#and the absolutely pathetic cape

[star-sim]

hopeless ☆ heeseung lee

☆ horrendously down bad! heeseung x fem! reader ☆ summary: absolutely no one would have expected the dark, brooding, and rough heeseung lee to be hopelessly head over heels in love with the sweet, oblivious you. especially you. even with the help of practically the entire year, it's almost pathetic the way heeseung struggles to utter three, simple words to you, let alone look you in the eye. ☆ genre: fluff!!! pining, SUPER WHIPPED HEESEUNG, high school! au, non-idol! au, a lot of 01 liner idols + the rest of enha make appearances, btw this follows the asian school system, SO MUCH FLIRTING OMG, heeseung is kinda pathetic and awk ☆ warning(s)? swearing and dumb characters lol, there is one SA scene, but it is not graphic + very minor violence ☆ word count: 10.8k ☆ this is extremely based off of "danger" by bts, especially the lyric "you're cute, and i'm pathetic" lol enjoy!

Heeseung Lee was stressed. 

No. He was distraught. 

Distraught about how fucking cute you looked today.

Ever since he was a kid, Heeseung loved Halloween, because he loved Trick-or-Treating with his older brother and cousins. However now, at the age of seventeen, he found himself resenting it. Not because there was any issue with the holiday, but because today was Halloween. 

From across the classroom, Heeseung found himself staring, all dazed and empty-headed, at you, who was clad in your cute bunny costume. The way the fluffy, white ears stuck out from the top of your head, as well as the fluffy white coat draped around your shoulders, made you look so soft and cozy and adorable. The way your nose crinkled as you laughed with your friends, sweet sounds coming from your lips as you threw your head back. 

Were you real? How could anyone be so goddamn beautiful and not be an actual angel sent from above? What country did Heeseung save in his past life in order to get to be in your presence in this life?

"Dude, you're staring," a new voice interjected.

"What?" Heeseung tore his eyes away from you. "I wasn't."

Beomgyu Choi was one of Heeseung's classmates. And, like everyone else in their year, Beomgyu knew how enamored Heeseung was with you. Other than yourself, of course.

"I'm tellin' you," Beomgyu plopped down onto his seat, which was beside Heeseung's. He slid his chair so that he would be closer to his classmate, before throwing an arm around Heeseung. "You need to make a move. Like, now."

Heeseung glanced over at his classmate. If he ignored the fake blood on Beomgyu's chin, as well as the fake, plastic vampire teeth and the god-awful Spirit Halloween Dracula cape, he'd know that Beomgyu was 100% correct. 

Everyone (and seriously, everyone) knew that Heeseung Lee had the biggest, juiciest, most obnoxious crush on you. In fact, your own friends had even tasked themselves with the job of putting in a good word for Heeseung, saying things like "Isn't he so cool?" into your ear to hopefully guide you straight into his arms. It's such a well-known fact that some of your teachers have purposefully placed you and Heeseung next to or near each other in order to help him with his more-than-obvious crush. 

With such a big, school-wide effort, it should be expected that at least some progress was made.

Wrong!

Not even a single stroke of progress has been made.

Probably because there was one teensy, weensy, eensy, problem: Heeseung was an absolute mess around you. Heeseung was known as this tall, blunt, and rough guy at school. When he wasn't silently judging everyone, he hung out with his group of friends, who had a reputation for being delinquents. Heeseung Lee, clad in his iconic black leather jacket, was intimidating, and usually had no problem speaking up for himself. But around you? Absolutely not.

If anyone thought that Heeseung Lee could easily speak to you, they were out of their goddamn mind. There were too many instances where your classmates would push Heeseung and you together, only for him to blow it because he was completely incapable of looking you in the eye without turning red. 

In Heeseung's defense, you were the most beautiful person in the world— How is he not supposed to get nervous?

"You know I can't," Heeseung murmured, clenching his fists.

Beomgyu rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Hee. What happened to banger Heeseung Lee? Heeseung Lee that beats up kids? I didn't think you'd be scared of talking to girls."

"First of all," Heeseung frowned, "I'm not a banger and I don't beat up kids. And also, I'm not scared of talking to girls."

His classmate quirked a brow. "Really?" Heeseung nodded. "Because the last time I remember, you could barely get a word out in front of [Name]."

At the sound of your name, Heeseung jerked in his seat, reaching out to grasp Beomgyu's arm. "Shhhh, don't say her name so loud!" he hissed, eyes quivering over to where you were with your friends.

"What?" Beomgyu looked around indiscreetly. "It's not a secret to anyone how you feel about [Name]."

"Shhhh! Shut up!"

When the bell rang, everyone scurried to their seat, and class began. As Beomgyu tuned out the sound of the teacher's voice, he couldn't help but notice the way Heeseung's eyes were completely glued to you. It was almost laughable, the way the boy's eyes were wide, staring at you like you were some god.

Oh god, Heeseung Lee was hopeless.

"Heeseung-hyung, are you free tomorrow?"

It was lunch time. Heeseung and his friends liked to hang around the rooftop of the school, because it was always empty. And plus, no one wanted to be where Heeseung and his friends were— they were too scary!

Heeseung looked at his younger Australian friend, Jake Sim (or Jaeyun Sim, as his official documents stated), who had just asked that question. Heeseung took a bite of the instant ramen that they bought from the vending machine.

"Yeah, why?"

"Good. Because you have a date with [Name] tomorrow."

Heeseung choked. As he coughed, his other younger friend, Sunoo Kim, let out a whine.

"Hyuuunggg!" Sunoo pouted. "Why'd you tell him?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise!" Riki Nishimura, the group's Japanese foreign exchange student friend, added, elbowing Jake in the ribs.

"Whatever," Jake crossed his arms. When Riki nudged him again, Jake opened his mouth to holler, "Jay, back me up!"

Jongseong "Jay" Park was another one of Heeseung's friends, probably the closest person to him. 

"You guys know Heeseung-hyung is going to fuck it up either way, right?" Jay said. "Remember last time?"

"Yeah," Sunghoon Park joined in. "No matter how much we prepared him, Heeseung-hyung still acted like a fucking idiot."

"I'm right here!" Heeseung shouted, still hitting his chest to dislodge the ramen that he choked on. 

Jungwon Yang, the seventh person in their friend group, put a hand on the older boy's shoulder, his lips lifting up into a half-teasing grin, revealing sharp canine teeth, "Hyung, don't listen to them. I think you'll really impress [Name] tomorrow."

It was Heeseung's turn to elbow Jungwon in the ribs.

When Heeseung finally finished coughing up a storm, his friends were already onto another topic, making plans for the next weekend.

"Hey, hey!" Heeseung grumbled. "Aren't you guys going to explain this so-called 'date with [Name]'?"

"What's there to explain?" Riki said. "You're going on a date with [Name]. End of story."

The eldest of the group's face contorted. "What are you guys even saying—"

"Well, it's not technically a date," Sunghoon said, taking a sip of his juice box. "You're, like, hanging out with [Name] though."

That still didn't answer Heeseung's question. 

"When? Where? What time?" he spluttered, eager for answers.

Jake huffed exasperatedly. "Do we have to explain to you everything? It's not that deep, man."

Jungwon rolled his eyes. "Hyung, [Name]'s friends are the presidents of the Environment and Ecology Club, and there's a social tomorrow. It's like birdhouse painting, or something. [Name] is attending to support her friend, so we signed you up, too."

"Birdhouse painting?!" Sunoo's features morphed into confusion. "I thought they were making bracelets?"

"No, I thought there were weaving baskets?" Riki frowned.

"Whatever it is, it sounds lame as hell," Jay remarked.

Jungwon rolled his eyes again, earning a punch on his arm. "Whatever it is, it'll be a great opportunity for you to talk to [Name]." 

The younger boy offered Heeseung a reassuring smile, only to receive a pensive one in return.

When classes resumed, Heeseung felt light-headed and distracted the entire time as he processed the fact that he was going to be around you tomorrow.

Oh god, he sounded like a total loser. Did the mere thought of being in your presence make him nervous? Yes, yes it did. You were just so pretty and sweet, he had no idea what to do. Poor boy, his teeth dug into his bottom lip, clammy palms pressing into the underside of his desk. His knee bounced, and there was absolutely no way that he could even make out a single word the teacher was saying.

Heeseung was going to pass out. 

"Hey, Heeseung?"

That's your voice. It was so pretty and nice on his ears. Was he in heaven? He wouldn't be surprised if your voice was the voice of an angel.

"Heeseung?"

Heeseung was convinced that he was in heaven now. What he wouldn't do to hear your voice every second of his life.

"Heeseung!" another voice interjected. That's what snapped Heeseung out of his daze. Too deep in his head, Heeseung hadn't noticed that the class period ended, and the short passing period had already begun.

At his desk stood Yunjin Huh, Minjeong "Winter" Kim, and... oh my god... you. The three of you had somewhat matching Halloween costumes: Yunjin was a gray mouse, Winter was a cat, and you were a bunny. And now that he looked at it, you all were holding a bag of candy.

While your two friends were giving him the"Are you serious?" looks, you looked at him with wide, kind eyes.

"Heeseung?" your beautiful voice said, fingers reaching into the candy bag that you were holding. "Would you like candy?"

He stared at you. You were giving out candy to everyone in class because it was Halloween... You're such an angel... What did the world do to deserve you...

Winter stepped on Heeseung's foot, snapping him out of his daze once again. The boy let out a small yelp in pain, and as the embarrassment settled in, he heard you let out a small giggle, lips raising up to show off your teeth.

Oh my god, he was going to die.

"Y-Yeah," he stammered out, cursing himself internally. Heeseung couldn't help but feel everyone in class's gaze glued to him. When you handed him a piece of candy, your hand brushed up against his. Heeseung could feel his ears becoming hot, the warmth rising to his neck.

You smiled at him, before saying in a sing-songy voice, "Happy Halloween!"

Heeseung had to force himself not to stare like an absolute fool.

He was really hopeless.

hee: jay i don't think i can do it tomorrow

It was 2AM when Heeseung texted Jay. He spent the entire night thinking about the "date" (probably the least necessary word at the moment), and he simply couldn't sleep.

Heeseung had embarrassed himself too many times in front of you. Like that one time you and him were on cleaning duty together, and he was so distracted by you that he tripped over a bucket of water. Or that one time he sat next to you for a few weeks and his shoes kept squeaking against the floor, making it look like he was farting. Or when he tried to look cool and suave in front of you at some social your friends invited him to only to rip a hole in his pants. And then what happened today... He could not embarrass himself again.

hee: like i think i'm going to die if she sits next to me tomorrow

It was only a matter of seconds when his friend texted back.

jay: you'll be fine trust

Heeseung frowned.

hee: stop lying to me

hee: you know how i am around her

jay: i believe in you

jay: like srsly

hee: that's blind faith

Jay typed for a little bit, before stopping altogether. Heeseung huffed. Did his friend just leave him on read? A few minutes later Jay sent a Wikihow article.

'How to talk to your crush,' it was aptly named. Heeseung deadpanned.

hee: are you being fr right now

jay: give [name] your sexy heeseung charm and you'll be walking off into the sunset hand-in-hand with her in no time

jay: read the article btw

How was this guy an actual person?

hee: kill yourself

jay: give her that passionate, sexy, boiling hot, hotter-than-the-sun, steaming hot heeseung that makes her just want to come up to you and give you the fattest, juiciest kiss on the mouth, i know you can do it soldier

hee: DIE

Heeseung couldn't sleep all night.

At school, the entire day was just plagued with anxiety for what was to come. It didn't help that your friends kept turning around and giving him knowing looks throughout the day. When school finally let out, Heeseung went to the classroom where the birdhouse-painting-bracelet-making-basket-weaving social would be held. His friends told him to go there the moment that school ended, but when he came, there was literally no one there.

Until someone yanked him into the classroom.

"Hey!-" he yelped, before the door slammed. In front of him stood two people that he recognized: Sumin Bae and Sieun Park, two of your friends who also coincidentally were the co-presidents of the Environment and Ecology club.

Sumin cocked a brow at him, crossing her arms. "I hope you're not as hopeless as everyone says you are."

Heeseung opened his mouth to respond, but Sieun cut him off.

"Ugh, that doesn't matter," she pinched her nose-bridge. "We told [Name] to sit near the front, so you better sit there, too."

"Right-" 

Sumin cut him off, too.

"[Name]'s favorite color is pink, and her favorite Sanrio character is Keroppi," Sumin asserted. "And she really likes things that are cute, so like fruit patterns, hearts, stars, yada yada."

Heeseung blinked at them. "And this is relevant how...?"

Sumin and Sieun shared a look.

"You are completely hopeless."

As it turned out, they were giving him details about design-elements that you liked, so that Heeseung could somehow impress you with his birdhouse painting abilities (Jungwon was right, it was birdhouse painting). After info-dumping on him, they kicked him out of the classroom to actually prepare for the social.

As Heeseung was pushed out of the classroom, he bumped into someone. Just as he was about to say, "Watch where you're going," he realized that it was you. 

"Oh, hi, Heeseung!" you greet him cheerfully, your eyes pressing into thin slits as you smile. 

Quick! What does he do? "Hi... [Name]."

"Are you here for the social, too?" The way your eyes gazed at him made him feel shy already.

"Y-Yeah...."

"I didn't know you were interested in the Environment and Ecology club..." You remarked, and Heeseung panicked— Was it obvious that he was here exclusively for you?— but what you said next made him sigh in relief. "That's great! I'm so happy that I finally have someone familiar with me here!"

He's going to faint.

When the social began, you invited him to sit next to you. Heeseung felt stiff as he sat beside you, watching the way that you happily painted your small, wooden birdhouse. Heeseung wanted to start a conversation with you, but each time he thought of something to say, his voice caught in his throat. Sumin and Sieun had given him two dirty looks already, so he needed to make a move now or their efforts would be in vain.

"W-What's that?" he finally stuttered out, pointing to the glob of green on your birdhouse. 

You laugh airily, leaning closer to him so that he can see it better. "Can you guess?"

Heeseung tries to concentrate on guessing, but it's hard when you're close to him. Quick! What's green and something that you like?

"Is that... K-Keroppi?"

"Yeah!" Your face lit up, flashing him a cheeky grin. You nudged him with your elbow, raising your brows at him playfully. "Awww, Hee, you smarty pants! How'd you know?"

Hee?

OhmygodohmygodohmygodyoucalledhimHee.

You stopped laughing, pulling away from him. "Sorry, do you not like being called Hee? Beomgyu sometimes calls you that, so I thought-"

"No, I like it!" Heeseung blurted, a little louder than he wanted to, earning a few questioning looks from people around him. The boy felt abnormally warm, embarrassed at his outburst. "I-I'm okay with you calling me that..."

"Noted!" you said, before your lips curled upward. "Now... are you going to tell me how you could tell that this green blob was Keroppi?"

"Oh uhm..." Heeseung's lips were moving faster than his head, "Y-You dressed up as Keroppi last year for Halloween with Yunjin."

Almost like you were a cartoon character, you perked up at his statement. "You remember?"

Of course he did. How could he forget? You wore a cartoonishly-big red bow around your neck like Keroppi, and had a green Keroppi-style headband. You looked adorable, especially when you went around showing off a Keroppi keychain that you got at the Cinnamoroll Cafe in Hongdae to anyone that was willing to listen.

Heeseung found himself chuckling. "Of course I'd remember your massive red bow."

You stared at him for a few moments, before a bashful grin broke out on your face. You then buried your face in your hands, letting out a groan. "Ughhhh, that's so embarrassing!"

"How?"

It's going good so far, Heeseung thought. Just don't mess it up!

You pouted cutely, your bottom lip jutting out. In the light, he could see the gloss shining off of it so prettily. "My makeup was so fucked up last year, ughhh, it looked so bad."

You? Look bad? Impossible.

"What are you talking about?" Heeseung asked, his doe-like eyes scanning your embarrassed face. "I thought you looked cute."

You stared at him. It took a few pulses for Heeseung to realize what he just said. His face instantly turned three shades warmer and panic was evident in his expression.

"I-I mean— You jus—You were really—"

He shut his mouth when you began laughing. Laughing so hard that you clutched onto his knee, keeling over yourself. His cheeks burned.

You're laughing at him, aren't you? Did he fuck up?

