#didn’t fearless fit so well tho

[yerimacoustic]

𝙢𝙞𝙭𝙩𝙖𝙥𝙚 ♡ joshua x reader

when your childhood friend, joshua finds an old mixtape both of you made years ago, he gets inspired to craft the perfect plan to tell you how he really feels. 📼🎧🥤⋆·˚ ༘ *

content warnings: roadtrip au, childhood friends to lovers, strong language, gossiping about losing the v card, literally everything goes wrong but it’s cute, fluff, soft angst since it talks about stress during college, joshua hong x gender neutral reader. both of you are graduating university! no smut but 18+, mdni! 4k wc

additional notes: this probably seems so rushed but idEC bc i needed some joshua fluff & i’m a proud supporter of the gentleman joshua agenda. also pls comment which songs you’d put on your mixtape with him, i left it kinda open to your imagination minus three songs <3 not proofread, sorrows, prayers

the end of joshua’s final semester in college came with its fair share of mixed emotions. among the many sentiments was crippling stress, seemingly the most commonly occurring one. it was nothing he wasn’t used to, being a full-time college student with a part time job and mostly insufferable roommates. four years prior, he began to dread the day he would have to pack up all of his belongings and move across town, where his own apartment was waiting.

and of course, he was right to rue the day.

it was a nightmare trying to schedule the move in date to line up with the time the u-haul had to be dropped off, especially since he couldn’t get access to his garage until a few hours after he had to turn in the keys. another $50 down the drain. luckily, he started packing his side of the dorm weeks in advance in order to spend a decent amount of time on his finals. even if he had a job lined up already, he wanted to leave a lasting good impression.

just as he was going through the last of his belongings, he found a small box hidden under his bed. judging by the cobwebs scattered along the small crate, he’d forgotten all about its existence until now. he checked the digital clock, the only thing left on his nightstand- he’d been cleaning for hours. he was entitled to a break.

so he opened the box, smiling to himself as he took in all of the souvenirs and knick knacks from years before. there were ticket stubs to the first ‘frozen’ movie, a few pieces of his favorite candy (which were beyond expired at that point), two of the lego avengers figurines, a few polaroids of him, seungcheol and jeonghan along with his mother, and..

“shut up.”

he had completely forgotten that he’d made this mixtape with you. ‘shua and y/n’s epic road trip.’ the year before you both started college, the two of you took a roadtrip across the town together. the night before you embarked on the spontaneous journey, the two of you spent hours meticulously crafting a playlist that would perfectly recount your trip. he always thought he’d left it in his car and you’d never mentioned it to him after the trip, so it simply left his mind.

but now that he was staring at the small disc, he wondered how it was even possible to forget something he cherished so fondly. it was the first trip the two of you went on together alone. you’d spent time together on school trips, even getaways with jeonghan and seungcheol, but you never seemed to get enough time alone together for joshua’s liking. even if it didn’t end with a kiss like he was hoping, it was still a memory that he held close to his heart.

that was when he devised a plan.

he reached across the floor for his phone, which had just barely finished charging. luckily, your contact was one of the only ones pinned on his phone, so dialing your phone number was a breeze. he held his phone to his ear, biting his nails in anticipation as he listened to the dial tone drone on.. and then he remembered you were in the middle of one of your lectures.

fuck.

‘hey this is y/n. i can’t reach my phone right now so leave a message or text me. bye.’ how was it that something as simple as a voicemail greeting from you could make his heart flutter?

“it’s joshua. call me back asap, i want to go on another road trip with you.”

—------------------------

going on a road trip near the end of the semester with deadlines and fees stacked upon both of your to-do lists probably wasn’t the brightest idea. there were probably a million better, more productive things both of you could be doing to prepare for the next chapter of your lives. even so, joshua waited in the parking lot of your apartment complex while tapping a nervous rhythm onto the steering wheel.

while he was waiting for you, he kept going over all of the contents in his dufflebag to ensure he had properly prepared for everything. unlike the last road trip you went on, this one would be an overnight holiday. toothbrush, shampoo, deodorant, phone charger.. he knew fully well he had everything he could need; he’d checked his overnight bag multiple times before he stepped out of the door. not only that, but he stuffed his hand in his jacket pocket multiple times to ensure the mixtape was still there.

