#Unlike the rest of the boxing scene‚ both then and now. God.

[blackmesa-vr]

🥊🏆

[cashmoneyyysstuff]

another childhood friends to lovers believer???? YES YES YES!!!! can i please request bakugou and reader moving in together, and reader shows him a memory box she's kept since they were kids...like photos, random trinkets he got her, pressed flowers, birthday cards...and he's like one second away from bursting into tears, because this is 2 decades worth of love (and many more to come) 😭🥹💗 thank you, mwah x 💖

memory box !

you take a trip down memory lane..

a/n : OH. MY GOD. I literally Had to write this this is genuinely adorable anon you are SMACKING. i lub this

cw: literally all fluff, CHILDHOOD FRIENDS TORAGAHAHEHG, katsuki gets emotional quickly and i live by this, lmk if i missed sum !

“oi !” katsuki calls out from behind you “do i throw this out or not ?”

you look back, only to see a little red box in his hands. your little red box.

you shoot up, dropping the clothes you were stacking in your shared dresser. “no, don’t!” you reach out and hold your arms up, katsuki looks even more confused, eyebrows furrowing harder.

he shakes your box around, bringing his ear to it to hear the rattling and clinking of the objects inside. “what the hell is in this thing ?”

“don’t shake it around like that !” you shriek, ripping the box out of your boyfriend hands and leaving him shocked. you smile to yourself, slowly sitting down on the wooden floors of your new apartment. your new apartment with katsuki.

“i never actually showed you this, huh.. ?” you watch as he follows you after a moment of looking at you like you’ve grown a second head, crouching down next to you with eyes fixed on your little shoe box. you remove the lid and immediately a sense of nostalgia shoots through you, you hadn’t looked at this for a while now.

“this is my memory box, i’ve had it for years.. i think since i was..what, seven ?” you wonder out loud, you’d definitely had it for a long, long time. katsuki sits next to you silently while you excitedly look through it.

“oh yeah, definitely seven—look this is the friendship bracelet i made for us !” you exclaim excitedly. it’s definitely more than a bit worn, that was the main reason you put it in this box, it was the first item you’d put in there.

you’d made one for you and one for katsuki, using your precious loom band box set you’d gotten for christmas. you’d used up all of your orange and black for it and worn yours until it started fraying. you almost cried when one of the bands snapped and you’d gotten too big for it, or it had just gotten too little for you. you refused to throw it away and found a random empty shoe box to put it in, and the rest was history.

“oh, and these are left over tickets from when we went to the fair, my keychain you got me from the aquarium—i remember you begged your mom for it.” you laugh, begged was an understatement. you remember how mitsuki pulled him away because he was causing a scene, you didn’t understand why he was so insistent on getting a souvenir, you had a good day as you all walked around looking at fish and katsuki dragging you around by the hand like he built the place himself. you remember how excited he got when you got to the shark exhibit.

you didn’t get it, until he stopped you when you were ready to leave with your own parents, grabbing you by the back of your shirt and avoiding your gaze as he stretched his little arms out and wordlessly offered you a little penguin keychain, mumbling something about how you looked happy when you saw them, ears pink while his mom smirked behind him, his father smiled down at you both kindly.

that was the first present he’d ever bought for you. with his mom’s money of course, you giggle at your own thoughts. but he’d still gotten it for you because he thought it’d make you happy. it was your treasure and you wore it on your bag for years until it started getting dirty, and you’d hid it in your shoebox to keep it safe.

you suddenly realize your boyfriend’s been awfully unlike himself for the past few minutes, silently blinking at the contents of your box and now at your little keychain.

you suddenly feel a bit self conscious, maybe he thought it was weird..

you blink in surprise when he reaches for your penguin chain and you offer it to him. it’s a bit brownish now, having lost its shine over the years. he runs his thumb over the fuzzy faux fur.

“thought you forgot about this..” he mumbles to himself.

your eyes shoot wide. “wha—no way ?!”

“ya stopped wearing it on your bag so i thought you got rid of it.” he doesn’t look angry, simply observing the chain, letting it dangle in the air.

“i just didn’t want it to get any dirtier than it clearly already is” you joked. you’re in deep now, shuffling around for more items in your box. katsuki joins you this time, pulling out an old picture.

“holy shit.” he breathes. you catch a peek at what he’s looking at only to see the both of you.

“woah, we were so small !” you giggle. it was a picture of your grade school entrance ceremony. you remember katsuki stubbornly refusing to take it and it took his mom about ten minutes to get him to stay put and take the shot. you’re all smiles, waving at the camera like you’d been instructed to and gripping katsuki’s hand. said little boy had an angry, angry frown on his face, sticking his tongue out at the camera.

“you’re cheeks were huge.” you laugh, katsuki sits down properly to nudge your shoulder with a huff. “shaddup,” he says, though there was no real bite to his words. “you weren’t any better than me.” you laugh some more and continue to pull things out. “where’d you even get this ?” he asks.

“your mom gave me a copy.”

“fuckin—of course she did.”

there’s a blurry picture you’d managed to take of katsuki when you’d gotten your first polaroid camera, and some pictures from when you’d convinced him to get in a photo-booth from your first date at the fair. dozens of birthday cards he’d written for you, you’re tempted to read them all right now but you worry katsuki might get embarrassed and actually throw the box out, so you’ll do that later.

the flowers he’d plucked out of the ground one random afternoon at his house, a rock he'd given you because it looked cool, a couple of seashells you found at the beach together, a dried up four leaf clover he claimed would bring you good luck, the container of the lip balm you were wearing when he kissed you for the first time. years worth of memories all in your little shoebox.

“fuck, you really kept all this stuff..” you hear katsuki mutter. you turn to see him still with that elementary school picture in hand, staring at it thoughtfully.

“course i did.” you hum, leaning against his side. “i spent all of my childhood with you suki, that’s unforgettable to me. i wanted to make sure i wouldn’t ever forget how much you mean to me.” katsuki’s eyes fix yours as you continue talking. and you realize how they slowly turn glossier. he realizes when you do and quickly ducks his head, scoffing to himself but a sniffle slips out.

“hey..” he shakes his head, you don’t continue, only reaching to hold him in your palms. he shoves his cheek against one, chuckling to himself.

“shush.” he mutters, voice cracking, his eyes remain shut to not let anything slip. he presses a kiss to your skin, grabbing at your wrist. "you're gonna be the fuckin' end of me, y'know ?" you laugh, rubbing your thumb against his skin, you feel him sigh against your palm.

"love you."

you smile "i love you too" you whisper back. "so, you still wanna throw it out ?" you joke, katsuki's eyebrows furrow.

"fuck, no." he asserts "it's staying here, an' i'll give you more shit to fill it up with."

and you truly couldn't be more excited, starting a new chapter of your life with the boy that had shared it all with you. you want your shoe box to be filled to the brim with more and more memories of you both, all of them just as close to your heart as the last.

"hmm," you hum "can't wait."

taglist :

@napbatata @andysdrafts @queenpiranhadon @jastoo46 @cecelia77

@katszumi @m-inluv @monchurie @the-hangry-otter @starlostlaiba

@moonshuul @erenstitanweave @katsus-mistress @dondeh-zedonutqueen @liluvtojineteyam

@aspiringwriter1111 @sugurusmoon @redvelvetstan1

@niktwazny303 @nemisimp @kit-katsukii @alphasage @milktea-academia

[doamarierose-honoka]

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will soon make a splash on home video as the final DC Extended Universe flick looks set to become available on home video in time for the spring.

Per ComicBook.com, T he Lost Kingdom will be available on Blu-ray, DVD and 4K UHD on Mar. 12. An exclusive clip from the home release was included in the report, showing Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) and Orm Marius (Patrick Wilson) attempting an unlikely escape. The news comes after it was confirmed the Aquaman sequel would make its digital debut earlier than anticipated as the DCEU blockbuster becomes available for streaming on Jan. 23, just over a month after it opened in theaters.

The home video edition of The Lost Kingdom boasts several bonus features, including Atlantean Blood Is Thicker Than Water, exploring the dynamic between Arthur and Orm. Along with the digital release, the home video version also includes a behind-the-scenes documentary with director James Wan exploring how The Lost Kingdom came together, a featurette chronicling the Black Manta (Yahya Abdul Mateen II) and other tidbits about key locations and sequences in the sequel.

The DCEU Ends With Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

The Lost Kingdom marked an up-and-down end to the ill-fated DCEU, following up from the commercially successful Aquaman, which grossed over $1.15 billion worldwide. The Lost Kingdom has earned over $378 million in global ticket sales against a budget of up to $215 million, with the film reportedly needing to make more than $400 million at the box office to break even. Thanks to its overseas appeal, The Lost Kingdom easily surpassed all other DCEU films released in 2023, including Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash and Blue Beetle. The sequel is closing in on Black Adam, which is next on the DCEU box-office charts at $393 million.

Also featuring Amber Heard, Dolph Lundgren and Nicole Kidman, The Lost Kingdom was panned by critics, receiving a 34% critical rating, though 81% of audience members liked the movie. The likelihood of Aquaman 3 seems low considering fan demand to see the film series has diminished. Wan insisted fan demand had to be high to ensure a potential threequel came to fruition.

The Aquaman franchise is also in jeopardy given the potential of Jason Momoa switching characters in the new DCU. Momoa has long been linked to playing a live-action Lobo in the DCU and has long been a fan of the comic book character, admitting he wants to portray the chainsmoking mercenary.

Bonus Features Revealed

The home video release will contain the following bonus features:

Finding the Lost Kingdom: Go behind the scenes as director James Wan reveals how he and the cast and crew pulled off their biggest endeavor yet, an epic sequel to the largest grossing film in the history of DC.

Aquaman: Worlds Above and Below: When the filmmakers set out to create a sequel that eclipsed the original in scale and scope, they knew they would have to send Arthur and the rest of the cast to all kinds of new wild and wonderful worlds both above and below the sea.

It's a Manta World: Black Manta is more powerful than ever now that he has discovered the Lost Kingdom of Necrus and taken possession of the Black Trident. From inspiration to execution, filmmakers reveal how they leveled Black Manta up to the realm of supervillains.

Necrus, The Lost Black City: Ages ago the great battle for the earth took place here, in this legendary lost Atlantean city. Discover how the filmmakers created the Black City from its "surface city" concept and its inhabitants: Undead Necrusians (Zombies), to its execution.

Escape from the Deserter World: From idea to execution, explore how the filmmakers created this barren desert landscape and the Deserter Prison, how its creatures and inhabitants were brought to life, and how they planned and executed the daring Orm "breakout" sequence.

Brawling at Kingfish's Lair: The Citadel is the last frontier of the ocean, a deep trench filled with sunken old ships, stacked high like a rusty city. From concept to completion, discover Kingfish's Lair, a bar within, where the worst of the worst hang out.

Oh TOPO!: The Tactical Observation and Pursuit Operative Octopus is a living legend and all-time fan favorite. Director James Wan and the filmmakers discuss the decision behind bringing TOPO back to the sequel and its promotion to Arthur's on-screen sidekick.

The Lost Kingdom hits digital on Jan. 23 and will be available via home video on Mar. 12.

Source: ComicBook.com

[foxingpeculiar]

FF16 Blogging: I've gotten through the point where the party is preparing to leave for Oriflamme. Spoilers Up to that Point.

I've actually started taking notes as I play, so I'm just kinda looking through those. But generally speaking, the section I did today (Martha's Rest, Eastpool, Phoenix Gate: Part Deux) are the game going, "hey, have you noticed how much it sucks to be a bearer? Gonna beat you over the head with it for a sec." Actually, what it kinda reminded me of was the Village of Dali from FF9, where they find the Black Mage factory: this idyllic rural setting where they expose how horrific the treatment of this minority class is.

I still don't know what Joshua's up to. It's pretty clear he was leading Clive along by the nose to get him to take control of Ifrit, and whatever he's trying to do, it has a time limit on it. It seems logical that 1) Cid is correct about the mothercrystals and their relationship to the Blight, and 2) whatever Joshua is involved in behind-the-scenes has something to do with that, but I dunno.

The scene with Kupka in his castle, where he receives the package has a lot going on. Like, okay 1) you know how I said earlier that I wasn't sure Benna was dead? A lot of that was because her involvement with him hadn't really factored in yet. So this may have resolved that. Boo. 2) Cos I'm pretty sure we just pulled a Se7en there and that's her head in that box--that's the only thing I can think of that would explain that reaction, based on the information we have. 3) Which, if true, speaks a strength of this game's presentation--it implies a lot of awful shit, without having to actually go there. Not the first time it's done that. 4) I find it unlikely that Cid is actually behind sending that to him, and significantly more likely that someone is playing puppetmaster somewhere, but that remains to be seen.

Re: point 3 there, that's not to say the game shies away from shit, though. The slaughter of Eastpool was... rough. I dunno, I'm not sure what else to say about it, other than damn, fuck Annabella. (I was yelling "your mom sucks, dude" at the TV a few times during that bit). Her character is coming into somewhat more clear focus now--we know she married the Emperor (Sebastian or whatever), and it seems like that was more about being a power move than being really invested in an affair with him or something. So... yeah, proper cunt that one.

I suppose it's logical that the most difficult boss so far was myself. The whole reconciling with Ifrit thing was pretty cool, and brings up some interesting questions, the largest of which in my mind is "what do the Eikons and The Fallen have to do with each other?" Because there is clearly some connection there. But beyond that, more thematically, it's funny, cos I was just talking about the concept of "moral injury" with my therapist the other day, and now here's a grand example of it: both Clive and Jill figuring out how to go on after the awful things they've done.

Speaking of Jill, I like her so far, but it doesn't feel like she's gotten to do much yet. I'm looking forward to that changing, especially now that that kind of soul-searching, emo stretch of the game is over and we're about to get down to some business. Some fuckin'-shit-up business.

Stray thoughts:

So okay. When Clive hears "the voice," it's not speaking the language everyone else speaks. But he can understand it. And then there's that rando moogle (Nektar?) in the Hideaway who's like "holy shit, you can understand me?! thank god!" So... what's with that? Can Clive just understand any language, or what's going on there?

The lady in pre-slaughter Eastpool who was like "hey, check out that mysterious tower. Isn't it mysterious?" made me laugh a little. That's some old-school RPG shit there, those little "hints."

They keep showing the moon and Metia. What IS that thing? Like, it stays with the moon, so it's in orbit around the planet, not at a fixed position. I dunno, I keep thinking of like the Lunar Cry in FF8 or something like that. (Actually, the fact that magic takes a toll on the bodies of bearers and dominants kinda reminds me of GF's effect on people in FF8 also).

So, inside the holy whatever (some word that started with A) beyond Phoenix Gate, that bit where you have to hit the switch on each side to raise the bridge in the middle. Clive says something to the effect of "It's not a dead end, after all." And Jill pauses and looks at him like he's an absolute idiot before saying "Apparently not." Great moment.

Who are the "we" in "we are you?" That's the 10,000 question.

lol @ Kupka's henchman being identified as "Suspicious Character" in the subtitles.

Cid has a kid, huh? Wonder if that's just backstory or if that's gonna become a thing later.

[musingmemories]

@fablesuntold

“… Steve…?”

Time stood still. In the seconds that ticked by Nancy felt like she couldn’t breathe. Not until Steve resurfaced beneath gradually stilled waters flashing that charming, goading grin of his while splashing up at a displeased Nancy, Robin and Eddie all yelling at him to quit messing around. When Steve didn’t, Nancy was already on her feet, weight shifting between them to steady the rocking boat to use as a base to spring off of. ‘You’re not going in there, are you?’ Left Nancy perplexed. Her reaction wasn’t because ‘Shit, Eddie’s right, what am I thinking?’ But the impatient almost snap of ‘Just… wait here.’ had meant ‘We both know the answer, so just let me do it.’

There wasn’t the usual chase or need to prove herself that normally made Nancy Wheeler spring into action. What it really boiled down to in the end was plain and simple: ‘Steve’s in trouble, I’m helping him.’ It was second nature, fired on all cylinders from her subconscious.

Just like he’d always done.

Saving each other had become a sort of pattern over the last few years. No scoreboard necessary, owing each other absolutely nothing after their breakup— well, except maybe apologies— but that’s not why they did it. Her thoughts weren’t filled with obtaining Steve’s gratitude but obsessive pleas and pushing herself to get to him. Swim faster, kick harder… and kill the fucking monsters that’d been attacking Steve like a human chew toy by the time she finally arrived on scene with Eddie and Robin. Nancy’s panic clawed its way to her throat, armed with an oar— similar to the first item she’d ever used against her first monster— swinging away the overwhelming droves of… bats. Not birds like she’d initially thought because of the swarm. Mutated, unnatural, completely unlike their world’s. God, she hated this place. Battle weary, they’d found a safe haven out of sight of the Demobats (thanks to Dustin for the term, Demo slapped onto whatever it was they faced) where all of them could catch their breaths.

And Nancy could tend to Steve properly.

He collapsed against the rocks and Nancy’s much smaller frame was there to support him, guiding him to rest more comfortably while remaining standing so she could take a proper look, fighting sucking in breath between gritted teeth at the sight. Scolding was built up on her tongue, stress amplifying her worry, anger the first emotion Nancy typically allowed herself to feel before any others in these circumstances. Poorly equipped in terms of medicine, she’d somehow managed to shove a small first-aid box into her back pocket. Band-aids drenched from her swim, the tube of Bacitracin and sterile alcohol-prep pads were still safe in their packages. Wouldn’t be enough for the size of the chunks torn out of Steve’s chest and torso. He needed medical attention, and Nancy tried not to let it show on her features when she felt a smirk tug on her lips over her pointed out lack of bedside manner.

“You know… for someone so brave— actually, I take that back— reckless, you think you’d be used to the sting that comes with getting your wounds cleaned...” Steve’s reaction to looking down at said wounds had Nancy reach out to gently tap his chin upward, bright blues stormy with concern meeting usually warm chestnut orbs. “Hey… don’t look at that just… focus on me. It’s not… that bad.” A softened touch to her usual authoritative tone. Better bedside manner as requested in an attempt to disguise her lie which she was terrible at. Multitasking between listening to Steve’s ramblings— likely from exhaustion and depleting adrenaline rush— Nancy’s brows were furrowed in concentration, debating on the best way of treatment. He managed to coax a chuckle out of her, rats something she also happened to dislike thanks to the Upside Down, along with bats now. “Next it’ll be cats.” In rhyming order. Maybe she was also delirious.

