#but kept the bandana and vest idea

[uncharted-constellations]

One of the only links i’d already redesigned but he gets an update too.

Hes tied with oot link for funniest yell

[recuira]

after hours

after hours : a live action buggy x fem!reader fanfiction

for some odd reason, you have no idea who he is. and he fucking loved that.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

chapter one chapter two

chapter three | waves. wanted. wasted.

his pov;

A few weeks passed by and I had not heard from or seen Y/N. It worried me but due to her emotional episode the last time we spoke, I decided to allow her a bit of space without me breathing down her shoulder. It was difficult, but I sufficed. It was odd enough that I had a slight obsession with the poor girl, why must I infest her life as well?

Part of me believed she needed me. Like at any moment, I could sweep in and save her from whatever danger or predicament she was in. I wanted to be there for her. But it deemed up to her whether that could happen or not.

And due to her absence, I took up drinking again.

Stupid, I know.

But I was alone with my thoughts. I wanted to at least drown them out. So I sat by myself night after night, sitting on someone's old fishing boat, a warm bottle of beer in my hand. After the third bottle, which was tossed on the deck, I laid back, arms folding behind my head as I attempted to count each star in the sky without thinking of her. But the farthest I could ever go was seven. After seven, Y/N's sweet, precious smile wafted through my mind like smell of her decadent perfume. Vanilla and coconut. God, I missed it.

I repeated this each night. And tonight, I kept up with the schedule. But I only counted to six before her laughter soothed my aching heart. I smiled to myself, my eyes closing as I thought of her- thought of us. I imagined how pleasant it would be to wake up next to her. To see her sleeping stature as she buried her face into one of the pillows, surrounded by both my arms and blankets would be such a heavenly slight.

The alcohol did nothing to me.

I was still sober no matter how much I drank.

But I was drunk on her.

I shook my head and sat up, taking one last swig of beer before standing up. I gripped the neck of the bottle tightly then tossed it into the calm sea, watching it dip below the surface before it bobbed back to the top. I observed as the tides crashed, causing the boat to glide along the waves. It was a simple sight, but I wanted more. I wanted to be entertained. I didn't want to be alone.

Ever since- no, no, no. I'm not going to think about that.

I left the trash of empty beer bottles and crawled off of the ship, making my way back to the rocky dock. I made my way down the street, not spotting a single soul. It was rather unusual due to the swarms of pirates this small town received. But it was quiet. And I liked it. The sounds of the black shoes echoed as I stepped forward then walked down a small stairway, heading down to the place I liked to call home. It wasn't anything too special, but it was mine. It was somewhere I could be completely alone and relax.

I nudged the stone door open then shut it behind me, the sound of it slamming a little too loud for my liking. I squinted and fumbled around for the lantern that lit up the small abode. I used the dim moonlight to spot the box of matches and I used one to lit the lantern.

I stumbled to my bed, pressing my left foot against my right calf to discard of my shoe, then I repeated it with the other foot. I unbuttoned the striped vest I wore and let it slide down onto the floor. I pulled off the bandana around my neck, dropping it. A puddle of clothing sat by my bedside. Once I was finished, I laid down on the left side of the bed, my arm slung over my forehead.

But a rapid banging noise erupted, causing my body to jump up. It almost felt like I was falling.

Rubbing my eyes, I looked at the door and groaned.

What drunken idiot decided to disturb me tonight?

I slapped my hands over my ears and closed my eyes but the knocking continued, only growing more frequent and forceful. I couldn't take the loud banging anymore and I pushed myself up from the bed, starting to the door. I grabbed the rusted doorknob and yanked it open. I was seething at this point. Who, in their right mind, would disrupt someone's sleep at this hour?

The door opened quickly and I buried my face in my hand, growling. "What the fuck do you want?"

"Oh, I- I'm sorry."

What?

I dropped my hands and my eyes widened upon the sight of Y/N standing in front of me, her hands buried into the pockets of the coat she wore. My coat. "Oh, fuck," I muttered. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was you. Y/N, I didn't mean it."

She waved her hands and smiled. "Don't worry about it, it's okay," She said and her eyes trailed down to look at my body. "Uhm, did I come at a bad time?" She pointed at my shirtless figure.

I cocked an eyebrow then met where her eyes were looking and I gasped, stepping back. For the first time, most likely ever, I felt embarrassed. "No, no, I was just heading to bed," I said with a yawn. I stood back, pulling the door open. "Want to come in?"

"Yeah, thank you."

Y/N took a step inside and I closed the door behind her. I watched her closely as she walked toward my bed then took a seat on it, her hands folding in her lap. Apart from the jacket, she was only wearing a black shirt with baby blue shorts. Her eyes dropped to stare at my discarded clothing which I quickly kicked to the corner of the room. She laughed at this then her hands slapped together. An uncomfortable silence fell upon us, the only noise heard being the crackling of the flame inside the lantern. Hesitating, I started toward the bed then took a seat beside her, maintaining a distance between us. Her head dropped to look at her hands. "So," She began, fiddling with her fingers. "I'm sorry to intrude like this, I just-"

"How did you know where I lived?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as I turned my head to look at her.

"Oh, well, uh-" She scratched the back of her neck and clenched her jaw. "It sounds really weird so please don't call me creepy but I saw you a week or so ago. You were sitting on a boat. I followed you back to your home but before I could talk to you, you headed inside. I know it sounds so weird and I promise I wasn't stalking you! I was just too nervous to talk to you," She admitted, her head dropping into her hands.

So, I wasn't the only one. I smirked to myself and I watched her, admiring how nervous and timid she was. I tilted my head. "Don't worry, it's okay. Don't be scared to talk to me, though. I don't bite."

The girl chuckled, nodding her head. "I wanted to give you your coat back. I really appreciated the gesture but I don't want to take anymore from you than I already have," She mumbled as she let the sleeves fall from her shoulders. She folded the clothing and sit it on my lap. "And I don't have your money yet, I'm sorry."

"Y/N, don't apologize. I told you you didn't need to pay me back."

"But I can't accept it without paying you back. You've already done so much for me. You lent me your jacket, paid for my meal, listened to my woes, and gave me forty-three hundred berries. You're doing too much for me. I don't deserve it."

"You do deserve it. What makes you think you don't?"

"I don't know. It's stupid."

"Y/N, come on, tell me," I begged, reaching to put my hand on her shoulder. I was still wondering why she was here. Well, I understood, but why so late? It was well past midnight. Did she realize how dangerous it was to walk alone at this god forsaken hour?

"If I tell you, you need to tell me your problems, okay?" She said with a stern tone that I've never heard before. It was hot.

I held my hands up, nodding my head. "Yes, alright." I scooted back, letting myself rest against the pillows. I folded my arms over my chest, still feeling slightly exposed. “Oh, uh, do you want something to drink?”

“Do you have anything other than beer?”

“Not really, no,” I admitted with a sheepish grin.

“Then I’m okay.”

I bobbed my head then proceeded to remain quiet.

“I just- I’m just me, ya know? I’m not anyone special. Yeah, I have a sad life because my dad left and I have not a single berry to my name, but other than that, I’m like everyone else. I don’t like pirates, I hate alcohol, and I eat dessert before the main course. How am I so different?” She threw her hands up to exaggerate her point. “Why are you doing all this for me? I don’t get it.”

“I see myself in you, or something. I don’t know.” I didn’t want to tell her how infatuated I was with her. Well, I wanted to, but how could I? She’d either run back home or tell me she wasn’t interested. Who would be interested with a nose like mine?

I grimaced to myself. “You’re a nice girl. And you seem sad all the time. I never see you smile. I’m always smiling.”

“That’s because it’s painted on your face.”

I clenched my jaw. “Good point. But you know what I mean. There’s a lot more to life than sadness. I get it, it’s hard. Life fucking sucks sometimes. Before I met you, I was, uhm, I wasn’t that great of a person. I was mean, conniving, evil, some would say. I was an asshole. I was selfish. But I decided to give that all up and move on, start a new life. Being sad and depressive all of the time just causes you to miss our on the good things. I get to see the sun shining each morning. I get to share a meal with a friend like you. Hell, I am fortunate enough to know someone like you. I want to help you. I was in your boat. And now I wanna help you back to shore,” I said as I reached out and let my hand rest on her thigh. Not in a perverted way, no, but as a way of expressing my deepest condolences for her.

Y/N frowned and let her hand rest on my own. “I don’t feel like I deserve it. I don’t give you anything in return.”

“You give me your friendship, your presence. I’m lucky to be friends with someone like you.”

“You consider us friends?”

“Well,” I gulped. “If that’s alright.”

“No, it is. I think we’re friends. too.”

I smiled at that. “Good.”

“Buggy,” The girl started, removing her hand from mine. “This is a big question and you already do so much for me. I’d hate to ask any more from you.”

“Go on.”

“Can I stay here? Just for tonight?”

“What? Of course you can. My home is your home.”

“My mom and I had a little fight earlier and I got kicked out for the night. I told her how I felt about my father and she told me she held no grudge toward him. That I was disrespecting him by saying I hated him for what he did,” She frowned and dropped her head. “Is that so wrong of me?”

“Of course not. You’re entitled to your own feelings.”

“Thank you, Buggy.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Y/N nodded her head, sending a warm smile my way. It was such a heavenly sight. So beautiful, so sacred. To see someone as precious as her so sad made my heart ache. I could physically feel it. But I was determined to make her feel better. I wanted to show her that laughter truly is the best medicine.

I watched her closely, admiring the soft features on her face. She was perfect- beyond perfect, even. She was a goddess. And I’d worship the ground beneath her feet if I could.

“What time is it?” She asked.

“I think around two in the morning. It’s very late. Are you tired?”

“A little, yeah. I just had a long day.”

“Go to sleep then, come on.” I pushed myself up and off of the bed, landing on my bare feet. I pulled the sheets down and allowed for Y/N to crawl underneath them. She was shivering. “Do you want to wear the coat?”

“If it’s okay, please.”

I smirked. “Of course it is.”

The girl slipped her arms through and wrapped the lapels around herself before tucking the sheets around her body. Her head rested on the pillows and she hummed, a small smile settling on her face. “So cozy.”

“I know. It’s perfect for when I need my beauty sleep.”

“Oh, come on, you don’t need beauty sleep,” She mumbled, turning to let her cheek rest atop the pillow. Her eyes closed, her long eyelashes casting a dim shadow along her cheeks.

What did that mean?

I peeked an eyebrow up as I stared down upon the restful angel, watching as she made herself comfortable.

“Have a nice sleep, Y/N.”

“Where are you sleeping,” She asked, her eyes closed.

“Don’t worry about me. Just get some shut eye.”

“I’m sorry for stealing your bed.”

“I’d lend you the very clothes off my back if it were to help you.” I patted the bed. “Now, come on, get some sleep.”

The girl nodded her head and remained silent now. Her lips parted as she breathed softly through them. How is it she looked even more angelic when she was sleeping?

I decided to follow my own advice and attempt to get some sleep. While not comfortable, I didn’t care. I say against the bed, resting my head back against the soft mattress, my eyes closing, and my arms folded across my chest.

It took a while but I fell asleep before I knew it.

-=-

her pov;

I woke up with a sudden jerk, my body tensing as I sat up. A soft groan left my lips and I bawled up my hands to rub at my tired eyes. It was still completely dark out. The small window allowed little-to-no light inside which was nice if I was able to fall back asleep again. But a cold sweat broke over my body and I pulled the sheets off of me. The thick, suede coat I wore slipped from my shoulders and I let it pool around me. My arms wrapped around myself and I leaned back, closing my eyes.

No nightmare or bad dream clouded my sleep so I was unsure of why I was awake. What time was it even? From what I could see, the sun was invisible and the moon shined dimly in the starry, yet cloudy sky. I pursed my lips and continued to rub at my eyes before letting my vision trail down to the sleeping man beside the bed. Buggy, for whatever reason, was fast asleep while sitting upwards, his arms tucked around his chest. He was snoring. Maybe that's why I woke up.

Clenching my jaw, I turned over to face the wall, allowing my eyes to drift to a close as I tucked my hands underneath my cheek. I wanted to fall back asleep because it seemed to be either late at night or early in the morning. I couldn't tell. But when a loud crack of thunder sounded almost directly outside, I realized why I was awake. The echoes of pouring rain followed almost immediately after, the pellets of water drumming upon the tin roof. Normally, the sound would serenade me to sleep but I was wide awake. For hours, at least, I remained awake, staring at the wall in front of me. I tossed and turned, attempting to remain comfortable but the only way I could rest was with a pillow between me legs, and the ex-pirate's coat tucked underneath my head. I sighed and closed my eyes. The rain continued and soon, there was a shuffling heard from behind me. A groan left Buggy's lips as he seemed to be stirring from his sleep. Light finally shined in through the window, the shadow of the man behind me rising from his comfortable spot on the floor. I turned over, my eyes closed to show that I was still asleep, or pretending to me. I squinted my eyes to watch the man as he pushed himself up, groaning while stretching his arms. He cracked his neck and rubbed at his eyes, only continuing to smear the face makeup he wore proudly. His red nose was definitely different but I didn't understand why he needed to follow along with the stereotype and paint his face to match. He wasn't a clown.

"Are you awake, Y/N?" His raspy voice asked which resulted in my eyes gluing shut. The feeling of the sheets lifting off my body appeared before the blankets settled underneath my chin.

"I'm gonna go out for a bit, just to get stuff to eat and drink. I won't be long," He whispered. I peeked my right eye open, watching as he fumbled to put his clothing back on. He buttoned his vest, attached his belt, tied his bandana back around his neck, then pulled the red-and-white striped wrap from his blue hair, a sudden wave of thick, blue hair running down his back. My eyes widened at the sight. He had long hair? Since when?

Buggy swooped his hair back into a ponytail, twisting it in a loop, then tucked it back underneath his bandanna. I closed my eyes again, still completely flabbergasted. I never would've guessed he had long air. That's so shocking.

I only realized that he left when the stone door slammed slut.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes then crawled out of the bed, moving to stand on my feet. Since I was his guest, I decided to tidy up while he was out. I started by making the bed, tucking the sheets and fluffing the pillows to make the bed look comfortable and well-made. Then I moved on to wiping down the nightstand. It was dusty and rather dirty but I wasn't one to judge. I moved on to cleaning the lantern before opening the drawer below. Inside were a few pairs of jewelry and a stack of books. I smirked. Buggy reads?

I sat down and pulled the novels out. I sorted through them, finding nothing to be eye-catching- just boring books about boring subjects. I pushed myself onto my knees and went to tuck the books back into the drawer but something caught my eye. I raised an eyebrow and pulled out a folded piece of crumpled paper. The edges were slightly burnt and torn. I pulled it apart and flattened it before turning it around.

My eyes widened.

Before I could properly react, the door pushed into the hinges, creating a loud noise like metal scraping against metal. I scrambled to hide the paper back underneath the books and I closed the drawer. Just as I stood up, the door slammed open and there Buggy stood with a parcel of fruits and two jugs of orange juice. "Oh, look who's awake," He said with a small smile as he kicked the door closed behind him.

I gulped hard and sat down on the bed.

"Did you sleep okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I did," I whispered in reply.

He cocked an eyebrow up, looking to be puzzled by my sudden disturbed exterior. Dropping the items down on the countertop, he started to tear into the bags. "I figured you'd be hungry so I got you some stuff to munch on for breakfast. I got apples, too. Don't worry, they're not rotten." He chuckled.

"Thanks."

"What do you want? I can make you a plate." He looked at me as he started to cut into one of the fruits.

"I'm not hungry."

"What? You don't want anything to eat? Not even some orange juice?"

"No, I'm fine."

Buggy opened his mouth, his eyebrows scrunching together as he approached me. He squatted down and grabbed my arms, almost to hold himself up and to show me how serious he was. "What's wrong?"

Shaking my head, I declined whatever he meant. "Nothing, I'm fine."

"No, something is wrong. Tell me," He instructed, his face remaining cold and serious, as if he were trying to interrogate me- like I committed some horrendous crime and he wanted me to come clean. I continued to reassure him, lying to him but for whatever reason, he saw right through my guise and gripped my arms. "Y/N, please tell me. Why do you seem so scared?" He frowned then his eyes grew wide. He dropped his hands. "Did I do something?"

I remained quiet, a frown stuck to my lips.

"Please just tell me."

I opened my mouth but nothing came out. The blue-haired man frowned and stood up, letting go of me. "Fine, don't tell me then." His eyes rolled and he approached the counter again, continuing to slice into the fruits. He seemed angry- very angry. The knife was practically slamming into the apple. "See if I care." He continued to talk. "My fault for trying to help you. Last time I'll do that."

A sullen look crossed my face and I looked down at my lap then back toward the bedside table. I reached for the handle. Buggy watched me and he scowled. "What are you doing?"

I jerked my hand back and frowned. "I promise I wasn't snooping."

"What do you mean?" He tossed a slice of apple into his mouth.

"I was cleaning up a bit. I made the bed and I dusted your nightstand."

"Okay?" He raised an eyebrow, now slowly chewing. "Thank you?"

"And- And I was looking in the drawer and I found-"

"What did you find?" He looked skeptical and he dropped the knife.

"Your wanted poster."

[italiansteebie]

something you'd never expect about steve harrington is that he loves halloween.

i mean, he really gets into it.

he dresses up, decorates the house, hands out candy and even goes trick or treating with the kids as an excuse. "i'm keeping an eye on you guys!"

"you didn't have to dress up though,"

"yes i did, dustin. you don't know everything."

even after the upside down bullshit, he still loves it, and maybe he kept his scoops uniform with blood and barf stains so he could use it as a costume. and maybe that was kind of fucked, but he's coping with it.

now, steve's love for halloween is one of robins favorite things about him. especially since his house is equipped for an exceptional party, what with the size and the decorations steve is going to put up anyways? it's perfect.

so the halloween after scoops, they throw a masquerade of sorts. it's quite a rager, despite steve's expectations.

he decided to go as a masked cowboy.

he got the boots, the hat, and he wore a leather vest that ended up giving him a chill for the night since other than some chaps, it was all he was wearing on his body. he did the whole nine yards with a red bandana and some sunglasses.

"hey cowboy."

steve turned, taking in the sight in-front of him.

a guy, with long curly hair, somehow making a jason voorhees costume work.

he tipped his hat, always committed to the bit, "jason." he said simply, thanking the bandana gods for hiding his blush.

"never woulda thought king steve would throw a party like this."

"why not?"

"i dunno. it's cool though, guy seems to have changed."

"for the better?"

jason tilted his head, "yeah man. for the better." he said it as though the decision had been made, and locked in place.

so they sat.

and talked.

all night.

and the rest of the party seemed to fade away. that is until a drunk robin, dressed as micheal myers laid across his lap, "kick everyone out, im tired."

he checked his watch, it was 4 am, probably about time for them to go home. so he stood, gearing up to say his farewell to jason, maybe ask him for his number, but when he turned again, he was gone. only the smell of weed and cheap cologne remained. (and later, he'd find, a lone 36 sided die, that he'd end up asking dustin about).

it's silly to think that steve was falling in love with this guy after only just meeting him, but he'd grappled with his sexuality on a bathroom floor, appropriately, and was ready to dive back into the dating pool. or maybe the puddle, because halloween jason, seemed to be the one.

the only thing is, steve has no idea who the guy is.

that is at least until, none other than eddie munson had a broke bottle pressed against his neck. now he didn't figure it out in that moment, but when they were fleeing for their lives, eddie's hand found a way into steve's, and back at eddie's trailer, steve caught a glimpse of none other than the jason voorhees mask he'd been searching for ever since that party.

and maybe it was a sappy declaration of love, but steve was nothing if not a hopeless romantic.