When you noticed the sulky expression on his face, you stopped laughing.

"Sorry, Hee," you said, giving his knee a reassuring squeeze. "It's just... You look so intimidating, when you're really just a sweetheart."

If Heeseung was red before, he was quietly literally the color of a tomato. It was a wonder that the entire room’s temperature didn’t rise given the sheer amount of heat radiating off his person.

"A s-sweetheart?"

"Yeah!" you happily respond. "You're just the cutest, y'know? Like a little puppy."

As much as Heeseung wanted to die happily now that you called him cute, he needed to keep this conversation going. Sucking in a sharp breath, the boy looked at you in the eyes. "W-Well I think the same about you... [Name]."

You looked at him curiously, so he continued, his voice soft and sheepish, "I... also think that you're the cutest."

You blinked at him a few times, before the widest smile that he'd ever seen spread across your cheeks, stretching ear to ear. If only Heeseung wasn't too busy grappling with his shyness, he'd notice the way you let out a soft, bashful giggle, shaking your head and squeezing your eyes shut to keep yourself from being too visibly flustered. Slowly, with all the courage that you had left in you, you raised your hand and placed it on Heeseung's head. You ruffled his soft locks, gushing, "God, you're so cute, Heeseung!"

The rest of the social is filled with soft chatter between the two of you, but Heeseung was honestly too captivated by you to notice the time passing. With his heart on his sleeve, and a sloppily-painted birdhouse in his hands, Heeseung mentally high-fived himself.

Heeseung's friends never heard the end of it. The moment that he got home, Heeseung spammed their groupchat, giving them paragraphs and paragraphs of the events that ensued.

hee: and then she called me cute. like CUTE CUTE, not even like she was alluding it, she used the word CUTE

hee: oh my god i think i'm gonna faint

His friends don't have it in them to flame him. After all, this was progress.

Unbeknownst to him, you were feeling the same things. Everyone knew that Heeseung liked you, except yourself. You had the opposite case: you've had the biggest crush on Heeseung since middle school, but never told a single soul about it. You're a naturally expressive and sweet person, so it was so incredibly hard hiding your feelings for him. 

After all, under that handsome and brooding outer shell, you saw his softness. This past year, you've had so many miscellaneous interactions (at least, it seemed miscellaneous-- everyone but you knew that those interactions were set up) with Heeseung. At the beginning of each interaction, he'd act all mysterious, but as time passed, he'd speak so softly and slowly unravel. 

It was so, so cute. Heeseung was so cute. To say you wanted him would be an understatement. No words were sufficient to fully express the nights that you stayed awake thinking about him, or the makeup looks that you intricately practiced to impress him, or the sheer number of times that you had to hide the fact that you were staring at him.

Maybe you couldn't hide it any longer.

"Wait, what?!"

Heeseung's heart dropped to his stomach the moment he heard the words leave his friend's lips. Chenle Zhong was one of you and Heeseung's mutual friends, and according to him, someone had confessed to you via a letter today.

"Are you serious?" Heeseung asked, pulling his bottom lip into his teeth, chewing pensively. "Do you know who wrote it?"

"Nope, but I'll try to get more info on it," Chenle frowned. "Yunjin says that [Name] laughed at the letter."

When Heeseung didn't say anything, Chenle continued. "Hey, man, that could be a sign, y'know?"

When Heeseung's face morphed into a confused expression, his friend added, "Like, maybe [Name] thinks it's a joke? Maybe she doesn't care for it."

That's what Heeseung hoped for.

Later, Chenle texted him a screenshot of the love letter. To say that Heeseung was appalled would be an understatement. The letter read,

'To my dearest [Name], you're as beautiful as the plum blossoms in the spring. Your lips are soft like pillows, pillows that I would love to fall into an eternal in. I love you, I love you, I'll love you until this paper decomposes and becomes a part of the earth, and maybe then they will be able to force me to forget you. Love, your admirer.'

Heeseung immediately sent it to his groupchat.

jakey: yo who invited shakespeare???

hoon: i had a stroke reading that

sunoo: "your lips are soft like pillows" is crazyyy

hee: chenle gave me updates, apparently [name] knows who the sender is

jay: AND WHO IS THE SENDER??

hee: i don't know

hee: but minjeong says that it's someone from class 2

niki: class 2 is full of snobs

jungwon: i'm still in shock because of "i'll love you until this paper decomposes"

hoon: WHAT IF IT'S JUNGSU HYUNG

niki: oh it's SO over for you heeseung-hyung

As it turned out, it was not, in fact, Jungsu Kim from Class 2, thanks to your friends, who were quite wonderful info-brokers. But he still didn't know who it was.

Laying in bed, Heeseung felt weight on his chest. You laughed at the letter. While that could mean that it was a joke, it could also mean that you thought the person writing the letter was funny... which could mean that you liked them back. Just the mere thought of you with someone else made Heeseung frown deeply. This entire time he was worried about how to act around you, completely ignoring the fact that you yourself could be interested in someone else! God, he was so stupid.

Heeseung needed to know who it was that sent it, and more importantly, if you were romantically interested in them.

Fear makes man do crazy things.

Like walking one's crush to school.

Look, Heeseung was mulling over the situation as he walked to school, when he saw you across the street, walking in the same direction as him. In what could only be called an adrenaline-high, Heeseung ran across the street up to you.

"[Name]!" he called out.

"Heeseung?—Oh my god!"

Poor boy was breathless, flushed in the face. It took him a few moments to catch his breath. Flashing you a grin, Heeseung said, "Let's walk to school together, [Name]."

You're silent for a few moments, before you return the smile. "Of course."

The walk was silent, only the sound of early morning traffic, footsteps against the concrete sidewalk, and the occasional sniffle courtesy of you filling the cold air between the two of you. Speaking of which, your sniffles began to get louder and more frequent. Now out of adrenaline, Heeseung was back to being shy.

Clearing his throat, Heeseung forced his voice out. "Are you— Are you sick?"

You sniffled again, bringing your hand up to swipe your nose. The two of you were at an intersection now, so you pressed the pedestrian button. "No, I just get sniffly when it's cold."

That's. So. Cute. Was what Heeseung was thinking. The way you were rubbing your hands together made you look so adorable, he just wanted to put you in his pocket. 

He must have been staring at you for a while, back in his you-loving daze, because Heeseung did not notice that the streetlight changed, and it was time for the pedestrians to pass.

Not to worry!

Heeseung was completely kicked out of his daze when your smaller hand grabbed his, pulling him along the street. His eyes were glued to the two of your hands, especially where they connected. For someone sniffly, your hands were warm. He liked the way that they fit in his.

Even in the cool morning air, Heeseung suddenly felt warm all over.

You were in the middle of the sidewalk when Heeseung stopped. Feeling bold, he dropped his schoolbag, and began slipping off his thick, black, leather jacket, before draping it over your shoulders. 

When you looked up at him with those curious doe eyes, all his boldness went away.

"Y-You're cold aren't you?" He avoided looking you in the eyes. "Just... Just take it. Y-You can give it back later... or whatever."

You giggled, slipping your arms into the sleeves.

God, you looked so cute in his jacket. Heeseung was going to melt.

And he did melt, because you began doing cute twirls to show off the jacket, posing for him.

"How do I look?" you cheekily asked, popping your leg up. 

Heeseung was speechless, his mouth just left agape. He had to force himself to speak.

"Cute..." he answered, barely audible.

A grin was growing on your face. "Sorry, I didn't hear you. How do I look?"

Heeseung squeezed his eyes shut, huffing. "I said you looked cute!"

The sight of Heeseung's pink cheeks and his cute little pout was enough for you to be satisfied. Before the boy could realize what he said, you picked up his school bag for him, shoving it into one of his hands, before snatching his free hand. You pulled him gently to continue walking, but Heeseung was frozen in place, eyes too busy on you.

"Heeeeee," you elongated your syllables. You squeezed his hand twice, tugging him again. "We can't be late to class, can we?"

Heeseung audibly gulped. "Y-Yeah. You're right.."

You guys began walking again, neither of you wanting to let each other’s hands go.

"And then she held my hand— Isn't that crazy?! She held my hand!"

"Heeseung-hyung, please, I am peeing right now."

It was the lunch period once again. As Heeseung and Sunghoon traversed the hallways to get to the stairwell, the older of two chatted about the events that morning.

"So you held her hand?" Sunghoon asked half-heartedly, barely listening. "And then what?"

Heeseung perked up. "And then we walked to class together, and then she—"

"That's cool and all," the younger friend was walking in front of him. Sunghoon turned over his shoulder. "But did you get any more information about the letter fiasco?"

Oh. 

No, Heeseung didn't.

When they reached the rooftop, his friends gently nudged him to get more information about the letter. 

"You don't want to have one of those 'too late' moments, right?" Jungwon said, chewing on his rice ball. "What if by the time you gather the courage to talk to her, [Name] is already walking off into the sunset hand-in-hand with her secret admirer?!"

"What's with you guys and walking off into the sunset..." Heeseung muttered, running a hand through his hair. 

"I'm serious, hyung!"

"I second that," Jay said lazily.

"I second that," Riki mocked in a squeaky voice, earning him a soft smack at the back of his head.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" Heeseung asked, frustrated. "I can talk to her or her friends later, but not right now."

Jake scoffed. "What's stopping you from going back inside and talking to [Name] right now?"

The eldest boy didn't have an answer. That's true. There wasn't anything stopping Heeseung from talking to you right now. All the boys were now watching him for an answer, ready to pounce on him for being a coward.

"I don't know!" Heeseung finally said. "I've used up all of my bravery today... I don't think I have it in me to talk to her!"

His friends stared at him questioningly, until the silence was broken by Sunoo taking a loud and very obviously fake phonecall.

"Hi! Yes! Mhm. He's right here. Yeah. Mhm. Thank you!"

Sunoo hung up loudly, and looked at Heeseung with a cocked brow. "I was just on the phone with Yunjin. She says you should probably go talk to [Name]."

Heeseung looked at Sunoo incredulously, but the expectant expressions on his friends' faces made him groan.

"Fine!"

As Heeseung creeped down the school hallway, he came to the classroom that you hung out in at lunch: your homeroom. Standing outside the door, the boy took a deep breath.

Relax, it's just [Name], he had to tell himself, as if that helped at all. What was he even going to say? 

'Hey, are you dating the person that sent you that letter? If you aren't, do you want to get married to me? Haha.'

????

Just as Heeseung was about to slide the door open, he heard a very familiar laugh from inside. Of course he could recognize it. After all, it was you. 

"Yuri is so cute!" he heard you giggle. "She wrote me that little letter as a joke, but I think I'm actually in love with her."

In.

Love.

With.

Her.

"Awww, Yuri, come here and give me a kiss!"

Come.

Give.

You.

A.

Kiss.

"I'm gonna marry you, Yuri!"

Marry.

You.

Yuri.

To Heeseung, everyone was an enemy. No matter their gender or class, the moment that he heard that you got a love letter, everyone became a suspect. It all made sense now. Yuri Jo, the 'Yuri' that you were talking about and to, was from Class 2. He knew that you and her were friends, but he didn't know that you were romantically interested in her. 

Jungwon was right. Now you were going to walk off into the sunset hand-in-hand with her!

hee: guys what if [name] is already taken :(

jakey: what are you on about this time

There was something scary about a 6-feet tall guy mulling around and sulking all day, so luckily no one got in Heeseung's way as he brooded. Unfortunately, he felt his heart hurt whenever he looked at you. Almost cartoonishly, he'd turn away, close his eyes in dramatic pain, and pout. Although he acted a little bit theatrical, it was no doubt that Heeseung felt sad. He really thought he had a chance with you, and now he felt stupid.

Except, he was stupid.

But for a different reason.

"Jesus Christ, you're actually hopeless, Heeseung."

After school, your friends cornered him, somewhere where you wouldn't see. His friends were somehow in close communication with your friends.

"I can't believe you thought me and [Name] were actually dating!"

Heeseung scowled, crossing his arms over his chest, as he leaned against a locker. Before him stood Yunjin, Winter, Yuri, along with a few other of your friends, Hitomi and Minju. 

"I don't know!" Heeseung huffed. "Everyone is an enemy to me—” he glanced at Yuri— “Including Yuri.”

Yunjin scoffed in disbelief. "You're insane."

Soooo... You weren't in any romantic relationship with anyone. Yuri sent you that letter as a joke, and you were just really close to her. Good.

"I don't know how I feel about this guy getting with our [Name]," Winter muttered to Hitomi and Minju, but loud enough for Heeseung to hear.

"Hey!"

"I know, he's a total dumbass," Minju grumbled back.

"Dude, I'm right here!"

Hitomi rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Well, are you free on Friday after school?"

"Yeah, why?" They always asked Heeseung that question when they had some crazy plan up their sleeve. Not like he was any better.

"Wellll," Hitomi began in a sing-songy voice. "[Name] really wants to go to that Cinnamoroll Sweet Cafe in Hongdae on Friday, but none of us are available."

Heeseung nodded slowly. 

"I think it'd be a good way for you to get closer to her, dontcha think?"

And that's how Heeseung scored his first (unofficial) date with you

When your friends told you that Heeseung would accompany you to Hongdae, you almost jumped for joy. Almost. Friday couldn't come any faster. The plan was that you'd meet Heeseung at the train station at 4:30PM, meaning that you had a bit of time to change and get ready. You didn't want to get too ahead of yourself and call it a date, but oh boy did you want to.

What were you going to wear? What if you were too formal? Should you go for a casual look or something more put-together? You needed to impress him!

When Friday came, you practically ran home to get ready. You perfected your makeup, and put on your prettiest outfit. Spraying yourself with your signature perfume, you looked in the mirror. Hopefully, he'll like how you look. 

At the corner of your eye, you spot a black, leather jacket. His black, leather jacket. Without even thinking, you slinked toward it, slipping into the jacket. It smelled like him, the faint scent of his cologne lingering on the leather.

With a final glance in the mirror, you left for the train station.

On the other hand, to say that Heeseung was nervous for the date was an understatement. His heart was about to fall out of chest. He changed into something more casual, made sure to brush out his disheveled hair, and reapplied his cologne. He came to the train station 20 minutes early, just in case something went terribly wrong. He glanced at his phone. For the date, he managed to get a hold of your number, for “communication purposes.” He’d wanted to text you all week, but didn’t have the courage to.

“Hee?” your soft voice calling his name got his attention. Behold, you standing there before him, all dolled up and pretty. This must be the sight he’ll see when he enters heaven, he thought. 

“Hi,” he said, his eyes glazing over your face. You were so pretty. Did you dress up for him? He didn’t want to get ahead of himself, but the idea that you wanted to look good for him made Heeseung’s heart skip a beat. “You look…”

He didn’t mean to say that. You smile bashfully. “I look…?”

“So pretty,” Heeseung breathed. “You look so pretty.”

“Thank you,” you smile. Your fingers reach for the hem of his shirt, playing with it, which sends his heart racing. “Well, I think you look handsome, Hee.”

“Th-Thanks.”

The two of you stare into each other’s eyes for a few moments, and Heeseung swears that you’re looking at his lips. You spoke up, breaking the silence. “You notice anything about me?”

Heeseung grasped the collar of his jacket gently with both hands. “My jacket.”

“I was going to give it back to you earlier,” you begin, eyes trained on his lips, “But I think I’ll keep it for today, yeah? Since I look so pretty in it.”

“Oh fuck,” Heeseung cursed under his breath, loud enough for you to hear it and giggle. “Yeah, you can keep it for as long as you want.”

“As long as I want?” you purred, taking a step closer to him. Although it wasn’t clear to anyone else, you were a mess inside. Your heart was palpitating so hard that you could hear it in your ears. Your throat felt dry, and your hands were shaking with mere anxiety and excitement. “What about forever?”

Heeseung cracked a grin. “Do whatever you want. You’re pretty.”

If it wasn’t for the train announcement, you thought you would have kissed his pretty lips right then and there. Taking Heeseung’s hand, you led him to your train cart. 

“Let’s go, Hee.”

The train is much more packed than you expected, but it was the beginning of the weekend after all. The trip from Gyeonggi Province to Hongdae should take no less than an hour. Unfortunately, because of the amount of people in the train, you and Heeseung had to stand for the majority of the time. It should have been uncomfortable, but it simply wasn't. Because you were with Heeseung.

