#OH AND HER STEW IS SO GOOD AND CHEAP?????

[fungal-wasted]

Jayde is the best bug fables character simply and plainly because she sells magic seeds for 13 berries instead of 18.

[axratsffxivwrite]

FFXIV Write Day 7 - Morsel (Hunter's Stew)

If there was any solace or hope to be had in the fate of Rabanastre, it could be found at the Delima Hunters' Pub at meal times. 

The building wasn’t anything grand on the outside, truly, but as one of the few rebuilt structures amidst the ruined cityscape, it stood out. The hunters congregated upstairs, trading rumors and investigating the mission board for the latest marks and bounties. Even up here, the smell of seasoned stew wafted up the stairs, mixing with the din of chatter and conversation. 

The residents of Rabanastre gathered downstairs, either sat amidst repurposed reels turned tables or crowded around the bar to call out their requests. 

Behind one end of the bar, Kemal huddled over a book, taking names and dates and noting who was ordering for coin or labor and who was here for the clan’s charity. He made smalltalk in between, ever chatty – sometimes too chatty, in Marsil’s opinion, but that was hardly a crime – and kept smiles on the faces of those who were waiting. 

An impressive feat, considering everyone here was hungry. 

Marsil dished up bowl after bowl of their hunter’s stew, loading them up onto trays before passing them along to Kemal to dole out to those in need. The heat of the hearth and of some two dozen people gathered around the room left him sweating and uncomfortable, his red bandana firmly stuck to his forehead even as he dabbed the rest of his face on a towel. Uncomfortable as it was, he did not dare adjust the bandana to wipe beneath it. 

One bowl of stew, one watered down ale. Free to any Rabanastran resident, once per day. For many, this was the only morsel of food they would have today. Supplies did not come cheap here, but each and every individual here was either too stubborn or too poor to make the move to Valnain. 

Marsil would keep his people alive, even if this was all he could do. He had the privilege of an organization, of associations with Lente’s Tears. He would be remiss not to put those to good use. 

While Marsil was halfway through filling another tray’s worth of bowls, a man knocked twice on the surface of the bar and called to the back, “hey Marsil! What’s in the pot this time around?” 

“Hells if I know,” Marsil chimed back, “Kemal? Think this one was your handiwork, wasn’t it?” 

“Kin, too.” Kemal replied, checking the day’s list for the name of the person in front of him. Not seeing her, he placed her down for a new order of the daily stew. “Should be harpy and rabbit, with some carrots and garlic Dad brought back from Valnain.” 

Marsil chuckled. “Oh, so Kin kept it reasonable this time?” 

“For once. I think he just likes showing off for– …well, certain people who weren’t there.” 

Marsil chuckled to himself. Maybe Kemal wasn’t entirely incapable of keeping others’ secrets. Very bad at it, yes, but he tried. 

The man at the counter chuckled. “Who’s your elusive Viera boy smitten over these days?” 

“Not a damn clue,” Marsil lied, picking up the tray and carrying it over to the bar. 

Hungry faces stared back but they waited their turns as Kemal called for names one by one.

Over the shouting, Marsil continued to the man, “Kin keeps his own counsel. I don’t think his own mother knows what goes through his head. Viera men are notoriously solitary creatures, I’m told.”

The man grunted. “I don’t think I’ve seen him and his mother talk even when they’re working the bar together.” 

Marsil grimaced, scrunching up his nose as if sucking on a lemon. “Aye, noticed that too. It’s complicated, I try to keep my nose out of their affairs.” 

Another line. Another lie. Such was Marsil’s life; a hundred little white lies, all piled up on top of each other, threatening to topple at any time. He lived with it, even as it loomed precariously before him. 

“Prob’ly for the best.” The man agreed, taking his offered stew and mug of ale from Kemal and inclining his head gratefully. “Thank you both, and give my thanks to the kid when next you see him.” 

“We will.” Marsil promised, taking up the empty tray once more. “I should put you on the bar more often, Kemal. It’s not normally this calm.” 

“It’s not that different from working the counter at dad’s shop. People are just hungrier here.” 

Marsil chuckled. “Fair enough.” 

Hours passed before those seeking food began to taper off. Once he had closed the kitchen, Marsil handed off the leftovers to Kemal to take down to the waterway, and seek out those who could not reach the bar themselves. Then he began the slow process of cleaning up. 

Most people left, seeking their own shelter either down in the waterway or elsewhere, but many remained put. A few folks pitched in to help clean, and Marsil made sure to note their names down on the list of folks entitled to an extra free meal. Tables were stacked atop the stage, lanterns put away, and floors mopped down and dried before he began assigning beds to those who stayed. 

The pub only had a few bunks to offer, but once those were given out to the eldest or the infirm, they turned to the supplies sent from Doma. Soon, the floor was covered in eastern futons, arranged to maximize the amount of people they could fit without blocking the thoroughfare entirely. A few hunters without their own homes to return to made their beds in the storage loft or on the couches upstairs, serving as both protectors and deterrence from any desperate thoughts of thievery.

Once everyone had settled in for the night, Marsil dimmed the final lantern, retrieved the lockbox that held the clan’s coin, and retired down to the waterways himself.

They would do this again the next day, and the next, until the Desert Sapphire gleamed with all her former glory once more. However long it took, Clan Delima’s hunters would keep their people alive.

[cryptid-killjoy]

Koda: Being around his father's side inspired Koda to dress up as James Proudstar this year, Warpath from X-men. He's going to think Elsa is amazingly sexy for the ball. That's not child's crayon or fire truck red. That's dark seductress deep sensual red. So hot. It's something you want to move towards not away from.

Savanne Family: Ray and Raya are going to be dressed as the sub that went down in the ocean and they're going to strap a game controller toJetson's arm who was wearing a gamer tee that said "Nintendo" and a Captain's hat. Then Chip would be dressed as Waluigi because he's tallest. Praline and Ranger would be mushrooms.

Pippin would be Donkey Kong. Jenna and Ziya were Mario and Luigi. All of these guys were the standard overalls and hats with the lovely staches which Scout was so excited to help with. Pippin's uncle will dress as Diddy Kong with a shirt and matching hat.

Delta: For the ball Delta will be wearing a Lolita dress with vampire teeth (the good stage ones not the cheap plastic choppers) complete with top hat. For Halloween will be wearing Shinigami mask and a Snow White dress. She will be carrying a real basket of poison apples stewed up from her mother's grimoire and mini-death note replica. Learning all the tales behind the powers her mother had stolen was a big journey for her. It was rather like reading The Never Ending Story to her. She felt pulled into the book. So, a lot of it's on her mind often. Call it her way of expressing her feelings about it all considering she's impressed and angry all at the same time. She'll adore Frank's choice.

Diablo has been given permission to mingle as a human at the ball for once. He won't be costume, just done up in his proper best. For Halloween he will stay in crow form, very important for him to stay that way all things considering with his skill sets, and the veil being so thin.

Babyface: When Babyface and Ellie get into town there will be two outfits. For the ball he's going as a cop because it's a uniform. He thinks that counts as dressing up since it has slacks and a tie. It makes sense in his head. Also note, in my head with all the times they visited the prison he has stolen this uniform right out of a cop's car and it's now his prize possession. But, for actual Halloween Night he's dressing up as Ellie and Scout will give him the wig. Oh yeah. That's happening.

Friar Tuck and the Minstrel: Oh yes. Marge's sisters. It's also happening. It was Alan's idea because he heard Lil' John mention it once when he was in the stoner's circle and they were all trying to name anyone with hair semi-comparable to Delta's. So in it's weird way it is an ode to Lil' John's bizarre excessive admiration for Delta and her hair.

Zero and Victor: It's a little on the nose, but Zero came up with the idea to be the operation game. The doctor would be the patient for once Zero got to be the doctor. He had fun getting in Victor's clothes.

Silas: As Twisty the Clown. Silas will show face at Delta's ball. His return from shadow is imminent.

Parrish: He was invited to Feral to the ball for Willem. Skeletal make up. He will bring an "synthetic" plus one.

Barrel and Spade: Back to the classics. Birds of a feather. There's no Lock. There's no Shock. But, Barrel and Spade exist. They've pulled out the old trunk from the old tree house. Birds of a feather once again? Barrel will wear his classic design with the skeletal PJ's and the mask. Spade will take on Shock's pointy witch hat and green emotionless mask. The Devil mask she'll strap to the back of her head so she's sort of like the two-faced mayor. No matter which side she's approached on dark blackness peers back at people. She'll even create a pitch fork on the end of her broomstick. If she has to be everyone, she will.

CJ: He'll be Bad Santa. At least he'll start off that way. He's a little chaotic and often changes how he presents according to mood, so who knows by the end of the night. But, he'll have a sack full of naughty presents to give Trick or Treaters.

Atticus: In an attempt to stay a stereotypical human he stuck with the classics. He wore a hocky mask, went for Jason with a proper weapon at his side for his Halloween night look.

Black Arts and Nebby: They will come as a Prince Charming and a Princess. They'd have had these outfits from their show and spiced them up with extra bling since they have so many stage costumes. She would offer Ellie an open door to her closet if she wanted to get fancy for the ball not knowing if she was going to go in costume mode or dressy mode. But, she was welcoming to help jazz it up either way.

Dale: Dale got a Ken Box and wore A CROP TOP because reasons. LMAO. Oh yeah, he went there. Not only that, in marker he wrote Crop Top before the Ken so it'd say Crop Top Ken to make sure anyone who wanted to buy his doll knew his job was Crop Top. And yes, he would wear this to the ball. PS. His top wouldn't be stained. LOL.

Thaddeus: He'll be back in New Zealand attending era themed parties with Del Rey and dressed the part for such frivolities. He'll still be up to his usual antics in his archery outfit looking all hooded all cloaked but that's not technically a costume. He does that when he goes into his own stealth mode.

-----

((This leaves Bastien and maybe a couple other cameos who I'm assuming is gearing towards Pebbles from the last reply. I already did separate ones for Scout/Willem/Flotsam/Val- I might be missing Scout's ball outfit and Bastien's too for that matter. I can do that in the ball thread or after next reply to be sure.))

[vastayan--vigilante]

#3: MEETING EKKO PART 2: "THE JOB"

He was eating at Jericho's when the boy from the alley next appeared, seemingly alone this time, sidling up to him with all the confidence of a seasoned salesman.

"Well, hello there - Scar, right? I've got a job for you, if you're looking to make some easy extra coin."

Scar slanted the boy a nonplussed look, with an edge of evaluation. No fear in those eyes, now. Perhaps it was because they were in a busy market street in the middle of the day, this time, and he wasn’t visibly high.

Or perhaps the kid had just sussed out that if any chem-thug was safe enough to approach - yeah, it'd probably be the one who was willing to protect a couple of random street rats from enforcers, no questions asked, as they scurried across his turf.

"...Who's paying?" The question was shrewd. Niska didn't mind her crew taking odd jobs from third parties, so long as she got her fixed cut of the profits and the work didn't involve helping her competition. Street rats didn't have the funds to hire muscle like him, though. So who was the boy working for?

"Ekko - that's me." The boy's chin jutted out a little as he answered, but other than that he remained remarkably nonchalant. As if this was a perfectly normal business dealing.

Scar just raised a single eyebrow at him, silently skeptical.

You?

The boy set his jaw and folded his arms; holding the chem-thug's gaze, he leaned forwards over the counter in what looked to be a practiced effort at confident swagger. Admittedly it lost some of its impact when it came from a twelve year old less than half his height, but Scar could give him points for effort.

"I've got the coin," he informed Scar plainly, "And you need the work, or else you wouldn't be eating the cheapest thing on the menu. So what'll it be?"

...Perceptive little punk, aren't you?

Scar took another bite of his cheap stew, chewed, and considered.

Of course he needed extra coin. There was barely enough to last the month, nowadays, since the cost of Shimmer had increased again. Niska had also taken a cut out of everyone's last pay, over some bullshit 'building repair' costs. There was plenty that needed repairing at The Rats Castle, of course, but the repairs rarely seemed to actually happen - and if they did, they were a cheap patch job that didn't fix the actual problem.

Did Ekko know that? Had he researched Scar, like a mark, before approaching?

Oh, what the hell. It wasn't like he had anything else going on right now.

"...Why ask me?" Generally the street rats clustered together, and were very distrustful of strangers. For good reason, too. The small and weak were easy prey for opportunistic monsters, and Scar knew all too well how many of those there were in this city. Was Ekko trying to fight fire with fire, by hiring a monster of his own? He wouldn't be the first to try. But he was certainly one of the youngest.

Ekko gave him a look.

"Because I need a big, scary-ass adult," he informed Scar, cheerfully blunt, then gave the vastaya a pointed look up and down. "And you fit the bill perfectly."

Despite himself, Scar felt his lips twitch upwards. Yeah, that was pretty much what he'd expected.

"...How much?" This was the important question. He doubted Ekko and his little friends had managed to scrape together very many coins for something like this. The fact that he was trying at all meant there must be someone he wanted to be dealt with very badly.

It wasn't that the money was the only motivating factor. Hell, if there was someone out there hurting kids, Scar would be willing to beat them up for free. But, of course, he needed to eat too. So if the boy could pay, he'd take the coin.

For a brief moment, Ekko looked almost surprised that he'd gotten this far this quickly.

You probably prepared a whole sales pitch, didn't you, Scar thought with dry amusement.

"So you're interested? I haven't told you what the job is, yet."

It was the vastaya's turn to give Ekko a patently knowing look; after all, you didn't (by your own admission) select the biggest, scariest person you could find, unless it was a job where you needed muscle. The boy knew what he could do. He and his little friend had definitely heard it, even if they hadn't stuck around to watch.

"You want someone fucked up," Scar surmised around a mouthful of fish. The boy, to his credit, didn't even flinch at the bluntness.

"Well, yeah, no shit. Aren't you gonna ask who it is?"

The vastaya chewed, swallowed, and shrugged. Did it really matter? He beat up strangers and familiar faces alike basically every day.

"...Do they deserve it?" He simply asked instead. People rarely got what they actually deserved, of course. But it wasn't every day a street rat this young had the money and the nerve to hire his own muscle - to present his name like it meant something, like it was a name you'd want to remember.

Something steely and dark clouded the boy's expression.

"Yeah - he does. He killed my friend."

Scar's clawed hand twitched against the tabletop, fingers curling inwards a fraction, but his expression remained unmoved.

"Pink hair?" He asked abruptly.

There was a flash of shock across Ekko's face, as if he couldn’t believe the chem-thug had remembered his friend in the alley with him that night - or that he was bothering to ask about her.

"..No. No, someone else."

Unmistakable guilt on the kid's face. Between that and his lack of injuries, Scar suspected he'd either been elsewhere when this had happened - or he hadn't been as brave as his friends, in the moment.

A lot of people were less brave than they thought.

"I'm sick of assholes like him thinking they can use kids like me for target practice. I'm sick of running and hiding all the time. I want him to get a taste of his own medicine."

...Fair enough.

"How much?" Scar repeated pointedly.

Ekko was silent for a moment, as if mentally calculating.

"40 silver cogs."

The number felt deliberate, like a gauntlet thrown down. A low-end offer, but not quite so low as to be insulting. Was that genuinely all the kid could afford, or was he chancing his arm? The chem-thug's gut told him it was the latter.

"60," Scar countered immediately.

Maybe it was ruthless to be pushing a street rat for more coin, but the way Ekko's expression sharpened and his lips quirked upwards confirmed his gut feeling - this was both anticipated and respected. After all, the kid clearly wanted to be taken seriously, and no savvy sumpsnipe did business without haggling.

"50," Ekko returned with assertive finality. "Half up front."

Kid had definitely done his homework. Scar was privately amused at the sheer ballsiness of the offer, in spite of his skepticism.

"...Lot of coin, for little pockets," He observed wryly, by way of acquiescence. He wasn’t going to ask where the boy had gotten the money from - it wasn't his business. Everyone did what they had to do to survive, down here. All that concerned him was whether Ekko genuinely had it to pay him with or not.

"I've got my ways." the boy gave him a conspiratorial smile, utterly unfazed.

"You think I'd lie to you?"

When it came to money, everyone lied in The Lanes, if they were smart. If they could get away with it. It was a dog-eat-dog world.

The vastaya set down his fork, and extended his hand, palm up. He'd finished eating - now it was time for the kid to put his money where his mouth was, or Scar would be walking away.

"Show me."

Something flickered in Ekko's eyes - smart of him to be hesitant, as plenty of opportunists would simply pocket the coin and laugh the kid away. Scar wasn't inclined to do that, though. He wasn't a complete asshole.

...Besides, he had a feeling anyone who pulled a stunt like that with this kid, would promptly find their freshly lifted spoils (and possibly their own wallets) had been pickpocketed right back off them before they even made it to the end of the street.

A small pouch materialised, and was pointedly dropped into the vastaya's waiting palm - without any coins being added or removed. Had the kid really predicted the exact price terms they'd settle on so confidently that he'd prepared for it? Had 50 silver cogs been the price he'd intended to pay all along, and he'd just let Scar think he was haggling upwards?

That was... cunning as hell, actually.

Ekko held his gaze proudly. Challenging him to check.

Scar weighed up the pouch in his hand, appraisingly, then opened it and counted the coins. 25 exactly. He'd have been affronted at how clearly he'd been played by a little street rat, if he wasn't so impressed.

Just for good measure, he bit into one of the coins.

Huh. Real, too.

Ekko smirked at him, and extended a bold hand across the table.

"So, big guy. Do we have a deal?"

Scar contemplated the proferred appendage for a moment, then reached up and clasped it with a solemn squeeze. Ekko's hand was dwarfed by his own, but the kid didn't hesitate to squeeze back; he had a very firm handshake, in spite of his small, weedy size.

Scar bared his sharpened teeth in a sanguine smile.

"Lead on, little boss."

Ekko's expression did something strange, before he huffed out a laugh.

"Yeah, all right, I like the sound of that. Let's go, then - I'll fill you in on the way."

[3xm-draconic]

Respite (werebat Cyris story)

Summary: The gang has a nice night of fun together...and Cyris learns some valuable info.

“FINALLY” Roger cried as they reached the town of Rivington “CIVILIZATION!”, “warm beds…” Wyll sighed, “fresh supplies!” Lae’zel grinned,“BETTER BOOZE!” Roger howled excitedly.

“Ooh there’s a little bookstore in town, I wonder if they might have a few new recipe books” Gale hummed, “I can see a tavern! We have enough gold, let's eat out tonight everybody” Allegra said as she skipped along the path.

“Eating out would be a nice change of pace from having to cook all the time” Cyris groaned, “I agree, eating out at a nice restaurant sounds like a rather nice date~” Astarion smiled.

At the inn they were staying at, a cheap place called: The 12 Rusty Swords Inn, they settled down for a feast.

Karlach and Wyll ordered a warm meaty stew to share together.

Halsin and Lae’zel both ordered a dish of roasted parsnips and other root vegetables covered in a tangy sauce.

Roger had a fish dish while Allegra ordered a pheasant pie.

Gale and Shadowheart enjoyed a platter of assorted meats and other delicacies they could dip into a small cauldron of cheese portabley heated by a magical rune.

Jaheira snacked on scones and had a nice pot of tea to go along with it.

Astarion ordered a steak…cooked VERY rare, nearly raw and Cyris had black pudding (blood sausage) with toast and eggs.

“Ahhh~ this is great! Finally a little reprieve from the craziness of travel and adventuring” Karlach smiled as she patted her stomach, “I couldn’t agree more, but we will have to depart soon, to stop the elder brain…” Gale forebodingly said.

“Well I ain’t doing that till I’ve tried the drink menu” Roger mumbled “now” he pulled out a pair of spectacles “lets see…”

“Iam not getting drunk, I am too old for such shenanigans” Jaheira mumbled.

“Zelly and I are gonna hit the hay early” Halsin said as he and Lae’zel whent upstairs to their room.