"don't be heroes."

it was pleading.

steve tossed the dice eddie's way, watching fondly as he struggled to catch it.

"steve- wh?" he could see the moment it clicked in eddie's eyes. steve turned, ready to finish this mess, so he could talk to eddie, to jason, and figure out some shit.

"hey, steve?"

he turned, meeting eddie's eyes.

"make him pay, cowboy."

--

it was done.

they did it.

a few were in the hospital but, hey. they did it. eddie had been in a rough way for a little while, eventually pulling through but not before some physical therapy.

steve was there when he woke up.

had been ever since he'd explained to eddie's uncle wayne how they knew each other and what eddie meant to steve.

eddie cracked open his eyes.

"howdy, cowboy." it came out scratched, and rough.

"eddie," steve breathed, grasping his hand.

"i knew i liked those chaps."

steve rolled his eyes, smiling while tears rolled down his cheeks. "you saved my life." eddie said, reaching a hand to steve's cheek. steve shook his head, "how can i ever repay you?" eddie said, a glint in his eye.

steve laughed, "no thanks necessary," he said, tipping his imaginary hat, leaning into eddie's touch. "there must be someway," he said, southern drawl creeping into his voice. "how about a kiss?" steve asked, eyes flickering down to the metal heads lips.

wayne shook his head at the boys' antics. "will y'all just kiss already? im getting old waitin' for ya!"

eddie laughed at his uncle's testimony, before nodding, "c'mere, cowboy," he said, before closing the gap between him and steve.

"was it rootin' n tootin'?" eddie asked, a cheesy grin on his face as he pulled away. "sure was, partner."

"oh my god."

"hey robs,"

"steve, shut up. eddie's jason! jason from-" robin stumbled into the room. "from the party!" she all but squealed. steve laughed, nodding, "yeah, babe. we figured that one out ourselves."

[ticktockmyclockworkhart]

Trolls redesigns part 5: country trolls!

"But there's only one actual country troll here--" QUIET HE CAN BE A COUNTRY TROLL IF HE WANTS!! I subscribe to the idea that he went off to go live the country troll life post second movie because living undercover got him kinda obsessed with that lifestyle.

Anyway, design notes under the cut as usual!

So due to my senior thesis project I'm working on I've been getting really into horses, learning about them and designing horse characters. That all being said this has... very little bearing on what I actually did with the designs lol. Has a little! Not a lot! But a little!

I didn't change much about the country trolls really, few tweaks not withstanding. I wanted to give each individual troll characteristics of real horses, at least for those who have their horse bodies exposed. I also gave them bigger ears with more taper than my other trolls, and made the ears generally perkier, to mirror horse ears.

For Delta Dawn I didn't change anything large, she was already so fabulously pretty to begin with! I just tweaked some smaller details. I kept her big hair of course in all her Dolly Parton glory. For her horse half, I decided to make her an appaloosa, mainly just for aesthetics as the horses are so strikingly pretty and I think it fits her style of doing everything "big" and having such an "extra" sense about her. I changed her belt buckle from a button to a classic sheriff's star so even from a glance, you can tell she's the boss around Lonesome Flats. She also has gold horseshoes! Not to mention a gold nose hoop, because even though it's much more associated with cattle than horses of any kind, it's still giving "big and powerful". I also made her arms bigger and more toned because I won't stand for cowgirls who couldn't crush your fingers with a firm southern handshake. Also changed her tail from teal to the same red as her hair. It's honestly not that big of a deal and didn't bother me the way King Quincy's shade of teal did, but I just like to really tie up my color palettes and keep them tight, so I thought it would be a better matching choice. I also gave her a tied-up tail, because her long dragging one looks like a NUISANCE AND A HALF! She's got all the dirt and debris of Lonesome Flats living in that tail, not to mention the tripping hazard it would be! So I shortened it a bit and tied it up. She's as practical as she is pretty, after all.

Hickory slays already, I mean, he was literally designed to be "the guy your girl tells you not to worry about". So maybe just have him serve a liiiiiiittle 🤏more? As a treat? ONE: I gave him the fruity ear piercing. He does only have one. I also gave him some fingerless gloves to match with his vest since, compared to other Lonesome Flats residents (And I do know he's in disguise and not a bona fide country troll, but still teehee) his upper half is kinda barren in the way of accessories. Which is also why I gave him the bandana. Partially bias, lol, I love bandanas.

Hope you like this newest batch as I get to the next ones!

[writing-rat]

Fun at the Party

Pairing: Tara Carpenter x Amber Freeman

Content Warning: Party Sex, G!P Amber, Dressed as Ghostface, Vaginal Sex

Word Count: 2756

Summary: Amber and Tara have sex at a Halloween party

-

It was Tara’s first party. She was always one to stay home instead of going to her girlfriend’s parties because it was so loud and she was sure she would die if she went. That was until now at least, when it was a Halloween party. She dressed as a pirate this time, hanging around her friends. Her outfit consisted of some black Doc Marten’s that Amber gifted her for her 17’th birthday, some black tights with holes, blue booty shorts that she knew would rile the taller girl up, a plain white shirt that was buttoned up with a black button up vest over it that Chad let her borrow. She then proceeded to grab one of her own bandanas and wrapped it around her head. Chad was dressed as a shirtless cowboy, which made Tara nervous due to her fear of nipples, but she didn’t say anything. Mindy however was dressed as her normal self, a pair of black ripped jeans and a camouflage crop top. Liv meanwhile was dressed up as a cowgirl to match Chad.

Once they got to the house, they were met with Amber’s costume immediately. She was outside smoking as she was clearly waiting for Tara. She was wearing a Ghostface costume that she had gotten from the official Stab merchandise. Tara couldn’t help the dumb smile that came on her face as she was walking over to Amber, who was holding a fake knife. “Hey Ghostface,” Tara spoke, caressing Amber’s cheek under the mask, Mindy pretending to throw up at their affection. “Hello Captain, and fuck you Mindy,” Amber spoke, pulling the mask up just enough to reveal her lips. Tara leaned into the taller girl before she was kissing her, and rubbed the back of her neck as she did so. Amber meanwhile held the girls sides as she was pulling her closer, before she pulled away.

“Come on lovebirds! Let’s party!” Mindy spoke, pronouncing party as par-tay. Tara rolled her eyes but had a soft smile as she was staying close to Amber, who suddenly picked her up bridal style. At that Tara let out a small squeal as Mindy, Chad, Liv and even Amber laughed at. Tara just hit her shoulder as she was carried in before they were brought to the main room where most of the dancing was. Tara smiled at that as she looked at Amber who put her down and held her hand out. Tara took the hand. — It was 3 drinks into the party, and Tara was tipsy at most, dancing to the songs that were coming on with Amber. Amber also proceeded to get drunk with Tara. The song currently playing was ‘Still Alive’ by Demi Lovato, and Tara was jumping at it a bit, not missing the gaze from her girlfriend starting to drift down. She just winked at the taller girl as she kept bouncing. That was at least until she was held by the waist, the next song coming on. ‘Treat Me Like A Slut’ by Kim Petras. Tara bit her lip as she was looking up into the eyeholes of the mask, as Amber held her hips closer. That’s when the shortest had an idea and started to grind as a dance, making direct eye contact before she was starting to lift up the mask and kissed her girlfriend, smirking as she did so.

She could feel the growing bulge underneath the robe as one hand went around Amber’s waist, the other starting to rub where Amber’s dick was. “So hard for me already,” Tara purred out against her lips. “All thanks to you~” Amber murmured out before kissing her deeply. “Jump for me realy quick my love,” Amber instructed. Curiously, Tara did as told before she was having her ass grabbed, and her legs instinctively wrapped around Amber’s waist. Amber soon pulled away from the kiss and set the mask down, starting to carry Tara up to her room. Both girls weren’t sure if Chad and Mindy whistled at them, but someone did. Tara didn’t mind however as she was feeling Amber lift her leg up and kick something, the door to her room. Tara couldn’t stop the moan slipping out her mouth however when she felt the bulge against her crotch, feeling her underwear getting wetter.

“Do you want Ghostface’s dick?” Amber asked as she was closing the door and locking it, looking back at Tara. Since Tara couldn’t see her face, the pirate girl was unable to see her smirking as her own skin went bright red. She couldn’t believe she was doing this but she was too needy for rational thoughts. “Yes please Ghostface. I need your dick,” she moaned out loud, making sure Amber did hear her. Amber tilted her head. “So desperate,” she openly said, sticking her fingers under the shorts and felt the wetness between Tara’s legs, a sadistic chuckle coming out her mouth. Tara was too nervous to speak, knowing that she would say something embarrassing so she decided to keep her mouth shut and moan. “You’re so needy aren’t you?” Amber then whispered next to Tara’s ear, who let out a whine and a moan then a nod. “Yea Ghostface. Please treat me however you want,” she moaned out as she was not hiding her voice anymore, knowing her girlfriend wanted to hear it.

“Good girl,” was what she heard next before she was feeling her shorts and tights get pulled down, revealing she had no underwear on. “Oh baby. You had no underwear on for me. Was you that slutty for me?” Amber teased, Tara nodded with a whimper. “Fuck,” Tara moaned out as she felt her clit get rubbed, opening her legs wider. “Yes daddy ghostface,” she moaned out, another grunt coming out her mouth due to the fondling of her breasts under her shirt when that was yanked up, but it wasn’t taken off. She was about to take it off when a hand stopped her. “No baby, keep the shirt on. I want to see your tits bounce with the shirt and vest on as well,” Amber commanded before Tara nodded. “Good girl,” Amber praised before she pulled the hem of her jeans down, showing off her straining cock and surprising length.

“Hands and knees first,” she commanded, Tara nodded as she scrambled onto the floor, knowing Amber wanted to be blown. That’s when Amber dragged the fake knife across her neck, causing a moan to erupt out of her mouth while she kissed the edge of the cock, before holding it and starting to suck her, bobbing her head at a consistent pace before she started to tilt her head and go faster. Amber let out groans as she was holding Tara’s head, pushing her down more every now and then. Tara would proceed to gag but she didn’t mind as she jerked off the rest she couldn’t fit in her mouth. Amber was glad she trained her well as one hand started to rub her testicles, a low guttural moan slipping out. “So good baby,” she groaned out, seeing that Tara was rubbing her thighs together. “You may masturbate while pleasuring me BUT you can’t cum without my permission, got it?” Amber husked out. Tara nodded, dick still in mouth as she was sucking it easily. Tara was starting to ride against her leg as she was moaning, feeling her own wetness on her body. She didn’t mind due to it being hot for Amber. Amber’s pleasure was her main focus after all. She was titling her head as she was sucking more faster.

“I’m close baby, get prepared,” Amber moaned out after 2 more minutes, and Tara was close due herself being rough on her leg. She had to stop partway through Amber saying ‘I’m close’ as she didn’t want to spill a drop. As she thought of that, that’s when she was able to taste her, causing a moan out of her mouth. She was swallowing it all, and if any spilt she picked it up with her thumb, gaining a collection there. Amber soon pulled out as Tara licked her thumb and sucked it up and down as she was looking her girlfriend where her eyes would be.

“What next, Ghostface?” She asked, when she felt the knife go down her arm, causing a shiver of delight, her tits were still out as her nipples were fully erect. “Hump my leg like a bitch in heat… oh wait, you are,” Amber commanded while also being degraded at the same time. Tara couldn’t help the whimper that slipped out as she was soon starting to hug onto her leg, face-to-face with the erect cock. She was kissing it while she was starting to hump against her leg, the robe draping over them. She couldn’t help but shiver more as the knife pressed against her back and then her neck, a low moan coming out as she was humping, grinding against her Doc Marten’s every now and then. That was due to her feeling the gentle stab of the knife, a louder moan always coming out as she was soon getting close again. “Can I cum please master?” She begged, whining every now and then. “Ask again… this time correctly,” she growled out to which Tara nodded. “Sorry master Ghostface,” she moaned out. “May I cum please master Ghostface?” She corrected herself, a smirk surely crossing Amber’s lips. “You may,” was all Tara needed before she came all over the jeans her significant other had under the robe.

“Such a good girl. What would you like to do next as a treat?” Amber asked. Tara was happy to hear that. “I would like to be bent over the bed and fucked so rough I won’t be able to walk tomorrow and Monday, Master Ghostface,” she asked for, blushing at her confession after. Amber smirked as she licked her lips under the mask, starting to get hot underneath but she didn’t mind. Sure, she was sweating but why take a break when you have someone to please? That’s when she lifted her girlfriend up, and put her on the bed, face first making sure she was bent over. Tara was obeying, knowing what position she was wanting. That’s when her hips were held, and she felt it enter immediately with no hesitation. She was opening her legs up wider as she was feeling one of Amber’s hand go up and grope at her breast as she thrusted hard and fast immediately. Tara was a loud moaner, so it wasn’t a surprise when they came out, Amber holding her in place while she felt how her breasts were bouncing at the pace she thrusted at. Tara was arching her back once Amber immediately found her sweet spot, causing a groan to come out as well as louder moans. She was sure people could hear if they were going to the bathroom but Amber couldn’t care due to it being her house.

“Such a slut, wanting everyone to know~” Amber husked our near her ear, lifting her face mask up. Tara was able to feel and smell the sweat as she let out a moan that was high pitched. “You smell so good,” Tara moaned out as Amber smirked. “Do I now?” She whispered in her ear before she spat on her neck, thrusting harder as the knife soon trailed on her breast, her empty hand still groping at them. “Yes- fuck-, you smell like a forest, alcohol and sweat,” Tara emphasised as she was loving the smell, feeling the sweat drip on her. Even the spitting didn’t disgust her for once. Amber seemed to notice this as the hand that was used to grasp her breast went to her neck, starting to choke her gently. “Such a slut for Ghostface,” she moaned out as she was thrusting harder. “Thirsting for me. I should kill you but here you are, begging for my dick inside you like the fucking slut you are,” Amber degraded, deprived moans coming out the smaller girl. “May I cum, Master Ghostface?” She groaned out. Amber smirked before tilting her head. “Should I let you?” Amber teased, a whine coming out of Tara’s throat before she was nodding. “I’ll do anything for you, wear anything you want, literally eat you out in class,” Tara groaned out needily, needing to cum. She felt like she would explode. “Even wear a collar in class with the tag ‘Property of Amber. If lost, please call’ then my number?” She husked out in her ear, Tara nodding immediately. “Then you may cum,” she concluded. At that Tara came with a scream as she was grasping the bed, almost ripping it.

“Now for my final act, I’m gonna need your permission. My idea is to tie you up, while using you but instead of a fake plastic knife, I use a real one. Is that ok T? I won’t do it if so,” Amber spoke in a gentle tone, taking off her mask to show how serious she was. Her face and hair was full of sweat while Tara blushed at the thought and nodded. “The safe word is lemon,” Tara then spoke. Amber grinned and kissed her gently as Tara kissed back and held her neck gently. “Mask on or off?” Amber spoke, looking at her. “If you’re too hot, keep it off, but if you aren’t then please put it on. It’s really hot when you have the mask on,” Tara spoke. That’s when Amber was pulling away and put the mask on.

“Lay down now,” Amber commanded. Tara did as told, liking how Amber manhandled her when she was was laid down. Her legs and arms were tied to the bed as she was blushing, Amber reaching into her bedside drawer and got her actual knife out. Tara wasn’t sure but was both sure at the same time that she had gotten wetter, her eyes dilating more. Amber then smirked as she tilted her head. “Look at you, even more soaked just from seeing the actual knife,” she teased, trailing it down her girlfriend’s body, causing light cuts here and there, gasps and moans coming out from her mouth. She was intrigued as Tara loved it, before she was entered again, feeling how wet she was. She let out a groan and threw her head back as she was feeling Amber thrust into her, when the knife was against her jaw. “Such a needy slut,” she groaned out, to which Tara nodded at. She was being thrusted into rough and fast immediately as she was whimpering slightly. Amber then lifted her mask up before she was kissing the girl deeply, who was kissing back. She was soon putting the knife against her thigh, gently carving an ‘A’ on her thigh, which Tara seemed to love, her back arching. That’s when she came without permission but Amber let her off since she had been so good. She then kissed her neck as she felt herself getting closer due to being sensitive due to how the girl below her treated her. She was groaning. “I’m going to cum in you again then you can finally be killed,” Amber warned, back in character it seemed. Tara was nodding as she soon felt Amber cum inside her again.

Once Amber pulled out, she untied the girl then reached into her drawer with a medkit, and started to treat the wounds. “We can get some snacks and water soon then, or you can stay and I’ll grab it,” Amber spoke, taking the mask off and smiled gently at the exhausted girl. Tara nodded, panting as she couldn’t speak. That’s when Amber got up, her face still full of sweat as she put the mask back on and walked over to the kitchen. She got some congratulations but ignored them as she got water and chocolate for her girlfriend. She wandered upstairs and back into the room where Tara looked at her and smiled. “I love you,” she spoke gently as she started to eat and drink, taking her time. “I love you too sweetheart,” Amber spoke. “We can shower then,” she spoke, to which Tara nodded happily. “Together?” she asked hoarsely. Amber nodded. “Of course babe,” she added on. Tara smiled and kissed Amber, who had taken the mask off now, but not the robe. Tara decided to sniff her scent in then and smiled.

She felt much better, and wanted to do this again.

[mamamittens]

Well, I got halfway through a comm, so there's that. Then I realized it was Whoops All Set Up and I hadn't considered how to write the interactions to lead up to that smut so I took a step back to think it over.

I was asked for fluffy romcom and I'll be damned if I don't deliver it!

But that's a later problem, here's me rambling about ideas for an alternative shine riolu design for Platinum, Fin's service pokemon.

So, I decided against keeping canon colors and mostly the same design cause damnit, I still don't like the yellow.

I'm sure game freak had lovely reasons for the yellow but I hate it.

Away it goes!

And anyway, while I was at it, I figured I'd further tweak the design to highlight how Platinum was specifically picked for Finley. Perhaps as a favor from someone who was really moved by her tragic backstory.

Silver, her original Abra, looked pretty normal aside from a spiky ring on his tail. But that's more because it was pretty early in the days of Designer Breeding more geared towards unique iterations of pokemon. Particularly driven by the growing market for coordinators trying to get a leg up. And as a standard ish support pokemon he didn't need to look outstanding, just more identifiable if something happened.

So I decided towards a slightly artistic inspiration.