Standing only a few inches away from the boy, your chests almost pressed against each other. You could feel his breath fan your cheeks. The both of you held onto the pole, hands barely brushing against each other when the cart shook against the rails. 

At some point, the shaking was a lot more aggressive than it had previously been. Instinctively, your hand reached for his broad shoulders for stability. Likewise, Heeseung reached for your waist, holding you in place. You and Heeseung shared a long, drawn-out look, eyes getting lost in one another's, before you both avert your gazes shyly, muttering, "sorry." Yet, neither of you moved your hands from their newfound positions.

As minutes passed on the train, your eyes were glued to Heeseung, at least when he wasn't watching. 

You loved the reddish blush that naturally decorated his under-eyes, and the natural corally red at tinted the tip of his ears. His glossy eyes and heart-shaped lips had to be your favorite feature of his, if not for his large, yet delicate hands, so gentle and soft.

You were deep in thought when you suddenly felt a hand creeping on your leg. Nimble fingers from behind, brushing up against the hem of your dress. From the corner of your eye, you saw an older man. He looked unkempt and scruffy, like a delinquent– but nothing like Heeseung. Heeseung looked much better than him.

The man reeked of cigarettes and musk. A nasty grin spread across his face as he peered down at your exposed legs. His hands creeped toward them again, now slightly pushing your dress up. Your teeth sunk into your bottom lip, your entire body stiffening. Your heart began to pound in your chest, your cheeks and skin feeling hot. 

Panic overtook your system. Your once soft breaths became much shorter and quicker, inhaling and exhaling shallow air.

You’ve never been in a situation like this; you’d  never wished, thought, or even considered something like this happening to you– why would you? You had no idea what to do, and were not at all prepared for this. The train was packed to the brim, this man was much bigger and stronger than you, and you did not know how to fight.

The hand moved past your skirt, now under it and directly in contact with your skin. The hand felt dirty, brushing against you. A small frantic whimper escaped your lips when the man’s hand squeezed your bare thigh. It was a small sound, barely audible in the vast bustle of the subway. However, someone did hear it.

Heeseung, doe-eyed and lost in his own world, immediately darted his eyes over to you the moment he heard a sound of discomfort. 

When your eyes met, you could only signal helplessly. Your gaze was wide, pupils dilated, with fear and panic. Heeseung’s eyes narrowed, staring into your eyes for a moment before analyzing your expression. The way you were extremely tense and overwrought casted a sense of suspicion in his head, and your eyes that were seemingly pleading him made him think.

Help, your eyes said.

Heeseung’s dark eyes flickered from your face, to your entire body language, and back to your face, before he spotted a few, foreign fingers creeping around your leg area.

Your shifty eyes kept moving from Heeseung’s to the side, but now that he looked at it, it was like they were pointing behind you. And lo and behold, behind you was a musky pervert, who was shamelessly touching you.

“[Name]…” he whispered. His fists clenched, teeth gritting. He sucked in a deep breath, feeling anger build up in his stomach. You whimpered again in response. He brought a hand to ghost over your shoulder, pushing you very, very, gently to the side. “Move.”

He wound up his fist and sent the hardest punch he could muster to the man square in the jaw.

The man lurched back immediately, his hand moving far, far, away from you. A groan left his lips, his head being thrown back in pain. The man’s fall had pushed a few other people down as well. Other bystanders watched on in shock. Some took out their phones to record and take pictures, others to tell their friends.

You just stood still, leaning into Heeseung, whose fist was a faint red color. With a very careful hand, he brushed the lifted hem of your dress down, which had been messed with earlier.

The man quickly got up once he noticed the new and tense silence over the subway cart.

“Hey!” he shouted, pushing himself up from his downtrodden position. “You little punk, who the fuck do you think you-”

The train announcer called for the stop. Heeseung, ignoring the man, took your arm, pulling you out the door. Before he himself left, Heeseung landed a kick to the man’s crotch, muttering, “Fucking bastard.”

"W-Wait, Hee-!"

Heeseung was silent as the train doors opened, only pulling you along with him. When the two of you were far from the train, he finally stopped, turning to you.

"Are you okay?" was all he asked. You shifted uncomfortably at the thought of what happened earlier.

"Y-Yeah..." you played with the hem of his jacket sheepishly. "Thanks for what you did back there."

Heeseung jolted up at the mention. He didn't love using violence, despite his 'delinquent' reputation, especially in front of you. His hands joined yours at the hem of his jacket, shyly brushing up against yours. 

"Next time," he began, beginning to play with the zipper, "I'll fight every person on that train so that you can sit."

You smiled softly. "You don't have to do that, Hee."

Heeseung slowly zipped up his jacket on you, meeting your eyes, before straightening out your collar. 

"But I want to," he breathed. You gazed at him. His hands were still on the collar of the jacket, close to your face. You noticed the red smudges on his knuckles from punching the man on the train. You took that hand, opening it up, and nuzzling your cheek into it. You took his other hand. To Heeseung's surprise, you pressed soft kisses on his knuckles, rubbing them with your thumb.

"What are you..." his breath hitched when your eyes flickered to his, holding steady eye-contact. 

You pressed one last kiss on his palm. "Thank you, Hee. Really."

"Of course, [Name]," he finally whispered. "Anything for you."

And so, your first date with Heeseung began.

The sweet scent of cinnamon and pastries hit your noses the moment you guys stepped into the Cinnamoroll Cafe. When you were seated, you took a look at the menu. So far, the date was going smoothly. Other than the run-in at the beginning, the chemistry between the two of you was sparking. The conversation was flowing, and if that already wasn't a dream come true, you kept touching Heeseung. On your end, you were practically vibrating in your seat with the sheer amount of excitement you had bubbling in you. You couldn't believe you were on a date with the Heeseung Lee sharing a strawberry banana parfait. 

"Hee," you said, motioning him to come closer to you. He did, so you cupped his cheek, bringing your thumb up to wipe a stray piece of the parfait from his cheek. 

"Oh-" Heeseung's face reddened. How embarrassing! Did you think he was a slob now? You only giggled, bringing both hands up to hold his face. You squished the boy's cheeks, laughing at the way his brows cutely crashed into each other.

"You're so cute, Hee," you said, playing with his cheeks. "The cutest."

That's all you, he thought. You're going to drive him crazy.

Or, at least he thought he thought.

Did he just say that out loud? Heeseung groaned when you threw your head back laughing, hiding his own face in your palms. You chuckled.

Feeling bold, you cupped his cheeks again. You leaned closer, holding his face close to yours. You kissed a soft and chaste kiss on his nose. You couldn't help the heat that rose to your cheeks as the boy flopped over the table, hiding his face in his arms. You ran your fingers through his hair comfortingly, cooing at his cuteness.

"You can't do this to me," Heeseung murmured.

You laughed. It wouldn't hurt to tease him a little more, right? You leaned down, giving the boy another kiss. This time, though, you kissed the top of his head.

"Hee, baby, you're just the cutest, you know that right?"

Heeseung combusted.

After the Cafe, Heeseung and you walked around the Hongdae Festival Street. By now, it was beginning to get darker outside, the air cooling down. It was cold, but to Heeseung, it was perfect, because now he had an excuse to hold your hand. As the two of you walked and talked, you enjoyed the sight of the lights and bustling street. 

Suddenly, a new voice interrupted the two of you's conversation. Turning around, you saw two guys who looked around your age. They were holding a camera and a microphone.

"Hi!" they said, smiling. "We're interviewing couples in Hongdae, would you guys like to be in it? We’ll blur your faces."

Heeseung glanced your joined hands, then back at the two guys, then back at your hands, "O-Oh, we're not a coupl—"

You cut him off. "Of course, we'd love to!"

You flashed Heeseung a grin, squeezing his hand twice, almost as if to say, 'Just go with it.' His ears began to burn, his neck prickling with warmth, before clearing his throat. "Y-Yeah..." he squeezed your hand, "We'd love to."

The two guys cheered, turning on their camera. "All right, first question. How did you guys meet?"

"We went to middle school together," you were quick to answer. "I thought he was really cute, but we didn't start talking until this year."

You didn't know what the fuck you were saying. Was it risky to be so truthful for an internet interview, right in front of your long-time crush? Absolutely. But your heart was pounding so hard in your chest, simply waiting for Heeseung's response.

On the other hand, Heeseung's mind was in complete shambles. Were you telling the truth? The way you answered so smoothly with absolutely no hesitation made it almost seem natural.

"And you?" the interviewer asked. "What did you think about her when you first met?"

"I—" Heeseung's breath hitched. "I thought she was the most beautiful person I'd ever seen."

The way you glanced at him made Heeseung's heart feel like it was about to fall out. "I.. I still think that."

Your expression was unreadable, your lips pressing into a thin line. Then, a huge smile broke out on your face.

"Awww, Heeeee! I didn't know you thought about me like that!" You squeezed his hand again, and he squeezed it back.

"How long have you guys been together?" the interviewer asked.

"We just started dating!" You answered enthusiastically, a weird, surprised sound coming from Heeseung.

The rest of the interview went smoothly, with you mostly answering the questions. You quietly thanked the interviewers, and you and Heeseung were on your way.

Your words kept ringing in Heeseung's head.

Especially your answer to the question, "Why did you like him?"

You answered, "Because he's so perfect."

Heeseung? Perfect? He couldn't believe his ears! Were you telling the truth?

A calm silence fell over you and Heeseung as you walked the bustling streets of Hongdae. That question lingered in his mind, and before he knew it, his mouth was moving faster than his mind.

"Did you mean anything you said?"

His voice seemed to reverberate against the night air, ringing in his ears. You chewed on your lip. Then, you sucked in a sharp breath.

"Of course, Hee," you finally answered. "If it's you, I mean everything."

Heeseung sucked his bottom lip into his teeth, biting down so hard he drew blood. Once again, his hands found home on the hem of his jacket draped over you. 

"Good." He couldn't meet your eyes, not with the knowledge that you meant everything you said. He forced his attention onto the hem of the leather jacket that you were wearing, too shy to look at you. 

Heeseung only looked up when he felt your thumb pressing against his lip, eyes widening.

"Don't bite your lip too hard, Hee," you said, a smile in your voice. You thumb swiped against his lip, wiping off the small blotch of blood on it. "You'll bleed, and I'll have to kiss it better."

Heeseung's tongue darted out to swipe over his bleeding lip, brushing against your thumb. "What if I want you to kiss it better?"

"Well, then you better not keep me waiting."

His eyes flickered to your lips. He wanted to kiss them so bad. They looked so soft. What would they taste like? You liked strawberries— maybe they'd taste like that. When he didn't say or do anything, you changed the topic, unable to hide the disappointment in your face.

"Did you mean it?" You asked. "When you said that I was the most beautiful person you'd ever seen?"

"Oh my god, yes," Heeseung said under his breath, eyes still trained on your lips. "Always."

Another silence fell of you two, simply getting lost in each other's eyes. Maybe it was something in the Hongdae air, but Heeseung felt brave. His hand slithered to your waist, bringing you closer to him. When you slid your hands up his chest, resting them on his shoulders, Heeseung audibly gulped. Your faces inched closer and closer, until you could feel his breath against your cheek. You wanted to lean in and close the gap so bad. And you could tell that he wanted to, too.

Just as you were about to, however, the sound of a car honking and tires screeching interrupted you. Heeseung instinctively pulled away, his head whipping around to look at the commotion.

Oh hell no.

You were not going to let that stop you.

You snatched Heeseung's hand, before pulling him with you. You don't know how much you ran, or for how long, but you ran and ran until you found an empty alleyway.

You pushed him against the hard, concrete wall, a bit harsher than you expected too. Holding him by his shoulders, you put all your weight on him, caging him against the wall.

"You'd let me kiss you, right?" you rasped, out of breath.

Heeseung, also breathless, stared at you, lips parted. 

"I thought I already said," he breathed, "Do whatever you want. You're pretty."

With that, you crashed your lips onto his. His lips were soft, a little chapped. It felt so surreal. The scent of his cologne made you feel dizzy. When you pulled away, it was evident that he was feeling the same as you were. 

It was a chaste kiss, but the tension was so thick in the air. Somehow, that made it even more intimate.

"Wow..." was all Heeseung could utter. Under the moonlight, with you pressed up against him, you looked so goddamn pretty. Your face was illuminated with the pale light, making you look like an angel. Was he in heaven? Did he die yet? He wouldn't mind if he died right then and there, now that you (you!) kissed him. "Fuck, you're gonna kill me, [Name]."

"But you'd like it, right? Because I'm so pretty." The teasing tone in your voice would normally make Heeseung melt, but all he could do was grin. 

"You know I would."

The rest of the night, you and Heeseung don't kiss anymore. Not because you guys didn't want to kiss, but because the adrenaline wore off, and now the both of you were shy. It was almost comical, the way both of you completely reverted back to your bashful and sheepish selves, barely able to make eye-contact with each other.

"Thank you for tonight, Hee," you hummed, as you and Heeseung walked to the train station, hand-in-hand. "I had a lot of fun."

He scanned your face. The slight curve on your lips (oh god, your lips, the way the corner of your lip had a smudge of lipstick from kissing him earlier —how badly he wanted to kiss them again) was contagious. "Of course. I had a lot of fun, too."

The train ride back was quiet. You eventually began dozing off, resting your head on his shoulder.

"You did what?!" was the collective reaction of both you and Heeseung's friends. After that Friday together, you called together all of your friends to your house, to spill the beans. Likewise, Heeseung forced every single one of his friends into his living room.

"Ouuu, you little flirt!" Yunjin exclaimed. Currently, Yunjin, Winter, Hitomi, Yuri, and Minju were seated on your bedroom floor, while you dramatically flopped around on your bed. 

It was now that you explained to your friends your long-time crush on Heeseung, much to their pleasant surprise.

"And then what happened?" Minju asked, filing her finger-nails. "Did you profess your undying love for him?"

You groaned into your pillow. "I can't!"

"Why not?" Winter quirked a brow. "You guys literally kissed."

You let out another groan. "What if he doesn't like me like that?"

Your friends deadpanned.

Heeseung Lee didn't like you. He loved you. They would know better than anyone.

"[Name], honey, you're overthinking it," Yuri nudged you with her foot. "He gave you his jacket. I think that says enough."

"Well, what if I'm just getting ahead of myself and he's just being nice?"

"Girl..."

Heeseung had a similar reaction.

All of his friends stared at him like he just punched their grandmothers.

"You can't be serious right now, hyung..." Sunghoon said, pinching his nose-bridge.

All of his friends were piled onto one couch, while Heeseung laid out on the one across from them, almost like they were in a therapy session. 

"What if she just thinks I'm a good friend?" Heeseung used his hands to speak, theatrically moving them.

"What makes you think that?" Sunoo asked incredulously. 

Heeseung groaned. "[Name] tells Yuri Jo that she wants to marry her and they're good friends."

"Okay, and?"

"Well," Heeseung huffed. "What if [Name] kissed me because she sees me the same way that she sees Yuri?"

"Well, I'm good friends with Jungwon-hyung and I don't kiss him," Riki said matter-of-factly.

"Right..." Jungwon nodded his head slowly. "Hyung, do you really think a good friend would pin you against a wall and kiss you?"

"Do you think a good friend would kiss you three times and then call you cute like a bajillion other times?!" Jake chimed in.

"Let alone choose to keep your jacket?!" Jay sounded tired.

Heeseung clasped his hands together, thinking for a few moments.

"Yes."

All of his friends groaned in defeat.

"You're hopeless."

After a lot of urging and cross-communication between friend-groups, both of your friends managed to convince both you and Heeseung to confess to each other the next Monday.

"What if I faint the moment she says my name?" Heeseung catastrophized to Jay in the school bathroom. 

"Uh, I doubt that, hyung."

Heeseung texted you to meet him under the stairwell, and that was when he was going to confess. On your end, the moment that he texted that, you decided that you'd confess to him then.

When the time came, Heeseung headed out to the stairwell. His hands were clammy, and even when he wiped him on his uniform pants, he couldn't stop the trembling of his hands. What if everyone was instilling false hope in him? Gosh, Heeseung thought he was going to throw up. His stomach was churning, he was going to collapse if he saw you right now—

"Hee?" Your voice broke him out of his internal spiral. Seemingly, there was a halo around you, a light so bright that Heeseung was blinded.

