choir of slapping skin, moans, and praise cascade on the walls with pure want and need behind them. 

Your eyes never leave his, with Randal out right refusing to blink. He lays out under you, red spreads across his face, whether it blush or blood. His skin also glistens with sweat, downright uncomfortably sticky for any normal person. 

You aren't that type of person though, you're better than Satoru or Sebastian, or any other person he can waste his attention on. 

You want him to want you, like how you do him. Truly, you’ll take everything he gives and only ask for more.

Randal’s fingers start to dig into your hips, but he's nice enough to let you keep your own pace, encouraging your incredibly desperate movements. 

“Good pet,” His fingers dig even deeper, his own hips thrusting fervently against yours, “show me how much you want this.” His eyes never leave your body, admiring the way you bounce and quiver. 

Randal finds it addicting and oh-so adorable how he can completely make you come undone around him. He thinks himself kind for letting yourself prove how much you love him, but there really wasn't anything to worry about in truth.

He knows you’re so loyal, constantly aching just for him. But he still saw those sideways glances, how your mouth would pout, and the muttering between you and Sebastian. 

Your pettiness, though annoying, was because you missed your cute master… enough that you confided in Sebastian, leaving him out in turn. 

He can admit he got a bit caught up during his time with Satoru, but he's thankful now that he's reminded that nothing compares to how you surrender yourself to him. Randal knows you are his. He’ll make sure to show you time and time again.

Randal arches and humps into you, licking his upper lip to taste the blood that rests on it. Your own grip lies on his hips in an attempt to keep balance, the pace becoming feverish and hard to keep up. 

You croak out, feeling the knot in your abdomen grow tighter and tighter, “I think–” Randal eagerly nods, the twitch of his cock evident.

Your thighs quake, loud moans echoing off the vintage wallpaper of the room, orgasm ripping through you. Randal pushes his fingers into your hips one last time and follows suit, writhing under you.

Immediately, you allow yourself to rise a bit and lay on top of the young man, feeling how his rapidly breathing lungs press against your own. 

With labored breath, you choke out, “Can you… just spend more nights with me?” It's shy compared to the actions seconds earlier, but you still hold onto Randal’s form with that same desire. 

Randal laughs, slapping your bare ass cheekily, “If you wanted my attention,” He licks your earlobe, a hand resting on your waist, “You could’a just asked, doll.” 

You huff but still lean into his touch, pausing for a second before asking another question,

“...Do you think Sebastian heard us?”

“One grillion precent.”

[hauntedjohnny]

your ‘piece of meat’ johnny fic was sooooo good!! i really enjoyed reading it. its interesting reading about johnny in an established relationship instead of a victim one. i wonder what it would be like if the situation was reversed. johnny obviously gets possessive when he’s jealous but it feel like in this story his s/o is less unsure of herself. he can definitely be charming when he wants to be and can put up a good talk. undoubtedly how he got his s/o now. even if johnny wasn’t cheating, id imagine she’d probably feel more insecure. wondering if her time was finally up and he was about to moved on.

thank you sm <3 i enjoy a johnny/victim dynamic as much as the next guy but think there is an untapped market for more confident/sure readers. around the time i wrote it i think a couple of us were brainstorming ways he would get into a relationship and i always liked the idea of reader living in muerto county/being a neighbour to the family and the relationship being an arranged marriage of sorts (for money). it ties into my hc that everyone in the area has demons and the good either leave or die. i imagine a reader coming from a family with similar morals/ideals as the slaughters. maybe not as extreme but someone who is at least willing to turn a blind eye, after all theyve heard all the screams echo through the texan fields and havent done anything yet. in more extreme cases i think it would be fun to explore a reader who participates in killing alongside johnny and have them actually enjoy it.

i think the sureness comes from the arranged marriage side (and also the crazy) because they know they cant leave eachother but also refuse to accept that theres any genuine connection between them. so its a possessive push and pull game where they try to get the other to snap and admit they need the other. whether its actually love or not is to be determined but at the baseline i think they use eachother because they give eachother something no one else can. johnny is given some semblance of a way out from nancy and for reader is depends on whatever backstory you'd want so something similar to johnny or the opposite where its the only guaranteed protection/attention she has in her life or something as simple as he allows her to indulge in her violent urges in a fun exciting way.

and as for johnny flirting with others, i think she'd be a boiling point of jealousy stemming from insecurity. but unlike johnny, who takes it out on her, she would take it out on others. the first few times she witnesses it she just scoffs and brushes it off (because she doesnt actually think she needs/wants him or whatever) but her eyes dont leave his form the entire night. as it happens more and more her jaw starts to clench and fists ball at the sight. she gets short and snippy with him after, not even allowing him to touch her. its as if the spirit of the other woman is still on him. she would say nothings wrong but he can see right through her and he loves it. a smarmy grin telling her she aint got nothing to worry about. its only when he goes hunting for victims that she starts seeing red. it different when he flirts with intention to kill. its personal. its intimate. his hands inside another woman that he's been buying drinks for. i think it would be enough to make her snap. johnny doesnt even get the kill that night, she beats him to it. he's pissed at her for taking away his rush but theres also an awe to his glare, as if hes finally seen the real her. he tries to keep her at home when hunting from then on but allows her to sit in the cold room as he dismembers the body, degrading the body while simulatenously praising hers by comparison. if she continues with the attitude then im sure he would be happy to put her in her place. sometimes there's a fear that he will kill her like the girls he flirts with but she knows deep down he needs her. she sees the way he rolls his eyes behind nancys back. the constant excuses for a late night drive. even if he doesnt like her, he has to keep her for she's his only chance to escape nancy's grip without leaving nancy completely.

[doomed-era]

writing advice from a pantser with a poor attention span, aka: how to convince yourself to write

I'm not doing this for any particular reason. I swear

So if anyone was wondering how I manage to get myself to write sometimes, which I don't think anyone was, I am here to offer some answers to that question which no one was asking

Which is, essentially, "Okay, I'm sitting here looking at this blank word document, but for some reason my fingers aren't moving. what next?"

That weird...writer's inertia is no laughing matter, for sure. The good thing about it is that, well, it's inertia - an object at rest will stay at rest, and an object in motion will stay in motion unless an outside force acts on it. These are things that have helped me get the ball rolling, so to speak, and I can't guarantee they'll work for everyone, but I think in theory they could help someone.

Ramble

Before you sit down to write take some time to start rambling about whatever it is you're working on. Do it in a notebook, at your friends, on a blogging website, whatever you feel most comfortable with. If you don't know what to ramble about, try looking up one of those character ask lists and answer the ones you feel confident about answering first, then move on to the hard ones. Then maybe make up some of your own. Often the act of just thinking about your characters will get you into the right headspace.

2. Walk, Pace, Take a Shower

Basically any activity that allows your mind to start wandering. You don't have to do it for long, just enough to get the brain juices flowing. This usually works, but it's a bit finicky-- you don't really want to force yourself to think about your project with this, you just want to kind of slide into it, which can be tricky if you're already frustrated.

3. Do a Little Pavlovian Conditioning

Not in the sense of giving yourself a reward, though I think that's probably a good idea too. Basically, whenever you write, put on a particular track of music or maybe a playlist, if you don't listen to the same song for hours and hours, and get into a comfortable position. After enough time you'll probably start to associate that track or playlist and making yourself comfortable with writing.

4. Find a (good) Writing Circle

Preferably ones that don't just smile and nod when you tell them something about your story. Look for people who are at about your writing level or above it and are interested in what you're writing. Exchange ideas, communicate, etc etc. A group of writers to share stuff with has been invaluable to me.

5. Do a Related Activity

Drawing has always helped me brainstorm for some reason, and roleplay has helped me to flesh out and make much more robust characters as well as just improving my writing in general. There's plenty of things to do that could be related out there, but those are my go-tos.

6. Procrastinate

If writing is the only task I need to be doing then I won't do it. Give yourself a comfortable amount of busywork and then start writing. You don't want to overwhelm yourself, but you do want some amount of pressure.

Again, I certainly can't promise these will work for everyone, but I think going with the flow and sticking to the general principle of these tips may help! I'm still kind of a slow writer despite all this, but when I actually sit down I can usually crank out a few hundred words all the same, so...yeah

[astralprcjects]

first of all, if you saw me accidentally post this when it was half done, no you didn’t <3 but anyway, i’m following the trend and throwing out some ideas for connections !! i’d love some new plots, so if any of these catch your eye pls don’t hesitate to come yell at me :))) discord is the best place to reach me ( jojo she-ra#5493 ) or tumblr ims work just fine too !! 

i get very confused whether likes are just for support or if you’re interested in any plots so pls pls just dm me or drop a reply and i’ll come to you !! i’m not scary i promise just nervous like a shaky dog <3

a few important points:

mars is a lesbian, so romantic plots can only be taken up by female and non binary characters.

rosalie is bisexual and polyamorous – they have no interest in monogamy. she likes to form connections with people, and so much prefers casual flings and dating with no strings over one night stands.

both of my characters use she and they pronouns interchangeably. please don’t refer to them as women or misgender them in any way ( i’m always happy to answer any questions if you’re confused !! )

── 👻 M A R C E L I N E

extroverted friends – a lot of mars’ friends are introverts and she loves them dearly, but sometimes they just needs to be around people who match their energy !! so friends who will happily get excited with her and share their own passions in return ?? they’re extremely loyal and latch onto people quickly, so would be over the moon for that energy to be matched. ( open – all )

the non-believer – this muse doesn’t believe in ghosts or aliens or anything supernatural. so, naturally, mars has made it her life’s mission to change their mind. they have constant debates and light-hearted fights; they both enjoy trying to prove the other wrong. ( open – all )

horror movie besties – mars loves a good scary movie, but they always appreciates a familiar shoulder to hide behind. she and this character share a passion for horror movies and have regular movie nights. they always accompany each other to see the latest scary flicks in the cinema or re-runs of old classics. ( open – all )

unrequited crush – someone that mars is close friends with, who she is sure she feels more than friendship for. they respect their boundaries and will always be afraid to tell them, but can’t help but quietly pine from a far. ( open – f/enby )

requited crush – same as above, except the other person feels the same and now they’re dancing around each other ( open – f/enby )

friends who grew apart – they used to be close, mars used to tell them everything, but something pulled them apart. perhaps they both had feelings for the same person, or your character became irritated by mars’ constant pestering. mars can also get bored easily, maybe she became bored of this person too ?? or maybe mars had a crush on them and pulled away out of panic. ( open – all (f/enby only for ex-crush) )

amicable exes – they dated for a few months and it was great, but other circumstances caused them to break up. they didn’t see each other for a while, but later reunited and realised that, although they had both moved on, they still really cared for each other and struck up a strong friendship instead. now they are each other’s go-to for relationship/dating advice, since they know each other so well. ( open – f/enby )

co-workers and work connections – mostly fellow journalists, or people who work in the magazine/newspaper industry. marcie works freelance, so she works for various publications across the city and would have contacts in most places who she can call upon for favours. they would also have a string of contacts from previous articles they’ve written; perhaps she has interviewed your character or they are someone with a lot of connections themselves which she can utilise. usually at a price, of course. ( open – all )

no man is an island – mars is desperately trying to become an author, but they can’t do it alone. so anyone who works in the industry is a valuable asset – publishers, editors, fellow authors, you name it and mars probably wants their number. she can go to these people for help and advice when she faces a setback, or just wants to use their placement in the industry to try to launch her career. they are, of course, always well compensated with baked goods and cups of coffee. ( open – all )

rivals – mars can be incredibly irritating and she knows that, but she doesn’t appreciate when people are cruel or rude to her about it. this muse simply can’t stand marcie and so the feeling is mutual and they avoid each other at all costs, even if the universe sometimes has other ideas. ( open – all )

 ── 🌹 R O S A L I E

gossip sources – people always know people who know people and rosalie is insufferably nosey. she always wants to know everything that’s going on and can never keep her opinions to herself. as such, she is an excellent person to go for if you need to rant or want impartial advice, just as long as you remember to tell her not to spread the news beforehand. otherwise the entire borough of queens might know your business by lunchtime. ( open – all )

college friends – rosalie studied at nyu from 2012 to 2016, so could have crossed paths with all kinds of people during this time !! maybe they’ve stayed in touch ever since, maybe they lost track of each other once their lives divulged but now have an opportunity to reconnect ?? ( open – all )

makeover victims – rosalie loves all things beauty (makeup, hair, nails, fashion, the full works) and, even more than that, loves experimenting on other people. these characters are her canvas; whether they have an event they’re attending, or are off on a date, or even just fancy an afternoon of being pampered, rosalie will always be at their doorstep with a fully equipped makeup kit if they just say the word. ( open – all )

practically cousins – rosa’s family is huge and they are well known for inviting anyone and everyone over for dinner, especially if those people don’t have family of their own or are far away from home. rosalie’s friends are considered family and are welcome in their home. ( open – all )

friends of her family – the above courtesy is of course extended to their family member’s friends. perhaps this muse is close to one of rosalie’s siblings, but doesn’t get along with rosa at all. the two try to get along over the dinner table (mostly to avoid her abuela’s wrath), but outside of that they bicker relentlessly and can’t seem to ever see eye to eye. ( open – all )

rivals – rosalie is an insufferable gossip who can’t keep their mouth shut unless they were sworn to secrecy. maybe she spilled a secret of your muse’s by accident and they have never forgiven her for it ?? she’s not spiteful and is very openminded so it would be something she thought was harmless or common knowledge, which also means she doesn’t really accept that she did anything wrong. ( open – all )

heartbroken – their dating life is a mess and they tend to pull away if things get too serious, so she’s likely to have a string of people who have been hurt by her distancing herself from them. maybe there was a miscommunication and rosalie thought they were only hooking up but the other thought they were dating ?? or maybe they were something more serious, but rosalie broke it off when it got too real ?? there are lots of options to play with !! ( open – all )

casual hookups – because she doesn’t want to get attached, rosalie has multiple casual partners. neither party wants anything more serious, but it is fun to hook up with each other and go out on dates without any of the strings that usually comes with that. if we want the d r a m a, perhaps your muse actually does want more, but rosalie is scared to commit. ( open – all )

industry friends – actors, directors, screenplay writers etc. the entertainment industry is a tangled mess of egos, but when you make friends you keep them close. these are people rosalie can run lines with, they tell each other about auditions and support each other through the madness that is the career path they’ve both chosen. rosalie is never afraid to speak her mind, so she is always someone that can be relied upon for constructive, impartial advice. ( open – all )

[undercoveravenger]

Clumsy Confessions

Pairing: EJ Caswell x Male!Reader

Requested: Yes

Request: “Hi if you are still taking hsmtm requests could you do a ej x male reader where the reader is clumsy and whenever he flirts with him and he becomes a blushing mess and gets more clumsy like running into doors and all that.”

-----

Every Friday night since the three of you were kids, you and your best friends met up at one of your houses for a night of video games, snacks, movies, and mischief. These “Best Bro Nights” as they’d been dubbed had always been a place for you, Ricky, and Big Red to hang out and be yourselves without any fear of judgement.

When Ricky and Nini had broken up, you and Big Red spent the night curled up on either side of Ricky offering support and distractions as he dealt with his emotions. When Big Red was struggling to think of something special to do for Ashlynn for opening night of High School Musical, the three of you stayed up all night together brainstorming ideas and piecing together potential plans.

Unlike those situations though, tonight you’d just been expecting the usual action movies and popcorn fights. You were laying sprawled out on your back on the couch in Big Red’s basement, tossing a football up in the air and catching it while Ricky and Big Red argued quietly. You had shrugged it off when they started, assuming it was just over whose turn it was to pick the first movie.

“Hey, (M/N),” Ricky called out suddenly, “What do you think about E.J.?”

You nearly fumbled as you caught the ball again, hesitating for a brief second too long before tossing it into the air again. “We’ve been over this, R; I agree that him deleting your voicemail to Nini was shitty, but it’s been months. You need to let that go.”

Big Red let out a snort of laughter as Ricky scrambled to protest, “That- that’s not why I was asking- I just- we’ve all had to spend a lot of time together because of rehearsals. I was wondering what you thought about him.”

Another toss and easy catch. “He seems like a nice guy.”

“Just… nice?” Big Red prompted gently, moving toward you as Ricky slipped upstairs to answer the door.

You shrugged, throwing the ball a little higher than you had been previously, “I mean, I hear that he’s a pretty good water polo player and he’s a good actor. He’s always been kind to me, even though I can’t seem to get a word out around him unless it’s from a damn script.” You rolled your eyes, throwing the ball again, “And he’s got those stupid pretty blue eyes and-” You cut yourself off as your hands clapped back onto the ball. “Yeah,” you said sharply, launching the football higher still, “He’s just nice.”

“So, you won’t mind that I went ahead and invited him over?” Ricky asked, grinning widely as he made his way back down the stairs and into the room with E.J. trailing quietly behind him.

“Nice try, Ricky,” you replied without looking over. “I know you’re just trying to fuck with me again. You want me to get all frazzled and panicked and it’s not going to happen.”

“That’s an odd way to say hi,” E.J. called from his place beside Ricky.

The sound of his voice startled you into sitting up and looking over, eyes going wide as you realized your best friend wasn’t actually messing with you. Just then the football came down from your last throw, slamming hard into the side of your head. “Fuck-” you exclaimed as you brought a hand up to clutch at the new ache.

E.J. rushed toward you, dropping to kneel next to the couch and taking your head in his hands. He turned your head slightly so he could see the wound. “It’s not too bad; it’ll probably only bruise. Are you okay?”

Some absurd part of you that wanted to say something cheesy like ‘I am now’ but you were quick to squash it. “Fine,” you forced out after a long moment, “You just, uh, surprised me.”

There was a long moment of quiet between the two of you, before Big Red finally broke it by clearing his throat. “Well, uh, me and Ricky are gonna go grab you an ice pack. You two just, uh, have fun?”

With that he turned to head upstairs, dragging Ricky along behind him. The door clicked shut behind them, just after Ricky bit out a cheeky “But not too much fun!” and left the two of you in increasingly awkward silence.

“Did you really mean all those things you said about me?” E.J. said quietly after a long moment.

You considered denying it, but knew there was really no way to talk your way out of what you’d said. “Yeah,” you replied, keeping your eyes anywhere but on him.

“Huh,” he said, sitting back on his heels with furrowed brows. “I always just kind of figured you didn’t like me.” At your confused stare, he explained, “I just- well, I kind of assumed because you only ever respond to me with a couple words, if that, and you always seem to be in such a hurry to leave.”

You huffed out a bitter laugh, finally forcing yourself to pull away from where he’d still been cradling your face in his hands. “Well, now you know why.”

“I’m not sure I do.” He said slowly, pretty blue eyes narrowed as he looked up at you. “If you don’t hate me, then why…?”

“I like you, okay?” you snapped, drawing your legs up to your chest and resting your chin on your knees. “I like you a lot, and you make me nervous, which is why I stayed mostly quiet or left; so I didn’t make a fool out of myself.”

“You should’ve just said,” E.J. let out a disbelieving laugh as pushed himself back up to kneel before you, setting his hands on your knees to give himself enough leverage to lean up and kiss you. He pulled away after a moment, giving you just enough time to realize what was happening before it was over. “D’you think that Ricky and Big Red would mind terribly if I stole you for the night and took you out on a date?”

You laughed as your best friends whooped loudly, clearly having been listening in through the door at the top of the stairs. “No, I really don’t think they will. They’ll just make me tell them all about it during our next boys’ night.”

And really, you couldn’t help but think as E.J. leaned in to kiss you again, you owed them that much for helping the two of you finally get together.

[lemonlushff-iy]

Do you want to play a game?

You do? Good.

You know how these games work if you’ve ever seen one of Clearwillow’s...but game rules are HERE since it’s slightly different! I hope this is fun for people...that was my goal! And I hope you catch the “Easter Eggs” in it. I’m curious how many people will find them all. 

I’ll post everything once it’s done on FFN and AO3, and you can catch what I’m doing for @clearwillow‘s game early on my Patreon HERE! (It might be more smut...It might be fluff. WHO KNOWS! It will be OLR related...and it will go up as soon as it’s finished!)

Special thanks to @underwater0phelia​ for kink help and @clearwillow​ for additional edits...and the IYFF BC for brainstorming! Art by @clearwillow​ for @eringobroke​ - used and edited with permission. 

And now without further ado... The first treat (aka, the “freebie”).

Starting Fires

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Inuyasha universe.

"Inuyasha, stop," Kagome giggled, trying to wriggle out of his hold as he pressed wet kisses up her neck. "I don't want to burn your bacon…"

"It's just bacon," he reasoned, his hands sliding up under her shirt. Or should he say his shirt? Fuck...there wasn't a better sight in the world than his best friend...his best girl...Kagome...Wearing his shirt in their kitchen in their house. Now that he had her again, he weren't never letting go of her. "I don't mind eating something else for breakfast."

"You will when your stomach is rumbling later," she blushed, grabbing his hands and pulling them down, his fingers grazing over the lace fabric of her panties. "Behave yourself and go grab a cup of coffee."

"I'd rather grab your—"

"—Coffee!"

She reprimanded, flipping the bacon in the pan. He placed a gentle nip to the side of her neck before moving away from her, a disappointed pout on his lips.

"Fine. But let it be known that I'm doing it under protest," he grumbled, moving to his cabinet to pull out a mug.

"Your protest has been duly noted, Sir," she teased, turning away from the stove to pick up her own cup of coffee. She brought it to her lips, sipping from it as she watched Inuyasha pour himself some. Their life together felt so surreal still. It felt strange to wake up in their house and cook them breakfast.

But it was a good kind of surreal.

The kind where she found herself pinching her arm to make sure it wasn't all some crazy dream. This was their life. And...she loved it.

"Mmm," he moaned, taking a sip from his cup. "As good as ever, Kags," he grinned toothily, and she risked entering his personal space to press another kiss to his lips.

"Glad you like it," she replied, running away from him again when he moved to squeeze her ass. She removed their bacon and eggs from the pan as a text message chimed on both of their phones, and Inuyasha raised a brow in curiosity. She watched him slide his thumb across the screen, before muttering out a low "Huh" as he read the text.

"What is it?" she asked, picking up their plates and placing them onto the island.

"See for yourself," he shrugged, placing the phone down next to her plate. "It's from Sango."

That already piqued her curiosity. Kagome picked up the phone, leaning over the countertop as she read it.

"Hey Guys!" She began aloud. "Miroku and I decided to throw a Halloween party this year. We know it's a bit last minute, but we were hoping you guys could come since you aren't heading back out to California like you thought. Let us know if you can make it! Trying to plan in terms of food. Love you!"

"Love you too," he grinned, and she couldn't stop the shy smile even if she wanted to. She didn't think she would ever get tired of hearing that again from him. The words were like a balm to her soul.

"What do you think?" Kagome asked, handing him his phone back as he began digging his fork into his eggs.

"Up to you," he shrugged. He really didn't care either way. He was just glad he didn't have to go out to California with her. Though, to tell the truth, he wouldn't have minded. They could have had a night in...just the two of them...And he was always a fan of nights in with her. But..."We can go. I know you wanna…"

It was true too. He had seen the way her eyes lit up when she was reading that message. The way she was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet. Kagome didn't want to spend the night in. She wanted to spend her first Halloween back in Montana at a party with old friends.

"But...You...Don't?"

He shrugged.

"Don't matter either way. I'm fine going. I'm fine staying home and fucking ya seven ways from Sunday."

"Yash!"

"What! It's tha truth," he replied with a smirk. "And you can't tell me ya don't like the sound of it," he continued, running his tongue over his fangs. The cute little blush he pulled from her was worth it.

"Well...How about a compromise?"

He paused, lifting his brow in curiosity.

"Go on…"

"What if we went to the party...Just for an hour or two...and then afterward we can come home and have sex? Oh! We can even wear couple's costumes again!"

The phrase couples costume made his butt clench so tight he could probably twist off a beer cap with his cheeks.

"I'll agree to go to the party...but not the couple's costume."

"But Yash," she whined, coming around the island to take his hands. "That's part of the fun…"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"I'll wear something slutty?"

"N—" He began, ready to tell her no again when his brain processed her offer. "Keep talking."

"I'll wear something slutty and sexy?"

"...Uh-huh...And what else?"

"...And you get to take it off of me?"

He almost said yes...but he was a greedy fucker. He was probably gonna take it off of her even if she hadn't offered that.

"Do I get to do more than that?"

"You mean other than wear a matching outfit?"

"I do."

"Well," she began, tilting her head to the side and pursing her lips in thought. "I'm assuming that sex is a given…"

"But you can say it anyway, and make it interesting," he shrugged. If he was going to get roped into this...because he was going to say yes, because he loved her...then he wanted to squeeze as much as he could out of this.

"Ok...If you do it, sex is on the table...and I'll also add you picking the place and position," she decided, causing his eyes to light up.

Place and position huh?

"Well...In that case Darling, you've got yourself a deal!"

Her childlike squeal and the way she giddily clapped her hands, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, made him feel like he made the right decision.

"Now let's talk costumes…"

He groaned, shaking his head and digging his fork into the eggs on his plate.

Then again...Maybe not…

He let her prattle on for a while, running different ideas past him...But he knew that it ultimately wouldn't matter. He was going to give in to whatever she wanted. If she wanted him to go as a hot dog, and she was going to be a bottle of mustard? That was what was going to happen. Wasn't sure how she could make it sexy...but sure. Her call. Prince and Princess? No fighting it. Batman and Catwoman…

It had piqued his interest, but she almost instantly changed her mind. The cowl would be uncomfortable for his ears.

So, she decided on a fireman and a dalmatian. He looked over at her phone when she held up a picture of the costume she had found for him and sighed.

"That's what you want?"

It didn't look too bad. And it looked like he could maybe get away with just wearing the pants. He was going to have to be sneaky about it though...He could do just a t-shirt and those pants.

