#but yeah this is a half-finished sequel to a largely half-finished story

[victorluvsalice]

(Tag Game) The Joker And The Queen

This is either something related to everyone's favorite Society Clown (unlikely, but possible. I could buy into a Joker Victor) or it's something about cards and/or their iconography (Possibly Wonderland related AU given the Queen of Hearts exists?)

Actually, it's neither! The Joker And The Queen is actually the sequel story to the fic immediately before it on the list, As Long As You Love Me. "As Long As You Love Me" can be summed up as, basically, "the Bart & Ken bits of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency with Victor and Alice" -- that story currently exists in various story chunks collected here: As Long As You Love Me -- All In One Place! and I do have a rough draft of a "completed" version sitting around (as evidenced by the fact that it's on the list).

"The Joker And The Queen's" deal is that Victor and Alice have been on the road together for about a year, with Victor helping Alice with her holistic assassinations -- only for Victor to get kidnapped during one by a mysterious organization called "X Sector," and get dragged off to The Sanctuary, a holding facility for people with mysterious powers, headed up by Dr. Kelman (who for some reason is convinced VICTOR is the holistic assassin). As you might imagine, all the other residents are the various Alton Towers coasters -- Oblivion, Air/Galactica, Thirteen, Rita, Wickerman, Nemesis, and, of course, Smiler. The story's two plotlines involve Alice stumbling across Victoria and Emily while tracking down Victor and teaming up with them to find him; and Victor dealing with life in the Sanctuary and making friends with the other "secret weapons" -- and realizing that he's starting to fall for Smiler. There's a somewhat more in-depth look at my idea for the story here, but the important thing is that it ends with an awesome break-out/break-in sequence set to "Backstreet's Back" and a "Four Victorians Riding A Rollercoaster" poly situation. :)

Oh, and as for the title... *sigh* Okay, look -- when I was writing "As Long As You Love Me," I'd gotten into some of Taylor Swift's older songs, and they worked their way into the story as a musical motif (alongside, obviously, The Backstreet Boys). So when it came to the sequel, I decided that Victor and Smiler's thing would be Ed Sheeran songs, and named the story after Ed and Taylor's recent collab at the time. I felt it fit -- "Joker" for Smiler and "Queen" for Alice, get it?

[koboldfactory]

oh yeah i started playing the other half life 2 episodes over the weekend and they're just kinda okay so far. the start of episode 1 was cool but the rest of it was just kinda ehh. Episode 2 is obviously much larger and the lore stuff and new enemies and stuff are cool, but I honestly don't really care for the structure all that much. I think the locales are just a lot less interesting compared to the base game. the idea of a road trip stopping at points of interest seems cool conceptually, but it kinda just feels like padding in gameplay. I got to the point right before the big defense section with the gravity gun bomb things and I am just kinda dreading booting it back up. that kind of large scale defense gameplay where you have to keep scrambling around to stop the advance of tons of enemies just isn't appealing to me. Knowing how it ends too makes me a little less inclined to push through the rough bits. I already experienced basically everything I didn't have any knowledge/memory of. it's kinda weird because base half life 2 was like some of the coolest video game stuff I've ever played and the episodes, to me at least, just kinda feel like they didn't quite know how they wanted to wrap up the story so they just kept dragging it out. And the cliffhanger sort of ending Combined (hah) with the fact that there's still no direct sequel to episode 2 kinda confirms that to me. I definitely wanna go finish HL: Alyx soon now though

[chungledown-bimothy]

Are you still doing d20 hot takes? These are admittedly lukewarm (some salsa that everyone at the table can enjoy).

1) I watch for the character arcs/development, not the story, so I really enjoyed Neverafter.

2) Both campaigns set in Calorum have been really hard to get into, even though they’re really good. But I also don’t like GoT so maybe that’s on me.

3) Hard agree with everyone who said they don’t really want sequel campaigns. I would, however, be down for the odd one shot a la holiday MisMag or Boys’ Night.

4) Coffin Run is so slept on, it’s not even funny. Jasmine’s props, the letters, the Dracula wings lighting, gorgeous sets & minis, incredible RP all around, great bits, all the campy horror movie references… Truly one of my faves.

5) I really wanna see Aabria or another guest DM do a full length/over 10 eps season. I feel like Aabria’s DM style would do well with a few more eps so she can explore more. And it would just be nice to hang out with a guest DM a bit more.

6) Confession: Never finished UC2 or Pirates =< UC2 was hard to pick up with less likeable characters (to me) + feeling like Chap 1 wrapped up so nicely + I’m bad with interpersonal conflict. And then I never got past the start of ep 1 of Pirates cause bad British accents is my pet peeve and B Dave’s character was first introduced 😭

oh i'm ALWAYS here for d20 hot takes. (god i love sam says that was so fucking funny, especially because what lou then gave was the most mild gossip i've ever heard)

1- completely valid. and to a large extent, i do too- i did ultimately enjoy the season, primarily because i love the characters so much.

2- skill issue. calorum campaigns slay absolute penis. (for real though totally fair, they're not for everyone. but i do think it's interesting in conjunction with watching for character arcs/development, bc i think acoc in particular is one of the best with that)

3- ooh yes one-shots are a different thing entirely, always a fun time.

4- coffin run FUCKS. my favorite non-intrepid heroes campaign, and it's only acofaf that comes sort of close. everyone needs to watch it, and if they've already watched it and don't appreciate it, they should try again. i could talk forever about it and how great it is.

5- yes. a million times yes please give us 20 episodes with aabria gming i'm begging. and in general yeah i'd love to see a guest dm have more time and space to flex. (except mercer please no more mercer in the dome)

6- i feel you. it took me a long time to get through tuc 2, this is a cody walsh hate account (half joking). and it took 3 attempts to get through pirates as well. honestly what got me through it was myrtle, cheese, and the little bit of garthy that we got. i found the other characters kinda annoying, big same on that accent, bob's was grating, too.

[greenjokwe-blog]

Pyre - Finished 20/02/2023

Going back through my Supergiant game journey after putting it on hold for a year and a half, playing through them all in order has been a very interesting experience for me. They’re a studio who both haven’t released any bad games and not only have improved more and more over time, but with the massive success of Hades warranting their first direct sequel, it’s very fun putting all of their other games in context to that without having played the game for myself. Pyre in a lot of ways is technically more impressive than both of their previous games, although for me in terms of favourites I’d probably put it in the exact middle right now.

Firstly, the structure is completely different this time. While it does keep a lot (maybe even most) of the studio’s staples, some aspects are much favoured over others, such as the more narrator-style of storytelling being changed for it’s more multi-choice, choose your own adventure story, hell most of the game is basically a visual novel! While I loved the old story presentation, seeing how perfectly it was executed in Transistor, I’m happy to see them strive for new ideas, and this game definitely shows the heights of the new formula at certain points.

First off, I must talk about the best part about this game - the characters. The cast is easily the best Supergiant has ever done, there will be at least a couple of characters you’ll be invested in their character arcs throughout, and wanna stick out from them. Which is when the game reveals its biggest secret and greatest strength; its understanding of character progression and levelling with player investment, leading to some reveals that hit the player like a brick.

Although that being said, once the game first drops its biggest ball about four hours in, the rest of the game never really seems to hit quite as hard, which is fine because it still has its moments that shine very bright, but considering that when this released it was the studios longest game, and that a lot of that is bogged down by large dialogue of lore dumps, the game really shined only as bright to me with the characters I liked and the choices I made. Towards the game’s end the game suffers the most, but also created this unique feeling of melancholy I definitely appreciated and is befitting of Supergiant's body of work as a whole.

But uh yeah, rest is as you expect. Beautiful art, wonderful soundtrack, the gameplay... even more unbalanced and exploitable than usual. I definitely still do like it, and I think that’s due to my love of sports RPGs sparked by Inazuma Eleven, but it definitely suffers from character playstyles that aren’t great or synergize very well with other party compositions, trivializing a lot of encounters or making some character styles suffer when the game forces you to use them. Still, at its best, it’s incredibly involving and exciting, with incredibly tight controls and decision-making play.

So yeah, Pyre isn’t without its flaws, but I’d still say it’s a very good game. Honestly, I’m just really glad to see them try something new, and if Hades uses the character dialogue presentation of story (which from what I’ve seen of what Hades story is) and improves on it as much as Transistor did with Bastion’s roots, I think I’ll definitely love that game as well. But considering it’s longer than the length of every Supergiant game up to this point combined, I’m not in a rush. I’d still recommend this, the most slept-on Supergiant game that’s definitely worth checking out.

[nostalgia-tblr]

@fancy-a-dance-brigadier tagged me on that "share the titles of your current unpublished WIPs" meme thingy, and for once I actually have Several unfinished things, ooh. I assumed that when there's no title yet I should just use the filename it's saved as. (Also I excluded the one or two things that I might end up posting as Anonymous for shame reasons. So there.) Sorted By Fandom:

DS9

"dax31" - this is the one where Dax(es) has for many years been working for Section 31 and so Sloan makes Ezri/Julian happen for Shady Espionage Reasons (and/or his own lust, because I can't *not* shove some Sloanshir in there, u kno?). It feels like I've been stuck on this one forever but I don't think it can be more than a few weeks actually. It's basically just a long conversation and some angst. Also it claims that Sloan/Curzon happened at least once, which is a concept I find both alarming and plausible.

"julzia lol" - That was when I started writing Julian/Jadzia in my head for a laugh/spite and actually I thought of an outline that seemed like it'd work but I may not finish this ever as I am not that into it. And it's unrequited so they don't even kiss in it anyway so what is the point of that eh? It's also in some ways more of a Julian/Dax-worm thing and maybe if I focus it onto that I'll be more inclined to finish it. Hrm.

"garashir spy angst shite" - May not finish this one because I feel like I don't ship Garashir enough to get away with writing breakup fic about them. It's basically my text post about "Sloan broke up garashir" but with more words and a lovebite.

"lauren2" - Not a sequel to The Only Julian/Lauren On AO3 but a different one in which it's apparently okay to chemically/medically make someone less horny even if they're not really into that idea but it's their way out of not-prison so they'll go along with it anyway. So it's kind of fucked up, yeah. Featuring "Foot Stuff", some of which happens in Quark's because well it's not like anyone noticed so it's fine probably.

The Marvel Loki Show That I Am Normal About

"casinopointless" - I called it pointless because it turns into porn halfway through (probably) but I am doing my best to fit in some Actual Non-Sex Content about chaos and hedonism and selfcest. I was working on this one earlier today and I like some of the dialogue so hopefully I will actually finish it. And it's a slightly different Loki(s) characterisation than I'd usually go for but I don't think anyone would notice that really. I was considering Anon'ing it if I can't think of enough Stuff to put around the porn, but I suppose I can't now. Oops.

"he lets her" - This is just one of those stories in which people have sex and angst about it. But this one is Radically Different because most of the angst happens during the sex. See, I have range!!

"lokiidk" - TBH this one is really just a disorganised set of scenes and ideas that *might* all fit into one story but some of them might get discarded or end up in something else. And it commits that fanfic sin of a third character who is in the story purely to talk to/about that story's main ship but then Mobius *is* deployed largely as a therapist in the canon, albeit as one with ulterior motives whose treatments are sometimes actually torture under the terms of the Geneva Conventions. (Which don't apply outside of normal space-time so he's probably fine there legally.)

"mirrormirror" - This one is only about half a dozen lines BUT it does have a title! "Mirror, Mirror" and GUESS WHAT it's all about the wonders and implications of selfcest.

Crossover!! :D

"missysylvie omg" - Dr Who/Loki crossover in which (as the title suggests) Missy and Sylvie meet up and instantly fail the Bechdel by complaining about male versions of themselves. (Actually, how *does* one apply the test to characters Of Variable Gender?) I don't know if they will kiss in it, but there is A Vibe there because Missy has already joked about knifeplay on a first date and has made the (as yet unanswered) offer of "time and space and a bit of sexual tension." Alas I am not sure if I will manage to finish it because I keep thinking "oh no this isn't really A Story it's just an excuse for two of my faves to have a chat" but that's an issue I struggle with often because part of me is pretentious about fanfiction and while that part is annoying and should not be listened to it is nonetheless quite loud.

So anyway that's what's in the C:\Users\[Name]\Documents\fik folder at the moment. Plus a large number of opaquely-named files that frankly could be pretty much anything and most of them I believe to contain about three lines of something I immediately gave up on and forgot the context for. Because I can't just *delete files* my god no how could I how dare you I can't even.

I am gonna tag anyone who wants to do this meme because I want to know what everyone has lying around in the shadows of whatever device they write on. (And if that's a phone then I am a bit scared of you because HOW those keyboards are TINY and the screens are so sore??)

[themattress]

Star Wars ramblings

So, a certain Youtuber who’s been very hit or miss for me (more misses than hits though) did a video about The Rise of Skywalker. Now, the funny thing is that he’s pretty fair and even-handed about it, reiterating that he doesn’t think it’s the worst Star Wars movie since he dislikes all the Prequels more (though he did lower his initial score of 6/10 - the same as his score for Return of the Jedi - to 5/10, the same as his score for Revenge of the Sith although he still dislikes that movie more on a personal level; incidentally I adore all three of those movies equally), and makes sure to mention how The Last Jedi knee-capped the potential for a sequel and how most almost everyone involved, the actors in particular, were doing the best they can and not half-assing anything. He also mercifully pointed out that at the end of the day Star Wars is “dumb space wizard movies” not worth investing that much serious thought and emotion on, and how so many other Youtubers could stand to recognize that.

With that said....three points he made drive me up a wall and I just want to vent a little.

1. His first and worst objection, which I’ve heard a million times before and am sick of it, is, to paraphrase, “the decision to bring back Palpatine, who was dead and not relevant to the Sequel Trilogy’s story and barely even mentioned in the previous two movies, was terrible and is the primary source of all the movie’s problems”. I will never fathom how the entirety of Palpatine’s Empire being brought back by another wrinkly decrepit Skywalker-corrupting Dark Side user from out of nowhere in TFA is viewed as acceptable, but bringing Palpatine himself back and positioning that he was responsible for it is a bridge too far.... or that any of that stuff I mentioned can’t be seen as evidence / foreshadowing of Palpatine’s return in the Sequel Trilogy’s story. Or that it’s unbelievable that a guy who went on about how the Dark Side is the key to cheating death and securing immortality in ROTS would cheat death via falling down a reactor shaft, but it’s perfectly fine that this guy’s first apprentice who got cut in half somehow survived it long enough to graft himself to a set of mechanical spider legs. 

And really, given that the next point of his is about TROS failing to be a satisfying conclusion to a nine-part saga, let’s step back a minute. Who was the Big Bad at the start of that saga? Palpatine. He WAS “the phantom menace”, his machinations and then his Empire were the main source of antagonistic conflict in the story for six whole movies. So why on Earth should a saga that starts with a villain like that conclude with a battle against some punk who has nothing to do with him? Even IF Palpatine wasn’t outright brought back to life, he HAD to be relevant to the Sequel Trilogy if it was going to feel like part of the saga at all. People can (and have) reasonably argue that there was never a need to continue the story past ROTJ to start with. Well, I say there’s much, much less of a need to if Palpatine wasn’t involved.

2. And yeah, “TROS is not a satisfying conclusion to the saga”. I’ve heard that all the time too. However, I’ve also heard a similar sentiment twice before....about ROTJ and ROTS (well, mainly ROTJ, with ROTS it was more “it as the final Star Wars movie isn’t good and it doesn’t redeem the Prequel Trilogy at all”). He says the big epic climax TROS has isn’t earned because the rest of the movie that preceded it didn’t properly build to it and it wasn’t properly earned; that the movie was a cliché, retconning McGuffin chase beforehand. To which I’d have to point out there was precious little build-up to ROTJ’s climactic finish either, since the movie beforehand was largely spent wrapping up a filler subplot and then having a random chase scene followed by a teddy bear picnic in a bog-standard forest. That didn’t make the climax any less invigorating, emotional and satisfying (at least in my opinion). Honestly, ROTS is the only one that did the build-up to its pay-off right...its problem was that the build-up was ominous and suspenseful but the pay-off was more hilarious than dramatic.