“I’am down to party!” Karlach grinned, “me too” Wyll added, “I think a little fun is in order, Shadow what do you think?” Gale turned to the raven-haired half elf, Shadowheart smiled “drinks sound delightful”. 

“Mmm~ the wine selection they have here isn’t too bad” Astarion hummed, “Drinks for most of us then…unless you’d like more tea Jaja?”, Jaheira snickered at her nickname “I would not mind another pot of camomile” she laughed.

The drink menu was…well it had quite a lot actually, it was hard to pick between the wines, hard liquors or mixed drinks.

So Roger came up with a system…

“Ok so, we’ll use my dice to decide what we’ll drink, what number on them is the menu number you order” he grumbled, “ooh~ like a game of chance!” Shadowheart hummed “exciting~”.

They all rolled the dice to see who picked first…

Wyll rolled the highest…

“31…Eye of the Beholder…hmmm sounds…interesting” he pondered.

The drink that arrived was a blue-tinted gin drink with dozens of little “eyeballs” floating in it, when Wyll bit into one of them it popped in his mouth an oozed with the flavor of mangos “Wow this…this is actually pretty good” he grinned.

“My turn!” Karlach excitedly snatched the dice from the table.

“52…Bubbling Black Brew?” she pondered.

The drink she ordered was a deep black fizzy wine served with a twist of lemon peel, when she took a taste she grinned “ooh~ it’s blackberry and lemon flavored” she happily sipped away.

Gale took the dice and rolled next…

“23…The…Hammer?” he pondered worriedly “that sounds interesting…”

The drink that came was served in a huge pewter chalice, it looked like they dumped every alcohol they had and the kitchen sink in there…but Gale took a sip and said it was good.

Shadowheart nervously looked at the dice “oh please be something good…” she pleaded.

“81, Ambrosia? Hmm never heard of that”

The drink smelled of coconut, ripe passion fruit, raspberries and peaches “OH there is some strong rum in here” she gasped.

“ALRIGHT MY TURN!” Roger excitedly grabbed his dice and rolled…

“61…candy drop…”

The drinks that came were a colorful drink covered in every candy that smelled potently of vanilla and a shot of  candies infused with liquor “oop well not what I was expecting…down the hatch!” Roger said as he dropped the candies into the vanilla drink and downed it in one go.

 Allegra was handed the dice next…

“14…Jellycube shots…”

6 small cubes of jelly on little platters, each a different color were served, Allegra grabbed the red one, squished it a little and then bit it “OOOH cherry flavor” she grinned. The green was apple, blue was berry, orange was citrus, yellow was banana, purple was grape. “vashe zdorov'ye!” Allegra cheered 

Astarion was handed the dice…

“100…Fairy Blood?” he laughed…

The drink that was served was thick and bright red, Astarion took a sip “haha it’s spicy tomato juice and vodka haha” he beamed.

Lastly it was Cyris’s turn…

 “4…strawberry fizz”

The drink that came was served in a tall fluted glass, it was a translucent pink that faded to a deep red and had chunks of strawberries in it. It fizzed and had a head of foam on top. Cyris smelled it, the scent of fresh berries mixed with champagne, lavender syrup and honey tantalized his senses. He sipped it… the taste was, “the berries…waiter where do you get your supply of strawberries?” he turned to their waiter, a tried-looking half-orc man.

“Some place called samgin…sanghen…woods something?” he grumbled, “sanguinwoods?” Cyris beamed, “yhea I think so” the waiter mumbled, “do..do you know anything about the village? If…if anything has happened to them?” Cyris asked him, a twinge of fear in his voice.

“I don’t know anything pal, haven’t heard anything in a while from em’, you could ask Max Tanpelr the town export manager” the waiter sighed and left.

Cyris looked worried…   

Their room was modest…but comfy.

Astarion missed the more lavish hotels and inns but this place was…charming, the little box of candy on the bedside tables was a nice touch.    

“Cyris~” Astarion called from the bedroom “come to bed darling~”, there was no reply, “C-Cyris?...” Astarion walked out of the bedroom and saw Cyris looking out their balcony.

“What troubles you my sweet?”, “...Whimbly said she’d kill my family…my village if I left…” Cyris had something in his hand…a faint glint of silver…

“Cyris?!” Astarion rushed over to his lover, Cyris held a knife in his hand…

“What…what if they're all dead? WHAT IF THEY DIED BECAUSE OF ME!?” he screamed as he held the blade to his arm, “CYRIS!” Astarion managed to grab hold of his wrist and wrench the blade free from his grasp “WE TALKED ABOUT THIS!”he shrieked.

Cyris dropped to the floor…

He was shaking…

He was crying…

“It’s all…my..fault…” he cried “all…my..fault…”

Astarion held him, held his lover’s head to his chest “shhh, shhh darling, it’s ok…” he raised Cyris’s face to his “you don’t know if they are hurt and his scares you…but hurting yourself won't fix that, we will find out more about them and if they are ok, ok?” He hugged him tightly.

“And if they aren’t ok?” Cyris whimpered…

“If things aren’t ok…if Whimbly has…has hurt them then we will avenge them” he kissed Cyris’s brow “don’t hurt yourself, please, I can’t stand to see you hurt yourself darling” he nuzzled Cyris “seeing you hurt hurts me”.

Astarion led Cyris to the bed and helped tuck him in, he wrapped his arms around him and held him close.

“I promise Cyris, I promise things will be ok…” 

The next morning Cyris and Astarion whent to see Max the town importer/exporter about his ties to sanguinwood shier…

Cyris’s belly churned in painful knots…he was panicking, his heart felt like it would explode out his ribcaged… 

“It’s alright darling, just hold my hand” Astarion assured him.

“Max?” Astarion called out “Max Tanpelr?”, “yes?” a little gnome man poked his head out from behind some boxes “what do you need of me my good fellow?” he chirped enthusiastically.

Astarion didn’t particularly like dealing with gnomes…too…happy…for his liking “we would like to know about one of your suppliers, a place called sanguinwood?, a little halfling village nestled in the spine of the world just beyond coldwood?” Astarion asked him. Max pondered, his face scrunched up in thought “oh yes I do know them, nice little place, BIG RED TREES! Have you ever seen them?, golly they are a sight!”, Astarion shook his head “no, no I’ve never been there, but my sweet darling here is from there and he wants to know how things have been?”

 Max smiled “oh never better, just got a shipment of plump red strawberries, cartons and cartons of them!” he beamed “why Rayford farm is my number 1 supplier” he smiled.

Cyris was brought to tears “y…you buy from my family?”, “your family?...GARL GLITTERGOLD’S BEARD!, you're their lost little boy aren’t you?” Max gawked “goodness boy your mother has worried herself near sick looking for you!”, Cyris started crying, Astarion turned to max…a little annoyed “he’s…he’s been dealing with something of late and could not return home…” he said haughtily.

“Well he could at least write her a letter or go to Baldur’s Gate, she’s probably still looking for him there” Max huffed and left back to his work.

Cyris fell to his knees outside the trade center “she’s…she’s so worried…” he whimpered “he’s right I could have sent her a FUCKING LETTER!” he hissed at himself and clawed at his skin, Astarion grabbed his hand and held him, restraining him from hurting himself further. 

“I’am a bad son…” he sobbed, “no you are not” Astarion helped him up “incase you haven’t noticed Cy we haven't really had time to just leisurely write a letter to our families. You are not a bad son for not being able to communicate with her” he said, hugging him tightly.

“...then we gotta go to Baludr’s Gate, not just to kill that brain thing but…but because I need to see my mom, I need to let her know I’am alive that I’am…well I’am not safe but I’am alive at least” he laughed.

“We are a long ways away from there darling” Astarion sighed, Cyris rested his head on Astarion’s “then I have a letter to write…”

[xamassed]

⟬ meme / @earthssprout ⟭

Ambiguous: what's your favorite meal that Sanji makes? // ( for every babysitter & friend that's had the pleasure of tasting his cooking! )

The answer that came was a unanimous one in sound only. No one had the same dish spring to mind, but all of them were passionate about the food that Ariana's father made. Unfortunately, the rise of enthusiastic voices may have been too much for the small girl, and Sanji was quick to put a stop to the verbal clamoring before it became overly hectic.

"One at a time!" The command was firm but not intimidating, every voice going quiet immediately. As soon as they contained themselves, Sanji turned towards the two sitting closest to each other: the stuntwoman and the small hamadryad beside her.

"Anita, Rowan — do you two want to answer first~?"

"Oh, oh! Can I go first?" Rowan bounced on the sofa with her knees, hands pressed to Anita's leg so she wouldn't lose her balance and hit the floor.

"Alright, short stuff. Go for it."

"I like all of the vegetables he makes, especially when they're soft and mushy!"

"That ain't a dish!" Grumbled the white-haired demon across the room. Rowan, struck by the denial of her favorite, pouted and sank where she sat.

"Yes, it is. . ."

"Don't listen to him, Row. He's a dillweed." Anita snipped.

"What's a dillweed?"

"Hey, Anita, how about you tell us what your favorite food is?" Peter, eyes wide with warning, hoped she might take the bait rather than expanding Rowan's vocabulary in the wrong direction.

"Oh, he makes sick burgers. Last time he made me one, he made me a mushroom and swiss. Just thinking about it is making me want one."

"I'll get right on it," purred the cook from the kitchen.

"Y'all ain't thinkin' big enough! This guy's almost as good as Barbatos, but you're pickin' chump dishes. The guy cooks a mean steak, and he don't use that cheap-ass meat!"

"Mammon!"

"What?!"

"I'm with Mammon. Sanji's steaks are really good. His stews are amazing, but so are his tacos and burritos. The pad thai he made the other day was yummy, and the snacks before made me want more. You should really try his pies and cakes too. Meatloaf and meatballs, stuffed peppers, eggs, pizza, tarts, ice cream. . ." Every dish listed made Beelzebub's mouth water harder, until he sat there with his mouth open and dripping.

"Beel, you're doin' it again, dammit! Stop droolin' all over the place!"

While the oldest of the two brothers attempted to keep himself dry, Peter distanced himself. Safe on the arm of the sofa Anita and Rowan shared, he decided then to answer the question himself.

"Don't get me wrong, there's really only one good pizza place around here, but Mr. Sanji is really good. He knows how much sauce to put on, what toppings I like. The cheese pull. . ." Peter dropped his head back, and the mention of cheese made Anita's stomach rumble.

"Right? Actual art."

"Seriously!"

Sanji, still rummaging about in the kitchen, let out a bashful laugh. "We still haven't heard an answer from you, Ari. What's your favorite?"

[meteodrives]

*      ◞      cloudvii:

Him. In the kitchen. He could hardly believe it either and Tifa would be amused to know it came with a lot of protesting that went disregarded. Oh, what a stubborn, insufferable brat he was. Truth be told, still was - at least he gets it honest. The smirk continued to stay on his lips gentle as it was. Just one corner was tugged slightly more than the other but his eyes are what glistened with mischievousness the most. For once they’re rid of bloodlust, anguish, or fury. Life after ShinRa… maybe it was not so terrible. After all, he wasn’t alone. Tifa never once broke from his side or gave up on his ability to change and be a better man. Why shouldn’t he try and embrace it? 

“Just warning you - I don’t come cheep.” He jests right back. He’s hardly interested in her money though; they did things that depended on each other here. They both worked to create something from the ashes of Midgar and the rise of Edge.

“When I first came to Midgar, I couldn’t tell you a green bean from a potato. I just ate whatever Mom put on the table. Never once bothered asking or learning what I was shoving down. Maybe if I had I could remember how she made her stew. You remember it, don’t you?” His mothers stew - Cloud’s absolute favorite meal. It had to be all veggies and broth due to how sick Cloud got over the Mako contaminated meat but it was delicious all the same. “Learning how to cook was part of my training. Cleaning too. Sometimes with a toothbrush when I got too mouthy for my own good. Least those skills are getting some use somewhere, right?” What misconception that the only thing Cloud was train and good for was violence - he was insured to have an arson of tricks if he liked it or not.

The potato skins were saved, put aside with other skins and otherwise what wouldn’t be used. No sense in throwing it away when something else could eat it - far from home, of course.

“If you wanna get some rest.. I can handle the bar myself.”

Probably. Cloud may have a temper but when duty called for it he could shape up - it was a matter of most of the time he simply chose not to. What amazing difference there was in him when he decided to behave on his own terms. Or was it really his own when he just wanted to make Tifa happy? The least he can do for the strife he’s brought to her world. It was better late than never.

❛  i'd almost be disappointed if you did .  ❜   the words tug at the corner of her mouth. for all the work he put into any task, done with great reluctance or not, he hardly deserved to be labeled as a cheap hire — even if only to serve as the punchline. her back turned, resting against the countertop with hands readjusted — now out of her sight & acting as some semblance of separation between herself & the surface. with his sudden desire to reminisce, she casted her gaze downwards to her boots, every word reaching her ears. it wasn't entirely uncommon the occasional slip of tongue caused him to comment on the past — whether that past entailed nibelheim or his … humble beginnings in midgar ;  but such occurrences only graced conversation when the mood prompted for it, more so done when days felt endless & full of invisible yet oncoming peril.  ( the rarity of genuine joy  —  hidden rather than scarce . )   ❛  mhm ,  i remember .  ❜   a pause, overwhelmed with some beating form of nostalgia, interrupted when her head lifts. 

          it's placed on the back burner, attention now caught on hearing more from the latter side of his days now gone. a toothbrush? some internal conflict leads to questioning whether or not she should crack a joke about that. lucky you, we don't have any to spare. within the silence that followed, she opted otherwise, the moment having passed. instead, a light chuckle escaped — coming out more akin to a hefty exhale.   ❛  sounds like a lot .  ❜   she left it at that, acknowledging his efforts were for no plain jane to endure. certainly not something she would have pushed through. the air filled her lungs, a newfound energy taking over. in the very nick of time, at that. leave the bar to cloud? while there was not a doubt in her mind that he was capable of handling the stress of it all … his temper. hesitation settled itself on her features, prominent in the furrowing of brows.   ❛  nuh - uh .  i know how difficult it can be to manage on your own .  i'd hate to put all that on you .  ❜   arms stretch, ever so gently, to shake away any wear & tear that had been felt — a wide smile quick to resurface.   ❛  plus ,  i think i've got enough energy to keep me going for the next few hours .  ❜

if her expectations of something as fickle as such were to prove otherwise, undying perseverance would prevail — even if that meant spraying herself in the face next time. the thought permitted her to backtrack.   ❛  ...  you know ,  i think you should try to make it ,  anyway .  ❜   her voice is small, albeit unintentionally so. she caught herself, turning with purpose to face him — modifying her tone to suit the more lighthearted intent.   ❛  your mom's stew ,  i mean .  i'll even give you a second opinion !  it doesn't have to be perfect ,  but it could be fun ,  y'know ?  ❜   

[kokomis-gf]

❝Unholy Rose❞ -Scaramouche Kunikuzushi

Warning ———-oExhibitionism, Drinking, I just realized I made a cruel prince quote??, Diluc being hottie as always, not edited, maybe ooc Scaramouche,

Kinktober MasterList ———-o Kinktober 2021

Pairing ———-o Scaramouche Kunikuzushi X fem!Reader

“What in the raiden shoguns name are you doing?” you thought to yourself as you pushed your hood down lower to keep your face concealed from any by passers. “Oh goodness…how idiotic can I be?” You screamed to yourself, internally. “I can’t go back to Inazuma, they’ll be searching cracks and crevices just to find me there…” you felt yourself on the verge of tears as you realized you would have to go to the one place you cannot stand. The land of eternity wasn’t your home land but you did have a home there and the harbingers knew that.

Mondstadt.

You truly didn’t know why you hated Mondstadt, maybe it was because of the fact their dearly beloved archon destroyed your hometown with only you surviving but other then that you didn’t know why.

You walked for days until you could not walk anymore until you finally had made it in the gates. You ran up to the first shop with food you could find. “Good hunters…” you mumbled out of your mouth before asking her what was the best thing you could buy. “I recommend the cream stew! It’s amazing, you’ll most definitely fall in love” she smiled towards you as you told her you’d buy it.

You walked to the souvenir shop, “ma’am…do you have any clothes I can buy” you asked to the lady in front of the shop. “Yes we actually have a variety of clothing in stock right now for the cheap price of one hundred thousand each” she pointed to the back of the store. Walking over you picked things that you would’ve never wore when you were a harbinger. You saw someone else who was staring out you intensely, making you quickly grab the clothing and bring them up to the cashier and slamming money onto the table before running out.

“Dear Raiden. Please tell me I didn’t get caught just yet. I’m stealthy I know I am so who was that person?” you went to good hunters and grabbing the food from Sara and paying her the estimated amount. You began to walk off but stopped remembering you needed to ask something, “do you know were I can get a room for a few days?” You asked her as she payed attention to every word you said.

“Yes actually if you go over to the right and then take a left you can find a place” she pointed all around, showing random hand signals. “Thank you” you left an extra one hundred thousand by her hand and walked off. You were quite wealthy as a fatui harbinger so money wasn’t an issue for now.

Your mind wandered off to how the harbingers are doing, “I do hope Tartaglia is eating well. I remember having to force feed him when he was too caught up in work…and Dottore is probably to into destroying and rebuilding his little robots. Ah…and Scaramouche. Your dear Scaramouche. Oh how you missed him, you do hope he doesn’t hate you for what you did.”

It truly wasn’t your fault. You just got bored and decided to stir up your and the harbingers life. So you thought trying to assassinate the Tsaritsa was give you a bit excitement. So as you changed into your clothes in your room and quickly but sophisticatedly ate.

“This truly is quite boring…I hope one of them will come chasing after me” if this is what was going to happen, you would’ve left your boring life alone. You do get bored easily, but Scaramouche was the only thing that excited you now, so you hoped to celestia that he would be the one to catch you.

You didn’t believe in the archons will powers but for some reason…you absolutely adored the electro archon. Maybe it was because of how sophisticated she was but you were enamored with her.

With all these thoughts huddling up inside of your tiny head, you grabbed your hood and went out for a breather. You walked around all of the walls of Mondstadt until you found yourself in a bar. You sat down on a barstool, looking around nonchalantly. You looked at the red-headed bartender, going to ask for a drink, noticing his glare towards everyone and how cold he was he reminded you of a certain someone.

“Can I get…dandelion wine” you asked with a smile towards him. He got a glass cup and poured a bit of it inside, “oh actually the whole bottle, if you can” you butted, putting money into the bar. He looked at you for a second before giving you the wine cup and the bottle.

As you drank to your hearts content, you realized it was getting late so you left. You walked limply to the hotel you were currently staying at before getting pulled by your arm harshly, making you let out a gasp.

“…excuse me?” You said to the person who grabbed you. “Who do you think you are? I’m a fatui harbin-oh” you realized by his short build that it was Scaramouche. He glared at you electro in is palm. “If you’re here to kill me, I don’t have time for it” you tried to walk off but he electrocuted you, making you cry out with a smile of your face. He pulled you down to your knees, making you wince once you felt the hard rocks on your knees “how moronic do you have to be to challenge the Tsaritsa and then leave. Goodness I should just kill you right now” You smirked, the wine in you controlling your will, “oh? And why won’t you kill me now? Is it because you’re infatuated with m-“

He grabbed your chin, making you smile at him, rubbing your face against his clothing. “Please as if I could ever love a worthless human being like yourself…” you scoffed at his words. How dare he call you a human? You’ve been alive for over 500 years. “Ah- but that’s where you’re wrong Kunikuzushi…I’ve been alive longer then you” your hands went to coddle his clothing, before slowly taking them off.

He let you take them off, looking away from your smirking face. “You do know…I am surprised you found me so quickly. I would’ve thought that you would look for me in Inazuma…” you kissed his clothed erected cock as if he was visibly disgusted by you. He doesn’t want this. He doesn’t want to want this. “Please, you babbled to me how much you hated Mondstadt, and knowing how cunning you are you would’ve came here” As you pulled out his already erected cock, he quickly pushed your face onto it, “oh? Someone excited?” You stuck your tongue out to lick the white substance on his tip.

