#I always feel the need to point out I would be content with Fire Abundance Yingxing if not Erudition

[fragmentedblade]

A Blade alt. unit that's Fire Erudition Yingxing when?

[caffeine-clouds]

Hm... SonElise with numbers 7 and 9? :3

Ooooo, anon hitting me with the interesting one. DISCLAIMER: I don't give a shit whether anyone ships Sonelise, Roupaz, or Eggline like- who honest to God cares? The beastiality argument, which I'm so glad has died away over the years but some dumbasses keep bringing up, never really held any validity in my eyes. The Sonic characters have way more things in common with humans than they do animals - they are short weird mutant creatures that act like humans and have some animal features. So chill out - I'm tired and depressed, and we're all going to die soon so let's just fucking vibe. That being said though... I dislike this ship! - Are they an absolute NOTP, or are there very specific requirements a fanwork must have for you to enjoy them? I don't seek out Sonelise content nor do I stumble across it often - but I think for me to enjoy them at all - Elise is in need of some, *some* amount of personality. I understand that Elise being reserved and non-expressive is kind of the *point* with her - because she's constantly restraining her emotions because of the fire demon - but with her being the way she is, I fail to see what SONIC sees in her. To me, it always seemed that Sonic would prefer a partner that could keep up with him and fight alongside him as an equal. Elise doesn't offer him that, quite the opposite - she was often the damsel he had to chase after. So I don't really see what was appealing about HER for HIM. She's strong, I get that - she didn't cry for like her whole childhood - that's a strong will right there, but just - it's hard to ship Sonic with a piece of cardboard, you know? I see where the affection comes from on Elise's side - I can imagine her being in love with the guy who taught her to smile, run, and be free. i think she'd be happy to run off on Sonic's adventures alongside him, but she kind of needs to hold onto his hand the whole way - and I personally don't think Sonic would be in a romantic relationship like that. I feel like Elise would want a lot of affection as well - and we all know Sonic isn't really the type to give an abundance of it, especially romantically. But for a fanwork - if you can expand on Elise's personality and give some concrete reasons as to why Sonic is interested - I dunno, I might check it out. I dislike this ship! - Do you understand the appeal at all? Or do you not see how anyone could enjoy it? I do see the appeal tbf. It's got similar elements to ships like Sonadow, Sonknux, Sonaze etc. - where Sonic helps out someone who is clearly struggling and is far more rigid than him - he teaches them to let loose and be free, and that is romantic - don't get me wrong! And tbf to Sonelise shippers - ya'll have more validity than most other Sonic ships because ya'll got a canonical kiss lmao. It's also got the general appeal of opposites attract - and maybe some people just want to see Sonic with a nice gentle lady and you know what? Good on you. I also think the ship is vague enough and dances around their feelings for each other to the point where you could slap any headcanon you wanted on it - which is totally valid, some people just like having the freedom. And I think some, not all but some, can probably self insert with Elise a bit - because still - she's a bowl of bland oatmeal with not much going on, so if you wanna project and imaginine yourself on a romantic expedition with Sonic the Hedgehog - Elise is your vehicle. But anyways - thanks for the ask anon!

[archived-kin]

you braid your favourite fire boy’s hair (and get indirectly confessed to, maybe)

note from kin: some of you may say that diluc is too calm and stoic to be an arsonist but i refuse to believe the man hasn't set a tiny bit of fire to kaeya’s house at some point or another

fandom: genshin impact

character(s): gn!reader, diluc, aether (mentioned), venti (mentioned)

pairing(s): diluc/reader

warning(s): none! (except, like, hair brushing and stuff? i don’t if that counts but i also don’t know what sort of trauma people have so,,, here’s the warning just in case)

genre: fluff

“How do you even manage your hair?”

Diluc shoots you a look over the bar as you lean forward on the counter. “What are you talking about?”

It’s another one of those nights where Mondstadt and the area around it is pretty quiet. Normally you’d be out doing commissions or just general favours for the public with your adventuring buddy Aether and his friend (pet? guardian fairy?) Paimon, but he’s been in Liyue for the last week or so helping Zhongli run some errands, and likely won’t be back for another few days. He had asked you whether you’d wanted to come with him - the two of you make a dynamic duo like no other, after all - but the last time you’d spent time with Zhongli, you’d ended up having to pay about ten thousand Mora in terms of expenses on his behalf. You love the guy, but he really grinds your gears with his inability to comprehend how basic currency works sometimes.

So off Aether had gone to Liyue, though not without promising to bring you back a Starconch or something in return for your offer to patrol his area for him in his absence, and you had stayed behind in Mondstadt, promising to let him know if anything about his missing twin sister comes up while he’s gone.

As much as you’d like to (mostly for poor Aether’s fragile sense of self worth), you can’t say it’s been a particularly difficult week without him in terms of work - you miss your friend, of course, but there haven’t really been any outstanding attacks in the area that you didn’t manage to take care of within the hour. The lack of disturbances also means that Mr Darknight Hero over there hasn’t had much to do either, so he’s spent most of the past few nights behind the bar - which means, of course, that you’ve been coming is much more often than usual to see him.

Angel’s Share is a bar by trade, so of course it’s open all night to any gracious patron looking for something to drink. More than often it’s full, being one of the more renowned taverns in the city, but today is a day of rest, and so Diluc had closed up shop about half an hour ago.

Why are you still allowed in Angel’s Share if it’s closed, you ask? Well, obviously it’s because Diluc likes you so much!

No, that’s a lie - while you’ve always thought of Diluc as a close friend, you’re more inclined to believe that Diluc himself is only letting you stay here past closing time because he owes you for helping him out with a particularly overzealous Abyss Mage that had gotten a little too close to the city gates yesterday.

Still, you can’t help but hope that there’s some other reason behind his lenience...

“Hair’s hard to take care of, and you have a lot of it,” You respond matter-of-factly, dipping a biscuit into your mug of tea and shoving it whole into your mouth. Much like Diluc, you prefer to abstain from alcohol when you can - ironic, considering you’ve spent so much time in a bar recently. “I’m just curious. What do you do with it when you go to sleep?”

He shakes his head with a quiet scoff and returns to polishing an empty tankard. “I don’t do anything with it.”

“What, so you just leave it in a ponytail all the time?”

Diluc looks up to see you shooting him a scandalised look. He sighs, evidently not particularly willing to put up with one of your moods this late at night. “Of course not.”

You relax a little, only to stiffen right back up when he continues, “I take it down to wash it.”

“You—” You take a deep breath in an effort to calm yourself, setting your elbows on the table and pressing your hands together as if praying to Barbatos to save this poor man’s hair-ends. Finally, after a moment of silence, you ask, voice hushed, as if afraid that the answer will be too much for you to handle, “How the hell is your hair still so pretty?”

Diluc pauses in the middle of putting his freshly-polished tankard away. He takes a long while to formulate a response - whether because he’s nonplussed by the gormlessness of your question or something else (because he’s flustered, maybe? You know better than to hope in vain, but you can’t really help what your idiot of a heart does to your mind).

Finally, though, he mutters in reply, “Pretty?”

Your hand hesitates in the middle of reaching for another biscuit from the plate sitting next to you. Diluc doesn’t sound offended, but you know better than to assume that he isn’t. You don’t think there’s anything particularly wrong with calling his hair pretty, but maybe it stings his ego as a man or something?

“Uh, yeah…?” You curl your fingers around your warm mug and pull it towards you, staring determinedly down at its contents to disguise your growing nervousness. “I mean, well, it always looks really healthy and soft and glowy and stuff…”

Well, if he wasn’t offended before, he probably is now. You mentally cuff yourself around the head, reminding yourself that you shouldn’t let yourself get loose-lipped just because you’re so relaxed in the homeliness of the tavern. It doesn’t matter how comforting the warmth of the mug in your hands is, nor does it matter how fuzzy just being in Dilic’s presence makes you feel - you need to watch what you say.

But then you see Diluc move out of the corner of your eye, and you look back up to see him standing much closer than he was before, a smile tugging at his lips. You can practically feel your heart screech out of pure surprised joy as he reaches out and gently brushes his knuckles against your cheek.

“Thank you,” He murmurs - do you dare to hope that you hear affection in his voice? - and pulls away as quickly as he’d come close. “I appreciate it.”

You aggressively force your breathing to even out as he moves back to his work, going about his usual duties of making sure all the bottles on display are tightly shut and squeaky clean. Surely the fact that he willingly initiated contact with you - and such intimate-feeling contact at that - must mean something? Diluc has never been the type to be physically affectionate with friends, not like Kaeya, who you’re pretty sure has kissed about half of his entire friendship circle, or Lisa, who has absolutely zero qualms about giving a stranger a bone-crushing hug if they need one. Even if this only means that he considers you a closer friend than the others, though, you can’t help the delighted flutter in the pit of your stomach.

Diluc’s touch has far more power than you’ll ever admit - brief as the contact was, it’s sent such a rush of adrenaline through your entire body that you somehow muster up enough courage to abruptly ask, “Would you mind if I braided it?”

Diluc pauses again. You watch him in anticipation as he slowly turns around to look back at you. “...why would you want to do that?”

“Uh—” You struggle to come up with a decent reason that won’t make you sound like a lovesick fool, and eventually settle on, “I just think it would look nice?”

Diluc stares at you in silence for so long that you begin to think that you’ve lost him completely with your out-of-nowhere request. Then, however, he gives you a curt nod. “Go ahead.”

You barely catch yourself in time to prevent your shock from showing on your face as Diluc moves out from behind the counter and sits down in the seat beside you. “...uh?”

“Go ahead,” He repeats, reaching up and untying his hair from its low ponytail. It tumbles over the back of the chair in messy waves, reflecting the light of the fire so precisely that it almost looks like it’s glowing in the dim lighting of the tavern. “I assume you know how, since you offered.”

It takes you a moment to do something other than stare in pure dumbfounded surprise, but once you snap out of your mini-trance, you nod hurriedly and get to your feet, reaching in your pocket as you do so. You’ve made a habit of carrying around spare hair ties and a foldable wooden comb ever since you and Aether had started working together - his hair comes undone from its plait a lot in battle, and it’s always all matted and tangled in the morning if he lets it down to sleep - which means you won’t have to fumble about for an hour trying to comb’s Diluc’s abundance of hair out with only your fingers.

Diluc is sitting as prim and proper as ever in his chair as you hesitantly move around to stand behind him and - after a long, uncertain pause - begin to brush his hair. His back is ramrod straight, which doesn’t look comfortable at all, but you suppose that whatever works for him is fine.

“That feels nice,” He murmurs quietly as you carefully tease out a knot. Your hands freeze for a moment, then silently continue with their work. “You’re good at this.”

After a pause, you reply, equally quiet, “I get a lot of practice.”

He hums in reply, and the deep rumble of his voice almost seems to fill the room. “...with Aether, I presume.”

You nod, then realise he can’t see you and hurry to give him a verbal answer. “Yeah.”

There’s a long silence between the two of you. You continue to work your way through Diluc’s abundance of hair, painstakingly spending far too long combing out each tangle and kink out of fear that you’ll hurt him if you get too rough.

You don’t know how much time has passed by the time Diluc finally speaks up again. “You spend a lot of time with him.”

It’s a statement, not a question - but you can’t blame him for phrasing him that way. It’s well-known around the city of Mondstadt that you and Aether have been partners-in-crime ever since the two of you had bonded over nearly being stampeded by a swarm of hilichurls and working together to kill them all. It’s odd that he’s bringing it up now, though… you wonder why.

“...well, I do, yes. We are adventuring partners…”

Diluc inhales and lets out a soft sigh. You don’t miss the way that his shoulders tense up slightly. Another long silence passes, and he finally murmurs, “I might be a little jealous.”

You freeze again. Did you hear him right? Did Diluc really just say what you think he just said? He’s… jealous?

You don’t even have time to try to formulate a response before he starts speaking again. “The two of you are always out exploring together. It’s rare that we get to see each like this.”

“...hey, now…” It’s not often that you’re unable to find words - you’ve always had a sharp tongue. Right now, though, it feels like they’ve all dried up in your mouth. “What are you trying to say…?”

Diluc pauses. Then he lets out a soft chuckle - one that has no right to have the effect on you that it does. “...nothing. I just mean that it’s nice to be able to spend time together like this.”

He doesn’t continue, and you take that as a sign that this particular stretch of the conversation is over, and return to carefully separating his hair into segments. Your hands wobble imperceptibly as you do so, but if he notices, he doesn’t say anything about it.

Diluc sighs and lets his shoulders relax as you start pulling the locks of hair over each other into the beginnings of a long braid, carefully tugging it closer to the base of his head so that it looks a little neater. You’re not sure whether you want to go for something similar to Aethar’s plait or something more intricate, but considering the hour, you’d probably be better off keeping it simple. You wonder briefly what colour ribbon would look nice against the deep red of his hair, but quickly shut the idea down - it’s already a wonder that Diluc is letting you do this, and you don’t want to push your luck.

(You don’t know this, but, though his face is calm and composed, Diluc is so hyper aware of his stuttering heartbeat that he’s sure you can hear it. He almost wishes you would use more force with your hands, if only so that he can feel the movement of your fingers more clearly - there’s something therapeutic in the way they weave through his hair. He could almost fall asleep there on the spot, so soothing is your presence and the warmth of the fire, but he wants to talk longer.)

“Hey,” you begin, suddenly feeling that the quietude is more awkward than comfortable. “If you’re ever free, uh… I’m sure Aether wouldn’t mind if you came out on an expedition with us. There are some rumours about an Oceanid popping up in Starfell Lake…”

Diluc makes an indiscernible noise in response to indicate that he’s thinking about your question. You wait with bated breath, only to feel disappointment drop in your chest like a rock when he shakes his head, shifting the incomplete braid in your hands.

A moment later, though, the pressure disappears as he says quietly, “I’d much rather go with you alone.”

“Oh…” You breathe out loud before realising your mistake. You resist the urge to slap your hand to your mouth to shut yourself up, and instead hurry to rectify yourself by continuing, “That sounds good.”

Diluc chuckles again. “You don’t sound particularly enthused by the idea.”

“No, that’s not what I meant!” You shock even yourself with just how indignantly loud your voice gets. You hasten to quiet yourself, continuing much more mutedly, “Um— I mean, I’d love to.”

You can’t see his face, but you can almost hear Diluc’s soft smile in the way he speaks. “Then it’s settled. I’ll take a look at my schedule and let you know when I’m free, alright?”

You can’t help but feel an enormous grin pulling at your own mouth. Well, can anyone really blame you? You’ve just discovered that your unrequited feelings for Diluc might not be as unrequited as you’d initially thought! It’s almost too good to be true - as if you’re dreaming. It’s like the two of you are one of those couples in Venti’s songs, the ones that he likes to play after a good hour of so of drinking, staring meaningfully at you at the end of each… line…

Wait a minute…

A flame-haired noble with a stare as cold as ice, who does his duties by day and hunts evil at night? An adventurer with no roots left at home, who clings to action so as to not feel so alone? The longing stares across a busy room, the late nights thinking of a face so dear, the romance waiting to blossom and bloom, the hopes and wishes that they would stay here?

Son of a hilichurl! That cheeky bard really wrote a song about you and Diluc - and you somehow hadn’t noticed!

“What’s wrong?”

You jolt out of your train of thought as Diluc turns around to look at you. The faint concern on his face is enough to send butterflies spinning through your stomach. Stupid heart. Am I really that weak for this man? “Huh?”

“You haven’t moved in a while,” He says by way of explanation, gesturing to the end of the braid that you’re still holding. “Is there something bothering you?”

You stare at his face - at the deep red of his irises, the flutter of his long lashes, the strands of red hair framing his face, the faint freckles on the slope of his nose. You breathe out a quiet laugh. Perhaps there will never be a time when you can tell him the true extent of how you feel about him, but this will certainly be a start.

“No, nothing at all. So, about tomorrow…?”

[anyoneseenadam]

could you maybe write cuddles with mor? there’s a serious lack in writing for her and i just read your exam work you wrote <3 (i loved it)

pairing: Mor x reader (acotar)

warnings: literally just fluff

a/n: HAPPY PRIDE MONTH LOVLIES!!!! if any of you are queer in any shape or form you are valid and i love you, mor would too <33

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

“You’ve had her all day,” you whined, tugging on Mor’s arm as she smiled at you lovingly.

“That’s because she was my friend before she was your girlfriend,” Cassian replied in the same whiny voice, trying to tug Mor in his direction, “And we have actual work to do.”

“Do I look like I care?” you pulled a face at him, glaring from under your brows.

“You should,” he replied, flicking your nose.

“I will not hesitate to stab you bitch,” you gave a firmer tug as Mor wriggled her way free of Cassian, moving to pull you along as you stuck your tongue out at Cassian. He pulled another face at you, sticking up his middle finger as you were pulled away, laughing at him as you go.

You squeezed her hand as you fell into step beside her, your pace slowing as you walked home.

The walk was quiet, Mor tired after a long day and you simply content to walk silently by her side. The only sounds you could hear was the birds chirping and the distant chatter of people spending their evening in bars and on balconies. You could smell a barbeque in the distance and the setting sun cast goosebumps down your bare arms.

Summer was always your favourite season, the heat allowing you to spend all day outside, lying about or going on walks. You had even dragged Mor swimming earlier in the week, much to her protests. Although she contrasted you quite nicely in that sense, her favourite season being winter.

She was in love with the smell of spices and fires burning as the months grew colder, having more time spent inside with her family and of course she could never say no to the love of her life all bundled up in an oversized jumper and holding a hot drink while curled in front of the fire.

However now as she walked beside you and watched you breathe in the air, your sun-kissed skin glowing in the evening light. You look over when you feel her gaze on you, her eyes dark when you catch them and you giggle, leading her up to the front door of your apartment.

“What is it?” you ask, and she smiles at you in the way that fills your stomach with butterflies and heart with an abundance of joy.

“You look so pretty in this lighting,” she said softly, the sun casting you in tones of gold. Your skin was sparkling the gold jewellery you dressed in made you appear ethereal. All this paired with a white sundress and thick, leather sandals made her surer that she was in face dating an old god, one who had awoken from their long slumber to greet her.

She silently thanked whatever forces had brought you into her life when you laughed quietly, looking down in embarrassment at her words, before looking up from under darked eyelashes and smudged eyeshadow and reached to kiss her gently.

“Well you look pretty in every lighting, so I think I won on that front,” you joked when you pulled away and she rolled her eyes, pulling you into her arms before unlocking and pushing open the door.

Once inside you moved through to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of gin and two large glasses as she walked through. She smiled when you shook the glasses and went to grab the lemonade you had made earlier that week, using lemons from the tree that grew on your balcony. You made your drinks with her hugging you from behind, her chin tucked into the crook of your neck as she watched you carefully pour out measurements.

“Did you eat tonight?” you asked, turning in her arms, and passing her drink over.

She nodded, sipping, and humming appreciatively, “Did you?”

You nodded as well, nudging her nose with your own before steeping away and leading her to the table you had set up on your balcony. She sat down in a seat as you leant on the railing with one hand, using the other to remove your shoes, scrunching your nose up as she laughed at your struggle.

“Don’t be mean,” you joked, standing and moving to walk to your chair when she grabbed your waist and pulled you down onto her lap. You laughed at the change as she wound her arms around your waist, pressing a kiss to your neck as you listened to the soft, jazzy music that was playing in the bar a few blocks over and watched the sun set over the horizon.

You mindlessly spoke about your days as you sipped at your drinks. You had turned in her lap at some point so now as you sat under the starry sky, your only source of light coming from the moon and the tall candles you had lit. You turned to look at her when you noticed she had been quiet for a while and found her watching you sleepily, her eyes flickering with the reflections of the flames dancing in them.

“Lets go to bed,” you whispered when you noticed the tired way she was moving. She didn’t reply, instead just taking the hand you offered her and shuffling through to your shared bedroom with you in tow. You both changed into your underwear, the air too hot for much more, and you moved to crack open the windows in your room.

When you turned back Mor had gone into the ensuite and you moved to follow her, the two of you getting ready for bed quietly as you went about your separate routines. When you finished she had already gone back through and you found her sitting up in bed with her arms outstretched to you, a sleepy but genuine smile resting on her beautiful face.

You crawled into bed next to her, lying with your head tucked between her breasts as she stroked a hand over your head. You were surrounded by her smell, the scent intoxicating and addicting and you let out a content sigh as she moved her hand from your hair to pull the cotton sheet over your bodies.

The cool fabric was a stark contrast to her warm body, yet you found yourself pushing closer into her, tangling your legs with hers and raising your arms so your hands could grab hers, interlinking your fingers. Mor kissed your head gently, her slowing breaths and heartbeat creating a melody that was lulling you to sleep slowly.

Your long day had left your body tired. Your arms were heavy and your eyes falling shut automatically, however now that you were actually laying down to get some much needed rest your brain wouldn’t quiet down. There was a random song playing in your head and while you were extremely comfortable in your lovers’ arms, you couldn’t get to sleep. It didn’t help that even with the open windows the room was suffocatingly hot, and Mor’s hot skin being pressed against you was only adding to that.

After about an hour of no sleep you rolled out of Mor’s embrace, standing and wandering to get yourself a glass of water, drinking it on your balcony as the cool air washed over your sweaty skin. You lifted your hair and sighed as the breeze moved over your neck, cooling you down considerably.

“Why did you leave?” you turned to see your girlfriend wrapped in the white sheet standing behind you. You smiled as she pouted at you adorably, her hair mused on top of her head, although she still looked as stunning as always.

“It’s too hot in there, sorry baby,” you apologised and she scrunched up her face before holding up a finger and turning, plodding back into you apartment as you watched her with a soft smile upon your face.

She returned holding about thirty pillows and deposited them at your feet. “We can just sleep outside then, because I am not giving up on cuddling.”

You laughed as she spoke, drawing her into you by her waist, “I’m glad we both have our priorities straight.”

“Nothing about us is straight,” she muttered and you laughed before pulling away to arrange the pillows she had brought out. When you had made an appropriate pillow fort Mor clapped her hands together, crawling under the blanket that had been drawn over the top to shelter you from the light in the morning.

You crawled in next to her and she grinned at you with childlike joy. “Big or little spoon?” she asked and you looked up as you pondered it.

“Little,” she smiled at you before moving to lie half on her back and half on her side, stretching out an arm for you. You lay next to her, her arms wrapping around your waist as your own hands came to clasp her hand, pulling it up to your heart.

She pressed her face in between your shoulder blades, kissing the skin in between them as you both burrowed down to sleep.

“I love you the most,” you whispered as you realised that she had just changed her entire sleep plan to better fit you. You felt her smile against your bare skin as her arm tightened around you.

“I love you more that that,” she replied and your laughed, squeezing her hand, making her yelp slightly.

“Well I love you more that that,” this time she jabbed you beneath the ribs, knowing how ticklish you are there, smiling as you cried out, wriggling away from her as she laughed.

She relented her tickling hands to pull you back, wanting you as close as physically possible. You allowed her to pull you close again and she sighed into your skin as she breathed you in.

“Goodnight, my love.” She whispered the words into your skin, hoping that saying them directly into you would seal them in. Make them permanent.

Little did she now that her love for you was already permanent, and that yours for her was equally as permanent. You knew what she was thinking when she spoke but half asleep you simply replied, “Goodnight darling, I love you.” Finally drifting to some much needed sleep as the breeze cooled your joined skin.

[lucyintheskywithxanax]

Red Roses

Pairing: Wilhemina Venable x Fem Reader

A/N: I wrote this a few weeks ago and gave up on it because I thought it was too messy and too repetitive. But I re-read it yesterday and was surprisingly pleased with it and with its messiness. So here you go.

Credits to Stevie Nicks for some of the words in one paragraph at the end.

Summary: this is my take on the “reader introduces new gf to her family” story, except I decided it should not be cute but angsty

Warnings: homophobia, internalised homophobia, racism

Word count: ~ 5 400

 “Are you ready ?” Wilhemina asked.

You made a face and gave her hand a squeeze. “No? But I don’t think I’ll ever be so let’s just do this.”

“Permission to cane them if they get mean?”

You breathed out a laugh. “Mina, no.”

She gave you a small wicked smile that made your heart skip a beat. “Too bad,” she said in that deep voice that meant someone was in trouble.

“They’re old,” you smiled. “You would break their bones.”

She hummed thoughtfully. You stared down at your linked hands on your lap as you absentmindedly stroked her knuckles. Wilhemina waited a few more seconds, then opened the door of the car and got out.

Well, here goes. You followed her immediately, as she knew you would.

Outside the air was cold and crisp and smelt of the ocean. Every year your family would gather at your grandparents’ house to celebrate Christmas. It was a tradition you dared not break, no matter the toll it took on you. This year, it would just be you, your parents and grandparents.

You stepped closer to Wilhemina as your grandparents appeared at the front door and waved. “Come on in, come on in, it’s so cold!”

“I can smell the ocean from here,” you smiled.

“Yes, but come on in!”

When they closed the door behind you, it felt as if you had just been thrown in jail. They beamed at you, happy and content, as they helped you and Wilhemina take off your coats.

“Welcome! How was the drive? We’re so glad to see you, it’s been too long!”

“I made your favorite cake,” your grandma said with a wink.

“And welcome to you, Y/N’s friend!” your granddad said, opening his arms to Wilhemina.

“It’s very nice to meet you,” she said. Her voice was cold, but not cold enough to set off their reproaches.  

Your grandparents gave her polite smiles as they ran their eyes up and down her body, gazes lingering on her cane for a second too long. Automatically you reached out and brushed her wrist, a small gesture of comfort just in case she needed it.

“Are mum and dad here?” you asked, taking a peek inside the living-room.

“Not yet.”

Your parents had always supported you and knew you and Wilhemina were a couple. They had met her three or four times already, had offered her kind smiles that had grown kinder when they’d noticed the fond look that would soften her eyes every time she’d look at you. But your grandparents – that was quite a different story.

You loved them. You really did. They were kind and affectionate and generous. You hated them. They made you feel so small and dirty.

Here was the thing. Your grandparents had their own definition of what was right and what was wrong, and nothing would change their minds. Their convictions were engraved in marble. They pointed a finger at everyone who dared put a toe out of the norms, and laughed at them and jeered and hated. How they hated. It was a terrible monster, that hatred of them. It was too big and too strong and too dark. It stifled you, clawed at your skin, bullied your heart. And how they adored you. You were the perfect grandchild, polite and kind, educated, always respectful, always so proper. If only they knew – they didn’t know you. They only saw what you had allowed them to see, a masquerade, a very pretty picture in a golden frame.  

You had wanted to keep Wilhemina safe from your grandparents’ toxicity, but the alternative was her spending Christmas on her own. Again. While all around her the world celebrated. You wouldn’t have that – it wasn’t even an option. She had been so alone for so long, and it had hurt her so deeply, so viciously, until loneliness had become so familiar she had mistaken it for home. You had been trying to teach her, one gentle touch at a time, what home really felt like. So this Christmas, she would be loved and cherished.

You carried your and Wilhemina’s bags upstairs to the spare room you would sleep in. Wilhemina rolled her eyes at the twin beds. You shot her a sheepish smile.

“Sorry,” you whispered.

She shook her head. “No need to apologize.”

“We can put the beds closer after I tell them about us.”

You wouldn’t get to sleep in that room, part of you knew that. Your grandparents would kick you out like the reminder of a shameful memory as soon as they learnt about Wilhemina and you.

