#bc what if this is the one that make our roofs fly off

[einsatzzz]

between my phone battery being gregnant/dying and the path of that damned typhoon, i am so cooked jsbfhsdvfdsvf i can't even see notifs/reply to messages from there bc it keeps shutting down, im typing this all on pc rn, it's so inconvenient ueueueue

[redstarwriting]

shit happens

spider squad x platonic!reader

request?: yes

request: “Okokok, first of all CLASH WAS SOOOO GOOD OMGGI come bearing a request only if u want to. Teen!spider!reader who is Miguel’s favorite because they don’t cause him trouble. But it’s only because they get severely anxious when they break rules (I’m not projecting, you are). So he assigns them to go on a mission with the problem children hoping they’ll rub off on them, but the problem children just corrupt them. I just need more spider children being chaotic together and tired spiderdad MiguelMwah mwah love ur writing )pls only write this if u feel like it)”

requested by: anon​

word count: 2k

genre: platonic

Warnings: language, anxiety, Miguel being unrealistic with his expectations, electrocution, spider squad gettin thrown around

A/N: omg wait no bc same HAHA as someone with diagnosed severe generalized anxiety i get so anxious to break the rules even though my spirit always tells me to lol, i hope you enjoyed this anon! thank you for the request :)

───────────────────────────────────

You were the golden child. There were quite a few teens in Spider Society, but you were by far Miguel’s favorite. And that’s all because you did what he said. Now did that mean you never questioned his authority? Of course not, you questioned him all the time. But you were too nervous to go against him. You were too nervous to go against anyone. It’s proven a problem in your job since the police are not your biggest fans, but luckily you befriended a nice police captain who eases your fears every now and again. Your weekly visits with Spider-Therapist have been helping with the problem, too. Which is great for you. But you still did what Miguel said. Mans could be scary.

And that’s how you ended up here. With Hobie Brown, Gwen Stacy, Miles Morales, and Pavitr Prabhakar. There was an anomaly that needed taken down in Hobie’s world, and Miguel stuck you with the four of them. To say you were nervous was an understatement. “Right, so anyone got a plan?” Hobie asks, in his thick accent. “What? What do you mean, dude, we’re in your world,” Miles says, and Hobie shrugs. “So? Not my villain, dunno ‘ow to stop ‘im.”

“Okay, well we know that he’s an electro variant, so… what can we do with that?” Gwen asks, and Pav sighs. “Be electrocuted,” he says sadly. “Miles can handle that,” Gwen says, and Miles snaps his head toward her. “Miles cannot handle that! Why are we saying Miles can be electrocuted?!” Miles yells, and the other three shush him. “’ow ‘bout you, mate, any ideas?” Hobie asks you, and you shrug. You look around before pointing up to the water towers on the roofs of the multiple buildings in New London. “Water,” you suggest, and they all look where you’re pointing. “Smart,” Gwen says with a nod. “How do we get the water to him, though?” Pav asks, looking at you again. You frown. “I… actually didn’t think that far.”

“Well, ‘at’s, easy. We just bust ‘em. Get ‘im to fly near one and,” Hobie makes an explosion noise and uses his hands to imitate an explosion. “What? But what about all the people who will lose water?” you ask, and Miles cocks his head to the side. “It’ll get fixed fast, probably. It’s our job to fuck shit up and then have other people fix it cause if we don’t fuck shit up, shit gets fucked anyways,” he says, and you sigh. “But Miguel said to try and not cause too much of an issue—”

“Oi. Who gives a flyin’ fuck what ‘e said. Not me. And this is my bloody world, I’ll cause as much damage as I want to,” Hobie says, and you look down. “Sorry.”

“You don’t gotta apologize for nothin’, mate,” Hobie says, and you mumble another ‘sorry.’ “You know what? I think Electro can wait a minute,” Hobie says, turning towards you, “More important matters to figure out ‘ere.”

“Like what?” you ask, and he shrugs. “Why are you so nervous?” he asks, and you gulp. “I-I’m not, I just—”

“You definitely are,” Gwen says, and Miles throws in a ‘yup!’ with a nod. “Is it us?” Pav asks, a hint of sadness in his voice. “W-What? No, that’s not it,” you say, waving your hands in a frantic way to say no. “I just am nervous in general. It really isn’t that big of a deal, guys, we should be focusing on—”

“Nope. You’re not gettin’ outta this, you been in ya ‘ead this ‘ole time.”

“I’m always in my head, it really isn’t that big of a deal—”

“Is ‘at why you try to avoid everyone? Don’t talk to no one?” Hobie asks, and you gulp. “I-I talk to some people…” you mumble, and a small frown forms on Gwen’s face. “The therapist in Spider Society doesn’t count,” she says, and you look down. “Well, why not…? He’s a person...”

“Because he’s like 40, and you’re our age,” Pav says, “you’d get along better with us, bro.”

“Miguel said that if anyone could make us not as ‘moronic’ it would be you, but I feel like he just kinda takes advantage of you instead of recognizing the pressure he puts on you. I have some experience with that,,�� Miles says, and you sigh. “He scares me, okay? If I break the rules then I might simply pass away from him yelling at me,” you say, and Hobie shakes his head. “Love, the rules are all bollocks. Made by people who just wanna control your life.” Gwen nods. “Miguel is cool, sure, but if anyone can get away with anything… it’s you,” she says, and Miles chimes in. “And if you’re really that scared, remember he literally chased me around his world and destroyed a train because of me. You’ll never piss him off to that point.” You stay silent, playing with your fingers. Pav reaches out and grabs your hands. “Rules are meant to be broken, (Y/n), I learned that from Hobie. And besides, the villains we face are the biggest rule-breakers imaginable,” Pav assures, and you nod slightly. “And rules are such rubbish. ‘ey’re always different anywhere ya go. Try not to put so much weight on your mind ‘bout it, breakin’ ‘em ain’t a big deal,” Hobie says. You do actually kinda feel better. Hobie brings up a good point. Rules are different everywhere you go, so breaking one every now and again isn’t that big of an issue. In fact, it can be kind of encouraged. “Besides, breaking rules is almost like challenging ideologies, you know? Like, in breaking a rule, you challenge a system in place that is telling you not to break them. No one likes that. Where would we be if people didn’t break rules?” Gwen says. “That was deep,” Miles says, and Pav nods. “'at was a wicked way a’ puttin’ it, Gwendy.”

That’s a good point, actually. You think for a bit. If you look at it as challenging a system, or even doing what’s right, who’s to say it’s a rule that shouldn’t be broken? Hobie smiles underneath his mask because he knows they’ve gotten through to you. “So, whaddya say we go blow up some water tanks, eh?” Hobie stands, rubbing his hands together. “Okay,” you say. Gwen and Miles fist bump, and Pav does a little clap. The five of you jump into action, immediately starting to taunt and lure Electro to get him close to the towers so you can douse him and put him out.

The plan was going pretty well for the first two attempts, but he eventually catches on to what the five of you are doing. Which makes it harder. Miles does, in fact, get electrocuted. As does Gwen and Hobie, and coming in as no shock to anyone, Miles is definitely the least affected. You were able to dodge all of the attacks. “You’re doing great, (Y/n)! Mind telling me how the fuck your spidey sense is so strong?!” you hear Miles yell. “MILES LOOK OUT!” Gwen screams, but it’s too late. He gets electrocuted again. “Ouch, bro! That one looked like it hurt!” Pav yells, and Miles, who is now lying face down on a roof, raises his hand up in the air, flipping him off. You snort, and then see Hobie fly past you, landing on another water tower. “Hey! Dumbass! Over here!”

“Oh, please. You expect me to fall for that? I know what your little plan is, and I’m not about to be put out,” Electro says, firing some electricity out at Hobie. Unluckily for Hobie, it breaks the water tower and electrocutes him and the water that pours out of it.

You land next to Hobie, who is now just laying on the rooftop, but he grunts and mutters some British slang that you wouldn’t understand even if he explained it to you. So, you know he’s fine. “I have an idea,” you say, and he nods. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. But we need to make sure no one is on the street.”

“What’s the goody-goody plannin’ on doin’, huh?” he says, standing. “You’ll see, just make sure there are no civilians or anyone who will get hurt. And keep him distracted.” With that, you leap and go to another one of the water towers. You take a deep breath, thinking back to what Miguel said before the five of you left.

“Try not to destroy the city while you’re at it. (Y/n), I trust you’ll keep them all in line,” Miguel said, and you timidly nod. You’d love to not destroy the city, but it’s so hard doing that as a Spider-Person. But you also don’t want him to yell at you for going against his orders. Now you’re conflicted. “No promises, Miguel. We’re gonna do what we gotta do,” Miles says and Miguel sighs. “If anyone can reign the four of you in, it’s this one. Don’t let them pressure you into acting up, okay?”

You frown. Fuck that. Miguel is pressuring you into not doing your job right. You can’t always be perfect and careful. And lucky for you, the four of them were really good at distracting villains. You web two of the support legs, yanking them and breaking them off the water tower. It starts collapsing, but you catch it. “Shit, you’re heavy,” you grunt, but regain your balance, holding it on your shoulders. You twist your body, ripping the other supports off and making the water tower completely free. You get Electro in your sight and take a deep breath. You lift the water tower, tossing it up in the air before leaping out of the way and towards Electro. You shoot webs from both hands, connecting them to the water tower and yanking it towards you. You swing it around, connecting it with Electro’s body. Sure enough, it knocks him down and explodes on impact, drenching him. And you. And Hobie, Miles, Gwen, and Pav; but hey, you did it.

You land on a roof and look down. Sure enough, Electro is knocked out cold and completely out of electricity. You swing down, placing him in one of the technological cells that Miguel developed specifically for Electros, and nod. “That… probably could have gone better,” you mutter to yourself. Your self-deprecating thoughts were cut off immediately. “That was AWESOME, (Y/n),” Gwen says, giving you a thumbs up and hug. “Yeah, little Spider, that was bitchin’,” Hobie says, giving you a fist bump. “You made it look so easy! How did you do that, you have to teach me!” Pav says, clearly excited and impressed. “You were out here talking about how you didn’t wanna break rules so instead you broke an entire water tower? That’s cool, why don’t you try being less cool next time for the sake of us,” Miles says giving you a pat on the shoulder. You smile. “Thanks, guys.” Their praise was enough to make you feel better for completely and totally wreaking havoc.

But when the five of you return, soaking wet, Miguel pinches the bridge of his nose. “I said… to not destroy the city…” he mutters, looking at you with disappointment. You look down. “City’s still standin’, mate. (Y/n) kicked ass,” Hobie says, and the other three make sounds of agreement. “Y-Yeah, Miguel. All I did was break one water tower, it’s not that big of a deal,” you say, and he sighs. “One? You all broke four water towers on four different buildings! And you flooded an entire street! You’re supposed to be the responsible one.”

“Dude. I’m a teenager. Shit happens,” you say, a sudden burst of confidence from being around the group of four allowing you to speak out. Miguel puts his hand on his jaw, sliding his hand down. “Remind me to never team the five of you up again,” he mumbles, and Hobie elbows you. “Nah, we’re a band now. Sorry ‘bout it,” Hobie says, motioning everyone to leave Miguel’s sight. You all follow. When you’re out of Miguel’s office, Hobie bumps your shoulder. “See, that wasn’t all that bad, was it?”

He was right, it wasn’t that bad.

───────────────────────────────────

[grandlinedreams]

Bestie I’m back. So you know the audio in scooby doo where he’s like “only a fool would drop a girl like you.” But with our boy Ace. Pretty please, I’m begging. 😩🫶🏻

YES but not me putting sonne in the bg bc that's all I ever hear that audio to lmao

[Heads up!: mentions of heights, brief description of falling, afab/fem aligned reader, spiderman!Ace bc we all need that, upside down kiss? Upside down kiss!, reader is not gwen stacy (oops)]

From so far above, the lights of the city look like something from a painting. The wind that whips at you is cold, made more biting for the elevation ㅡ and the longer you peer below from the edge of the roof, the sicker you feel.

You're so high up. A fall from here would undoubtedly kill you, leave you a shattered shell ㅡ but it'd be quick, you guess. Maybe even peaceful.

"Easy there." Fingers curl around your wrist, easing you from the ledge. Ace gives you a look somewhere between concern and amusement, his mask gripped in his other hand. "You trying to fly on me?"

"No," you say, taking another step as he lets go of your wrist. "You're the one who decided a rooftop date would be a good idea."

"And it was," Ace counters. "Nobody bothered us."

"Nobody usually bothers us, because nobody knows aboutㅡ" You gesture to the skin tight bodysuit that covers him, the mask in his grip that he raises to put back on. "This. Besides me."

"And you got lucky with that."

"I asked you, Ace. And you're the idiot who confessed to being Spiderman."

"Don't be mean," Ace huffs as he sets his mask into place. "I could leave you up here."

You stare. "You wouldn't." You don't have to see it to know Ace is grinning, and you give him a look of warning that he laughs outright at, hands held up in placation.

"Okay, okay, I wouldn't." He approaches you, head tilting. "Only one way down, though. You ready?"

You remember the sheer drop down, the deceptive glow of warm white lights. Suppressing a shiver, you nod. "As I ever will be."

The descent down goes like this ㅡ Ace with his ever trusty rope of webbing, and you, clung to his back like a comical parody of a koala. The hard rubber lines of his suit make it easier to hold on, though Ace glances back at you.

"How are you holding up?"

"Managing," comes your muffled reply, face pressed into the meat of his shoulder. "Promise not to drop me?"

Ace laughs at that, but not out of spite or malice. He laughs because to him, that's the silliest thing in the world. "Only a fool would drop a girl like you, sweetheart."

Even with his words of reassurance, you still feel the tension of his muscles as he descends. It doesn't take much longer for your feet to be on the ground, and you grin at your boyfriend.

"Such a friendly spider man," you tease, imagining that he's rolling his eyes as he moves to leave, and you huff. "Ace!"

"What?" His head turns, and you raise an eyebrow. "Oh, right." The backwards lean is easy, practiced ease in the way he hangs upside down before you, both hands locked around the rope of webbing. "Goodbye kiss, right?"

"Duh," you say as you approach. "But upside down this time? Really?"

"It can be romantic," he says, muffled laughter in his voice. You roll your eyes before you reach up, rolling his mask up (or down, at this angle) enough to expose his chin and lips before you lean in.

True, the angle is awkward but no less sweet as you kiss, humming when Ace leans with you to try and prevent you from pulling away. "Sorry," you say when he whines as you correct his mask, "but you have a city to keep safe, Spiderman."

"True," Ace laments. "But I'll see you later, right?"

It's equal parts hopeful and pleading, to at the very least get to cuddle with you in the wee hours of the morning before you head off to work ㅡ and you smile.

"Of course."

[vermillioncrown]

if people like the idea of ttrpgs but feel intimidated by the whole setup, then i must wholeheartedly recommend the arhkam horror card game

(arkham as in lovecraftian horror, not batman related despite my recent kick)

characters are assembled as a deck of cards from a pool of abilities, assets, and events, so your deck is thematically who you are as a person + every character you pick from their huge cast has their unique abilities, stats and weaknesses,

and they have pretty good prebuilt decks

so that's character creation done

no dm needed bc the story and encounters are also driven by story-specific decks of cards and instructions

and you don't need to worry about "am i funny or a good storyteller" bc it'll come naturally via playing the game and trying to use your cards to solve problems. you'll play a cool combo mechanically and then you pause and think about what actually just happened and it's batshit crazy

example: i have an ability that lets me tag along w any teammate should they move from my location to somewhere connecting once per turn

my friend needed to take a shortcut that required a dexterity check, and we all gave him boosts to pass this check for less than 50% chance of success. we'd run out of time versus the big bad if he didn't succeed

he passes, he takes the shortcut, i tag along

what actually happened is: my friend is playing as this old decrepit professor with arthritis. his shortcut was (via game mechanics) leaping from the roof of our hotel into another room. we all did the equivalent of "you got this old man 👍👍 now jump" bc he wouldn't have passed without us committing boosts to his skills at the cost of our own resources

old man makes it, but what does that mean for me, the spry young boxer who is overprotective of his friends?

we decided that the two of us trapeze-style flung ourselves off the roof, the boxer clinging to the old man's ankles, and we made it into the room through an open window

or, our other friend accidentally made everything worse bc he decided to beat every skill test the game presented him and then chose to "tell the truth" in the story crossroads

what that amounted to, if you read the flavor text, is: he was found at the scene of a grisly murder, knife in hand and no memories -> he called his friends (us, the other players) in order to help (thus the game is set up) -> passed all the skill tests needed so we had time to investigate before the cops arrested us (aka cleaned up the crime scene) -> unluckily drew out a weakness card that was him wandering this hotel with blood all over him so it's an extreme penalty to negotiate with npcs -> but he's the only one available in that area to divert nosy hotel guests so it's just him using his stubbornness (willpower skill) to gaslight these guests into "nothing to see here 🥰" and somehow succeeding -> cops find him but he's fucked up at every turn by successfully hiding the evidence and presenting his own investigation notes too quickly (oh, i also killed an innocent man for him 😔) and it was so batshit insane they went after him which is why we had to go to the other rooms via rooftop instead of the halls

or the mechanic of us playing cards as assets to boost our stats -> we all played ally cards -> narratively amounts to

original friend wakes up at crime scene, panics and calls his other friends -> we arrive and call our friends -> 7+ people are now accessories to crime, and we as a group get to decide on the fly why the hell are we all friends and instantly down for murder and its fallout

there was another game where me and a friend kept getting fucked over by the location placements of the game, and constantly missed each other when we were trying to end up in the same location

narratively decided we kept mistiming our gondola rides in venice and were wistfully reaching out to each other across different canals

or, at the end when venice flooded, i had the comedic timing of drawing out my weakness: a stubborn detective enemy that thinks i'm the cultist

so he's climbing out of the flooding canals and onto our one surviving gondola that already has five people on it, absolutely soaking, and "👉 You."

the rest of the party gesticulating behind the detective "BRO." at the eldritch horror rising out from the sea

anyways, it's fun and prob the lowest commitment one can invest in a ttrpg

[larstoomars]

i have such bittersweet feelings about my hometown. So much of my family, life, and memories are here, i love each of them deeply. my city is big, it sure isn’t small, 12th biggest city in my state. i remember jumping off my play house as a child trying to fly and walking down a broken sidewalk with my friends while hearing sirens and gunshots. i loved to camp, fish, and swim while nearly drowning again and again and eating cold Koegels. Walking around late at night but never alone and location tracking on. Always having a roof over my head but always being afraid of it being taken away from me, by weather, law, nature, or robbery. i finally graduated in 2020 with terrible ending, not even a year later my high school diploma is destroyed by water damage. i have friends everywhere but also if things get rough, i can just as easily start over again here bc the city is big enough for multiple people. it’s not slow and boring like the country and it’s not as bustling with citizens walking, biking, or riding to where they need to get in a big city. it’s the same boring places but somehow the people around me find the most interesting events and things to do. we had the biggest pride our city had seen in june and yet everyday i hear homo and transphobia.

it takes, on average, four generations to get out poverty in the united states, in 2016 the percent was still rising at 45%, now its at 35% but i don’t have hope for it to keep sliding down. two cities in my state are on the list for top 10 poorest cities in the united states.

in 2014 the michigan governor changed my cities water source, killing 12 people. our state government said they would fix the lead pipes, change them out by 2020 in 2017. the programs giving residents bottled water who were affected have stopped at the beginning of 2023. Residents still do not have clean water. technically Flint is under the amount of lead allowed in water federally and state-wise sitting at 9 parts per billion (below requirement of 15 ppb (personally i think it should be zero)) but, consider the following! Water pipes and lines have continuously burst over and over and over again, this has been happening of years, multiple times a year. forcing flint residents unable to drink water, clean, do laundry, be hygienic for days or weeks depending on where or how long the water break is.

my mom tells me things were getting bad in Flint when we moved away when i was 6/7. we moved to New Mexico and only stayed for a year before moving back home, i have mixed feeling about that place too. my best friend past away that year due to a shooting accident with immediate family. details are unimportant but right around then is when family members of my own started to pass away.

while in high school two teachers also passed. one had a heart attack and didn’t come to work so another teacher went to his home to check on him during the school day. everyone found out at the same time at he died, i wasn’t close to him. the other, she had muscular dystrophy, she was in an electric wheelchair and had a working dog, she also worked at the school. she had uterine surgery but there were complications and she didn’t make it.

after a slew of bad news this year, this september, my graduating class lost one of our alumni. his name was Johnny and he had just turned 21. i didn’t actually get to graduate with him because of covid, our ceremony was broken up into four parts in the same day, so i only graduated with a fourth of the 2020 class. i don’t look at high school fondly but, johnny was kind, funny, and smart. he worked so hard to make Flint a better place and prove all sorts of people wrong. He died defending his girlfriend, so many went to his funeral and brought our graduating class back together. to what cost though? his friends and family lost his life, he lost his life. he loved to fish, his favorite color was yellow, his lucky number was 44.