But as she’d been about to apply the alcohol wipes to the minor cuts, Steve was starting to wince, buckling into himself and Nancy was again there to support him from falling, face inches from his as he told her to find a way back. Without him. Her heart sank. “Steve… I need you to stay awake. No resting yet.” Nimble fingers attempted to remain steady as she brushed loose curls from his face. “And I’m blaming exhaustion on what you just told me, because you’re crazy if you think I’m going anywhere. I’m bandaging you up and we’re looking for a way out together. Got it?” Leave him here for round two of the Demobats that’d gotten a taste of Steve Harrington, the human Happy Meal? Not a chance. Evident in the way Nancy began to rip at the bottom hem of her shirt to use as a bandage around his stomach. “Seriously… you need to stop running headfirst into danger. There’s only so much I can take...”

@musingmemories sent: "This is going to sting, but we have to clean this." — From Nancy Wheeler to Steve Harrington ✨

Flashes of carmine lightening struck above the clouds, illuminating his surroundings in sinister flickers of vermilion and damson. Shrill, ear piercing screeches followed soon after from within the confines of the thick mist blanketing both ground and sky alike, assisted by what sounded to be the beating of wings circling him from every direction. Steve knew exactly where he was, and yet.. it felt surreal to be standing slack jawed in the heart of the Upside Down.

It all happened so quickly. What had started out as a simple plan to scour the vicinity of Lover’s Lake for a new potential gate had turned disastrous the second Steve made the brazen mistake decision to dive down to the bottom of the waterbed alone.. only to be dragged through the very gate they’d been in search of, resulting in his present predicament. Still disorientated from the suddenness in which he’d been dragged under, Steve barely had any time to adjust or gather his bearings before they were swarming him in droves. What looked to be massive, monstrous bats. The last thing he saw before ending up flat on his backside was the swooping of numerous shadow figures.. and then came the pain. Fangs and claws digging deep into the exposed skin of his abdomen, wings and tail whipping at his arms and legs.. Steve didn’t think he’d ever felt pain quite like it before. And while he may have stood a fair chance if he’d been able to push himself back to his feet, it became impossible the second one of them snagged its sharpened tail around his neck and began to squeeze until Steve swore his windpipe was about to collapse in on itself.

Helpless. That’s what he was. A sitting duck unable to do anything but suffer through the agony of their vicious attack until death would finally claim him.. or so that’s what he thought until three unlikely saviours sprang into action. First was Nancy, followed closely by Robin.. and then Eddie. All of whom had risked their lives to save him by quite literally following him into the depths of hell.

The time between fighting the Demobats and running for their lives was a complete blur to him, Steve being hauled to his feet without a say and marched right out of the line of fire into a nearby cave where he assumed they’d be seeking refuge until the bats eventually dispersed. Just as well too, because honestly? He didn’t know how much longer he could stay upright now that the adrenaline rush was wearing off.. apparently not long at all given how his body practically collapsed against the jaded rocks. Oh, he was really starting to feel it now. Out of all the beatings he’d suffered throughout the years? This sure took the cake. It was the most pain he’d ever been in. Not even Billy’s fists off fury came close, or Jonathan’s for that matter.. nor the thuggish soldiers that had jumped him back at Starcourt.

Was this really how he was going to die after everything..?

‘This is going to sting, but we have to clean this.’ The stern, authoritative tone of Nancy Wheeler was what suddenly snapped his heavy eyelids open once more, tired chestnut orbs lethargically seeking out her face. A beautiful sight. Possibly last thing he’d ever see.

“Sting? You really need to work on your bedside manner, Nance. Could’ve at least lied and said I won’t feel a thing.” Hissed out through gritted teeth which were clenched so hard they may very well break, Steve finally braved risking a glance down at the broken skin.. only to almost throw up upon seeing the extent of the damage. Way deeper than he expected. “I’m surprised they never chewed right through.” By the looks of things.. they almost had. “I think bats have jumped to the top of the list for my most disliked animals.. after rats. Guess they kinda go hand in hand though since they rhyme.” A humourless chuckle escaped him, one that was silenced when a pained grunt took its place. Evidently, deliria was starting to set in quick and fast, and Steve didn’t know whether it was from the blood loss or if he really had contracted rabies like Robin had been faffing about minutes ago.

Was rabies even a thing in the Upside Down..? Guess they’d soon find out, huh?

Shuddering at the thought— or perhaps it was the start of a fever— Steve curled in on himself in hopes to somehow counter the searing hot pain coursing through his body. “You.. you should go find a way back with Robin and Eddie. I’ll catch up to you.. just need to close my eyes for a minute..” Murmured between shaky breaths. Excellent timing, given the black dots that came dancing across the edges of his vision and forcing his eyes to close to shut them out. The last thing he wanted was for Nancy to suffer the same fate as him.

[angelsndragons]

love how life keeps getting in the way of my control party post but anyway-

the thing, the thing that i love about last night’s episode is:

matt and the rest of cr has always played fast and loose with alignments. sure, there are characters we can map to particular alignments (ie ikithon is definitely CE) and sure, they sometimes use alignments to help demonstrate a character’s growth over the course of a campaign (vex and caleb) but.

but.

it’s mostly been with the understanding that alignment is itself is bullshit. no one person is one or two singular ideals all the time. even if there are general trends which is what alignment can embody, the exceptions to said trends matter just as much if not more so than the trends themselves. after all, should jester be more defined by her chaotic, go with the flow self or should she be defined by the moments she buckled down and said, ‘no, we’re doing this’? do her moments of amazing selflessness better define her than her moments of selfishness and, sometimes, which is even which?

aabria’s time as DM played into this questioning of alignment masterfully. sure, she explicitly called out and used characters’ alignment in a way we hadn’t really seen before. but she’s also the person who introduced and reinforced time and time again that power is power and it’s how you use it that matters. (also let’s take a minute to mourn the fact that calamity is what aabria was gunning for in terms of the lore department but she had to contend with level 3 dumbasses who did not care in the slightest what their place in the world was or how they intersected with the larger history).

all of this is to say: gracious that asmodeus scene last night was amazing. the sheer discomfort of that scene, for me, is how you can’t shove asmodeus or zerxus into neat little boxes and understand what precisely is at play from both of them. it doesn’t work; they both zig and zag too much. asmodeus isn’t even playing into a classic paradise lost interpretation of the devil because unlike the devil even there, he has legitimate reasons and grievances with his fellow gods. this isn’t ‘dad made new toys and now i’m not as special, i’m going to go wreck shit,’ this is ‘we had an agreement, with rules and terms, and they broke them.’

and i know what people are going to say, that we can’t trust a single solitary word out of asmodeus’ mouth. and sure, i agree with you to a certain point. but here’s the kicker, his interpretation of events isn’t wrong. we know that there was a war between the primordials, who, again, were on exandria before anything else, and the prime deities, which the books say occurred because the gods were tired of having to remake their mortals and so sought to make the world more inhabitable for them. we also know that sometime before the schism, the gods taught mortals arcane magic. we know that the efforts of mortals and gods would banish the primordials to specially created planes, or prisons, if you want to call them that, forever.

given the parallels that brennan is weaving into story, how it’s druids, with their connection to nature magic, that wizards have a pact with, to only take so much and to give back so much, given that the wizards resent the hell out of this pact, that they think it beneath them...

i don’t think asmodeus is lying here. spinning, certainly, framing himself in the best light possible, yeah, no shit, trying to play on zerxus’ desires to protect and to avenge, absolutely. but i don’t think he’s lying or playing up his injuries or trying to break down zerxus’ defenses directly. zerxus already doesn’t believe in or worship the prime deities. the whole city of avalir has moved away from that. all asmodeus is doing is confirming what zerxus has believed and known to be true all along: that gods are just other beings and they’re not necessarily worthy of worship nor are they working from an objective good or truth.

part of the scene’s tension comes from audience knowledge and anticipation. we know that asmodeus will pull this same ‘trick’ on raei the everlight and damn near destroy her and her followers in one swoop. but that’s the thing, isn’t it? the calamity was a war and both sides did terrible things. we noticed that asmodeus promised zerxus nothing save to remember him, even as he wound zerxus up and sent him back to avalir like a laser-guided missile.

but the major kicker of the scene for me is: zerxus is trying to play asmodeus just as much as he is being played. he asks asmodeus to remember the mortals on the material plane, to not take his wrath out on them now that he’s free. he tries to heal and form a bond with this man, this being, and he talks about evandrin. he talks about how much he loves him still, how he couldn’t do anything to save evandrin, how he doesn’t buy that nothing could be done for him, in this, the great city of wonders. mechanically speaking, zerxus doesn’t yet have access to 5th level spells like greater restoration or raise dead. he will never have access to true resurrection, which is what he requires to bring evandrin back without his body. and yet. and yet.

there are oracles in this city. clerics. clerics only need to be 9th level characters to gain access to those 5th level miracles. and they didn’t do it. for whatever reason, zerxus believes that someone intentionally withheld potentially life-saving treatment from his husband. and then when he was gone, zerxus believes that the city continued to withhold that power, that 9th level spell to attempt to bring evandrin back. evandrin was first knight, he was the front line defense for the entire city and served honorably, is remembered fondly and painfully even five to ten years on. zerxus still doesn’t know what happened to his husband. and looking at how this city functions, yeah, i get it. this city has the wealth and power to work this miracle, this one act that would mean the world and more to zerxus and their son elias. but it’s so panache, so pedestrian, so boring. bringing people back from the dead is old hat, darling. godhood is where it’s at and even then, why would you want to try that when it’s already been done?

zerxus has been looking for a target, someone he can blame, and, potentially, someone he can force to fix this injustice. who better to ask for this information than the father of lies, the being who encompasses lies and deceit? so when asmodeus points him back at his friends - friends that we the audience know are actively lying to him about what happened to his husband (laerryn carries the guilt of his loss and convinces herself that the interplanar travel she gained is worth his loss, quay actively removed something from that reporter’s records about evandrin, and isn’t it interesting that this guilt, of all things, might be what drove them apart in the first place) - well.

it’s called the calamity for a reason. and we’re watching it play out in miniature in front of us.

[joonie-beanie]

The OM! Boys + doing body shots with you

This ended up WAYYYY longer than I intended (basically a fic bullet pointed), but OH WELL. It was fun to do! Thanks for the suggestion, anon.

w/fem MC

To be fair--this is all Solomon’s fault

Well, not entirely. Mammon and Asmo had been the two to convince the group of demons, humans, and angel (singular) to go out drinking.

(Barbatos had offered to give Luke a baking lesson that night, so it proved to be the perfect opportunity--making it far easier to convince Simeon to come along).

The drunken shenanigans can all be blamed on Mammon and Asmo.

But Solomon is the one who brings up the possibility of doing a body shot.

With you.

And because you’re already tipsy, and in the mood to have fun, you say why not.

This is how you end up laid out on the bar counter--holding a lime in between your lips as Solomon rolls up the hem of your tank top and grabs a bottle of tequila.

It’s not until the sorcerer is already leaning down to do the shot that the demon brothers notice the scene.

However, they’re so stunned by what they’re witnessing that all they can do is watch--their eyes following Solomon as he licks a small patch of salt above your navel, sucks the alcohol from your belly-button, and then moves up to take the lime from between your lips--a devilish grin on his face as he does so.

The brothers are unsure if they should be mad, or turned on, but one things for sure--

“Me next!”

Mammon bounds forward, his face red. From alcohol, embarrassment, or both you’re unsure.

Blinking, you turn your head to the side, and realize that all of the sudden, you have a line of demons waiting to get their turn at a body shot.

“Oh my god,” you throw an arm across your face, feeling a little warmer than before. You had not anticipated this outcome, and now you’re a little flustered.

You laugh. “You all seriously want to do a body shot??”

You pointedly look towards Satan, Levi, and Lucifer--in disbelief to see them crowded around you. After all, they hardly seem the type and yet--

“If you’re offering, we’re drinking,” Satan responds, brushing his hair away from his forehead. His eyes flash excitedly--playful grin on his face--and you’re suddenly wondering if allowing Solomon to use you for a body shot was the right decision.

Solomon is one thing, but 7 hot demon brothers whom you’re quite fond of getting up close and personal with you?? You may actually combust.

“You know what--,” you sit up and snatch the bottle of tequila from Solomon’s hand, taking a long swig. The alcohol burns your throat, but it feels heavenly--washing away your current nerves.

Now determined, you lay back down on the bar and hand the bottle back to Solomon. “Pour a shot, wizard boy.”

He laughs, but nonetheless accepts his role as drink pourer--once again filling your navel with alcohol as Mammon steps up to you.

His tongue darts out to lick his lips as he stares at you, and you grin.

“Nervous?”

“W-What?? Me?? Nervous??” He scoffs and huffs, and denies your question--only shutting up when Solomon sprinkles a bit of salt on your torso. Now, the set up is complete.

Coughing, Mammon takes a deep breath (mentally prepping himself, how adorable), and then leans down. His tongue drags against your skin--lips suctioning against your belly button, and then his face hovers above yours. He hesitates in taking the lime, so you press upward--your lips briefly touching as you attempt to transfer him the slice of fruit.

Mammon immediately freezes, and you half expect him to jump away in shock. Instead, his eyes darken and his hands lift to grip your head--likely to pull you in and fully kiss you. However, just as his fingers skim your cheeks, he’s suddenly yanked away--the lime being pulled from between your lips.

“H-Hey!” Mammon protests, but Beelzebub has already stepped into the batters box, and any of the second oldest demon’s complaints go unheard.

It’s clear by the look in Beels’ eyes that he’s very excited for this (and honestly, you’re already aware of his oral fixation, so it doesn’t surprise you).

As Solomon pours yet another shot, Beel takes the liberty of grabbing the salt. Rather than keeping it in one area, he sprinkles the crystals in a long line across your torso.

“Okay?” he asks, gently placing a new slice of lime between your lips. You nod, your heart fluttering a little. You can tell that he’s hungry.

With your permission, Beel tilts downward and flattens his tongue against your abdomen. He works slowly--and you’re almost certain that he’s determined to taste you along with the salt.

“Mm!” you squeal when you feel his canines scrape against your skin--teeth threatening to sink in.

“Beel,” Belphie sighs from somewhere nearby, and the Avatar of Gluttony giggles.

“Sorry, couldn’t help it.”

He finally moves to drink (what’s remaining) of the shot from your navel, and then leans over you--taking the lime from between your lips. He pulls back with a satisfied smile--his cheeks a little pink, and you try and convince your heart that it needs to stop beating so damn fast.

“Me next~,” Asmo hums, stepping up. Once again, Solomon pours a shot. Asmo grabs the salt, but unlike the others, opts to put it below your navel--taking the liberty to inch your pants down in order to do so.

You shoot him a warning look, and he feigns hurt.

“What? I only moved them a little!” He pouts, and you sigh, waving your hand. He takes that as the go ahead, and giggles happily.

Leaning down, he presses a hand to your hip and then drags his tongue across your skin. Quickly after, he takes the shot--his fingers dragging up the damp skin of your stomach to rest against your waist as he moves to meet your lips.

Asmo is purposefully slow in retrieving the lime--giving your naked waist a little squeeze before he finally retreats, humming to himself merrily.

You take a second to breathe--just now realizing what exactly you’ve gotten yourself into--when Belphegor steps up beside you.

There’s a playful glint in his eye.

“I want to do mine a different way,” he says, reaching for your wrist. He helps you sit up--your legs swigging to dangle off the front of the bar, and you blink at him in confusion.

“Differently?”

“Give me a shot in a glass,” Belphie comments offhandedly to Solomon. As the sorcerer complies, the Avatar of Sloth takes a dash of salt, and rubs it near your collarbone.

Before you get a chance to ask what he’s planning, he lifts a lime slice to your lips. You take it, still watching in confusion as Belphie grabs the tequila filled shot glass from Solomon.

Smiling cheekily, he motions to your chest and then the shot glass.

“Would you mind...?” he trails off, making a squishing motion with his free hand, and you feel your face heat up.

“Really?”

“Really,” he responds, grin widening, and you huff, but nonetheless raise your hands--pressing your tits together around the shot glass once Belphie has placed it.

Mammon instantly is throwing a fuss in the background, complaining about how “I DIDN’T KNOW WE COULD DO IT THAT WAY!”

“Then use your brain a little, dumbass,” Belphie responds with a snort, and then leans in laps his tongue against your skin. Once again, you resist the urge to shiver--the skin near your neck far more sensitive then that your stomach (and you’re almost positive that Belphie is aware of this).

A moment later, Belphie wraps his lips around the shot glass and jerks his head back--his hand lifting to pull the glass from his mouth. Once his mouth his free, he leans in steals the lime from between your lips.

“Thanks,” he comments happily. You rolls your eyes at him, but pause when the next brother steps up.

Levi already looks like he’s morphing into a tomato as he stares at you (or, more specifically, your chest). There’s a mixture of excitement and embarrassment in his eyes, and you decide to help him out a little.

“Here,” you say, sprinkling a little salt on your collar bone, and then grabbing the shot from Solomon. You pass it along to Levi, flashing him a reassuring smile as you press your breasts together slightly.

“Will you place it?”

Levi nods whilst licking his lips, and does as asked. Soon enough, you’re ready for him to begin. It takes him a second to work up the courage, but he ultimately leans in--tongue licking against your skin in a quick swipe that has you jumping at the sensitivity.

If Levi notices, it doesn’t stop him. He briskly secures his mouth around the shot glass and leans back--his body shivering uncomfortably as the alcohol burns his throat. Releasing a pained breath, he hesitates a moment before leaning in and snatching the lime from your lips.

“Wow, never thought I’d see the day,” Belphie comments from somewhere in the background, and you’re sure if Levi could get any redder, he would.

“Yo,” Satan greets with a delighted smile as he steps up to your side. You laugh, rolling your eyes a little.

“C’mon, let’s get this over with so I can rinse all of this sticky liquor off of me.”