"Please?" she beseeched, batting her long lashes at him. "It will be so cute! And you'll look so good!"

He tilted his head to the side, and she chewed the inside of his lip as she watched him roll her suggestion around in his head. She really liked the fireman outfit. She thought it would be fun! And he would look good in it too...She could already picture him slowly taking off the jacket to reveal his bare torso...the suspenders holding up his pants hanging limply at the sides as he slowly peeled himself out of—

"—What are you thinking about Kagome?"

She looked up at his face and saw him looking at her, a smirk stretching his lips as he limply held the phone, leaning down across the island.

"N-nothing," she blushed, swiping out to grab the phone from him, but he pulled it away from her at the last second.

"Nu-uh. I can smell it when you're lying…and I can smell it when you're—"

"—NOTHING!"

She insisted, grabbing the phone from him this time, and his grin turned predatory.

"Ain't nothing, or you wouldn't be smelling like that," he countered cheekily before his gaze began to darken. "Ya know...You don't have to keep that bottled up…"

"Inuyasha," she warned as he straightened, running his carefully filed and declawed fingers along the island countertop as he slowly came around to her side.

He was ignoring her, however.

"Kagome," he replied, closing in on her in just a few short strides. "Were you thinking about me in that fireman outfit?"

Sometimes she swore he could read her mind.

"N-no…"

"Liar," he purred, placing his hands onto the granite top on either side of her hips. He had effectively trapped her...and he was looking at her like prey.

It made her swallow because her mouth was suddenly dry. And made her lower abdomen heat. The intensity and desire in his gaze...the slight glint of fang in the morning light…

Fucking hell...She wanted to be his prey. Wanted to be captured and eaten and...eaten…

He inhaled deeply, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as he lowly moaned, "Fuck Kags…"

"W-what," she swallowed, and his smirk widened into a fangy grin before his lips crashed into hers.

AN:

I WILL ONLY DO THIS WALL OF TAGS ONCE! All future treats will be completely hidden under cuts so I don’t spam everyone’s timeline with in your face kink!

@clearwillow, @keichanz, @dangerouspompadour, @nartista, @kaze-ranna, @superpixie42, @sticky-llama-perfection, @pinkpigeonstudio, @mcornilliac, @itzatakahashi, @zelink-inukag, @juliatheanimelover7, @i-dream-of-soup, @smmahamazing, @the-lucky-ones311, @cyncyn981, @animemomma96, @ayari17, @underwater0phelia, @sailorbabydoll92, @l-taisho29, @animelove1313, @littlemissinukag​, @gofoulpuppycollector, @umacaking, @chanin29​,  @willowandfog​, @lebiishoujo​, @theinuyashareader​, @bluejay785​, @irrationalandimpossible​, @cstorm86​, @ruddcatha​, @desiree239​, @littledaisy91​, @liz8080​, @cannibalsforbreakfast​, @horriblehowl​, @arcprz​, @daisy-st-pati3nce​, @senneth-pendra​, @nsr0716​, @eringobroke​, @kagometaishostory​, @thisshipisbananahs​, @sunsetskys​, @ajoy3fanfics​, @sangoslays​, @v0dka-cat​, @cloudsz04​, @lavendertwilight89​, @yurawiththegoodhair​, @saturnsilence​, @lavaffair​, @blairex​, @fawn-eyed-girl​, @fandomobsessions016​, @neutronstarchild​, @preciouslyours​, @kalsies​, @shnuggletea​, @ladyphoenix0711​, @littlestuffstohide​

See you at 500 notes!!

[loomis-maxima]

𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥

a/n :  this is... pure filth and i’m not even sorry, im also sleep deprived so if it sucks, my bad. word count : 4k requested : yes and no warnings :  18+ only/ mentions of drugs/threesome/unprotected sex/name calling yk.. all the good stuff. [ty to @anongirl007 for brainstorming shit w me]

It was known that Chishiya and Niragi were both men that liked getting what they wanted, and they both knew exactly how to get it. The problem with that is they’re both so similar, but so different. Niragi would use his placement in the Militans and his twisted love for inflicting fear, pain and murder on anyone that would get in his way or try and stop him from having what he truely desired. _______________ Almost nothing was worse than the feeling of entering a game that was literally based on luck. Even with such a simple task to pick between 3 pills. One, that will kill you the second you take it. The other two.. Not as bad. Separated from your game partners, you stared down at three simple pills on top of a simple desk. That’s all that was in the room, besides the door to get out. You assumed Niragi and Chishiya’s rooms looked similar. The thoughts of taking the wrong pill and having your life ended, sent fear through your whole body, but there was a feeling of adrenaline that rushed through you too. Maybe that explained the current.. situation.. That you had gotten yourself into with Niragi, basically signing yourself up to be used by him whenever he felt like it, but also all while wanting some part of Chishiya. If Niragi knew that his toy wanted someone other than him, he would be rabid, let alone that someone being the one Niragi hated the most… he wouldn’t hesitate to make you regret even having the thought of another man. Don’t get it mixed up, there was only one reason why he wanted you, and it definitely wasn’t in a romantic way, to him, you’re just a hole he could have anytime, any place. Which was fine for you.. But you couldn’t help but shake the want for Chishiya. Focusing your thoughts back on the objective at hand, you looked closely at the small pills before you. No matter how hard you thought, you couldn’t figure this out. Checking the time on the phone that was provided you saw that you had one minute left to make a decision. You didn’t even want to think about what would happen if you ran out of time. Unlike Chishiya and Niragi, you didn’t observe the entrance to the separate rooms close enough to have figured this out. What you managed to miss was along the long hallway, there were three smaller hallways in front of them, all leading  to three different rooms. They both picked up the repeating numbers unlike you, leaving you to your game of luck.  With the sound of your phone alerting you that you had 30 seconds left to complete the game,  you could have swore you felt a bead of sweat roll down your forehead. Your heart pounded in your ears as hurriedly picked up the second pill,  the ten second countdown began. Without time to think you threw the pill into your mouth and swallowed it just before the countdown hit one. You closed your eyes tight,  waiting for something to happen. Nothing. ‘’I passed’’ you said to yourself quietly, opening your eyes to look around the room. The door in front of you that was once sealed shut was opening right before your eyes.  The feeling of relief quickly ran through your body as you exited the room before walking down another long white hallway to another door, leading you back out to the world. ________________________________ Unlike what you thought, the pill you ended up taking wasn’t the pill that had no side effects.. Instead, shortly after arriving at the Beach, you felt red hot all over your body,  your hands were clammy and there was a weird feeling in the pit of your stomach that you couldn’t quite put your finger on. You hoped Kuina couldn’t tell there was something up with you, especially not knowing what it was yourself. You could thank the blue light that's shining from the pool for slightly blocking out how red your face was. As you both  discussed the different games each of you had taken part in, you caught a glimpse of familiar long, dyed grey hair passing through the crowd. Once you could distinctly see Chishiya’s face you instantly felt that feeling in your stomach almost multiply. As he approached you and Kuina, he could quickly tell that something was up with you. Chishiya made note of the flush in your cheeks unlike everyone else, the way a couple of strands of your hair stuck to your forehead because of the heat that had taken over your whole body, the fact your pupils had largened, or the way your lips were slightly parted, almost as if you were lost for breath.. But not to the extent that  it was noticeable, except for Chishiya. He had studied every single detail on your face when you had first joined the Beach. Never admitting it though, deep down he knew how he felt about you, never to mention it or even hint at the idea. Chishiya knew that would make him look weak, and that was something he couldn’t have happen. Chishiya stood beside Kuina, his hood up but his head slightly back with an amused smirk lightly on his face. He raised an eyebrow at you, ‘’So what pill did you pick y/n?’’ he asked, shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets. His voice caused your ear tips to burn as you felt a sudden warmth between your legs.. Fuck. Trying to distract yourself from the feeling, that almost became painful, you racked your brain to remember what number you had chosen. ‘’Uh.. 2, I think, why?’’ you asked,  trying to keep your voice steady, not even believing your own voice. It looked as if Chishiya slightly chuckled at your answer, for a moment you wondered if he knew, but how would he?  Chishiya just shrugged a little before speaking. ‘’No reason, just curious’’ he lied right to your face, all while figuring out how to use this to his advantage. He knew had taken the middle pill just from one look at you, but he also knew exactly what was going to happen. Of course with just your luck, you had picked the one that just happened to be narcotics, crushed up and put into an empty pill capsule to match the appearance of the other too. You didn’t notice Kuina disappearing to join Arisu, until you noticed Chishiya take a step a little closer to you.  You also didn’t notice the eye contact he had made with Niragi across the pool, and that was the first step to his idea, this would’ve been the best advantage he could ever have had. ‘’You should really be careful with the pill you took’’ he said smirking slightly, intentionally trying to catch Niragi’s attention and have him come over. You didn’t know what to say, words being ripped from your brain as his slightly rough voice sent a feeling of a deep need to be fucked as you felt even more warmth leak from between your legs. He took your silence as his go ahead to continue speaking, ‘’you really shouldn’t be out here when the drugs fully take over if you think this is bad right now’’ What he said next was something you never would have thought of him saying this, ‘’you should go to your room, I’ll come after and help you’’ he spoke with a wink.  It was the most uncharacteristic for him- At least towards you. You took no convincing as you knew exactly what he meant, also not giving a shit about what would happen if and when Niragi found out. The almost pure animalistic feeling of lust ran over you. You didn’t care what would happen, you needed to be filled and it was gonna happen one way or another. ‘’Don’t take too long.’’ you said while nodding, then walking off back into the large building Just as Chishiya hoped, once you had retreated back inside to wait for him, Niragi had approached him. The wink that he had given to Niragi’s toy, was one step too far. Before Niragi could even open his mouth, Chishiya spoke. ‘’Before you start with your brainless insults and threats, you should know that in the game, you clearly didn’t know the effects of the pills.’’ he smirked, not fearing Niragi was always a benefit, especially when Chishiya could once show off his superiority and intellect. The two were rivals, both thinking that they were better than the other and would go to any lengths to prove it. But this time Niragi didn’t speak back as fast as usual, but the angry expression still resonated on his face, his tongue in his cheek, his pierced eyebrow raised while staring down the shorter man. With Niragi’s instinct he pressed the tip of his rifle right to Chishiya’s chest, ‘’well tell me, or I’ll blow your heart out in front of everyone here.’’ Niragi spat into his face, he hated how Chishiya could have the balls to even think of speaking back to him, the fact he didn’t fear him only intensified the hate for the intellectual grey haired man. Calling Niragi’s bluff, he let out a little scoff of air with a slight grin on his face as he spoke, ‘’You wouldn’t. Here’s why; if you kill me, you’ll never know. So unless you give me what I want, I won’t tell you.’’ he said, still standing strong even with the rifle pressed right against him. Niragi frowned right at him, he knew he was right. Niragi scoffed, his stubbornness working against him when he needed to know what Chishiya knew. After a few moments of silence, Niragi took the firearm from his chest. Chishiya knew this was risky, but he knew exactly how it would play out. Another competition between them. ‘’And what the fuck do you want?’’ Niragi said, his voice almost like a knife as the words came from his mouth. ‘’Considering I know you won’t let me have was I really want, I’ll compromise.’’ Chishiya spoke, standing up straighter and crossing his arms over his chest. Playing his cards right, he could get Niragi to agree before verbally agreeing. ‘’y/n took the wrong pill. Intense narcotics and assuming you right now, you took the right pill like me. The bad, or good thing about the drugs, is she’s going to be chasing a release that she won't be able to satisfy herself of.’’ He took a breath to try and let Niragi figure out what he means, except he didn’t. With another little chuckle under his breath Chishiya spoke out again. ‘’It means someone else has to do it. And knowing you wouldn’t let anyone fuck her, we’re both going to do it. Just another thing I’ll prove better than you at.’’ Chishiya knew the last comment would get under Niragi’s skin. With a slight nod of Niragi’s head and him accepting the challenge, it was set. ‘’Don’t be disappointed when you realise I’m the only one that can make her scream, Chishiya.’’ With a slight game plan of how they would go about this, the two rivals headed to your room. Niragi hung back a bit after knowing you were waiting for Chishiya. The thought of his property letting someone else have you made his blood boil, he’d make sure you knew it too. Ahead of him, Chishiya walked to your room and let himself in. But the sight that he had been greeted with almost knocked the wind out of his chest. You, lying naked on your bed, your skin almost looking hot as you had your head back with one hand holding your hair back from your face. Your eyes were shut as your other hand was roughly rubbing your clit, your fingers occasionally dipping into your entrance causing you to leave a visibly wet patch underneath you. The pleasure you were giving yourself was so needed that you weren’t aware of Chishiya entering and staring at you like you were his last meal. It was when you felt weight dip at the end of the bed and a hand running up your leg that you realised you weren’t alone. Your throat tightened and you removed your hand once you opened your eyes to see Chishiya moving his hand up to your core.  ‘’You really couldn’t wait huh?’’ he said, his fingers travelling up to where you needed him. You shook your head desperately, feeling your wetness dripping as you clenched pathetically around nothing. Chishiya smirked, looking down at your pussy, slowly dragging the tips of his fingers over your clit teasingly. The action made you almost cry out in need. ‘’Look at you.. So desperate.’’ you heard as you felt two of his fingers pushing into you before pulling them out and putting them into his mouth just as you made eye contact with him, sucking the wetness from you off them. Standing up he quickly pulled his clothing off. While pulling you to him and flipping you over onto your hands and knees, you facing the door. For reasons you wouldn’t know yet. Feeling you press yourself against him, Chishiya smirked to himself. ‘’You’re really desperate for it, aren’t you?’’ he said, running his tip along your folds, His words only pulling a whine and a nod from you, not understanding why he was dragging it out so long. You felt him lean over you to speak into your ear, his breath was harsh on the sensitive skin by your neck. ‘’As pretty as you are when you’re a mess, I won’t drag it out anymore, because I’ve waited too long to have this cunt all to myself.’’ . On the last word you felt his thick length slowly pushing into you, throwing his head back at the feeling of you around him. The pace he was going at was enough to break you fully. The feeling of him filling you as much as possible had you crying for more. In a desperate attempt to get some friction, you started grinding back against him causing his slightly curved dick to hit the right spot inside you, but slowly in and out. ‘’Chishiya please’’ you cried, burying your head into the sheets of the bed to muffle the whimpers that he was dragging out of you. He slowly started picking up the pace, each time hitting even harder and harder against you. Chishiya pulled your head back by your hair, your eyes rolling to the back of your head from the red hot feeling on your scalp that he had you in a rough grip by. ‘’Oh no y/n, you’re to call me Sir. Got it?’’ he groaned while fucking into you harder. Tears stung at your eyes, nodding as much as you could as he still controlled your head. ‘’Yes s-sir’’ As he was holding your head back and pounding into you, you opened your eyes and your heart almost stopped. Your eyes fell upon Niragi, standing right at the door leaning against it with his arms folded over his chest and he looked pissed.  The awkward part being is having locked eyes with him as Chishiya fucked you through your first orgasm, a scream being ripped from your throat from the feeling of finally getting release, but you needed more. Noticing you looking back at him he pushed himself from the doorway dropping his arms while walking over to you as Chishiya let you fall to your chest, but continuing his steady pace of pounding into you. ‘’Really Chishiya? Sir? What makes you think any part of you is sir?’’ Chishiya’s eyebrows furrowed, his hair disheveled and just snapped back at him. ‘’The part that has y/n crying because of how good I can fuck her.’’ Niragi  crouched in front of you with a look on his face that confused you. He almost looked amused. ‘’I knew it… You’re just a desperate little slut aren’t you?’’ Niragi said as he dragged his thumb along your cheek and across the tears that had run down your face from both pleasure and terror. He dragged his thumb across the tip of his tongue to taste the salty tears with a chuckle. Clinking of metal filled the room, the sound of Niragi’s clothes hitting the floor made you realise the situation you were in so you held yourself up with shaky arms that threatened to give way under you. Niragi smirked down at you as he ran his hand over the top of your head before harshly connecting the same hand to your face right after. Niragi knew exactly what you liked, and so did Chishiya as he felt you clench even harder around him as Niragi had marked your face. Knowing Niragi didn’t like to be kept waiting, you quickly opened your mouth for him to have full access to your throat. Putting his hand back into your hair, Niragi took hold of you as he pushed his cock between your lips, your throat opening up almost immediately, he basically had you trained. ‘’The only thing your mouth is good for is fucking.’’ NIragi said as he started thrusting roughly into your mouth. The timing of both men fucking you made sure you were always full, if Niragi wasn’t down your throat, Chishiya was buried in you, and vice versa. With the roughness of Chishiya’s thrusts caused Niragi’s cock to hit the back of your throat causing you to lose breath each time. They continued like this, using you at each end to their will. Niragi’s dick hit a little harder, causing your throat to close around his long length and choke. The feeling was so euphoric to Niragi he caught the back of your head and shoved your nose flush against his pelvic bone. He let out a mix of a laugh and a moan, almost sounding maniacal as he continued to ram your throat. ‘’That’s it, let daddy fuck your throat. I know you can take it’’ His words made Chishiya chuckle as he pulled out of your entrance, needing to take a break or else he would’ve cum right then. ‘’You’re so predictable Niragi… how pathetic’’ Chishiya’s words made Niragi’s assault on you stop, pulling his cock from your mouth. You coughed and spluttered trying to breathe, a task that was failing due to the burning in your core of feeling empty.  ‘’Please.. Just fuck me’’ you said breathlessly, laying back down with your hand once again travelling between your legs. Chishiya didn’t have to be asked twice, lying back against the bed he rubbed his hand over his now red cock. You didn’t hesitate moving over him and hovering above his length before he grabbed your hips and slammed you down on him. Another scream was pulled from you as he started to fuck up into you,  your hands that were once resting on his chest now by his head, holding onto his hair with your head buried in his neck as he continued to rail you. With moaning in his ear, and a mixture of your breathless voice begging for him to fuck you through another orgasm along with the sound of your broken voice repeatedly saying; ‘’sir’’ he knew he wouldn’t last much longer. You felt Niragi behind you, but didn’t pay much mind as you felt another wave wash over you. ‘’Fuck.. Yes, cum all over my dick’’ Chishiya said, somehow managing to hit a new speed as you cried out, moaning as you felt liquid rush out of you. Chishiya’s moan was sinful, he knew he was close but he couldn’t let himself cum just yet. Just as you felt the pleasure fade, you felt something cold drip on you from behind. A familiar feeling approaching as you felt one of Niragi’s long finger enter your hole that yet stuffed. The feeling wasn’t there for too long before you felt empty again, but soon that changed. Chishiya steadied his hips, realising what his enemy was now doing. You both heard Niragi moan, probably the sexiest moan you had ever heard, as your tight asshole slowly stretched to accommodate his huge dick. The pain of him shoving all of his length into your ass soon passed as Chishiya took the chance to start fucking you again. Your body went limp as both of their thrusts started to sync up, each time both as aggressive as each other. You didn’t even care that they made it into a competition, the feeling of having them both bottoming out of both of your holes was something you never experienced before, and might have just been the best. It wasn’t long after Niragi started to fuck your ass like his life depended on it, that your next orgasm washed over you. This one being so intense you couldn’t stop shaking and it felt like it never would end. More unintelligible mumbles of the words ‘’daddy’’ and ‘’sir’’ couldn’t stop falling out of your mouth. Both men enjoying the fact they broke you down finally, convinced they had literally fucked the brain cells out of you Niragi pulled you back against his chest, sinking back onto his heels so both men could continue chasing their own high. By the twitching of Chishiya’s cock inside you, you knew he was close, so was Niragi. ‘’Fuck, y/n, you’re so fucking tight, I wonder how Niragi feels about me filling his little toy up’’ Chishiya said breathlessly, causing Niragi to animalisticly growl but not speaking due to being so close to spilling himself inside you. The grey haired man’s hands reached up to grab both of your breasts, pinching your nipples as one of Niragi’s hands coming down to your front before pinching your clit a couple of times. The sounds you were making almost made both men cum on the spot. You could see the desperation on Chishiya’s face, and hear the desperation in Niragi. ‘’My little slut ready? You gonna cum?’’ Niragi moaned into your ear, one hand still rubbing your clit desperately all while biting down on your ear, ‘’daddy’s gonna fill that ass so good’’ and thats all it took. Both men sensing you clench around them, they finally were reaching their own release. Niragi dropped you on your chest on top of Chishiya before leaning over you, his hand holding himself up above you and Chishiya. One of your hands twisting into Chishiya’s hair, the other being twisted into Niragi’s hair behind you. The pleasure from the last orgasm was so intense, you could feel yourself getting light headed, you tugged on both mens hair while you buried your face into Chishiya’s neck, his hot skin becoming stained with your tears, but in a good way. Chishiya guided one of his hand to the back of your head, almost a sweet gesture, except his thrusts faltered along with Niragi’s as they both finally peaked, both of them sinfully moaning and swearing under their breaths and both finally releasing inside of you. You thought you couldn’t cum anymore at this point, but the filthy feeling of having both men fuck their cum into both your holes sent you into overdrive, your final orgasm finally rushing through you, Niragi could tell and pulled you up slightly so he could rub your clit with lightning speed causing you to squirt everywhere. As you all rode your orgasms out, Niragi was the first to pull himself from you in time to watch his cum slowly drip out of the hole he had abused for so long. You lifted yourself, barely, from on top of Chishiya and lying on your back, struggling to breathe. Already getting dressed, Niragi commented to Chishiya, ‘’See? I am better at it than you.’’ Shaking his head but not moving to get up Chishiya spoke out, his own breathing irregular too. ‘’No, I think we might need to have round 2.’’

[xseaxwitchxkpop]

Bad Body Image Day

Howdy! I've struggling lately with body image issues and figured I'd make a little comfort reaction for Ateez; I know this has been done to death, but I personally never tire of seeing it, especially because so many people have different ideas about how the members would react. Anyway, without further ado! Also there is more of a focus on a plussize!reader in this because I myself am plus size, but that is not to say that my thinner peeps can’t have insecurities!

Disclaimer: I, in no way, personally know any of the ateezers, so take this with a grain of salt -- or don’t, I’m not one to tell you what to do lol

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

Hongjoong

I can see him being a little angry, ngl -- no one hurts his baby, not even his baby

he’d ask why you felt that way, if anything triggered it like clothing not fitting right, scrolling through social media too much, looking at yourself in the mirror a little too hard

he’d spend the night with you at your place and cover all the mirrors in your place (yes, even the bathroom) so you wouldn’t have to catch a glimpse of yourself accidentally

make it point to shower you in praise, reminding you that you are more than your body

would also make a point to compliment your body anyways, pointing out everything you hate and saying he loves them because the are a part of you and he has phenomenal taste in his partners, thank you very much

Seonghwa

this man is too perceptive to not notice your depressive mood

might want to take some pictures together with some cute cat filters, but he knows what’s wrong the moment you decline

turns his phone to do not disturb and pulls you into his lap

honestly is sad that you don’t see yourself the way he sees you: gorgeous, stunning, beautiful, and perfect

peppers your face with kisses in an effort to make your fell better but that just ends in you crying

he then just holds you and rubs your back in soothing motions, whispering assurances in your ear

Yunho

does literally everything in his power to cheer you up

pounces on you from behind and folds you over like a blanket

tickles you in your most ticklish spots and following that up with kisses

would definitely force you to watch your favorite comfort shows as you forces you yo sit on his lap or lay against his chest

he may even force you to focus on him and by that I mean he’d ask you to do his makeup and tell you to take your time with it (gives him an excuse to stare at you and love you and tell you all the things he loves about you without you running away or shutting him up)

Yeosang

if you don’t know how to skateboard or use roller skates/roller blades, etc., he’d take you on a walk with him; if you do know how to do any of those things, he’d take out his skateboard and you’d skate next to each other

he’s a very quiet person, so I suspect he’d catch you body checking in the mirror or fidgeting with your clothes more than usual or looking over your shoulder at social media at see you looking at “prettier” people

if you can fit into his hoodies, he’d give you one with the excuse that you “looked cold,” regardless of the weather; if you can’t, he’d give you a plushie that was wearing one of his beanies (sprayed with his cologne) to cuddle with or squeeze if you don’t feel like being touched or he’d grab the blanket from his bed and wrap the both of you in a giant burrito on the bed or couch if you don’t mind being touched

basically he’d give you something of his to remind you that he is here for you, he isn’t going anywhere, and you are the most beautiful person to him (he comes off as more “action” than “words” for his displays of love, but I could be wrong lol)

would probably also offer to perform a roasting session just for you about the other members or any other mutual friends the two of you had

may even draw hehetmon comic strips in cute situations to cheer you up a little

San

cuddle monster activated

this man’s love language, or one of his love languages, is very clearly physical affection, or skinship, so be prepared to not leave the couch or the bed

again, another observant member, so he caught you doing something like Yeosang did

another one to force you to watch your comfort movies or cartoons

the bed or couch or just be an absolute mess of blankets, plushies, and pillows to help you feel safe and loved

he’d have your favorite snacks on deck, but if you don’t feel like eating, that’s okay, too, he’d have your favorite drinks -- you can argue against food, but you’re not arguing against the drinks, he won’t allow you to forgo both, it’s one or the other lol

instead of you leaning on him, he’d lean on you

you would probably be on your side or something, but he would make sure he could use your tummy as a pillow and your thighs as stress balls

he’d be a sneaky bastard and try to sneak kisses on your insecure spots -- his level of success is dependent on how much you’re paying attention to whatever he’s doing and your determination to fight him

however will respect any boundaries you lay out to him, even if it disheartens him to some degree

Mingi

he’s an extremely empathetic person and probably really good at reading people, so he probably knows before you do on a conscious level

cute faces? you got it! ridiculous antics? of course! telling you fantastical stories he makes up on the spot? absolutely!

if he happens to be going to the studio that day, he brings you along so you don’t have to be alone with your thoughts if you’re not working that day

he would show you either the mixtape he’s working on (I know for a FACT that man is currently sitting on a fire mixtape or is at least working on one) and/or give you a sneak peek into what the music might be for the group’s next comeback

I can see him wanting to take a shower with you, nothing sexual

he’d want to bathe you to show you that he genuinely finds you gorgeous and is more than elated that you are his and his only

Wooyoung

he’d another whose love language is skinship, so definitely cuddles from this one as well

kisses on your face every five seconds with “I love you”s thrown in

would offer to cook your favorite dish or one of your comfort dishes

another one with antics up his sleeve

he’d tone down his usual teasing or even stop it completely because he loves you and doesn’t want to accidentally say something that would end up making you feel worse

would try to act all cute to make you smile (laughing would make him feel better because he knows than that you are felling better, even if it’s temporary)

might invite you to join him in brainstorming pranks to play on the other members

Jongho

“want me to break this apple?” // “no, Jongho, I will not be entertained by you breaking an apple for the millionth time.” // “yes, you will.” *breaks the apple*

“part of the fun of breaking the apple is you getting annoyed.”

he does this in good fun because he thinks your annoyance is genuinely funny to him

while he’s not too much into skinship, he’d be more than happy to give you all the hugs and cuddles in the world to make you feel better while he hums or softly sings to you

probably drags you to the convenience store or a restaurant and buys you food, even if you protest with whatever insecurities you’re feeling at that moment

he doesn’t take no for an answer because having a full tummy even if you don’t want said full tummy always feels good

soft, gentle forehead kisses while holding your face

will offer you piggy rides and will not take no for an answer -- he will argue with you and roll his eyes when you say “I’m too heavy” or something like that

[purrincess-chat]

Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s Spite Playlist: Remix CH29

The plans are in motion! Just a reminder, after I post CH30 next week, I will be taking a break through the month of September to finish up the final edit. I’ll probably be scarce around this blog as well during that time cause I’ve got to work on my BB piece as well, but my queue is loaded through like January of next year, so it’ll be like I’m not even gone. 