Which really connects with the “dumb space wizard movies” thing. Star Wars, at its core, has always been derivative shlock meant for cheap thrills. The original film coming out at exactly the right time, a once-in-a-lifetime combo of talent creating a sequel that actually made something more profound while still staying true to the original’s goofy and child-accessible roots, and the nostalgic elevation of the Original Trilogy in the 90s has unfortunately obscured this for so many, but it’s the hard truth. “A cliché, retconning McGuffin chase“ is exactly what Star Wars ultimately is (people freak out over TROS retconning stuff from TLJ, but do I really need to point out just how much goddamn retconning has always been going on in this franchise, from TESB and onward?). The filmmakers were aware of this and going a step further by riffing on Star Wars itself the same way Star Wars riffed on Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, samurai movies, westerns, fairy tales and other stuff George Lucas liked. Tbh, peoples’ real problem is that TROS is actually far too appropriate a note to end the saga on!

3. The last thing is that he said if he could make only one change to the movie, he would have Rey’s death stick and Ben Solo survive, so that he’s the “Skywalker” to rise and has to live the rest of his life undergoing redemption and repairing the harm he’s done to the galaxy. Beyond Star Wars just not being that kind of story, I am shocked that he and likeminded people don’t stop to consider the implications of such an ending (especially given the largely undue flak Ben as a character has already received online), not to mention the improbability that he’d even be allowed to have such a living redemption when the whole galaxy would be calling for his execution given that he was a mass-murdering dictator for about a year. And you can count this guy among the many who miss the point of the “Rey Skywalker” ending. She’s not stealing or claiming anything...she is stating who she has always been spiritually.

OK, I’ve spoken my mind. Now how to end this post? Um....er.....

[kaiparker-avengerssmut]

Our Doll 14// Here we Go Again

B.Barnes x S.Rogers, B.Barnes x Stark!Reader, S.Rogers x Stark!Reader

Series Synopsis | After the events of the horrific past, y/n Stark, Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes have finally admitted their feelings for each other. But is life as an avenger whilst dating two super soldiers any easier than anything y/n’s experienced in the past?

sequel Series to Their Doll

Series Warnings | smut, violence, torture, swearing, threesomes, drug usage/substance abuse

Chapter Summary | y/n and Bucky get closer again

Warnings | blood, implied violence

A/n | This is a sequel book/series to my fic Their Doll! This book loosely follows the mcu timeline, starting in CAWS in book one and starting just before AOU in this book. Bucky had been recovered and is safe, and Peter was taken under Tony's wing when he was much younger.

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

"My scar." Y/n mumbled, looking up at Bucky suddenly. The man hummed, placing his book on his lap to look back at his girl.

"What about it?" Bucky mumbled back with curiosity.

"You said those...dreams were what you would've done if we'd been together before the war, but I still had my scar. You could've gotten rid of it, but you didn't." Y/n explained, a confused frown dancing over her brow when he smiled.

"It's because I love you, all of you. That scar, it tells a story that you shouldn't have to tell, but shouldn't ever forget. It's part of you, like this," Bucky lifted his metal arm, waving the plated hand slightly, "is part of me."

Y/n smiled light from where she sat across the couch; she still didn't feel comfortable being too close to Bucky after the whole locking her up thing, but she was getting closer.

"I'm sorry." He abruptly blurted and y/n frowned. Bucky took a deep sigh before continuing. "I really can't tell you how sorry I am about...about, well, everything?" Bucky proposed and y/n shifted in her seat slightly.

"Oh." Was all she managed, placing her own book on the flimsy coffee table that sat parallel to the torn up sofa in the motel room they were staying in. "Thanks, I guess?" She supplied and Bucky blinked at her. "I'm sorry, I'm just not good at this stuff, I guess. I'm so confused as to how I should feel right now." Y/n vented and Bucky smiled.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm just happy you can bare me enough to talk to me, I was terrified that I may have lost your trust forever." He mumbled, tentatively reaching to take y/n's hand. When she didn't flinch or pull away, he held it in his own.

"I just don't know what to feel; on the one hand, you let them lock me up, but on the other, well, you did everything you could to keep me comfortable and you got me out." Y/n admitted and Bucky nodded, understanding. "And I still love you." She added quietly and Bucky grinned, before wiping the expression from his face.

They'd been on the run for a couple of weeks now, skipping between dingy motels and safe houses that had been long forgotten. Using a code, Bucky and Peter had kept in contact. Apparently, Tony and Sharon were furious.

"I love you too. Do you want some food yet?" Bucky asked and y/n nodded. He got up and crossed the room to gather some money and the room key. "I'll be back in half an hour tops, okay?" Bucky checked and y/n nodded.

"See you later." She murmured as the door slammed shut.

Alone with her thoughts again.

Y/n would rather be in Bucky's company than alone still. Even after the stuff he'd done, she couldn't stop herself from loving him. And it's not like she hadn't done her own fair share of bad things, too.

The girl sighed, rubbing her eyes as she felt the drowsiness of sleep overcome her. Maybe she could get a nap in before Bucky got back.

...

Bucky kept his head down. His hair had grown longer; he hadn't bothered cutting it since they left. His hood was drawn tightly over his face and his steps were quick as he paced to the closest store that sold food.

Once he reached the shop, Bucky rigged a hand - the flesh one - from his pocket and pulled open the door. When inside, he hastily went in search of some decent food.

Although, he instantaneously discovered one of the down sides to shopping at night - drunk people. The boisterous laughed filled his ears like water as Bucky hunted through the shelves, slurred insults thrown back and forth within the group of men.

"Hey, you!" Shit. Bucky looked up. "Yeah, you with the long hair!" One of them boomed and Bucky scoffed, shaking his head as he turned back to the section of ready-made sandwiches.

"Hey, look at me." The man persisted and Bucky rolled his eyes. They boy looked back to his friends, all clearly amused with the situation before the guy was swinging a punch in Bucky's direction.

On instinct, the super soldier caught the guy's fist in his hand. His metal hand. The guy looked so aghast that Bucky had to stop himself from laughing.

...

"This may hurt a little." Y/n sighs, eyes squinted as she threads the needle in front of her. Bucky swallows his groan of pain, giving her a stiff nod before letting his head knock back into the wall behind him. Y/n steps between her boyfriend's legs, pulling his arm forwards and letting a small apology slip from her lips when he hissed.

"Fuck!" Bucky cursed, metal fist slamming into the counter that he was sat on, the dent large and lined with splintered wood. Y/n winced a little but continued, her voice twisting around whisper sweet nothings to calm him down.

Bucky's breathing was heavy, laboured, as y/n continued to sew up the gash, lip pulled between her teeth in concentration.

"Almost there...just a little more..." Her small voice mumbled as Bucky's metal a whirred.

"Fuck me, please remind to never piss off a group of drunk guys again." Bucky groans, but y/n could only find herself biting her lip harder at the thought of fucking him again.

Clearly, this intimate moment had helped her see past his mistakes.

Huh.

"I'm so sorry, y/n. I'll be more careful next time." Bucky promises, flesh hand reaching to cup her cheek when he pulls back - remembering her hesitance.

"It's not your fault. I'll still patch you up each and every time it happens." Y/n smiled tightly, almost with pity when she eyes his retracted hand.

Bucky nods solemnly before moving to hop off the crappy bathroom counter in their motel room, only to cut himself short with a groan.

"Easy, soldier." Y/n jokes, placing her hands onto her boyfriend's hips to help him down.

"Thanks." He mumbled low before hobbling off, eyes biting back tears as he limped through the room to flop on the creaky bed.

Y/n sighs heavily, watching him go with a sad expression. Bucky flicked the TV on - blue light sliding over his features in a haunting highlight; the structure of his bones protruding with the flashing colour of people moving across the screen.

"Y/n." Bucky hissed as she wrung out the little towel - now full of blood and stained a deep crimson.

Her her snapped up, the wet fabric falling into the sink with a soggy slap before she was stumbling across the room to perch on the edge of the bed.

"Oh my god." She exclaimed, hand tight over her mouth I shock at the screen.

"Suspect in the bombing is none other than James Buchan Barnes and Y/n Stark. We'll be back with more information when we have it." The presenter finished, accompanied by pictures of both y/n and Bucky stealthily away from the building, which was now laying in ruins.

"Oh my god." She repeated, horrified at the sight of King T'Chaka and all the victims.

Bucky Barnes Series/mini Series | @buckysgirl101 @quxxnxfhxll @marvelhoesworld @macylawz @Zaphdekota @theoldermanswhore @addriaenne @thegirlwiththeimpala @turkish276 @lilpopizzle @gooseyhouse @ohmy-fandoms @harrysthiccthighss @partiesandblurrypolaroids @prettysbliss @the-surviving-revolutionist @white-wolf1940 @dpaccione @tenaciousperfectionunknown @loveyou5everr @vallerydevora @multihoee @supraveng @cap-n-ce @sebbyxlover @jeremyrennermakesmesmile @veronicapaula @ravenmoore14 @frickin-bats @itstaylorcale @sunflowerbunny2 @spookyparadisesheep

[ur-jinji]

wallflowers: part two

zuko x reader modern au

warning: sokka throws up a lot. sokka always ends up throwing up in my fics

summary: after a night at a party with the gaang and meeting zuko, you join them for breakfast and find time alone with him

a/n: i had no intention of writing a sequel & left part one off with a little bit of cliffhanger just for the fun of it but i got like two comments asking for a part two and i was like damn i feel like i owe it to yall for ending it like that,, so here you go :) i don’t really know how to feel about it

Unknown: hey :) it’s zuko

Your eyes widened at your phone in surprised.

‘He actually texted me,’ You thought to yourself in awe.

“What are you smiling about?” Katara questioned from the drivers seat of the car. She raised an eyebrow and a very smug smirk was wiped across her face.

“Uh, nothing,” You lied before turning back to your phone. You stared at the message for a moment, your fingers stuck. Why were you so nervous to text him back?

You: hey :) how’s the party?

Zuko: really boring now that you’re gone :( aang and i just went up to the guest room for bed. everyone started to leave

You smiled softly.

You: you’re so sweet!!

Zuko: i heard we might go to breakfast tomorrow. will you be there?

“We’re going to breakfast?” You asked Katara.

“Yeah, once they all rise from the dead. Sokka and Suki will probably be the ones most screwed up tomorrow,” She replied, causing you to laugh and nod in agreement.

You: yeah i’ll be there :)

Zuko: good :) see you then

You put your phone back into your pocket and could not stop smiling. Butterflies were swarming in your stomach. You eventually made it to Suki’s apartment, and you and Katara had to practically drag them inside. Once you tucked them into bed, you made yourself comfy on the couch in the living room. You pulled your phone out of your pocket and saw another text.

Zuko: did you make it to suki’s okay??

You: yes :) thanks for asking. we had to put sokka and suki to bed. i think theyll be out for the rest of the night so no funny business haha

Zuko: just give it a minute

Just a moment after Zuko sent that text, you started to hear a consistent creaking of a mattress coming from the other room

You: oh my god you’re right they’re going at it

You: i don’t even know how lmao they were knocked out a second ago

Zuko: i’ve suffered through many long nights in the same house as them. they always find a way -.-

You: god theyre animals lmfao

You: i’m gonna get some sleep, you should too!!

Zuko: okay, sleep well :)

You: you too :)

You awoke the next morning with a sliver of sunshine from the mostly closed curtains shining brightly directly on your face. It was sometime around noon. You rubbed your eyes tiredly and noticed a sound from the bathroom that sounded like gagging. You were suddenly very thankful you only had one drink the previous night. If it weren’t for Zuko, you probably would’ve had more.

You stood from the couch and followed the noise of gags. The door was wide open and you could see Sokka leant over the toilet. You walked towards him, concerned.

“Hey, buddy. Want me to get you some water?” You offered kindly as you placed a hand on his back, rubbing circles. He looked up at you with a look of disgust on his face and nodded slowly.

“I don’t know how Suki does it. She’s perfectly fine,” He mumbled before burping and leaning back over the toilet. Some vomit came up. Gross.

You made your way to the kitchen where you saw Suki, all readied up, pretty, and ready to go.

“Hey, Y/N! How did you sleep?” She chirped. She handed you a water bottle for Sokka, already knowing.

“I slept good. The couch was very comfy,” Yoh replied with a smile.

“I didn’t mean to get so trashed last night. Did I do anything embarrassing?” Suki asked.

“Nope. Sokka on the other hand...” You responded, gaining a laugh from her. Katara appeared in the kitchen and greeted the two of you. She also looked ready to go. You felt embarrassed that you were the last one up.

“I’ll go get ready real quick!” You told them before speed walking from the kitchen. You bee lined to the bathroom and gave Sokka his water.

“Thanks,” He muttered sickly.

“I’m gonna get ready in here while you puke, mkay?” You told him. He nodded and took a long drink of water. He fell backwards onto the tile floor and stared miserably up at the sealing. You went over to the vanity and rushed to get ready using Suki’s things and an extra toothbrush she left for you. As you ran a brush through your hair, you heard Sokka scramble to get back up and upchuck into the toilet some more. You finished up getting ready and made your way out of the bathroom.

You joined the girls on the couch in the living room and chatted for a while until Sokka was able to hold down his vomit. He appeared in the living room and stared miserably at the three of you.

“Don’t you look pretty,” Katara teased. “Now let’s go. Aang, Toph, and Zuko just got to the diner.”

The four of you made your way out to the car and you somehow got stuck in the back with Sokka. He looked like he was about throw up all over you.

“Suki, I hate you for calling shotgun,” You told her. She turned around from the passenger seat and giggled.

“I’m not about to be thrown up on!” She reasoned.

Sokka grumbled something incoherent and then rested his head on the window, closing his eyes. Maybe if he does throw up, he’ll just do it on the floor? Maybe.

You arrived at the diner without any puke on you and you all made your way inside. Aang waved you over at a large table when he saw the group walk in. Your eyes landed on Zuko, who had already noticed you. He smiled warmly. He was seated at the very end of the table with Toph on the other side of him. You took a seat across from him, and Suki sat beside you. You were grateful Sokka didn’t sit by you.

“Hi, Y/N,” Zuko greeted you from across the table. You greeted him back, adding a grin. You looked over the menu to busy yourself. You felt yourself becoming very nervous again in Zuko’s presence, and feeling his gaze on you didn’t help.

“You’re lucky we’re in public, snoozles. I’m ready to put you into another chokehold,” You heard Toph say, presumably to Sokka, earning laughs from the rest of the group.

The table’s waitress came over and took everyone’s orders and then proceeded to say that it may take longer because the kitchen was super backed up. Your stomach grumbled loudly in response.

“God, I’m so hungry,” You said when she walked away.

“Me too,” Sokka said moodily from the other end of the table.

“I’m surprised you even want to eat!” Katara replied to him.

“Do you think you can wait?” Zuko asked.

“I mean, I have to,” You said with a chuckle, thinking you were stating the obvious.

“I have a granola bar in my car if you want it?” He offered softly to you, nudging your shoe with his.

“Really? I wouldn’t mind having one. I’m literally starving,” You responded, ready to jump out of your seat to get the dang thing.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Zuko said as he got up from his chair. You followed him out of the diner and into the parking lot, making small talk on the way to his car. Once you arrived at the destination, he opened the cardoor and fished a granola bar from his school backpack.

“I always have an emergency snack just in case for...y’know...emergencies,” He explained, his voice sounding anxious. You thanked him and ripped that sucker open. You split it in half and handed a half out to him.

“Please share it with me! I don’t want to spoil my entire appetite on accident,” You begged him.

Zuko grabbed the other half and then leaned against the door, munching on his half. You joined him against the door and looked up at him.

“So, did Sokka and Suki keep you up?” He asked.

“Not really. It was quickie,” You answered with a chuckle.

