#because you are supposed to go Man This Relationship Status Sucks For Them Right Now I Sure Hope They Can Make It Better

[nyxofdemons]

“one day im going to have to make like a three hour long video essay that's just called In Defense of Helluva Boss” Please do. I see more anti videos than I do with defense ones. Like the ones that say season 2 is terrible even though it’s barely completed and the ones that say Stolitz is a bad despite them barely having a relationship.

no literally i am sick of seeing more anti content than actual appreciation videos but the anti talking point i see most that drives me up the fucking walls is that it's "bAd RePrEsEnTaTiOn," as if that is all that queer people are allowed to have; just the vague nebulous concept of "Rep(TM)." the fact that if a straight character is a bad person then it's just that This Character is a bad person, but if a queer character is a bad person then This Is Bad Representation Of The Community And Is Homophobic. can we not just HAVE characters?? vehicles to tell a story??? tools to craft a compelling narrative??? this is part of why Helluva/Hazbin being adult shows is such a THING because i see this get shut down a lot under the guise of "uhh well just because it's an adult show doesn't mean that it can handle whatever topic it wants however it wants" and like. yeah buddy! that's true! and that's not what this is fucking about!! when people say "it's an adult show" what they mean is that it's made to be engaged with under the assumption that you would know better than to take information to shape your worldview and perception of other real life people from a fucking cartoon! the show doesn't NEED to tell you that Um Hey Guys Just So You Know This Isn't Actually Meant To Reflect How All Real Life Gay Relationships Are because you are an adult who should already be able to discern this.

"bad rep" doesn't mean "characters that are nuanced, morally gray, or just bad people." "bad rep" would be if helluva boss was a show that said "the REASON these characters are in toxic relationships / are bad people is BECAUSE they are queer, or at least directly correlated to that fact." which is. you know. very fucking different than "these characters are in toxic relationships / are bad people because they 1) live in a classist society that actively encourages them to be their worst selves and 2) are extremely traumatized."

[mskinkyafro]

The Natasha switch up is CRAZY.

I feel like I need it to be explained to me like I’m stupid bc I’m having a hard time with understanding how she’s snakey for chatting and pursuing Stefan.

Especially, if 👏🏾you 👏🏾don’t 👏🏾want 👏🏾him. 👏🏾

*And this RANT is for people who didn’t even choose Stefan or want him. Bc I’m seeing most of this take with them. Vs someone who is on her route. Natasha Stan’s I feel for you. It sucks.

I keep seeing three big reasons why she’s the “worst.”

1) She’s obsess with Mc and Stefan. And gladly is second best to Mc/wants Mc’s leftovers.

Okay, in order to relate it and make common ground with Mc is to tell us that “hey, we were both the same season. Except I was a casa girl. And oop, we might have similar taste, I tried grafting/dating your ex but he was so into you.”

“And overall, y’all appeared so perfect and cute. I admired your relationship and want to have a relationship like yours or have someone be that interested in me.”

(if we go off appearances. Bc Mc can say that everything isn’t what it seems. )

Like clearly she is our exposition/lore character to help us understand what is the status quo BUT narratively, you can infer the questioning especially as we get to Casa is to make sure Mc FOR SURE is done with Stefan. Bc let’s be honest. Ppl be seeing their ex’s and old feelings be coming up.

And they all here for a second shot at love. Plus she has history with Stefan, whether you believe it’s as strong as Mc and his, is beside the point. It’s Casa and she’s single, and he is too. She has the right to explore that.

2. If you’re on a Stefan route, she pulls him for chats knowing I’m interested.

Once again it’s love island. Step your pussy game up if you’re scared of competition. Like it’s chats, BFFR why are we acting like she’s stealing your man, being so vicious and talking bad and sabotaging you behind your back.

I feel like there’s nothing wrong with having chats and still exploring ALL available options.

I get the argument of “if we been spending most of the time with one li, why should she step in and talk to him.”

But at that point it’s the final chats before recoupling, I see no harm in getting final graft time or check in with all casa boys and villa girls to make sure you didn’t overlook anyone. It’s no different than the casa boys, trying to sell Mc about themselves before recoupling. Is that them moving snakey? (to Marshall in my game) And either way, Mc always chooses before Nat so you can still choose him. She can’t fuck you over.

3. It’s just shady behavior how she’s moving bc shes’s been pressuring us about him and saying we are couple goals. But she turns around and grafts and brings him back. Why not just say you want him from the jump?

We as in-game characters didn’t know he was coming back. I mean I feel like it goes without saying she was interested in him from their season. But it was pointless. So fast forward now, idk about others but her talking with him before and after our own clear the air chat. That was clear she is going for him. Go for it girl, I can’t be mad. I don’t want him. And it’s no girl code rule break bc she didn’t even know Mc before this show.

I ain’t gonna hold her to some dumbass standard when we all signed up for a show where we are literally sharing men. I just fail to really see the snake behavior.

To me it differs from Kat who takes your li unprovoked for a chat and heavily tries to flirt and make moves just because. Knowing damn well she’s full of hell and just wants to make her partner jealous, and she chooses yours because she respects Mc the least. 😭

Now if Nat was moving like that with Stefan or your li you actually wanted. We could talk, but girlie literally did what she’s supposed to do on the show.

Make a connection, lock it in and is bring him back. Idk I just find more and more of these overreactions in the fandom so annoying and exhausting from players.

Like damn no one can be competition no more. No one wants to work for their Li affection. They all should worship the ground Mc walks on and never acknowledge any other girl ever. It’s boring af.

Final thing, which just speaks to her overall personality or character traits. Some are holding on to her “shit talking” from the PDA Awards.

But was she wrong?! No! Kat IS and ALWAYS will be ANNOYING and a whiny ass bitch.

Calling Kelly basic was shots fired and Kelly def caught a stray but I mean…Kelly does have more of simple vibe compared to everyone else who embodies the *That bitch* energy. Still all love for Kelly though.

Like y’all please. The “shit talking” was some of the most tamest shit ever. And let’s be for real, if Mc said this shit or has options to be even more bitchy or cuntier, we call them all kinds of Queens, Savages, and Icons. But with Natasha she’s shady.

I’m sorry I REFUSE to let y’all slander Natasha. She be riding for Mc. Remember she was one of the only ones on our side during the PDA debacle with Finn. Whether you did mess with him or not. Like Natasha is a rider.

Even with the drama that Melissa brought, that was Melissa twisting things to be messy. Not Natasha trying to be hurtful. Idc this rant was for her bc I hate how yall switching up on my girl. It’s WILD!

[co-mixed]

Fantastic Origin (Reed Sucks)

Let’s do it, let’s kick off the Fantastic Four review journey. 

The first ever run of Marvel’s first family aka the team I had been actively avoiding until recently. 

Most of Lee/Kirby books are extremely different from what we see in the comics today. You could easily attribute that to the days of yore or just the fact that these books have served as stepping stones towards bigger and more complex stories. Or you could take them for what they are.

Right away I will have to get misogyny out of the way. It’s there and it’s ugly. These books are filled with ridiculous stereotypes and absolutely unacceptable degrading behavior towards women. It’s all the more upsetting when you get to read fan letters from women, they hint at that constantly. 

I gotta say, it worked too because when Crystal became a part of the team, she was relatively badass and was treated with more respect than Sue. But dammit, poor Sue. You can try and convince me that Reed is a good husband but that won’t help a bit. In a world where literal supervillains exist, he is definitely not the worst human being but since he’s being portrayed as a hero, I’m gonna accept the fact that he’s trash. 

Of course, I see what the creators were going for: Reed was supposed to be a hyper-focused, single-minded, science-obsessed team leader with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He was supposed to be flawed but sympathetic. 

Especially compared to his beloved Sue who was supposed to be a loving and caring homemaker with her invisibility power being a reflection of her relationship with Reed. As in he only sees her when she’s in danger. 

The way it looks now, 60 years after the cosmic rays incident, is very different.

Sue is a young woman, seemingly younger than Reed, who somehow stumbled into a relationship with a man who treats her as a status symbol. She’s a tag-along, something pretty to walk with, have at home, and look at when it pleases him. Because she’s younger (bear with me, I’m only assuming this based on the Lee/Kirby age), she is very susceptible to his influence and opinions, there’s a power misbalance and she doesn’t really know that things could or should be better. Which is kind of easy to assume, considering her mother was dead and her father was in jail. She also had a brother in high school to take care of and Reed was successful and rich. 

Then after she got powers, she kind of got permanently stuck with him, and that trauma bond became even more dysfunctional. She did assume the role she probably saw in the media at the time, overly caring about everyone but herself, and she accepts material substitutes for actual comfort, such as shopping, because that’s what’s been said and taught to her. 

Her relationship with Reed is passionless too, hence when Namor shows up, she entertains the idea of him. Although, let’s not forget that he keeps kidnapping her and trying to convince her to become his queen of the seas or whatever. Maybe if he was less straightforward and didn’t try to kill her brother in the process… who knows?

But he does, meanwhile, Reed is putting that good-for-nothing brother of hers through school, so she chooses Reed. She even marries him, entrapping herself in a loveless marriage. And after two years of horrible home life with barely any time to get to know whatever she’s been wed to, she gets pregnant. All in all, at this point, at that time, it’s over for her. And as a reader you know she doesn’t escape that. It’s pretty tragic. 

Reed is a scumbag. Yelling at Susan is just part of it, he also acts like he’s the boss of everyone (which I do get when it comes to Johnny and Ben, who are let’s just say irresponsible.) 

He constantly sticks his nose into things like the negative zone, causing meanies like Annihilus to show up. He keeps using Ben or The Thing when he needs and then swears he’ll turn him back. It gets repetitive and no one can really trust him. He pretends to act like a hero after causing a problem and keeps trying to sacrifice himself forgetting his wife and eventually son. Bro, you got responsibilities over there!

I believe that’s the intention but Reed is not that different from Doom, except Doom actually has a sob story to explain his obsession with science and the occult. Reed… at this point in the run we don’t know if he does or where his assholery comes from. All we do know is he’s an equally terrible leader, husband, and friend. Bet he’s not much of a father either. 

But hey, at least he’s putting that good-for-nothing Johnny through school. 

Ben is irritating. We’ve discussed it at length with several people, how so many people can relate to him and consider him their favorite character. But Ben Grimm is awful. You know what? I think the unstable version of him that was around for a brief moment when he could switch into The Thing and back, that version is the real Ben Grimm. If anything, his insecurity is holding him back in that anger. When he gets both strength and his human appearance, that’s when you gotta run for the hills and summon the Hulk to put him down. 

Ben went from petty, insecure, and angry to overcompensating and calling himself pretty and lovable. All the while his paranoia regarding Alicia and her love for him is growing more and more bizarre. He really doesn’t trust her when she says that she likes him as The Thing, he claims he wants to be Ben for her but hey, she’s pretty uncomfortable with Ben so there’s that. 

He did act better than Reed would’ve when he thought Alicia had chosen Silver Surfer but then he ghosted her and threw a tantrum every time Surfer popped up. Have some self-respect, Ben. 

What pissed me off the most is the way he treated Franklin seconds before he found out his middle name was Benjamin. Like, seriously? You’re taking it out on a baby? Besides, neither Sue nor Reed owes you anything. Well, maybe Reed does. But it doesn’t help that Ben keeps getting into fights with that good-for-nothing Johnny.

Johnny is good for nothing. He’s an ok kid I suppose but he doesn’t attend school and somehow ends up in a university (which even managed to piss off one fan! Seriously, don’t ignore the fan mail if it’s there!) Then he spends exactly one semester, meets a friend who participates in his whacky adventures for like a week, and forgets this friend exists. He also forgets the school exists. 

Johnny is either acting out at home, fixing his car, or chasing after girls. Until he meets Crystal and immediately becomes obsessed with her, which no one really cares about. Then Crystal gets stuck under a dome with her merry Inhuman family, and he broods and throws tantrums. They are torn apart and brought back together, and then are torn apart and then brought together, it’s a whole X-men level soap. I actually liked that.

And out of all the villains I’m only gonna focus on Doom. Don’t get me wrong, Galactus is forever the star, but let’s talk Doom. 

He’s an interesting fellow but I don’t get the massive fan base. Dude’s a literal dictator of the worst kind. He experienced dictatorship on his own skin since childhood and he grew up and enslaved his whole country. I would understand if he brought prosperity and happiness to them but that? I was actually pretty impressed by the Latverian arc, in which the FF went to Latveria and were depowered and treated like Doom’s dear guests. It was a creative way to draw a little image of what this kinda system is and how it functions from within. Doom rules by fear and they experienced that fear, they even almost lost hope. I would’ve done this arc a little differently but hey, I’m here 60 years later. 

But at least Doom hadn’t killed that good-for-nothing Johnny.

The Stories

That’s what we’re really here for –  the silly early villains and the bizarre tactics that save the day. We obviously have some baddies that stood the test of time and a few that didn’t. But Reed’s approach throughout everything is pretty much “let’s throw them into space and hope they don’t come back.” They do, Doom’s been to space twice and even made a trip to the microverse. He’s well-traveled now.

In the beginning, it’s a very repetitive scheme: one issue = one arc, Ben argues with that good-for-nothing Johnny, Sue is there, Reed saves the day. But the arcs stretch to two and more issues and the stories become more and more entertaining. At some point, even Sue gets to save a few hours. Not the day though. 

Crystal gets her shining moments, and like I said before, she does very well and almost without Reed’s misogynistic crap. 

There are a few stories I liked, Galactus, of course (behold!), the would-be gamer The Thinker, Latveria visit, and the arc in which whatshisface scientist turned himself into The Thing. That’s pretty much the first time in this run when a one-issue baddie realized the error of his ways and made the ultimate sacrifice. Before that, the antihero role was pretty much Namor’s. Speaking of Namor, how’s his “movie” career? That arc was truly wild and smelled a lot like Golden Age comics.

Now if you’re thinking you’d like to read this run, do. But if you just want to know the origins and main encounters, just watch the 90’s show. Not only it covers most of the pivotal stories, but season one has a fantastic! intro song. You’re gonna love it and if you don’t, it’s gonna haunt you till you do.

I’m positive the stories are gonna get better. I was promised they’re gonna get better but I have a hell of a road ahead of me, 300 issues before I get to more modern days, and even more after that. I’m all in.

[haezzzn]

we should stick together. you’re my best friend i’ll love you forever. AKA: HAEMIN’S RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN TXT. ib: @hausofanya

YEONJUN AND HAEMIN

“well i was born in 19-”

“NINETEEN?! your year starts with 19?!”

to haemin, yeonjun is an old man, a HAG, ancient history, about to fall apart and fade to dust any day now. you will NEVER not hear this boy making fun of yeonjun’s age (think seokjin and jungkook or seungmin and chan). it’s crazy because haemin was originally TERRIFIED of yeonjun, because of his whole status as a legendary trainee. was shaking in his boots every time they talked. but once they were in a group, and they got comfortable it was over from then.

KISUNG AND HAEMIN

“you wanna do something fun haeminnie?”

they originally bonded over the fact that their korean kinda sucked when they started training, or at least haemin’s did. he could barely get sentences out, and there was almost always english slipped in. kisung helped him a lot and they became attached at the hip. they do everything together, kisung gives haemin energy and he basically just lights up around the older boy. they’re inseparable.

ALEXEINDRE AND HAEMIN

“this is the last time i let you drag me into this stuff.”

“yeah okay. if you say so.”

haemin reminds him a lot of his (barely) younger sister cléo. haemin’s adorable and good at lying, so he’s able to charm his hyungs into doing pretty much anything. he drags alexei into literally all the trouble and just smiles cutely afterwards and it’s just fine. you can never really get mad at haemin.

SOOBIN AND HAEMIN

“hyung you’re staring.”

“you’re just so cute i can’t stand it.”

soobin ADORES haemin, his pride and joy. soobin takes like complete credit on raising him as if he’s his own son and as if the others (especially kisung) didn’t help. there’s so many compilations of soobin just staring at haemin with such a proud/adoring look in his eyes. and it’s like the same way too, haemin looks up to soobin so much, he wants to be just like soobin, talented and leader like.

BEOMGYU AND HAEMIN

“hey haemin……where are we?”

“idk i was following you, hyung.”

it’s not even like on purpose. like kisung and haemin get into trouble on purpose, because it’s fun. beomgyu and haemin get into trouble because for whatever reason they CANNOT stay out of it. they are always at the scene of the crime, it’s actually so bad. at one point they literally had to use those like leashes that kindergarten classes use while out in public so the managers could keep track of them.

TAEHYUN AND HAEMIN

“haemin i told you i have to practice right now, you can’t just sleep on me…..oh alright maybe just for a little while.”

taehyun is whipped for haemin. he’s haemin’s go to hyung when he wants cuddles and to take naps because the older bot just for whatever reason can’t say no (soobin and yeonjun sometimes can, key word sometimes). any time haemin is caught sleeping, he’s probably with taehyun. he’s also NOT a morning person snd taehyun is the one who shares a room with him and has to force him awake in the mornings.

HUENING KAI AND HAEMIN

*supposed to be practicing*

“did you know that sharks don’t have bones?”

“really? how did you find that out minnie?”

they’re ALWAYS in their own world, especially when they’re not supposed to like at practice and at concerts. one of the most popular clips from txt is them just sitting on the stage making bracelets for the fans with kisung and missing ALL of their parts because they’re so focused.

kisung can be found at @wondrelove! and alexei at @enaeura/@hausofanya !

[saintobio]

sincerely not. (16)

↳ gojou satoru/reader

with an arranged marriage set in place, the sacred bond is doomed with a wife who wants to make the relationship work and a husband who’s ready to ruin it all. unbeknown to him, a tragic fate already lies within the pages of his romance book.

genre. heavy angst, unrequited love, arranged marriage, modern au, 18+

tags/warnings. explicit smut (includes; pregnant sex, daddy n mommy kink, marking, voyeurism, slight humiliation), mentions of miscarriage, manipulation, mentions of sexual harassment, violence

notes. 14.1k wc. this was supposed to be longer but i had to cut the scene and just write it onto the next chapter. thanks sm for the beta @exorphic n @kazbrkker <33

series masterlist -> episode seventeen

Sera didn’t expect that she would dig herself a deep hole that went farther than the Earth’s layers just because of an error of judgement—a miscalculation. Now the consequences of her actions were met with scorching fury that exceeded the core’s hot surface. The ironic part of all this was the fact that what awoke her into reality was a nightmare in the name of Satoru Gojou. Ten months ago, the man showered her with saccharine promises of a blissful, comfortable life and a marriage of genuine love. Life was easier back then; she owned every inch of his heart and they were real lovers despite the stark difference in their social status. It was them against the world, them against the universe and all its vastness.

So, why has he changed his mind now? How come the woman he hated being married to was now taking Sera’s place as the rightful recipient of his heart? Surely, her fault in this situation was her failure to accept his words when he first decided to let go of her. Or when he admitted that it had always been you all this time. Sera’s pride was her hamartia and it made her an antagonist in a story where she was meant to be the protagonist.

This wasn’t her justifying the actual horrors of her actions, but the Sera that willingly put a pregnant woman in danger was a person driven by anger, jealousy, and spite. Her bitterness permeated her veins, flowed through her blood, and blazed her vexed mind. She wanted to inflict pain towards the people that betrayed her heart, but in return, she ended up having the repercussions bite her back.

If she had chosen not to give you that damned tea, stayed in her lane, and became the better person, maybe she wouldn’t have had a taste of karma splashing on her face like ice, cold water. Maybe she would have kept her decent-paying job and lived a quiet life, except she would have to suck it in and be tortured by the joyful face of her ex-lover who unabashedly anticipated his first child with his wife (not to mention he previously expressed disgust at the thought of having Sera’s). They said that the tables would turn, but how come she was always on the unfortunate side of it?

Being escorted out of the company she has worked for two years was not the humiliating part, it was the realization that there was no longer any ounce of affection left from Satoru that she hoped he still had.

But see it this way: Eula was the gas that fueled Sera's fire. Yes, that’s right. On the night when the revelation about your pregnancy infested the media, Sera was back in her room wrecking her things and screaming her deafening frustrations into the world. That same night, she had no choice but to call the woman she looked up to and ask her for advice.

“That woman… She has his child,” Sera sobbed through the phone at the time. “I-I thought she’s infertile. Why did—she can’t have a family with Satoru! Miss Eula, what do I do? I don’t want her to have him forever!”

She received an audible sigh of exasperation from the other line. “Goodness! Isn’t that frustrating? That wretched baby’s causing me stress! My husband’s even happy about it, too.”

“What do we do?” Desperate and hopeless was how Sera saw herself to be. “I want Satoru back… I want him… I c-can’t lose him like this, Miss Eula!”

“Get a hold of yourself!” the woman hissed at her. “Jesus Christ. Do something about it if you're that upset. I have no doubt he’s gonna parade her in his office soon.”

Sera sniffed and wiped her tear-stained cheek. “Do I confront her?”

Eula exhaled, clearly upset at the younger woman’s cluelessness. “Use your head! You can’t confront the legal wife in her husband’s office. Play the game and be smart. Act civil around her, give her your best wishes, and do your usual job in the office. Better yet, offer her snacks and some tea. Fool her with your kindness and silently stab her in the back.”

By this time, Sera already knew where this was going and she wasn’t sure if she could proceed. “I’ll p-poison the tea?” she clarified because that bit wasn’t clear. “I can’t… I hate her, but not that way.”

“She’s not gonna die because of a stupid tea. Just give her chamomile!” Eula’s irritation was rising from her throat. “You want revenge? Then just do what I say. He’s only in it because she has his heir, so don’t give him the privilege to have that abominable child with her. Learn from me!”

Clearly, that should have been the last thing that Sera did even in her most vulnerable state. Despite researching about the effects that the said tea could have on a pregnant woman, she trusted Miss Eula’s plans because she was a good example of a woman who had started from the bottom and earned her way to the top. Sera wanted to be just like her and so all morality was lost when she temporarily allowed her greed to course through her.

She shouldn’t have.

Yet, she was a grown woman who could make her own choices in life and the unfortunate (and clearly motivated) path that she took was to claim revenge on a pregnant woman and her husband. The difference between Sera and Eula was how the latter could have executed her plan a heck ton better than the former had and there would be no trace of guilt that could haunt the older woman. That was how she should play the game. Be cruel, be cunning, be unapologetic.

Sera, although hard to believe, was burdened by her guilt and devastation leaving her with no choice but to run back home in a tearful state. The void she created in her chest was growing larger with each step she took upon entering her home. It was hard to believe how a simple action that she did for a few seconds had resulted into a lifetime punishment of losing a job, a lover, and her dignity. This was the comeuppance that she should have seen like an asteroid coming down to destroy her whole life.

In the end, the love that she had for Satoru had dissipated into anger. And that anger had evolved into spite.

“Nee-chan, what’s wrong?” She heard her brother ask in worry as soon as she stepped inside the house with pale lips and obvious puffy eyes behind her smudged mascara. Her gait was also too languid not to notice.

“Sera, are you okay?” The follow up question was from her mom.

“Don’t cry, nee-chan!” As she fell on her knees and succumbed to her lassitude, it was her younger sister who embraced her in her arms and shared her woes.

Family. All she had left was her family.

She didn’t expect that Nari’s frail arms would give her the most comfort at a time like this. “It’s over,” Sera ended up blurting out loud as she wiped her eyes. “I lost my job and the boss that I was dating is a married man! I was his mistress.”

There was no violent reaction to her revelation. Her family only looked at her with sympathy before scooping her in their arms to provide her cold heart with warmth. Why are they not disgusted with me? Sera didn’t really want to label herself as a mistress since she was the first girlfriend before Satoru was arranged to you, but then she remembered the words you said back in Bora Bora.

“In everyone’s eyes, no one cares about who’s the first love. People care about who’s the one that they married.”

She had lost this game. She was the villain and she couldn’t accept it. She was supposed to be the main character in her fairytale, not you. Your marriage was supposed to be hollow and temporary. Satoru was supposed to end up with her.

“Sera, there are better men out there who can love you wholeheartedly,” her mother offered advice, one that Sera took with bitterness.

She was already scoffing at her mom when she pulled away from all three of them. “You’re one to talk, mom. The man you married can’t even provide for his family.”

Jiro took this chance to answer on behalf of his regretful mother. “Nee-chan, dad’s been sober for a month. He’s been looking for jobs just to repay you for—”

“A-About that…” Their mother’s shaky hands alarmed them. She was tearful and nervous, but Sera wondered why exactly she was acting that way. “The money we had left… Your dad used it to gamble. I-I had no idea he took the card and withdrew the money while I was asleep.”

Sera realized that it was better to get hit by a truck than to hear those sickening words from her mother’s mouth. That her revolting father had spent the last bit of money that they had to sustain their lifestyle all for a fucking game of poker. How about their rent? Their bills? Their everyday needs? She released her stress in the form of screams—so loud that it broke her vocal chords as she sobbed and threw the flower vase across the wall. She was thrashing like an unhinged person, destroying everything around her while she continuously wailed. Everything Sera had worked hard for was taken from her in a single day.

She didn’t deserve this. She deserved better than this.

“Sera—!”

“Onee-chan, wait—!”

No one should ever get in the way of an extremely angry woman because Sera was on the verge of self-destruction and her wrath led her to barge inside of her father’s bedroom, snatching his clothes off the closet, and throwing them straight out of the window. It didn’t stop there. She also started hurling his shoes and everything that he owned out of their house without much regret in doing so. In fact, it was cathartic for her because the last thing she wanted to see in her house was that curse of a father. His existence was an anathema to her.

“If any of you…” she warned, looking at her siblings and her mother with deathly fire burning in her brown eyes, “if any of you ever let that man inside this house again, don’t consider me family anymore.”

They didn’t chase after Sera when she walked out of the house and ran off without a specific direction. She just desperately wanted to leave because even the supposed comfort of her home was a heavy weight on her shoulders. There was no peace even around her own family and she was a minute close into falling apart. Where should she run off to now? Who would comfort a woman like her who just lost everything?

In truth, she had no one. She only had herself and the only person she could think of who had always been there to understand her sentiments was Naoya. A man not from the same status, but nonetheless cared for her well-being. He understood her better than anyone else and Sera was at a point where she could only run to him for comfort.

She didn’t even think twice about showing up at the Zen’in estate just to see him nor did she hesitate at enveloping the guy for an embrace the minute he met with her at the foyer because she needed him to soothe her aching heart. Initially, he had become frozen from her advances, but quickly softened up to stroke her hair.

“I-I did something terrible,” her voice was muffled as she buried her face in his chest.

But Naoya didn’t mind. “Wanna talk about it in my room?”

It had been a long, painful day. A day full of misery and retribution. Of tears and screams. She could tell that the universe had been waiting all along to let her pay for her sins and yet, it seemed like it was asking for more than what she deserved.