“just calm down,” he sighed to himself after confirming, once again, that he had everything he needed. “it’s just y/n, just the one you’ve been crushing on since middle school. no big deal, you’ve done this before, you’ve gone on a trip with them before..”

he was quickly pulled out of his thoughts and mutterings once he saw you walking down the stairs. he noticed the way your eyes lit up once you noticed his car, causing his heart to race. he stepped out and ran to you, an infectious grin spreading across his lips as he pulled you into his arms. “thank you for coming with me. you have no idea how much i need this.”

you laughed as you threw your arms around his neck and hugged him just as tightly in return, his grip on you practically suffocating. in the best possible way, of course. “trust me, i’ve been needing a break too,” you sighed. “i can’t believe this is it. we’re graduating college.”

as for what that meant for the two of you, neither of you had a clue. you made sure to stay as close as possible during your time in university, planning as many get togethers as your schedules would allow, but halfway through your third year, your individual priorities seemed to outweigh any other extracurricular activities. while you weren’t able to see each other in person as often as you did when you were kids, joshua was just grateful that you kept in contact.

“i know. it’s a lot more stressful and anxiety inducing than i thought it would be.” he tried to hide his disappointment and dread as he broke from your embrace, keeping that warm smile as he led you to his car. after gently taking the bag that was slung over your shoulder and carefully tossing it in the backseat, he opened the passenger door for you. as always. “but enough about that,” he snickered, climbing into his seat and cautiously slamming the car door shut.

“you’re right. no work talks while we’re on vacation,” you giggled and shifted in your seat so you could face him, a mischievous glint in your eyes. “so, what’s first on the itinerary, mr. hong?”

“well, first things first-” he made a dramatic show of pulling the mixtape out of his jacket pocket, the corners of his eyelids wrinkling as his smile grew brighter. “look what i found.”

your eyes widened as you gently snatched the cassette from him, your hand brushing over the tape where the title had been scribbled in permanent marker. “oh my god, i forgot we made this! where did you find it?”

“under my bed,” joshua laughed, shrugging. “i thought it seemed appropriate, with new beginnings and all... we don’t have to listen to it if you don’t want to, though.”

“not at all! i’m up for a trip down memory lane,” you laughed.

joshua began to pull out of the small parking lot, feeling particularly eager to get on the road. especially since it was early in the morning; he knew it would be a beautiful view as the sun would peek from its hiding spot behind the trees. “i was hoping you would say that. because.. i was thinking we could just follow the same exact itinerary as last time.”

“really? down to the number?” you sent a knowing smirk in his direction, even if he was too focused on the road to pay any mind to it outside of his peripheral vision. you watched him nod his head as his smile grew and grew, his cheerful grin as contagious as ever. “well, since we’re following tradition, i’ll buy your chai latte again this year.”

“guess that means i’m covering dinner again,” joshua chuckled lightly, the sound going straight to your heart. as per usual, of course.

“what a gentleman,” you mused while cautiously inserting the cassette tape into the car’s rather finicky slot. you always knew joshua’s car was ancient and worn down, so you were impressed, to say the least, that it had lasted throughout the entirety of his college career. “i forgot which songs we put on here. this’ll be fun.”

“me too, actually. but.. i do seem to remember someone was constantly begging me to add taylor swift to the playlist.”

“it was a phase! everyone was a die hard fan at one point in their life.”

