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kaledya · 2 months ago

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HIIIII @marquisev first of all I'm so sorry for the late return!

And how are you? I hope you are well! And I heard that school is back in session and if you are still studying I wish you a good school year!

The Prince and the Spy

This episode was simply amazing I loved the way Serenity and Constantine's relationship was written Even I don't think I could write them that accurately Your description of the scenes and the writing of the dialogues are excellent. Also the description in the episode was very nice. And Serenity's interpretation of the overlord meeting from her perspective, where she expressed her opinions about Alastor and how she found it strange that his act had changed so much, was also very well written.And I was really glad that we got a little glimpse of Hürrem.In one word it was great

—----------

Assistant and detective

YIPPE MORE HÜRREM AAAA!!!!

Hurrem's dialogues are really fun to read.I've already warmed up to his personality.Hürrem has self-confidence and wants to achieve the glory that lies before her.Even though she is a little nervous on this path, she is someone who does not let herself be crushed and chooses her words well in a conversation.

I really liked the writing of the dialogues.And my god, you really write and describe Constantine wonderfully, every move and every speech is written wonderfully, it's just perfect!!He has an extremely calm demeanor, speaks with care and never tries to crush Hürrem, he shows her kindness and respect.

The part where Hurrem wanders around hell looking for the meeting point was nice, and her little dialogue with Gio already gives a nice preview of their dynamic!

It's really fun to read about Gio and Hurrem's relationship, they have a really great dynamic.I really liked the jokes in between, it makes the reader warm up to the characters quickly.its like A spin-off series like Helluva Boss , although the main series is more story-oriented, here we get to know Hell much better thanks to the characters.Seriously great write up

And I think that the duties of the two are well explained in the chapter and Hurrem's situation as Goetia is also well touched upon.You captured that serious and playful vibe perfectly.And I really liked Gio's inner thoughts too.In general, the way you wrote him is great. The Judy and Nick vibe between Hurrem is very nice!!

*It's so cute how Hürrem makes parrot sounds when

she gets angry!

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Popcorn

My eyes are blessed, Maid Verdelet is so beautiful

And congratulations on 200 kudos!!! Honestly you deserve so much more!!

And I don't know exactly what kudos is too, but I think it's something like ‘ like’, which means "thanks for writing this fanfic.”

And yes, the introduction of Baxter! It was really fun to watch that little animatic. I'm really curious about the impact Baxter will have on the story.

I think the interactions between Baxter and Lolica would be really interesting and I think they could be friends. Lolicia could be one of the people Baxter talks to the most at the hotel.

LOLICIA'S NEW OUTFIT OMG IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL!!!YOU SERIOUSLY DESIGN GREAT CLOTHES.LOLICIA'S NEW HAIR STYLE IS GREAT TOO SERIOUSLY READY FOR BATTLE!

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Before battle

The scene at the beginning of the episode where Alator was hallucinating was really nice. I think it added a great air of mystery to the episode, and as always, it was great to read Alastor's inner thoughts.I find the details you put in your dream really clever. It's nice to see such small details for both the future of the story and Alastor's own story.

I really like the way you portray Charlie, her interactions with Alastor are so beautiful to read.And I liked that she talked about the hotel's condition, so we can learn what the hotel is currently like.

The detail of Alastor not liking Precious really made me laugh.

Alastor's interpretation of Charlie's movements was really nice, and the dialogue that Charlie talked about caught my attention.

‘’I can understand that! she laughed heartily. I made mistakes for a long time and a lot of people don't want to see me again either’’

Charlie??

YAAY the part where Alastor remembered Serenity's memory was so cute!!

Alastor's advice to Charlie was also great!

The part where Alastor discusses his strategy with himself and thinks about his enemies and allies was really good.

I can't wait to see Charlie's reaction to him after this little massacre he's about to commit.

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IS IT AN EPISODE FROM LOLICAN'S MEMORY??? WHAT IS HAPPENING???There were too many details, too many descriptions in that memory section?? That part was really well written.Who and what is coming for her!???

There are so many questions, I can't wait for this scene to be illuminated in the future!

First of all, it was great to read Alastor and Lolicia's conversation and planning as always. You really write their relationship wonderfully.

And is Vittorio okay?? Please don't let anything happen to the little guy, there's no need to cause emotional damage to Lolica like this….

And yipppe they're finally heading towards the forest I'm already so excited for the chaos those two will cause.

—--

I'M SERIOUSLY GLAD YOU LIKE THE DRAWINGS!!❤️❤️

—-

Chapter 77 Fairy Ointment

It was really nice to get to know Lysander in this episode, I liked the parts about his childhood or the little fairy ointment story. And again, it was great to learn about Lysander's personality traits, his likes and dislikes, and to see his perspective on hell.The episode had a slightly mysterious and really nice atmosphere, the descriptions were good as always, I can picture all the scenes.

—---

Chapter 78 nettle breeze

The action scenes in the episode are very clever, even though Lys is the weak than the two in the book he know How to use forest for himself, and I think it's very nice that poison and mushrooms come to the fore in the war.I really think the war scenes are well described, it's really fun to read.The internal dialogues between Lolicia and Alastor as they interpret the events are also really nice.And despite Alastor killing sinners, they’re resurrected again and again.And the mushroom effect on them reminds me of Last of Us

I Imagine the sinners turning into more mushroom zombies every time they die.It was a really good episode, action-wise.

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Pt2

OMG WHAT IS HAPPENING???????First of all, I am amazed by the general culture you have with each episode. I did not know that nettle had such an important place in Scandinavian mythology.And everything is so detailed, from the type of tree Leiv died on to the meaning of the braids he knitted for fishing. Just wow I seriously learn new things in every episode thanks to you.

And DRAMA AND PAIN I NEVER THOUGHT THAT LEIV AND LOLICA WERE HUSBAND AND WIFE WHAT????

And the scene where Lolicia finally recognizes Leiv and reveals her identity was so beautiful and the way s Leiv shed tears was SO BEAUTIFUL

I really liked the dialogues Lolicia used there 'You called yourself my guardian but you died before me’

And for God's sake how did Leiv make enemies that they impaled him on a tree with a sword????

Also in the previous episodes Lolica was being chased by someone, what's going on?And why did they both go to hell, what did they do?

Overall, I really liked the emotional atmosphere of the episode. I think you did a great job of introducing the connection between Leiv and Lolicia.Seriously lolicia's confrontation with Leiv was so sweet

Yeeey finally Alastor's shadow brought news!!

WAIT WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S BROKEN, NO!!!???

And the water rising in the last scene AAAA I'M SO EXCITED

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Popcorn: I think Leiv's design is simply amazing and very creative, he really has a great design.And it was really cool to read the details about the design!

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chapter 81 The bear,Gold &heir saga

YAAAY YOUNG LEIV AND LOLICA

This episode's atmosphere was very nice, it reminded me of old folklore animations.The animations and storytelling are made by the studio that made Wolfwalkers.

I really warmed up to Leiv as a character. Even though he made the people under him work like slaves, his interactions with Lolicia were really fun to read. It was sweet to see Leiv get embarrassed or excited in front of her.

AND this episode left me with a lot of questions about Lolica having the Snow White passive

And ‘'and the girl with the amber eyes and golden halo’’

Facts like the color of Lolicia's hair, the fact that animals don't attack her, and the fact that she came all the way from New Orleans without a boat make the event really interesting.

So was Lolica an Saint l before and then she fell? Or was she in New Orleans when she died or was she never human?What's going on right now?

The song between Lolicia and Leiv was really beautifully written lyrically, I really liked the song

And it makes a lot more sense why Leiv referred to Lolicia as an angel.

Seriously, I have so many questions in my mind and thanks to your writing style , I look at every detail again and everything can be related to the story.

The episode was great for both getting to know Leiv better and learning more about Lolicia!!

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Popcorn

DAMN LEIV IS HANDSOME Seriously your design talent is amazing Leiv's design is really beautiful And it was so much fun reading the information you wrote about him.

I think you have really great drawing skills.

THE SKETCH YOU MADE IS SO GOOD!!! IT WAS GREAT TO SEE THE HUMAN LOLICIA AND LEIV'S JUMPS ON HIS WIFE'S LAP AND SEEKS CONsolation IS SO CUTE TOO

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Chapter 83 The calving of glaciers

THIS EPISODE WAS SO AWESOME

I love everything about this episode so much

First of all, I've said this a few times, but I love the way you write Charlie, she stands her ground and also worries about her friends and tries to protect those around her.But she also knows that she can show her power to take control of the situation if she wants to.

Charlie talking to Husk about Angel was really nice, I really liked the dialogue between them.And I love The way you write Husk, as the depressed old but wise bartender, even though he's had too much to drink, sometimes he gives the best advice.

The scene where Charlie notices the water on the ground and tries to call Vaggie but her voice doesn't come out was really nice.

And Constantine's warning to Charlie was really very logical, as a reader I said, okay, something must be going very wrong.

And I think the warning system is really creative and logical!

I really liked the confrontation between Charlie and Alastor. Charlie not giving in or retreating despite Alastor's objections really suited her character.

In general, I liked the episode very much. The descriptions are good, it is a preparation for the other episodes, the general atmosphere of tension and mystery is very good.

—--

Episode 84 The Calving of Glaciers

HOW CAN YOU INCREASE THE QUALITY SO MUCH IN EVERY EP?

I don't know where to begin praising this episode.

Lolicia's reactions to the events were SO good Fitzroy's betrayal was really effective in the story, and Lolicia being cornered for Vittorio really increased the tension in the story.

I really loved the dialogue between Fitzroy and Lolica, there was great tension and I really wondered what Lolicia's next move would be.

VITTORIO DID NOT DESERVE THIS. HE WAS ONLY PROTECTING HIS FRIEND. DISHONORABLE FITZROY I HOPE LOLICA BEAT HIS ASS

Also, the scene where Fitzroy throws Vittorio's severed arm in front of Lolicia is very impressive.Also Fitzroy's purpose in entering the Maze actually made sense and Lolicia remembered Serenity's words where it was really nice.

LOLICIA'S DEVIL FORM????? A VERY HIGH-QUALITY ACTION IS COMING, BABY!!!!

I really liked how Charlie was so worried about Lolicia and it makes perfect sense that Alastor was trying to hold her back 'believe me my Dear , as someone who has experienced it, I advise you not to do this’

IT'S SO COOL THAT LOLICAN'S SONG IS A VERSION OF GET IN THE WATER AND I LOVED THE LYRICS YOU WROTE

Every stage Lolicia goes to her demon form is so cool, you described it perfectly

NOOO LOLICIA HAS TRAPPED THEM IN A BUBBLE OF SILENCE CHARLIE DO SOMETHING GIRL!!…Your friend losing her control a bit…But of course, as a reader, I wouldn't say no to cool scenes and I'm very excited right now.

I really liked Charlie asking if Alastor was manipulating Lolicia. The fact that She made a move with the information she had and questioned Alastor was really nice.

And I really love how you added Precious to Charlie's scenes, it's a nice reminder that she's there too.

It was nice that Alastor laughed and rejected the question 'who am I to manipulate her’

And Constantine gives another warning message

things are getting worse.’

YAAAAAAY DRAMA AND ACTION

And Alastor says he's seen Lolicia like this before YIPPE FLASHBACK IS COMING!!

—-

Chapter 85

YEEEY FLASHBACK I think Alastor made the mistake of his life by going after Lolicia, but we'll see.

I can understand Alastor's questions, why is Lolicia so powerful if she's not doing the things the Overlords do to gain power?

AWWW Alastor remembers him trying to comfort Serenity because of her fear of the dark.

The scene where Lolicia appears from the darkness is so cool!

+I liked her dress

The indifference and ego that Alastor showed before he was defeated by Lolica was really funny I mean, with all this arrogance, it's a great chance not to lose to anyone today, you know what they say, radio demon, arrogance and pride are the things that blind a person the most.

Did he grab her chin? Alastor seriously where is the gentlemanliness in war? Tch tch tch

Okay, I loved Lolicia's cold and professional attitude in this war, it was very cool.It was also very good that she said 'you are too weak' to him specially when she had all the cards.

The poetic words that Lolicia said were really beautiful, I thought they were all very meaningful.

The last 3 warnings Lolicia gave to Alastor were really cool. In general, I really liked Lolicia's attitude in the episode. It was very fun to read.

She acts very noble and mysterious and You are very good at describing the environment and characters.

Then, the part where Alastor walks around injured and questions his actions and mistakes is really good.Then, in the part where Zestial comes to Alastor and gives a speech,It's always nice to read Alastor and Zestial's dialogues.And at the end of the episode it was nice to finally have an alastor who had suffered losses and probably learned from his mistakes.Because if he hides that ego, he won't be able to stay there for a long time.

In general, I really liked everything in this episode, the character dialogues, Lolicia's writing, Alastor's writing, the events, everything.

10/10

and I have gifts for you!!! and first of all I think you are a very good designer I really think your outfit designs and character designs are great please don't stop drawing you have a really great talent!

fanfic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/55936840/chapters/142045639

#hazbin hotel fanfiction #hazbin hotel

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bomber-grl · 1 month ago

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Flufftober 2024

Day 4: Ghost stories

Pairing(s): Julian Devorak x Gn!Reader

Played his entire route again so..

After your visit to Nevivion the shop had been back in business. Especially with it being October, people began being suspicious of the super natural.

They also really liked the herbs and spices you had in shop that went with their fall desserts nicely.

Lately, there had been an influx of bats, it was strange as they weren’t supposed to be anywhere near the shop but still welcomed none the less.

They had bothered a few customers here and there but they weren’t just the only talk of the town.

Recently, there has been rumours of something creeping in the woods, and in alleys occasionally. You heard most of this from clients and assumed it was mere gossip.

Until Julian also started telling you about it- also gaining gossip intel from his patients.

It had been awhile since you two did anything adventurous and so you practically leaped at the opportunity.

So with turning the shop sign to ‘closed’ you two departed into the forests on the outskirts of Vesuvia.

There wasn’t much to say besides the forests being creepy, especially now that it was nightfall.

Even if the sky above still had a little light, the dense forest allowed hardly any to pass through the trees.

Atleast you had your orb of light.

“It’s a uh lovely night isn’t it?” Julian comment was obviously to poke at the fact that no, it was not a lovely night it was very much creepy.

Mostly said out of nerves if anything.

Still, you were too alert and focused to humor him by smiling and heard a small “tough crowd” come from Julian trailing behind you.

That did earn a smile.

You continued onward, it was still strange to you as Muriel for sure would’ve been aware if anything amiss was going on.

One misstep on a weirdly glowing mushroom had you falling, you were way too stuck in your head.

Luckily Julian had managed to catch you in time. “You alright dear? Who knew you could still fall for me.” The joke was obvious from a mile away and yet you couldn’t stop that look of surprise from creeping onto your face.

You guess you didn’t respond quick enough as you were staring at eachother in what could only be described as awkward silence. Julian’s face erupted into his classic blush.

“Of course I would, I struggle to pay attention each second I’m with you” wasn’t the best line you had but it was something.

Julian’s blush of embarrassment left and came back at full force, he tried laughing it off but to no avail.

The moment ended as something glowing whipped past you before you could even process it, it quickly flew past Julian too and landed behind him.

To his credit, he did manage to keep it together for all of about 5 seconds before jumping into your arms.

Over the top? Sure but when was he not.

You could pamper him later, right now you needed to see what that was. As you creeped closer to the glowing enigma it began to crawl(?) away from you.

You (despite Julian’s protests not to) quickly scooped the creature up and inspected it. No wonder it was crawling away, the light must’ve had the power of a thousand suns to it.

You quickly dimmed the light orb as Julian creeped over your shoulder to inspect the what you now realized was a bat.

“A glowing bat?” Julian had voiced your thought for you.

Though you quickly realized it must’ve been coated in that stuff the mushroom was emitting, kudos to that mushroom that died for your discovery.

“It must’ve been doused in whatever is making the mushrooms glow” you shared your thought with Julian. “What type of psycho would do that to those bats?” Julian had slightly slipped away from his hiding spot behind you.

“I don’t think anyone did it to them, if I had to guess they probably ate them”

The main clues was the its mouth had been the most covered in the substance, plus you remembered hearing about those bats and mushrooms in a book back at the palace library.

The only logical reasoning was that they weren’t from around here and resorted to the next best thing for a food source.

Just to make sure no misunderstandings continued, you two informed Muriel and made your way back to the city.

First you had to get Nadia to safely move those bats, they weren’t from the surrounding wildlife and they needed to go as they clearly weren’t doing the environment and theirselves any good.

Luckily the rumors died down and even if you didn’t get the adventure you had expected, Julian seemed more than thrilled to return home and cuddle up with you.

—-

A/b: far fetched but I really couldn’t think of anything 💔😣

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kankuroplease · 7 months ago

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can you tell us what happened after Ringo and Wolgang's marriage, their daily lives, when they had their first child and especially how many children did they have?+ their leave Konoha ?

