#I didn’t like his hero very much but I grudgingly came to be ok with who he was in the end

[amarguerite]

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter was unexpectedly delightful? Possibly my favorite Brandon Sanderson book. Specific things I thought were great:

1) it was much funnier than I was anticipating. I came away from Mistborn impressed by his worldbuilding but without really finding anything funny. This one made me laugh out loud at times

2) I have great admiration for how he slid in references to his big extended universe. They flew over my head without impacting my enjoyment of the plot but I read the passages going, “ah! I am as clueless as his main characters but I am sure this means something important to people who have read his sixteen thousand other books!”

3) at some point this man’s wife went on a rant about the importance of a bra that fits and he appears to have actually listened to her well-reasoned arguments

4) this man hates AI generated art with the first passion of a thousand supernovas. He has devoted an entire novel to how soul-sucking and planet-destroying ChatGPT is

[marinaaniseed]

Dark ‘n’ Stormy Pt.6

Just over 5,000 wordy words. I decided to split this chapter in two because it would be unwieldy otherwise. No smut (!) in this chapter. Thor and the reader get ready to go out for dinner. Contains more discussion on clothing than was probably necessary. And a smidge of Asgardian politics. OH WELL.

Come mid-afternoon, you’d managed to complete your tasks, which was easier said than done when Thor tried to nuzzle up to you every time you were even vaguely still. You went back to his bedroom and changed into your clothes, turning your knickers inside out.

“Is it ok if I go back to mine and change my clothes?” you said as you walked back into the sitting room.

“Of course. Perhaps I could go with you?” he suggested. It had been a while since he’d ventured out further than his garden but he wanted to spend more time with you. You nodded and waited for him to get dressed. He shuffled out in his oversized hoodie and slipped on his Crocs.

“Ready?” you asked.

“Indeed I am.”

He took your hand as you walked back to your hut. He hoped you’d find it romantic but he was mostly holding onto you because he was scared. It had been so long since he’d been around ordinary Asgardians. He didn’t want to disappoint them any more than he already had.

You didn’t pass too many people on your stride of pride but those who did see you tried to hide their shock. You didn’t blame them. It wasn’t exactly hard to piece together the cause of the unusual weather. Coupled with seeing Thor out and about, and holding hands with Midgardian, it was probably the last thing any of them expected to see on a Tuesday afternoon as the sun was starting to go down.

“I won’t take long,” you said as you approached the hut. “Then I can head back and start prepping for dinner.”

“We could just bring all of your stuff to mine, then you wouldn’t have to keep coming back here.”

“I understand where you’re coming from, Thor, but as fun as mixing business and pleasure is, we should try to separate things. It’s hard enough to get any work done as it is.”

“But you wouldn’t have to do any work. I don’t want my girlfriend tidying up after me all of the time.”

“Girlfriend?” you queried, eyebrows arched. Oh Norns, no, Thor thought. He hadn’t meant to scare you off. He blushed deep scarlet and stared at the ground, wishing he could fall through one of Strange’s portals like Loki had all those years ago in New York. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times but no words came out.

“Was that...was that your way of asking me?” you asked, trying to make it less awkward.

“Um...yeah?”

“You’ll have to take me out on a date before I consider agreeing.”

“Um, yes a date. Like dinner?”

“Yes, dinner is good.”

“Dinner tonight?”

“That works for me.”

“Right, yes. Dinner tonight. I will meet you here at eight,” he said, bringing your hand to his lips for a kiss before almost running back to his cabin. You let yourself into the hut and fell back against the door. Ah fuck.

No. This was not good. Fucking was good but dates and emotional stuff? Dear God, no. You couldn’t go through that again. You needed to talk to someone. You grabbed your laptop and opened Skype. Thank fuck. Sam was online.

“Yo,” you typed.

“Y R U typing? Call me like a normal person,” came the reply. Before you could do anything, the Skype call tune sounded and you grudgingly accepted the call. You knew you looked a mess but not accepting and turning on the camera would make Sam suspicious.

“Jesus Christ, y/n. What happened to your neck? Do they have vampires where you are?” Sam exclaimed, trying not to laugh.

“Hmm, yes very good. Why aren’t you at work?”

“I went to a gig last night, took a day off to recover.”

“You’re getting old. Who’d you see?”

“And you’re deflecting. Belinda Carlisle.”

“She’s still alive?”

“She is now. Anyway, what or who happened to you?”

“Someone.”

“Clearly. You look like you just did the walk of shame.”

“Walk of fame. Or stride of pride. You know me, I own my encounters.”

“Aha, so you did get laid. Nice.”

“Fuck you.”

“You already did. So what’s up? You’ve got a face like a cat’s arse and you won’t give me the gossip.”

“We’re going on a date. Tonight.”

“And you don’t want to?”

“I do...and I don’t. It’s scary and it’s weird and…”

“And you haven’t been on a date since Alex.”

“...no.”

“That’s a stumbling block you need to get past. Or over. Or hell, crawl underneath it. You are wasting years of your life, out of guilt. If it had been the other way round, you wouldn’t want Alex to pine after for you forever, to grow old and die without falling in love again, would you?”

“No…” Sam wasn’t wrong but it wasn’t easy to hear it.

“Give this mystery bitey person a go. It might be great. In terms of your neck, you essentially have two choices. Style it out and show off those bites, or cover them up. With clothing this time.”

“Look, I only put foundation on that one time. It was my first day, I didn’t want to make a bad impression.”

“Yeah, because foundation staining the collar of your shirt was so much better.”

“Any other words of advice or are you just going to dredge up past mistakes?”

“Yeah, wear the bitch boots.”

“No can do, they’re in storage.”

“Well, if you told me where you are I could put them in my luggage and bring them to you, along with a whole bunch of your shit.”

“I prefer to be nomadic for now, but I appreciate the sentiment. I guess I should start figuring out what to wear.”

“Alright, good to see you too. It’s been emotional, as ever.”

The call ended and you burst into tears.

*****

Thor stomped back like he was marching into battle, startling seagulls and people alike. He grabbed his phone a punched in a message to Brunnhilde. He didn’t want to call in case he interrupted important kingly business. Midgardian tech was too fiddly for him, it was embarrassing how long it took to write four letters: HELP.

Now that he had time to think, he was regretting offering to take you out for dinner. He remembered all too painfully his first encounter in a Midgardian dining establishment. Were his manners ok? He knew more about Midgard now but he knew that different places within the realm had different customs. He didn’t want to upset or offend you. But you’d eaten with him before, and that had been fine...but it wasn’t in public. And where did people go for dinner in New Asgard? Was there anywhere? Food always came to him, not the other way round. He knew from the other Avengers that you were supposed to look and smell nice on these occasions but what should he wear? He’d had some great clothes but that was before...he went to the fridge and grabbed a beer, trying to calm down.

He was several beers in by the time Brunnhilde arrived.

“Where’s y/n?” she inquired. “What’s wrong? Do I need to hunt her down?”

Thor wasn’t sure why his friends kept offering to fight you on his behalf. Not that he would, but he was more than capable of fighting you. It was good to know that they had his back, he supposed.

“She went home to change. We’re going out for dinner tonight,” he smiled, despite his nerves.

“Wrong way round there, loverboy, you’re supposed to take her out for dinner before you impale her with your pork sword.”

Thor doesn’t entirely understand what the Valkyrie just said, but he knows it’s rude.

“You’re-you’re not helping,” he replied, grabbing another beer. He’d been much better lately, drinking less.

“Can’t help if I don’t know what the problem is,” Brunnhilde answered, accepting the beer that Thor offered. Seeing that Thor was struggling to articulate himself, the Valkyrie tried to prompt him. “You’re banging a Midgardian. You’ve done that before, so that’s not it. Likewise, this is not the first time you’ve shagged a servant, sorry, employee. You’ve courted people before, right?”

“Ish. Yeah. Sorta. Not for a long time...it was different. I didn’t really have to try.”

“Because you were the pretty prince, so you could have who you wanted, when you wanted them?”

“Ow. That’s not very nice,” Thor said, wincing at the vague memories of various tumbles.

“I’m not wrong though, am I?” Thor shook his head, unable to look her in the eye. “Well, y/n obviously thinks you’re pretty. Or handsome. Whatever. Don’t need to be a scientist like Banner to work that one out. And you’re still a prince, uncoronated king actually-”

“No, you’re king.”

“Yeah, no. I’m regent. And even that is barely tolerated by the people. We’re gonna have to talk about that soon, but not now. Y/N thinks you’re attractive, you’re still royalty, so you’ve got that going for you. God of thunder, Avenger, hero-”

“-hairy fat dude.”

“Technically, yes, but please refer to my first point.” It’s exasperating for the Valkyrie. She wants to help Thor but he still hasn’t told her what the problem is.

“Well, I said we’d go out for dinner but I don’t know where we can go. And I’m worried there’s a whole bunch of MIdagrdian etiquette that I don’t know and I’ll look stupid and I’ll embarrass her. And I don’t know what to wear. And, and, and…” he trailed off.