“sure, we’ll go with that excuse,” joshua teased you without a hint of mocking or scorn in his voice. it was more like amusement.

it was nothing short of serendipitous, the way the sun began to rise to a more comfortable resting position for the rest of the day and light up the path for you and joshua just as ‘here comes the sun’ began to play. the song was slightly muffled, the speakers in the car radio being on their last leg- it was a picture perfect moment, regardless.

you rolled down your window, letting your hand drift along the current of the breeze passing by as joshua began to pick up speed. you heard him humming along, his soothing voice fitting perfectly with george harrison’s. and you smiled to yourself- if joshua wasn’t dead set on his current career path, you knew he could easily make a name for himself as a singer.

for whatever reason, the way he muttered the endearing term ‘little darling’ so gently before each chorus stood out to you most. his sickly sweet voice added so much more meaning to the lyrics. in that moment, really all you could do was hope that he didn’t notice the way you were trying to stop yourself from smiling like a fool.

but he did. out of the corner of his eye, he noticed you bashfully bowing your head.

he finally arrived at the coffee shop, which was a tiny shack just off the main road. it was a convenient little spot for any travelers that needed a caffeine boost on their journey. except..

“oh no.” it was closed??

indefinitely??

“it’s okay!” you were quick to assure him and pat his shoulder. “there’s a gas station just up ahead. we can probably just get some coffee there, my treat.”

joshua nodded in an effort to keep up the faith. “you’re right! it’ll be a bit watery but that’s fine- right?”

“right!” you agreed with a chuckle. honestly, to you, missing out on a delicious chai latte wasn’t the end of the world but joshuasuspected it was only the beginning of a series of setbacks.

and he proved to be correct: the coffee machine in the gas station was broken, leaving the two of you to settle for some canned nitro cold brews. while joshua’s paranoia grew, you looked at the glass half full; so it didn’t go exactly according to plan.. but at least the two of you had caffeine.

“so, what was the second thing we did?” you asked, taking the smallest sips of your coffee at a time. just as a precaution.

“picnic over at that rest stop. hopefully it’s not blocked or something,” he joked, all the while secretly praying that the universe wouldn’t twist his words. it seemed that the gods were in a playful mood that day; too bad it was at his expense rather than in his favor.

by now, you were near the end of ‘side a’ and ‘feeling good’ was playing. you could only hear michael bublé’s voice very faintly at this point, but the catchy song still brought a smile to your face. “i always liked this version the best,” you told joshua.

he beamed. “that’s because it is the best one. i taught you well.”

you helped your friend pull the basket and blanket out of his trunk once he’d parked the car near the top of a hill that overlooked a lake and a series of trees surrounding the body of water. it was a quaint spot, one that seemed to put the rest of the city on display for the two of you. and like many spots in the town, it came with its fair share of legends and stories.

“did you hear the rumors that vernon lost his v-card here?” you snickered between bites of your peanut butter and jelly sandwich that joshua was gracious enough to make for the two of you.

he nearly choked on the remnants of his sandwich, shaking his head as his fist flew to cover his mouth. he looked mortified, eyes growing nearly twice their size. “what?? no! how come no one ever told me about that?”

“are you kidding?? i could have sworn someone told you,” you snickered and reached over to repeatedly pat his back. “anyways, no one knows if it’s true or not.”

“he’s a chamber of secrets, that one.”

“he certainly is.”

once joshua had finally composed himself, a sigh of contentment left his lips. he took a deep breath, basking in the fresh mountain air and sunlight. there were a few clouds in sight, nothing that should have caused too much panic. just something to give the two of you the right amount of shade.

comfortable silence passed between the two of you and you laid back against the blanket in mirrored positions, propped up by one elbow. you looked over to joshua after feeling fixated on the small lake, focusing intently on his features, instead. his eyelashes, the curve of his lips, the way his hair fell so neatly over his face.

he truly was so naturally beautiful.

you only felt pressured to snap out of your daze when he began to tilt his head towards you. your gaze fell to the blanket smoothly while your finger began to brush along one of the patterns on the fabric. his mom had made it for him, along with several other quilts that he held very dear to his heart. “i guess it would be a pretty nice place to seal the deal.”

joshua laughed out loud, “y/n l/n, i’ve never heard you say something so scandalous in my whole life.”

you tilted your head back as his words brought upon a laugh of your own, “well, this year is all about new beginnings, isn’t it? we’re changing, we’re growing..”