“You’re lucky. They kept me up for two hours once. It was awful,” He said, breathing out a shaky laugh. His nerves were becoming more and more obvious. “I’m not as bold as I was last night.”

“Well, the nickname liquid courage might explain it,” You joked.

“Wanna go for a walk?” Zuko asked with a hopeful expression. You nodded in response and the two of you began a trek out of the parking walk and down some sidewalk. The two of you spent the time sharing stories about your past and friends. You couldn’t help but notice how every so often, his hand would accidentally brush against your knuckles as you walked, causing a few blushes. You ended up at a large mural on the side of an abandoned bricked building on an empty street. It depicted the city abstractly. You looked up in admiration.

“We don’t have very many murals in my town. Just graffiti of random names,” You said to him. “It’s beautiful.”

You walked up to the mural, and as you got closer to the bricks, you reached out a hand, touching the paint gently, and running your fingers down the bricks. Zuko copied you, and his hand accidentally got a little too close to yours. His index finger lightly grazed your pinky. You both froze for a moment, taking in the rush that the contact gave. Zuko turned to you with a soft expression, which you returned.

“We should probably head back. Our food might be ready,” You said, nerves taking over you. You pulled your hand away from the bricks.

“Wait,” Zuko told you hurriedly. “I’ll regret not doing this.”

Before you could ask him what he meant, his hands found their way under your cheekbones. Zuko leaned forward and his eyes fluttered shut. His lips touched yours, causing a rush to race throughout your body. You immediately kissed him back, feeling like you’ve been deprived of his touch all your life. His lips moved quickly against yours like it was urgent. You opened your mouth slightly, welcoming his tongue, which seemed more than happy to enter. You eventually pulled away to catch your breath, both of you panting heavily. Zuko smirked and then leaned in for one more quick kiss, then another, then another, then another, pulling away for a second inbetween each one.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been wanting to do that since last night, but didn’t want to give you the wrong idea. I just really like you,” Zuko explained through his deep breaths. You grinned and pulled him back in for more to tell him you felt the same way. You eventually separated again, and you shared a smile with him.

“I like you too, Zuko. You replied, caressing his cheek, smiling and breathing out one final deep breath. “Let’s head back before our food gets cold.”

Zuko nodded with a small opened mouth smile. The two of you began your walk back, and he surprised you again by taking your hand in his, entwining your fingers.

As you walked back, you couldn’t help but think about transferring colleges.

-

taglist: @complainsalot @teelagurl558 @coldlilheart

[descendantofthesparrow]

Interlude - Rewrite POYW - Part 6 - new buildings and snowball fights

=

-Six months later(February 2017)-

Diego stood in front of a work in progress building that was supposedly being turned into a shelter for vks that needed a warm place to stay and regular meals that they couldn't get on their own. His eyes drifted to the yet-to-be-hanged sign next to the open door where workers inside built the kitchens and bathrooms.

‘Carlos’ House - A safe place for lost kids - Auradon department of the isle’

Around a month ago King Ben and his councilor; Evie, had announced an on-Isle shelter for anyone that needed it, with two sections of the building, one for adults and one for minors. Fully furnished with fresh food, a handful of bedrooms that could house up to 10 people, multiple bathrooms, two full kitchens, and two snack kitchens, and isle hired guards and caretakers that would be screened and recruited by Harriet's crew.

Some of the building was finished so several homeless or starving VK’s had already moved into the empty rooms. Some of Harriet's crew had taken charge of guarding the building, keeping an eye on the Auradon workers to keep the younger kids safe while also keeping anyone dangerous out.

Diego felt a hint of pride looking at the sign, his little cousin, someone many thought would never amount to anything more than a slave for his mother, was now in Auradon, inventing and creating in Auradon and establishing a shelter for his fellow vks still on the isle.

Diego brushed his thumb over the walkie talkie in his hand, Carlos has sent it to him with one of the workers, something about Diego being an ear on the inside to keep track of things the isle needed and to help spread any news about more vks coming off the isle at some point.

Diego pocketed the device and turned on his heel, walking back to his apartment through the market, eyes drifting over the new posters detailing the upcoming -yet to be scheduled- VK day, where six VKs would be chosen and head to Auradon. It was a good year from now, the so-called CPS that would be ‘in charge’ of the new vks would apparently take the longest and both that and the Auradon shelter had been required for Ben to get the council to approve the new transfer plan.

Diego pushed open the gate to his apartment building and hurried inside, night was falling and even after everything king Ben had implemented onto the isle it still wasn’t safe to be out at this time. Diego walked into his apartment and locked the door behind him, tossing his keys and the walkie-talkie onto his couch.

He sighed and walked into his room, flopping against his bed and buried his face in his pillows. Just two days ago, the rotten four, as they used to be called on the isle before they left, had visited the isle to see how everything was going. And he had seen Carlos, no longer the short and scarily skinny tween, but an almost fully grown young man. Carlos had only been in Auradon for just a little more than a year but he was thriving, he was stronger, taller, and much more confident than he was before.

And Diego couldn’t help but be a little proud. When Carlos had seen Diego, he had rushed over, whispering to him as if it was a secret he was about to tell.

‘when the applications are sent here, fill one out, you’ll be my pick’ Diego pushed down the smile on his lips at the memory, it was nice to know that Carlos hadn’t forgotten him.

So maybe in a year, he would be joining Carlos in Auradon, both finally away from Carlos’ insane mother.

-

Evie overlooked the file that Yen Sid had pulled out for the young daughter of Dr.Facilier, Celia. Dizzy had requested from all of them that Celia be one of the next off, saying that she had promised her friend that she would get Celia off the isle as soon as she could.

And Evie had told Dizzy she would do her best. But unfortunately, it would be up to the council for Celia to be approved, and Evie hoped that Celia wouldn't try to be smart on her application. But again, the applications wouldn’t be sent for a good two years from now, so Auradon and the isle had a long time to wait until they could celebrate ‘vk day’ which was Doug's idea, he had said that the vks still on the isle deserved a day for themselves for waiting so long, and the vks in Auradon agreed, eight months was too long for Harriet and the others, two and a half was overdoing it.

It just sucked that Ben had no choice but to go with the council's requests, and it would be 2019 at least before they got the next round off. It was only thanks to Ben and (y/n) that the vks still on the isle knew that they in Auradon weren't abandoning them.

There was a new shelter being built in the name of Carlos’ for any kids or adults that needed a warm place to sleep, it also served as a place to keep track of the kids that took and turned in applications when the time came. Dizzy, around a week ago, had brought up the idea of possibly letting the older adults apply for Auradon as well, as some of them were long since reformed before the isle. (y/n) had said that Dizzy meant her aunt Anastasia, and told them about the baker and the alternate timeline sequels of Cinderella’s stories.

Which had confused the hell outta them but…considering (y/n) was from a world where they were all characters and had actors, they couldn’t argue with her about it.

Evie sighed and set down Celia's file, standing and stretching to get the tightness out of her muscles from sitting at the table for so long. She grabbed her jacket and shrugged it on, it was mid-February in Auradon so while the deep winter had passed it was still snowing and cold as hell outside.

Evie walked out of her room and made her way outside, smiling as she saw Dizzy, the Smee twins, Sammy, CJ, Harriet, and the rest of the vks (other than Gil) along with Doug, Ben, and (y/n) all having a snowball fight, (y/n) in Harry's arms as he lifted her out of the way of a snowball from Jay.

“Evie, heads up!” Evie squealed and ducked as a snowball soared past just where her head was a moment ago, CJ wincing as Carlos and Mal glared at her “Sorry! I was aiming for Harry!”

“I’m over here yeh lame-ass!” Harry cackled, dodging another snowball from Jay and grabbing your hand to bolt to the next snow fort Dizzy and CJ had made before the battle had started.

Evie laughed as she stood up and ran towards Mal and Ben, pulling Mal in front of her as a snowball from Harriet came speeding towards her “E!” Mal squeaked, wiping her shoulder and chest of the snow and turning towards Evie “No fair! No using your teammates as shields!” Evie laughed and stuck out her tongue, crouching down to scoop up snow.

“vks don’t fight fair M~! you said it yourself!” Evie then screamed as Mal squished a snowball into the side of her head, her blue hair trimmed with white “Hey!!”

“Payback!” Mal cackled, spinning on her heel and dodging another ball from Harriet then sending one back, pouting as Harriet just stepped to the side and the ball hit Sammy in the face. “oh come on-GAH!” (y/n) chucked a ball straight at Mal and hit her in the face, sending Mal to the ground. The snow flurried around Mal, almost creating a blanket on her from the thick frost. “really?”

Ben held in his laugh and lifted Mal out of the snow, holding her into his side as he dived behind another snow fort. “Ben” Mal faked a weak cough, holding her hand out towards Ben “you must…avenge my death…Bleh” Mal ‘died’ and slumped against Ben, closing her eyes and sticking her tongue out the corner of her mouth.

“Nooooo” Ben dramatically yelled out, a smile on his face as he let Mal slip off his chest. He stood, a snowball in each hand “revenge!” Jay cackled as Ben was immediately pummeled by several snowballs from the other side of the battlefield, (y/n) catching herself on Harry as Ben flopped back into the snow “treason! You’ve killed the king!”

“False! Dizzy is king now! She threw the last ball that hit you!” Harry cackled, lifting Dizzy by her armpits and holding the giggling teen in the air “all hail king Dizzy!”

Evie covered her mouth to stop the loud ‘guffaw’ from bursting, leaning on Carlos to prevent herself from falling “all hail king Dizzy!” Jay and Carlos echoed, throwing their hands forward and mock bowing at Dizzy, who was still giggling in Harry's grip.

“Fore!” Jay looked to the side and yelped, a snowball slamming directly into his face and he fell back into the snow “I said fore!” Gil laughed, Jane at his side giggling behind her periwinkle snow mittens.

“there yeh are!” Harry yelled, setting Dizzy down and gesturing for Gil to join the side of the pirates “come on, we need’a tank!”

“don’t you have (y/n)?” Jane laughed, sitting down on a bench nearby as Gil jogged over to Harry and quickly made a large snowball. Gil and Harry looked at each other at Jane's mention of you, then looked to (y/n), who was in the middle of hurling another snowball at the opposite team. They shrugged and Gil continued to make a large snowball

“(y/n)’s tha’ sharpshooter, Gil’s the tank” Harry grinned, cackling as Gil launched the foot wide snowball at the other side, completely decimating the small fort CJ had made and knocking her to the ground. “yeah!!!”

“Ow!” CJ groaned, shaking the snow off and crawling out of the battlefield “im done! Count me out!” she flopped into the snow a few feet away and took a few deep breaths as Gil launched another snowball at Carlos, knocking him to the ground.

“Dodgeball rules! You get hit you’re out, loser team makes hot chocolate for everyone!” Harriet called out, giving a sharp grin as everyone yelled in agreement.

Snowballs flew everywhere, Jane curling in on herself squealing as a few stragglers landed near her “not playing, not playing!”

“Jane!” Gil laughed, running toward her and picking her up bridal style, and running back to the battlefield, setting her behind the fort (y/n) and Harriet had reinforced “stay, I'll protect you” Jane giggled and swooned as Gil stood back up and launched a mid-sized snowball at Jay, hitting Jay square in the chest and getting him out. “got ya!”

“Not fair! You have (y/n) and Gil on your side!” Jay complained, Mal popped up, her eyes glowing green as several snowballs floated next to her. Jay laughed and grinned, running off to the bench where CJ and Ben sat. “ooooh! Yall are goin down!”

Mal threw her hand forward, the snowballs aiming for you but they hit the snow fort instead as you flipped behind it “Dang it! AH!” Dizzy chucked a snowball right at Mal and hit her in the face, marking the fae out “DANGNABIT!”

“Ha!” Dizzy cheered, throwing her hands into the sky, squealing as Evie sent back a snowball at Dizzy “Evieee!”

“Dizzyyy!” Evie mocked, a sharp grin on her lips as she tossed two more snowballs at Dizzy, the first missing and the second hitting Dizzy in the back “Gotcha~!”

Dizzy pouted and joined Mal, Jay, CJ, and Ben at the bench, cheering on her team as the fight continued. Now it was Evie, Carlos, Doug, and Sammy, vs Harry, (y/n), Gil, the twins, and Harriet.

It was all too easy.

Within moments Evie and the boys were pummeled by snowballs, all screaming in ‘pain’ as they fell into the snow. The twins rushed over to the other side, throwing their last few balls into their ‘dead’ brother's stomach. Sammy coughed at the impact and sat up, pulling the two into his chest and rolling around, cackling as the twins squealed with laughter.

“We win! Ya’ll gotta make the hot chocolate now!” (y/n) laughed out in victory, Harry pulling her into his side with a grin, hiding it in her hair.

Ben sighed and gestured back inside the dorms “come on, there's a closed patio with a fire pit, we can make smores too!” the twins and Dizzy gasped at that and rushed inside, Dizzy pulling Evie as the twins pulled their brother and Harriet with them.

Soon all 16 teens were inside the closed patio, the firepit roaring as Harry helped the twins roast their marshmallows, their whipped cream-covered hot chocolates still steaming on their seats behind them.

“I can't believe at one point we outnumbered you and we still lost!” Mal grumbled, taking a layer off her toasted marshmallow and eating it, putting the treat back over the fire to let it toast again.

“that’s what happens when you have both (y/n) and Gil on the same side, (y/n) throws ninety-five miles per hour and Gil throws meteors, it was their game as soon as they picked their side” Ben laughed, handing Mal a hot chocolate in her glittery green and purple mug and sitting down next to her, sipping from his gold and blue mug.

“Then next time have Harry on your team to make sure you also have (y/n) and Gil” CJ snickered, leaning into Harriet's side as she chewed on her freshly made smore, gram cracker crumbs on the corners of her mouth.

(y/n) let out a small snort, leaning back in her seat and lifting her feet, setting them on Harry's shoulder as he helped Skipper set his marshmallow onto the gram cracker. “Maybe, who knows, I might play the other team next time~” Harry turned to look at (y/n), giving her a look “What? Don’t look at me like that? Just because I love you don't mean I won't kick your ass in a snowball fight” Harry rolled his eyes with a fond smile and pushed (y/n)s boots off his shoulder, ignoring the pout (y/n) was aiming at the back of his head.

“well, I’d say today was a good day” Ben sighed, sipping at his coco again and smiling as the group agreed with him, Harry standing from helping the twins and sitting next to (y/n), (y/n) slipping under his arm and laying her head on his chest.

Ben let out a content sigh and leaned back against his seat, closing his eyes and letting his head hit the headrest. Getting more vks to Auradon was going to take almost two years from now but for now, knowing the recent six and the original six were enjoying their life free from the isle was enough.

He couldn’t wait to share it with all the vks in the future.

-end of part 6-

part 6~!!! forgot today was Saturday but its only 630pm for me so i still posted on time, but yeah! Diego! Carlos! snowball fights! cuteness!!! its all getting wrapped up and loose ends are (hopefully) being tied!!!  hope yall enjoyed reading! part 7 next saturday!

@queer-cosette​ @sephiralorange​ @lunanight2012​

@daughter-of-the-stars11​ @musicarose​ @random-thoughts-003​

@remembered-license​ @rintheemolion​ @verboetoperee​

@imtryingthisout​ @thecaptainsgingersnap​ @jatp-rules-my-life​

[lupinlongbottom]

Practically a Weasley pt. 2

Charlie Weasley x Reader

Summary: Home for the holidays! Finally, after the end of a bitter war, the Weasleys have some much needed family time to catch up on. The holidays are the perfect time to celebrate family, no? Charlie and (Y/N) seem to agree. 

Word Count: 3.8k+

Warnings: None

A/N: A much anticipated part 2 to my Practically a Weasley fic! I love writing for Charlie. Dragon boy just doesn’t get much love, does he? Also Fred ain’t dead. My heart couldn’t handle that if it were true. 

