#Haven’t drawn my baby girl in awhile

[3m0n3rd]

Wut a losr

Click image for better quality !!

[stopbeingnecrophiles]

⚠️warning post regarding the users weimu (now ppgd), flonnezillas, & stupidneet (check blog description for updated urls)

UPDATE AS OF 5/02/2021 (BEFORE POSTING):  the user weimu now goes under the name “gabberzon“. this url was a past username flonnezillas owned, and is now in use under the user weimu. user flonnezillas has terminated (to our knowledge). stupidneet has also changed her url to darkishcircles. UPDATE AS OF 5/14/2021 (BEFORE POSTING): raquel has deleted her server. the people behind the post still find everything here relevant and necessary to bring to light. 

the following post was made as a warning to showcase the behavior of some of the users on the site. if you're a minor we highly discourage you from interacting with any of the individuals mentioned; if you're 18+, do as you wish but with discretion (and the trigger warnings in mind). we find the things these users have said and done to be morally reprehensible, and to be genuinely concerning. this isn't some random petty callout post; we sincerely believe the behavior of those mentioned to be genuinely concerning and need to be brought to light.

that being said, we also do not condone the harassment or hate towards these users. the people behind this blog recognize that bringing forth this sort of thing may incite other users to do so, but we highly are against it. sending hate and harassment is not the way to go about this. simply stay away from those users if you have nothing better to add to the situation. thank you.

(all images have been censored for proper viewing. if you don't believe the claims being made, you're free to ask for the uncensored versions of the screenshots off anonymous so long as you're 18+. usernames/icons censored are of the minors or those irrelevant to the post in the server.)

⚠️ major tw: necrophilia, lolicon + pedophilia mentions, nsfw, irl gore (one image in particular contains a 17 year old girl)/drawn guro, & underaged characters in torture/sexual situations. ⚠️

users mentioned + their past/present urls (please check description of the blog for updated urls): 

raquel/witch/cas (17 yrs at the time of posting) (neko865 > ureshichan > autismchan > weimu >  gabberzon >  omduvarmin > ppgd | past sideblogs were disgustchan, suicidegirlsjp, and now currently speedcorebeach [tw for guro/gore]) 

dasch/rena (18 yrs at the time of posting ) (catgirlmode >  slashermedia > mawisa > stupidneet > femcelirl > darkishcircles  > aspiechan > 719203727299272910822810 > 71920372729922980822810) 

maid/val/vale/valentine (20 yrs at the time of posting ) (morimiyamiddleschoolshooting > raspberry-valentine > nekrofylia > phonestalker > gabberzon > pukemaid > morimiya > flonnezillas | sideblog named ichigomashimaros)

url proof here. 

TW: THE SERVER ITSELF AND ITS CONTENTS

first thing we’d like to address here is raquel’s server and what goes on in it, as the server is not at all properly ran or moderated well. on her blog, she explicitly states this:

but still allows those under the age of 16 to join her server, and doesn’t even make it mandatory to make an intro or for the users in there to state if they’re a minor or not. however there are minors that are in the server, and it’s clear who they are. we wont be showing who they are, but there are a handful that have joined and are active within it.

raquel herself is also a minor (being 17) so it’s odd that she wouldn’t make sure that fellow minors wouldn’t be kept away from some of the things that are said and shown in the server. that being said, a few of the conversations that have gone on publicly in the server have been about:

dasch’s tights and how sweaty they were, with raquel and maid talking about wanting to do things to her tights

dasch offering her bra 

talking about having phone sex together

openly condoning gore in the chats and saying it’s fine to be 100% okay with gore (which isn’t true, it’s fine to have a fascination with gore but to be 100% okay with it or even obsess over it is not okay). 

(screenshots of the conversations can be found here & here.)

we recognize that a few of these conversations are obviously jokes/banter between the three, but it is still wildly inappropriate to publicly talk like this where minors can see. you have an nsfw chat, at least use it properly.  (important to note: in raquel’s server, the nsfw & real life gore channels were opened to the public for awhile, accessible to anyone at any age, before there was a complaint to make them hidden with a role. even with a role implemented, the guro channel is still visible to those who have the ‘baby’ role [and as guro is, the content is very sexual].)

TW: NECROPHILIA IN THE SERVER

second thing that is worthy of being addressed is how (mainly) dasch and maid fetishize irl gore, dead bodies, and crime scene photos. as stated prior, we’ve censored out the images that were posted, but if you would prefer to see uncensored versions of the images (if you somehow don’t believe what is being censored), you’re welcomed to come off anon and ask for the uncensored versions (so long as you are 18+). like the rest of the screenshots, they can be found in a separate link here.

TW: CONTENTS OF THEIR BLOGS & SOCIAL MEDIA

third thing that is noteworthy of the people mentioned are the things they post publicly to their blogs. on raquel’s blogs, she has warnings in her pinned posts. 

the warnings on her blog, while one being genuine and the other uncaring, do in fact warn users that content on her blogs are nsfw and explicitly state what she posts. however, this doesn’t mean she is exempt from criticism of what she posts. anytime raquel is called out for posting something questionable, she simply blames it all on “terfs”, that she’s allowed to post the things she posts because she is also a minor, or that you’re in the wrong for insinuating that a csa victim would even have lolicon art. raquel is not free from criticism from this, as she has posted art with actual children in it. the people behind this post mean no disrespect to raquel and the things she has been through and we respect that entirely. that being said, this does not mean you are free from criticism of the things you post willingly to your blogs. especially when some of the things you’ve posted in the past include children.  when asked why she doesn’t credit artists on her guro blog, this is what she responded with:

someone in her notes also pointed this out, but to our knowledge she never acknowledged what they replied to the post with (censored out as they are not relevant to the post).

regardless if you credit the artist or not, people can reverse image search to find the creator themselves. it’s also worth mentioning that you are blatantly admitting to posting from a pedophilic artist. you are still supporting this pedophile’s art by doing so. you are admitting the guro content you post is from pedophilic sources, and regardless if you source them or not, you are inherently posting pedophilic content.

we’ve provided examples of posts on her main blog here, and examples of posts on her sideblog here. major tw (for lolicon art & underaged characters), although we’ve censored the images, the content is still pretty intense. 

the next person we would like to shed light to and the things they post are maid. since the post started, maid has terminated her account. however some screenshot examples (with links) still exist, so those are what we will be using to explain the sorts of things she posts/has posted. 

before we go on, we would like to make it clear that we have no definitive proof that maid is a pedophile, but the content she is into is very questionable due to the nature of what they are. a few of things that she is into can be considered lolibait, which includes a lot of underaged girls. 

examples of the media (click the links for examples of her posting about it):

ichigo mashimaro (strawberry marshmallow): an anime/manga about 10-12 year old girls, that while not problematic itself, the creator of the anime makes lolicon-esque content of the girls (outside of the anime/manga). the media is also heavily known for being liked by lolicons.

ro-kyu-bu!: an anime surrounding a basketball team comprised of mostly young girls, the content of the anime itself is rather deplorable as it sexualizes the young girls very frequently (which is basically the only plot it has). very much known for being lolibait and liked by lolicons. 

on her main blog, she had reblogged this post:

(post contains two young teenagers from yuru yuri.)

just on the surface, this image isn’t necessarily sexual and we do not claim that maid reblogged this with sexual intentions, however with her consumption of media known for lolibait, it makes it questionable. 

she also has a body pillow of satou matsuzaka, a 15 year old girl from the anime “my happy sugar life”. we wont be getting into the content of the anime here, but it should be odd enough that this 20 year old woman has a pillow of a 15 year old girl. 

the last thing we’d like to address with maid is the posts on her instagram (can be found here. major tw for guro & emetophilia [all of which is censored]). a main point here that we haven’t brought up is that she blatantly fetishizes asian women and often posts about them. you can go here to look at a few of the things she’s posted and the fetish nature of the content she puts out there involving them. 

CONCLUSION

the point of this post was to highlight a few users in the animecore community who are clearly unable to host servers or interact around minors properly. we still do not condone the harassment of these users, and we would highly recommend to simply block them in response to this post rather than seek them out and harass them. there’s no point in doing so, however we realize we cannot stop every single person who reads this post from doing something. all we can do is state that we are against doing so and have no want or need to engage with that sort of behavior. 

to the users this post highlighted, if you’ve read everything through, good on you. instead of taking this as a call out post for drama (which genuinely was not the intent of this post), maybe the few of you can recognize the faults you have here and work on them and change for the better. this isn’t some post made because those behind it had personal beef or something with the users it mentions. this post was made because some of you cannot behave and act appropriately when interacting with minors and the general public. clearly not, as a server was allowed to exist with tons of minors alongside fucking weirdos. maybe give a shit about the minors you allow to interact with you. thanks

[pedrosbish]

from me, the moon

word count: 1.7k

warnings: angst

*female reader x marcus*

He loved you with all his heart. And it terrified you.

You were both nineteen, in the prime of your youth, having only been dating for a year and a bit (one year, two months and eight days he had corrected you once) when you had come home to your modest, tiny apartment. The lights were turned off and for a split second you were worried that something had happened, something felt off. 

Wandering further in, you noticed a flickering light coming from the bedroom and as you slowly pushed the door open, you were met with the sight of Marcus Moreno cursing as he attempted to light another candle, burning his finger when it wouldn't catch aflame. 

“Baby?” You almost laughed out loud when he had whipped around, a loud gasp escaping his mouth, dropping the match to the ground. Pointing to the neatly made bed (which hadn't been done in awhile), roses adorning the white duvet and the multiple lit candles around the room, casting a calming light to fill the room. “What’s all this?”

“Mi amor.” He takes a step forward, holding something behind his back. “You weren't supposed to be back for another hour. Is everything okay?”

“Of course. I just managed to get away earlier today- not many customers.” Waving your hand around the room again, you glance your eyes around before looking at Marcus. “What’s the occasion?” 

Gently taking ahold of your hand, he leads you to the bed where you sit, expecting him to take a seat beside you but instead he gets down on one knee, revealing what he had hiding behind his back. A ring. It was a simple thing, a golden band with a tiny diamond sparkling in the centre, but it still managed to make your breath hitch and your stomach drop. 

“Mi amor, mi vida, I fell in love with you when I first saw you. I fell in love even more when I got to know you and when you somehow managed to agree to be my girlfriend. I would like to spend the rest of my life with you so I want to ask this one thing: will you marry me?”

Bile rises in your throat and your heart beats rapidly as you see the look on his face- hope, fear, love. Tears gather in your eyes as more time passes and he rocks onto the back of his heels, the hand holding the ring faltering slightly as he waits and waits and waits, before it falls to his side. 

“Marcus...”

“Please say something baby.” Your heart breaks even more when you see the hopeful emotions on his face fall at your hesitation. “Please just say something. Anything.”

“I can’t,” you croak out as your head falls, tears rolling down your cheeks, avoiding the look of utter heartbreak on his face. “We’re too young, Marcus. We haven't even finished college yet; we  don't have a steady pay check; we haven't even been-”

“I know what I feel for you. I know that I love you with all my fucking heart.” He pauses, his voice raw with emotion as he fights back his tears.”Please just say yes.”

                                                       ~~~

You knew it was cowardly to run away, you know that now, but after explaining to Marcus that you weren't ready to marry him you had packed all your things and left. Avoiding all his texts, calls, attempts at catching you on campus, he eventually gave up and left you alone. It broke your heart. 

Years had passed and you both had moved on. He got married, had a kid and moved away while you continued focussing on your job having set up your own business in the city. You were happy for him, really, and you tried to ignore the feeling of jealousy that sprouted in your chest whenever you heard news of him from his mother who you kept in touch with all these years (you figured he wanted nothing to do with you anymore after your rejection).

And that's why you were surprised to receive an invitation from Marie Moreno to come visit them. 

The idea of seeing Marcus Moreno again nearly scared you into not going- something which Marie must have sensed when you had called her the day before you were supposed to travel as she made (empty) threats to hit you with her walking stick if you didn't come. It was something that you didn't want to risk. 

Standing in front of their door, however, changed your mind and you had almost made it back to the rented car before the door opened and a young girl appeared, a large smile on her face. So this must have been Missy. There was no doubt about it; her dark brown eyes that crinkled at the corners when she smiled, her skin a healthy tanned gold - everything about her proved that she was Marcus’ child. 

“It’s so nice to meet you!” She takes a step forward to shake your hand, not letting go. “My abuelita has told me so many stories about you like that one time you went over for dinner and my dad told you a joke so funny that a piece of spaghetti came out of your nose!”

“Of all the stories she has about me, of course she has to tell that one.” You mutter under your breath but the girl managed to still hear it, her smile widening. 

“Or there was that one time when-”

“Missy!” A voice calls out from the house and your heart stills as footsteps draw nearer to you. “Do you have everything? We cannot be late to this thing again otherwise Mrs Flanagan is going to have my head on a spi-”

Your heart jumps in your throat when your eyes meet, those brown eyes that you could have stared at for years when resting on his chest as the world around slowly woke up for the day. He looks older, better, a beard adorning his face and a pair of thick framed glasses perching on his nose, but he also looks...the same. His eyes widen and take in the fact that his old girlfriend from his high school days is standing on his front porch. 

“Hey.” You wave at him awkwardly with your free hand.

“Um, hello? What- what are you doing here?”

"Marie invited me...she said you knew about this.”

Marcus looks to his daughter for an answer only to be met with a sly smile and gleaming mischievous eyes. He opens his mouth to say something but before he can, a car pulls up on the street and Missy quickly grabs the bags he had dropped at his feet before running to the car. His mother's car. 

“Goddamit.” He glances at you, too scared too stare too long and remember. "I'm really sorry about this. Should've known that they were up to something- they've been acting weird these last couple of days."

"It's okay Marcus."

Your laugh is angelic, like hearing an old song again after such a long time, and he tries to ignore the way his heart thumps wildly within his chest and his stomach flips within his stomach. He smiles, clearly lost in his own thoughts and you try to ignore the way your heart speeds up at the gesture and the butterflies in your stomach. 

"Would you- do you want to come in?" His offer is tentative but it still means the world to you and you happily nod, moving past him when he takes a step back into the house. 

It’s nice, homely, as you take in the framed family pictures lining the hall that leads to the kitchen. You grin at the mess in the kitchen, breakfast plates and bowls littering the counters- he still struggled to fin the time to clean- and he must sense your thoughts as he smiles sheepishly at you, moving to put everything in the sink. 

“Do you want something to drink? Coffee? Tea?” 

“Just water please.” 

It’s awkward and tense, the air filled with unsaid things. You watch quietly as he gets a glass for you and fills it with water, eyes fixed on the task at hand instead of looking up at you. 

“How-how have you been?”

“Good. Everything’s good.” You mumble, ignoring the way his eyes look you over quickly. “Not as good as you though! You got married. And you had a kid.”

He laughs, fiddling with the ring on his finger, and your attention is drawn to the simple band of gold. His smile falters as he stares down at it. “I did. She-my wife passed away about a year ago.” 

“I’m so sorry Marcus.” Placing your glass down on the counter, you round it to stand in front of him. “How has it been?”

“Hard, yeah.” He nods his head and casts his eyes to the ground, trying to hide the tears that have started to gather in his eyes. “Missy has been dealing with it better than I have. But we’re- I’m getting there.” 

You lift your hand and place it on his arm, comforting, and he closes his eyes at the contact of warmth. His eyes lift up to meet yours, not breaking away, and you hastily take a step back, away from him. 

“It’s, uh, really nice to see you.” 

Your cheeks redden as you nod your head. “It’s nice to see you too. Anyway, I should probably go and check into the Bed and Breakfast.”

You turn to leave, Marcus trailing behind, as you open the front door and take a step outside. A mixture of feelings torment you as you glance at him over your shoulder before getting into the rental car. Before you can drive off, he runs to your car window, signalling for you to open it. 

“Would you maybe want to go to dinner with me? To catch up?” 

Those brown eyes fill with a hope that you haven't seen for a long time, that you haven't seen since the last time you had the honour of being the centre of Marcus’ life, and it makes your heart beat just a little bit faster in your chest. 

“I would love to.”

[sorryimanon]

A Bit Stir Crazy: Pt 2

(Note: I tried to challenge myself on writing smut. It is not my strongest field, but I had fun writing this. Enjoy.)

Warning: 18+

-

After the embarrassing confrontation the morning of day 16, you found yourself even more on edge. Anything relating to eating, sleeping, and hygiene wasn’t on your mental critia for the rest of the day. Your mind was set on one thing only. Katsuki.

Childish as it is, you didn’t mind lying down in bed daydreaming perfect scenarios of you and Katsuki. Sometimes you’d catch yourself clutching to the nearest pillow , pretending it’s him you’re cuddling . Pathetic. Thank god he didn’t have a telepathy quirk, or else you’d be packing your shit by now. You were in the middle of a good daydream when all of a sudden you hear the painful sound of hardwood being dragged across the floor. It was coming from Bakugous room. Blocking out the sound was impossible, it kept going on for another good 5 minutes. What the hell is the doing in there?

The temptation to yell at him to keep it down was immeasurable, but you were still skittish to show the mere sight of yourself to Katsuki again. For the next hour, you stared blankly at the chipped ceiling, listening to your roommate rearranging the entirety of his small ass room. How could you blame him though? This quarantine has made nearly go ludicrous due to boredem. Some were sadly succumb to becoming stir crazy, which you weren’t denying could possibly be you by now. You also noticed your hormones were more off the rails. Every hour you had the weird inkling to touch yourself. or just once in awhile brush up against the pillow you were holding. You couldn’t help it. No physical or social contact from the outside world for the past 16 days.

Evening struck and you haven’t eaten anything all day. The cereal from this morning made a surprise visit not long ago, causing your appetite to dissipate completely. Although, you did want to get your hands on the left over pizza Katsuki ordered last night. You were about to get up when you heard two loud knocks coming from your door.

“Hey dumbass, don’t think I didn’t notice you not eating all day. I made you some soup since you’re lazy to make something right now.” He sounded agitated, but you knew better that he meant well. “I’ll leave it by the door since I know...you...tch. Just fucking eat. If you don’t I’ll make you okay?”

And with that he left, making it clear for you to hear the door to his room close. You waddle over to the door and open it quickly, scooping up the piping hot bowl of soup. You hate to admit it, Katsuki makes a pretty damn good soup. A little spicy though.

-

Later that night, you laid on your back, toying with the hem of your panties. The muscles in your arms restricting you from going any further. A sick punishment really. You needed some relief, something to get this feral feeling out of your system. Touching yourself wasn’t a foreign feeling. You had a boyfriend to handle the task for you. Note, had a boyfriend. He randomly stopped texting you one day and after that you assumed he didn’t find you attractive anymore. Which sucks because he was great in bed.

Now it’s been almost a year without any form of sexual pleasure from another person. The thought alone made you groan out loud. I am such a fucking loser.

Your fingers itched closer as the minutes ticked by. Just do it, Katsuki should be asleep by now. With a quick glance at your clock, the red numbers 10:30 stared right back. You sighed in relief remembering that Katsuki has been keen on knocking out by 9:00. The sudden burst of confidence caused you to finally plunge your hand into your panties. The feeling of your index finger brushing up against your clit made your whole body shiver. Oh, it definitely has been a year. Making sure there was no evidence of anyone being awake in the next room, you rubbed the very sensitive bud with a slow and teasing motion. You wanted this session to last a while, so you stopped rubbing and dipped your middle finger into the hole. A soft moan escaped your mouth, with which you quickly slapped your mouth with your hand, trying to cover up any lewd noises you might emit.

10 minutes have past and you haven’t climaxed yet. You were starting to get tired of fingering yourself, noticing the warm sensation in your lower stomach has went away. Then, an involuntary image of Katsuki flashed behind your closed eyes. He was there, above you while looking absolutely feral. His eyes were no longer red, but somehow dilated to the point where they were just plain black. You felt the warmness coming back again as you glance down from his eyes to the placement of his hands. The mere sight made you gasp. Katsuki, with his knees proping himself, had his fingers inside of you. No longer were you covering your mouth, each and every whimper or moan left your throat. Katsuki gave you his infamous smirk and began to thrust his fingers faster within you. You couldn’t help but to clench around his fingers, wanting to get as close as possible.

“That’s it baby, come for me.” Katsuki spoke in a sultry tone.

Surprised by him speaking out, your eyes widened to the uncommon nickname.

“You look so fucking cute like this. Taking my fingers like a good girl...so fucking well baby ah fuck!” He continued with his lewd comments. He kept the usual pace while saying sweet nothings in the air.

“Katsuki...nagh...please make me come.” You pleaded softly.

With that, he curled his fingers inside you, causing a long drawn out moan from you. You felt it, then you finally released once he rubbed the tiny bud that desperately needed attention.

“Fuck, Katsuki...” you said breathlessly, eyes drawn to a close in complete euphoria.

Wanting to look back at the man who delivered you to climax, you opened your eyes to see nothing but darkness. Everything was a lucid dream. Katsuki wasn’t actually here to your beckoning call.

Embarrassed, you slipped on a fresh pair of panties and rolled onto bed, knocking out right away due to your recent endeavor.

Behind the wall next door, a lone Katsuki laid awake with his hand wrapped around his qivering member, breathing harshly after climaxing as well with you. He slapped his forehead.

“Fuck.”

-

The following morning, you woke up feeling much better. The constant pang in your lower region was gone, leaving you with an obvious glow. Katsuki noticed too when you strutted into the kitchen, wearing nothing but your big tshirt. His mind went ravage there, thinking about whether or not if you were wearing panties underneath. Considering what he heard last night made him think otherwise.

