#I was wondering how they were going to manage to top Scream this tier

[nossumusmanus]

Still obsessed with P12's theme.

[shuenkio]

Rewrite the stars | PJ.s 🍂

Paring: Jay x Male!reader | Genre: Angst but fluff.

Synopsis: the man who once broke your heart, decided that he will make a change between you and him, to form the love once again.

Cw: nothing just two exes getting back together.

Non proof read | Eng is not my 1st lang.

This is a work of fanfiction, do not throw unnecessary tantrums on this nsfw/sfw blog. ©Shuenkio

A-N: This was way back in June so it's a bit 🤏 cringe and many dramatic scene you'd discover, again I'm still develop how to express character emotion:> .

Years of dating with Jay crumbled in a blink of an eye when m/n saw him with a girl on a date with his gift that m/n gave him during his birthday. M/N calmed down, trying to process what's truly happening. We can't judge a book by its cover, but the moment M/N saw Jay press a soft kiss on the girl's cheek, it's over.

There's no explanation for this. M/N's tears break down unconditionally; he wants to go there and scream at Jay's face and ask why he would do such a thing to his boyfriend here. That's the ugliest memory you had of him. Nevertheless, since I love him very much, he can't seem to let him go.

Not because of his wealthy status; it's because he loves him so much from the bottom of his heart that he swears he would do anything for Jay. However, Jay had asked M/N to break up with him, and with no more heart in those eyes that once used to be, the adorable expression he made just for you when he talked about his day is no longer in this broken relationship.

Begging for him to stay would just make you pathetic and blinded by love. When m/n has decided he has to let him go, the person who's once been the love of his life is now leaving for their own good. Are all of the memories and promises nothing to Jay? The question seemed unspoken without an answer, clenching in his chest painfully in sorrow, along with the hurtful words that haunted your sleep every single day.

"Let's break up"

—5 years later, after  M/n graduated and found his true passion with his dream job. He was no longer stressing about nonsense; he got everything at the age of 25: money, a car, a house, importantly, a job. chapter of his life wherein he can get whatever he wishes for. I worked as a designer, making tons of exquisite and high-quality collections of luxurious clothes and dresses that hit the market every single time they were launched.

His name soon became the hot topic in society; not only did he walk with the trend, he was also loved by everyone with his relatability and kindness. Moreover, during the week, while he was spending his time at the spa, M/N got a call from his manager saying that there'll be a new member of a top-tier design team who wishes to work with you, especially as one of the co-workers. This was not new, nor is it difficult to handle, but what was coming for you was a blind spot.

The time has come; M/N is now in a meeting room, waiting for the new guy who is eager to work with him so much. He wonders who it could be, as a top-tier designer in this city will make an appearance in front of you at any moment soon. The glass door was opened by a pair of hands, and his manager came in with the taller man behind in his black suit. Everyone in the room stood up as a sign of respect except M/N.

He was so lost in thought at the new face behind his manager. He is quite familiar. M/N refuses to care if he's scolded by the supervisor, yet who cares? The whole group settled down in their own seats, and due to M/N sitting across from the table, he began to focus on the meeting instead of giving his attention to that guy.

"Everybody, Meet Jay Park! He will be working with us from now on, as a designer, of course, just like our gem, M/N. Haha, and it looks like this gentleman is here. I look forward to working with you. How do you like that m/n? " It was horrible the unrequited attention on you was your least favorite thing you thought would never happen; the uncomfortable shift in your seat explained everything.

"Very well, Mr. Park. So then, since I've already seen him, I'll take my leave. Please excuse  me." Once m/n knew who he was, he spared no time before leaving the place immediately. A glance on Jay's face, flashing back all of those nightmares once again. I don't know if it's because of work or something else, but deep down, a part of him said Jay is probably planning to take you back. How annoying.

Ever since the first meeting, of working together with your ex, M/N got nothing but troubling. Whenever Jay had time alone with M/N, he would always bring up the past topic all over again. He was truly sorry for his actions—for hurting you and for cheating on you with another girl. Jay swears he would wear his skin to the bone just for you to accept him once again.

However, it was such a bad move. Due to how much popularity M/N had, there's some reason you thought he would come back for you just because you had fame. Along with the sudden request to get back together, what will happen if he's going to cheat and repeat all the events once again? A busy day ended with the finished touch of your creation. M/N didn't know how long he had been standing here in the studio. All the sections are in pitch black except him. Employees have all gone back to their own homes. Prepared for you stuff to head home after a long day, a fade of voice fills the room from behind. Well, it was loud and clear to recognize.

"M/n i... Aren't you supposed to go home yet?" He paused, dipping his hands into his pocket.

"I'm about to. It's getting late; you should too," m/n implied with no enthusiasm for a small talk.

"Look, um, I know it's hard for you, but please hear me out." Jay's words seem so desperate; the low tone in his voice gives me chills. From the head to the bottom, not gonna lie, it's true he's a total mess. The bags under those eyes were visible on his face, and the lip was dry like he hadn't drunk any water. Is he going to make you pity him? No? At least you give him a chance to talk.

"If you talk about our relationship again, you should stop. I have nothing for those past  memories."

"I’m so sorry... I never should have hurt you. I'd let you go. But every day without you is like living in a world with no sun—cold, empty, and endless. I was wrong to think I could burn on my own and that I didn’t need you. Without you, I’m just ashes. Please, I can’t keep pretending I’m okay. I’m losing pieces of myself every day. Give us another chance—I need you more than words can say" He whispered, his voice thick with regret. His hands trembled as he reached out, but he hesitated. Still respect your boundaries and keep the space between them. M/N stood there, stunned.

His chest tightened, and he could feel the lump forming in his throat, making it impossible to speak. Memories flashed through his mind—the laughter, the nights spent together, all the moments they shared. Tears began to well up in his eyes, blurring his vision. He tried to hold them back, but they spilled over, one after the other. His hands shook, and he felt completely lost, unable to do anything but let the tears fall.

Unable to hide his own weakness, he covers his own face with the pair of his palms, breaking down on the spot as his knees feel weaker than ever. Why should you cry over someone who once broke your heart, someone who left you in the middle of the ocean with no shore at all yet? Till today, he was crawling back, begging for forgiveness, swearing he'd never done it ever again.

Isn't that two times more painful than before? Should you accept him back or not? Or are you scared of getting stabbed again? His heart sank as M/N started crying. Seeing him so broken made Jay's chest tighten with guilt and sadness. Jay can't contain himself to stand while watching you in this state; he was the one who caused this after all.

Unexpectedly, you were surprised to see him wrap his hand around you before pulling you into a tight hug. Listening to your sobbing was enough for him to bury himself alive in the graveyard. He wanted to wash all his sins away for having wounded you; if he could go back in time, he'd sacrifice anything just to keep you close

once again.

"Let's rewrite our story hm ? I'll be a better man from now on. I promise there'll be fewer tears in your eyes, pretty. I'll love you till the day that i die " 

🗣️ Reblog and like is much appreciated ♥

🗣️ please mind my English! ><

🗣️ dividers: Thecutestgrotto and crd to all the pic owner..

Thanks for this pookie 😽❤️ IWALY!!!!

[vicious-vixxxen]

Hi, first of all ur work is amazing and awesome, especially the Kiri fics they make me feel so warm inside :)) ANYWAYS I have a drabble idea: Katsuki with a flirty male reader from 1-B that likes to tease him and make him flustered and fired up as much as possible (kinda like Monoma but not as aggressive) and finally Katsuki decides that it’s reader’s turn to get all flustered and blushing and all that hehe :)

AH I absolutely LOVE this idea! Sorry it took me so long to get to it babes, but I hope you enjoy it :3 <3 Bakugou Katsuki X Flirty Male!Reader

“You think /you’re/ tired? I heard class A had to go through ten times the beasts we did yesterday, /and/ they didn’t get to camp until five.” TetsuTetsu huffed, rolling his eyes as he continued to rub at his sore biceps- falling behind as the class walked to their first official day of training. “They’re probably still struggling to work as an actual unit, how disappointing,” Monoma drawled, flinching as Kendo raised a hand at him in warning- her gaze cutting back to you with an apologetic smile, but you shrugged her off. “I’m just saying, if they were half as good as everyone assumes they are, then we wouldn’t have had to make dinner for everyone /alone/ yesterday. A bunch of unimpressive slackers, the fame is definitely getting to them.” “Oh give it a rest, Monoma! I swear if I have to keep listening to your incessant whining i’m going to roundhouse you so hard you slip into an alternate dimension,” You teased, though the sharpness of your tone, and the look you fixed the other boy with managed to reduce him to nothing more than some bitter grumbling, as you jogged ahead to follow directly behind Vlad-Sensei.

“Young Y/N is right! No use in comparing yourself to a separately tiered class, what you all should be doing is preparing yourselves for a day full of grueling training!” Vlad called out to the class behind him, as they came to their final stop. Looking out across the vast fields of the camp, where class 1A was already deep in training. All of them spread out to various areas of the site, some farther out than others, you assumed due to the volatile nature of their quirks. Some out of site all together, given the specificity needed to train their quirks. “The Wild Wild Pussycats have strict regimens for you all to follow, and I as well have critiques for you all regarding your fighting style, and quirk application. Check in with them across the field first, and regroup back to me so we can begin!” “Yes Sensei!” You all chanted back, before hurrying off across the field to do as you were told. Though once you caught sight of- and really, it was more his blood curdling death screams that you noticed first, music to your ears honestly- unruly blonde spikes off in the distance, you reasoned you had at least a few minutes to spare. Giving your classmates time to get their schedules and regimes before you could swoop in for yours last minute. The heat from Bakugou’s blasts was intense- your hair blowing back each time the other boy extended his palms to the sky, screamed, and released an explosion. The air felt thick, the scent of sweaty flesh, and deep, rich caramel wafting against your face, heady, and thick, with each blast. It was intoxicating. The closer you got, the more your cheeks flushed- though it had nothing to do with the heat anymore. Up close, or as close as you could get without being blown back entirely, that is- the more handsome Bakugou became. Pinched, angry expression and all. His front fringe of hair hanging low on his forehead, dripping sweat down onto his cheeks, and then onto the exposed upper half of his chest, bared due to his low rising tank top. When was Bakugou not absolutely breathtaking, you wondered idly, as you reached into your backpack for a bottle of water, and whistled loudly between blasts to catch the blonde's attention. Though the glare he fixed you with as your eyes met almost, almost deterred you from closing the distance between you both, it didn’t quite reach the innermost parts of your brain, meant for rational thought. “What the hell do you want!? Can’t you see i’m busy? Take your ass back to your class, extra!” Bakugou shouted, gaze falling to the bottle of water in your hand, before he focused back in on his task, baring his teeth in pain as the boiling water engulfed his hands. But you were too close now, it was too risky, and before you could think to back away on your own, Bakugou was crowding up against you. Spinning around on his heels and blasting in the opposite direction, back to you now. Shoving you backwards so hard with his own body you fell to the ground. Hissing as you landed on a particularly sharp rock. “See what you did?! I could’ve accidentally taken someone else out because of you! Fucking...gimme that,” Bakugou growled, shaking his hands of the smoke from his blast, before bending down to snatch the chilled bottle of water from your hand with one of his- his other reaching down to take hold of the front of your shirt, and tug you back up to stand next to him. “Always in my way!” Bakugou hissed, before throwing his head back and chugging down the entire bottle in a matter of seconds. Wiping at his mouth roughly, he turned to you slightly, noting the mischievous smile on your face, and the dirt on your shorts. “Tch...what?” He asked, knowing he was walking himself right into a trap. “Just admiring the view,” You sing-songed, skirting around his sudden extended fist easily, and dancing around the boy to get a good look at his training clothes. “It’s not everyday I get to see UA’s own Bakugou Katsuki in the midst of an intense training session. All sweaty, and bulking- muscles just….grr,” You laughed, holding your hands up in front of your face as you growled and made pawing motions at the other boy- bursting into a fit of laughter ass he reeled back, blush high on his cheeks, fingers twitching with the urge to blas your fucking face off. “You’re an insufferable piece of!-” “What I can’t seem to wrap my head around, is how you have such a big chest, such defined shoulders, and such a teeny, tiny waist,” You sighed, cutting Bakugou off with your hands on your hips, tilting your head to the side curiously as you scanned him up and down. “Your tits are bigger than most of the girls in your class, ya know,” You added, as if an afterthought, waving a hand passively at the thought, though you couldn’t help but grin as Bakugou charged you- dragging you up by the front of your shirt again, and pinning you to the barrel of boiling water. One hand holding your head down near the bubbling surface, and one right next to your ear, sparking with unlit nitroglycerin. “I. Don’t. Have. Tits. You. Shitty. Extra.” Each word was laced with venom, husky and full of rage right next to your ear, and god. Was it fucked up you were kind of turned on? Probably. About as fucked up as it was to be genuinely attracted to Bakugou in the first place, you supposed. Oh well. Not much to be done about it now. “Say that to the mounds pressing up against my back right now, babe,” You teased, turning your head to face Bakugou, your noses barely brushing as you leaned in as best you could, given the hand in your hair- mouth curling into a knowing smirk as Bakugou’s face twisted back and forth- confusion, rage, annoyance, misunderstanding...want. “I’m sure your teacher would be thrilled to see you over here keeping one of my students from his training, instead of focusing on your own abilities,” Someone sighed from your right, and both you and Bakugou’s head whipped up to see Aizawa leaning against a tree, staring at the both of you with the most bored expression you could imagine someone having. “Tried to get the loser away from me, but he’s as persistent as the rest of his annoying class,” Bakugou huffed, letting you go, but not before pushing you in the direction of his teacher roughly- crackling his knuckles out in front of himself, and shaking his hands out. Prepared to continue his training. Though thoughts of your stupid face, so close to his- scent of your shampoo, and minty breath still searing his nose made him a trillion times more annoyed then he’d already been. The color of your eyes stuck with him the most though. So clear. So shiny. Full of authority, of mirth, and something so...gut wrenchingly /cute/, he couldn’t stand it. “Sorry, EraserHead. Didn’t mean to disturb your student. Was just being friendly is all,” You assured the older Hero, hands up in surrender as you walked alongside side him, and back to regroup with your class- smiling smugly to yourself when you noticed the barest hint of a smirk on Eraserheads face, just before he turned away and skulked off to whatever dark, cozy corner he had been observing his students from.

Training felt like it had lasted forever, and then some. The following days were no easier. Your bodies were pushed to their limits, and then thrown off the metaphorical cliff afterwards. Every day, class A and B were sore, tired, irritable. But even then, once lunch, and dinner came around, it offered you all a chance to get to know one another more intimately. You talked, and mingled with class 1A- flirting with Todoroki for fun, and picking Midoriya’s brain about his hero notebook- unaware of the red eyes following your every move amongst the classmates. Your flirting with Bakugou was at an all time high- given you could usually spare a handful of minutes each day teasing the young man, whether it be with words during training, lingering touches, or brushes of hands, and legs during dinner, or with outright winks, and kisses blown to the blonde as you all departed to your cabins for the night. It infuriated Bakugou to no end. Your presence. The way he acted out against you...his mother would suggest he needed an attitude adjustment, and that he should allow the fun part of camp to take precedent over his ultimate number one hero goal. As if he’d ever. But still, her frustrated words of encouragement never ceased to ease up as the days went by, and you became bolder with your flirting. Bakugou felt on edge constantly, like someone was going to crack a whip at him at any moment. Say something about it, say something about /him/, but no one ever did. Probably because they were scared. His only saving grace, he supposed. Being intimidating. Though he didn’t intimidate /you/, which was the part he hated the most. ...He’d just have to switch up his tactics, then. His mother would be proud. God, he hated that. After a particularly grueling day of training, everyone was running on fumes, more or less, as they shuffled around the outdoor kitchen, prepping dinner lazily. Monoma picking stupid fights with whoever he came across first, as though he were too tired to even do that. You’d been chatting quietly to Mina and Jirou about some of your favorite albums, when a whistle from across the counters had all three of you lifting your heads. Curiosity piqued to the fullest extent, as your gaze landed on Bakugou- pointing at you with a hard expression, before gesturing to the spot next to him at the cutting board station. His eyes downcast again before you could even register what was going on, before hurrying to head over before whatever demon that had possessed Bakugou, decided to get the fuck out of such a toxic human host. Beaming, you came to stand at Bakugou’s side, arms brushing against each other as you glanced down at the finely minced veggies the boy was working on. “You rang?” Brows raised in question, you ducked your head to try and catch the boy’s eyes again- stopping dead in your tracks as he grabbed a hold of your wrist tightly, and slid a knife between your fingers. Tugging you impossibly closer to his side, and reaching an arm around you to grab a stray carrot. Boxing you into the bench, and maneuvering your fingers carefully as he began to force you to chop the carrot below. His front was flush with your back, and suddenly you couldn’t breath. Breath hitched in your throat, flush high on your cheeks, as Bakugou bent down, face right next to yours, as he forced you to chop, knife always skirting a little /too/ close to your fingertips, but fuck it all if you weren’t willing to lose them for this encounter to continue. “All this time and you haven’t even learned to chop properly. Make yourself more useful, you shitty extra,” He grunted, right into your ear. A sharp shock of arousal shooting down your spine as he spoke, looking away suddenly as Bakugou turned to try and meet your gaze. “Eh? What’s the problem, extra? Cat got your fucking tongue?’ He teased, harshly, though his grasp on your hands lessened, and fuck you were gonna pass out if you didn’t start breathing soon. “Oh,” He huffed suddenly, snickering under his breath, as he crowded you in up against the bench entirely, completely flush with your back, before his lips ghosted the shelf of your ear, and he whispered “-probably because of my big tits, huh? Tch.” And then he was gone. Gone from your back, gone from the shell of your ear, gone from giving you a religious fucking experience, and thankfully gone from nearly making you jizz your jeans in front of the entireety of class A and B. Your hands shook where they now held the knife solo, and you glanced over your shoulder- watching Bakugou stuff his hands in his pockets, arch his shoulders, and stalk off to the cabins. Though not before you also caught the sharp, devilish smirk that twisted up on his face. What a fucking DICK. But a dick who was handsome as fuck, and knew exactly what he was doing. “Alright, Bakugou, you wanna play, big boy?” You whispered to yourself, voice shaky as you continued chopping vegetables. “I’ll bite. Show you how it’s done...right after I pass out, Jesus fucking Chri-” 

[poochiray]

The week of February 27th

So this week has been pretty busy for me.  I had work, for one.  Then just being general mom.  Plus, I also play World of Warcraft and I raid competitively on two different raid teams.  And there just so happens to be a new raid tier released...so yeah.  Y’know what that means?  I gotta spend most of my free time in game, getting my toons up to par or actually raiding.  I literally raid every day except Sunday.  Is it nuts?  Yes.  But I’ve been doing it all expansion, and I can’t just quit now.  Especially for my secondary team, given I’m now an officer in that guild.  

So yeah.  This doesn’t really lend me to much time to watch/read stuff.  But I still managed a few things.

Watching

Not Me  GMMTV OFFICIAL​​

Ya’ll.  I succumbed.  I’m sorry.  I just couldn’t anymore lmao.  My anxiety has been through the roof and I needed something to distract me.  So I literally watched all 11 episodes in two days, and I don’t regret a thing.  I had heard nothing but praise for this show, and it certainly met every expectation I had.  The only negative thing I’d say about it was it seemed like the episodes were so short!  I just wanted more lol

This show has one of the best stories from any BL I’ve watched.  And I just love the general aesthetic it has.  The gritty, dirty look.  I didn’t think it’d suit such an adorable actor as Gun but no.  It’s perfect.  Then there’s our cast of characters, all of whom I absolutely adore.  I loved First in The Shipper, but he’s just as cute here playing one of the gang members.  He makes Yok’s relationship with Dan 🔥  Like those two literally made me scream.  Yok has some of the best fucking flirty lines and I’m here for it.  I’ve developed a cop kink.  So thanks for that guys.  They are just too much. 😩

So, hot ass side couple.  Great story, great visuals.  Then let’s get to the main drawing factor for me and that’s OffGun of course.  Literal perfection.  We all know these two have the chemistry, years of practice, whatever.  And it’s quite apparent in just how they fucking look at each other.  Especially the first look we get of Sean.  Like Jesus, dude.  You can kill a man looking that way. 