I have a few quick HCs about those things~

The first thing to happen was Wolfgang placed her Uchiha robes under the floorboards of their home as she was an Inuzuka now, but he thought it would be a shame to burn them like she had wanted to

Ringo dedicated a good amount of time trying to figure out Wolfgang’s hair color sections and realized his stubble is even two toned

Wolfgang learned that Ringo snores in an adorable manner when she’s truly exhausted (he’ll never tell her that she snores as she very proud that she doesn’t)

Her cat did not like his ninken but, he eventually all got along with them after being forced to train together by Wolfgang

Ringo thinks it’s funny how serious Wolfie is about cleaning and tries to keep up with his cleanliness

Which he appreciates, but still does majority of the cleaning for his own sanity

He gives her foot massages whenever she seems stressed as those seem to relax her down and he can better contain himself unlike with back messages

They often stay up late when the night sky is clear to appreciate the stars and moon with some nice snacks and sake

She still teases him often by helping him clean up while wearing something revealing or by asking him to wash her back for her innocently

He ends up having to mend whatever he’s torn because she often wears his clothes while tempting him in that manner

They are a possissive (and somewhat jealous) pair which does lead to some negative reactions when Wolfgang sees another man eyeing his woman on her or when Ringo catches some other woman wagging her tail around her man

It’s not that they don’t trust each other; they both just view it as disrespectful for someone else to hit on their partner

Nothing a few kisses and a quick dismissal can’t fix to make it clear they’re a pair and not looking for a third

Outside their happy home; the Inuzuka ladies were eager to bring Ringo into their group of friends and teach her more of their ways

Wolfgang got her a puppy and the girls joked (it’s not really a joke) that he was getting her ready for a baby

Ringo is very much happy with her new life but is bothered that she still has to answer to her older brothers or they’re brought up in decision making (I.e. “Madara does think it’s a good time—“ , “Izuna said—“ blah blah blah she doesn’t care)

Their first child wasn’t planned necessarily but was very expected and welcomed into the world about a year and half after their wedding

Her mother came and helped with their first son

After the birth of their second child, Ebba decided it was time for her homeland and Ringo saw it as an opportunity to establish her own life away from her brother’s watchful eyes

Ebba only agreed to take them because she was attached to her grandchildren, she still told them it was probably a bad idea though given her people are welcoming, but rough around the edges Ringo didn’t listen

It wasn’t an easy decision given her family didn’t want her to leave and she’s never been away from them for more than a couple of months here and there

but she set her mind to it and promised to stay in touch with everyone before setting off

It was quite the journey to get to Ebba’s homeland and Wolfgang was surprised to see so many Inuzuka there as well

Ebba like “boy, we merged. Of course there’s Inuzuka’s here too!”

Ringo picked up on their language fast and taught their children how to speak it as well, even though it wasn’t necessary given they also spoke hers, but that earned her and Wolfgang’s little family kudos

Wolfgang gets teased that she speaks it better than him

It’s there they have the rest of their bunch. Six pregnancies leading to eight kids 🐾

#ask #kpz naruto founder au #OC: ringo uchiha #OC: Wolfgang Inuzuka #knfau 🖼️#my art #Wolfgang x Ringo #kpz pack 🐺

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rewordthis · 5 months ago

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So I just watched the last episode of Wind Breaker and I’ll say one thing only; if you haven’t watched it yet, GO!

It got green-lighted for 2nd season for 2025, too!

I’ve been seeing activity about it around tumblr, and to be honest didn’t think much of it, but it’s good. It really is good. I’m already looking forward to 2nd season~ 😋

But right now I want to talk about something I didn’t like. Minor complain but, hey! My post, my rules!

You see…

Sometimes I have beef with the translations for niche things and sometimes it’s because they’re plain stupid…

Like, I hate how Umemiya says “do you like or hate him” here (specifically referring to Togame, あいつ, and actually stressing on the ‘like’ part in the next scene because Sakura tried to stand up for him) and Sakura just full out blushes like his crush has been found out (and he’s doing that a LOT! Trust me~ He’s a tsun, fun little guy <3), but the translation is just this generic line that sounds creepy af on top of detached from the person it refers to (すき is a word that is generally used as ‘like’ as in I like pasta, but for humans it heavily implies liking someone like that, because when mentioned it refers to the love side of the meaning) and it’s so… hmpf~ 😤

Sakura-chan seen through and through~ And he’s not even trying to deny IIIIIIIT (for once)!!! (//∇//)

And this has struck a chord, you know? Because Sakura is a tsun, he’s not accepting that people have seen through him but that’s the only case he does not say anything to deny it. He does not try to deflect. He merely blushes furiously but quietly accepts Umemiya’s statement before he asks what’s so important about being able to ‘converse’ with his fists like… _(:3 」∠)_

‘Yeah, I like him. Let’s change the subject… Why do you care?’

Umemiya’s explanation that this has to meet two conditions in order to happen is… making things even more personal… hhhn~ a) you need to face your opponent and b) to want to know them (and Sakura did thought that during their fight; anyone else getting flashbacks from all those shojo/bl manga this has been used as the catalyst for the mc to acknowledge their feelings, like I did here??? huh???). Ahem. Yeah…

Then the whole thing about how Sakura is still capable of accepting others, even though he says he doesn’t… (Nirei pointing out that he’s been accepted by Sakura even though he’s not strong enough to hold a fight on his own, is a proof of it.)

Not to mention how the only thing he could come up for punishment was “get cooler so I’ll want to fight you again”, coming from a guy who’s literally considering fighting his entire damn personality and reason to exist! ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ You like Togame, you accept him (even though you absolutely thought the worst of him at the start), and I dare say he’s even the first person you ever really came to like and your feelings were actually reciprocated — he had an impact in you the way he called your name and invited you to resume your fight — that you were thinking back to it, you also like how he’s stronger than you (you reflected back on how you’d actually lose to him if he hadn’t given up… come on, tell me I’m wrong if you can, I’ll wait~)… Joke’s on you, Sakura-chan~ (☝︎ ՞ਊ ՞)☝︎

Btw, I know Sakura-chan! What’s there not to love about Togame~ 🤗

Man made me emotional completely out of the blue, kudos to the studio and everyone that worked on this anime and especially these couple episodes. 🩶👍

Right, anyway… if you know me I’m here for the plot first and foremost but a port has many gates so… hehe 🤭

Also, I don’t know how I was under the impression that Sakura was a libra but the wiki had his birthday on April 1st, along with a couple more characters being Aries and I’m like… bro, that’s why the brawls… THEM BRAWLS!!! 😅

#wind breaker #togame jo #sakura haruka #episode rant #i kid you not #i hadn’t felt my eyes welling up with tears for fucking decades and here comes togame like it’s nobody’s business… ( ; ω ; )#‘I can fix them…’ says the author #and proceeds to make them fight again until they either pass out or kiss~#bye!#umemiya hajime #forgot the big man. sorry…

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stevetonyweekly · 11 months ago

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SteveTony Weekly - December 10th

Here’s a very short list because it’s been a very busy week. Enjoy and be sure to leave your author comment and kudos.

Triple-A Rated by iam93percentstardust

Three assassination attempts in two weeks. That's gotta be some kind of record. Three attempts - and that doesn't even count the Ten Rings. Tony's pretty sure that Stane's trying to kill him again. Fury's pretty sure of the same thing, which is why he starts sending agents to protect him. It's just that Tony doesn't like any of his new bodyguards - except one.

Do-Over by gottalovev

Steve woke up six months ago into a future that leaves him indifferent. There is work, and not much else. His current mission is a basic search and rescue operation to retrieve an American who was kidnapped by a terrorist group ten days ago. He won't let the fact that the hostage is Howard's son be a distraction.

From The Ground Up by thatsweetmysteryoflife

The first time Steve had seen Tony Stark since SHIELD had fallen, he was on TV.

Or, how a team became a family, and friendship became love.

Unsaid words by Herogers

And he was moving on.. well, he was getting on with it. It was fine, really.

Well, at least he felt fine, until he saw Tony for the first time in years and the words felt like they were scraping their way up from his chest, begging to be let out.. He was fine. This is work, this is for something more than him, more than both of them. So if the sight of those honey brown eyes piercing through his blues were almost nauseating.. It had to be fine.

Zero to One by magicasen

Steve returns the Stones, comes back to 2023, names Sam the successor to Captain America, and sets off on his bike. Life is transient, and grief is all-encompassing, until Steve starts dreaming of Tony every night.

Truths and Roses Have Thorns About Them by FestiveFerret

Steve has a secret. And then he makes a poorly-timed joke to a reporter, and suddenly he has two secrets.

One: He's in love with his best friend.

Two: Despite what the press thinks, they're not actually dating.

and you think love is to pray by StevieVixxen

It’s a betrayal that cuts deep…

Soft Skills by Lady_Ganesh

"So," Bruce said carefully. "You're saying that your tower became a big target for an alien army, so you're going to rebuild it as an even bigger target?"

"Well, when you put it like that, it sounds stupid," Tony said.

The team tries to bring Steve Rogers into the 21st Century. It mostly works.

As my beta CaptainBlue said: Also I love how you did a fic about Avengers team building and still managed to make it 100% about Cap. You have a gift. This is why I love her. Any remaining mistakes are mine.

Think Again by KandiSheek

Tony doesn't understand why Steve always makes him run laps or do push-ups before sex. Steve doesn't know why Tony doesn't like his kind of foreplay. After all, everyone gets turned on by exercise. Right?

Cat's in the Cradle by Last_Chance_Anna

Steve starts thinking about his father and the affect he had on his life. Tony is there to offer support and comfort.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town by Last_Chance_Anna

Steve and Tony throw a Christmas party, and Steve rediscovers his jealous streak when it comes to Tony. Luckily Tony knows the cure for that. Spoiler alert: It's sex.

Not a Perfect Man by Neverever

Steve and Tony are back on track as friends and spending a lot of time together as they form a new Avengers team. But Steve is again in a rocky relationship with Sharon and Tony is dating a new woman. Steve struggles as his long-dormant crush on Tony comes back with a vengeance because he's supposed to be a good man and he doesn't want to lose Tony as a friend. What is he supposed to do as a friend when Tony's new girlfriend turns out to be not good for Tony?

Running out of Time by Lenalena

Prompt: "After the events of IM 1, Tony joins the expedition searching for Captain America as a holiday to get away from all the media speculation and stock value crash hate he was getting from the board. He's testing out new kit, working up a new portfolio of technology to boost the company back up, when he finds a plane wreck, buried halfway under the Greenland ice sheet."

That is how he ends up hiding Captain America in plain sight, while the man gets adjusted to the 21st century. He is just doing him a favor, okay?

What could possibly go wrong?

#stevetony weekly #steve rogers #tony stark #stevetony #stony #iron man #captain america #stevetony fic #stony fic #fic rec

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deityoftherain · 2 months ago

Text

his artist - redscape fanfic

Rating: Gen

Relationship: M/M

Archive Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Status: Completed Oneshot

Word Count: 1,467

Summary: Scar is late to a modeling gig, but he stays where he is just a bit longer so the handsome stranger can finish his sketch of him.

Full fanfic underneath the cut! Please reblog, leave kudos on the AO3 fic slash notes/likes here on Tumblr, comment either place, and etc if you enjoy the story :D

Scar was late.

Again.

It was for a really good reason this time, he promised, typing to his manager. She didn’t buy it, of course, and Scar couldn’t blame her. He knew he deserved her doubt, and his actions now only proved that fact! This wouldn’t be the first time Scar was late to a photoshoot for an objectively stupid reason, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

Luckily for him, he was hot enough for the industry to adapt! Like, who wouldn’t want a handsome guy with definition on his abs, mobility aids, and the inability to keep a shirt on?

That last part was mostly a joke.

Mostly.

So yeah, anyway–

What was he doing again?

Ah, right! Posing, looking natural, totally not glancing at the jaw-droppingly stunning man drawing him across the street.

Scar hid his giddy grin with the book he was one hundred percent actually reading, truely! In his defense, he’s read it so many times that he could recite the whole thing from memory! It was one of his many, many Star Wars books, contributing to his encyclopedic knowledge of the franchise.

By the way, did you know that, in The Empire Strikes Back, Darth Vader actually says “No, I am your father” and not “Luke, I am your father”? Scar’s main theory as to why that came to be was so the quote would spark recognition as a reference when said to others. Of course, there were also other reasons why that sort of thing could occur, but Scar was fairly confident that he was correct! In fact– ah, right, not the time. As much as he loved Star Wars, that was not the reason he had parked his wheelchair there, ever patiently.

Scar tried to be subtle, he really did, but he kept sneaking glances towards his portrait maker, his butterfly-inducing artist, a man who he’s never had a proper conversation with. Despite that, whenever Scar got to see the artist’s almost freakily pale skin, overly bitten lip, and graphite covered hands, he mentally noted the time as a highlight in Scar’s day.

The two of them did this song and dance whenever Scar could help it, though Scar wasn’t sure if the other had caught on just yet. It moved like clockwork, so precise that Scar knew exactly where he would be sitting starting at exactly 3:17 PM on a weekday.

And no, memorizing part of a pretty stranger’s schedule didn’t make him gay, it made him egotistic, or maybe even possessive, wanting the artist– his artist– to draw him and study him, not anyone else. Not that he seemed to draw anyone else, not when Scar was around, anyway.

Maybe this made them both a little gay, and that was okay. At least, Scar was trying to convince himself that it was okay, as long as he took steps to respect the other man’s boundaries. His issues with his now blatantly obvious queerness wasn’t for any internalized homophobia reasons, but more because his infatuation was such a surprise to him. Honestly, after spending so much time without experiencing romantic attraction, Scar had been starting to think he was fully aromantic! Void, how wrong he was. For as much as Scar was confident and unafraid of a challenge, he was still human. Even supermodel Scar Goodtimes wasn’t immune to nerves!

The butterflies within continued to flutter around as Scar daydreamed about the man with the most pristine and glorious mustache he’s ever seen. He stared off in his direction, the amount of yearning he felt almost unbearable because, no, they’ve barely talked, but Scar felt as if he knew him. Watching his artist interact with the world around him was enough to make his grayromantic heart to beat faster and cause his stomach to do barrel rolls.

Scar had let himself drift too far because he hadn’t realized his artist caught him staring until it was too late. His eyes went wide in panic, hoping he didn’t scare him away. His hopes were squashed as his artist fumbled to shove his sketchbook and fancy pencil case into his artistry bag.

His phone started vibrating, the screen lighting up only to show his manager’s caller ID. Scar flinched, not even needing to hear her voice to know how angry she must be. He really needed to get a move on, but this is not how he could end the impromptu live art modeling sessions.

“Hey, wait!” Scar called out to his artist, hoping to catch his attention. The other man was taller, so his strides would be longer, but Scar was extremely skilled at the act of speed rolling his wheelchair. It took years of practice, but Scar’s arm muscles were well equipped for such a task! “C’mon, I won’t bite! Unless you’re into that. My agent says I have a pretty good set of chompers.”

His artist blinked at him, gobsmacked and sputtering. “That– that would be an absolutely ridiculous thing to say to someone, I reckon.”

“It would be if I wasn’t paid for my looks!” Scar chirped along happily, unashamed. “Based on how often you sketch me, though, it seems you agree. You don’t gotta feel bad about it! I like it.”

His cheeks flushed a beautiful shade of pink. He cleared his throat, seeming to accept that he was caught red-handed, or, uh, graphite-handed? Scar almost made the joke out loud when Mumbo spoke instead, stealing his attention away from himself. “Well, if I’m gonna be honest, you are incredibly satisfying to draw.”

Pride swelled within Scar as he beamed ear to ear. “Well, I would love to see them sometime!”

“Uh, I don’t normally share my work, but maybe–” he started, but Scar’s phone buzzing put a stop to his words. Scar wanted to curse her for interrupting them, but he did feel bad for ignoring her. He was very grateful to her, and while he wasn’t always the best client, he didn’t want to disregard her completely. “Shouldn’t you get that?”

“She’s reminding me that I have a commitment I can’t weasel out of,” Scar admitted before hastily continuing, “but I would love to talk more! And see your work that you’re willing to share! Would you be interested in going out with me sometime?” He blinked, and then blinked again, almost as if Scar could see his brain processing his words. “Like, on a date?”

“Yeah,” Scar rolled his wheelchair back and forth excitedly, more fidgeting than actually attempting to get anywhere “why not!”

“Why not?” he repeated with a stutter. “Why– I don’t even know your name!”

“My name’s Scar!” He introduced himself with an over-dramatic yet grand bow. “How about you, fair sir?”

After a moment of brief hesitation, Scar was granted his answer. “Mumbo,”

“Well, ain’t that a super lovely name? Nice to officially meet ya, Mumbo.” Scar offered his hand to shake and Mumbo tentatively took it. “Now, how about that date? I promise I’ll make sure it’s an a-may-zing time!”

Mumbo considered Scar’s offer for what seemed like forever (but what was likely only a few seconds) before returning Scar’s smile. “It would be nice to get to know the person I’ve been sketching all this time.”

“Perfect!” Scar fished out one of his many business cards and handed it to Mumbo. “My contact information is on this, so feel free to text me when you can. The ball is in your court, my friend-maybe-more! I’ll be–”

“Scar!” He knew that shrill voice anywhere. It was his manager, having to hunt him down because of how late he was getting. Scar was surprised how she managed to find him before remembering the tracking software she had downloaded onto his phone. He had consented to it, knowing that her desire to have it installed was warranted. Most agencies nowadays planned for Scar to be tardy, but there was such a thing as being late to being late. At least, there was in Scar’s world.

Scar flinched, a tad embarrassed as he flashed Mumbo a sheepish smile. “I got to go. Talk to you later?” “Talk to you later,” Mumbo confirmed, his facial expression softening as he clenched the card tight in his hands.

