#despite the fantastical circumstances lol

[neganium]

I love how, even with how goofy and silly and immature MK can sometimes be, he's still a really clever character that's good at putting things together, especially in ways that the others might not think about. Being a little unserious and jocular and excitable are not inherently bad things, and they are not things that automatically mean that someone is stupid, no matter how distractable or fun-loving they might seem.

He's also very aware of his shortcomings, and is learning how to cope with his problems. I do like how they have it so far to where MK isn't getting over his problems right away, and acknowledging that sometimes things are just gonna... stick. It's a part of you, and it may stay that way for a long time. But it's livable, once you figure out how. You can even make it work for you. Take that same energy, turn it on its head, and put it towards something else. Not just coping with a problem, but learning ways to redirect it. It's really nice that this is out there, and that kids can see it. Whether or not all of them will pick up on the lessons is another matter; but I think that that some of them can, and have the opportunity to, is important.

[bayleavesfromthevine]

some kn8 ramblings (with a side order of manga spoilers)

i love that (as far as we know) kafka and mina's tragic backstory is "dead cat." we know nothing of their parents, homes, or friends from after the kaiju attack, only that mina's cat died. (obviously, the series isn't over yet, so this could be totally disproven at any point, but bear with me lol.)

i actually find that really refreshing. yes, it's so heartbreaking to lose a pet, but it's not the typical trope of a character's power level correlating to how traumatized they are (ex: family massacres, everyone they've ever loved ending up dead, backstabbing, torture, etc etc). their traumas are grounded in very realistic and relatable circumstances, and i think that goes to show that a character doesn't need these extreme reasons to want to do good and fight the scary monster. mina's cat died in a kaiju attack and she wants to make sure that no one else has to lose their best friend/ball of floof to a kaiju ever again. that is enough of a reason and a noble one at that.

soshiro, as another example, has a complicated relationship with his family, but they aren't dead or rogue. he's not seeking revenge on them, but rather they did not support him when it mattered and made him feel inferior - that is a traumatizing environment to grow up in, and unsupportive parents & sibling favoritism are also SO grounded in reality.

it really makes these characters feel real, and i think it's a powerful thing for a reader who maybe doesn't have the best relationship with their parents/siblings like soshiro, or who has lost a beloved pet like mina, or who doesn't have natural-born talent in a specific field like kafka, to see these characters take those experiences, work through them, find a support system, and overcome them.

(side note: i LOVE to see that soshiro actually went no contact with his brother for past behaviors! that sets such a powerful example to readers that it's okay to cut out people who have made you feel like shit!!)

of course, there are other characters like narumi and reno who have heavier backstories, but i love that their experiences don't automatically turn them into the brooding emo characters who think only of killing kaiju and seeking revenge with zero intentions to form friendships with the people around them.

it's just really nice to see. i feel like in stories that have a large cast, it's easy for a character's backstory to completely shape their personality, rather than being shaped by a multitude of experiences - good and bad - gained throughout life. (in cases like reno and kikoru, we see them grow as people & change their outlooks due to their positive experiences with kafka and the rest of the defense force. that doesn't override their past experiences, but adds layers to who they are overall.)

i see kn8 getting criticized a lot for lacking in depth or themes - and i do think there is a conversation to be had about locating the series' central theme and whether or not it's been clearly communicated (and whether or not that even matters) - but i also think part of that criticism stems from having a fantastical premise (that maybe SHOULD have a little more death, but that's another conversation entirely lol) with deeply grounded characters, a contrast we don't see too much of - especially from series in the battle shonen & shonen-adjacent genres (thinking about shows like naruto, aot, jjk, demon slayer, hell's paradise, etc).

basically, i find it refreshing that kn8 isn't over-traumatizing its characters despite the fact that the premise would allow it lol

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

@redmapleleavesonwhitesnow

The episode is really interesting because they clearly have a roadmap in Fire & Blood, but the execution was just kind of poor. I know they were filming during the writers’ strike and they had completed scripts. But writers are typically also on set during filming, and HOTD proceeding without any writer input… shows lol. I think that might be why the vibes were just kind of off despite the plot being pretty sound?

Personally I found the episode pretty directionless and without its own succinct throughline. The most egregious example for me was Rhaenyra’s plot. She is ostensibly the protagonist but she had absolutely nothing to do. All of her scenes where she’s just looking a little upset or angry, literally amounted to what was accomplished by the two second shot of her at the end of the season one finale. They did not cover any new ground with her whatsoever???

Meanwhile with the Greens, I think opening with that time jump after Luke’s death and not having any direct reactions to it was a mistake. It’s really odd the way everyone was kind of glossing it over. It felt like it should be more of a game changer. No one was like “why did you kill a child, you were not supposed to be doing that??” lmao. And while we see them kind blame him for the conflict a little, it’s not either any particular urgency or anger lmao. It sounds like they’re just like “Oh well it’s Aemond. He’s stupid, he does things like this.” There’s hardly any emotional element to the stakes when they’re considering like does it even mean now that Luke is dead and there’s likely no peace to be had between them anymore? They’re so blasé about it.

Last season I thought it was a fantastic choice to have Aemond kill Luke *on accident.* It looked like he was just trying to scare him, and like while those were dangerous circumstances and it probably would’ve resulted in his death anyway lol it’s obvious that he wasn’t trying to kill him in that moment at least? We get that shot where it’s clear that he’s in shock and kind of terrified of having done something like that and it’s so good! But frankly, why even bother having that beat if you’re not going to do anything with it? There’s just nothing. They could’ve gotten much more mileage out of the Greens processing and reacting to that information. Like Alicent being like “why the fuck did you do that???” and him either being like “I’m sorry, mom, I didn’t mean to 😞” or having to own it and be like “yeah I killed him and it was totally on purpose!” because saying that he definitely pushed them to war on accident would’ve been infinitely worse.

There’s also no development there in terms of his character and who he is as a person. At the moment, he seems to be pretty ready to just like go out and kill things, which fair, but how does that relate to the fact that he accidentally killed Luke? He has a history of being pretty vicious and he did attack the kids previously with a with a knife— which is what resulted in him losing his eye. And he has always been the angry one, the cruel one, but none of that context seems to come into play wrt how he relates to this, when there was so much that could be done.

And that’s a thread that continues with the rest of the Greens too. They also did absolutely nothing with Aegon. He was built up in the previous season as kind of a vile gross little rapist. He’s set up as just an awful, person, but then he gets this particularly humanizing moment when we see him trying to run away when he’s been named king, and that glimpse of patheticness and self loathing. And there’s really none of that in that pilot? Frankly I did actually enjoy the kind of workplace comedy element of him and Otto struggling. Or him just being like “yeah, so Aemond can just hop in the family car and go like scare some people into declaring for us or mow them over if they don’t idk” Like he’s kind of his silly, but there isn’t much substance there. We don’t see him forcing himself to be more present as king because he knows that he has no other choice and they are at war (and what other way can he get his Mom’s approval?) Nor do we even see him being exceptionally cruel by medieval king standards. Like we didn’t see him go Joffrey, in terms of constant cruelty and abusing his newfound power to make himself feel bigger. He’s not even like miserably unequipped to be king? His mistakes seem more like he’s just untested and also being undermined by Otto. It’s just such a tepid take?

Moving on to Alicent. So I think it’s an INSANE choice to just tell us that she and Criston are/have been fucking without any build up to how that comes about. To be clear I think it’s a galaxy brained progression, don’t I don’t dislike it. But the way that episode literally opens with Criston giving her head, and then Alicent immediately after being like “this can never happen again” implying it’s the first time, but showing none of the character interaction that got there or what exactly they’re feeling about it seems like such a waste. If you’re just telling me that these characters are fucking, without any of the emotional context for why this matters or what this does or does not mean to them, why should I care, you know? It’s just such a missed opportunity. Like theres nothing compelling about physically seeing Criston’s head under her skirt, divorced of any context lmao.

There are interesting elements implied: Alicent seems to be trying to exert power over someone, anyone; Criston is so servile damn; the entire relationship is so clearly about Rhaenyra for both of them. But that’s all just vague inference? And they do nothing with it. There’s also the additional interesting point where it’s clearly not a one time thing, despite what Alicent said earlier because they’re literally fucking during blood and cheese. But like… you could show us how that happened or why? What brings Alicent to be like “well I know I said there wouldn’t be any repeats but….” Or like is Criston cool with this? Is he initiating, is she? I’d compare it to how Criston and Rhaenyra’s dynamic developed in early season one when its so clear that she’s only looking for a bit of fun when she hooks up with him, and it’s directly after being rejected by Daemon so he’s a replacement. And we see how he puts her on a pedestal and clearly thinks it’s way more than it is. Like their sex scene has so much context and character, and comparatively the season two scenes have none of that!

I will say, the bit where he’s talking to Aemond about it and is saying that Rhaenyra pulled Alicent into a web and intoxicated her (insane!! thing to tell Alicent’s son by the way) where he’s clearly projection is good. But like… not enough lol. There’s obviously some interesting complex things happening there but they don’t dig into them.

Anyway moving onto Alicent, it’s not really clear what’s going on with her? She also hasn’t progressed since season one. I feel like her scenes haven’t added very much. We know that she’s upset about the bloodshed, but that isn’t news. We know she’s upset about being undermined by Otto, but that isn’t news. Her relationship with Criston is new, and it may be where she’s trying to exert power, but we don’t see her come to that point Meanwhile I don’t understand what’s going on with her and Larys anymore.

There’s the scene where tells her that he’s changed all of her maids because they were disloyal— first of all I think highlighting how many servants they have in the same episode as Blood and Cheese, where the castle is conspicuously empty, and not tying those two things together somehow is a really weird choice. They needed some sort of excuse or reason for why no one saw or did anything? Because that castle looked fucking empty.

They could’ve easily said that Aegon got pissy and fired all of their servants, or that he was so shitty to them that the servants were very happy to turn a blind eye. Or idk maybe Alicent was upset about all of her maids being resigned without her permission and she’s the one who fires all of the new ones? But there are truly no ties there, so what is Larys reassigning all the servants supposed to mean? It’s undermining Alicent but… we’ve been here before, we know about that. It could have been a direct reaction to her original handmaids barring Larys from seeing her/not telling her what she was up to when she was fucking Criston but again a) bad choice of placement with Blood and Cheese b) it seems like the reassigning happened before. I’ll allow that maybe he’s trying to tell her that her handmaids answer to him, therefore he knows what she was up to. But it still doesn’t go anywhere?

I kind of wish she tried to do something about it, but also I just don’t really like the dynamic so I may just be biased in this instance. I don’t find it particularly compelling and I think it’s just odd that she puts up with him. I personally always thought that it stretched disbelief a little bit but whatever.

Anyway Blood and Cheese! That scene was so poorly written??? I feel like there’s very little emotional buildup to it. It’s just paced really badly and as a result it doesn’t have as much emotional resonance as it could have. Honestly, I thought it being from Blood and Cheese’s perspective was a mistake. I think it probably would’ve been a better idea to just be in Helena‘s POV from the beginning, and to be shocked by it with her when she realizes someone’s broken into her room, and to have more time to sit with her fear.

I think the actress did a pretty good job with what she was given, but it felt abrupt to me. The progression from her thinking maybe they’re there to rob her, to being forced to tell them which one is her son, to just picking up her other kid and booking it just felt like it was shot oddly and wasn’t given enough time to breathe.

And the smaller moving parts of the scene just kept testing my suspension of disbelief. Like first of all, from the assassins’ perspective we see that they’re purely monetarily motivated. Why aren’t they more tempted by her offering them her necklace/or more gold? Daemon may have promised them gold but she could likely give them way more as the sitting Queen? If they just particularly hate the Greens/the Targaryens/or are just violent and jonesing to dismember a kid then idk establish that more clearly.

Meanwhile it was just really odd that they completely lost interest in her after she told them who was the son. They just ignore her while she runs away. You’d think they’d be worried about discovery at all? But they’re not because the castle is fucking empty shdhfgf

Why the fuck is Criston the single only member of the King’s Guard in that entire building? Literally no one is guarding the royal family when they’re at war and should probably be way more terrified of anything like this happening???

I did actually like the element of her running into her mother’s room, and the implication that’s she is just so traumatized that she regressed to childhood. But it’s a very anti-climactic note to end on. Like what exactly is it meant to convey to have Alicent be interrupted while having sex, Helaena to tell her, dead eyed, that they “killed the boy” and to close on Alicent just being like :o

Like shfhff what is the point of any of that? The choices are just kind nonsensical to me. It’s also wild that in F&B Helaena has two sons, but the other one just doesn’t exist in the show. (Which imo also removes some of the horror where she has to choose which would die! That’s so awful!) So it’s a much bigger deal that their single heir has been murdered. But also with the show’s track record… I’m not sure they’re going to react to it adequately lol.

Like at the end of the day, the Dance of the Dragons is a tragedy. If you’re familiar with the original series at all you know how it turns out. It’s not about who wins it’s about the characters and their journeys. So constantly divorcing the plot of emotional relevance sure is uh. a choice.

[illarian-rambling]

Thanks for the tag @somethingclevermahogony! I have so much fun with these lol

OC Smash or Pass: Avymere Spearsong

Info/Description

Name: Duchon Avymere Kalaphon Spearsong III (Duchon is a title equivalent to Duke/Duchess)

Sexuality: nebulously pansexual

Age: 153

Folk: Skysheerian elf

Occupation: Heir to the duchy of Salis and spymaster to their father, the current Archduke

Description: Tall, wiry, and tan - for a Skysheerian, at least - Avymere doesn't fit the typical Skysheerian beauty standard. They have short, feathery white hair and a long, pointed sort of face, with a pair of wire-rimmed glasses atop their long nose. Their ears are pointed, and there's an old scar on the right one from a training accident. Their eyes are a pale gray. They tend to dress more femme and almost always have a concealed weapon.

Pros

Avymere has the type of loyalty usually exclusive to prized hunting dogs and living weapons. If you earn their trust, they will never betray you til your dying day, no matter what you ask of them. It's honestly a little concerning.

Predictably, they are very cultured. Music, philosophy, politics - they can hold an engaging conversation on nearly any subject. They're a fantastic listener and honestly love nothing more than listening to someone talk about their passions. If you ask them questions about martial arts history, they might just tear up on the spot.

Avymere has a deep and genuine need to help people. They are selfless to a fault and will fight tooth and nail for any downtrodden stranger. Despite their aloofness and privileged upbringing, they are a legitimately good person - or they try their best, anyways

Cons

Avymere lives to serve their people in all aspects of their life. That means, if they're going to be serious about a relationship, it has to bring an advantage to Salis. Sure, they've had crushes on guards and flings with diplomat, but for a serious relationship, you'd better be bringing both money and connections to the table.

