#aka 'choose something /I/ want' like you could tell by the way she suggested it

[david-watts]

got chased away from the living room, again, because I asked if I could put something else on instead of listening to d*tton whinging about his nuclear power 'plan', and thus got told 'it's only for a few minutes' 'there's multiple topics in this programme' 'I we want to watch what's on next [in nearly half an hour] anyway' which I will continue on about in the tags inevitably but my m*ther accidentally did revenge for me by dousing her dessert in cream that expired a fortnight ago (which I suspect was kept because my grandmother doesn't have any rhyme or reason to what she keeps in the fridge, especially with dairy products. expiry dates are up for interpretation!)

[janehaster]

Mythal and Solas: Could both be lying, selfish bastards?

I'm not convinced Mythal was the victim of a plot by the Evanuris to murder her, as she claims. She could be lying about the circumstances of her demise, as well as about many other things, such as her image as Saviour of the People. No, no, hear me out before throwing rocks at me. I promise this will be interesting:

We don't know what happened in the time of Arlathan. The idol shows "a crowned figure" in terrible pain with her followers, and that's it. And by making a blood magic ritual, you can open a rift in the Fade that leads you to a place guarded by presumably a Pride demon in the shape of a wolf - we know it's Pride because a Spirit of Wisdom possesses many eyes and is the only one that turns into Pride - and that many people have speculated to be the Black City, the Seat of the Maker, the Center of All Creation, etc

Mythal claims she was betrayed and murdered. Solas also states the Evanuris killed her. But WHO orchestrated the whole thing? And who carried out the deed? And most importantly, WHY?

Now, Mythal is presented as this motherly figure, one that takes care of people and represents justice. But as we learned from the DA games, the stories about the Evanuris are all wrong. They're not Gods or Creators. They were Elven Magisters whose society thrived due to slavery and oppression. They were selfish and cruel, with Solas even stating one of them enjoyed blood sacrifices to their name.

Now tell me: where did Mythal's stories originate from? Not from the People. The records that exist and that told her past are the same fairy tale that the Dalish used to learn about their other gods.

And Solas is the only person who lived in ancient times that the Inquisitor knows. If he speaks well of her, then players will assume we have no choice but to believe him. However, we do know he was quite fond of her. Hell, they could even be lovers. And what lover is going to badmouth someone they miss and still care about?

"But you gotta take into account ALL that Flemeth did for the HoF and for Hawke! She's a good person! She helped our characters survive! She SAVED the HoF from that tower and carried Hawke all the way to Gwaren!"

Did she, now?

Do you remember exactly what Flemeth did in the past two games? Origins and Exodus (aka DA 2)? Let me help you remember:

In Origins, she doesn't help the Wardens. Not really. She was in dragon form. If she wanted, she could have decimated most of the darkspawn horde from above. Hell, she could have probably plucked both Duncan and King Cailan from the battlefield if she wanted. Yes, the darkspawn are evil and the taint is contagious, but who tf would mess with a dragon? I bet they give even an Ogre pause.

But no, she took the easier route and saved the two Wardens that were farthest from the battlefield and stayed out of harm's way.

What does she do, then? Being a powerful mage, one that could probably keep the HoF alive through most of their journey and make sure we don't die or become horribly maimed along the way?

She sends her daughter instead. And a daughter that, for reasons that become clear later in the game, has plenty of reasons not to trust her.

Now here is where Mythal's intentions become clear.

She doesn't accompany us not because she's old, since her age doesn't hamper her AT ALL, as proven when you choose to battle her and when she wipes out the darkspawn horde attacking the Hawke family in Exodus' prologue. She sends Morrigan because she's using her daughter to recover something of HERS. The piece of soul stored within the Archdemon likely belongs to her. She retrieves that piece through Morrigan.

In short, she risks her own daughter's life for SELFISH reasons. Morrigan learns Flemeth has MANY daughters, scattered across the world. And she's not wrong when she says her mother uses them when it's convenient.

Now get this: Morrigan clearly tells her mother "she's not ready" when Flemeth suggests she accompany the Wardens on their mission. You can hear in Morrigan's wavering voice how fearful she is of what her mother is asking her to do. Nonetheless, Flemeth insists Morrigan must go, under the guise of helping the Wardens, who "desperately" need her help.

Turns out in the end of Origins you DON'T actually need Morrigan's help!

You really don't.

What happens if you refuse to perform the Dark Ritual with Morrigan? Why, you or your Warden companion die while fighting the Archdemon. You vanquish evil and hurray, the day is saved! Flemeth doesn't get what she needs, her piece of soul dies with the dragon and the 5th Blight ends.

So how come Flemeth helped you in Origins, eh? She didn't, pal. Morrigan doesn't know shite about the taint, she doesn't know of any magic capable of shielding you or your companions from the contagious blood of the darkspawn you kill in your travels, she doesn't even know how you're supposed to win against the Archdemon! She DOES know about the Warden's little secret, but she doesn't know ANY magic that could easily defeat it. No, you have to fight your way through and beat the shit out of that dragon until it's actually dead. And that's it.

"But, but...she RESCUED you from the tower! She SAVED you from the darkspawn horde at Ostagar!"

You're forgettting something, pal. She NEEDED a Warden for her daughter to successfully perform the Dark Ritual. No Warden, no sex ritual, no reclaiming her soul piece. Again, she's using people - her daughter, in this case - to accomplish her own selfish ends.

.

.

Now let's look at Exodus.

Flemeth shows up and saves Hawke from a darkspawn horde. Granted, she didn't need to do it. HOW-E-VER, she did.

Remember the magical medallion/necklace/thingy she asks Hawke to take to Marethari, the leader of the elven clan staying at Sundermount?

She needed someone to take her precious Horcrux all the way up there. So she USES Hawke after doing something that would make them indebted to her. She saves their life and then names her price: take the medallion to the mountain.

Not only do we become agents of her will, she also flat out refuses to explain anything to us by being cryptic and speaking in metaphors.

And just what the hell did she have to do in Sundermount, so close to Kirkwall? What was so damn important?

Something tells me she was watching Morrigan from afar, discreetly following her to see what became of Kieran (she does mention her daughter when you speak to her)...but that's just speculation on my part.

.

.

Now let's take a look at Inquisition, and how it all comes together.

Flemeth is instrumental in helping the Inquisitor win against Corypheus. When Morrigan doesn't drink from the Vir Abelasan, it's Flemeth who teaches them how to summon a dragon in the fight (rather than becoming one, a skill only someone trained in it, like Morrigan, could dominate).

We also enter Mythal's temple in the Arbor Wilds and learn there are still elves SUBJECTED TO HER WILL.

I write this part of the sentence in capital letters for two major reasons:

This relates to how Cole, a spirit, was supposed to turn into a demon by remaining unprotected from Corypheus, and, therefore, subjected to his will. Mages are able to submit spirits in that fashion. And it seems the Evanuris found a way to do the same to non-spirits!

Notice how the elves all wear vallaslin at Mythal's temple, which means something very important and that probably went completely unnoticed: that Mythal MADE them wear blood writing on their face and that they were not free.

Read that again.

The elves like Abelas were not servants. THEY WERE SLAVES TO MYTHAL.

Remember how Solas removed the vallaslin from slaves who wished to be free? And why did he perform that ritual? Was that symbolic?

The answer is no. There's more to Solas' ritual than just represent freedom.

The reason is because the Evanuris likely mind controlled their slaves THROUGH BLOOD MAGIC.

The vallaslin likely contained blood from the Evanuris. And through that blood they subjected their slaves to their will.

"But we KNOW that's not HOW Mythal controlled her servants! What about drinking from the Well and Solas saying you were now bound to Mythal? What then?"

My dear reader, drinking from the Well doesn't make you obey her because that is done through the vallaslin. Drinking from the Well means you absorbed the souls of all the previous Mythal priests and are now bound to THEIR will, thus forcing you to obey her as well, even against your own will!

That's what Solas was warning you against. That's why the Inquisitor IMO should NEVER drink that shit. Especially after we learn the Inquisitor is one of the few people aware of Solas' insane plan.

So what was the point in Flemeth helping the Inquisitor in that mad fight?

Truth be told, Flemeth's role wasn't very clear in Inquisition. She was supposed to make an appearance at the temple and be betrayed by Solas (really, now, Mythal has a history of being betrayed several times over...).

Other than that, her appearance was meant to conclude her arc since Origins, by making her finally find Kieran and transfer her soul to him, turning him into the true inheritor, which was her plan from the start. A plan which Morrigan aborts and, surprisingly, which leads her mother to just...give up. Flemeth walks away and doesn't mind about her own fate anymore. She lets Solas steal Mythal's life flame and accepts her own demise.

HOW-E-VER...

We do get a glimpse of her true intentions in Mythal's warm family reunion.

You see, when asked by the Inquisitor why she's doing all this, Flemeth states it's "for a reckoning that will shake the very heavens". That's when she goes on a tirade about how she was betrayed, as the world was betrayed and how she carried Mythal through the ages, "seeking the justice denied to her".

Now this is where things become muddled in players' heads.

The Inquisitor states that FLEMETH helped heroes throughout history. Flemeth, not Mythal. And while Flemeth's backstory is tragic, it's not necessarily similar to Mythal's. Did Flemeth pursue justice for herself? Yes. Did she help people when needed? Of course.

Does that mean Mythal was behind those actions all along?

That's where I draw a big, fucking line and shout a resounding NO.

It was Flemeth's choice to help the HoF. It was Flemeth's choice to help Hawke. But did she help them out of the goodness of her heart?

The answer is another resounding NO.

The reason why she helps them both is SELF-PRESERVATION.

In the same dialog with the Inquisitor, Flemeth states that Mythal is as much a part of her as your heart is a part of your chest.

The one goading Flemeth to send her daughter Morrigan to retrieve the missing soul piece from the Archdemon is Mythal. We understand that after playing Inquisition.

But THE REASON why Flemeth goes along with that plan is because SHE ALSO DOES NOT WISH TO DIE.

"But...then WHY did she transfer her soul to Kieran? Isn't she going to die anyway? Doesn't that save Mythal? What about herself?"

My dear, naive reader. Didn't she just confess to you she became one with Mythal? Their souls are forever linked. In short, by saving Mythal, Flemeth is actually SAVING HERSELF.

Which brings us to the conclusion of this long ass post and the reason why Mythal is NOT a cute motherly figure, saviour of the oppressed, with innocent intentions toward the world.

Her personal quest begins in Origins. She finds a couple of Wardens and sends her daughter along with them for them to produce a vessel for her. She then tracks said vessel and, once it's ready, she'll fill it with her own soul and Mythal's.

And that's it. That's Flemeth's big motivation. Flemeth's, not Mythal.

Now comes the one million dollar question, the one burning in your mind, dear reader:

And what is Mythal's intention?

That's what Dreadwolf will have to answer.

But if you stayed with me so far and still believe Mythal is this holy saviour, then you haven't been paying proper attention...

Let's recap what happened, shall we?

Mythal had slaves, like every Evanuris.

She left clear instructions for them in the event of her demise (protect the Vir Abelasan).

She sees no problem in manipulating people to get them to do her bidding.

She likes to challenge authority (Flemeth, Andraste), placing the people she "possesses" in great danger.

She's vengeful and obstinate, having waited millenia for her revenge against her "betrayers".

She was Elgar'nan's wife, which means she was accustomed to being treated as a queen.

She's powerful (killed a Titan, can turn into a dragon), which would make her a formidable adversary to anyone who challenged her.

Solas, who we know to be a big LIAR - yes, omission classifies as lying -, states that Mythal was "the best of them" and that she was murdered.

Mythal is around not to save the world from impending doom. In her own words, she lingers for a reckoning that will shake the very heavens. That's to say, she no longer wants justice. She wants REVENGE.

(Thought about Anders, now, didn't you? What if Anders was a way for the devs to hint at Mythal's leitmotif?)

.

.

Now let's try to tie all this together without falling into Solas' or Mythal's fabricated narrative:

The Evanuris - one or many - brought Mythal's life to an end. Was she a tyrant? Was she a benefactor? Did she bring this on herself? We don't know. The player doesn't know. We only know of Flemeth and her personal quest since Origins. That's what we covered in this long ass post so far.

Their action seems to have fucked shit up and caused Solas to lock them up in the Crossroads, behind eluvians.

Afterwards, he raised the Veil and destroyed Arlathan, screwing the elves over in the process.

From here on, everything becomes foggy.

Solas went into uthenera. What was left of Mythal wandered into the waking world until it found hosts to possess. She then spent a long ass time creating vessels - her daughters - to ensure her ongoing existence.

The Magisters Sidereal murder tens of thousands of helpless elven slaves in a blood fest and open a fucking portal to the Fade.

They not only find out Thedas is a godless land, but contract some sort of magical black plague.

They return ugly as shit and contaminate thousands of unsuspecting innocents in the process. The Blights begin. Nearly everyone fucking dies.

A group of people concoct a potion using their knowledge of blood magic and convert the first willing soldiers into Wardens. The First Blight is vanquished.

Somewhere down the line, Mythal possesses Andraste and, after her betrayal and death, a new religion is born.

Time passes. Four Blights happen.

Mythal possesses Flemeth and both are now trying to take advantage of the Wardens to create a new vessel.

Some time, either now or in the future, Solas awakens and hands his Foci to Corypheus in an attempt to destroy the Veil and kill the big, evil magister. His plan backfires, because of course it does, and a lot of innocent people die in the process.

The Divine dies. A temple burns. There's demons and red lyrium everywhere. And the big, swirling green ass in the sky is formed. Along comes the Herald of Andraste and the Inquisition.

Solas skedaddles and forcibly takes what's left of Mythal's soul to himself and Flemeth's physical form perishes. To say we're screwed would be an understatement.

We meet Solas yet again two years later and he spews whatever bullshit to make the Inquisitor believe Mythal was such a wonderful person and unfairly killed while revealing his insane plan to reset the world for no rational or logical reason other than his desire to play god. Sounds like you should take what this guy tells you with a grain of salt, huh?

.

Finally, dear reader, we come to a conclusion. The truth is, we know nothing of Mythal save for her ardent desire for REVENGE. Not justice, but REVENGE. And what form will this revenge take is troublesome, to say the least. She has some spite against the Evanuris, but truth is in the eye of the beholder.

We DO know some of the Evanuris were downright evil, like Falon'Din - who enjoyed blood sacrifices in his name - and Ghilan'nain - who turned people into monsters. Does that mean every Evanuris or Elven Magister was necessarily evil? Did they all deserve to be locked away? Was Solas doing it to avenge Mythal or was something else going on?

And if they were indeed evil, then...why is Solas working so hard on recreating Arlathan?

Just think about it. The moment he brings down the Veil, he's giving the elven people a chance to go back to being as they were. This means that elven mages will find themselves detaining unimaginable power over their peers. And the most powerful among them will just commit the same mistakes the Evanuris did in their time: wage war on their rivals, search for more powerful forms of magic, sacrifice their people in the pursuit of power and prestige and name themselves gods.

Is that world really better than how Thedas is now? Should magic really roam free and unrestrained, as Solas wants?

Or, rather...as Mythal wants?

Because I'm still not convinced this is all Solas' plan...

...just as I'm not convinced that "wolf spirit" isn't ordering Solas around, rather than the other way around.

A reckoning that will shake the very heavens...

Solas and Mythal having a long history together since the time of Arlathan...

Mythal manipulating people for millenia with promises of power and an extended lifespan if they let her "possess" them...

I think Mythal will return in Dreadwolf...but she's not the heroine many people were misled to think she is.

[finerandbonnier]

Much Nicer than Paperwork

There is a corridor toward the back of the Bazaar where the Tragedy Commission keeps its offices. You would not know it. This hallway is poorly signposted, dimly lit and often mistaken for a broom closet by the more junior staff. This is because the Commission does not get visitors.  Except today.

Aka Betty pesters Griz at work.

Rated: Teen || Words: 2,536 || [AO3]

My fic for @the-masterless-press as part of the secret swap portion of @fallenlondonficswap.

When Grizelda Smith entered her office at the Tragedy Commission, her arms loaded down with a stack of paperwork she could only just see over the top of, she had expected it to be empty. A woman of reason, her grounds for this belief were twofold:

One: The only people who would have a reason to visit her office (or indeed knowledge of its location) were her colleagues in the Commission or perhaps one of the Masters. Both categories were comprised only of exceptionally busy people who would have made sure to schedule an appointment to avoid missing her, or in the event of an emergency requiring her attention they would not have waited around for her but instead have left a note, of which there was none. And,

Two: Her office had been (until she had opened it) very, very thoroughly locked.

Which was why the appearance of Betty Horvat sprawled across the arms of a Gainsborough chair that should have been unoccupied, eating biscuits from a plate that should have been tidied away came as something of a shock to Griz.

“Please tell me you did not walk in through the front door,” Griz said.

“‘Course not,” Betty replied with a grin, “I scaled the building instead, slipped in through the window.”

They were on the eighth floor and the window in question had been locked and barred. There was a pause as Griz’s brain attempted to take in that knowledge and produce an intelligent response. It failed.

"That’s not funny.”

“That was not a joke,” Betty replied, although the mirth in her voice suggested that she was finding this quite amusing.

Choosing not to respond to that beyond a resigned shaking of her head Griz instead walked over to her desk and deposited the paperwork she was still carrying onto it. Ignoring the loud, contented chewing noises coming from the chair opposite she gave an idle flip through some of the documents, dipped her pen into the nearby inkwell and made one brief amendment before giving up and turning to face Betty.

“I’m sorry but you’ll need to leave,” she said in a voice sterner than her face appeared.

“You don’t want to see me?" Betty asked with mock hurt, "And after I came all this way?”

“I don’t mean it like that, but you know you cannot be found here. You’ll have to leave.”

Betty hoisted herself from the chair and began to move across the room in the opposite direction from the door.

”Not out the window!” cried Griz as she realised Betty's intended destination.

“But you said I wasn’t to go through the front door?”

Griz sighed, “No, you’re right.” Betty might be being facetious, but she had touched on a genuine issue. “Damn it, you’ll just have to wait here until the coast is clear. Which I hope you realise may be some time.”

“Brilliant!” Betty replied as she returned to her seat and Griz’s attention drifted back to the documents in front of her, now satisfied her partner was not about to take a running leap out of the building. “So, what do you want to do?”

“I want to finish this paperwork, which will take me most of the evening, while you sit quietly in the corner.”

“Well that’s boring.”

“Perhaps you should have considered that before you broke in here to bother me at work.”

“Oh, it’s not all bad. The view’s quite nice.”

Griz glanced back up to find, perhaps unsurprisingly, that Betty was not looking at the view of the city skyline but staring directly at her, waggling her eyebrows in a manner that should have been ridiculous but instead left Griz’s cheeks flushed pink.

“Then you shouldn’t have a problem sitting there quietly while I work,” Griz said, fighting to keep her blush under control as she picked up her pen again.

“For a bit, perhaps. I’ll just try my hardest not to distract you with my beguiling gaze.”

To her credit Betty stayed true to her word, remaining quiet and, for her at least, still while Griz made progress through the overly loquacious text on the forms in front of her. Even so, Griz found her presence distracting. Normally it was easy for Griz to compartmentalise, to leave the parts of herself that would get in the way of her job at the doors of the Bazaar when she strode through them each morning and focus on the task in hand, whatever it may be. It was something she prided herself on. Now her eyes kept drifting up to Betty as the other woman fidgeted just on the edge of her vision and Griz found her mind continually wandering to more interesting things than paperwork.

The peace couldn’t last however and by the time Griz had worked her way through the first few documents Betty, having clearly become bored with what little entertainment Griz provided as she worked, got up out of the chair and strode across the room. Griz braced herself for whatever mischief she was about to be subjected to but to her surprise and slight disappointment Betty only stopped by her to open the top drawer of her desk. The disappointment quickly gave way to annoyance once Griz realised exactly what Betty was rooting around for.

Putting her pen down Griz moved to intercept. “Leave those biscuits alone, they are for guests.”

“I’m a guest,” Betty replied, not pausing her search for even a second.

“No, you are an intruder. Intruders do not get biscuits.”

“This one does,” Betty replied with a wolfish grin as she found her quarry and swiped another biscuit, one of the fancy pink ones, before Griz could remove the packet from her reach. Her fingers had only just cleared the edge of the drawer when Griz it slammed shut.

Betty wasted no time in tucking into her prize before speaking, “You nearly finished?”

“No,” Griz answered with a sigh.

“What’s it all about?” Betty asked, gesturing at the form Griz had been working on with her biscuit bearing hand and scattering crumbs across the paper.

“Something private and extremely boring.”

“Try me.”

“Alright then. If you must know, it’s a document detailing the recommended response procedures should London find itself attacked by a swarm of Burrowing Vesperwasps.”

Betty leaned forward over the desk to peer at the writing. “That’s not boring! That’s positively interesting. Do you think I could take a Burrowing Vesperwasp in a fight?”

“One, certainly. A dozen, perhaps. An entire swarm? No.”

“Ye of little faith. But seriously, if this is the sort of stuff you’re looking at perhaps I could help. I do know a bit about fighting monsters.”

“Oh, by all means.” Griz picked up the top file and began reading from it, “In the eventuality of an oversteppening of the covey of Vespula vesperinfodio most recentally beholden in the vicinihood of Bullbone Isle it is our advisement that the aegisening of London must take a tridential approach—“

“Woah, woah, woah, woah. What in the hells is that?”

“Ah, you’ve noticed the issue. This was drafted by a colleague who until recently worked under Pages, apparently it has rubbed off on the poor man.”

“Poor man? Poor you having to read through that tripe. Couldn’t you just… trip and lose the papers into the fire?”

“Obviously not.”

“I could toss it in the fire for you?”

“No.”

“Could—”

“The document is not going in the fire. The information contained in it will play a vital role in the defence of London one day. Or at least it might once I’ve translated it into English.”

