#I know that technically falls under telepathy but like | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

writinggremlin · 1 year ago

Note

GAH-- Jfc you scared me!! Hi!! :D!!!!

This ask was sent in as a part of this ask game, where if you send me an ask with "!!", I will reply with an infodump about one of my ocs! I currently have no other requests and--... (turns to count)... 15 more ocs to go wild about. This doesn't include stuff about my worlds and magic systems, which I would also be more than happy to share!

So if you like what you see here and want to learn more about the lil blorlos in my head, feel free to send in an ask! I want it. I want you to. I know you want it too. Do it. You won't. No balls. (Expect me to take a few weeks tho- I'm not fast at all lmfao)

Now- don't get me wrong, I've been so fucking hype while typing this all out! But I might've also been procrastinating this out of fear of what people might think...

I think I have found the solution though!

...

(Chucks this violently at the dash)

(Heehoos away)

Cw (Starts at the origin story, below the Blorbo Blingo): Mentions of cults, religious/ritualistic sacrifice, death, and implied manipulation/brainwashing.

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Introducing: Mist!

My beloved immortal, my first whumpee before I even knew what whump was, and easily one of my more powerful characters (though she has been nerfed and fiddled with quite a lot over the years).

She started out like many people's first characters do; as an overpowered self insert with a red/blue heterochromia because "oH nO!! oNe HalF iS EVIL aND iS oNlY mUrDeR!!!" (No shame to the people who have characters like that btw! That's not a bad thing! It's just something that I feel is difficult to write correctly, and I was definitely not able to do that lmfao).

Not only that, but I was a Warrior's kid growing up. Her original name was Miststar, and I decided that she was somehow the leader of Starclan. Yeah... I never solved the plothole of how or why a human would become a cat god besides just- dying in the area lmao.

I have kept many of the original things about her though, like her telepathy, the immortality, the "evil half" (who gets lightly mentioned in the backstory, and who I'll introduce next if I ever get more of these 👀), and even being a demi-god (technically). But I have definitely toned everything wayyyyyy down throughout the years, and I'm still messing around with her to this day.

As for today, Mist now feels (to me) like a humanized character who has been given a life of magic and power, where she still struggles with relatable experiences despite that (like Sabrina The Teenage Witch or Bewitched). And there's no demons that live in her head to occasionally possess her and murder everyone for no reason lmfao.

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Stats/Bio:

Name: Mist

Nickname(s): Sunshine (only allows Ember to call her that)

Age: About 600 years or so

Species: She's adamant about being human, though technically she could fall under a demi-god type status.

Height: 5'8"

Gender/Pronouns: Woman, she/her

Sexuality: Pan (Almost never gets into romantic relationships. And no, that's not just because of the whole immortality thing)

Relationship status: Single (and that's not likely to change anytime soon)

Personality: Mature, wise, motherly, respectful, understanding, self-reliant. She seems willing to be open about herself, yet also rarely seems to let herself be vulnerable.

Powers: Immortality, telepathy, Shapeshifting (limited to a few forms), Portals (can be inter-dimensional), teleportation (quantum physics+magic), earth and water manipulation

(I may rb this later to go into much more detail about each power's capabilities and limitations and all of that. 👀)

Preferred weapon(s): N/A

Fashion vibes (casual): Cozy and comfortable. Sweaters, jeans, and sneakers are the go-to.

Fashion vibes (special): Extravagant and/or intricate ballgowns with a black, dark purple, and/or dark blue color palette, and a sparkly design, to mimic a twilight or night sky.

Hobbies: Art (drawing, painting, coloring, etc), reading, playing piano, adventure

Likes: Space, quiet moments, classical (or similar sounding) music, waltz music, tea, and almost anything that she will never be able to fully comprehend or understand will fascinate her

Dislikes: Cults (who doesn't), religion in general (though she respects others beliefs. It's just not for her), being placed on a pedestal, crowds, being powerless (literally), being powerless (figuratively)

Extras/Fun Facts: She is susceptible to a certain type of power being used on her. May go more into detail about that in a different character's intro (if I even get more of these, idk if I will lmao).

Because she's been alive for so long, I would just like to confirm that she has, in fact, witnessed the creation of classical music, modern electricity, phones, planes, etc. This bamboozled me when I first realized that lmfao.

And to end this part on a goofy ahh fact: She doubts her ability to drive, yet will willingly volunteer to fly a plane (and she's genuinely good at it). Also, afraid of spiders.

Blorbo Blingus (there goes tumblr, downgrading the image quality again smh):

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Brief origin story (yes this is the brief one):

Mist was born in the 1400's, into a small cult group that lived in a village, mostly secluded from civilization (aside from the occasional trader). Her first several years of life were spent more secluded than the others; not allowed to see the outside world or even interact with the others beyond what was absolutely necessary.

It was to keep her "pure".

For you see, Mist was conceived and raised to serve one purpose, and one purpose only: sacrifice. To be an offering for their "god". Nobody really understood why this was needed, but nobody really asked either, which made His job much easier.

Things didn't go according to plan, however. Reasons and explanations for why this ritual failed were unclear; only spreading through rumours and speculation. Though, Mist had noticed that the person preforming the ritual on her was reciting the wrong words. Whether or not this was on purpose, will always remain a mystery.

Now she did die, as expected. What wasn't expected, however, was her somehow pushing the lid off of what should've been her coffin, before anyone even had a chance to nail it shut. People were surprised, to say the least. (It was around here that she began to slowly gain her other magical powers as well.)

From there, tensions rose. Some of the members, namely ones who harshly judged their "God" for this mistake, saw this as a sign to change their ways, and follow her instead. Other members were more loyal to the original, who was already condemning and shaming her for supposedly betraying him.

The cult divided. ("God" will remember that.)

Around this time, Mist started noticing a little voice in her head. A voice that grew louder and became more real over time. A bitter, spiteful voice, which grew more and more powerful, the more anger and resentment it was fed.

Mist eventually grew close to that voice.

The voice suggested that she run away.

She didn't.

It tried again.

She stayed.

It ordered her to.

She refused.

Threatened.

Ignored.

It said nothing to her, just silently planted a small seed of an idea into her mind.

She left that night, and never looked back.

#...*puts her through The Horrors puts her through The Horrors puts her through The Horrors puts her through The Horrors puts her through-*#hshsghsjahsnddhs fr tho thank you so much to the anon who sent this ask in!!!#i am ✨terrified✨ of ppl's reaction to this. i am expecting the worst. but y'know what? fuck it we ball.#*potential reaction. idk how anyone's gonna react yet. that's kinda the whole point on why it's so spooky lmao #but anygay... yeah. enjoy!! and my asks are still very open and very empty and if you want more then I beg you to give me a sign #uhhhhhh... I think that's it. I think that's all the material I can use to procrastinate down here in the tags. lovely.#tw: cults #tw: religious trauma #tw: manipulation #tw: brainwashing #tw: death #Mist

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a-edgar-allan-hoe · 4 years ago

Text

The Last Chthonian

Bucky x Reader, Sam x Reader, Zemo x Reader

Part 1

Author’s Note: Had this idea living in my head rent free so hopefully I don’t butcher it.

Summary: Imagine being Hekate, the Greek goddess of magic and witchcraft, the night and the moon, doorways and crossroads, creatures of the night, and ghosts and necromancy. You stumbled upon Earth many centuries ago and since then have resided on the foreign planet. During the recent years you created an alias for yourself to hide your true identity, and after the war against Thanos you chose to live out your days in the Scottish countryside, until a certain trio appear at your doorstep one day.

Warnings: language

Part 1 , Part 2

“So, where are we going again?” Bucky asked Sam, confusion written on his face as he leaned back in the front passenger seat of the car.

“You’ll find out. We’ll be there soon.” Sam answered, his eyes glued to the road and hands gripping the wheel.

“But we’ve been driving in the middle of nowhere for an hour now.” Bucky fussed while staring at the never ending green grass that passed by, clearly irritated with Sam’s lack of details.

“I too would like to know where we are going.” Zemo spoke up only to add to Sam’s annoyance.

“YOU don’t get to ask questions.” Sam glared at Zemo through the rear view mirror before staring back at the road. He was starting to get fed up with their questions and lack of patience.

The three men had been driving with their windows down for what felt like hours through the Scottish countryside, watching the green highlands pass by. Though they admired the beauty of the landscape, they were extremely anxious to stretch their legs and get to their unknown destination. Not to mention, they were starting to get a little hungry as well.

“Are we there yet?” Bucky broke the silence after some time.

“We get there when we get there.” Sam snapped, his knuckles turning white from gripping the wheel a bit too hard. He was really looking forward to getting out of the car and away from those two.

After a short while they neared a small seaside village. The place was not that busy, save for the few locals and fishermen going about the cloudy day.

Sam drove on a little further before finally reaching a quaint stone cottage that sat on a hill at the edge of town, overlooking the ocean. He pulled up next to the 60s convertible cream colored Volkswagen Beetle that had a surfboard tied on the roof, parked next to the cottage. Sam took the keys out of the ignition and stepped out, stretching his legs as the others followed suit.

Sam smiled to himself as he walked up the path leading to the front door and glanced upon the flower garden and the decorations out front. He knew for sure this was your place. The other two quietly followed behind while looking around the residence, from the neatly kept garden and the vines that crawled along the house, to the fishing equipment hung up on the side, down to the handmade birdhouses and the wind chimes and sun-catchers that clinked melodically against the ocean breeze, including the collection of garden gnomes. The place reminded the men something straight out of Jane Austen’s novels, not that they’d like to admit they knew such a thing.

Sam stopped at the front door before turning to the others with a pointed finger. “Now whatever you do, don’t stare.”

“Wait what?” Bucky scrunched his nose.

“Just don’t.”

Sam paused for a moment, thinking of how to explain this situation to you before tapping on the wooden door. No answer. Sam could feel Bucky glaring at the back of his head, ready to scold him about how this was a big waste of time. So he knocked again, this time calling out if any one was home.

Before Bucky could open his mouth there was rustling coming from inside and the sound of someone knocking into furniture before a faint “ow” and “fuck” of a woman’s voice made Bucky and Zemo glance questioningly at each other. Where the hell did Sam lead them to?

The locks on the door were fumbled with before opening up to reveal your head poking out from behind.

“Sam?” You breathed out. You were slightly out of breath and your hair was disheveled with strands falling out of your bun at the front from under your silk scarf. The sleeves of your button up blouse were rolled up at your elbows, revealing your dirt covered arms. You were working on your vegetable garden in the back before you were interrupted by your unexpected visitors.

Bucky stood behind Sam and couldn’t help but widen his eyes when he saw you. He only met you a few times during the threat of Thanos and before, but the interactions he had with you were very brief. All he knew was that you were a good friend of the Avengers, especially Thor, Clint, Nat, Wanda, Tony and Steve and now apparently Sam. But after Thanos was defeated you disappeared and nothing was heard of you since.

Zemo glanced out from behind Bucky and tried to remain hidden behind the super soldier once he recognized your face. You weren’t exactly an Avenger and you weren’t on Earth when he tore the Avengers apart, you were helping Thor at the time and little to everyone’s knowledge, you were also defending your planet against an inside threat. But you had heard of him through your friends, and though you hadn’t met him, Zemo knew you would strangle him once you spotted him.

“Hey y/n.” Sam smiled at you, calling you by your alias name. He knew who you were through Steve, but even then, he didn’t know everything about you and about the recent events that took place in your home planet that still devastated you.

“What the hell are you doing here?” You asked with a mixture of surprise and annoyance, wiping your hands on your apron. There was a reason you chose to live all the way out here, and though you gave Sam your new address, you didn’t expect him to bring company.

“I came to see how you were doing?”

“Bullshit.” You scowled, crossing your arms over your chest. “If you wanted to check up on me you wouldn’t have brought someone.”

Sam opened his mouth to speak but decided against it, refused to meet your stern eyes and looking down at the ground instead with his hands in his pockets. He often forgot how well you were able to read people, almost as if you were telepathic. Little to his knowing, you were in fact a telepath but decided against telling him. You’ve known people who became uncomfortable when finding that detail about you and noticed how they tried to avoid you, constantly guarding their thoughts when around. If only they knew you never bothered to do such a thing because you respected their privacy and because you’ve seen things in people’s heads you wished to forget. You’ve only ever used your telepathy when it was absolutely necessary. Straightening up, you finally took a better look at the other man behind him and instantly recognized him as Bucky.

“Barnes?”

“Hi y/n.” Bucky smiled shyly at you as he looked into your eyes. And that’s when he noticed for the first time that your eyes were different from when he last saw you. Your irises were now a shade of purples and blues with flecks of gold that spread out, a reflection of the stars and the universe. So that’s what Sam meant when he said to not stare. But could you have just been wearing contacts? Bucky’s stare was cut short as Sam noticed, glaring at him and clearing his throat before elbowing him in the stomach.

Suddenly, there came the sound of a little girls squeals coming from inside your home, startling the men except for Sam. And before they knew it, a small girl in overalls who looked to be of 6 years of age sprinted through your legs and out the door. “Uncle Sam!”

“Oof! Athena wait!” You gasped against the impact as you tried to reach for her.

“Hey hey little Athena!” Sam smiled as he picked the excited girl up into his arms before setting her on his hip. “How’s my favorite little warrior?”

“I’m helping Mommy with the garden! See!” She squealed in delight before showing off her dirty hands.

“I can see that.” Sam chuckled. “Looks like you’ve been working hard.”

“God, I’m so sorry Sam. She’s covered in dirt.” You tried to apologize with an embarrassed face.

“Hey no worries.” Sam smiled at you. “Some dirt is not gonna kill me.”

“Mommy who’s this?” Athena questioned as she looked at the man next to Sam.

You looked at Bucky and gave him a look that questioned what name he would prefer, to which he nodded and mouthed Bucky to you.

“That’s Bucky sweetie.”

“Hi Bucky! I’m Athena!” She stuck her tiny hand out to for him to shake, a big grin plastered on her face from meeting new people.

“It’s very nice to meet you Athena.” Bucky smiled as he gently shook her hand, making her giggle.

The scene made you smile to yourself as you pushed a strand of your hair behind your ears. Maybe it wasn’t so bad that Sam and Bucky decided to pay a visit.

“Mommy who’s the man in the back?”

The man in the back? You looked to Sam and James with a raised brow before craning your neck to see who the third guest could be, only to tense up and clutch the door frame, forcing yourself to not go over there right now and throw him off a cliff.

“What the hell is he doing here?” You glared daggers at Zemo as he watched you with caution, before you turned to Sam.

“I can explain.” Sam tightened his jaw as he saw your expression.

“Athena, sweetie.” You turned to your daughter with a gentle smile. “I want you to go up to your room and clean up okay?”