So Sean and Black have this sort of frenemies relationship.  They are friendly enough in that they are in the same group, but they certainly don’t like each other.  And poor White, who’s impersonating Black, just has to balance between being his brother and himself.  Like, he can’t be 100% Black because he has moral dilemmas with that, and he’s a little softie at heart.  Then enter a “there’s only one bed” moment, and Sean slowly changes his tune regarding Black.  It’s wonderful watching Sean realize just what exactly is going on, and their feelings for each other just feels inevitable.  Just too much chemistry to simply ignore it. 

Then we get the angsty bit of Black waking up and taking his life back.  Finding out his brother got with Sean (as him) and just...yeah.  That scene in episode 10 was so fucking heart breaking.  But you know in the beginning, that some shit is gonna go down when Black wakes up.  I just wasn’t expecting it to be that...I dunno.  Violent?  Depressing?  Awful?  But it really did help hammer in just the stark difference between the twins.

And that brings me to Gun.  Like dude, wtf.  How can he play both brothers so convincingly that I know immediately that’s Black--or that’s White.  Gun gave me fucking chills with his portrayal of Black.  Literal chills.  I mean, I always thought this little guy was talented..but his acting in Not Me is just next level.  

Anyway...all in all, great series so far.  I’m excited for the next episode for tomorrow.  Definitely a top BL for my list.           

KinnPorsche Official Trailer  Be On Cloud

Why the hell am I putting a trailer here?  Um.  Yeah.  This fucking thing literally broke the internet.  And I’m still not over it.  I’ve watched it at least 8 times already and send help, please.  I’m obsessed.  I loved it so much I sent it to my sister and husband.  Husband still hasn’t watched it.  I think the thumbnail alarmed him lmao.  But yeah.  I’m happy there’s gonna be another BAMF gays show I can watch after Not Me.  This one looks hella amazing.  

And well, the only other things I ended up watching this week was an episode of TharnType 2, Enchante, and the latest Cutie Pie episode 3.  Not really a lot to warrant much to talk about.  I’m just really loving how Cutie Pie’s pace is on their story.  It doesn’t feel too slow or boring.  And I’m so excited to watch the moment Kuea realizes he actually was drunk making out with Lian. 🤣

[softcallofdutyimagines]

More Then a Woman | Frank Woods x Fem!Reader | Chapter 1

Summary:

Another day, another dollar at your new job in the CIA offices. You thought this was your dream job. So why is everything so... Boring? But before you can make up your mind to quit, a chance encounter with a certain Marine may just prove to be the start of exactly the kind of excitement you've been looking for.

Tags: Slow burn

Next Chapter Here! | Warnings: None except Frank's language lmao

You smooth your skirt and touch up your lipstick for what feels like the tenth time today as you shift in your office chair. It’s not normally like you to be the nervous type, but ever since you landed this gig in the CIA, you’ve been on your toes. ‘Relax’, your coworkers say, ‘You’re doing fine!’.

But just ‘fine’ never quite suited you. Especially with top tier agents like Russell Adler and Jason Hudson walking around…

No, “fine” doesn’t cut it.

But... you have to admit, the stress of keeping up a tough work ethic is getting to you. Just a bit. All the hustle and bustle in this place, and for what? You shake your head out. No no, there’s no time for thoughts like that. You just have to keep pushing through and you’ll get over it.

Right?

You sigh in dismay, not entirely sure you believe yourself, before snapping to attention as your desk phone rings. With a curt response, you pick up and receive yet another task to fetch papers.

“Yes Sir”

... and a coffee.

“...Of course, Sir”.

You click the phone into its receiver and slump back into your chair, feeling more defeated now then ever.

If you wanted to run around doing errands all day, you would’ve moved back in with your mother. When were you going to get up to something… Exciting? Maybe not in the dangerous, life threatening way, but… Well… Anything must be better than this.

These thoughts swirl in your mind to and from the fax machine, to the break room, and all the way to your supervisor's desk.

“Anything else for me Sir?”

The man in question hardly even gives you a second look as he shuffles through the papers and sips the piping hot drink, “No, that’ll b- Wait, actually…”, he turns around in his office chair and flips quickly through folders in a filing cabinet.

At last, he turns around and hands you one such folder as you bite back a scream. “Could you fax these off for me?”, he scribbles down the receiving address on a post it note and slaps it on top, “Send em here, here, and here”.

You give a sharp nod and a “Yes Sir”, before turning and leaving on a dime.

The skin around your eyes and throat feel tight, and if you didn’t know better, you’d think you were on the brink of tears. Who are you kidding…. This isn’t at all what you were expecting. Maybe you’d be better off looking for something else, at least then you wouldn’t be so miserable all the ti-

Then, just as you’re lost in your day dreams, you next find yourself flat on the carpeted floor.

Your papers scatter all around, and it has just now occurred to you that you’ve bounced off another human being. Perhaps you should save the disparaging thoughts for your office from now on... Well, assuming you aren’t about to be fired on the spot.

For a moment, that doesn’t seem like such a bad idea, and you decide to take your time sitting up.

“Oh fuck, sorry”

You look up, following the sound of a gruff man’s voice.

Marine Sergeant Frank Woods towers above you, looking almost as powerful in this moment and from your unfortunate perspective as all the stories make him out to be. Your heart races in your chest as it gives way to panic. Now you’re really in for it.

“Oh! N-no, I’m so sorry, I uh- I should watch where I’m going”, you spit out an apology and an excuse all in one go as you maneuver quickly to pick up your scattered array of papers.

Frank watches you for a moment, mildly disinterested, and looking as though he’s about to shrug it off and walk away. You are right after all, you should watch where you're going. But then again... he could say the same for himself.

“Ah, don’t sweat it kid. Here”, Woods slowly leans down, perhaps giving his knees a chance to adjust from the previous lack of activity, and helps you gather up your things.

You appreciate the help, but can’t help but cringe a bit as you watch him grab the papers by the fistful, crinkling them slightly. Regardless, he shuffles the papers into a uniform stack before flicking his gaze back up to you, “Ther- Hey, wait a minute… Haven't I seen you around here before?”

You think for a split second, but you’re quite sure he hasn’t.

“No no, I have! Yeah, you’re the one that walks around looking pissed all the time”, he laughs, “Damn, I gotta say, you scare the shit outta me even! No wonder these bastard’s brought you on”.

Before you can even catch up to what he's saying, he has himself nearly in stitches laughing at your expense.

The urge comes over you to retort that there are plenty of legitimate reasons you were hired, and, more importantly, you are not “pissed all the time”, but before you can even open your mouth, you find you’ve lost your train of thought.

No, instead you find yourself immensely distracted by the Sargent’s laugh. Not so much the fact that he’s having the time of his life at your expense, but more so just… the sound of it.

It comes more like long, drawn out wheezes, only interrupted by gasps of air that sounds more like choking, before devolving into something more steady at least, but just as strange. You could only describe it as somewhere between grunting and barking. From this alone, you can tell he smokes too much and perhaps isn’t use to laughing this hard either.

What that says about you, you’d rather not think about. Instead, you find your mask of professionalism slipping as the corner of your glossy lips curls up into a smile.

You never thought such annoying, and obnoxious laughter could be contagious, and yet here you are trying, yet failing, to hold back some snickering of your own.

“Ah, shit…”, Woods drags his forearm across his eyes to dry them before fixing his gaze back on you, “You know... I think that is the happiest I’ve ever seen you around here. Is this place that shitty?”, he hands you back your papers at last as the creases at the corners of his eye furrow in mirth.

For a second, you’re worried he’s about to break into laughter again as he’s sure to drag you along with him this time, but instead he simply waits quietly, and you get the feeling he expects an answer.

“Well… Not in those words perhaps. It’s just, not what I expected I guess...”, you look away, not to sure what to say and yet feeling a little sadly now, as you shuffle the papers together and neatly place the crumpled stack back in the folder.

“Yeah, I get that… Heh, I wish I could be out in the field right now, you know? I mean fuck, there must be someone who needs killing, right?”, Woods huffs a few dry chuckles, looking at you as though he expects you to laugh.

You do not.

Instead, you offer an awkward smile and nod, not sure how to respond to such a grisly statement. Let alone one that’s meant to be taken as a joke. Woods coughs into his fist, then goes to stand abruptly.

“Anyway, I have shit to do”, he waits a just a moment in politeness until you’re standing as well before giving his final parting statement, “Later”

“Ahem, goodbye Sarg-”, but it’s too late, he’s already trudging off.

You blink, feeling bewildered at the twists and turns that interaction had to offer. Fortunately, you have more important matters to attend to as well, rather than let yourself be distracted by… whatever that was.

Suddenly you remember why you dislike working with the frontline troops.

Frank’s blood pressure feels like it’s going to explode through the top of his head. His knuckles are clenched white as he storms out of the building. Once outside, he stops to take a smoke break.

His head is pounding as he fumbles for a cigarette and then at long last he finally manages to retrieve his lighter as well.

Why the fuck would he say something like that? “there must be someone who needs killing”, yeah real smooth Frank, what a line...

He flicks the lighter spark again and again, but it refuses to catch. “Fuck!”, frustration overcomes him as he gives up and shoves it back in his pocket, throwing the unlit cigarette to the ground too for good measure.

That was the longest interaction he’s had with a woman in… in…

Well, he can’t even remember! And yet, he still managed to fuck it up.

Woods slams the door of his car shut behind him and takes a moment to cool off there in the seat.

You must think he’s some kind of psychopath.

Frank catches his reflection in the rearview mirror. If Mason was here, he’d say you’d be right. He jerks the mirror away so he can’t see himself anymore. Bastard. He snorts out a sigh and rubs a hand over his eyes as he tries to let the embarrassment go.

He needs a drink.

The ignition whines and after a few tries it finally starts up. Ah well, he reasons, maybe if he’s lucky he won’t see you again.

[thetaoofzoe]

Fic: You, The Boy, and The Golden Shoes 1/1

Title: You, The Boy, and The Golden Shoes

Pairing: Henry Cavill X YOU (AU)

Word Count: 1890

Summary: Girl you are a fucking mess. How you managed to keep a top tier lad such as Henry, your sanity and a flagging perfume company is beyond me. 

Rating: Nothing you wouldn’t share with mum. Slice of life, fluff, reality, tiny bit of angst, but it has a happy ending. :)

Note: This is a bit different than my usual fare, and of course AU, so I hope you like it. 

You knew that if you stood there one moment longer, sodden in the cold drizzle, bare knees scraped and bleeding, face illuminated by the sickly pink neon Girls Girls Girls sign, and staring drunkenly at the plump old ladies eating ice cream inside the sweets shop, you’d likely start screaming.

What else was there to do on a wet Friday night, but scream into the void?

‘Show us yer tits!’

A man’s ugly voice jerked you out of your despair.

It took a moment to force focus from the ice cream ladies to the window’s watery reflection in time to see the raggedy white car crawling along the edge of the kerb, slow enough so that the equally as raggedy man in a splotchy tie dyed shirt could give you a right old shouting at. The driver behind him leaned on the car horn and with tires hydroplaning on the wet road the white car moved on.

I deserve it, you thought, and tried to push your wig upright on your head again.

The synthetic strands were waterlogged and the entire thing had begun to make its migration down one side of your head as if searching for dry refuge.

You are a fucking mess, girl, your mouthed to your reflection.

Making a sour face, you tried to use the edges of your dirty fingers to clean up the oozing mascara. But you only succeeded in smearing the sticky water proof khol down your cheeks and ended up looking as if you were preparing for some concrete jungle camouflage.

Maybe becoming one with the macadam was a good idea. It was the perfect time to just disappear and never come back, especially considering how you’d just ruined your life. The strap of your shiny gold dress slithered off of your shoulder and with a growl of frustration you hooked it with your thumb and dragged it up again.

You then glanced down at your dirty gold lamé pumps. The sudden shift of your booze heavy head caused your stomach to roil unpleasantly and wanting to prevent seeing those 5 whiskey sours and cherries make an encore appearance, you looked up at the ice cream ladies.

They seem to be enjoying themselves, you thought, miserably. I hope they rot. 

In the reflection you could see yet another car slowing and coming to a stop directly behind you.

‘Oh fuck me,’ you muttered, when you saw a tall dark haired man get out and pop open a clear plastic umbrella to shield himself from the drizzle.

A vague thought drifted like a fluffy cloud across your drink addled brain.

Looks like the same umbrella that I have. Really, similar… hmm I wonder where I left it.  I really liked that umbrella.

The man walked close and a painful tension clenched between your shoulder blades. You hoped he was either heading for the candy shop or the porno house and not about to harass you.

‘I’ve been looking everywhere for you!’ he shouted.

The anger was clear and sharp in his voice and mingled with an overlay of concern. In the window’s reflection you watched him drag a hand through his curls.

Henry. 

‘Why did you run off like that?’ he asked, quieter this time and moved close to hold the umbrella over you.

You watched the old ladies abruptly burst into laughter over something. Then the one with her back to the window suddenly turned round to look you directly in the face. They had obviously been talking about the nutcase who was watching them through the window and embarrassed, you turned to face the man behind you.

‘How did you find me?’ you asked him and messily palmed the rain from your face.

Henry sighed and looked heavenward as if asking for deliverance from your special brand of crazy.

‘You’re not hard to miss,’ he said gesturing to your ruined and mud splattered evening gown.

You looked down at yourself and self consciously dragged the slipping strap back up onto your shoulder again.

‘Well, that’s what happens when you go crawling through the hedge.’

Henry gaped at you a moment then one-handed, shrugged out of his evening jacket and draped it about your shoulders. His hand drifted to your lower back and it was such a familiar gesture that it couldn’t be more of a Henry-move if he tried.

Mmm, he smells good though, you mused, catching his scent from the jacket and clutching the lapels of the jacket tighter.

Although you were grateful for his chivalry, you didn’t allow him to exert that soft, manly pressure against your back to hurry you along to the car. You wanted to wallow for a moment longer.

Henry stopped trying to guide you to safety and just stood there, observing you sympathetically and fortunately, silently. He had a tendency to talk every problem to death until he felt better about the situation, no matter how you felt about it. But, he was getting better about that and you put a hash mark on his side of your mental scoreboard.

Wanting to explain yourself and your outlandish behaviour, you spread your hands and tried to speak. But you couldn’t find a coherent explanation for why you did what you did.

‘I’m sorry,’ you said finally.

‘Why did you run away?’ he asked, jumping at the chance to get the conversation rolling.

Looking up at him, you scoffed with disbelief.

‘Why did I run away?’ you sneered in response.

The fundraiser had been a disaster. You had been a fucking disaster.

All you needed was for the earth to open you up and swallow you up to your neck, leaving your head free for birds to perch on. But no, you had to deal with the ramifications of the worst moments of your life. 

It all started at the beginning of the year when a recluse aunt dropped a strange and failing fragrance company into your lap. Did she give you actual ownership where you could reap the benefits of being a company woman? 

No.

 She’d made you the figurehead who did all of the work to keep the business afloat whilst she did whatever recluses did in the south of France.

So, who could blame you for taking a little credit here and there as your hard work began to increase market shares. Who could blame you for slipping into her vacated persona and eventually into her name? It helped the business, for Christ sakes!

It definitely helped to have a face with the name so that people could deal directly with you, rather than by carrier pigeon, of whatever archaic method of communication your aunt liked to use. You never understood what she wanted anyway, so you ran things the way you saw fit.

From that point everything had proceeded swimmingly. You had a flourishing career, a bright future and a handsome lad. Henry was amazing and the sex…oh Jesus.

That was, until your reclusive aunt decided that the reclusive lifestyle just wasn’t for her any more. She’d turned up at a fundraiser you’d organised, in order to steal your spotlight once again. Word had spread like a raging grease fire that you were a fraud and you had tried to swindle a poor little old lady out of her fortunes. When in truth, it was you who saved the drowning business with its foul scent combinations and turned it a healthy, popular and thriving company.

So what did you do? When all accusing eyes were pinned on you?

You ran. As usual.

It really didn’t help that the house where the fundraiser was being held, was on a steep hill surrounded by thick hedges. It also didn’t help that you’d tried to leave through a balcony door that dumped you right out at the apex of that hill. It was a long way down and your rump became acquainted with every rock and bump and mudslide this side of the Mississippi.

You ripped your dress, muddied your 5000 quid shoes and dislodged your fabulous wig. And it was only later that you found refuge and solace on a high street off shoot road that boasted curries, candy and naked girls.

And that’s also where Henry found you.

‘If this is about what your aunt said,’ he began and you stiffened, waiting for the blow of his disapproval and eventual breakup. ‘It… doesn’t make sense.’

You looked up to meet his unbearably fond gaze.

‘You did all of the work. If it weren’t for you, there would be no business. You are the rightful head of it. Not her.’

‘Henry,’ you sighed, relief choking off your words.

You cleared your throat.

See? Amazing lad, isn’t he.

‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry I wasn’t more honest. I–‘

‘You didn’t lie to me,’ he said, smiling a little to reassure you, his hand sliding about your waist to pull you close. ‘If you had to stretch the truth a little to succeed well…’

He shrugged lazily as if it all didn’t matter one whit to him.

Holding your wig so that it wouldn’t slide forward, you leaned in to kiss him, grateful that you still hadn’t ruined everything. At least in his eyes, for Henry always saw the best in you.

‘Thank you. But… I still trashed my reputation.’

And in business, reputation was Queen.

Henry was about to say something, but the soft ring tone of the beginning of the 80s song ‘Take on me’ interrupted him. 

It was your publicist.

‘Hello?’ you asked, defeated and hesitant, bracing for the fury.

Henry righted your wig and mashed it down on your head to prevent it from shifting like an awkward cake.

‘Why did you run off?’ she laughed. ‘I saw you! You took a swan dive out of the window! Are you coming back?’

‘Coming back?’ you asked, looking at Henry.

He pointed to himself with brows raised as if asking, /me/?

You shook your head.

‘Well, yes. This is your company and your fundraiser, right? We can’t make the final toast with you.’

You were flabbergasted. Surely you weren’t welcomed back after what had happened.

‘But, my aunt,’ you began. ‘She… I… I shouldn’t have said that I was–‘

The publicist cut you off.

‘Look, honey. It’s true, her name is on the deed, but we all know who’s the star. You can write it off as a publicity stunt and come out with a new perfume called… Escape or something. With notes of tobacco , mud and whiskey. They’ll love it.’

You stood in stunned silence and the knot in your chest slowly unravelled as the realisation that you hadn’t ruined your life began to dawn.

‘I can’t come back now. I’m a mess. I’ll leave you to do the toast for me. Just tell them something. You’re good at that.’

‘Ok, honey. I’m going with the Escape thing, ok? So you’d better come up with something amazing.’

You disconnected the call and stood there, leaning against Henry and contemplating this peculiar turn of events.

‘All right?’ he asked and you nodded.

‘Can I at least get you into the car?’ he continued gently. ‘You’re shivering. Let me take you home.’

‘I’d rather have some ice cream, if you don’t mind.’

You saw him look through the window behind you and smile.

‘I could go for some as well,’ he replied and together you walked into the shop.

Suddenly life wasn’t quite so bad.

-end

[husbandograveyard]

I’d like to request a headcannon for Zoro, Law, and Shanks with an female S/O they hear sing for the first time. Thanks! 😁

Ohhhh I like this idea a lot!! I am going to go ahead and assume s/o can actually sing  (.❛ ᴗ ❛.). 3 top tier bois, I hope you enjoy these!  

Hearing s/o sing for the first time HC - Zoro, Law, Shanks 

female reader. 2nd person. There is some slight suggestive language in Shanks bit. I couldn’t help it. Sorry. 

Zoro 

You sang for one member of the crew and for that member only. And that was Chopper. 

You liked brushing him whenever he was in his most deer-like form, and he liked the attention, the soft pets. You were usually very focussed while taking care of his fur, humming softly and sometimes even singing. 

Chopper absolutely loved it and even sometimes requested you sing for him when he was working or about to go sleep. It worked calming on him and improved his focus. You agreed, on the condition that no one else of the crew would be hearing. Luckily the infirmary was usually pretty quiet and none of the crew ever asked about it. 