"H-Hi," he stammered, straightening out his posture and clearing his throat.

Your hands were clasped behind your back, leaning forward toward him. "You wanted to talk to me, yeah?"

Heeseung couldn't bring himself to meet your gaze, his shoes suddenly becoming interesting. "Y-Yeah..."

The hallway where the stairwell was located was beginning to feel stuffy. Heeseung had never felt so nervous in his life. He was light-headed, barely able to even balance himself.

"Hee," you reached out to touch his arm, noticing his discomfort. "Let's go outside, okay?"

Going outside should have helped him cool down, but when you shrugged on his leather jacket to combat the cool air, Heeseung realized that there was no way in hell that he was going to get through this confession without dropping dead. 

The two of you walked around the school yard for a few minutes in silence. 

How should he start this confession? He had Sunghoon and Jake write out a script for him, and he spent the entire night memorizing it, but now in your presence he couldn't remember a single word. Should he have written a letter like Yuri Jo? Heeseung couldn't possibly contain himself.

"Hee," you finally said, disrupting the silence. "I have something to tell you."

Heeseung's mind wandered to the worst case scenario. 

You're going to tell him that you're moving across the world to marry the love of your life, aren't you? You're going to say that he's a great friend and that you just got a boyfriend, right? 

No, he needed to tell you his feelings first! If he didn't now, he'd never, and he'd burst into a million pieces!

"M-Me too!" he blurted, stopping in his tracks. 

You blinked at him, then smiled.

Oh, no! It's actually happening!

He could already hear your voice saying, "Hi, Heeseung, my boyfriend just proposed to me and you're invited to the wedding."

You sucked in a breath, parting your lips to speak.

He needed to tell you first! The little demons in his head kept replaying the scene of you asking him to be your groom of honor at your wedding with the love of your life next Saturday. He could hear the marriage officiant announcing, “I now pronounce you husband and wife” at your wedding, and he imagined himself sitting in that little wedding venue holding back tears.

Oh my god, he needed to say it now, or he'll never say it ever!

"Hee, I really--"

Heeseung cut you off. He squeezed his eyes shut, hands balling into fists.

"I like you, [Name]!" he yelled.

.

.

.

You stared at him in disbelief. Or were you flustered? Heeseung couldn't tell. With too much adrenaline in his veins, Heeseung threw away all the preparation and drafted scripts he and his friends made for this very moment.

"I-I.. I like you so much, I'm scared that I'm going to explode!" Heeseung continued shouting at you. He had no idea what he was saying. All he was doing was telling you the thoughts he'd had about you all this time. "You're so, so, so pretty and I can't believe that you're an actual, real, physical, person, and you make me feel so fucking stupid, I can't take it."

Your eyes were bulging out of your head at this point, your jaw dropped. 

"I've never liked anyone like I've liked you, a-and I just wanted to tell you this before you... you go off with someone else!"

Heeseung kept his eyes shut when he was done confessing, letting out a labored breath. There was no way that he could face you. The silence that fell over the two of you made Heeseung's heart sink to the bottom of his stomach. He squeezed his eyes in embarrassment. He gripped the hem of his shirt to relieve the bubbling anxiety inside him. Gosh, he was going to puke.

After a few moments, nothing happened. You didn't say a word. Did you just leave him there standing? Of course, you did. You were probably too kind and angelic to outright reject him. He was a fool to think that he had a chance with you—

Heeseung heard footsteps, and before he could react, he felt a pair of lips on his.

His eyes shot open.

You.

Were.

Kissing.

Him.

!!!

After he confessed!

Poor boy was so stiff, eyes wide.

Did that mean you liked him back?

You pulled away.

Usually, you had a reassuring smile on your face by default. Even during times where you were embarrassed, you almost never showed it on your face.

But this time, your entire face was painted with a flustered expression. Your cute lips jutted out in a mini pout, while your eyes were glued to the ground, avoiding his gaze.

A few pulses passed.

"I... I like you, too... by the way," you murmured.

Another few pulses passed.

You. Liked. Him.

Nonononono wait, was he dreaming?

You.

YOU.

The beautiful, angelic you. 

Liked him.

Without thinking, Heeseung stepped forward, gently grabbing your face.

"You're real, right?" he breathed. When glossy eyes stared back at him, Heeseung felt warmth spread across his chest. Your lips looked so appealing right now, he was craving them again. "I'm not dreaming, yeah?"

You blinked at him a few times. The corners of your lips quirked upward.

"Why, because I'm 'so pretty that you can't believe I'm real?' " your voice had a teasing tone in it, referencing his earlier confession. Heeseung chuckled, letting go of your face so that he could slide his hands to where they belonged: around your waist.

"Just kiss me," he mumbled, looking at you with lidded eyes.

You grinned. "Gladly."

With that, you smashed your lips onto his. Instead of the chaste, soft, kisses that you shared earlier, this one was different. You shoved your tongue into Heeseung's mouth, exploring all its crevices. Poor boy was so surprised that he squeezed your waist, letting out a small whine. The feeling of you smirking against his lips gave him butterflies.

You finally pulled away breathless, but gave him no time to breathe. You grasped his chin, giving you easy control. 

"You drive me so crazy," he murmured against the shell of your ear.

You pressed a kiss at the juncture between his neck and ear. "I drive you crazy?" you cocked your brow.

"You," you muttered. You began pressing kisses down his jaw. 

“Drive.” 

Kiss.

“Me.” 

Kiss. 

“So-” 

Kiss.

"Fucking-" 

Kiss.

"Crazy."

Before you could pounce on him with more kisses, Heeseung, red in the face, flopped over you, hiding his face in the crook of your neck. He let out a cute groan.

"What, are you getting shy on me?" you teased him, running your fingers through his hair. He shook his head against your shoulder, making you coo.

"I can't believe you like me back, that's all," he mumbled, muffled by your shoulder. 

You laughed. "How? I feel like I was so obvious."

Heeseung looked up at you with pink cheeks, frowning. "You don't even want to know how hopelessly in love with you I was."

You quirked a brow at him. 

"Yeah?" You pecked his forehead. "Try me."

Heeseung let out a breathy chuckle. He attacked your lips.

"How about I show you?"

FIN.

likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated :)

[artbyblastweave]

Okay, Time for that belated Shrinking Rae post-

In the comics, Shrinking Ray's "arc" (bearing in mind an extremely liberal definition of that term, they had exactly one scene showcasing this) was that he was implied to be developing an inferiority complex; he's not necessarily incompetent, but he's out of his niche, his clever shrinking-based plans kept getting upstaged by brute-force solutions from the more conventionally powerful heroes like Invincible. He's the scrawny, nerdy little guy with the joke powers, he never gets a win, and in most fights he literally isn't visible. In the fight with the Lizard League his death is framed as pathetic and ineffectual- there's one or two panels between "I'll make you pay!" and getting eaten alive by Komodo. All of this is doing a couple of things- it's emphasizing that again, this is in fact a story and setting where superheroes sometimes just die really badly with limited fanfare- a thing that IIRC hadn't happened since the original Guardians team wipe in issue 7. Second, it's an indicator that the new Guardians are structurally kind of on the ropes. They're heavily staffed by second stringers, they exact second they have to split their forces they suffer a 66 percent casualty rate, and that's with backing from two capes who aren't actually part of the team. Grim! Anyway, when they do the adaptation Shrinking Ray becomes Shrinking Rae, because they want to tweak the gender balance of the cast and the pun is too good to pass up. But I think that there was a reasonable reluctance to transfer the "arc" from the comics one-to-one, because to be blunt, "Ineffectual Nebbish Glasses-wearer who whines a lot and dies pathetically," paired with absolutely nothing else, is gonna read as misogynistic if the character is a woman now. So in the adaptation Rae is markedly more competent. We're introduced to her taking down a much larger opponent by fucking around inside his ear canal, which becomes a favored trick of hers. There are traces of the self-esteem thing- the visual gag where she physically shrinks about a foot when getting chewed out in the briefing- but the overall throughline isn't "look at this loser who somehow ended up on the guardians." In the Lizard League fight, she doesn't get eaten- she's deliberately trying to execute a Thanus maneuver and just fucks it up, seconds after successfully killing a different villain the same way. And there's a second where it looks like it might work, too, before hope is cruelly yanked away. Which makes for a markedly cooler death scene- but who died? What was actually going on with her? Anything? In some sense she's cooler, but it's kind of an undifferentiated cool. She had what, Six lines? Seven? On balance I think Rae is still doing her fundamental job in the story, which is to pad the Guardians roster for a while and have someone who actually dies and stays dead as a result of the Lizard League fight- but I think they definitely missed an opportunity to give her some more texture than her comic counterpart had. Part of me thinks that the show would have been a good place to go even harder on Shrinking Rae being in over her head, but in a considered way, to emphasize that the Guardians aren't well managed- maybe tie it into the tensions between Robot and Immortal regarding sustainable team management practices. Part of me thinks you should go the other way, that if you're gonna do away with the idea she's underwhelming you should blow up her role, have her actually say and do some things that affect the story or the team dynamic in any noticeable way, because as it stands she's kind of visibly siloed as the designated mauve shirt. I'm definitely of one mind that this showcases something I suspected was gonna bite the show in the ass, which is that they're (laudably) diversifying a secondary and tertiary cast whose main role in the source material is often to die badly or fade out of focus.

[presleyheart]

Hello!! I was wondering if I could request a 70s Elvis X reader fic where before a concert, Elvis is really nervous(stage fright) and he doesn't usually tell reader that he is so after a bit of observing reader finally comforts him?

Take all the time you need, of course!

OMG OMG!!! Of course! I'd love to do this ^^ I feel like this is on par w/ Elvis having anxiety!! My first request!!! YAY! Sorry if it's bad lolol it's early in the AM but I'm so eager to write for you <3 So sorry if it's short, too.

"Walk A Mile In My Shoes" https://open.spotify.com/track/3TYiPU151GF7VASDPzk74Y?si=858262a5d85c419c Pairing 70s!TTWII!Elvis x gn!reader TW: mentions of !! Anxiety, light swearing, skin picking, throwing up !! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- It was 1970. Elvis was filming a new film, more-so like a documentary. Cameras were following you two around everywhere. No matter where Elvis went there was already a camera. He's absolutely been on edge. Every time you'd ask him, he'd say he was fine. You trusted him. What's the worst that could happen? Elvis has always sort've been a busy uptight man whenever it comes to concerts. This shouldn't be any different. ______ ______ You were tending to things backstage.

Everything was going perfectly. You saw Elvis come out of his dressing room; he decided the jumpsuit of tonight would be his Fringe Jumpsuit. No cape. Once he had exited, you could see by his posture something was off.

"Satnin." He had said, he went straight for you. "Hm?" You responded, looking at him. He was slightly taller than you so you had to look up to him a bit.

He immediately pulled you into a soft embrace. You could hear his heart thumping in his chest. "What's wrong?" Is all you could have mustered. He had you buried against him tightly.

He hadn't made a response. He was breathing lightly. He eventually pulled away after a few moments.

"Nothin'.. I just wanted to hold you'a moment." He responded. He was absolutely in shambles over something.

He had started picking at his face a bit and he looked almost queasy inside of his jumpsuit. He wanted to crawl out of his skin and hide from the looks of it. He was a mess. His eyes were red

"C'mon." You said. You had looked him up and down as you drug him to a spot to sit backstage.

"Y/N?-" "No." "Whad'dya think you're doin'?"

The expression on his face and posture said it all. You could tell how sensitive he was. His friends kept looking over but you shot a mean glare. They'd rather stay out of it rather than hear you "bitch up a storm" as they put it.

"Your heart is about to beat out your chest, Elvis." You answered. He looked around at the suffocating room pathetically, pawing at his seat. He twiddled his thumbs and just kept looking away shyly.

"Tell me what's going on." You demanded. Elvis failed to communicate his emotions too often.

You had been together for almost 3 years now and he was still nervous to express certain emotions. His past relationships had really caused emotional scarring on him.

"...'m anxious.. I-I..I don't understand why. I been doin' this for 'bout 16 years." He stated. He couldn't bear eye contact. He sighed softly. "It's all of these damn cameras, baby. I promise I'm okay. Jus' bein' a damn cry baby. Lem'me go"

You felt like you were ready to scream. He was very clearly anxious and tired. He looked ready to throw up, almost. He also couldn't bear to even look at you. Like he was ashamed to have feelings. It was heartbreaking.

"Look'ah me." You said, kneeling down in front of him. "What?" He says pitifully. He looks into your eyes. You could see how exhausted he was. There was no excuse for this.

You wished he could rest for only a moment, but sadly Colonel has him booked back to back. He had been acting off all week since his first concert of the month. It was like watching someone go insane, and it drove you crazier than him when he didn't even tell you.

"It's okay to be nervous.. It isn't okay not to tell me." "I-I know," He stammered; "Jus' hate bein' a burden.. y'know this"

You sighed and gently kissed him. You let him lean his head into your shoulder. He's always been a sucker for attention. He's needed someone like you after his mother had passed.

He needed love. And you were beyond certain you could give it to him.

"You're never going to be a burden. I love you so much. I understand how worried you must be, but just think.. All these people paid this money to see you. You have never let them down, and surely you won't let them down tonight." You knew exactly what to say to calm him down. You had learned quite a bit by being with him what most of the things were that he was insecure about. "Promise me?" He muttered into your shoulder "I promise." You responded, almost in a whisper. He pulled his head up fully.

"Look at'cha.. cheerin' this ol' man up." "Easy now.. you're hardly 30." "You're funny. I'm halfway through. 35." "30-shmirty. You're still a baby deep down." "Am not." "Are too."

He chuckled softly. "My baby. I love you most. Ever. Don't start tryna fight me on it, neither." He said to you. You just smiled, nodding at him. "Whatever."

He actually forgot about his anxieties. This was perfect. All you've ever wanted was for him to be happy. It was another thing to bring him happiness. Makes life a little worth living.

He eventually pulled away and nodded. He trusted you more than anything. Yet, sadly, your sweet moment was interrupted as one of his friends called over.

"E.P.! There is 5 minutes!"

You pulled away from Elvis softly. "Go on now, you'll do just fine." "I know, thank you." He says. Straight to the point. No hesitation. He had all the trust he could gather set on you.

His heart rate went to a normal speed for right now and he stared at you with adoring eyes. He kissed you on the forehead before getting up and walking towards the edges of the curtains, with his friends, coworkers, whatever. All of the fans were hollering as the lights dimmed.

"Shit, man.. I don't understand what took you so long." His friend made a snarky comment at Elvis. Even if Elvis wasn't even late. Elvis glanced over at you. He smiled a bit.

"Walk a mile in my shoes, Charlie. Then you'll get it."

The intro started and Elvis was ready to go, with a little help from his #1 fan. -----------------------------------------------------------------------

[thewertsearch]

Ask Comp 17/7

@shelbybunny asked: a note most people havent noticed from my observations: kanaya tied eridans cape around her stomach wound

Kanaya absorbs the fashion sense of anyone she slays. She's basically a goth Kirby.

@deshah asked: I have caught up on reading your live blog just as you reach one of my favorite action sequences! Kanaya is brilliant and I am so excited that you are reaching this point in her story. On an Aradia note: I think that you should listen to '(kind of) still alive' and 'Almost There' Aradia version (in that order) because feels. You have motivated me to listen to homestuck parodies again. Not to mention revisit my (many, many) homestuck crossovers… Thanks for the liveblog, it is so much fun! Also i saw your recommendation list was missing hemostuck which is just such a shame. I think it constitutes spoilers? Although it is very AU. That one is by roachpatrol and urbanAnchorite on ao3. Also! Space Bro by JumpingJackFlash, also on ao3 (definitely spoilers) there's even a song about that one! I hope these are okay to send? I'm not 100% on the etiquette. Anonymous asked: howdy wert! dunno if you answer stuff on this blog still but I figured it wasn't fit for the main one -- in your long break, did you check out any of the various media recommended to you? :0 (<- totally didn't recommend something and definitely isn't now wondering if you read/liked it, unlikely as it may be with the long list of recs)

I've added them all to the list! Feel free to recommend anything else, too - but I probably won't get to any Homestuck fics for a long time, since they're a bit of a spoiler minefield.