“Okay mommy.” Athena looked back at you with a worried look as Sam set her down.

You caressed her head as she walked in, watching her go up the stairs and waiting for the sound of her bedroom door to close and her shower to turn on before shutting the front door behind you.

“Are you out of your goddamn minds?” You glared at the two, trying to not yell, your fists balling up in anger. “What in the three hells is going on?”

“Look y/n. He might be of some use.” Sam tried to explain.

“So you broke him out of prison?!”

“Well technically he got himself out.” Bucky rubbed the back of his neck. He was starting to think that this wasn’t such a good idea and felt guilty for coming here.

“Oh? So what? He magically decides to join your little boy band? The Wakandans are after his ass in case you haven’t noticed.”

“Look I get it. Working with Zemo sounds like a terrible idea and you have every right to be upset. We just need a place to lay low for now. Just...hear us out.” Sam responded with a pleading look.

You stood there with a hand on your hip, squeezing your eyes shut while you pinched the bridge of your nose, not even caring that you still had dirt on your hands.

“Please y/n.” Bucky spoke up, making you look up at him. “Sam wouldn’t come here if he didn’t know what he was doing.”

You looked between the two, rubbing your chin in contemplation as you thought everything over. Bucky was right. Sam would never try to purposely put you in harm’s way.

“Fine.” You breathed out. “You can stay for the night. But you are going to tell me everything. Every last detail.”

“I promise.” Sam looked to you as he placed a reassuring hand on your shoulder.

“Well come on then. Get in.” You nodded your head towards the door as you opened it, letting Bucky and Sam in before putting yourself in front of Zemo and blocking him with a threatening look while speaking in a cold tone. “I swear to the gods, if you so much as try anything, I will bury you alive in my backyard and use you as fertilizer to grow fungi.”

“Y/n what the fuck.” You heard Sam utter from inside.

Zemo gave you a bewildered look and decided to keep quiet as you stepped aside to let him in, watching him closely as he went in. You stuck your head outside again, looking around for any bystanders and making sure the men were preoccupied before muttering something in Ancient Greek, waving your hand around and moving your fingers in specific gestures as a clear glass like film covered the area around your home for protection. You did another once over before going back in and closing the front door, readying yourself for the conversation you would have with Sam and Bucky.

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shushiyuii · 3 years ago

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tiny avian benchtrio with one of the giant sbi of choice noms maybe with them playing a game and the giant can nom them if caught

Of course my dear anon!

Warnings: Soft vore, (mentions of being squeezed and child abandonment)

Words: 1.3K+

“ARE YOU DONE YET?”, Tommy yelled from the upwards of the tree, wondering when the two of his friends would catch up, he knew that Tubbo was the slowest of the three but that wasn’t a reason for Ranboo to wait for him too!

“We’re coming Tommy!”, Replied Ranboo, using his wings to attempt to give a current to Tubbo since he was just a hummingbird, compared to Tommy and Ranboo, who were sparrows. Tommy groaned in frustration at the speed of the two, he wanted to get going.

“Oh, be quiet, you ass!” Tubbo yelled as he flapped his wings faster, gaining speed and flying fast towards Tommy. Tommy couldn’t react as Tubbo pushed him off the branch sending him falling downwards.

He flew back up though after a moment of realisation and screaming. “WHAT WAS THAT FOR BITCH?!”, “THAT’S WHAT YOU GET FOR BEING AN ASS!”, “WELL I’M SORRY YOU’RE SLOW! I WANNA GO SEE THEM ALREADY!”.

They were on their way to what they called, “The Sleepy Bois house”, Also known as the Minecraft’s household. They had made friends with the family since they were young and well, kind of grew up with the family since they didn’t really have their own.

Tubbo, Tommy and Ranboo were really young, without parents. They were left to die, that was until rescue came from their father figure Phil, who raised them himself with his two sons. And well, they were still technically wild since they didn’t really live there, they lived outside.

Phil always welcomed them into the house, but they always refused, since well they preferred nature compared to a tight environment, that’s at least what Tommy said but the actual answer was that they didn’t want to intrude.

“You just wanna see Wilbur again!”, “I DO NOT!”. The two of them had always been close, the same goes with Ranboo and Techno as with Tubbo and Phil. The group got along really well. To a point where they trusted each other completely.

“Okay, you two! Let’s just move along!”, Ranboo interrupted not wanting the two to argue. The three of them then made their way to the house, landing by a window. Tommy then proceeded to bang the window aggressively.

To be persise, this was Wilbur’s window. With Music that could be heard from the other side. But it stopped abruptly when walking could be heard coming towards the window, it opened with Wilbur looking down at them with an annoyed expression. “What do you want?”.

“Hey Wilbur!”, Ranboo greeted since the other two did no such thing after a moment. Wilbur’s annoyance turned to a smirk as he stared at the three. “Come on then.”. He stepped aside for Tommy and Ranboo to fly in, offering his hand to Tubbo as well who happily hopped on.

They landed over to Wilbur’s desk, “So, what are you guys doing here today?”, “Visiting”, answered Tubbo. “Missed us?”, “No!” Tommy answered. Of course, he had his pride, but everyone could see right through it at this point. “Well, Phil and Techno are out right now so it’s only me. I had a feeling you guys would be visiting.”.

…

The three sat around comfortably, Wilbur at his office chair strumming his guitar, Tommy sitting on his monitor happily listening, Tubbo messing around with his pc despite his small size and Ranboo just casually sitting at the end of the desk.

Moments like these were nice and peaceful, the group could just spend time together without the banter or anything chaotic happening, which is what usually was happening so it was nice to get a break now and then.

But moments like these don’t last for long…

…

Wilbur looked over to the three boys with a smirk, “You know what, I’m feeling a bit peckish”. The look on the three’s faces turned to one that screamed chaotic as if in telepathy, the three looked at each other and immediately flew away from Wilbur who made an attempt to catch them.

“Awh, not going to make this easy for me now, are we?”. The three of them then separated throughout the house. Making the game officially begin…

…

Wilbur wandered into Techno’s bedroom, a place Ranboo always had a tendency to hide in. He would be hard to find but it would be well worth it. He looked through the countless jewellery and books, finding nothing.

He looked through the high shelves nothing. He scanned around again and then found something rather strange. In Techno’s cape, his pocket seemed rather full compared to how empty it usually was. A smirk came to his face as he made his way over.

“Oh, Ranboo~”, he sang as he came ever so closer, then as quick as he could. He grabbed Ranboo and brought him out quickly towards his face, gaining a scream from Ranboo. Wilbur quickly opened his mouth to try and eat Ranboo before he could squirm out of his hold.

“Wing! Wing!”. Wilbur then noticed his trapped in between his fingers and immediately let them go, surprisingly Ranboo didn’t take the opportunity to fly away. “You okay Boo? I didn’t hurt you, did I? “, “No! No! Just got my wing caught! That’s all!”.

“Okay, good”. Wilbur then gently placed Ranboo into his mouth, once he was sure Ranboo was safe he closed his mouth and tasted at the vanilla taste of Ranboo, deeming him ready he swallowed. Feeling the sparrow land into his stomach, nice and snug. Now it was time for another Gremlin.

…

He searched under the couch cushions, under the actual sofa and under the coffee table but no sign of Tommy. He wasn’t even in the kitchen as he double-checked. “Found him yet?”, asked Ranboo. Wilbur looked down at his stomach and rubbed it softly, “Nothing yet, Gremlin child”.

“I!-“, it was cut off and from above. The ceiling fan, he looked up to see an embarrassed Tommy from above, “Well, it seems your pride exceeds you, Tommy. Come on now!”, Wilbur went to go grab Tommy. “Not Today! Bitch!”.

Tommy flapped his wings, ready to fly away from Wilbur but he was far too slow for the giant. He was caught, “Nice try, Toms but sadly, not Today”. He smirked, oh how the tables have now turned.

He opened his mouth wide, seeing the fear in Tommy’s eyes only fuelled him further to gobble him down, before Tommy was placed into Wilbur’s mouth though, he ruffled the boy’s hair. Making sure he was comforted.

Then Tommy soon followed Ranboo, his strawberry taste staying on Wilbur’s tongue. He smirked as he felt the two get comfortable in his stomach and gave it a rub. One left to go

…

He easily found Tubbo hiding in the blankets of Phil’s bed, it was the usual place for Tubbo. He just decided to let Tubbo win this round since the other two would always tease him for always been the first one found of the three.

“Hello Tubster”, “Hey Wil! Am I going to be eaten now?”, Tubbo furrowed an eyebrow. “Do you want to be eaten?”. Tubbo hummed in thought for a moment, then nodded happily. Wilbur then offered his hand to Tubbo, who joyfully hopped on.

Wilbur then carefully cupped Tubbo into his mouth, the taste of cinnamon claiming his taste buds, he playfully poked his tongue at Tubbo who tackled back. After a while, he was swallowed as well, following Tommy and Ranboo.

He then felt them all snuggled in and feeling exhausted from playing the game, made his way to the living room for the night.

…

“Wilbur! We’re home!”, they were met with no reply. Curious they made their way to the living room to find him, seeing him sleeping on the couch. A hand covering his stomach protectively. “It seems we’ve had some visitors…”, Phil whispered.

The two looked at each other and smiled, they carried Wilbur to bed and carried on with their day for a while, then made their way to their own beds.

#mcyt g/t #mcytg/t #dsmp g/t #giant!techno #giant!wilbur #giant!phil #tiny!tommy #tiny!tubbo #tiny!ranboo #tw vore #shushi's writings

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secretpeachtea · 4 years ago

Text

Onigiri Miya Tidbits Ch 7

Title: the fox’s den

Genre: gen fic, reader insert

Word Count: 5.4k

Summary: Onigiri Miya is now hiring and you just happen to be the right person for the job. The business has been gaining popularity since its grand opening, and many customers travel from different cities just to have a bite of Miya Osamu’s delicious recipes. You did expect some craziness from working in food services, but what you didn’t expect was to be bombarded with frequent tomfoolery from a bunch of attractive volleyball players during your shifts.

disclaimer: manga spoilers

A/N: Hey y’all! There’s gonna be quite a lot of dialogue in this chapter, but I hope it’s not too boring. I was really excited to write this chapter since Inarizaki is my favorite team :D Hope you enjoy!

Previous///Next

There was always something entrancing about the second half of the year when the green and gray streets transform into a multicolored wonderland as a response to the incoming shift of seasons. You admire the different shades of red, orange, and yellow that litter the ground that you’re walking on as you make your way to work. The only things going through your mind right now are serenity, peace, and-

“‘SAMU, YOU BASTARD!”

At the sudden voice, you almost trip on your own feet in surprise. Once you’re sure you won’t fall flat on your face, you look up and see two familiar twins right outside the front door of Onigiri Miya, clear irritation written on their faces.

“How could you say that?! Do you know how ridiculous you sound right now?” Atsumu yells at his brother while clenching his hands by his sides.

Osamu’s eyebrows are furrowed in distress. “I’m pretty sure I’m the one with common sense here. I’ve done what I can to convince you, but you just won’t listen to me!”

You start to worry now as you continue to watch the two glare at each other from where you’re standing a few feet away. You know it’s best not to interfere, but there’s a part of you that wants to stop them before things get out of hand. It seems like you don’t even have to make a decision as Atsumu’s eyes meet yours. “Hey, sweetheart! Come over here and tell this tasteless scrub that he’s wrong!”

“Who you calling a tasteless scrub, you uneducated swine!” Osamu crosses his arms in disdain but softens his gaze when his eyes land on your approaching figure.

“Hold up. What are you guys even talking about?” You try your best to keep your voice as relaxed as possible but still proceed with caution in case one of them were to blow up again in anger.

What you didn’t expect, however, were the next few words that came out of the blonde’s mouth. “The best Disney princess is obviously Rapunzel, but ‘Samu doesn’t agree!”

“You just like her ‘cause she’s blonde! Clearly, Belle is the superior princess!” The other twin spits back.

You pause for a moment to process the situation. That’s...not exactly what you expected when you first saw them arguing outside of the shop (and quite loudly too). A deep sigh leaves your lips as the two childish men in front of you continue to banter.

“Oh yeah?!” Atsumu suddenly directs his attention on you and places his hands on your shoulders for emphasis. “Sweetheart, who do you think is the best Disney princess?”

Already feeling an incoming headache, you just say the first thing that pops into your mind in hopes of stopping this madness. “Oh, uh...I don’t know. I think Mulan is pretty badass.”

The twins go silent as they contemplate your response for a brief minute. It seems like you gave a satisfactory answer because they both make eye contact with each other and nod their heads. Their strange twin telepathy is something you’ll never understand.

No longer having the patience, you just brush off Atsumu’s hands and use your spare key to open up the front entrance of the shop. The two men just follow you inside and the blonde is the first one to break the silence in a much calmer tone than before. “Okay, fair. But, I really do think-!”

Atsumu halts his footsteps as you and Osamu just glance at him confused. The blonde gasps dramatically as he stares at the new additions to the shop’s walls. “HEY! Why do you have their autographs on your wall?!”

Not wanting a part 2 to the previous fiasco, you just head over to the back room to put your belongings away and get yourself ready for work. Securing the cap on your head, you walk out of the room and stroll to your spot on the register. It seems like Atsumu is a lot more fired up than usual because he’s still arguing with his brother.

It took everything in Osamu to keep his voice at a normal level while responding to Atsumu’s pettiness. “They came over to eat one day and I thought it would look good for the shop.”

“Don’t you know that we’re ultimate rivals?! You can’t be siding with the enemy!”

“They’re your rivals, ‘Tsumu. Everyone’s technically considered a customer to me.”

“Traitor!”

You swear you saw puffs of smoke pop from Osamu’s ears from his frustration. You were about to place a hand on his shoulder in hopes to keep your boss from throwing something at his brother, but a smooth voice interrupted the tension in the room.

“Calm down, Atsumu.”

You and Osamu jumped in surprise, while Atsumu let out a startled yelp at the unexpected guest. The three of you turned toward the front entrance to see who showed up an hour before opening. Although you only heard one voice, three tall figures in casual clothing stand at the doorway. They step inside the building and you vaguely remember seeing their faces in a picture Osamu once showed you from high school.

The person in the middle of the group brushes away a couple strands of his gray hair with black tips while his other hand sits on top of the handle of a small suitcase. The one on the left has a built body with dark skin sporting a kind smile. The one on the right has a lanky body and long fingers that reach up to his face to cover a yawn on his bored expression.

If you remember correctly, Osamu had told you about some of his former teammates and the ones standing in front of you were Kita Shinsuke, Ojiro Aran, and Suna Rintarou.