“i guess so,” he mused once your voice trailed off. when you looked up, he was the one fixating on your features. it brought a heated sensation among your cheeks and a dumb smile to your lips. you noticed him swallow, attempting to be subtle while shifting to rest on his elbow more comfortably. “y/n, can you promise me something?”

“of course, joshua, anything.”

“can you promise that we’ll always try to stay in touch? no matter what?” there was a pang of sadness in both joshua’s tone and in his eyes. suddenly you felt guilty for taking your lifelong friendship for granted; the last thing you wanted was for someone so dear to you to feel undervalued.

“shua- of course i will.” feeling particularly bold, you reached out to grab his hand. “i’m sorry if i’ve been.. distant lately. i feel like we’ve both had a lot going on. and it’s not going to get any better once we’ve got our nine-to-fives, but.. you mean a lot to me. i want you to stay in my life.”

just then, the man in front of you appeared as if a large weight had been removed from his shoulders. you couldn’t believe that you witness his eyes actually light up in real time, his entire figure perfectly displaying how much lighter he felt. “i want you to stay,” he repeated after you.

the two of you weren’t directly confessing your true feelings towards each other just yet, but somehow.. those five words were enough. ‘i want you to stay.’

you stayed silent, as if to let them echo between the two of you. the fact that you weren’t sure how you were supposed to follow such a simple yet beautiful statement was also a contributing factor. after a moment, you parted your lips while still waiting for the right words to show themselves to you but instead, there was a loud crash of thunder.

the two of you were so mesmerized by the pair of eyes in front of you that neither of you noticed the air around you growing gray. joshua looked up towards the dark clouds with a sigh of disdain, “of course.”

you chuckled, helping him gather the napkins, paper silverware and dishes and the blanket. by some miracle, you were able to gather all of your belongings and hop in the car before the rain started falling down at an alarming rate and substance. “wasn’t michael just singing about how the sun was in the sky?”

“i guess its opposite day.” at that moment, joshua began to wonder if someone out there genuinely had it out for him. as he turned the key in the ignition, all he could hear over the raindrops clattering against his windshield was a loud sputtering noise. maybe.. maybe he was just imagining it? he tried twisting the key again, but it proved to be fruitless.

you chuckled awkwardly, “oh.. uh…”

“oh.. that’s fine!” joshua giggled sheepishly, keeping a calm presence that wasn’t alarming or unnerving in any way. there was no point taking his stress out on you when you were not the one at fault. no one was at fault, really, except maybe the man who truly believed a car that was around when dinosaurs roamed the earth could withstand another long roadtrip. after a few more tries, he gave up and pulled the key out of the ignition. “do you.. happen to have a signal?”

“out of battery?”

“yep,” he rubbed the back of his neck with an awkward grin, unable to make eye contact with you. “usually i have a portable charger but..”

“It’s okay,” you cut him off gently. “i don’t think i’ll be able to call anyone until the rain stops, but i’ve got a full battery.”

“cool. cool, cool.” joshua chuckled, trying not to upset you by showcasing his disappointment. he tried to look on the brightside and tell himself that the two of you were on an adventure, that this would be a great story to tell your friends and family when you got back, but any positive thought was quickly replaced by looming, dark ones instead. like how he wished that in possibly one of the most stressful times in his life, he wished that just one thing would go right. that he wished this getaway was as picture perfect as the last one.

“shua, you okay?”

he was alarmed by how well you seemed to have gotten at reading his countenance; especially since he thought he made great efforts to hide what he was truly feeling. he smiled immediately, nodding in reassurance. one thing he was not going to do was ruin the mood. “yeah, yeah i’m okay. you doing okay?”

you nodded, “yeah, i’m doing great.” you paused, hoping that you weren’t pressuring him to answer. one thing you were not going to do was pressure him into broaching a topic he wanted to avoid. so your tone grew hushed as you spoke again, “but i feel like there’s a lot more that you’re not telling me.”