“Satoru kicked me out of the company,” she spoke again as soon as Naoya closed the door. His eyes assessed her body language while he leaned his back against the wall, arms crossed when he offered his two ears to listen to her. “I gave Y/N chamomile tea and I knew it was bad for her, but I saw red! I was… I was angry!”

Naoya put his arms down and became rigid. “Woah, you tried to harm her baby?”

Sera thought he understood her so well, so why was he acting as if he was looking at the most abhorrent creature he has ever seen? What happened to their connection where he always saw things in her perspective without prior judgment? Before she knew it, she was already approaching him closer in a manner to clear her name. “Wait, Naoya. Listen, I just followed Miss Eula’s advice. Sh-She told me to give Y/N—”

The blond man closed his eyes and sighed. “I’ll tell you something.”

And just like that, the mood has completely shifted. The disgust in Naoya’s eyes was no longer for Sera, but for the older woman whose name had just left her mouth.

“Eula,” Naoya began, taking slow yet measured footsteps as he circled Sera. “You know I treat her like a mom, right? I respect her. She wasn’t born with inherited wealth, but she worked her way to the top.”

Sera was nodding her head as she listened to every word that left his mouth. Her heart rate was slow and calm because there was nothing more relaxing than hearing Naoya’s voice.

And so he continued, “At first, I followed her around for advice because she’s smart and her mindset can help me strategize in business. But then… she was becoming obsessive towards me. Don’t you think that’s weird? I’m way younger than her! She took advantage of my kindness and tried to force herself on me. It’s really disgusting.”

Wow. Sera was speechless. She never thought that Miss Eula would go as far as preying on a man who was so much younger than her. How could she do such a thing? “I-I had no idea she was doing that to you. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have listened to her.”

“She’s crazy,” Naoya stated, closing the distance between them by cupping her damp cheek. “You know what’s crazier?”

Sera kept her eyes on his.

“She’s jealous of you.” As the truth left Naoya’s mouth, something just clicked in Sera’s mind but the man took it by himself to voice out her thoughts. “She clearly wanted to ruin you when she told you to do those things. She knew you’d lose her job. She knew Satoru would hate you more. She knew you would be humiliated in front of his wife. She manipulated you because you were vulnerable.”

This… All of this! How could Sera not have seen it? Horror painted her face in realization because everything was now making sense except for one thing. “B-But why is she jealous of me?”

The corner of Naoya’s lips upturned. Along his smirk, he was brushing Sera’s lower lip with his thumb and gazing at her face with a gleam of adoration. “Why not? You’re young, you’re gorgeous, and you’re one of the kindest girls I’ve met. You’re also hard-working and genuine. You’d be so much more capable and powerful than she is now. Do you really think she’ll allow you to become a Gojou when you’d be a threat to her in the future?”

At that point, the tip of Naoya’s nose was pressed against hers. His minty breath brought heat to her cheek, intoxicating her with the affection that she has long yearned for.

“You’re the only one who truly understands me,” her voice broke when she said those words, and she was shamelessly gripping the fabric of his shirt to pull him closer. “You’re the only one who cares about me.”

Naoya raked his finger through her long brown tresses. “World’s cruel, isn’t it?”

It was such a shame how Sera had spent the past few months being hellbent on keeping Satoru by her side and convincing herself that he was the only man she could ever end up with. Why did she even believe such a thing? Naoya was here and he was a far better partner than Satoru could ever be. He listened to her, he appreciated her, he adored her… Sera should have just fallen in love with him instead of wasting all of her time on a man who was so easy to disregard her.

With all that in mind, her emotions drove her to press her lips on top of Naoya’s soft ones. She was kissing him without shame, kissing him with ardor, with gratitude. They were exploring each other’s mouths, engulfing the sweet taste of their tongue rolling against one another. She was unbuttoning his shirt, undoing his pants, pleasing him with all that she can because the feeling of being intimate with this man gave her the distraction that she needed. Naoya had become the antidote from the poison that nearly killed her heart and she was submitting herself to him with the belief that she should have been doing all this with him long before she allowed her life to be ruined by an ex-boyfriend who betrayed her love. Perhaps Naoya was her salvation. But with the way he pinned her against the wall and roughly sucked on the soft spot on her neck, his actions made her realize that he could be another form of damnation, too. He was heaven and hell. A sinner and a saint.

“N-Naoya.” First, his name escaped her lips with a soft, wanton moan.

The next, she was on her knees being pounded on by the man who glorified her body with praises she had never heard from her ex-boyfriend before. He fucked her like there was no tomorrow and paid no mercy at destroying her with the fast movements of his hips. While his nails left crescent marks on her flesh, it was added by the burning stretch on her scalp when he pulled her hair and met her buttocks with hard thrusts.

It was only then until Sera realized that the only way to be free from Satoru was to show him that someone of the same status could accept her for who she was.

About twenty-three miles away from the Zen’in estate, Satoru Gojou was in his penthouse delighting on the rollercoaster ride of having a pregnant wife and he would start it off by saying that he doesn’t ever want to get off this ride.

But before he would go to the good parts, there was something that had temporarily halted your domestic romance. The topic about Sera was still fresh and rumors in the office were varying for the most part because not everyone had directly heard his encounter with the ex-lover who tried to harm his child except for the security guards and the other two receptionists. Satoru was a volcano that exploded in front of Sera and he was spouting words like basaltic magma without paying attention to his surroundings because he was far too driven by the magnitude of his emotions. To think of it, how else would anyone expect a father and husband to react when someone tried to deliberately cause his wife’s miscarriage? He wasn’t overreacting. Protective maybe, but also reasonable without a doubt. A cup of chamomile tea would not instantly kill his child—it was the intention behind harming an innocent baby that made Satoru seethe in anger the most. Because if he had been lenient to Sera, what more unforgivable things could she have done in the future?

He gave Sera the benefit of the doubt for so long because he was the reason she was becoming a monster in the first place. He let her hit him, curse at him, and be all kinds of nasty to him in exchange for keeping his wife away from her rage. But that vile act she committed in the office? It was the last fucking straw.

Though, now that his volcano had exploded, he was back to his quiescence.

“I can’t believe she did that,” he voiced out his thoughts. In a bathtub at nine in the evening was where he lay still with a wife whose back was pressed against his toned chest. He had his arms around you, lips on your temple while his fingers were tracing your curve underwater. The fluff of white bubbles hugged your figure as you leaned back on his bare front and snuggled on his neck. “I was so angry. I felt like I was gonna be violent for once.”

The water reached up to his wife’s breasts, covering the slope of your flesh with suds. Even though the thought of Sera was still clouding his mind like an oncoming thunderstorm, your presence was what kept his mind calm.

“Don’t do that,” you reminded. “No matter how angry you are, violence isn’t the way to go.” You then pulled both of his hands and placed his palms directly on your tummy so he could feel your growing bump. The aroma of vanilla that came from the scented candles seemed to have made you drowsy and the cozy position you were in made things even more intimate.

Satoru wouldn’t even deny it. He loved bathing with you. He loved hot showers in the morning just as he loved your lazy bathtub sessions at night because it was considered quality time between a husband and wife. His heart had never felt this much bliss until he began sharing this domestic set-up with you and there was nothing in this world that could make him exchange all these little moments for anything else.

So instead of paying attention to the ex-girlfriend who nearly put his wife in danger, he decided that it was best to pamper you with love and affection. Sera had no place in his heart and mind now. Surely, you two still had plenty of time to talk about her uncalled for actions some other day when you weren’t prone to angina attacks because of extreme stress.

“Let’s not talk about her.” For your sake and his.

You looked up and offered a smile. “Okay. Why don’t we just talk about you, Mr. Gojou?” You pulled yourself up and had your husband holding your hand for support until you were able to straddle his lap. He must admit that it was a little stimulating how your knees brushed on his member as you moved. Or how big your breasts had gotten now that he had a full frontal view of them. “—up? Are you listening?”

Fuck. No, he absolutely wasn’t. In fact, he was only pretending when he cleared his throat and let his calloused fingers find your waist. “What were you saying?”

You may have rolled your eyes, but you still let your palms roam around his shoulders and in return made him chuckle. “I said, how do you think we should celebrate your birthday since it’s coming up?”

Satoru wouldn’t even have remembered his own birthday until you reminded him about it. All his mind could focus on was one question: who is this goddess of a wife? You must have come from another planet because there was no way a person could look as beautiful as you. Just everything—your eyes, your lips, your neck, your collarbones, your round tits, your delicious curves, your growing bump, your plump folds that were grinding against his thigh… Hold on, grinding?

He took a deep breath to keep himself together and held your hips as he forced his mind to think straight. Yes, your underwater mischief was certainly not an imagination. It seemed that you were indeed discreetly grinding your sweet pussy against his left thigh while placing a hand on his chest with doe eyes that feigned innocence.

“It’s just that…” Your chest rose up and down as you continued to undulate your hips by using his thigh to pleasure you. “You know, Ieiri called me this morning asking about my health and all, then she asked me if we had plans for your birthday since she didn’t want me to exhaust myself.”

Fine, Satoru would have to say that he was a loser at playing the no-touch game. He just couldn’t help his hands from traveling up to your chest, squeezing your breasts together before latching his mouth onto one nipple. He could hear your soft breathing when his tongue played with your bud—nipping, suckling, kissing. “Whatever you want, baby,” his voice was an octave deeper when he spoke before moving his mouth to your other bosom to give it the same attention as he did with your left one. “As long as I get to spend it with you. I don’t want you to tire yourself out just to celebrate it.”

You arched your back and gripped a fistful of white hair from the back of his head, clearly pleased by the skillful tongue that made your nipples a lot more perkier than before. “Mm.. Okay. How about a y-yacht cruise? With your best friends.”

By the time his mouth wandered off to your collarbones to leave hickeys everywhere, he could feel your hand reaching for the head of his now-throbbing cock that had become rock hard underwater. “Good idea,” he answered, marking your body while you began stroking his length. You tightened your hand around his thick girth, sliding your fist with ease because the water provided the lubrication that you needed. Satoru was already satisfied to fuck your pretty hand because he couldn’t risk rutting into you until you were out of breath. “Fuck, baby. Do you think we should—?”

“I can take it.” Dammit. The determination in your voice aroused him more than he already was. Along with the desperation in your eyes and the moans that left your parted mouth, your handjob skills seemed to have improved even underwater. He recognized that haze in your eyes, one that reflected the image of an animal in heat. It was taking over you. “Satoru, I want you. I’m going crazy here.”

Best part of pregnancy hormones? A very horny mommy.

It even looked like you would cry if he didn’t give it to you tonight. Satoru felt like he hit the jackpot with this and the way you were blatantly expressing your sexual needs was turning him on tenfold. “You’re so hot.” So hot and all his. So pregnant with his baby, too. “You want me to do what? Give me the specifics, honey.”

“I want your cock.” Goddamn were you straight to the point! Your enclosed hand tightened around his shaft, pumping him in the same pace and rhythm to how you rubbed your needy pussy on his thigh. “I want it in my mouth. Please… daddy? Can I please suck you?”

That kink of yours. Or was it his? Technically, he was a DILF-in-training so calling him ‘daddy’ did make sense. Still, how you desperately begged to have him just sent his ego up the ceiling.

And now that he mentioned it, his cute, sexy wife was a MILF, too.

“Why are you laughing?” Your eyebrows knitted in annoyance, and the hand that was pumping his cock was now hitting his chest. “What’s so funny?”

Satoru grinned and shook his head, grabbing your nape and smashing his peachy lips onto yours. There was a vibration from the hum that you released before you enveloped your lips around his, opening up to let his tongue invade every corner of your mouth. While both of your hands found their way to do the job on his cock again, his own hand cupped your pussy to rub your folds and separate the labia using his two fingers. Your cunt was plump and wet—regardless of the fact that your body was half-submerged on the tub—and Satoru was going feral at the thought of how good it must feel to fuck a pregnant pussy. He tested your tightness by inserting one finger through your hole and your walls were already clenching at a single slender finger. How much more if his cock was seven inch deep inside of you?

“Shit, baby. I might destroy you,” he breathed through your mouth, gasping before you tilted your head to shove your own tongue as deep as you possibly could. It was clear that you didn’t care because you were humping on his palm when he resumed orchestrating circular motions on your clit. You bit his lower lip as you twitched from the sensory overload and was left with no choice but to press your palms against his toned pecs. “Like that?”

“Fuck. Fuck. Yes,” you were moaning without a pause, closing your eyes to shut down all other senses except for the one down there. Since when did you even cuss this much? It was sexy. So fucking sexy. Your breasts were glistening under the ambient light as you threw your head back to savor the feeling of your husband’s fingers on your slick entrance. Satoru was at a loss of words upon seeing the sex goddess that he had unknowingly summoned and he was even more excited at pleasing his better half until you were whimpering and pushing his hand away. “Satoru, w-wait.”

“Hm?” He kissed your lips and pulled away with a smooching sound. By then, the wife was gesticulating her pointer finger upwards and commanding him to get up. Oh. It was daddy’s time. “Wait, babe. I got suds on my dick.”

You were both chuckling while he stood up and reached for the shower head, turning it on and allowing the water pressure to remove all of the suds on his pelvis and his cock. He used the showerhead to clean your now soap-free hands before he returned it back to its place, repositioning himself in front of a kneeling wife who looked up at him with docility and had him releasing traces of precum on his swollen pink tip. Imagine the view: he was towering over you, a seven-inch cock right above your face until you wrapped your hand near the base and laid your tongue flat on the skin under his length. You licked him from one corner to another as if you were an amateur pornstar who had done it countless times before. “This,” you referred to his dick, “is mine.”

“All yours, baby.” And with a mischievous smile at that.

No, actually, he was losing his mind. His frenzy was knocking at his door, ready to come out and fuck his wife all throughout the night. But the thing was, he couldn’t. You weren’t physically capable to handle marathon sex anymore. Gone were the days where he would spend his weekends trying out all these different sex positions with you. How has the time flown so fast?

“You’re so big,” you spoke breathlessly, swirling your tongue around his head before you proceeded to suck the precum off the slit. Good girl. He guided your face by touching your cheek, watching how you sucked him like a lollipop until you buried his cock into your mouth inch by inch. Slowly, slowly… holy shit!

“B-Babe,” he held his breath, eyes finding the ceiling to release his guttural moans. “Fuck, yeah.”

You were gagging on his shaft as you tried to fit all of his length down your throat, drool escaping the corners of your mouth while your uvula was being penetrated by his hardened member. The walls of your mouth were warm and tight—sending him into an orbit of immense pleasure as you began sucking your husband’s cock with your seemingly improved blowjob skills. He didn’t realize that he was roughly pulling your hair until he looked down and saw you teasingly batting your eyelashes up at him with hollow cheeks that acted as a suction to his twitching cock.

Well, you didn’t stop there. While Satoru was busy running his fingers through his white hair and throwing his head back with each salacious suck you did, you were on your knees bringing your lips on the tip of his cock before opening your mouth wide enough to suck him all the way to the base. Damn, you were deepthroating. At this point, your eyes were tearing up, your chin was against his bollocks, your nose was pressed on pelvis—did you hate it? No. Your face showed just how much you absolutely loved every second of it.

“Baby... That’s deep.” He couldn’t restrain the moans that flew out of his mouth left and right.

But when you released his cock with a pop, you continued pumping him with your hand and gave him the sexiest order he had ever heard from you. “Fuck my mouth and shoot your cum down my throat. I want every drop of it.”

Wide, sapphire eyes stared at you in surprise. Was he really talking to Mrs. Y/N Gojou right now? Was this woman really his wife? Before he could answer his own questions, you were already gripping his wrist and encouraging him hold your head in preparation for the face-fucking that you eagerly requested. “Shit. Are you sure?”

He got his confirmation when you licked the outline of his veins with a subtle grin. So that settled it then—mommy wants daddy’s cock, and who was he to deprive you of it? Just as you wished, he let his member enter your mouth while he gripped your head and angled it in a position where he could see his bulge on your cheek appearing and disappearing. He couldn’t help but display a playful grin at how he penetrated your inner cheek before he finally adjusted his cock down your throat. You already had a head start so there was no point at stalling things further when he slammed himself inside of your mouth in between rough thrusts. Each jostle was a gag from you and a low grunt from him, allowing a series of cuss words to ricochet off the tiled walls of your bathroom.

“Mm—!”

Just look at his wife. You didn’t even close your eyes when he fucked your mouth the way he would to your cunt, and despite the intrusion in your uvula, you were learning how to stretch your mouth around his cock in order to allow his penetration to go deep. Both of your hands were latching onto his knees to keep your balance and he could see the shape of your beautiful tits from the view he had up above.

His birthday was still in two days, but this already felt like an early gift.

“Fuck. Baby, fuck. That’s it.”

“Mm—mm!”

As soon as there was a coil of pleasure building up in his lower abdomen, he instantly knew that the next few seconds would end up with him shooting his load down to your throat. There was a wave of pleasure that washed his entire body and it wasn’t because of the water that surrounded you two, but because of the amount of semen he had ejaculated into your mouth.

“You’re so good, mommy.” He showered you with praises before he pulled out and saw you swallowing his warm seed like an obedient girl.

But to think that he had successfully done his job, he was wrong. You got up and crashed your lips onto his, wrapping your arms around your husband’s neck and pressing your chest on his toned ones while you two tasted each other’s mouth. Upon pulling away to catch your breath, that babyish pout and those pleading eyes of yours were back. “My turn, please?”

Satoru tucked a few strands of wet hair behind your ear concurrent to how he kneaded your bum with his other free hand. “You want me to eat you out, hm?”

“No,” you tugged his wrists. “I want you to fuck me. Hard and fast like usual.”

He was going to faint here. What and how the hell could he ever satiate such a needy wife? He had just released a huge amount of cum, and now another round was requested of him—not that he minded, but… was it safe?

“Can’t do hard and fast, mommy. Not safe for little munchkin,” he said, earning his wife’s displeasure. “And what if you run out of breath? You might get an angina attack.”

“But I can take it!” you whined, stepping out of the tub to leave your husband like a kid who was denied of her favorite candy.

Gojou chased you out of the tub and followed your footsteps when you headed towards the bathroom’s vanity and dried yourself up with a towel. “Okay, how about this,” he bargained, looking at your reflection on the mirror as he stood behind you, “we’ll have sex, but I’ll do it nice and slow. You have to tell me the minute your chest feels tight so I know when to stop.”

“Okay.” You faced him again, brushing your thumb on his lower lip before you gave him a soft, open-mouthed kiss. “Let’s do it.”

The question was: should he take you from the back or on the front? Satoru would consider the pros and cons here because he didn’t want to risk your health just for the sake of having sex with you.

If he took you from the back…

Pros:

You get to look at the mirror and watch him rawdog you from behind

He gets to see your ass

Cons:

He can’t hit it deep

He can’t kiss you

He can’t stare at your breasts

He can’t go nice and slow in this position

Your legs might give up if you stand for too long

If you did missionary above the vanity…

Pros:

He can be gentler with his pace

He can kiss you

He can watch all of you

You can lay your back against the mirror and let him do all of the job

He can see his cock going deep in and out of your cunt (What a dirty mind, Satoru!)

Cons:

You can’t see your goddess self in the mirror

No, there weren’t many cons here

The winner was obvious and he decided by himself without asking you of what you wanted because he could already tell that you would choose being fucked like a slut with how horny you were. But nope, not a chance, baby. He had to be gentle with his fragile wife.

So without a word, he hooked his forearms under your legs and hoisted you up above the vanity. “Satoru?” you asked, allowing him to spread your legs apart and give him a better view of your dripping pussy. He craved you just like how you craved him. The only difference was how he could still control himself while you were getting needier by the second.

“Is your back comfortable? Want me to put a towel behind you?” As soon as you nodded, he snatched the thickest rolled towel that he could find from the cupboard and placed it behind your back to offer as a cushion. Soon after, he leaned down to give you a soft kiss on the lips before he started trailing kisses on your neck, collarbone, and breasts—oh, this beautiful, tender pair. He suckled on one nipple and onto the other, flicking his tongue on the nub before he pulled away and began fondling the rounded mass and jiggling them playfully. “You’re the sexiest.”

You giggled, hands pressed atop the cold marble surface of the vanity. “Even when my tummy’s getting round?”

“Even if you get thrice as big,” he agreed, glancing at your belly and noticing how firm and round it had become. My baby’s in there. What if the next Einstein was from his own sperm? He was chuckling to himself at the thought before he planted kisses all over your small bump, speaking to his kid as though it could hear him. “Mommy and I will make love, so just sleep in there, okay? It’s rated X over here.”

Now it was time to start working. After attaching his lips onto your stomach, he moved away only to let two fingers rub your slick pussy. He stretched your labia and ejected his spit to use it as an added lubricant for your soaking entrance. “S-Satoru.” That’s it, baby. Moan for daddy. He was smirking before he dived in and encased his mouth on your pussy lips, French kissing the most sensitive part of your body by lapping it up with the use of his tongue. Your taste was his rhapsody and your mewls were just as dulcet. If your voice had a flavor, it would be sweet. Mellifluous. And your pussy? Heaven. Better than any other man could have in their lifetime. “A-Aah, m-more!”

His tongue was rolling inside of your core, lavishing the taste of your slick-coated cunt before he moved his wet muscle to your outer labia. Because your hole was free again, he inserted two fingers deep into your entrance all while his tongue played with your clitoris and its hood. Satoru was pretty good at multitasking, wasn’t he? Your legs were already shaking and he hasn’t even used his cock yet. Speaking of which, that cock of his had grown back to its glory and was pulsating because of how eager he was to be inside of you.

But back to his wife. Yes, his gorgeous, angelic wife who had her back against the mirror and her legs spread apart for the father of her child. You took the chance to grab a handful of your husband’s white hair when he simultaneously spoiled you with oral sex with two fingers deep inside of you. “Satoru, I-I c-can’t hold it in,” you begged, voice as shaky as your legs. “P-Please, fuck me.”

“Patience, honey,” he playfully reprimanded, but still doing as told by detaching his mouth from ravaging your cunt and withdrawing his fingers that were now sticky with your juices. He showed you how he sucked your slick from his digits before he positioned himself with your legs wrapped around his waist. However, maybe it would be fun to see how even more vocal you would become if he stalled things a little. “On second thought, daddy wants to hear more.”

You looked at him, confused. “What are you—baby, please. Don’t make me wait.” Your eyes gleamed in arousal. “Please, all of your cock inside me. Now.”

“How’s your breathing?”

“Fine!”

“Your heart?”

“I’m okay. Don’t worry about it, just…”

“How about your belly? Tight?”

“I said I’m okay!”

“You look like you’re about to cry. Can’t wait to have daddy’s cock?”

He knew what he was doing and he was a menace for it. You were already falling desperate to have him fill you up, but because he decided to have this little game, you went ahead and touched yourself as revenge. “Fuck you.”

The pearly whites of his teeth were visible as he grinned. “Oh, wife’s got a voyeurism kink, huh?” he teased, watching how you used your own fingers to make circular movements on your clit. He was getting hard just by seeing you touching yourself and he wanted to give you the same pleasurable view of your own. “In that case, I’ll join you.”

You were biting on your lip to prevent louder moans from coming out as you continued to play with yourself. He, on the other hand, was pumping his length because jerking off to a wife who was now fingering herself seemed like the naughtiest type of foreplay you two had ever done. “Satoru, please.”

“Yes, baby. Give me a minute.” He fucked his fist to the thought of you, grabbing your boob and squeezing it before he finally allowed his fat cock to meet your aching pussy. At first, he lubricated his shaft by grinding it between your folds, and with the assurance of being wet enough to enter your core, he sunk his swollen head in your moistened entrance and released a groan that came straight from his gut. “Ah—shit! You feel so tight.”

“Nngh!” You held onto the vanity and watched how your husband began moving inside of you. In ten seconds, half of his cock was in. In twenty, he was nearing the base. In a minute, his pelvis was finally pressed against your pubic region. “Satoru!”

“Does it hurt?” he asked because it was fucking good, but it might not be for you. “Tell me and I’ll adjust.”

You quickly shook your head. “No, no. It’s good. Please move.”

He was a simple man. He listened to his wife and obeyed her words if he saw no harm. The funny thing was, this situation made it look like it was the first time that you two were being intimate when you have already done it more than the days a calendar could offer. How else would a cute munchkin get inside mommy’s womb if not for the amount of lovemaking that you did before?

As much as he missed rutting into you at an animalistic pace, he could only do slow but rhythmic thrusts. Nonetheless, every slam made your breasts bounce and your velvet walls were clenching around his girth as though you were milking him of his cum.

“Y-Yeah, j-just like that!” Your dulcet moans were orgasmic to his ears and he spoiled you with a kiss on the lips before he increased his speed. “A-Aah—!”

Your hands held onto the surface for support, eyes on the ceiling as you allowed your husband to fuck your body with continuous slams. He could see the marks he had left on your chest turning purple and anyone would see those marks if you ever decided to wear an outfit with a plunging neckline. You were the canvas to his art of love and your body was the painting that reflected his passion.

Even more, Satoru was blessed with the sight of his wife’s swollen cunt that was adjusting to every ridge of his cock as your body naturally reacted to your husband with familiarity. Blotches of white liquid were staining his length and more of it had come out when you creamed all over his cock without preparation.

“Fuck!”

“Satoru, I-I’m cumming.”

“Me, too.”

And neither of you two saw it coming. Your back was arching, toes curling, knees shaking as he continued to ram himself into you through your overstimulation. There was no sign of a racing heart nor an oxygen deprived lungs so he enjoyed the exploding feeling of his own orgasm that made him release thick ropes of cum straight to your cervix. The steady rhythm had fallen sloppy and your face had morphed into both pleasure and relief. Along with the convulsive sensation that filled you to the brim, you were finally sated and pleased with the exchange of sensual gratification that your ever-so-generous husband had just given you.

“I love you,” he didn’t forget to say, kissing your lips before he pulled out.

If anyone was wondering, his wife was here. Beautifully naked. Radiant from the post-sex glow. Limp and reasonably exhausted. And most of all, pregnant from the husband that loved her with every fiber of his being.

You could no longer enjoy your wifely duties ever since Satoru hired an army of maids into your penthouse. Although they gave you privacy when needed, the simple household chores such as cleaning the house, folding laundry, and even cooking could no longer be done by you. You were handled with utmost care and were not allowed to do strenuous activities that could lead your body to fatigue. Frankly, all of this made you miss being your husband’s actual housewife instead of the queen bee he had turned you into your 72nd-floor beehive.

The only time you were only able to do more effort than intended was when you were possessed by a sex goddess last night (to which you were so embarrassed for the next morning, to which your husband also teased you for until afternoon). Satoru only decided that it was better to shut his mouth when you started glaring at him, deeming it safer not to mess with a pregnant wife.

But overall, he couldn’t exactly decline you when you asked if he could join you in grocery shopping that day.

“We have chefs,” he reasoned at first, “and we have maids who can go through the grocery list.”

Your response to his argument was to say that it would make you happy if he could just let you do it. You wanted to do it. He, as a husband, should let you do it.