Scar wanted to say more, but his manager cleared her throat. Picking up what she was laying down, Scar waved Mumbo goodbye before wheeling after her. She lectured him about his punctuality as he rolled beside her, but her words fell on deaf ears. All Scar’s brain was capable of doing at that moment was playing Mumbo’s voice and incredibly attractive accent on loop in his head, much like a wonderfully broken record. Though, if Mumbo was involved, was it truly broken, or was it exactly as it was supposed to be?

#deity writes #redscape #hermitcraft scar #hermitcraft mumbo #life series scar #life series mumbo #hermitcraft fanfic #hermitfic #hermitblr #hermitshipblr #hermitshipping #trafficshipping #trafficfic #trafficshipblr #traffic life fanfic #fanfiction #fanfic #mumscar

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hvstias · 1 year ago

Note

Do you happen to have any Deadlock&Sova sibling shenanigan HCs

Asking for my dogs distantly related cousins twice removed great uncles friend

well kudos to ur dogs distantly related cousins twice removed great uncle's friend bc they have a good taste!! here u go:

u know those duos that just click? yeah. that's them.

especially after sova investigated the place she lost her arm (from her cinematic but i cant remember the name blame it on my low b12 ok)

moving on so after some interrogation they just. clicked. call it trauma bonding or blond ppl telepathy they just did

they don't remember exactly who started it but now everytime they're standing together SOMEONE'S (bonus points if a dualist) always gotta make that sibling joke

they're both nature lovers but she thinks he's kinda insane for hiking for 4 miles at 7 am

okay including tremorbolt here because why not so do u remember that hc about deadlock and breach having movie nights? they also invited sova, deadlock nearly refused to watch the movie with them because she didn't want to third wheel those homos

BUT somehow breach ended up third wheeling them because they were going feral over the details of a fucking 90s horror movie while he tried not to die from too much laughing

her arm sometimes ache like an open wound, not that it's not healed wrong or something but phantom pain is a real pain in the ass and sova tries to help her w his grandmas home remedies and meds

ppl often confuse them as real siblings in public and its so hilarious to sova while deadlock just rolls her eyes but u can see a lil smile if u look closely thats her pocked sized himbo

sova is a good storyteller but he talks about gore so casually she's like ??? sometimes but still listens because this mf has interesting stories

like breach and viper, they also have their own bets but instead of winning they always end up losing bc they let everyone know what they bet on with their bickering lol

she thinks he uses too many hair products and he's just offended like?? do u think its easy to take care of this fabulous hair??

deadlock only cooks practical meals because she doesn't really have time to think about food (her words) and sova's horrified by her eating habits. like girl how are u even alive

sova can handle hot temperatures unless it's TOO hot but deadlock. oh boy. her nordic ass can't handle hot places unless there's an AC like she'd act like she's okay but you know how someone looks like when they're on the verge of dying from heat

they're both tea ppl but sova prefers black tea and deadlock finds those herbal teas relaxing after a long day at work

they smoked pot after a rough mission w breach once but that was the first and last time they listened him about his relaxing tactics because the headache in the morning? not worth it gals and guys and my nb children do not smoke pot if u wanna relax go take a shower or smth listen to me (definitely not speaking from experience)

ps: this is kinda short bc i've been busy these days BUT might make a part two soo i hope u enjoyed!

#asks #valorant headcanons #sova #deadlock #i luv them sm

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lycorogue · 6 months ago

Text

Latest Story: I Think I Like You (Maybe More Than I Should)

For @mostlovedgirl-writes

A companion story for her work Ha! You Think That’s Embarrassing?

MLG, I warned you that you sparked something! What's worse is that I had this story done on May 14th, and it just kept me this long to sort out what to title the darn thing! 😅[smile with sweat emoji]

The Aged-Up AU that MLG created for her MariChat May ficlet was just too enticing for me to leave alone, so, naturally, I nearly quintupled her story as I retold the same tale but from Adrien's POV.

Why do stories keep running away from me like this!?

I want to send so many extra kudos and just general love MLG's way. I barely wrote anything the past two years. Because of MLG, I have now written my SECOND 7000+ word story in a month (the 1st story wasn't due to MLG, but still...)!

Also, I had I Think I Like You by The Band CAMINO on a constant loop while writing this story (which is how I finally landed on a title). So, if you want some mood music, I'd suggest using that.

Summary: Adrien is intrigued by one of the junior designers at his father's company. Maybe more intrigued than a few passing interactions with Marinette would warrant. At least, that's what Plagg jokes when Adrien notices Marinette on an abysmal date and decides to intervene... as Chat Noir. **An AU where Adrien and Marinette (as their civilian selves) never met as teens** Rating: General Audience (does contain the word "shit" once) Word Count: 7,974 Estimated Read Time: 40min Status: completed one-shot Continue reading below, or find this story over on AO3, on FFN, or on DA.

I Think I Like You (Maybe More Than I Should)

Adrien's brain began fogging over. He knew he was the face of the Gabriel brand, but did his father truly need him to sit in on every partnership meeting? He was little more than a fancy doll paraded out to lock in a new deal. Especially when he wasn't allowed to add any actual input.

Just smile. Say some pleasantries about wanting to work with them. Talk up the brand. Look pretty and professional.

It was a relief to see Nathalie stand up. It was Adrien's signal that his part of the meeting was finally over. He stood up as well, shook hands with the shoe execs that Gabriel was partnering with for the fall line, and practically sprinted out of the door as Nathalie passed out the contracts for the execs to sign.

He should have known better than to exit the room backwards so he could get in one last wave and thank you to their guests. In fairness, though, he didn't expect the hall to have traffic.

“Whoa!” The woman Adrien rudely collided into cried out as she flailed to try to catch her balance.

With his Chat-Noir-trained reflexes, Adrien swung his arm out to catch the woman around the waist. He gently tugged her back up onto her feet, but he didn't calculate her already throwing herself back into balance. She tilted the opposite direction, and Adrien ended up dipping her; his other hand supporting her shoulders – and her hands reflexively grabbing onto his – as her momentum finally stopped.

“Easy there!” He nervously laughed. Of course, he would collide with one of his father's employees as he tried to escape one of his father's meetings. He was sure he'd never hear the end of this.

“A-Adrien?” The woman squeaked in a panic. “I-I mean, Mr. Agreste?”

Her large eyes shined like blue zircon gemstones. Her strawberry-pink lips were partially parted in shock. Her raven hair dangled like a curtain behind her as Adrien held her in the dip. She was adorable. She also looked so familiar to him. Those eyes, in particular.

Agreste! Wake up! Realizing that his father's employee was still leaning awkwardly against his arm, Adrien cleared his throat and lifted the woman back onto her feet. He held her elbows to help steady her. Once he was confident that she wasn't going to fall, he took a step back and hoped his blush wasn't as visible as it felt as it burnt his cheeks.

“Adrien's fine. I'm not really into formalities, if I'm honest. Are you okay? Sorry about colliding into you like that.”

“N-no! That's alright. I'm fine. I should have been paying attention as well.”

Now that they weren't inches from each other, the woman started to shrink into herself. She couldn't keep eye contact with him and fidgeted. Her foot rubbed the back of the opposite leg and her arms flailed about as she talked. Seeing her so nervous definitely brought about a familiarity, and a name bobbed to the surface of Adrien's memory.

“Marinette, right? You're one of the junior designers?”

She squeaked with a start. “You-you know who I am?”

Adrien laughed. “Well, yeah. You fitted me for a few outfits for the spring line, didn't you?”

Marinette blushed. “Mm-hmm. The casual evening wear line.”

“That's the one!” Adrien snapped with acknowledgment. “Were any of those pieces yours?”

“Mine?” Marinette flailed her hands in front of her again. “No! I'm not nearly– I mean, my work isn't quite– I'm not ready for that. I-I did help with the color selection though.”

“Well, that's quite the accomplishment in and of itself. I think those were some of the most fun outfits I've worn in a while, and it was largely due to how bright the colors were. Really shook up all of those bland whites and blacks and tans menswear tends to fall into. You know?”

Marinette nodded like she was a freshly bopped bobblehead. Adrien struggled to not laugh at how adorable she was.

“Oh! I'm sorry. I'm holding you up!” Marinette's eyes again flew wide and her blush deepened. “And I need to take these– Oh no! The sketches!” Marinette stared at her hands, suddenly realizing they were empty. The sketches she was carrying before Adrien ran into her were carpeting the floor.

“Here, let me help you with that.” Adrien leaned down to help scoop up the papers, this time keeping an eye on the door to make sure they didn't end up tripping Nathalie and the execs as they left the conference room.

“No, that's alright. I have it.”

“I'm the reason they got scattered all over the floor in the first place. It's no problem. Really.”

As they scrambled to scoop up the papers – Adrien focused on the conference room door and Marinette focused on anything but Adrien – they bonked heads.

“Oof! Sorry. I seem to just keep running into you today.” Adrien sheepishly laughed.

“No-no. That was on me this time.” An awkward, lopsided smile spread across Marinette's lips as she gathered the last of the sketches.

They both stood, and Adrien held out the papers he had picked up. “We really need to find a better way to run into each other. Preferably one where we don't do so literally.”

“I love you,” she swooned. “That!” she quickly corrected. Her blush deepened. “I'd love that. The not running into you part. I mean, no! Not that part. I love running into you. Not literally though. That part. But I don't love running into you. It's not like I purposefully position myself so that I have an excuse to interact with you. That would be weird and stalker-y and I definitely don't do that. I mean why did I even put that out there? Now you think that's exactly what I do, but I swear I don't. I just–”

Adrien softened as he listened to Marinette. There was something about her rambling that was equal parts confusing and endearing. He cocked his head to the side while waiting for her to get to the point.

“You're so nice,” she continued at that same frantic pace. Her papers slid out of her arms due to the uneven pressure she was putting on them. She juggled them a bit as her mouth kept going. “You don't have to be nice. Everyone would probably expect you to not be nice. Not not-nice. I mean, indifferent? But you're not. You're super nice. I mean, you put in the effort to remember my name. Plus, you didn't need to help me with these.” She held up her uneven pile of papers. “And you're standing here listening to me going on-and-on and good grief why am I still talking? I'm holding you up and I really need to get going as well and yet I just can't seem to stop talking. I'm so embarrassing. But you're still here listening to me, because you're so sweet and I just want to spend all night talking to you. And it seems like maybe you'd be willing? So, maybe we could go and grab dinner tonight after work or something?”

Marinette stopped with a gasp as she tried to refill her empty lungs.

Adrien politely chuckled. “You good?”

Marinette's blush quickly drained as the woman went pale as a ghost. Her eyes bugged out and her mouth slacked.

“I did not just do that!”

“Hmm?” Adrien cocked his head. His mind still frantically trying to sort through the word-vomit Marinette just spat up all over him.

She started backing away from him. “Ignore everything I just said. I don't want to date you. Not that I wouldn't date you if you wanted. Actually, no! You wouldn't– I mean I wouldn't– I mean I'm so sorry. My bad. I just remembered that I already have a date with someone else tonight. A very nice date. One that I've been looking forward to. With someone not you. So clearly I'm not waiting to go on a date with you. Because I have a date with someone else. Tonight! Definitely already have a date tonight. Sorry. Gotta go!” Then she sprinted down the hall.

There was a commotion behind Adrien and the conference door opened. Adrien mindlessly stepped out of the way as the execs filed out of the room, followed by Nathalie.

“Adrien?” she asked. “What are you still doing here? Something wrong?”

Adrien didn't register Nathalie talking to him. He looked through her and down the hall where Marinette had sprinted. His mind finally sorting through what happened.

“Did she just ask me out?”

“Huh? Who? Who asked you out?” Nathalie looked over her shoulder.

“Oh! Sorry. Never mind. It's nothing.”

Nathalie frowned. “I have to escort our guests out, but we'll talk about this later. You know how your father feels about you dating.”

Adrien waved Nathalie off and walked in the direction Marinette had sprinted.

The woman was quick! Adrien couldn't have lagged that far behind, but he couldn't find her anywhere. He couldn't even determine which office she was aiming for.

He tried looking for her office. Turned out that she was still too entry-level to have her own. With some effort – it was hard trying to bluff his way around the “why do you need Marinette?” question – he managed to sort out where her work desk was. She wasn't there either.

“What's the big deal with this girl?” Plagg poked his head out from behind Adrien's blazer. “Can't you just wait until the next time you just naturally see each other?”

Adrien scanned the hall to make sure they were alone. “Plagg,” he hissed, “You know you can't come out of hiding while I'm not in my office at work! It's too easy for you to get caught.”

“Pfft. We're fine. Believe me. I take way more notice of who's around us than you seem to, Mr. Literally-runs-into-somebody-twice.”

Adrien simply shook his head at his kwami.

“But, seriously. Don't you have anything better to do than try to track her down?”

“Probably, but I don't care. I need to talk to her again.”

“Why?”

Adrien stopped.

“I... don't really know. She intrigues me, and I guess I do kind of want to take her up on that date invite. Just so I can get to learn more about her. And she seemed so nervous around me. I need to check in with her. Make sure she's okay and that the two of us are good.”

“I'm sure that's all this is.” Plagg cocked an eyebrow before zipping back into hiding.

Adrien heaved his exasperation with Plagg's interrogation before continuing down the hallway. Maybe if he grabbed a treat from the breakroom to appease his kwami Plagg wouldn't tease him further.

“Okay, I'll meet you at Bastian's tonight at eight.”

Ladybug?

Adrien nearly sprinted towards the dominant voice. When he popped his head through the breakroom door, however, he instead spotted the same loose, medium-length, raven hair that had draped down his arm nearly an hour before. After all of her stammering around him, Adrien didn't recognize Marinette's more confident tone as hers.

She had both hands firmly planted on a table, her back towards the door. A thirty-something-year-old man with wire-rimmed glasses not properly shaped for his round face, a god-awful pencil mustache, and mousy-brown hair slicked back with far too much product sat across from Marinette. The man's basic white button-down shirt wasn't even properly ironed. Adrien was clear across the room and he could still see the wrinkles lining the man's sleeves. The man's tie was also a basic black and horribly dated. Adrien wondered if he had bought it for a school dance as a teen and just never replaced it.

“My reservation is actually for 7:30.” The man shrugged. “I prefer to not eat too late into the evening. I get heartburn then.”

“Okay. Fine.” Marinette's shoulders slumped a little.

“And don't forget to dress up nice. None of–” The man gestured to Marinette's lovely pastel pink capped-sleeve blouse and flowy cement-gray knee-length skirt adorned with cherry blossoms. “–this. I want Date Night not Office Space.”

Adrien scrunched up his nose in disgust. “Well, yeah. Of course.” Marinette backed away from the table and rubbed her elbow nervously.

With a huff, Adrien stormed away from the breakroom.

Seriously? Him? What does Marinette even see in him?

“I didn't even realize Marinette had a thing for Jules.”

Adrien pivoted at the mention of Marinette. A man and woman walked out of the breakroom, gossiping with each other.

“Have they even talked to each other before today?”

“If they have, then Marinette's a miracle worker for getting a word in edge-wise against the Jabberwocky.”

“She's pretty meek. Maybe she prefers being talked at.”

“Well, here's hoping she's also a masochist, because those are the only ones who could possibly enjoy the mental agony of interacting with that guy.”

The two workers laughed as they approached Adrien.

“Oh!” The female worker jumped slightly upon noticing him. “Mr. Agreste. What a pleasure to see you. What are you doing on the third floor? Something we can assist with?”

“No. Sorry.” Adrien put on his patented Model Smile(TM) as he scratched the back of his head. “I was just getting my steps in.” He held up his wrist to show off his fancy watch. It didn't register his steps, but he hoped it looked high-tech enough that they wouldn't notice. “I should probably head back to my office, though. Carry on.”

With a wave, he made a bee-line back to his office on the twelfth floor.

“Huh. I would not have guessed that guy was Marinette's type.” Plagg floated back out from Adrien's blazer and drifted over to the mini-fridge Adrien had put into his office.

Adrien plopped into a plush club chair he kept in the corner of the room. “Me neither. What does she see in him? For someone so fashion-forward and quirky and adorable–?”

“Maybe this is a case of opposites attract?”

“He sounded so rude towards her, didn't he? And then those employees joking about his endless talking and how painful it is to just interact with him? Does Marinette see something in him that no one else does?”

“Marinette seemed to be a bit of a motor-mouth herself.”

“Yeah, but hers was different.”

“How so?”

“It just... was. Okay?”

Plagg shrugged and gobbled down a large slice of Camembert. “Ah, to be a fly on the wall during that date.” He laughed. “If that woman could handle the– what did those guys call him? Jabberwocky? I like that. If Marinette could slay the Jabberwocky I wish I could be there to see that. Oh! Or the two of them just rambling at each other; holding two different conversations? Either way, get me the popcorn.”

“I am curious. Maybe it isn't as bad as it seemed in the few seconds that I caught. Their interactions, I mean.”

“If you say so.”

“Yeah. I'm sure there's something there that we don't know. Marinette wouldn't go on a date as awful as I'm thinking.”

“How could you know that? You barely know the girl.”

“That is true.” Adrien hung his head in his hands. Why was he even so fixated on this? Plagg was right. He only really knew Marinette in passing. It was none of his business. Even if it was a bad date, so what? Everyone has had terrible dates that they've suffered through.

Ones that they wished they could pull a rip-cord on.

That maybe they didn't have an escape plan for, but wished they did.

Marinette's gemstone eyes flitted into Adrien's mind.