Not even your boyfriend Zoro, who was mostly napping on deck whenever you were spending these tender moments with Chopper, although he too cherished the little reindeer and became more and more insistent on joining every now and then. 

Mostly you got him to back off with the excuse that Zoro was about as delicate as volcano rocks and as careful as an actual gorilla and thus probably not the best person to help Chopper with his medical equipment. 

Zoro found out when Chopper and you lost track of time and your boyfriend wanted to get the two of you for dinner and he heard you singing through the door. He stood there for so long, completely mesmerized that he nearly got the door slammed into his face when Chopper's excellent nose helped him deduce that it was dinner time and the two of you were on your way, you still softly humming the end of your song. 

"Zoro?? What are you doing here??" He had only just managed to jump away just in time and let out a semi-annoyed yell instead of really answering your question. 

“Just wanted to get you for dinner” 

You let out a soft ‘oh’, wondering just how long he stood there. But he didn’t say anything about your singing so you figured it couldn’t have been too long. 

Until that night, when you actually went to bed for naps, when he very uncharacteristically, and yet, so bluntly very much like himself turned to you and simply spoke “sing”

“excuse me” 

“I heard you sing for Chopper. It’s nice. Calming. Will help me sleep” 

“As if you need help sleeping”, but you smiled, he had given you some kind of compliment, and didn’t think it was something stupid or useful. 

You sang a soft lullaby, and you saw the smallest smile on his face as he fell asleep before you could even finish it. 

You pecked his cheek. “Goodnight Zoro” 

Law 

Law had heard you humming before, usually when you were helping him with sanitizing tools in the infirmary or some other job where you did mostly routine work, so you let your mind drift off just a little bit as you hummed some of your favorite melodies. 

He could hear already that you had a beautiful voice but didn't want to comment on it. Every time you caught yourself you'd stop, cheeks heating up a little in embarrassment, he could only wonder how you'd react if he were the one saying something about it. 

He hears you sing, actually sing for the first time on a day that most of the crew is on deck. The polar tang has surfaced for a while, and everyone is on deck enjoying some of that good fresh air. You're still inside, making use of the peace and quiet to clean the kitchen that is otherwise never empty, and singing one of your favorite songs as you're doing dishes, putting things neatly back in cupboards and such. 

It's an upbeat song, and you're making yourself happier and more enthusiastic as you're dancing along to the tunes yourself, dancing from one spot in the room to the other as you can see the kitchen slowly become spotless. 

You're wetting a sponge to give the counters a good scrubbing when you're hitting some particular difficult high notes, nearly breaking your song for being proud of yourself that you hit those so nicely. You almost feel bad that there's no audience. 

You turn around to get to another counter, and there your captain -and boyfriend- is staring at you, a lazy yet sly smirk on his face. You chuck the sponge at him but he catches it with ease. 

"Why didn't you tell me you were right there?? How long have you been standing there?" 

"Long enough to hear you belting out those good notes. You were getting kind of loud, I'd be surprised if the crew heard nothing at all." 

"It's perfectly insulated and soundproof here. They shouldn't have, you just came by to sneak up on me."

He just let out a chuckle, enjoying you being embarrassed a little too much. You were awkwardly standing now that the sponge you needed to conclude your work was in Law's hands. He saw you looking and threw it back. 

He grabbed a chair and sat at the dinner table while you continued your cleaning, this time in silence. 

"No no no. Please. Continue." 

Shanks 

Shank’s crew is singing all the time, especially when drinking, it’s one shanty after the other. The whole crew sings along, and when you’re singing as a group, no matter how drunk or tone deaf the crew is, it always sounds good. You manage to softly sing along, and no one ever hears your voice, it was the perfect ruse for you to be able to sing without anyone every questioning you, your voice and the way you sang. 

What you did not notice, was that this time, your captain and boyfriend of a few years, had been drunkenly trying to lean in for kisses, and in doing so,had captured some snippets of your beautiful voice. 

Encouraged by sake and his love, he managed to drag you off to a place a little more quiet, away from the party and you were thoroughly confused, he never left a party early. 

“What’s wrong Shanks?” 

“I’ve heard you talk, I’ve heard you whisper, I’ve heard you get angry and shout, I’ve heard you scream... both in anger and my name” He drunkenly added that afterthought and you smacked him playfully in the chest while you felt your face heat up. 

“yeah so... got a point... now is not the time to go do... things. The whole crew will know” 

“So? As if they don’t know what we do.” He leaned in to kiss you, but you only gave him a quick peck. 

“Okay Captain sake, what was your actual point?” 

“Oh right... sorry, you’re distracting” You laughed again. 

“You didn’t tell me you could use that voice of yours for singing as well?”

“Really Shanks? That was important enough to drag me away from the party?” 

“Well I can make it worth your while” he had a drunken grin plastered on his face. 

You quickly ducked away and made your way back to the party, wanting to tease him a little for dragging you away for something so small, stupid and yet embarrassing. 

You couldn’t escape for too long though. Before you could sit back around the fire, you were pulled into a familiar chest, and Shanks sat down with you in his lap. 

“How bout you sing a little louder, just for me?” 

[catxsnow]

SAME FATE J.T.

Request: Hi, I have loved your work as of late I mean top tier work. I was wondering if you can do platonic Jason Todd imagine where the reader was the newest robin and a spitting image of him when he was robin so happy and proud to be a robin and Jason hates her because of it and one day he sort of leads her into a trap just to scare her and something wrong. She is killed by it and beyond being brought back by the pit. Sorry for the angst, I am just in an angsty mood and know that you will do it justice.

Warning: death, blood, angst. 

A/N: I changed the request a little bit, hope you don’t mind. Just didn’t quite see Jason doing this but I think I envisioned enough angst in here to satisfy you. 

Hope you enjoy! Requests are still open :)

GIF not mine

Word count: 2.1k

Jason Todd didn't like you. At all.

Everyone knew it: Bruce, Dick, Tim - they were all aware of how much the second Robin hated you. Even you were aware of it, even though you had done nothing to him to make him feel this way. He even hated you more than Tim and Tim was the one to take his spot as Robin. You had taken Tim's place and if anyone was to be angry it should have been him.

Instead, it was Jason.

No one knew why he hated you so much - in fact everyone thought that the two of you would have gotten along well considering how similar you were. Much like Jason, you had extremely terrible parents. Neither of them cared about you, put food on the table, and most times there wasn't even a roof of your head.

All the money that was brought in was spent on drugs and alcohol and whatever item that had value of your had to be well hidden if you wanted to keep it. All in all, when your father was sent to jail and your mom died of overdose? You didn't complain about it. Life was easier without them in it.

That was when Bruce found you. He had taken you in to live in the Manor and trained you to be the next Robin. You had learned pretty quick too, it was only months that you were there before taking Tim's mantle. The difference between the two of you and how you upheld Robin was drastic.

The first time you had tried on the suit, you had nearly screamed with excitement. Bruce watched you prance around the batcave with a grin on your face. You flipped and jump around, showing off some of the moves you had been taught. 

“This is best thing that’s ever happened to me!” You were so proud to take on the mantle of Robin. When you were a kid, Batman and Robin would always bring you hope that things would be better, that they would change. Now, you got to make that happen yourself. 

God, did Bruce see so much Jason in you. 

You were reckless, dauntless when it came to being out in the streets beside Batman. Running towards bullets, narrowly escaping time and time again, you lived on the edge. Just like Jason. Also just like him, you were aggressive to the point that Bruce couldn't control you just like he couldn't control Jason.

Everyday he saw more and more of his second son in you. Bruce knew that he needed to keep you from making the same mistake that Jason ever did. He couldn't lose you too - even if Jason was back from the dead. No one was willing to take that same risk again, not without a Lazarus pit hidden within the batcave.

Each and every time that Jason showed up to the Manor, he had vocally expressed how he didn't like you. He was rude and undermining to you more than to anyone else. It hurt more than you thought it would. In a lot of ways, you looked up to Jason.

The way that he upheld Robin was something that you always thrived for. You wanted to be like him but, the more that you pushed to be like him, the more he seemed to hate you. He made you doubt your skill as Robin and as yourself. Jason was terrible to you, and you never knew why.

Night after night you would cry yourself to sleep. It wasn't often that someone would get to you but Jason had managed to do it. He didn't just break your walls down, he demolished them. Jason made you feel like a weak little girl, something that you hadn't felt like in years. After everything that you had gone through in life, this shouldn't have been your weakness, yet it was.

The night that you went patrolling on your own was a stormy one. Rain droplets blocked your vision and made everything twice as hard as it normally was. Bruce was busy with an event for WE and you weren't ready to call it a night. Crime didn't stop just because there was rain.

The night went as it always did. Taking out anyone you saw breaking the law and bounding across the city to find someone else to bring to justice. It was nights like those that made you wonder why Jason hated you so much - you were doing great on your own. In fact, you had to admit that you were just as good as he was.

Tim saw it in you. From what he knew about Jason, you not only had the same amount of skill, but the same kind. Bruce had confided in him about how much he saw Jason in you and how worried it made him.

He should have been more worried.

As the night seemed to get quiet, you had let your guard down. That had been the mostly costly mistake that you had ever made. You had just finished knocking out some sleeze when another figure arrived. Between the loud booms of thunder and the traffic on the street, you couldn't hear them approach you.

Before you could even turn around, you were out cold.

><

The second that Bruce got the picture of you he sent every resource available searching Gotham for you.

It was Penguin that had captured you - why, he still didn't know. The picture that was published for all the world to see was of you completely bloody and bruised. You hung from chains by your wrists, blood dripping from your face, soaking your suit, and onto the cement. You looked terrible.

The picture was posted on every single news channel, article, papers, it was everywhere. Penguin wanted to city to know that he could capture a Robin and torture them without getting caught. He had Batman in the palm of his hand if he ever wished to see his precious Robin again.

Bruce had everyone searching for you. Even Jason Todd, the one person on this planet that seemed to hate your guts, agreed to help find you. It had been a long time since any of them had seen Bruce this worried about someone. He had every right to be, this exact situation happened to Jason only a few years ago.

At least Penguin was a little more sane.

It had been just over forty-eight hours since you had been taken. Forty-eight hours of nothing but torture and pain. Bruce couldn't imagine what you were going through right now, he didn't want to. The entire time he hadn't slept, he had only been focused on finding you. This couldn't happen to him again.

Jason Todd might have hated you, but he knew that no one ever deserved to be in the same situation that he was in. That was why he spent day and night searching for you. Penguin had hid you well, too well for anyone to find you - hell they didn't even know if you were still in Gotham or not.

It was late at night when the video broadcast on every screen in Gotham. You looked worse than before. Suit torn, more blood and bruises than skin. Your head hung low and you could barely stand any longer. Penguin had put a number on you.

"Batman..." You coughed, blood spit down your chin and onto the floor. One of the Penguin's goons lifted your head up by the hair so that you fully faced the camera. "Penguin...  admits he's got the smallest dick in Gotham and not even a goat would -"

The camera shut off the moment that you got another punch to the face. As dire of a situation that this was, Jason couldn't help but chuckle at you. Even in the face of death - you were going to give them hell.

"Got them," Tim's voice echoed over the comms. Thankfully, you had been on air just long enough or him to track down the signal. "He's got her in a warehouse down on fourth and twentieth."

"I'm right there, I'll go," Jason responded. He was already starting up his bike and driving to the warehouse that you were supposedly in. God forbid that Tim was right - after the comment you made Penguin was not going to be happy.

Jason's bike barely stopped before he hopped up. The place looked empty - the only sign of life was a singular light going off in the building. Gun's out and up, he kicked open the door and was ready to shoot anyone that stood in his way. However, there was no one. For a second, he thought that Tim had gotten the place wrong until he saw a lump of red, green, and yellow lit up.

Jason holstered his guns and ran over to you. A pool of blood surrounded your limp body and as he turned you onto your back, he had seen while. Two bullet holes punctured your suit and deep into your abdomen.

"Fuck," Jason muttered. He pulled his helmet off, not wanting to scare you more than you already were. You eyes fluttered up to him and you had to use all of your strength just to keep them open. "Batman, fuck, hurry."

Jason pressed down on your fresh wounds in hope to stop the bleeding but it already looked like you had lost too much. There was no way that he could move you - not when he only had his bike with him.

"You're gonna be just fine, (Y/N)," Jason tried to comfort you. You didn't feel the need to be comforted - in fact you didn't feel anything at all. Jason'a face was blurry above you and a ringing vibrated through your ears. No pain was felt in your body, just acceptance. "Stay with me."

"Bru..." You tried to talk but nothing was able to come out. Blood stained your teeth, only the metallic taste of blood was what you could sense. "Sorry..."

This time, your eyes didn't open again. "(Y/N)," Jason called to you. Your body was completely dead weight in his arms and your chest no longer rose up. "(Y/N)," Jason tried again. He ripped off his gloves and pressed his fingers to your neck. No pulse. "No! (Y/N)!"

Jason felt an overwhelming sadness fill his chest. For years he was never fond of you. You were reckless, dangerous, even a threat to this team. You cared about the thrill of it all no matter what kind of spot that put you in. You came from a broken home, just excited that you finally had a roof over your head.

You were just like him.

That was why Jason hated you so much. You reminded him too much of himself. Too much of what he used to be before Joker had gotten to him. Every time he looked at you, all he could see was what his life used to be like. He had everything he could have wanted, just like you had.

Whatever sick people looked over you had the same kind of fate in mind. You had gotten the same terrible ending that he had gotten. The ending that he didn't want for Tim, that he didn't want for you. That was why he hated you so much.

“Fuck, (Y/N). I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Jason’s voice cracked as he held back sobs. 

The sadness and grief that filled Jason's chest grew so much that he could no longer contain it. Tears slid down his cheeks as he held onto your body. Sobs echoed through the empty warehouse for the loss of Robin. Jason had reached his breaking point with you.

He was angry with himself for neglecting you all these years. After being able to see so much of himself in you, he should have known that you could have followed him down the same path, he just didn't expect it to be this one. He never expected anyone to be in this same position again, especially with someone other than the joker.

Jason could have taken you under his protection, he could have taught you everything that he knew. Bruce had told him that you looked up to him in so many ways and he denied that you ever cared about him. It was easier to look you than to see the similarities within you.

Bruce had arrived too late as well. The second that he saw your dead body in Jason's arms, he had fallen to his knees in despair. Bruce has to watch his Robin die for a second time. What broke him even more, was seeing the absolute heartbreak on Jason's face. They had all been too late.

Jason Todd had failed you, and he was going to live with that guilt for the rest of his life.

[keanureevesisbae]

Coach Cavill - Chapter 7

Summary: Amelia is about to go on her first date with coach Cavill

Coach!Henry Cavill x Amelia Jung (Asian ofc)

Wordcount: 3.3k

Warnings: None

A/N: To celebrate the fact that I am done with school for a while, I thought I’d post (part one of) their date with you! I hope you like it 💕 please let me know if you want to be on the taglist!

Masterlist // Previous chapter // Next chapter

Within an hour I had to dress up to look splendid that Friday, because I didn’t want Dean to see how beautiful I was going to look. Maybe the stress dressing up under sixty minutes also had to do with the poor state of my planning today, but we are simply going to ignore that.

The entire week I have been looking forward to this. During the training yesterday, Henry kept stealing glances from me, after he made me a wonderful cup of cappuccino. It’s weird really, how head over heels I’m becoming, in just a matter of a little more than a week.

While everything Dean was exciting and somehow terrifying, since he was mysterious and a little hard to get, this instant connection I have with Henry feels so safe and familiar. I can’t stop thinking about him, to a point where Ricky, Annabelle and the rest of the little ones in my class kept asking me if I was doing okay. However, they figured out pretty soon I was a bit in love and now they continue to make kissy sounds during the day.

‘You look fucking hot,’ Eve says, as she brushes through my hair. ‘Lucky mister Henry Cavill.’

‘Is it too much?’ I ask, as I smooth down my tight dark blue dress, that Isabella insisted on me wearing and it’s a good fit: I mean, it accentuates the few curves I have. I look down at the matching high heels and sigh deeply. ‘It’s too much,’ I conclude.

‘No, honey, it’s not too much. You look beautiful and I know that Henry will think so too. Besides, he is already smitten with you, so I don’t think you have anything to worry about.’

I let out a sigh again. ‘It’s just that I’m nervous. How long has it been since I had my last first date?’

‘When you were nineteen,’ Eve answers my rhetorical question. ‘I know that, but that went well too and since Henry is an absolute angel, this date will go without a hitch, I can guarentee. And besides, you have done things much more terrifying than this. You went to South Korea, debuted in a girl group. A full one eighty in career choices when you got here, went on a date with the mysterious hottie Dean, somehow made that work. Plus, you were a total bad ass and gave birth to Isabella on your own, who was breeched.’

I roll my eyes. ‘I highly doubt you can compare giving birth to a first date.’

‘What I want to make clear to you, is that you are fierce and awesome and Henry knows that too.’ Eve and I both yelp when the doorbell rings. ‘Your future husband is here.’

‘Shut up,’ I say, as we walk down the stairs. She stuffs something in my clutch and hands it to me. ‘What on earth did you put in here?’ I hiss, as I grab my coat from the rack.

‘A condom.’

I halt all my movements. ‘You did what?’

‘Better to be safe than sorry.’

Before I can tell her off and that I’m really not going to have sex with Henry on the first date, she pushes me to the door and I quickly put on my coat, before I open the door.

I’m hit with the realization that I’m going on a date with the most beautiful man on this planet. He looks illegally handsome, with his nice suit jacket hanging open, that matches with his black pants. He is wearing a white blouse, nicely tucked into his pants and the tease has the two top buttons open and the sight of his chest (and the chest hair) is making my mouth dry.

‘Wow,’ he says with a beautiful smile, ‘you look beautiful, Amelia.’

This is going to kill me. How am I supposed to survive this entire night? ‘It’s not too much?’ I ask, just to be sure and first date jitters taking the upper hand.

He shakes his head. ‘This is exactly right.’

I turn to Eve, who is holding in a squeal. After being friends with her for so long, I know every facial expression. ‘Only call me if it is a matter of life or death,’ I tell her.

‘Have I ever called you when it was not important?’ I cock an eyebrow and she nods. ‘Right, I have done that before. I’m sorry. Won’t do it tonight, promise.’

‘Very good. Please, don’t wait up and don’t sit on the front porch with the twins, because I know you three want to do that.’

Eve slaps me on my ass, before I step out of the house and I sincerely hope that Henry hasn’t seen that. From the looks of it seems like he hasn’t seen that, but maybe he is just polite and doesn’t show me he has seen it. ‘Don’t look back,’ I tell Henry, as we walk towards his truck. ‘She’ll embarrass either one of us if we do so.’

Henry can’t help but laugh and he opens the door of his truck. ‘Do I have to give you a boost or can you manage?’

‘Oh shut up,’ I chuckle as I get in the car, after I took his hand. ‘Because I’m short, I have developed cat woman like skills. You should see me in the classroom, when I have to grab something from the top shelf.’

‘I’ll believe that right away.’ He closes the door and I wave to Eve, who nods approvingly and gestures something about how firm his butt looks. I mean, I can only agree to that, but once again, sure as hell hope he hasn’t seen any of that.

Henry gets in the truck and before he puts the key in the ignition, he looks to the side, meeting my eyes. ‘What?’ I ask him.

‘You look breathtaking,’ he whispers, almost as if he doesn’t want me to hear this compliment.

I’m at a loss for words. ‘Oh,’ I manage to choke out. ‘Thanks…’

He clears his throat. ‘I’m just a little nervous.’

‘What? Why? If someone should be nervous, it’s me. One, I’m going on a date with you and two, my last first date was sixteen years ago.’

He chuckles, but he sounds really nervous. ‘Well, mine might’ve not been that long ago… But I have never been on a date with someone like you.’

‘Do you mean that in a good way or…?’

Henry’s eyes widen. ‘In a good way, of course,’ he hastily says. ‘It’s more that you are way out of my league.’

What? ‘I think I was hallucinating. What?’

‘I mean, have you even seen yourself? You are admirable, in any way.’

Is this how it feels when your heart not only is figuratively melting, but also literally? ‘Oh.’

‘You are truly one of a kind, Amelia and I sure hope I meet up to what you deserve.’

Okay, I’m officially blanking. What are words?