“You get so overprotective sometimes,” you said, clinging to his arm as he pushed the shopping cart into the fresh produce section. Ah, more fruits and vegetables. You should have expected that.

“You can’t blame me. I just want you and baby safe,” was his reply, stopping when you reached the section of apples ranging from granny smith’s to fuji’s. He checked each apple with careful eyes as though he was thinking of which between the two similar fruits was better for you. Did he study a list of food that was good for pregnant women? His mom must have provided him with all the information he needed.

Satoru deserved a kiss on the cheek and so you gave him exactly that while he was busy choosing from the apples among the many selections they offered in this store—all of which made you realize, as cheesy as it might be, that the apple of his eye was you. “Fine, I like it when you’re protective.”

He brought his lips to your temple and rubbed your baby bump with his hand. “I’d be an angry tiger if anyone tries to harm mama cat.”

“Silly.” Rolling your eyes with a smile, you then moved to the next section.

Something that you had noticed whenever you were out with your husband was how people would always send you looks of interest. It was either they recognized Satoru ‘the famous handsome heir’ or they simply loved how you two exuded a lovey-dovey couple’s image. He had gotten used to the attention he was receiving because he was a magnet that attracted it way before you were his betrothed, but because you were now his wife, everyone had also started to pay close attention to you. You could never forget how one person from Twitter just said, ‘They’re such an attractive couple. Their baby would look like an angel,” and the sweet message made you all the more excited to meet your little munchkin.

“Oh, can I get this roasted sesame dressing for my salad?” you inquired your husband who looked attractive with his grey pants and half-unbuttoned white shirt from work.

He assessed the Kewpie bottle before giving a go signal. Or no signal in this case. “Contains mayonnaise. You can’t.”

“Hey!” you complained. “Only homemade mayonnaise is bad for me. This is commercial made. It’s completely safe.”

His sigh sounded like he didn’t want to give in. “Fine. We can deal with that.”

This man… You shook your head in disapproval. You swore to God, you would make him run to a convenience store at two in the morning to get the most random food and play it off as a craving if he decided to be strict with what you ate. He even lessened the junk food in your walk-in pantry because excessive sodium was bad for your health, especially for your heart. But who said anything about ‘excessive’? You were fine to eat a pack of Cheetos or two.

You two continued walking along the aisle while you had your hand on your stomach—something that you were instinctively doing to make sure that your baby could feel your presence. And all was fine and dandy until your husband entered a specific aisle.

Teas and coffees.

Something just snapped inside of him. The gentle, playful face that he was plastering earlier was now replaced by anger and frustration. The memory of Sera’s spiteful actions brought a sense of unfulfilled revenge from Satoru and you were about to tell him to let it go until he pulled his phone out and dialed a specific number.

“Miwa,” he greeted in a low voice, turning around and pretending to look at the row of coffees in front of him. “Do you have access to the company’s scholarship grants?”

You stood there behind the cart in silence. Scholarship?

Satoru spoke to his secretary again. “Yeah, I need you to terminate the one under Jiro Iwasaki. He doesn’t need it anymore.”

Iwasaki. That was Sera’s last name. Was that person related to her? He must be, because there was no doubt that Satoru was doing that as a payback to his ex-girlfriend who tried to deliberately harm his unborn child.

You didn’t speak up until he ended the call and looked at you as if nothing happened.

“Babe, let’s go—”

“Who’s Jiro to Sera?” you questioned, carefully watching the mask of austerity that casted his face.

He avoided your eyes and kept a stolid mien. “Doesn’t matter.”

“Satoru,” you adjusted the tone of your voice as a warning, “you know what’ll happen if you don’t answer me straight.”

You two would argue here in a very public place if need be. He seemed to understand that there was no way out of this except to be honest. “He’s Sera’s brother. I haven’t met him, but my dad offered him a scholarship so Sera would stay away from me.”

“Why are you punishing the poor boy?” You crossed your arms and earned his sigh. “Sera hasn’t been the nicest, but who knows how much that scholarship means to her brother? He has nothing to do with this. Don’t ruin a harmless person’s life.”

“She tried to ruin yours,” he countered despite your resolute voice. “And my child’s harmless too, isn’t he? But what did she do? She’s probably planning to put your life in danger. She should take this as a lesson.”

You chose not to argue with him further for your peace of mind because Satoru could never be convinced to take it easy on Sera. In the end, you couldn’t really blame him. He felt betrayed and he was scared for the safety of his baby, especially at the rate of her anger. It was understandable how he hired more bodyguards to keep an eye on you because sometimes people could do crazy things when they’re overtaken by rage, but wasn’t he the best example of that? Had he forgotten Bora Bora?

Little did he know, you called Miwa later that night to ask for more information about Sera’s brother. Your husband’s secretary promised not to tell him that you asked about it because she understood what you were trying to do. After all, she was in a situation where she had siblings to care about, too.

With a plan set in mind, you dialed your own trusted assistant to silently lay out your instructions while your husband was busy talking to the chefs. “Hi, Akari. Can you maybe award Jiro Iwasaki with a scholarship grant under my name? He studies at the University of Tokyo.”

Toji normally followed a consistent daily schedule that was already packed throughout the week. Everyone in the building knew that if they wanted to speak to the CEO, the appointment must be booked and the earliest he would be available would be the following week. His job was hectic and time was gold. God, how original was that motto? But it was true. Every second mattered and he wasn’t the type of man who would waste his time lingering around on a weekday and not dealing with important business matters.

Yet here he was, making an exception for his good friend.

Gen was in dire straits. He knew the moment she asked to meet up for a ‘quick chat’ at the café near their office that she was going to talk about anything else but business. This woman could handle a financial conglomerate all on her own so why would she need Toji’s help? The obvious answer: it was about you.

He had been colleagues with Gen since college and he was familiar with how protective of a sister she could be. Only her family could put stress on her face, that crease on her forehead, that inverted slope on her lips—yup, she wasn’t the least bit happy.

“Everything alright?” he asked over a cup of hot brewed coffee and freshly baked croissants. They had specifically chosen a spot saved for the VIPs, one that was usually reserved for private meetings since this café was in the heart of the central business district.

Gen stared at the table with an empty gaze. She seemed to be thinking deeply before she looked up and met his eyes. “Toji, can I trust you with information that you can never, ever share with anyone?”

Here we go. He could already tell what it was about without Gen specifically disclosing it to him. In fact, her question was just for formality. She had already put enough trust to even meet with him here. “Go ahead. You have my word.”

“About my sister,” she didn’t hesitate to cut to the chase, drawing a deep breath and releasing it into a weary exhale, “I know you and her have this connection that I wasn’t expecting you guys to have. You know, she doesn’t have that many guy friends so I take it she trusts you completely for her to stick around.”

He gave a nod as a response. “Why? Something going on with her?”

Gen opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Only empty sighs and eyes that glanced over the window as though the answer to her dilemma was to stare at the men and women in business attires who were walking on the street. After a minute of contemplation, she finally returned her gaze back to him and spilled her mind, “I got someone to investigate on Satoru and there’s just… I learned so much about him.”

“Good or bad?” he asked, pretending not to know.

“Mostly bad.” Gen was obviously feeling tense. “He has a mistress.”

Toji’s breathing was static for a good minute. “Had,” he clarified, much to her surprise. “Not anymore.”

“So y-you knew?” Her eyes had become round. “Y/N told you, huh? Oh my, God. I feel so stupid. I knew it, I knew she was going to confide in you because she was scared that I’d be lashing out at Satoru if she told me. I can’t believe I treated that bastard like my own brother!”

As a man himself, he couldn’t really speak ill about another woman’s husband because this wasn’t his marriage. “Gen, I’m not really in the position to be your sister’s spokesperson.”

Although your sister was smiling, the tension on her face was still there. It was the most vivid expression that could be read on her face. “I know, and I’m sorry for wasting your time on this. I’m just on a deadend right now. I can’t speak to my dad about this yet. I can’t confront Satoru directly because heaven knows what I would do. Then there’s my sister, she’s in her first trimester. It’s gonna stress her out and I promised myself that whatever I find out about her husband’s affair, I’ll keep it to myself until the time’s ready. I already suspected that he was cheating on her, but confirming it really disgusted me.”

“You’ve only heard one side of the story,” he considered, keeping a neutral voice as he spoke. Toji guessed that Gen’s knowledge did not exactly reach the part where her sister was suffering a heart condition because otherwise she would have mentioned it by now.

“I honestly don’t need to hear Satoru’s side of the story,” she spat while gripping the coffee mug tighter. “He hated the marriage, cheated on my sister out of spite, probably treated her like shit the whole time. You know how I found out? Someone tipped me to speak to Mei Mei, their finance director. I run the finance industry in this country so imagine how easy it was for me to get her to spill all the things she knows. How he was dating his father’s previous secretary, how he brought her to Bora Bora along with my sister, how he apparently took her to a hospital thinking she was pregnant. He deserves none of my sympathy!”

Any normal person would think that Gen was being petty for revealing Satoru’s scandals to his biggest company rival. Why? Because Toji could easily use this information and ruin Gojou’s image to the public. Just one anonymous word to the media and the Gojou Group would foresee a massive drop on the stock market. While that may be true, Gen was actually being smart. She knew that Toji's loyalty was where common sense lies. She was aware that if he wanted to ruin Satoru, he would have done it long ago because you’ve basically revealed the downsides of your marriage to him since your first encounter at the auction. But see, even if he had been aware of your husband’s shortcomings—his neglect, his infidelity, his greed—Toji stayed in his lane and never let himself get caught in the middle. That was why Gen found the assurance to tell him everything that she was able to gather from her little research.

“So what do you plan to do?” he inquired because he couldn’t exactly comment about your marriage. “Y/N’s health is top priority. She has a baby. You don’t wanna risk her.”

Not just because she’s pregnant, but also because she has a fragile heart, he silently thought while hoping that Gen would do the right thing.

Thankfully, she seemed to understand her boundaries. “No, I’ll deal with it behind the scenes. First, I wanna know who the mistress is. Then I’ll consult my husband about the legal consequences that Satoru could face on the grounds of a divorce if my sister ever ends up deciding on it. She told me she’s not thinking about a divorce anymore, but I’ll have everything prepared in case she changes her mind. I’ll eventually pull out our investments from the Gojou Group, too.”

Toji surely loved the sight of this businesswoman getting her work done impeccably. Maki and Mai should learn from her. Of course, Gen of all people would make sure that her family’s assets would not be affected by being one step ahead, but a small part of him also wondered about this, “What if Y/N never pursues a divorce?”

“That’s exactly my problem,” she admitted, slumping. “Look, our families will never be the same. I can’t look at him the same anymore. I can solve math easily, but what I can’t understand is why my sister would stay with someone who treats her like that.”

He smiled. “There’s no equation to her reasoning,” he told her straight to the point. “It’s love. Regardless if they have a baby, regardless if he used to neglect her as a wife, we don’t know what else they shared within their marriage. We know the ugly parts of it, but do we know the good parts? Do we know what kind of connection they must have shared for him to suddenly have a change of heart? It’s not a one way street. If you count the number of terrible things he might’ve done, you should also think of the positive efforts he willingly showed her. Your sister thinks that way—she’s handing out hope and sympathy like they’re flyers.”

The only reaction Gen could express was to massage her temple and think it through. “I understand she has an altruistic nature, but I can’t help but be worried. I want her to realize that it’s okay to take a step back if she’s being wronged. She just needs to escape that strong connection she has with him.”

“That’s gonna be difficult,” his honesty was better said than not. “I always see them like this. She’s the star and he’s the black hole. Gravity attracts her to him and once she’s sucked into that void, it makes him inescapable.”

Was that a good analogy? Toji felt like he had been way too poetic with that one.

“You’re right. That’s basically how they are ever since they were kids,” she claimed, nodding to herself while possibly recalling her childhood memories. “It’s sad because Satoru loved her so much back then so I don’t know why he would do these things to her now.”

He offered a shrug. “Experiences can change a person.”

Toji didn’t think that Gen would suddenly widen her eyes as though she just remembered something from his words. And as soon as she recollected her thoughts, she was quick to speak up. “There’s actually something else I found out about Satoru,” she revealed in intrigue, “his stepmother was sabotaging him all this time. She was paying Mei Mei to do all the dirty work and oust him from becoming the CEO. Remember that project he had planned for the Art Museum? Construction almost started, but he couldn’t finalize it because the allotted budget was miscalculated so his father got furious.”

He, too, was a businessman. He could understand how tough and pressuring it was to run a conglomerate especially if you were the sole heir, so for Satoru to have all these nasty people sabotaging his business plans, it was beyond unbelievable. But then again, it must be the taste of his own karma. Satoru was still young and could learn from his mistakes, but what he should also watch out for was the people he was closely dealing with. A suffering husband would bring a suffering wife down with him. Toji couldn’t let you go through that much stress.

“I think you should deal with this the right way, Gen,” he advised, once and for all. “You discovered so many things about him. If you wanna confront Satoru, it might be best to keep your sister out of it.”

How ironic was it that while he was talking to your sister, he suddenly received a text message with your name on the notification?

You: Hey, Toji! :) I’m here on 4th Street. Can I meet up with you quickly?

You: I just have to drop off my very overdue gifts for Maki, Mai, and Megumi

Right. It had been awhile since he last saw you, hasn’t he? Toji looked up at Gen and told her the sudden situation. “Gen, I think Y/N’s coming here right now to see me.”

“What—” The woman panicked and scrambled to reach for her bag. “No, I can’t be seen here with you. I told her I’m gonna be too busy all day. I just can’t face her right now or else I’ll—”

“Run your mouth?” chuckled Toji, nodding understandingly. “It’s okay. You definitely shouldn’t talk to her while you’re still overwhelmed.”

Gen nodded in agreement, getting up from her seat and gesturing her leave. “Okay, well I’m gonna go back to my office now. I trust you, Toji.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he promised, watching as the CEO of Creston left in haste with the click and clack of her heels echoing through the distance.

Toji had to wait until Gen had completely left before he deemed that the coast was clear. And it didn’t really take long for you to arrive after he texted you his exact location, except he wasn’t expecting another man’s presence along with yours.

That said man was none other than the white-haired, blue-eyed husband that was the main topic between his and Gen’s conversation not more than a few minutes ago. There were two things he found strange here: firstly, since when did Gojou accompany you while meeting up with him? Second, why wasn’t he showing any signs of animosity? Toji could still remember how the man threw a tantrum when he picked you up at the Zen’in estate last time, and although many things had happened since then, he didn’t think that Satoru would look like a tamed animal next to his wife.

“Toji, hey!” As for you, his heart softened when he saw that bright smile on your face. That smile where your cheekbones were prominent and your eyes were shining. Your bump wasn’t visible underneath your coat dress, but it was definitely there. He concluded that you must be having a happy pregnancy because your radiance was blinding. “Oh, were you with someone?”

He cleared his throat, noticing how your eyes scanned the seat, and realizing that Gen’s coffee mug was still there. “Ah, that… I had a meeting with an investor,” he played it off before acknowledging your husband who pulled a seat for you. “Hey, how are things?”

Satoru took his seat next to you with an arm secured behind your backrest. “Been better. My wife wanted to see you and I had to keep an eye on her.”

“For what?” Toji quipped. “She’s not gonna cheat on you.”

With a deep breath, the white-haired man restrained the visible jealousy building inside of him. Why did Satoru not get angry? Was it because of the hand you placed on his lap? Or perhaps the way you might have squeezed his hand under the table? “It’s not that. She’s pregnant and fragile. I have to make sure she won’t be collapsing out of nowhere.”

Oh. For a moment, Toji traded looks with you as if you two could understand each other’s thoughts telepathically. The nod you sent him gave him the idea that Satoru was already aware of your heart condition. No wonder he was protective, but how exactly did that conversation go? He suspected that it was a heartfelt moment for the man to realize how much his wife was suffering because of him. Toji had been there. Toji could understand the fear of losing a wife.

“Well, it’s good that you’re keeping an eye on her,” he told your husband before he turned his head towards you. How was it that he couldn’t resist having a soft heart with just one look at your face? “Congratulations on the baby.”

He couldn’t even keep his eyes off you when your glowing face lit up from those simple words. “Thank you, Toji.” As you smiled, you were also caressing your belly under the table as if your baby was listening to the conversation. He wouldn’t really doubt how much motherhood would suit you since you were kind and nurturing—some of the main traits that any man would dream to have from their wife. He was about to ask how you were going to handle your pregnancy now that you couldn’t take nitrates, but he was cut off when you suddenly reached under the table to hand him a paper bag. “My gift for the kids. It took me a while, huh?”

“I’m sure they’ll be excited to fit them.” Toji accepted your gift with a smile that he rarely gave anyone. If any employee from the Zen’in Group was here, they would definitely be intrigued to see how their strict boss was smiling on a hectic weekday. Why not? Your happiness was contagious. “Mai already convinced Maki and Megumi to have their little photoshoot while wearing the clothes so their followers can see your designs.”

Your features softened exactly like he did. “I miss them so much.”

“They miss you, too.” He watched the small pout on your lips, then placed his focus back to your eyes. “Did you really sew these?”

Even with your makeup, you were a natural. “Yeah, just Maki’s actually. It was the least complicated to sew, but I’m learning. My seamstress and I work at the studio every day.”

Before his presence would be forgotten, Satoru finally decided to chime in and remind the two of them that he was still there. “She’s so passionate about it. Wouldn’t even let me disturb her while she’s designing and cutting patterns.”

At least, Toji was glad that your husband was supportive of your dreams. You never would have been confident to pursue the industry if you weren’t given a boost of motivation. “I’m really glad you’re doing something you love, Y/N.”

“Yeah, well…” You grinned. “I still have a long way to go. You may need to chase Moncler and give them that leasing space.”

A low chuckle left his scarred lips. He was about to make another ‘Mrs. Zen’in’ joke until he saw the look on Satoru’s face. The man didn’t seem aggressively jealous, however. He appeared more like a puppy who wasn’t getting enough attention from his owner. How funny was that sight?

“I’ll support whatever you want,” was what Toji ended up saying to you, “I always will.”

While Satoru found his silence, you reached for Toji’s hand atop the table and squeezed it in gratitude. “I’m so grateful for you, Toji.”

“—I think you’re mistaken here. My brother isn’t supposed to pay for fees. Why is he being disenrolled for his classes?” Sera questioned the woman behind the registrar. “He has a scholarship grant.”

Considering the stress she had gone through for the past week—the rumors, the lack of job, the tight budget—Sera could barely get any sleep and it was driving her insane. They couldn’t even pay the house rent for the next three months and now her brother was apparently being asked to pay for tuition fees when he wasn’t supposed to. She wasn’t really planning to go to his university, but after finding out that Jiro was working two jobs a day just to earn enough and pay the fees, Sera knew she had to do something.

Strangely enough, the woman at the cashier denied her claim. “I’m sorry, Miss Iwasaki. We’ve already confirmed with the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships. Your brother’s scholarship has been terminated.”

What?! Sera shook her head frantically. “No, no. Wait, that can’t be…” This should be Satoru’s decision. This was his revenge!

“I’m sorry,” the woman continued behind the glass wall, “The fees would have to be settled before he can take his classes.”

No… Sera felt like the ground she was standing on was splitting into two. She wasn’t really expecting that the outcome of her actions would lead to this, and she was even more devastated that the man she loved would go as far as ruining her family’s life. Did Satoru even love her at all? How could someone who once made an oath to love her unconditionally do something like this? Her chest felt tight. Constricted. Her heart was bleeding from the pain and heartbreak that she was feeling.

How else could she save her brother now? Her guilt was chastising her soul knowing that this was all her fault. This was her comeuppance and whether she liked it or not, her family would suffer on behalf of her.

Her lips were quivering when she decided to walk out of the university registrar, but upon exiting the place, she was stopped by the same woman who incessantly denied her claims not long ago. “Hang on, Miss Iwasaki.”

Turning around, she was met by the apologetic eyes of the woman and a student assistant who was carrying a file in her hand. “Please accept my apologies for the confusion. It seems that the files were not updated,” said the lady. “A full scholarship was recently granted to your brother under Mrs. Y/N Gojou.”

“C-Come again?” Sera looked at her in surprise.

“It was filed the same day the previous one was terminated,” she confirmed, stapling the papers and placing them back on her desk. “Looks like your brother has nothing to worry about.”

She couldn’t believe this. She couldn’t absolutely wrap her mind around this. A scholarship grant by you? After she literally tried to harm your child because of her jealousy? Sera was in complete disbelief and felt like she was going to faint from the sudden news. This might be staged, too. Maybe you got Satoru to cancel the scholarship and placed it under your name so you could antagonize her even more? That must be the reason because there was no way in hell that you would help her.

No, you couldn’t be too kind like that. Or were you?

Sera couldn’t answer all the questions in her head and the only time she got distracted was when her phone started buzzing nonstop. She withdrew the gadget from her bag and saw the caller ID of the very woman she wanted to avoid. Miss Eula.

Still, she couldn’t really just ignore her after everything. Perhaps this was also the best opportunity to tell her that she no longer wanted to associate herself with her. “Hey, Miss Eula?”

“Sera, we need to talk. Be quick and come meet me at this place. I’ll send you the address,” the lackadaisical tone of hers suggested that she wasn’t one to care about the things that had happened to Sera because of her wrongful advice.

And although the older woman made her seethe inside, she had to give in. “I’ll be there.”

The address wasn’t a sketchy place that could have led to her being kidnapped like they did in the movies. It was actually a private balcony of a 5-star restaurant that overlooked the Tokyo bay. It didn’t really surprise Sera to see Miss Eula with her fur coat, huge sunglasses, and ostentatious jewelry when she met with her at a reserved table that had the best view of the city.

“Sit down,” she ordered, taking her sunglasses off and scrutinizing Sera’s face. “I heard about the stunt that you pulled in the office.”

Sera held her breath. “Stunt? You’re the one who encouraged me to do it, Miss Eula. My life’s ruined.”

“Oh, please. You’re a big girl. You act like I held you at gunpoint so you could do it,” she released a scoff, totally unbothered as she sipped on her red wine. “Besides, your relationship with Satoru can’t be saved. He’s in love with his wife.”

Balling her hands into fists, she couldn’t control the way she spoke with gritted teeth, “Then, why did you want to see me?”

She didn’t even want to get started on the rumors that had spread like wildfire in the office. Sera was labeled as a homewrecker and a child killer—both of which varied depending on the story. One rumor suggested that she tried to poison you because of her jealousy which was why Satoru furiously stormed off to see her. Another rumor suggested that she harassed you because she was angry that she couldn’t legally bear Satoru’s child since she was an alleged mistress. The weirdest rumor of all was how Sera was accused of blackmailing you for money because she apparently knew some things that the public were not aware of.

Like what? That Satoru was only meant to use you in the beginning?

Either way, those rumors eventually stopped because Satoru’s father handled everything to protect his son’s image now that he was expecting a grandchild from his precious daughter-in-law. All employees would be immediately terminated, even sued for defamation, once caught spreading rumors about his son’s infidelity. So what had happened to the man who unapologetically abused his son? Was he just protecting him to lessen the damage of a foreseeable conflict with investors?

Surprisingly, that was not the topic Eula wanted to talk about when she spoke again, “I don’t give a damn about Satoru and his wife. I already realized that a baby can’t get in my way,” she claimed, setting her wine glass back on the table. “I wanna talk about Naoya. Did you think I wasn’t aware that you’ve been seeing him a lot these days?”

Naoya. Sera remembered his warning about this woman when they last saw each other and the memory started flooding her head like a waterfall.

‘She’s obsessive’, he said. ‘She’s jealous of you’, he said. The obvious fury in Miss Eula’s eyes was a clear indication of how true Naoya’s words were and Sera was revolted by it.

“What about it?” She crossed her arms and held her chin up high remembering how this was the exact gesture you did when you confronted Sera before. “Naoya and I like each other. He’s respectful of me, he understands me, and he doesn’t take me for granted. Please leave him alone, Miss Eula. He told me he feels disgusted with you.”

Miss Eula clenched her jaw. “What did you say?” In a span of three seconds, the older woman lost it. “How dare you say that!”

“Aah—!” Sera yelped when the crazy woman splashed wine all over her face, staining her favorite white dress that she wore on her first date with her ex-boyfriend. “Miss Eula!”

“What, you’re seducing Naoya and now you think you’re better? You leech!” she brutally spat while Sera hastily grabbed a napkin to wipe her face. “Listen here, Sera. You wanna know why you can never win Satoru’s heart and live a lavish life just like mine? Because you’re too ambitious. You’re trying so hard to belong to a place where you don’t fit in. And no, don’t tell me to look in the mirror. At least I managed to marry a wealthy man and I admit that I’m a gold digger. Meanwhile, you’re out here trying to convince everyone that you’re not after Satoru’s money. Isn’t that why you’re leeching off of Naoya, too? You want his money and status because you can’t have it from Satoru anymore.”

She hoped that the woman could feel the fire burning through her glare. If only looks could kill. “That’s not true, I really am not after the money—”

“Don’t feed me with your bullshit.” Eula spitefully laughed. “I’ve been there, darling. I know how women like us become desperate when we no longer have other resources. But let me tell you this, stay away from Naoya if you don’t want trouble coming your way.”

Obsessive. Again, Naoya was right. Instead of succumbing to her threat, Sera chose to stand on her ground. “Why would I stay away from him? What are you to him? Because as far as I know, he wants to throw up whenever he sees you.” She then unbuttoned her blouse and showed the marks on her collarbone, marks that made Eula’s nose flare in absolute rage. “I slept with him and we both liked it, so why would I stay away from him when he clearly wants me?”

“You—!” The older woman lunged at Sera, grabbing a fistful of her hair and pulling it as she screamed in anger. Eula was acting like an animal that had gone wild and it was so unexpected that she would ever let her emotions go out of control just because of a younger man who wanted nothing to do with her.

“You’re crazy! Let me go!” Sera desperately tried to break free even though her scalp was burning from the stretch. “I’m gonna tell your husband that you’re sexually harassing a younger man! You’re a freak!”

Eula let go of her, only to slap her cheek in return. “Don’t you dare. Don’t you fucking dare! I’ll kill you!” her warnings were added with another slap. “And how dare you say Naoya hates me when we have a mutual relationship! Stop creating your own narrative just because you’re unhappy with your pathetic life. He’s mine!”

Sera held her swollen cheek and let out a disgusted scoff. “You’re delusional, Miss Eula. Go visit a therapist. Satoru was right about you all along. You’re sick in the head.”

“And you’re a wannabe slut who tried to kill someone else’s unborn child!” Eula returned a nasty remark after she took umbrage from Sera’s words. “You can’t ruin my life. You’re just a poor, irrelevant girl trying to make a desperate entrance to high society. Leave him alone or you’ll regret it. Stop trying to be me so badly.”

There was no need to fall into Eula’s trap. Sera learned that the best way to deflect her manipulation was to go against her.