“Right ok. I’m guessing you’d rather stay in New Asgard?”

Thor nods.

“We have a tavern. A pub. Bar. Drinking establishment. It’s called The Crown,” she explained.

“The Crown? Why’s it called that.”

“The people looked into Midgardian tavern names. ‘The Crown’ signifies loyalty to the monarchy. They thought it was appropriate.”

Thor could feel his shame washing back over him. He’d abandoned his people and all the while they’d named a tavern to show their loyalty to him. He didn’t want to think about what his future chat with Brunnhilde about the leadership of New Asgard would entail. Even if he was forced to be king, he didn’t think there was anything he could do to make up for his years of neglect.

“Anyway, they do food at The Crown. Perhaps you could go there?”

A tavern didn’t seem like the ideal place, he would’ve loved to have taken you somewhere more illustrious, but he didn’t think he was up to leaving New Asgard.

“Asgardian food?” he asked hopefully.

“In a manner of speaking. Some Asgardian foods just aren’t available on Midgard.”

That was a shame but hopefully, he could introduce you to some Asgardian dishes. If, you know, you wanted to try them.

“In terms of Midgardian etiquette, you know as much as I do. I guess if you’re unsure about something, you could ask y/n? Go have a shower, clean your teeth and we’ll figure out what you should wear.”

*****

Having let it all out, you realised you needed to start preparing for your dinner with Thor. He was obviously nervous about asking you and you didn’t want to disappoint him. Looking at your meagre supply of clothing, you realised that none of it was really appropriate for a date. It was all just very practical. Hmm. You’d seen the Asgardians wearing a mixture of familiar and unfamiliar clothing. They couldn’t have taken that much with them when they escaped, which meant there must be a shop or something, right? You decided to investigate New Asgard. If there wasn’t anything, you’d walk to Tønsberg.

It took a little bit of wandering but eventually, you found a street with a few shops. There was one with dresses and fabrics in the window and you cautiously entered. The woman in the shop seemed startled by you, clutching her notepad to her chest.

“Oh my goodness, hello, are you lost?” she asked.

“No? I was hoping that maybe this was a shop that sells clothing?”

“Yes, it is. My apologies...it’s just that I've never had a customer from Midgard before.”

“That’s quite alright. Erm…” you realised at this point that the Valkyrie had never told you which currency they used in New Asgard. “Ah, I realise this is a little awkward but which forms of payment do you accept?”

“Which ones do you have?”

You opened up your purse. You had your bank cards and a wedge of colourful Norwegian krone notes. You didn’t see any evidence of a card machine so you hoped that krone was accepted.

“Mostly just Norwegian krone.” You knew you had some shrapnel from other countries but that hadn’t been worth changing up and would be unlikely to help here.

“Oh yes, Norwegian money is fine,” the woman enthused “but are you sure? I mean it’s not far to Tønsberg.”

“No, no - you have beautiful things in your window. And I’d prefer to find something here, if possible, rather than give my money to one of the fast-fashion chains,” you said, trying to reassure her. The woman nodded.

“What did you have in mind?” she asked.

“Well, I’m going out for dinner this evening, so I was hoping to find something appropriate.”

“Oh, is this with the prince...I mean the king?”

Word apparently travels fast, you thought, feeling your cheeks burn. You nodded, looking at the floor. The woman clapped her hands with glee and grabbed a tape measure, practically bounding towards you.

“May I?” she asked. “We do not use dress sizes like your people do...let me take your measurements and then I can work out what I have that might fit.”

You weren’t exactly keen on being measured, putting a number to the different parts of you, but this seemed like a good system. Much better than trying to work out whether a shop’s sizing runs big or small. The woman made a series of notes on her pad.

“Follow me,” she said, leading you into another room. The was an oaken settee topped with plush cushions, as well as several full-length mirrors.

“Please take a seat,” the woman gestured to the chair. “I will return shortly.”

You sat down, fiddling with the ends of your sleeves, beginning to regret this. Would you like the clothing that she recommended? Could you afford it? Would Thor think you were being weird? Maybe you should’ve just gone to H&M.

The woman returned with several garments, hanging them from a series of hooks on the back of the door.

“These are the ones that should fit you, I hope there is something here to your liking. Which would you like to try on first?”

You had no idea. In truth, you had no idea what kind of style would suit you.

“I guess we could work out way along, starting from the left?”

“Of course.” The woman went over to bring you the first outfit. It was a cherry red hooded dress, with an embroidered lace panel and billowy sleeves. You undressed, realising that the woman meant to help you. You noticed her staring as you stood there in your underwear.

“Apologies, I did not mean to offend,” she said, averting her gaze. “I just have not seen undergarments in this style before. Are they typical of Midgard?”

You looked at yourself in the mirror. The blue floral t-shirt bra was probably more colourful than standard but otherwise typical, at least for Europe. Before you’d left Thor’s, you’d flipped your knickers inside out. You’d forgotten about that. But there they were. Golden yellow bikini briefs, tag out at the back. You hoped the woman couldn’t see the gusset stains. At this rate, it’d be a minor miracle if you even made it to dinner instead of imploding for embarrassment. You could see your cheeks were trying to match the dress. Oh god, oh god, oh god. The lovebites. The bruises. You were only now getting the full picture, thanks to the mirrors. Fucking hell.

“Please do not feel uncomfortable,” the woman said with a reassuring smile. “We Asgardians are not as shy about our bodies or the pleasures we get from them, as your people are. I am glad that his majesty is finding comfort outside of his flagon. Perhaps he will become well again and begin to notice his people more.”

You sensed that she probably wanted to say more but didn’t out of tact. You allowed her to dress you, lacing the garment at the back.

“What do you think?” she asked, nervously.

“It’s beautiful but I think it would be difficult for me to master the lacing. It’s not really a feature of the clothes I’m used to,” you explained. She nodded and helped you undress before moving onto the next option. This dress was bare-shouldered, in ochre and terracotta linen, with the billowy sleeves again. There was no lacing as the back, instead, a leather belt cinched you in the keep everything in place. You stood staring at your reflection, the bra straps somewhat ruining the look.

“This is not for you either. I can tell by your face,” the woman interrupted your thoughts. You didn’t want to hurt her feelings but you were beginning to panic that you might not find anything you liked.

You tried on several more outfits including a cream linen dress (“I will definitely stain this with dinner”) a beige dress that laced up at the front (“Too long, I’ll end up tripping over it”) and a black dress with built-in fingerless gloves (“I would feel rude wearing gloves at dinner”).

You were down to the final garment and you were beginning to panic, wondering how low long you’d been there and when would the shops shut in Tønsberg.

It was another linen dress, this time in black, with beautiful gold embroidered details on the balloon style sleeves, which were attached to the shoulders of the dress with eyelet lacing. The ribbon corset lacing detail to each side of the dress accentuated your waist, while the scoop neckline showed just the right amount of cleavage. Better still, the skirt came to just below your ankle, so it wouldn’t drag along the ground.

“Ah, I love this,” you said, admiring yourself in the different mirrors. “Knocking ‘em cold in black and gold.”

“Pardon?”

“Oh! It’s a lyric from a song.”

“What is the name of this song?”

“I don’t remember,” you lied. There was no way you were going to explain Sex Dwarf, or Soft Cell, to an Asgardian. Where would you even begin? You began undressing, working up the courage to ask how much it was.

“How much is this dress?” you queried, fearful that you wouldn’t be able to afford it.

“For you, on this occasion, I will let you have it for free.”

“No, no you can’t do that. I must pay you for your work,” you panicked.

“What is your name, my dear?”

“Y/N,” you stuttered.

“Y/N. My name is Lorelei. I have lived a long time but these last few years feel as though they have lasted for centuries. It has been hard for us all. I believe you are here among us to change our fortunes for the better. I saw you walking with him earlier. I have not seen him so happy in such a long time. It is my hope that your love for him will restore his health and restore him to our people so that he can lead us as he is supposed to. I give you this dress in the hope that you will help to make Asgard a proud people again. If I am right, this would be but a small token of thanks.”

And if you’re wrong? You wondered. This was a lot of pressure. Love? Leadership? She couldn’t seriously be eying you up as queen? As Thor’s wife? Christ. You’d only just met the guy.

“I...thank you. This is so generous and kind of you. Perhaps we can come to a compromise and you will allow me to purchase some accessories from you?”

“Yes, I will agree to that. Come, let me show you what I have.”

*****

Thor was showered and cleaned his teeth, just as the Valkyrie had instructed.

“What do you think I should wear?” he asked her. “These Midgardian clothes are made for comfort, not courting. That much I know. Do you think my armour would be too much?”

“Yes, definitely. You’re not going into battle. What do your Avenger friends wear on such occasions?”