They are a noble and thus can be very aloof. They speak with perfect diction even in informal circumstances, sit with perfect posture even while relaxing, and would probably throw up if they had to eat fast food. Though not intentional, it comes across as very haughty.

Honest and unbarred emotions are an utmost rarity from them. Their heart is heavily guarded, and though they are rarely unkind when it isn't necessary, they hold themself back in most circumstances. This causes their feelings to really only show when they hit a boiling point, anger or grief exploding out in an uncharacteristic show.

I'll tag @harleyacoincidence @sergeantnarwhalwrites @violets-in-her-arms-writes @watermeezersworldofkaldria @leahnardo-da-veggie and anyone else who wants in :)

[jazzthatonewriterchick]

When I Get Home (Hawks x Black!Fem!Reader 18+ Angsty One Shot)

"Can really love a monster like me?"

Pairing: Keigo Takami x Black!Fem!Reader 

Synopsis: In which Keigo realizes how truly lucky he is to have you by his side despite his refusal to open up to you and show you how deep his scars run, so he decides when he finally gets home from his stupid fucking mission, he’ll show you his scars, his heart, and everything more. 

Warnings: MAJOR SPOILERS; Smutty Smut; 18+ (MINORS GTFO); Angsty Angst/Hurt/Comfort; Mentions & Use of Marijuana; High S*x; Shower S*x; Possessiveness; Scar Appreciation; Edge Play; Sensitivity; Marking; Biting; Foreplay; Cunnilingus; Deepthroating; Doggystyle; Mating Press; Subby, Feral Hawks; Unprotected Sex; Creampie, Facial; Wing-Stroking; Breeding Kink; Aftercare 

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters mentioned in this fic. However, as this is my writing, I do not give permission for my work to be reposted on any other sites that are not from my own accounts. Thank you!

Writer’s Note: Got another one shot for y'all and it's my first Hawks fic!! I love me some of that birb man. I was listening to Faith Evan's "Soon As I Get Home" & got inspired lol. Enjoy! AND FUCK ENDEAVOR. -Jazz

*********

Keigo hates the rain. 

It reminds him too much of his childhood days when he would aimlessly wander through the wet streets of his childhood home of Kyushu, looking for shelter and a place to lay his head and tired wings, too wet and weak to fly. 

A rainy night like this reminds him too much of those nights where he would escape his home to find solace in the streets, only to get nothing but some firsthand experiences of the hostility and black-heartedness of humanity: crime; abuse; violence. He’d find himself in the slums, surrounded by the degenerates of Kyushu, soaked to the bone in rain, shivering his poor little feathers off. 

But now, sitting and watching the sheets of rain fall along the city, his legs dangling off of one of the highest buildings in downtown Musutafu, he finds the rain a little comforting. Especially given his circumstances. 

He is in his hero gear, gloves, goggles and boots included. He isn’t sure why he decided to change into it before he left the penthouse, but something told him just to do it. After all, a hero’s job is never done. Maybe he just might get lucky and find himself stopping a robbery or a carjacking to distract himself. He’d need a lot of it to make himself feel less like shit for tonight. 

Whenever he closes his eyes, all he sees is you and the hurt in your pretty, brown eyes. Those eyes he wants to stare into forever. How could he hurt you so badly? How could a night that went as well as it could go at a charity ball end in such turmoil for the both of you? 

“Fuck,” he hisses, his head dropping into his hands as the memories of the past few hours begin to rewind in his head: 

“I just wanna know who she is to you,” you declared as you sat on the couch in your shared living room hours later. You were still in your gown from tonight–bright crimson to match Keigo’s wings, your hair curled to perfection and your heels making your legs look fantastic. He stared at you from the kitchen then while you unstrapped your Steve Madden heels, his hands itching to do it for you. 

“Why?” he asked, doing his best to not scoff at the question. “There’s nothin’ to tell, Y/N; I told you that.” As he headed into the kitchen, he loosened his tie with one hand and popped a button to his Armani button-down, glad to be out of his suit jacket and shoes. Though he looked good, he felt like a little kid being forced to dress for church. 

He went into the back where the walk-in pantry and wine cellar is to get himself a much-needed, chilled bottle of Merlot wine. When he returned to the kitchen, he glanced at you from across the marbled kitchen island. You were already staring at him from the living room, your red dress standing out against black couch.“But she isn’t a friend to you?” You asked, sounding agitated at his answer.“Or a coworker? You barely introduced me to her tonight, Keigo.” 

Now Keigo was agitated even though he shouldn’t have been. But damn, you always did this. You always tried to dig into him at the worst possible moments. Especially during a moment where all he’s trying to do is just relax after a night of acting.“Why the fuck does it matter?” He scoffed flippantly. 

Your eyes flared angrily at him.“First of all, don’t talk to me like that,” you sternly said, jabbing one acrylic nail at him.“You don’t have to be like that, okay? We’re just having a conversation here.” 

Keigo turned his back to you to get the corkscrew out the drawer next to the $800 stove with its electric stove top and Stirling steel oven.“No,” he argued, bumping his hip against the drawer to shut it.“What you’re doing right now is putting me on the spot when you know tonight took a lot out of me. You know I’m not built for shit like that wack ass fuckin’ ball, Y/N.” 

You gaped at him, dumbfounded.“I told you we didn’t have to go tonight, Keigo!” you protested, anger evident in your tone.“You wouldn’t listen to me!” 

You crossed those gorgeous legs over each other, the light glowing against your skin still shining with coconut oil. Keigo was initially excited to get you home tonight just to feast on those legs and perhaps fuck you in that dress before stripping it off of you. It was the only thing he had looked forward to for tonight despite being forced by the Hero Commission to attend that stupid charity ball to prove that Japan’s heroes were “conscious of civilians’ needs all over the nation”. 

It isn't that he hated charity. He wasn’t an asshole. He made sure to give his portion to hospitals, animal shelters, and homeless shelters all over Japan. He just hated being forced to put up with the annoying reporters and cameras in his face all night while he pretended to enjoy socializing with people that weren't his cup of tea and his nosey coworkers. 

He especially wasn’t looking forward to it when you had asked to go with him. He hadn’t ever taken you to a ball or any kind of event that was associated with his hero work in the time you’ve been dating him, but you understood the strict ways of the Hero’s Commission and how it was important for Keigo to keep up his “bachelor” image for as long as he could to gain more popularity. 

At least, that’s what you told him when he explained things to you. 

He had figured tonight wouldn’t be a big deal since security kept the paparazzi and reporters outside the venue, so he let you come along and met you inside the building after he was done dealing with the zoo animals with their note pads and microphones on the red carpet. 

However, he quickly realized how bad of a decision that was when his coworkers began swarming, asking him who “the beauty” was sitting with him; how you were; how long you two have been together; where he’s been hiding you at. 

And then, of course, Wanna had to show up. Fucking Kanna! Keigo would have rather had forgotten she existed, but there she was, in the flesh in her skin-tight dress with her publicist. She was a simple fling; a past summer he spent with a model before he met you. That was a different time for him. A time where he didn't give a fuck where he stuck his dick because he was desperate to rid himself of the nightmares for a night in someone’s bed. 

But seeing his past and his hopeful future interact the way you and Kanna did after Kanna made a show of throwing herself at Keigo and making conversation made him want to off himself right there. Especially when he saw your face when he didn’t introduce you to Kanna–disappointment; confusion; hurt. So much hurt. 

But you didn’t understand. And though you never will, Keigo knows that it is for the best.

“Correction: you didn’t have to go,” he cooly stated.“But I do! Are you forgetting I’m pro no. 2? Publicity matters. If I wasn’t there, the whole fuckin’ nation’s eyes would’ve been on me wondering where I was and coughing up shit for the next magazine cover.” 

He huffed to himself as he turned away from you once more to jab the screw into the cork to try and open the wine. When that didn’t work, he flung the cork screw away, nearly breaking it, and took the cork into his mouth. He pulled on the damn thing until it finally popped out of the nozzle. He then spat it out and reached above to grab himself a wine glass from the suspended wine glass rack before pouring himself a much-needed glass and taking a long gulp. 

As soon as the wine was in his system, he felt an inch better, but that anger at himself still chugged in his veins. Anger for not being real with you. For never telling you the truth. For never being the man you deserved. 

A tense silence coated the air between you in his penthouse. Ever since you started visiting since the first night you spent the evening with him in his bed, you’ve been here more than at your own apartment. Keigo doesn’t mind one bit. He feels so at home with you here, but even when you aren’t together, he feels at home with you….so why can’t he make you feel the same way? 

“Keigo, I didn’t mean to upset you,” you finally sigh.“I just felt like tonight you didn’t really want me there. I felt like you were embarrassed with me.” 

His eyes widen at the confession and fear grips him. ‘Oh, no,’ he lamented internally. ’Oh, no, no, no.’ That was the last thing he wanted to make you feel like ever. When he looked over at you, you had a despondent, oh-so sad look on your pretty, beat face. All because of his stupidity. “Why would you think that?” he all but whispers. 

“You barely looked at me,” you reply, your voice soft and defeated. “Barely touched me. Half of your coworkers didn’t even know you had a girlfriend, Kei.” 

Keigo pinched the bridge of his nose. He thought you’d been through this already.“You know why I can’t just go public with my relationships, Y/N. Don’t even start with this shit.” 

You stared at him for a moment, sizing him up, and for a moment, he thought you might start wilding on him. Your silence scared him even more though.“C’mon now,” he tiredly sighed. “It’s been a long night. Can’t we just forget tonight and roll somethin’ up?” He gave you a smile, hoping you’d say yes to some wine, some smoke, and some much-needed TLC after tonight’s events. 

But instead, you gave him a tight-lipped stare with a wall behind your eyes that made him realize that he’d be getting none of that tonight with you. He watched in utter defeat as you rose from the couch and strutted away upstairs to your bedroom, never turning to look back at him. 

When he heard the door slam behind you, he knew he fucked up. Epically. He put his head in his hands, feeling like screaming until his throat was raw, but he knew that would do nothing to fix this. This was a reoccurring problem between you two; one that always seemed to end in arguments and nights where he spent spent either on the couch or out among the skies. 

The truth was he wanted to desperately open up to you. He wanted to tell you why he hated every social event the Hero Commission forced him to attend. 

Why he hated the entire organization he worked for so passionately, but still allowed himself to be manipulated and exploited to save others. 

Why he had trouble sleeping and drinking habits. 

Why he never tells you about the past hookups and flings. 

Why he would sometimes smoke an entire bag of weed to rid himself of those horrible, itching thoughts of the past. 

Why he never visited his mother. 

Why he never visited Dabi in prison and who he was to you outside of a mortal enemy. 

Why he feels like he is undeserving of any success or good thing in his life. 

Why he hates himself. 

Why he doesn’t truly love himself at all. 

But he can’t lose you, and he knows if he were to ever reveal who he is behind the dazzling smile and charm, you would be gone for good. It’s better to keep those wounds closed anyway. 

You didn’t seem to think the same though. A half an hour later, while Keigo was sitting on the same couch you abandoned with his second glass of wine and the balcony door cracked to let in some of that cool spring air, you returned to the living room. You were out of your dazzling outfit from tonight, your face scrubbed free of makeup and only wearing one of his old shirts. You looked amazingly sexy to him like this. 

But he didn’t try to make a move or grab at you as you sat down. He didn’t even look at you. He knew you were there for a reason. You reached a hand out to stroke the burn scar that jet from the side of his jaw down to the column of his neck. “Your burn is healing,” you softly pointed out. “You know, you never really told me what happened to get you that.” 

Your fingers gently stroked his jaw, tentative and tender. “You never asked,” Keigo muttered, sipping on his Merlot. You leaned your head against the back of the couch, giving him a soft-eyed stare. “That’s ‘cause you’d never tell.” 

Keigo did his best to keep calm, but he hated this game you were playing with him. You were crossing a line with him here. He finally looked at you, accusingly.“What are you doing, huh?” He uttered, irked.“Why are you doing this?” 

“Doing what?” You asked. “I’m only asking you a question, Kei.” You truly didn’t know which pissed him off even more. “No, you’re trying to act like you’re asking a question when really, you’re poking the bear and blowin’ my buzz.” 

His tone was harsh and so are his words, but they were enough to coax you to speak your mind. You sat up and hugged your knees to your chest as you stared at him.“You never tell me about your scars.” 

Keigo flinched at your statement and his ghosts of scars littering his body seemed to itch.“That’s not true.” 

“It is,” you protested, your voice strained. You sounded close to tears and that hurt him even more. “You never share anything with me. Nothing about your missions, your friends, your past, nothing. I feel like I barely know you and we’ve been together for a year!” 

The frustration you were feeling was evident in your voice. Keigo sighed, placing his wine glass down on the glass coffee table in front of him. He looked at you, noticing how exhausted you looked aside from your irritated: dark circles under your eyes, a tight jaw.“Y/N, it’s just hard, okay? It’s not that simple to just tell you shit like that.” 

“Even though I have?” you retorted harshly, tilting your head to give him a fixed, sideways stare.“I’ve told you everything about me from the jump, Keigo. Even the things I wouldn’t even tell my closet friend! Don’t I deserve the same transparency?” 

Keigo heaved an exhausted sigh and ran his hands down his face. In the darkness behind his hands, he saw Twice’s body go limb, the blade of Keigo’s sword impaling his body.“I’ve done some fucked up shit,” he whispered into his hands. 

You placed a hand on his back.“I’d never judge you,” you promised. "We all make mistakes and none of us are perfect.” 

‘But you are,’ he thought. You are more than perfect. Way too much for someone like him. “I just can’t, okay?” he huffed, moving away from your touch. He ignored the hurt in your eyes. “Some things are just too painful to go back to, and I’d think with as much as you love and respect me, you’d respect my decision to keep things to myself.” 

“Well, I don’t!” you shouted abruptly, standing up to glare down at him. “So…now what?” 

Keigo stared up at you, feeling a flood of emotions begin to swarm him: gratefulness for your determination and stubbornness; confusion as to why you want someone like him; and anger for your refusal to leave this alone. He just wants to protect you from the messiness of himself. Why can’t you see that? 

The words are out before he can stop them and he regrets having that second glass:“Why are you so hellbent on making me your fuckin’ project, huh?” he cooly asked you, his voice as cold as ice. 

Your glared softened a bit.“What are you talking about?” 

He stood up too, giving you a sharp glare that made all of the color in your face drain.“You look at me as this tragic hero you’re tryna fix, don’t you?” he snapped. “I may have the sob story that almost every fuckin’ pro has, but I’m not a puzzle for you to figure out and I don’t appreciate being seen as that.” 

You gaped at him, your mouth open agape.“Are you serious right now?” you scoffed incredulously.“Keigo, I’m only trying to get to you to know you. And you’re not a project or a puzzle–you’re an amazing, passionate man that I adore and I just want to fuckin’ know you!” 