You picked up one of the pillows, so soft and comfortable, expensive pillows that had been carefully chosen for the comfort of loved ones, and stroked it absentmindedly. Your eyes veiled over.

You had been so happy in this house. There had been so much love and joy, so much sunshine. But you had never really been yourself in this house.

Wilhemina slipped one arm around your waist and pressed your back against her chest. A soft kiss on the nape of your neck. You leaned back into her, eyes fluttering closed, gathering strength from her warmth. She gave you so much of it, every day.

“Are you okay, little one?”

You hummed, turned in her arms to look at her. You poked her cheek. “Never better.”

Your parents arrived half an hour later, and your grandma immediately ushered you all in the kitchen for lunch. Cooking was how she expressed her affection. Her meals were always abundant and delicious. Because she loved you all, so dearly.

“Your house is very lovely,” Wilhemina said as your dad poured the wine.

Your granddad flashed her a smile. “We fled big cities two years ago. Too many freaks, too much filth. We couldn’t stand it anymore.”

Your grandma piled food on your plate, her eyes soft and kind, for she loved you so dearly. Your hands were shaking.

“We are being invaded,” your granddad was saying. “In two years my neighbours will be a couple of fags or a family of black people. And the government is doing nothing to stop it. When I look around, I cannot recognize my own country.”

You fidgeted with your fork, unable to eat, suddenly feeling incredibly nervous. Several times before, you had heard Wilhemina complain about how “worthless” part of the world population was. You had seen her look down on people and snarl at them for merely existing.

You stole a glance at her. And what – your throat closed up – what if she took your grandparents’ side? What if she agreed with them? What if she pulled her chair closer to them, and nodded to what they said, and shared a few laughs with them, and when next she would look at you it would be with scorn and disdain? What if, listening to what they had to say, her eyes finally opened, and she saw you the way you sometimes saw yourself? Freakish, unlovable.

What then?

You shook your head, suddenly angry with yourself. You knew her. You trusted her. She would never think of you like that.

But what if she did?

Your dad laughed loudly, startling you from your thoughts. You met your granddad’s eyes – kind, soft – and offered him a weak smile.

“And how’s your love life, Y/N?” he asked.

Tell them. You had promised it to yourself. You had promised it to Mina. But what if – Lord – what if they were right? What if they had been right all along? What if Wilhemina finally opened her eyes –

“Did you see how the neighbours pruned their apple tree?” your grandma was saying. “It looks hideous now.”

You cleared your throat.

“Uh, guys, I have something to tell you.”

Your heart was beating so fast you were pretty sure it was going to burst any minute now. You couldn’t look at Wilhemina. You had never been more aware of her presence ever since you had met her, her body radiating burning heat that almost threatened to destroy you.

Your grandparents looked up at you expectantly.

Who’s the lucky man? your granddad’s happy eyes asked. Great-grandchildren! your grandmother’s smile beamed. So proud, so satisfied.

You had become ice. Ice that was melting in the fire that was Wilhemina. Your hands were shaking. You wanted to run away so badly.

“Um, so, Wilhemina and I are dating,” you heard yourself say – from very, very far away. The voice wasn’t yours. It echoed in your ears.

Your grandparents didn’t understand.

“We’re dating,” the voice said, “as in we’re together. We’re in love. I love her.” The voice was almost proud. It surprised you.

Your grandparents understood.

This was terrible. This was the worst. The disappointment on their faces, as if you had failed them, as if you had failed to honour your side of the contract. What would they say to their neighbours and friends now? How would they boast about you? When would they get to greet your nice, respectful husband? When would they bounce their great-grandchildren on their knees?  Where were the respectability and the pride and the freaking normal?

You lowered your eyes so you didn’t have to watch as disappointment and pain settled on their faces. You were vaguely aware of the stinging in your eyes and the trembling of your chin. This would not do. You were freezing, ice crystallizing around your heart, to choke it or to protect it you didn’t know. You would break under your grandparents’ gazes and nothing would be left of you. You had failed them.

Warmth. Wilhemina’s hand found yours under the table. She gave it a gentle squeeze, laced her fingers with yours. Warmth, and softness and love.

Your parents weren’t saying a thing. Your dad was staring at his plate, your mum at the ceiling. It broke your heart, their silence. It was like an agreement with what your grandparents’ faces were expressing.

You couldn’t talk either, so you waited, for Wilhemina’s hand to let go of yours as she realized just how pathetic you were, how disgusting, you were disgusting and your love was disgusting and –

“Why are you doing this to us?” your granddad asked. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Wilhemina wince. “Uh? What did we ever do to you to deserve this?”

How sad he looked. How so terribly broken.

There was the sound of a chair scraping on the floor, and then Wilhemina stood up, slowly and threateningly, eyes half-closed, teeth half-bared. You looked up at her, saw the anger on her face, and mechanically you reached out to stop her. She shouldn’t snap at them. They were right. Couldn’t she see that, see how sad they were, how badly you had hurt them?

Wilhemina looked down at you in surprise. For a second she seemed to be at a loss for what to do. Her mouth opened, but you shook your head, jumped on your feet, and flew out of the room.

It was so very cold outside. You had left without your coat. But the cold felt good. You dived into it.

You couldn’t see very well because of the tears in your eyes, but the sky was white, the earth was wet, and the sand was a faded yellow that was almost grey when your feet sank into it. You hadn’t even realized you had run to the beach.

The tide was low, the ocean quiet, barely any waves, which was funny really because your heart was a storm. You had expected the ocean to be raging.

You sat down on the sand and wrapped your arms around your knees. The chilly wind bit your cheeks. You let the cold sweep through you, let it slip its fingers under your clothes. You took a few deep breaths of the salty air.  

Warmth. A gentle hand on your shoulder.

“You left without your coat, little one,” said Wilhemina, her voice firm but laced with tenderness. “It’s too cold. Here, put it on.”

You didn’t move, so Wilhemina draped your coat over your shoulders. She sat down beside you and you hated the tenderness and the love that clutched your heart for it felt wrong – her love felt wrong. You deserved a slap in the face and a few bitter insults.  

You sank into her nonetheless. You couldn’t help it. You had always been drawn to her like a magnet, and she was always craving your touch.

She wrapped one arm around your shoulders to press you close against her. She was staring fiercely at the ocean, eyes black and angry. You saw her blink several times, her jaw working as if she were gritting her teeth to hold back words. She wasn’t good with words. Communication had always been her weak point. But she always tried, for you.

“Maybe they’re right,” you heard yourself whisper after a while – or maybe it was just the wind, carrying the words from your heart to her ears. “Maybe I am a freak. Maybe I am disgusting and there’s something wrong with me.”

Wilhemina’s face hardened. She held you tighter. “Well then,” she said, very low and very slow, “we are meant to be together. I’m a freak, too.”

“You’re not!” you exclaimed. “Don’t say that about yourself. You’re not a freak, Mina!”

Her lips curled into a small smile. “Funny you should say that. It’s what I think of you, too. See, maybe we can help each other.”

She turned her head to look at you. Her eyes were big and so painfully honest and loving you felt like dissolving into tears. You bit the inside of your cheek as your face crumpled.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Wilhemina cooed. Her brow pushed up in concern, her hand coming up to hold your chin. She gazed at you, searching your eyes, then leaned in to kiss you.

You couldn’t kiss her right now. It didn’t feel proper – if your lips met, the gods in the sky would roar in wrath and smite you. And what if one of your grandparents’ neighbours or friends saw you? Your family would be so ashamed. You had already hurt them so badly. So you put a hand on Wilhemina’s chest to hold her back, and you saw the pain and the fear flash in her eyes before she blinked them away.

“No, Mina, I –“

She leaned slightly away, blinking, nodding. You told yourself it was the cold wind that made the tears pool in your eyes again.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered to Wilhemina. You watched her out of the corner of your eye and reached for her hand.

“It’s okay,” she nodded, smiling through her fear.

You gave her hand a squeeze. “I love you,” you whispered, low and anxious, as if it were a shameful secret. As if it should never be uttered loudly. But the ocean captured the words and sent them back to you and her with a loud groan and spray as a wave almost lapped up your feet.

“I love you,” you repeated, louder. You leaned in and planted a peck on her cheek. Nuzzled her skin, breathed her in. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, love. I understand.”

Of course she did. You had seen the harshness in her gaze when she inspected herself in the mirror in the morning. There were days she would not even dare meet her own eyes.

But she was right. You could help each other. For you both knew what the other was worth, and you both were willing to apply love like a balm on the other’s wounds.

It seemed to you the ocean was whispering. What was it? A secret. Come closer. Don’t be afraid. Closer still.

You sagged against Wilhemina. I’d rather stay here on the beach with her, you told the ocean. Where it’s warm and dry and safe. Keep your secret. I don’t want it.

Tentatively, Wilhemina dropped a kiss on your temple. You hummed, to let her know it was okay. You felt her relax slightly against you, and then she whispered in your ear the secret you had refused to hear from the ocean. You didn’t fail them. They failed you.

Without warning you put one hand on the small of her back and your other hand on her shoulder, and gently pushed her so that she was lying on the sand. She met your eyes in surprise, mouth opening in protest but you kissed her silent. You felt her smile into the kiss.

Her lips were cold, but her mouth was warm and so very sweet. One of her hands tangled in your hair and gently stroke the nape of your neck. Your whole body was tingling. There was no way, you thought, no way this could be wrong.

When you pulled away, Wilhemina’s eyes were shining, and she bit down on a smile. “You’re getting sand in my hair,” she said, raising an eyebrow.

“Tough shit,” you teased. You brushed your mouth against hers, marveling at the warmth and softness of her; your tongue darted out to taste her lower lip, then plunged into her mouth and gently licked her teeth.

Wilhemina held your hand all the way back to your grandparents’ house. You mother was waiting for you by the door. She gave Wilhemina a grateful smile when she saw you were safe and sound.

“Y/N that was quite an over-reaction,” your mum gently scolded.

“Thank you for your input,” Wilhemina snapped. With a hand on your back she guided you inside. “And thank you for speaking up for your daughter earlier,” she spat over her shoulder. You couldn’t hold back the small smile that tugged at your lips.

“Y/N?” came your granddad’s voice from the living-room.

He appeared in the doorway.

And just like that you were freezing again. For he looked so sad, so very broken – his anger would’ve been alright, you could stand up to anger, but this look, this terrible look on his face that suggested his whole world had just come apart – you froze. Instinctively you leaned away from Wilhemina, hating yourself for doing so.  

Your granddad took a tentative step towards you. “Can we talk this over? Surely if we talk this over, you’ll change your mind.”

Wilhemina’s hand on your back felt like molten metal. You had to force yourself not to squirm away from her touch. It wasn’t right, your granddad’s expression told you. It wasn’t natural for her to love you like that.

Your body leaned towards him and further away from Wilhemina. Did she notice? Please don’t let her notice. But she did, and you saw her square her shoulders to look taller like an animal sensing a threat.

“Come on, love,” she said, giving your back a gentle push.

Your granddad’s eyes fell on her. “Where are you going?”

“We’re leaving,” Wilhemina answered in a cold but calm voice. “Our destination is none of your business.”

“And you think Y/N’s gonna come with you?” A laugh, of genuine surprise.”We’ve spent every Christmas since she was born together. We’re family.”

Wilhemina’s fingers on your back stuttered. Her eyes widened, oh, just a bit, just the slightest bit, imperceptible to anyone who didn’t know her as well as you did.

“Christmas,” your granddad went on, his face growing more and more animated, “is for family and love. What do you have to offer her, apart from depravity and deceit? Did you really think,” here he laughed again – genuine surprise again, so much worse than hatred, “that she meant it when she said she could love someone like you?”, with a glance at her cane, incredulous, pitifying, almost amused.

He was good, you had to give him that. He knew exactly where to scratch so it would hurt the most. But he had also made a mistake. He could abuse you all he wanted, but Wilhemina was off limits. She was sacred ground, never to be sullied by anyone.

“She’s family,” you groaned, raising your chin defiantly, “and I love her.”

Your granddad scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. Please, you’ve seen her – or maybe you haven’t, and that’d explain why you agreed to date her. Come on, come sit with us, let us talk, let us help you –“

“Just, stop talking.” You closed your eyes and gritted your teeth, trying to curb the anger that was rising inside you – hot, red, like lava. “Stop talking, and leave me alone.”

Only now did you realize that Wilhemina hadn’t said a word for too long. No snide comebacks, no insults. You glanced at her. Her face was hard and blank, but her eyes were veiled, and you knew that look. There was the glaze she always hid herself behind when she was afraid and hurting. Like that Sunday morning at the farmer’s market, when she and you had been browsing a flower stall, bright pink orchids, red and yellow tulips, green buds, and that old woman behind you in the line had made a disparaging remark about “cripples”, loud enough for Wilhemina to hear.  

You reached for her hand on your back and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Come on, Mina, let’s go.”

Your granddad called after you as you stomped up the stairs, Wilhemina’s hand still in yours, but you ignored him. Your body was tingling with a strange mix of anger, fear and relief. You walked into the spare room, picked up your bag and Wilhemina’s – there had been no time to unpack – and turned towards the door. Wilhemina was staring at you, her left arm crossed over her stomach in a hug, her brow slightly pulled down in thought.

“If you’d rather stay here with them –“she started.

“I don’t,” you cut her off firmly.

“I don’t want to get between you and the people you love.”

You heard the pain in her voice, so you dropped your bag on the floor, walked up to her and cupped her face. “Don’t let his words get to you,” you said, tilting her head to make her meet your eyes.”They were lies. You know that. I love you.”

Her eyes locked with yours, wide and begging for reassurance.

Please, you know better than that. You’re so smart, did you really think that she meant it when she said she could love someone like you?

Footsteps on the stairs, your grandma’s voice – how much she loved you. How very much she wanted to be proud of you.

Wilhemina’s eyes reflected the hesitation she saw in yours, and it spread and spread and spread until it threatened to darken the whole room like the falling of night.

“I love you,” you repeated, voice strangled, fingers trembling on her skin.

Oh please – they’re family.

And it was the same fear, the very same fear that was pulsing in both your veins – freakish, unlovable. Your lips curled in a soft smile at the exact moment your grandma entered the room.

With your free hand in Wilhemina’s, her pulse and your pulse drumming between your palms, you walked past your grandma, down the stairs and down the hall, towards the front door, and when you opened it you could have sworn you heard the call of the ocean, singing “come away”.

Wilhemina was half crying, half laughing nervously as she fumbled in her bag for the car keys, hands shaking, so you cupped her face again, kissed her, her mouth, her cheeks, kissed her tears until she could breathe easier. And you heard someone behind you gasp, and someone else curse in the same voice the old woman had used that day at the farmer’s market, when Wilhemina’s fingers had stuttered over the flowers.

A sob pushed out of her throat, a jingle of keys as they fell to the floor; Wilhemina bent down to pick them up, but she couldn’t see well enough through her tears. You picked up the keys for her and opened the car.

Before you got in, you turned and faced your family. When you spoke your voice was firm and hard, a surprise, but not an unpleasant one. “I will sit with you, and we will talk, when you’re ready to apologise,” you growled, staring into your granddad’s eyes, then your grandma’s. You slammed the door of the car, just to make a point.

You drove. A little bit above the speed limit, on winding narrow roads that crossed small, sleepy villages. You had driven almost twenty miles when you realized you had no idea where you were going.

You glanced at Wilhemina. She was staring out the window, her face blank, but at least that veil had lifted from her eyes. When you focused on the road again, you spotted a sign that read a familiar name.

“Let’s go there,” you said. Wilhemina didn’t react. “You’ll like the place.”

The place in question was a small fishermen village surrounded by fields, with a narrow pier and a wide beach that stretched for more than half a mile before it abruptly ended on an expanse of rocks covered with seaweeds. You had come here countless times with your family as a child, to sit on the pier with your feet dangling above the water and ice cream dripping between your fingers.

Today the water was as grey as the sky. You reached for Wilhemina’s hand and led her down the coastal path that weaved among the dunes.  

“I have so many happy memories linked to this place,” you whispered, barely louder than the wind. “Now I want to make one with you.”

Wilhemina let out a small, pejorative laugh.

You shot her a sideways look. “What?”

She shook her head. “Nothing.”

You narrowed your eyes at her, then straightened your shoulders and pointed at something in front of you. “Look.”

There, half-hidden behind a swell of the dunes, rose the ruins of what must have been a manor house, but was now a clustered mess of broken walls from which four seagulls flew out with angry cries. A small stream spurted out from between two stones and flowed lazily across the beach to be soaked up by the sand right before it met the ocean.  

Wilhemina stopped in her tracks and let out a surprised puff of air.

“I told you you’d like it,” you smiled. “Doesn’t it look so very Victorian?”

With a clumsy curtsey you extended one arm towards the ruins. “Would Miss Wilhemina accompany me on a tour of Netherfield Hall?”

Wilhemina’s face lit up with a smirk.

The place was rather tricky for her to navigate with her cane, but she didn’t complain. You and her stepped over the bits of wood and the stones that littered the sand, falling into a comfortable and slightly awed silence. There was something so solemn, and a bit impressive, about those ruins, like walking in a silent church.

Wilhemina stopped in a doorway that led into a small, square room. “What is this room?” she asked in a haughty voice.

You assumed a proud expression. “The library. See all my books? Folks come from all across the country to admire them. I have the largest collection.”

“All I can see is you have very bad taste,” Wilhemina quipped as she turned on her heel and walked away. You laughed and followed her into the next room, of which only one wall remained. It opened on the ocean.  

“Careful!” you screamed, pointing at a brown seaweed on the sand. “There’s a banana skin on the mahogany floor!”

Wilhemina snorted, then assumed a scornful expression. “Call a servant. Somebody get us rid of it. I will not tolerate the state of this kitchen.”

With a grin you pulled her to you and kissed her, slow and sweet. She hummed into the kiss, bringing one hand up to cup your cheek, fingers barely brushing your skin as if it were made of something indescribably precious. When you pulled away, her smile was genuinely happy.

“Hello,” you giggled, giddy and fond.

She bit her lip, ran her thumb over your mouth.

“Hi.”

You took her hand again, and together you made your way through an archway into yet another room.

“This, I believe, must be the master bedroom,” you sang. You shot Wilhemina a suggestive look, which she pretended not to notice.

“I see a bed, but where is your husband?” Wilhemina asked.

A sad smile. When you spoke, your voice had a quaver to it. “Alas, Miss Wilhemina, there is no husband.”

She hummed. Pressed her cane against her stomach. “So who’s to share this big bed with you?” she asked after a while. She was avoiding your gaze, her eyes fixed on a tuft of grass that had managed to grow in the sand. “It must get so cold in the winter. Any suitor waiting by the door?”

She was no longer teasing you. Her voice was serious, her face had become unreadable again. You looked at her, and felt that familiar pain that wasn’t just pain but also sadness, and yearning for an easier, kinder life, clutch at your heart.  

“A hundred, probably,” you whispered. You stroked your thumb over one of her knuckles, back and forth. “I don’t know. I didn’t check. I keep the doors closed.” You tugged her arm to make her turn and face you. Gave her a soft, sad smile, cupped her cheek with your free hand and caught the lonely tear that dropped from her eye. “I already have my sweetheart here with me inside,” you murmured, gazing into her eyes.  

There was so much fear in your heart. So much fear you could have thrown up on the sand in the middle of those ruins that had once been a manor house, where people dressed in pretty clothes had met to share an evening of dancing and revelries. Love had bloomed among those walls before, love that had been so bright it had lit up the whole room and love that had been kept secret behind closed doors. The walls and the ocean were still singing the long-dead lovers’ songs.

You would sing it, too, grab the hand of the nearest dancer and join the farandole.

So you gave Wilhemina’s hand a squeeze that was almost too tight, just like that day at the farmer’s market when, with rage thundering in your chest and your eyes shooting daggers, you had towered over the old woman and shouted profanities at her until all the colour had drained from her face. And you had bought Wilhemina a ridiculously big bouquet of roses she had carried down the aisle, her cheeks flushed with gratitude and happiness and almost as bright and red as the flowers, for the whole world to see how beloved she was.  

You pulled her close and smirked when her eyes flicked hungrily to your lips.

“What is that sweetheart of yours like?” she whispered.

“Most of the time she’s an ass.” Wilhemina gave you a look that made you laugh. “But when I do this – “you leaned in and dropped a soft kiss on her mouth, “I find my home and family.”

Wilhemina’s eyes had fluttered closed; she didn’t open them for a long moment after you pulled away. That was new: she always made sure her eyes were opened when somebody stood that close to her, so that she would see danger come, so that she would not be taken by surprise when her lover suddenly sneered and mocked and laughed. But today she let herself sink into intimacy and trusted it would not hurt her, and you felt yourself melt with gratitude and love.

When she eventually opened her eyes again, she gazed at you with wonderment, as if she were seeing you for the very first time and you were the most beautiful creature she had ever laid eyes on; and then she blinked, and wonderment gave way to adoration and something that was so pure and so genuinely happy.  

[gophergal]

So this is the third oneshot I've finished this week (second I've posted here. The other that isn't posted here is already up on Ao3.) Don't expect this often, I just wanted to get some WIPs off my plate and I still have many to finish. This is just a short, sweet ficlet, but may have a companion or sequel later on. Who fucking knows. This is a sort of a collection of short moments with the two of them. No real plot, just fluff.

Home On The Range

Word Count: 2,000+ | Rating: T+ | Michael Myers x Jason Voorhees (Western AU) | M/M

Warnings: Implied Murder, Description of Injury, Hurt/Comfort, Failed Hanging Mention, Rushed Ending, Fluff

Samhain plodded along wearily, his rider slumped forward in the saddle as he made his way toward safety. The shootout in town, when the Shape had been driven from its prey, had resulted in Michael being shot thrice, twice in the shoulder, once center mass. He'd fled in a haze of pain and blood loss, mounted his horse, and eventually passed out.

And so that led Samhain to his current situation, following instinct to get he and his master somewhere safe, preferably somewhere with abundant food and water. The stallion stopped for a moment, ears perking up as he caught the sound of whistling coming from the valley below. A tall man, his head covered in a feed sack, was the source. The horse tentatively descended from the hilltop towards the strange man, focused on his joyful whistling.

Hearing the careful clop of hooves behind him, the large man turned, ready to strike with the ax in his hands, which he quickly lowered. Samhain snorted weakly where he stood, far away enough that the man couldn't grab him. Instead, the bag-headed man reached into a pocket on his tattered jacket, and pulled out a half eaten stick of peppermint, holding it out to the stallion who took it, eating greedily. His rough hand pet the horse's black, velvety nose and he hummed reassuringly. The horse's rider did not move, even as the tall man took the reins from his hands and led the horse away from the area.

Trees became more dense as they walked until they came upon a small cabin. Samhain's head perked up as his rider was removed from his back, and he let out a piercing whinny. The man hummed again, reassuring the distressed animal, who slowly returned to a relaxed state. Michael was taken from the horse's back, draped limply in the big man's arms like a doll. He groaned, still unconscious, but alive. After taking the smaller man into the tiny log cabin, the large man returned and removed the tack from the black stallion, running his hand along the sweaty, matted coat that had been beneath, then led the horse to a small stream by the halter, leaving him there to graze and drink the fresh cool water that flowed so freely.

Back in the cabin, Jason studied the man he'd sat on his bed, scratching his beard through the rough burlap of his hood. The dark haired man was covered with a layer of cold sweat, his face twisted in pain, even while asleep. Grabbing a basin of clean water and a rag, Jason set to work undressing the man's torso, looking at the bullet wounds that littered his flesh, nestled alongside other pale scars, some fresher than others. While dabbing the blood crusted injuries, he examined them, determining that the shoulders had been entered and exited cleanly. They would only need liquor poured on them to fight infection. The shot in the abdomen, however, looked more serious, and had no exit wound, all but guaranteeing that the offending lead was lodged within. Jason debated whether he should remove the bullet while the man was unconscious or not, deciding to finish dressing the other two wounds beforehand.

When the alcohol was administered, the man roused with a shout of pain, startling Jason, who in turn fell backward. The man looked around in panic, wearily reaching for his gun, which was no longer on his hip. There was a fire in his eyes, which Jason could now see were mismatched, one black as the horse he rode in on and the other milky white. Rolling off the bed, the man struggled to get to his feet, groaning quietly in agony. Jason approached slowly, as one would a wild animal, which earned him a glare. Disregarding this, he grabbed the man's good arm, careful to help him get seated on the mattress. He did not fight back, but kept scowling weakly, allowing his saviour to do as he pleased. With little fuss, his wounds were bandaged, the pressure of it relieving some of the aching.

Michael fell back onto the cushion, flinching in pain that radiated from his midsection. He inhaled sharply, looking over at the bag headed man who gestured to the leaking wound. He mimed pulling something out, which Michael nodded in response to. Steeling himself in preparation of the pain and biting down on the rolled cloth which was put in his mouth. His eyes screwed shut at the first penetration of the hole, burning pain blinding all his senses as the man's fingers searched for the bullet. It seemed to last forever, and Michael threatened to black out.

His stomach turned as the white hot agony coursed through him, reaching every point on his body. Finally, the man extracted his fingers, and he relaxed slightly, breathing heavily around the fabric gripped tightly in his mouth. When he looked up, the man held the bullet in his bloodied hand. Which he set down beside the basin of water. The pain had subsided enough that Michael could feel the touch of water on his abdomen as the man cleaned his wound again, and finally wrapped it.

“Michael,” he rasped, exhaling sharply and extending a hand to the other man, who said nothing in reply, instead holding his hand after shaking it, and drawing wobbly letters into his palm with a finger. He did this twice, then again, writing on his palm until Michael picked it up: J-A-S-O-N. Michael nodded in recognition, leaning back into the mattress and shutting his eyes. He let out a shaky breath, recalling what had happened in the past week. Then shoving it aside. Yet again, the Shape had led him into danger, just as it always had in search of feeding its insatiable hunger.

A few days passed with Michael resting up and Jason keeping his wounds clean. The two would sit in each other's presence, drinking in the peace. Samhain was well, happy to munch on the green grass of the field nearby. It was nice, but Michael was growing restless. His wounds were beginning to close and hurt far less than they had at first. As soon as he was well enough to ride out again, he'd go after that damned Marshall's head. The thought was delightful and served as his sole motivator for remaining at the cabin. So he told himself, that is.

The other big reason was standing out in the clearing around the back, the muscles of his arms shifting as he chopped firewood. Jason had the strength and stature of no one Michael had ever seen. Even the big bastards he'd get in fights with while swacked on whiskey were puny in comparison, though Jason didn't seem the type to fight drunkards in run down dead-fall saloons. No, he seemed like a good enough man that Michael felt no worry around him. Even if he hadn't seen the man's face, which Michael figured was his right to hide anyway, he could tell in his gut that Jason could be trusted. Michael stirred the pot of stew on the stove as he tried to figure out his plan for when he'd head out.

The more he thought about it, he began to realize that he had no idea where to start looking for Marshall Loomis. In theory, he could just go to the nearest town and start shit, then wait while word spread of his whereabouts, but that just wasn't the way Michael liked to do things. He'd much rather be the hunter, waiting in the shadows for his prey.

Jason walked in, skin still glistening from his hard work outside. It should be time for supper soon, he figured. After all, the sun was hanging low in the sky, ready to set within a couple hours. Jason stopped in the doorway, watching as Michael stood at the stove. Something was nice about watching the smaller man (and that's smaller, mind you, not small. Michael was a large fellow in his own right) tend to their supper.