Henry smiles and starts the car. ‘I hope you like the place I booked. I heard some pretty good things about it.’

✰ ✰ ✰

Leave it to Henry fucking Cavill to not only book a spot at my favorite restaurant here in town, but also to have a secluded spot that I didn’t know was here. We sit on the patio, a heater pointed at us to keep us warm, as we look over the lake. We are surrounded by romantic Christmas lights, as we sit next to each other on the soft couch. His arm is resting on the back, his thumb softly drawing circles on my shoulder.

He hands me a glass of wine and I can’t help but melt a bit against his frame. ‘You did amazing,’ I say. ‘I really like this spot. I never even knew it was here. How did you discover this?’

‘I might’ve had some help from Greg.’

‘Convenient store Greg?’ I ask. ‘You two becoming friends?’

‘Yeah, I’m there quite a lot. He sometimes watches Kal when I’m not home for too long of a time. Annabelle constantly tells him that she loves Kal, so that’s a plus.’

‘Annabelle is in my class,’ I say. ‘A true angel. A cheeky one, but she is such a delight to have in class.’

Henry smiles, taking a sip of his wine. We’re still waiting for our food to arrive, but the wine will do just fine for now. ‘It’s quite the one eighty, to go from a K-Pop idol to a kindergarten teacher.’

‘Oh, you have no idea,’ I chuckle. ‘It was so weird, to go from that hectic world, fans screaming your name, photoshoot here, there, dance practice and just never not busy, back to Luna Meadows, where every second seems to tick at least three times. I had to spend three months in the barn in the back of my parents yard, to simply talk with Eve and Johnny, getting used to this pace again. It was nice to be back here though, since this will always be my home.’

He nods. ‘So, you come back to Luna Meadows when you were eighteen, go back to college and…’

‘And I met Dean, when I was nineteen, was twenty one when I had Benji, somehow got my degree and after I graduated, I married Dean.’

‘Wow,’ he says. ‘That is top tier multitasking.’

‘That’s what I thought so,’ I chuckle, taking a sip of my wine. ‘It was really important for me to finish college, because, I wanted to be able to provide for myself and even after I graduated, I worked three days a week. I’m not equipped to be a full-time house wife. I tried that for two months and then I became mad.’

Henry laughs. ‘And now you work full-time.’

‘I do, indeed. It’s the only way I can continue to pay for the house. I don’t want to move away from Eve and her baby sit service.’

He nods in agreement. ‘You are very lucky to have friends that care so much and do so much for you.’

‘I sure am,’ I say with a smile. I take another sip, before I ask: ‘What about you? Why did you leave Jersey to move here?’

‘I was a judo coach there and worked in a cafe. However, some family stuff happened and I had to get out of there.’ Henry clears his throat and shakes his head. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘No, no, you don’t want to talk about it, I totally understand it. Just, tell me how you got into judo then.’ I turn a bit to the side and oh my, I can feel his strong body against mine, but weirdly enough it doesn’t make me nervous anymore.

‘Oh, that was something me and my grandpa had together. All of my brothers were into team sports, like lacrosse, football and rugby.’

My eyes widen. ‘You have brothers?’

‘Mhm, four,’ he says.

‘Your mom had five kids?’ I ask him.

He can’t stop his laugh. ‘She did.’

‘Mad respect,’ I say. ‘I don’t want to be too TMI, but I had to recover six years after I had Benji before I even thought about adding another one. Not the point, Amelia,’ I quickly realize letting out a soft chuckle. ‘Your brothers were into team sports.’

Henry nods, a smile evident on his lips. ‘My entire family was obsessed with everything team sport related, including us as a family. I liked to do things solo, just like my granddad and that’s how judo became our thing. My family supported me and judo, of course, but… I knew they didn’t really like the sport as much as my granddad and I liked it. When I was twenty, I was actually doing pretty well. Competing in national tournaments, even some international ones.’

I frown. ‘Why do I feel a however coming up?’ I ask him.

He snickers. ‘However, I broke my leg in three places when I was in the gym.’

‘Oh no,’ I say, as I shiver.

‘Yeah, it was pretty bad,’ he chuckles. ‘But judo was my life and I couldn’t just let it go, so I started to work as a trainer and coach, but I didn’t make enough money to provide for myself, so I also worked in a cafe.’

I nod. ‘And why did you choose Luna Meadows?’

He shrugs. ‘It just felt right. And that’s where I met the most amazing judoka I have ever seen. Benji is miles ahead of not only everyone here, but also to everyone I have ever encountered.’

‘Including you?’

‘Including me,’ he laughs. ‘He is amazing.’

‘That’s because he has some judo genes from his amazing mother,’ I chuckle, as I throw my hair over my shoulder. ‘I was quite something back in the days.’

He chuckles. ‘So, what does Isabella do?’

‘She is in a drama club. When she was younger, she would force Benji, Yara, Jake and Lola to be side characters in a play she made up, where she was the main character. She is overly dramatic and I figured that I would do the other kids a favor if I would put her in a drama club. Yara and she go every Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday after school with Eve.’

‘It must be amazing to have a friend this close living to you.’

‘It does,’ I say, as I stare at my wine. ‘Made the whole divorce thing a whole lot better to handle.’

‘I imagine. Divorce is never easy.’

‘Experience or…?’ I carefully ask.

‘I was married,’ he says, ‘but the second we said ‘I do’, it was already a lost cause, really. Actually, we never really fit together.’

I take a sip of my wine, but I place my other hand on his strong leg. Normally I wouldn’t be this forward, but it feels so warm and comfortable. ‘Is she part of the reason that you had to leave Jersey?’

He shakes his head. ‘No, we were married from my twenty fifth to my twenty seventh.’

Okay, he doesn’t want to continue to talk about it and for some reason I can’t stop the words from coming out of my mouth. ‘You know, I never thought I’d go on a date again.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because everyone in this town knows that I got divorced and everyone had an opinion about it,’ I whisper. ‘You know, I wasn’t exactly the most loved. A lot of them thought it was my fault that Dean started to see someone else. I wasn’t a good enough wife, who didn’t love her husband enough.’

When I look up, I see that Henry has clenched his jaw, before taking a sip of his wine. ‘That’s bullshit.’

‘I know,’ I say mostly out of disbelieve. ‘But good things happen to good people and now I met you.’

‘Moving to Luna Meadows was a good move on my behalf.’

Our pasta arrives and I sit up a bit straighter. ‘This looks delicious,’ I say, twirling around my fork, to twist the spaghetti around it. ‘Henry Cavill, you sure know how to swoop a woman off her feet.’

Henry smiles, taking a bite of his pasta. It’s different than mine, but it looks delicious. I can see him ogling my plate as well and I guess the grass is indeed greener on the other side. ‘Here,’ I say, with a fork full of pasta. I hold it above my other hand, so I won’t spill something on any of us. I now realize that it might be weird to feed a grown man on our first date, but I can’t go back now.

‘You’re a natural,’ he chuckles, before taking a bite. ‘Oh, yours is really good. Want a bite of mine?’

‘Sure,’ I say with a blush creeping up on my cheeks. He is a little clumsy, but somehow manages to bring the fork to my lips, without it spilling on my dress. With his thumb he wipes the corner of my mouth clean. ‘Am I tasting some cinnamon?’

‘That was what I was thinking,’ he says. ‘I would never put cinnamon in my pasta, but it is really tasty and it actually works.’

‘I once accidentally added honey to the chicken and somehow it turned out to be pretty okay.’

‘Yeah, Benji told me you weren’t a great cook.’

I hide my face in my hands. ‘I may have burned quite a few meals in my kitchen. One time, for Thanksgiving, I attempted to cook for Eve and Johnny, because they were having a bit of a rough time, with Lola being admitted into the hospital and all. However, I burned the entire meal, the kitchen was filled with smoke and I had a complete meltdown. Isabella called my parents and somehow my mom saved the day.’

Henry’s shoulder shake as he laughs. ‘That would be quite the sight.’

‘Oh, it was terrible. Can you imagine if I was a full time housewife? I think I’d have the fire department on speed dial.’

I want to add something to this (believe me, I have tons of stories of me nearly burning down my place), but my phone starts to ring and I quickly open my clutch to check the screen.

It’s Eve.

Part of me doesn’t want to take it, but I know that she took her promise serious. ‘I’m so sorry,’ I say.

‘Please, take it,’ Henry encourages me, when he sees me hesitating.

I pick up and say: ‘Eve, this better be very important.’ However I don’t hear her voice, but I hear Benji yelling in the background and that is something I barely understand. ‘What’s wrong? Is everything okay?’

‘I have no idea,’ Eve manages to say. ‘Isabella is just sitting in the corner of your living room, not speaking at all.’ That can’t be good. ‘Benji is on the edge of losing it, but I feel like he is too much in a rage to listen to any of us and Dean is outside, trying to let himself in, but we locked the door. I’m really sorry to interrupt your date, but I feel like both of your kids need you right now.’

My heart sinks. ‘Oh no,’ I mumble. ‘I’m coming back.’

‘I hate dad,’ I hear Benji yell in the background. ‘I fucking hate him.’

‘Benji, please stop it!’ Lola pleads.

‘This is not working, man,’ Jake adds.

‘Mom, Isabella is crying,’ Yara says.

I hang up, shaking my head. ‘I’m so sorry, Henry, I have to get back. Something is really wrong and according to Eve, Benji is really close to losing it completely and Isabella is not talking, Dean is outside of my house…’

‘I heard it,’ he says, already standing up, holding up my coat. ‘Let me get you home.’

[spiralhigh]

ranking the sdr2 cast by how much their formal wear hits

this is just my opinion, but my opinions are great and i know what i’m talking about! this will be long so it’s under a cut

S TIER:

s tier is reserved for only the best of them all, the cream of the crop, the fit that i would gladly lay down my life for. s tier is the crown jewel. s tier is what everyone else should strive to be... but only one can take the prize.

#1: AKANE OWARI

the undisputed champion. this look is everything to me. EVERYTHING. the red-trim cape with the fur. the contrast of the airy, gathered blouse with those skin-tight shiny (leather? vinyl??) pants. the pumps. the belt that screams disco style. the necklace accentuating the tasteful titty window. the red white and gold color scheme  are you FUCKING WITH ME miss owari this look could bring ARMIES to their KNEES in an INSTANT. whoever drew this deserves full creative control of the danganronpa franchise and i’m not kidding

A TIER:

a tier is for the fits that frankly own bones. they’re not as jaw-dropping and legendary as owari, but they’re still razor as hell and deserve to be met with riotous applause.

#2: KAZUICHI SOUDA

kazuichi, i didn’t know you had it in you, but this FUCKS. the character of the pins on the lapels, the sneakers, and the mispinned tie. the absolute CLASS of the suspenders, watch, and tiny round glasses. the handsome slick in the hair now that the greasy beanie is gone. the tasteful highwater. he looks like the host of the larry king show if the larry king show was exclusively about ska bands and he has never looked better

#3: HIYOKO SAIONJI

tell me this isn’t the cutest shit. the colors here are EXQUISITE. the bright notes from the blue on top, the way the soft pink is a perfect middle ground of the pink + white flowers on her sleeves, the subtle way the green in her bow matches the green in her collar, the white petals breaking up the sky blue that might otherwise look out of place? remarkable. stunning.

#4: PEKO PEKOYAMA

the ELEGANCE is EVERYTHING here. the monochrome is offset by just a splash of red that ties everything together with her eyes and the flower in her hair, the checkerboard pattern is visually interesting but not distracting, and her hair in that loose ponytail with the little white ribbon? ugh. ADORABLE! but most of all, look at those BOOTS. those CUTE LITTLE HEELS on those SICK LACE-UP BOOTS..... QUEEN shit!!!

#5: CHIAKI NANAMI

rounding out our a tier is chiaki in this adorable little dress just LOOK at her!!! she looks like a little rose, a perfect flouncy skirt with a glittery mesh overlay, a fun and fresh over-the-shoulder collar, a fucking big old bow tied in the back?? i can literally feel the way this dress would feel in my hands. it’s simple and perfect and frankly a GORGEOUS color on her this is flawless

B TIER:

b tier is a perfectly respectable place to be. these fits lack the lustre and flavor of the a tier entries, but they’re still dressed to impress and they still look fine as hell.

#6: TERUTERU HANAMURA

say what you will about teruteru (and i do) but this suit is ADORABLE and it fits in with his theme + talent better than any other mfer on this list. the tasteful white/brown/red palette gives it a flashy chocolate cookie look, which is amplified in the fun pattern on the jacket. the chef’s hat switching out for a little top hat and the way the cumberbund looks a lil bit like a chocolate bar is also VERY cute

#7: THE IMPOSTOR

now on its own, the suit is just alright. a vibrant pinstripe blue three-piece with the classic red tie wouldn’t land the impostor in b tier on its own... but that FUR COAT, LUXURIOUSLY DRAPED OVER THE SHOULDERS does WONDERS to pull this look together. not only is it worn with “yeah, it’s real mink, no, you can’t touch it” confidence, but it also ties the otherwise arbitrary white loafers into the structure of the look. it’s subtle and class as hell.

C TIER

c tier is full of looks that are... fine, but ultimately either are boring, lack cohesion, or have a confusing design choice or two that make it hard to get all that amped about. c tier is a passing grade, but nothing more.

#8: NAGITO KOMAEDA

there’s a lot that’s good about this outfit, but there’s also a lot that doesn’t really work. let’s start with the good: the slutty loose bowtie and collar, the tight-fitting vest that ends before the hipbones so you can see the belt, the cute little ponytail? (chefs kiss) exquisite, all of it. but the suit itself is boring as sing, and who the hell decided to put the t-shirt symbol on the sleeves??? was it to add visual flavor to an otherwise bland suit? this does NOT have the black/white/red elegance that peko had.

#9: FUYUHIKO KUZURYUU

the silver and gold mob-boss look, complete with matching shoes vest and fedora, are a nice nod to fuyuhiko’s talent! the plaid is teetering on the edge between fun and garish to me, but the fact that it’s consistent and the only pattern means it isn’t too offensive. quick question though: why are his pant legs rolled up like that?? this isn’t a cute “cuffed at the ankle” look, dude looks like he had to wade across a pond to get to the venue. what gives

#10: GUNDAM TANAKA

out of everyone here, gundam’s suit might be the most boring of all. the scarf is just his normal scarf. the red tie and trim don’t do anything to tie the look together. the only mild point of interest is the asymmetrical vest, and i can’t even tell if that’s intentional. simply put, this “““fancy”““ outfit isn’t even in the same ZIP CODE as the level of ostentatious chuuni that gundam serves us every single day in his casual wear. maybe even worse than being ugly... it’s disappointing.

#11: IBUKI MIODA

now, look. is this dress buckwild and ugly as hell? yes. but you know what else it is? it is IBUKI MIODA’S DRESS. there might not be a single cohesive thing about this dress aside from its color scheme. the huge poofy ruffles of the skirt and arm things with the spiked bow and corset are baffling. the artist somehow managed to draw the awkward, clumping shape of the skirt to make it look exactly like an emergency cosplay sewn four hours before a convention. frankly, i can’t justify ranking it as a c! but i’m doing it anyway, because the sheer level of craftsmanship demands it, and in this house we respect diy queens that are totally off the shits.

D TIER:

d tier is for outfits that aren’t offensive, exactly... but like, they sure don’t look good! d tier is not a respectable place to be. those in d tier won’t be laughed out of the ceremony in shame, but they should really run their outfit by someone else first next time.

#12: NEKOMARU NIDAI

now don’t get me wrong: i have nothing but respect for the titties-out look. keeping the shirt unbuttoned all the way down to where the lapels of the jacket end? that’s sexy as hell. however, this flawless idea has a confusing execution. why emerald green and orange? what’s with the... long-sleeved printed (hawaiian?) shirt? why the red pocket square? and the jacket itself, while fitted perfectly along the chest and midsection, has a weird, unflattering scallop shape flaring out at the bottom. i want to like this fit, but there are just too many bad choices.

#13: HAJIME HINATA

oh, hajime... literally nothing about this ensemble is it. the creamy manila suit might have had potential if there were literally any color variation in the vest (or potentially shoes) to give it a little more shape, or even if you just went with a white shirt underneath it! i could get behind a light, off-monochrome look! but that leprechaun-green shirt is downright perplexing to me. it looks like a mistake! did you get dressed in the dark? did you spill something on your other shirt? this is a mess.

F TIER:

f tier is inexcusable. f tier should never have happened. how does it get this bad. who did this? who’s responsible for this?

#14: SONIA NEVERMIND

y’know, the colors are pretty! i dig the white and teal! but... girl... what the fuck is this construction. the ruffles are all over the place. the bodice looks like it has less fabric than space it needs to cover. the bottom half of the skirt looks like it was sewn on as an afterthought because the top half was too short for dress code. what’s with the weird choker collar detached from everything else. why is the hairband a slightly different shade of green. so many decisions were made here and none of them are flattering

#15: MAHIRU KOIZUMI

yknow, i like the idea behind this. i can see what you were going for! the dress on its own might have worked, even! but everything else about it is just... so ugly. what the fuck is happening with those shoes??? the sheer black tights aren’t the sexy OL look you think they are. the collar of the dress looks like it’s... braided for some reason??? those earrings are so huge for no payoff, statement jewelry with nothing to say, and worst of all... that headband. GIRL. that headband and that belt...... there’s nothing here. also i love orange but it’s not her color.

and finally... the worst.

#16: MIKAN TSUMIKI

what the fuck. what the fuck is this. this is straight up cheap rubber fetish gear. why is the HAT rubber? that skirt ruffle makes this look like fucking polly pocket clothes. why the fuck is she wearing that. the clothes are so bad that it makes her hair look like rubber too. was she dared to wear this? is this some cruel punishment? i don’t even know what to say. this is the worst possible outfit. there is not even one redeeming quality about it.

[submissivekillers]

please just more the collect content. im just dying for more for him. love him so much

i have a couple more ~specific~ Asa requests in my drafts, so this is just gonna be some general relationship hcs!! still kinda tryin to figure this thicc bug boy out tbh

when he was younger, still clawing his way towards the respected academic (and seasoned murderer) he is today, Asa longed for companionship

he's never been an easy person to get along with, always sullen and brusque, and generally he doesn't mind that; he finds most people dull at best, and toys to be taken apart and studied at worst

but there were times, as a lonely student, when he'd watch his peers dating and fucking and falling in love and feel a terrible want - when the sight of couples holding hands or exchanging chaste kisses made his heart twist for reasons other than vague revulsion

but that was then, and this is now: he has his work, his dogs, his Collection. Asa is content with his life, and if listening to colleagues blather on about their spouses or children makes his chest ache, he has plenty of options to distract himself from those pesky emotions

...until you enter the picture and then Uh Oh! Time To Yearn™

he kinda? forgot?? that he could feel genuine attraction to someone without wanting to torture them??? it’s very disorienting, honestly

he’ll honestly try and work up the urge - trying to imagine the sound of your screams, the look of fear in your eyes when you wake up strapped down to his table, how easily your skin would split beneath a scalpel. but as soon as he sees you, the impulse just. dissipates 

y’all know that post where someone was so bad at dealing with their crush that they just left a note in their locker that said “get out of my school.” yeah. that’s about Asa’s level 

even once you’ve managed (by some miracle) to get into a relationship with him, he’s very reserved. he’s not one for big displays of physical affection, in public or in private, so the rare squeeze of your hand or caress of your face is something to be treasured

he will spoil you extravagantly when it comes to dates, though. he may prefer a quiet night in with good wine and good books, but when he wants to give you a night out, Asa spares no expense. you’re in for a night of top-tier entertainment and a reservation at the best restaurant he knows - not to mention a complete new look, picked out by the man himself (and damn if the sight of you all dressed up and on his arm doesn’t do wonders for his ego) 

kisses very aggressively. it’s awkward at first, just because he tends to go in hard and fast (and also keeps his eyes open to watch your face, which is flattering but also really unnerving), but once you two are used to each other it’s a much smoother experience, though he’s no less dominating. likes to keep a hand on your throat, and will squeeze if you’re amenable to it 

so he doesn’t want to kill you, that’s true. but everything else - hearing you scream, strapping you down, cutting you up? still very much on the table, but now he wants to see pleasure mixed with your fear. he wants to get inside you, see every reaction, find the edge where ecstasy turns to agony and keep you balanced there until you break. it’s, uh, intense

he prefers having you completely at his mercy in general, but as time goes on he eases up. it’s difficult for him to feel safe when he’s not in total control, even with you, and even something vanilla where you’re free to touch him and look at him openly can be... overwhelming, at first

but knowing that you want this, want him, that you’re giving yourself to him freely and treating him gently because you love him? it’s almost as good as breaking you down piece by piece and collecting the pieces

almost.