“Don’t sound so excited,” he comments sarcastically, which makes you giggle. Soon enough, another lime is between your lips, with more salt sprinkled against your skin.

“Ah, I didn’t even ask if you wanted it this way,” you realize, mumbling around the fruit slice. Satan’s eyes sparkle--watching your chest a little too closely as you press your tits around freshly filled shot glass.

“Oh this is perfectly alright with me.”

You debate kicking him, but don’t get the chance. Satan has already leaned down--his tongue flattening against your skin. You gasp when he nips at the previously salt-covered flesh, but the sound only makes Satan laugh.

Not going to push his luck, he’s quick to down the shot and take the lime from your lips--still all smiles as he turns away.

Now...

“I can’t believe you’re doing this,” you comment to Lucifer as he steps up--last in line. Mirth dances in his crimson eyes.

“When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

“When in hell, do as hellboy does,” you respond. Huh, maybe that swig from earlier is finally getting to you?

Lucifer chuckles, taking the refilled shot glass from Solomon. Per normal, you press your chest around the glass--opening your mouth as well when Lucifer grabs a slice of lime.

However--

Rather than place some salt against your collarbone, Lucifer rubs it just below your jaw. Your eyes widen, because did this bastard really just purposely rub salt against one of the most sensitive spots on your neck?--but you’re helpless to stop him.

The Avatar of Pride leans in--cocking his head to the side as his mouth presses against your throat. Almost immediately your body writhes--goosebumps rising on your skin as he slowly laps the salt from your neck.

You feel him chuckle against your flesh, and you seriously debate kicking him where it hurts. Luckily, he doesn’t linger much longer.

Lucifer moves to take the shot from between your breasts--tugging it out with his mouth, but using his gloved hand to grip the glass as he drinks it.

“Delicious,” he whispers just before taking the lime from between your lips, and this time you do reach out--punching him in the arm. Lucifer only laughs, knowing that he likely deserves it.

BONUS

“Simeon, do you want to try?” Solomon asks over his shoulder, looking at the angel as Lucifer steps away.

Simeon is already red in the face, his eyes darting to the side nervously at the idea.

“I’m afraid if I indulge, and Micheal every finds out, then I’ll never live this down...”

“Lets just do a shot together then!” you comment, overhearing. You flash Simeon a good natured smile, and at the compromise, he smiles as well.

“I would love that.”

Solomon (apparently now a bartender), pours you both a shot. To make it a little more interesting, you hold your arm up, and the angel gets what you’re going for.

The two of you clink your glasses together before locking your elbows and throwing it back. Simeon downs the liquor without issue, and honestly you’re amazed. For someone who won’t do a body shot, it’s obvious he isn’t unfamiliar to having done shots before.

Well, that’s finally over, you think to yourself, leaning back against the bar, but all of the sudden an all-too-familiar voice rings out as the door to the bar bursts open.

“I thought I heard you all in here!” Diavolo comments, making his way inside. “It sure sounds like you’re all having fun! What are you up to?”

“We did body shots off Y/N,” Solomon comments before the demon brothers can think of anything to say aside from the truth.

The demon prince pauses for half a second (and everyone worries that they’ll be scolded for their actions), before he laughs once more.

“Sounds fun! I would like to join in, if it’s alright!”

“Sir, I don’t--,” Lucifer begins wearily, but you interrupt. A horribly amazing idea pops into your head.

“Can I do a body shot off of you, Lord Diavolo?”

As everyone in the room gawks at you, the demon prince nods his head.

“Sure! I don’t see why not!”

Less than a minute later, Lord Diavolo himself is leaned back on the bar--perfectly sculpted abs revealed to your eyes as he unfolds his shirt and displays his navel.

You take the liberty of preparing the shot and salt, and Diavolo places the lime between his own lips.

You seriously cannot believe that this actually fucking happening.

“Ready?” he mumbles around the fruit, and you nod--leaning in. You lick the salt from his abs, quickly slurp up the shot, and then retrieve the lime from between his teeth.

“An interesting human drinking tradition!” he remarks while sitting himself up, and you reach for your glass of water, knowing that this moment will inflate your ego for the rest of your life.

[wisehq]

Mission Debrief: Chapter Forty-Four

Battle aboard the Princess Lorelei, everybody!

I think I speak for the whole fandom when I say thank you Endo for finally giving us our long overdue Yor chapter! And not only that, but a whole freaking boat arc to boot!! There was so much that happened this week that I honestly had trouble narrowing down the panels to use for this review. There’s a lot to talk about, so let’s get into it!

First off-!

[rips up all my old reviews]

All of my Shopkeeper theories up until this point have been completely wrong...and I am A-OK with that! I didn’t think we’d actually get to see her this early (I’m assuming it’s a her, but it was never directly stated) and to be honest I’m surprised by her design. She’s unlike any other character we’ve seen till this point; I assume the bags under her eyes to be wrinkles, and she is built very strongly for someone her age. Her gaze has a definite presence, and that hair- good god it’s long! Shopkeeper is certainly intriguing from a design standpoint, which only adds to the mystery of her as we really don’t get to see much of her character despite the panels devoted to her.

We do get to see that Shopkeeper barely approves of Yor being Mrs. Forger, both in the above exchange and her introduction. It’s obvious she prizes Thorn Princess highly as a valuable Garden assassin, and worries that playing house is making her lose her edge. It’s going to be very interesting to see how this plays out further down the road; I wouldn’t put it past Shopkeeper to start keeping tabs on Loid, just to have something in her back pocket should the time come to convince Yor to leave the family (oh the juicy angst).

Moving on, Yor’s mission is interesting (for more reasons than one, which we will get into more later). Instead of killing, she’ll be protecting- a mother and her child no less. I’m willing to bet money that Yor’s going to draw parallels between herself and Olka, if only for the fact that they’re both mothers with a young child. I suspect that’ll come into play more as the arc progresses, given that Anya-

-Is not only a card shark, but also queen of the raffle box!

Ok look, I get it; this was complete bullshit on Endo’s part to finagle a way to get Loid and Anya on the boar with Yor, but dammit if I didn’t love this whole scene regardless. Anya’s determined yet deadpan stare, Loid’s nonchalant attitude about the whole thing, the whole bit about the winning ticket being stuck underneath the lid and Anya using her powers to find it, it was all adorably fun. Plus, it got the Forgers altogether on a boat, so I have no qualms about it!

Also throwing it out there that I loved Handler getting chewed out for overworking the agents and just being like “sure whatever go on a cruise with your family, have fun.” Endo really could have made her the stick in the mud here, but I guess for the sake of time and also Loid’s sanity he went the easy route and made her the fun mom for a change lol

The same goes for the soft moment with Yor and Yuri. It’s no secret I’m not a huge fan of the latter, but anytime the Briar siblings are together having genuine conversation I melt like butter. Not only was it nice seeing Yuri behaving like an adult for a change (for the most part) but also for Yor to start coming to terms with the fact that he’s older and doesn’t need her as much anymore. Instead, we see her feelings slowly start to shift towards Anya towards the end of the chapter. Yor muses that perhaps the best thing she could do is give up assassination, and instead focus on her (not-so) fake family. It’s a new layer of drama to an already thick cake, so we’ll see how it all plays out as the arc proceeds.

I will say that the final panels do give a certain air of tenseness (aside from Loid holding Anya’s hand of course, love it). It certainly sets the scene for something big just on the horizon and given that we know a whole army of assassins is out for blood on a giant cruise ship, you can rest assured it’s going to get messy!

Speaking of, before we wrap up, it’s time to get back to the whole “Yor’s mission is really interesting” thing from earlier. I’d like to highlight what a few people have pointed out already; specifically that this gentleman in Shopkeeper’s briefing-

-looks remarkably similar to a certain someone from chapter one.

Arguing for the side that this isn’t the same character, @eldraftsman​ (calling you out dude xD) points out that their faces are slightly different and their hair’s not quite right, which I will agree with. Looking at it from the other side’s perspective though, it’s entirely possible his design has changed slightly since the very first chapter of the manga. Two years is a long time to tweak a design, let alone how fast Endo is at doing it (just look at Fiona’s introduction vs. how she looks now, all in the span of two chapters). Plus, it wouldn’t be the first time Endo has hinted at a future character way before their proper introduction.

Guy on the right look familiar? Mr. Green in all his glory, all the way back in chapter twenty-seven. For reference, he didn’t show up again until chapter thirty-nine, almost a whole year before he got the spotlight. It’s also clear that this isn’t just him re-using the design; Mr. Green is Eden security, so it would make sense for him to be escorting the mid-term tests. Whether or not the same holds true for our mystery man orchestrating the events of Cruise Ooting Arc (coining it), I guess we’ll just have to wait till the next chapter to find out!

Also, BONUS!

Anya really said “Give me a boat or I’ll give you felonies”

[montrealmadison]

drink deeply

or, as they say at samwell, “penitus potes.” shitty gives the toast at jack and bitty’s wedding. for @zimbitsweddingofficial and day two of zimbits wedding week: the wedding itself!

just for fun, a draft version of the beginning of this fic with lardo, ransom, and holster’s “helpful” edits can be found via google doc here. hope y’all enjoy! <3

Good evening, everyone! On behalf of Jack and Eric, thank you all so much for being here tonight, and welcome to what could very well be the most highly anticipated wedding reception of 2019. I mean, this party was planned by the likes of Suzanne Bittle and Alicia Zimmermann. We are in for a treat, folks.

Before we get to all that, I’d also like to extend a particular welcome to those in attendance who are part of the playing, coaching, and/or office staff of the Providence Falconers. Glad you could all make it this evening; I know this past week was a little bit busy for you guys.

[Insert appropriate pause and gesture to the punch bowl, which on closer inspection is actually—oh yeah��the Stanley Cup the Falcs won three days ago. Hold for inevitable applause, general hysteria, and/or hooting/hollering from Tater.]

For those of you who don’t know me, I’ve been trying to decide whether I should introduce myself by my first name, which will inevitably get me mocked by my friends until the end of time, or by my nickname, which will definitely scandalize anyone who has not spent a significant amount of time around twenty-year-old guys who play hockey. However, as I look around the room, I’m realizing that most of you probably either raised, spent significant time around, or were once a twenty-year-old guy who played hockey. To the rest of you, I am profoundly sorry.

So, hi! I’m Shitty, and I’m Jack’s best man.

read more below or on ao3

Being someone’s best man, as I’ve realized over the last few months, should really come with a playbook or an instruction manual or something, because it’s a task unlike any other you’ll ever take on. In addition to being a friend, you have to be a confidant, an expert at bachelor-party debauchery (I think my college resume definitely prepared me for this part) and someone who’s not afraid to step in to make last-minute decisions so the grooms don’t have to. You also have to do all of these things without getting fired from your job or stepping on anyone’s toes, up to and including: the couple getting married, the other people in the wedding party, the grooms’ parents, the wedding planner, and most importantly, Moomaw, whose word is law around here. 

(Seriously. She made the pie tonight, people. Bow down to her.)

But as much as the role can feel a little bit like you’re being thrown in at the deep end, it also definitely comes with its perks. Tonight, I have both the honor and the challenge of somehow summarizing how much I love Jack and Eric in a speech that is heartfelt and witty yet also brief so that we can get to the aforementioned pie as quickly as possible. If you’re still following me here, that is a tall order—but here goes nothing!

I met Jack Zimmermann on our first day of freshman year at Samwell, during the bright, hot summer of 2011. I was participating in the time-honored tradition of moving into a dorm on the third floor of a building with no elevator and no air conditioning in the middle of August. It builds character, or so the good folks in Samwell administration probably tell themselves. Anyway, athletes got to move in early for preseason, so I was expecting to be one of the only guys on the floor for at least a couple days. I was just carrying the last box into my room when the door next to mine opened and—well, you can probably guess who walked out.

Now, I grew up in Boston, which means I also grew up around hockey culture. I’d heard the news that Jack was coming to Samwell, so I knew who he was when he stepped into the hall in that same vague way that you kind of-sort of recognize celebrities hustling down the street or through the airport with their sunglasses on. And he gave me that same vibe—“I know you know who I am, and I’d very much like not to be bothered about it.”

Here is something that will not shock you if you know us: Jack was the first friend I made in college. Here is something that might shock you if you know us: That definitely doesn’t mean we were friends at first. By his own admission, Jack wasn’t at Samwell to make friends at all. He told me, much later, that he was only planning to go to play hockey, get his life back on track, and keep his head down as much as possible.

So in retrospect, maybe it was an unlucky thing for Jack that he ran into the one person who wasn’t going to let him do that.

Because no matter who you are or where you’re from, freshman year of college breeds a unique kind of terror I’ve never felt anywhere else. There’s a lot of pressure to completely remake yourself, to become the person you maybe never could have been in your hometown. By coming to Samwell, I wanted to be a different kind of kid than the one that Andover had raised. Jack wanted to be a different kind of kid than the one he’d spent twenty years telling himself he had to be. As much as neither of us wanted to admit it, we both wanted similar things out of our college experience, and we needed a support system to do that. And so, however begrudging the two of us were about it at first, we started to bond more and more.

It wasn’t always easy. For one thing, my idea of a good time was a lot louder than Jack’s—who enjoyed such scintillating pursuits as “watching golf” and “going to bed at a reasonable hour”, neither of which were quite in my vocabulary at the ripe old age of eighteen. Also, if it’s before six in the morning, he has a hard time remembering to speak English, which used to make for a lot of stilted conversations between the two of us as we walked to early morning practice. (On a completely unrelated note, the first and probably only thing I ever learned in Québécois is how to swear.)

I don’t remember the exact tipping point at which Jack and I really became friends; I think it was more of a quiet acknowledgment that we liked having each other around, that we balanced each other out in ways that neither of us initially knew we needed. What I do know is that, slowly but surely, I started to get glimpses of the Jack that exists off the ice. And so began one of the most extraordinary journeys of my life, because the only thing crazier than knowing Jack Zimmermann is actually knowing Jack.

Here are some things that I’ve learned in the process: He’s on his third pair of neon yellow running shoes, which he buys specifically because the color makes him happy. Before either of us tried Eric’s pies, the only thing that could make him cheat on a meal plan was a sleeve of Double Stuf Oreos. (Don’t ask him how to eat them correctly unless you’re interested in a twenty-minute speech on exactly how they have to be pulled apart.) And he loves Captain America, although it is the opinion of this best man that America’s ass has nothing on his hockey butt. Have you seen that thing? It has Internet fans in at least two different countries. 

But I digress.

In our sophomore year we lived next to each other again, by choice instead of by chance, in what I can only describe as the pinnacle of American college living: the Samwell Men’s Hockey Haus. We used to pull the comforter off of one of our beds and climb out onto the roof and clear off the snow so we could share the blanket, look up at the stars, and listen to the bass thumping through the wall of the house next door. On nights when other things felt confusing, this one part of my life was clear. There’s something about sitting out under the open sky that just makes it easier to talk to a guy, you know? 

Some nights the conversations we had were funny. Some nights they were serious. Some nights we said nothing at all, just sat secure in the knowledge that someone cared enough to exist alongside us for a little while. There was always an unspoken agreement between us on nights like these: I got your back. For me, Jack’s friendship became a rock, a refuge. It’s something that I came to depend on that year and still do to this day.

As for the content of those late-night conversations—well, some things do have to stay between friends. I’m sure Jack will agree, especially because he has so graciously allowed me to get up here and lovingly roast him just a little bit.

So let’s skip ahead again, to yet another August, the start of our junior year, and the arrival on the scene of one Eric Bittle. This kid burst into our ranks like a ray of Southern sunshine and turned pretty much everything upside down in the process. In the first five minutes of being in the Haus, he somehow made us a pie? Folks, I'm not kidding, it was the best thing I’ve ever eaten. We were a bunch of guys who didn’t know what we were missing until we had it, and let me tell you, it was one hell of a semester after that. In pretty short order we had curtains on the windows and baked goods on the counters, and Samwell Men’s Hockey started to become not only a team but a family.

That was off the ice, at least. On it, things were a little more complicated. As our dear friend and former goalie John Johnson said to me, Jack and Eric hadn’t gone through their character development yet—whatever that means. 

Take our third or fourth practice with the full team that year, for example. It had gone… uh. Poorly, would be a word. Later that night I heard some rustling on the roof outside, and God knows I was willing to do just about anything but my homework—so I stuck my head out the window and there was Jack, watching the stars. I asked him if he wanted a buddy, and he said alright, so I slid out and sat down next to him.

That was pretty usual for us at this point. What wasn’t usual was the topic of conversation. The first thing Jack said to me was, “Bittle’s gonna get eaten alive when our schedule starts.” (Remember, people, they’re married now!) The second was, “I want to help.”

Here’s another thing about Jack: Underneath the veneer is a guy who just cares so intensely it’d shock you if you knew nothing else about him. It shocked me a little that day. I think it even shocked him to admit it, to the point where I had to say, “Jack, it’s not a criminal offense to care about other people. Even if it feels like you’re doing it for yourself.”

So he helped. He offered an olive branch, and Bits took him up on it. I’d hear the two of them get up in the morning, hours before the rest of us had to be at Faber, for checking practice. None of the rest of us ever knew exactly what went down, but one thing was for sure—Eric put in a ton of work to overcome some of the fears that had followed him to college. He got better, and Jack relaxed. The two of them really started working as a team, and things started looking up from there.

The day that they told us they were dating was pretty amazing. Eric is so full of light no matter how bleak a situation may look, but that day he was literally almost glowing. And I’ve seen Jack in moments after victory and loss, at his best and at his worst. But I’ve never seen a Jack who was so happy, possessed of such confidence in a decision he’d made, as I saw him that day at brunch. And that’s when I knew this relationship was really special. 

From there, many of you know the story. You watched it play out on ESPN and social media and the front pages of every single gossip magazine on the supermarket shelves. But if you’re sitting here with us tonight, you also watched it play out between Jack and Eric themselves. You’ve watched them handle expectations as a united front. You’ve watched their unfailing dedication to each other while they navigate the pressure of being some pretty big firsts. You know that, behind the scenes, these are two incredibly genuine people who  bring out the best in each other and are dedicated to doing that every single day.