A mostly silver/gray coat explains the name easily enough. And I do like the original color pallette so I kept the blue/black. They also look unexpectedly tall and that's partly because I suck at the proportions but idk, maybe Platinum is just unusually tall as well lol

The flourishes make Plat look more rugged and (according to my roommate) dirty lol. But it's meant to be like paint brushes and paint splatter. Had no interest in a rainbow baby or anything too crazy.

The goofy leg/pant bulge looks more like a deliberate attempt to imply shorts, which I appreciate more than trying to figure out wtf canon is doing with that drumstick butt (or frankly dick shaped torso, it's so damn close to being a dick, I can't unseen it and I'm sorry you won't be able to either).

This is without any support pokemon gear. A vest is the obvious choice but when he evolves it'll have to be adjusted cause of the chest spike Lucario has. Maybe I'll just stick to a bandana? Or a belt?

...ah, I forgot to try the button... Well, whatever. I like it as is regardless. It's a little fancy but not too busy? If anything I might get rid of the 'holes' in the dark sections so it's just paint splatter inspired.

Be easier to draw at least lol

Idk if I mentioned earlier but Fin's official job is illustration/painting. Mostly for books and other projects she can consult for and do at home rather than travel. Very much a home body until the start of the fic when she decides she's well enough to handle it. Likes watercolor specifically for painting personal projects such as her old team's books or for friends (when she finally has them). But does oils, acrylics, murals, and mixed mediums as well.

Perhaps Platinum was a 'thank you' gift for a personal mural from a breeder who put Platinum through official support pokemon courses.

Despite being a support pokemon, Platinum is just as happy in a battle as any other riolu. His first duty is just to Fin though. So he would be more likely than most to forfeit a match if his trainer showed too much distress or lash out unexpectedly in times of peril.

This both pairs well with the rest of her destined team and against one specifically who would rather be doing that themselves. But for now I'll leave it at that lol.

Platinum will be her only special/shiny Pokemon. Unlike Edna, she doesn't have any connections or unexpected 'gifts' netting her rare pokemon.

[ellieloves2read]

tell me about you ocs 🔫 (if you want to)

:0!!!!!!!! OKAY SO i got a few of em but right now im thinking about two old dnd characters of mine so youre getting the lore on those!

(ID: a page of busts of a tiefling with fluffy black hair, backwards-pointing horns, long eyelashes, sideburns, and a lip scar. his expressions, top to bottom and left to right, are: serious, amused, laughing, angry (and looking as if he’s losing a fight), confident, annoyed, shouting, terrified, shocked, smiling warmly, and uncomfortable. end ID.)

first we have (drumroll) sylver, aka the guy who’s been my tumblr icon literally the whole time ive been here. sylver was originally a concept for a dnd version of sylv from dq11, and then i watched the entire potc series in one week. also he’s trans :]

sylver was an indentured servant on a merchant ship that was then attacked by pirates. the pirates kept sylver as a poorly-treated cabin boy. about a year later, he challenged the captain to a duel for his freedom, which. Did Not Go Well. at all. he stayed on the ship for a few years after that, until eventually he jumped off the ship in the middle of a storm. surprisingly, he survived and got picked up by a pair of bards. he traveled with them for a while (mostly as security. my boy cant carry a tune). however, he was still deeply messed up from his experiences aboard the pirate ship and had a desire for revenge, so he started traveling around and honing his skills until he could beat the captain in a duel.

(ID: four colored drawings of a tiefling with dark grey skin, short white hair, forward-pointing ramlike horns, and round glasses with red lenses. in the first drawing, theyre wearing a red bandana with a white buttoned shirt, which has been tied at the bottom. they have their hands in their pockets. in the second drawing, theyre wearing an orange blazer, a black binder, and red and black striped pants. their arms are spread out to the sides. in the third drawing, theyre wearing a yellow bandana and a red flannel jacket. theyre sitting at a table and are leaning their hand against one hand. in the fourth drawing, their wearing a red vest, a white shirt and bow, and yellow-tinted glasses. thsyre sitting with their hands resting on the table in front of them. end ID.)

second, we have (drumroll) jack! originally a oneshot character, jack is a bard who started as marius from les mis if marius stayed in the “empty chairs” number instead of getting married at the end. as with sylver, jack’s aesthetic and personality was influenced by a film i watched while making them; in this case, moulin rouge.

jack was a spy for a group of rebels in their hometown. they were very good at their job and thought victory was assured, until the rebellion was swiftly and brutally ended in one night. yikes. jack survived and escaped, but has since become extremely jaded. they make a living off of their fiddle and skilled storytelling.

bonus drawing of both of them together, because i recently opened my eyes to the idea of them interacting and i have not known peace since

(ID: a pencil sketch of sylver and jack sitting at a bar. jack is leaning against it with their elbows propping them up, and they are loosely holding a cigarette in one hand. they're wearing a frilly white shirt with long sleeves and black pants. sylver is leaning forward against the bar and is holding a beer glass close. he is wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up and black pants. there are a variety of glasses and champagne flutes on the bar. both sylver and jack are looking towards the camera, sylver looking tired and jack looking annoyed. end ID.)

[monkemischief]

Batman but after a few months of getting his as beat after his debut, Bruce Wayne starts a martial arts dojo searching for "strong competitors sure to win tournaments", and essentially starts a school of Batman.

Early batman costumes are just utterly ridiculous, and for the first fe days, no-one can take him even remotely seriously. They have bright grays, bold yellows, and almost cartoonish blues. Picture the "Brave and the Bold" suit but with brighter colors and glowing eyes.

For the first few years, the only kids who show up are the son of a famous acrobatic family, a delinquent, a rich kid, an assassin, and the commissioner's daughter, putting a lot of attention on the school.

Because the school is founded on more traditional and ancient techniques, there's a whole lot more of a traditional martial arts theme in their costumes.

Bruce hiding Cass' family history from Comm. Gordon bc he doesn't want to be called out by his competitors for using a pre-trained pupil rather than bc she's an assassin. Comm. Gordon eventually finds out that she is an assassin, and she thinks he's going to arrest her, when he instead lays into "Mr." Wayne for cheating in tournaments.

Maybe Bruce uses a modified Gi belt, and on occasion he unties it to use as a quick makeshift whip. Maybe Dick wears one of those samurai vest things that I don't know the name of, and it's totally not a star wars reference. Maybe Jason wears a bandana that covers his eyes and head sort of like Iron fist.

Oliver Queen challenges the Wayne school by setting up his own archery and grappling school

Eventually, the idea of setting up a school to scout and train sidekicks becomes fairly common, with John Constantine teaching amateur magic, and Cyborg teaching volunteer S.T.E.M. classes to highschoolers. Super would definetely be unable to teach his abilities to regular people, but he could still do counseling, and anger management classes, providing tips and support for people working to control their own strength.

I have decided that since Batman has and can use tools and ceremonies to speak with ghosts, he speaks to, trains with, and incorporates into his school the teachings of the Hamato Clan. Since the two are known to be entwined universes, Batman is tracked down by curious turtles, wondering why and how this rich guy and this edgy furry both know the same moves as their father, who claims to have kept the moves his best kept secret, all despite filming several movies using almost exclusively those exact moves.

All these and more, next time I remember this concept 👍!

[sabbathbloodysabbeth]

Ok so like I’m slow okay so don’t judge, but Eddie’s bandana is on the Left meaning he is on top and then the Black means he’s into S&M (sadism and masochism) which would make sense for his character lmao. Like come on there has to be a reason why he has so much enjoyment in being called Eddie ‘The freak’ Munson. Though I also found that it also means a extreme top in some books, and then someone who is into being whipping. (From Eddie’s pocket choice he’s the whipper) but with that being explained I’m going to get into this one shot idea I’ve had for a while.

This is sort of crappy writing but I’m tired lol

The second Steve’s eyes landed on Eddie’s handkerchief at the back of his pocket he immediately knew what was going on there. Of course it could easily be mistaken for a metal head who just enjoyed the aesthetic but when they were in Eddie’s small trailer in the upside down. When he had ran into his room to play one of his Queen records. Which he thankfully wouldn’t get rid of until a year after Will went missing. He couldn’t help but let his eyes catch onto the handcuffs that were hung up against the wall. Taking a shaky breath he quickly snaps back to it as he grabs the record and presses play.

Steve had remembered the colors, as Billy had forced him to remember them. No one knew any of this of course. This had all happened before Robin was his friend. Maybe just maybe, Steve had lied to Munson when he said he didn’t know who Black Sabbath was or Ozzy. God he’s pretty sure Billy rolled in his grave. Hargrove hadn’t spent weeks engraving the metal life style in his brain just for him to not to use his knowledge on a fellow metal head.

It was almost as if Billy knew that the two of them wouldn’t have worked out. Steve hates to think about that at night. He still woke up into a sweat whenever woke up from a nightmare of his dead lovers body being torn apart by the Mind flayer. That’s probably why he never told Eddie the truth. Eddie’s style reminded him of Billy. Though their personalities were no where even close. When Steve wore the others vest he felt like he was betraying Billy in a way. Though he still can’t help but feel attracted to the idiot who decides to sell weed to a popular cheerleader.

Of course fate had decided to force them together alone in the upside down. Accidentally splitting up with the others when they had returned. Steve stays focused but he still can’t stop staring at the others black handkerchief. It kept dragging his attention back and keep his eyes for a minute before he would snap out of it.

Though he’s startled as he’s thrown into the air hitting a tree. Gasping for air as he hears Eddie’s screams from a couple feet away from him. Then he’s being lifted up in the air as he goes white as he sees he’s once again being pinned up against a tree by Billy Hargrove. Though Steve knew this wasn’t him it still didn’t stop him from having a huge panic attack as Billy’s words started to fall out.

“It’s you’re fucking fault I’m dead. Maybe if you showed up to our date at the right fucking time I would still be alive.” Billy’s spitting out. Eddie’s catching up and even he’s shocked at the sight in front of him.

“Billy, stop it you’re hurting me.” Steve cry’s out as the other just pushes up against him more as him as Steve’s kicking his feet. Before Eddie can try to get the other off of him he recognizes Steve faintly saying red red repeatedly. If Munson didn’t know any better the boy was trying to color out. But he ignores it and forgets about it before he sees Steve’s putting headphones over the boys ears and hitting plays. He had a pair just in case he was trapped.

Steve stumbles as he falls to the side as he hears Metallica faintly playing from Billy’s head and then the others gone. Just disappearing into dust particles. Steve groans as he moves taking his stuff as he stands up a bit wobbly and very shaken up. Eddie’s about to say something but Steve’s giving him a look and the other shuts up.

Eddie had started to grow suspicious of Steve himself. Though of what he wasn’t sure yet. Though it clicks in his head that the other had lied to him when it was months later and everything was done and over with. Both him and Steve started to hang out more when Robin started going out with Vickie. They had of course become a group and stays together as much as possible.

Eddie’s going through Steve’s car when he finds a few cassettes with writing scribbled all over it. Steve had a joint in hand and wasn’t paying attention and didn’t catch onto the fact that the other was putting one of Billy’s in. When the familiar noises of guitar started to play Eddie has a shit ass grin on his face as he looks at the other.

“You do know Black Sabbath you asshole!” He says catching the other in his lie after months. Though he looks confused when he sees the other tense up. Steve rubs his face as he reaches forward pulling the cassette out.

“It’s not mine. They were Billy’s.” He mumbles as he rewinds the tape back carefully as he sets it down. It seems to click in Eddie’s head what the other had implied as he makes a oh shit face and was about to say something before Steve’s pointing at him with the joint between his fingers.

“Don’t you fucking dare say anything to Robin. She doesn’t know, no one does. Say one peep and I’m telling her what that fancy little hanky means in your back pocket.” Steve says calmly as he moves back into his seat kicking it back more as he adds. “Just avoid the cassettes with the writing. I don’t fucking know if Hargrove put the one of him jerking off. in here.” He says calmly as he passes the joint back. Honestly Eddie’s shocked. Though Steve seems to decide what he wants to listen to popping in ‘Kill ‘Em All’ by Metallica.

“Now that my secret of enjoying metal is out I suppose I’ll give you the wider selection of shit.” Steve says as he hops out of the car to only return from the trunk with a small box of cassettes. Filled with Metallica, AC/DC, Kiss, Ozzy and a bunch of used Black Sabbath tapes. “Just- avoid Black Sabbath. Still a sore spot for me.” Steve mumbles as they both sat in the car waiting patiently for Dustin to come out from school now. The schools bell had just gone off to the right of them. Neither of them caring about the joint, everyone did it at the school at this point.

It had been weeks sense Eddie’s figured the other out. Now he was kind of curious about what bandana the other would wear. That and if he’s honest he was falling for the way Steve would mouth the lyrics to Metallica. Sure he recognized that the only reason why the other got into it was because of his dead ex boyfriend, but he still felt a lot better now knowing there was one more person in town like him.

Eddie had continued to nag Steve about it for days now as they walk up to Harringtons house. Steve rolls his eyes before he turns on his heel. “Why munson? Why do you wanna know? To sleep with me? What?” Steve snaps a little but he’s leading the other to his bedroom still.

“I’m just curious.” Eddie grins. “Kind of curious about what, ‘king Steve’ is into.” He adds as Steve rolls his eyes.

“Fine, if I dress up just for you will you shut up?” Steve asks with a annoyed look and Eddie nods his head with a grin. The other disappears for a second returning out with a handful.

“There here’s all of them.” He huffs and Eddie looks surprised as he sees the amount there were. His eyebrows going up. Steve grunts, “Billy liked to wear bandanas a lot when he was in the mood for something and neither of us really stuck to one like you do. Um- yeah.” Steve says flustered as Eddie whistles.

“I don’t even know what some of these mean Harrington, and that’s saying something.” He says genuinely surprised. Steve shakes his head as he looks at him amused. “Well, most times I can fit three to four in my right pocket, and most guys do in California. Billy and I drove up a month before he passed and had a shit ton of fun. If you plan on leaving Hawkins and messing with it you should probably learn as many as you can.” Steve comments. Eddie can’t help but catch onto the other saying he wore his on the right. Though now it made sense for the other to be a bottom.

Steve smirks holding up his black one, “of course you know what black means.” He teases as he moves shoving it in his pocket as he continues lifting each one up. “Light blue means someone wants their dick sucked or wants to suck someone’s dick. The yellow pale was more of Billy, but it’s when someone’s into spitting on the giving or receiving end. Gold is where you have to use specific pockets and it’s normally asking for a threesome. Hunter green is the daddy kink, red means they want to fuck in the parking lot, the Leapord means the persons into tattoos and the teddy bear color is those who want to cuddle.” Steve explains to Eddie who’s eyebrows were raised up.

He hadn’t really gotten to dig to far into color meanings but now he knew he couldn’t help but tease the other. “You really are a kinky bastard.”

[as-i-watch]

What do you think the others keep in their lockers?

I once guessed zoro and lufffy kept booze and meat they swiped from the kitchen but my friend correctly pointed out that Luffy would never be able to stash meat for any period of time and he would immediately eat it

Lmao i was gonna say meat and booze too but your friend it right

I think Chopper mostly keeps herbs and medicine books. Perhaps a few funny hats or a small souveniers too

Usopp is the most organized by a mile. He keeps his tools and supplies as well as his drawing kit. May also a ready-to-go craft box

Franky prob has all he needs on his body, he must have secret compartments for everything. So i think the top half is a wardobe with speedos and hawaiian vests, and the bottom half is a fridge stacked with cola

Brook has his violin and guitar, as well as shoes and an ungodly amount of sunglasses. He is the only one that put a mirror on the inside of the door

We know Sanji

I just imagine Zoro is mostly empty. He just cant figure out what to keep in there. The only objects he really care about are his swords, haramaki and bandana and he has those with him at all times. So he uses it as storage when he is not carrying them *once a week when he showers*

Luffy's is the exact opposite of Zoro's. He finds "valuable" stuff everywhere that he just want to store it. A pretty rock, a cool stick, a shiny bracelet, this leaf that looks like a pork chop, Pepe the bug [*Luffy thats a dead beatle* *is not, he's just sleeping*], a fake beard, etc etc. He usually forgets why he kept thing and throws them away to make room for new treasures. Its chaos.

And since we are making hc for the sake of it, Usopp pitched the idea of hanging all their wanted posters on the inside part of their door bc it would be cool and funny and so they did. Most of them are still there in different integrity levels (Sanji's isnt there at all)

[thegodofthisnewworld]

MHA Pirate AU - Pirate Captain Bakugou x Gender neutral dragon Reader

Hello everyone! I got this lovely request from none other than @pakabear here on Tumblr (doesn't let me tag them so I will simply put the link here). They sent me an extremely detailed requests that I absolutely loved! I hope you like it and I truly hope I did your AU idea justice! (the whole AU request I received will be at the end, as it is quite long, but trust me, it is well worth the read <3)

https://pakabear.tumblr.com/ -> Link to their Tumblr!

warning, contains the following: possibly inaccurate character depiction (I usually don’t write these characters, so I’m sorry if they are OOC), swearing, gender-neutral reader, fluff, mentions of blood, wounds and death, Bakusquad being the Bakusquad

This is a SFW fic with some action and fluff! Lots and lots of fluff! Also some Bakusquad bickering! I hope you enjoy ♡

characters: Bakugou Katsuki, Denki Kaminari, Mina Ashido, Ejiro Kirishima, Hanta Sero, Todoroki Shoto, Enji Todoroki, Natsuo Todoroki, Midoriya Izuku

wordcount: 6817

"Land ahoy!" Sero yelled from the mast of their ship, nothing but a simple black bandana keeping his black locks out of his face. His eyes darted down towards the rest of the crew, a smile crawling upon his features.

"Aight- Everyone! Prepare for harbor" Bakugou yelled out, grabbing ahold of the helm, stirring it quite a lot quicker than necessary, whilst Mina and Denki pulled up the sails as not to crash onto the lovely land of Nezzira. The name which was oh-so foreign to them.

"Aye aye!" Was the response of all the crew members, and soon, they all reached land.

-♡♡♡-

"Whoah, tis' an amazing place, aye?" Mina spoke, her gorgeous yellow eyes gleaming around the dock of the Nezzira kingdom. Kirishima joined her in her sightseeing, while Bakugou scolded Denki for taking so long with tying the ship down.

Unbeknownst to the crew, all eyes fell on them and the whispers and hushed threats of civilians filled the land. It was well known that pirates weren't welcome in these parts, the king declared so, so why were these ruffians here?

More mumbles and hushed whispers followed the crew, making Bakugou raise an eyebrow in suspicion. He knew being a pirate usually dragged attention, but with the new coronation of prince Midoriya, he assumed that everyone was welcome in the kingdom of Evaris- everyone, including pirates.

They kept walking and prancing through the streets, until two silver clad guards extended their spears towards the crew, causing them to stop.

"In the name of the king, you are to follow us to the royal palace for a trial, filthy ruffians." One guard spoke as the other pointed his lance towards Denki, the sharp tip practically puncturing the leather on his pirate vest.

Kirishima was about to speak up, but Bakugou lifted his hand in an attempt to silence him, taking a step forward, the spear now pressing up against the fabric of his shirt, nearly tearing a hole into it with how sharp the spear was.