Previous     First      Next       AO3

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Chapter 29: Take Cover

Marinette and Adrien stared at his phone, jaws hanging agape. The silence stretched on until Chloe sighed, and Marinette blinked out of her trance.

“I’m sorry. We’re going to what now?” she asked.

“Ugh, just get over here.” Chloe hung up.

Marinette and Adrien exchanged bewildered looks, and he shrugged as if to say, ‘I have no idea what just happened either.’ Chloe wasn’t one to keep waiting, so they gathered their things and piled into Adrien’s town car. On the drive over, Adrien laced their fingers together, tracing patterns on the back of Marinette’s palm with his thumb. She smiled up at him, that familiar, fluttery feeling spreading through her chest.

She’d dreamed of being Adrien’s girlfriend since they day they met. To her surprise, she was calmer about the whole situation than she’d expected. She wasn’t planning their wedding or naming their future pets, and she’d only daydreamed about his soft lips twenty times that day. They knew each other better now and had grown more comfortable with one another.

Adrien was a true friend and a stable rock in the middle of a storm, always there for her to fall back on if she needed. If it weren’t for him, she would be drowning in her own anguish. Lila may think she had the upper hand, but Marinette and Adrien were the perfect team. Nothing could stop them when they worked together.

Chloe was staring out at her balcony when they arrived, a pensive frown wrinkling her forehead. She turned to them, pursing her lips to mask her expression as they approached. They eyed each other in tense silence until Marinette spoke up.

“So,” she started, “what?”

Chloe rolled her eyes and rubbed her temple with a sigh.

“Look, don’t go getting any ideas. This isn’t about you; it’s about revenge,” Chloe said. “Lila seems to feel the most threatened by you, so I think it will have more of an impact if your name is associated with all of this charity work, and the only way to make anyone else care enough to report about it is to make you someone worth talking about.”

“What makes you think Lila is threatened by me?” Marinette asked with a disbelieving grunt. “All she ever does is toy with me.”

“And why do you think that is?” Chloe rolled her eyes when Marinette still seemed lost. “When someone like her feels threatened, they lash out and try to bring you down.”

“Is that why you were always so mean to me?” Marinette’s eyes narrowed, a smirk curling on her lips.

“Don’t lump me in with her! I’m mean to people for the sheer entertainment of watching them suffer. Totally different.” Chloe scoffed.

“Okay, so how exactly do you plan on making Marinette famous?” Adrien asked.

“Easily.” Chloe shrugged. “The dumb brat has already started making a name for herself, and more and more important people are starting to notice her talent, if you want to call it that.”

“I will ignore the insult in favor of the compliment.” Marinette crossed her arms over her chest and cocked a hip.

“Look, even my mom has complimented your work, so I think we should—as disgusting as this is—ask my mom to help you launch your fashion career.” Chloe cringed as she said it.

Marinette stared at her for a long moment, and Chloe shifted her weight with a moan.

“Stop looking at me like that!”

“You’re being serious right now?” Marinette asked.

“I know. Even I’m shocked.” Chloe wrinkled her nose.

“You want to help me start my fashion career? Now?”

“It’s the only way to take down that brat for good,” Chloe said, cheeks pink. “After this, I will go back to hating you and thinking you are a talentless nobody.”

“This is uncharacteristically nice of you, Chloe,” Adrien said with a smile. “I’m proud of you.”

“Don’t get any ideas, Dupain-Cheng. I’m not going to be caught dead wearing your trash, but my mom wanted to train you, so I think it’s our best shot.” Chloe shrugged.

“So, what? We’re just going to walk up to your mom and ask her to work with me?” Marinette scoffed as if it were the most absurd thing she’d ever heard. Because it was.

“Pretty much.” Chloe marched past her.

“Wait, we’re going right now?”

“We want to take Lila down this century, Dupain-Cheng,” Chloe said pointedly, crossing the hall to her mother’s suite.

“But…wait, Chloe-” Marinette rushed after her as she barged into the room across the hall.

Audrey was in the middle of a hot stone massage, and Marinette curled her shoulders.

“I don’t think we should disturb her-”

“Mommy,” Chloe said, and Audrey gave some groan of acknowledgement. “You remember my dreadful former classmate, the one who designed the feather hat for Adrien?”

“Vaguely,” Audrey said.

“Well, Clara Nightingale walked the red carpet in one of her designs, and I think you should back her brand,” Chloe said.

“I thought you hated this girl-”

“You and me both,” Marinette grumbled.

“-now it sounds like you’re being nice.” Audrey choked on the word.

“There’s a nasty girl at school that I want to get rid of, and I need to make Dupain-Cheng famous to do it.” Chloe explained.

Audrey moaned as the masseuse worked a knot in her shoulders.

“Get me a portfolio by this time next week, then we’ll talk,” she said.

Chloe clapped her hands together. “Thank you, Mommy.”

“Wait, I’m sorry, a week?” Marinette blanched.

“Fashion moves quickly, dear, so if you want to be relevant, you’ll get me your portfolio with a pitch by next week,” Audrey said more sternly.

“She’ll have it ready,” Chloe promised.

Marinette shot her a look. “I’m not so sure she can-”

“Enjoy your massage.” Chloe grabbed Marinette’s arm and dragged her from the room.

“Chloe, I don’t know if I can-”

"Oh, shut it." Chloe clamped her hand in a mouth-shutting motion. "You are annoyingly persistent when you want to be. I've seen you accomplish way more in less time, so don't you even say you can't do it because if anyone has got what it takes, it's you, and if you tell anyone I said that, I will destroy everything you love."

“A week? To come up with an entire line,” Marinette said. “Not to mention it has to impress your mom—the queen of fashion!”

“And?” Chloe shrugged. Did she hear herself? What was so hard to understand about the absurdity of the situation?

“Chloe’s right, Marinette, you can do this,” Adrien took her hands and gave them a reassuring squeeze.

“But what if I can’t?” Marinette asked. “What if Audrey hates my designs or if I can’t come up with a whole line in time?”

“Then your fashion career is dead, and I’ll just get rid of Lila my way.” Chloe sauntered back to her suite. “Toodles!”

Marinette leaned her face into Adrien’s shoulder with a moan, and he wrapped his arms around her tightly.

“I know this is a lot of pressure, but you are the most amazing girl I know. You’re an incredible designer, and I know you’re going to crush it.” He pressed his forehead to hers, those green eyes shining with a confidence she wished she felt.

She took a deep, centering breath and nodded.

“Okay.” She pressed her lips into a firm line. “Let’s do it.”

♪♫♪ Misery Business ♪♫♪

Lila glared down at her phone screen, her laptop playing Clara’s acceptance speech in the background which only made her blood boil hotter. As if that stupid bakery brat needed more attention. Marinette pulled a couple fast ones on her, but Lila always got the last laugh. She stared down at Adrien’s Instagram post again with a scowl.

“So proud of @marinette-dc! I’m so lucky to have such an amazing girlfriend like you.”

Most of their classmates had already liked it, but it didn’t matter. Lila would figure out a way to spin this back on Marinette. The cracks were already forming in her little good girl reputation. Lila just needed to apply pressure, then everything would come crumbling down.

♪♫♪ Look What You Made Me Do ♪♫♪

The next day at school, Marinette was quite the hot topic after her big debut. Everyone was buzzing about Clara’s dress, and she received compliments left and right, though she found it hard to enjoy her moment with Audrey’s deadline looming over her.

She’d spent all night brainstorming ideas, but so far she had nothing. Nada. Zilch. No ideas. No inspiration. Nothing, and she was a sweaty ball of nerves. Numerous times she’d tried to give herself pep talks. She saved the city on a daily basis, fought ten-ton monsters and tricky magicians. How hard could it be to design a few dresses and coats?

Infinitely hard, as it turned out. In fact, part of her wished it was as easy as fighting an akuma. That there was some clever shortcut to her end goal, but there were no such things in this case. Just her own imagination and the wall between it and her sketchpad.

“Why so glum?” Macy asked as Marinette shoved books into her locker. “Shouldn’t you be excited about your dress? Everyone loves it. Things didn’t go bad with Adrien after we left, did they?” She cupped her cheeks in horror.

“No.” Marinette assured her with a laugh. “Everything is fine, but I just… Another amazing opportunity has fallen in my lap, and I don’t think I can do it, and I’m stressing out over it.”

“Yeah, you are breaking out a little.” Lisette pointed out, and Marinette covered her chin with a groan.

“You’re amazing, Marinette, and you always find a solution,” Macy said, but when Marinette seemed less than convinced, she pursed her lips. “Tell you what, Lisette can help you cover your zit, and we’ll help you get your mojo back, okay?”

“Okay,” Marinette said, allowing Macy to tug her to the bathroom where Lisette managed to completely erase any signs of her stress. Honestly, she was a wizard with a tube of concealer.

“There they are with the lady of the hour,” Eliott said when they met up for lunch. “How did your alone time go with a certain model last night?”

“He gave me this necklace.” She pulled it from under her collar with a soft smile.

“How romantic!” Lisette said.

“How sparkly.” Macy added with a longing look until Eliott nudged her with his elbow.

“We should double date this weekend. The weather is going to be nice, so we could go golfing.” Eliott suggested, and Macy shot up.

“Oh! Can I come? My parents are part-owners at one of the courses so my dad can play whenever he wants.” She bounced excitedly.

“Fine, but you have to bring a date,” Eliott said.

“I’ll just bring Martin again.” Macy shrugged.

“That’s cheating.”

“How? You said to bring a date, so I’ll bring a date.”

“You didn’t even ask him!”

“Fine! Martin, will you be my date?” Macy turned to him with pleading eyes, and his cheeks flushed.

“Uh, sure,” he said.

“Ha!” Macy stuck her tongue out at Eliott.

“That’s all fun and everything, but I’ve never played golf,” Marinette said. “Besides, I have a lot to do.”

“Oh, come on, Marinette. We can teach you,” Macy said. “Please?”

“I-” Marinette hesitated when they all gave her pleading looks. “We’ll see.”

“What’s so urgent that you can’t come out, Marinette?” Eliott asked as they took their seats.

“Does it have to do with that girl?” Martin lowered his voice.

“Kind of…” Marinette took a deep breath before explaining the entire situation—the plan, her deadline, all of it.

“Whoa, you’re really gonna pitch to Audrey Bourgeois?” Lisette whispered, eyes wide.

“I’m gonna try,” Marinette pushed her peas around with a spoon. “I’m kinda running on empty right now.”

“If you need any help let us know, okay?” Macy reached out to place a hand over hers.

“Yeah, we know tons about fashion and starting charities, not to mention handling drama queens.” Eliott echoed. “We’ve got your back.”

Marinette smiled, though the sentiment didn’t reach her eyes. It wasn’t their fault that Marinette was never going to make it in the world of fashion. When she inevitably failed, Adrien would probably dump her, Lila would take over the world, and she’d be left selling stupid little trinkets off of a cart to tourists. Why did she let Chloe talk her into this?

♪♫♪ Yeah Right ♪♫♪

“Good morning, Lila! I have your geometry homework!” Sabrina greeted on the front staircase the next morning.

Lila feigned a smile. Sabrina was annoying, but she did all of Lila’s homework, so she usually didn’t complain. After that brat Marinette scored a point against her last night with the award’s show, Lila wasn’t in the mood to deal with clingy girls with dependency issues.

“Thank you so much, Sabrina. You’re such a sweetheart,” Lila said.

“How is your ankle feeling? Do you need anything? Aspirin? A hot compress? Foot massage?” Sabrina offered.

“Well, it feels much better than it did a week ago, but if I walk around a lot, it gets a little sore. Would you mind taking my bag to my locker for me?” Lila slipped her bag off her shoulder and held it out.

“Of course! You rest that ankle,” Sabrina said without hesitation.

Lila smirked as she trotted off to the locker room. At least Sabrina was easy to get rid of. Some of her other idiots would have insisted on walking her to class—a commitment Lila didn’t have time for today. She needed to figure out her next move against Marinette. Everyone was still conflicted over the stairs incident from the Louvre. That stupid goody-goody built up a reputation over the years that wasn’t so easily collapsible. Even still, every shred of doubt Lila could cast would pile up in the end.

“I see you’re still walking around like you own the place.”

Lila stopped a few steps into the school, jaw clenching. Adrien was leaning against the wall just inside the door, and he pushed away when she narrowed her eyes, taking slow, deliberate steps toward her.

“In case you hadn’t noticed, I do own the place,” she said. “Or I will soon enough.”

“I’ve warned you before, Lila, but you didn’t listen. What you did to Marinette was not okay,” he said darkly, green eyes narrowed into slits.

“Oh? And what are you going to do about it? Call another one of your celebrity buddies to call me a liar? Go ahead, it’ll help me win these losers over even faster.” Lila crossed her arms over her chest and cocked a hip. “You can’t beat me, Adrien. You’re too nice to get your hands dirty.”

“If you do anything else to Marinette, you’re going to learn how nice I am.” He glowered down at her, sending a shiver down Lila’s spine. “You hurt someone I love, so enjoy your reign while it lasts. Pretty soon everyone is going to see you for who you really are, and I won’t feel sorry for you.”

He brushed past her, and Lila rolled her eyes. He was bluffing, and even if he wasn’t, Lila could handle anything he threw at her. Whatever they were plotting, Lila wasn’t going down without a fight.

[tinyboxxtink]

"Black Magic" *Part 6*

Part 5

Part 7

Okay so this one's a bit shorter, but like I said I want to try and keep it a "day" a chapter. Also, I don't think you want this day to be ANY longer.

....I'm so sorry.

Also also---- I'm going out now. I'M SO SORRY.

I'll post another chapter tonight....be strong my babies!

Side note how perfect is the gif with the angry barba and the smirking Olivia....I mean.... what?

Tag List:

@bookishfanfic

@stars-in-the-skies-world

@omgsuperstarg

@chasingeverybreakingwave

@gibbs274

@milkshqke

@wanniiieeee

@word-scribbless

@objection-argumentative

@aprildecker-blog

@lolliepopsicle

@madamsnape921

@stars-trash-18

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You arrived at the door of Rafael's office early once again, knocking this time. You looked like a million bucks. You had taken at least an hour to get ready, your outfit, your hair, your makeup. You were ready to make a move. You knocked again. There was no answer. He should be there, maybe he didn’t hear you. You knocked a little louder. Where could he be? You decided to take a peek and peer open his door to see the most horrifying sight:

Rafael and Olivia, making out on his desk. They both snapped back when they heard the door open.

“Y/N!!” He yelled angrily. “Don't you knock?”

“Oh.. oh my God I'm so sorry sir I'm really sorry. I just brought your morning coffee sir,” You were upset, embarrassed , confused , distraught unable to speak, unable to think.

“Well you should learn not to peep on other people Y/N,” Olivia gave you an evil smirk. “I should get going anyway baby,” she rubbed the lipstick off Rafael's lips. “I have a long day.”

“Oh but I'll miss you carino,” Rafael whined while rubbing his nose against hers in a disgusting fashion.

“I know baby, but maybe we'll have lunch?” She messed with his collar.

“You can count on it,” Rafael growled seductively, smacking her butt as she walked towards the door. “Two can play at your game,” she whispered at you as she walked out

Oh my god. Oh my God oh my god!! How did she know? How was it possible? So many things went through your head at that moment.

“I um, I left something at my desk,” You lied quickly as you headed out the door.

“Olivia!” You called after her angrily suddenly overwhelmed with courage. She stopped and turned and stared at you

“Really? Got some balls on you now do you?”

“What did you do?” You demanded.

“I didn't do anything to him.” She acted innocent. “He just realized that his feelings for me were there all along,” she batted her eyes mockingly. “Isn't that what you did?”

“It's not real!” You barked. “You know it's not real. It'll wear off by tomorrow,”

“Oh I really don't think it will” She held up a water bottle in her purse and it was filled with a….purple liquid? Yep it was purple. Why was it purple? Did she make it stronger? Oh God how strong did she make it?

“Olivia you can't do this to him. I stopped and realized if it wasn't real, I didn't want it.”

“Oh that's bullshit.” She rolled her eyes. “You just brought him his morning coffee. You and I both know that it has that stuff in it. You just needed to refill him but I got there first.”

“No that's not true! You yelled, tears stinging your eyes now. “And he loves me. I know he does.”

“Oh my God you are delusional,” she laughed.” Look I'm happy you had a fun day yesterday but you’re out of your league here, sweetie. He's mine and he always will be? Got it?” She smirked again, then turned and stomped away in her heels leaving you there speechless.

----

You were furious, you were confused, you were upset and then you realized that you had to still continue this day as if nothing was different. Nothing was wrong. You wondered how strong Olivia's stuff was. You wondered what the rules were. Did it block out his feelings for you completely and only focus on her? Did it wipe any memory of you and him at all? Could you break it? You had so many questions you needed to call Chloe but you know you couldn't until your break so you sucked it up and walked back into Rafael's office.

“I'm really sorry about that so earlier,” You did your best to keep from crying. He looked at you with an almost look of disdain.

“Yeah well you really need to be more professional, Y/N.” He scoffed.

"Now you really need to get me copies of these prepositions by noon so that I can go to lunch with my beloved and then go to court.”

“Your beloved?” You spat unintentionally, wanting to gag.

“Excuse you?” He gave you an angry look.

"Look I know that you have some kind of crazy crush on me, but you need to learn that what me and my girlfriend have is something you can't get between so you really need to either control yourself or I will relieve you of your services.” He glared at you.

You couldn't breathe, you felt your heart beating in your chest and your ears. Your palms were sweating, you were having a panic attack. What the hell did she put in her concoction? How did she make him turn so harshly against you?

“I... Yes sir, sorry sir, right away sir,” You whispered grabbing the papers from him running out of the office.

Finally after you got Rafael his copies and he stormed out of his office to go meet his “beloved”, you took the break to call Chloe in tears.

-----

“Oh My God, what happened honey?” She asked, immediately hearing your sobs over the phone.

“She did it,” You sobbed.

“Who did what now?”

“She found the spell! Or some spell. I don't know what she did. I don't know how she could have-- I don't know what she did!!!” You kept sobbing uncontrollably not being able to form coherent thoughts.

“Okay, I'm going to need you to slow down,” Chloe said in a calming manner. “Breathe honey. Use your words. Now explain to me exactly what happened,”

You took several deep breaths trying to compose yourself so that you could explain what was happening to her.

“I went into Rafael's office this morning, and he was making out with that vile woman,” You sniffled.

“What vile woman?”

“Olivia, his ‘beloved’,” you rolled your eyes through your tears.

“His beloved?”

“It's some woman that he works with, and apparently has been in love with him forever. She somehow, I don't know how, figured out what we did to him and she somehow found her own spell. Which I'm pretty sure is not the same one, because it was a purple liquid. AND she not only created feelings for her, she made him hate me!!” You continued to sob.

“...Oh,” Was all Chloe could say.

“OH…?!” You scoffed. “I thought you said that magic laws frowned upon spells like that, controlling people's free will!”

“It does! Good magic anyway,” She sighed.

“What the hell does that mean?” You yelled angrily.

“Well I mean you know there's good witches and bad witches,”

“Oh my God, what in the Wizard Of Oz fuckery--”

“I don't know what to tell you honey. That's how it is. There's good magic and there's black magic. Black magic is all selfish and self-indulgent and instant gratification. She must have gone to somebody who deals in that,”

“Who could it be?”

“I don't know! It's not like they're listed in the yellow pages! WAIT-- Oh my God I think I might have an idea,” Chloe suddenly paused. “...But you're not going to believe me,”

“Oh my God what does that mean?” you asked wearily.

“Well.. you've seen all the movies right? You know like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White,”

“Oh God. Are you seriously going to tell me that true love's kiss can break the spell?”

“Well.. you really don't have any other options right now, do you?”

“CHLOE those are Disney movies for fuck’s sake!!”

“Hey, remember Once Upon A Time? THAT was the ‘real world’, and true love’s kiss brought magic to our world!” Chloe pointed out.

“THAT’S A TV SHOW!!!!!”

“I don't know what else you want me to say here babe. But you should do it. Unless you want to lose him forever to this “Olivia” person. You said that she had a lot of it, right? She could keep this up for as long as she wants. AND the more she gives him the stronger it's going to be and the harder it is going to be to break. I mean he might end up really hating you and firing you, and then your whole life will be ruined. You not only need to break this spell for you to be happy, but before it impacts your entire life,” Chloe warned.

“Oh my God, oh my god…” You whimpered. “I should have never done this.”

“Hey chin up this will work out I'm sure of it!” She said in a chipper tone.

“Okay Jiminy,” You rolled your eyes as you hung up and went back to your office. You did your best to continue with the rest of the day, trying to stay out of Rafael’s way. Which wasn't hard, considering that he was in court most of the day. Around four he texted you and told you that he was no longer in need of your services for the day so you could go home early. Oh also he just HAD to add that he was going to go out with Liv. You wanted to vomit. You headed home and went to brainstorm with Chloe.

-----

“Okay so I've been researching black magic. Chloe had papers sprawled out all over her bed when you came home. “She must have used a combination of love and hate spells.”

“Wait, so you mean actual love spells? Like actually creating fictitious love? Not just magnifying what he felt for her?”

“Correct” she nodded. “I don't think he ever had real feelings for her.”

“Well he said that she and him had a thing, and that he thought about her like that when they first met. So maybe it was going off of that,” You shrugged sadly.

“Another thing we need to figure out is how to get the rest of the potion from her somehow,”

“And just HOW do you expect me to do that?!”

“I don’t...I don’t know,” She shrugged, sifting through her research.

“Chloe, give me something you DO know,” You rubbed your temples; this was giving you a migraine.

“Okay… well, maybe if I talk to my other friends they can figure out a way to counteract the effects even just a little, if you're not willing to or unable to get true love's kiss,”

“Oh God--”

“Hey, I'm just saying”

“Whatever.” You sighed. “My head hurts, my heart hurts, everywhere hurts Chloe,” You whined. “I just want this to be over,”

“Okay honey just-- just go get some sleep, I’ll figure out a game plan for you to use tomorrow,”

“Okay...thank you,” You gave her a small hug and went to your room.

You went to bed with a deep feeling of dread.

[littlelovelyspiderling]

The Competition

I’d say oops part 3 but these are so fun to write and bring me such joy that I’m gonna stop apologizing for it haha

The avatar gang competes to see who can get Zuko to laugh first. Adorableness ensues.

word count: 8116

__________________________

“Zuko doesn’t emote much, does he?”

Katara was staring at the young Fire Nation prince as she said it. He was lying against Appa, fully asleep even though the sun had only set an hour ago. She had noticed that, if circumstances permitted it, Zuko tended to rise and fall with the sun, waking at sunrise before anyone else to meditate in the soft morning glow, then nodding off quickly after the last whispers of light had vanished behind the horizon. Perhaps it had something to do with fire benders’ dependency on the sun: the way it fueled their strength and abilities, just as she drew power from the moon. 

Whatever the reason, it was amusing—the way he conked out like a baby polar leopard long before anyone else in the group had even considered turning in for the night. 

Sokka scoffed, tearing eagerly into a strip of salmon jerky. “Are you kidding me?” he said between bites. “The guy yells every other sentence that leaves his mouth. How is that not emotive?”

“He does have a bit of a temper,” Aang admitted, shooting an anxious glance in Zuko’s direction before continuing. “But it’s something he’s told me he’s working on. I think being angry is like his base temperature, so we should try to be patient with him.”

Aang grinned enthusiastically. Katara shook her head. 

“I know he’s good at expressing his anger. I guess I meant emoting in more...positive ways. He barely ever smiles, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard him laugh before.” She stared at him sullenly. “Do you think he’s all right?”

The rest of the group followed her gaze to the slumbering teenager. The campfire in the center of their circle rose and fell with his steady breathing. 