“I’d rather die than to end up like you.”

jjk general taglist: @kity @deeznutss @suhkusa @wonyoschubs @the-golden-jhope @6mattsun9 @hokageyamz @ermahgerd-larry-and-ziam @crashica @aizawap @juniorhooter @atsumusoup @gxtitobxby @strawberries-en-cream @dora-the-grownup @softy-woo @tsumume @kac-chowsballs @anime-nymph @kageyamakock @onlyonew @underratedmage @katsulovee @crapimahuman @alicia-1725 @fatal-impact @drippedcream

sincerely not taglist: @itsnotsoni @pluviophilefangirl @daphnxy @Icveaesop @choso-bee @sparklingblacktea @omisemi @captainchrisstan @http-strawbebbies @buttercups145 @xllance @jonsncws @and-you-found-me @tobiotetsu @jeonjungkookismyfuture @d-efend @honouredsatoru @my-reality-is-in-my-head @blueowl51 @misslovingpearl @cuteissei @japanesevenom @borpcorp @ushi-bakatoshi @idyllicodyssea

[superblysubpar]

Leather & Lace: Ch. 01

Leather and Lace Masterlist

A/N: I’m so happy you’re here. I’ve been holding this close to my heart & finally decided it was time to share it. Please see the masterlist for overall series warning, but this chapter is slow and simple - a touch angsty. Let me know what you think! And to my lovely ladies (you know who you are), I’m not sure what I did to deserve you all, but I’m so grateful for you. Thanks for making me laugh harder than I have in a long time & for talking me into sharing this (& more). Special thanks to @boomhauer for taking on the role of putting up with my excessive use of the word and, bad grammar, and tendency to over italicize - I owe you big time friend.

2.4k words

Side A | Track 01: “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman

There’s a reason there are so many songs about young love, lost innocence, fleeting moments, and growing up.

A reason those songs usually involved leaving someone behind or being the one who was left. 

Several reasons that hundreds of people are able to connect to a lyric about watching that person or that town disappear in your rearview mirror as you vowed to never look back again. 

The reasons, the songs, the people who relate to them, all center around one thing - small towns.

And small towns fucking suck.

The songs, the movies, the people - they want you to believe in small town America. They want you to think it’s peaceful, that it’s bliss. Not a single soul is unhappy - the town and all within it are thriving. You’re supposed to feel safe, enjoy knowing your neighbors, and learn how to bake pies to submit to county fairs like your mom did and her mom did. It’s all shoved down your throat from the minute you’re born in that ‘too big’ city hospital. Barely a day old and you’re already being told it’s better this way as you're shuffled back home to where you’re supposed to belong.

When you’re younger, you don’t understand it all yet. You like that everyone in your class knows each other and everyone gets invited to every birthday party. You like waving to your mailman at the grocery store and seeing your teacher at the movie theater. You love that all of the moms know each other and gossip, because that means when yours picks you up to go home after a sleepover you have at least another hour together while they all talk.

But as the years go by, it all starts to change. Suddenly, your class doesn’t like each other, you’re not all invited to the parties, people stop dressing up for Halloween because it’s not “cool” anymore. Your best friends start talking about boys, clothes aren’t just clothes - they’re a status, and liking certain music or movies makes you either a freak or a god. 

Someone snaps their fingers and it’s a bloodbath to rise up in social status. There’s a hierarchy, a food chain, and it’s every man for himself. You start to see that it was all an illusion. The moms who you swore were the best of friends are the first to let you in on the secret of the false happiness of the town and its people. 

Their long winded doorway and grocery store gossip filled conversations you once tuned out, now ring in your ears too loud. They fake smiles and pleasantries until one leaves the herd, the pack descending on them with nasty remarks and the first of many rumor fueled flames is lit. No longer the close friendships you once dreamed of having yourself, but relationships formed from gossip and jealousy and hate that their offspring seemed doomed to inherit.

Like a movie playing on the big screen, you watch it happen right before your eyes. Your once tight knit group of friends turning on each other for something as simple as eating a slice of pizza at lunch instead of a salad. They’re glossing lips and curling eyelashes, and talking about basketball player boyfriends. Plans for their futures suddenly centered around boys you’d grown up with, dreams of weddings, kids, and staying in that same town repeating it all over again with a new generation. 

They've got to be shitting you, right? 

You’re not an idiot though. You see how the people you once called friends are suddenly freaks - shunned by the kings and queens of the school. And you’re not proud of it, but you play along. You wear the outfits, the bright blue eyeshadow, you make fun of people who are slightly different from the status quo. 

High School is a balance beam, a high wire, a jump out of an airplane but you don’t all have the parachute or net to catch you. It’s all a bunch of bullshit, a massive and giant labyrinth of contradictions and riddles designed to make you sink or swim. Lean or turn the wrong way one time, and it’s game over.

You can’t answer too many questions in class and look like a nerd, but obviously you have to keep up your grades because you can’t be seen as a slacker or dropout - what would people think? You can’t like art or band or theater too much, you can be an athlete but they’d prefer it if you just cheered for them. Be a good girl, get good grades, and dote on whatever king of Hawkins belongs to the letterman jacket you currently have slung around your shoulders. 

And the school stuff isn’t even the worst part. The extracurriculars are where things started to get really complicated. Only the freaks, losers, and dropouts smoke weed and drink. Oh, but you’re not gonna have even a sip or one hit at the party? Who are you, Mother Theresea? You go to church, so you’re a saint, right? Only on her knees for Jesus? Boys will be lining up to see if they can make the angel dip into her sinful ways. Trapped on the receiving end of a double edged sword - a prude if you don’t do anything and a slut if you do. 

You walk the line for four years, sticking to the status quo and you coast. Never in the background and never in the spotlight, miraculously making it through what’s supposedly the best years of your life fairly unscathed. It’s not all rainbows and perfectly pressed pleated skirts though, and you need out. You pack up what little you can consider truly your own possessions two days after graduation, ready to head towards the city. You’re going to watch that shitty little town disappear in your rearview mirror and you’re not going to look back, not even for a second. 

Your “friends” think you've lost it. Your parents worry and remind you you can always come back. You hope your little brother is proud of you - he’s the only reason you do risk a glance in the rearview mirror. You see him standing in the driveway, waving a sad arm in the air, his misfit friends all standing by him. He'll be okay. He'll see how good you do outside of that town and maybe he'll be inspired and get out too. 

Chicago is dirty, loud, fast and wonderful. It’s nothing like you thought it’d be and everything you dreamed about. You’re poor and surviving off of Seven-Eleven slurpees, but you’re living.

People are different in the city. Unique and vibrant and filled with life. They’re not settling for normalcy. They’re pushing themselves and boundaries. Told to be different and stand out - speak up instead of being seen and not heard. 

School is completely different too. No one to tell you that you can’t like both an art class and a science class. A gift from the universe, you’re sure, when your assigned lab partner offers you a joint one day, where he casually offers up the information that his cousin is his dealer and his mom runs a local Sunday school - like that’s normal everywhere. And maybe it is, maybe the awful small town is ancient history. You embrace the new normal and you ask if his cousin can hook you up too and if the church has a choir you can join. 

The next four years are long, and not at all perfect, but they’re your years and no one else’s. You’re writing your own story and figuring things out for yourself. Your parents and brother call and visit frequently and you manage to avoid returning home as much as possible - visits only extending for no more than two days, and staying put inside your childhood home. The happenstance lab partner talk ends you up in a job teaching at a local church when you’re not in class. Falling in love with the kids, you pursue a career in teaching, dreaming of a future where you’re helping to shape the minds of the next generations. 

Graduation, your own apartment, a job teaching art to middle school - the dreams, the life you couldn’t have even imagined, unfolding before you like you’re living the best part of a movie. It all seems too good to be true.

And maybe it was. 

Maybe it was some sort of childhood naivety clinging to you. Hopes and dreams were just that - and somehow you had gotten caught up in yours. You should have realized that life is not always a happy ending. It is filled with an immeasurable amount of curve balls, running uphill both ways, grief, and unexpected life altering moments. It’s unpredictable and unfair and ready to blindside you at a moment’s notice. 

"Fuck!"

The loaf of bread you’ve been carrying falls into an icy puddle at the curb. You jump to grab it, but it's too late. A car rolls right over it, honking like it's your fault and you flip them off.

You know it’s stupid to cry over a loaf of bread, over a stranger honking at you, and besides, your tears will only freeze to your eyelashes. So you try to keep them at bay as you quickly walk the remaining block to your apartment, arms pulling your coat closer to ward off any harsh wind that manages to sneak through and chill your body.

You rip the pink past due notice from your door as you rush inside, dumping your bags on the floor and kick the excuse of a coffee table that's just a sheet over two cardboard boxes as you pass it. You don’t even bother turning on the lights because you know you couldn’t afford last month’s electricity bill, which means you certainly can’t afford this month’s. 

You knew you weren't going to make it much longer and the tears you had managed to hold in now wet your lashes as they threatened to finally fall.

The shrill ring of your phone pulls you out of your self pity and wallowing. You knew it was your little brother, calling you at this time every Sunday night. You had managed to keep it all to yourself for almost six months, not having it in you to tell them all, to tell him that you had failed. That you needed to return home. 

You knew it was time though and you picked it up on the last ring, "Hello?"

Your brother is screaming into the line and you start to panic, "What? What's going on?" Your mind starts racing back to a few years ago when all the crazy shit went down with the mall and the earthquake - your family luckily safe with you in Chicago for both events. Why they insisted on returning to that shitty town even after all of that was beyond you.  

"I got into NYU!"

You fall back against your wall, the tears falling down your still thawing cheeks. A mixture of grieving the loss of your own innocence and celebration of his still thriving one. You clutch the phone tighter and wish you could hug him through it, wrapping the cord around your fingers you choke out, “I’m so proud of you buddy. That’s amazing. Congrats.”

He's breathless and laughing, "Will you come home to celebrate? Longer than the two days you had planned for Christmas? Please?"

You cradle the phone between your ear and neck and grab a spoon to get your dinner of peanut butter started.

You look up at the ceiling and try not to cry harder. You can’t tell him, but you have to. You take a deep breath as his voice falls to that wobble that only little brothers know. The one they perfect before their first words so they can hit you right where it hurts and make you swear to yourself to never let the sound leave their mouth again if you can help it.

"Y/N? Please?" he asks quietly.

You sniffle and form some sort of courage to tell him you’re a failure, "How ‘bout I do you one better and I come home for the rest of your senior year?"

"What?" 

You rip it off like a bandaid that’s been left on too long, wincing through it as you blurt out, "I got laid off at the end of last year."

"But you're the art teacher! How can they just-"

You interrupt him before you start crying harder and he can go off on a rant, “Buddy, I know, listen, it’s a long story. I’ll tell you all about it over some pizza while we watch The Breakfast Club, okay?”

He’s silent for what feels like forever when he finally asks, “Can we get pineapple on the pizza?”

You laugh through the remaining tears and nod, leaning your forehead against the wall, “You bet. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

When you hang up, you look around your dark apartment. The place that once was your oasis, your dream, now an expensive responsibility and weight on your shoulders. You’d sold most of your furniture already, and so you start packing your few remaining belongings that same night. 

In the next two days you sell what you can, enough to barely make your final rent payment and you hand your landlord your key as the first snow of the year drifts down lazily around you. You turn and take one final polaroid of the city - wanting to remember it this way, before climbing into your rusting and falling apart car and closing your door on it all. 

As you make the drive out of the city, your eyes fill with tears in the rearview mirror. It was never supposed to be like this. This wasn’t the town that was supposed to disappear in the mirror. These weren’t the people you were supposed to be leaving. As the wheels of the car take you further and further away, you turn the volume of your mixtape up as loud as it can go, drowning out the thoughts of your failures, your disappointments, your crushed dreams. You wipe the tears from your cheeks as you sing along loudly.

“...I got no plans, I ain’t going nowhere. So take your fast car and keep on driving. So I remember when we were driving, driving in your car - speed so fast I felt like I was drunk. City lights lay out before us and your arm felt nice wrapped round my shoulders. And I, I had a feeling that I belonged. I-I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone…”

🖤 Thanks again for being here - any interaction is so appreciated & I’d love to know what you thought about it! If you’re able, please consider reblogging to help get my work seen.  tag list: @christalcake @loveshotzz @myobmaya @sweetsweetjellybean

[fightxxmexxshiggy]

Don't fear the reaper

You love to go urban exploring and you make contact with a sexy supernatural being. I wrote this during KINKtober

Kirishima x female reader

TW:CHOKING, ROUGH SEX, BREEDING KINK, TALK OF DEATH.

Word count: 3420

Walking through abandoned buildings wasn't the safest hobby but it was definitely the most interesting one. You loved seeing all the graffiti, art and equipment from a bygone era. Sometimes you went with groups when the buildings seemed more dangerous but today you went alone. As you made your way through the abandoned factory for today's exploration you noticed all the dusty work stations, they were so eerie the way they were still set up like a worker had walked away for a break and just never returned. You were honestly tempted to film the place but seeing as you were doing this on a saturday and Halloween no less you decided not to push your luck. Walking carefully you avoided the broken glass and some more crumbling areas in the concrete floors. This space was so wide open it made you curious as to what had been made here in the factories prime.

 

As you headed towards the stairs that would take you to the second floor you heard a thump and a voice shout "fucking rats." From above you. Slowly you took the stairs one at a time and called out asking if anyone was there. After a bit of shuffling the voice spoke again." If you're a cop no one is here if you're an urban explorer I'm totally here and would love some company." Laughing you stepped onto the second floor landing coming face to face with a redheaded man with surprisingly sharp teeth. Smiling at you he came forward with a hand out for a handshake. Shaking his hand you noticed how large his hands were and how strong his grip was. Letting go you introduced yourself feeling a bit awkward now that you could see the face that went along with the voice. With a wide smile he crossed his arms over his toned chest, pulling his shirt taunt over the muscles. You really needed to get layed if a rando you just met on an exploring trip was getting you hot and bothered. You were so caught up in your own thoughts you almost didn't hear him introduce himself.

 

"The names Eijiro Kirishima and it's nice to meet a fellow explorer." You smiled at him before looking away to take in your new surroundings. The second floor was a bit dark and seemed even more dusty than the first if that was possible. Walking further into the area you saw a wooden plank laying in the middle of the mostly clear walkway. As you looked at it Kirishima chuckled and rubbed a hand on the back of his neck. "That plank was my fault. I was walking further in to explore some more and a rat jumped out at me." Laughing you told him you had heard his comments on the rat earlier from downstairs. It was quite interesting to see such a large man blush like a child at being caught cursing. Quickly Kirishima bent down and picked up the plank to place it back against the wall.

 

Damn the man had an amazing ass and those arms were so cut you were definitely sure your pussy had just clenched a little. This was bad, this poor man was just being friendly and here you were imagining what it would be like to have his forearm around your throat while he did dirty things to your body. Clearing your throat you asked if he'd like to join for the rest of the second floor exploration. "I'd love that pebble. I usually wander around alone but I'd never say no to having company as cute as you." Blushing you looked away as you started to walk with him going deeper into the dusty space. To your left there were tons of planks and glass panes leaning against the wall and to the right were mostly boxes stacked against the railings. You assumed this must have been office space for the owners and admins of the factory. As you walked a little ahead trying to see what was by the farthest walls you heard the floorboards groaning under your weight before they completely went out from under you.

 

You were lucky and grabbed a part of the floor that hadn't caved in as you fell. You yelled for help and saw Kirishima walk closer to where you were hanging. His face looked conflicted as he made no move to help or even to give you any reassurance. You realized he wasn't scared to fall in but you couldn't tell why he wouldn't help. Sighing defeatedly Kirishima walked over without an ounce of fear and crouched down to make eye contact with you. "I don't know what to do with you pebble, my job is to guide your soul to the afterlife but I really like you. You're so sweet and shy, much too good to be restarted just because the plan says so." What was he talking about? His job was to guide your soul? Why was he talking like he knew you? You just met him 30 minutes ago. Had you just become friends with a nut job who planned to watch you die?

 

"Ah I can see that you're confused, I mean I would be too." standing up to his full high he towered over you as you continued to stare up at him with a mix of confusion and fear. He placed back and forth for a moment before turning to you and smiling that big sharp toothed grin that moments before would have made your tummy do a little flip. If hanging half out of a hole in an abandoned building wasn't enough what happened next shocked you so much you almost lost your grip. Kirishima slowly began to lift off from the floor just floating in mid air. With wide eyes you stared in shock, wondering if maybe you had gone a little crazy while hoping he might help you so that you didn't fall to your death. "Well I know what I'm about to tell you is a bit unbelievable so I decided to show you that I'm not joking before I explain. I happen to be a reaper and today was supposed to be the day you die. But like I said I really don't know what to do with you seeing as I don't want someone as manly and fearless as you to just be gone and reincarnated as someone else."

 

As if to further prove his status as a reaper the man before you started to change. His hoodie and shorts, which were pretty standard for building walks, melted away into a pair of black military style pants and boots along with a fitted black tank top that hugged his chest and back muscles in a way that should definitely be illegal. His arms were covered in a few black band tattoos that circled his wrists and biceps. What was the most astonishing was that his spiky red hair grew long, long to the point that the ends floated around his hips. His still smiling face was covered with a half skull mask leaving his mouth still exposed. "Hey pebble do you want to live as who you are now even if that meant some things about you would change or do you want to die and have me guide you to the next realm? I'll do whatever makes you happier even if it's not what I'd like to see." His eyes shone with sincerity through his mask and his smile seemed a bit forced. You could tell that even though he wasn't human like you he still felt the same emotions that you did. From everything he had said and shown you you could tell he held affection towards you. Enough so that he was willing to go against what was probably as natural as breathing for a reaper. Looking up at him still floating above you a smile broke over your face. You told him you wanted to stay as yourself whatever the changes might be.

 

Kirishima grinned at you somehow managing to look sweet and scary all at once. Wasting no time he floated over you and grabbed you by the back of your shirt with one hand. Instead of pulling you back to the second level he drifted the two of you through the hole and down to the concrete floors below. Letting go of the back of your shirt he held out his hand to you still trying to give you some control over the situation. As you took his hand he gave it a grateful squeeze before moving to sit with you on a dust covered bench. "Listen pebble I want to be honest with you. The only way for you to stay yourself is if you became my anchor. An anchor is kind of like a reaper's chosen soulmate and we only get a chance to have one every 1000 years of service." This day was getting stranger and stranger by the fucking minute. You could live but you would need to become this man's soulmate, basically his wife. Looking at him again you could say you wouldn't enjoy the physical parts of such a relationship. Honestly Kirishima had no business being this sexy. Well if this kind of thing was gonna happen to you Halloween was no better day for it to happen on. Squeezing his hand you agreed even though you knew he had more to explain.

 

"If you're sure then I'll take us to my home so that we can link our souls without turning into dust bunnies." The world around you faded out and changed into a huge bedroom that was painted black and red with posters of an old superhero movie lining them. There was workout equipment everywhere you looked, well that at least told you that his muscles were all from hard work and not just random spooky reaper magic. With no small bit of embarrassment you sat on his bed and rubbed your fingers across the covers looking anywhere but him. Taking you straight into his bedroom instead of a living room or something told you exactly what you had been guessing at. Linking souls was definitely going to require sexual contact. "Pebble look at me." Looking up you took him in once again almost drooling over his now shirtless chest as he loosened his belt giving you a tantalizing look at his black happy trail. He walked up to you and held your cheeks in his hands. He searched your eyes for a few moments and when he saw no fear or rejection lowered his head to give you a kiss. This kiss was slow and gentle but full of so much heat you were sure every nerve in your body was on fire. Kirishima's tongue licked across yours as he savored the taste of his soon to be anchor. Not wanting to just sit there and take it you put your all into the kiss licking his teeth, nibbling on his lips, and even sucking on his tongue the same way you wished to suck on another part of his body. Kirishima broke the kiss panting heavily as he let his hands caress down your neck until they reached the collar of the t-shirt you wore. With barely a flick of his fingers your shirt was torn down the middle, your bra sharing its fate. He pushed the shredded material down your shoulders letting it fall to the bed.

 

"I'm going to be as gentle as I can for you pebble but I have very limited control over myself at the moment. Your so fucking beautiful I swear my supervisor gave me your case cause he knew I'd fall for you." Crawling over you he straddled your waist and began to kiss and bite down your neck stopping only when he reached your breast. Pushing both your breasts together he kissed every inch of them worshiping the heavy mounds. With no warning he sucked both of your nipples into his mouth, bathing them with his tongue before biting them. After every bite he flicked his tongue against the hardened peaks earned himself little whines and moans of appreciation. Once he felt that he could no longer hold himself in check with just adoring your nipples, Kirishima slid down off the bed to crouch in front of you for the second time that day. Slipping his fingers under the waistband of your panties and shorts he tugged them down and over your boots leaving you in only your favorite necklace and your socks and boots. His blood was fire in his veins as he took in the sight of you. Your pussy was so beautifully slick with your juices that it would have been blasphemous for him not to take a taste. Grabbing your thighs he used them to pull your ass to the edge of the bed where he drove in with no hesitation. Licking and sucking the lips of your pussy before using his tongue to separate them. Each swipe of his tongue drove you higher and closer to orgasm. He suckled your clit grazing it with those sharp teeth. The hint of danger from having such vicious looking teeth on something so sensitive threw you over the edge. The pleasure made you so mindlessly happy that you screamed out "eijiro." Like it was a prayer.

 

At the sound of his first name on your lips all rational thought was lost to kiri. He stood shoving his pants down just enough to free his throbbing cock before he pulled you so only your shoulders and head remained on the bed. With you folded over the way he wanted Kiri slammed his cock into your tight little hole. He was only able to fit about half of his massive girth inside before he had to pull back out leaving only the head inside. This move was the best he could do to get the right momentum to start his powerful digging thrusts. Each thrust was hard and determined, meant to help him reach his goal. And reach his goal is what he did, Kiri bottomed out inside of you after 5 thrusts. His cock head kissed your cervix on the last thrust pulling a choked sob from your throat. Being folded into such a position only made the stretching of your pussy feel that much more overwhelming. Kiri set up a hard measured pace,his only focus on getting his seed into your womb to link the two of you together. Grunting and growling he told you everything he planned. "Fuck pebble your so damn tight and wet. I need to get my cum inside your womb otherwise I might go insane. No one told me linking to your anchor would make me feel like this. I wanna destroy anyone who would ever think to take you from me." You whined desperately every time his cock head battered against the entrance to your womb. It was too much and not enough at the same time. Reaching up you tried to rub your clit only for kiri to grab your wrist and hold it in a firm grip. He was almost passed the point of words but managed a beastly sounding "not without me." Before he increased his pace and shifted his hips making sure every thrust hammered your gspot. Kiri leaning over you to rail your little hole was already a sight to see but the way his hair hung down and tickled against your skin made every nerve ending you had buzz with electricity. A few strands had started to cling to his face due to the sweat pouring off of him and you had to swallow to keep from drooling. This man was made for it seemed, he was everything you had ever fantasized about on those lonely treks through the newest abandoned explore. The sounds of your sex echoed through the room, wet sucking noises, the slap of skin on skin and the sounds only two people in a haze pleasure could make. As he got closer kiri started to slap three fingers on his free hand against your clit. The rhythm of the slaps matched his cocks thrusts so perfectly it caused your pussy to let out a constant stream of squirt. At his final thrust he locked his knees prepared for what was to come. Kiri's cum shot from his slit hosing against your cervix as the base of his cock swelled locking inside you. His cum was so hot and he hadn't stopped tapping your clit. All this combined with the swelling of his cock threw you over the edge, an orgasm ripping through your body so hard your eyes rolled back in your head. Once you had gone limp kiri pulled you up into his arms before turning and sitting on the bed, still locked inside you.

 

"You are my anchor now the other part of me that will light my way even in the darkest hour." Laying down kiri relaxed, one large hand stroking your back as your breathing began to even out. Just as you were about to drift off you felt shocks and tingling race up and down your arms. Leaning up you looked down at your arms and found you had developed the same tattoos that kiri had on his arms. When you questioned him on it he smiled happily before caressing each mark. "These are proof that our link is true and blessed by the fate in charge of reaper unions." Your heart did a little flip as you took in his love filled expression. By now Kiri's knot had gone down so you pulled yourself up and off of his semi hard cock. He protested wishing to sleep buried inside you but quieted down when you spun around and put your pussy over his face. Leaning down you took his cock in hand and began to lick all the cum and pussy juice from it. Following your lead kiri pulled your hips down and swiped his tongue through the combination of your fluids and his. Once you had his cock cleaned you started to tease him, digging your tongue into his slit. His hips bucked and his leisurely pace on your pussy became wild as he slurped and sucked away. Feeling mischievous you continued you playing with his slit but began to rub that sensitive spot just under the head of his cock.

 

That is where you went wrong or in this case very right. Kiri's switch was flipped as he lifted you clear in the air by your hips. He threw you into the middle of the room but instead of hitting the floor you stayed suspended in the air. He was using his powers on you! With his magic kiri floated you to sit on his cock no other part of him touching you but the cock pressed at your entrance. "Pretty pebble do your bolder a favor and count for me. I want to see just how much of me is claiming this pussy." You couldn't deny him since keeping silent only made him tease you gently with his tip. Frustrated and wet you began to count each inch. At six you really started to feel the stretching of your inner muscles on this heavy cock. At nine inches you had a little drool running down the corner of your mouth. At twelve inches your pussy was continuously dribbling squirt down Kiri's cock and balls. At fourteen you came whining his name, begging him to fuck you properly and end this delicious torture. All he did was laugh and slowly thrust inside of you keeping you well pleasured but unsatisfied. "It's ok pebble we have all the time in the world now. We're going to take this slow all night long." His last words were said on a beastly growl as he placed one hand on your throat and squeezed enough to make your pussy squeeze his cock in return. This whole Halloween had been nuts so an all night fuck fest with your new supernatural soulmate was just the cherry on top. Sobbing you reached back and grabbed hold of a lock of his hair looking for any part of him to touch that could ground you. His thrusts got harder as you pulled. Well you knew how to get him to fuck you harder. You couldn't wait to learn more tonight and for the rest of your eternity together.

[tossawary]

I need to know more about “SVSSS - Baby Brother Liu Qingge” bc I love tiny and very deadly baby LQG

I have a 3k-ish Shang Qinghua POV that was supposed to be the introduction to this fic concept! So... ah... baby Liu Qingge does not appear in this, but you can see the setup for how an 8yo-ish Liu Qingge was supposed to be introduced. My hope is that this will someday become a "Shang Qinghua and Shen Jiu go on a mission with Baby Brother Liu Qingge" one shot.

-cut-

Shang Qinghua didn't really have the words to describe what it was like having Proud Immortal Demon Way's characters finally come into his second life.

He didn't have the words to describe a lot of his transmigration experience, honestly! His words had described a lot of this world already, haha, hadn't they? Sometimes a person just had to put up with it and keep going.