[itawonka-creates]

This Jewelry Will End Up Killing Me - CH 2

[Prologue] [Ch 1] [Ch 3]

“You don’t have to fight.”

Looking at the girl, anyone would’ve thought she was standing on an unstable platform. Her hands could barely hang onto the knife in her hand and she struggled to look straight. Marinette’s voice was weak as she pushed out a sad, “I-I can do it.”

“No, you really can’t.” She’d probably die. The toads were extremely large; what Marinette said about them eating whole goats and children suddenly made sense. The ground vibrated with each hop as they hung around the empty field. He looked down at his own sword and started to wonder if it would even cut it. In his world, cutting a toad with his blade would be like cutting butter. Here, he had no clue. “Look, I’m going to test it out. If my sword doesn’t work then we’ll have to buy one from a shop.”

She looked over his sword and asked, “Didn’t it help you get here? Why wouldn’t it work?”

He shrugged and looked at the different toads in the field. Damian was glad they stayed away from the hill they were using as a vantage point. He walked a bit away from Marinette to take a better look at the area before muttering under his breath, “Tikki, is this going to work?”

Tikki popped her head out from under the gold-trimmed black mantle and looked at the toads. She hummed, “I believe so. Your weapons are fairly similar, but the lack of magical ability may not work in your favor here.”

“What’s the plan then?”

“In an emergency, put on the earrings. You may not be the true holder, but you will still have heightened abilities.”

“Is the true holder even around?”

“Yes.”

Damian sighed, “Let me guess. You don’t know who though.” Tikki shook her head while nervously giggling, much to Damian’s dismay. “For a goddess, you’re more useless than my brothers.” Tikki pinched his cheek and he yelped. “HEY!”

“What?” Tikki quickly flew into hiding and Damian regained his composure. Marinette walked over and leaned forward, “Why’d you yell?”

“No reason.”

Marinette frowned and rolled her eyes, “Sure.” She looked him over and asked, “How are the new clothes?”

Damian stretched a bit and thought for a moment. He kept his original boots and utility belt but wore a dark red shirt and black pants. The mantle was the finishing touch, at least in Marinette’s mind. Damian shrugged as he continued scanning the area, “It’s comfortable, but I want actual armor as soon as we make some more money.”

“Why do you call it that?”

“Call it what?”

“Why don’t you ever use the money’s name?”

“It has a name?”

“We just call it Tikki after the great goddess.”

“That’s weird.”

“No, it’s not. What’s weird is the fact that you made your outfit look like the bizarre costume you first came in.”

He finally found one that seemed the smallest out of the few in the area. He decided that would be the first target and pointed it out with his sword, “How about you? How are your clothes treating you?”

She looked down and frowned, “I’d rather buy fabric and make something for myself.” After Damian pointed out that fighting in her dress would be “a preventable hazard” and “dangerously stupid”, he pushed her to buy a less compromising outfit. He noted how she was quick so anything she can run in was preferable. Still, female armor and clothing for adventurers were more revealing than she anticipated. How Alya wore these outfits with the confidence of the Demon King himself, she had no clue. She ended up going to the boy’s section and buying herself some plain pants and a short-sleeved shirt. If it wasn’t for her small, but visible chest and ponytails she’d probably pass off as a boy fairly easily. She hated it. Still, she was surprised he’d do that to make sure she could move around and stay out of trouble.

Damian went as far as to buy her more comfortable shoes, but that was the most of their funds solely used for wardrobe. The outfit was horribly unflattering, but this was temporary. She dropped their things quickly in her home, not giving her poor parents the chance to ask questions, and leaving while Damian was out of sight. She felt like whining, but Damian was right; she’d fight better in this.

“Later. We don’t have that kind of time right now.”

“Promise?”

“Sure.”

She took a deep breath and nodded, “Okay. Let’s do this.”

“Just stay back for right now. I want to see how strong these are first. Once I figure out the best way to take them down, I’ll have you help with the next one.”

The look on her face displayed disbelief, “Really?”

It confused him but he had a feeling she didn’t get to do too much around here. Why? He had no clue, despite the clumsiness she seemed fairly competent. However, Damian wasn’t about to push her in the deep end and have her fight like this. She’d just get herself hurt. “Yeah, but for now just stand back until you’re comfortable.”

“Gotcha.” He stared down the smallest toad and waited for it to turn its back before charging. “Woah.” Marinette realized that his stats did not lie whatsoever. Damian moved in a way she’d only seen by veteran adventurers. She watched as he effortlessly pushed his sword through the toad’s skin and slicing into its side. It tried to swat at him and its scream brought the attention of the other toads, but he stayed focused on the one he just injured.

It was odd for her to be in awe of other adventurers. Her friends always headed the top tier list in her head, but neither came close to the precision Damian displayed. She gulped and thought to herself, “If he just registered as an adventurer today and this was his performance at his base stats, what’ll happen when he levels up?” Seeing him take down the toad and then immediately set his sights on the next nearest one made her tense. She knew he just registered as an assassin class, but he was right. Given the death toll he was racking up, it was perfect for him.

A voice from behind her nearly gave her a heart attack, “Who exactly is this guy?”

Her scream must’ve caught his attention because he immediately made some space between him and his opponent. Damian looked up only to see the same girl he saw on the rooftops with her arms wrapped around Marinette. The girl must’ve caught her from behind and it seemed that she had another man there as back up.

Damian wondered if he was getting robbed. Wouldn’t be entirely impossible, they walked around town with a sack of coins the past few hours. If these two have been spying on them since the market, then they might think they still had money. Damian cursed under his breath as he jumped out of the way from an incoming tongue from the toad he was fighting. Damian looked over to the three and what he saw made his blood boil. The man somehow got her knife, toying with and examining it. The girl had adjusted Marinette in her grip in what seemed like a headlock. Marinette seemed to be struggling while the girl poked at her and, worst of all, looked down her shirt all with a smile on her face. Marinette seemed mortified.

Damian growled and looked up at the toad. It reeled its head back, most likely getting ready to use its tongue again. However, boiling blood and adrenaline was a deadly combination. Without issue, Damian grabbed the incoming tongue and cut it off. The screech from the toad was something out of a nightmare, but it simply irritated him. He slashed at the throat, easily making it fall over. There was no way he could celebrate. Damian ran around the body and charged immediately at the stunned trio.

“Get the hell off of her!” The girl didn’t react at first, still in shock over what she just witnessed, but the boy quickly came in between them. Damian didn’t hesitate to swing at him, but it was blocked by the boy’s shield. By the ring that came from the impact and the look in the guy’s eyes, his strength was unexpected. Damian jumped back, putting some distance between him at the three to plan his next step. From the growing vibrations from the ground, they caught the attention of the rest of the toads. “Move!”

“Steal!”

There was a flash of light and he looked over at the girl. She held one of his batarangs out of his utility belt. “What?!”

The girl still gripped on Marinette’s arm, but their contact was broken by a slimy tongue wrapping around it. The girl instinctively pulled back and managed to get her hand out of the wrap. Marinette was not so lucky. Marinette was yanked up into the air and she reached out to the girl for help. “ALYA!”

“MARINETTE!”

“Alya?!” Damian cursed under his breath and looked at her partner, “Are you Nino?!” He nodded, a confused expression on his face. “Oh my- Get ready to launch me up!”

Alya tried to slice at the toad with her new weapon, but was causing little damage. “Marinette! Hold on!”

Marinette was slowly sinking into the toad’s mouth, “Get me out of here!”

“Nino! Now!” Nino flattened his shield while Damian took a running start towards the creature. As soon as Damian set foot on the shield, Nino launched him up. Damian didn’t hesitate to thrust his sword into the toad and drag it down its side as gravity did the work. The toad fell over and Marinette slid out of its mouth in a pool of saliva and slime.

Alya quickly ran over and grabbed her, “Marinette!”

Marinette stood up and started frantically wiping herself down, “Gross! Gross! Gross!”

Nino sighed in relief, “Good, you’re okay!”

“Not for long.” Damian pulled out his sword and motioned to the last four toads coming towards them. “Give Marinette her knife back.” Nino didn’t hesitate.

Alya tossed over the batarang and pulled out a shortened machete, “Alright, hotshot. Now what?”

“Nino, you have the shield. Keep Marinette out of trouble.”

“Got it!”

Damian looked over at Alya, “You ready to fight?”

“These bastards just tried to eat my best friend, of course I am.” Damian liked the answer.

“Let’s go.”

********************************

The sight hours later could’ve been a headline; four adventures covered in slime entered the adventurers’ guild with sacks full of toad meat. Alya was trying to comfort Marinette, who still seemed shaken up by the entire ordeal, while Nino tried cracking some jokes. Damian went up to the nearest register and pointed at the bulletin board. “We’re here to collect the reward.”

The poor woman, clearly disgusted by the four, took their meat. “Thank you.”

The reward was hefty, but they all agreed that the first thing they needed to do was get their clothes cleaned and take a bath at the nearest bathhouse. “Marinette, where do we get cleaned up?” Marinette didn’t say anything, instead responding with a soft whimper and Alya patted her back.

“Well, it could’ve been worse! You could’ve been eaten!”

“I was eaten!”

“Well, digested then.” Marinette hung her head and Alya sighed. She looked at both Nino and Damian before suddenly smirking, “So, who’s your boyfriend?”

Damian nearly tripped over his own feet, “What?”

Marinette whined before answering her friend, “His name is Damian Wayne.”

“That is not the part to focus on here!”

The shlop noise from Nino putting his arm around Damian’s shoulders made him scowl, “Damian, huh? How’d you meet Marinette?”

“She stared at me.”

Marinette crossed her arms and huffed, “You were dressed so weirdly, what did you expect?”

“What do you mean? He looks fine. Now you on the other hand…”

Marinette rolled her eyes, “He left his clothes back in my room, you should see th-”

“In your room?” Slime flew into the air as Alya flailed her arms, “What do you mean he left clothes in your room?!”

Damian groaned and pinched the bridge on his nose, “Can we talk about this after we get cleaned up?”

Nino grinned and pointed towards a few buildings, “We got two options. The cheaper option is to go to the public bath. Or we could go to the inn there, wash up and have a nice place to sleep. We’d have to get our clothes washed elsewhere either way, but-”

“You want the inn?”

“We would love the inn, thank you so much Damian! After all, we did help you kill those last few frogs.”

Damian groaned, “Fine but they better have spare clothes.”

“That’s one of the more expensive inns, so yes. Most likely.”

“Maybe we can get Marinette looking like a girl again.”

“Alya.”

“Hey! You made a cute boy. I know-”

“Marinette?”

The four turned around and Alya immediately frowned, “Chloe.”

“Excuse you, thief. It’s Lady Bourgeois to you, Miss Césaire.” Alya wiped some of the slime off her face and flicked it towards Chloe. Chloe jumped back in disgust, “Ugh! This is expensive!”

“Nino?” Nino looked up and almost melted on the spot when he saw a familiar blond running towards him. “Nino!”

“Adrien!” Nino pulled himself away from Damian and ran to meet Adrien somewhere in the middle. If Adrien noticed the slime covering his friend, he didn’t show it. Instead, Adrien jumped into Nino’s arms and squeezed tightly. “Dude! When’d you get back? You look good!”

“You stopped sending me letters! I thought you two died! I wanted to make sure you were okay!”

“Yeah, right! If I leave you alone for too long with little miss silver spoon over there then you’d go crazy.” Adrien laughed and wiped away some of the slime from Nino’s face. “Gross, right?”

“Very. What happened?”

Nino turned and pointed at Damian, “Marinette’s boyfriend was fighting toads and needed backup.” Both Chloe and Adrien blinked and took a moment to process the information before asking questions.

“Toads?”

“Boyfriend?”

“Stop saying that!” Damian groaned and turned around, “Let’s just go and get cleaned up.”

Chloe snorted, “I don’t know, the slime seems like an improvement. Don’t you think Marinette? The color really works for you. Actually makes you stand out.”

Marinette frowned and looked to her feet, “Yes, Lady Bour-”

“Marinette, don’t take that.” She looked up to Damian who took out the same sack Chloe had given them earlier, now full of coins, and threw it at her feet. Some of the coins fell out, but what made Chloe irritated was the slime that got on her dress.

“How dare-”

Damian decided to lay it on thick, “Thank you for your generosity, Lady Bourgeois. You’ll find your loan in the bag along with some interest. I figured an indirect method would be preferable given our current state.”

Chloe gagged as she reached down and picked the bag up with a handkerchief, “Yes, thank you.” She quickly handed the money to Adrien and threw the piece of cloth to the ground. “Well, Marinette you look atrocious. For a mediocre designer, this is terrible even for you.”

Before she could get any further, Damian asked Marinette, “Why are you working for her again?” Marinette opened her mouth but Damian immediately shook his head, “Don’t defend her. Just answer honestly.”

Marinette gulped and played with her ponytail, “To help out my family. The bakery if doing well, but the high taxes put us in debt. I thought I’d help out.”

Alya snapped her head over to her friend, “That’s the reason you’re working for her? You told me it was to make connections!”

Marinette flinched, “I knew you’d try to intervene-”

“Of course I’d try to intervene! I’m your best friend! I could’ve paid for everything!”

“I couldn’t do that to your family!”

Alya grabbed her arms and shook her, “Marinette, sweetie, love of my life, both me and my sister are adventurers. My family is fine!”

Marinette pressed her lips together and was about to apologize when Damian interrupted, “She wanted to earn the money herself without relying on people.”

Alya looked between the two a few times before growling at Damian and pulling Marinette close, “Is that why you took her to the fields? She could’ve gotten killed! She’s a designer!”

“Stop treating her like a kid! How do you expect her to do anything by herself when you coddle her like a toddler?” Damian held out his hand, “Marinette, give me your card.”

Marinette nodded, shifting herself in a way to slip out of Alya’s arms before walking towards Damian. She pulled out her card and Damian took it. He looked it over before turning it to the group, “She’s an adventurer. We registered today.”

Chloe snorted but when no one else laughed along with her, she coughed and asked, “Wait, are you serious? Marinette can barely pour water without messing it up.”

Nino ignored the statement as he walked up and hugged Marinette, “Dude! Finally!”

“Nino!”

“Oh come on, Alya. He’s right, you totally baby her. You guys act like she can’t do anything.”

“Yeah, Marinette’s awesome.” The group turned to Adrien and he shrugged, “I’ve seen her interrogate nobles based on their clothes. Anyone that can criticize Sir Damocles at a public even for his suit and tie combo and live to tell the tale with an intact reputation is someone to be feared.”

Alya’s mouth hung open in disbelief while she read the Adventurer’s Card over and over. Damian muttered to himself, “So that explains your behavior earlier.” Damian looked over the group and asked, “Hey, Marinette?”

“Yes?”

“How much is your family’s debt?”

Marinette gulped, “Around twenty two thousa-”

“Considered it paid.”

Marinette blinked, “What?”

“Consider it paid.”

“Wha – How?”

“You acted as bait for the toads.” Marinette flinched and was about to protest but he continued to say, “You earned your share of the reward. Even after paying Chloe back, there’s enough to pay off the debt.”

Chloe rolled her eyes, “Oh really? How much did you get? A few thousand?”

“Thirty five thousand Tikki.”

Chloe choked and nearly screamed, “TH-TH-TH-THIRTY FIVE THOUSAND FOR A FEW FROGS?!”

“Seven to be exact. Although if Alya and Nino want a share of the reward then I’m sure we can go back tomorrow and kill some more.” He looked to the couple and Nino had to shake Alya’s arm to bring her back to reality.

“Huh?”

“Do you want your share of the reward or can we use it to pay off Marinette’s debt?”

Alya looked at Marinette and sighed, “You know I love my Tikki, but I love you too girl.”

Marinette thought for a moment before throwing herself at Alya and squeezing the life out of her best friend, “Thank you.”

Alya didn’t hesitate to return the hug, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

Alya pulled back a bit and wiped a bit of slime from her friend’s cheek, “Oh my god, our little Marinette is an adventurer.”

“You sound like my mother.”

Alya took that as an invitation to play it up, “She’s growing up so fast.”

“Alya.”

“And with a man by her side, no less!”

“Alya!”

Nino sighed, “That doesn’t leave us enough for the inn though.”

Adrien sniffed his slime-covered self and nearly gagged, “Nino, I will pay you to shower at least.”

Chloe crossed her arms, “So I guess this is your resignation, Marinette?”

Marinette looked over to Chloe and nodded, “Yes.”

Chloe rolled her eyes, “You’ll be back. I’m great-granddaughter of one of the founders! The goddess has a special bond with our family, you know?”

Damian turned his attention to Chloe and asked, “The goddess?”

“Of course!”

Alya dismissed her claim with an annoyed wave, “She always says that.”

“It’s part of my family’s great history! The great goddess bestowed onto our family a great amount of fortune and prosperity for building the first church in the city. Jealous?”

“No, but I pity whoever has to listen to your family milk that for all it’s worth.”

Adrien was quick on his feet as he grabbed Chloe by the waist and held her back as she tried to lunge at Alya, “Chloe! No! If you get another assault charge, your father will have to force you out of the city!”

“Let me go!” Chloe flailed about for a minute before going limp and sighing, “I’m alright. I’m alright.”

“So if I let go right now, you won’t try to hurt our friends?”

“She’s not my friend.”

Adrien lifted her off her feet and scolded her, “Chloe.”

Chloe squealed, “I won’t!”

“Or arrest them.”

“Adrikins-”

“Promise.”

Chloe groaned and threw her hands up in frustration, “Fine! Fine! Promise.”

Adrien set her down and hesitantly let her go, “Okay.” Her face was flushed once she was set down and looked down to her feet.

Alya snickered, “Oh look, she does have an off button.”

“Alya! Stop already!” Marinette glared at her friend while Alya tried to protest.

“But-“

“No.”

“C’mon-”

“No!”

“Just one-”

“Alya!”

“FINE!” Alya crossed her arms and huffed.

Damian rubbed his temples, “You guys are more exhausting than my brothers.” The group turned to Damian and he realized that he said that out loud. Damian mumbled a quick curse and started to do damage control, “Um – I mean –”

“No, no, you’re absolutely right.” Adrien clapped his hands together and stepped forward, “And how rude are we not to invite our diplomat from Gotham to at the very least rest at our manor. Don’t you think, Chloe?” Chloe grumbled and looked away, not responding one way or the other. Adrien continued, “So on behalf of our great city, we invite you to come back to our manor. You will be given a room to rest, a bath, and dinner.”

Despite Marinette’s pleading looks, Alya asked, “Does that include friends of the guest?”

Adrien shrugged, “Sure.”

“ABSOLUTELY NOT!” Chloe stomped her foot and pointed at Alya, “I REFUSE TO HAVE THAT-”

“My name’s Alya.”

“IN MY HOME! SHE’S A THIEF!”

“Just because I started out in the thief class doesn’t mean I’m a thief! I only chose it because the abilities available early on help me during my investigations! I’ve been working on my magic! I want to be a mage!”

“Right, like I’m supposed to believe that! Why don’t I just call-”

“CHLOE!” Everyone flinched at the sudden bark, the shock soon set in when they realized it came from Adrien. Adrien took a deep breath after noticing the looks on the group’s faces. “Sorry! Sorry. Just-”

“They can come.” Adrien turned his attention back to Chloe who shuffled her feet. She had the look of a reprimanded child. Whatever her relationship was with Adrien, he held a great deal of power over her. “They can come.” Chloe visibly gulped and turned to Alya, “Just don’t take anything. Please.”

Any hint of Alya’s previous mischievous demeanor had completely vanished as she nodded. It was more of a reaction than a response. Nino was the first to recover, “Sweet! Living the high life for a night!” Nino grabbed Adrien’s arm and threw up a fist, “Drinks on Adrien!”

“I don’t drink, though.”