He whipped out his phone and looked up the number for Bastian's.

“Hello? Yes. This is Adrien Agreste. Yes, that Adrien Agreste. I was wondering if you had an opening for a solo-diner tonight? I was hoping for around 7:20? Oh, no. A VIP table isn't necessary at all. Public dining is perfect. Fantastic. See you then. Thank you.”

Adrien turned from Plagg's knowing look. “What?” he asked his kwami, “I heard that Bastian's has a delicious salmon risotto.”

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

The quality of the salmon risotto was highly exaggerated.

It wasn't bad. It was a textbook execution of the dish, worthy of high marks at any culinary school. The flavoring was just a bit bland despite the chef clearly being a bit heavy-handed with the butter.

That didn't really matter though. Adrien wasn't particularly hungry anyway.

His stomach felt heavy and the back of his brain was itchy. He had no clue what he was doing there. The whole thing was insane.

It hit him all at once the moment he caught a glimpse of Marinette's raven hair coming around the corner behind the hostess. He realized that he had no excuse to be at this mid-grade (at best) restaurant. Not the same one that she just-so-happened to have a reservation for. And not at the same time as the aforementioned reservation. Definitely not while also eating alone!

I can't let her catch me here!

Adrien quickly pivoted to a different seat at his table so his back was towards her. As discretely as possible, he slid his meal over to his new spot. He then shrugged his sweater a little higher up the back of his neck and shagged his hair slightly. Similar to how he used to wear it when he was a teen. With any luck, she wouldn't recognize him.

He felt Plagg snake his way around his back and down to Adrien's hip. Plagg then phased his head through the sweater. “Plagg!” Adrien hissed under his breath.

“Calm down,” Plagg whispered back. “No one looks at someone else's hips. I just want to see this disaster.”

“No,” Adrien intoned, trying to not move his lips too much and get caught talking to 'himself'. “We're not spying on Marinette and her date. I'm sure it will be fine.” He poked some more at his risotto and wondered how bad it would look if he just downed it as fast as possible so he could escape.

“You're no fun,” Plagg huffed, but he didn't bother to retreat into the sweater.

Despite himself, as Adrien worked his way through his dinner, he attuned his ears to Marinette's table. His hearing wasn't as keen as it would have been if he was Chat Noir, but, over the years, he had trained his senses to be a bit more sensitive than usual, even out of costume.

Training his sense of touch was probably a poor decision, though. Especially with how many hands roam his body between fittings and shoots and quick-changes....

It seemed to work in his favor that night though. The entire meal, he barely heard Marinette say five words – outside of ordering her steak with the waiter – but Adrien could not get away from her date's dreary voice. Marinette's coworkers were right, however, and the woman was always more on the meek, non-confrontational side anyway. It was possible that she was somehow enjoying the endless conversation. Except, Adrien's sort of sixth sense – due to his heightened touch sensitivity – made him acutely aware of Marinette's discomfort.

Well, it was either the sixth sense thing or Plagg's wincing at Adrien's hip.

Despite warnings about cats and curiosity, Adrien couldn't help himself. He nudged his way around the table again. Shimmying closer and closer to his original chair before smoothly shifting to it and pushing his other chair back into place. Then he slid his half-eaten bowl back in front of him. Then the glass of wine.

He refused to keep going so he was full-on facing Marinette, but he could at least keep an eye on her in his peripheral now. He didn't like what he saw.

Her back was tight and tall. Her shoulders raised towards her ears. Her upper arms were flexed as she fidgeted with something under the table. A miasma of irritation seemed to radiate from her, and Adrien wondered if she was going to literally try to slay the Jabberwocky. Did this restaurant somehow have vorpal knives?

Adrien desperately wanted to just intervene. He wasn't sure at this point if doing so would be rescuing Marinette from her date or the other way around.

“And that was how my third marriage ended,” Jules monotoned across from Marinette.

How is that guy so loud? I get the masochism comment now, Adrien thought.

As Marinette filled her side of the conversation with yet another sip of water she started to take in the restaurant around her. In a flash, Adrien was laser-focused on the last bites of his risotto.

Please, don't let her see me, he mentally chanted, subtly shifting his head so he was turned away from her. If she catches me here I'm done for!

Right. He had no plausible reason to be at the same restaurant as her at the same time as her and right after she told him she had a date tonight. He'd be outed as a stalker or something! His father would throw him into lock-down if that ever got out! And, considering how recognizable he was, there was no way the other patrons wouldn't videotape him interrupting a woman's date and probably getting called an obsessive creep by that same woman.

Marinette had walked back – well, black-hole-absorbed back – her date invite to Adrien specifically so she could still come here with Jules. She must have had a reason to prefer the Jabberwocky's company. Maybe Adrien somehow offended her when they collided earlier. Maybe she had gotten in trouble after being late with those sketches. Maybe she didn't want anything to do with Adrien Agreste anymore. Wouldn't be a good look to ride in and try to White Knight for Marinette then. He didn't want to seem possessive of her.

His risotto finally done, he gently reached out to a passing waiter and requested the check.

“This is great,” Plagg whispered from his watch party at Adrien's hip still. “She's just gazing out the window now; not even looking at the guy. And he's still talking! I think he just likes the sound of his own voice.”

“That's hard to imagine,” Adrien intoned.

He thanked the waiter for the check, and quickly handed him in his payment. After confirming that the waiter was also assisting Marinette's table, Adrien included a nearly fifty-percent tip in hopes that it would help compensate for having to deal with Marinette's date. Meal consumed and paid for, Adrien placed his napkin on the table and stood to leave.

“Aww.” Plagg snaked back around to Adrien's chest just under his cable-knit sweater. “The train wreck isn't over yet.”

“Oh, yes it is.”

“Adrien?” Plagg warned. Adrien quickly shushed him.

He walked past Marinette's table as fast as possible while still looking nonchalant. He again prayed that she wouldn't notice him there.

“So, last year I went snorkeling with...”

Adrien struggled to not roll his eyes and scream at Jules to just shut up already as he caught the man still droning on at poor Marinette.

Just look forward. Don't react. Get out of here before she notices you! he ordered himself.

Adrien got to the front of the restaurant with no incident. He heaved a relieved sigh, thanked the wait staff and the hostess, and headed out the door. Fighting against his desire to full-tilt sprint, he casually followed the sidewalk along the front of the building. As soon as he reached the small alley between the restaurant and the neighboring building, however, he dashed into its welcoming shadows.

“Adrien?” Plagg asked with a challenging tone, “What are you planning? Nothing stupid, I hope.”

“Oh. It most definitely is. Plagg-”

“Adrien! Don't! You can't use your powers for personal gain, remember?” Plagg rattled off in a panic.

“What personal gain? Chat Noir is a hero, isn't he? And I'm rescuing Marinette. It's all on the up-and-up.”

“Adrien!”

“Plagg, claws out!”

“Adrien, no!” Plagg got sucked into Adrien's ring before he could fight his holder any further. In an instant, Chat Noir stood where Adrien was a moment before.

“Now, let's go rescue a citizen.”

Chat Noir puffed out his chest and casually walked back into Bastian's. He gave the hostess a salute as he walked past her. “Not dining today,” he called over his shoulder, “Just need to do a quick pop-in. Don't mind me.”

As he passed by the tables within the dining room the patrons all started to mutter among themselves about him.

“No need to panic,” he reassured them. “Paris is safe. Go back to your meals.”

It was too late. The restaurant was already abuzz and everyone was too focused on him to even think about their food anymore.

The only one unfazed by Chat Noir's presence was none other than Marinette's lout of a date.

Marinette, on the other hand, stared up at Chat Noir with those shining blue zircon eyes that had captured him earlier that day.

“Hello, Miss,” Chat Noir greeted. He rested one hand on the back of Marinette's chair, and the other he balled up before resting it on his hip. It took imagining Ladybug's disappointed scowl to keep him from using his balled fist to punch out Marinette's date.

“Buh-blah-uh?” Marinette blabbered in shock.

Chat Noir struggled to not smirk at how cute even Marinette blue-screening was. “Pardon my rudeness, but could I borrow you for a moment? Won't take but a sec.” He then winked at her to let her know that he understood her situation; he was there as her out.

Clearly still blue-screened, Marinette slowly pivoted her head back towards her date. Jules did not look impressed that a superhero was currently standing at their table.

“Excuse me,” Jules grunted, “but you're interrupting our date.”

Marinette slowly pivoted her head back towards Chat Noir, awaiting his response.

Chat Noir turned to regard the boorish man. It was so ironic to Chat Noir that this other man was complaining about interrupting dates. Him! He was the one who was interrupting so many dates within that restaurant with his loud droning. Let alone his prevention of Adrien's date with Marinette that night. Besides, how did he not notice that Marinette was desperate for someone to interrupt the date?

Taking a long, soothing breath, Chat Noir stood straight, his hand no longer resting on Marinette's chair. Once again breaking out his Model Smile(TM), Chat Noir relaxed his body in an attempt to disarm.

“Oh, right,” he said with a thick layer of honey in his voice. “Sorry about that. Interrupting a date is so annoying. I totally get that.”

Like a skilled magician, Chat Noir distracted from his hands with his winning smile. Meanwhile, his left hand scooped up Marinette's right.

“Let me just get out of your way,” Chat Noir finished with a coo. In a flash, he tugged on Marinette's hand, spinning her out of her chair and into his arms. After catching her in his arms earlier, it was a welcome return to feel her weight against him again.

Marinette was still stun-locked. Her only acknowledgment of what just happened was the rosy coloring flooding her cheeks.

Shifting his arm so it was draped around Marinette's shoulder, he confirmed that she had her purse on her. Chat Noir then gave Marinette's former date a two-finger salute before escorting Marinette out of the restaurant. Once they were outside, he detached his stick from his back. In one, smooth, solid motion, he scooped Marinette up into a bridal carry while extending his stick to vault up onto the nearest roof.

Upon landing, he shifted her slightly so he could reattach his weapon to his back before again lifting her into a bridal carry. A moment later, they were off. He wasn't sure where he was going. He just let his feet lead him. All he knew was that he couldn't be anywhere near that restaurant or that oaf of a date.

With the same ease as a leisurely jog around a track, Chat Noir ran across the rooftops of Paris with Marinette in his arms. He leapt across the gaps between buildings as if he was hopping over puddles to avoid getting his shoes wet. He felt so free and the weight of Marinette in his arms renewed his energy.

As they neared the Seine, Chat Noir stopped within a rooftop garden. It was a gorgeous view, between the flowers, the lights reflecting off the river, and a cozy-looking garden bench tucked within the flora.

Chat Noir gently rested Marinette back on her feet, holding her hands to support her while she regained her bearings.

“You okay, Miss?”

“Uh...” She blinked at him. Her face shifted between confusion, relief, shock, and frustration as if those emotions were on shuffle play. She finally settled on stupefied. “I'm sorry. What just happened?”

She was too cute. Chat Noir couldn't help himself. He chuckled. “I think I just rescued you from the world's worst date.”

Marinette cringed and moaned in embarrassment. “Believe it or not, I've had worse.”

She circled around Chat Noir, studying him. It unnerved him slightly, but he tried to not let it show. He reminded himself that there was no way that she'd know that he was Adrien Agreste.

“But why me?” she asked. “You don't even know me.”

Chat Noir pursed his lips. He was not expecting that question. Why wasn't he expecting that question?

“Let's just say–” his mind raced for a suitable answer. He rocked back and forth on his heels. “–I know a guy who asked me for a favor.”

Ha! Perfect! Vague but plausible.

Marinette's face fell and her shoulders slacked. “Oh, my gosh,” she whispered, more to herself than to Chat Noir. “You know Adrien Agreste.” Her eyes darted up to meet Chat Noir's. “He contacted you somehow, didn't he?”

Shit!

Marinette must have spotted Adrien in the restaurant after all. He was never going to live this down! With any luck – of which he was sure he had virtually none – his mask would at least hide the blush burning his cheeks. He broke eye contact with Marinette and scratched the back of his neck nervously. “What makes you think that?”

With a groan, Marinette fell onto the bench nestled between the flower boxes. She buried her face in her hands, muttering “no, no, no, no” into her palms. She then let out another whimpering groan.

“Hey. Are... you okay?” Chat Noir sat beside her. With a moment of hesitation, nervous that he was the source of her woes, he tentatively placed a supportive hand on her shoulder.

“I can't believe Adrien saw me on that awful date.”

Oh, good. He was the source of her woes. Excellent.

Chat Noir choked down his own whimpering groan.

“I'm so embarrassed,” Marinette continued.

Chat Noir tilted his head in confusion. Why was Marinette embarrassed? She caught her boss's son basically stalking her. He'd understand her being angry or feeling violated, but embarrassed?

“I feel like I'm missing something. So, what's the story?”

“It's a long one,” Marinette grumbled. She dropped her hands to her lap and rested her head against the back of the bench, gazing up at the starless sky.

Chat Noir smirked. He'd love a long story from Marinette.

“I'm all ears.” He willed the false cat ears atop his head to twitch and wiggle.

Marinette laughed. It was the loveliest sound Chat Noir could recall hearing. He melted a little as he settled in next to her, readying himself for Story Time.

She took a deep breath to steel herself and heaved out a heavy sigh. “There's this guy at work – tall, blond, sweet, and so handsome I melt into the floor every time I see him.”

Chat Noir hoped Marinette didn't hear him gulp his heart back into his chest.

“He even smells amazing,” she whined with yearning.

Chat Noir fought the urge to sniff himself that very instant, and the follow-up urge to wiggle closer to Marinette so she could perchance catch a whiff. Which one of them was downwind? Why wasn't there any wind right now?

Clearing his throat slightly, Chat Noir teased, “Okay, so you know Adrien from work.” He gestured as if offering the right of way to Marinette. “Go on.”

Marinette glared up at him with a little pout. It was adorable, but still sent a chill down Chat Noir's spine. It felt familiar somehow. As if he'd faced That Look at least a dozen times before.

“I never said it was Adrien.”

Oh. This is going to be fun, Chat Noir thought as he fought the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

He dramatically crossed one leg over the other, then rested his chin in his hand. His other hand casually draped across his thigh. With a wisp in his voice, Chat Noir asked, “Oh? So, who is mister tall, fair, and handsome?”

Marinette flushed with embarrassment. She whipped away from Chat Noir's playful gaze, instead focusing on her thumbnails as she picked at them. “It doesn't matter!”

“Mm-hmm,” Chat Noir challenged.

Marinette shifted in her seat, rolling her shoulders before again gazing up at the sky. “Anyway, this guy from work, I've...” She cautiously glanced back over at Chat Noir as she bit down on her thumbnail.

He straightened, relaxing both hands to seem more sincere. The shift in posture appeared to have put Marinette more at ease. She stopped biting on her nail, lowering her hand back to her lap.

“I've had the biggest, most embarrassing crush on him for the longest time.” She slammed the back of her head against the back of the bench. She screwed her eyes shut and whimpered a little before continuing. “I ran into him in the hall earlier today–”

Literally, and the other way around, Chat Noir thought with an embarrassed chuckle.

“–and in a fit of complete insanity I asked him out.”

A warm wave washed over Chat Noir. The confirmation that she had meant to extend the invitation made his heart skip in a way he wasn't expecting.

“Doesn't sound so bad.” Chat Noir hoped his glee didn't spill over into his voice. He had to remain neutral and detached from the situation. Neutral and Detached. Neutral. And. Detached.

“But then I realized what I had done,” she continued, “I got all flustered and started babbling, said, 'Sorry, my bad. I just remembered that I have a date with someone else tonight,' and ran away.” She glanced back over at Chat Noir and gestured as if to say, “ta-da! I'm an idiot!”

Chat Noir bit the inside of his mouth to stop himself from laughing. It really was a ridiculous situation, now that Marinette laid it out so plainly. How could she be so cute and yet so insecure?

“And why did you do that?”

“Because,” she whined, “he's Adrien Agreste!” She threw her hands out, gesturing to the sky in desperation. “Not only is he France's top model and so far out of my league that I can't even see his league without a telescope, but also–” She violently shook her hands out in front of her, as if she were mentally shaking sense into herself. “He's my boss's son! I can't even begin to fathom how inappropriate asking him out like that was.” She screamed out her embarrassment before hiding behind her hands again. “I panicked and ran,” she finished softly.

Chat Noir wanted to pull her in for a hug so bad. The poor thing! He was right. She had meant to ask him out, and just revoked the offer because she got nervous.

How on Earth did that Jules guy get involved then?

“So,” Chat Noir drew out the word as he tried to sort out a non-judgmental way to ask, “after asking out the guy you wanted to go out with, how did you end up on a date with that other guy?”

“Ugh, it's so embarrassing.” Her chest heaved in mock sobs. “I was still panicking and wasn't thinking straight, and I heard that guy – I think he's from accounting or something – say that his date for tonight had fallen through.”

Gee, I wonder why.... Chat Noir mentally rolled his eyes.

“I didn't want Adrien to think that I had lied to him about having a date already–”

“Which you had,” Chat Noir teasingly pointed out.

“–so I asked him out. Right there in the breakroom. In front of all of my coworkers!”

Chat Noir pursed his lips as he choked down a laugh. When that wasn't enough he clapped a hand over his mouth to try to better hide his amusement. Now was not the time to laugh about how unhinged the whole situation was. That would be the last thing Marinette would need when she was already having a rough time with it.

Marinette again cradled her head in her hands. “You can go ahead and laugh. I deserve it. I'm such a loser.”