"Listen 'ere you scurvy dogs, my crew and I simply need rations, so how about ye piss off, before I make ye walk the plank-" Bakugou hissed his words out, his hand hovering over the cutlass that he had previously attached to the leather belt supporting his various piraty goods, along with a satchel of loot he held close.

Just before the guard could speak up again, the blonde shrugged his shoulders and refocused his scarlet orbs onto the sharp spear tip being pressed into his skin, mumbling his words out.

"Besides, yer outnumbered."

And just like clockwork, the rest of the crew grabbed ahold of their very own weapons. Kiri unsheathed a cutlass, much like Bakugou. Sero pulled out two knives, while Mina and Denki alike grabbed ahold of their axes.

The two guards took a compulsory step back, as one quickly blew on the horn attached to his belt, making the pirates look around the area. Just like that, what seemed like hundreds of guards came flooding out of an armory that just so happened to be right next to the harbor.

"Fuck-" Bakugou muttered through gritted teeth, using the newly created space between him and the two guards to dark in the opposite direction of the armory. "Follow me-"

He yelled out, his crew quickly dashing behind him. Bakugou was quick on his feet, not only that but he was also very cunning, especially when it came to fighting other pirate ships. This made him the perfect captain, and his crew knew that all too well.

His eyes scanned the area as quickly as they could, trying to find a perfect escape route. From what he could see, there were three options.

The first one would be to loop back to where their ship was docking, which was quite improbable, due to the amount of guards. The crew wouldn't even set sail before the guards caught them!

The second was to quite simply let themselves get caught, something that would not only hurt his pride, but his crew as well, so there was no way Bakugou was going to let that happen.

And so, the third option is what he went with. It just so happened to be jumping over a cobblestone wall and falling an unspecified height. He knew it wasn't the best chance to take, but at the same time, better than losing his pride and surrendering to the guards.

His leather boots made contact with some wood flooring, followed by jumping on two wooden barrels and launching himself over the cobblestone wall.

The drop was around 5 meters, give or take. Something the pirate was used to dropping every single day. It was the adrenaline that made his heart pump faster than ever before. It wasn't the first time his crew got chased or attacked, but this was the first time it happened without reason, something the pirate code abided by.

Bakugou's thoughts were interrupted by a short squeal of none other than Denki, as he launched himself over the wall, falling face first into a oleander bush, groaning at the sudden pain.

"Ouch!"

"Man up! Tis' but a scratch!" Kirishima laughed, helping his comrade up from the thorny bushes. Denki oh so graciously got up, fixing his leather vest up and rubbing his chin in an attempt to soothe the itchy feeling.

"In the name of king Enji Todoroki! You are all hereby prisoners of the royal guard."

Those words made the entire crew turn around to face whoever said them. It was a rather tall man with navy blue hair, clad in what seemed to be iron- no, silver armor. The helmet that was presumably covering his face held tightly under his arm as he glared down at the five pirates, more guards running out from the building.

Bakugou's crew managed to jump into the royal gardens.

"Fuck-" Bakugou muttered under his breath as he raised his hands, his eyebrow twitching in an annoyed manner, staring up at the unknown male. Mina and Kirishima did the same, while Denki and Sero grit their teeth in annoyance, holding off until two spears were pointed towards them.

Just as the guard was about to speak up again, one of his fellow workers came up to him and whispered quiet words in his ear. Bakugou leaned forward in an attempt to listen in on the conversation, but they were far too quiet.

The primary guard cleared his throat and refocused his attention to the newly attained prisoners, mumbling his words softly.

"The king would like to see you- In order to determine your punishment." His voice remained calm and without a second thought, he began walking away, expecting for the pirates to follow him.

Bakugou was about to reach for his cutlass and break all hell loose, but Kirishima placed a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm his captain down. At that very moment, Bakugou contemplated brushing his hand off and slashing at the guards, but he decided that it was for the best that he listened to his comrade, he wouldn't want any of them getting hurt after all.

And with that, the crew of five began following the navy haired guard.

After what seemed like an excruciatingly long amount of time, they reached a large room clad in royal red colors. The sun shined through the large, golden framed windows and only highlighted the three thrones in the middle of the room.

And that is where they sat. King Enji Todoroki and his two sons, Shoto and Natsuo. Bakugou and his crew soon stopped, mostly in response to the main guard bowing down staring at the pirates, somewhat urging them to do the same.

"Now, you bow in the presence of a king, you pirate scum." King Enji spat his words out, staring at the crew of pirates. Bakugou was about to bark an insult out, when the guard that had led them there grabbed ahold of his hair and forcefully slamming him to the floor.

His face made contact with the royal red fabric, making him groan as he felt an iron-like scent fill his nostrils. Blood. He thought to himself, knowing he had no way of wiping it away without pissing off the king further.

The rest of his crew simply got to their knees and averted their gaze, not wanting to get a similar treatment to their captain.

"That's better, what brings you to the kingdom of Nezzira? Unannounced and- Unwated if I may add." Enji kept on speaking, groaning at the sight of five pirates roaming his safe lands.

"Nezzira? We 'ought this was Evaris." Bakugou barked out from under the grip of the soldier, trying his best to reach over for his cutlass in an attempt to rebel. "But then again, all these filthy lands look the same-" He smirked up at the king, his red orbs glaring daggers.

"Ah I see." Enji looked over to Todoroki, his youngest son that spoke of the coronation to him. Mentioning how the young prince was becoming a king. "Unfortunately for you, unlike in Evaris-" As Enji spoke the name of the neighboring kingdom, his voice dripped with disgust and hatred. "-We do not tolerate pirate scum on our lands- Public execution!"

His voice boomed through the hall as he stood up from his throne, taking a couple steps towards the pirates.

"Captain! We can't feed the fish just yet! We're all too young!" Denki chimed in, fear mirrored in his eyes. Mina soon joined in, her voice directed at none other than the king.

"Heave to! Twas nothin' but an honest mistake!" Her voice skipped with each word she spoke, but even so, she was trying her best to protect the crew.

"Even so, this mistake will cost you your life, learn to navigate the sea, before you set sail." Enji spoke in an annoyed manner, crossing his arms over his chest, the royal red cape flowing behind him. His two sons averted their gaze from the pirates, feeling the slightest bit of sympathy towards them.

"Twas my fault!" Bakugou yelled out, glaring up at the king, clenching his fists as he struggled up against the royal guard. "Let me crew go, execute me all ye want-" And with that, he spat at the king's feet, glaring directly at him as the guard gripped onto his hair, an armored hand restricting his own palms from grabbing ahold of his cutlass.

Enji took a small step back, just barely avoiding the spit, his brows furrowing further. He cleared his throat, before mumbling out his new resolution.

"Then- GUARDS!" It was evident by the tone of his voice that he was fuming. He never expected pirates to roam his land, let alone talk back to him and taint his expensive carpet. "Throw them in with the Dragon, it'll know what to do with them!"

Enji walked closer to Bakugou, instructing his guard to make the pirate look up at him. The guard's grip grew tighter on Bakugou's hair, making him groan as his scarlet orbs were forced to stare up at the king's face. Just as he was about to spit yet again, the guard covered his mouth, letting the king speak freely, without any form of interruption.

"That'll teach you to talk back to a king, pirate scum."

And with that, he turned around, letting his cape smack the young captain in the face, walking back to his throne.

Before Bakugou had a moment to spit his own words back, he was being dragged to the dungeon, along with his crew. No one dared speak up or mention what had just happened, they just walked in silence, some more willingly than others.

"A dungeon, a fuckin' dungeon!" Bakugou growled his words out as the royal knights walked them back outside, walking towards what seemed like a dark cave that no one bothered to cover up.

"Captain! I don't want to die yet!" Denki chimed in, panic mirrored in his eyes.

"Shut it! No one is dyin' on my watch!" Bakugou yelled out angrily, as the guards attempted to hush them, shoving them into the entrance of the cavelocking a large iron door behind them. Leaving them to their own demise.

Bakugou wasted no time wiping the small trail of blood with the sleeve of his shirt, dying it red. He groaned at the feeling, licking away the remained of blood that made it's way onto his lip.

"What are we gonna do captain?" Eijiro spoke up, rubbing his own arm in a concerned manner, trying to get his mind off of things. Off of this situation that they managed to get themselves into.

"Ye think I know?" Bakugou clenched his fists for a brief moment, before going over to the iron door in an attempt to break it. And sadly, shaking and pulling on the solid bars didn't do anything.

"I can't believe we die ere!" Sero began speaking, laughing at the end in an attempt to lighten the mood, and truth be told, he only made Denki more nervous.

"Shut up! Yer making Denki more nervous." Bakugou sighed and refocused his attention down to the dark cave. He couldn't see a dragon, and truth be told, he didn't believe that such a cowardly king could even own a dragon of his own. And so, he started walking towards the darkness of the cave.

"Captain?" Eijiro spoke up, concern lacing his voice as he extended a hand towards Bakugou, only to see him turn around, giving his crew the slightest, reassuring smile.

"I'm tryin' to find another way out, besides, I doubt that bilge-sucking king got his hands on a dragon!" The captain let out a small chuckle, waiting for the slightest smiles to spread across the faces of his crew, before walking back towards the darkness, his crew following close behind.

The walk wasn't long, but what they came across, shocked them, to say the least.

"I-Is that-" Denki started to speak up, only to have his mouth covered by Mina, who was holding her breath.

A real life dragon.

"That thing is massive-" Eijiro whispered, a tremble evident in his voice. Bakugou stood there, eyeing the beast. Eijiro was right, it was massive. That thing filled up the cave with hardly any space to move.

"Makes me wonder how it got 'ere." Sero mumbled, in a hushed tone, instantly holding his breath as the dragon began shifting. It's eyes remained closed, but a small shift was enough to make the pirates freeze in fear. They had never come across a dragon, let alone be fed to one.

Bakugou swallowed the dry lump that formed in his throat, before taking a step forwards, only to be stopped by kirishima placing a hand on his shoulder.

"What're you doin' captain!" His voice was hushed as well, but still laced with concern and confusion. Bakugou gently swatted his palm away, whispering his words out.

"Avast ye! There's two sources of light. One from above-" Bakugou pointed upwards, where the majority of light was coming from, making the dragon visible. "And one from behind." And that is when he pointed behind the dragon's body. Sunlight. One thing that was sure to indicate a way out.

And with that, he began to take a couple steps towards the dragon, only then-

The sound of scales slithering and an animalisten groan filled the cave. Every member of the crew held their breath as Bakugou quickly stepped backwards, joining his subordinates as quickly as he could. Denki was quivering in fear and Mina was clutching onto Sero like her life depended on it. Which, it most likely did. Eijiro once again placed a shaky hand on Bakugou's shoulder, gripping down a bit harder than ever before.

Bakugou didn't want to admit that he was scared. Not ever and especially not in front of his crew, but here he was, his teeth clattering as he clenched his fists in order to contain a grip on reality in the best way possible.

And just like that, a large, lizard-like head turned towards them, before these massive, serpent eyes began to open. They were the size of a wagon wheel and the color of the deepest part of the sea. And the worst thing? They were staring right at the crew.

Silence followed until a loud, animalistic roar echoed through the cavern. It was enough to shake the rocky interior and nearly enough to make Denki faint in fear.

"L-Listen, we don't want no trouble-" Bakugou spoke up, his teeth still clattering together as he spoke, his hands shaking as he raised them in an attempt to surrender to the beast. All he was trying to do is protect his crew, even if it would cost him his head- err- body, considering the size of the dragon's jaw.

"I won't kill you-" The dragon spoke in a low growl, scanning the crew of five for a small while, before shifting to where it's back was turned to the squat, it's sharp fangs nor piercing eyes no longer visible. "-just don't bother me, I wish to rest."

Bakugou let out a sharp exhale and slowly began reaching for his cutlass, seeing as the dragon was now letting his guard down. Just as his hand came in contact with the hilt of his sword, the dragon's voice once again boomed through the cave, this time sounding more menacing than before.

"But if you dare try anything, despite my kindness, I won't hesitate to roast you to ashes." That sentence alone was enough to make Bakugou drop the idea completely. He took a deep breath, once again stepping towards the dragon, letting Kirishima's hand drop to his side.

Only now did he notice the dragon's wounds. Various gashes and scratch marks far bigger than any regular animal could to, accompanied by spear puncture wounds as well. Something quite unusual for a creature with such thick skin.

But even with all these various gashes and cuts, the worst injury must've been the torn wing. The thinner skin was still covered in dried blood, and so, it became evident. The dragon couldn't fly.

"What happened to ye-" Bakugou spoke up, scanning it's injured body. Taking yet another step closer, somewhat extending a hand out towards it.

The dragon let out a low growl as Bakugou inched closer, refocusing it's gaze over to the young pirate captain.

"Don't, touch." It growled it's words out, blinking cautiously with it's lizard eyes, scanning him. "It's none of your concern."

"I want to know, I want to be able to help ye, since- ye won't eat me crew n' all." He mumbled the last part out, once again retiring the hand back to his side.

"And why should I tell a complete stranger?" The dragon huffed out, letting out an animalistic yawn, shifting it's tail once again, the sound of scales scraping against the floor filling the ears of the pirate crew.

"I suppose ye don't have to, we're just curious." Kirishima joined in, also taking a step towards the dragon. Mina, Sero and Denki were still staying back, slightly huddles together, scared of what the dragon will do.

The dragon remained quiet for a while longer, before lowering it's head to where Bakugou and Kirishima were standing, scanning them with it's dark blue orbs. That was when a faint scent of smoke filled their senses as the dragon began speaking.

"It's quite depressing." It spoke, waiting for some form of interjections or complaints, but none came. The pirate crew remained silent, staring up at the dragon with curious eyes.

"I was banished from my hoard." The dragon began speaking, averting it's gaze from the pirate crew, moving it's tail in an anxious way in an attempt to calm itself down. "Dragons I once considered my friends- my family turned on me without a blink of an eye."

The dragon let out a small puff of smoke, carefully resting it's lizard head atop one of it's clawed paws.

"Now why would they do that! Family supports family!" Bakugou exclaimed angrily, enough to have his voice echo through the cave. Kirishima's expression softened as he looked at his captain getting so heated about someone else's situation.

"Once one quarrels, the bond of family is nothing."

"Now that ain't true!" Denki chimed in, finally managing to pluck up the courage to speak up. He took a step forward to join Bakugou and Kirishima up front, a determined expression accompanying the smile on his face. "Family are the people ye trust with yer life!"

"He's right, family should take care of ye, no matter what." Mina joined in, still standing in the back, attempting to pluck up enough courage to join the other three up front. Sero being in a similar situation.

"Well, maybe for you humans." The dragon kept on speaking, letting out another puff of smoke, seeing it rise towards the top of the cavern, this time making the young pirate crew cough. "But for dragons, family is something very fragile."

The crew decided to stay silent this time, letting the dragon tell it's story.

"I was banished and wounded, and so, I fled to this piece of land." The dragon kept speaking, suddenly having it's nose scrunch up at the terrible times it had just remembered. "I met the king and his men- they fought me and restrained me, before forcing me into this cave as a captive."

A small growl escaped the dragon's mouth, sparks threatening to spill out of its mouth as the whole cave began heating up, the dragon threatening to set the whole place ablaze.

"We've met him- I wanted to plunge my cutlass right through his face." Bakugou exclaimed, a triumphants smirk spreading across his lips. Truth be told, he wanted to stop the dragon from setting the whole place ablaze, not wanting his crew to get hurt.

"A terrible man, someone like him shouldn't be in charge of a family, let alone a country." The dragon kept on speaking, huffing out its words angrily. It clenched and unclenched its claws, before refocusing its attention back to the pirates.

"And how did you end up here?"

Its words seemed relaxed unlike when it was talking about the king, genuinely wanting to know how the pirates wound up in such a situation.

"Well- We were on our way to see the coronation of a new king- Midoriya of Evaris. We 'ought this was Evaris-" Bakugou mumbled the last part, admitting to his mistake, letting out an annoyed groan.

"We must've been wrong, and now, we're 'ere!" Kirishima joined in, smiling brightly up at the dragon.

"You're not mad at one another for making a mistake?" The dragon spoke questioningly, its ears perking up in an interested manner.

"Not really, we're a crew after all!" Mina joined in, slowly taking a step towards the three of her crewmates, casually wrapping her arm around Denki, shooting the dragon a wide smile.

"A crew? What is that?" The dragon questioned, moving its head closer to the pirates, inches away from Bakugou, making him shiver at the pure size difference.

"Well- I suppose a crew is somethin' like a family." Bakugou spoke up, looking back at his crew members, finally seeing Sero step up to join the rest of them, a smile spanning each of their features. "We have our backs no matter what-" Bakugou practically cheered the last part out and lifted his right hand into the air, his crew doing the same and chanting their words out.

"Aye aye captain!" And with that, they all laughed in the slightest manner, before refocusing their attention back to the dragon which seemed relaxed. It seemed to enjoy the friendly company of the pirates.

"Why did the evil king put you here, he clearly didn't think you would tear each other's throats off." The dragon mumbled it's words out, wagging its tail in the slightest manner, once again having its scales scrape against the cold floor.

Sero gave a small, concerned laugh, before mumbling his words out. "Truth be told, he must've thought ye were goin' to eat us!"

Mina and Denki nodded eagerly, as Bakugou kept staring up into the dragon's sea-blue orbs.

"That's absurd- Dragon's don't feast on human flesh, they haven't for- for millenia!" It exclaimed its words in both a confused and angered manner, clenching its talons again.

"Truth be told, we were worried- we ain't seen a live dragon ever before." Bakugou spoke up, rubbing the back of his neck, remaining close to the large beast.

"And I haven't seen such kind humans." The dragon complimented and Bakugou could swear that he could see its features curve into a small smile. He couldn't help but feel his cheeks heat up in the slightest, something he would later blame on the dragon's warm smoke.

"I know! How about ye come with us!" Denki cheered out, looking up at Bakguou- almost like a small child begging his parent for a piece of candy. Bakugou felt slightly take aback by the suggestion. he wanted to get to know the dragon more, but there was one tiny problem.

"Denki's right captain! We ought to help the dragon recover! And in return it could get us back to our ship!" Mina cheered again, grabbing onto Denki, the widest smile now spanning her features.

"I don't know, would that be alright with your family? I wouldn't wish to cause another discourse- not like with my blood." The dragon spoke up, feeling its ears fall back, staring down at the excited crew members.

"Oi! As the captain of the ship, I get the final say!" Bakugou practically yelled his words out, almost in a scolding manner, refocusing his attention to Mina and Denki, before facing the dragon again.

"I'm all for ye joining me crew on sea, but you're too fuckin big! I have no idea how to fit ye onto the ship!" He grumbled the ending part, scanning the dragon from head to the tip of its tail. It was three, maybe four times the size of his boat, something that made him slightly irritated.

And with that, the sound of scales hitting the cold, cobblestone floor fild the caver, along with a faint, dark blue glow. The pirates averted their gaze as not to go blind with the sudden burst of light, waiting for it to die down slightly.

After a few seconds, the light finally dimmed down. Bakugou was the first to look. He was too curious as to rub his eyes and recover from the sudden light. His eyes darted towards the now humanoid form standing before him.