“Are they all like that?” Betty reached out to leaf through the stack of documents before Griz slapped her hand away.

“Not at all. Some are an illegible combination of euphemisms, acronyms and shorthand, some take several thousand words to say nothing at all and the few that are written in clear, concise English will inevitably be completely and utterly wrong.”

“I’m beginning to see why you can be so sour when you leave work.”

“I am never sour!” Griz sputtered, “I’ll concede I might be a little tired sometimes after a long day but I do a very good job of leaving my work, and any mood it may have put me in, at work!”

“If you say so love” — Griz shot Betty a glare that suggested she very much did say so — “but you might want to take a break, you’re doing that furrowed brow thing you do when you’re feeling sou— er, a little tired.”

Griz’s initial instinct was to strenuously deny the accusation and attempt to relax whatever her forehead was apparently doing but on further consideration a break didn’t sound wholly unreasonable; she wasn’t making much progress between Betty’s presence and the headache she could feel forming at the base of her skull. She could shoo Betty away, pick up her pen and attempt once more to extract some form of meaning from the text in front of her. The progress would be slow and painful though, and the task wasn’t really urgent. It could wait until the morning when she was well rested.

Perhaps it should.

If there was anything this job had taught her, it was that sometimes the wisest course of action was to recognise when one had been beaten and capitulate without kicking up a fuss.

With a little nod of her head Griz acquiesced, “Let me get these next few documents in order. Then, perhaps, I could be convinced to take a… comfort break.”

“Is that what we’re calling it now?” Betty interjected, a sly grin on her face.

“No! Absolutely not, not in my office! Anyone could walk in.”

“You know for some people that adds to the experience. But fine. Cuddling’s still an option though? Perhaps kissing? Somewhere over by the fire, under all those books and papers there appears to be a rather sweet little loveseat which would be excellent for cuddling. Or is that off limits too?”

Griz looked equal parts tempted and exasperated and wholly adorable. “I— Fine. Let me lock the door. I really should have done that earlier.”

“Aw, did I distract you?”

“No,” Griz lied.

Griz made her way quickly across the room and locked the door. Then she joined Betty by the fire where the other woman was hastily transferring the mess of books and random parchment from the top of the settee into an even more haphazard pile on the floor. Once the seat was clear (bar a few loose pages stuck between the cushions) Betty spun on a heel and threw herself dramatically backwards onto it, one hand reaching out as she did so to grasp Griz’s wrist and pull her unsuspecting partner down with her. Griz let out a little squeak as she fell. One arm still in Betty’s grip Griz just about managed to catch herself with the other before she fully collapsed onto the chest beneath her.

There wasn’t much distance between the two women but even so Betty seemed dissatisfied by the gap. Her arm slipped around Griz’s back and with a firm tug pulled the other woman flush to her chest as she shuffled backwards, getting herself comfortable on the bare cushions and Griz comfortable on her. Satisfied with the new position her head dipped down to press a kiss just below Griz’s ear, followed by another and another and then a quick nip at the sensitive skin.

Lips still flush against Griz’s neck she mumbled, “There, isn’t this much nicer than paperwork.”

“Hush,” Griz replied in a slightly breathy voice.

Betty hummed as she continued her ministrations, quite happy to comply with Griz’s demand; after all there were much better uses for both of their lips than talking. Had she been feeling more patient she might have considered teasing Griz, she might have trailed her kisses up along Griz’s jaw, might have drawn out the moment. Instead she moved to capture Griz’s lips with the speed and precision of a hunter going in for the kill.

It was a searing kiss and one that was responded to immediately and enthusiastically. With one hand remaining against Griz’s back, pressing the other woman somehow even tighter to her, Betty brought the other up to meet her partner’s neck. There she traced across the pulse point with her thumb before continuing down to release the top two button of Griz’s tightly starched shirt collar. Relief paired with the soft touch of a nail that was closer to a claw trailing down the centre of her throat left Griz gasping for air around the kiss.

Griz reached up to cover Betty’s hand with her own and locked their fingers together as their lips continued to dance. Then she dragged Betty’s hand lower, between her breasts and across her stomach where only the thin material of her shirt separated soft flesh from Betty’s touch. She had almost managed to move it to her waistband when a sudden knock at the door echoed through the small room.

Startled Griz threw herself backwards off Betty and landed sprawled across the carpet with a thud.

“Commissioner? Can you spare a minute?” A voice called out from behind the door.

“Hide!” Griz hissed at Betty, her voice torn between staying quiet enough she couldn’t be heard by the intruder and loud enough to express her displeasure at almost being caught fooling around like a naughty schoolgirl.

“Where?!” Betty replied in her own exaggerated whisper.

“I don’t know! Look, just duck behind the settee and stay still while I get them to leave.”

“Better idea, I’ll answer the door and kill whoever it is for interrupting us.”

“Absolutely not!” Griz struggled to keep her voice low.

Betty, on the other hand, barely seemed to be trying to keep quiet. “It’s not like it would be permanent!”

“Still no!”

“Griz there is nowhere for me to hide in here where I wouldn’t be instantly spotted. Either you let me handle this or…”

“Or?” Griz asked, knowing she would not like the answer.

“Or I leave the way I came in?”

The knocking on the door intensified, followed by the muffled voice from the other side speaking out, “Commissioner? Is there someone in there with you? Please let open the door, this is very urgent.”

Griz swore under her breath as she resigned herself to Betty’s solution out of necessity and nothing else. “Fine. Just don’t hurt yourself. Or let anyone spot you.”

Moving without any particular sense of urgency Betty crossed the room then removed the bars from the window with ease and bypassed the lock. All the while the knocking at the door continued. Hopping up onto the windowsill she paused for a moment, holding herself half in the room, half in the cold night’s air as she spoke, “You know, this was fun, we should do it again sometime. Oh, and you might want to tidy yourself up a bit before answering the door. You’re looking a little… dishevelled.”

Then, before Griz could respond with what was sure to be a particularly outraged curse, Betty allowed herself to slip backwards, disappearing into the dark London streets below.

[rickie-the-storyteller]

Happy STS! Your characters are invited to a Halloween party; costumes required. Tell me what they're dressing up as and how the night goes. 🙃

Hey, @toribookworm22! Thanks for the ask, love. (And sorry for the late response. I'm really behind on all my asks... I've been super busy lately, with settling into uni and everything. Better late than never, right?

This scenario is fascinating to me. I've personally never really celebrated Halloween (my mum wasn't a particularly big fan of the general idea of it haha), but I liked watching Halloween specials on TV and seeing characters in costume there. They'd typically choose costumes/outfits that related to who the character is as a person in some way, or link it to a particular interest they'd have or something, which I often thought was a clever touch. My characters all have very distinct personalities and interests, so it's going to be fun thinking of costumes for all of them!

Let's go!

I think I'll just do this for the main characters in Steph's Crew as usual (even though it would be cool to do this for some of my other characters in my other work... part 2 maybe?)

Stephanie:

I could see Steph going with many different options, you know...she loves clothes and fashion/aesthetics, so she'd likely want to really lean into that. Here's a couple of ideas, though:

Catwoman costume - a sleek, confident choice that mirrors her bold personality. This was honestly the first thing to come to my mind (the second being one of those tight-fitting superhero costumes, which she'd probably also like), which I think says a lot haha.

The Phantom of the Opera - where she can fully embrace the elegance and mystery of that kind of character. She'd captivate everyone with her theatrical flair and presence. Plus, it's also kind of edgy at the same, which would definitely suit her lol.

Pirate costume - Steph would love this vibe... like, she'd love to just be a fierce pirate captain and boss everyone around (like she does on a regular day anyway lol). And I think she'd really pull this look off, too.

Punk rock queen - This connects with her rebellious nature... and I think this is probably the closest to how she is generally. Like, this one is the least "costume-y" to me. She could lean into this look/aesthetic with a leather jacket, spiked bracelets, and dramatic hair and makeup. And speaking of makeup...

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) style skull makeup - I've just rewatched Coco lol. But that movie is so pretty, bro (everything about it!). I think she'd maybe take inspiration from that whole thing. Maybe put her own spin on it in some way.

Bret:

This guy was easy lol. There was always one

Classic 80s punk rocker - Complete with wild hair, torn jeans, and an abundance of accessories (like crazy hair/wigs, sunglasses, etc). He loves rock music (as well as just music generally), and rock in particular is all about rebellion, which is a big part of Bret's character. Maybe he could even dress as a real rockstar...

The Joker - This could also be an interesting backup... a fitting choice for his rebellious and unpredictable nature. This also links to his character in the actual story, since Batman is actually a movie he suggests for a date with Elise lol. And speaking of...

Elise:

I have a couple of ideas for this girl, too. All sort of fitting the same vibe.

Belle from "Beauty and the Beast" - aka one of the few Disney Princesses that I somewhat resonated with growing up lol. I feel like El would be the same way. She and Belle have quite a lot in common! She has the wrong hair colour, though... so she'd need a wig, as well as a gorgeous golden ball gown (NOT the one from the 2017 live-action remake lol), and a book to maybe have as a prop or something.

Sherlock Holmes - another character known for their intellect and sharp attention to detail. She'd probably find him very cool and interesting lol. Plus, I think she's made a very good detective (which we kind of see in book 2, actually... kind of).

Hermione Granger - another brainy bookworm! Someone else she'd probably vibe with. These two girls have a ton in common, too (all the way down to falling in love with a boy that's suuuuper different from them personality-wise lol).

An enchanting forest nymph with delicate wings and a flower crown - she's really into fantasy. Especially fantasy creatures. And nymphs are fascinating due to what they symbolise/what they are associated with. They're female spirits of the natural world and are seen as the crafters of nature's wild beauty, from the growing of trees, flowers and shrubs, to the nurture of wild animals and birds, and the formation of grottos, springs, brooks etc. As such, they are often associated with the beautiful but fragile nature of the world in most stories.

Sooo... book characters, basically. Any kind of smart or powerful book character ever.

Dylan:

This guy should be fun!

Superhero outfit! Like, The Flash, for example - This could reflect his athleticism and enthusiasm.

Some famous sports legend - Complete with a sports jersey and a fake championship trophy. I know almost nothing about sports, so I couldn't give any specific examples... but maybe a footballer/basketball player? Since those are his two favourite sports.

A dashing, debonair classic movie star from the golden age of Hollywood - He has the class, style and flair to pull off this look. I'd also suggest this for Ben (Stephanie's boyfriend), but he technically doesn't count as an official member of the crew (he's sort of there as an honourary member, purely due to his involvement with Steph, as well as his history with Alice and her family, but he doesn't do much with them due to being busy with his own stuff. And not going to school with them in book 1)

The Mad Hatter from "Alice in Wonderland" - Suits his energetic, playful and slightly eccentric nature. Also matches with Alice

Thor - Greek god of thunder! As well as a strong and heroic choice that matches his athletic and supportive nature. I loved the Thor Ragnarok Marvel movie lol.

Alice:

Last but not least...

Alice from "Alice in Wonderland" - That way she'd never have to pretend to have a different name.

A fairy godmother - to compliment Mary's Cinderella! The twins often do this sort of stuff together.

A detective - Lowkey, she'd probably be more likely to go as Sherlock Holmes than Elise... she's very big on mysteries. Ally would make a fantastic, quick-witted and sassy detective. Complete with the iconic trench coat and magnifying glass, of course.

Wednesday Addams - Ok... but this one is perfect for her lol. Alice is just meant to be Wednesday. I mean, Wednesday is already her favourite Addams Family character... and she definitely has the wit and energy for it. She shares Wednesday's dark humour and a touch of vulnerability that makes her as popular as she is. Although, she'd probably struggle with maintaining that cold, stern, deadpan demeanour.

As for how the night would go down... well, how about this:

___

(Stephanie and Ben pull up to the party venue. Steph is all dressed up in her Catwoman suit inspired by the movie starring Halle Berry)

Stephanie: You sure you don't want to come? Not even for a little bit?

Ben: I really shouldn't, babe. I've got work tomorrow.

Stephanie: Just pop in and say hi to the gang real quick. It won't hurt.

Ben: Honey, I'm busy. I really can't stay long, you know that.

Stephanie: (sighs) I know...

Ben: Try and have a good time without me, yeah?

Stephanie: Alright...probably shouldn't be too hard.

Ben: (chuckles) Really?

Stephanie: Yeah. (shrugs) I mean, you're not THAT fun.

Ben: (laughs) Hey!

(The two hug and kiss, and then Stephanie leaves the car and goes inside to meet up with her other friends, who are all dressed up in their costumes)

Stephanie: Well, don't you all look like the cat's meow?

Elise (dressed as Belle): Hey, sweetie! (gives Steph a hug)

Dylan (as The Flash): You look really good, Steph.

Stephanie: Aw, really?

Dylan: (smiles) Yeah, you do. I love your costume.

Stephanie: Thanks, bro.

Alice (dressed as Wednesday Addams): That's funny.

Stephanie: What's funny?

Alice: The fact that you called him "bro" when he was clearly trying to make a move on you.

Stephanie and Dylan: What?!

Alice: Oh, come on, Dylan. I know what you're like with women. I mean, seriously... "You look really good?" "I love your costume?" That's code for, "You're looking like a hot tasty snack today, babe."

(Stephanie laughs out loud and continues laughing as she walks away with Elise. Dylan looks mortified)

Dylan: Why are you being like this, Ally?

Alice: It's the costume, Dylan. Being Wednesday just does something to me, I don't know.

Dylan: Well, whatever it is, I hope you're back to normal tomorrow...

(Stephanie and Elise head over to Bret and Mary)

Stephanie: Look at you two! Loving the punk vibe, Bret. Where did you get all this stuff from?

Bret (dressed as an 80s punk rocker): What are you talking about? This is regular Tuesday evening attire for me.

Mary (dressed as Cinderella): Yep. Same here.

Stephanie: (laughs) Ok, but seriously. Where did you get this stuff?

Bret: Does it really matter where I got it?

Elise: His uncle Gordon let him borrow some of this stuff.

Bret: EL!

Elise: What?! Oh, come on, there's no reason to be like that, babe. I think it's cool that you're making an effort to fix things with him.

Stephanie: Yeah, me too. What got you to change your mind about him?

Bret: (sighs) He and Aunt Rach have agreed to give their relationship another shot. Only God knows why. But I figured, he's going to have more and more of a presence in my life, so I may as well make the best of it, right?

(A new song comes on)

Elise: Ooh, I love this song! Somebody come dance with me!

(Mary goes with Elise to the dance floor, and they start bouncing around and singing along to "Tik Tok" by Ke$ha. Bret and Stephanie watch)

Stephanie: So... you fancy a dance on the wild side or what?

Bret: (shrugs) Sure! No slow dances, though.

Stephanie: Oh, why not? Nothing's going to happen, you know.

Bret: Oh, it's not that. I just don't have the patience for swaying on the spot for ages, you know?

Stephanie: Right... yeah.

Bret: Plus, El is literally right there. So...

Stephanie: Yeah. You're right. Come on, let's go!

(Sooner or later, the whole crew is having fun together on the dance floor)

[jasonbehrs]

🎭 wear your heart where i can see 🎭

by airauralintensity (aka me, jasonbehrs!)

a dbsk fanfic about falling in love on a trial run

“But you’re a dude!” “That will continue to be true for every lesson in the curriculum, so I suggest you get over that quickly.”

ship: yunjae chapter: 8/10 word count: 2.4k+ rating: T+ for cursing

read it on ffnet, aff, ao3, or below!

~~~

As proof of what Jaejoong is choosing to call growth, the next time he hears from Yunho again, it doesn't make him regret all of his life choices and want to start over as a cat café part-time employee in Japan.

Hello, Jaejoong. I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out because Boa wants to meet my best friend. Believe it or not, that's you. Sorry you have to find out this way. Do you think the three of us could grab lunch this weekend? On me, of course. Whether or not you can make it, please let me know. Take care, Yunho

Jaejoong snickers when Sooyoung finishes reading aloud. "Doesn't it read like an email between coworkers, not a teenager asking another teenager to hang out," he jibes as he opens and closes drawers in her room out of boredom.

"Apparently, though, the pleasure-to-have-in-class with undiagnosed anxiety is your type."

"Shut up!" He grabs a random shirt to throw at Sooyoung, who laughs as she bats it out of the air. "My type is guys with duality."

"Yunho has duality! His defense mechanisms are conformance to social etiquette and hand-to-hand combat."

He can't even meet her deadpan gaze for three seconds before they both burst into laughter. Maybe for other people it would be weird to share an ex with your best friend, but for the two of them it just gives them a new inside joke to add to their banter repertoire.

"So are you gonna go?" she asks once she has the air to spare.

Jaejoong keeps his arms loose and flops them around like a child who doesn't want to do what he's told. "I don't want to. It's only barely gotten easier to see them together at school. How am I supposed to spend an entire meal around them? And she knows us, too; she'll want to know how we met! I can't just tell her I taught him how to date so that he could be a better boyfriend to her… But on the other hand, if he's asking me, that means the hapkido team isn't an option; and it's not like Yunho has other friends. He's too busy dating anyone who'll ask to form genuine connections with people," he grouses.

"I can see you've really gotten over the whole falling-for-the-fake-boyfriend dilemma. I'm proud of you."

He sends her a withering look, and she responds with an air kiss.

"What would you do, Soo?"

"Honestly, under normal circumstances, I'd go just to see whether the new girl is a downgrade," she says frankly, "but we already know Boa."

"For your sake, I'll call her a downgrade."

"Yours, too." They share another laugh, neither of them under any delusions about where they rank compared to Kwon Boa.

"I think I know how you can answer the best friend origin story, though," Sooyoung continues. "You both know me. You could say you guys met while he and I were dating, and you got along well enough to keep being friends even after we broke up."

Her words remind Jaejoong of something. "Oh my god, wait. While you two were dating, you mentioned me, right? Like, in the context of being your best friend."

"Of course! Maybe even every day."

"You know he didn't even recognise my name that first time in Lotteria?" he recounts incredulously.

She almost falls over laughing. "You're kidding! Was that the first lesson you taught him? 'Pay attention to the supporting characters in your girlfriend's life story'?"

"No, but it was on the list!"

"The list that you never referred to ever again, that list?"

Jaejoong doesn't deign that with a response and instead gestures to his phone still in her hands. "It's probably still in my notes app."

Her eyes light up, but before she can scour for their comedic content this afternoon, his phone buzzes with another message from Yunho.

Or we could do Friday after school, the park by the Lotteria? Hopefully you'll be more inclined to attend if it doesn't cut into your weekend

"It's like he's in a competition to see who can be the most considerate teenager in South Korea, and the only one he's running against is himself," Sooyoung muses after they read it.

Jaejoong flops his whole body onto the bed next to her and groans. "Tell him I'll be there."

"Really?"

"Really. At this point in their relationship, it'll be weird if she and the best friend don't meet." He rolls onto his stomach and tries to imagine a world where his life wasn't ironic and complicated.

"Well, he's just asking for a favour, but you don't owe him anything. Who cares if it's weird?"

She's right, of course. He knows it'll be easier for basically everyone involved if he denies Yunho's request the same way he's been denying the other all along, but the thing about choosing acting as a hobby is the acute understanding of one's role in a narrative. In this story, he has been cast as Yunho's tutor-turned-best friend, and the call to fulfillment is stronger than his self-preservation. Besides, maybe this can be good for him. If he can survive one lunch as Yunho's friend and nothing more, it bodes well for being able to move on.

He thinks about trying to articulate all this to Sooyoung, but he knows she's in drama club for the thrill of a live performance, not for the joy of bringing a story to life. Not in the mood to explain, he mumbles "Whatever" into his crossed arms.

After a moment, she pokes his spine. "You're being so mopey. Here, this will make you feel better."

He gropes behind him aimlessly for whatever she wants him to see, and she gives him his phone back. When he looks at the screen, he sees his chat with Yunho open.

he can be your best friend, but i'm his! 😚✌️ but lol yeah he'll be there on fri

Below that is a picture of Sooyoung recreating the same emoji pose in front of his prone body lying face down on her floral bedspread.

"YAH! CHOI SOOYOUNG!"

~~~

Jaejoong waits at the park entrance closest to Lotteria internally chanting a litany of reminders.

He will do this as a show of support for Yunho's relationship. He will be charming and cool, and Boa will never suspect he's in love with her boyfriend. He will not look Jung Yunho in the eye so as to protect these goals.

"Hey."

So much for that last one.

"Yunho. Hey. Where's Boa?" He makes it a point to look around, mostly because he needs any excuse to stop making eye contact, but also due to misplaced hope that the act of searching will make her appear sooner. He wasn't expecting them to come separately, but this is fine. He can roll with the punches. They practise improv in drama club.

The other fidgets in a way that forebodes Jaejoong is not going to like what he hears next. "Um, she's not coming."

"What?"

He at least looks Jaejoong in the eyes when he admits, "I lied about that to get you out here. It's been hard to see you alone lately, and I really needed to talk to you."

Jaejoong won't deny that. As much as he wants to be offended at the duplicity, it is effective. "Well, I'm here."

Yunho nods but doesn't begin any of the talking he claimed he needed to do. Instead, he fidgets some more, which makes Jaejoong fidget too. He lied about practising improv in drama club. He sucks at improv.

"Can we walk?" Yunho speaks up eventually, gesturing to the walking path with jerky movements. Jaejoong nods simply because saying yes to everything is actually one of the few improvisational tenets he internalised, and now he's having difficulty decoupling this interaction from an acting exercise. All he can do is follow Yunho's lead.

They make it half a loop before Yunho says, "I need one more lesson."

Jaejoong's step falters. Is he serious? "Um, no you don't. You graduated. You've been graduated for almost a month now."

Yunho faces forward on their path ahead, but Jaejoong hasn't spent five weeks avoiding him to not know when Yunho's attention is on him. "You taught me how to start a relationship and keep it going, but not how to end one."