Part 1 ... Part 1.5  ... Part 3 ... Epilogue

__

The Burrow was fluttering with delight, the holidays had been finally sworn in with the arrival of the entire Weasley clan. How long had it been since most of the redheaded family sat under one roof, let alone one table? With everyone’s various lines of work and hectic schedules, it was a surprise and a holiday miracle even half of them had shown up.

Bill was enchanting the younger children with vast stories of his work as a curse-breaker (with a little exaggeration, of course). Molly and Arthur were bickering about him bringing yet another Muggle artifact home for the holidays. And Charlie? He sat quietly at the end of the table, humming along to Celestina Warbeck’s newest album, gingerly holding (Y/N)’s hand with delight.

Nothing had changed, not really, not ever.

“How do you know all of the words already? She just released these songs like, two days ago?” (Y/N) chuckled, taking a small sip of the hot beverage in front of her.

“I have a perfect memory,” Charlie mused, rubbing his thumb in circles on the back of her hand. “Or, did you forget?”

“I suppose I did, Mr. Weasley.” (Y/N) grinned, eyes flitting across the various freckles under his brown eyes.

“Such a shame, you really ought to know better, Mrs. Weasley.” A soft peck danced across their lips.

Ah. So something had changed.

“Ew.” Fred spat, eyeing his older brother down from across the table.

“Double ew,” George retorted. “Get a room.”

“They’re married, you gits,” said Ginny, bumping Fred in the arm. “Let them be.”

“She’s my best friend!” groaned Fred.

“Wow,” muttered George, a hand rising to his chest. “After all we’ve been through, Freddie? I’m gutted.”

(Y/N) chuckled quietly at the twins, now not-so-playfully fighting each other across the table. “They’ll never grow up, will they?” Whilst the twins began their fight to the death via dull forks, the newlywed couple pulled away from one another for the first time in hours.

“No, I reckon not,” Charlie hummed, rising from his seat. “If they’re going to continue on like this, I might as well pour myself a glass of firewhisky. Did you want one, love?”

Silently, (Y/N) shook her head, allowing Charlie to flee the scene for a few moments. The album had finally reached the end of the track, resulting in Molly starting it right back up. Ron and Ginny groaned gaudily, as this had been the fifth time she had done so this evening. The two shut right up after Bill had sent them both a quick and sharp glance.

“I must say,” Molly began. “I never imagined the lot of us sitting around one table again,” The war had reached its climatic end only a few months prior, wounds starting to finally heal. “I’m truly blessed to have almost my entire family together for the holidays—”

“—minus Perce, Fleur and Harry, of course!” George piped up.

“Right,” Molly cleared her throat. “As I said, almost the entire family.”

“Fleur sends her regards, truly. But with the condition her mother is in right now, she needed to be home,” Bill responded, again apologizing for his wife’s lack of attendance. “And Percy and Harry will be joining us in the coming days, no?”

“Yeah,” Ron nodded, leaving the absence of his brother and best friend at that. “Harry’s got some errands to run, or whatever. I reckon he’s out buying gifts even when we asked him not to.” Ron chuckled.

“Well, regardless of who isn’t here, we still have a large family. A growing family at that!” Arthur rejoiced, causing (Y/N)’s face to drop slightly. “It’s (Y/N)’s first holidays as an official Weasley!”

(Y/N) felt her face flush. A sigh of relief. “Oh Arthur, that’s hardly anything to celebrate…”

“Hogwash,” Charlie retorted, returning with his promised firewhisky, and a glass of water for (Y/N). “You can’t escape now, you’re sorta in it for life, yeah?”

“I feel like it’s already been a lifetime, love.” She chuckled. “Besides, just because we signed some stupid paper and wear these rings—”

“—wonderfully selected by your adoring husband.” Charlie mused, wriggling his left hand. The cool silver shone off his hand, a matching band with (Y/N)’s delicate ring.  

“You know what I mean, Charles.” snickered (Y/N). “I mean, I’ve practically been a Weasley since second year!”

“It’s true,” George paused, setting his fork down. “I mean, we would’ve married her first but—”

“—we were too busy being repulsed by the thought!” Fred finished, poking his tongue out slightly.

(Y/N) returned the gesture.

“You lot will never grow up,” said Molly, shaking her head. “Whatever the case, I’m truly blessed to have another daughter.” 

“Mum, just remember to think about the daughter you’ve always had, yeah?” Ginny laughed, causing the entire table to join in.

__

Hours passed, with it, a final read through of (Y/N)’s latest project. The sequel to The Distracted Dragon. While she had intended to finish the novel earlier, something larger than herself had erupted in their little world that needed attending to. The various fans of the first story were surely gutted, but to be completely fair to all involved, a war seemed like a pretty eminent reason to move the newest addition on the back burner.

“So you’re telling me… Bancroft gets a girlfriend?” Ron asks, looking to (Y/N) for an answer. She hesitantly gave a nod. “That’s the moral of the story? Get yourself a girlfriend and all your problems will be solved?”

“No,” Fred sniffed, moved by the book. “Ronnie, the moral is that sometimes we need help from another person to grow and accept our past!” With a loud honk into a tissue, he continued to weep.

“Nah, I still think that Harriet solved his problems.” Ron shrugged, popping a crisp into his mouth.

As Fred began to argue with Ron louder, chiming in about Hermione, Charlie gave (Y/N) a simple nod, aiming upwards towards the stairs. She got the hint quickly and excused herself.

“Tired of it yet?” asked Charlie, grabbing (Y/N)’s hand gingerly as they walked up the stairs towards his room. Bill had offered to stay in the twins room while (Y/N) was here, letting the newlyweds to have a space to themselves.

“No, not yet,” replied (Y/N). “Though,” She opened the door. “I’m rather pleased at how keenly Fred took to the book.”

“Ah,” He sat on the bed, waving his wand to shut the door once more. “He’s a bit of a romantic, no?”

“Fred? A romantic?” She laughed, pulling on her pajamas. A simple purple nightie, just touching the tops of her knees. “As if. He’s just… more in tune with the details I reckon.”

“Details… sure. Whatever you say, flower.” Charlie began to pull his socks off, eyeing his wife up and down. “You know… I bet the entire lot downstairs is going to be busy for a while.”

“Oh?” (Y/N) mused, flicking the lights off. “Busy, you say?”

Charlie nodded. “With Ron and Fred’s arguing, they sure drown out the sound, no?” He wriggled his eyebrows, climbing under the quilt next to his wife. A gentle hand caressed her thigh lightly.

“Charlie,” (Y/N) sighed, almost annoyed. “As lovely as the thought is,” He began peppering kisses to her neck, slowly down to her collarbone. “We shouldn’t.”

“Love,” more kisses. “It’s not like we’ve never fooled around up here before,” said Charlie, leaving a suckling mark below (Y/N)’s ear. “You love the risk.”

(Y/N) gently pushes Charlie away. “You’ve had too much firewhisky,” said (Y/N), pecking her husband once on the lips. “And I’m not feeling up for it.”

“Flower, I barely had any firewhisky,” he laughed. “Not nearly as much as you drink, well, normally anyhow,” a puzzled look adorned his freckled face. “Why didn’t you drink tonight? It’s Christmas Eve!”

“Are you saying I need to drink to have a good time?” (Y/N) accused, only half offended.

“Of course not! But you do find any and all reasons to have a nice drink at gatherings like these, it's odd, s’all,” He shrugged. “I mean, it’s a holiday! With the family. Our family. What better time to drink?”

“I didn’t feel like it.” (Y/N) mumbled, flopping down under the covers, turning away from her husband.

“I sense that you’re lying, love.” Charlie said, rubbing her arm gently. “You’re my wife…” mewled Charlie, hanging onto the last word longer than usual. “I’m keen to noticing these things.”  

“Oh yeah?”

“Indeed,” he quipped. “You have a rather easy tell, too.” Charlie gave a quick side glance in (Y/N)’s direction, smirking. “You tend to push your hair behind your ears, bite your lip and flick your eyes ever so slightly.”

“I do that all the time.” mumbled (Y/N).

“Does that mean? No…” Charlie gasped. “Could you’ve been lying to me the whole time I’ve known you?”

“Charlie…” (Y/N) groaned.  

“Okay, fine,” He laughed. “But you’ve been acting off these last couple of weeks. Not drinking, barely getting any sleep—”  

“—which I’m trying to do right now, thank you!” (Y/N) quipped, pulling the covers higher.

“Your mood has been real shit lately too. One moment you’re all smiles, the next you want to send me to the dog house just for looking at you.” Charlie sighed. “And I know it’s not,” his voice lowered to a whisper. “‘that time of the month’ yet, because it was last week, right?”

“No, and stop talking about my period like you’re afraid to say it.”

“Huh… It’s normally around the third week of the month, no?” He mumbled. With a gentle shake of his head, he continued. “Flower, all I’m trying to say is that even when you went to the doctor, they didn’t diagnose you with anything, right? I’m just worried something is wrong with you, (Y/N)”

“Nothing is wrong with me, Charlie.”

“Nothing? You run to the loo to empty your lunch like it’s your job,” He laughed. “I’ve never seen you like this. It’s almost as if—”

He stopped.

“Charlie?” (Y/N) turned around to check on her husband. Charlie just sat, staring forward. “Honey?” 

“(Y/N),” He continued to stare forward. “Are you…?”

“Darling,” She sat up, gingerly grabbing his hands. “Look at me.” 

Charlie’s eyes were brimming with tears, begging to be let go.

“I wanted to tell you tomorrow, a Christmas present,” (Y/N)’s eyes were swimming with matching tears. “But I guess one present early couldn’t hurt, no?” 

His eyes flicked back and forth from his wife’s, waiting for any sign of an answer. (Y/N) nodded her head slightly, fighting back the tears. Charlie wrapped his arms around his wife, hugging her tightly, afraid to let her go. “You’re kidding!” A flurry of kisses brimmed (Y/N)’s head, forming a crown upon her temple. “Love! This is a great—no—the best gift you could’ve given me”

“You’re excited?” asked (Y/N), giggling in her husband’s embrace.

“Of course I’m excited,” Charlie pulled away slightly, meeting his brown eyes with (Y/N)’s, darting between the two rapidly. “A baby. Our baby.”

In an instant, their lips met. Softly at first, crescendoing slowly into an intensity as bright as the stars above, burning hot at the sight. The moment was broken only by the parting for air, quickly returning to the fire before. Was it the thrill of their family below? Or the joy of the family growing between the two? Perhaps it was a bit of both.

“How long?” asked Charlie, rubbing (Y/N)’s upper arm gently. “I mean, how far along are you?”

“Remember that Quidditch match your friend Andre invited us to?” (Y/N) giggled.

“I don’t remember much of the match,” Charlie said, scratching his head. “Come to think of it, you pulled me into an empty stall and we—” His cheeks flushed, burning up to the tips of his ears. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” (Y/N) laughed, brushing Charlie’s hair out of his eyes. “Andre’s team won in the end, by the way.” Another laugh.

“Well, I suppose we both scored,” Charlie joined in the laughter. “But that was about two months ago, no?”

“Something like that. I found out last week at the doctor’s office,” said (Y/N). “It was the hardest thing to keep from you! I was so scared that—”    

“—that I’d be upset?”

“Something of that sort, yeah,” (Y/N) mumbled. “Of course I was being a real idiot about the whole thing, I realized that the second you figured it out.” 

“Love, I come from a family of nine,” Charlie held his breath. “Now, that’s not to say I want to rival my parents in the baby-making contest, but I’ve always wanted a little piece of that happiness. Especially with you.” 

“Charlie if you keep saying shit like that I’m going to cry,” (Y/N) warned, choking back tears, a common theme in the past few minutes. “I can’t believe I was even remotely worried.”

“What was there to be worried about?” Charlie asked, stroking (Y/N)’s hair, fingers twisting the ends lightly.  

“I’m not sure. We just got married a little over a year ago, after a bloody war had started no less—”

“—to be fair, we got married during the war.”

“I suppose we technically eloped before the war was over.” (Y/N) mumbled, tracing her hand up Charlie’s chest, resting gently.

“We also got married before Bill,” Charlie laughed. “Not an important detail, but one that I like to rub in his face.”

“Besides your points,” (Y/N) rolled her eyes. “We’re newlyweds! We’re young! I mean, we never even really had the whole ‘baby’ talk before. I was worried we weren’t ready, hardly after a war,” (Y/N) gulped. “I was worried you’d be scared.”

“Love, of course I’m scared. Babies are terrifying,” said Charlie. “With their little hands and tiny feet.” He feigned a grimace, clearly joking. “But you’re right. We are young, but that just means more years of being a family, no?” 

“I guess…”

“Now, you’re also right about the ‘baby’ talk. We haven’t really talked about it,” Charlie looked down at (Y/N). “Let’s have it now.”

“I think it’s a little late for that.” (Y/N) giggled.

“Do you ever want to have kids?” Charlie asked, ignoring his wife’s growing laughter.

“Yes.” 

“Do you ever want to have a child together?”

“Of course.”

“Then that’s all that matters, right?” Charlie said, his brown eyes meeting (Y/N)’s. “Who cares if it’s a little before we might have planned? I know that we’re going to love the shit out of our child.”

“I know you’re right,” (Y/N) mumbled. “But you don’t have any worries about all of this?”  

“Only one,” said Charlie. “I mean, if it’s not a boy to take on the Weasley name, I may consider a divorce.” Charlie hummed, smirking lightly. 

“Charlie!” (Y/N) slapped his chest rather firmly, eliciting a slight groan from the redhead. “If you keep joking like that, I may consider divorce first.”

“Flower, you know I could never divorce you,” Charlie laughed, placing a kiss to his wife’s temple. “Besides, with the amount of brothers I have, the Weasley name is rather safe I reckon,” Another kiss to her temple. “Come on, let's get some sleep.” It took only a few fleeting kisses, happy murmurs and mumblings before the couple finally retired for the night.  

—

“Well, look at the lovebirds!” George sang from the kitchen table, setting his coffee mug down, eyeing up (Y/N) and Charlie descending from the stairs. “Unusually well rested. Obviously not taking advantage of their own room I see.”

“George,” said Molly, sternly shooting a glance at her son. “Happy Christmas you two.”

“Happy Christmas, mum,” said Charlie, placing a peck to his mother’s cheek. “Happy Christmas George.”

“Yeah, yeah. Christmas or whatever,” George sipped from his mug. “You lot slept in a bit, the rest of the family is outside. You know, completing a family tradition and whatnot. So disgraceful.”

“Ah, but the real disgrace, George, is the fact you also are missing out on the snow angels,” (Y/N) chirped, grabbing a plate of hot breakfast from Molly. “Besides, everyone’s coming in for breakfast soon anyway. No one can resist Molly’s cooking.”

“Oh (Y/N), you humor me,” Molly laughed, opening the window. “Breakfast!” She called out to the rest of her family. One by one, the clan filed into the kitchen, sitting in their respective seats.

“Mum, you outdid yourself again! This food looks delicious.” Bill said, piling a load of eggs onto his plate. He handed the skillet over in Ginny’s direction, eliciting a scowl to the yellow mush beneath her nose.

“Kiss-up.” Ginny mumbled, immediately passing the cooked eggs over to Ron.

The rest of the family began eating, enjoying a rare moment of silence in the Burrow. Only sounds of scraping forks and the occasional burp echoed through the walls. Fred and George were the first to finish their plate, diving into another round of home cooking immediately after. Charlie and (Y/N) sat together, gently hold each other’s hands while they ate, Charlie sitting at the end.

“While you’re all sitting down, I suppose now’s the best time for your gifts!” said Molly, cleaning up the table. She quickly exited the kitchen only to reappear with a rather large bag. “Careful not to get any muck on them, I don’t want to do any washing today.” With a flick of her wand, the colorful stack of wool dispersed evenly among the family, a jumper settling in everyone’s lap.

“Jumpers? Oh boy, what a surprise!” George laughed.

“Really shocked our socks off, mum!” Fred added, unfurling his pile of purple.