In the last four years, I’ve watched Eric become self-possessed and confident because he was given the space to do so. In the last six years, I’ve watched Jack grow from a kid with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove to a guy who finally believes that he deserves all the good things the world has given him and then some. If you take nothing else away from this speech, I want you to know this: I’m incredibly proud to call myself a friend to both of them.

Jack, Bits, you’re always gonna be my brothers, my best friends, and two of the finest damn men I’ve ever had the pleasure to know. I wish you both a long and happy marriage. Take care of each other, be good to each other, and never forget where you started—as a team.

So please join me in raising your glasses, everyone, and as they say at Samwell—penitus potes to Jack and Eric!

[sagemusesoutloud]

Anti-Romantic, Part 2

(credit to the original owner of the image)

Character | Jaehyun x reader

Genre | nonidol!au, Mutual Pining, Slowburn, Fluff

WordCount | 2 K (bitesized for your convenience lol)

Author'sNote | I know this is kinda short, but I've decided not to rush the ending. I'm for sure not drag it out too much, but the slowburn reaaaally got to me and I ended up liking more than I orginially thought, so! I'll be back to post Part 3 tomorrow!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

I know that you love me, It makes me deeply drunk

You’re like champagne, I shouldn’t do this

You’re at the base of the stairs to your apartment complex when he pulls up. The window on the passenger side rolls down.

“Hurry! I think they’re about to wash the machines at the ice cream shop!” he reaches over and opens your door while you grab your two bags and your pillow. You loved him, you really did, but he had the flattest, most uncomfortable pillows in the world in his guestroom.

“What? Why didn’t you stop there before picking me up? It’s not like you don’t know what I like.” You’re trying to move all your stuff to the backseat as he pulls away.

He sighs, “Thank you Jae, you’re so nice to pick me up,” he mutters. You’d be a bit apologetic if it wasn’t for the grin he was trying to hide. “I’ve already spent most of my ‘special’ day alone, thanks to someone who had to bail on me. I wanna spend the rest with you.”

“I knew it, it bothered you didn’t it?” You accused while fastening your seatbelt. “Next time, just tell me, I know it seems as if I know everything but I actually can’t read minds.” You knew he was just messing with you but for some reason his words cut at the guilty feeling you were trying to push away. “I actually got you something this time around, it’s why I wanted to see you before the day ended.”

Jae parks the car outside the shop before turning to you, “wait, did you really get me something?” You sigh, offended, “well, if you don’t want it or don’t like the idea of it, then I can still return it.”

“I just thought of you when I saw it…” crap, it’s too soon for you to go anywhere near that subject.

“That’s not what I meant,” he shakes his head, “It’s just been a while since we shared birthday gifts.” You look away from him. If he kept this up, you’ll start to regret calling him. Your hands were slightly shaking with the effort of not reaching over and pouring all your feelings into him. Unlike what you’re used to, he was dressed down with a simple t-shirt and grey sweats. He looked so soft, and domestic. You hated how much you loved it. At least for work, you had both always been professionally dressed, which was a nice barrier for your thoughts. If you dressed professional, you felt professional. This helped control your thoughts. But now that you were here with him, it was definitely harder to keep track of your thoughts.

Today was a day for him, not for you. You took in a deep breath as you turn to look at the shop. It looked like they were getting ready to start closing duties. Even if you weren’t looking at him, you could feel your heart race with acute awareness to his proximity in the small car. He was waiting for a response.

You open your door, “yeah well…if we don’t hurry, we won’t get those diabetes-inducing bombs you’re so fond of. And this all would have been for naught.” You needed to get a grip, fast.

I can clearly see the end, Worse than a hangover

It will be hard, Now, Just end it somewhere here

“I can’t believe you told them it was my birthday,” he groaned, pushing off his shoes at the door. You followed suit.

“Of course I did, it meant free goodies!” You raise the plastic bag with macarons. “It just sucks that they’re all valentine’s themed.” You make your way to the kitchen to put away the snacks you brought, dumping your overnight bag at the door of the guestroom. Maybe if you kept the heart-shaped gift out of sight, it won’t make you as nervous with him.

“I brought your fave by the way, chocolate covered almonds and gummy bears,” you call out. He appears in the kitchen, hair out of his way with a headband. Be still my heart, you thought. You decide to hyper-focus on placing some snacks on a plate to bring to the living room.

“So, what’s the plan?” He reaches over you to grab a water bottle from the fridge, brushing your hip with his front. No no no no no no no!

Was he teasing you? You knew that your face would give you away, you could feel how warm your ears and cheeks were. You hated how honest your face was, and it didn’t help that Jae knew you like the back of his hand. Maybe this is how he is nowadays? Flirty and confident? You’d be lying if you didn’t find it attractive, but not when his attention was only directed at you. You felt like you were slowly suffocating but even that wouldn’t stop the warm light that seemed to burst from your chest.

It seemed so easy to pretend you were closer to him, to pretend this happened all the time. That you were close enough to reciprocate his flirty actions.

��uh, em,” you clear your throat, “actually, I remembered you wanting to see that movie last time we hung out. I have it ready in my apple tv account.” You back away with the tray, “can you also grab me a water?” your throat was suddenly parched.

You settle in the couch, grabbing the throw blanket behind you. Any physical barrier you could place between you, you’d take it gratefully. “You remembered? That was almost three months ago, when the trailer came out.” He handed you your water and grabbed at the corner of the blanket nearest to him, covering himself with it and moving closer to you so that you both could fit under it.

“Jae, there’s another blanket on your side of the couch,” you wanted to feel embarrassed but you just felt an unexpected giddy feeling at him wanting to be near you. “Yeah but it’s my birthday and this blanket is my favorite,” he says as he pulls you closer and wraps his arm behind you on the couch.

“here, put in your credentials so we can start the movie,” he hands you the remote.

You suddenly thank your lucky stars that the movie was an action packed one and not a romantic one. You couldn’t help but sink further into his side, wanting to be comfortable. As the movie starts, he takes the remote from your hand and wraps your arm around him. “I’m cold, keep me warm,” he mutters. Oh sweet Jesus.

Back in the day, this wouldn’t have been something new. Your friends knew you were very heavy with the affectionate touches. A hug, sharing seats, even holding hands. You never shied away from it because it was part of how you showed your friends that you loved them. Some of your friends were also this way, so it was never weird. But now that you’re older, and now that it’s been a long long time since you’ve been close to someone else, the once innocent touches Jae was giving you felt like hot brands across your shoulders and under your arm. If you focused enough, you could feel his hard work at the gym in the way your softness gave way to the hard contours of his leg that pressed against yours and how your shoulder leaned against his chest.

This was going to be a long movie.

You prayed that Jae wouldn’t ask you what the movie was about, you only had enough sanity to pay attention to the first fifteen minutes. It was all a blur after Jae pulled you half over on his lap, “you’re hogging the blanket, move over,” was the only excuse he gave.

Now, your legs were tangled with his and you sat almost on his lap, his arms encircling you from behind. He felt so soft and every little movement made your skin break out in goosebumps. You felt like a live wire about to explode.

“D-did you like it?” you started shifting to the side so you could face him but he held you tighter in place, resting his chin on your shoulder. “yeah, it was pretty good, we have to wait for the end credits though. I heard that they’re starting to give hints about The Eternals.”

“Did you like it?” he squeezes your middle.

Did you? You’re not sure, but you sure as hell loved the attention you were getting for the past two and half hours. “Yeah, all Marvel movies are great,” you finally concede.

“Wanna watch another one? You can pick this time,” his hand started tracing through your arm as you waited for the stupid end scene that was taking too long to start. Is it getting hot in here?

“Sure, whatever you want,” you mutter. He could have asked you for the most ridiculous thing and you would have still agreed to it.

Jae wakes with a start, the room was dark, the only light came from the still on TV. A show was playing softly, the clock under the tv read 3:45 am. He felt pretty hot, was the A/C not working?

He begins to shift when he realizes the position you both are in. Your legs were still tangled together, as if unconsciously refusing to let go of the proximity. You gripped his shoulder, your breath hitting his neck as you slept soundly on top of him. God, if this is a dream, let me never wake up, he thinks.

He usually hates being too close to someone, any sort of intimacy was bad news to Jaehyun. Either emotionally or physically, he kept everyone at a distance because he had seen it too often. How people settled for something they weren’t sure of and hurting those involved. He was aware he was too logical sometimes, but it’s what he knew to protect himself. Moments like these, they only lead to expectations and empty feelings, leaving behind only pain that even time couldn’t heal sometimes.

But why was he finding it so hard to untangle himself from your embrace? He should go to his bed and sleep comfortably, but at the same time, having you in his arms felt just right. Like two pieces of a puzzle finally coming together.

He could smell the light scent that was you and it almost made him squeeze you closer, as if it was possible. You smelled of spring, a light floral scent that reminded him of better days.

He was glad he woke up, he was going to enjoy every second of peace this brought him. He would store it in a little box and hold on tightly when the cold reality came back. As he fought with his drowsiness, he felt you nestle closer. He kissed the crown of your head as he finally gave in to sleep. I hope I dream of you… If this was love, he finally understood why sometimes the pain was worth a shot.

So stupid, sweet love song, extravagant rom-com

As much as I was happy, on the receipt there’s a red line

EndNote | I know this chapter was pretty short. In all honesty, I had written something else before deleting it entirely and starting again, but I really like the direction the story is going now. Hopefully I can update Part 3 tomorrow, but I'm really excited about it!

Previous: Part 1 | Next: Part 3

[javierpinme]

Part One: New Beginnings

Pairing: Frankie Morales x f!reader

Word count: 3.4k

Warnings: Infidelity, angst, friends to lovers, mentions of alcohol

Rating: M (might change)

Summary:  You’ve lived in a small town for half of your life and nothings really changed until it did. Moving halfway across the country you find lasting friendships and a love you needed at the exactly the right time.

A/N: There is not a ton of Frankie in this one since I wanted to set the tone for the reader before they meet! They don’t see/meet each other until near the end (or do they?) I wanted to build the reader’s relationships with the people in her life as there will more parts.

AO3

Masterlist

Want to be on my taglist?

It’s hard to build friendships as an adult without being under the pretense of school or college. It’s especially difficult when you decide to move across the country. Away from your family and friends, but it’s what you needed. Seeing the same four walls you lived in, that same greasy diner that was always your go-to after one too many tequila shots the night before, and that one ex from high school that you’d really rather forget while running errands were making you feel complacent. Wake up. Drink. Eat. Work. Sleep. Repeat. You’ve spent most of your life here. You weren’t about to spend the rest of it here. So, you did something completely unlike you. You packed up your life and moved. The house was beautiful. You’d never owned anything in your life; just rented so this is a major upgrade for you. The first sight that greets you is the stairs after living in a first floor unit for most of your life. The house isn’t in perfect shape, but it’s yours which is all that matters.

The movers have left so you finally had the place to yourself. You couldn’t help the defeated sigh that fell from your mouth at the sight of all the boxes. If your sister and friends were here you’d probably be knee deep in pizza and wine while attempting to build furniture. You gave your brain the space to let that thought sink in, but you craved the freedom so you didn’t let that sit too long. You came here to build your own memories; no room for regrets now. So, the first thing you decide to acclimate yourself with is the closest liquor store and that is how you met Hannah.

The first thing you hear after getting lost reading a wine label is a loud oof before slamming into somebody. You only barely managed to catch the bottle before it became one with the outdated tile.

“I am SO sorry! I’m not even going to lie to you I was not watching where I was going. Are you okay? You didn’t drop anything did you?”

You manage to form a sentence between your scrambled apologies in between. The first thing you notice when you look at the face standing in front of you is how pretty she is. That typical blonde hair and blue eyes type that reminds you of the girls you went to high school with. You wince. Stop it.

“Oh, I’m okay! It was more the residual shock of it really. You must really need that bottle because you were just about ready to run me over in your pursuit to the cash register. Cheating ex or bad date?”

She says with a laugh while pointing at the wine still in your hand. Oh, she’s nice. You immediately feel guilty for that initial judgment when first looking at her.

“Oh, neither. I just moved here and need sustenance to unpack. Who knew you could fit your entire life into boxes?” You mirror her laugh.

“I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone. Walk around the neighborhood and find the necessities which is how I ended up here.” You say with a twirl in your finger.

"Ah, the one down the street that's just begging to be demolished?" She says while snapping her fingers with a mischievous smile.

"Hey, don't talk about her like that. She's old, but she's got character." You can't help the lopsided grin you give her. She hasn't even seen the dream kitchen with those beautiful green cabinets.

“Hey, well if you need help with that-“ her eyes shifting to the bottle, “I live right down the street so I can come over. I know moving somewhere unfamiliar can be a little daunting especially if you’re alone.” You can’t help the wide smile forming at her sweet gesture.

“And to help me unpack right?” You raise an eyebrow.

“I mean I’m better at draining a bottle, but if it’s necessary I will work for food and drinks. But, if I’m going to help you we are going to need way more than that.”

She finishes her sentence grabbing more bottles while traveling through the aisles. The sound of you’ve got to try this one and this one’s local in between aisle changes filling the store. You assure her that she is not off the hook with helping even with the promise of the “best merlot you’ve ever had in your life.”

Bags filling both of your hands and way too much alcohol for just two people to consume you make your way up the steps. Hannah pauses and looks up at the house.

“I was right. It should have been demolished. Will the porch cave in before I make it inside?” She says with skepticism at the foundation of your new home.

“Probably eventually but-“ you turn around to face her, “she’ll last for now. Come on, I haven’t even showed you the best part!”

You open your door and make your way inside leaving the door open for her to follow. You faintly hear from the kitchen “I seriously doubt that”, and you can’t help your chuckle at the remark.

You’ve always wanted a fixer upper; probably from all the HGTV shows you immersed yourself in as a child and the fact you’ve only ever lived in apartments. The first and only thing you managed to unpack first was your wine glasses. You definitely made a point to label them in big writing while packing up back home. A decision you are patting yourself on the back for now.

“So, do you like pizza? I know a good place. Pizza and wine should always be paired with move-in days. Oh, you’re right. This is probably the only good part of your house.”

Hannah leaned on the counter next you before shifting to test the weight taking in the scene of your kitchen.

“Love pizza. It’s not there yet, but I definitely have some plans with it; starting with keeping the color of those cabinets.”

In between sips of your glasses of wine you start to collaborate over your ideas of making it functional and aesthetically pleasing.

It didn’t take very long to start building friendships with the people in your area. You even started joining Sunday brunches and you were overly ecstatic finding out that bottomless mimosas existed. They didn’t have these at the diners back home. They even started assisting you with choosing paint swatches and going to Home Depot because you just had try that DIY project of making your own lounge chair that you found scrolling on Youtube.

“I think your measurements are a little off.”

Alex, probably one of your favorites of the group, mirrors the tilt of your head with his arms crossed. He co-owns a woodworking business with his husband so you wanted him there for any adjustments and moral support. Unfortunately for you, he wanted you to learn first which really meant fail.

You grimace at your handiwork and say, “yeah, I think maybe I should stick with what I’m good at.”

With a breathy laugh he adds, “give yourself some credit. You managed to tear up the carpet in the living room AND still able to keep the original hardwood. That’s no easy feat.”

You’ve somehow managed to create a whole support system in the little time that you’ve spent here. You’ve finally had the time and resources to create your own little touches that make your house now a home.

“Hannah, can’t we just stay in tonight? I’ve already been defeated twice by the light fixture in the living and my fingers are still tingling from the faulty power box. I’m really not in the mood.”

You give her the biggest puppy eyes you can manage while exaggeratingly lifting you fingers.

“Oh no, you’re going out to the bar tonight. You’ve been here for months and you really need to get yourself out there. You’re hot. Own it. Besides, it’s just you and me so there’s no pressure.”

She says with a swat to your ass and a push towards your closet. The only response you can add to that is Hmph.

The bar is nice enough with the dim lighting and it’s not so loud that you can’t hear yourself talk. Hannah insisted you wear one of your nicer dresses, but you wanted to feel like yourself so you opted for a t-shirt tucked into light wash jeans. If you were going to meet anyone tonight you wanted to set the standard for anything that could happen at the start. You’re still nursing your second beer while Hannah is on her third shot of the night. You feel a presence to your right and a sharp pinch to your thigh on your left. Hannah is of course attempting to alert you to the attractive man on the other side of you as if you didn’t notice. You turn around with a pained look on your face to her which she just shrugs off before making herself scarce.

“Can I buy you a drink?”

Your attention is brought back to the man to your right. He is very cute in a boyish kind of way and you briefly wonder if he’s talking to someone else. He’s dressed like he just got out of a business meeting, but his rolled sleeves are definitely doing something for you.

“Sure. What’s your name?” You say with the flirtiest smile you can muster.

“Joey. Nice to meet you.”

God, his smile must do wonders for his conquests. It’s working for you quite honestly. You completely lose track of time talking to him and see out of the corner of your eye Hannah leaving the bar holding onto a man with salt and pepper hair and scruff. Looks like she got lucky too. She gives you a wink as she walks out the door and you look to see where he was sitting in case you need to remember faces. Seems like he was out with some of his friends, but you didn’t get a thorough look because your attention is immediately brought back to Joey. You set a reminder for yourself to check in with her before you go to bed tonight.

It’s been a constant date after date and you were really beginning to develop feelings for him. Sure, you always tried to convince him you didn’t need to be wooed with all these extravagant dates. You were just happy to spend time with him. You didn’t need to go to a fancy restaurant to tell you that. It just wasn’t your style, but it made him happy so you went along with it. You had initially assumed him to be a one night stand, but you were pleasantly surprised to hear from him the next day asking to take you out dinner.

Your muscles in your stomach are straining from how hard you’re laughing at America’s Funniest Home Videos on the TV. Joey is sitting next to you on the couch with takeout cartons loitered all over your coffee table. The living room is starting to lose its natural lighting due to the day coming to a close; the only light source in the room being the lamp sitting on the end table next to the couch and the glow from the TV. You notice Joey looking at you with a far off look.

“What’s wrong?” You ask with a furrow in your brow. “Nothing.” His face shifting to a more pleasant tone once he turns back to the TV. The two of you had settled into a routine at your house. You had even introduced him to your friends and they really seemed to enjoy spending time with him. It was easy for them to fall for his charms as you did.