"What?" He does fully stop this time, and Yunho is still right beside him, still facing forward. Jaejoong watches his adam's apple bob, and he understands that he is not misunderstanding. "I get you dating the hottest piece in school, and you want to break up with her?! What the fuck are your standards that even Kwon Boa cannot meet them?" He is genuinely so flabbergasted and, if he's honest with himself, kind of heartbroken all over again. If Boa can't keep Yunho, no one can.

Yunho looks down, as if to think, and Jaejoong is already unimpressed with whatever he comes up with. "Her cooking isn't the greatest."

Jaejoong snorts. "I'm pretty sure Sooyoung told you to get over that."

"And you?" Yunho faces him full-on, and it's Jaejoong's turn to look away. "What do you think?"

He tsks. "If it bothers you so much, ask her to get cooking lessons. You could take them together, even; heaven knows you need it." On the surface, it's an insult. One layer below that, it still is; but on the layer below that, there's jealousy. That would be a really cute date idea, actually, and he hates that he is still in a position where he cannot refuse to give Yunho relationship advice.

"And what about the fact that none of her jokes make me laugh later when I think about them?"

"Sounds like you should learn to appreciate your girlfriend's sense of humour," he gets out through gritted teeth.

"There's nothing about her I feel the need to learn," Yunho presses.

That's it. Jaejoong whirls on Yunho, full of hurt feelings and frustration and weeks' worth of angst. "Maybe that's because you're actually a shitty boyfriend, and all the lessons in the world wouldn't fix that for you!"

As soon as he does it, he wishes he didn't. He's fucked up.

He's fully face to face with Yunho now, looking him in the eyes despite how Jaejoong told himself he wouldn't, and he can't look away. He hasn't seen Yunho this close in ages; he hasn't allowed himself to be the sole focus of Yunho's attention in just as long. He has always known the other to be conventionally attractive, but like this—eyes tracking Jaejoong's every move, jaw clenched with bitten-back words, uniform sleeves rolled up to his elbows—he just may be the most heartrending image Jaejoong's ever seen.

He is so enraptured by the sight that when Yunho comes closer, he doesn't back away. His eyes widen, not with fear but with the need to take more of him in. This close, he catches a whiff of Yunho's cologne, something sweet yet grounded.

"She isn't brazen enough."

Yunho's voice breaks his daze, and he stumbles back to put some distance between them. "Huh?"

He takes just one step closer, not close enough to make Jaejoong panic but simply to reclaim some measure of closeness. "She would never walk right up to a stranger, insult his interpersonal skills, and force him to let her fix him."

The entire world goes silent at once, or maybe Jaejoong can't hear anymore. Maybe Yunho's clear, implicating words were so loud that he actually blew out Jaejoong's eardrums. Maybe this is all a dream—because no way.

There is absolutely no fucking way Yunho is saying what Jaejoong thinks he's saying. He refuses to entertain the thought.

He turns on his heel and stalks away.

"Jaejoong, she isn't you!" Yunho exclaims as he catches up.

Jaejoong picks up his pace. "Shut up."

"I want to date you again."

"You don't know what you want."

"I think I've fallen in love with you—"

"—Do you even know what love is?!—"

"—and if I think about it some more, I think you've been avoiding me because you've fallen for me too."

"You should stop thinking!" Jaejoong stops and yells towards the ground. His legs twitch with the need to run away, but he won't even try to outrun Yunho.

He jerks away from Yunho's tentative touch on his clenched hands, and he refuses to feel anything but contempt for the pleading painted all over the other's face. He needs to end this, now. "You want a lesson in how to end relationships? Fine, watch closely. You and I? We're over. We were never anything to start with. You don't love me, you just miss me because apparently Boa isn't what you thought you wanted and it was easier with me, but guess what? Whatever we had together was a lie, and we're both stupid for believing in it. Don't go back to Boa if you don't want to, Yunho, but there's nothing left for you here."

Jaejoong expects a stricken look for his caustic comments, hopes for resignment or acceptance, but full-on amusement? It's so out of place that he has to comment on it. "What's that look for?" he bites out.

Yunho's smirk doesn't leave his face as he walks up to Jaejoong, invading his space and not letting up even once Jaejoong backpedals off the pavement and onto the grass. "Yunho, stop it," he demands once he's up against a tree.

"No."

Jaejoong does a doubletake. "'No'?! What do you mean, 'No'?" He didn't think Yunho even knew that word.

"No, I'm not going to stop. No, we're not over."

In any other context, the heat in Yunho's eyes and the confidence in his words would be Jaejoong's ultimate undoing, but he hasn't been able to take a single thing Yunho has said in the last ten minutes seriously. "Now is when you choose to assert yourself? You couldn't have done it months ago when I was cornering you in the Backstreet?"

Yunho shrugs, unaffected and self-assured. "I didn't have anything worth fighting for back then."

"You have nothing worth fighting for now," Jaejoong maintains, straightened posture and narrowed eyes.

His heart is beating so fast. There's sweat beading where his hairline meets his neck. His breathing is too loud. Yunho's is too, or maybe he can just tell because their noses are too close together. His body is so tense it aches, ready as he is to react as soon as the other makes his next move.

"I've won harder matches with worse odds," and then Yunho deals his killing blow.

All of the air escapes Jaejoong's body in a single breath.

His eyes fall shut; he completely loses awareness.