Thor sat down in his towel next to the Valkyrie. Loki had worn a black suit when they’d been in New York. That had made him look like a witch. Actually, his friends often wore suits too. Or armour. Or costumes. Bucky wore a lot of leather...no, that wouldn’t work either.

“They wear a lot of suits...Stark kept good company...”

“Well, it says here on GQ ‘Don't wear a suit unless your date is somewhere incredibly swanky.’ We don’t have anywhere incredibly swanky around here, so I think you’ll be alright,” the Valkyrie said, looking up from her phone.

“That’s good. Last time I wore a suit was Stark’s funeral…”

“Ok, a suit is definitely out. You don’t want to be reminded of sad things. And don’t wear the Crocs, either.”

“Why not? They’re comfy.”

“Because a lot of Midgardians think they’re unattractive. Look,” she said, holding up her phone to show Thor the Facebook page called ‘I Dont care How Comfortable Crocs Are, You Look Like A Dumbass.’

“Oh, I see,” he said, a little deflated. “I still want to be comfortable though.”

“Yes, that’s a good idea. What are you comfortable wearing?”

“Well, I liked my jeans but I can’t fit into them anymore,” he explained, staring at the floor. Why had he asked you out for dinner? This was a stupid idea. He was stupid.

“Hey, I heard about how you just changed into your armour on the battlefield. Couldn’t you just do that but the other way round? I mean it just magically fit you, right?”

“I…” he hadn’t even considered that as an option. “I’d need to use my lightning. You told me not to do that anymore.”

“Can you do it without causing a storm?” asked Brunnhilde, hopeful of a way to get Thor out of his current mental rut.

“Yes, perhaps. Let me grab Stormbreaker.”

Before Brunnhilde could stop him, he was out in the garden in his towel, tapping the handle of his axe into the ground.

*** Back in the cabin, you enjoyed your second shower of the day before getting ready for your dinner with Thor. Although you’d been in colder climes for a while, your skin still disliked it, and you made sure to moisturise liberally. Rifling through your clothes, you soon found the black lace bra and matching shorts. It was the only matching set of underwear you had left, and you couldn’t remember why you’d bought it, but you were glad you had. New, Midgardian, underwear would need to go on the shopping list. The shorts had built-in suspender straps and you carefully rolled your lace top stockings up your legs. Tights would’ve been warmer, for sure, but you disliked how sweaty your crotch got while wearing them.

You slipped into the dress you’d bought earlier, pulling the side lacing tight. In hindsight, it was too much, but your magpie tendencies had taken over. That and the panic of having nothing to wear. Hopefully, Thor would appreciate your attempt at integrating with the local populace. A little black dress was traditional for a date...this one just wasn’t so little. You’d also purchased burgundy hooded wool cloak, with edged with a golden braid and fastened with a gold clasp. Lorelei had assured you it would keep you warm but in all honesty, you’d snuggle up to Thor for warmth, you just really wanted a cloak.

It was fascinating to hear Lorelei talk of her work and that of some of the Asgardian women. Many of them had continued their former trades of weaving, felting, tanning, embroidery, and lacemaking. They wanted to preserve their heritage. But it was hard. They’d all been set up with bank accounts and a small amount of money when they arrived. Nobody really traded with New Asgard and a lot of the money left the local economy and was spent in Norway instead. And it seemed as though Thor wasn’t the only one drowning his sorrows. That made sense. You knew enough about the world to know that substance abuse was often seen in communities that had lost their sense of purpose, their heritage.

Your makeup collection was sparse, certainly compared to what you’d had, but you kept a supply for those times when you needed a professional face. Once the base was on, you tried to decide whether you wanted a bold eye or lip colour. Certainly not both. You wanted to show Thor a more polished version of yourself, not be unrecognisable to him. You spotted the crimson matte lipstick. Of course. A pop of colour to match Thor’s cloak.. You applied your eye makeup - gold eyeshadow, black mascara and eyeliner - struggling to keep your hand steady as the excitement began to kick in. You applied a layer of concealer to your lips before applying your lipstick, blotting, and then applying a second coat.

After styling your hair, you looked at the few pieces of jewellery you’d brought with you. Carefully you attached the garnet drop earrings you’d inherited from your nan before clasping the matching pendant around your neck, the stone resting just above your cleavage.

The only mirror in the hut was a small one above the sink, so you had no idea how the full ensemble looked. The lovebites were prominent but it’d be nigh impossible to cover them. You couldn’t wear a scarf to dinner and none of your high-necked tops were appropriate for the occasion. Checking your phone, you concluded there wasn’t enough time to paint your nails so your spritzed your perfume and shoved your fit into your leather boots, zipping up the side and adjusting the front lacing. They weren’t the bitch boots but they’d do.

Even though you were inside, you put on the cloak so you didn’t have to faff about with it when Thor arrived. Now it was time to wait.

*** It took a few attempts to get to an outfit that Thor was comfortable in and that Brunnhilde was convinced was appropriate.

“How do I look?” he asked, fiddling with the cuffs of his sleeves.

“You look very special. Y/n will be impressed, I don’t doubt it. Now hurry up, you don’t want to make her wait.”

Thor nodded and followed the Valkyrie out of the cabin. He remembered how pleased you’d been that morning with flowers. As he walked to the little hut by the docks. He focused his powers and encouraged the flora to bloom a little early, collecting a small posy as he went, but leaving the rest to add a bit of colour to New Asgard.

The nerves kicked in fully when he stood outside your door. He wanted to run away, to hide at home with his beer and some pizza and some mindless gaming. But he couldn’t do that. You’d given him no reason to distrust you. Trying to calm his breathing, he knocked gently on the door.

He could hear you shuffling around behind the wood and was relieved and surprised when you opened the door. He thought you were beautiful anyway, but seeing you stood there, having made an effort with your appearance, in Asgardian clothes, was more than he could have imagined. His mouth was as dry as it was the morning after a heavy night. His heart hammering as though he’d run to the hut, not meandered leisurely. The skin on his face burning as he blushed, he thought he might combust. Standing there, on your doorstep in New Asgard had him feeling hotter and sweating more than when he’d reignited the forge on Nidavellir.

Not trusting his mouth not to say something stupid, he took one hand and kissed it, placing the posy of flowers into your other hand.

“That’s very kind of you, Thor,” you smiled at him. “Please come in a second so I can put these somewhere.” You grabbed your Thermos in the kitchenette, filling it with water and placing the flowers inside, standing it on the windowsill.

Turning around, Thor was stood awkwardly with his back to the door. He looked ravishing, dressed up, with his hair neatly braided at the back. It was so odd, seeing him in something other than his jogging bottoms, hoodies and cardis. You wondered what he would look like, dressed up to the nines in Asgardian finery, but tonight he’d gone for a more earthly look. The brick-red plaid flannel shirt with the crimson suspenders, framing the swell of his stomach beautifully, attached to the comfy looking jeans that you reckoned were probably hugging the curve of his arse, showing off just how shapely it was, thick thighs making them look almost painted on in places. He’d even forgone his Crocs in favour of a pair of sturdy leather boots. If he hadn’t promised you dinner, you’d have dragged him to bed then and there.

You felt a little foolish now, dressed in your Asgardian clothes, but the electric blue hue of his left eye let you know he liked what he saw. Striding over to him, you pressed him back into the door, running your fingers through the loose golden hair outlining his face against the dark wood of the door. It was remarkably soft, like fresh down, and you could feel Thor holding his breath as you pressed into the marshmallow softness of his stomach, tiptoeing to reach his lips. His facial hair tickled your nose, and it was an effort not to flinch away from it, instead, pressing harder, your tongue slipping into his mouth. Thor’s strong arms wrapped around you so tight you were concerned he’d crack a rib or several.

“Now, that’s how you greet someone with a kiss,” you winked, handing him a tissue to remove the transferred lipstick. “Shall we?” you asked, clutching your bag and reaching past him for the doorknob. A rumble from Thor’s belly was the answer you got as you grabbed his hand and ventured into the cool evening.

@innerpaperexpertcloud @morganhoran1671

[sourcherrymagiks]

Carry on Countdown 2019

Day 18 - Crack!

Lamplight

Ao3

Simon

He’s trying to avoid talking to me. That’s how it happens. There was kissing. Amazing kissing. Merlin and Morgana, he’s beautiful and when he kisses me back.....

But anyway. He’s also a stuck up twat who can avoid the shit out of anything. We were back in the room after the kissing (Great Snakes,that kiss though) and he was taking forever to hang his blazer up so he didn’t have to look at me or talk to me. What was I going to do but come up behind him and kiss his neck? I ask you, what else could I have done?

Which is how we came to stumble and fall into the wardrobe. And then straight out of the back. Into a drift of snow.

“Erm Baz, this is going to sound pretty stupid but I think we just fell into...”

“Narnia”

“Yes”

Baz

I know that this is somehow his fault. Why does he always have to involve me in his ridiculous heroics. Although, to be fair, this is well outside of his usual remit.