“He does have a lot going on, what with the having to betray his nation and leave his home and help Aang defeat his dad and all,” Toph pointed out. “But I think you’re reading this wrong, Katara. Maybe Zuko just doesn’t express happiness the same way we do. Maybe it’s more subtle.” She popped a berry into her mouth. “But that doesn’t mean he’s not enjoying being here with us.”

Katara crossed her arms in thought. “Yeah,” she conceded. “Maybe.” She turned back to the group with a line between her eyes. “It just...makes me sad. It’d be nice to see him be unsubtly happy for a change, wouldn’t it? I know all of your laughs and smiles by heart at this point. I feel like I’ll never know him completely until I recognize his.”

The only times Zuko ever flagrantly expressed himself were when he was shouting angrily about something or shooting awake from another horrendous nightmare, drenched in a cold sweat with tears shining in the corners of his eyes. Happy emotions were restricted to tiny smiles that vanished in a heartbeat and the slightest lift in his otherwise level voice. Katara wondered what kinds of hardships he’d endured to make him this way. What cruel forces had forged him into the teenager that slept by their side—a person who shrunk from joy like it was dangerous, poisonous. 

Aang sprung to his feet suddenly, making the others wince in surprise. “Ooh, ooh!” he exclaimed excitedly. “I know what to do! We should have a competition!”

The group sat in silence for a moment. “A...competition?” Sokka parroted, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah!” Aang cheered, pointing at the still-sleeping Zuko. “Whoever can get Zuko to laugh first wins!”

The gang exchanged a look of confusion and intrigue. It was such a silly proposition. 

“And I mean really laugh,” he elaborated. “Like, Sokka-after-Toph-inhaled-fire-flakes laugh.”

Sokka burst into giggles at the mention of the incident while Toph frowned at her feet. “Oho man, that was the best!” he cackled, wiping his eyes.

“Yeah, like that!” Aang continued exuberantly. “For the next few days, all of us should try to make Zuko do the Zuko-equivalent of that. And whoever gets him to do it first wins!”

Katara grinned at the idea. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t imagine what Zuko’s laugh might sound like. She needed to hear it firsthand, which would clearly require creativity on their end. Her mind was already grasping for potential leads. 

“I like it,” she decided. “Are there any rules?”

Aang tapped his chin in thought. “Hmm. No telling Zuko about the competition or what we’re trying to do. That’ll spoil it. We also have to take turns trying to make him laugh—as in, you can’t try something once then immediately try something else; everyone has to go again before you get to take another stab at it. And everyone has to witness it happening and agree on the winner for it to count.”

Sokka stretched his arms over his head with a smirk. “Well then, the rest of you might as well duck out now. Everyone knows I’m the king of gut-busting jokes and sarcasm. Sokka’s got this in the bag.”

“The Air Nomads are famous for having great senses of humor,” Aang retorted cheerfully. “I’ve got an entire cultural heritage of making people laugh on my side. Don’t count me out just yet.”

Katara rolled her eyes. “You guys are so conceited. Always thinking your hilarious wit is the answer to everything.”

Aang and Sokka shared a puzzled scowl. “What’s your plan then, Miss Anti-Humor?” Sokka asked. 

Katara colored. “Um, w-well—” Her eyes darted around their campsite before landing on Momo. She scooped the lemur off the ground and placed him on her head. “I’ll make him laugh with fun! See? Fun!”

Momo warbled lazily as Sokka shook his head. “You’d best leave this to the experts, Katara. Fun hasn’t ever exactly been your thing.”

Momo leapt off her head as Katara pouted. “We’ll see,” she grumbled.

“What if none of us find a way to make Zuko laugh?” Toph inquired. “What happens then?”

“Those sound like the words of someone who is going down!” Sokka cried triumphantly. Aang shrugged. 

“Then I guess we just keep trying.”

Toph pursed her lips before hinting a smile. “All right. I’m in.” She polished off her handful of berries. “Oh, and I’m one hundred percent winning this thing.”

“That’s the spirit!” Aang said. He pumped his fist in the air. “The competition begins at daybreak tomorrow!”

The group settled in for the night, brainstorming their own series of elaborate, laugh-inducing schemes to test out in the morning. Zuko slept soundly, unaware of what awaited him once he woke.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You seem distracted.”

Aang blinked, his focus snapping back to the tranquil cliffside and the scowling fire bender standing in front of him.

“Oh, uh, distracted?” he said, balling his hands at his sides with an innocent smile. “No, I’m not distracted.”

“Then get it right this time,” Zuko snapped, assuming a low stance. “Kick up, recenter, then punch out. Fire comes from the breath, so exhale at the peak of your move, not a second too early or late.”

Zuko demonstrated the action again, thrusting his foot in the air, reclaiming his balance, then jabbing his fist forward, flames gliding and shooting with his movements in perfect harmony. A burst of fire exploded from his knuckles at the end of the move, sending a wave of heat washing over Aang.

Aang winced back and swallowed. “Right. I’m sure I’ll have it down in no time.” A smile seized his features. “But before I do that, I have a surprise for you!”

Zuko’s fierce expression shifted to puzzled. “What?” he said, relaxing out of his solid stance for a moment. 

“Wait right there!” Aang said, then darted away, disappearing behind Appa. Zuko huffed, crossing his arms against his chest. 

“If you’re trying to bribe me out of today’s lesson, it’s not going to work. You still have five sets of fire lunges to get through.”

“It’s not a bribe!” Aang’s voice insisted from afar, echoing down the cliff side. “It’s just a token of appreciation—you know, for joining the group and being such a wonderful firebending teacher.” 

He reappeared with a giant grin on his face and his hands hidden behind his back. The rest of the gang sat around their campsite, looking unusually interested in Aang and Zuko’s training session. 

Zuko scanned the avatar warily as he approached. Aang stopped a few feet back, chipper as always. 

“Are you ready?” he asked, smiling wide.

“I guess,” Zuko deadpanned. 

Aang extended his hands forward, revealing his gift. “Ta-da!” he exclaimed.

Zuko blinked. It was...a cake. Of some sort. A small, round pastry with some kind of red jelly in the center. It was surprisingly professional-looking, especially considering they were out in the woods with no markets or ovens nearby. 

“I baked it for you with firebending!” Aang explained. “I even flavored the center with fire gummies so it’d taste like home.”

Zuko was taken back by the thoughtful gesture. This all felt largely unwarranted. “Um,” he said, scratching the back of his head. “Thanks? I guess?”

Aang held it out eagerly. “Go on, try it! It’s an old Air Nomad recipe. It’s really good!”

“I’ll try it after we’re done training,” Zuko said, re-assuming his power stance. “Now then—show me the move I just demonstrated for you.”

“Aw, come one,” Aang whined. “Just one bite! Please? I promise you won’t—”

Aang staggered forward suddenly, tripping over his own foot. He hoped it didn’t look too staged—like falling with the cake in his hands hadn’t been his plan all along. The alarm that crossed Zuko’s expression indicated his performance was a success. Zuko tried lunging forward to help him, but it was too late—with a yelp, Aang face-planted into his culinary creation, splattering cake and jelly at the prince’s feet. 

A beat passed where Zuko just stood there, mouth agape. Then the rest of the group exploded into hysterical laughter, gripping their stomachs and doubling over themselves.

“Ohokay, that was pretty good,” Sokka admitted between giggles.

“Look at Twinkle Toes, starting things off strong,” Toph agreed.

Aang lifted his face out of the cake, letting the goo and batter slip off for a moment to enhance the effect. At the very least, he expected a smile to cross Zuko’s lips. Instead, he just looked startled. 

“Aw, man,” he said, offering him a hand. “Are you okay?”

Behind the layer of flattened pastry, Aang frowned. “Yeah, of course,” he said. “I just tripped.”

“Sorry about the cake. It, uh, sounded like you worked hard on it.”

The others were still cackling like hyena bats behind them. Aang swiped his hand across his cake-covered face bemusedly. It didn’t make sense. Why wasn’t Zuko laughing?

“But don’t you think it’s funny?” he asked. “That I, you know, tripped and fell face-first into it?”

Zuko narrowed his eyes. “Do you...want me to think it’s funny?”

“Kinda! I don’t know. Everyone else does.”

The firebender wasn’t sure how to respond. “You worked hard on something, and now it’s ruined. That’s already bad enough. I didn’t want to make you feel worse.”

Aang couldn’t believe how spectacularly his plan had failed. Everything had gone perfectly except for Zuko’s reaction. This might be harder than he thought. He dropped his face back into the cake, groaning in defeat. While the others continued giggling, Zuko placed his hands on his hips.

“Let’s, uh, break from training for today. We can pick up where we left off tomorrow.”

Aang gave a halfhearted thumbs up as the prince walked away. Zuko: 1, Aang: 0.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was around lunch time when Sokka made his move. The rest of the group watched in anticipation as the next competitor approached their target. 

“Hiya, Zuko!” Sokka greeted him. The teen sat by the fire pit with the others, eating a bowl of soup. 

“Hi...Sokka,” he addressed him hesitantly, popping the spoon out of his mouth. “Can I help you?”

Sokka jabbed his index finger into the air. “As a matter of fact, you can! I have a very important question to ask you.”

Zuko shot dubious looks at the other members of the group before sitting up a little straighter. “Okay,” he said. 

Clearing his throat, Sokka broke into a grin. “Why are firebenders always the slowest runners?”

Zuko thought on it for a moment. A frown wrinkled his features. “We are?”

“Because they get too easily burnt out!” Sokka howled, laughing wildly at his own joke, slapping his knee and hugging his belly. Zuko just stared at him, blinking his strikingly golden eyes. A few seconds later, the tiniest of smiles lifted one corner of his mouth.

“Oh, I get it,” he said. “That’s funny.”

Toph, Aang, and Katara giggled softly behind their hands—more out of pity than anything else. Sokka gawked.

“Wait—that’s it?”

Zuko tilted his head slightly. “What’s it?”

“I spent all night coming up with that joke!”

“I said it was funny,” Zuko said defensively.

“If you thought it was funny, why didn’t you laugh?”

Zuko downed the rest of his soup and shrugged sheepishly. “I’m...sorry?”

The rest of the gang snickered into their palms. Sokka groaned.

“Wait, wait—one more chance,” he pleaded, more to the others than to Zuko. Zuko had no idea why it was suddenly so important that he found Sokka’s jokes hilarious. Recovering part of his trampled dignity, Sokka coughed, then tried again.

“What do you get when you dunk Momo in a pitcher of lemon juice?” 

Zuko sighed, leaning back with his hands folded behind his head. “Gee, I don’t know, Sokka. What do you get when you dunk Momo in a pitcher of lemon juice?” 

Sokka’s eyebrow twitched crossly. Patronizing, much? “Lemurnade,” he muttered out. “You—you get lemurnade.”

At that, Aang cracked up, his laughter ringing like a bell. “Haha! Good one, Sokka!”

Sokka hung his head. “Thanks, Aang,” he mumbled, then sulked away, heavily chagrined. Zuko watched him go, feeling like he’d done something wrong.

“What’s his deal?” he asked the group. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Toph assured him, stifling a snort. “That’s just Sokka being Sokka.”

Zuko furrowed his brow. Was it just him, or were all of them acting...strange? It felt like they were paying more attention to him than normal, and hanging on his every response to their interactions like it was life or death. Around these guys, he preferred to fade into the background rather than be center stage; they were all such good friends, and they had so much history together, whereas he...well, they had history, all right, but not exactly the good kind. He found he was perfectly content listening to them talk from the sidelines, only joining the conversation when he was directly addressed. 

After lunch, the group headed to a nearby stream to wash off and cool down. Zuko stood at the edge of the riverbank, watching Momo paw at the minnows in the shallow pools between the reeds, when Katara tapped him on the shoulder.

“Hey Zuko,” she said, looking artificially high-spirited. “You want to see something fun?”

Zuko gave her a questioning look. “Fun?” he repeated, turning to face her. What is with everyone today? He hunched his shoulders. “Um...okay.”

Zuko didn’t know what he was expecting her to do—propose some kind of group activity, show off a new waterbending move, maybe—but it certainly wasn’t her placing both hands on his chest and shoving him full-force into the river. The prince yelped and flailed, teetering frantically on the edge of the bank before tipping backwards and dropping into the water with a splash. Zuko resurfaced a few seconds later, his wet hair sticking to his face, his eyes wide. Immediately, the group erupted into a chorus of laughter, making the firebender blush.

“W-what on earth, Katara?” he stammered, slicking his hair back so it wasn’t falling in his eyes. “What was that for?”

“For fun, of course!” she exclaimed nervously, as if she was trying to convince herself. “Wasn’t that fun?”

“Not really!” he growled. He clambered up the riverbank, griping and grumbling the whole time, steam rising off his thoroughly soaked clothing. The others continued to giggle at his dripping, disheveled appearance. “What part of that was supposed to be fun?”

“I thought it was pretty fun,” Sokka chuckled from the opposite side of the river. Zuko reddened beneath their stares and quickly turned away, crossing his arms tight to his chest.

“Sorry, Zuko,” Katara said. “Here.”

Using her bending, she pulled the water out of his clothes so he was dry again. Zuko scratched at his wild mess of hair, eyeing Katara thoughtfully.

After a pause, Zuko made a rash decision. His arms jerked forward before he could talk himself out of it, pushing Katara into the river, making her fall faster than she could react. She hit the water with a shriek, sending waves in every direction. The rest of the group gaped.

“Hey!” Katara gasped as she broke the surface, hands balled into fists. Zuko smirked.

“I take it back. You’re right, Katara. That is pretty fun.”

The others laughed again, and Katara eventually joined them, drawing the water from her hair and flinging it playfully at Zuko. Zuko flinched back with a smile, but that was the closest she got: still no progress on the laughing end. Not even the tiniest giggle.   

It looked like The Water Tribe siblings had struck out as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Toph’s decision to strike at night had been her plan from the start. Laughter always flowed more organically after dark, after all. The more tired you were, the more funny things seemed—even things that arguably weren’t that funny in the first place.

The light from their campfire gilded the group in an orange sheen. Zuko blinked sleepily, watching the flames lap toward the night sky, his golden eyes reflecting the glow in an arrestingly brilliant way. She waited until his heartbeat began to slow before executing her plan. While Sokka studied a map of the Fire Nation, Katara charted the stars, and Aang scratched Momo’s tummy, Toph rose to her feet.

“Watch this,” she said out of nowhere. Then she pounded her heel into the ground, causing the earth underneath Sokka to jump up like a spring, shooting him high into the air. Sokka screamed in surprise, bounced between the branches of a nearby tree, then crashed to the ground with a grunt. 

Katara and Aang’s jaws dropped open. Spitting and sputtering, Sokka scrambled to his hands and knees in a befuddled fury. “Toph!” he screeched, leaves and twigs sticking out of his hair.

Toph busted out laughing while everyone just stared. When she realized no one else was joining her, her giggles gradually petered away. 

“What? You guys didn’t think that was funny?” 

“It was certainly...surprising?” Aang ventured to say.

“A bit violent, though,” Katara added.

“A bit?” Sokka cried, wagging his arms through the air. “She catapulted me into a tree!”

Toph snorted. “Well I thought it was hilarious. Zuko?”

All eyes turned to gauge the prince’s reaction. They were stunned to see his body slack and his head lolled to one side. Their resident firebender was out cold, sleeping peacefully. 

With a huff, Toph flopped to the ground. “Are you kidding me? That was some of my best material!”

“Wow,” Aang mused, resting his chin on his kneecaps. “I can’t believe how big of a bust today was.”

“Seriously! I laughed at everything everyone tried with him! All of us are objectively hilarious, but still nothing!” Sokka jabbed an angry finger at Toph before she could respond. “Not you, Toph. I’m going to be picking bugs out of my hair for weeks!” He slumped to the ground, gazing at Zuko through the flickering tongues of the fire. “Man! What’s it gonna take to get this guy to laugh?”

Toph shrugged. “Maybe I was right. Maybe laughing just isn’t the way he expresses happiness.”

“That can’t be true,” Katara stated indignantly. “We’ve just got to keep trying. Maybe in Fire Nation culture, royalty aren’t allowed to laugh or something, and he’s still stuck in that mindset. All we need to do now is find the right way to draw him out of it.”

“First dancing is outlawed, now laughing?” Sokka slapped his forehead. “Why is the Fire Nation so obsessed with destroying all things fun?”

Toph swirled her finger in the air. “Or maybe you’re all just not as funny as you think you are.”

While Sokka viciously protested Toph’s proposal, Aang narrowed his eyes and stuck out his bottom lip. “If we’re determined to make Zuko laugh, we have to find out what he thinks is funny. Perhaps his sense of humor is just different from ours.” Aang smiled at his friends. “Don’t worry, guys. I have a plan.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zuko yawned and rubbed his eyes as he strolled up the quiet hillside. The grass shivered in the cool breeze and the sky was a painting of pinks and purples and blues. 

Morning meditation was a drag sometimes, but it helped him clear his head, reorient his senses, and tame his inner fire. Plus, after his haunting betrayal in Ba Sing Se, it was one of the only ways he could still feel connected to his uncle. Uncle was the person who taught him the value of disciplined meditation—a practice he hadn’t realized wasn’t widely exercised among firebenders until he was older. Rather, it was actually an Air Nomad tradition Iroh had picked up and passed on to his nephew. 

Sticking to his uncle’s mindful regime didn’t make Zuko feel better about what he’d done, but...it was something. A small memento to Iroh’s unconditional kindness and wisdom that he could maintain, even if he never got the chance to redeem himself.

As Zuko rounded the crown of the hill, he was surprised to see smoke rising from their campsite. The others were usually still asleep by the time he got back. He heard chatter and the sound of something hissing over the fire. A wave of smells washed over him that was oddly familiar—warm, spicy, nostalgic. 

“Zuko!” Aang cried once the prince stepped into view. The sleepy prince was shirtless and wore pants that cut off just above his kneecaps. He tended to run hot, being a firebender and all, so it wasn’t an unusual sight. The others popped up excitedly and grinned, as if they’d been waiting for him.

“What’s going on?” Zuko asked, kneading the heel of one hand into his eye. He sniffed the air and frowned. “Are you...cooking jook?”

“Yeah! And ash banana bread!” Katara presented a hefty portion of each for him. “Aang swung by the market at the base of the mountain and found all the ingredients.”

Zuko blinked at the offering then between his four friends. “This is Fire Nation food,” he said.

“Is it!” Sokka agreed. “Well, our attempt at it, anyway.”

“You guys hate Fire Nation food,” Zuko continued skeptically. “Why are you making it?”

“Just because we hate the Fire Nation doesn’t mean we hate all Fire Nation food,” Toph said, wrinkling her nose. “Although, I think I’ll pass on the jook.”

Sokka took a large bite of banana bread. “And even if we did hate it, it doesn’t matter. You like Fire Nation food, right?”

Zuko hadn’t realized how much he’d missed the delicacies of his country until now. After weeks of eating nothing but what they could forage and hunt in the wild, his stomach ached for an authentic taste of home. 

“Yeah,” he finally answered, still unsure what all this was leading to.

“Great! Because we made this for you!” Sokka slurped up a spoonful of jook and smiled wide.

Warily, Zuko accepted the bowl and the bread from Katara. He didn’t know what to say, other than—

“Why?”

Aang cocked his head to one side. “Why what?” he asked. 

“Why...did you make this for me?”

The group exchanged a look, like that was the silliest question they’d ever heard. Toph chuckled. 

“Because we like you, stupid. You're our friend, and we like doing things that make you happy.”

The words floated around his head for a while before seeping into his brain. Once they did, Zuko’s face flushed warm and pink. “Oh,” he said. He gazed into the steaming bowl in his hand. It looked just like the kind Uncle made for him. Where is all this coming from? he wondered. Was it something I did or said? This slew of kind gestures felt so undeserved and foreign, especially coming from the people he’d spent a significant portion of time terrorizing. A few moments later, a shy smile lifted the corners of his lips. 

“Well, thanks. I’m touched.”

“Here, sit,” Sokka said, scooting over to make room. Zuko sat down beside him and took a sip from his bowl. He brightened delightedly. 

“It’s great,” he said. Not as good as Uncle’s, he conceded; Iroh had a much heavier hand with the ginger. But still great—better than he could ever make. He fidgeted beneath all their attentive stares. “You guys didn’t have to do this.”

“It was a lot of trouble,” Sokka admitted, earning a whack from Katara. He winced, rubbing the fresh bump on his head. “But—ow—we were happy to do it.”

Aang floated into a sitting position on Zuko’s left, landing beside him like a leaf drifting delicately to the ground. “Speaking of happiness, I’ve been meaning to ask you: can you remember the hardest you’ve ever laughed in your life?”

It was a very bizarre and random inquiry, and didn’t seem at all like a natural segue in the conversation. But that appeared to be a theme among the avatar gang, so Zuko played along.

“Um,” he began, shifting to cross his legs on top of each other. “The hardest?” He grasped for a memory from his youth, but it was all so distant and fuzzy. Whispers and sprinkles of laughter buried beneath years of fear and obedience. Eventually, he shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe when I was little, with my mom. Or maybe with Uncle.”

He went back to his jook, thinking he’d satisfied their curiosity. Katara leaned toward him impatiently. 

“Maybe that’s too specific. How about the happiest you’ve ever been? When was that?”

Zuko lowered the bowl from his lips and eyed Katara curiously. “The happiest I’ve ever been?” he repeated back. 

“Yeah! Like, what period of your life would you consider the most joy-filled?”

Another unexpected question. This was getting weirdly personal. He could sense there was an end goal to all this prying, but he had yet to pinpoint it. Zuko ran the back of his hand across his mouth. 

“Uh...well...again, I’m not sure.” He thought hard about it for a few seconds, trying to recall an era of his life when he’d felt happy—truly happy, for an extended length of time. “I guess I remember moments of being happy, but...not entire periods. Working at the Jasmine Dragon with Uncle was nice while it lasted. But even then, it felt kind of forced.” He nibbled at the ash banana bread. It was warm and cinnamon-y and tasted like autumn. He swallowed and hinted a smile. “But being here, helping you guys...I’d say this is the happiest I’ve ever been. Because for once in my life, I know I’m doing the right thing.”

The statement was small but sincere. As his words sunk in, the group mirrored his smile tenfold. They shared knowing looks with one another, each with the same thought in their head. So this is Zuko’s version of happy. It’s definitely different, definitely subtle, but it’s him—and it’s genuine.

Maybe Zuko didn’t laugh loudly or smile all the time. That didn’t mean he was sad or broken. He just had his own way of expressing joy. And that was okay. It was reassuring to know that Zuko was in a good place, even if he didn’t show it as obviously as the rest of them did. The competition wasn’t over yet—that was a given—but if they continued to fail, at least they knew it wasn’t because Zuko was upset or discouraged. 

“Aw, Zuko—ya big softy,” Sokka teased, poking him in the ribs. To his surprise, the prince jerked away from his touch, a small yelp escaping him. Zuko turned to him bewilderedly, eyes wide. Oops, Sokka thought. Had he hurt him by accident? Maybe he had an injury he didn’t know about. He’d nearly made him drop his jook. 

“Oh, sorry,” Sokka said. “Are you okay?”

Zuko clenched his jaw. “Y-yeah,” he answered quickly, rubbing at his rib cage. “You—sorry, you just startled me.” 

He appeared flustered suddenly, like he was hiding something. Maybe he’d wounded himself in a really embarrassing way and didn’t want anyone else to find out about it. Sokka looked to the others for insight, but none of them seemed to have noticed Zuko’s weird reaction to his touch. 

“This startled you?” he inquired suspiciously, poking him again, lower this time. Zuko responded the same way as before, flinching and squeaking like he was being electrocuted. But as Sokka watched his expression change, he realized he wasn’t wincing or grimacing in pain. Instead, a grin flashed across his face, bigger and brighter than he’d ever seen, then vanished a second later, smothered by a look of shock and anger. 

“Quit it!” he snapped, hopping to his feet. He pursed his lips to keep them from turning upright. 

Sokka recognized his response. He’d seen it from the kids in their Water Tribe village as they wrestled playfully with their mothers and one another. Katara, too, when they’d played as children. A devious smile gradually spread across Sokka’s face. No way, he thought.

The rest of the group looked at Zuko confusedly but shrugged it off. He yelled a lot—it wasn’t anything new. Now was Sokka’s chance.

“Aang, let’s go. Time for your firebending lesson. We’ve got a lot to catch up on.”

He was talking rapidly, eager to abscond this situation before it escalated any further. Aang let out a disappointed groan.

“Okay,” he murmured, floating to his feet. Sokka stood with him.

Oh no you don’t.

As Zuko turned to leave, Sokka ran up behind him, wrapping his arms around his midsection. 

“Sorry—one more time. This startled you?”

With fiendish glee, he dug into his torso, wiggling his fingers into his belly and sides. Zuko yelped and flailed, not anticipating the surprise attack. He tried to pry Sokka’s hands away, but the Water Tribe teen was stronger than he looked. His flustered sputtering transformed into stifled squeaks. Two seconds later, the dam finally broke.

“Ahahaha!” Zuko belted out, grappling at Sokka’s hands as they clawed at his tummy. “S-Sohakka! Whahat are you doohooing?”

“Winning this competition, that’s what!” Sokka exclaimed. He poked and prodded at his ribs, making Zuko thrash and giggle. 

“Hahahagh! Gehet off me!”

Zuko broke Sokka’s hold and wrenched out of his grip, staggering forward so fast he fell to the ground. He rolled onto his back and scrambled a few more paces away, staring up Sokka in disbelief, blushing violently.

“W-what is wrong with you?” he stammered, hugging his stomach protectively.

It took a moment for everyone to register what had just transpired. But as soon as it did, shock and delight sprawled across all of their faces. 

“You…”

“Did he just—?”

“Oh man! You did it!”