The entire world falls away until there is nothing left but the feeling of Yunho's lips on his.

~~~

A/N (4.26.2023): I gotta admit, this chapter is weird for me. I don't normally let the characters kiss lol.

Thanks to everyone who is reading, and even bigger thanks to those who are commenting. ❤

[thefanficmonster]

Perspective

Corpse Husband x Reader (Female)

Warnings: Swearing

Genre: Fluff, Humor, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: Corpse recounts the time he first met his now best friend who too has been gifted with a deep voice.

Requested by two Anons. This fic is a mash up of two very similar requests I got from an unnamed Anon and 🖤🥀 Anon, so a big thank you to the both of you for sending in your requests! I’m really sorry to be posting your requested fic so late but I hope the final product is gonna make the wait you had to endure worth it! If you come across it and read it, I hope you enjoy it! Love, Vy ❤

“Yeah, yeah ok, I know.“ I can’t help but playfully roll my eyes at the comments that are flooding in, “Before any more people address it - even though it’s only been five minutes - I’m gonna address it myself: I apologize for the absence of the guest I promised would accompany me on this stream. She made the choice to party until late - or should I say early - and is currently probably asleep. And...I just don’t have the heart to wake her.“

In all honesty, all the blame should fall on Y/N’s lack of responsibility but I could never say such a thing - she rarely let’s herself loose and allows herself to have fun so there’s no way I’m gonna hold this one instance against her. Quite the contrary actually: I hope she starts going out and having fun more frequently cause really deserves it. She’s a super hardworking girl, studying college and working her ass off simultaneously.

“For those of you who don’t know who I’m referring to: the girl in question is Y/N, aka Jumpscaretastic, a horror games oriented streamer. She was supposed to join me for this freaky journey but...yeah I’ll have to endure it on my own because fuck me.“ I take a look at my chat again, deciding to keep this interaction with my viewers going for a bit longer before I start the game. I may be stalling but you sure as hell won’t hear me admit it. The game may be terrifying as hell - I have no doubt it is - but I doubt it would affect me so much if Y/N was here.  My eyebrows furrow automatically at the sight of one specific question that I’ve been getting asked quite a lot recently and I’ve been doing my best to avoid it cause the idea - to me, at least - is so messed up. Why, we’ll get into that later. “No- ok, this is the first and last time I’ll be addressing this wild assumption, you guys, so listen carefully. Y/N and I are by no means related. I’m not related to every deep-voiced person on this planet, just FYI.“ Speaking of Y/N’s deep voice which I’ve gotten so accustomed to hearing, I can’t help but recall the first interaction the two of us had when she got invited by Toast for a game of Among Us with us when Felix canceled on us due to technical difficulties. “I may not be related to her but she really put into perspective how other people feel and react when they hear my voice. I, honestly speaking was astonished by hers.“

A few months ago

“Ok guys, since Felix texted me about an hour ago, saying he won’t be able to make it, I invited a friend of mine so I hope that’s ok with you.“ Toast announces when the majority of us have accumulated in the lobby.

“Yeah, all cool. An introduction to them would be nice though.“ Charlie says, tampering with his avatar’s appearance on the in-game laptop.

“Oh, I’m sure she can do that herself.” He says with a bit of a chuckle, “Y/N?“

“I’m here, I’m here.“ 

My gaze moves from my chat to the monitor displaying the game in an instant as though it would reveal to me who the owner of this unfamiliar voice that just travelled through my headphones is. You know how my voice is considerably deep, yeah well this girl’s voice is six feet below that.  My eyes have widened without me even noticing as I hurry to unmute myself despite being a little late to the reaction party which already consists of a ton of ‘OMG’s and “WHOA”s from the rest of the people in the call. Not one of them, however, considers to question the authenticity of the voice.

“Was that a voice changer or something?“ I say, my eyebrows shooting up when I hear the laugh I receive in response to the question - a sound so deep but simultaneously sweet and girly it messes with my head.

“I wish I kept count so I could tell you which number on the list of people who’ve asked me that you fall under.“ The girl, Y/N replies, “But for the record no, it’s not a voice changer.“

Realizing how hypocritical this question probably seems coming from me, I decide to believe her - probably cause she gets nothing if she lies anyways. “Oh, so this is how it feels hearing my voice for the first time, huh?“ I say, slowly nodding my head, still in slight disbelief.

“Yeah, meeting her was quite rattling - in the best way possible though.“ I say, fixating myself back in reality following the little trip back in time to the day Y/N and I met. “She’s now one of my best friends so that should tell you enough.“

It goes without saying that, since she’s my best friend, I know her quite well. That being said, with the detailed knowledge I have on her, I can guess she’s gonna be in for a massive hangover when she wakes up. I just hope she texts me when she does so I can make sure she’s at least semi-functional. Just then, my phone buzzes with a message. Much to my shock, it’s a message from Y/N. Truth be told, I didn’t expect her to be up for another hour or two or three but here she is, sending a simple text that reads:

“My head’s pounding like a drum mid rock n’ roll concert“

There are no emojis accompanying the message, suggesting she’s deadly serious and in quite a bit of pain. Ok, I won’t sugarcoat it - she’s in a fuck-load of pain right now.

“The Sleeping Beauty has awaken and is complaining about a headache, just in case you were wondering.“ I chuckle seemingly nonchalantly as I silently contemplate whether to text her back or call her instead. Who’s gonna know better than my viewers, after all... “You guys think I should call her? Or would that annoy her?“ I ask, furrowing my brows at the chat as I see different responses coming in.

Meh, fuck it -  I think to myself, already taking my phone to call Y/N when the support of my viewers floods in as well.

She picks up after two rings, letting out a sound that sets the tone for the discomfort she’s in.

“Hello to you too.“ I say, putting the call on speaker so my mic can pick up her responses. “Would you please rate the pain you’re in right now on a scale 1-10?“

“A hundred.“ Her strained, raspy and deeper than usual voice comes through, stealing a chuckle from me, “I’m hungover and still a bit drunk. Like, how does that even work?“

“The morning after is a straight-up bitch. Welcome to the world of bad decisions.“ I tell her compassionately, low-key wishing I could go over to her place and provide her with at least a tiny bit of comfort, as much as I can.

“Yeah...“ she sighs halfway dramatically, “Anyhow, we usually text around this time, what’s up with the call?“

“Just wanted to make sure my best-girl wasn’t really dying, you know. Who am I supposed to annoy in Among Us if you’re not there, after all?” I raise my brow and, although she can’t see me, I bet she can probably guess I’m doing that.

“Whatever...“ The same way I can imagine her rolling her eyes while smiling as she said that, “Tell me this, am I wrong or was I supposed to be on your stream today?“

I barely manage to hold in my laughter at the question, “Uh, yeah you were, but...” she doesn’t let me finish my sentence, instead cuts me of:

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry, Corpse! I totally forgot. Believe me, if I could roll my ass out of bed I’d hop in but I really can’t. Unless you want me to be a bore for an hour and a half, that is.“

“For starters, you could never be a bore to me.“ I say matter-of-factly, “And for seconds, you’re kinda on the stream anyway...“

“Come again?“ She cuts me off yet again, “You’re calling me mid-stream? If so, hey everyone! Sorry I couldn’t join, I promise to make it up to both you and Corpse soon.“ A yawn comes from her end before she continues, “As of now, I think I’ll go back to sleep.“

“Alright, alright. I’ll call you again later to make sure you’re still alive. Sleep tight.“ I tell her, already hovering my thumb over the ‘Hang up‘ button.

“Won’t let the hangover bite.“ She slurs/murmurs, stealing my opportunity to end the call cause she does it herself.

I stare at my phone for a second, finally becoming aware of the grin that has spread across my face. Eventually, I address my viewers once again, “There you have it, guys. Technically, you can give her a pass for answering the call, especially in her current state, so let’s all agree to not hold this against her, cool?“

A brief look at my chat shows me the ton of fluffy comments that are coming in as a reaction to the interaction Y/N and I just had. One, however, sticks out especially. It reads: ‘You like her or smt?’

“Do I like Y/N?“ I read the comment out loud, a smirk coming across my face, “Of course I do. She’s a darling.“ If I had a webcam on I’d look straight into the lens and wink. That’s probably spark more than enough rumors, but at the very least they wouldn’t be wrong. “I’ve stalled enough, Outlast is waiting.“ I announce, finally starting the game. After all, it cannot be scarier than the conspiracies my fans could come up with. I get it though - from their perspective, we’re already the perfect couple; from my perspective we’re impossible because from Y/N’s perspective we’re best friends.

Ain’t that how it always goes?

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[dark-frosted-heart]

Bunny Stealing event bonus story: Licht vs Keith

I was laughing too much with this story.

MC's received a ticket for "all-you-can eat sweets" from a bakery. She's been wanting to go to this bakery for a while, but...the fine print says that it's valid for two people. Just then, Licht and Keith approach her, having just finished training. Seeing the troubled look on her face, they ask what's wrong. Maybe they can solve the issue together. MC's grateful for that, but her issue isn't that dire. However, she can't tell them that since they're so earnest. She shows them the ticket and they read the fine print. Cue silence. MC apologizes for her insignificant problem.

It's indeed a small issue, says Licht. But it's also something that they can help her with immediately. The two tell her not to worry. MC's glad that the two came across her because maybe she doesn't have a problem to worry over. As MC's starting to explain that the ticket says up to 2, she can still go by herself, Keith cuts her off by saying that she can't. And then quickly corrects himself. It'd be more fun to go with another person rather than alone. Keith has a point, plus you'd get more value with 2 people. But who to go with... Keith and Licht both volunteer at the same time.

LOOK AT THEM

MC's amazed by how in-sync they are and then remembers that they both have a sweet tooth. Remembering the amount of sweets they'd eat at a tea party, she hands her ticket to them. The two can go together. Licht asks why she'd give them the ticket. Keith continues by saying that she's the one that will be using the ticket. With them shooting down her suggestion, MC has a new problem now. She'll now have to choose between the two. Licht interrupts her thoughts. Since the bakery's a place she's never been to before, she should go with someone who knows the way AKA him. He can also tell her about all the other good bakeries. Keith raises his hand. Now it's his turn to appeal to her. He offers telling her about popular Jadean books as they enjoys sweets together. One's appealing to her stomach while the other's appealing to her heart. MC wishes that someone else could make the decision for her. And then comes up with another idea. She's going to leave the decision to a game of luck. They'll rock-paper-scissor over it. Why do they look so serious. THEY FREAKIN TIED 10 TIMES IN A ROW.

They keep playing and MC just walks over to them, placing a hand over each of theirs to stop them. The two really should just go with each other. The ticket would be a thanks for the things the two have done for her in the past. HOWEVER. Before she can tell any of that, she gets shot down AGAIN. Licht says MC's under the impression that they want to go to the bakery. Keith follows up; they wouldn't be trying so hard if she wasn't in the picture. Neither want to give her up. MC can't believe this.

In the end, she goes with the both of them without using the ticket. As MC's deciding what to eat next, Keith offers her a slice of cake. And then asks if she'd like another after she comments on how good it is. Licht then turns her attention away from Keith by wiping cream off her face. He then offers her some cute animal-shaped cookies that he had ordered. The two watch her enjoy her sweets. She reminds them of a small animal with how cute she looks when she eats. The two then start talking about other cute traits MC has. She feels super embarrassed hearing this conversation. The two notice how she's turned red, and she tries to hide behind her teacup.

On the carriage ride back to the castle, MC's fallen into a sweets food coma. The two princes watch. Licht then tells Keith that he was surprised when the Jadean prince didn't hold back when it came to MC. She's always talking to him, so he wanted to help her out when she was in trouble. Actually no, maybe he wanted to get to know her better. Keith could say the same for Licht. He was also unwilling to give up on MC. Licht's the same as Keith...maybe. He's not too sure. Suddenly, the carriage jerks and MC almost falls forward from her seat, but the two catch her and place her back in her seat. She just sleeps on. The two continue to watch her with a soft look in their eyes while continuing their talk from earlier.

[inkandpen22]

Dazed and Confused ( S1: 3/?)

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Female!Reader

Warnings: mild language and violence 

Word Count: 3.1k

Part Summary: At Tina’s party, Y/N wants to forget all of her problems. Things take a turn when Billy makes a move on her, angering Steve

Masterlist

Arriving at Tina’s after dropping Dustin at Mike’s, I am in much need of some good old spiked punch. I yank down my gray oversized sweatshirt some more so that it hangs low off my shoulder. As I cross the threshold into the house, the heat of the crowded living room slaps me in the face. Directly to my left, the kitchen AKA the alcohol hub. I slip between bodies and end up at the counter covered with semi-empty bottles and old plastic cups. Most importantly, a bowl of maroon punch sits in the corner. I grab a cup and make my way over. A boy stands in front of it but I reach around him and scoop up some of the mystery substance.

“What’s in this?” I hear a voice holler behind me.

I turn around to answer but freeze when I realize it’s Nancy. She stares at me equally stunned. My face falls, this is awkward. Seriously universe? I couldn’t have at least one drink before bumping into her?

Steve appears behind her looking slick as ever in his black sunglasses and matching blazer.

“Everclear is my guess,” I answer, acting civil.

She nods timidly, “thanks…”

I step out of her way so she can get some of her own. Steve’s head travels up and down slowly with a blank expression. I can’t see his eyes but I assume he’s studying my costume. A gray oversized sweatshirt that hangs off the shoulder, red heels, matching earrings, and some shorts, though they’re unnoticeable. I can feel him starring me down through those stupid Ray-Bans. Silently, I beg for him to not bring up our encounter in the parking lot. All I wish for tonight is to drown out reality and try to forget. He’s a human ticking time bomb. The tension between us could be cut with a knife.

“Are you finally going to tell me what you are?” Nancy jumps in, forcing me to break my staring contest with her boyfriend.

I open my mouth to answer but Steve beats him to it.

“Flashdance,” he answers for me. “It’s one of her favorites.”

He acts distant, unattached, distracted by the party but I see right through it. There’s something he’s not saying. He says things like this as if it’s common knowledge. A random person wouldn’t describe my eyes as Y/E/C but gray depending on the lighting. One minute, he calls my eyes beautiful and the next he’s starring me down like a disapproving parent. The hell Harrington?!

Nancy gushes, apparently she and I are okay all of a sudden, despite early today with the whole Barb thing. Plus, I think she’s already been drinking for awhile so buzzed Nancy is fun Nancy.

“That’s so cute! You look hot!” She pulls me into a hug.

Over her shoulder, I glimpse up at Steve as he lifts his glasses to rest of his head. His brown eyes threaten to expose my upset from earlier. I get that he’s pissed about my neglect for my feelings. He wants to talk about what was wrong but right now we’re at a party and parties aren’t meant for depressing conversations.

“Let’s go dance!” Nancy suggests, already tugging me into the living room.

Steve calls after her but she ignores him. He follows behind us through the crowd with a groan. In the center of the living room, Nancy stops and turns to me with a bright grin. She cheers as she tosses her head back.

“Woohoo!” She laughs.

This is what I wanted, normalcy. We’re surrounded by our friends, drinking, dancing, being stupid! We did this before everything so why can’t we do it now? Perhaps after tonight, everything will fall back into place.

_______________________________________

On my third game of flip-cup, I’m beyond buzzed. In fact, when I walk I float. I’m on cloud nine. Here, this carefree and lively state is exactly where I wanted to be. Naturally, I’m competitive and amazing at drinking games so I finish my third game with yet another win. I cheer as Tommy from algebra hands me a cup of who knows what as my reward.

“Hey there beautiful,” a husky voice greets from behind me.

I spin around and kind of become dizzy from the action but catch myself.

It’s Billy.

“Hey hottie,” I smirk.

He snickers and closes the space between us to whisper in my ear. “How about you and I go somewhere a little more private?”

That’s a nice thought. He is cute. His ass could have its own zip code. Plus, he has no shirt on under that leather jacket, hello washboard like abs. His California tanned skin glistens under a thin layer of sweat. Damn, he’s a human Ken doll.

He’s no Steve though. Wait… what? I don’t think of Steve like that. Why would I think that? Um, yeah, that’s a no! Then again, Steve is always there for me. Sometimes it can be annoying how he’s always there. It means he cares but I don’t want to dump all of my drama on him. Then, he gets upset when I don’t open up. I hate it when I hurt him. I love him so much that when he’s in pain so am I.

“Okay,” I blurt out without truly thinking.

“Cool,” I hear him whisper as he takes my hand and starts pulling me toward the stairs across the room.

Wait, what? What am I doing? This isn’t me. I don’t like Billy. He treats Steve like shit. If anything I should kick his pretty ass. Though if I tried he’d probably murder me.

I glance down at his hand engulfing mine. It’s all rough and twice the size of my own. If we make it upstairs, it’ll be just him and I. I’ll be defenseless. I may be drunk but I’m not oblivious. My intuition is still working and it’s screaming for me to pull my shit together.

“Hey Billy? I don’t think…” I press my heels into the floor, slowing him down just as we reach the bottom of the stairs.

Aggressively, he whips around and purposefully towers over me to act intimidating. “What? Now, you’re saying no? Are you messing me? Playing with me!” He accuses.

I shake my head dramatically, “no! No, that’s not what-”

“Oh, so you still want to do this,” he presses.

Too impatient for an answer, he continues up the stairs. The grip he has on me has shifted up to my wrist. I attempt to tug myself free but fear dislocating it, his strength is too great. I stumble up the stairs behind me and I startle to feel dizzy. I think it’s safe to say I’ve had too much.

“No,” I whine, “I don’t want to! Stop! Please! I don’t want to! No!”

“Hey!” A booming voice echoes from the bottom of the stairs.

Rapid footsteps approach from behind me and a rush of relief consumes me when Steve appears beside me. He places a protective hand on my back.

“What the hell is going here?” He directs at Billy, taking note of his fist wrapped around my wrist.

“Nothing that concerns you, Harrington. Y/N and I were just heading upstairs.” He jolts his hand forward, causing me to traveling with it.

Steve instantly pries Billy’s hand from my body. Then, shoves him in the back, flying him forward to land with his ass on the stairs. “Don’t you ever touch her again! You hear me?!” He sneers. His face turns this deep red as he pants angrily.

The two start bickering but I can’t keep up. I see three Steves and a couple Billys shouting in each other’s faces. I lean against the railing unsteadily and slide down to sit on the steps. My eyes suddenly feel very heavy.

“I’m going to go to bed now,” I announce to no one in particular.

I decide to get some rest and shut my eyes. It’s okay, Steve’s here. He’ll protect me.

I’m not sure how much time has past when I hear Tommy and some of the other basketball boys come to break up the fight.

“Come on Y/N,” I hear Steve whisper to me, “let’s get you home.”

Feeling as light as a feather, I’m picked up like a sleepy child off the ground. For a moment, I fall asleep again. I rest my head on his chest and ponder the rare opportunity to sleep without being afraid of being eaten by a monster.

“Y/N?” I hear someone repeatedly call my name. “Y/N, wake up!”

I ease open my eyes and at first my vision is blurry but then they eventually adjust. Steve glances down at me as he we cross the threshold hold to the front yard.

“You smell like sunshine and all things exquisite,” I mumble to myself, adjusting myself in his arms to curl closer to his warmth.

“Even when hammered you still manage to be a walking thesaurus,” he teases.

Opps, he heard me. Oh well, I wasn’t lying. He smells like vanilla, the ocean, sugar, spice, and everything nice.

Goosebumps course over my skin as a brisk October breeze hits me. I shiver slightly and Steve holds me closer.

“We’re almost to my car. I’ll turn on the heat high. You’re okay,” he promises calmly.

Playing the hero, Steve places me into the passenger seat gently and straps me in. I toss my head to the side and rest my eyes again. He shuts the door for me before jogging to the driver’s side. The car drowns out the sound of chaos coming from the party and creates a sense of security. Steve slides behind the wheel and for some reason I choose now to act reasonable.

“Have you been drinking? If so, you shouldn’t drive,” I state like a health textbook.

He chuckles, popping in the keys. “I’m sober. Promise.”

“That’s nice. Good to know,” I yawn.

The last thing I can remember of the ride home is Steve turning on the car.

______________________________________

I wake up silently as Steve pulls up in front of my house. He’s unaware of my stare as he finishes parking and turning off the car.

“Hazel,” I tell him, announcing my woken state.

He looks to me with scrunched eyebrows, all confused. It’s cute when he does that. He’s cute. Geez, what the heck am I saying? He’s dating my best friend! Steve is Steve and Katherine, we don’t mix, at least that way.

“What?” He questions, turning to face me.

“Your eyes… they’re hazel…” I repeat softly with a yawn. “But, it really depends on the lighting.”

He snickers, and astonished expression blesses his features. The subtle blush forming on his cheeks makes me smile to see him all bashful because of my comment. He has no idea how gorgeous we truly is, inside and out. He glances down at his lap, at his hands fidgeting with a button on his jacket, then back up at me with hooded eyes.

“See, right now!” I point out, “they’re a dark brown like a burnt caramel, basically black. When you’re really focused on a task or upset about something, they go dark. Then, when you’re really happy or excited, they turn to a light hazel… like seaglass. It’s how I can tell if something’s bothering you. You don’t even have to tell me half the time. All I have to do is look into your eyes and I know,” I state a matter-of-factly with a light snicker.

I shift you see him directly and tuck a few strands of my hair away from my face. He watches my every move patiently, eagerly, for me to say something more, anything. I can’t speak for him but my heart won’t stop racing. Is it possible to have stage fright in a conversation? I feel like a mannequin, on display. Nervously, I twirl my hair at the ends and find myself unable to meet his gaze anymore.

“Your pupils are rarely small,” I add quietly. “They’re usually really big and take up most of your eye giving off the illusion they’re black. One thing that never changes is…”  I make a circle with my finger in front of my eye to demonstrate, “is the gold rim around each of them.” I lower my hand into my lap and play with the end of my sweatshirt. “That’s my favorite part… ” I confess timidly.

I wouldn’t be saying these things if I were sober. I wish he would say something, anything. He must think I’m crazy. He finds me with Billy heading up stairs. I can only imagine what he must think of me now. Embarrassed beyond belief and sobering up, I excuse myself.

“Thanks for the ride,” I say as I unbuckle myself. “See you Monday!”

Swiftly, I climb out of the car. As I walk toward my front door, I curse myself for acting so stupid! Geez, what was I thinking? ‘The gold rim around each of them, that’s my favorite part!’ What kind of mushy, guhsy, marshmallow fluff is that? Ew! If he never spoke to me again I would judge that as completely reasonable! He has a girlfriend! He’s taken! Completely off limits! Why did I spew out this creepy nonsense to him like a total idiot? I’m not some lovesick teenage girl! I’m going to go to my room, put in some Guns N’ Roses, and just scream into my pillow all weekend! It sounds like an excellent plan to me because I just ruined my friendship with Steve forever! Add Nancy to that list because once he fills her in on what I said I’ll lose both of them!

“Y/N!” He calls after me.

I ignore it as I march faster toward the door. He’s only going to call me crazy because I was acting crazy!

“Y/N, wait!” He repeats as I hear him shut the car door and run toward me.

“Goodnight, Steve!” I urge him away without turning around.

His footsteps speed up until they come to a halt directly behind me. I reach for the door handle, my freedom. Desperately, he grips my forearm and steps in front of me, blocking the front door.

“Look, could you just slow down for a sec?” He yells at me as he pants to catch his breath.

“No! I can’t slow down! I just want to go inside, get in my pajamas, and forget tonight ever happened! Alright? Now, excuse me,” I gesture for him to get out of the way.

Reluctantly, paired with an overly dramatic eye roll, he steps aside. Despite wanting his to leave, I thank him quietly for cracking open the front door slowly, making sure not to wake anyone.

“Nance and I broke up…” Steve drops on me.

My heart leaps and I stop dead in my tracks. Unsure of what to do or say, I remain still in the doorway and wait for him to say more.

“She never loved me,” he explains with a heartbroken tone. “At least… I don’t think she did…”

Shit. Please don’t tell me that, Harrington. It only makes me want you more. He’s always so close but too far out of reach. I care about him more than anything but he’ll never mine. I’m just the friend.

I spin on my heels and offer him a sympathetic smile, “would you like to come in?”

He nods, clearly miserable. I step aside, allowing him in. After shutting the door behind us, I warn him to be quiet so we don’t wake my parents. He nods slowly and slips his hand into mine. Never breaking eye contact with me, he leads the way through the moonlit house toward my room. His platonic touch is so blissful, I can only imagine what it feels like otherwise.

_________________________________

Steve and I sit on my bed in our usual positions with my record player going quietly. He lounges like a patient in therapy and me, acting as his therapist, criss-cross beside him. He explains everything. He describes how drunk Nancy got and how he followed her to the bathroom. It was there they got into a fight. She admitted feeling guilty for the loss of Barb. Then, she called all of it bullshit. Us acting like carefree teenagers, never telling Barb’s parents the truth, her love for Steve, all of it is bullshit. He asked Jonathan to take her home and that’s when he stumbled upon me and Billy.

Watching Steve relive it all and hearing the pain in his voice breaks my heart. How could Nance do this to him? I get that she’s going through something, we all are. I’m by no means normal. I’m hiding everything for Pete’s sake! I haven’t been myself for over a year. Steve was just now becoming truly happy again! He was putting on a brave face for Nancy for so long! Now, she crushed it. She crushed him.

I reach and place my hand over his as they rest intertwined on his stomach. “I’m sorry. Truly, I am.”

“I really loved her. At least, I think I did. I don’t know anymore. I thought she loved me too.”

“I did too,” I tell him honestly.

He glances away from the ceiling down to me, “what can I do?”

I wish I knew the answer. I wish there was a way I could take away his pain. Yet, I have nothing. I shrug, “I’m not entirely sure. I think you should at least talk to her.

Tomorrow, of course, when she’s sobered up. Perhaps, she was just drunk and didn’t mean what she said. She wasn’t in the proper mindset.”

