#I must watch WALLE again for the 15th time

[azereii]

Old WALL-E doodles from 2 (?) years ago 💖

[capndesdesdestiny]

It’s 3am and I must write

neighbor!graves breaks in again nd activates freaky mode w fem!reader (smut! gasp!)

It was almost midnight when you finished your nightly shower, slipping your baggy shirt and spandex shorts on to enjoy some YouTube time before bed. You got comfy and lied on your stomach, swinging your legs back and forth in the air as you scrolled through your phone for a good watch. But the second you found a promising true crime documentary, your attention was stolen by the sounds of shuffling outside your door. A set of keys jingle, which confirms your suspicions. It was Phil.

Earlier in the night, you had chosen to hide your spare key by taping it behind a poster on the wall, convinced that that was the best spot you’d picked yet. You let out a sigh of defeat as you hear the door fling open, you really thought you’d stumped him this time. This would make the 15th time Phil had found the key. You almost considered giving him a reward.

“I’ll give it to you this time- that was a good one, darlin’.” He stands by your doorway, arms crossed over his chest as he observes you, watching your legs swing as you relax in your bed.

You couldn’t be more stoked, it was practically a win in your book. “Of course, you got lucky this time, I swear..” You sigh quietly, looking up to meet his gaze.

He walked over to sit on the edge of your bed, right by your legs. He runs a finger over your calf and laughs quietly. “Lucky? Were my last fifteen finds lucky, too? One day I’m gonna cheat and pick that damn lock, sweetheart.”

Your leg shivered at his touch, and now that he was back there you had to look back over your shoulder to face him. “You’re a real criminal, neighbor.”

He chuckled, now sliding both hands over your calves and up to your milky thighs, his gaze lowering. He gives your thighs a small squeeze, eliciting a small gasp from your lips. “Aw, for a pretty little thing like you, I’d gladly do the time.”

You wanted to protest a little longer, but his rough hands on your skin felt so, so good. You rest your head on your pillow, looking back at him. “For a creepy shit neighbor like you, I’d gladly call the police.”

“Oh, I’d be scared, honey, but I have a feelin’ you’re just a little past doin’ that.” His fingers slip up under your spandex shorts, his thumbs rubbing into the soft skin of your ass. You bite your lip, letting him set the pace, almost challenging him to go further. Your face starts to flush, your hands finding their way around your pillow, pulling it in to hug your chest.

He pulls his hands away for a moment, and you grumble a little. “Don’t start something you can’t finish..” you whine, looking back at him with a pout.

He smacks your ass and grabs a handful in each hand, “Now, now, who said I wasn’t finishin’ it. Cut me some slack and be patient, hon.” He hooks his thumbs into the waistband of the shorts and practically rips them off, tossing them off the bed. You yelp, suddenly feeling the air of the fan lightly sweeping over the exposed skin. Before you can respond, he shifts to his knees behind you, his rough thumb rubbing softly against your folds through your panties. You gasp into your pillow, the muscles in your thighs tightening at the feeling.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart, you wanted me to start..” He pulls your panties to the side, his thumb now slipping between your folds to rub deep little circles against you.

“I didn’t tell you to start I said-“ you’re quickly cut off by Philip’s free hand smacking your ass again. As you gasped again he was kneeling there smugly, watching you squirm as he teased you. His gaze roamed over the view of you from the back, and he felt his dick starting to ache from the sight. You closed your eyes and mumbled incoherently into the pillow, raising your hips to feel more of his touch.

“There you go, baby, let me take care of it.” He slipped his pointer and middle fingers between your folds as you lifted your hips for him, the fingers moving down through the slick to rub gently against your clit. He watches you with that scheming blue gaze. You whimper and whine into the pillow, occasionally turning back to look at his face. The teary, hungry look in your eyes was driving him crazy. He’d love to play with your wet slit some more, but he couldn’t wait a minute more, he was real selfish.

He straightened his back, one hand helping you lift your hips higher and the other shoving his sweats down to pull his cock out from his boxer briefs. He watched with eager eyes as you turned back to look at him with that needy, low gaze, feeling himself harden up further in his hand, as if he wasn’t already painfully stiff.

You were far done with playing coy, maintaining eye contact as you shake your hips teasingly, honey dribbling down your pussy and onto the sheets. His gaze darkens as he watches your back arch, palming himself a few moments before pressing his tip to sink between your folds, coating it in the fluids sticking to your soft skin.

“My sweet girl…” he murmurs softly, reaching a hand down to spread you open with his thumb as he teases your hole with the head of his length. You try to press back against him as you whine into your hand, but he moves his hand up and grips your hip, holding you still as he slowly works himself in.

“Patience, honey.” Inch by inch, he groans as he presses himself inside, working his cock in slowly as he stretches your walls. Once he bottoms out, you gasp into your hand, your eyes widening slightly and your face a flushed mess as you turn back to watch his rough hips press tightly against your ass. He doesn’t give you a second to breathe before he pulls back slightly just to slam his dick right back in, making sure you take him to the hilt. You nearly scream, arching your back further as the hand not holding your mouth grips on to your bed covers.

“Phil…” you mumble breathlessly.

He chuckles as he starts to set a quick pace, steadily working in and out, the sloppy wet sounds bringing that hotshot grin to his lips. You can feel him throbbing inside you as his lap slaps over and over against your ass and thighs. You’re starting to sweat, and he helps you both out of the rest of your clothes, the pause short before he continues relishing in the feeling of your soft folds enveloping his cock. The moment you cry out and finish, he pulls out and flips you onto your back, his hands finding yours and pinning them by your head, your fingers intertwining with his. Your body trembles as your come leaks down the both of your legs, barely processing what he says next.

“I wanna see that pretty face while I fuck you senseless, sweetheart.” His soft southern drawl has you wrapping your damp thighs around his waist as you gasp for air. He reaches down to slip himself back inside, ramming his hips up against your ass as he pins you down. You can’t muffle your voice anymore, panting and moaning as tears streak down your face, your lips parted slightly as you stare up into his steely blue eyes. He’s still wearing that shit-eating smile as he rocks his hips, his breathing heavy as he leans down occasionally to steal your lips with sweet kisses. He lets go of one of your hands to wipe the tears from your rosy cheeks as he pounds you down against the bed, the whole frame creaking while he makes a mess of you.

You come all over his cock again, but he doesn’t seem to care, relentlessly slamming his full length in, the contact coaxing loud squelching from your slit as your cum and his pre mix and stream down from your laps. His gaze falls to your breasts as they bounce softly with each of his thrusts, and he leans down to lick and suck on your nipples, fondling the warm skin with his free hand, the other hand still holding yours with a strong grip. Desperate whimpers escape your throat as you feel his lips all over your chest. He then lets a breast slip out from his mouth as he focuses back on stretching out your insides.

“So damn tight.. pretty little slut.” His eyelids lower slightly as he moves his face up to kiss you again, this time slipping his tongue into your mouth and exploring it roughly. You moan into his mouth, feeling him rock his hips a few more times before stilling, remaining lodged deep inside you, filling you to the brim with his cum as your legs shake at his sides. He rests against you as he rides the high of his climax, feeling the sticky mess you two made together spreading over the both of you guys’ thighs. You feel so warm and full inside, hugging Graves around the waist as he catches his breath, and though you’re too stubborn to let your smile show, you hope he can feel it. You both let out labored breaths as you lie in a tangle of limbs, the only other sound in your room being the soft hum of the fan above.

He shifts a little on top of you, his eyes meeting yours once again as he cups your cheeks in his hands, tired but content. “By the way, baby, I made a copy of your spare key ‘fore I dropped by tonight, you don’t have to worry ‘bout hidin’ it again.”

You simply sighed, exhausted and still shaky.

“..I’d ask my landlord if I could change the locks, but I know there’s no point.”

end.

Sorry if this was an inconsistent concept I’m not good at workin plot points into reader gettin that back broke

[ssa-atlas-alvez]

Hello

I want to see cowboy reader get captured and hurt by unsub and JJ worried because those two seem to have chemistry

Description: Cowboy reader's father visits, things don't go too well...

Warnings: abuse, abusive parents, abduction, claustrophobia, judgy nurse, hospital visits, child abuse mentions

A/N: I'm panicking that this feels rushed but equally, I started writing this on the 15th of May so it can't be that rushed can it? Lmao (Also I'm so sorry it's taken this long). Posting this before I can doubt myself some more :))

Taglist: @xweirdo101x @xdark-acadamiax @ara-a-bird @heidss @chubbyboyinflannel @pendragon-writes @migwayne @bigolgay @technikerin23 @supercriminalbean @honestlycasualarcade @caffeine-mess @1s3v3n1 @oddmiles @kevyeen @stealing-kneecaps @criminalskies @woodandwaxwings @wizardmon3 @aphroditeslovr @ducks118 @azeal-peal @13thdoctor-run @introvertpan84 @goth-boi-atlas @iliketozoneout

You and Spencer stood in front of the geographical profile, to be honest, Spencer was doing most of the work, you were watching the wheels in his brain tick. Since meeting the young doctor, you had almost been in awe of his intelligence and the way his brain worked (and you couldn’t help but want to protect him from the world). 

This precinct was set out slightly different to the others you had been to, this station’s conference room had no windows, purely lit by shitty lights that were screwed into the ceiling. The only way you were able to read in this room was if you also switched on a bright light that was a lot less warm-toned to actually see. 

"(Y/N)?" You snapped out of your train of thought, turning to the voice, it feeling vaguely familiar. 

"Yes?" When you turn to him, you instantly know who it is but you force your face to stay neutral.

"You don't remember me." He manages to look somewhat defeated, you'll give him that. 

"No, I remember you." You said, folding your arms, "You just don't mean anything to me." 

"And why’s that?" 

"You're not worth my energy." 

He places a hand on his heart, "You wound me, son." 

"Shame." You answer, you turn to Spencer, "Can you go get Hotch?" 

Spencer looks at the scene hesitantly, not wanting to leave you alone with the man. Especially if he is your father. "It's okay, Spence." You reassured with a tight smile. 

"Yeah, it's alright, Spence." Your father says as he takes a step towards Spencer. 

When your father takes a step closer to Spencer, before you know it, you have him pinned against the wall. "Don't you even fuckin' dare stand near him." You growl, "I don't care how much you think you've changed, come near him, I'll break you." 

Chuckling, despite his head pressed against the wall, your father turns his head to look at Spencer. "I have changed." 

"Bull. Shit." You force the words out of your mouth, anger flowing through your blood. "Spencer, go get Hotch." You wanted Hotch here for a multitude of reasons. The main three being:

Make sure you don't nearly kill him

Make sure he doesn't nearly kill you

Make sure Spencer is safe 

As soon as he's gone, your father's demeanour shifts and he smirks, "I thought we'd never be alone,"

And with that, he manoeuvers himself and slams your head into the wall, knocking you unconscious. 

When Hotch and Spencer ran back into the room, three minutes later, you were nowhere to be seen. 

You didn't know how long it had been, just that it must have been ages - at least four days. You had been there for ages, in the dark, a closet to be specific. And everywhere hurt - so, so much. Your father had been in multiple times and it was like you were twelve years old again, stuck at home with a monster with no one to save you. Except you knew that you had people in the outside world that actually cared about you (your team).

Each time your father visited you, dragging you out of the closet and throwing you to the floor, he inflicted a different pain that reminded you of your childhood while he hurled insults in your direction. It had been a while since his last visit - a few hours, perhaps - and, to your dismay, you were beginning to worry whether he would come back.

"This ain't creepy at all," You muttered to yourself, perhaps if you closed your eyes and simply pretended you were at home that would help.

You leant against the back of the closet, trying your best to get comfortable. You closed your eyes, picturing your bed at your Mama's house. Everything was okay. "You- You're fine," You mumbled to yourself, clutching your arm tight to your chest, trying to stabilise your shoulder. It had been dislocated on your first day here (wherever here was).

Everything ached heavily, throbbing in beat with your heart. Between the cuts, scratches, and burns, you felt like you couldn't take a full breath. It was dark and you couldn't see. You didn't know who was there, if anyone was really there. God you hated the dark. And it was cold, so very, very cold, you knew there was no way that you had lost enough blood to make it so. You knew that the only way in which it was so cold was that bastard had made sure there was no way heat could get into the room (assuming there wasn't a thermostat).

The beat of your heart filled your ears, mixed with the roaring that was occupying your ear drums. All with such force and such volume that you don't hear the gunshot in the background.

"Everythin's fine, you're gonna get out of this. Team'll find you. It's fine. It's fine-" Your feeble attempt at self-reassurance died in the back of your throat when you heard the familiar unlocking of the closet doors. You curled into yourself further, not looking up when the doors creaked open.

"(Y/N)?" JJ approaches you slowly, and you stare at her, trying to figure out if you've finally gone crazy or if she's really here. God, you hoped it was the latter. You couldn’t help but notice that the air around her seemed slightly brighter.

"JJ?" You wince, not only from the pain it caused in your throat and chest to speak, but by how utterly defeated you sounded.

"I'm here," She answers, "We're all here." With that, there was a small click and light flooded into your room. You winced, quickly ducking your head down and squeezing your eyes shut. When your eyes had adjusted, you opened them, forcing yourself to stand. 

The team's eyes widened at the sight of you, covered in blood and dirt, stripped of your shirt and socks. When you finally looked up, you curled into yourself slightly, trying to ignore the damage. 

You took a breath, "What about-?"

"He's dead." She answers and your shoulders deflate. They did come for you. He was wrong. Of course they would come for you.

"Who- Who shot him?" You asked hesitantly.

"I did," Morgan replied, frowning slightly. No matter what the man had done, he was still technically your biological father. You stumbled over to him, wincing and limping as you did so.

"Thank you," You mumbled, collapsing into a hug when you finally reached him. 

”How about we get you sit down?” Morgan asks gently as Prentiss places a seat next to you. Despite you protesting that you were fine, Morgan helps ease you into the chair while Hotch calls the paramedics to check how far out they were. 

When the paramedics arrived, they were quick to transfer you onto a gurney and then into the ambulance - the team keeping close. 

“Do you want us to call your emergency contact?” The paramedic asked and you shook your head.

“No, no thank you,” You mumbled, giving her a small smile. 

“Are you sure-?”

You nodded, “She, er, she’s already here,” You don’t notice Morgan shoot JJ a knowing smile - who responds with an eye roll and shaking her head.

“Okay, just so we know, who is it?”

“Oh, er, JJ,” You said, nodding to her, “The blonde haired lady,”

The paramedic takes a note of this, jotting it down on your form. “Thank you,”  

When you get to the hospital, you’re settled into a rather uncomfortable hospital bed (but you know better than to complain). They start by giving you pain killers and treating your major wounds - the burns along your side and chest, a variety of deepish cuts along your arms and torso, and finally checking your ribs and collarbone for fractures. You had tried telling them you were fine, but they weren’t having it - especially when they poked it and you cried out in pain.

"We need to take you upstairs," The nurse said, "We need to do an x-ray."

"Upstairs?"

"Yes, the x-ray department is on the fourth floor," The nurse said and you drew in a deep breath. "We need to transfer you into a wheelchair."

Eventually, you were out of your room, trying desperately not to think about the elevator. Being trapped in a small metal box.

"No, I- I'll take the stairs." You mumble, shaking your head as you approach the lift. Not now. You can do this right now. You begin to stand when a hand is placed on your shoulder, instantly making you feel relaxed. You know its her without even having to look.

"You know you can't take the stairs right now," She responds quietly.

"JJ, I'm fine." You answer, grinding your jaw. You did not want to go in that lift under any circumstances.

"It's the only way to get there."

"Then I won't go,"

"You need to get an x-ray,"

"Don't need to."

"What would help you feel safer?" Her voice is soft, calming.

"You." Your answer is instant, that's not the embarrassing part though. The embarrassing part would be asking to hold her hand. The embarrassing part would be asking if Hotch or Morgan could also come with. You knew that they wouldn't let anything happen to either you or JJ - and they were physically healthy and therefore actually able to protect both you and her (normally you wouldn't have a problem with protecting the pair of you if needed, but you were currently slightly incapacitated).

"What's the other thing?" Damn, she can read you like a book.

You swallow, frowning slightly as you flush red and look down at your hands, watching them tremble for a moment, "H-Hotch or Morgan?"

JJ nods in understanding, gently rubbing her hand along your arm. "Does it matter which one?" When you shake your head, she turns to the nurse, "Can you get Agent Hotchner or Agent Morgan please?"

"For an elevator?" You frown, staring at your hands more intently as your face grows hot, watching as they continue to shake from adrenaline at the idea of being in a lift right now.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm just saying, he's a grown man, he can ride an elevator-"

You can sense the anger radiating off the blonde so you shake your head, "JJ it's fine..." You mumbled, "Let's just go n get it over with."

"No. You'd feel more comfortable with Hotch or Morgan here, so we're going to make sure that one of them are here." She says strongly, not breaking eye contact with the nurse. "So, can you get Agent Hotchner or Agent Morgan. And another nurse."

The nurse stares blankly at her for a moment before nodding and walking off. "Are you alright?" JJ asks softly and you give a small nod, hands continuing to shake. Seeing this she slowly reached down, lightly taking your left hand in her right.

"I-I'm sorry," You mutter before your tone turns bitter. "I shouldn't be feelin' like this. It's just an elevator."

"(Y/N)," You look up at her, "You've been through something most people can't even imagine. You're okay to feel shaken by that."

"M an adult." You said, trying to ignore your eyes began to feel the familiar sting of tears. "I shouldn't be-"

"I'm scared of dogs." JJ said. "I- Spencer was taken by an unsub years ago and his dogs attacked me and now, I'm afraid of dogs. Is that unreasonable? I'm an adult."

"That's different."

"Why? Because I'm a woman?"

"Wha-? No. Because you went through a traumatic experience."

"And this wasn't traumatic?"

"No! This was my childhood! I got over it! I should be fine with this! I shouldn't be here shakin' like a leaf over somethin' I must have gone through a hundred times!" You exclaim, "I should be able to get in an elevator without vibratin' so hard I’m creatin' my very own massage chair!"

"You're allowed to feel this way," JJ says gently as she crouches in front of you. "It's okay to acknowledge things that scare you. And doing this? Getting in an elevator shows how strong you are. Even if it's with two friends."

"Is everything okay?" JJ looks up at Hotch, who let's his gaze settle on your form - he can't see much, but he watches as you lift a trembling hand to your face, presumably to massage your temples. JJ says nothing, unsure of how much you want her to say, so you take the lead.

"I don't wanna go in." You mutter. "I wanna take the stairs."

Hotch had never heard you sound so small. "I get that," Ensuring that his voice is calming, he continues, "But we both know you can't make it up all those stairs right now."

"Its- I feel like 'm trapped and 'm not even inside yet."

"We'll be here the whole time," Hotch adds and you nod.

"Is the other nurse here?"

"Yep," Another voice chimes, "I'm Nurse Maddison."

"Hi," You whisper. "I-I'm not normally like this," You mumble, this was slightly mortifying to say the least.

"That's alright," She replies, "We've all got our fears. I find it difficult to go on public transport - I'm scared of a lack of control."

"I-I'm scared if I get in the lift, I won't be able to get out." You admit. "I'm scared the lights will flicker, n I'll wake up, n I'll still be there. Or worse, the lights will go out n he'll be here."

"Who?" Nurse Maddeline furrows her eyebrows when you don't answer.

"I just really don't want this to be a dream," You whisper.

JJ squeezes your hand lightly, "I promise you, this is real."

"We're here, (Y/N). You're safe. You're with us."

You sat, taking deep breaths outside the elevator for a minute or so. Just catching your breath.

"Are you ready to get in?" She asks. Despite the question, her voice is full of understanding. "We don't have to push any buttons yet, and I can stand in the way of the doors until you're ready."

"Can- Can we do that one? With you in the doors?"

"Of course!" Nurse Maddison gives a small smile before pressing the call button for the elevator.

When she wheels you into the elevator, you forget how to breathe. Shaking your head quickly, you find Hotch and JJ (which is easy as Nurse Maddison placed the wheelchair so that you could see both of your colleagues), "I was wrong, I can't do this-"

"(Y/N), look at me," JJ speaks this time, "You're okay, it's okay."

You shake your head, "No, no, I can't-"

"I need you to calm down for me, okay?" Nurse Maddison says.

"No! No, I can't- I can't do this!" You bow your head, rubbing your eyes with the palms of your hands.

"(Y/N)." Hotch's voice is stern and makes you look up, "You can do this. I know you think you can't, but you can."

"Do you trust us?" JJ asks and you nod. Because you do. You trust the pair of them with your life. "Then close your eyes." You look at her for a moment before doing as she says, letting your eyes flutter shut. There's a warmth that floods through your body as she takes your hand again and you grip it lightly.

When the doors close, your grip on JJ's hand tightens and your eyes shoot open. "It's alright," Hotch is quick to reassure as JJ rubs soothing circles on your hand. "It won't be long before we reach the floor we need."

"No, no, Hotch, I need out-" You shake your head, desperately trying to get your breathing under control. "Hotch I need out, I can't breathe-"

"(Y/N), look at me." JJ's voice drew your eyes away from Hotch. "You're okay."

"No-"

"Yes you are, you're okay." She says softly, gently squeezing your hand in hers, "We're nearly there."

You pushed the palm of your hand into your eye, trying to force the tears back. "Not a coward." You muttered bitterly to yourself, not caring if the others could hear. You needed to get yourself through this ride without having a panic attack (and it was close). "Not a coward. Not a coward." You mumble the phrase, over and over. Intent on repeating it until you believe it. Of course, before that could happen, there was the familiar ping of an elevator door and your head shot up as they opened.