“Come on, hurry up. You’re supposed to be helping me pick out an outfit for tonight!”

Hannah still continued to see the man from the bar, Santi, his friends called him.

“If I’m supposed to be helping you pick an outfit then why are we in the lingerie section?” You ask with a sly grin on your face.

“That’s for after, of course. Gotta keep it interesting.”

Her laugh followed by her adding some bras and panties to her hands. You agreed to come with her tonight to officially meet him and his friends. You’ve heard enough about him from her. Some very intimate details as well. They weren’t exactly exclusive to each other and as far as you knew they were dating other people which you respected. You were nervous about meeting them, but you knew it was only a matter of time until Hannah would want to do this. You trusted her judgment and you were already comfortable that it was going to be in the bar you usually ventured out to.

In her words, “your only forms of entertainment can’t just be your home projects, Joey and me, you know? You deserve to have fun too and these guys will show you a good time I promise” while ringing up her purchases.

You barely manage to make it through the door of the bar before you feel a breeze next to you from her speeding to Santi with a kiss. You lovingly shake your head at her dramatic antics and make your way over to the table. It’s a little awkward at first since Hannah still had yet to let go of the man sitting next to her and you didn’t know how to start a conversation with these men with what was going on next to you.

“Sorry. I’m Santi, but everyone calls me Pope.”

He reaches over to shake your hand with a tone that is definitely not apologetic at all, but you find it amusing. You like him already. You can definitely see why Hannah was interested, but not your type.

He starts introducing his friends off to you. Will. He seems like the more mellow type of the group and his call sign is Ironhead. Benny is just Benny since he’s the baby of the group.

“He’s the menace of all of us so watch out for this one.” Will ruffles his brother’s hair for added measure which Benny recoils from.

Then, Frankie, they call him Catfish. Oh he’s handsome, but not in the boyish way that Joey is. He’s handsome in a more ruggish kind of way and you can’t seem to break eye contact from him. Your eyes don’t know where to go first so they travel from his deep brown eyes, to the bare patches on the beard he can’t seem to grow that you find yourself wanting to kiss, and to the curls peeking out of his standard heating oil hat. You find yourself itching to take that hat off and run your fingers through the nape of his hair.  Stop. He’s the more reserved one in the group which makes sense since he really hasn’t fully spoken more than a few words at a time to you. You can’t control the side glances you keep shooting at him throughout the night. You’re just appreciating the view and maybe conjuring up a few very much domestic fantasies in your head. Liar.

You excuse yourself to go to the bathroom to get a grip on your emotions. Tilting your head at your reflection you point an accusing finger “get yourself together. You ca—.“  You jump at the intrusion of an elderly woman walking into the otherwise empty bathroom; a quizzical look forming on her face from your actions. Your nervous laugh gets the best of you. “It isn’t what it- I don’t always do this.” You’re not sure why you feel the need to explain yourself since she’s already closed the stall before you even got the chance to finish your sentence. You find yourself even more flustered leaving the bathroom than before going into it. This is going to be a long night.

***

Frankie was nervous when Santi first told him that Hannah would be bringing a friend. He remembers you from the night Santi first left with her. How could he forget? You had his attention the moment you stepped into the bar, but by the time he finally worked up the nerve to talk to you another guy had already swooped in. It wasn’t that surprising considering and it was probably for the best. He really wasn’t in any headspace to be in a relationship. His eyes followed you when you left to go to the bathroom in a hurry and he could just feel Santi’s eyes burning into him. He knew. You were exactly his type and he hoped to whoever was up above that he would just leave him to his hopeless crush without interfering.

***

You sit down at the table preparing to come up with some segway into the conversation between everyone when Santi breaks it with a loud clap calling your name out. “So, are you seeing anyone?”

You miss the glare that Frankie shoots him and the embarrassed groan he makes. You don’t miss the warning tone Will gives when calling Santi’s name out, but you get the feeling you’re not entitled to know what that’s about.

“Yes, I am.” Why does it feel so wrong to say that? “His name is Joey.” Hannah chimes in while rubbing Santi’s shoulders.

You also miss the sight of Frankie’s shoulders deflating at that piece of information. Your answer seems to satisfy Santi since he drops it after that and moves on to a different topic. “Benny, when’s your next fight?” It’s Friday apparently and all the guys along with Hannah are going to support him.

Will shifts towards you and says, “you can come if you want.” You cringe on the inside; your insecurities getting the best of you. If you want. They’re only inviting you because you’re there at the moment. “Maybe.” You won’t.

Somehow, Hannah has convinced you to go out with them a second time. “Come on, you can bring Joey since you’re so nervous! Please bring him,” she says with pleading eyes.

“I’m not nervous!” Liar. There is a sliver of truth to her statement, but you don’t want to tell her the reason for your nerves is seeing Frankie again. Yet here you were sitting in a booth with Joey across from Hannah and the rest of the guys.

“Jesus Hannah, he’s not going anywhere.”

You say with a loud laugh at her not so subtle PDA with Santi. “Sorry.” She said with a swipe of trying to remove her lipstick from Santi’s face; her smile never leaving her face. Frankie hasn’t looked at you at all tonight and you can’t help but wonder what you did wrong. You see those eyes crinkle and that cute dimple when he’s dedicating his attention to everyone else at the table, but disappears when his eyes go in your general direction.

At some point the guys and Hannah walk off to buy more drinks leaving you with Joey. He’s hasn’t hid his disinterest of the night at all even when the guys were trying to include him.

“Why are you so grumpy?” “I’m not.” His deep sigh a dead giveaway to his sour mood. “I’m just not vibing with them that’s all.” His eyes following the guys by single file line as he said it. You assure him that you can leave soon which after an hour or so you do.

Tonight’s events must have tired you out more than you thought because you’re fighting yawns the entire ride to Joey’s apartment. You don’t usually spend time here since he prefers staying at your place, but his place was a lot closer to the bar. The minute you walk inside you walk straight to his bedroom so you can promptly pass out as Joey showers. As you start to pull back the blankets something catches your eye. That’s not mine. Your heart rate is starting to speed up at the thought that’s forming in your mind. You reach down and grab a bra that was haphazardly thrown on the floor. The thing is you’d recognize that bra anywhere because you were there when she bought it; the day you were meeting Santi for the first time. You almost didn’t hear the water being shut off in the bathroom and the footsteps coming into the bedroom.

“Hey, what’s goin o—“

His eyes follow where you’re looking and then back up to your face. He’s not even trying to defend himself or come up with some shitty excuse that wouldn’t work anyway.

“How long?” Your voice is barely managing to stay steady while still staring at the incriminating evidence of your betrayal.

“How long, Joey?” His hesitation gives you your answer. It’s been a while.

[yanderes-stuff]

5; 8 and 9 please and nsfw is optional.

Yes, the feral trio I never did a poly yandere before, and sorry for being so late school was holding me at gunpoint

P.s it's 1:43 am where im at and I got zoom at 7:10 I'll edit the grammar mistakes later but I didn't want you to have to wait any longer

Characters: Skully, Masky, Hoodie

Words 5k 

TW: yandere thoughts, cussing, kidnapping, drugging 

You met Jay during college when the teacher put you both together for a school project, you got to have a good read on his personality with Jay, being a curious goofy character with a charming atmosphere surrounding him.

After a while, you decided to start the project filming causal nature. you both shared a passion for nature being calmed by the forest, and the woodland creatures which made you closer. After a while, you noticed that he would rarely talk to any of his other friends in favor of talking to you.

This led to many intervals where you caught him staring at you during class and followed you around like a puppy which although made you irritated you brushed it off thinking nothing of it, after all, it's just goofy Jay being Jay.

But alas he fell victim to your charm the conversations he had with you stuck with him and the moments where you were in his presence kept him going till the next day, you reached his heart unlike anybody else he met, and he lived for you alone perhaps it was the way you carried yourself through the gloomy days or the way you were more kind-hearted than anyone he ever met.

He longed to catch your eye and make you laugh but certain feelings were starting to stew inside him whenever he caught your friends talking to you especially if they were putting their hands on your beautiful body and even if they did so casually it made him infuriated he believed that he should be the only one that should be graced by your presence not them

After all, you never knew their intentions but he had a gut feeling they weren't good they didn't love you they only loved you for your looks and looks alone but he loved everything about you and he didn't know why but alas he had friends who were close to you those friends being Brian and Tim his colleague's since high school 

However, he had to obtain your affection and warmth to protect you so he wormed his way into your dating life because he had known your crush had his dark secrets that he cheated on his exes and he just couldn't let this snake wrap his suffocating coil and sink his poisonous fangs into you for his esteem 

So to resolve this fear of his he followed him home in the dark and threatened to shoot him if he didn't avoid you like a plague but without his knowledge, he didn't know that he was being watched by none other than Tim who mentally noted with haste that he's not the only one who took a liking to you and strolled out of Jay's sight before he could notice him

Relief washed over as he went back to his secret home surrounded by woods away from his lonely college dorm comforted by the fact that the guy that tried to use you had been put in his rightful place now thanks to him all he had to worry about now was the fact that his other friends also shared a connection with you that was too close for his liking 

You were his everything now and while he still cherished his friends he wasn't going to let either of them have you even if it put him in danger of course you only saw the good in people and that would include Tim and Brian which he would grow to admire but it would also make him nervous but despite that he knows you love him and he had to make a move quickly to prove he's the only right one for you

Oh how he longed to be anything that would make you happy and today being Valentine's day he promised himself this was going to be the day he asks you out and you'll say yes or at least he certainly hoped you would he grabbed a few things from the store some gifts he hoped would win your appreciation but he had a thought cropped in his mind what if you rejected him and if you did do such a thing how distraught he would be 

He waved away those thoughts in his mind trying to convince himself he played his cards right after all he frightened any competition away from you while making sure to be by your side at every moment you needed him the thought of your gentle voice accepting his confession of love made his uneasy mind now calm and focused 

Once he reached the school province he took the bag of gifts consisting of chocolates of your favorite brand and bouquets of lovely crimson flowers that are a symbol of his love for you he was finally ready to be your lover and he sure as hell hoped you were too as that thought passed his mind he peeked his head around the corner to your dorm 

What he saw made his blood boil and felt a violent sensation he couldn't understand at the time and what he witnessed was Tim brushing his lips against your while caressing your cheek with his rough hand you weren't flinching away but rather leaning in into the troublesome kiss he didn't know Tim could do this he thought he made it clear that she belonged to him

Tim look so entranced by the way your chest raised and fell in sync with his own as he leaned closer with his arm bending above your head caging you against your dorm door 

While Jay was peaking he noticed that Tim had a card with a heart placed on in front of it in one of his hands 

He quickly pieced together that he had gotten to you first before him as he felt despair overwhelm him why did you have to love Tim of all people he quickly grabbed the gifts and descended the stairs as quickly and quietly as possible at the same time he felt hot tears stain his bitter cheeks that day he drove back to his home weeping 

But as he stepped inside an environment of misery following behind him as he sat down on the sofa he didn't think he'd have the guts to kill Tim but little did he know that someone else was in the room with him that individual being Tim and although he didn't want to admit it

Tim planned to kill Jay ever since he witnessed him threaten to kill his old crush since you confessed about liking him which was a big mistake on your part but Tim was glad Jay took care of him but now he had to kill Jay but he acknowledges he didn't want to at all but Tim was afraid of what Jay was capable of when it comes to his unstableness

He knew Jay was infatuated with you and that he's been getting more and more unusual as you continued to spend time with him and he started to dissociate with Brian and Tim which was starting to get concerning because Jay was starting to become extra dependent on your affection to distract him from all the chaos going on in his life

But Jay himself was starting to take drastic measures to prove himself to you and Tim never thought Jay could be capable of violence but he's seen firsthand that he the man that he thought wouldn't harm an insect was contemplating murder out of love 

 

So with guilt, he grabbed his firearm and stared as Jay slowly was lured into a deep slumber he slowly opened the oak closet door so that it was vastly ajar and he tiptoed quietly towards Jays sleeping form beads of sweat was beginning to form on his forehead

Once he loomed over the trembling man's resting figure his silhouette casting a shadow over him his hands shook as he raised the revolver to Jay's temple and his finger was on the trigger there was a small click followed by a thunderous bang 

The gory sight of Jay would be etched into his mind for the rest of his life but it would be worth it to protect you but he had to admit it he for some reason felt relief in his mind and another feeling that was off it was a euphoric adrenaline rush he noticed that he was still shaking and realized that he should evade the scene as quickly as possible back to you

You were sleeping so soundly in Tims dorm and Hoodie thought your sleeping form was so beautiful so vulnerable he's been watching you for a while through Brian and he thought this would be the perfect moment to steal you away after he saw the note Tim wrote a letter to you inviting you to come to his place for valentines day 

How romantic of him too bad Hoodies going to whisk you away now he recalls seeing you and Tim go on a dinner date in Tim's kitchen he prepared your favorite dish the reason he knows this was because he placed cameras in more secretive places to check on Tim and his episodes when he would become Masky and go out to do God knows what 

Hoodie knew Tim was trying to keep he alter personality a secret from you as well as hide his more obsessive side when he would become Masky he would stalk you and take pictures of you going about your day and attach it to his wall later to look at when Tims feeling emotional which Tim had to compile in a box the day previously so you wouldn't freak out at him

Which Hoodie would probably have to steal along with you was a thought that came across his mind as he prepared a syringe with an unknown liquid inside of it from underneath Tims mattress he watched the scruffy brunette man got up and picked up a revolver from the drawer with his pale hands and walked out making sure to keep the gun hidden from anyone's view 

Once he was out of sight propped up upon his shoulders he began crawling out from under the bed as quietly as possible as not to disturb your sleep as he stood up gazing upon your softly snoring form as he was searching for the perfect spot to prick your neck with the fluid once he found it he punctured the soft flesh injecting the liquid in your bloodstream you awoke for a second not long enough to examine him but only to be held down by the powerful man as he clasped his rough fingers around your both your wrist 

"Shhhhhhh [Name.] baby just relax" he mumbled somewhat gently with a smug smile etched on his face, his thoughts instantly twisting into ideas of what he was going to do to you when you finally got back to where you truly belonged. "Everything is going to be just fine."

As soon as the drug invaded your mind and your world faded once again at the same time he hastily took you into his arms and started his journey back to his abandoned cabin into the darkness of the night and when he reached his own home he settled you in the bed in his room with ropes gripping your hands attached to the old oak foundation of the bed as he snuggled into your warm body once he was feeling bold as the night proceeded

"I've been wanting to do this for a fucking real long time." He mutters under his breath into the crook of the cozy soft flesh of your neck "Best part is that he doesn't know where I live so he can't take you away."

Tim didn't know what the hell could've happened while he visited Jay but all he knew was that something was wrong and now you were missing with no signs clues of to where you might be it was only when he found a note under the blankets with just three words that made his blood run cold 

She's mine now

Now he knew has an idea of who could've done it Brian has been strange as well lately by giving death glares to him when Tim tries to flirt with you not only that but he seemed to be more encouraging of Jay's stalkerish behavior Tim now realized the mistake he made earlier by leaving you alone to murder Jay before he could murder him Tim believed the only reason Brian was nudging Jay to stalk you was to get Jay to stop bothering him and let him live in peace but now that Jay was dead there was no other suspect left but Brian 

As he was piecing together what could've transpired he heard a buzzing coming from his cell phone he took the phone in his hand while the faint glow of light was still emanating when the device as he saw the message from none other than Brian with a string of numbers possibly coordinates to his location where he kidnapped you from him while he was busy

His breath started to get more uneven with his eyes dilating out of fear while thoughts flew past his mind about your safety he was started to hold himself with his hands gripping diagonally at his upper arms while the fabric of his flannel creased as a reaction to his strength he started to tremble not out of distress but resentment his knuckles started transforming into a snowy white from how hard he was clenching his fist

His mind was beginning to feel fuzzy as his own thoughts were starting to get quiet but the static in his mind was getting only louder followed by a loud booming voice that was starting to overtake him again but this time he welcomed it as he didn't know what other actions he could take

Once it finally overtook him a sinister simile was plastered upon his parched slips he was going to get you back and slaughter Brian as atonement for stealing you and maybe keep you in the cabin away from the violence and then he would fix everything thus you would belong to him

"Fuck Brian you know I'd do anything to protect [Name.] anything for her to be mine." He growled under his breath, eyes now focused on the porcelain mask with dark circles around its eyes with eyes knitted up in what appears to be suprise and pitch jet lips on the wall he told you was just for decoration "You're about to regret what you've just done." He remarks followed by a deep huskier chuckle

He clutches his handgun yet again and sets off on a search to locate the coordinates stepping into his vehicle and sliding in the keys before turning it to start the engine and pulling out of the college campus parking lot now focusing on the road in front of him and driving into the nightfall as to not be discerned by anybody 

When he finally reached the trail to the cabin he started sprinting his way to whatever location Brian had sent him he had no time to waste following a trail of footprints of crunched leaves and snapped twigs on the surface of the ground floor when he finally reached the window of the cabin he stood and pressed an ear to listen for activity in case Brian was preparing an ambush for him in one of the rooms 

He heard the sound of a struggle and the sounds of thuds something else that he couldn't quite make out but it was still extremely worrying 

Bam...bam...bam! "AARGH!"  followed by a thunderous crackling of somebody he couldn't make out the voices clearly but he could at least assume what's occurring...what if it was Brian hurting you because you did something that made him extremely furious if that were the case he'd have to come and rescue you but at the same time he'd have to keep his alter ego a secret to avoid your concern for him

He quickly wrapped his fingers around a nearby rock and launched it directly at the cabin glass window instantly shattering it to sharp pieces and stepping through it carefully and at that moment he could make out masculine yells coming from the room in front of him now he is certain the voice wasn't actually you much to his relief 

As he more steps towards the door intertwining his fingers against the knob of the old wooden door and twisting while at the same time putting his strength against the ancient oak entryway he could still make out another familiar yet unknown voice furiously screaming along with Brian shouting among all the commotion which fueled his yearning to harm Brian for bringing both you and him into his annoying scheme even moree