joshua nodded faintly in understanding. he should have known that you would have been able to read him without any troubles, considering how long you had both known each other. “i just.. wanted this to be perfect. i know you’ve been stressed lately and well, i’ve been stressed lately so i thought this would be a nice, low stakes kind of trip. but.. I guess not.” he ended his thought with a light hearted chuckle and shrug of his shoulders.

you stayed quiet for a moment, focusing on the sleeve of his jacket while pondering his words. he had put so much effort in both of these road trips and you knew his heart was in the right place. frankly, you couldn’t care less if you didn’t get your chai lattes or if your picnic lasted about ten minutes or you might not make it to the hotel.

what mattered was that joshua was there with you through it all. and through it all, he kept an adorable smile and a cheerful attitude. when your gaze shifted to the windshield, raindrops hitting the glass in record time by now, you were reminded of another song that you added to the now unattainable mixtape.

and suddenly, you got an idea.

opening up spotify, you searched through taylor swift’s discography until you found the song that you thought was perfectly fitting for the moment: fearless. you knew it was a long shot but you pressed play and turned the volume all the way up before placing your phone in your jacket pocket, where it would be shielded from the rain. then, you stepped out into the downpour.

joshua furrowed his eyebrows out of worry but perked up once he saw you motion to follow in your footsteps. just as he slammed the door shut, he could have sworn he heard the lyrics very faintly, even if they were muffled by the rainfall. ‘and you know i want to ask you to dance right there…’

you took both of joshua’s hands in yours and twirled in three or four circles, giggling the entire time. both of you tilted your heads back, feeling the cold rain against your face. it was beautiful, soothing.. unconventional, maybe, but it was perfect. once the two of you stood upright, you took it a step further.

it was just like clockwork, the way his arms fell gracefully around your waist after yours were linked around his neck. you’d hugged him several times before, you knew of his warmth- but things felt different today. the two of you swayed to the upbeat melody with stupid, giddy smiles. neither of you said a word as the rain started falling faster and harder, the lyrics inaudible at this point.

but that didn’t stop either of you.

suddenly, joshua removed one of your hands from his neck and laced his fingers with yours. he skipped around the car with you while keeping a firm grip on your waist, guiding your movements. the two of you laughed and laughed until your ribs felt tough, until it was hard to breathe. your shoulders were hunched as you held on tighter to his shoulders, bringing yourself closer to him once he finally came to a stop.

neither of you had felt so free in a long time. for that one moment you two abandoned your inhibitions and responsibilities of the real world, everything felt perfect. even something as inconvenient as the rain was beautiful.

you remembered more of the lyrics. up until that moment, you’d never thought about how perfectly they encapsulated your feelings towards joshua. growing up with him and watching him run his free hand through his hair with a firm but gentle grip on the steering wheel, the calming and reassuring presence that he provided in your life, performing any mundane task or saying such beautiful things with such a casual tone.

absentmindedly making me want you.

he really didn’t have to do too much to be the perfect man, did he?

ignoring the nagging thought in the back of your mind about how cliché your actions were, you captured his lips in a gentle, chaste kiss as the rain fell harder around you. you hoped that it would properly communicate to him your true intentions and feelings while words were momentarily lost to you.

joshua, meanwhile, felt as if he was on cloud nine. maybe this trip didn’t go according to plan, maybe there were bumps along the road- but this trip had one thing the one from years before didn’t.

[hardcoremikehanlonstan]

I physically can’t stop listening to Taylor swift so here’s what I think the losers favorite Taylor songs/albums are

Richie: his fav album is 100% reputation, his favorite song is definitely delicate or gorgeous and he absolutely melts over picturing Eddie to the songs (totally a big sap)

Beverly: definitely a speak now fan, her favorites are Back to December or Sparks fly, don’t know why she just feels like those songs to me. She is a big Swiftie tho, and blasts her songs in her car 24/7

Ben: he’s a red (Taylor’s version) kind of person, he loves all too well to death, and gets all hyped to we are never getting back together, he loves those classic tay vibes the album gives him

Bill: Evermore all the way, he likes the story telling aspect. He gets a kick out of no body no crime and absolutely eats up champagne problems, he likes the stories she tells through her music so he tends to like her more mature fall albums