And then excuse himself later to go scream into a pillow! Many times!

At first, life was just him in a body that didn't fit and strange memories that slipped between his fingers like sand. His memories of a past life had settled eventually, the System finally came fully online, and his relationship with his second family was fully fucked forever. That was fine, though! That was fine! With some unsolicited prodding from his System, he left to go seek his fortune soon enough and he never had to talk to his character's birth parents or siblings again.

But Airplane Shooting Towards The Sky had never said much of anything about Shang Qinghua’s family or home village, besides saying that the man had dreamed of more than his mediocre origins, so everything had been unfamiliar and original and real. Getting to Cang Qiong Mountain Sect, which he had described in great detail, was a real headfuck. There were no words for the experience of recognizing things that he’d written in another life.

He saw the glistening rainbow bridge and the intimidating sect entrance and the majestic meeting hall on Qiong Ding, and he nearly screamed. He definitely squawked. His vision got really fuzzy for a minute there and he had to sit down on the ground before he fell over. What the fuck?! What the fuck?! He’d made a world! The System had really made a world out of his web-novel! He was really stuck in Proud Immortal Demon Way!

There were upsides and downsides to joining Cang Qiong Mountain Sect. Downsides included: the hard training, the harder workload, the dangerous missions, the disrespect towards An Ding Peak, and being surrounded by arrogant and foolish teenagers looking to look down on someone. It was really something else to look some of them in the eye and think, "Bro, I don’t know your name, but you kind of owe your existence to me. Could you stop being such a fucking asshole about leaving your chores for me to do?! Respect your father!"

Upsides included: actually becoming a cultivator (pretty cool, even though the work of cultivation sucked more often than not), better living accommodations and food, and actually getting to see some of the cooler places, plants, monsters, and magic that were a part of his world. Sure, carting a monster corpse brought in by Bai Zhan Peak to Xi Jiao Peak for butchering was smelly and heavy and altogether miserable, but seeing an impossible animal was still kind of incredible. If this unwilling Shang Qinghua could stop being pushed around and stepped on long enough to appreciate the upsides, he’d really appreciate it!

It was interesting and infuriating to log the differences between what he’d imagined, what he’d written, and what the System had created. What sort of author described every single object in every single room? Who had time for that? Who wanted to read that? The System had filled in all the living details of An Ding Peak - the Leisure Houses, the training grounds, the storehouses, the warehouses, the kitchens, the lesson halls, the leisure gardens, the farming fields, the livestock fields, the stables, the cart lot, the water supply, the sewage systems, and so on - so that people could actually live here. Airplane Shooting Towards The Sky as an author had done many things worthy of complaint and criticism, but wasting his readers’ time with sewage systems was not one of them!

The System had also filled in all the little details and decorations - the paintings on the walls of sect history, the detailing on the rooftops supposedly offering protections from dream demons, the chipped and faded paint of old storehouses that disciples would be tasked with replacing, the statues in the fields to scare off scavengers, the carvings on the doors meant to reduce resentful energy, the childish etchings of bored students the surface of the lesson hall desks, the old bench where the An Ding Peak Lord liked to sit and eat flatcakes - so that it really seemed like people had built this place and maintained it and added to it for generations.

Shang Qinghua had his quibbles here and there. Sometimes the System had made choices that he objected to! He would have done it differently if it had asked him, the author, to contribute. He really felt as though the System should have asked him to clarify the plot holes and the gaps in detail, instead of choosing precedence randomly or building off random implications taken way too literally.

Sometimes he found out that the System had built things out of throwaway lines that Shang Qinghua himself had completely forgotten about. It turned out that Ku Xing Peak made a lot of purification tools and containment vessels because Airplane had offhandedly mentioned that this was their specialty, and now Shang Qinghua had to cart around delicate ceramics to be sold to city merchants or other cultivation sects. He never would have dared to write that if he’d known that it would one day in another life be his job to do things like take inventory and chase down signatures for successful deliveries.

Places, items, and creatures were one thing, but logging the differences between the people he met and the characters he’d created was something else. At first it was okay, because he was surrounded by nameless An Ding Peak nobodies - his fellow disciples, their teachers, the hardworking managers and merchants, even the peak lord - none of them had ever mattered in Proud Immortal Demon Way. If Airplane had been the one to name any of them, he didn’t recognize the names or remember them.

Then he met Yue Qingyuan.

Wow, it was a worse headfuck than first arriving at Cang Qiong Mountain Sect, when Shang Qinghua finally realized that this was the young version of one of his actual characters. It took him a minute. As a lowly outer disciple, Shang Qinghua hadn’t received “Qinghua” as a name yet (his name was Houhua, not that anyone ever used it) and the future Yue Qingyuan was still called Yue Qi.

Shang Qinghua was fourteen at the time. Yue Qingyuan must have been around the same age, so he didn’t strike the tall and handsome figure of the sect leader Airplane had described. The boy was broad, but actually a little short. He had freckles. He had acne.

But he also had a warm smile that seemed to go all the way to his eyes when he offered to give Shang Qinghua directions to the right office on Qiong Ding. He had a steady hand when he helped Shang Qinghua up, after the An Ding disciple had suddenly tripped over nothing upon being introduced. Yue Qingyuan - Yue Qi - walked him to the right office and did his best to make small talk, friendly and kind even though Shang Qinghua was having difficulty stringing more than a few words together in his shock.

Even then, it was obvious that the boy was developing the calm surety and the social charm that would make him a greatly admired sect leader someday! It was all Shang Qinghua could do not to blurt out: “Holy shit, you’re REAL?!” Which would be closely followed by: “Hey, is Shen Qingqiu really real too?!” And then maybe closely followed by: “FUCK!!!”

As the years went by, Shang Qinghua met more of Proud Immortal Demon Way’s characters, and it was weird every time. None of them were exactly like he was expecting. He kept expecting… well… he kept expecting them to look like the fanart, like flawless character models, more or less. Instead, he kept getting… people.

Wei Qingwei, head disciple of the sword-focused Wan Jian Peak, was also shorter than he was expecting, kind of stout, with a wide face and a wider smile. Airplane Shooting Towards The Sky had apparently had the man crack a few jokes upon his rare appearances in the web-novel, usually during tense situations, as he was reminded by the System upon thinking to himself: “Why is this guy LIKE THIS?!” So, because of just a few lines, the real Wei Qingwei had a relentless sense of humor and loved telling jokes.

Upon their first meeting, when Shang Qinghua was fifteen and had been sent over to help renovate some Wan Jian dormitories, fifteen-year-old Wei Qingwei had pretended to fumble a sword and, using a packet of dye and a sleight of hand, made it look like he’d accidentally cut off his own hand at the wrist. Of course Shang Qinghua had screamed and panicked! Anyone would panic! But Wei Qingwei had laughed at him and said, “Got you! Shang-Shidi, the sword wasn’t even unsheathed!” Asshole!

Qi Qingqi, the head disciple of Xian Shu Peak, was much taller than he was expecting. Apparently Airplane had once described a group of some of the peak lords by saying something like: “Each one of them was like a giant to young Luo Binghe.” That group had included Qi Qingqi. The System apparently had taken that to mean that Qi Qingqi was of a height with the likes of Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu. Shang Qinghua discovered this adaptational choice when he was almost sixteen, when this giraffe-like girl came to An Ding Peak to complain about an order someone along the pipeline had dropped completely, and he accidentally found himself (still waiting on a really good growth spurt) eye-level with Qi Qingqi’s chest.

Airplane had apparently once said in Proud Immortal Demon Way that Qian Cao Peak Lord Mu Qingfang appeared a little older than his colleagues, by which he’d probably meant that the man was just tired or something, but this head disciple Mu Qingfang appeared to have ten years on all the other head disciples. Which was good! Shang Qinghua approved of their future head healer not being a teenager and having more training!

On the bad side of things, Airplane had also once said in Proud Immortal Demon Way that the Zui Xian Peak Lord Zhang Qingyan liked his drink too much. This was the peak specializing in alcohol, so it had seemed to make sense! It was supposed to be funny, if anything! Well, at sixteen, Shang Qinghua found out that the System had focused too much on the “too much” part of that statement and now the head disciple of Zui Xian Peak was pretty clearly a budding alcoholic. (Sometimes a cultivator’s constitution and ability to “cure” themselves just… made a person drink more. A lot more.) Which was… not good.

At seventeen, Shang Qinghua met Mobei-Jun.

He didn’t know where to get started with Mobei-Jun.

Somehow he’d… forgotten that Mobei-Jun had been originally based on Airplane’s idea of “the perfect man” and not the super pretty, muscular but slim-waisted protagonist type? The real Mobei-Jun was… tall… and big… and thick. Mobei-Jun’s intimidating features were… more striking than pretty. The first time Shang Qinghua had come back to his Leisure House and found this spoiled brat of an ice demon napping shirtless on his bed, and gotten an eyeful of all that heavy muscle and chest hair, he’d nearly knocked himself out on the doorframe trying to turn away before he had a heart attack.

Mobei-Jun really was going to be the death of him, holy shit.

Especially because this ice demon really was a spoiled brat! Airplane had described this character as being arrogant and apathetic, so now Shang Qinghua had to deal with a Mobei-Jun who took long baths and then carelessly dripped water all over the floor and all over fresh sheets! Who ate all of Shang Qinghua’s cooking and ungratefully only demanded more food, sprawled over furniture not really fit for someone of his size, and then watched Shang Qinghua like a fat tiger! Ahhh, this demon really was lucky he was handsome!

Mobei-Jun was also kind of violent, and mean, which was… well, it sucked.

Back to the sect that Shang Qinghua was now actively betraying, however, as far as he could see, there was still one future peak lord missing.

It wasn’t Shen Qingqiu, who Shang Qinghua had thought would be the last one to show up. Shen Qingqiu had shown up and had been advancing through the ranks of Qing Jing Peak before Shang Qinghua had even met Mobei-Jun, which meant that Yue Qingyuan had finally stopped looking like someone had torn out his soul. (Shang Qinghua had been forced to grit his teeth every time that someone mentioned how privileged that Yue Qingyuan was to have been granted that year of secluded cultivation in the Lingxi Caves at such a young age.)

No, of all the peak lords, it was Liu Qingge who Shang Qinghua had yet to meet.

After meeting Mobei-Jun and becoming an inner disciple, the System had given Shang Qinghua three years to make it to head disciple, probably because the deadline for a new generation of peak lords to ascend was fast approaching. He was working hard to achieve that! Not only did he have to sabotage the current favorite, but he had to make sure all his own training, missions, work, and research were as close to flawless as he could get it! All while keeping an intruding ice demon happy! He wasn’t totally sure that he was going to make it at this rate, even though he’d been here for years.

So it was a little concerning that Liu Qingge hadn't shown up yet. There was so much left to do. A world-state that had yet to be established. Liu Qingge had work to do here!

Liu Qingge and Shen Qingqiu still had to develop a hatred for each other as disciples that would extend to everyone believing that Shen Qingqiu had murdered Liu Qingge as peak lords, after all. Granted, all Liu Qingge really had to do was beat everyone else on Bai Zhan Peak up to obtain the position, and it wasn’t exactly hard to get Shen Qingqiu to develop a lifelong grudge, but the guy was still cutting it pretty close.

It was possible that Liu Qingge was already on Bai Zhan Peak and making good progress, but that he was just so solitary and focused on searching out the next big battle that Shang Qinghua had just never had the opportunity to meet him. Shang Qinghua did his best to avoid Bai Zhan Peak most of the time, honestly! He was curious about where Liu Qingge was, about what the man looked like, but he didn’t let himself sweat at not seeing the future war god, when he already had so many things to sweat about. The System had taken care of bringing in everyone else, so Shang Qinghua was sure that Liu Qingge would follow sooner or later.

Shang Qinghua’s first sign that something was wrong was that, on the day that Liu Qingge finally announced his existence by beating up everyone on Bai Zhan Peak, everyone was saying things like, “I can’t believe some kid managed to topple all of Bai Zhan like that!”

He… may or may not have ignored this sign.

To be fair to this poor writer-turned-disciple, though, he’d been up all night finishing some paperwork catastrophe the An Ding Peak Lord had thrown at him to fix, as some kind of “test” of his logistics skills. Upon hearing the latest gossip, Shang Qinghua thought, “Oh, finally?” And then his overtired brain collapsed from the effort of thinking two words together in a sentence, and all he could manage from there was to feel the intense need to go to bed at a maximum, static-y volume. No words. No more thinky thoughts. Just the need for speedy sleep.

He stumbled through the rest of his day and then passed out for 18 hours straight. In hindsight, this would have been the time when the gossip was at its hottest. He missed all of it.

When he woke up, everyone was still dealing with the aftermath of what had happened on Bai Zhan Peak, but the conversation had shifted more towards replacing Qian Cao Peak’s depleted supplies and the repairs to Bai Zhan’s training grounds. Liu Qingge was the name on everyone’s lips, still, but everyone knew the basic information now. Now, everyone was just exclaiming over and over again how unbelievably young (and pretty) he was to have bested every other disciple on the sect battle-focused peak. This didn't seem too strange.

The System probably would have based the War God's appearance on his sister, Liu Mingyan, a strong contender for the most beautiful woman in all of Proud Immortal Demon Way. Liu Qingge apparently being a very pretty boy fell neatly into line with all the other character design surprises that Shang Qinghua had gotten smacked with so far.

If Airplane had known that he'd be transmigrating into his novel, maybe there would have been even more handsome men! And everyone would have lived happily ever after and nothing bad would have happened ever, probably, but also there might be more sexy guys too.

-

TBC

[deltas-writing-corner]

Courtship (4): The Gargoyle Graveyard

Fandom: Twisted Wonderland (Malleus x GN!reader)

Author note: Again, thank you all for being patient with me and I apologize for having a very inconsistent writing schedule. I'm going to make it my goal to update on a bi weekly basis instead of leaving you all in silent limbo. Also a reminder I suck at figuring out which warnings to put so if there's something that needs to be forewarned that I failed to disclose please lmk!

Warnings: Mentions of heavy bodily injuries | childhood trauma/neglect | discussions/mentions of discrimination | mentions of virginity/sexual history

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AO3 version

Clay. Stone. Porcelain. Plaster. Metal. There are even gargoyles carved entirely of wood! Some statues are stand-alone works of art while others are part of a clear collection or series of similar inspiration. They even come in all sorts of shapes and sizes; as small as an apple or a towering height to rival Malleus himself. No matter what, each grotesque has been crafted with the utmost consideration, by well seasoned and knowing hands. Even the ones that have clear defects and cannot serve their intended purpose are free of overabundant ivy, weeds, or dust. There’s a clear degree of love and care the family who makes these statues has for their craft that makes him feel less alone in his interest in an uncherished form of art.

“It should be around here somewhere,” you muse aloud. Ever since he expressed interest in seeing more sculptures made with non-traditional materials, you’ve been keeping your eye out for a particular one that would fulfill his yearning. You eventually find it and eagerly point to it. “There it is!”

Malleus watches as you approach a massive-sized statue covered with a thick and half-wet tarp. He helps you remove the cover, revealing a winged and slightly humanoid canine. There are many more grotesques with a similar design, but what makes this one stand out the most is the material it’s made out of.

“Amazing!” Malleus awes. “I’ve never seen a grotesque of this size made entirely of glass! They’ve even managed to maintain their attention to detail despite such an abnormal material choice.”

“You can even see the inner channel where the water would flow in and redirect out of its mouth,” you notice.

“They even went out of their way to make it functional despite it being unfit for actual installation?” Malleus inquires with disbelief. “Such a shame.”

“If you’re looking to buy anything here, I’m afraid it's a lost cause. One of the first warnings the grandfather gave me is that none of these are for sale.”

“What was his second warning?”

“If we damage anything, even as small as a scratch, he’ll kill us.”

“How charming,” he chuckles. “I cannot blame him. These statues must take weeks to complete. Time is a human’s greatest enemy.”

“For some, sure. But when I went to visit the family and talked to the old man, he was lunging around all this heavy equipment like he was still in his prime,” you recall. “He lives for his craft. If there’s anything humans are at risk of their entire lives, it’s a lack of motivation and reason to live.”

“I suppose that’s true, but the lifespan of humans and the inevitable effects of aging is difficult to live with, especially once it begins to hinder one’s ability to do what one could previously do without issue. ”

“You’re not wrong,” you acknowledge. “But I think I’d rather live a short life with fulfillment than a dull, long-as-shit life.”

To show that he’s entirely on your side, Gunter lets out a guttural bark while his tail rapidly wags and thumps the damp ground, coating the ends of his bushy tail in specs of dirt and dirtied, remnant snow of the north that has managed to stay frozen on the isles warmer south end.

“You’re only agreeing with them because you’ve been promised food,” Malleus chastises. “Don’t think I didn’t pick up on your grumbling stomach.”

“And don't think I didn't pick up on your stomach rumbling either your highness," you quip back at him. "The family has a small cottage nearby we can use. We'll settle down for a bit and eat before sightseeing some more."

Before you turn and walk in the direction towards the aforementioned lodgings, you reach your hand out for Malleus to take and he latches onto you with restrained enthusiasm. He's taller than you, but he takes care not to take his normal strides as to not leave you struggling to keep up with him. Gunter doesn't know the way, so he trots beside you every step of the way up until the destination is in plain view. The cottage is small but well-attended. There’s a rustic flair to its construction that makes it feel familiar and safe despite never stepping foot in it before.

"Those gargoyles were something, huh?" you remark to him while you tap and shake off the gunk wedged into the soles of your heavy boots against the frame of the door.

"Indeed," he nods, taking your cloak off for you and hanging it on the wooden rack nearby. "I don't think I've ever seen that many gargoyles in one day. Just when my eyes land upon an intriguing one, there's several more that catch my attention."

The way he gets all wide-eyed is outright adorable. It makes you grin just as enthusiastically too. "I bet your club is going to have a field day once you tell them about this!"

His child-like smile turns into one of disappointment. "I'm certain they would, if I wasn't the sole member that is."

Your hands halt from pulling out and setting down all the premade food out of your pack. "Seriously? You're the only one?"

When he nods his head, you feel a twinge of hurt in your heart. Poor guy. You can only imagine how disappointing it must be to go through all those lengths to start a club (you would know since you're technically a staff member of the school and have been given a rundown on some of the school's functions and regulations) only for no one to show interest. Of course, you completely understand that gargoyles aren't exactly all the rage within the minds of teenage boys. Still! He goes through so much effort to build relationships with his peers but they always cower away, either due to his status or even because of the way he looks. You won’t deny that he does come off as rather intimidating at first glance, but he's a sweet guy once you give him the chance to speak.

But to expect teenagers going through social pressures and demanding academics to be as understanding and willing to understand someone like Malleus is an impossible demand. Given that everyone in the school can be a bunch of self-centered and easily agitated bunch of pricks, it's understandable that most of the student body isn't keen on trying to take into consideration the proper etiquette one needs to consider in the presence of a young and noble fae. Deuce has met and talked briefly with Malleus on one occasion, but even he visibly shakes whenever his name is mentioned, even in casual passing.

Wait until they found out who you've gone and gotten buddy-buddy with behind their back. They probably think they're slick or that their intentions are well swept under the rug, but it's clear they feel some semblance of responsibility for your well-being, as both a magicless individual as well as a close, albeit older, friend. You dread the day people begin to make the connections between Malleus and you, but you still can’t help but wonder what their reactions might be. You also dread the high probability those two idiots are going to find out and embarrass the living hell out of you, which you know you do not have the patience or tolerance for.

Gunter jumps up and sits himself down in one of the wooden dining chairs, pushing the small ceramic plate towards you with his nose, as if telling you "Alright, I’ve done what I said I'd do, now feed me what I'm owed." You tell him that you'll give him what he's well earned after you get a small fire started in the brick fireplace. Just because it's warmer near the southern half of the island and not as heavily blanketed with snow, doesn't mean the cold has completely vanished, Winter is still winter after all.

"Where did these scars come from?"

Malleus' unexpected question and closeness nearly make you drop the iron rod you've been using to stoke the growing fire. You've since taken off your boots and rolled up the bottoms of your pants just above your knee as the room starts to warm up enough for a thin layer of perspiration to accumulate and roll down your skin. The scars he's referring to are the ones on your right leg, both side by side at an awkward angle and discolored. You have a lot more scars than these, some much more gruesome in appearance than these two. Malleus has never asked about your scars, but sometimes you catch him looking in the general area of some that peak through your clothes. He likely keeps quiet about their existence out of courtesy.

Yet out of all the markings on your body, why did these two stand out enough that he'd finally ask about them?

"It's a long story," you say in an effort to stall the topic. "Sit. I'll feed you two once the fire is stable."

He doesn’t push you for an answer, instead simply doing as you say and lets you poke at the burning logs until they're properly aflame on their own. You made mostly some of your morning favorites; Creamy and thick potato stew with diced carrots and peas and some eggs, ham, and crispy hash browns sandwich between homemade halved croissants. You teased him about having picky taste buds earlier, but Malleus is content to eat anything you serve him so long as it is not comparable to the likes of Lilia's atrocious cooking.

(Seriously, how does a man as old as Lilia not know the basic fundamentals of cooking? And why does everything he makes end up burnt and tasting like something rotten? You will never understand.)

"Don't eat too quickly," you warn Gunter as you pour a bit of light-colored soup onto his designated plate. Your words are ignored, as the equally marred wolf sloppily slurps and munches on the few bits of potatoes and vegetables you generously scraped out of the thermos. His food is gone as quickly as it’s put in front of him and he looks at you expecting more.

"No. The rest is mine," you scold. "And don't beg Malleus for some either! I know you do it behind my back, you little shit!"

He turns to look at Malleus with an accusatory glare, thinking that he ratted him out to you. Malleus’s response towards the silent imputation is to turn and look out the window as if something caught his interest all of a sudden, cup raised to his lips as he politely sips away at his meal without an air of calmness. You have to slap a hand over your mouth to hide the amusement that overtakes your senses.

"Malleus, stop that!"

"Stop what?" he innocently asks.

"Stop making me want to laugh!"

He sets his cup down onto its matching serving dish. "It's not my fault you have an easily satiable sense of humor."

"Wow!" you say incredulously and put your arms up in offense. "And here I was thinking we were friends!"

His distant demeanor breaks and you both devolve into a fit of laughter together. Gunter unfortunately takes advantage of your joint distraction and slips away with a warm sandwich between his jaw, your sandwich in particular.

"That damn wolf!" you curse. "I knew I should have trusted my gut and pack extras.”

Malleus pities your distress before moving over to sit closer. "Worry not. I'll split mine in half with you,” he reassures.

"No, it's fine," you immediately dismiss his offer. "Have it for yourself."

"I'm not taking no for an answer," he firmly states. “Don’t be stubborn. It’s far too early for that.”

"I thought you liked it when I was stubborn?” you pout.

He shakes his head with a smile. “I would be lying if I said I didn’t”

"At least someone likes my attitude,” you say after chewing and swallowing a mouthful of soup. “Sebek certainly doesn’t."

"The boy is stubborn as well. When two equally stubborn individuals cross paths, you will witness nothing but discord between the two."

"Add the fact I'm human into the mix, and we'll be exchanging fists instead of words sooner or later," you scoff. "I get that some faes don't like humans, but what's his deal with acting like he’s got a vendetta against me?"

"Sebek doesn't hate humans for the reasons you might think," Malleus admits. "It’s more like he finds them difficult to think that highly of. Did you know that he is half-human?"

You nearly choke on your own breath over the sudden revelation. "Really?"

"Indeed," Malleus finds amusement at your disbelief. "Have you ever wondered why his ears aren't pointed like Silver, but his eyes are like mine and Lilia’s?"

"Damn,” you scratch the back of your head with embarrassment. “Now I feel stupid.”

"You aren't. Given the way he speaks, not many would assume he had human blood in his veins. His mother was highly regarded within her social circle, but her marriage to a human man tarnished her reputation a great deal. She's happy and does not seem to care what others think of her these days. However, when Sebek set out to be a knight, his mother's marriage and his lineage were often brought up as a way to scrutinize his character and capabilities rather than any of his actual shortcomings as an individual."

"Poor kid," you sigh. "Lilia told me those sorts of things still happen in The Valley, but it sounds so outlandish that I couldn’t take it that seriously."

"Many faes hold old traditions above all else, to a degree that the purity of one's blood stands above all other merits." His eyebrows pressed together in annoyance. "Even my grandmother thinks it's archaic, but as the reigning queen she has to embody a persona of neutrality between the social divide."

"It sounds like you have your work cut out for you in the future," you say, almost apologetically. "What do you plan to do about it once you're the king?"

There's a brief flash of surprise over your question, but Malleus easily answers it as usual. "I think my first course of action as king would be to properly knight Sebek and Silver."

"Bet my rifle that Sebek is going to cry the entire ceremony!" you remark with certainty. "That's all he ever goes on about, being a knight and all."

"He's devoted countless hours and efforts since he was a child. If there's anyone who deserves to join the knighthood, it's him."

"Definitely," you nod to further cement your agreement with him. "He could stand to lower his voice a bit. He'll give you tinnitus before long.”

"At least we won't have to worry about losing him in a crowd," Malleus jests.

"That's to say we'll lose sight of him to begin with," you remark. "He'll gladly lose me in a crowd. You? You'd be lucky to get out of arm's length."

"You underestimate me, dearest," Malleus smirks. "Ever since I've met you, I've perfected the art of avoiding Sebek's insistent searches."

"Have you now?" you razz back. "Don't let him catch onto the fact. He'll have my head."

He reaches over and tucks a strand of hair behind your ear. Each second his skin touches yours makes you tingle. Time slows down ever so briefly if only to savor the small instance of physical connection for as long as possible. "What of your aunts?" he inquires. "Are they as overprotective of you as Sebek is of myself?"

"They’re a trio of mama bears," you proudly admit. "I'm old enough to drink and well equipped to fend for myself, but in their minds, I'll always be the little tyke that couldn't even eat their meals without looking at them for approval. Especially my aunt Gia."

You have three aunts. There's your aunt Marisol, the mother of most of your cousins and the main caretaker of the household. Your second aunt Lucia was well into her studies at university when you came to live with them, but her stress and long hours of mulling over her course materials paid off in the long run. Your gardening skills wouldn't be what they are now without her expertise in agricultural botany.

Then there's your aunt Gia. Oldest of the three. An absolute tank of a woman. No spouse. No kids of her own. She lived off the land like an absolute titan. The woman raised you as if she was the one that carried you for nine months and not your actual birth mother.

How would you describe your parents? If your parents were told to list out their priorities in life, their careers would be at the top of the list and you would be put at the very bottom. Why they carried you to term is beyond your understanding. You later learned that Gia had even offered to take you under her care well before your birth, knowing that your parents might not be well-suited to take care of you in the way she thinks would be beneficial for you. It was a convenient offer that would have saved everyone the trouble years down the line when you had your accident. They worked in a cutthroat industry and were constantly moving up the executive echelons. They had no time for you, yet their pride as a pair of young, successful business magnates made them incapable of seeing past the reality of the situation. That left you mostly in the care of last-minute caretakers and your aunts, but only if they had time from their own busy and preoccupied lives to come out into the city and visit.