It was very thoughtful of him, despite how Jason tried to keep him off his feet, lest his wounds reopen. There was also something about the scene that caused warmth to bloom in his chest. He pushed it down. Michael would leave at some point. Jason would be on his own again. He didn't even know why he'd helped the younger man.

A month later, December brought cold, dry weather and Michael sitting in front of the fireplace with Jason, whittling away at a chunk of wood. As he whittled, he made excuses for why he should stay now that his wounds had fully healed, now just marks on his skin where the skin dipped low. He owed it to Jason to repay him for all he'd done in nursing him back to health. Samhain needed time to recuperate. Things to justify his extended stay.

With a glance to his side, he stopped carving for a moment, taking in the picture of Jason, his burlap hood nowhere to be seen. His red hair burned vibrant in the firelight as he mended the hole in a shirt. Michael stopped lying to himself, knowing in his heart that he stayed for his own selfish reasons. Jason was a warm presence. Comforting in a way Michael had never felt.

It was contentment, he supposed it would be called. The closest he'd ever gotten was the come down off an adrenaline high of fighting or the fuzzy, numb stupor he would often find at the bottom of a bottle, but neither of those quite fit the word. It just felt good to be around the red haired man. Michael was good at reading people, a trait that came from many years of playing poker to pay for his needs, but he didn't need any of that to know that Jason felt the same. Michael just couldn't leave him now, he simply had no desire to.

Jason had once showed his face freely to those around him. Back when his mama was alive. He remembers the name calling, the tears Mama wiped away, the accusations after her death, the first bit of darkness when his head covered when he was to be hanged, all of the things that led to his hiding. He'd been nervous when Michael saw his face that first time. Washing his burlap hood in the stream, he'd been suddenly confronted by the brunet. His good eye scanned Jason's face with curiosity. He didn't say anything, just looked. There was no laughter or disgust, just the fire of interest, then of concern when they dropped to the faint ring of scarring around his neck. The two sat there quietly, a silent understanding forming.

That had been within the first couple weeks of Michael's stay. Now, Jason kept the hood off. Only putting it back on when trespassers came to their land, in need of disposal. Michael showed no hatred of that horrible face, but often looked at him, focused as though he were looking at the brightest star in the heavens. Jason allowed himself to hold onto the warmth it brought this time, savoring the way Michael brought him comfort.

Michael rode off to take his vengeance on the Marshall in mid spring. He'd put it off long enough, for as much as he wished to stay with Jason, true peace would not come to him until Marshall Loomis was dead and buried. There was a kiss goodbye, a lingering farewell and promise of return, then suddenly the red haired man was left alone once again. The land was emptier now without Michael. Jason busied himself with protecting their home (for now it was just as much Michael's as it was Jason's before) in the meantime.

It was incredibly lonesome, more than he'd expected. It's not as though Michael left without warning, he'd mentioned he would, and yet Jason was worried. Worried that he'd never see the dark haired man again. Had those silent confessions of adoration been lies? They never were on Jason's part, but Michael's face held no clues to the truth. He supposed Michael would been great at bluffing. It reminded him of something Mama once said: You ought not trust a poker player, Jason, they'll steal everything from you, and they'll make you feel special when it happens. He didn't want to think about that, and held on to the memory of the last time he held the black eyed man.

Days began to blend together before Michael returned on his black stallion. He'd been injured again, but nowhere near as badly. He fell into Jason's arms two months after he'd first left. He was weaker now, a husk of who he'd been. Anger no longer held him together. Jason could tell that he'd ate little and slept less since he'd been gone. His heart was simultaneously broken at the sight of his frail state and filled with his presence. He didn't want to ever let him go again. After a few days rest and many good meals, Michael looked much better physically, but something was different still.

Touching was more common than it had been before. When they sat in front of the fireplace of an evening, Jason would often find Michael reaching out for his own calloused hand, weaving their fingers together and scooting closer. Once, he pushed a curly, red lock of hair behind his ear, the corners of his mouth quirked up in an unpracticed smile. Jason melted at that first smile and every smile after. The weight that had been lifted from Michael's shoulders would never be commented on by either of them. They were simply too wrapped up in the pleasure of one other's presence and comfort to bring up that pain.

There was no pain or unhappiness in their little home that they built, not anymore. Not so long as they had each other to look out for them.

[implexedactions]

Do Not Fight Back - Yandere Purge AU

Hey! So this was part of a server wide event I did with other members of Lovesick! They’re all super amazing and you should DEF check out the others who took part! This is inspired by the yandere purge AU created by @yanderemommabean (we have permission to use the AU). Read the linked post to find out more, but to cut things short. Yandere’s are legally free to capture their darlings, and it lasts from 6pm to 6am!

Beta’d by the best person ever: @drxwsyni

This contain YANDERE CONTENT!!!

---

It’s yandere purge night and you’re accidentally outside when it starts. It would be a shame if a certain flame hero was watching...

--- Your job ran late today, because of course it fucking did. It was yandere purge night, not that your boss seemed all that concerned. Although, from the look on his face…well, best not think about that. He probably wasn’t after you, hopefully. You walked down the urban street, past the closed shops and locked buildings. You glanced towards the sunset, the sun's orange glow disappearing over the horizon. Wait, what? It wasn’t THAT late, right? Sure, work ran late, but you finished at 5 PM, not 6 PM?

You opened your phone, you had…a minute before the sirens…fuck.

You dashed into an alley, crouching next to a vending machine, it wasn’t ideal, but staying out there could mean certain death. You’re an idiot for even letting this happen to you. You’re NEVER meant to remain outside during tonight. A yandere could kill you if they even THINK you’re trying to interfere. You rummage through your pockets...nothing except a phone and some loose coins.

The sirens ring throughout the city

No weapon, no quirk, no safety, no chance. You hold your head in your hands, freaking out. No one would think of helping you, you could be a yandere trying to get at them. Your best bet is to stay here until it is over, potentially using the vending machine for dinner.

Your phone buzzes.

---6:01PM---

[HellFire]: Hello.

[HellFire]: You do not know who I am, but I have been keeping my eye on you for a long time.

[You]: Oh god…please don’t say you’re after me…

[HellFire]: I propose a hunt.

[HellFire]: I catch you, the obvious happens.

[HellFire]: You evade me for the next 12 hours? You go free.

[HellFire]: The rules? Always keep your phone on you and online, I will be sending messages. Respond to my messages, or you will pay dearly. Do not worry about other people, if they try to hurt you, I will burn them to ash. If I catch you, no fighting back. Break any of the rules, and there will be hell to pay.

[You]: What?! Can I at least ask some questions? Is my phone bugged? Do you know where I am now? Can I hide or do I have to keep running? Why me?

[HellFire]: Mind, I do not expect you to win. I am the number one hero for a reason.

[HellFire]: The hunt begins. Do try to have fun tonight, my dear.  

…Endeavor?! Enji Todoroki, the number one hero, was after you?! You’d be flattered if you weren’t shaking with fear. You try to take some deep breaths.

---6:03PM---

[HellFire]: I would run, my darling… I doubt hiding behind a vending machine will do you any favours….

[You]: How do you know my location already?!

You run out of the alley; the street illuminated poorly by streetlights. Enji knew where you were, specifically that you were behind a vending machine. He’s either got cameras, or he was right in your line of sight. You sprint down the street, most people aren’t stupid enough to be out, and you give most yanderes a wide berth. You see one with a darling, you force your eyes away and continue to run.

Your lungs are burning, exercise isn’t your strong point, and one can’t operate on adrenaline alone.

---6:09PM---

[HellFire]: Tired already? I did not realise you were so weak…such a pity, I expected a fight from you…

[You]: No one expects to be running down a street from a goddamn villain?!

[HellFire]: …disrespect?

[HellFire]: Unacceptable.

As you’re running, a car behind you blows up, fire scattering onto the street. You still can’t see him.

You notice a mall still open. None of the shops would be in business, but the area might provide a suitable hiding place. You run into it, sliding doors opening to let you into the air-conditioned space. You steal a glance behind you, no one visible on the street or rooftops.

---6:11PM---

[HellFire]: A shopping centre? I hope you do not expect a gaudy fountain to save you.

[You]: Fuck you, honestly.

[HellFire]: That is quite a bold statement for someone in your position.

[HellFire]: Most criminals at this point are kissing my boots, begging for mercy, and yet, you show defiance. Breaking you should be fun.

You run down a corridor, reaching an entirely empty circular food court. Fast food shops line the walls, with two, opposite facing exits to the area, both leading onto streets. Silence is abundant as you run through, dodging chairs and tables, desperate to make it to the other side.

The sound of an electronic sliding door reaches your ears. Panicking, you dive over a business’s countertop, hiding behind it as you try not to breathe too loudly. You hastily switch your notifications off, so him texting you won’t reveal your location.

---6:15PM---

[HellFire]: You know something I learnt from my job?

[You]: What?

[HellFire]: Someone can know they are being hunted, but not know they are already trapped. The villains are overburdened by fear and hope, of both capture and escape. They desperately reach their hands out to touch a goal you know is impossible to reach.

[HellFire]: That feeling… of knowing their entire future is at my mercy…

[HellFire]: is sublime.

[HellFire]: …

[HellFire]: Say, how are you finding that uncomfortable food stall floor?

“Hello, darling…”

“No! Get away from me!”

You bound over the counter, avoiding his hands, and desperately try to reach the exit. You turn around, and he is just…standing there. Looking at you. With a smirking grin on his face. He’s wearing his hero suit, flames dancing up his body. He loves this, he likes thinking you’re some object to be captured. You run out onto the street, cold night air hitting you in the face, the sun has entirely disappeared now, all traces of it gone.

Where the hell can you go that you’ll be safe?! It hasn’t even been 30 minutes of this torture; you’ve got so much time left! Panting, you notice he has exited the building too, but he just stands there, looking at you, grin adorning his face. You spot a train station.

You run towards the train station and don’t look back. You jump the ticket gate, feeling that your life matters more than a civic duty. You run up the stairs onto the platform. The trains won’t be running, but maybe you can run along the tracks if it comes down to it? As you try to catch your breath, you realise something…you turned your phone notifications off in the mall, which means he could be messaging you, and you wouldn’t know.

Scrambling you pull out your phone.

---6:22---

[HellFire]: If I were you, I would not take another step towards that train station.

[HellFire]:  ...?

[HellFire]: Oh, are you not checking your messages now?

[HellFire]: I warned you, remember that…

---6:30---

[You]: I’m sorry! I swear, I didn’t mean to ignore it! It was my phone

[HellFire]: I can not believe what I just saw.

[HellFire]: You leapt over that gate like a common criminal.

[HellFire]: So, now I have to punish you for multiple reasons. You ignored so many rules…

[You]: I didn’t mean to, I swear! I’m sorry! Please don’t hurt me!

[HellFire]: You fought back when you were captured.

[You]: It wasn’t fighting back?! It was escaping, capture would be grabbing me.

[HellFire]: You didn’t check your messages.

[You]: Like I said, my phone was off, it was an accident!

[HellFire]: You IGNORED my commands.

[You]: My phone was off! I didn’t KNOW there were commands!

[HellFire]: You broke the law.

[You]: I was going to go back and pay the $1.50 tomorrow!

[HellFire]: And we are only 30 minutes into this hunt.

[HellFire]: Tell me, darling.

[HellFire]: Did you really think you could outrun me?

[HellFire]: The top hero?

[HellFire]: I knew you were not the smartest person, considering, well, everything about you.

[HellFire]: But this really takes the cake.

[You]: Oh, honestly, fuck you. Why do you even WANT me?! We’ve NEVER met!

 [HellFire]: …you’re quite disrespectful…

[HellFire]: I will have to fix that.

“Face me.”

You whip around to see him staring at you, sadistic grin adorning his face. You turn to run, but his large hands grab your arms, holding you in place. He picks you up and turns you around, so you’re facing him. His hands are noticeably warmer than they should be.

“There. Captured enough for you?” He says with a smirk.

“Please! Just let me go!” You shout, struggling against his arms fruitlessly. You scream and kick, managing to bring a foot against his knee. He noticeably winces.

“I warned you about fighting back, you insolent brat!” His face steels as his hands become warmer. You can now feel his breath down your face as your squirm, desperate to escape the burning hands and singing clothes.

“I…I…Why me?!” Tears start to fall down your face as you realise this might be your fate.

“Because you shouldn’t be anyone else’s. Do you recall that train villain? Such a stupid villain, but I digress. I saw you try to help people, helping people off the train when it arrived at the station and calming that little kid. It was so…kind, so generous. You were a true hero. I need that in my life, so you are mine.” He at least has the decency to not look you directly in the eyes. His hands cooled down a bit while he was speaking. He seems somewhat ashamed by what he’s done.

Somewhat.

“You could’ve just approached me! Hell, I’m not going to turn down a meeting with the number one hero?! You’re a fucking idiot!”

“Attacking someone while they are vulnerable is usually considered bad form, brat. But I see you have no qualms attacking me.” His palms heat up again, but he seems to have a looser grip on you. Maybe if you…

“I’m sorry, okay? This is just a lot to take in. I…I do admire you, as a hero y’know? I always considered you so calming. You made the city feel so much s-safer, you made ME feel safer.” You look him in the eyes, trying to act as small and gentle as possible. His warm breath washes over your body as he seems to re-examine you. Just a little bit further and…

You bring your knee into his lungs as he is breathing in, winding him. He drops you and you turn on your heel and jump onto the train tracks, running off down the tracks.

He shouts after you.

“Bad idea brat! You want to be punished? Fine then!”

You stare ahead, no trains seem to be running, so you won’t have to make a choice between death and getting run over by a train. You follow the train tracks until you reach a tunnel. You turn around and see him merely walking menacingly toward you, not even running. He has such an angry look on his face, flame beard shooting out in rage. The fire touches a signal box, and it melts to the ground almost instantly. Yeah, no, you aren’t dealing with that. You turn and run inside the tunnel, desperate to escape him. You hear a roar from behind you as fire shoots past your head, hitting the cylindrical wall and dissipating.

“I missed on purpose, stop at once! I will not hesitate you ungrateful bitch!”

You stop and turn around to face him, tremors running through your body.

“Stop approaching me, please?! Can’t we just talk?!” You say shuffling back with each step he takes towards you.

He raises an eyebrow, and astonishingly, he stops, about 8 paces away.

“Fine.”

“I…please, just let me go! I don’t want this!” you say, tears running down your face.

“And why would I care what YOU want, bitch?”

“Because y-you love me o-or ..desire me or something?!”

“Pfft. Maybe, but you know how this works by now.” He takes a step forward, you stand still. His flames cast flickering shadows against the tunnel walls.

“I’m sure you have co-workers, family, friends, who disappeared never to be seen again, OR have a pet of their own.” He takes a step forward, you stand still. His feet leave the rocks red hot.

“You know you cannot escape me. It has not even been an hour.” He steps forward, you stand still. You can feel his heat now.

“Do you expect to run all over the city, making daring escapes and just barely being able to stay out of my grasp for 12 hours? To evade capture from the number one hero?” He steps forward, you stand still. His flames die down, but your body feels like it’s overheating.

“You woke up at 5:12 AM today and had a shift from 7 AM to 5:45 PM. You are not going to be able to keep up this adrenaline and energy til 6AM tomorrow. Being awake for 24 hours is not an easy feat, my dear.“ He steps forward, you stand still. Your tears on your face start to evaporate.

“Oh, do remind me to thank your boss for keeping you late. Money does wonders to people's sense of ethics.” He steps forward, you stand still. He chuckles quietly at the situation and examines your body.

“You cannot escape me, you have no quirk, no talents, no skills. This is not a fair fight because it is not a fight, my dear. It is a hunt, and you seem to have this silly notion that the fox can escape the hound.” He steps forward, you stand still. His hand reaches out to grab your arm, and you do nothing to stop it.

“Advice for your new life, when I give a command, my dear, it helps to oblige. So, hear me when I say: Do. Not. Fight. Back.”

You do not fight back.  

[kanmom51]

JM JK timeline.- my observations how they grew over the years

2017 - Part 4

Disclaimer: these are my own opinions and conclusions.  Feel free to disagree, but hate or aggression will be unacceptable.

16-17 November 2017 BTS interviews in the US. JM sneezes and JK thinks it’s so adorable.

18 November 2017?

Can’t seem to find the original interview, but I think it was done same day as the BTS Tease 2017 American Music Awards Performance, E! Red Carpet & Award Shows interview.

This is where we find out that JK loves to take photos of sky and JM (people)…

JK doesn’t point a finger at JM, just signs with his hand in JM’s direction.  But  RM automatically looking at JM as JK signs in that direction makes things pretty clear as to JK’s meaning, as if we didn’t know...

19 November 2017 – KRBE AMA’s backstage interview – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fwSuGBU5R4 . Band members asked who’s the best with the ladies.  JK turns towards RM and asks: “V”?, but RM and V point to JK, who is all flustered.  JM smiling uncomfortably.  It was actually a heart breaking moment for me.  

19 November 2017 AMA’s interview – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfHZYgNgHVU . JK playing with JM’s jacket.  JM hints for him to stop, but JK keeps doing it, so JM finally kind of snaps at him to stop but JK needs to continue to touch JM. JM softens up after and pulls JK forward to talk.

19 Nov 2017 Zach Sang backstage AMA interview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STLDAdhuLzc .

Not so big, but still an honourable mention from me.  At the start of the interview JM, who is standing directly behind Hobi (V is standing behind JK), had one hand on Hobi’s shoulder and another hand on JK’s shoulder. Having a hand on JK is not because he is closest to him.  Not the obvious solution to place his hands in that situation. That would be two hands on Hobi, just like later on in the interview V places both his hands on JK’s shoulders.  It was just something I noticed and found interesting.

JM and JK are clearly in love and attracted to each other.  JM is also JK’s anchor, his calming waters.  But they are also super professional, always were.

So why do we get so much content during these interviews?  I mean, isn’t it something they are trying to hide, and if they were professional why can’t they keep their hands to themselves?  

We need to remember that the boys have to sit or stand for hours upon hours on end doing interview after interview, like an interview conveyor belt.  They are tired, worn out, so much so, that at some point their guard is let down.  They will turn to each other for comfort or support or will say or do something impulsive, that they otherwise wouldn’t have done.  That’s when we usually get to enjoy our famous interview Jikook moments.  

20 November 2017 BTS post AMA’s night party Vlive - https://www.vlive.tv/video/49001 .

Remember tipsy JK?  Tipsy JK is the best, right?  

The way he behaves in this Vlive you would think he is outright drunk.

Now, I know that towards the end of the live, when the members want to make a toast, JK does mention he cannot drink in the US, but if he really wasn’t drinking, why do the other members call him ‘loose’?  Maybe he had a sip or two or three or more off camera???

Drunk on alcohol or drunk on adrenaline, whatever it is, he lacks inhibition.  

He is constantly looking to JM.  The members start talking about how they felt during the performance.  And here ‘happy’ JK flies into action.  He says “I wasn’t that nervous.  Do you know why?”

JM asks why, and J-hope grabs JM’s shoulder, telling him “don’t ask him”, knowing full well this isn’t something we should be hearing from a JK lacking inhibitions.  

JM turns to the camera smiling and tells us: “let’s say that he wasn’t nervous at all”, to be followed by Suga telling JK: “you’re too loosened”, and RM saying: “he lacks sincerity”.  

Drunk or not, alcohol or adrenaline, it doesn’t really matter.   Either way, the members are trying to silence him, afraid of what he might say.

At this point they try to move on, only that JK hasn’t finished, and he goes right back to not being nervous.  He says: “the reason I wasn’t nervous was…”, looking JM in the eye and puts his hand on JM’s shoulder.  He leans back and JM claps his hands and says: “I see”, and starts laughing.  

At this point you see JK realises he literally put his foot in it, lowers his head and JM pulls his T-shirt laughing.

So, then JK tries to fix it, saying “because of Army”.  Yeah JK, we believe you.  You seem to be really sincere, I mean, your band mates are really buying it too… 

Tipsy-like JK, I love him.

21-24 November 2017. I said I wouldn’t do it.  I promised I wouldn’t do it.  I just couldn’t help myself.  Please accept my apologies in advance, but I just couldn’t leave these photos JM uploaded to Twitter out.  I mean, how could I leave out JM’s uploading JK photographs of ‘Sky’ & ‘People’???  That just wouldn’t be right.

Run BTS episode 28, released end November 2017 – JM dressing up JK with his style of clothing.  The members reactions when JM threw the rose and it fell behind JK.  JK and JM were pretty pleased.  JK loved modelling JM’s clothes, also loved making JM laugh by imitating him as a model.

2 December 2017 MMA’s.  Pulling JK to the front to talk when receiving the award, JM moving from Hobi’s side to stand by JK.  The closeness, the looks.  Walking off stage side by side.  

Same day as the very famous clip, when JK sitting behind JM, and JM turns back to him, while JK is singing “I remember our first kiss, I close my eyes whenever I can and go to the farthest place”.  Both being watched by Jin, who smirks, but when remembers there’s a camera, becomes serious again.

9 December 2017. JK & JM Vlive.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA9VjPylgDA .

Someone please get the fire extinguisher, because JK’s heart is burning.  The level of flirtatious behaviour, I might need the extinguisher for myself.  

When showing the group photo fan JK says how Hobi looks attractive, only for JM to ask “what about me?”  Of course JK agrees he is handsome too.  

This is how those two behave when they are not alone in the room!!  I mean… You just can’t put those two together for a live.  If this is what happens when they are not alone, what would happen if they were alone in the room (NJ live 2019 Ahem)…  

9-10 December 2017 Wings tour last concerts in Seoul.  JK being bold.

What I left out:  

This year is filled with so much content, I just couldn’t put it all in, so there a so many cute moments I have left out. Also, Twitter (ahem, some at least), some stage flirtation, including JK’s full attention on JM when speaking, not every hug or touch.

I now know that matching outfits has much significance in SK culture.  I didn’t know that when I first had that gut feeling JM and JK were involved. As far as I am concerned, there is enough content even without addressing this subject, so this too I left out.

 After JM and JK get back from their trip they seem even closer, if that was possible.  They also seem a bit bolder.  I mean GCFT people, if that is not boldness I don’t know what is.

I thought 2016 was a plentiful year?  Well 2017 surpassed it by miles and miles.  The amount of content with the two is enormous.  So much so, that there is so much I did not add to my timeline, just because I felt it was too much already.  

The abundance in content, to me, is a sign not only of the two getting closer, but also getting louder. Allowing themselves to be seen. This relative new freedom would probably be a result of not only the growth of the strength of their bond, but also, in my opinion, them ‘coming out’ to the group, and most probably, at least by the end of the year, to the most important members of their production team.  

This allows them freedom to act more as themselves with the members and production team, while also relying on the latter to ‘hide’ what needs to be hidden, if necessary, and to protect them, sometimes even from themselves. Even if they didn’t all out ‘come out’ to the staff around them, well, by then I think they either more or less know what’s going on, or were turning a blind eye to it. Whichever is true, at the end of the day it didn’t matter.  They are all bound by non-disclosure agreements, and would not dare to leak anything they might have seen.  

I also believe that the boys, mostly, have a very good relationship with the staff, and as such, none of them would do anything that could potentially really hurt not only JK and JM, but the group as a whole.

JK and JM, by the end of 2017 are finding their groove.  There is less pushing and pulling noticeable.  They are madly in love and are finding their pace.  

  To be continued…

[harrywritingsbyme]

Sunday Smut Concept #25

A/N: I decided to give you a lil introduction to Camgirl!Y/n and Camboy!Harry. I really want to do a lil series on camgirl!Y/n, we’ll have to see though. Anyways, this is a hot lil something for you guys...sorry for the crappy ending. Enjoy🙃

This gives me a strong Camboy!Harry and Camgirl!Y/n vibe!!

Whenever the camera is on, it’s like the two of you turn into animals. You and Harry managed to go at it even harder than you two would if you weren’t recording. It was like the camera fueled the lust (with a touch of narcissism) filled fires that were constantly lit and burning in your bodies for each other. It always brought out your inner exhibitionists. 

The both of you would be constantly fighting with your releases, trying to hold them back for as long as possible so that you could continue on. You two were completely addicted to being around each other, especially when you two had an audience. The both of you, especially loved showing off your skills in the bedroom. Whenever you and Harry filmed, the both of you would constantly try and fight for dominance. The two of you were on a mission to wear each other out. 

Harry’d make sure to slam into you full force, making you a squirting, screaming, and quivering mess. It didn’t matter if it was your mouth, pussy, or your ass at times. Harry’d grip onto the sides of your head or your hips, and just pound his cock into your holes. He’d be relentless and just give you everything he had. The same can be said about you. When it was your turn to have a little control, you’d do everything in your power to make a mess of Harry. When you were in top, even if Harry was trying to control your movements by gripping onto your hips, continuously lift yourself up from his cock and drop your body back down into his lap. When you do this, you send his cock all the way inside of you. Because of his size, Harry’s cock goes so deep inside that he reaches the very back of your cunt. Harry was a complete sucker when it came to reaching the back of your pussy.

The both of you were completely in love with your battles for dominance and raging hunger for each other. Your fans loved it too. 

After every “show”, you and Harry were consistently bombarded with large tips from viewers with messages attached, telling you both how much they loved the passion you two had and that they couldn’t get enough of seeing how neither of you would let up. This just added onto your already, very fueled fires. But out of all you guys’ previous “shows”, solo and together, the very last one you two did together held the ranking of the best with you and Harry. Now this high ranking wasn’t for the sole reasons of you guys getting some beyond amazing tips, messages, and an abundance of requests for higher priced custom content. This high ranking was also due to the fact that the filming process was a little bit better than usual. 

You and Harry hadn’t fully touched each other all day long. The only action you two got in was earlier that morning when the two of you first woke up. Since you guys always cockwarmed at night, there was a swift and seamless transition between waking up, and the amazing round of lazy morning sex the two of you had. It carried on until the two of you were convulsing and completely letting go around each other. After this though, besides you guys’ second round in the shower, the two of you didn’t significantly touch each other for the rest of the day. The only action you and Harry got until it was time to film that night was short and random make out sessions with a little petting. Besides this, you and Harry’s ever growing need for each other, and sexual frustration was festering inside your bodies until it was time for you two to film that night. 

When it was time to set everything up, you and Harry were quick to shed your clothes and set the camera and laptop up. And once Harry pressed the record button on the camera and began live streaming on the computer, it was game on for you two. 

Since you were on the bed waiting for him, Harry was quick to leave the equipment and pounce onto you. He’s quick to cup the sides of your face and attach his lips onto yours. The kiss is fevered and wet as the two of you sloppily lick into each others mouths and smack your lips together. As the kiss continues, you and Harry begin to softly rut against each other. You could feel Harry lightly bucking his hips forward into you, pushing his cock between your thighs and against your sticky cunt. Your moans become even louder and you both are in need for more. To move things along, Harry pushes his hands up from your cheeks and into your hair, pulling your head back from his and establishing control over your movements. Next thing you knew, your back was arched downwards and your mouth was filled with Harry’s cock. He continuously thrusted himself in and out of our mouth while you gagged below him. You could feel the thick crown of his cock filling the back of your throat with every thrust.

After a countless number of hard thrusts, Harry decided to give your poor little throat a break and play with your other, and much needier hole. He stops thrusting into your mouth and uses your hair as leverage to yank you into the position he wanted you in. He maneuvers your body so that you’re face down ass up in front of him. He wastes zero time pulling your ass apart and pushing his cock into your sopping wet and beyond warm entrance. 