So far, the only recommendation I've followed up on was Hollow Knight - and I'm glad I did. I've played it, like, three times now. If your own recommendation isn't a Homestuck fic, let me know!

@segfaultvicta asked: i just found your liveblog and I've been doing nothing but reading it since. i have no idea if it's complete, if it's stalled out somewhere, or if it's ongoing, or when it started; i have deliberately kept all of this information from myself, i just hope that regardless of anything else your asks are still on so i can tell you how absolutely fucking MAGNIFICENT your analysis is and how much of a joy it's been to read. bravo. <3 @segfaultvicta asked: there are so many things that you're correctly understanding, or at least digging into at the right level and with the correct approach vector, that it took me MONTHS of puzzling out and later information to grok, and i'm good at this kind of nonsense. it's WILDLY impressive even if/when you are barking up the wrong cosmic apple tree. this liveblog continues to be an utter delight.

Hell yeah. Welcome to the show!

It's a great motivator, knowing that there are people having this much fun with the blog. Sometimes, on quiet days, I'll notice my notification counter is ticking up by a couple of notes a minute or so - and 90% of the time, that means someone's just discovered the blog, and they're binging the whole thing.

That's so cool, I don't even have the words! I look up to binge-worthy livebloggers!

Anonymous asked: Vriska really do be the kinda person who's like "I love a woman who can kick my ass." She probably only saw Kanaya as a potential matesprit after she proved herself powerful. Before that, she likely didn't view her as one because she saw her more like a harmless 'mcfussy fangs'.

You could have had it all, Vriska - if you'd only turned to look at her.

Truly, you are your own worst enemy.

Anonymous asked: I'd like to just adress the fact that Eridan, the troll who had 'aspirations' of killing every troll below him on the hemospectrum, only permanently killed the SINGLE troll that was above him on the hemospectrum. Good job, Ampora! ~DJ @manorinthewoods asked: It's comical how pathetic Eridan was. He seems to have power but it's always immensely fragile. Pathetic in life, pathetic in death, pathetic in ancestry. It's no surprise that his final step in the dance is to be sawed in two to prove Kanaya means business. ~LOSS (20/6/24)

Dude took more Ls than a Countdown contestant. Seeing Feferi confront him in the Bubbles is sure to be cathartic, and I, for one, cannot wait.

@manorinthewoods asked: Who the hek coded Trollian. ~LOSS (2/7/24)

That's Sahlee's endgame, naturally. My fic will be as self-fulfilling as Homestuck proper.

@bladekindeyewear asked: Quote you: "You Want An Auspistice? Then I’ll Give Your Legs Some Space From Your FUCKING TORSO" Funnily enough, on Andrew Hussie's ask blog back then, he ALSO jokingly described this well-justified murder as Kanaya auspisticizing between Eridan's upper and lower torso, after forcibly auspisticizing her way through the rest of the showdown members. "Putting Space between them" is a nice added pun of you though!

Hehe. I didn't originally intend to make an Aspect pun, but I noticed after I'd written it, and decided to leave it in.

Anonymous asked: "If the Bubbles do preserve doomed souls, then we might also run into […] the Jade he couldn’t save. That’s a pair of ghosts I’d be very interested to meet." Are we sure a doomed Incipisphere would have resulted in a doomed timeline on Earth for Jade to die in? Dave and Rose said as soon as John went off to die, they never heard from Jade OR THE TROLLS again. Karkat told John during ectobiology that Earth was a divorced temporal context from the kids' game outside of chat/timing convenience.

Yeah, I think there's a decent chance of that. It was weird that the stranded Future Jade never tried to contact her co-players, and one of the simplest answers was that she'd simply stopped existing. I live in hope, though!

@elkian asked: A really interesting thing I've noticed about Homestuck (lampshaded by Hussie's commentary) is how often the perspective switches away from fights, usually so smoothly or jokingly it's not obvious. I've heard the Hobbit/LotR books do something similar. We don't see Bro die, his opponent becomes unkillable by him and he's dead a few pages later. The Trolls' Black King, the Guardians' deaths, etc. It's a very interesting narrative choice. @elkian asked: belated followup to last ask ig - not sure what the given reason was but I think Hussie avoids showing us fights with foregone conclusions unless there's a good story reason. We know the trolls beat their BK before we even met all the trolls (and obscuring that fight lets Hussie pull fun things like the Bard of Rage reveal). Vriska vs Tavros was never in his favor, but it meant something for their character development so we saw it, etc.

Yeah, I really liked how this was done with Bro, specifically.

Cutting away from this confrontation highlighted how completely pointless it would be to depict it. We all know what happened here, and seeing it happen would give us no new information. Bro, like any mortal, was instantly one-tapped.

Besides - we saw the end of that fight.

It ended right here.

Anonymous asked: its funny how dd, the character associated with diamonds, is textually implied to be jack’s moirail ‘lousy dignitary, keeping your murderous tendencies in check’ Anonymous asked: I feel like you probably noticed this and just didn't say anything, but it's still so hilarious to me how clear it is that Andrew Hussie knew exactly what he was doing showing us the walkie-talkie scene just now with DD and his diamond card suit symbol "keeping [Jack's] murderous impulses in check"!

Damn, I actually didn't pick up on that. It's consistent with the rest of the Crew, though - Hearts is a romantic shipper, and Slick is all about hate. It seems CD is destined to become a mediator.

@mhafanlol2000 asked: What do you think LE looks like?

Occam's Razor would suggest he's a Felt creature - but since Jade would be 'terrified' by his true name, I suspect he's actually someone we've already heard of. After all, Jade would have no reason to be terrified of a name she doesn't recognize.

Anonymous asked: what if sburb is modded minecraft

tired: joining the wertsearch gigasession wired: joining the wertsearch minecraft server

Anonymous asked: Oh yeah we've all be there, I remember one time I got really obsessed with tinkercraft, not cause of the actual crafting system, but because of the furnace, and decided I Must build a furnace from bedroom to build height and fill it up

Update: I've built two nuclear reactors so far, for fusion and fission respectively. Between them, they produce a gargantuan amount of power, but that's only secondary to their main function - namely, antimatter production. Once I get that sorted out, we'll be, like, 5% of the way to the AllTheMods Star, which will finally allow me to make Creative Mode items.

Then we're starting on the Gregstar. If you don't know about the Gregstar, you don't want to know about the Gregstar.

[yandereunsolved]

Yandere Spawn (MK 11) with a flighty darling—run rabbit, run rabbit, run, run, run

🐍ֶָ֢ Spawn isn't surprised that you are absolutely terrified of him. Having a hellspawn stalk your New York apartment and refuse to leave you alone is one hell of a scare. Still, he refuses to acknowledge that he had a part in intertwining both of your fates. It wasn't exactly difficult. You are simply a human—a mortal.

A little magic here and there and stealing your soul from your body and infecting it with a part of him also helped.

🐍ֶָ֢ You were a perfect Earthrealmer. Despite your need to flee every time he materialized out of thin air. He almost never spoke. He was like a ghost. He'd drop off groceries or things that you had been wanting to buy for the longest time. He'd sit on the edge of your couch and watch movies with you. Although he'd mostly just stare at you. It's a bad habit of his, but he just can't stop it. Your aura is so irresistible. Still, you would hide behind your couch, under your bed, or run out of your apartment and not return for hours on end.

So he tried to amend this by being as non-threatening as possible. He'd try to make himself appear smaller. He'd move something gently to notify you right before he would appear. He kept nightmares out of your dreams. The bad energy and entities that were attracted by him were never allowed within your space.

🐍ֶָ֢ You tried using holy objects on him! From every religion, you tried something. Some objects would burn him more than others, but he was used to the suffering at this point. Spawn would pluck the object out of your hand and offer his instead. You'd start fearfully sobbing and praying to a deity, or deities. It was more of an inconvenience if anything. 

He's already pissed off enough gods in his lifetime. He doesn't need one stealing your soul back and keeping you from him.

🐍ֶָ֢ It doesn't help that his K7-Leetha, and by extension his cape, have taken a liking to you. Leetha reaches out to you often, taking a hold of you. He isn't the one doing it. It's the parasite willing his body to hold you. He feels the need to emphasize this since you don't believe him. It's one of the few times he has actually used his words.

He doesn't fear much, but he fears himself. He fears himself hurting the only person he loves.

That's so fucking cheesy, he knows. It's like the plot of some stupid, shitty paranormal romance book, like his ex read.

It terrifies him. His cape will wrap you up and snuggle into you, feeding off of your warmth and energy.

It makes you woozy and panicky, only fueling him.

🐍ֶָ֢ You try to attack him, and he lets you. He can't help but chuckle at your pathetic attempt. You're like a cornered animal attacking the person trying to help you. It didn't work any of the other times, so why would it work now?

He's truly okay with it.

If it makes you feel safe, then he'll take some gunshots, punches, knives, and anything else you throw at him.

🐍ֶָ֢ Spawn tries his best to be vulnerable with you so you aren't as skittish. He speaks a little of his backstory, trying to make his voice less deep and gritty so as not to intimidate you. He asks you to call him any name, any nickname, just not Albert or Spawn. Albert has long since died, and Spawn has been through far too much to be loveable. He's just whatever he is with you. He's okay with that.

🐍ֶָ֢ The most important part is to hide his grizzly murders from you. You know he is a hellspawn and has some horrible shit and some good things sprinkled along in there. Still, his slaughters for you are sacrificial in nature. They feed him and give his obsession life. It makes Leetha even more protective of you. You make Spawn happy. You make his systems all fuzzy and hormone-y. That's how Leetha would describe it.

He keeps this secret like his life depends on it. You're getting more used to him. Why make you scared of him again?

[maniacwatchestheworld]

Batman really is just the Justice League's poor sad little blorbo, isn't he? Superman and Wonder Woman really just took one look at Bruce with his little pointy ears and big ol' cape, all sad and wet in the rain with all of his mentally unwell buddies in the dark, miserable alley that is Gotham City and immediately thought, 'This man is so sad, wet, and pathetic... I absolutely MUST adopt him NOW!' He's just Clark and Diana's sad little blorbo and they love him so much and really REALLY want to include him in their activities and make him feel like the specalist little guy on Earth! Because he's THEIR specalist little guy on Earth!

Too bad Bruce is much more of an indoor cat and while he can enjoy himself outdoors, inside in Gotham offers all of the enrichment he needs and he doesn't like getting taken out of it. :p

[captain-mj]

Hmm what if—

Little red riding hood Soap and big bad wolf Ghost but—

Soap is not a little girl going to grandma’s house but a hunter in disguise trying to lure the wolf out to kill it, however—

Ghost has been watching the hunter with interest for a while and didn’t fall for Soap’s little trick, so—

They somehow ended up fucking :)

OH absolutely!!! Been a while since I wrote straight smut

CW: slight Dubcon? It’s super clear that Soap is interested, but he won’t admit anything because he’s a hunter

Ghost spent a giant portion of his time hunting, so he didn't fall for the little act of Soap's. He knew exactly what he was doing. The little glances around were not the actions of a nervous little prey item, but the experienced actions of someone who knew what to look out for.

It was currently February, meaning it was smack dab in the middle of his normal mating season. The scent of this hunter set his senses alight. They smelled of wolfsbane and... wolf? Right above human? Either way, they certainly got his instincts going if nothing else. Something just rugged enough to tie it up in to a nice little present for Ghost was there too.

He wondered what this hunter would do if they knew the monster they were hunting was not only hunting him back, but thinking of how he'd look knotted and fucked out.

This guy looked very much like he'd whimper if Ghost railed him just right.

Soap went down the trail, spreading their scent. His crossbow was clipped to his belt, Ghost just barely seeing it.

He snapped a twig and silently disappeared in the other direction, watching Soap whip it out and shoot a bolt exactly where he had just been.

Ghost circled around, doing it a few more times until Soap was on edge and aiming at one specific spot. All of his focus was on the small area where twigs kept snapping and not Ghost sneaking up on him.

His hands fit around Soap's waist as he dragged him to the ground.

Soap tried to defend himself but they were too close now and he couldn't get the crossbow between them to hit him. Ghost put one giant clawed hand around Soap's throat and pinned one of other arms, leaving him to pathetically kick and hit at him.

"Stop squirming."

Soap paused. "You can speak? Wasn't expecting that."

Ghost flipped him over and shoved his face into the ground, looking at the red hood that covered him. It went down his back like a cape and it was in the way.

Ghost shoved it to the side and paused.

Soap grabbed one of the knives on his belt and embedded it in Ghost's arm. He quickly bit him where his scruff would be and snarled, both of them at a stand still.

"Knife catch you by surprise?" Soap referred to when he paused, wondering if it was because he had more weapons.

Ghost laughed. "How fat your ass is."

Soap became belligerent. Quickly gasping and thrashing and acting like Ghost had been wildly inappropriate. "You! Don't look at my..." his ears were bright red.

Ghost bit down a tiny bit harder. "Take that fucking knife out of me before I break your spine."

Soap hesitated before yanking it out. "You murderer."

"I've only murdered deer." Ghost crouched on top of him. "No human murdering here."

Soap scowled. "Liar." He finally got the upper hand, kicking Ghost directly in the ribs.

Ghost yelped and leaps back. “I haven’t. Humans have too many bones And the meat is too sweet. Might make an exception for you.”

Soap frowned at him but didn’t move. They both stayed still and just stared.

“Huh.”

“What?”

“For some reason, I believe you.” Soap sat up and slowly got up. “You really haven’t eaten anybody?”

Ghost shook his head. “Plenty of deer to go around.”

Soap slowly raised his bow. “Why did you attack me then? Why not leave? And why make that weird comment??”

Ghost stretched to his full height of 6’4 and his fur stood on end to make himself look bigger. “You hunted me first.”

“Fair point. And that comment?”

“An observation.” Ghost growled softly and Soap scoffed, glancing away. He took advantage of that moment of weakness, running at him and grabbing him again, letting them both fall. Soap’s hands were trapped under Ghost’s legs and he couldn’t move more than an inch. “You should really research creatures you hunt.”

Soap scowled at him before flushing as Ghost forced his legs open. He didn’t plan to do anything to Soap. Especially not anything unwanted. However, he definitely wanted one thing and that was to find out where the scent of wolf was. And also to maybe enjoy more of him. Perfect material for later.

He pressed his nose to the inside of his thigh where his arteries were.

Soap was hard. He felt it against his cheek. His entire face was bright red as Ghost kept his legs open. There wasn’t an ounce of fight in him as Ghost continued to sniff over him. He found the piece of wolf hide in his pocket and felt a tad betrayed.

Soap hummed. “It was that or dog piss. Heard both attract you guys.” He glanced down and saw the way Ghost was tensed.

Ghost ran his nails gently over his chest. “How evil. To trick a wolf looking for a mate like that.”

Soap turned bright red. “Oh. Oh.”

Ghost grinned, giant teeth showing. He started to drag him to his cave and Soap started to fight again. “Wait. Wait!! I wouldn’t be a good mate. I’m terrible at cooking.”

“Got thick thighs. All I really need.”

“You can’t even breed me!”

“I’m sure I could try.” Ghost looked down, noticing that Soap was not bothering to grab his crossbow. “I should at least try knotting you a few times.”

Soap flushed as he was put in Ghost’s nest. The bow was clearly dropped by the entrance. “What about…” He went quiet as Ghost grabbed him and undressed him roughly. His thighs went around Ghost’s shoulders.

“You smell sweet.” He ran his tongue over the vein in his leg before nuzzling into the soft skin. “Really sweet.”

Soap tried to kick him but Ghost wouldn’t let him. “Awa' an bile yer heid.”

“Speak English. If I can learn your language, you can speak the one I know.”

That red cape stayed on.

It was the only thing that stayed on Soap as Ghost started to lick at his body. He couldn’t use his claws to prep him so his tongue would have to do.

Soap did whimper. They were small and stunted, clearly he wanted to cover them. But Ghost heard everything. So he pushed his tongue into him instead of just teasing.

Soap jackknifed, hands scrambling to tangle into his hair. He shook slightly before a tremble ran up his spine. “So good. So deep, Jesus.”

Ghost didn’t bother responding. He just enjoyed his meal until Soap had saliva running down his thighs and he had been loosened up. Soap had long started begging for something. Ghost wasn’t sure if it was for him to stop or give him more but he was yanking Ghost close and crying in pleasure every second he could.