Okay. Definitely not the time to laugh.

“Nah, you're not a loser.” He gently elbowed her to try to catch her attention. “Delightfully awkward, but not a loser.”

“I'm going to have to quit my job and move to America, and start designing ready-to-wear for a department store,” she moaned into her hands.

Chat Noir knew that very sentiment painfully well. “A valid career path, but why are you moving an ocean away?”

Marinette sunk further onto the bench, bending nearly in half as she hid within her hands. “I'll never be able to show my face at Gabriel or any other fashion house in Paris again.”

“I don't think it's as bad as all that. Sure, you had one embarrassing day at work, but who hasn't?”

Marinette scoffed.

“Even Adrien has embarrassed himself in public,” Chat Noir ventured.

Marinette stilled for a heartbeat. Slowly, she sat up a little straighter and peeked out from behind her hands. “Really? But he's so perfect.”

“Pfft. Hardly!” Chat Noir dismissively waved off the very idea. He then draped an arm along the back of the bench and recrossed his legs.

Marinette studied him. Those zircon eyes flickered between pleading to be reassured and questioning if Chat Noir was simply jealous of Adrien.

The woman had been through the wringer that day, and had already suffered enough simply by going on a date with the Jabberwocky. Chat Noir wasn't sure why, but he trusted that Marinette would never weaponize someone else's embarrassment. It was time to break out the big guns.

Chat Noir nonchalantly shrugged. “His first modeling job after lycée, he had a horrible cold. Someone offered him one of those vitamin-C tablets that you're supposed to dissolve in a cup of hot water before drinking. Oblivious kid that he was, he put the tablet in his mouth and drank a cup of warm water.”

He shuddered remembering the next part. The vile taste returned to his mouth through recollection alone.

Marinette's eyes widened. Her mouth formed into an astonished 'o' and she slowly covered her silent gasp with her hand. She was getting ahead of his story.

Chat Noir nodded that she was on the right track. “The tablet started dissolving in his mouth and foaming over everything. It got all over his clothes; the furniture; the floor. It was like he had rabies! Everyone started laughing and calling him 'Atomic Blond'. He was so embarrassed that he vowed to move to New Zealand and become a sheep herder.”

“Oh, no!” Marinette laughed; breathy, secondhand-embarrassed, sympathetic laughs. Chat Noir could practically hear her thinking 'poor thing'. “How have I not heard that story before?”

Chat Noir shrugged. “His dad worked his PR magic and covered it up.”

More like Nathalie worked her magic, but to-may-to to-mah-to.

Marinette arched an eyebrow. “How do you know about it?”

“Sorry. That's a trade secret.” He pressed a finger to his lips and winked.

Marinette sighed. Getting off the bench, she gently stroked the flower petals as she passed by them. She wove her way through the lush garden and wandered over to the railing lining the roof. With a deep breath, she took in their gorgeous city. Her shoulders were relaxed. Her one foot was hooked around her other ankle, but she wasn't fidgety. She was the most calm and at peace that Chat Noir remembered ever seeing her.

“Thank you, Chat Noir.” She turned back towards him and tucked some stray hairs behind her ear. “I'm glad I won't have to move to another continent.”

Chat Noir joined her by the railing. “Decided to stay?”

Marinette puffed out her chest and stood tall. “If Adrien can still show his face at work after a day like that, then so can I.” A breath later, she puckered her lips and her bravado washed away. “I'll just make sure to stay in the basement where he'll never see me again.”

Chat Noir knew he definitely couldn't allow that to happen.

[break]

Their evening was over too soon. It wasn't the date Adrien pictured for the 2.5 seconds he had to process before Marinette had revoked her offer, but it was still a mostly-lovely evening with the intriguing woman. As Adrien got ready for bed, he already knew it was going to be a struggle to get his mind to stop thinking about Marinette long enough to fall asleep.

That was, at least, until he caught the evening news. Amateur photos and videos of Chat Noir in Bastian's confronting a patron and spiriting a citizen away flooded his TV.

“Oh, no!”

“And this is why we don't use our powers for personal gain,” Plagg said as he floated by, not prepared to give more of a lecture than that single sentence.

Adrien faceplanted into his pillows and screamed. “Ladybug is going to kill me!”

“There's always sheep herding in New Zealand.”

“Not. Helpful. Plagg.”

“Didn't realize you were expecting helpful,” Plagg teased.

Somehow, Plagg's snarkiness did help. Adrien chuckled.

“Do you think I at least helped Marinette tonight, Plagg?”

“Maybe.”

“Is it weird that I almost wish I had told her the vitamin-C story as Adrien? Have a real bonding moment between us? Maybe she'd be less nervous around me then.”

“I find it hard to believe that she could ever to be nervous around you now anyway, Mr. Atomic Blond.”

“You know, I don't think I'd mind if she called me that.” He chuckled at the thought.

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

The tick of the wall clock tormented Adrien as he sat through a seemingly endless morning meeting. He had always hated these meetings, but it was extra agonizing that morning. Marinette was in that very building at that very moment. But she wasn't in that room.

Adrien rapidly tapped his foot while he focused the rest of his energy on keeping the remainder of his body painfully still. He had no recollection of any words that were said for the past twenty minutes. He couldn't describe a single slide shown explaining the company's growth.

He needed out of this conference room. He was going feral.

Finally, the meeting broke, and Adrien was free.

He didn't bother with the elevator. He couldn't be trapped somewhere again. Besides, he could move faster on the stairs. Especially when he only took every third step and swung himself around each landing (saving him another 5 steps or so per floor).

He bee-lined it to Marinette's work desk. Just like the day before, she wasn't there. Adrien began wondering if he even had the right desk.

“I'll just make sure to stay in the basement where he'll never see me again.”

Adrien knew where to find Marinette!

He didn't care who caught him this time, he sprinted down the four flights of stairs to the basement. As he exited onto the floor he took a moment to even his quickened breaths. He wasn't sure if they were from the sprint or the anticipation of seeing Marinette again. Either way, he couldn't see Marinette while panting. Like that was the right impression to give!

His breaths once again steady, he checked that his clothes were neat and straight, and his hair was in place.

Perfect.

Now to just oh-so-casually bump (not literally) into Marinette.

The first few rooms he checked were empty. He wondered if maybe Marinette wasn't hiding. Did she take a personal day? She didn't actually move to America, right?

Then he heard muttering within the sample fabrics. His heart fluttered. He had found her.

Her back was again towards the door when he poked his head in. She had an armful of fabrics, and was holding up a sea foam swatch against a pastel teal one, trying to decide which shade to go with.

Adrien leaned casually on the door jamb, hands in his pockets and his ankles crossed.

“Hi. Marinette, right?”

“Gah!” Marinette jumped as she spun around, dropping her fabrics as she pressed herself against the rack of silks behind her.

That didn't go as smoothly as he had planned.

Adrien pulled his hands out of his pockets and held them up non-threateningly. “Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you.”

“Didn't you. I mean-I didn't. I mean-you didn't!” She pinched her eyes shut and took a deep breath.

Why was she so cute?

“Oh. That's good.” Why was he dragging out each word?

Come on, Agreste! he berated himself, You know she likes you! Why is this so hard?

It was probably because Adrien had never asked anyone out before. It had always been the other way around. Girls fawning for him. His father dictating who he should date to better improve the brand. That sort of thing.

“Listen, I wanted to ask you–” He nervously rubbed the back of his neck. What if Marinette just bolted again and YOLO-asked yet another coworker out simply to avoid Adrien? He needed to take his shot though. He could do this! “Would you like to have lunch with me?”

Please say 'yes'. Please say 'yes.' Please say 'yes'.

Adrien wasn't sure he'd seen Marinette's eyes grow so large before.

“Uh– Bah– Bluh–?”

Adrien smiled. Throwback to when Chat Noir interrupted Marinette's atrocious date. The two of them seemed to have had a lovely evening after she did that stammering. Maybe this was a good-luck omen or something.

“Is that a yes?” he teased.

Marinette snapped her mouth shut and nodded.

Adrien chuckled. “Great! I know this wonderful little café by the river. What time do you get off for lunch?”

“Tw-tw-tw-tw–” Marinette pinched herself. “Twelve-thirty,” she gasped out.

Adrien checked his watch. It was half-past-eleven. He didn't have to wait too much longer. “Perfect. I'll come back for you in an hour.”

Glancing at the floor, he noticed that he again forced Marinette to drop what she was holding. He quickly scooped up the fabrics and passed them over to her. “See you later, Marinette.”

“Mm-hmm,” she intoned as she nodded. She held out her arms to accept the fabrics Adrien had gathered.

Pivoting on his heels, he gave her a quick wave over his shoulder and strode back out of the room, fighting the impulse to skip away.

He climbed every single stair leading up to his twelfth-floor office. He needed to get out the giddy energy, as well as find a way to kill the next sixty minutes. Even with Adrien pausing every couple of floors to do a mini tap-dance routine in the stairwell, he still only killed about eleven minutes.

The next forty-nine minutes were filled with endless twirls in his desk chair, memorizing the café's menu, non-stop ribbing from Plagg, and probably far more cartwheels than a twenty-something-year-old man should be doing in a business suit and within the confines of a corner office.

** Thank you so much for reading! Please let me know if you want me to tag you on any of my writing updates** @discoveringmiraculouswriters

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haztobegood · 11 months ago

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⭐️ Annual Writing Self-Evaluation 2023 ⭐️

I love doing this every year. (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022) I can't believe I've been writing for six years now! I looked through my past annual posts and got a bit emotional, it's amazing to see how much I've grown and changed.

1. Number of stories posted to AO3: 7

2. Word count posted for the year: 11,572

3. Fandoms I wrote for: One Direction, Music RPF (The Snuts)

4. Pairings: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Louis Tomlinson/Jack Cochrane, Louis Tomlinson/Bodyguard

5. Story with the most: Kudos: No (Birth) Control Bookmarks: No (Birth) Control Comments: Good Dogs Don’t Bark

6. Work I’m most proud of (and why): Chaos is a 100 word drabble that I'm very proud of. I tried for months to write a Louis/Bodyguard fic for the Louis Rare Pair fest and it just wasn't coming together. Putting a hard limit on the word count was a fun little challenge that helped me get the idea down on paper. At first I didn't know if I could build a steamy plot in so few words, but it worked out in the end and I couldn't be happier with it!

7. Work I’m least proud of (and why): Of the stuff posted this year, I'm not unhappy with anything, but if I had to rank everything, chapter 2 of Good Dogs Don’t Bark is at the bottom of the pack. I was in a weird mood writing-wise when I wrote that chapter and it reminds me of that time whenever I think of it.

8. Share or describe a favorite review you received: @allwaswell16 read Chaos on her podcast! I dedicated the drabble to her for inspiring and encouraging me all year when writing has been a struggle, and for being such a supportive mod for @louisrarepairfest!

9. A time when writing was really, really hard: All year! This is the least I've ever written since I started. Life has been full of big changes and it threw off my writing habits. I've also been very stuck in my head about certain aspects of writing that I never used to think twice about. I'm hoping now that life has settled and I've got somewhat of a new routine figured out, I can set some intentions and build up my habit again, because I really miss writing.

10. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you: This scene from Baking Memories made me burst out laughing when it came to me:

Looking down at his six little pies, Louis is starting to feel like a proper baker. Jack finishes up his last and says, “Alright, let’s top ‘em.” “I bet that’s your favourite part,” Louis jokes raising his eyebrows teasingly. “At least these don’t talk back when I’m topping.” “Oi!”

More under the cut.

11. A favorite excerpt of your writing: From No (Birth) Control

He picked up another potato. Twisting the paring knife expertly around the spud, the thin brown peel sliced away from the white flesh in smooth, practiced movements. It was easy for Harry to get lost in the meditative efforts of slicing, dicing, and peeling. Just two potatoes remained when Harry caught Louis’ piquant scent through the open window. Harry paused his singing and peeling as he breathed in deeply. His sense of smell was always attuned to his alpha, but this close to heat the pull was even stronger. The back door opened. The scent enveloped him, stronger than the savoury aroma of the roast, as Louis wrapped his arms around Harry’s middle, hugging him from behind. Harry melted back into his touch, forgetting about the half-peeled potato in his hand. “Hi baby.” Louis said, leaning in to drag his nose along the curve of Harry’s neck in tender greeting. “Alpha,” Harry sighed, tension he didn’t know he’d been holding meting away. He could stay like this, content in his alpha’s arms, forever. Louis licked up the side of his neck. The blatant scent marking sent shivers up Harry’s spine, and a light nip of sharp teeth over his bondmark started to make him wet. He would be half-tempted to bend over the counter, if it weren’t for the roast cooking in the oven and the twins playing in the yard. Harry bit back a whimper. “Lou, no,” he groaned. “I need to finish dinner.” With all his resolve, Harry gripped the paring knife tighter and focused his attention on peeling the remaining potatoes.

12. How did you grow as a writer this year: I've learned to be patient with myself. I have a lot of wips that I've started in 2019 or 2020 that aren't even close to being finished. I used to be so frustrated that I couldn't finish them, but now I've learned that sometimes the wip needs to sit in the dark cavern of the drafts folder to age like fine wine.

13. How do you hope to grow next year: I want to be more intentional about setting time to write. I miss having a regular writing time and want to be able to work on some of the exciting ideas I have.

14. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc): @allwaswell16 and @himynameiszayn are the most supportive friends, they were always around to offer advice, help me think of words, and cheer me on when writing was hard. I don't think I would have written half the amount of words I posted if it wasn't for them.

15. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year: I listened to The Snuts so much this year after seeing them play during FITFWT, so it was only natural for me to write a fic featuring Jack. I love the silly Christmas video the band shared a few years ago and knew it was perfect idea for the fic that became Baking Memories!

16. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers: I touched on it a bit above, but sometimes taking a pause on a wip you're struggling with is a good thing. Give yourself grace to move on when an idea isn't coming together the way you want. It doesn't mean you need to give up on the story completely, it might just be the wrong time.

17. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year: I am looking forward to writing something for @wankersday again, and I am getting closer to finishing my alien!Harry fic that's been 5 years in the making!

18. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read.

I tag @banaanipoika9 @louandhazaf @hazzabeeforlou @beelou anyone else that wants to do this!

#fics and wips

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phantoms-lair · 2 years ago

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17 plus Danny Phantom? Is that valid for the roulette?

Try to get back into writing by working on some more of the roulettes

Detective Conan + Scooby Doo + Danny Phantom = Scooby Doo + Phantom Detective

Daphne couldn't help her eyes drifting over to the teenager in the oversized hoodie. They'd gotten tickets to a sneak peek showing of Gomera vs Kamen Yaiba, followed by a premier party. Not her cup of tea, but Scooby and Shaggy were so excited none of them could say no.

There were lots of people there with them waiting for the doors to open. Other groups of teens like them, older people who were obviously fans of the original movies, some couples on dates. But one stood, the aforementioned teenager with his hood constantly pulled over his face. He didn't look at or interact with anyone save the gaggle of small kids he'd brought with him. It was strange and Daphne had seen enough of strange to immediately be suspicious.

So when he broke off from the crowd, she followed him, from a distance. He ducked into an alcove and she moved forward quietly until she was close enough to hear.

"...The kids are doing great. No nothings popped up. Yes I know what you're insinuating." He seemed to be on the phone with someone. "You guys focus on getting better. Ayumi-chan was sad we couldn't get a group shot here so I'll have to get Mom to get us tickets to the next event. Don't you dare catch a cold again before that one."

His tone was joking. and she felt a bit of her suspicion ease. He'd looked strange by himself, but if there were meant to be more people his age with him, he may not have stood out so much. It didn't remove all of her suspicion, so she resolved to keep an eye on him.

She straightened up and stepped forward, trying to make it look as though she was simply walking past. But either he had been a lot closer to the entrance of the alcove than she thought of he'd moved completely silently because she collided with him.

They both were knocked back and for the first time she saw his face. It was certainly recognizable. Stark white hair and the most luminous emerald eyes she'd ever seen. He was looking at her with a small amount of fear.

"Please," He pleaded, "don't tell anyone I'm here."

"Are you not supposed to be here?" She asked trying to keep the suspicion out of her tone.

In response he relaxed. "You don't know who I am." he stated, with a sigh of relief.

"Should I?"

He took a breath, as if weighing his options. "My parents are both well-known celebrities. And I was sort of thrust into media spotlight after someone tried to kill me a while back." He sighed. "It was kind of rough on my family here, especially my little cousin. His friends really helped him, though, so today's kind of a thank you treat."

"That's sweet of you." Also explained what he'd said about his Mom arranging for tickets. "I saw them earlier, which one is your cousin."

"None of them," he rubbed the back of his neck. "He and Ai-chan caught a cold, so neither could make it. Look, just...I don't want today to be about my family drama or people asking me questions about something I really don't want to think about. I just want to be a guy taking some neighborhood kids somewhere fun."

The pleading look was back and she felt herself give in. "Don't worry. It's not like I eve know who you are."

"Kudo Shinichi." He smiled. "Just promise me you won't google me till after the event."

She laughed. "Daphne Blake. And deal." They shook on it and went their separate ways.

"Find anything on Hoodie Guy?" Velma whispered as she came back.

Daphne couldn't help but grin at how much she and her friend were on the same wavelength. "Son of local celebrities trying to not be the center of attention while bringing some neighborhood kids here as a treat."

Velma considered, then nodded. That tracked.