You hallowed out your cheeks, taking him in and the other parts you massaged with your hand. “…I’ll turn you into her majesty once thi-this is done” His hand went to the back of your head, pushing you down harshly making you gag. You were just glad he had stuttered. You, a Khaenri’ah princess, making Kunikuzushi stutter from just your lips. You didn’t fear her majesty.

You knew she pitied you and that’s why she made you a harbinger. You knew she was part of the destruction of your homeland but she let you take the Gnosis of the archons, letting you revel in your revenge. “F-fuck…” he whispered before his cum shot down your throat. Once you were sure you got every last drop, you pulled away from his dick.

“If you’re going to turn me in, please let me have a bit of fun before being killed” you winked towards his blushing figure. He pulled you up by one of your arms. He pulled your short dress skirt up slight And moved your panties to the side. “I’ll make you my wife. If you’re my betrothed her majesty wouldn’t kill you for what you did” he didn’t give you a chance to speak because he quickly put himself inside of your already wet cunt.

“Ah-celestia~…” what he said went over your head as he slammed himself inside of you. "Better than I imagine." He muttered, pumping inside of you. “S-scara~ faste-please” you moaned out and thankfully he actually listened to you. Your hands gripped his shoulders harshly, your nails digging inside of his skin.

“Who knew I would have the Khaenri’ah princess moaning all over my cock~” he teased you as you rolled your eyes, “shut up” you pressed your lips to his, harshly. You bit his lip, making it bleed. Your tongue slipped inside of his mouth, You moaned as he kept on slipping inside of you.

Breathing harshly, you pulled apart. You prayed to the Raiden Shogun that no one would see you being fucked out of your brains. Your head was pressed into the wall behind you to keep your balance.

You finally came as his cock painted your insides white. He pulled out as you limply fell down before he grabbed onto your arm. “Come here moron” he walked towards your hotel. “Wait…how do you know where I sleep at?” You mumbled into his shoulder. He scoffed at the drool running down your mouth.

“Please, I knew from the very beginning you were here. I know you better then you think” he pulled open the door and pushed you inside of your room. “Sleep. I’ll wake you up early” he pulled the sheets up on your body, making you more comfortable. The last thing you felt before succumbing to the sleep was a kiss to your eyelid

[midnightmoonkiss]

Oh, What A Ghost!

Ghost! Izuku Midoriya X Fem! Vampire! Reader

Summary: Being a pervert gets you punished, not that he minded.

WARNINGS!: Biting, oral (male and female receiving), face riding, fingering, butt stuff, blood, voyeurism, masturbation, orgasm denial, toys, a lot of nsfw content. Sub! Izuku

Category: Smut

Word Count: 5.4k+

A/N: Did I shove as many kinks into this as I could? yeah<3 HAPPY HALLOWEEN! :) 

Just To Clarify:

They’re consenting third years (aka 18+)

There is a heiarchy but Izuku totally tears it down 

This was a fun monster!au I made up :)

It’s Halloween lmao.

Perm. Tag List:

@coupsieddori​ @desia2​ @strwbrry-lia​

“You’re such a pervert, Izuku~”

“H-HaaaH! (L/N)..! Pl-please-! I’m- mmMM!! I’m s-ssorry-!”

“Is that so?”

To be honest, you never thought this would happen, never thought you’d be given the opportunity to make a move on your crush in such a.. bold and licentious fashion.

He did have it coming, though, considering you caught him red handed.

Ghosts were always so sneaky and aberrant, their ability to walk or float through walls and turn invisible offering a plethora of possibilities for activities, both good and bad. You didn’t expect such an ‘innocent’ and kind boy to partake in such activities that his race was known for, and yet, you weren’t all that surprised when you found out that he lived up to the stereotype.

Then again, most monsters did.

It was mostly inevitable, after all.

Just like how ghosts were perverts, vampires were sadists. And that’s exactly what you were.

Poor little Izuku, he had no idea the true trouble he got himself into, and on such a respected night as well.

Halloween.

October 31st.

The holiday was bigger than any other, the entire island, or at least the participating parts, went all out with decorations every year.

From lights to festivals, everyone went nuts.

It was the day that worshipped the supernatural, after all.

In a world where humans and creatures, previously thought as myths, coexist, humans have always overpopulated the monsters, and so schools built just for them popped up all over the globe. The one you and your dear friend, Midoriya, attended happened to be the most famous one, known for using monsters ability to fight against those who used it for wrong. It truly was thrilling, and it saved those previously in public schools from the bullying that occured all too much.

The school, UA, was like a pot of stew, all kinds of monsters mixing together. Werewolves, witches, wizards, zombies, vampires, ghosts, and so many more. Though, most typically stuck with their own group, but it wasn’t uncommon for people to branch out, just like how you were friends with a ghost and a zombie.

It took society a long time to accept monsters, and some still dont, but who needs them anyway, right?

Besides, to you, monsters were much more fun, especially when vampires and sirens were considered the top of the hierarchy.

Ghosts, ghouls, and zombies were at the bottom, their power not all that great, but vampires and sirens, alongside werewolves, were at the very top, the most well respected and feared monsters.

Though you were looked down on by your fellow vamps by befriending a ghost, you couldn’t care less.

As months flew by, and two school years came and went, you found yourself falling madly in love with the man who captivated you.

If he didnt float and walk through walls sometimes, you wouldve assumed he was a different class from how he held himself, strong, and not weak and defenseless.

You loved it.

But there was always something that made you question him sometimes, how he’d disappear without saying a word, how he’d be flustered around you one day and not the next. It was strange, but you never looked into it.

Little did you know, the dirty little ghost was up to absolutely no good.

His.. habit manifested out of fear, ever since that summer camp that occurred the first year, and he saw how badly wounded you were, he grew protective of you, even if you were miles ahead of him in strength. He’d check up on you somtimes, turning invisible and poking his head in through your dorm room window.

He knew it was wrong, peeking into a girls room- at night.. but.. he couldnt help himself.

He swore he would stop, but he never did.

One day, he happened to catch you.. doing quite a lewd act. He knew in his gut he shouldve floated away, to not be a peeping tom, but his large green eyes were glued to your perfect body, and how your fingers dipped in and out of your wet flesh with a squelch and moan that made his virgin cock twitch in his shorts.

Was it wrong to grab his dick, bucking into his hand as he watched you get off to an audio?

Maybe.. 

No, it definitely was!

But you.. you were so!!

So hot!

He lost count of the amount of times he’s cum on his hand watching you cum on your own, far too many.

But he slipped up today, let a moan escape past his hand and suddenly your ruby red eyes met his own.

He knew you couldnt see him, but he knew that you knew he was there!!

You smirked, showing off your sharp fangs, “Izuku.”

The pure shock he felt from hearing you say his name made him manifest into thin air on accident, collapsing to his knees as ghost costume covered his indecency.

There was a Halloween party tonight, and he dressed up as his race thinking it was funny- but it wasn’t really funny anymore.

And so, that led him to where he was now, willingly beneath your naked body glistening with sweat from the full moons silvery light pouring in through the window as you ground your bare pussy against his sensitive cock.

You pinned his arms above his head, your hungry gaze boring into his soul, he couldnt deny how hot it was, or how true your words were.

He was a pervert.

“Y-yes!” He cried out, tears pricking at his eyes from the embarrassment he felt at being caught, “I’m s-sorry..!”

His breath caught in his throat when you leaned down, your face hovering over his own.

“Mmm.. I don’t know if I can believe you, ‘Zuku.. How can I know you’re really sorry?”

You batted your eyes at him, pouting, such a devious thing to do.

“I-I’ll do a-anything t- haaahh.. nn.. t-to prove it..!”

He was so cute.

“Anything?” You pondered.

“Yes-“

You cut him off with a kiss, and you couldnt help but grin when he moaned against you.

This kiss turned into another, and another, and soon you were finally making out with him. It was sloppy and uncoordinated, but eventually you both fell into a rhythm, him whimpering each time you rolled your hips against him.

Swiping a tongue over his quivering bottom lip, he eagerly opened his mouth, just for you to invade his maw, greedily sucking his sweet tongue into your mouth, causing him to give in and buck up against your sopping warmth, giving your clit delicious friction.

“Mm-!”

Pulling away, his mouth chased your own for a second, “H-hah-! (L/N)!”

Pressing a finger to his plump lips, you pushed his head back down against your pillow.

“Say.. you wouldn’t mind if we’re a little late to the party, would you?” You smiled coquettishly down at the squirming boy covered in scars and freckles.

Gulping rather loudly, he shook his head, eyes wide and face burning red, his hormones going wild. How could he say no, when his crush was rubbing her naked self against him and enjoying it?

He would be a fool, a damn fool to say no, he wanted it too much. He wanted you, and he would say just about anything, do anything you wanted, to have you.

“Mm~ Good boy.” The praise went straight to his gut, butterflies forming and going wild inside him, making his hands clammy.

Reaching over, you dug around the drawer of your nightstand, pulling out a pair of red and black leather handcuffs that matched your curtains and rug.

Izuku let out a whine as his wrists were cuffed to the bed, giving in immediately.

“Bad boys don’t get to touch.” You teased, tapping his nose and watching as it wrinkled.

But this just meant you couldn't get his shirt and ghost sheet off, not that you particularly minded. You didn't need him completely naked.

Fulling slipping off him, you watched for a moment as his cock twitched, begging for you to come back to it. 

It made you giggle, and he flushed like a cherry.

Sauntering over to your closet, swaying your hips in a hypnotic way Izuku couldn’t ignore, you dug around, soon finding the glittery box you were looking for and pulling it out, showing it to him with a cheeky grin.

“W-whats in that.. (L/N)..?”

“(Y/N).”

“Huh?”

“Call me (Y/N), love.”

“O-oh…” Biting his lip, he looked conflicted for a split second, clearly inwardly debating if it was okay, before stuttering out your first name, only adding to the joy you felt.

Flipping the light switch off, your red fairy lights hung around the room made it glow crimson, your favorite color, especially on him.

The red glow made the atmosphere that much more romantic and sexy, his eyes reflecting the colors. It was like you were in the red light disctric in a dirt cheap hookup hotel, about to fuck your boyfriend who insisted upon not getting caught. How utterly disgraceful, and yet the thought excited you.

Setting the box down beside him on the bed, you sat at the bottom of the mattress, in front of his sock covered feet, noting how his hips wiggled impatiently and how he looked away with his teeth digging into his bottom lip.

Still so shy despite you rubbing yourself on him earlier.

“Look at me, darling.” You purred, dragging your nails up his leg to catch his attention.

Hesitantly, he turned his head, nervous eyes meeting your own.

It was rare that he saw them so red, the signature sign of a hungry vampire. They were captivating, and he found himself diving into their depths, drowning in you without you even touching him.

Placing your hands on his knees, you spread his legs apart, eliciting a mouse-like squeak from him. 

Even with his pants on, he felt so bare..

His heart jumped to his through when you gripped the hem of his pants and boxers, “Mind if I take these off?”

How polite of you..

He nodded his head, unruly green locks bouncing as he did so, squeezing his eyes shut.

“GAH” He screeched when you suddenly used your vampiric speed to pull them both down quickly and toss them so fast to the other side of the room that they slapped against the wall like a wet fish.

He was stunned, staring blankly at them, about to question it when he was cut off with a guttural groan, your lips suddenly wrapping around the tip of his weeping cock.

“H-hah-! A-ah! (L/-)- I me-an (Y/N-N)—! Wh-! MMMM!! Oh!!”

Despite your own mess covering his member, which definitely delighted you, you could still taste the salty precum dripping out as your tongue licked over his slit, his back arching from the stimulation.

He couldnt help but buck up pathetically with a mewl,  only to have his hips pinned down to the mattress with one of your hands.

“Ah, ah, ah~” You whispered against his tip, piercing eyes cutting into his skin like a poisonous knife as you dared him to fight against your hold.

He gulped, accepting his fate with a shaky breath.

Content with his obedience, you licked along the underside of his cock, savoring his musky flavor.

“Hnn! Hoahh..”

He was so.. vocal.. even with the slightest touch, you’d get a reaction out of him. It was fascinating, and only made you want to see how much more you could pull from him before he lost the ability to speak a coherent sentence.

Slipping his member back into your mouth, you swirl the tip of your tongue around his bulbous, flushed head, reaching up to grab the discarded lube you had left on your bed, 

“MmMm! O-oh..! My G-gosh..! Haa-!”

Squirting some of the clear jell-like liquid on your palm, you wrapped your hand around his shaft, smiling when he jumped, just to start pumping you fist up and down.

“G-GAaAh! Oh, (Y/N).!”

He himself found it hard to not thrash around from the intense pleasure he was feeling at the moment.

He couldnt help the drool slipping from the corner of his mouth as you began to bob your head up and down his member whilst simultaneously twisting your hand up and down his shaft, squeezing in places that made his mind go blank for a second.

He just felt so good!

It was so much different from pleasuring himself!

He had no control over his ecstasy, no control over how fast or how slow you went, and he loved it-!

“HyAAh!” He cried out like a girl when you suddenly deepthroated him, his tip pressing down your throat as you wet mouth squeezed and sucked on him like your favorite lollipop.

His hips fought against your hold as his head flung back, tears pricking at his eyes as you sucked him for all he was worth, his poor, over sensitive cock.

“O-OH! Oh, NnnNGH!! HaaA ! AAaaAh! (Y-Y/N)..!!!”

His handcuffs clinked together as his body began to shake, a warm feeling spreading in his lower stomach as his muscular thighs began to tense.

His orgasm hit him like a freight train, out of nowhere, intense, and electrifyingly cosmic.

His hazy green eyes rolled back, tongue flopping from his mouth as white hot and tangy cum squirted from his dick down your throat.

You greedily sucked it down around him, causing his entire body to jerk and twitch, cries and babbles fleeing past his spit-slick lips, the oversensitivity making his nerves burn in an oh-so good way.

Popping off his softening cock, you crawled back up his body, staring down at his cute, chubby, sleepy face.

You pinched his cheeks, pulling at it, successfully catching his attention and making his darkened eyes focus on you.

“O-oh-!” He stuttered,  face burning impossibly hotter as he watched you seemingly savor his flavor with lidded eyes.

“We’re not done yet, Izuku.” 

Your statement made him freeze like a deer in front of headlights. What else was there to do?

He already came.. oh!

Wait!

“Y-you didn’t.. c-cum..” He bashfully averted his gaze as you nodded, gears turning in his head again as he recovered from his high.

He knew exactly what you wanted.

“You know, you have such a soft and adorable face,”

“Wh-“

“Do you mind if I sit on it?”

Was this your way of asking him to eat you out?!

How bold!

How could you be so bold! 

Despite being nervous, he nodded his head, smiling giddily.

He had watched plenty of videos, had taken a plethora of notes, and even, as weird as it was, practiced on multiple fruits.

He was nearly positive he could please you.

He wanted to.

He needed to, to hear your own sweet moans caused by him.

He wanted that so bad.

Without thinking, he opened his mouth, eyebrows pinching together as he stared pleadingly up at you with his tongue out and ready to please.

He was such a good boy.

Standing up on your knees, you walked forward, your dripping pussy soon hovering over the excited boys mouth.

Lowering yourself, your thighs wrapping around his head, you were immediately met with an eager tongue lapping at your dripping folds.

“Oh~! My, s-someones enthusiaststic-!”

Bracing up urself on your hands and knees. You made sure not to suffocate the poor man as he rapaciously ate you out, sucking your puffy clit into his mouth and giving it much needed attention.

“Haaaah.. Izuku..! You’re such a good boy for me, eating my mm.. pussy like its your dinner!” You gasped, fingers threading through his messy green locks, pulling at them just to feel the vibrations of his moans against your clit.

You bucked against his mouth, riding his tongue and grinding down against his teeth.

“Mm-mmh! Hnmm…” His moans were muffled, wet licks filling the room.

He could feel your juices dripping down his chin as he was willingly smothered with your womanhood, completely trapped under you and beyond happy to obey.

His tongue dragged over your pretty pink labia, prodding at and slipping into your clenching entrance, slurping up your mess.

He could eat you out all day and never get tired, he was sure of it!

And your noises of pleasure were heavenly.. music to his straining ears. And the way you combed through his hair, he somehow felt like this was just as good as cumming, making someone else feel good..

But you suddenly lifted off his face, his tongue still moving for a second before he stared up at you with childish confusion.

His face was red and covered in your liquids, a true mess.

Chucking, you leaned back, wrapping your hand around his cock that sprung to life over the course of his meal, “I want to cum on your cock, Izu.”

Your dirty words made his heart jump and his member twitch in your grasp.

“P-please..” Though he knew he was going to get just that, he couldnt help but beg, it felt like he was supposed to, or that he had to- for himself just as much as for you.

“But first..” you trailed off, finally reaching into the box and pulling out multiple things that made him involuntarily buck impatiently into thin air.

In your hands, you held egg vibrators, a black cock ring, and a red ribbed vibrating dildo.

He gulped audibly once more, and you were positive if he were a werewolf, his tail would be wagging with those hearts in his eyes.

“Do you know what these are?”

He nodded his head. Gaze trained on them as you fiddled with the devices.

“Have you any idea what I’ll be doing with them?”

He shook his head, innocently smiling at you, the cheeky shit. 

“How about I show you?”

With that, you lubed up your finger, diving between his legs, pressing against his clenching hole, circling around it.

“H-haah..” His heart was pounding so hard it felt like he was at a concert as your finger slowly pushed in his tight hole.

“Nngh!” His cheek pressed against the pillow at the weird feeling of someone entering his body in such a way.

You finger thrusted in and out of him slowly, feeling around his warm, gummy walls for a certain button you knew he would enjoy having pushed.

His thighs were splayed wide for you, cock resting on his toned tummy covered by a white sheet.

You could only hope he didnt ruin his costume with how much he was leaking. He certainly had a sloppy dick.

Leaning down, you pressed kisses to his freckled inner thigh, pushing in a second finger and watching in amusement as he slowly got into it, embracing the feeling of being filled with your digits.

It wasnt long before you managed to fit in a third finger, grinning at how his ass practice swallowed them, “God, Izuku.. your ass is so greedy for my fingers, you keep sucking them back in~”

“A-aah! (Y/N)!! D-don’t say such-!! Nnghnn! Lewd th—things!”

“Hmm… I wonder… where is that pesky little spot..”

“W-what-? AH! H-AahAh! NGHH! Oh-oH! F-FaH! FuCk!”

“Bingo.”

You finally located his prostate, giving it no mercy as you aimed your fingers to press against it with each time you pushed and curled them inside him.

But from his thighs tensing beneath your lips and his cock twitching, you knew he was close again, and that was no good.

“A-AAaaAh! I’m!! I’m g-gonna! C-cu- hAh?!”

You pulled your fingers out, wiping the lube onto the sheets below you as he wiggled like a worm on the sidewalk, desperately bucking his hips and begging for you to give him more.

“Oh, I will..” Smirking over at him again, the glint in your eyes made him moan and feel like prey. You, a lioness on the prowl, and him, a mouse with nowhere to hide, completely bare for you, “But not just yet, baby. This is a punishment, after all.”

Though he was embarrassed at first with having his thighs spread so wide open, exposing every intimate part of himself to you, he didnt feel too shy anymore. You didnt judge him at all, in fact, you swallowed him whole. It was mind numbingly pleasant, and he never thought he would ever get to experience this, not even in his dreams.

For it to come true.. and to find out you were a kinky lady.. he was enthralled. 

Leaning up, you captured his lips in a kiss again, giving him time to calm down as you once again molded your lips together in a lustful heat.

He learned quick, his kisses becoming lasting as he met your pace with wet smacks and tongues brushing against eachother. His own passed over your fangs, and you both shivered when a drop of blood entered your mouth.