The scream ripped from your throat after being buried under months of frustration and stress. Keigo could hear it as clear as day. He stood there, shocked, as you began to break down, your hands covering your face as you cried. 

“Is that too much?” you sobbed into the open air.“Why won’t you let me in? Why won’t you let me see you?” He could see every ounce of frustration and hurt that he was causing you begin to take its toll, rolling down your cheeks in fat tears that plopped onto the cherrywood floor below your painted toes. 

Keigo immediately strode over to you and closed the gap between your bodies by wrapping his arms around you. He held you as you quietly sobbed into his chest, gripping his arms as you did. He felt horrible. He had never felt more like shit for making you feel like this.“I’m sorry,” he whispered.“It’s not that I don’t want to, baby bird. But I’m just too ugly.” 

You stared up at him, astounded at his confession. “Just trust me on this, okay? You’d need a fuckin’ team to help clean this mess up. I don’t want to burden you with that.” 

“But you’re not a burden!” you protested, tears in your pretty eyes.“You’re anything but a burden to me, Kei! I just wanna understand you.”

You cupped his face in your hands, forcing him to stare at you.“Why do you feel the need to hide yourself from me?” You implored, begging him to answer. 

He groaned tiredly, gently taking your hands off of his face. “Y/N, just drop it, alright?” he implored. He turned, wanting to walk away from this entire situation. 

You followed, ever the stubborn one. “But why–“ 

“I said drop it!” Keigo bellowed, and his wings flared before he could stop them, his feathers sharpening to points. You frozen immediately, your eyes widening in fear like a deer in headlights. 

He and you were both shocked at Keigo’s sudden change in demeanor. He had never reacted this way towards you, because you were never perceived as a threat to him. But something in his hawk-like instincts saw you as one right now. In that brief moment, you were a villain to him, and that frightened him beyond words. 

Quickly, his muscles loosened and he fluffed his feathers out, lowering his wings down against his back. “Y/N,” he began softly, wanting to apologize. But it was too late. Instantly, you turned around and sprinted away from him until you were up the stairs and slamming the guest room door behind you once again. 

Keigo was left standing there, feeling like the worse person on the planet. And he was. His head began to fill with every negative thought that haunted him at night: You’re a loser. You’re a fake. You’re a horrible boyfriend. You don’t deserve her. You should just leave so she can find someone better. 

So what does Keigo do when his head is his worst enemy? He goes out and patrols. 

He finished his wine before heading upstairs to his bedroom and entering his walk-in closet to suit up. After putting on his hero gear, he passed by your room. Though the door is unlocked, he knocked anyway and waited for your little grunt of acknowledgement before he entered. You were sitting in the black armchair facing the small balcony of your guest room, your legs tucked against your chest. 

You didn't face him when he slid inside. “I’m gonna go out and patrol,” he said, getting right to the point. “You know the alarm code to turn it on, right?” 

“I’ve got it, Keigo,” you muttered numbly. “Just go.” You still didn’t look at him and it pained him greatly. “I’ll be back tonight as soon as I can,” he weakly said, trying to vain to ease the fire he caused. 

“Don’t bother,” you grumbled. “Just go. I’ll see you whenever you get back…if you decide to come back.” 

Realizing you were never going to acknowledge his presence, Keigo silently left your room, his heart breaking in two. He then strode over to the balcony in his living room, slipped out the door he left unlocked specifically for himself, and took off from the terrance, his crimson wings flapping into the night. 

He has been out here since, desperately trying to clear his head as he stares into the night and the rain. He stares up at the sky, watching the droplets fall. "Give me some answers here,” he pleads, not sure who he’s talking to–God; the rain; the universe. 

Almost as if he is heard, his work phone suddenly rings. He usually keeps it in the pocket of his hero gear pants, fully-charged, of course. 

He slips it out and looks down at the caller ID, finding the HPSC chief’s name on his screen. 

“Fuck,” he mutters, rolling his eyes. He knows that whatever it is, it can’t be good. He answers the call with an annoyed, “Hawks.” 

“We need you out and patrolling,” the HPSC chief bluntly said, his voice gruff and aggressive. “We got another tip on the villain that has currently been terrorizing the city since the beginning of the month. A couple of civilians reported that they spotted him near the bridge. We’ve already got Mirko and a couple of others down there patrolling in different areas. We need you to join in case he attacks and civilians may need help.” 

Immediately, Keigo rises from his spot on the building and cracks his neck. “Got it. I’ll be there in five.” As soon as he hangs up, he stretches out his wings and proceeds to head towards the bride that hangs above the Musutafu river, doing his best to fly among the pounding rain and thunder. 

When he finally makes it to the bridge, he finds himself breathless at the chaos: the bridge is completely cut in half, one of the sides slipping down into the murky depths of the blackened water below; vehicles slide across the apsault into the water as their passengers scramble to safety, being escorted by other heroes to the other side of the bridge that is still intact. Yellow, inflatable lifesaver boats bob against the black water below, either to catch anyone who falls or look for bodies. 

The villain has already begun his attack, Keigo realizes. He doesn’t see the guy now, but he knows he’ll have to put everything into stopping him if he’s this powerful and deranged with his quirk. He cannot be Keigo tonight. He has to be Hawks. 

But before he springs any further into action, he quickly flies over to the rocks several feet away from the bridge onto the river’s shore. The only things here are the waves, the rain, and him. His hands shake as he dials your number, tiny, wavering breaths leaving his lips. He doesn’t know why he feels so small and so scared right now, but something about this mission and leaving things with you the way they are don’t sit right with him. 

So he calls you. When you don’t pick up, he expects it, but even so, he wants to hear your voice before he goes into this fight. But at least you’ll be able to hear his. When the beep signals the beginning of his voicemail, he doesn’t have time to think of what to say. He just says it. 

“Hey, it’s me,” he sighs. “Hero's Commission called. They need me down at the bridge in case a villain attacks tonight. Supposedly, he’s been making trouble for over a month now and we’ve been trying to track him.” 

He trails off, his brain trying to think of what else to tell you. Anything he’s sure he’d regret not saying sooner if he happens to kick the bucket tonight. “I’ll be home as soon as I can, but if for some reason that doesn’t happen, just know that I’m so sorry I’m so fucked up.” He presses a fist to his pounding head, gritting his teeth in frustration. “I just don’t tell you about it, about me, because I don’t want you to worry and…” 

He pauses, gnawing at his bottom lip. The words push at his throat, threatening to rip from his chest. 

“Dammit, because I love you,” he declares, strained and his heart pounding as fast as a hummingbird’s wings. “I’m so, so in love with you, and I’m so afraid that if I’m to ever tell you why I am the way that I am, you’ll never love me or want me in the same way. I…” 

He trails off, a sob leaving his mouth. He covers it at first, afraid someone might hear, but no one is around. No one but him. “I’m so scared you’ll leave,” he confesses, his voice wavering. “But I just keep pushing you away from me,” he says, his voice trembling. “I keep fucking this up for myself.” 

The dam behind his eyes breaks and he begins to softly sob to himself, keeping himself as quiet as he can so he doesn’t scare you. How lame to be crying to your girlfriend in a voicemail. 

But as quickly as it came, it vanishes and he pulls himself together. He clears his throat and takes his goggles off to wipe at his eyes. “This voicemail didn’t go the way I wanted it to,” he chuckles dryly. “Just know that this is how I feel about you and I promise I’ll be home.” 

Without another word, he ends the voicemail and stares out at the bridge. The sound of terrified and panicked screams echoes in the wind. Sounds of chaos. 

Keigo balls his hands into tight fists at his sides and pockets his phone. But not before turning it off entirely. 

************* 

“Just take a deep breath, honey,” your friend soothes you over the phone. “Everything’s gonna be okay.” 

“But what if it’s not?” you pitifully sob into the phone. “He’s out there right now, I have no idea where he is, and the last thing on his mind conscious is us fighting!” 

You’re sitting on the couch now in Keigo’s penthouse, still in his shirt. His coffee table is littered with a half-empty glass of wine, his opened bottle of Merlot that you started guzzling down, and bits of weed from the clumsy blunt you rolled for yourself to soothe your nerves. 

None of that helped you, so now you’re here, about to tear your hair out. When Keigo had left, you ventured out of the guest room to rummage through his wine and his weed since both aren’t hands-off for you. “Anything that’s mine is yours, baby bird,” he had told you a year ago when you had spent the night and forgot your toothbrush. He shared his with you with no problem. 

That was the first time you had spent the night with him after a magical date and some even more magical sex. You had fallen hard, and him even harder, since the first day he saw you, in fact. 

You had been walking to work, looking so pretty in your pink blouse and your work slacks with an ass that could stop traffic. It had stopped Keigo dead in his tracks. He was doing day patrols and had caught sight of you, causing him to lose track of his conversation with a police officer about the possibility of new villains. 

He didn’t catch up with you and spit game immediately as he usually did with women he was interested in. First, he flew alongside you at a distance you couldn’t see him to make sure you got to work safely. Then, after realizing you worked as an interior designer, he had pretended he was in need of renovating his agency. 

“I just need a little bit of color, y’know?” he said as he sat in your office, loving your smell and your eyes. “Like this pretty pink you’ve got on.” He eyed your blouse, smirking at the way you froze when you realized he was flirting. 

You had never been flirted with so openly before like that, especially by a pro. And especially by someone as sexy and as charming as Hawks. His boldness and confidence turned you on and you found yourself wanting more of him. When he asked for your card (for business purposes), you had agreed. The renovations for his agency never happened, but a date did. 

That was all just a year ago. Now here you are now, all stress and uncertainty and marijuana smoke in your lungs. “I should’ve never brought any of it up,” you lament. “I feel like a fucking asshole.” 

“Sweetie, you’ve been with the guy for a whole year!” your friend argues. “If he hasn’t opened up to you by now and shown you the him he is without the cameras in his face and his hero facade on, then he isn’t the one for you.” 

You know she’s right, but the idea of leaving Keigo pains you beyond words. You have too much invested into him to just leave when things get tough. You knew what you were getting into the moment you decided to embark on the journey of a romantic relationship with him since he happens to be a hero. 

You told him and yourself you were fine with the late nights where he’d be MIA and the missed calls. The constant wondering and worrying. The sneaking around and being discreet about your relationship for the sake of his status. 

All you want in return is some closeness. Some vulnerability. Something to make you feel like you’re wanted and cherished the way you want and cherish him. But he’s never given you any. You sometimes question if you’re asking for too much from him, knowing how hard his job is and how stressed he can be. 

But even so, the yearning to know his secrets still pushes at you every time he brushes off a new scar or tells you vague events of his past that end in him not wanting to talk about it anymore. And though you respect him enough to leave it alone, you know you need more. 

“Has he even told you he loves you?” your friend asks, bringing you back down to earth. 

You flush at her words. “We haven’t gotten there yet,” you reply, almost embarrassed by the fact. “I’ve been holding back telling him because I know his job is hard and…” 

‘And I don’t wanna scare him,’ you think. You know this is the longest relationship Keigo has had. You as well since your past relationships had never gone past a couple months or sex. But with Keigo, it’s different. You feel safe with him. You can be wholeheartedly and undoubtedly yourself. You love him, but you keep it inside. All to keep him comfortable. 

“Now what if I don’t get the chance to tell him at all?” you ask, quickly beginning to cry again. Every word left unspoken begins to bubble at your throat, coming out in anguished sobs. 

“Okay, stop,” you friend firmly says. “First off, put down any alcohol or smoke ‘cause it’s making you paranoid.” You eye the wine and the weed littering the coffee table. 

“Second, Keigo is going to come home to you. He just went out for a breather and he’ll be back. Plus, he’s a smart guy and he’s a pro! He knows how to get himself out of any kind of situation.” You listen to your friends word, taking deep breaths to calm yourself. “I guess you’re right,” you weakly say. 

“I am right,” she states with conviction. “Just rest for now and when he comes home, give him time to decompress. Then tomorrow, you can apologize and talk about what happened. Simple, right?” 

You nod, but even as you try to persuade yourself that your friend’s words are true, you still feel that twist in your gut at the idea of tomorrow. What if he isn’t here tomorrow? What if you pushed him so hard that he left? Or what if something worse has happened? 

“Just sleep, honey.” Your friend’s words drift to your ear again like a prayer; beacons in the void of darkness. “Everything is going to be okay.” 

Though you don’t really believe her, you do as she says anyway. After she hangs up, you clean up the living room and venture back to your guest room to sleep off your frustrations. The effects of the wine and the blunt combined with the aftermath of crying hit you immediately, making it easy to drift off to sleep. 

You sleep for over three hours until you awaken in the darkness of the guest room. Groggily, you look at the clock: 2:04 AM. Immediately, you reach for your phone which you put on ‘do not disturb’. There, on the screen, are one missed call and one voicemail from Keigo. 

Your heart skips a beat and the fogginess of sleep leaves your head as fight the urge to ignore it. This could be important. You click on the message and put it on speaker, placing your phone flat on the bed. You bring your knees to your chest and hug yourself, tucking your nose into Keigo’s shirt collar and breathing in his cologne. 

The beginning of the message is disoriented and loud, the sound of the wind cutting through before you hear Keigo’s beautiful, wonderful voice. As soon as you hear him, you’re calm. 

“Hey, it’s me. Hero's Commission called. They need me down at the bridge in case a villain attacks tonight. Supposedly, he’s been making trouble for over a month now and we’ve been trying to track him.” 

Your heart drops into your stomach. A villain attack. Of course! That’s why he isn’t home yet. “Oh, my God,” you fearfully whisper, covering your mouth. 

“I’ll be home as soon as I can, but if for some reason that doesn’t happen, just know that I’m so sorry I’m so fucked up. I just don’t tell you about it because I don’t want you to worry and…” 

He trails off and you swear, your soul leaves your body as you anticipate his next words. But nothing could’ve ever prepared you for them. As soon as you hear those three little words that mean so much to so many, your breath hitches and you come back to life, feeling like you’ve been dead all night: 

“Dammit, because I love you. I’m so, so in love with you, and I’m so afraid that if I’m to ever tell you why I am the way that I am, you’ll never love me or want me in the same way. I…I’m so scared you’ll leave.” 

His voice begins to tremble and waiver, hitching as he begins to cry. You’ve never heard him cry before. Your heart aches for him, your body desperate to be against his. 

“But I just keep pushing you away from me. I keep fucking this up for myself.” 

“No,” you whisper, beginning to cry yourself. The fact that he’s felt this way for so long, suffering in silence, is a reality that is worse than anything you could’ve imagined. 