The twins brighten in recognition and make their way over to the newcomers. “Kita-san! Aran-san!”

“I’m here too, you know.” Suna comments.

All of the guys greet one another in the middle of the room with smiles on their faces. You’re not really sure what to do since you’re the odd one out.

You stand off to the side behind the counter awkwardly, but you are interested in their little group dynamic. The Inarizaki alumni all hold completely different demeanors and postures, but one thing that they all share is that all of them are incomprehensibly attractive in their own way. Why are all of the former and current volleyball players that you’ve met so far like this?

Lost in your thoughts, you didn’t realize that you’ve been staring at Kita in particular for a couple minutes. He must have felt your eyes on him because he momentarily looks away from his current conversation to make direct eye contact with you. You let out a small squeak after getting caught staring, but it doesn’t seem like Kita is bothered at all.

“Ah, sorry about that. I didn’t mean to ignore you.” Kita leaves his group to walk over to where you are and this catches the attention of the other four males as well.

“It’s no problem! I wanted to give you guys room to catch up.” You lift up your hands to wave off his apology and give Kita a bright smile as you speak. “It’s finally nice to meet the oh-so-praiseworthy rice provider for the shop, Kita-san.”

Your reply elicits a soft laugh from the man’s mouth. “Nice to finally meet you too, (Surname)-san.”

“You know my name?” You ask, surprised.

“Aside from looking at your name tag, yes. I’ve heard some things about you from the twins,” Kita answers.

Your cheeks turn a bit pink in embarrassment because you completely forgot that you were wearing your name tag for work. Your embarrassment doesn’t last for long, however, when you quickly realize what Kita had just implied about the twins. You shoot an intimidating look at the two culprits and neither of them meet your gaze. “They talk about me?”

“Only good things. No worries.” Kita tries his best to reassure you that there hasn’t been any slander against you, but you still feel a bit insecure.

Knowing that feeling this way is probably unnecessary, you just resort to a little bit of teasing. “I don’t worry so much about Osamu-san. It’s the other one that needs to be kept in check.”

“Hey!” Atsumu’s head quickly turns to your direction at your very obvious accusation.

Suna snickers while ignoring his friend’s outburst. “She’s a smart one.”

“Hey!”

Aran chuckles in amusement and Osamu just smiles at his brother’s distress. You try to fake exasperation by placing a hand on your cheek and Kita’s smile falters as he catches something from the corner of his eye. The charm bracelet that you received from Osamu is secured to your wrist with the small onigiri charm shining under the fluorescent lights.

“Oh, so you’re the one…”

You look back at Kita in confusion. “The one what?”

Kita hesitates for a moment before simply shaking his head in dismissal with a knowing grin on his lips. “Ah, it’s nothing.”

You’re bewildered by his mysterious response, but it doesn’t look like he wants to talk about it anymore, so you just brush it off for now.

As everyone else continues their own conversations, Kita thinks back to a conversation he had a couple months back.

“The rice should be coming in a couple days, Osamu.”

“Sounds good, Kita-san.”

“Is there anything else you need?”

“Actually...I have a quick question.”

“What is it?”

“What would you...um...give to someone who just graduated that’s not so generic or meaningless?”

“...Are you asking for your coworker?”

“Scary! Are you sure you don’t read minds or something, Kita-san?”

“I don’t believe I can. But, to answer your previous question, if you want to give a gift that holds more meaning, I would say buy or make something that’s personal to both of you. It could be from a fond memory you share or a common interest. However, based on the positive things I’ve heard about her, she would probably appreciate anything you give her.”

“Hm…”

Kita is pulled out of his thoughts when he hears Osamu’s voice nearby. “I’ll get you guys the usual, right?”

The rest of the guys all nod their head and Aran makes the motion to take out his wallet. However, before he can do so, Osamu lifts up a hand to stop him. “No worries, Aran-san! All of this is on me!”

Atsumu’s ears perk up. “You’re not gonna make me pay for my food this time, ‘Samu?”

Kita looks towards Osamu and slightly tilts his head in confusion. “You make your brother pay for his food?”

“Always.” Osamu answers without hesitation and with one of the most deadpan expressions you’ve ever witnessed on him.

“I see.” Kita simply nods his head in understanding. “It would be detrimental to your business if you gave things out for free too much.”

Atsumu grabs onto his former captain’s arms in exasperation. “Kita-san!”

A quiet giggle leaves your mouth at the scene in front of you. It seems like the twins are a bit more competitive and bicker more often when their former teammates are involved. Seeing this side of Osamu amuses you since you’re more used to his laidback nature.

Eventually the brief comical moment calms down and Osamu begins to prepare all of the food. Kita and Atsumu seemed to be in their own world, so you decide to try and speak with the other two people in the room that you have yet to be acquainted with.

Suna and Aran seem to have been thinking the same thing because they are already walking up to the counter in your direction. Suna raises his right hand in greeting, while Aran gives you a polite smile before speaking, “You must be (Surname)-san. Apologies for taking so long to greet you.”

“No worries.“ You wave off the apology. “You guys were also teammates with the twins in high school right? The only thing I really know are your names. What were your positions?”

“I was a wing spiker. I’ve actually known the twins since we were in elementary school,” Aran replies.

You clap your hands together in realization. “You guys are childhood friends then! I’m surprised you haven’t come up in my conversations with them more.”

“Those two were always running around all over the place just to compete against each other, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t remember half of the things they experienced in school.” Aran lets out a deep sigh, but you couldn't detect any real annoyance.

If the counter wasn’t in the way, you definitely would’ve patted the man on the shoulder. “Well if you’re as patient and calm as you are now with their antics for all those years, then you definitely deserve the appreciation, Ojiro-san.”

“You deserve it just as much since you see at least one of them almost every day now.” Aran sends you another kind smile and you can’t help but mirror it.

Not wanting to leave out Suna from the conversation, you turn your head towards the male who is just listening with his hands shoved into his pockets. “What about you, Suna-san? What was your position?”

“Middle blocker. Although, I did work as a part-time witness to the twins’ stupidity.” The stoic male smirks and looks at you in the eye. “Seems like you’ve taken up that job?”

You burst out laughing. “I can’t really deny that. We should be compensated for all this work.”

Suddenly, you feel a heavy weight on your shoulder that catches you off guard. When you look up, Osamu’s elbow is leaning on your shoulder and there are pieces of rice stuck to his fingertips. He has one of his eyebrows raised in suspicion. “Hey, why do I get the feeling that you guys are talking behind our backs?”

Suna looks directly at Osamu with his usual expression. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Feeling a bit playful, you also answer with the same deadpan tone. “Yeah, we’re just bonding over some relatable stuff.”

Suna takes one of his hands out of his pockets and raises it up next to you. Without hesitation, you give him a high five while holding back your smile. Aran just chuckles at the unexpected tag team between you and his former teammate.

Before your boss could make any more comments, his phone dings from where it’s sitting on the counter between his work station and the register. Osamu seems briefly conflicted since his hands are covered in rice but quickly comes to a decision. “Hey, (Name)-san. You mind holding up my phone for me? I think it’s a message about a shipment for some ingredients we needed to restock.”

“Yeah, sure!” You pick up the phone and a picture of Onigiri Miya with a large ‘Grand Opening’ sign in front of the entrance illuminates the lock screen. “Oh, you have facial recognition. I’m gonna have to borrow your face for a bit, Osamu-san.”

Osamu leans down as you place the phone in front of him for a couple seconds, but nothing happens. You try to angle the screen differently and wait a little longer, but it’s still not unlocking. Across the counter, Atsumu watches the two of you struggle through a few more attempts before losing his patience. “Just put the phone up to my face. It’ll probably work.”

A bit curious to see if the phone will actually unlock for the other twin, you move your arm to where Atsumu’s waiting. You keep the phone up for a few moments, but there’s still no response.

The blonde just stares at his brother’s phone in disbelief. “What the hell? Why isn’t it working??”

“Wow, even my phone can tell who the uglier brother is.” Yup. Osamu’s definitely feistier today.

“WE LITERALLY HAVE THE SAME FACE.”

The twins look like they’re about to start another round of unnecessary bickering. From the side, Kita sighs at the idea of having to intervene in yet another argument. He opens his mouth to stop the madness, but you beat him to it. You shove Osamu’s phone into his face again and surprisingly it unlocks. “Alright, guys. You can shut up now. I got it to work.”

Both Atsumu and Osamu shut their mouths immediately. They still looked a bit irked at one another, but no longer have the will to fight. Kita stares at you with shock. He’s never seen anyone other than himself dissipate the twins’ bickering so quickly and you haven’t even known them for as long as he has. Even Aran gives up at some point. Perhaps you are a much more important presence than he realized.

Clicking on the message notification, you lift up your arm just enough so that both you and Osamu can look at the screen comfortably. The message consisted of a picture of a shipment with a list of items. The list is barely legible due to the small font, so the two of you have to lean in closer to the screen.

“The text is so small. Can you read anything?” You ask as you bring the phone closer.

Osamu squints and wipes one of his hands on a clean towel before placing it over your own to steady the phone. “Barely. Why did he send such a terrible picture?”

The close proximity and subtle touches between you and your boss do not go unnoticed. As you’re discussing the contents of the picture, Suna and Aran share a knowing look with each other.

After a couple minutes of trying to decipher everything in the message, you and Osamu have successfully written down a complete list of all the shipment contents on a napkin. Osamu pockets his phone and the napkin before turning to look at you. “Okay, I think everything’s all good. Thanks, (Name)-san.”

“No problem!” You rub your eyes from the slight strain and move back to where you were standing before while Osamu finishes up making the last of the group’s food. Suna and Aran just watch you both go back to whatever you were doing before as if your cheeks weren’t millimeters away from each other a few seconds ago. The two males make eye contact once again, but just shrug their shoulders.

“Food’s ready! Grab your onigiris and drinks. We can sit at the table for a bit.” Osamu announces to his friends. Your boss turns to you briefly as he starts going around the counter. “Wanna join?”

“No, that’s alright. You guys use this time to catch up. I can take care of setting up the shop on my own, so take your time.” You give him a reassuring smile and he returns a grateful one back.

While the guys chatted about their lives, you set up the chairs and checked each of the sauce bottles to make sure none of them were empty. About fifteen minutes went by and you now had a broom propped up against your shoulder after sweeping. On your way back, you pass by the table where everyone is still talking with one another.

“I am funny! There just wasn’t anyone competent enough to get the joke!” It seems like Atsumu was yet again becoming a victim to the endless teasing of his former teammates because his face is slightly flushed and he’s fidgeting with pent up frustration. In hopes to ease his heated face, Atsumu roughly starts refilling his cup with ice water with a tight grip on the glass.

Suna shakes his head. “I thought it was funnier when you almost passed out from being overheated from the Jackasuke suit.”

“What?!” Atsumu abruptly stands up from his chair and in his haste, he doesn't realize that he had also raised his cup just as quickly causing the water to splash onto the nearest thing which just so happened to be you. “Oh shi-! (Name)-chan!”

The front of your shirt is entirely soaked and water drips down from your face and the tips of your hair. You mentally thank your boss for making the uniforms black. Lucky for you, your pants are completely dry because your apron took all of the damage. Aran, who is the next person closest to you, takes the broom from your possession and hands you a couple napkins to at least dry your face, but it’s definitely not enough to make a dent in your drenched clothes.

Atsumu frets over you with a look of immense guilt in his eyes. “I’m so sorry, (Name)-chan! I-I didn’t mean to do that!”

“It’s...it’s okay. Just try not to lose your cool so easily next time.” You can’t really say you’re happy about your current predicament, but it wouldn’t do anyone any good if you lash out in anger. The running A/C is much more apparent now that it’s much easier to feel the circulating cold air and you start to shiver a bit.

Osamu catches your attention from the corner of your eye when he stands up from his seat. “You good, (Name)-san? You should probably go put on a jacket or something.”

“I didn’t bring a jacket or any extra clothes with me today.” You sigh at your misfortune at how something like this happens on the one day you don’t have your hoodie with you.

Osamu’s frown deepens at the growing unfortunate circumstances. “Ah, damn. We usually have extra shirts in the back, but I left them at home to wash.”

You dread at the thought of either working with a wet shirt or having to walk all the way back to your apartment to change while suffering through the chilly breezes. However, the universe must be taking pity on you when you hear another voice join in.

“(Surname)-san, I have some spare clothes in my suitcase.” Kita pats the suitcase that he had brought into the shop with him.

You know that the best and most efficient way to get out of your misery is to accept his offer, but you’re still reluctant. “Oh no! It’s okay! I wouldn’t want to cause any trouble for you.”

“I don’t mind. It wouldn’t do you any good to go around with wet clothing. You might catch a cold, especially since the weather is becoming cooler.” Kita immediately brushes off any concerns you may have. He zips open his suitcase and grabs a simple navy sweater from his pile of folded clothes. There’s a slight pause when he holds out the shirt to you before continuing the conversation, “It would mostly cause Osamu to be very distressed.”

There isn’t much room for arguing, so you slowly take the soft sweater from the older male’s arms and nod your head in understanding. “Yeah, I guess he would have to work twice as much if I’m not able to help out.”

Kita blinks at your oblivious rationale. “...right.”

You hear a hint of something in his tone but don’t dwell on it for too long because another blast of cold air hits your body causing you to shiver again. Muttering a quick thanks, you rush to the bathroom to change. After peeling off your uniform shirt and bundling it up with your apron, you wipe off any water that remains on your skin before slipping on the borrowed sweater. It’s much larger and warmer than you thought it would be. After gathering the wet pile of clothes, you head out of the bathroom in your new attire.

The table that everyone was sitting at is now completely cleared of any food and some of the guys are sitting at the counter while Osamu is washing all of the used dishes. Atsumu’s head is laying on the counter and still has distraught laced into his expression. He immediately stands up to apologize again when he hears you come out of the bathroom, but his words get caught in his throat when he sees you.

Kita’s sweater is definitely too big for your frame. The sweater reaches your mid thigh, but you’ve opted to fashionably tuck the front of it into your pants. The sleeves go past your hands only exposing your fingers and the collar reveals a sliver of your collarbone. The overall fit of the sweater creates an image that can make anyone stop and stare.

Atsumu’s ears redden at the sight in front of him and Osamu is frozen in front of the sink. Even Suna and Aran have briefly halted their conversation to stare silently. The only one who is visibly unaffected is Kita.

Kita decides to walk over to where you are and hands you an empty plastic bag. “You can place your wet clothes into the bag so it doesn’t get anything else wet. You can return the shirt to Osamu and he can give it to me before I head back home.”