His murder was killed by another man. a couple days after another young man shot and killed at 18 years old. GM strikers were ran over in a hit and run. My dads truck was stolen right out of his driveway. A KFC was ran into by a police officer. A staff member in Flint schools had a ceramic chair thrown at their head and sent to the hospital. Ethan Crumbley, a teenager who killed four in a school shooting may be sentenced to life without parole from Oxford.

so much of my life is here, my memories, my family, biological or not. i always thought i’d move away from here. sometimes i still think i might. im not sure. i don’t know what to do to feel safe. i don’t think there is a safe place for any of us. was there ever?

[arlecchno]

lmao the blonde parts are supposed to be teal but i havent had a chance to redye them in foreverr … also yes ! my xiao jacket ! its not the only one out there though LOL

the wall youre seeing is actually my best friend roofs long lost sibling , wall /j

BEFORE 6 !? i could never i always go to bed at like 12am …. im so sleep deprived on school days lol

ME AND THAT FRIEND DID SO MANY SILLY THINGS IN OUR MATH/STEM CLASS LMAO we used to play genshin wish sim (im very young T_T) and say weird things to summon characters (i told the computer id help make kaeya dilucs brother again to get diluc , and BOTH OF THEM CAME HOME IN THE SAME PULL) tbh ive always complained ab stairs so ,,, i cant even take the stairs in my building anymore bc i live on the 9th floor itd take way too long 😭

we have a lot of the same top 5s , kaeya , diluc , and scara share #1 because … yes . my favorite gal is fischl i love her sm -

i have 11 5*s (not including aloy) , and im currently pulling for sir acting grand scribe himself ! im at around late 30 pity , if he does / doesnt come home i will make self ship art because i dont think he would like that >:)

GOOD TO KNOW ITS GOING WELL im actually making notes for a fic i wanna write on call w my previously mentioned friend roof LOL ive had the idea ever since the nilotpala cup event , i really wanted to make like an actual fic based off of it bc that girl from the yae publishing house was supposed to or wtv HAHAH but im procrastinating on a title so im just . UGH - yk ?

i did have a good day both the day you replied and today ! i am injured but its not bad (only hurts when i move certain ways) , i went on a field trip for school today and got to go in a ✨stream✨ and pick up a little crawfish >:D i hope youre doing good as well !! its so nice talking to you lmao youre so cool

i might start sending doodles every ask , so heres a sketch of my genshin oc !!

my “question” issss guess what region theyre from ! or who they live with LOL the hint is that there are already playables from their region , and there are technically two regions theyre from ?? you can guess just one though ill give you the answer next ask :P

- jellyfish

i think it's because i'm already used to waking up early... even tho i'm a very sleep deprived student that sleeps at 12-1 and wakes up at 5 😔 i'm fairly a light sleeper so no matter what time i sleep, whenever my alarm goes off i'm always up by the second 🥲

and LMAOO i've played a ton of those wish sims to prevent myself from rolling whenever i'm saving up for a character, it works wonders

i didn't really expect you to like fischl!!! i like using her in events where we have her as a trial character lol using oz in her burst and flying around is so silly but i always have fun with it!

seems like we're both on the run for alhaitham :D currently have 72 pity and he still has yet to arrive... i do not have a guarantee whatsoever so the next time i pull i'm gonna be praying for him to come home 😔 i've already explored most of the new area for him

and that fic idea sounds interesting! i briefly forgot about that event so when you mentioned it i'm suddenly reminded of how fun playing with the fungi was!! hope you'll find many inspiration for your supposed title, and who knows, next thing you know you're hitting the post button for your fic 🤭

hope you're healing well from your injury also!! have lots of rest and don't overexert yourself too much, resting is very important hehe

it's nice to know that you went on a field trip :O i haven't been to one in a while so hearing it from you reminded me how fun it always is to go on one and escape school (tbf i think we can agree at least half of the students that volunteer on field trips only do it to skip classes LMAO #guilty)

i think if i had to guess, it's a mix between mondstadt and sumeru, maybe? i'm either really wrong or really right since my basic skills of knowledge on each regions' outfits are very minimal 😵‍💫

a question for you; how was your week? tell me all about it!! hehe i honestly like hearing people talk about their day and week because it's undeniably so interesting to know what others have been up to and how different some people's lives can be from ours! hope i'm not rambling too much... i just really like listening to people talk and talk about their life

[alloftimeandspacetosee]

Into The Storm, Part1

I rewrote a lot of this roleplay I think, because I still had ideas of writing out the whole gosh darned thing but uhhhh yeah no one's got time for that.

Anyway, this part came about bc cowriter1 (Nyx's writer) felt that she wanted to expand on what Nyx could really do, being giratina marked and all.

[2]

~

 The rain started suddenly, just as they reached the end of the walkways. Soise sneezed as a drop landed on her nose, and shook herself violently.

 Arlette held out her hand and looked up at the sky. “Might be an idea to start running.”

 No sooner had the words left her mouth than the clouds broke and rain started to pelt down. Hohenheim screeched and ran for cover, towards the gentle slopes of the hill surrounding the town.

 The rest of the group ran after him, though Aurora was skipping through the forming puddles.

 “This looks pretty bad,” Zlata said, looking up at the clouds.

 A flash of lightning illuminated their surroundings briefly in the gathering gloom, the rumble of thunder not far behind it.

 “Lavender isn’t too far, if you think you can make a bit further?” Arlette peeled wet hair back from her face, tucking it under her hood.

 Corvus screeched, struggling against the winds above them.

 Nyx looks up, frowning as she focuses on the bird. “She says we should find better cover.”

 Hohenheim cheeped miserably as Warren recovered his pokémon.

 “We should try to make it to Lavender, but cover is our best option right now.”

 The twins shared a glance and nodded.

 “This way, then.” Arlette ducked back into the storm and ran, one hand keeping her hood on her head. “Sargeras, stay with Hohen!”

 The vaporeon bounded to Hohenheim’s side and ran with him, pushing the rain away in a gentle arc so he wouldn’t get even wetter. Hohenheim chirped gratefully and ran after the twins as they skirted the massive puddles that had formed along the path. As Corvus managed to fly lower, Nyx returned the honchkrow and tucked her ball into a pocket.

 “Are we close?” Warren called.

 “Yeah, it’s just there!” Arlette yelled back. “Hopefully there’s room in the centre!” She raced ahead, leaving them behind in an instant.

 Aurora stayed with the rest of the group and led them on after her sister, into the town of flickering lights. It’s quiet now, everyone driven inside by the storm.

 Aurora glanced back at the rest of the group, seeing Zlata beginning to lag. “It’s not far now, come on!”

 Arlette was waiting for them just inside the centre, Harpy by her side. “It’s a bit packed.”

 “At least we got in.” Nyx glanced back outside as lightning flashed again. “Just in time, I think.”

 Soise snarled to herself, squeezing water from her mane. Hohenheim shook himself, steam rising as he dried off his feathers, and walked over to her side to help dry her off.

 “Is anyone hurt?” A nurse, busy handing out towels and blankets, came over to the group.

 “No, I don’t think so.” Nyx frowned and looked around. “Just how big is this storm?”

 “All fine and dandy.” Soise nodded. “Just wet.”

 “I take it there aren’t enough rooms for everyone?” Arlette took some towels, passing them out around the group and rubbing her head furiously.

 “I’m afraid not.” The nurse shook her head. “But we won’t turn people away. Not if we are needed.”

 “Bedding down in the entrance hall… fancy.” Aurora grinned, glancing outside as a roll of thunder rattled the windows. “I quite like the look of that storm.”

 “At least we have a roof over our heads,” Ryun said, stroking Dante as the houndour padded back to him.

 “Thank you,” Nyx said, as the nurse left their group.

 Hohenheim wandered over to near a window side table, where only two trainers were sitting. He chirped and whistled, catching their attention and showing off his plumage and crest. They started to whisper and, as he wandered away again, followed after them.

 Zlata sighed and turned to the twins. “There are some seats now, if you want them.” She pointed to where the two trainers had been.

 The twins grinned. “Travelling with a legendary’s pretty useful, apparently.”

 “I guess having such a cute legendary does have its advantages. Apart from the main one of actually having a cute legendary!” Nyx took a seat, Warren next to her.

 Aurora slid into the other window seat, pressing up against the window and looking out. She laughed as there was a huge flash of lightning, though when the lights flickered, some of the other travellers screamed.

 Rem hopped onto the table between them and squeaked, looking up at Nyx.

 Nyx hissed. “Really? Oh, I hope it doesn’t hit Lavender… Rem says there’s been word of floods.”

 Hohenheim came back and curled up against Zlata, who was sat on the floor beside them.

 “If it does hit us, it’ll hit the tower first – it’s bigger. And there’ll be lightning conductors along its length.”

 “If it floods, we should head to higher ground. Us and everyone here,” Zlata said, looking around. “But let’s pray that it doesn’t.”

 “Oh, flooding… didn’t think of that.” Arlette grinned. “They probably have ways of dealing with that as well.”

 Aurora laughed again as more lightning flashed, not even flinching at the thunder.

 “Yes… we’ll be fine.” Nyx clutched at Rem, as if she didn’t quite believe herself.

 “Why’re you laughing at this?” Warren asked Aurora. “Haven’t you been in a storm before?”

 “Not on land.” Aurora shook her head.

 “Storms’d be much worse on the sea, I’d think.” Warren shuddered. “Less places to hide and all, you’d just be stuck on the boat.”

 “I have no doubts that I would rather spend a storm on land,” Zlata murmured, and hugged Hohenheim as more thunder rolled.

 “You can outrun them on a ship,” Aurora murmured, staring out the window.

 “What?” Nyx looked up at Warren.

 He frowned. “I… didn’t say anything?” He flinched as a clap of thunder shook the centre.

 Nyx shook her head and returned to looking outside.

 Soise glanced up at her. “You alright?”

 Nyx looked over at Soise and opened her mouth as if to speak. Then she winced and clenched her head in her hands. “There must be something we can do!”

 “I don’t think there is,” Ryun said. “What’s wrong?”

 “Maybe after the storm’s finished raging.” Arlette watched Nyx, frowning.

 “Unless you want to keep people’s attention off the storm,” Aurora suggested.

 Nyx looked up at Zlata, shaking her head. “No, I think I can help them, I can…” she stood up, wavering slightly.

 Hohenheim got up now, pressing against Nyx’s legs. She pushed him out of the way and shrugged away Warren as he took her shoulders.

 “Sit down.”

 “I’m fine, I’ll be alright.” She stepped away from the group, towards the door. “Stay here, with my pokémon, alright?”

 “Nyx, wait – don’t!”

 Ryun reached out to stop her, but Nyx was out of reach. She wrenched open the door and charged out into the storm.

 “We should try to find her,” he said, turning back to the group. “I have no doubt she can handle herself, but charging out into a storm like that isn’t good.”

 Arlette sighed and swung out of her seat. “Harpy, stay here. Sargeras, with me.” She ran for the door, the vaporeon at her side.

 “I… should stay with Hohenheim. He needs me more here,” Zlata said, taking a pokéball from her bag and handing it to Ryun. “But take Niagara. She’ll be good if there is a flood.”

 Aurora tore after her sister, not even bothering to pull her coat back on.

 “I swear to Kyurem, if I ever get my paws on that legendary, he is dead,” Soise cursed and chased after them. “Nyx!”

 Warren and Ryun ran out after them, peering through the sheeting rain in search of Nyx.

 “You know her best,” Ryun said, turning to Warren. “Where would she go?”

 “Probably towards danger,” Arlette answered instead, pulling the pins from her wet hair and pushing it back off her face. “’Rora, see anything?”

 Aurora held up a hand, frowning as she tilted her head. “I think… I think I can hear something.”

 Soise frowned. “Towards the back of the town? There’s a dodgy presence.”

 “Fun times. What kind of dodgy?”

 “Distorty dodgy.”

 Warren released Sammy to hold onto, and looked around. Sammy reared up, barking at something ahead of them.

 “She’s over there.” Warren pointed as a burst of lightning illuminated a huge form rising from the ground.

 Zlata joined them, Mentat at her side. Together the group looked up at the huge snakelike form as it spreads out arms, strong against the wind.

 “Is that… is her distortion always like this?” Ryun asked, tensed and releasing Niagara.

 Zlata shook her head. “No, it has never been like this. I just pray that it’s still Nyx, not Giratina.”

 Niagara dropped to all fours and growled, but Zlata stroked her snout before she could attack.

Warren charged forward, heading straight for Nyx. “Nyx!”

 The huge form looked down. “Warren? How… how big am I?”

 “Quite big!” He called, shivering in the wind. “Bring it back, alright? You’ll be ok!”

“The hell have you done to yourself?” There were growls underlining Soise’s words.

 “Warren, head back to the centre, alright?”

 “Not without you!”

 “Sounds like it’s still Nyx,” Arlette murmured.

 Aurora stepped forward. “Hey, Nyx? What gives?”

 Nyx looked down at her. “I don’t know… I think I just wanted to help. This isn’t really what I was going for!”

 “Nyx, please change back.” Zlata stepped forward now. “You’re not helping anybody like this. You’re more likely to scare them, and that will just make things worse,” she shouted up. “There are other ways to help!”

 Nyx turned towards the edge of the town and started to move, slithering through the mud.

 Arlette’s eyes lightened by several shades, but she shook her head and they dropped back to their usual dark blue. “Stinking legendaries.” She ran to catch up with Nyx. “D’you see anyone needing help, then?”

 “What, are you condoning this?” Soise shook her head, running after them.

 “If she wants to help people, she might as well. And it’ll piss Giratina off if she does, I imagine.”

 “Get back to the centre,” Nyx called back.

 “No. If you’re going to help, so am I!” Zlata called up. “Besides, people might not take so kindly to you helping them in that form.” She climbed up onto Niagara’s back, and Ryun joined her.

 The twins ran alongside them, and Warren sighed and leapt up onto Sammy’s back, sending her running after Nyx.

 They found two people, one hanging from a tree above the water.

 “What… what was that?” the older asked, still staring after Nyx.

 Aurora bounced up onto the tree and flicked slight wings to offset her weight, reaching the girl in seconds. “Come on, you’ll be safe now.”

 “She saved your life,” Zlata said, voice filling with authority.

 Arlette glanced at her, eyebrows raising slightly, and then turned back to the tree, holding her arms out for the girl. Aurora caught the girls hand and brought her safely back along the branch, wings in full view now.

 “What are you?” she whispered, as Aurora handed her to Arlette and Arlette passed her to her sister.

 “Guardians,” Arlette replied. “Now get to the town.”

 “Follow our tracks and stay on the higher ground,” Zlata said. “Don’t expose yourself. Go!”

 The older trainer nodded and ran, tugging her sister with her.

 “For someone who wants to help, she doesn’t consider the aftermath,” Zlata muttered.

 “She has good intentions,” Ryun countered, as Niagara started to run again.

 “It could be a lot worse.” Soise shook rain from her mane. “In the morning, they’ll think her just a figment of their imagination or something.”

 “Either that, or they’ll start a worship of us as storm guardians.” Aurora laughed.

 “I hope so, Soise,” Zlata said.

 They paused at the edge of the cliffs, staring up at Nyx as she spread herself against the sky.

 “What is she trying to do?” Arlette frowned.

 Zlata turned Niagara towards the cliffs, towards a group that were cowering under Nyx’s shelter, but scared to move.

 “Everyone, listen!” Zlata shouted. “She is not your enemy, but you should get out of here, out of the storm! Head towards the town, find any kind of shelter you can, away from the rivers. Head for the hills if you can reach them and find shelter there. She is buying you time, don’t let it go to waste!”

 “Are any of you hurt?” Ryun asked.

 A few called out weakly, and Zlata slid from Niagara’s back. “Take them to the pokécentre as fast as you can. When you’re done, come back here,” she said to him.

 Ryun nodded and walked the feraligatr over, helping the injured people up onto her back before heading towards the town.

 “Go now! Don’t linger!”

 The twins, standing on the sidelines, frowned and turned towards Nyx as Zlata kept the people organised and moving.

 “Reckon we get anything like that?” Arlette murmured.

 “Probably.” Soise shrugged. “Blue does. Yours’ll be purer than hers, though.”

 “She looks like she’s overdoing it.”

 “Worry about that some other time.” Soise pulled them onwards. “The tunnel!”

 Warren was ahead of them and already at the entrance, looking at the water flooding out.

 “There might be people trapped!” Nyx shouted down to Soise. “Could you get inside?”

 Zlata joined them again, another pokéball in her hand. “Could you perhaps distort the earth? Open up the tunnel so that it can accommodate your size?” Zlata called up.

 “That’d probably weaken it.” Arlette shook her head.

 Warren slipped from Sammy’s back, but the samurott wouldn’t go near the entrance.

 “Ok… can I try something?” Aurora asked, stepping forward.

 She stood just to the side of the flow of water and bowed her head. The wings flickered back into view, stronger. She reached her hands out and the water lessened, ever so slightly.

 “Sargeras, with me,” Soise snapped, and dived into the tunnel.

 “How did you manage that?” Zlata asked.

 “I’m at least as powerful as Nyx,” Aurora said, panting slightly as the wings disappeared and the water strengthened again. “And it’s a water typing that’s my other half.”

 Sargeras plunged after her, and the two of them disappear through the water.

 “So… shall we continue with the rescue?” Zlata asked, watching the tunnel entrance. “If there is anybody else to rescue, Nyx?”

 Lightning crashed above them, and Nyx looked up into the rain. “The river was close to bursting, it could flood the town.”

 “Then we should hurry back.” Zlata wiped rain from her eyes.

 Niagara came back with Ryun, and Zlata climbed up in front of him.

 “Are they safe?”

 Ryun nodded.

 “Can you prevent the river from bursting its banks?” Zlata looked up to Nyx again.

 “Redirecting it would be easier,” Arlette said. “Another channel on the side nearest Lavender, just keep it flowing towards the sea.”

 Nyx nodded. “I could redirect it.” She leant down to Warren, who looked up at her in awe. “There will be people, injured people. You could help them.” Then she raised herself back up again, slithering away over the land towards Lavender once more.

 “Nyx is right. There could still be plenty of stragglers out there. Our priority should be the people in the way of the channel. It would be unfortunate if we drowned someone by accident.”

 Ryun nodded. “Let her take care of big things, we can manage the smaller ones.”

 “Precisely. Arlette, Aurora, you track out the river and tell us where we need to go to warn people,” Zlata said, urging Niagara after Nyx.

 “Got it.” Aurora nodded.

 “Downstream’ll be in more of a bother,” Arlette said, looking towards the sea. “But we need to get on the other side of it as well.”

 “I’ll get over,” Aurora said, releasing Askir. “Warren, come with me and we’ll trawl that side.”

 Warren leapt back onto Sammy and followed after Aurora as Zlata nudged Niagara after Arlette.

 When they reach the river, Aurora jumped up behind Warren with Askir in her lap.

 “Hold on,” Warren said, as Sammy plunged into the water.

 At first she was battered by the strong current, pushed downstream, but eventually they made the other bank. Aurora jumped from Sammy’s back, landing with a squelch.

 “Where are they, can you see?”

 Aurora tilted her head to listen, and grinned. “I know you’re there. We’re not the police or whatever, so we don’t care about your illegal dealings.”

 Slowly, a group of three stood up from where they’d been crouched against the ground, their mud coloured – or just mud stained – clothing blending in perfectly.

 “So what are you here for?” one asked, sounding suspicious.

 “Making sure no one’s killed on this dark and stormy night.” Aurora grinned.

 “Are any of you injured? Can you get back to town alright?” Warren asked.

 “No, no – we’re all fine.” Another grinned.

 “Get going, then.” Aurora smirked. “Town’s that way.”

 “What about yourselves?”

 “We can handle it.” Aurora folded her arms. “Now go.”

 They nodded and raced away.

 “Crazy people.” Aurora shook her head. “Askir – can you sense anyone else?”

 The espeon tilted her head, letting out a whistling call. Then she shook her head.

 “The wind’s slowing down.” Warren lifted his head. “Seems to be easing up.”

 “Pity… I mean, finally.” Aurora grinned. “Shall we head back to the others then?”