“Sleep well dumbass?” Katsuki asked as you made yourself a cup of coffee. You didn’t detect how smug he sounded. He was leaning against the island, wearing his usual attire of a tank top and sweat pants.

Thinking nothing of it, you answered his innocent inquiry. “Yeah actually. I haven’t slept that well in ages.” You took a sip of your coffee and leaned against the counter, your body mimicking Katsukis position.

Katsuki raised an eyebrow at that. “Oh really? Some type of remedy I don’t know of that makes you sleep well?” Again, you didn’t notice how tauting his tone was.

“O-Oh um, nothing too complex really. Just a simple uh, breathing excerise I did.” You lied through your teeth.

“Ah that makes sense. No wonder I heard you breathing so hard last night” Katsuki snapped his fingers.

You regretfully spit out your coffee, coating the tiled floor with the sugary brown liquid. Katsuki titled his head innocently at you.

“Something I said?”

“N-No I just forgot I left our clothes in the washer last night. I should probably head downstairs now before some creep steals our stuff!” You spewd a last minute excuse and ran out the door before hearing anything from Katsuki.

“Was definitely something I said.”

-

The laundry mat downstairs was empty. The mornings were usually packed, having either you or bakugou to stand outside the door for an open machine. This time you wish there was people occupying the space.

You had propped yourself on the washing machine, feet dangling a few feet from the floor. He knows what you did last night. He absolutely knows. How stupid of you to not realize his bed was agasint the shared wall. It was agonizingly painful to imagine how Katsuki felt during that haunting hour. He probably threw up to the thought of you touching yourself, specifically to him getting you off. Tears started to threateningly leave your eyes. No matter how many times you tried not to cry during this whole ordeal, a single tear slid down your face. Next thing you knew a whole stream was pouring out both of your eyes. If a person were to come in at this exact moment, they’d think you were a lunatic.

That’s when you heard loud footsteps coming from the entrance of the laundry matt. Deep down you knew who it might be, but you couldn’t muster up the courage to look up. You kept your head down, eyes focusing on your bare feet swaying back and forth. A pair of feet came into view, your knees slightly touching their upper thigh. You lowered your head even more, not wanting to face Katsuki and his judgmental glare.

“Y/N? Look at me,” he demanded.

You shook your head, still keeping it down.

“I said,” he places his finger beneath your chin, raising it to where you were eye level with him. “Look at me.”

You gulped, noticing how angry he looks right now. Is he angry at you touching yourself to him? Or is he mad about something else?

“Listen, I know what you did last night-“

That’s it. You cringed hard at his confession. Nothing mattered right now anymore. Katsuki was just white noise at this point. Dying sounded more appealing than listening to your roomate spiel about how they caught you masturbating. Oh the horror.

“That’s why I think we should please each other for the time while being quarantined together”, he finished.

Wait what.

The look he gave you was unlike any other look you’ve received from him. He was pleading, almost begging, with his eyes. You barely noticed his grasp on your thigh. The grasp grew tighter each second you left him unanswered.

“We both need this. I haven’t had any relief from another person in months...” he admitted while simultaneously rubbing your thigh.

You wanted this more than anything, but you didn’t openly admit that to him. Especially not in an open space like a laundry matt, where someone could walk in at any moment.

“Katsuki...I don’t think we should-“ he caught you by surprise with the sudden impact of his lips. The contact made you both moan into each other’s mouths. The hand that was grasping your thigh earlier soon trailed higher to your inner thigh. His cold hand against your already flushed body was enough to make you climax. When he got courageous enough to place his hand on your waist, you scooted closer to his body, giving him an invitation to step inbetween your legs. He obliged and closed the space between the both of you, using his other hand to cup your cheek. Katsuki grew ansty and bit your lower lip, wanting to gain more access in your mouth. You surrender and let him kiss you tongue first. You closed your eyes in ecstasy, letting him explore your mouth with his expert tongue. Katsuki grabbed your hands and placed them on his head, implying for you to grab a handful of his hair. Once you ran your hands through his blonde locks, his whole entire body tensed up. He quickly detatched his lips from your mouth, pressing his forehead against yours.

“Keep...Keep doing that please.” He whined. You smiled at his approval and continued to rake through his hair.

His whimpers were angelic as you kept tugging on his hair while he kissed you open mouthed.

You both were at it for awhile, making out and touching places that needed attention from the other. When the two of you let go for some air, a string of saliva strewn from both of your mouths. Flustered at the sight, Katsuki licked your bottom lip and gave it a quick peck before lifting your body from the washer. You squeaked loudly due to the aruptness and wrapped your legs around his waist.

The trip back to the apartment wasn’t long. Katsuki was careful not to drop you as he treaded up the stair case. Your apartment door came into view and without hesitation Katsuki kicked it open, breaking the hinges along with it.

“Katsuki! How are we going to pay for that!” You scolded him, playfully hitting his chest.

He chuckled at that and closed what was left of the door with his foot.

“I’m not worried about that right now. Too busy on taking care of you,” he mumbled the last part before attaching his lips to yours again.

Clumsily, the pair of you made it to his bedroom without breaking anything else in the process. Katsuki practically threw you on his bed, your back landing on one of his pillows. He climbed on top of you and observed your whole entire body. Internally you were shaking uncontrollably, but externally you gave the facade that you were completely calm. Katsuki took this as a sign to move his hand under your shirt, still staring at you intently. You felt his fingers inches away from your perched nipple. His hand reached your breast, giving it a good squeeze before pinching it with his fingers. You voluntarily arched your back, wanting him to explore more of your body.

“You like that?” He questioned, still pinching your sensitive nipple.

Answering him by moaning, he used his other hand to trail a line leading up to your inner thigh. He moved up and down slowly in a teasing pace, careful not to touch your heat yet. He replaced his digits with his thumb to rub your nipple in place. His smirk grew wider seeing you squirm beneath his touch. Deep down he always wanted to see you like this. Flustered to the core and whimpering to his subtle touch. He couldn’t wait to see you screaming out in pleasure. He wanted nothing more than to hear you call out his name in pure ecstasy.

As much as you wanted Katsuki to worship your body, the desire for him to fill you was more important.

“Kasu-...Katsuki, please.” You urged on, bucking your hips to meet his.

“Please what dumbass? Hm? Use your words,” he traced the outline of your lips carefully, opening your mouth wider.

“I need you inside me. I want to feel you...” you pathetically begged out him to.

Katsuki saw the desperation in your body language and voice. Swiftly, he pulled your panties down to your ankles, letting you move them aside to the floor. The wetness from your heat was slowly dripping down your thighs. Prepped and ready for whatever Katsuki has in store for you. Your cunt throbbed painfully from the anticipation of his next move. 

“You want me now baby?” He seductively said, earning an earnest groan from you as a reply. He kept himself busy by pumping his member through his sweats. His eyes never left you as he thrusted aggressively, smiling during the process when you kept glancing at his actions below. “I can’t wait...to know how you feel...ngh...I bet you feel incredible wrapped around my cock”. A blush creeped its way to your cheeks. His crude comments are getting dirtier, and you low-key didn’t want him to stop speaking his mind. 

Never in a million years would you have ever thought of doing something this intimate with Katsuki. If you were to tell yourself, a little first UA student, that you and Katsuki Bakugou had sex, you’d never believe it. Even at this moment, you still couldn't comprehend this was happening. You broke out of your thoughts when you felt the tip of something hovering at your entrance. During your daze, Katsuki managed to get his fully erect member from the tight hold of his boxers and lined it perfectly at your aching hole. He nudges your hole a few times before rubbing against your clit. A fulfilling moan left your throat as he kept going with the tedious motion. You elavated your hips a little in hopes for his tip to enter. Katsuki growled at your impatient state and grounded your hips with hands. You whimpered at the harshness of his grip.

“Keep doing that idiot and I just might make you fuck yourself instead,” he lowered his head to your neck and started sucking on the sensitive area. “You’re lucky I'm going to go easy on you dumbass or else you’ll be begging for me to stop. So, just let me know and I’ll stop”.

Even when he’s about to go feral in your insides, he was still considerate of your feelings, which made your heart beat go bezerk. Thankfully he stopped kissing your neck and dropped his full attention to his cock. You mentally sighed to yourself once you felt his tip circle around your lips. The swelling sensation down below was becoming unbearable to the constant teasing. You couldn’t hold it in any longer, so you wrapped your hands around his torso and purposely shoved him forward. Both of you let out a choked moan once his cock finally entered you. Your walls instinctively clamped tightly around him, feeling the warm flesh inside of you. The action you did elicited a loud whine from Katskui, who was currently shoving his face into the crevice of your neck, shaking from entering your tight walls so abruptly. 

“Do I...Do I feel good Katsuki?” you asked, shifting uncomfortably to his stiffness. 

He lifted his head from his previous position and grinned from ear to ear. “You feel fucking amazing baby.” He wasted no time to move his hips to sheathe his cock deeper inside you. It didn’t hurt due to you being so aroused and wet. He then started to continuously thrust at a slow pace, making sure you were adjusting to his size. Mouth wide open, you threw your head onto his pillows while clutching the bedsheets. 

“Ugh, Katsuki. Please go faster,” you winced at how needy you sounded, but you wanted the relief right away. 

Katsuki listened to your command and thrashed himself more into your hole. Sounds of skin slapping on skin and sporadic moans filled the small room. You felt his cock twitch inside you, indicating that he was indeed close. He continued thrusting at a fast pace, occasionally reaching down to rub your clit. Without a doubt, he was hitting your g-spot repeatedly, never once missing it. To feel even more closer to you, Katsuki pushed your legs further towards you, allowing him a better angle to thrust deeper. 

“Fuck Y/N...I bet he never fucked you like this. He probably never had you making those cute faces you’re pulling right now, ngh...” he panted between thrusts. “I hated the thought of you being fucked by someone other than me. All the guys you’ve dated are nothing compared to me. I want you all to myself.”

The knot inside your cunt started pulsing by him mentioning his hatred toward your past partners. You screamed when he clamped his sharp teeth down onto your shoulder. For a spilt second, you thought you felt the trickle of your own blood. Next thing you knew, Katsuki’s thrusts became sloppier, indicating he’s on the verge of climaxing. 

“God yes Katsuki, please come. Come with me baby!” you cry out.

You being so oblivious, you don’t know how much your voice turns him on. So when you egged him on to come with him, that’s exactly what he did. With one last thrust, both you and Katsuki attach your lips together, moaning out your orgasms into each others mouths. He successfully fills your heat with his seed and freezes in place. He detaches his lips from yours and stares at your dripping core. He had to restrict himself to not shove his cock into you again. After composing himself, Katsuki released himself from you and rolled over onto his side, propping his elbow to get a good view of you. You still recovering from your orgasm. You were gasping for more air, trying to compose yourself. 

“Ya know...maybe you could use your energy restoration quirk on me for a round two?” he humorously suggested.

You shifted yourself into a comfortable position on his lap and jabbed a finger under his chin. “Only if this round involves me riding you.” 

Katsuki then pushed you roughly on your back again. His eyes were more dilated this time than during your previous intimate moment together. He leaned down and kissed you gently on the lips.

“I like that idea better don’t cha think, idiot.”

-

Everything after that event changed the course for both you and Katsuki. The mood and tension from before disappeared. Now the two of you couldn't keep your hands off each other. You caught yourself sleeping more in Katsuki’s bed than your own. What was the point of being separated if you two were practically having sex every day? Every hour, minute, and second. It didn’t bother you though. You’d rather jump his bones than read another boring book again. 

On day 30 of quarantine, you woke up naked in Katsuki’s arms. You stretched your arms and legs, popping them in the process. Katsuki grunted and pulled you closer to his body. You smiled into the crook of his neck and returned the favor by kissing him on the nose. He scrunched his face, obviously not favoring the random spot you pecked him at. 

The night before you two were going at it till 3 am. Not taking breaks for anything whatsoever. It was evident from the display of your clothes strewn everywhere. 

You relaxed more into his arms, but your heart stopped once you heard the front door opening. Katsuki was still passed out, oblivious to the disturbance inside your apartment. Your ears picked up footsteps padding their way towards Katsuki’s door. The door knob twisted ominously. Whoever was behind the door was surely taking their sweet time. Before you knew it, the door swung open revealing the last person you wanted see. There stood Kirishima, mouth agape seeing you in the same bed as Katsuki. He blinked a couple of times before raising a weak finger in your direction. 

“I guess I wasn’t the only one who got laid during this pandemic!” Kirishima bursted into laughter.

Katsuki unwrapped his arms around you and grabbed the nearest pillow, using his quirk to explode it right at Kiri’s face. The impact ricchoeted him out the threshold of the door, a loud crash coming along with him. 

“EVER HEARD OF KNOCKING FIRST SHITTY HAIR!” he yelled, small sparks ejecting from his hands.

You contently sigh. Maybe this whole quarantine thing wasn’t so bad after all. 

[gffa]

Hello there I read a post of your and you mentioned the star wars comics Can you please suggest some good ones to read about the prequels or the original trilogy era? I would be most grateful

Hi!  BOY, I CAN I.  :D PREQUELS COMICS: - Obi-Wan & Anakin by Charles Soule.  This is probably my favorite prequels comic, for both iddy reasons (the art is gorgeous, there are some joyfully extra Jedi shenanigans, Obi-Wan & Anakin’s relationship is darling, etc.), but also because it’s really, really good when you read the whole thing and look at what it’s saying about the plot, the Jedi and their view of their relationship with the Republic, their relationship with Anakin and his relationship with them, and why everyone views things the way they do, right down to Palpatine poisoning everything for everyone. - Age of Republic by Jody Houser.  This is a series of oneshots (don’t let the numbers fool you) for various hero and villain characters and all of them are really good.  My favorite is the Obi-Wan one (obviously) because it’s so good at exploring his relationship with Anakin, but the Padme and Anakin and Maul ones all have really excellent character moments as well. - Star Wars Adventures by various authors.  I enjoy pretty much all of the Adventures comics, no matter what era they’re in!  I don’t remember specifically which numbers the prequels ones are--there aren’t very many, but I’m recommending the whole run because there’s a lot of OT comics in there as well and the ST comics are really, really cute ones.  They’re light-hearted but have some great worldbuilding bits and have some amazing Padme moments especially.  (SWA #12-13 have the Anakin/Padme date episode that’s hilarious + the 2019 Annual has an amazing story about Breha telling baby Leia about her friend Queen Padme Amidala.)  There’s also a story about Mace helping a young Twi’lek girl somewhere in that run that’s WONDERFUL. - Clone Wars Battle Tales by Michael Moreci.  It’s a kids’ series (part of the Adventures line) but it has so many great moments for both the clones and the Jedi.  Both hilarious and with some touching moments (oh my god, Plo & Wolffe’s interactions got me right in the feelings and Obi-Wan is my fave forever, as always) and it’s a nicely done 5 issue mini-series. - Jedi of the Republic - Mace Windu by Matt Owens.  Don’t let the art put you off (it is an acquired taste, if that) because the story itself is really worth digging into, a great look at Mace and the Jedi and their struggle with their role in being warriors in the Clone Wars, as well as their capacity for compassion and care when someone is deeply unfair to the people around them.  It’s an excellent Mace story but also has Kit Fisto being amazing in it, so it’s also worth reading for that. - Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith vol. 2 by Charles Soule.  Set in the immediate aftermath of Revenge of the Sith, this is a phenomenal look at Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader and how they are absolutely the same person.  The bigger arc of this story illustrates all these various Jedi that Anakin meets, showing him paths he could have taken instead of the one he did--he could have went on sabbatical, he could have left the Jedi for a family, he could have found other paths, he could have helped even while falling to the dark side--and he rejects every single one of them because he refuses to believe there were any other options than the one he has.  Add in some incredible worldbuilding and this is the comic for understanding Darth Vader, for me. - Kanan: The Last Padawan by Greg Weisman.  Another must-read, for the stunningly gorgeous art, for the amazing cuteness of baby Jedi, for the incredibleness of everything of Depa Billaba, and for the heartbreak of watching Caleb Dume become Kanan Jarrus after the Jedi Purge.  The worldbuliding is amazing (the look at the Jedi is so satisfying!) and the deeper understanding of Kanan’s origins and heartbreak at watching how much he suffered through all of that, it’s just gorgeously done. ORIGINAL COMICS: - Darth Vader vol. 1 by Kieron Gillen.  It’s best to read this concurrently with the Star Wars ongoing (from 2015 by Jason Aaron) because the first 6+ issues overlap with each other, but after that, read in whatever order you like.  This series is amazing and I would probably say, if you’re going to read one Darth Vader comic, it should be this one (even though the Soule one is my favorite), because Gillen really nails that balance of keeping him something of a mystical figure while also exploring the character.  There are so many absolutely iconic moments from this run that are Must Reads. - Darth Vader vol. 3 by Greg Pak.  While I almost put this in the prequels second, because while it’s set between ANH and ESB there are a lot of flashbacks and aftermath of prequels era stuff.  It’s less than 10 issues into its run yet, but every issue has been grabbing me by the throat and really giving us another entire comic full of gut-punches about what a shit lord Anakin Skywalker chose to be while also breaking our hearts for him. - Star Wars vol. 1 by Jason Aaron.  While the main series has been rebooted and is now being written by Charles Soule, the Jason Aaron one is absolutely worth reading, it’s centered around the time just post-ANH, where Luke and Leia and Han are having adventures and it does the brilliant job of exploring the characters in meaningful ways while working around the framework of the original movies and adding onto them to make them even better, imo.  Plus, there are some Obi-Wan issues in there that are absolute heartbreakers. - Star Wars vol. 2 by Charles Soule.  We’re only on the second arc at this point, but the first arc with Luke recently wrapped up and it was really amazing, Soule is really good at drawing connections between the character arcs of both the PT and the OT,  ones that may not always occur to me on the first read, but once I go back, it really feels it’s deliberate.  Luke struggling with the dark side in the aftermath of ESB and the revelations there and how he deals with it?  Incredible. - As mentioned above, the Star Wars Adventures comics have a lot of OT ones (anything with Leia tends to be my favorite) and they might be aimed at a younger audience, but they are often gorgeously drawn and have either really iconic moments or are just really feel-good reads. - Shattered Empire is a four-issue mini-series that’s basically the aftermath of ROTJ and setting up a lot of stuff that’ll happen in the years between the OT and the ST.  The art is absolutely stunning, you will fall in love with Poe Dameron’s mother, and there’s some great nods to what the original trio was up to.  It’s great for connective tissue, but also I just genuinely enjoyed it for itself. HONORABLE MENTIONS: - It’s been awhile since I read either of the Maul comics (the one by Cullen Bunn I remember really enjoying, and I haven’t read Son of Dathomir by Jeremy Barlow yet) but they’re worth picking up, if you’re enjoying SW comics. - The Adventures comics had a Tales from Vader’s Castle + Return to Vader’s Castle series released near Halloween for some cutely spooky stories that I really loved, if you like the Adventures comics.  There’s a hilarious one with Dracula!Dooku references as a nod to Christopher Lee’s portrayal of the character that absolutely delighted me. - If you enjoy her introduction in Darth Vader vol. 1, the Doctor Aphra comics are excellent reads as well. I also loved the Princess Leia mini-series by Mark Waid

[glenncoco4]

Tell Me More

A/N: Got this idea from What I Like About You. Takes place right before “All In.”

••••

It’s been a long and emotionally confusing day to say the least and seeing as though she has about an hour and a half before her partner picks her up to go ice skating with the guys, the brunette leans her head back against the cushion and closes her eyes, hoping that a little rest will bring her some clarity. 

She’s suddenly aware of the blaring car horns around her. Her brow furrows, wondering why she’s in the passenger seat of her car when the sound of his voice draws her to the driver side. She’s met with a mop of golden blonde hair moving up and down in sync with his head as it bobs to the unrecognizable tune coming from the radio. The smile that spreads to her lips can’t be helped as she leans her head back against the head rest, watching as her enthusiastic partner gains the attention of a little kid in the car next to them.

He clearly knows he’s being watch by the small boy and begins getting more animated in his movements as he belts out the lyrics to what she now recognizes as Donnie & Marie. She can feel the warmth in her heart grow, it’s familiar but there’s something more to it this time.

“You’re in love with him.”

The heat rises to her cheeks as the unsuspecting voice that she hasn’t heard in awhile states the obvious even if she is still in denial. “Oh my god, so not.”

“Baby girl, look at me. Look at me.”

She whines, her shoulders deflating as she turns her head to look in the middle back seat and is met with two chocolate orbs that she’s seen more in her dreams than she ever did in real life now. “What?”

The former marine can see she’s trying to hide whatever she’s feeling in those mismatched chocolate orbs that he misses so much, its one of the things that he wishes she didn’t take after him. The one thing he would tell his younger self is to love more, to fight for her mom like he should’ve all those years ago. He doesn’t want his little girl to make the same mistake he did. 

“You’re in love with him and he’s in love with you. I’ve been watching you two since the first moment you met.”

“Oh, please, just because you’re dead, suddenly you’re all intuitive?”

He huffs a laugh, one thing that he’s noticed ever since the shaggy blonde entered his daughter’s life is how freer she seems. Like the weight of the world isn’t resting on her shoulders as much with him around. “That’s right. It also helps that I’m your father and I know you better than anyone…well maybe not anyone.” He glances at the man in the driver seat as he continues to sing at the top of his lungs before turning back to look at his girl. “Now tell me, what are you afraid of?”

“Sharks, bears, leaving the house with the flat iron on-“

“Getting your heart broken?” He finishes.

“No…yes.”

A sad but knowing smile crosses the older man’s face. “Well I’ll tell you what, sweetie, get over it. Being in love with someone who loves you and not go for it just because you’re scared…” He shakes his head. “Ah, trust me, you’re gonna miss out on an awful lot.”