“Ah, thanks! I’ll wash it tonight and give it to Osamu tomorrow when I come in for work.” You smile at him gratefully and do as he suggested. During the process, your sleeves roll down uncomfortably and you have to constantly pull at it so that it doesn’t get in the way.

Kita notices the way you are fidgeting and gives you an inquisitive look. “Are the sleeves bothering you?”

“Oh, um...just a bit, but it’s not too bad.” You reply.

The male just pulls the plastic bag away from your hands and puts it off to the side for the time being before holding out his own hands in front of you. “Here, let me help.”

You accept his assistance and hold out one of your arms to him. Kita calmly folds the sleeves to a proper length while you just watch quietly. Once he’s finished with one arm, he gently lifts the other and proceeds to fold the sleeve as well.

The rest of the guys were just watching silently. The entire scene is almost like it’s from some kind of shoujo anime. Atsumu swears there is even a sparkling background with multiple flowers to match the sweet moment. There’s a strange feeling bubbling inside Osamu’s chest, but he chooses to look away and continue washing the dishes. You and Kita looked really good together.

“Thanks again, Kita-san!” Once Kita finishes up the last sleeve, you smile at him once again. “I guess I was lucky that you decided to visit so suddenly today or I might’ve been in trouble.”

“You’re welcome.” Kita returns the smile. “We were all busy on the twins’ birthday last week, so it’s a good thing we rescheduled to today.”

“What.” You blink once. It takes a few seconds for you to process what the man in front of you had just said, but once it clicks, a wave of shock passes through your body. “What?!”

You scramble over to where Osamu is avoiding your gaze and grab onto his arm. “Why didn’t you tell me your birthday was last week?!”

“Oh uh… it never came up?” A bead of sweat runs down the side of your boss’ face.

Still enraged, you swerve your head towards the blonde twin and point an accusing finger at him. “And you! I would’ve expected you to be all over having the attention!”

Atsumu shrugs his shoulder in an uncharacteristically nonchalant way causing you to drop your arm in confusion. “Meh, I’m not really all that big on birthdays. I thought my brother would’ve told you.”

When you look back at Osamu, his hand is rubbing at his neck sheepishly. “It was your day off and you looked like you weren’t feeling well the day before, so I thought it’d be best if you rested.”

You’re not sure if you should feel touched that he noticed that you weren’t feeling so great last week or upset that he didn’t think to tell you about such a special day. Your boss has also been pretty busy lately due to work, so there is a part of you that is understanding of the situation. There isn’t really anything you can do about it now since it’s already too late, so you just sigh in defeat.

Kita decides to intervene before you get even more upset. “No worries, (Surname)-san. There’s always a next year for birthdays. If you wanted to spend time with him, I’m sure just asking will suffice.”

“Indeed. Osamu would definitely not mind making time for you, (Surname)-san.” Aran adds.

Atsumu seems to be feeling a bit left out and chimes in, “Wait, but what about me? It was my birthday too.”

“It’s not like Osamu knows how to do anything but play volleyball and work. Might as well take him out somewhere nice.” Suna mentions while ignoring Atsumu’s outburst for the nth time today.

“Woah, guys!” Osamu’s face flushes a bit from the teasing. You laugh at the group's antics and feel your frustration melt away.

Suddenly, a phone alarm goes off and Kita pulls out his phone to shut it off. “Well, we should get going now. We wouldn’t want to be in the way of your business, Osamu. We’ll see you tonight with the rest of our former teammates.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you guys later.” Osamu replies with a wave of his hand.

“I have to get to practice too, so I’ll walk out with all of you.” Atsumu walks towards the exit with his hands folded behind his head. Aran and Suna get up from their seats to get ready to go as well. The two say their goodbyes to both you and Osamu before stepping outside to catch up with Atsumu.

Kita is the last one out, but before he closes the door he gives you one last glance. “It was nice to meet you, (Surname)-san.”

“You too, Kita-san!” Your lips curve upwards at being able to have met yet another kind person at work. Kita finally closes the door and now it’s just you and Osamu left in the shop. After having such an eventful morning, the peace and quiet is pretty refreshing.

Osamu looks at you from the corner of his eye thoughtfully. His gaze then shifts down to where his former captain’s sweater rests on your figure and he feels a twinge of irritation but keeps his expression neutral. “Are you sure you don’t want to go home and change? You live pretty close by too.”

You think for a moment but eventually shake your head. “Hm...no it’s fine. I wouldn’t want to miss work just to change into another shirt. I think my extra uniform needs to be washed anyway. Is there something wrong?”

“...no.”

“Jealous that I talked to your friends more than you?”

“N-no!”

A giggle escapes your lips when you hear your boss stutter. “You know you’re my favorite onigiri chef, right?”

“I’m the only onigiri chef you know.” Osamu points out and you giggle even louder. The male can’t even be upset because your laughs are quite contagious. Although, he does make a mental note to bring one of his own sweaters to keep at the shop from now on.

Leftovers

The Miya household is a simple two bed apartment with a decent view of the suburbs around the area. Both Miya twins are considered residents of the complex, but Atsumu usually stays in the dorm available for MSBY players. Today, both twins are in the apartment.

“‘Samu, I swear this shirt makes me look fat-...?” Atsumu barges into his brother’s room without knocking but cuts off his words when he sees his brother intensely staring at a pile of hoodies scattered on his bed. “What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to figure out which hoodie I wanna keep at the shop.” Osamu responds distractedly.

Atsumu stares at him incredulously. “What? Just pick whatever. It’s not like you don’t go to work every day. Why does it matter? ”

Osamu pauses for a moment. “...for emergencies.”

“Whatever, man. I’m heading out to go buy some new volleyball shoes with Shoyo-kun.” The blonde shrugs off his brother’s strange behavior and chooses to just walk away since he needed to leave soon. He momentarily looks out the window and notices some dark clouds filling up the sky. “And, I’m taking your umbrella!”

Osamu doesn’t hear what Atsumu says and barely registers the slam of the front door because he’s too deep in thought. What was your favorite color again?

A/N: Ouch. I realized that if you were to actually follow the haikyuu timeline, some of this wouldn’t actually make sense. BUT I don’t care :D Also, not me indulging on some Kita action cause I am whipped for this man (but not as much as Osamu hehe)

taglist: @kiyoo-omi @tris-does-stuff @livshotel

#onigiri miya #onigiri miya tidbits #secretpeachtea #inarizaki #atsumu #osamu #kita #aran #suna #haikyuu fanfiction

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wanderingpages · 4 years ago

Text

All Human, Rockstar AU (Part 12). Cardan is in a band on the cusp of fame, and Jude has been there from the start. They fall fast and hard, but sometimes love just isn’t enough.

Trigger Warnings: Language, Sex, Drugs, Death (and the word ‘cunt’ sometimes I guess.)

Prologue, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, ∞ Part 13

∞

Cardan’s POV

Fallingforyou - The 1975

Penso sempre em você, she told me, and every night since, I’ve begged her to say it again and again. “Cardan,” she laughed once, “I’m butchering these words,” but hell, I’d have her butchered pronunciations tattooed phonetically if she hadn’t already vetoed the idea.

“What are you smiling by yourself for?” Liliver settles beside me, kicking her leg up on the table in front of the sofa I’m currently on. “Jude?” she rolls her eyes, but her grin is huge, teasing, as she bumps her shoulders against mine.

“Shut up,” I nudge her back, but now that I’ve been taken out of the moment, I’m feeling the sudden spike of my heartbeat and the growing heat accumulating at the palm of my hands. I get up from my spot, feeling jittery now that I’m so very hyper-aware of my surroundings. It’s one thing to play live, it’s completely different for it to be a televised event.

“Huh,” Liliver says, “Bass players do it deeper.”

I close my eyes in partial embarrassment and my face heats up pretty drastically. The black shirt with the bold white lettering on the back is what Jude had bought me for Christmas and is my current attire, only because somehow, maybe between her soft giggles when she had been under my sheets and the bright glint in her teasing eyes when she made me model the shirt, she had managed to convince me to wear it for tonight.

Larkin pauses his inconsistent strumming of a guitar to turn and face me from where he’s seated in front of a vanity, in the small dressing room Randalin had managed to get for us. Besides the four of us in the band, there are a few women around, holding clipboards and headsets, dusting powders and glitters on to our faces, talking rapid fire into their walkies and trying their best to accommodate our diva-like needs. I hadn’t thought I had any until I very nonchalantly asked for only red Skittles. The sudden silence from Larkin makes the whole room feel stuffier – even after we had gotten a small reprise from Randalin checking out to smoke.

Larkin blinks at me, a very confused look on his face. “But you’re a virgin,” he points out. “Right? I feel like, since we’re best friends, I would have technically felt it – like a cataclysm in the universe that is my soul – the moment you popped your cherry.” While I want to shrivel up and die, there is the slightest part of me that’s relieved at Larkin slowly returning to his former, less gloomy self.

“Oh my god,” I groan out.

Van takes a bite out of his banana. I don’t know how or when he’s gotten it, but there it is, in his hand and he points the bitten off tip towards Larkin, “You’re thinking of twin telepathy.” He plops down next to his girl, tugging her from her spot and on to his lap.

Van offers her a bite of his banana. There’s euphemism there I don’t wish to dwell on. Liliver waves him off. “Well,” She points out and I know she’s coming to my rescue with her next words, but I really wish she’d just shut up. “You can finger pretty deep. Or tongue? You know, dick game doesn’t have to be all genius just yet – am I right, ladies?” The few ladies who are mulling about our dressing room make a few noncommittal noises and I very much would like to be swallowed up by a black hole.

“Do you think twin telepathy is even real?” Van wonders out loud before taking another bite, diverting the attention, sending a wink my way. Somehow, with a banana in his mouth, I can’t really take his save too seriously.

“Yes,” Larkin and I say in response. I turn to raise an eyebrow at him and Liliver makes a noise of intrigue, no doubt her thoughts running along with mine about our Larkin’s musings with Taryn. Larkin shrugs, returning to his absent playing, though his cheeks do seem to glow pink.

The phone in my pocket buzzes and I’m granted just the slimmest reprieve when I see a good luck message from Jude. My smile returns almost instantly, but still, the nerves wracking through me is only just that much more bearable. I don’t even think about it when I press the call button next to her name.

“Cardan,” she says, and I hear the goofy smile in her voice. I grin back when she laughs and says, “Rockstar, how are you calling me right now?” I hear her sisters in the background, also offering their enthusiasm for what Serpent Gold is about to do.

“What do you mean?” I lean against the wall, and Larkin catches my eyes in the mirror. He darts his eyes to the phone in my hand then wiggles his brows at me until I have to look away.

“Serpent Gold is set to perform in the next minute.”

“You sound like an announcer,” I tell her.

“You like my impersonation? I can do sports commentary, too.”

“No, you can’t,” I tell her fondly.

“Okay, but I can try,” she hums in thought then says, “Ball in the end-zone, knockout, three pointer, goal, umm,” she trails off.

“Score,” I offer.

“Exactly,” she says this as if a point has been proven. Just then, one of the women in our room is walking towards the door, holding it open as she begins to usher us out. Another woman lets out startled squeak, taking a pallet of gold looking powder and hurriedly brushing it on to my cheeks just as Van comes over to drape an arm over my shoulder.

“Gotta go, baby,” I say into the phone, eyes finding Randalin by the exit, patting Larkin on the back. Liliver gives him a high-five, but Van narrowly misses a fist bump and I only manage to get an awkward fumble of a squeeze on my shoulder. It truly does seem like an absentee dad suddenly showing up for graduation or something. I hide my grimace, but Van doesn’t hold in his scoff.

“Break a leg and stuff,” Jude calls into the phone.

“Dork,” I tell her too tenderly before hanging up. In front of Van and I, Liliver has an arm looped around Larkin’s, the two of them leading the way on to the stage. It’s fairly dark, but I still manage to make out of few faces as we get into our rehearsed set up.

Larkin adjusts his mic stand then changes his mind about something and moves closer to me. He grabs hold of my shoulders suddenly and squeezes them, “Hey,” he says, only for me to hear. “You got this, okay – we got this!” I nod but my voice has disappeared from me. I’m hardly the star of this show, but I’m more shaken than Larkin. After all the time with Jude’s camera in my face, I should probably be used to the notion, yet when I glance to where some famous celebrity is introducing our band, the camera in front of her that slowly pans to the stage has my knees shaking. “Do you want me to kiss you?”

“Huh?” I tear my gaze from the camera to my best friend. “What?”

He puckers his lips and leans forward. I instinctively lean back. “Dude,” I say, pressing my fingers to his mouth and pushing him away from me. He laughs and lets go of his hold on me.

“Alright, next time,” he concedes, “when your girl isn’t looking.” He’s teasing, but –

“What?”

He tilts his head and I follow the inclination to the spot closest to the stage without being for a hired personnel. Jude’s beside her sisters this time around, no camera, but a phone instead. It’s nothing like the day we first met, yet it feels absolutely the same. This time, though, she isn’t just the pretty girl at my step-dad’s bar filming my band. And it’s not like that first concert we had with DeathSweet when I wanted so badly to see her in the crowd but had been too chicken shit to ask her – and unbeknownst to me, she was there anyways. It’s not like when it was her and my sister backstage either. There’s nothing unsure about us this time around.

I take her in with bated breaths as she brings her hand up and gives me a small wave. When it was just the two of dancing in her parents’ living room, it feels nearly similar when our eyes lock tonight. I’m so fucking gone for her, I’d be embarrassed if I weren’t so relieved to see her. I vaguely mimic her in response, but my eyes are trailing her body like I’ve never laid eyes on her before.

And I haven’t, not like this – not all dressed up in a shimmering gold, looking more starlet than the actual celebrities here. “Holy shit,” I must have said out loud.

Larkin lets out whistle as he backs away towards his new spot. “Should we dedicate Lady in Gold to her?” he doesn’t wait for me to respond, just turns to the crowd to wish everyone a happy new year. “This one is for…” he searches the crowd, almost dramatically, before finding my girl. She pulls her phone down, head tilted, golden hoops in her ears dangle and glint. She points to herself in confusion when Larkin says, “This one is for you.” The crowd cheers at this but my mouth is dry as I focus on Jude. Her sisters are pretty in black and silver, but Jude steals all my fucking breath and then some. She grins so bright, no longer looking at our lead singer, but to me instead.

The song is old, but it’s one we’ve been playing since we first learned how to pen lyrics – had that only been a handful of years ago? It’s come to be a fan favorite, yet I’m still surprised when the chorus hits, and though my vocals are a hum in the background, Larkin takes a step back and the crowd is still singing our words. Maybe because I’m focused on her, but I swear I can pick Jude’s voice from the crowd, singing about a woman who shines so bright that even the stars get jealous.