“So I shouldn’t take what she said to heart?”

“Well, there’s also the argument that drunk words are sober thoughts.”

“Does the same go for you?” He snickers.

I laugh, “sometimes.”

“So you don’t like the gold in my eyes? I thought it was your favorite part?” He smirks, turning to lay on his side and face me. My hand would’ve fallen off his hadn’t he flipped his over to catch it.

Ugh, he’s such a sneaky jerk! His cheeky smirk only grows with my silence. Warmth rushes to my cheeks as I bashfully hide my face.

“Yeah… about that…” I laugh nervously, “let’s just pretend I didn’t say anything.”

“Should I forget that you also said I smell like sunshine and everything exquisite?” He adds to the torment.

I groan, tossing my head back. This must count as torture. “Preferably, yes,” I request shortly.

We share a laugh at my annoyed reaction. He’s impossible! Even he should be mopping he still manages to tease me!

A comfortable silence fills the air and I stare down at the pillow in my lap as I play with the lettering on it.

________________________________

Masterlist

[violettelueur]

GOJO SATORU || BECOME A REAL COUPLE

| featuring : gojo satoru from jujutsu kaisen

| warnings : grammar errors other than that n/a

| form : imagine (with she/her pronouns)

| word count : 2700

| published : 05 december 

| request : Hi hiiii!! I saw that your requests were open again :) I would like to order a black coffee please! a fake dating → feelings realisation where (fem) reader is from one of the big 3 clans and is pressured into finding a SO by her clan. So Gojo offers to fake date her; meeting her parents etc. Only for them both to realise that they ended up falling for each other. Would love to see how you determine the way they handle it and confess for real. Thank you!! Love all your work so far x

| barista’s notes : can i be completely honest with you? this little piece isn’t really my best ʕ ﾟ ● ﾟʔ even though it’s only been 2 days but i already feel like my writing skills have disappeared ʕ ㅇ ᴥ ㅇʔ but other than that, thank you so much for loving all my work ʕ•ᴥ•ʔﾉ♡ i really hope you enjoy your cup of classic black coffee (jujutsu kaisen request!) and please come again soon!

“You have to get married soon Y/N! You’re 27 and we have no heir for the Kamo clan!”

“Didn’t I leave the clan 10 years ago? There is no way I’m going to listen to someone like you nor my child is forced to become a jujutsu sorcerer, and what makes this more irritating is that you came all the way to my workplace to tell me this,” you snapped back at the man in front of you, before turning around trying to walk away from the situation. However, it seemed like the old man wasn’t going to give in to the situation or to the rejection of your answer, he was stubborn - just like you were, after all, that was the only thing you inherited from that man.

“Y/N! I am your father and I demand you to listen to me!”

“Shut up!” you shouted before turning to look over your shoulder. The man that stood there pride and arrogance running through his veins - something that you didn’t inherit, fortunately. There was no way you could call this man your father. The same ‘father’ that criticized you for not having the same blood manipulation like the rest of the family - well that’s what he gets for being with a woman from a different clan that had a different curse technique that you inherited - an outcast, that was what you were within the Kamo clan, yet they still demanded you to get married and have a child to keep the lineage going. There was no way in hell you were going to follow their rules.

“What a disgusting father you are, no wonder mother left you,” you commented with a smirk before continuing to walk away to go back to where you were heading. On the other hand, it seemed like someone else wanted to disturb your plans.

“Y/N~”

                                     ꕥ

At this current moment in time, you were standing in front of one of the very few vending machines that were located within Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College wondering what you were going to choose since you were still undecided. Cold Water? Milk tea? Coffee? Maybe a carbonated fruit drink to satisfy your sweet tooth? You weren’t so sure.

“Have you put money in the machine yet honey~?” someone asked you from behind, causing you to quickly turn around to see a tall white-haired figure standing before you with a teasing smile painted upon his face.

“Satoru? Ah...no I haven’t” you muttered as you scratched your cheek with your finger, trying to occupy yourself with something to not look at him. “Let me pay for you then,” Gojo then offered as he reached over to the side, accidentally brushing his arm - causing you to tense up - before he placed some of his coins within the slot to add some currency into the machine before you could even deny his offer.

“I could pay for myself you know, and we’re alone, you don’t have to act,” you stated before sighing in defeat, as you turned back around to decide what you were going to choose once again. “I know,” Gojo commented back to you before gently placing his chin upon your shoulder, leading you to tense up once again from the physical contact before slowing relaxing, “but what type of boyfriend would be I if I didn’t treat you a little?”.

‘Well fake boyfriend Satoru’

                                        ꕥ

“Your family pressuring you again?” Satoru cheerfully asked as he walked beside you, trying to lighten up the tense atmosphere from the conversation that you had with your ‘father’ just a few seconds ago.

“More like the Kamo clan than the L/N clan, get married this, get married that. Is that all I am good for? Marriage? Augh, I just need them to leave me alone, I left for a damn reason,” you ranted as you put your hands in your pockets, restraining yourself from punching something to let out some steam.

“How about I date you then?” Gojo suddenly asked, leading you to look at him with the most wide-eyed expression like he had just said something completely stupid - to which he did - but before you could even augre what he just stated, Gojo quickly began to explain what he meant by his little statement. “What I mean is let’s fake that we’re dating, we deceive everyone that we’re together and the Kamo clan will finally leave you alone once they realise that you are in a relationship with someone from the Gojo clan aka me, they can’t augre with that,”.

Still looking at your colleague with a dumbfounded expression, you turned your head to look in front of you before thinking about what he had just suggested. What Gojo stated to you was somewhat a clever idea. The Kamos family was obsessed with bloodlines and for you to be with Gojo means that they would foolishly believe they can become more powerful. Even though you didn’t physically inherit the blood manipulation curse technique, you still had in somewhere in your veins due to your father meaning they would believe they still have a chance for a powerful heir. However, that would mean you have to announce this to the clan as well as your mother’s clan - which wasn’t much of an issue for her side - it was just too much effort for a fake relationship.

“Satoru that is so much effort, you’re going to have to meet the Kamo clan then,” you commented, after realising the pros and cons of this little ordeal. “I know, but once we end this little fakery of a relationship, they don’t have to know, you don’t have to report your every move to them, remember you left,” Gojo explained back, leading to any worries that you had manifesting to instantly fade away with the wind. 

Taking one last sigh, you turned back to him and nodded. “Fine, let’s fake date Satoru,” you finally declared before taking your hand out in front of him for a handshake, leading to the powerful shaman to take hold of your hand before firmly shaking it, “okay fake-girlfriend! Leave it to me,”

                                ꕥ

Sitting in front of your dad across a table was something you never wished on your worst enemy, you hated that you were back in the four walls that you had escaped from many years ago. However, for some odd reason, when Gojo was by your side, you felt completely safe.

“Since when did this little association between the both of you come to play?” your father asked in a suspicious tone as he eyed both you and Gojo - yet, knowing how greedy your father was for power, you could tell he was delighted at the fact you were ‘together’ with the most powerful jujutsu sorcerer. 

“Ah~ We have been together since our last year at Jujutsu Tech,” Gojo explained as he turned to look at you with a cheeky smile on his face to which you smiled back at him, trying to keep up with the facade of being a fake couple. “And you didn’t inform me this Y/N?” your father then asked to which then you explained, “well, I did leave the clan a year after that, so I had the right to no inform you. After all, I’m not your daughter like you stated beforehand,” 

Angered by your sudden statement, your father immediately slammed his hand on the desk as if the statement wasn’t true at all. “I demanded you to come back, I demanded you to respect the name of the Kamo Clan and this is how you taint it,” you father roared in fury, causing Gojo to put an arm out in front of you as if he was protecting you from anything that could happen to cause you to look at him in shock.

“Technically, Y/N didn’t even taint your name, she took their mother’s, so you’re in the wrong here, don’t do something that you will regret,” Gojo sinisterly threatened the man that was in front of both on you, before taking your hand in his as a way to comfort you - surprising you once again from his actions, yet for some reason, you gripped on his hand somewhat conveying him that you were thankful for him standing up for you.

                                      ꕥ

“Ah Miss Y/N, did you come to see your mother?” a maid asked in a surprised tone, once she noticed that you came out of your designated room with you adjusting your red obi sash around your waist as your wore your family’s kimono, white was light in colour embroidered with the minimalist design of flowers and butterflies - giving you a somewhat soft feminine look, contrasting the portrayal of your character somewhat.

“You know you don’t have to put the ‘Miss’ in front of my name, and I do apologise for the sudden visit, I forgot to inform you all,” you told the maid with a gentle smile, leading to the maid to smile at you back before you then continued with, “Ah, I did come to meet my mother, but have you seen Satoru? Like a tall man with white hair, who is also wearing sunglasses,”. However, before the maid could answer your question.

“Y/N~”

Turning around, you found Gojo walking towards you with your mother by his side, causing you to freeze in shock as you didn’t expect him to go to your mother without you. “I thought we agreed to greet my mother together Satoru,” you commented as you pointed your index finger at him to emphasise your point, only for him to smile at you cheekily before scanning his eyes up and down at your new outfit. “You do look beautiful in your kimono though, is this what you wear when you come back home?” Gojo then asked, to which you nodded at his question - trying to ignore your pending blush being slowly painted in your cheeks - before you quickly greeted your mother, who was watching from the sideline.

“Good Afternoon mom, I apologise for coming to visit you so suddenly,” you said to her, to which your mother softly smiled at you before cupping your cheeks in her hands. “There is no need to apologise, I’m happy that you came back home since you are so busy back at the school, but also I’m happy that your boyfriend introduced himself to me, he is quite a different character must I say,” she commented with a light laugh, causing you to turn to him wondering what he had said to her, only for him to put up a peace sign as if that would answer your wondering thoughts. Although, before you could even vocalise your confusion, your mother linked her arms with yours before guiding you down the corridor to welcome you home.

“I can tell he really cares about you Y/N,” your mother stated, causing you to look at her with a perplexed expression to which she then smiled back at you before beckoning Gojo to follow the both of you to invite him for some sweets and tea that were being prepared.

‘If only you knew mom, if you only knew how much I care about him as well even though this isn’t real’

                                      ꕥ

“You’ve been staring at the canned latte for some time, do you want that one?” 

Suddenly, you instantly snapped out of your thoughts - not realising that you were in a daze - causing you to then immediately click on the button indicating on the mentioned drink. “Ah, sorry I was just wondering if I should go with the strong or light one,” you then answered, trying to hide the fact you were looking back on the moments that you had with Gojo.

“Are you okay?” Gojo then asked as he removed his chin from your shoulder, letting you crouch down to grab the coffee from the dispenser before collecting the coins from the other dispenser to give back to Gojo, only for him to shake his hand and say, “if you need another drink, you can use it,”

‘Is that why he put extra in?’

“Are you sure?” you quietly ask, only for the cheeky shaman to nod his head before he deciding to walk with you to wherever you were heading off too. “Like I said before, what type of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t spoil you a bit?” Gojo then asked once again, causing you to tilt your head in confusion.

“You know we’re not really dating right? We are a fake couple,” you mentioned, as you opened the can of coffee to take a sip after reminding him about the little plan that the both of you came up with to avoid the whole ‘marriage’ drama from the Kamo clan.

However, you didn’t hear an answer from your friend. Only pure silence surrounded the both of you, causing you to be perplexed on why you didn’t instantly hear a sassy comment back from the shaman, leading you to pause and turn your head to the side, only to see the man look at you dead in the eyes with his crystal blue ones.

‘Since when did he?’

“What if I don’t wanna be a fake boyfriend anymore?” Gojo questioned you with an uncharacteristic serious tone, causing you to look at him in bewilderment before quickly coming to the conclusion that he was probably teasing you.

“You mean you want to end this facade? If you want we can, there is kind of no point in continuing this little act,” you replied, as you took a sip of the caffeinated drink causing you to gain a little bit of energy in a short amount of time.

“Y/N, I’m being serious, I don’t want to be your fake-boyfriend anymore, I want this to be real,” Gojo then declared, causing you to suddenly choke on the liquid in shock before letting out a coughing fit as you tried to clear your throat leading to Gojo patting your back to help you out.

“Ha?” you then expressed, not sure on how to react to his declaration as you tried to look for any deception in his eyes. “Oh you are being serious Satoru,” you then commented to which then he nodded as if he didn’t already convince you that he hadn’t already.

Quickly looking away from the man, you were trying to hide the rose hues that slowly was coming upon your face. You thought you were the only one feeling this way. You thought you were alone on this. Ever since that moment when you and Gojo met your father, you always wanted to stay by his side, you felt like you were important, you felt safe, you felt warm. 

It was like what your mother explained to you when you were young, ‘don’t make the same mistake as me Y/N, when you find someone you want to be with, make sure they make you feel safe and protect and not just the ‘butterflies in your stomach feeling’, I want you to feel loved and important, I’m so sorry for putting you through this’

“Y/N, come on say something, I’m not a nervous guy but this is something else you know,” Gojo pleaded as he wasn’t really enjoying the long silence that was going on around both you and him, only for you to suddenly grip his dark blue jacket before pulling him closer to press your face upon his chest as if you were still trying to hide but somewhat trying to express some confidence in what you were planning to do.

“Are you absolutely being serious ?” you then asked, once again asking how serious he was being.

“Absolutely serious,” Gojo then replied as he placed his large hand on the top of your head before caressing your hair, trying to comfort you from your embarrassment.

“Then I don’t wanna be your fake girlfriend anymore….please,” you then murmured as you gripped his jacket more tightly as you confessed your long time thoughts, only to suddenly feel a peck being placed on the crown of your head.

“Of course honey~ let’s become a real couple”

[beetsandskzreads]

silent bright summer night

bang chan x gn!reader, y/n works with skz and became their friend (the ultimate dream haha)

genre: tooth-rotening fluff, slight angst with a happy ending

notes/warnings: nothing intense, this is very fluffy, there's brief mentions of cheating, long distance, y/n's exes, fear of abandonment, slight insecurities, deep talks, reader and chan are slightly wine drunk, y/n and chan are whipped, y/n makes it explicit they want to date someone very warm and caring (aka chan), i don't think that's a warning tho djsjs just saying

scenario: on a balcony, at a beach apartment on a summer night of vacation, y/n opens up to chan about their past and current lovers. what y/n doesn't know is why chan is so interested listening to it.

It was 1:01 am when chan and I found ourselves in the balcony that overlooked the city and it's bright lights on a summer night. Skz had gone to sleep right after all of us came back from a night out of lots of fun, buying stuff on stores by the beach, having ice cream, seeing the view of the city lights reflecting on the sea water, appreciating street artists...

The two of us had been talking the whole evening, we hung out as a group but mostly just spoke to each other and laughed at the members jokes, both of us having a sparkle in our eye every time we saw the group happy. There was this unspoken pleasantness, a bliss, calmness in the air but with a lot of excitement. Chan was so happy to be around the sea with "the kids" as he refers to them and being at the beach almost 24/7 this week, it was like his natural habitat, his home, a comfort place. It left you feeling even softer for him, and as you shared your love for the sea, your feelings were at a peak. You liked Chan, and you loved this place as much as he did.

The night was so great, everyone was out like a lightweight as soon as we arrived to the vacation apartment we're in. Chan and I were testing the theory that a glass of wine would help us get drowsy and help us fall asleep as well, since we both have trouble falling asleep and felt nothing but a remaining excitement from the night out. It came to me especially because of the enthusiasm of talking to him, we were connecting so well, I didn't want this to ever end.

And so we drank (one glass quickly becoming the whole bottle) and we talked for what felt like hours on end, that neither of us wanted to cease.

- My ex best friend, she never quite knew how to choose guys, she always went for the ones that would never turn her way, the ones who obviously wouldn't care about her, not because of her, but because they were really careless guys, walking red flags. - I told him, I couldn't remember where exactly the conversation started but we were talking about nice people picking shitty people to date.

- What about you? - he asked

- Me? I barely even like guys, I mean I do, but I'm really picky actually, I don't allow myself to fall for cold people, I wouldn't forgive myself if I took interest in someone rude, I try so hard to take care of myself so I either stay alone that way or I find someone who makes me feel better, who knows how to take care of me, after all we chase happiness, I think a caring person could do that, someone gentle who isn't scared of emotions or who at least is open to face that fear with me by their side.

- I get it, it's hard to get by if you don't have emotional support, a partner should be able to provide that support, yeah. Did you ever... find someone like that?

- Yeah, in the past I did and even now I do know someone more than ideal... I guess my ex partners when I was young were going through a soft phase tho... I guess everyone has an emotional limit they were scared to cross... once I found that barrier the relationship stoped evolving, reached a dead end and so there was nothing left for me anymore and I left, plus, you know, cheating, long distance, a bunch of stuff really... it wasn't meant to be and I'm okay with that.

- What about that someone right now?

Silence ruled for about 3 seconds before I knew what to say. That someone right now is him. Ever since I've known him feels like he's the only man ever, but I don't think I'd tell him that, not soon anyways.

- What about 'em?

- What's that person like? What makes you trust they're any different from your exes?

- Sometimes I fear they're not, but I set the bar really high and I reset it constantly, to make sure I'm seeing it right, sometimes they seem so perfect to me that I wonder what good have i done in my past life to deserve to be around such a bright person. Of course they make mistakes too, but even the way they deal with them is so... mature, it's so easy to just solve things communicating, it's insane to me. Then I remember it's probably because they're eventually gonna leave me too, or just not reciprocate my feelings and after they break my heart I'll probably loose all hope in love, be heart broken for two years until I decide I'm gonna focus on myself again... it's a cycle after heartbreak, but with this person I'm really scared, because they mean more. I'm way too deep in before I've even expressed my feelings, it's gonna be devastating. - I'm rambling, the wine made me do it.

- What makes you think they wouldn't like you back tho?

- I'm not sure I just... it would be too good to be true and it's complicated... he's amazing and I'm just not sure if he'd be into me, I mean, I think I'm lovable and I think I'd be a great lover, I just don't know if I'm his type or if he'd consider me. We have a bit of an age gap, I'm not someone who's typically pretty or specially good looking, I have my charms but I have no idea if that's enough for him to be in love. It's complicated with each others work too... - I notice chan's gaze on me, he has his head leaned on his hand on the table and he's looking at me with bright eyes, eyes that look tired and a little drunk but somehow, he manages to look at me in a way that makes me feel adored, I don't know why you have to make me feel so much love, Bang Chan - Why are you looking at me like that?

- You have no idea how other people perceive you, do you? - he ignored your question, probably because of his drunk-ish drowsy state - Everyone I know likes you, see, you're a naturally kind and caring person, you're attentive to people's needs, you make sure everyone feels comfortable around you... that's so appreciated by everyone. I think you're exceptional y/n, you have this charismatic way of existing, a refreshing and comfy presence everyone can feel, but to me... it feels like home. You feel like home y/n. So... I have no idea who that person is but I sure as hell know they'd be more than lucky to have you as a partner and they're definitely dumb if they let you go.

- Are you dumb? - my heart's pounding quicker as I'm about to do something I didn't plan on doing ever.

- Huh? No, why w-

- Because that person is you... I like you, Chan. In a more-than-friends way - I interrupt him quickly before I lose my newly found courage.

Chan could've sworn his heart stopped for a few seconds. Suddenly sobriety hit him like a truck. It was the alcohol that made you say that, he thought, but he wished it was true and you didn't drink enough to be lying about this kind of stuff, you had a full on conversation and you seemed pretty sober.

- Y-y/n are you sober? - he tries to navigate through the situation.

- Oh my... yeah I am, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything, it just rolled out of my tongue. I'm sorry... - you said as you panicked and tried to go back inside, regret filling up all your organs.

"I messed up" your brain keeps repeating as desperation starts entering your body, until Chan grabbed your hand, stopping you from leaving.

- Wait! You don't need to apologize, I'm glad you told me... You didn't think I'd say all that about you if I didn't like you as well, did you? - he asks suggestively.

- I don't know - you blush as you realize what he's getting at - You're just so nice to everyone, I didn't make a big deal out of it.

- Well, you should've made it a big deal, the biggest deal actually because I've been trying really hard to show you how I feel these past few days and you were so clueless I thought you were purposefully ignoring the signs because you didn't like me back.

- I'm sorry Channie, I just didn't want to assume stuff and get heartbroken if it wasn't true.

-Well it is true, so you don't need to worry anymore. I really like you too, y/n. And I've wanted to say it for a while too, I was just wondering if it was a good idea since you work with us, but I can't contain my feelings anyways... you always treat me so softly and you look after the kids really well... It just feels like you were made to be by my side, you're the embodiment of the person I've always dreamed to be with, and these past few days with the kids and you... it just felt like we were the perfect family you know? I don't think I could be without you by my side anymore... - he stops, he's been staring at your eyes the whole time and now they're starting to water.

How could you not cry when he's saying the things you thought you'd only ever hear in dreams?

- Why are you crying sweetheart? - he whispered, as he wipes a tear with his thumb, the other hand holding your hand as he stands closer every second.

- It's just... I'm so... happy - you smile through your tears - I'm so happy to hear that, you said it in such a beautiful way too... I feel exactly the same, it's like I've gained a family with you guys but you... I've grown really attached to you, feels like some parts of you are tangled in my heart in ways I couldn't tear apart if I wanted to... I'm drawn to you and when I'm with you it's comfortable, blissful, it's right. You're so good to me, it's unbelievable, but it's true, and it warms my heart. - you say as your foreheads touch and your smile grows, his eyes showing so much adoration for you, you could melt.

Suddenly you share your first kiss together, a soft yet passionate mix of sensations, and it felt like everything you ever felt around Chan but better.

You stare into each other's eyes, smiling like the little lovely goofballs you both were, noses touching, ocasional little pecks filled with giggles because you were whipped for each other.

- So this means we're exclusive lovers now, yeah? - he asks with a blushing face, a very silent giggle and a huge, uncontrollable smile.

- Definitely, yeah - you answer biting your lip until eventually you let out the largest smile you ever had.

Needless to say, you didn't leave that balcony to go to sleep that evening. In fact, you two watched the sunrise kissing and cuddling, talking about the feelings you had for each other, when they started, why you liked each other, covered by a blanket, not wanting to let go of each other now that you were openly romantic.

Han found you both sound asleep, you on chan's lap, head on his neck as his arms wrapped around you gently, on a chair in the middle of the morning. He obviously called all the members to watch you two as they assumed you two finally got together. All of them saw it coming, Chan wouldn't shut up about you and had written what could be an entire album about you.

They were happy at least you'd be around more often to cook your delicious food. And you both blushed really hard once you woke up to lot's of teasing from the kids, it was fine tho, you liked it just like this, it was home.

[maybege]

Birthday Party Adventures

Summary: With his daughter’s birthday party approaching, Paz has many plans to make it all go right. What he didn’t expect was for Emily to invite her teacher and his crush – you.

Pairing: single dad!Paz Vizsla x fem!teacher!Reader

Wordcount: 4.0k | Rating: T

Warnings: Modern AU, fluffy fluff

Oh I feel like it has been ages since I initially wrote this (back in September actually!) but I love it just as much as on the first day and I hope that you will enjoy it too! This is dedicated to my Paz Gang @aerynwrites @datmando @hdlynnslibrary @princessbatears and @stubbychaos who came up with this wonderful AU idea. ❤

masterlist | crossposted on AO3

Paz was overwhelmed.

Paz was truly and utterly overwhelmed.

“Can I go and get my cereal?” Emily asked next to him, clearly bored with her father’s antics, “You will take ages to choose, Uncle Din was right.”

“All right, go ahead,” he mumbled, choosing to ignore the fact that Din had – once again – infiltrated his daughter’s thoughts with horrible lies. He did not take ages. Anybody would take as long as he was taking when the choices were so … vast.

Cake mix after cake mix was displayed in the aisle and how would he know which one he should get?

Emily’s birthday was this weekend – Saturday to be exact and he had promised her a cake. He always promised her a cake. And he always failed.

But not this time.

This time, he had listened to his best friend and would settle on a cake mix although he still felt like he was cutting corners. But at least it would not be store-bought. And, as Fennec had suggested, he could still buy some decorations to make the cake special.

Because that’s what Emily deserved – a special cake, made with love.

So, while his daughter was probably trying to find the sweetest cereal there was available, he tried to settle on a cake.