You were eight years old when things started to get better, but it was upstarted in the worst possible way. Your parents had to go away for the upcoming weekend for work and left you in the care of a babysitter as per the norm. The babysitter never showed up however and your parents apparently couldn’t be bothered to check up on you even once the entire trip. Their silence wasn’t surprising. You just went on about your business for the next three days on your own like nothing was wrong. Your aunt Gia had even called at one point to check up on you, but you didn’t bother to tell her that your parents had left you to fend for yourself. She would have exploded if you did, but not as much as she did when you woke up in the hospital after falling down the stairs and lying helplessly on the ground for several hours with a dislocated shoulder and a compound-fractured leg. You were lulling in and out of consciousness due to all the medication pumped into you, but what little you do remember seeing and hearing when you regained consciousness will forever stick with you for the rest of your life.

If people think your level of swearing is bad, they should have heard your aunt that day. She swore so viciously that it could set an innocent bystander's eardrums on fire. What will forever stand out the most to you was the fact that your parents didn’t even look the least bit apologetic or regretful. They didn’t even approach you once your aunt was done giving them a piece of her mind to check up on you. They simply talked with the awaiting social worker and doctors and then left. It was for the better, but the small part of you that continued to hold onto the desperate belief that your parents would come around one day sent you into a thrashing frenzy and you had to be sedated before you could hurt yourself anymore.

The next year was spent recovering from your injuries, meeting regularly with your caseworker, and going through therapists like a pack of cigarettes. By the time you were back on your feet and the legal proceedings of your custody case were concluded, all you wanted was to move on with it all. Nearly a decade of neglect left you this unattentive, uncertain husk of a person who couldn’t take a single step forward without looking for some sort of guidance or assurance. Your family was exhausted by the entire ordeal and over speaking with third parties. Your aunts took it upon themselves to help you regain your sense of self in the comfort of your new home, no matter how difficult or demanding it was going to be.

“It took some time, but eventually it clicked in my mind that I was in a better place and I started to get better. As for my parents, I have no clue what they’re up to these days.” You lean back into your chair and let out a shaking yawn. “I like to think they’re getting on well like I am.”

“I don’t understand.” Malleus looks at you with unbelievable confusion. “Your parents treated you poorly, yet you don’t sound the least bit resentful. Why is that?”

You shrug your shoulders. “What’s the point? I'm in a better place now, so I've let bygones be bygones. 'Doesn't mean I don't harbor any anger against them anymore. I do, but getting upset won't change what's happened to me."

Gunter, having sensed your discomfort over the matter, trots over and rests his head on your lap. You gratefully rub the top of his head, carding your hands through his thick, coarse hair. "I'm just glad they let me go without a fuss. Family court was hell for my family.” Your eyebrows knit together. “Expensive too.”

Crackling wood fills the momentary silence that befalls the small cottage. What you've recollected to Malleus is a lot to take in, and if you're being quite honest you'd prefer if he just dropped the subject and talked about literally anything else right now. You hope he doesn't say he's sorry or any other type of apologetic comment. That's all you were ever told that entire year it all happened, during court proceedings, your rehabilitation, by both strangers and distant family members alike.

"I'm so sorry. What happened to you was unfortunate. You didn't deserve it."

No shit you didn't deserve any of that. You were a kid. You don’t need one pity party after another to realize that what took place then had fucked you forever. But as you said earlier, you're in a better place now, with a loving and supportive family that's moved on alongside you. A family you need to get back to as soon as possible.

"I love you."

Well, if he was hoping to take your mind off the past. that certainly did it. How can it not? It came out of nowhere and as good as you are at holding your composure when need be, you're sure you look no less like a gaping fish when warm and plush softness presses right against the corner of your lips. A kiss. His kiss.

"What's wrong?" Your voice sounds shaky. You’re nervous.

"Nothing," he smiles reassuringly. "I simply said what I felt needed to be said."

"Fair enough" you concede easily. He was going to say it sooner or later. He already has actually, now that you think about it. Yet here you are trying to process his words like it’s rocket science.

"Am I going about this too fast perhaps?" he genuinely asks. His hands that have been busy massaging your calves that have settled across his lap somewhere during your long retelling gradually slow down, but his hands never go completely still. "This is my first time experiencing something like this."

"What?" You sit up a bit straighter. "A relationship?"

"Yes."

Your head tilts to the side. "Really?"

He nods hesitantly "Yes?"

For a moment, you go completely quiet. "I don't believe you,” you doubtfully say, head shaking to further showcase your refusal to believe him.

He must not have liked your remark, frowning with clear offense in his eyes. When he dislikes something, the vertical slits in his eyes contract into a thin line. "I cannot lie, yet you still doubt me?"

"I know you can't lie, but I find it hard to believe you haven't been with anyone else before," you explain. Before you can consider the appropriateness that was your newfound curiosity about Malleus's apparently non-existent love life, you blurt out, "Are you still a virgin?"

You slap your hand over your mouth the moment those words come out of it. He's equally caught off guard and nearly drops his warm cup of coffee. Even Gunter is surprised by your question, olive-colored eyes looking at you as if you've lost your mind. It's an invasive question, inappropriate even. You and Malleus have been dating for a little over two days. A question like that is way too early to bring up just yet.

"You don't have to answer that," you tell him behind your palm. "I shouldn't have even asked it. Forget I ever brought it up-”

"I'm not," he interrupts you, leaving you even more shocked than you already are. You’re practically gaping like a fish by now. "I'm not a virgin,” he further insinuates.

A deafening silence, but it’s eventually broken by yourself. “I still don’t believe you.”

Malleus gets further annoyed at your refusal to accept his truth. "I'm not lying!" he insists.

"Bullshit!"

"Do you want me to recount my history to you?" he asks, exasperated as you are at the shift the conversation is taking. "Will that satisfy your doubts?"

"You know what? It will!" you loudly declare. "Who'd you sleep with?"

"He was a young page at the time,” he reminisced. “It happened before I was a century old.”

Your eyebrows raise with intrigue. "Was he cute?"

"Yes," he hushedly agrees. The disconcerting admittance paints his face a pinkish-red glow. "But that's not why I bedded him."

"But surely his looks are what made you interested in the first place?” you make blatant regard of the fact.

“You’re not wrong,” he acknowledges, expertly avoiding agreeing with you outright. “But his looks aren't the sole reason I was drawn to him. He was bright-eyed and ambitious, to the point you’d think him insane given his position in the court. It was also the first time I ever truly met with a group of humans, and my young mind was eager to get a more accurate perspective of humans that wasn’t through the lens of my tutors.”

“An ‘accurate perspective’?” You make playful air quotes, eyebrows wiggling because you know the fact that he knows what you’re implying. The playful comment is met with a sharp pinch on your leg that makes you jump and shriek out in pain. Did he have to dig his nails into you? Apparently so, and now you have small crescent indents on your skin. “I bet Lilia had a good laugh when he found out.”

“He doesn’t know, actually,” he admits to you with what is obviously a proud smile.

“Now I know you’re lying to me,” you scoff. “Nothing escapes the old man’s radar.”

His hands begin to rub out the marks he’s left on you as a form of apology. “Lilia is sharp, but he had lost most of his vigor by the time I was born.”

You go wide-eyed again. “You mean his hearing and eyesight was better than it is now?”

He nods affirmatively. “From what I’ve been told, terrifyingly so.”

Lilia is already frightening as is. His short stature and boyish looks make him perfectly unassuming to those who don’t know any better. You once watched him beat up a couple of bulky, twice-his-height students from Savanaclaw without breaking a sweat, yet moments before he was jokingly scolding himself for dozing off so easily. You never once thought he was ever out of his elements. A cold chill runs down your spine thinking how much more perceptive the older fae may have been back during his prime years.

“Wonder what Lilia’s gonna think,” you ponder out loud in a quick effort to banish out the skin-prickling mental imagery your mind was invoking. “About us, I mean.”

Malleus seems surprised that you would change the topic to that of all things, but his initial shock goes away as quickly as it came. “As you may have guessed, he’s an open-minded individual, but he’s also very realistic and unafraid to say what’s on his mind.”

“So what does that mean for you and me?” you question with a bit of hesitation.

“Well,” he trails off and ponders for a moment. “He’ll surely like the scandal our relationship would invoke. However, as my caretaker and mentor, he won’t hesitate to put an end to it if he feels it necessary.”

Had it been anyone else sitting beside you, you’d have found that comment way too extreme and outright ridiculous. However, you are not speaking to anyone ordinary. You are not sitting before someone normal. It doesn't matter how well you get along with him. It sure as hell doesn't matter how deeply in love you are with him, and him of you. The moment you have been deemed a shortcoming, the outings, the closeness, it all stops. All of it will come crashing down and both you and him will be left wondering what could have been done differently.

Malleus is truly your best friend, because already he can tell that your mind is beginning to spiral even when you go quiet. He calls for your attention by gripping his hand around your bare ankle and carefully tugging the end of your limb. “Don’t fret over it too much,” he soothes, yet also sounding like he’s scolding you for letting your mind wander off so negatively. “Lilia is an exceptional judge of character. From what I’ve gathered, you’ve well exceeded all his marks. He trusts you, and to gain such a thing from someone as old and wise as him is an extraordinary feat.”

You brew over the attempted compliment he tried to pay to you. Unfortunately, it doesn’t snub out all these festering thoughts in your head. It doesn’t even give you temporary relief. Perhaps it would have brought you a sense of peace a few months ago, but with everything that has happened thus far, you doubt even Malleus can alleviate the storm that rattles inside you, even if what he speaks is without a doubt nothing but the truth.

Surely he can see that you are still having some hangups. When you lift his hand and plant a chaste kiss on the back of his hand, you hope he can decipher the gesture as a pitiful request for his forgiveness for dampening the once energetic mood. He is not at fault for your loss and inability to think optimistically at the moment and you need to make sure he knows it.

Today is about him, not you. Even if it’s just for today, you’ll put on a pleasant facade and worry about the rest at a later date. It’s just you and him, and for now, that’s enough.

You do a mental countdown starting from three, before finally giving him a late response to the three words he uttered in confidence to you earlier. “I love you too, by the way.”

You love him. You love him. You love him. That’s all his mind can think of for the rest of the day. He replays your reciprocation over and over like it’s sacred and all-powerful.

He had planned to return to his dorm before the sun began to set, but he found the mere idea of detaching from you deeply unwanted and made the last-minute decision to spend the evening at the Ramshackle dorm. He already has a few articles of clothing and personal essentials set up in one of the many empty rooms, so neither Lilia nor you had any objections at his sudden request.

“Don’t worry!” You shout across the room so that Lilia can hear you over his phone. “I’ll make sure he gets to bed on time!”

“You have my gratitude!” Lilia’s muffled voice responds gratefully. “Don’t cause too much trouble now, you two.”

“No promises~” you sing in jest before Malleus hangs up. Once the call ends Johnny, Benji, Franky, and you turn their attention back to their ongoing game of poker. Malleus watches and occasionally laughs to himself over the friendly banter shared between the quartet. At the end of every round, the winner is assaulted with colorful profanities whilst they take their newly won gambling chips with ebullience. Yet with each new dealing of cards, the animosity goes away and they’re all back to being friendly. He finds your interactions with your incorporeal roommates more entertaining than the book he’s been reading to pass the time.

“Hey, fairy boy,” Franky informally calls out toward him. “Don’t be a stranger now. Play a few rounds with us.”

“I’m afraid I’m not well versed in card games,” he admits, yet he still finds himself setting his literature aside and moving over to join them.

“Don’t worry,” you give him a reassuring smile. “They’ll go easy on you.”

“For how long?” he knowingly asks.

You give him an impressed smirk at his quick uptake. “I give it three rounds before they start to pull back their sleeves.”

Malleus is well-adjusted to the need to quickly learn a new topic and the expectation for him to fully comprehend it in full. None of them are harsh on him for his minor mistakes like some of the tutors he’s had in the past. Answers that he believes may be obvious or not as complicated as he thinks they are being answered with enthusiastic patience. The smallest achievements he makes are met with a proud response. When he makes a surprise turnabout and wins his first game, he’s rewarded with an encouraging round of applause by everyone.

“Not bad,” Benji praises as he shuffles the deck of cards. “You’re a fast learner.”

“So I’ve been told,” he humbly replies. “Is this the part where you all stop going easy on me now?”

“Don’t provoke them,” you half-heartedly warn. “Otherwise we’ll be up all night duking it out otherwise.”

Franky sets his glass of iced liquor down on the edge of the table. “Don’t you little lovebirds worry. We won’t take up too much of your well-needed time together.”

Annoyed at the clear jab at his relationship with you, you throw one of your chips towards his head. It passes through his body and clatters on the floor behind him. Your fawn Blossom jumps down from their spot on the couch and goes to sniff it, thinking it to be food, but walks away with a disappointed strut when he realizes it isn’t anything edible.

“I didn’t tell them a damn thing,” you defensively clarify. “It was so obvious what was going on between us that they figured it all out before we made it official.”

He lets out a deep breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “That’s...I can’t say I’m too pleased to hear about that.”

“We won’t say anything,” Franky reassures. “Just make sure to put a sock on the door whenever you guys want some alone time.”

“Franky!” you hiss at him. “What the hell?!”

“What?” he looks at you, unbothered by your clear embarrassment. “Do you honestly expect us to think you guys went out just to look at a bunch of statues?”

“Oh, I’m sure they were looking at something,” Johnny smirks. “It wasn’t made of stone though.”

“I hate you guys,” you growl out, arms crossing and leaning back into your seat with an angry huff. You don’t mean it. He can see the tremble of your lips as you try to contain the urge to grin. “Even if we did end up rolling around in the sheets, I wouldn’t be yapping about it for all to hear, much less you guys!”

“What happens in the gargoyle graveyard stays in the gargoyle graveyard, eh?” Franky winks at both Malleus and you, nudging you with his elbow.

“Exactly!” you affirm, batting the large ghost away from you for some much-needed distance. “Now stop being so damn nosy.”

They cackle one last time and everyone seamlessly goes back to their ongoing game. Conversations like the one that just concluded are commonplace in your dormitory. Even if he contributed next to nothing to the discussion, he enjoys watching them interact. You come from a world where ghosts are hardly as overt as the ones in this world. Ghosts are said to entertain themselves by picking on the living, to the point that it can be fatal. Your ability to come up with witticisms at a moment's notice is something he enjoys seeing in action. He feels great satisfaction not only knowing that he has secured your love but to also see you in a state of tranquility and within your elements.

As Benji and you have a hushed conversation on the sidelines, he reaches over and places his hand on your knee beneath the table. You quietly reach over and put your hand over his, stroking the back of his hand with your thumb like it’s instinctual. Unfortunately, the heart-fluttering moment is ruined by the sudden buzzing of his phone. He has half a mind to ignore it, but when he gives the screen a glance he realizes ignoring the caller is not an option.

“I’ll be out for a moment,” he excuses himself once he sets his hand down and stands himself upright. “This shouldn’t take that long, hopefully.”

They all stop to look up at him inquisitively for half a second. In unison, they ask, “Sebek?”

“Sebek,” he affirms.

There are simultaneous displays of annoyance, pity, and silent wishes of good luck directed at him. He’s tempted to ask where all this contempt for the boy comes from, but then he remembers the many times Sebek barges his way into their dorm at the worst possible moments. It is either when everyone is beginning to settle down after a long day or in the middle of an important house project, the former more so than the latter now that the dorm is much more stable and in need of less restoration. Malleus learned the hard way how ill you and the ghosts will react when your peace is unwantedly interrupted and your space invaded by an unwanted guest.

Sebek is also quick to scrutinize whatever he sees out loud without a filter. You never seem to mind half of the time, merely rolling your eyes and moving past Sebek’s ill-meaning remarks as if you never heard them. As you are someone Malleus highly regards and holds close to his bosom, he hopes Sebek can one day set aside his strife with humankind and give you the due diligence you deserve.

...Though, he completely understands that reaching that point will take time. While you can endure Sebek to a certain degree, there are times where he, unfortunately, pushes you past that threshold and, without flinching, you will tell him to “Shut the fuck up”. Your words, not his.

“Young master!” Sebek's transmitted voice peaks and he has to half pull it away to give his pained eardrums some relief. “I was informed by Lord Lilia that you will be spending the night over at the Human’s dorm. Have you all your accommodations at their estate? If not, I will swiftly-”

“That won’t be necessary,” he half laughs at his enthusiasm over such a small task. “I have enough to keep me comfortable and well for a few days. Your offer is still very much appreciated.”

“Y-Yes, of course,” he stutters. “If there’s anything you should ever find a need for, please inform me at once! I will fulfill your every wishes no matter the hour!”

He’s enthusiastic and ready to act at a moment’s notice, even during the middle of a cold and dark hour. Malleus doesn’t necessarily dislike this part of Sebek, but he’s starting to understand why someone like you would find such subservience difficult to deal with. At any moment, Malleus could ask Sebek to grab some insignificant item of his and tread through the thick snow to deliver it to him, and the boy would do so with jubilation and utmost timeliness. You on the other hand wouldn’t be caught dead ordering someone to do something on your behalf when you believe you are well and capable of doing it yourself.

You don’t put expectations onto the backs of others, choosing to trust yourself first before anyone else. He knows now that it’s a result of the one instance where you expected something from someone, only to be thoroughly let down and left wondering if it was you who did something wrong.

Malleus cannot make up for the pain you’ve been subjected to, but he hopes that he can become the outlier in your life that surpasses any preconceived notions you may hold onto others. He hopes...No, he absolutely will be the one who brings you your well-earned and deserved joy and repose, just as you have done for him and continue to do so.

You love him, and he will ensure he is worthy of every last drop of your fidelity.

[pretend-writer]

Better Than Revenge (Hargreeves x sibling!reader)

Summary: Y/N’s boyfriend broke up with her unexpectedly and the Hargreeves goes and finds out the truth. 

Pairing: Hargreeves x sibling!reader

Title Reference: Better Than Revenge x Taylor Swift

Word Count: 2.1k words

Warning: swearing, violence

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It was all so sudden, I thought that me and him were alright. We've just got back from a trip couple of days ago, taking cute couple pictures and posting it on social media.

Every night, he told me that he loved me and he would never let me go. It took us hours to even hop out of the hotel bed because he would want to cuddle with me all morning. All the love he shared that I thought was genuine didn't mean anything to him.

Was a blind? Was I too naive? Should I have known me and him were in a fake relationship this whole time? Did I waste a year and a half of my life thinking that he loved me? I didn't know what was real anymore.

The only truth that came out of this was that my boyfriend and I were over with. Everything else was a blur.

'Y/N?' Allison tapped me on my shoulder. 'Are you coming inside?'

I've been in my head all day since I got the breakup text from my boyfriend, I totally forgot that I was outside sitting next to Ben's memorial statue.

As I continued to stare at the ground, I shook my head. 'No, thanks.'

'It's about to rain, you should come inside.' Allison still sat beside me even with the complicated weather outside, concerned as she knew something was wrong with her sister. 'What's wrong?'

'You know the best days of my life was supposed to be this trip with my boyfriend?' I slightly chuckled, feeling stupid about myself as I said those words at loud. 'Turns out I was wrong.'

'What did John do?'

I bit my lips and sighed; I couldn't even blame him really. 'It's all my fault. For believing that this was all true, for thinking that he was happy with the relationship. I'm so fucking stupid.'

'What did he say to you?'

'He said enough.'

Allison quickly stood up and left my side. 'I'll be inside, come join me soon okay?'

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Allison POV; 

The things that Y/N said hit a nerve. I already knew something was not right with the relationship. There was always something off with John but I figured if Y/N trusted him, I should too.

I've should've trusted my guts.

It was one thing to hurt my sister's feelings but to make Y/N sad to a point where she sat in the rain made me very upset and angry.

Y/N was the cheeriest one out of the bunch, constantly making us smile when we're down. Her smile was how we all got through the day, especially during our childhood with our so-called father.

It always took a lot for her to get mad or upset about anything. This already proved that John had something to hide and I would do anything to find out what was going on with his life.

I didn't want to leave Y/N alone under the dark, gray clouds but she seemed as though she was not going anywhere at all. I gave a kiss on the top of head before I walked back into the building.

'What's wrong with her?' Diego peeked through the window, watching Y/N leaning next to Ben's statue.

'John broke up with her and I'm going to find out exactly why.' I flared my nose, infuriated about this situation between my sister and her ex-boyfriend.

Diego furrowed his eyebrows, confused about everything. 'W-wait, John and her broke up? Didn't they just come back from their cute little trip?'

'He's a fucking liar is what it is. I swe-'

'Allison, are you sure he's a prick?' Diego tried to be civil which I completely understood but something about my instincts told me otherwise. 'We have zero proof of why this man broke up with Y/N.'

'That's what I'm trying to find out. I just don't trust him. It doesn't make any sense at all.' I rolled my eyes, taking a deep breath. 'You can watch Y/N while I go do some digging.'

Diego chuckled, 'Are you kidding me? I'm coming with you. Let's expose this man.'

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Diego POV;

Luther, Vanya and Five were left with Y/N at home to make sure she was comfortable and feeling better. We also had to be extra careful about Y/N finding out about us stalking her old boyfriend.

If Y/N even got a hint about me, Klaus and Allison's whereabouts, her emotions will get the best of her and she will not hesitate to use her ultrasonic scream to try to get to us.

Y/N was the most level headed out of all the Hargreeves but her number one pet peeve was people digging through private lives. Her finding out the truth especially in the fragile state she was in would ruin us.

And seeing her hatred towards paparazzi and the way she fought them off on her off days as Number Eight, I would never want to be Y/N's enemy.

Which was why Allison, Klaus and I, the mouthy triggering siblings had to leave the house. Klaus and I privately argued that Five should've been with us but with his smart mouth, we knew he was going to use his "genius brain" as an excuse to stay and distract Y/N.

Klaus didn't like that, given the fact that Y/N and him were tight like glue. But everyone knew that Klaus was the number one person that needed to leave the house.

'Why can't I stay with Y/N?' Klaus whined, 'You know I suck at these investigating type missions. I could be a great caregiver to our sweet sister. I would give her some warm tea-'

'We haven't even pulled over to John's house and you're already running your mouth. That's why.' I turned around toward Klaus who was laying down in the back of the car as Allison drove my car. 'You'd be the first one to tell Y/N our secret and we can't risk that, dude.'

Allison looked at our brother from the mirror, smiling. 'Don't worry Klaus, she will be fine. I promise.'

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Klaus POV;

The car suddenly stopped moving, Allison and Diego unbuckled their seatbelts. Ben, who was squished to the side where my legs rested rolled his eyes. 'You could've saved me some space for me to sit.'

'You're a ghost, why does it matter?' I replied back to him, I didn't think that he'd cramp up while I laid down in the back. 'Besides, my legs were on your lap so you should be fine.'

'Who are you talking to?' Diego asked me as he watched me get out of the car.

'Nobody.'

Ben yelled, just like he always does whenever I claim that I talk to myself. He had to realize we were here for Y/N, Ben can have his moment to shine some other time.

Diego, Ben and I followed Allison into John's house. Y/N used to bring Allison and I here often to hang out with John, we knew where he hid his spare key.

'Let's split up and look for some clues. It's got to be in here somewhere.' Allison mumbled, walking upstairs.

'Psst, Klaus!' Diego pointed behind him, 'You want to partner up? Maybe if we do it together it'll be faster.'

'Why are you whispering? The man isn't even here.' I chuckled at my brother, 'I think working together would take more time.'

Diego hissed, 'Fine! Be that way and go with your imaginary friend.'

'Why are you so upset? You really love me, don't you Diego?'

He pulled out his knife, looking at me intensely without saying any word. I knew Diego was sensitive but I didn't think that would trigger him to throw a knife at my face.

'I'm sorr-' before I was able to finish my apology, Diego struck his knife next to my head, hearing a loud groan from behind.

'Allison! I got him!' Diego shouted as he quickly got up and ran past me. I turned around and saw John lying on the ground, holding his shoulder in pain.

'What are you crazy fuckers doing here.' John winched.

Diego pulled the knife out of him, wiping the blood off with John's shirt before he put it back on his harness. 'Given the circumstances, I do not appreciate your tone dude.'

'See, I knew you Hargreeves were crazy. I don't know how I put up with you and your sister for nearly two years.'

'Now that's when you stop talking.' Diego stuck his finger into his knife wound, making John scream louder than he was before. 'I'm telling you, shut the fuck up before we do more harm.'

'Okay, okay!' John yelled, still grabbing onto his shoulder. All I could think about was how infected his shoulder was going to be after all this mess.

As I stared at John's wound, I went back to thinking about my poor sister. 'Why did you break up with Y/N?'

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Y/N’s POV; 

'Rock, paper, scissors, shoot.' Luther and Vanya said in sync. They have been at it for about an hour now, I've never seen two human beings intrigued in this boring game before.

Five just stared at them with an angry face like always, all he has been doing was mumbling to himself and complaining about something I couldn't hear from here.

'What are you guys doing exactly?' I questioned my brothers and sister that has been in the living room with me for over an hour doing nothing.

At first it was odd that they were sitting with me, quiet and not saying a word but I didn't question anything. Now it was weird of them to be here as if they were keeping an eye on me.

'Just keeping you company.' Luther grinned, 'Do you need anything?'

'No, thanks.' I gave him a soft smile, asking an additional question. 'Did Allison say anything to you guys?'

I was in such an emotional state, I blurted the end of my relationship to Allison without thinking of anything. What happened between me and John was over, clearly over and if he wanted that I couldn't say no.

Knowing how overprotective Allison can get of me, I was worried what trouble she got herself into. I hoped she wasn't doing what I thought she might be doing.

'Nope, nothing.' Five, Luther and Vanya all said in the same tone.

'Y/N!' I heard Klaus screaming from the front door, rushing inside to come see me. 'He's a fucking dickhead!'

'Who?' I asked Klaus as he was trying to catch a breath, leaning into the couch to rest.

'Your fucking boyfriend, that's who.' Diego walked in right behind Klaus, anger flushed all over his face.

Allison rolled her eyes, hitting Diego's shoulder while standing next to him. 'You don't have to say it like that, geez.'

'What did you guys find at his house?' Luther asked.

'At his hou-' I looked at the three of them, confused. 'What did you guys do?'

'While Vanya, Luther and I were here distracting you Klaus, Allison and Diego went to John's house to find clues as to why he broke up with you.' Five summarized, with a big smirk on his face.

My eye shifted towards Allison, slowly shaking my head. 'You know how I feel about this.'