“But you haven’t had every guy walk out on you.” She can feel the tears forming in her eyes. Confessing her fears to someone, let alone one of the men who through no fault of his own walked out on her is a little nerve wracking. Having people stay in her life has never really worked out for her. After her dad died the only person that she had let slip through ended up leaving her. 

She’s known as the best first date girl in town for a reason. Never giving another man the opportunity to walk out on her has been her life for so long that when Deeks showed up and shook her world it knocked her on her ass. Looking over at said man, she can feel her heart pick up speed as he flashes her a smile. 

“Kens. Hey.” Her attention is drawn back to her dad as he leans forward, resting a reassuring hand on top of hers that sits on the center console. “Did you ever think that if they didn’t, you wouldn’t’ve ended up with Marty?” Squeezing her hand, a small smile crosses his face. “When it’s the right guy, he won’t leave.”

Summer loving had me a blast

Summer loving happened so fast

I met a girl crazy for me

Met a boy cute as can be

Summer days drifting away

To, oh, oh, the summer nights

He turns towards her a smile on her face knowing that she knows what’s coming. “Well-a well-a well-a, huh!”

Her head falls back in laughter as he emphasizes the a guttural huh followed by raising his voice to mimic the next versus.  

Tell me more, tell me more

Did you get very far?

Tell me more, tell me more

Like does he have a car?

As he’s shimmying his shoulders everything starts to fade away. The sudden shaking of her shoulders startles her awake, bringing her face to face with the man of her dream, quite literally. 

She takes in his appearance and is confused by the grin on his face. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You were singing show tunes in your sleep.”

“Well, it’s your fault.”

“How is it my fault?” His brow furrows, not seeing her logic.

“You made me go to all those damn shows.” She stands up, grabbing her vest to put on all the while trying her hardest to not make eye contact with him. No need to let him see the sudden panic in her eyes.

He shakes his head, there’s no way he made her do anything. “Oh-ho-ho, you and I both know that nobody makes Kensi Blye do something that she doesn’t want to. So admit it.”

“Ad-admit what?”

“Admit that you love show tunes.”

She stops her nervous movements right then as she remembers what her dad said. Stepping up to him, closing the distance between their bodies, she leans forward, her lips but a breath away from his ear. “Did you ever think that I wasn’t going for the ‘musical theater experience,’ that maybe I was going for something else?”

His legs turn to jelly as her warm breath fans across his ear and her body presses up against his…the scent of lavender and sunshine and gunpowder and all the beautiful things he loves hits his nostrils at once, and just as quickly vanishes when she sidesteps him and heads for the door.

“Come on, Shaggy. We have things to do.” A hint of a smile crosses her face when she suddenly feels the courage she’s been searching for for so long wash over her. The clear affect her actions had on him doesn’t hurt either, she knows its time…time to be bold.

[marshalortegamoved]

wip wednesday. (for the first time in awhile)

got tagged by @ejunkiet + @th-ink-first! thank you both so much for the tag! a lot of my recent... disastrous wips have been spoiler-ready and too messy to do anything with, so have some rare Chargestep, pre-heartbreak, not totally sad. Julia, wonderfully oblivious and stupid, and Noa, obnoxiously pining and stupid. and Julia’s pov, as a challenge treat.

tagging @antigonick / @sidestepping, @impossible-rat-babies, @heartbrreak, @abunnypirate, @rainy-rat, @wayhavn   + anyone else who’d like to! <3

——

The bar’s drawn low with the midsummer heat, a thick miasma of alcohol, cigarette smoke,  and desperation clinging to the air. Of course she picked the darkest corner. All the exits in view, while anyone would have to be looking to catch a glimpse of you two, and she’s thumbing at the rim of her water (I don’t drink with a hard stare and a challenge, begging you to argue, tell her to let loose, which you almost did, you still almost want to) and twitching a bit, watching the doors, watching the corners.

Not her scene (what is her scene? guts and teeth and driving her foot into a man’s jaw) but really, if you don’t get her out, who will?

“Sooo,” you grin, you lean in, you’re a good friend, “see anyone you like?”

She blinks those big owl eyes of hers—fretful, deer in headlights, you try not to laugh—and scrunches her nose. “What?”

“Y’know. It’s a bar. You’re a pretty girl and—”

She scoffs. Hard. Tch. 

“—and there are plenty of guys in here that—”

“Really?”

“Would be more than happy to get your attention.”

Another one of her sweet-nasty glares, the kind you can meet with a cheeky winner’s smile, and she shakes her head, takes another swig from her ice water. Doesn’t deign you with an answer, alright, you can play that way. 

“It’s supposed to be fun.” Needling, smiling, it’s a careful balancing act, testing out where to nudge and poke, and what’ll make her get up and walk out. “You’re not going to die from having some fun, are you?”

She scoffs again, this time tight with disbelief. “You’d be surprised. And I’m not interested.”

“You haven’t even looked.”

“I don’t need to,” she fires back, hard, taps at her temple. “Got some real grade A personalities in here.”

“Well— you don’t need to like the guy. Just…”

“What he looks like?”

“Exactly,” you nod till you realize she’s not asking, she’s teasing, and— “oh, okay, don’t give me that look. You’re acting like it’s marriage or something. I’m not saying go on a date…”

Something about her look or maybe just her makes your chest twinge hard and hm, hm, maybe this isn’t your best idea after all, but you’re already here, so you’ve got to pull through, finish strong, “put yourself out there. See what happens. Nothing wrong with a good time.” 

“I don’t—” a huff, her cheeks all ruddy and mean—the heat or embarrassment?—and she looks to the left of your face, fixating on the wall. “I don’t even… Jesus— fuck, why are we talking about this?” 

[hidden-otaku-stuff]

You’re a What?

tw: cursing

Word count: 3.8k

Pairing: Atsumu Miya x gymnastics fem!reader

Genre: angst, fluff

AN: Happy birthday Atsumu! 

“Oi, ‘Tsumu, you got a visitor!” Ginjima hollered, smirking at the entrance.

“Damn it Gin!” You whined, crossing your arms. “I was tryna’ scare him!” 

“Can’t scare me, doll,” Atsumu grinned, running towards you. “Hey baby.”

“Hey ‘Tsum.” You step on your tip-toe, pressing your lips to his cheek. “Brought you a bento.” 

“You’re the best!” Atsumu cheered, taking the cloth-wrapped package.

“Got anythin’ for me, (Nickname)?” 

You chuckle, nodding. “Oi!” Atsumu protested as you handed Osamu a wrapped box as well. “I don’t feel special anymore.” The older twin pouts, crossing his arms. 

“I made yours special, ‘Tsum. There’s extra tuna in it,” you roll your eyes, amusement glinting in your eyes. “Auntie asked me to bring ‘Samu a bento though.” You step forward, greeting the rest of the team with a wide smile. “And I brought some honey lemon slices for y’all too.” 

“You’re the best (Nickname).” Suna grinned, greedily taking the jar from you. 

“Oi, you better share that,” Ginjima protested, heading over to Suna to try and swipe the jar. 

“Don’t forget your manners.” Kita said, fixing his team-mates with a hard stare as he plucked the jar away from Suna and Gin. He turned back to you, bowing slightly. “Thank you (Name)-chan.” 

The rest of the team chimed in their thanks. Heat crept up your neck as you waved them dismissively. “It’s fine! It’s the least I can do. Thanks for takin’ care of ‘Tsum.” Atsumu snaked an arm around your waist, nuzzling into your neck.

“You’re too nice to these scrubs,” he grumbles. 

You pat his cheek affectionately. “I’ll see you later! Have a good practice.” You bow, wriggling out of Atsumu’s grip before heading out of the gym with one final wave.

“What’d you do to catch someone like (Name)?” Osamu complained, glaring at his brother. 

“Did you bribe her?” Suna added mischievously. 

“No!” Atsumu whined, crossing his arms. “She likes me for me.”

Ginjima snorted, “sure thing. Whatever you say, Atsumu.” 

Kita cleared his throat. “Let’s get back to practice now, shall we?” 

****

The table filled with laughter and exasperated sighs as the twins started arguing once more. “Can we just get along for once,” Ginjima grumbles, picking at his bento. 

“If you ignore them, we can,” Suna retorts, disinterestedly observing the two as they rally insults and comments.

“Tsumu, ‘Samu, eat your lunches.” 

“But-” Atsumu attempted to protest only to be immediately shut down by your stern look. “Fine, but this isn’t over, ‘Samu.”

Osamu rolled his eyes, turning back to his food and eating. “How’s classes been for you guys?” You ask, looking at the rest of the table only to be interrupted by your phone. Your eyes narrowed as you looked at the notification, the corner of your mouth twitching. “On second thought, I have to go.” 

“What, already? You haven’t even finished your lunch, babe,” Atsumu’s brows furrowed as you stood up, gathering your stuff.

You send him an apologetic look, “I’ll eat later. Bye guys!” With one final wave, you disappear out of the dining hall. Suna raises an eyebrow as he watches you leave, biting his tongue from a scathing comment. He was sure it wasn’t anything serious, but it was definitely unusual to say the least. Since you had started dating Atsumu, you had never left lunch early. Nor had you ever left your food uneaten.

*****

“Hey, is everythin’ okay with you and (Name)?”

Atsumu looked up to Aran’s concerned face. “Yeah? Why wouldn’t it be?”

“We haven’t seen her around lately,” Suna stated bluntly. “Thought she broke up with you or something.��� It had been three days since you’d left them suddenly at lunch, and your presence at lunch was sorely missed as you hadn’t returned since.

Atsumu’s jaw dropped, “No!” he spluttered. “She’s just been busy.”

“Hey babe?”

“What’s up?” Atsumu looked down at you while he walked by your side, escorting you home after a late practice. Osamu had gone home to the Miya household first.

“I’m not going to be able to visit practice for awhile.”

He frowns, pausing slightly as he surveys you. “Is everything okay?”

You flash him a smile, nodding. “Yeah! I just have some stuff to do after school for the next few weeks.”

Atsumu chews on his bottom lip, slowly nodding, “what kind of stuff?”

“Hey, didn’t you get invited to the All-Japan Intensive Youth Camp?”

His eyes lit up, nodding as he started swinging your intertwined hands once more. “Yeah I did! ‘Samu didn’t though.” You let out a small sigh of relief as he dives into the topic of volleyball and his twin. 

Atsumu’s brow furrowed. Were you just trying to distract him? 

“Busy?” Gin snorted. “Even when she’s busy, you still walk her home.” 

“What does she have to be busy with?” Osamu asked, leaning forward and stretching. “She isn’t in any clubs, is she?”

Atsumu frowned, “no.” 

Suna laid down onto the ground, playing on his phone. “She probably found someone better than Atsumu.” 

“Hey!” 

*****

Later that night, Atsumu found himself lying in bed wide awake. Beneath him, Osamu was snoring the night away. Atsumu rolled over, picking up his phone once more. 2 A.M. Still no ‘good night’ text from you. You had never missed a ‘good night’ text. Atsumu chewed on his bottom lip, Suna’s words coming back to haunt him.

“Are you sure she ain’t cheatin’ on you, Atsumu?” Suna asked, glancing up at Atsumu. “It’s pretty weird that she’s been ghostin’ you the past few days.”

“She hasn’t been ghostin’ me!” Atsumu protested. “She still sends me ‘good morning’, ‘good night’ texts.” 

“Bet you she’ll miss it tonight.” 

Gin frowned, looking between the group members. “Don’t be like that, Suna,” he chided. “(Nickname)’s a sweet girl. I don’t think she’d cheat on Atsumu.” 

“Yeah! I’m sure there’s an explanation about what’s going on.” 

Atsumu ended up laying in bed for another thirty minutes before exhaustion overwhelmed him. The next day, he woke up to no new text messages from you. He cursed under his breath. Could Suna be right? You guys weren’t having any issues. Or at least, none that he knew of. He tightened his resolve, searching for you as soon as he got to school. He popped into your classroom, only seeing your best friend.

“Hey, Aoi, have you seen (Name) ‘round?” 

The brunette looked up to Atsumu, shaking her head. “Sorry, Atsumu. She’s out again.”

“Do you know where she’s at?” 

Aoi shrugged, “(Nickname) just said she’d be out for the rest of the week. She didn’t tell me where she’d be.” 

Atsumu frowned, nodding. You hadn’t mentioned anything about a week of absences in the sparse texts he had received from you. “Thanks anyways,” he muttered, heading back to his classroom.

“Find her?” Suna asked, glancing up from his bento. Atsumu shook his head. “Wonder where’s she been.”

“Aoi said she’d be out for the rest of the week,” Atsumu groaned, slumping into his chair and staring at his own lunch.

Osamu raised an eyebrow. “The rest of the week? Doin’ what?”

“Fuck if I knew,” Atsumu grumbled. “She didn’t say anythin’ ‘bout it to me though.”

Suna frowned. As much as he was joking about you cheating, he didn’t actually want that to be true. He actually enjoyed your company. You were one of the few who didn’t force him to interact with you. 

Atsumu’s phone vibrated, causing him to brighten up.

(Name): Hey baby! Sorry for going MIA. I had to go to Tokyo for something. I won’t be back for the rest of the week. I love you so much, see you soon!

Atsumu frowned. Tokyo? What on Earth did you have to go to Tokyo for? The more he thought about it and asked around, the more questions surfaced. The fact that he didn’t even know what you were busy with made him feel like a really shitty boyfriend. He knows that he was constantly busy with volleyball, but you had always understood and he always let you know what was going on. But was that enough to cause distance between you two? Before you, he hadn’t considered dating because he was too committed to his sport. And yet, something had drawn him to you. With everything going on, he started wondering whether or not he truly knew you. After all, you would have told him, right? Had he not earned a right to know what was going on in your life? 

*****

“(Name)!” 

You turn, grinning. “Hey Tsum-Tsum!”

Atsumu stopped in front of you, panting slightly. He’d caught the sight of your hair and sprinted towards you. He couldn’t believe that you were here in front of him after a week of being in Tokyo. “Where have you been?”

You adjusted the duffel on your shoulder, “I told you, babe. I was in Tokyo.” 

“Why were you in Tokyo?”

You open your mouth to reply only for your phone to interrupt you. Your eyes widened as you looked at the notification. “I’m so sorry Tsum-Tsum, I’m actually supposed to be at the train station in a few minutes. I just came to pick up my homework.”

“Wait!” He protested, grabbing your arm.

“I promise, I’ll explain everything when I get back,” you reply, eyes softening at the desperation in his eyes. You press your lips to his cheek. “I’ll see you on Sunday.” 

His arms drop as you yank yourself free from his grip. Brown eyes watch as you sprint down the halls and outside the building. “Well?” Osamu asked, popping up beside him.

“Well what?”

Osamu rolled his eyes, grabbing his brother’s arm. “Let’s follow her and see where she’s goin’!”

“She said the train station?” Atsumu replied in a questioning tone as he sprinted after his brother. They both darted off campus, heads swiveling.

“There she is!” Osamu pants, pointing at your back. Both twins sprinted after you, ducking behind stores to hide whenever you glanced behind you. They watched as you pulled out your card, swiping into the station. Their eyebrows quirked up as they scrambled onto the same train as you. “Why’s she goin’ to Osaka?” Osamu muttered beside Atsumu as they sat a few rows behind you. You had your back to them, earphones in as you watched some type of videos on your phone. Osamu pulled on a cap, covering his gray hair. The twins pulled off their uniforms, taking turns to change into streetwear. 

“No idea,” Atsumu said, eyebrows furrowing. What could be so important that you were missing so much school for it? Why hadn’t you just talked to him? If you were riding a train, why couldn’t you just text him? He fought the urge to text you. His phone vibrated as Suna texted the group-chat.

Suna: Oi, Miya twins. Where the fuck are you guys? 

Atsumu: on a train

Suna: wtf why???

Osamu: we saw (Name) on-campus and she got on the train to Osaka. 

Gin: wait, you’re going to OSAKA right now??? What about practice?

Atsumu: uhhh cover for us!

Gin: Kita’s gonna kill ya

Suna: I can’t wait to watch that 😇

Osamu: oi suna stfu

Gin: you shoulda told us. We would’ve came with y’all

Atsumu: you guys just don’t wanna be in class right now

Suna: LOL auntie is going to KILL you if Kita doesn’t

Atsumu blanched, exchanging looks with Osamu. They really didn’t plan this out very well. They look up only to see you standing up, causing Osamu to shove Atsumu’s head down. Osamu carefully watches as you disappear into the restroom, reappearing and pulling on a white and red jacket. “Oi.”

“What?” Atsumu hissed.

“Is (Nickname) on a sports team or somethin’?”

Atsumu’s brow furrowed. “Not that I know of, why?” 

Osamu jerks his head towards you. “She’s got a national team jacket on.”

Atsumu’s head shot up, eyes narrowing at your form. “Huh.” They jump to their feet as you stand next to the entrance, waiting to disembark. The twins scramble off, watching as you make your way to transfer trains. They slipped in, taking their seats in the back once more as you sat near the doors. 

Suna: Oi Atsumu

Atsumu: what?

Suna: does (Name) do gymnastics?

Atsumu: what??

Suna sent a photo to the group-chat. 

Atsumu’s eyes widened as the photo loaded. Sure enough, there was a photo of you staring back at him wearing a sparkly red and gold leotard. You were holding a trophy, a gold medal around your neck as you waved. There was a black box underneath you with your name on it, as if taken from a screen-cap of the competition. “Holy crap,” he whispered. 

Gin: holy crap! You’re datin a gymnast???

Suna: not just any gymnast. Apparently she’s on the Olympic roster

Atsumu: WTF she never told me that!!

“What the fuck,” Atsumu muttered, forehead creased. “Why didn’t she tell me?”

Osamu shrugged, reading through some links. “Here’s a video,” he said, texting a youtube link into the groupchat. Atsumu tapped on the link, watching as his girlfriend did several flips, splits, and other aerobatic techniques for her floor routine. “She competes at nationals?” 

“Well if she’s an Olympian, that makes sense,” Osamu snorted, rolling his eyes. “Ah, looks like this is our stop, ‘Tsumu.” 

*****

“You’re an Olympian?!” Atsumu asked, running up to you just as you got off of the stage performing your routine.

“Tsum-Tsum! ‘Samu! What are you guys doin’ here?” Your eyes widened as you looked at your boyfriend and his twin. They didn’t even know you did competitions. How on Earth did they manage to sneak downstairs to the main stage anyways? 

“Findin’ out that my girlfriend does gymnastics. Not only that, that she’s good enough to be on the national team. And the Olympics? What the fuck?!” Atsumu hissed.

You flushed, scratching your neck. You were about to answer when the Olympic coach came by, grabbing your arm. “Hey (L.Name), you have to do some interviews. Talk to your fans later.”

“Oh! Okay.” You send the twins an apologetic look. “I’ll be right back, I promise I’ll explain everything,” you plead. 

Atsumu huffed, crossing his arms but nodding. After having been to major tournaments himself, he knew very well what needed to be done after competitions. He and Osamu stepped to the side, wandering the venue a bit. “Maybe I should’ve gotten flowers,” Atsumu said, scratching his neck. 

“Oi, don’t they normally sell flowers at the venues?” 

Atsumu’s eyes widened. “You’re right!” They wander around the hall a little longer, finding a booth of merchandise. Atsumu laughs rambunctiously, spying a t-shirt with your face on it. How had he never seen these before? He quickly queues up, purchasing one with the intention of messing with you the next time you guys hang out. Osamu rolls his eyes at his twin’s antics, but remains silent as he scans the hall for a food vendor. 

Just further down the hall, Atsumu spies the flower vendor. “I’m gonna go get (Nickname) some flowers,” he tells Osamu. “You can go ahead and find food.”

Osamu nods, disappearing into the crowd without another word.

Walking up to the booth, Atsumu blanches at the many options. Should he just get a classic bouquet of red roses? “Would you like to buy some flowers?” The sweet grandmother looked up at him, smiling. He chews his bottom lip, nodding slightly. She chuckles at his expression. “Confused on to what to get?” Another nod. “Who is it for?”

He clears his throat, cheeks dusted pink in embarrassment. Atsumu was confident in volleyball, that’s why he was so dedicated. He was confident in himself. But why was he so nervous and out of sorts whenever it came to you? “My girlfriend is competing today.”

“And you came out here to support her? You’re not from here, right?”

He shakes his head. “We’re from Hyogo.”

The vendor smiles, picking up a bundle of purple shobu, carefully wrapping them and handing him the bouquet with a kind smile. “Give her this.” 

Atsumu lets out a sigh of relief, expression lightening. “Thank you!”

He makes his way back to where he had run into you earlier, waiting patiently near the door for you to make your appearance once more. Atsumu didn’t have to wait long. Within ten minutes, a lithe body was flinging themselves onto him. “‘Tsum-Tsum!” You grin, wrapping your arms around him. “I can’t believe you’re here!”

Atsumu flushes, ear-tips turning cherry red as he hands her the bouquet of irises. “Here, I got you this.”

Your eyes widen, taking the bouquet delicately. “Atsumu, you really didn’t have to.”

He panics, noting the lilt to your voice as he grabs your shoulders. “Oh god, are you okay? Why are you cryin’?”

You shake your head, holding the flowers closer to you. “Do you know what these mean?”

Atsumu stops, looking down at the bouquet. “Would you be mad if I said no?”

Giggling, you shake your head harder. “You’re such a scrub, I swear. These mean ‘loyalty, good tidings, and good news’.”

He clears his throat, “yeah of course I knew that.”