You inhaled sharply through your nose, eyes practically glowing in the red light of the room as you tasted him. He surely had the best blood you had even tasted before, nothing at all like how ghosts usually taste! They were bland and boring, but him-! He was nectareous and saporous. 

“Fuck, Izu.. you taste so.. magnificent..”

You licked his tongue again, holding onto that single drop of blood for as long as you could, his flavor making you keen with delight.

His lips parted to speak, but he was once again cut off with a lewd moan as you shoved the dildo halfway into his readily awaiting ass.

“GuaAh! W-wait!! It’s..! Too much!” He panted heavily, tears streaming down his cheeks from how good the vibrating phallic shaped object felt inside of him, almost like it was mixing his insides up like a blender.

“Mm, should I? You look like you’re enjoying this, Zuzuku.”

“Mmm..!! H-aAAaA..!”

Pushing further into him, you got the entire toy burried deep in his walls, pulling it back out, fucking him with the plastic object.

His thighs were spread so wide he feared they’re snap off at the hip as he rocked his ass on the toy, vision hazy as continue to cry out.

“HAAAAHH!! AAAH..!”

He screamed when the toy pressed against his button, pounding against it and making his legs turn to mush as he bucked so hard his heavy cock bobbed in thin air, slapping down against his stomach continuously.

Just when his eyes were rolling back again and his jaw was lax, about to cum, you pulled the toy out, “(Y/N)!!”

He sobbed in frustration, desperation building inside him to cum, even going as far as to try and drag you back with his legs.

“You cant cum yet, Izuku! We havent even used all these fun vibrators yet!” You held up the three vibrators with one hand, an all too innocent smile plastered on your face whilst he looked completely wrecked.

“M-mmh! B-but-!”

Not giving him time to talk, you grasped his leaking cock, pumping it a few times, watching as he tried to fuck into the tunnel you created. 

Grabbing the black cock ring, you stretch it on his awaiting member as he whines, knowing full well he cannot cum with such a device on. It would be torturous, but he was being punished after all, even if he had aready cum and his mind was turning to goo, he still remembered that. Of course you would make it so he couldnt cum again.

Taking the vibrators, you taped them around him, one snug just under his slit, and two against his sensitive spots.

Turning them on, his back arched impossibly high off the bed with a wail, involuntarily fucking up into the air from the intense stimulation.

Content, you sat back, pushing the vibrator in again and turning it on. 

You swore he was going crazy as he let out garbled moans, “G-guAAh! F-fucgh!! NAAh! Mm! Yo-ou.! Youguhhh..! MmeaaAAh!”

He was finally incoherent, steams of tears pouring from his eyes nearly consumed by his pupil, trying to fuck himself onto the vibrator and fuck into air.

He was a slobbering mess, body twitching and convulsing like a possessed child, your name spilling from his lips and muddling with other words on a praise.

“You’re so beautiful like this, Izuku… so wrecked and horny.. my little cum baby.. I bet you wanna cum, huh?”

Your hand slipped between your own thighs, slowly rubbing your clit as you got off to the gorgeous view before you.

Sweet and innocent Izuku Midoriya, the nerd of class 3A, your best friend who always helped others before himself, driven mad with pleasure, practically going insane- all by your doing.

It made you feel even more powerful than you already were.

Hearing a wet squelching, his curious gaze traveled to you, moaning heartily once he saw you fucking your pussy with your fingers, all while gazing at him with such a smolder he felt he was going to burn up. Hell, he already was burning up.

He felt hotter than the sun, and so ready to burst at the seams, but he couldnt.

“M-misstress! Pl-ehHAH.!! NHh! RidehuAh! Me..!”

What did he just say?

“Say that again, Izuku,”

“R-rAhIde-!”

“No, no, sweetheart,”

You pulled your fingers from yourself with a wet pop, pressing your hands to his sides and feeling him up under his shirt, gazing into his own once more, “before that.”

“Mmm..! Misss.. tress! H-haH.! Nnhgh..!”

Mistress. Now theres a word you never thought would fill you with joy.

Licking your lips, you decided enough was enough.

Grabbing his cock, you pull the vibrators off of him, immediately hovering yourself over him and sitting down with a hearty hum until he bottom out inside you with a cry of pleasure.

“GuAAAH!! (Y/N)!!! You’re!! So-!! NnnGh!! Mmmh! So tight-! Hahh..!” The vibrator still in his ass mixed up his insides, turning them into a liquid as you began to bounce on him like a trampoline.

He felt so good he didnt know what to do anymore, words he couldn’t comprehend bubbled past his parted lips, an onslaught of tears pouring from his ducts, pins and needles stabbing him everywhere in such a good way as he was overstimulated to the max.

Your walls hugged him like a vice, so warm and cozy, he wanted to be buried inside you all day.!

Inside you.. he was inside you!

You were fucking him so good-!

A smile made its way to his wrecked face, tongue hanging out of his mouth, sweat making his hair stick everywhere, he was connected with you…

He loved it.

And you loved him, that smile on his face warming your heart, but that familiar thirst stung the back of your throat, and your eyes were hyper focused on his neck covered in a blush and freckles.

His own cock was so big you felt like you were being stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey, but that wasnt enough to take your attention away.

Collapsing against his chest covered in clothing, you buried your nose into the crook of his neck, inhaling deeply as the vibrations of his ecstasy rumbled in his chest and sung in your ears.

His scent overwhelmed you, made you delirious as you couldnt help but lick at his neck, nibbling and pulling at the skin.

His head lolled to the side, “bite— h-Huah! aaAH! Nnghhh!! MmMMmmhh! Bi-aAh-te! Me!!”

Bite him..? He was? Okay with it?

Well..

If he said to…

Your fangs sunk into his skin, blood spurting into your mouth and making your hips move inhumanly fast, he was so good..! Your eyes rolled back as you greedily sucked, his moans growing chopped, stuttered and louder.

He was slowly turning translucent beneath you as your fangs sunk into him again, and again, and again, blood flowing down your mouth like a delicious waterfall, savory and sweet, honeydew pine forest.

Blood smeared his skin growing more clear with each second as he lost his grip with reality.

“NgGHH! HAAAAAH!! MISTRuhUuESS! HAA-Ah!!”

The bed began to creak beneath you, your bounces growing more and more powerful as you felt yourself grow closer to sweet release, the blood pulling you higher up the mountain of ecstasy,

Suddenly, there was a loud snap, and a copious amount of thick cum filled your pussy, stuffing you even more to the point your belly had a small bulge from his cum. The feeling made you clamp down on him and cum with your own cries of pleasure mingling with his, fire exploding behind your vision as lighting shot down your body.

The bed suddenly broke beneath your bodies, but you were both too lost in ecstasy to even care, crying out eachothers names.

You collapsed on top of him completely, and it was then you noticed you couldn't see him at all, entirely invisible.

Catching your breath, you stared on in confusion, fleeing up his body but unable to see it.

“I-Izuku??”

No answer.

Had he passed out?

“Izu-?”

You’d feel around for a heart beat if he had one, but he didnt, no undead monster did.

Taking a deep breath, cheeks flushed and skin sweaty, you sat up, Izukus now flaccid cock pulling out with a wet pop, his cum immediately flowing messily down your thighs. 

He mustve had a pretty fucking intense orgasm if the damn cock ring snapped. Who’s ever heard of that happening before? Certainly not you.

Given a minute, you uncuffed his invisible wrists and pulled the vibrator from his ass, turning it off and tossing it to the sheets.

Geeze.. what a mess…

Checking the time from your alarm clock, you were now 34 minutes late for the ghoultastic party being thrown in the school.

Oh well.

If Izuku was a human, you were sure he wouldve died from the blood loss by now, but being undead certainly gave more leeway for fun activities.

Sitting back, you gathered his spare blood on your fingers sucking them into your mouth and savouring his taste. God, you could get used to something this good.

It was like his blood had nicotine in it, you were instantly hooked.

By the time Izuku woke up, he was fully wiped down, dressed, and practically ready to go.

It was clear to him you had cleaned things up, but how long had he been out for?! How embarrassing! He even lost control of his invisibility! Ugh.. you must think he’s a toddler… only kids lose control!!

“You okay?” Your honey sweet voice caught his attention, eyes snapping to the other side of the room where you emerged from the bathroom.

“O-oh! (Y-Y/N).. I.. um.. I’m okay..” He felt so awkward now.. would you pretend nothing happened? Ignore him? Tell everyone he was.. a peeping tom? 

He wanted to believe you were the nicest person out there but he was so terrified of you shunning him, even after such.. licentious activities.

Besides, he wasn’t entirely sure how to act right now, after having s-sex with you. He felt clammy and nervous.

“You look pale,” you chuckled, grasping his cheeks and pulling them so he’d be distracted.

You noticed that look in his eyes, and knew it well. Self doubt. You wouldnt accept that.

“Hahah… well, I am a ghost..“

Your lips pressed against his, for the thousandth ime that night, but he didnt mind.

Sighing out his nose, he relaxed into the innocent kiss with a small smile.

You cupped his face when you pulled away, admiring him.

“Hey.. your eyes are (e/c) again!” And just like that, his face lit up, “Well, I did have a nice dinner.” Your tone was playful, yet he couldnt help but burn with a fresh blush, rubbing at his neck where no doubt a bunch of bite marks laid.

“Quite a delicious one too,”

“(Y/N)!!”

Sitting down on his thighs, you wrapped your arms loosely around his shoulders, nuzzling your cheek against his, “How does your ass feel?”

“GAH!” He wrapped his arms around his head, leaning forward as practical steam came from his ears from how embarrassed he suddenly was. What a nice change of scenery.

“Hm?” He was clearly a virgin after all, you wanted to make sure he could walk.

“I-it’s… okay..”

Pecking his warm, freckled cheek, you hopped off him, diving into your closet again and pulling out a basic vampire costume, one you had purchased days before at a costume shop.

Izukus heart leaped in his chest, “You had.. the s-same idea as me?”

You nodded your head, easily slipping the attire on in front of the flushed boy, “I guess we can go as a goofy couple!”

He felt warm, so very, very warm. How you accepted him after catching his perverted act, he had no idea. All he knew was this warmth was something he wouldnt mind getting used to, monsters werent known for being warm, after all.

“Yeah.. that sounds nice.”

Here’s hoping no one spiked the punch.

[thran-duils]

From All Sides (P.1)

Title: From All Sides (Part One) Summary: Fem!Reader x Dark!Pirate Tony. Tony is obsessed with a certain barmaid at port and showers her with gifts to try to bring her to his bed. She is resistant to his advances, her eyes elsewhere, specifically on her coworker, the cook. Although, that love is unrequited and always will be. The reader is forced into close quarters with Tony unexpectedly and sailing the sea, she slowly bends to his will. And he plans to give her all the affection he can to make sure she stays. Words: 2,279 Warnings: Eventual smut, violence, angst, possessive behavior Author’s Note: Song inspiration

Part Two || Masterpost (mobile) || Fanfic masterpost

It was loud tonight. As fall neared, it always brought more to port. Many were tired from long summer excursions and were looking for reprieve. At least it was nightfall now and the heat was melting away to the breeze of the ocean.

You were walking up the street back towards the tavern where you were expected back. Your boss Evan had sent you down to fetch the breads the baker was going to throw out to make sure there was enough for the crowd when they were ordering their meals.

“Miss Y/N!” A voice called out and you sighed, stopping. You turned, keeping the basket close you were carrying, smiling.

Adam was coming through the crowd, looking ecstatic to see you. He was carrying a bouquet of flowers and you felt your stomach clench. He was quite smitten and so very sweet; you were just not sure if you should commit to him. You had not found the way to get him to understand that yet, that you wanted some space, even with your polite declines to his dinners.

“Hot night,” he commented when he reached you. His smile was warm, his eyes alight at the sight of you.

“It is,” you agreed, matching his energy as best you could.

He held out the bouquet and said “I got these for you. I was hoping you would be at work though so I could ask to have dinner on your break?”

“I’m already on my break,” you lied easily. “Going back to work right now.”

His face fell. “Oh.” He recovered quickly, “Well, I will accompany you back?” He held out his arm.

Against your better judgment, you took it, allowing him to guide you. He was cordial, making small talk as usual. How someone as pure as him stayed at port was beyond you. But he had somehow found Peter too, just as kindhearted as him. The two of them made a pair. Although, Peter had been making an unsavory choice in alliance the last time Tony was at port... you had scolded Tony for a good ten minutes about how he should leave Peter be safe here at port and not on his dangerous voyages. If you were not mistaken, you had seen Tony jealous you cared so much for the boy.

The tavern you worked and lived at was packed. You weaved your way through the crowd, dodging people on instinct as they stumbled, Adam following your lead. You had worked here long enough to know the twists and turns of a drunken crowd.

Adam was close by as you moved behind the bar and he stayed by the entrance to the bar, waiting patiently. You left him knowing he would still wait, walking to the back, and handed over the basket to the cook, Eloise. She nodded in thankfulness.

You loved her smile, the way her lips formed. They were soft and you wanted to press your own to them.

“So many orders tonight,” she stated. “Tilda is doing well to keep them on the main course but there are others requesting other things.”

“Are we charging more for that?”

“You know it,” she winked. Your stomach fluttered at the gesture. “You better get back out there. Tilda is getting swamped! And poor Elizabeth is getting handled by a few tables. She needs to be more assertive, that girl.”

“I need to deal with Adam first,” you muttered.

“He’s back?” Eloise laughed, a twinkle in her eye. “My, he’s almost as persistent as Tony!”

“No one is as persistent as Tony.”

“He’s here, so you know. He ordered his usual dinner. One of the ones going off my menu!”

You almost groaned. You did not want to deal with his pawing on top of Adam’s doe eyes. Tony was easily provoked in his jealousness when it came to you, even though you had never let him between your legs, despite his best attempts to pursue you.

As you feared when you emerged from the back, Tony was hammering you to the spot with a piercing stare from the back of the tavern in a booth with some of his crew. He flicked his eyes to Adam before landing on you again you made note.

You had always brushed off his advances. Skirting around his smooth words and adjusting just out of the way where his lips were going to fall. Sometimes so close you could feel the brush of his lips against your jawline. He was a charmer.

Normally.

Tonight, he looked like a hangman, the way he was glowering at Adam. He already had a pint empty on the table and another by his bowl to replace it.

You liked Tony well enough — he was handsome, devilishly so — but it was Eloise you hung your heart on. Even if you knew she was never going to reciprocate the feelings. It was a terrible feeling to know that and still be invested. You wished you could turn your feelings to Tony even if you thought him fleeting.

Tony was known for being promiscuous and you thought he meant to get you in bed once and then be done with it. Despite all the gifts he brought you, trying to woo you, you could not help but to think he would easily discard you. Still... on the other hand, his persistence reminded you of Adam. He did not just bring you flowers either. He brought gems, jewelry, even a gown once. And not a cheap one at that. He was persistent in his chase and did not skimp on his treasures.

His last gift you wore now. It was beautiful. A seashell that seemed to glow in the light. It was on a simple cord but it was magnificent in its own right. And it settled perfectly on your chest. When he had given you it when he was here a month ago, he had been more than willing to be the one to clasp it around your neck. His fingers had flittered along your shoulder blades but he had pulled away at the last moment before you thought he was going to brush lower. He was persistent but he was also mindful to not push too hard; he did not want to lose you.

Sometimes you thought just the mere sight of you was enough to satiate him.

You pretended you did not notice Tony’s icy glare though, your eyes on Adam who was looking at you adoringly. You took the flowers from Adam and said, “I’ll put them in a vase in my room.” You took a long breath; he had actually remembered your favorites.

“I’ll bring more next week so you always have a fresh bouquet to look at,” Adam vowed.

“Oh, Adam. That’s not necessary,” you told him.

“It is for you,” he stated.

Tilda interrupted, coming in between the two of you facing you. “Hello, Y/N! Earth to you! I need help! The men are getting a little out of hand! You’re far more competent than Elizabeth!”

That poor girl. She still struggled with brushing off handsy men as she collected dishes.

You smiled at Adam over Tilda’s shoulder and said, “Sit at the bar. I’ll bring you a bowl of Eloise’s stew as soon as I can.”

He beamed at the offer as you turned around to put the flowers in a safe spot behind the bar until you could bring them upstairs.

<><><>

You had asked Tilda to take the booths, making sure to stay away from Tony’s booth although you had caught his eyes multiple times. He was not in good spirits, and you knew why. His gaze was layered with envy. Why did he have to come on the same night Adam decided he needed to try to court you? Adam had not left the bar stool yet and unlike Tony, his nose was not buried deep in a fourth pint, so he had a lot of life left in him. He was happy just to be in your presence.

Peter had joined him and was finishing his first pint. Great. You needed to keep an eye on him now to make sure he did not interact with any captain — especially Tony.

Much to your dismay though, his first mate made the plunge when you were away from the counter.

Steve had his arm around Peter’s shoulder, grinning friendly. Disgruntled, you quickly cleared plates, taking orders for more ale before coming back to the bar.

Steve met your gaze, grinning wickedly.

“Do you need to order something? Tilda was just at your table,” you said stiffly.

Steve shook his head. “No, no. Just following up with dear Peter here. He showed interest in sailing last time we were at port and he says he’s a fine cook. Ours could use an apprentice.”

“You can find an apprentice anywhere,” you snapped.

“Now, Peter, does she speak for you?” Steve asked, turning his attention to Peter.

Peter shot you a look and you saw him hesitating. It was an unfair position that Steve was putting him in. Peter respected you but he also knew the repercussions of if he let a woman make his decisions, especially in this crowd. And especially to a man who may be a ticket to his dream off this island.

Peter sucked his cheeks before saying, “You know, the room is actually spinning. Adam? Could you.... I think I need to go home?”

Adam read the signals quick and nodded, “Yes. Yeah, of course. I shouldn’t have let you have that second pint so quickly. Especially since you refused the delicious food from Eloise.”

The two of them stood quickly from their stools, Peter making quick to stumble a little before grabbing the bar to steady himself. He smiled at Steve and said, “Excuse me.”

Steve stared at him for a few seconds intently — he looked so disbelieving of Peter’s antics — before he smiled, “Of course. Go right ahead.”

He stepped out of the way and Peter met Adam before they made their way through the crowd. Adam threw a look over his shoulder at you and you gave a quick tight-lipped smile before turning your attention back to Steve who was watching you like a wolf.

“My my, you’ve just got your little claws in everyone’s hearts, don’t you?” He jeered.

“Do you need something?” you repeated, standing your ground. “I have tables to attend.”

“Two shots of rum,” Steve said, leaning on the counter.

You turned from him and grabbed the bottle and finding two glasses. You placed them on the counter in front of him and poured them out, his eyes searching. You corked the bottle back up and said, “Will they be on Tony’s tab...?”

“Hasn’t he given you enough treasures to warrant complimentary rum shots?” Steve pouted mockingly.

You ground your teeth for a few moments before waving him off. “Fine. On the house.” Steve winked lasciviously, “Much thanks, love.”

Annoyed, you turned away from him and went back to your business. The hours were doing nothing to calm the crowd yet and you begged for the impending witching hour and superstitions seeping into everyone’s psyches.

Handing some dirty glasses across the window from the bar to the back, you spotted your flowers in a vase again. You smiled softly, a moment’s reprieve. They were lovely. You leaned forward, eyes closed, and took a long inhale.

“If I knew picking a simple bundle of flowers by the shoreline would catch your attention so aptly, I would’ve saved myself a lot of trouble,” Tony said, barely above slurring his words from behind you.

You collected yourself before turning around to face him. He was leaning on the bar, slowly twirling his empty pint glass on its edge. He has long shed his coat, standing there in his leather vest over his shirt, unbuttoned just enough to expose his chest hair.

“Do you need water?” you questioned, trying to keep the condescension out of your tone and be concerned. It was hard knowing he had sent Steve up here to try to coerce poor Peter just to get into your sights.

Tony smiled broadly, looking charming as ever. You hated yourself for feeling the flutter in your stomach at it. “Sure. Thank you for being concerned for me, dearie.”