“Oh hush,” Molly smirked. “Just go put them on and humor your mother, would you? You seem to find every other opportunity to do so.”

The twins groaned and pulled the fabric over their heads, both of the violet jumpers were adorned with their store’s logo on the front. Bill’s had a niffler, Ron’s had a Chudley Cannons print, Ginny’s had two crossing brooms and Charlie’s had (not surprising anyone) a large white dragon.

“What about yours, love?” said Charlie, elbowing (Y/N) slightly, the light blue wool rubbing against her arm. She turned to face him, the green jumper was decorated with a book and quill, the cover oddly resembling her first book. “Wow! That looks amazing!” He exclaimed. “Mum, how do you keep making these year after year?”

“With patience and a whole lot of love.” Molly smiled.

“Her enchanted knitting needles help too,” Arthur added, brushing biscuit crumbs off his new maroon sweater, ignoring the icy glare from his wife. “Besides, it’s a tradition.”

“A tradition getting harder every year,” Molly sighed. “Thankfully none of you are getting married any time soon, no need to worry about adding any other jumpers to my long list!” She laughed.

“Besides for next year, of course.” said Charlie offhandedly. (Y/N) froze.

“Next year? What’s next year?” Bill asked.

“Yeah, I don’t reckon Fred or George are going to meet anyone by next Christmas.” said Ron.

“Hey!” The twins exclaimed.

“Well…” Charlie looked up, all eyes were on him. A quick glance was given to (Y/N), who shared an equally pale face as him. He shrugged, raising his eyebrows. “You never know when people can meet each other, no? I mean, (Y/N) and I met in a coffee shop of all places!”

“Charlie…” (Y/N) began.

“Hell, we even eloped! Do you know how easy it is to do that?” Charlie continued, nervously bumbling longer sentences. “We got married in like, an hour once we set our sights on it!” He chuckled loudly, trying to drown the attention away from his sweat.  

(Y/N) stood up, placing a hand on Charlie’s shoulder. “Before Charlie continues to blabber like a right idiot,” she said, shutting her husband up successfully. He sighed loudly. “I’m pregnant.” The entire table sat in stunned silence.

“That’s amazing!” Fred shouted, breaking the silence, jumping from his seat. “My best friend is having a baby!” He wrapped (Y/N) in a large hug, gripping her tightly.  

“Again, am I chopped liver?” George laughed, running over to join the hug. “A baby! Promise that you’ll name him George! Or Fred. Not terribly picky on that.”

“Boys! You shouldn’t hug (Y/N) that hard,” said Arthur. The twins loosened their grip slightly. “Congratulations you two,” He glanced between the happy couple. “Children are a blessing.”

“Is that why you had seven of them?” Ron asked, getting slapped on the shoulder by his mother.

“Oh (Y/N),” Molly cooed, fighting back her tears. "My first grandchild! We couldn’t be more thrilled for you!” She ran over to Charlie, embracing him in the warmest bearhug she could’ve mustered. “I can’t wait to start knitting their jumper! It’ll be so tiny I won’t mind the extra on the list.”        

“How long have you been keeping that secret, Charlie?” Bill asked, smiling at his brother, amused at the kisses their mother was placing on Charlie’s cheek.

“He’s barely known a day,” (Y/N) frowned in Charlie’s direction. He smiled sheepishly. “I’ve only known for a week. It’s still early, but we’re excited.”

“I hope it’s a girl,” Ginny added. “That way we’d finally be on our way to have a boys versus girls Weasley quidditch match!” 

“With my quidditch skills and (Y/N)'s creative mind? I’m sure they’d be an amazing quidditch player!” Charlie bubbled in delight. “Though, how young would be too young to get them on a broom?” 

“Charlie! We’re not putting our baby on a broom!” (Y/N) scolded. “Besides, they could easily get my quidditch skills.” 

“But you don’t have any quidditch skills?” Fred said, cocking his head.

“You can hardly keep yourself up on a broom!” George added.

“Exactly,” (Y/N) hummed, sitting down, a hand resting on her barely existing bump. “I say we stop hypothesizing and projecting onto the baby. Whatever they choose to be and do will be great…” (Y/N) sighed. “Because Charlie and I are the best, so our baby is going to be the best baby ever.”

“Nailed it, darling.” said Charlie, high-fiving his wife.

“You two really deserve each other.” Ron groaned.

“We do,” Charlie hummed, beaming down to his wife. “We really do.”

With the big news out of the way, the Weasley’s enjoyed the rest of their holiday morning, welcoming Percy and Harry home later in the afternoon. Once the two were caught up on gifts and laughter, the family had finally found peace in their holiday. No more big secrets, no more stressing about keeping said secrets. Just a relaxing and calming holiday before the whirlwind of parenthood whisked Charlie and (Y/N) up into a tizzy. But they were ready.

They’re Weasleys, after all.  

__

General Tag List: @maralisa124 , @leighxlover , @hey-its-me-rai , @missihart23 , @biatheintrovert , @luna-xxxxx , @chocolaterumble, @why-am-i-sad-and-sleepy

Charlie Weasley Tag List: @sungoddessra , @crescent-ia , @phantom-pheonix , @dccomicnerd-world , @marveltrash99 , @graymountaingal, @storiesbycaroline, @mytinybaguette , @garbdump

want to be added to a tag list? hmu in the replies or ask box with what characters you’d like to be tagged with!

[asleepinawell]

I really want to play Nier but I've never played a game where it seems sort of expected that you would replay and get all the endings! Is that tedious at all? I would just Google how it works, but I'm afraid to get spoilers!

Great question! haha. Uh, yes and no. There's two games (sort of). Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139, which just came out and is a remake/update of the original ps3 Nier game (the Japanese version of the original...it's complicated), and Nier Automata, the sort of sequel. Replicant comes first in terms of story.

Nier Replicant, the remake, got a really nice overhaul, but the core game is still the same as the original 2010 game and that includes a lot of repetitive bullshit and fetch quests that were more common in games at the time. You also have to replay the second half of the game at least 3 times (3 and a little more) to get all the endings. The good news there is that you don't have to redo any of the annoying side quests and your inventory/levels/weapons all stay intact. And while the replays are essentially the same game, you get more information in the form of cutscenes and other perspectives that change your understanding of the story and your actions. If you only played route A you would miss the whole point of the story.

By the third time through though, yeah, it starts to feel a little repetitive, but you can also speed through it in a few hours at that point (route C/D has a few new additions but almost none). There's five endings total. For the fourth ending you only have to replay the very last stretch of the game. The last ending, which is brand new and added in this new version, is a little different and does involve some annoying replaying but is worth it in the end.

Nier Automata also has five routes/endings (it actually has 26 endings but it only has 5 real ones...the rest are jokes), and has a similar feature where you keep all side quest progress, levels, etc between routes. And the side quests aren't mindless and annoying like in replicant. You'll play a large section of the game twice, and I think the route B playthrough is probably tough for some people to get through for a bunch of reasons but it is absolutely worth it. Routes C and D do not involve replaying the same content. And route E is something else completely and one of the coolest video game experiences I've ever had.

So basically, yes, replicant is a bit repetitive but I feel like it's not repetitive enough to make it not worth it and the added content in route b is very important. Automata has one repetitive route which can be a chore for some people but the game is so damn good that it's not really an issue for me.

My friend who got me into Automata fielded a question recently about which to play first. My only addition to that is that if you do play Replicant first, just know that you will not have to deal with all those annoying quests in Automata after. Automata was a better game in terms of game mechanics even if I like the characters from Replicant better. They're both very cool games.

Also! I would actually recommend googling for a spoiler free ending guide for Replicant at least (this one looks good), but don't read it until after you finish route B. It'll help point you in the right direction to get everything in order for the last couple routes which is very helpful. There might be something similar for Automata but I can't remember if it was needed.

Oh yeah, and one more thing. Both games have an easy mode that you can change to whenever you want which has an auto combat feature that will fight for you. You're not penalized in any way for using it (still get trophies). So if you want to speed things up or don't want to redo a fight or you get stuck, that's always an option. That type of easy mode design is a really nice accessibility feature that I wish more games had.

[opaljm]

eye of the tiger (m) | teaser – kth

➻ female reader x taehyung

➻ jagged spin-off + hybrid au + tiger!taehyung + giraffe/deer!reader + enemies to lovers + fake dating + minor inspiration from zootopia if you squint

➻ genres: angst, smut, romance

➻ length & status: 3k words; teaser

➻ rating & warnings: 18+; allusions to minor discrimination and prejudice; allusion to bullying

➻ summary: You had been bullied by Kim Taehyung in your youth and wanted to have nothing to do with him. But when your ex-boyfriend, a stag hybrid, kept dogging at your heels and Taehyung needed a girlfriend to stop the jaguar hybrid Jimin from growling every single time he got within 10 feet of his girlfriend, you find yourself agreeing to keep up the pretense that you and Taehyung were each other’s childhood crushes and had only recently reconnected and decided to date. 

➻ a/n: the Jagged sequel that exactly two people asked for.  enjoy this for now because i have no idea when i will be finishing this since i have to finish the fics i already gave post dates for :D

➻ disclaimer: all lions are inbred and they live in a pride. i don’t think this is necessarily something that i have to apologize for having in my story but i’ll still throw out the disclaimer that there is one tiny joke about lions being inbred.

⋆ jagged ⋆ teaser ii ⋆ my masterlist ⋆

When you were little, there were a group of predator hybrids who used to relish in causing you pain and anguish. They would ridicule you for just about everything, from your big doe eyes with its long sweeping lashes that would brush against your cheekbones when your eyes were closed to your longer than average neck that was narrow and would often elongate itself when you were absentmindedly trying to look far off into the distance. You had been bullied for your skinny frame and your long gangly limbs throughout all of elementary school where you had been a foot taller than the second tallest person in your class. You were constantly besmirched for having the smattering of pale freckles over your cheeks and nose, always being made to feel adequate for having visual indications of your deer and giraffe heritage.

From what you could tell, the only prey hybrids that were accepted in your small town in South Carolina, were the ones that had hybrid markers that were ambiguous and could have belonged to any number of species or the ones that didn’t have many visible hybrid markers at all. In contrast, the predator hybrids were allowed to delight in their own signs of hybridization. The worst of your bullies were a large group of big cat hybrids, containing both males and females’ hybrids of lions with the occasional leopard hybrid. From what you could tell, the lion hybrids of your small town enjoyed ruling over the place with their pride, and their children had learned from their toxic behavior, enjoying terrifying smaller predator hybrids by sneaking up on them and practicing their roars or by eating their lunches, from home, of entirely raw hunks of meat in front of prey hybrids causing them to throw up the contents of their own vegetarian meals.

All of this should have made you critical of predator hybrids and how they treated the prey hybrids of your town, but when you sat in the one room apartment that you shared with your mother, a lovely deer hybrid who had had you too young and was raising you by herself, you would do your arithmetic equations and stare at the poster of the University of Californian Hybrids, Los Angeles you had hanging up, and dream of escaping to a big city in a more progressive state where predators and prey could live in harmony with each other and might even sometimes be in relationships together. This was even worse than when two hybrids of the same class bred outside their species in your hometown. That’s what had happened with your mother and father. He was a D1 athlete who played on the basketball team of the university they had gone to and had broken your mother’s heart after she had found out that she was pregnant with you. It was one thing to date or sleep with someone who wasn’t the same species as you. It was an entirely different ordeal marrying them and having children with them.

You were desirous of a life where you could be with a predator hybrid because when you were six and had been pushed off of the top of the slides by a puma hybrid, who had waiting for her turn to slide after you, an adorable tiger hybrid who had been roughly the same age as you had squeaked out his attempt at a sonorous roar and scared off the girl and then had slid down to run to you, where you laid sprawled on the rubber floor of the playground clutching your sprained wrist. He had yelled for his grandmother to get you aid and had become your best friend up until the two of you had entered middle school and hit puberty. That was when Taehyung, who had been your fiercest defender against everyone who ridiculed your modelesque stature, and the way you had towered over everyone at your school, had fallen in love with a lion hybrid and started hanging out more and more with the crew of big cat hybrids after school. The final devastating blow that had severed your friendship with the male, forever? When the lion hybrid he had had a crush on, Miyeon, had made fun of your eyes, before you had to do a presentation for your world history class, and said they protruded and made you looked bug-eyed and then said that the only people who would ever find you attractive would be amphibian hybrids and Taehyung had joined her in her laughter. There was nothing wrong with toad or frog hybrids, but it hurt when the male you were in love with laughed and agreed that you were not attractive. That had made you spiral into a depression and made you determined that the following year, when you entered high school, you would do everything in your power to excel at school and to be extraordinary enough to not only get a ticket out of the prejudiced hellhole that was your hometown but to be able to afford to accept that ticket in the form of a full ride scholarship.

When you had finally moved to Los Angeles, your mother remaining behind because she said that the cost of living there was too expensive even though she would have loved to join you, you had reinvented yourself into someone who was self-assured and confident. Someone who had pride in all of the aspects that made her who she undeniably was. Also, when you entered university you were shocked at how many hybrids were taller than you, not only the giraffe ones. There were lion hybrids on campus that were taller than you, for the most part all of them were. That had made you squinty eyed and ask your mother how much inbreeding she thought the lion hybrids back home had partaken in since they were much smaller and much weaker than all the cat hybrids you had run into. And not to mention, undeniably ugly.

In fact, you were more aware that you were only half giraffe hybrid and not full, every time you walked around the campus where everyone was tall and beautiful. You had a full scholarship, a wide variety of friends from different majors, and had even dated a couple of guys. Your ex being without a doubt one of your worse decisions but at least it gave you experience right? But the point was, you had changed. You were no longer the scared skittish prey hybrid of the past that allowed big cat hybrids to walk all over her just because in the wild they were the “kings of the jungle.”

This is why it was particularly annoying that when Taehyung, yes that asshole went to the same school as you, had seen you across the room at a frat party and had lunged in your direction, you had been frozen like a deer in headlights and could not move. This had resulted in the jerk, whom you had not seen nor talked to since you stood next to him at your high school graduation ceremony, wrapping his warm large hand around your wrist and dragging you through the crowd of drunk hybrids up the stairs to the second floor to an unoccupied bathroom.

“Taehyung what the fuck,” you groused, no longer the soft-spoken girl that he was used to. You were annoyed at how good he looked. He was shorter than you in your heels, but he was probably within an inch of your height if you both stood nose to nose and barefoot. He was wearing an animal print shirt that had short sleeves and exposed his chest, which looked irritatingly firm and was a sun-kissed gold. There was a band of cloth wrapped around his head like a bandana that made him look rakishly seductive. And his wavy tousled dark hair and heavy-lidded amber eyes made a devastating combination that made your panties wet with a rush of arousal. He sniffed the air and you prayed that he only smelled the clean linen scented air fresheners that overpowering the bathroom and not the scent of your arousal underneath it.

“I need a favor,” he admitted without preamble. You blurted out your refusal after the word “need,” interrupting him. “Oh, come on Y/N, we were close once,” he tried.

“Yeah when we were six,” you grumbled, crossing your arms across your shirt that tightened even more around the generous swell of your breasts. You upturned your face, gazing up at the vents on the ceiling as though you were contemplating your escape before becoming self-conscious of the elongated state of your throat and moved to fix your gaze onto something that was more your eye level: the towel rack that had been added to the door.

Taehyung sighed, if you didn’t agree to help him, he would be in a pickle. Moments before he had seen you at the party, he had been talking to the pretty sand dune cat hybrid he had been lusting over all of last semester. Unfortunately for him, it appeared that she was still in love with that jaguar hybrid Jimin who hung around her like a dark cloud. Not even two minutes into her and Taehyung’s conversation, Jimin had appeared and draped a possessive arm around her while he glared venomously and unblinkingly at Taehyung.