“Snow, might I suggest we go back? From memory Narnia has its own set of chosen ones. Lots of them. They can probably get by without you”

“I’m not sure that’s how this works, the path has gone”

I look around and he’s totally right. It’s just us, in the snow, under a lamppost.

I can’t keep the petulant tone out of my voice as I say “But you are our chosen one, you belong to the world of Mages”

He laughs and kisses me. “Didn’t know you cared you big softy” I briefly toy with the idea of snapping at him but instead I pull him back into another kiss.

When I pull away to catch my breath and try to get a hold over my treacherous body, Simon gets up. I grumble a bit under my breath but then I decide to co operate a bit. Grudgingly. It seems very unfair that we are here and not snogging in our room. Even though I was the one avoiding the snogging (Why?, I’m such an idiot)

Snow’s sketching in the snow with a stick. It looks like nonsense until I’m standing right next to him. Then it hits me at once, he’s drawn a map of Narnia. From memory.

I must be staring at him because he starts laughing.

“I know you think I’m a thick urchin who’s only ever read cereal packets but I’ve loved Narnia my whole life”

“Me too, that part is not quite right” I alter the shape of the western forest slightly so it ends further from the frozen lake. “I would definitely remember if you were the hero in it. I suppose you do have a bit of Peter about you”

“Fuck off Caspian” he throws a snowball at me. I throw one back. Then I kiss him again because this is all unbelievable.

He’s sketching plot points out now, trying to work out the timeline.

“Right you gorgeous villain, we need to get to the camp here in time for the battle. There’s enough footprints and sled tracks here to show they’ve all been through fairly recently. I don’t think we can help at any point up until the end, do you agree?”

“I do, excuse me while I try to absorb the shock of you being a reader.” He lightly punches me on the arm, he’s blushing. “Is your magic working?”

We both laugh

“As well as it ever does, yours?”

I take out my wand and cast ‘lights out’ at the lamp post. It blinks off.

“Cool. Let’s get moving. Keep your wand out. I don’t want to draw my sword until I need it and I, Erm, can I hold your hand please”

“Come here” I grab his hand and before I can stop myself I’ve kissed his knuckles.

“I like this, you,like this” he bumps my shoulder with his.

Simon

I’m really excited. I dunno if it’s the Baz thing or the Narnia thing but I’m so amped up I’m practically skipping.

“So, Caspian then?” Baz asks with his eyebrow up.

“It’s possible that I might have been not entirely straight for a while”

“You think?”

“There’s no need for that tone you wanker”

Then I’ve got him up against a tree. This want is everything. I need to touch him, kiss him, press myself against him.

He doesn’t just let me, he right there with me, pulling my hair, licking my neck, moaning into my mouth.

He pulls away gasping “Right Snow, let’s get back to the mission and stop debauching the pristine Narnian forests”

“But I like it, I like you” I’m whining a bit.

“You aren’t completely intolerable either Snow”

We seem to have been walking forever. I slept about ten minutes last night. I would kill for some Turkish delight.

“In the books it doesn’t seem this far”

I moan to Baz

“Heaven forbid that the made up world is larger than the children’s book made it appear”

“I get your point, even though you’re a twat, but its hardly made up is it?”

He shrugs. I’m rubbing off on him. That makes me smile. I nearly don’t hear the crack of the twig, I’ve disarmed the guard before I’ve had chance to worry about my sword or magic. They aren’t the best written soldiers.

“Take us to either Peter or Aslan please” I ask the battered looking Narnian as politely as I can be arsed to. I’m not great at manners when I’m hungry and tired.

Baz

Peter is beautiful, not a patch on Snow obviously, but still. The two of them together are blinding. Simon offers our assistance and Peter accepts a little unwillingly. I’m not sure he would at all if not for the wonderful Lucy. She never sees herself as the protagonist so she doesn’t have the same struggle as Peter. To be fair I wouldn’t want to share my story with Simon bloody Snow if I already had three siblings and a lion muscling in on the action. Poor fuck.

The two of them spend the afternoon practicing, Snow is better trained and in great shape but Peter is faster and lighter in his feet. It’s glorious.

When Simon fights Edmund it’s a different thing. No longer a master class in heroic swordplay fought by two golden leaders. Now it’s like a cunning bar fight. Simon has to stop himself from head butting Edmond. When he throws an elbow at Edmond’s face,then stops before it connects, Edmond is not so polite and punches Simon in his exposed ribs. It’s very feral.

When they’re done he comes over and presses his sweaty lips to mine. I don’t know how I avoid making a scene.

Obviously it’s still a bit of a scene. Uncomfortable coughs and averted eyes abound. Then simultaneously everyone decides to ignore it and peace is restored.

I leave to speak with Lucy. She’s got magic and I want to see if I can help her use it. It doesn’t work like ours though. She can’t harness it. I advise her to go to Watford as soon as she can when she returns home. She probably won’t.

She gives Simon a small banner embroidered with a dragon holding a blazing sun. He tucks it into his pocket because the courageous fuck won’t wear armour. He kisses her head. I’m completely flabbergasted when she gives me one emblazoned with a flaming moon. I must be allergic to it because my eyes are watering.

After dinner we talk tactics. Simon keeps quiet about upcoming plot points and focuses on the battle. Simon and Peter lean over the map, blond hair and copper curls tumbling together as the argue over every inch. From his plan I deduce that Snow’s aim is to kill the witch while keeping all the kids well out of the way. This goes down like a sack of shit with Peter. It’s his story and he is the king. Gorgeous (and capable) as Simon is he can’t lead this army. They aren’t loyal to him. Also he won’t play by their outdated battle rules, fight in a line and die, because he knows better. They finally agree on enough compromises to keep everyone happy and save lives. A lot of lives.

In spite of the protests I hold my ground. I will stay by his side regardless of what he thinks he’s going to order me to do.

It’s fun. Really. I mean there is an impending battle but, Crowley, I’ve read that battle so many times. It’s going to be brilliant. I catch Simon’s eye and I know he feels it too.

Simon

I can’t fucking sleep. This is going to be epic. I’m traipsing around the camp looking for anything to take my mind off the combination of wanting to get into this battle and wanting to do unspeakable things to Baz.

It’s not the time though, right?

We still haven’t talked. It’s possible we’ve managed to bring a fictional world to life to avoid talking. But I’m going to tell him after the battle. Hopefully it will be dead romantic.

Baz

The battle starts off early and badly, not quite as badly as I remember because Simon is genius at this and Peter listened to about a quarter of his suggestions. Plus there are two of them.

The absolute confidence of them helps keep up the morale that’s been damaged by Aslan fucking off.

Simon hadn’t mentioned that he was the bearer of a flaming sword or that he had a particularly impressive brand of violent, pulsing magic so when he calls his sword, the fear it causes slams the first wave right back.

I cast quickly and use so much magic that I’m nearly spent in moments but I have taken down most of the ogres and a couple of hags. Peter, Edmond and Simon smash through line after line of the White Witch’s army. Simon is actually grinning, the prat.

I wait for Simon’s signal to disarm the White Witch. Then he’s on her in a moment with Edmond and Peter. She never stands a chance.

By the time Aslan arrives back with the girls there’s only cleaning up and healing to do. He growls at Simon and Simon shrugs at him. He turns his back clearly as pissed off as a magical lion gets.

“This was not your battle Mage”

“Explain how it just was then wise one?”

Simon is brillant at one liners, when he’s not fighting me. I guess it’s in the job description. Aslan grunts and continues back to his tent. What a prick. I guess he’s not willing to let the homoerotic subtext turn into the story.

It’s very clear we’ve outstayed our welcome.

Simon

That was mega. But now it’s time to go. I don’t want to fuck with these guys and I also don’t want Aslan to eat me.

It’s a pretty shitty deal those kids have got anyway. Kings and queens in one land but not able to stay. We hug them goodbye. At least I live where I live. Except for right now obviously.

I grab Baz and we set off back to the lamppost.

“That was amazing, you were amazing” I say to him

He looks at me like he thinks I might he taking the piss.

“You did an ok job yourself Snow. You’re not as pretty as Peter though”

I’m glad he catches me when I jump on him. “Take that back Pitch”

“It’s an objective fact Snow, he is more dashing, I just prefer you”

“You do?”

“Yes you attention seeking numpty, I have appalling taste so I prefer you to most people”

“Good. Because, well, I’m, I think I might be, falling, you know, for you” Merlin. I doubt he’s even going to understand that.

Then he kisses me and I know he does.

Baz

I’ve been kissing Snow for hours. We don’t know how time works here relative to Watford so we should get back. But it’s complicated there and easy here under a lamppost in a forest full of spring.

It’s also not our story.

Simon still has his own story to finish.

“Ready Sweetheart?”

“Not really love”

“Shall we do it anyway?”