"Can we get out now?" You asked, looking up, "Please?"

Both Hotch and JJ give you a reassuring smile as Nurse Madeline gently pushes the wheelchair out of the elevator. 

JJ leans forward, so only you can hear her as she whispers, “See, I told you you could do it,” 

The x-ray went relatively smoothly, except for finding out you had three broken ribs and had broken your clavicle. You were also a lot calmer on the way down (still with both Hotch and JJ), feeling relatively calm (in comparison) when they wheeled you back into your room. 

The team immediately greeted you with smiles as you entered your room, Garcia standing up from your bed (where she may or may not have laid down on it).

“So, what’s the verdict, cowboy?” Morgan asked. 

“Um, three broken ribs and clavicle.”

“Clavicle?” Garcia asked.

“Collarbone,” Spencer added. 

“Does that mean no baking for a little while?” Both you and Garcia asked, turning to Hotch (who had to fight off a smile).

“Probably.”

[ipsen]

Twisted Wound

For @exulzae for the @tgpairup event! They wanted AyaKane, and I did my best! Enjoy :]

Aogiri was supposed to be colder than Anteiku.

Kaneki expected that much; the only warmth provided in Yamori’s playroom had been the sweat from his own brow, the blood spilling from his fingers and toes, and the heaving breath of the man himself as he grappled with killing Kaneki on the spot. A foolish mistake, in hindsight— now he was going to be another weapon of the Doves, like so many before him.

As a replacement, Kaneki assumed many of his responsibilities— chief among them being convening with the other executives.

All were cold in their own way— Noro was tall and silent, roaming the halls like a zombie. Accompanying him at all times was Eto, a childish— thus dangerous— mystery who always seemed to be watching Kaneki when he wasn’t looking. There was Naki, the new White Suits leader, who was overly emotional and unstable. And then Tatara always glared at Kaneki when he spoke up, as though he knew Kaneki’s true purpose, despite that being impossible.

In a way, it was good. Kaneki truly felt nothing towards these ghouls— these monsters— and counted to himself the days until their demise. He would consume them once they became useless, and he would climb on their corpses to the pinnacle of strength, upon which he would finally be able to protect what mattered to him.

But then there was Ayato. Touka’s younger brother, and a roaring fire amidst the cold. He was a lot like his sister, much as he likely didn’t want to admit: strong-willed, and a face full of swears and glares for anyone disagreeable. It should be easy to hate someone like that; those were the types that pushed people away and ended up all alone because of it.

If that were true, then it must have been the burden of nostalgia on Kaneki’s shoulders, because he found himself hesitating. Bringing down Aogiri meant confronting Ayato again, meant grappling with the choice he’d made in the 11th ward. It meant questioning his actions in that checkerboarded room, and rendering them meaningless.

And then it happened. Kaneki hadn’t been sent out to exterminate ghouls for a while, and he felt the pangs of hunger clawing at the walls of his stomach. The monster inside him craved sustenance, but his sense of justice and heroism demanded only one type of food— villains. And yet, the powers that be demanded he bide his time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. He had to feign loyalty to Aogiri lest they catch onto his plan, and a true predator knew when to keep his claws beneath his cloak.

In a show of what must have been amused pity, Eto had suggested to Tatara that Kaneki accompany Ayato’s squad to a 15th ward raid. However, there were no ghouls, like Kaneki anticipated— they were going to attack a Dove’s nest.

Humans.

He knew this day would come eventually; it was just the consequence of working with ghouls. Humans would be attacked. Humans would be killed. But Kaneki, a former human, hunting his old kind— it stilled him. He knew how fragile they could be, how much easier they crumbled compared to ghouls. That was what Yamori had taught him.

Yet, when Ayato recklessly charged ahead and got stabbed by two hooks of a strange quinque, Kaneki almost thought he was just another human. The way Ayato crumbled when his ribs shattered like glass— Kaneki acted before he realized it. His kagune, grafted onto him like a broken branch onto a foreign tree, spilled forth wilder than anything before.

Two appendages around Ayato, and two through the Dove that did it.

Blood, human blood, spilled over Kaneki’s implanted organ, and the intoxicating smell of raw meat. He had always resisted the temptation, and the heat of battle always made it difficult. But Ayato needed attention now, and Kaneki used that to push him forward.

He ran as fast and as far as he could, far behind the front lines. It went against all of his logic, all of his choices, all of his resolve. If he had woven a tapestry in which he styled himself the hero, this slashed a knife through it and turned it into scraps on the floor.

He could feel the confusion from the others; the Eyepatch hadn’t established a habit of retreating, and Ayato hadn’t established a habit of being protected. But battle was battle, and there wasn’t enough time to consider it.

A few buildings later, once the screams of combat were silent memories, Ayato stirred. “Shit…” he muttered. “Take me back, half-ass.”

“You’re injured.”

“Yeah, obviously!” As he said it, he hissed in pain. “Shit…! Look, if you let me feed, I won’t be injured!”

“How will you feed if you can barely stand?” Kaneki countered.

“You don’t know shit, half-ass. I need to eat.”

“You need rest. I’ll figure something out.”

“And what do you know about what I need, huh?!” With a forceful shove, Ayato tumbled out of Kaneki’s grip and clambered to his feet. He clutched his wound, but neither his words nor his scowl were any less vicious for it. “Prancin’ about and actin’ like you’re better than anyone, just cuz you beat Yamori or whatever…!”

Kaneki stood at a distance, watching Ayato struggle with the injury he was ignoring. He’d been observing Ayato’s feeding habits, and it was clear he didn’t cannibalize. He was floundering about in the world of ghouls, yet he refused to steal from them. That was what they were built to do, after all. But if he didn’t eat something soon, then—

“Why’re you even here, anyway?” There was a wall for Ayato to sink down against. “You kill shitty Doves, but you only eat when it’s other ghouls… It’s stupid; they taste disgusting.”

Kaneki said nothing. It was true, to an extent, but there was a limit to one’s base instincts. He had to overcome them, ascend past the sheep and become a shepherd, so that he might pick the ones most suitable for slaughter.

“You ain’t in Fantasy Caféland anymore,” Ayato continued. “We’re ghouls, Eyepatch. We eat humans, not each other.”

Kaneki stepped toward him, deciding to entertain the boy. “If you’re picky about what you eat, you’ll never become strong; those you care about will slip through your fingers like sand.”

“And who said I cared about anyone?” Ayato fired back. “I only need me, myself, and I… That’s how ghouls operate, you bastard. We can only count on ourselves.”

“What about Touka, then?” Kaneki squatted down to his level.

He clicked his tongue. “What about her?”

“You could have killed her back in Anteiku or in the 11th ward, yet you didn’t. You let her live.”

When Ayato didn’t respond, Kaneki knew he hit the nail on the head.

“You’re protecting someone, just like I am. Killing Doves en masse won’t solve anything; battle experience only gets you so far. You must be able to expand your limits, too. And to do that, you must eat. You must feed.”

He grabbed Ayato by the shirt collar.

“Like this.”

In one swift motion, he lunged forth and sunk his teeth into Ayato’s shoulder. Ayato hissed. “What the fuck are you doing?!” he yelled.

“Teaching you a lesson.” Kaneki stood up, wiping the blood off his mouth. The taste was still the same, like spoiled goods that no chef could salvage. It was the foulest trash one could consume. “You said you needed to eat, and if you don’t, you’ll die. So show me your resolve.”

Ayato clutched his shoulder, glaring. “Bastard…”

“Calling me names won’t fill your belly.” Kaneki balled up his fists and shifted into a fighting stance. “Now feed, Kirishima.”

“I’ll do more than that…” Ayato struggled to his feet, crouching low. He suddenly smirked. “I’ll wipe the goddamn floor with your fucking guts.”

Kaneki didn’t notice his own smirk. “Come and try.”

Ayato lunged first, driven by hunger and newfound frustration. Kaneki didn’t expect the sudden speed, and felt Ayato’s nails scrape his cheek as he dodged to the side. He aimed a fist at Ayato’s cheek, but the boy turned, and his kagune, though shrunken by lack of sustenance, burst out of his open back, lining Kaneki’s hand and arm with small shards.

Kaneki jumped back to try and reorient himself, but he underestimated a ghoul’s hunger. He’d never been on the receiving end like this; Ayato chased him down and grabbed him by the arm, his fingernails sinking into the flesh so as to not let go. Kaneki winced slightly at the sensation, but that wasn’t the worst part.

The worst part was when Ayato’s teeth sank into Kaneki’s shoulder, far deeper than expected. It was as if he wanted the wound to never heal, and wanted to leave lasting proof that it was by his power that Kaneki suffered it. Ayato’s power, and no one else’s, simultaneously claiming victory and possession both.

Yet, for some reason, it was a familiar— thus comforting— sensation. Not familiar in the sense that Kaneki had been bitten like this, but familiar in the way that he had been held with the same intent before. The way Ayato’s hands clung to his shirt and arm, combined with the searing pain of his flesh being torn— it was like being held in both affection and contempt, love and disgust.

But were those not two sides of the same coin? By coveting that which we hate, desiring that which we despise, do we not also love them? Crave them? Need them?

Despite himself, Kaneki felt himself clinging to the sensation as Ayato fed on him, took from him. He clung to it like it was the only thing that mattered, far beyond kings or weeds or bad coffee beans; this current, familiar, foreign moment was all that mattered.

He enjoyed it.

He despised it.

Ayato’s hair was a shaggy, bloody mess, unkempt and uncared for. He needed to wash it, Kaneki thought. Did he even know how to wash it? Was that something a ghoul like him, so entrenched in that world, knew how to do? Would Kaneki have to—

“You taste weird,” Ayato said, getting off and wiping the blood dripping from his mouth.

Kaneki stayed still on the floor, bordering on rigid. “So I’ve been told,” he responded, feeling his shoulder struggle to put itself back together. “You were hungry.”

“N-No shit I was hungry!” Ayato shouted back, stuffing his hands into his pockets. There was a new color in his cheeks: a reddish and healthy hue. “Still… Still am…”

And that was why Kaneki continued to hesitate. Ayato, every so often, displayed behavior that was so much more… human than the other executives. Unlike Tatara, Eto, Noro, or even Naki, Ayato knew things. Knew the joy of peace, the sorrow of loss, and the painstaking existence of never having both as a ghoul.

However, Kaneki simply nodded, stowing away such thoughts for his greater purpose. “The raid must be over by now.”

“Hmph, no thanks to you.” Ayato rolled his shoulders. “The others are probably lookin’ for us. C’mon.”

Kaneki rolled to his feet, calming himself. He was not here to… frolic with the company he kept now; he was on a mission, and not even Ayato would stand in his way. “Alright.”

Despite that, Kaneki stared at his new wound, surrounded by torn fabric. It was closing, as it always did, but something was different. Instead of a bare patch of skin, Kaneki saw a scar in the shape of Ayato’s teeth. Almost like a brand, marking one’s territory, one’s property.

What loathsome pleasure he felt.

[hydroyaksha]

I love you, I love you, I love you. [doh Kyungsoo]

The soft tunes of a broken melody box could be heard through out the room where the man sat. Photos decorated the otherwise white walls, and while this would be a very boring room, the contents in the photos however are not.

The photos ranged from innocent pictures, where a woman would be seen with her back facing the camera as she gazes at the falling autumn leaves, to photos which were more private and sensual.

Some people might call him a stalker, an obsessed freak, or even a psychopath but Kyungsoo knew better. If he were any of those things, then why would you smile at him every day when you saw him? Why would you talk to him when no one else would? Why did you never believe the rumors surrounding him?

Obviously because you’re you.

Beautiful,

kind,

caring,

you

Kyungsoo protected you from a distance at all times, a drunk old man harassed you at night? Don’t worry about him anymore. Don’t even bat an eye when you see him show up on the news the next day, he doesn’t matter anymore.

Kyungsoo prides himself in knowing you the best, he always knows what artists you listen you, what shows you’re watching, what type of fashion you like, and even what your ideal type is.

So when you walk into school at 8:30 sharp, wearing that cute black mini dress that Kyungsoo remembers you wearing to a college event, he’s sure that today will be just like any other day.

That is, until it’s not.

Walking over to your group of friends with a slight bounce to your steps, you don’t even try to hide the huge smile on your face.

“You guys won’t believe what happened yesterday!” You exclaim with glee, stars practically shining in your eyes.

This catches Kyungsoo’s attention, something happened yesterday? He’s sure nothing out of the ordinary happened to you yesterday, after all, he was watching you for practically the entire day.

He remembers sending you an anonymous letter describing his feelings for you, but this wasn’t the first time he’d done it. He’d actually done it 7 times before.

One on Monday the 6th of August, the second and third one on Friday the 15th and Wednesday the 20th of September, the fourth and fifth one on the 9th and 18th of October, alongside a special sixth note on the 31st. And the seventh one was sent on the 2nd of November.

Maybe you finally reciprocated his feelings following the 8th note! Joy fills his body as he imagines scenarios where you write back to him in your own cute handwriting, describing how you’ve fallen for him.

But this daydream almost immediately shatters once he hears your next few words.

“The byun baekhyun asked me out last night!” You squealed in delight, “oh my god! Really?” One of your closest friends, Danielle exclaims. “Took him long enough to grow some balls” Ryujin, another one of your friends huffs.

You push her shoulder in a teasing manner and grin, “I feel like I’m a high schooler all over again”

What?

You-

Who?

Byun Baekhyun?

Kyungsoo feels as if the clogs in his head have stopped moving, Byun Baekhyun asked you to be his girlfriend?

No, that not right. You love him, he loves you. Kyungsoo loves you. This is all a mistake, Kyungsoo is sure of it. There’s no way you’d love another who isn’t him.

That Byun must have done something to you, maybe he blackmailed you, or maybe he threatened you!

Poor, poor Y/n, you must be waiting for my help, huh?

A sinister smile crept up on Kyunsoo’s face as he formed multiple plans to ensure that he could get rid of Baekhyun without you knowing.

“Hey Kyungsoo!” You called out as you walked over to the pre-occupied boy, successfully snapping him out of his thoughts. “Oh, hey Y/n” a bright smile formed on his face even though he tried to hide it.

Kyungsoo inhaled a deep breath as he prepared to say his next words, “would you- maybe like to hang out at my place on Sunday? I’ve been learning how to cook these past few months, and I’d like for you to try some of it” He asked with a hopeful shine to his eyes.

You gave it some thought before deciding that it seemed innocent enough since Kyungsoo didn’t seem like the type of guy to lure in a girl for his own pleasure, so you agreed.

The rest of the week went like a fairytale for you, meeting with Baekhyun and spending time bonding with eachother.

You both found out that you shared the same interest in dancing, so you quickly started to learn some duo dances to further get to know eachother.

This sight was almost like a nightmare for Kyungsoo, just why did you have to go and like Baekhyun like that? Why couldn’t you see that a perfect man was in front of you, just waiting for your recognition?

Kyungsoo felt his anger bubble inside of him as he glared at the sight of baekhyun tickling you on the dance room floor after a strenuous practice. “You seem lost my little dove, I promise I’ll point you back in the right direction…” he mutters as he walks away from the ledge of a building he used to spy on the two of you.

When Sunday night came, everything was in place and Kyungsoo couldn’t be happier. All the food is cooked to perfection, his apartment is clean, his special gift is all wrapped up nicely and he’s dressed up to impress.

When you ring his doorbell, he’s quick to answer, “Hey! You’re just on time” he smiles charmingly

You return the smile, “glad you invited me” you pause as you take off your shoes, “what’s on the menu? I’m starving” you chirp.

“Only the best for a talented girl like you” he complements as he leads you to the dining room. There on the table is quite an array of different foods, seeming to range from appetizers to the main course.

You settled down across from Kyungsoo and maintain a conversation on school and internship opportunities. Kyungsoo latched onto every single word that slipped out of your mouth and practically ingrained it in his brain, you were so gracious as to lend your time to him, so he should repay the favor right?

After you finished with the meal, Kyungsoo is quick to pick up your plates, “What did you think?” He asks while occupying himself with placing the dishes in the sink.

“Oh, it was delicious, Kyungsoo! I never knew you were such a good chef! Maybe you should’ve taken up culinary as a major” you complimented with a wink.

This peaceful atmosphere was quickly interrupted as one of the doors in Kyungsoo’s apartment slam open, revealing a disheveled and bloody Baekhyun.

He’s holding what seems to be a broken pipe in his right hand which hosts many burn marks from ropes and cuts all across his upper arms. Baekhyun breathes heavily as he glares daggers into Kyungsoo’s skull.

All the while, Kyungsoo keeps a blank face. You rush out of your chair and immediately try to make your way to your bloody boyfriend “Baekhyun?! Oh my god-” you get cut off as you feel a grip on your wrist.

Kyungsoo holds an expression you’ve never seen on his face, pure unfiltered obsession. “My little dove, why do you seek that boy when I’m right here? I’ll protect you from this crazy thing… look at how bloody and scary he looks. A pure creature like you shouldn’t get too close, he may taint your purity”

Color starts to drain from your face as you piece together just what might be going on here, “Let go of my girlfriend you sick bastard!” Baekhyun shouts from behind you as he lunges forward thrusting the broken pipe in Kyungsoo’s direction.

He lets go of your wrist and Baekhyun is quick to push you behind him. Kyungsoo let’s out an annoyed groan and scoffs, “why did you have to go and ruin the surprise? I had you all prettied up but now look at you.” He sneers as he takes a short glance over Baekhyun’s body.

“You’ve gotten yourself all dirty”

Baekhyun’s breathing gets heavier with anger as he walks backwards to get closer to you while holding his weapon up. “This crazy fucker kidnapped me and tied me up, Y/n. He said he loved you and would do anything for you. He’s not sane, babe-”

“Don’t you dare call her babe! She’s not some whore you can keep on your arm as decoration! She’s a goddess and needs to be protected and cared for!” Kyungsoo seethes.

He lunges forward at Baekhyun as the two engage in a fight, you stand there horrified at the scene plays out. At some point, your boyfriend loses his weapon and is wrestled to the ground by Kyungsoo.

Not being able to handle any more abuse happening to your boyfriend, you grab the pipe and stab Kyungsoo in the pelvis while he was distracted with Baekhyun.

He chokes out a cough and spits blood into his hand, you’re quick to pull up your boyfriend as he places a hand protectively around your waist.

“We need to get out of here and call the police, I don’t know what he’ll do if we stay any longer” Baekhyun groans.

You nod so fast that it hurts your neck, you spare one last glance at Kyungsoo, who’s holding his stomach in pain. He meets your gaze and gives you a bone chilling smile, “you may run now… but you’ll never stay away from me, my dove” he coughs.

Tears start falling down your face as you make it out of his apartment wondering when everything went so sideways. The initial shock of the event is over and now you’re a jittering mess in your car as you help Baekhyun into the passenger’s seat.

You move to put your key in and your shaky hand doesn’t move. “I’m here babe, and m’ fine. You’ll be fine, we’ll get home and we’ll call the police and we’ll sleep after that, yeah?” Baekhyun comforts while gripping your hand like you’ll disappear.

You both manage to make it out of the neighborhood and call the police when you make it back to your shared apartment. You patch up your boyfriend’s wounds and after that he spends the night cradling you in his arms while you both try to get some sleep after the event you both went through.

It was only the next day, when the police come to your door, do you both realize that you’re far from being safe as they never found his body in his apartment, only the blood stains from where he was supposed to be laying.

I love you, I love you, I love you, my dearest dove,

And you won’t get away from me. You’re too precious to live in our society. But don’t worry, I’ll save you from this wretched planet, and we can be happy together finally.

Love,

Kyungsoo <3

[safetycar-restart]

considering 📓 came back again i recon i better too because ive missed my sluts and well. im horny asf atm. having a boyfriend who pushes me against a wall and kisses me as hard as he can but then i cant fuck? help.

anyways. charlie !!! obviously our baby is so happy with the beautiful new car. and he’s so happy with the new principal and ferrari is roaring. after the adrenaline of the car launch on valentines he must see his mommy. he has all the romantic plans later (i think charles is a ‘propose on valentines’ kinda boy) but for now he just wants to calm himself down and spend time with his valentine. which starts with just cuddles. and he’s just too wriggly. so you just start directing his head down south. let ur subby boy suckle on ur pussy to calm down. let him pleasure u like a good boy. and oh boy he’s eager. he’s sloppy and wet with it. he’s just so desperate. rutting his hips into the couch ur lay on. his slutty little waist being shown when his top rides up. and you tell him this. letting him now how good he is. how much of a whore he is. but he’s your whore. happy valentines.

- 🍁

Ok I know it's way past valentines, I know. But this ask is just so fucking good that I can't miss it. I just can't miss it. I must answer this.

So firstly, we said in a previous ask that you and Charles decided that the 15th of February would be your valentines day, because Charles wanted the entire day to be spent with you and that's just not possible to do on the 14th. Originally, Charles was so sad because he thought he wouldn't get a proper valentines with his mommy. But he relaxes when you suggest the 15th. Because yes!!!!

He will happily wait an extra day to have a full romantic day with his mommy. Also, because he's a sentimental little thing, the 15th becomes your valentines day from then onwards.

So on the 14th, you get back late from the car launch and Charles is very tired. He's excited for tomorrow, but he's also so tired because he's been working so hard on the car launch and had to be in control of himself for so long, smile for the cameras and get asked so many questions and everything. So he's just tired a little needy when he finally gets home.