 Warren started to nod and then stopped, distracted by the appearance of a bright yellow bird with static sparking from its wings. It screeched and shot for something, lightning following to illuminate Nyx.

 “Nyx!” Warren shouted. “It’s tearing into her!”

 Aurora looked up as Nyx shrieked, trying to tear the bird from her face. Then it screamed, falling away into the trees. Nyx yelled and ducked after it.

 Warren had Sammy already racing towards them, and Aurora chased after them.

 They reached the clearing at the same time as the others, and stared at the scene before them.

 Nyx was coiled around the zapdos, checking it over. “I’m sorry,” she murmured, pinning it to the ground as the storm started to die properly. “You’ll live…”

 Aurora and Arlette stepped into the clearing first, soaked clothes beginning to stiffen and flood with different colours.

 “There’s no need to continue this, is there?” Arlette eyed them both. “ThunderMaker, flit back to your perch in the mountains to lick your wounds.”

 The zapdos wriggled out of Nyx’s grasp and screeched in pain, eyeing the group before it. Then it flapped away into the sky, taking the ends of the storm with it.

 “I think… I think we are done here.” Nyx tapped her claws on the ground.

 “Yes, it’s over now,” Zlata said. “So you should probably turn back now.” She glanced between the twins and Nyx. “All of you.”

 “We should all rest and get dry, too.” Ryun tightened his jaw against an involuntary yawn.

 Arlette frowned. “We… haven’t changed?”

 “Not much.” Soise laughed.

 But as the twins looked down at themselves, their clothes were already back to normal.

 “Sure.”

 Nyx pushed herself up from the ground as Warren leapt from Sammy’s back to catch her. Rem landed in the mud, squeaking furiously.

 “Are you hurt?” Warren asked, checking her over.

 “No, I don’t think so… just tired.” Nyx glanced down at Rem. “Where were you?”

 Rem spat and scrambled back up onto Nyx’s shoulder.

 Nyx smiled, nodding at her before looking up to the rest of the group. “I’m sorry about… that, whatever it was.” She yawned.

 “What you did was not wise, but it was right. And you did it without losing control, either.” Zlata shook her head, but she was smiling. “What’s done is done.”

 Nyx nodded, but didn’t say anything more.

 Zlata sighed. “Seems like those two trainers that Hohenheim scammed out of seats have found him.”

 “Anything bad?” Ryun frowned.

 “Seems like they’re trying to catch him.”

 Aurora snorted, covering her mouth as she started to laugh.

 “Well.” Arlette grinned. “I suppose we should go back and sort that out, then?”

 “It’s not like they’ll be able to catch him though, right?” Aurora managed to get the words out, still laughing. “I mean, he’s already got a pokéball, right?”

 Warren helped Nyx up onto Sammy and climbed up after her.

 “It probably won’t be the most comfortable of experiences for him, though. We should probably go help.” Nyx smiled, stroking Rem.

 “We should get him away from them anyway. Before they hurt him.” Zlata climbed back onto Niagara, and Ryun followed suit.

 The two pokémon ran on back towards the town, the twins lagging behind a little.

[obeymefictionwriting]

i am a huge satan simp,,but i also have a big cat allergy, even though i love cattos. how do you think satan or any of the other brothers react to an mc with a cat allergy?

*writing this hc while staring at my cat*

Lucifer:

A type of guy who'd be checking EVERY place you are going to for the presence of cats bc allergy, you know?

Will also be carrying a whole bag of medications just in case

"I can't imagine how hard it is for you. Cats are quite captivating and you can't really approach them or touch them. I think I would be really unhappy if I couldn't touch you and you captivate me".

Will read all available information on cat allergy because it's important and he needs to know everything.

Occasional cat-themed gifts and you'll never know whether it's a tease or not (will be smirking while giving them to you)

Mammon:

“Eh but you can look at cats, right?”

“You sure you don’t wanna pet ‘em?”

The boy can’t quite get his head around the whole cat allergy idea because they don’t really have allergies in Devildom, you know?

He is trying, though. Give him some credit

“Do ALL humans have cat allergy?”

Despite his silly questions, he will secretly ask Satan or Lucifer what to do if you encounter a cat and will shove a few medications in his pocket just in case.

Leviathan:

He honestly won’t care so much since Levi has never been a huge cat fan

He will be worried for you though because he hates when anything upsets you (and you might be upset for not being able to cuddle with cats, right?)

“Can you cure it or something?”

“I’ve seen an anime where a person also had an allergy. It was for demons though and the person was a demon slayer but KINDA SAME RIGHT?”

“At least you can wear these cute cat ears that I’ve got you!”

Satan

Oh boy, he will be upset at first

It’s just, he wanted to share so many of his favorite activities with you! Like going to a cat cafe, feeding stray cats, making photos of street cats together...

But hey, you can love two things in life and they don’t have to love each other, right?

He is also super concerned he won’t occasionally trigger your allergy since he is well... almost always covered in cat hair.

“Okay, we’ll work it out so no worries, Kitten”

After all, there are tons of other activities you two can do together and cats can be like his own little world!

Asmodeus

Ah, you are having an allergy - how unfortunate!

He can’t really relate to it because he’s never had an allergy but he can IMAGINE how bad it might be.

He also does not quite understand the concept at first but when he learns how dangerous an allergy might be, he gets super serious.

“We won’t allow a single cat near you and that includes SATAN”

Secretly happy that Satan can’t be around much because Satan loves books, and you love books and UGH HE CAN’T TAKE IT

Beelzebub

“A cat allergy? Does that mean you can’t eat cats?”

Oh, this is not the case. Oh okay.

Immediately asks how he can help you make it better.

Will also double-check with Satan if this is a real thing and what he can do.

“No cat cafes for you but the regular ones are all ours!”

WIll also be slightly worried whether you are upset about your allergy or not.

Belphegor

“Why do humans always have the weirdest things happening to them?”

“If you can’t cuddle with cats, you can always cuddle with me, you know?”

To be honest, he does not worry much simply because they don’t have cats in the HoL or school so there is not much danger for you, right?

He will though secretly warn Satan about not “bringing any of this cat nonsense to the house or I’ll get you flying off that roof”

[dashielldeveron]

and i’ve gotta crow | takami keigo

hawks x pro-hero! reader. quirk unspecified.

summary: “You’re suffering from amnesia,” says Hawks to you, in your hospital bed.

No, you are not.

“We’re engaged to be married.”

No, you are not.

After an accident that was that bastard Hawks’s fault, you decide to play along with your diagnosis of amnesia, among other things, because how far can you make your former bully bend over backwards for you?

fluff/trickery??? completely avoidable angst, bc reader is a little shit. hawks is a scumbag bully at first. reader is honestly kind of violent. dealing with acne in a scene.

When the first things you saw after groggily blinking your eyes open were multiple IVs in the back of your hand, you flipped over and snuggled farther into your hospital bed to deal with it later, but against your will you were forced to lie flat on your back to stare into the hospital fluorescents.

When the nurse fiddling with your IVs came into focus, he said, “You need to lie on your back. You have deep gashes on your lower abdomen, and tossing about too much could open the stitches.”

That sounded like bullshit, but you were too out of it to care. “Yeah, okay,” you said through a croak, “Oh, fuck.” You wrestled a hand to your throat, massaging it. “Am I waking up from a coma? Don’t let anyone see me until I’ve done my eyebrows.”

The nurse laughed through his nose. “No, don’t worry. You’ve barely been—” He cut himself off and frowned. “The news should probably be broken to you when you have emotional support. I’ll be back soon.”

He left.

Emotional support? Wouldn’t that fucking gash on your stomach be—ooh, ouch, don’t move.

Where’s your phone? Where’s your goddamn phone; where’s any of your personal belongings? If they got crushed, you’re killing Hawks on sight.

Hawks, oh, my God. Where is he? He’s dead. If he still has the audacity to bully you professionally—fuck.

He’d cornered you on patrol earlier—whenever that was—and cut into you in that casually, negging-type way that wasn’t enough to report but enough to make you stay up late and freak out about being good enough. It hurt your chest whenever you thought about it.

But this was the first time he’d gotten seriously physical.

He’d alit on the top of the warehouse next to you, landing what would have been haphazardly for anyone else (the arch of his feet against the edge, his toes barely touching roof) and had crouched next to you, his scarlet wings completely blowing your cover as they stretched and shuddered.

“What’s a little girl like you doing in this part of town?” Hawks had propped his chin on both his fists. “Thought shoplifters were more your calibre.”

“Hawks, this is actually really important to me, so please, please leave,” you’d said, keeping your eyes on the group you could barely make out through the skylight. They’d already been partially concealed by crates, so they were hard to see.

“Someone else give you a tip for their location?” He’d tapped your opposite shoulder with the end of his wing, but you hadn’t even flinched.

“Bruh, you know I’ve been on this for weeks,” you’d said, shifting away from him, “I even shared intel at your last briefing.”

“Is that what you were talking about?” Hawks had scratched his chin. “I zoned out. Usually the little cases female heroes present aren’t in my circle, and I like to unwind when brain power isn’t needed.”

You’d planned to rip his wings out feather by feather while you’d gritted your teeth. “You can’t talk to me like that, Hawks.”

He’d laughed, his eyebrows shooting up to his hairline. “C’mon, babygirl, have a slice of chill, won’t you? I thought you were one of the cool girls. Relax. I don’t mean anything by it.”

“Leave me alone, Hawks. You’re not gonna bully me into joining your agency. You’re not gonna bully me into quitting being a hero,” you’d said, inwardly screaming, “I’d tell you to go talk to someone who’d fall for your shit, but then, she’d have to suffer, too. So, fuck off into a sewer, jackass.”

“Oof,” Hawks had said, placing a hand over his heart and shaking his head, “You don’t have to be such a bitch, sweetheart. I’m only looking for my better half. Didn’t think it could be you, but I’d thought I’d give you a chance to prove me wrong. Don’t take yourself too seriously; just be along for the ride like the rest of us.”

“Huh,” you had said, and you’d stood and strode to the edge of the warehouse to your harness and rope, and you rappelled down the side of it as stealthily as you came up.

“I’ve been watching you all these years, sweetness, and I know you by now; I know how you really feel,” Hawks had said a bit too loudly while he flew downwards at your speed (braggart). “Strip away all of your busy work, your so-called hero trappings, and we’d mesh together just fine. We may be rough around the edges, but we clean up really nicely, don’t we?”

You’d unclipped your carabiner and stepped out of your harness, stashing it in your pack. “Fuck off.”

You’d moved towards the back entrance, but Hawks had slammed a hand against the concrete wall in front of you. You’d ducked under it and carried on, and he’d grabbed the back of your shirt.

“C’mon, if we didn’t know each other, and our eyes met from across the room at some hero gala, you’d be all over me, wouldn’t you?”

You had swiped his hand away. “I’d be putting a lid on my drink.”

His arms behind his back, Hawks had followed you through the door and behind the exposed pipes and closer to your targets. “Saw you coming onto Todoroki at the last one. You looked fine in his colours, but you would’ve looked better in mine.”

Don’t grace him with an answer; don’t grace him with an ans— “I wasn’t coming onto Shoto,” you’d said, pulling yourself up a couple of pipes for a better view—and you’d hit him when he flapped his wings to hover the few feet you’d ascended, because the noise might alert them.

“Yeah, you just simp for him, right? Then you didn’t step outside your comfortable ice queen act?” Hawks had gripped onto a pipe just underneath your ass. “You’re too much of a natural tease for that.”

How can you report him when he’s the head of his own agency? You guess the commission might listen, but what can they do besides slap his wrist? There’s really no one who can stop him, is there?

You hadn’t replied but instead crawled onto the iron catwalk. If you could position yourself about three-quarters of the way across, you’d be able to effectively activate your quirk and get this over with—wait, why would you think like that? You’d been waiting for this for ages.

A hand spreading across the small of your back had reminded you.

You’d flipped over with fire in your eyes and kicked him away as quietly as you could, but all he’d done was sit back on his knees to grin down at you, army-crawling your way through a dirty warehouse.

Would he take credit for your work again?

You’d shaken yourself. Eat my entire ass, Hawks. And with that, you’d continued inching towards your targets. When you’d gotten into position to watch them, Hawks had merely watched you.

You had scowled. “I’m gonna tear you a—”

“You had a hard childhood, didn’t you?”

A chill had unfurled up your spine, simple as that. Hawks now not only had the annoying air of an arrogant pick-up artist but also gave you an intense sense of danger. You’d moved away from him, regrettably away from your target, but Hawks had followed you, getting closer until his body heat had seeped into yours, a self-satisfied smirk plastered across his dumb face.

“I could take suuuuch good care of you, little girl,” he’d said under his breath, “if only you’d let me. No one else is crazy enough to call me out or want more than the bare minimum.” His wings had folded in on his back, making themselves as small as possible to get closer to you. “If you give in, tell me yes, say please, you wouldn’t have to let any worries cross your pretty little mind. All you have to do is let me in.”

“Yikes,” you had said, sucking in through your teeth, “God, you’re a creep.”

Hawks had slammed you down onto the catwalk, iron reverberating through the warehouse as it struck your head, and your targets had looked up by the time the catwalk hinges had loosened and had come crashing down in the midst of their meeting.

You’re really not supposed to shoot guns inside. Don’t they know that’ll ruin their ears? No matter, really. You had fought them anyway, amidst crates splintering open from whatever they were shooting at you—fuck, that was a big hole. What’s oozing out of that? Gross, don’t step in it.

One with a normal revolver—his arm had given a woody crack when you’d bent it backwards—God, that was nice. Good sounds. If you could sample them into a rap track, you would.

You’d been planning a collab with a popular rapper while you’d hurled yourself at another villain, sawdust flying—just to keep your mind busy, really, but fucking—fucking Hawks had bested whoever he’d half-assed to the ground and had shouted your way.

“C’mere, you little shit—”

He’d scooped you up while you’d been taking care of it by yourself, and he had pinned you down behind a stack of crates that reached the remains of the catwalk, straddling you but keeping most of his weight off, his wings outstretched yet still hidden from the cloud of sawdust rising with deep gurgling on the far side.

“What the fuck is wrong with you,” he’d said over the chaos, spit flying, “You can’t handle this; you’re gonna get fucking killed. I can’t babysit you all the time.”

“Get fucked; I’m the number fourteen hero,” you’d said, deadly still, but twitching in fury, “I can handle anyth—”

“Aww, fourteen. And one day babygirl might reach the single digits.” Hawks had sneered in your face. “If she manages to fuck her way through them.”

Your jaw had dropped, and you pretended to cough on sawdust and kicked him off in the confusion. Hawks had grabbed a hold of your calf, grappling for your thigh, while you’d scrambled to climb over crates to the gurgling mess on the other side; you could handle it, and you would.

You’d slapped his hands away, wrestled out of his grasp again and again, and you’d launched yourself into the dust—

Yeah.

While the fluorescent lights flickered overhead, you picked at a hangnail. You hadn’t braced yourself for the explosion, so, you guessed you deserved whatever was wrong with you now. Big-ass gashes on your stomach. Probably broken ribs. Something felt off in your left leg, besides—oh, ho, what had the doctors thought when they’d seen Hawks’s scratches?

What an idiot.

When the door creaked open, the nurse returned with a mug of water for you, but—what? Who’s that bitch following him?

You blinked, twice. With his hands in his pockets and his nasty little wings tucked in behind him, Hawks meandered to your bedside, his gaze on your throat as you swallowed down water.

God, you’re too tired to deal with him. Let’s get this over with.

The nurse glanced over his clipboard. “I’ve already told your partner this, but I thought you would want him here.”

Maybe if you ignore Hawks, he’ll leave.

“You were very brave today,” said the nurse, “Your work as a hero is greatly appreciated. You’re on temporary leave to heal, though. Like I said, you’ve got three, major gashes on your stomach, and your leg’s broken—the fibula split, if you want to know. You’ll be on crutches for a while. You have four broken ribs, and—” The nurse bit his lip and softened his voice. “You hit your head pretty hard. Nothing’s broken, but you should have amnesia, with the trauma you’ve endured.”

Should have? They don’t know? You sure as hell don’t fucking have amnesia. It barely happens in real life, and it definitely hasn’t happened to you. You remembered every fucking infuriating thing Hawks did to ruin your mission, and if he doesn’t square up—

“I’m so sorry, baby,” said Hawks, grabbing your hand. He stroked the back of it with his thumb, and then he took his glove off to hold you skin-to-skin. “You remember who I am?”

You just stared at him.

“Your fiancé’s been a real presence in the waiting room,” said the nurse, “He hardly stopped pacing the entire time you were in surgery. He wouldn’t even talk to fans.”

Oh, my God.

Holy fucking shit.

“Oops, sorry,” said the nurse, covering his mouth, “I know you were keeping it a secret. Don’t blame him, please; he only told me to be able to see you immediately.”

Shutting your eyes, you took a deep, deep breath. You have been handed a golden opportunity on a fucking Hawks-shaped platter, holy fuck, and by God are you going to take advantage of it. Imagine how much you can fucking humiliate him, how far you can take it. How much you can make him pay for how he treated you, and now, if he says he’s your fiancé, then he’s gonna fucking worship you. You’re going to mould him into your little bitch, and he’s going to thank you for it. And you’ll get endless dirt on him just by seeing his place.

Don’t fuck this up.

Exhaling, you opened your eyes, blinking a bit. You curled your lips into your mouth, biting the lower one. “I remember you’re Hawks,” you said in a nervous voice, “and I remember, uh.”

“Don’t hurt yourself, sweetheart.” Hawks squeezed your hand, his tone kind. “It’ll come back in time.”

You clutched Hawks’s hand while the nurse rattled off instructions and gave you your crutches, and Hawks squeezed your hand back, softly smiling at you.

When the nurse left, you turned to Hawks and said, “I’m so, so sorry, but I—I feel like there’s something big missing that I can’t remember.” You scratched your forehead with your free hand, dragging the IVs with you.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Hawks tilted his head, still gazing decidedly down at you.

“Oh, God,” you said, “Oh, fuck. I don’t know. Um.” Take it back. Take it way back. That way he’ll dig himself into a deeper hole. The more lies he has to create, the funnier it’ll be. “Let’s see, I, hm.” You already weren’t speaking like yourself, but you looked upward as you faked combing through memories. “I don’t know how things work chronologically, but the most recent memory I have of you is—it’s after a press conference, and I’ve never been in the building before,” you said slowly, “And I can’t find the bathroom, but some press keeps following me, and I—I faceplant in between your shoulder blades, right between your wings. You—” You lowered your voice, shrinking a little in the hospital bed, “You got rid of them so easily, with just a gesture, and you put your arm around me. You were—” You shook your head, staring at both of your hands. “—so warm.”

Was that too thick? That was too thick, wasn’t it?

His free hand shot to his mouth, and he bit his knuckle. “But sweetheart, that’s,” said Hawks, his eyes watering, “That’s only around the third time we met.”

You know.

“Shit,” you said, widening your eyes, “How long ago was that?”

“Three years.” Hawks squeezed your hand and kept the pressure longer than was necessary. “Three fucking years. You don’t remember anything past that?”

You pretended to be scared to look at him. “I’m sorry; I’m so sorry—”

“No, no, you don’t have to be,” said Hawks, and he leant towards you to lift your chin, rubbing his thumb against it, “It’s not your fault.”

You had to hand it to him: Hawks was a good actor.

But so were you.

***

Hawks disappeared for a while after that, but he manifested the day you were loosed from the hospital, more than giddy to carry all of your shit all the way to your flat. He was probably getting some sick pleasure from watching you hobble on your crutches.

“I can help you, if you lean on me,” said Hawks, giving you an easy grin, “I don’t want you to be in any more pain than you have to.”

“This is something I should do myself,” you said in what was hopefully a tough-it-out voice, “I’d like to be able to walk without depending on anyone.”

“I honestly think you ought to be in a wheelchair.” His wings bristled. “But what do I know? I could fly us to your place, if you like.”

“I don’t like. I’ve gotta concentrate on limping. Stop talking, Hawks.”

You got to your flat, and Hawks had guessed which key opened the door on the first try. Drat! He was already doing a good job of acting like he’d been here before, like he’s not surprised that the number fourteen hero lives in a pretty shitty apartment (you started living here as a student and got too damn comfortable for your own good—plus, you didn’t want your cat to endure the trauma of moving).

Hawks plopped your keys in the bowl by the door with a clatter, and he shut the front door behind you, flipping one of the locks.

He set your stuff neatly on the kitchen table—your purse, your tactical pack, your ropes—and lay your dry-cleaned hero suit over the back of a kitchen chair, and his hands were on you the next moment to guide you to your tacky, sunflower couch. Removing one crutch, he put your arm over his shoulder instead, one hand planted on your lower back above your bandages, and he eased you down onto the cushions.