Then as he walked inside the miserable room with the white paint heavily chipping away following that sight he witnessed Brian in a vibrant orange yellowish hoody stained in certain places with what appears to be blood along with a pitch-black fabric mask covering the entirety of his head beside the hood that was pulled over his head another thing he noticed on the material placed on Brian's face was a red frown along with crimson pinpoint dots for eyes additionally just plain worn out jeans that looked to be somewhat dirty he realized that this wasn't actually Brian but his alter ego whose name was unmistakably known to him as hoodie but he was still going to execute him nonetheless for possibly harming you 

But the other figure straddling Brian clutching a cell phone above him  looked somewhat familiar with a coffee brown leather jacket with a black hood that was also above his head he noticed the man's jacket happens to also be tinted in particular spots with that easily recognizable red liquid in addition to this he wore a mask that resembled that of a skeleton with two rows of square teeth and dark circles on both of the holes where his eyes would be with eyebrows that looked to be expressing with curiosity 

"Give me back my phone right now you fucker!" Brian hissed eyes glaring up at the man on above of him trying to get to pry the man off him "And get the fuck off of me!" He added with a hint of irritation 

"SHE'S MINE SHE'S MINE YOU CAN'T HAVE HER SHE'S MINE!" The man snarled in an outrage his tone obviously hysterical as he raised his other fist preparing to hit Hoodie with a flurry of punches aimed at his already bloody face

As Masky stepped closer to the scene there was a painfully audible creak and both men stopped for a second before their head began tilting over to Masky's direction than the mysterious man spoke his words flowing out of his mouth like fluid 

"Well...well...well remember me?" He implored Masky swiftly changing his tone from outrage to relaxed while staring at him intently still with that emotionless mask whilst Hoodie kept swatting for the man to get off of him 

"No who the hell are you and did you send me that text." He questions feeling himself getting more disgruntled with this confusing situation he opens his mouth to speak once again "And where is [Name.] What did you do to her!?" His eyes gaze directly at the unusual man 

"Oh, you don't recall me, your friend? that you shot dead in my own home!" The man glares and scowls at Masky the unpleasant memory started to rise in his mind again "You took my love then you took my life and now I'm back for vengeance" 

"Jay?" Masky grumbled, "there's no way I killed you, why aren't you dead?!" He shouted his mind racing with questions maybe he was just hallucinating this whole predicament 

"Close im Skully, but about your little question I'd rather not answer that." Skully answered back Hoodie now was panting under him from a combination of him being crushed under his weight and his failed attempts to injure Skully with his sore bloody knuckles

 

Hoodie was beginning to feel lightheaded from only getting to inhale so much oxygen just when he thought he was about to black out Skully stood up with his eyes boring into Maskys then Skully spoke

"I'm going to...kill you then I'll kill hoodie then she'll be mine all mine." Skully's breathing started to hitch and become heavier like a bear's breathing as he slowly took a step towards Masky "it's going to be all okay everything's going to be fine it's about to be the way it should be."

You started to thrash around in your bounds fortunately to you it was becoming looser you tried to observe the darkness of the environment around you to tried to find a way to escape back to safety there were windows but they were boarded up but there was an old door which caught your eye as you limped over to it still sore from the burns of the rope that felt like a harsh heat

As you wrapped your hand around the knob and pushed you heard the conversation of people in the next room so then out of curiosity you put your ear to the door you could make out a thickly deep voice and some the sounds of some light coughing along with Tims's voice which filled you with both relief and fear

Because on one hand, Tim is here to save you from this place but on the other what if he got wounded by that other man after thinking about what to do in this situation for a minute that felt like an eternity you decided it would be best to step into the room help Tim beat that man and escape with his help and call the authorities

As you stepped into the room everybody peered in your direction you caught a good look at them one being Tim with his dark brown hair and yellow jacket and worn jeans and a white mask covering his face with what looks to have dark lips and circles encasing the holes meant for the eyes the man in front him looked a bit similar 

He has a tan leather jacket with a raven black hood and the same worn pants and a white mask white rectangular teeth and the same dark circles around the eyes as Tims but this time with the same eyebrows settled in a surprised manner in your direction as if they were startled by you waltzing in the room

And then finally there was that easily recognizable sound of Brian's roughly breathing you heard in your sleep but right now he was on the floor laid flat with blood with a yellow orangish cloth hood along with ordinary jeans and a black cover mask with crimson red frown and two dots for eyes above it

"What's going on! who are you?" You questioned loudly, eyes flickering around the room. you were wondering why they were in costumes was Tim in on this sick circumstance?

"I'm here for you my beloved and im Jay but...in a different form," he announced casually as he made a fist and pointed his thumb to his face "My names now Skully" 

You were confused because Skully didn't look like Jay whatsoever he was taller and his voice was a lot deeper almost in a chilling way and his figure looked to be more stronger than Jay with his broad shoulders but the only thing that was the same about him was the way he spoke 

"[Name.] Give me a minute to deal with him. I won't be needing your help." Masky sighs casually trying to weave away in his mind to distract Skully so your as least scared as possible 

"That's quite a rude way to talk." Skully quickly brought out his hand and grabbed his pocket knife from out of his jean pocket while using his other hand to clench Masky's throat blocking his airways while Masky started making choking sounds trying to struggle out of his grasp 

"If you kill him I won't ever love you!" You blurted out of desperation trying to save your lover from getting his throat slashed from Skully's blade your eyes now are being focused on Tims trembling body

Skully faltered at this his breathing now became even more intense then he dropped Tim with a dull thud then he started to clutch his arms and rocked himself ever so slightly back and forth in an attempt to comfort himself from your words

While Skully was distracted Hoodie who was now back to full willpower  hastily got up as quick as possible and clenched Skullys knife from behind and had it now hovering over Skullys throat Hoodie didn't say a word and just when he was about to make the slit you perked up

"No, don't kill him either for the love of God!" You cried out you didn't believe that what Skully possibly done was right but that doesn't mean you want him to perish you took a quick breather before continuing "Don't or else I be able to love you either" 

Instead of trying to comfort himself in an attempt to forget your words he just gave a disappointed sigh and slowly backed away from Skully while he raised his hands in surrender secretly smirking under his mask now comforted that you saved him

Masky was now staring at Hoodie already reaching in his pocket for his handgun but before he could you interrupted "That goes the same for you too Tim."

And with that, he stopped in his tracks and looked from Hoodie to you with a blank stare so you couldn't be able to get a read with how upset he was that you would say such a thing especially when it was Hoodie that did this to you and dragged him into it 

"Actually I got an idea," Hoodie speaks enthusiastically eyeing everyone in the room chuckling as ideas resurfacing in his head then smirking to himself "If [Name.] Hates it when we're at each other's throats then let's just share her"

Skully had a thousand-yard expression yard stare then he uttered "Actually as much as I hate sharing I'd rather share than be genuinely despised by my sweetheart."

"I'm going to be honest I'm tired of me and [Name.] Getting stressed by college and...I would rather spend more time with her" Masky spoke softly yet reluctantly while his eyes glanced at yours lovingly "And I'd prefer not to kill my friends despite what they've done" 

your lips started to depart to talk attempting to sound stern but your voice came out meek "I'm not sure about this." Your stare now focused on the floor and not any of the men in front of you who on the other hand were staring right into your eyes

Now your mind was frantic on one side how are you supposed to split your affection between three of the closest people in your life all the time and also you loved Jay and Brian as a friend and maybe Tim as a lover but you didn't want them to be at each other's throats especially Skully since he appeared to be tougher than the other two men another thing to note is that all three of them could easily hurt you although you can sense that they didn't want to

But what if they forced you into this scenario if you resisted would they punish you or your family so with that last thought in mind you decided it would be best to accept their offer after all it would be selfish to have somebody dying just because you resisted their demented obsession with you and after all…maybe you'll learn to love them over time

So trying to hide the anxiety in your voice and the heat on your cheeks you spoke loudly enough for them to hear "I've decided that your offer is for the best so I'll accept." their face lit up at your words

Skully was the first one to step towards you at a slow pace as he wrapped his arms under your own in a warm tight embrace whilst he put his chin atop your soft hair 

Then Hoodie came trapping you in a side hug nestling into your shoulder while you could feel him against your skin grinning ear to ear through the mask 

Then there was Masky who came up from behind and settled his rough hands down on your shoulders then he bent down to kiss the back of your neck which made you jolt in surprise in response to this he just chuckled then he bent down and put his arms under your legs and swept you off your feet while the other two men backed off now carrying you bridal style 

Then he started to head back into the bedroom where you woke up in taking the lead while the other two followed then setting you down gently atop the soft oak bed while Hoodie reached for something underneath the bed much to your dismay while you were caged in the middle of the bed between Skully and Masky then Hoodie stood up with a syringe in hand while Masky snaked his arms over yours so that your arms were to your side and you were pulled flush against him feeling him purring against your neck while Skully began to stroke your hair with one hand in an attempt to calm you while his other hand was tracing patterns on your thigh

Hoodie slowly came on top of the mattress putting a finger to his lips while silently shushing you not to struggle as you felt the familiar prick of your skin as your sight began to fade and turn black 

"Shhhh love you made the right choice we're so glad but now is the time you get your rest." Was the last thing you heard from Masky's lips before you fell into a deep sleep.

[aminiatureworld]

In My Dreams IV

Characters: Xiao, fm!reader

Word Count: 3,167

Warnings: Brief depiction of violence, nightmares

Premise: The past is many things. Something to admire, something to learn from, something to hold dear. And yet how unreliable it can be, especially in the hands of ghosts.

In which the reader dreams of the past.

Author’s Note: Translation notes and historical references will come after the fic. This one was a little sketchy/ooc, prolly because I’m tired.

Xiao

If there was one thing that you appreciated most about your relationship with Xiao it was the fact that he never attempted to cage your independence.

Though the adeptus had a penchant for clinginess – something he’d never actually admit to – the circumstances of both his and your past had set a standard for a level of separation that you greatly appreciated. You were never pressured to tell Xiao about things you weren’t comfortable sharing and in return you never pressed your partner in regards to topics or events that made him somewhat uncomfortable.

And yet there was something very isolating about such a freedom.

It was an ordinary enough commission, laughably so in fact, the kind that you could knock back in ten minutes flat if you put a little effort into it. Treasure Hoarders were once more encroaching on Liyue, this time gathering at the vicinity of Dunyu Ruins, something that would surely be a hazard to the archaeologists who gathered to study the lost jade monument. The act of chasing out the Treasure Hoarders was indeed easy enough, and it was only until you started rifling through their loot that you found yourself uneasy.

The lid was an innocuous enough item. Though the box that it once covered was nowhere to be found it must’ve been a work of art, as the smooth tortoiseshell lid was clearly the result of patience and love. Painted a deep blue it depicted a snowy scene, with a castle or cathedral at the front and center. The building itself was of a unique design; a tall turret stuck out at the top while small onion domes sat a little lower, each painted a more outlandish color than the last. The architecture was completely unlike what one might see in either Liyue or Mondstadt, and really there should’ve been nothing to it except the odd design of the building. Yet the moment you set your eyes upon the building you felt something harden in the pit of your stomach.

You never thought about what you couldn’t remember; after all, what was the point of it? Why mourn something you weren’t even sure was good or bad? Yet in that moment you felt that you would give very little to not remember just a little bit. At least enough to know why the image of a cathedral in the snow made you wish deeply for something you couldn’t remember, and frightened you just as much.

“Something’s wrong with you face.”

“Xiao!” You sputtered, surprised by the sudden bluntness of your partner. “My face is just fine, a little dirt won’t kill me.”

“That’s not it.” Xiao scowled. “Your face is harder than usual. Did something happen?”

“Nothing happened! Sometimes I just don’t smile, okay?” You instinctively moved the corners of your mouth upwards, trying to ignore the sudden jump in your heart rate. “I’m fine.”

Xiao looked supremely unimpressed at your efforts, sighing and flying up to the balcony of the Inn. You sighed, letting your expression once more droop. It was easy sometimes to forget how in tune Xiao was. You wouldn’t expect it from an adeptus who had spent thousands of years mostly secluded from humans, but your partner was impressively good at reading your mood. Usually you didn’t mind the ability of his, even welcoming the fact that he so bluntly brought up the question of your feelings. But today you wished despite yourself that he was a little less aware. After all, how could you explain to your partner what you didn’t even understand yourself?

The rest of the night was oddly tense. Though Xiao said nothing you could tell from the way he stared intently at your face that he hadn’t given up his suspicions. For your part you tried to ignore his gaze, talking about trivial matters such as the question of replacing the Guild roof and the fact that you had managed to gather a few Qingxin during your commissions. All the while you felt the roiling of your heart; and all the while you kept rubbing your fingers along the smooth finish of the lid in your pocket as if in doing so you might suddenly be struck with what you currently missed and currently, desperately, needed.

The next day you walked up to Katherine utterly exhausted. Though you’d made a concerted effort to sleep, knowing that if not you’d just arouse more worry in Xiao, most of the night had been spent tossing and turning, your eyelids feeling paper thin as you attempted to drag yourself down into the depths of sleep. Of course now that the sun was shining you felt like even a stone bench would be a soft enough mattress. Blinking heavily you smiled awkwardly at Katheryne.

“Any commissions today?”

“Two ordinary sweeps and one request.” Katheryne tilted her head slightly. “Are you sure you don’t need rest?”

“I’m perfectly fine Katheryne, thank you for worrying. You said there was a request?”

“Yes. It seems that the citizen who noticed the Treasure Hoarders for us claims to have been robbed by them. He says to meet you at Dunyu Ruins so you can hand over the item.”

“And what item is that?”

“He said it was some sort of box lid. He didn’t give many details I’m sorry. If you’re uncomfortable though of course we could send someone with you.”

“I’ll be fine, thanks for worrying.”

“Of course! Good luck!”

“Thanks.”

You turned around, trying to stem the ice that flooded your veins. Who was this man to whom the cathedral belonged? How did he come across such an odd item, was he from one of the other nations of Teyvat you hadn’t visited? Most of all you wondered if he held some connection to your past. The idea thrilled you in some way, though dread also lingered. You weren’t entirely sure you wanted to meet this mysterious person. Commissions were commissions however; you wouldn’t betray the Guild. No matter how much you wanted to; you couldn’t.

The Dunyu Ruins were still, no monsters seemed to linger at the gates and no other adventurers peeked out from behind old walls. The air was utterly still, something which worried you greatly. Walking at an increased rate you sought out your mysterious commissioner. The more you thought about it the more you wished the whole thing to be over as soon as possible. Turning the corner you stopped in your tracks, gazing in awe at the person a few meters in front of you.

The first thing you thought was how oddly he was dressed. The second thing was that he was much younger than you had expected. The third thing was that you felt an odd sense of familiarity from him.

“Ah yes, the adventurer who accepted my commission. Have you brought what I asked of you?”

Though a response was certainly in order you found the words stuck in your mouth. Staring at him you felt the ground shift between your feet slightly. He was familiar, this young man in front of you, and yet he was also a perfect stranger. He seemed more like an apparition than anything, a spirit who had yet to cross to the far side. You stepped closer, reaching out your arm slightly. If you went to touch his shoulder, would your fingers go right through him?

“You really must think it’s odd that I’ve returned.” The man chuckled. “I assure you I’m completely real. You weren’t the only one to survive sister, though I know that information might be too little too late?”

“Sister?” You snapped out of your trance. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Surely you aren’t pretending not to recognize me? I think that’s beneath even you. Come now, was I such a brat as that?” Reaching out the young man went to grab your hand. Instinctively you pulled away, feeling discomfort shoot through you.

“I don’t know what you mean? And you certainly aren’t my brother! I’ve never had a brother!”

“Then who was the kid you lived with your whole life before the incident?”

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know about any incident or any brother. You asked me here to return something so I’m returning it.” Reaching for the lid you thrust the little work of art in front of you. “Here. Take it.”

“So you really don’t know who I am?” The young man reached out to take the lid. “How is that possible? Have they gone so far as to erase me from your memories? Have I been taken out of your family?”

“They?”

“The gods.” The young man’s eyes seemed incredibly harsh all of a sudden. “Their presumptiveness holds no bounds.”

“Don’t speak of the archons that way.”

“Answer me this,” the young man ignored your protest, “where are you from.”

“Why should I tell you that?”

“Humor me.”

“I…” You stood there for a moment, wondering whether or not you should tell this strange figure the truth. Morbid curiosity floated in your mind, and you took a sharp breath. “I don’t know. I don’t remember.”

“So I really have been erased from your mind.”

“Nothing’s been erased! I just don’t remember, should that surprise you so much?”

“Yes, it does. I see my plans will have to be changed.” The young man took a deep breath. “Very well then, we shall see what we shall see. I have an offer for you.”

“And what is that?” You felt suspicion wash over you.

“Join the Abyss.”

“Over my dead body!” Instinctively stepping away you drew your polearm. So that’s what this was about.

“I figured you might say that. However, let me tell you this. Our family was torn apart by the cruel whims of faraway gods. Teyvat suffered the same fate, still suffers it. You may not remember what happened to us, but I know it is buried in you somewhere. If you wish to avenge our family, then you’ll join us.”

“I have no petty thoughts of revenge against the gods.”

“That may very well change.” The young man smirked. “I’ll be back in a week. I expect your answers then.”

He was gone before you could say anything, carried away by a blanket of purple stars. You stared at the empty ruins, confused and empty, feeling far worse than you had felt when you arrived here.

“You look worse.”

“Thanks Xiao.” You let out a sigh, unsure how to respond.

You’d spent the rest of the walk back to the Wangshu Inn in agony, thoughts darting back and forth as you tried to reason with yourself about the veracity of the young man’s claims. There was no proof he was who he said he was after all, no proof that he wasn’t simply insane, or trying to convince you to join him by lying. Yet there was something about him, his demeanor, his anger, something that spoke to a truth about him. Not that the idea made you any happier. After all truth or not, he was still an Abyss member, or at least an advocate. You could never side with him, even if he was your long lost family. And yet what if he was your family? What then? Would it truly be a betrayal then to simply send him packing?