They had gorgeous (h/c) locks, accompanied by those stunning, deep blue orbs. Much to Bakugou's surprise, the humanoid figure before him was well built. A lean body fit for a member of his crew. Not only that, but the horns, pointed eyes and talons remained the same. And despite the dim lighting, he swore he saw a couple scales graze the top of their cheeks.

"Ye- I-" Bakugou tried to mutter his words out, having to clear his throat and avert his gaze, the lightest blust staining his cheeks.

"Whoah! So cute!" Mina squaled out, happily bouncing towards her new dragon comrade. Denki stared in amazement, while Sero and Kirishima couldn't form a coherent sentence.

"Do ye- do ye have a name?" Bakugou spoke up, breaking the chatter of his crew members, catching the dragon off guard.

"A name-" The dragon thought for a moment, shrugging it's well sculpted shoulders, before speaking up in a soft tone, something quite drastically different from when it resembled a lizard. "I suppose my fellow dragons used to call me (Y/N), feel free to use it."

"Alright (Y/N)" Bakugou spoke up, shooting a cocky grin towards the dragon that had introduced themselves as (Y/N), the blush still grazing his cheeks. "Me name is Katsuki Bakugou! But call me captain!"

"I'm Eijiro!"

"Me name is Mina!"

"Sero, pleasure is on me side!"

"And I'm Denki!"

(Y/N) couldn't help but chuckle at the introduction of it's new family, smiling in their general direction, before tuning towards the exit, speaking up in a soft tone.

"This is the way out, I could get you to your ship if you tell me where it is."

"Can ye fly with those injuries?" Bakugou spoke up, scanning (Y/N)'s visibly injured back and wings, raising an eyebrow in a concerned manner.

"I could try." (Y/N) spoke, spreading their wings in an attempt to fly. A couple flapts and they managed to get themselves off the ground, before collapsing down to the ground, their wings giving out.

"(Y/N), are ye alright?" Kirishima spoke out, kneeling down, carefully placing a hand on their shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, but I don't think I can fly us out of here."

"Don't worry bout it, we can get out the normal way!" Mina spoke up, grabbing ahold of (Y/N)'s hand, helping them stand up.

Bakugou took the moment to walk towards the second exit, noticing that it leads to where they have previously ran into the plethora of guards. It leads to the harbor.

"Oi, this way!"

"Aye aye captain!" Denki and Sero spoke up, while Mina and Kirishima helped (Y/N) stand up, letting them get used to walking on two human feet.

Bakugou couldn't help but shoot back a couple concerned glances, wanting to check wether (Y/N) was alright. He wouldn't admit it to the rest of his crew, but he was fascinated with the dragon.

He slowly began creeping along the cave exit. There was a very narrow pathway leading back to the harbor, with a rather far way down. Enough to break a bone or few. But even so, it was their only way out.

"Follow me!" Bakugou spoke up, a very confident tone lacing his voice. His crew responded with an audible Aye Aye, before following Bakugou along the narrow pathway.

Every single one of them held their breath, not wanting to risk anything whilst walking along such a narrow pathway. They were very cautious with every step. Especially (Y/N), as they weren't used to walking on human feet.

Bakugou carefully made it to the end of the pathway, smirking at his accomplishment, before returning his gaze to his crew, making sure they all reach safety.

Kirishima was the last to reach safe ground, letting out a relieved exhale as he set foot on an all too familiar cobblestone path.

"Avast ye! We're close to the barracks, so be mighty careful!" Bakugou spoke up in a hushed tone, looking around to see whether guards were anywhere near them. "Denki-"

"Aye captain?"

"I need ye to sneak in, untie the ship so we can all hop aboard!" Bakugou mumbled, placing a hand on Denki's shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile.

Denki gave his captain a wide smile, before nodding, refocusing his attention back to the area before him.

"As the captain of this ship, tis' me responsibility to distract them scurvy dogs!" Bakugou tipped his captain's hat, the widest smirk spreading across his features, somewhat in a cocky manner.

"Bak- I mean! Captain! Stop running a rig! What if ye get caught!" Mina spoke up, furrowing her brows at the idea of her captain. Bakugou simply waved her concerns off.

"There's a lot of 'em. Can't have me crew dyin' off on me." he looked over to Denki, who was already sneaking towards the harbor, his eyes set on nothing but the ladder connecting to their ship and the flimsily attached rope, keeping their boat from being washed away to sea.

(Y/N) was about to speak up, but Bakugou seemed to have made up his mind. Without a moment of hesitation, he darted towards the harbor, making sure to flash his signature pirate smirk towards the armory.

The horn was blown again, signalling that prisoners have escaped and backup was needed. Bakugou knew that normally, his crew could've just made a run for the ship, but with (Y/N) now joining them, he simply couldn't let them risk getting caught, not again.

He made sure to spot his crew silently make their way to the ship, jumping aboard, as he simply ran away from guards ,taking various paths.

Hi red eyes scanned the area before him, trying to find the best way to get to the harbor, with no luck. The amount of guards kept on increasing, making it quite difficult for Bakugou to dodge them.

His breathing was starting to grow heavy as he took another turn left, having to run away from the harbor in order to dodge the guards. He was once again nearing the cobblestone wall that he had previously jumped over. He couldn't do so this time, not unless he wanted to get caught by the royal guards inside the palace.

'I could jump in and double back to the cave- maybe turning around and fighting the guards could work'

Bakugou thought to himself, making use of the nearby wooden barrels to launch himself onto the cobblestone wall. He held his breath, nearly toppling back over to the garden, just barely managing to catch his leather boots on the edge.

He was quick to make a turn and run alongside the wall, gaining advances on the guards. The smirk that was once plastered on his face only grew wider, seeing as he was closer to escape.

That was when cruel reality hit him, there was no way he was making it onto the ship. Not with the height of the wall and especially not with how far the ship was already at sea.

He kept running alongside the cobblestone wall, finally reaching the harbor and with that, the end of the wall. Bakugou already calculated his options, either stop, turn back and face the consequences of evading direct orders from the king, or- jumping.

Bakugou could hear his crew calling out to him, calling something out. He had no idea what it was, but there was no way he was giving up so easily. And with that, he decided to jump.

And for a moment, that smirk managed to disappear from his face. Even if it were just for a small while.

Bakugou closed his eyes, anticipating his harsh contact with water. The captain hat that was resting atop his blonde locks now falling off, most likely drifting away with the waves.

He anticipated the moment where his body would make contact with the cold water.

But it never came.

Instead, Bakugou felt something- rather someone, grip onto his forearm, dragging him back up into the air. The flapping of wings stirred the wind and forced the pirate captain to open his eyes.

"(Y/N)?'

Bakugou spoke, almost shellstruck with the sudden dragonoid human carrying him up and onto the board of his ship, a small disgruntled expression spanning their features.

As soon as they both toppled on board, (Y/N) let out a small groan of pain, their wings slowly stretching out, the tear in them only growing wider.

"(Y/N), ye idiot! Ye could've got yourself hurt!" Bakugou yelled out, staring up at their new dragon comrade with wide eyes. (Y/N) simply let out a small chuckle in return, rubbing the back of their neck.

"I couldn't just stand back and watch you drown yourself, sorry about your hat, I couldn't save it in time." (Y/N) mumbled out, their tail gently swaying from side to side, almost like a giddy puppy.

"Captain! Ye okay?" Kirishima ran up to his captain, carefully placing his palms on his shoulder, making sure he grasped reality.

"Aye- I'm fine, thanks to (Y/N)"

Give credit where credit is due, that was all Bakugou was thinking at that very moment, but all he knew, deep down, was the fact that he was in no way letting their new dragon friend walk away from them.

He wanted them in his crew, no matter the cost.

-♡♡♡-

A couple months had passed since the crew's first encounter with the dragon, and it was safe to say, that they have grown much closer since then.

(Y/N) graciously agreed to join the crew, after their wounds finally healed up, and to say the crew was ecstatic would be an understatement. Denki enjoyed his tasks significantly more.

Sero always had a companion on the lookout and Mina finally had someone to gossip with. Eijiro managed to get some help from (Y/N) in the kitchen and Bakugou?

Bakugou was starstruck.

There was finally someone to keep him company. Bakugou was used to spending late nights alone, clutching onto the helm, whilst attempting to keep his crew safe.

But now? He finally had someone to spend time with. Someone to talk to and someone to help him navigate the seas.

Not only that, but Bakugou’s fascination with the new crew-mate grew with each passing day. This was because he managed to find out something new about their draconic nature.

It started off with flying up to stand in for Sero on the lookout helm. Then (Y/N) simply helped with general directions, as their sense of smell helped them navigate the seas.

The cherry on top of the cake was when a pirate ship attacked them. At first, they were outnumbered, but when (Y/N) turned into their true dragon self, the enemies could only surrender all their booty and beg for mercy. This was something that infatuated the young pirate captain.

And that is what brought him to where he was now.

The kingdom of Evaris. Home of the newly crowned king Midoriya- a place where everyone was welcome, including pirates.

Cherry blossoms bloomed along every corner, the gorgeous marble pathways lit up by various lanterns. Not on it was it a beautiful place deep down, but it was nothing less that an absolute blessing to look at.

Clutching onto Bakugou’s hand was none other than (Y/N). Blindfolded- robbed of all this gorgeous land.

“Where are you taking me captain?”

They spoke up in a confused manner, trying their best not to stumble on a loose piece of marble, clutching onto Bakugou’s palm.

Bakugou simply huffed in response and tugged on their hand harder, nearly making (Y/N) trip over. With an annoyed groan escaping their lips, Bakugou finally stopped, smirking to himself.

“We’re here.”

“Can I take the blindfold off now?”

(Y/N) questioned, only making Bakugou’s cheeks heat up. He carefully placed his hand onto his crew mates cheek, quickly shifting it to slide the bandana off.

Bakugou managed to clear his throat, while (Y/N) blinked a couple of times, trying to get used to the sudden entrance of light.

“Captain, what-“ Before they had a chance to question the captain, their brea to was taken away by the gorgeous view. The entire kingdom of Evaris was on their display.

Every nook and cranny was stuffed with cherry blossom plants and millions of lanterns were illuminating the area. The most gorgeous part of all, was the fact that the harbor was also visible, and in it, none other than Bakugou’s ship. The ship that they spent so much time on.

“It’s gorgeous.” (Y/N) spoke up, the softest smile spreading across their features.

“I thought ye would like it.” Bakugou returned the smile, hoisting his elbows up onto the small wooden fence blocking them from a massive hill. (Y/N) was quick to join him, staring up at the sky with their gorgeous blue orbs.

Bakugou couldn’t help but Avery his attention to his crew mate, his heart starting to race like he had just ran away from royal guards.

“But even with this in front of me, I’d still rather stare at ye.” The sudden burst of confidence made the captain grow flustered. He wasn’t used to confessing his feelings, let alone feelings of love and affection.

“W-what do you mean captain?”

“Don’t play dumb! I fuckin’ like ye.” And there was his normal nature, shining through like a raging spark in a dark room. His cheeks began heating up even further as (Y/N) looked over to him, staring into his scarlet eyes.

“Captain- are you certain?”

“Then-“ With that, Bakugou leaned in closer, his hot breath now hitting the sensitive scales right under (Y/N)’s cheek. “-how about I do this, to prove to ye just how certain I am.”

And with that, a soft kiss was placed onto (Y/N)’s cheek, making their entire face heat up. A warm puff of smoke escaped their nose and their scarlet face turned a red shade.

Bakugou snickered at the sudden shift of composure, his lips curling against (Y/N)’s skin. And with that, he decided to do one last thing, and just like that, his lips made contact with their own. Bakugou’s hand gently caressing (Y/N)’s cheeks, the softest expression spanning his face.

-♡♡♡-

Alright! First request done! I feel like I procrastinated on this so much, which I am very sorry for! Also, writing in Pirate lingo is difficult! Who would’ve thought! I truly hope you like the piece of writing and I am sorry for making Bakugou a bit softer than he canonically is! (But then again, I live for soft, flustered Bakugou and their strong Dragon significant other!)

I’m also sorry if I missed any grammatical mistakes or typos, I am very tired-

Also, word count will be added tomorrow (if I don’t forget) as I’m on my phone and too lazy to find it out now, but I just really want to post this and not make anyone wait any further!

- Bunny <3

The prompt by pakabear as promised:

okay so here’s my idea, it’s like a pirate au/fanasty au thingy: SO bakugou is the captain of a ship and the baku squad is his crew. they recently landed in a habor for supplies when they were ambushed by their enemies (the authorities or another pirate crew. it’s up to you which one), captured, and taken inland. the ones who have captured them get the bright idea to drop them all down a cave. a cave which, recently been claimed by a dragon. at this point baku is angry (duh), kiri is concerned, denki is freakin’ out, and everyone is scared of the beast before them. they’re dumped in. its quiet for a second, everyone is holding their breath for something, anything to happen. then they hear it, shifting scales that get louder as a dragon turns to them. deep blue serpent eyes the size of a head open, and look on towards the squad as they huddle together. bakugou then noticed the body of the dragon. it’s clearly injured, and definitely not able to fly. the dragon then speaks in a low voice: “i won’t kill you. just don’t bother me. if you dare try anything, you will feel my wrath” and then simply turns back around. one from the squad speaks up first, and the dragon shifts it’s head and answers. the group and the dragon have a conversation. one that reveals the squad situation as well as the dragon’s. it had been kicked out of its horde (one of the worst things to happen to a dragon), fought what was once it’s friends, and it had traveled here to lick its wounds. the squad explains they had been put down here bc their enemy thought the dragon would eat them. the dragon huffs in response “they really don’t know anything, do they?” they all feel for the dragon, sympathizing for its situation. denki (or someone) comes up with an idea “hey! how about this, you get us outta here and back to our ship, and we’ll give you a place to recuperate so nobody bothers you? uhhh, is that okay bakugou?” “…sure. i guess. if you can fuckin fit. you’re too damn big” he then looks up at the dragon as he hears more shifting. the dragon changes into a humanoid form. still retaining the eyes, horns, some scales, pointed eyes, and sharp nails, you look exactly like one, with a lean and built body. the squad gasps in awe, and you chuckle slightly. (bakugou is definitely not blushing lmao) and so you all are off with the squad on your back. wary of your injuries, the squad tells you not to push yourself too hard. yet you push through. you head off toward their ship, getting them there relatively safely (except a few bumps and bruises), and setting sail. they all welcome you aboard in open arms. flash forward a week or so, you’ve bonded plenty with your pirates, and they ask you to stay. you happily agree. from now on, you are part of the crew, acting as the ship’s nuclear deterrent in the process, and scaring the shit outta everyone. a dragon? with pirates?? when they are threatened, you’re already standing behind your pirates, glaring menacingly at those who dare. when you’re threatened, your pirates are absolutely not afraid to defend you and your honor. it’s not everyday where a group of pirates have a protector such as yourself, and nobody on the ship is willing to let you go, nor take you for granted.

[bardofhype]

Fallout: New Vegas Robot Humanization Headcanons!

i got into fnv recently and i am totally normal about the game i swear (/lh). and recently some ideas of humanizing some of the many robots you see in the game hit me like a brick so now I'm just gonna throw those thoughts out into the open here! here we go Yes Man TV visor screen. Constant smile but his eyes (and voice especially) can properly hold his true emotion for him. Has that Wario build (buff chubby). Has power armor as a treat. I think it'd be funny if he was just always wearing a hat, for no reason. He has a different hat every time you look at him.

ED-E Football helmet, adorned with a few antenna. Has a jetpack. Somewhere between 2 to 3 feet tall. I think he deserves a few short robo-tentacles either attached to his back exactly or attached to his jetpack to help him be able to hover. Probably an amputee in one arm. Big big eyes, glowing and full of loyalty Fisto

Tall. Is 6 feet at least. Tempted to give him buff chubby/dad bod status as well, since he's presumably got very strong arms. Wears booty shorts and sandals. Eyes covered by some sort of hat to pit his mysterious vibe to him despite the buff chubby/dad bod build and booty shorts + sandals fit

Victor Medium height, pretty much looks the exact same as what you can see on his Securitron screen. Cowboy fit and all, the kindest, rootiest and tootiest cowboy this side of the Mojave SPOILERS FOR OLD WORLD BLUES DLC UNDER THE CUT

The Think Tank gang Klein, I think he's like. Mentally in his 50's. Would have some gray hairs, probably wears round spectacles. Wears a turtleneck and sweater vest under his lab coat. Has a sky blue tint to his whole form.

0, he's definitely got square glasses. Mentally in his mid 20's, wears a plaid button-up with a clip-on the along with the lab coat. Has a darker blue tint to his form.

Dala, she absolutely, constantly has lab goggles on, especially if in the presence of a Lobotomite. They probably fog up every time she's like. Super close to one. Wears form-fitting clothing, I wanna say, along with the lab coat and all, maybe even having some sort of bears paw talisman just for giggles. Has a purple tint to her form.

Borous, oh buddy. Farmer hat, tank top, overalls, the lab coat is tied around his waist, he has CONTACT LENSES. Since his experiments always kept taking his glasses away from him, if they were capable enough to. Has a camo green tint to his form.

8... Oh 8. Probably wears a scarf or bandana around where his mouth is. I wanna say he'd have vitiligo, caused by his voice getting fried and screwed during the attack 0 describes. Glasses have octagonal frames. Has four bracelets on each arm, made them himself. Wears/has headphones. Has a light green tint to his form. The Sink Personality Modules (at least, the ones I've found so far) Light Switch 01? she seems like she'd have, like... hmm, hard to say. There could be some bioluminescence/glow to her that can toggle off and on on account of being a light switch, and i feel like she'd have a sweater. specifically, like, a sweater dress sort of feel. but that's all i've got for her

Book Chute? British. monocle owning, clean mustache having, dress suit wearing, dirty blond comb-over styling, always has a book in hand 95% of the time, with the 5% of the time he still has a book in his hand, but in the other hand is a whole tube of white-out. he's terribly great.

Blind Diode Jefferson, my man. sitting in a rocking chair, with a prosthetic leg, faded scars and bruises lining his arms, always has a pile of instruments laying by his sides. chipped tooth in his smile, tinted shades, messy hairbun, loose jazz musician clothes, my man's got the jazz fedora- you know the kind of fedora or hat that jazz artists have sometimes? That, he has That. i love him so so so much

Central Intelligence Unit? British, but more bearable, despite the well-ironed butler outfit. no monocle, but i feel like he'd have like. a cravat. and maybe a little top hat. is always doing something whenever you enter the Sink. i think he has something similar to Yes Man's TV visor, but it's more like a computer screen

[the-bau-quinjet]

You Belong With Me

Chapter 5 of In Breakable Heaven!! 

Summary: Penelope has a Halloween party!

Warnings: none 

Word Count: ~3100

You woke up slowly, not realizing you were on the couch with another human. As usual, you tried to roll over and go back to sleep, but instead of landing on the other side of your bed you land squarely on the floor between your couch and coffee table. Spencer shifted on the couch to look down at you as the two of you burst into laughter.

“Are you okay?” He struggled to get the words out through the laughter. 