“Fuck baby!” Harry groans, taking in how good your walls felt around his length. “Wish everybody could feel this pretty pussy of yours.” He grunts through a moan, continuing to push his cock into you.

“So big daddy.” You hum delightedly, enjoying the stretch that came along with his cock entering you. 

“Tell everyone how much you love big cocks.” Harry instructs, stopping his movements to focus on your impending answer. 

“Only love yours daddy.” You whine as you attempt to push back into him. You couldn’t though because he had a tight grip on you, keeping your body firmly in place. 

“That’s my good girl.” Harry hums down at you. He then swiftly sends the rest of his cock into you with one powerful thrust, causing you to emit a loud moan.

He then let’s go of your ass and uses the now free hand to reach down and pull you up and back by your throat. Once you’re up and in his grasp, Harry starts slamming himself up into you. He could feel the vibrations of your moans through your throat and the flesh of your ass slapping against his thighs as he fucked into you. In this position, the viewers could not only watch Harry fuck you. They could also watch as your breasts jiggle against your chest as he pounded into you.

From this point on, you and Harry were in the zone. You both were completely zoned in on each other and neither of you had any intention on stopping until you both had nothing else to give. 

Harry eventually released your throat allowed for you to collapse against the bed while he continued to deliver his sharp thrusts into you. You clung to the sheets as he continued behind you. In the process, he’d mock your beyond pleasured and messy state. Apart from the way your gripped onto his cock with your walls, Harry couldn’t and would never get enough of the way you slurred your words together as you tried to tell him how good he felt inside you. 

Throughout the entire show, you and Harry ended up in a total of six positions. The majority of them were you lying on your front while Harry pistoned his hips into you from behind. At one point, he even mounted you from behind to that he could pin your legs down as he pounded your walls. Towards the end when you both were getting a little woozy and closer to your releases, Harry relinquished some of his control to you and let you ride his cock. Over the course of you guys’ time filming  yourselves, you and Harry got to really learn your angles. So as you rode him, Harry made sure to spread his legs and bend his knees so that the people could watch as his balls swung between his legs as you slammed yourself down onto him and as he occasionally thrusted up into you.

When your walls began to tighten up even more around his cock, your pitiful whimpers turned into even more pitiful cries, and your movements on top of him, Harry forcefully pulls you from his cock and drops you onto the bed so that you’re lying sideways in front of the camera. He lifts himself up so that he’s towering over you between your legs. He then pushes his hands between your thighs and the bed, gripping onto your flesh and pulling them up and out towards your chest. While your legs are spread nice and wide for him, he takes the opportunity to quickly push into you and lay his entire body down onto you. He wraps his hands around your wrists and smears his lips onto yours before continuing his very pleasurable attack on your pussy.

“Ready for daddy to flood those pitiful walls of yours?” Harry pants, continuing his fast paced thrusts down into you. 

“Please daddy!” You cry out to him. The feeling of being helpless, and completely pinned down by him as he continuously slammed into your tummy felt so good and drove you even closer to the edge. 

“Cum with daddy babydoll.” Harry pants, delivering one final blow down into you. And with that, you both were completely done with holding back. All of the pent up sexual frustration from the day finally came to it’s head and completely exploded between the two of you. As Harry’s cum spurred into you and coated your walls, you were making a complete mess of Harry’s cock, lower body, and the sheets by squirting all over them.

Once you and Harry both reached the very end, the two of you limply laid there until Harry mustered up enough energy to turn the live stream off. That energy didn’t go too far though because once he clicked end, he collapsed back down onto the bed next to your  limp and beyond tired body. 

That night, you guys’ viewers definitely got what they paid for. 

Masterlist

[journalxxx]

Green Light

Toshinori Yagi had never been much of an avid reader.

In his youth, bursting with energy and good intentions as he was, the mere act of standing still in any one place felt like torture. There were places to be, people to save, villains to track down, not to mention training. Literary and artistic pursuits were valuable and commendable, but Toshinori himself preferred leaving them to others, while he himself could fulfil the task of ensuring that such talented individuals could let their inspiration bloom in a safe and hospitable society. Even in the latest years, when the burden of heroic activities weighed too much on his wrecked body to allow him more than a handful of work hours per day, he hadn't quite managed to find a taste for books, and had filled his sadly abundant downtime with movies instead.

Yet, that evening, a long-forgotten memory of literary nature sprang to his mind. David Shield, his brilliant wingman from the days spent in America after graduating, had been a proper bookworm - a strangely action-inclined one, but a bookworm nonetheless, and his love for novels was second only to his overwhelming passion for science and engineering. He used to chat with his Japanese friend about his favorite reads, and Toshinori recalled a bit of a heated rant about The Great Gatsby. A green light, twinkling in the darkness, a visible reminder of human ambition and strife for greatness, even a metaphor for the great American dream itself. A beacon of hope that stole one's gaze and breath, both out of satisfaction and frustration. Toshinori was reminded of that conversation, that evening, as his eyes followed the electric green light zooming around in the darkening sky, hopping over and between buildings with astonishing speed, closer and closer.

"You hurt?" Toshinori asked, as soon as Midoriya landed, after decelerating with a couple of hops and stopping precisely next to him.

"I'm... all right." The hooded figure replied, ever so slightly out of breath because of the effort, or maybe because of the dust cloud he'd raised.

"Your arms and legs?"

Midoriya had developed a worrying tolerance to pain in the last year and his definition of 'injury' had shifted accordingly, so Toshinori couldn't help ascertaining his student's safety to the point of redundancy. His insistence was met with a confident eyes as the boy uncovered his face and flexed his fingers, proving that the latest addition to his combat equipment had worked as intended. Toshinori had warned him early on about the dangers of relying too much on gauntlets, braces and assorted devices, and there had been no signs of him having forgotten about that. Still, he reminded him once more of the importance of avoiding wounds and shattered bones in the current circumstances. Midoriya accepted his mentor's words without a trace of annoyance, as always.

Toshinori's mobile rang. It was Hawks, at it again with his unrequested commentary on the operation. Midoriya was gone with a giant leap before Toshinori could complete two sentences. He politely deflected his colleague's nagging as the dust settled anew. Lots of dust, but not a single mark or crack on the asphalt touched by Midoriya's feet. The corners of Toshinori's lips curved upwards. Perfect control.

Very few things in his life had terrified All Might - the unwavering, the unflinching, the indefatigable All Might - as much as the sight of black tendrils sprouting uncontrollably from his student's hand during class training. Those black tendrils that looked so strikingly similar to his nemesis' own Rivets, so much that they had made him fear that All For One somehow, in some wretched, unfathomable way, had manifested on the spot, or even possessed Midoriya himself, and was ready to destroy, stab, maul every single one of the budding heroes right before his eyes. In hindsight, he could only feel shame at the memory of his behaviour during that emergency. He could only stutter vague and panicking warnings during those dreadful minutes, while Aizawa and Vlad had assessed the situation with the proper detachment.

The aftermath of the event had been deeply confusing. A new quirk, inherited from one of the predecessors? The predecessors themselves, now able to interact with Modoriya's mind? Toshinori had found himself at a loss. He was supposed to guide his student to the fullest understanding of his power, but those developments were completely unheard of. He offered the boy his most confident smile and reassurements, for they were what he needed, but privately... he worried. He worried very much. And before he knew it, the Paranormal Liberation war had left his precious successor a heap of broken limbs and regrets.

And then Midoriya had mastered Black Whip. And Float. And Danger Sense. And Smokescreen. All within few months. All with virtually no guidance (except from the several entities dwelling in One For All, probably).

'Unbelievable' didn't even begin to describe the scope of that feat. Toshinori had watched in sheer awe his pupil bounce back from the tragedy with renewed vigor, purpose and skill. He had willingly shouldered responsibilities that no one would have forced even on a professional hero and now here he was, acting as the bait for the most dangerous villain in the world, while also saving innocents in the process. As it turned out, the new wielder of One For All was managing just fine.

Ostensibly, at least.

Twenty-seven hours later, it started raining. The dull sound of the raindrops hitting the car hood and the regular beeping of Midoriya's GPS lulled Toshinori into another bout of nostalgia as he drove along the main street. It happened more and more often lately, maybe he was really starting to get old. The beaming smile of the boy upon receiving his lunchbox had warmed Toshinori's heart, but it had also made him wonder... Had he been as appreciative towards Nighteye in the past? He had never neglected to thank his sidekick for his invaluable support (especially on the bureaucratic side of things), but... Had he really put his whole heart into it? Had he really conveyed the same honest thankfulness he saw in young Midoriya's eyes whenever Toshinori handed him a meal, or checked his equipment, or removed a bystander from a tricky situation? One thing was certain, and that was that he hadn't been nearly as mindful of his sidekick's warnings back then. Maybe, if he had...

Well. No point in dwelling on the past. He had given his apologies, he had said his goodbyes. He'd have to content himself with those. What mattered now was helping Midoriya, in any way he could. His arguable teaching privileges had practically disappeared since Midoriya had started dealing with new, never-before-manifested traits of One For All. Still, competent and timely support was a blessing even for the mightiest of heroes, and Toshinori would be damned if he didn't try his hardest to fill that spot. He'd-

The laptop gave a louder beep, and then silence. The green dot pointing at Midoriya's position disappeared. Toshinori cursed and stepped on the gas. He took notice, for the briefest fraction of a second, of the cylindrical object bouncing towards his car, until it was close enough to realize-

There was a flash, a violent impact, and then nothing.

There was darkness. And pain. His head throbbed horrendously, and he struggled to string together any thoughts. There was liquid trickling down his face, some cold and some warm. He was drenched, and cold, and very nauseous. He was standing vertically, but not by his own will. He felt like a coat hanging from a rack. There were voices, one extremely close, shouting so loudly that it made him whince. He couldn't seem to make out the words. There was a much farther scream-

He recognised it. With a disproportionate effort, he opened his eyes. There it was, the familiar green glow. The boy, sizzling with energy, stood out like a mystic vision in the darkness. He looked furious, and ready to sprint towards him.

But he was waiting. Waiting for an opening, Toshinori realized, an opening that whoever was jerking the collar of his jacket didn't seem to offer. Toshinori didn't feel capable of summoning enough balance or coordination to move, let alone put up a fight, but could he provide a distraction anyway? Maybe. Yes. Yes, he could.

Without thinking twice, he flexed every single muscle in his body, and shouted. He shouted only to add to the surprise effect at first, then he kept going because it really fucking hurt. But it worked. The sudden increase of his body mass threw the mysterious assailant off balance, and he was dropped on the ground. Instantly, a powerful air blast signalled Midoriya's attack, and then all hell broke loose. Feeling as if each of his limbs had caught fire, wrecked by a violent coughing fit, Toshinori could only squirm on the spot as he felt vicious blows landing in his vicinity and on the surrounding buildings, more screams and undefined explosions, until a stronger gust of wind lifted his shrunk form in the air and sent him flying like ragdoll. His back hit something much harder than him, and darkness descended again.

There was darkness. Complete, impenetrable, all-encompassing. He had no pain, no form, no body. Nothingness stretched uninterrupted in all directions. He was nothing and there was nothing, save for the small crowd of entities not farm from him. He listened.

"...coordination. It had to be planned carefully to avoid all the precautions you took. You bear no guilt of carelessness." A quiet voice said. There was barely any inflection to its tone.

"It wasn't enough!" The green voice replied, upset. Unlike the others, this one had a head, though only the back of it was visible. "It could have gone a lot worse! He could have-"

"Pull yourself together, brat!" A rough voice scolded. "This isn't anything worth sobbing about. Start thinking about how not to make it happen again instead. I swear, you should be used to this sort of thing right now..."

"Not everyone has experienced this level of social instability and violence in their lives since such a young age, Banjo. It takes time to adapt." Another voice said. A kind voice. A woman's voice. He... knew that voice...

"But what else can I do?!" The green one interjected. "I'm training as fast as I can, I'm working on strength and control, I can use more quirks... We've teamed up with the three top heroes in the country and it still isn't enough...!"

"You cannot expect this war to go like a carefully planned game of chess. There will be mistakes, accidents and bad luck. There will be more blood spilled, on both sides. The sooner you accept it, the sooner you will start making some real progress."

" Please, let's not-"

"I will NOT accept it! I won't accept that anyone- especially not him-" The green one boomed and turned to point at him. He saw his face and his tear-stained cheeks, he met his big, bright eyes-

His eyes snapped open.

He heard a gasp, steps, then Midoriya's floating head entered his field of vision.

"All Might! Are you okay?"

He blinked. It was still dark but nowhere near... He could see a ceiling now. He tried turning his head to the side, but a powerful throb coursing all over his skull stopped him. He shut his eyes with a groan and brought a hand to his head, finding layers of bandages in the way.

"Ngh... kid... " Toshinori managed. "Where...?"

"The basement in Daina. We brought you here after we captured the villains. Do you remember?"

He remembered something. Driving, and the glint of the granade right outside his windshield... after that, nothing.

He finally managed to open his eyes. The messy, familiar layout of workbench, cot, monitors, assorted devices and cooking appliances of the hideout was a welcome sight that grounded him a little more.

"I thought we should bring you to a hospital, but Hawks was sure you only had a mild concussion." Midoriya continued.

Right. The car had probably protected him from the brunt of the blast. Hawks himself had provided them with that particular vehicle, describing it as 'practically a tank, but faster'. Evidently he wasn't just overselling it.

"Good. Hospitals are the last places we need to be right now." Toshinori knew that their plan of using Midoriya as bait could fail in a million different ways. Primarily because of his pupil's intense desire to protect... well, anyone. His schoolmates were well-guarded, his mother was well-guarded, but the potential victims were countless. All For One could easily take any random hospital in the country as a hostage and demand Midoriya to hand himself in in exchange for the patients' safety, for example. There was really no need to give him ideas and hang a big, red target on a specific one by putting a wounded All Might in it.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Midoriya asked. "Hawks will send someone over if you need better treatment-"

"I'm fine, don't worry." Surprisingly fine, all things considered. Now that his head was clearing, Toshinori realized the few pangs he felt here and there were way more manageable that he had any right to hope. No doubt he'd be missing that temporary bliss as soon as the painkillers wore out. "And you?"

"Just a few scratches. Nothing debilitating." Toshinori gave him a good once-over. The kid didn't seem to slouch or hold himself stiffly, which was a huge relief. His expression was somewhat strained though. "You've been out for a while. Do you think you can eat something?"

"Ngh. Not sure I can stomach much at the moment."

"Some tea, at least?" The kid wasn't even trying to hide his concern, bless him.

"How long was I out for, exactly?"

"Seven hours."

Mh, maybe he should gulp down something. "...Tea it is, then." Toshinori conceded with a sigh, and Midoriya moved away to busy himself with the pot.

Toshinori wasn't especially fond of describing the several, thought-provoking ways in which his bodily functions had been messed up by All For One's desperate retaliation, but living in close quarters with Midoriya had outed them despite his best efforts. The boy had seemed especially distraught to hear of his eating habits, for some obscure reason. Lacking a stomach to store and properly digest food, Toshinori had to stick to a rigorous habit of six to eight meals a day, scheduled every two or three hours, paying a certain attention to the size and composition of each portion. Accidentally overworking his intestine with an excessive meal would lead to a range of unpleasant consequences, which went beyond a simple rush to the toilet. On top of that, he also had to actively remember to eat. Turns out that the stomach is the major organ creating the sense of hunger and fullness and, without one, one could easily forget about eating altogether, or overdo it without noticing. And all this, with the addition of some vitamin supplements, had the effect of keeping him just well-fed enough to grant him his haggard scarecrow build.

Sure, all these complications turned what ought to be one of life's pleasures into a bit of chore, but the habit was so ingrained in him by now that he was barely bothered by it all. Plus, it could be a lot worse. At least he wasn't doomed to a lifetime of IVs, as he had first dreaded. Still, Toshinori hadn't failed to notice the hints of sadness in the boy's eyes whenever he glanced at the small amounts of easily digestible food in his dish.

"So, what happened out there?" Toshinori asked, after the silence had stretched long enough for his head to settle down.

"We aren't sure of the details yet. You and I were attacked simultaneously, presumably by All For One's men. They didn't confess anything while I was there, but Endeavor said he'd take care of the interrogation." Midoriya answered as he poured the tea into two small cups.

"Oof, I wouldn't want to be in their shoes."

"He was quite... angry. Not only at the villains. I think he tried to set you on fire while I wasn't looking."

"To cauterize my wound, surely. He's such a gentle, caring soul." He winked at the boy, who finally let a small smile grace his features.

Midoriya helped him sit up on the cot, which Toshinori achieved with some mild dizziness and coughing up just two little drops of blood. A good sign. He took the steaming cup he was offered and blew on it.

"I hate to admit it, but they got the best of me very easily. I'm starting to lose count of how many lives I owe you, my boy."

"I... I'm not sure I was the one who saved you though." Midoriya bit his lip, his gaze falling to the floor. "I think I saw the explosion back when they attacked you. It took us all a while to dispatch of the villains after me and get to the site. The group that targeted you had all the time to... to finish their job before we showed up, but they didn't. I think they were trying to bring you somewhere."

Toshinori frowned. That didn't bode well. A kidnapping attempt? Maybe to use him as leverage in case the frontal attack on Midoriya didn't succeed? It could make sense. The mere notion made Toshinori's blood boil, but that was a possibility they'd have to consider very carefully in the future.

"I see. We'd better lay low for a while until Endeavor can give us a clearer picture of the situation." Toshinori pondered. "Any damage to your equipment? I assume most of mine was unrecoverable."

"Mine is in working condition. Hawks said he'd take care of getting us a new vehicle, and he already passed me a new phone, laptop and some other things to replace what was in the car."

Preparedness, thy name is Hawks, Toshinori thought. He promised himself not to brush him off so quickly the next time he called, or maybe even call him himself to thank him. Maybe. The man was strangely hard to read, he didn't quite invite Toshinori's confidence.

"Good." Toshinori took a long sip, then leaned back against wall with a sigh. "I guess we should take advantage of this forced downtime to recuperate. You've been working yourself pretty thin lately, it's hardly sustainable in the long run."

Midoriya didn't reply. He was still staring at the floor as if the secrets of the universe were contained in the concrete beneath. The tea was growing cold in his cup, forgotten on a nearby table. Toshinori kept staring at him in turn, waiting for the boy to notice his own unresponsiveness and offer an explanation. Eventually he spoke, still avoiding his mentor's eyes.

"All Might..." And that was all he managed before trailing off.

"Yes? Something on your mind?" Toshinori encouraged. The answer was again, not quite immediate.

"I have been thinking, lately... about our plan. About how our groups are organised. If our teams are currently as balanced and efficient as they could be."

"Would you rather be paired up with one of the big three, and have me act as support for the others?" Toshinori asked plainly, squashing the little lurch of unease the suggestion gave him.

"N.. Yes, I... Maybe. That is a possibility." Another pause. Midoriya was getting visibly on edge, his free hand clenched to a fist to his side. "If I am to act as bait, I cannot provide coverage for anyone. Jeanist, Hawks and Endeavor are more at liberty to protect-" The boy finally raised his gaze to meet Toshinori's eyes and flinched, almost scared of the sound of his own words.

...Ah, we had finally come to this.

"Don't get me wrong. Please." Suddenly the boy deflated, his back slumped fowards and he rested his elbows on his legs, both his hand supporting the sides of his head. "At the hospital, when you offered to leave UA as well and follow me, I... Y-You have no idea what it means to me, how proud I am to fight alongside you, how much I-"

His voice faltered again. Toshinori waited.

"But... You said yourself, the first time we met, that one has to consider the reality of things. And... the reality of this... is that, right now, there is nothing more dangerous on this planet than being at my side. And... for someone... like you to be so exposed... I can't-"

"Yeah, I'm going to stop you right there." Toshinori butted in, taking another sip of tea. He twirled the cup in his fingers, nonplussed. "Look, kid. Believe me when I say that I am painfully aware that, in terms of combat capability and survivability, I am much more of a liability than an asset to the whole operation-"

"You are not- a liability!" Midoriya almost shouted, and Toshinori could swear that he had corrected himself at the last second to avoid using the word 'weak'. "You coordinate the four of us flawlessly, you take care of my gear, my clothes, my accomodation, my food, you offer me advice and strategy I couldn't come up with on my own, you can hold your ground against low-tier criminals, and evade situations where the odds are too stacked against you. You've been doing all this for months without breaking a sweat! I know exactly how valuable your skills are!"

"Then that makes two of us. I don't see any reason for you to imply that I should leave the team."

"Because... All of this... As valuable as it is, it isn't worth..." Midoriya banged his fists against his thigs, his back hunched over and his head bowed so much that all Toshinori could see was him biting his lip so hard he thought it'd start bleeding, "...your life."

It pained Midoriya to say it. It pained Toshinori to see him so distraught about it. But he had purposefully let the argument get that far, because it was necessary for the boy to confront this thing sooner or later.

"If those villains had had different orders... If we had been slower, or unlucky... You would have died." The boy struggled to continue. "I don't-"

"You don't want to see anyone getting hurt any more. I know."

Toshinori recalled very vividly those days at the hospital. The aftermath. Hectic, nightmarish days for everyone. Relatives, friends, colleagues of the many victims and injured were everywhere, shedding tears of shock and horror behind every corner. Toshinori himself hadn't been able to hold back tears as he had proclaimed his intention to tag along the boy in his crusade against All For One. Rumors through the grapevine said that even Endeavor had been seen weeping in that whirlwind of grief. The only person that Toshinori hadn't seen shed a single tear at any point was Midoriya. That alone should have alerted him of some sudden subversion in the natural order of the universe, but it had taken him some more time to realize the meaning behind that stoicism.

"I share that feeling. Whole-heartedly." Toshinori slowly clenched and unclenched his fist, somberly. "But if all it took to ensure someone's safety was a passionate declaration of intent, the world wouldn't need as many heroes as it does. We both know it, don't we?"

"That's why I'm asking you to-"

"And that's why I'm refusing." Toshinori glared sternly at the boy's hair. "This accident has brought to light a flaw in our patterns of action, and we're lucky it did so without causing any lasting damage. If we need to regroup in a way that grants me less exposure, fine. We can work out the logistics of that later. But if you're trying to convince me to go back and sit tight in UA's offices at whatever you deem a 'safe distance' to be, you can spare your breath. It isn't going to happen."

"But... All Might, please!" Midoriya finally raised his head to look at his teacher, a desperate edge in his eyes. "I wouldn't be left unguarded! Jeanist, Hawks and Endeavor can support me, while you... you are quirkless now and- God, think of Nighteye's vision!"

"Is that why you're trying to push me away? Is it really?" Toshinori retorted, with more bite than he intended. "In few months, you have successfully detached yourself from your classmates, most of your teachers, your own mother. And now you're trying to do the same with me. Is it so far-fetched for me to imagine that, if push comes to shove, you'll try to leave the other pro heroes behind too, in some misguided self-sacrifing effort 'not to see anyone hurt again'!?"

Midoriya's flinched as if he'd just been slapped. Admittedly, that had come out more harshly than Toshinori was planning. The man coughed into his fist, seizing the chance to discreetly rein his own feelings in.

"Young Midoriya." He resumed, more gently. "This overpowering sense of responsibility and protection that you are feeling... is exactly what drove me during the six years between my injury and our first meeting. The drive to uphold a Symbol of Peace that would protect everyone, directly or indirectly. The current situation speaks loudly about the results of my efforts."

Toshinori paused, suddenly caught by a deep bitterness. "If I hadn't been so stubborn... if I hadn't rejected the advice and support of the people who cared about me the most... maybe the Symbol of Peace would still exist to this day. Upheld by more than a single bluffer. I have paid for my mistakes, and the worst part is that I wasn't only one. My friends, my loyal sidekick paid for them dearly, way more harshly than I did. The whole country is paying for them."

Toshinori leant forward, suppressing the cough that threatened to rob his breath. He looked his shocked pupil in the eyes, without the barest hint of reservation. "I will not let you make the same mistake."

Midoriya's head bowed again, very slowly, like a toy with dying batteries. His shoulders trembled.

"I won't be able to talk you out of this, will I?" He said, shakily.

Toshinori wasn't a fool. He knew that Midoriya had grasped the importance of his words. He also knew that discussing that particular topic with All Might, of all people, was especially difficult for him. The pain of losing a mentor (one that somewhat doubled as a surrogate parental figure too, as it happened) was something Toshinori was intimately acquainted to. He could imagine how great Midoriya's fear had to be, to spark so direct a confrontation.

He knew, last but not least, that his successor always, invariably, reliably chose the best course of action when it was asked of him.

"Do you really want to?" Toshinori asked softly, steadying the boy's quivering shoulder with his hand.

Midoriya tensed even more, hesitated. Then he shook his head negatively.

He had grown so much. Physically and mentally, as a person and as a hero. In just two years, his frame had gotten larger and sturdied, his muscles had toned, his reflexes sharpened, his judgement refined, his courage exploded, his kindness bloomed. He had blossomed into such a remarkable individual that, sometimes, even Toshinori forgot that he was still a sixteen-year old.

That he was, most of all, still Izuku Midoriya.

"You haven't turned on the waterworks in a while, have you? It must be full to bursting in there." Toshinori smiled as he pulled the boy into a one-armed hug. "You shouldn't let the pressure build up so much."

The kid let out a pitiful sob and his face fell on Toshinori's shoulder. It was all it took for him to unravel. He broke into a waterfall of tears, failing to contain a long series of low but heart-wrenching whines. He hugged his mentor back and clung to him tightly, the man's shirt balled up in both his fists. Toshinori didn't let go until Midoriya did, few dry coughs taking care of unloading the traitorous knots that were forming in his own throat.

It lasted as long as it needed to. Eventually the gasps abated, the tears stopped flowing, and the boy's desperate grasp on Toshinori loosened.

"...I-I'm sorry." He managed as he pulled back, still held at arm's length by Toshinori's hand. "I just... You are right. About everything. I just..."

"I know. You've finally experienced All For One's devastating maliciousness firsthand. It's natural that you got so disturbed by it. I was disturbed too, and it was hardly my first time witnessing it." In an unexpected turn of fate, Toshinori had managed not to spill his cup during that whole emotional outburst, and he downed the last of his now iced tea with a single gulp. It didn't feel quite as fortifying as if it had been sake. "But we'll all look into how to protect each other better, and we'll move from there. We'll face what they'll throw at us, in one way or another."

Midoriya nodded. The next Symbol of Peace made for a very sorry sight at the moment, with red, puffy eyes and radiating exhaustion from every pore. Toshinori still preferred seeing him like this than as a coiled wrap of nerves and fear one step away from bursting.

"You sure chose an odd moment to start worrying about my potential demise." Toshinori offered, trying to lighten the mood by ruffling the boy's hair in the most annoying way possible.

"Uh? What do you mean?"

"Aren't you in a semi-permanent conference call with your predecessors these days? The way I see it, the moment I bite the dust in this world, I'll just pop back on my feet-" He tapped Midoriya's forehead repeatedly despite his attempts to squirm away, discovering new heights of annoyance within his reach, " ...right here. Ready to lecture you for the rest of your days, unless you miraculously find another quirkless brat to torture in turn."