Finally, he clears his throat and you know that the end of the voicemail is near. “This voicemail didn’t go the way I wanted it to. Just know that this is how I feel about you and I promise I’ll be home.” 

When the voicemail ends, you sit there in silence, the newfound information processing in your brain. All you can think about is one thing that you still cannot believe is a fact as true as day: ’He loves me. He really loves me.’  

Suddenly, everything makes sense and the world is clearer to you. All the uncertainty and doom you felt have vanished, replaced with a fluttering in your heart that belongs only to Keigo. Delirious with need, you jump out of bed and immediately go to his bedroom to search for his sweatpants and a hoodie. ‘I have to go find him. I need to see him.’ 

You don’t know where he is or where he could be calling from, but if there is a villain attack then social media will have the first place to search. As you venture into Keigo’s master bedroom to search for clothes, preparing to fight the rain and the city’s chaos to find him, a sound stops you. 

It is the sound of the click of the lock to the balcony doors. Then the sound of the doors as they slide back. 

“Hawks,” you immediately whisper to yourself. Then, louder, “Hawks!”, as you immediately race out of the bedroom to the living room just in time to see him walking through the doors after landing on the terrace. 

“Keigo!” you gasp, every emotion hitting you at once watching him in the dark living room. The only light is from the big, silver moon illuminating Keigo while the rest of him is shrouded in darkness. 

“Hey,” he tiredly greets you as he shuts the door behind him. You feel like God as blessed you bringing him home in one piece. Now, you can really tear into his ass. “God, why didn’t you call and tell me you’d be back?” you snap, not daring to let him rest for a second. “I’ve been worried sick about you! I was gonna…” 

Your words die in your throat when the overhead light that automatically switches on according to body movement flicks on, coating the room in a golden glow that shines right on Keigo and the fresh bruises and scratches he’s sporting. He doesn’t look that bad, but you can tell his right eye socket is swelling and his wings look ragged and worn “Keigo,” you softly gasp, the word almost getting caught in your throat. That’s all you can begin to say. 

“You listen to my voicemail?” he asks curiously, but not rudely. You nod slowly, mouth still open in awe. “A villain destroyed the bridge and nearly had every vehicle on there goin’ into the river. He has the ability to extend his limbs, so he made a couple of other extended arms and legs to go along with ‘em.” He huffs in annoyance. “Motherfucker looked like Doc Ock from Spiderman.” 

“Is everyone okay?” you softly ask. 

“After a couple of my coworkers and I got to the guy, yeah,” Keigo replies, kicking off his boots. He places his goggles on a nearby table. “First, I had to fetch as many bodies as I could that the fucker kept flingin’ over the bridge to taunt me. Gang Orca and Eraserhead took care of the rest of the civilians once I caught up to the villain. Then it was just us vs. him. Once Eraserhead got near him, he took the fucker's quirk and the cops put him in handcuffs.” 

“That’s good,” you reply, relief filling you. Mostly at the fact that he’s still here, alive and breathing. Silence falls between you, tense and filled with unspoken words. You nervously wriggle your fingers, feeling small under Keigo’s unwavering gaze. “Listen, Kei,” you nervously begin. “I’ve been goin’ crazy in here ever since you left and I’m so, so sorry for–“ 

Keigo suddenly puts up a hand to silence you. Your words abruptly cut off and you button your lip, your heart pounding in your chest. You wonder if he can hear how loud it is because you sure can. It is pumping wildly in your ears, making you even more of a nervous wreck. 

“Since you got my voicemail, you probably already know a lot of what I’m about to say, but I’m goin’ to tell you properly because you deserve it.” He takes a deep breath, preparing himself. You stay silent and patient, waiting for him to come to grips with whatever he is fighting. “I suppose I should be grateful that eight-armed dickhead decided to cause commotion tonight,” he dryly chuckles. “I had went out to clear my head; to distract myself. What better way to do all that than to kick some ass and save some lives?” 

He unzips his jacket and lets it fall to the floor, revealing his shirt and toned arms underneath. “But while I was doin’ all of that, other than thinking about stopping that villain and saving the innocent lives of all of those people, all I could think about tonight was you.” 

His gaze soften as he looks at you. Your heart pumps a bit faster. 

“I thought to myself, ‘when I finally put this motherfucker behind bars, when my mission is finally done, I’m going home’.” 

He steps toward you, eyes still locked with yours, never wavering. It makes you tremble in your position. “‘And as soon as I get home, I’m falling to my knees, begging for forgiveness, and showing my baby all of me and more because she fucking deserves it’.” 

He takes another two steps toward you before suddenly dropping to his knees in front of you. “So this is me doin’ all of that now. Plus, showing you how much I love you.” 

He leans toward you and wraps his arms around your waist, pulling you closer to him so his face is pressed into your stomach. You stare down at him in awe, unable to speak. You’re afraid that if you do, the moment will disappear and so will he. 

“I never said I before,” Keigo continues, “because I was afraid it wasn’t the right time or I’d end up fucking everything up for myself. Plus, loving someone always seems to backfire on me.” He strokes up your thigh, holding onto your hip. “So I kept it in, just like everything I haven’t told you yet.” 

His hands, so careful yet so strong, trail up your hips and ball into his shirt, gripping the fabric. When his hands and shoulders begin to tremble, you realize he’s crying. You’ve never seen him cry before. It is a sight you never want to see again. 

“I’m a mess, Y/N,” he tearfully says. “When we met for the first time, I never wanted you to see any of that. I didn’t even want this to turn into what it is now, but I’m so, so grateful it hasn’t.” He looks up at you, eyes red and wet with tears. “I’m so happy you didn’t leave.” 

Your heart wrenches at the sight of your boyfriend–so sad and so broken. How is a person as bright-eyed and confident as Hawks also someone like this? He must have hid all of this from you for some time. You wrap your arms around his neck, cupping the back of his head in one of your hands. “Keigo, I’d never leave you.” Your fingers caress his blonde curls, stroking his head softly. “I promise.” 

“You can’t promise me that,” he croaks, shaking his head. “How do you know you won’t get tired of me? How do you know I won’t scare you off?” 

“Keigo, you’re scaring me now,” you confess, feeling your own fresh set of tears beginning to make an appearance. “I’m scared we won’t make it because you refuse to open up to me.” 

Keigo’s expression changes to one of confusion, his eyes narrowing as he scowls at you. “So you’re telling me that if I tell you all about my childhood, you promise you won’t leave?” he asks, a bite in his voice. “If I tell you about the abuse, the trauma, the shit I witnessed from my own parents, being stripped of my name when the Hero’s Commission picked me up, learning that the same man who saved me and inspired me to become a hero is a fuckin’ abuser, you’d stay?” 

You stare down at him, dumbfounded and horrified. You never knew any of this, though you did know the part about Endeavor since it was all over the news. But that other stuff? Keigo kept entirely to himself, leaving you in the dark. 

“What about the scars?” He moves away from you slightly to strip himself of his shirt, revealing a very impressive, toned upper body and a slew of scars–some new and some healed. “All the training I forced to undergo by the Hero Commission. Some that have barely healed from nearly dying during missions. This burn here that I got tryna save a fuckin’ villain.” 

He points at the burn on his jaw and your stomach lurches. “Twice?” you ask, your eyes wide. “You tried to save Twice?” You know a little bit about this event, mostly because it was publicized everywhere and Keigo was forced to tell you some of what happened after he had nightmares. But now that a year has gone by and most of the LOV have been arrested, it has become old news. People have moved on. 

But Keigo obviously hasn’t. He visibly cringes at the sound of Twice’s name, the trauma still fresh. “And what about him?” He demands, his voice cracking. “What about the fact that I fucking killed him?” 

“Keigo, he was a villain,” you firmly respond, taking his hands into yours. “You gave me a chance. He didn’t take it.” 

But this isn’t enough to calm Keigo down. He crumbles again, his lips trembling and eyes welling with tears. You instantly wrap your arms around him and hold him, cradling his head. “I feel like a fucking monster, Y/N,” he sobs into your stomach, gripping you for dear life. “I feel like I’m drowning and I’m gonna pull you right in with me. I don’t want that. I just wanna make you happy…” 

His fingers slide under your shirt to expose your stomach and he presses his face there, wetting your skin with tears. “Can you really love a monster like me?” he whispers against your skin. 

He begins to cry again, his body wracked with sobs and soft whines that tear at your soul. A lone tear drips down your face as you continue to cradle your boyfriend like he’s a child. And right now he is–he’s the exact neglected, abused, broken child he alluded to minutes before. You picture him as a little boy, roaming the streets of his home, doing anything and everything to survive because no one cared enough to care for him. You’ll make sure that never happens again. You swear it. 

Gently pushing him away from your stomach, you take his hands into yours and join him on the floor. He stares at you in awe, eyes red and face wet. “I have two answers for you,” you gently coo, smoothening his hair back. “To answer your first question is yes, I promise I’ll stay as long as you show me everything.” 

You cup his jaw and caress the burn scar. His eyes flutter closed at your touch, tears sparkling on his blonde lashes. “I want it all, Keigo: the scars; the bruises; the wounds. Tell me every secret you have; every dream and aspiration; every fear that keeps you up at night.” 

You lean in to kiss the burn then his bruised eye. “Let me take all of it, especially your pain.” You continue to kiss his face before trailing down to his neck and shoulders; his arms and collarbone; his chest and pert nipples. You kiss every bruise, scar, and burn you find, your fingers trailing over them. You treasure every soft moan and gasp he lets out, happy to have them over sobs and whines of anguish. 

“I don’t wanna fix you–I just wanna water you; nurture you; watch you grow the way you’ve done me.” You look at him then, cupping his face in your hands. “I just wanna love you the way you deserve to be loved.” 

His eyes widen an inch at your confession. “Yes, I love you, Keigo,” you softly giggle. “That’s my answer to your second answer: yes, I can love a monster. But you’re not a monster, Keigo. You’re just a human, even with these big ass wings.” 

You gently tickle a wing with your fingers, making him laugh under his breath. “You’re an intelligent, strong, beautiful man who deserves every inch of my love,” you whisper to him as you lean toward him, nuzzling your face into his neck. You breathe in his scent of sweat and cologne, committing it to memory. 

Keigo holds you to him, cradling your head to his neck. His hold on you is fierce and passionate, validating his feelings for you even before he utters them. “I really love you, you know that?” he whispers against your ear. Your heart jumps and a joyful grin stretches across your face. You look up at him, tracing every single feature of his pretty face with your eyes. “I do now,” you softly reply. 

He smiles at this, the act finally reaching his beautiful eyes. You trail your thumb over his bottom lip, your stomach curling at the plumpness of it. “Wanna smoke?” you ask, raising a playful eyebrow. 

At the mention of rolling up, Keigo’s wings ruffle excitedly and you giggle. “I thought you’d never ask,” he sighs, sounding like he needs it. With no hesitation, you help him to his feet and proceed to set up. You ask him to roll the blunt which he does, his fingers and tongue working expertly to tighten the blunt in a way you can’t. But then again, Keigo has always been good with his hands and mouth. 

After he finishes, you begin to pass the blunt back and forth between each other as you play your music from your phone, the sound of SZA filling the living room. Soon, you’re feeling light as a feather and high as a kite. Your body and mind are relaxed, especially feeling the solid chest of your man underneath you as you lie against him. 

The blunt lays on the ashtray on the coffee table now, smaller now after use. You reach for it and pinch it between your index and thumb before taking a puff, the end of the blunt turning red like an angry firefly. As soon as the smoke hits your lungs, you’re falling deeper into that sea of bliss. You look up at Keigo, finding his eyes fluttered closed. At first you think he's sleep, but his arm circling around your waist tells you different. “Feelin’ good, Kei, baby?” you coo to him, your eyes flickering between his eyes and his lips. You desperately want to kiss them. 

“Mmm,” he hummed, a content smile on his pretty face. The sight makes you giggle. You start to laugh even more when he suddenly circles his other arm around you and pulls you into his lap. “Don’t want you to leave,” he mutters to you as he grips your waist, firmly holding you to him. 

You wrap your arms around his neck, kissing his forehead. “You have me,” you whisper to him. He looks up at you, eyes slightly red and glinting with adoration for you. “And you have me,” he replies, soft conviction in his voice. 

“Promise?” you utter hopefully. He slowly nods, staring at you the same way you do him: intensely; adoringly. Your fingers trail up his chest, his heart pounding underneath your fingertips. ‘He’s real,’ you think. ‘And all mine. And I need him.’ 

The want and need for Keigo and his body dawns on you quickly, quickly taking its toll on you. Your nipples harden and your thighs squeeze together as you begin to strip him out of his clothes with your eyes. “Prove it then,” you demand, need crawling into your voice. “Prove how much you love me. Prove to me that things will be different.” 

Realization alights behind Keigo’s eyes and his expression darkens slightly. It excites you. He coaxes you off of his lap before standing to meet you. “Come here,” he coos, already taking your hand in his. “Let’s get cleaned up.” You nod, excitement and anticipation filling your core with warmth as he leads you up the steps and straight down the hallway to his master bedroom. 

Keigo has over four bathrooms in his penthouse: in his bedroom, guest room, down the hall, and living room where his washer and dryer sit closest to the kitchen. The bathroom in his bedroom is by far the most beautiful, complete with marbled sink counters, a whirlpool tub, and a walk-in shower with a sliding glass door and one of those shower heads that make the water look like a rainforest waterfall. 

You watch, trembling in anticipation as Keigo gets the shower ready. He makes sure it’s at the right temperature to warm you up but not burn you before turning to face you, lust in his eyes. He then begins to undress himself, taking everything off until his hero gear is on the floor and he’s standing before you, completely bare. 

You’re silent, unable to speak. You’re too tongue-tied at the sight of your man’s body displayed before you like an all-you-can-eat buffet. Keigo is not extremely buff, but he still has some impressive muscles, including well-defined abs and a V-line that trails down to his tufts of darker blonde curls that you desperately want to venture towards. His gorgeous, muscled body is unfortunately scarred as well, fresh bruises and cuts coating his skin from the mission he just completely tonight. In addition, he still has scars from where Dabi burned him a year ago, the skin tight and pruned. You feel tears prick your eyes, realizing that it’s quite possible that you would’ve never seen his gorgeous body again. 

You close the gap between you and lay your hands flat on his chest. With your eyes locked with his, you begin to kiss every single old scar and bruise that adorns his soft, tanned skin. You’re careful with those that look fresh, making sure to skip those and focus on the ones that have been on Keigo’s body for months if not years. 

As you do, you find pleasure in the tiny sighs and groans that leave his lips, knowing he’s enjoying this TLC. It makes you feel good to know you’re making him feel good. You want him to know you enjoy every single part of him, no matter if he’s scarred or not. You think he’s beautiful. 