You attended the car launch with him of course, and you were very proud of him for how well he did, but you could also see how his battery was slowly running out towards the end. So he's just very happy to be home with you again.

He makes a B line for your arms the moment the door is closed, you don't even get to put your back down. You chuckle and hug him tight, kissing his neck and slipping your hand under his shirt to give him some nice back rubs.

What he wants is to shower and order dinner in. Then he wants to go to bed early so that he can all nice and rested for his romantic day with his mommy tomorrow.

So now he's had dinner (fed from your plate because he doesn't want his own) and he's showered and he's in soft sleeping clothes. You suggest cuddling on the couch while watching a movie before bed to help him calm down and forget about the day. He loves the idea, and he's so sure he'll be all soft and sleepy quickly.

Except the movie is almost finished and he still can't seem to calm down? He begins to get distressed, because he wanted to sleep early so he could get up early for his romantic day with you.

You notice that he can't seem to settle, that he keeps on wriggling and letting out little whines, clearly not calming down. So you decide to give him a treat that you know will make him happy.

"Wanna move between my thighs?" you ask him, keeping your voice light and kissing the top of his head.

His head shot up, eyes widening, "Can I..." he starts, voice trailing off.

You know what he wants, but you decide to make him say it, so you just tilt your head and wait for him to ask.

"Pussy?" he asks eventually, frowning, "please?"

You chuckle, "Of course you can," you tell him, lightly pushing him off you so that you can stand up and take your shorts off. He stares shamelessly, shuffling down the couch so that he can get in position.

From the moment you asked if he wanted to move, he had mind set on getting to lick and suck you. He truly has the best mommy ever.

You get back down on the couch, parting your thighs and instantly he's right there, settling between your legs and resting his head on your thigh.

He waits for permission to start licking you, because he would never touch his mommy without permission. You wait for a few seconds, just to see what he does and you can see how desperate he is. He's frowning and staring at your pussy, practically shaking from how badly he wants it.

The moment you give him permission, he just dives in. He's so messy and eager, licking all over your pussy and then sucking lightly on your clit and going back to licking.

You keep your hand on his hair, praising him and thanking him for making you feel good. He starts to relax then, his movements becoming less rushed. He falls into an easy, slow pattern of lightly sucking you and then licking you. You can see the tension leaving him.

At one point you look down and he even has his eyes closed? He's so content there, all the nervous energy leaving him as he suckles on his mommy's pussy like a good boy.

He starts to grind his hips against the couch once he's calmed himself down, whining into your pussy a little.

"Such a needy little slut," you tell him, "you're my needy little slut, yeah? All mine and making your mommy feel so good."

He whines louder against your pussy, nodding and picking up the speed of his licks.

Of course you let him cum like that, because there's no way you're edging or teasing him tonight. He cums with his mouth on your clit, his moans and whines creating delicious vibrations.

He's not nearly finished with you though. He's much softer now that he's cum, mumbling is thanks against you but he's in no way ready to move out between your thighs.

He makes you cum twice from his slow licks, and he gets so happy both times. He made his mommy cum!!! He's the best boy ever!!!

You give him a two minute warning before you pull him away, not wanting to take him out of his calm subby headspace too soon. Then it's right to bed with him, him sleeping against your chest.

And tomorrow, it's his day with his mommy!!!

[dreamy625]

This rockstar life - 4.1 Travelin' Band

So this is where the timeline really splits from reality, with Steve still in the band for the Adrenalize tour. Don’t worry about Viv, he'll be perfectly happy playing with Thin Lizzy or someone for a few years :)

Words: 4025 (sorry)

Content: Some mentions of alcohol

This rockstar life master list

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

== April 15th 1992 - Dublin ==

Dear Diary. Ah, I suddenly feel thirteen again! Kevin Peterson smiled at me in Geography, but I have three new spots and am totally gross so he must be blind. Blondie on Top of the Pops again…

Anyway, enough nostalgia. This will be my attempt to record for posterity our tour adventures April 1992 to… as yet undecided. Either for the biography I’m always threatening Steve I’m going to write about him, or just so that, when I’m an old lady, I can prove that I was once a cool rock chick (ha ha ha).

So I guess you’d call this the warm-up stage, although one club and then a massive stadium is a pretty weird warm-up! We're leaving for soundcheck in an hour or so, then they’re due on stage at 9pm. I’ve got to go and find Steve and try and make him eat something, but I’m rating my chances of success with that at about 1%. He’s been walking in circles round Joe’s garden since about 7am. I don’t think he’ll be hard to find, just follow the trail of cigarette butts. ----------------------------------------

McGonagles is surprisingly scruffy for such a famous venue. And small - Stevie looked like a tiger in a cage, pacing back and forth. I’ve seen the ‘In the round’ video of course, and a few bootlegs that Joe has a secret stash of, and the boy likes to move! Sav says in the early days he used to gallop around without looking and he had to take evasive action to avoid getting knocked off the stage! Happily no one went flying tonight though, and everything worked, and Joe only forgot the words once, and the crowd were insanely enthusiastic. So it was great. Surreal, but great!

And now I really must try and go to sleep, our flight’s pretty early in the morning. Sweetiepie’s already spark out and snoring - two nights of anxiety dreams and half a bottle of brandy will do that to a person.

Next stop, Wembley!

== 18th April - London, Wembley Stadium!! ==

Am I dreaming? I’ve dropped into a whole different world! I’ve just seen Elton John in a tracksuit!

== 19th April - London, Mookie Manor ==

I thought roller coasters usually warmed you up with a couple of gentle undulations before the ride got wild, but no, this one has gone straight for the big drop. I knew he got stagefright, and he was pretty twitchy at McGonagles, but this was a whole other level. He was okay yesterday - quiet, but you could see he was just concentrating really hard on remembering where he was supposed to be when, and getting the songs right obviously, but he could do that in his sleep.

Today though… I think it was seeing Robert Plant casually chatting with David Bowie and Roger Daltrey… he just went white, then grey, and rushed out of the marquee. Phil managed to haul him out of the gents loo in time for their stage runthrough, which went fine as far as I could tell, but then he vanished again and I couldn’t track him down. Backstage is crazy - there are dressing rooms and suchlike but, because there’s so many people, they’ve also brought in tents and portakabins and buses and there’s trucks and catering vans and flight cases all over - he could have been anywhere, so eventually I gave up looking because I was just getting in everyone’s way and went and watched the soundchecks from the press pit. Then Stacy appeared looking frantic and said ‘I think you’d better come, Steve’s…’. She didn’t even need to finish the sentence, I could guess and just asked where.

When I got to the hospitality tent, one of the roadies, Malcolm maybe, had him pinned up against a pillar. He’d drunk, I don’t know how much, presumably a lot, and apparently had started punching the wall, which had minimal effect since it was canvas, and then started on a table, and then taken a perfunctory swing at one of the bar staff when they’d tried to grab him. At which point Rick had run for Joe, and Stacy had found me. He was struggling against the arms holding him back, but went limp and hung his head when he saw me, instantly remorseful. I got him out of the marquee while everyone stared at us (you’d think this crowd, of all people, would be blasé about rockstar excess, but apparently we were still the afternoon’s entertainment) and into a taxi. All he said on the way back was ‘I can’t’ over and over. I’ve given him one of the pills he makes me look after so he won’t take a whole handful and he’s sleeping now.

Pretty scared about tomorrow. And it’s all going to be down to Joe and the boys - no hangers-on allowed backstage for the main event.

== 20th April - London, Mookie Manor ==

Wow. That was just. Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people in one place before! I don’t think I’ve seen so many people before full stop! They said 70,0000. And millions more watching on television apparently. To go from a few hundred people in that sweaty old club to this! Yesterday’s freakout looks like a pretty reasonable reaction now. And of course he was fine, better than fine. Like Joe said, the second he steps on the stage, he’s 100% rockstar. It’s just getting him on the stage that’s the struggle. Really, I don’t know how he does it. I don’t know how any of them do it. I would be so completely paralysed with terror at the mere suggestion of going out in front of that crowd. I guess that’s why I’m not a musician! Well that and a total lack of talent.

Joe, I think, had the best day of his life! Prancing around in front of a massive crowd in those union jack jeans (I don’t know where he finds these things), and then sharing a stage with Bowie, Ronno, and Ian Hunter - basically all his fanboy dreams come true. He acts so cool and confident most of the time and then suddenly his inner geeky little kid breaks through. He was bouncing up and down so much he was practically levitating with excitement! Stevie was not quite so exuberant but, once the adrenaline wore off, he was pretty mellow, just sitting quietly in the bar with a big grin on his face.

We’ve got a couple of days off now, and then he’s back to rehearsals and I’ve got a big pile of work I’ve been ignoring. This rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle is not quite as glamorous as I had been led to expect!

== 19th May - Madrid ==

So here we are, first night of the proper tour. I was going to start before and record the pre-tour prep. But it was just like packing for a holiday really. All the instruments go with the stage set-up, so you don’t have to worry about that. And even Steve’s stage clothes go in travel cases and are looked after by the wardrobe assistant - this one is called Susie, and Steve has already nicknamed her Susie Sew. She seems lovely, but she’s about seven feet tall and six inches wide, so I hate her! If I looked like that I’d be a model, not washing a load of sweaty t-shirts every night!

These are supposed to be more warm-up gigs, so small clubs with minimal publicity. It sold out the day it was announced though, so that’s good. The club is apparently known as ‘El templo del heavy’ - The Metal Temple - so I don’t know how Joe squares that with his ‘we’re not heavy metal’ claims!

== 20th May - Paris ==

I was too tired to write anything after the show last night, and then we had to get up early for the flight to Paris, but today’s a rest day so we can be tourists. I haven’t been here since the occasional weekend trip on le TGV in my TEFL days, but of course Steve and Phil lived here on and off for years. They reckon it hasn’t changed - I don’t think the Parisians would allow it to! We went to le Centre Pompidou, and we’re doing the Louvre tomorrow if there’s time before soundcheck.

Lunch was hilarious. I ordered for us en français without even thinking about it, and then noticed Stevie staring at me with his mouth open. He went ‘You speak French?!’ and I’m like duh, I’m a translator, you know that! Apparently it had never occurred to him that that meant I could speak in French as well! Actually my conversational French isn’t that good - I’m more used to formal French and it makes me sound like someone’s snooty grandma to real French people. But he looked genuinely impressed. Even after living in Paris for three years, all he’d learned to do was ask for beer and cigarettes, and he insisted on me teaching him. Which was fine to start with - he’s a good mimic and can do the accent way better than me - but then the more wine we drank, the louder and more animated he got, and other diners started to stare and mutter. Then, when the waiter was bringing us dessert, Steve jumped up and intercepted him and decided he was the waiter now, with the whole folded napkin over the arm thing and everything, then he started waving menus at the customers at nearby tables and gabbling at them in exaggerated franglais - think Manuel* but French instead of Spanish. Honestly I thought they were going to throw us out! I had to lure him back to the table with tarte au citron, which was delicious of course. And then we left a REALLY big tip.

== 24th May - Munich ==

Another night, another disreputable little club. Look at me, so nonchalant already! Not really, not even slightly bored of this yet. I get to watch Def Leppard every night, how cool is that! They still look weird to me on tiny little stages, but they sound great. And Steve’s doing pretty good. Remembering Joe’s only comment on the Wembley freak out - ‘He does this’ - I was worried we were going to have a repeat performance every night, but actually he’s been okay. He goes quiet an hour or two before showtime, and he can’t eat anything, and I think the temptation to break his vow not to drink before they go on is always there, but there’s enough bustle in the dressing room to distract him and, now they’re into a routine, he’s definitely steadier.

== 26th May - Milan ==

The boys head back to Germany today, but I’m going home because I’ve got project meetings. I’m trying to get everything set up before we go further afield - it’s one thing to make a hop back across the channel to meet clients, quite a different matter when you’re on a whole different continent! I hope Stevie’s going to be okay on his own. He’s a bit pouty but trying to be stoic about it. And Phil, bless him, is going to keep an eye on him. Also hope I’m going to be okay on my own! I’ve never flown by myself before. Also faintly terrified about the client meeting. Never done one where it’s my project, there’s always been a proper grown-up in charge before. What if I say something stupid? What if I open my mouth and all that comes out is one of those anxiety squeaks? No one's ever going to book me again :/

I know people tend to think of me as Steve's nursemaid, but they don't see how he has to look after me too. There's things he's totally cool about, like travelling, that freak me out, and having him with me makes it much less stressful. Also just emotionally, he's just the only person who calms me down. He finds that strange, that he could be calming to anyone. I don’t really know how to explain it; somehow, because he’s as messed up as I am, I feel safer with him than I ever have with anyone else? I'm trying not to stress, and hoping that medication and meditation will be enough, in the absence of soothing Steve hugs, to not dissolve into a puddle of anxiety. It’s only a week and then we’ll be back together. And in Sweden, which is cool. I’ve never been there. I asked him what it’s like but all he could remember was pickled fish and Abba. He’s got a thing for Frida - another redhead, surprise surprise!

== 5th June - Copenhagen ==

Forgot to document the other Scandinavian dates, oops. Basically another two good gigs with happy shouty audiences and not too many wrong notes. And pickled herring is disgusting! Anyway, we’re in Denmark now, which is very clean and tidy, and everyone speaks English. I have learned two words in Danish - tak, which means thank you, and puttemus, which means cuddle-mouse and is Steve’s new nickname (especially because he wrinkles his nose in disgust when I call him that!).

I’m writing this at tonight’s venue, which is really tiny - I think my school hall was bigger than this! Steve always says that touring isn’t really travelling - you just see a hotel, a stage, and a bar, and could be anywhere. I definitely see the truth in that now. I thought we’d have at least some spare time in the places we’re in for two or three days, but he has to do interviews and radio spots and photoshoots everywhere and barely gets a minute to himself. I’ve been getting to know some of the other wives/girlfriends a bit better though, and today we all went on a little excursion to Tivoli Gardens, which is an old-timey amusement park. Took some pictures of the old classic rides and pretty buildings, but didn’t really fancy going on a wooden rollercoaster.

== 6th June - Roskilde airport ==

Oh god, so hungover. After the show we ended up going to a strip club as they stay open later than the bars. I have limited experience of such things, but it seemed kind of wholesome compared with the only one I’ve been in before, in London. Feel like maybe I should disapprove on feminist principle, but really if women want to make a bunch of money off men by writhing around on a stage in their knickers, that’s their own business. Also I was secretly thrilled to finally see some of this rock ‘n’ roll debauchery I’ve heard so much about! There’s this Danish liqueur made from cherries that they make cocktails with. It tastes like jam. And fun fact, when you drink too much of it, you throw up pink. Not looking forward to getting on this plane one little bit.

One more of these small club gigs then we’re back to Blighty and start getting into bigger places, arenas and such like. The boys are all very excited that they will finally get to play with their new in-the-round stage. This time the drum riser literally rises, ten feet in the air, as well as spinning round, which totally doesn’t sound like a deathtrap, honest!

== 15th June - Dublin ==

Back in the Emerald Isle and chez Joe. We’ve come over a few days early so the boys can, in the eternal quest to produce an album in less than three years, record some demos in Joe’s studio. I’m not sure how much actual music-making is happening, they seem to be using the majority of the time to play golf (mostly Joe and Sav), run up hills (mostly Phil), reacquaint themselves with obscure Irish brands of cigarettes (mostly Steve), and of course drink Guinness (everyone except Phil, and me because it is disgusting - yes, I am a traitor to my Irish ancestry!). There has also been a lot of reminiscing about when they lived here after the Pyromania tour, including visits to Booterstown and Belville House, where Steve, Phil, and Rick used to live (and which is now painted pink and looks like a birthday cake and about as un-rock ‘n’ roll as you could possibly get).

== 20th June - a plane somewhere over the Irish sea ==

Brilliant gig! Everyone sounded great, the stage and lighting looked amazing, and everything worked - all the fancy moving bits did what they were supposed to, and no one got flung off the drum riser! We couldn’t sleep at all last night, we were so hyper, bouncing around Joe’s kitchen at 4am until he came down and shouted at us to shut up! I think he’s happy his role as a hotelier is over - this morning he was muttering about it being like having raccoons living in his house!

== 21st June - Glasgow ==

Fucking freezing! It’s June! It’s meant to be summer?! How do people live here? Steve likes it. Must be his Northern upbringing. Freak.

== 24th June - Sheffield ==

Hometown gigs! Bit of a weird part of the tour actually. Most of the boys are thrilled to see their families and old friends - they had to make a VIP section twice the size of normal to fit them all in - but it’s been difficult for Steve. He hadn’t seen his parents since that horrible Christmas two years ago, but he couldn’t not invite them to the gig, so it was pretty awkward. Of course everyone was perfectly polite, we were in public afterall, but you could see the distance between them. I think Barry’s still angry, and Beryl obviously just misses him. She hugged him so tight, and didn’t want to let go. I know they all used to be so close, well, the boys and Beryl and the two grandmas anyway, so I’d hope they can get that back. But Steve doesn’t even look like part of his family anymore, and you can really hear how his accent has softened when he’s surrounded by proper working class Yorkshiremen. Not exactly a peacock among pigeons, but maybe a dove. He feels it too and it makes him really sad. He blames himself, but I’m not sure how you could stay tied to your roots while living such a vastly different life to the people you’ve left behind?

He doesn’t really even like being back in the city; he feels watched, like everyone knows him and is judging him for having ideas above his station. That period when they first got their record deal and people called them sell-outs and actually spat at them in the street has left deep wounds. There were a lot of problems with the sound last night, which was unfortunate, but it has provided Steve with an excuse not to see people or do local media - Joe and Sav are doing the interviews (wearing their team shirts of course - thank gods it’s the off-season or they’d be bickering about it endlessly!) - while he and Phil are here ostensibly helping to get the sound sorted out. Actually they’re just drinking a lot of tea and taking the piss out of Malvin, but it’s keeping him distracted from brooding which is the main thing. To be honest, I’ll be glad when this is done and we head back down south.

== 25th June - London, Mookie Manor ==

Back home again for a few days. Very convenient having Earl’s Court Arena basically just down the road from our house. Phil, Jacki, and Rory are staying over. We had to spend the evening building their bed as it had been sat in bits in boxes ever since Steve bought the house. Had to borrow spanners off the neighbours.

Rory has got so big and is into everything. It must be over a year since we saw him and Jacki as they mostly stayed in America while the boys were recording. I have no idea what to do with kids - they’re just loud and sticky agents of chaos to me - but Steve is really good with him. They’ve been playing hide and seek, and driving matchbox cars round the living room, and now Steve’s upstairs reading him a story. It’s really sweet. I wish… no I don’t wish, because we just couldn’t, for everyone’s sake. But in some ways, he really would make a great dad.

== 26th June - London, Earl’s Court ==

Very proud of the boys today - they won the Silver Clef award for outstanding contribution to British music! We had to go to the presentation lunch at the InterContinental Hotel on Park Lane. It’s super-fancy, inside at least, but unfortunately was built in the 1970’s so is a hideous concrete box. Kind of terrifying - they took pictures of all of us when we arrived and I did not know what to do with my face, I was trying to hide behind Stevie as much as possible. And he ate most of my lunch so the waiters wouldn’t look at me funny.

Really looking forward to the gig tonight. This is the biggest one so far, I think the biggest one until we get to America? Phil’s mum is coming and we’re going to sit together. She’s such a sweetheart - you can tell where he gets his golden retriever personality from!

== 30th June - Birmingham, NEC ==

Second of three nights here as the ticket sales have been so good. Not the most glamorous of venues though! And I’m so glad we have drivers to ferry us around - I would die if I had to navigate Birmingham’s road system! One thing in the NEC’s favour though is that it has got really good business facilities. I have a mountain of work to get finished before we go to Australia, ugh. Steve was a little bit sulky when I said I had to work the whole time, but he does understand really. Phil has taken him to the gym today, so I’ll look forward to hearing how that went :)

The bigger venues they’ve been doing on this leg do make such a difference to the experience, now I'm seeing Leppard as I know them from videos. And Steve is unleashed! He runs around like a greyhound, doing all his signature moves. It's really… I feel ridiculous writing this, but really sexy! Not that I didn't fancy him like mad already, but ‘Stage Steve’ is a very different animal. I think it's the confidence, even a little bit of arrogance, and the power he has over the audience. He’s just… magnificent! I haven't worked out yet if it's entirely put on, just a performance, or if it's tapping into a part of his personality that's usually buried. I'm not sure he knows himself. Either way it’s really quite something! And I knew the tight jeans were an essential component of that outfit…

Argh, stop thinking about that! Got to concentrate on the blasted book! Les deadlines ne sont pas optionnels!

== 3rd July - Belfast ==

So King’s Hall is the last UK gig. It’s a really cool building - Art Deco with an arched roof over the main hall. It’s not all that big though, so there was a lot of worrying about whether the in-the-round set-up would fit. It does, and it should be a great show for the audience because most of them will be so close to the stage. I’m going to watch from up on the balcony to get the full experience (I’ve always been in the VIP section or the press pit, which of course is amazing, but they’ve always said this show is designed for the people in the cheap seats at the back!).

After this, we've got a few days back at home, time to do laundry and repack for hot weather, then we fly out to Australia on the 7th. Another new place and the longest flight I’ve ever done - well, flights plural as you have to do it in two hops. Steve’s really excited, which is so cute. And I think he’s even excited about going on a tour bus again, although he grumbles about it; he keeps telling me stories of their escapades on the High ‘n’ Dry tour. This all still doesn’t seem fully real to me; I feel like I'm inside an MTV rockumentary!