Slowly, making sure to draw it out, Ghost pulled his tongue away from Soap’s now gaping hole. Soap whined and clenched desperately around nothing.

Ghost yanked him around, positioning him so he was presenting. Soap arched his back like he was trained to do it, hiding his face in his arms as if embarrassed.

“Are you big?”

Ghost lined up, not answering verbally. Instead he just started to press himself inside.

Tight.

So tight.

His brain stopped functioning, only able to focus on thrusting more of himself in.

Soap panted in arousal and he spread his legs a little to give Ghost more room. Despite how big Ghost was, he made it look easy as his eyes rolled back. He whimpered once Ghost had almost finished sliding in.

“So big. What the Fuck.” Soap wiggled his ass enticingly and Ghost slammed in the last couple of inches. He wailed at the feeling and then broke off into little whimpers. “Splitting me open.”

Ghost’s head felt fuzzy from a mix of Soap’s compliments and the tight, hot thing around him. He was supposed to let him go for other people after this? No. He’d convince him to stay. Only Ghost got to enjoy this.

Maybe he could train him so he could only cum on his knot. Imagining Soap having to come back, sexually frustrated and needing something only Ghost could give him.

He finally started moving, now sure Soap wouldn’t break apart if he did.

“Soap right?”

“You can call me Johnny.” He said, looking blissful. Tears were running down his face and one hand was now pressed to his stomach where Ghost was. “Oh god, it’s so good. So much.” He cut himself off to scream as Ghost found something.

Ghost sped up and planted by his ear. He bit at his throat gently, slamming in over and over and over again.

Soap sobbed as he came all over himself, eyes rolling back. His legs were shaking so hard, they gave out, only held up by Ghost’s hands.

Soap sobbed harder when Ghost started to knot him. Ghost worried for a minute he might actually be hurting him until he heard the frantic pleading for him to break him open. He was clearly enjoying himself.

When he finished knotting him, he came, rocking insistently right against his prostate the whole time.

“There we go.” Ghost slapped his ass. “Told you, nice thighs were all I need. An accent doesn’t hurt.”

Soap nodded. “Aren’t you going to pull out?”

“You don’t want me to do that.”

Soap growled at him before shifting and gasping. “How long until your knot goes down?”

“Long enough for me to recover for round two.”

“And how long do you plan on keeping me here?” Soap sounded cheeky.

“As long as you’ll let me.”

-

Ghost proceeded to pin him to the wall and fuck several orgasms out of him. Soap barely seemed coherent towards the end, legs trying to keep Ghost moving.

Cum was running down Soap’s legs as Ghost continued, searching for his own release. He felt Soap shudder and cry into his shoulder.

“I can’t keep… Fucking hell, you’re going to drive me insane.”

Ghost picked up the place at that and Soap held him tight. He screamed properly when knotted this time, sensitive and sore and open enough that there was a sweet sting of pleasure to it and Ghost watched his cock twitch.

Soap stared at the ceiling, clearly trying his best to collect himself.

“So what position do you want to do next?”

Soap whimpered but when Ghost licked at his tears Im apology, he leaned in.

“Can we do it on the floor again? Me facing you this time?”

Done.

-

Ghost regretted not doing this first. Soap’s ankles were by his ears as he pounded into him. His whole body was getting more and more instinct driven. It was a shame Soap simply wasn’t capable of really coming anymore. The little masochist was still enjoying it, but he was tapped out.

That didn’t mean Ghost didn’t put all his effort into making him. Poor thing looked positively broken.

“Johnny.”

“Mmh.” Soap managed, clearly in a state of bliss.

“You alright?”

“Please keep knotting me.”

That was all Ghost needed. He adjusted his position and started to pound into him, making Soap twitch and clench around him with every thrust.

“You were made for this. Being bred by me. Wonder what everyone would think if they knew you. A great hunter was so easy.”

Soap whimpered And his cock started to leak again.

Ghost grinned. “Forgot to check the month and now does nothing but take a monster’s knot. Being bred and broken, yeah?”

Soap nodded immediately. “I want that. Yes.”

Ghost knotted him right then and there’s, watching him almost pass out as they came at the same time. He knew he could drag another one out of him.

“I’ll give it to you, Johnny. Don’t worry.”

[izunias-meme-hole]

My Top 10 Batman Villains (Revamped)

(Because I currently need to get this off my chest, also a lot of these are just in my opinion)

Honorable Mention: Bane (Various) - Despite being misrepresented as a dumb brute and the fact that one of the best adaptations of him somehow gets his voice and nationality wrong, Bane is a villain with QUITE the deserving reputation. A walking tank with a luchador mask that has the brains to match his brawn.

Number 10. Scarecrow (Nolan Trilogy) - Crane wasn't a big villain in the grand scheme of the trilogy, but my god Cillian Murphy does a great job with the character. Like I wish that his supervillain outfit wasn't just a bag over his face, but Scarecrow manages to be quite the dangerous and cowardly loon with a mask of sanity in Batman Begins, an active member of the underworld in The Dark Knight, and the guy actively sending folks to their deaths in The Dark Knight Rises. Could we have had more of him? Yes. Did he use up his screen time well? Absolutely. Though his fear toxin could've been infinitely wilder.

Number 9. Mr. Freeze (BTAS: Heart of Ice) - I feel like this is a "to the surprise of absolutely nobody" moment, but this show reinvented Mr Freeze as a tragic and vengeful figure, and his debut was a perfect example of that.

Number 8. The Phantasm (BTAS) - The Phantasm is one of the best darker counterparts to Batman a lot of levels.

Number 7. Harley Quinn (BTAS) - The minor side villainess turned breakout character of the show. If anyone has seen B:TAS and then seen the rest of the media she's in, then you know why this is the best version of her. A good amount of things about the character being based around her actress (R.I.P Arleen Sorkin), her interactions with half the cast, Peak HarIvy content, the best representation of how bad her situation with her abusive ex was, and the perfect mixture between being a not-so-great-person and a precious lil' thing who deserves better.

Number 6. Ra's Al Ghul (Various) - Ra's Al Ghul may be a more international threat in comparison to the other antagonists I've listed, but he's undeniably one of Bruce's greatest foes. A very rich and powerful older man whose mission and persistence is similar to that of the caped crusader. Though unlike Batman, Ra's is willing to do more than just kill, he's willing to commit genocide, and he's willing to use other harsh and controlling methods in order to create his ideal world. Ra's is pretty much the the worst elements of Batman shoved into a singular self-righteous figure, and when done well he's easily one of the greats.

Number 5. Two-Face (Various) - Harvey Dent is a man split down the middle, a two-faced dude in more ways than one, and an irredeemably tragic figure no matter the perspective, though funnily enough he's always a victim of chance. He's a victim of the one worst possible outcome that had just as much of an opportunity to be the best possible outcome. It's part of the reason why he makes choices based off a literal coin flip. Chance put Dent in the circumstances to become a villain, and as he surrenders his entire being to chance as Two Face.

Number 4. Oswald "Penguin" Cobblepot (Various) - He's just a pathetic and horrible little man. No I'm serious. Oswald has had various portrayals over the years, but they can all be summed up at "pathetic and horrible little man wanting respect" and its great to see in action because despite the fact that he can be legit menacing and sometimes tragic, Oz is just inherently ridiculous on some level. It's great.

Number 3. Catwoman (Various) - Selina, Selina, Selina... she's cool. Sure she is a classic example of a "femme fatale," but aside from that Selina has always been a thrill seeker in some way or another. Be it as a jewel thief who proudly shows this, or an anti-hero that covers this part of herself with actual justifications, there is always an aspect of Selina that enjoys what she does when she puts that mask on. Mrs Kyle is enjoyable, idk what else to say.

Number 2. The Riddler (Various) - Genuinely impressive intelligence and creativity mixed with an ego as big as 3 Russias and as fragile as a glass bottle. That's what you're always bound to find in Riddler. Be it in the 60's show, BTAS, Batman Forever, The Arkham Series, Gotham, or The Batman, Riddler is a Redditor with the theatrics of a gameshow host and the resources of John Kramer.

Number 1. The Joker (Various) - Come on. We all knew this was gonna happen. The Joker is a crook who fell into a vat of chemicals and got a clownish makeover, who ended up becoming the nemesis of Batman. While the other rouges have their particular danger levels, they all have some type of cause they're fighting for or they're purely out to benefit themselves. Joker just causes chaos, death, and suffering, for the sake of his twisted sense of humor. He is willing to kill and ruin lives in the most creative way possible, so long as he finds it funny. Yet despite how twisted he is, this evil ass clown actually can be funny. Not only that, but he's the most effective contrast to Batman, even more than the other rouges. Batman is a frightening figure with a semi-demonic visage who suffered one bad day in his youth, yet he is a hero dedicated to the cause of justice and protecting the innocent citizens of Gotham City. Joker is a colorful figure with a big 'ol grin on his face and a jovial demeanor, yet he is perfectly okay with causing as much unwarranted harm to others for the sake of artistic chaos. Ultimately, the Clown Prince of Crime is a villain that's managed to last for decades, despite the ever marching clock, for these exact reasons.

[polyhexian]

Can you elaborate on previous Darius post?

Darius is mean. He's fucking mean. Darius isn't like Raine, who always knew fascism is bad and has been intentionally working their way up the ladder with the intention to stop it, knowing they will have to make hard decisions that hurt others on the way. Darius got that job because he wanted it. He didn't think anything was wrong UNTIL Raine turned out to be a rebel, and he decided he trusted raine's judgement above his orders. Like. He heel turned at the last minute. He's not like. A perfect dude.

And moreso like. Darius was just. Not good??? To hunter??? In the emperor's coven??? You can absolutely write or draw Darius coming to his fucking senses earlier than he does in canon, but. In canon he does not care about Hunter. He is not nice to him. The very first thing Darius ever says to him is a deep annoyed sigh and ugh, we rescheduled the meeting, so, "run along and do your arts and crafts, or, whatever it is you do" with a little mocking wave. Then he yanks off his patched up cape and laughs at him mockingly before he realizes it's his mentors sigil and he stops laughing and suddenly he's like legitimately mad at this teenage boy about this. He takes his cape and gets INTO it and calls him the emperor's nephew and implies he's a nepo baby and he's weak and useless and that his predecessor was one of the greatest witches to ever live, but Hunter being canonically disabled makes him pathetic and that he will never ever live up to the shoes he's trying to fill. The man knows everything. He knows hunter is supposedly belos's nephew. We know that he knows hunter is sixteen because HE is the one that tells US he's sixteen. He knows EXACTLY what the golden guard role entails because his mentor was one. He knows that hunter is a disabled teenage soldier and he has an overwhelming amount of evidence to make the assumption that he is also an orphan. And yet he stands there and mocks him and laughs at him and rubs his face in the fact he thinks he's useless and should be ashamed of himself for- you know. Being disabled.

Not to mention that like. The scene where Darius gives hunter a scroll is cute. Or like. It would be. If he hadn't just threatened to hit him?? Like it wasnt even that he was willing to FIGHT him. Hunter was standing still and Darius thought it would be funny to raise his hand like he was about to hit him, he let him flinch and squeeze his eyes shut and brace to be hit and to take it and he thought it was funny to be like psyche haha dink! I tapped your head. Psyche! You really thought I was gonna hit you lol huh? Thats not funny. That's not funny????? Why did you even do that? You didn't change your mind or something. He'd already decided not to hit him. Why did you pretend like you were going to hit him????

Like I am THE Darius guy, I've written an OBSCENE amount of Darius, I've written an OBSCENE amount of Dadrius myself, and "au where Darius decided to be nice to hunter earlier" is great and all but. That is not canon. He would not do that. Not in canon. In canon Darius is cool with mocking disabled and (probably) orphaned teenage soldiers and that doesn't change until hunter does something that makes him think he DESERVES to be treated with respect. He's a kid. That's insane. Darius thats a whole ass child. The fuck are you doing

He's just fuckin mean lol

[imagines--galore]

Clark Kent comforting and taking in neglected! Villain's daughter?

Pairing: (Platonic) Superman aka Clark Kent x 12-year-old girl Rating || Genres || Warnings: T. Family. Hurt/Comfort. A little dark at times because of mention of child abuse, but nothing too detailed I hope. A/N: I think I broke my heart writing this.........

He had seen a dark figure steal it's way through the shadows.

"Did you see that?" He said, straining his eyes towards the shadow where the figure had disappeared. The rest of his Team, who had been trying to figure out how to get through the impenetrable force field that had them trapped, turned their attention to him.

Before any of them could reply the figure stepped out of the shadows, surprising all of them with it's presence.

"Its..........a child." Wonder Woman stated in a surprised tone as all of them gathered nearest to the force field wall where she stood on the opposite side.

She was dressed in a ripped shirt, hair and face smeared with what looked like dirt. Her feet were bare and her face was gaunt. Her eyes were wide and held that innocence that only a child possessed, yet those eyes seemed almost haunted. As if she had seen things no child her age should see.

Considering her father was a villain hell-bent on taking down the Justice League and take over the world, it was no surprise.

"What is she doing here?" Flash wandered out loud. Her eyes shifted from one grown-up to the other, as if assessing the adults behind the force field.

"If she's her father's daughter, she won't be letting use leave." Batman stated, turning his attention to trying to plan an escape. "Although, given her condition, we can perhaps hope otherwise."

Superman slowly crouched down so he could be at eye-level with the girl. She gazed back at him with wide green eyes. She seemed rather small, obviously a result of undernourishment, yet there was a certain air about her that prompted Superman to lean forward. He knew she could hear him through the force field.

"Hello, I'm Superman." He said as a way of greeting, trying to win her over if he could. "Via." She stared back at him for a good few moments longer before slowly bringing her arms forward to reveal one of the most tattered and pathetic looking stuffed toy he had ever seen. Obviously it was well-loved by her, and was the only possession she had.

Superman smiled softly. "Thats a nice toy, whats his name?" He asked, hoping to speak with her further and maybe try to find out who you were.

Via only stared back at him, though the smile the tall man gave her did ease her nerves and she gave a small smile in return. Her head tilted in curiosity for a few brief seconds as to why the nice man with the red cape was being held behind the scary force field. Via's gaze shifted to where Batman was trying to decrypt the force field.

Maybe she should help them?

If she did, maybe the nice man would play with her!

The absolutely innocent reason was what prompted Via to bound towards the control panel and with no hesitation, press a button. She had to stand on her tip toes to reach it, but in the end she smiled when the force field receded from around the nice man and his friends.

Instantly she was at his side, grasping his large hands between her own much smaller ones and tugging at it. "Play?" Via spoke in a small voice as she gazed up hopefully at him.

Clark looked down at her in surprise, at the trustful look in her eyes as she urged him to play with her.

He crouched down next to her once more while the rest of his Team began to search any information on the foe that had trapped them.

Via raised her toy once more. "Play?" She asked again to which he gave a small nod. "I promise to play with you later. But right now we need to get out of here." He wasn't about to leave her here. Via gave a nod, a smile on her lips as he scooped you up. Clark could lift any weight without feeling any of it, yet it pinched his heart that when he held the little girl, he barely felt anything.

He could've been holding air if she hadn't wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders.

                                             ————————–

It turned out to be a good thing, when Clark took Via with him when he did. She knew the very thing that could be used to defeat her father and once the man was taken care of and the Justice League was working on helping with any casualties, Clark turned his attention back to her.

Via had been passed around amongst the Justice League, with one member taking care of her at a time. Once her father had realized where she was, he had begun to hunt her. She had trembled so much in his arms, that Clark almost felt like he would loose his grip on her.

Currently she were asleep on the floor of the Watch Tower. Curled up she appeared even smaller, prompting Clark to remove the cape from around his shoulders and set it atop her, to keep her from getting cold.

"What're we gonna do with her?" Flash asked, obviously concerned about the girl. Her father was in a high security prison and should be turned over to the state so they would take care of her.

Yet the decision didn't sit right with any of them.

"Maybe one of us should take her?" Cyborg suggested, looking around at the rest of the Team. Wonder Woman pursed her lips, frowning slightly before speaking. "A sound decision, but I believe that it should be Superman who takes her in."