Finally, he pulls you away and gives you an excitably, darkened stare. You know what he wants now. Quickly, you go to strip yourself of his shirt, but he stops you. “Let me,” he gently orders, and you let your arms go limp at your sides. He presses his lips to yours and pulls you into a passionate, wet kiss as his hands slide up under his shirt. 

You softly moan into his mouth as you feel his hand on your bare skin. “You look so fuckin’ good in my clothes,” he whispers against your lips. “Even when you’re pissed at me, you still wear my shit.” 

He brings the shirt up more, exposing your panties, stomach, and bare breasts to him. He groans as he pulls the shirt up over your head and flings it across the bathroom before ducking down to play with your tits. He latches one of the hardened peaks of your nipples into his mouth, swirling his tongue around and around. 

You moan a little louder, your hands grasping his shoulders. “Missed you,” you softly utter, biting back another moan as his tongue teases your hardened nipple. He peers up at you, smiling. “I missed you too, baby,” he whispers. “So much.” He presses his lips to your other breast, his fingers sliding down your sides. “M’so sorry for everything. I never should’ve pushed you away. I–“ 

“Hush,” you say, pressing a hand to his cheek. He looks up at you, regret in his eyes. “Show me how sorry you are now.” He doesn’t need to be told twice. Immediately, he stands and takes your hand to walk you into the steaming-hot shower. As soon as you are under the jets of hot water, Keigo pushes you against the tiled wall and presses a passionate kiss to your lips. 

You moan softly against his lips, wrapping your arms around him to bring him closer to you; as close as he can possibly be. He puts one hand above your head against the wall as he begins to grind his hips into yours, his pelvis pressing delightfully up against your clit. You whimper into his neck as he continues to move against you, his lips caressing your neck and that spot behind your ear that makes your pussy wet and your nipples tingle. 

“You’re so fucking pretty,” he coos. “So beautiful…so sexy…and you’re so mine.” 

The feeling is too much. It overpowers you, making you delirious with need. “I’m all yours,” you practically sob. “Please, Kei; don’t tease me.” 

Keigo moves his head away from your neck to smirk at you. “And so impatient,” he chuckles. His hand sneaks between your thighs where he presses his index and middle fingers between your pussy lips. You gasp at the sensation of his touch, your clit jumping against his palm. “Naughty girl. You’re already wet for me,” he groans. “I suppose you’ve been waitin’ long enough though. Time to show you how sorry I am.” 

After sucking on his fingers, he proceeds to get onto his knees and press his lips against your inner thigh before showering your pussy in kisses that quickly turn into open-mouthed sucks and licks that have you seeing stars. Your hands grab his shoulders, gripping them tightly as his tongue licks every bit of your pussy up, his lips pillowy-soft against your clit. “Fuck, Keigo,” you moan, leaning your head back against the shower wall. “You’re so good at this.” 

Keigo moans into your pussy in response, lashing his tongue in different shapes across your clit. When he suddenly hooks your leg over his shoulder, you squeak in surprise. He looks up at you, eyes shining and a love-drunk look on his face. “I’ve got you, baby,” he coos, staring up at you lovingly. “You know I do, don’t you?” 

Then he’s diving back in, one hand gripping your thigh hiked up to his ear and the other holding you steady by your hip. You’re losing your shit, one hand in his hair and the other gripping his shoulder for dear life. “Shit, Kei!” you cry out, your cries of ecstasy echoing off the shower walls. “Fuck, baby, that feels so…oh, my God!” 

Meanwhile, Keigo won’t shut the fuck up about how amazing and pretty your pussy is. “You have the prettiest fuckin’ pussy, baby,” he coos into your clit, his words slightly muffled. “You’re always so open n’ wet for me. How could I ever neglect this cunt?” 

His words ignite something in you that have you crumbling, all self-control abandoned. The porn-worthy sounds slipping from your lips are drowned out from the sound of the shower as Keigo continues to go waaaaay down south, never letting up. It doesn't take long for that knot in your core to begin to tighten, signaling your oncoming orgasm. “I’m close!” you whimper. “So close! Don’t stop!” 

“Mmm-hmm,” Keigo mumbles into your pussy, still flicking that magical tongue. But when he inserts a finger and curls it up against your G-spot, you just about see God. “Go ahead and cum for me, baby,” he practically begs you, his finger encouraging you further. “Cum for me. Cum all over my face.” 

Your eyes close, plummeting you into darkness as your peak begins to dawn closer and closer the faster Keigo’s finger fucks you. “Please, baby,” he pleads. “I need you. Need all of you.” He dives back into your pussy, sucking on your clit softly in time with his finger stroking your insides and your G-spot. 

Finally, finally, you fall off that hill and cum all over your man’s face as requested. Keigo moans and whines in appreciation as you scream his name, nearly losing your voice. He grips your hips with such force that you can’t move as he licks you clean, his tongue carefully licking over and around your sensitive pussy. When he finally pulls away, his hair is wet and his face gleams with your cum. 

You help him up and clean his face off, running your thumbs over his plump lips. “That was amazing,” you breathlessly giggle. Keigo smiles proudly at you, happy with the praise. “I try.” 

You press a passionate kiss to his mouth, rendering him speechless afterwards. “Now, it’s your turn.” A newfound boldness courses through your veins as you press down onto his shoulders, forcing him to sit down on the bench. “You sure, baby bird?” he asks, raising an eyebrow. “You don’t have to–“ 

“Nah,” you interrupt him firmly. “I’m gettin’ that dick down my throat and you’re gonna enjoy every single second of it.” You settle down onto your knees in between his thighs, your hands trailing up his legs. “My amazing, intelligent hero deserves it.” 

Keeping your eyes locked with his, your nails gently graze up and down his thighs, earning a shiver and a delicious moan that escapes his luscious mouth. His cock quickly hardens even more between his legs, dripping with pre-cum all for you. Without wasting anymore time, you wrap your hand around the base of his length and begin to light peppering his dick in kisses, playing close attention to the sensitive spot at the underside of his cock. 

“Fuck,” he whispers, eyes fluttering closed. You stare up at him, his dickhead in your face, near your lips. “You deserve all of this, honey,” you coo before you wrap your lips around his cock. You take your time with sucking him off, starting by sucking on the pink dickhead as you slowly pump your hand up and down, spitting onto his dick if necessary. 

By the time you take him deeper into your mouth, Keigo’s dick is nice and slick with water and your spit, allowing him to easily slip into your mouth. You continue to pump him up and down, stroking the rest of the length that you can’t fit in your mouth. You swirl your tongue around his head and along his dick, loving how warm his skin is, his masculine scent, and the taste of salt on your tastebuds. You commit all of it to memory, including his beauty face etched in pleasure. 

You take a bit more of him, your mouth stretching around his thick cock, but you don’t do it enough to hit the back of your throat. Not yet. Keigo is in his world. His blonde brows are knitted together in concentration while his chest heaves up and down. His hand immediately goes to your hair as he watches you bob your head up and down on his cock. “Just like that,” he hisses. “Such a good girl. So good for me.” 

His hand travels to the back of your head and gently pushes you down, causing his dick to slip farther into your mouth. You feel him hit the back of your throat finally, causing you to gag and your eyes to water. He keeps his hand on your head as you begin to gag on his cock, your throat pumping up and down, back and forth. 

Despite the year you’ve been with him, you still can’t believe how big he is. He practically fills your throat, stretching out the wet, inner walls until your jaw aches and your eyes begin to tear. But you do it for him and those lovely sounds dripping from his lips. “Fuck, baby bird!” He groans through gritted teeth. “So good! Such a good little slut for me!” His toes curl beside your naked thighs, his hand in your hair and gripping it tightly. 

You continue to give him the Glock Glock 3000, taking extra care to fondle his balls with your other hand. He loves that. He’s a whimpering, whining mess as you continue your work, working him so good that he’s seeing stars. You want to show him you can take everything. 

Finally, he growls deep in his throat and wrenches your head away from his dick. “Enough,” he firmly says. You gasp as you pop off of his dick, a string of saliva following him in his wake as he pulls his dick out of your mouth that droops from your bottom lip. 

You softly pant, catching your breath but also to calm yourself down. You’re becoming hornier by the second. Your pussy is wet and wanting, desperate to be filled, leaving you to rub your thighs together to give yourself some relief. Keigo’s eyes are blown with lust, filling you with excitement and a slight twinge of fear. “Get up,” he demands. 

You oblige and stand on shaky legs. You fortunately don’t have to move on your own. Keigo does the work for you. In an instant, he is behind you with his hands on your hips, forcing you to bend forward. With a squeak, your hands fly to the shower wall and your back arches, presenting your ass and dripping cunt to your boyfriend. 

“So fuckin’ pretty,” he growls, giving your ass a sharp smack that echoes off the shower walls. “Yeah, you like this, don’t you?” He hisses, spanking you again. “Nobody could ever make you feel like this, could they?” 

You whimper, the stinging of his spanks making your pussy tingle. He spanks you again, harder this time, and you yelp. “I didn’t hear that, gorgeous,” he snickers. “Louder for me.” You whimper when you suddenly feel his cock slide against your pussy, nudging your sensitive clit. 

“Yes!” you wail out. “No one makes me feel like you do, daddy!” You turn to look at him, arching your pretty ass further into him and whining your hips around for him. “Please, please fuck me, Kei. I can’t take much more!” Keigo watches your hips and ass, slowing growing more and more needy by the second. 

“Fuck!” The word leaves his lips in a hiss. He instantly grabs your hips, lines his dick up, and sinks inside of you. Finally home. A gasp falls from your open mouth as he sinks in deeper, stretching you out. No matter how many times you do this with him, you’ll always feel full with him. 

Keigo holds your hips and slowly begins to roll his hips into you, sending your clit into hyperdrive with pleasure. You’re a mess at this point, grinding your ass back into him despite his slow pace. “Keigo,” you whine in need. 

Keigo chuckles, still rolling his hips, his dick pumping in and out of you slowly. “Patience, baby. I wanna make it last.” He suddenly lets go of your hips and grabs your tits, squeezing them in his palms and emitting gasps from you. 

“You’re mine, you understand?” He growls into your ear. “You’re. Fuckin’. Mine.” Each word is punctuated by sudden, rough trusts that make your eyes blow and your mouth fall open in a wordless, pleasured O. Now Keigo begins to go faster, snapping his hips forward as the water continues to fall around you in sheets. The only sounds are of the water hitting the shower floor, skin slapping against wet skin, and your breathless moans and gasps of pleasure as Keigo continues to pummel your cunt. You go to rub your clit as he does, but he shoos it away and does it for you, rubbing the bud in time with his relentless thrusts. “No, no, no, baby,” he coos into your ear. “I told you you're mine. Which means this is my pussy too.” 

His other hand suddenly moves to your leg and lifts it up, just enough for you to feel his cock sink deeper into your walls. “Oh, my God!” you holler, your head falling back in pure ecstasy as Keigo continues to fuck you silly with your leg up and his hand on your clit. “Shit, Kei, I’m gonna cum soon!” 

You can feel your orgasm quickly building, that knot in your core about to snap. Keigo moves his body closer to yours and pushes it against the wall, causing your tits to squish erotically against the wet shower door. “Do it, baby,” he growls into your ear, his breath fanning over your face. “Cum for me. Cum all over this dick. Your dick.” 

His words send you over the edge. You tumble down that hill hard and fall into a sea of bliss as your second orgasm washes over you. All you can say is his name and God’s name in vain as you cum all over his cock that has begun to replace its fast pumps with slow strokes, Keigo’s hips doing wonders behind you. 

Keigo holds you to him as you continue to cum, breathlessly moaning into your ear. “You’re so good for me, baby,” he whispers, peppering the side of your face in kisses. “So tight…gonna make me cum soon too…” 

“Do it,” you beg him. “Please cum for me. Cum inside me, daddy.” 

You’re delirious with need for him, all logic going out the window. You and Keigo have always been careful, leading to him usually pulling out before cumming even though you’re on the pill. But after tonight, you want to feel all of him. 

“No.” Keigo’s voice is firm and deep, almost a monstrous growl. It renders you speechless as he suddenly slips out of you and places your leg down. Before you can process what’s happening, he twirls you around and scoops you up into his arms. 

You squeak in surprise at the sudden action, but say nothing as he slides the bathroom door open and exits the shower, causing the water to cut off. He is swift and quick as he makes the trip from his bathroom to his master bedroom. He wastes no time tossing you onto the bed. You gasp as you bounce slightly against the mattress, still wet and naked from the shower. 

When you finally settle onto your back, you stare up at him in confusion. “What are you doing?” you ask, a little giggle leaving your lips. But you stop when you get a good look at him. 

In the dim light of the moon that shines through the window, Keigo looks less than human: his eyes are a dark gold and glowing brightly as he stares down at you, his crimson-colored wings fluffier and frazzled as if someone has touched them too much and caused them to become oversensitive. Gone is the Keigo you know, replaced with a man starving for release and you. 

He suddenly gets on top of you, pinning your hands over your head with one hand. “Here’s what’s gonna happen, baby girl,” he softly growls to you. “I’m gonna put your pretty ass into a mating press. Then I’m gonna fuck you deep, hard, and fast until I spray my cum all in that pretty lil’ pussy of yours. Then, when I’m done, I’m gonna pull out and spray you in the rest of it so people will know you’re mine. And you’re gonna like all of it and take all of it like my good little slut.” 

He leans down so his nose is pressed against yours, his face like a full moon emerging in the sky. “Is that clear?” he gutturally asks. 

Fear and arousal curl in your stomach, chasing each other around so one can be dominating your body and mind. You don’t know how you manage to speak–your mouth is so dry–but you do. A tiny “yes, daddy” leaves your lips as your pussy throbs and begs for him. “I understand,” you whisper. “Please fuck me.” 

That is all Keigo needs. In a blink of an eye, your legs are thrown over his shoulder and he’s sinking his cock deep inside of you. A loud moan leaves your lips as he fills you to the brim, so deep that his balls hit your ass and his pelvis presses against your sensitive clit. You swear he’s never been so deep inside of you before. You can almost feel him in your stomach! 

Keigo leans down so you’re face to face, chest to chest. “Can you feel me, baby?” he coos against your lips. “Is it too much for you? Am I fillin’ that poor pussy up too much?” 

You whine in response, your hands gripping his shoulders. He wolfishly grins down at you, loving your submissive, dumb little state. “Don’t worry; you can take it. You’re a big girl, right?” He begins to rut into you, hips snapping against yours and cock pumping deep into your pussy. “Right?” he growls, purposely angling his hips to aim at your G-spot. 

You’re seeing the entire galaxy now, your pussy spasming around his dick that mercilessly strokes your walls. When he begins to slow down to tease you, you open your mouth to cuss him out, but all that leaves is a high-pitched, incoherent whine. Keigo laughs right in your face, loving this shit.