Larkin is still on his last few notes when I’m already tugging the instrument off of me and crossing the stage, hopping down from the platform and into Jude’s arms. “You made it,” I tell her, lips to her ears as I crush her body to mine. I feel my heart pound in my chest, feel hers just as wild and reckless. The crowd cheering could be for us, for the minute countdown, for the fucking queen of England, I don’t fucking care. I pull away to look at her, hair done up in a high ponytail, eyes smoked out, and lips a dark red that has heat rushing through me.

She beams at me, a finger going under my eye, pulling away to catch gold glistening from her fingertips. “You thought I wouldn’t?” The three tickets had been my Christmas gift to her, but we never had the chance to even talk about the logistics of it. Rushed phone calls and chaotic schedules interfered with my brain power to ask even the simplest of questions, like if I’d be seeing her before the year ends. “Dork,” she sticks her tongue out at me, most likely guessing my thoughts.

I take a step back to take her in, the gold sequenced dress that hugs all her curves and stops mid-thigh, the jarring slit at the side that goes dangerously high, the combat boots that shouldn’t be so fucking endearing, but fuck me if it isn’t. “Did I over-do it?” she looks bashful now, a hand coming to her arm, and it’s then that I see the black arm band I had picked from her old jewelry collection some time ago – the one shaped like a snake with topaz for eyes. I could almost laugh because she’s the prettiest fucking groupie I’ve ever seen. Instead, I take her face into the palm of my hands and bring her in for a kiss. Her hands fall against my chest, then her fingers are gripping the material of my shirt, pulling me closer.

I think I hear someone clear their throat, Taryn or Vivienne, but Jude’s tongue is in my mouth, playing with that silver metal ball like she likes to do, and my hands are on her back and hip, pressing her against me until it feels almost unbearable. A countdown starts, and Jude only pulls away to breathe. Her lips brush mine, and I sneak in a quick tug to her bottom lip. I almost don’t hear when she says, “You taste like Skittles.” I grin and claim her mouth again, her lack of breaths just a fuel to my ego at this point.

“Happy New Year,” I tell her when I pull away and watch her eyes widen in surprise.

“I missed the countdown,” she murmurs, “Shoot,” she blinks, eyes a little dazed and lips all twitchy like she’s forcing down a smile.

“Oh,” Taryn says sarcastically, and I have to force my gaze to her. She’s got an eyebrow raised and arms folded. “So, you do come up for air,” she says dryly. She’s dressed similarly too Jude, but her dress is silver and somehow more modest in the way it slinks and drapes over her, held by two thin straps around her neck.

I grin at her, “Happy New Year, Ryn.”

She rolls her eyes but comes in for a hug. She’s slightly taller and I realize she’s wearing heels, belatedly. She pulls away and waves at someone behind me, “Oh, Lark is waving me over,” she says. She’s barely walked a few feet when Vivienne arrives next, handing Jude and I each a flute of champagne.

“Holy shit we made it past another year,” she muses, downing her glass. “Thanks for the invite, by the way,” she tells me and I wave her off despite the blush rising from my neck. I had debated inviting my sisters to this one, in all honesty, not knowing how Caelia would feel with Larkin and Taryn about, and unsure of the current standing relationship between Rhyia and Vivienne. In the end, it had been Caelia who covered for me and stated that us performing only one song didn’t warrant the whole family here. After talking to Jude’s aunt, we figured Taryn should be able to see her new best friend, Larkin, and Vivienne would act as chauffer.

Said older sister is smiling and drinking now, but as much as I’ve spent with her, I’m a little surprised that I can see her tells. She’s putting on a show and silently begging us not to ask. We chat for a bit, mingle with familiar people, rub elbows and such. I note Taryn with Larkin and Liliver and Van, and later, Vivienne tells us, seemingly relieved that she finally found a precise moment to, “I’m heading back to the hotel, looks like I'm getting too old for these kinds of things. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” She gives us an exaggerated wink, but Jude begs her to text when she makes it in safe.

My brows furrow, “Where’d you even put your phone?”

“Would you believe me if I told you this dress has pockets?”

“I guess I’d have no choice. Your sisters okay?”

She glances at Taryn who’s laughing at something Van has said and then to Vivienne who’s ducking out the exit. “I don’t know,” she confesses. “But I think they will be.” She takes my hands in hers, walking back as she leads me somewhere out of the crowd.

There’s an after party at some mansion in the hills, some gated community with three different access points and when I tell Jude the name of the host, she’s got absolute stars in her eyes, repeating the name slowly like she’s in a trance. “Should I be concerned?” I ask into her ears. We’re pressed toward the back of the studio, now, some secluded corner where the bright lights barely reach us. I have her pinned to the wall, fingers interlaced to the sides of her head, my legs slotted between hers, her every breath causing her breasts to brush against the fabric of my shirt and I’m so well aware of all the things she’s not wearing.

“Do you know who Nicnevin is?” I think the gold on my cheeks came from a palette with her name on it but I don’t get to tell Jude this. “Cardan, I am wearing the lipstick she made – I'm wearing the eye shadow too – she’s my goth beauty queen makeup guru CEO role model.” I glance down at her dark red lips, enticed to bite it, just to mess up the lipstick. “Not a single smudge,” Jude tells me and when my eyes meet hers, her look is knowing. “Go ahead, try to mess it up. I dare you.”

I bend down, deliberately swiping the ball of my piercing across the swell of her bottom lip. Her breath hitches but she’s still on about Nicnevin this and Nicnevin that. I hadn’t even realized Jude was into make-up like that. This is the first time I’ve seen her done up and still it’s all subtle save for her siren lips.

“You really want to go? I don’t think we’d even meet her,” I tell her, trying not to bring her hopes up. Any other day, maybe I would be keen on the idea, but it’s not just the thought of being in a mansion with several celebrities and influencers sharing their drug habits with each other, not an intense imagining of Jude popping molly or snorting lines, not even the inevitable orgy bound to happen if Liliver’s outspoken annoyance at the offer had explained, but more because I’m so incredibly selfish and I want Jude all to myself.

However, if it’s a Project X type party my girl wants to experience, I’d be her guide. “I really want to meet her,” Jude admits, fingers squeezing mine slightly, a glint in her eyes showing her excitement. “But the timing is probably all off, huh?” She shrugs, then stands on her tip toes, and her nose caresses the side of mine, “Convince me I should be doing something else.”

I bring her wrists to one hand, keeping them steady above her head and she looks up with me with these excited hazy eyes. My free hand finds her hips after trailing a finger up that peak of skin slicing up her thigh. “Have I told you how much I love this dress on you?” She shakes her head. “And these boots,” I tap at one with the toe of my sneakers. “You look like a princess.”

Her eyebrows lift and I nearly don’t hear her when a new song starts with heavy bass distortions that vibrate down to the wall Jude’s pressed against. “I don’t think princesses wear dresses like these.”

“My kind does.”

She sticks her tongue out and crosses her eyes upward. I laugh, but continue, instead of swiping my tongue along hers like I really want to. “And god, those lips. Remind me to send Nicnevin a thank you note.”

She rolls her eyes, “You’re corny. Tell me what you really want to say, Rockstar. Touch my legs and kiss my neck like you want to - like I want you to.” I tap the barbell against the back of my teeth trying to hold the smirk back. Jude’s always so sure of what she wants from me, always in control until she decides she wants to hand over the reigns.

My hand around her wrists tighten instinctively, and fingers smooth down her hips and then up her thighs, beneath the dress this time, silky smooth skin reacting to my calloused fingers when I feel the goosebumps rise. She bites at her lips and I know what she wants to hear, so I tell her, “I want those red lips wrapped around my cock, then I want those boots tossed over my shoulders, slinky dress tangled up in your arms, and your eyes on mine as I fuck you.” She sucks in a breath, not sharp, but a slow inhale that tightens her chest and I know she’s stopped breathing when I never feel that exhale. Her eyes are blown out and the fingers on her thigh skim to the back of her leg, hiking it over my own. I press deeper against her, and her hands spasm beneath my hold and her head falls back against the wall. I kiss her neck when I tell her, “So deep inside of you and you’re saying baby don’t stop.” Her pulse pounds beneath my lips and when I swipe my tongue over her skin, I taste that edible vanilla perfume on her. “Baby, breathe.”

She lets loose a shaky breath, body arching closer to me. “What if I want it rough? If I ask you to go harder?” Her voice is so husky, it sends blood rushing through me. I pin my hips against hers until I feel her bones against mine and she lets out a groan. “Oh god,” she whimpers, a slow gyration of her hot center against me.

“Just so you could make me feel guilty later?” I tease, “Tell me how sore your pretty cunt feels in the morning?”

“You’ll make me feel better,” she whispers, eyes rolling back. She murmurs, “You’ll sit me on your lap and rub my clit until I'm all wet again. Oh, Cardan.” My name is a breath on her lips. “Do you ever think of that? Animalistic until I’m begging you to go slow, begging to feel every inch of you?”

“You know I do,” Part of me is very much willing to let her come right here against this wall, but I’m still so aware of my peers that are hardly paying attention to us – and probably won’t be until Jude’s screaming my name like I so desperately can’t help but want her to. “But if you really want to go to that party, I can wait.”

She closes her eyes almost in defeat and admits, “You’re good.” She wiggles her hands, “Can I touch you?” I let go of my hold on her, bracing my palms on the wall while Jude steadies one hand on my shoulder, the other to the side of my face. Her gyrations have stopped but she’s still pressed up against me. “Do you think about that a lot? I mean, me, like that?” Doesn’t she know I’ve had every possible scenario of being buried so deep in her thought out that its almost embarrassing? Every position, every tempo, every mood.

I roll my hip against hers, watching her struggle to maintain composure. “I think you already know the answer, princess.”

Her cheeks flush, “I mean…me,” She emphasizes. “Of course, you’ve thought about sex, but me, Cardan; do you ever picture me?”

“Yes,” I make sure I have her eyes when I tell her. “It’s always you.” How could there be anyone else? “You’re all I need.” She gives me this wide-eyed blink then grabs me by the back of my neck, pulling me in for a kiss. We’re locked in each other, slow kisses that turn into chaste ones, that turn into my lips against her neck or her teeth nipping just beneath my ear. My lips are swollen and rubbed raw by the time I feel a tap against my back. I turn, Jude’s hands now in mine, her head falling on to my shoulder, either fighting sleep or embarrassment. “Larkin,” I narrow my eyes at his face, cloudy eyes off of something, but lopsided grin over my very public display.

“How many blogs are you betting is posting you two necking each other tomorrow?” He wiggles his brows and laughs but I roll my eyes because I doubt anyone would care at this point.

“I thought there were no cameras allowed,” Jude mumbles hoarsely. I don’t think Larkin hears her as she’s muffled her words into my shirt. She peaks an eye at him, “When did you get that tattoo on your face?”

He just grins at her. “We’re leaving, come on,” he insists, grabbing both of our hands. Any thoughts of having Jude to myself is short lived by the time we all reach the apartment, because somehow, there’s already a group of people there. It makes me incredibly uneasy, seeing as the only four people with the keys are the four who’s just arrived. I suppose Randalin also has keys but I don’t understand how a house party we’ll probably get evicted for is any sort of help to our manager.

Jude sneezes upon entering the hazy living room and without thinking I pull my sleeve over my hand and wipe at her nose. Liliver snorts at this but Larkin makes a face, “Dude, you have snot all over your hand now.”

“Oh my god,” Jude cries out covering her face, “Cardan, that was gross.”

“I had my mouth all over your -” her wide eyes makes me rethink my sentence and I settle on, “ – mouth.” I grin boyishly and take hold of her hand, as we enter further into the apartment.

“Um, is no one going to address this party?” Taryn asks this when Van leads us to the kitchen where there’s considerably less people. He opens the fridge to hand us each a bottle of some electrolyte filled juice.

“Randy,” Larkin mutters, coming to the same conclusion as I did. He leans against the bar that separates the kitchen and the living room, resting his elbows on the granite. Jude yawns and leans most of her weight on me while I brace against the kitchen counter. Taryn hops up and takes a seat on the other side of me, swinging her legs back and forth until Larkin catches a heeled foot almost absently. The kitchen is a narrow fit for the six of us, but it isn’t uncomfortable. “I guess the bright side is, we know every face here,” He points out, and now that I look, I do see sound technicians, old roadies, a few producers and…I have to blink a few times to actually see properly.

“Did Locke just snort a line off our coffee table?”

Liliver frowns at her perch on the windowsill, and Jude and Taryn turn to peak over Larkin’s shoulder. I have to hold Jude in place because she seems just a bit unsteady – not drunk, just tired. “What the hell are they doing here?” Liliver crosses her arms over her chest and slumps back against the window. “You’d think they’d have a far better party to be at. Like Nicnevin’s or someone else at the hills.”

“You’d think,” Van echoes dryly, leaning against the fridge.

Even Larkin scowls at them – Nicasia sitting on Valerian’s lap, Yorn and Edir among groupies I recognize from the tour and Locke lighting a pre-rolled joint he’s pulled from behind his ear. “I thought they didn’t want anything to do with us sellouts or something?”

“Oh?” Jude bends her head back to look up at me. I look down and can’t help but peck her nose. “I thought that was a rumor,” she murmurs.

“Shit,” Van says, “There’s rumors going on about it?”

Taryn shrugs, “I think I saw something on social media, but I didn’t think it was true, seeing as you guys were all together just a couple of months ago, right?” she faces forward again, glancing at them before back to the five of us.

Jude grimaces, “But if you guys are beefing then…why are they here? Smoking in your apartment no less.”

“Did you just say beefing?” Larkin asks, startled, then snorts. “Sometimes I forget you and Taryn are identical twins, then you go and say shit like that.”

Taryn scowls, “What do you mean ‘shit like that’? Catch up with the lingo, gramps.”

“Kind of annoying how much of you guys can tell us apart,” Jude pouts. “How are we ever supposed to go all Parent Trap on you guys?” I don’t point out Taryn’s hair is much darker than hers at the moment and has been since the day we met.

Liliver chuckles, “Actually, Locke is beefing with Roiben, sort of. I think Nicasia said something to Kaye that wasn’t received well. Roiben pretty much just sat back and watched his girl do her own damage control as in a punch to her face and now Locke’s got a complex because Roiben is so unbothered by his online retaliation.” Liliver shakes her head, “It’s stupid.”

“So, in essence, by association with Roiben, we’re sell outs,” I explain.

“Shit is wack,” Taryn comments.

It’s silent for a beat then, “Let’s go smoke with them,” Van says. And we all look at him like he’s already ten types of high. “I want a hit and what are they gonna do? Randy manages them too, you know. Maybe this is his way of keeping the peace. At least they haven’t completely trashed the place yet.”