Stan: Ngl I feel like he’d love fearless, (Taylor’s version tho ofc). Stan would like the sweetness that is love story or the feelings that are trapped inside that’s the way I loved you, Stan definitely gets in his feelings to Mr. Perfectly fine (def making up some dramatic ass headcanons for that one)

Mike: he’s a lover Stan through and through. He loves love and lover is literally for him lmao. His favorites are paper rings because he thinks the song is cute and romantic, and he loves cruel summer Because of the way it makes him think of the losers

Eddie: hardcore swiftie but definitely a folklore boy. I feel like Betty would remind him of Richie a little and cardigan is definitely his favorite song period. I feel like he constantly tries to get everyone into Taylor bc he loves her music

I realized I didn’t mention midnights but I feel like those songs fit all of them individually lol, so maybe I’ll make a midnights only post

[recklessandyoung]

My favourite lyrics from every album that Taylor Swift owns:

Lover:

“Now I’m feeling hopeless.” Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince

“Who could ever leave me darling, but who could stay?” - The Archer

“Ooh-ah, soon you’ll get better ~ ooh-ah, get better soon, cause you have to.” - Soon you’ll get better

folklore:

“I can change everything about me to fit in.” - mirrorball

I just wanted you to know that this is me trying.” - this is me trying (this song tho)

“I want to watch wisteria grow right over my bare feet cause I haven’t moved in years.” - the lakes

evermore:

“I never was ready so I watch you go.” - champagne problems

“Show me the places where the others have you scars.” - willow

“I ain’t letting up until the day I die.” - no body no crime

Fearless (Taylor’s Version):

“It takes everything in me just to get up each day but it’s wonderful to see that you’re okay.” - Mr Perfectly Fine

“There’s something bout the way the street looked when it rained.” - Fearless

“I love you and that’s all I really know.” - Love Story

Red (Taylor’s Version):

“And I know it’s sad but this is what I think about ~ and I wake up in the middle of the night it’s like I can feel time moving.” Nothing New

“And I might be okay but I’m not fine at all.” - All Too Well (10 min version)

Midnights:

“When my depression works the graveyard shift all the people I’ve ghosted stand there in the room.” - Anti Hero

“I didn’t choose this town, I dream of getting out.” - You’re On Your Own Kid

“All of me changed like midnight.” - Midnight Rain

[briannamarguerite]

I’m back from the grave dishing out thoughts no once cares about any more but IM RIDING A HIGH so here you go:

Literally one of my favorite concerts I’ve ever been to, it felt like it went so fast I didn’t want it to end. Louis is MAGNETIC from the first second he steps onto the stage you can’t take your eyes off him.

His voice is absolutely SATURATED with emotion, rich and complex, cocoa butter and coffee wrapped in silk???? I’ve watched all his livestreams and they just doesn’t convey what it’s like in person. The note changes make you want to get down on your knees (uhhhhh I didn’t mean for that to be dirty 😂) he’s getting more confident and having fun. But I just… that something special that’s always been his is coming out more and more.

(overheard review from a friend who obviously came along to come along: he can really command the stage)

The lights are so well done?! I tend not to notice things like that, but they really build with the song in a way that feels Louis-deliberate.

The band is so cool. Like so cool. Michaels fearless solo brings down the house (listen I tried to get the clap going, no such luck)

Yes it’s annoying that everyone screams the loudest for 1D stuff but also everyone screams pretty loud for solo stuff too. So … we’ll get there hopefully …

YOU WERE MY BECAUSE

Jaime Hartman randomly was right in front of me and he and his daughter were rocking out to KMM, Louis flipped him off and he did that rock and roll sign 🤟🏻 (<- that guy) I nearly shit my pants when they put a spotlight on him

Two of us made me cry in person idk I won’t ever get over that song. The rockier versions of all the songs were AMAZING. When Louis says “the tip of your tongue” in beautiful war I want to die. I hate LBD but it actually fits really well in the set ?! (Annoyed face) I get it tho.