‘Bastard,’ you think, the only clear thought in your dicked-down, fucked-out mind that isn’t the pleasure or the scent of your boyfriend. ‘Two can play at this game, bitch.’ 

You then take two of your fingers and proceed to lightly stroke Keigo’s feathers, taking extra care to touch each overly-sensitive, buttery-soft feather. It is enough to have Keigo’s eyes widening and his body tensing. You smirk up at him and his reaction, continuing to torture him. “Somethin’ wrong, daddy?” you innocently coo. 

You then move your hands to the tips of his feathers and stroke them one at a time, running the tips of your fingers over each of them. Keigo lets out a high-pitched whine that has your pussy spasming and clenching around his cock. “D-don’t!” He cutely begs. “Gonna cum if you do that!” 

“Then you’d better fuck me then.” You lock your legs tighter around his head and your hands grip him tighter, locking him in. “Cum inside of me,” you demand. “Cum with me.” 

Keigo doesn’t need to be told twice. He snaps back into position and continues to pummel your cunt, his hips snapping forward again and again, driving his cock deeper into you. You gasp and moan beneath him, egging him on as you bounce against the mattress that shakes with the force of his thrusts. “Yes, baby!” you moan loudly, your voice bouncing off the walls. “That’s it! Keep going! I’m so close!” 

You continue to stroke his wings, up and down, in circles, in aimless patterns that start to lose shape as he starts fucking you harder. His hands suddenly take your legs off his shoulder and pin your open thighs down as far as they’ll go as he settles deeper into you, practically mounting you now. 

“You see it now?” he hums hotly against your mouth. “You see how much I love you? How much I need you?” You can’t answer him because he is now kissing you–hard, passionate, and rough. It has you seeing stars and barely catching your breath as he continues to fuck you into the mattress. 

Finally, you begin to feel it: his cock swelling inside of you, signaling the beginning of his end. You look up at Keigo and find his eyes locked with yours, blonde locks in his face and sweat coating his body. “Gonna cum,” he warns. “Gonna fill you up, baby. Fill you with all of me. Gonna fuckin’ nut…” 

You deliriously nod as your pussy spasms and your clit jumps, your third orgasm of the night present. “Me too!” you cry out. “Cum with me, Kei! Fill me up! Make me yours!” 

Keigo doesn’t need you to say anything more. He swoops down to press his mouth to yours in an open-mouthed, tongue-swirling kiss, eating the sounds of your pleasure up as you finally cum all over his cock. He cums too, spilling his seed inside of you without a warning or a second though. A loud moan of your name and a whine of ecstasy leaves his lips as he cums, his hips stilling against yours. 

You feel his cum stream inside of you, warm and overflowing. So much so that your mouth drops open and your eyes widen, the feeling foreign and intense. He coats your inside in all of his nut and doesn’t stop fucking you until his cum is finally dripping down your ass and onto the sheets. 

Keigo pulls out of you quickly, making you whine at the sudden loss. His cum spills out of your pussy, the sight of it lewd yet so arousing. “God, that’s so hot!” he groans, pumping his dick in front of you, his shaft slick with his cum and yours. “Makes me wanna cum again.” 

He suddenly scrambles on top of you and straddles your chest, his dick now in your face. “Open your fuckin’ mouth,” he growls. You do so, opening your mouth and sticking out your tongue for all of him to coat it. 

Keigo cums again, tossing his head back and moaning to the ceiling, his voice echoing off the walls. His cum coats your mouth and tastebuds as well as your tits and face, causing your eyes to flutter shut to avoid getting nut in your eyes. He coats every single inch of your skin in his cum, marking you completely as his. You feel like you’re his now, and you love every inch of it. 

When you finally open your eyes, your face is wet and sticky with cum as are your chest, lips, pussy, and ass. Keigo is coming down from his high, his dick growing soft and eyes dimming. When he finally comes to and gets a look at you, he grows as red as his feathers. “Fuck, look at you!” He gasps, horrified. “Don’t move. Lemme go get a towel.” 

He nearly falls out of the bed trying to get up fast enough to go run to the bathroom. You lie there, covered in cum and sedated by your three orgasms of the night. And then you begin to laugh. They come up in short giggles that reach hysteria until you’re full on guffawing in Keigo’s bed. 

When he finally comes back with a soft towel wet with warm water and a glass of water, he stares at you in confusion. “What?” He asks curiously. 

“Nothing,” you giggle. “That was just…really nice.” You smile sweetly at him as he crawls onto the bed and proceeds to clean you up. He moves the wet towel across your sticky, sweat and cum-soaked skin until you’re finally free of it all. Then he moves to the bedside table to get the massage oil that he’s used on you and himself many times. 

You smile contently as you watch him squirt the tropical-scented oil into his hands and rub them together. He takes his time and is extra careful with your legs as he moves each one into his hands, starting from your feet to your thighs to kneed the tender flesh and massage the oil into your skin. 

His hands are warm and feel so nice against your body as he rubs you down, now moving to your stomach and shoulders. He then works on your arms and hands, taking each finger and gently tugging on each one. He is an expert, paying close attention to your bones and muscles on your hand. You can’t help but be aroused from it, loving the way he takes care of you. 

When he finishes with the front, he turns you onto your stomach and coaxes you to lie flat on the mattress. After he gets more oil, he continues to massage your body, his knuckles pushing into your back muscles and hands kneading the globes of your ass. Your head falls onto the bed in utter pleasure and relaxation, making your muscles less tense and loose.

“Mmm,” you moan as Keigo’s fingers start to kneed into the bones of your shoulders. 

“Feelin’ good, baby bird?” he hums happily.

You nod lazily and he laughs, continuing to work your body into an absolute puddle. You love this: the tenderness that comes after some good sex. All you smell are your boyfriend and the massage oil, the scents relaxing you even further and pushing you towards sleep. 

When it’s finally over, Keigo scoops you off of the bed and you let him, too relaxed and exhausted to do it yourself. “Come on, gorgeous,” he coos. “Let’s get you into bed.” He coaxes you under the covers before settling in beside you. As soon as he’s in bed with you, you snuggle up against his side and he wraps his arms around you, holding you closer than close. 

“Love you,” he murmurs against your forehead that he lays kisses upon. “Love you so much.” 

“I love you too, Kei,” you whisper into his neck, breathing in his smell. Your hand falls to his chest and presses against his heart, feeling it beat against your palm. “I always will.” 

He stares down at you, his gaze soft yet serious. “Then if you ain’t too tired, you in the mood for a very sad backstory?” He asks, a wry smirk playing at his lips. 

Suddenly, all sleepiness and the fog of relaxation are gone. You sit up onto your elbow, your heart beating a bit faster. Keigo is still staring at you, dead serious and waiting for a response. You give it to him by pressing a soft kiss to his lips, cupping his face as you do. “Always,” you whisper against his lips. 

Keigo smiles and presses another kiss to your lips before you lay back down beside him, mentally and emotionally preparing for his story. He doesn’t look at you as he prepares himself, mentally pulling back the pages to the book of his life that he swore not to tell you. But after tonight, that promise is broken. 

“It all starts on the little island of Kyushu,” he begins softly. 

THE END. 

[parafic]

SHALL WE GET STARTED ON KAGAMI DEMANDS RESCUING. (lol fantastic title!) Also! More Typhoon Island please? :D

He's too cute to say no to! Even if you are Tobirama, living nightmare of the entire Uchiha clan, apparently.

Also, holding out an interview microphone, So @domoz it appears that you've succeeded in training people to ask for Typhoon Island every time. How do you feel about this accomplishment?

Anyway I, uh, didn't strictly speaking get to Kagami yet, but since it's the first ask of the fic have the first 500 words:

Kagami demands rescuing:

Hikaku was sure two days ago that this mission was cursed. It was supposed to be a simple, albeit extended, training mission, which is why the team consists of Hikaku, fourteen-year-old Ruri, and nine-year-old Kagami.  They were supposed to deliver a few scrolls of weapons to the border where the Hagoromo were in a fight with a clan from the Land of Hot Waters.  Ruri ought to have been fine on her own; Hikaku had only decided to accompany her and bring Kagami along because it had been a slow month, and Ruri leading Kagami would be good experience for both of them. He’s regretting that decision now.  Not that he’d prefer to have sent Ruri off to die alone, but it’s always better to lose one shinobi than three. First, they ran into a Senju team on the way out.  Hikaku was able to deal with them, but it took most of his chakra, and his left leg still aches from what he’d thought was a bad bruise but is, several days later, probably actually a cracked femur. Then, by the time they reached the border, the Hagoromo had already abandoned their fight and fled south.  Their enemies, on the other hand, were quite present, and immediately recognized Hikaku and his team as both Uchiha and Hagoromo allies—suspicious, such distant clans usually didn’t recognize the Uchiha so easily; they might be in contact with bloodline thieves—and they had been forced to run north to evade them, into the Land of Hot Waters where Ruri slipped into a pond that burned her skin despite not being more than warm, and… well, something happened to Kagami.  Whatever it was, it had started out looking like insect bites scattered over his leg, a dozen red spots that he said were sensitive, especially to heat.  Over the next few days, they’d developed into open sores.  They haven’t gotten bigger since then, but also haven’t healed. And it probably won’t matter, because now they’ve managed to cross back into Fire Country, and run right into another Senju team.  Even with a weak leg and his chakra only half recovered Hikaku might have been able to deal with the two he saw, until a water dragon formed, as far as he could tell, directly behind him, and slammed him face first into the nearest cliff. There’s blood dripping from his forehead and he’s probably cracked a few ribs and definitely broken a finger.  But the real concern is that there’s only one shinobi Hikaku knows of that uses that jutsu.  There’s only one that can—Izuna copied the handseals years ago and they’ve sold the information to every clan they can since, and no one has been able to get it to work. The mokuton might have found itself on a higher pedestal, but Senju Tobirama is no less dangerous.  On a good day, if they were both alone, Hikaku would stand a reasonable chance at escaping alive.  But Tobirama has allies, Hikaku has children he can’t protect, and this is a terrible day. He still has to try.

Typhoon Island:

From outside, the tunnel of the bloodline thieves’ base seemed slightly lower than the one Tobirama made.  When they reach it, it’s clear that the tunnel is merely shorter.  Tobirama has to duck, and even in the center of the tunnel, he can’t quite stand up straight.  In other circumstances, the irritated look he gives the walls would be very funny. Tobirama raises a hand and places his hand flat against the ceiling.  Dark lines spread out from his hand, then glow.  It’s not quite as bright as daylight, but still casts sharp shadows on the floors. “Will a change in the light be a problem for you?” Tobirama asks.

[chrysanthemumgames]

Hey Jess! Just here to say I absolutely adored the update~ despite the circumstances it was nice to see Demeter again and the visit from Aphrodite was fantastic as well. Somehow it took till now for me to realize how funny and delightful it is that my v shy, reserved, generally anxious MC Aodie befriended not one, but two of Zeus's very social and sociable children. Really gotta wonder how her mother feels that those two are more or less her only friends before the underworld lol. Been having a grand old time imagining how those relationships built and hoping we'll see more of buddy Aphrodite in the next game too~ thanks for all your hard work and for sharing it with us! Best luck with chapter ten =D

Thank you! Aphrodite is a blast to write. Someone who is very intuitive, switched-on, and sociable, as you said is just a fun combination, especially as someone to have on the side of the PC. I'm glad you like her.

And thanks for the well-wishes; hopefully it goes smoothly, or at least as much so as writing ever does. :)

[rokkenjimaisland]

Ren's "similar to Umineko" list! (now overhauled)(You're welcome)

Stuff on here reminds me of Umineko for a variety of reasons. If I add to it, I'll just edit this post and add the date I added it to this list. Separated by genre this time.

Under the read-more, with the "why it reminds me of Umineko" blurb after the title rather than a whole plot synopsis like I had done in the previous list

Feel free to rec stuff in tags or in comments etc. if I haven't read/played/watched it it might be hard for me to add it but I'll definitely add it to my own list of things to check out!

VIDEO GAMES The House In Fata Morgana - Visual novel, Unreliable narration, witch haunting an illusory mansion for thousands of years, cycles of abuse and trauma, Gothic setting, romance 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors - Visual novel, "The killer is among us" (lol), murder mystery scoping out paranormal/metaphysical elements and twisting them into its own crazy logic, romance NieR Replicant - It's up to you to find your own happiness whatever that means to you despite the circumstances of the world you're living in or your own birth Alan Wake - Author creates and infers reality around him, horror setting, unreliable narration, creations rallying against their creator Alan Wake 2 - see the above, it's the sequel, except Alan Wake 2 is an actual survival horror. I didn't like Alan Wake 1 much but I'm LOVING 2 so far. The Forgotten City - I haven't played this just saw someone on Twitter say to play it if you like Umineko so I'm trusting their recommendation Pathologic Classic HD - Questions of morality, wishy-washiness on the reality of the fantastical elements of the town's culture, meta universe shenanigans forcing you to contend with "none of this matters, so why do/should I care?" Patho 2 can probably go here too but I am playing that at the moment.

ANIMANGA Naoki Urasawa's Monster - "Why did the culprit do this?" over "Who is the culprit?", murder mystery, cycles of abuse, questions of character identity, the ultimate "victim of circumstances has created the monster" situation Shiki - Sleepy town being annihilated by an unknown threat, humans doing unspeakable things in the name of justice, the question of the antagonist's morality/justice is brought to the forefront and maybe they were right all along...? Princess Tutu - Characters who have been created for a story and are living out a narrative sort of against their will, the narrative as a framing device and also a prison, love love love lots of love, the death of the author and what this means for a tale and the characters within it too--if you can only call them characters I Want To Hold Aono-kun so Badly I Could Die - romantic relationships as a way to combat your personal loneliness, horror and romance and how they intersect...kind of hard to explain this one unless you've finished Umineko but this manga really reads like AU Bato[redacted] to me so far, lots of supernatural elements, learning how to find happiness

TV Succession - Rich people dealing with their abusive and unpredictable father deciding who will be the successor for the family business and dragging everyone else into it, cycles of literally every sort

MOVIES Knives Out (2019) - Rich family called to a house to discuss the ailing patriarch's will only for him to be murdered, murder mystery Haven't seen Glass Onion yet but that too. Decision To Leave (2022) - Confessions of the unspeakable as acts of love, Another time another place maybe it could have worked, I created myself to love you, tragic romance, the sea as a motif representing character worlds Memento (2000) - it's up to the watcher to interpret events as they happen and piece them together, the most unreliable narrator of narrators, just go in blind The Prestige (2006) - Magicians get into a big dick competition and destroy their relationships for the sake of greatness, branches into metaphysical territory for the sake of pursuing magic House (1977) - Group of girls visit an ancient family home, horror setting, love is always enduring for better or for worse, witches, using other bodies to fulfill your own wish

BOOKS The Locked Tomb Quartet - Cites Umineko (and 999!) as an inspiration and Muir is a very very referential reader so it's kind of hard to say stuff without spoiling TLT also so honestly just go read it. Magpie Murders - Murder within a murder And Then There Were None (duh) - Directly inspired Umineko and the murders within Umineko The Last Unicorn - Characters acknowledge they are living in a fairy tale, the unicorn is often called the only 'real' one in the group due to her immortality, dream-like narration and fantastical whimsy, ocean representing character strife House Of Leaves - The metaphysical book of metaphysical books with stories within stories within stories and extremely unconventional formatting, house as a vehicle to tell a horror story IT - Two stories in different times existing side by side to inform the reader how to read it. I never finished reading this either though sorry </3 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead - metafiction play about characters and the absurdity of their existence, repeating stories, tragedy is only a story and the characters within only exist to tell that story regardless of their own individuality Wuthering Heights - toxic romance the novel, idk why I didn't have this here yet. Honestly I'm not super big on this book but it's a classic for a reason. Dread, isolated spaces, fucked up romance, ghosts, etc.