“Yeah. Yeah I’m fine.” Finally managing to stand up, you grab the trash from the night before and throw it out. Spencer grabs the dishes from behind you and loads them into the dishwasher. You are about to offer Spencer some breakfast when he breaks the silence.

 “I should probably get going, but, uh, I can’t find my phone.” You can’t help but smile at the dejected look on his face.

 “It probably sunk into the couch, here” you hand him your phone “You can call it while I look under the cushions.” He takes your advice, dialing his phone and holding yours up to his ear.

 “It’s ringing.” You can hear it begin to vibrate as you remove cushions from the couch. “Got it!” You hold the phone up victoriously, answering the call. “Hello Doctor. What can I do for you?” You can’t help but tease him a little. He hangs up your phone, trading it for his. 

“Thank you. I really do have to go, but I’m really glad I got to see you again.” “Me too. I mean, I don’t have to go. I live here. I just meant I’m really happy I got to see you again too. And now you have my phone number, so we can talk more!” You force yourself to stop rambling before you say something even more embarrassing. 

He just grins at you, glad to not be the one rambling for once, and waves goodbye as he says “I’m looking forward to it.”

 --

 Around 4 PM a couple days later, you get a text from Spencer. You two had been texting pretty consistently since he left your apartment. But this text feels like a birthday gift from up above when you read the five simple words. Not that you would tell him today is your birthday. That would be weird to just randomly bring up.

 From Spencer: “Are you busy right now?”

 To Spencer: “Nope. I just got back from the bookstore.”

 It takes what feels like eternity for him to respond. Unbeknownst to you, he is pacing his apartment, working up the nerve to press send.

 From Spencer: “Do you want go see a movie? There’s a new Scream that just started in theaters and since Halloween is right around the corner, I thought it might be fun.”

 You can’t help but squeal a little when you read and reread the message.

 To Spencer: “I would love to! I love Halloween.”

 From Spencer: “Great, I can pick you up at 5?”

 To Spencer: “See you then”

 You instantly drop what you were working on to get ready. You have to pick out something to wear that says you’re interested but isn’t too much for going to see a movie. You decide on a pair of dark wash jeans, black combat boots, and a light sweater that ties in the back. It’s cute, comfy, and very fall. Just as you finish your mascara, you hear a knock on your door. You grab your purse and swing it open to find Spencer standing there in a black button up, dark jeans, a maroon cardigan, and of course, black converse. He looks incredible. You can feel the blush on your cheeks as he looks at you. “Ready to go?”

 “Yep, just let me grab my keys.” And with that, the two of you are walking back down to his car. You arrive to the theater 15 minutes before the movie, the perfect amount of time to get some snacks! You insist on buying the popcorn and sweet treats since he bought the tickets. You make your way into the theater and see it’s mostly empty except for a few people in the back. You find two seats in the middle and sit down. You’re honestly a little nervous because even though you love scary movies and haunted houses, you still get freaked out pretty easily. The scare is why you love it, but also why you’re nervous.

 “Are you okay?” Spencer’s question cuts off your train of thought. 

You decide to answer honestly “yeah, I love scary movies. I just… get scared… Wow that was stupid.” You can feel the blush creeping up again as you try to come up with a better way of describing it.

 “That’s not stupid at all. It’s really all because of adrenaline and other fear induced hormones. It is common for people to seek out adrenaline inducing situations because the brain itself won’t determine how much danger you are in. It only recognizes the fear and produces adrenaline to combat it.” You inadvertently cut him off when you hug him, muttering a quiet thank you. He’s too distracted by the scent of your perfume to continue on about adrenaline.  

 Ten minutes in and the movie hasn’t been that bad yet. You can’t tell if you’re disappointed or glad you aren’t screaming like crazy. Just as you let your guard down, there’s a jump scare that has you grabbing Spencer’s arm for safety. He laughs, seemingly unfazed by the cheap scare, and shifts so he is holding your hand. “Just squeeze my hand when you’re scared” he whispers in your ear. You feel the butterflies again as you nod at him. You squeeze his hand on and off throughout the rest of the movie, blushing when his thumb starts to rub circles on your hand.

 When the movie is over, the two of you decide to go across the street to a diner for some real dinner. You are right in the middle of eating breakfast for the third time that day when both your phones go off. Glancing down, you see a text from Penelope.

 From PG: “Y/N!! I am having an impromptu Halloween party and I do not want to hear it that you are too busy. Get your butt over here by 9!!”

 To PG: “You got it! Costume?”

 From PG: “Of course! I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

 You look up at Spencer “Penelope’s party?” You immediately try to think of a costume you can pull together from what you’ve got at home. It’s already October 27th, but you hadn’t planned a costume yet. 

“Yep, I guess I have to go find a costume.” Spencer replies, running his hands through his hair. 

“Same here. I have no idea what I’m going to wear.”

 “I can drop you back at your apartment if you want? So you can get ready.” You sigh, he is obviously right but you were hoping the night would last a little longer. 

“That would be great, thank you.” At least you know you’ll see him soon.

 Getting ready goes a lot easier than you anticipated. You pull together a young, country Taylor Swift costume with denim cutoff shorts, cowboy boots, a cowboy hat, a navy tank top, and a matching flannel. You decide to grab your acoustic guitar just to add to the look. It’ll work. You finish your makeup and leave in a hurry. Penelope is not one to be kept waiting.

 You get to Penelope’s apartment at 9:02. “What took so long? I thought you would be right over after I texted.” She scolded as she opened the door.

 “I wasn’t home, so I had to go home and throw together a costume” you laugh as she looks you up and down, doing a little twirl. She looks you in the eye before confirming your costume “Country Taylor Swift, not bad.”

 “Why thank you! Might I add you make an incredible vampire!” You say, lifting your hat off your head. Penelope just rolls her eyes and opens the door wider for you to come in. You immediately spot the rest of the team as other the other guests. Emily, Derek, JJ – who brought Will - Hotch, and Rossi. You didn’t know them all that well, but apparently you made a good impression since you were invited back. You aren’t sure if Spencer has told them anything about the two of you hanging out, so you decide not to say anything either. Instead, you admire everyone’s costumes.

 Emily is dressed as Black Widow in a tight all leather getup. Derek matches Penelope’s vampire costume, something you are sure she made him wear. JJ and Will make an adorable Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl. You are still trying to figure out Hotch and Rossi’s costumes when you hear them arguing. “I am very clearly a chef. Look at my hat.” Rossi says as he emphatically points to his head.

 “And I am from Men in Black.” Hotch declares. You are sure he is glaring from behind those sunglasses. They all turn and greet you when you get close enough.

 “Who are you dressed as?” Derek asks as he looks you up and down.

 “She’s clearly a young TS. The only thing missing is the signature curly blonde hair.” JJ looks shocked that Derek couldn’t put that together.

 “Ooh, since you’re dressed as a singer, you have to go first in karaoke. We can’t start until everyone is here though. Penelope’s rules.” Emily declares.

 “I guess I need a drink then!” You laugh as you head to the kitchen. You pour yourself a glass of white wine, not understanding how anyone can enjoy the vinegar like taste of the red, and walk back into the living room.

 You immediately spotted Spencer. He was wearing a loose white button up with puffy sleeves, a black vest, black jeans, and he had a red bandana tied around his head. Plus, he was carrying a prop sword. The converse didn’t really match, but you could still figure out the look. He was the dorkiest pirate you have ever seen and you loved it. Derek was giving him a hard time, but before you could do anything Emily was pulling you over to the karaoke machine.

 “It’s time to start karaoke!!” She was clearly a little tipsy, but you did not feel nearly drunk enough to sing in front of these people. You downed your wine, earning some whistles, and put the glass on the coffee table.

 “Emily! I have no idea what to sing.” You tried to protest.

 “Nonsense, you can sing a Taylor Swift song.” JJ chimed in “Something from an old album since your dressed country!”

 Emily immediately started a song before you could protest anymore and you were singing almost immediately.

 You’re on the phone with your girlfriend, she’s upset.

 ‘At least it’s an easy song to perform’ you thought to yourself, having done it what felt like a million times. But they don’t know that. Before you knew it, the girls were all singing the end of the song with you.

 Have you ever thought just maybe, you belong with me? You belong with me.

 You chanced a glance at Spencer as you finished the song. You refused to look at him before that, knowing he would make you too nervous. Before you had a chance to comprehend the look on his face, Derek inadvertently interrupted the moment “Y/N you’ve been holding out on us. That was great!” He said. The others joined in on the praise as you turned red. You managed to squeak out a “thanks” before retreating to fill your wine glass. Spencer met you in the kitchen.

 “That really was an amazing performance. You should consider switching careers.” You laughed at his comment, it was pretty comical considering your side hobby. “No really. You would be amazing.”

 You turned even redder with the compliment. “Thanks Doc, I appreciate the confidence boost.” You almost told him then and there, but ultimately you were being called back to the living room to hear Rossi sing Bon Jovi.

 The night continued much the same until Penelope broke off into the kitchen. You were going to follow her, but Rossi pulled you back into a conversation and you missed the chance. Soon enough she was returning with a huge birthday cake. At first, you were shocked. Then you realized she was the Penelope Garcia. Figuring out someone’s birthday is child’s play to her.

 Then you were shocked again, because everyone was singing to Spencer. Apparently it was after midnight and his birthday is October 28th.

 Once everyone has a piece of cake, you walk up to Spencer hitting him on the arm, “Why didn’t you tell me today is your birthday?” 

He deflects the question easily.  “Today only just started, so I really didn’t have time. Plus you haven’t told me when your birthday is.”

 You instantly freeze at that. You can’t possible tell him your birthday was yesterday. That would be so awkward. He immediately senses the tensions and asks “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

You practically run out of the room calling “yep I’m fine, all good, 100% a-o-kay.”

 Spencer, confused by your quick exit, decided to look at your license to figure out your birthday. Maybe he could surprise you with something. Realization dawned on his features as he read the date, seeing that your birthday was yesterday.

 --

 You were relieved when Spencer didn’t chase after you to figure out exactly why you practically sprinted away from the conversation. You decided to just enjoy the rest of the party.

 Around 2 AM everyone was heading out. You hung back a little since Spencer hadn’t left yet, hoping you’d be able to walk out with him. God, you feel like a teenager again. Secretly crushing on a guy who clearly only likes you as a friend. Ugh.

 “Y/N!” You break out of your pitying thoughts to see Penelope and Spencer standing in front of you. Great. How long were you just staring at the ground? “You okay?” Penelope asks, looking at you with clear concern.

 “Yeah, I’m just tired. You threw quite the party!” You tried to joke to clear the air. “Thanks for inviting me, Pen.” You hugged her as you looked around for your purse, grabbing it off the chair. Spencer has been staring at you with a contemplative look on his face during the whole encounter.

 “I’ll see you soon, right?” You looked back as you opened the door. “Of course, my lovely!” Penelope smiled as you and Spencer left, him calling a quick goodbye as he walked out after you. You didn’t say anything until you noticed Spencer was walking towards your apartment with you.

 “What are you doing?” Ugh, real subtle. What kind of a question is that?

“Walking you home. It’s my birthday, you can’t say no.” You rolled your eyes at his playful tone, but there was something serious in his eyes. “Why didn’t you say your birthday was yesterday? We could have celebrated!” He seemed genuinely confused.

 “I don’t know. I guess I’ve never been the kind of person who does well with all that attention. My birthday was never a huge deal growing up, so I haven’t really made a big deal out of it now. Pen wanted a Halloween party, not a birthday party. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.” You couldn’t make eye contact with him. You’ve never really talked about these insecurities with anyone.

 “First of all, she clearly didn’t mind having a party for both because she had a birthday cake for me. I am completely sure that she would have decorated it for both of us had she known. Second, you deserve to have people make a big deal. You are an incredible person, Y/N. You are extraordinarily kind, selfless, and beautiful.” He pauses for a second before pulling something out of his bag. “I didn’t know your birthday was even in October, but I bought these a few days ago. I was going to give them to you after the movie, but then Garcia called and we split up. If you don’t like them I can take them back I just thought since you twist your earrings around so much, maybe they were bothering you and maybe a new pair would help. Penelope actually helped me pick them out, although she doesn’t know that. She just mentioned how she thought you would like them when we were at the farmer’s market.”

 Tears sprung to your eyes as you realized how much thought he must’ve put into this. You couldn’t help but throw yourself into a hug whispering “thank you, Spence. That is so thoughtful.” He rubbed your back until you stepped back from the hug. You opened the box to find a pair of dainty white gold earrings. One was a moon and the other a star. “They are beautiful.” You whispered into his ear as you pulled him in for another hug.

Stepping back again, the two of you made your way to your apartment. Upon arrival, you confessed, “I actually have something for you too. It’s upstairs though, so you have to come inside.” He smiled as you pulled him into your building.

 “I obviously didn’t know your birthday is today, but you told me about breaking your watch and when I saw this in the store window I thought of you and it just looked perfect.” You watched as he slowly opened the watch box, pulling out a simple brown leather band with a white watch face surrounded by a silver casing. It honestly screamed Dr. Spencer Reid. The watch face isn’t too modern and the leather band matches his satchel.

 “Y/N, it’s perfect. Thank you.” He closed the box, hugging you to say thank you. Looking into his eyes, you realized with 100% certainty you are falling for Dr. Spencer Reid. “Let’s go to sleep” is all you can say in response. You pull him into the bed and snuggle as close as you dare, too afraid to say anything else when you don’t know how he feels. The two of you drift into a restful sleep, not even bothering to change from your costumes.

 --

 You wake up due to the muffled voice of Spencer in the kitchen. You can smell the coffee, so you quickly change into some pajamas before walking out to join him. He glances at you apologetically while you pour the coffee into two mugs, adding equal amounts of sugar to both.

 As soon as he hangs up, he’s hugging you goodbye. “I’m so sorry, we have a case. We are supposed to be at the jet in 30 minutes.”

 “Don’t worry about it Doc. Go save the world.” You decide to listen to Superman on repeat for an hour while you clean.

tag list: 

@mac99martin​ @goldeng1rl8​ @eevee0722 @l0ve-0f-my-life @haylaansmi @dinonuggets15 @laurakirsten0502 @green-intervention @burnin-passion @takeyourleap-of-faith @secretpickleprofessordean @awkwardnesshabitat

[apexqueenie]

The Blood King (Bakugou x Reader, Medieval AU) Ch 3

Synopsis: In fairytales, princesses like you got to marry handsome princes like your best friend Shoto, but you’re not living a fairytale. You find the harsh realities a punch to the face as you and Sho run away outside palace grounds and into the real world. But the harsh brings out the beautiful, and in your case, it took the form of the scarlet covered barbarian king, whose territory you disturbed.

A/N: AAAAAAAHHHHH, I'm so sorry this took so long! It may have a few mistakes cuz I added on to this after I finished homework sooooooooooo I'm usually half asleep by then. This one is sorta long, so yah, enjoy!

Warnings: Swearing, blood, violence

[Ch1]->[Ch2]->[Ch3]->[Ch4]->[Ch5]->[Ch6]

“SHO!!!” You scream, snapping your torso up from the bed you lay on.

Wait...A bed..?

Your brain just tripped over itself as the memories came flooding back to you. The forest, the attackers, the beast, and then...that man.

You clutched your forehead in pain. Where the hell were you?

You place a hand on the furry and weighted blanket that covers you. It was nice. Quite a bit warmer than the blankets you had at home-

You shook your head. If this is how distracted you get now, you must’ve hit it at some point. You look around the room you were in. It was nice and dimly lit due to closed curtains, but plain. All that filled the space were you, the bed, and a small wooden dresser to your left with a tall cup of water on top.

Water. Sweet, sweet water. You chugged it down, throat parched from the previous events. The cool refreshing liquid woke up some of your senses. Slowly, your grogginess was replaced with the soreness of your muscles. You started to regret sitting up so suddenly. The side you were kicked on started to throb more and more.

You look down at the side in pain, seeing that your blazer and dress were replaced with a simple white wrap skirt secured with a knot around your chest. You felt almost naked, cold too. Never have your arms, chest, and legs been as exposed as they are now. Even your long nightdress had sleeves.

But that wasn’t important. You were in this strange place, Sho is nowhere to be found, and your things are gone. You needed to know more. Now, you may have been overreacting a bit, but what’s the harm in coming prepared? You break the glass you drank from earlier, grabbing the biggest piece and tearing some of the fabric you were wearing to wrap around the shard for a handle. You didn’t know what to expect, but at least you had something to defend yourself with.

You held it in the front as you slowly pushed the creaky door open. You thought you were ready for anything, but you weren’t expecting to be atop a balcony overseeing a complex combination of treehouses, bridges, and grounded buildings all surrounded by stone walls, complete with archers in loose armor patrolling the top. It wasn’t like any of the armor your guards wore though. It consisted of metal, like the knights in your father’s army, but they also wore feathers, leather straps, and colorful face paint. If you had to guess, you were nowhere near your own kingdom. They kept watch of the forest while the rest of the citizens of this odd town bustle happily below. Adults traded and conversed with one another while the children played with balls or kites below. All of them wear similar outfits to yours, comfortable and with a closer connection to nature. Some women wore clay beads around their heads like crowns paired with bright, multi-layered dresses made of choppy fabric. Most men wore loose shirts, some went bare chested, all wore slightly baggy pants, usually with multiple belts. A stark contrast to the puffy floor length dresses and tight pants of your people.

So where exactly were you?

“Do you like the view?” a voice said behind you.

It made you jump, and instinctively, you turn to hold out the makeshift knife you temporarily forgot about. The man you pointed the sharp edge at yelped and held both hands up as he rounded the corner.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have sneaked up on ya.” he smiles sheepishly.

He was a red-headed man with spiky hair, a short vest, bandana, and baggy pants. Similar to the people below. From what you could see, no weapons. Still, you keep the blade pointed at his exposed torso. You’ve never killed anyone before, and the thought scares you, the overwhelming fear of being here in strange clothes scared you even more.

You take a step back, trying to distance yourself from the newcomer. “Who are you?”.

“Eijiro Kirishima, right hand man of King Bakugou. I’m glad to see you awake and well.” he says, not moving from his spot. “We’ve met before, your highness.”

“Huh?” You say, dumbfounded. You’ve never seen this man in your life. You would’ve known if you did, his face is...very memorable.

He pointed to the decently sized scar on his face. It traveled from his right corner of his lip and up to the bridge of his nose. It wasn’t bright red, but it still looked like it had only recently healed. A cut like that would’ve taken at least a week for it to stop being inflamed; you wondered how he’d gotten it or why he was pointing to it.

You shook your head, not understanding.

Kirishima chuckles nervously, “Well uh, it might be hard to explain, but uh first things first, I came here to check on you. How’s that rib feeling?”

“My rib? It...hurts a lot” you admit, lowering the glass shard. ‘Hurt’ was an understatement though, it felt like it was on fire. Your side throbbing painfully with each breath you took. Adrenaline could only mask it for so long.

He nods and slowly approaches you again, hands out where you could see them. “Let’s get you back in bed” he says, gently scooping the glass out of your hand and placing it in his back pocket.