“Whatever you say, Tsum-Tsum.” You tease, leaning up to give his cheek a kiss. “Thank you.”

Atsumu grabs your hand, trying to lead you out of the exhibition hall. “So what’s this competition for?” 

You glanced over at your boyfriend. “These are the qualifiers for the Toyota International.”

“The what?”

“It’s the international competition held in Toyota every year. Since I turned 16 last year, this is the first time I’m allowed to compete in it.”

“Holy crap, you’re an international star, babe!” 

You scoff, rolling your eyes. “You’re such a dork.” 

He throws his arm around you, pressing his lips to your forehead. “So how come you never told me?’

Shrugging, you zipped up your jacket. “You’re normally doing volleyball camps and stuff when I have competitions, so I felt bad inviting you when I knew you were busy training.” Atsumu swooped down, scooping up your duffel. “And well I mean, we weren’t really dating when I went to the Olympics, so I didn’t really feel like you needed to know at the time.”

“So who does know?”

“Just the faculty and Aya. I need their permission to leave campus and miss school,” you grin before a dark look shadowed your face. “I didn’t want the rest of school to know about it, otherwise there’d just be too much attention on me.”

“It wouldn’t have been that bad!” Atsumu protested.

You fix Atsumu with a hard stare. “Oh really? I already get enough attention from guys. What makes you think that they wouldn’t be even more obsessed with me if they knew?” You shivered. “They’d probably be as intense as your fan-girls.” Atsumu blanched, nodding slightly. He’d already fought off a decent number of guys. Him and the volleyball team. “Besides, everyone’s attention is on the volleyball team, so I can hide under the radar perfectly well!” Atsumu placed his hand on your waist, leading you towards the exit when some more reporters started heading your way. “Ah shit,” you muttered. “If we get photographed together, then everyone will know.”

“I’ll distract them.” Atsumu offered, pushing you to the side and walking directly towards the reporter. You grin at your boyfriend’s self-sacrifice - though you knew he’d secretly love the attention anyways - and ducked out the back entrance, switching your national jacket for an Inarizaki hoodie. As you straighten up, you slam into a hard chest.

“(Nickname)?” 

You glance up, eyes widening. “Hey ‘Samu! Was just wonderin’ where you were.” 

“Where’s ‘Tsumu?”

You point your thumb behind you. “Distractin’ the reporters for me.” 

Osamu hummed, eating another takoyaki before offering you a box. “Want some?”

“Yes please! I’m starving.” You took the box, joining Osamu as you guys waited outside the stadium. Your legs were swinging as you ate. 

“So, you’re an Olympian?”

You nodded, sipping your water. “And what of it?”

“‘Tsumu never knew?”

You scoff, rolling your eyes. “If I told Atsumu, the whole school would know the same day.” 

Osamu chuckled, shaking his head. “You ain’t wrong about that. The scrub loves to brag, especially ‘bout you.” Osamu pulls out a bag of chips from his bag, opening one under your quizzical gaze. “He really loves ya, y’know?” 

“Hmm?”

“He was stressin’ out this whole week. He thought he lost you or somethin’.”

Undoing your hair, you pull your hood over your head and slide some shades on as you spot some reporters skulking around. “I didn’t mean to. I was just so busy with everythin’, it was hard to keep in contact with anyone.” 

Osamu shrugs. “Just make sure you keep him updated from now on, yeah? Isn’t that what people do in relationships or whatever?” Osamu gazes out, waving to Atsumu who was just leaving the arena. “Your partner in a relationship is who you want to stand by you for life. It’s you against the world, right? Otherwise what is it all for?” He shrugs again. “Just food for thought.” You flash him a smile before you both stand, greeting Atsumu. “How was the reporters, ya scrub?”

Atsumu shrugged, “coulda been better. They were surprised to see me, kept asking me who I was here to support.” He eyed Osamu. “You didn’t get stopped?”

The younger twin just points at his hat. “I don’t go outta my way to get recognized like you do ‘Tsumu.” 

Atsumu grinned, throwing his arm around you. “I didn’t, but I had to protect my baby.”

Osamu pretends to retch, shoving his twin. “C’mon scrubs, we gotta get back to Hyogo.” 

The silver-haired twin leads the way as you and Atsumu slowly follow behind him, hands intertwining. “So, why were you in Tokyo?”

You shrug, “I had to do a week-long training camp with the Olympic coach. Had to prep for this competition, y’know?”

Atsumu hummed, squeezing your hand slightly. “How come you never practice back home?”

At this, you giggle, shaking your head. “I do, Tsum-Tsum.”

“What?” His eyebrows furrowed. He’d never noticed you going to practice or having obligations.

“There’s a gym a few streets away from campus. I meet my gymnastics coach there to practice. Or I’ll visit the dance studio on-campus and do my flexibility exercises there.” You shrug, giving him a good-natured smile. “What do you think I do during your practices anyways?”

“I dunno, miss me?”

You shove him. “You’re ridiculous.”

He chuckles. Just as you reach the train station, he turns to you fully. “Hey babe?”

Turning to face him, your head tilts. “What’s up?” 

“Promise me you’ll invite me to some of your competitions?” He hesitates, chewing on his bottom lip. “I feel like a real shitty boyfriend for not supportin’ you more.” 

Your expression softens. “I promise, Tsum-Tsum. No more secrets.”

“One more thing.” Atsumu comes to a full stop, unzipping his jacket with the cheesiest smile on his face. “What do you think of my shirt?”

*****

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Please contact me if you would like to be a part of my general taglist! 💞 Check out this link for information about my taglists.

[ggreactionsandscenarios]

hii, can i please request a yoohyeon fluff? wherein she and the reader hasn't seen each other for a while due to conflicts with schedule. Then the reader comes home one day, not expecting yoohyeon to be there as well then they spend the whole night chatting and maybe a little makeout sesh?? Thank youuu 💜

Yoohyeon x Reader

Night at home 🔞

As you were walking home, you thought about what you were going to eat once arrived. Your day had been pretty tiring so you weren't really motivated to cook anything fancy.

You tried to remember the last time you went out for dinner, the last time you went on a dinner date with your girlfriend.

Thinking about it, you came to the realisation that you actually haven't saw your girlfriend for almost a month. The thought made you miss her even more, lately her schedule was so heavy that she couldn't even leave the company for the night.

So when you opened the front door of your shared apartment you didn't expect your girlfriend to be there, sat on the floor playing with Pie. The sound of her barking would usually make you laugh but this time you were too shocked to even react.

Pie heard your steps and came greet you, you would have respond to the little dog if your eyes weren't glued to the figure of your beautiful girlfriend looking at you with a big smile on her face.

"Are you not going to greet me too ? Or maybe you prefer to keep staring ? I mean it's okay I would have done the same if I had me as my girlfriend."

Once finally realizing Yoohyeon was really home you run in her arms straddling her lap in the same time. She caught you easily, caressed your back in a slow path and kissed your shoulder before whispering in your ears.

"I missed you too Y/N."

You stayed there, in the comfort of her arms for quite awhile, before your stomach reminded you that you didn't have dinner yet. Yoohyeon was fast to tease you about it.

"Time to feed the bear I see. Let's go !"

She startled you by standing up while you were still in her arms, she brought you to the dinner table and made you sit on one of the chairs.

That's when you finally noticed the delicious smell floating in the air. In front of you were a well dressed table, a bouquet of flowers set in the center and few candles here and there. Yoohyeon came back from the kitchen where you didn't even know she was gone in the first place and she disposed your favourite dish right in front of you.

"Bon appétit, sweetheart."

And that's when you realized how much you really missed her, without her your life was so blank and monotone. Yoohyeon sure was a perfect soon to be wife when she was there. When she noticed the way you were looking at her Yoohyeon winked at you before signalling you to eat while it's still hot.

You had an amazing meal and you both crawled into bed feeling so full at the end of it. Still you weren't sleepy anymore you had so many things to discuss with your girlfriend, a whole month of little stories to tell.

"And guess what Siyeon answered to Sua ?"

"I don't know, oh no did she found worse ?"

"Oh yes she did, that stupid wolf said 'Do you want to bite my lip again ?'."

"How come nobody figure out they're dating seriously ? There are some many clues."

"I don't know haha but they're definitely teasing insomnias with their actions."

Yoohyeon was looking at the ceiling while chuckling at an other memory of her friends behaviour. And you, you had your eyes glued to her features once again.

You nudged the side of her neck with your nose, getting closer to your long time gone girlfriend and she put her arm around you. She kissed the tip of your nose before doing the same to your forehead.

"Good night angel."

God did you miss those little rituals before sleep and you thought that maybe they were the reasons you couldn't sleep properly without her.

The next day you woke up by the smell of pancakes lingering in the air. The bed was cold but knowing your girlfriend it didn't make you lose your smile. Yoohyeon and the art of feeding you was a long lasting love story, sometimes you wondered if she learned it from Jiu and the way she was feeding the members like a mom.

However you would never complain about that part of your girlfriend since it was so sweet of her.

You got up happy and excited at the idea of delicious food for breakfast. As you approached you heard Scream intro start and of course your girlfriend appear sliding with her socks on the floor and well of course already screaming Jiu's part.

You thank your appetite for having wake you up before that scream would've because even though Yoohyeon has a beautiful voice, her screaming was only pleasing in bed and when it involve you between her legs.

You lower the volume of the music because yes you did have neighbours even if your girlfriend tend to forget.

"But baby it was the best part ! My part !"

You kissed her pouting lips before heading to the fridge to get your favourite beverage.

"Okay I guess kisses are better anyway."

You chuckled when she came tickle you from behind. It was easy to make Yoohyeon stop sulking with kisses but make her stop kissing you was harder.

"Come on let's to go to the table and eat breakfast, I'm hungry."

------🔞----------🔞----------🔞-----

You didn't have to wait for long to hear Yoohyeon complain and refuse to let you go.

"I'm hungry too but I already found what I'm going to eat and it's not on the table, yet."

The way her nails met your hips wasn't the only thing that turned you on when she made you face her. The way she kissed your lips, her tongue dancing with yours was way more appealing and exciting than you remembered.

When Yoohyeon blocked you against the counter she couldn't restrain herself from checking you out and smirking.

"Damn I missed my girlfriend."

That was the only thing she said before grabbing your thighs and making you sit on the table. She undressed you, leaving you in your big oversized T-shirt, she liked the idea of taking you half dressed in the middle of the kitchen.

Her kisses got down on your neck, sucking and biting it from time to time. Her hands though were still on your thigh, drawing small patterns on it with her thumbs. You wished those circular patterns were drawn somewhere else so bad.

At the only thought of it your thighs pressed themself against each other, needy for more. Yoohyeon being the teasing brat she was, let a chuckle seeing you were starting to get desperate.

"Getting wet down there I see, maybe you need something from me ?"

Of course she had to make you beg for it. Nevermind you complied, too turned on to fight against her.

"Please make me cum, Yoohyeon."

Yoohyeon got on her knees and without losing anymore time she licked your clit making you moan in release. Of course your girlfriend had to be a sex goddess and make you cum ridiculously fast.

She gave you one last lick before standing up and kissing you on the lips while you were still panting.

"Let's eat breakfast now !"

You swear this girl would be the death of you one day.

Hi. Yoohyeon being my bias wrecker I can't refuse any of this so here it is. Hope you like it, give feedback 😁 Don't hesitate to request again and sorry for the time it took me, please forgive a fellow 02' liner 😅💙-Ael

[hopelikethemoon]

Numb (Javier x Reader) {MTMF}

Title: Numb Rating: PG-13 Length: 3700 Warnings: Angst (misunderstandings, poor communication, postpartum depression) Notes: You can find the Maybe Today, Maybe Forever Timeline here. Set in September 1997. I PROMISE YOU THAT EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE OKAY.  Summary: Three months after their daughter’s birth, Reader and Javier struggle with their relationship. 

Taglist:  @grapemama​​​​  @seawhisperer​​​​ @huliabitch​​​​ @pedropascalito​​​​ @rogrsnbarnes​​​ @thewallpapergoesorido​​​​ @twomoonstwosuns​​ @gooddaykate​​​ @livasaurasrex​​ @ham4arrow​​ @hiscyarika​​​ @plexflexico​​ @readsalot73​​ @hdlynn​​ @lokiaddicted​​​ @randomness501​​ @fioccodineveautunnale​​  @roxypeanut​​ @just-add-butter​​ @snivellusim​​ @amarvelousmandalorian​​​ @lukesrighthand​​ @historynerd04​​ @mrsparknuts​​ @synystersilenceinblacknwhite​​ @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead​​ @exrebelshocktrooper​​​ @awesomefandomsunited​​ @ah-callie​​ @swhiskeys​ @lady-tano​​ @beskar-droids​​ @space-floozy @cable-kenobi​​ @longitud-de-onda​​ @cool-ultra-nerd​​ @himbopoes​​ @findhimfives​​ @pedrosdoll​​ @seeking-a-greatt-perhaps​​ @frietiemeloen​​ @arrowswithwifi​​ @random066​​ (more tags in the replies)

“How are you doing?” Javier questioned, curling his fingers around the back of your chair as he leaned down to press a kiss to the top of your head. 

“We’re doing good.” You told him, readjusting Sofía in your arms. “Connie lured Tracy into the kitchen to work on some sort of deeply alarming salad with peas and cheddar cheese.”

“What?” Javier sank down into the lawn chair beside you, resting his elbows on his knees as he tilted his head to look at you. “Did I hear you right?”

You snorted, grinning at him. “Hearing going too, old man?”  

“Ouch.” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “No, I’m just wondering who the fuck thought those things go together?”

“White suburbia.” You held your hand out and he pulled his sunglasses off his shirt and passed them to you. “But it’s keeping Tracy occupied.” You pushed the aviators up the bridge of your nose. “I’m not looking a gift horse in the mouth.”

Sofía started fussing and you tried to readjust her in your arms. She was fussier than Josie had ever been. 

“Do you want me to take her?” Javier questioned. 

Some irrational part of your brain wanted to snap at him for thinking you weren’t capable of calming your own daughter down — but you knew that wasn’t what he was saying. At all.

“I’m good.” You assured him, cradling the back of her head as you nestled her against your chest. “I’ve got you, sunshine.” You whispered, trying to lull her back to sleep. 

The comparison to Josie wasn’t necessarily fair either. Josie hadn’t really gotten a taste for socializing until she was in Miami. There were no barbecues or overly friendly strangers in Colombia. You couldn’t blame the baby for being overwhelmed. You were too, if you were being honest. Surrounded by people and yet you still felt isolated.

Javier scooted his lawn chair closer to you, his knee brushing against yours. “Hey, I’m going to go check on Josie. You sure you’re good, baby?”

You nodded your head stiffly, keeping your gaze low. “I’m fine.”

He didn’t seem convinced. Javier reached out and touched your cheek gently, nudging your chin up so you had to look at him. “If you want to go home…”

“Go harangue Steve about Stevie.” You retorted, shifting back in your chair to escape his touch. You didn’t need to be comforted. There was no reason to be comforted. 

Javier frowned, “Baby…”

“I’m fine. I promise.” You gritted out. He didn’t need to worry about you. You could handle your own three-month-old. Couldn’t you?

Javier squeezed your knee three times before he rose to his feet. He lingered beside you, like he had more to say. But instead of saying it, he retreated to find Josie. 

And Steve. 

You just knew the two of them were probably comparing notes on being with women who suddenly changed. Even you wanted an answer about why your brain was constantly at odds with itself. Ever since Sofía had been born, you just… felt like a failure. 

Even at work everything felt like it had lost its shine. 

Frankly, it sucked. 

Nothing felt right. You had really believed that going back to work would help you feel normal again. But maybe this was your new normal. And that was a bleak thought. You had brought it up with your pediatrician when you took Sofía for her check-ups, but they hadn’t seemed overly concerned. Apparently it was normal to feel like this. Hormones and all of that shit, but… it hadn’t been like this with Josie. You remembered being happy, despite the situation. 

You didn’t remember feeling like there was a weight crushing you in the middle of the night. 

There was nothing you hated more than feeling helpless. 

You lifted your head, eyes scanning the Murphy’s backyard. You recognized most of the guests — friends of Connie’s from the hospital, a few parents from the girls’ daycare, a couple people you recognized from Steve’s circle at work. 

You spotted Tracy milling around at the far end of the yard with Jeff, which meant the kitchen was safe. You looked towards the porch, relieved to see that Connie was alone as she headed back into the house. 

“Change of scenery, sunshine.” You told Sofía as you started across the yard into the house. “How’d the salad go?” 

Connie gave you a droll expression, “I think it may be the Frankenstein of salads.” She nodded towards the refrigerator. “It’s chilling if you want to steal a bite.”

You made a face, “I’d rather not.” 

“And Tracy wasn’t so terrible.” 

“Really?” You gave her a skeptical look. “The first words out of her mouth were ‘I expected you to have lost your baby weight already’.” 

She grimaced, “She’s blunt.” 

“A bitch, you mean.” You corrected and Connie laughed.

“You’re not wrong.” She wiped her hands off with a dish towel and gestured to Sofía, “Can I hold her?”

You tensed. She had finally settled down, but at the same time… “Sure.” 

Connie carefully took her from you, sweet talking Sofía as she roused from her nap. She was so good with babies. A natural. And that made you feel guilty for being so despondent about Sofía. You knew that Connie would do anything to be able to hold her own baby in her arms and you couldn’t muster the same enthusiasm. 

“Hey. Are you okay?” Connie asked, her brows drawn together as she looked at you. 

“I—” You swallowed thickly, shoulders sinking. “I wish I knew.” 

She glanced around the kitchen for a moment, before she looked back at you. “I think everything is almost ready for dinner, let’s go sit in the family room and talk.” 

You wanted to protest. You didn’t need to talk. Everything was fine.

But it wasn’t. 

So you followed Connie into the family room. You sat down in the middle of the sofa, watching her as she sat down in the armchair with Sofía cradled in her arms. You chewed on your bottom lip, lowering your gaze to your hands as you wrung them in your lap. “I just wish I knew what was wrong with me.” 

Connie frowned, “You went through a traumatic experience. No one can blame you for taking awhile to get back to normal.” 

“Yeah.” You raked your fingers through your hair as you sank back against the sofa. “I don’t feel like myself anymore. Honestly, I feel like I’ve been replaced by a pod person.” You laughed humorlessly, shaking your head. 

“How are things between you and Javier?” Connie questioned. 

“I’m surprised Steve hasn’t told you everything.” 

“Steve hasn’t been able to get a straight answer out of Javier.” 

“Oh.” You worried at your bottom lip. A part of you had hoped that Javier was talking to Steve — at least then he wouldn’t feel isolated the way he had been after Josie’s birth. But he kept things as close to the chest as you did. “We’re fine. I mean…” You shook your head slowly. “Things have been a little tense.” 

Connie smiled sympathetically, “I noticed. Has something changed…?” 

You were quick to look up then. Just the thought made your heart clench in your chest. “No, nothing has changed. Things have just been tense because of everything that happened with her birth.” You swallowed a lump of emotion that had formed in the back of your throat. “He feels responsible for everything that happened, which is ridiculous, but… I told him he had to stop with this guilt thing and now he’s…” You looked away then. “We’re both just bottling things up.” 

“So you haven’t been communicating?”

You shook your head slowly. “I barely know how I feel from one minute to the next.” 

“Have you talked to your doctor?” She questioned, giving you a sympathetic look. 

“About why Javier and I aren’t actually talking? No.”

She arched a brow at you, “You know what I’m talking about.” 

“I mentioned it to the pediatrician. He didn’t seem to think anything of it.” You cleaned off the aviators with the edge of your shirt. “It’s just hormones.” 

“Sweetheart,” Connie said with a serious look, her lips drawn into a thin line as she held your gaze. “You’re depressed.” 

“What? No.” You shook your head. 

“Have you ever heard of postpartum depression? It’s common. Ashley — she’s one of the nurses on my floor — she really suffered after her son was born. A couple months on an antidepressant and counseling and she eventually bounced back.”

You stared at her. 

“Why would I have depression?” You questioned, a sharp edge to your voice. “Okay, sure… I almost died, but I have no reason to be upset. I have two healthy little girls, a supportive partner who I love and—”

“You don’t need a reason.” Connie urged. “And it’s no one’s fault.”

“That is the problem.” You leaned forward, resting your elbows against your knees. You dragged your hands over your face, sighing heavily. “There’s no one to blame. All of this… all of this pain doesn’t have a reason. Javier blames himself and I blame—” You stared at the floor. “It could happen to anyone.”

“Which is why there’s no shame in getting help.” Connie smiled at you. “I could recommend a doctor at the hospital. Maybe you could both see a therapist.”

“I guess.” You shrugged. As much as you hated admiring defeat, you had both gone through a lot that… maybe a professional could help you both get through it. 

“It’ll help.”

“Yeah.” You pushed your fingers through your hair, sitting back. “I’m going to get her carrier out of the car. Do you mind?”

“Not at all. You know I’ll never say no to baby time.”

You smiled a little, moving to get off the sofa. Depression. That was such a heavy thing to consider. You wanted to throttle the doctor who had just brushed it off. It made sense. Unfortunately. 

And the last thing you wanted was for this to force a wedge between you and Javier. It was bad enough as it was, with him blaming himself for everything that went wrong in your life. 

You grabbed your keys out of your jacket pocket, unlocking the back door so you could grab the carrier out. It would make eating easier and she could nap far more comfortably than she would in your arms. 

“Holy shit.”

You tensed. ‘Holy shit’ indeed. You recognized that voice. Months of torment had been delivered by that voice. 

You turned slowly, “What the fuck are you doing here Fiestle?” 