[chloeangelic]

If the first chapter of ''Seeking What is Desirable'' wasn't enough to get me so invested in this story, this chapter sure seals the deal. It was fantastic! I was a bit scared to read it, thinking it would be too angsty. It felt a bit angsty, but not in the heartbreaking way I feared. Their logging and loneliness made me feel for them, but how you wrote it was beautiful. You're creating another amazing story. Seeing them want the same despite their completely different backgrounds made me smile. Is it not that crazy what they want? A partner to share a family with the joys and responsibilities, share their secrets and fears, and be seen and loved by the other. And yet, it feels like an impossible feat at the moment they are right now.

I cannot stop thinking about Joel's identity as a dad. He's such a good dad. He loves his family, and that love, reciprocated or not by his wife, is part of who he is. I get the feeling it will create more conflict for him. For them to be together, Ladybug only breaks her marriage while Joel breaks his family (independently if it's, or not a properly functional one). Is it not a crazy thought, right?

One of the things I liked the most was Joel's surprise at Ladybug's age. That, the idea he managed to attract someone so young when he's having such insecure feelings about his body would be so unthinkable when that is what drew her to him (and all of us, lol!). And don't start me on Joel coming back to the classroom to sweep her off her feet and give that kiss. I was silently squealing while I read. It might not have been a dramatic cliffhanger, but it did the job for me wishing I could already read the next one. One thing I wonder about is Ellie's background and how she came to Joel's care. Will it come up in the story? Thanks for the chapter!

By the way, the last chapter of ''StepdadJoel'' was mindblowing! You left me speechless. Part of me was frustrated to say something with the ending, but the other bigger side was surprised and giddy about it. It was devilish! The whole chapter was masterful. I loved it. Thank you so much for sharing it!

I hope the ramble didn't go down the rabbit hole too much! Hugs and kisses!♥️♥️♥️

hiii!! first of all thank you so much <3 <3 i will say - prepare yourself for some pretty severe angst for a few chapters down the line :S it's definitely the most angsty thing i've written/planned, and it's gonna be pretty bad before it gets better. fortunately, there is a happy ending, and the epilogue (ch 12) spans 10 years and that whole thing is very happy so it'll definitely be worth it in the end!!

i guess it's kind of a right person wrong time story, where they're both very confined by their circumstances even though they pretend not to be. their self-images have absolutely been negatively affected by their partners/relationships, and i think what drives them to make some not very good decisions is that extreme relief and excitement of finding someone who actually wants them for who they are, which blinds their judgement. they unfortunately get very messy :p

the ellie/joel connection is explained in ch 3, which is coming this weekend :)))

thank you so much for always supporting, i love seeing you in my inbox <3 <3

[andromebaa]

It was Ren’s birthday on the leap day and I forgot all about her lol sorry sweetie.

- She’s a total mess because she lives in constant fear of becoming like her isolated, weird mother, Toko and/or/not really sure for sure Genocider.

- Despite her anxiety and general skittishness, she’s great with children. Her SHSL talent would be as a caretaker.

-She cut off her hair after a mental breakdown. She used a knife, for obvious reasons. In a happier state I’d imagine she had long, luscious locks. Same with her clothing choice too - she’d probably wear more feminine clothing but she restricts herself in order to appear more mature/reliable.

- She has a strained, complicated relationship with Byakuya. This is mostly due to the unfortunate circumstances of her existence. She was raised by the other original students. I think Chihiro was probably her biggest influence.

- She’s a fantastic sewer and likes to make soft toys in her spare time.

- She’s very clingy and will get attached to anyone who is nice or kind to her. She doesn’t like being the centre of attention though.

- Ren used to be best friends with Daiya as kids before The Incident (tm) which kind of solidified their older personalities and their general dislike of each other.

- Unlike many of the other Legacy students, she is opposed to escaping. She’s afraid of the outside world and wants what is best for the younger children.

[waterfallsilverberrywrites]

20 questions for Fic Writers

Thanks for the tag @holy3cake

1. how many works do you have on AO3? 22 so far, with more planned.

2. what's your total AO3 word count? 1,262,007 and that's excluding chapters that are still in Drafts pages.

3. what fandoms do you write for? This doesn't cover all of the fandoms of my AO3 because I was in all the fandoms it felt like when I was younger but these days, my main ones currently are:

The Last Kingdom

Harry Potter

Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them

Good Omens

Disney (BATB & Nightmare Before Christmas mostly)

Black Lagoon

Final Fantasy IX

Castlevania

4. top five fics by kudos:

Changeling's Curse (BATB)

Snowfall Confessions (Fantastic Beasts)

Hollow Hearts (NBC)

Bowtruckle Bliss (FB)

Threads of Fate (NBC)

5. do you respond to comments? Yes! If I don't respond on AO3 or on FF. net since that website is getting so old and going the way of the dinosaur, I respond to people on Tumblr, as I tend to seek out people in similar fandoms and make the most amazing friends :)

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? None so far? Most of my stories tend to have a happy ending, but I am working on one that has somewhat of a bittersweet ending.

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? A Greater Power (HP) or Temptress of Dunholm (The Last Kingdom)

8. do you get hate on fics? Not so far and I hope it stays that way!

9. do you write smut? Nope but I do read it though

10. craziest crossover? I don't tend to write crossovers

11. have you ever had a fic stolen? Yes, 4 times, and it was awful each time!

12. have you ever had a fic translated? Yes! Someone asked to translate one of my HP fanfics into Chinese but I never saw the final link or product so I don't know if that is ongoing or not

13. have you ever co-written a fic before? Nope but I do like to bounce ideas off of fellow fic writer friends from time to time

14. all time favorite ship? Oooooh difficult one. Beocca/Thyra from TLK are sweet beans and the definition of deserved better, but I would say my close second is Jack/Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas. Both couples are just so much fun to write & so different.

15. what's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Uhhhh there's a few lmao. I have a 3rd and final Barty Crouch Jr. fic in the works that I am stalling writing and finishing because I don't quite know how it will end, given the man's circumstances in the fic lol.

16. what are your writing strengths? I would like to say descriptions (imagery wise) and maybe writing character voices/dialogues.

17. what are your writing weaknesses? Fight scenes!!!!

18. thoughts on dialogue in another language? I don't mind reading it but I won't write in another language despite my native language being German.

19. first fandom you wrote in? Disney followed by HP. Both fandoms helped me get through a nearly crippling surgery and I will be forever grateful to both fandoms for helping me find my passion.

20. favorite fic you've written? I have mixed feelings about it, but I really love Temptress of Dunholm for TLK, followed closely by Hollow Hearts for NBC or A Greater Power for the HP fandom.

My AO3, in case you're interested in any of this madness:

[redsplash1]

Just beat shadowbringers and wow

I have very high hopes for endwalker

Thoughts below, spoilers ofc

Everything was amazing from start to finish like omfg. Death Unto Dawn was the best final quest I’ve played so far without a doubt.

One of the biggest highlights for me was Alphinaud; his growth during and after the msq was fantastic. Some standout scenes to me include:

1. Him dissing Vauthry. I think Vauthry was supposed be some kinda foil to Alphinaud? Either way, it was very satisfying seeing him deliver that burn

2. Insisting to the WoL to not go after Vauthry right away to attend to those who ate the meol. Like it’s honestly just so amazing that he’s putting saving others before reaching the end goal, something ARR Alphinaud would never dream of doing I think

3. That scene where he gave Kai-Shirr the means to enter Eulmore, setting us back. When he questions whether he should’ve just left one man to suffer in comparison to countless more lives, we can tell him that isn’t who he is. Because he isn’t! He’s kind and good and that’s what makes him Alphinaud. I speak for everyone I’m sure when I say we wouldn’t have it any other way.

4. That scene after Death Unto Dawn where he’s trying to heal an Imperial soldier and fails, which he then punches the ground in anger/despair. Like that just reminded me of how young he (and by extension Alisaie) are/is :(

5. Every scene with Arenvald. I could literally pinpoint the second Alphy’s heart broke when he saw him in a wheelchair.

6. His confrontation with Fordola hit different too. Seeing him struggle to cling to his beliefs despite everything got me fucked up like bro….

Thancred’s arc was also great, seeing him accept that Minfilia was gone and that Ryne was her own person was a treat. (Ryne and Gaia r gfs btw ❤️ and so would Alisaie and Tesleen if the circumstances were kinder)

I’m sure I have more thoughts but it’s like 3 AM rn so LOL anyways thx for reading my ted talk

Oh one more thing; I’ll probs write a fic about Tatake comforting Alphy and Ali on coping with the horrors of war

[tonguetiedraven]

Bon and Rin getting sent on an overnight mission but the inn keeper assumes and treats them like they’re a couple (similar to Rin and yukio during the Aomori arc, except they actually do want to be a couple lol). The boys get progressively more flustered until they finally make use of the inn keepers hospitality

Fantastic @marble-wolf helped me with this one ^^

It's set in the fall/winter semester of their second year, though I don't think that really comes in. There's a sprained wrist, and I'm only posting part of it here. The link to the full story is at the bottom :D

-- -- -- -- --

"A mission with Suguro!" 

Rin had repeated the cheerful words like one of their mantras and Rin couldn't help the excited bounce that made his sword smack him and his boots kick up dirt. But he was excited. 

His first real solo mission with Ryuuji. Completely alone. Nobody lingering around and judging them. Nobody bossing them around. This was all on Rin and Ryuuji. 

The cloudy sky and cool breeze wasn't even a deterrent for his overexcited prance (he enjoyed the breeze) and he was reaching out to shake Ryuuji's arm. 

"A mission with Suguro!" He sang again.  

Ryuuji was trying not to laugh, and he wasn’t even sure why. Rin was always ridiculous, and had been since Ryuuji had stopped thinking he was just another rich asshole, but it wasn’t an annoying kind of ridiculousness. (At least not most of the time.) No, it was one Ryuuji found endlessly charming and amusing, and one that made him laugh far too much.

He gave Rin a light shove, just enough to send him slightly off the path, but not far enough that he couldn’t catch Rin if his clumsy self tripped. 

“It’s not like we’ve never done a mission together.” They’d done far more together than apart. “What’s got ya all excited about this one?” 

They weren’t even entirely sure what they were looking for, so it couldn’t be the demon. 

Rin twisted on his heel and beckoned to the path behind them. 

"Look! No Yukio! No Shura! No Light!" Rin listed off the names of their most helicopter mission overseers. 

He turned back to the correct direction and lifted his tail in a wide wag and hopped over a couple cracks and scattered leaves. 

"We're indestructible!" Rin cheered.  

“You maybe,” Ryuuji mumbled, trying to think of what Rin might have actually meant, because that didn’t make a lot of sense. 

Inde… hmm… indecisive—oh! 

“Independent.” Ryuuji said, rolling his eyes a little but smiling anyway. Rin’s energy was irresistible. (A lot of Rin was annoyingly irresistible.)

But Rin was right. They were independent. No one to tell them how to do anything or when to do anything. Just the two of them figuring it out. 

“We still gotta follow protocols, but yeah. Just us.” And the way that immediately made Ryuuji’s cheeks go a little warm was not welcome. Not when they were going to be spending so much time together. 

"Independent." Rin repeated, smiling at Ryuuji's gentle correction. "You always follow protocol. You keep Light from breaking protocol, so we're gonna be fine." Rin encouraged him. 

Ryuuji's cheeks had gone a bit pink and Rin could imagine several instances that could be running through Ryuuji's head where Lewin (and even Shima) did not follow protocol and the aftermath of those times. 

They were almost to the ryokan they would be staying in. It was a quaint, quiet ryokan, painted with rich reds with deep darker shades of wood. It wasn't bad despite the Order paying for it. 

But it was a little jarring. The silence was "peaceful" but Rin had found peace in the sheer amount of noise in Torako's ryokan. Rin gawked at the designs carved into the wood and his head was tilting back, causing his hair to slip further out of the hair clip that had been abused by his jumping around.  

It wasn’t as big as Torako’s Ryokan, but clearly well cared for and there was a bit of protective magic around it — Ryuuji hadn’t seen a ryokan without protective magic — but more important for their current circumstances, he didn’t see any obvious sign of demonic activity. Nothing scratched, no evidence of rot, no shadows that didn’t belong…

Ryuuji stepped forward and toed off his shoes, leaving them in the shelf just inside the door. The scent of tatami filled his lungs as he stepped properly inside, and that with the scent of wood and tea had a small bit of homesick welling in his chest. It was almost exactly what home smelled like. 

“Okami? Ma’am?” Ryuuji called, not seeing the manager at the desk. He motioned for Rin to follow him, carefully unwinding his prayer beads and wrapping them between his fingers instead. 

Rin followed after freeing his feet from his boots. He stayed close to Ryuuji, nearly pressed to his side as they stepped closer to the vacant desk. 

They hadn't experienced it yet, but Rin had heard stories of entire ryokan's becoming possessed and exorcists getting attacked so he couldn't blame Ryuuji for the preparation to have his beads. 

Rin could hear slow steps coming from behind one of the sliding doors and he swallowed the urge to growl. He couldn't sense anything malicious. 

The woman was old and walked slowly, and she appeared to be completely harmlessly human who seemed content and she gave them a polite smile.   

“Guests,” she greeted, bowing at the waist respectfully. “I’m sorry I was late to greet you. Please, come inside.” 

Ryuuji returned the bow and took two pairs of the slippers, passing one to Rin before going forward to the front desk. 

“I’m Ryuuji Suguro, ma’am, and this is my partner Rin Okumura.” He waited for Rin to join his side and gave the okami a smile. “We’re form the Order of the True Cross.” 