Hawks then stepped over your legs to sit on your opposite side, and he brought your legs to rest in his lap, his hand gripping your non-casted leg. “Gotta keep it elevated, chickadee.”

You let yourself giggle. Time to get this shitshow started. “Thank you so much for helping me, Hawks; I know I’ve been a real hassle these past few days, and you shouldn’t have to deal with that sort of stress. You’re already under so much. I don’t understand how the commission would let you date anyone, let alone propose.”

“Oh, I know,” said Hawks, spreading himself out on the couch. He shifted himself to face you in addition to accommodate his wings—he was now positioned so that they’d drape over the arm of the couch instead of being squished against the back cushions. That bitch, he probably wasn’t used to couches that weren’t custom made to his special body requirements. Spoiled fuck.

“The commission was really pissed when they found out. Do you remember how, sweetness? Right, I’ll tell you,” said Hawks, running an ungloved hand through his hair before shaking it loose. “You remember up to the press conference with the faceplant. Short version is that you hated me for a good year before something clicked. You started acting awkward whenever I was around, avoiding me, and stuff. Sometimes getting red. I thought it was cute.”

You ducked your head. Flustered. He probably likes easily flustered women.

Wait. That’s not who you are. And he’d like you for who you are, if you’re engaged.

But at the same time, if you’re (gag) in love with him, wouldn’t you be flustered by some of the things he says?

Easy, baby. Take it as it comes. Pick your battles. Go with your gut.

And gut says make Hawks eat shit.

“You think I’m cute?”

“I know you’re cute.”

You’re going to stuff his own feathers down his throat.

“We got together at that dinner Endeavor’s agency sponsored. Do you remember that at all? That place with the purple lights. You’d gotten nervous from the crowd and had gone to take some of your anxiety meds. I caught you in the hall back from the bathroom and talked you down before going back out there.” He grinned sheepishly. “I’d like to say I’m the one who kissed you, but you took initiative before I had the guts.”

Funny. Hilarious, in fact. That was the night Hawks had solidified himself as the Biggest Dick in the World, because yeah, he’d caught you in the purple-lit hallway, but he’d caught you on the way to take your meds, not on the way back. You were talking yourself down from a panic attack and couldn’t argue him away, so he’d followed you into the bathroom, running his mouth and acting like it was an accident when the tip of his wing had knocked your two capsules down the sink.

He’d told you that if you’re a big girl, you’d be able to handle the rest of the night. Or you could leave at any time with him, and he’d make excuses that everyone would have to accept.

Honestly, you’d love to let his fake memory be true, because then, you’d be able to wear purple again without feeling queasy.

Cocking your head, you smiled. “That doesn’t sound like something I would do.”

Hawks let out a light laugh, craning his neck to rest his head on the back of the sofa. “That’s what you said that night, too. About how it felt out of character.”

“Was I good?”

Lifting his head, he raised an eyebrow at you: probably the first genuine emotion he’s shown you the whole time he’s been here. “Hm?”

“When I kissed you. Was it good,” you asked flatly.

“Oh,” Hawks said, his wings puffing out just barely, “Oh, sweetheart, you were amazing. Groundbreaking. Show-stopping.” His tongue flicked over his lower lip, and he shifted underneath your legs, leaning slightly towards you but holding eye contact before carrying on.

You shook your head. “I don’t have the energy to give you the makeout session you deserve,” you said, envisioning drowning him in the bathtub, “I’m exhausted. Forgive me.”

“Always,” said Hawks, “Want me to keep going?”

“You can hardly eat me out when we haven’t kissed yet.”

“I meant,” said Hawks, pausing to visibly swallow (was it real?), “about our relationship, but if you wanna eat—”

“Nah, keep going. So, I started the relationship? I must be crazy. Neither of us have fucking time to sleep, let alone be in a relationship.”

Hawks never shut up about how he was taking time out of his endlessly packed days to spend time with you, how time was precious to him, and if he’s spending time with you, why, then, you’d better pay up, bitch (always accompanied with his hands on his belt, subtly pointing his thumbs towards his cock).

Hawks shrugged with his wings instead of his shoulders. Interesting. Has he ever done that before? “The commission said that, but after I insisted we’d make time, they relented. Eventually,” said Hawks, jerking his head to the side, “Our quirks don’t exactly fit well, so we haven’t worked with each other professionally too often, and, of course, we’ve had to hide our relationship so that we can’t be a public weak spot to each other. Plus, we’re more marketable as eligible, young heroes.”

“Fuck the market,” you said, slumping into the pillows.

“There’s my girl,” said Hawks, grinning with his tongue caught between his teeth, “There’s her spark. I know, baby. I feel the same way, but being made into libidinous body pillows pays the bills, y’know?”

Nodding, you brought one of the couch pillows around for you to hug, and you smushed your chin into it. “Hawks,” you said, so quietly you almost couldn’t be heard over the A/C kicking on, “How long have we been engaged?”

“Four months,” he said, his grin unconsciously fading until he was essentially baring his teeth, “Since the twentieth.”

Taking a moment, you said, “I can’t remember anything at all.”

“That’s okay. It’ll come back.”

“No, I can’t—” You slid your hands through your hair, pulling at it, and you heaved a sigh. “Goddammit, Hawks. I wish I could—fuck. I’m missing something huge. I know I am.” Make him nervous. Make him lie awake at night. “I’m sorry, Hawks. It’s probably something really important, and I—”

“Shh, shh, shh, shh, it’s all right,” said Hawks, and he stood to lean over you, his hands rising to cup your face, and holy shit, his hands cover so much of your skin; is that legal? He’s got hands. “Don’t worry, baby. You’ve had a big day. Turn your brain off. I’ll take care of you.”

Red flag! Big, red flag! Creep! He’s a creep!

Your gaze fell to his jacket pockets. Does he carry date rape drugs on his person?

“Hawks, I don’t wanna inconvenience you any more than I have.”

“I’m your fiancé,” said Hawks, actually looking you straight in the eyes and not breaking, “I want to take care of you.”

“Sure, in the way the mob takes care of people.”

Hawks’s mouth opened slightly, and his eyes narrowed.

Cover it up. “I’m not sorry. I don’t trust your cooking. You’ll poison my spaghetti!” You made a dumb gesture, pinching your fingers together. “Have you seen The Godfather? There’s actually a pretty legit spaghetti recipe in it; it’s not too bad, but it’s kind of watery—”

Hawks brought your hand to his mouth to kiss your knuckles and let his lips linger. “Watch it with me?”

You shook your head. “I’m too tired. I’m going to bed.”

“I’ll join you.”

“No,” you said, “My bed’s not made with your wings in mind.” Fuck off to your own little sex next, Hawks. Get out of here. “If they got hurt, it’d be my fault. Go sleep in your own bed, all right?” Go home. Get mugged on the way.

Hawks sighed, blowing his hair out of his eyes. “If you insist. But you’ve gotta reach out to me for anything you have trouble with, yeah? Memories, opening jars, orgasms, you know.”

“I’m leaving,” you said, reaching for your crutches, “Ten minutes ago.”

***

“You didn’t tell me how you proposed.”

Hawks froze mid-bite of his ramen, but after a quick beat, he slurped the rest of the noodle up. “I was hoping you’d recall that on your own, baby. Get your own feelings about it, instead of me telling you how to feel.”

If you weren’t faking amnesia, you’d fucking break his nose for that. Bastard.

“I imagine once you tell me, the feelings will rush in,” you said, clicking your chopsticks twice for emphasis, “I want to remember everything, and if I don’t, well, I want to fall in love with you again.”

Hawks’s gaze glazed over for an infinitesimal moment. Score.

“It’ll sound goofy once I describe it.” With his wings cramped against the back of the booth, Hawks scratched the back of his neck—a classic move for pretending to be embarrassed. “I’m not exactly known for being romantic.”

Yeah, he’s known for fooling around with anyone who’s glittery, like a goddamn crow. If you’re paying attention.

“Aw, but Hawks, you’ve been nothing but so effortlessly romantic to me since I’ve been convalescing,” you said, rolling up the paper wrapper of your straw and soaking it in the ring your cup left on the table.

“Right, well. I flew us out to the countryside, to this overlook halfway up a mountain. You liked going rappelling there a lot. To practise for missions.” Hawks had some of your habits down, at least. Bet he gets the location wrong, though. “We watched the sunrise. We shared a thermos of tea. I asked you once the sun had risen, but you didn’t say yes right away,” said Hawks, “You jumped off the overlook without your gear, and I caught you. You were furious about it—you didn’t want me to see you overwhelmed. But you said yes.”

Ugh. That sounded about right. That sounded pretty realistic. Hawks was a fucking stalker.

“Fuck,” you said, burying your face in your hands, “That’s cute.” You stretched the skin of your cheeks before releasing, and you returned to your ramen. “Question: did we put the ring into storage, or something? I don’t have the little indent on my ring finger from wearing a ring too long, and I haven’t found anything at home.” Make him sweat. Make him stumble. Where’s the ring, Hawks?

With a flash of his eyebrows, Hawks maneuvered his straw to his mouth using only his lips, looking quite stupid, in your opinion. “Figured you’d ask that at some point. I’m so overjoyed to see you every time that I forget to bring it up. The ring’s been sent off to a high-level, government-backed, support company. I’ve pulled in a favour from the higher-ups. I wanted to turn your ring into something a little more personal and incorporate one of my feathers into it,” said Hawks, taking a moment to slurp his drink noisily, “Depending on how well it goes, I’d be able to help you if we’re separated and know where you are. At the very least—” Hawks ducked his head to give the illusion of staring up at you with wide eyes, his blond eyelashes light against his skin. “—I’d be able to feel your heartbeat. It would bring me great comfort.”

Great, so he’d have a GPS on you at all times, knowing whether or not you went somewhere he didn’t want you to. He’d be able to tell if you went somewhere your non-amnesia self would know about. Great. Phenomenal.

“Hawks, that’s very sweet,” you said, fiddling with the remnants of your straw wrapper, now fizzled out of its snake shape, “Wouldn’t the process hurt you, though? Since you can feel it.”

“Nothing more than a twinge, sweetheart,” said Hawks, holding up his hands, “And I’d bear any amount of pain for your sake.”

You fantasised about beating his head in with the back end of a rifle.

***

When you were told Hawks was waiting for you outside of the recording booth, you told the messenger that Hawks could wait until you were finished with five more takes. You could picture Hawks’s little pout at the news, his feathers bristling despite the closed space, and resigning himself to sit in one of those clangy, metal chairs out front, having to hunch forward so that he didn’t crush his wings.

The idol group adored the ingenuity of bone-crunching as percussion in a song, and along with that and some other combat foley, you were singing the bridge with the rapper of the group (the dance captain would sing your part for live shows). It’d be a good promo for the girl group and for you, and the song, “Spine,” was going to be released as a single as soon as it was polished.

Hawks perked up the moment you stepped through the secondary door to the booth, his eyes brightening and wings spreading to take up more space. “I didn’t think I’d catch you,” said Hawks, standing to take your hands (the cold leather gloves sucked the heat out of your hands), “I’ve got to fly, soon, but I wanted to tell you personally.”

“You’re not pregnant,” you said, fighting the urge to break his goggles/visor/hat thing.

His lopsided grin widened. “Not yet, baby. There’s gonna be a heroes’ gala held at the end of the month, and I wanted to let you know that I’m doing everything in my power to make it a positive experience for you. Here, I’ve got this woman’s phone number,” he said, fishing a slip of paper out of his jacket, “She’ll help accommodate the venue for your leg.”

Stupid fucking bastard man. He probably wanted to pick out your clothes himself, infantilise you and dress you up like a goddamn doll. Deny you your personhood. “I’ll be out of the cast by then.” You slid the paper into your back pocket.

“I know,” Hawks said in a way that was a fucking lie, “I just don’t want there to be any accidents. I can’t have my babygirl any more hurt than she is.” Hawks placed his cold, gloved hand against your cheek, and you, shutting your eyes, made yourself lean into it. “But contact her. She’ll make it the safest place it can be for you, even when I have to leave your side.”

God, galas were great. Big events for villains to ruin. You licked your lips thinking about using a new move you’ve learnt to take a villain down (involving clamping your legs around the villain’s neck to choke him as he crumpled to the floor—your combat coach had banned you from the move after you made her pass out). “Are we announcing our engagement, then? If we’re going together?”

“I’d love to,” said Hawks, “but only if you want to. The ring could be ready by then, if I ask them to rush it—”

“Let’s do it.” If you plunged the ring into icy water, would he start to shiver? Ooh, your ring’s going to act as a fucking bay leaf in your soups for a while.

“Oh,” said Hawks, sighing lightly with his eyes fluttering shut. He pressed his forehead to yours and rubbed his thumb over your cheek. “You have no idea how much that means to me, sweetheart. You are so dear to me, and I want everyone to know it. The best damn thing in my life. Thank you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” you said, placing your hand on his face to push him away, “Don’t you have work to do, screw boy?”

***

“Did we have a date?” you asked from the edge of the bathtub.

Hawks dipped the razor in the water, washing off the hair and shaving cream. “We’ve gone on so many, darling; you’ll have to specify.”

“No, I meant for the wedding.” Let’s once again play: Can Hawks Cover His Own Ass?

Hawks dragged the razor down your freshly exfoliated, freshly-un-casted, freshly not-broken leg, starting at your knee. “Nope!”

“No explanation?”

“You wanna get married tomorrow? A six-month engagement is rather short, don’t you think?” His nose twitched. He’d said the scent of your shaving cream irritated his nose. Good.

“I don’t. Why didn’t we have a date for the wedding?” You eyed the actual and literal pile of your dead skin on the towel. Maybe you should make Hawks snort it.

“We were too busy working; you’d said you didn’t mind having a long engagement, so long as I was yours. Then, uh, you know. The accident,” Hawks said with a shrug—with his shoulders this time, because if he moved his wings while he was crouched in your bathtub, he’d soak them, and they were a bitch to dry, apparently. Suffer, you rat bastard.

“The commission isn’t involved in that decision?”

“I thought that was implied,” said Hawks, gripping your ankle to turn your calf to the side, “They don’t want it to be a huge spectacle, so even I don’t know how much of a wedding wedding they’d let us have.”

He’s too damn good at this. If he weren’t a pro-hero, he’d fit right along in a theatre troupe.

You’re going to wring his neck.

You caught him staring at the crotch of your underwear (bone-dry, you might add) while he shaved your thighs, and he spent more time rubbing lotion into your inner thighs than anywhere else. He tossed your dead skin before you could make him eat it, and he scooped you up against your protestations about your weight and capability, humming while he carried you to your bed.

The fucker tucked you in and rounded up your cat to place in your arms (your cat disagreed with him and promptly leapt off the bed).

“Let me stay with you,” said Hawks, kissing each of your fingertips. It’s an order.

Yet you shook your head.

***

“The doctors said you shouldn’t drink,” Hawks said under his breath, taking the champagne flute gently from your grasp.

“But I want to,” you said, sticking out your lower lip, “I’m wearing goddamn heels and a fucking dress. I’ve got on makeup, for Christ’s sake. I’ve done my time; let me drink.”

“Baby, you’ve got to stay safe,” he said, and he set the glass next to some 40s-level hero’s place at the long, white tablecloth. “There’s already press paying more attention to us than usual. You wanna make a fool of yourself?”

“Yes,” you said, lifting another champagne flute from a passing gala waiter, “Who gives a shit about the press.”

Hawks laughed too loudly to be natural before lowering his voice. “Baby, you are gonna be the death of me.”

“Promise?”

***

When “Spine” was released on a cool, spring morning to an excitable audience, you were lurking in alleyways by the docks, searching for a fight. When the music video dropped, you were smashing some guy’s face into a concrete wall. While more and more citizens recognised you and your talent, your work for the community, your connections, your popularity—with your rank steadily rising—you were rappelling down a port sewer to pummel a slime villain into dust.

You wiped his blood off on your pants, hands devoid of anything that could taint. You’d left the ring at home.

***

“You tricked me,” you said, scowling as Hawks pushed you forward, “This isn’t the rock climbing park.”

Once you deliberately smashed your face into the glass door and crossed your arms, Hawks held the door open for you. “Would you have dressed up so nicely for rock climbing?”

“A meta-game challenge,” you said, “to rock-climb in a long skirt.”

You glowered about the restaurant while you and Hawks stood in the lobby, his hand low on your back, suspiciously respectfully. You made no effort to hide your distaste: it was the place with the purple lights.

Over there at the absurdly long bar, Endeavor had drunk flat whisky without so much of a growl at anyone, despite it being his event. Hexagonal tables with lilac tablecloths dotted the floor—you’d hidden in one of the few booths, up against the exposed brick wall—but your hiding place had been ruined once a violet disco ball had emerged from the ceiling. Shiny, wooden floor that had reflected your post-panic attack face right back at you and let every shoe strike it with a clatter. No silence allowed.

The whole restaurant had lavender LED lights running around the walls, swathing the place in a distorted sort of purple haze, and any candles lit on the centre tables had indigo flames—you’d focused on how those might have been made in the process of coming down from your panic attack.

God. You’re going to throw up.

The hostess escorted you and Hawks to a farther back room, this one with booths separated by small, brick walls that didn’t reach the ceiling yet concealed the booths’ occupants from each other—unless you were passing directly in front of one.

Hawks made you sit in the booth first, trapping you in as he settled. He had to be on the edge, anyway, he told you, because of his wings. You’re going to rip them off and boil them in the soup.

The two of you ordered. You don’t remember what. You can only channel so much of your nerves into jostling your leg. This is not cool. This place is not cool. You need to get out.

“Hey, let me through,” you said, nudging Hawks, “Bathroom.”

Once there, you lightly slapped your cheeks a couple of times, trying to ground yourself through physical sensation. No use. Can’t they fucking use normal lights in this place?

You didn’t have your panic meds, because you’ve never needed them rock climbing. You can do it. You’re fine. You’re fine. Your tongue is too big for your mouth.

You took your time meandering back to the booth, coming to a halt at the end of the narrow hallway and ducking behind the corner.

Endeavor stood by your booth, his arms crossed over a flaming chest. You caught your breath at the sight of his orange fire, a comforting contrast to all the damn purple, but still—Endeavor. Talking to your (gag) fiancé.

Without the courage to interact with Endeavor, you listened at the corner for his departure.

“Nah, she can handle her bladder just fine. It’s her nerves,” Hawks was saying, hidden by the bricks, “She likes hiding. She doesn’t necessarily like being in the spotlight.”

“Yet she hasn’t completely withdrawn as Eraserhead has. You’ve picked a strange one to marry.”

From the angle Endeavor glared at him, Hawks must be slumping in his seat. “But that’s what so great about her. And it’s hard to process, y’know, like, she’s finally mine. You follow?”

“Regrettably,” said Endeavor, “Regardless, I offer my congratulations that your courtship finally worked out in your favour. You should have told me sooner.”

Courtship. That’s a funny way to pronounce bullying.

“Eh, I’ve gotta have some secrets, don’t I? Can’t betray my otherwise cool exterior.” Hawks laughed. “I can’t believe I’ve been allowed such happiness. The woman I’ve loved for years is gonna be waking up to me every day soon, y’know?”

Hawks has got to know you can hear him, otherwise he wouldn’t be saying those things. Endeavor must be in on Hawks’s ruse, since Endeavor is Hawks’s closest—actually, Endeavor isn’t the type to revel in romantic shit. Endeavor straight-up isn’t the type to revel. To the best of your knowledge, Endeavor doesn’t genuinely like Hawks as so much as tolerates him; when did they get so close? It must have taken a long time—

Time.

You could feel your IQ dropping as you actually considered: had you been in a legitimate coma? Had you (fuck) genuinely had amnesia?

No, no. You don’t live in Crazytown. Your eyebrows hadn’t been overgrown when you’d woken up in the hospital. You’d only been there a day.

Of course, Hawks is a vain piece of shit and does his own eyebrows, so he might have considered that yours were a piece of pride/insecurity for you and may have done them while you were—did Hawks do his own eyebrows? That spoiled fuck probably had someone else to do them for him. If they were naturally like that, you were going to throttle his ass.

You didn’t fucking have amnesia. Hawks is and always has been a stupid, clammy birdbrain. He’s always been cruel to you. He didn’t fucking like you.

He sure as hell wasn’t in fucking love with you.

Oh, my fuck, what if your memories of Hawks have been fabricated by a coma-addled mind and that—

“Hey, there,” said—said someone, some pale-ass, sleep-deprived freak who startled you out of your head, “Are you all right? You look—I mean, do you need some water? A chair?”