Chris laughed harshly, “Of all the fucking parties to be invited to…” His eyes flickered to the carrier in your hand. “What? Did you trap another unsuspecting agent with an unwanted pregnancy?”

Nope. You weren’t going to cry. 

You had never cried because of this asshole. 

Shit, your eyes were actually burning. 

“Fuck you.” You snarled, “I don’t know who the fuck invited you, but you’re not welcome here. In fact, you’re not welcome in Florida. Period.”

“I’m shaking in my boots.” He laughed, giving you a condescending smile. 

“The only reason this carrier isn’t currently bashing your skull in is because they’re expensive.” You shot back, fingers clenching tightly around the handle. “So consider yourself spared, asshole.”

Who the fuck had invited him?

“Are we done here? I smell burgers.” He nodded his head towards the house, starting up the driveway. “Don’t you have some baby to feed or something?”

“Oh, fuck you.” 

“Your comebacks are lackluster, sweetcheeks. No attack dog anymore?” Chris folded his arms across his chest and gave you a pitying look. “Did Javier finally realize that the ole ball and chain wasn’t for him?” He questioned. “I’m glad he got free of you.” 

You caught movement out of the corner of your eye, turning your head to look towards the front door as Javier appeared in it with Steve right behind him. “Speak of the devil.” You remarked, looking back at Chris then. “Has anyone ever told you to really shut the fuck up? You’ve kissed so much ass in your lifetime, it’s no wonder you talk out of yours.” 

“What the fuck is going on out here?” Javier questioned, arms folded across his chest as he walked through the lawn to you. 

“Someone apparently invited this asshole.” You said dryly, glaring at Steve. “Did you?”

“I had no idea that either of you knew him. He is in town working on an assignment and I thought it would be nice to invite him over.” He explained, looking at Fiestle then. “I think you should leave.” 

“Really?” Chris huffed. “You’re going to make me leave because some bitch can’t deal with the ugly truth?” 

Javier moved swiftly, grabbing Chris by the front of his shirt and pushing him back against the side of the Jeep. “You’re going to watch your fucking mouth if you have any intention of using it again.” He snapped. “We don’t work together anymore, so I don’t have anything to risk.” 

“I used to have a lot of respect for you Peña.” Chris tried to pry Javier’s hand off his shirt. “You took down Escobar… Had all this clout. You really threw all of that away to play house with her?”

Javier shoved him back against the car again, pinning his forearm against the base of his throat. “Shut the fuck up, Fiestle. You’re a fucking worm. If you say another word about her or my daughters… if you so much as think about them, you’re going to be drinking soup for the rest of your goddamn life.” 

He released Chris and took a step back. “Run along.” Javier turned back to look at you, brows drawn together. There was still so much uncertainty between the two of you, but you knew for certain that he would do anything for you. 

“You know what? Fuck you Peña. Fuck you and your little pretend family.” 

Javier rocked his jaw, his tongue tracing the edge of his teeth. You gave a slight nod of your head, watching as he wheeled around and slammed his clenched fist into Chris’ face. He howled in pain, clutching at his freshly bleeding nose.

“I told you to keep my family out of your fucking mouth.” 

“You broke my nose!” Chris swore furiously. “I’m going to call the cops.” 

Steve crossed his arms across his chest, looking towards you and Javier. “I didn’t see anything. Even if I did, I asked you to leave and you refused.” 

“And guess what Chris?” You grinned. “I’m the one with friends in high places now. I work for the police department. So, go ahead… call them. 

“Fuck you!” He snarled before he hauled ass back towards his own car. 

“I am so sorry.” Steve said, turning towards you. “I had no idea you had bad blood with that asshole. I didn’t even think when he mentioned Colombia that—”

“We don’t talk about him.” You reassured him, your gaze flickering towards Javier then. “Steve could you take the carrier in for Connie? We’ll be in in a minute.” You passed it towards him. 

“Sure thing. Take your time.” Steve offered, giving Javier a pat on the shoulder before he headed back into the house. 

“Let me see.” You whispered, reaching for Javier’s hand. You cradled it in your hands, rubbing your thumb over his knuckles. “At least you know how to throw a punch.” 

“I wanted to fucking bash his head into the car.”

You laughed, an actual smile spreading over your lips then. “I threatened to bash his head in with the baby carrier. But he’s not worth wasting the money on.”

He grinned back at you, curling his fingers around yours. “That’s my girl.” 

“Let’s take a drive around the neighborhood. I want to talk.” You suggested, squeezing his hand tightly as his expression fell. “It’s good, I promise.” 

“Yeah?” He arched a skeptical brow. 

You rolled your eyes, laughing quietly. “It’s a long overdue conversation, Javi.” You took a step closer to him, tilting your head as you looked up at him. “Terrible timing, I know.” The worry in Javier’s eyes made your heart ache. You curled your fingers around the back of his neck and leaned up to kiss him. “I promise you it’s good.” 

“You’ve been so distant…” His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat, his expression faltering. “I don’t want to lose you, baby.” 

“You’re not.” You shook your head, brushing your nose against his before you pulled back. “Let’s drive, okay?” 

He nodded, pulling the keys out of his pocket as he walked towards the Jeep. You made your way around to the passenger side, sliding into your seat. Despite your reassurance that the conversation you wanted to have was a good one, you could tell that Javier wasn’t convinced. He wasn’t always as obvious as you were about where your head was, but you knew him well enough to read the worries etched into his face. 

“You are making me nervous.” You told him with a faint smile, reaching across to rest your hand on his leg as he drove. 

“Well you’ve got me fucking terrified.” Javier admitted. “I feel like I’ve been walking on eggshells for the past three months. You tell me you can’t keep doing this and then you just…”

“When did I say that?” Your brows furrowed together as you stared at him.

Javier took a hand off the steering wheel, pushing it through his hair. “The night we came home.”

Your mouth went dry. “I didn’t mean us. That is the last thing I will ever mean, Javier. That’s not what I meant.”

“What did you mean?” He questioned quietly. 

“I meant the guilt…” You pressed the heels of your palms against your eyes and let out a frustrated sound. “You really thought I meant us, Javi?”

“Yeah.” 

You leaned your arm against the window, staring out it for a long, quiet, moment. “Is that why everything has been so weird between us?” You tilted your head to look at him as he nodded. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t what I meant… Holy shit.” 

“I thought it was just a matter of time.” Javier dragged his teeth over his bottom lip. “And you’ve been so up in your head. Hell, I think that Chris shit is the first time I’ve seen you really smile since she was born.”

You blinked back tears, wiping at them furiously as they slid down your cheeks. “It’s just all been too much, Javier. I barely know how I feel most days. But I do know that I love you and the girls. That’s not something I ever doubt.” 

Javier pulled the car over to the curb, putting it into park. “What is wrong?” He questioned, turning in his seat to face you. “You haven’t been yourself.”

“I wish I knew.” A bubble of laughter escaped you. “Honestly, I feel like I’m losing my mind most days.” You admitted. “I feel like everyone is judging me. Including Sofía.”

“No one is judging you, baby.” Javier promised you, reaching you to brush his knuckles against your cheek, wiping a tear away. 

“Connie thinks I should see a therapist.” You told him quietly. “She’s not wrong. I guess it’s not uncommon for women to face these issues after childbirth and… I did almost die.” 

Javier nodded slowly. “Yeah. You did.”

“I think we should both go.” You curled your fingers around his hand and brought it to your lips, kissing each knuckle. They were already bruising from punching Chris. “There’s so much we’ve been through that I don’t think either of us has considered unpacking.”

“It’s not a bad idea.” He clicked his tongue against his teeth. “It would be nice to get back to where we were… before.”

You nodded. “And I know I haven’t really brought it up, but I still want to go after the DEA.” He didn’t interrupt you. “I want to make a change.”

“Whatever you want.” Javier told you, leaning across the center console to press a kiss to your lips. 

“And whatever you want.”

“I just want you and the girls to be happy.” He admitted. “I just spent three months waiting for the other fucking shoe to fall.” Javier sighed heavily. “Jesus-fucking-Christ.”

“I’m so sorry.” You leaned your forehead against his, cupping his cheek. “I was so tired and your guilt was starting to eat at me.” You brushed your nose against his. “I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

“I want you to get better. That’ll be reward enough.”

“I want to get better too.” You agreed. “I want to… feel again. I feel so numb all the time and I hate it.” You brushed your fingers through his hair, tilting your head to kiss him again. “I’m sorry, Javi. I wish you had said something…” 

Javier shook his head. “Don’t apologize, baby. I’m just glad I was wrong. So fucking glad.” 

“Hey, Javi.”

“Hmm?” His brows furrowed. 

“You finally got to punch Chris in the face.” 

He laughed, “Of all the fucking people in the world for Steve to invite.” 

“Seriously.” You sat back with a grin. “You really broke his nose.” 

Javier flexed his hand, “Yeah, this is gonna hurt tomorrow.” 

“We’ll soak it in cold epsom water when we get home.” You stroked your thumb over his knuckles. It felt like a weight had been lifted off your shoulders to finally admit that something was wrong. “It might be pushing it, but…” You lifted your gaze to meet his. “It’s still really hot when you threaten people for me.” 

Javier snorted. “Really?”

“I’m not saying anything definitively, but I think the inspiration might remain until this evening.” You chewed on the inside of your bottom lip as you searched his face. “It might be nice to try…”

“I’ll follow your lead on that, baby.”

Maybe things would finally get back to normal. It was a start at least. A start to reclaiming the person you felt like you’d been losing. You missed the way things used to be before everything came crashing down around you. 

[johannstutt413]

TOURNAMENT ARC 2: PHANTOM VS PROJEKT RED

“Alright, let’s see...Looks like we’ve got a fight tomorrow, Jessie!” The Doctor unfurled a piece of paper from the machine. “First round for Specialists, it looks like; Phantom vs Red. It’s been awhile since Phantom stopped by the office, hasn’t it?”

“...Phantom?” The Feline shrugged; she’d seen records of that Operator before, but never actually encountered them herself.

He sighed. “Right, stealth specialist with mnemonic Arts. Regardless, it’ll be interesting to see what happens, especially since Red- actually, I haven’t seen her recently either. She hasn’t been on a mission, has she?”

“I don’t think so?” Jessica flipped open a tab and scrolled through some of her notes. “No, but she has been on leave for awhile.”

“Really? What kind of leave was it, again? I think you approved that one.”

At that exact moment, Projekt Red walked into the office with a baby in her arms. “Maternity leave.” [not exactly the same universe but hush it’s fine]

“Awww!” The two immediately approached. “What’s their name?”

“Scarlet SilverAsh. I don’t think I can be in the tournament for a while, Doctor; we haven’t moved her to formula yet.” Scarlet fussed a little, which the Lupo solved by licking her forehead.

The Doctor nodded. “That’s alright, Red; I think I know the person to take your spot. Let us know when you’re ready to fight and we’ll put you in the rotation.”

“Thank you, Doctor. I’ll be watching today’s match from home. You can both come over, if you want; Encio’s making burgers.” She watched both of them blink several times. “What?” 

“He can cook?” Jessica asked.

She nodded. “There’s nothing he can’t do. I need to feed her soon. Let us know if you want to come over.”

“Will do!” Once she’d left, the Feline smiled to herself. “I’m looking forward to that someday.”

“Having a kid with me?”

Jessie set her head on his shoulder. “Yeah...We should call Waai Fu now, before too much press goes out.”

“Good plan.”

TOURNAMENT ARC 2: PHANTOM VS PROJEKT RED WAAI FU

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, Operators, Staff, and Esteemed Guests! Welcome one and all to the Top Operator Tourney!!! *crowd cheers*

“Thanks, Hung! Hiiiii everyone! It’s your lovable idol and Penguin Logistics delivery girl Sora here, filling in for Click on account of some rather inflammatory commentary she gave during the last one. Joining me in the booth, filling in for FEater after she punched the person who told them that, is Croissant!”

“That’s right, Sora, and I ain’t goin’ any’re! Now earlya Baws ‘nounced we had a lil’ bituva skejul shift, but looks like we still ‘ave a real good’un on our ‘ands. On the north side, wi’ 14 years of fightin’ ‘sperience, she’s student by day and brawla’ by nite, WAAAAAAAI FUUUUUUUU!” *cheers* “Ye, dat’s wut I wanna hear! Annnnd on the south side- hey, where’d they go?” *confused crowd noises* “Uh...Now I ain’t gonna lie, I never did meet dis Phantom guy? We sure he works ‘ere?”

“I mean, Medical had enough data to evaluate with, so I guess he does? Aaaanyway, looking at the numbers, it looks like Waai Fu has more combat experience and raw strength, but Phantom’s faster and trickier to deal with, so hopefully he shows up long enough for us to watch him work!”

“Ye, let’s ‘ope so! Baws itn’t at the podium today, but Amiya’s down there doin’ the hands, so let’s ‘ear it! 3! 2! 1! LET’S RUUUUUUUUUUUMBLLLLLLLLLEEEEEE!!!”

--------

Down on the ground, as the commentators blathered away, psyching the crowd up, Phantom watched his target from the shadows, blades ready but simply observing. His opponent, an orange Feline he’d never seen before, likewise watched, patient. This wasn’t his usual style...but if it was a show they wanted, then he’d give them a show.

“So you are my opponent.” He took a step forward. “Shall we dance our dance for the masses?”

“The Phantom, in the flesh...I expected to face you later in the bracket, but this works, too.”

His eyes narrowed. “You recognize me?”

“I’ve spent my life clearing the street of scum like you, who skulk in the shadows and take others’ lives for your sick games.” She took a defensive stance. “Your ring of thieves deserved its fate-”

“Do not speak ill of the dead, lest you join them sooner than you expect.” A step backward, and he’d vanished.

Two Phantoms emerged from her shadow, blades drawn to strike as they flanked her, only to find she was ready for both attacks; Waai Fu evaded their swords as knocked both Phantom and his mirror image to the ground. “Repent while you still have time.”

And then everything was a blur.

-------

“It’s like it started out of nowhere! They stared each other down forever, and then BAM! Also, why are there two of him?!”

“I ‘unno, darlin’, but I ‘ope Junior ain’t watch’n this! They’re go’n at it ‘arder ‘n an’thin rite now! I can’t even count ‘ow many blows they’re tradin’, but not a single drop of blood on the ground yet!”

“You can tell Waai Fu’s struggling, though - two on one isn’t a fair fight for anyone, but she’s holding her ground someh- OH, what?!”

“Oh! Oh! That’s the Seven-Styles Kick!! ‘Oly shit, I ain’t ever seen it in person bef’r, but damn that was some’n! And one of ‘em’s gone now!”

“Things have slowed down, and she is absolutely whaling into him! Punch, punch, kick, kick; he’s doing his best to evade them, but I don’t think he can keep up like this for long! Especially since he can’t- never mind, he managed to slash her once, at least, but that just left him open for a solid haymaker! He’s not getting back u/p! 1! 2!! 3!!! SHE’S DONE IT!!!”

“Wowza...Not as bloody as last ‘un, ey darlin’?”

“Waai Fu’s getting medical attention, as is Phantom from the looks...Hey, wait a minute, honey, did you see that?”

“See what?”

--------

Aak was there at Waai Fu’s side, local anesthetic applied and staple gun going to work. “A bit of medi-gel will get this patched up in no time...Hey, who was that guy, anyway? Never seen him around before.”

“The Phantom Behind the Curtain, Treasurer of the Night. He was the leading man for a theatre troupe known for less-than-savory wetwork who traveled the world as a closely-knit ring of assassins, although many didn’t realize their actual business until the day it collapsed.” The Feline sighed. “That one killed a crowded theatre with his voice alone. He didn’t want me dead, not enough to speak to me with his true voice.”

“Truer words, vigilante, have yet to be spoken” a spectral figure whispered in her ear, disappearing before she could identify them.

The other Feline next to her cocked her head. “See something? Mighta gotten some hallucinogens in the anesthetic again.”

“No, it’s...nothing.” She shook her head. “It’ll pass, whatever it was.”

“You’d best win the tournament now, child...For your father’s sake.” From the other ear this time, as if standing in Aak’s place.

On the ground, as Warfarin ensured Gaspard began his recovery, a black cat stepped out of the shadows and, once the Sarkaz was done with the greater part of patching him up, sat on his chest, gently pawing at his face. A slight smile came to his face as he and his Christine were taken to Medical for full evaluation; he might have been defeated in this battle, but the war for himself was far from lost.

[thefriendlyfrog]

Too many thoughts on SPN 15x17, “Unity”

Welp, I don’t usually do this, but this episode was so great and packed with so many good parallels and callbacks I couldn’t help it! Meredith Glynn is such a great writer. So, let’s begin. Lots of spoilers under the cut.

The first scene opens up to Amara living life to the fullest in an Icelandic hot spring (I’ve been to some in Iceland and would 10/10 recommend – don’t bother with the Blue Lagoon, though). My eyes were immediately drawn to the super recognizable cover of Murakami’s “Norwegian Wood”. Now, I haven’t read this book since, like, high school (now realizing that was a DECADE ago), but I do remember the general plot and themes of the story (I should really reread that again, it’s a good book). Basically, the story is recalled by our narrator and protagonist Watanabe at a later point in his life as he is reminded of a time of life when the Beatles’ song “Norwegian Wood” plays. I don’t want to spoil the whole book, but basically it is a coming of age story that is steeped in themes of regret, sex, love, and death (among others, it really is a literary treasure trove!). Skip the next paragraph if you don’t want “Norwegian Wood” spoilers.

In short: Watanabe’s best friend from high school commits suicide which haunts him and his friend’s girlfriend, Naoki, for the rest of their lives. Watanabe and Naoki become close and romantically involved, but she leaves for a sanitorium. Watanabe wants to be with Naoki despite her telling him that she doesn’t think she can love anymore (she described herself and her high school boyfriend as soulmates). Watanabe later meets Naoki’s opposite, Midori, a lively girl who Watanabe grows close to and is also interested in. Watanabe essentially doesn’t move forward as he is waiting on Naoki while having Midori waiting on him. At the end of the story, it is revealed that it has always been Midori and he realizes he wants to be with her.

I thought that this was an EXCELLENT pick for Amara to be reading. It really sums of a lot of surface and not-so-surface level themes in Supernatural. Wondering if there is a parallel between Dean and Watanabe about sort of idealizing a life (with someone) that isn’t meant to be while ignoring love in front of you? Would love to hear all of your thoughts.

Moving on (I’m skipping through parts of the episode to just focus on some key observations)! Amara tries to convince Chuck to fight on behalf of this world and wants to show him some of his creations. So, she brings him to Heaven to see his ‘first children’ (i.e., angels). She also refers to angels as having prefect angelic devotion which immediately made me laugh because our fave angel Cas is really devoted to Dean humanity and not Chuck. Ahh! This whole episode just kept pointing out how special Cas is.

And then, callback after callback began. Amara brings Chuck to the bunker so Chuck says, “Is this a trap?” which made me think of episode 9 (“The Trap” by Berens). This was almost immediately followed by another callback when Chuck says, “You can’t hold me here forever,” to which Amara replies, “I can hold you long enough.” Um, Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets (12x10, Yockey), anyone?

Ishim: “You can’t hold me here forever.” … Lily’s powers are wearing off as Ishim approaches her until Cas stabs Ishim in the back with his angel blade. Cas: “You held him for long enough.”

Like, COME ON! Almost verbatim.

Skipping forward to Dean and Jack’s adventure to visit my favorite hippies, Adam and Serafina (like seriously, they were fantastic characters!). Adam refers to himself as, “…first dude off of the assembly line,” which is similar language that has been used to referring to angels in the past (again, invoking Castiel?)

Then Dean assumes the woman is Eve but they both just shake their heads and chuckle, “I’m Serafina,” I’m definitely not the first one to point this out but… the First Man being in a near-lifelong romantic relationship with an angel named Seraph Serafina?! Uh, yeah, ‘nuff said.

Serafina also mentions that she saw Jack when she and Adam were, “…sipping mushroom tea on the Hanging Gardens of Babylon,” which made me wonder if there was some sort of connection with Glynn’s season 14 episode, “Byzantium” (14x08), which is the episode Cas makes his deal with the Empty. Babylon was a fortress of the Byzantine empire (not going to lie, my historical knowledge about the Byzantine empire is preeeeetty limited).  

I also loved the whole speech by Serafina to Dean: “I mean, just think of everything that has had to happen to get Jack to this place, to this moment. Baby, it was meant to be,” Dean, of course, is upset by this because he is probably thinking that this was all basically predestined, and he has had no free will. However, he just needs to wait a little while longer until Chuck tells him to his face that he has never been able to control Cas since he laid his hand on Dean saving him from Hell.

Serafina also heals Adam’s wound and it is, of course, super reminiscent of Cas healing Dean (although, even Serafina doesn’t directly touch Adam when healing him – it’s, once again, unique to Castiel). Obligatory hand squeal: HANDS!!!! Wow, they are not even trying to be subtle about the whole hands thing. It is so IN YOUR FACE begging for the audience to notice it.

Adam then mentions how much power is in his rib: “But this puppy? Is packing enough punch to create LIFE. Or, in your case, destroy God.” Well, at this point I think we can all be pretty certain that in the end it will NOT be used to destroy God, so will it instead be used for creation? Excited to see how they defuse Jack’s supernova bomb next episode.

Rounding off Dean’s vignette is a heartbreaking scene with him and Jack in the Impala. Dean says, “I don’t know how to explain it. When I learned about Chuck, it was like – it’s like I wasn’t alive. Not really. You know, like, my whole life I’ve never been free. But like, really free. But now, me and Sam, we got a shot at living a life…But now we have a chance. And that’s because of you.” Again, this is before Dean learns that Cas’ actions were made of his own free will, and from the sounds of it, Dean’s connection to Amara as well. I also immediately wondered if Jack bringing Dean some sense of freedom was what Cas saw when Jack showed him “paradise”.