You turned and fetched him a glass of water and brought it over to him. He was close to you as he leaned on the bar, his eyes trailing down from your own gaze to your lips.

“I missed you all night,” he said, gripping the glass and bringing it towards himself. “It’s like you were avoiding me for that little pipsqueak.”

“He’s nice,” was all you offered, offering the new glass. He held out the empty and you traded him. His fingers brushed yours, longer than was necessary.

“Am I not?” Tony questioned, cocking his head.

“No. You’re very brutal — ruthless even. You’re only nice when you want something. Which is why you’re always so overly sweet to me,” you quipped without missing a beat.

Tony’s lips curled into a smile, staring at you with admiration. “I’ll always be sweet to you, love. Overly so too. Always.”

“Because I’ll always leave you wanting,” you quipped again, pushing away from the bar and walking off to go tend your tables, tossing his dirty pint glass into the bin.

“That necklace suits you. Still. I have matching earrings if you would just come to my cabin to collect them,” Tony called after you.

He would not be held at arm’s length forever. And you were not sure you wanted him to be.

~~~

Marvel tags: @coconutqueen21 @undecidedsworld @holl2712 @agustdowney​

[soulsow]

05. cutting corners

summary: r’khett hears a commotion in the kitchen.

rating: g

characters: rei belle (oc), r’khett tayuun (friend’s oc)

word count: 439

notes: this one took me a bit to think of as there’s less interpretation with an idiom, but i’m happy with how this turned out even if it’s a lil rushed at the end whoopsie

there was a loud clanging from the kitchen.

"everything okay in here...?" r'khett asked, ears swiveling forward towards the noise as he peeked his head around the doorframe.

he saw rei, sleeves rolled up to her elbows and an apron tied around her waist, focusing intently on stirring the stock pot in front of her. the kitchen wasn't a mess, per say, but it was definitely a kitchen in use—rei, ever a professional with her cooking, made sure to at least keep things organized.

"oh, r'khett!" she said at the sound of his voice, looking back at him with a happy yet frazzled smile. "sorry about the noise, the bowl i was using slipped out of my hands into the sink."

"that's alright, that's alright," he said, stepping into the kitchen and moving to lean against the counter, watching her stirring rather meticulously. "what are you making...? it smells amazing, and oddly familiar."

"well, i had an idea, and i dug through the tomes of recipes in the guild...i was looking for gridanian recipes, and i wanted to try antelope stew."

a grin split across the miqo'te's face. "that's what the smell is!" he exclaimed. "i haven't had a good bowl of antelope stew in...years, probably. you just can't get good antelope meat outside of the shroud."

"the tome i read said much of the same," she nodded. "so i talked to the guildmaster, pulled a few strings, and got some fresh shroud antelope delivered on the next supply airship from new gridania."

r'khett looked more than a little shocked. it wasn't cheap to get ingredients delivered special order, that much he knew, even if it was sourced through the guild. "you didn't have to do all that, rei...unless there's a special occasion i forgot about?"

she smiled at him and shook her head. "i did have to do it, though! you know me, i don't cut corners, especially when it comes to food. and no—" her sentence was interrupted by a little chuckle, "there isn't an occasion you forgot about. i just wanted to make something for you, just because."

crossing the distance between them, r'khett wrapped his arms around the au ra woman's middle and nestled his head in the crook between her neck and shoulder, holding her close. he couldn't remember the last time someone did something like this for him, something selfless and 'just because.' and it felt nice.

"i love you, reirei," he murmured into her ear, nuzzling her gently.

"i love you too, khett," she replied; he couldn't see her face anymore, but he could hear the smile on her voice.

[starshine583]

When One Thing Leads to Another

(Hey guys! This isn’t a fic, just an idea that I came up with and wanted to write about. Hope you all enjoy anyway!)

Flashing lights and blaring music. The perfect combination to either give someone a good time or a horrendous headache. Unfortunately, Felix was never known for partying; so he found himself suffering the latter. The pounding in his mind matched the beat of the speakers, and occasionally, a round of cheers and clinking glasses would spike the pain. Why did he agree to come here? He could be at home right now, reading a nice book in the quiet of his apartment. But no. He had to be at some ridiculous bar with his ridiculous cousin.

“Come to the club with us,” he’d said. 

“It’ll be fun,” he’d said.

Felix rolled his eyes and tipped his glass up to his lips, letting the bitter taste of his Bourbon Sour slide over his tongue and down his throat. Stupid Adrien. Why did he insist on dragging Felix to places he didn’t want to go? Why did his mother have to coax him to not reject the offer? Couldn’t they let him be a troglodyte in peace?

He set his cup back on the napkin that was acting as a makeshift coaster and thumbed the side of the glass, feeling the cold sweat from the ice drip down. Felix was half tempted to press the drink to his forehead in hopes that it would ease some of the ache from his on-coming migraine. Perhaps he should ask the bartender for headache medicine. Or better yet, just go home. He’s been there for at least an hour or so. That should satisfy whatever itch Adrien needed to scratch by bringing him along, right?

Felix swiveled around in his bar stool, scanning over the dancing crowds. Normally, he could spot his cousin from a mile away due to his raging fans, but tonight, the lights were dim, save for the blinding strobe lights, and everyone there was probably drunk out of their minds already or close to it. No one would be recognizing him any time soon. That was one of the reasons they attended this particular club in the first place.

This plan to blend in, however, worked only too well, because now Felix couldn’t see Adrien either. Too many people were dancing and shuffling around in the unsteady darkness for him to catch a proper glimpse of the facial features or hair colors. If he wanted to find Adrien, he would have to venture into the belly of the beast himself.

Felix swiveled back around in his stool and crossed his arms across the counter with a huff. He’d rather stew in this corner all night than try to navigate amongst those drunken morons. Adrien had to come up for a drink at some point. So he would simply talk to him then. 

Another bump on the counter rattled the stray glasses strewn across it, and Felix glances to the left. He expected to see a drunkard wobbling around or another shameless couple making out, but instead, he was met with the sight of a young woman. She appeared to be in her early twenties, certainly no older than himself, and quite displeased, if the quiet scowls and hissed curses were any indication.  

In a huff, she yanked a handful of napkins out of the nearest dispenser and began furiously dabbing a dark spot on the front of her cocktail, party swing dress. Felix assumed it must have been a spill, which was a pity. The dress had a magnificent pattern. Specks of red that vaguely reminded him of a swarm of Ladybugs curled around the pink fabric from the bottom of the dress to the top, and the white sash that was pinned around her waist with a jeweled butterfly brought out the halo of white that surrounded each of the red specks. The combination gave the enchanting impression that the insects were glowing, which was impressive. Whoever created that intricate piece of clothing certainly had a gift.

After scrubbing the stain for a good five minutes, the woman let out a heavy sigh and set the crumpled napkins back on the counter. She then slid into one of the bar stools, leaving an open seat between them, and let her face drop into her hands with a groan. Her steam from a few minutes ago must have worn off, because the only thing he could see in her slumped posture now was exhaustion.

Felix averted his gaze to take another sip of his drink. At least he wasn’t the only one who saw this club as a place of torment.

“Bartender,” He heard the woman say, her voice almost drowned out completely by the music, “Get me a tequila shot, please. Just one for now.”

The bartender nodded at the request and began shuffling around behind the counter to mix the drink. Felix watched it unfold out of the corner of his eyes- one can only stare for so long before getting caught -and wondered how many shots she planned on taking. Tequila was a decently strong beverage when taken without caution. One too many, and you’ll find yourself passed out on the floor or hurling up something unseemly in the washroom. He hoped for her sake and everyone else’s that she didn’t get drunk and turn into one of those loud-mouthed fools. Because if she started rambling obnoxiously right in his ear, Felix might be inclined to finally snap and go on a murder spree, starting with Adrien. 

The woman wasted no time downing the shot in one gulp, and the effects set it in immediately. A shudder ran over her body from the burning sensation, causing her to shake her head to counter it. Her raven hair twirled with the movement and curled around her shoulders and face, but she paid it little mind, merely brushing the locks back over her shoulder and out of the way.

“Come on, you can do this.” The woman muttered to herself as she fixed her short, slit, bell sleeves. “This is fine. We’re doing this for Adrien.”

Felix rose a brow. Was she talking to herself? How many drinks has she had exactly? 

“Oh, Felix~!” 

Thoughts of the woman were ripped away when he heard the coo of his name cutting through the crowd. Felix suppressed a groan, though he allowed a scowl to slip onto his lips. That would be Lila Rossi, his second headache. She was the one person he hated more than Bourgeois and his uncle combined. Why did Adrien even invite her? Was it pity? Blackmail? Another act of that false kindness of his? 

Whatever the reason, Felix wasn’t going to turn around and acknowledge that lunatic. The people bustling, cheering, and lazily singing around him were bad enough. He did not need some cheap, over-glorified ‘model’ hanging off of him on top of that. 

And yet, despite his efforts, Lila still managed to find him. She wrapped her arms around his neck with a sickly sweet laugh as though they were the best of friends or more, and it made him want to gag. Didn’t she have anything better to do than beg for his attention like some pathetic dog?

“There you are!” Lila sang, nuzzling her face against his. “Where have you been? I need a dancing partner.”

For once, Felix was glad that they were in a club, because there were no stuck-up business partners scrutinizing his every move. No one to chastise him when he shoved Lila off of his shoulders so hard that she almost bumped into another customer.  

“Find your own dance partner.” He hissed. 

Oh, if Lila’s expression didn’t give him the best form of twisted satisfaction. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Of course she did. Until now, they’d only interacted at formal events, where Felix was forced to resign himself to social etiquettes. It hadn’t occurred to her that he might be more abrasive in a casual setting. Or, in this case, much more abrasive.

A light snort floated to his ears, and his gaze flicked to the left again. The raven-haired woman had a hand to her mouth, a slight smile peaking out as she stared at Lila. Was she laughing at them?

Lila cleared her throat, finally starting to recover. It took her long enough. He would think that she’d be used to rejection by now considering how often she must throw herself at other men.

“W-Well, I am trying to find one.” She said. “I just figured you might have more fun if you loosened up on the dance floor.”

Felix rolled his eyes. Hiding her gold-digging ways with feigned thoughtfulness. What a classic move. “You figured wrong. Go bother someone else.”

Irritation flickered across her features, but Felix hardly cared. He swiveled around in his bar stool again and ordered another Bourbon Sour, because at this point, he was going to need one. His disinterest in Lila couldn’t have been any clearer, but they both knew that she wasn’t going to let him go that easily. She proved that by sliding into the seat next to him with another plastered smile.

“I also came up to order another martini, but wow,” The brunette drawled, “you must really not like it here.”

Felix scoffed, downing the rest of his bourbon. She really couldn’t take no for an answer, could she? He couldn’t decide if that little trait derived from denial or stupidity. Did she think he was going to flip a switch and suddenly like her nasally voice or her sausage hair that she obviously spent way too much time styling? 

“You know..” A suggestive smile curled onto Lila’s lips as she began walking her fingers down the counter towards him. “If you’re not having a good time, I could call a cab. We can go somewhere a little more.. quiet.”

Felix snatched her hand before it could reach him, ignoring the pained gasp that she let out. He would rather sign his entire company over to Gabriel himself than go anywhere with this hag. 

He opened his mouth to retort- “Are you always this desperate or are you just that intoxicated already?” -when another voice interrupted them.

“Not to be rude, Lila, but I’m pretty sure going out with you would be more nauseating to him than drinking three shots in a row right after drinking two bottles of champagne.” 

The mysterious, raven-haired woman. Felix shot her a glance for the fifth time that evening, a mix of surprised and intrigued as to how she would know enough about Rossi to claim such a thing. (Such an accurate thing)  

The woman faced them with a small, amused smile, her chin resting on the back of her hand. All traces of her anxiety and nervousness were gone, replaced instead with confidence and smugness. It was an interesting change, but if it pulled Lila’s attention from him, he wouldn’t complain.

Lila’s body went rigid, her face flushing a deep scarlet from being called out, and she whirled around to face the woman, hands clenched at her sides. The woman stared back, silently daring the Italian to refute the statement that they both knew to be true. It was a bold gesture that was no doubt fueled by multiple, distasteful encounters. The two must know each other personally. (Her calling Lila by name was also a give-away to that fact) 

“Why don’t you mind your own business?” Lila bit off. “I didn’t ask for your opinion.”

The woman merely hummed, unimpressed. “Yes, I don’t think you ask for anyone’s opinion. That’s why you almost got hit with that restraining order the last time you tried flirting with one of the other models at work.”

So they work together.. that would explain the underlying tension. Felix has had plenty of unbearable coworkers. Did that mean the woman worked for the Gabriel brand, though? Why had he never heard of her before?

Lila bristled at the remark. “I- You- Ugh! Whatever!”

Furious, the brunette stormed off into the dancing crowd once again. Felix imagined she was either going to tattle to Adrien or find some other poor soul to ‘seduce’. Even so, he couldn’t help the smirk that crossed his lips. Lila unraveling like that wasn’t something he got to see often. It was a nice treat considering how his evening had been progressing. 

That said..

“Thank you, but I don’t recall asking for your help.” He told the woman. If she was mingled in with Gabriel’s business, she might know who he is, and Felix didn’t want her thinking that he owed her something simply because she’d decided to meddle in someone else’s affairs. 

Her eyes turned to him for the first time that night, sparkling light blue under the neon lights.

“No,” She mused, a softer, warmer smile playing at her lips, “I know you didn’t, and I’m sure you didn’t need it. That was kind of my own little revenge. We work together, ya know? She’s always such a pain.”

Felix hummed in agreement. That girl was definitely a thorn in anyone’s side. How she still managed to act as though she were the next big hit, he’ll never know. “Do you work for the Gabriel brand, then?”

She nodded, idly reaching up to fix the white, butterfly barrette that pinned up the left side of her bangs and hair. “Yeah, but I’m just one of the fashion designers. Not a model or anything.”

Felix let out a light scoff. She said that as though the fashion designers weren’t critical workers. Anyone can wear clothes, but fashion designers are the people who use their skills and creativity to bring life to the clothes that the models are wearing. They are severely under-appreciated, in his opinion.

And speaking of bringing life to clothes.. “Are you the one who designed that dress?”

A tinge of pink rose to her cheeks, and she smoothed out the skirt of her dress to avoid looking at him as she answered, “Yes, actually. It’s from my ‘Heroes of Paris’ collection. This was one of the dresses that I hand sewed, but Lila decided it would look better with a martini stain. I just hope I can wash it out..”

Felix glared at the crowd, remembering Lila’s comment about ordering another martini. No wonder the woman was so disgruntled about the stain. Buying a dress and ruining it was one thing, but working hard to make a dress and having someone else ruin it on purpose was another thing entirely.

“You could always sue.” He suggested as he took a swig of his freshly made Bourbon Sour. “That stain would easily count as intentional property damage to the company.”

The woman snorted and waved a dismissive hand at him. “Thanks for the idea, but it’s technically a prototype, anyway. I don’t want to cause trouble.”

“It sounds like she’s the one who caused trouble.” Felix pointed out. “If you insist on letting others walk all over you, then you’re not going to go far in the fashion world.”

She pressed her lips together, seeming displeased by the statement, but tilted her head in a nod. “I suppose that’s true..”

Felix nodded as well. Of course it was true. All types of business could be brutal, but the fashion world truly was something else. Every step forward needed to be fought for viciously taken. There was no room for trivial things like mercy or kindness.

“If you don’t mind my asking,” The woman spoke again, regaining his attention, “you’re Adrien’s cousin, right? Felix Culpa?”

Felix rose a brow. Great. So she did know him. Was this where the flirting started? He should have known better than to start small talk with someone associated with Rossi. ‘Sworn Enemies’ or not.

 “That depends on which Adrien you are referring to.” He replied, subtly avoiding a straight answer.

“Adrien Agreste, of course.” She clarified. “He said he was bringing you along, but by the time I got here, I was told that you wandered off.”

Felix tisked. Of course his cousin would say that, but why would he tell her?

“Do you know him personally?”

“Well..” She twirled the tips of her hair, choosing her words carefully. “Yeah. I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging or anything, but we’ve been friends since highschool. I’ve actually been working as his personal stylist for a little under a year now.”

His personal stylist? Felix remembered reading about that somewhere.. Adrien mentioned her name at one point too while blabbing about how ‘excited’ he was for Felix’s visit. What was it again? It started with an M. Madeline? No. Margaret? Certainly not.. But it definitely had an ‘r’ somewhere. Marianne- Marie- Marin- Ah! Marinette. That’s what it was. Marinette Dupain-something.

"You’re Mlle Marinette then.” He said, a satisfied smile slipping onto his lips. Although the entirety of her last name escapes him- it definitely had a Chinese origin -he was at least able to recall her first name. That would save him the awkwardness of her knowing his name but him not knowing hers. 

The woman’s eyes widened, proving that she was, in fact, Marinette. “You know me?”

Felix nodded. “Adrien wouldn’t stop pestering me about meeting you during my visit. He insisted that you were incredible, and that we would get along fetchingly.”

Another blush, this time deeply coating her cheeks and ears. “O-Oh.. I don’t know about incredible..”

He’d expected a coy smile and a swat of the hand to join the statement, giving way to the feigned modest, or at least for her to search out more praise- “Do you think I’m incredible?” -but none of that happened. Marinette simply brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and glanced away, holding a faint, hidden smile. She was genuinely surprised by his words, and genuinely humble about them. It was.. refreshing. He didn’t socialize with people like this often.

“Does that mean you are Adrien’s cousin?” Marinette asked after a moment.

“I am,” He confirmed, seeing no reason to hide it any longer, “but I’m starting to regret it deeply. The places he’s been dragging me to have been, in a word-”

A man ran past them screaming at the top of his lungs, only to crash into something a few seconds later with a weak ‘ow’.

“-tumultuous.”

A giggle tumbled from Marinette’s lips. “I know what you mean. I’m more of a stay-at-home-and-lazily-sketch-on-the-couch kind of gal, but I couldn’t say no to Adrien. He’s been through a lot with his Father, so finally getting enough freedom to go out like this is probably a dream come true for him.”

Felix resisted the urge to scoff. Is that what Adrien’s calling this? Freedom? Because to him, it looked like his cousin was running off to places where he would not be held accountable for his actions. Granted, his misbehaviors towards anyone but his father never tended to have real consequences anyway, but there were other ways to gain freedom than choosing to associate with strangers who were steadily drinking away their inhibitions and discipline. 

“To be honest,” Marinette continued, sparing a fond glance to the crowd, “I think he gets so invested in the dancing and the hype that he sort of forgets about us. It’s like his own, unique quiet place. I’m not sure that he’d even notice if we left until he was leaving the club himself.”

Felix perked up. Oh? “Do you really think that?”

Marinette’s gaze flicked back to him, surprised and a bit embarrassed at the question. “Oh- Well -I mean, no. It was just a joke, but.. He was dancing with Kagami last time I saw him so..”

“Wonderful.” Felix breathed, getting to his feet. If Adrien wasn’t going to remember him being there, he wouldn’t remember him leaving. That meant he didn’t have to wait for Adrien to approach the bar before making his exit.

He never thought Adrien and Tsurugi would make the best match, but if them getting together is what allowed him to leave, then he would accept her into the family whole heartedly.

“Woah- wait,” Marinette stood as well, a frowned tugging at the corner of her lips. “Are you leaving?”

Felix pulled a few bills out of his pocket and placed them on the counter for payment. “I’m here as a common courtesy. If Adrien won’t be bothered to remember my presence until he can hardly walk straight, then I see no reason to stay.”

“But you can’t go!” She insisted, moving in front of him to block his path. “Adrien was so excited about you coming.”

Felix gave her a flat look. “He was excited about partying. If he actually wants to spend quality time with me, he knows my hotel residence.”