“After you”

[indiepoptime]

STRAY KIDS SUPERHERO AU

i started this when i didn’t have wifi or a sketchbook and thus my phone’s notes app was the only thing i had to entertain myself. i didn’t get very far, but decided to finish because we got a fandom name recently (hello fellow stays!!!) and also our boys are coming back so soon and i’m E X C I T E D as hell

anyways i’ll keep one before the cut as a teaser and the rest under it so this post doesnt get too long. this isn’t in age order like i usually do it because....idk. it felt right to do chan first.

hope y’all enjoy this one as much as my day6 one from a bit back!! 

Bang Chan/Chan:

—the batman type of superhero who everyone thinks has some insane power/ability but really is just a normal dude armed with his smarts, charisma, and a small collection of taser guns

—is one of the only members without a secret identity (he barely has a costume. it’s literally a black onesie at best; he wears what he can change into fast) but the members still spy on him because they think he’s lying about not having powers

—works from home in graphic design so that he has the flexibility to do both daytime and nighttime shifts as a hero (we see his priorities here—he still doesn’t get enough sleep)

—doesn’t kill and actively tries to rehabilitate his opponents while he fights them

—villains hate him because they find him irritating, except the ones who he’s managed to actually reform (who, to be fair, still find him irritating but don’t hate him because he’s made their lives better) and who are now grudgingly his “allies” through a variety of physical and figurative debts

—the of-age members have a drinking game where they’ll take a shot after work every time chan ends a battle by calling to a villain by name and taking them out to ice cream/boba/fries (still in costume)

—won’t shut up about how much he loves his team to the point where he’s on probation for public appearances because he’ll inevitably give away a member’s identity. regardless, he’s the undisputed leader and every single member trusts him with their secret identity if they have one

Woojin:

—student with a part-time job as a barista and also as a superhero

—running joke is that he didn’t mean to be on a superhero team, but chan joined his chill study club and turned it into a vigilante club without him realizing what was happening until it was too late

—he just goes with the jokes, but secretly can’t remember how he was pulled into this whole superhero mess either. the thought concerns him a little (but not that much)

—speedster who complains about his “slowness” anyways, leading to his being called either the grandpa or the bear (perpetual hibernation; the members joke that one day he will actually sleep through his own life) of the team

—hard-carries the team in a silent, un-flashy way—a lot of his work in battle is done speeding from place to place, stealing weapons, changing the position of mines and traps

—complains about the members a lot, but genuinely views himself as their personal guardian and would gladly sacrifice his life for them even if he’s somewhat clumsy about it

—the members still give him shit about the one time he rammed into a glass door at the speed of sound and shattered it all over himself (thank god for armored suits) to save jeongin from what he thought was a villain but was actually just a large bird/tree/telephone pole (the story’s gotten muddled over the years)

Lee Know/Minho:

—a professional dancer who’s been in the industry for years, though he’s only recently come out of the shadows as a backing dancer and into the spotlight as a solo act; the development of his powers over fire and electricity have allowed him to put on some pretty impressive performances

—woojin meets him one day in his coffee shop and, after recognizing him from his dancing, asks him about his powers and advertises his club to him. after a few drops by the shop, minho decides to pay the club a visit and essentially adopts all the members as his unspoken proteges

—his fighting style is a mixture of dance and martial arts, which he learned when he was younger, plus a few neat tricks with fire that allow him to hover and propel/flip in the air

—“why are you afraid of heights—you literally fly!”

—“IT’S DIFFERENT OK”

—he’s by far the most popular member with the public, most of whom have not quite made the connection between the graceful fire dancer on stage and the aggressive but also elegant fighter that he becomes in battle. a few of his fans have obviously connected the dots, but are fiercely loyal to his brand and consider it their little secret

—nevertheless, he’s not at all afraid of losing his secret identity and simply keeps it because he can

—he tells the members that he’s already a celeb anyways, so it doesn’t really matter, and happily posts little hints to his identities on all of his social media (he’s got sites for Nightstriker (his superhero name—as pretentious as possible) and himself) while the other members stare on in shock

Changbin:

—rich as h e c k; the one facet of batman that chan lacks

—an amateur graphic novelist with a passion for collecting things: he’s got at least 200 stuffed animals, boxes upon boxes of antique marbles, and enough superhero suits (that he had custom-made depending on his mood and age) to last a small lifetime

—he’s wanted to be a superhero since he was very small, since he spent a lot of his youth reading books and comics, but didn’t develop powers until later in life so he turned to novel-writing as a way to become a hero in fantasy

—when he was 17, his power over shadow finally started to manifest, catching him off guard. at first he could only do small things like blind people or turn the lights off without moving, but eventually he learned that he could literally control people’s bodies by manipulating their shadows

—he went to woojin’s club out of fear, afraid that his powers were too dark to control, and that he couldn’t be the hero he wanted to be if he couldn’t control them

—the other members but especially minho took him under their wing and showed him that there were multiple sides to his power that he could harness in order to achieve balance: the darkness of shadow, but also the light around it

—once changbin gains control over his powers, he considers it his debt to shower the other members with ridiculously luxurious items from home. he’s never quite known what to do with all of his wealth, most of it inherited, so he just keeps buying stuff for the people who helped him

—minho’s not sure what to do with the fancy gold-lined bidet that suddenly appears in his backstage bathroom, but he goes with it

Han/Jisung:

—a childhood friend of changbin’s who re-entered his life when he needed an illustrator to help him with his graphic novels

—equipped with a raging imagination since he was very young, jisung’s powers actually manifest while he’s working on one of changbin’s comics: he accidentally imagines one of the monsters from its pages into being

—changbin and him end up having to fight it and, after changbin helps a stunned jisung defeat the monster with his darkness powers (which jisung previously didn’t know existed), he offers to take his friend to woojin’s club to help him control his newfound abilities

—like minho took changbin under his wing, chan takes it upon himself to help jisung reign in his wayward imagination and bend it to his will. as someone who has to remain calm at all times and evaluate the situation to take advantage of it because of his lack of powers, chan is in a unique position to help jisung concentrate

—once jisung is able to handle his abilities at least to a certain extent, he excitedly provides the club with their own building, furnished with plush furniture and a frighteningly large sunflower lamp in the living room. he refuses to compromise on both the lamp and the building’s fuchsia walls and insists that if they want something different they’ll have to buy it, which changbin immediately does

—his favorite weapon in battle is a giant yellow hammer that he created, which he’s happily named j.won to foreshadow his impending victories. his members are tired and have basically given up on him

Hyunjin:

—if minho’s fame as a celebrity dancer is discounted, then hyunjin would win as the most popular member simply because he’s STELLAR at hiding his identity and everyone is curious as hell

—literally has no clue how popular he is and doesn’t believe it when the other members tell him

—everyone thinks he’s significantly older than he actually is because he has a very dark costume that covers his entire body and a green jeweled mask that covers his face (the jewels came from changbin; the green was hyunjin’s idea)

—his power is poison, and he’s damn good at using it. not only can he erode/poison an enemy by touching them, forcing them to grow progressively weaker throughout a battle; he can also use words to poison: his power allows him to discover his enemy’s worst fear and use it to weaken them

—like changbin, he came to the club out of fear, but not because he was worried that his power would overcome him, but because he worried that controlling and using it made him a bad person

—under the guidance of chan and changbin, he learns to limit his powers and use them to curb evil/violence without crossing the line himself

—when he first came to the club, he was attached to changbin at the hip because he felt a kindred spirit in him, but eventually he would start to absorb the joy of some of the other members, especially jisung and felix (who were usually around changbin anyway)

Felix:

—having come from abroad and found himself both directionless and moneyless, felix turns to stealing in order to provide for himself. he breaks into changbin’s home thinking that he and his family aren’t there, only to find changbin wrestling himself into one of his many superhero suits (the family outing, while true for the rest of his family, was a distraction for changbin to change)

—after the shock of that first meeting, changbin “invites” (more like grudgingly accepts) his intruder into his home and offers him a full meal, as well as a free shower and some nice clothes before going out on his mission

—somewhere down the line changbin realizes that he’s adopted a younger brother somehow? and it’s actually kind of nice?? once felix is cleaned up and not stealing, he’s very smiley and cute and follows changbin around the house everywhere offering to help

—eventually, changbin isn’t able to keep felix from coming along with him to one of his club meetings, wherein felix gains a bucketload of new role models

—chan is SO COOL, especially because he doesn’t have powers, and because felix thinks that he also doesn’t have powers, he spends every meeting trying to get chan to teach him stuff

—eventually, the team takes felix aside to try to figure out if he DOES have any powers (since, changbin insists, if he’s gonna keep coming with me we gotta keep him NOT DEAD. I HAVE BROTHERLY DUTIES)

—it doesn’t take them long to discover that felix definitely does have powers, and that they were kind of obvious: he can turn himself intangible at will, and he does it unconsciously. it’s how he’s been getting into houses undetected

—woojin takes him as his apprentice, since his powers are fairly similar (SO COOL, says felix)