With a laugh Taehyung had said, “Look man I’m not trying to steal your girl.” Even though he was totally trying to steal his girl, “I have my own and my tastes are quite the opposite, not that you aren’t beautiful ___,” he added, flashing her a wide smile and throwing in a wink for good measure. Jimin was awkward and standoffish, not to mention he was kind of small for a wild cat hybrid. ___ needed someone who was big and strong and could adequately protect her and their cubs.

Jimin had only raised one elegantly shaped dark eyebrow at the statement and looked skeptically at Taehyung, “And where is this girlfriend of yours? This is the first I’m hearing about her.”

Taehyung had smiled tensely and looked beyond where they stood to where the room was more crowded into a crush, his gaze flitting from female to female as he tried to find someone he could pass off as a girl he had been seeing for a while. His gaze had found you in the throng. You had stood out from everyone else with your thin form, towering over a majority of the girls while you danced with a red solo cup in one hand and gracefully throwing your head back. Your long hair had revealed the sexy stretch of skin from the column of your throat to your bare shoulders that were all golden from exposure to the sun yet still had the faint smattering of freckles. He couldn’t shift his eyes from your figure.

His gaze was trapped on the sensual picture you had formed on the dance floor, writhing with confidence, and awakening in Taehyung an inexplicable need to hunt you down, throw you over his shoulder and drag you back to his lair to command your body and pleasure it. To undeniably exercise his ownership over you. It had been confusing because for all that Taehyung was a tiger hybrid, he had rarely experienced such an overwhelming need to chase and to hunt, to show that he was an apex predator and the king of the jungle.

Jimin’s eyes had followed the path that Taehyung’s eyes had made, and uttered after a surprised sound of disbelief, “Wow she really is different from ___. Is she even a cat hybrid?”

Taehyung had answered him with annoyance, not daring to shift his eyes from you, fearing that you would disappear in the crowd of the party if he took his eyes off, “She’s a mixed baby. A giraffe and deer hybrid.”

___ had let out an amazed gasp of astonishment, “That sounds like such an interesting pairing. Can I meet her, Taehyung? I wonder what life is like growing up mixed. Even more so, since Jimin and my kittens will be—”

Taehyung barely paid attention to her, his gaze was too focused on the deer hybrid approaching you. “I have to go,” he muttered, setting down his empty bottle of beer on the counter.

“Sure, of course,” hummed ___, “But remember to ask her about a double date, okay!”

This brought the two of you to the present. Taehyung’s eyes narrowed at the memory of that stag who had been sniffing around you. “Do you have a boyfriend, Y/N?”

You started at the abrupt change in conversation. Why would Taehyung ask you such a thing? Had he seen you shift away from Jongin before you had been unceremoniously dragged upstairs by him? “Not that it’s any of your business since we aren’t friends,” you emphasized mercilessly, “But that was my ex Jongin. That’s the last time I’ll date a deer hybrid,” you admitted reluctantly. “The men are so overbearing and territorial. And he can’t accept that we’re broken up since I was the one to break things off and not him.” The last sentence had you huffing in indignation.

“Hmm,” hummed Taehyung thoughtfully, instantly making you suspicious and raising the hairs on your body. “Have you considered a tiger hybrid for your next boyfriend?”

You side-eyed him. What the fuck. “No, I have not Taehyung. Why would you even say something like that? It’s hardly as though you’re trying to get that position.”

Taehyung bared all his teeth threateningly. It hardly could be passed off as a smile. “But what if I were, Y/N?”

“No.” You refused to even think about it and tried to shove past his body to get to the door and out of this confining space.

Taehyung wouldn’t let you escape so easily. He crowded you against the door. Although you had the height, he was still much bigger than you with wide shoulders and a body that was wrapped by hard ropes of lean predator muscle. “I have a proposition. If you pretend to be my girlfriend for a month, I’ll get that meathead to stop bothering you,” He murmured, meeting your wary gaze with his smoldering one, his deep honey colored eyes boring into your chocolate brown ones.

Your eyebrows furrowed as you thought about just how the tiger hybrid would go about making the deer hybrid to back off. “You’re still getting thrills out of intimidating prey hybrids?” you scoffed, “That’s disgusting, Taehyung.”

Taehyung stilled, thrown off for a second, before he once again bared his teeth in the loose semblance of a smile and uttered, “I just meant he’s a Neanderthal. Once he sees how happy and satisfied you were with me, not to mention how I am able to take care of your every need, he’ll take the L and leave you alone.”

You still weren’t sold. “But why do you need a fake girlfriend,” you asked in suspicion. You trusted Taehyung about as far as you could throw him, which was probably only half a yard away.

Taehyung lied to you bald-facedly, the untruth flowing from his tongue so smoothly that you didn’t even catch it, “Same as you. There are too many people who are dying to have a piece of me and it’s honestly distracting. I’m trying to get into to finish a really intensive and time-consuming project for my major. I don’t have time to waste on booty calls.”

“And you would never be tempted to have sex with me?” You asked, your eyes burning a hole into the stretchy fabric of his black and white shirt.

“Never,” agreed Taehyung, lying once again. This time his heart thudded loudly against his chest and he felt a pang that he didn’t want to think about too deeply.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial - No Derivatives 4.0 International License

©OPALJM 2020

[nooowestayandgetcaught]

ALL 40 BAYBEE!!!!! GIMME SUM ANSWERS

5) Share one of your strengths.

Being,,, prolific?? ?????? ??? ???????????

6) Share one of your weaknesses.

My own mind. No really I'm basically my own worst enemy because I'm too much of a perfectionist and hate myself and mess myself up.

7) Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

Stars are the many, many eyes left behind of the Old Gods.

Arya heard this before. She's heard that the stars are the last of the Weeping Lady's tears. They are the eternally bleeding wounds of the Great Shepard according to the Dothraki. They are the drops of poison given to Baelor the Beloved as he laid asleep. They are the immortal sparks of R'hallor's breath. Arya believes the stars are nothing. They exist in a chasm of darkness and death, and no-one is meant to understand why.

Evermore (T, Arya Stark & Sansa Stark, Game of Thrones, 1179 words)

I HAD A LOT OF FUN GOING THROUGH WESTOROS MYTHOLOGY AND TALES IN HISTORY TO MAKE THAT PART. AND THEN WRITING OUT ARYA'S THOUGHTS ABOUT THAT.

8) Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

"I liked this shirt, you know," Will complains faintly.

Behind him, one of the car-windows rattle. A badly burned hand emerges from the smoke, clawing helplessly.

"We will find you another," Hannibal tells him, disregarding the murderer's intense, gagging screams.

"That's not the point."

"You're holding on needlessly to the limited value of your material possessions, Will. That's not like you." Hannibal lightly clucks his tongue as if disapproving, approaching him and thumbing down Will's jaw. He's warm and wet, and glorious. He's evolving.

"Says the man who buys Patek Philippe wristwatches," Will retorts softly. "For his own pleasure."

The corner of Hannibal's mouth smirks.

"And what kind of pleasure exists within your mind's eye right now, Will?"

"Ripping out your jugular vein with my teeth," Will murmurs, stroking his lambskin-gloved thumb against Hannibal's neck.

"I would be honored."

The Crescendo Of Dying Screams (M, Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter, Hannibal (TV), 908 words)

THIS IS JUST FUN!!! THEY WERE FUN TO WRITE FOR AGAIN AND I HAVE NOT WRITTEN FOR HANNIGRAM IN A WHILE!!

13) What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across?

Even if you think it sucks,,,, write it down anyway and then fix it later. The important part is to write and start writing.

14) What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever come across?

Thankfully,,, I don't think I've come across any yet.

15) If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose?

I would love to see Perambulate (G, Princess Bubblegum/Marceline & Prince Gumball/Marshall Lee, Adventure Time, 1358 words) done in a comic at least because I NEED THESE TWO CANON COUPLES TO MEET AND BE SILLY. CANON WLW AND MLM.

16) If you only could write one pairing for the rest of your life, which pairing would it be?

NOT REALISTIC. I DO NOT FUNCTION LIKE THAT

17) Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

I start out from beginning to ending but sometimes I gotta skip around to keep it going if I get stuck.

18) Do you use any tools, like worksheets or outlines?

*shrugs*

19) Stephen King once said that his muse is a man who lives in the basement. Do you have a muse?

It's probably a little moth trapped in a jar and beating itself senselessly against the glass, but it kind of enjoys it??

20) Describe your perfect writing conditions.

Wrapped in a blanket, alone in my room with headphones and music blasting, with a large water bottle and a little bit of chocolate.

21) How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

Depends really! Sometimes I'll go through and correct once, and sometimes I will go through like 14 times in one day!

24) Have you ever deleted one of your published fics?

I have! I will upload it again sometime but like,,,,, the person I had made it for in an AO3 fest basically fucked off and me removing it was me going "nah fuck this,,,, it ain't yours anymore!!!"

27) How do you feel about collaborations?

I have done them! I think they're nice! I do not like long term collaboration projects but for a oneshot, yes!

28) Share your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

@glove23 - I look up to this fic writer so much! They have been battling depression and anxiety, and the complexities of their ADHD, for such a long time and whenever they post something,,, I get so excited! I'm really proud of them! It's hard enough for me to write on a bad mental health day, and I know the struggle they go through, and it's INCREDIBLE to see what they can do! They have been writing since they were young and it really shows how much they love writing and how hard they work on getting the characterization and dialogue to be spot on! Obsessed with their work! (AO3)

@not-so-mundane-after-all-97 - What a powerhouse! Incredible writing and fantastic handling of how she structures plot! Constantly in awe of the ideas she has and when they are well-executed (and they are all of the time)! If you are a fan of Will/Lyra from HDM, this is the person to go to for quality! I promise! (AO3)

other writers I really like are @spookywitchnerd24, @theschubita, @anxiouss-princess, @asajjvxntress, @kingburu, @rapha-writes

29) If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

ngl I really wanna do the "they get back from horse riding and Aleksander refuses to leave Alina's side while she's getting healed" sequel to you are too well tangled in my soul by @glove23

31) Do you take liberties with canon or are you very strict about your fic being canon compliant?

Meh. It depends on the thing I'm writing.

32) How do you feel about smut?

I write it all of the time and read it all of the time. I don't think it's a big deal at all. I respect that it's uncomfy for a lot of people

33) How do you feel about crack?

It's fun! And it can be done well! I saw more crack fic being done back in,,,, like the early 00s and now I don't see it as much,,,,, sad

34) What are your thoughts on non-con and dub-con?

You know what,,, I was just discussing the psychology of why noncon fic is so popular on AO3 (and I have written it before and to my surprise IT GETS THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF VIEWS) and,,, I think the key components to answering this question is understanding that 1) AO3 allows noncon fic to exist therefore it's a dumping ground and 2) rape culture is so embedded into US-centric society especially and 3) there's a lot of traumatized people on AO3 and likely creating noncon to process what happened to them and 4) it's a taboo subject and humanity has been drawn to and obsessed with what is taboo since forever,,,, and tbh the taboo is fascinating to me! It does draw me in! I have written for it and I've read it, and I think it's important to ask questions and examine why we do this!

35) Would you ever kill off a canon character?

HELL YEAH. ABSOLUTELY. I HAVE DONE IT BEFORE AND I'LL DO IT AGAIN!! I prefer more "oh my god they're dead--OH! now they're alive! yayyyyy!" over permanent character death

36) Which is your favorite site to post fic?

AO3. AO3 is queen. I'm not gonna badmouth FFN and Wattpad in terms of people who go there because that's your business however FFN and Wattpad are largely restrictive and mainstream corporate owned areas of interest that don't give a single shit about their users.

38) Talk about a review that made your day.

Whenever my writer friends comment on my fic,,, I literally get emotional. Like those are my favorite comments to see :)

39) Do you ever get rude reviews and how do you deal with them?

BE SAD FOR HALF A SECOND AND THEN FIGHT.

[afewmarvelousthoughts]

Falling Ch. 7

Master List: @afewmarvelousthoughtsadmin

Pairing: Bucky X Reader [and a few more to come]

Summary: For a moment you had something good, something wonderful. But moments pass. Now, left with nothing but the ashes of a life and a love you fought so hard for, you find yourself in a free fall. Who will you be once you hit the bottom? [Sequel to Only For A Moment but can be read independently.]

Warnings: Loss, grief, drug/alcohol abuse, violence 

A/N: Hello again! So this is another shorter chapter but there is a lot happening. I think you can expect shorter chapters for the most part as we roll forward with this story (along the lines of the majority of Only For A Moment) because that’s easier for me to maintain. 

There’s also some hints here about what we can expect from our reader in the future, lmk if you have thoughts! 

TAGS ARE OPEN

“Oh for fucks sake!” Rocket yelled as your comm cut out. It was just as likely that you were dead as it was that you turned it off. 

And if you weren’t dead he was tempted to fix that little problem. 

“Nebula, do you have eyes on Trouble,” he found that was a better name for you. 

“I’m a little busy!” She yells back. 

He massages his temples as he tries to keep himself from outright screaming. 

In moments like this, he actually misses the old you. At least when you spent your days in bed, drunk, silent, moving through the ship like some sad ghost he wasn’t worried you were going to get him killed. 

He really should have appreciated those weeks of peace more. Never should have taken you to Contraxia, never should have coaxed you out of bed. What he should have done was leave well enough alone and just make sure you didn’t drink yourself into a quiet death. 

But no. He just had to get involved. 

Now, he was going to have to get out of this pod and find you. That was not the plan. He was supposed to stay in the damn pod. He was the eye in the sky. 

But no. No, you had to go and make this complicated. 

“I got it!” You say, comms coming in clear, just as he’s about to head down. 

“What the fuck do you-”

“Did I stutter?” You huff, clearly running. “I got the payload and I’m heading to the drop point and-” Rocket can make out the sound of a large weapon behind you. “I’d really appreciate you being there right about now!”

“Neb-” He begins. 

“En route,” she cuts him off. 

He brings the pod down just as you and Nebula make it on the platform, behind you both a concerning amount of muscle in hot pursuit. 

“What happened to quiet in and out?!” He screams. 

“Just open the door rat!” Nebula yells. He notes that your arms were full of more than just the case you were all being paid to retrieve. 

Between you and Nebula, he was pretty sure he was headed toward a much earlier grave. Grumbling he lays down cover fire as he lowers enough for you both to board the pod. 

“Woo!” You exclaim as Rocket coaxes the pod as fast as it can go toward the Benetar. “Not too bad.” 

“You realize you’re bleeding profusely, yes?” Nebula asks. 

Rocket glances back. He’d assumed the blood on your face was from someone else. Now he can see a deep gash splitting the right side of your face from forehead to below your cheekbone. 

“Yeah,” you sigh. “Ca’al was aiming to take my head though, so I’d say I came out better than expected.” 

“Can’t imagine why he’d want your head,” Rocket rolls his eyes as he docks the pod. 

“It’s a mystery,” you say as the hatch opens.

“Wait…” Nebula says, hovering in the pod after the two of you have disembarked. 

“Ergons take honor pretty seriously,” Rocket says. “Which is why ‘not fucking the mark’s wife’ is high on the list of things not to do when you’re trying to keep a job low key.” 

“There was a list?” You quip, turning to face them, smiling despite the wound. 

“I’m beginning to think all Terrans are like this,” Nebula says low to him. 

“Possibly.” You drop the contents in your arms, kicking a case toward Rocket. “That’s what we came for. And I’ll split the rest if someone will help with this,” you gesture to your face.

“I’m tempted to let you bleed out,” Rocket says as he opens the case. Five tubes filled with glowing viscous liquid are nestled tightly inside. 

“Gonna have to wait for a bigger wound for that,” you say as you have a seat. 

“With your track record, Trouble, I don’t think I’ll have to wait long.”

You shrug, “I’m apparently like a cockroach.”

“What does that mean?” Nebula asks as she examines the cut.

“Very hard to get rid of,” you hiss the last word. 

“Are they formidable beasts?” 

“They’re Earth vermin,” Rocket says as he takes inventory of your haul. He hated to admit that it was impressive.  Whatever your shortcomings, you were an exceptional thief--he had to respect that at least. 