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

*Fawlty Towers reference

[bts-apocalypse-au]

Tae's P.O.V. 🐯 15th April Pt. 2

I'm about to test the trap when I hear footsteps and heavy breathing. A large group, 17 of them two adult males and 15 young children. I surprise myself by being able to know that. They come closer, I hide behind the wall and scan the group. Wait, I know him! One of the older males is blond and I've met him before, only three days ago. Park Jimin. What is a surgical resident doing with 15 small children? Then I see the badge on the other man. I must have accidentally scanned it because the badge appears in my holo-screen: he's a kindergarten teacher. Kim Seokjin.

The teacher steps in front of his students looking around. I hear the pounding of running paws in the distance, wolves or something like that. in the distance, getting closer. Park Jimin steps back and hits the fire alarm.

"Careful! Over here!" I whisper, not wanting to lead the creatures to us but hoping it's loud enough for them to hear. I can't leave them out there. I have to do something. I grab a rope ladder and throw it over the high concrete wall. Hopefully I can use my new strength to hold it in place while they climb over. Park Jimin taps the teacher on the shoulder and they exchange a look.

"Send the children first." Jimin whispers but the teacher is already doing that.

"Don't worry. You can trust me, Park Jimin." I say, hoping he'll recognize my voice and speed up. I see a flash of recognition and confusion in his eyes. I can see the creatures now and I was right before, they are wolves but they don't look like wolves at all. They're the size of horses and seem to have extra teeth. They lunge for the teacher and Jimin steps in front of him.

Just one more second, 3 . . . 2 . . . 1! I pull my end of the rope. the net drops. Please, please, please work! The net stretches across the gate in front of the group, the wolves paw at it, I know it won't hold.

"It won't hold for long! Come on!" I yell. Jimin snaps out of it. He and the teacher lift the last boy and girl over and then climb over themselves. I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding.

Jimin stares at me "Tae?" I know what he's thinking. How different I looked when we last met. Thankfully a hoodie with a tiger on it covers the metal on my arms.

The gate is sturdy but there's no need to chance it. "No time, let's get inside, I'll explain everything later." I shout already running, they take the hint and follow me. I hear the wolves. The group looks around in awe of the Zoo. I watch the children try to pet Lucy the giraffe and her daughter Gracie.

"Wow" Jimin says, and I agree, this place is really wonderful. I think about how I used to always dream about living in a zoo with the animals. In just three the place has become like the inside of Newt Scamader's suitcase. Plants have integrated with the woods and fences blending the animal environments together into a big sanctuary. There are walls separating the animals but they don't look so industrial anymore.

We make our way through the past the aquatic habitats and get to the clinic. "This is the clinic, you can put the boy here. I have supplies."

"Thank you so much sir." The teachers says

"Of course, and I'm younger than you so please just call me Taehyung. I have food stored and there are couches in the staff room where you can sleep. I also have extra clothes there." I give them a map and now I don't know what to do, it feels strange to be around humans now.

"The animals are in their cages right, you have carnivores right?" Jimin says

His tone sounds wary. "Of course though it's really more for their safety than anything else. They wouldn't hurt anybody." He looks slightly taken aback, I start again. "Your students will be safe here Mr. Kim. Let me show you around."

I use his name when speaking to him, I hope he doesn't wonder how I learnt it. I think we're all too busy to care.

We walk past the bamboo enclosure and Jimin stares at Jisung, the Red panda who broke his paw trying to squeeze out of his enclosure.

I explain, trying to suppress my anger at the treatment of the animals, "The so called caretakers of the zoo left them here during the evacuation, they had no water and were locked in undersized cages. Most of them got injured from panic flailing or trying to claw or bite their way out."

"Oh." he says, then, "That's horrible."

"It is. We're here." I say unlocking the Staff Offices Building.

They look at the supplies and set their own belongings down. The teacher takes out futons and small bags of clothes from each student's bag.

"Here, make yourselves at home. Jimin, you're a doctor, you can set up your things in the clinic." I say

"Alright. Thank you so much. But can you please explain everything now. How did you get here?" He says.

I waves him toward a table, he sits. I stay standing. It doesn't matter to me anyway, not anymore. I'll try to give him the short version.

"So what did you end up doing?"

I pause, "I ended up choosing my bank account over myself but it hardly matters now does it?"

"I guess not."

"Can they sleep in here, they're very tired?" Mr. Kim asks, motioning to his students.

"Of course."

"Anyway," I turn back to Jimin, "I was hiding in my flat at first, everybody else in the building had left pretty much and there were robbers so I decided to take my stuff and leave for another place. What about you? How did you end up with your students?"

Mr. Kim looks solemn and shakes his head subtly. Oh. Their parents left them. How could you do that to an innocent kid?

"I started an impromptu clinic and they came for help, then the wolves followed us so we ran here."

[voxmortuus]

Read To Me

PAIRING: Sherlock Holmes x Fem!Reader

UNIVERSE: Enola Holmes

WORDS: 916

SUMMARY/PROMPT: Requested by @queengiuliettafirstlady : Hi there sorry to bother you again with my request but I can't help your writing is so good too so here we are again hoping you will like them it is possible two having two requests with the prompt one bed-sharing with Sherlock Holmes and Clark Kent, played by Cavill, they can be NSFW or not I leave it up to you Thank you Have a nice day ^^

TRIGGER WARNING(S): SMUT! | Oral, Male Receiving | Vaginal Penetration | Internal Ejaculation | Voice Kink | PLEASE TELL ME IF I FORGOT ANYTHING!!! I want to make sure readers are fully aware of what they are getting themselves into when they read this…

NOTE: Sorry if this isn't what you expected, I'm hoping this finds you well love! Also please be kind, I've never watched Enola Holmes, but I researched the character... First time writing for him. Also sorry if it is short!

IMAGE CREDIT: Google I DO NOT CLAIM OWNERSHIP OF THESE IMAGES. If these are yours or you know who the creator(s) is please INBOX me and let me know. Thank you.

My Master Masterlist | Henry Cavill Masterlist | Taglist

REQUESTS: 500 FOLLOWER EVENT REQUESTS ARE STILL OPEN UNTIL AUGUST 15TH!

Sherlock stood in the doorway, watching you sleep. He gave a small smile and let out a soft breath shaking his head. Sherlock looked down at the book in his hand and walked away, second-guessing his mental thought process. He wanted to go in there and read to you while you were asleep.

You felt this watchful gaze on you, and when you wake up, you turn over and realize no one is there.

"Sherlock?"

"Yes, Y/N?"

"Come read to me? Please." You smile softly.

"Okay." He nods and makes his way to you.

Taking a seat on the edge of your bed. You reach over and pull his legs on the bed so that he is sitting in your bed. He looks down at you, arching a brow he nods and moves over a bit. He opens the book and begins to read. You take a peek at the cover and smile. The Scarlet Letter. You let out a sleepy yawn and rest your head on his lap. Your hands play with his pants as your fingers work the fabric. Your body starts to tingle at the sound of his voice.

He looks down at you and keeps reading. You listen as he reads to you.

“Love, whether newly born or aroused from a deathlike slumber, must always create sunshine, filling the heart so full of radiance, that it overflows upon the outward world.”

You think about the passage, and you nod a bit. Your hand moving further up his thigh, biting your lip a bit, you let out a soft breath as you close your eyes, picturing his face, mentally studying it for a bit. You smile and open your eyes to see him looking down at you.

You lick your lips and move your fingers up enough to unzip his pants, and you notice that he had gotten excited, you bite your bottom lip a moment and he watches you.

"Please keep reading. I like to listen." You say softly.

Without thinking twice, he started reading. Your hand moves inside his pants, and you start stroking him a bit. He keeps his pace reading as you move a bit to unbutton his pants, exposing a bit more and to free him more fully from the restriction of his pants.

When you remove him from the constricting pants, you begin to lick the top and along the length. Working your way back up, you kiss the tip a bit and kiss down the other side before making your way between his legs, laying on your stomach, you take him into your mouth, working down slowly further and further down his thick hard member.

Your lips tight around his member as you begin to bob your head and jerking your hand at the same time stroking and sucking on him. You let out a soft moan around his cock and let out a soft breath moaning again. He clenches his jaws as he continues to read.

Taking him further into your mouth, you gaze up at him, and he looks over your face with his cock in your mouth. He licks his lips and watches you a moment before he looks back at his book and continues reading. You move your head faster, and your hand at the same time, and then you pull him from your mouth, and you move your way up and sit on him, sliding your nightgown up and slide him inside you.

You both let out a soft moan. Sherlock stops reading and goes to close the book, you shake your head, opening the book back up. He looks at you and smiles. As he continues reading, you move your hips over him, grinding your swollen, needing bud rubs against him.

You pace yourself, enjoying the feeling of the friction, you place your hands on his lower stomach and move your hips, your head falls back, and your long hair bounces against your back a bit. He lets out a soft groan as you move. His reading becomes slow, but at a slow, steady pace, between grunts and groans.

With one hand on his book, he moves his other hand to grab your breast, giving your nipple some stimulation. You let out another moan. Your hips move faster, feeling the pressure building. Hearing his voice as he read his book, hearing the moans and groans as you massaged his cock with your tight walls, it was euphoric for you, you loved hearing him speak, it was a turn-on for you, a kink if you will.

His reading caused you to go faster, with more of a need, more of a desire. He lets out a gasp as you pick up the pace. He squeezed harder on your breast as you picked up your pace. As he read, your body tingled more. Your moans picked up as he got louder in his reading.

"Don't stop. I'm right there..." You moan- and pant as your hips pick up the pace.

He smirks as he reads, as he lets you use him for your own pleasure and in return his own pleasure. Your body begins to tighten and you begin to shake with this intense amount of release. Feeling him release his own you shake a little harder, and grip at his shirt.

He lets out a soft breath and looks over you with a smile. "Do you want me to keep going? Or do you want to revisit this chapter tomorrow night?"

[choicesprompts]

Prompt 2 (September 1st-15th)

Hello all, and welcome again to @choicesprompts challenge! We’re happy you’re joining us for another story-starting prompt

The idea is simple. Everyone begins with the same sentence (or paragraph), and let our muses create a story that we may not have otherwise written.

The prompt for Sept 1st-15th is below. Please remember that names/genders/pronouns can be changed to fit your narrative. (As well as verb tense and first/third person):

“Holy crap, we’re gonna be late!” the woman yelped when her eyes glanced up at the decorative wall clock. “Turn that off!” she ordered in a cross tone to her companion, who was still watching the streaming show.

“Late? For what?” The question was asked in a tone that was both confused and distracted.

“The THING!”

Her companion finally pulled their eyes away from the 60-inch screen, brows furrowed. “I know of no THING,” they protest.

She heaved a huge sigh of exasperation. “It’s on your calendar! Now, stop talking and start moving!” She gently slapped their forearm in light admonishment. “I’m done with the conversation now!”

She turned away to plump her pillows.

Her eyes widened in surprise when she felt arms wrap around her waist and pads of thumbs press into her hips. Her body is a feather as it’s pulled back onto the bed.

“Sit back down!” her companion ordered.

The woman frowns at them before her eyes find the television screen again.

What the...? Is that …? WHAT is he doing?

“I’m sat!”

Now here’s the part where we go over the ground rules:

Your story must begin with the prompt.

Prompt does not need to be bolded.

We ask that the prompt not be altered unless it is to change gender and/or pronouns; tenses (past vs. present) ; or writing styles (third person narrative, first person character POV, reader insert).

While there is no word limit, we suggest your story remain in the 3k-5k word count range

ALL Choices fandoms are welcome!

Don’t forget to tag @choicesprompts in the fic!

This prompt is good for the period September 1st-15th. Please have all submissions into us no later than 11:59pm Central Time on September 15th.

All entries will be reblogged and posted via Masterlist on September 16th.  

New prompt will go up September 15th.

Please reach out to this blog, @angelasscribbles, or @dcbbw with any questions!

Thank you again for joining us! Go forth, create, and be great!

Tagging those who have specifically expressed interest in doing this:

@dcbbw @bebepac @karahalloway @harleybeaumont @txemrn

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[trashyreptilian]

Lurking Danger, September 12th 1992 (Part 1)

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Author's Note: Before you read this, keep in mind that a lot of the events from TMC are changed in my AU. Gotta make it work somehow.

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Next Parts:

Lurking Danger, September 15th 1992 (Part 2)

Lurking Danger, September 15th 1992 (Part 3)

Lurking Danger, September 16th 1992 (Final Part)

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Characters: Cesar Torres (he/him) and Mark Heathcliff (he/him).

Summary: Meeting up with his now graduated friend, Cesar invites Mark over to his house since his parents were out for work. Everything seems to be going well but there's this lurking presence he keeps feeling. Like someone is watching him. Is he imagining things or is he being followed? (Word count: ~2 500)

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The ringing of school bells echoed throughout the halls. Cesar didn't notice until people around him started packing their stuff. Oh god, is it over already? Did I even listen to anything? Normally, he always looked forward to the drama club after classes, but he had his mind on something else. One of the club members noticed his unusual silent demeanor.

"Hey..." Putting their hand on his shoulder. "You were nowhere near as dramatic when we did those warm-up exercises" Cesar let out a chuckle at the remark. They faintly smiled. "Wanted to make sure you're okay, you looked totally out of it today. Quite unlike you, if I'm being honest." Cesar sighed. "I'm okay, thanks for asking though. It's just that, uh..." He paused, scratching his head. "This is going to sound weird but do you remember Mark?" There was a minute silence before they answered. "Oh! Mark Heathcliff, right? I don't remember much about him besides that he only hung around you. Did something happen to him?" He shook his head. "Well, no. He just graduated early and..." Looking down on the ground, scratching his head again. "Ah." Sounded like they understood what was going on. "I see. Getting used to him not being around anymore, huh?"

"Yeah... We'd always talk during recess and our lunch breaks. He would try to convince me to skip my classes for no damn reason and other stupid shit like that." They started patting his back. "Aww, you two must be very close."

All of a sudden, both of them heard a name being called out by other students by the door. "Ah shit, my friends are here. I don't think they can wait for me anymore." Swiftly grabbing their bag and giving a couple more pats on Cesar's back before leaving. "Sorry but I gotta run, I'll see you tomorrow! If you see Mark, tell him that I hope he's doing well!" They ran off and waved goodbye. Waving back as he got up from his chair. Left alone with his thoughts.

He looked over at the clock hanging on the wall. 4:30 p.m., better get going. Rushing out the door, nearly forgetting his own bag and leaving the lights on, he headed to the school's parking lot to meet up with Mark. As Cesar walked down the crowded hallways, he kept thinking about what the club member had said. "You two must be very close." Are we really? Bumping into other students by accident, he couldn't help himself from questioning his friendship. While he did see Mark as a close friend, it was never clear if he felt the same way about him. Whenever he'd open up about his struggles and family problems, Mark listened and tried to help but if Cesar ever asked what was going on with his life, he completely avoided answering the question and changed the subject matter. God forbid if he even dared pushing him to answer because he'd get pissed off. Come to think of it... When I asked him why he was graduating early, he gave me some dodgy excuse... But who am I to judge, I guess. Although, I wish he was a bit more honest with me and-

As he was getting closer to the exit, Cesar accidently bumped into someone and knocked over the stuff they were carrying. "Oh god, I'm so sorry! Here let me just pick this up for you." He wasted no time grabbing everything off the floor and handing it over to the person. "Again, really sorry about that!" Letting out a nervous laugh, he continued to walk towards the exit. His gaze shifted downward. Dammit, can I PLEASE go outside without embarrassing myself? Finally reaching for the door handle, he made his way to the parking lot.

A gentle autumn breeze blew across Cesar's face, molten-red leaves scattered across the ground. He started to look for Mark's car. Could have taken the bus as usual but this was one of the few ways of maintaining contact with his friend. While wandering around and aimlessly searching, his name was shouted, followed by a loud whistle.

Looking over to where the voice came from, he saw Mark waving a bit further away. With a smile on his face, Cesar ran up to him. "Well, you took your sweet time." Mark complained as he finished smoking his cigarette. "And you still overdress for school, never change man." He pulled out a pack of cigs, opened it up and offered to Cesar. "Want one before we drive off?" Cesar snickered. "Look who's talking, you're still wearing the same get up! A dirty hoodie and worn-out jeans. Also, no thank you. You know I don't smoke." Mark shrugged and put the pack back in his pockets. "Then get in, I have a night shift in a few hours."

Both of them settled themselves inside the car, and soon they drove away. Cesar enjoyed watching the view from the window, the trees had a nice warm glow under the sunlight. "Hey uh, by the way, I saw you earlier outside but when I called out, you ran off. What was that all about?" There was an awkward silence before Cesar answered. "Uh... I don't think that was me because I didn't leave school until you know, I finished all my classes."

"Huh..." Mark pondered. "Maybe I'm just imagining things. This job got me fucked up." Taking a brief gander at his face. "Yeah, those bags under your eyes are getting worse. I know you're not much of a sleeper anyway but holy shit, who thought it could get worse."

"I'm lucky if I get 5 hours sleep." Both mockingly chuckled. After half an hour, they found themselves in one of the richer neighborhoods. No mansions but the houses were definitely bigger and nicer than your average home. "Here we are." Mark said as he pulled up in front of Cesar's house. "Now get out." Jokingly patting at his shoulder. Cesar got out but didn't leave just yet. "Thanks for the ride. I appreciate it, it's better than riding those overcrowded buses."

"Don't mention it. I'll give you a call when I'm free for another ride." Mark started the engine but Cesar interrupted. "Hey listen, I don't know when we'll be able to meet up again with your busy schedule. My parents are out of town for a while, why don't you come over? I'm sure you have some time to kill before your shift!" Mark silently groaned and tilted his head down. "Man, I'm a little too tired..."

"Oh, come on, I'll cook dinner! It beats eating the shit that you make." Insisting, Mark stroke his chin. "Tempting...Very tempting." Cesar rolled his eyes and sighed. "Do I have to bribe you with alcohol for you to hang out with me?" With a cheeky grin on his face, he responded. "Perhaps..."

"FINE. One drink from my dad's liquor cabinet. But only one, okay?" He hated doing this but one drink shouldn't hurt if it means spending more time with him. "You got yourself a deal." Getting out of his car and heading towards the house. "Come on now, I don't have all day!"

Cesar caught up to him and pulled out his keys as they approached near the door. While unlocking it and letting Mark in first, the nearby trash cans violently got knocked over. Startled but dismissed it to some large rodent causing that. Locking the door behind him, he went to his bedroom to change his attire then headed to the kitchen where his friend was waiting with a drink in his hand. Already got to the alcohol, of course... He put on an apron, preparing himself to cook.

Some time passed, he managed to whip up something good in the little time that he had. They ate stuffed peppers, while Cesar thought that he could have made them tastier, Mark scoffed it all down like he hadn't eaten for days. "Shit man, I sometimes forget how good your cooking is. This is amazing." About to thank him, but the unexpected sound of what seemed like someone throwing a pebble at the window caught him off guard. "Wait, did you hear that?" He got up from the dining table and went to check it out. As Cesar opened up the window, loud rustling came from the bushes near the house. His heart pounded faster. What the hell...? Before he could call over Mark to take a look, the rustling stopped. I swear to God, if someone is actually messing with me...

"Something wrong?" Asking with a worried tone. "No... Just admiring the view." Cesar laughed it off nervously. Mark frowned, didn't look like he believed him. Cesar crossed his arms; eyes began to shift. "Oh hey, would you look at the time! Isn't your shift starting soon?" He pointed at the grandfather clock across the room. "Ah shit, you're right." Mark swiftly finished the last few bites of his dinner before getting his jacket. "Thanks for the dinner and alcohol, it's nice to not have to starve yourself again. I'll see you soon, it was good catching up with you!" Both of them headed for the door, Mark ran to his car. Waving goodbye before he was gone.

Back inside, he noticed that it was getting late rather fast. I should probably call it a day. Cesar yawned and went upstairs to his bedroom for some well-deserved shut-eye. Cleaning himself up, changing into his pajamas, and despite all the odd little occurrences, he managed to fall asleep. However, his sleep was disturbed by a startling sound.

Cesar felt his heart drop, this time it certainly wasn't his imagination playing tricks on him. Shattering glass echoed outside his room. Quickly getting up from his bed, he locked the door and put his ear against it to listen more closely. He could make out distant footsteps somewhere. SHIT. Okay, okay, don't panic. Think this through... Clearly, he needs to call 911 but there were only two phones available. One in the kitchen and the other in the security room, as his parents called it. Wait... What if it's an alternate? I need to check the cameras then... He hoped for it to be human but there was no way of telling unless he confronted the person himself. His heart was beating out of his chest as he thought about precisely in which direction he needs to run to.

Cold sweat poured down his face as he unlocked the door and peeked through it. The house, pretty much plunged in darkness besides a few areas lighted by the moonlight. Hands shaking profusely; he took a deep breath before making a run for it. Luckily, he didn't have to run far, but he nearly tripped along the way. Nothing chased him but once he got inside the security room, he had to take a breather. Beginning to calm down a bit, he frantically searched for the remote to the TV monitor. Aha! There you are. Having found it, he turned on the TV and switched on to live feed. Checking each camera, nothing out of the ordinary appeared until he examined the kitchen. An unnaturally tall figure was standing in the corner. Shit, I can barely see him. In the shadows, there was a pair of white glowing dots. Are those his eyes...?