Larkin sighs, “Oh, these little shits are either paying a fee before leaving or cleaning up this mess.” He calls over a roadie we’ve known, a bigger guy, scary looking if we didn’t know he has the personality of a teddy bear.

“What’s up, Lark? Happy new year, guys.” He greets us all and Jude even smiles sweetly at him while Taryn gives him a small wave.

“Man the door. No one leaves without paying. You pick the fee, I trust your judgment. Money or labor only, no drugs or likewise paraphernalia.” He nods with a disbelieving sort of grin, but mostly eager.

“Whoa,” Jude says. “Damn, Larkin, that was kind of hot.” I cover her mouth with my hand, and she giggles but tries to bat me away.

“I think that was supposed to be my line,” Taryn mumbles, so quietly I probably wouldn’t have heard her if she weren’t right beside me. She wiggles her toes on the foot still being held by Larkin. Instead of letting go, Larkin only unzips the back of it and slides it off. He gestures for the other foot and she kicks it out without a second thought.

“Are your feet not hurting?”

“Dying here,” she admits to him with a cheesy smile.

“You’re a menace,” I mumble when Jude licks my hand. I pull my hand away but Jude manages to catch a finger with her teeth. Her tongue traces a line up to the tip before leaning away from it. “Gross,” I tease.

“Erotic,” Liliver glances between the four of us, amused. She catches my gaze and gives me a wink before turning to crack the kitchen window open, as the small apartment is already a hot box from whatever other previously smoked residual smog is in the air.

“You guys have LED lights,” Jude points out when we lead her and her sister to the living room. She notices the colors changing in tandem with the bass of whatever song is being played. Some R&B pop track about smoking and drinking that seems fitting. “You guys are so corny.”

Taryn snorts, leaning against her sister as she tries hard not to laugh at her own joke. “Got the crib looking like a Magcon house.”

“Crib,” Larkin repeats in disbelief with a grin.

“Magcon,” Van scoffs, glancing at the LED lights and nodding in a disappointed sort of acceptance.

Jude starts to crack up too, “So corny with that illuminati shit,” she sings and her and her sister struggle to hold each other up at this point.

Larkin raises his eyebrows at them then me. “What are they on?” he mouths, grabbing hold of Taryn by her shoulders, her heels dangling by the straps still in his one hand. I let Jude lean on me and I realize that yeah, they’re a little susceptible to the second hand, combined with maybe some jetlag and the time of night – Jude and Taryn are on something else.

Larkin settles in between a groupie and the drummer of DeathSweet, dropping the heels somewhere behind the sofa and dragging Taryn along who hesitates for a moment before dropping on the floor between his legs, Van takes a seat on the floor just opposite them, pulling Liliver in the space in front of him, bracketing his thighs around her body. Someone leaves their spot on the recliner and I sit Jude down on it before sinking down on the floor in front of her. Her knees part for me and my head lolls against her thigh, her fingers weaving into my hair automatically. Locke smiles at us, “The hosts have finally arrived.” He glances at my girlfriend then at her sister. “Well shit,” he grins, “very next level of you two.”

Taryn frowns, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m just teasing, is all – like old times. At least they’re not sharing a girl yet, but they’re getting there, right?” Larkin ignores him, resting his palms on Taryn’s shoulder to ease her back. He bends down and whispers something in her ears.

“Shut the hell up,” Liliver rolls her eyes, frown on her face. “Pass the joint or go home.”

Locke chuckles, as does most of the group, but those of us that count are well aware that Liliver is serious and is only humoring them because of Van. I glance up to Jude, gauging her reaction to all of this. She seems mostly complacent and if a flicker of unease passes her features, when she looks down at me, she smiles sincerely. The smoke around her makes her seem unreal. She’s so pretty among the haze. I remember why I want everyone out of my place so badly. Everyone but her.

“Happy New Year, rockstars,” Nicasia says sweetly, very much letting us know she remembers Jude. Maybe whatever is in the air is actually more potent than I originally thought because I’d never do this otherwise, but I manage to flip her off before Van reaches over and hands me the roll. Nicasia laughs, tossing her blue hair back. Although she’s on his lap, Valerian looks as if he’s trying his hardest not to touch her at all. Weird couple. They make my eyes peer over to Locke, a retort to the comment on sharing at the tip of my tongue but I hold it back.

“I see you got your nose fixed,” Liliver says. Taryn coughs, catching that bit. It may sound like a jab, but Liliver says it so mater-of-fact. “Your surgeon did a good job.” I can’t help but laugh as I inhale the smoke. It causes me to cough and I’m still half in fits as I pass the joint to Jude. She takes it nimbly and I'm aware, too late, that maybe Jude hasn’t smoked before.

“Hey,” I say, quietly to her, but it’s clear most eyes are already on us due to the fact that she hasn’t lifted the stick to her lips yet. She looks down at it between her fingers with wide, curious, and anxious eyes. I twist my torso and reach an arm back to rub at her spine, “You don’t have to,” I tell her. She flicks her gaze to me, then past me, her cheeks turning red.

“Aw,” Locke says, and God, do I ever want to punch him. Kaye used to be a fitness trainer, I’m surprised she didn’t really go for the kill on Nicasia, but I know I wouldn’t hold back with Locke if I had the chance. Nicasia’s surgeon wouldn’t be able to fix that nose. Strange how violent my tendencies towards him have gotten over the months. “That’s adorable. Really fucking cute,” he laughs, pulling a girl down to his lap. She giggles and he kisses her neck in short quick succession, but his blown out eyes stay on Jude.

Surprisingly, Valerian reaches out and kicks his knee. “Fuck off. If she doesn’t want to, she doesn’t have to.” Then to Jude, he says, “But please keep it moving sometime.”

She hands it over to Edir, smiling faintly at him, if not a little embarrassed, “Maybe next time,” she decides.

“My baby’s got baby lungs,” Taryn sighs, more loud than she probably realizes. “She’s the baby sister, by the way, did you know?”

“Now we all know, honey,” Larkin says dryly.

I grimace, ignoring them to face Jude, “You don’t have to prove anything, Jude. Forget about them.”

She smiles faintly at me, but I can tell she isn’t quite heeding my words. Larkin also passes, but Taryn tries a hit, only coughing slightly. The girl on top of Locke sinks down to her knees on to the floor and shuffles over to the coffee table. I scowl when she pulls out a credit card and a bag of white powder Locke had handed to her.

Liliver frowns, “Dude, go snort that shit somewhere else.” She goes ignored and Liliver slumps against Van, instead of saying what she probably really wants to, closing her eyes in annoyance. By the time the girl has three straight lines and a rolled up bill at her nose, the joint is being handed back to me.

Jude bends down, her lips to my ears, “I want to try,” she says. For a moment I think she’s talking about the dope on the table, but when I realize she means the weed I nod and hand it to her. She hesitates again, but this time no one is really paying attention. I take it back from her and hold her cheek with my free hand.

“I have an idea. Do you trust me?” She nods slowly, down for whatever I do. I pull in a breath of smoke, careful not to inhale. I press my thumb against her lips, parting them with a slow stroke and gradually release a stream of smoke into her open mouth. She inhales, her eyelids fluttering, the joint is plucked out of my hands, but my lips are already touching hers. How the fuck does she still manage to taste like candy?

“You have candy in your pockets,” I accuse, when I pull away from her, smoke fogging around us. She grins a little bashfully and reaches into that magical pocket of hers to pull out three cherry flavored candies and a blue-raspberry one. I take one of them, toss the blue one to Taryn, then one to Larkin and Van. Liliver is already half asleep. She peeks an eye open but twists her body to snuggle into Van before promptly knocking out. Jude rests her head on the arm rest and continues her massage on my scalp. When she yawns for the third time in a row, I’m up and pulling her with me.

I glance around, though dwindling, there’s still a hefty amount of people here. Larkin catches my eyes and waves me off. “I got it,” he promises, glancing down at Taryn whose head is on his lap as she looks up at the ever-changing lights on our ceiling.

“Hey,” Taryn murmurs, “Have you ever met that guy who became a singer who was from Magcon? His special power is making everyone forget he was in Magcon. What does Magcon even stand for?”

“Meet and Greet convention,” Edir tells her.

“What?” Her eyes go wide, “Dude, what the fuck?”

Jude leans against me and raises her head to look up at me. Her glossy eyes are reddened from strain and her smile is so lazy and coy, it makes me wonder what she’s thinking. “What?” she murmurs.

I lead her closer to me by the base of her back. I lean down, brushing stray hairs from her face. My smile feels as wry as hers must look. “When the smoke is in your eyes,” I murmur, “you look so alive.”

She giggles. “Silly. Where are you taking me?”

“To bed?”

She shakes her head, “No.”

“No?”

“Nuh uh,” she says, leading me now, away from our friends, towards the door. I let her walk me back the way we came from until we’re outside of the high-rise. She breathes in the fresh air and looks up at the sky.

“Where were you planning on going?”

“I don’t know,” she admits. “But I don’t want tonight to end yet.”

∞

@cute898, @monawa, @afexiss, @somebodysqueen, @nish247, @andromeddea, @avenrebekah, @gamer670, @daddycardan, @outofstyles13, @vi0let-femmes, @babyillyrian @queenofdorkville, @courtofmadness, @queengreenbriar, @stormymeow,@goldbooksblack, @littlemergirl4779, @lalunaswhisperer, @archerons-arrow, @illyrianundercover, @atla-lok143, @fangirlinghard-spoilerson, @soup-that-is-too-hawt, @3am-reading, @tangledraysofsunshine, @readmeaway, @gently-say-aha, @breezyfreezey, @soup-that-is-too-hawt, @fi-fi-firefly, @alongwiththewindd, @an-teo520, @dracolovelaceisinlove, @sleeping-and-books, @city-of-fae, @inejghxfaa, @franticlittlegeek, @darlingod, @ame233, @feysand-dot-acotar, @l0sts0uls1128, @tswaney17, @shadesoflondonxoxo, @rapunzel1523, @hoegreenbrair, @lost0nline, @vera0124, @afexiss, @pala-done, @blackbirdswords , @sjmsstuff, @tintinnabulary, @flashytrashy, @the-unicornspoop, @books-and-sleep, @cailleach-na-speirtha, @acourtofstudyingandsuffering, @nitrot150, @foundtheavacados, @justccstuff, @goawayi-mreading, @kickassunicorn, @hoegreenbrair, @sjmsstuff, @feelthismom3nt-blog, @feeoly, @faefromthenorth, @queenofxhearts, @lovemollywho, @velarian-trash, @tessas-herondales, @alissa-kirk, @sophiespievak, @galllatea, @georgialeighc13, @clockworkgraystairs, @pilesofriles, @queentearss, @mustangsally913, @pilesofriles, @fangirlforever0704, @dayanna-hatter, @empress-ofbloodshed, @izou1204, @tintinnabulary, @13luecloud, @furiousflowerponypizza, @bamchickawowow, @ireallyshouldsleeprn, @hizqueen4life, @thebookish-fangirl, @judehatescardan, @cardanslittletail, @burninjurdan, @rowaelin-percabeth, @amapformyjourney, @ghostlyrose2, @nephilimlove, @judexcardanxgreenbriar, @charincharge, @flowersinvegas, @selcouthdream, @lizzzziebear, @sleepybabything, @ysitsohardtofindaname, @lahistoriaquenoteconte, @blackjacks-donuts, @sincerelymetoyou, @brit-alltoowell, @poeticbrownmermaid, @aelin-queen-of-terrasen, @flamingliterature, @whatafuckingbabe, @thesirenwashere, @drewstarkeyobx, @dorkzrul, @an-ironic-pisces, @sluttyskeletonss, @ironic-noodles, @ireallyshouldsleeprn, @kittkatandbooboo, @superrfk, @infinite-cats, @highlady17, @gloriouspaintercreatorbandit, @suchaspeciallittlesnowflake, @mar2203, @ireallyshouldsleeprn, @mis-lil-red, @clockworkgraystairs, @pig-on-acid, @owl0y0s, @sanctalina, @cardan-s-tail, @st00pid231, @courtofjurdan, @booksofthemoon, @sarcasticsagittarius1998, @elriel4life, @nowthatsdistilledspirit, @localgoof, @fangirlprincess09, @thewayshedreamed, @minaidss, @life-wanderer, @transbordeamento, @l0sts0uls1128, @nerd447, @nellasantos98, @ourbooksuniverse, @thalia-2-rose

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partiallyobscure · 4 years ago

Text

otp questions from this post <3 I just went ahead and did them with David and Michael lmao. it’s mostly my usual headcanons with my fic as the backstory but you don’t necessarily need to read it to understand. cw for light nsfw but it’s mostly tame.

Who is the most affectionate?

David is disgustingly affectionate. he lives to make people uncomfortable so he would be the absolute worst perpetrator of PDA. he and Michael have gotten kicked out of too many establishments all because David is constantly letting his hands wander. I don’t even think he’s aware of it at this point lmao

Big spoon/Little spoon?

they bicker about it a lot, but usually in bed, David ends up being the little spoon. he tries to start off being the big spoon but he always wakes up with Michael’s arms around his chest, specifically covering where the holes from the antlers were, even though the scars are long gone by now.

Most common argument?

usually comes down to who/what/where to eat.

Favorite non-sexual activity?

they love doing tons of stuff together, but they really like racing, watching bad sci-fi movies, and going on haunted tours around the country. they’ll really go the extra mile for the ghost tours and get huge cameras to hang around their neck and everything and act all tourist-y. it’s a great time.

Who is most likely to carry the other?

David fusses but Michael carries him around when he can or requests it. he doesn’t like to do it too often though because it always reminds him of that first time he did so, thinking he was carrying David’s dead body in his arms.

What is their favorite feature of their partner's?

Michael’s favorite feature is David’s mouth, especially when it quirks up into his signature smirk, but he can also tell a lot about what David’s feeling from what he’s doing with his mouth. David hates that Michael can read him so easily (even with their shared mental connection) and asks how the fuck he’s able to do that, and Michael always gives an enigmatic smile and swipes his thumb across David’s lips.

David’s favorite is Michael’s eyes. he could lose a whole night just staring into them. he can’t quite place the color, but they remind him of how the sky would look at noon and he gets a rush of nostalgia every time Michael looks at him. whenever they light up like when they’re with Michael’s family or when he’s talking about the coolest bike that he saw in town that day is David’s absolute favorite. and when only his eyes turn amber, before the rest of his face follows to match David’s, David falls a little bit more in love every time.