“Yeah I did!” Sokka cheered, striking a pose. “Told you I was gonna win this thing! Bow down to your champion!”

“Win what thing?” Zuko growled, his face still tinted pink. He stood up nervously, scowling between them. “What’s going on here?”

“We’ve been playing a game to see who could get you to laugh first,” Aang explained. “None of us had ever heard you laugh before, so we wanted to try to make you do it. And now we finally have!”

“You mean I have,” Sokka corrected him smugly.

The idea that they’d spent the past twenty-four hours committed to hearing his laugh puzzled him. Why did it matter what it sounded like? It wasn’t particularly important or helpful information to have. Why did they care so much about something so trivial? The situation was odd and embarrassing yet strangely heartwarming. But mostly embarrassing. Zuko hunched his shoulders crossly.

“That’s what all this weirdness has been about? Why didn’t you just tell me what you were doing?”

“Because we wanted it to happen naturally!” Katara said, throwing her hands in the air. “But apparently none of us are funny enough for your taste!”

The group giggled. Zuko wasn’t sure what to say. A smirk touched Toph’s lips.

“Huh. I never would’ve thought to try tickling you.” She placed her hands on her hips. “I guess I just didn’t expect the Grumpy McGrouchy Pants prince of the Fire Nation to be ticklish.”

“And that laugh!” Sokka snickered. “Have you guys ever heard anything so adorable?”

Heat boiled to the surface of Zuko’s skin. “I’m not…!” he began, but he had no idea where he was going with this. For people who claimed to be his friends, they sure liked humiliating him and making him blush a lot. With an angry huff, he turned away. “Whatever. I’m going fishing.”

As he started to leave, Katara, Aang, Sokka, and Toph shared a wicked grin, locking down their next course of action without exchanging a single word. Sokka moved first, dashing after him and hooking his elbows underneath Zuko’s armpits, making the prince start.

“Hey!” he cried, struggling against his hold.

“You’re not what, Prince Zuko? Not ticklish, or not adorable?”

Zuko burned inside and out. He tried to throw Sokka over his shoulder, but the other teen planted his feet and hoisted Zuko off the ground, taking all of his leverage with him. He kicked and floundered, feeling small and ridiculous.

“Let me go!” he demanded.  

“Either way, we’re obliged to prove you wrong.” Sokka beamed at the others, voice laced with mischief. “Get him, guys!”

Zuko opened his eyes to find Katara, Aang, and Toph approaching him, smirking with fiendish delight. This cued the prince to fight even harder to escape, his legs flailing through the air. 

“Besides, we only got to listen to you laugh for a few seconds,” Katara pointed out, curling her fingers into claws. “I’ll need to hear it a little longer than that to memorize it.”

“And to determine just how adorable it really is!” Aang added. 

There were a lot of things Zuko had dreaded facing after joining the avatar’s gang. His dark past, the Fire Nation’s tyrannical cruelty, his plethora of failures and mistakes. This, however, had not been one of things he’d had in mind. 

Zuko considered heating up his hands just enough to make Sokka release him, but he didn’t want to betray the trust he had only just recently earned from all of them. If he accidentally burned another person on their team, he’d never forgive himself. 

Though perhaps that’d be worth avoiding the mortifying predicament he currently found himself in. 

“W-wahait!” he yelped, giggly dread amassing in his belly. He kicked in their direction to keep them from getting any closer. “Stay back!”

Sokka wrestled to keep the squirmy prince still. “Toph, a little help?” he called. 

Toph grinned and thrust her palms toward the sky. Two hands made of earth rose up from underneath Zuko and grabbed hold of his ankles. As she lowered her hands back down, the earth hands moved with hers, dragging his legs toward the ground then morphing into a pair of rock bonds encased around his feet, keeping them firmly trapped in place. 

Oh no. Zuko wriggled and wrenched, but there was nowhere for him to go. Unless he firebent his way out, he was defenseless. 

Before he could voice any more protests, Katara closed the space between them, her hands reaching his torso and scuttling up his bare sides. Zuko jolted and gasped, a giant smile lighting up his whole face despite his attempts to squash it.

“Ahahaheehee!” he giggled, squirming and shifting to try to get away. It was no use. Her fingers needled his exposed midsection freely and mercilessly, driving the sensitive prince absolutely nuts. The blush in his cheeks bled down his neck. “Wahait—mmheh—ehahaha!”

“Not ticklish at all, I see,” Katara said smugly. “And certainly not adorable, no.” She scribbled her nails all over his belly, parroting his endearing smile. It was so big and radiant and happy—a hundred times more so than she ever could’ve imagined. His laugh was another matter entirely—bright, bubbly, hysterically shrill. Far too cute for the human language to articulate. Plus, outrageously contagious.

“Stahahap it!” Zuko cackled, tugging uselessly at Sokka’s arms. The boy’s grip was like iron. Katara ignored him, testing and teasing every inch of his twitchy torso, kneading his tummy and pinching his sides and fluttering her fingers underneath his rib cage. He couldn’t believe how much it tickled, or how wild his own laughter sounded. None of them had realized how loud and uncontrollable Zuko’s laugh could get until now—including himself. 

Two hands on his ticklish belly were already enough to drive the giggly prince out of his mind. Of all days to meditate shirtless, why did he have to choose today? But then, to his horror, two more hands joined the fray, drilling into his hip bones with diabolical intensity and precision. Zuko bucked and squealed, his laughter reaching an entirely new caliber. 

“Ahahahaha!” he bubbled, shaking his head from side to side. “NohohahahAang!”

Zuko thought out of everyone present, the avatar would be the one to approach this situation with the most mercy and compassion. Boy, was he wrong. The airbender attacked his weak points like he’d been trained in the ancient art of tickle torture—as if tickling was a fifth element, and he’d already more than mastered it. 

“I can’t believe we went a whole day trying to be funny to make you laugh when all you needed was a little tickling!” Aang chirped cheerfully. “I also can’t believe you made us go this long without hearing what your laugh sounds like. It’s so cute and happy! Why don’t you do it more often?” 

If Aang expected Zuko to reply, he wasn’t making it easy. He furrowed his brow and stuck out his tongue as he explored the prince’s sensitive midsection, working in tandem with Katara so that every tickle spot on his torso got a turn being poked and squeezed and stroked. Zuko couldn’t stand another second. 

“Guhuhuhuys!” he howled. This was a nightmare. Things couldn’t possibly get any worse. He had to make them stop.

“Try tickling his ribs!” Sokka suggested suddenly, grinning with malicious glee. “He was super jumpy when I poked them before!” 

“Ooh, good idea!” Aang said. He skittered his hands up his sides then shook them viciously into his rib cage, making the poor teenager squawk.

The universe just loved proving him wrong, didn’t it?

“NOHOHAHA!” he bellowed, throwing his head back, nearly hitting Sokka in the face. “Gaha! Youhou—jerherherherks! Ahahaaa!”

The gang giggled along with him without slowing their attack. “Hey, there’s the Zuko we all know and love,” Toph chuckled. She sat on top of his buried feet and began skating her nails against the backs and caps of his knees, drawing feathery circles into the sensitive skin and causing goosebumps to shoot up his legs. It was gentler than Aang and Katara’s cruel tickle tactics—a fact he had to be grateful for—but still contributed significantly to his overall state of flustered, twitchy hysteria. 

“Aw, look at you, Prince Zu-Zu! So smiley and giggly and squirmy!” Katara bunched up her hands and spidered her nails against his belly button, making Zuko shriek and thrash like a little kid. “I can’t believe we were ever afraid of your adorable little face! If only we’d known back then how easy it is to defeat you! Just a couple tickles here, a few pokes there…”

She moved her hands across his tummy while she spoke, wiggling her fingernails as they dragged along his skin, cooing at him the entire time. Meanwhile, Aang was absolutely wrecking his ribs, grinding his knuckles ruthlessly into the bone. 

“Right? He’s cuter than a baby turtle duck!” 

“No wonder his uncle adores him so much,” Toph agreed.

Zuko wanted to disintegrate. The relentless teasing was just as cruel as the six hands tickling him to pieces. He’d never been taunted or tickled to this extent before, and the only thing he could do about it was blush tomato-red and laugh himself silly. He didn’t consider himself to be that sensitive of a person, seeing that no one had really tickled him since he was a child, but the avatar and his crew were doing a pretty good job convincing him otherwise. At this point, his entire body was bright pink and sizzling like a space heater. 

“PLEEHEASE STAHAHAP!” Zuko begged, hiccups leaping from his throat and puncturing his endless giggle fit. No point in trying to retain some shred of dignity—every last drop had already been spent. “I CAHAN’T TAKE AHANYMOHOHOREHAHAHA!”

“Aw, but this is so fun,” Sokka pouted playfully, poking at his neck with the fingers that could reach. “You sure you can’t take just a little more?”

“We haven’t even tickled your armpits yet!” Aang protested, immediately shoving his hands under his arms and wiggling his fingers against the hollows. It was a welcome break for his ribs, but also gave him giggly whiplash.

“AHAHAHACK!” Zuko squirmed helplessly, tears welling in the corners of eyes. He barely had the strength to even writhe in place anymore. “IHI’M—GOHONNA—DIHIHIHIE!”

Katara’s hands slowed to a halt against his sides, granting him a sudden rush of relief. “Okay, maybe we should stop,” she said, smiling sympathetically. “He does look pretty wiped.”

“He’s not going to die,” Toph assured the others with a chuckle. She took her hands off his knees. “Still, that’s probably a good idea.”

The absence of Katara and Toph’s tickling gave Zuko the chance to catch his breath a little. The relief was astronomical. Aang, however, had yet to let up, keeping the prince twitchy and giggly with his rib cage and underarm torment. 

“EhahahAang!” Zuko wheezed, wriggling helplessly. “Pleehease!”

Aang smiled wryly. “All right, I’ll stop,” he conceded, worming his fingers between each individual rib. “But first, you have to admit out loud that you’re adorable, because I’m still not convinced you believe it. Say that, and I’ll stop.”

Zuko thought it impossible for things to get any more embarrassing than they already were. Wrong again. Being disowned by his father and banished from the Fire Nation hadn’t been as humiliating as the past five minutes. Now this?

The group grinned at him expectantly, waiting. Zuko shook his head.

“B-buhut—I—” he stuttered out between giggles. Then Sokka dug his hands into armpits, making him squeal with laughter and shrink into himself.

“No excuses!” he demanded playfully. “Go on! Say it!”

Zuko tried to thrash out of Sokka’s grip now that it wasn’t so tight, but Sokka still had a strong enough hold on him to keep him trapped—even while he was tickling him. He buried his face into his shoulder to hide his goofy smile and flushed cheeks. 

“Ahaha! Youhou’re—s-soho—meahean!” To think that he used to be the one considered cruel and evil. Ponytail Zuko had nothing on these diabolical tickle monsters and their degrading requests.

A moment later, Katara started squeezing his sides again, causing Zuko to twist and yelp. “We’re mean? But look how happy we’re making you! If anything, you should be thanking us.”

Toph wiggled her fingers against the middle of his tummy. “We’re waiting, your highness.”

It was too much. He couldn’t bear it any longer. He needed this to end.

“OHOKAHAHAY!” he cackled, squirming and hiccuping and craving the sweet escape of death. “IHI’M—I ADMIHIHIT IT!”

“You admit what?” Aang asked, grinning innocently as he revved up his rib tickling to a maddening ferocity. Oh, he was so getting them back for this.

“GAHAHA! FIHIHINE! I’MAHAHAHADORHORABLE!” He ducked his head, blushing brighter than their campfire. “NOHOW STAHAHAHAP! PLEEHEEHEASE!”

The group laughed and cheered at his miserable defeat, then finally ceased their attack. Katara and Aang stepped back as Toph freed his feet and Sokka released him from his grip. Zuko was left standing in the center of the team, panting and giggling dazedly, guarding his torso with his arms held tight to his skin. His whole body tingled and burned. His face hurt from smiling so much.

“Well, you heard it here first, folks—Zuko is adorable, and he knows it!”

“And he can laugh! Like, actually laugh!”

“I guess he can express happiness the same way we do. You just have to push the right buttons.”

“Was that emotive enough for you, Katara?”

Zuko was at his wit’s end. Again, with the teasing? Couldn’t these guys give him a break? He was never going to hear the end of this for as long as he lived. Giggling breathlessly, he sunk to his hands and knees, making his friends flinch. 

“Whoa,” Katara exclaimed. “You all right there, Zuko?”

For a moment, the team worried that they’d gone too far, that they’d somehow broken Zuko by making him laugh for what might’ve been the first time in his life. Zuko doubled over himself, wheezing dazedly.

“Uhuhugh…” he whimpered, voice muffled. “Y-you’re...gohonna...pahay for that…”

The group let out a sigh of relief. If he still had the strength to threaten him, that was a good sign. 

“Don’t worry, Prince Zu-Zu,” Sokka said, patting him on the back. “Having a cute laugh doesn’t make you any less intimidating.”

“It’s nice to know that you can laugh though, even if you don’t do it very much.” Katara smiled somberly. “I was worried something was bothering you, or that you weren’t happy here with us. That’s why we started this whole silly competition in the first place.”

After a pause, Zuko slowly lifted his face from his lap. His cheeks were still rosy, but he was beginning to tame his breathing. 

“But if that’s just not how you normally express yourself, that’s okay.”

The prince sat back on his haunches, still seething with humiliation, but to a semi-reduced degree. He didn’t think he’d ever fully understand the way this group functioned, why they garnered such delight out of poking fun at him and each other, why they were so concerned and endeared with his behavior and emotional expressiveness. But it was clear they cared about him, however bizarrely they chose to demonstrate it. 

“I...I am happy here,” Zuko eventually ventured to say, his voice still shrill and brittle. Hearing it out loud made him blush some more, but he continued. “I wasn’t trying to make you think otherwise. I’m just…” he swallowed. “Weird. And bad at...stuff.”

The gang snickered. “Yeah you are,” Toph said, hugging his arm. “And we love you for it.”

The firebender blinked and hinted a bashful smile. Aang placed his hands on his hips. 

“Who knows! Maybe you just forgot how to laugh for a while, but now we’ve reminded you!”

To everyone’s disbelief, a chuckle escaped Zuko, short and authentic. “Maybe,” he said. 

Then, an instant later, he shot to his feet. “But don’t ever do anything like that to me ever again! I’ll burn down this entire hillside and run back to the Fire Nation if you even think about it!”

Flames rose from his clenched fists as he glared daggers into each of them. But Aang just laughed.

“Sure you will,” Aang teased, fluttering his fingers against his side. Zuko winced and smiled, then whirled on him with a growl. 

“Touch me again, and I’ll have you doing fire lunges until you puke.”

Aang shrunk away with a nervous chuckle, folding his hands behind his back. “R-right. Sorry, Sifu Hotman.”

If anyone noticed that Zuko started laughing more after that, whether it was at Aang’s antics or Sokka’s jokes or Katara’s ridiculousness or Toph’s sass, they thought it best not to point it out. Now that he’d started emoting more positively, they didn’t want to shy him away from it. It was still small and fleeting, but it was progress from absolutely nothing. Perhaps they had helped the Fire Nation prince rediscover his laugh after all. 

But that didn’t stop them from poking and teasing him whenever the urge hit. While his everyday chuckles and giggles were great, nothing compared to the sound of Zuko’s wild, bubbly, tickle-induced laughter. And unless he firebended at them to get them to quit, they didn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. 

[hongnanglen-arina]

The Ulzzang Project - Part 1 | Jeon Wonwoo

Read part 2  

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Genre: Fluff, crack (maybe explicit content in the next chapters)

Pairing: Jeon Wonwoo x female reader

Warnings: none

Words: 2.6k

A/N: Hello there! Here’s part 1 of my mini series of you and Wonwoo, the next ulzzang stars hahaha :3 I’d be happy to know your thoughts about it. I’m already working on part 2. I might spice it up in the upcoming chapters. If you don’t like that, scream at me and I will stop hehet. So, have fun! And as always, please remember that English isn’t my first language so excuse my grammar ♡

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You sat in Wonwoo’s apartment. It was one of those Saturday nights where you two would order greasy food, have competitive game sessions and cuddle together on his couch or in his huge bed. You’ve known each other ever since your mothers went to driving school together. Both got married to their significant other and soon you two were born, making them joke that you two should end up together when you get older. That didn’t happen obviously. Instead you grew up like siblings, spending nearly all of your free time together, fighting over stupid little things but always making up quickly after. Even studying together, entering the same university and sharing the same group of friends. You two were kind of inseparable. 

“Wait, why is the bucket of fried chicken already empty???” You shot a shocked look at the boy beside you who wasn’t paying attention to you but bobbed his head to the music of the band in the youtube video which was playing on his tv screen, licking his fingers clean to get another slice of pizza. Before taking a bite, he gave you a rather emotionless answer, his face dead ass serious. “Dunno. Maybe we ate it?”

You scoffed at his words. Oh Jeon Wonwoo.

More laughing, more jamming to music and more teasing until you were full, halfway lying on the floor while you talked about the new annoying professor at uni that scolded Dokyeom on his very first day and was on bad terms with him from that day on. 

After a while you cleaned up and started to play Dead or Alive to ‘relieve some stress’. You two had mastered this game for years now, resulting in you and Wonwoo winning and loosing the same amount of times. While you stick to one character, he switched to different ones but even though you two were always close, you would never grow tired of this game and those competitions with him. 

When he left for using the bathroom, you unlocked your phone and scrolled through Instagram, stopping at a specific post of a couple who uploaded a suggestive photo of them without revealing much of their person. You cocked your head to the side and Wonwoo noticed it when he came back. “What are you looking at, y/n?” He sat down beside you and you showed him your phone. “Look, they aren’t doing much and the photo has quite a bad quality - maybe on purpose - but it is still good that I understand why people push the like button. Effortless aesthetic.” 

Wonwoo made an annoyed grimace at your words and you raised an eyebrow. “What?” “Anyone can do that.” “Why do you think that?” Your best friend thought for a moment and pulled out his own phone, unlocking it and going through some apps until he held it in front of the two of you. Before you could ask what he was doing, he got closer to you and took a photo. You noticed that the room was silent. Only some faint noises from outside the window could be heard when he showed the photo to you. It was a photo of you two next to each other but other people wouldn’t recognize you two. The photo showed only your lips, chin, neck and a little bit of your shirt. You looked up at him and saw his grin. Wonwoo moved a little so that it seemed like he was going to kiss you. Slightly panicking, you automatically covered your face, asking him what the hell he was doing when you heard the shutter of his phone once again, signalizing that he took another photo.

The room was quiet when you removed your hands, a soft blush on your cheeks when he turned the screen, giving you a better look of the new photo. Wonwoo used a filter that gave your photo a nice vintage look. Blinking, you were kind of impressed. If you didn’t know better, you would say that it was a photo of a famous ulzzang couple from Instagram. Noticing Wonwoo’s pleased smirk, you hit his chest. “Yah, what was that all about, huh?? You can’t just-“ “I’m going to open a new account. I’m curious how many followers and likes we can get in a month.” 

You had a hard time to follow, squinting your eyes and opening your mouth like a fish without saying anything. He tapped on his phone happily, completely ignoring your confused state. “W-wait, what did you say? What do you mean? A new account? Followers? What?” You tried to have a better look on his screen but he turned around, chuckling a little so that his round glasses slid down the bridge of his nose a bit in the process. “Jeon Wonwoo! Answer!” 

Fighting you off his shoulders, he took his sweet time to do whatever he was doing on his phone and you whined, asking for answers but not getting one at all. Sighing, you gave up after a while, giving his broad back a death glare as you turned around and took your own phone, opening the previous app and pouting while scrolling through the already seen posts. You were facing the other direction, sitting back against back. Hearing Wonwoo chuckle from time to time or giving a thinking noise, he always got your attention but since he never explained what he was doing, you took some selfies, sticking out your tongue and pointing at the boy behind you. After editing it a little more, you uploaded it on your Instagram site with the single word ‘idiot’ and tagged him. Giggling to yourself, you didn’t notice the shuffling noises and the warmth behind you disappearing when Wonwoo literally shoved his phone in your face. Your groan got stuck in your throat when you finally got your answer.

Taking his phone out of his hand, you took a better look. It was a seemingly new Instagram account with one content, zero followers and zero following. Your eyes widen when you click on the only photo in this account. It was you two. The photo from before. You were covering your face while the photo was cut, only showing Wonwoo’s grin against your hands. Your eyes travel lower, silently reading through the hashtags he had added. #cutecouple #shy #ulzzangcouple #saturdaynight and 18 more. It didn’t take long until the first stranger liked your photo and you blinked in disbelief. That’s when you noticed the user icon. It was the sunflower you got Wonwoo when he moved into his apartment. The very first day. You remembered the moment when he stopped you in his door and took a photo of you. Although he cut it, you could still see your hands holding the flowers plus a part of your white dress from that day.

Another notification. Another 3 likes. You turned to Wonwoo, who was awaiting your opinion. Pointing at his phone and the still open app, you asked “Are you serious?” “Totally.” His short remark wasn’t convincing enough and the way Wonwoo continued talking showed you that he understood. “It’s like a little experiment. We take some photos together, upload it and wait. As I said, I’m curious how famous our little site can become. We can delete and close it after a month if you want.”

He watched your face patiently until you met his gaze. “Okay. Fine for me. But I have a question.”

“Go ahead.”

“Are we going to upload cute photos only or.. uhm… other photos also?”

“What do you mean with other photos?”

Oh Jeon Wonwoo don’t play dumb, you thought to yourself but lifted your arm, pulling your collar down a bit to reveal more of your neck and collarbone. “This.”

“Sexy?” Wonwoo smirked at you and you rolled your eyes, giving him a hard push so that he rolled onto his back, laughing at your reaction. 

You pouted and crossed your arms in front of your chest in an attempt to distract yourself from the blush on your face. You have seen it often enough. Accounts like that. And you would lie if you say you didn’t like them. Many of them showed their strongly edited faces but some didn’t show their faces at all and you guessed your site would be like the latter. If you are going to include more revealing or suggestive photos, you would care less if no one could see who it actually was. 

That’s how you agreed.

The whole night the two of you brainstormed. You collected ideas for your next photos and had lots of fun with it. Even lying in his bed together, giggling about the most common couple poses and making gagging noises when looking them up. At around 3 am you yawned and Wonwoo put his phone and glasses on the little night stand, opening his arms for you to crawl in as you always did. You just loved to sleep in his arms. It was some kind of habit since you were little. You loved his scent and his warmth and sometimes you even found yourself at your own home unable to fall asleep because he wasn’t there. 

The warm and bright sun woke Wonwoo up. He wanted to turn around and get some more sleep but decided to open one eye instead, noticing that you weren’t there anymore. So he stretched his limbs in all directions and put on his glasses. After grabbing his phone and getting out of bed, he waddled to the living room and found you in the small kitchen corner, humming a song he knew while preparing breakfast - or according to the time on the clock, lunch.

He was about to join you when he stopped in his tracks and unlocked his phone, quickly taking a photo before putting it away again. 

“What is my baby making?”

Facing him, you shot him your infamous death glare. “Baby? Really?”

Wonwoo laughed at your unamused voice and joined you, stopping right behind your small form and looking over your shoulder. “Do you know how I like my omelette?” Snorting loudly, you threatened him with your balled first that he quickly ran to the dining table and took his seat. Like the good and obedient boy that he could be. Sometimes. 

He was silent while you added your finishing touches to the late breakfast but when you started to set everything on the table Wonwoo was waiting at, he took another photo, a smile plastered on his face. "What did I do to deserve you, hm?"

You were about to take the first bite of omelette when you stopped in your tracks, fork just inches away from your lips. "Okay, what's going on, Wonwoo? You are super strange today?"

"Is that a surprise to you?"

"Not really... but today you're super super strange so tell me."

He grinned at you and took a sip of the orange juice. "I'm just happy to be with my baby, that's it."

"There!" You pointed at him with your fork. "What is that all about, huh? Since when am I your baby?? Did I miss out on something last night or what??"

The dark haired boy in front of you chuckled as you tried to squeeze an answer out of him, with no success. Slowly worry crept up your spine. "Wait.. I didn't do anything to you, right? Or, I didn't say anything uh... strange, right? I know we had alcohol but... Wonwoo, tell me." 

You saw him wiggle with his eye brow at you. "What do you wish did happen between us?"

"Yah! Jeon Wonwoo, I- .... I saw you naked more than one hundred times! I know all your secrets! I know you better than you know yourself! I.... I am just not your baby!"

He leaned back, crossing his arms in front of his chest while watching you pout. "Chill. I'm just trying to get into the mood."

"For what?"

"For sexy photos."

"For what?!"

"For s-"

"I heard you!!"

"Then why are you asking?"

The piece of omelette had fallen down from your fork a long time ago and you weren't sure what was more important in this very moment. The only thing that you were sure about was the fact that your cheeks were burning like fire. "I... why the heck do you want sexy photos?!"

"You wanted sexy photos for our experiment and here I am. The bestest friend that has ever existed is willing to take some with you. Shouldn't you feel all giddy or so?"

"Says who?" You mirrored him, crossing your arms as well, trying to remember your exact words from the day before. You thought you did ask about more revealing photos but it was just a question about the content of your shared Instagram, your little experiment or how Wonwoo had called it. You just wanted to be sure. Never have you imagined to take some with him a day later, today.

"Forget it. I'm not going to do that."

"Now I'm sad."

Snorting, you rolled your eyes, sure he said it only to sound funny. 

—

You sat with your friends from uni, poking your lunch with your chopsticks in such boredom that you were more than sure nothing could grab your attention nor lighten up the mood. But you were wrong. Seungkwan hit your shoulder and you were ready to start a fight when he showed you his cellphone screen. "Y/n, what do you think? Yesterday I started a couple Instagram with my girlfriend. It was something I've been thinking about for a while but yeah. How do you find our first post? Pretty nice, huh? We already got 217 likes!"