"That's- that hardly makes things better!" Midoriya swatted his hand away and blurted out, way too quickly. Toshinori had the strong impression that Midoriya had already considered that fact, and dutifully rejected it. "You aren't supposed to exist as a ghost trapped in my head for my sole benefit! You're supposed to live like anyone else, out here, free to enjoy-"

Oh, good grief. "Yes, fine, I get your point!" Toshinori raised his arms defensively. He deserved that, he knew the risks of trying to joke with his overly sensitive protégé. "I'm just saying that it's a handy safety net for you, at least in terms of... emotional support. I wouldn't look unkindly on the chance to chat with some of my deceased acquaintances for my whole life."

"...I suppose that is a good point." Midoriya took Toshinori's empty teacup and put it on the table next to his own. "If... If it even does last that long..."

"Mh?"

"I..." All of a sudden Midoriya was biting his lip again. He had that absorbed look that signalled the start of a deliriously overanalytical tirade. "You know, I've been thinking..."

"...Yes, you do that a lot, don't you?" Toshinori sighed, bracing himself for the inevitable. Midoriya ignored him and went on with his muttering.

"If the permanence of the conscience of One For All's wielders within the power itself isn't tied to their quirks, it must be due to something else. Something that all users have in common. There are many possibilities, but the first one that comes to mind is... willpower. A shared goal." The boy brought a hand to his chin and frowned. "One For All was born out of the First's desire to stop All For One, and this objective was steadily passed down from master to apprentice until now. It stands to reason that this might be the ultimate purpose of the power itself, to solve the conflict that generated it. And... I wonder what would happen after that. After we defeat All For One... will One For All remain the same? Will the connection among its wielders be lost? Will the quirk cease to exist in its entirety?"

Toshinori blinked. Twice. Where on earth was all this coming from now...?

"Did the predecessors tell you about this?"

"No, they don't know any more than we do about the matter." Midoriya finally re-emerged from his bubble of introspection, and gave Toshinori a sheepish smile in response to his puzzled look. "It's just a hypothesis of mine."

Toshinori rubbed his eyes tiredly. That boy's penchant for overthinking things would lead him to an early grave, he was sure of it, and it was only going to get worse now that he had eight distinct personalities residing in his head, ready to produce a constant stream of new inputs.

"...Let me get this straight. You are now worrying about the possibility that, if I were to die in the near future and become a sentient vestige- don't even try to deny it, I know how your head works-" Toshinori raised a finger menacingly as soon as Midoriya opened his mouth. The boy immediately closed it and grimaced with evident guilt, "...you are worried that, in that case, our connection would be lost after accomplishing this shared goal. Am I correct?"

"...I guess so." Midoriya answered, barely above a whisper.

Leave it to this boy to grow anxious about having to grieve for the same person not once, but twice. Toshinori summoned the last embers of his patience to deal with this like a rational adult.

"Listen. I can't deny that One For All has evolved so much since I passed it to you that I can barely claim any expertise on it at this point." Toshinori started, joining the tips of his fingers. "But you spoke of will and purpose. Of will and purpose, I know something about."

Midoriya instantly forgot his insecurity and leaned towards Toshinori, expectation and curiosity lighting his eyes.

"I cannot speak for most of the predecessors, since I never met them." He continued. "But I can tell you something about me, and I bet the same goes for my master too. I never wielded One For All with the purpose of defeating people. I wielded it with the purpose of helping them."

Toshinori waited for the words to sink in. He could pinpoint the moment they did by the distant look that appeared in the boy's eyes. He bet someone was smiling, inside that green-haired head.

"All For One has always been a disgusting, painful wart in the peaceful world I dreamed to protect. He was never the goal of my efforts, just an obstacle. That's all there is to it." He smiled to Midoriya, who now wore that unabashedly admiring expression that gave Toshinori a mild, inexplicable sense of guilt. "If that isn't enough to quell you doubts, you may remember certain promises I made to you and your mother, promises that would not be fulfilled by just taking down any one villain. I'll have you know that I'm not in the habit of going back on my word easily."

Midoriya nodded, worry slowly disappearing from his features.

"Yes... I see what you mean. " The boy visibly relaxed, and smiled. It was the first real smile he'd shown since Toshinori woke up. Finally. "That makes a lot of sense."

"I'm glad to hear it."

"Thank you." The way the boy said those two simple words, the way he wore his enormous heart on his sleeve, the way he had never stopped feeling and showing the deepest gratefulness for whatever tidbit of advice Toshinori managed to scrap together...

Toshinori's head gave a painful throb. Either the painkillers were starting to wear off, or all these waves of teenage emotionality were aggravating his concussion. Both possibilities seemed equally likely. A swift intervention was required.

He karate-chopped Midoriya on the head.

"On the other hand!" He declared over the boy's yelp. "Talk about overconfidence, young man! 'After we defeat All For One'? Way to brush off the most miraculous task we'll ever have to accomplish in both our lives! How about we focus more on how to achieve that feat first, and then we worry about whatever existential crisis that may come our way afterwards?"

"Y-Yes! Of course!" Midoriya jumped on his feet with comical speed, accidentally mimicking a half-formed military salute. "I didn't mean to imply it would be easy! Nor less important than-"

"Undoubtedly. So, first order of things: recuperating. On second thought, I think now I could go for some breakfast. Lunch... Dinner?" Toshinori glanced around the room, failing to locate a clock. "Whatever meal is most suitable for this time of day or night."

"Breakfast." Midoriya confirmed, cheering up again. "Any preferences?"

"Some tamago kake wouldn't go amiss."

"Coming right up!" Midoriya moved to the other side of the room with a spring in his step. Toshinori considered lying down for a few minutes while the rice cooked.

"All Might. One last thing."

Toshinori sighed. Wasn't there always just one last thing?

"I said that I agree with everything you told me. Except one thing." Midoriya continued, from outside of Toshinori's view. His voice was firm. "You are no bluff. You never were. Even when you thought you were doing your job for only three hours a day, or one, or none at all. All the time, you were working just as hard as everyone else, if not more. And no one in their right mind would deny that you are the best thing that happened to Japan in the last forty years. Don't ever forget that."

As he was sliding from sitting to a horizontal position, Toshinori's head gave another, sharper twinge. It was that, and only that, that made his sight go just a little watery as his nape landed on the pillow.

"...Thanks, kid." He pinched the bridge of his nose, closed his eyes, and relaxed with a deep sigh. "I'll keep it in mind."

[yungidreamer]

Gifted

Summary: The holidays are finally over and she Mingi and Yunho can finally come home. They exchange their gifts and share an unforgettable first under the Christmas tree.

Word count: 8.3k

Content warnings: warm, fuzzy, intense smut. Double penetration, oral sex, finger sucking, mild restraint and control. Cuddly aftercare.

The moment they walked through the door to their house they finally felt like they could breathe. Although Mingi wanted to immediately pull them into his arms, in the end, cooler heads prevailed and they did all the things they needed to do first. They unpacked their clothes, made food, and got all the presents they had received into places where they belonged. School would start on Monday, but that left them with a couple of days just for them. Everything was right in the world.

The Christmas tree was still up in their living room, just waiting for them to do their own private Christmas together. Aside from Yunho getting his suit from Mingi, they still hadn’t given each other the gifts they had bought for each other. While she finished preparing their food, the boys wrapped their presents. Her present was already wrapped in a simple bright red envelope with both of the boys' names written on the front in shining gold lettering. She stood the envelope in the branches of the tree, among their sparkling lights.

When the boys emerged from their rooms, presents in hand, they found her waiting for them in the living room with the food plated and warm mugs full of hot cider. They had made some carbonara as a quick and filling dish they could make with just things they happened to have left in the house. On her nearby laptop, soft music was playing. As tempted as she had been to put on Christmas music, it was starting to get to be too late in the year for it, and they had been listening to it on and off since Thanksgiving. Instead she had picked a little playlist of sort of melancholic instrumentals which would fade into the background of the room.

“What do you think about having a fire?” She suggested, giving her hands a little rub to warm them up. While they were gone, they had kept the heating low but warm enough to keep everything from freezing. No people meant no need to keep the house warm enough for comfort, and now it was going to take a little bit of time for the house to get back to its normal warmth.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Yunho agreed.

“Would one of you mind bringing in a little more wood while I get it started?” She stood up, heading towards the fireplace. Mingi nodded and went to grab his boots and coat, while Yunho moved to work on getting some kindling ready. She swept the last of the ashes that had been left in the grate down into the little slats that dropped into the built in ash drawer. Yunho then took the little drawer to empty it into the bag of ashes they were collecting on the porch. By the time he got back, she was stacking some of the smaller logs they had inside on the crumpled and knotted newspaper he had helped to prepare. She stood up, getting ready to reach for the super long matches they kept on the hearth, but before she could try, Yunho came up behind her, taking them off the somewhat high shelf to pass to her. He loved when he could do something for her, something simple but helpful. It gave him a deep sense of satisfaction to feel useful or needed, even just for silly things.

Mingi came in, arms burdened with an abundance of wood, just as she slid the drawer back in. Striking the match against the base of the canister, she reached the tip of the lit match to the back of the grate, lighting the kindling from the back. After a few moments, the fire was crackling and popping as it started to come to life.

They ate their meal as they watched it, making sure that it was going to properly catch and grow. With satisfying food, a warm fire, and the Christmas tree’s glow filling the room, it really felt like they were home. When she started to gather the dishes to take them to the kitchen to do, Mingi stopped her, insisting it was his turn to do them and it would only take him a couple of minutes. Afterall, she had already done the dishes they used while cooking. She smiled and let him go as Yunho pulled her into his lap.

“Welcome home, love,” he nuzzled into her hair as he spoke. “I’ve missed you more than you’d believe.”

“I missed you, too,” her fingers played with the cuff of his old, soft sweater. “I really love seeing my family, I miss them too, but home isn’t home anymore without you two.”

“Someday we’ll tell them,” he sighed, trying to reassure himself of this as much as her. “Someday we’ll have a Christmas all together; you, me, Mingi and all our families.”

“Maybe just us, your mom, and my parents,” she said after a moment’s thought.

“Yeah,” Mingi said as he joined them again from the kitchen. “Don’t make me always have to spend Christmas with my parents. Besides, when dad finds out I’m with Yunho, I’m pretty sure he is going to completely disown me.”

“Maybe...maybe when push comes to shove, he’ll actually pick his son over his prejudice,” she tried to give a half note of hope as she spoke.

“Even if he does,” Mingi shook his head as he sat down beside Yunho, pulling her legs into his lap. “I don’t know that I want him there to ruin my happy moments. Even if he can get over the fact I love another man, nothing I do makes him happy anyway.”

“He’s a sour moron,” she stated without a shred of doubt. “If he can’t see what an amazing person he managed to raise, he’s too stupid for me to tolerate.”

“As long as you see it, that’s all I care about,” Mingi took one of her hands in his and pressed a kiss to the back of it.

“We see it,” Yunho confirmed, looping an arm around Mingi’s waist.

“Who is ready for gifts?” She asked excitedly, changing the subject.

“Meeeee!” Shouted both of the boys together.

“Okay, one second,” she told them as she stood up. “I have one more thing to wrap.”

“Wait, why didn’t you do it earlier?” Yunho protested, giving her a scolding look.

“You’ll see in one minute,” she chuckled, knowing they would get it when she came back. She scurried back to their shared room and dug into her desk drawer where she had been keeping the small bag, knowing they would never have a reason to look for anything in there. In the little plastic bag she found the four pieces of silver and lace that made up the lingerie set. It was more for show than anything else, but the little satin tank top and shorts might be something she would use to sleep in when it was hot in the summer. She slipped the bra, mostly made of little lace triangles and thin satin straps, on, followed by the little satin and lace thong, then put on the more practical pieces over them before finally wrapping herself in her large, fluffy terry cloth robe.

She scurried back out into the living room having wrapped herself up for them and was greeted by both of them bursting into laughter, their faces splitting into broad smiles. Indeed they did understand why she hadn’t wrapped that present earlier. It wasn’t terribly practical for cooking or fire building. She pressed a light kiss to each of their lips before kneeling down near both of them.

“Can we unwrap you first,” Mingi questioned hopefully.

“No,” she laughed. “I’m last. But,” she pointed at the envelope in the branches behind them. “You can open that first, if you want.”

“Fine,” Yunho reached up and pulled it out of it’s perch. Both boys looked at it with an intense curiosity. The paper was a bright and vibrant red and had a fine texture to it. It was the sort of paper that begged for the use of fountain pens and sealing wax. Yunho ran his fingers over their names and made a little O face before turning it over to slide his finger under the flap to pull it open. Inside was a little card made from the same paper on which she had written a short letter.

To the boys who make every day special and who deserve the world. Someday I can give you everything you deserve, but for now, enjoy this.

Together they opened the card and found a couple of regular printer papers, folded in quarters. They put the card down and unfolded the papers to see what they were. The first page was a dinner reservation for the first Tuesday in April at a restaurant they recognized as a fancy place in the middle of Manhattan. Mingi’s eyes widened and he looked at her then back at the paper to make sure he had read it correctly. Yunho flipped to the second page to find a reservation for that week in April at a bed and breakfast in New York City.

“That will be over spring break,” she elucidated as their eyes scanned the paper. “Our first trip together. And it’s far enough from everyone so we can just be us. I also wanted a good excuse for Yunho to wear that suit you got him. It would look so good on him. I can hardly wait.”

“This...this can’t have been cheap,” Mingi protested slightly. “You didn’t have to…”

“I know,” she shrugged. “I wanted to. I want to see the world with you both and that is just the first place.”

“We could have paid for this together,” Yunho pointed out. “It’s too much.”

“No, no,” she shook her head. “You’re going to drive us and we can split the cost of everything else while we are there.”

“You aren’t paying for anything while we are there,” Mingi said firmly. Yunho nodded in agreement as he scanned the page of the bed and breakfast again. Located next to Central Park. A great location for entertainment and close to public transportation. Yunho folded the papers and let them drop to his lap. He leaned forward and pulled her into a quick, grateful kiss. She really was too much sometimes. Mingi set the papers and the card on the coffee table before he pulled her into his lap.

“I love you so much more than I can say,” he said as he held her face in his hands, keeping her looking at him.

“I can’t wait to go to the city with my two favorite people,” she beamed at him. “We are going to have so much fun.”

Mingi sighed and kissed the tip of her nose. Her expression was like sunshine and he felt a little quiver in his chest as his heart skipped a beat. She was always pretty and just looking at her could move him, but her grin, how it made her eyes sparkle and how her lips quirked just that way sometimes hit him like a freight train and he could feel the breath be sucked from his lungs. In those moments he knew pure joy and a gut churning fear all at once. It was the thing that made him sure he could endure anything mixed with the, perhaps irrational, fear that it could all disappear.

Yunho read the expression on Mingi’s face and gave him a reassuring kiss on his cheek. He knew that expression, that mix of contradicting emotions which sometimes washed over him. He trusted it more, trusted that it wouldn’t disappear, but in his worst moments he still had those flashes of doubt that he could be that lucky, that people could really love him that deeply, and no matter what might come. Yunho leaned his head against the side of Mingi’s head, silently reassuring him with his presence, his faith.

“Mingi, love, why don’t you open what Yunho got you?” She suggested, running a reassuring hand over his chest. Mingi nodded, taking his eyes from her face but keeping her in his arms. Yunho passed him the wrapped box he had put under the tree, letting it rest in her lap as Mingi began to rip at the paper. 

Mingi laughed happily when he saw what was inside. The gift wasn’t the most expensive thing he had gotten that holiday, but it was one of the most thoughtful ones. With his old headphones wearing down from his constant use of them, it was something that showed how much Yunho paid attention to Mingi’s daily life and the things that made it better. He set the box on the coffee table with the papers and guided Yunho’s lips to his in a soft and grateful kiss.

“You like them?” Yunho said self consciously. “I know your old ones are starting to become unusable so I thought—”

“I love them,” Mingi interrupted. “And I’ll think of you everytime I use them.”

“I’m glad you like them,” Yunho gave him a blushing grin.

“Okay, now it’s our girl’s turn,” Mingi excitedly reached for the small package of his gift and placed it in her lap. He had wrapped it in silver paper covered in little white and grey snowflakes. She made a little cooing noise as she admired the pretty wrapping before she found the tape keeping it closed on the back side.

“Just rip it,” Mingi teased, poking at her.

“Fine,” She pouted slightly before complying and gently ripping at the wrapping. Under it she found a simple white matte box, which she carefully righted before opening it to see what was inside. There, she found the little silver and pearl choker he had bought for her a couple of weeks before break.

“Oh, it’s beautiful,” she commented, running her fingers over the small lines of seed pearls. The central panel, a square frame with a bright eight armed star in it’s center, sparkled in the low light. She carefully lifted it out of the box to better examine it, twisting it in her hand to admire the way the little crystals glinted and glimmered. She loved the elegant beauty of it, though she really couldn’t imagine what occasion she might have to justify wearing it.

“Can I put it on you?” Mingi asked, an excited glimmer in his eye.

“If you want,” she nodded, lifting her hair off her neck to make it easier. Mingi fed the necklace around her neck and brought the two sides together in the back, carefully working the fastening closed.

“Let me see,” Mingi said, leaning back slightly. She dropped her hands, letting her hair flow down her back again and turned to let him admire his gift on her. Though it hid slightly in the folds of the collar of her robe, the cream, sliver, and bright glint of the rhinestones looked remarkable against her skin. He loved it on her and he loved that it was his gift sitting there. It marked her as his at the same time it was a statement of his love of her.

“That is beautiful, Mingi,” Yunho praised from beside them. He lifted her chin slightly to get a clearer look at it, but also to admire how the angle exposed her neck. “It’s perfect for our girl.”

“What about yours,” Mingi reminded him, hugging her tightly in his arms. 

“Here,” Yunho handed her the small blue box, tied with a white satin bow. It was long and less than an inch thick and slightly heavy in hand. She lifted it curiously and gave it a light shake, enjoying the sound of whatever it was shifting along with the slight crinkle of tissue paper. Pulling at one end of the ribbon, she undid the bow and tossed the scrap of satin off to the side. She lifted the lid off the box and folded the layer of tissue paper to the side. The hair comb, finally revealed, reflected the flickering of the fire and the color of the lights off the curves of it’s decorative scrolls and long tines.

“It’s a comb you can use to keep your hair up,” Yunho explained, pulling it off the pillow of tissues in the box.

“It’s lovely,” she took it from his hands and turned it over in her hands. “It’s real silver isn’t it?” She had taken note of the little makers' marks that had been impressed into the metal near the base of the crest.

“Yeah,” Yunho nodded, nervously watching her reaction. “I saw it and I could just picture it on you. It would look so pretty in your hair.”

“Thank you,” she pulled his face to hers and gave him a slow sweet kiss. “It’s perfect. Practical, elegant, and thoughtful.”

“Can I put your hair up with it?” Yunho proposed. “I want to see it on you.”

“Of course,” she nodded, and started to get up. “I’ll go grab my brush.”

“I can grab it,” Yunho stopped her and hopped up himself, dashing down the hall to get it. He found it on the counter and caught sight of himself in the mirror. After the long trip home he looked a little tired and his hair was a little bit of a mess, but if you couldn’t look a little like a disaster at home, what was the point?

He headed back into the living room to find her and Mingi cuddling under the tree together. They looked precious, her small form enveloped in his long arms. Mingi’s face had a peaceful relaxation to his features that had been missing the whole holiday back with their families. Their inability to be themselves there had impacted them more than they would have guessed it would have. Afterall, six months ago that was their reality full time, but what a difference those few months had made. Home didn’t quite feel like home anymore now that they had been able to live as themselves, fully and openly.

Mingi turned, catching Yunho in his gaze and flashing the other boy a smile. Yunho moved forward and joined them again. She shifted to sit between his legs, giving him her back so he could brush her hair. He really loved when she let him play with her hair. He loved caring for her and taking little moments where he could just touch her without it leading to something. Even when it often did, he had to admit. He ran the brush through her locks, carefully removing the tangles before he started gathering it up towards the crown of her head. Twisting her hair into a bun, he gently fed the comb through the knot to secure it.

“Let me see,” Yunho put a hand on her shoulder, urging her to turn to face him. Turning where she sat, she looked up at him through her lashes, keeping her head slightly down to make sure that he could see the comb and his handiwork.

“Is it pretty?” She asked him.

“It’s nothing compared to you,” he responded, capturing her lips and lifting her face up to his. Her lips were soft and warm under his, tasting slightly of apple. He wanted her, he wanted them, and felt like it had been almost forever since he had been able to touch them without looking over his shoulder.

“Do you both want to unwrap the last present since you have both given me your gifts now?” She suggested, pulling away from him.

“Are we unwrapping you?” Mingi sounded excited as he drew up behind her.

“Yep,” she wagged her eyebrows at him playfully. Mingi’s face split into an excited grin that extended up to his eyes, making them into little joyful crescents. She stood up and grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch, spreading it out on the floor in front of the fireplace. She knelt down on the floor and crooked her finger at her boys, inviting them to join her. They hurried to join her, each taking a side.

Mingi’s hands went to the tie at the front of her terry cloth robe, pulling at it until it was untied. Yunho’s hands went to the front of the robe, pulling open the sides to reveal what was underneath. He slid the robe off her shoulders with Mingi’s help, and tossed it off to the side. She knelt between them in the silver satin set and the gifts they had given her. Somehow it almost looked like they were meant to be together, a symphony of silver and pearl. She knew how to present herself in a way that made it clear she was giving all of herself to them.

“You look so pretty,” Mingi let his eyes flow over the cascade of silver colored satin the draped her curves. “You are my favorite present of the year.”

Yunho laughed but had to agree, her invitation to intimacy tonight was the best gift he could have imagined. “You look perfect, but I’m feeling a little overdressed.”

“You are,” she chuckled. “But I think you could probably help each other with that.”

Yunho caught Mingi’s eyes over her head at the suggestion. He raised an eyebrow to the other boy, as if to ask, what do you think. Mingi gave him a little nod and they both scooted forward to stand before her, where they could reach each other and make quick work of their clothing. Mingi blushed as he looked into Yunho’s warm eyes, enjoying the desire that was lighting them from behind. Yunho leaned forward and brushed his lips over the sharp angle of Mingi’s cheekbones, feeling the heat of the blush that covered them.

“I’ve missed you like this,” Yunho told him as he pulled him against him. The line of their lean bodies matched, hip to hip, where Yunho’s large hand held the two of them together. He could feel the soft bulge of Mingi’s half hardened erection press against him and gave it a teasing rub of his own hip against it.

Mingi let out a small groan and put his broad hands on Yunho’s biceps. “You’re such a tease.”

“And you love it,” Yunho said proudly.

“Shut up,” Mingi laughed, moving his hands to the hem of Yunho’s black t-shirt.

“So impatient,” Yunho teased, but still lifted his arms over his head to let Mingi pull his shirt off him. The sight of Yunho’s bare chest sent a shock of pleasure through Mingi. He loved the perfect, soft, lean muscle of his body. Ever so slightly bulkier than Mingi’s own, he loved the naturally muscular body of the other boy. He simultaneously wanted his own body to be more like that and wanted to luxuriate in the exploration of it. His fingers brushed over the hollow in Yunho’s collarbone, a silly smile on his face as he did.

“Here,” Yunho reached for the buttons on the front of Mingi’s white button up shirt and made quick and nimble work of them. He slid it down off Mingi’s broad shoulders, kissing along his neck to the tip of his shoulder on one side as he did. Mingi let the shirt drop before bringing his hands to tangle in Yunho’s messy locks as his lips moved over his body.

Keeping his lips on Mingi’s body, his fingers dropped to the button on his jeans. Yunho flicked open the button and slid the zipper down. His fingers slipped in the waistband of Mingi’s jeans and boxers, slowly lowering them over his narrow hips. When the cloth fell, pooling at his ankles, Yunho’s hands moved to cup the small tight muscles of Mingi’s butt.

Mingi stepped out of his pants and pulled back enough to be able to see as his hands worked to remove Yunho’s as well. Yunho stepped out of his pants as well as Mingi’s fingers tickled along the fine, muscular v of muscle where his stomach became his hips and more.

“You look so good,’’ he told Yunho, not able to meet his eyes as he complimented him.

“So do you, my love,” Yunho hooked a finger under Mingi’s chin, lifting his face to meet his. Mingi shrugged shyly, not sure how to answer, when he felt like he wasn’t nearly as beautiful as his two partners.

“You’re both beautiful,” she said from where she still sat on her heels in front of the fireplace. When Mingi turned, she was looking at them both with such admiration he could almost believe it himself. She motioned for them to come back, reaching out for Mingi first as he came close. Sitting beside her, he admired the soft curves of her body and the grace of her limbs as she touched him. Her gaze followed her fingers as they danced over his chest and collarbone, then moved up to brush an errant lock of hair off his forehead.

“I love your face,” she said softly, cupping his cheek. “It makes me so happy just to look at you.”

“When you look at me like that,” he softened at her smile. “I feel like I could do anything.”

“Let’s start with unwrapping our gift just a little bit more,” Yunho suggested. Mingi eagerly agreed, his hand slipping in under the hem of the tank top to tickle at her waist before lifting it. Yunho helped from the other side as they slid it up and over her head, careful not to catch it on the comb or necklace. They were surprised by the light lace bralet she wore underneath, but not unpleasantly so. The triangles of delicate lace cupped her breasts, only barely hiding her nipples behind their gauzy fabric. Mingi’s fingers traced over the seam that ran down the center of one before cupping her breast and giving her nipple a brush with his thumb.

“I don’t know if I should be frustrated by the layers or if I like the surprise of it,” Yunho joked from the other side, running the fingers of one hand along the thin strap that held it up. She came to her knees and hooked her thumbs in the elasticized band of the silken shorts and slowly slid them down to reveal the satin and lace thong beneath.

“Just a little more,” she admitted with a giggle as she saw Mingi’s Adams’s Apple bob in his throat as he swallowed past the arousal that was filling him. Between her teasing lace lingerie and Yunho’s beautiful naked body visible just past her, he felt surrounded by temptations.

She stood up to step out of the shorts and Mingi took her gently by the hips, turning her standing body to face him, and brought his mouth to the dimple of her belly button. He mouthed the soft skin there, nipping the skin of her belly as his fingers tightened to dig into the cushion of her hips. Behind her, Yunho took the opportunity to splay his hands over the roundness presented to him, perfectly framed by the thin straps of her thong underwear.

Yunho pulled the panties down and off while she stood, not wanting to wait much longer and taking advantage of the ease the position offered for doing so. He helped her step out of them before he slid two long fingers into the crook of her thighs. Her knees twitched as he teased her lips, spreading the moisture already pooling there. He licked his fingers clean, then set to work unhooking the teasing bit of lace she still wore on her torso.

Mingi was still busy licking and tasting the flesh of her stomach as he worked himself lower to the juncture of her thighs. Yunho pulled at her, asking her to sit again and she acquiesced, slowly coming to sit between his thighs. She could feel his erection at her back and went to reach for it when he grabbed both her wrists.

“Not yet,” Yunho murmured to her. “Mingi, I’ll hold our girl, you make her scream.” His voice held an uncommon sort of determination and Mingi looked at him a second before nodding and moving to lie on his stomach. Mingi used his hands to adjust her hips to an angle that let him comfortably reach her then pressed her thighs wide. He leaned forward and dragged the tip of his tongue over her spread lips, teasing them and drawing a soft gasp and twitch from her.

As Mingi teased her with kisses along her inner thigh, Yunho took both her wrists in one of his large hands, keeping her from touching either of them. He kept them captive against her chest as he held her against him. Over her shoulder he could see everything that Mingi did to her, loving the intense and pleasurable look he had as he worked up to taking her with his mouth. When he finally gave her clit that first intense brush with the flat of his tongue she tried to arch and let out a low shivering moan.