The mysterious figure slowly crept up towards the camera. Cesar's eyes widened, a sudden urge to vomit overwhelmed him. It's an alternate... The thing had a shockingly wide smile, its teeth were elongated. The torso looked like it was on the verge of breaking in half. Those glowing dots were its pupils, the rest of the eyes were completely black. He turned off the monitor when he heard it laughing. Deranged cackling filled the kitchen, their voice was unstable. Cesar dropped to the ground, his heart was racing, his vision slowly got blurry. He was on the verge of tears.

Dear god... What the fuck do I do now...? Almost impossible for him to concentrate under all the sudden pressure. Wait, the T.H.I.N.K principle... I'll be fine, just have to stay calm and focus. What were the steps again? Pulling himself together, taking deep breaths. First is to tell an authority figure. Immediately dialing 911, his sweaty hand made it hard to hold the phone properly. It rang once, twice, three times, he had become certain that he'd be ignored when the fourth ring was interrupted by a click.

"911, what's your emergency?" An operator answered.

"An... An alternate is in my house... I locked myself in a room and I think it's still in my kitchen." Cesar felt the shakiness in his voice, breathing became heavier.

"Okay, have you followed the rest of the T.H.I.N.K principle? Did you identify what type it is?" They asked.

"I- I think it's a type 3, it looked like me but it had a lot of uncanny features." Cesar recalled how Mark said that he had seen him earlier. Was it stalking me the entire time? His body, shaking from the adrenaline.

"A flawed impersonator. If safe to do so, try to neutralize it with a fire arm. I have already traced your address from this call and help will be sent over to you. Please stay where you are until the police arrive." With that, the line went dead.

He held the phone up to his ear, listening to the beeping. Expected the operator to stay on the line longer. Assuming that they must have their hands full with other emergencies, he put the receiver away.

Slightly relieved, he continued to follow the procedure. Okay, next, what the operator said. Neutralize... That was out of the question, even if he had a gun with him, he wouldn't muster up the courage to face that creature. Shit, okay well I can't fight back. That leaves me with the final step. Know your place in reality... Cesar touched around his face and body. Well... I'm here and alive, for now... Looking at his surroundings. Stuck in here... With no food... Or water... But it's FINE. Help is on the way. I'll be fine, right...?

The room had one single window, his only view of outside. He could try to escape from there but the height was too dangerous. He could scream for help but it might agitate the alternate. I'm stuck, ha-ha... I'm really fucking stuck in here... SHIT... His mind kept shifting from calm to terrified. He sat in the corner, far away from the door.

Deafening silence filled the house but Cesar knew it was still inside his home. Him and his impersonator alone together.

[houseisekai]

Byleth-Sama: Love is War (Finale)

Original House Isekai AU

As Sara and Megumi train with those supporting them, Byleth gets to view this cold war from the sidelines, completely unaware of what's even going on...

And the day of the Ball is quickly approaching, who will win this war?

---

[Respite and Sunlight - Fire Emblem: Three Houses OST]

Byleth watched for the fifth time this week as Sara and Megumi glared daggers at each other, walking past without uttering a single word.

He wasn't the only one to have noticed this.

Towa and Angelica appeared to be very worried about how Sara was acting, while Cocytus was confused by their actions.

Normally the two were extremely friendly with one another, now they wouldn't even give them the time of day.

(Cocytus) "THERE THEY GO AGAIN."

(Towa) "Did a fight break out between them?"

(Byleth) "That's what I'm wondering. Everytime I go to ask a student, they just laugh or say nothing."

(Sharon) "Hm...what day is it?"

(Towa) "December 15th. Why?"

Doomguy looked at the calendar, then nodded his head and departed with a wave. It looked like he was in a hurry.

(Sharon) "Ah, that explains it. Tomorrow is the White Heron Cup."

(Byleth) "Huh? What does that have to do with anything?"

(Sharon) "Master Byleth, would you like to take a walk with me?"

Shrugging, Byleth followed along, hoping to get SOME kind of answer out of their quarrel.

Towa, Angelica, and Cocytus were left confused.

[The Forgotten - Fire Emblem: Three Houses OST]

The first place Sharon had taken Byleth was to Abyss.

(Byleth) "Why are we down here?"

Sharon kept her smile and gestured her head towards a crowd.

Byleth raised an eyebrow as he looked closely, seeing Sara move through the crowd and into the narrow hallways.

Sharon put a finger to her lips and quickly trailed Sara, Byleth doing the same.

Finally approaching a room, Sharon stopped Byleth from entering and stood politely next to the walls, overhearing the conversation.

...

(Sara) "Damn it, we still don't have any dresses?!"

(Kazuma) "Where exactly do you think we can find one in a few days? Not even Anna's stocks can come that fast!"

(Yuri) "Not sure why you're down here, it's not like we got anything fancy."

(Edelgard) "You're wearing makeup right now though, right?"

(Yuri) "...Alright fair, but the point is, we got nothing for a fine lady such as yourself."

(Rean) "I'm sure the outfit you picked out will be fine. The worst trouble you'll probably have is just to say no to every other guy that's going to be coming at you."

(Seteth) "It matters not, we have little time to waste."

(Sara) "Hm, I gotta be quick about it. Anywho, back to dance training! Take it from the top, Balthus!"

(Balthus) "You got it!"

...

(Byleth) "Sara's going to the ball? Didn't think she'd care about it besides teacher obligations."

(Sharon) "Well, it's not just Lady Sara."

(Byleth) "Megu-nee too, I'm assuming?"

(Sharon) "You should visit her in the Training Hall, that's where she'll be. If you excuse me, I must get things settled for tomorrow with Rise of the Investigation Team."

She bowed, and took her leave.

(Byleth) "...Sothis."

Sothis materialized next to him.

(Sothis) "Hello, child."

(Byleth) "Did you know about them fighting?"

(Sothis) "Only what you know."

He squinted his eyes at her in disbelief. There's no way with how many times she's floated to Kazuma and the others she'd know absolutely nothing.

(Sothis) "Well, I know they're planning a surprise for you."

(Byleth) "Surprise?"

(Sothis) "Yes, for the Ball. However it'd be a disservice to them if I announced it. Now come, we shall see what Megu-nee is doing."

She floated ahead, making Byleth shrug and follow her.

...

[Like a Dream Come True - Persona 4 OST]

(Rise) "Okay guys, that should be good!"

Rise shouted out to Kanji and Teddie who were busy decorating the walls with hanging ornaments and curtains.

Looking to her right, some of the students from House Isekai were preparing a stage for the music.

Darkness carried 4 crates of decor as if it were nothing, meanwhile behind her Bernadetta was struggling to pick up one.

(Bernadetta) "S-SO...HEAVY!"

(Caspar) "Geez, you gotta use your legs, Bernadetta, otherwise you'll throw out your back!"

Dorothea approached Rise, smiling.

(Dorothea) "The place looks good so far, Rise!"

(Rise) "Thanks, there's no way I could've gotten this done without your guys' help though!"

(Dorothea) "Happy to help out! I'm sure with you, me, and Manuela singing, there's no way anyone could resist us!"

(Rise) "Ooooh good point! Maybe I can ask Yu-senpai to the ball!"

(Dorothea) "You know if it doesn't work out, I'm always available.~"

(Naoto) "Pardon the interruption, but we could use more help over here."

(Ryuji) "Y-YEAH! SHIT'S KINDA HEAVY!"

The Phantom Thieves were busy setting up the wooden platforms for the stage.

Ann put down several chairs, clearly out of breath.

(Ann) "M-MAN...MEDIEVAL CONSTRUCTION SUCKS!"

(Akira) "It's...not great."

(Chie) "I think it helps build character! We gotta get stronger, right? So what better way than carrying these huge blocks of wood!"

(Yukiko) "I'm sure Akihiko-senpai would agree..."

(Yosuke) "Now that I think on it, where the heck are those guys? Shouldn't they be helping us out?"

Sharon entered the room and swiftly helped the Persona Users carry the chairs into the proper spots effortlessly.

(Sharon) "To answer your question, they are currently helping out some of the staff with final preparations. Ainz's group will be here shortly to add some magical effects."

(Rise) "Oh, sweet! I bet Aura and Mare could do something real pretty!"

(Yu) "Whew, thanks Sharon. You're a lifesaver."

Bowing, Sharon made her way to Rise.

(Sharon) "It's time we begin rehearsing, Lady Rise."

(Rise) "Gotcha! Dorothea, can you get Manuela?"

(Dorothea) "Sure thing, I'll be right back."

(Sharon) "And if I may ask something?"

(Rise) "Huh? What is it, Sharon?"

(Sharon) "We have a personal request from Lady Sara and Megu-nee for the ball tomorrow."

(Rise) "Is it related to Byleth-sensei?"

(Sharon) "It is."

(Rise) "Sure, let's hear it!"

Sharon leaned into Rise's ear and whispered.

(Rise) "Hm...Yeah, we can do that! We have any instruments here? I think I got an idea for what we can do!"

[Diablo Rojo - Rodrigo y Gabriela]

Byleth peeked into the training hall where Megumi was, alongside Doomguy, Dimitri, Minako, and the School-Living Club.

Byleth watched as Megumi tried her best to stay in rhythm with Doomguy's guitar skill.

Dimitri, Yuki, and Miki watched in amazement as Doomguy played an acoustic guitar with such precision and speed that it'd most likely stun anyone else watching.

The music he was playing seemed completely foreign to Byleth and Sothis.

Megumi was dancing with Yuuri as practice while Kurumi tapped her foot to the rhythm.

...

(Dimitri) "I wasn't aware he had such musical talent!"

(Yuki) "Mhm, Slayer is really cool!"

(Miki) "T-This is a ball right? This seems more like a Hispanic style song rather than classical.

Megumi and Yuuri twirled and kept their feet bouncing to the rhythm as Yuuri tried her best to guide her teacher.

(Kurumi) "It's pretty catchy! Besides with how many of us have been preparing to sing for the ball, we're bound to have some music choices to dance to that isn't normal here!"

(Yuki) "Ooh, think we can do disco! Futaba has her laptop so we can put it on the speakers!"

(Minako) "Oooh, yeah! Japanese disco has some good stuff we can all jam to!"

Doomguy shrugged as he kept playing, his beat getting faster.

(Megumi) "A-Am I really going to be dancing at this speed with Byleth?!"

(Yuuri) "Hah, I'm a bit more worried for the rest of the people who haven't heard this kind of music, Megu-nee!"

...

(Sothis) "Interesting choice of music! It sounds quite energetic."

(Byleth) "I've only heard something kind of close when I was younger."

(Sothis) "...Ah, the taverns Jeralt took you out to. I remember, how noisy it was."

(Byleth) "Wait, Megu-nee is training to dance with me?"

(Sothis) "So was Sara."

(Byleth) "Ah, I think I finally understand now."

(Sothis) "Do you?"

(Byleth) "Yeah. They're just training for the Ball in case if someone asks them. After all, Akira is representing us for the White Heron Cup, it'd look bad if all of us didn't try for the Ball either."

(Sothis) "...Sure, something like that."

(Byleth) "I should probably get ready myself for tomorrow."

(Sothis) "Hah, yes you should, Child. Yes you should."

...

Night of the Ball

[Night of the Ball - Fire Emblem: Three Houses OST]

When the night of the ball finally arrived after the White Heron Cup, House Isekai enjoyed their time partaking in it with the rest of the Houses.

The Phantom Thieves watched from the sidelines and congratulated Akira on the win, loading up on the free food.

Ainz's group attended wearing dresses suited to the ocassion, white dresses and suits, though they did not dance with anyone, Ainz was asked by Albedo, Shalltear, and the Pleiades.

As soon as the main orchestra finished, the Investigation Team got up on stage with Rise, ready to start the night with House special music, followed by the rest of the three Houses.

Class VII was mixed around everywhere, Elliot and Rean playing a little bit of music with a violin and guitar in a corner, with Emma and Alisa singing. Jusis, Laura, Fie, Crow, and Machias abstained from participating in anything. Millium was with Teddie.

The School-Living Club was trying their best to keep up with Yuki who went to everyone in the House, excitedly conversing with them.

Kazuma and Aqua were too busy drinking the wine while Darkness remained her best to remain vigilant and vehemently refuse anyone's request for dancing, though the only exception was Kazuma and Ashe. Megumin was bored out of her mind.

S.E.E.S felt awkward and stood with Ainz's group, not having ever participated in something like a ball before, with the exception of Mitsuru.

Finally, the staff was mingling among themselves with the rest of Garreg Mach's professors, with the sole exceptions of Sara and Megumi.

The two were glaring at each other at opposite sides of the room. As they kept staring, more and more of the houses began to notice, anticipating who would strike first.

(Megumi) "..."

(Sara) "..."

Everyone held their breath, waiting for either of them to step forward to Byleth was busy speaking to Jeralt.

(Byleth) ...? "What's with the them?"

(Jeralt) "Eh? Oh, that. Heh. Choose wisely, kid."

(Byleth) "What? Choose what?"

Jeralt laughed and pat him on the back, getting the message subtly and backing off and leaving him open.

Sara was the first one to move towards him, gently going through the crowd.

Megumi jumped into action and walked quickly through the food tables and made her way through the Blue Lions in order to reach her.

Sara's path was blocked by a drunk Aqua and Kazuma while Megumi's stride came to a halt from Ingrid, Raphael, Chie, Ann, Ryuji, and Minako devouring everything in sight.

Everyone was now anxious, seeing which one of their teachers would get there first.

(Sara) "I HAVE TO MAKE IT FIRST, OUTTA THE WAY YOU TWO!"

(Megumi) "P-Please excuse me, please move it!"

As soon as the two of them began to make their final approach, their hearts stopped.

Sharon had just stepped in front of Byleth.

(Sharon) "Master Byleth, would you care for a dance?"

(Kazuma) "Eh...EH?!"

(Aqua) "WHAT?!"

(Edelgard) "YOU WHAT?!"

(Rean) "Oh you have got to be kidding me."

(Seteth) "Well, looks like I just wasted my time."

Doomguy raised an eyebrow.

(Dimitri) "WHAT IN THE SEVEN HELLS?!"

(Minako) "There's ALWAYS A THIRD, GOD DAMN IT!"

(Yuki) "SHARON, NOOOOOO!-"

(Yuri) "Well good thing we didn't buy a dress."

(Byleth) "Sure."

Byleth took Sharon's hand as she went to the middle and began dancing with all the others, leaving Sara and Megumi in shock.

(Megumi) "W-Wha...but...!"

(Sara) "Son of a BITCH! I'M GONNA KILL THAT MAID!"

All of a sudden, Claude's laugh could be heard throughout the entire hall.

The students turned to him as he was keeling over laughing.

(Edelgard) "Don't tell me..."

(Dimitri) "You interfered, didn't you?!"

(Claude) "All I asked Sharon was make this dance interesting, hoho man! Didn't think she would do that!"

Minako grabbed Claude by the collar, with Kazuma and Aqua behind her.

(Minako) "MY EAR DRUMS GOT RUPTURED TO HELP MEGU-NEE OUT YOU SICK BASTARD!"

Doomguy began awkwardly whistling underneath his helmet.

(Kazuma) "THAT OUTFIT, THAT SUPER HOT OUTFIT I GOT FOR SARA, IT COST ME 3000 GOLD YOU ASSHOLE!"

While everyone began chastising Claude, Megumi and Sara were left next to each other, still in disbelief.

Until Megumi started laughing.

Sara turned to her, but then couldn't help but laugh herself.

It was kind of funny, they were trying so hard only to realize Byleth wouldn't have known about their intents unless they literally told him to his face.

(Megumi) "...S-Sara? I'm s-"

(Sara) "Nope, don't you DARE apologize. I was the one who started this whole thing anyway."

Sighing, half mockingly at herself but finally out of relief, Sara raised a hand to Megumi.

(Sara) "You were practicing hard too right? We can't let it go to waste after all."

(Megumi) "Hah, Sara would you like to dance with me?"

(Sara) "Sure thing, Megu-nee."

Sara took her hand and both of them joined the dance, alongside several other students and teachers as Rise began her song, with Yu at the mic as well.

(Rise) "Alright, one, two, one two three four!-"

[Love Dramatic - Love is War]

Sothis floated over to Doomguy and Coctyus, relaxing with the rest of the staff as she watched everyone dance.

(Sothis) "How anti-climatic..."

(Cocytus) "IS THAT WHAT THEY'VE BEEN FIGHTING FOR ALL THIS WEEK? I'D LAUGH AT THE RESULT IF IT DIDN'T WORRY EVERYONE IN THE MONASTERY."

(Towa) "At least all's well that ends well, right Instructor Coctytus?"

(Angelica) "If that's what we can call it, if Sara doesn't murder Sharon."

Doomguy shrugged, mildly annoyed but equally amused.

(Sothis) "I suppose as long as everyone's happy."

(Cocytus) "AT LEAST SOME OF THEM ARE..."

Their attention turned back to Claude who now had a mob chasing after him.

But that was lost on Sara and Megumi who continued to dance while Byleth had been stolen by someone with a sick sense of humor who'd been spectating out of curiousity.

And Claude.

FIN

[lwt28brave]

LT2 masterpost

If it was up to me, we would get an autumn or winter EP. Since it’s not up to me at all, here, enjoy this post with everything we know so far of LT2, which is to say, not much at all. Everything here is hypothetical. I’ll be updating every time I see something relevant. A little disclaimer that while this is a masterpost (kinda), it could be read as discourse (duh, it’s also a theory), AND it’s also by me, and you shouldn’t expect me to be serious at this point.

Due to me restraining myself, there’s no reference to any of the times he’s mentioned his guitar skills and him improving but I hope you know I cried every single time.

I’m also linking my old pinned here. It was written before AFHF and around the free merch thing that didn’t lead to much, but I still think I made some good points.

Possible tracks:

Copy of a Copy of a Copy

Change

Faith in the future??

369??

Possible names:

369

Faith in the future

When is the album coming out?

Your guess is as good as mine

Friday 28th of January 2022. Almost two years after Walls. It’s a Friday. It’s a 28th. What else can I say?

Here you can find @want-to-be-loved timelines for every month.

Here you can find @berlinini’s timeline of what Louis has been up to this year (2021).

The rest is under the cut. And here you can find a PDF version where Tumblr can't tell me how many pictures I can add.

2020

He said back on May 2th 2020 he wasn’t writing anything new yet.

(x)(x)(x)

Interestingly enough, he’s said many times after that that the album’s not ready cause he has no new experiences to drawn from. I won’t call him out because he does it himself.

May 4th. He liked a tweet from DMA’s Johnny Took saying they had to go write together again. Louis has been credited as an influence for them and (kind of) participated in their previous record, so I’m assuming he meant for their music and not his, but you never know.

Nothing(literally nothing??? how did we survive) until 11th of July. We all know what happened that day. We all celebrated it. Nonetheless, that’s not what I’m talking about here.

(x) So, by the beginning of July 2020 he was working on concepts and ideas for the new album. That was fifteen months ago. I know perfection takes time but…

Brief summary of important things that happened from then until the next mention of new music:

Louis left Syco!!!! 10 days later he rescheduled the tour for the first time. He followed Matt Vines on Twitter, probably so we could publicly shame him into doing something. Also, the 10thanniversary. He followed more people I wish he hadn’t.

Then more nothing until September. Not even a single tweet. The first merch drop was on the 28th of August but he just RT’ed the tweet. He first mentioned Free my Meal on the 25th of September. Then on October 1st Walls hit #1 on a lot of countries and Louis was incredibly happy and excited about it ^^

And then, that same day, October 1st, 2020, he dropped this bomb:

(x)

He also said it was too soon to be sharing new lyrics with us (x)

And, obviously, this tweet which is actually what made me start this whole post. I would hope you know mate.

(x)

He also told us he was cooking "banger after banger" and that he was incorporating more social themes into his music (x)(x) (I believe any social issue is a political issue but that’s not the point rn).

COPY OF A COPY OF A COPY?!?!

These next paragraphs are brought to you by my mind not remembering things and me not having any links. I’m assuming COACOAC came from those writing sessions that supposedly happened in October. Or in LA but I have no idea if he actually was in LA at any point other than a Daily Mail article putting him there on December which would have been too late, but I do remember that someone said he was in the studio in LA last autumn???? A rumor. Maybe. IDK. Did I mention already all of this is very hypothetical?? Well, this is it. I can’t even remember if this was October or November or what. So, take this with a grain of salt.

I’m also… taking the liberty to assume, if you must, that Copy wasn’t meant to be a Walls reject because it sounds more mature and darker and it has a vastly different tone that Walls songs. I know he’s said that song probably isn’t getting into the album, but I want to have faith (in the future) that I’m getting a studio version. (But also, Louis, if you’re reading this, first of all GET OUT OF MY BLOG second of all, please don’t ever feel pressured again to add a song to the album because we have already heard it before. It’s your art and it should always be under your own terms).

So yeah, I believe that Copy is either one of those four songs (then imagine the other three??!!) or was written around the 1st of October date.

---End of the Intermission---

Then not much important (other than sharing more about Marcus Rashford fight against food poverty and the 2nd merch drop) until he announced the livestream on the 24th of November. (x)

It wasn’t until a few days before the livestream date we even thought again about new music (jk, I know we’re always thinking about new Louis’ music). So, December 9th/10th, 2020. Nine months ago. We got our first taste of new music!