He moved to get around her, but she moved with him, this time putting a hand on his forearm to keep him still.

“You at least need to tell him you’re leaving.”

Felix stared down at her, a mix of irritated and astonished by her audacity. This woman knew he was, knew the people he was connected to, and that, should he so choose, he could probably end her career right then and there. Yet there she stood, tall and firm, ordering him to do something without so much as breaking eye contact. That’s quite the risk. 

Nevertheless, he had no intention of seeing Adrien before he left. It didn’t take a genius to realize that Felix was grasping at straws to get out of there. If he went to bid his farewells, his cousin would ask why. When Felix wouldn’t be able to come up with a valid reason other than “I hate it here”, Adrien would insist that he stay. He would probably force him to dance too, just to make sure he was ‘having a good time’. Felix, personally, didn’t want to partake in that, which left the option of fleeing without a word. It might make their upcoming photoshoot a bit difficult, but Felix was willing to push through those types of complications as opposed to these types of complications. Adrien will simply have to get over it. There was no other way out of this.

Unless..

Felix’s gaze shifted back to Marinette, a wonderfully awful idea popping into his mind.

“You said you wanted to leave here too, right?” He asked, lightly grabbing her wrist.

Marinette frowned. “What?”

Felix smirked as he spun on his heel to lead them into the crowd. “You’re going to be my ticket out of here.”

Marinette stuttered a bit while she stumbled behind him, and although he couldn’t see her face, he could hear the confusion in her voice when she asked, “Your ticket? What do you mean?”

Felix weaved through the dancing idiots and searched for golden blonde hair along with the black and red dress that Tsurugi had been wearing. If he knew his cousin- which he did -they would be somewhere near the center of the dance floor.

“You’re going to say that you're sick,” Felix explained as they walked, “and then I’ll say that I’m going to take you home. Once we’re both outside, we can part ways and actually enjoy our evening.”

“What?” Marinette blanched, tugging her wrist out of his grasp. “I’m not going to lie to Adrien!”

Felix turned around to argue when someone behind them bumped into Marinette’s back, accidentally pushing her forward. He grabbed her upper arm and pulled her up to steady her. The action brought her flush against his chest, but he was too focused on persuading her to mind the closeness.

“Don’t think of it as lying,” He said, “think of it as sparing his feelings. This way I can leave with Adrien thinking we had fun together. Would you rather I tell him that I’ve hated every second of being here?”

Marinette sighed. “Well, no-”

“Then it’s settled.” Felix replied, stepping away to bring her further into the crowd.

They found Adrien a few minutes later, and as expected, he was in the middle of the dance floor. Kagami was dancing with him, doing what looked to be a butchered version of the Tango. The two were laughing and snorting together, obviously drunk but having a good time. The sight only confirmed Felix’s belief that his presence wasn’t necessary.

Marinette started twisting her wrist in his hand again, but Felix ignored it as he pressed forward to approach the love-sick couple. If she didn’t want to get wrapped up in this, she shouldn’t have opened her mouth and forced him to come talk to Adrien before leaving.

“Adrien.” Felix called over the music, coming to a stop next to them.  

The two continued dancing, blissfully unaware of their presence.

“Adrien!” Felix tried again.

Finally, Adrien paused, looking up at them from where he’d just dipped Kagami. It took a moment for the blonde to recognize them, but once he did, he flashed them both a sloppy smile and pulled Kagami back up to talk.

“Hey, Felix!” His cousin beamed. “I haven’t seen you all night! Where have you been?”

“Sitting at the bar.” Felix replied shortly. He tugged Marinette forward, who appeared rather uncomfortable at being thrown into the spotlight. “Meeting new friends.”

Adrien lit up. “Marinette! Have you been with Felix this whole time? I knew you guys would get along great!”

Marinette offered a nervous smile, but Felix spoke before she could. No sense in letting her back out by telling Adrien that she’s having a good time or something.

“Yes, she’s a wonderful conversationalist,” He said, letting go of her wrist to put a hand on her shoulder. They needed to look casual. “But I’m afraid she’s feeling a tad out of sorts at the moment. So I’m going to take her home.”

Adrien’s grin dropped immediately, fading into concern. “You’re not feeling well?”

She faltered.  “Uhm- well-”

“It’s nothing serious.” Felix interrupted. “Just a small case of nausea. I’ve already called my driver to pick her up.”

Kagami stepped forward and placed a hand on Marinette’s forehead. “You don’t feel warm.. Are you sure you want to go home with Felix?”

“I assure you she-”

“I didn’t ask you, did I?” Kagami said sharply.

Felix narrowed his eyes. He should have known that Tsurugi would be his main obstacle. She didn’t confine herself to social etiquettes like carefully choosing one’s words in order to stay in the good graces of everyone around you. She wouldn’t hesitate to stop them if she thought Marinette didn’t want to leave with Felix. Therefore, he was going to need Marinette to confirm her desire to go, which meant she had to actively participate in this scheme. 

His gaze flicked to the ravenette, only to find her staring up at him already. She was chewing on her lip and clearly deciding what to do. Felix subtly tilted his head in her direction and raised his eyebrows. He didn’t beg for things often, but he refused to come this close to victory only for it to be ripped out from under him because somebody had a heightened conscience.

Of course, he couldn’t plead with her aloud, since Tsurugi was still burning holes into his head, but the way Marinette squirmed implied that she knew exactly what he was trying to say.

Please.

She let out a small sigh, and Felix crossed his fingers.

“..Yes.” She answered, giving Felix a rush of relief. “Yes, I want him to take me home.”

Tsurugi searched Marinette’s expression for a moment, probably looking for fear or uncertainty, before turning to Felix. She gave him another glare, one that promised death. “You better treat her properly while you have her. If I hear about anything-”

Felix rolled his eyes. He wasn’t some barbarian. “She’ll be fine. We’ll see you at the next photoshoot.”

“Text me when you guys get home!” Adrien called after them. 

Felix only gave a short nod over his shoulder before he started pushing Marinette back through the crowd. He was almost there. A few steps further, and this nightmare of a night would be over.

Felix pushed open the front door of the club and eagerly stepped outside. The cool, night air washed over him, and he drew in a deep, refreshing breath. He hadn’t realized how stuffy it was sitting in that crowd. 

“This is so wrong.” Marinette mumbled behind him. “I should have just told them the truth.”

Aaaand the moment is ruined. Felix thought with a mental sigh. He looked up to the starry skies for patience, since he still needed her to go through with this until his driver arrived. Honestly, how did a young adult such as herself get so twisted up about a little, white lie? Everyone’s done it at least once in their life, even Adrien.

“The less they know, the better.” He said. “Besides, by the time they’re done drinking, they won’t even remember our little fib.”

“But-”

“Look.” Felix cut her off, saving himself from the lecture. “We can either go inside and apologize for something they truly won’t care for.. Or we can start walking before Rossi realizes we’ve left and tries to come after us.”

Marinette’s expression soured at the mention of Lila, just like he knew it would, and she glanced back at the club.

“..Let’s get going.”

Felix followed behind her with a small, triumphant smile. Finally! He escaped that wretched place, and now he got to roam the Parisian streets instead, which was infinitely better, in his opinion. Of course, anything was better than that club- except something involving Rossi -but Parisian streets always held a certain enchantment to them. The roads were never too crowded, save for the occasional groups of tourists, and the lights lining the building casted a soft, golden glow on the pavement. Even the Eiffel Tower was covered in lights. 

Most importantly, though, Paris was quiet. Sure, there were car engines and snorting laughter, but it was faint, distant. Something he could easily ignore if he wanted. 

The setting was quite contrary to the usually dark and dreary city in which he lived, but he enjoyed the change. Strolling through a place like this helped him relax and unwind, which he desperately needed to do. Those interactions with Adrien and Lila had pushed him to his limit. 

“So what brings you to Paris?” Marinette asked curiously. “I heard you don’t visit often.”

Felix stared at the scenery a bit longer, before bringing his gaze back down to her. He didn’t necessarily feel like talking, but his ride would be there soon. He could indulge her for the moment as thanks. 

“I’m here on business for my father. I have to do a photoshoot with Adrien for extra publicity and attend some parties that are being thrown by some of our business partners.”

“Oh, that sounds like fun.” Marinette replied thoughtfully. “I’ve never been to a formal, business party.”

Felix heaved a sigh. “Pray that you never do. They are horribly bland, and anyone there is usually stuck too far up their rear end to have a decent conversation with.”

Marinette snorted at the comment. “They’re really that bad, huh?”

“Let’s just say that I would prefer going back to that bar as an employee than go to these business parties. At least there I can tell women to leave me alone. I swear they’ll latch onto you harder than a leach simply because they know that they can.”

A frown tugged at the corner of her lips, the previous humor of the topic slipping away as quickly as it came. “And you can’t do anything about it?”

Felix shook his head. “Not without being butchered by the press.”

“I think I’d rather be butchered..” Marinette muttered. He completely agreed. Unfortunately, snapping at the esteemed guests or possible daughter of a massive source of income for his father’s company is highly frowned upon, else Felix would have done so long ago.

“Can’t you get a consort?” She inquired. “If you had a date, that should keep the girls away, right?”

Felix almost laughed. “Escorts are normally used for pitiful old men who can’t get dates by themselves. An escort for myself would simply be foolish, and it would hardly deter any of the other women.”

Marinette hummed. She was thinking really hard about this, wasn’t she?

“Why don’t you ask one of your friends to pretend to be your girlfriend?” She suggested. “If they thought you were dating someone, it shouldn’t be nearly as frowned upon to reject the other women openly.”

Felix clicked his tongue. “A tempting thought, but there’s one flaw.”

“Which is?”

“I don’t have any friends.” He informed her. “None that I could ask to perform such a roll, that is.”

The only female friends he had were his mother and Allegra, and Allegra was about to be married to Claude. Any other acquaintances he had were co-workers. One can imagine how that conversation would go. 

“Excuse me, can you pretend to be my significant other because I wouldn’t actually want to date you in real life, but I need oxygen to live?” 

Not ideal. 

Aside from that, pretending to be in a relationship is something that can easily get out of hand. The position of power that his ‘girlfriend’ would be put in is not something Felix is willing to risk. She would be able to say anything about him, true or false, and the press would accept it as fact because they were ‘dating’. No thank you.

“Oh..” Marinette said softly. “I guess that does kind of ruin it, doesn’t it?”

“Indeed it does.” Felix agreed. “But if you get any more bright ideas, please, don’t hesitate to share. I’m all ears.” 

Marinette shot him a look, as though she might smack him for the remark, but instead she glanced back down at the sidewalk. 

Then she said something that forever changed the events of his visit.

“..What if I became your fake girlfriend?”

Felix nearly tripped over himself at the comment. He must have misheard her, right? No sane person would suggest that so casually. They were complete strangers, after all. How was he supposed to know if he could trust her? Better yet, would she be able to play the part if he did?

“I-It was just a thought!” She added hastily, noticing his baffled expression. “You don’t have to agree or anything. I just know how it is to be pushed into uncomfortable positions..”

Felix rose a brow. “While your.. generosity is appreciated, I don’t think you would be a good fit. You couldn’t even lie about being sick tonight without almost collapsing from guilt. What makes you think you can lie to an entire ballroom’s worth of people?”

Marinette pressed her lips into a thin line, her anxiety easily shifting to frustration. She put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes into a glare as she said, “I did not almost collapse, and that was different. I was lying to a close friend for a personal, selfish reason. This time I’d be lying to help you get away from gold diggers.”

Felix hummed. Yes, that made perfect sense. Forgive him for being ignorant about the fact that lying was somehow morally correct in one situation but condemning in another.

“So what’s in it for you?”

Marinette’s brows knitted together. “Oh.. uhm.. I just thought it would help you out, but.. I guess I could show off my designs? Working with Gabriel has been a good start, but if I wear them at the parties, maybe they’ll get more popular?”

Felix tilted his head back and forth as he assessed her answer. An exchange of peace for an exchange of popularity. He could work with that. “But are you sure you can pull it off? As I said before, the women there aren’t easily swayed. You might have to pull some scandalous stunts to dissuade them.”

Marinette scoffed and crossed her arms. “Please. You think I won’t get my hands dirty if I need to?”

Felix shrugged. “Again. You were the one who couldn’t lie about being sick.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “You’re never going to let go of that now, are you?”

“Well, it is a bit telling of your nature.”

“I’m taking that as a compliment.” She retorted. “Anyway, how scandalous are we talking? I assumed holding hands was a given, and most likely side hugging too. Did you expect us to do something more intimate than that?”

Felix slowed his pace to a stop and looked at her. “Of course. That’s why I asked if you were prepared.”

Wariness began creeping into her expression. “Okay.. then how intimate do you plan on getting?”

“Well,” Felix began, taking a step towards her, “we need to look deeply in love at best. There might be some extremes that I’ll need you to play along with. Say, for example, the hugging isn’t convincing them.”

Felix stepped forward again, causing Marinette to take a step back. He followed her, step after step, until her back touched the brick wall of a closed flower shop.

“Everyone’s watching,” He continued, setting his arm against the wall next to her, “waiting to see what we’ll do to prove we’re legitimate. Would you be willing to do what it takes?”

A blush bloomed across her freckled cheeks, but she shot him a skeptical look despite. “I doubt they’d be rude enough to insist we kiss in order to prove our ‘relationship’.”

Felix smirked. “No, but it would be implied and whispered of. Those are the same as speaking aloud when it comes to business parties.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“And that’s a ‘no’.” Felix replied, pushing himself back up and away from her. He hadn’t expected her to do anything, but it was a tad disappointing knowing that he couldn’t use her idea. Having the women hovering around him instead of crushing him would have been nice-

Marinette grabbed the collar of his light blue, button-up shirt, stopping Felix in his tracks. She gave him a small glare, and before he could ask what she was doing or what she wanted, the ravenette yanked him downwards, crushing their lips together. 

Felix sucked in a breath, admittedly shocked, but he certainly didn’t pull away. No, he pulled her closer, cupping her cheek and deepening the kiss that she’d started. Marinette hummed slightly at the reciprocation and tilted her head to catch his lips fully. Her arms snaked up from his collar to around his neck, her dainty fingers raking through his hair. 

Felix let out a soft moan, but just as he was about to wrap his arm around her waist, Marinette broke the kiss. She put a hand on his chest, gently pushing him away, and met his gaze with lidded eyes.

Oh, if he thought her eyes were blues before..

“I’m not sure why we’d have to ‘prove ourselves’ like this,” She muttered, “but I think I’ve proven that I’m more than capable of pulling it off if necessary.”

Felix brushed his thumb over his lips, wiping away some of the ruby red lipstick that she’d left on him. 

“Mlle Marinette,”  He said, only just managing to keep from looking at her sweet, soft lips, now swollen slightly from the kiss, “I believe we have ourselves a deal.”

This fake relationship thing might work out, after all.

[bnha-scenerios-imagines]

So, I was hoping you could do this scenario idea I had! It's where Iida's girlfriend always wants to do cute things together, like go out and watch the stars and cuddle in each other's rooms, but obviously he never agrees cause that's breaking the rules. So he slowly is forced to watch as he loses her to someone else do does want to do those things and break a few small rules for her. Preferably Bakugou, since their opposites. It's just an idea but I hope you like it! Thank you so much!

Iida + Bakugou

“Come on Iida Tenya! Please! There is supposed to be a meteor shower tonight can’t we watch it out on the roof?” You followed your boyfriend down the hallway, holding his arm as you tried to convince him to watch the beautiful shower that was due to happen, “it won’t be long! I can get us up on the roof no biggie and even get you to your room before anyone notices-“

“That is breaking a rule, (Name)! We can’t leave our rooms past curfew. That is an hour and a half after it.” His voice was filled with a tone that you knew you couldn’t fight. You always called it the No-Tone. There was no use fighting it.

“Okay..” you sighed, letting go of his arm to slow down, your eyes catching your pink haired friend. You darted down the hallway, linking arms with her as you whispered, “Do you want to see some Meteors?”

Her grin was all you needed to already know that at least someone was willing to join you on a fun night out. It wouldn’t be romantic but at least you wouldn’t be staring at the sky alone.

“I’ll invite the boys!”

“Perfect! The more the merrier!”

“where’s your boyfriend?” Bakugou asked, holding out a blanket Mina had brought with her to you. “Shouldn’t he be here?”

“He didn’t want to break curfew,” You responded, your smile twitched slightly, your eyes filling with some kind of sadness as you took the blanket from your grasp. “Thank you for coming though I know you tend to sleep early-“

“I used to watch meteor showers when I was a kid. I would have stayed up anyways. Besides,” he sat next to you, looking up just in time to watch one shoot across the black sky. “It’s better with those you’re close too,”

“So you like us?” Your smile grew, becoming more genuine as you looked up to watch about a dozen more shoot by. “You’re not so bad when you’re not yelling at Midoriya,”

His hand hit your shoulder playfully, not hard enough to hurt but not soft enough to show that he thought you were weak. A small smile growing on his lips when he heard you stifle a laugh, your head tilting down to look at him, still grinning.

The rest of the group joined you guys, Mina coming in to bump into your side as she gasped in awe at the lights above her.

—

“Girls and boys are not allowed in each other’s rooms unless there are more than four people (Name),” Iida said when you showed up at his door, holding a bag of food in your grip. You wanted to see if you could convince him to let you in but his eyes were already telling. Though this time he looked slightly apologetic so maybe- “We can work on homework the common room though!”

Your eyes lit up at that suggestion. You had barely seen each other all week. Even if he wouldn’t let you hang out alone in his room as long as you could spend a few hours with him!

“Sure-“

“We just have to finish in the next 15 minutes or so since that’s when curfew will be-“ he looked down at his watch, keeping in mind of time and when you both should be back. You two had 30 minutes.

“Ah.. don’t worry then.” You sighed sadly. As much as you wanted to spend time with him you know you’d just make it downstairs and then the two of you wouldn’t even get some alone time. You had looked into the common room and it had been filled with most of your friends.. you were better off just waiting until the weekend. “We don’t have much time. Let’s schedule for the weekend instead.”

“Okay, thank you for understanding,” he smiled, closing the door on you while you stepped back, signalling that you were just going to head back to your own dorm.

You shouldn’t be so upset, you thought to yourself. You rejected his offer. But.. you just wished he would let you hang out with him alone. In an intimate area. You didn’t have to kiss or anything you just wanted to hang out, cuddle or hold hands at least!

“Oi, what are you doing up here?” Bakugou asked, steeping into the elevator. He stood next to you, watching the elevators close as he waited for your response.

“I was just talking with Iida,” you spoke, your eyes meeting his briefly, forming a small smile before you looked back down at your feet.

“I’m surprised that rules-are-the-law kid let you in,”

Your bitter laugh told him otherwise.

“He didn’t.” You gripped the bag harder, your eyebrows furrowing in frustration.

“Then.. want to come to mine?” His voice was filled with confidence, looking at you with his hands shoved on his pockets.

Your head snapped upwards, looking at him as if he had said something absolutely crazy. He was slightly taken back by your response. Had the request really been so uncalled for.

“Yes. Actually, I’d really like that,” spending time with a friend right now was the perfect remedy for your less-than-kind-thoughts you’ve been having.

He pressed the button to the common floor again, watching the light turn off before pressing floor 4. His movements quick and he had to tell himself to calm down. His heart shouldn’t be beating this quickly. You had just accepted his invitation as a friend, nothing more.

“I hope you like Beef stew,” You said as you stepped out of the elevator, following him to his room. Your mood already feeling slightly better upon having someone to talk to.

“It better be fuckin’ spicy,” He commented, opening the door to his room and entering it. You followed close behind, taking a good look at his room as you shut the door behind you. Responding in a monotone voice,