You blinked, yet he wouldn’t come into focus—you were taking in details about him, ones that didn’t fucking matter (chain on his wallet, three rings all on the left hand, a button-down missing the last button, a cloud of axe body spray), but he didn’t register as a human person. He couldn’t; you hadn’t grounded yourself yet. You yourself still had a frazzled, cartoon scribble buzzing inside of your chest, and until you vomited it up, a panic attack may yet still happen.

You can’t deal with anyone new right now.

A spark of recognition crossed the new guy’s face, and he, through a smirk, asked if you were your hero name.

Oh god oh fuck not now

“Sweetheart,” came Hawks’s melodious drawl (registering first his voice, then bodily warmth, then the wingtip covering your ass), “You were taking so long that I came to check on you.” He pulled you by the waist towards him, blocking the guy from seeing your face by pressing it into his chest. “Who’s this?”

Who cares. All you could focus on (sharp and overwhelming, nothing else but) was how fucking incredible Hawks smelled, and at this point, you’d use anything to bring yourself back down to earth. A small voice in the back of your head told you that freaking out to this degree in this particular situation was leaning towards pathetic, since basically nothing happened, besides being in an uncomfortable environment and being accosted by a fan at the wrong time, but you? You did not control the rate at which your brain panicked.

And really, no rhyme or reason played into why your grabby little hands itched for human contact once safe in the booth again, why Hawks’s scent lay on your tongue more heavily than your soup, why the overwhelming sensation of being so fucking spaced out of it threw its entire weight upon your shoulders—you couldn’t find yourself. You were lost.

And in this horrible, purple place, the only thing that’s familiar was Hawks.

When you scooted as closely as you could to him in the booth, keeping your glare towards your lap while you looped your arm under his to snuggle into it, Hawks cleared his throat to say, “What’s this?”

You scowled into his jacket, both hands gripping his forearm.

He set his chopsticks down. “How can I help, darling?”

Growling, you bonked your forehead against his shoulder, dragging your hands down to his.

“Hey,” said Hawks, and he guided your face towards his and stroked your cheek with his thumb, “Did that guy bother you too much before I got there?”

Turning your mouth towards the hand cupping your cheek, you kissed his palm, bit the leather, and kissed it again before burying yourself in his shoulder again.

He rested his hand on the crown of your head. “What’s the matter? Can you tell me?”

“Not sure I can put it into words,” you said, “I think I wanna go home.” You bit the fabric of his jacket and gnashed it between your teeth.

“I can handle that,” said Hawks, “Gimme a moment to get takeaway boxes, yeah? Then we’ll leave, and you’ll be safe. Don’t worry.”

Unfortunately, you were still clutching onto his arm by the time he unlocked his darkened penthouse (because you’re not gonna hold his hand. God), but you slapped his hand away from the light switches.

“Turning them on would be too much stimulation,” you said, “Please don’t.”

Hawks hummed against the top of your head, placing keys and both of your phones on the kitchen counter. “Bed or couch?”

“Window,” you said.

“Window?”

“I’m assuming you’ve got one.”

“I do,” said Hawks, guiding you through his dark apartment, probably past scarily expensive, posh shit. He led you to what was most likely his living room, with the cool, dim light of the night sky through a vast, single-frame, wall-to-floor window illuminating furniture custom built for his wings, but he eased you down onto the carpet, tugging your shirt upwards so that the window would be touching your bare skin on the small of your back.

Hawks yanked his boots off, late, instead of at the door, and he tossed them over his shoulder. He took yours off, too, and once he’d set them aside, he sat next to you against the window, a hand on your thigh.

“Better?”

“Probably,” you said, staring at the triangle of light beige carpet between your crossed legs.

“Need me to talk? You need to talk?”

“Not right now.”

Hawks was a dumbass. He’s such a fucking dumbass. But he’s a dumbass who’s here right now, and he’s interested (?) in you, interested in helping you. And good golly, you have to be touched. Hawks’s offering warmth, freely, potentially lovingly, and all you had to do was reach out to take it, even if you didn’t reciprocate whatever sentiment was motivating him yourself.

Do you really want to take what you have no feelings for?

Hawks lies a lot to Endeavor. To everyone. He might not have been lying earlier. What reason had he to lie?

Guess it didn’t matter, because you were lying.

But good God, you haven’t been kissed in a long time. Haven’t felt safe or loved. You could…you could indulge for a few hours in order to calm down. You could pretend.

The last ten months had proved that.

“Hey,” you said idly, reaching out to grab the inner fleece lining of his jacket to rub it between your fingers, “Hawks, I’m gonna—I’m gonna put my mouth on your mouth. Okay?”

Hawks’s wings ruffled and constricted themselves so that he could move closer to you, and his hand has migrated from your thigh to grip your hip—how could anyone’s hands encompass that much of you? Your fucking hands couldn’t, not in the way his does.

(Bird man big and safe.)

([No, fuck you, don’t think that.])

(BIRD MAN SAFE—)

Shoved is how you’d describe the first few seconds of the kiss, followed closely by wet and you’d think his teeth would be sharper. Your lips didn’t line up with his completely until he adjusted your chin with two of his fingers, guiding it open just barely, as well, so that his tongue could graze your teeth—it took you a moment of processing before parting them, with a final don’t think! shouted to your neocortex.

Birds have a higher body temperature than other animals, on average having a body temperature of 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius). The colour of their feathers, of course, affects how much light and heat they absorb, with the lighter coloured feathers—say, red—reflecting more, rejecting outside heat sources.

Yet Hawks gripped you like he’d fucking freeze if he weren’t clutching you, if he weren’t straddling your legs, one palm flat against the cool of the window by your head. The other snaked around you, his forearm lying almost vertically up your back to press down between your shoulder blades, keeping you as near to his chest (he probably didn’t realise it, but his fingers ran across the curve of your shoulder blades where his wings were on his own body.

For some reason, the thought crossed your mind that you weren’t enough for him, because you were too dissimilar.)

Don’t think!

When he massaged your tongue with his, applying pressure sporadically, you returned the action—have you ever seen a bird tongue up close? They’re fucking nasty little things, looking more like a grub than anything else. Thank God Hawks had a normal, human tongue that performed particularly delightful, normal things, like drag across the roof of your mouth and aid in sucking phenomenal hickeys onto your jawline, licking over where he’s bitten and kissed.

Stop thinking about bird anatomy. Hawks has no discernible bird traits except for his fucking wings. He’s not a fucking bird man. He’s just some dude with wings. And not all birds have functional wings; for example, the ostrich and the penguin do not have wings to be used in flight—

Oh, my fuck. Turn your brain off.

Your stomach lurched. That had been something Hawks had told you too often, back before your accident.

It’s what he wants.

Hawks fucking whimpered when you pulled the shorter hairs at the back of his neck, prying him away from your skin with great difficulty—he kept trying to touch you with his mouth and tongue in the process.

“Let me have more,” he said, panting, his breath heavy and just below your ear, “Please.” He pressed his lips to the spot in front of your ear in a weak kiss, having spent himself for the most part. “I’ve missed you so much, baby. I’ve been waiting for you to come back to me for so long.”

“I don’t—” You fake-stuttered, but it turned out you needed the time to put your thoughts into words. “I don’t think I’m back yet. I’m,” you said, taking as deep a breath as you could with Hawks smushed against your chest, “Something’s missing. Something big.” That’s right. Steer it back in his direction. Make the bird man sweat. “I don’t—something doesn’t feel right.”

It took a moment, but Hawks nodded fervently, shutting his eyes. “Of course. Yeah. Yeah, I get it, sweetheart. Can’t do anything when your heart’s not in it.”

Your heart’s not the problem. “Thank you for being so understanding, Hawks,” you said, untangling yourself from underneath him, “Would you just, uh, hold me for a while?”

His wings wrapped around the both of you on his enormous bed, still fluttering with each slow breath he took. Hawks almost looked genuine while he slept, and probably for the best—at least he was getting rest; at least his guard might be down.

You couldn’t sleep. Your mind was racing.

***

“Rank speculation is out,” you said, scrubbing the pumice stone over a patch of dry skin on Hawks’s back and scrolling through the twitter with your other hand, “Take a look.”

He opened the link you sent once he’d safely removed a dead feather that had been lodged in an odd spot in a wing. “Huh. Think I could truly take on Endeavor?”

“Well, he’s got that abusive-to-his-family thing, while you’re rocking the preparing-for-my-wedding look, and he can’t network non-aggressively to save his life.”

“Nor can you.” Hawks shot you a smirk over his shoulder.

“Zoom in on my speculated nine, baby,” you said, flicking away some dead skin with a satisfied/disgusted sneer, “And I didn’t have to sleep my way there.”

“Ah, ha, ha,” said Hawks, “Knew you could do it. Whoever’s told you that is gonna have to deal with my foot up their ass. You’re more than capable of getting there on your own.”

“Which I did. I have.” Wait. Hawks told you that. No, it’s fine. It’s fine. It’s a commonly said, misogynistic comment towards women heroes. Hawks isn’t special. “But having your foot up someone’s ass wouldn’t be good for PR, unless you wanted to advertise that you’re a kinky son of a bitch who’s cheating on his fiancée.”

“I would never,” said Hawks, and, contorting his arm, he grabbed your hand with the pumice stone to kiss the back of it, “But my PR is solid, regardless.”

“If the public knew how much time you had to spend preening these fucking wings, they’d probably appreciate you more. Or call you conceited.”

Hawks hummed. “It’s a necessary evil,” he said, returning to his wingtip to search for dead feathers. “Thank you for helping.”

“No problem. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t get to see how—Hawks, holy fuck. Do you feel that?” You ran a finger near the base of a wing.

“It’s your finger?”

“No, this,” you said, tapping the spot.

“No?”

“My God. It’s a dilated pore of a winer,” you said, already reaching for the tweezers, “Right at the base of your wing. It’s basically an enormous fucking blackhead. I’m popping it. Oh, my God. I’ve never seen one in real life.”

“You’re popping it?”

“You didn’t have a problem with my getting the ones where your costume sits.”

“No,” said Hawks, rolling back his shoulders, his wings spreading with them, “Gotcha. Get on with it.”

“Can I film it?”

“What? No,” said Hawks, “No one can see me preening, let alone dealing with acne.”

“There’s sure to be another hero out there with a wing quirk, right? I don’t know how you can’t feel it.”

“Yeah,” Hawks said slowly, “Since my feathers can feel—I suppose where the wings merge with my skin is pretty numb. I haven’t ever had to think about it.” He licked his lips. “Funny.”

He continued to scroll through his feed and tend to his feathers while you worked at his back. “Bad news: the tabloids got a hold of our grocery list from the last time we went to the shops. I must have dropped it at some point in the store.”

“Oh, so do they know what kind of ice cream we prefer? The horror.”

“No, but they’ve brought in some hack handwriting analyst. Talking about our annotations for each other on the list. Something about how you’re logical and I’m a romantic. The writer of the article is practically swooning.” Hawks pulled out a clot of feathers with his teeth and spat them aside. “With good reason, though. The trashy pictures they snapped of us are hot.”

“Describe them to me.”

“I can show you—”

“No,” you said, concentrating on your work, “I don’t want the image imprinted on my brain. Describe them in your own words.”

“All right,” said Hawks, crossing his legs and placing his phone on the coffee table in front of him, “To start, the flash is on.”

“Oh, fuck.”

“Yeah. We’ve got that distantly surprised look going on. It looks like we’re near the eggs and cheese. You’re not looking at the camera, but I believe it’s in the moment I caught it.” Hawks flicked away a feather and let it fall to the carpet. “My hand’s on your waist. The other’s on the cart. You’ve scrunched your face up in concentration; it’s really cute.”

“Aw, we should get it framed,” you said, wiping away the gunk with a tissue and wadding it up so that no one will ever have to see or touch it ever again.

“Never,” said Hawks, “The first picture of us I wanna get framed should be on our wedding day.”

“It’s coming along quickly,” you said, setting aside the tweezers, “Bit more quickly than I’d thought it would.”

“Yeah, I can’t wait,” said Hawks with a light laugh, and you ducked to rest your head against his shoulder, straining your neck to reach him over his wing.

Hawks clicked his non-nasty, non-bird tongue. “What’s the matter, sweetheart?”

Sighing, you said, “Turn your head this way.”

He did you one better, since he anticipated your plan. He twisted around, keeping his legs crossed as he pulled you into his lap. His wings initially bristled but wrapped around you when his arms did, and Hawks kissed your cheek, once, twice, until he arrived at your mouth, where he barely grazed your lips, rather letting his hot breath spread over your face—and he grinned up at you with half-lidded eyes (he’d left off his eyeliner today, but the natural marks below his waterline kept his eyes sharp, anyway).

“Kiss me, you fucking idiot,” you said, overriding whatever he was about to do by kissing him yourself, hard and open-mouthed, almost violent in its fervent. Yet Hawks held you lightly, delicately, but still close enough to freeze.

You ran your cold, cold hands over his bare abdomen, pressing your thumb down with considerable force to trace his muscles (he grunted at that, and that’s it; that’s right—make him squirm; make him sweat; make him yours). His finger only toyed with the hem of his shirt that you were wearing, as if waiting for you, which didn’t line up with what you had garnered about Hawks at all, but c’mon, man, come on; didn’t you want this all those months ago? Almost a year, now? Years, if what he said to Endeavor is true? But when he flinched away with a shaky breath once your cold fingers circled his nipple, you knew this was where you were supposed to be: right here, in Hawks’s lap, completely destroying him with hardly anything at all. Nothing but light touches and a strategic flick of your tongue. Idiot man. He must really like you if this is doing it for him.

You slowed and opened your eyes at that thought, frowning, and you pulled away. With the back of his hand, Hawks wiped saliva off of both of your mouths, yours first.

He waited for you.

“If you can’t take all of me, then what’s the point?”

He tilted his head. “I’ll take whatever part of you you’re willing to share.”

“I’m missing something.”

“I know.”

“I want to find it before we get married.” You laid your palm flat on his chest, and he grinned at the cold.

“You can find it,” he said, “I know you can.”

“I don’t know what I’m blocking out,” you said, lying—or maybe you weren’t? Fuck it. “Whatever I’m repressing is really fucking with me.”

“Take your time,” said Hawks, running his tongue over his lower lip. “I’m here for—”

“Hawks,” you said, faking the light of realisation in your eyes, accompanied with a sharp inhale, “I can’t remember your name.”

Hawks’s mouth snapped shut.

“You told me once. I know you did,” you said, moving to cup his cheek after tapping the mark underneath his eye, “but the memory—there’s a blur where you spoke. I—” You cut yourself off, biting your lip. “That, that might be it. I don’t know. Everything else about the scene is in perfect detail. I remember what fucking socks I was wearing, for Christ’s sake. But you. What you said. Maybe it’s something so personal, so intimate, that I’ve repressed it. Maybe it was too much for me to handle.” You cupped his face with both hands now, forcing him to look at you. If you hadn’t been scrutinising him for some evidence of breaking character, you wouldn’t’ve seen the minute quivering of his upper lip. Hardly there, but it was there. “It’s a part of you that I want. Even if I couldn’t handle it before, I want to try now.”

Hawks averted his gaze, even though he couldn’t move his head. And bang, you’ve got him. Hawks’s name was still strictly secret, hidden by the commission, but if he’s genuinely in this dumbass situation for the long haul, if he’s truly in it for you, then he would have told you. Even if he wanted you to continue to call him Hawks, your own fiancé would have told you his damn name.

So, this is it. The way out.

Hawks was going to feel so stupid when he found out you’ve been faking all this time. Good. Let each feather burn.

“Keigo,” he said, staring into your eyes with a newfound determination, “My name is Takami Keigo.”

Oh, shit—you clapped a hand over your heart, your eyes widening. Maybe you could play this off as memory recovery instead of absolute shock? But you hadn’t any memories to recover, probably. Holy fuck.

Where do you go from here?

You tried to say his name but ended up simply mouthing it, and after clearing your throat and coughing a bit, you managed to say it aloud. “Keigo,” you said softly, reaching for his hand, “Keigo, I fucking love you.”

You’d only been kissing him for a few moments before his wings shuddered in a muscle spasm and flung you off to the side.

***

Only a commission higher-up witnessed your wedding. She stood silently to the side the entire ceremony in the courthouse and only shook Hawks’s hand afterwards.

You and your cat essentially moved into his penthouse and adjusted. Your mostly empty apartment stayed leased under your name.

Sometimes, you’d note that you turned your brain off and instantly be hit with a lightning strike of self-loathing—but you didn’t have to consciously decide to be affectionate with Hawks. Being with him came naturally and easily. Probably for the best, since if you had to think about it, you’d screw it up.

You stayed together. Supported each other. Sneaked out to see the other on patrol. Took care, listened to each other. Defended each other. Worked it out.

And now, you stared up at the ceiling fan whirling in your darkened bedroom, Keigo lying on his stomach next to you in the bed as he slept. Your cat catloafed between his wings and nestled into them, rising and falling with each breath he took. Hawks was perfect, always saving the day, working up a routine to mesh with your fighting style and quirk, always charming and easygoing with the people he rescued, indulging you in your ferocity, and Keigo, Keigo whispered sweet and dirty things into your ear when he spotted you in public, made you laugh, worked wonders with his cock, helped you clean up before he even thought of preening himself, held you, and made you feel held. He’s got it bad.

And maybe you do, too.

Hawks was going to feel so stupid when he found out.

[pufflix]

unbothered

pairing: choi soobin x gn!reader

wc: 0,5k

genre: fluff, attempted humor, neighbor!soobin, superhero!reader, superhero!au, neighbors!au

tw: mentions of food

notes: i used n°14 of ficscafe’s event! neighbor x superhero; where the neighbor accidentally sees superhero pull off their costume and reveal their secret identity. (don’t hate me for the end pls and thank you)

networks: @ficscafe @multifandomnet

another villain caught and passed on to the authorities, it was barely lunch time.

with a content smile on your face, you discreetly entered your apartment through the roof, as usual.

you were one of the most respected superheroes out there because of how fast you were to catch the bad guys. indeed, you had an amazing visual acuity and the ability to fly. a very few things could get past you, but usually not for long.

you were also unbothered by a lot of things, like a driver honking you bc you scared them when you weren’t even dangerous, or if you’re not getting a reply in the first ten hours or the way you dress.

when your neighbor knocked on your door as he called your name, you were just coming down from the roof.

“hey, are you there?”

“soobin, hey,” you greeted through the door, “what can I do for you?”

“can I get my glass dish back, please?” your eyes went wide. what glass dish??

“uh, remind me when was the last time you came with it?” you asked as you desperately tried to remember yourself, slowly walking to your kitchen area.

“last week for our game night. I baked a cake.”

suddenly feeling dumb, you shook your head, then searched through your kitchen. when you finally found it in the cabinet, you reached for your door handle.

just then, you realized something important. after putting your mask off with a hand (in your defense, it was hot!) and checking your hair on the mirror on the wall, you answered your door.

“here you go!” you smiled, offering soobin’s dish.

but he didn’t take it.

instead, he looked at you, then from head to toe and up again with a shocked expression. raising an eyebrow, you asked if he was okay. he just pointed to your outfit.

looking down, your expression went from confusion to surprise to panic.

abruptly closing the door, you internally screamed while bringing the dish in front of your face with both hands.

how more stupid can I get? you thought.

you rapidly came up with a reason he probably won’t buy and opened the door again, trying your best to display a detached and unbothered smile.

“it’s a cosplay costume. I’m a big fan of them. here’s your dish.”

“thanks. why did you close—”

“alright, bye!” you cut him off before closing the door. you cursed yourself for being so reckless. of all people, it had to be your cute neighbor.

(good thing you weren’t a villain, or you’d have to get rid of him.)

it was painfully embarrassing nonetheless.

soobin, on the other side of the door, confusion still evident on his face, slowly started walking back to his apartment.

he came to the conclusion he was going to give you more attention from now on by the time he put the glass dish on the countertop. he needed it to make a cake for his friend’s birthday, at which you were invited too.

[soulwillower]

you should be • richie tozier

(richie tozier x reader)

requested:  richie fic where he and reader are neighbors, and he sees her from his balcony in her bra. he’s shamelessly watching till she looks, flips him off n leaves. then he’s kinda embarrassed lol. then he’s at a cafe of smith with the losers n sees her. he stares. they ask who she is and he tells them, and they laugh. then she looks at him, and he kinda sheepishly waves. she acts kinda mad, then smiles and waves back. eventually, a while later, they start talking to each other from their balconies. 1/2   +   2/2 then he sees her crying one night. and ummm if ur comfortable w it could u write this as Indian reader? bc there’s not much representation like that soooo yea. otherwise just normal. anyways, he asks her what’s wrong n it’s smith like her parents want arranged marriage, he cheers her up, fluffy

thank u for the request im sorry it took so long! :) 

warnings: mentions of arranged marriage, and richie staring at reader while theyre half naked so bad morals, half-nudity, unedited asf!