He made sure we knew Copy of a Copy of a Copy isn't a cover! (x) (x)

(x)

Ok, so that’s it for 2020. (I feel like I’m missing something from September 17th because tweet was deleted but maybe he was still talking about cucumbers. We might never know. Unless I understand how Tumblr tags work). Expected, cause Walls was released in 2020. We needed to let it sit for a while.

2021

Another Summary: Louis third tweet of the year was telling the UK government off. So was the fifth. What a good beginning. On the 26th of January, he said he prefers pancakes over waffles. I hope he meant pancakes other than his own. More importantly, he tweeted the infamous “you lot read into things too much”. Don’t get me started, Tomlinson. Don’t. Then the 31st came around and Walls was one. He tweeted this. How wise. And Project Defenceless happened!!

15th of February!! Who cares about Valentine Day when the next day we got this? ♥

(x)

(x)

So…AN EP?? AN EP?? PLEASE RELEASE AN EP.

“I’m sure I will have something out this year but unlikely that will be the album”. Unlikely but not impossible. Also. A single would be good. This is the second time he mentions releasing something in 2021 and he sounds surer about it than the first time around.

He also said that he isn’t sure we will get a studio version of Copy. And that the best bridges from Walls to LT2 are Walls, OTB, KMM and Copy. Can’t wait!

Then we jump to March 6th when he announced he was going to create his own management company. “Sometimes action is needed first to encourage the motivation and belief”. As we can tell he was already manifesting some stuff which will lead us to the numerology stuff/Tesla… kidding. Or not. We might never know.

On the 22nd of March he answered some questions:

He told us music was still his main focus ♥ mwha. (x) I included this tweet to guilt-trip him into giving us music in case he’s reading this even after I told him to leave. ILY.

(x) I’d love to get a visual EP this autumn. Just saying. It sounds like a lovely concept.

(x)

…next (I will get into it, I promise. I’m just mad).

On the 25th he left for Mexico until April 10th. You could assume it was just for the documentary where we got ten seconds of footage or admit the obvious: LT2 its a Mexican baby!!

On the 26th (so, not so far apart from that first 369) we got the first Faith in the Future mention: (x)

Back then we were innocent people who had no idea what was coming upon us. We still have no idea because what the fuck does he mean with these. Please explain. I have one braincell and I don’t use it enough for this. I’m linking some theories.

On the 30th of March he confirmed he was already working on the documentary. So AFHF was already on the works. Will it take this long for us to get the Veeps numbers? We also got this tweet: "Got a decent chorus idea down" (x).

Same person that got the “something out this year” exclusive. If you know something share with the class. Also. Is this Change? I feel like this could be Change but I also assume he wrote Change after hanging out with his friends or being in Doncaster. But who knows.

(x) And the second mention to 369.

(x) 15th of April. The second "Faith in the future".

On the 19th of April he announced that he had something BIG for us later on the year which turned out to be the Away From Home Festival ♥♥ (x) I love him so much.

Then on the 28th he announced the 369 merch drop (which it’s probably the Walls drop? Except that the TOU and KMM ones were “drop 1 and drop 2” and this was drop 369 which, again, makes no sense) but we still don’t know what 369 means.

Into May’ 21 we go.

He rescheduled tour again. And dropped another bomb (x).

He announced he has signed with BMG as an independent artist by RTing this tweet on May 10th. The article also says that he’s already working on writing and recording LT2. The timing… we don’t know. What this deal involves… we don’t know either. Bear with me here because I have a lot to say about this.

I think the deal is only a distribution one, but that BMG are interested in Louis and what he (us) could bring to the table. They were either present at the festival or watching it, but officially they had no involvement at all with it (everything is credited either to Louis own company, 78 Productions, or Charlie Lightening’s company). That’s the case for both giveaways too; the vinyl one and the tickets for the festival.

I think it would be an unbelievably bad move not to test the waters with BMG now or soon-ish. At least a single, to see how it performs. Due to the circumstances, it’s obvious there’re certain limitations on place but I want to see how they push it, whether the radio play exist this time around and if the song is playlisted and promoted and all that… I would also love to know, since it says he signed with BMG UK, but it also states it’s a global deal, how things are going to go on the US and other countries.

Yes, yes. I know those are all questions and no answers. But I know the same as you, sadly. If any of you know more than you’re letting on… again, share with the class.

Where was I? Yes, on the 25th of May Louis had a great day writing (x). Since the first time he had mentioned he was officially writing to this date there’s almost eight months. And I believe he was writing before October’ 20.

He followed Robert Harvey that day and, on the 28th of May (why is it always the 28th???) he was spotted at the studio for the first time.

June was an interesting month for the fandom ♥. Lots of LHL content which I will love and cherish for the rest of times. On June 4th, June 9th, and June 10th he was spotted at the studio, but I believe he was there more days.

(x)

This was posted on June 6th and captioned Studio. Charlie also shared it with “Mega tunes being put down, can’t wait for this @louist91 #louistomlinson #LT2” as the caption. This gives me 2019 (Elton-Joint) vibes. I like it. Feels like we’re getting closer to something.

He added the Milano date on the 9th too which I’m mentioning because I’m going alone. Anyone wanna go with me please? I’m nice and I never eat anything before a concert so you can have my food. On other news. It didn’t come home.

During July he was at the studio at least three days too. Probably more. Feels like more with all the fan pictures we got. Or was that June? Anyway, July 1st and 9th we got some videos from Robert Harvey and wearesuperhi, which is who Louis has been working with the most, that we know of. I don’t know for sure they’re from that day. And on July 5th we got an article and lots of pictures of Louis looking really good outside the studio.

On the 12th of July the first fans started getting the free, 369 bucket hat and print. We still don’t know what the purpose was other than to thanks fans. Maybe that was it. I want answers and I still think it relates to a future project (see theories above), but it could also just be a bridge with the Walls breaking.

He didn’t tweet about anything interesting for a while, mostly because he lost his phone (he either throwed it in the air or smashed it who knows). Then on the 29th of July he announced the festival!

I’m glossing over it because there’s already been a lot of talk about it (rightfully) and while it was a wonderful thing, it doesn’t have much to do with LT2.

Let’s talk Change!

On August 3rd he tweeted this about the setlist.

(x)

And this (x) on the 28th! I can’t stand him.

We didn’t get it, obviously. Because who was going to get that. But we read too much into things. Alright.

On the 16thof August Dave Gibson shared this post tagged #LT2 with the eyes emojis 👀👀👀. I believe this has to do both with Change but also with whatever else came out of that Mexico trip.

(x) Last relevant tweet related to LT2 is this one.

So, on the 30th of August we got Change and we cried, and we know that Change is going in the new album. He said it. With those exact words. He also said he was “getting a feeling for it”. This has to meant he already has a general idea of the vibe of the new album and what’s going in it!!!!!! (Right? RIGHT?).

Anyway, let’s go back a few weeks because some other things happened on August. He was at the studio a few more times. Or it was suggested that he was there. On the 17th and the 18th. (Why was it so time-pressing to be at the studio instead of rehearsing for the festival? There was no studio at all on the documentary. Which makes sense, but again, then why?).

On the day of the festival we got another mention of Faith in The Future that made me feel part of a cult ngl. The words were flashing on the screen for less than a second. Okay.

And then he tweeted those words again after watching the livestream/documentary on the 4th of September (x). This is what makes me suspect it's either the name of the album or of the single.

On the same day, we got some interesting quotes about LT2 on the documentary.

“Soon I’ll have to think about me second album, which in my head I’ll get the tour out of the way and then I’ll address that. So, I hadn’t really given it much thought, to be honest”.

“When every day is the same is hard to feel creative and it’s hard to have any kind of proper inspiration”.

“As season started to come back, I started writing again and it was great and some of these songs turned out alright”.

And I think this is it. I might be overlooking some important details but that’s what we know and what we don’t know.

So. Conclusions. That’s what you missed on Glee. I do believe the album is, if not mostly done, partially there. And yes, this post is pointless and never-ending but it’s all in here if you need to tell Louis “Hey, you said this, mate”.

[embrassemoi]

Surrounded by the Moon and Stars ✷ 22

Pairings: Sirius B, Remus L, [F]Reader      CW: Language, angst, violence, blood A/N: thanks for all the comments/asks xx

Chap 22 Playlist

【 Masterlist: Previous Chapter | Next Chapter 】

Chapter 22: How I'm imaginin' You

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March 15th, 1976

It was just over ten past eleven when they called it a day.

“Night, Reg! I’ll see you later!” Y/N called. Regulus beamed, waving back before scurrying in the direction of the Slytherin common room. For the past week, she had brought him to the small hidden room by the library she found over the winter break. Red and green blankets clashed together on the old couch, pillows and candles, books and even his violin was there. It became their — or mostly his safe place.

She’s kept quiet about their secret meetings, mainly because Regulus seemed so skittish at the mention of other people and simply because he was a Slytherin. It put her into a tricky position considering not many Slytherins were like Regulus — they weren’t nice to those of her blood status. Besides, house rivalry was no joke and honestly, Y/N was confused. What did he mean that he couldn’t be seen with her?

The bitter cold began to subside as April neared. The full moon had risen, nearing its peak as she walked through the empty corridors, way past curfew. Distantly, she could hear footsteps becoming louder but made no move to hide once the student came into view with no prefect or Head Boy or Girl pass. That was until the hunched figure seemed to drift closer, coming into her direct line of view. Once they passed, the student knocked into shoulder roughly, making Y/N stagger back into the rough jagged wall.

Crinkles formed in her skin, frowning. They knocked into her purposely. The first thing she took notice of was their tie, a Slytherin. Of course. But when her eyes continued to drift up, she wasn’t surprised to see who it was: Snape.

“Watch where you’re going,” he says, a nasty leer on his face.

“You better watch yourself. Must be obsessed with me.”

“Is that a threat?” It wasn’t, not really, but Snape’s ego is a fragile, fickle thing.

Snape stands taller, his shoulders squaring to appear intimidating but it does nothing but make Y/N’s lip curl up before suppressing it.

“Seems like it to you.”

Seething, his skin becomes an angry blotchy pink. Greasy hair never mattered to her, some people even rocked it but on Snape — anything on him seemed to irk her. His hair seems to stick to his face and an intrusive thought wiggles in and suddenly, she wants to ring it out — see if enough grease would come out so she could cook with it.

But, she readjusted her vision, observing the tight grip he has on his and that he managed to draw without her noticing. On instinct, Y/N slips her out too, her other hand ready to use wandless magic.

She remembers a long time ago, her mother always told her to never start a fight, but to finish it. She guesses that there wasn’t another other option but to listen.

“You’re foul — wretched trollop —” “What did you just call me?!”

Snape jabs a nasty finger into her shoulder before she slaps it down, hard. “You heard me, trollop. Things were so much better when you weren’t around.” His voice drops low, dripping in venom.

“Could say the same thing. I wonder if Lily knows the way you treat women when she isn’t around.” Y/N dangles the threat above his head for leverage. “I bet she would be in for a real shock if I told her.”

There was an ugly pause.

Snape’s nose flares and she would have backed down but since she hadn’t gotten to defend herself last time around Lily, there was no way she wasn’t going to this time.

Snape steps closer in a challenging manner. Eyes burned strong in detest that she even feels it. His hand trembles, going white from how hard he’s gripping his wand. A wild look crosses; he looks feral — like a rabid dog foaming at the mouth.

A spell is already forming on his tongue before she raises her wand, throwing up a shielding spell she learned. A bright blue sheet, in the shape of an invisible dome explodes from the tip of her wand just as Snape shoots a spell. The curse is powerful, making her knees buckle. It was at that moment she realized that maybe she should’ve just walked away. Y/N was good at defensive charms — great — but not at offence charms and clearly, they were among Snape’s specialties.

As shoots another spell, Y/N focuses and puts all of her concentration into the shielding charm — so strong that it pushes Snape back roughly and an item from his pocket slips out, plummeting to the floor. In strong silver letters that made her skin raise with goosebumps, it read: The Dark Arts. The overpowering sensation of revulsion and outrage fuels her, beginning to shake.

“You’re a fucking freak,” she blurts.

It touched a nerve. “Watch it, you dirty little mudbl —”

Most people (and Y/N would include herself with them) like to think of themselves as rational beings; civil, thoughtful, just, benevolent, humane. However, when things ripped at the seams without a given warning, people — we — are no better than wild animals. Even if you don’t know it, there’s an animal inside all of us, waiting to pounce and protect.

Without a beat, filled with pure adrenaline, hate and shock, the protective spell fell and Y/N stormed up to him, drawing her entire arm back as her fist curled into a ball. In a flurry, she delivered a sharp blow as hard as she could in the nose.

There was a loud cracking sound that ricocheted through the corridor, simultaneously, thick blood gushed out of Snape’s nose like a waterfall. It sprayed all over their robes, the ground and covered her hand.

She winced in pain, flicking her wrist a few times, noting the skin splitting around her knuckles deeply. Her ears rang like a whirling fan, radio static, a hissing radiator as Snape stumbled back, a hand shooting up to stop the bleeding. His eyes were filled with tears.

“Call… me that again…” her breathing was ragging and voice shaky, “And we’ll see what else happens.” Before Snape could retaliate, Y/N spun around and dashed off to the Gryffindor common room.

Her footsteps echoed around as she felt her eyes sting with tears but made sure to squeeze her eyes shut. Out of all people, she wasn’t going to cry because of Snape.

She wasn’t a mu — a mudl — she wasn’t that. She was more than that word.

She needed to tell Lily.

Tears were replaced with anger. There wasn’t a single coherent thought that seemed to force its way out.

Before the Fat Lady had time to ask for the password, Y/N shouted it out, nearly ripping the portrait door off. The force resulted in a large — BANG! — then slammed shut and Y/N distantly heard the portrait yell.

She took a deep breath, bending over while a hand clutched her knee. Distracted, it caused her to miss the familiar boy sitting on the opposite side of the room who stood up.

Her fist began to ache once the shock slowly wore off. A quiet, dejected groan slipped out as she stared at her clothes. She must’ve looked insane.

The sound of the wooden floorboards creaked and Y/N peered up. There, dressed in all black clothing was Sirius, staring at her bewildered. His eyes scanned her entire body, noticing the rusty blood staining her white blouse and hand.

“What the fuck are you looking at?” She gritted out defensively. She wasn’t in the mood to be anywhere near Sirius, let alone hear another insult. Without the ability to think rationally, Y/N wondered if she’d had the restraint to not punch him if he said something idiotic.

Sirius’ brow raised, not expecting that response but didn’t bite back. “I — Merlin — what happened to you? Are you okay?”

Y/N rolled her eyes, attempting to shield herself and moved towards the stairs. “Like you care.”

“I don’t,” he counters quickly. But he sighed, gravitating towards her and lightly grasped her elbow. Y/N turns around harshly, ripping away from him.

“Who do you think you are? Don’t touch me!”

Sirius’ hands raised, signalling submission; similar to a prey to its predator. “I’m not going to hurt you and I’m certainly not going to let you bleed everywhere! Come, sit — I’ll patch you up.”

She eyed him warily, then closed her eyes. Y/N’s chest rose in irregular intervals, weighing out the pros and cons.

She’s heard that he’s gotten into fights and probably wasn’t lying about knowing how to patch up wounds.

He’s an asshole.

He didn’t like her.

She didn’t trust him

Why would he want to help her?

But the stinging sensation flooded in again. Y/N desperately sought to gauge for any underlying motive but Sirius was unreadable. If anything, his grey quartz eyes weren’t as hardened; more blue bleed in, looking brighter — her heart gave a little thump.

With a nod, Sirius gave a weak smile and led her to the couch closest to the fireplace for light. He told her to stay put, took his jacket, threw it on the couch opposite, then ran up to his dorm and grabbed a medical kit along with a bowl and cloth. Rushing back, Sirius set down his supplies and with a flick of his wand, the bowl was instantly filled with water, his hands sparkling clean.

Body angled to face her while sitting, Sirius gently took her hand and submerged the cloth in water, ringing it out, then diligently worked to clean off the blood.

Why didn’t he just use magic? He wouldn’t have to touch her then…

She burned more from his touch than the wounds themselves. When it came to James or Remus, there wasn’t anything that made her skin tingle or spike in sudden shyness when she touched them. But whenever Sirius was just near, she felt her heart speed up, palms start to sweat and brain go completely blank.

They sat in silence. Every now and then, Sirius would glance up. Only when he had a disinfectant, he flicked his hair out of his face, seeming to be in deep thought and spoke;

“What happened?”

Y/N remained quiet, a faraway look now settled in her eyes. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that she broke Snape’s nose. She’s seen what broken noses looked like — she grew up colouring nose and sinus anatomical charts in the O.R gallery while she waited for her mom to finish surgery. She was in deep, deep trouble if Snape were to rattle. Detention, house points, expulsion — a possible criminal assault charge.

Shit.

“Hey, Y/N.” He placed a hand on her knee, the cool metal of his rings seeped through her stockings. That caught her attention. That was the first time he’d ever said her first name. His voice was soft — the softest he’d ever spoken to her before. “It’s okay, you don’t need to tell me but I promise I won’t tell a soul. Not even Potter or Evans. It’ll be our little secret.”

She breathed, “I… um —” She stopped and Sirius gave an encouraging squeeze. “Snape, he… he called me a you-know-what and I…” The rest was self-explanatory.

Sirius’s body became stiff. There was a subtle change in his micro-expressions as his jaw tensed, sharpening his features even more. His eyes, which burned with a fiery rage contrasted greatly as he cradled her hand as if she were made out of glass. Sirius huffed, mumbling out ‘thank you for telling me’ and proceeding to clean the wounds. She winced as the cotton pad touched her knuckles, her free hand clutching onto his shirt.

“I know this part’s shit. I’m sorry, sorry…”

She bit down on her bottom lip to prevent pained noises from slipping out. Sirius applied a light magical cream that helps reduce scarring and wrapped gauze around her hand; holding it in place with a magical seal that made it into a light cast. He added a few magical seals along with waterproof charms.

“There.”

She marvelled at his work, he did an amazing job and whatever he did, her pain reduced drastically. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me…” His voice trailed off, a small smile appearing, “Anyone that hates Snviellus is… okay in my books. And what are co-parents for?” He tries to joke. At this, Y/N perks up, a sharp exhale of air forced its way from her lungs; emulating a half-light-hearted scoff.

But soon their smiles disappeared and something strange flashed in Sirius’ eyes. Suddenly, the air around them shifted, becoming tense and enclosed.

Sirius was oddly close to her — since when did they become that close?

Her heart pounded wildly in her ribcage and Y/N wondered if he could hear it over the crackling fire. He’s so close that she could feel his breath fanning her skin. She registered his thumb grazing over the bandage. The warm colour from the fire illuminated his face, different from his usual cool-toned skin. His face looked sharp, more refined than usual. He looked enchanting, so regal and otherworldly without trying to — like a painting.

Sirius opened his mouth to say something but he trails off, leaning closer. His hand trailed up, touching her arm lightly and moved to cup her cheek delicately. The entire time, his eyes trained on her for any glimmer of irritability or discomfort. His thumb began to stroke her skin and she lent into it. It’s large and warm and his touch feels so, so fucking good.

Sirius chooses his next words with caution. “Can I?” He murmurs but the question is clear — louder than any screaming match she had with him. His lips are millimetres away from hers.

In times like these, that Gryffindor bravery was nonexistent.

Y/N’s mind is vacant, internally freaking out but still manages to choke out, “Yes.”

Frozen in place, his eyes flicker from her eyes, then lips, and back to her eyes. He tilts her head back slightly using his hand before it travels to the back of her neck and leans in. But, there’s something in Sirius that hesitates.

The hesitation is too long because a voice could be heard from beyond the portrait and the sound of it swinging open causes them to break apart. She misses the contact already. Sirius stands hastily, wand swishing to clean up the mess around them in a daze. A beautiful blush settles on his face; a hand runs through his hair, rings catching the low light and widens the gap between them. He put his jacket back on.

Y/N’s brain hadn’t caught up yet. Too much happened too quickly. 

“Pads? Where have you’ve been? The moo —” the moment he sees her, his voice draws out, “— ooooony! Moony! He’s waiting for us. Whiskers! Ugh — h-hey!”

Peter fucking Pettigrew, in the flesh.

She makes sure to hide her hand and bloodied shirt from him. “Evening, Pete.”

Sirius coughs awkwardly and clears his throat, Peter doesn’t look suspicious. “Yeah, ugh — right. Sorry,” he takes a pause, eyes drifting momentarily to her and back to Peter, “Was busy with our Puffskein. Let’s go.”

“Night, L/N!” Peter acknowledges. He even sends finger guns.

Y/N is left stunned, watching Sirius leave. The door clicks and her body slackens.

In a haze, she padded into her dorm: quiet and dark, everyone fast asleep. She took a very cold shower, changed into her pyjamas, brushed her teeth and threw out her bloodied robes. Then, she pulls back the curtains around her bed. A floating candle burned brightly as Lily was there, writing in her journal.

“What took you so long?!” Lily chirped, sliding over to give her more room to slip in. Letting the drapes fall shut behind, she hummed in response.

“Puffskein. Oats.” She’ll talk to Lily about Snape another day — that is if Dumbledore doesn’t expel her.

Y/N rolled over to her side, facing away from Lily. The cool pillow did nothing to help chill her heated skin. It’s like she can feel the ghost of Sirius’ fingers graze her cheek still.

Lily babbled — something about Dorcas and Mary inviting them to skate one last time before the ice melted. But it all went in one ear and out the other.