Moving on to Sam’s vignette: Sam remembers that Sergei mentioned the Key of Death was in the bunker (how did he remember this, wasn’t he unconscious at the time? A little disappointed Cas didn’t get to provide that little fact but I’m also glad that Sam actually served a purpose this episode and was a bit more front and center). They find the Key of Death and there is an inscription in Latin on the box:

Viator mortalis, cave, quoniam scias Clavem Mortis pensare graviter. Il tamen desideres ut introeas illum abyssum obscurissimum artis opus est tibi porta.

Okay, fair warning: I took Latin for 4 years but it has been awhile so my translation is super not perfect, but I figured I would take a stab at it because the subtitles were wrong at times and Google translate is not perfect. I translated it as something like this:

Mortal traveler, beware, because you know the Key of Death should be considered seriously. However, if you want to enter the darkest abyss, this work of art is the gate/door.

Honestly, there were a few words that I couldn’t find the right conjugations to and I know this isn’t 100% accurate, but it gives you the gist.

Sam then visits Death’s library and finds the Empty there, killing people (?) to get in touch with Death, whom they hasn’t been trusting as of late. We learn that Death’s plan is to assume the role of New God and restore the world back to order, bring back rules. The Empty is wary because they don’t know if they can trust the promise of being able to go back to sleep. Trust issues, the Empty says, because of “your busted-ass friend in the trench coat,” another subtle-not-so-subtle mention of Cas. But why, exactly, did Cas give the Empty ‘trust issues’? Was it because he woke up in the first place? Because he has ‘traipsed in and out’ of the Empty without dying?

We also learn that only Billie can read Chuck’s Death book, and, this may be a crack idea but… maybe Cas should be able to read the book because he was the one that killed Billie and made her Death in the first place? Seems like Cas might have a connection to Billie. It would be cool if Cas were the one to read Chuck’s book.

Finally, we learn a bit more about the Empty, and how they can’t go to Earth unless summoned. Hmm…

Flash forward to Amara and Chuck in the bunker. Amara tells Chuck, “It’s not too late, brother,” and, if you’re like me, you finished that sentence with “it’s never too late (to start all over again)”. So many great Destiel songs out there, but “Never Too Late” takes the cake for me.

Amara and Chuck decide to become one, become ultimate balance. Chuck extends his hand and Amara grasps it as she is absorbed into Chuck. I don’t even know if I really need to say this, but… HANDS! (Destiel is already canon to me but if the show is going to make it more explicitly canon for the audience, it’s going to be through hands as I know people have been shouting about for several seasons now).  

To finish, let’s talk about that kick-ass scene with TFW 2.0 at the end of the episode. We find out that Chuck’s real ending is to have Dean regress and give in to rage and kill everything he loves, probably ultimately leading to his own death. Woof, what a tragic ending (tragedy ≠ good ending). So, we’ve got to subvert that which Dean does after a heartfelt plea from Sam (“You would trade me?”). I enjoyed how much Dean looked back at Cas during this exchange, especially after Sam tells Dean that Eileen will die again. The parallels, the connection.

Honestly, I’m not sure why Cas and Jack were in that scene other than to have some meaningful glances exchanged between Cas and Dean and because TFW2.0 is together in the next scene. But… whatever, more Cas so I liked it.

And finally, the scene that had me shaking with VINDICATION.

Cas to Chuck: “What, you consumed your sister?” Chuck: “We came to an understanding, so spare me your contempt Castiel, the self-hating angel of Thursday. You know what every other version of you did after ‘gripping him tight and raising him from perdition’? They did what they were told. But not you. Not the ‘one off the line with a crack in his chassis’” (Cas looks back at Dean after a moment)

Okay, so let’s break this exchange down. So much satisfaction with just a few sentences. Bravo, Ms. Glynn.

“We came to an understanding.” Didn’t Michael and Adam say the same thing after they decided to share equally in their bond and vessel? Callback #1.

“…self-hating angel of Thursday.” Ahh, it’s been so long since we got mention that Cas is the angel of Thursday. The last time was, what, when Crowley says it to Cas back in season 6? By the way, it was totally meant to be that Supernatural will finish off the series on a Thursday. Callback #2 (ish).

“You know what every other version of you did after ‘gripping him tight and raising him from perdition’?” This is the second time the show has repeated Cas’ first line to Dean near-verbatim in two seasons. You know, just in case the audience forgot Dean and Cas’ infamous first meeting (which I am like 99% sure we are going to get hella callbacks to next episode). Callback #3.

“They did what they were told. But not you. Not the ‘one off the line with a crack in his chassis.’” Again, Chuck is closely paraphrasing what Naomi said about Cas in season 8:

8x21 “The Great Escapist” – Naomi: “You're the famous spanner in the works. Honestly, I think you came off the line with a crack in your chassis. You have never done what you were told. Not completely. You don't even die right, do you?”

Callback #4. Seriously, Glynn packed four callbacks into such a short time period. Wizard.

My only *criticism* of this final scene is that Dean and Cas didn’t seem to react too much to Chuck’s news about Cas always having free will (although, I think Cas already knew this, but it is news and confirmation to Dean!). I highly suspect that will come next week, though. I’m SO excited (and also terrified) for next week. We are definitely going to be getting a lot of Cas next episode. Misha, in an interview, mentioned that we would get Cas’ ‘chapter’ in 18, and I’m wondering if this will be the true Cas-centric episode? I don’t know, maybe the Cas-centric episode was “Gimme Shelter” but I was expecting more of a “The Man Who Would Be King” kind of Cas-centric episode.  

All in all, 10/10. I keep reading and seeing things that are galaxy braining me, so it has been super fun reading all the meta and reactions to this episode.

Three episodes left. Get your tissues ready for Cas’ death (oops, is this even a spoiler at this point?) next episode. And remember, “Nothing ever really ends,” and “The end has no end,”

[midnight1990]

Good Raven Chapter 1. Cofio — Remembering

July, 1995

As I unpack my trunk in the dusty, dingy room above the shop where my uncle, two brothers and two sisters live, I feel the slight dread of not knowing where my future will lead.  I’m of age now and done with school, so finding work and avoiding trouble should be my first worries, but it ain’t just me I have to worry about. I can’t let the babanod grow up here for much longer — it’s eaten them and me for three years already.

We live in Knockturn Alley, the street off of lovely Diagon Alley where all of the things your decent witches and wizards won’t meddle in are sold; bought; traded or just plain found. In my uncle’s shop is sold potion ingredients, and because this is Knockturn Alley, they’re not normal ingredients — poisons; live creatures; contraband that he (Uncle) said if I ever told someone about he’d hex me for 7 years straight. He also threatened to feed me on only cold gruel if I sold anything cheap, ‘cause once I was all moved in those three years ago he was leaving me at the counter to haggle and sell while he went off to the Cauldron for drinks, or Borgin’s to try and buy even more nasty supplies to bring back to his own business.

I should be honest when I talk about the things we sell — they’re rather compelling. It’s a bit exciting to know that the fungi you’re holding (with a handkerchief that’s been charmed to keep the nerves in your hand from suddenly burning and losing all function) are one: that bloody dangerous and two: can put you on the ministry’s list of “Most Dark and Dangerous in Illicit Magical Trade”. Some of the things that the Ministry comes up with!

As interesting as my uncle’s business can be, me and the kids need our own place to live. It’s just too, well, dark in this alley. Ninety nine percent of the people who come through this place are just trying to get their business done; do their shopping — however ill-intentioned it may be — and go home, but that one percent that’s not so good is too noticeable for any decent body to want to raise four little ones here. I’ve been followed by a hag who wanted my fingernails (taken from a living witch or wizard, they’re more useful); groped by warlocks both drunken and sober; sang at by more drunken warlocks (some ditty with lyrics like “I once had a lass with a nice round ass” and it got even nastier) and I’ve even seen duels that ended up in the Prophet! One time, a curse missed its intended target and hit an old wizard who was just trying to get home with the flesh-eating slug repellent he’d bought! The poor old grandpa! I hope he lived.

I go into the smaller room across the hall where the boys sleep and of course Llon’s trunk is sitting wide open on the bed he and Afon, who’s only three, share. I see his rumpled up belongings and I know he scrambled to find his wand as soon as he got up here; I hid it in his trunk as soon we boarded the train to come back for his first summer holiday (and the rest of my life) so he wouldn’t try any last minute jinxes. Sometimes I’m amazed at how easily he obeys me, then again his most vivid experience with a female relative other than me is of Mam throwing him outside at night — all night — so she could drink and have a shag with that big warlock she came home with. He was nine, I was 15 and we were all lucky that it was spring holiday so’s I was home.  I don’t know how they found out, but when the ministry officials who deal with family problems came a’visiting two days later, I was able to convince them to let the kids remain at Mam’s house so long as I was allowed to be there, courtesy of the school and a satisfied ministry witch. I had to write and beg Snape, McGonagall and Dumbledore himself to let me skip a few weeks. I remember feeling quite touched when the first two came to visit, a ministry witch in tow. I don’t think Dumbledore even considers his students well-being outside of Hogwarts.

Professor Snape was my head of house — good ol’ Slytherins looking out for each other — and I distinctly recall the feeling I had when I greeted him and McGonagall at the door that he’d been waiting for something like this to occur. You get that feeling when he looks at you sometimes - that he knows things about you.

I had expected McGonagall to be much less kinder than she actually was — more grave and pitying. She was certainly that way with Mam, “Eira, what have you gotten yourself and your family into?!”

Snape mostly sat all stiff in the chair I’d offered, his spidery black eyes glancing everywhere they could, taking in my raggedy siblings, Mam’s wan expression and the Welsh words doodled haphazardly on our cottage’s stone walls. Words like cariad — love — which had a bright pink heart drawn beside it and calon which had an arrow pointing from it to the rosy heart.

Witch, Welsh and Slytherin. That’s me. Even my name is Welsh, though my dad is English (obviously, my surname is Burke after all): Branda — brân dda — raven good; Good Raven. I have a middle name that isn’t Welsh at all, though; Patreva. Something Latin like what so many of our kind in Britain have — names like Draco, Severus or my Tad’s name, “Nicander” which may actually be Greek. It’s fancy and magical sounding. I’m the only one of my parent’s brood with any name like that — something about a Naming Seer who suggested it for me, but they never went back for their other four kids’s names. The younger ones have a Welsh name and that’s it. I like Welsh names quite a lot, though. Some of the names wizarding parents give their children are too — well — ostentatious is a good word.

Anyway, McGonagall, Snape and the quiet little ministry witch with the clipboard came to a decision: I could stay at home with Mam and the kids while the school year continued as long as one: Mam wasn’t bringing her “gentlemen friends” home anymore and two: I would take remedial lessons in all core classes the following school year.

“Of course, you will receive some lessons by post this spring and over the summer, miss Burke.” McGonagall can be so caring, sometimes.

“Your head of house has stated that you are among the more reliable students at Hogwarts, miss Burke.”

The little ministry witch hadn’t spoken at all to me, only to Mam and to my professors, but now she was gazing at me with what I believe was meant to be a placating — if somewhat sharp — look.

“He says you are quite skilled in his potions class as well as in mentoring the younger students.”

The look on Professor Snape’s face suggested this was meant to be unspoken. I’ve never had problems with Snape; he’s certainly a terror to many (okay, most) students, but he’s only ever had clipped praises or short orders for me to teach the first years how to behave without their parents around to guide them and comfort them and all that. A lot of the prefects were shite at that kind of thing.

Life at Mam’s with the kids was alright for awhile — could’ve probably gone quite tolerably if she hadn’t gone off to the Leakey Cauldron and met some bloke who took her to his flat in wherever-the-hell-it-was. Whatever they did in those six days she was gone, it was bad enough that he went to Azkaban, but not interesting enough for the Daily Prophet to report on. Mam got off, but us kids had to go live with the only relative who was willing to take us — Tad’s second-or-something cousin whom he’d done business with before Mam kicked him out: Mr. Donius Burke, purveyor of dark and illicit potion ingredients since 1974.

Fuck.

***

“Oi, girl! Come down here now! I need you for something!”

Calm down old man, I haven’t finished folding my jumpers yet. I shouldn’t be surprised that he’s already got a task for me, even though I’ve only been off the train for two hours. Sunset’s nearly come, and I don’t want to be outside in Knockturn Alley after dark, which ought to spur me faster down the stairs to see what he wants. Making him wait can feel too good though - not that he’s not willing to stomp his way up here which, as I put my last woolen top away, I can hear him doing. Thump, creak; thump creak; the ancient wooden steps groaning loudly as always. Has he still not fallen through them?!

“Are you going deaf?!”

I turn my head to look at him there, his reedy frame silhouetted from the dim light of the hallway. He hasn’t changed in the ten months since I’ve last seen him, and he hasn’t since we arrived here three years ago; grey hair slicked back, his aging face freakishly smooth without a hint of stubble (does he shave, or did he magic the hairs off?).

Before I can say anything he’s stepped into the room to stand over me.

“Get down there, now!”

He points his finger so forcefully that it’s curving up towards the ceiling, and I have to keep myself from glancing up to see if it’ll confuse him. He follows me out of the bedroom and down to the back of the shop, where Llon and the other two kids are on the floor playing with Mouser, the cranky black cat we keep to eat any mice or cockroaches in the the building.

Gwenyn is nine and has long blonde hair like Mam, round hazel eyes and a pink mischievous face. Next to her is five year-old Ffionwyn, who’s brown hair will turn nearly black like Tad’s and mine someday. For now, her head’s as shiny as a chestnut, with a pale face and a shifty quietness about her - probably because she’s been growing up in this dark hole of a place.

“Here”. A small roll of parchment is pressed into my hand.

“Take this to Aunt Onyxia, she’s been expecting it all day.”

He nods his head towards the children - “You can bring back the other one, as well.”

Of course, he’s talking about Afon, the youngest of the family. Three, dark haired and quiet like Ffionwyn, he had to come here when he was just four months old! Unwilling to keep a baby where his customers could hear him crying, Uncle struck a deal with the ministry officials who’d arranged for his guardianship — he would have to remain the legal guardian of Afon, but would be allowed to shunt him off to another adult so long as they were nearby and had no criminal record — a relative preferred. Enter Aunt Onyxia, Uncle Donius’s first cousin.

Onyxia Burke runs a “gift” shop right at the end of Knockturn Alley where she sells candles, cheap jewelry and clothing items, all of which are enchanted for various purposes; making someone fall in love with you; manipulating another’s dreams; even changing their moods or emotions. I hope she’s been keeping Afon away from her shit.

As I step through the door of my uncle’s shop into the balmy night air, I glance up at the old wooden sign hanging above the door: “Apothecary” it reads, surrounded by engraved bats, spiders and toads. I force a heavy breath through my nose as memories come creeping up again, for we used to sell those things — well, Mam ‘n Tad did - before everything went to Hell.

Mam ‘n Tad were gatherers and procurers of potion ingredients. Magical plants and animals, of course, some of which you must have a special permit to collect, but also things that are not so magical — bats, rats and adders; green things that grow in your back garden like nettles and dandelions; even farm animals like chickens and goats, the latter of which produce bezoars —hard stones that form in their gut and which counteract poisons.

Things that could not be grown or raised near our home (a dragon in the barn might’ve been a bit troublesome) we would search for. This was the best part of my family’s livelihood. Tad would research where things could be found, and we would gather our equipment and head off to some chosen spot ready to work.

He taught me to do many things without magic, which I never knew was unusual for our kind —until I went to Hogwarts. Nobody else knew how to butcher a chicken or start a fire without a wand (except maybe a few muggleborns, but even most of them didn’t know how, either)! My classmates didn’t seem to know what to make of me until the incident with Hagrid’s giant chicken.

One of Hagrid’s roosters had grown to a rather impressive size, comparable to that of a Shetland pony (he had to have charmed it somehow). Well, one day it managed to escape the coop and terrorize the courtyard where all of us first years were learning broom maintenance. Madam Hooch was knocked over before she even saw it, and a boy called Derrick attempted to scare it by kicking it away, his robed arms flapping all around him whilst yelling at it to go away. Unfortunately, Drumsticks now thought Derrick was trying to start a real cock-fight — chest to chest, wings flapping and spurs kicking!

Before it finished its little war-dance with his head bobbing low, neck-feathers puffed out trembling, I’d managed to grab one of the brooms off the work table; as soon as Drumsticks began to step towards Derrick I ran towards that overgrown alarm-clock and jabbed it as hard as I could with that broomstick!

I won’t say it was a smart idea, but the frustration I’d felt over those first weeks at school — people giggling behind their hands when I spoke in my Welsh accent; discovering that students in other houses whom I’d wanted to befriend would scoff at the idea of hanging around with a Slytherin — seemed to take hold of me. It felt good when the broom’s handle hit Drumsticks’ chest, shocking him backwards and confusing him so. It’s likely a good thing that Hooch had finally recovered herself enough to properly stun that scaly-footed bastard before I’d lost my mind completely — that broomstick was starting to feel like a skewer.

Dinner that evening consisted of a hearty chicken soup, platters of little chicken pies, mashed potatoes, boiled peas and fresh, steamy bread rolls on the side.

Oh, and most everyone in my year stopped calling me “Spleens”.

Tad had been bi— Tad had been given the boot by Mam by the the time I’d started school, and in the summers I’d been the one to continue most of the hunting work while Mam settled herself with tending the garden and foraging for plants. Mam knew the work alright, but she’d mainly been the one to keep records of what was brought home; researching the markets and packaging items properly. Didn’t take long for Tad’s absence to start its work on her though, did it? A little kid can only hunt so many kinds of creatures, and of course I couldn’t have a permit to collect things like doxy venom or dragon eggshells, nor could I travel more than a few miles from home.

Soon the goats were sold to another ingredi-wizard, then any magical plants in our garden that required consistent tending died. I didn’t understand how that could’ve happened, not at the time anyway. Mam was good at hiding her drinking back then. Since we were no longer able to provide the great amount of products as before, businesses started abandoning us for more reliable resources.

Sometimes — just every once in awhile — Tad would show up for a visit.

“Only a few days” I imagine Mam whispering harshly, fearfully, her eyes darting ‘round as though expecting whatever forces demanded they keep apart to come bursting out of her cottage’s walls.

He always went out to try and gather more for us to sell, did Tad. He didn’t take me anywhere with him that was outside of the county, though. The last time I went with him was at the beginning of summer after my third year at Hogwarts. He looked so much older than I’d remembered, or perhaps I hadn’t paid enough attention during his previous visits? Grey streaks were beginning to shoot through his thick black hair, which hadn’t been cut in years. He walked slower than I was used to, moving like his body had turned all sore and stiff; his head constantly swiveled around as we worked, as though the very land that surrounded us could not be trusted.

“Don’t let your sisters and your brother stay inside all day. Teach them how to look after themselves, better than your mam or I have done for ourselves”.

Until he said that, it hadn’t really occurred to me just how reckless my parents were compared to those of my classmates. Before Tad had been forced to leave, he and Mam had thought little of hauling me, toddling Llon and squalling Gwenyn to all kinds of strange and exciting places — places I now know where most parents wouldn’t allow their children to set foot. When they needed to collect dragon eggshells from high up in the mountains, us kids sometimes went along.

I learned where to find snakes before I was seven; how to untangle wire snares without slicing my wrist open when I was eight. I nearly drowned in a lake searching for plimpys — round little creatures with long legs you can tie together — Tad said that’s how Merpeople deal with them because they consider them pests.

My parents also enjoyed firewhiskey. Many times after we’d spent a long day trekking through bracken for mokes and doxy eggs, or slogging around in muddy ditches for flobberworms, Mam ‘n Tad would build up a fire. We would toast sausages, slices of bread and even apples for supper, while two of them added the throat-burning drink to their meal. I can’t recall the bottle ever not being empty the next morning.

The drinking didn’t interfere with much until after Tad was gone.

It’s a wonder all of us kids have lived to see three.

I worry Afon won’t recognize me, after I’ve stayed all year at Hogwarts instead of returning to the Alley during holidays. I know I have a responsibility to my siblings, but the Triwizard tournament and its accompanying delights were hard to resist. Uncle was furious when I refused to return to work at Christmas, while Onyxia wrote that I should try and catch a wealthy boy from Beauxbatons, though a Durmstranger would do.

By the time I make it to Onyxia’s front door the few glass street lamps holding charmed candles have sprung to life, casting faint and eerie shadows. I’ve only just touched the brass kneazle-head knocker when the door is wrenched open from behind.

“It’s about time - oh, Patreva! I hadn’t realized you’d returned already!”

I curl my lips into the sparest of smiles — it’s often a struggle to remain polite with this woman. Patreva is my middle name, not my real name. I don’t even know what it means, and Mam ‘n Tad always avoided using it.

“Noswaith dda, Modryb. Sut ydych chi?”

The pleasure I feel when I speak Welsh at Onyxia is the same as ever: sweet but all too bloody short.

“Patreva Burke! You know far better than to speak that way, to me!”

As if she understood a word I’ve just said?! She’s convinced that any language other than French or Latin is used to disparage her.

“Llon and I came back a few hours ago, Auntie. Uncle Donius sent me to give you this” - I hand her the roll of parchment - “and to take Afon back with me”.

Onyxia stares at the parchment in her hand, eyes narrowing in obvious displeasure.

“Did he send me no money, girl?”

Uh-oh

“I haven’t stolen it, if that’s what you’re thinking!”

Her eyes have gotten even narrower, if that’s possible.