Her expression immediately morphed into surprise as she looked between them, and then crumpled a little in intense relief.

“True Cross?” She asked, voice wavering a little. “You’re the Exorcists?”

Ryuuji shared a glance with Rin. “Yes, ma’am.” 

Rin echoed Ryuuji, standing taller and right next to Ryuuji to appear professional. (As if he hadn't bounced his way down the path.) 

"We can fix any demon problem you got!" Rin said with a smile and a polite bow.  

The Okami bowed again. “Oh thank you.” 

Ryuuji felt a twist of worry in his gut. They didn’t know much about the demon, the file had been thin and just mentioned a few vague sort of haunts and the mention of ghostly apparitions, but that could be anything or even imagined. Nothing even mildly unique or definitive. 

“Here,” she hurried before Ryuuji could say anything else. “I’ve already got your rooms—” She paused and looked up at them again. 

“I’ve got your room.” She said with a nod. “Here,” she reached under the desk and pulled out a box of keys. She took one out of it and set it on the desk. Two matching yukata followed, deep red with gold and blue flowers. “These are yours, and you will have complete access to the ryokan and baths.”

“Thank you, okami.” Ryuuji pulled the items a little closer, a bit confused why they’d only been given one room, but this was True Cross and it was always cheap as hell. 

“Could you tell us where the demonic activity is occurring?”

“The ryokan and baths.” 

“The entire place?” Ryuuji asked, hoping for anything but a yes.

“Yes.” She answered, and Ryuuji felt a little twitch of pain in his head. That was hardly helpful at all.

She continued with a, “only at night though.” 

Rin barely held back the urge to groan at the vague words and knew that they were going to spend a lot of time wandering around. He couldn't sense anything malicious so surely the demon wasn't particularly dangerous. But Ryuuji would stress himself out with however long it takes to find the demon.  

"Okay. We will check it out for you. Thank you, Okami." Rin said with another bow.  

Ryuuji pulled the items off the counter, passing one of the yukata to Rin and frowning a little. 

“Thank you, ma’am. We’ll take care of —”

“We have the banner system, but I’ll make sure you’re not disturbed.”

Why would that matter—oh! They weren’t the only ones here. Ryuuji shared another look with Rin. They’d have to watch out for that.

“Thank you,” Ryuuji said again and stepped back, reaching for Rin’s arm and gently pulling him along. They’d need to set up their work station and lay a few basic wards around the place to see if they could track anything or at least figure out a kingdom.

“This way,” the Okami hummed, looking decidedly happier. She eyed the hand Ryuuji had on Rin’s arm, and he almost dropped it but he let it linger for a moment longer, because he tried and never let looks dictate what he did. They were rarely encouraging and almost always controlling, and he didn’t know enough about this okami to know one way or another.

They were led down the hall and towards a room nicely tucked away with an opening to the garden. It wasn’t particularly bed — none of the rooms looked to be particularly big (and Ryuuji couldn’t help but compare it to his mother’s, and he was going to suggest any innovative ideas he saw. He didn’t want to take it over, but he wanted to help.) 

The separate futons had been traded for a single large one, and there was a basket of amenities and toiletries by the futon.

It reminded him of their couple rooms. 

The Okami was backing up and sliding the door shut before Ryuuji could turn around and ask. 

Rin stopped at the entrance, slipping off the slippers before walking further in. He propped his hands on his hips and considered the one bed. 

(That was going to be a problem… wouldn't it?)

"Damn, this place didn't sound busy. Ya think this is all they had?" Rin asked before shrugging and moving to sit down on the futon. It was comfortable at least.  

Ryuuji did not think this was all they had. He was fairly certain it had been a deliberate choice, if not a strange one. His mother only gave this sort of room out for couples that requested it. 

He’d simply sleep on the floor. The tatami mat was enough for him. Rin could have the bed and he’d take one of the pillows and his coat. Or maybe request a second blanket. 

“Maybe she wanted to make sure we could work together or something. Or didn’t want to waste resources on us.”

But no, that didn’t make sense either since she’d said they had access to everything. 

Ryuuji set his bags down with a shrug. “We can set up our operations here either way. Maybe get something to eat after we set up the wards?” They’d need the energy for the night and he’d need the nutrients back after casting all those spells. 

"Sounds fine with me!" Rin would just… offer to share the bed. Neither of them  could afford a bad sleep while on a mission. Too much at stake. 

"I can't sense anything really bad and nobody has died, right?" Rin said before standing back up to help Ryuuji with the bags.  

“No. There weren’t any reported deaths.” Ryuuji pulled the ‘report’ out of the bag as he straightened. It was the smallest one he’d ever been given. It had mentioned moving objects, broken objects, strange sounds, and bad luck.

It could be any of a number of things. The information didn’t really narrow it down at all. Half of it could be explained away simply because the building was old. 

“Honestly, I don’t have any idea what it is. It could be anything. Or nothing. There hasn’t been a real sighting of anything.” He shook his head.

“We’ve got nothing. We’re going to have to gather the intel and just… wait.”

"Great. Waiting is my favorite!" Rin sarcastically said, peeking at the pitiful report. 

He could hear the sound of trees blowing in the breeze and the tap of slippers on wood. The cool air wasn't rotten so definitely not Astaroth Kin. 

"We can walk around after we eat." Rin suggested. He wouldn't just wait unless he seriously had to. (He was bad at waiting.)  

Ryuuji snorted and put the useless report away. Then he paused in consideration. “Do you think we should change to not stand out?” It could be some kind of cloaking or intelligent demon. They had no information on it. 

(But also the idea of wearing a matching yukata to Rin was making him blush a little. Not that he’d really stopped blushing.) 

Rin looked down at his uniform, compulsively brushing a hand down the front. "Probably."

The black coated uniform stood out with the shining Order emblem and it was recognizable for what it meant. That didn't matter for mindless demons but the intelligent ones (most demons were surprisingly intelligent) knew with just a glance.  

“We don’t want to stand out to the guests either.” 

Ryuuji shrugged his coat off, pulling his spare beads and sachet out. He wouldn’t need anything else. Rin would handle the offense and Ryuuji didn’t need more than this for their defense. Besides, the goal was just to get information. At least for now. They weren’t going to fight what they didn’t know. Ryuuji was not letting them get anything like a bad report for this exorcism.

He moved to take off his shirt and paused before deciding to hell with it and just shrugging that off as well, neatly folding them and setting them aside to join the rest of his clothing. 

The yukata was soft, if not warm, and had a pocket, so he hid the sachet and spare beads in there along with the key. (He trusted Rin, but not with a room key. His friend would lose that in a second.)

Rin followed Ryuuji's lead ( not staring at Ryuuji's warm and smooth looking skin and damn Rin just wanted to… nope, nevermind) stripping off the damning evidence that they were exorcists and picked up his own yukata with a happy, "oh!" He tossed his clothes aside in a clump. 

"I like this one." Rin said as he wrapped himself up in it. His tail poked out the bottom and he reluctantly wrapped it around himself. He liked how Ryuuji looked in the thin red material but he couldn't exactly say that and he really shouldn't stare and, shit, he was planning on sharing a bed with Ryuuji and this would be a problem. "These are nice."  

“My ma has all different colors and designs. I should let her know —” Ryuuji cut himself off before he could say this Ryokan matches couples. He was entirely sure that’s what she’d done (Nirvana did it ever look like she had) but he wasn’t going to say it one way or another when it was Rin he was partnered with.

“You need anything?” he motioned towards their supplies and hoped Rin didn’t ask for clarification.  He tried not to stare too much at just how much of Rin’s neck and collar were now visible. He’d managed to avoid looking when Rin was pulling it on, but he hadn’t expected the outfit itself to look like that. (Good and thin enough to show off Rin’s natural form.)

Rin laughed at the mention of Ryuuji's mother and flapped a hand. "I'm trying to not be biased about my favorite ryokan. And no, I don't need anything. I've got everything I need!" 

Rin spread his empty hands and beckoned to himself as if he was fully decked out with weapons. 

"I wonder what's for food!" Rin cheerfully said as he adjusted his tail around his middle.  

Ryuuji could feel himself getting ready to rattle off a list of possibilities that his mom served and managed to stop himself. He was not going to spend this entire trip rattling off facts and gushing about home. 

They’d find dinner and set everything up. He’d figure out the bed problem later.

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

The full story can be found here!

[legionaberrations]

Wdyt the legion kids zodiac signs are? (Idk if you're interested in this but I found out that using zodiac signs for characters is a great starter... Like for building their personality).

You can do the main three (ascendant; basically what others get from their first impression of you. Like the personality you use out in public. Sun; your actual personality, the one you'd use around family and close friends. And moon; your inner personality, your feelings and secret traits that you wouldn't express openly).

I hope I explained these well enough and that it makes you think! (New Anon btw. Hello, mun!)

(I hadn't really contemplated this much until you asked, but I love thinking zodiac so I do have some solid answers:

Julie - Gemini Sun, Scorpio Moon, Pisces Ascendant. Julie is both social butterfly and social chameleon. I think her place as the most social member of the group and how easily she lies and plays a different role in front of other people shoes her in for gemini easily, along with her curiosity and morbidity. While she seeks shallow pleasures for brief fun, what she really craves is emotional intensity, which I think plays with scorpio moon well. Pisces rising because of the strong association with art, social-chameleoning, and having a desire to see the world in and live in a dreamy and fantastical way.

Frank - Sagittarius Sun, Leo Moon, Aquarius Ascendant. Frank hates routine and structure. He's friendly and outgoing, but in a way that still sets him apart from others. He's also very active and fond of sports, which is a stereotype associated with the sag lol. They're also associated with optimism, which I think plays interestingly with Frank's ideology that thinking about something is enough to manifest it. Leo moon is associated with controlling and organizing friend activities, which Frank definitely does - bossy guy, trying to push everyone to further extremes. He's a creative sort with a lot of magical thinking, and likes others to think he's really worldly and knowledgeable. He's paradoxically standoffish and social, but also very paradoxical and irreverent, which I feel fits the aquarius assignment well.

Joey - Virgo Sun, Taurus Moon, Sagittarius Ascendant. Joey is a hard-working individual, but also a very practical and quick-thinking one. He struggles with anxiety and being high-strung, pushing himself too far. He's Responsible. All very virgo of him. With his moon, I think the taurean moon descriptions of like being very persevering, trying to avoid messy or unpredictable situations, wanting to build a reliable situation, etc. is very relevant to him. Sagittarius rising is often associated with Seeking, wanting more out of life, but also being opinionated and competitive, which I think Joey has a little bit of going on. Even though unpredictable circumstances cause him anxiety, he wants to branch out and try these new, crazy things anyways, and wants to have a good time, and more than anything wants to believe everything can be better if he just tries hard enough. There's a reason he ends up buying into Frank's ideology despite initial hesitation!

Susie - Taurus Sun, Cancer Moon, Aries Ascendant. Susie is a very dependable person, but also someone I see as very stubborn and set in her beliefs. She's sensitive, but she's also very fixed - even upsetting her isn't going to move her, and may in fact fix her more firmly in place. For her moon, that sensitivity rings true. She doesn't like change and is defensive of her friends, wanting what's best for them, but is also indirect, not likely to confront issues head-on. I really like this screenshot of the natal chart website I'm looking at for her:

Speaking of family problems, aries ascendants are often described as having an upbringing that requires them to learn to take care of themself. Impatience and impulsiveness and a youthful charm are also part of this sign. I think Susie isn't necessarily competitive but definitely has a compulsion to "prove herself" and an amount of self-criticism that tracks well with this ascendant placement.

Sorry to anyone who doesn't care about zodiac who had to read all this LOL)

[cyberdragoninfinity]

Ryou Bakura for the character meme??? Or Atticus if Ryou's already in.

RYOUUU my funny little guy....

favorite thing about them: this kid simultaniously radiates the energies of the Most Boring Guy Alive and The Weirdest Dude Youve Ever Met and it's just fantastic. Guy who would collect stamps but also be on taxidermy forums for fun. Absolute dweeb who is just fucking sitting here while the worst things ever happen to him (because of his own piece of jewelry he refuses to get rid of.) he's so fuckin funny.

least favorite thing about them: i just wish there was MORE of him!!!! like the manga he has marginally more screentime but ryou's still a bit second (or third or fourth) fiddle when it comes to DM characters. Ryou needed a tag force route. I would love to walk around a psp game with him.

favorite line: sorry it's always gonna be "Check his pulse, Yugi!" dub lines of all time for me.

brOTP: uuuuu my KINGDOM for an AU or whatever where ryou and YB actually got to talk and interact more and be. well. not friends but guys who can barely stand each other but are forced to get along anyway. disgruntled brothers. I want them to have a Real Talk in the abandoned kmart bakura soul room. AUs where TKB has his own body and has to like. apologize to ryou for everything that shit would ROCK.

OTP: i actually dont really have one for ryou....i think he is simply going to marry some mildly bland guy named dwight from like seattle when hes 38 and he's going to be perfectly content with that. :^) actual ygo guys wise, heart and angst shipping are both really sweet....

nOTP: I Do Not Like Tendershipping Sorry lol.

random headcanon: aro gay guy with enough food intolerances and allergies to fund an entire small health food store. i think when he gets older he's going to ease comfortably into Any Pronouns genderwhatever. You Eccentric Lightly Goth Aunt.

unpopular opinion: people really cling to this "uwu little delicate whitehair softboy who is SOOOO depressed and sad ALL THE TIME" type read on him and it's. not very good lol. All things considered Ryou is a pretty chipper dude! He's not mopey and sad! And he managed to bounce back from being stabbed like. twice. Despite his circumstances he's a hardy guy.

song i associate with them: Hide and Seek by Bug Hunter such a ryou song my GOD. "the ephemeral friend".....waauuughh

favorite picture of them:

ryou from this screenshot is still the cover of my pinterest board for him dfhghdfsg all time favs <3

[gunmetal-ring]

Ik ive said this before but my 3 hyperfixation obsession ships (hellcheer, caryl, murtada) all have such similar dynamics and I Have A Type and despite the fact that im bi and all 3 of them are straight ships idc lol

The formula is APPARENTLY 2 survivors of trauma and abuse finding hope and resilience and comfort in the other, under otherwise hopeless and terrifying supernatural/fantastical circumstances, and that those circumstances and relationships force them to recognize and overcome their shortcomings and they wouldnt have If Not For Each Other And The Horrors, and that so much of those relationships are based on subtext, which gives the relationships/the characters more depth and complexity and lends more realism and credence to the characters and relationship and how they benefit from the relationship

And also all 3 of those ships are literally canon lmao, granted hellcheer wasnt explicitly canon in the show BUT subtext and the actors and showrunners/creators/writers have all confirmed its canon soooooooo im counting that lmao