It wasn't until the party after the showing that Mystery Inc. saw them again. Shinichi approached the table, the trio of kids by his legs. "I just wanted to say thanks," he said, tugging the hood further down his face nervously, "for keeping your word."

"No googling till after the event." Daphne said jokingly. "I was just keeping a promise, we even shook on it, no thanks needed,"

"Well, some thanks are needed." One of the young couples came up to the table, the girl speaking to them. "Thanks for the date night, Five."

"Oh, this is Danny and Valerie. I let them have Conan and Ai-kun's tickets when they realized they couldn't make it." Shinichi introduced. "And I'm Kudo Shinichi. Please don't say it too loudly."

"Shinichi, Shinichi," Velma seemed to be turning the name over in her brain and Daphne saw the concern rise in Shinichi's face again. She didn't know why, she'd already told- Oh, Shinichi hadn't known what she had or hadn't told her friends, and was worried Velma was going to blurt out something. She opened her mouth to reassure him, but Velma spoke first.

"Shinichi, Five. Okay I get it." she said, satisfied.

"You do?" Shinichi asked, mystified.

"Yeah, it's wordplay. Shi is four and Ichi is one. Four N One. Five."

Valerie giggled while Shinichi's jaw dropped. "Clever, but no. It's just an inside joke. But like really does call to like, huh. Mystery Inc and the Hesei Holmes."

"Mystery Inc?"

"Hesei Holmes?"

"Yeah," Valerie nodded. The gestured to the gang. "Teenage crime solvers who've stopped a number of corrupt schemes and illegal activities and," She turned the gesture to Shinichi, "the teenage detective proclaimed the 'Savior of the Japanese Police Force'."

"Low profile Val," Shinichi hissed.

Valerie winced, "Sorry."

"You like mysteries?" Fred sat up straight.

"Love them," Shinichi admitted. "There's nothing better than solving a particularly tricky case."

"And what about us?" One of the kids demanded, clearly upset.

Shinichi looked bemused. "Right. Mystery Inc. this is Genta-kun, Mitsuhiko-kun, and Ayumi-chan. Three of the four founding members of the Shonen Tantei-dan, the other being my cousin."

"Yeah, and we've solved a bunch of cases, so don't forget us." The one who had been identified as Genta declared.

"Yeah, if there was a case happening right now you'd see!" Mitsuhiko followed up.

"I would really appreciate it if there wasn't a case right-" Shinichi never got to finish his statement, interrupted by a sudden bang as smoke covered an area, then blew away, revealing a stark white figure floating slightly.

"I am the ghost of Kamei Osamu and I've come for my revenge against Gomera and all who enjoy it!"

A startled Zoinks preceded a moment of dead silence and then...

"BWAHAHAHAHA That is the STUPIDEST ghost costume I'm ever seen." Genta doubled over laughing, pointing at the the so called ghost.

"It's very bad. You should at least out some effort into it." Ayumi chided.

"Not to mention we've met Kamei Osamu and you look nothing like him." Mitsuhiko was frowning.

Velma looked at the kids, genuinely impressed that they weren't taken in for a moment.

"You know," Danny said a little hesitantly. "My family researches ghosts? I think I'm a little insulted on their behalf."

"On their behalf? I'm insulted on our behalf that he thought we were gonna actually be scared of that." Valerie gestured at the set up.

Shinichi was just staring at the ghost in naked disbelief.

Fred chuckled. "In the past couples of years I've seen more scam artists pretend to be supernatural creatures than I can count. But this is the first time I've seen one so thoroughly roasted, much less so quickly."

Even Shaggy and Scooby seemed to be calming down, tension leaving their shoulders.

The 'ghost' seemed less than pleased. "You dare laugh at me, dare to mock me, you'll see!" He pulled something of his his jacket and threw it at the group.

Shinichi and Danny both dived in front of them and the resounding explosion blinded everything with brilliant light and deafening sound. Daphne blinked as her vision returned and suppressed a scream as she saw rubble sticking up thorough her chest. She could feel it, but it didn't hurt. Was she in shock? Was her body numbing itself before...

"Don't worry." Shinichi hissed as though under a great strain. "I have you." They all started floating as one, hovering over and away from the rubble. The feeling of weightlessness ended as they all become solid again, tumbling to the ground unharmed.

"It's the ghost of Kudo Shinichi!" Someone from the crowd screamed.

Mystery Inc. all turned. Shinichi's hoodie was down and the skin that had seemed pale before now was much more ethereal. His eyes glowed like green coals as he turned to glare at the man hanging for the ceiling pretending to be a ghost. Purposefully he began to stride towards the costumed man.

"No! No!" he began swinging on the cord that held him up, trying to escape. "Gomera killed my brother! You should understand that!"

"No," Shinichi said with a heavy voice. "Your brother was killed by Matsui Shugo in revenge for attempting to destroy his life's work. Matsui confessed and is serving his sentence. You just threw a bomb at a group of people who rightfully called out your costume for being an insult to ghosts which it is, including three seven year old children," He reached the man and lifted him up by one hand. The ghost costume phased off him and Shinichi held the gibbering mess of a person up high. "So no, I do NOT understand. There is nothing in me that can understand what makes it reasonable kill or maim a person for slighted pride, much less children. Kamei-San you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney at your trial." Shinichi reached into the pocket of his hoodie and pulled something out. He then dropped the man to the ground and pulled his arms behind his back before securing them. The he turned to the public.

"Attention everyone, the suspect is apprehended. Please do not leave until the police show up and have taken your statement." The ghost bowed, hovering over the man who's hands were now ziptied behind his back, then vanished.

"Wait, he's arresting him?" Fred asked in slight disbelief. That was...new ghost behavior.

"Yeah," Danny breathed a sigh of relief. "Shinichi's all about the Justice and serving their time. I'll admit I was a little worried since his little band of junior detectives was threatened."

"Shinichi-Niisan wouldn't do anything bad." Ayumi stuck out her lip and stomped her foot.

"And who are you calling Junior!" Mitsuhiko scolded. Danny put up his hands in surrender.

"Daphne, you said he was son of local celebrities." Velma said, exasperated.

"That's what he said. That and he was in the media spotlight after an attempt on his life."

"And he didn't mention the attempt was successful, typical Shinichi." Valerie rolled her eyes.

"And his parents aren't exactly local. His Mom's a famous actress and his Dad's an internationally known author." Danny added.

"But he can't be a ghost. Ghosts don't exist!" Velma protested.

"Thank You" Shinichi's voice echoed from no where, making them jump. "There is no logical explanation for ghosts."

"Sure, because it's so much logical to refuse to admit they exist when you freaking are one." Danny laughed. "I don't even need to see your face, I know the exact look you're giving me."

"Shut up," Shinichi grumbled.

"You have to admit, you were kind of in denial. A lot." Ayumi said gently. "You actually thought you got to come back to life if your killers got caught." Genta laughed. Look, just...I don't want today to be about my family drama or people asking me questions about something I really don't want to think about.

Shinichi was different from the fake ghosts they had known. He didn't want attention on himself. He didn't pretend to be all powerful or frightening, in fact all he'd done was arrest one guy. She'd lean more towards believing him even of it wasn't for the literal display of supernatural power he'd shown to save their lives.

He was a ghost who didn't want think about being a ghost or how he got to be that way. He'd just wanted to do something nice for his cousin's friends and now he was exposed with the people around him talking about the one thing he didn't want to think about. She didn't even wonder why he was currently invisible. (How yes, why no). Not with the way everyone had been staring at him a moment ago. He didn't want to be a celebrity for being dead, he'd just wanted a day of being normal.

And Daphne made up her mind. "Once we give our statements do you want to grab some food for the kids, talk about the cases we've all solved, and forget that ghosts were ever a topic of conversation?" Daphne offered.

"Yes," Shinichi whispered in the most relieved tone she'd ever heard.

#Ghost Writing #Danny Phantom #Scooby Doo #Detective Conan #Phantom Detective #FYI it was Agasa and Ai who got sick not Conan and AI #Agasa was supposed to chaperone the ST #Shinichi changed it to Conan to explain why his cousin wasn't there #and explained the altered story to the others during the movie

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doodlegirl1998 · 1 year ago

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Hi. I just got an idea for a gamer au. Not sure if you know but some fics play with the concept of game for Izu. "What if Izu has a quirk that allows him to see life as a literal game?"

My take: Izu has this quirk waken in him when he was 8 years old (bk is a PoS and calls him deku) now the difference here is how...the quirk does interact with Izu and people can see it. My main gripe with this trope is how ...no one ever touched how sus would for Izu to "obey" quirk that only talks to him and no one can see it.

So...in this au, the quirk has the form of a green bunny (of course!) And her first priority is to protect Izu and she acess the situation. Aldera is not the best place for him and Inko is not...a great parent.

She bestow Izu with a quirk, a beginer one. Izu can control the perception of light one see.

Everyone is jaw drop. Quirkless Izu is no longer quirkless! Then everyone move on. Bk continues to be a PoS (his issue is with Izu, not the fact he is QUIRKLESS)

Bunny level up with him saying Izu to open his others quirks needs more stats and time "but this one will do"

We see them bond ad Bunny is now the mom of Izu. Inko? She doesnt change much she is relieved her son has a quirk but never asks about the bruises he got.

Bunny second mission is to elevate Izu's self love. She even hears Izu's rambles on how to defeat BK. "Cold water will do" bunny is pleased.

Here the thing...foreshadow for Bunny being a lovecraftian THING. Smth even Dark Shadow is wary and cowering.

Izu's life changes...not bc he has a quirk but bc he has someone on his side.

Izu meets AM who is impressed at Izu (and confused at bk as why he is being so rude to Izu "he saved him...there's smth wrong here") and wants to give him ofa - bunny has talked about afo and how he is a joke among the gods, oh yeah in this the outer gods messed up humans 200 years ago and the results are quirks- and Izu declines. Bunny chews AM out and drops Nana's name.

AM is shocked.

Bunny:😒 do I look human to you?

Nana is also shocked. But curious. They all are curious.

UA invasion begins and Izu saves Aizawa from Shig...and starts to belittling him and Shig is not having it. "He saved you! Show some gratitude!" Bunny is scheming.

Aizawa is a PoS. Bk is not at ua but he tries to appeal, only Aizawa hears him. The staff hates him for that.

The mall date begins and...well, bunny is very pleased to see Shig did take him to a nice cafe while he is bitch talking about his boss and stain. See in this version Shig wants to kill afo and accepted the mission of invade ua bc he thought afo would share some potential weakness to him.

Izu:🤨my dude. Afo is a moron.

Shig:🙄tell me about it.

Is bunny plotting for Izu to take down afo? Maybe. She is a ride or die here. If Izu wants to conquer the world...she is on his side.

Bonus: people get a bit unnerved by bunny, especially if she just stare at you- is she seeing your soul? Your future? Your death?- but Shig is strangely cool with that.

Bunny is scheming.

Oh bonus 2

Ochako confessed to Izu - right the time he gets a big intership🤨- and tells how he is plain but she likes him anyway.

Izu...turns her down.

Ocha:😮

Izu:🤨you called me plain! I think you are plain too so maybe we shouldnt hang out

Ocha:😮

Mina:😮

Izu left

(Not to insinuante Ocha is a gold digger but I cant really see her a love interest nor his friend anymore. Kudos for those who can)

Bunny is scheming! Izu is plotting too.

Hi @mikeellee 👋,

I certainly don't remember seeing this trope done before for Izuku but it certainly sounds like an interesting concept. An Izuku that sees life as a game, very cool!

Also I love your green bunny guide for Izuku that even makes Dark Shadow wary. Ooo! Perhaps Izu and Tokoyami could have a close bond in this considering the other worldly nature of their quirks? I do like the explanation you gave for quirks in this AU too.

It's so sweet that Shig and Izu have a respect and fondness of each other in this version of events and that Aizawa gets called out and Bakugou never makes it into U.A lol.

I do like how in the Bonus 2 omake Izu shows respect for himself by calling out Ocha calling him plain but still asking him out. It's strange how Hori treated Ocha and Izu - she's meant to be his endgame love interest yet Hori gives their friendship hardly any focus, they don't spend time together much at all or are shown / referenced to speak to each other and has her do things like calling him "Deku" all the time and "plain" which undermine the ship.

#Izuocha critical #aizawa critical #anti bakugou #anti bakugou katsuki

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ctrsara · 10 months ago

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Fanfic asks

Thanks to @mossrose10 for tagging me!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

665k

3. What fandoms do you write for?.

Only Marvel (so far) and mostly just Irondad.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Emergency Contacts Flash gets a hold of Peter's phone at a party, and can only access the emergency contacts. Parker has a "Dad" listed in there, but Flash knows his dad died. As a joke, in the heat of the moment, he texts a ransom message to that contact. He didn't expect a very angry Iron Man to show up minutes later.

Cutting Remarks Peter Parker's field trip ends up being at Stark Industries, thanks to a little push from Pepper. Peter makes Tony promise to stay out of it, but Tony has never been great at keeping his distance. FRIDAY basically calls him a stalker. Kids are mean. Peter is self-sacrificing. You know, the usual.

Better Than I Was Rhodey makes it down to the Tower for a visit, and to meet the "intern" Tony has been so busy with, and is surprised by what he finds there.

Sick Day Shouldas Tony gets a call from Peter's school, asking him to pick Peter up because of a migraine, which turns out to be a result of his senses being haywire.

Outside Insights Since he had a head injury that prompted observation for 24 hours, Peter ends up having to shadow Tony as he attends to some SI business. It happens to be "Family Day," and lots of people are confused about the relationship between Mr. Stark and the kid he brought with him.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try hard to respond to every comment. But sometimes I get woefully behind! :( (Like right now!)

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Do any of my fics have angsty endings? Not really... Maybe Near-Arctic Adventures would count with Rhodey's musings at the end, and looking at the series possibly ending in "Infinity War" happening.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Most of my fics have happy endings... I'm going to randomly pick Birthday Breakout.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not so far. A little constructive criticism here and there. :)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Nope.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I have not. I don't usually read them either.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don't think so.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not yet, though we've talked about it a bunch of times, haha. I've co-brainstormed a bunch, and written a few of those!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

The platonic Peter Parker & Tony Stark one is probably my favorite, but I've liked lots of them in the past. :) Lois/Clark in Lois & Clark: the New Adventures of Superman, Edward/Bella, Jasper/Alice, Spock/Uhura, (that was cheating, wasn't it...)

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I don't have any WIPs I don't think I'll finish, unless it's the AU of my soulmates AU that I started. I don't know if I'll ever post it, therefore I'll probably never finish it.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Grammar and spelling, attention to body language, fun dialogue.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Rambling about things that aren't that interesting, not great at cutting stuff out after I write it. (I'm crap at "killing my darlings.")

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I do some in Italian for Peter and Tony in Hardly Coincidence and the rest of the soulmate universe, but I usually switch to English and just indicate that they're speaking Italian for anything very long. (It has also inspired me to study Italian on Duolingo though, and I have a 225 day streak!)

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I tried writing a Pern fanfiction (Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders) at least 20 years ago. It wasn't good. I didn't make it past the first chapter, and didn't try again until I was almost 40...

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

How am I supposed to answer that? If I was cheating I'd pick the whole Strands in the Rope series, but maybe Visiting Hours is my favorite standalone.

No pressure tags: @fotibrit, @spagbol99, @asyouleft, @opal-earrings, @niniblack and @cajun-fangirl (and anyone else who wants to do it!!!)

#fanfic asks #author games #writer games #fanfiction

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cnidocyte-at-cnight · 6 months ago

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Bath-Time

In the bath-house of the Barrel & Bullet Saloon, notorious gnoll gunslinger Kid Hickory has a run-in with his mysterious new team-mate known only as "Longarm".

We've decided the saloon needs a better bath-house than what is in the actual module.

This is explicit smut so pls be aware lmao

(Also consider reading over here on AO3 and leaving kudos there as well!)

While the Barrel & Bullet Saloon wasn’t the fanciest establishment, Kid Hickory had to give them their due: this was a nice bathhouse. Several large brass tubs, big enough for 3 gnolls easily, sat full of steaming water along one wall. Along the other, several low shower heads with stools below them and buckets of scrub-brushes, cloths, and soap. This place had heated running water! The amenities of this city never ceased to amaze the outlaw gnoll. He supposed living in the grime of the City of Smog itself would necessitate this kind of service, and probably got the saloon its own fair share of income all on its own.

“Drain the tub when you're done, it'll refill automatically,” Foebe Dunsmith, the owner and proprietor, explained. “Just do me a favor and try not to clog the drains, Kid.”

“I'll do m'best Ms. Dunsmith,” Kid replied with an innocent smile. “My deepest thanks fer the use of yer bathhouse.” He gave a small bow with a half-joking flourish of his hat as she left, chuckling. With a huff of excitement, Kid turned back to the baths, rubbing his paws together in anticipation before he began to peel off his clothes. While he liked to keep clean, Kid’s main reason for doing so was ultimately because it was embarrassing for a whole group of stubbornly unbathed outlaws to tell you that yeah you actually smell really fucking awful. Here, though, he was going to actually relish taking a bath.

He sat himself down on one of the stools and ran the shower, giving a small whine as the heated water cascaded onto his sore muscles. The day had been more taxing than he thought. He took a long-handled scrub-brush from the bucket and started working, desperate for the stink of the scrapyard and sewers to be off him. Whatever was in this floral soap that Foebe had provided worked wonders.