“You don’t have to. Me and Alya do. Thanks man!” Adrien laughed nervously, but still seemed on board with it all.

Chloe turned on her heel and started walking, “I’ll call two carriages. You all stink.”

Alya walked over to Nino’s side and grabbed onto his arm. He must’ve noticed her heightened nerves because he wrapped an arm around her and kissed her temple. “C’mon. We’ll be fine. Especially after Adrien shows us the wine.”

“I’m not showing you the wine.”

“He obviously showing is the wine.”

Adrien rolled his eyes and started walking after Chloe. He looked over his shoulder and his eyes immediately went to Marinette. By the surprised look on his face, he must’ve been expecting her right behind him with Alya and Nino. However, he noticed Marinette still hadn’t moved.

Instead, she walked towards Damian. Nino pushed his shoulder and nearly knocked him over, “What are you looking at?”

“Nothing.”

Alya came up from the other side and nudged him, “Oh! Is Adrien jealous?”

“Why? Marinette’s just a friend and they just met today.”

“Really? Today?” Alya looked over her shoulder, “That doesn’t look like a couple whose only known each other for a day.”

The boys looked back and both were surprised. Marinette was awfully close and friendly with the newcomer. His expression was one of annoyance or indifference, but he still allowed her to be close as they walked together. Alya shrugged, “I think they’re cute.”

Adrien hummed, “Yeah. Cute.”

[thirsty-x1]

midnight meal | Han Seungwoo

Request:

Maybe you can write about Seungwoo being reunited with his gf after a world tour🥺 and that it will be pure fluff because sometimes you need a Uwu instead of a sin - ⚛️ anon

↬ Pairing: Seungwoo x gn!reader.

↬ Genre: Fluff.

↬ Warnings: none.

↬ Word Count: 2.4k

↬ Song Recommendation: "midnight meal" by Crucial Star. Please check it out! All of his songs are extremely wonderful and the lyrics are top tier uwu.

It had grown to be a usual thing you both did now. You knew you were going to see him later on, but the anxiety would tickle the tip of your fingers each time he came back, and this time it wasn’t for less: Seungwoo had gone on a worldwide tour, being away from you for months that ended up becoming much longer than just one eternity.

The airport was filled with quite a lot of people, the fans aiming their cameras at the seven boys entering the doors. The group had gained a lot of attention in the past year, and even if you were happy about it, there was no use in denying that you miss him like crazy each time he is away or that he is busy preparing for promotions.

One particular scream of his name suddenly caught your attention and brought you back to reality, noticing a tall boy smiling sweetly at the fans, his eyes focusing on you just for a second before continuing to greet the rest of the people there and you wondered if he had recognized you despite the mask covering your face. The flashes were almost blinding, making it hard for them to see clearly, but even then you could notice that your boyfriend would try to steal glances to you, your heart warming up as you took the subtle gesture as his way to say “yes, I see you”.

Although you didn’t want to, you decided to start walking towards the exit, knowing that it would be too messy to go later and it might lift suspicion if you left at the same time as they did. You drove the car, your eyes constantly checking the mirrors as if to confirm that no one had noticed anything weird with you and as usual, there was nothing to be seen other than the lights of other cars.

Almost an hour later, you were curled up in front of the TV, not paying any attention to the movie playing as you scrolled down your phone’s screen, liking the pictures of the recent event where you had gone, appreciating the previews where you could see Seungwoo’s crescent-like eyes whenever he smiled kindly at the fans. It was genuine, you knew, and in order to be able to see that smile more often, you began your usual late night labor: clearing the searches. Even if many loved the group, there was quite another bunch that didn’t and another that didn’t particularly like your boyfriend, and did they work hard in making it noticeable. Somehow, it became a routine: every night before you fell asleep, you would use the fake fan account you had created to read the rumors, rarely ever replying and instead reporting the accounts that spread them.

The message popping up at the top of the screen distracted you and calmed you down, easing the knot in your throat while tightening it at the same time. You got up, fixing your hair and your outfit a bit before listening to the small knock on your door, almost running to it and opening it a bit to see the familiar figure. Seungwoo was there, although his eyes were fixed on the sides of the corridor to make sure that no one was around, but as soon as you poked his chest, his attention was on you again.

“Can I come in?” His head tilted to a side, hair covering his eyes but could sense his smile behind the mask covering half his face.

You opened the door a bit more, sighing and tapping your chin with one finger in thought. “Hmm, I’m not sure… my boyfriend always says to not let strangers in.”

He snorted a bit, lowering his mask only to wrap his arms around your waist and picking you up in a swift movement while closing the door behind him as he pressed his lips against you. It was a sweet, brief second, but enough to have you completely melted. When he was about to pull away, you held him tighter, and now it was Seungwoo’s turn to feel the way his cheeks blushed at the simple action.

Of course he was grateful to have the opportunity to take his music to an international level, but being right there between your arms brought him the same feeling of satisfaction and happiness as performing on the stage. It made him feel good to know that you had missed him just as much as he had missed you, there was no need for him to hear that from your mouth, he simply knew: the way your breath felt shaky as he hugged you, how you buried your face on his chest, the tiny sob you let out when he stroked your head, it all showed just how much you loved him.

The magical moment was broken by Seungwoo’s stomach grumbling, the unexpected sound making both of you laugh and interrupt the tears that threatened to fall down your faces.

“Should we order some food?”

You nodded at his proposal, quickly dialing the number and five minutes later, Seungwoo was telling you all about the tour while waiting for the delivery to get there, cuddling with you on the sofa. From the experience in the hotels to how the boys behaved and he had to take care of each single thing, to the day that they were reprimanded because of the screaming (caused by him) or about how he had managed to write a song in just one day, or the sleepless nights he spent working without a break, or how he almost fell during a performance or how insecure he felt when his voice cracked during a practice. He wasn’t really the type to speak a lot, he himself had acknowledged it multiple times in the past, but when it came to you… it seemed as if he felt the need to vent out about every single detail, and you loved it. Seungwoo noticed when he spoke too much, some kind of inner switch advising him to shut up once and for all, but each time he searched for any sign of you being tired or uncomfortable on your face, he didn’t find any. Maybe that was the reason; he never felt like you didn’t want to listen to him, your eyes always fixed on his, reacting to each of his stories accordingly and encouraging him to keep telling you. It made him feel comfortable, and since he was used to being the lending ear, it was soothing for him to be able to do the same with someone else, especially if that someone was his partner.

Right as he was approaching to the end of the narration, you received a message notifying that the food had arrived. Seungwoo offered to go and pick it up by instinct, and it was necessary that you reminded him he couldn’t be seen now, his ears blushing a bit when he realized his silly mistake making him adorable as you leaned in and kissed his cheek. When you got back with the food, he had already brought everything that was necessary to the coffee table, the gesture making it feel as if he had never left.

While you two eat on the snacks after finishing dinner, you choose a movie, Seungwoo saying he’s incredibly full and thinking to his insides of how much he will have to work out in order to lose all that, but he couldn’t really give much thought about it. His attention switched to you, to the slightly noticeable bags under your eyes despite your efforts to cover them, to the way your face looked slimmer and how you felt a bit thinner between his arms, a small sense of worry starting to form in his heart. All of his suspicions were cleared when he saw the screen of your phone showing the searches while you were trying to show him some of the pictures his fan sites had taken earlier.

Seungwoo tried to not say anything about it, preferring to just try and work harder so that you would not have to worry about that kind of things. It wasn’t something he had never heard off, actually; almost on a daily basis he would scroll past news and comments with his name, and although it did hurt him and annoyed him to some extent, seeing his fans defending him and doing their best in order for him to not suffer gave him an infinite source of strength. However, as much as he appreciated, he couldn’t bare seeing you in this state and imagining that it must be the same one as his fans…

“You shouldn’t do that.” The clueless look you gave him was enough for him to understand he should elaborate a bit more. “You haven’t been resting enough reading at that kind of things...”

A nervous laugh was all you let out. “It’s not that big of a deal, I still take care of myself.”

“There is no need to protect me like this.” It was abrupt, cutting you off all of a sudden. “I mean, I know you are doing it for me but… we shouldn’t pay attention to them at all.”

The knot in your throat came back seeing the change in your boyfriend’s attitude. “Yes… yes, you’re right… they do have very shitty arguments, anyway.”

His throaty laugh vibrated against your back and you proceeded to discuss some of the silly things you two had read out there, making fun of them and trying to turn a negative situation into a more positive one. While staring at the pictures, a comment you read recently came to your mind.

“Why are you always covering your face during lives? Fans have been a little bit sad about it…”

Seungwoo scratched the back of his neck. “I’m still not super confident without make up on… my skin…”

Sighing, you got up, ignoring his questions as you went to search some creams and filled a bowl with warm water. Once everything was settled up, you sat on the floor, patting on your crossed legs and he smiled slightly, resting his head on top of them as you started to clean his face. He wasn’t too fond of taking care of his skin, so you had done this for him a few times before, massaging his skin while also falling in love with his facial gestures.

“You are beautiful.” His eyes looked up and met with yours, blushing a bit when he processed your words. “Everything about you is beautiful, and fans think the same way, so you shouldn’t worry about that. With or without make up, you are still my gorgeous Han Seungwoo.”

It was obvious he was trying hard not to cringe while also squirming at your words, but it was necessary and even if he acted like that now, he would later remember those words and get all fuzzy. Seungwoo knew it as well, maybe that was the reason why he tried to avoid you complimenting him so much, because he would smile like a dummy out of nowhere and the members would tease him about it forever.

You continued with the routine not without placing a small kiss on the top of his nose, but Seungwoo couldn’t manage to not look at you, the angle resulting funny to him but also feeling tingly on the inside that someone took so much care of him. Moments like these were the ones he missed the most; simple, daily things were what he reminded the most when he was alone or when he couldn’t see you, and it was more than enough for him to be filled with happiness. In a certain way, he hoped you felt the same way in his presence, although you would text him pretty often about the times when you suddenly thought of him.

Last time you had checked your phone, not much had happened, but now it seemed like four hours had flew by without any of you noticing. It was pretty late, and you knew he would have to go soon, otherwise his manger would end up locking him outside the dorms… but if that meant he could stay with you for the night, then it might be worth it, at least for you.

Seungwoo was starting to get ready, quickly grabbing his coat and getting ready when you held his hand tightly.

“Do you really have to go?” He gave you a sad look, but before he replied, you added: “It has been a very, very long time since you stayed… I will personally call your manager and ask for permission, can I?”

How could he say no when he wanted the same thing? And he was aware that his schedule didn’t have anything important the next day or at least, not happening early, and his manager wouldn’t be able to resist your cuteness. It was a technique that had worked in the past, and it had been quite long since the last time you had tried it, so…

It worked. Of course it would work, and now Seungwoo was giggling next to you, struggling to get the blanket to cover his feet as you two snuggled in the almost small bed. His body was curled up right next to yours, holding you close while muttering a few “thank you”s in your ear, and even if you had put all of your effort into it, you couldn’t help but to feel drowsy at his warmth surrounding you. It was the first time in months where you didn’t have to worry about maintaining yourself awake waiting for his good night message, and feeling safe and sound.

“You can sleep, love… I’m quite tired too, so don’t worry about it…” A yawn interrupted his comforting and you smiled.

“I don’t think I can without a lullaby.”

He laughed tiredly, proceeding to sing, but after a few minutes his voice dropped to a slight murmur before you could hear a soft snore. You were getting sleepy too, a wave of calm washing over you as you could felt Seungwoo hugging you tightly while burying his face on the crook of your neck, placing a small kiss that sent shivers down your spine before going back to sleep, dragging you along with him into it.

yes, my shots always finish with everyone sleeping because that’s what true love looks like and also this is super messy and didn’t know how to finish it but I hope it doesn’t suck too much

~Nani

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[mychemicalxmen]

The Umbrella Academy College Theatre Kid AU Plot

Alright bitches, ask and ye shall receive. 

Here’s the 6k summary of this ten-chapter monstrosity I almost wrote a year ago and just now attempted to flesh out.

Canon divergence from the point of their birth onward. The Commission doesn’t exist here, it would just make everything a little too complicated. No Luther/Allison either, personal preference. If anyone would want to try writing or drawing a scene from this universe, I would be over the heckin moon, please feel free to do w/e if any part of this inspires anyone. And if anyone just wants to shoot hc, pop off!

But yeah. This is a crack concept treated dead seriously. Buckle up.

Chapter One - “Overture”

-I wrote this chapter, but it’s Really Not Good. I had just watched the show and hadn’t written fic in a Hot Minute.

-Welcome to Umbrella University, a top-tier school with a sacrilegiously large budget for the fine arts!

-They’re all freshman atm.

-Basically, all of our kiddos (except Five, we’ll get there) are cleaning the theater between shows in the fall season. Allison is acting House Crew Chief and is overseeing the whole thing. The others are on House Crew for various reasons - tech class credit, volunteer hours, etc. No one is actually studying theatre for their major except Allison, who’s double-majoring in acting and something else

-They’re essentially strangers (except Ben and Klaus, who are assigned roommates). They’re all aware of their own powers, but not any of the others’.

-As they clean, the host on the radio is going on about the one-year anniversary of his favorite “Hargreeves Five” (the current Academy, made up of different kids from the 43, and definitely not based on the ASBO Five) battle, apprehending a robber named Erick Webber in New York City. He was a starving actor who stole from large donation funds that were supposed to be distributed to other starving artists. The battle got violent, and fire got involved. What a spectacle!

-Vanya, who has accidentally skipped her meds that day, sees a rat and screams, prompting Luther to drop the lighting equipment he’s working on. Loud sound. Telekinetic energy starts going.

-There is a comically convenient chain reaction in which all of the siblings’ powers are triggered at once - Diego throws something, Klaus levitates, the Horror has to hold up the light rig, Allison has to rumor to memory-wipe the witnesses, etc.

-Once they have the situation under control, they realize it’s… weird. The odds are absolutely astronomical. How the hell did they all end up in the same place??

-There’s no reason to believe anyone brought them together on purpose, except maybe fate, or whatever Mysterious Space Magic caused their birth in the first place. They have a private House Crew meeting with a lot of freaking out and questions and bonding.

Chapter Two - “God I Hope I Get It”

-Fast forward to junior year. Since that fateful day, the theater has become the siblings’ home base. Luther is the shop foreman this year, Allison is seated at the right hand of the theatre department director (a sharp middle-aged woman who directs half of the shows), Diego knows his way around lights, and Klaus frequently builds and paints in the scene shop. Allison’s the only one of them who actually performs.

-The fall season includes Hair and Othello, and the joint audition for both is quickly approaching.

-Vanya, however, has been drifting away from it all for some reason. Allison finds her in the quad one day and encourages her to audition for Othello. Apparently, the theatre director has observed Vanya’s love of reading plays from afar and asked for her specifically. Vanya doesn’t want to go anywhere near the theater, but she’s touched by Allison’s belief in her and reluctantly says she’ll think about it.

-Diego is going through his classes and can’t help but feel like there’s this one freshman that’s just… following him. Looking at him funny. Keeps showing up in all his usual spots. Must be one of those obnoxious wiz kids - there’s no way in hell that he’s eighteen years old.

-Vanya has a monologue in her back pocket, her favorite from Winter’s Tale, ready to go. But when the day of the audition comes, she walks into the theater for the first time in months, and she breaks down and runs to the bathroom. Allison is too busy helping the director to console her, so she sends Klaus to check on her.

-Klaus talks to her through the door and tries to hype her up for the audition. Ghost!Ben tells him to reel it in.

-Vanya eventually admits that she drifted away from the theater because it was always a special place for the six of them, but after Ben died in a car crash in sophomore year, thinking about it just broke her heart all over again.

-Klaus doesn’t quite have the tact of language to bring her comfort, but Ben does. Without revealing he can see Ben, Klaus just echoes his words. Saying that Ben would still want her to be happy here. Saying that it’s okay to take time to work through all those feelings. He stays there until Vanya’s calm enough to come out of the bathroom, hug him for a really long time, and then go into her audition.

-The cast lists go out, and all the siblings run to see the one for Othello. Allison is the stage manager, to the surprise of no one, and has already seen that she’ll be playing Dionne in Hair. The headmaster’s kid (who I never gave a name, so let’s just call him Ollie) is playing Othello, some guy named Leonard is playing Roderigo, and Vanya is playing Desdemona. While they’re leaving to celebrate, Diego sees The Weird Freshman sign his initial on the cast list, confirming his role. He takes a peek at it later and wonders how this five-foot-six gremlin was cast as Iago, and what kind of a name is Five, anyway?

Chapter Three - “Good Morning Starshine”

-Production on Hair has begun.

-Diego is still a vigilante, but like, specifically for the college’s organization for fighting sexual harassment. Make no mistake, he is not endorsed by the club in any way, shape, or form. But when fellow criminal justice major Eudora Patch gets catcalled on a late night walk home from the library, a fraternity douchebag gets his hoodie pinned to the wall with a knife and receives an extremely harsh talking-to.

-Eudora just sighs into the darkness like “Diego was that really necessary” and keeps walking and Diego runs up to meet her like “yes??”

-Insert exposition here about how they’re exes but there’s still that Tension and fond bickering from the show. Eudora thinks he should get involved in other things on campus, but he immediately rejects it. No. Nope. Nothing else going on. Just lights. And Batman.

-Luther and Allison often hang out in one of the hallways of the theater for lunch. Allison complains that she’s in charge of a lot of little projects in the program, and it’s hard to get people to listen to her. Luther complains that Diego hasn’t been showing up to help in the shop lately. Even though Diego’s not officially on set crew, it’s a little suspicious that he hasn’t been around.

-The mainstage theater has been going through a very fancy refurbishment, and a new chandelier just came in. How the department has the money for a chandelier, no one has any idea. There’s an inside joke that the theatre director must be having a scandalous lesbian affair with the headmaster.

-After a while, Luther enlists Klaus to help him to figure out what Diego’s hiding. With their single shared braincell, it takes them a little too long to realize that Diego’s name is on the Hair cast list. But that can’t possibly be right.

-Luther and Klaus sneak into the blackbox (a smaller, more intimate theater) in the middle of a Hair rehearsal and, sure enough, holy shit, Diego is actually onstage as one of the tribe people, lowkey having the time of his life.

-Enter UT Dallas transfer David Katz in the role of Claude. And it’s just. On sight. Klaus is down for the goddamn count.

-“Who is that??” “I know, right? Like, that’s our brother.” “No, no, not him. The really pretty one.”

-At the end of whatever song they’re doing, Diego locks eyes with Luther and almost dies of embarrassment right then and there.

-Cue big long childish argument of “why didn’t you tell us you had any interest in being in the musical?” and “I didn’t know I had any interest either oKAY you weren’t supposed to find out” “how wouldn’t we have found out you IDIOT we LIVE HERE.”

-At the end of rehearsal, Diego is feeling entirely beaten down. As is Allison, up to her eyeballs in responsibility. They sit on the loading dock and Diego admits he didn't want to make a big deal out of the fact that he was in Hair. But he’s actually really digging the songs and the messages and the comradery. Even though musical theatre is dumb. Allison assures him it’s nothing to be embarrassed about.

Chapter Four - “What’s the Buzz?”

-Production on Othello has begun.

-Fluffy opening that’s just a montage of Disaster Klaus repeatedly trying to justify sitting in on Hair rehearsal. “Sure, Allison, let me cut out those gels.” “Sure, Dance Captain, I can record the choreography.” “Shut up, Ben, I’m just really into American military history.”

-Meanwhile he’s just…… watching the show, listening to Dave sing, waiting for the right moment to strike up a Totally Casual Conversation with him.

-And it happens! Eventually.

-Diego meets Eudora on the loading dock and comes clean to her about the fact that he’s in the musical. Eudora is shocked and amused and teases him a little for it, but she’s ultimately supportive. And endeared. Cute bickering.

-When she leaves for her next class, Five is six feet away sipping coffee like “Oh, you’re both the same major? Aww that’s adorable.”

-Diego finally confronts him and asks him what his deal is and Five says something cryptic about “Reggie’s bastards”. Diego grabs him by the arm and drags him to the empty dressing room and interrogates him on everything he knows.

-Five is somewhere in his thirties, he can teleport, his body’s been screwed up by time travel complications, he knows about all the others, and he’s “played a game of hopscotch with an unsympathetic god”. When asked why he came back to this time in particular, he dodges the question with some snarky reply of how he’s not sure he made the right call.