“It has a little spice to it but Iida doesn’t care for it to be crazy spicy. So I made it sort of tame, honestly it was my first time cooking for him.. I had hoped to share it” your eyes continued to wonder around his room, taking in every piece of it. You had never been in it but it was very simple. Truthfully, you had almost expected it to have more of a Bakugou vibe to it. It was way more tame.

“Wait you made it?” He looked back at you, taking a seat on the floor. You joined him, slowly taking the large container out of the bag.

“Yeah! Here,” you handed him a bowl and chopsticks. Eagerly grabbing one for yourself as you carefully filled your bowl with the ingredients. “He says that store bought tastes like shit and he’d rather puke it up than have to swollow that stuff down,” you took a bite out of one of the pieces, humming happily upon feeling the heat of it. It wasn’t half bad! “My words not his,”

“I figured. I don’t think he even knows some swear words”

“There have been some close calls,” you said back, smiling when you saw his eyes widen. You could already feel your ego grow.

“This isn’t half bad. Not as spicy as I would have liked but.. not bad.”

“Well I do try,” you winked at him.

The rest of the night was spent with the two of you chatting. You didn’t think you could have had this much fun with bakugou. You had spoken with him a few times since the last time you all hung out and he seemed like a pretty funny person, his snarky comebacks were actually somewhat endearing.

It was exactly what you needed to get your thoughts back in order.

—

“Hey (Name),” Bakugou greeted as you stepped into the elevator. He had been hoping to meet up with you since the last week you had all hung out. Immediately though he could see your stiffened form. “You’re upset,” he stared boldly.

“Iida said he couldn’t have lunch with me since he had some student council business to take care of,” you let out a long sigh, “I get that he’s busy but this is the sixth time this week, not including the week before.”

“Momo has been sitting with the girls all week,” he stated, your head nodding sadly at hearing this.

“I know.. I just don’t understand..”

“So eat lunch with me,” his mind wandered to a nice place he could take you. He knew this ramen shop that was fairly cheap so he could pay for the two of you without you feeling too guilty, “I was going to go out so I wouldn’t have to deal with Mina yelling at me to make her lunch anyways.”

“Really! Where were you thinking?”

“There’s this ramen shop close to my-“

“Ramen! I’m in!” The elevator door opened and you stepped out, eager at the chance to finally get away from the school and do something fun, “I’ll meet you at the doors at 12 then!”

He didn’t think he could wait for the clock to turn to 12.

—

“Hey Iida!” You greeted happily, walking past him to Bakugou who sat not too far away from your boyfriend. Your hand was holding something in it as you held it up to Bakugou “check it out!”

“How the fuck did you manage to get it?” He asked, his eyes scanning the book in front of you. It was a book detailing All Might in all of his years, even secrets of his past.

“(Name).. what is that?” Iida questioned, stepping forward to see what you were showing Bakugou. The other male glaring up at him.

“Ah! Iida! It’s a book that’s all about All Might! It came out just the other day. Bakugou and I had been talking about wanted to read it!”

“Oh- I see.” His eyes trailed to look at Bakugous cold ones. Your voice rattling on about it while the two boys glared are each other.

Since when had you and Bakugou gotten so close?

“-and there’s a movie that they released with the book all about All Might! I bought a digital copy so we’re going to watch it! Right Bakugou?”

“Right.” He responded with a smirk, a hand reaching out to grab the book from your hands. “Thanks for letting me lend the book from you, I know how much you hate when people take your shit”

“It’s fine since it’s you,” your voice was sweet, smiling happily before turning to Iida “oh! Do you have more Student council things to do today? Or can we have lunch?”

“I’m sorry (Name)-“ he spoke with an apologetic voice “but-“

“Then eat lunch with me (Name). I made extra Tantanmen last night.”

“Tantanmen is spicy. (Name) doesn’t like spicy food-“

“Actually Bakugou got me really into it! I’m in. Save me a bowl of Tantanmen Bakugou!” With that the school bell rang and you all quickly went to your seats, a small smile on your face.

Why was Iida so frustrated with that?

—

He stretched his arms out, his back cracking as he did so. It was the first time he had gotten all of his work finished in a decent time. It wasn’t just homework but there were a few things he wanted to finish for himself before he wanted to call you up. He eyed the clock. If he called you now the two of you could hang out for an hour and a half before curfew.

He pressed on your icon, sending a message your way as he cleaned up his papers, putting his work in the rightful place. You were usually so quick to respond. He was surprised you hadn’t answered by the time his hand touched the papers.

You hadn’t seen the text until an hour later, hitting Bakugou in the shoulder as you answered Iida. You couldn’t lie to him and would rather get a lecture about leaving then about lying.

“Take a picture with me!” You threw your arm around his neck, taking a picture of the two of you before he could complain. You sent that to Iida explaining that you and Bakugou were out to do some shopping.

A second later you received a paragraph from him, laughing at how quick he sent it you just apologized and told him you’d leave soon even though you weren’t going too.

“Is that Iida?” Bakugou asked when you shoved the phone into your pocket. Moving to stand next to him while the two of you thumbed through different jackets.

“Yeah, he’s upset we snuck out,” you pulled out a black jacket, holding it up to him so you could see if it looked ok. “Maybe we should get you a red one? You could wear a black shirt underneath it so it’s kinda be like your hero costume... maybe add green gloves?”

“You’re thinking too much about the colour scheme, black is fine. It’ll be cold when we go hiking,” he unzipped the jacket in your hand, feeling the fabric on the inside. “This one is perfect. Now let’s find yours,” he moved to leave this section but your hand stopped him, still sifting through the jackets in front of you.

“Black would look good on you. You should chose black too,” he commented, his hand releasing your arm as he picked out a jacket that looked pretty much exactly like his. The black was slightly lighter and the sleeves had a hole where you could fit your thumbs.

“If we’re going to match let’s go back to where we were and get the exact same one. Usually Mens is cheaper anyways.” You picked out a copy of his jacket, slipping it onto your shoulders. Before turning to face him, “well?”

“Perfect,” he commented, his eyes looking you over as he nodded his head. “It’ll keep you warm,”

“Then this one!” You took it off of your shoulders, putting it back on the hanger. You held it, happy with your purchase. “We should start heading back-“

“If you’re worried about your boyfriend I’ll deal with his screaming,” he walked alongside you, tilting his head to the side as he spoke, “I don’t care. Besides, you still need boots,”

You grinned, bumping your shoulder into his. You couldn’t even feel your phone vibrate with a message from Iida.

—

“Where are you two headed?” Iida asked, he had just gotten back from his morning run when he saw you and Bakugou dressed up. He decided to ignore the fact that you were wearing the same jacket as him.

“Why do you wanna know-“

“Suki’s mom invited me to go hiking with them for the weekend!” You grinned happily, gripping your backpack tighter. “Don’t you remember?” You tilted your head, “I told you a few weeks ago? Back when we had lunch together,”

“Ah, yes no I remember,” he lied, “sorry I didn’t realize that it was this weekend. I hope you have fun,” he spoke quietly, turning to leave the two of you. When... when did you start calling Bakugou by his first time and when did you start getting so close with Bakugou’s family? You hadn’t even met his own.

Bakugou pressed his gloved hand to the small of your back, breaking you out of your trance. He hated just how quickly Iida seemed to bring out your mood. You were excited just one second ago to go on this trip with his family.. now you were saddened to see how little you were in Iida’s mind.

“Come on. My mom will be outside waiting for us. She’s been dying to see you again,” that seemed to perk you up, smiling up at him again.

“Really?”

“Yeah that bitch has been on my ass since you said yes to coming with us. She wants you to come over for dinner more often,”

You scoffed, hitting Bakugou with your elbow. You were so used to hearing Bakugou cuss his mom out but it always felt wrong everytime you heard him say it. You never corrected him though. You could see how he could think that, his mom was intense and crazy, just like him.

“Then let’s head out!”

—

You texted Iida, inviting him to watch a movie with you. You already expected him to say no so you didn’t bother to mention that you and Bakugou had intended to watch it together.

You had expressed interest in the horror movie once during a conversation with Bakugou. He was quick to rent it. He offered to watch it with you the next day the two of you had a night free so you could stay up late.

He didn’t think he had seen you so excited since the last time you two had hung out.

“If you get scared you can hang onto me,” you joked, leaning against the arm of the couch as he sat next to you, doing the same.

“As if,” he scoffed, pressing his foot against your leg, kicking it as he reached for the remote. “This isn’t even that scary.”

“Don’t say anything until you watch it! It’s actually pretty interesting! I think you’ll like it!” You slapped his ankle. Taking a sip of your soda you leaned back.

“Thank you,” you said when he pressed play, the pictures flashing on the screen in front of you.

“What?” He asked, confused about why you had just thanked him for kicking you but when he looked closely he could see your facial features soften.

“For watching this movie with me, thank you.” Your eyes darted to look at your phone, typing a quick reply before putting it back in your pocket. “He said no”

“Well I don’t think a law abiding student like him would be able to watch something like this anyways. His small fragil mind would explode at the even suggestion of a woman’s shoulder sliding out of a shirt, much less watching her have her head ripped off” he reached over, resting his arm around your shoulder, “so fuck him. Let’s just watch this movie.”

You smiled, nodding as you leaned your head back on his arm, reaching over to eat a handful of popcorn as the movie continued. Tonight would be fun. He’d make sure of it.

—

You knew this had to be done. The two of you had been growing apart. Anytime you tried to reach out he’d refuse to do anything. You knew he was busy. He had so much on his plate but, you two hadn’t spoken in a month. Any text from you was responded with silence or a short text back.

It was done between you two. You were too tired of having to constantly tell him that you wanted to spend time together, that you wanted to be a couple.

If he didn’t want to be then you wouldn’t make him.

“Iida.. I think we’re done.” You spoke quietly, looking at him in the eyes. You could feel his body stiffen, his eyes looking off to the side.

“(N-Name) i dont want to end us-“

“Iida. You’re too busy for me,” you sighed, raising a hand to rub your neck, trying to sooth the tension in it. “I don’t want to end on a bad note. So let’s just make this mutual, you’re too busy for a relationship so I won’t tie you down.”

What could he say? He knew you were right. You weren’t happy.. he had known that for a long time but he still didn’t want to let you go. But here you were.

“Okay,” he whispered back, holding a hand out for you to take, he wasn’t sure what else he was supposed to do in a situation like this. “Let’s stay friends then,”

“Yes,” you held his hand, shaking it as if it was a business transaction. You had to hold back a lump in your throat as you thought about the fact this was about as physical he had been. “I wish you well Iida,” you turned around, leaving his room.

Iida followed you, stepping out briefly to watch you leave. His own throat running dry when he sat Bakugou leaning against the elevator door so it wouldn’t close. His hands slipping out of his pockets as you sped up. Your arms wrapped around him, gripping his shirt. Bakugou looked up at him as he pulled you into the elevator, glaring at Iida as the doors shut on the two of you.

—

It hurt to see you grow so close to Bakugou, his heart falling everytime you called his name sweetly instead of his own, his hands raising to rub his eyes.

“Suki! Are you busy tonight?” Your voice crossed the classroom despite you tried to keep it quiet so you could speak with him only. Bakugou’s head looked up.

“I’ve got some homework to finish-“ He tilted his head back, his eyes glaring into Iida’s “as long as you’re not loud you can come work on it with me.”

He knew why he had done that. It was a jab at him for not meeting your needs. It was Bakugou’s way of showing off how much better he was for you. He was what you needed. What you deserved. He ducked his head, his eyes looking down at his homework as he heard your quiet voice once again.

“Thank you Katsuki, thank you.”

[calebdumes]

Hera lives off of ration bars. Kanan doesn't really know how to cook, but is determined to learn in order to avoid eating a ration bar ever again.

Kanan would be a meal prepper.

fandom: star wars rebels

relationship: kanan jarrus/hera syndulla

rating: n/r

word count: 1.6k

~

One thing that Kanan learned quickly after joining the Ghost's crew was, Hera had no taste buds. That had to be the only explanation as to why she could exist on ration bars alone. Literally. There was no other source of food to be found on the freighter and Kanan had looked. He scoured every nook and cranny of the ship looking for something, anything, that wasn't those horrible processed bricks. After finding the third box of the food supplements in storage Kanan was starting to feel a little desperate. Surely, surely, Hera ate actual real food. She had to. 

"They cost less and keep longer than fresh food." Hera had explained. 

Kanan stared at her dumbly. "But what about taste?"

"What about it?"

"Don't you want your food to actually taste like something?"

Hera shrugged, nonplussed. "I think they taste fine." 

"You're kidding right?" he said in disbelief. "Please tell me you're kidding?"

"Why would I kid about this?" she bit down on a bar, the resounding crunch sounding like a rockfall. "It's just food. Besides, fuel for the Ghost isn't exactly cheap." she waved the bar in front of his face. "So we compromise." 

Kanan could compromise on a lot of things. 

Food wasn't one of them. 

Kanan's aversion to ration bars went beyond the lack of taste and the potential for losing a tooth. Oh he'd eat one if he was in a pinch but after the fifth or sixth ration bar exclusive meal, the air would start to smell faintly of blaster fire and the bitter taste of ash would be heavy on his tongue.  Life on the front lines wasn't easy and it was difficult to make real food when you were fighting off battle droids. 

No, Kanan would compromise on whatever he had to if it meant that he could have actual food. 

And if it was cost she was worried about, well Kanan had just the thing to ease her mind.

"This shouldn't take long." Hera said as she powered down the Ghost's engines, the walls of the spaceport surrounding them. "Just a simple intel exchange and we should be on our way."

"You want me to come with you?" Kanan asked, going through the post flight checklist. 

"I'll be fine." she said lightly. "I've met with this contact several times before."

"If you're sure."

Hera smiled. "I am. But thank you though. You could check out the market while you wait if you don't want to stay on the Ghost." she suggested before climbing down the latter into the hold. Kanan waited in the cockpit, watching as she disappeared into the station before moving. He grabbed a handful of credits and a bag before sliding down into the hold.  

The market was brimming with beings from all walks of life, the air thick with the smell of cooking meat and familiar spices. Kanan's stomach rumbled. He made his way through the throng of people looking for his ingredients, stopping momentarily to buy himself a ronto wrapper, savoring the spicy meat and warm fluffy bread - a far cry from the bricks he had been forced to eat the past week.  

Kanan wasn't the greatest of cooks in the galaxy but he was at least passable. He could make food that tasted reasonably good and only slightly burnt. Cooking wasn't really a skill the Order bothered to teach its students, there was a lot they didn't bother to teach, but it was one he had to learn out of necessity. And even before, in the quiet lulls between battles Master Billaba would show him how to make simple food with whatever planet they were on had to offer. In fact it was one of her recipes that he was using to show Hera that food could be cheap and taste good if you knew how to work it.

He was just putting on the final touches when Hera came back, the doors to the galley sliding open to reveal her curious face.

"What's that smell?" she asked, taking a seat at the small table bolted to the floor. 

"That," Kanan set a steaming bowl of stew down in front of her with flourish, "Is food. Real food."

Hera looked at it warily before taking the spoon he held out to her. She dragged the utensil through the creamy broth, picking through the chunks of tubers and nerf meat before bringing it to her lips. 

Kanan waited, watching as her eyes grew wide. "Kanan, what is it?" she asked, her cheeks punched out, full of stew.

"I don't actually know the name for it." he said sitting down across from her with his own bowl. "My Mast - someone I knew used to make it for me a lot. Or some version of it at least. She never did write it down."

"It's so good." she said between bites. Kanan could feel the heat rise in his cheeks and burn across the tips of his ears from the praise. Hera devoured her food making tiny little moans that had no place in a galley. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and tried to focus on his food.

Hera was a mystery to him. He still couldn't figure out what it was about her that made him want to give up his life as a drifter, bouncing from one planet to the next, one job to the other without caring about anyone but himself. She was beautiful, that wasn't a question, but there was more to it than that; she had some kind of spark that drew him in. 

She was like a puzzle, infinitely perplexing yet always managing to stump him just when he thought he had her figured out. Hera wasn't that much younger than him but had a confidence that someone her age rarely had. She knew who she was and what she wanted and wasn't about to let anything get her in way - including him. 

Oddly enough, Kanan found himself to be okay with that. His feelings for her would dim over time, he could adjust. Besides, the future was hardly set in stone and if she needed time, Kanan would gladly wait. 

She was worth it. 

"Kanan did you hear me?" Hera asked, rapping her spoon on her bowl. 

"What?" he blinked, pulling himself out of his thoughts. 

"I asked, where did you learn to cook like this?"

"Oh," He rubbed the back of his neck. "I picked some things up here and there. But the most important thing is," Kanan leveled her pointed look. "Everything I used to make that costs less than a container of ration bars."

Hera rolled her eyes ."You're just saying that to get me to stop buying them."

"I'm serious! You can find cheap, fresh food in just about every spaceport in the galaxy if you know where to look."

"And let me guess, you know?"

Kanan shrugged. "I do. I've been out on my own a lot longer than you have. I've picked up some things here and there." He repeated. "And with stuff like this, you can make a big batch and freeze it for later. Costs less to buy, lasts long, and most importantly, tastes better."

Hera arched a brow, unconvinced. 

Resisting a sigh, he tried a different approach and took her hands into his. "Let me prove it to you. Let me cook for the next few weeks and we'll compare costs. Sounds like a plan?"

Hera's silence dragged out and for one tense minute Kanan was afraid he was going to be stuck eating ration bars until he died. But Hera gave his fingers a little squeeze before withdrawing them from his grip. 

"Fine." she relented. " One week. And if it turns out to be less like you say, I'll lay off the ration bars."

Kanan gave her a blinding smile. "I won't let you down Captain."

A blush spread across her face, heat pooling in his belly at the sight. "I certainly hope not."

.

"Remember when you use to live off ration bars?" Kanan asked, his voice low. Hera was pressed into his side, resting her head against his shoulder while the kids were no doubt making a mess in the galley. 

She snorted, her chest rumbling with a hearty chuckle. "Don't remind me."

Kanan scratched at his scar on his face absentmindedly. “I still can’t believe that was your plan.” 

Hera  pinched his arm. “I was young, first time being out on my own. What else was I going to do?”

Kanan’s response was cut off by a loud clatter of dishes from the galley, followed by harsh whispers. 

“Do I want to know what’s going on?” He felt her lean forward. 

“No you do not but when you get stuck cleaning the galley  I just want you to remember, this was your idea.” 

Kanan shrugged. “Eh, it’ll be fine.” The kids had been in charge of weekly meal prep before, so he wasn’t too worried. Besides, no mess could possibly top the first Ezra had taken a stab of making the food for the week.

“You say that now.” 

Kanan hummed, listening to the clatter in the galley. He remembered the days when that room was mostly silent, when the only sounds echoing off the durasteel walls was the crunch of ration bar. 

“Ration bars.” he chucked fondly at the memory. 

Hera pushed at his shoulder with a tisk but he could hear her smile. “Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up smart guy. See where that gets you tonight.”

His mouth snapped shut. Hera patted his cheek. “That’s what I thought.”

Kanan smiled and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m just glad you came to see things my way.”

Hera leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. “I would have figured it out eventually.” 

“Of course dear.”

[inkribbon796]

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

Summary: Roman and Remus have always fought, always. But this time they’re teaming up for something they both agree on. Getting their mentors together.

A/N: for @aimasup and @pixeldragon45 I might have taken some liberties with the story but I hope you guys like it. I wrote this after seeing this amazing post by aimasup.

Two brothers, royal born but divided in every single way. The elder twin strove for honor and chivalry, raised in the royal court around the other knights and the tales of rulers and knights from the kingdom’s history in ages past. Some stories were true, others had been exaggerated more than a bit. 

The younger twin had been mostly shoved into his elder brother’s shadow — a brother who was older by little less than an hour — and quickly began to act out as a result.