'Hear me out, okay? He-'

Diego cut Allison off, 'He had a ultrasound picture in his hand Y/N. John is a fucking asshole and I was so close to punchin-'

'He what?' Luther yelled, immediately standing up and towering over everybody. 'Where is he right now?'

'Laying down on his living room floor because Diego threw a knife through his shoulder.' Klaus added.

'Y/N, I'm so sorry okay? But I had to go see for myself and you being sad is the last thing I want to see.' Allison took a step closer to me. 'You we're blaming yourself about this breakup and I didn't want you to do that. That's why I went.'

There were no words left to say; I felt angry, sad, disappointed that my boyfriend of almost two years had a different girl the whole time. John was even about to have a family with some other woman.

I clenched my first as I thought about John, the more flashbacks I had of our "happy times" the angrier I got.

My siblings started to notice the change of my expressions. Klaus' eyes widened, 'Are you okay Y/N?'

'Come on guys, let's go get him.' I took my jacket from the couch, quickly putting them on as I walked towards the front door. All my siblings started to cheer as they walked next to me, Diego and Klaus hugging me from each side.

'Let's get this son of a bitch!' Diego screamed with his fist in the air.

[itsnothingofinterest]

So with the end supposedly approaching (relatively speaking), people have started giving some thought as to who the final threat is really going to be; Tomura Shigaraki or All For One. It’ll definitely be one of them, they’re the strongest and most established villains by a mile; but both have their own reasons for people to think they’ll be the “final boss” of the series. And far be it from me to keep my opinion to myself; I really think it’s going to be Tomura.

I’m not sure if that’s some level of controversial among the fans hoping for Shigaraki’s redemption, as I do believe the alternative’s gotten a lot of traction lately. Because understand that I’m still expecting his redemption too, and don’t expect his hypothetical final boss status to really prevent that. (Practically nothing can, it’s as much a guaranteed outcome at this point as Deku getting his sixth bonus quirk.) Realistically, the only difference would be if he & Deku then team up to fight the evil potato head, or to...just start fixing stuff I guess.

On that note, the eventual redemption is actually one of the reasons I think he’s the better choice. Almost every point of comparison between the two villain I can think of makes Tomura seem like the better choice, actually...with maybe one or two exceptions. So I wanted to go over all those points of comparison & everything they’ve got going for them as endgame villains and why the comperrisons overall seem to favour Tomura as the final boss.

1. Someone who was defeated to the power of just one man

For one, just looking at pure power levels, AFO’s just not as threatening as Tomura; and there’s not really a way to bridge that gap.

Like, Tomura’s obviously more of a threat personally; he’s got the stronger body that was scientifically enhanced, and only he has Decay on top of the AFO quirk and the collection that came with it. It is just a fact that right now, Tomura is far more powerful. And before anyone thinks that AFO could become an equal threat by just taking over & fighting in his body; that’s not true because, along with just more combat experience that doesn’t rely on an arsenal of quirks, Tomura also has that Shimura trick where you remember your origin and become super bad ass. You know, the trick that All Might used to beat AFO in Kamino. In other words, the most dangerous individual in the series right now is the AFO!Tomura body with specifically Tomura in control.

And as long as the slight edge in mentality in Tomura’s favour exists, there’s not really a way to bridge that gap and have AFO take Tomura’s place as the biggest potential threat. Restore or enhance AFO’s original body? That’s just catching it up with AFO in Tomura’s body, which is still behind Tomura in Tomura’s body. Have AFO boost Tomura’s body with him in control? It would still be better with Tomura in control. There’s no scenario where Tomura isn’t the most powerful character in BNHA.

(Well, except maybe AFO weakening him by, say, stripping him of his quirks; but if he has to make things easier for the heroes to become the most powerful, I think that kind of proves my point anyway.)

But one person can only be so dangerous, so lets talk followers. Tomura has a close knit group of friends & allies on top of a vast army super loyal to him specifically that reaches a six digit figure, and AFO...just doesn’t. And I’ll get back to this later; but I don’t think he wants one either. He sticks to just a handful of people useful to him and what’s left of his Nomu. And while maybe that is the better way for him to accomplish his own personal goals, it’s simply not as threatening as the force which Hawks thought could’ve conquered the country if the heroes hadn’t struck first.

Tomura is a country ending threat, who in the right circumstances could fight literally all of the heroes with a chance of winning, and AFO simply isn’t.

2. His own little world

And to return to what I was talking about earlier, I’m not sure he really cares to be either. Like, people say he wants to conquer everything, and I imagine he’d think regaining lots of money & power would be great down the line; but evidence seems to suggest he doesn’t really care much for the country as a whole or any of the major themes being discussed by the actual main characters at the moment.

I mean if he did, he’d probably have rescued the PLF, that army capable of competing with all of hero society. And he probably wouldn’t have told ~10,000 dangerous and powerful villains indebted to him for their freedom to just run amok while he keeps contact with only the ones useful for his personal goals. And he definitively wouldn’t be laying low & sleeping through his enemies lowest moment & giving them a month to recover, also in service to those personal goals. That activity seems to imply those personal goals matter a whole lot more to him than societal conquest.

And what are those goals? Seemingly, taking over Tomura’s body so he can finally steal One For All. To what end, we’re not 100% sure of, but I believe it’s either a) a weird pride thing where he finally has control over his brother who’s rebelled against him for decades upon decades or b) an attempt at immortality as a sentient & transferable body-controlling quirk. Either way it’s some selfish personal thing he just gets others wrapped up in.

He’s incredibly disconnected from the greater themes and conflicts of the story. He seems to have no opinions on heroics besides how people are stupid for attempting them, and no opinion on society besides that it just naturally sucks. He’s mainly just a nuisance for the actual main characters. This self-important old man stuck in his own little world is supposed to be Deku’s final opponent?

Oh, and on that note-

3. Deku who?

We’re also talking about who’s going to be the final obstacle for Deku to face; and the problem with the being AFO is that...they don’t really have much to bounce off of with each other. You might be able to argue slight foil-ment, but they don’t really know each other, nor do they have any kind of connection to each other besides Deku having OFA so he’s AFO’s enemy by default.

(In fact their latest & 2nd convo, which came out as I was drafting this post out, kind of proves that with how AFO basically just shallowly made fun of him for trying to be a hero. That’s basically the extent of their antagonism.)

In fact, I’m like 80% sure this is a major reason for the Dad For One theory existing; just to give them some connection, something to talk about. Because otherwise AFO is just an evil guy known by people Deku knows/wants to save. He’s basically just another, more dangerous Overhaul; who Deku's already fought. And to AFO, Deku’s just another OFA holder acting all high & mighty; which we also already saw him face in the Kamino fight. So what little they do offer each other has already been done for both of them. And there’s nothing wrong with that for carrying a fight, I just wonder if that can really carry the final fight.

Compare that to Shigaraki, who foils Deku in ways so numerous & obvious it’s almost hard to talk about, such as: their position as successors, strategic thinkers, very similar origins, very similar core characters, team players, red shoes, they looked really similar as kids...just to name a few parallels. Contrasting AFO, there is a lot to work with here that would contributed to a good fight that’d double as a battle of ideologies. And admittedly, we know this because it already has, this is also something we’ve seen before; but there’s a lot more unexplored with their conflict, a lot left unsaid that we could see from them arguing their viewpoints. A lot more than from Deku & AFO anyway.

I mean for Pete’s sake; All Might & Shigaraki have more in common and more to talk about than Deku & AFO. That’s a major problem if those two are meant to carry the final battle; which is why I don’t think they are.

4. Just punch him

There’s also the fact that AFO doesn’t really challenge Deku in any real way; and I’m not just talking about how All Might solo-ing him (twice) should logically mean endgame Deku should also be able to solo him. I’m more talking about how...that’s kind of all he’d need to do. If you can just beat AFO up enough then...that’s it, threat over. Wrapped up in a neat little bow.

To compare, Shigaraki is the greatest threat the heroes have ever faced, the victim most in need of saving, and to top it off, he’s got the gall to be both of those things at once. What’s a hero supposed to do with that? That’s a serious question characters are going to have to think about when deciding how to deal with Shigaraki. His position is that of, not just the greatest challenge, but a set of the greatest challenges a hero could face. And that’s before you get into his side representing those oppressed by serious systemic issues that need to be addressed as well; quite possibly simultaneously.

No one needs to address systemic corruption or prejudice to beat AFO though. They just need to punch him real hard. The biggest challenge AFO presents the heroes is “how do we make sure this guy stops being a problem for good when neither our most secure prison, nor removing his head, did the job?”

(Personally, my answer is to have Tomura do it. Because unlike Deku, Tomura actually does have a proper antagonistic relationship with AFO, so he has reason to be the one to end him besides just being the protagonist. Plus he’s under no obligation not to kill, so there’s that.)

And like yeah, that does make AFO the easier guy to deal with, and thus write an ending around (to say nothing of how he's also the most satisfying person to see punched in the face); but does that really mean Horikoshi would want to use him instead of the more interesting option of Tomura? I mean I guess we can’t be sure, there is merit in writing the easy resolution; but I’d prefer the complex finale if I were in his shoes.

5. Horikoshi’s favourite

And lastly there’s just the issue of which of the two Horikoshi’s put more work into. Spoiler alert: it’s not the guy that spent like 200 chapters in jail being menacing every one in a while.

Tomura is by far the more developed between the two, having constantly evolved over the course of the series. And more than just as a character, as described above he’s been developed as the more threatening and challenging conflict for Deku while also reflecting him in a lot of important ways. We’ve seen the growth of his power & influence, we’ve gotten to know & understand his motives, we’ve seen how he’s been failed by heroes before. Everything about him has built him up as the ultimate villain, the most desperate victim, and overall greatest challenge for Deku and the story as a whole to face.

And AFO is...nearly one of those things. Which is pretty much what he was from his first appearance. He has not developed at all over the series, and from what we can tell from his flashbacks, he hasn’t developed at all over the past ~200 years either. (I’m half tempted to call him more inciting incident then character.) What we have with AFO, as far as a character and a villain goes, is pretty much what we’re getting until he’s done. And, well; if Tomura is a better villain & a better pick for final boss than he was then, that gap’s just going to keep growing.

Like, I doubt it really needs stating how Shigaraki is probably the character Horikoshi has put the most work into in the entire series. And a lot of that work, a lot of his development, has gone to the idea of him surpassing AFO or being a villain foil to Deku, who himself is mean to surpass All Might. For his roll to be usurped by the guy he’s meant to surpass just feels like it’s going against that. Like, it’d feel almost as wrong for his character and the story around him than it would for Deku is All Might got his powers back and took over for him as main protagonist. It just doesn’t feel right for Tomura not to be the final villain, is what I’m getting at.

6. ...One saving grace

Okay, but I will admit one thing AFO has going for him that I would be remiss not to bring up. Besides being the most hated character in a series that also has Endeavor in it, I mean. He’s got this one trait that makes him an effective antagonist to anyone in the series; his complete disregard to pretty much every major theme in the series.

I mean think about it; the major themes of Shigaraki’s circle all revolve around trying to fix the society that rejected them; but AFO believes Society just naturally sucks that way as part of human nature, so their cause is doomed. And the heroes’ major themes all revolve around how to become/what it means to be a hero; but AFO believes trying to do good in that society can’t really be done & also it’s ridiculous to believe comic books are real, so their cause is also doomed and they look stupid doing it. So despite not really interacting with anyone’s core conflict or goals in favour of wrapping them up in his own, he still manages a one-sided ideological opposition with nearly every major player in the series; and that’s not nothing.

But, and I completely understand that this is just a matter of opinion, that kind of just leaves him feeling to me like a good antagonist, not a good final antagonist. I’d still prefer it be Tomura even from this perspective, because he’s able to oppose the ideologies of his opponents on purpose & with proper ideologies of his own.

To summarize:

Shigaraki feels the better choice for final boss because he’s more threatening, more interesting, both as a person and as an opponent for Deku specifically, he’s far more directly tied into the themes of the story and their resolution, & he’s had far more set up. AFO is more hated, and his callous disregard for everything everyone else holds important is something I guess, but that’s pretty much all he’s got going for him in compression. I don’t know about you, but I know who I think would carry the conclusion to the series better.

But I also know this isn’t the most popular take among my villain fan colleagues right now. So if anyone disagrees, I welcome any civil discussion about these two & their viability as final boss.

[danger-xylophones]

Can you do something with Cad Bane being jealous? 🥺

One for the bastard man, coming right up. (So sorry this took so freaking long, I fell into a rut and it just wouldn’t go away. But I got this written and I hope you like it!)

“You do know that you don’t have to do that right?” You asked with a wry smile on your face as you glanced out the corner of your eye at the hat-wearing bounty hunter. He huffed in response and tightened his grip on your waist in response, further wringing the fabric of his coat he’d unceremoniously tossed over your senatorial dress. 

“Yes, I do.” He gritted out, voice low and dangerous as he sized up the citizens of Coruscant the two of you passed by. “This place is crawling with scum, doll. And every one of them could be lookin’ for  a way to snatch up a pretty little senator like yourself.” 

You snorted unceremoniously at his statement but pressed closer to him all the same. “Doubtful, Cad. But if it makes you feel better, I won’t complain.” Cad didn’t acknowledge the sentiment out loud but you felt him pull you closer again with a grumpy huff. You giggled at the angry grimace  he wore and reached up to pinch at his chin. “Cheer up, you grump. This is supposed to be a romantic evening.”  

With a growl, he tore his face away and pinched your side in retaliation, eliciting a shriek that you barely managed to stifle. “I’m plenty romantic, izrin. C’mon,” he grunted pulling you in a random direction, “let’s get a drink.”

“Yeah, you’re a real casanova.” You muttered under your breath. Although, in truth, there was little room for disdain - you were just happy to be out with him before your big speech to the galaxy tomorrow. Without comment, Cad maneuvered the two of you through the throng of people to a seedy-looking bar. Upon entering the establishment, your nose was immediately bombarded by the stench of cheap whiskey, sweat, and grime and you had to fight the urge to turn around and head out into the marginally cleaner Coruscant air. But, Bane’s firm grip on your waist reminded you that this was one of the few times you could be with Bane without a real threat of discovery. So, you sucked it up. The bar was filled with people of all species - some clad in armor, others barely clad in anything - and further solidified in your mind that this had to be a hotspot for bounty hunters and criminals. With that realization, you found your own arm winding around Cad’s waist to secure yourself to him. You weren’t scared, per se, just a bit wary of your surroundings suddenly. 

There was a telltale rumble emanating from Cad Bane’s chest and a second later a gentle brush of his hand down the length of your arm. “I got you, izrin, don’ worry.” He mumbled just for you to hear as he continued to quietly chuckle at your discomfort. With all the confidence in the galaxy, Cad led you over to a lonesome booth in the corner of the cantina shrouded in relative darkness. He swept his free hand out to gesture for you to take a seat and you reluctantly let go of him to do so. Cad watched you crowd into the corner of the booth for a moment with crossed arms before humming suddenly, “You want anything?” 

You perked up. “A Nubian Sparkler?” 

“No, doll.” He chuckled at you with a slight tilt of his head causing your face to flush. “They only sell hard stuff here, none of those fruity drinks you senators enjoy so much.” 

“Oh,” you coughed, “nevermind then.” You shifted in the booth and pulled his coat tighter around you. Cad shook his head at you and left without another word, making a beeline for the bar. With your lips pulled into a thin line, you admired the duros leaning on the countertop of the bar from the comfort of the corner of the booth. You were an odd pair, you knew that - a senator and a bounty hunter. Sometimes you wondered how this relationship even came to be and how it continued to work. You knew it had started out as just sex but it had definitely grown into something more. There was this underlying tenderness you couldn’t pinpoint. 

Movement out of the corner of your eye caught your attention. Reluctantly you dragged your eyes away from Cad and to your right just in time to make eye contact with a man who was hesitantly approaching you. But the second your eyes met his, he suddenly started to swagger over to you. He was conventionally attractive with lightly tanned skin from frequent exposure to sun - Tattooine native, perhaps? - fluffy looking red hair, and high cheekbones to balance out his still baby-round cheeks. He had sparse armor that looked brand new and a pistol strapped to his hip that glinted in the low lighting as if it had been freshly polished. Everything about him - from the brand new armor to the arrogant swagger - screamed young and naive. And not your type. Although you knew he probably wouldn’t pick up on the nonverbal signal, you set your face and looked back to the bar where it appeared as though Cad Bane was getting ready to threaten the trandoshan standing next to him. 

“Hey.” Like you had predicted, the man hadn’t picked up on the hint. Inwardly you groaned, already annoyed, but outwardly you just sighed and turned to the hotshot. He was standing at the end of the table with chest puffed out, one hand on his hip, the other on the table as he leaned forward, and one foot crossed over the other so the toe of his boot balanced his leg. You had to fight the urge to laugh when you saw what you thought was meant to be a smirk on his face. You knew it was supposed to make him look confident - all it did was make him comical. 

Boredly, you raised one eyebrow at him and made a purposeful show of sizing him up. After another quick glance at Cad, (who was indeed pointing his blaster at the Trandoshan hunter next to him) you decided to spare the kid his wrath. “Not interested.” You stated with a click of your tongue. His face fell immediately. 

“You didn’t even hear what I was going to say!” He protested, pose faltering, in a higher voice than he had initially greeted you with. 

“Don’t need to, move along.” You remained firm.

“Can I at least get your name?” The man continued, even going so far as to slide into the opposite booth. You bristled immediately. 

“No. End of story. Now move along.” You repeated, going so far as to make a shooing motion at him. Again, you set your face and returned your focus to Cad while remaining keenly aware of the persistent young man that was still seated in the opposing booth. The situation at the bar was escalating at a steady rate (The Trandoshan had his own blaster out now) and so was your agitation with the man as you could feel his gaze on you. 

“Oh, I see...” he mumbled suddenly, startling you enough for you to look at him. He was leaning on his elbows on the table now with fingers tented beneath his chin and a focused gleam in his eyes as he darted his gaze between Cad and you. “You’re interested in Cad Bane.” 

That did pull a huff of laughter from you and you subconsciously wrapped the coat still concealing your high-ranking status closer. “Yeah, that’s a word for it.” 

“Uh huh...well, what if I told you that I could set you up on a date with him?” You froze, trying to process what he had just said whilst fighting the urge to tell him to take a good long look at what you were wearing and what seemed to be missing from the duros bounty hunter. 

“I’d say you’re a dirty liar.” You settled for instead. 

He shook his head frantically, further ruffling his fluffy hair. “No, I can do it - but it’ll cost you.” His face changed, a scheming grin replacing the uncertain and dejected look he’d previously worn. You raised your eyebrow at him again, mildly curious and gestured for him to say his piece. “I want to know your name.”

“And I want to see you follow through on this,” you kept your voice stern, already imagining how well that would go. Although you’d started this interaction wanting to spare him from Cad, now that he was being stupid enough to try coercing you into accepting his invitation you found you didn’t care. A final glance at the bar showed you Cad Bane standing over the body of the Trandoshan, quickly downing a shot of some bright green alcohol. He’d be coming back in a minute.  “I’m Padme.” And he wouldn’t spare the young upstart. 

“Padme...a gorgeous name.” 

At that you did laugh but quickly covered it up with a faux sheepish thank you. “And you are?” 

“Cristen Tiel.” 

You hummed. “I gave you my name - now you go talk to him.” You nodded your head to the duros that was just turning away from the bar to face your booth. You could see the exact moment he noticed whoever this man was because his hand immediately landed on his blaster, his eyes narrowed, and he began to storm over. You glanced at Cristen just in time to see him blanch. A silky laugh slipped from you at the sight. You straightened up in the booth and obnoxiously adjusted the lapels of Cad Bane’s coat along with your hair, making a great show of preening for the approaching bounty hunter. It caught the attention of Cristen and he wilted. With a small smirk of your own cast in his direction, you left the table and stepped in the way of Cad before he got to Cristen. “Cad, your friend here was just telling me about how he could set me up on a date with you.” You purred, letting one hand fall on his chest in both a romantic gesture and a way of forcing Bane to halt.

Without looking away from Cristen who looked about ready to piss himself, Cad’s hands came up to lock onto your waist. “Did he now? Mighty kind of him.” He lowered his voice, dipping into that low drawl you knew he used to intimidate targets. “’Specially considerin’ he owes me for bailing.” 

“B-Bane! Um, I...S’good to see you made it out! Uh...I-I was ju-just keeping...uh, Padme here company!” Cristen stammered out as he hurriedly got to his feet, a loud thunk following when he smacked his knee against the table. 

Wordlessly, Cad looked down at you and you just shrugged in response. “Yeah...” he began, “my fullua is quite charming.” Cad finished in a low voice, one hand creeping around to encircle your waist completely while the other fell to his blaster again. 

Cristen swallowed nervously, eyes darting down to the blaster and back up to Cad and then to you. Calmly, you looked him dead in the eye and mouthed the word ‘run’ and that was all it took for him to start scampering. He didn’t get far though. Just as Cristen got to the door of the cantina, a single blaster bolt cut through the air and speared him right in the back. The young bounty hunter fell forward and landed flat on his face. A hush fell over the bar as patrons looked to the body with the smoking hole in the back. Then, all of a sudden, everyone sprung back to life - completely ignoring what had just happened. The next moment, Cad was pulling you out of the cantina and back out into the Coruscant night life. 

Angry mutterings slipped from the duros, a mix of basic and durese too condensed to make out any words as he roughy cut his way through startled citizens all milling about. You chose not to fight and just let the man lead you wherever he deemed appropriate with an oddly amused smile on your face despite technically just witnessing a homocide (perhaps, Cad was rubbing off of on you more than you realized). 

Cad took a hard left and eventually came to a stop in an alleyway still fuming and muttering about the cantina. He released you almost violently, as though your skin had suddenly burned him, and began pacing in front of you. You took the opportunity to lean against the only clean spot on the wall and fold your arms across your chest. Cad made two more laps before you decided to call out. “Cad.” Nothing. “Cad.” Still, no response but his angry mutterings transitioned fully into durese. “Cad.” You pitched your voice higher and added a lilt but still nothing. Rolling your eyes, you pushed off of the wall with your foot and stepped in front of him. “Cad!” You yelled at him and grabbed his forearms before he had the chance to reach for his blasters out of habit. 

“What?!” He yelled back.

“You need to calm down.” You lowered your voice back to its normal volume and released his arms to cross your own. “We’re not in the cantina any more, there’s no need for you to be this worked up.” 

“I am not worked up.” He huffed. 

“Right, and I’m not in love with a hard ass.” You fired back with a mocking nod of your head. Cad’s jaw tightened at the sass but he ultimately remained quiet. In the silence that followed, you took the opportunity to examine Cad in an effort to pinpoint what exactly was bothering him. With an idea in mind, you glided forward and reached out to cup his face with both hands. “Thank you.” You quietly murmured, watching his face for any minuscule reaction. 

“For what?” He asked, hands settling on your hips this time in a stronger than normal grip. You took a note of it. 

“For dealing with...that back there. He was starting to get on my nerves.” 

“One of the reasons I keep on tellin’ you to carry a blaster.” 

You rolled your eyes at the mention of the ongoing argument. “I would, Cad, but you have to admit it would look a bit strange for a senator to be lugging around an LL30-blaster pistol.” 

“Be attractive though.” He muttered, bowing his head just slightly to brush his lips against your forehead. Your eyes fluttered shut at the feeling as your hands fell to rest against his chest, not exactly use to Bane’s softer side peeking out, but he paused suddenly. “On second thought, maybe you shouldn’t.” 

You eyes flew open and you sent the bounty hunter a disbelieving gape as you received the confirmation to your theory that you needed. “Cad, listen to me.” Your voice grew hard as you snapped your head up to meet his eyes. “I want you to take a good long look at where we are.” Cad, albeit reluctantly, did as he was told before returning his attention to you with a questioning squint. “Look at what I’m wearing.” He gave you a quick once over. “Look at where I am.” While Bane seemed to retreat into his head for a moment, you were quick to curl your fingers into the fabric of his shirt and press your face against his chest, just below his clavicle. “We’re in an alley way on Coruscant, alone, while I’m wearing your coat - a coat, might I add, that you never let anyone touch -  while you’re holding me in your arms.” You lifted your head enough to gently press a kiss to his jaw. “What further proof do you need that I’m yours and that I’m not leaving you?” 

Cad took a moment, letting one of his hands previously resting on your waist travel upwards to the back of your head. With the new positioning, he was able to angle your head upwards and to the side. Finally, he dropped his head enough for him to murmer, “The rest of the galaxy to know,” into your ear. Without warning, Cad was walking you backwards and firmly pressing his lips to yours in a fiery kiss that stole the air from you lungs. Your back met the wall of the alley with a harsh thump that pulled a startled yelp from your throat that was swiftly muffled by Cad’s mouth. Still, he persisted, pressing you against the wall and never straying too far when the need for air arose. You separated again, chest heaving in a hurried attempt to gulp down the much needed air before Cad decided to continue. But, it seemed like the bounty hunter had found something else to concern himself with. While you were distracted, Cad moved to your neck and immediately found his mark high - just under the curve of your jaw - where nothing you owned would cover. You couldn’t even find the energy to be annoyed - too consumed by the feeling of Cad sucking a dark mark into the sensitive skin. 

Slowly, he pulled away and brought his hand up to clasp your chin between his thumb and forefinger. “There,” he hummed with a disarming smirk while he angled your head to the side to examine your neck, “I expect to see that during your speech tomorrow, fullua.” 

[straw-of-the-hat]

I love Kit's and Izuku's friendship. They're my BROTP. So could I bother you to write some headcanons based on their friendship and the shenanigans they get into?

Kit and Izuku shenanigans

These headcanons belong to this story!

✨ Let me just start out by saying they've definitely committed arson.

✨ Kit is the only reason Izuku had any confidence and if anything ever happens to him Izuku is probably going to shrivel up like a piece of month old broccoli and never move again.

✨Tenya is deathly afraid of leaving Kit and Izuku alone together but can't do much considering how close they live to each other. He's never considered himself religious, but by god does that boy pray everytime he sends those two off on their own.

✨Kit somehow managed to get into a fist fight at least once a week on their way home but Izuku has learned to just sit back and watch it go down rather than try and intervene.

✨They both chill at the Midoriya apartment all the time and talk about theoretical plans to overthrow the hero commission and revamp it from the inside.

✨Izuku has written "adopted by All Might" fanfiction and yes Kit knows and will forever hold it over his head. He's printed out four copies and has sent it to fifteen different emails.

✨They try to start a quirkless mafia but it's literally not working and Kit is irrationally angry because most of Japan's quirkless population is made up of old people. Old people with knee problems. As the mafia, they should be the ones causing the knee problems, not experiencing them!

✨Izuku is inspired and decides he absolutely must know how to seduce people. Kit forces Tenya into his demonstration and Izuku has like, half a notebook worth of notes.

✨He practices on Katsuki, naturally. Kit is all for it because Katsuki always comes home looking like he just got blasted in the face with a stream of ice water: shivering, flushed cheeks, wide eyes. It's fucking hilarious.