Hesitantly, you complied, weary of the shard being in his possession. At least, he seemed like he didn’t want to kill you. You leaned back into bed, muscles screaming from the short encounter. It’s only now you truly realize the extent of your injuries. You hissed as Kirishima readjusted your pillow as best he could, shaking the bed a bit.

“Now that you’re awake, I’ll let Deku take a look at you. He’s our medicine man, or doctor if you like.” And with that, he walks out, closing the door behind him.

But you couldn’t stay still. Even though your ribs hurt, you couldn’t sit back and wait. If you’re being nursed here, Shoto must be nearby. And besides, they don’t want to hurt you, right? After all, as you hauled yourself up and headed to the door once more, you found it still unlocked. You weren’t their prisoner.

You took a peek around the corner that you saw Kirishima come around last time. It led to a free hanging wooden bridge to another tree. The other side of your cabin led to some steps that took a wide curve around a wooden pillar of some sort, but taking a look upwards only showed you that it wasn’t a pillar at all: It was an absolute unit of a tree. Incredibly thick, and at least 500 feet tall, the tree had stairs carved from all over its sides and bridges split off to smaller trees holding up houses. An even more intricate pattern of pathways sat above your head than what you saw the first time when you looked on the balcony.

You clutched the railings, making your way up the stairs and onto the first platform branching off into other paths. Your “room” was just a simple block, fitted halfway into the trunk of the big tree. Woven branches and leaves make a simple flat roof; not much different from any other building here. Guess you’re just gonna have to find someone who knows this place. Preferably not Kirishima. You had a feeling he’d just bring you back to your room.

You hauled yourself up more stairs, opting to take the paths closer to the tree. Traversing mazes was never your strong suit, and this place could get you lost in a few seconds.

The further you went along the stairs, the harder it was for you to breathe. Your injury was draining your energy fast, making your body feel like a thousand pounds. Maybe going back to bed wasn’t a bad idea at all.

Just as you were about to give up and sit down, you came across a wider bridge, one that was definitely a lot more extravagantly built than the last. Thicker, and with decorative railings. It was built between the tree itself and a large mountaintop so tall, you couldn’t see the top. The bridge extended in a T shape, the horizontal bit from the tree built to the length of one wall of the kingdom to another with stairs down to where the guards patrolled. At the smaller section of the T sat a huge double doorway, carved from the wood of the tree you’ve been climbing around for the past 10 minutes. It depicted battles, warriors wielding swords and fighting alongside winged beasts of enormous size...Dragons. Then it clicked. Kinda. You swung at that large beast before, at its snout right when it was right behind you. And Kirishima had a scar along his mouth and nose...

Kirishima = Dragon?

You shook your head, unable to fully convince yourself. It must be your pain fogging your mind a bit. You guess it was the same reason you were walking through those double doors. Big doors were the norm for you, being a princess after all. In your state of confusion, it’s better to go with more familiarity. You pulled it open with a bit of difficulty and slipped in as the doors slowly closed behind you without a sound. Just as you suspected, it was a grand hall for royalty that was almost as big as your father’s. The room was curved, thanks to the tree’s natural design. Flowered vines decorated the plain walls. An empty throne of wood and bones sat in front of what you thought must be the opening to the other side of the tree. You could see the sunshine bathe the throne in its gentle light.

You straightened your composure subconsciously, as you’ve been taught to in throne rooms like these, and walked to the throne. Bones and wood, delicately intertwined with one another to form a beautiful crest along the top of the backrest and pair of armrests. You dragged your fingers along the sanded wood gingerly, admiring the craftsmanship. Swords were stabbed in between, like trophies. Some chipped, others completely broken in half. All went through obvious signs of battle. Losing battles, that is. This was a throne for a King that should be feared. Unlike your father and birth giver’s thrones, which symbolized elegance and formality, this one was fierce, powerful, and dangerous. For some reason, your mind was reminded of the man with the Vermillion eyes. How he strode proudly with bold movements, the same way you’ve seen your father or King Enji act when confronted. Was he the one who owned this throne?

A few feet behind it were steps leading up to a large balcony, open to give an extraordinary view of the kingdom you saw before. You walked up the steps slowly, entranced by the calm sight of the sky and trees. A warm breeze lifted the stray hairs from your face, and you felt calm, your injuries temporarily forgotten. You thought you saw everything from the height you were at when you first woke up, well, you were a couple hundred feet higher now and so much more had been revealed. You could see the exact boundary of walls that protected the civilians, previously hidden by other trees. A huge, open gate on the other side of the kingdom guarded by tiny soldiers both on ground and up on the wall. The complex bridges you saw earlier seemed to build around this area so as to not obstruct the view. You dared not to go straight to the railings though, it felt out of place for you to be watching over someone else’s civilians. So just at the top of the stairs you stayed.

Along the sides of the extended walls where the stairs were built, hung swords of all shapes and sizes, snugly staggered amongst each other like decorations. Each one told a story, from the blade type down to the hilt decorations. You wonder who wielded each magnificent weapon. The man you fought had a sword worn down from no doubt years of battle, more so than any of these blades on the wall.

“I wonder where he is.” you spoke out loud.

“Where who is?” a gruff voice responded.

You froze in place.

Speak of the devil. There he was. He appeared around the left side of the throne, nonchalantly leaning an elbow above his head on it. He wore the same attire as before, cutlass hanging at his side- only this time, tribal beads and threaded teeth hung around his neck. The sunlight coming from the open spaces behind you revealed his hair to be golden, as well as uncovered the many battle scars that previously blended with his skin underneath the pale moonlight. He made your shrink a bit in his presence.

He cocked his head to one side, lifting an eyebrow at your staring. “Well?”

Snapping out of your thoughts, you forced yourself to say something. “Sorry, You, you’re..and then...Uh…” you managed to spit out, ears burning. You couldn’t look at him straight. He only narrowed his eyebrows in response. ‘Great job (y/n), he thinks you’re a moron now.’ you scold yourself.

“Maybe that shitty Deku got it wrong, and you’re the one with the concussion.” he scoffed.

“I have no such thing!” you blurted out. You tried to look him in the eyes again, but the dominance they radiated made you feel like a pup caught disobeying her master. But why? You’re royalty, a future Queen! You shouldn’t let the likes of him intimidate you like this!

So you stood up straight again, taking a deep breath and raising your chin to address the man in front of you properly. Your insides felt like they were being stabbed with a flaming rod, but you refused to succumb to it now. “I lost myself a bit there. I’ve come here for answers.” you say, clasping both hands together. “Where is the leader of this Kingdom?”

Unfazed by your new composure, he stared right back. “You’re lookin at him.”

“And your name?”

“Why does that matter?”

“It matters because I’d like to know to whom I’m speaking with.” you grit your teeth.

“Oh, and what gives you the right, little thief?” he says, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m not a thief,” you growl, “I’m princess (y/n) of the Northern Kingdom, first and rightful heir to the throne. As a fellow royal, I deserve the right to know who you are.”

At your words, his body went rigid. “You deserve it, huh?” He moved from his spot at the throne, up the stairs towards you and towering over your figure. You shuffled backwards in alarm. “You, a Northern pansy with your tea parties, lazing around in your kingdom, not giving a damn about the ecosystem around you. You call that royalty?” He spat, raising his voice. You could feel the heat radiating from his body, physical heat, fueled by his anger. “Destroying more of my home to make room for your stupid roads. Killing my people’s food for sport and leaving the skinless carcass to rot so you could have your stupid exotic rugs- I’ve seen how much you people take for granted. If it weren’t for the size of your army, I would’ve conquered you assholes by now. Why did I even listen to that damn Kirishima, I should’ve left you and your boyfriend in the forest. At least you’d be useful for once-”

“Wait, I think you’re overreacting here, and he’s not-” you tried to reason, stumbling over your feet. You completely lost your composure now, your heart practically beating out of its chest.

“Or your brother, I don’t give a damn who he is, my people are running out of food because of yours- but I don’t think you ever knew, huh? Probably worried over some bullshit like what you’re gonna wear, or if some other pretty boy prince out there thought you were cute.” He continued. You back found the edge of the railing and you latched your hands onto it. Taking a quick glance backwards, you found the height a little terrifying now.

“Well, I’m over here hunting day and night to find meals and what do I get? Two more mouths to feed. Useless, pathetic weights on my back. If you wanna talk about being my fellow royal-”

“Bakugou, stop!” you hear Kirishima’s voice echo.

Kirishima. Oh thank god Kirishima is here.

The newly identified “Bakugou” snaps his head to the side at the voice. You look around Bakugou’s figure to see the redhead entering through the doorway, a stranger with green hair trailing behind him.

“You need to eat, Kachaan.” the stranger says. “We’re not starving, Denki found a whole new area with more game- but you can’t hunt it if you’re the one hungry.”

“Stop telling me what to do, I’ll eat when the provisions are restocked.” he turned to the side to face the pair and glared.

Kirishima in the meantime had already ran across the hall, climbing the stairs up to you two. “It’s been three days, brother, you’re getting aggressive.”

Bakugou took another glance at your shocked figure, and for a moment, you could see a pang of guilt hit him. But it was fleeting. His face returned to and scowl and he scoffed, fully turning around and heading down the steps past his comrade. “Aggression is what’s kept this kingdom prosperous.”

“Well, yelling at her highness isn’t very prosperous.” he shot back, tracking the blonde with his eyes.

The stranger made his way next to you, placing a reassuring hand on your shoulder. Kirishima acknowledged him and rushed off towards the doors with his leader.

“Well they’re always talking about equality for some goddamn reason, why can’t I yell at them like men?” Bakugou threw his hands up in the air.

“That’s not what they’re talking about…” the other man responded.

Their voices grew distant as they left the hall, leaving you and the kind stranger. With Bakugou gone, you released the breath you didn’t realize you were holding and fell to your knees, groaning.

So, that was Bakugou. You didn’t wanna think about what could’ve happened if Kirishima hadn’t stopped him.

“Woah, hey, uh, we should get you back to your room.” he says, cradling your shoulders. “I’m Izuku Midoriya by the way, but you can call me Deku.”

“(Y/n)” you strained. “Nice to... nice to meet you Deku, but I can’t go back yet. I have to make sure Sho is ok…”

Deku brought you back up to your feet, sliding an arm around your waist and a head under your arm. “Sho? Is that your friend?”

“yeah,” you nodded as the two of you began heading to the door yourselves, “my childhood friend. We were...we got lost...”

“Lost? We could send a messenger out to your kingdom and let them know you’re here-” He says.

“No!” You yelled. Deku looked taken aback and gave you a concerned look. A little embarrassed, you cleared your throat. “No. It’s ok, I uh, I’d prefer we don’t make a huge deal about this.”

Deku chuckled, “Oh, of course my lady, but, are you sure you’re ok to go visit him?”

“Please, I was the one who caught him in all of this mess.”

He smiled as he pushed one of the doors open with his foot, and headed down the steps almost as far as where your own room was, only before the last flight of stairs he took a bridge across to another tree where a small cluster of buildings sat. He gently slid out from besides you to open the front door. Sho laid flat on the bed in front, quietly sleeping. He looked much better now. The lump on his face had almost disappeared, wrapped heavily in clean bandages. He was shirtless as well, only more bandages covering his chest and parts of his arm. He had bruises everywhere, but otherwise, he looked taken care of. In addition to the bedside dresser, there was a small wooden table to his right with tools, bandages, and washcloths. He must’ve needed stitches. You teared up at the sight, feeling guilty again for all the trouble you caused.

Deku gently placed a hand on your shoulder again, leading you to a couch on the side of the room. “He’s got a concussion as well as deep cuts here and there, but he’ll make a full recovery in about three weeks. I’m going to have him stay in bed for a week and a half and then go from there.”

“It’s all my fault,” you whispered, voice cracking. At this point, you couldn’t hold back the tears anymore.

“What? No, it’s those people in the forest. Wild people. They like to mess with anyone caught out at night. Except for kach- erm, The King. They’re terrified of him.”

You sniffed, “Bakugou, right?”

“Y-yeah,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “we grew up together, so I’m used to calling him Kacchan. It was just a name and uh, oh, and, I’m sorry for the way he acted, he’s been out scouting food for a while, not eating at all. He thinks the forest is slowly going dry. He’s a good person, I promise, he just has a mean face. He must’ve scared you.”

“It’s ok,” you shook your head. “He was...he was right. About my people.” You wiped the tears from your eyes, staring at the wall in front of you. “My father, he likes money and power. He likes seeing happy and rich citizens. I used to think it was because he cared about them when really, it’s so he could show off to other kingdoms. I could hear them sometimes, talking about expanding towards the forest, cutting down more trees for a new library or something. He liked the pelts too, making me little stuffed rabbits when I was younger. I always thought it was ok though, I never knew people lived here. Now I feel awful.”

Deku gave you a kind smile. “Hey, but it wasn’t you, right? That was your dad. Don’t beat yourself up over his decisions.”

“Yeah” you sighed, “I guess.”

Deku’s smile grew bigger, and he pushed himself off the couch. You watched him walk over to the dresser and opened up one of the drawers to pull out a small blanket.

“Here” he said, unfolding the blanket and handing it to you. “I’m gonna go grab the medicinal tea I brought to your room, it’ll help with the pain. Uh, I’m not quite sure, but I think you may have slightly fractured a rib, so the best thing we could do is let it heal itself for a week. Who knows, it might just be bruised.”

“Thanks.” you say, laying yourself down on the couch in the meantime. After Deku came back with that tea, you passed out fast.

You had a dream. Your father was right in front of you, raising his sword above his head. He was scared of something, but you couldn’t tell what. The background was fuzzy, but you could see it was destroyed. You were raising your arms, protecting someone. Everything was in slow motion, fading slowly to white.

You spasmed awake, inhaling sharply. The image faded fast out of your mind. Shoto was snoring lightly on the bed, arm lazily resting atop his stomach. Good. Sighing, you set aside the blanket and walked out the door for some fresh air. The tea helped you a lot, even now. You didn’t even feel any pain. The moon shone brightly again as the breeze cooled your skin, giving you deja vu of the whole fiasco from before. Except this time, this was peaceful. You weren’t lost. No one was chasing you. And most importantly, you and Shoto were safe. Everything was good for now.

A large shadow fluttered in the corner of your eye, causing you to jump a bit. A red dragon with magnificent wings landed in the clearing by the kingdom gates, which were now closed shut. Its rider, the buttholeish King, yelled at the guards. They notched their arrows, shooting into the forest with expertise. A roar of some sort of animal retreated, rustling trees in its wake. Bakugou slid down from its neck to untie the fresh animal carcasses secured on the dragon’s back. Other soldiers came from the buildings to help carry them. Then, as Bakugou hopped to the ground, the dragon began to shrink back into itself. Wings folded into his backside, neck shortening, and body losing its color to turn into...Kirishima. It blew your mind. So you really did hit him hard back there. You had to apologize.

You rushed down the steps to find them, not really thinking about the fact that you had absolutely no idea where you were going. Nor did you really think about your stamina. Five sets of stairs and you were already panting.

As you leaned against the tree, trying to be careful with your breaths. It still didn’t hurt, but damn did you get tired quick. Just as you were turning to tackle another flight, a head of blonde hair appeared from below, scowling.

“Again? What is it with you and not sitting still?” he grumbled. You could hear the fatigue in the way his voice cracked.

You sat up from the tree, surprised that he climbed so fast. “I, er, wanted to apologize to Kirishima for the wound is all.” you rubbed your arm nervously as he stopped in front of you.

He eyes you with skepticism, probably wondering if you were telling the truth or not. “He’s gonna be taking care of the fresh meat for a while, and probably sleep till late afternoon knowing the lazy idiot.” he grumbles.

“Oh.” you say, still kind of embarrassed.

“And besides, he’s fine. He heals like it’s nothing.”

“Because he’s a dragon…?”

“Heh, something like that.”

“Oh.”

You two sit in silence for a moment after that. The awkwardness was almost unbearable.

“This reminds me, Shitty Hair wanted me to do something. Can you walk up the stairs?” he finally asks.

You shrug, “I’ll get up there eventually.” you respond.

“Well, I don’t have time to wait for ‘eventually’” he says, and lifts you up off the ground with both arms. He hugs you close to his bare chest and climbs the stairs with no problem, not even a slight change in breathing.

You help a bit, holding on to his neck for support. “Where-“

“I have to give you your shit back.” He grunts. “You lived so I don’t get to keep your sword.”

“What an awful mouth you have for a king.” You frown.

He smirks in response, “you haven’t seen the half of it, princess.”

Princess. The way he says “princess” sends shivers down your spine. You don’t know why, but you found yourself staring at his features again. Hair shining almost white again, gently waving in the wind. Piercing eyes, sharp jawline, defined collarbones…

“Oi, quit starin.” He interrupts your thoughts.

“Huh? Why...uh, why would I stare at you?” you say, your voice an octave higher.

He chuckles lightly while you try to look everywhere but him. He passes Shoto’s room and instead keeps heading upwards. Past the throne room too, taking a staircase to a room above it. He pushes it open to a gorgeous bedroom. The amount of oil lamps lining the walls could barely light up the entirety of the room. Giant bed with plush pillows along one wall, a balcony on the other side of the room, a door leading to what you think is a bathroom, and lots and lots of “trophies” hanging up on the wall. Helmets, swords, capes, horns, claws- must be from what he killed. One horn spread the length across the wall from his bed, being almost 10 feet long. You’d be terrified to know what creature that belonged to...or, had belonged to. Still, they were oddly beautiful. Clearly, they were a struggle to take down, judging by the damaged sword Bakugou wielded and the slight deformities in the trophies themselves. A crack down the middle of a knight’s helmet. Multiple tears in a blue and white feathered cape. It was almost surreal to you, that a man that could win all these vicious battles can gently place you on the soft cushions of one of the few couches that occupied his room.

Walking to his bed, he picked up an object propped up against the bed frame. He trunks to you, holding it flat against both hands. Your sword!

He unsheathed it, examining the blade in the dim lamplights with approval. “This is made of Awherian metal, better not lose it.” he says, sheathing it and handing it back to you. You take it gingerly, propping it by your feet.

“Awherian?” You repeated.

“Awherians used to be a tribe up in the North before going extinct a long time ago. Legends say they used to battle giants, cuz they ate their dragons...or some bullshit my old hag likes to talk about.” he crosses his arms.

He took notice of you lowering your head, and sighed, rubbing his neck awkwardly.

“I uh,” he cleared his throat, “I shouldn’t have said all that. Earlier, I mean. Kirishima was right about being hungry, I don’t usually yell at women. Unless they’re trying to kill me, you know.”

“It’s ok,” you lean back into the couch, “you weren’t wrong. I said this to Deku earlier already: I thought my father was doing the right thing because he, well, he’s my father. If I had known there was a whole civilization here...I just...I hope I can help.”

He looked at you for a few seconds, calculating. Were you genuinely being honest? Maybe, he thought. He has his doubts still.