“Shhhh, love,” he teased, kissing the pinking shell of her ear. “You can’t make it that easy on him. He’s barely touched you and you’re already going to scream for him? Can’t have that. Let’s keep your mouth busy.”

He parted her lips with the fingers of his other hand, slipping two fingers into her mouth up to the second knuckle and pressing down lightly on her tongue. The intrusion forced her to suck on his fingers with each swallow as well as kept her facing to where Mingi lay between her thighs. She whimpered around his fingers, giving them periodic sucks to keep the drool that threatened to pool in her mouth from dripping out.

Mingi looked up at the two of them as Yunho held her gently captive and muzzled, a haze of arousal darkening his deep brown eyes. Her eyes met his as his tongue played along her folds. She looked dazed, almost drugged by pleasure, her lips puckered around the other boys fingers in a way that made him think of them taking in other things. Mingi watched as he locked his lips around her clit gave it a gentle and sustained suck. She squirmed as much as she was allowed under his touch, her thighs fighting against his hands to press closer around his head. Her mouth went momentarily slack and a small drop of saliva escaped before she could swallow it. The look of her powerless against the pleasure they were giving her together made him almost painfully hard and he threw himself into pleasing her. He ate at her body, sucking at her most sensitive bits and thrusting his tongue in her tight entrance until she came apart underneath him with a force that left her quivering in its aftermath.

Mingi pulled back and came to his knees between her thighs before wiping the moisture off his face, watching her squirm, still moaning around Yunho’s fingers in her mouth. The other boy only pulled them out, also releasing her hands at the same time, as she started to recover,  already relaxing again under his grip. He wiped her damp chin and the skin of her chest, where a small spot of drool had developed near where he had kept her hands captive. She swallowed and leaned her head back against Yunho’s shoulder as she caught her breath.

“Are you ready for more, love,” Mingi asked, running a hand over her shoulder.

“I wanted to try something,” she said as she nodded in response. “What would you think of maybe having you both in me at the same time?”

Yunho and Mingi shared a look, blinking for a second at each other. Of course they had thought about it, fantasized about the possibility, but they hadn’t wanted to ask. Not only hadn’t they approached the idea of doing it together, they hadn’t even tried something more than mostly vanilla sex with her.

“We don’t have to,” she followed up quickly when it seemed like the silence stretched on.

“No,” Yunho rushed to assure her. “It’s just...are you sure?”

“Why wouldn’t I want to?” She looked up at him with eyes that seemed oddly innocent given the circumstances.

“Well, I mean,” Mingi said nervously. “You’re sort of small and we’re a lot to take all at once.”

“We can try it at least,” she suggested. “If it doesn’t work then we don’t have to, but I want to feel you both.”

“Alright,” Yunho agreed, swallowing past his own nervousness. “Do you want to move back to the bedroom?”

“I kind of want to stay here,” she replied. “It’s warm and this is sort of still part of Christmas. It feels right with the tree and stuff.”

“Mingi, can you grab the things we need from the bedroom?” Yunho requested. “Maybe including some pillows.” Mingi nodded, half jogging down the hall to their bedroom. He opened the bedside table and pulled out his favorite lube and a couple of condoms, something that had made it easier his first time with Yunho. Grabbing an armful of pillows, he scurried out to the living room. They were still waiting where he had left them with Yunho holding her against his chest.

Butterflies fluttered in his stomach as Mingi came near. He tossed the pillows on the side of the blanket nearest the fireplace and put the condom and lube near Yunho’s leg before taking a seat in front of her.

“How do we start?” She sat up a little straighter and ran her palms down her legs, revealing the niggling anxiety she had bubbling inside her.

“Let’s lie down,” Yunho put a guiding hand on her shoulder, bringing her to lie on her side with a pillow under her head. Mingi lay down on the other side, face to face with her, giving her a shy, reassuring smile. Yunho stretched out behind her, putting a hand on her hip as he pulled himself closer.

“Hi,” Mingi said somewhat stupidly as he looked into her eyes.

“Hi,” she giggled back. “Would you kiss me?” Mingi nodded, scooting towards her until his face lay beside hers on the pillow. He lifted her top leg to rest on his hip and put a hand on her ribs as he leaned in to take her lips. 

While Mingi kept her distracted, Yunho tried to figure out where he wanted to start. He had to take it slow, test the waters. He waited, watching as they kissed, their lips moving with an unhurried stupor. She relaxed under Mingi’s touch in the flickering of the firelight and Yunho let his hands wander to the curve of her hips. As his hand moved to cup the curve of her ass, she pulled away, turning slightly to look at him.

“Just relax,” Yunho urged. “Kiss our boy but promise you’ll tell me if I do something that hurts or just doesn’t feel good.” She nodded and moved back to Mingi, letting Yunho slowly touch her. Mingi pulled her closer, pressing her chest to his as he explored her mouth more deeply. He knew to distract her, keep her relaxed and feeling good, it would help make everything else easier.

Yunho cupped her flesh, spreading her cheeks and letting his fingertips tease along the smoothness there. She reacted to his touch without breaking the kiss, flinching a little before relaxing into his touch. Yunho took a little of the lube on his fingers, spreading it liberally around her. She let out a slightly tense chuckle and pulled her lips from Mingi’s.

“Maybe we shouldn’t,” Yunho sighed, taking his hand back. “We can do it another night.”

“No, no,” she insisted. “I’m just nervous and it kind of tickles. Just keep going.” Yunho nodded, letting his fingers return to test the tenseness of her body as he kept his eyes on her face, trying to read her expression. Her eyebrows raised slightly as he pressed against the tight ring of muscle, but she didn’t pull back. She let out a deliberate breath and closed her eyes, concentrating on the feel.

“Does it feel alright,” he asked, keeping his fingers moving gently as he felt her loosen up a fraction.

“Yeah,” she nodded, but didn’t move otherwise, finding it hard to stay relaxed if she did. “I feel like I don’t tease you nearly enough about having big hands.” 

Yunho couldn’t help but laugh at her timely sense of humor. “Big hands? Love, I have big everything.”

“Oh, I know,” she gave a deep, breathy chuckle. “Just realizing it for totally new reasons all over again.”

“Here,” he pressed forward, getting one fingertip inside her. “How is that?”

“Mmmm, good,” she nodded and her muscles fluttered around the intrusion. “Keep going.”

“Yunho is always gentle,” Mingi assured her, kissing her forehead and stroking her upper arm.

“You both are,” she put a hand on Mingi’s chest and pressed a gentle kiss to the tip of his nose. Yunho continued to move as Mingi playfully covered her face in little kisses until she was left a mess of testing pleasure and giggles.

When he could comfortably scissor two fingers inside her, ever so slowly, he decided he had prepared her as well as he could. He slid the condom on and covered it with lube before laying himself down against her back, positioning himself to enter her. Teasing his head at her entrance, he used his hand to steady her hips.

“Ready?” Yunho asked tenderly.

“Yeah,” she confirmed. “Please.”

Mingi looked over her shoulder at Yunho as he lay on the other side of her. His face was tense with concentration as he slowly pushed inside.  He sucked in a breath through his nose, taking in her scent and taking in the moment as he drew close to being fully inside her. She was still tight, but gave no sign of discomfort.

“How does it feel?” Mingi asked, looking at both of them.

“Good,” she answered. Behind her Yunho only nodded. He felt himself twitch in anticipation, still not sure if he should move yet.

“Should I...what should I do?” Mingi asked them, his hand massaging her waist slightly. 

“Let me move a little,” Yunho’s voice was tight. “Just to make sure it feels alright with just me.” Mingi nodded and looked to her as he felt Yunho shift in preparation to flex his body for the first time. She moved at the sensation of him pulling out half way, her eyes widening and breath catching in her throat.

“It’s okay?” Mingi asked, a worried look flashing across his face. Behind her Yunho stopped in response.

“I like it,” she let out a giddy sound and Yunho felt relief wash over him. “What’s next?”

“Always so eager,” Yunho teased her from behind but sent a look to Mingi over her, giving him the go-ahead to try and enter her from the other side. Mingi adjusted the leg she had draped over his hip, having to move up slightly to be in the right place and at the right angle. She was left between them, the top of her head reaching just past their chins, seeming so small between them. Her hands went to rest on Mingi’s chest, moving with a jittery energy as she waited for him to enter her. 

Mingi’s fingers moved to touch between her legs, making sure she was still slick enough for him to enter her comfortably. His fingers brushed over her sensitive clit, making her twitch and clench slightly with her whole body. Yunho let out a groan and bit his lip. Mingi wasn’t sure if he ought to apologize for accidentally teasing, but he couldn’t deny he liked the face that Yunho made in reaction. Mingi positioned himself and slowly penetrated into her body. She made a little breathy oh and Yunho’s eyes widened, a look of surprise coming over him.

“I can feel you,” Yunho breathed. His hand moved down to splay over her lower stomach, almost as if to test if he could feel Mingi invading her from both sides. Mingi pushed forward until he was completely inside. A shiver rode down his spine. She was usually pleasantly tight around him, but he could feel how much Yunho had already filled her. It was strange, Mingi had to admit, feeling both of them at the same time.

“How does it feel?” Yunho questioned both of them before directing a more pointed question to her. “Do you feel okay?”

“I feel so full,” she said slowly. “I want you to move.” Mingi nodded in agreement, putting his upper arm over her to hold Yunho’s hips behind her. Together, they tentatively moved, feeling the other through the thin wall of her body as they did. Within a few thrusts, the boys had managed to find an easy, synchronised rhythm. It was a strange and intimate pleasure that built between them. When they made love together it was always all three of them doing it together, chasing satisfaction as three parts of a whole. But this, this was somehow different. Between the way they could all feel each other at the same time and the way her body hugged them all the tighter with both of them inside it was a whole new experience.

Mingi would have sworn nothing could have felt this good. His hips stuttered in their movement and he felt the stroke of Yunho’s cock move along him through her body. It sent a thrill through him and his hand spasmed, gripping Yunho with enough strength to draw a hiss from the other boy. Mingi apologized, holding himself still in her as he struggled not to just let himself go.

“Mingi, baby,” she said from between them, feeling the tenseness suddenly suffusing him. “You can move. You can let go.”

“Don’t want to hurt you,” he shook his head.

“I’m okay,” she insisted. “It feels so good; just let go.”

“It’s okay,” Yunho echoed from behind her. Both the boys let go, finding tempos that only occasionally matched, but each sent bliss cascading through her body. Mingi reached his orgasm first, the excitement and novel sensations proving difficult for him to resist for terribly long. He spent himself deep inside of her, his cock twitching as he released the pent up cum that felt like it had been building up in him for weeks. He stayed inside her, enjoying the near overstimulation of Yunho stroking against him through her.

Reaching between them, Mingi began to stimulate her, hoping to bring her again though he hadn’t been able to wait for her. Her breathing quickened and he could feel Yunho thrusting still, though he was getting less steady in his movements. Around his softening erection Mingi felt her walls flutter and knew she was getting close.

“Come for me, love,” he begged, loving his fingers against her. “I’m sorry I didn’t last long enough.”

“‘s okay,” she panted, her breath hitching as the pleasure the boys were giving her began to overflow in her. “‘m so close.” Her words had taken on a lazy slur and her skin shimmered in the low light, having developed a fine sheen of sweat, sandwiched warmly between the two boys. Mingi moved his fingers faster and ground upwards with his pelvis.

Yunho moved faster in her, chasing his pleasure, knowing that she was close. He no longer felt the tight squeeze of sharing her body with the full, hard erection of Mingi, but she still hugged him tightly as he moved. The softness of her ass against his hips along with the light slap of flesh against flesh was heavenly. She let out a moan and her legs twitched and straightened as her muscles tried to flex when the pleasure washed over her. The pulse of her internal muscles finally pushed Mingi out of her body and Yunho felt the odd sensation of them squeezing, though not around him as they usually did. He felt them flutter against the base of his cock as he continued to thrust in her from behind. Seating himself as deeply in her as he could and tucking her tightly against his chest, Yunho came, filling the condom in long spurts.

Though he wanted to stay like that for as long as she would have allowed, he carefully pulled himself out and removed the condom along with him. She let out a sound of surprise and quivered again as he removed himself. Suddenly, it felt as though she was emptier than she had ever been and she struggled with the need to pull them closer to make up for it. It was an odd and overwhelming feeling after such an intense experience. Mingi started to pull away, just to get up and start cleaning the mess they made since he had had the most time to recover, but she caught him, her fingers clawing at him with their confused desperation.

“Don’t go,” she told him with a muffled distress, the tone catching the ears of both boys. Mingi scooted close to her again and sent a look to Yunho, still panting behind her.

“Everything okay?” he breathed, rubbing his palm over her chest.

“Yeah, yeah,” she said a little too fast and with too high a pitch to her voice.

“Babe,” Mingi’s hand went to her face, stroking the backs of his knuckles over her cheek. “Were we too rough? Does something hurt?”

“No,” she was quick to object. “I don’t know how to explain it. I just...don’t want to feel alone.” The boys looked at each other, blinking at her somewhat baffling answer.

“We’re right here,” Yunho soothed, giving her an extra squeeze as he did. “We just wanted to clean up a little, love.”

“I know,” She admitted, looking down a little.

“If I promise not to let you go,” Yunho proposed. “Can we move into the bath?”

After a moment she let her fingers drop from where they clung to Mingi and she nodded. Without a word, Mingi slipped away to start running the bath. Yunho held her, tucking her body tightly against his in the moment he gave Mingi to get things started in their bathroom. He rocked her gently, slipping his other arm under and around her as he whispered words of love into the quiet room. Finally he could feel her relax against him a little and he decided it was best to carry her to the bathroom, rather than ask her to walk back there with him. Standing up, he lifted her into his arms, facing him with her legs wrapped around his waist. She looped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his neck as he made his way down the hall.

The tub was half full by the time they got there and Mingi was in the shower rinsing himself off quickly. He poked his head out when he heard Yunho enter, still worried about their girl. Yunho stepped carefully into the large tub and lounged against the back of the tub as best he could, still holding her tightly against him. She didn’t say anything, but ever so slowly began to settle down in his arms until she seemed to almost go slack. Yunho gently dribbled water down her back where it was above the line of the water, trying to gently wash her without disturbing her.

Mingi, having finished his shower and gotten them all something warm to drink, returned to find her draped over Yunho’s chest as he carefully cupped water onto her back. Mingi set the drinks down, offering one to Yunho before kneeling down on the tiles beside the tub. Yunho, more thirsty than he had thought, downed a few gulps before passing the cup back to Mingi. Unencumbered by another body on him, Mingi decided it would be easiest for him to help by washing her as much as he could without disturbing her. He sponged down her back and along her upper arms, surprised that she didn’t really react, even to look at him.

Is she asleep, Mingi mouthed, catching Yunho’s eyes. Yunho placed his palm against her back to feel the rhythm of her breathing. It was slow and steady, seeming to indicate that she had, indeed, fallen asleep against him.

“What should we do?” Yunho asked, trying to get a view of her face, though it was tucked tightly in against the crook of his neck.

“Get her clean and tuck her in bed, I guess,” Mingi shrugged. Yunho could only agree, letting his hand move under the water to the apex of her thighs to swish and rinse her clean as best he could from that angle. She didn’t move as he gave her a light wash, only protesting slightly when he shifted her to pass her to Mingi who wrapped her wet body in one of their towels.

Mingi placed her in their bed and tucked her in under the covers before climbing in beside her. He pulled the comb out of her hair and slipped the necklace from her neck, putting both of them on the bedside table for the night. He spiraled her hair up and over the pillows in the hopes of keeping it out of the way for the night. Yunho emerged from the bathroom, clean and dry as Mingi finally settled down, spooning against her side. Yunho turned out the lights then joined them, pulling the covers high over all of them.

“Thank you for giving us so much,” Yunho whispered to her in the dark. “Thank you for giving all of yourself to us.” On the other side of her, Mingi gently nuzzled her cheek, giving it a little kiss before closing his eyes. Yunho reached across her, taking one of Mingi’s hand in his before finally letting his own eyes close. 

Masterlist

[snkpolls]

SnK Episode 65 Poll Results (for Manga Readers)

The poll closed with 318 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that these are the results for the Manga Readers’ poll. If you wish to see the results for the Anime Only Watchers’ poll, click here.

--

RATE THE EPISODE 309 Responses

Overall the episode was a hit with viewers, with the majority ranking it a 4 or higher. Over half of all respondents rating it a solid 5. The hype is real!

I thought this was a great episode. A lot of hype moments and the CGI worked for me, for the most part. Looking forward to the next episode!

All around exceeded my expectations if mappa keeps this up this will go down as the best anime in history

Chef's KISS!!! 10/10 episode, i was extremely hyped the entire time. 

It was amazing and I hope MAPPA keeps up with the same quality for future episodes

Amazing episode really hype

I thought the voice acting was amazing! :)

Great episode, not perfect but neither was WIT. No adaptation is perfect. This was fantastic.

It was pretty good just maybe good have been done better but I’m just happy it was done at all.

I’ve lowered my expectations to rock bottom at this point

An enjoyable time.

I think it was great! I was very excited and left me wanting more tbh

It was a very good episode!! I'm so happy to see the survey corps again!

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING MOMENTS WAS YOUR FAVORITE? 310 Responses

Mikasa’s reintroduction to the series takes the largest piece of the pie, with 31.6% enjoying the scene the most. In second comes the coordinated attack from the Survey Corps against Porco, with 14.8% feeling that scene really brings the hype. At 10.3%, Levi’s first appearance in the season takes 3rd place, and with 9.7% is the overall fight between Eren and the War Hammer Titan.

Ackermans ran this episode as they should. They're on a whole different level. 

Why isn't the Sasha-Gabi moment in the list of favourite moments? That's my actually favourite moment. Gabi seeing Sasha through the fire and smoke, Sasha's reflection in her eyes...chilling.

THE CGI CONTINUES TO BE A POINT OF CONTENTION. BE HONEST, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE EXECUTION OF CGI SO FAR THIS SEASON? 309 Responses

In general, the fandom appears to be understanding of MAPPA’s usage of CGI, with 38.2% being completely unbothered by it, 20.1% feeling that while it’s not ideal, it could be much worse, and 18.8% not particularly caring for it but not faulting MAPPA for it either. A handful of people just wish that there would be more appreciation that it’s getting animated at all, while others continue to be a bit salty about the usage of CGI this season.

Did people forgot the god-awful Colossal titan's CGI from WIT? Well, I didn't so I wasn't surprised by the same level of CGI in Eren's scene (thankfully just one of them). I rarely have issue with CGI in SnK except for truly awful looking ones so like couple of times in the season, usually. 

I honestly wouldn't even know there's CGI if everyone wasn't complaining about it. I honest to god can't see where they use it.

It's mostly fine

I thought the war hammer titan looked AMAZING, the only CGI that looked odd was the scouts in the background, but that’s really it...?

A few sore spots (e.g. Erens titan looked kinda off this ep), but it's not season-ruining yet. 

CGI Titans >>>>>>>> CGI Survey Corps

It works fine for titans that already look somewhat mechanical (Armor, Jaw), but it looks incredibly awkward for the others, to the point of taking me out of the story. 

Sometimes great sometimes shit

Maybe I've been spoiled by studio orange and the previous seasons, but I know for a fact that they can do better. This is not a new anime, this is the final season of one of the greatest anime of all time, so yeah I expected much better CGI, it was poor and unecessary.

i think it’s gr8/unnoticeable,,,,,like we all put up with the colossal titan in s1-3 lmao

Some Titans like Eren and Beast look a little weird but I just really like how they made effort to make it blend with the art style. Maybe if they had found a way to cut the animation down to 12fps it might not look so bad? Anyways I think it’s good for what it is, MAPPA is doing their best!

I barely noticed it. The animation looks BOMB. Top 5 episodes of the whole series for me and BEST action episode of AOT easily.

I'm always going to prefer 2D but I understand why they're using it. Still sad about what could've been if they were given enough time to work on the season. Definitely going to lower my expectations.

My dumbass wouldn't even notice, I just want to see the pretty people

I think the CGI for the Titans is completely fine. It's the CGI for the Scouts that was a bit off putting for me. Still, not enough to ruin the episode. And if we continue to get animation of this standard I will be fine with it. 

At this point after episode 7 onward eventually AOT CGI is going to be worst than EX-arm's CGI 

I love it because it makes the titans scarier and more eerie? I also miss the 2D ones because they feel more natural. Overall, I think it's fine!

I think the CGi is well executed (for the most part), I just don't like that they had to use it so much.

It's a great job. They manage to execute it very well and go to a normal animation when it's needed. It doesn't bother me tbh

HOW WAS EREN’S ROOFTOP SWAN DIVE? 309 Responses

Eren’s dive in the anime was a bit different than in the manga, but it seemed to get a few laughs out of the fandom, so we asked you all to rank it. 58.3% felt it was the most beautiful dive to have ever dived, while only 5.5% think Eren really needs to work on his form. He did his best.

WHICH RETURNING CHARACTER’S ENTRANCE WAS YOUR FAVORITE IN THIS EPISODE? 310 Responses

Mikasa stole the show this episode, with 53.5% enjoying her entrance the most. Levi wasn’t too far behind though, with 29% of respondents hyped over his return. 11.6% were very happy to see Sasha again, while smaller chunks were glad to see Jean and Connie.

They massacred my Jean-boy’s entrance 🥲

WHICH RETURNING CHARACTER HAS THE BEST MAPPA-STYLE GLOW UP? 304 Responses

We got a more colorful and evened out pie for this question. Overall the largest chunk, at 24.3%, are enjoying MAPPA’s take on Eren’s iconic “hobo chic” look. 21.1% think Sasha looks the best out of all of them, while Mikasa trails just behind her at 20.1%. 16.1% are grateful for Connie’s design, leaving 9.5% favoring Jean, and smaller handfuls appreciating MAPPA’s take on Levi and Floch.

Chubby Floch

Here I am watching the trailer all over again because that's probably the only way to see Jean animated handsome and with his actual manga face. MAPPA what happened?

Levi has a thicc ass

I’m a big fan of all the time skip character designs, it was hard to pick just one favourite :) 

Jean looked stupid... Floch too but that's not important.

OG characters designs feels a bit off to me. I understand why they use CG for some parts and I have mixed emotions about it. I hope they won't rely on it too much on the upcoming episodes.

#ITSTIMEMIKASA WAS TRENDING ON TWITTER BEFORE THE EPISODE AIRED. ON A SCALE OF 1-5, HOW MUCH DID IT LIVE UP TO THE HYPE? 304 Responses

One of the most anticipated scenes of the Marley arc was the return of the Survey Corps and the way Mikasa paves the path for their reintroduction. The fandom appears to be very happy with MAPPA’s execution of the scene, with 60.9% of respondents rating it with a 5, with 27% rating it a 4. 

EEEEEEEEEEK MIKASA

Mikasa! Mikasa! Gosh love her!

im so glad mikasa is back owfejgrnrkdfs

MAPPA INCLUDED FILLER AT THE BEGINNING OF THE EPISODE OF WILLY HESITANTLY DEPARTING FROM HIS TEARFUL FAMILY. WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE ADDITION? 310 Responses

The series isn’t known for having too much filler, but typically what filler does exist seems to be appreciated by the fandom, and this was no exception. 56.8% of respondents were happy for a little more fleshing out of Willy’s character (also learning that those kids were his!) and being able to sympathize more with him. 19.7% appreciated the more sympathetic addition until they remembered he was willing to throw Liberio under the bus for his plan. 13.5% are appreciative of any and all additional Willy content. A small amount didn’t like the filler and would rather have had MAPPA put their effort into other things. 

I liked it. Got to see more of his fine ass. lmao

Don't add extra 2d animation if You can't even handle what's in the manga

It would've been better to show before he was dead. Fleshing him out after the audience already know he's dead doesn't hit as much imo

Wasn't one of the scene itself, but then again I'm always interested in scenes I haven't seen yet.

I am so grateful, willy for is one of my favourites and omg we got to see his family and how is he a lovely papa 😭💕 I can't ask for more bless you MAPPA🤘

fuck them kids

Why should we feel bad for him? He tried to unite the world against Paradis. He got what he deserved.

this was a benefit. as manga readers, we had time to know willy. anime onlies will only ever have these 2-3 episodes and it was very humanizing

How is that possible that Tybur little kids in few seconds were louder nad more chaotic than THE WHOLE CITY DURING THE ATTACK??

It's very regrettable he left so many children fatherless because of what he chose to do. Really saddening..

I’d have rather seen more of the manga animated 

I knew why they added it, but I (personally) think willy is crud. Not mad it's there tho!

He did his duty as a Tybur to the very end. Honestly I wish he could have lived longer, he’s a really compelling and interesting character.

I feel like some viewers have carelessly misunderstood Willy because of that scene in the carriage. They're like 'wow, he really hates and shames his own people huh?' but at the beginning of the episode we all saw his abundance of children. Would it not have been extremely contradictory if he had truly wanted the extinction of all Eldians and then at the same time did the complete opposite by mass-reproducing a small army of Eldian children? Maybe that's why that scene was added to the start of the episode, to keep people away from mischaracterising him. Unfortunately, this may have simply been missed or overlooked by some. 

they should had polish the damn episode instead of fillers.

Loved it! Mappa is killing it with the episode additions 

Reading the manga, I truly didn't even consider the possibility that these were Willy's children because he is so obviously a ~*bachelor*~. Like, it didn't even cross my mind that those children weren't his little nieces and nephews because he is suuuuch a Theater Gay. Nothing can change my mind.

Wait a minute, are these the kids in that ending slide from season 3?

IN THE ORIGINAL CHAPTER 101, MAGATH IS THE ONE WHO ADVOCATES FOR KILLING EREN INSTEAD OF EATING HIM (IN CONTRAST TO HIS SUBORDINATE KOSLOW) AND NOTES THAT “THE AGE OF TITANS IS OVER.” IN THE ADAPTATION, MAGATH INSTEAD ADVOCATES FOR EATING EREN, NOTING THAT KILLING HIM WOULD ONLY PROLONG THE PROBLEM. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE CHANGE? 305 Responses

A minor dialogue change didn’t seem to have much of an effect on nearly half of respondents, with 47.5% saying they’re indifferent to the change. 43.3% like the change much better, feeling that it works a lot better with future story developments and makes more sense. A handful didn’t care for the change and felt it tampered with Magath’s overall characterization. 

I think the change was logical and more consistent with the story, but I'm naturally skeptical of any AOT manga-to-anime change.

I forgot this.

It ovewrites the flaw of Magath's original plan. Even if I think its unfitting of him, it makes sense.

I'm not sure what I feel about it. Kinda like how they added Falco having a dream back in episode 1. For now, let's just see.

I suppose the new change is a little contradictory because Magath dislikes Marley’s reliance on Titan power and rather just wishes th ey had prowess in other ways. 

Realistically eating him makes more sense for them to eat Eren so they gain control of the Founder but I think Magath accepting the age of Titans is now done for is more in character.

It obviously makes more sense logistically, but I think it's important for Magath to stand opposed to Marley national policy on this front, like, symbolically.

BETWEEN UDO AND ZOFIA, WHO WOULD YOU HAVE LIKED TO SURVIVE TO RECEIVE MORE STORY IN THE MANGA? 304 Responses

Though they are minor characters, the anime seems to have made some of the fandom a bit more fond of them. Still, 38.5% wouldn’t change anything about their fates, stating that they were necessary for Gabi to develop further as a character. 28% would rather neither of them died and are curious about how they would have developed if they lived to see another day. 23.7% say if they had to pick only one of them, it would be Udo due to his relevant commentary. A handful leaned toward Zofia, wishing they could have learned more about her. 