The Kryptonian stared at the Amazonian dumb-founded. "Me?!" He exclaimed, loud enough to make the little girl stir and clutch her toy tighter. Feeling a twinge of guilt Clark made sure to speak in a lower tone.

"Why me? Batman is always taking in orphaned children, shouldn't it be him?" No one made a move to comment on that, not even Batman who was going over every past discretion Via's father had committed in the past.

"I took your name because I believe young Via has bonded with you Superman. To send her with an unknown person or any one of us would be like a break of trust." She glanced at the girl. "And think of this as a temporary situation. Once we are able to locate a better home for Via, we will move her there."

Well when Wonder Woman said it like that, he wasn't about to go against her. A brief glance in Via's direction had whatever reservations that were left in his heart fade away. Pulling out his phone from a hidden compartment in his belt, he sighed.

"Guess I had better make arrangements."

                                             ————————–

When Via learned she would be staying with the nice man, Clark, she reminded herself, she'd been ecstatic. She liked him. And though everyone else in the colorful clothes had been nice to her as well, she liked him better.

Currently she was being carried by Clark, as the both of them descended near a field. He set her down gently, watching as her eyes widened at the sight of everything around her.

The trees, the dirt, the sky, the birds, everything was new to her.

Clark learned that her father hadn't exactly been the educating type. And had seen fit to simply have her locked away from the rest of the world. This was her first time being out.

"What is that?" She asked, pointing at the house that stood old yet proud a few paces from where they had landed. Clark gave a small smile at her curious nature. "Its a house and that is where you will be living." No sooner had he said the words when the door opened and a figure walked out.

"Clark!" Martha Kent called in greeting as she held her arms out for her son. Clark easily scooped her up in an embrace, earning a laugh from Martha at her son's enthusiasm. "Glad to see you safe and sound my boy." She said, giving his cheek a motherly kiss before raising an eyebrow at him.

"Have you been eating well dear? You look peaky." Clark rolled his eyes at his mother's doting. "You can save your fuss for our guest Ma." He moved out of the way to reveal Via, who stood hidden from view behind his cape.

Martha took in the sight of the unkempt girl. She was slight, wearing a dirty shabby cloth. Her hair was in tangles and looked like it had never seen a good wash. With wide brown eyes and a thin face, Martha's kind heart broke.

The little thing looked so alone.

"Ma, I want you to meet my friend Via." He walked to stand beside the girl. "Via, this is my mother, Martha." His mother gave a gentle smile, as she crouched in front of the girl to meet her gaze at her level.

"Its very nice to meet you Via. Would you like to come inside? I did a little shopping and I found a pretty dress you can wear?" Via blinked.

"Whats a dress?"

The two adults were a little taken aback by her sudden question, but neither of them made a comment about it.

Instead Martha held out a hand. "Why don't you come with me and I'll show you?"

                                             ————————–

It only took a few days for Via to start feeling comfortable around Martha. The woman bathed the girl, washed her hair and dressed her up before feeding her with her own hands. Via didn't know how to even feed herself properly, and it boiled Clark's blood to know that her father had neglected her to such as extent.

But that was in the past now. It was over.

That man would never neglect Via again, and he would certainly never lay eyes on her either. Not if Clark had anything to say about it.

With each passing day, Via grew stronger, healthier and more open as well as curious about the world around her. The Kent Farm provided many distractions, so it was a good thing Clark had Krypto come along and act as a guide dog to the little girl.

Via had shown no hesitation when approaching Krpyto, telling Clark how her father had kept multiple dogs and she had befriended all of them. Krypto seemed to take his job of guarding Via very seriously. He was be near her every single moment of the day. They both even slept in the same bed. Martha had been slightly against that last part, but she had given in when she realized just hos safe Krypto made Via feel.

Martha had fallen in love with Via, and Via adored Martha. She had even taken to calling her Ma like Clark did. It had melted Martha's heart and had her shedding a couple tears. She had taken it on herself to teach Via everything she could, from taking care of herself, to learning how to read and write. The two of the would spend every second Via was inside the house together.

And as for Clark?

He had to admit he was warming up to Via more and more. Of course, he still had to go to work or go on missions and it all kept him pretty busy.

Whenever he returned to the Kent Residence, Via would come racing out of the house and jump into his arms, and Clark would return her enthusiastic embrace. It was ridiculous that something as simple as a hug from a little girl he hadn't even thought existed until some time ago, would wash away his worries and troubles. Via had a sweet and kind nature, something that surprised Clark given the environment she had grown up in.

She was tell him about everything she had learned, and Clark would listen patiently. And if he helped out on the farm, Via would be right by his side learning from him.

Her presence became such a fixture in his life, that he forgot all about this being temporary.

So when Bruce called him with the news that there was a family willing to take Via, he froze. His blue gaze wandered over to where Via and Krypto were playing, with his mother nearby, setting up a picnic.

"Clark?" Bruce spoke through the phone, prompting the man to return his attention to his friend.

"Yes, still here." There was a pause.

"Do you need some time to think it over?"

Clark floundered, his mind unable to form words as he tried to come up with a response.

Just then Via let out a shriek of laughter when Krypto pummeled her with slobbery kisses. Ma Kent called to both of them to behave and not act in such a roguish manner. Her words fell on deaf ears.

"No." Clark stated firmly, a smile on his lips as he did. "I don't think I do."

He could practically hear that smug smile on Bruce's lips as he replied. "I'll set working on the papers for you to legally adopt her then." Clark gave a small huff of laughter.

"You do that."

"Via Kent?"

As if she heard her name, Via's head popped up from where she now laid on the grassy ground with Krypto at her side and gave him an enthusiastic wave, smiling from ear to ear.

"Via Martha Kent."

With that he disconnected the call and joined his little family.

[wysteriaisapenguin]

Some concept art and design notes for the Atonement AU I had. (These might change in the future!)

Contrarian and Hero

Contrarian is more or less the same, he just has a different jester outfit now. As for Hero, he's just so tired...not only is his armor cracked and his cape is torn, but he's also covered in thorny branches (a parallel to Thorn). The more his mental state wavers, the more branches grow on his body.

Cold and Smitten

Cold got rid of the hooded poncho he usually wears and replaced it with a dark veil that covers his face, which has gone corpse-like. Smitten isn't as flamboyant or confident as he usually is, so he's missing his hat and corset. But he's still holding onto the little hope he has left and one can see it in his eyes.

Hunted, Skeptic, and Broken

Hunted is pretty much the same design wise. And since Skeptic is helping them, he has the archer look rather than his academic look. (Thank you @tai-janai for the inspiration once again!) Broken is not a priest since there is no Princess for them to worship, but they are still as miserable and pathetic as usual. They also wear the same shackle that the Princess had on her wrist.

(Content warning for exposed organs. View at your own risk!)

Paranoid and Opportunist

Paranoid is an absolute mess; her feathers are out of place and she is constantly crying. She had even torn open her own chest out of sheer paranoia, exposing her beating heart. (Idea was inspired by @remaking-machine 's Paranoid) Opportunist may seem normal at first glance, but his feathers are no longer 'soft and fluffy' since there's no reason to keep putting on an innocent face anymore. He is also suffering from a bad back caused by the Witch.

Stubborn and Cheated

Stubborn had become just as bloodthirsty, grotesque, and powerful as the Fury. His wounds have gone so bad that they expose his flesh and he even lost an eye, but he refuses to have any of them treated. Cheated is just as a mess as Paranoid but more angry. His hands have also become detachable, so he must wear cuffs in order to keep them in place but they're not always reliable...

[mojogojocasahouse]

indecent proposals

Pairing: Alhaitham x Kaveh

The Grand Sage of the Akademiya is being fucked absolutely stupid by the Light of Kshahrewar. If only all of the people beneath them right now knew what was happening. 

c: masturbation, face fucking, anal fingering, anal sex, top kaveh/bottom alhaitham, implied verse kaveh/alhaitham, sex in the Grand Sage's office, needy alhaitham, porn without plot

18+ only

“Kaveh…” 

The name slipped from his lips like a prayer. Alhaitham was holed up in his current, temporary office–that of the Grand Sage–his cock tight in his grip, teeth gnashed and sweat dripping down his temple. An early morning had gotten him off on the wrong foot, the sight of his “roommate” sprawled across the bed they shared amidst silky sheets still seared into his head. The rising sun filtering through the gauzy curtains had set Kaveh’s porcelain skin aglow, his blond hair mussed around his face both from sleep and Alhaitham’s fingers in their activities the night before.

He’d had to resist nipping at the curve of Kaveh’s neck and pulling the smaller man’s pliant body flush against his chest, because the second sleepy fingers instinctively entwined with his he’d simply have forgotten his duties and responsibilities all together. Sort of like he was now.

“Kaveh…” he whines again, frustration growing, no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t replicate the feeling of the architect exploring his body like he’d designed it himself.

“What’s this?” a familiar lilt sings out and Alhaitham’s eyes snap open, “Miss me that much already?”

Busted.

“And to think I thought you’d had your fill last night,” Kaveh continues as he saunters closer to the desk, casting Mehrak aside and unclasping the brooch at his neck.

Alhaitham watches as the red cape falls to the floor, mortified and so fucking turned on his tongue is paralyzed. His gaze is transfixed as Kaveh approaches, spins the large chair Alhaitham is slumped over in, and drops to his knees.

“Don’t mess my hair up,” Kaveh warns as he pushes his blond tresses to one side, “I’m meeting a client in an hour.”

As much as Alhaitham hates this job, he’s never been more grateful for the seclusion of its office. Kaveh bats at the Acting Grand Sage’s hand, quickly replacing the grip of a fist with the warm, wet heat of his throat. Alhaitham forgets the previous instruction and takes two fists of soft, silky hair, pushing his cock deeper and burying Kaveh’s nose in the thatch of course, silver curls at his base. His growling moan echoes off the walls, head falling back in bliss as he feels Kaveh ignoring the urge to gag, if he had any wits about him at all he’d praise Kaveh just the way he likes. But all he can think about is how good it feels every time Kaveh’s body fights at his intrusion.

He’s hit with a scolding swat to his thigh, Kaveh’s ruby irises glaring up at him for disobeying the one rule he’d set forth, refusing to move before Alhaitham removes his iron grip. But Alhaitham is too far gone, all he can think about is holding his frenemy turned roommate turned lover in place and thrusting down his gullet until the wet sounds of his dick bruising Kaveh’s throat drowns out his own pathetic mewling. He’s well aware he’ll be paying for it sooner rather than later, the fury in those fiery eyes warning him. It’s too bad for Kaveh that it’s his rage Alhaitham wants. 

“Just behave yourself,” Alhaitham snaps as he stands, keeping himself sheathed and then using his newfound leverage, “I’ll fix your hair for you after.”

There’s no use in Kaveh worrying about his hair when he’s dripping with his own spit anyway. His chin and chest are soaked, saliva and precum bubbling at the corners of his mouth. It’s so lewd and obscene it has Alhaitham’s balls drawing upwards and his pace picking up, Kaveh’s nails digging into the tight black fabric of Alhaitham’s pants as he settles in for the onslaught. Alhaitham is so close his skin prickles, air burning as he forces it into his lungs, and he’s left having to make a quick decision if he’d rather come down Kaveh’s throat or during Kaveh’s attempt at retaliation.

A decision is made for him when Kaveh reaches up and cups his balls, massaging as he laves his tongue out when Althaitham slows in his deliberations. Alhaitham hisses in approval, slamming his hips back in and spurting hot, thick ropes down as deep as he can get them. Kaveh doesn’t even bat an eye, not so much as a flinch as he swallows down every drop. 

“I had one request!” 

Unfortunately, Kaveh’s nonchalance to what had just transpired leaves him of sound mind, and as soon as Alhaitham frees his mouth, he’s scolding. 

“I said don’t mess up my hair! And what do you do seconds later…”

Here comes the part Alhaitham was craving, needing. It doesn’t happen often, but today it’s exactly what he wants. Despite how small in stature Kaveh is, he’s got enough strength to manhandle Alhaitham, aided by the larger man’s cooperation. Paper sticks to Alhaitham’s sweat-dampened cheek as he’s bent over the desk, a slew of research proposals he was supposed to have been reviewing instead of fantasizing about the man shoving both of their pants down and kicking Alhaitham’s feet into a wider stance. He should be signing documents with the pens Kaveh is currently throwing around in a drawer searching for the small bottle of lubricant he knows Alhaitham keeps there just in case. His mind should be mulling over which scholars were worthy of his approval, not begging silently for something to just fill him up already. 

Cool, slick fingers press against Alhaitham’s hole, Kaveh’s touch incapable of being rough even when he’s mad. 

“Is this what you want?” Kaveh asks, skepticism laced in his tone.

“Yes,” Alhaitham assures, his entrance clenching around nothing but anticipation. 

“What happened? What’s wrong?”

“Just fuck me, Kaveh.”

They can talk about it later. It’s not like it’s a big deal anyway, Alhaitham just wants to let his brain go quiet, and taking all Kaveh has to give feels like the perfect solution. But there’s caution in Kaveh’s motions now, those lithe fingers massaging the puckered ring at a pace that’s just too slow. 

A feral snarl rips from Alhaitham’s chest, the small bottle of lube that had been set on the desk within reach. He coats his own fingers, nudging Kaveh out of the way and sinking his middle digit into himself. 

“Hey!” Kaveh protests, but he does nothing to stop Alhaitham as he works his hole open. That’s fine, he can enjoy watching. 

Two palms spread Alhaitham’s cheeks when he adds a second finger, scissoring himself loose enough to fit a third under Kaveh’s watchful, reverent gaze. The Scribe’s eyes flit between the architect’s face and the way he was lazily fisting his cock, flushed red and pearling at the tip. The pink tint of arousal on his skin in that deep V cut shirt contrasts beautifully with the flowing white fabric, and it’s a shame Alhaitham is above begging because he can’t reach as deep as he wants to—needs to—but the sight of Kaveh practically panting watching Alhaitham finger his own ass urges him to continue for a least a few moments longer. 

“I’m ready,” Alhaitham groans as frustration burns deep in his belly, “Or are you just going to stand there?”

“Pardon me for enjoying the show,” Kaveh replies, roughly pinning Alhaitham’s wrist to the small of his back.

After gently pushing the head through the tight barrier and giving Althaitham a moment to adjust, Kaveh pushes himself in to the hilt. A slight punishment, no doubt, but one that has Alhaitham crying out in relief. Kaveh is built long and thin everywhere, and every thrust has his dick carving its way to where Alhaitham needs him most. The blonde mewls and whimpers unrestrained; Alhaitham has always loved that about him, his ability to project his bliss so openly and without shame. It’s something Alhaitham is still working on, but when the head of Kaveh’s shaft kisses his prostate, his own low-pitched whines mingle in the air with his lover’s. 

“Right there,” Alhaitham moans, Kaveh somehow getting deeper so more of his cock drags along the sensitive bundle of nerves, “Kaveh…”

“I know, I know,” Kaveh soothes, his voice barely audible over the sound of skin slapping against skin.

“Harder…”

With his free hand, Kaveh yanks Alhaitham’s back flush with his chest by a fistful of hair, the new position sending sparks flying behind Alhaitham’s eyes. His wrist is finally released, only for the hand that had restrained him to move to his cock, already hard and weeping once again. 

It’s like Kaveh is splitting him open from this angle, he can feel every inch dragging in and out of his ass, each thrust of Kaveh’s hips rippling up his spine and searing out all the way into his fingertips. The hand around his shaft pumps in perfect synchrony with the battering his prostate is taking, leaving Alhaitham nothing but a babbling, incoherent mess. He can’t form a single word on his tongue, nor can he control the symphony of pathetic sounds falling from his mouth, slackened jaw and all.

The Grand Sage of the Akademiya is being fucked absolutely stupid by the Light of Kshahrewar. If only all of the people beneath them right now knew what was happening. 

Alhaitham wants to collapse forward, but Kaveh is holding his boneless, slack body in place as he ruts mercilessly into warm, wet heat, Alhaitham is going to be feeling him for hours. It’ll be just as intended. Kaveh’s taken to swirling his thumb through the sticky mess shining on the head of Alhaitham’s cock, his teeth grazing over the shell of Alhaitham’s ears. Kaveh is the only thing Alhaitham can focus on; the slight floral scent that clings to his skin, his hot breath against his neck, how he’s filled almost to the point of breaking, and the heat blossoming in his gut is nothing but a euphoric culmination of it all.