One chopstick fell out of your hand in surprise but you quickly nodded at your friend. Your own site was a secret. There was no way you would ever tell your friends about it especially if - one day - you would really post less child friendly content. No way. Also, where was Wonwoo?

"W-wow, 217 likes after a day is pretty impressive!"

"To be exact, it's been 20 hours and..... 32 minutes."

"Whatever."

When Seungkwan turned around to the other friends to show them his site, you secretly opened your own with Wonwoo, scrolling through the amount of likes you got until now. That's when you saw the 2 new posts. A photo of you standing in front of the stove, dressed in an oversized white shirt from Wonwoo, bare legs and one from when you set down the food in front of him. Both photos from that morning. Your own face couldn't be seen but they were edited similar like the first post. 

Your eyes flew over the texts Wonwoo had added to each of them.

G'morning baby.

My baby is the best.

Looking around, you quickly made sure that your friends didn't notice what you were doing and you tried to get rid of the warm layer that was covering your cheeks. He wrote baby.

Then you remembered the real reason you opened the app. You wanted to see how many likes you got until now. The newest of the food had 7. The one of you cooking breakfast had 38. And the first one from last saturday had 305 likes. Although you had more than your friend, you wanted the gap to be bigger.

Without noticing, your competitive personality came out. You didn't want to lose to Seungkwan and his girlfriend. Opening Kakao Talk, you wrote Wonwoo a message with a lot of cute shouting emoticons you once bought.

[Y/n] We need more photos - today. I'll be at your place at 7. It's urgent.

⋅𖥔⋅ ━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━ ⋅𖥔⋅

This gif is literally Wonwoo right before he came up with his genius idea lol

[bookwormscififan]

Silence and Chest Pains

Buy me a coffee?

Read on AO3!

A/N: Finally finished this! Yay! Here’s how Jackie became a hero.

Warnings: there is a near rape, but nothing really bad happens, so I won’t tag it.

He had always been deaf. He was born deaf, and had learned some sign from a young age.

He was also an inventor. He was always adapting things to make his silent life more practical. From text-to-speech beepers to Morse code wristbands that drummed translated code into his skin, Jackie had tried everything.

His inventions weren’t just for the benefit of himself, however. He made things to help other people, earning him the title ‘Technological Hero’ by the age of twelve. But he never saw himself as the hero. He just helped people to improve their lives.

He had gotten quite used to a life of silence, until he learned about the wonders of sound.

As he was making a delivery of an invention, Jackie found himself in the middle of a dark alleyway, relying on his eyes to know where he was. Marvin had been helping him, but when he stopped to get directions, Jackie had wandered off, getting lost.

The gloom settled in around him, shrouding him in darkness. A single lightbulb at the end of the street flickered, then burst, deepening the blackness surrounding him. A chill ran down his spine, and he silently sank into a crouch as he let his fear take over.

And then his wristband began to drum into his wrist.

.--. --- --- .-. / .-.. --- ... - / ... --- ..- .-.. Poor lost soul.

.-- .... --- / .-.. . ..-. - / -.-- --- ..- / .... . .-. . / .- .-.. .-.. / .- .-.. --- -. . ..--.. Who left you here all alone?

Jackie froze as the code tapped into his skin, and he slowly turned around in search of the source of the text. His eyes went wide as the moonlight illuminated the grinning face of a tall man towering over him. He took a shaky breath, then slowly stood up, waiting for the man to speak so he could read his lips.

“I wonder if you make any noise?” the man mused to himself, moving closer, causing Jackie to step backwards in fear. He kept moving until his back hit the wall, and he cowered under the predatory stare of the man as he moved to be as close to Jackie as possible. His breath stank, hitting Jackie’s face like a punch as he leaned forward.

Just as Jackie closed his eyes, something grabbed the man and pulled him away, leaving Jackie feeling cold and shaking in fear. The wristband on his arm tapped a command into his skin, which made him open his eyes.

.-.. . .- ...- . / -- -.-- / -... .-. --- - .... . .-. / .- .-.. --- -. . Leave my brother alone!

Standing across the alley from him, Marvin towered over the man, who was crumpled on the ground, holding his head. The magician turned to look at Jackie, running over and taking hold of his hands before beginning to sign to him.

Why did you walk off? Are you alright? Jackie read the signs, nodding slowly before raising shaking hands.

Marvin… you saved me… His brother nodded, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and leading him out of the alley. Jackie looked at his brother’s face, reading his lips as they walked away.

“That man is a creep. Next time, please don’t wander off.”

When the brothers returned home, Jackie and Marvin sat in front of the fire together, Jackie wrapped in blankets and leaning against his younger brother. Marvin was sitting deep in thought as he fiddled with a deck of magic cards. Suddenly he put the cards down, tapping Jackie’s shoulder to get his attention.

The code thing isn’t working. You need a better hearing substitute. Jackie read the signs, then raised his own to respond.

What would be better? I can’t hear anything. Hearing aids help those who can hear a little bit, and the code thing works… most of the time, he thought to himself, scratching his ear as he looked aside.

Marvin sighed, then stood up, adjusting his shirt as he looked at Jackie.

If you won’t try to adapt new substitutes, you’re going to get hurt. And I won’t always be there to save your life. Someone might get you from behind, and you won’t hear them coming. He turned to leave the room, stopping to sign one last thing.

You can’t save everyone else if you can’t hear anything. Trust me.

—

Jackie spent the following nights testing and modifying systems, creating new products to aid him in the quest for sound. He modified a digital watch to pick up police radios, pinpointing places for him to help out.

The issue he had was hearing. Nothing was helping him to hear at all, and until he found something, Marvin wouldn’t let him leave the house. Jackie sat in his room day and night, ordering and experimenting with technology, trying to develop a product to suit Marvin’s wishes.

Marvin came into his room with a pair of hearing aids, holding them out to his brother as Jackie looked up. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, then began to speak.

“Apparently these hearing aids amplify sound in a different manner to the other ones.” He shrugged as Jackie looked up at him, then continued.

“Maybe you could adapt it to help you?” His brother took the aids and inspected them, then smiled at Marvin.

Thank you.

—

The design of the hearing aids was complex, but Jackie could figure them out. They amplified outside sounds and projected them into the inner ear, moving deeper than other aids. As Jackie inspected the device, he began to think about ways to adapt them differently to the other trials.

Pulling out a notebook, Jackie began to brainstorm ideas for his next experiment.

—

It took a few days of trial and error before Jackie was confident enough to test the device. Slipping the aids into his ears, he turned on his laptop and prepared to note his findings. Taking a deep breath, he turned on the device and stood up, leaning over his desk to open the window.

His arm knocked over his glass of water, liquid splashing onto his keyboard. As the water seeped into the computer, sparks began to fly out of the device, and Jackie felt a spark go through his body.

As the shock set in, he jumped, arms knocking things off the desk. Jackie froze as he heard his laptop fall, hitting the chair before snapping as it hit the floor. The tinkling of broken glass felt like thousands of needles scratching his head. He winced as the rustling of clothes assaulted his ears, and he clapped his hands over them as he curled into a ball, the sounds of the world beginning to give him a headache.

—

Marvin raced up the stairs the second he heard thumps from Jackie’s room. Outside his brother’s room, waited until the noises stopped before slamming open the door. As he dashed inside, he immediately crouched beside his cowering sibling.

“Jackie, are you alright? Jackie!” He tapped Jackie’s shoulder, leaning back as his brother stared at him with wide eyes. He took a deep breath, calming his hammering heart, then raised his hands slowly to his ears and cleared his throat.

“Loud…” his voice was croaky, evidence that he’d never used it before, however his pronunciation was clear, proof of his years of mimicking Marvin’s speech patterns. His brother gently placed his hands over Jackie’s ears, carefully removing the hearing aids and placing them on the floor.

When Jackie was looking at him again, he began to talk.

“Are you alright now? Is there anything I can do?” His brother paused, looking to the side as he thought, then he carefully put the hearing aids back in, rolling his finger along the back of the device to turn the volume down.

Clearing his throat, Jackie looked at his brother.

“Will you… take me to… test these?”

—

The brothers wandered around the park, Marvin holding Jackie’s hand and telling him the names of the sounds he heard. Despite it being a weekend, Jackie was grateful that the park was relatively empty, as he wasn’t as overwhelmed by the noises.

Marvin sat him down under a tree, well away from other people, and leaned against his older brother. Jackie closed his eyes, bathing in the new sounds, before Marvin tapped his arm. He looked down, seeing a question in his brother’s eyes.

“How are you able to talk so well? You haven’t spoken in all the years I’ve known you.” The older sibling smiled, motioning to his eyes as he began to speak.

“I watched you talk. When you would sleep, I’d imitate everything I saw you saying. I may have been deaf, but I know how to speak.” He ruffled his brother’s hair lovingly, smile widening as the sounds of Marvin’s laughter graced his ears.

The duo sat under the tree a while longer, listening to the world pass by, until Marvin suggested looking for somewhere to eat dinner. As they stood up, Jackie removed his hearing aids and put them in his pocket, shrugging to Marvin as the younger sibling gave him a questioning look. He pointed to his head, giving a short sign that he was getting a headache.

—

As Marvin and Jackie walked down an alley on their way home, a presence made itself known with an electrical charge to Marvin’s leg, causing him to grab Jackie’s arm on his way down. Jackie looked at Marvin, then behind them to find the man from so long ago, smiling at him.

“You’ve come back. I wondered if I’d get to see you again,” Jackie read, watching the nicotine-stained lips move. The man moved closer, taser flickering in his hand, before pressing the device into Jackie’s chest, causing him to shake as electricity coursed through him.

He fell, watching as Marvin feebly reached for something to help him up.

—

Marvin stood shakily, readying his hands as he turned toward the intruder.

“Don’t touch my brother. You can hurt me, harm me, but if you touch my brother again… I’ll kill you.” The man just laughed, stepping closer before dropping his weapon as Marvin delivered a blow to his inner elbow.

—

Jackie watched, occasionally twitching, as his brother fought the intruder. He closed his eyes as a surge of heat rolled through his body, then an immense pressure built behind his ears before bursting, and he jumped as he suddenly heard the sounds of the fight.

He crawled to a stand, hand against his chest as his other hand pressed against his ear. Something in that taser had made his hearing return, and he wanted to help.

—

Marvin stared as Jackie joined the battle, dodging the attacks with a speed only achieved by… a sense of hearing. His eyes widened as he looked at the taser on the ground, and began to connect the dots.

As the man stumbled away, Marvin hooked an arm under Jackie’s own and helped him back home.

—

“That taser gave you your hearing, didn’t it?” He asked as soon as the siblings returned home. Jackie paused, turning to Marvin with wide eyes. He glanced away, rubbing his arm uncomfortably as he began to speak.

“I think so. I don’t really understand how, but I could hear things suddenly.” Marvin nodded, thinking, before he looked decidedly at Jackie.

“We’re getting a hearing test tomorrow. Keep working on the hearing device; maybe it can help in a different way.”

—

The hearing test revealed that Jackie’s hearing was about 75% of the level that the average person had. When Marvin came to pick him up, the older sibling was standing outside the clinic with his hearing aids in.

“Hey, I didn’t think you’d need those,” he commented as he hugged his brother.

“I modified them last night,” Jackie replied, taking one side out and handing it to Marvin.

“Test it. I programmed it to work in higher frequency chirps and beeps, and developed my own code to interpret them. I can hear things from a distance, and figure out what’s going on if I really want to.”

Marvin smiled as the words Jackie said were translated to lines of beeps that he couldn’t understand, then moved to hand the device back.

“Keep that side. I’ve got this one, and both of them in give me a headache.”

—

Months after the hearing test, Jackie was sitting at his desk, fiddling with his digital watch. Marvin came into the room, holding a box of magic tricks, and sat on his bed.

“What are you doing, Jackie?” The elder sibling leaned back, holding the device as he rubbed his eyes.

“Developing something. I’m looking into helping people.” He held the device up toward Marvin, who watched as sever blinking lights flashed over a map of the town. He looked at his brother, whose eyes were shining.

“I’m going to be a hero.”

[universalfanfic]

Stutton Spooky Mermaid  AU

I blacked out and wrote almost 8k words of a prequel Stutton spooky mermaid au based off @inkoutsidethelines Mary/Owen au

Sutton flopped back on the bed and let out a sigh as she rubbed her forehead with her free hand.  

“I just got in tonight, Vicki,” she said. “I haven’t even had time to see if anything is weird yet. The hotel receptionist seemed normal?” 

Vicki huffed from the other end of the phone. 

“Well, I’m sure you’ll get a better feel for the town tomorrow. I’m telling you, there’s something about that place. Disappearances, a body that ‘decomposed’, like, immediately, and not even any local reports on any of it? It’s perfect for the podcast.” 

“I can’t believe I agreed to come here.” 

Vicki laughed.

“I don’t remember you complaining when I told you it was a beach town.” 

“True.” Sutton rolled over and rested her chin on her arm. “Maybe I’ll play hooky one of the days I’m here.” 

“On partially my dime? Try again. I want as much research as you can possibly get. And don’t forget to interview some locals. Personal accounts always sound professional in these true crime things.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Bemoaned Sutton.

She rolled over again and hung up after reconfirming to Vicki her plans and forbidding her from making a podcast episode about her if something happened during her stay. 

That got another laugh. 

---

Sutton emerged bright and early the next day to hit the town. In the light of day it looked even less like a spooky murder town than it still didn’t during the night. Sidewalks boarded the main road, giving pedestrians easy ability to access shops, and there were cheerful sandwich board signs beckoning people in to take a look at gift shop sales and reasonably priced breakfasts. 

She stopped at a local diner first, figuring she might as well eat and fuel up before getting down to business. The building looked like it was in the middle of renovation, with a makeshift menu board and cans of paint in the corner. The woman at the counter proudly explained that she and her boyfriend were trying to get the place up and running. 

“Who knows,” she said with a wink as she rang up Sutton’s order. “If this business works out, maybe I’ll marry him.”

It seemed they were getting a decent stream of customers despite the construction mess, probably due to the fact that there were only so many choices in the area. Perhaps their relationship was in luck.

Sutton sat down in a booth and pulled out some paperwork to look over while she waited. Vicki had printed out everything concerning the weird occurrences in the area, and it still wasn’t much. What spoke more loudly about the oddness of the occurrences was what wasn’t done or recorded. 

For several missing people to have this town be their last known location, it was startling how little investigation there was done by local police. 

Sutton shifted her notes and grimaced as she came across a grainy photo Vicki printed. 

A few months ago they actually found a body a mile or so outside the town. Another police department had photographed the scene before the town’s department had suddenly taken over. 

In the picture, a man laid on the side of the road, like he'd been traveling on foot, and he looked- Sutton scraped her tongue with her teeth- gross. 

Apparently from the time he went missing to when his body was found was only three days, but by that point his body was already... in advanced decomposition? But that didn’t feel right. It looked more- crusty to Sutton. Like a dry sponge. 

Besides, bodies didn’t decompose to that point in three days; even if they were left in the sun.

Ultimately the death was ruled to be due to a heart condition and the case closed. 

Sutton covered the photo and looked for something less disturbing before breakfast. Though, really, there wasn’t much to go off of. They weren’t trying to solve the mystery here, but it’d be helpful to have enough info to throw out some theories for listeners.

--

She finished breakfast and set out to get to work. Speaking to random people was a little intimidating at the moment, so she decided to start at the library to see if there were any records there. 

The library was a bit musty and underfunded. Sutton slipped passed the fiction sections and made straight for the newspaper archives. 

Unsurprisingly, there wasn’t much there. Sutton had hoped they just hadn’t discovered the internet here, but even their paper records revealed very little.  She sifted through articles on small burglaries, high school sports, and chili cook-offs. Nothing to imply the Hallmark-esque town would have any dark secrets. The best thing she could find was a notice from over ten years ago warning visitors away from partying at some place simply called ‘the lagoon’. But no other references to the location popped up and Sutton brushed it off to focus on other things.  Eventually she gave up with the library and took what meager notes she scratched down as she made her way back out in the town. As awkward as it might be, she was probably going to have to start asking people questions. She stopped in a kitschy gift shop and pretended to peruse the wares. Luckily there weren’t many people inside, and Sutton was grateful she came during the off season. She picked up a conch shell and inspected it before looking up and making eye contact with the clerk at the register. 

“You, ah, have neat stuff!” 

The clerk gave a flat sort of bemused look as they shrugged.

“Thanks? You like shells?” 

Sutton put the shell down. 

“Um, they’re fine. I was thinking for gifts, though.” She moseyed closer to the register as casually as she could.  “What’s popular with tourists?” She asked. “I’m sure you get a lot of people through here.” 

“A bit more in the summer,” the clerk replied. “And people seem to like the wind chimes.” 

“Cool, cool.” Said Sutton. “A lot of people, huh? Any weird customers?” 

The clerk blew air out of their nose.

“I mean, always.”

It wasn’t quite the answer Sutton was looking for. 

“I mean, any good stories? Maybe, I don’t know, strange people hanging around?” 

The clerk’s expression flickered and they eased back as they looked at her with narrowed eyes.

“What?”

Sutton winced. 

 “I just mean, I read there have been some disappearances around-”

The clerk’s expression completely shut down and they stepped back from the register like Sutton was dangerous. 

“Actually,” they said, “I have some things to organize in the back. If you’ll excuse me.” 

They ducked away and Sutton was left floundering alone with even more questions. 

-

Her luck didn’t get any better the rest of the day, and her stomach only churned more with every local who avoided her like the plague after a few polite inquiries. Whatever was going on around here, no one wanted any part of it and Vicki wasn’t going to be thrilled that she went a whole day without anything juicy. 

Sutton felt queasy about the situation. Clearly there was something if everyone looked so freaked out when she even mentioned it. 

She stopped by the diner again for coffee and a snack and decided she wouldn’t ask anyone there about the disappearances in case they refused to serve her afterwards. 

A few people recognized her and gave her a wide berth as she walked through town and Sutton’s uneasiness only grew. But she was fine, nothing bad was going to happen. She had a can of pepper spray in her purse. 

There was a small park near the main beach, and Sutton stopped and sat on one of the benches to sip her coffee while she tried to brainstorm a new tactic. There were some kids climbing on the jungle gym and a few playing kickball on a small concrete pad. Further down she could see families walking the beach or flying kites. 

It looked so normal. 

A loud, snapping twang startled Sutton out of her observations and she yelped, almost spilling her coffee, as the red kickball the kids were playing with nearly smacked her in the face. 

It just missed and hit the back of the bench before rolling a few feet away. One of the little boys ran over waving his hand in apology as he scooped up the ball. 

“Sorry, lady,” he said. “That almost hit you right in your face!” 

“Yeah,” agreed Sutton. “I’m glad it didn’t.” 

The boy squinted at her for a minute as he swiped some hair out of his face, and then pointed a finger at her. 

“You new around here? I haven’t seen you before.” 

“I’m visiting.” 

An idea struck Sutton and she leaned closer. 

“Hey, can I ask you a question?” 

“I’m not supposed to talk to strangers.” 

Sutton rolled her eyes. It was a good practice, just inconvenient when he might be more likely to answer questions. 

“You already were,” she said. “Anyway, I’m Sutton. And I’m not going to offer you anything, like candy or a puppy.” 

“Well that sucks,” he commented. He paused briefly, thinking. “Let me see your ID.”

Oh for pete’s- 

Sutton handed him her driver’s license and the boy studied it with a haughty air before handing it back. 

“Okay, Sutton. You can ask one question and then I have to go. My team is losing the game so they’re already mad.” 

“Alright, -” Sutton paused, then was about to continue when the boy rolled his eyes right back. 

“Harley,” he said. 

“Alright, Harley. Do you know why everyone here gets scared when I ask about missing people?” Little Harley was the first person in the entire town not to go white when she brought up the subject. Instead he shrugged like the answer was simple. 

“That’s easy. It’s ‘cause the lagoon.” 

“The lagoon?” 

But Harley already ran off to rejoin his friends with little more than a backyards wave and a,

“See ya later!” 

Sutton sighed and stood. At least she got something; if the kid wasn’t just making things up. She downed the rest of her coffee and tossed it in a nearby trash. Casting one more glance back to make sure no stray kickballs were headed her way, she started to leave only to freeze. The kids were playing kickball again, but the messy brown hair of Harley was nowhere to be seen among them. 

----

Sutton got a night's sleep and headed back out the next day. At least this time she had something to focus on. The lagoon had come up twice, so it seemed like a safe bet, especially since she had no other leads. 

She packed a bag to take with her, a towel, hat, some water, and her bathing suit. Perhaps Vicki wasn’t on board with the idea of Sutton playing hooky, but if she could kill two birds with one stone, a little down time on a secluded beach and research, then Vicki didn’t need to know. 

Sutton stopped to grab a cheap boogie board as well on her quest to find this mysterious lagoon. Compared to finding answers, it was surprisingly easy to locate. 

It was a lovely spot, even if the hike almost made her wonder if it’d be worth the trek. That might have been part of the reason the article she found warned people from coming down here. If there was a group drinking, they’d have a hard time getting back out. 

But the trek through the brush was worth it. The lagoon was beautiful, with crystalline waters in almost a full circle boarded by nearly white sand. Out in the center of the circle of water was a large rock.

Sutton dropped her bag and set to arranging her stuff to spend the afternoon there. It was, afterall, research. She ought to be thorough. 

It was, of course, then that Vicki called to check in with her. 

“So? Anything?” Vicki asked immediately. 

Sutton sighed. 

“Not much, except more weirdness. No one wants to talk to me.” Vicki’s tone brightened. 

“That means there must be something good! You have to keep digging.” 

“I am! I’m at some spot called The Lagoon. I mean, it’s the best lead I have so far.” 

“A beach? Sutton, really?” 

“It’s a really pretty beach? Looks like something from a movie. Look, I’m going to do a sweep for bodies and then maybe I’ll swim out to the rock that’s out there and see if there are cryptic messages spelled out in the shrubbery or something. Does that make you feel better?” 

Vicki huffed. 

“Only slightly. Send me pics, I can use them for the Insta I’m starting to go with the podcast.” 

“Of course, your highness.”

---

Sutton did a few sweeps of the beach like she promised. There were no bodies or anything of real note. She found a few pairs of sunglasses, a flip flop, and a set of car keys; but nothing that screamed unusual or concerning. 

Like Vicki asked, she snapped a few pictures with her phone and then sent one to her mom just because the place was so pretty. 

While the sun was still up, she decided to swim out to the rock and get a panoramic shot of the full beach. She didn’t want to stay down on this beach by herself when it was getting dark, and she definitely wasn’t going to swim without the sun. Not to mention she hadn’t brought a flashlight for the return hike. 

Sutton put on her hat, grabbed a water bottle and her phone and sat them on the boogie board as she paddled out to the rock. Luckily it wasn’t a long swim, though the water became deep rather quickly. She was halfway to the rock when she thought to wonder if the warning about the lagoon had anything to do with riptides or sharks or something. 

She clambered up onto the rock quickly. 

The view from the water was even better than the view from the shore. It felt more magical, being surrounded by water, and the sand from the beach shone brilliantly in the sun. Sutton took a panoramic shot and then leaned back to let the sun rays soak into her skin. 

It was perfect down here. She wondered why the locals didn’t frequent it even if the hike was a struggle. It would wear down the path and shrubbery if more people came. 

But what in the world could this beach have to do with people disappearing? Even if it was an issue of drowning, that shouldn’t strike the level of fear in the locals eyes as it seemed to. 

Sutton leaned over and splashed her feet in the water, kicking up waves just to see if it summoned anything up. She didn’t even see any jellyfish. 

Given how calm the water was, she decided to risk it and swam a few laps around the rock and tried to open her eyes under the stinging water to see if she could see anything. She kind of wished she’d brought a waterproof phone case with her. But there didn’t seem to be anything other than some barnacle on the rock. 

She climbed back on the rock and sat to rest. There was only the quiet lapping of waves. Not even seagull calls pierced the air. After letting the silence linger, she decided she didn’t like it. It was easy here to forget that this town had multiple disappearances and a questionable death under its belt, but something about the silence of the lagoon brought those thoughts back to the forefront of her mind. 

“Yeah, no.”

Sutton wiped her wet hand on the warm rock and picked up her phone to play some music. 

She wouldn't stay much longer, she decided. There didn’t seem to be anything to help with her research, and if that Harley kid knew what he was talking about at all she definitely wasn’t going to linger around at dusk. 

Sutton tapped her bare feet and hummed along to the music as her thoughts drifted. She might have to try and see if the police station could give her any more information. Though she had a feeling they’d be just as talkative and welcoming to her questions as the townies. 

Leaning back on her hands, she stomped and shuffled her feet more as the music switched and picked up tempo. Sutton threw her head back and sang along with the song. 

“Always looking for a reason to leave Always finding something wrong with the season Your heart has just been hiding from the truth Like a circle always ready to spin Got that green light go all over your skin But the world is never gonna cut you loose  No matter where you go or what you do It’s gonna be there waiting

You keep running away  You keep running away You keep running away You’re gonna need some faster shoes”

She hummed again as she took a swig of water and checked the time. A few songs later she decided it was late enough in the afternoon to start heading back. She turned off the music and finished off the water bottle in preparation to leave. 

Slipping down the rock, Sutton tread water as she reached back for the boogie board and her things. Something about the deep, open water now made her stomach flip. An unexplainable chill ran up her spine and she gripped the board. 

It felt like someone was staring at her. 

Sutton sucked in a breath and scanned the beach, but there was no one there. 

“Don’t be stupid,” she muttered to herself. 

And just like that, in the warm glow of the late afternoon, the lagoon felt incredibly isolated and she, dangerously alone. Her pepper spray was back in her bag on the beach. 