[losers + reader are 17+ in this.]

1.0k words

♡

the café is busy when you walk in, the sharp smell of espresso waking you up slightly as you move to line up for your order. 

you’re waiting for your order when a loud chorus of laughs and whispers make you crane your neck to the right, making direct eye contact with a boy who makes you stop for a moment. you know those peering eyes. richie tozier. he bites his lip, sheepishly waving as his friends all laugh, shoving him. 

you know why he's sheepish - he probably should be. 

three days ago, you saw those large blue eyes. but you were in your room, dancing to a song that played softly from your radio as you changed into your pajamas.

the night is beautiful, air fresh and your window doors open wide. you waltz over to the balcony, humming slightly as you breathe the air flowing onto your skin. 

but you feel something. 

your eyes fall easily to the house next to yours, the small balcony adjacent to yours open and a boy sitting on a folding chair, smoking a half-ashed joint in his fingers. he’s staring shamelessly. 

his face is smug but also almost blank, as if he knows he should feel embarrassed but isn't. and he holds your gaze - eyes big, blue, and imploring as he watches you, a warm feeling in your gut that is shocking and not what you expected. 

you blink; your neighbor, richie, is staring at you. you're only wearing a bra. frowning, you flip him off and abruptly whirl around, shutting your windows. 

and now, richie's staring at you again. he must've told his friends. you start to give him a glare, showing that you're still annoyed, but then you smile a bit, laughing at how ashamed he looks before you wave back. you don't miss the blush on his cheeks. 

-

the giddiness that you'd had when you left the café disappeared after dinner, when you got into an argument with your parents. you're crushed; the knowledge that at one point, your young adulthood and freedom will come to an end and you'll be paired with a person to marry.  and yes, you know your parents' marriage was arranged and they found real love but you just don't want that. your mind skips to the café today, to richie - you let out a small sob. 

climbing out to the balcony attached to your room, you let out a shaky sigh. you have a cup of turmeric milk in your hands, eyes clouding with tears as you let out a small sob. 

"y/n?" you hear a voice call from to your left. craning your neck, you sigh and wipe the tears, embarrassed to have richie see you so upset. "h-hi, richie. how are you?" you ask, voice wavering. 

he doesn't say anything, instead his eyes look conflicted. "would you like to talk?" he calls, tilting his head, curls flopping and making your chest warm. 

you clear your throat, "it's okay, i just-" you cut yourself off, sighing. why lie? "i've had a bad day, richie." you sigh honestly. there's a rustle and you look back over to see his long body folding out of his window and you nearly gasp as he stumbles, sure that he's about to plummet the twenty feet to the ground. 

but then he's leaping across to your roof and your eyes widen in shock, hoping your parents don’t hear anything. swallowing, you watch as he pulls his denim jacket closer and shoves his hands in, sliding onto your balcony and plopping next to you. it's quiet for a few moments, and you're still in shock at the ease in which richie just leapt across your roof. although in the same way, you're not shocked. 

"you smell nice." he whispers suddenly. you blink, smiling lightly. "it's probably our incense." you dismiss, gesturing to the holder further out of your room, even though your door is closed. he nods, shrugging. "it smells good." he reiterates, and you smile at the ground. 

"so, what's got'ya down?" he asks, slinging an arm around your shoulders to pull you in. you flush, heart beating erratically at his proximity. "um, well. i got into an argument with my parents-" you mutter a hindi swear word and richie tilts his head, but you shake your head. his face twitches and you can tell he's holding back a comment and so you push on, "my parents, they - they're trying to arrange my marriage." 

his jaw drops slightly. "sugar, we're seventeen." he breathes out, and you just tilt your head, tears falling from your face even quicker. "i know." you choke out, and he nearly winces as if realizing that wasn't the right choice of words. 

"i know. and i just really want to date someone, before that. they don't understand that i want to like a boy." you sniff, "i want someone to want to take me out, i want to be excited before going on dates, i want to get butterflies when i kiss them." 

he's silent, staring out at the landscape of the town in the dark, before kissing your hair slightly. butterflies fly in your stomach. "you're right, y/n. that's not fair. you deserve to be with someone who you want to be with, someone who wants to be with you." 

you nod, smiling lightly through your tears. he's trying his best to comfort you, and it makes you warm with appreciation. richie shrugs, arm still around your waist. "we could kiss, you know. i think you're real cute sugar. and your parents would hate it, but, i'd like to take you out sometime."  

you can feel those butterflies again.

you chuckle, raising a brow and looking at him. he reaches a hesitant finger to wipe away your tears gently, hand falling. 

"really?" you ask, biting through a smile. his eyes are bright as he chuckles, shaking his head. "yeah, really. why else would i have been creeping on you that one night?" 

you roll your eyes, smiling. "i'm still mad at you for that, tozier." you mutter, and he laughs. "you should be, you should be." 

and then he pulls your jaw towards his and you're kissing, softly, happily. you sigh lightly into his mouth, his hand rubbing your cheekbone. you pull apart, and he hums, pressing his forehead to yours. "can i take you out to make up for it, at least?" he asks. you smile and kiss him tenderly, hands finding his jaw and cupping either side. 

"yes, you can." 

tag list:  @gabiatthedisco @blisshemmings @stenbrozier  @sft-core @clownsloveyou  @moon-shine-baby  @daughter-of-the-stars11 @trashedfortozier @oceandog13 @chl0bee  @kait16xo @upamongthestarss @fiantomartell @beverlyparkerr @beauregard-s @diorbubs @leighjaenikhowell @groovybimbo @deepestofwaters @melinda-hargreeves @sassy-uris @loverloserrr @hauntingkaspbrak @soph-ec @hockslutter @babytortie  @decafcoffeew @etaerealboy

[duckiesdoodlesdelight]

what if i wrote fanfiction at 10 pm on a saturday night  😏 (this lasted for an hour so now its 11)

(warnings for mentions of Gore.  the only reason im writing this is bc i was trying to think of animatic ideas but then instead had an interesting thouight >:-] there’s going to be violence in this one !)

Context: I like making theories for Fire Spirit. This one is essentially about him previously being a knight much like Knight Cookie, named Magma Cookie. 

(Here’s the uh. first and only design i’ve made of him AHAHSF)

A knight of vanilla armor and a knight of chocolate armor walked side-by-side into the entrance of Dragon’s Valley. The Vanilla knight, famously known as Knight Cookie, was a relatively short cookie with a strong build and poorly cut blond hair. The chocolate knight, on the other hand, was not known well by those outside of the kingdom neighboring the Dragon’s Valley. His name was Magma Cookie. He was tall, slim, and had flowing magma hair. 

At this time of day, there were usually two to four dragons awake and flying around. The two armored cookies could see a yellow dragon flying away from the valley and a green dragon flying above their heads. While it was impressive, they were on a mission to find the dragon that had been terrorizing Magma Cookie’s kingdom: Pitaya Dragon Cookie. Other dragons had relatively positive relationships with the kingdoms around them. Pitaya Dragon Cookie was the exception to this expectation. Every other week, they would try to burn down a kingdom, whether it be Magma Cookie’s kingdom or Knight Cookie’s. The two bravely decided to venture out and teach this dragon a lesson! 

“Are you slow?” Teased Knight Cookie as he walked ahead.

“Are you? I’ll race you to Pitaya’s cave! I know where it is.” To be frank, Magma Cookie knew his way around Dragon’s Valley like the back of his cracked hand.

“That’s not fair!” 

Most dragons rested peacefully as the clang of armor hitting the ground went past the mouth of their dens. Some, although disgruntled, ignored the disruption. Few called out for the two knights to stop making a ruckus. 

“Here it is,” Magma Cookie whispered to Knight Cookie. “Pitaya’s den.” They tip-toed their way in, trying not to awaken the dragon. 

“Don’t announce our entrance this time,” Knight Cookie warned. “We have to get the surprise attack--”

“PITAYA DRAGON COOKIE!” Magma Cookie was twenty steps behind Knight Cookie in his plan, having already announced their existence. “I, MAGMA COOKIE, CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL.”

“Is that sssso...?” Queried the sleepy dragon as they rose their head. “Would you like your partner to help or are you a... brave cookie?” They looked up and down at Magma Cookie, sizing him up. “You’d be a quick meal.”

“I...” Magma Cookie looked at Knight Cookie, who had his face in his hands. 

“We’ll fight you together. You need to stop terrorizing the kingdoms!”

“That’d be so boring. You’re so tiressssome... Because I do not like you, vanilla knight, I will be fighting the chocolate knight and him only. Should I win, you will leave me alone.”

“Do you think our lives are something to bet on? Like we’re--”

“Deal. I’ll leave you alone if you beat me. I’m not so sure about Knight Cookie, though.”

“Stop making impulsive decisions like this, Magma Cookie.” He crossed his arms. “You’re going to get yourself killed one of these days.”

“Hopefully not today!”

“Sssay goodbye to your friend, ‘Knight’ Cookie.” With a swish of the tail, Knight Cookie was pushed outside of the den. He could feel the ground shake and see rubble fall to block him out. There was no way inside. Knight Cookie wasn’t strong enough to pick up or push the fallen boulders.

Why did Magma Cookie feel so cold? He was fighting a fire-breathing dragon! It was supposed to feel hot! Magma Cookie grunted as he swung his sword at the dragon’s legs. He panted as he dodged most of the dragon’s attacks-- they were powerful, even one hit would end in his demise. 

His sword clashed against the dragon’s scales, although it seemed nothing happened. Pitaya Dragon Cookie raised their head and roared, breathing a great gust of blazing fire at the roof of the den. “Pathetic mortal... Your sssword is heated...” They slashed at Magma Cookie, quickly knocking him over into the wall. He was shivering as he stared up at the large dragon. 

“Don’t kill me! I’ll-- I’ll leave you alone!”

“Tch. You think that me sssparing you will teach you anything? You really are quite stupid.” Pitaya Dragon Cookie’s stomach made a rumbling noise as flames erupted from their mouth, burning Magma Cookie to a crisp. They coughed on his ashes, hacking up a bead. “Yuck. It’s been 500 years already?” Looking at their large collection of beads, they shrugged. “I’ll leave it on those ashes... They’re like a nessst.”

Pitaya Dragon Cookie burst through the rubble at the mouth of their cave to find that Knight Cookie was talking to another dragon of the valley. He immediately turned over to the dragon and began speedwalking. 

“What did you do? What have you done? Is he alright?”

“I’m afraid not,” they answered with a malicious smile. “Would you like to sssee the damage?” Pitaya Dragon Cookie was already walking toward their den, knowing Knight Cookie would follow.

“Here he is!” They showed the miserable display of hubris that was Magma Cookie’s ashes. 

“Oh my tree.” Knight Cookie broke down on his knees, picking up Magma Cookie’s ashes as his tears fell down. “Why would you do this? He just wanted you to leave the kingdoms alone!”

“Like you two would ssstop hounding me about it if I let him live. You wouldn’t know sense if it stood in front of you and introduced itself.” 

“I have a deal for you.”

“Oh?” Pitaya Dragon Cookie slithered around Knight Cookie. “The vanilla knight has come with a deal? How interesssting.”

“If I can beat you in this battle, you will do whatever you can to bring Magma Cookie back. If you beat me, well... You know you’ll be left alone for good. No other knight is as brave as us-- me.” 

“Ohohoho! Do you care for this cookie?”

“I’d give my life for him!”

“I already knew that, you buffoon. I wasss asking if you had relations with the chocolate knight.” 

“Obviously so. If you weren’t a murderous beast, I would’ve been glad to show you our rings.” 

“How adorable! You wish to sssave a husband. A lover.” The dragon dramatically posed around their den in a mocking manner. “Let us fight.”

Knight Cookie swung his sword in a cold and calculated manner, aiming for the dragon’s neck. Pitaya Dragon Cookie was careless, allowing the Knight to bang his sword against their neck. He attempted to hit other body parts, each having similar results. The vanilla knight growled, trying to think about what he’s doing wrong. Was the dragon’s scales simply too powerful? 

That was when it hit him-- literally. Pitaya Dragon Cookie swung their tail, hitting Knight Cookie square in the chest and launching him into a wall. Knight Cookie swiftly got up and ran around, trying to get the large dragon to swing their tail again. He called out to the dragon, heckled the dragon, and teased the dragon. Finding himself the perfect opportunity, Knight Cookie raised his sword.

He swiftly sliced downward. 

The dragon’s tail flew off followed by trails of pink blood. Pitaya Dragon Cookie, after thrashing around the cave for a few minutes, fell over on their side and passed out. 

“I did it.” He huffed. “I did it! I beat the dragon!” Knight Cookie stood up, feeling more powerful than ever. He picked up the dragon’s tail with ease despite the tail’s large size, examining it. “Maybe I can hang you up on my wall. Isn’t that right, Magma--” Realization struck his face as he turned toward the bead. He stared into the ashes of his fallen lover once again and tried to shake the dragon awake.

“Pitaya Dragon Cookie! Wake up! You’ve a deal to fulfill!” 

It was surprisingly hard to wake a dragon. It was even more hard to take care of the dragon-- the only solution Knight Cookie had to his issue was to try to heal Pitaya Dragon Cookie enough for them to at least speak to him. This was a task that took him weeks of outgoing trips toward unfamiliar cookie hospitals and other dragon’s dens. 

But he was finally successful.

“Who the hell are you...?” The dragon drowsily asked. 

“You-- you.” Knight Cookie, although surprised by this successful attempt, managed to bring himself to a grim and serious tone. “We have a deal. You need to follow through on your loss.” 

“I haven’t lossst to a cookie...” Upon seeing their dismembered tail, their mouth dropped. “Until now.”

“You’ve been asleep for weeks. How can I revive Magma Cookie?”

“I have an idea, although I will warn you... Your husssband will never be the same after thisss...”

“I just want him back.” 

“Take one of my scales to the bead on his ashes.” 

After doing this, it was obvious to see the effects. Flames were sparking from the dragon scale and the bead that quickly erupted into a blazing ball of birth. The light was blinding as a meek, flame-haired cookie was born.

Fire Spirit rose from the ashes, his cape elegantly flowing through the breeze of The Dragon’s Valley.

“Who are you?”

[watchyourbluesturngolden]

songs that make me think of vampy and why

this is for drea and leyla ONLY thank u

daylight- taylor swift "i don't wanna look at anything else now that I saw you, i don't wanna think of anything else now that i thought of you" bc vampy loves her so much he only wants her 😔 midnight love- girl in red "I know I'm the last one you try to call but I always give in to give you it all" "your silver is my gold" bc miss chiropractor treated him terribly but he loved her with everything and would have gone back to her no matter what watch you sleep- girl in red this one is obvious: bc vampy watches bloodbag sleep :) also "the scar on your spine, you fell off a roof when you were nine" is all appreciating the tiny details about someone and that is definitely something vampy would do :( paper rings: taylor swift "i hate accidents except when we went from friends to this" line without a hook- ricky montgomery "oh baby i am a wreck when i'm without you" bc vampy loves bloodbag so much he just wants to be with her always 😔 dead girl in the pool- girl in red this one is kinda weird but i feel like bloodbag is gonna die at some point and then vampy will just be like "theres a dead girl in the pool (or wherever her corpse is laying slfjskldfjkldsj) i don't know what to do" and then he's gonna make this face

bad habits- ed sheeran bc he was just slutting around before he met bloodbag demons- imagine dragons dont make fun of me for this I KNOW but fr it's vampy renegade- taylor swift "you wouldn't be the first renegade to need somebody" he needs bloodbag 😔 starting line- luke hemmings i can't really explain this one but it's like how you always talk about how his happiness is overshadowed by the fact that he's a monster or whatever million dollar bills - lorde "theres nothing i want but money and time" and vampy has literally all the money and time :) solar power- lorde this is harrys hot girl anthem idk happiness- taylor swift "there'll be happiness after you, but there was happiness because of you" this is him reminiscing on miss chiropractor i wanna get better-bleachers "i didn't know i was lonely til i saw your face" "I didn't know i was broken til i wanted to change" come on 😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔 good 4 u - olivia rodrigo this is his fuck u song for miss chiropractor my tears ricochet- taylor swift "if i'm dead to you why are you at the wake" it's ironic innit 😌 what a feeling- one direction "what a feeling to be right here beside you now, holding you in my arms" please 😔 "everybody needs someone around" 😔😔😔 "but i can't hold you too close now" bc he has severe attachment and commitment issues :) all you had to do was stay- taylor swift "had me in the palm of your hand, then, why'd you have to go and lock me out when i let you in" omg miss chiropractor really hurt him 😔 king of my heart- taylor swift "and all at once you are the one i have been waiting for" bloodbag @ vampy 😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔 cruel summer- taylor swift "I love you ain't that the worst thing you ever heard" bc he knows getting close to bloodbag will ultimately only lead to pain for everyone involved "i don't wanna keep secrets just to keep you" bc he can't tell bloodbag everything about him even tho he probably wants to :( thank u next- arianna grande this is weird BUT if miss chiropractor hadn't fucked him up so much he never would have met bloodbag tear in my heart- 21 pilots again don't make fun of me for this I HAVE AN EXPLANATION "you fell asleep in my car i drove the whole time but that's okay i'll just avoid the holes so you sleep fine" if bloodbag fell asleep in his car he would definitely do this :( shape of you-ed sheeran "now my bedsheets smell like you" his room probably smells like honey and lavender all the time now and he's probably foaming at the mouth constantly cowboy in LA "let's skip the club, lets skip the crowd, i wanna take you on a date" bc they both hate clubs!!!!! "I'll hold your hand I'll hold the door bc that's how i was raised" he's a gentleman 😔😔😔😔 & burn- billie eilish "i'll sit and watch your car burn with the fire that you started in me, but you never came back to ask it out" idk for some reason this has vampy and miss chiropractor vibes take me to church- hozier religious trauma babes 🕺🏼🕺🏼🕺🏼🕺🏼🕺🏼🕺🏼🕺🏼 speechless- dan+shay "i'm speechless, staring at you standing there in that dress" love 😔 yours- russel dickerson "i came to life when i first kissed you, the best me has his arms around you, you make me better than i was before, thank god i'm yours" SCREAMING AND CRYING AND SHAKING tolerate it- taylor swift "i know my love should be celebrated, but you tolerate it" MISS ******** DIDN"T APPRECIATE OR CELEBRATE HIS LOVE MIA- anarbor "thinking about my life and everything i did wrong along the way"😔 lay low- josh turner for when bloodbag and vampy go to a cabin in the woods for a week and just love each other 😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔 who can save me now- anarbor "you stabbed me in the back" this one is pretty literal LSKFJLKSJFLKDSJ "you could have at least been kind enough to let me turn around" ouch 😔 dopamine- anarbor "i'm hooked on your dopamine" vampy and bloodbag ugh lie to me- 5sos this give me vampy and ******** vibes "i wish we never met, cause you're too hard to forget" "while i'm cleaning up your mess i know he's taking