-They decide not to tell everyone else all at once, until they hear faint movement. They find Klaus buried under a throw blanket on The Couch that every theater has, a little stoned, stirring from a midday dressing room nap.

-”I’m a BOY in LOVE, leave me aLONE.”

Chapter Five - “No One is Alone”

-Once again, Allison is overwhelmed. She had rumored her way into the double major when she didn’t actually have the high school credits necessary to graduate on time, but since meeting the other siblings, she’d sworn off using her power. If she was caught, it could start a breadcrumb trail to the others and expose all of them. And like, they just want to get out of here with their degrees, man.

-The theatre department director has had to assign her the most incompetent freshmen in the world to manage with assorted housekeeping tasks. They have an attitude, they don’t know how anything works, and Allison simply doesn’t have the time to lead them. She comes to the theatre director to explain this.

-And for the first time in a long while, the director expresses sternness to her. And it hurts.

-”Come on, Allison, we both know you’re good with people. You can be very persuasive when you want to be. You will work this out.”

-It’s very pointed. She will work this out. There is no other option.

-And. Not to be self-centered, but the spring musical is going to be Cabaret, and Allison has been convinced she had Sally Bowles in the bag. But if she gets on the director’s bad side halfway through junior year…

-It’s a particularly tense day, ten minutes before she has to sign in for Hair rehearsal. Some poor freshman is organizing the costume closet and just doesn’t get it and doesn’t want to be here and the director demands that this is done by the end of the day.

-So. It’s just one. It’s no big deal. She just heard the oddest little rumor that the student could make the closet perfectly tidy within the hour.

-Five and Vanya are at rehearsal for Othello. Now that he’s actually talked to Diego and Klaus, he feels a little more at ease being in this place and time. The two have plenty of time to chat while on breaks. And because Vanya is such a chill, calming force compared to the stubborn and impulsive Diego, it goes a lot smoother.

-Neither of them can stand Ollie, the headmasters’ pretentious son who’s playing Othello, going on and on about his actor step-brother in New York. Whatever. He likes to creep around the scene shop, too. Like he’s judging the tech. I’d like to see YOU pick up a drill, sir.

-He’s also really close to the theatre director. No one’s ever heard them interact, but they’ve sure seen them together. And he’s not even putting in all the hours for her that Allison is.

-Vanya and Five probably get coffee before rehearsal. Run lines. Five rambles about the flaws in Shakespeare’s philosophies over an americano. And they eventually tell each other their stories.

-Pogo had gone with Sir Reginald to examine the children and their potential prior to adoption. Reginald’s technology sensed great power in Vanya, even as an infant. After Vanya’s mother refused to sell, Pogo went behind Reginald’s back and made contact with the mother, advising her on how to suppress Vanya’s powers (but not emotions) with medication whenever they couldn’t be internally controlled. Vanya was good at self-control for much of her childhood, but the adjustment to college and grief of losing Ben put her back in a risky zone, so she’s been leaning a little more heavily on her medicine these days. She knows the adrenaline she gets onstage is good and natural, but it makes her nervous about forgetting a dose again.

-Five’s mother was quite a character. The name came from the fact that, during birth, Five first hit the air at exactly 12:00:05.

-Five had practiced his time jumps all through his childhood. (With none of the spite and rush he had in canon, he had no need to leap years right away, so he took it slow.) Sometimes he would get stuck in a place for a while, but his mom was cool and understood this. He would adapt to the new environment, anywhere between hours and weeks, and jump right back when he got enough rest to use his power again. There were some bugs, some problems with exact accuracy of destination, but he was always working on it. He was very lonely, though, never getting to meet with any of the other 43 and being discouraged from doing so by his mother.

-There was a portion of the future he got stuck in as a teenager in which the nation was governed by a tyrannical organization called “The Macbeth Enterprise”.

-Vanya immediately tries to shush him at this point in the story because he said the Bad Theatre Word. The director is very superstitious. She takes it deadly seriously and has threatened to actually penalty anyone who says it in the theater. Five just chuckles.

-And luckily, they’re rehearsing in the blackbox today, so even if the director could hear, it’s not “in the theater”.

-The future he saw was a century ahead of them, far beyond their lifetime. He was able to glean a little information about the origins of the Enterprise, but he shares none of this with Vanya. Firstly, those in power had high-tech augmentation that gave them a perfect replica of the kind of superpowers the 43 had - mind manipulation, immortality, etc. And secondly, they were credited with destroying the Hargreeves Five. As if the Hargreeves Five were a danger to society.

-What he does tell Vanya is that he’d never made any attempt to change the timeline before, but that’s just what he decided to do. With what little information he had, the only thing he could think of was to ruin the Enterprise’s namesake.

-Five spent literal years of his life, traveling from city to city across centuries, dooming various productions of Macbeth with Commission-level pragmatism until the name of the play itself became the taboo we know irl today.

-Vanya’s laughing. Five is too, honestly. It’s crazy.

-But he didn’t do what he did out of a ridiculous dare to himself. He did it out of desperation to not only to save the country, but to save his family as well. The family he’d never known. The kids all across the globe who went through the same strange hell of differentness that he had since birth. The Hargreeves Five, of course, needed to survive, as they’re responsible for maintaining peace on earth anyway. But if the Hargreeves Five were hunted down, why would the Enterprise stop there? Wouldn’t all 43 of them be in danger? Would all their gifts be harvested from them, and would they then be thrown away?

-But who knows if Five actually made a difference? He prays that it did. But the years of isolation in his personal mission convinced him of one thing - he should know his family. He had no idea when the country would start falling to shit - if it still would - but he could keep an eye on it alongside people who understood him. And with his foresight, maybe they could rise against the evil together.

-And maybe he was just so tired of being alone.

-So, digging was done through the Internet and several libraries in several eras. He found his insertion point at the University. He knew he’d have to look a little younger to fit in.

-But naturally, he got some equations wrong.

-Eventually, Five is formally introduced to Luther and Allison, who welcome him with slight skepticism, followed by a strong bear hug. Five’s not sure how to take the physical affection. He nods, which is a completely normal response to a hug, wraps his arms back around them, and tries to keep his eyes from leaking.

Chapter Six - “Whispering”

-It’s tech week of Hair, and because he’s been blowing his voice out in rehearsal from underdeveloped technique, Diego is on vocal rest.

-Most of this chapter is Diego Is On Vocal Rest and Everyone Gives Him Shit About It in a Loving Way.

-“Everyone” includes Eudora. She just bought her tickets for opening night.

-One early afternoon, Luther and Klaus are back in the scene shop together - Luther’s moving some lumber around and Klaus is carefully painting a setting onto a flat - and Luther vents that he’s not looking forward to running spotlight on Othello. He knows he can do it, but he wishes the theatre director would trust him with more authority and let him be Technical Director.

-Ben is eternally rolling his eyes and bitching about how entitled Luther sounds. He’s already the goddamn shop foreman. Klaus tries not to laugh at how annoyed Ben is about this.

-“But Diego could totally go back to lights for Othello! Hair will be over by then! He’s the pro! If I were TD I’d put him back on in an instant!”

-Dave wanders into the shop and says “hey” and Klaus nearly drops his wet paint brush onto the floor.

-After the brief succession of clumsy attempts Klaus had made to connect with Dave, Dave is actually bothering to return the effort.

-Luther is oblivious as hell while he’s toting the lumber around just like “Oh hi! Welcome! You’re new right? I’m Luther. I’m the shop foreman. You ever been on a tech crew before?” and this whole cringey spiel of small talk he usually gives to new students.

-About a minute into the small talk Luther finally sees how awkward Dave feels and how tense Klaus looks and he’s just like ohhhhh.

-He moves his task about eight feet further away to give them some space to talk. Even though that’s definitely not where the lumber is supposed to go. He just doesn’t want to make it weirder.

-Anyway. Insert fluff that isn’t obscenely flirtatious but is like… flirting with flirtatious.

-Later on that day, Leonard is tapped by the headmaster to join Student Government. Must’ve been one hell of a GPA. The new commitment forces him to give up the part of Roderigo in Othello.

-Leonard tells Allison this. Shit. Just what she needed today. She turns to her assistant stage manager and murmurs, shrugging off the guilt as she says it: “I heard a rumor you broke the news to our director as gently as possible.”

-After an eternity of assembling, dusting, and re-dusting, the Umbrella University theater chandelier is finally risen, ready for the first show of the season.

Chapter Seven - “The Life of the Party”

-After a hurried round of reviewing the audition tapes from the beginning of the year, Dave has been cast to fill the part of Roderigo.

-The technical director of Othello quit. No one’s really sure why. He was solid. But Luther’s been asked to step up, and he’s been trusted to pick anyone he wants to fill his previous spot on lights.

-Cue super petty conversation about how they both know Diego’s bomb at lights but they still annoy each other just by existing. Nonetheless, Diego agrees to hop onto Othello crew.

-Guess what, y’all, it’s opening night of Hair.

-Hard cut to Eudora, Luther, and Klaus, standing awkwardly together in the theater lobby, holding bouquets of various sizes and colors, convincing themselves that it’s a totally platonic gift to give to an actor.

-The show goes great. At the end of opening weekend, the cast and crew and friends go out to celebrate at the local bar and grill.

-At some point, the drinks are on Ollie, and everyone knows he and his mom are loaded. So. More drinks are had than ought to be had.

-ESPECIALLY by Five. He starts rambling about this girl named Delores in his quantum physics class and how he’s not sure if he’s allowed to find her attractive because of how complicated his age is.

-Vanya needed to get drunk. She deserved it. Now she’s yelling about this girl named Sissy in her chamber orchestra. What is happening.

-I’m not saying that Klaus and Dave had their first kiss while buzzed and behind the TUA equivalent of an Applebee’s, but I’m not not saying it.

-Luther has like two beers and starts getting emotional about how pretty the moon is.

-In classes the next morning, everyone’s hungover as shit.

-Except Allison, who was the extra careful Mom Friend and made sure her siblings made it home safe.

-Except Klaus. Who. Y’know. Didn’t really make it home. Ben goes to his 8 AM and takes Ghost Notes for him.

-Sometime that week, Luther comes into the director’s office with a question and sees her finishing a phone call, looking distraught.

-He asks if she’s okay. She doesn’t want to explain, but it eventually comes out that her son was in an accident of sorts three years ago. It’s almost the anniversary. He just got another treatment for the burn scars across half of his face. The director is still grieving the fact that it’s highly unlikely he’ll find success in his dream to be a Broadway actor.

-Luther warns Allison that the director might be in a worse mood this week. So that’s great.

-At an Othello rehearsal, Allison is calling cues from her promptbook. She pretty much has them memorized. But apparently, as the theatre director tells her, she keeps getting them wrong today?

-Allison could swear that last time she was at rehearsal, her book was different. What she’s reading is unfamiliar - lefts instead of rights, blue-outs instead of black-outs, etc. So she’s stumbling.

-On break, the theatre director expresses her frustration to Allison. We’re almost in tech week, for God’s sake. Allison apologizes and promises it won’t happen in the run.

-Allison blames her screw-ups on the stress of her overcommitments. Vanya sees she’s a little upset after the exchange and invites her to hang with her and Five after rehearsal.

-Vanya and Five have actually opened a pretty decent dialogue on mental health as it relates to their abilities, with Five’s powers damaging his psychological state and Vanya’s mood being an element of her telekinesis. Vanya reminds Allison that she’s got a lot on her plate, so she should try to take it easy where she can.

-Vanya still has anxiety, and it tends to flare at the part in the play where Othello smothers Desdemona with a pillow. They had worked out a safe plan in rehearsal. The pillow is thin and held at an angle so Vanya can still breathe, and it is only going to be held for a count of twelve. No longer, no shorter.

-Vanya and her siblings also take some more time to bitch about Ollie, too. Did you hear him accidentally call the director “mom” the other day? How embarrassing. What a dork.

-Hair closes and Othello tech week begins.

-A new batch of freshman House Crew members are cleaning up the theater one day with the radio on.

-It’s now the three year anniversary of the host’s favorite Hargreeves Five battle, a showdown against aspiring actor and convicted robber Erick Webber that went up in flames.

Chapter Eight - “Brush Up Your Shakespeare”

-The twelve-hour cue-to-cue tech rehearsal for Othello is a nightmare. But aren’t all cue-to-cues nightmares?

-They are.

-There might be some fluffy sibling stuff here, but nothing important. Luther, Diego, and Allison are speaking on headset with each other (“on com”). The channel also includes the assistant stage manager and assistant tech director.

-About five hours in, Luther and Diego get real sick of each other. Luther is redundant with his directions. Diego knows what to do. Diego keeps jumping the gun on cues. Passive aggression ensues.

-Allison has had it up to HERE and says “Look, if you’re gonna be children, can you please do it on a different channel?”

-And they do. They dedicate a whole other radio channel to Luther and Diego arguing where the rest of the crew can’t hear it.

-It’s during the cue-to-cue that Allison screws up the calls one too many times - is someone editing her promptbook when she’s not around? - and gets one more comment from the director. It’s worded like encouragement but spoken like a threat.

-“Allison, you were doing so well with the freshman. Just tell yourself you can do this. You’ll be perfect.”

-At lunch break, she wants to collapse. She goes to the bathroom, locks the door, and looks into the mirror.

-“I heard a rumor that you followed that promptbook perfectly.”

-The day after cue-to-cue, Vanya realizes she’s lost her meds. They have to be in the theater somewhere, but she can’t find them. Her siblings assure her that being in the show has improved her overall confidence, and they’ll all come running if she starts to have a meltdown for any reason. She’ll be able to control her emotions until she can get a refill. This warms her lil heart.

-The final dress rehearsals come to pass. Vanya continues to flourish. Five continues to impress and confound. Allison is flawless. Luther and Diego get over themselves. Klaus and Eudora get front row seats for opening night. It’s going to be a packed house. The local news are coming and filming segments to promote the program. As if the program needs any more support. The chandelier still boggles the mind.

-Opening night. The show is going spectacularly until Act V, when Ollie starts pressing the pillow over Vanya’s face.

-This is always the hard part. But it’s just a count of twelve, underscored by two bars of music.

-Until it isn’t. 

-Ollie keeps pressing. This wasn’t what we rehearsed. 

-Allison sees this from the booth and almost feels like they should call a hold, but her rumor kicks in and she can’t help but keep calling the show as normal.

-Vanya starts to hear the music amplified in her ears and starts to lose control of her power.

-Luther and Diego are both in Allison’s headset as the building starts to shake. “Allison, you need to call hold. Right now. Call hold!”

-Panicking, Vanya sends a pulse of energy out, knocking Ollie halfway across the stage, sending the flats crashing down, and shattering a row of stage lights. When she stands up, Ollie is smiling.

-The news crew caught it on tape. The audience is freaking out. Most of them try to flee but are trapped inside at the back of the house.

-Allison’s next call is the newest and strangest unauthorized edit she’s seen in her promptbook. It’s for the wrong play.

-“Spot B to Macbeth.”

-At the first time that its trigger phrase has ever been uttered in the building, the chandelier starts to glow and expand. Then, it drops, lower and lower, until it is right in front of the stage.

-It was never just a chandelier. It’s a piece of extra-terrestrial technology. Standing on the shelf on top of it are the director and the headmaster.

Chapter Nine - “The Point of No Return”

-I don’t know exactly how I’d reveal all of this, but here’s the gist.

-By the way, this is them coming out as extra-as-hell supervillains. So the way this is revealed is probably extra as hell.

-The director’s son is Erick Webber, a starving artist who resorted to a life of crime to pay his bills and got himself tangled with the Hargreeves Five, who are responsible for half of his face burning in the heat of battle.

-The director and the headmaster actually have been romantically involved for a few years, all but legally married.

-When the directors’ son was forever barred from the career of his dreams, the director and very wealthy headmaster first got together. The headmaster got her a job at the school.

-They wanted revenge for their son. But they also deduced that the Hargreeves Five were too immature for their powers and potential to ruin lives. They were just dumb kids. Their powers must be taken from them and placed into more capable hands.

-The couple had done extensive research, learned about the power potential in the 43, tracked down as many of them as they could find - preferably those already living in America - and hired all sorts of people and services to promote Umbrella University to them. They offered each one of them a sizable scholarship.

-They got seven of them.

-And they arranged meetings with characters that Hargreeves had done some shady deals with so they could acquire the otherworldly technology needed to set their plan into motion.

-And Macbeth was the trigger word for the invention - the story of an old celebrated king slain to make room for the rightful leader, as plotted by an empowered and bloodthirsty woman - so they had to put it in a theater. They had to ensure the trigger wasn’t spoken in the room until the correct time.

-Five realizes at this point that the efforts he made to change the past didn’t stop the Macbeth Enterprise, it just gave them a way more convenient origin. God dammit.

-The siblings realize Ollie was in on the whole thing. He had to make sure all seven of the kids were in the theater at the right time, so he snooped around and reported back to the Evil Moms. They let Luther be TD so Diego could cover lights. They cast Five, made Allison recruit Vanya, and made Allison SM. They took out Leonard and cast Dave to ensure Klaus and Ben would be there for opening. Ollie hid Vanya’s pills during the cue-to-cue.

-Allison realizes the director knew about her power all along and really was suggesting that she use it. Allison had done exactly what they wanted her to. They must’ve had someone re-do the promptbook each day and everything.

-The point is, there’s now news footage of a girl with unpredictably dangerous powers ruining a perfectly good school play and two women making a solid case that these children can’t be trusted with their gifts. The chandelier machinery revs up to perform its task - stripping all of their powers away.

-Five knows it won’t end there - the powers will be turned against the Hargreeves Five. Their abilities will be harvested too. And the hands that they’ll all end up in will be military-minded and will seize control of the nation, ruling by fear.

-There’s an extensive fight scene here. One that, again, I have no idea how I would write. It’s something that involves a level of family teamwork that they would not have if the theatre program didn’t bring them so close together in the first place. So it’s pretty ironic and kinda sweet.

-We find out that Dave and Eudora are absolutely ride-or-die for their idiot boyfriends that they just found out have terrifying superpowers, and they each have a moment where they contribute to the takedown.

-Ben is summoned because he legally has to be. The Horror can do some serious damage to the machine, and he finds he’s unaffected by its drainage because he’s dead as hell.

-Vanya grabs a violin from the pit where the underscoring was being played and shreds away at it to channel her power.

-The fight has heavy parallels to the prologue scene, where everyone’s powers went berserk because Vanya saw a rat and freaked out. Except there’s obviously a lot more at stake and a lot more direction in it.

-All of that gets resolved, somehow. Any of their power that gets drained gets returned to them once they get the machine shut down. Luther effortlessly snaps the tape of evidence in half.

-Allison uses her last rumor of junior year to memory-wipe and send away the cameramen and the witnesses.

-Except Eudora and Dave, who are surprisingly chill about this and promise to keep it all secret.

-The gang has no idea how to explain all the damage to the authorities, but the Criminal Justice Duo knows how to detain the bad guys in the costume closet and highlight some evidence to draw the focus to the less-than-legal dealings they made to set up their plot in the first place.

-Corruption? In college administration?? Pssshhh noooooooo never.

-The story embedded in the rumor is that the chandelier overheated and combusted, so everyone ran out. The police will discover the alien tech and go from there.

-Still, the superpower squad realizes they should lay low. Play dumb if interviewed. Skip class for a couple days and stay far away from the theatre department.

-Diego is up on the catwalk - the walkway above the audience where they maneuver the spotlights - collecting his stuff. He hears some footsteps on the ladder and sees Eudora climbing up to meet him.

-Diego starts to say something snarky and casual and Eudora’s like “No. Shut up. Just. Please. Shut up.” and kisses him.

-After weeks of pretending not to care as much as they really did and a solid half hour of having no idea if the other would live or die, here they are, standing over the decimated theater, finally at ease in each other’s arms

Chapter Ten - “Curtain Call”

-And that’s… it. When the siblings start coming back to classes, no one comes after them for whatever happened.

-Needless to say, the rest of the run of Othello has been cancelled. All theatre classes will be moved online or converted to classroom formats until repairs can be made to the building. There’s a new interim headmaster and theatre department director.