Xiao’s hand enveloped your own, the soft warmth drawing you out of your confused thoughts. Looking up you found him leaning into you, the tips of his hair lightly brushing your cheeks. His eyes bored into you ask he scanned your face. You stood perfectly still. You knew what Xiao was doing, knew that he was trying to figure out the depths of your discomfort. It was valiant of him, even if you hoped that he turned up empty handed. How could you tell Xiao, an adeptus who served directly under Rex Lapis, about the man who blasphemed the gods.

“You should sleep.” Xiao finally pulled away.

“It’s still early evening.”

“You didn’t sleep well last night, I could tell. You should sleep now; maybe you’ll feel better.”

“Maybe.” You replied, knowing that even if you slept better than you had ever before nothing would change when you woke up.

Still your eyelids were heavy and your feet aching. Sleep beckoned you with open arms, and you were quick to fall into its depths. Pressing a soft kiss on Xiao’s cheek you made your way up the stairs. Collapsing onto your bed you let out a sigh of relief. Sleep was coming on fast, and you quickly found the outside world swirling away. The last thing you were aware of was a dent in your mattress, and a set of familiar eyes staring down at you, filled with affection and worry.

It was dreadfully hot. That was the first thing you were aware of. The second was how loud everything was. There was a terrible sound swirling around you, inhuman shrieks seemed to rise up from the ground beneath you, accompanied with a banging that cracked through the air, echoing oddly in a night that was all too quiet. The third thing was that you had no idea where you were. Looking around you found yourself reeling at the scene that met your eyes. The house in front of you must’ve been nice at some point, but now had fallen into ruin and disrepair. Smoke was drifting up from a door that led into the ground, and bottles lay in pieces on the ground. A wall seemed to separate the house from the outside world, so tall that you had no idea what lay beyond it. Trembling slightly you felt yourself move towards the source of the noise, feet moving despite the rising dread that you felt. Making your way down a set of stairs a few lines came to you all of a sudden.

A ceiling of amber, a pavement of pearl

The smoke was thicker now, filling your lungs, leaving you short of breath. Little bits of orange blurred your vision, wielded by strange men in strange uniforms. They seemed distorted in the smoke, made into ghosts that might haunt a child’s nightmares.

Through the narrow paved streets, where all was still

You didn’t move your head towards the back of the room, somehow you couldn’t. Your very soul fought against it. Instead you closed your eyes, overwhelmed with how hot it was.

“You’ve come so far and you can’t even look?”

The voice was mocking, familiar, full of scorn. Opening your eyes you stared at the men in front of you, the men with fire at the tips of their hands. Why did he want you to look? You knew what you’d see. Somehow you knew.

We climb’d on the graves, on the stone worn with rains

You couldn’t make it out among the smoke. All you knew was that it was red.

You screwed your eyes shut, even as sudden clarity danced before you. Someone was calling your name.

There was a hand on your shoulder.

And alone dwell forever

The smoke cleared, and with it the dream.

The scream ripped through your throat before you could even process it. You knew that you should stop, knew that you were no longer dreaming, knew that the hand on your shoulder belonged to your terrified partner. Still you screamed. You screamed and screamed and screamed.

“Hey. Hey!” Xiao’s voice was frantic. Shifting your gaze towards him you felt yourself begin to tremble.

“It, it was true. It was true, I saw him. I saw him. I saw me. It was true. I, I, they’re dead. They’re dead.”

“It was a dream. No one’s dead.”

“But Xiao, they’re dead. He was right, they’re gone and dead and somehow I forget them.”

The loneliness slammed into you, mixing with the horror that sent your stomach churning. You dug you nails into your palm, desperately trying to stop shaking. Everything seemed distorted, the light emerging through the window just as menacing as the dark.

“Take my hand.”

Xiao pulled one of your hands on his lap, gently opening it and running his fingers over the marks that now rested in your palms. Unfurling your hand you it was flat against his he covered it with his own. Letting his palm rest gently against yours he looked up at you.

“No one is dead. You were having a nightmare.”

“I was remembering, Xiao. I finally remembered something. And now I wish I never had.” You unfurled your other hand, wiping furiously at the tears that pooled in your eyes. “I’m so alone Xiao, I’m so alone.”

“You aren’t alone.”

“My family, my family is gone. The only one left is an Abyss member. I, I’m so utterly alone.”

You felt Xiao drop your hand slightly. The sudden lost connection made your founder for a moment, but soon the feeling was lost as Xiao wrapped his arms around you. Pressing kisses to your forehead his grip was tight and strong, encasing you utterly in soft comfort. Letting yourself collapse slightly you leaned into his embrace.

“You’ll never be alone. I’ll always be here.”

If promises were conveyed in actions then you had no reason to doubt Xiao’s. Though the air around you was sticky with heat you found yourself pressing into your partner’s chest eyes more, soaking up every bit of connection that you could get. Xiao said nothing more, simply keeping you in his embrace, lips brushing against your cheeks as he kissed away your tears.

You knew that he wouldn’t ask about your brother that night, perhaps not even the morning afterwards, or even tomorrow evening. After all your partner wasn’t one for words, and your relationship wasn’t built upon the expectation of painful transparency. If you weren’t ready to talk he wouldn’t push you.

Eventually your tears slowed, though the pain in your chest still burned like a brand. Bringing your hands to your chest you gazed up at the adeptus who was still wrapped around you.

“Can we stay this way a little longer?”

Xiao’s eyes gleamed catlike in the moonlight. Leaning down he brushed his lips against yours, sighing slightly as you met him with exhausted ardor. Pulling back you rested your head on your partner’s chest. The dulled beat seemed almost musical, a reminder that Xiao was alive, a reminder that he was right next to you.

You had assumed in some way that it meant he didn’t care, or didn’t want to know. Though you would’ve never thought that before, the feeling of loneliness that had threatened to swallow you up had made that perfectly clear. Yet Xiao did care, cared enough not to prod and poke at wounds that were surely bleeding even now. Cared enough to kiss your worries away, cared enough to let you embrace him as long as you needed. Cared enough to show that you weren’t truly alone. 

In a week you’d give the young man who had once been your brother an answer. In a week you’d face the fact of your loneliness, of a family that you’d once been a part of. In a week you would let yourself be truly lonely. But until then you would listen to the familiar beat of Xiao’s heart as you remembered that you weren’t truly alone. That you never would be.

-------

The box lid itself was based off nothing in particular. The building painted on it is a reference to Saint Basil’s Cathedral. 

The poem I used was “The Forsaken Merman” by Matthew Arnold

The scene in the reader’s dream is a reference to the execution of the last Imperial family of Russia. It took place in the basement of the Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg on July 17th/18th 1918. 

[cherriesradio]

Mha relationship headcanons (Class 1-A)

Guess I’m doing headcanons now

(In order of seats cause it’s the first photo order on Google lol)

Gn reader

Yuuga Aoyama

He will lazer anyone who even dares to make fun of them

Always in need of attention

ALWAYS

if y/n is boing homework or something at their desk he’ll just dramatically sit down in their lap

“wHy aReN’t yOu PAyinG aTtENTion tO yOUr pReTtY bOYFriEnd?????”

“My little star” ❤️

Compliment wars

Y/n will compliment him once like “hey your hairs really soft today”

Shots fired

He is a rich kid and no one can convince me other wise

So one day he just randomly buys them like thousand dollar jeans and they just sit there like “???????????????? I mean thank you so much I love it but like ????????????”

Mina Ashido

Yeah she doesn’t have any hoodies anymore

“Girls” night is very important where it’s basically every other night where they sleep in each other’s dorm rooms but instead of going to sleep at 1am they go to sleep at 6am on a Friday

Every morning she puts a ridiculous amount of makeup on y/n and y/n the whole time is like “I am totally willing to go to school like this”

But by the end Mina just wipes it all off :(

Brags about each other CONSTANTLY

Kirishima and Kaminari made a whole mix tap of Bakugo telling them to shut up about each other

With Kaminari’s crappy beat boxing ✨

They both go to Momo’s dorm and all study together (let’s be real they aren’t really studying just kidding around) all the time

(If a female y/n) They get their periods at the same time and it’s so miserable cause they can’t take care of each other 💔

If Mineta hits on either one??

The next day the other will ask to train with him and he’ll think someone finally likes him back but turns out they were just trying to beat him up for revenge

Tsuyu Asui

HATES PDA

DON’T YOU DARE HOLD HER HAND NO

Headcanon she’s aromatic (aromatics can still want a romantic relationship with someone and fall in love and stuff, it’s just really unlikely) (feel free to tell me how it works; I’m in the community but haven’t done a large amount of research on aromatics)

Random compliments

Just randomly “hey *ribbit* your outfits really nice today”

💙 swimming dates or going to the pond💙

Double dates with the rest of the Dekusquad couples

Loudly cheers each other on in training

Y/n gives Tsu a frog plush and she’s to scared to sleep with it thinking she’ll drool on it or something so it’s on a shelf that only has special items

Remembers every little thing like they could say they needs to do something in a few months and Tsu will remind them

Eat Bento Boxes together at lunch all the time 🍱

Once y/n was like “what do I feed the pond frogs?????” And Tsu went on a long rant about how to handle frogs

She has a passion okay

Sends goodnight texts at like 8:30 and y/n finds it hilarious that she literally goes to bed at 8:30

(When they finds out about Bakugo they laughs at him and Deku mutters “he deserves it”)

“I love you” *internal panic, like that one spongebob scenes in his head where there’s a ton of little sponge bobs burning stuff* “uhhh um uh thanks” “WAIT IM SO SORRY I LOVE YOU TO SO MUCH” *bursts into laughter*

Tenya Iida

Study dates where they lose track of time and accidentally stay up till two in the morning

Definition of slow burn

Literally, for two years he clearly had a crush on them but didn’t realize it and at some point Deku and generally the whole Dekusquad got tired of it and Ochaco just yelled at him one day “YOU LITERALLY LIKE Y/N HOW DO YOU NOT NOTICE?!?!?”

He just like o ^ 0

Literally plans every date for weeks

He doesn’t love physical affection, he likes it just not all the time, prefers giving gifts and time to each other

Best listeners ever

(Slightly angsty headcanon) one time he had pulled a bunch of all nighters studying and failed a test from not taking in the info and cried and y/n comforted him :(

Literally thanks the universe every night for y/n because he’s a sweetheart

When his brother gets forced into retirement y/n comforts him SO HARD

Y/n would low key be on board with the “murder stain” plan if Iida told them

Cause they are best friends with his brother

When they first got together and they meet each other they thought he was super intimidating cause he’s the “if you break his heart I’ll break your nose” type but then became really good friends because of how each of them care for Iida (well that was what started it)

Doesn’t get jealous whatsoever

Y/n could literally kiss some guys hand or cheek and he’s just like “their a really friendly person and I trust them”

Arguments on who’s gonna pay for dinner lol and then he’s just like

“Oh my god what we split the Bill” like he just had the best smartest idea ever

And y/n’s like “ :0 that such A good idea!!!!!” Cause they are both semi himbo

Ochako Uraraka

As soon as Ochako said she was poor y/n just started randomly giving her money

“Hey Ochako how’s your day” “oh good good you” “yeah I’m doin good anyways here’s fifty dollars”

She makes y/n a ton of hand made gifts and likes baking for them (I headcanon that she likes baking uwu)

If she buys y/n anything they know she was saving up for it and appreciates the heck out of it

Volunteers at the family business all the time 😌

Her bed is covered in stuffed animals and when she misses y/n she cuddles up to them and y/n find it so sad yet adorable

They would be nervous to tell anyone so it would be a secret for a while

Until one day Deku asks if Ochako wants to study with him and Iida and find them cuddling while reading

He definitely freaks out and blush’s but tells no one

After a few months they do tell the class tho they supportive

Okay the whole Dekusquad and y/n calls All Might Dad

When their older they go to pride parades (even if it’s not a lgbtq relationship) and wear “free mom/ dad/ parent hug” shirt and it’s adorable

Constantly touching each other

Could be hugging or hand holding or even as little as just having their hand on the others shoulder

Both find it werid how they somehow have the same taste in music

Part 1 (gonna be four parts lol wanna do the whole class)

[wooyunhwa]

kingdom of welcome addiction | four

view pinned post for masterlist / links to the rest of the parts!

Genre: smut (with plot), this part is just suggestive, mostly plot

Pairing: demon!san x fem!reader / ???yunho x fem!reader 

Word Count: 3.7k

Warnings: a bit of blood drinking, not much else in this part tbh

Synopsis: A new boy from your class steals your attention, but something about it seems too good to be true. 

A/N: The plot thickens! I know most of you are here for the smut but this chapter is very important for later parts! Thank you for reading and comments are super appreciated as always! <3

The familiar alleyway. Why did you come back here? It went on endlessly, you couldn’t see the street from either side. You were running, but you weren’t sure why. Was someone chasing you?

A glimmer of crimson caught your eye from the shadow, a familiar flash of fangs sparkling in the thinly veiled moonlight. A bloodthirsty snarl painted his face. The demon from before? He stepped into the light, and his piercings glimmered in the flickering glow of the rusty street light. You swiveled to run, but the brick wall stopped your path. That wasn’t there before... 

You turned to meet his eyes, hungry with bloodlust, like a lion stalking its prey. He had you cornered. His proverbial lamb.

San. 

He lurched forward, his speed unmatched, pinning you up against the wall with a disturbing thud. You gasped as the wind knocked from your body. You opened your mouth to speak, but nothing came out, not even your breaths. His hands viced around your neck. Why was he doing this? Why? Tears poured from your eyes as he squeezed mercilessly. You couldn’t understand why. You thought he was supposed to protect you.

You heard him speak, but his words didn’t make any sense. His voice was a venomous hiss, poison dripping from his fangs as he trained his eyes over you, to the hands squeezing the life out of you. Why was he hurting you? What did you do wrong?  

Your body went cold as you writhed, unable to run, unable to scream, unable to breathe. Piercing black eyes watched you as you sobbed helplessly, searching for any remnant of life left in your lungs, clawing at his hands, silently begging him to stop. 

And then black.

The next thing you saw was the dizzyingly bright white of your ceiling. The sheets were drenched under you from sweat, blankets thrown everywhere from tossing and turning in your bed. 

Your hand came to your neck, tracing the faint scars from San’s teeth, remembering the grip of his hands around your neck. He could have killed you, back then, if he hadn’t snapped out of it. You would be dead. 

You were falling for him. But somewhere inside of you, somewhere deep in your subconscious, he terrified you.

Your next semester had been, so far, incredibly overwhelming—and it was still only the first day. You weren’t used to such a hectic schedule, usually opting to take most of your courses online, but your schedule this time was booked entirely on campus. 

Your last class of the day: Advanced Human Religion. Fitting, for your current entanglement with a particular demon. Admittedly, that was the reason you took the class. Maybe it’d give you a better picture of what you were dealing with. But probably not. 

You just wanted the day to be over—time felt endless in the constant drawl of class after class, boring lecture after boring lecture. 

Until you saw him.

Time seemed to stop as he rounded the corner through the doorway, like a slow-motion movie scene. 

He wasn’t your usual type, you were usually exclusively drawn to the “tall, dark and handsome” trope. He ticked only two of those boxes. One, he was incredibly tall. He towered over you, and most of the people in the classroom, a perfectly proportioned giant. Lean, limber, and absolutely stunning. Two, he was unbelievably handsome. 

But dark? He was exactly the opposite. He was a glowing ray of light, you imagined if this was a cartoon there would be golden glitter sparkling around him as he walked. His cotton-candy blue hair was styled neatly on his head, tousled gently in a way that looked purposeful. He was effortlessly gorgeous, almost ethereal. 

Part of you wanted him to take the empty seat next to you, so badly. The other part wanted him as far away as possible—not only because the butterflies fluttering in your stomach were making you too nervous to breathe, but because he was so pure he could probably detect the sin permeating from your aura. You didn’t deserve to even be in the room with someone so sparkly and bright. You’d been fucking a bloodthirsty demon, after all. And you had the scars to prove it.

He was walking in your direction. Fuck. What do you do? Look at him, look away? Look at your phone? His eyes trained on the seat next to you. As he walked behind you, your heart stopped completely, breath frozen in your chest. Why were you so nervous? Why?

He took a gentle seat next to you as you fumbled uselessly on your phone, trying to pretend you didn’t even notice him. 

Your eyes wouldn’t listen. You glanced over at him, and he met your eyes warmly. He flashed you the most heavenly smile you’d ever seen, his eyes forming into soft crescents. He looked like the embodiment of sunshine. “Hi, I’m Yunho.” 

You felt yourself shrinking as the heat rose in your cheeks, unable to keep calm as you tried not to stare too obviously at him. “I-I’m Y/N,” you stuttered, shifting in your chair as you tried to stay upright. 

Other than his ray-of-sunlight aura, he smelled incredible. Like warm, freshly baked bread wafting in the air on a summer day. He smelled like a nostalgia, like a distant memory you’d forgotten, but desperately wanted to remember. 

You didn’t have a chance to make too much conversation with him, as your lecture was about to start any second. You had a hard time focusing for the rest of the class—it seemed like both the longest and shortest hour of your entire life. The tightness in your chest was overwhelming, heart beating ruthlessly fast in your chest. You weren’t sure if he could tell from beside you how much you were struggling to focus, but if he even saw half of the nervousness you felt, he’d probably think you were crazy. 

The minute your professor dismissed the class, you practically sprang up out of your seat, too anxious to face him again, but his voice immediately stopped you, deep and smooth, from your side. “See you tomorrow.” 

A blush rose to your cheeks. You didn’t even consider that you’d have to go through this again. How were you going to handle these feelings every day? You smiled kindly, concealing your nerves the best you could. “Right, see you tomorrow. It was nice meeting you.”

You beelined your way out the door, practically gasping for air as you made it out of the classroom. 

You made your way to the bus stop, putting in your headphones, searching desperately for a song to calm your nerves. Your head was filled with images of him, ethereal and glowing. The first time your mind wasn’t filled with thoughts of San in a while. You didn’t exactly know what it was, but something about Yunho drew you in, had you completely flustered like you’d never experienced. Dare you say, even with San. What was it?