“No, no girl. I suppose...I should’ve expected as much...this time.”

She isn’t looking at me as she says this, rather she’s gazing nowhere in particular at the space behind me, as if suddenly lost in thought...

“Well, wait here a moment, then. Here’s the boy’s belongings.” Before shuffling down her entryway she reaches down and hands me a midsized bag filled with clothes, children’s medicines and very few toys. No tea to be had in her house, apparently. Rude sow.

“Here you are, girl.” Onyxia appears at the door with my youngest brother in tow, his eyes widening at the sight of me and his fist going to his mouth in an image of absolute preciousness.

“Oooh fy mach i! Fy mrawd cy-“

“Speak English to him!” Shrieks the old hag I am forced to respect. “I had to teach him prop—“

But I’m not staying for her xenophobic rant tonight, and neither is fy mrawd bach — my little brother. He’s had enough, and I’ve had enough.

“Goodnight Auntie! Thank you for taking care of him, we need to go back!”

And with that, Afon and I are trotting up the alleyway and into the warm summer night.

Well, I’m trotting; Afon’s on my back.

[yourdeepestfathoms]

Let’s Be Bad, Henry, Let’s Be Really Bad

Word count: 4327

TW: Discussion of self harm, blood

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

  “Any reason why you wanted to go drinking as a way to hang out? A movie or nice dinner would have been a lot better in my opinion.”

  “I just wanted us to get out, Lina! One more day of wildness together!”

  “One more day? Elizabeth, I am not THAT OLD!”

That was the last thing Bessie remembered, however, before everything went black...

Waking up felt like wrestling her way out of a sticky, smothering cocoon, and when she finally managed to peel her eyelids open, even the dim morning light filtering in through the closed blinds and drawn curtains made her head ache. Her mouth tasted like something died in it, and she swore she could actually feel whiskey oozing out of her pores. Smell it, too. She was still mostly dressed, aside from her jacket and scarf and scratchy jeans, and was sweating through her clothes.

It was not the most disgusting she had ever felt, but it was definitely up there.

Bessie levered herself carefully upright, moving slowly both out of respect for her pounding head and unsettled stomach, and because she really didn’t want to draw attention to the other people living in the house. She had a feeling that when they noticed her awake, they’d want to talk, and they really…probably should, but she just couldn’t. Not right now.

There was too much on her mind.

There was a glass of water and two round white pills on the bedside table. A note in Aragon’s handwriting sternly read, “DRINK ALL OF THIS WHEN YOU WAKE UP!!!”

So Aragon was here, because this was her own bedroom… Well, at least that relieved parts of the anxiety chewing away at her brain. She wasn’t in a stranger’s home. And if Aragon was there, then she was still okay.

Everything about last night seems disjointed and hazy, especially after the last five drinks or so, but the vague memory of Aragon remained. She couldn’t remember what pub they were at or why exactly they were there, but she remembered dressing nicely- mainly because the clothes glued to her body by sweat were some of her nicer outfits. Too bad they were now permanently saturated with perspiration.

She thought for longer, positioning herself on the edge of the bed, holding the glass of water in one hand and the painkillers in the other. However, she couldn’t bring herself to take either of them when the memory of a man appeared in the fog shrouding her mind.

He was a relatively nice-looking guy- dark patches of a beard, nearly combed brown hair, blue eyes, a warm voice when he told her--

Bessie’s stomach churned audibly. Her eyes were wide, fearful as the memories continued to register.

The door to the bedroom opened and Aragon peeked in. She walked in fully when she sees that Bessie was awake and approached slowly so as to not startle the bassist.

  “Good morning, Elizabeth.” She greeted softly, making sure to keep her voice down. “How are you feeling?” 

For a moment, Bessie couldn’t answer. Or breathe. She just stared at Aragon, eyes wide, mouth hanging open.

She had to get away. She couldn’t bear to look at the queen, not after what had happened.

  “C-can I take a shower?”

Aragon blinked. She clearly hadn’t expected a question to answer her own question.

  “Ah-- Sure, but first--”

  “Thank you.”

Bessie stood up sharply and made a beeline for the door--

--only to pitch forward halfway there and nearly careen face-first into the carpet if it weren’t for Aragon grabbing and steadying her.

  “Woah! Easy, Elizabeth! Easy...” She said. “Take it slow. You’re probably not feeling too great.”

  “No--” Bessie squirmed in the queen’s grasp. Her breathing hitched and she made a feeble, heartbreaking whimper that told Aragon that she was in much worse condition than she had been expecting. “I-I need to--shower. Please. I need to-- shouldn’t be near me-- I’m sorry--”

  “You can, Elizabeth. I said you can, I just need you to slow down before you pass out again.” Aragon told her. She wrapped an arm around Bessie’s waist, causing her to keen in fright and shove her violently.

  “Don’t-- Stop!”

  “Elizabeth--”

Bessie managed to break free and hightail it out of the bedroom and to the upstairs bathroom. Aragon didn’t pursue her.

  “Woah,” Maggie, who nearly got run into by the panicked bassist, commented. “She okay?”

  “No.” Aragon said. “She’s not.”

  “I’ll get Maria.”

Aragon rolled her eyes, but didn’t stop Maggie. She began to resettle the bed, dragging the trash can over because she knew Bessie probably wasn’t going to feel very well when she got out of the bathroom. If she weren’t already emptying her stomach, that is.

  “How is she?”

Aragon turned to see Maria there. “Not good,” She sighed. “She kinda freaked out the moment she woke up. My fault. I shouldn’t have grabbed her like I did.”

  “What happened last night?” Maria asked. Aragon could see that she was replaying the images of her carrying an unconscious, drunk-out-of-her-mind Bessie inside the night before in her head.

  “Elizabeth wanted to get out,” Aragon said. “She hasn’t exactly been feeling well lately. Mentally, I mean.” She rubbed her forehead and sighed again. “I should not have let her drink when her depression was flaring up.”

Maria frowned. “Oh.” She said, then lowered her voice, “Is that what this is?”

  “Yeah.” Aragon nodded. “I’m worried about her, Maria. She’s been closing herself off more than usual.”

  “I know what you mean,” Maria nodded. “She’s been acting really weird for, like, a week now. Barely eats, doesn’t talk much, always looks so guilty. She kept saying ‘I’m sorry’ in her sleep over and over again until I was able to wake her up. I think she’s relapsing from the affair. It’s making her--” She sighed. “I told her I wouldn’t tell you this, but… Catalina, she’s cutting herself. A lot more than usual. When I asked her why, she just said she had to ‘make up for it’ but wouldn’t elaborate any further.”

Aragon’s body went hot, then cold, then hot again. It felt as if she were the one getting cut open with a razor blade.

  “What?” She whispered. “Sh-she-- Her wrists looked--”

  “She doesn’t do it on her wrists.” Maria informed her grimly. “Her stomach. And her thighs. I’ve seen them before. Before it got really bad. When she was changing. She always made excuses to try and not change in front of us, but…” She shook her head. “Catalina, I’m so worried.”

Aragon staggered back, feeling like she couldn’t breathe. She sat down on the bed and ran her fingers through her hair. “Oh god… I knew she wasn’t doing good, but…” 

Maria sat down next to her and set a hand on her shoulder. “It’s not your fault that this happened. She wanted to try and fix herself on her own terms, so she wouldn’t disappoint you.”

  “Disappoint me?!” Aragon yelped in shock.

Maria nodded. “I think she’s afraid of being sent away again. Or just being ignored. She doesn’t want to upset you. You mean so much to her.”

  “And she means so much to me,” Aragon said. “What are we gonna do? She clearly isn’t getting any better on her own.”

  “Yeah,” Maria rubbed her palms against her thighs. “I think--I think she needs to be with you. Especially right now.”

Aragon tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

  “She should stay with you for awhile,” Maria specified. “She needs you. I don’t think I can take care of her like you can. And she’s been getting worse. Maybe you can get her to open up about what’s been eating away at her lately.”

Aragon nodded, understanding. “Yeah. I’ll take her.”

Maria gave her a small smile. “Thank you. I hope it’ll do her some good.”

Maria got up and began to pack some things for Bessie, while Aragon went to the bathroom. Even over the sound of the spraying water, she swore she could just barely hear the sound of whimpers and hiccups.

  “Elizabeth?” She knocked gently on the door. “Honey? Are you okay in there?”

There was a reply, but the shower muffled in. A moment later, the water cut off and she could hear shuffling coming from inside. Then, the door opened and a very bedraggled, tired-looking Bessie looked up at her with deeply anguished eyes.

  “Hey, baby,” Aragon reached a hand out, and Bessie pressed her cheek into the palm. Her skin was hot and clammy against her own. “How are you feeling?” Bessie shrugged, looking away. Aragon rubbed her thumb against her cheekbone in an attempt to comfort her.

  “I’m sorry,” Bessie croaked. Her voice was hoarse and weak from crying. “I-I didn’t want to. I’m so sorry. I-I just--” She made a choked noise and her face crumpled, fresh tears bursting free from her eyes. 

  “Oh, Elizabeth,” Aragon bundled Bessie into her arms, holding her tightly. “Oh, my poor, poor baby girl… You haven’t been feeling too great lately, huh?” Bessie shook her head, smothering her wet face against Aragon’s chest. “I always feel awful, Lina. All the time.”

  “I’m going to help you,” Aragon said. She leaned Bessie back and cupped her cheeks. “You’re going to come stay with me. I’ll take care of you.”

Bessie blinked. “Wh-what?”

  “Maria and I discussed it already,” Aragon said. “We think it’s what’s best for you. So I can keep an eye on you.”

Bessie’s mouth opened and closed, clearly unsure on what to say about the news. And then she nodded silently and buried her face back into Aragon’s chest, crying even harder, now. Aragon rocked her back and forth, stroking her hair.

The two of them stayed like that for a long time until Maria came over with a suitcase packed and a wry expression on her face. She gently rubbed Bessie’s back, which made the bassist twist around to her with a sorrowful look.

  “I’m sorry…”

Maria shook her head. “Don’t worry about it, Bee. I just want what’s best for you. And I know spending some time with Catalina will do you good.”

Bessie sniffled and nodded. “Okay…”

It wasn’t long before Bessie was being driven to the queen’s house. She leaned her head against the window, not ever looking over at Aragon. Her guilt over the whole situation was very clear.

  “How do you think they’ll react to me?” Bessie eventually asked. “The other queens. What if they don’t want me around?”

  “Then they’ll just have to deal with it,” Aragon answered. 

That didn’t seem to make Bessie feel any better, but Bessie said nothing about it. She simply slouched against the window and stayed that way until the car pulled up in the house’s driveway.

Bessie seemed hesitant about entering, but Aragon was able to urge her forward, saying, “They won’t be mad, sweetie.” And then she opened the door and stepped inside.

  “I’m home!” Aragon called. 

Jane’s head popped out of the kitchen, followed by Cathy’s. They must have been making lunch together. At the same time, Cleves looked up from the couch, and she beamed when she saw Bessie. The cousins came downstairs to greet Aragon.

  “Welcome back, love,” Jane smiled. Her eyes shifted over to Bessie. “Hello, Bessie.”

  “Hi,” Bessie whispered.

  “Bessie is going to be staying with us for awhile,” Aragon said, wrapping a protective arm around Bessie. 

  “Oh, that’s cool!” Kitty said.

  “Yeah,” Cleves nodded. “More time to spend with the most talented person on earth.” She grinned at Bessie, who ducked her head with a blush. Even when Bessie was depressed, she still got easily flustered by Cleves’ compliments. Aragon wondered when they were going to start dating…though it may not have happened yet because she was always giving Cleves warning glares.

Bessie spent the rest of the day practically glued to Aragon’s side. She ate dinner with the queens, being a silent spectator to an extravagant conversation over whatever the hell was going on with America, until she actually piped up with her own opinion on the matter, which surprised Aragon. She was happy to see her girl talking, though.

After dinner, Bessie cuddled up with Aragon to watch a movie with the other queens. Then they went to bed, and Bessie decided to sleep with Aragon, not that Aragon minded. She had been hoping Bessie asked.

Tangled in each other’s arms, the two of them fell asleep, safe and warm.

---

Bessie was on a part of the castle that was so steep that her ascent was vertical. 

An impossible storm brewed above her; lightning crackled and struck the ancient towers viciously, burning its mark into the marble, and snow fell in torrents from sinister black clouds. And through it all, Bessie could still hear the distant voice at the top and knew she had to get to it.

Her fingers were numbing, locking into place around the ledges of the part of the palace she was on but she couldn’t stop to flex them; it was too dangerous to stop climbing. Lightning struck again, uncomfortably close to Bessie and she flinched.

Shit.

She began to climb faster, pulling herself up the palace. She had to get to the top. She had to.

Bessie was breathing heavily as she ascended but she didn’t notice. She couldn’t hear it above the vortex of wind roaring over her and the cracks of lightning like whips lashing against the marble. It was deafeningly loud but absurdly, she could hear screaming above it and her blood ran cold.

She climbed faster and finally, finally made it to the top, throwing herself into a towers that was open to the sky on all sides. She threw her arm up to shield her eyes through a torrent of rain and snow, giving herself a chance to adjust to the harsh elements. Her lungs burned as she struggled to breathe in the brunt of the wind and her hair whipped against her skin, stinging her face and shoulders. The ripped tunic she wore offered little in the way of protection and Bessie felt every grain, every splinter, every rock caught up in the mad torrent tearing across her exposed skin. Her clothes were wet with the melting snowflakes that accosted her and the cold sank beneath her skin, seeping into her bones.

A scream rang out from in front of her, crystal clear over the roar of the hurricane winds rushing past her ears.

  “Elizabeth?”

  “Catalina!” Bessie yelled back, squinting against the storm and the sheer force of the wind as she tried to find her. She was close; Aragon’s voice was just in front of her but she still couldn’t see anything. Her eyes strained to make out forms in the distance but Bessie couldn’t be sure if she could trust what little she was beginning to make out or if it was only her imagination twisting itself in knots to give her what she wanted to see. She fought her way forward, pushing hard against the wind and another cry echoed out, filled with desperation.

  “Elizabeth!”

  “Catalina!”

Bessie took another few lumbering steps forward, anchoring her feet as best she could on the ground. She kept crouched, lowering her center of weight to keep her balance as the wind battered her. Out of the blinding mist of illumination, she swore she could make out the silhouette of a person reaching out towards her.

Right size. Has to be.

  “Catalina!” Bessie cried again, launching herself towards the shadow. She ran towards it, fighting for every inch against the torrent of wind and snow that tried to drag her backwards. Her heart was pounding against her rib cage like a wild animal thrashing to escape its calciferous cage. She could taste the bitterness of fear in a hot acidic lump at the back of her throat.

Bessie had never felt so bloody terrified in all her life. She could feel the terror in her veins like a black mist; dense and heavy as it clouded up her bloodstream. Not an altogether unfamiliar feeling to her now but with a meaner edge to it. Something was colder about this. Something was wrong.

But the urge to survive that had forced her this far kept her moving forward, putting one foot in front of the other. The adrenaline sang through her body, forcing her limbs to keep moving, keep going, keep going, don’t stop. Bessie couldn’t stop, not even for a second. 

  “Elizabeth!” Aragon’s voice was full of relief as she broke through the border of elemental fury separating them and Bessie felt it flood through her system like morphine, diluting the fear in her veins. She always felt braver around Aragon, even when she was still terrified.

But as Bessie surveyed the scene around her, the hope was sucked right back out of her. Fear doubled down its hold on her, clutching to her chest in icy tendrils that constricted her lungs. The ice spread along her spine to the tips of her fingers and down into the soles of her feet like arctic sea water lapping over her. A tsunami of nausea crashed over her and Bessie was frozen to the spot, sickened to her stomach as she looked on in horror.

Aragon smiled at her warmly and Bessie could feel the color draining from her face. Aragon looked hurt at the lack of response and stepped towards her, arms outstretched, attempting to garner some grander reaction out of her. Bessie stayed where she was, feeling as though she had been cemented to the ground.

  “You’re late,” Aragon told her.

  “I-- Catalina--” Bessie’s mouth was too dry to speak. She felt as if she had swallowed desert sand. If she concentrated, she could almost feel it in her throat, choking her. Or maybe it was the frost creeping up from her chest that was squeezing her throat shut. She couldn’t tell.

She couldn’t breathe.

  “I started without you,” Aragon continued, glancing over her shoulder at the pile of bodies she had been perched upon. Bessie knew it hadn’t been there when she had seen Aragon’s silhouette; she had been standing and hers was the only shadow- Bessie would have seen this sadistic mockery of a throne in the outline and it was impossible but it was there and it looked very real and it still made her stomach lurch and she was still very close to being sick.

The bodies of everyone she ever cared about lay in a grotesque pile, arms and legs and necks twisted in unnatural angles. They were all there; Maria, Cleves, Jane, Cathy, Anne, Kitty, Maggie… Even Bessie’s parents could be seen clearly which made no sense; they shouldn’t be here. What were they doing here? They shouldn’t be here!

  “You killed them,” Continued Aragon calmly, taking another step towards Bessie, who was trying to fend off a panic attack. Her hands trembled and she clenched them into fists and held Aragon’s eyes desperately, waiting for something to make sense, pleading with it to. She was frozen solid, as cold as the snow that fell around them and her skin was slick with sweat and water. Bessie could feel it, feel the heat pooling in her cheeks and the back of her neck and across her shoulders. She was too warm and too cold all at once and nothing made any sense anymore and that was the absolute least of her problems right now.

  “You weren’t quick enough and you killed them all.”

Bessie’s resolve wavered and she allowed herself a quick stolen glance back at the pile of bodies. That was a mistake. The pit of her stomach dropped into her shoes, like the ground had given way beneath her. All of the bodies were the same; grotesque grimaces plastered across their faces, carved into their cheeks almost like smiles. Every one of them was stained with blood; thick rivers of crimson smeared across their neck from the dark lines sliced into their throats; another scarlet smile echoing the hollow expressions on their faces. Their glassy, lifeless eyes stared at nothing and yet Bessie couldn’t help but feel that they were trained on her, watching her and cursing her to hell for not being fast enough.

They had all been tossed carelessly into a huge pile in the middle of the tower they stood in. Aragon had been sitting on them. She was covered in their blood. Their blood was on her hands. Their blood was on Bessie’s hands. Aragon had killed them. Bessie had killed them.

  “Should have been faster,” Aragon tutted, shaking her head disappointedly as she looked at the bodies. Bessie trained her eyes back to her. It was better than the alternative. She couldn’t face the judgement from those dead eyes. “But us being dead… Wasn’t that your plan? Wasn’t that why you did it?”

As Bessie dragged her eyes back to Aragon’s face, her expression changed from the cool, detached smile into a look of pure terror. Aragon didn’t look like a monster anymore. She looked like a woman who was every bit as scared as Bessie was.

Aragon dove forward desperately, grasping her Bessie’s forearm and the blonde’s grip tightened reflexively around a sword- an axe- a knife that she hadn’t been holding before. She didn’t know what to trust here. She wanted to trust her mother but her head was too messy with panic to think straight anymore and her instincts were screaming “threat” at her. She wanted to run but she held firm where she was.

  “Elizabeth, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Aragon pleaded with her, her voice wavering as she clung to Bessie’s arm, holding so tightly that Bessie could feel the bruises forming under Aragon’s fingertips. Her body screamed at her to get out of there. 

Bessie was torn between pulling away in disgust and dragging the brunette into a hug and promising to never let her go again. Aragon was going to die because of Bessie. Everyone died because of Bessie. Everyone was dead. Everyone was dead, everyone was dead and no one was coming back. Aragon was going to die and Aragon was so scared, so scared and Bessie was so scared and she couldn’t move and she was cold and too hot, too hot and she was shaking? When had she started shaking?

Bessie lunged. Aragon screamed, but wasn’t fast enough. The knife slashed and blood squirted across Bessie’s face. The taste was rancid in her mouth but she lapped it up like a dehydrated dog.

  “Catalina!” Bessie shrieked, dropping to her knees beside the body she had just harmed, beside Aragon. She placed her hands over the wound trying to hold it close but she had cut through the queen’s aorta and there was so much blood gushing out. It was forcing its way out past Bessie’s fingers, sliding between them, rushing down Aragon’s neck like a ghastly river. Bessie’s hands were slippery with her mother’s blood as she tried to pressure the wound shut but it was too late. Aragon was limp on the floor and nothing Bessie could do was going to save her. She was too slow, too slow, too slow, Aragon was dying, dead, she was dead, Aragon was dead and it’s Bessie’s fault. It’s her fault.

  “No, no, no, no, please, Catalina! I’m sorry. Please! Don’t die on me, please don’t die! You can’t die! Please, Mama!”

Bessie begged and begged the queen to move, to sit up, to open her eyes, to breathe; anything that meant she wasn’t dead. Aragon was dead. Aragon was dead, dead, Aragon was dead.

Bessie couldn’t see what her hands were doing any more. Tears streamed down her face, falling onto her lap and onto Aragon’s lifeless body. Her voice tore at the inside of her throat like shards of broken glass, ripping gaping holes inside of her. Bessie was like a dying star, collapsing into a black hole. Destruction surrounded her and it was finally catching up with her too, crushing her down and down and down until it would kill her in a violent explosion and she would take everything else with her, one final catastrophe to file under her name.

---

Bessie awoke with a gasp, sitting upright in the bed. She was soaked in cold sweat from head to toe, but it felt more like blood that didn’t belong to her. At her side, Aragon was still asleep, unaware of her terror. Gazing upon her mother figure’s peaceful features, Bessie knew what she had to do.