✨ They're low-key constantly insulting each other. Like all the time. And yet their self-esteem never stops growing? How can they be putting each other down and lifting each other up at he same time it doesn't make sense. Quirkless unity?

✨Kit tried—really, honest to fuck tried—to get Izuku into anything other than one of his weird shirts labeled "pants" or "flannel". He made a gargantuan effort and it just didn't work. Izuku could be a fashion icon if he just let the shirts go. He could be on the runway, and Kit is in agony.

✨They DIYed their own Tenya shirts to irritate him because what else are they supposed to do if not annoy him? They also run an Iida family Stan account on Twitter and worship Tensei like he's some sort of saint. Which I mean, he may as well be.

✨Izuku has never had alcohol so they dressed Denise up in their stolen Endeavor costume and sent him in to go illegally purchase them whatever the nomu could get his hands on. It was white claw but they made do.

✨Izuku starts a blog about Kit and Tenya's relationship and Kit knows this yet can't find a way to permanently delete it. It just pops back up and Izuku rags on them publicly for their PDA. It's brutal. The commenters are so cutthroat.

✨They stole a minivan once because Izuku used his pay to buy a rare, life-sized All Might statue off of eBay and they had no way to transport it. Where did Izuku even learn how to hotwire?

✨Denise does have a crush on the statue and they're not going to tell All Might this nor are they going to do anything about it. It's comedic relief at it's finest. Plus Inko really enjoys setting up fake dates for the statue and Denise because it makes the Nomu so impossibly happy. Who are they to get in the way of that?

✨They make a Chad shrine in every public bathroom they find and there's sort of a thing about it on Reddit that's slowly growing in size. I.E., they accidentally made Chad his own cult. They're both too afraid to tell Tenya.

✨They bully Katsuki on purpose and it's so fun. He gets so scared. Kit is already teaching Izuku how to take him down in a one on one fight without a quirk and by the time Izuku gets to UA he will be unstoppable.

✨They like to dress Luis the Chihuahua up in little outfits and post them on the Instagram he made for them. They're both way too invested in it. It's a miracle that dog isn't dead with own old and decrepit it is, honestly.

✨They have six different secret handshakes and they all mean different things.

✨Kit is GOING to give Izuku a haircut one day soon, even if he has to knock him out to get it done.

✨Why does Kit literally make Izuku livid what the fuck. Izuku used to be fine. Docile, if you will. Now he's just irritated and drenched in sarcasm that he can't stop from pouring out. Yet he also adores him. Where is the line and when did they cross it?

✨ Izuku's still too afraid to ask for ketchup at a restaurant. That's what Kit is for, Izuku supposes.

✨Izuku writes down any kink Kit alludes to ever for the sole purpose of later shaming him. Oh, and giving Tenya a heads up. Poor guy has no idea what's going on.

✨ They kill it at dance dance revolution

✨Kit is always trying to hook Izuku up with anyone hot they come across. He just knows Izuku would thrive in a relationship.

✨ He's sort of eyeing Shoto Todoroki for the role, actually. He and Izuku would be cute, right?

✨Izuku knows all of Kits passwords and sometimes breaks into his Instagram just to screenshot all the thirst messages the other boy gets and sends them to Tenya. Tenya gets so offended and Kit is left to deal with the aftermath. Absolutely hilarious.

✨Izuku knows how to disarm pretty much any type of bomb you can think of and teaches Kit all he knows. In return, Kit takes him to a casino and shows him the ways of poker

✨Kit is really good at poker and that makes people made and yes they are now running for their lives

✨Izuku always carries a pair of emergency shoes for Kit even though he knows they'll just be lost. Better safe than sorry.

✨Kit, in parallel, has a variety of fidget toys hidden on his person at any given time in case Izuku finds himself feeling anxious

✨Kit once sat on Izuku's shoulders and they wore a really longe trench coat to break into Best Jeanist's main fashion department building to steal his runway plans so they could know what they were up against

✨They outclassed him in every imaginable way

✨Izuku literally dissociates anytime Kit opens his mouth to talk about Tenya. He doesn't want to know. TMI. Time out. No.

✨Kit dared Izuku to go up to Endeavor in disguise during his patrol and pretend to ask for an autograph and instead knee him in the balls.

✨Izuku's chosen disguise was a full sonic the hedgehog costume and he did in fact knee endeavor in the crotch. And yes, it's a meme now

✨ They have an Endeavor hate chant

✨Izuku really wants to add All Might merch to the Suzuko line and Kit just thinks he's a nerd and a suck up. All might is already his teacher and now he wants designer clothes with his face on it? Too far, man. Too far.

✨They have matching jeans that they definitely didn't steal when they broke into Jeanist's fashion depot.

✨Overall they're an unstoppable and rather irritating force to be reckoned with and will stop at nothing to wreck havoc, much to Tenya's disdain.

[portsidewonderland]

Okay, I’ve been wanting to write this for the last three weeks, but I’m finally - finally - sitting down to do just that.

First, I’m a Rogan shipper. I’ve been a Rogan shipper for the last 20 years, but in that time, I’ve grown, I’ve experienced my own sense of love, and I’m a writer so I’d like to think I’m familiar with structure, characterization, and the like.

Second, I’m focused on the film franchise, strictly speaking. Just wanted to make sure that is clear.

Having said that, when I discuss how utterly wrong the X-Men franchise is, I’m talking about from a story standpoint. When I speak of Logan and Rogue, if that ship isn’t your jam, fine, but the points I make still stand.

Finally, spoiler alert for all of the movies.

Okay, I think we’re ready to jump in.

1. After the first movie, everyone forgot the heart of what made the first movie so special: Wolverine & Rogue

I don’t necessarily mean together. I mean, the movie focused primarily on Logan’s story and Rogue’s story. It was told through THEIR POV. This is important because, essentially, we’re asked to connect with these two characters AND WE DO.

The dialogue, the acting, and their stories (which reflect each other’s as well as stand on their own) draw us in and we are hooked.

Even the critics thought some of the best scenes are the ones Logan and Marie share together. Multiple critics discuss chemistry, how they add to the scene, etc.

Regardless of whether you ship them or not, there’s a compelling story between the two. This vulnerable, slip of a girl is the most powerful X-men out there (or one of) and this growly, fierce angry, broken man who’s been alone for so long that out of everyone he’s met and seen, THIS girl brings him to his knees.

And it’s because she isn’t scared of him.

Even after watching him beat the shit out of his opponent, even after seeing the claws threaten humans and slice through a barrel of a gun, she still thinks, I can trust him.

And when he catches her in his trailer, she STILL isn’t afraid of him. She gives him lip. She calls him out on his shit.

That’s how she manages to slide through the cracks.

And that is BEAUTIFUL.

I’m not here to talk about the performances, but Jesus Christ, I love this scene so damn much. The chemistry RADIATES. The glances, the confusion, the curiosity, and the attraction. (Sorry not sorry, it’s there on both parts, I’ll die on this hill.)

Anyway, the first movie is about how this girl brings the savage, feral Wolverine to his knees. How she gets him to STAY. How she gets him to open up.

Yes, Logan wants info on his past, but he’s staying for Marie. We all know it.

When he threatens Jean after first waking up, Jean is scared. And for good reason, obviously.

But Logan STABS Marie with his claws, and guess what? She’s still not scared of him. She’s worried about him.

This is THEIR story.

Do you really think Wolverine is going to go running around in leather for anyone but Marie? Yeah, I don’t think so. I mean, he literally STABS HIMSELF IN THE CHEST to free himself and get to her.

He PROMISES her that he’d take care of her. Do you think Wolverine bullshits? Hell no, he doesn’t.

And that’s why....

2. The whole Jean thing was just not great.

Okay, can I tell you something?

I don’t see Jean as a sympathetic character. She’s engaged to Scott and suddenly, Wolverine comes strolling in and she can’t get her shit together?

I mean, okay, I get it, let’s be real.

But Scott isn’t a bad guy. He nay be a dick, but he treats Jean well. Because we’re not in Cyclops’ or Jean’s head, we as the audience don’t see any marital/romantic issues between them. Hence, when Jean gets flustered by Wolverine to the point where she lets him goad her into reading his mind, she knows what she’s doing. She likes it. She likes Logan’s attention.

Not because she likes Logan.

(I read this fic where basically Jean tells Logan he could have been anybody, and I thought that was so perfect)

But because he’s giving her attention. He makes her feel desired.

And she leads him on.

Right there, I don’t like her, and I think that’s why a lot of Rogan shippers don’t like her is that she has no problem toying not only with Logan’s feelings, but with Scott’s.

But that’s not even the worst part of this.

At the end, when Logan asks for Marie and Jean makes her comment, she adds, “I think she’s taken with you.”

Like - why would Jean say that? Why mention it?

That’s petty ass shit right there.

To me, what she’s trying to do is align herself with Logan as adults and belittle Marie for having a little crush on him. Like it’s so juvenile.

And the worst line of this whole movie is when he says, “Tell her my heart belongs to another.”

Want to know why?

Because the writers/director haven’t SHOWN this. This line is forced here to TELL the audience that we should be shipping Jean and Wolverine. It’s sloppy writing. It tells me they think the audience are idiots.

Really, Logan?

Jean has your heart even though you completely go against Tall Dark and Feral to pick up a girl, then stay at the school with her, leave a fucking mansion to bring her back, make a promise to her, go after her after she’s kidnapped, stab yourself in the chest, fling yourself on the Statue of Liberty AND RISK YOUR FUCKING LIFE TO SAVE ROGUE’S JUST BY TOUCHING HER and you want me to believe your heart belongs to Jean????

Please, tell me, why the FUCK should I buy that?

Oh, because they’re the same age?

LOL no.

Anyway, I didn’t like Jean’s characterization because of that. Because she’s leading people on, because she needs to put down Marie’s feelings after her ordeal because of her insecurity, because of it all.

Which is why I’ll never ship them together.

Logan is at his worst when he’s around Jean.

Anyway.

And Jean is just the worst.

3. They took something meaningful and they fucked it

Logan promises to take care of Rogue. Do you know important that is for both of them as individuals and their relationship?

Rogue only goes back because of Logan. Not for anyone else. Not even Bobby. She comes back, she stays, for Logan.

Where do we see that after the second movie?

He’s so goddamned focused on Jean, on everything about her, that he barely notices that Rogue is ready to get the cure.

I’m GLAD they got a scene together. Because of their looks.

I am.

But shit.

It’s like Logan has completely forgotten all about Rogue, and I’m sorry, but after that first movie, I just can’t buy that.

I can buy that he leaves to check out his past. The dog tag scene is one of my absolute favorites. That’s perfect. Makes sense.

(Also, side note: Fic is so beautiful about this but he isn’t afraid to touch her. Like, he doesn’t HAVE to play with her hair but he does. It’s playful and flirty. It IS. He could have just said he liked her hair BUT HE HAD TO TOUCH IT. And this is HUGE for Rogue because honestly SHE’S afraid to touch and of herself but if Logan isn’t afraid, she stops being afraid - if that makes sense.)

But seriously? He’s not calling the mansion, not writing to Rogue?

I don’t believe that for one second.

This is why I will never watch The Wolverine after that first time (I refuse especially after the director said he was contemplating adding Rogue at the end and didn’t and FUCK EVERYTHING.) because he just leaves because he’s upset about fucking JEAN

I’m sorry but the Wolverine isn’t ABOUT Jean.

If that was the case, we should have had point of views between Logan and Jean in the first movie, not Rogue.

We should have SEEN their development, but we didn’t.

We’re TOLD it.

I’m sorry, but how do you want me to believe that the big bad Wolverine runs off to Japan because he’s sad about Jean? Like, so he’s just going to leave Rogue alone with all of those threats? Are you fucking kidding me?

Show them keeping in touch or SOMETHING. You can’t expect me to see such a huge transformation arc in Logan in the first movie that just gets shit on in every other movie (besides the second). Because that makes Wolverine look like a big, gigantic ASSHOLE and I get that he’s supposed to be that way, but NOT with Rogue.

Which is why Days of Future Past pisses me off as much of the rest them (I’m only discussing the Rogue Cut because I refuse to acknowledge that Bryan Singer - who gave us the first movies - regulated Rogue to such a fucking small cameo.) because Rogue was treated as garbage.

Now, I’m going to assume Logan doesn’t know about what really happened to Rogue because no one told him. But honestly? If he cares about Rogue the way I know he does, he should be asking about her every single time he and Xavier talk.

I love that Logan can sense Rogue when she steps in to help. I love that Rogue refuses to let go of Logan’s mind even in the heart of danger (@bigfrogbestfrogs has an awesome breakdown of these scenes). But I’m appalled at how Kitty is chosen before Rogue? Like, even when coming up with the idea for this movie, why not involve Rogue more?

I refuse to discuss Bobby and her together at the end.

Fuck that.

4. The timelines

Look, I’m not even going to go into the shit that is the timelines.

But honestly?

Fuck everything about that.

I get Singer wanted to retcon X3, but I don’t care.

Based on Apocalypse, the future still sucks so everything failed and then the movie LOGAN takes that shit and amplifies it.

5. LOGAN (the movie)

I’m sorry, but this movie is amazing in some ways and sucks in others.

Want to know why?

Because it takes everything about what made the first movie great and emphasized it.

Laura is too young to be a love interest, so clearly, it’s paternal, and I’m here for it.

But there are so many parallels between logan and Laura and Logan and Rogue that for Logan not to say anything or feel anything in a way tgat tells the audience he’s feeling something just boggles my mind.

Even if he carried HER picture or played with the dog tags and thought of her, something that shows the audience he remembers her, dammit, and she MEANT something to him.

But FUCK how could he NOT?

And that’s why the scene where he’s reading that comic book and he sees himself saving Rogue is so poignant.

Because his gaze lingers.

I mean, obviously I’m assuming she’s dead (which is bullshit but whatever). But still.

And then when he’s dying and Laura is holding his hands and you get that prophecy of him dying with his heart in his hand and I loved how they paired it with the Logan and Rogue song. I loved that callback.

And if the films in between them weren’t such shit, it would be enough.

But it’s not enough for me.

There was so much potential and everything got shit on and it angers me soooo much.

Anyway.

That’s me venting.

Luckily we have so many talented Rogan fic writers and that our ship has survived 20 years.

But still.

What could have been...

Shit.

[kaimelia]

interns

a/n: okay here's a little thing I wrote super quickly so it's a little random but! I know people are more interested in canon compliant fics (which tourist is not) so here's this!

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

"He's just so nice." Amelia glanced up, looking towards the group of interns that had gathered at the end of the nurses' station, their voices hushed as they crowded together. "I mean, half the attendings won't even look at us, and he already knows all of our names."

"It's our first day; you can't expect them to care about us."

"But he does! I may just go into ortho now. Do you think he's single?" Amelia bit her lip, smiling as she listened in to their conversation, diverting her eyes back to the tablet in her hands.

"He was talking about a son, but he doesn't wear a ring."

"Single Dad? That's hot," an intern muttered, throwing her blonde hair over her shoulder.

"He may not be single, Em. Some people aren't married."

"What kind of woman would have a kid with a man like that and not marry him? Come on, have you seen him?" Amelia rolled her eyes, looking over once more to take note of who was there. The blonde woman, who the other interns had referred to as 'Em,' was twirling her hair around her finger, gawking at a photo on his phone. "I found his Facebook. He doesn't have his relationship status up, and all his pictures are of his kid. I'm placing money on single Dad."

"Or maybe, he just doesn't put it on the internet. Ever thought of that? Privacy is nice," a male intern added, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Says the one with no digital footprint. I googled your name to see absolutely nothing besides a graduation list. Dr. Gregory Collins does not exist online."

"For a reason. Maybe Lincoln just doesn't feel the need to post a picture every time he sees a dog on the street."

"What if he's gay?" Another intern whispered, covering her mouth with her hand.

"How would he end up with a kid, then? Good one, Kayla."

"It could be his nephew, or he adopted?" Kayla shrugged her shoulders, her arms extended in suggestion. "We live in a progressive world; you never know."

"Will they kick me out of the program if I sleep with an attending?"

"Are you really going to try and seduce him? Because that's quite possibly the most idiotic thing I've ever heard." Meredith walked up to Amelia's side, reaching for a tablet from the stand and logging in.

"Shh," Amelia whispered, tilting her head in the direction of the interns. "They're talking about Link. I'm eavesdropping." Meredith rolled her eyes and opened her chart.

"Greg, you're just jealous because his thing is probably bigger than yours."

"That has nothing to do with this. I'm saying that you shouldn't go around trying to sleep with the chief of orthopedic surgery when we've been in this hospital for less than a day." He glanced down at his phone. "I've gotta go; Pierce is paging me. Please don't do anything stupid, Em." Meredith raised her eyebrows.

"They think he's single?" Amelia nodded her grin wide. "And you're fine with them talking about sleeping with him?"

"Come on, it's kind of funny! And when they find out we're dating, they'll stop; it's all innocent in the long run. I'm not worried about Link sleeping with an intern, and I'm pretty sure if that blonde one tried to make a move, he would freak out and never put her on his service again." Meredith shook her head in amusement.

"If you wanna really freak them out, text Link to come over here, make them see that you've heard everything and that you're his girlfriend." Amelia's face lit up, and she pulled out her phone, texting Link.

"His kid is cute. I love kids; I could be a good stepmom."

"You're at the start of your career, do you really want to start parenting a kid? That kid looks like he's four or something; you would be tied to that kid for fourteen years."

"For that man, I would. Have you seen him?" At that moment, the doors opened, and Link came walking through, a grin on his face. "Dr. Lincoln!" The interns stood up straighter as he passed, a blush creeping onto the blonde one's face. Link offered them a half-wave, casually walking backward until he playfully bumped into Amelia's body, wrapping his arm around her waist and kissing the top of her head.

"So, why'd you want me here?" Amelia looked up at him before her eyes darted to the side, seeing the interns staring at them.

"Those interns were talking about you and how they would be willing to be a mother to your child because you're that hot," she muttered, leaning up to kiss him. "And now they're super freaked out and will be scared of me for the next month because they know that I heard everything they said."

"Did I say something wrong? To make them think I was interested? I wasn't trying to do anything-"

"No, you were just being a decent human being, but interns see that as you offering to shove your hand down their pants," Amelia grinned and kissed him again. "You're supposed to be mean to the interns."

"Have some sympathy for them; we were interns once. You remember how much that sucked?" He dropped his hands to her hips and cocked his head to the side. "Okay, well, seeing as you don't actually need me for anything, I'm gonna go make sure none of the interns have killed my patient."

"You're picking up Scout tonight, right?"

"Yup. I love you!" He waved goodbye, jogging past the interns again, whose faces were flushed.

"They look like you just killed their puppies," Meredith laughed, a huge grin on her face. "I've missed torturing the interns."

"It definitely shouldn't be this fun."

[eirist]

Little Bits and Pieces of Heaven

EVENING OF THE SEVENTH

One-shot #: 29

Disclaimer: One Piece (and its characters) belongs to Eiichiro Oda-sensei.

Reminder: I have no beta-reader. Any grammatical and spelling errors are solely mine.

Warning: OOC possible. One shot.

Rating: T

Note: For @bloodshot13​. You wanted a Japanese Festival. AU. So here it is. I must say it is an awesome suggestion and would be a pity if it’s only going to be a drabble. Besides the story itself wanted to be a bit longer so I yielded. Enjoy!

I used the Japanese Tanabata Festival for this hence the title. And for wordplay reason as well. I think this festival is a good choice of setting for these two’s not-so-perfect first date.

Summary: Not all first dates are perfect. And with Zoro and Nami… this shouldn’t come as a surprise at all.

“You’re late.”

A pout appeared on pinkish lips before a familiar I-knew-it-look appeared on Nami’s face as she stared him down.

Zoro scratched the back of his head. “It’s nothing new,” he retorted—a bit weakly though—trying to justify why he made her wait for him for a good fifteen minutes.

“I shouldn’t be surprised,” she deadpanned. “It’s a miracle you even made it here.”

Zoro glared at her for that comment.

Nami glared back… more viciously. “Zoro, this place is just a ten minute walk from your apartment! Fifteen from mine and I still got here before you!” She explained with a huff.

“I’m here now aren’t I?”

Nami regarded him with eyes promising excruciating pain solely for him.

“If this is your idea of dating a girl, you definitely suck Zoro.”

“Oi!”

It didn’t occur to the green-haired idiot that Nami hated standing alone at festival’s entrance, waiting for him to arrive. It didn’t helped that a lot of couples who passed by gave her lingering, wondering gazes before whispering to each other making her feel uncomfortable.

“Let’s just go,” Nami spun around to leave him still scratching his dumb head. “We’re wasting time.” She said it in a rather curt tone that made Zoro feel dread coiling inside his stomach.

Damn it! They barely made it past the festival entrance and Nami’s already mad at him.

It only took three strides for him to catch up to her as she entered the festival street. It was filled with people of all ages. Japanese lanterns hung overhead lighting the whole place, along with decorations made from colorful papers in different shapes. There were ornamental balls with their colorful streamers everywhere while stalls for food, games and other items for sell bordered both sides. Children ran around them, as their parents breathlessly tried to catch up, warning them that they might get lost.

“Oi Nami,” he called as the orange-haired girl pouted her way through the festival’s jam-packed and noisy street. “Come on. Wipe that sulky look off your face.”

“Hmph!”

“Fine!” He huffed, feeling his temper flare at her tantrum.

Nami tried to hurry away from him and Zoro rolled his eye as her effort was futile while wearing a yukata.

He followed her with a scoff as she continued making her way through crowd, ignoring the stalls around them. She was heading at the end of the street where a bridge leading to the temple was situated. It was lit up with the same lanterns that were hanging above them. Bamboo trees lined up its sides decorated with tanzaku in different colors.

“Nami.”

“What?!” She hissed barely glancing at him as she continued walking, her wooden sandals clicking angrily at every step.

“Why are you angry? I arrived here didn’t I?”

She stopped in front of a stall selling candy apples and chocolate bananas and stared at him in disbelief.

The idiot had forgotten that they agreed to meet an hour earlier than what their friends had set so they could enjoy the festival together without any interruptions.

Nami didn’t bother reminding him of that. What’s the use? Instead she just pressed some fingers to her temple to subdue the impending headache that is Zoro.

They still haven’t made it past ten minutes together and she’s ready to kick the living daylights out of his moronic ass.

“Ugh. I give up,” she groaned after a few seconds, shoulders slumping dejectedly.

“What now?” Zoro growled at her.

Nami lifted her eyes to glare at him again. This was supposed to be a sort-of-‘romantic’ evening between the two of them.

They finally agreed to try and move their relationship one step further a week ago… from long-time friends to lovers finally…

She thought that this festival is the perfect opportunity to test the waters for their first ‘date’.

Did she honestly she believed things are going to be easy with this man? Not when it looks like Zoro still has to grasp the concept of ‘dating’.

This will definitely take a lot of work. A damn LOT of work!

She let out an exasperated sigh and Zoro’s brows furrowed.

“Let’s just go hang wishes on those bamboos and wait for the others so we can enjoy this festival.” Nami mumbled as she turned away from him for the second time that night, practically giving up the thought that they can pull off anything akin to a date at this festival.

Zoro frowned at what she said. Wait for the others so they can enjoy tonight?

Her statement actually hit a spot.

Weren’t they were supposed to enjoy this together? Wasn’t that the plan?

He ran a hand along his hair in frustration and followed her silently.

This time Nami was not hurrying away from him. She strode ahead in a cool manner, head shifting left and right as she observed the stalls lining the street.

His frown deepened.

Ok, maybe it’s his mistake for being late. But it’s not his fault he kept ending up on the other side of the street from the where the festival is taking place! It was too crowded and the directions posted for its location were confusing.

He had circled the area thrice before he spotted Nami—looking really pretty in her mikan-patterned, light-green yukata with her hair up in a side bun and decorated with a bouquet-like kanzashi, its dangling beads swinging slightly from her movement.

There were curling wisps of her orange hair framing her face and it made him want to reach out and touch them just to feel their softness against his fingers.

Zoro clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, mentally chastising himself as he recalled the look on Nami’s face earlier as she peered in the crowd waiting for him to show up.

It dawned into him that he didn’t like that expression on her.

He reached out to grasped her hand in his, stopping Nami in her tracks.

“Hey… I’m sorry ok?”

Nami looked surprised with what he said. She looked down and blinked at their joined hands disbelievingly before shifting her eyes up at him.

Then she pursed her lips as if trying to stop herself from smiling at him.

“You’re an idiot Zoro.”

“Yeah, I know.”

This time she didn’t fight the smile that wanted to appear on her lips.

“I should’ve expected this,” she said with a roll of her eyes as she squeezed his hand that was still clasping hers. “Next time… I’ll just pick you up in your apartment to save us time.” She stared straight in his eye, daring him disagree with her.

“Fine.” He answered and Nami looked startled at how easily he agreed. “If it saves me from your pouts and sulking as we—OUCH!”

Nami deliberately stepped on his feet with her wooden sandal with a cheeky smile on her face.

“I’ll make you regret saying that.”

It was Zoro’s turn to groan.

She tugged at his hand, urging him to continue moving forward into a less crowded spot near the bridge.

“Honestly… I’m looking forward spending this time with you,” she admitted quietly as they stood near the stall that sells tanzaku.

“I know,” he nodded and gazed at her seriously. He reached out to touch the curling wisp of her hair with his fingers. He was right. It was soft. “Me too.”

This one hour spent alone with him is precious for her and it is the same for him. They are still at beginning of their relationship… their friends still doesn’t have any inkling about the change in their status yet.

Nami had the right to be pissed at him earlier because he just wasted some of what was supposedly their time together.

They smiled at each other before Nami gave the sleeve of his yukata a rather hard yank.

“Let’s go Zoro! We still have a lot to do before the others are here.” Her tone immediately turned domineering as she pulled him towards tanzaku stall. “We need to hang our wishes on those bamboos first!”

Zoro just snorted and she grinned back at him.

“And you still have to treat me with some yakitori and candy apples!”

“Hah? Why should I do that?!”

“This is a date Zoro! The guy usually shelves out the cash when you’re out on a date!”

“You witch! You’re just trying to get back at me for being late!”

Nami gave him her most dazzling smile.

“That too… And we still have to check all the stalls with those games. You promised me goldfishes remember?” She pointed at the stall for goldfish scooping.

“I have?”

“Yeah… you did…” Nami glowered at him. “You’re bragging about your scooping skills the other day. And we made a bet on how many you’ll really be able to catch.”

Zoro laughed. That they did. “Fine, I’ll catch you some alright?” He conceded and gave her a soft smile that made Nami melt on the spot.

He reached for her hand again as she lead them towards their first agenda for the night.

They still have half an hour to enjoy their date without their cheeky friends intruding. Well… if worst comes to worst… he and Nami can just sneak away from them to enjoy the fireworks and the rest of the festival together.