What's the first thing that changes when they realize they have feelings for the other?

not much changed on David’s end since he was attracted to Michael at first sight. he couldn’t let it show though so he just found excuses to touch Michael whenever he could, passing him the joint and their fingers brushing when Michael took the bottle and catching him when they fell off the bridge.

when Michael realized he started to share those feelings, he was confused at first considering everything that happened between them. he wasn’t sure if he wanted to hit David or hit on David when they first met, so those feelings simmered a bit until he could get to know David beyond their history. he doesn’t fully admit it until he realizes he’s the one David is pursuing and he has the ego boost from this combined with knowing there’s more to David than what he allows people to see.

Nicknames? & if so, how did they originate?

David likes how Michael’s name sounds too much to give him a nickname, but will sometimes hit him with a ‘babe’ just to see him flustered. Michael calls him Davey just to make him mad but especially in public.

Who worries the most?

Michael since he still can’t seem to shake the fact that he doesn’t need to worry anymore about human dangers. he still flinches and looks twice before pulling onto the highway and all. but mostly he still worries about his family and their perception of him and whether or not they see him as a bad person, despite their love and support. and of course, he worries about how he’ll be when the day comes that he gets older than them.

Who remembers what the other one always orders at a restaurant?

David knows Michael’s order all too well and specifically chooses restaurants that have at least fifteen kinds of burgers to choose from.

Michael swears David is making stuff up at this point whenever they go to a sushi place or a Thai place and he chooses something new to try every time. he knows David’s bubble tea order by heart, though.

Who tops?

Michael, but they’ll switch whenever David has had enough of Michael being too gentle with him.

Who initiates kisses?

David, but he’ll usually give Michael a look when he wants a kiss and Michael is happy to oblige. otherwise, since David likes gross PDA, he usually steals a kiss whenever he can.

Who reaches for the other's hand first?

David and it’s usually because he has to pull Michael along after he gets lost in his thoughts, more often than not after they feed.

Who kisses the hardest?

Michael. David nipped at his bottom lip once and that’s all it took for his fangs to come out and sometimes, it gets a little bloody.

Who wakes up first?

Michael. he has to practically drag David out of bed most nights because he’s too comfortable.

Who wants to stay in bed just a little longer?

David as stated above lmao. who knows how long dude was batting it up before he could sleep in a bed again.

Who says I love you first?

Michael and it was out of frustration.

Who tells their family/friends about their relationship first?

there’s no one to tell at first since they were keeping it secret, but Star finds out first and is initially upset, mostly about being lied to. grandpa eventually finds out next and then Sam stumbled across them by accident, so...both of them technically spill the beans together each time lmao

What do their family/friends think of their relationship?

Lucy is supportive and likes David a lot. she knows she should probably resent him for turning Michael, but he really seems like a boy who was in a bad scenario and is making due with what happened to him. she also knows Michael has been a good influence on him and trusts the two of them are doing what they need to to survive. her and David bond over shit talking Max and the best kind of wines.

Sam was understandably skeptical at first, but he and David came to an understanding and they’re cool now. they bond over music and David eventually comes around to really enjoying board games because of Sam, mostly because he wins every single game. Sam even refers to him as his brother-in-law.

Star took longer to come around but she mostly listens whenever Sam tells her what they’re up to. she’s also mostly relieved that she dodged both of those bullets and can live her own life how she wants to now, grateful that the boys gave her an escape and that Michael helped get her human life back.

Who is more likely to start dancing with the other?

both of them suck at dancing, but Michael will spin David every now and then when a cheesy slow song comes on, or Careless Whispers and they both crack up.

Who cooks more/who is better at cooking?

when they’re back spending time with Michael’s family, David is usually the one helping Lucy in the kitchen. he’s chided Michael before about joining in, especially with the big holiday dinners but Michael is always there to lick whatever spoons and bowls clean when they make dessert.

they vow to take a cooking class or two while they’re out on the road but never do.

Who comes up with cheesy pick up lines?

Michael. he usually gets them from Sam.

Who whispers inappropriate things in the other's ear during inappropriate times?

David, 100%. inappropriate times being at all times because of the whole telepathy thing.

Who needs more assurance?

David, that Michael still wants to be with him and doesn’t resent him for turning him. but also Michael that he isn’t a monster and that he’s only doing what he needs to to survive.

What would be their theme song?

SOOOO MANY but just from my drive to work today: Possum Kingdom by the Toadies fits TOO well. Michael by Franz Ferdinand too obviously. I’m curating a playlist for them here at the moment if anyone’s interested lmao

Who would sing to their child back to sleep?

please don’t give these two a child

What do they do when they're away from each other?

they’re not usually too far from each other but David gets a little mopey until he can see Michael again. he’s protective so he doesn’t let Michael too far out of his sight. Michael feels a little part of himself missing when David’s not with him, so he’ll do whatever he needs to do quickly or just take David along with him.

one headcanon about this OTP that breaks your heart:

despite all the time David has had to mourn and grieve, he still misses the other boys every day and sometimes it gets really painful. his only regret in life is not easing Michael into the vampire thing more before turning him, but he was under a time constraint from Max so he didn’t have much of a choice. they still get into shouting matches very rarely about whether or not Michael was the catalyst for the other three’s deaths and David’s very deep, hidden fear is that he’ll never learn how to accept it and one day, his emotions will take him too far and Michael will get sick of his guilt trips.

one headcanon about this OTP that mends it:

Michael does blame himself for David’s grief, because how could he not. he feels like the constant source of David’s sorrow when it comes to the boys but also his ecstatic love and it pulls him in two directions. he listens intently whenever David tells him about his past and his time with the boys and asks what they’d say or do if they were there with them right now, and it continues into the modern era. Michael asks what kind of blog Paul would have (music reviews and fashion), what Marko would name his Instagram account for bird photography (vampigeons), and how many followers Dwayne would get on tiktok for posting thirst traps. David knows Michael cares and is trying to keep the spirit of the lost boys alive.

#i miss my fic ok i wanted to expand on it a little 🥺#the fluff overload tag comes in handy here #my fics #the lost boys #david/michael emerson

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fan-enby-anonymous · 3 years ago

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For the asks: do you have any nonverbal greeting HCs for Artemis and then your OCs Phoenix, Kira, and Robin? Alternatively (and this wasn't on the ask list), how do they all show affection?

Thank you for the ask Zoe, these were really fun ones. (Sorry they took forever, I'm having the longest exam season of my life right now.) Also thank you to @sunnyscribble for the ask, I put it here since your question also falls under this list XD

Nonverbal Greetings:

For Artemis, I think that he doesn’t typically use nonverbal greetings. He’s mentioned in the books as being very quiet when he walks, and sneaking up on people even when he doesn’t mean to, so I think most of the time he’s got to call out to people. But, I think when he does it’ll be around friends and family, so he’ll just take their hand. Both because I think Artemis would like being able to start a conversation with someone standing side by side for comfort, and because I think that would be unbearably cute.

For Phoenix, I think she uses non-verbal greetings a lot. Since the Legionaries jobs consist mainly of fighting gargoyles and shoplifting, they have to learn to keep as silent as possible, so they’ve developed quite a bit of non-verbal communication. In a fight or right before a fight, pointing your weapon downwards and lifting it in a “cheers” gesture is a call for attention from your allies, so it’s something that Phoenix and the other Legionaries use quite a bit, and it’s spread outside of fighting so that you can basically “cheers” anyone with anything you happen to be holding and it just means “come over and talk to me for a second.” Just, don’t unthinkingly flip something upside down that shouldn’t be flipped; there’s been so many things spilled on the floor that way.

For Robin, since he and Artemis roomed together for a long time, once they got comfortable with each other they would just sort of flop on the other person’s bed when they wanted to talk. And, I think they kept that habit of dramatically throwing themselves onto the nearest piece of furniture in the other’s line of sight after they graduated. At this point it’s more entertaining than anything else.

For Kira, she is definitely not immune to throwing herself dramatically onto things to get attention. (Or onto Artemis himself, much to Artemis’s annoyance and everyone else's amusement.) But, Artemis and Kira's nonverbal communication goes much deeper than that because they actually share a telepathic link and they can just sort of communicate through vibes for the most part, so they don't even have to say hi most of the time, they just know. (Technically Artemis and Phoenix have one of these too, but that one is more of a party line so it's more difficult to share those kinds of moments through telepathy alone.)

How do they show affection:

For Artemis, this might be a bit of an unpopular take but I do think that Artemis is a very touchy person. I think a lot of how Artemis shows affection is through physical contact, especially with his partner(s.) But I also think that Artemis is great with gifts as well. I think he’d like to make things for his friends a lot.

For Phoenix, I think her main thing would be acts of service. She’s not great with words, but she’d do anything for her friends.

For Robin, does lovingly bullying your friends count? No, but seriously, I think that Robin would be the absolute sweetest with compliments (and love flustering Artemis lol.) And, he also loves just spending time with people.

For Kira, she is a firm believer in food as a love language. She loves cooking and cooking for friends is even better. Beyond that, as mentioned before, she is also very physically affectionate, and she loves telling stories with her friends and family. Major mom friend vibes.

#artemis fowl #artemis fowl oc #my writing #body language asks #phoenix lightbrooke #robin davidson #kira mackenzie spars

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yellowmagicalgirl · 4 years ago

Text

So I recently binge-read the Anarchy Dreamers webcomic, which is about a world where often when kids (and maybe some adults? I can't remember) die, they come back from the dead with supernatural powers and/or physical changes (but their nightmares can wreak havoc on the world). Those who come back from the dead are called both dreamers and dreamwalkers, though occasionally death isn’t neccessary. And now I kind of want to write an AU about it, so...

AU where the Reckless Club+Darci all got Saturday detention with Senor Uhl... however, there was a fire that would later be blamed on faulty electrical. Only Senor Uhl and Shannon made it out alive. The other seven students all made it out undead. Now, five of them are illegally fighting nightmares.

(Warning: below the cut there are mild Wizards spoilers)

Reckless Dreamers

Jim

Physical changes: he basically became troll!Jim but the changes are almost entirely cosmetic.

Powers: He can manifest armor and weapons.

Jim is one of the first of the seven of them to start fighting nightmares.

Claire

Physical changes: her blue streak turned white, and her irises turned purple. When she feels intense anger or fear, her hair turns fully white, her sclera turn black, and her pupils turn pale purple.

Powers: She can control shadows so they take other shapes. In addition, she (and up to two other people; she has to hold their hand) can use shadows to travel from one place to another.

Claire holds off on fighting nightmares for a while because of her mom, but when her own nightmare threatens Enrique she is able to fight back against it - something incredibly rare for dreamwalkers... then again, there could be an outside influence affecting her.

Toby

Physical changes: his teeth are now orange crystals; at least he no longer needs braces!

Powers: Gravity manipulation

Toby finds out that Jim is fighting nightmares, alone, and immediately decides that he needs to help his best friend.

Steve

Physical changes: he has small horns that probably look like either Draal’s or Gunmar’s

Powers: not much beyond enhanced physical strength

Steve started fighting nightmares soon after Jim and Toby started, but it was a while before he and Eli teamed up with Jim, Toby, and Claire.

Eli

Physical changes: if you shine a light at his eyes, his pupils will reflect green light

Powers: mild telekinesis, enhanced reflexes and dexterity

He has theories about the fire and the nature of nightmares, and he’s going to get answers, dammit!

Darci

Physical changes: Pink mole ears

Powers: Unknown

Darci doesn’t fight nightmares because it’s illegal and there’s people with actual training who are doing so, but she also won’t snitch on the others to her dad because she knows they’re trying to do the right thing

Mary

Physical changes: her hair is now more of a really dark red than a true black

Powers: Invisibility

Mary chooses not to fight, but she does casually help the others avoid detection

Other Dreamers

Blinky

Powers: He can make things combust

Physical changes: Four arms, six eyes.

Blinky is the school guidance counselor, and he’s been trying to get the Reckless Dreamers into his office to try and help them cope with their changes. He’s also trying to monitor Shannon to see if she manifests dreamwalker traits. Unfortunately, there are only so many hours of the day. He lives with his husband Arghamount in Trollmarket, a suburb of Arcadia Oaks where a large percentage of the population is dreamers.

Strickler

Powers: knife summoning

Physical changes: wings, horns

Strickler is the only other adult dreamwalker at Arcadia Oaks High (not counting the occasional 18-year-old who is about to graduate). He is secretly a member of the Janus Order, a political group that believes dreamwalkers are better than most humans (but does not advocate for the deaths of normal humans, unlike more extreme dreamwalker supremacist groups)

Aja & Krel

Physical changes: They now have four arms each and cyan blood. Their eyes are now the same as their Akiridion eyes. Aja was shorter than Krel before they died; now she’s taller.

Powers: They both have light manipulation, which allows them to look like their living forms. Aja is able to create hard light weaponry/shoot lasers. Krel can create portals.

The Tarron siblings really are a pair of human twins (Aja will not shut up about being four minutes older) who escaped the violent coup of their home country of Cantaloupia. Varvatos was supposed to get the two of them and their parents to America, where they would live with Fialkov’s eccentric second cousin (Lucy) and her husband (Ricky). All four Tarrons were gunned down as they escaped via a truck. Aja and Krel came back from the dead; Fialkov and Coranda did not.

Merlin

Physical changes: honestly he’s so old and the changes were so subtle that he no longer remembers

Powers: longevity, among other things

Merlin helped to start Camelot LLC with Arthur’s grandfather, Aurelius Pendragon. As the years have gone on, Merlin has been slowly locked out of Camelot LLC. He has a license to fight nightmares internationally.

Morgana

Physical changes: Five tiny gold horns have formed along her brow. Her nails also naturally grow in as gold claws.

Powers: levitation, shadow manipulation, low-level telepathy

Morgana died when she was sixteen, due to a camping accident gone wrong. She also lost her left hand in this accident. No one’s sure, but it’s suspected that Guinevere’s death was caused by Morgana’s nightmare. Morgana is secretly channeling Camelot LLC funds into the Janus Order. She’s going to take interest in Claire’s abilities sooner or later.

Douxie

Physical changes: His bangs are naturally blue. When he feels intense emotions his eyes glow blue.

Powers: part of his soul effectively split off into a talking dragon-cat; though Archie might actually be the result of a nightmare. Douxie might have other powers as well.

Douxie became a dreamwalker as a homeless orphaned five-year-old, and his circumstances didn’t get better until three years later, when Merlin rescued Douxie from his own nightmare, adopted him, and brought him back with him to California. Merlin has encouraged Douxie to fight against nightmares, even though it’s not legal. Now that Douxie is nearly an adult, Merlin often leaves him alone with Archie in their Arcadia Oaks apartment for days at a time. Morgana will often check up on Douxie, if she’s visiting the Janus Order. It’s technically neglect, but Douxie doesn’t see anything wrong with this considering his life before Merlin.