—jisung calls him Filly Pryde and insists that this should be his superhero name when he goes public—the rest of the team wants to die in that instant

Seungmin:

—the only member of the team who actually came to the club on his own free will and wasn’t brought in by another member

—was a HUGE fan of the superhero team before he joined; he followed all of their public appearances and kept newspaper cuts of their battles in his room, as well as identity graphs where he’s hunted down info about all of the members and tried to figure out who they actually were

—when he joins, woojin comes to the apartment that he shares with his mom and sister and seungmin is a frenzy of COVER UP EVERYTHING THEY CAN’T KNOW THAT I KNOW hi im seungmin

—while hyunjin trained himself because he HAD to, seungmin built up his seemingly useless power to make it into a superhero-worthy skill. he can control paper, but has trained himself to have limited control over different types of trees (those that are made to make paper, which he’s taught himself to recognize on sight)

—he’s also extremely skilled at using paper folding/origami as a weapon using speed and the angle of the edge of the paper. basically paper-cuts on steroids

—changbin makes the mistake of hazarding a joke about seungmin’s ability when they first meet, before seungmin almost saws his nose off (and also berates him with hundreds of embarrassing incidents from past fights that seungmin somehow still remembers)

—he and minho have a bomb combo move that involves minho lighting trains of paper knives on fire and it is, in felix’s words, the best thing on this good earth

I.N/Jeongin:

—seungmin’s protege

—jeongin’s power is the most obvious of the whole team’s: he’s got 4-foot angel wings that are probably still growing. when they first sprouted, he was almost beat nonsensical before seungmin paper-cut his bullies into near delirium and then told jeongin that his wings were the most awesome thing he’d ever seen

—seungmin then brought jeongin home, made him a variety of beautiful paper capes and shawls to hide his folded wings, and then went to the club to have jisung make him a bag whose straps could fit his wings through them, as well as fabric copies of the paper designs

—after a while, jisung began to question who he was making these extravagant gifts for, and had woojin & chan ask seungmin to bring his protege to the club

—afraid that his team would think jeongin was either too young or ill-prepared to be a superhero, seungmin spent an entire night preparing a 20-slide ppt presentation complete with images and research for his case, as well as a few days training jeongin in basic battle skills

—he needn’t have been worried though; chan falls in love with jeongin instantly and forces the rest of the team to accept him as well, which doesn’t take much forcing at all once the kid smiles

—“WHAT IS THAT PEST??!” demands a villain, gesturing at a flying jeongin

—“THAT’S OUR BABY!” chan yells back

[bolbianddolanhouse]

BNHA self insert AU

Nani the heck is this? Read here!

Chapter 13: Weird Flex, But Ok

For a month now I’ve been in a steady study schedule and little to my knowledge, marked the grueling slow burn to our relationship. I just read into it as friends helping each other out and everyone else is waiting out to see if and when Iida is going to break and finally say how he feels. Shinso hasn’t sparked anything yet but we talk to each other in passing. I don’t pay attention to any of those social cues as I’m preparing for my next exams.

-Wednesday, In the hero classroom, after school-

“I can’t believe you got a 100 percent on your english test Iida-kun!” said Midoriya as he slung his backpack on.

“Looks like working with Palma-san so closely is really paying off” Kirishima nudged him “maybe if you show her your test score she’ll give you a treat.”

“Stop you guys! She’s just a really good tutor” Iida said adjusting his glasses “maybe if you focused like we did, you’d pass too.”

“Oh ho ho! you picked up on more than just english Iida-kun” teased Kaminari “when’s the wedding?”

Iida turned red and briskly walked out to the front of the school. He then sees Mimi carrying Ita’s limp body and Jin deploying a portal. He gets concerned and runs toward them.

“Ita? ITA!?”

“Oh its glasses, hi” said Jin.

“What happened?!”

“She got knock-out sprayed accidentally when we were on cleaning duty” Mimi said calmly “she’ll be ok, we were going to portal her to her room and leave a note to check on her.”

“I’ll take care of her, just hand her to me” Iida said extending his arms.

Mimi and Jin looked at each other and shrugged “Ok lover boy, here you go and in the portal you go!” Mimi said tossing Ita’s body into his arms and Jin pushing them into the portal. “Make sure she stays in her room until she comes around! If she’s still out by 6pm, let us know!” Jin warned.

“Um ok thanks?” Iida said as he stepped into the portal and was suddenly in Ita’s room. The smell of the flowers hit him and the bright colors soon followed. He was in the forbidden garden again, alone with her limp body. He laid her on her semi-messy bed and put her backpack on her chair and shoes in her closet rack. He opened the window to let in fresh air, suddenly Ita took a deep staggering breath but didn’t wake up.

“Come on Ita, wake up” Iida said softly as he kneeled by her bed “I can’t stay here until you come around, the others might think wrongly of me or you.” As he stoked her hair, the idea of just bring her out to the commons room and wait for her to come around. He wraps her in her blanket and carries her to the commons room couch. He runs to his room to change really quick and come back to keep an eye on her. Everyone coming back was concerned for her and Iida explained everything. It was nearing almost 2 hours and Iida decides to get food ready for her.

“Hey Aoyama-san”

“Yes?”

“Can you keep on eye on her while I prepare some food?”

“Why of course I’ll keep your sleeping beauty company while her Prince is away~”

“Okay... well just make sure she’s breathing” Iida said as he stands up.

While Aoyama is sitting next to her slumped body, he started to talk to her like she was able to respond. He doesn’t pay attention that she was starting to float up slowly. 

“...and that’s how I want my hero debut to be like~ Palma-san?” he snapped out of his monologue as he saw that she wasn’t there but only her blanket. He looked around to see if she was walking around or with Iida, then the panic set in.

“IIDA-KUN!”

“What?! Did she wake up?!” he said running in.

“Not to cause alarm but I looked away and suddenly she’s not here”

“I’ll check her room, you go ask around if they’re seen her”

They split up and don’t notice her limp body on the ceiling like balloon. It wasn’t until Uraraka accidentally floated her cup and saw her body. She screamed for help and everyone came running in.

“How is that possible? I’ve never heard of sleep levitation!” said Momo.

“Never mind that! We need to bring her down before she hurts herself” said Iida trying to take action “Tsuyu, can you bring her down?”

“On it, kero”

As she stretched out her tongue to grab her, Ita teleports out. Everyone panics and starts to look around for her and she reappears in the hallway.

“That’s mega weird” said Mineta “we need sensei to erase her quirk.”

“wow Mineta thats the most intelligent thing you’ve come up with!” said Todoroki “I’ll go get him while all of you try to contain her.”

As they try to do that, she just teleports in random places in the dorms.

“What the- who took her out of her room?!” said Aizawa demanding to know how this came to be.

“I did! I was trying to-” started Iida.

“How many times do I need to tell you to leave her be?! You shouldn’t have taken her out of her room while she’s unconscious” Aizawa scolded as he erased Ita’s quirk and captured her in his scarf “lead me to her room so I can show you why.”

They lead him to her room and the smell of the flowers hit hard and he placed her body on her bed.

“why can’t she be moved while she’s out sensei?” asked Midoriya “is it related to her quirk?”

“Yes and no, here, do you see that bouquet of flowers? It’s a mix of lavender, white sage and white lilies; nature’s telekinetic quirk suppressant.” he said pointing at the flowers on the desk “Telekinesis is one of the world’s most powerful quirks because it can be activated subconsciously when they sleep or get knocked out. This mix of herbs and flowers makes the user not only sleep soundly but suppresses their subconscious from activating the quirk and getting hurt. She keeps sachets of this dried mix on her person at all times for this very purpose and you put her in serious danger of getting hurt.”

She took a staggering deep breath and everyone started to make sense of the reasons why she has that fresh flower smell all the time. Everyone left her room and Iida tried to stay to watch over her but Aizawa advised to not as she might need the space to come around. Time passes and its well passed 6pm and Iida was about to go run to the intel dorms when she emerged out her room in a change of clothes.

“oof hi yall!” I said stretching my arms and back “I feel like I was tossed repeatedly on the wall!”

“you don’t remembered what happened?” asked Iida

“I remember getting sprayed with some knock out spray that was uncapped in the work room I was cleaning and as I was slipping out of consciousness, I saw Jin running towards me and telling me that I’m going to be ok... then I had a bad dream then I woke up in my room.”

“You don’t remember how you got here? or if you got moved?”

“Umm no but I’m pretty sure Mimi and Jin portaled and carried me to my room and left a note” I said and I picked up on Iida’s face that something else happened “why? what happened while I was out?”

He then explained to me what happened and how Aizawa had to educate everyone on why I shouldn’t be moved.

“Why would you do that?!” I said mortified “Tenya! what if I floated away? or teleported into town or oncoming traffic?!”

“I didn’t know you’d do that! I didn’t think it was serious when your friend said not to move you from your room!”