Kid’s attention was drawn by the click of the door opening, and he was surprised to see the tall form of Longarm enter in. Longarm equally seemed at least a little surprised to see another person in the bathhouse, though this was only a guess on Kid’s part as his teammate was as usual completely covered in layers of clothing. Kid gave a small nod of acknowledgement and Longarm did the same, before moving over to one of the big tubs.

Now this is interestin’ , Kid thought to himself. Am I actually gonna get to see what’s b‘neath that pile of cloth properly? His mysterious teammate had been clothed from near head-to-toe in all their usual interactions. Kid tried his best to slyly angle so he could get a view without giving away the game.

The hat and scarf were the first to go. The fact that Longarm was a fleshwarp was no secret to Kid–he covered it as well as he could, but the gnoll had fought alongside him enough times to catch glimpses of his stranger features, particularly the disproportionate limb that gave him his nickname. Besides, they lived in Alkenstar– this kind of thing wasn't entirely unheard of given the dangers of the Mana Wastes. But the now-clear orcish features of his face did surprise Kid. Longarm’s face was gaunt, almost skeletal, with a nose that was a mere suggestion and gaps in the flesh of his cheeks that revealed the teeth below.

As he shrugged off his duster, Kid got a proper look at the monstrous arm. It was nearly half an arm more in length than the other one, with claw-like fingernails and a twisting, ropey texture to it almost like musculature itself. Beneath his obviously modified shirt, the man was well-built but oddly stretched. Small spikes of bone dotted his form at various angles, looking almost like misplaced teeth in some instances.

He looked dangerous, and Kid liked it.

With deft hands, Longarm unbuttoned and stepped free of his trousers, piling them on top of the rest of his shed clothing. He turned his back to Kid briefly, and the gnoll felt a slight prickle across his snout as he admired the orc's well-toned backside. Longarm moved to one of the tubs, long legs stepping effortlessly, almost gracefully, over the rim. His movements gave Kid a clear view of his fully undressed form for just a moment before the orc settled into the water. The prickly feeling on Kid's face became the low burning of a spreading blush. A new prickly feeling started in his stomach.

"You've been starin' at me fer 5 minutes, pup.” The gravelly voice of Longarm broke Kid out of his reverie with a jolt as the gnoll realized he had indeed been staring. His ears flattened a bit in embarrassment.

"You plannin' to do anythin' 'bout it, or should I finish my bath?" Longarm asked, voice an enticing combination of a threat and an invitation. Kid's ears twitched with surprise, excitement bubbling in his stomach.

It had been a while , thought the gnoll. Perhaps…

"Didn't mean nothin' by it," Kid replied as smoothly as possible. "Was just admirin’ the view. But if that's an invitation...?" The gnoll trailed off with a quirk of his eyebrow. He wasn't sure if the expression he was seeing on Longarm's face was a smirk, the almost-skeletal patches of missing flesh on his cheeks made it a bit ambiguous, but the way the orc settled back in the bath, spreading his legs invitingly wider, answered the question just as well. Kid moved over, stepping into the hot bath and settling himself between Longarm's legs, his own looped around the orc’s hips. The gnoll grinned, running a clawed finger gently up the orc's thigh.

"Guess the arm's not the only thing long about ya, huh?" Kid said, attempting to sound casual and not trip on his own tongue as he tore his eyes away from the length.

"Ain't even hard yet, pup. Work on that, why don't ya?" That was definitely a smirk.

“If you insist~,” Kid replied with a wink, eagerly running his hands down Longarm’s hips to his hardening cock. His claws traced the length of it, following the thick vein that ran from nearly base to tip. As he reached the head, Longarm's breathing hitched audibly, and he couldn't help but grin. Wrapping one hand firmly around the shaft, Kid set to work, pumping up and down in a slow rhythm. His other hand slid down the orc's thigh to his balls, massaging them in time to each stroke. Soon, the orc's cock stood at full length--which, looking down at it, he now realized reached nearly to his own midriff. A flush began to spread across his muzzle, his mind hazing over at the sight.

“Like what ya see?” Longarm asked with one eyebrow quirked, his smug tone unmistakable. Kid attempted a reply, but couldn't quite get his thoughts straight, making a small scrambled attempt at speaking before shutting himself up.

"Hmph… hard to tell what you're packin', furball…" Longarm continued, resting his hands on Kid's hips and pulling him closer.

"Dig around a little, you'll find out soon enough," Kid grinned. "You gotta do the work first." Longarm grunted in response, digging his thumbs into the gnoll's fluffy lower stomach. Kid huffed in appreciation, relishing the feeling of another's hands on his body.

Oh yeah , he thought, it's been too long.

Combing down through the thick fur, Longarm paused questioningly on an odd white tuft, fingertip tracing the knot of scarring beneath it..

“Got shot,” Kid offered as the only explanation, shrugging.

Longarm gave no response, simply continued dragging his fingers through until he found what he was searching for. Kid's dick was admittedly on the smaller side, especially by comparison, but Longarm didn't seem to care, wasting no time in wrapping his hand firmly around the slender shaft. His palms were coarse, but as he started teasing at Kid’s length, the gnoll moaned low at the buzz of pleasure. Longarm ran his hand down to the base of Kid’s dick, and then reached below, pausing when he grasped at nothing.

“Hhhheh… my parts work a lil diff’rent than yours, Longarm,” Kid huffed. “Keep goin’, though. Yer hands feel reeeal nice~”

Longarm obliged, pumping firmly at Kid's shaft with one hand, and massaging at his thighs and stomach with the other. He seemed particularly interested in the spot near Kid's hips where the long, coarse fur of his torso thinned out to the much shorter, striped fur of his limbs, trailing and tangling his fingers in the border there.

"You mind...?" Kid asked taking Longarm's dick in one hand and resting it against his own stomach. "I wanna start movin '~" Longarm gave a grunt of assent, and Kid ground his hips against Longarm's, delighting in the rough exhale he drew from the orc. Kid's stomach flipped, and he felt his own dick twitch. Longarm's hands moved to cup at his backside, the normal one gripping tantalizingly at the base of Kid's tail. Slowly he ground himself back and forth against Longarm, admiring the look of their mismatched cocks together.

"We gonna just rut at each other, or ya wanna make this a proper thing?" Longarm asked after a while, and Kid could feel the other's fingers searching through his fur until they found the entrance to his ass.

"I dunno, tough guy, I was thinkin' I could bend ya over the bath-edge."

"Don't think so, Kid ," Longarm replied, enunciating the nickname pointedly, his more monstrous arm trailing up Kid's back and gripping lightly at the gnoll's long neck for emphasis. Kid felt a rush of pleasure in his gut. He'd seen this arm tear the head off a clockwork.

"You make a compellin' argument," Kid replied with a weak smile. Longarm released him, and grabbed one of the bottles from the nearby bucket of bathing supplies. Spreading the liquid inside the bottle over his hands, Longarm pulled Kid forward, and the gnoll obliged. One of the orc's more normal fingers slid inside him, and then he was pushed back to sit on it, sinking it a few knuckles deep. Kid grimaced, a small noise of discomfort escaping at the intrusion, and Longarm paused for a moment to let him settle. After a moment, Kid nodded lightly. Longarm let out a grunt and slid another finger inside. Kid hissed and sighed and struggled to relax around it, the attempt eased by the feeling of the orc’s rough, monstrous hand wrapping around both of their lengths.

As they settled into this new position, Kid began to move. He pressed down on the fingers in his ass with a slight wrinkle of his snout, then bounced his hips upward to press his length into the warmth of Longarm's monstrous hand. The orc squeezed his grip, pressing their cocks together, the friction sending trails of pleasure racing up into Kid's gut. Slowly he pulled back, sitting down on the hand beneath him again, and Longarm began to stretch at his entrance. Kid moved again, back and forth, arching his back despite himself as the mixture of sensations began to fog his mind. The water of the tub sloshed in time with their moves, and Longarm let out a few groans under his breath. Kid gave a small whine with each thrust. The pressure of their cocks against each other, the warm, hard flesh and Longarm's rugged hand coaxed creamy dribbles of fluid from them both, clouding the bath water.

" Hfff , alright there Kid," Longarm growled eventually, pulling his fingers out of the gnoll and pushing him away. "Roll over."

"You sure?" Kid asked slyly. "I still think you'd look gorgeous all sprawled-" The hand returned to his neck and tightened, not enough to cause harm but enough for Kid's breath to feel a bit heavy. Kid gulped, feeling a flush rising in his cheeks and his dick pulsing with his own heartbeat. Another thick spurt of fluid gave him away, and Longarm grinned with a menacing promise that Kid hated to admit that he loved.

" Roll over. " Kid complied, bracing himself against the wall of the bath. Longarm's normal hand gripped solidly at one hip, while his namesake curled around to grip once more at Kid's arousal. Kid let out a soft whine of anticipation, as Longarm pressed against his entrance. The orc's dick slipped, slick against his backside, and Longarm gave a deep, cheeky moan as he ground against Kid's entrance slowly and intentionally.

“I thought ya wanted t’make this a proper thing,” Kid growled, pinning his ears and glaring back at Longarm. The orc smirked, holding Kid's hips firmly as he ground himself against the gnoll's backside a few more deliberate times. Then he lined up again, and pressed in hard.

"Fffffffuck~" Kid hissed as the head of the orc's thick cock popped inside him. He flinched hard at the pain of it, clenching down on the invading heat. Even with whatever that bottle of stuff was, this was not going to be easy.

"Shit, yer tight," Longarm grunted, pausing his advance.

"Ain't usually on the bottom," Kid admitted sheepishly.

“Finally found somethin' the great Kid Hickory can't do, eh?” Longarm teased, moving a hand to massage at the gnoll's back.

“Yer just…” Kid grumbled, not wanting to admit it. “Yer just bigger'n I'm used to.” He could feel the smugness radiating off the orc behind him. He struggled to relax, but bristled again as Longarm's cock slid further in.

“You sure you can handle all this, pup?” Longarm teased, pulling back again to Kid's entrance.

"Should be fine, not like I ain't done it before,” Kid snapped back with an indignant snarl before he quieted a bit. “Just start slow ‘n shallow…” He spread his stance a bit more, and gripped tight to the tub rim.

“I dunno,” Longarm mused, trailing a clawed finger tantalizingly up and down the gnoll's arousal, which was starting to flag at the discomfort of entry. “Don't seem entirely much like y'want me to…”

“Come on, you ass,” Kid's snarl broke embarrassingly like he was going through puberty again. “You ain't really gonna make me beg.”

“Beggin' sounds real nice actually,” Longarm smirked. “You want me in? How bad, pup?” Kid growled, but it was interrupted by a low whimper as Longarm palmed at his dick, sending shivers down the gnoll's thighs.

“Unghhh,” Kid breathed, his tongue lolling slightly. “G-get inside me ya glorified piece of jerky or I s-swear t' God…” Longarm kneaded at Kid's length again, drawing a new pulse of fluid from his tip.

“ How bad, pup? ” Longarm asked, leaning over to Kid's notched ear, voice low and husky. The growl in his tone caused a knot of pleasure to coil in Kid's nethers, his hips twitching back against the thick cock still resting just within his entrance.

“P-please…” Kid whined, cheeks visibly red beneath his fur, ears pinning down in embarrassment. “Gods, please, keep goin’...” Longarm seemed to contemplate this for a second, before he started pressing himself into Kid once more. He moved carefully, and only so far as he could go before Kid flinched and clenched again. Then he pulled back, slowly. Kid clutched hard to the tub rim, willing himself to focus on the rhythm of the hand on his dick instead. Gradually the discomfort faded, the feeling of Longarm gently easing himself in and out becoming more and more pleasure than pain. A trail of slick warmth leaked into Kid, Longarm unable to resist the sensation of the gnoll's tight hole squeezing his cock.

“Th-that’s startin’ t’feel better,” Kid gasped, letting his grip on the tub go a bit slack. “Fuck yer a big ol’ thing though.”

“Nnnnfff, don’t get cocky yet,” Longarm grumbled. “I still got a lot more t’get in there, if I can.” He thrust in a little harder, driving that much deeper into the gnoll, sending a tantalizing mixture of sharp pleasure up Kid’s spine.

“ O-ohhhhh gods~ ” Kid whimpered lasciviously, his dick pulsing in Longarm’s hand, a thick stream of fluid dripping between the clawed digits as they pumped at him. Longarm started thrusting in a little harder, increasing the depth with each plunge. Kid’s ears flicked back, straining to pick up the sound of Longarm’s rough breathing as the orc gripped hard at his hip and cock. The water between them sloshed noisily, amplifying the lewd sound of the slick length slipping in and out of Kid’s hole.

Finally, Longarm bottomed out, the head of his dick striking some hidden bundle of nerves deep in the gnoll’s core. Kid saw stars. His vision danced in black and white for a moment and he gasped loudly. The orc gripped tight to the gnoll beneath him, as Kid bucked.

“F-fuck! There !” Kid snarled, baring his teeth, his thick fur bristling where it wasn’t soaked with bath-water. Longarm obliged, pounding faster and harder into Kid’s backside. The water of the bath splashed over the edges of the tub as Longarm's hips met Kid's again and again with increasing intensity. Kid whined and snarled in ecstasy, matching the deep growls and grunts of the orc above him. The gnoll arched his back with every thrust, ensuring Longarm's cock went in as far as possible, driving deep into that sweet spot as often as he could.

Eventually the sensation was too much, and Kid's climax hit with a cackling yelp, his legs giving out underneath him as a stream of fluid spurted out into the water from between Longarm’s fingers. Kid tightened around Longarm, and the orc gave a loud deep groan as he continued to drive in and out of the spent gnoll. Kid panted hard with each thrust, riding the lightning flash bliss of his own orgasm, until finally, with a shudder and a snarl, Longarm pressed as far into the gnoll as he could, and came. Kid sighed and panted, tongue lolling, at the feeling of thick, wet heat coating his insides, a second, smaller rush of satisfaction coursing through his veins.

Longarm rolled his hips languidly against Kid's ass a few more times, before taking a deep breath and moving back. Pulling himself out of the gnoll, a cloud of white spilled out into the bathwater. Without Longarm's support, Kid slumped bonelessly against the rim of the bath, sprawling and grinning wide.

Silence, save for heavy breathing and the light sloshing of water, hung over the pair of them for some time. Eventually, Kid pulled himself up on shaking legs, wet fur clinging to him from the chest down. A thick trail of fluid dripped down his backside.

“ H-hooo~ , that was nice,” the outlaw gnoll whistled, reaching for the bucket of bathing supplies, his arm still trembling slightly. “Don’t know if I c’n convince ya t’help me wash up?”

#rating: lemon #minors dni

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samuel-coe · 1 year ago

Text

Bare Metal - Extended

It's a Starfield slash fic with a minor NPC! I also posted this on AO3 so check it out and give kudos there too if you like. I wanted this to be like 2k words but it's hard for me to cut things down and then fics take forever, so idk how many more I got in me 😩

Anyway this is an M rated fic that's female player character/Frank Renick from Neon and follows the Bare Metal questline, spoilers for that.

The Captain hadn’t expected much to stand out from each of the shops of Neon. They all seemed to be down on their luck establishments with needy shopkeepers, all asking for one thing or another from her.

It was growing late into the night now, her first day ever in Neon. She’d dragged Andreja along with her as well, not really wanting to get lectured by Sam or Sarah if she decided to do something slightly immoral. She’d already been clubbing at the Astral Lounge for a bit, had some drinks, some food. She even tried Aurora but found she’d hyped the whole thing up a bit too much, even spending 5000 credits on a member’s room at Euphorika to try it out in “peace”. Though the Aurora felt good for a few minutes, it wore off and then gave her a bit of a headache. Or maybe the headache was from the Chimera drink she’d also tried there.

The Captain was still up for more exploring afterwards though, and the shops mostly all seemed open. Not paying much attention to what she was walking into, the tall woman strutted right into Neon Tactical with her companion.

Her first thought when walking in was, oh, the shopkeeper’s cute.

He spoke in a gravelly voice. “If you’re here to buy, take a look around the shop. Just keep your hands where I can see them.”

Her next thought was, oh, the shopkeeper’s a bit of an ass.

This man was tall, in a grey tank top that showed off his muscular arms. He had dirty blond hair and short beard and one, piercing hazel eye. The other was covered with an eye patch.

“I don’t want any trouble,” said the Captain kindly with a small smile, she could tell he was on edge. Andreja, who was behind her, wandered to the side of the store to leave them to talk.

The man went on to explain his store’s current somewhat tumultuous situation in a gruff voice. He pointed out his robot companion, Styx, that runs the “complaints department.” The Captain deduced that dealing with complaints meant a load of bullets. The 8 foot robot did look fearsome, even covered in neon spraypaint. She thought it best to not disparage the robot and instead asked of Styx’s backstory, before then insisting she was there to browse and buy.

The shopkeeper seemed to exhale a bit at her interest in the robot, and she was glad she didn’t say something offensive about it. It was becoming clear the man was attached to the rainbow robot.

“...Look at the graffiti they sprayed on his chassis. If I could find the asshole that did that I’d make them pay for a paint removal.”

The Captain nodded along, knowing immediately she’d help him. She asked the man more questions about himself, found out his name was Frank Renick, he was a veteran that fought in the war and that’s how he lost his eye. He found Styx in storage and fixed him up, he talked to the robot like it could understand him, though the robot had limited response capabilities. The whole thing touched the Captain’s heart, she was deep down a big softy and empath, and she let Frank vent his whole story. Plus, she was still a bit buzzed.