“Same thing,” you say standing. “I mean, look at you.”

“Very funny,” he smiles despite himself. 

“This is likely going to scar,” Nebula says. 

You shrug, “It’ll just enhance my roguish charm.”

“And piss off the Captain,” Rocket grumbles as he locks the case you’d all been paid to retrieve into one of the storage crates. 

“So you admit I’m charming?” He throws a sideways glance at you as Nebula forces your smirking face back to her. “Ow!”

“Who said you were charming?” Rocket asks. “I just don’t want any lectures about ethics and safety from Cap.”

“Which, Cap?” 

“Either.” He inspects a container of very high-grade ammo. “How’d you know where this shit was? No way it was just out in the open.”

You peek around an exasperated Nebula once more, “There are benefits to fucking the mark’s wife.”

“Stay still!” Nebula snaps. “You’re lucky you didn’t lose the eye.”

Rocket shakes his head. Lucky may be a better nickname than Trouble. 

The way you managed to walk a razor edge, never quite tipping one way or the other was impressive. And every job you’d been in on over the last eight months ended up in a payday at least twice what they’d bargained for. Still, there was an all too familiar air of self-destruction about everything you did. Like you wanted something to tip you, slide the scales just a bit past no return. 

When he looks back he notices the slightest tremor in your right hand. 

Back on earth, he’d seen it a few times, mainly when emotions were high. No one else seemed to notice it, how each time the air rippled just a bit as some of your hold on that insane telekinetic ability of yours slipped. 

These days, more often than not, it meant you needed a drink. 

“There,” Nebula declares. “That’s the best I can do.” 

When she stepped back he could see that Nebula’s best was actually pretty good. The gash had been reduced to a raised bright pink stripe bisecting your left brow, stopping in the middle of your cheek. 

“Thanks, Nebula,” you say sincerely. A whir comes from the main cabin as a bottle flies into your open right hand. 

“So, how much we got?” You ask as you open the bottle. 

“Can probably get 4,000 credits from the ammo alone,” he holds out his hand and you pass him the bottle. No reason he can’t benefit from your vices. 

“Hear that, Nebula? At least 2k each for the ammo.”

“Excuse me?” He passes the bottle back to you. 

“Did you help fix my face?” 

“My ship. I get a cut of everything, Trouble.” 

“I only helped because I was getting half,” Nebula manages something between a grimace and a smile. 

Rocket playfully rolls his eyes, “Then you can take her half.” 

“The disrespect,” you say on a sigh. “Bleed for your crew, then they cut you out.” 

“Yeah, yeah. Such a martyr,” he says over his shoulder as he heads toward the deck. “We’ll get the best deal on Paramatar. We’ll get paid for the case then head there.” 

-

Paramatar was a bad idea. A very, very bad idea. 

The money was too good and the distractions too plentiful. Not Contraxia levels of plentiful, but what it lacked in variety it made up for in cost. Everything save for information and ammo was cheap. 

He should have kept an eye on you. Or at least asked Nebula to since she couldn’t help but stay sober. 

Yes, luck seemed to favor you more times than not. You were also heartier then most humans from what he could tell and you’d picked up on how things worked out here quickly. Still, there were substances and situations you didn’t know were better left alone. 

Or maybe you did know and chose to ignore sense. 

Who could say? Because when Nebula found you half dead after two days there wasn’t anyone around who knew what happened. 

“We should take her home,” Nebula said after the medic left with assurances that you weren’t about to die. “They can help.” 

He doubted that. Still, he knew it was the best call. Plus, he could use some peace. 

-

Warm morning sun filtered in through the window, making the few silvery strands in Bucky’s hair shine. 

He sat between your legs on the living room floor with his back against the couch. As your fingers combed through the silky mass of hair, his fingers massaged your right calf, still sore from Okoye’s brutal training the day before. 

This had become your ritual most mornings. 

Usually Bucky was the first out of bed, proving that he was far more a morning person than you’d ever manage to become. He’d start coffee, put on some music, and slip back into bed to wake you before your alarm went off. 

It was the best way to begin your day.

Once up you’d down a cup of coffee, talk about nothing, then by cup two he’d be sitting just as he was now--humming along to whatever song played while you methodically sectioned off his hair to braid it back. 

The first morning you’d done it on a whim. You frequently found your fingers tangled in those beautiful dark locks and had just happened to put it in a french braid. 

That evening he’d casually mentioned how good it was to not have his hair in the face while he worked. 

You knew he’d never actually ask. He was constantly concerned he would somehow inconvenience you or be a burden as it was. So since then you’d just begun doing it, without coaxing or preamble. 

When you finished he let out a long content sigh, leaning his cheek against your bare thigh. 

“Thank you,” he placed a kiss on your knee. 

“Of course,” you leaned over, kissing the tender flesh just behind his ear. He hummed with satisfaction, turning his head to look up at you. The morning light turned his eyes a beautiful icy grey-blue.

“I love you, doll,” he says, eyes crinkling as he smiles. 

“I love-” you hiss in a breath as pain tears through your skull. 

He doesn’t react, doesn’t move, just sits between your legs smiling… Before he turns to dust. 

You try to call his name, scream, anything but the all-consuming thrum of your power prevents you from doing anything but sit in frozen agony. 

Like an angry beast it thrashes inside your skull, zinging down your spine, until every nerve ending in your body burns with it. 

Stop, you don’t know to whom or what you’re begging but it’s all you can manage. 

The edges of your vision begin to blur, your warm Wakandan living room fading to an endless swirl of colors and shapes before shadow crept in. Those shadows swelled consuming everything leaving you in an endless, familiar, void. 

By now, this place--realm, or whatever it was that your mind saw when your perception went beyond what you were capable of comprehending--was starting to feel familiar. When you last found yourself here, after a night of too much excess, you’d thought of it as The Nothing.

This time a different thought pushes its way in from somewhere in the abyss. 

Oblivion, it whispers. 

Yes. That felt right. The perfect word for this void that seemed to exist between all things. 

Absently, you wonder if you should feel fear rather than this strange sense of peace. Even the hunger that never left you, the howling need for power the stones planted in the marrow of your bones seemed sated, as though there was power enough hidden in the darkness.

Yes, that same whisper from nowhere and everywhere replies. 

Now, the fear comes. You will yourself back, forcing your mind to grasp for existence like a drowning man reaches for the surface.  

You shoot upright, gasping for air, squinting in the bright afternoon sun. 

Sun shone bright on your face. 

This was not your dim room on the Benatar.  

And… 

“About time,” Steve says groggily from a chair in the corner. 

“How?” You croak. 

He stands, stretching, and crosses the room to fill a glass of water from the decanter by your bed. You take it gratefully, though you feel the ache for something stronger. 

“Rocket and Nebula brought you back yesterday.” 

Yesterday.

Futility, you try to piece together a series of events. 

The three of you had landed on Paramatar, offloaded the haul, split the credits, and… Things got hazy after that. 

“Apparently, you’ve been unconscious for over three days,” he sat on the edge of the bed, looking you over. “You look like shit by the way.”

“Thanks,” you say, voice still rough. “You don’t look dewey either.” His hair had grown longer, his beard thick, the circles under his eyes spoke to too many sleepless nights. 

“Shocked you remember what I look like,” he snips. 

The shot hits its mark and guilt blooms in your chest. 

It had been at least 5 months since you’d spoken to him. Once you’d managed to make it back to something closer to a human you simply couldn’t stand the reminder that speaking to him brought, that you had to come back here eventually. You’d wanted to leave everything. Forget about everything you could manage to and become someone else. 

“Sorry,” you say, unable to look at him. 

“It’s ok,” his voice sounds distant. When you look at him his gaze is in the middle distance, elbows resting on his knees. “Maybe we all need space.” 

He sighs, “Clint left. We don’t know where he is.” 

“Natasha?”

“She’s hanging on. Tried to find him but didn’t have any luck.” 

“He’ll come back around,” you said with more conviction than you felt.  

“Yeah,” he plucks a non-existent piece of lint from his sweatpants. 

“I gotta head out soon, some kind of situation brewing in Brazil. Don’t know how long it’ll be,” he runs a hand over his face. “But I assume Rocket and Nebula won’t be hanging around too much longer since you’re up.”

So they had stuck around. More guilt bubbles up. 

“And I assume you’ll be going with them.” 

It isn’t a question but you answer anyway, “Yeah.” He nods, looking down at his hands. 

The silence hangs for several pregnant minutes. 

Your palms itch to reach out to him, your heart screams at you to say something, anything. But you just sit. 

“Y/N…” his voice almost makes you jump. “On the beach when we…” He clears his throat, “You told me I could go… If I needed to.” 

Your stomach drops and with it some of your control. 

You had said that. Told Steve that if he was too tired to keep fighting in this life that he had your blessing to leave. Your only request-

“But that I couldn’t go without saying goodbye.”

“Steve,” your voice trembles. 

He looks at you then, blue eyes unfathomably sad. Without hesitation you reach out for his hand. Gratitude floods you when he doesn’t pull away. 

“The same goes for you,” beneath his words is a barely contained flood of emotions. 

“This wasn’t-” 

“Don’t,” he shakes his head. Gently he touches the new scar by your eye.

You nod. This was one thing you knew you couldn’t hide from him no matter how hard you tried. It was a game he’d played for longer than you’d been alive. Tempting fate, daring it to kill him.

“Not without goodbye,” he says in almost a whisper. 

“Not without goodbye,” you promise and, begrudgingly, you mean it. 

He gives your hand a squeeze before he stands, places a kiss on top of your head, and turns to leave. 

“Oh and, Y/N…”

“Yeah?”

“Take a shower,” he turns and winks. 

“Fuck you, Rogers,” you smile despite everything. 

“Don’t die,” he says as he walks out. 

“You too.” 

With effort you drag your aching body from the bed and make your way to the bathroom. Under the bright light you groan. 

Steve had not been wrong. You did look like shit. 

The scar Ca’al had graced you with was still bright pink and puffy. Far from roguish or charming. Your cheek bones jutted out in sharp angles, lips pale and cracked. And your hair had grown long enough that the ends had started to curl, making you look like a tired crusty mop. 

Only after a minute do you even notice your eyes. They’d become a normal feature, whites shot through with bloody lightning cracks, the tear ducts an angry shade of red. 

As you observe yourself the mirror begins to tremble. 

“Fuck,” you groan, doubling over to press your forehead to the cool bathroom counter. 

Once you feel your control tighten just enough you head straight for your bag, praying that- 

Your fingers curl around a small smooth rectangular bottle and you let out a grateful breath. Rocket must have slipped it in. The Ciegrimitian liquor was strong, a touch bitter, and reminded you of roses. It was a favorite. 

After two swallows you feel the power inside you settle. 

You stare at the slightly iridescent golden pink liquid in the bottle shifting it so it swirls and catches the light. 

Maybe it was possible that you could re-learn to control your abilities, after all, you had gotten far more proficient through training with Bucky and later in Wakanda. But that was before the stones. 

If Shuri had been right, and she usually had been, your subconscious built barriers around your ability to protect you. While you could push those barriers by honing your ability, strengthening it like any muscle through time and focus, those barriers would and should always remain. The human mind could only be expected to process so much. 

Now, if you were right, those barriers were gone. You had no idea how to begin rebuilding them. If you did you weren’t sure you had the energy to care.

Maybe in time… 

Time. Weeks. Months. Years. All without Bucky. 

You’d rather lose yourself to that Oblivion than think about the stretch of life laid out before you.

As you lift the bottle to take another drink your fist closes on nothing. A few remaining inches of the bottom of the bottle clatter to the floor, spilling the contents. 

This wasn’t new, sometimes you lost your grip and your power… unmade something. This time though- 

A cry lodges itself in your throat, threatening to choke you. 

Around the edges of the piece on the floor and swirling in your hand between the glittering specks of dust--all that remains of the top of the bottle--is a deep undulating blackness. Not shadow, not darkness, a pure absence of everything. 

Oblivion, a whisper from somewhere far away calls in your mind. 

You bolt for the bathroom, slamming the door behind you, pressing your fist to your mouth to keep from screaming. 

It feels like hours before your heart stops trying to beat through your chest and you’re able to draw a full breath. Only then do you realize that, just like in that void, you don’t feel the hunger. Only then do you realize how silent your power is. 

The woman in the mirror stares at you with eyes that are less painfully bloodshot than before, the bruise-like hollows beneath them lighter. Her cheeks seem fractionally fuller.

The changes do not feel like an improvement. They feel like abomination. 

Demon. Maybe your mother’s husband and M’Baku had been on to something there. 

In the shower you decide to bury this. It was a fluke, or maybe even a hallucination. Maybe you were still recovering from the overdose, your body reacting poorly to another substance being put into it. That was it. 

“And she lives to make trouble another day!” Rocket calls out from in front of the TV as you make your way to the kitchen in the common area. 

“Much to your chagrin,” you say, opening a cabinet. 

“Coffee is in the one on the left,” Natasha pipes up. She takes a seat at the island. “I’ll take some too,” her wan smile doesn’t reach her own tired eyes. 

You open the can of Bustelo and breathe in the rich smell. It reminds you of better times--of bodega breakfasts before you knew there was such a thing as Hydra, of slow music-filled afternoons with Bucky. Quickly you blink away the tears threatening to fall. 

It was just coffee. 

For several minutes the only sound was the burble of the coffee pot and the drone of the flatscreen. The lack of conversation didn’t feel awkward so much as tired, everyone worn down by the grief and turmoil of the last 11 months. 

When the coffee was done you poured Natasha a cup, grabbing the half and half from the fridge, remembering her preference from when you’d been on the run with the fractured Avengers. She nodded her thanks, silently fixing her cup. 

Your own black brew sent a shiver of pleasure down your spine, a hum of satisfaction slipping free. 

“I mean it’s good but I don’t know if it’s that good,” Natasha teases. 

“Haven’t had coffee since I left,” you say savoring another sip. Her brows raise at that. Honestly, the fact that you’d hardly missed it was more concerning than your increased drinking habit. 

“Maybe we should bring some,” Rocket sniffs the air. “Smells nice.” 

You meet his gaze, relief flooding you. A part of you had been afraid that you wouldn’t be welcome back on the Benatar. Honestly, you wouldn’t have blamed them if that was the case. Rocket called you Trouble for a reason after all. 

“I will try it,” Nebula announces as she takes a seat beside Natasha. 

“Alright. You?” Rocket nods. 

You pour a small amount for Nebula and use an espresso cup for Rocket. 

Nebula downs her’s in one go, face crinkling. You can’t help but laugh. 

“Bitter but palatable,” she says. 

“Just like you,” you quip. 

Nebula almost smiles, “Is there more?” 

The next few hours feel almost normal. No one talked about grief or loss. Natasha complained about the foods that were in short supply, Rocket bitched about prices on contraband being low. You told Natasha the weirder things about space, funny things, like hurling when the ship lost gravity for a few hours. Just friends catching up over coffee. 

Except it wasn’t. And, by the end, that fact had left a bitter taste in your mouth. 

By the time you got on the Benatar the next afternoon, that bitterness had fermented into rage that no amount of drink was going to cool. 

You needed to hit something. Hard.

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[lambourngb]

he’s got a smart mouth but a good heart - Michael Guerin

It’s Day 2, celebrating characters, and much to my own surprise, at the end of season 2, Michael Guerin decided to move into my brain and take up residence. Obviously I still love Alex Manes (He lives first and foremost in my brain since 1x08), but there was something about how Michael buried his own pain about his mother to help everyone in season two that rang pretty true to my own life right now. I didn’t always like what he was doing in season 2 but I understood it.

Anyway, when I find a story that celebrates how complicated he is, I cheer and rejoice- so here’s a few of the stories that I have gone back to again and again.