A shadow obstructed your vision for a moment, drawing your gaze up. And farther up. Yunho. He smiled warmly above you, his figure illuminated by light washing up behind him. You tugged out your earbud frantically as he opened his mouth to speak.

“You take the 5 too?” he asked, gesturing to your bus stop. “What a coincidence, huh?” 

You thought you’d gotten off easy today. You had no idea what to say, mind fumbling for words as his smile pulled you farther and farther into nervousness. Butterflies enveloped your stomach, creeping up into your chest. You were surprised when you managed to reply semi-coherently. “Long time no see,” you jested lightly, eliciting a cute chuckle from him. “Yeah, I take the 5. I could take the 11, but the 5 comes more often.” God, what were you saying? “Anyway, I meant to ask… are you new here?”

“Yeah, I just transferred here this semester,” he explained. Makes sense why you hadn’t seen him before. You heard the screeching of the bus’ wheels coming to a halt by your side, but you were entirely focused on him. He was so tall you nearly had to tip your head ninety degrees to meet his gaze with him standing in front of you, unlike when he was sitting next to you in class. “I don’t know many people yet.”

You boarded the bus with him, and he took a seat next to you. His heavenly smell was overwhelming, you wanted to bury your head in his fuzzy sweater and never let go. It was a weird thought, but you couldn’t help but think he would give really good hugs. Like a fluffy cloud in the shape of a human. You chatted lightly, mostly about the classes you were taking, your professors. It went all too fast, and when he got off at his stop, you almost wanted to follow him. But that would be really creepy. Despite trying to avoid him before, now that you were talking, you didn’t want to stop. 

You didn’t summon San that night. 

You wondered if he was watching you flirt with Yunho on the bus. He told you he’d stop watching you when you expressed your displeasure at him being so intrusive, but you wouldn’t call anything about San trustworthy. You almost wondered if he could read your thoughts sometimes. Would he be mad that you had such an undeniable crush on another guy? It’s not like you and San were dating, but you definitely had a relationship of some sort, however unusual it was. You recalled the bitterness in San’s voice when he mentioned you getting the handsome man’s number from the bar. You couldn’t imagine how he’d feel about you crushing on your new classmate. 

The highlight of your day quickly grew from summoning San to getting to talk to Yunho for a few moments before and after class and on the bus. You had undeniable chemistry with Yunho, and he was like a walking shot of pure serotonin, a bright ray of happiness in your otherwise dull days. 

You still summoned San at night every so often. He hadn’t mentioned anything about Yunho at all, not even a fleeting sarcastic comment. Maybe, just maybe, he was finally following through with his promise of not spying on you. 

The nights with San were nice, but you stayed away from anything explicitly sexual for a while. Your contracts became purely professional—well, as professional as an unprofessional demon boy cleaning your bathroom for you in exchange for your virgin blood could get.  It felt entirely wrong to lust after him so desperately while your mind was filled with thoughts of your new crush. You almost felt dirty when San was around, like a cheater, though you didn’t know who exactly you were cheating on. You and Yunho were mere acquaintances still, and yet being in the presence of your demon felt wrong. Sinful—and not in the good way. 

You rejected San’s flirting, shying from his soft kisses, ducking away when he pinned you like prey against your wall, pulling away from him when his hands explored your waist a little too closely. You craved him entirely, but it felt so wrong. You did, however, let him feed from you still—his lust for your blood was still insatiable, and you felt cruel not even letting him get a taste—but your newest condition was that he couldn’t use your neck. 

You couldn’t help but cry out when his fangs sunk into your skin, pain mixing with pleasure as San’s fangs pierced just above your hip bone. The scars were starting to compound, and with each bite, they seemed to heal less and less cleany. You definitely started to look like a vampire’s chew toy in a way you couldn’t just explain away anymore. 

His tongue against your skin had you squirming—the neck felt intimate, but your hips were even more so. You imagined his tongue dancing across your skin, his hand sneaking down below the waistband of your pants, his fangs pulling your panties off with his teeth. The fantasy dissolved in your mind when he pulled up from your skin, pushing the hem of your shirt back down while he swiped his other hand over his fangs, smearing the blood with a satisfied moan.

He kept his hand on your waist as he came up, finger tracing your chin, hungry for you after a long night of contracted housework. You could tell he wanted you, more than just your blood, he wanted you. He was begging for you with his eyes, lustful and intense. You wanted him too. You wanted your lips against his, pressed up against yours passionately, the feeling of his cold metal lip ring scraping your bottom lip. You wanted his hands all over you, you wanted to hear his sweet praises in your ear. 

But you also couldn’t get the image Yunho out of your head. The things you wanted him to do to you, even more so. The guilt wouldn’t let you go.

You shied away from San, breaking eye contact. “San—I—I’m tired. I just want to sleep.”

He sighed, clicking his tongue against his teeth in annoyance. Your constant rejections of him were probably suspicious, but you didn’t know how to tell him about Yunho. 

“Fine. But you know, something’s off with you.” He narrowed his eyes, his scrutinizing crimson gaze making you incredibly self-conscious. Like you were under investigation. 

“I’m just overloaded with school right now.” Were you really lying to him? That was a dangerous game.

“Are you lying to me? That pretty little face doesn’t hide very much, you know.” Fuck. “Whatever. I’m not obligated to stay here. Our contract is up anyway.”

“San, wait—” 

But he was gone. 

The empty space on your bed where he just was stung just as much as the still-fresh bite mark on your hip. You lifted your hand to meet your cheek, wet with saltwater. Why were you crying?

“Who knew a class about religion was going to have such a crazy workload?” 

You shoved your notebooks into your school back as you packed up at the end of class. The only class you looked forward to in the day also happened to be the hardest one—your professor turned out to be especially harsh with his tests, and assigned so much work you could hardly keep up. 

“Right? I thought this was going to be an easy one. Maybe I should have been tipped off by the ‘Advanced’ part of the class description,” you responded with a smile, eliciting one of his intoxicating laughs. You couldn’t help but smile when he smiled.

“Maybe we could study together?”

Your heart stopped in your chest, and you paused for a moment to weigh his proposal. It wasn’t a difficult decision. “That would be nice,” you said with a flirtatious smile. You hadn’t had a chance to hang out with him outside of the setting of school yet. Although it was just an invitation to study, it almost felt like he was asking you on a date. “I know a cafe we could go to. It’s open pretty late. We could go tonight if you wanted,” you added. 

A night free of demon drama would be nice for once. The guilt when you looked at San was practically eating you alive. You couldn’t lie to him anymore, but you also couldn’t face him enough to tell him the truth. You would jump on any reason to avoid having to have that conversation one more day.

“I’m not doing anything now, actually. We could go right now?”

You nodded with a soft smile. “Sounds great.”

The time flew way too fast as you studied at the cafe with him. You’d gone relatively early, but you somehow managed to still be there when they started ushering the customers out at closing. You were studying, but it also felt like a date of sorts. You were being particularly flirty, and if you weren’t imagining things, he was too. He bought you a coffee, held the chair out for you as you sat down, even brushed up against you a few times while you sat next to each other.

“Is it just me or did that feel like it went by way too fast?” Yunho asked with a laugh, holding open the door for you as you stepped outside.

You were met immediately with the cold night air, coughing you to shiver a bit from the chill of the wind against your skin. Yunho’s arm came down suddenly to wrap around your shoulders, his thick fuzzy sweater warming you in the cold, though he had to lower himself down a bit to get a proper angle on your shoulders. You melted into his touch immediately, heat rising in your face. It felt… right. You never wanted to leave this moment. 

“Would you like to come back to my apartment?” you asked hesitantly, not wanting to seem too forward. “To finish studying, I mean. We still have a bit left to go over.” 

Studying. Funny. That’s definitely not what you wanted to do with him right now. 

He squeezed his arm around you tighter. “I’d love to.”

You settled down at your apartment with him. You hadn’t had a guy in your apartment other than San in months. Actually, come to think of it, you hadn’t had anyone in your apartment other than San in that time. At least it was already sparkling clean, thanks to your demon maid. 

You settled on your loveseat couch—it was all you had room for in your small apartment. Yunho nestled up next to you, scooting up next to you until his hips were touching yours. You did your best to focus on the work in front of you, but you couldn’t help but feel distracted by what his touch was doing to you. It was so minimal it was almost non-existent, but even the faintest brush of him against you had you blushing and flustered. 

Yunho glanced over at you. “So, for this question, I think we need to—”  

But you couldn’t let him finish. You were leaning into him before you even had a chance to ask yourself what you were doing. Your lips met his softly. He tasted like sunshine, like heaven itself. He rocked back against you, hands lacing in your hair, moaning against your lips. You pushed back into him, savoring every taste of him. Your arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders, his hands moving to—

“Sorry to interrupt your fun.”

You nearly jumped a foot in the air at the sudden voice, echoing loudly off the walls.

San. He was standing in front of the kitchen, leaning against the counter top. His eyes glared darkly in your direction. 

“San, holy fuck. What are you doing?” you hissed, eyes flitting over to Yunho. He couldn’t just appear like that, he was going to get himself in massive trouble. 

He ignored you entirely, his eyes almost black as he drew his gaze over to your guest. “Yunho. Surprised to see you here. What business do you have with my human, exactly?

Did he just call him by his name? How did San—

“San. Always a displeasure,” Yunho responded at your side. 

What the fuck was going on here? You watched in shock as their eyes met, both seemingly as displeased as the other to see each other. 

“I’m sorry, explain to me what’s going on?” you asked with wide eyes, voice rising as your confusion compounded. 

San took a few threatening steps forward, like an animal protecting its territory. “Your little lover boy right here… is a former colleague of mine. Care to tell her, Yunho? Or are you just gonna lead her on, hmm?”

Yunho glanced at you, his big eyes filled with what looked like regret, then back at San vengefully. Anger didn’t look right on him. “You don’t have to do this, San.” 

San flashed his fangs in a sinister snarl. “If you don’t tell her, I will.” 

Yunho glanced at you for a moment, then back at San, hesitating. “San, really, you don’t have to do this,” he pleaded again, eyes wide as he glanced back at you. He shuffled closer to you, putting a hand on your leg protectively.  

“I warned you,” he growled. “So you’re going around kissing humans now, hmm? Is there some sort of new angel code I missed somewhere?”

I’m sorry, did he say angel? 

“You really aren’t the same San I remember,” Yunho said through his teeth, ruffling his free hand through his cotton-candy hair in annoyance. The other gripped tighter on your leg. “What did you think you’d accomplish by coming here, anyway?”

“I’m trying to find out what business you have with Y/N. She’s not even your assignment. You thought you’d just have a little fun with her, huh? Didn’t know you were the type to play with your humans.”

Yunho sighed. “I’ve been reassigned.”

“So she is your assignment now, is that it?”

“Yes.” Yunho dropped his gaze from San’s for a moment, locking it with yours for a moment. “You’ll have to forgive me,” he whispered softly.

Ugh. Why did every guy you fell for have to be not human? You knew a boy like Yunho was too good to be true, anyway. You were sensing a pattern. 

“You go around kissing all your assignments then?”

A blush rose to Yunho’s cheeks, staining them a gorgeous shade of rose. Even now, he glowed ethereally, fittingly angelic for an angel. Guess that explained why he was always sparkling. And why he smelled like the actual embodiment of heaven. “Not usually, no. I got caught up in the moment. It was unprofessional.” San rolled his eyes, clicking his tongue against his teeth mockingly, but Yunho continued. “I’ve been assigned to protect her.”

“From what?” San asked, relaxing his hostile stance back a bit. 

Yunho glanced at you, then back at San, uneasiness coming through in his gaze. 

“From you.”

[mangomochi-yn]

[like a lost puppy]

bnha. todoroki shouto x reader

g. the crackiest fluff, like actually cracky

tw. baku cursing ig? none really  wc. 1.3k lol

It was honestly a true wonder how you hadn’t noticed how much Todoroki paid attention to you. 

The whole class—heck the whole school even—though all knew how much the Icy Hot student cared for you. 

Whether it be pushing you to the side as Kaminari and Kirishima were being rowdy or whether when he gently removes an eyelash on your face— always giving you that same soft smile after. 

But even as he offers you his homework after you mentioned forgetting about it to your friend, the class truly was bewildered at how you seemed so oblivious and unaware of the boy’s constant actions. 

“Oh! Thanks Todoroki-kun! You’re a sweetheart, I swear!” You say as you gave him that same friendly smile you gave everyone else, not noticing how Mina just shakes her head in the corner— exasperated by your obliviousness. 

“You’re welcome, Y/N. But call me Shoto instead.” Maybe it was the sudden blush that crept to your face, or maybe the fact that despite all his caring actions, Todoroki was never one to pull an advance more than what was borderline (like very border, too much really) friendliness. 

This was a first and it had the class buzzing with excitement. 

You hadn’t noticed how it got seemingly more quiet— everyone’s attention trained on the two of you. 

“Oh, uh, sure. Shoto-kun.” Of course you just had to add the formality. Groaning, Mina finally drags you out of the classroom— not noticing how unlike the rest of the class, Todoroki’s smile was far from disappointed. 

As soon as Mina had you outside though, it was a whole different situation. “Seriously, Y/N? Do you seriously not notice what Todoroki’s trying to tell you?”

Your eyes bug out at her sudden outburst, confusion evident on your face. 

“What do you mean?” 

Mina groans yet again and you swore she was about to pull the hair off her head at that moment. 

“Y/N, listen to me.” After calming down, she then clasps both of your hands in hers, trying her best to keep her voice calm and steady. 

“He brings you a juice box every morning, walks down the halls with you despite how you’re always in a conversation with a different person during. He literally always has one eye on you and gazes at you as if you were the only thing he sees— do you really need more?”

Her composure fails her by the end of her little rant and she could only sigh as she sees your face unreadable, assuming it was of incomprehension. 

“He literally follows you around like a lost puppy, Y/N. Don’t you think it’s getting kind of obvious?” And finally as your face blooms into that of a rose, she shakes her yet again as if saying— “Finally, you’re starting to get it.”

Before you could even speak though, out emerges the boy in question, immediately taking place next to you with a look of worry on his face. 

“Is there something wrong with the two of you guys over here? We could see you guys just talking through the window and Mina seems... agitated.” Of course he came at the right moment. But actually...

“Oh, I don’t know Todoroki. I was just telling Y/N here how I think you had something to say, don’t you?” And as he glances to your form, seeing how you fiddle with your fingers, he wastes no time wrapping an arm around your waist— the whole class inside was silent watching in anticipation. 

What they didn’t expect though were the next words to leave your lips. 

“They found out and it’s all your fault, idiot.”

Found out? What exactly? So you knew? And what happened to the ‘Todoroki-kun’ and   ‘Shoto-kun’? Collectively, a million questions went around both Mina’s and the class’s heads. Only for it to be silenced by Todoroki’s statement. 

“Oh, was it that obvious that you and I were dating?” 

And it took approximately 2 seconds before Kaminari drops dead. Iida was spouting questions and comments a mile a second. Uraraka, Froppy, and Momo all just held each other by the shoulders as if trying to steady themselves. 

“Tch, about time you guys went out with it.” Bakugo sneers at the corner. 

“Wait, Kaachan, you knew?” This time it was towards the explosive blondie did everyone’s attention went towards to. 

And with that same annoyed expression on his face, he made an outburst in frustration. “Hah?! It was so fucking obvious so I asked the stupid half and half and he said yeah.” 

Meanwhile, it took you a second to register everything that happened before you had to lunge at Mina to stop her from falling as her legs gave out. 

“Wait? So that’s not what you meant by Shoto being so obvious?” Truly, you couldn’t even wrap your head around what was happening. “No, you idiot! We all thought he just had a big crush on you and you didn’t notice!” 

And collectively, as you took a glance at your newly exposed boyfriend next to you, him sharing that same look of confusion on his face —you two laughed and that laugh rang across the halls as if it mocked the class of their foolishness. 

“Oh my god. That is so funny. Shoto, I can’t believe they thought it was one-sided.” He pouts at your comment, grip tightening around your waist. 

“Hey, you’re the one that wasn’t showing me even an ounce of affection so of course they would think it was one-sided.” And you rolled your eyes as you flicked him on the forehead. 

“Then that would ruin the whole plane of keeping it a secret wouldn’t it? And why did you even tell me to call you Shoto earlier?! I had to rack my brain for an idea for it to not be so obvious because of your little stunt.”

“I missed hearing you call me that.” 

And really it was the kiss you two shared that truly broke the class. Their eyes all empty as they stared at the two of you in disbelief. 

“I gotta admit that was fun though. Maybe we should break up so you can keep courting me like that then.” You giggle as the boy nuzzles against your hair. Soft breath tickling your neck as he huffs a whine against it. 

“No. Now that they all know, you have to make up for the weeks of affection you didn’t reciprocate.”

Another kiss this time on his cheek, you laugh as the boy smiles against it.

“Alright, I’ll make sure to double it.”

bonus.

“How many months now?” “4.” 

“And why did you guys decide to keep it a secret?” “Well it wasn’t supposed to but somehow we got too deep and it just felt awkward to announce it then.” 

It wasn’t a surprise that, as soon as the shock had subsided and you and your boyfriend took your respective seats next to each other, did the whole class crowd and bombard you with a million questions. 

“You guys are the devils, I swear.” Kaminari finally woke up to glare at the two of you. 

“Especially you, Todoroki, we were all heartbroken at how Y/N didn’t seem to notice your affections but the whole time, behind the scenes you had her all to yourself?!”

“I believe Y/N is actually the more cruel one in this situation. She was the one that did not bother to even acknowledge all the affections nor being aware of it, therefore, she was the one being more harsh to Todoroki-kun.” Yaomomo and Kaminari argued.

If you knew that the class would be having a full debate on the whole situation for the rest of the day then maybe you would have gone against keeping it as a secret in the first place. 

“You wanna go skip while they’re all caught up trying to fight each other?” You whisper to your boyfriend, who frankly seemed a little bit unaffected than you thought was fair. 

What you didn’t know was that he was just glad that he could hold your hand out in the open and kiss your cheeks whenever he wanted to now. 

“Whatever you want, darling.”

a/n. lol this was honestly so extra. baby shoto just can’t hide his love for you okay?? 😪 please forgive him. also should i make a prequel? 🤔