“I could track down the person that defaced Styx, if you like,” she told him, tucking a loose piece of hair behind her ear.

Frank raised his brows and the gruff exterior faded, “You’d do that? Huh, okay. Maybe I misjudged you.”

The Captain smiled and rested her elbows on the counter, “I can’t allow an assault like that to go unpunished.” She was half joking, but she could also see how much this bothered Frank.

Frank agreed, saying that she could go “scare the crap out of this punk.” Frank already knew it was a Disciples gang member named “Warlord” that did this to Styx, and the the Disciples had it out for Frank and Styx ever since they tried to rob the shop a few years back. Styx shot at them, injuring some and even killing one of the members. It was a dangerous even now for Frank and Styx.

The Captain had heard rumbling about the Disciples gang and the Strikers gang, she’d heard the Disciples were the worse sort but so far she’d stayed out of both of their ways. That wasn’t going to last long though it seemed.

She asked one last question before she set out, trying to understand them even more. “So do people give you a hard time about Styx?”

Franks shook his head, “I know you’ll be surprised, but thanks to my sparkling personality, I don’t really have the easiest time making friends. Styx isn’t programmed to have casual conversation. So most the time I end up looking like I’m talking to a machine and I’m out of my mind.”

That was enough to melt her heart a bit. “Aw,” the Captain replied sympathetically. “Well, I’ll take a look around and then I’ll go track down Warlord.”

With that, she walked over to where Andreja was, with her arms folded with a raised brow. Moments later Frank could be heard talking to Styx about something and the robot errored out and asked him to rephrase. The Captain then went over to the colorful Styx as well and tried to talk to him about what happened, and had similar error filled results. Sighing, she and Andreja left the shop, with Frank talking at Styx and seeming agitated again.

“Well,” said Andreja, “I suppose it’ll be nice to give that poor man some peace of mind.”

The Captain cupped her mouth with her hand, “Can I be honest? I’m so attracted to the broken puppy dog guys. That broke my heart.” Andreja raised her brows, definitely judging her. “I see. Well, he’ll certainly appreciate it if we help him out with this situation.”

The two had already been to Euphorika, out on the Ebbside of Neon. The first time they’d gone though, there weren’t any Disciples there. Now, there was.

A young man in a colorful full body suit and mask was talking to a similar looking person on the couch. The Captain walked up to them and the standing one, presumably Warlord, struck up a conversation.

“You like art?”

The Captain cocked her head, “Sure. I like art.”

She could hear the grin on his face behind the dark mask, “Then you should see the tag job on the robot at Neon Tactical! It’s my best work.”

The Captain frowned, this was definitely the guy. “Frank Renick wants retribution for what you did to Styx.”

Warlord snorted, “Hmpf. That cyclops should be thanking me! I dressed up his toy real nice, gave him a total makeover. He’s lucky that’s all I did after what that thing did to my crew.”

The starfarer’s chest squeezed at the cruel name he’d given Frank. She wanted some more answers, asking why he’d done it. Warlord in turn proudly admitted how he wanted to humiliate Frank and Styx as payback.

“...Now every time that cyclops opens his eye, he’s gonna see MY art on HIS buddy!”

The Captain gritted her teeth and asked one more question, asking if Styx really did kill members of the Disciples, which Warlord confirmed.

“...Lost some good Disciples in that group. If anything, that freak should be paying me!”

Normally, the Captain kept a cool head, tried to talk her way out of unnecessary violence, but her cheeks were burning hot with anger. This punk asshole was a real menace to society.

“So you admit to the crime?” she growled, fingers itching.

Warlord seemed disinterested, but maybe under that a little nervous. “Yeah, I do. And I’ll make art out of your guts if you step out of line.”

She could persuade the thug, but in honesty she’d run out of patience. What use would be keeping this asshole alive anyway? It’d be better for everyone if he was just gone. “Give me the credits for the repairs. I’m taking them from you dead or alive.”

Warlord seemed shocked and then tensed, “Well, if that’s how you want it, we can get messy!” The Disciples reached for their guns, and the Captain pulled up her pistol fast, shooting 3 bullets into Warlord’s mask. Beside her, Andreja unloaded her rifle into the sitting Disciple, who only managed to shoot and miss two bullets before dying. Warlord’s blood sprayed on the Captain’s face and clothes before he collapsed, and she quickly knelt to pick up his ammo and getting out of Euphorika, which was now filled with panicked customers. She hoped that membership she’d gotten there earlier would still be good after this.

When they’d hurried back to Neon Tactical, Frank was there, telling an incredibly bad joke to Styx, who wasn’t understanding. Frank perked up at the sight of them coming through the door.

“Warlord isn’t going to bother you anymore,” the Captain said a matter of factly.

“Good work,” replied Frank, pleased. “I hope you made him squirm.”

The Captain inhaled. “He was actually pretty calm. I had to really try to get him to fight me.”

Frank’s smile turned to surprise. “Oh, you killed him?”

The Captain looked him in the eye and nodded. “Yes. He’s dead. He was a real menace and I didn’t want him causing any more trouble.” It was better that way and they both knew it. Frank thanked her for the credits and told her he planned on getting Styx fixed up and repainted. With a genuine smile he gave her some credits back for a job well done.

The woman hesitated before leaving, she knew the job was done, yet she wanted to spend more time with that lonely man. Other matters pressed her however, and with a wave and a nod they parted.

The next few days, the Captain and Andreja stayed on Neon. They’d solved murders, found stolen music slates, and joined Ryujin Industries to name a few things. She even seemed to transform the culture of the Ebbside by teaming up with the Strikers gang to take down the rest of the Disciples. It’d gotten bloody but was smoothed over with Security. All that and it was seeming like time to leave Neon soon.

However, every time she passed Neon Tactical, the Captain felt the need to go in. She held back though, not wanting to be overbearing to Frank, but realizing she was likely leaving Neon the next day, the starfarer went inside. She’d told Andreja to spend the evening doing her own thing.

“Hey!” How’s Styx holding up?” she asked cheerfully.

Frank returned a wide smile, “He’s great! Had the paint cleaned up, some dings smoothed out of his chassis and even upgraded his firmware. All thanks to you.” He paused and looked sentimental. “Look, I know it’s ridiculous to be this excited about having that big old tin can around, but he’s still the only friend I got. Come to think of it, after you took the time to help me, I’d say I’ve made a new friend… and you’re welcome here anytime.”

So he was really a softy at heart, wasn’t he? The war, this city, things hadn’t been easy on Frank. The Captain had to admit, she was attracted to this man. She didn’t want to just leave it at this.

She cocked her head and spoke in a husky tone. “Friends, huh? Can I… be blunt?”

Frank’s brow furrowed, “Uh, yeah. Sure.”

The Captain leaned across the counter and tentatively ran her fingers across Frank’s forearm. “Do you possibly… want to get to know each other better? Because I would.” She had to be honest, she was extremely pent up. It’d been months since she’d gotten any action. She found her occasional companion, Sam Coe, pretty hot but the fact he was such a goody two shoes and had his twelve year old daughter with him all the time was a buzzkill.

Luckily, slowly, Frank’s brows raised. He got her drift.

“Oh! S-sure.” His cheeks were turning red.

“Okay,” the Captain continued, playing with the light hair on his forearm. “When do you close?”

Frank checked the clock, “10– er, but I mean I can close now, it’s cool.”

The Captain smiled, “That works. You have an apartment? All I have for now is a Sleep Crate, but I’m sure in a couple months I’ll be able to afford a high rise.”

Frank chuckled, “Oh really, a top floor loft? Yeah, I have a place.” He looked her up and down, perhaps just now taking her in. “I can lock up and we can go now.”

“Lead the way,” the Captain smirked, following him out.

“Keep the place safe, Styx!” Frank told his robot companion.

“Affirmative.” answered Styx, and the Captain was surprised it understood for once.

Frank’s place was right upstairs, a sparsely decorated but tidy place that was definitely bigger than her Sleep Crate. She almost felt bad she let Andeja have the night off but she still had to sleep in that cot.

“Sorry, it’s not the prettiest,” Frank apologized, sounding sheepish. “Do you want a drink?”

“Sure,” the starfarer answered. “Boxed wine is fine, or anything you have.”

Frank rustled around his cabinets, “Yeah, I have one of those.” He held a beer in the other hand, “I don’t drink much nowadays but now seems a good time.”

The Captain took the wine and cheers-ed him. “I agree.” She took a long sip and as did he. Taking a step closer to him she cocked her head. “So, I take it you don’t take ladies back to your place often.”

Frank took another long swig. “No. No, it’s been awhile. That’s for sure.”

The Captain ran a light finger through his beard. “You’re so handsome, though. That’s the first thing I noticed.”

Frank blushed. “Really? That’s sweet. You’re… very attractive as well.”

Taking that as a good cue, the Captain, slowly leaned in and Frank met her lips for a kiss. It felt good, two humans connecting like this. Soon they were kissing deeper, hands in each other’s hair, hands pulling at each other’s clothes. The Captain was down to her underwear, a trendy leather-like green garment set she’d picked up in Neon. Frank’s shirt was off, he had a nice physique though a little stomach pudge, and multiple scars scattered across his torso from the war.

The Captain ran her hands up his sides and Frank followed suit, grabbing her hips and then giving her ass a squeeze. She squeaked and grinned, glad that this was likely to be fun.

They backed into a wall of Frank’s apartment, the Captain pushing him against it while moving her hands down to open his fly. From what she could feel, he was already hard. With a little pull of the zipper he sprung free, and the starfarer leaned back to see what he was packing. Lucky for her, his dick seemed a good size and rather pretty looking too in her opinion. Wrapping a hand around his length she slowly began to stroke while staring him in the eye.

“Wait–” whispered Frank, and then he grunted. The Captain looked down and gasped as Frank came, his dick spurting a thick load of cum onto her bare, muscular thigh. “Fuck!” he grunted, gripping her shoulder hard and the other hand moving to his cock.

“It’s okay,” she reassured him. “Oh, you’re eager, huh?”

“Shit,” he swore, breathing hard. “Goddammit, sorry. It’s been a while.”

“It’s fine, I swear!” The Captain insisted, taking a step back. “It’s been a while for me too. Let me just wipe this off and we could play around a little differently until you’re ready again.”

Poor Frank’s face was beet red. He slipped away from the wall, apologizing and getting her a paper towel to wipe her skin.

“I’m not upset,” she insisted, wiping off the jizz. “I still want to have sex,” she added bluntly. “Come on, let’s move to your bed.”

Frank's bed was neatly made with dark blue sheets. The Captain led him over to it and kissed the man again, her hands around his face half pulling him down with her on the bed. A calloused hand made its way to her breast, the action seemed ready to be restarted.

The Captain reached for the clasp of her fashionable bra and pulled it off, revealing her somewhat small chest. Frank’s hand went back to her breast and lightly squeezed the nipple, which she answered with a soft hum. The Captain wrapped her legs around Frank's back as they kissed, drawing him closer.

“Touch me,” she encouraged. She didn’t expect much from him but some pleasure on her side would be nice. As if he read her thoughts, the veteran shifted and moved a hand down between her muscular thighs, applying pressure to her crotch over her panties.

“Like this?” Frank asked in her ear in his low, gravelly voice.

She bit her lip and pushed against him. “Mmhmm.”

His hand slipped under her panties to her lower lips, finding their way around until his middle finger found a way inside. “How about like this?”

“Yeah,” the Captain gasped, loving the way his rough hand felt on her sensitive area, gripping his shoulder as his hand worked her in and out. As his beard scratched her cheeks though, she found herself wishing he’d put that head between her legs.

“You want more, don’t you, Captain?” Frank teased. “You’re a wild one.”

“Yes,” she breathed, her skin prickling where his cheek touched her.

His hand turned to more of a rubbing movement, “Would you mind if I used my mouth on you down there? It’s been a while but I liked doing that for beautiful ladies.”

The Captain chuckled, “Aren’t you polite? Who would have thought. Yes please, Mr. Renick.”

He lifted off of her on his hands and knees and moved down to her lower half, planting some kisses on her abs along the way. Carefully he pulled her panties down and off of her, and the Captain lifted her legs up and wide so Frank would have a good view.

She hoped she wouldn’t get his eyepatch dirty, and her chest was tight as the shopkeeper lower his face to her skin, his mouth kissing her folds slowly. His mouth moved methodically, as if looking for cues that what he was doing was working. The Captain responded in turn, guiding him in what felt good.

“Use your tongue like that yes, yes…”

Her eyes had been squeezed shut but she lifted her head to look at the man beneath her, his shaggy dark blonde head bobbing slightly as his mouth lapped at her clit.

Fuck, she thought, the pleasure growing. The Captain tried to relax and enjoy the sensations, the feeling of this connection with this man. His mouth suctioned around her and his tongue explored her up and down, his warm tongue feeling so good she was getting closer and closer.

“Like that, like that, I’m gonna…” she propped herself up on an elbow and moved her other hand to Frank’s hair, firmly keeping him there. Her heels dug into his back clamping him in, the orgasm was coming in quick and hard.

“Fuck! Ahh…” a wave of pleasure hit her and coursed through her body, the suction and the feeling of his tongue on her prolonged the feeling for seconds more. The woman squeezed her eyes shut and cried out. Even as the orgasm had come and gone, pleasure still coursed through her.

Finally she let the man go, and Frank lifted off of her, his beard damp from her juices. The Captain giggled and wiped a bit of it off with her wrist. Looking down between them, Frank’s manhood seemed to be ready for more.

“You look like you’re ready to go,” she pointed out with a glance of her eyes.

Frank looked sheepish, “I mean, if it’s alright with you…”

She adjusted herself on her back, getting herself ready. “Of course. And I’m on FertiNix. I like it raw, so…”

FertiNix was the current most popular birth control, a yearly shot that even prevented against STI’s. She hadn’t gotten much use out of it lately, but she was glad her luck was turning around.

“Ah, okay.”

Frank still seemed nervous, so she brought him back into kiss. Taking a hand down, she wrapped around his hard again length and guided him into her hole, then both gasping as he pushed himself inside. After that, Frank seemed to remember his bodily instincts, thrusting up into her first slowly and then getting into a stronger, more confident pace. His size squeezed her wider, it felt big especially after not doing this for a while. She let out a gasp and moan with nearly every thrust as he set the faster pace, her pussy was slick and still throbbing from cumming earlier.

“Fuck, yeah like that,” the starfarer figured he was a guy that would need a bit of encouragement. It wasn’t all for show, she was enjoying herself too. Frank got up on his hands and thrust into her missionary style, some sweat beading off his lightly haired skin. She stared at a little heart shaped burn mark on his chest, all his scars were so appealing to her, she just wanted to kiss them.

After a minute more of thrusting, she had the urge to move more. She was a strong woman who could handle her own, and she knew she could ride this guy into oblivion.

“Let me on top,” she purred.

“You want to go on top?” the poor guy seemed half out of breath, the front of his hair sticking to his forehead.

“Yes, sir.”

Frank smirked and grabbed her by the hips, rolling them over while keeping her firmly around his cock. The Captain giggled and then adjusted, sitting on top of him. “I like this seat,” she teased.

“I like this view,” Frank answered, giving her small tits a squeeze. She smiled back, putting her hands on his strong, yet soft stomach and using her thighs to move back and forth on his crotch, keeping him inside. Back and forth and round and round, his cock squeezed tight inside her and his big hands clutched her thighs, this is what she’d been missing. She wondered who she’d get to do this with next after this.

She began to bounce, the springs in the bed aid her as she plopped up and down on his length, the bounce of it causing her body to shake and their skin to make slapping sounds fill the room. This was extra fun she thought, and she liked the view, beneath her the handsome, one eyed man completely taken by her. This was better than the credits.

Frank’s chest was turning red, it didn’t seem he’d hold on for much longer but that was fine. “Cum for me big boy,” she purred, touching her clit at the same time. “Fill me with your cum this time.”

He didn’t need to be told twice, Frank’s muscles contracted and he grunted, his cock pulsing inside of her and ejaculating his second thick load inside of her. She gasped at the feeling, having a mini-orgasm herself as she put pressure on her clit. Sweat dripped down their bodies and melted into one.

They breathed heavily for some moments before the Captain found the strength to come on off of him. Frank’s sheets seemed a bit of a mess but the Captain didn’t mind getting dirty. She settled into a cuddle with the veteran, putting off cleaning until later as their sweaty bodies began to cool.

“I liked that,” she told him. “Thanks for the fun.” Frank chuckled, “No, thank you.”

“It was no problem. And I needed this.” She snuggled her head under his, into his neck and sighed, putting a hand to his chest and tracing over one of his scars. “I’m leaving Neon for a bit tomorrow. But I’ll be back. It’d be nice to see you again then.”

Frank put a hand around her and gave her strong tricep a squeeze. “Yeah! Yeah, when your travels take you back to this shithole, be sure to come see me. And Styx.”

She smirked. “And Styx.” She sighed. “Soon enough I’m gonna be known throughout this galaxy. I’ll be able to buy a penthouse apartment and my ship will be almost too big for the landing platform.”

Frank chuckled, “You know what? I believe it. Just remember you have a secretly soft, PTSD-suffering one eyed veteran who’s always willing to fuck, back here in Neon.”

“Oh, I will.”

#starfield #frank renick #starfield fanfic #my fanfic #player x frank renick

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