Udo. But at the same time Isayama can barely handle all the characters that are still alive so Udo probably wouldn't get a lot of screen time anyway.

Zofia. I didn't care about her while reading the manga, but in the anime she was more unique. I liked her stoic voice a lot. Zofia and Gabi should have switch the places. 

None cus i don't like Gabi

Both or neither. One would be just a third wheel to Gabi and Falco. I would love to see more of Udo and Zofia but I think their deaths were important

Udo and zofia's deaths hurt so bad. I didn't particularly care for either of them when reading the manga but i grown attracted to them in the anime. Udo's in particular breaks me. He was such a energic kid and he... got trampled to death. I'm just...

Neither. Both were serving an enemy nation and deserved what they got.

They weren't important to me so I don't really care

OPINION ON HOW THE ATTACK ON LIBERIO WAS PORTRAYED? 306 Responses

47.1% of respondents didn’t want to pick sides, stating that the attack was tragic in both mediums of the story-telling. 25.8% felt that it was much more devastating in animated form alongside the sound, music and voice acting. 18.3% felt a bigger impact while reading the manga. 

Both versions are devastating, but Manga hit harder bc I just was so confused and couldn't stop trying to figure out wtf Eren was doing and why. Watching it knowing what I know made it somehow more devastating and yet also more palatable (bc I have a better understanding.)

It was more devastating in the manga. Especially Udo's death scene 

I think I have to wait until the battle is over. So far it's alright.

Loved it

It gave me more emotions in the manga. 

They got what they deserved

It was far more devastating in trailer 🙄

WE FINALLY HAVE A NAME FOR LADY TYBUR - LARA! THOUGHTS? 307 Responses

One of the few characters left with no name after the large guidebook released a few years ago, Lady Tybur was all we could call her (aside from fan-given names). Now she has an official name! 26.7% found it neat that we finally got this official detail. 25.4% feel that now they can finally sleep at night. 17.6% are forever grateful for the name drop and hated waiting so long for it. 15.3% don’t care at all and 11.7% feel this confirms that Isayama is a fan of Tomb Raider.

Not what I was expecting and wasn't expecting her to get a name. At least people can stop calling her Emma or those other dumbass meme names.

Cool. Next up: names for the Blouse kids, right? Right right?

I'm not kidding when I say I literally jumped up and screeched "SHE HAS A NAME!!!"

she didn't need it. she was the mysterious lady t. 

Lara was more lucky than Traute, who got more panels in the manga but her name was mentioned only in the guidebook. 

Still died

WHICH SCENE FROM THE PREVIEW ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? 306 Responses

Of all the shots in the preview, 45.1% of respondents were most looking forward to Levi’s staged attack on Zeke. 17% favored seeing Mikasa assist Eren, 15% were most looking forward to seeing Falco emerge from the basement to see the carnage outside. 10.1% were stoked to see Pieck enter the battlefield. The episode has aired as of the publishing of these poll results - we hope these scenes lived up to the hype (even though we guessed one wrong lol).

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?

I enjoyed the episode very much. I felt that the CGI was handled fairly well given the time restraints. However, there were a few instances where it was a bit jarring like Eren eating Willy, Eren pulling the WHT's cord, Mikasa landing on Eren, and Jean climbing up on the roof. Also some of the CGI models looked a bit weird for the scouts. I'm hoping some of these issues can be improved on in the Blue-ray version. Overall, these issues were noticeable but didn't take too much away from my enjoyment of the episode.

As much as I don't like the CGI, episode was great.

Just that it was fantastic and I can't wait for the next one!

The music is top notch. I love it. Especially the new version of XL TT near the end

After re-visiting the trailer we got for this season, it's just....saddening. Everyone was wondering how Mappa was gonna animate AoT and after seeing that trailer, all that effort by the animators, I thought "it's in good hands!". Now that we're getting the episodes and it's underwhelming. I don't blame the Mappa animators at all and cgi is unavoidable at some moments. But whoever are the higher ups who said "animate this in the shortest amount of time" ARE the assholes. It's so upsetting for this anime and the workers of it to be brought down like this :'(

Continuing to enjoy the pictures on the page come to life in the anime.

It was pretty amazing, I was waiting for so long to see this part animated! Aaand I'm so happy I got to see again the scouts! (expecially Connie, my personal fav)

Erwin should had lived instead of Armin, so Erwin can nuke Marley dropping from a blimp

I really liked it! I don't understand all the critics about the animation. It looks really neat and smooth

the SC backlit in that final scene was sickkkkk

It was different from the manga, but all the differences just improved the storytelling and fleshed out the people in Marley. Well done, MAPPA!

aaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

I’m just grateful Mappa actually gives a shit about adapting the story properly. That alone makes this season a 9/10 for me cause that’s rare to see in the anime industry these days.

THE OST WAS FIRE

Gabi's voice acting was amazing this episode ! Also, it feels good to hear the ODM gear sound effect again. The CGI didn't keep me from enjoying the fight, we got awesome camera movements and good choreography, I'm very hopeful for next episode ! Also best boy Onyankopon might appear soon ?

I seriously do not know why people are complaining. It was amazing! Can't wait for the next episodes, it's going to be action-packed and intense!

I don't know if I liked the episode or not. I usually prefer manga so even episodes I like I prefer their manga versions but there is something in off with the episode and usually, Titans fight are more excited but this one Nah it was not at all. War hammer was great in animation it served a better understanding of its powers but the fight, in general, was like boring?? idk maybe because I am a manga reader so the titan power/character's introduction was not as thrilling as they were when I've read the chapters. anyways, there is still more of the attack on liberio in the next episode so I'll give my final thought when we conclude the arc

I really enjoyed and the CGI doesn't bother me.

I think the reason Attack Titan looks a bit off is it looks a bit thinner! Warhammer looks amazing because it's a true copy of the manga. If Attack Titan was a bit buff, I think nobody would have that much of a problem. Overall the chapter is amazing!

as much as i adored everything else i must admit... what is wrong with the character design? what happened to everyone's jaws?? i think jean, mikasa and pieck were the worst drawn. in the manga, they look flawless. 

I just hope we would get actual discussions in the sub instead of circle jerking or bitching about the cgi/ost etc.

The soundtrack was epic as hell

Mappa is doing a good job, with the little time they had. But sadly, they had the capacity to do way better and I will always regret this situation. And the Jojo memes on Mikasa are on point: in that specific panel, she looks ugly and unlike her cute face in the manga. For the rest of the episode, she's well portrayed

I think this episode is a taste of what is to come. It’s one thing to read still, silent pictures of complete devastation, and it’s another thing to hear the explosions, the screaming and crying. Seeing the blood painted red instead of black and white. When Eren rumbles the world, more people will realize how evil it is, how completely irredeemable. Less people will be #teameren once they get to see it in the anime. I can’t wait to see what MAPPA has in store.

So many nice details in the battle that weren’t there in the manga, the war hammer animation was particularly great

I feel bad complaining, but this was the first episode of the season that has disappointed me at all. Every other episode I feel has elevated the manga. I don't want (and never expected) to be that person, but the CGI, especially on the humans (WHY??) was so awkward it was distracting. We also lost a little bit of expressiveness from Eren, which is kind of a big deal when there's so little from him to begin with. 

Soundtrack was lit!!!!

It is what it is. But after I finished the episode I went back to watch the trailer and got sad that the season just isn't going to look like that. It's not bad by any means and I understand that these are people, not robots working on this with an extremely tight schedule. This entitled fanbase is super embarrassing with it's behavior and harassment of the people working on it. I kind of hope the final arc doesn't get animated now because these people don't deserve it. 

Awesome! I was a bit distracted how the pacing was, cutting a bit weirdly from one episode to another, but I really enjoyed it!

That closeup of Eren's Titan after he nom'd Willy is NUTS. 

It was emotionless and almost boring. The sound director keeps fucking up big time. I didnt feel anything close to the hype I felt watching the Armored/Colossal reveal animated. There were no exciting goosebumps, or tears. Nothing. Also the CGI was terrible. There were good things, but I expected much more for suck a climatic episode

It was a good episode after all, graphic was ok but i think that if they continued with the same titan 2d animation of first episodes and maybe changed a bit some sound it would have been waaay better. Still a good episode imho

The episode was very average. I'm not trying to complain, I know that the anime is mostly for anime-onlines, while we have a manga, but I expected better. I imagined the titan fight to be smooth, but in reality both - WHT and AT - moved like two, fat elephants. In the manga I felt that WHT was fast like a wind. In the anime Lara was slow, she looked like she had a hard time to even hold her hammer. The moment between Eren and Mikasa was disappointing. In the anime when Mikasa was upset about Eren's actions, he was completely unfeeling, while in the manga we see him being full of emotions and almost crying. I know he will turn into a cold bastard but MAPPA shouldn't dehumanize Eren so much now. I was surprised by Connie's glow up. MAPPA has done better job with him. In the manga he still looks like a kid, while MAPPA made him more mature-looking and masculine. That's good for underrated Connie. I'm grateful for the scene between Willy and his children. This way he feels more sympathetic and isn't ""just a guy who declared a war and was eaten by Eren"". 

I really like how the warriors and Marleyans seem to be getting a somewhat equal amount of screen time as the scouts have gotten after they've come into the picture. I hope this helps to make clear for the anime-onlies that understanding the experiences, emotions and the development of the other side is just as important as understanding those of the scouts/Paradis.

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 279 Responses

Thank you again to everyone who participated!

[pvrkacciosan]

♤The NEO Chronicles♤

Part 1

Description: The NEO bloodline is said to be decendant from the gods, that is why they rule as royals in a place known as The NEO kingdom.

The bloodline has always tried to stay pure to it's blood heritage but with the next generation growing up and no NEO bloodline females being born, the king and queen turn to drastic measures which eventually landed them with not one, but four NEO female heirs, all who were gifted with abilities of the elements.

Wind, Fire, Earth and Water

But when you tip a scale one way, it always has to dip in the other direction before levelling out again.

this must happen

But at what cost?

SIDE NOTE: This is my first post on Tumblr, I have this book of wattpad as well, I apologise if this is bad...I'm not confident in my writing yet so I was debating if I should even post this but anyway...

《The Calm before the storm》

The feeling of the old book bindings brushed against her finger tips as she looked along the bookshelves for a book that could peak her interest.

Haru huffed as her fingers rap around a spine of a book's leather binding, she let out a sigh of satisfaction at the familiar feeling.

Turning around she walked further back into the vast library, She came across three elegant figure all sat upon long lounge chairs, dressed in smooth flowing dresses, one a misty grey colour, one a deep red, the other ocean blue.

One of the figures look up from her book as Haru continued her way towards them, the girl's light brown hair fell in front of her face. Brushing it back her eyes connected with Haru's.

Haru looked into the ocean blue eyes of her sister Mirae, Mirae gave Haru a kind smile as she tucked another strand of hair behind her ear.

Haru smiled back as she lowered herself down onto her own lounge chair, which was positioned across the room from her sister's, placing a hand of the arm of the chair, her fingers curling into the fabric of the chair.

She leaned back, opening the book a sigh of contentment leaving her lips. The feeling of the pages transported her into the world of green gables, with Anne and Gilbert.

Haru loved how Anne always imagined her self as a princess, oh how Haru wishes she could switch lives with the red headed girl, the book acted as an escape for Haru, it allowed her to escape all the responsibilities and expectations people had given to her as her time as one of the four NEO princesses.

The noise of someone clamping a book shut repels Haru to look up, her sisters Eui and Mirae had also looked up from their books, The oldest, Ara, sat directly across from Haru, she was now sitting up straight with her hands placed on top of a book which vacated the space on her lap.

"I must speak with you all" Ara spoke, she looked up to her sisters as she placed the book on the table which was positioned next to her lounge chair.

Haru closes her book, Mirae following suit also closes over her book, Eui had already done so, Haru watched closely as Eui closed her eyes, upon re-opening them Haru could see the red haze that usually filled them.

This was the only way Eui was able to see, if she used her other eye she could see heat signatures, unlike her three sister Eui had been gifted with fire but not with the gift of sight, and there for was partially blind.

Haru had never really asked her sister what her world looked like through her eyes, but Haru imagined it looked totally different to the one she looked at everyday.

But the fact of her sisters partial blindness was not the important topic right now, Haru looks towards Ara, Haru sits herself up preparing herself for what Ara may say.

The three youngest princesses looked to the oldest, who almost seemed lost for her words. She takes in a breath before she begins to talk.

"the king and queen" Ara said as she paused for a second, the room fell silent, Ara opened her mouth to continue with what she was saying.

"why do you address them like that?" Haru interrupted, Eui and Mirae both look to Haru

Mirae being the youngest looks uncertain of the the outcome to Haru's interruption while Eui held an emotionless expression as she looked at the floor.

"The king and queen" Ara starts again in a more demanding tone.

Haru catches Ara's glares, Haru just glares difinelty back at her, she held her chin up as she kept her gaze on her oldest sister. Haru never did understood Ara's ways.

Haru knew Ara always had trouble with impressing their parents but to go as far as using their royal titles to address them.

"Haru!, are you listening?" Ara spoke up in an attempt to gather up her younger sister's scrambled thoughts.

"what?" Haru stated raising an eyebrow at her older sister.

"I beg your pardon?" Ara quipped an even more annoyed look on her face.

"oh for the good of my sanity" Haru muttered under her breath as Ara continued to stare at her.

"Excuse me, what was that?" Ara spoke up, harshly trying to coax her sister to repeat her words.

"nothing" Haru mumbled as she turned away from Ara, Eui and Mirae both sat in silence, both refusing to make a single sound.

"As I was saying, the King and Queen have made some new arrangements" Ara started again, placing her hand back on her lap, she pulled her shoulders back as she turned towards Haru.

Haru, who refused to make eye contact with any of her three sisters had turned her head away, she looked away, towards a stacks of book waiting to be put away.

Her attention was drawn to the window, outside she could see the clear blue sky, she watched a small cluster of birds swarmed around in a group in the middle of the air moving around gracefully and with formation. They worked together, not against each other.

From where she was sat Haru could feel the light draft coming from the window. Haru's thoughts begin to drift off, like the cloud in the sky,

She reminded herself of all the countless days she would lay outside on the grass in the gardens, with only a loose fitted dress covering her slender body, though she wore the outfit much to her mother's disapproval, she found it far more comfortable than the outfits suited for the torture device know as a corset.

"They have arranged to have the five youngest princes come to fight for your hand"

Those words were like a cold slap to the face. Pulling her from her daydream, Haru whipped her head back around to the three other figures in the spacious room.

Haru scans their faces, Ara holds a hard stare, Mirae looks half confused while Eui has an emotionless expression which indicates she is probably deeply embedded in her thoughts.

"who's hand?, mine?" Haru screeches as she points a finger at her chest for emphasis. Haru sees Mirae look to Ara then to Eui, while the two oldest still have their attention fixated on Haru.

Haru takes a breath in, before she gets her words out Eui brings a hand up to silence her. Calmly Eui turns to the maid who was stationed at the door of the library.

"please could you give us a moment?" she spoke in a soft tone. " of course madam" the maid spoke obediently, she removed herself from the room as asked, the door shutting quietly behind her, closing with a click.

Haru didn't dare say anything until Eui had turned back to face her direction.

"I'M NOT GETTING MARRIED!" Haru yells placing both her hand on the seat next to her on the chair.

"Its not really up for debate, Haru" Ara adds, Eui sent a look in Ara direction.

Haru pushes herself up from her lounge chair, she moves across the room towards the window, she looked out of it, she watched as the gardens were attended by people as they moved around the hedges and great bushes of colourful flowers.

"Its not fair, I didn't get a choice" Haru uttered in a broken tone, she turned back around to face her sisters.

Ara held a stone cold look, while Eui face contorted into one of sympathy.

"we never get a choice we are princesses, choices are not in our royal duties" Ara stated, standing up from her chair to be at level with Haru.

Ara was taller then them all but that did not stop Haru from putting up a fight when one was needed, Ara did not intimidate her.

"Screw royal duties!" Haru exclaimed as she strutted her way towards the doors which exits the library.

"Haru!, don't you dare walk away" Ara commanded to the younger girl, who would not here the voice of reasons right now as she reached out for the brass door handle.

Without even looking over in Ara's direction Haru heaved the big heavy wooden door open.

She didn't even spare a second to close it properly she just let it swing open into the hall, as she thundered her way down, getting as far away from Ara and her problems as she could.

She stormed her way through the hallway, flying past the abundance of painting strung up on the walls, her shoes thudding against the wooden flooring as she walked.

Turning a corner Haru wasn't paying attention as she collided straight into another body.

Both individuals stumbled backwards, she gasped as she looked up, her eye meeting with the other person's.

Haru found herself staring into the familiar eyes of a boy she sees far too often.

"oh hello, Haru, is everything okay?" The boy asked holding a hand out for the girl, who sat sprawled out on the floor in a not so lady-like manner, reaching up she grabbed his hand, as he pulled her up from the floor.

"peachy" Haru replied sarcastically, while smoothing out the folds in her light green dress.

"oh no, Ara told you didn't she?" He questioned

"YOU KNEW?!" Haru all but yelled, the boy in question jumped at her sudden outburst.

Haru had turned to walk away when he leaned forward grabbing onto her elbow.

Haru spun to look back at him , she paused staring down at his hand which gripped her arm, the boy refused to say anything his sudden burst of confidence disappearing.

He may be one of Haru's older brothers, but out of his four sisters Haru was the one he didnt like to mess with.

Ara was always too stuck up in impressing their parents, she was too well behaved all the time, she would always thinks 'what would a queen do'.

Eui the second oldest has a more realistic and fair way of doing things, she always had to hear both sides of a story before deciding on a course of action.

Mirae the youngest out of the four was super caring and sweet, she would never hurt a fly. she was very gentle in everything she does.

Haru on the other hand has never liked to follow the orders she was given, she didn't want to grow up and become queen one day, she wanted to go out into the world and live free of all rule and expectations, her whole life she had been fighting.

Haru did wonder what her life would be like if she wasn't fighting it, she had thought about succumbing to the life she had been given, and she felt there would be a time were she grew too tired to put up a fight, but that day was not today.

"let me go Mark" Haru spoke in a calm voice, the tranquillity in her tone put Mark on edge, Haru very rarely goes from being upset to calm, Mirae often calls it "the calm before the storm"

Mark just calls it "the moment before the volcano erupts" but both phrases work the same way.

" no, come on, I wish to speak with you" Mark said, giving Haru's arm a light tug before walking off.

Next Part》

[sebbytrash]

Through His Eyes - Part Fifteen

Summary - Bucky arrives at the compound to start afresh but you and him have a somewhat colorful past, colorful being that you met him once before as The Winter Soldier and it did not go well. New beginnings, yeah? If you can learn to forgive.

Pairing - Bucky x Reader

Warnings - Not much, a little angst, a little implied sexual content

A/N -  OK here it is, finally managing to squeeze a little writing in whilst the baby is sleeping! I hope this is still something you guys enjoy, love you all so much for sticking with this one for the last (2) years!!

Through His Eyes Masterlist

Shit. ShitShitShit. You did it again. 

You’ve woken, once again, tangled in the sheets with a very naked Bucky Barnes.

Shit.

You meant what you’d said about being friends, how could you not? But then you’d seen him standing there with all that anguish and been overwhelmed with the need to soothe it, soothe him. OK, yes, that should not necessarily lead to hopping straight back into bed with the man, but here you are. Zero self control and an abundance of poor decision making skills that combined spectacularly, the gunpowder and lead, fired directly at your life.

As you lie there pondering those life decisions, you listen to the sound of Bucky’s deep even breaths, realising after a few seconds that your breaths match his when his arm knots around your waist. It fits against you like it was missing all along, like there was an arm shaped whole across your ribs that's now filled in perfect proportion, almost how your breaths match his, too. There’s no one, you think, less suited for Bucky than you.

You leave without waking him, again.

“Sam.” You say, as you walk towards him in the kitchen, and then more urgently, “Sam.” 

“Marshmallow, are you okay?” He asks, instantly worried at your tone and the sudden closeness to him, his face searching yours for signs of your usual demons.

“Yes. No. I don’t know.” You sigh, step forward and lean your head on his chest.

“Okay, do you wanna maybe explain?” He says, like your tone wasn’t enough, when you’d so obviously tried to project your thoughts into his head so you wouldn’t have to say them out loud. 

You bite your lip and raise your head, wondering how on earth you say what you need to say to him, watching his face grow tighter and tighter in concern and force out in a rush, “I slept with Bucky.”

His face. Right away, his eyebrows were doing something entirely different to his eyes, and his eyes were doing something different to his mouth. He had three expressions at once. They all fight for dominance, or probably more accurately, simply line up in a row to give you all three in quick succession. 

“You…” He begins, and the stops, and you begin to wonder how badly he’s going to yell at you for this that he needs so much time to arrange his thoughts when Bucky appears beside you.

“Hey Sam, Y/N.” He says simply, like he hasn’t just walked in on your word vomit, and then to Sam directly, “You ready to go?”

“Go?” You ask before you can stop yourself, more confused by Bucky talking to Sam than anything else. 

“Yeah, to the VA. Bucky has been coming along with me.” Sam answers, still staring at you in that three-expressioned way. You glance at Bucky, worried he’s going to pick up this weird vibe but when you do, you find he’s looking at you already, giving you a different kind of look but one with no less weight to it. 

“Oh.” You say, glance between them a little too long, “Oh! Ok, that's good. Right? Yeah. Good. I’ll just...leave you guys to it then?” You trip and stumble over the words almost as much as you do over your feet as you back away from them, letting your eyes take up too much space on your face. 

Double shit.

It’s a few hours since your confession to Sam, you're sitting in your room with Netflix on in the background, staring at the door. You know it will knock, you're just wondering when it will and, more importantly, who it will be. Or, more accurately, who will be first. 

Despite the staring, your startled when the knock sounds, heart suddenly throat bound and climbing. You know who it is by the knock alone.

“Can I come in?” Bucky asks when you open the door, a soft, unobstructed smile on his face, his hair tied neatly at the back of his head. You open it further in answer. 

He sets down a paper bag on your side table as he does, hovers awkwardly at the edge of your couch like he isn’t sure if he should sit and you hate that, hate that your making him feel like that after all your progress.

 You sit, and gesture for him to join you, “How was the VA?” 

“It was good,” He says, rolls his tongue like he's measuring his words, “I like it there.” 

Truthfully, it surprised you that he was going there, that he was mentioning it so casually now, that he was taking steps towards his own well being after so long of not. 

“I’m glad.” You offer quietly, “You deserve to.” 

He smiles at that, loses an inch in height as he does, settling into the silence with a comfort you’ll never master with it. Finally, he offers a branch, “So, no more nightmares then?” His subtle way of bringing it round to last night, or nights, and you laugh despite your trepidation.

“It must be your bed, so comfortable, it feels brand new.” You joke, if only to stall.

“Hmm, yeah I guess it is. Never slept in it till you.” He confesses, his smile still light despite the nature of it. 

“You didn’t?” You ask, confused because where else would he be sleeping then and a flash of a memory pushes against your eyes. The night you saw Bucky having a nightmare, him all tangled up with his sheets on the floor. “Oh.”

“Yeah, turns out it's pretty common actually. Something from the war, not from Hydra.” He explains with such ease that you assume has come from his time spent at the VA, his time spent with Sam. Oh Sam, forever the friend, always the healer. Your heart is fit to burst with pride for him. 

“You think you’ll stay there now? In the bed” You try not to weigh his recovery on the edge of the question.

He looks at you solidly as he answers, “Yeah, think I’m there for good now.” 

Both of you jump as the door swings inwardly, Sam waltzing in like he lives there too and then halting, comically, when he spots you both on the couch looking a lot more guilty than you should for two people having a simple conversation. Like there was anything simple about either of you. 

“Oh, I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt, just wanted to finish our conversation from earlier, Y/N.” Sam says your name a little thicker than usual, hinting at what’s to come.

“I was just about to head out, anyway.” Bucky rushes, looks at you carefully and adds, “I’ll catch up with you later.” You find yourself nodding, even though you know you shouldn’t. 

Sam claps him on the shoulder as he passes, waits till the door is closed before turning back to you, eyebrows near the damn ceiling, “You!”

“Me?” Your smile turns to a grimace under his stare. 

“Yes, you. Dropping a bomb on me like that and then running off before I can disarm it.” 

“In my defence, I had no idea you were about to leave.” You remind him, avoiding the topic altogether.

He takes Bucky’s spot on the couch beside you, arms folded across his chest as he turns to face you, “All right, let’s hear it.” 

And so you explain, tell Sam about each of the encounters and how you’d gotten to this point and to his credit, he says little, makes no expressions that might reveal his thoughts, just lets you get it all out. 

When you finally finish, you push the heels of your hands into your eye sockets, the hopelessness of the situation suddenly overwhelming, more so now that Sam knows. Now that your actions can be judged by someone sane and separate. 

“I just…” You start, trying to explain how you felt, feel, “It was just nice to feel something else other than all the dark stuff, you know? And as weird as it is, he gets it, that feeling.” 

“I can understand that.” He says after a pause, reaches over to take those hands from your face and hold them in his, solid, steady. So very Sam. 

“It doesn’t mean anything.” You say, looking anywhere but at him.

“Yeah? Then why did you tell me?” 

“I don’t know.” You answer honestly. 

“I think you do.”

-----

Later, when Bucky knocks on your door far later than is polite, you consider ignoring it. Or you consider that you should ignore it. That you should do the right thing for you both, for him and let this be washed away like a fever dream.

You don’t.

-------

TAG LIST:  @manawhaat​ @theashhole​ @captainrogerss​ @higherfurtherfasterbby​  @peculiar-persephone​  @captain-rogers-beard​ @chrisevansnco​ @howlingbarnes​ @poealsobucky​ @samingtonwilson​ @vintagevalentinexx​ @abovethesmokestacks​ @imhereforbvcky​ @avengerofyourheart​  @carriefish-er​ @stormy-thomas​ @danijimenezv​   @angelicthor​   @betheboo55​ @palaiasaurus64​ @raxacoricofallapatoriuspotter​ @johnmurphys-sass​ @katbird787​    @sexyvixen7​ @jobean12-blog​  @justreadingfics​ @justareader​ @smoothdogsgirl​ @theliarone​ @aikibriarrose​ @timeladylaurel​ @badassbakers​ @earinafae​ @crushed-pink-petals @tardis-is-mine​ @httpmcrvel​ @bucky2-0​ @mocking-rain​ @sociallyimpairedme​ @jezzula​ @bless-my-demons​ @ign-is​ @indominusregina​ @-supernatural-coffee-llama​ @alwayshave-faith​ @itsonlysarah​ @superwholocknda @shifutheshihtzu​ @mizzzpink​ @yknott81​ @haven-in-writing​ @xtina2191​ @reniescarlett​ @notsoprettykitty​ @wickedwerewolf​ @ayeputita​ @tori-medusa-belongs-to-bucky​​  @tatalopes23​​ @pineapplebooboo​​ @mizzezm​​ @thefridgeismybestie​​ @memory-of-a-goldfish​​ @supernatural-girl97​​ @standing-onthe-edge​​ @ruinerofcheese​​ @rosescentedblood​ @mysweetcookie99​​

[440mxs-wife]

The Hunter’s Princess - Chapter 5: Arrows, Knives and Pistols

Pairing: Dean x OFC Kira (eventual), Prince!Dean x OFC Lady Kira. Other Characters: Sam Winchester, Prince!Sam Winchester, Castiel, Rowena, Gabriel, King!John, Queen!Mary, Lucifer and assorted minor characters.