God, she thought, mad at the realization. There was no point in denying it anymore; she’d been doing so for months and clearly, it was fruitless. I like Sirius Black. I really, really like Sirius Black.

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She didn’t get a wink of sleep. Her mind reeled the entire night, replacing the scenarios again and again, analyzing everything he said, his actions — that look on his face. All she thought about was Sirius: his eyes, his smile, his hair, his skin, his hands, his fucking lips — Argh! Sirius was the personification of Firewhiskey and all she wanted to do was drink more of him — and they hadn’t even kissed!

Sirius is arrogant, rude, cold, cat-called her — insulted her! A part of her felt disgusted — disgust how her heart raced wherever the mere thought of him appeared in her mind. Disgusted how her heart leaped whenever he was near. Out of all people, why him?!

She fucking hated Peter Pettigrew right now — or loved him, she wasn’t sure. Maybe he saved her from making a terrible mistake.

Okay, okay! First things first, she had to stop thinking about him! She forced herself to think about something else: Charms — Professor Flitwick — Peter’s grandma in her ‘purple knickers’ — Slughorn — Slughorn in his underwear — yes, that certainly stopped any more lewd thoughts. Her mind and body were at war.

“Rise n’shine, darlings!” Marlene sang in a high-pitched Victorian accent as she tripped the blinds back. Y/N peeked out from the small gap in her curtains, watching Marlene tiredly. Everyone groaned, Dorcas even threw a pillow at her. Y/N, unaffected, blinked and perched herself against the headboard, yawning. “Wake up! Wake up! WAKE UP!”

“Marls…” Dorcas groaned. She rubbed her eyes and squinted at the clock that hung above their large window, quickly collapsing into bed and dove under the covers. “It’s six in the morning…”

Marlene hopped over and ripped off Lily’s covers only to realize she was with her. She skipped her way over, ripping the drapes back and jumped into her bed. Toulouse hissed, jumping off before Marlene snuggled up to Lily, proding her cheek.

She gave Y/N a once over, “Morning sugar.”

She continued to poke Lily who forced her eyes open, trying to swat at her. Lily flipped over, moving over to Y/N. Marlene rolled her eyes, but a hurt pang flashed her face before she covered it up. Instead, she bellowed, taking hold of Lily’s shoulders and shook.

“EVANS! EVANS — YOU TOO L/N, WAKE UP NOW!”

“McKinnon! What do you want?!”

She gave a triumphant smirk. “Quidditch! It’s Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff today!”

Marlene was already decked out in her tracksuit, ready to go on a jog around the castle with the rest of the Gryffindor team. Once everyone woke up, they all gave her one of many pep talks and ushered her off.

The morning was slow for everyone but Y/N. Her thoughts drifted away from Sirius, only to think about the next worst thing possible; Snape.

Damn… she had to tell Lily, but how? ‘Hey, Petals! One of your friends — if not your best friend, called me, a Muggleborn — which if you forgot, you are too —the cruellest word there is! And he was caught with a book about The Dark Arts!’

She would tell her, but not today, or at least until after the Quidditch game.

As Y/N got ready for the day, everyone noticed the bandage around her hand (which she lied and made an excuse using Oats), then headed down for breakfast. The Gryffindor team was huddled around Marlene and James. Mary and Alice sat close, giving her a small wave.

Downing coffee after coffee, the caffeine strangely made her sleepier as she listened to James and Marlene’s agonizing rambles. Lazily flicking through sections of the Daily Prophet, she waited for a letter from her mother. None — again. Until a hand came out of nowhere, snatching the paper from her grasp, leaving Y/N to huff out.

She didn’t even need to look up to know who it was. “Mornin’ Professor,” she mumbled, reaching over to grab it from him.

“You look like you’ve been shagging the whomping willow,” Remus jokes, shaking his head with a smile.

At this, Mary leans in and whispers into her ear, “Didn’t we suggest Remus —” “Or Black? Not a tree!” Marlene adds.

She ignored them but felt her stomach drop at the mention of Sirius. Remus wore his gold oversized glasses today. His curls were tousled, eyes slightly bloodshot and he seemed to be sluggish that morning. She scooted over making room as he took a seat next to her. She grinned back, “You look like shit too, Lupin.”

Remus’ smile turned brighter.

James floated two plates to them, filled with their favourite foods while Y/N poured Remus a mug of coffee, dumping an ungodly amount of sugar in, handing it to him. From all the times they brought coffee or tea for each other, whether that be for study groups, lounging in the common room or walking past the kitchens while heading to class, they knew how they liked their beverages by heart.

He flashed a tired smile, humming as he took a sip. Their dating rumours hadn’t calmed down yet, so when a couple of students passed by, looking between them enviously, they both side-eyed each other humorously.

“We’re such catches,” she whispered to him.

“Abso-bloody-lutely — hey!” He randomly cuts in, pointing to her bandaged hand, “We’re matching.”

He raised his hand, showing a couple of his fingers taped together before a long bandage was wrapped around his palm and travelled down his wrist, disappearing beyond his red sweater.

Y/N mused at it before grabbing a quill from Marlene who’d been sketching out the Quidditch pitch and dipped it into an inkpot, handing it to Remus.

His head tilted, “Hmm?”

“Sign mine and I’ll sign yours?”

His long calloused fingers took the quill from her, doodling on the white bandage gently. He drew Dumbledore with pom-poms, cheering for the upcoming Quidditch game, along with a smiley face, his initials and a couple magical creatures. Then passed the quill back, placing his bandage hand on the table and flicked open the Daily Prophet. A few splotches of ink splattered around as she drew The Beatles on broomsticks, all chasing a Golden Snitch. She also drew Remus as David Bowie’s cover as Aladdin Sane, using his scars to make the lightning bolt and quickly signed her name.

Lily and Peter had come in, taking a seat and Y/N had become hyper-aware of Sirius sitting down directly across from her. Both of them stiffened and she continued to avoid his gaze as she drew on Remus.

“We’re going to be fine, it’s only Hufflepuff.”

“Nope, Hufflepuffs know how to get shit done,” Peter says, his mouth stuffed with food. “Never underestimate them — what the fuck?!”

Everyone in the Great Hall collectively held a breath, looking up at the Slytherin table. Lily’s eyes almost bugged out in rage, her ears becoming red as she got up and walked over.

It was Snape, but it wasn’t his nose that caught people’s attention. No — his nose was fine — he must’ve gone to the hospital wing that night.

“What happened to him! Ahah!” Peter cried out, “He looks like my house elf!”

There, Snape stood completely bald with no eyebrows and wearing Gryffindor robes.

Y/N slapped a hand to her mouth, desperately trying to calm her shrieking laughter but couldn’t. She and Remus lent on each other, trying to not tip over the hall bench. Everyone whopped loudly, James even whistled.

But as everyone was occupied with the sight, the person who she expected to be howling in laughter that most definitely should’ve been was Sirius. He simply drank from his goblet, his eyes peered over to her with a knowing look and bowed his head ever so slightly and looked away.

Oh.

Ohhh.

She was left with more unanswered questions than ever.

[junicai]

NCT World 2.0

-> Episode One & Two; Aria focus

a/n: im not going to write out some of the bits in the show where aria isn’t hugely present, so if you havent watched nct world yet, A: i highly recommend u do its the best thing ever and B: you might be a little confused from all the time skips :)

a/n2: also no one yell at me for my lack of technical knowledge in ice skating im a ballroom dancer hjkhdj if someone would like to Correct Me id be very thankful

Multiverse; A theory of multiple universes. 

A universe in which multiple times and spaces exist, and people who go beyond time; the first idol group ever to film a multiverse reality show.

This is NCT World 2.0. 

Share all time and space with NCT!

Attention! We present to you, the 24 NCT members!

Aria appeared partially from behind one of the pillars, sticking her head out and letting her hair swing from the ponytail it was pulled up into. She had her face schooled into a searching expression - eyes wide - before she jumped out from behind the pillar and let her face break into a smile. 

Aria waved with both hands, twirling around once to show off the champagne colored shirt dress she wore. With the cropped pink V-neck sweater donned on top of the light material, she looked the epitome of comfort; the only contrast being the black boots Aria wore on her feet to match her newly darkened hair.

While the cube lights flickered through various shades of green, spelling out ‘NCT’ in their flashing lights, it was revealed that she was on the lowest level of the three stories - her individual cube located in between Hendery’s and Jaemin’s on the left side. 

The worldwide idol group, NCT.

All 24 members, will be travelling through time and space.

Their multiverse journey begins now.. Not only time, space, and chaos, but past, and future! Aren’t you dying to find out about the NCT members’ journey through them all?

NCT World 2.0. The start of time and space travelling, begins now!

Keep your eyes wide open. 

Aria leant forwards towards the camera that was positioned in the upper hand of her cube, squinting slightly before she realized that the red blinking light belonged to the recording device suspended on the wall.

She proceeded to crouch down, bringing her hands together in front of her and extending her fingers into a small gun, looking all-too-cuddly to be intimidating. Her thin dress fluttered down around her, barely brushing the floor, but her boots made a small squeak to protest the movement. 

With a small pew she flicked her fingers up to mimic a gun shooting before bursting out into embarrassed laughter at her own actions, standing up while brushing the dust off her knees.

Welcome members! I’m Super Human, and I rule the multiverse. This is a condensed place, of every time and place since April 15th, 2016, to the present in 2020. In other words, you’re stuck in a hurricane of time and space. 

To escape this space, you must clear 24 missions. If you want to escape, you have to try your best in these missions. 

“Ah,” Aria sighed, looking at the black box in front of her from her chair. The green question mark on the lid was bright and loud, almost mocking her. “I’m scared.” 

She checked over on Jisung, leaning out of her cube, who had a similar face to hers only he was staring ahead and not at the ominous black box in front of her.

“Jisungie,” Aria leant over and out of her box to call down to the younger boy, twisting her legs around to sit sideways on the chair so she could face him properly. “You know, you’ll probably face the first mission because you’re in the first cube~” She teased. 

Jisung sent her a withering look, a mix between a low grumble and a petulant whine coming out of his throat. “Noona! No!” 

Aria only raised her eyebrows at him, before turning back to the front. 

I will now call out the first member who will do a mission.

NCT’s youngest member, Jisung!

Aria threw her head back in a laugh with a clap of her hands before she looked over to Jisung’s hunched form. He had buried his face in his hands momentarily, only peeking back out at the rallying cries of his hyungs. 

“Whoo! Go Jisung!” Aria joined in, making sure to cup her hands around her mouth to ensure her voice was heard over the other boys yelling. 

Jisung was called out to slide open the lid of his mystery box, and he did so with slightly reddened cheeks and a lip worried between teeth. He removed the lid gently before placing it down on the ground to the side, revealing two unfamiliar objects. 

Pulling them out with careful hands, Aria felt her heart sink into her stomach. 

There went her plans of escaping for an early night’s sleep. 

Upon watching the demonstration video, she could hear the teasing remarks coming from their fellow dream members, even Jisung himself muttering that this was bad, bad indeed. 

Jisung set the drone on the floor after moving the box and its corresponding lid a safe distance away, before beginning his foolproof method of getting the drone to switch on - sans instructions:

Press every single button, and hope it did something useful. 

Aria leant back towards Hendery in her chair. “You know, Jisungie is really bad at things like this.” She explained, Hendery leaning forward to better hear her.

“Oh yeah?” 

Aria nodded. “He types like-” she made a motion of pressing keys with only her index fingers. 

Aria let out a breath, before settling back into her chair more comfortably. “Ah, we’re going to be here a while.”

Aria slid out of her chair to make her way over to Yangyang where the boy was standing back, head tilted, staring down his table covered with the red cloth. Bending down, she picked up one of the candles that had come loose from the candelabra, slotting it in while Yuta and Sicheng moved to pick up the other utensils that had slid from the table. 

Setting the table up again, now with Jisung and Johnny’s help as well, Aria stood back to let Yangyang pull the red cloth out from underneath everything stacked on top. 

Yuta rest his hand on the back of his neck, before stepping away as well. Yangyang took a deep breath, schooling his nerves before raising his arms and pulling the tablecloth with all his might.

The candles, two chalices and bowl came crashing to the ground again. A resounding sound of pity came from all the members, and Yangyang stomped his foot slightly, lips pressed together. 

“It’s okay! Here, maybe try putting everything in the one bowl, that might help.” Aria came in from the sidelines, hands reaching out to collect the plastic food from Johnny’s clutches and tossed it back into the bowl before the other objects were stacked on top. 

Yuta made the motions of having a big arc before pulling out the red cloth, and Yangyang followed his directive - yanking both the cloth and all of the place decorations off in one fell swoop. One of the chalices hit his leg, and he yelped slightly, lifting his leg into the air to prevent further damage to his shin. 

“Maybe try bending down?” Aria offered, crouching in a demonstration. 

Yangyang bent in front of the table, before shaking his head and standing back up - looking more and more defeated with each passing failed attempt. “No, no this isn’t it.”

Taking a steadying breath he pulled out the cloth again, this time only the candelabra falling off the table. 

“Oh! That was close!” Aria cheered, fist bumping the air minutely. Her tiny cheer was heard by Yuta who was standing close by, and he pulled her into his side in a brief side-hug, his hand bringing her head in to touch his shoulder while he smiled and cheered Yangyang on as well. 

Lucas appeared from behind the black pillars coming to stand behind the pair, having come from the third floor to offer his guidance. 

“Oh hey, Lucas.” Aria looked at him briefly, before doing a double take. “Lucas?” 

Hendery burst out into laughter, “Lucas! Hey, what are you doing here?”

Slowly, Yangyang’s cube became crowded, with people coming down from each floor to help the boy out with what they could offer. 

“Your gesture is too big! Use a small one. Like this.” Lucas demonstrated his idea by extending and then pulling his arms in sharply to his sides, all in one swift horizontal movement. 

Hendery snorted quietly, “Give it a go then!” he teased. 

When Lucas re-laid the red cloth over the table, Johnny was quick to set down three of the utensils on top of it, stepping back and gesturing for Lucas to make his attempt. 

The boys surrounding the table laughed as Lucas set himself up, bouncing on the balls of his feet lightly before tugging the cloth out from underneath the silverware.

The knife clattered to the ground, and the boys erupted into laughter at Lucas’ embarrassed face. 

Aria turned to rest her head on Jisung’s back, turning her head so her cheek was smooshed against the soft brown material. Jisung startled slightly, but adjusted his stance to accommodate for the extra weight without a word. Aria let her hands come around his waist to rest on his stomach, and Jisung placed a hand on top of hers.

He patted her arm lightly, asking a question without words, and Aria nodded - knowing that he’d feel it through the thin material. 

The next mission is for Winwin. Winwin’s mission is to do five yoga poses. Do five poses for five seconds each to complete the mission.

As the five images of the poses Sicheng was meant to replicate flashed onto the screen Aria scanned them quickly, recognizing them all from her nightly routine before she went to sleep. 

“Aria! Don’t you do this as well?” Donghyuck called down to her, some of the poses looking familiar to him as well.

Captions appeared across the screen:

Aria does meditation and yoga each night before she goes to sleep...

Aria nodded, looking down her floor row to Sicheng. “Yeah!” She called back, hearing the ooohs coming from various members across the floors.

Sicheng cleared the first four poses easily, moving fluidly through the motions without barely a wobble, until the final pose through a spanner in the mechanics of his otherwise flawless performance up until then.

Crouched down, Sicheng was to lean forward onto his arms and let his knees come to rest on the backs of his biceps - holding himself horizontal to the ground with only his arm strength to keep him from face planting. 

Upon his first attempt he tipped forward too far, coming to rest his forehead on the cool ground before he let his legs drop and he sat back onto his knees. 

“This is impossible!” He half chucked to himself, looking around to the other members with wide eyes.

Aria stood from her chair, winding behind Yuta and Yangyang’s cubes before appearing in Sicheng’s, already kneeling down so that she could help him. 

“Look, look Winwin - like this.” Aria pressed her two palms a shoulder width apart on the floor, flexing her fingers momentarily before pushing herself up onto her hands. 

Her legs followed suit cleanly, shifting into the pretzel-like position. Johnny’s hand extended to catch the back of her dress to make sure it didn’t flip up too far.

“Whoo hoo!” Jaehyun cheered on Aria, the other boys soon rallying on.

Coming back down, she flicked the hair out of her face before turning to face Sicheng. 

“Place your hands bent in, like this,” Aria moved his hands to be angled inwards slightly, “And squeeze your triceps as hard as possible, okay?” 

“Like this?” Sicheng made a small attempt at it, holding the pose for a few seconds longer than he had previously before tilting out of it.

“That’s it!” Aria encouraged.

“Let me practice it once.” Sicheng requested from the staff, and he pressed himself into the yoga pose for a moment before sitting back on his haunches with a new determined expression.

Aria graciously accepted the half-full cup of cherry juice from Jeno’s mission, descending the stairs after having collected her cup from the top floor. Moving back to her own cube, she sat down onto the chair and slid the straw between her lips after sniffing the pink liquid curiously.

Taking a small sip, she pulled the cup away to look at the juice again, before humming in delight. 

“Jeno!” she called up to the still-cycling boy. “It’s good! Thank you!"

She could hear an acknowledging grunt from the aforementioned boy, and she winced, knowing that his legs were definitely burning at this point. Cycling power to blend cherry juice was a unique brand of torture - she had to hand it to the producers honestly.

Although, they could have been nicer in their selection of the chairs; the hard plastic was unforgiving as Aria shifted in her seat, her back aching from the metal bars that she leaned against. The flimsy dress did nothing to protect her legs from the hard lip of the seat, and she knew that when she stood back up she’d have two red lines imprinted on the backs of her thighs.

Aria shifted again, uncrossing her legs before crossing them the other way. The straw of the juice found it’s way back into her mouth and she pre-occupied herself by turning to start a conversation with Jaemin.

“Challenge! Accept the challenge!” Aria’s screech halted Hendery’s hands in their movements, fingertips only a centimeter away from the first domino.

He jerked backwards, pulling his hands into his chest before blurting out, “Hendery! Challenge accepted!” with a startled look on his face.

Aria settled back into her chair, letting her outstretched arms fall back to her sides as she exhaled in relief. She wasn’t sure she could sit through another eight minutes of Hendery and Yuta setting up more dominos with a straight face.

Next up is Jaemin and Aria. Open the Mystery Box!

Aria and Jaemin exchanged a curious look, bending down in tandem to the box that sat at their feet. Aria slid off her chair into a crouch in front of the black plastic box, sliding off the lid with nimble fingers and placing it upturned on the ground beside it.

Beside her, Jaemin had already lifted out what was inside his own box, and Aria let out a startled burst of laughter upon seeing what her own box contained.

A small figurine of Aria - no older than twelve - clad in her old competition dress, one leg held up behind her with her fingers clasped around the boot below the blade, and her other hand extended delicately in front of her.

Upon recognizing the small face on the figurine, Jaemin leant over to Aria.

“Is this you?” He asked, pointing to the figurine.

“Yeah,” Aria laughed, cheeks flushed slightly, and she dropped the figurine to bury her head in her hands. “Oh, why.” 

This mission is split into two parts.

 For Jaemin, part one: Hop on a hoverboard and follow the last spin which was a finale of Miyazu Aria’s short program in 2012. 

For Aria, part two: Slide on a pair of ‘super skates’ and follow your member through a sequence of steps from your own routine - but you only have five minutes to complete this mission.

Aria’s mouth dropped open, eyebrows knitting together in mock annoyance.

“Hey!” she called out indignantly. 

Yangyang was laughing at her misfortune. “It’s because you’re good at this already - no one else here has that.”

“I haven’t skated in years!”  

Aria was interrupted by Superhuman’s voice. 

We will show you the video. Play!

Aria’s younger self flickered to view on the large screen, and Aria scrunched her eyes closed to help block out the hollers from the others.

Young-Aria unfolded herself from her starting position and began to move across the ice, before the video cut to the end turning sequence for Jaemin’s mission.

Jaemin beside her fell quiet, leaning forward in his seat to watch the turns more precisely. As a young-Aria spun her way through the final bars of the music, Aria could her the exclamations around her.

“Wow, is that even possible?” 

“Wait that’s cool!”

“Oh my god.” 

The video cut back - showing a few seconds of young-Aria skating in a wide circle before beginning the step sequence that Aria would have to remember. 

Fortunately for her, she was pretty sure that she did remember this routine for the most part - having been one of the ones she enjoyed a great deal while learning. The steps were labelled as they appeared on the screen for the other members, appearing as follows: 

A bracket. Aria remembered royally bruising her hip the first time she had attempted one of those unsupervised. She had been too confident, and turned her body without having given herself enough time to do so, her balance catching at the same time her toe-pick did, and she came crashing down with a dull thud onto the ice. 

An outside three turn. Simple enough, but Aria did wonder how she was going to do edges on wheels - knowing that they weren’t sharpened like blades were. 

And, to finish, a two foot spin. 

Only three steps, which Aria was thankful for given her time constraints.  

The video cut out, and Jaemin and Aria were handed their equipment by the staff who emerged from behind the scenes. 

As it would turn out, the super skates were nothing more than a pair of inline rollerblades, painted a neon green to match the lights running parallel to the ceiling. 

Aria sat herself down on her chair, bending forward to undo the long laces that wrapped around the black boots she wore. It was times like this that she questioned the stylists - they had given her a pair of flesh-coloured tights  to wear underneath the safety-shorts earlier on, but the rough plastic of the super skates was most definitely going to rub a hole through the thin material.