She was halfway back when something grabbed her by the ankle and yaned her under. 

Sutton’s scream cut short as she was dragged down into the water. Her boogie board flipped over in her desperate scramble to keep hold of it, and all her things were plunged into the ocean.

Sutton kicked and struggled, but whatever had her wasn’t letting go. There were fingers around her ankle. Like a human hand. Heat seared at her ankle and she stopped herself from screaming in panic. She opened her eyes, desperate, but the salt burned and she couldn’t see through the bubbles her thrashing created. 

Could see nothing, that is, besides what looked like a pair of glowing blue eyes. 

Sutton fought harder, her lungs aching, and whatever had her let her go. She broke the surface with a coughing, sputtering gasp as she sucked in air and swam like her life depending on it. 

The minute her toes hit sand she was running. She barely paused to scoop up her bag before she dove into the brush and sprinted the hike back to her car. Only when she was back on pavement did she stop and look back. Nothing had followed her, but that didn’t stop the dread from flowering in her gut. 

Her feet were still bare. She’d left her shoes.

Her heart skipped a beat as she caught sight of her right ankle. Black marks curved and swirled around her leg, inky and crisp like a tattoo. She dropped down into a crouch and rubbed at the markings all while the blood drained from her body.

“No. No way. What the heck?”

Oh no. Oh heck no. 

Her eyes darted back to the trail, but still. Nothing emerged. 

Well. She wasn’t going to stick around and wait until something did. 

--

Sutton limped into the hotel lobby. Her feet were cut up, she was dripping wet, and her skin was pale as a ghost.

The receptionist jumped up from their chair and blinked at her with startled concern.

“Miss, are you alright,” she asked. 

Sutton swallowed.

“Actually, I’m going to need to check out early.”

“You- Is something wrong with your accommodations?”

“Something happened.”

The woman at the desk blinked again.

“Something happened?”

Sutton grimaced and adjusted her bag.

“I mean, something came up.

She rummaged through her bag for her wallet to pull out her card and found her hand shook as she tried to pass it over. 

The receptionist grew more concerned. She stepped around the small desk as if to help Sutton to a seat.

“Miss, you look-”

The woman froze and her face went ashen as she took in the puddle of water and spots of blood at Sutton’s feet. Suddenly she backed up and put the desk between them again. Sutton watched as she pasted on a tight smile. The sort of expression you give someone when you’re trying not to let on that something is horribly wrong.

“I’m afraid check out hours are over until tomorrow morning,” she said, voice thin. “You’ll have to come back when the manager is here.”

Sutton balked.

“But-!” 

“Have a good night.” 

And then the receptionist had the audacity to walk away. She disappeared inside the office and didn’t come back out even as Sutton lingered at the desk.

She didn’t get much sleep that night. Her thoughts kept churning over her near death experience, the receptionist’s terrified face, the strange black lines on her ankle. 

The answer to the uninvestigated disappearances hit her with a terrible, near unbelievable, clarity. This town had a monster and the people knew it. And what kind of monster let go of its prey after it caught them?

Sutton tried not to hyperventilate as she pulled the blankets up over her head. 

The kind that toyed with their food. 

--

When she woke up her throat was dry. More than dry. Like she hadn’t touched water in more than a day dry. She stumbled out of bed and gripped the edges of the bathroom sink, drinking straight from the faucet until the feeling died down. Water dripped down her chin as she stared at herself in the mirror. She still looked pale and scared. Her hair was curling and frizzing out of control thanks to the salt water and the fact that she hadn’t thought to shower last night. 

To add insult to injury, since her phone was lost to the depths, Sutton had no way of contacting Vicki to let her know what was going on. Sure the hotel room had a landline, but Sutton had never bothered to memorize Vicki’s number after she’d added it to her contacts. 

She actually did know her mom’s home number, but when she tried to call it the phone didn’t have a dial tone. Her heart rate picked up as she tried several times to no avail. 

It was probably a faulty connection. The hotel was old and small. That was it.

The weather turned too, she noted as she packed up her things. Yesterday had been beautiful, but with it being the off season, poor weather was creeping in, and it only made her feel more anxious. 

With her car packed, she hurried back to the reception desk, ready to finally check out. 

“I’m afraid you can’t.”

Sutton blinked. The manager had a pinched look on his face as he stood ramrod straight and refused to make direct eye contact.

“Excuse me?”

He cleared his throat as his eyes flitted about the room. 

“Unfortunately,” he said, “we have a no refund policy. You’re booked until the end of the week, and I’m afraid that can’t be changed.” 

“You have to be kidding me.” 

But he wasn’t. No matter what she argued, he staunchly refused to check her out of her room and Sutton finally snatched back her card with a heated glare. 

“Fine,” she said, teeth flashing. “Email me the bill at the end of the week then.” 

He didn’t respond as she limped from the lobby and out to the parking lot. 

Sutton sat in her car a moment, just giving herself a chance to breathe. Heading out this early, she should be able to get home sometime after dinner if she didn’t make too many stops. She’d get back home and everything would be fine, and Vicki could have a first hand account for her podcast. That would make up for having to pay for the room for the full week. 

Straightening, she put her key in the ignition and turned. 

She waited. 

Nothing. 

Immediately she felt sick. Her car wouldn’t start and that made no sense. It ran perfectly fine before coming here. She’d filled the tank, changed the oil, checked tires, everything. Sutton smacked the dash a couple times and tried again. The engine didn’t even hiccup. 

“No, no, no, no.” 

She threw open her door and rounded the front as she shoved up the hood. Nothing looked wrong or missing, not that she exactly knew much about how engine’s worked. She jostled the battery cables a little and tried to start it again, but it remained dead. 

Dread creeped through her anew. What if-? 

Her gaze flickered to the hotel entrance. 

No. The locals were skittish, but they wouldn’t try to actively sabotage her. Would they? 

Sutton grit her teeth and grabbed her bag. It didn’t matter if they would or not. She was leaving this cursed town today. 

Luckily she had packed more than one pair of shoes, but it didn’t make up for the cuts she still had from running up the trail from the lagoon. The sky was overcast and she had a light jacket, but nothing really waterproof. Everything felt off kilter and skewed. Like she was living in a growing nightmare.

The town had to have a bus that traveled to the next town over. All she had to do was get on one and find a working phone away from this place. She could get her mom and Howard to come pick her up. 

She didn’t know what she was going to tell them about everything yet. Especially about her new unwanted tattoo. Could she even pass it off? It’d been less than a week since she’d last seen her family and weren’t tattoos red and swollen for a little while?

“Miss? Are you alright?” 

Sutton’s head snapped to the side. A police cruiser kept pace with her and a salt and pepper cop leaned slightly to see her through the passenger side window. She eyed him warily. He didn’t look as spooked as the hotel workers. If anything he looked more stern, which seemed natural with his profession. 

Sutton ran her tongue over her teeth. Her throat was already dry again. She only had so many water bottles left. 

“Um, I- actually, I’m trying to find the bus station,” she said. 

She was tempted to ask for a ride, her feet were killing her, but she was too afraid. The cop eyed her back a moment before he put on a look of confusion. 

“Bus station? I could, I suppose. But it wouldn’t do you much good.” 

Sutton’s throat threatened to close. 

“What do you mean?” 

He tipped his head in what she assumed was the direction of the station. 

“It only comes through here once a week, and you just missed it.”

She could cry. She couldn’t believe it. 

“Once a week? Are you serious?” 

The cop shrugged. 

“‘Fraid so. We’re a small town, you know. Hardly worth the gas for them, I suppose. Not unless it’s tourist season.” He gave her a pitying look then, and Sutton forced herself to hold back tears. 

“I suggest you go get a warm breakfast, drink some water. And rest your feet.” 

 He drove off before Sutton could question his statement. 

--

She only went back to the diner because she was at a loss with how to proceed. And she never brainstormed well on an empty stomach. Plus, she really was thirsty again. Unnaturally thirsty. 

She gulped down an entire glass of water and felt some measure of relief. 

But the food didn’t bring her any comfort. She glanced down at her ankle again and wondered if she ought to find a way to cover the mark up. 

No phone, no car, no bus. Sutton stirred her scrambled eggs around her plate. It felt like the only option left was to walk. 

Walk.

Her blood ran cold yet again. The dead guy in the picture looked like he’d been walking. Walking out of town. 

Sutton pushed her plate away and put her head in her hands. 

What in the world had she gotten into? And how in the world was she going to get out of it?

Could she?

The rain started while she was still picking at her food. Sutton sighed deep in her chest. It might as well. At this point she fully believed she was cursed by whatever was in that lagoon. A rumble came from outside and she lazily looked up to see if some thunder and lightning were being tossed in as well. 

A bus passed the diner and continued down the street towards the main highway. 

Sutton shot up in her seat. 

“That- that-” She shrieked in her throat. “That two-faced liar!” 

She did start crying then. Her lips pressed together even as tears fell. A police officer, a police officer, lied to her face to trap her here. Her breakfast threatened to make a reappearance. 

Every disappearance was from someone out of town. 

‘Human sacrifice’ sparked across her thoughts.

The diner was deathly silent and Sutton realized she was making a scene. Part of her didn’t care. Part of her wanted to scream at them that they wouldn’t get away with this, but it still felt too crazy to say aloud. 

Sutton finished off one more glass of water and went to pay for her food. The woman at the register who had been so friendly the day before now looked petrified. She passed Sutton’s card back, fingers barely touching the plastic, and someone knocked into Sutton’s side as she went to drop the card in her bag. She flashed a glare back, but the person didn’t pause to apologize.

She fled the diner, back out into the rain, and decided to screw it. She was going to go to the bus station and demand a schedule and buy a ticket, and if they really only came once a week then she was going to try her luck walking. 

The rain started to soak through her jacket by the time she found the bus station. There was one elderly man at the ticket booth and she pulled herself together as she faced him. 

“How can I help you, miss?” 

Sutton swallowed back her roiling emotions. 

“I was wondering what the bus schedule is. I was told it was once a week, but I just saw-”

The man leaned back, looking confused. 

“Once a week? Oh, no. That was the schedule years ago. The bus comes twice a day now. You can catch the one this evening.”

If she started crying again, the man kindly didn’t mention it. 

“Oh my gosh, you have no idea how happy I am to hear that. I’ll get a ticket.” 

“One ticket! That’ll be twelve dollars.” 

Sutton dug in her bag for her card, but couldn’t find it blind. She huffed and propped the bag up to properly search through it, but it must have been buried. It shouldn’t be so difficult. She’d dropped it on top of everything in her rush to leave the diner. 

The man waited as Sutton’s search grew frantic. 

“I just had it,” she said. “It- it was in my bag, I swear.”

But it simply wasn’t there. Even when she turned her bag inside out and checked every pocket. It didn’t make sense. She’d paid for her meal, got her card back and- and

And someone had bumped into her. On purpose. 

“I- I think someone may have...stolen my card.” 

The man looked at her with pity. She only had three dollars in cash. 

“I’m sorry, dear.” 

When she stepped outside again the floodgates of heaven opened into a torrential downpour. She could hardly see five feet in front of her, let alone walk the distance to the next town. 

She was a pathetic, soggy mess as she limped back through the hotel lobby, her feet aching and her eyes red. The hotel clerk silently slid her key card back to her over the counter and Sutton grabbed it without a word or even looking at them. 

Nothing felt real. Sutton peeled off her clothes and showered on autopilot. She sat in the room and braided her wet hair back as she tried to process her situation. 

How long until the locals broke down her door and dragged her back to toss her into the lagoon?

She tried the phone again but it was still disconnected. 

Sutton grabbed her can of pepper spray and paced the room. 

---

Hours later she was still winding herself up and trying to talk herself down in a vicious cycle. If she hadn’t braided her hair it would have been standing on end with the amount of times she’d attempted to run her hands through it. 

She was just talking herself down from another frenzy when the worst happened. There was a reverberating knock on her hotel door. Sutton froze. 

Her voice was stuck in her throat, but she wouldn’t have answered even if she’d been able to. 

The knock came again and Sutton rushed to push a chair under the door handle. 

“Um, can you open up? It’s time to go.” 

It was a man’s voice. Deep, if not a little uncertain, and Sutton bit back a scream. This was it. They were coming to drag her away to feed her to a sea monster that she didn’t even believe in twenty-four hours ago. 

“Or, you don’t have to open the door yourself, I guess.” The man said. “Though I know it’s polite to ask.” 

He was taunting her. 

Sutton clutched her pepper spray closer and tried to catch her breath. 

“I’m not going anywhere with you!”

There was a pause and the door handle jiggled. 

“You have to.” The man said. “You’ll be dead by the end of tomorrow.” 

Sutton went weak at the knees, black spots dancing around her vision.

“I’m not-” she choked trying to force the words out. “I’m not going to just let you drag me back to that lagoon. I won’t be the next person offered up in your sick ritual.” 

“You won’t be offered up,” the man said. He sounded mildly befuddled. “I already accepted the proposal.” 

Sutton bit down on her tongue. He already accepted? What did that mean? He got to be the one to throw her in? 

“You accepted.” She bit back. “So, what? You get the honors of taking me to the ocean then?”

“Yes,” he said. He sounded happy. It was sick. “And it’s an immense honor, believe me. You’re perfect.” 

She pressed a hand against her mouth and tried to breath so her heart didn’t explode. He was psycho and if he had his way she was going to end up like Nicholas Cage in that movie with the bees. 

“I’m coming in now,” he said. 

Her heart raced and she moved without thinking.

There were several loud screeches and groans of metal, and then the door handle snapped. She watched as the door eased open and the chair skidded to the side. The man poked his head in and Sutton only caught a flash of him. 

Tall, blonde, no shirt, incredibly well built. Strong enough to pop open a locked door and clearly strong enough to drag her off to be sacrificed. 

She pepper sprayed him thoroughly the moment he spotted her and opened his mouth to say something. 

He yelled in pain, swiping at his eyes as he stumbled back, and Sutton darted through the opening and out into the parking lot. It was still downpouring, but maybe she could use that to help hide her tracks. 

She ran blindly through the rain. Even with water pelting her in the face her throat still felt raw. Another cry of pain and frustration echoed behind her and sent tingles down her spine. 

“Come back, please!” 

Like heck. Let the sea monster eat him instead. 

--

The sky started to lighten from black to gray and it was still raining. Sutton forgot what it felt like to be dry and warm. She didn’t know where she was and it still didn’t feel like there was enough distance between her and the man she pepper sprayed. She thought she might cry if she didn’t get a drink of water soon and her skin was starting to itch and feel oddly rough given she was soaked to the bone. 

Eventually she crouched down in some bushes and cried into her hands. 

They were going to kill her. The man had confirmed it. 

You’ll be dead by the end of tomorrow.

She didn’t want to die. But she legitimately had run out of ideas of how to escape this wretched town. They’d clearly done this before and had their strategy down pat. Sutton had walked in completely blind. 

Someone cursed nearby and Sutton snapped her head up. It was the man. He stared directly at her and she wondered if she’d actually almost made it away from him, because he looked distressed. He reached her before she could take off running again, and she was so exhausted she wouldn’t have made it far even if he hadn’t. 

“I’m sorry, I should have caught up to you sooner,” he said. “You’re already starting to dry.”

Sutton wiggled in his hold, but he kept a firm, yet gentle, grip on her. 

“Hardly,” she snapped. “What’s it matter anyway? Does the sea monster have a preference with its snacks?” 

That made him still. 

“What?” 

Sutton sneered.

“I’m not stupid. Visitors going missing, the weird locals, my leg, that thing in the lagoon. You’re going to use me as some sort of human sacrifice so whatevers down there will leave the rest of you alone.” 

The man sputtered as he looked down at her. His brows furrowed. 

“What in the world-? That thing in the lagoon was me,” he said. “And I- I’m not going to eat you. I feel like there’s some sort of misunderstanding here.” 

“You?” Sutton tried to pull back but he still wouldn’t let her. “You’re the one that tried to drown me?” 

“I wasn’t trying to drown you! I was leaving the Mark. Accepting you as my wife.” 

Sutton went completely still. Her mind tried to understand what he said, but it felt like whiplash. 

“W- Wife?

He nodded.

“How about we try to start over? I’m Steve.” 

“What are you?” 

She was afraid to ask, but she had to. All this time she had no clue what she was dealing with and she was left scrambling. 

“I suppose you’d call me a merman,” he said. His voice was lighter now, like he was pleased with her finally calmly conversing with him. 

“Merman.” Sutton repeated quietly. 

“Can I know your name?” 

Sutton looked up at him as he stared at her with wide, hopeful eyes. Trusting eyes. 

“Put me down first and I’ll tell you.” 

He didn’t look like he approved of that, and she hurried to press the issue. 

“You’re making me nervous, and I- I just need some room.” 

Slowly, reluctantly, he put her down. His hands hovered over her arms as if she would fall over, but she knew it was more likely in case she ran. 

There was a pause and Sutton knew she only had so much time to stall. 

“I’m Sutton,” she said. 

Steve smiled widely as he repeated her name like it was precious. 

It was all ridiculous. They were both standing out in the rain, hair plastered to their faces, and she was actually believing he was a merman set on trying to marry her. 

“Steve,” she explained slowly, “I’m super honored to meet a merman, don’t get me wrong, but I can’t marry you. I have to go home.” 

He frowned again and his hand flinched. 

“The magic is already set,” he said. “You sang in the lagoon, and your voice called to me. You offered yourself and I accepted. If I don’t get you to the ocean to complete the change, you’ll die.” 

“Change?” 

He raised his brows. 

“Well you can’t exactly survive in the ocean as a human. You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed your dehydration. And now look at your poor skin. Nothing will cure that but the ocean itself.” 

She looked down at where he gestured to her arm and noticed the flakey, drying skin for the first time. The itch was only growing and it felt taut like a sunburn. 

“I’m sorry I let it get this far,” Steve continued. “We should go.” 

Sutton took a step back and pulled her arm out of his reach. 

“No. No. I didn’t offer my hand in marriage, I sang along to the radio! I’m going home.” 

Steve sighed. 

“You participated in the magic voluntarily. You can’t be upset that it worked.”

“I didn’t know!”

He looked bemused.

“And not knowing should exempt you? Is that how humans handle their binding agreements?” 

Sutton got the impression he was implying she ought to have read the fine print.

She swallowed and jutted her chin. 

“I should have gotten a warning.” 

“You just said you knew about the disappearances. Was that not warning enough?” 

There were a thousand things she could respond with. That she only came for Vicki’s sake, that she didn’t know the disappearances were due to mermaids, that she could have avoided these “consequences” if the entire town hadn’t conspired against her. 

But they probably wouldn’t help her much. 

She didn’t want to argue with a crazy merman. She just wanted to escape. Her skin was shifting from itchy to painful, and she still felt dehydrated. 

“I don’t care about your magic rules,” she said. “I’m going home.” 

Steve’s jaw ticked before he let out another sigh. Almost like he was resigned. Maybe Sutton actually got her point across.  

“Yes,” he replied. “We are.” 

And then he leaned down, picked her up by the waist, and threw her over his shoulder. 

Sutton shrieked and tried to fight, but she was at an odd angle and she couldn’t get any leverage the way he was holding her legs. He began walking back, uncaring of her struggles. 

“You can’t do this!” 

“I’m not going to let you die. You’ll understand once we get back to the ocean.” 

She hit him in the back with a fist but it didn’t seem to phase him. 

“You can’t heft me like a sack of potatoes. Are you a merman or a neanderthal?”

“If you hadn’t poisoned me, maybe I would have had more time to convince you.” 

“Oh?” She sniped. “But your face called to it, and the pepper spray accepted.” 

Steve deigned not to respond to that. 

He lugged her all the way back to the trailhead of the lagoon and down. Sutton’s resistance was starting to wane. Her throat was bone dry, it was getting harder to breathe, and her skin felt like it might start to split. 

“We’re almost there,” Steve said as he sprinted over the sand. “Just hold on.” 

Sutton saw a few of the sun’s rays on ground as the rain lightened up, and then she was plunged under the water. 

--

She managed to take one last breath before he dragged her under. Sutton flinched as he adjusted his hold on her, straightening her out to face him. But she had her eyes scrunched closed and refused to move. Muscle used oxygen and she couldn’t afford to lose any. 

She also couldn’t afford to not reach the surface. 

“Sutton, you can breathe. That’s part of the change.” 

His voice sounded different underwater, somehow more full, and it startled her that she could understand him enough that she opened her eyes. The water didn’t sting. 

Steve smiled at her, looking relieved, and ran a thumb over her cheekbone. 

“There. You look healthy again.” 

Sutton frowned. Her skin didn’t feel like tearing sandpaper anymore. In fact she felt… good. Her throat didn’t burn. 

But her lungs were starting to. 

She clawed at the water, trying to move up towards the surface, to air, but Steve wouldn’t let her. 

“In through your nose, out through your mouth,” Steve said as he demonstrated. And didn’t he make it so tempting? “You’re going to be okay.” 

The idea of just breathing water went against every survival instinct she had. It wasn’t even just that she didn’t want to, but she couldn’t begin to make herself. 

He might be a merman, but she was human. 

Sutton kicked at him and tried to break free. Steve pulled her closer to himself and wrapped his arms around her. 

“You won’t die.” He said around her thrashing. “Don’t you trust me?” 

“No!” 

She was stupid enough to answer. 

Water rushed into her mouth, down her throat, filled her lungs. Sutton coughed and sputtered and wheezed. 

But she didn’t choke. 

She took in another greedy lungful and- still didn’t die. 

“You can trust me,” Steve said. “I’d never do anything to hurt you.” 

Sutton found herself a bit distracted that she could breathe underwater. Her fingers flexed over his forearms as her eyes darted around.

“Except kidnap me.”

Steve let out an irritated huff and bubbles wobbled around his face. 

“It’s not kidnapping.”

It bothered her that she somehow felt normal again now underwater. It felt like Steve had won an argument. She supposed on that end he had. But it irritated her. 

Her eyes finally focused back on him and found him patiently waiting. 

“I understand it’s an adjustment,” he said. “But I’m going to be by your side the entire time.” 

“Entire time?” It was stranger still to be able to speak. To hear her voice somehow clearly.  “There’s more?” 

His lips tipped to the side and he put his hands on the underside of her forearms as he began to swim backwards. 

“It’d be difficult for you if you had to live with legs the entire time.”

A thrill ran through her and she looked down. Steve had a tail. 

It shouldn’t have surprised her, but suddenly it was all so real. He had a tail. Mermaids were real. 

His tail was a beautiful rich blue with both darker and paler blues speckled here and there as well as accenting his fins. 

“I’m going to have a mermaid tail.” 

“Soon,” he said. “Your body has to adjust to one change at a time. But you will.” 

He was still swimming on his back as he propped her up and took them further and further out into the ocean. 

“I’m still not your wife.” 

He wobbled his head like he disagreed, but didn’t outright contradict her. 

“I know humans have their own courting rituals. And I’ll do everything I can to prove to you we’re meant for each other.” He gave her a smile as he plunged down back over where more land fell away. 

“After all, you still haven’t heard my song for you yet.” 

[hitsuackerman]

What in the World? (Akaashi Keiji x Reader) pt.6

Part 6 of WINTW? :D Enjoy!

Akaashi’s lineup: @alluring-akaashi​ @oikawalmart-hq​ @extrasugafree​ @bbykiyoomi​ @apricotjihyo​ @simpformiya @colorseeingchick @something-that-idk (i have no idea why i can’t tag some of you :( huhu )

links: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 7

“(l/n)?” Akaashi knocked on the door. He wasn’t sure as to why he found himself chasing after you but here he was. Getting a few stares from passersby. Not that he wasn’t used to being stared at due to all the tournaments. “Are you okay? I can get Yukie-san if you want.”

“I’ll be out in a while, don’t worry.” You were sitting on the toilet. Palms wide open as you tried to activate your quirk. Using the same pattern Shoto could understand. But with the amount of minutes that had passed, it was evident that a response was impossible. Was that just a quirk-fluke? The heat from the gym? There was no way it had to be the latter.

Rubbing your face, you groaned and finally stood up. Not only did you have a problem with your quirk, you now had to come up with an excuse to tell the pretty boy waiting for you outside.

Opening the doors, Akaashi was leaning on the wall across the door. He stood up straight when his eyes met yours. It was clear to him how a lot of your questions were left unanswered. The light in your eyes wasn't as bright as they usually were. By now, the both of you had established a small friendship so he wouldn’t interrogate you into spilling what was bothering you. He respected you too much.

“You didn’t have to wait, you know?” You poked his arm shyly.

“Yukie-san would disapprove of that.” Seeing you agreed, he continued. “Do you wanna talk about it? While we head back to the gym?”

“There’s not much to talk about. I guess fatigue from catching all those balls finally caught up. But, I’m fine in all honesty.”

“OYA OYA!”

The both of you were not expecting Bokuto to appear out of nowhere. The look of concern was something new to you. Though, it was no surprise knowing who he was. He merely explained that the both of you were taking a little too much time, he became worried, and that it wasn’t the same without Akaashi setting for him.

Giggling as he gave a sad face, to which his hair deflated as well, Bokuto felt relieved knowing you were feeling much better. Eyeing his friend, he wiggled his eyebrows only to be met by furrowed one’s.

‘No, Bokuto-san. How many times do I have to repeat myself?’ That was the look on Akaashi’s face. One that Bokuto was all too familiar with.

‘Then why keep staring at her when she isn’t looking?’ Bokuto wasn’t sure if his friend could read minds but the way his bushy eyebrows were raised, how his eyes went from him to you and back to him was enough to convey the message.

‘If you don’t stop, I won’t set for you anymore.’

“I’LL STOP AKHAASHI!”

Not expecting the sudden outburst, you eyed the two towering men. For a moment, you could have sworn the two of them were having some kind of mental conversation. When Akaashi transferred his gaze to his childhood friend, the beefy owl cleared his throat and went back to his usual self.