I try to not rage and I just took a deep breath and calmed myself. I just told him to not do it again and continued on my usual evening.             

-The next day, in homeroom-

“Ok class, before I start the safety lecture” Diya sensei said grudgingly “a quick reminder that the skills display is 3 weeks so for the next few sessions we’re going to cut homeroom short to extend training and have the practice gym open for extra practice during free period and after school.”

Jin turns around to face me “hey are you down to practice heavy weapons with me during free period?”

“yee yee, I was going to ask you the same thing”

Diya gave us the lecture and what happened yesterday after school to ensure future safety. We did training in Weaponry and I was trying to improve my reaction time for heavy weapons. My body isn’t suited for the heavy weapons and neither is Jin’s but our goal is to just do enough for an average mark. I teleport in the hero class with my training clothes on because we were doing another round of spars.

-Hero classroom, before I arrive-

“I am not excited for spars today” groaned Mina “Palma-san is going to brutally whoop us one by one!”

“I don’t think she’d take out her emotions on us like that” Momo responded “she was forgiving about yesterday.”

“She’s not talking about that” Jiro cut in “Palma-san has been training with 1-B to develop new techniques for their exams, according to Kedo-san, Palma-san had brought the entire class to their knees without much effort.”

“Hi everyone!” I said as I teleported in “who’s ready for some spars! I know I am!”

“I’m glad you feel that way Ita!” said Iida standing up from their desk “lets all try to get in the same mindset as her!”

We get to the sparing circle and Aizawa was smiling and everyone knew it was gonna be brutal.

“Anybody want to go first?” asked Aizawa.

“I’d love to go first sensei” I cheerfully said with my hand up.

“I thought you might’ve said that, your opponent is Iida” he said scribbling on his clipboard “please step up to the circle.”

My stomach dropped, Iida? Out of all the people?! It’s like they want me to teach him a lesson. No matter, I wasn’t going to go easy on him.

“Hey, let the best fighter win” I said extending my hand.

He looked at my hand and almost hesitated to shake it “yes, let put on a good fight.”

“Palma vs Iida, commence spar”

My goal was to pin him or send him out of bounds because he’s too bottom heavy for me to pick him up and knock out. I get on defense as he started to rush me. I found it suspicious that he wasn’t landing any hits on me, he was just circling in on me. As I extended my arms out to levitate, he hooked onto my arms and pinned them to my sides. I was starting to lose my temper.

“Playing dirty huh?! Two can play at THAT game!” I yelled as I splayed my legs up and wrapped them around his hips to make him lose his balance. He got flushed at my very suggestive move

“What are you doing! This is very lewd behavior!”

“Aww whats the matter? Can’t handle a little roughness?” I said has I felt his grip loosen and broke out of his hold to push him down, legs still wrapped around him as he landed on his back “I like it rough, hot and heavy. Let me show you.”

The class gasped when I did my dirty talk. He pushed me off and tried to get me out of bounds, but I wasn’t taking it.

“Aww, you don’t want to play with me? Maybe if I give you a little peek you’d want to.” I said as I started to lift up my shirt. I didn’t make it past my bellybutton and Iida stopped to pull down my shirt. I did a quick slap and tackle as he knew it was game over for him.

“IIDA-KUN! USE HER SPIN MOVE! THE SPIN!” yelled the boys from the bleachers. Fools think I don’t know how to counter my own moves. As predicted, he did my low spin kick but I propelled myself up with his engine so quick that he didn’t have time to stop. He spun out of bounds and victory was mine.

“Palma wins”

“Good job kid! Barely used your quirk” Aizawa said as he finished scribbling on the score sheet.

I look over to Iida and he’s slowly getting up and I walked over to him

“Hey, good spar” I said extending my hand to shake on it “I see you’ve improved greatly on countering and spins, keep it up!”

He shook my hand vigorously “I gave it my all Ita but your taunting and boldness always throws me off! A truly powerful opponent!”

We sat in the bleachers to see the other spars and I get curious on who’s going to be my next opponent. 

“Ok next up, Midoriya and Palma. Please step up to the circle.”

What in the actual fuck sensei?! But also I was curious about his quirk and see how it works.

“Palma vs Midoriya, begin spar”

I’m feeling pretty confident that I can send him out of bounds at least but I was in fear that he was going to break my arm or some shit. Some punches were exchanged and high kicks were avoided but I slipped a face touch in. I activated the copy and I felt a sensation in my throat, what the hell is this? This isn’t a strength quirk! What this that?! I breathed out and I puffed out smoke and a low flame. Fire breath!

“So this is what you’ve been hiding! You’re a secret fire breather!” I called out and everyone looked confused.

“What! thats not my quirk!” said Midoriya shocked “thats my father’s quirk!”

“Hmm? that’s interesting” I said pondering a bit but refocused on the spar “no matter now, I have the upper hand broccoli boy! Say your prayers”

I levitated up and screeched as I spit fire down to Midoriya that was struggling to avoid them. Poor boy was trying to jump up to knock me down but just flew backwards and out of bounds. Accidental win for me!

“Palma wins”

“Amazing work kid, love the dragon screeches” Aizawa praised as he flipped the page to see the next spar.

Midoriya didn’t look too well when I walked over to him to see if he was all right “Hey you good there? Is it the quirk thing?”

“Yeah! I can’t figure how you copied that but not my One for All” He pondered as I picked him up “was- was the fire breathing supposed to be my quirk?”

“Probably, my copy works as a scanner. My hand reads vitals, brain waves and unaltered DNA found on the face. I can copy a baby’s or seemingly quirkless individual and show them their quirk that awaits or is suppressed by other factors.”

“That’s amazing! Palma-san your quirk can help so many people in quirk medicine and research!” he said as we sat in the bleachers “I hope that someday, when you find the way to activate dormant quirks in the quirkless, I can speak on your credibility as a hero.”

“Oh stop it you!” I said as I playfully punched his arm “go write that in your journal or something.” 

I spent the rest of my day thinking about how I gave up my dream to be a doctor, life sucks. Fast forward to Monday...

-Homeroom in intelligence classroom-

“Special Announcement time everyone!” Diya exclaimed “In 3 weeks, the week after the skills display, will be the school dance. Tickets are on sale during lunch.”

I get so excited that any depression I had lingering, had left the country. Little known fact about me is that I LOVE school dances and the whole process of finding a dress and spending time with friends puts me in the fantasy. Mimi and Jin notice and they start planning with me. I was happy again and I wasn’t going to let anything ruin it for me.

-Hero classroom, before I arrive-

“Sooooo Iida-kun” Kaminari said sliding into Iida’s view “are you going to ask Palma-san to the dance?”

“I am, thats for sure” said Iida confidently “she likes to dance.”

“Maybe you’ll get lucky and get to kiss her while slow dancing” dramatically said Aoyama “finally your princess will be all yours!”

Everyone was talk over each other how this was going to be the dance that will join us together. Meanwhile, in the opposite side and down the hall somebody else had the same idea.

“Shinso it’s been weeks of just pleasantries in passing!” groaned Tetsutsu “just ask her to the dance and do couple-y things.”

“I don’t want to go to the dance, I’d rather sit at home or go to the cat cafe” responded Shinso “its not like she’d not go if I didn’t ask.”

“Who were you not gonna ask?” I butted in out of nowhere.

The boys yelped and jumped a bit “oops sorry! I couldn’t help but overhear.”

“I was saying that I wasn’t going to the dance” Shinso said glaring at his friend “and I wasn’t going to ask anybody in particular because they would go whether I asked or not.”

“Not much of a dancer? or fan of crowds?” I asked trying not to pry at him, he nods in response “I figured, would’ve been nice to see you dressed up or shared a slow dance with you.”

Tetsutsu gives Shinso the ‘see what did I tell you’ look “well ummm are you going?”

“Yea I am, I love dressing up and I like acting up on the dance floor” I said as I did a quick spin “I hope I find a dress in time and I wouldn’t mind getting asked either.”  

Shinso looked like he was about to change is mind about going but then I quickly said my goodbyes and made my way to class.

“Hi everyone!” I said in a cheerful tone.

“Palma-san! You seem happy” Hagakure said suspiciously “is it because of the dance?”

“Oh yes! I love school dances with the dressing up and pictures” I said twirling to my seat “some of my best memories were made at school dances! not to mention that slow dances are my weak spot~ if anyone slow dances with me, there’s a 100 percent chance of us kissing.” I said dreamily as I sat at my desk.

There was murmuring after I said that but I was too busy remembering my last slow dance, before the incident and how happy I was with my boyfriend at the time. My goal was to be that happy again and maybe fall in love, for real this time. Class started and I had to re-focus. Class ended a bit early and I packed so I can teleport to the ticket sales to get that squared away.

“Hey Ita” meekly spoked Iida

“Oh hey”

“What are you doing after class?”

“I’m going straight to the ticket sales booth” I said as I zipped my bag closed “I want to get that taken cared of so I can start thinking about what dress I should get.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you already had a plan” Iida responded “I was going to ask if you wanted to eat with me.”