Deep down, Paz knew that Emily was probably eating way too much sugar. But to be honest, there were so many battles he could fight at once and he was more prepared to fight some judgmental soccer moms than the will of his own daughter.

Holding two cake mixes in his hands – birthday confetti and chocolate – Paz whipped around as he heard an all too familiar voice greet him. “Mr Vizsla, it is so nice to see you.”

There you were.

The woman of his dreams.

Emily’s teacher.

Stars, he knew he was probably acting absolutely ridiculous around you. No matter what kind of school event there was, as one of Emily’s main teachers you were always around he was never able to take his eyes off you.

Not only were you pretty and smart but you were kind. You kept all the kids in check with a calmness that he admired you for and he could see how you valued each and every student in your class. And now you were here, wrapped in an oversized cardigan and clutching a shopping basket in your hands.

But you beamed at him and he was sure he’d never seen anything prettier.

Forgotten were the cake mixes in his hands as he lowered them to the sides of his body. “Hi, um, Miss –“

“Emily was mentioning you were having trouble choosing.”

“Em saw you?”

You chuckled, avoiding your eyes as if you were embarrassed, “I came over to say hello and she mentioned you needed help to choose a cake?”

Speak, for maker’s sake, speak! A voice in his head screamed at him but his brain was still processing the fact that (a) this was not a school event and (b) you were speaking to him, leading to (c) you were speaking to him in your own free time.

“Chocolate.”

“What?”

“I would go with chocolate,” you gestured to the box in his right hand, biting your lip and stars, he wanted to hold your hand and kiss your cheek and take walks through the park with you. Instead, here he was, making a fool of himself.

“I will trust your judgment, then,” he nodded, carefully putting the other box back on the shelf. When that was done, you kept standing there in front of him looking up at him expectantly. Why – why? – couldn’t he speak? It should not be this hard to open his mouth.

He just needed to say I think you are wonderful and I would like to get to know you more. Would you be interested in having dinner with me?

“Um, would you like to …”, his voice trailed off.

You did that lip-biting thing again and your whole face lit up and stars, maybe you wanted him to ask you. “Yes?”

“I was wondering if you would like to –“

“I know you said I wasn’t allowed the sweet ones but it’s my birthday soon,” Em announced loudly, dropping a box in the already full shopping cart and pouting at him, “Can I have it as an early present, pretty please?”

Mission: Ask Pretty Teacher Out For Dinner was immediately aborted and he swore he saw a look of disappointment flash across your face. At least that was something to give him hope.

“Dad always makes me a cake and he fails every year, it’s a tradition by now,” his daughter explained and he groaned inwardly, but then she had her thinking face on – the same she had as a toddler – and suddenly added, “You should bring one.”

“What?”

“Em, I don’t think your teacher has the time to …”

But Em, bless her soul, would not be deterred from her plan. By now he cursed the stubborn streak that ran through his family and had evidently taken root in his daughter as well.

“Dad always talks about how much he likes your raspberry chocolate crumble,” she shrugged, “And my classmates like it too.”

When would the ground open up and swallow him whole?

And the worst thing was: Em wasn’t even lying. She had her blunt honesty from him and the way he had gushed about that raspberry crumble had been unusual, especially for him. But it had also been unusually good. And the way you had smiled at him when he had taken a second serving had made his heart warm.

Now though, there were no words that could describe the embarrassment that flowed through him. He felt exposed in a way that he had not felt for a long time and being at anyone’s mercy – even if it was yours – was not something that he cherished.

“Well,” you started with a smile and looked at him, “If your dad won’t mind, I could certainly bring over a cake for your birthday party.”

“He won’t mind.”

“I won’t mind.”

Your eyebrows shot up in surprise and you smiled, genuinely smiled, at him. Paz’s breath caught in his throat. Stars, you were beautiful. Everything about you was just magnificent from the tips of your hair to your eyes, your nose, your lips, how you hugged your oversized cardigan closer to you.

“Great,” you nodded, “So … I will see you then?”

“My dad will text you the info,” Emily added, seemingly the only one who kept her cool at the situation.

You furrowed your brows in confusion, “Oh, but I don’t –“

“Dad, why don’t you give Miss Y/L/N your number?” Em brazenly suggested, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes that he knew all too well, “For adult stuff.”

He could feel his ears burn, could hear himself sputtering out words about how he did not want to be inappropriate and how this should be your decision and not Emily’s. And stars, he didn’t want to make advances towards you.

Well, he did.

He did want to flirt with you, wanted to compliment you on your kind eyes and your shining smile. But not like this. Not if it made you uncomfortable. And certainly not in the blaring lights of the grocery store aisle.

But before he could say anything more, before he could dig his hole deeper, you had your phone in your hands and were looking at him expectantly. And then he stumbled through his phone number, you nodding all the while and typing the numbers into a new contact.

“Great,” you smiled, “So – I will see you then?”

“Yes,” he murmured dumbly, “I will see you then.”

*

5:33 pm: Hi! This is Y/N 😊 Just wanted to say I’m really looking forward to Emily’s party this Saturday. Is there anything I should bring next to the crumble?

5:59 pm: Sorry, it just occurred to me that you probably only know me by my last name. I’m Emily’s teacher.

6:12 pm: Hello, this is Paz. Emily’s dad. You do not need to bring anything other than the cake and yourself.

7:43 pm: I am looking forward to seeing you too.

*

Saturday rolled around quicker than he had anticipated.

He had spent the week trying to make sure everything would be ready for Emily’s party (and your arrival) and that the apartment would be in tip-top shape to be destroyed by a bunch of kids.

He had spent almost all of Friday night wrapping presents when Emily was fast asleep only to be woken up at sunrise by his very energetic daughter who wanted to have some tasty pancakes from their favourite café around the corner.

He loved mornings like this.

Where it was just Em and him and they could enjoy their peace and quiet. Seeing her grow up was bliss and torture at the same time. He loved her, he was so proud of her and seeing her grow slowly but surely into a confident young woman was everything he’d ever wished for. But at the same time, it felt like time was slipping through his fingers. He wanted to catch these precious moments in his hands and never let them go.

This moment of calm did not last for long though, only for breakfast and until they were back in the apartment, preparing excitedly for the party that was to come.

Baking a cake was a disaster just like Emily had said it would be.

Maybe she had been right in saying that it was a tradition now. Maybe he really would not be able to bake a cake for her.

But now it was not only the cake. In less than an hour, 10 kids would swarm the way too small city apartment and he would need to prepare some food and why had he decided against ordering pizza and what if something went wrong?

And you would show up too, sometime, and he had wanted to change into something more appropriate for actually having a teacher (aka crush) over and being dressed in his flour-covered flannel shirt was certainly not it.

The doorbell rang just as the bowl of cake mix fell to the tiled floor. “Kriffing shit” he cursed trying to jump out of the cloud of grains just as he heard the tell-tale footsteps of Emily running to the door. “I got it!”

“No, Em, wait -!”

But it was too late. He had just caught himself on the doorframe when you stepped into the hallway, looking around curiously. You fit in so well, he thought instinctively, you could live here too.

“I’m a bit too early, I hope you don’t –“ you halted in your words, tilting your head at his flour-covered appearance, “mind.”

“I – I am so sorry,” he started, trying to dust off but only making it worse, “I was a bit in a hurry and I –“

“It’s all right,” you replied quickly, lifting the box in your hands lamely, “I brought cake.”

“I will take that,” Em decided, taking the cake off your hands and transporting it to the dinner table in the living room. But not without showing him the huge grin on her face.

“I’m sorry for the mess, I just …” he threw up his hands in defeat, desperation clear in his voice, as you followed him into the chaotic kitchen.

“No worries, we will manage that just fine.”

The way you said we made his heart beat faster and he stepped aside to make space for you.

The apartment Emily and he lived in was actually a miracle to find in such a big city and he still thanked the stars for the day when the landlord had decided to let him, a single father and his tiny daughter, move in. But for all its perks – the layout, the view, the small balcony that fit a small bench – the apartment had one single flaw: The kitchen.

It was a tiny kitchen with the counters wrapping around all three walls and leaving only the space free where the doorway was. And it was narrow. He had always cursed it, especially with his size, and more than once had he accidentally hit his head on a cabinet door that his daughter had left open.

And where it was small for one full-grown adult, it was a tight fit for two. Which made it even worse. Or better. Depending on how one viewed things.

You bumped against him constantly, his hands brushing accidentally against yours, one time almost smashing into you but only hitting your foreheads together. And you only ever giggled or smiled shyly at him, never ever stepping away from the closeness and it made his heart flutter in his chest.

Maybe – maybe you wanted that too.

While he was mixing the dough together under your careful eyes, you had started to slice some apples that he had found in the pantry. He threw a few glances your way, catching you looking at him too before smiling at you.

Stars, he really was behaving like a lovesick puppy, wasn’t he?

“You are pretty good at this,” he commented, nodding towards the cake that you had brought with you. You spooned a bit of cinnamon into the apple mix, before spreading the dough in the baking form he had found somewhere in a cabinet.

“It’s a hobby,” you shrugged your shoulders, “I was never good with finding new connections when I moved and I found that making good food helps people to talk to you.”

“I can’t imagine anyone not wanting to talk to you,” he blurted out, feeling his ears grow hot, “I mean because – you don’t need baking to be nice and I – fuck, wait, shit no, I don’t mean fuck, I – “

You laughed, full-on giggles escaping you as he sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. “I’m sorry, I imagined all of this differently.”

“How – how did you imagine it?” you asked quietly, stepping closer to him. Your eyes were so big now and you looked so hopeful and he could feel his heart skip a beat.

“Well, I wanted to look competent for once,” he stated, gesturing around the filled countertops, “And not forcing you to help me make up my mistakes.”

“You’re not forcing me to do anything,” you protested, biting your lip, “I – I like helping you and … spending time with you.”

“Dad, Alyssa is already on her way, are you sure want to cook? Is the cake even ready? I invited Isabelle and I don’t want her to think that I can’t –“

Apparently, he could not hide the misery on his face – when had he decided that it would be a good idea to not only bake a cake but cook for a hoard of hungry kids? – because you snorted next to him, clearly amused. Emily had crossed her arms in front of her chest, looking pleadingly up at him.

“Don’t worry, your father and I will make sure there will be enough cake to go around,” you reassured his daughter before looking at him, “Do you have a plan for dinner?”

“We could always order pizza,” Emily suggested, the hope in her eyes clear as she looked at him.

Stars, when would he ever be able to deny her anything?

“It’s true,” he chuckled, patting his daughter on her back, “We always end up with pizza anyway.”

So, while you and Em busied yourselves with putting the pie in the oven, he ordered pizza for everyone. (A few family-sized pizzas would be enough right?) And because he was feeling a little more confident, he also added a side of garlic bread and a bottle of wine to the order. Maybe you would like to stay if he could offer a glass of wine?

On his way back, he passed Emily on the way to the bathroom. “I will go get ready,” she announced loudly while also wildly gesturing towards the kitchen.

When he entered the small room, he could feel the heat of the oven already.

“It should be done soon if everything works as it should,” you announced and straightened up, “The kids definitely won’t starve.”

“I cannot thank you enough,” the relief in his voice was clear, “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

“Then it is a good thing we won’t have to know,” you teased him and the mirth in your eyes made him want to kiss you so badly. And there it was again. That silent tension between the two of you.

This would be a good moment, he thought to himself as he slowly lowered his face towards yours, Emily was occupied getting ready, the pie was in the oven, you were alone with him and he could hear your breath hitch in your throat.

Delicate fingers closed around his wrist, pulling him closer and he could feel your breath on his face and just a little bit more and then –

Ring!

He flinched away from you, bashfully rubbing the back of his neck. “That’s probably Alyssa,” he whispered, avoiding your gaze.

Alyssa was dropped off by her mother. Her eyes fell to you, standing in the doorway of the kitchen, drying your hands on a towel and looking very much at home (he tried to ignore how warm that made him feel).

“Miss Y/L/N,” she greeted you, clearly caught off guard, “what a surprise to see you here, I didn’t know that Emily had invited you too.”

“Oh well you know …” you shrugged your shoulders and he could hear the wheels turning in your head, searching for a good excuse.

“My dad invited her,” Em announced smugly, her and Alyssa grinning from ear to ear.

The awkward silence between the adults would have been hilarious hadn’t he been a part of it. But what his brain decided to focus on the most was the fact that you had not denied it, you had simply smiled at Alyssa’s mom, made some small talk about the newest English project you had the kids working on, and remained standing next to him the whole time.

Paz was sure that his gazing at you was obvious to everyone present but he could not help himself.

One after another, the little guests trickled in, playing board games and eating your delicious cake in the living room. He helped Em set up the little karaoke game that she had gotten from Din last Christmas and excited cheers filled the room as they tried to look at the different song options.

Paz left them to their own devices, knowing that should anything go wrong, Em would come and get him.

But with the living room occupied, the only space left for him and you to be was the tiny kitchen.

“So … I, um, I helped you with the cake,” you started to shuffle, hands wringing in front of your belly, “I really don’t want to outstay my welcome and –“

“You could stay if you want,” he suggested, blood pumping in his veins, “I – I have ordered some wine and garlic bread if you’d like.”

And that’s how you ended up sitting next to him on the kitchen floor, your legs stretched out in front of you. He had to angle his legs a little, the space between the counters too small for him. But the closeness it provided to you was more than worth it. He fished two wine glasses from the shelf, handing them down to you before grabbing the bottle of wine.

There were no clean plates left so he spread the pizza carton out on both of your legs, the warmth of the food seeping into his thighs.

“To a successful birthday party,” you stated, carefully clinking your glass with his, “And to the very talented father who organized it all.”

“To the best baker out there,” he replied and the way you bit your lip made him smile.

He bit into the garlic bread heartily and his stomach grumbled satisfied.

“This is so good,” you moaned next to him, mouth still full and he grinned.

You ate in peaceful silence, munching on a few leftover slices of pizza that the kids had graciously left. With the warm glow from the kitchen lamps, he decided that birthday parties weren’t so bad when he had you there to enjoy it with.

When he looked at you, his gaze fell to a drop of red sauce that had found its place on the corner of your mouth. You tilted your head questioningly.

“You, uh,” he murmured, gesturing towards his face, “You got something there.”

When your hands missed it, his own rose up to your face. He swore he could hear your breath hitch as his thumb brushed over the tomato sauce, wiping it away.

But your face remained turned towards him, your lips slightly open and were you getting closer?

Was he reading the signs right? He didn’t even know. All he knew was he wanted to kiss you. Really. Truly. No matter how inappropriate it might be.

And with the karaoke in the background and a bunch of 10-year olds shrieking the lyrics to the newest chart, he bowed down his head and kissed you. Full on the mouth.

It was soft and gentle, both of you not moving an inch. But then his hand crept forward, gently framing your cheek and you gasped against him, your hands wrapping around his neck and pulling him closer and stars you were returning the kiss.

You tasted of wine and cake and you were soft, so soft, he loved every second of it.

Slowly, he started to move his lips, brushing his tongue on your bottom lip, pulling your closer and suddenly you were straddling him, his hands on your hips pulling your closer and his back against the counter and the screeching of some Jojo Siwa song in the background.

When he slowly pulled away, your bottom lip falling from his teeth, your chest was heaving from his kisses, your lips were swollen, and he wanted to pull you to him again. A smile tugged at his lips.

“Would you like to go out with me sometime?” he asked breathlessly, eyes searching for any indication that he had crossed a line. But you were still clinging to him, your hands wandering down to grasp at his forearms.

This. This would be what he dreamed about now. The smile on your lips, how your eyes shone in the low kitchen lights, how you kept touching him.

“I’d really like that,” you nodded, the small smile on your lips growing bigger by the seconds.

“Really?” he asked, his nose nudging against yours, “That’s – that’s great, how about tomorrow? We could go for a walk in the park?”

“A walk in the park sounds great,” you whispered against his lips and he dipped his head to kiss you again, just as slowly.

“Good,” he murmured.

“Good,” you repeated, your tongue mingling with his.

“Dad, do we have any more of that cake left, it’s actually really –“

In a panic, he almost threw you off him.

You were doing your best to right your cardigan as Emily entered the kitchen, eyeing both of you suspiciously.

“Sorry, what was that, Em?” he asked, swallowing hard and hoping to all the stars that she hadn’t seen him make out with you like a teenager.

“I was just wondering if you had any more cake left, I can’t believe it but it actually tastes good?!”

He laughed and gestured towards the counter, “there some more, you can take the tray to the living room, I – we will just clean up some more.”

“You know, I totally saw you two kissing, right?”

“Emily Vizsla!”

“What? It is not like I am going to scold you or anything,” and with her usual confidence, she swayed away, the cake in her hands.

“Well, you heard her,” he grinned, hands coming up to frame your face again, as he kneeled on the tiles, his lips descending yours, “It is not like she is going to scold us or anything …”

And with that, he kissed you again.

[strangerthings4theories]

Something I’ve been thinking is why did the mind flayer choose Billy to be the only one that didn’t mush into it when all the other flayed became the mf? I mean you could say since he was the first one to become flayed, and the strongest, it was reasonable to keep him around for help with making sure it got El. Also he was the mind flayers eyes and ears. But like something about that doesn’t sit right with me. It’s a monster from a dark dimension does it really need the help of a really strong teen boy? It could have easily gotten El without Billy, especially after El was bit even though she got it out. Will had the mindflayer taken out of him yet is still somehow connected to it. So I’m sure the mf would find her with some strange connection it seems to keep with people. Maybe I’m just trying to convince myself that Billy is some higher power. Idk it just felt like he was ‘chosen’ per day. What are your thoughts on this, and if he were to have been chosen why do you think that would be?

This is a question where it's useful to switch between Watsonian vs Doylist modes of interpretation.

Quoting from a post I reblogged recently (but currently can't locate because Tumblr hates me):

watsonian: the enchantress cursed the eleven-year-old prince from beauty and the beast and all of his servants because fairies don't understand why humans would think that's insane and unfair. I am using in-universe evidence to explain why the character might think or act a certain way, as if belle and the prince and the enchantress are real people.

doylist: the writers didn't realize that the prince would have been eleven when he was cursed until it was too late to change it, and the servants are also cursed because talking furniture is funny and allows for unique character design. I am explaining this plot point based on an outside knowledge of how writing works and how writers think.

From a Doylist perspective, the Duffers didn't want Billy to melt into the Mind Flayer because that's not the story they're telling. Personally, I think that's the strongest explanation for why they made this choice. They wanted him to make it to Starcourt, have a redemption moment, stand up to the Mind Flayer, and keep it from killing El. In my opinion, they also wanted to mark him as a demigod - a "chosen one," as you point out. In-universe explanations were secondary here, not primary.

BUT, I do think an in-universe (aka Watsonian) explanation is in the works. The first one you suggest, that the Mind Flayer needed a spy and enforcer on the ground, strikes me as pretty solid. Will still has a connection to the Mind Flayer, yes, but the Mind Flayer can't use it anymore. And we don't know of anyone who has a strong enough connection to it otherwise. So, imo, the Mind Flayer made a logical choice by leaving Billy intact. Billy is more useful running around on his own. (If only for the fact that he's smaller and can move around in tight spaces 😆)

I don't think that's the full explanation though. Moving forward, I believe we'll find out Billy really is a "chosen one" of some kind. The Mind Flayer didn't possess him by accident, and it had reasons for leaving him alive as long as it did. If you're interested in exploring this further, you can check out my posts about Billy's mother. (Just look through my index post)

[ayuuria]

Yashahime Translation: Animage Magazine May 2021 Issue

Please do not repost this translation without my consent! This includes screenshots of any type and amount. If you wish to share this translation, simply link to this post.

For more information regarding the use of my translations, click here.

The Yashahimes’ Future

The three Yashahimes who carry both demon and human blood: Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha. The three of them have varying personalities, environments in which they were raised in, and goals for their actions. However, through the shared task of demon slaying, they slowly begin to accept one another. Though they are not a perfect “Close, in sync team”, trust has certainly budded between the girls who, together, have overcome any difficult situation. Even Kirinmaru’s attack that killed Setsuna in one stroke could not sever the bond that connects the three. Towa especially, who received a broken Tenseiga from Sesshōmaru, appears to have not yet given up on Setsuna’s life. Although it looks like the girls will still continue to face hardships in the future, we want them to clear the way to a happy future with their own hands.

“Hanyō no Yashahime” entered a short break, leaving behind many points of interest such as Setsuna’s shocking death, the broken Tenseiga entrusted to Towa, and the continued separation of Moroha and her parents. Let’s consolidate the existing mysteries and wait for the second chapter (season)!

Higurashi Towa

Faced with the death of her beloved little sister, Setsuna, her demonic blood awakens for the first time. Until now, she had been using the demon sword, Kikujūmonji, as her weapon but what is this blade… …? (referring to the promo picture for season 2)

Series Composition: Katsuyuki Sumisawa Q&A

The Yashahimes’ story with continuous ups and downs. In addition to reviewing everything up until now, please tell us about the backstory and hints to the second chapter (season)!

Q. Where do Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha normally spend the night?

A. Towa freeloads at Kaede’s house. Setsuna stays at the demon slayer’s headquarters. It’s just that she can’t sleep so she probably keeps watch outside at night. Moroha lives at the corpse shop.

Q. How far apart is Kaede’s village and the corpse shop?

A. Kaede’s village is in the land of Musashi so in terms of modern geography, imagine around Tokyo’s Nakano and Suginami ward. Compared to that, the corpse shop is in the harbor so around Shinagawa ward or maybe even Yokohama. It seems the three of them frequently met up but there’s actually quite a distance. Each of them had different goals behind their actions too.

Q. When Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha first met, how was Moroha able to figure out that the two of them were Sesshōmaru’s daughters?

A. Probably through “smell”. Sesshōmaru is well known among demons and Moroha knows that Sesshōmaru is her father’s older brother. However, Moroha still doesn’t know that Sesshōmaru is the one who trapped her parents within the black pearl.

Q. Does Moroha know her parents’ names?

A. She does. When Inuyasha and Kagome were approached by Kirinmaru and Sesshōmaru, Awa no Hachiemon (aka Hachi), the racoon dog, took Moroha to the wolf demon tribe where she was raised. That being said, Kōga probably told her.

Q. Doesn’t Moroha want to meet her parents?

A. She thinks her parents are dead. That’s why her thoughts are “There’s no point obsessing over someone who’s dead”. Hachiemon the racoon dog, didn’t watch the details of the incident to the end and assumed that “If Sesshōmaru and Kirinmaru were their opponents, they’re probably not alive now.” That’s what Moroha was told through Kōga.

Q. Why is the instrument that Setsuna plays the violin?

A. When creating the scenario, I wanted some sort of “gift” from the modern era as “something to connect the modern and feudal eras”. Therefore, I decided to give Moroha the giant backpack as Kagome’s daughter and Setsuna an instrument. In addition, an instrument that absolutely didn’t exist in the feudal era was better, so I chose the violin. There of course won’t be violins in Japan and even in the West, it had a different shape than it does now. Plus, before the current story was solidified, I had thought of a plot where the modern era was the setting so it’s a remnant of that.

Q. Did Mama Moe teach Setsuna the song she always plays on her violin?

A. While she learned how to play the violin from Mama Moe, the song was not something she learned (from her). Rather Setsuna is playing a song she once heard based off her memory. Where she heard it… please wait for the second chapter (season)!

Q. With Kanemitsu no Tomoe as a medium for Setsuna and the rouge being suggested for Moroha, each of them has had their demonic blood sealed. What about the seal for Towa’s demonic blood?

A. Towa’s is not sealed. Moreover, her demonic blood had not yet awakened. That’s where in episode 24, her demonic blood awakened for the first time with Setsuna’s death being the trigger. However, that was in an out-of-control state. Going forward, how “Sesshōmaru’s blood” flowing within her will manifest itself will be something worth noting.

Q. Why does everyone call Towa and the others “Yashahime”?

A. Ever since the spirit of the Tree of Ages called them as such in episode 4, everyone started calling them that, no matter who they spoke to. At first, even Towa and the others were like “We’re not Yashahime” or “Are you referring to us?” but as they got addressed that repeatedly, they gradually accepted the name.

Q. Kohaku’s* older sister, Kin’u, is a nun but what does his other older sister, Gyokuto, do?

*Translator’s Note: I think the publisher made a mistake and meant to say Hisui

A. She shoulders the responsibility of helping Sango create the weapons for demon slaying, delivering those weapons to the other slayers, accepting demon slaying requests around the area, and collecting information on demon sightings.

Q. Is Kirinmaru a demon of Japan?