She got out of bed and changed into more appropriate clothes for the weather outside. Then, she slipped out of the house and walked down the dark streets until she wound up at the castle. It looked even more imposing at night. Just like it had been in her dream. 

  “The deal is off.”

The man from her bar memories looked over at her. “What?”

  “The deal we made. It’s over. You can’t have the queens.”

For a moment, he was silent. Then, he said, “That’s a bad, bad decision, Bessie.”

  “I have something better for you,” Bessie went on quickly. “You want a son. And you were going to use the queens to do that. But even if you impregnate all of them, you won’t get a boy and you know it. They’re incapable of delivering what you want. They’re weak.”

  “Go on…”

  “I was going to let you do whatever you wanted to them regardless. Because I thought about myself. But not anymore.”

The man was silent.

  “You can’t have the queens,” Bessie said. She untied the lace of the robe she had put on, dropping it to the ground, and spread her arms outwards, presenting her naked body to the king. “But you can have me.”

Moonlight caught on Henry’s wide, toothy smile. “Oh, what a wonderful turn of events…”

[aestheticdenki]

Electric Shock- Denki Kaminari

You’ve had a secret crush on Denki from class 1-A for awhile now. The best time to confess of course is after he sneeze shocks you.

—————————————————

You watched silently as Shinsou read, only turning to look out the window when he had picked up another book. Due to an issue in class 1-B’s dorm, your class was forced to partner up and stay in the few extra rooms that 1-A had left. Thankfully, you got Shinsou, an easy going, quiet person that just so happens to be your best friend. Unfortunately, you also got partnered with your other friend, Monoma. While he could be quiet at times, he absolutely loved annoying class 1-A. Because he was staying with you, you had to keep an eye on him. Right now though, he was asleep, occasionally shuffling here and there and whimpering, dreaming perhaps. Out the window, you could see Midoryia practicing with the air, improving his technique. The warm glow of the evening light looked enticing, so you visited Izuku. “Hey, Midoryia!” He stopped and looked at you. From where you were standing, you could see a sheen of sticky sweat on his skin. “Hey, ______!” “Do you need something to practice on? I can draw up a clay figure.” Izuku nodded his head excitedly. Most people didn’t know you had a drawing quirk. When they found out, it was astonishing.

Your pad appeared from thin air and you started drawing a replica of Uraraka. When you were done, you tapped the dirt and watched as the mud and clay formed the delicate girl. “Uraraka?” He was so amazed by your drawing that he forgot that she was here to fight him. Suddenly, he started to float. He was hovering in midair when he realized that the clay figure had touched him right before he started to drift upwards. Looking down, he noticed that the clay figurine had her hands together, the same way the real girl used her quirk. “That’s SO COOL!” You let out a small chuckle. “She won’t disappear until you defeat her.” You yelled upwords, right before the figurine released her hands and the boy fell to the ground, now in a battle state of mind. The sun was inviting, as you had thought, it was warm and subtle. Not too hot and not too cold. Surprisingly, Midoryia defeated Uraraka quickly. You conjured up a different person, this one being Iida hoping that it’ll give you more time to work on some other people to draw. Thankfully, you can save drafts and you’ve sparred with some of your own creations so some people are already drawn. People like Bakugo, Todoroki, Shinsou, All Might, Shigaraki and Stain. Those last two are your little secret.

“Is that...me?” Getting startled, you accidentally drew a line through the face you were drawing. Iida stood at the door watching the clay figurine kick up dust. “Yes.” A few others came out to watch as well. “Whose work is this?” Todoroki inquired, wanting to know in case he wanted to do some extra sparring. “Why, it's the favorite quirk in UA and guess what? She’s in our class. Guess that sucks for you.” “Shut up, Monoma.” You sat the pad to the side and quickly grabbed his ear to sit by you. “That is my quirk by the way.” “Can you make anybody?” “As long as I know their faces and their quirks.” Finally, Midoryia defeated clay Iida. “Give me another one. A hard one.” Hmmm. All Might should work. The students gasped in awe at the very detailed All Might forming out of the clay that was used from Iida. “I am here!” Although the voice doesn’t sound exact, it was pretty spot on with a gravelly texture but what can you possibly do with clay and voices? Mineta slithered up beside you. “Who ya drawing now?” “Someone from class 1-A…” “Is it me?” You laughed. “No, I haven’t drawn you yet.” “Who else have you drawn?” A rosy tint appeared on your cheeks. Telling who, will show that you have been staring at some of them (ehem, the boys).

“Um, for the girls, Uraraka, Yaoyorozu,” The aforementioned squealed and wanted to fight against herself. “Tsuyu, Jirō, Mina, Hagakure. For the boys, Shinsou, Aoyama, Iida, obviously. Bakugou and Todoroki.” The girls felt honoured that you had drawn all of them. “The boys aren’t correctly detailed all the way through because um-“ The heat rose to your cheeks again. “It’s hard not to look creepy while staring at them.” Honestly, you forgot about Mineta until he spoke up. “You can look at me all you want…” he drooled a little. “Thanks, Neta!” You weren’t falling for his dumbass tricks. Nope. You were gonna ignore him. Iida and Kirishima also offered to let you study them to draw them in great detail. “____! Another one, please.” “Take a break, Midoryia.” Iida pressed on when he tried to talk back. You gladly brought a Yaoyorozu to life when the real one wanted to fight herself. A little while later, everyone was heading inside to cook and you were still drawing and building figurines for Izuku. A hand tapped your shoulder softly making you slightly jump. Your eyes travelled up the body from the feet to the face and the white and red hair. It was Todoroki. “Hey, u-um, if you want, you can study me too. I think you draw people exactly the way they fight and it’ll be a good learning experience for me if I can watch the way I fight.” You smiled and thanked him. He slightly, very slightly, tilted the ends of his lips up into a smile.

—————————————————————

You awoke to the screaming of Present Mic and your body slamming to the floor which made a considerably louder noise than the voice. Aizawa and Present Mic appeared at your door to ask if you were alright. “Yeah, just fell from the top bunk. Sorry.” “NO NEED TO APOLOGIZE, YO.” Stupid Monoma and his triple bunk bed idea. You’d rather sleep with Shinsou than deal with the chance of falling out in the middle of the night. The fall caused you to be slightly grumpy. You hate waking up. Sighing, you got dressed and then woke up Shinsou and Monoma. “Come on, we have practice today.” After making sure they were awake, you headed down to help with breakfast. Only a few were already dressed. Morning people you assume. “ おはよう, Iida, Yaoyorozu and Midoryia.” They all greeted you happily. It looks like breakfast was done. You decided to go check up on the boys since they weren’t out yet and it wouldn’t be long before the food is all gone. Somehow, you got partnered with boys and had the room on the boys side. What luck! And it seems that a few of them have forgotten already judging by Kirishima and Sero walking out shirtless. “Good morning, guys.” “Good morning,” they droned out.

It got worse when you ran into a shirtless Kaminari. “Does no one wear shirts in the morning?” “Sorry, ______-chan!” He helped you up and you thanked him. You were going to punch the next person who was shirtless, and you didn’t care who it was. You opened your door to find, surprise, surprise, Monoma shirtless. But thankfully, he was putting a shirt on. Shinsou, on the other hand, was already dressed. “Get up, let’s go. Food.” “I’m not hungry.” Seriously? “I am, so let’s go get me some food.” “No.” You grabbed your pad and picked Shinsou. This time, he was made out of blankets. You laughed evilly and the real Shinsou was picked up by himself. He was startled but relaxed again. No walking. You pushed Monoma out the door and made it to the dining room. “Woah, you can make them out of blankets too?” To say, Izuku was impressed was an understatement. “I can make them out of whatever I want to use.” The blanket Shinsou sat the real one on a chair before going back to the room to return to its normal state.

The training took forever, it seemed. By the end, all of you were covered in sweat whether it be a lot or just a sheen layer. “You get the rest of the day off. Stay on campus.” Aizawa freed you to do whatever. Someone said that you guys should go to the pool but that requires permission. And who did they put up to ask? You. Midnight’s favorite. Why Midnight? Because she just absolutely thinks you are the cutest and loves how you’ve drawn her. She also loves how, deep down, you are sadistic too. “Midnight-san? Can we use the pool?” Aizawa started to give you a time to get out but he got cut off. “Of course! That sounds so wonderful. Go for as long as you like my baby!” “Thank you Midnight-san!” She squealed and watched you walk away. “You’ve got to stop playing favorites.” “Lighten up Aizawa! Isn’t she the cutest. You like her drive in class too. You’ve said it before.” He sighed and stared at the dominatrix. “I do but I do not favor her.” “Oh that’s right, you favor Shinsou. Which is her best friend. Oh they’d make a hot couple.” Midnight was useless to fight against Aizawa concluded before rolling up like a caterpillar in his ugly yellow sleeping bag.

When you coaxed Shinsou to get in the pool, you did not expect him and Monoma to gang up against you. You felt yourself get picked up and thrown into the pool. Monoma and Aoyama laughed as they stood right where you had. Letting yourself laugh as well, you splashed them and watched as they screamed. Excitedly, you swam over to Shinsou and held onto his back like an octopus (I should not have found that as funny as I did). “Shinsou! You’re freezing!” “It’s cold.” You let him go and told him to go warm up. Now only you, Kaminari and Midoryia were in the pool. “DENKI’S GOING TO SNEEZE!” Being too far away from the sides of the pool, you curse and brace yourself for the shock. You yelped when a loud achoo was heard and a shock traveled through your body. Turns out you were right next to the boy so the shock was worse. He was ready to sneeze again when you abruptly held his nose. “You fucking sneeze again and I’ll end your life.” You’d like to say that your threat had worked but it didn’t. As soon as you let go, he sneezed again. “DENKI!” Uh oh. He started to swim away and eventually made it on land. Breaking all of Iida’s rules, the two of you started running, one running away and the other running after.

It wasn’t until he stopped and you crashed into him that you realized you were on the edge of the pool. Kaminari held onto your waist to keep you from hitting him as the water surrounded you two. You sort of wrapped your arms around his neck and your legs around his torso as you felt yourself losing consciousness. All the exercise when your body was in pain from the shocks caused you to over exert your body. The last thing you felt was your bodies resurfacing and the heat from someone’s hand warming up your body. You awoke to the blinding sun and Midnight looking at you worried. You noticed she was adorned in a one piece bathing suit that looked quite well on her. “Are you alright?” “I think so, Midnight-san.” “I came out to watch you guys when I saw Kaminari carrying your unconscious body from the pool.” Kaminari! “Where is he?” “He’s feeling guilty while Shinsou reams him for shocking you. Maybe he should be banned from the pool.” You sat up abruptly causing you to wince, your muscles still tingling. “No. I would’ve been fine had we not fell in the water after running.” Once she decided you were okay, she hopped in the water and told everyone else they can join and not be worried.

Kaminari decided to sit out in the corner watching the others play and have fun. You hobbled over to him and sat down next to him. “Why aren’t you in the pool?” His golden eyes met yours. “I feel bad and if you can’t swim then I’m not swimming.” “You got banned didn’t you?” “That too.” You giggled at him. “What are we going to do with you Denki? Hmm?” He shrugged and shivered as a cold drop of water fell from his hair. You grabbed your towel and stood up. “Can I dry your hair?” “Sure!” Softly, you ran the towel through his hair before you deemed it dry enough. A piece of wet hair fell on his nose and he began to sniffle getting ready to sneeze. Just as he was on the brink of sneezing, you kissed him. You still got shocked just not as bad. When you pulled back you realized that Kaminari had just short circuited. “Dummy,” you whispered to no one in particular. Your head felt heavy, so you decided to lean in on Kaminari’s shoulder. Slowly, you started to drift off only waking up when someone was shaking you. “Wake up, Sleeping Beauty.” It was Denki. As you looked around, you realized you two were alone and it was beginning to go dark.

“Where is everyone?” “I told them I’d bring you home when you woke up.” You sighed and secretly wished that someone had woken you up. “Now, let’s talk about earlier. What was that?” A pink tint appeared on your sun kissed cheeks. “A kiss?” “I know but why?” You hoped he didn’t hate you for it. “My dad used to do that to my mom all the time to stop her from sneezing. I decided to do it because I didn’t want to get shocked again.” “So it’s not because I’m cute?” He pouted and you may or may not have died on the inside. “I mean, I wouldn’t have kissed anyone else.” There it was, your indirect confession. For months now, you have been crushing on Kaminari. You’ve drawn him over a dozen times in a secret file so no one would criticize you for it. “Well I-I think yo-your cute too.” Oh really? “Really?” “Mmhm.” The two of you could have disintegrated from how hot your cheeks were. “M-maybe in a few weeks when summer starts, w-we can go on a-a date.” “I like that idea!” You pressed a chaste kiss on his cheek and grabbed his hand. “Let’s go home.” “Wait, one thing before.” Confused, you turned towards him only to be met with a kiss. “I’ll be doing that in secret until we get caught.” With that, he winked and walked with you to the dorms. He only got in four days worth of kisses before Bakugou outed you two after being a sore loser.

[lovemesomesurveys]

Do you weigh less than 130 pounds? Yeah, quite a bit less.

Do you straighten your hair every day? No. I haven’t straightened my hair in years.

What kind of car do you drive? I don’t drive.

What’s your favorite kind of ice cream? Strawberry, mint chocolate chip, birthday cake, and cookies and cream are good. I haven’t had ice cream in quite awhile, though. 

Do you wear earrings daily? No. It’s been awhile since I’ve worn earrings as well. 

Do you prefer purple or green grapes? Green.

When’s the last time you got your eyebrows waxed? I only got them waxed once and I was like 14.

Have you ever been in a tanning bed? No. Talk about claustrophobia. And I have no desire to do so anyway. 

Did your last kiss mean anything to you? Yeah.

How’s your hair right now? It’s up in its usual messy bun.

Have you ever wanted to go to Australia? I would love to.

What’s your favorite fast food restaurant? I’m not as into fast food as I used to be, but the ones I go to when I do have it are Chick-fil-A, Carl’s Jr, McDonald’s, and Jack in the Box.

When’s the last time you washed your hands? A few hours ago.

Who were you with the last time you were drunk and where were you? I was with a group of friends in a hotel room I rented for my birthday back in 2013.

What is one thing within the last year that if it had gone differently you feel might have changed things now? If I had done some things I should have been doing and managing things better regarding some of my health related issues.

What is something that you associate with summer? The miserable heat.

Have you ever ran around outside completely naked? Uh, no. Absolutely not.

When you’re hungry, does your stomach hurt? Sometimes. My body is super dramatic like that. I’ll feel weak sometimes and it’s like omg stop acting like you haven’t ate in days.

Would you say that you have a nice smile? No.

Have you ever walked in on your parents doing something kinky? Ahhhh, no.

Do you use mouthwash? No.

Do you eat anything out of a box? Yeah.

When’s the last time the fire alarm in your house went off? It’s never gone off. The only time it has made noise is when the batteries need to be replaced.

Can you be trusted with secrets? Yes.

Pill to make you braver or one to make you smarter? Braver. I’d be able to get some things taken care of that I’ve put off because I’m anxious and scared.

Are you in a hurry to grow up? I am grown up at 31 I guess, but I’m in no hurry to get older. I was never in any hurry.

When was the last time you used a bar of soap? Yesterday when I showered.

Do you keep notes, drawings or letters that people give you? Yes. I’m big on that.

Have you ever been locked in a car with a bf/gf? No. How would we be locked in the car?

Have you had a bf/gf that you never kissed? No. 

How many true best friends are present in your life? No friends, but I have my family.

Do you currently have a significant other? Nope.

Do your parents approve of the people you hang out with? They never had an issue with any of my friends.

Would you be able to stand being in the same room as someone you hate? I don’t hate anyone, so.

Have you ever lost a close friend? Yes.

Think of your current or last bf/gf. Do you/did you love them? I did.

Has anybody criticized the way your significant other looked like? I’m single, but no one said anything about the way my exes looked.

Have you ever stayed up late talking to a bf/gf on the phone or online? Yes.

Do your friends like the people you date? Do their friends like you? They had an issue with Joseph because they saw what I didn’t want to see, which was that he was using and playing me and wasn’t treating me right. I haven’t had an issue with their friends.

Do your parents let you date, or do you sneak around? I’m 31 years old. I can’t blame my non-existent dating life on that haha.

Have you ever felt backstabbed by a close friend? Yes.

Do you have any handshakes with anybody? No.

Do you feel you can rely on anybody to always be there for you? I know my family will always be there.

Have you ever regretted ignoring anybody? I’ve pushed people away and messed up good things. :/

What has been the stupidest reason someone has broken up with you? Joseph just didn’t want to commit. He wanted me when it was convenient and when he felt like it.

Have you ever kissed someone in their bedroom, or in yours? No.

Has a friend of yours ever confessed their love to you? No.

Have you gone out with someone, then ruined the friendship you had before? My first boyfriend and I were good friends before we started dating and yeah it definitely changed things after.

Can you trust any of your friends at full capacity? No friends. I trust my family, though.

Is the word 'love' even in your vocabulary? Yes.

Who do you think is more confusing, males or females? People are confusing.

Have you written or drawn anything for somebody else? No.

Do you have any pictures of yourself with a bf/gf? I have photos of myself and my exes.

Do your friends know how to make you smile in tough times? My family does. My doggo always can.

Has anybody said they loved you, but you didn't love them back? Yes.

Is there anyone you don't like that always seems to be everywhere you are? No.

Is there anyone you care about more than you care for yourself? My family.

What/who do you take the most pictures of? My doggo.

How long did you spend in a vehicle today? I’m not going anywhere today. 

When you make a mess are you more likely to clean it up right away, or do you get to it later? I clean it up right away.

Who do you blame for your bad mood today? I’m just annoyed because yesterday I slept until 6PM and today I’ve hardly slept at all, I kept getting up like every hour. It’s 10AM now and I first fell asleep around 6, so yeah not much sleep going on. :/

By what age would you like to be married? I don’t plan on getting married.

What are you looking forward to right now? Nothing at this moment.

Do you have any split ends? Yes.

Is there a book you're currently reading? Yeah, I’m finishing up this book called, “Anything for You” by Marissa Finch.

Did you ever want to be a fashion designer? No.

When was the last time you went to the dentist? It’s been awhile. :/

The last time you cried, what was wrong? Oh ya know, life.

Do you sleep with a fan on? Yes, even now in the winter.

What's the last video game you played? Animal Crossing: New Horizons. 

What do you usually drink at meals? Coffee or water.

Are you going to a library tomorrow? No.

Do you sleep better during thunderstorms? No, but I do enjoy them.

Has anyone pissed you off based on their actions recently? Yes.

What language did you take up in high school? I took Spanish all 4 years.

You’re single, correct? Yep.

Is the last person you texted good looking? My mom is beautiful. 

At this very moment, what exactly are you doing? Besides the obvious I’m listening to an ASMR video.

How do you feel about girls smoking? I don’t care what gender is doing it, I personally don’t like it.

Have you ever been in a perfect relationship? No. Perfect relationships don’t exist.

Is the person you last texted in a relationship? Yeah, my mom is with my dad.

Do you think someone is thinking about you right now? Nope.

Do you like “good morning” texts? I don’t get those.

Last movie you watched? Wonder Woman 1984.

Name something you like about winter: I love Christmastime, the weather, the clothes, the colors, the smells, the coziness...all of it.

What’s your favorite color? Pastels, rose gold, sea foam green, coral, and yellow.

Would you rather be called hun or baby? I don’t really care for either one.

Is there someone that you miss being close with? Yes.

Have you ever fallen asleep in someone’s arms? When I was little.

Does anyone completely understand you? I don’t think completely. I certainly don’t completely understand myself.

In the last 12 months can you say you truly cared about someone? My family.

You were single last month, why? Uhh, because I’m not interested in or talking to anyone in that way. Like, there’s literally no one right now. No one is interested in me either.

Would you rather get 1, 12, or 24 roses? I’d appreciate any amount.

What is something you like to do when you’re down? Cry and one of my go-to activities I do normally as a distraction.

Do you believe teenagers can fall in love? Sure.

Have you ever received a text message that made you cry? Yes.

Did you enjoy your summer? Last summer was even worse because I wasn’t able to go to the beach, which is the only thing I like about summer.

When you watch movies at home, do you like the lights on or off? I tend to just keep ‘em on.

Do you think relationships are even worth it? Yes.

Is any part of you sad at all? All of me.

Do you like your first name? Sure.

What’s most stressing right now? Health and life stuff.

What are you listening to currently? An ASMR video.

Have you done anything embarrassing lately? Not recently.

Dark hair or light hair in the opposite sex? Whichever.

Do you judge people you don’t know? Not to the point that I don't want to get to know them, but yeah. <<< That’s a good way of putting it. Like, I think we all judge people to some extent and that’s normal and not always a bad thing, but some people are judgmental people and they make up their own assumptions and opinions without getting to know a person. They have their mind made up and it stops them from getting to know someone. 

Would you date a boy/girl if you knew they were capable of cheating on you? I guess anyone is capable of doing so, so it’s something that could possibly happen in any relationship. However, if I knew someone had in fact cheated before or was known for that, then no I would not. Even if they had cheated once it would be something I’d worry about happening to me.

Did you sleep alone last night? I always do.

If you could have one thing right now what would it be? I’m kinda hungry, but meh.

Would you rather have ten kids, or none? None, hands down. I don’t even want one kid, let alone TEN.

Do you tell your mom or dad everything? I tell my mom a lot.

Does it matter to you if your boyfriend or girlfriend smokes? It would absolutely matter to me if they smoked cigarettes.

Have you ever been hurt by someone you never thought would hurt you? Yes.

Do you have siblings? I have two brothers.