They quickly began to be divided on the battlefield. The younger prince had been kidnapped one day by a powerful shape changing mage when he was sixteen and just decided not to go back and the royal knights found him playing old maid with her in the tower, and he threw them out the door with a note for his parents and brother.

He had declared himself “the monsters’ problem now” and was not coming back.

It was Prince of Sanders Roman’s sword and “good” magic, versus Duke of the Dark Wood Remus’s pranks and illusions.

But that is not today’s story. The fight between good and evil is for another day.

On the edge of the city, bordering the untamable Dark Woods where monsters called home, there was a tavern. It was on a trade road that went around the woods and towards the neighboring kingdom. The tavern was a way stop before reaching the capital city of Roman’s kingdom.

It was absolutely pouring down rain when a cloaked young man ran into the tavern. He pulled down his hood after looking around the tavern. Prince Roman had come to this tavern frequently, it was considered neutral ground because the caravans that came through, the residents of the Dark Woods traded between each other and the merchants protected their clients.

Against a wall, Roman spotted his brother sitting at a table, a plate of food and three empty mugs of ale next to him.

Roman walked over and naturally turned up his nose at the magic keeping Remus from getting too tipsy. “You couldn’t wait until I got in could you?”

“Ahh, brother,” Remus smiled. “I got hungry, I got bored. There’s a very cute bartender over there.”

Remus blew a kiss and waggled his fingers at the young man in question.

“Focus,” Roman hissed at him.

Remus smiled, “So I take it you received my letter?”

“You contemptuous oaf,” Roman sneered at Remus. Roman was pulling out of his cloak a dirt speckled note that had a stick figure drawing of Roman’s fairy godmother and Remus’s mentor, the dragon witch, on it holding hands. The words: canon ship xoxoxoxo maybe?!?! Meet me at the Salty Unicorn at 10pm if you agree plz thx; were written, half scrunched into the left corner of the paper as if the second half was an unplanned addition. On the front it was addressed to: my horridly good brother, Roman; from: your bestest coolest brother, Remus.

Roman shook the note violently. “Did you write this in mud? Mother would have you raked over hot coal for a note this foul!”

Remus clapped in excitement, “So you’ll help me?”

“What type of cad do you take me for?” Roman scoffed, throwing the note down onto the table. “Of course I will.”

Shaking his hands, Remus just about squealed in delight, his smile widening. “The journey will be perilous, brother.”

“Oh please, it will be easy,” Roman scoffed. “It’s true love, and they are already smitten. Half of our job is done for us.”

It was, in fact, not easy. It was easy for the two princes to get back to their homes. But when they met back up at the border of the Dark Woods a couple weeks later, Roman challenged Remus to come out and fight him. The royal prince had to fight several goblins before Remus showed up, mace in hand and swinging it around wildly like a maniac. He managed to hit three goblins, who didn’t scramble away fast enough, in the face before he made contact with Roman’s shield.

Buzzing around Roman was a bright blue hummingbird, a little puffball of feathers and magic. She was fluttering around the royal prince, magic coming off her wings like glitter.

During the twin’s duel for honor and a bit of fun, a flash of shadow flew across as a large bat flew towards him and hit the hummingbird out of the air.

“You fiend!” Roman spat as the hummingbird seemed to glow and in an explosion of feathers a woman appeared in a billowing blue and white dress, the little jewel beads of the dress glittering and sparkling in the light. For a second or two she looked like she was covered in soft down before having more human light tan skin.

“That was a cheap shot,” Althea the fairy godmother reminded tersely as the Dragon Witch turned from a bat to a bony witch in a very dark red dress, her skin an ivory ash color.

“Please it’s almost like you wanted to get hit,” the Dragon Witch reminded. “Besides you two were gaining up on my sweet Remus.”

Althea swept her hair back, which frustrated the Dragon Witch because even in a fight it always looked flowing and fluffy.

“Give up,” the Dragon Witch smiled. “These woods are ours.”

“Never!” Althea shouted. “Your reign of terror is over.”

Lights and magic flew across the battlefield. In the end Remus and Roman had tied again as the Dragon Witch was thrown back by a gust of wind.

“Meddling child,” the Dragon Witch spat.

“Surly, caustic witch,” Althea snapped back. “Be gone and go back to your unhallowed woods. We are victorious.”

“I clearly won,” the Dragon Witch smiled smugly.

Althea made a little angry pout, crossing her arms in a huff, “You’ve done no such thing. Even if you two did win, it would only be because you both cheated.”

The Dragon Witch had some big gloating tirade of sarcastic insults, but seeing her little pout where she puffed out her cheeks a bit and looked like she was sticking her tongue to the inside of her cheek and . . . she . . . what was she going to say again? Something about her cute face? No, Althea would just make fun of her for that.

“Yeah? Well you . . .” The Dragon Witch tried not to look absolutely flustered. “. . . you’re just a poor sport.”

Althea looked angrier while the Dragon Witch was just internally screaming. Poor sport? Who says that? What are you five? Did you just get kicked out of the academy?

Remus was standing behind them, a huge toothy grin on his face that made the Dragon Witch want to have his face dragged in the mud or put worms in his stew.

Glancing at her student again she saw that both he and Roman had stopped fighting and the two of them were just watching the two mages arguing. The whole thing smacked of a trick of some kind and right now the Dragon Witch couldn’t figure out what type of trap that meant.

So she appreciated whatever the hustle was, even though she doubted that Remus had turned on her. He would be up front about it, and predictably violent.

He was a good kid so . . .

She looked over at Roman who seemed to be just as excited as Remus was, except he was staring at Althea . . .

“Wait a second,” the Dragon Witch realized.

“I will not be waiting any seconds,” Althea refused, not understanding.

The Dark Woods mage immediately remembered that the good witch had been talking to her and she had been ignoring her. But one look at her face reminded the witch why she had a crush in the first place.

“Yes or no?” Althea ordered, pointing at her?

“Uh,” the Dragon Witch stalled, staring at her, “no?”

Althea’s face got a bit fuzzy with her anger, the feathers around her face was almost a pinking color.

She looks so adora— no, don’t she’ll just turn you down.

“I can’t believe this, you’re so frustrating,” Althea huffed out. She stomped her feet a bit and grabbed Roman, “We’re leaving.”

“But you didn’t . . .  I mean, justice,” Roman sputtered as he was dragged towards a carriage that had been hiding up the road to stay out of the fight.

“Don’t say a word,” the Dragon Witch ordered Remus as they watched them walk away.

“Why Maggie?” Remus smiled, setting his hands and chin on the hilt of his mace.

“If you don’t, I’ll use your tongue for a gibberish concoction,” she threatened.

“Awwww,” Remus’s grin was particularly sharkish. “Someone’s just being a poor sport.”

The Dragon Witch whipped her staff around and lightly cuffed him on the back of the head.

Inside Roman’s carriage, the royal prince was just listening to his fairy godmother rant at him.

Althea was sitting with her face buried in her hands, her face red as a tomato. “That woman is so infuriating! Ugh, what kind of game is she playing?”

“Who knows with them?” Roman shrugged.

“Maybe if she wasn’t so cute, I’d know what to say,” Althea accidentally said out loud.

She blushed even harder with embarrassment and looked up at Roman. “Uh, I mean—”

Roman stared at her for a second before pulling apart the divider behind them and turning to yell, “Cam! Turn this cart around, we got a date to catch!”

“Roman!” Althea yelled, her face getting even redder. “She’s the queen of the Dark Woods!”

“And the Dark Woods is about to get themselves another fabulous queen,” Roman proclaimed.

The cart had stopped, the driver turned around in his seat to verify, “Are you sure you want to go back to the Dark Woods, Sir?”

“Oh yeah,” Roman smiled. “I know we’re only three minutes out. We could walk there. Oh, and you and Quil are about to cough up five pounds a piece.”

“Roman!” Althea shrieked as the carriage began to move back towards the haunted woods.

“It’s true love, my darlingest mentor,” Roman insisted, “and I have it on good authority that she thinks you’re good looking.”

Althea got even redder, “Who told you that?”

“Well Remus was cruder but I understood the intent,” Roman answered.

“He could be lying,” Althea accused.

“Please, my brother is the worst liar in all the kingdoms,” Roman defended, almost offended for the brother he fought on a regular basis’s honor. “He’s crude, rude, and violent, but he is no liar.”

“She really likes me?” Althea asked.

“How could she not?” Roman demanded. “Now, we have true love to prepare for my dear.”

“Let’s just start at a first date, Roman,” Althea insisted. “It’s a little soon for anything like that.”

“You’ll see,” Roman smiled, looking out the window. “She’s over the moon for you.”

Eventually the carriage stopped because Remus was standing in the middle of the road with the Dragon Witch next to him.

Roman opened a top hatch in the carriage, “Ahh, good, we were just about to go and find you two again.”

“I’d like your men to stop accosting my woods,” the Dragon Witch spat.

“When you get your marauding bandits to stop attacking my people,” Roman bargained.

“How about when you pay my woods back for generations of war crimes?” The Dragon Witch’s eyebrow shot up.

“We shouldn’t have to defend ourselves from being set on fire,” Roman reminded. “I’d be happy to start calling off the war if we could trust you won’t pick up arms against us the moment we have our backs turned.”

“Ugh!” Remus complained. “We’re not here to talk about politics! We’re here to talk about two lovely ladies getting freaky!”

“Ah, thank you Remus,” Roman clapped his hands, smiling. “Thank you, for once, for getting us back on topic.”

Roman waved his hands and when his hand came back up Althea in her hummingbird form was perched on two of his fingers. The royal prince exited the carriage with her, clearing her throat. “Queen Dragon Witch of the Dark Woods, I present to you the Good Witch of the Sanders Kingdom. She is as intelligent as she is brave and you shall be permitted to court her on the grounds that you vow to honor and cherish her, to treat her as the lady she is.”

“That’s it?” The Dragon Witch asked, clearly braced for more.

“Yeah, she has to vow the same,” Remus cut in.

“Naturally, my mentor is no brute,” Roman agreed.

“No I meant is he going to demand anything else of me,” the Dragon Witch told Remus.

Roman briefly ran over his speech in his head and ducked back in to grab the paper he had rehearsed with, reading back over it, “honor and cherish . . . no I got everything.”

“No land, no unfavorable terms?” The Dragon Witch seemed surprised and astonished.

The royal prince made an offended gasp, “My great-great grandfather’s petty squabbles have no bearing when love is on the table. Naturally if any deals for land and power are to be carried out, our courts should both be here for that.”

The Dragon Witch just stared at Roman for a bit before smiling, “You know, you’re a spoiled rich human brat, but I think you’ll actually make a good king one day.”

“Thanks?” Roman wasn’t sure if he’d been insulted or not. “I think?”

The Dragon Witch held out her hand and Althea transformed back, looking a little bit nervous. “You really are the most beautiful fairy in the lands,” the Dragon Witch told her.

Althea was just staring at her, “You are too.”

The twin brothers were standing close to the carriage and Roman’s driver, the three of them just watching the two of them talking.

“Janny owes me big for this,” Remus was almost cackling.

“Are you making deals with that snake?” Roman critiqued.

“How about you get off my ass and let me live my life?” Remus glared at him. “Besides his mother is happy, what could be better than that?”

“You do have to admit,” Cam said to Roman from his seat above them, “they do look happy.”

“Yeah,” Roman sighed, acquiescing on that front.

The two witches talked for a bit before they inevitably had to part ways. They would meet again on the battlefield, but next time it would be a not-so-quiet show of magic, designed to impress rather than harm.

[peruses]

No Time to Die: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Word vomit thought dump after stewing on it for a few days. Spoilers, obviously.

in no particular order,

The Good

The emotional satisfaction of Nomi shoving racist scientist dude into the poison water when he breathed racist garbage. Have you ever wanted to absolutely beat the crap out of someone for racism that happened? I have. Frequently. Not withstanding racism that has happened to me specifically even in this year, a notable example being not being able to punch N*wt Gingr*ch in the face when I saw him in the law firm lobby the week after he said racist BS in 2016 because capitalism is evil and I needed to keep my job. That extremely specific visceral satisfaction of seeing a racist get what they fully deserve on screen. Like the Spencer dude that Nazi who got punched in the face and lost everything :) It works.

I’m obsessed with Paloma. In a looking respectfully 👀 kind of way at that gorgeous plunging neckline dress. Everything about her was darling, from her wide-eyed (fake) naivete to her earnestness. She felt like a breath of fresh air. I would not have been mad if Bond kissed her because I um, definitely wanted to. Let me live out my fantasy for the only Bond girl I’ve ever wanted to 💋... Vesper will always be my favorite Craig!Bond girl, but it definitely says something about Paloma that with 15 minutes of runtime, she gives Vesper a run for the money.

Canon queer Q! But even more importantly: Q kissing a cat. Ben Whishaw definitely adlibbing that kiss and I want to see every cut of that scene because I want 10 different takes of Ben Whishaw kissing a semi-hairless cat. Also the freaking teapot kit in the plane. So many good Q moments.

I’ve been 🤔 about why Daniel Craig has been SO HAPPY in the pre-release press junket, and I’m ugly laughing at why and it’s because he finally got to kill Bond. He’s free. No wonder. I’m just delighting in his utter delight out of his revulsion for the character. My favorite clip was “I don’t judge the characters I play, I the audience do that.” I’m going to miss Daniel Craig as Bond so much... but even more how angry he makes the incel dudebros UGLY LAUGHS.

Thank you for giving us James Bond in speedo again. 15 years, and Daniel Craig’s still Got It.

The sound editing of Bond’s muffled reaction to the bomb blasts. I thought that was a really cool editing effect they chose to immerse the audience in how Bond was feeling too.

I loved the infinity mirror shots of Bond talking to Blofeld. The shots are absolutely gorgeous, reminiscent of the mirrored glass in Shanghai in Skyfall. 

The Bad

I was so angry when Felix died I walked out of the theatre for a bit. I don’t like using character death as cheap way of character building. Five fucking movies and Felix Leiter deserved better than that.

For how long it was, No Time to Die sure didn’t have enough time to Show Don’t Tell. There was so much telling instead of showing. Bond telling us he loves Madeleine and regretted leaving her. Every single character telling Bond that Madeleine still loves him. That ridiculous exposition of Rami’s character and Bond essentially monologuing at each other for 5 minutes straight I started zoning out and missed what was said to Bond that had him groveling. Honestly I want to know what was the scene that had Daniel lift up Rami for a kiss because I could not tell from the movie.

Oh yeah, I was pretty pissed when I saw they made Madeleine escape the house and run in the woods and do all this bullshit in heeled sandals. Really? Sexism is well and alive in Bond verse (a little more on that later...plus imperialism).

Moneypenny was criminally underused. Also, I’m pretty sure for all the franchise purports strong female characters, for having a number of them in this movie, it didn’t pass the Bechdel test. (again, more on that)

Oh yeah, having Rami cosplay in a fucking kimono on that faux Russo-Japanese island was definitely some cake on the bullshit too.

For me, there are two types of action films. There’s ones where Xander Cage returns from...the place he is returning from (squints) and blows up a satellite falling to earth with an airplane and then freestyle skydives from that exploding airplane. And there is the type where a group of white dudes plus one white woman (cough Avengers 2 cough ) show up to an African nation and wrecks a ton of buildings before proceeding to run away and hide out on a farm and then the only female member of the team up until that point has a monologue about she’s monstrous not because she’s an assassin who’s killed innumerous but because...she can’t have children. Basically what I’m saying is, there is the type that knows it’s not taken seriously and the type that takes itself seriously and then completely missteps. Also the reason Skyfall was fun was because the house blew up and no one was inside. It’s not fun when you’re immersed in “realism” and have to think about all the innocent civilians caught up in the cross fire, many times in non-white foreign countries. Which leads us to,

The Ugly

I thought a little bit about to divide this section from Bad because to be honest, it really is More Bad, but I want to frame it more in the context of, or out of the context of, the rest of the films and greater sociopolitical climate. Overall, as fond as I am of Craig!Bond, the verse is showing some serious wear that Professional Film Reviewers (my new enemy) just don’t seem to care about because to be honest, most of them are also just white men.

This series has a problem of scaling up in terms of stakes appropriately. It’s the Supernatural Problem. Up through Skyfall, the stakes seemed realistic enough, even when the outcome is hyperstylized. Bond had physical setbacks from the way he was shot at the beginning of the film you see him dealing with in the first fact. But in NTTD, you’re telling me, a beautiful young lady wore a plunging dress and heels to a gunfight with men armed to teeth and wasn’t even scratched, and 15 minutes later, a seasoned CIA agent wasn’t going to be wearing a bulletproof vest and died from that? Similarly, Rami’s character aimed 3 shots at Bond from point-blank range and he didn’t die, and you’re expecting me to believe he was going to die from missiles when he had time to, IDK, jump into the water? This from a man, since we’re doing all the call backs, who had been shot off a moving train and fell 200 ft into the ocean and survived? He might as well have fallen onto a rusty nail and died the stakes were so absurd.

I barely mentioned Madeleine yet, because honestly, she was a non-entity in the movie. At best, a plot device as unmemorable as the Bond *cough*bland*cough* villain. I know a lot of 00Q shippers have some animosity towards her, but I really don’t. The sad thing is, I feel bad for her actor. In the end, Madeleine was reduced to a love interest and a mother, and not even a compelling one of either. Lea and Daniel’s chemistry has improved from Spectre, but honestly, the movie fails to convince me of why either of them love each other. Again, all tell and no show. She has so little actual content to her character other than being Some Man’s Plot Point that’s probably one of the biggest tragedies. Mr. White’s Daughter, The White Mask’s victim, Bond’s Final Love. And I don’t know a thing about her or her own motivations.

Only related to this movie, but the way they hauled that little girl around like a prop was really alarming and gross. I’m glad the movie crew shielded her from most of the content of the film, but it also showed in her (lack of) acting. It was so physically uncomfortable for me to watch as she was literally being manhandled from one adult to another. 

The Big Ugly #1: Which brings us to our next point, which is that They’re Trying, but at what point can we stop giving them extra credit for Trying? The truth is, beyond the lip service of the Craig!Bond girls being Strong Female Characters (which I am not blaming Daniel for, this is definitely a point they were coached on as a talking point) many of the Craig-era Bond girls are victims... Even in the Brosnan era of campiness, she was a fellow spy, a savvy villainness who knew how to fight, and if she died, it was in service to her own cause. Again, for the staggering number of non-romantic interest female characters in this film, I again want to point out even when they shared screen time, the movie did not pass the Bechdel test. You know how absurd it seemed when Blofeld concocted a whole web of evil organizations to ruin Bond’s life? It feels equally absurd when the female characters have nothing else to talk about than him, and when the villain full on ignores Nomi even though she’s a 00-agent also there to destroy his compound. And when Q gives Bond the watch and Nomi... the radio map thing. Where’s her cool gadget? Even when they’re trying to prop up female characters, it seems like they missed the up part and they end up as props that the writers can use to brag about the female characters are strong.

The Big Ugly #2: Hey, you know how we also haven’t talked about the technical evil plot of NTTD which is project Heracles, and hey, what the fuck Mallorey? And you know what else? You know how it was absurd when the subplot of Skyfall was, should MI6 have a place in modern Brittain and then the subplot of Spectre was what if MI6 should get merged with MI5. You know how in Skyfall we were like “haha Britain is a waning imperialist power but it’s trying to learn from its past mistakes” minor bit of sympathy and that brought us? Well, why not give us a movie with a white man two movies later with almost zero public accountability in charge of a highly secretive non-elected intelligence agency position sanctioning the R&D of a biological WMD that has genocidal implications that were explicitly stated not once, but twice in the film? And other than Bond chewing him out once, it was basically dropped? Again, how the genocidal implications of Mallorey sanctioning this against all rational reason was just swept under the rug? Lovely to see the writers thinking this through letting that plot point hang, with you know, Britain being such a large contributor of genocidal and imperialist violence throughout the world. Much less his direct report Nomi-007 never getting a chance to go “Sir, are you a racist, or just a fucking dumbass, I need to know”

IIIIIN conclusion. NTTD was a serviceable action film, a respectful send off for Daniel Craig, but it was honestly weighted down by the bloat of Spectre and the hubris of its own writers. There is a lot of work the franchise needs to put in to keep it afloat after this because the problem is not with the actors or the directors. Because the writing desperately needs to be updated.