“Anyway, the coach wants to give us updates on the 2nd joint training camp!”

Following the jumping owl, you had to endure another walk of shame when you entered the gym. At least this time, you were greeted with caring voices and soft pats on the back. When all of you were seated and calmed down, the coach took out the board and began to lecture about how the training session would go.

It wasn’t new information for them. Same venue in Saitama and the same schools as well. Due to how frequent the camps have been held, the meeting was short and direct to the point. When you all were dismissed, each member eagerly discussed the remaining days and what they’d like to improve.

As for the managers, they were now brainstorming as to what food to prepare on the last day of the training camp. All you could do was nod and wonder just how much work and what type of people were you bound to meet within the next few days.

Walking down the streets, Akaashi and you were now munching on some onigiri that he had bought. He was quite eager in finishing the little rice ball that you had to deduce was one of his favorite foods.

“You know, seeing you devour that onigiri made me remember a dream of mine.” You opened up. He gave you a sign to continue. “I dreamed that I had special powers. During that time, me and some people were in a huge building that seemed to be our dorm. If my memory serves me right, one of them got into an argument with me because his power was better suited for cooking.”

“Then what happened?”

“He basically used his powers to quickly cook things, to which I don’t understand how he did it. In the end, a scruffy looking teacher bound us together in this cloth like material and gave us a very good scolding.” Recalling that scenario was fun. That was also when Bakugo and you finally had a proper and interesting conversation.

“Powers. Dimensions. You like sci-fi?” This was the only way to get a little bit more information from you.

“Eh, not really.” You stepped closer to him and slowly held on to the crease of his elbow once more. Taking note that he even adjusted his arm so you could have easier access, you felt a tiny smile forming on your face and a bit of heat as well. “Those dreams just feel so real, ya know? They tend to happen a lot as well.”

“What else did you dream about?”

“Hmm,” Your index and thumb held on to your chin. “Ah. One of my dreams had the same group of people involved and we sort of tried these special candies. We were sitting in a dorm room and it was rather chaotic. Our quir-powers got out of control and we were put under lock down for 3 days. What do you dream about, Akaashi?”

“I’m not that much a dreamer.” He looked down at your small form. The streetlights were shitty, he wasn’t going to lie but somehow they made it look as if you were glowing. “I guess the weirdest would have to be Bokuto-san behaving. That’s about it.”

“You need to dream more.” Nudging his side, you earned a soft chuckle. “And laugh more, too!”

When you finally let go of his arm, he merely bowed and said his good night’s. Waving him farewell, you watched as he made his way for his house. Not wanting him to catch you staring, you went towards yours as well.

Inside your room, you immediately began playing with the Hoya plant. It felt good with how your quirk was getting a little more stable, how you were able to reminisce a few memories about your home, and that melodious chuckle of Akaashi.

It was now time to hit the sack and your lights were finally off. Staring at your palms, the glow was a little dimmer due to your usage but despite the constant activity, the comforting warmth of Todoroki’s fire was gone.

Feeling sadness enter your system, your eyes landed on your window.

At least you had Akaashi and your new found friends to keep you company.

Being nostalgic, you didn’t realize that it was already the training camp. With your things packed and ready to go, you threw your bag to the sofa and skipped to the kitchen. The aroma of (favorite breakfast trio) was very inviting. O-mother was all smiles when you entered with a big smile on your face.

“Someone’s excited~” She poured you a glass of orange juice.

“It’s a chance to travel and be with the team~ How can I not be excited?”

“Of course. You’ve been counting the days since last week. I hope your things are complete. Did you pack your toothbrush? Towels? Undies?”

“Yes, mum.” You gobbled a huge portion of the meal. Swallowing it with the aid of juice. “I got everything down.”

“By the way, I took the liberty of making some onigiri.” She reached for a plasticware with 4 balls of rice. “Share some with Akaashi-kun, okay?”

“Akaashi’s gonna love that.” You reached for the container and placed it beside you. As you were finishing the remaining portion, you only noticed how your o-mother’s stare was a little teasing. “What?”

“You dropped the honorifics with Akaashi-kun?” She covered her mouth and giggled. “Is there something I should know about the two of you?”

“Mum, it’s only been a month since I met him.” Rolling your eyes, you slid your out of the table and touched your thigh. “It doesn’t happen that quickly.”

“You’ve heard of twin flames, right? Or soulmates?” She pinched your cheek.

“I have. But, there’s no such thing. Even if there is, those are just fancy terms.” Drinking the last drop of juice, you stood up and copied her action. She softly slapped your hand away while pouting. “Besides, I can’t dare have feelings for Akaashi.”

“Oh? What’s stopping you? I find him good for you.”

‘I can’t and won’t ever dare develop feelings because I’m not from here and it’ll only hurt the both of us once I leave this place.’ Those were the words you wanted to say. More than aware of the infatuation, you were moderately good at keeping things at bay. The thought of leaving your o-mother behind also added an additional weight. She was always there to offer a helping hand when you needed her. “I don’t think he looks at me like that. Or let alone, has the time for crushes.”

“Well, suit yourself.” She hummed. “There’s nothing wrong with trying to find out, though.”

“Good bye, mother.” Leaving her laughing, you went to finish your morning routine.

Fully ready to leave, you slid your window only to be met with closed ones. Remembering the schedule, it was still too early to leave for school and there had been a verbal agreement that you two would walk to school. Checking the time, you were right on track. He should have been sliding his window open by now.

“(y/n)!” Startled at the sudden call from downstairs, you huffed and closed the window. “Akaashi-kun’s here!”

Within seconds, you were running down the stairs only to be met by your cheeky o-mother. Whispering that he’s in the living room, you also heard her saying how gifted the boy’s face was and that, again, she wouldn’t mind if anything were to happen between you two. Telling her to shut up, you went to the living room and found the setter fiddling with fingers.

“Is that a setter thing?” You pointed and sat beside him.

“Not really.” He bowed a bit  to greet you. Bless his soul, you thought. “I apologize if I wasn’t able to do our window meeting. I had to run an errand.”

“No need to apologize, you dummy~ Shall we head out now?”

Agreeing with you, he stood up and hoisted his bag on his shoulder. Just as you were about to take yours, he cleared his throat and took the strap from your hold.

“Akaashi. You have a heavy bag.” You held on to the strap. “I can carry this. I don’t mind.”

“Are you sure?”

Poking his tummy, you felt how he flexed his abdomen. Your mind drifted and flashed a mental image as to how his body would look like without that goddamn shirt. You were granted a small peak at his lower abs but the whole shirt? With the amount of training he did, you were sure that he was hiding a lot under-- Shaking and slapping your thoughts, you pulled the strap.

“I’m more than sure~” Tugging on his shirt, you pulled him towards the door.

Saying farewell to your o-mother, she eagerly watched and teased the both of you till she finally closed the door. Your companion was unfazed but at this point, you weren’t sure if he was affected by the tiniest bit or used to it.

‘Come to think of it, does he have an ex? Probably. He’s too pretty not to have one. Whoever that girl was, she was surely lucky. Damn speaking of exes, what the hell am I supposed to do if I see that Ushijiwaka guy? I can’t even remember his voice that well. Shit. What if they crash the camp? Of course not.’ Absent-mindedly, you held onto Akaashi’s arm but he was already prepared.

“Snack bar for your thoughts, (l/n)?” Those words were enough to snap you back to reality.

With the hand wrapped around his arm, you accepted the bar. Not even bothering to care, both of you were now walking with barely any distance in between. Too caught up with munching and thinking, you failed to notice how the school gate was approaching. With the last crumb gone, you folded the wrapper and tucked into your pocket.

Letting go of his arm, you gave him a cheeky grin before heading towards the parked bus. He was left with a confused look on his face but he merely shrugged it off.

“AGASHI!” Bokuto came sprinting to his side. “I saw that (y/n)-chan was holding your arm! What did I tell you?!”

“Good morning, Bokuto-san.” Of course he would greet his senpai. “She tends to do that as we walk to school. I just let her be.”

“So you are feeling feelings?”

“Not necessarily. I merely enjoy her company. It’s refreshing.”

“Those are feelings, Akaash.” Bokuto pouted as the two men walked towards the bus. “The bar you gave her was your favorite flavor! You don’t even give me that unless it's stale or close to the expiration date.”

“We’re just neighbors.” Letting his senpai enter first, he trailed behind. His eyes landed on you, a vacant seat fresh for the taking. This would have to be a challenging situation. If he would sit beside Bokuto, then the trip would be peaceful. Should he choose you, he could sit in comfortable silence. But it seems as if he didn’t have to think it through.

“(y/n)-chan!”

“Bokuto-san! Good morning!” You waved to him. The way he flopped onto the seat was cute. Tucking his bag under the seat, he stretched in whatever little room was available. Hearing the bones pop, you could imagine the satisfaction.

“Mind if I sit here?” The signature close eyed smile gifted your sight.

“Not much point in refusing~” You playfully slapped his shoulder.

“Hey! Akaashi!” Haruki looked over the bus seat. “I got something ta show you!”

Breaking contact with his two friends, he approached the libero and took the vacant seat. Watching his other senpai fiddling with his phone, he waited and leaned in when the screen was presented to him.

The screen showed a stolen picture of his face. It was only for a brief second, but Haruki managed to capture the exact moment Bokuto beat him at his own thoughts. Staring at the phone, to his seatmate, and back to the phone. He merely sighed and crossed his arms.

“You’re just like Bokuto-san, Haruki-san.” His peripheral view and hearing focused on Bokuto’s laughter 3 seats away. “Childish.”

“Please~ You’re just unknowingly pissed that Bokuto took that seat. Bet she has some food in her bag that’s meant for you, but because she’s that kind of person, she’ll share it with Bokuto instead.”

Now, Akaashi wasn’t one to ever take part in bets. But he did hear from your mother that she had prepared a small snack for the both of you.

“Y200.” The 3rd year libero felt the pride swell in him. For once, he had managed to create a crack on the composed vice-captain.

Needless to say, Akaashi lost the bet.

- - - - -

a/n: i like playful akaashi :3 i hope yall liked this chapter! see you next week! Akaashi’s line up is still accepting players!

[kilesplaysthings]

Hondje’s Secret

Happy October! While brainstorming a fic for spiratualist-nerd!Arthur, I was browsing the ikevam tag and saw lots of love for Theo since his route is coming out. I then had the funniest idea for a fic with him which is in the halloween spirit! combine that with a film I watched today and here we are. so this is all y’all’s fault lol ;) I hope he’s not too ooc since I don’t know his character too well :D

There was something wrong with Hondje. Theo could sense it the moment Sebastian came in with the breakfast tray instead of Ana. She had been living with the horde of vampires for a good month now and they had all gotten used to seeing her every morning pushing the breakfast cart into the dining room, wearing that ridiculous smile that should have been illegal first thing in the morning.

It seems he wasn’t the only one to notice something amiss, as he heard his beloved brother Vincent worriedly ask after her, “Is Ana all right?”

Sebastian hesitated in pouring the coffee and glanced towards Comte St. Germain, who lowered his newspaper at the question. It was almost, Theo noticed, as if Sebastian was seeking the answer from the head of the mansion instead of answering himself. Most suspicious…

“She told us she was unwell, so we thought it necessary to excuse her this morning. She did say, however, that she will be better by this afternoon so there’s no need for alarm,” he answered.

Vincent looked relieved as did many of the others seated at the table.

“I wonder if it’s ‘that time of the month’ for her?” Arthur guessed. He had that annoying self-satisfied smirk on his face he usually had when he knew – or thought he knew – he had guessed something about a woman correctly. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that was it, the poor little bird.”

“’That time of the month’?” Isaac queried, brow furrowed in confusion. “Does something happen to Ana every month?”

“Oh yes. It’s something most every lady goes through, and it can be quite irritating for them, to say the least. Why, as I recall, one time—”

“Oh do shut up,” Mozart muttered, buttering his toast rather loudly. “We don’t need that kind of conversation at breakfast.”

“Mozart is right,” the Comte spoke up. “I wouldn’t want to pry in Ana’s affairs, whatever they may be, Arthur.” He gave the writer a pointed stare. It made Theo smirk.

Arthur Conan Doyle merely chuckled and raised in hands up in surrender. “All right, all right. I’ll stop there. In all seriousness, though, I do hope she isn’t very ill. Perhaps I should go cheer her up later?” He beamed a rather toothy grin.

“No need. I’ve made sure Ana is comfortable,” Sebastian said quickly. He continued to pour out coffee.

“I’m glad. It would be sad not seeing her at breakfast anymore,” Vincent spoke up sadly, moving every heart that was in the room.

Theo patted his shoulder. “I’m sure she’ll be all right, Broer,” he said soothingly. Of course, they were all worried, even those like Mozart and Isaac – while not voicing their concerns – let it show on their faces.

Let it not be said that Theo wasn’t worried as well, but he figured if Sebastian and the Comte were looking after her, she was in good hands. There wasn’t much else for him to do besides hope she would feel better and continue his day as planned.

After breakfast, once he had his things ready and another painting by his brother packed for travel, he prepared to set out to the city for another art dealership. Vincent was a genius as usual, and he had no doubt that this new piece would sell quickly. He smiled down at King, his retriever who liked to follow him where ever he went. It was nice having a cute companion traveling with him into the city and he knew the dog enjoyed the long walks and treats that would be sure to follow once the painting was sold.

As the two of them approached the foyer of the mansion, King suddenly let out an excited yip and bounded for the front parlor.

“King! You foolish mutt!” He muttered irritably. He set his things down before going to retrieve his dog. Opening the door, he found the dog happily nuzzling none other than Ana, who was petting him amidst her daily routine of dusting.

“Oi! Hondje!” He called out, trying to ignore the relief that he felt at seeing her up and about.

She glanced up at him and offered a somewhat wan smile.

“Hey there, Theo.”

He frowned a little as he walked up to her. Something seemed… off.

“Heard you were under the weather this morning. You feeling any better?”

“Oh. I’m fine,” she answered quietly. Her hands massaged the dog’s floppy ears. “It’s nothing to worry about.”

He narrowed his eyes and studied her for a moment. For someone who said they were fine, she didn’t look it. Her skin was pale and clammy. Her hair was a bit disheveled and she looked tired.

“Well, don’t push yourself too much,” he finally said. “No one would want you collapsing or anything.”

Her smile was now more like how she usually smiled at him. She nodded. “I won’t. Thank you for your concern,” she said warmly.

“Concern.” He scoffed. “You really are a naïve pup, aren’t you?”

Now she was frowning. “I wish you would stop calling me that. Do you know how obnoxious it is?” She muttered angrily, quickly standing up and walking back towards the fireplace, away from him.

“I need to get back to cleaning. Good luck with work today,” she continued shortly, implying that her talk with him was over.

That time of the month. Weren’t a lot of women irritable during that time? Theo wondered. He shook his head, trying not to let Arthur’s suppositions influence him.

“Well, if you’re able to bark at me like that, it seems you’re feeling better. That’s good.” He called for King to follow him and turned to leave. “See you later, Hondje.”

He didn’t hear her very well, but he could faintly catch her soft reply of “See you later, Theo.”

He couldn’t help the small smile on his face as he left. Her behavior concerned him a little; she didn’t seem to be as well as she said she was, but he hoped it was just a one-time fluke. Hopefully they would all see her in the morning.

The next few days, however, were the same. Ana never appeared at breakfast and in the afternoon when she did show up, seemed listless and irritated. Arthur still maintained that it was due to “feminine issues,” and it was hard to argue against him. Who were they to say otherwise, after all? Not to mention, none of them felt brave enough to ask her face to face.

“She exhibits all the signs, and I’m sure she knows it. Tired, achy, moody, wanting to be alone. It’s best that we all just let her be. It’ll be over in a few days’ time,” Arthur would tell them.

They tried to remember that and treated her with the utmost kindness. Being a group of gentleman, vampires notwithstanding, they were always ready to help her if she needed it.

“Do you want to go lie down, Ana?” Napoleon asked one day as a few of them were gathered in the den. She had been delivering tea and had spilled it all over the table after trying to pour some with shaky hands.

“I’m fine,” she muttered as she mopped up the mess.

“I can clean it up so you can rest,” Napoleon urged. He offered to take the towel from her but she jerked it away.

“No, it’s all right,” she quickly argued.

“If you’re tired, you’re tired,” Theo remarked as he moved a chess piece. He and Arthur had once again challenged each other to another game. “Rambunctious  pups shouldn’t deny being tired when they are.”

“I said I’m fine.” Was her harsh reply. Napoleon stared at her and Arthur stopped his move, piece mid-air right as he was about to put it on the board. His little spaniel Victoria raised his head and uttered a low growl.

“Let her be, you two,” Arthur finally said, breaking the tension that suddenly filled the room. His voice calmed down Vick as well and the dog laid his head back down on the sofa.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, looking sad. “I didn’t mean to lash out.”

“Don’t pay them any mind, Ana,” Arthur said soothingly. “But honestly, don’t feel like you have to push yourself especially while on your monthly.”

Theo rolled his eyes so hard, he could have sworn he saw the back of his head. Arthur may have been trying to appear understanding, but he just came off as patronizing. It was plain to see Ana didn’t appreciate his remark either. She shot him a look that demonstrated she was far from amused or appreciative.

“Wow thank you for that,” she muttered. She slapped the towel down on the table and headed for the door. “I’m leaving.”

“You’re such an idiot.” Theo stated once the door was closed.

“Oh she’s fine.” Arthur waved his words away. “It will take a lot more than mere sarcasm to ruffle my feathers.”

“Something seems wrong, though,” Napoleon said thoughtfully. “Ana’s different and I don’t think it’s due to a mere menstrual cycle.”

Napoleon may have been correct, Theo thought, when he found her curled up in a ball on the library sofa the next day. He had been looking for King and found that both he and Vick were there lying with her. It was almost like they could sense what was troubling her. Every time she quietly groaned in pain, they would emit a soft whine.

“Ana?” He called her by her actual name, which caused her to stare up at him with bleary eyes.

“Oh. Theo. It’s you.” Her hair fell down around her face in unkempt waves. “Sorry. I’m not myself today.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” He shooed the two dogs away and sat on the edge of the sofa. “Let’s get you back to your room. Can you walk?”

She slowly nodded. “Probably.”

He gently grasped her arm and helped her to sit up. Then, slipping his arm around her thin waist, he helped her stand. She flinched a little, but didn’t say anything to oppose him. Instead, she clutched the back of his vest with an iron grip. They made their way out of the library and down the hall towards her room. She tried not to stumble, but she was quite weak and he had to catch her a couple of times so she wouldn’t fall.

“Seriously, what is wrong with you?” He muttered as they neared her room.

“Excuse me?”  She gave him a look.

“You heard me. We all thought Arthur was right; that this was just what a human woman goes through every month. And don’t look at me like that, most of us have all been married before. We know what you go through. But that’s not it, is it? I would have smelled it otherwise. So what is it?”

He knew he was coming off as blunt, but he truly was concerned. Ana didn’t take it well, however.

“Whatever it is, it has nothing to with you!” She snapped. “I said I would be fine in a few days, and I meant it. So just leave me alone until then!”

She shrugged off his arm and staggered into her bedroom, shutting the door in his face.

Theo huffed. “We can’t help but worry about you when you act like that, you mongrel,” he muttered. He stalked down the hall to his room, jamming his hands into his pockets, now in a rather foul mood.

It only took one more day for Theo to have all his questions and concerns answered.

The moon was full and bright that night as both he and Arthur came home from a late night trip to the bar. Arthur was quite plastered at this point while Theo was as sober as could be. So, of course, it was up to him to get his reckless friend home. They staggered into the mansion, Arthur unabashedly singing a jaunty tune. It took all of Theo’s self-control not to just dump him on the mansion floor and leave him there for Sebastian to find him in the morning.

“I swear, you owe me big time,” he groused out as he deposited the drunk Scotsman on his bed.

“Yeah yeah. I’ll be sure to make it up to all three of you in the morning.” Arthur drawled out. A minute later, he was snoring away.

“Domkop,” he muttered. “I have no idea why I choose to be this guy’s friend.” Even so, he couldn’t help but smile. Why he was fond of this womanizing, arrogant writer, he’d never know. The fact that Arthur had quite the charisma and contagious charm to him may have been a part of it, but Theo refused to acknowledge that.

Now beginning to feel tired himself, he made his way to his room, looking forward to a good night’s rest.

That’s when he heard it: the sound of shattering glass followed by a banging on one of the nearby doors. There was then a cringe-worthy scraping sound of wood. It made a chill go down his spine. He walked slowly towards the sounds at first, but his pace quickened when he began to hear low groaning.

The source of the noises all came from one room. Ana’s room. Why was she awake? It was late: half past two. And he knew she was not a late night person. He placed his hand on the door and leaned close to listen. The groans grew louder and he thought he heard a low growl. Suddenly, there came the sound of fabric tearing and the groanings turned into cries. Not cries of pleasure. Cries of agony.

“Ana? Ana!” He rammed his hand on the door.

The cries continued, not heeding him.

“I’m coming in!” He announced.

“Don’t!” Came a tormented voice. It was a lower voice, but somehow, it was still hers. “Just go away!”

“Oh shut up! If you’re in trouble, you shouldn’t be alone!” He shouted. “I’m coming in!”

With his vampiric strength, he knocked in the door in record time. What he beheld inside left him shocked. The room was a mess. A shattered pitcher and basin lay all over the floor in pieces. The bed sheets were in tatters. Clothes were shredded. There were what he could only figure to be claw marks all over the furniture and walls. And there was blood. So much blood. The moonlight streaming in between the tattered curtains shone down on a figure writhing under a bedsheet. A long thick chain was tied to the bed post and seemed to be connected to that covered figure that was still groaning in pain.

After taking it all in, he slowly approached the sheet and carefully lifted it. His eyes widened in shock.

“Ana…” He breathed her name. “You’re…”

“I told you not to come in!” Her altered voice wailed, or more distinctly, howled.

What were unmistakably Ana’s green eyes stared up at him in horror, but her face. It was no longer the face of a human woman. The snout was too long. The ears pointed and on top of her head. And she was covered in a thick fur the same color as her hair. She was huddled up in a ball and her claws clutched at the rug below her. A bushy tail curled around her body defensively.

“Wolf.. werewolf…” He muttered, aghast. “They’re real…”

“Oh shut up!” She cried, exposing an impressive set of canines. “Vampires are real, so why not werewolves, huh?”

He blinked. “Yeah, good point.”

“I told you not to come in here! Why couldn’t you have just listened?”

“What was I supposed to do?” He argued back. “You sounded like you were in immense pain! And it looks like you were, at that!”

Her ears flattened and she lay her head down on the sheet, looking like a kicked dog.

“You could have just kept walking. This isn’t something to be worried about. This only happens every--”

“Every full moon, right? I’ve heard the legend.” He walked over and took a seat on the rug beside her.

“I take it the Comte and Sebastian know?”

“Yes. I had to tell them if I was to leave here peacefully. They took it rather well, for vampires.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked, frowning.

She scoffed. “Vampires always look down on werewolves. They see us as lower creatures that can’t ever control their urges.”

“Well you don’t really help your case by having that attached to you.” He nodded at the chain tied to the bedpost.

“It’s for precaution!” She retorted. “I can usually handle myself quite well! I’m still young, so sometimes I do have trouble keeping control. But I’m still training myself.”

She stood up on all fours and approached him, the chain jangling behind her.

“For instance, a lesser werebeast would want to tear all of you apart just by looking at you, but I don’t. I’d rather not eat vampire, if I can help it.” She sat down on her haunches and stared at him reproachfully.

He rolled his eyes at her. “Well I’m glad I’m not edible, I guess. It’s good to know you’re so well-trained.”

She snarled at him. “You think you’re funny, don’t you?”

“I think so, yes.” He then smirked. “So, you won’t attack even if I do this?”

He put his hand on her head between her ears and ruffled her fur. It was surprisingly just as soft as her normal hair.

“Want me to bite that hand off?” She growled.

“I’d like to see you try! Looks like my “pet” names for you were quite accurate, huh? No wonder they annoyed you!” He began to laugh.

“If you’re going to just mock me then leave before I tear out your throat!”

“Now, now, that’s my job.” His voice lowered and he grinned at her. “You know, you’re rather cute, for a werewolf.”

He could see her hackles rising. “I mean it, Theo! I don’t need any teasing from you!”

“Oh, but I’m not teasing. I’m in complete earnest. Now, let’s do something about this mess you’ve made.” He got up and headed to the door.

Ana growled a little. He was acting so smug, it was annoying.

“Are you going to tell the others?” She demanded to know.

He paused, his hand on the doorknob, and turned to smile at her.

“Now why would I do that? I rather like having this secret with you. Granted, the Comte and Sebastian know as well, but they probably haven’t seen you like this, have they?”

Ana’s silence was the confirmation he needed. He grinned more.

“I’ll make sure to take care of you every full moon, Hondje. It will be like you’re my very own pet.”

She bared her teeth at him angrily. “Don’t do me any favors!”

“It’s no trouble, really.” He continued to beam a great smile at her. It made her fur stand on end.

“Now, be a good girl and stay put. I’ll be right back with a broom to clean up this glass, all right?”

And with that, he was gone, leaving Ana to bemoan her fate even further. Theo, on the other hand, was strangely satisfied with this new revelation. He was quite gleeful, actually.

A werewolf. How extraordinary! Of course the others would be shocked to see her like that, but I rather like her like this too. Heh. I have always been fond of any kind of canine. How different is a werewolf?

As he went his merry way, Ana buried her furry head under the sheets again. Why? Of all people to see her like this, why did it have to be Theodorus Van Gogh?! She let out a low whine, knowing that from here on out, he would make things – quite interesting for her to say the least. Or perhaps, nightmarish was the better adjective, she decided.