-It’s going to take forever for them to fix the damage done to the theater, and even when they do, it doesn’t feel right to keep that as their home base. So, where to now? How are they gonna fill the rest of their electives?

-All of the fine arts buildings are stacked close together. Music major Vanya has an idea.

-Second semester, Diego takes beginning percussion. Luther joins the marching band (and far exceeds the athletic demands for it). Klaus picks guitar back up. Allison ventures into vocal jazz. Five is a natural at composition.

-Sharing practice rooms. Cramming for theory exams. The entire works. They’re music kids now!

-They’re thrilled when they find out that all of their respective ensembles will be featured in the spring concert. 

-But does the conductor of Vanya’s chamber orchestra seem a little… eccentric to you?

...

im a broken woman from this. god dammit.

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans Are Space Orcs, “Sandstorm.”

Hope everyone is having a good Monday, Hope you like the story )

Sunny stood beneath the blazing hot son. The Iranboo market on Irus was hot and dusty with clouds of blue sand puffing up into the air with every step. The little domes of white rock that made up the houses here, were draped in colorful cloth which stretched from  roof to roof to cast the sandy market into a measure of shade.

Sunny was used to the heat, though volcanic heat and the heat of a star were much different, the volcanic heat coming in waves, while the heat from above seared downwards with ever-increasing intensity that made her entire body tingle with heat, and so she stayed in the shade near one of the tents, perusing a table full of decorative daggers, lorded over by a dark-skinned human, covered in colorful cloth from head to toe, to the point that only his upper face was exposed.

She wondered how the man could wear so many layers in heat like this, but didn’t ask.

Off to the side, Adam was busy taking the statement of one of the market herb sellers. 

They had come here on the wind of some disturbing rumors.

Apparently, someone had got it into their heads that ground up Drev carapace had some sort of medicinal properties, sort of like ivory -- or at least that is what Adam had compared it to. Either way, they weren’t sure if the rumors were true, but a slow trickle of calls had been coming into the UNSC and revolved around Drev and their missing friends or family members.

Sunny shivered at the idea.

What kind of person would have the audacity to hunt Drev.

It was her impression, for that reason, that this in some way involved humans. That was not because she thought humans were the only ones sick enough to do something like this, but primarily because humans were the only ones capable of challenging a Drev. Perhaps a team of humans headed by a Tesraki mastermind, or others, but it remained her opinion that humans, or spirits forbid, other Drev were involved.

She glanced back at Adam, pleased to see that he was taking this as serious as any other investigation that they had done. Things were slowly changing, but the war hadn’t left the Drev in a good light and there were still some who didn't take the issues of her people as seriously as they should.

Obviously Adam was an exception to that rule and followed the plight of the Drev very seriously going so far as to say ‘ive been adopted into two Drev clans; your business is my business, and I intend to do everything that I can to help.”

So far he hadn’t lied, and she was more than pleased.

She turned her head away from his questioning and back to the rest of the market. Iranboo was a center of trade on Irus, far out in the desert, but close to at least three major interstellar docking stations. At least two of those three docking stations regularly received travelers from Anin, her home planet, and was often the last place some of the Drev were seen before they vanished completely.

With Adam still talking, Sunny walked a little further into the crowd following her ears and eyes. If she were a drev come off Anin for the first time, what would she be looking for? Food for sure, but the weapons would surely catch their eye.

So she made her way along the sand fruit stalls examining tier wares cursily before moving on. It was not their items that she was interested in, but the aliens who sold them.

She took a turn around the other side of the market, losing sight of Adam behind a brightly colored green banner. She lifted her head, and, off in the distance, she saw alow haze beginning to form on the horizon. 

It was a familiar sight, from a memory long ago when she had passed through Irus.

The deep blue of atmospheric haze was growing even deeper, until it appeared that bright blue clouds were forming on the horizon. 

A sandstorm.

It was far away right then, but she knew from stories how fast they moved and how dangerous they could be. 

She walked through the market stalls and past one of the low marble domes, her feet seering in the scorching sand as she stared out at the gathering dust cloud. Behind her the sounds of the market merged and roiled into one great amalgamation of sound.

Her thoughts grew distant as she stared out upon the alien landscape.

And then something clamped around  the base of her throat. She gasped and choked but was assailed by an acrid smell hissing through her breathing holes and into her lungs.

Something gripped her tight about the arms and waist.

She choked and struggled, kicking at the legs of whoever held her, but even as she struggled, her body grew weak and her knees gave out. She felt her legs burning as she slumped to the scorching sand. 

Her head spun.

“Hurry, get her on the truck, we don’t have much time.”

“You get her feet, I’ll get her hands.”

“Hurry damn it.”

Her vision faded in and out, but she felt her body growing light, suspended through the air by unknown hads.

Her head lolled slightly. She watched the city recede upside down into the distance as she was unceremoniously chucked onto the back of the hover truck, whose engine roared and slowly began to slowly accelerate forward.

***

Adam clicked the top of the pen and slipped it into his jacket pocket, “Thank you for your help, sir. If you hear anything, call the number on the card I gave you, and a representative of the GA will take your statement, and dispatch a ship if needed.” The man nodded and raised the sand fruit he was eating.”

Adam turned on the spot, “You know I never thought th-” He paused when he found himself alone, and Sunny nowhere to be seen. He turned in a wide circle searching for her blue carapace in the surrounding crowd, but found nothing.”

That was strange, where could she have run off to

He walked a few steps forward, a tiny bit surprised when he found a good portion of the vendors to be packing up glancing nervously between the buildings and out towards the horizon. He Followed their gaze and paused nervously when he saw the large blue cloud rolling up over the horizon.

A sandstorm.

He really needed to get Sunny and get out of here. They might be able to beat it to the docking bay if they were quick enough.

But where the hell was she.

He took a few steps into the quickly vanishing market, and an arm suddenly caught his bicep, squeezing tight enough for a shock of pain to be sent up his arm. He jolted to a stop and turned to look at the one who had grabbed him.it was the man from the knife stand, with his colorful head coverings, and dark skin.

His eyes were wide and wild.

He placed a hand before his face, one finger over his lips to sush adam, and then     motioned his eyes towards the side of the market fervently. Adam nodded and the man let him go. The wind was beginning to kick up around them, and he pulled up his jacket collar against little particles of sand as they flew up into his face.

He broke into a jog as he headed towards the side of the buildings.

He broke from between two houses, his eyes scanning over the wide horizon. At first he didn’t see anything, but flipping up his eyepatch and taking a look through his augmented eye, he zoomed in on the landscape, and managed to make out a little white hovercade of vehicles driving towards the storm.

He zoomed in a little further, and froze.

Froze at the blue body who lay listless on the back of the rear truck.

His heart turned to stone, and rage welled up inside him the likes of which he had never experienced. In that moment, it felt as if he could have melted the sand below his feet to glass.

“Sunny!” He screamed, catching a mouthful of sand kicked up into his face.

A man rode past him on a hoverbike nose turned towards one of the distant docking stations, but as he passed, Adam grabbed him by the jacket and yanked him o a stop. The man yelped, “Hey, what.”

“UNSC, I’m taking your vehicle.” The man toppled and fell into the sand hand raised as Adam swung himself up onto the back and gunned the engine. The man’s yelling voice faded into a background of wind and spitting sand.

Adam pulled a pair of goggles down over his eyes, pulling a bandana up from his neck and over his face as little particles of blue sand stung his skin.

His one mechanical eye zoomed in and focused on the retreating hovercade. He switched gears and the engine roared as he pushed it to the max speed. The sand flew by below him in great waves and before him a wall of blue sand rose high into the air what seemed like thousands of feet in the sky. His heart pounded against his chest as the first wave of sand rolled over the hovercade, and Sunny was momentarily lost from his view. He screamed Sunny’s name, but his voice was lost in a massive gust of wind.

Darkness enveloped him as great waves of sand slammed against his body. His hands stung as did his hairline.

Up ahead the hovercade, which had been growing closer, was almost completely lost from view.

He screamed again in frustration and toggled his mechanical eye for ALL heat sensing wavelengths hoping that at least one of them would be able to penetrate the sand. Through the pulsing waves of darkness, little pinpoints of light managed to make it through to his eye.

He switched gears and gunned the engine, fighting against the wind and sand that whipped past him.

The wall of sand towered over him into the sky, impenetrable and powerful.

He snarled as his mechanical eye zeroed in on a source of heat flickering in and out in the ghosts of sand, and reached down to the sidearm at his belt.

And that is when the wall hit him.

It was so powerful it drove the wind from his body and threatened to throw him back off the hovercycle, but he lowered his head against great waves of whipping blue sand pelting his face and completely darkening the sky above. His mechanical eye was his only saving grace at that moment

***

The Hovercade pulled into the sand like they had done thousands of times. It was dangerous, but it was good cover, and no one would be willing to follow them. The half unconscious Drev lay hal in and half out of a tarp in the back of the vehicle which whipped back and forth with the powerful sand. A Tesraki sat at the front of the vehicle hunched against the sand blowing in through one busted out window,goggles low over his face as a scarf whipping out behind him.

Two humans stood in the back, crouched against the cab against the worst of the wind and sand.

One of them turned his head staring at the wall of blue behind them which broke and undulated like the depths of the sea. Great towering rifts opened up in the san, and light filtered down from above only to be enveloped again. It was in one of these beams of light, that he saw it.

A figure roaring through the whipping sand.

A lone rider on a hoverbike crouched low against the roarin sand.

He stood, and was nearly blown over hissing in pain against the sand. His partner turned to look at him and he pointed back to where the sand had obscured the figure. He tried to scream over the wind, but his voice was caught up in a gust. Another rift opened up, and his partner saw it.

The figure even closer now than before.

They pulled their weapons, hanging onto the bars on the side of the hovertruck to stead themselves. One leveled a weapon, but the figure was faster taking a single handed shot that tagged him high on the cheek and slammed into the metal of the cab.

He screamed and put a hand to his cheek firing another round.

His partner slammed  his fist against the caburging the Tesraki to go faster.

The man on the bike saw what they were , and slowly stood on the buddy pegs, bringing his feet up to stand on the seat, hands still resting on the bars.

This crazy bastard wasn’t actually going to-

He jumped.

Flinging himself into the air, impossibly high, with great billowing drapes of blue behind him, and lines of light nursing down from above. The boke turned sideways, was caught by a gust of wind and then plowed into the sand, erupting with a gout of fire that lit up the sand with a momentarily burst of orange light.

The figure slammed into the side of the cab hands latching on to the metal bars.

They leveled their weapons, but the figure lashed out, grabbing the first man by the front of his jacket and pulling him into the line of fire. He jerked once and then twice before falling still, two bullets in his back.

The figure threw the corpse aside and it bounced once before vanishing into the sand. 

The second man brought up his weapon to fire again, but the gun was knocked from his grip and out into the sand. An elbow to the face, and he was knocked to the round. A fist was drawn back plowing into the side of his head and knocking him out cold.

***

Sunny woke up with a roaring in her ears and sand spitting at her face. Her vision was cloudy and uncertain as she looked around, feeling something tugging at her.

She looked up, and through the sand and wind she saw a face. His skin was plastered with blue, and his usually blond hair looked almost green. It was Adam, kneeling next to her on the truck.

Sunny had no idea where he could have come from, but there hewas, standing over her. Her vision faded in and out, and she felt almost nauseous.

She could see the bandana he wore moving, indicating that he might have been trying to speak, but the wind was too loud. SO loud that it was almost impossible to hear anything.

That was probably why neither of them noticed the man slide from the front of the cab to lean out the rear window, didn’t notice the gun he held until it was too late.

There was a flash of bright light, and a sharp burst of sparks as the bullet took him high on his right thigh, bouncing off the metal but imparting enough force to cause Adam to slip back. 

Sunny saw, as if in slow motion as his foot was whipped out from under him, and he lost his balance. He fell forward slamming hard against the bed, hands scrambling against the smooth metal. She reached a hand for him,but her fingers were lethargic and stiff.

His right hand caught hard against the back metal, his body whipping with the sand behind the vehicle.

And then a boot came down on his hand grinding into his fingers.

Sunny watched in quiet horror as Adam’s fingers wen limp and then detached.

H was suspended for a second with his hand reaching out towards her, before he was sucked backward into the sand and vanished.

Sunny tilted her head looking up at the human standing over her, just before the boot came down and she was gone.

***

The white sun beat hot down on the blue dessert. The sky above was a uniform green grey and the air was completely still devoid of wind.

The ground was awash with large dunes of blue sand blown over from the sandstorm the night before, an unblemished mass of blue untouched by any living creature.

Until a hand burst from the blue sending grains of blue cascading down its arm. A shoulder broke through, followed by a head, hair completely saturated with the grainy azure sand.

It gasped and coughed, clawing it’s way to the surface, hands against the sand, palms burning in the scorching heat.

Adam pulled himself for the hole in the sand kneeling against the blazing heat.

He was breathing hard and his entire body ached and burned. But worse than that, worse than that was the thought of Sunny.

He had HAD her, he had been SO CLOSE.

He bent forward pounding his fists against the sand, “He could see her face, obscured by a swirling of sand as the Hovercade drove away.

They were going to pay for this.

They were going to die.

He leaned his head back and screamed, a raw animal sound made worse by the grainy san clogging his throat. He screamed and screamed and screamed until his throat choked with pain and blood came welling into his mouth.

He spit it onto the sand teeth clenched.

They had taken the wrong Drev.

And now they were going to PAY

[veirasurana]

@kura-marty holiday gift for you below; a drabble of our ocs in the circle as kids together :)

Veira

Stretching her arms as far as they would go, Veira exhaled deeply and melted onto the desk in front of her. Various tombs and notes were scattered across the deep cedar desk-- it was -the- desk-- the one that the apprentices deemed the most comfortable, the one that had the best light, most privacy. It was an unspoken privilege to sit here. As luck would have it, Veira got to sit here to study. She could spend hours wondering and debating whether she should sit here--if it was justified by her grades or spell work or whatever. She shook her head. It was just a desk. 

After her nice stretch, she took her quill and dipped it into some ink. These notes wouldn’t write themselves. Her tired eyes barely noticed the young apprentice staring from behind a bookshelf, as if they were locked in an internal battle to move out of the protection of their hiding spot. The apprentice was named Alea-- an elf, like her.  Alea was an adorable acquaintance, rather shy but a brilliant mage in her own right, exceeding in the study of herbalism and potions. They did often have long talks together about herbal magic and botany, and while it was not a subject Veira was particularly interested in personally, Alea made it sound absolutely fascinating.

Veira smiled softly. “Hello. Did you want to sit here?”

Alea’s shoulders jumped. “I--” she squeaked, then lowered her voice as some other apprentices shushed her. “I mean---I mean if you are okay with that, I just wanted some time to go over my notes--we have that test tomorrow, and I wanted to go over my notes with someone smart and who definitely knows the answers and--and-- oh gosh, I need to shut up.”

Veira shook her head. “There is no need. I was studying for it too.” She gestured at the end of the desk. “Please, go ahead.”

Alea hesitated, blushing head to toe and possibly wondering if she was being pranked. But she did find the courage to sit and organize her notes--making sure they did not get in the way of Veira’s. She smiled again, waiting for Alea to ask her questions.

They sat in silence for an uncomfortable amount of time. Eventually, Veira broke it. “You...wanted to go over some questions with me?”

Again Alea’s face went bright red. “I-I’m sorry! I didn’t want to disturb your studies, so I was waiting until you were...uh...done.”

“It would be better if we studied together,” Veira laughed, “and I’m sure comparing notes will help us learn.”

“With her notes? Hardly.”

The new voice came from shadow. Leena Amell--a rather brash apprentice that excelled in all subjects, whether it was the most obscure history to the most difficult spell. Veira felt a little hesitation. Leena was often antagonistic for some reason--usually against her. She hardly thought she had done something to warrant the aggression...they barely talked. She masked her hesitance with a calm sigh. “Hello, Leena.”

Alea

Oh gods, why was she here?

Alea felt like she had done so well. She managed to ask for Veira’s help without having a panic attack. Surely, that was a win. She had lots of little wins--like one time Alea found the hairpin Veira had misplaced in a classroom and gave it back. She liked to help out--especially with apprentices like Veira. Elven, kind, and really pretty to boot. It was no secret that Alea admired her greatly. If they were friends--well that would be incredible. Somehow this tower filled with other people just like her got really lonely. She felt less lonely around her.

But then there was Leena. She had no idea what her problem was. She was incredibly talented and beautiful--super successful and well on her way to becoming top tier in the Circle. She literally had no reason to hate Veira like she did. Well, she hated every other apprentice here. But most days Veira got the brunt of it.

Leena sneered at them. “You are in my spot.”

Alea and Veira exchanged a glance. Dread filled Alea as she felt her throat close up. Darn it, not again! Someone had to stand up to her for once. 

“I do not think this area is strictly for you,” Veira said calmly, no trace of anger or not even irritation. Alea had no idea how she kept a cool head when she was being bullied all the time.

Leena’s sneer turned into a scary smile, slamming her hand onto the desk hard enough to make Alea jump, but quiet enough not to stir the templar’s in the study. “I do not think” Leena said through her teeth, mocking the way that Veira talked, “you have the qualifications to monopolize this desk for so long, Surana. Especially if all you are going to do is socialize.”

Alea leaned back from the look in her eyes. Leena had a talent to make herself look absolutely terrifying.

But what Alea couldn’t stand was the allegation that Veira was lesser--and she supposed by that she herself was much lesser than both of them. It wasn’t fair...Leena wasn’t better just because she did so well at everything. She didn’t have to be a bully. 

“Not socializing.”

It was out before Alea could even process it. This was the first time Alea had talked back to Leena.

Oh, gods.

Leena glared daggers at her. “What did you say?”

Reading the room, Veira stood from her seat. “It’s fine,” she said calmly. “We were going over our notes--or at least we were about to. But, I am certain we can do that elsewhere. Why don’t we study in my room, Alea? I think my bunk can fit us both.”

Alea’s mouth went dry. “Y-your bed?” Her brain felt like it exploded with lava. “I-I-I- oka...y.”

Veira gathered up her notes while Alea nearly had a heart attack.

Leena

Her head ached. It was too loud here.

Maker, but they were all so stupid. Cared about stupid things, talked about stupid things. It made her head throb, the stupidity of it all. She needed quiet to focus. Not that she was worried about the exam tomorrow--she was going to ace it like all the rest. But she deserved some damn peace from all of these idiots.

Ah, that desk. That was the place to go. The one place that was far enough away from everyone else. She stormed through the tower, and everyone made room for her. As it should be. No one else worked as hard as she did. 

She almost felt relief knowing that she would spend the afternoon in solitude, only with her books. But then. Then it had to be her.

Surana. Her hand balled into a tight fist. 

Out of all the apprentices in this place, it was her that threatened her position the most. She was smart--too damn smart. She kept up with her own grades, was apt in most study in magic, and while there were certainly others just like that too, but Surana. The problem with her was that she was so damn likeable.

It had to be a trick. Surana only acted the way she did to get further up. It took so much effort for herself to be just nice enough to the enchanters to get them on her side, get her to higher places after apprenticeship.  She was not ever, under no circumstance, going to stay in the lower parts of the tower forever. But Surana...she was liked by all the enchanters. All of them. Except for the ones that were openly racist. 

She couldn’t let that stand. They were all her enemies and Leena would win. But Surana was her true rival. The one she had to beat no matter what. If she couldn’t, she’d be a fucking medium bar enchanter for the rest of her life. When it was the top...the First Enchanter...that was what she deserved to be. It was hers. 

Irving already loved Surana too much. She had to work three times as hard to get his attention thanks to her.

It was intolerable.

And there she was, with her stupid calm smile and charm to an apprentice she didn’t even give two shits about, but she was the all-mightly Surana and sunshine came out of her asshole like the perfect angel that she was. Leena’s blood boiled.

She couldn’t take that desk from her. Not today.

But...even as she won, and Surana packed her things and went back to her quarters with the love-sick apprentice at her heels, Leena felt so damned empty. 

She stood there in silence---finally, silence--but she couldn’t feel like she had won this battle, no matter how much she wanted to. She swallowed the scream in her throat. Eventually she sat in her rightful seat, opening her books. She could at least still win the exam tomorrow. 

That was all she had.