Bakugou was always weary about newcomers, and didn’t take too kindly to them. The only reason these two were brought in was because Kirishima urged him to. The king refused at first, reasoning that this could’ve been a set-up, that the cult that pranced the outskirts of their territory had a plan to send in spies this way. Of course, Kirishima says that there’s no way they would possibly injure their own like this, leaving them one step away from death, but Bakugou has seen their ways. They would eat each other if they wanted to. Eventually, he gave in on the reasoning that they weren’t the smartest of people. You seemed different. He ordered his closest men, including that shitty Deku to keep an eye on you both.

“Maybe you could. Who fuckin knows” He says, “but not when you can’t even climb fucking stairs without wheezing like a granny.” He says, earning a slightly offended whine from you. He smiles lightly, then points to his bed with a thumb. “Go.”

You look at him, perplexed. “In your bed?”

“No shit, it’s the middle of the night.” He narrows his eyes.

“I’m, b-but we’re not married-“ you stuttered.

Bakugou rolls his eyes, “relax princess, you have it to yourself. I just don’t feel like taking you back down to your room, or to that half n half bastard.”

With a grunt, he picks you up off the couch and onto the bed. The plush blankets swallowing you almost immediately.

“Do you like insulting people?” you ask as he throws the blanket over you.

“I dunno, do you like breathing, or is it just something you do?”

“You’re impossible.” You rolled your eyes. “Where are you going to sleep?”

“The couch.” He replies, undoing the buckles on his cape. “Sleep, we’ll have you properly taken care of tomorrow, starting with a bath.” He wrinkled his nose.

“Hey!” you pouted. A bath sounds wonderful though.

“You were supposed to be in bed all day today, but whatever.” he sighs. He folded his cape neatly and placed it on his bedside dresser, then flopped onto a couch on the far side of the room, facing away from you. Eventually, his muscles relaxed and you could hear soft puffs of breaths as he slept.

It was calming in a way. Every night, even as a small child afraid of the dark spaces in your room, you slept alone. You had to overcome that fear alone, your mother definitely didn’t want you bothering her, and your father was far too tired from dealing with the kingdom all day. But knowing someone else was in the room felt, in an odd way, nice. You drifted off again, but this time, without dreams.

Tag List: @pasteldaze @decayz @akihoeeeeeeeee @blinkingsuns @stan-josie @skylan666 @hypothesaurus

Let me know if you’d like to be in the tag list!❤️

[ksqwildwest]

52. Accidentally witnessed kiss

(i know that you technically did this when karl hid from the sheriff but i love the trope of someone just being :0 when they see two people smooching)

it could be a kiss between two (any duo like mason and jack or jack and karl) people.

or someone could catch all 3 of them smooching. connor/flint could be the one to catch them. like theyre trying to rob john john and mason and jack just go to tie karl up so he can’t get help. (ofc this robbery is lighthearted it’s treated as like a casual hang out) but connor just catches all three of them making out.

or you could do another idea!! i love reading your drabbles it’s really fun! your ideas are always so good <3

Thank you so much for the suggestion! Unfortunately they each take a long time to make and with the lack of questions and ideas, I'm running out of new content to give you all! If you all could send in questions or ideas that would really help!

I think I'll try writing the three of them together! I really like your idea of a light hearted robbery that's treated like a casual hang out!

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

"What do you think your doing?"

The three bandits turned to look at the man who had interrupted their daily robbery. Karl was standing in the doorway with his arms crossed and a cold glare of disapproval aimed at the three trouble makers. He was even leaning to one side just enough for the gun on his belt to be in clear view of the three. He looked like he ment business.

"Mornin Karl," Jack greeted casually, "You're doin way better at bein scary today!"

Karl's hard glare immediately melted into a shy smile, a light blush growing over his cheeks.

"Thanks," He mumbled as he made his way over to the bar, "Thompson gave me some pointers yesterday and I've been doing my best to practice!" Taking a seat between Jack and Mason.

Mason nodded approvingly, "Well they're workin! I was almost scared for a moment there." He laughed loudly as Karl softly swated his arm with an offended gasp.

"Hey, if any one could teach Karl to be scary, it's Thompson." John John defended the colorful sheriff, passing him a drink.

Karl thanked the teen as Jack called out to him,"So you gonna arrest us today sheriff or what?"

The sheriff smiled before putting on an exaggerated British accent, "Only if you continue to rudely rob this fine establishment." He claimed wiggling his pointer finger at them. He looked like a disappointed teacher who just caught a kid disobeying the rules.

The three bandits burst out laughing at his face, Karl quickly melting into giggles himself.

Mason composed himself and managed to taunt Karl a little. Snickering out,"Too bad for you, we don't plan on stopping." With a playful smirk on his face before going to take a sip of his drink.

"Yah, keep messing with us and we'll have to tie you up sheriff." Connor added on jokingly.

Mason started choking on his drink and Jack did a double take as Connor immediately realized what that sounded like. Karl and John John both seemed to miss the unintentional joke, seeming more confused and concerned respectively.

Karl looked over to Jack with a questioning expression as John John took Mason's cup and turned around to find a rag to clean it with.

"Yah sheriff," Jack leaned closer with a mischievous smile, "We'll have to tie you up."

Karl took a second before his face turned a bright red. He took a second to roll the thought through his mind and blushed even harder. Taking a breath he looked between the other two's faces and saw encouraging and understanding looks staring at him.

A little quieter then before, Karl put on the exaggerated accent, "As a sheriff it is my jo-"

He was cut off by Mason lifting him off his chair with a small yelp of surprise. Mason started strolling towards the sheriff's room in the back of the saloon with Jack quickly trailing behind him.

Jack called over his shoulder, "You keep on robbin' Connor, we'll be right back!"

The three disappeared around the corner just as John John turned around with the freshly cleaned glass in hand.

"Where are they going?" He asked Connor. "They didn't finish their drinks."

Connor mentally cursed the trio as he clumsily replied, "Like they said, I'm sure they'll be right back. We were talkin about doin somethin for Sherman's birthday, right?"

John lit up, excitedly chatting about gift ideas for the piglin. Connor kept John distracted as long as possible with mindless chatter and story's. Eventually, his luck ran out and John John asked him, "It's been over a half hour, where did they go?" Fiddling nervously with his new watch that was given to him by Karl.

"I'm sure they're fine," He reassured John, but before he could bring the discussion back, a muffled thump sounded from the back of the saloon.

John started to shuffle out from behind the counter. "What was that? Did something fall?" He asked nervously.

Connor could think of a few different reasons and none of them were things he wanted John John to walk in on. He rushed out a gentle,"You stay here. I'll go check it out. I'm sure it's fine. Probably just a book or something." He passed John his empty glass.

John nodded while taking the glass. "Hurry back," he called as Connor hurried away from the conversation.

"Oh I will," Connor mumbled to himself as he slowed down to a slow meandering pace. Hoping that if he went slow enough that the three would suddenly appear back at the bar with out the chance of walking in on any scene's.

As he stolled closer to Karl's room at a snails pace, he noticed the lack of sound that he could hear. He hoped it stayed like that while he shuffled closer and closer.

He neared the door and noticed that it was cracked open slightly. From within he could hear the faint ruffle of fabric and kissing noises. He stood there awkwardly, not really knowing what to do in the moment. Sure he had walked in on Mason and Jack making out before, but they were either in a back alley or in a room with a locked door, and he had never walked in on them with Karl before. It was such an awkward situation.

He debated turning around and telling John that Karl just dropped a book, but he knew the kid would ask more questions and he really didn't want the kid to decide to investigate himself.

Sending a prayer he slowly leaned forwards and peaked into the bedroom. He spotted a tangled mess of legs on the bed. All of them with pants on! He mentally cheered.

Curiosity edged him to peak the rest of the way. He reasoned with himself that not looking would just make his brain keep nagging him about it later. He immediately blushed at the scene in front of him.

Karl wasn't wearing his coat, which would have been jarring in any other situation, but seemed more than natural while he was sandwiched between the other two bandits. Mason was laying on his back with Karl's back pressed against his chest, kissing and biting at Karl's neck. Jack was laying on top of Karl, chest to chest, and kissing Karl like he was a lifeline. Karl's arms were tucked behind his back out of Connors view, kept there by something he couldn't see.

Connor decided that he had seen more than enough and turned silently around to head back to John John.

Who was halfway down the hallway and getting closer by the second.

"John!" He yelped loudly. Wincing as he heard a startled yelp and resulting thud come from the room beside him.

Evidently, so did John, who quickened his pace.

"Hey, John John! I thought you were still at the bar." Connor called loudly alerting the three to both of their presences outside. From the quiet "shit" and rustling of fabric, he's pretty sure they got the message.

"You were taking forever," John explained, not slowing down in the slightest as he closed in on the bedroom, "And what just fell? That sounded heavier than a book."

John John gasped in surprise as he darted past Connor. "Karl! Your neck! It's all bruised up!" He pointed out as he seemingly ignored the fact that Jack was sprawled out on the floor or the fact that all three of them were bright red in the face.

"Oh," Karl squeaked out,"Is it?"

"Yes it is!" John wrapped an arm gently around Karl and guided him out of the room. "Come on, I've got some medical supplies downstairs. I'll patch you up real quick."

Connor watched the sheriff get dragged off and scolded by the young bartender. Once they were out of ear shoot he turned back to the rest of the Democrat Haters.

Both were thankfully mostly clothed with their vests on the floor somewhere. Mason fiddled with Jack's bandana in his hand as the two had the decency to look sheepish about the whole incident.

"Really?"

"YOU BROUGHT IT UP FIRST!"

---‐----------

That took awhile! Sorry for the long wait!

[thejollywriter]

Lena Talbot thought she had a good thing going for her, running with Rance Barrron’s gang. But after a stagecoach robbery goes wrong and end with violence and abandonment, she’s left to die in the high Rockies. Unexpectedly saved by a trapper, Eliza, she recovers and is faced with a choice. Accept a new life with Eliza. Or hunt the bastards who shot her in the back. 

It’s a good life in the Rockies. It’s hard, honest work. But Lena’s a hard-ass. And there’s inequity in her ledger. And she just can’t let it go. 

This is a historical Western written by ME, AMELIA FISHER, UPDATING ON WATTPAD!

https://www.wattpad.com/1114347969-gallows-and-gold-chapter-one-paying-work

So here’s the whole first chapter! 

***

Chapter One: Paying Work

Rance had me keep a lookout on the top floor of the brothel because he figured I’d be the only one not distracted by the dames. Me, bein’ Lena Talbot, didn’t figure a woman could be distracted by another woman.

Hadn’t the heart to correct him. Not that I minded. Mary sat on the bed behind me, legs crossed primly. The piano player wailed on the ivory downstairs, the sound trickled up to me on the third floor. In the rooms around us, I heard giggling, laughing, fucking. The work of a brothel.

Footsteps up and down the hallway. Clients, the Madame keeping an eye on things, girls moving back and forth.

Mary sighed. “When you’d paid, I figured it’d be work related, but we might still have some fun.”

“Rance catches me slacking, he’ll have my ass,” I said. This was a corner room, windows faced the north and the east. Had a great view of the main street below. The others were elsewhere, in their positions.

My job was to set off a firecracker when the target appeared. The pop would draw eyes, and surprise would be ours.

And then, functionally, I was to get down. Because whatever eyes we drew would lead to gunfire, I should think.

No sign of them yet.

Mary stood up. She wore a black corset, her linen shirt was pulled down past her shoulders and her nipples were barely hidden by the light, airy fabric.

“I’m sad now,” she said, and traced her fingers along the back of my arm. I pushed my hat back. I was in a vest, black slacks, sturdy boots, and a red shirt. Sleeves were rolled up, though, and my gun belt was black leather, too.

“I’m workin’,” I said, but I didn’t say it mean. I was leaned up against the wall. Antsy, waiting.

“Yeah but you gotta ignore me, too?”

“As opposed to what?”

She stood close to me now. Locks of dark hair hung in front of her eyes, she brushed a strand aside, pouted at me. I reached out, cupped her cheek, brushed a thumb over her lips.

“I’m workin’, darling.”

She sighed, looked out the window, I laid my arm around her waist. She had a hand on my chest, traced a finger down my front, idly.

If I kept my eyes out the window, I could touch her. Hike up her skirts, slip my fingers between her soft thighs, and find her pleasure. It’d be easy.

Up the street, I saw the wagon turn into view. I stiffened. She noticed, glanced at me, then up the road.

“It’s time?”

“Go on,” I said. “Keep your head down.”

“Alright.” She kissed my cheek. “Good luck.”

I watched her go, the door clicked closed softly, and I tugged the bandana around my neck into place over my nose. Hair tied up, hidden under my hat, all that could be seen were my eyes. And that wasn’t real telling.

I opened the window, pushed the drapes to one side, and held the firecracker in my hand, picked up a candle from the dresser to the side. Waited.

Across the way, on the rooftop of the general store, I saw Buck with his long gun.

If we got the surprise, no call for shooting.

Time.

I held the candle to the fuse, it caught and started to spark, I lobbed it out the open window, it popped in the air, I blew out the candle, and ducked.

People yelped, some surprised, the horses below whinnied in protest, but I heard running feet, a rolling wagon, and yelling voices.

The coach drivers hollered, reined their horses in to stop them crashing into the wagon Jimmy and Andy rolled to block the coach.

I mantled through the window, snagged my long gun, and stood up at the railing, rifle pointed down.

“Gentleman!” Rance called out and stepped into view. “Good morning! Let’s keep those hands to heaven! We’ve no interest in bloodshed but by God’s fiery right hand, if your palms touch iron we will fill you full’a holes.” Rance stood on top of the untethered wagon.

I aimed at the driver. The fella riding shotgun had a double-barrel in his hands, but there were eight people in the street surrounding the wagon, and he wasn’t stupid.

Two of ours moved up to the wagon doors.

“Gentleman, what you’re carrying is no longer yours to keep. Your job was deliver it to Leadville, and while I’m sure y’all had a different destination in mind, consider this your stepping-off point.”

“That gold don’t belong to you.” The driver said.

“Don’t belong to you neither, fella,” Rance said. “And while I’m sure your employers would love you to die for their cargo, it’s a foolish thing to do.”

“We got a job needs be done.” The driver said. “Move the wagon, let us get to it.”

“A bold idea, an idea I have to reject.” Rance said. “Who y’all carrying? Many guards inside?”

Our men moved to the door, the driver stared me down, and I think he was wondering just how fast he could pull his pistol and get a shot off.

Except he had nowhere to go. And if he tried to ram his horses through the wagon, it was as likely to get them killed and tip the wagon as it was to lead to freedom.

“I see ideas growing in that head, mister,” Rance said. “Eyes front, if you don’t mind.”

The driver looked at him. “You’ve got no idea what’s coming if you take this gold.”

The curtains were down in the wagon, the closest to the door had a sawn-off in hand and was pointed at the windows. He reached for the handle.

“Oh sure I do,” Rance said. “We’re gonna spend it, keep it in Leadville, see to it as many bellies as possible are filled. Your job was to take it to men who’ll hoard it.”

“Last warning.” The driver said.

A shot rang out ahead of me, I saw the smoke from Buck’s gun, the fella at shotgun pitched forward–

Our man opened the door, pointed the gun inside, a second shot fired and a cloud of gunsmoke billowed out into the street, Denny caught it square in the chest and jaw and it threw him down, blood misted the air with the smoke.

The driver went for his pistol, looked up at me, I fired before he cleared leather, his hat flew off behind him, Rance fired into his chest, and Buck fired again.

I jumped over the railing, dropped to the street below while the others focused fire into the wagon itself. Splinters flew off, gunsmoke hung thick in the air, thick and choking, people screamed and sprinted away from the street.

“Eyes west!” Rance yelled. “Buck, what do you see?”

“Sheriff’s runnin’ this way!” Buck was still up on the second floor of the general store and had his rifle to his shoulder. He fired at the lawmen, far away. The shots went wide, but it slowed them down while they took cover, began to return fire.

They’d flank around the side streets, and run up at us.

“We gotta be gone,” I said. “They’re gonna circle around and pin us!”

“Get my goddamn gold!” Rance roared. “Clear that fucking coach!”

I whipped around, approached the coach. I couldn’t see much inside, the curtains were tattered now, the interior was dark, I saw a couple of slumped forms, but not much else besides. A heavy case on the floor with several bolted locks on the front, metal hinges on the wooden case.

Everyone inside was dead.

I slung my rifle across my back, grabbed for the case, but I couldn’t move it alone.

“Buck, keep ‘em pinned down, everybody else here!” Rance called out, Skinny Jimmy appeared on the other side, he jumped into the coach, grabbed the other side of the case, and heaved.

It broke loose, he shimmied over and I backed up, we staggered away from the coach.

Nearby, Jesse came around the corner with a one-horse cart. We got the crate into the cart–

“Skinny, go on with the box! You too,” Rance pointed at me, I jumped up on the buck board, took my Winchester in my hands.

Jesse whipped the horse, it dug in and pulled away fast. He steered us into an alley, got off the main street, cut through the narrow space between two buildings, emerged on the next street.

Jimmy sat in the back with his rifle, half-sprawled on the crate.

“That’s a damn good time,” Jesse said. “A damn good goddamn time.”

Jesse was older, had rough stubble on his chin constantly, fewer teeth than most, old eyes. But he was great with horses and he could always round up a cart or two when we needed one.

I looked around for someone who wanted to shoot back, but there was no one.

“Slow down,” I said, as Jesse took another corner. I tugged my bandana down, “Skinny, sit up.”

“We’re not clear yet though!”

“Look around, look at all the other traffic.”

There were carts all over. Folks pulling all kinds of loads up and down Leadville. “Who are we amongst all’a them?” I asked. “Cool off, keep your gun down. We ain’t runnin’, we’re just out for a ride, right?”

“Sure thing,” Jesse said. “Just goin’ on a nice morning spin.”

“Exactly.” I laid my rifle across my knees, lowered the hammer. “We’re fine.”

I kept my eyes up, however. Looked for someone ready to holler.

But there was nothing.

We got to the edge of town, where the houses were spaced further apart. The thick mud of more populous Leadville gave way to drier ground, and grass near the barn we pulled up to.

I jumped out, grabbed the barn door, opened up. Jesse got the cart and the horse inside, and I watched, waited for the others.

I didn’t see them behind me, immediately, so I closed up. “Skinny, you know where I post up in that shack up the road?”

“Sure, only got the one window.”

“Head on over there. Whistle if you see lawmen.”

“Got it.” He grabbed his rifle, headed up the road.

Jesse sat on the bench, and sighed. “How much you think we snagged?”

“Client said it weighed a hundred pounds,” I said. “If that’s true, I’m the goddamn mayor.”

“Oh you know those city folk,” he said. “Can’t reckon the real weight of nothin’.”

“Sure.”

“You want some coffee?”

“I’m good. Keep your eyes out, if you’re gonna whip something up though.”

“We’re not gonna get ambushed here.” He said. “Because that’d require someone knowing where we were.”

“We know,” I said. “And the client knows. And I got no idea who might’ve been told beyond that circle. Which is, in my estimation, entirely too many folks.”

“Relax, kid.” Jesse said. “Trust ain’t a bad idea. And this ain’t that kinda gang.”

“Is it not?”

He shrugged, but had no other answer.

I watched the road. And waited.

End of Chapter One