“You feel so good,” Kaveh purrs, “I want you to come for me. Come on my cock, Haitham.”

It’s not in Alhaitham’s power to disobey. Kaveh’s palm is there to capture his prize, white hot and thick, allowing Alhaitham to limply fall back onto his desk, panting and shivering from overstimulation and exertion. The architect begins gliding his fist over the Scribe’s softening cock, lubricated by Alhaitham’s own spend, the shock of it tensing his body much to Kaveh’s delight. A debauched cry falls from the blonde’s mouth as Alhaitham begins to squirm in an attempt to ease the burning, but Kaveh’s hold is unforgiving.

“S’too much!” Alhaitham cries, Kaveh’s shaft still battering into his now-gaping hole, “Kaveh…”

“You should see yourself,” Kaveh pants, his eyes locked on Alhaitham’s reddened rim stretched around his dick, “So, so beautiful.”

Beautiful? He feels disgusting. He’s coated in his own cum and sweat, clothes sticking to his searing skin uncomfortably, Kaveh still bullying his way into his guts–disgusting, but satisfied. So, so satisfied. He knows Kaveh’s close when both hands grip his hips hard enough to bruise, purple marks he’ll marvel at in the mirror later this evening, his senior’s pace picking up while his head falls back in bliss. 

“Inside?” Kaveh asks in a raspy tone, and all Alhaitham can do is nod.

A wretching cry of his name fills the entire room, Kaveh painting Alhaitham’s insides with ropes of cum, his cock fucking it deep into the silver-haired man’s stomach. He’ll be feeling it the rest of the day, reminding him of the man waiting at home for him. When Kaveh pulls out, Alhaitham groans at the loss, but sighs in relief as featherlight kisses press to each of his burning asscheeks. He winces when the cool air hits his skin, Kaveh’s light affections enough to keep the discomfort bearable.

“Thank you,” Alhaitham sighs, Kaveh laughing against his skin before standing and pulling Alhaitham’s pants back into place and then fixing his own, “What are you doing here anyway?”

“Oh…” Kaveh titters as Alhaitham holds to his word, spinning to begin fixing the braid and clips adorning soft blonde hair, “I…forgot my key again.”

A mess of sweat-soaked silver hair falls to the shoulder in front of him. Some things never change.

Masterlist

[lily-alphonse]

what if... shane and mr. qi

Bro what 😭 I know absolutely nothing about Mr. Qi. BUT I have like 2 or 3 more asks with him in it so it looks like Im gonna have to build a characterization for him real quick lol. I love him though. Love a weird little cryptid man and the fanart is so good.

What interest would he have in Shane I wonder? Maybe it's an AU where Shane is the one to take over the farm and everything so he's secretly special. OR... Mr. Qi just enjoys watching a dumpsterfire. There's no TLC in Stardew Valley so what better reality TV content than to watch the town drunk? Maybe even make things a little worse for him sometimes just for funsies.

You know how in the Sims, if you have an unlucky Sim they can cheat death because Grim either pities or is amused by their shenanigans? That's the dynamic I think. Shane is so unlucky that Qi finds him endearing over time.

Qi would start to leave notes for him, trying to send him on adventures or test him. Shane would have none of it, crumbling the weird notes and suspecting someone was playing some kind of prank on him. Qi gets annoyed about it. Enough to even reveal himself, but he picks (what may or may not be) the best time because Shane is so drunk he doesn't even care.

Mr. Qi almost blends into the darkness by the dock, except his cape shimmers with moonlight and catches Shane's eye. He approaches him when he's discovered.

"Shane," he says in greeting.

It makes Shane wonder if he knows him. Then he wonders if he should be worried about this random shady character approaching him. But he also looks kinda silly, a wide hat and sunglasses obscuring his face, and the most obvious answer is that he’s finally snapped.

Shane narrows his eyes at him, trying to decide what to name this odd figment of his imagination. "Mr..." he starts, and Mr. Qi is almost ready to be impressed until Shane settles on "Hat."

Qi isn't sure whether to laugh or disappear in a rage.

A sort of scoff comes out instead and he sits next to him on the dock. 

"Where did you come from?" Shane asks.

"I come from everywhere." 

"Figures," Shane mumbles into his beer can. He downs another drink. "You're not gonna be some kind of like... conscious that talks in riddles or something are you?"

It feels appropriate, almost making them equals, for Shane to see him as an imaginary friend. It makes up for the way Qi had started to see him as a pet. 

"Not a conscious, though I might speak in riddles occasionally."

“Dammit. Tracks I guess. Can never make sense of any of the shit up here,” he mumbles, gesturing to his head.

Qi had been planning to ask him about the notes, maybe even scare him a little. But here he was being handed the golden opportunity to see into Shane’s mind, and that was even better.

Actually, being an unknown, an enigma, had always been the goal. Short of that,he was forced to keep a carefully curated reputation of mystery, which was not at all the same. Meeting in this way turned out to be a blessing.

“Why do you think you’ve summoned me here?”

“I'm drunk.”

“I can see that.”

“I dunno, I'm pathetically lonely," he says with an exasperated sigh, "Obviously.”

Qi feels a twinge of something unnameable at that, though it's still pretty amusing. He likes the blunt way Shane speaks, especially when he puts himself down, its pure dark-comedy gold. It feels different when directed at him personally though. Like some long-dormant human urge within him makes his heart ache to match Shane’s.

“Are you?” he asks simply.

"D'you have eyes under there?" Shane slurs, looking at him more closely.

"Would you have made me without eyes?"

"Good point. The fuck are we talking about? Who are you?"

"Mr. Hat, apparently."

"Right."

Anyway, they continue to meet like this, with Mr. Qi as his supposed imaginary friend, and Mr. Qi begins to genuinely enjoy the connection they have because no one has ever treated him like this. Everyone he meets is intimidated by him, afraid of him, or looking to screw him over. And beyond that, when he was younger and more human, it was always people wanting to know him. Always so many questions.

His goal was always to be unknown.

He gets that with Shane, under the pretext that he does not exist. It’s freeing, and paradoxically allows him to open up. Any perceived oddity about him only gets turned into a reflection on the darkness in Shane’s mind. In this way, Shane might know him in a deeper sense than anyone else has in a long time. Plus, Qi doesn’t laugh this much with anyone else.  

Shane wants to be unknown too, in his own way. But he starts to hate himself a little less, after these late night talks to ‘himself’. Weirdly he starts drinking less and the hallucination stays. 

I think there would be quite a dramatic falling out when he finds out the truth, but in a way, Shane would also be relieved that this was a real person he could potentially be with.

This ask is a part of the (now closed) SDV Rarepair Challenge! Check out the other answers here, and make sure to boost your favorite so it can appear in the final fic poll! More info on that here.

[archon-maenad]

y'all know riley grace davis, the girl formerly known as bonesaw, would look at the league of villains debut in mha and be so fuckin unimpressed.

mfer had a multipowered bioengineered monster, a mass warper, and still didn't kill a single kid???? it's actually so embarrassing that shigaraki is the Most Terrifying New Villain in the home country of her new life. being reformed doesn't stop girlie from being professionally offended by this amateur hour, as well as the response to it. the heroes here are commercialized and decentralized and it is exactly as crippling in the face of a bigger threat as she had hypothesized years ago.

if a villainous biotinker attacked a wards outing on bet, the think tank would drop everything to pinpoint the fucker so the protectorate could come down on them like the asteroid on the dinosaurs. criminals would be tripping over themselves to flip on the dude who brought the triumvirate to town!

instead, the extent of the public response is to put on a facade of being unaffected. all might is still spending his time running beat patrols, the sports festival will be broadcast as normal. and if anything is going on behind the scenes, it sure isn't making any progress. meanwhile the other villains are somehow impressed by the lov. they have a Reputation!

riley is offended and indignant and unimpressed. she is also kinda straight up sad, because it's depressing to know that if shigaraki were competent he could have crushed this place like an egg. if he made use of his assets during his debut, if he took full advantage of how the cape scene is run here...

they got so fucking lucky that the lov is run by an amateur. so. fucking. lucky. and just like riley, izuku is all too aware of that fact. he can't exactly not be with his sister brutally breaking down every variable.

after he gets attacked at the training camp riley pulls up with inko to ua and yells an I TOLD YOU SO YOU NEGLIGENT DUMMIES to nedzu. girlie absolutely rolls up her sleeves to handle the lov on her own bc apparently she really can't trust anyone to be competent around here.

the heroes are getting steamrolled by a pathetic d lister psychopathic man child and it's just. it's so embarrassing. that alexandria-lite really did a number on this country's cape scene, her brother has his work cut out for him on whipping this place into shape.

[victoriadallonfan]

Parahumans shipping, but the capes need to deal with Shards who absolutely hate each other

Rising Ambition: “You’re dating the host of THAT pathetic shard? I thought we had standards!”

Burning Crescent: “Oh hell noooo, fuck you, we ain’t doing this!”

[sephirthoughts]

Vincent's New Kid Just Dropped CH. 3

A little from Nero's perspective. Finally.

edit: added a pic of his arms marks and darkness tentacles cause i really think they're neat

It was an act of cruelty, to resuscitate his body. The cruelest thing anyone had ever done to him, in his lifetime of torture and captivity.

The dearest wish of his heart had finally come true. He had abandoned this mortal husk and they had become one, at last. Truly united, in body and soul. In that moment of sublime joy, he surrendered his entire self, to be swallowed up and assimilated, once and for all, into the one he loved.

Then that fucking red-caped bastard tore them apart again. Ripped him violently away from his other half and left a gaping, bleeding hole in his place. 

Now, his every breath was a misery to him. He was shattered, ragged, raw and gutted; consumed by aching, gnawing desperation, that made his bones itch and his teeth feel hollow.

He stretched his jaw, but there was no soothing resistance to push against. He crossed his arms tightly, but there was no reassuring pressure to hold them down. He missed his muzzle and straitjacket. He even missed the darkness and the chains. To sleep away the years in nothingness would be preferable to this waking nightmare, where he was alive, without his brother.

And they had the sheer audacity to say Weiss was dead. As if Nero wouldn’t know it, the moment his only beloved’s soul left this plane of existence. They were severed halves of the same whole. He would know it, if the other half of his heart died. He would fucking know.

Too agitated to sit still any longer, he got up and paced about, from the window to the closet to the bed, arms crossed rigidly, black fingernails digging into the black, tattoo-like patterns that were crawling along his arms, writhing and shifting, in response to his emotional turmoil.

A purple tendril reached out tentatively from his forearm and twined itself around his finger, almost like a pet, nuzzling its master. Then another, and another. When he pulled his hand away, thin purple strands had got themselves webbed between all his fingers, and stretched out between his hand and his arm, like tacky slime. 

He scowled and shook them off. They dangled there, for a minute, flopping around and acting pathetic, but when it became clear he wasn’t going to pity them, they sullenly retracted, into the markings on his arm. 

Hearing clanging noises outside, he stepped back to the window and peered out, through a crack in the blackout curtains. That obnoxious blonde man, with scruffy stubble and a cigarette permanently dangling from his lip was out there, doing something to one of the rusty old vehicles, that involved wrenches and cursing.

Nero went back and curled up into a ball on the bed, hugging his knees to his chest. There was no way to escape from this place. Not with that absolute monster Sephiroth always around, guarding the place like an overenthusiastic Doberman.

An overenthusiastic Doberman that was also a full-time nanny. What the hell was his obsession with that stupid baby? He had her more than either of her fathers did, and he was always talking to her (half the time in Mandarin), as if she was an adult who could understand him, in any language.

The bandaged wounds in his chest throbbed, suddenly, making him wince and take short, panting breaths. They said the puncture wounds went straight through his back and all the way out the front, collapsing both lungs and just barely missing his heart. They all agreed he should be dead, but no one could figure out what weapon had been used. The prevailing theory was a trident. Doctors were idiots.

When he was considered well enough to present a serious and immediate danger to the stability of society, he was moved from the hospital, to a Shinra owned maximum-security super-prison, where they kept him muzzled and chained up, just like he’d been in the reactor. It wasn’t much different from normal. 

But then lawyers started coming to see him. Saying things like ‘not competent to stand trial’ and ‘traumatized victim’ and ‘horrifically abused over a sustained period.’ That wasn’t very nice of them, but he didn’t care what they thought, and never deigned to acknowledge anything they said to him.

Then they started in with the ‘DNA testing has confirmed paternity’ and ‘only living relative’ and ‘father.’ What the hell were they on about? He tuned in for a little while, till he understood that the red-caped bastard who beat him senseless, was also the one who’d dragged him out of there and ‘saved his life.’ And now they were claiming that very same bastard was his father. Which, ironically, made Nero the bastard.

His entire being revolted against the idea, and at the same time, he wondered at the fact that it hadn’t been obvious to him, the moment he saw the man’s face. Crimson wasn’t exactly a common eye color, not to mention naturally straight, jet-black hair, with almost no respect for gravity. The deathly pale, faintly olive-toned complexion and lithe, slender frame (the height seemed to have skipped a generation, but he was only twenty-three; there was still a chance he’d grow a little more). Even the man’s east Asian ancestry was visible in Nero’s face.

Not that he acknowledged that bastard as his father. He did not. Given the choice, he’d have remained in prison, rather than go with him. He was not given a choice.

The prison system felt it was inadequate to handle such an individual, long term, and pleaded the potential for immense casualties, as well as tens of millions of gil in property destruction, should they lose control of him. The insurance rates alone would bankrupt them in a matter of weeks. They simply couldn’t bear the liability.

Failing a death sentence, which they could not impose, since he was deemed insane, and not legally culpable, the court decided that the best way to keep an augmented person in check was another, stronger augmented person, who had already proven himself to be on the side of law and order. Even better, the little walking apocalypse’s biological father happened to be just such a person.

Thus, Nero was remanded to the custody of Vincent Valentine, under house arrest, term to be determined, depending upon progress, behavior, mental stability, blah blah blah.

They didn’t know how to remove his darkness power, so he was put in a permanent neckband, with some diabolical Shinra tech in it, that restrained it somewhat. Then they just sent him away, with the red-caped bastard and his foul-mouthed husband.

The prison system breathed a collective sigh of relief to have that mess conveniently off their hands, and everyone moved on with their lives. Everyone except Nero, who’d had no say in the matter.

Nero, who was now in the cold-sweat phase of a full blown panic attack, curled up in a self-soothing ball, in this teeth-grindingly spacious and airy bedroom, in this sickeningly harmonious household, with his fake family and WITHOUT HIS GODDAMNED BROTHER.

That silver-haired lunatic didn’t count, no matter how he insisted on it. Sephiroth was not his real brother, and he never would be. Never. Nero clenched his teeth and bit back the childish tears, that were attempting to force their way out of his eyes. 

Stupid. Juvenile. Weak. What would Weiss think, if he saw you behaving this way?

That thought sliced through the panic spiral, and the iron bands that were constricting around his ribcage fell away. He sat up, taking deep, calming breaths and regaining his composure. He had a responsibility to Weiss. He had to get back to him, no matter what. 

Escape was his number one priority, but he couldn’t overpower the enemy, so he’d have to outsmart them. In order to do that, he’d have to gain their trust. Get them to let their guard down. Bide his time and await the right moment. The second they gave him enough slack, he’d slip the lead and vanish, before they knew what was happening.

But he couldn’t suddenly become a model family member. They’d see through that immediately, and the game would be lost. He would have to run cold, take one step forward and two back, let them think they were wearing down his resistance. Getting through to him, little by little. 

Just when they started patting themselves on the back, for rehabilitating this poor, troubled youth, they’d realize he was nowhere to be found. He smiled to himself, imagining the looks on their stupid faces, when they realized they’d been played for fools. 

Then his smile faded and he chewed his thumbnail, anxiously. The problem was Sephiroth. Nero doubted he’d ever let his guard down, and he could very well spoil everything, if he kept the others on alert. 

Well, there was nothing for it. No plan was without its hitch. He’d just have to be extra vigilant, around Sephiroth, and never let the mask show a crack. There’d be no escaping with him present, either, so he’d have to wait for circumstances to line up. When the Doberman was away, the cat could play.

LINK TO CH. 4