A. No. I think talking like this will be easier to understand. Kirinmaru is one of the few greater demons who is aware that the earth is round. In that era, the only ones who have a sense of this are probably just Kagome, Towa, and Kirinmaru. Having circled the globe many times, Kirinmaru, who had traveled around the world, met the Dog General at the very end in the land at the farthest end (of the earth), Japan. Ever since then, he has remained in Japan so it could be said that he’s a demon of Japan, but his existence is on a bigger scale than that. Kirinmaru frequently reads Western books and he orders those from various places around the world. The one who buys them is Riku. Naturally, I’m sure that not only does Riku secretly read the Western books in the library, but Kirinmaru wouldn’t reproach him for such a small thing either. In episode 7, Riku called the apple a “Forbidden Fruit” but of course, I’m sure Kirinmaru has read the bible before. That’s most likely because he’s been alive since the era of myth so he may have seen Buddha or Jesus Christ in the flesh. There’s probably no way he saw Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit though… … (laughs).

Q. Point blank, what is the relationship between Kirinmaru and Riku? In a reflection of the past (200 years ago), it seemed Riku didn’t have any emotions. What exactly was that?

A. This will be revealed in the second chapter (season) as well but to give you a little hint, Riku started taking care of Zero after the Dog General died and as he healed her, he gradually began to have emotions. That’s why Riku’s way of thinking was influenced by Zero, such as “You have to destroy those that you love”.

Q. Zero lost her demonic powers when she created the Rainbow Pearls. Then what was the power she was using when she fought?

A. Zero was using the power of hexes. In this world, there is not only demonic power but all sorts of powers such as spiritual power and Buddhist power and each of them is separate. What she used was a power similar to charms and Inyougogyō**.

** Translator’s Note: Yin and Yang and the five Chinese elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

Q. Why did someone like Kirinmaru, who values reason, have the Four Perils, who had sleazy personalities, as subordinates?

A. Kirinmaru’s mind is preoccupied with a “certain matter” that’s important so he doesn’t really care about anything else. Hence, he doesn’t remember every single demon that has challenged or served under him and he doesn’t care what kind of person they were.

Q. In episode 21, it was surprising when Towa said “I like you (Riku)!”. To put it frankly, what do Towa and Riku think of each other?

A. Towa thinks Riku is “Riku”. She doesn’t perceive him as being part of Kirinmaru’s group. On the other hand, Riku thinks Towa is “The lady Yashahime that will slay Kirinmaru”. That’s why he addresses her as “Lady Towa”. Currently, there are no romantic feelings between the two of them. Just that, there’s probably “affection” from Riku to Towa.

Q. Why does Riku think “I only kill those I love”?

A. Because “Those who are loved vanish beautifully”. That is what Zero said in episode 23. To Zero, death is sad but to Riku, there’s no difference between dying and living and that they’re the same. Based on that, Riku came to think “You have to destroy those that you love” and he chooses to “kill” as an expression of love. That might be quite difficult to understand.

Q. Why is Sesshōmaru so cold to his daughters?

A. Just as a lion drops its cubs into a bottomless ravine, a demon’s feeling is that they only raise the child that gains strength from hardship. That is the “Rite of Courage and Cowardice”. It’s a little different from the feeling we humans have. That’s why hating his daughters or purposely tormenting them is certainly not the case.

Q. Although, isn’t separating the babies from their mother immediately after birth or having them fight the strongest beast king of the eastern land, Kirinmaru, a little too much?

A. If you watch the kabuki play “Renjishi” I think you will get it immediately. Anime is fine, but I would like to recommend the traditional arts that have ceaselessly been passed down since ancient Japanese times. Even if going to see them is difficult, researching on the internet is easy. Even the phrase “Rite of Courage and Cowardice” will show up in there. It seems that in this world, there’s no people who love their children more than Japanese people. Perhaps that’s why it can’t be helped that the way Sesshōmaru is raising his children feels very cold. However, those who watched the “Inuyasha” series I think will know but Sesshōmaru’s hearing and smell are exceedingly exceptional. He has the ability to immediately rush in, no matter how far the distance.

Q. Lastly, please tell us how production for the second chapter (season) is going?

A. Currently, we’re writing the second half of the script for the second chapter (season). The whole staff are eagerly working under this difficult Corona crisis. In the second chapter (season), we would like to create a script that is particular on the details as much as possible. In the previous series, there were many self-contained demon slaying stories but for the second chapter (season), we’ve changed the structure of the story so that it progresses with the feelings of the various characters intertwining together, just like in “Inuyasha The Final Act”. Hence, I think the impression of the story will change quite a bit. Please wait until the broadcast to see what kind of story it will be!

[categoricalabstrusity]

Classpecting Toph

Space (and it’s connection to Life, Light, and Heart)

“Those bound to the aspect of Space are, as the name suggests, concerned with the big picture. They are patient, masters of the art of 'wait-and-see', and are inclined to take things as they come. That isn't to say that they're pushovers or willing to let injustice lie-they just choose their battles wisely, understanding that sometimes you have to let something burn to the ground in order to build it back better and stronger than before. To this effect, they tend to be innovators, concerned with creation and redemption. Catch them recycling the old to make the new, the fresh, and the beautiful. For the Space-bound, the journey is as, if not more, important than the destination; how they do something is as important as what they do. At their best, they are steady, impartial, and creative. At their worst, they can be detached, apathetic, and vague.” — The Extended Zodiac Space is based on the aspect of Earth (Like Breath is to air, Blood is to water, and fire to time). Earth-benders highly value the art of 'wait-and-see' as taught by King Bumi. So if we take the fact of Toph valuing the earth-benders way of fighting and compare it to Space-bound traits I can see how she could be a Space player. Space is about passiveness, and we see Toph struggling to enter the fight, to teach Aang, and her not wanting to play an active role. Toph was the last member of Team Avatar to be introduced to the story (Emphasis on introduced, since Zuko was the last to join). However, she doesn't have much of a patient attitude, we kind of see her grow to be patient over time especially when teaching her students metal-bending. She also had a great deal of patience for her parents coddling. Space literally is about physical dimensions, Space figuratively is about Creation (similar to Times association with destruction). We don't see Toph have much ties with creating stuff, but a major note to point is her creation of a whole subcategory of Earth-bending aka metal-bending. When talking about space figuratively, we can also note that Toph started out with no space as she was coddled by her parents and couldn't be herself. Space players at their worst are apathetic, detached, and vague. I think we see this with Katara often, in the beginning they clashed because of Tophs apathetic and detached behavior. I could see Toph being a Page of Space because of this. "Pages seem to have a tendency to begin their sessions with a personal deficit in their aspect." -Mspaintadventures. We could say Toph is a Page because she starts off with a lack of space in her life (her parents, not being able to see or earth-bend, not ever getting to leave the house because of her parents, etc.). Pages have a lot of potential and once they're pushed in the right direction they are able to utilize their aspect more than anyone and become gifted in their abilities far more than any other class. If Toph was a Page, her role in Avatar would be as a realized page who has already learn from mistakes and overcame the underdog start. Like Tavros and Jake who's main role in Homestuck was trial and error until the end when they started to play a much bigger role. The inversion of Page of Space would be Thief of Time which is fitting for Toph when she goes from passive, quiet, patient, poor blind Toph in her parents image to active, goal-oriented, destructive, confident, and champion earth-bender the Blind Bandit. I could also see her as a Seer of Space. Seers use their aspect to guide and coordinate their teams by understanding their aspect. We see Toph use earth-bending (or in this case Space) to guide the team. For example, Toph is able to find better routes or paths with her bending, she is often able to tell when someone is lying, she also uses her knowledge and understanding of Space to give to Aang. Role wise, I feel like a Seer would suit the overall influence Toph has on the story. Seers give knowledge to their team through their aspect, and Toph is Aangs earth-bending teacher she is supposed to teach him how to use Space, patience, and the art of 'wait-and-see' to win against Ozai. The inversion of Seer of Space is a Witch of Time, which to me isn’t as suiting as the Blind Bandit Thief of Time. 

Space canonically also has a strong connection to Life, like how Doom is to Time. We see this with Jade who is a botanist, and the Maryam's connection to the brooding taverns, egg, being a jade-blood, etc. This is noteworthy as I feel like Toph’s rebellious nature and Life traits can further the argument that she’s a Space player. I feel as if I did not have enough evidence to defend Toph being a Life player, so I will use it to add on to Space. Life is about healing, energy, wealth, and rebellion. My main reason for putting Life for Toph is her rebellious attitude. We see her scamming people for money, rebelling against her parents, being a big rule-breaker, and having no respect for authority once she leaves her parents; However, she still uses her wealthy background to aid the team. Once again, I don’t have much evidence for her being Life except for her general attitude towards people especially in authority. 

Space’s complementary aspects are Heart and Light. We see Heart with Jade, Kanaya, and Porrim who use Space to create fashion which they feel is part of their identity. Toph uses Heart in a different way, instead she has strong connections to self-love. Her parents idea of her makes her feel as though she can’t be herself. She felt ugly on the bridge with Katara, she hid her real self, the Blind Bandit, and basically lived a double life until Team Avatar. Jade uses Light as an alchemist and had an interest in science and knowledge, while Kanaya had an interest in other things (*cough cough* Vriska and Rose *cough cough*). Kanaya also literally shines like a light if we talk literally. The main thing we can use to connect Toph with Light is her lack of vision, her interest in earth-bending taught by badgermoles, and how she brings awareness to metal-bending. I could go on and on about how Toph could relate to Life, Void, Light, Heart, and maybe Rage, but Space is like a big umbrella made of other aspects- it’s safe to say Toph is a Space player.

Conclusion

We’ve nailed down Toph’s aspect to Space (Though she could fit under many). Now between Page, someone who starts out with a lack of Space, and Seer, someone who guides with Space, it’s kind of hard to pick. I personally think a realized Page of Space is more suiting, it also gets rid of the stigma that Pages are inherently stupid or useless. However, throughout the series her role as a Seer makes just as much sense. What do you guys think? Do you think there’s an aspect that deserves its own explanation?

Answer: Page or Seer of Space

[himaboroshi736]

IronDad fic recs

Here. I’m a french reader, but I’ve read A LOT (like...a lot) of IronDad, so, eventually, here my fic rec. (I tried to class it by categories, but well...) (it’s gonna be very long, guys)

 Peter Parker has anxiety 

Don’t let me get me, by hopeless_hope 

He picks up his phone and sends a quick text. "hey, happy! i’m not feeling too hot today, so i think i’m gonna have to cancel. tell mr. stark i’m sorry!"

He stares at his phone, waiting for a response. It never comes, and Peter sighs sadly. There was a part of him, a small part, that really hoped he was wrong. His insides burn, and he curls up tighter into a ball and turns off his phone.

(No one’s going to try to contact him anyway.)

or

Anxiety has a way of convincing Peter that everyone hates him. Tony has a way of proving him wrong.

Midnight Oil, by @jolinarjackson

After everything that has happened to Peter over the last year - or five, really - he shouldn’t be worried about something as mundane as the ACT. When he fails it, though it sends him into a spiral of self-doubt, which only gets worse when Peter realizes that he doesn’t seem to be able to fix whatever is broken.

Tony Stark has anxiety 

do you even remember what the world looks like ?, by @iron--spider

Tony’s heart has been working on overdrive since this whole thing started. Friday has a countdown clock plastered on the heads up display, but it feels like hieroglyphics to him at this point, like some ancient language he could never master.

Because when Peter Parker is missing, things start losing their meaning real quick.

“Should be around here,” Rhodey says on the com. May is still on the other line, listening in, because once a certain amount of time goes by without word from Peter, things move into Extremely Worried Aunt territory. They’re already in Tony Is Panicking territory, and when both of those territories overlap it’s never a good time for anybody.

Time? What the hell is time? His mind is blanking numbers out entirely. Minutes are seconds are hours are years.

not like megatron, by @iron--spider

“Hi! This is Peter Parker, I can’t get to the phone right now, so leave a message and I’ll call you back later! Hopefully not too much later, but don’t get your hopes up!”

Tony knows that message by heart. He’s heard it hundreds of times, in a greyer world, and it sends shivers down his spine as he climbs into the car.

He doesn’t think about that place. That half-world. No way, that’s done, that’s over, that’s history.

“Hey, kid, don’t you know it’s bad etiquette to go and disappear on your birthday? Not allowed, really, really bad vibes from the universe. What’s going on with your suit? I wasn’t watching. Nope. Just got an alert. What’s going on? Uh, call me back.” He clears his throat and hangs up like a moron, driving out into the street.

Hypothermia trope (i really like it so if you have any suggestions...)

i knock the ice from my bones, by hopeless_hope

Peter tries to move his legs through the water, dread filling him when they don’t move, and he just hangs there, doing anything and everything he can not to focus on the feeling of ice clinging to his bones. He feels sluggish, the world blurring around him, and he rests his head on the ice, not even registering the cold anymore.

He’s just so damn tired.

“PETER!” he hears someone yell, but it’s all muffled, and he lazily drags his eyes up to see a figure descending towards him.

Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he thinks, This is not how my vacation was supposed to go.

or

While on what's supposed to be a relaxing vacation with the Starks, things for Peter quickly go south, and he finds himself on thin ice. Literally.

Ice Ice Baby, by @wolfypuppypiles

If Tony, Bucky or pretty much anybody that knew Peter had seen him that morning they would have smacked him upside the head. Helping people was great, everyone should give it a go, but when helping people puts you in danger it’s not so smart anymore.

AKA Peter can't get from Avenger tower to the subway without giving his winter clothes to homeless people and ends up with a severe case of hypothermia

Candle in the Window, by @madasthesea

Finals are over and Peter just wants to go home. The weather has other ideas.

Burn This Out, by @ephemeralstark

It's summer and Peter is free to be Spider-Man all day which is great, but it's summer and Peter is out as Spider-Man on the hottest day of the year which is not great.

Or, Peter gets heat stroke because he can't thermoregulate and things could not go worse for him.

(yeah, it’s not an hypothermia, but it’s linked to the fact that Peter can’t actually thermoregulate)

Post-Endgame (really like this trope too lmao)

the first birthday after, by iron_spider 

(Endgame spoilers. But The Thing doesn't happen.)

The rain falls harder and Tony turns, his neck creaking and cracking, and he sees Peter asleep over by the window. He’s holding a small, flat box, and he’s slowly slipping to the right side of the easy chair he’s in.

Tony thinks about letting him sleep, but he finds himself speaking anyway. “Pete,” he says, his voice rough and raspy.

Peter immediately startles awake. “Happy Birthday,” he says, almost like he’d fallen asleep practicing it, planning to say it as soon as he woke up. He blinks at Tony, shivering a little bit, and then he smiles. “Happy Birthday. Happy Birthday.”

Tony snorts, smiling back. “Thanks, bud,” he says.

Second Best, by Rowan_M

Tony had adjusted to parenthood quickly when Morgan came along, and was always conscious of making sure Peter isn't left out ... Almost always. When Peter gets hurt while taking care of Morgan, Tony obsess over his daughter and takes his anger out on Peter, without even checking to see if he was okay. Steve finds Peter later that night in serious pain and in need of immediate medical attention.

Or, Peter gets hurt while taking care of Morgan and Tony basically ignores him.

when you’re feeling empty keep me in your memory, by JkWriter

after everything with thanos he forgets it's his birthday. he just assumed everyone else did too.

All For You, by @ironxprince

Three weeks after the snap that saved the world, Peter learns he was the reason behind it. He learns that Tony risked death, and now has to live with the ramifications, both physical and mental, all because of him.

This doesn't sit right with him.

you save everybody, but who saves you ?, by @iron--spider

Tony doesn’t sleep, because he can’t, because too many things are plaguing him, most of all where Peter is and what he’s doing. Tony has a good view of the hallway through the windows to his room, and he stares and stares until his eyes cross, until he hallucinates, until he knows he’s going insane.

He sees Peter sneaking into the med bay at about four in the morning.

The kid’s mask is off and he’s got two short, harsh slashes across his cheek, and he’s bleeding from a slice across his neck. His suit is ripped in a few places and he’s holding onto his middle, and Tony can see his hands are shaking.

It’s like something splinters in Tony’s already broken brain, like his world narrows and there are hazy edges, both weakness and strength entwining in his veins when he sees Peter struggle up onto one of the beds in the main atrium, starting to tend his wounds without calling anybody to help.

BAMF Peter Parker 

Pizza, a Movie, and... an Attempted Kidnapping ?, by Pogokitten

“Tony. We’ll be fine,” Peter tells the man for what must be the tenth time in the last half hour.

Peter’s sitting on the couch of his and May’s apartment and building Legos with Morgan as they both watch their father’s methodical, yet anxious, pacing. He’s dressed to impress, as is Pepper who is watching the scene slightly exasperated.

“Are you sure? We can ditch the gala, kid. Just say the word,” Tony offers, halting in front of his kids.

Or: Tony and Pepper leave Peter in charge of Morgan while they go to their first gala since the third snap. Peter is expecting a calm night in with his adopted sister, but some thugs throw a wrench in his plans.

he’s good like that, by @iron--spider

“Get the hell outta here, boy,” the man says. “Or you’re gonna watch your boss die in front of you.” Then he grabs Tony by the shoulders hard, and shoves him down to his knees. The gun is louder now, like it’s filled with words that are eager to be shouted, and Tony winces when he feels the barrel press against the back of his neck. His knees weren’t ready to hit the ground that hard, and he tries to keep the pain from reaching his face.

He must fail, because Peter looks pissed.

“You’re not gonna shoot him, mister,” Peter says, somehow still trying to maintain a respectful tone, despite the clear anger written all over him.

stark robotics and technology conference, by @iron--spider

Peter leans against the wall while Tony chooses their floor, and the doors close. “Do you, uh, want me to do some interning stuff? Like go and get you coffee? Make sure the, uh—programs are all ready? Make sure the paintings are straight in the ballroom? Make sure the chairs are—”

Tony snorts. “Kid, I just thought you’d enjoy this. May told me about when it came through Queens but you two couldn’t make it because she was working and didn’t want you to go alone, and I thought, after all the shit you’ve been through lately, that you deserved something fun. No interning for you. That’s just an excuse.”

Peter remembers that. It was six months after Ben died, and he wasn’t gonna bother May too much about the conference. He didn’t know how much tickets cost anyways, or if kids his age could even go.

He really hung onto the idea of Iron Man after Ben died. Peter held him closer than ever.

Peter and Tony fighting 

dinner and a jailbreak, by killerqueenwrites

“I’m not your kid!” Peter shouts.

“Don’t walk away from me, I’m not done–“

“You’re not my dad!”

Peter fitting in after the Blip isn't as easy as Tony hoped it would be. He wants his kid back, but they can't seem to stop fighting.

and then Peter goes missing.

my old man, by parkrstark 

"I just want to help you. I want to help you understand what's wrong here and how to stop it. I used to be the same way until my father showed me how to be a man." He glanced back at Peter to sneer. "He's old enough to know better by now, but it's not your fault you didn't know how to teach him." "Teach him what?" Tony asked even though he didn't want to know the answer.

"Discipline, of course," Junior said with a wink.

--

Tony takes Peter on a weekend trip to try and change his mind about college and things go wrong. Then, they go even more wrong.

Between how it is and how it should be, by @frostysunflowers

''Doesn’t Captain Rogers ever…wonder,'' Peter winced as he fumbled for the right word, ''where you are?''

Bucky smirked. ''Steve’s a regular mother hen. Used to be me that worried about him.'' He gave Peter a pointed look. ''Better question is, isn’t Stark wondering where you are?''

Soulmates trope 

presumed dead, by killerqueenwrites 

Tony gets his first soulmark when he’s fifteen, his second when he's thirty. He's forty-six when his third appears, and forty-eight when it fades to grey.

did you see the flares in the sky ?, by justt-ppeachy

‘hi’  

One simple word was displayed proudly on the inside of his right wrist. Tony wasn’t sure when this word showed up or how long it had been there.

A line formed underneath the word and Tony could almost feel the pressure on his arm from the marker his soulmate was using to push one phrase from their skin into his.

‘i loev yu’

The letters were written slowly and messily as they showed up upon his wrist while he watched in disbelief. Not sure if he was hallucinating or just going insane, Tony rubbed at the writing, wondering if they would disappear once he looked again.

The words were barely recognizable, but they were still the best thing Tony had ever seen.

IronDad Fluff (yeah)

peter wearing tony’s hoodie, by killerqueenwrites 

Tony’s used to his clothes going missing. His MIT hoodie doesn’t often leave his closet, though, which is why he notices its absence straight away. There’s a lifetime of safety and comfort in this old hoodie, for both of them, and that’s all Tony could ever wish to give Peter.

Career Day, by @superhusbands4ever

“Hey, sorry I’m late,” Peter’s enhanced senses picked up the familiar voice from outside the door. “I had a meeting this morning and then I got lost looking for the class… anyway, I’m here for Peter? Peter Parker?”

He frowned at hearing his name, still unsure what exactly was going on. He watched as his teacher continued to stand and stare out the door for a minute before seemingly remembering herself and taking a step back.

“Of course! If you could just go sit next to him until your turn, he’s in the back on the right side.”

The man stepped through the door and Peter gaped with the rest of the class as Tony Stark, in his signature suit and goatee, sporting a pair of red sunglasses and carrying a suitcase walked through the door.

Kryptonite, by forensicleaf 

The kid is acting weird.

Tony tries to figure it out.

father’s day, by @iron--spider 

It’s Father’s Day, and Tony never really had a father. Not in the real sense of the word, not in the way that counts.

Peter Parker doesn’t have a father, either. Not anymore, anyway, not since he was little, and the amount of years that have passed since then outweigh the amount of time he got with Richard Parker.

Tony wouldn’t call himself Peter’s dad. He wouldn’t, he doesn’t, he doesn’t think of himself that way, no way, no way.

He stares at himself in the mirror. He pulls down on his cheeks, makes his eyes water. He runs his hands over the roughness of his jaw and sorta hates everything about himself right now, because he’s acting like a goddamn idiot. It’s Father’s Day and he’s not a father. He doesn’t know why the hell he’s pining for something that isn’t his, shouldn’t be his, can never be his. He isn’t a father, he isn’t Peter’s father, so there’s no reason on God’s green earth for Peter and him to do something for Father’s Day.

ain’t no valley low enough, by @iron--spider (yes, again, ‘cuz she’s the best)

Peter snorts. “You know I didn’t apply anywhere in Florida.”

“Please, kid, you know all you have to do is write a beautiful essay with my recommendation attached to it and you’re in. You’ve got the scores.”

Peter has a list. Of all the places he applied to, all the places he got into. A lot of it was encouraged by the adult role models in his life, some of it by Ned daydreaming about places like California and Colorado. Mostly, Peter just applied everywhere he could think of, because he’s known for a long time that Tony was gonna help May pay for it, and he didn’t wanna limit his options. Thinking about college has been strange for him, strange to the extent that he had a full blown panic attack about it in the middle of Avengers taco night last month. He can’t really understand it, doesn’t get why it feels like the end of the world—because he’s experienced the end of the world, and it’s not which campus has a bowling alley and which school has circus classes. But he nearly blacked out all the same, sobbed in Tony’s arms on the balcony until Tony proposed this. The road trip.

and when it’s hard, i’ll place your head into my hands, by hopeless_hope

“Tony,” Pepper sing-songs to get his attention. “Your mother hen is showing.”

“What?” he snaps indignantly. “I am not a mother hen. This is just... concern. Of the average kind. Perfectly normal.”

“Of course,” Pepper humors him, and he shoots her a dirty look as he types out a quick text to Peter.

or

It's been five days since Tony's heard from Peter, who's away at college, and Tony is not coping well. (Neither is Peter.)

Peter likes cuddles (and Tony too, but he always denies it... until he can’t)

my arms will hold you (keep you safe and warm), by parkrstark 

“So, you’re telling me your body...is going through Oxytocin withdrawals?” Tony asked slowly.

“Cuddle withdrawals,” Peter corrected him. “Mr. Stark cuddles.”

TW : Rape/non-cons

make me strong, by parkrstark 

It all started when Tony introduced Peter to Skip Westcott. He just didn't know until it was too late.

(There is a lot more, but I can’t find it rn ;-;)

5+1 

5 times peter clung to tony, by parkrstark 

... and the one time tony clung to him.

You are my Dad, you’re my dad, boogiewoogiewoogie, by Hittinmiss

“Peter? What’s going on kid?” Tony asked, him popping up on the phone’s screen.

“Hey da-” Peter started automatically before immediately noticing his mistake, the look on Ned’s face proved that yes, he almost called Tony Stark dad. He needed to try recover quickly because the look on Tony’s face seemed confused, especially with his slight pause. “-aaaaaamn Mr. Stark I really like your shirt. Where’d you get it?”

Smooth.

---

5 times Peter called Tony Dad and the 1 time Tony called himself Dad

5 Times Tony Took Care of Peter..., by As_Clear_As_Crystal 

“Think if I coded a sign into your suit that says ‘Baby on Board,’ maybe criminals wouldn’t be so enthusiastic about murdering you?” Tony asks airily, poking at the bottom of Peter’s foot.

Peter halfheartedly kicks at Tony with his toe. (“That’s offensive, Mr. Stark.” )

- - -

aka: Five times Tony took care of Peter, and one time Peter took care of Tony.

5 times Peter is stuck with Tony, by @iron--spider

(...and one time he’s stuck alone.)

“I wonder if Pepper’s reported me missing yet,” Tony says, with an exaggerated sigh. “I wonder if this is some kind of scheme to kidnap me or something.”

“I think the ride’s just broken,” Peter says.

“Today of all goddamn days,” Tony says, exasperation clear in his voice and in his eyes. “Ruining our trip—”

“It’s not ruined,” Peter says. “Look, we’re hanging out."

“Real quality time,” Tony huffs. “Us, a few other trapped members of the general public, and a handful of animatronic pirates. Drunk pirates. Repeating themselves.”

5 times tony forgot peter was just a kid, by @parkrstark

...and the 1 time he didn't.