Chapter 5 Word Count: 2490+

Warnings: None really. Each chapter will have individual warnings as needed.

A/N: This is from some material that’s been rattling around in my head from another project that changed direction. Couldn’t let all this content go to waste, though, so here it is. It’s a work-in-progress, and I will try and update as regularly as I can. If you want to be tagged in this series, send me a message!

Thank you and happy reading!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

On the morning of the first day of competition the air was crisp, but not cold enough to warrant an overcoat. Not a cloud in the sky, and the sun was out in full force, bathing the field of competition in its warmth.

Today, Kira would be demonstrating her skill with weaponry. First, the bow and arrow, then throwing knives and lastly, the flintlock pistol. She'd had plenty of practice over the years with these items, so she was not at all concerned about her performance.

Tomorrow's competition was an equestrian event, which involved a course of jumps and turns to prove her skill on horseback. Again, no worries, because she was perfectly comfortable on the back of a horse. Kira used to ride horses on her Aunt Brenda's farm, her favorite being an Arabian stallion named Midnight.

The part that scared Kira the most was the interview with the king and queen. Kira knew she had made an impression on the queen, but she had yet to  cross paths with the king. She could tell that the princes held a healthy respect for their parents. Kira had also heard stories that the king was not a man to accept disobedience lightly.

For anyone who had met Kira, it was well known that she has always had trouble following instructions. She had a tendency to follow her heart and leave her head to either catch up or be left behind. That alone was enough to make Kira a little anxious about meeting the king.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sarah entered Kira's room and opened the heavy window curtains, which allowed the abundant sunshine to flood the room with light. Kira was excited for the day's events, so she didn't need much coaxing. But as soon as Kira sat up, she felt a little dizzy so she stopped. She tried again to sit up, albeit a little more slowly and the feeling disappeared.

Kira reviewed her wardrobe and considered her fashion choices for  the day. She decided that a day dress would not be practical for the day's events. She   pulled on a pair of black leggings, a long rust-colored tunic and her black knee-high boots. She added the leather gauntlets for her wrists. Of course, Kira also made sure she had the locket, which she tucked under the collar of her tunic.

Sufficiently clothed, Kira wandered into the dining hall for the  morning meal. Serena and Christina were already seated at one corner of  the table, whispering with heads bowed together. As soon as Kira entered the room, Serena and Christina stopped talking. Adriana sat alone in the corner opposite the other two ladies, so Kira walked over to her.

Adriana had long, curly blond hair gathered in a low ponytail in back. Her coffee-colored eyes took in Kira's appearance, almost as if she were sizing up the competition. Adriana's attitude this morning seemed to be a complete   turnaround from their conversation at last night's dinner.

Kira wished Adriana good morning, and she politely responded. "Is it all right if I sit with you?" Kira asked.

"I'd rather have the time to myself, to prepare for today's competition if you don't mind," Adriana replied icily.

Kira could feel her cheeks growing warm. "I'm sorry if I have offended you in any way Adriana. If I've said something--" she cut Kira off.

"I'm not really interested in making friends or alliances. I'm here to compete for myself and for my homeland. So, you stay on your eastern side of the kingdom and I'll stay on my southern side of the kingdom. That way, we'll get along just peachy with each other," Adriana retorted as she got up to leave.

"Wow, making lots of friends, aren't we?" Serena sneered. "You've been doing a lot of running around with Castiel and the princes. You probably think that makes you better than the rest of us, but it doesn't. I'd watch your back if I were you, Lady Kira. Accidents can happen," Serena added darkly as she and Christina left the dining hall.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kira made her way to the field for the targeting event, where the other competitors were already waiting. While she walked, she thought about the conversation at breakfast, and each lady's reaction to her. She knew that she wasn't Serena's or Christina's favorite person. However, she thought she at least had a chance at friendship with Adriana. Guess I'm on my own here, she thought.

The firing lanes were spread ten feet apart between each of the competitors. Points were to be scored as follows: Bull's eye was worth 25 points. Moving farther away from the center ring, the point values were reduced to 10, 7, 5 and 3. Each competitor was given ten arrows. The one with the most points at the end of the day wins the event.

First up were Christina and Adriana. They each shot their ten arrows, with Christina earning a total of 75 points. Adriana did almost as well, turning in a good performance with 72 points, while Serena shot extremely well for 87   points.

Finally, it was time for Kira to compete. She stepped up to the firing line and shot her ten arrows. All that practice at the firing range in the bunker must have paid off, because Kira pulled in 89 points. That put her in the lead after the bow and arrow event. She looked over at the royal viewing box, and locked eyes with Prince Dean. He gave Kira a somewhat subtle wink and a smile, causing her to blush slightly.

The next event involved the use of throwing knives. Kira had definitely had plenty of practice at this when fighting shapeshifters and werewolves. She again came away with the highest number of points. By the time the first two events were finished, it was time for the midday meal. The royal family left first to be seated in the dining hall, followed by the competitors.

After everyone was fed, they all trudged back out to the competition field. Each lady's personal flintlock pistols were waiting on a table inside each firing booth. This time, competitors would only have five shots instead of ten. This made the margin for error much smaller, so all shots had to count. Kira only hoped that the lead she had built up from the first two events would be enough to distinguish herself.

Christina and Adriana fared a bit better in this task, while Serena continued to turn in a superior performance. Kira knew she had her work cut out for her. She currently held the lead, but the gap had narrowed to less than what she was comfortable with.

Kira stepped up to the firing line and waited for her cue to begin her performance. As soon as she picked up her pistol, she knew something was wrong with it. Kira examined her firearm, and did not see any immediate evidence of tampering, so she decided to move on.

She lined up the target in her sights and fired the first round, but it went wide of the center. At that moment, Kira figured someone had messed with her sights so they were completely off. Fortunately, she had enough firearms experience to be able to compensate for this occurrence. Kira adjusted her aim and fired her next round, which pierced the target in the center area. The three remaining rounds joined it and the crowd applauded in  appreciation.

Kira and the other   competitors were called over to the royal box to receive the results of today's events. As they waited, she happened to again lock eyes with Prince Dean, who smiled and nodded in Kira's direction, causing her to blush  again.

A page handed Queen Mary a piece of paper with the day's results. She cleared her throat before reading aloud the information. "There are a total of six points separating the top performers. Here are the rankings: in fourth place, Adriana of the Southern territory and third place is Christina, our competitor from the Western territory."

The queen paused at this time, because she had yet to mention two competitors, Kira and Serena. "In second place but only three points off the leader, we have Serena from the Northern territory, leaving Kira from the Eastern territory as today's winner!" The crowd jumped to its feet and broke into a thunderous applause.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After the announcement that Kira was the points leader in the Princes' Challenge, she received no end of congratulatory hugs and well wishes. She began to get a little uncomfortable with all the attention, so she excused herself to her room for some rest. Prince Samuel caught up to Kira as she walked back to her quarters. "Is everything all right, Lady Kira?" he asked.

Kira gave a quick curtsy. "Yes, Your Highness, everything is fine. I just need a small break for now, but I'll see you at dinner," she answered.

Prince Samuel took her hand and kissed the back of it. "I look forward to seeing you, Lady Kira. Absolutely magnificent performance, by the way. Can't wait to see you on horseback tomorrow," he grinned. "Until dinner, Lady Kira," he said softly, kissing her hand again.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Prince Dean saw Lady Kira try and gracefully remove herself from the crowd of well-wishers. His heart went out to her because she looked a little overwhelmed from all the attention. The prince walked around the corner from the competition field, and saw Lady Kira in conversation with his brother. Only it looked like he was letting his lips on the back of her hand do more of the talking.

Dean didn't blame Lady Kira, she was only being polite, but he was angry with his brother. Sam saw how Dean reacted when he saw Castiel and Lady Kira together that first day in the marketplace. On that day, Prince Dean admitted that he was a little jealous. Castiel assured him many times that he had no intentions towards Lady Kira other than friendship. Prince Dean, however, had other ideas.

Lady Kira, he thought. She's....amazing. She's smart, determined and beautiful, with a generous spirit. She certainly proved her weapons skills today, he acknowledged. The prince could see that the lady cares so deeply about others. It made him wonder if she's ever given a thought about what she wants from life.

It was clear to Prince Dean that Lady Kira genuinely wants to help people, not for the fame or recognition, but because it's the right thing to do. It sounded to him like the makings of a good queen. Collins told the princes and Castiel that her people absolutely adore her and are fiercely loyal to her. Prince Dean thought that it was easy to see why.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dean and Lady Kira arrived in the Tub Room, where Dean showed her where the shampoo, soaps and towels were located. She had brought some clothes from her room to change into after her bath.

"There's hot and cold running water in here, 'hot' is on the left and 'cold' is on the right. I'll get it started, then you can adjust the temperature to however you like. When you're done, just pull the plug at the bottom and all the water will drain away," Dean explained. "Any questions?" he asked. Lady Kira shook her head. "Welp, then I guess I'll leave you to it. Enjoy," he remarked.

"Thank you," Lady Kira murmured. She marveled at the convenience of not having to heat up the water before bathing. She wondered how she was ever going to go back to the way things were when she returned to her home dimension. Nevertheless, she was determined to do whatever it would take to restore balance in the universe.

As the water filled the tub, Lady Kira selected some lavender bath salts, which she knew would smell nice and help her to sleep. She grabbed the pitcher from the cabinet shelf and the shampoo so she could wash her hair as well. She sprinkled in the bath salts and let the water run for a few more minutes before turning off the faucet and stepping into the tub.

After Lady Kira finished washing her hair, she nestled into the tub and let her mind drift to the three men in charge of her return home. For a situation that ought to be scaring the daylights out of her, she was surprisingly calm. It was like she'd met them before, but how could she have done that?

Castiel....an Angel of the Lord here, but there was a Castiel who was best friends with the crown princes....Samuel and Dean! Of course, that's why these men looked familiar, why she felt so at ease around them.

She wondered if the princes and Castiel in her world were also hunters. If they were, it wasn't something that was well-known. Lady Kira imagined the circumstances were the same in this world, that these men saved people. They just didn't want the recognition for it.

When the water started to lose its warmth, Lady Kira exited the tub and reached down to pull the stopper, as Dean instructed. These men were certainly attractive, but she was drawn to Dean in particular. The way he carried himself gave off an air of protectiveness, determination and strength.

However, his moss-colored eyes held a hint of sadness in them each time he looked at her. His look reminded Lady Kira of a man who clearly longed to be with the woman he loved. She wondered if there was some sort of attraction between Dean and the woman whose place she had taken. Lady Kira made a mental note to ask Sam about the nature of their relationship, if any.

She caught a whiff of the scent from the lavender bath salts and inhaled deeply. As she stood up, she felt a jolt of dizziness in her head. She braced herself on the edge of the tub as a slide show of images flashed through her mind.

At first, she saw Dean standing next to an older man with a beard and a kind face. She recognized Sam, but this was a much younger version. In the next flash, there were two women, one with short dark hair and one with long blond hair, taking turns hugging Sam and Dean. Another flash featured a short man in an all-black suit with a dark beard and mustache, standing next to a woman with long and wavy red hair.

These must be her memories, Lady Kira thought. That lavender smell must have triggered it, she reasoned. Another dizzying jolt brought an image of Dean and Kira, sitting on a couch, his arms wrapped snugly around her. She reaches for Dean's hands and intertwines their fingers. Although they are not looking at each other, Lady Kira can see it in their eyes.

They are most definitely in love with each other.

Part 6 here!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tags: @janicho88 @akshi8278 @magssteenkamp @swiftlymoniquesblog @lyarr24 @miss-nerd95 @distefano123 @hobby27 @deanwanddamons @jessica-noel94 @wayward-mikaelson @jawritter @gabrielslittleangel @jensengirl83 @deangirl93 @ellewritesfix05 @supernatural-jackles @babygurltt

The Hunter’s Princess Series tags: @flamencodiva

[chiscribbs]

PLUS EST EN VOUS Review

(Over a week later, and I’m finally posting this. At least I don’t have to worry about another episode coming out before it’s posted.)

Okay - there’s a lot to cover, so without further ado...  Let’s get right into it, shall we?

Things I liked about the finale:

All of the beautiful Cass / Rapunzel scenes! 

They were so emotional and beautifully done, it felt like everything that needed to be said was said, and seeing them act like friends again was very cathartic for me. In a lot of ways, Cass & Raps’ relationship reminds me of some of my own (old ones that didn’t end so smoothly, and then newer ones that I can already tell will leave a lasting impression on my life) and seeing them reconcile and talk about how much they meant to each other really warmed my heart. A best friend is an irreplaceable thing, and I love that their interactions showed that. I also really appreciated the “I love you”s, because the world needs more of those between friends. And it also reminded me of Eugene saying the same thing to Lance, in Beyond the Corona Walls.

The awesome Team Awesome content!  There was an abundance of it in this episode, and I loved every second of it! Truth be told, I was never a big “Team Awesome” fan until S3 came around. The relationship always felt a tad too one-sided to me, and I just couldn’t see them being particularly close, at least not as close as Varian and Rapunzel. The fandom helped me warm up to the idea a little bit, but this past season definitely sold it for me. Eugene has really matured and become a lot less self-involved since the first time they met. I absolutely love that he’s turned into sort of a cool older brother figure to Varian (in fact, many of their interactions are reminiscent of moments I’ve shared with my own brother) and Var now looks up to him rather than just the “Flynn Rider” persona. The fact that Eugene could tease him about his past mistakes and Varian just turned around and casually joked right back? That made my heart happy.

Speaking of maturing & happy hearts -

 I’M SO PROUD OF THIS BOY!!! 

I know I say that a lot, but He’s just come so far since S1, or even the beginning of S3! There were a ton of little moments showcasing his growth in this episode. Such as:  - Jumping onto the piano to help Raps rally the troops (did anybody think we were going to get pianist Varian? I sure didn’t, but I’m not complaining.) - Stating with certainty that he can rebuild Demanitus’ portal, before even seeing the schematics, and just overall showing more confidence in his abilities. (Quirin looked so proud when he was building the portal...you know, before going  all mind-slave and trying to pull the lever.) - Being the first - the FIRST - of the gang to walk into Demanitus’ tomb. This may seem small, but it was such a 180 from Be Very Afraid, where he was nervous and trailing behind Raps the entire time. Now he’s not only joining in on the adventure, he’s taking the lead on occasion! - Rigging Quirin’s helmet with a temporary stun mechanism as a fail-safe for the mind-trap. He seemed hurt and offended when Eugene initially brought up the possibility of his dad being a double-agent, but even so, he listened. He put common sense and the safety of others before his own feelings, and that’s not an easy thing to do.  - Firing an explosive concoction straight into the face of an enormous demon monster??? I mean,...heck yeah, boy!! Also - using his past mistakes (i.e. the amber and monster!Ruddiger) and repurposing them towards something good. I could go on, but you get the idea. he’s just come so far and I could not be more proud of his development. And the fact that he went on to become Corona’s Royal Alchemist Engineer was just the cherry on top! YOU DESERVE IT, BOY!!! 👏👏👏

You know who else I’m proud of? Rapunzel. She was never my favorite character in the series (despite being the protagonist,) but this story - and this past season in particular - has really endeared me to her. She’s grown so much, she’s become a strong and wise leader, and I’m proud of her for it. Honestly, I’ve related to her far more this past season than any other. And I don’t know if that’s because she’s older and more mature now, or because her naivete and eager-to-please attitude is all but gone, or because she just felt a lot more real and vulnerable in recent episodes - but I really, truly love her. And I’m happy to see her story reach its completion. (Also - long-haired brunette Raps is my new favorite thing, tbh.)

THIS:

‘Nough said, I think.

The epic new powers and abilities (and return of some old ones)!!! There were so many moments while watching the finale where I was literally just yelling at my sister like “wHOA, DID YOU SEE THAT?! THAT WAS AWESOME!!!” I had no idea that Cass could make ANIMATED WOLF HEADS of the black rocks, that completely blew me away! And then there were those golden rocks that Zhan Tiri manifested, that was so cool! I wonder if the sundrop alone could make those appear, or if you had to have both of the elements to make it work. Also - the Healing Incantation was finally brought back! I knew it would be, eventually, but I’d almost completely forgotten that was a plot point by the time the finale came around. It was good to hear Mandy’s voice saying those familiar, nostalgic words again. And she put so much emotion into it!

Now, onto the less fun stuff...

Things I disliked about the finale:

(Feel free to skip over this section if you’d rather just focus on the positives, I fully understand. I’ll do my best to be fair and only address the things that really stood out to me.)

This subplot went on for far too long:

It was pretty funny for the first few minutes (and I’m sure the animators loved getting to go crazy with the characters’ designs like this,) but after awhile, I was like “is this really what we want over half of our cast to be doing during the BIG FINALE?” I mean, we already had the monkey gag, which I actually thought was a riot. And this one came right in the middle of a pretty climactic moment, so it just seemed kind of out of place.  I’ll admit, the snake-hair joke and Lance’s multiple eyes had me rolling, but ultimately, I just felt like this whole bit only served to waste limited time that definitely could have been better utilized.

The portal was too quickly demolished.  They could have at least come close to a success with it before it was destroyed, so that it didn’t feel completely useless! I get that they wanted ZT to be defeated by her own power, and I’m down for that, but if the portal’s sole purpose within the story was just to temporarily remove all the secondary characters in limbo so that the mains could do their thing, I can’t really get behind it.  Especially seeing as their only Plan B was “throw things at the giant all-powerful octopus monster,” come on, guys. I would have preferred that be a last-resort after several failed attempts at other pre-orchestrated plans. They could have had Varian and Quirin working on repairing the portal while the others distract/attack Zhan Tiri and THEN have her destroy it (purposefully, rather than by some random falling rock.) Or, maybe everyone could have been in on the plan to get the sundrop and moonstone to meet, and then have Raps and Cass are the ones who finally succeed in doing it. I don’t know, I just feel like there was a lot of wasted potential there.

This scene:

I’m going to be perfectly honest, this scene bothered me. For a multitude of reasons:

Firstly; it was a shot-for-shot copy (not a parallel, a copy) of the iconic New Dream moment from the movie, just replacing Eugene with Cass. That wasn't necessary, Cass and Raps have their own unique relationship and their own moments, they don’t need to steal Raps & Eugene’s. This should have remained a New Dream-only thing, in my opinion. (Especially seeing as her parents already stole their gondola bit...I’m mostly joking about that one.)

Secondly; it didn’t make sense? Rapunzel was standing just as close to the blast as Cassandra, yet she wasn’t harmed at all. In fact, she seemed completely unfazed by it. Why was Cass the only one effected? (And we can’t even make an argument that the moonstone shard protected her, because the powers were lost the moment the two fused.) If they needed a brush-with-death scene, why not have ZT hurt Cass? I feel like that would have been a lot more dramatic, especially after manipulating her for an entire season.

And finally; it made every other character’s “death” seem unimportant in comparison. I get that the writers needed Raps to use the Healing Incantation, but, EVERYBODY ELSE WAS ALREADY HALF-DEAD, AT THIS POINT. I’m sorry, but, why wasn’t that incentive enough to use the healing power? Why did we need to have Cass’s near-death on top of everybody else’s?  I mean, I would’ve been maybe a little bit more okay with it had Rapunzel mourned everybody’s death and not just Cass’s, and then used the power to save ALL of them at once. But instead, she completely forgot about everyone else until the very last second, which was frustrating. I’m not a fan of plot devices that ignore other characters, especially when the protagonist is supposed to care about them but then just doesn’t even seem to remember that they exist for a hot minute. This felt like the ending of Freebird, only worse because you can’t make the excuse that she was unaware. (Just to be clear, I’m not blaming Rapunzel. I know it wasn’t meant to come across that way, I just feel like it was not well executed.) There are a lot of ways that this could have been done differently. Rapunzel and Cass could have BOTH been devastated about their friends/loved ones, I would have loved to see Cass show genuine concern and remorse towards the OTHER people whom her actions hurt, not just Raps. Or, Rapunzel could have at least landed near Cass so it would’ve made sense for her to notice her first, and then looked around and noticed everybody else before using the healing incantation. At least that way, the other characters wouldn’t have felt so much like a second-thought. I don’t know, I just didn’t appreciate the treatment of the supporting cast in this scene at all. It felt like they were forgotten right up until the very last second.

Cass didn’t get to sing in any of the songs.  I was really surprised by this, I figured given how important her role had become, she’d get to sing at least one line (like Lance and Varian did.) But nope. Actually, a good 90% of the music in this episode was sung by Raps, and as much as I love the songs & Mandy’s beautiful voice, I was hoping for the other characters to be a little bit more involved. Especially in the Life After Happily Ever After (Reprise), that would have been a great opportunity to have everybody sing together.

Things I would have liked to see in the finale:

More information about Demanitus and ZT.  We got so little! I was expecting this episode to answer all of our questions about that two, but I still have no idea; what their relationship was, where Zhan Tiri came from, why exactly she wanted the power (besides just to have it for herself, I guess), or how they came across the SD and MS in the first place! Like, just a little bit more information would have been nice, the only thing the flashback really gave us was what ZT looked like before spending a few millenia in limbo. (Also - apparently Corona is several thousand years old??? Which, I didn’t know, I was under the impression that it was a fairly new kingdom.)

Closure for this relationship:

This is probably what I was most disappointed by. Honestly, I’m still kind of surprised that this didn’t happen, even just a little bit. Given that Cass was wearing the Cassandrium at the end, we can safely assume that they at least parted on good terms. But the last few exchanges that they had really gave me the impression that we’d be getting some kind of closure before the credits rolled. We were given two whole episodes focusing on the unique bond that these two share (that’s more than we were given for Cass & Eugene,) they were painted as parallels, so it only makes sense to give them a proper wrap-up. In CR, Cass seemed hurt and devastated after realizing that she’d effectively pushed Varian away, it’s clear his friendship meant a lot to her. Not to mention, Var had the best understanding of Cass’s feelings, he could relate to her - especially about her guilt and fear of not being forgiven. But despite all of the build-up & foreshadowing, they didn’t even get an on-screen goodbye? Not a single “thank you” or “I’m sorry”?  I realize that the main focus was always on Cass & Raps’ friendship, and I’m totally fine with that. I’m just saying that after all the obvious parallels and time invested in this relationship, it would have been nice to get some closure. I just wish they’d included at least one little dialogue exchange to wrap it up in a satisfactory way, like we got with Cass and Eugene.

Actual pay-off for all the Varian - Demanitus parallels.  I think we can all agree that this seemed like it was going somewhere, and then it just...didn’t. He did rebuild the portal, but it turned out to be useless, and outside of that, the similarity was never touched upon. Not by Rapunzel, or Zhan Tiri, not even Xavier made the connection. I mean - this kid is doing at 15/16 what Demanitus did in the latter half of his life. He’s not only following the legendary engineer/inventor’s footsteps, he’s expanding the legacy. If that’s not foreshadowing for something, I don’t know what is! And I do love the fact that he became the Royal Alchemist Engineer, but at the same time, I just feel like there was so much wasted potential in this almost-but-not-quite-subplot.

An actual Brotherhood reunion, without all the mind-trap influence.  It would have been so interesting to see them all interacting! I was surprised that, even though Edmund and Quirin were both in the same place for most of the episode, they never really interacted? Outside of mind-controlled Quirin, Hector, and Adira attacking Eugene &  Edmund, they didn’t exchange so much as a word. And I get that a lot of that was time restraints, and having to focus on more important plot points (as Edmund said “bigger fish”) but honestly, if they had time to thrown in all that netherworld nonsense, a little Brotherhood interaction doesn’t seem like too big of a favor to ask. 

Rapid-fire Opinions: 

Favorite song: Through it All

In my opinion, this song is the best group number in the show (not counting the ones only sung by main 3, such With You By My Side or Next Stop Anywhere) It’s not quite as epic as Ready As I’ll Ever Be, but it has an infectious beat and a triumphant melody that I really enjoy. Also, the scene as a whole was so cheerful and fun, and we got Varian, Lance, Kiera, and Catalina all playing various instruments! (Plus more New Dream dancing! ❤ )

Favorite callback to a previous episode: Easy answer, because it comes from (what is still) one of my favorite episodes in the series - the Cassandrium.

Favorite scene: This one’s a little tough, but I did really enjoy the little moment that Eugene and Varian had after Quirin was incapacitated by the helmet. 

I also loved the final scene where Cass said goodbye to Rapunzel and they gave each other the biggest, warmest hug I’ve ever seen in animation history (and the prior exchange between her and Eugene was really sweet, as well.)

OH! And how could I forget? That beautiful New Dream proposal. 💜 That was absolutely perfect. The animation, the music, Mandy & Zach’s incredibly heartfelt voice work, just...I loved everything about it.

Most underrated moment: Catalina pushing Kiera out of Zhan Tiri’s way and getting grabbed herself. (Show of hands, who else briefly forgot that she was a werewolf and had a small heart-attack in that moment?)

Theories I had that were proven true: 

- Cass leaving Corona to “find her own destiny.”  I’d always felt like Cass never really had a dream of her own; she didn’t know who she was, and she was never going to get the answers by staying by Rapunzel’s side. So I had a strong feeling that she would be leaving, but I’m glad to see that it was on good terms.

- Everyone vs Zhan Tiri.  Granted, like most people, I was under the impression that Xavier’s “magic and alchemy” statement would be more...relevant? Turns out, we read into that way too much. Which, honestly, is a tiny bit disappointing, but it was still cool to finally see Zhan Tiri at her most powerful.

- Varian becoming Corona’s Royal Alchemist Engineer.  This is a theory I’ve had since my early days in the fandom, and I’m glad to see it finally confirmed! My only complaint is that we didn’t get to see Rapunzel bestow the honor upon him, because I would have loved to see that exchange.

Theories that were not proven true, but I still believe:

- Varian (and possibly Quirin) being a descendant of Demanitus.  You can pry this one out of my cold, dead hands, there are way too many clues pointing to it. I’m not even sure if Demanitus has any descendants (again, we have very little information on him still) but if he does, Varian’s a prime candidate. His lineage comes from the Dark Kingdom, he’s a genius alchemist/inventor, has a personal connection to both the Sundrop and the Moonstone; honestly, I’m kind of surprised this possibility was never even considered, at least one, in canon.

- Cass will eventually return to Corona.  I have no idea when, why, or how, but I truly believe she will. Her spirit may be roaming free at the moment, but the heart always returns home. And - as it stands right now, at least - her heart is still waiting in Corona. In the meantime, though, I’m glad she’s living her best life, seeking out adventure wherever destiny leads her! She deserves it <3 

Well, that’s my full Plus Est En Vous/Tangled the Series Finale review! I’d love to hear everybody else’s thoughts on the final episode, as well; how many people were satisfied vs unsatisfied with the ending? What were everyone else’s favorite moments, what else would have been nice to see? Let me know!

Final words: This show and this fandom have meant so much to me, and I’m far from done loving it. I still have many projects in the works to celebrate the show and its completion, but in the meantime - thanks for reading.

And God bless the amazing team that came together to bring us this incredibly beautiful, meaningful, story which will always have a special place in my heart.