She bit her lip, before deciding that nothing could be done about it now. 

Sliding her feet out of the boots, she quickly laced up the horrifically bright roller skates - rolling her ankles side to side to test out the tension and to make sure that they weren’t too loose or tight. 

Already, getting out of her chair posed a challenge. When weight was put onto the skates the wheels rolled forwards, which left Aria to wobble herself into an upright position, hands clasped onto the back of the chair to keep herself steady. 

When the flimsy plastic chair began to tilt, she let go quickly - flailing slightly before she regained her balance precariously, arms extended in a stop motion. 

“Oh god, this is different.” She muttered to herself, shooting a small glare to Jaemin who snickered at her. 

Aria took a breath before moving to go forward, stopping suddenly when she realized that she’d changed her shoes in the most inopportune place. 

The lip from the edge of the cube was barely a half foot high, but she didn’t fancy a concussion at that particular moment. 

Holding out her right hand, Aria looked over to Jaemin expectantly. He bit his lip as if trying to hold back a giggle but took her hand wordlessly nonetheless, helping her over the step with the other hand resting on her hip to make sure she didn’t slip. 

Aria pat him on the back in thanks and waited for him to move away slightly before she began testing out the skates. 

She was pleasantly surprised to find a fair amount of similarities - and soon she was skating smoothly in circles to get a feel for the floor. Moving at a fairly moderate pace, Aria was comfortable enough to test out something more complex, swiveling her bodyweight side to side to skate in an S shape. 

“I think it’s okay!” She called out. “It’s pretty similar - I don’t think I’ll fall.”

She could hear Renjun’s grumbles at not getting a giggle out of her falling (he didn’t want her to fall badly, just a teeny one), but she chose to not acknowledge it on camera. 

Happy with how the skates and flooring felt, Aria’s next thought was how to incorporate the steps into a smaller space - the studio room was significantly smaller than a regular rink, and she didn’t want to accidentally smack into a wall. 

Speaking of smacking into walls-

“Oh, OH how do you stop!” Aria’s screech was met with a burst of laughter from the others, who had been watching her skate in circles for the last minute or so. 

Putting pressure on the left toe-stop, Aria spun in a circle once, twice, before she slowed to a stop. 

Her face was bright, breathing heavily, eyes sparking at the adrenaline that came with nearly falling on your butt. “So, that’s different.”

“Yeah? How’d you stop normally?” Mark’s voice echoed down, the boy in question sitting forward on his seat so that he could hear her better.

“I mean, normally you’d,” Aria cut herself off by pushing herself into a smooth glide, picking up a little speed before trying to use the rollerblades to drag herself into a stop. 

Aria pushes downwards and back with her legs, trying to hone in on the long-embedded muscle memory that would help her. On ice, the blade would catch and grip the ice to give her a ledge to push herself off of and change her direction.

Using her leg strength, she bent down and pushed.

“Woah!-” Aria’s weight tipped forward, arms windmilling to stop herself face planting into the ground.

The boys let out exclamations in kind, Doyoung sitting up straighter in his chair and Kun scrunching one eye closed in fear that she’d fall. The others reacted similarly, Yuta’s hand dropping quickly to the edge of his chair as if to push himself out of it, and Jungwoo let out a loud aah in sympathy with a wince.

On ice the blades would have gripped, but on the inline wheels her leg flew out from behind herself. She barely managed to right herself, wobbling slightly before she regained her balance.

"You alright, Riri?" Donghyuck's voice echoed down from his cube, looking slightly stiff in his attempt to appear nonchalant despite his tensed shoulders.

Aria made sure her thumbs up was big enough for him to see, and he responded with a rallying cheer and a clap.

Mark spluttered slightly, “You didn’t - I didn’t mean show me you could have just told me-”

Aria giggled at him, waving him off with a laugh and carried on skating in small circles. Checking the time on the clock at the back of the studio, she realized that she’d been skating for over three minutes, and now only had two minutes to complete her challenge. 

“Whoops whoops, ok. Ok, you got this.” She mumbled to herself, gathering her nerves for the first attempt at a bracket. 

She pushed herself into a skate, gliding into a smooth circle before letting her weight transfer onto her right foot, twisted inwards on a forward inside edge. After a moment she hopped slightly, using the split second of airtime to flick her foot around so that her heel leaded her skating backwards, still balanced on the one foot.

Letting out a small cheer of celebration, she did it a couple more times before she was sure she had gotten a hand of it.

Quickly practicing the other two moves she had to replicate, Aria slid herself to a shaky stop, poised in the corner of the floor.

“Aria, challenge accepted!” 

Aria skated through her tiny program with ease, wobbling slightly when it came to the two foot spin when her boots clicked together slightly but regaining her balance after coming out of it slightly prematurely. 

She did a flourish with her arm to distract from that fact, hoping that the staff would be kind enough to ignore the minor blip. 

The short step sequence was fluid, Aria skating through it with ease and she pulled herself to a stop using the rubber toe-stops in the centre of the room, folding herself into a dramatic pose in a mimicry of the swan-pose her younger self had done in their program. 

The members clapped, Lucas’ hoot being heard over them all and Aria bowed (and made a wobbly attempt at a curtsy) before making her way back over to her chair.

Jaemin was already waiting with an extended arm, and Aria grasped his hand gratefully as he helped her back up over the ledge and then sit in her chair.

She looked up expectantly at the screen.

Mission sucessful!

Aria cringed upon hearing Mark’s mission. 

“Oh god poor Mark.” she exchanged a look with Jaemin, who just nodded sadly, lips pressed together.

“Should I go up and help him?” she whispered conspiratorially to him, side-eyeing the male staff member who was in the corner of her vision.

“I think,” Jaemin paused, hearing Donghyuck’s scolding already begin to start. “I think, unless you want to be a witness to his murder - it’s best to stay down here.”

Aria hummed her agreement, settling back into her chair. 

Rest in peace, Markie. 

But, seven minutes in to his challenge, Aria had had enough, making her way up to join the other boys who had already gathered to get a better look at Mark’s egg-making station currently in shambles.

“Look! Stop touching it you’ll break it! Leave the poor egg alone!” she batted away Mark’s wandering hand with the chopsticks. 

Mark jerked his hand away. “Sorry, sorry! Are they not done though?” 

Aria looked at him up through her eyebrows. “I- no. You just put them in.”

He sighed, looking at the eggs with a glum sort of resignation. His shoulders slumped, and Aria felt a pit of regret forming in the bottom of her stomach.

It’s not his fault he can’t cook eggs.

Aria resorted to wrapping her arms around his apron-clad middle, aiming to offer some comfort by pressing her cheek to his back. They stayed that way for a moment, before she jerked and pulled back rapidly like she’d been burned.

“Oh, shoot. Sorry sorry-” 

“What?” 

“I got make-up on your back sorry-” Aria scrubbed with her fingers to try and remove the half skin-toned, half pink stain that had rubbed onto the white material from her foundation and blush. 

“Doyoung hyung, Kun hyung, Jaemin hyung, Aria noona, Mark hyung, Sungchan!”

Aria cheered when Sungchan finished out the names quickly, standing up from her chair to clap emphatically. She waved her hands around in small fists in celebration, looking over to Hendery with a wide-eyed expression of relief at the knowledge that they’re allowed go home after this.

Filming had run late into the night, and after six and a half hours of sitting in the same chair, Aria was thrilled to see the end of the plastic torture on her tailbone.

“Good job Sungchan!” she called up to the boy. He had really looked like he was about to cry from the stress of it all, and before they stumbled back into the car she was going to be sure to give him a hug for getting through it all. 

Because all of you succeeded on your mission, you can escape the time vortex. If you leave this time and space, another time and space will be waiting for you. 

I hope you will be able to complete the journey ahead of you.

Let’s meet again. Farewell. Goodbye.

“Goodbye Mr. Superhuman!” Aria yelled, hands cupped around her mouth, before coughing slightly. 

“Ah, I don’t think I’ll have a voice after all this,” she muttered, before resuming her yelling without a care.

Ice-Skating Queen Aria leaves with a royal flourish...

Aria pressed her fingertips to her lips before holding her palm face-up and paused lightly, before blowing the kiss off her fingertips with a wink. With her other hand extended downwards and out to her side with her hand flexed horizontally, she looked a perfect-mimicry of how one would draw an anime character.

Fluttering her fingertips at the camera in a salute, she turned and walked away to the back wall before disappearing in a wave of colour.

“Sungchan! Hold on, wait one second.” 

The boy in question turned around, stepping out of the group that were beginning to file out of the door. 

“Noona?” 

Aria rounded the corner, boots in hand. She waved to make sure that Sungchan had seen her, before jogging slightly to catch up. 

“Hey!” She smiled brightly, before catching him around the waist and pulling him into a hug. Her boots swung a little from where she had her fingers knotted into the laces to hold onto them both. 

Sungchan stumbled slightly - unprepared - and accepted the hug tenderly, his hands coming over Aria’s shoulders to pat awkwardly at her back. “...noona?” 

She pulled back, smiling at him again before moving out of his personal space. “Sorry, I just. Wanted to give you a hug, that’s all.” 

Sungchan’s eyes widened slightly, before his surprise crested over into gratefulness. He opened his arms again tentatively, prepared for a rejection that never came.

Aria stepped into the circle of his arms without another moment’s persuasion, this time letting her arms wrap around his shoulders - that’s a lot of shoulder - because Sungchan had bent down to meet her. 

“Woah!” 

Aria was lifted off her feet in a split second, her arms tightening around Sungchan’s shoulders. His arms came to lift her up, now carrying her full weight in his arms. 

“Not that I don’t appreciate the hug - I do - but, why?” Aria questioned after a moment. 

Sungchan responded by pulling her boots out of her hands. “Your heels are bleeding - and it’s rained outside while we were filming.” 

She exhaled a breath of surprise. “Oh - Oh that’s okay, I don’t mind really, I can walk - it’s not that far to the vans anyway.” 

“The ground is wet, and it’s dark so you can’t see.”

Aria closed her mouth on the protest that was already forming. “O-okay, thank you.” Her voice was soft, and she knocked her head against Sungchan’s shoulder in thanks. 

“No problem.” His limbs were awkward in their attempt to maneuver Aria into a more comfortable position - and yes, it was not the most comfortable of silences, but Aria saw that Yuta had waited by the doorway in silence, having told the Japanese girl earlier that he’d help her to the car. 

Over Sungchan’s shoulder, she nodded that it was okay, and Yuta disappeared through the doorway after a moment.

[ushidoux]

Be My Last - Iwaizumi x  Reader (Pt. 2)

Summary: You have trouble getting over a past relationship and it’s preventing you from moving forward. (~2.3k words)

Warnings: nsfw, poor communication tbh, angst?

A/N: There’s always trouble in paradise.... 

So I haven’t written a plot-heavy fic in a while. Anyway, I hope this is as dramatic as I intended it to be but not excessive.

Part 1|| Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4 || Part 5

---

Your phone vibrated loudly, nearly falling off the edge of your office desk but before checking the text, you were already scooping your personal items into your messenger bag and rising to leave the office.

Iwa had intended to meet you after work to grab dinner together before going home, and you quickly glanced at your phone to confirm his arrival while you made your way down multiple flights of stairs (turns out having an athletic trainer as a boyfriend made you a lot more fitness-conscious) to meet him in front of the large skyscraper.

You met him only slightly out of breath, hoping he hadn’t waited long, and he grinned as he saw you, arms uncrossing to take your bag from you and greet you with a kiss on the forehead.

“How was today? More good news?” You inquired cheerfully, linking your arm around his tightly as you started walking. He hummed, his pace still leisurely and his other hand casually resting in his pocket in mock humility.  

“What, I haven’t impressed you enough?” He teased with a laugh, earning him a playful slap on the shoulder. Learning that he was going to be head athletic trainer for the Japan National Volleyball Team just last week was still fresh, and while you were excited for him, you were a tiny bit apprehensive about how much it would change his schedule. Even though he was already quite busy, you’d gotten used to Iwa’s schedule being predictable and being home every night, especially once he’d moved in with you about a year into your relationship.

While this new position was the biggest event on the horizon, quite a lot had changed since you’d met Hajime and lowered your emotional defenses to let him in, and that simple fact was evident by the way your hand unconsciously snaked down the length of his arm to interlace your fingers with him, as you continued to tell each other about your days.

He’d always impressed you from the very moment you met him. His confidence, his pure kindness and his genuine love for you were only a few of the things that made you love him wholeheartedly. The only regret that you had these days was that you hadn’t met him sooner, or rather, first.

Now, back in the quiet of the apartment you’d lived in for almost four years now, you and Iwa were locked in an embrace shrouded by the steam of an excessively warm shower. Despite the fact that you felt heavy with a generous dinner, the current somewhat pleasant turning of your stomach had more to do with the expert way Iwa’s fingers worked your center without compromising attention to your lips and tongue.

Soft moans of his name earned you the privilege of being gently lifted and pressed back against the shower tile, to leverage you steadily against the pressure of his heavy cock pushing past your walls into you as many times before. 

He always knew where to touch and what to fill. 

It occurred to you again as he coaxed one orgasm then another out of you with firmly delivered strokes, aided by the slick coming from your legs and the water that ran over the two of you, that you loved him. Fully and without reservation.

Especially when he pulled back to look at your flustered, wanting face, slightly tilted upwards to look at him with eyes enamored, your body fitting him like a glove, and you could practically see his heart swell.

A reckless, all-encompassing sort of love.

---

“This is… a lot of food,” your friend pointed out with raised eyebrows as she watched you toss possibly a 15th packet of thinly sliced marbled beef for shabu shabu in your cart before moving along to the condiment section. You were grateful that she was accompanying you on this errand because even though you enjoyed grocery shopping, it seemed like you’d been here for a lot longer than you expected and you weren’t too familiar with most of the ingredients on the long grocery list you’d brought with you.

Besides, the cart was overfilled and you felt that eventually you’d need two hands to push it.

“Iwa wants to invite I don’t know even know how many hungry athletes into our tiny apartment, so I’m just trying to be prepared,” you shrugged.

“By buying the entire butcher shop?”

“Yes.”

“He better be paying at least, this looks expensive,” she murmured, only to open her mouth in a teasing ‘O’ once you flashed Iwa’s credit card in her face with a grin.

Amused, she tossed a pack of vermicelli noodles in the cart then let out a loud, wistful sigh before leaning on the shopping cart handle. You frowned in response, knowing exactly what that sound entailed. 

“So when did Oikawa say he’d be back?”

She let out an aggravated groan. “Not for months and then by the time the Olympics start, he’ll be even more busy… This shit is so annoying, to be honest. It’s like he’s never off season!”

You tiptoed to reach a highly placed bottle of shoyu and another of rice vinegar and drop it in your cart. You sympathized with her frustration, you had known intimately once what it was like to be made second priority, even if that wasn’t your life now.

“At least you know he would still choose you over volleyball, no matter how much he loves it,” you reassured her.

You had said the statement without any deeper intended meaning, but when you turned your friend was still eyeing you carefully, concern written in her knit eyebrows.

“What?”

“Nothing,” she replied, deciding to drop it. But two paces later, she paused to a standstill, and asked, “Do you know exactly who Iwa is inviting over?”

You shrugged your shoulders again. “Honestly, I don’t care, it’s not like I follow sports anymore.”

To that, she replied with a soft hum of assent before choosing to talk about dessert instead.

---

Seated at a corner table at the small coffee shop at the base of his hotel, Ushijima Wakatoshi looked carefully at the email invitation, noting the address more carefully this time, a wash of unsettling nostalgia rushing over him.

You wouldn’t notice it from the neutral expression on his face, but ever since he had made it back to this side of Tokyo, the concern of going back in time and revisiting old mistakes weighed heavy on his mind. Of course, he was excited about his new accolades and the opportunity to represent his country nationally, but with few people to share that news with, the reminder of what he had sacrificed to get here seemed less like a badge of honor and more like a condemnation. 

For someone who insisted on moving forward, no matter what the pace or price, this was a particularly unwelcome feeling. 

And of course, this sentiment was made way worse when it occurred to him that he was being invited to his old home as a guest. Well, he wasn’t exactly sure - while the apartment building itself was definitely the same one where he had lived so many years ago, he wasn’t completely sure whether or not the floor and suite number were the same. It would be an odd coincidence that Iwa lived there too now, but it was a nice apartment building after all, so he assumed it must be a popular place to live.

Still, he couldn’t help the mild uneasiness he felt at the prospect of turning up on that street.

What if by some unfortunate twist of fate, he ran into you? Whether in the lobby, sharing the elevator, maybe even in passing at the konbini where previously he’d surprise you with a custard taiyaki or melon bread to eat in the dead of night... What would he say? What could he say?

He had once practiced some silly assortments of words, many times ages ago when the ache in his heart for you became too much to bear and he thought maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t too selfish to ask to come back into your life. He would come up with ways to explain why he’d decided it was better to remove himself from your life altogether over putting aside more time for you, or to explain that he’d made the decision for both of you in order to free you to be loved properly by someone else. 

But the more time passed, the more ridiculous it seemed for him to try to ask you to forgive him for breaking your heart, and now three years had gone by. 

Was three years enough time for you to forgive him for ending things without explanation? Or for moving out of your apartment while you stayed over your best friend’s house for an entire weekend so that he wouldn’t see you cry?

Ushijima took another sip of his coffee. He was overthinking it; the similar address was just a happenstance. You had probably long since moved on from that apartment just like you’d moved on from him.

---

Paper plates, forks, knives and napkins were set aside on your living room table, and you’d cleaned out the patio to allow for more space on the thankfully warm spring evening. Iwa had rushed out with a kiss on the cheek to go get some ice after helping you set up everything, and now you were waiting, hotpot soup base boiling on the stove.

You’d finished just a half an hour before six, and you leaned over the kitchen counter to browse through your text messages. One had just popped up from your friend before you heard an early knock on the front door.

Surprised at the prospect of someone showing up early, you put down your phone and sauntered over, and without even checking the keyhole to see who was standing there, you swung open the door wide, cheerfully giving a warm “Welcome!”, only to find yourself staring your ex-boyfriend in the face.

There was a pause where it seemed like everything that kept your heart beating and your neurons firing had turned off for the split second it took you to recognize him. This was disregarding the fact that he too looked like all the blood had drained from his face when he also realized you were standing right before him. 

“___…,” he pronounced in shock.

The sound of his voice calling your name made your heart pound and your head pound and quickly, impulsively, you moved to slam the door.

Reflexively, he blocked it with his palm, not meaning it as aggression, but spurred by the fear of immediately being locked right back out of your life, where he belonged.

“Wait, can we please talk?”

The desperate tinge to his voice was too much to bear.

It had been three fucking years! Why now?

But instead of forcing the door closed against him again, you found yourself running into your bedroom and locking the door behind you, heart pounding in your ribcage in a frenzy. It was hard to think, maybe you were being a little bit too dramatic, but you couldn’t help the panic pumping through your veins.

Relax, relax, relax.

Ushijima, too, immediately forgot that this was no longer his home.

Even if he knew this place like the back of his hand, he recognized the same sofa in the center of the living room, where he’d held you and had you just like every other place in this wretched space, it was no longer his.

It didn’t stop him from breaching the entrance without your invitation, boldly following after you just to knock on the bedroom door that kept you safe and secure, begging for your attention.

“Please, ___. Please, can we talk?”

It didn’t take a genius to realize that he was in fact in the right place, this was his - no, your shared apartment - and traces of another man, Iwaizumi, were all over it.

Your voice was choked up in your throat but you weren’t yet crying, however you were terribly frustrated. Frustrated that three years after a breakup you were taking shelter in your own bedroom all because your ex showed up at your door. Frustrated that he wasn’t being mean, but instead he was being kind; in fact, you were worried there was a wisp of something more you could see in the pained look he had on first regard.

Too much.

Ushijima knocked again.

“Please.”

The correct thing to do would be to face him properly and ask him to take a seat and maybe if you were feeling extra generous, ask him how he was doing politely, limiting yourself to polite conversation, but instead you didn’t say a single word, biting your lip to hold back anger and hurt.

Three years and you were still like this.

“___!”

His voice raised this time, and again the desperation was clear and tugging at your heartstrings, but you would be damned if you were going to move from this spot. He didn’t bang on the door though - Ushijima always had too much self control to do anything fear-provoking out of anger, but he let out a heavy sigh you could hear directly from the other side of the door.

“I’m sorry-” 

Whatever he planned to say was cut short by the slam of the front door and Iwa’s harsh voice yelling, “What the fuck are you doing?”

Your eyes grew wide as you heard the shuffle of quick moving feet and the thud of bodies hitting the wall, and then you realized that what this looked like was way worse than it actually was.

You fumbled to unlock the door only to see Ushijima pressed against the wall, hands to his side but fists clenched as though he were deciding whether to fight back; you could tell Iwa had already landed a heavy blow from the red spot blooming on his face, and the fact that Iwa still had a solid grip on the collar of Ushijima’s shirt, his fist still dangerously close to his face.

“Hajime!” You yelled, pulling at his arm. “Stop!”

He resisted your plea for him to stop initially, and you could tell he was seething even if he was still. Who wouldn’t be, if they thought their girlfriend was being accosted in their own space?

“T-toshi wasn’t going to do anything… we’re exes.”

Exes?

Iwa gave you a blank look, taking in the info all at once, but what stunned him the most at this very instant was the painfully familiar way you’d said Ushijima’s name.