Or the one where it was hard for Tony to remember that the kid fighting next to him was still just a kid.

can i get a good night’s sleep ? can i PLEASE get a good night’s sleep ?, by peterstank 

The doors open and there’s Peter, perched on a gurney with his shirt gone and a whole lot of blood staining his side. He’s bent awkwardly, clearly trying to feel his way around whatever wound he’s got.

“Um,” Tony says, approaching, “What.”

Peter looks up and—yeah, he’s lost a lot more blood than Tony had originally thought. His face is completely fucking drained. “Hey,” he says, offering a jaunty wave before returning his attention to his side. “I got shot.”

“Oh!” Tony nods. “Oh, okay. What the fuck, kiddo?”

or: five times peter doesn’t sleep + the one time he does

Five Times Peter and Tony Had Each Other’s Back, by Sahiya

... and One Time They Needed Help.

Peter is Tony’s Biological Child

I Had the Dream Again, by Skeeter_110

Peter calls Tony in the middle of the night crying.

Congratulations, it’s a Boy, by capiocapi 

"Sir, I have the results.”

“Okay, Jarvis. Hit me.”

“It’s a match. 99.9% chance that he is your biological son, which is the percentage needed to be recognized by law as a biological parent.”

Tony’s stomach did a funny swooping dance. “Great. Congratulations to me then, eh? It’s a boy.”

You Are My Sunshine, by @iamconstantine

Tony Stark had always been a man of science and he always would be. It was his personal and fundamental belief that everything had an explanation. His eventual encounters with Norse gods, alien life, and sorcerers did kind of quake this a little bit, but still.

One thing that had always confounded him as the one thing that had no scientific explanation was fate. Murphy’s law, Finagle’s law, the butterfly effect, the domino effect, the snowball effect, and the wisest of all: “Shit happens.”

So how peculiar was it that one of the greatest things to ever happen to him began with a tray of champagne?

Serie i love you more than anything, by @iron--spider 

The highs and lows of Tony unexpectedly becoming a single dad at 31– from Peter’s early baby years, all the way past the defeat of Thanos

May’s abusive boyfriend trope 

A Peter Parker Problem, by @spagbol99

Peter Parker was back from the dead. At least that is what everybody told him. He'd been snapped out of existence until some sort of time travel and an active death wish by his mentor had saved him and the universe. Just your average sort of life for a 16 year old from Queens.

Peter comes back to find May has a husband and a kid. A new family he has to fit into. But he has done it before, he can do it again.

The only thing that feels solid is Tony: the Blip and fatherhood have mellowed him and Peter loves the bond they have now. He knows Tony would be there for him through anything. But Tony needs to focus on his own recovery - not small time Peter Parker problems. When things at home take a turn for the worse, Peter decides that he'll handle it himself. He is Spider-man. He's been to space and fought aliens. He can get through anything. After all, if May is happy, he is happy, right? Right?

(again, I’ve read a lot more but can’t find it...)

Peter Parker Whump (everyone’s favorite trope)

Danger Pizza, by alice_in_ink

The window was pushed open, and Iron Man’s head popped into his bedroom. “Here’s where I’m confused—why lock the front door but leave the fire-escape-accessible windows unlocked?” He clambered through said window. “Seems like a safety hazard.”

Peter eyed the metal suit as it straightened to a standing position. “Did you break into my window to kill me?”

The face plate lifted, and Tony’s eyes quickly looked over the teen. “Christ, kid. It looks like you’re halfway there.”

...

A wild night on patrol leaves Peter with a broken back, and boy, does he want to be able to move without dying. (So he calls Anthony Stark, obviously.)

If You Can’t Catch A Breath (You Can Take The Oxygen Straight Out Of My Own Chest), by @losingmymindtonight

"And I would hurry. Little Peter is about to be under quite a lot of pressure, and it might get a little hard to breathe.”

I’ve Got You, by @thedumbestavenger

Peter runs into a Copycat Vulture out on patrol, from there, everything escalates.

Meetings and Migraines, by AllThingsGeeky

Peter has another migraine at an unfortunate time and despite his best efforts he can’t ignore it forever.

The Most Important Thing In The World, by S0lstice

Peter’s door creaked and began to bend under the force of the crowbar and for the first time since regaining consciousness, fear began to press into him. Something very bad was happening and it was happening fast - too fast for his sluggish mind to keep up.

He went with his instincts instead, the first one always being, Help Mr. Stark.

Friendly Fire, by @jolinarjackson

Finding a careful truce with the government, the “rogue Avengers” are allowed to return to the Compound where they are put under house arrest. Peter coming to spend one week at the Compound during his summer break couldn’t have come at a more inconvenient time as the opportunity to bond a little more with his mentor is overshadowed by a conflict he doesn’t quite understand. When he starts to develop a mysterious medical condition, however, the former team is forced to work together – not just to protect Peter’s identity from the DODC, but also to find the cause for his illness before it’s too late.

“He’s my kid,” Tony said, his voice hoarse. “He’s my kid and I failed him.” He covered his eyes and took a few deep, shuddering breaths. “All I ever do is fail him.” Natasha knelt down in front of him and cupped his face in her hands, waiting for him to meet her eyes before she said, “Right now, he doesn’t need you to fix this. He doesn’t need you down here. He needs you over there, in the medbay, by his side.” She thumbed tears from the corners of his eyes and ignored the ones running down her own face. “You haven’t failed him yet.”

alarm bells and panic levels, by @iron--spider

Tony lands heavy on the dock, the wood splintering hard under the metal suit. He’s having trouble breathing, his nose is bleeding, he most definitely has more than the recommended amount of broken ribs. But none of that fucking matters. The sky is clear, the assholes are down, but there’s one thing missing.

He looks over his shoulder when Rhodey lands too. His suit is dented in a few places but other than that he looks alright. His face mask flips up and Tony lets his mask retract.

“Where’s Peter?” Tony asks, his voice rough with the amount of yelling he’s been doing. Fuck these stupid assholes. They were supposed to go mini-golfing today. The kid had been looking forward to it for weeks.

Rhodey looks around, breathing hard through his mouth. “I thought you knew.”

there’s something wrong, by @iron--spider

“I’m sorry, Pete,” Tony whispers. “We should have checked you for something like this when we were resetting your arm and checking on the concussion. Goddamnit. We didn’t think.”

“He poisoned us both?” Peter asks, trying to open one eye to look at him.

“Yeah,” Tony says, brushing Peter’s hair back from his forehead. “He’s dying. He got the brunt of it, a nice fucking cocktail of bullshit, including mercury and a bunch of other toxic shit—”

“Am I dying?” Peter whispers, voice breaking.

Fitting In (Tiny Spaces), by aloneintherain

Peter's trapped beneath a collapsed building during a mission, hurt and unable to move. Luckily, his comm still works. Unluckily, the Avengers don’t realise how bad of a state Peter is in, and Peter isn’t inclined to tell them.

“Spidey, they’ve got reinforcements. We’ve hit a bit of a snag here, and I don’t think anyone will be able to help you for a while. Think you can sit tight while we deal with this?”

The pressure on his lower back and legs was becoming too much. Peter swallowed thickly, fighting down panic. He could handle this.

“Yeah,” Peter said. “I can do that.”

Collections/Series (’cause I could make an inventory of all @iron--spider stories, you know, but you have to read all of her work, if you haven’t yet) (God she doesn’t even know who I am)

iron dad bingo, by @iron--spider

stay at home, by @iron--spider

whumptober, by @iron--spider

Whumptober 2019, by @marvelous-writer

Day in the life of the Iron Family, by @marvelous-writer 

The Tumblr Archives, by @losingmymindtonight

Everything comes back to you, by @losingmymindtonight

Nice work, kid, by @madasthesea

Irondad Bingo 2019, by sahiya 

The Adventures of Spidy-son and Iron-dad, by eva7673

Tony adopts Peter (why everyone kills May, btw ?)

Accepting the Tides, by @emma--anacortes

Tony had dragged Peter from the depths of despair after May's death. It was normal that he'd grown to care a little about him, right?

Yeah, okay. He freaking loved the kid.

So naturally he would feel a little weird when Richard Parker randomly shows up in Peter's life. Naturally he'd feel protective, nervous, and confused because where has Richard been all this time? And why does Tony feel sick every time he sees him around Peter?

All he knows is if Richard hurts his kid, Tony's gonna give him hell.

Series Out of Darkness, by @starryknight09

“Is this Peter Parker?”

“Yes…”

“This is Dr. Nguyen. I’m sorry but your aunt’s been in an accident and we’re going to need you to come to Queens Memorial as soon as you can.”

Peter's life shatters with a phone call. The last person he expects helps him pick up the pieces.

[diegos-butt]

Electricity chapter 4

Summary: For the first time in her life, Melody Williams is moving out of her hometown to Minnesota where she got a job as a crime journalist for the Minnesota Daily. But this city does not only have a new job for her to offer. What will happen when she crosses paths with detective Walter Marshall? Heads up, a little electricity is involved ✨

Walter Marshall x Melody Williams (Curvy OFC)

Warnings: mention of murder, a bit of fighting

Wordcount: 3.9k

A/N: don’t do anything reckless y’all. Let me know what you think of this chapter. 😘

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3

•••

Somehow the universe was on my side for once. Once I got home, I noticed I had a new text message. I was surprised to see that it was from Walter. He asked if I got home safe. What a gentleman.

I figured he just wanted to make sure I got home safe, I didn’t think too much of it. If anything, I didn’t think we would end up texting each other for three days in a row. Did I wish that would happen? Yes. Did I actually believe it could happen? Definitely no. I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t believe it.

“Have you been texting with him again last night?” Gia asked when she saw me yawn and stretch my arms out above me. We were having a slow morning at work, and this was the third time she showed up at my desk.

“Maybe,” I smirked. Even though it started a little awkward, we were still texting. After I had texted him back that I got home safe, and he send a thumbs up emoji, it was silent for a moment. I had thought about what I could possibly text him next. I grabbed my phone to compose a text when a new message already popped up.

Walter: Still sure you want to live here?

A smile had formed on my face. He thinks he is funny huh. I was wondering what I could text back, and I thought to myself: what would I tell my friends to text back in a situation like this? Normally, I would never listen to my own flirting advice, but at that moment, I did.

Melody: Might stick around. Heard the detectives in town are quite something.

Since then, we had been texting constantly. Alright, maybe not constantly, we were both busy during the day, but we spend a good amount of the late evening texting. We got to know each other a little better. I told him about my family, and I shared a few awkward stories. For example, I told him about the time I was too stubborn to put on sunscreen during the summer, and I got sunburned to bad, I would never forget to apply it ever again. I still apply it every day, even in the winter.

In return he told me all about the shenanigans he pulled as a kid, and that he had a kid himself, Faye. At first, I was a little bit surprised, but then I figured we would have a babysitter once we would get children. Mel, get it together. You are not even dating him, you don’t even know if he likes you and you are already thinking about having children with him?! Our kids would look damn cute though..

“Earth to Mel! Stop daydreaming for once, and get some work done.” Carmen laughed and threw a pen at me, which I skilfully dodged, but it did wake me up from my little daydream.

“There is nothing to do! No development in the murder case and that’s all I am covering right now,” I said and spun around in my chair. “I am so bored right now, I don’t even know what to do.”

“Text your man, see if he has any new information?” Gia suggested.

“Hmm, he avoided talking about the case. Maybe they are having trouble getting a match with the murderer on that dating app.” I had told them about what happened the other day at the police station. I might have a hearing problem now because they had screamed so loud, I’m convinced the entire building heard them. It’s safe to say, they were very excited and convinced he liked me.

“Besides, he’s not my man!” I said while throwing the pen I picked up back at Carmen. “I mean, I wish, but he is so out of my league.”

“No one is out of your league, and I swear he’s into you. I saw the way he looked at you at the bar and at the crime scene. I have an eye for these things, trust me,” Carmen said and dodged the pen as well.

“Whatever,” I sighed. I spun around in my chair a few more times before an idea popped up in my head. “Guys, what if we set up an account on that dating app?”

“And then what? Meet with a creep? No thank you,” Gia said with a disgusting look on her face.

“I’m not a fan of that plan either. Please don’t do something like that Mel. Don’t do anything stupid. That could be very dangerous, and you know it,” Carmen agreed.

“It’s not like I’m actually going to meet him. I just want to see if I can figure out what profile he is using this time.” I stood up and looked out of the window. I oversaw the city, the sky was grey, and it was slightly raining. “Alright, fine. Can one of you give me something to do in that case? Otherwise I will make a dating profile.”

Later that day I laid in bed, trying to sleep. It was 1am and I had been trying to sleep for two hours, but I was still wide awake. I felt restless and didn’t know what I could do to fall asleep. I had tried to drink some tea, didn’t help. I watched an episode of The Office, didn’t help either. It also didn’t help Walter hadn’t texted me back for hours now. I wondered if he was already getting tired of me.

You know, I could, maybe, possible, just make an account on that dating app and swipe for a while. Maybe I would come across someone that matches the profile that the murderer would use. Gia and Carmen will probably kill me though.

I grabbed my phone. I hesitated for a second, but I downloaded the dating app. After I made an account and uploaded some cute selfies, I finally got to do some swiping. The most guys that came up were pretty basic. They didn’t spike my interest at all. They were the typical white boy, all with the same haircut and they looked like they did not only skip legday, also arm- and chestday. Half of them also posed proudly with a fish they had caught. As if that’s something girls like. Too bad none of these men look a little like Walter.

I also came across a few good looking, decent guys. I knew that was not what the police were looking for, so I swiped them to the left. The next profile was of a guy who was way too good looking. He also only had one picture. It was obviously that this picture was stolen from a model. The bio creeped me out a little. He said he liked to hike in nature, and he enjoyed the silence. You enjoy the silence? Are you trying to creep me out on purpose or what? I swiped him to the right. It was weird but I felt like this could be the one the police were looking for.

I swiped for a little while longer. Swiping a few sketchy looking profiles to the right until I felt my eyelids drop. Yawning, I put my phone aside and finally fell asleep.

The next morning my alarm woke me up. I stretched out after I turned the alarm off and grabbed my phone. There were a few messages, one of them was from Walter, but what spiked my interest was that I had a few matches on the dating app. I wanted to check it out, but I noticed I had to get out of bed and take a shower if I wanted to be at work on time.

After I had showered and got dressed, I grabbed my phone. The first message I opened was from Walter. He had texted me at 3am.

Walter: We were working late today, no breakthrough in the case. Missed texting with you, can I make it up by calling you tonight?

My heart skipped a few beats. He wanted to call? With me?! I stared at the message for a few seconds while I felt some butterflies flying around in my stomach. Okay, no need to freak out. He just wants to call, he is not proposing. Yet….

Melody: I missed texting with you too. And of course, you can call me tonight. I look forward to it.

Before I could overanalyse my response, I hit send. Take a deep breath Mel. No need to read into this too much. I checked my other messages and texted my mom and Gia back. My mom wanted to know how I was doing, and Gia needed an approval of her outfit of the day.

I walked to the kitchen and grabbed some milk and cereal. While I was eating my breakfast, I noticed the notifications from the dating app. There were a few new matches, and one of them had send a message. It was from the guy with the creepy profile. His name was John. Millions of people are named John, you could’ve at least been a bit more creative while choosing a name.

John: What do you say good looking? Let’s skip the talking stage and just meet up?

I shivered at the thought of meeting up with this guy, but he could be the one they’re looking for, right? I decided to just go to work and deal with it later.

The workday was slow and boring. I finished a few articles but spend most of my time gossiping with Gia about our favourite celebrities which annoyed Carmen at first, because she wanted to get some work done, but eventually she joined us. I also told them about Walter’s text from that morning. If I weren’t sure I already had a hearing problem from their screams before, I sure as hell would have one now. Those girls made sounds so high, I’m surprised the windows didn’t crack.

The rest day went by slow, and before I knew it the clock showed me it was 3pm. I had decided to not tell Gia and Carmen about the fact I downloaded the dating app and was considering meeting with ‘John’. I mean, I would inform Walter about it. I wasn’t a complete idiot. No need to stress those girls out. Why would I?

My phone buzzed and I picked it up. Another message from ‘John’.

John: What’s it going to be beautiful?

I thought about it, and what could go wrong? I would inform the police, aka Walter. Besides that, I can put up a fight. It’s not like I am a damsel in distress. Plus, the upside of being a little bigger; I’m harder to kidnap, you got to be pretty strong to even lift me up. I shrugged my shoulders and texted him back.

Melody: Sure.

Short, but clear. I looked around the office, Gia and Carmen both sat at their desks typing on their computers. They had no idea what I was doing. They would probably kill me, right here right now. Before I could change my mind about not telling them, my phone buzzed again.

John: Tonight, 7pm? A new bar just opened up, we could get a drink there.

The rest of the message contained the address of the place. I googled it before I answered. The website of the place popped up, and as I suspected, it was clearly a fake website. Bingo. I texted him back, saying I agreed with his plan.

The rest of the hours I had to spend at the office went by surprisingly quick. Soon people were starting to leave, and so were Gia, Carmen and me. We parted ways in the entrance hall, and I drove home. Once I was home, I looked in the fridge, and I came to the conclusion I had forgotten to do groceries. Again.

I wasn’t in the mood to order take out, so I quickly drove to the supermarket. Unfortunately, unlike last time, I didn’t ran into Walter. Shit, I still have to text him about my meeting with ‘John’. I’ll do it once I get back home.

I drove back home and started making dinner. After I ate dinner, and did the dishes, I looked at the clock. It was already 6.30pm and I had to leave soon. Glaring down at my outfit, I decided I wanted to wear something more comfortable. I went to my bedroom and stood in front of my closet. I grabbed an old pair of jeans and a simple long-sleeved black tee. No way I’m going to dress pretty for this guy. Wait, what if he actually is the guy from the picture? Nah, not gonna happen. Shit, I still need to text Walter.

I needed to hurry up and put the tee on. While putting on the jeans, I suddenly heard a sound I didn’t like to hear. I look down and saw the jeans have ripped in the area between my thighs. Thick thighs save lives? They sure as hell don’t save jeans. I thought while throwing them across the room. Quickly I grabbed another, old, pair of jeans and put it on. I put my shoes on and fixed my hair.

I ran into the living room again and grabbed my jacket. With my car keys and phone in one hand, I locked the door behind me with the other one and made my way to my car. 6.45pm, right on time. I started the car and drove off.

While I stood in front of a red light, I remembered I hadn’t texted Walter. Shit. Contemplating what to do, I decided to call him. He didn’t answer. Shit. I left a voicemail instead. The red light turned green and I continued driving. Once I had to stop in front of another red light, I decided to text him as well. I noticed how the streets around me became emptier and emptier.

The street where I was supposed to meet ‘John’ was dark and pretty empty. The sun was settling down, making it even darker. I parked my car at a parking lot and checked my phone. No response from Walter. Not yet at least. I was alone in the parking lot and decided to wait for a few minutes.

Alright, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Maybe this was pretty dumb. And why did I forgot to text Walter. Why couldn’t I have done that sooner?! You know what, I’m just gonna go. This was dumb. And reckless.

But before I could start my car, someone opened my door. A man stood there, he was tall but not very muscular and he did not look like the profile picture at all. He looked at me with a creepy grin that made me regret doing this.

“Hello there, nice to meet you. I’m John and you must be Melody. Why don’t you step out of the car?” he said. I didn’t knew what to say, so I nodded and wanted to step out, but he spoke again. “Why don’t you leave that phone of yours here, we don’t need it do we?”

I knew I had to play by his rules. So, I left my phone and stepped out. He took the keys out of my hands and locked my car. I tried to keep thinking straight. Walter should be here soon, right?

John kept talking to me in the meanwhile. He kept telling me how pretty I was and how glad he was to meet with me. I stopped listening when I heard my phone go off in the car. Walter. If that is not him but my mom, I will do something to her.

“Come on, let’s get away from that car, shall we? The bar is right around the corner,” he spoke. We were the only people in the parking lot. I noticed he had parked his car a few feet away from me. Something was definitely not right.

“You know, I’m actually good here. Could you give me my car keys back though?” I asked. I knew he wouldn’t, but I had to stall. I really hoped the police would show up anytime now.

“Ah please? Just one drink?” He took a step closer to me and grabbed my wrist. I quickly twisted my wrist, releasing it from his grip. He looked at me with an unpleased look, and I suddenly felt a presence behind me. Never sneak up on me you dumbass. I thought as I felt the presence got closer.

Once I felt someone was right behind me, I didn’t waste another second. I took a step to the right and shoved my elbow straight into the guy’s nose with full force. He grunted in pain and when I looked behind me, I saw he grabbed his bloody nose with both his hands.

“Creepy Greg from finance?!” I say surprised. “Could have seen that one coming.”

“You bitch!” the guy in front of me yelled. He raised his fist and threw it at my face. Well, he attempted it. I dodged it and slammed my fist into his face instead.

“Sorry, that might leave a mark,” I smiled.

Creepy Greg from finance was still standing behind me, crying, and telling me I broke his nose and that I would pay for it. Make me.

I looked back at the other guy, and he swung his arms at me again, trying to hit me. I ducked to the side a few times, avoiding being hit. Sadly, I couldn’t escape all his attempts to hit me. His fist met the left side of my face. I felt my blood boiling from anger. I took a deep breath and raised my fists. While I was about to throw a punch, I heard loud noises. Cars. Thank God, they’re here.

Before I could comprehend what was going on, policemen were already running towards us. One tackled creepy Greg and a familiar figure tackled the other guy and threw a hard punch in his face. This is not supposed to turn me on. At all.

Walter got up and handed the guy over to another cop. The guy looked at me in disgust, but I didn’t see it. My eyes were focussed on Walter. He closed the gap between us by taking two passes.

“First of all, that was insanely stupid and dangerous and very dumb. This was reckless behaviour! But we will discuss this later,” he said vigorously.

“Yeah, I figured,” I said. I opened my mouth to continue speaking, but he spoke first.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt?” he said with a concerned look in his blue eyes, and his hand caressed the cheek that had been hit. As his rough, calloused fingers touched my skin I felt a spark of electricity going down my spine. His other hand found its way to my waist, and he pulled me a little closer to him. His body radiated a welcoming warmth, and I smelled his familiar musky cologne.

“I’m fine, just got hit once. You should see creepy Greg’s nose,” I snickered.

“I did, and you sure know how to throw a punch,” he smiled. “I’m glad you’re okay. And I’m glad you called and texted me. I’m sorry I missed the call. If I hadn’t missed it none of this would have happened.”

“No, don’t be sorry. This was a pretty stupid, reckless plan and I should have called sooner,” I quickly answered.

“It was indeed reckless and stupid,” he sighed. “Look, we need to take your statement. Why don’t I take you home after?”

“I’d like that, but my car is here,” I said while pointing at it. His hand left my cheek, but his other hand remained on my waist. He was so close to me, and I felt so comfortable despite what happened a few minutes prior.

“We’ll take care of that, don’t worry.” He grabbed my hand, interlaced his fingers with mine and guided me to one of his colleagues. My heart was racing and skipped a few beats at the same time. His hand felt warm and comforting. I never wanted to let go.

We reached his colleague and he started asking me questions and he squeezed my hand before letting go. He walked away to speak to some of his other colleagues and I immediately missed his hand, it felt like mine had fitted perfectly in his.

I told his colleague what happened, and I could see he thought it was really reckless, but I also saw in his eyes he was kind of impressed. He complimented me on how I stayed calm, but he did tell me to never do anything like this again.

Once he dismissed me, I looked around for Walter. I noticed him already walking towards me, and he offered me a little smile.

“So, Liam is going to take your car down to the station and I will drive you home, alright?”

“Thank you,” I smiled at him. “Can I get something from my car? My phone and keys are still in there.”

After we got my stuff out of the car, he pointed at a big truck. We walked towards it in silence, and he placed his hand on my lower back. Oh god, please keep that hand there forever. Okay, I might be incredibly touch starved.

Unfortunately, we reached the car too soon and his hand left my back to open the door for me. I climbed in and he closed it. He walked around the truck, took place behind the drivers’ wheel, and started the car. While he drove into the street he asked for my address.

We sat in silence next to each other, the radio softly hummed a rock song. I looked out of the window, it was dark and suddenly I realized that what I had done tonight, could have ended badly. Really badly.

“Hey, are you okay?” Walter put his hand on my thigh but when I looked at him, his hand shot up to my cheek to wipe a falling tear away.

“Yeah, yeah. Just realizing that this maybe wasn’t a smart thing to do,” I offered him a small smile. His hand left my cheek and found its way back to my thigh. The warmth coming from it spread throughout my entire body and I didn’t think twice and placed my hand on top of his. He turned his hand around and interlaced his fingers with mine for the second time that night.

He smiled at me and focussed on the road again. We were near my home, but I did not want to be alone now. Heck, I wanted to be near him. I didn’t want him to go. It felt so good to just be around him. I have never felt so comfortable around someone so quickly.

He parked the truck in front of my apartment building, not letting go of my hand.

“So, we’re here,” I mumbled. He grunted in response. We sat in the truck in silence for a few more minutes until it started to rain. I knew it was now or never, he was not going to offer going inside with me. Not after what happened. Perhaps he thought I wanted to be alone.

I felt anxious, but I decided to just ask it.

“Could you stay with me for a while?” I avoided looking at him, but he squeezed my hand and his other hand gently grabbed my chin, making me look into his eyes.

“Sure thing doll.”

•••

> chapter five

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