“Sorry, the lines are probably going to be long to purchase a ticket so I might not have time to eat with you” I gently and densely said “maybe some other time?”

Before he could say anything, a portal popped up and Jin and Mimi popped their heads out.

“ITA JUMP IN! THE LINES ARE ALREADY FORMING!”

“oh SHIT GOTTA GO YALL!” I screamed as I ran full speed into the portal before vanishing.

“No fair! Palma-san and her friend have instant travel quirks” pouted Uraraka “I can’t even purchase my ticket until next week anyhow.”

“I wish I had friends like hers” said Bakugo “amazing chemistry on and off the field plus powerful and smart! Man what I’d give to have a power squad but I’m stuck with these idiots!”

“Awww we love you too Bakugo!” said Mina, Sero and Kaminari

“THAT WASN’T A COMPLIMENT YOU DUMBASSES!” yelled Bakugo.

I spent a good two-thirds of lunch in line to buy my ticket, turns out, it’s separated by grades but in different locations because of the size of the school. Didn’t matter much to me, I spent 3,000 yen on my ticket and I started to search for a dress online in my free period. Mimi and I had trouble finding something that would fit our build and height. Jin and I sit in Stats and Strats, doing our in-class work, when a 3rd year with the agent number 420 comes up to us.

“Yo lil mans and mama”

“Waddup.”

“Yee Yee”

“I got some of that good good and an invite”

“Oh si? How much for the good good?” I said reaching into my breast pocket for my coin purse that I keep my wad of cash in.

“5,000 yen for 2gs, 2,000 yen for half g and 300 yen for this mystery bag of different strains I’m trying to get rid of.”

“I’ll go splities with you on the 2g” Jin whispers to me as he reaches for his wallet in his pocket.

“You got it my lil man and mama” he said as he gave us that good good and counted our cash “and the invite is after dance party in the 3rd years dorms.”

“No way! we get to party in the watch tower suite!” I said excitedly because the 3rd year intelligence dorms are luxury in comparison to the other dorms. They have a class size of 10 and their commons room is massive, perfect for parties. Plus they have a watch tower connected to their stairwell that oversees the city and perfect spot to spy/make out. Its on the top floor of our dorms (A class: 1 year- 2nd floor, 2nd year- 3rd floor, 3rd year- 4th floor) and you ONLY get in their parties through invite.

“That’s right lil mama, bring your tall friend too” He said putting the money in his breast pocket “booze and weed friendly, food is limited so try to bring something...OH! and you can bring a plus one BUT they have to be cool and abide by our party rules. Make out and fuck in your own rooms, we don’t want to deal with that shit.”

We nod and he gets up to go back to his group of the ‘cool squadron’, a group of 5 that by themselves are dumb and useless, but combined they form a force that can level a house! After class, we tell Mimi and even they were excited to be part of the cool kids party.

“We’re getting noticed more and more by the upperclassmen now that we took that practice test” gushed Mimi “I’m getting flustered by all the attention!”

“Yee, I won’t be partying as hard but the clout of just being let in will be enough” said Jin as we walked to the front of the school “do you think anyone else in our grade will be invited?”

“Doubt it” I said stretching my arms “those 3rd years know what’s good and who’s cool enough to party with them.”

Fast forward to the weekend and Mimi and I are hitting up the dress shops to find a dress. After visiting 12 shops, Mimi found one and just needed about almost a foot of extension to make it floor length. Her dress was a very 90′s royal blue satin dress with thin straps and rhinestone accents, full fantasy with the matching gloves, shoes and hair clips. All I found were shoes, clutch, necklace and earring set, and a stark white faux mink coat. I knew what I wanted but nothing fit on me and I couldn’t get a custom made in time for the dance. Feeling a bit down on my luck, I accepted what I got so far and headed to the dorms. Mimi was feeling kind of shitty that I couldn’t find my dress and helped me think of something or some place I can go to get a custom or alterations. On our way to the car, Mimi saw that a cloth bulk and supply store was having a sale on bolts of fabric. She gave me the idea that I should just make my dress, since I made most of the pieces for my culture presentation costumes and made a dog fur coat for the project, I have the capacity to make a dress. I got hopeful as we entered the store and when asked by the employee what I was looking for, I told them my situation and they directed me to the store owner. The store owner has a quirk that gives them exacts on anything just by looking at something, they eyed me and told me my measurements and how much fabric I will need for what I wanted. I was amazed by their generosity to help me that I almost started crying but I didn’t when I saw how inexpensive everything was! I thanked them and happily made the drive back. I started right away at my dress because I knew I wasn’t going to have enough time if I didn’t utilize my down time into making my dress. My dress idea was a 3/4 sleeve, trumpet gown with a wide scoop neck with the lavender colored fabric I purchased with a gold rosette trim on the bottom. When I say I utilized my time, I mean EVERYDAY and MANY ALL NIGHTERS to complete this dress. I would go straight to my room after school and just really tired myself out with this. Meanwhile, Iida and the boys were tryna push us together.

“Hey Ita” said Iida as positive as possible.

“Yo! Haven’t seen you in a while” I responded as I’m walking down the hall from the nurses office.

“What happened to your arm?”

“Oh I blocked a rubber bullet with my shield but it fell off my arm mount before the bullet hit me, It wasn’t so bad, just some bruising.”

“That sounds like a big deal!” he said concerned but then remembered why he wanted to talk to me “but anyways, um the dance is coming up really soon and I heard you are making your dress!”

“Oh yea I am, its kinda the reason why I haven’t spent time outside my room” I said sheepishly “But its coming along just fine.”

“Oh well um if you don’t mind me asking, what color is the dress?”

“Its this pretty lavender color with gold trim on the bottom” I said dreamily “I can already see myself dancing in it.”

“Lavender? It is a lovely color, you look good in everything you wear” he said as controlled as possible to not give away his feelings “I was just asking because I was having trouble choosing a color for my dress shirt and I haven’t asked anybody as my date.”

“Oh were you planning on asking someone?”

“Well...sort of” he starts to lose his cool “they’re kind of hard to get a hold of.”

“Oh sorry to hear that” I said with a straight face as the hint just flew over my head “Hope you see them in passing soon! I just got a ping from my squadron to report to the field” I said picking up my pace to jump out an open window, I turn to them before jumping “See you around!”

Iida just stands there waving as he sees Ita jump out the window into T-pose formation, floating toward the practice field where you could see a bunch of students practicing with equipment. Kirishima, Aoyama and Tokoyami jump out from their hiding spots with looks of disbelief.

“Wow... she really did that” said Kirishima scratching his head “at least you know what colors she’s wearing to get her the flowers.”

“Alas! the princess flies away from her destiny! What will our hero do to capture her heart~” Aoyama strikes a pose as he recites.

“Not surprised she blew him off like that” Tokoyami spoke up “her skill display is next week and all her efforts are on that and the dress.”

“Skills display?” Kirishima and Iida asked in unison.

“Yes, it’s a sort of ceremony were they get issued their official agent numbers based on all the tests they’ve taken and the display will show the program how they stand” Tokoyami explained and clarified “I know this because I’ve overheard her talk with her friends about it.”

“Why hasn’t she told us about it?” Iida pondered “we’ve seen her work before and cheered her on...how is this any different than that?”

“Wait! I’ve heard about that display thing from another one of her classmates in passing now that I think about it” Aoyama perked up as he recalled “the display is going to take place in the half stadium and the people in attendance are agencies and families supporting their student.”

Everything clicked for them, she didn’t want to tell them because she rather not think about how lonely she is when her family won’t be there. They went about their day feeling bad that she’s not open about her loneliness, it mostly bothered Iida since he knows more about it than the others.

-the next day, after the last class of the day in the hero class-

“EVERYONE! I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT!” bellowed Iida to get the attention of the class.

“PALMA-SAN SAID YES?!” squealed the girls.

“No! But it does have to do with her-”

“She said no?” said Todoroki.

“What? no...ANYWAYS!” Iida said embarrassed and tried to refocused on his task at hand “As you all may or may not know, our dear classmate Palma-san is having her skills display in 3 days, and I want to form a spectator group to see her in place of her family that is unable to attend. This is an important part of her program rubric as she will be given her official agent number and will start getting offers for her internship with the pros. She’s done so much for us and seen us get our hero requirements, who’s with me to cheer on our self-less classmate!”

“We are!” said the Baku-squad.

“Us too!” said the girls.

“You know all of us are on board” jumped up Midoriya “she’s like our big sister in our made up family we built.”

Everyone nodded and Iida got relieved that everyone cared to see her. They all planned what to chant and made banners for her, all while she was busy making that darn dress in her room. Ita on the other hand, was too wrapped up in her own things to know all the surprises she will come across on her big day. She’s feeling confident and ready to take on this next major step, what could possibly hold her back?

-End Chapter 13-

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