off your dress" bc she probably cheated on him while they were together 😔 and he would have stayed with her if she told him she loved him, even if he knew it was a lie 😔 cotton candy- yungblud it's just a happy song with good vibes like bloodbag and vampy currently have :) small talk- niall horan i don't even have to say anything here pillowtalk- zayn "so we'll piss off the neighbors" chappy 9 vibes dancing with our hands tied- taylor swift "i loved you in spite of deep fears that the world would divide us" vampy rn 😔 once in a lifetime- one direction vampy will live a million lifetimes but he will only ever have one bloodbag 😔 holy ground- taylor swift "tonight i'm gonna dance for all that we've been through but I don't wanna dance if i'm not dancing with you" they've come so far omg 😔 since we're alone- niall horan "you can show me your heart, if you put it all in my hands no i swear no i won't break it apart" crying if i could fly- one direction "for your eyes only i'll show you my heart" rollercoaster- bleachers again i can't explain it but it makes me think of him 😔 so long- niall horan "so if we knew all along why did it take so long" good question bestie current location- LANY "i need your current location to be my current location" they're idiots in love and want to be together all the time 😔 why dont we go there- one direction "hey i don't want you to be the one that got away i wanna get addicted to you you're rushing through my mind i wanna feel the high i wanna be addicted" well hes already addicted to her blood so might as well like you lots- LANY bc they both have issues and can't say love lmao too much to ask- niall horan vampy though wanting love was too much to ask of miss chiropractor 😔 walking in the wind- one direction this one just has his vibes man 😔 heartbeat- carrie underwood "dancing to the rhythm of your heartbeat" bc vampy is obsessed with listening to bloodbag's heart (fan behavior if you ask me) idfc- blackbear this is vampy and ******** bc "tell me that you love me even if it's fake" city of angels- 24kgoldn "i sold my soul to the devil for designer" yes this made me laugh the woods- olivver the kid "waking up in the middle of the woods" "don't you wanna get out of here, out of the woods" flashback to when he was dead in the woods oop "you brought me down to the river, and you pushed me in, hoping that the white rapids would challenge my ability to swim" bc... she's a murderer omg this verse is talking about leaves and i'm freaking out it fits 100% this is crazy "You pick up two handfuls You tell me they're all dried up & dead You know that's nothing like us We'll live forever instead" just a little bit of your heart- ariana grande vampy bc he loves so deeply and completely that he will give all of himself to someone even if they won't do the same my strange addiction- billie eilish bc he is addicted to her blood :) cross your mind- niall horan this is vampy and ******** "love the way you hurt me and it doesn't even cross your mind" "leaving me in pieces (literally lmao) but i swear it's worth it every time" everywhere- niall horan that scene where vampy smelled some perfume or soap or something and it made him think of bloodbag 😔 everything makes him think of her now 😔 "swear it's hard to think it's hard to breathe when you're in the air" put a little love on me- niall horan "you're the only one i need" 😔 bend the rules- niall horan VAMPY AND ******** ALL THE WAY "i'm not saying that you're lying but you're leaving out the truth" heartbreak weather- niall horan "all of my life i've been sleepwalk living, running around the same bars i've been in, it can be so lonely in this city, but it feels different when you're with me" bloodbag and vampy 😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔 mr loverman- ricky montgomery "i miss my lover man" vampy is probably dramatic like this all the time now that they're official 😔 bad blood- taylor swift again, just for the irony 😌 vapor- 5sos "i want to breathe you in like a vapor i want to be the one you remember i want to feel

your love like the weather all over me" they're so in love like this 😔 catch fire- 5sos "all my life i've been waiting for moments to come" he's been waiting for bloodbag his entire life 😔 beside you-5sos "i wish i was beside you" they want to be together all the time 😔 black and white- niall horan "that first night i was standing at your door fumbling for your keys then i kissed you" ARE YOU KIDDING ME not in the same way- 5sos this is vampy and ******** just bc they were so toxic lkfjskldfjsdlkjf lonely heart-5sos "and i haven't slept in days" lmao ghost of you-5sos "my feet dont dance like they did with you" thinking about when vampy danced for bloodbag and what if they break up 👁️👁️ why wont you love me- 5sos vampy at ******** 😔 he just wanted to be loved 😔😔😔😔😔 fool's gold- one direction "i let you use me from the day that we first met" "i know your love's not real, but that's not the way it feels" STOP IM SAD last first kiss- one direction "let me be your last first kiss" i want them to be together forever 😔 truly madly deeply- one direction "foolishly completely falling and somehow you kicked all my walls in" bloodbag really snuck into his heart huh 😔 fireproof -one direction "nobody saves me baby the way you do" ugh 😔 long story short-taylor swift "clung to the nearest lips long story short it was the wrong guy" (or in vampy's case the wrong vampire) gold rush-taylor swift "and the coastal town we run around has never seen a love as pure as it" bloodbag and vampy are all i want 😔 no judgement- niall horan bc vampy would never judge bloodbag 😔 daddy issues- the neighborhood again im not even gonna say anything here new angel- niall horan "the touch of someone else to save me from myself" this is vampy 😔 god is a woman- ariana grande vampy after he brought bloodbag home the first time something like this- the chainsmokers "just something i can turn to, somebody i can kiss" ALL VAMPY WANTS IS LOVE sweater weather- the neighborhood idk this song makes me think of him all of me- john legend "all of me loves all of you all your curves and all your edges all your perfect imperfections" KSFLKSDJFKLDJSFLJSDKLFJDSKL i like me better- lauv "i like me better when i'm with you" she makes him a better person 😔 sex- eden "oh no, i think i'm catching feelings" vampy when bloodbag went on a date with someone else half a heart- one direction bc bloodbag completes him 😔 theyre so disgusting 😔 only angel- harry styles "turns out she's a devil in between the sheets" woman- harry styles vampy when she was on a date with someone else bc hes a jealous moron temporary fix- one direction this has chappy 1-2 vibes a.m.-one direction when they first started falling in love and he wanted to be with her more often 😔 something great- one direction "i want you here with me like how i pictured it so i don't have to keep imagining" through the dark- one direction just all of this song 😔 happily- one direction "you know i wanna be the one who holds you when you sleep i just want it to be you and i forever" 😔 electric love- borns "i can't let you go now that i got it" canyon moon- harry styles they're just happy like this rn 😔 sunflower vol. 6- harry styles "kiss in the kitchen like it's a dancefloor" "mouth full of toothpaste" when they brushed their teeth together 😔 adore you- harry styles obviously

[refiwrites]

Sudden Proposal

a Hiccup Haddock III x reader

Requested? No

Word count: 1124

I've been inlove with Hiccup recently and a bit sad bc i miss my baby but I made something to cure my sadness and here I am sharing it with you guys!

(D/N) - Dragon's name, (Y/N) - Your name, (L/N) - Last name

(also this gif never fails to make me smile just lOOK AT HOW HANDSOME AND PURE HE IS-)

(i do not own the gif, ctto)

“I missed this!” You screamed freely into the air as you rode (D/N), feeling the air hitting your cheeks as your hair was flying around, feeling the air running through your outstretched arms. You felt your dragon grumble happily beneath you as you let out a laugh, it’s been a while since you got to ride your dragon and to feel the air hitting your skin freely.

You closed your eyes for a second and inhaled and exhaled.

“Didn’t think I’d find you here m’lady.”

You swear you almost felt yourself have a severe heart attack but you quickly remained calm since you knew who that voice belonged to.

“Gods, Hiccup if I hadn’t known that was you I would’ve had an heart attack.” You said, opening your eyes and looking at the handsome auburn haired man beside you, he just shrugged, smiling sheepishly at you as you brought your hands down, still looking at him.

“I thought you had some things to take care of?” You tilted your head at him.

“Well I got it fixed early and decided to follow you out here, didn’t expect to find you sooner though.”

You rolled your eyes and smiled at him, “Want to take a quick break? Look, I spot an island over there.” Breaking eye contact, you turned your head and pointed towards a flat land with many trees surrounding it.

“Yeah sure.” He says, and soon enough both of you were zooming down to the island.

After safely landing, you got off of your dragon and fixed her saddle, you let her play with Toothless since it looks like you’re going to be staying in this island for a few hours. You smiled at both of the dragons playing until you felt a pull on your hand and soon you were spinning and landed in the arms of your lover.

You placed your hands on Hiccup’s chest and you giggled “How romantic of you, Haddock.” You said which made a dust of pink appear on his cheeks. “You make me a romantic, (Y/N).” He smiles back which you blushed at.

You stared at each other for a while before Hiccup pecked you on the forehead and lead you to the edge of the island, sitting down with him. You stared at the clouds then back at Hiccup to see him pulling out his map and smoothing the pages out.

Oh Hiccup you thought as you smiled at him, you saw how his eyes gleamed, focused on his map, you also saw the drawings of the islands you helped explored with him, you looked at him pulling out his pencil and began to outline the island you guys were currently on.

“Any ideas of what we should call this island, m’lady?“ Taking off his gaze on the journal and looking at you.

You shrugged and placed a hand on his hair, raking through it. “We should probably name it later and enjoy this short break of ours, hm?” You said, he closed his eyes at the feeling of you playing with his hair and nodding.

You chuckled and motioned for him to lay his head on your lap after he fixed his journal, which he did in a matter of seconds and you began playing with his hair.

He let out a content sigh, you placed your other hand on his cheek, softly caressing it with your thumb. You can’t help but place a feather-light kiss on his cute button nose and grin.

“I wish it was like this everyday y’know.” He says, opening his eyes and looking at you, you sympathetically smiled and continued caressing his cheek.

“Hiccup, you know I also want this for the rest of my life, but you’re the chief now, hey, I know it can be tiring sometimes but remember I’m right here with you through it all, okay? If you ever have problems, I’m always free to listen to them, whatever they may be.” You hoped it was enough to cheer him up but he suddenly sat up and looked at you.

“I have a lot to do for my people, but….” He stayed silent, getting into a kneeling position, you tilted your head, not being aware of what was happening.

“(Y/N), you know I have loved you since we were kids, you were there with me when people thought I was a disgrace, when I shot down Toothless,” you weren’t aware that both of your dragons were now watching the both of you as Hiccup continued to speak “You were there with me when I convinced people that dragons were good, when I lost my leg, when I lost…dad. When mom came back…. To me being chieftain of Berk, (Y/N).” He took a deep breath and looked at you straight in the eyes.

You felt like your heart was going to implode then and there, mind racing with thoughts, and soon you heard him say it.

“(Y/N) (L/N), will you spend the rest of your life with me? In one roof, with a family, and rule Berk with me?”

You swore you saw tears in Hiccup’s eyes but you weren’t quite sure since your eyes were turning glassy as tears freely trickled down your cheeks with joy. You cupped your mouth, you felt yourself smiling widely as you were left speechless.

You slowly nodded at first and then you saw Hiccup smile widely as you and then he took your hand and inserted the ring on your ring finger, your heart was beating fast and out of your joy you tackled Hiccup onto the ground, sobbing freely into his chest as his arms snaked around you.

Hiccup laughed at the sudden action but you could also feel and hear how loud his heart was beating, also the rapid fall and rise of his chest.

After you calmed down you both stood up and you were still wiping your tears until Hiccup cupped your face and wiped your tears with his thumb. He had such a loving look on his face, accompanied with glassy eyes. You laughed, you both probably looked stupid but you were both happy.

“I love you, Hiccup.” “I love you too, (Y/N).”

You both leaned in and met in a passionate kiss, lips moving against the other, you smiled into the kiss and you felt that Hiccup did too. You pulled away before it got too heated.

The sounds coming from your dragons made you both look which they were grumbling happily and Toothless who looked like he was wiping tears in his eyes while making a whining sound?

“Really, bud?” Hiccup said with an amused tone as he chuckles.

You both went home to Berk that day filled with love and joy.

Hope you enjoyed!! Leave a like, comment, or a reblog!

[beetlelands]

im just gonna post some of these back to back bc why not. this draft is from october 2019 and is aptly titled “ruh roh ghost lad." but this is the one where beej gets stuck as a ghost in the maitland-deetz house

-

-

With a poof, Beetlejuice was on the roof of the Maitland-Deetz house. He groaned, opening his eyes. “Where am I?” He questioned quietly, looking around the area. He was quick to recognize his destination. “Wait what no, how did I get here? God/Satan please send me back,” he muttered to himself. He tried his best to teleport himself away, but he couldn’t go anywhere. He tried to fly away but ended up on Saturn so he was quick to fly back to the roof.

Beetlejuice sunk down to his knees, begging to god/satan- or perhaps the person who sent him there in the first place.

“Dammit!” he shouted in frustration, slamming his hand down on the tiling of the roof.

He heard the window begin to rattle as it was being opened. Muttering a string of curses to himself, Beetlejuice teleported himself to the other side of the roof, hiding. He heard the familiar voice of Barbara Maitland say “I told you there’s nothing out here honey, stop being so paranoid.” With that the window shut once more.

Beetlejuice sighed, slumping down the side of the chimney. He was trapped in the plane of the Maitland/Deetz house. The place he was killed- not that he was still salty about that or anything. He refused to believe he was a simple ghost. He was still a demon- he had to be- maybe he was just trapped.

That’s when an idea struck him- he needed to see Lydia. If she said his name three times, he could return to the living plane like before. Sure, it might be hard to get her to say his name, but the two of them were BFFFFs forever. She had to help him, it was his only choice. He needed to get out of there and Lydia was his ticket home.

Begrudgingly, Beetlejuice floated down to Lydia’s room. The blinds were closed, so he knocked on the window. When she opened the blinds, he was out of sight. He phased through the wall and took a seat at the end of the bed. Beetlejuice watched as the girl narrowed her eyes, peering out the window. “Must’ve been a bird,” she shrugged before turning around to see none other than Lawrence Beetlejuice Shoggoth.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“Oh c’mon Lyds, I know you missed me.” Beetlejuice teased, but the girl merely rolled her eyes, giving him a stern look. “Fine, I missed you- no okay even I didn’t believe that.”

She couldn’t help but smile a little at that, “You love me, don’t try to deny it.” The demon pretended to throw up, which caused Lydia to laugh but she was quick to stop herself. She regained the same serious tone she had earlier, “You know my family isn’t going to want you here.”

“But do you?” He asked, earning a confused look in return. “Lydia, do you want me to leave?”

“I don’t know, Beej. If I say, yes will you go?” The teen asked playfully.

“Nope! But get this- I won’t leave, because I can’t.”

“Wait what?” Lydia’s smug expression fell.

“I am trapped here just like dear old Adam and Barbara. You may wonder ‘how?’ and to that I say- I don't know! But I have an idea on how I might be able to leave, and that involves you, scarecrow. I need you to say my name three times and maybe, just maybe, I can get out of here.”

“What if it doesn’t work?”

“Well then, we just have to test it to find out.”

“Beetlejuice,” the demon clenched his fists in anticipation. “Beetlejuice,” he closed his eyes, preparing himself. “Beetlejuice,” Lydia finished off, watching intently to see what would happen.

The bio-exorcist stayed quiet for a little bit before opening one eye to examine if anything had happened. Groaning, he opened his other eye. “I don’t feel any different.” He tried using his demonic powers but nothing happened, well there were a bit of sparks (which caused Lydia to giggle a little at his failure). He tried teleporting but that was to no avail. “I don’t have my demon powers. I’m… not a demon.” Lydia was understandably shocked. For as long as she knew Beetlejuice he was a demon, she couldn’t even picture him as anything else. “I’m a ghost, Lydia! A fucking ghost!” He shouted angrily, slamming his fist down on her bed post. She shushed him, causing him to take a few deep breaths, “Okay, sorry, sorry. Gotta keep quiet so the fam doesn’t find me, I know.”

Lydia scrunched her nose in disgust at the word ‘fam’ but knew that wasn’t nearly as important as what Beetlejuice just revealed about himself. “How can you no longer be a demon? Is that even possible? And you said you’re trapped here? In that case, it doesn’t matter if you’re quiet or not. It’s not like you can hide forever. Plus, maybe Adam and Barbara can help get you back to normal. Is there a way to get you back to normal? What if-”

The ex-demon placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder, causing her to look up at him. “I’ll be honest with you, I zoned out until you said Adam.”

The girl pushed his hand off her shoulder, “This is serious Beej. What if you’re trapped here forever like the Maitlands?”

“Then I’m trapped here forever with the Maitlands” he smirked.

Lydia scoffed, rolling her eyes. “There’s gotta be some reason you’re like this, and there has to be some way to get you back to the way you were.” Beetlejuice nodded in agreement. “First step to figuring this all out is to let everyone know what’s happening.”

She motioned for him to follow her. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Nope but it’s all we got.” She shrugged and he copied the action.

Beetlejuice put his hand on the door before she could open it. “Okay but what if we prank them?”

“You know I’m always down to spook my family, but they’re not gonna be happy that you’re here to begin with. So we should take things easy, don’t overwhelm them, y’know?” He groaned and muttered complaints under his breath as he moved his hand from the door.

Lydia led Beetlejuice downstairs. No one was in the living room, so she loudly screamed for a family meeting.

Charles bolted into the room, Delia excitedly following him. The Maitlands sank down from the ceiling, clearly stressed by the teen’s yelling.

“I can’t believe you called a family meeting, Lydia!” Delia said cheerfully, not noticing the ex-demon standing behind Lydia.

“Get away from her” Charles commanded, glaring angrily at Beetlejuice. Sure, they didn’t leave off on a bad foot, but he was not going to let history repeat itself. Delia flinched at his shouting before seeing who he was talking to.

“Oh c’mon, Chuck. Aren’t you happy to see your son-in-law?” Beej teased, earning death glares from all of the adults in the room. “Too soon?” He asked, feigning innocence. Lydia laughed at the inappropriate joke. “See this guy gets it” Beetlejuice smiled, nudging the teen.

Delia placed a hand on Charles’ arm, a silent plea for him to remain calm. Adam placed his arm out in front of Barbara. She looked to him and he shook his head. With a sigh, she backed down, holding onto her husband’s hand for her emotional stability.

“Beetlejuice is trapped here as a ghost like Barbara and Adam.” Lydia states, breaking the tension in the room. Confusion was plastered on the adults’ features.

“How?” Adam asked slowly, hesitantly.

“Good question, really good question. However, we don’t have a really good answer.” Beetlejuice verbally danced around the answer.

“What does that mean?” Charles furrowed his eyebrows.

“He doesn’t know how this all happened.” The teen clarified with a shrug. “I thought that maybe my resident ghost parents could help us figure out what happened to him.”

Barbara narrowed her eyes at the ex-demon, not buying his act. Adam, however, smiled softly and said, “Of course we’ll help, Lydia.”

“If you’re staying here, we’re gonna need to lay down some ground rules.” Charles stated, eyes locked on Beetlejuice.

He met his eyes with an almost wicked smile, “Of course, Chuck.”

Lydia groaned dramatically, “it’s not like he can do much. He’s a ghost now, not a demon.”

“Ghosts need boundaries too” Barbara retorted.

“I think the most obvious rule is that you cannot marry Lydia again.” Delia said, earning nods from the adults in the room.

Beetlejuice groaned, “how many times do I have to say that it was a green card thing!?! Even I’m not creepy enough to actually try to marry Lydia. She’s like 3!”

“I’m almost 16, Beej.” She rolled her eyes.

“Exactly you’re 3. Now quiet down tot, the grown ups are talking.” He teased. She stuck her tongue out at him and he stuck his out at her.

“You’re not one to talk about age Beetlejuice. You may be extremely old, but you’re less mature than Lydia.” Charles spoke snidely. Both the ex-demon and his daughter seemed offended by the statement.

“Rule number two: no pranks.” Adam spoke up, trying to change the subject.

“What? That’s not fair!” Beej protested at the same time Lydia asked “Have you met us?”

“The last time you two pulled pranks, you scared people to the point that the passed out!” Barbara explained.

“Just because a couple of cowards couldn’t take a scare, doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be able to prank. Plus, That Beautiful Sound was a whole bop and our dance sequence was phenomenal.” Beetlejuice said defensively. Everyone except for Lydia gave him a confused look.

“Please don’t take away our pranks! We’ll tone them down, I promise.” Lydia bartered, giving both sets of parents puppy dog eyes.

Adam cracked first, then Delia, then Barbara. Charles didn’t crack until, with a frown, she muttered a quiet “please dad.”

“Okay fine. Rule number two is no big pranks. Just try not to do anything that will put yourself or others into harm’s way.” Charles amended.

“Rule three: don’t physically harass us, Beetlejuice.” Barbara said, crossing her arms sternly.

“Define physically harass…” BJ said furrowing his brows.

“Don’t grope or touch either of us inappropriately, don’t kiss us, and don’t make inappropriate jokes at our expense. I’m not just gonna take it this time.” Barbara said. Maitlands 2.0!

“Fair enough, Babs. But don’t pretend you didn’t like it.” He joked, earning the most terrifying look from Barbara. “Okay okay sorry, I was just kidding.”

Adam lightly rubbed his thumb in circles on Barbara’s hand, causing her to relax and saving Beetlejuice from her wrath.

“Rule four: no lashing out. In this house we try to maintain a calming aura, all matters can be solved through (calm) communication.” Delia smiled. Beetlejuice resisted to roll his eyes.

“I’d say the final rule is to not go into anyone’s bedroom unless you’re invited in. Snooping or just disturbing the peace is highly frowned upon, so just watch yourself. If any more rules are to be added in the future, you are expected to follow them as well.” Charles concluded.

“As you wish, Chuckles.” Beej said with a posh accent, bowing dramatically. Lydia giggled at his antics, but as usual, she was the only one to appreciate his jokes.

“We will leave you to figure out how all of this happened.” Delia stated with a soft smile, she lead Charles out of the room, and motioning for Lydia to follow. Hesitantly, she did. She mouthed to BJ that she’d be back in a bit.