Zoe

Physical changes: gills, fins, and scales as seen in this post where I illustrate them

Powers: lightning control

Zoe drowned in a swimming pool when she was twelve. She’s one of the few dreamers at Arcadia Oaks Academy other than Douxie.

Seamus

Physical changes: he gained swirling tattoos across his upper back. They faintly glow when he uses his powers.

Powers: Density control

Seamus died of a bad case of food poisoning when he was eleven. He joined the Junior Dreamer Guard (it’s like JROTC) in hopes that it’ll help him get a scholarship.

Araceli Conrad

Physical changes: her bones are now crystalline in nature

Powers: magnetism (if she teamed up with Zoe they could use light manipulation)

Conrad was crushed by falling furniture when she was 14. The only people allowed to call her by her first name are her grandmother and her girlfriend, Shannon, but that doesn’t mean that everyone respects this.

Nana

Physical changes: Her eyes are a brighter shade of green than they were prior to becoming a dreamer

Powers: Longevity

Nancy became a dreamer in World War One

The Living

Shannon

Has survivor’s guilt. She’s looking into the fire, to see if there was anything suspicious about it.

Arthur

Known for being the CEO of the company Camelot LLC, and also having anti-dreamer political policies despite his sister and one of the company founders both being dreamers. His politics have become harsher ever since Guinevere died under mysterious circumstances.

Kubritz

Military; she’s been experimenting on ways to fight nightmares while not involving dreamers. She’s also conducting illegal experiments on dreamers.

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chartedrights · 4 years ago

Text

Golden Age AU Masterpost

For everyone lacking context, the Golden Age AU is just me riffing on every piece of comic book media I’ve ever consumed. Here are some single-paragraph rundowns I’ve made to keep track of things as I start to write!

The Board of Directors is analogous to the Justice League- they’re pretty much entirely people with superpowers (with the exception of Carol, at first), they’re very prestigious, and they come together to ward off larger threats like the impressive super powered task force they are. Or they used to. Membership’s sort of dropped, and people with powers are getting harder to find and recruit, and the big headliner who ran it left it in the hands of some nurse, which is like. So not sexy.

PEIP is PEIP- they fit right in where they were. In the shadows, in the dark, fighting the threats that the “special people” won’t, protecting people on a lower level than “oh god, the apocalypse,” because apparently the superheroes aren’t concerned with espionage or alien meteors anymore. The pricks. Mostly run by people without superpowers- as far as they know- and deeply concerned with keeping heroes responsible for their own actions. They would be oversight, if they were allowed to be.

CCRP Technical is an interesting place. Charlotte and Ted work there, for Sam, though neither of them is quite sure what it actually does. Paul was recruited in hopes he’d grow into upper management, but he didn’t have the ambition for it. Bill has been there for a decade or two now, ever since he started attending those meetings with Becky and Mrs. Davidson. Melissa... Melissa is their rising star. Mr. Davidson isn’t sure what they found in her, but he’s glad to see her succeed! Good for her! Four for you Melissa, you go Melissa!

Hatchetfield.... is Hatchetfield. It’s small, it’s insular, it’s full of gossip and weirdness and people with eccentric ideas of morality. It might be easier to admit that superheroes and supervillains exist, but let nobody say that the citizens of Hatchetfield ever took the easy road. They will walk uphill, in the snow, denying the supernatural both ways.

Paul is a real sweetheart. He’s autistic, he’s quiet, he likes his routine and the simple pleasures in life... and he just happens to be unkillable and he maybe possibly sort of has the ability to fly. He could be an excellent addition to either team, but he refuses to be a proper superhero, making him Hatchetfield’s most obvious target. Which in turn means that he often ends up acting like a proper superhero against his own will. He thinks Emma is perfectly lovely and still hasn’t noticed her committing crimes.

Emma is Hidgens’ Lab Assistant, which is code for “committing crimes for college credit,” and she does a lot of the footwork for him. Being a henchman definitely tops food service, lets put it that way. She also gets to follow in the family business- a long line of Perkins supervillains ended when Jane broke free and became a real hero for Tom’s sake. She always wanted to be a good person, but Emma is not as opposed to violence. She also cannot wait for Hidgens to level Hatchetfield, which is made complicated by the fact that she likes Paul rather a lot, and he likes Hatchetfield.

Hidgens is a supervillain. He never leaves his house, orchestrates incidents of immense damage to the civic infrastructure, and refuses to acknowledge that just maybe putting children into the path of radioactive chemicals is not a valid scientific experiment. He’s not necessarily a bad person, it’s just that his morals refute even the idea of black and white. More like blue and red. Orange and green. He is of the opinion that world peace can only be achieved by world domination, and therefore has begun a track to world domination. He and Sam have a blood feud of indeterminate origin.

Becky Barnes, low-level healer and walking anesthetic, somehow ended up in charge of the Board of Directors. The last leader disappeared three days after handing off control, and Becky is still looking for them. Becky is very conspicuously not looking for her ex-husband, however. It makes some people suspicious, and nobody more than Sam, who is Stanley’s most obnoxious cousin. Apparently, ruining Becky’s life runs in the family. Despite these troubling events, Becky does her best to keep the city standing and the world turning- she and Bill manage what they can, Carol and PEIP manage what they can’t. She’s still in a precarious place, however, and she’s looking for help.

Frank Pricely supplies everyone with gadgets. Hero and villain alike, everyone pays. Not always the same price, but everyone pays. He’s a neutral party, and he acts the part, but everybody likes to debate his loyalties. There’s no such thing as truly neutral, right? Everyone has their price- even him. It’s just a matter of what that price is.

Lex is his cashier, which means that she learned early on in her career in retail that the panic button is not half as good a first resort as the paralysis darts Frank keeps in the cash drawer. She has the ability to manifest objects, as long as she knows where they are. She needs a concrete location to pull them away from, which means that she snoops in every house she visits, checks the staff rooms of every store she enters. She can, on command, find you just about anything you need. For a price. She’s learning a lot lately, though, and what she learns about her powers might put her at risk.

Bill is one of the few members of the Board of Directors still standing. He and Becky get coffee all the time, and commiserate about the lack of help in Hatchetfield. He has telepathy, and certain illusionary abilities, which come in especially handy when he’s talking people down or trying to sneak hostages out of hostage situations. A gentle, well-intentioned man, Bill is not outwardly very intimidating, but he’s strong. Much stronger than most people would like to think. Becky keeps trying to hand off leadership to him, and he gently hands it back every time- he’s got other problems to deal with right now.

Formerly married to the infamous Perkins family heiress, Tom tries to live a nice, quiet life. He used to be a hero- and a damn good one- but Jane defected for him, and then died for it, and he carries more guilt than he probably should. Tom never thought of himself as special, really, and he still doesn’t. He can warp matter- twist it into shape, turn it from one thing to another, and he’s a fine craftsman when he wants to be. But it’s a dangerous thing to have on hand when you’re angry or frightened, and Tom still has an awful case of PTSD hanging around his neck. He’s doing his best to wrangle with it, but he’s going to need some help.

Ethan is just a teenager. Really, he promises. He absolutely swears. Nothing special about him! He’s just real intuitive! He and Lex have been looking into that whole “experimentation” thing they did at CCRP back when they were babies and it wasn’t even interesting! He’s just a mechanic, honestly. He’s a straight C student! He hasn’t even joined the cult off the coast on that houseboat!! He’s a good kid. No reason to be concerned at all.

Ted is also Hidgens’ henchman, but definitely the lower-ranked of the two. He applied hoping he’d make some friends, but thus far all he’s managed to do is fall in love with Charlotte, who is Sam’s henchman. It’s not going badly for him, but it’s not going well, either. He and Paul still work together. Every time Hidgens asks, Ted is like “Paul? Nah. He’s totally normal.”

Gary is a mob lawyer. He used to work for Emma’s family, but now he works for Sherman and Linda. They’re technically competition, and if they ever find out that he’s playing both sides he’ll absolutely die, but in the meantime he is racking up that cash. He is so rich. He is capable of great evil, and occasionally does terrible things, but overall he’s an affable guy. He and Charlotte had an unfortunate tryst once that ended with her tying him to the Welcome to Hatchetfield sign with his own scarf, but he still pines for her. She’s the one that got away. And continues to get away. cops hate her: local woman refuses to go to jail.

MacNamara still works for PEIP, which is only slightly a different job, on account of there being very public superheroes in this world. He and Xander have been married for ten years, but they are both under the (mistaken) impression that it wasn’t a real marriage because it was done undercover. He thinks about that and is very sad about it sometimes. But they’re partners, and that’s good enough that he can be content with it. For now. He has the ability to intensify or nullify other people’s superpowers, and he does his best to keep it quiet. He thinks there’s something noble about living without superpowers, and vaguely wishes that he and Chad’s roles were swapped- until he remembers that Chad has one (1) brain cell to his name.

Xander has the ability to speak to computers. It’s not flashy, at first glance. It doesn’t have the pizzazz of Paul’s gifts or the subtle mind fuckery of John and Bill’s. But he can know whatever he wants, can hear anything, tap any phone call, look through any webcam. He doesn’t, because he’s not a fucking creep, but he can. PEIP was lucky to find him before CCRP- and so was everyone else in the world. Xander’s not flashy in general- he keeps a lot to himself. He and John have been partners for a long time, and they still haven’t said they love each other. He still hasn’t told John that he’s a member of the Board. He still hasn’t told John that he and Paul are in the same book club.

Schaffer doesn’t need powers. You think she needs powers? Her power is that she breathes and death turns away. PEIP was built by good people like Schaffer, people with principles and strong hearts and ice cold spines of steel. Normal, human people, unremarkable except that they chose to be better. She’s fourth-generation PEIP, born and raised to believe in the service they do, the protection they provide. Some of the more bitter agents will say that Schaffer benefitted from nepotism. They will never say this in front of her, because deep down they know she did not and they know that she will prove it by kicking their asses. She and Carol used to date, but the strain of crossing enemy lines in what was, essentially, a Cold War between PEIP and the Board got to them both. Schaffer is the person Hidgens called after he got struck by lightning.

Charlotte is Sam’s henchman and quietly in the running for longest con ever pulled. One day she is going to off him and take his place as the leading supervillain in Hatchetfield, but that day is not today. She likes Ted, but Sam keeps telling her to kill him, so their relationship amounts to “the inherent eroticism of trying to murder each other”. Nobody is entirely certain how she does what she does, but she’s very, very good at her job. Emma looks up to her just a little. She had a therapist once. He tried to sleep with her. She no longer has a therapist. She does have a very lovely goldfish, however.

Mr. Davidson is MacNamara’s twin brother and Hidgens’ ex. His wife is a genuine bona fide Batman-level hero in a bigger city, so he occasionally gets kidnapped or tortured. Hidgens still writes him bitter and mildly threatening love ballads that he genuinely treasures and sends very heartfelt thank you notes for. His life is so messy. There’s so much drama. He’s also completely powerless and cheerful about it. (Re: the Working Boys.... he’s Chad. Chad MacNamara Davidson.)

Alice is developing absolutely no superpowers and she’s really really annoyed about it. She used to take this out on Lex, as teenagers will, but after Lex dropped out she began to regret that. Too little and much too late, but regret is regret. She keeps trying to mend that bridge, but it’s not working. Unfortunately for her, she’s still been seen with Lex and Ethan, and that’s enough. Imminent danger perceives no difference between friend and foe. Alice is full of a very different kind of potential, however, and sooner or later all that bottled-up anger and stress will lash out.

Deb, on the other hand, is an intern at the Board of Directors’ headquarters, which is now St. Damien’s given that Becky is in charge. Interns for heroes are much less common than henchmen working for villains, but Deb has a keen interest in coordination and overseeing operations. Bill hates having her on comms for missions, but she’s just... so good at her job. She can brew a pot of Red Bull twice-steeped coffee, arrange a date with Alice, avoid an international incident, redirect PEIP and talk Bill through defusing a bomb in the same ten-minute stretch. Lesbians can do anything. This is a fact. They are the backbone of our society.

Hot Chocolate Boy is full of secrets. And hot chocolate.

And speaking of St. Damien’s, do you recall poor Bridgette, who lost her eyesight in a horrible accident? I’m not saying Hatchetfield is going to have it’s very own Matt Murdock expy, but I am saying that. She’s blind, she’s Catholic, and she’s coming for your kneecaps.

Linda is a very low-level villain who operates out of her husband’s office and sics her Boating Club on people. Gerald should technically be a threat, given that it’s the Monroe family prerogative to slaughter rising heroes with an alacrity that distinguished them from all the other families in Hatchetfield. He is not. He’s barely even a henchman. Linda got all the bloodlust between the two of them, and she is out for blood from the start. Though initially quickly defeated, she grows in seriousness over the course of time and ends up a formidable threat with a weighty grudge against Becky and Lex. She’s not much in a physical fight, Linda, but she is deeply, deeply vindictive, and she’s willing to make any deals she has to to bring Becky down. Any deals. With anyone. Anything.

Sherman Young is a mob boss, and you know it. He’s a real creep and he’s got some sick hobbies, even for a man in his line of work, but somehow the 80s jacket and the comb-over mullet make it all worse. He’s the richest man in town, and that’s saying something, but if Linda has a say in things he won’t be for long. The Youngs, the Monroes, and the Perkins have been at war since the founding of the town, and Sherman is cutting down his competition. He might have even arranged for Jane’s accident to happen, but nobody is sure. Nobody living, anyway.

Sam is a villain. He’s not super or anything. He’s just a villain. He’s top-tier Joker-level normie, but he still goes toe-to-toe with all kinds of heroes. Notable for being pretty much exactly the same as his show counterpart in regards to his proclivity for threats and violence. He once told Paul to “talk to his fucking gun” only to find that Paul is, despite all outward appearances, fucking immortal. He is still very embarrassed about it. He’s up and coming in the Hatchetfield Villain circuit, but he’s definitely a threat. To who? Who can say. Somebody, somewhere.

Papa Ed is a PEIP informant, and he has the ability to speak to animals. He’s raising Peanuts to be a very small, very enthusiastic little squirrel spy.

Man in a Hurry is a former speedster who lost his powers and compensates for it by Being In A Hurry at all times.

Homeless Man is a CCRP agent. He specializes in camouflage and compassion. He doesn’t remember what came before, but he knows something did, and finding out what it was is all he has left to hope for.

Howard Goodman does not have superpowers, but he’s got gumption. Okay, I lied. He doesn’t have gumption. But he’s a very nice man.

#black friday #starkid #tgwdlm #Golden Age AU #masterpost #long post #[finger guns] love these idiots #this is SO LONG #and i tried not to spoil everything #there’s some stuff i’m keeping in store bc :)) i can

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