Truck stop knives and other assessors of childhood @angsty-aliens (13,200) I can’t lie, I love a good trope story, and I especially love a good sci-fi trope story, so this story hits all of my buttons. It takes our two science nerds, Liz and Michael, mucking around, and accidentally creating a version of Michael- but not just any version, but the child who hitchhiked to Fosters ranch, completely over humans and desperate to find his family. The kid who was feral from neglect and abuse... he was the cutest thing and the most mortifying thing that ever happened to Michael to be displayed and shown. This story takes the de-aged trope and turns it on its head, and oh yeah, there’s a sweet backdrop to Michael and Alex getting together.

Implicit Memories of You by @ninswhimsy (3464) - So this is an amnesia story canon-divergent story set after 2x11 basically, where they use the mind erasing drug on Michael. I know, I’m reccing this about Michael characterization, but it’s so solidly him after all the memories are stripped away and he’s acting on instincts, locked in a room to torture Alex with before death. There’s so much going on in so few words, something that Nin is a master at, especially the ephemeral remembrances of his mother that Michael has- oof right in the feels.

Maybe this time (he’ll stay) by @hannah-writes​ (7700) This is a sequel to one of my favorite stories I recced last year, dealing in alternative timelines where in one world, Michael is lost and alone and has pushed Alex away, and in another world where Alex came home from Iraq in a flagged draped coffin. It answers the question, what about Mikey? Where’s his happy ending? The confirmation of the multiverse means there’s an Alex out there who needs him- and through trial and error, Michael finds him. The world building in both stories is top notch, because for every action, there’s a reaction and reason shaping Michael.

Constant as the northern star by celzmccelz (53,000) - don’t know the tumblr here - This is an Mpreg, and it starts solidly after 1x13 and goes AU from there. But what if in the 100 mile drive home from Caulfield, Michael and Alex share a grief-induced moment of insanity where they fall back into their oldest language- sex for comfort, and then Michael does everything he does in the finale, including turning toward Maria, what if there was a souvenir? Despite the trope of mpreg, this is just how I see Michael, deeply in love with Alex but unable to trust that Alex feels the same depth in return. The friendships in here are also top-notch, from Kyle being a baby-doctor, to Isobel having her own Max-related spiral unable to let go of her brother only to refocus on Michael, to Liz fucking off with Rosa for the first half of the story because she’s caught up in her own grief (which turned out to be canon!). And there’s a whole plot here! With Jesse Manes being the worst.

Leave the light on by @sabrinachill​ (36,900) - Confession time- I love fake dating as a trope, I know, shocked right? But I especially love it with RNM because Malex are exes by 1x03. Mattie nailed the dynamic of pining and the assumption of unrequited love so well in this story. Although the POV switches here a bit between chapters, (and Alex is fabulous) what I really really loved was how she wrote Michael, in love but convinced that he’s messed up too much for Alex. Aware of his faults but not in a sullen way, but an acknowledgment that he was in a bad place and Alex hasn’t always been the best remedy him in the past. It was a very mature take on the “give me another chance” trope in Malex reunion stories, where both sides had a share of blame. The plot was suspenseful and tight (how do people do that???) with a climax that honestly shocked me! I really enjoyed rereading it while I prepped my rec-sets, and I won’t be surprised if this story isn’t mentioned by everyone doing ‘Creators Week’. It’s worthy of all the love.

Temporary wounds by @prouvaireafterdark​ (7800) - How many times can I rec this story? Hopefully you’re not bored by my adoration of this Lynne.  So even though it’s set post-season 1 with the assumption that Michael/Maria will fizzle out while Alex/Forrest date- it’s actually perfectly set for season 3 (an author who is psychic??). As a rule, I hate jealousy as a trope, but this story has the only type of jealousy I want to see on screen- where Michael wonders what was missing inside of him that Alex didn’t want to be public during their long affair (even with the acknowledgment that Alex was too scared before)- like that type of sad pining is my catnip!

The first who ever did by nostalijinks (33,000) post season 1, but really it also stands pretty well after season 2.  There was an interview during season 1 I think that talked about how all Michael really wanted was to be a hero to Alex (the way he stepped in front of Jesse as a kid)  but he thinks he failed at it since Alex enlisted. That failure soured him in ways but he never stops trying, for Alex. This is a really well done 5 times plus 1 story, with an overreaching arc of reconciliation between Alex and Michael, starting as teenagers, then as adults while Michael is with Maria, then as friends, real friends, trying to support Alex as Alex dates. The whole emotional journey of maturity that Michael takes here is so well done, where there’s no real villains in the friend group. I just love it. I wish the author had written 100 more like this one, but as a standalone work it’s epic.

The person that you’d take a bullet for is behind the trigger by @iwontbeyourmedicine​ (25,000) Ly has a very large body of work, that you could spend days paging through on AO3 or tumblr, but this one hits two of my kinks hard- the amnesia story line and true love conquers all. So three fandoms ago I was huge into Steve/Bucky, that iconic moment in Cap 2 where Bucky breaks through the brainwashing has never left me. This story takes my love for that moment, and makes it Malex. Alex gets programmed by his family and set loose on his friends, on the aliens and it’s a shitshow bloodbath since he’s really fucking good at kicking ass. Michael is caught between keeping everyone safe and trying not to hurt Alex, and the tension is just top-notch. I love how it’s not an immediate fix either, the way they circle each other in the aftermath, wanting to come home, but home would be a totally new step for both of them. Just chef’s kiss good at joining action, angst, and romance together.

Into the palm of your hand by @haloud​ (5900) hal is a treasured friend, so I am admitting some bias here, but we both enjoy talking about how wonderful and sad Michael is and how desperately we enjoy poking at that softness and then wrapping him up with love again... so this story was written pre-shamegate (and if you know what that means, I’m sorry) but it matches my head canon of what the history of hiding does to someone. The internalization of believing maybe there’s a reason behind the hiding that has nothing to do with homophobic townies. Alex has an ex boyfriend come to town, and he doesn’t tell Michael. And omg the journey hal takes us on with Michael’s spiral and Brave Little Toaster act was so wonderful and painful and real. The communication between these two was top notch as they worked through a road bump from the past, and let’s face it, once we get our malex back, these things are going to happen, and it will either tear them apart or bring them closer together- I prefer to believe it will be closer together.

There is beauty in a failure by @jule1122​ (2400) There’s been a few Greg and Michael stories to pop up on my radar after 2x10, and this one was one of my favorites. This is a Greg who pulls no punches in exposing his brother’s past to Michael, but also gives Michael the space to work through what he wants. It’s an AU from 2x12, that allowed Michael to break up with Maria for basically the same reasons that Maria used on him in 2x13. The way Michael is able to what he wants and communicate it Alex in the end- so good! We can only hope to see something similar in season 3.

I don’t know what to think (but I think of supernovas) by @queersirius​ (3900) This story is a delight from start to finish- I mean frustrated cursing turns the console on into a hologram who then takes the most pleasing form to Michael’s eyes? SIGN ME UP for those shenanigans. I fucking loved how Isobel saw it first too. And then the comedy of Alex discovering it? And what happens afterwards? Oh it’s so delicious. Now of course, full disclosure, this light-hearted romp through the feels also inspired me  to think up a much much sadder version of Michael building an AI for companionship considering how isolated he ended up being at the end of Season 2 and we all know Michael needs friends, badly.

Innuendo by the Roswell anon (6000) written for @bisexualalienblast​  the roswell anon is my favorite treasure in this fandom, I could pretty much list all of their stories as examples of some very fine Michael Guerin characterization. This one was one of my favorite post-season 1 fix-it fics though, because it has some of the most real 28-30 year old guy dialogue I’ve come across- from the crude jokes, to the sharply self-deprecating observations- this is Alex and Michael stripped down, all edges but what’s left is fatigue and love. The resolution at the end, where Alex observes that yes, Michael has tried the last 10 years but this is their first chance to try together- to pull in the same direction? It just lays me flat on the ground with how true that is to canon.

Whenever You Want to Begin, Begin by @foramomentonly (3200) - this is a sequel, and the first story is dynamite- don’t get me wrong- but it moves from the hopeful side of an ending to legit Happily-Ever-After here, and I devoured every word. First of all, having Michael turn to photography as a way of self-improvement is fucking genius. Photographers are always at the center of every happy event, but never the focus, and that screams Michael to me, the way he lives on the outskirts of the 9-5 job and literal outskirts of town in his trailer. The other thing is photographers are revealed by their work, and that’s also something I head-canon with Michael just in the mundane- he’s good with his hands, he wants to leave a car better than he found. Anyway, this story is gorgeously written, moves a bit like a really good bottle of wine- heavy but soft, as you watch Michael become Alex’s friend, and even more importantly, Alex becomes Michael’s friend. Fantastic- I’ve read it about four times now since it was published.

[makeste]

Bnha is a little too irregular for me right now (covid is the worst :( ), so I started reading One Piece and it's like, soooo long. Got me thinking, how long do you think Bnha will be? Personally I think we're just before time skip and it will take, like 300-400 chapters to end? So manga would be 600-700 chapters long. I could be wrong of course. Thoughts?

One Piece is fucking awesome, and the beauty of it is that is is 12 million chapters long so it will take approximately 182 years to finish reading, and you are almost guaranteed to be entertained for the vast majority of that time lol. I actually took a break from it a little ways into the Wano arc (sometime in the middle of what would later become volume 92) because it was getting harder for me to keep up with the plot week by week, especially since I was really into BnHA fandom by that time. my plan was to binge it once Wano ends. however when I was looking at the list of chapters on Wikipedia just now I saw that Oda is only 11 chapters away from breaking the 1k mark, which is pretty awesome. so I might try to catch up in the next month or two in celebration of that milestone, because damn.

with BnHA though, my own guess for how long the series will be is actually a lot shorter than most estimates I’ve seen. first of all, full disclosure that I am definitely biased regarding the timeskip part, because I personally am not the biggest fan of BnHA timeskip theories, unless they’re really short timeskips like the 3-month one we got recently. the thing is, this is explicitly a manga about their time at UA. it’s in the title and everything lol. and I like that. I like reading about them as kids, little hero eggs gradually growing into little hero chicks who will eventually become big hero birbs, but not just yet. a lot of the story’s appeal for me comes from that. there’s a certain... I don’t necessarily want to say innocence, but idealism, maybe?, that’s associated with stories about young adults, and doesn’t always carry over into the stories about those same adults once they’ve grown up. and I want the story to keep that.

there are a lot of things about the current setting that I’m very attached to and don’t want to lose. I like that they’re kids, and that they’re full of potential but don’t always know what they’re doing, and they screw up and make mistakes and get in over their heads, and are dealing with all of their messy jumbled teenage emotions. I like that they’re living with each other in the fanfic dorms and seeing each other every day in their classes. I like that romance isn’t a big part of the series (though there’s still plenty of shipping fuel to go around). I like that we get to see them interacting with their parents and siblings and get to see those relationships. and most of all, I like that -- unlike almost every other young adult series I can think of -- BnHA acknowledges that they are just kids, and the adults by and large actually treat them as such. and yes, I’m even including the child soldiers arc here, because the decision to basically draft them into a war was handed down by the HPSC (an organization that likely has a history with child abuse from what we’ve seen). U.A. was against it, and tried their best to keep them away from the front lines, chilling out in the woods and helping with evacuations instead of fighting villains. contrast this with, say, a:tla, which I love, but which is very much one of those series filled with full-grown adults who are all “it’s up to this 12-year-old and his assorted 12-to-15-year-old friends to lead the battle to save the world lulz.” and this includes possibly the most beloved full-grown adult of all time, who nonetheless peaces out with an ironclad argument of “while it is true that the final villain is my actual brother, I’m still going to let the 12-year-old handle it because something something politics slash destiny.”

but anyways lol got sidetracked there. so steering this back on course now, I genuinely, truly love that in BnHA there are all these adults in the characters’ lives who are trying to keep them safe and nurture them and shield them from that extra burden of responsibility for as long as possible while they’re still learning. and so the kids have that extra safety net of support, which to me as a reader is just... comforting, I guess. like, I understand that it’s not going to last forever, but it’s reassuring to know that it exists for them for now. and I’m not in any hurry to say goodbye to that in favor of just tossing them out into tHE REAL WORLD!! lol. like omg no my babies.

anyway but so the point is that, with respect to everyone else’s theories, I personally don’t want a timeskip lol. and tbh I don’t really see the need for one either? if anything, we’re about to enter the most chaotic period in the entire manga once this arc ends. I’m assuming Tomura will survive this and escape somehow, the better to live and fight another day. and so if that’s the case, I feel like this would be the absolute weirdest time to do a timeskip, because how far ahead can we even jump lol. too far and we’d basically be coming back to an already-destroyed world lol whoops. basically I just don’t see how we can jump ahead more than a few months at the most, assuming that the threat of Tomura is going to be looming over everyone’s heads the entire time. plus we’d miss out on what I’m betting is going to be some of the most intense worldbuilding drama in the entire series, with our beloved characters potentially being swept up in like half a dozen political controversies. I sure don’t want to miss out on any of that. we didn’t wait so long to see this war play out only to skip out on the highly entertaining aftermath of it all.

anyway so that’s my as-usual-longer-than-necessary rant about timeskips. so now let’s talk about the series length. and here, I’m basically just basing my guess off of what Horikoshi has said in interviews. off the top of my head, there are three times he’s mentioned the ending of the series in interviews. first, there’s this interview, published in July 2018:

Interviewer: Previously in SUGOI JAPAN*, you mentioned that you would like Boku No Hero Academia to be a short and concise story and not drawn out, but what percentage of the story is complete at this point?

Horikoshi: When the decision to extend the series happened, I personally thought “I guess I want to end it here” and it was around Volume 30.

Interviewer: So then are you 2/3 done with the story?

Horikoshi: That’s what I had originally planned, but when I think of all the things that must be set up before getting into the last arc, I realized, “Ending the series at Volume 30 will be impossible” (laughs). However, the current arc that is going on all has purpose that will be relevant in the last arc.

*this is referencing a remark he made back at an awards ceremony back in March 2017.

second, we have this interview from August 2018, where he again mentions wanting to keep the story concise:

Do you know what the ending of My Hero Academia is? Do you think it'll be 80+ volumes like One Piece?

No, it won't be infinite – I don't have the stamina for it to be as long as One Piece. I'd like to keep it concise.

and lastly,  this one which was published in December 2019:

What can you say about the future events of the manga?

I’m conscious of the end of the series, and writing towards that. I think the story will always be moving in big ways going forwards. My Hero Academia has a lot of characters, a lot of characters doing different things with different motivations, and the story is heading towards a conclusion where all of that comes together and heads towards the end.

my takeaways from these interviews are that (1) he originally planned for the story to be about 300 chapters long, (2) he’s had a clear idea of his overall endgame for a while now and has been steadily working towards that (as he put it in another interview, he knows all of the dots, but is still figuring out the lines to connect them all), and (3) he specifically said a couple years back that he did not want to write a long One Piece-length series, and his goal was to write a more concise story than that. Horikoshi’s pacing has always been much faster than Oda’s (or Kishimoto’s, or Kubo’s, etc.), and so I think it’s a realistic goal for him to wind up with a significantly shorter story in comparison.

my best guess is that BnHA won’t be much longer than 400 chapters, or a little over 40 volumes. he said back around chapter 180-something that he was nowhere close to being two-thirds of the way done. but it’s been two years since then, and if we haven’t reached at least the two-thirds mark by this point, I would honestly be very surprised. it would mean we’ve barely made any progress at all, and I don’t know about you, but the past few arcs have felt very purpose-driven to me. I think he has a pretty good idea of where he’s heading at this point, and that to me supports the idea of a shorter story than a lot of people have speculated. mind you, he might end up doing a sequel or something afterwards (although I kind of cringe thinking about all the ways we’ve seen that kind of thing go wrong in the past, ngl).

but as far as the series proper, yeah, I’d say 400 chapters is my best guess. ultimately I just hope he’s able to tell the story he wants to tell and gets as much time as he needs to do so, without feeling any pressure to then drag it on past that. knowing when to end your series is so underrated honestly. I have my fingers crossed that it’s a skill Horikoshi hopefully possesses.