“I don’t believe you.” Barbara said as soon as she heard the door down the hall close.

“What? What’s there to not believe? Wouldn’t you think I’d prefer to leave than stay somewhere where I’m clearly not wanted?”

“Well you weren’t exactly wanted the first time-“ Adam started, but was cut off by the ex-demon.

“I was selfish then. Goal oriented, if you will. I just wanted to be alive! But I’ve been down that track and seems like life just wasn’t meant for me. But here we are now, and I’m trapped with my killers.”

“Lydia is the one who stabbed you with bad art.” Adam stayed matter-of-factly.

“But you convinced me I was wanted. You kissed me.” He accused Adam. “And you flirted with me.” He pointed at Barbara. “You played to my senses to emotionally manipulate me! And you think I’m here by choice?”

Barbara frowned. He had left so confidently. There didn’t seem to be any hard feelings. But here they were. “Beetlejuice, I believe that you’re stuck here. I just meant that I didn’t believe you were telling the whole truth. But I’m sorry for what we did, we just wanted what was best for Lydia and that seemed like the only option.”

Beej took a breath, remembering Delia’s dumb rule. “What do you mean by you don’t believe I’m telling the whole truth?”

“You have to know how you got here.” Barbara said.

“Okay yeah fair enough. I’m pretty sure I know how and why I’m here but not how I can leave.”

“Wh- it was just that easy?” Adam asked. “All Barbara had to do was call you out?”

“The netherworld is full of paperwork

-

-

and again, an abrupt ending! because past me sucked <3

[hanniiesuckle17]

The Fae and The Seraphim

CHAPTER ONE

A/n: so this gif is not mine! credit to the owner and creator! look at his hair thoughhhh. So this series is going to be loosely based off of Amazon’s Carnival Row bc we all love Orlando Bloom especially Amber stans (you know what I’m talking about) yes definitely making this a series but no set post schedule (probably wont ever have a post schedule for this cause.....im me...)

Word Count: 4k

Warnings: cussing, 18+themes, mentions of violence (all of this eventually)

Tag List: @poeticallyspaghetti @hanstagrams @hoes4hoseok @yangomangos @geminirules @jisungsjheekies @cotccotc @ph0ebevix​ @mini-meanhoe​ @desertofdessert​ @distrikt9​ @multi-net(Tag List is Open)

Summary: Crea were never meant to interact with humans. They were mythical creatures that came from fairytales, but they had been around longer than humans had. The love between one Fae and one soldier seem to turn the world upside down. Their story is not one for the light of heart, but the light of heart would never turn away a love story such as theirs.

Genre: fantasy!au, victorian!au, steampunk-ish?!au, romance, angst, non-idol!jaeyoon, soldier!jaeyoon, faerie!reader

❧

A cool breeze blew across the gulch. It whispered through the branches weaving through the leaves bound to fall from their tight grasp on the thin boughs of the trees. A somber gray seemed to hang over the land as far as the eye could see. It had been that way for as long as I could remember. 

Despite this, Cothia still had a beauty to it unlike anywhere else I had read about. There was always a light snow in the air or on the mountain ground, the flakes dusted the trees and roofs of our monastery I could see in the distance. The Fae had inhabited Cothia since the beginning of time. We were tasked with keeping the records of the world’s history. We were a species of great mystery and wisdom. 

The thundering sound of the monastery's horn burst through the silence of the nature around me. My ears pricked up listening for a second blast. After that, another came. Three blasts. Three blasts meant newcomers up the mountainside. 

My wings fluttered behind my back blowing a cool breeze over my neck, pushing the hair aside as my feet lifted off the ground. The familiar hum of my beating wings filled my ears as I flew over the vast land below me. As I floated closer to the monastery which I called my home, my eyes looked for any sign of life along the steep mountain roads. 

A winding stream of dark battered navy coats and hats lined up outside the wooden abbey doors. Easily forty faeries flew above the open abbey walls, surveying two men on horses from the air. Our leader, a Mima of the highest order, addressed them from the ground, wings spread wide. 

The hum of beating wings turned into a roaring buzz filling the quiet mountain air. The wind stilled, sensing the tension between the two humans and the hundred or so faeries surrounding them, waiting to see what they would do.

“We come peacefully.” One of the men said, pushing up the brim of his cap. He had sloping features and a pronounced chin. Features that suited his soft downturned eyes. “My name is Kim Youngbin. I am Colonel of the Third Hallow Fusiliers. We have been sent to guard a telegraph line a few miles east of here.”

Mima Egeria showed no sign of acceptance, but she didn’t turn them away either. My stare fell to the second man. I watched as he removed his cap, long fingers holding onto the brim as he shook out his dark slightly curly hair, bangs falling in front of his eyes. He carried himself with power, but let the man beside him speak. By my observation, he must be a commanding officer. 

Unlike his captain, his features were sharp, except for some roundness in his cheeks, which were slightly pink from the cold. Puffs of air expelled from his plump lips with every breath in the mountain air. Had I not known he was human or seen the Hallows emblem on his coat shoulder, I would think his face almost impish; Pix like. The shaggy onyx snow dusted locks fell in front of his eyes as he stared up at the faeries watching him. 

“We ask for the use of this Abbey as a base for our soldiers. We wish to make an alliance with you in the name of The Hallows.” The voice of Colonel Kim was calm and steady, carrying through the walls of the monastery and up to our ears above him. I watched Mima Egeria carefully, awaiting her message.

“This is a holy place. Conduct yourselves accordingly.” Her sonorous voice echoed in the thin air. 

Her wings closed behind her back, and slowly I sunk down to the ground with the rest of the Fae and  Pix around me. The two watched with an interested gaze as we floated down to the surface feet gently falling on the gravel. A few went to welcome the soldiers, I followed Mima as she left the courtyard. 

“Mima!” My feet followed her deep purple robes, lifting off the ground occasionally to catch up with her. How a woman her age still moved with such speed was beyond my knowledge. 

“Yes, my child.” She sung, turning back. 

“Should we really trust them? It is hard enough defending ourselves against the Pact. What if-”

“Y/n...have faith, my child. You are strong willed. You have never been one to float with the current. They need us, little one. when asked we will give, when one pleads we give mercy. This is our way.” 

Her frail but steady hands rested on my shoulders. “Yes, Mima.” Egeria’s long slender fingers wrapped around one of the three long beaded braids in my hair. She glanced over it smiling at the clear glass bead at the end. 

“Your moon cycle is almost upon us, Y/n. I’m so happy to have watched you grow up in the Abbey.” I smiled at her mention of my age bead. When a Fae was born, a braid was started with a single glass bead signifying their birth. On their first birthday, another braid was added this time with two dark red beads. They were meant to be given away when the Fae gave their heart to someone. The third was a bead made of a type of crystal which was given when a Fae earned their assignment.

“It is, Mima Egeria. I’m happy to spend another year serving Fasora Abbey.” She nodded, looking towards the now open wooden doors. Following her gaze, I saw the man from before, white flurries clinging onto the curly black strands of his hair. He ushered in soldiers from atop his horse, a rifle slung across his back. His gaze flicked towards us, his eyes seemingly darker than his hair, yet holding a warmth to them. “Do you sense something about the soldier, Mima?” 

Her shoulders lifted and a smile tugged at her lips. “A Mima can only ask the spirits to guide her. The spirits tell me he is a special soul; known to our kind. Best to watch him, little one.” Through the light snow, he watched us with a focused gaze. The observant stare of a fighter. A stare that observed, but did not see. The stare of a human. “Y/n, I think it best if you return to your post. The Archives should not be abandoned.” 

“Yes, Mima.” My wings fluttered to life, lifting me into the sky. A pair of eyes watched me fly away from the Monastery towards the Archives hidden in the walls of the mountain. 

❧

The air smelled of parchment and wax. Soft flecks of dust hung around the shelves. The shelves. Thousands of them. Each holding books and manuscripts on every subject dating all the way back to the beginning of time. My legs hung off either side of one of the many cornices in the Archive. The shelves lifted so high that soon they turned into a vast black abyss. 

The pads of my fingers pressed against the yellowing page of a book resting between my legs. It was one of the many books I had yet to finish in the never ending library. The book told the story of a Pix explorer and his findings after sailing to the Hallows before they were formed. 

The click-clack of boots against stone sent me up into attention. Crouching on the cornice, I watched in the low dim torchlight as a navy coat walked into the room. Making myself one with the shadows, I watched as the soldier looked up into the infinite shelves of the Archives. The Archives that no one but a few faeries were subject to the knowledge of.

His black hair fell from his eyes revealing the rest of his face. Handsome- for a soldier.  Most of the soldiers in the abbey were dedicated to their line of work so much that what happened to their bodies was considered a small price to the pay for the safety of our kind. There were no use for pretty faces among protectors. 

With narrowed eyes, I watched his hands ghost over the pages of an open book on the table. A tome easily hundreds of thousands of years old. His slender fingers gripped the page, turning it over. 

Silently, I pulled the small dagger from my boot and floated down behind him. The man stood unsuspecting reading the ancient text, or what he could of it. He stood almost perfectly six feet tall a tower over the desk. My feet ghosted over the ground, wings beating softly.

My hands moved at lighting speed wrapping around him and pressing the blade against the skin of his neck. “Oh fuck!” He gasped backing into me in surprise. His hands moved up in surrender, but I kept my hold on him tight. 

“You aren’t supposed to be here, Hallow.” I spat. No human had ever set foot in the Archives. This was a sacred place. “Who are you?”

His hands remained steady, but from my grip on his neck I could feel his pulse rapidly beating. His tongue swiped over his lips. My firm grip kept him from turning and looking at me. “Lee Jaeyoon. I’m a Commander for the Hallows. Who are you?” He made a pathetic attempt at a smile, but I pressed the knife further into his skin threatening to draw blood. 

“Well, Jaeyoon,” I said twirling the blade in my fingers before rejoining it with his neck. “I suggest you turn around and leave this place or I may just have to kill you. I wouldn’t really like to mop your blood off this floor, but I will if I have to.” 

His adam’s apple bobbed with a strangled laugh that left his lips. “I didn’t know Pix were so violent.” Loosening my hold on him, my wings beat a little faster moving before him. His eyes widened seeing me as his attacker.

“It is obvious you know something about Crea, so says Mima. So, you should know ‘Pix’ is the term for male faeries.”

“You’re a Fae...”

Jaeyoon kept a wary eye on the blade in my hand, arms still raised and open. “And you, Commander, are still in my Archives.”

“I thought you were still deciding whether to kill me or not?” He asked with a cheeky smile, his brow quirking upwards. 

“How do I know that if I let you leave here you won’t tell any of the soldiers about this place?” 

He shrugged looking around the library before back to me. “Guess you’ll just have to trust me.” There was no way I could trust a human soldier to keep the secret of the Archives. How had he even found this place anyway? “Or...” He said putting his hands down by his sides. “You could kill me, and the rest of my regiment will find this place anyway looking for my body.”

I hated that he was right. “Fine.” Jaeyoon let out a sigh as I pulled the blade away. 

“What’s your name?” 

“I’m the Watcher of the Archives. That’s all you need to know.”

He nodded looking me up and down. His focus noticeably shifted towards my wings as they stopped beating and lowered me to the ground and my normal height. “I’ll be going then,” Jaeyoon said, his words echoing off the cavernous walls.

I watched the worn navy coat turn and exit the way it had come. The onyx hair of its owner blew as he passed through the open passage of the rock. Mima Egeria was right...Lee Jaeyoon was best to be watched. Why... I did not know yet. 

❧

Like every other magical day in Cothia, gentle snow floated down on the mountainside coating every tree, roof, and head it touched. My legs swung over the edge of the patched roof. The abbey was filled with busy bodies moving in little winding paths through the flurries. 

A chilling breeze blew through the abbey. A fae carrying straw struggled to keep stray pieces from flying away. Four days. Four days had past since the soldiers entered the safety of our walls.

The smooth skin of an apple rubbed against my palm. My lips tasted the sweet juices as my teeth sunk into the fruit. Falling back into new habit, my eyes found the tall head of dark hair. The curls blew gently in the wind, white frozen flakes sticking to the locks. 

His ears were turning pink from the cold joining the color on his cheeks. The officer stood next to his superior and another soldier. The three men spoke to Mima. Even from far away I could see the spark in her lilac eyes. Her silver hair hung in wild spirals around her face. The beads in her hair glinted in the sunlight, casting a partial colorful glow over her tan aged skin. 

Her wings were folded behind her, acting like an intricate delicate shield against the weather. She held her hands in front of her, fingers gently intertwined. They seemed to be speaking fervently. 

Listing my head, I peered down into the abbey watching them closely. The higher officer seemed to be posing Mima Egeria a question. She listened intensely, smiling kindly at the men. 

Jaeyoon spoke up and Mima’s brow rose as she looked the commander over. Taking another bite from the apple, my eyes focused in on the lips of the nearest soldier. Despite my efforts I could not decipher the movement. My curiosity was quenched when all four heads looked up to my spot on the roof. 

Mima gracefully motioned me down from my perch. Pushing off the roof I floated down and landed next to my mentor. A gentle hand rested on my shoulder. All three pairs of human eyes stared at me. “Little one, you have been requested personally to help these brave soldiers with a mission.” 

I scowled knowing exactly who asked for me. Despite not knowing my name he managed to drag me into this mess. “Should I call you little one, as well?” Jaeyoon asked, a smirk playing at his lips. 

“If you have an urgent desire to eat your own eyes.”

A quick jab to my side had me shutting my mouth before Mima decided to make me clean the commissary. “We just need someone of your talents to assist us.” The captain, Youngbin, stated. 

“My talents?” 

“Mainly your wings and your ability to keep a secret.”

❧

The snow had ceased its unrelently fall. A chilling wind blew across the mountain path as we ventured up to the check point. Several of the men rode on horses and split from our original group to move towards the other end of our mission. My eyes trailed the man with dark curly hair as he rode off with three other men. 

“Not so fond of Jaeyoon?” 

Turning, I saw the leading officer ride up next to me on his steed. After racking my brain, I recalled the soldier’s name. Youngbin. His dark hair blew in the wind slightly. The man had a kind face. His jaw was set and he held the features of a leader. 

“Well he did not make the best first impression.” 

Youngbin laughed and slowed down his horse to match my stride. “Jaeyoon means well. He’s a good man.” Rolling my eyes was completely involuntary. “I can see you think less of us.” Despite the connotation of his words, the Colonel looked down at me with a knowing smile. 

“It is not that I think less of you. Humans have not been in Cothia for tens of thousands of years. We are simply wary of your impact on not only our culture but the spiritual nature of our land.” We fell into silence, moving along the incline of the mountain. “How much father are we going?” 

The colonel looked back to see some of his men on foot struggling to adjust to the thin alpine air. “Not far. We should be reaching the line any moment now.” Sure enough the trees cleared and we came upon an open gorge. A large wooden pole was stake into the ground and a severed metal wire lay blowing and bouncing off the rock face.

“Commander Lee and his group should arrive at the opposite side soon. Rest then get ready to replace the wire once we receive the signal from the other team.” The soldiers collapsed on every surface they could find. Some watched with still wide eyes as my wings carried me to a nearby tree branch. The other side of the gorge was unseen through a heavy lingering fog.

A quarter of an hour had passed and the men had only just reattached the end of the new telegraph line. I watched them mill about from my vantage point in the trees. However the view of the forested mountaintops was far more enchanting in my eyes. The peaks towered through the mist. The sight reminded me of a painting form one of the many ancient texts I had read in the Archives. 

The sharp sticotto sound of a gun shot echoed across the ravine. Youngbin pushed himself up onto his feet and beckoned me down from my perch. “That’s the signal. They’re ready.”

“You really need my help?”

“Do you see any other being that can fly a mile over an open chasm?”

“Fair enough.” 

With cold trembling fingers the Colonel handed me the wire. It was heavier than I expected. It was a wound cable and the smooth thick metal felt foreign in my hands. “Remember, should something go wrong while you’re crossing-”

“Yes, I know. Call out.”

Not wasting a second more, I unfolded my wings and let them open. Several murmurs were heard behind me as the soldiers gazed at the delicate, intricate patterns and natural designs of my wings. The near transparent parts of the appendages glinted with shifting colors of blue, green, and lavender as the light bounced off of them. 

The soft familiar hum filled my ears and my feet lifted from the ground. The fog consumed me only moments after leaving the ledge. A chill ran down my spine. Light droplets of water from the mist gatherd on my cheeks. The wind howled and whistled. My grip tightened on the cable. By now I must be crossing over the midpoint of the gorge. 

It wasn’t what lay below that let the tiniest bit of fear creep into my chest. It was what I could not see behind the shadows of the fog. Not much scared me. I had learned that there was little to fear when fear was embraced. 

Breathing in the fresh clear mountain air I pushed forwards and flew through the dense mist. Just when it felt as if the fog was never ending, I broke through the veil. I was met with a vision of four soldiers waiting for me. The head of shaggy waved black hair that was slowly becoming familiar stood waiting with his arms crossed and navy coat blowing gently in the breeze. 

“Hallow,”

“Fae,” 

My feet descended to the ground and my reflexs kicked in feeling a hand on my arm. Looking down I saw long slender fingers wrapped around my sleeve keeping me steady. Suprisingly they were attached to the Commander. Seeing the cold look in my eyes, he quickly detached from my arm and scratched the back of his neck. 

“Is this all I’m needed for?”

The tall brunette nodded, looking around and taking the cable from my hands. “We may need you if something goes wrong while we are rewiring the line.” Shrugging, I pulled my coat tighter around me and sat against a rock returning, as before, to the breathtaking view of the mountains. 

“Do you like to read?” The deep voice asked about ten minutes later. Turning I found Jaeyoon standing above me, his cap covering his dark hair. To my displeasure he sat next to me. His dark almond eyes glanced back at his platoonmates. 

“Pardon?”

The charming man shrugged and pouted his lips looking out at the view. “Well I assumed guarding a library like that you must love to read.” 

I rolled my eyes and adjusted my position, my wings getting cramped behind me. “Well, Jaeyoon, if you must know, I do love to read. And it is not a library. It is an archive.” The soldier chuckled removing his hat and shaking out his shaggy hair. 

“It is not fair that you know my name yet I am still hopelessly lacking of yours.”

“The world is cruel and unfair, Commander.”

A silence fell between us. Though I was used to the chilling air, I felt a warmth radiating off the soldier beside me. Bothered by the awkward silence and the fact that he simply did not get up and leave, I looked over at the man. Something in his long fingers caught my eye. A book, one like I had never seen before lay in his grasp. It was just barely smaller than the size of his hand, the perfect size to put in a pocket. It wasn’t bound in leather like the volumes in the Archives. Its cover was made of some sort of paper or thick parchment. 

“I assume you read.” He nodded and only glanced at me before returning to the expanse of the mountains before us. The fog was beginning to clear and I could make out the lines of the opposing rockface. “What’s that?” 

Jaeyoon looked from me to the book in his hands. “This? It’s my favorite novel.” Without hesitation he handed me the book. There were drawings on the cover of the moon and some strange contraption. 

“Novel?”

“Yes, it’s called Journey to the Seraphim.” The familiar smell of worn parchment filled the air as I flipped through the pages. “Seraphim means angel. It’s about this inventor who travels to the moon.” 

I scoffed. “The moon?” I turned to fully face the soldier who wore a timid smile on his face. “That’s impossible. How would one even get there?” Jaeyoon reached over taking the book from my hands, brushing his fingers against my skin in the process.

“Well you see, the inventor, he makes this vessel and he propels himself into the atmosphere.” I rested my chin on my palm, listening intently as Jaeyoon vividly described the book, his hands moving as he spoke. The pages fluttered in his grip. “He gets to the moon and he falls in love with this princess. She rules this tribe of people who live there.”

Leaning against the rock, I listened to Jaeyoon tell me about his favorite novel. He talked about how the author was quite well known back in the Hallows and he had almost met him once. He described the characters in great detail, a spark igniting behind his eyes. 

All of a sudden he stopped speaking, looking at me with a fond gaze. With a smile he passed the book to me. “Here.” I found myself smiling as I gazed into his dark eyes. “You can have it.”

“You’re giving this to me?”

The man nodded, dark threads of hair falling in front of his eyes. “Keep it. I have another copy back in the Hallows.” He started to say something else but another soldier called out his name. 

With a sigh he got up dusting off his coat and turning towards the man in need of assistance. “Y/n,” I called, making him turn around at the sound of my voice. “My name is Y/n L/n.” Jaeyoon smiled, his eyes turning to crescents. The soldier once again called his name, but he looked back at me fondly before going towards the officer.

❧

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