A mom came brought her daughter (in front of me) and was like SO FUCKING CHARMED by her daughters enthusiasm (she was rocking out), she kept filming her and then swinging back to Louis and then her daughter. It was the sweetest thing.

The lights were beautiful.

The merch line was bananas. Not even explicable… I would compare it to Disneyland at its worst … BUT get those dollars Louis!!!!

Ok that’s me here and gone. Love you guys!!! If you can see louis do it, it’s beyond amazing!!! I’m virtually smooshing all your faces as I would so if I saw you at a concert SMOOOOCH

[novamirmirsblog]

FwB minor safe

THIS IS SAFE FOR MINORS. and by minors I mean 15+ cause there's still some kissy kissy and implied sex. AND SWEARING. Seriously tho, no under 15s reading this.

When you had first met Natasha, she hated you. Or at least that’s what it seemed like. She ignored you, refused to train with you, and when she did train with you, you always ended up in the medical bay, and she always, always had something to say when you came back from a mission. You had really hoped to at least had a friendly acquaintance with the other woman on the team. You always had Wanda but she was often pining after a certain red synthezoid. You only realised Natasha wanted to be friends when Clint let it slip that she was like a cat. He was clearly sick and tired of the two of you constantly fighting and wanted it to end. Or perhaps it was Steve who finally wanted it to stop. It didn’t really matter who because now you had a way in.

Your friend’s grandmother used to rescue stray cats and while Natasha certainly wasn’t a cat, you figured the same rules applied. First, you would make extra food when you knew she would be there, telling her there were leftovers if she wanted them but never pressuring her into eating with you. Then, you slowly began just sitting in the same room as her, always a distance away from her so as to not make her uncomfortable. Eventually she began to warm up to you, even going as far as letting you sit on the same sofa as her.

Things all changed one night when Natasha came back from a mission gone wrong. She had been given bad information and the data she was supposed to collect wasn’t there. She was pissed. Steve called you into the lounge and told you to stay out of her way if you valued your life. It made you slightly nervous. The two of you were friends but you weren’t that close. Not close enough to know for sure whether or not she would hurt you. Everyone retreated to their rooms and locked their doors, not wanting to be in the way of an angry Black Widow. Because that’s who was coming back. Black Widow, not Natasha Romanoff.

You couldn’t sleep that night so when you saw a figure enter your room, it scared you shitless. You grabbed the gun from under your pillow and pointed it at the figure.

“Who the fuck are you?”

“That’s kinky babe and maybe we should revisit that idea but right now I want to fuck you senseless.” Natasha - no the Black Widow’s voice spoke out in the dark. It was that kind of muffled sound that you only heard in the depths of the night when no one else was awake.

You lowered your gun but didn’t take the safety off. Just in case.

“There’s no need to be nervous darling. I’ve seen the way you act around me.” Natasha walked towards where you were on the bed, leaning down and lifting you by your chin up to her lips. “Just tell me to stop and I will.”

You moaned as Natasha’s lips connected to your neck, roughly sucking and biting her way to your collarbones. She leaned you back and wrapped a hand around your neck as she looked at you. Even in the darkness, you could see how black her pupils were and feel how heavy her breathing was.

“I need you to understand that this doesn’t change anything. We are still just friends.”

"I understand." You leant up to kiss her but she just laughed as she pushed you down and kissed you harder, leaving you alone once she had finished playing with you.

Nights like that became routine between the two of you. If either of you had a bad mission, or were just feeling lonely, you would end up in your bed. It was never Natasha's bed and most of the time Natasha was in control. Occasionally however, if you had a particularly bad mission or Natasha had seen unspeakable things, she would relinquish control and you would savour every minute of it. Perhaps if the two of you were dating, you would be able to have control more- no you couldn't think like that. It was a dark hole that you couldn't go down.

Somewhere between the rough nights and the friendly movie nights the two of you had, you had fallen for the fiery woman. Natasha made sure that you always remembered that it was just a 'friends with benefits' arrangement by never sleeping in your bed. It was a tricky balance for her though because she would cuddle you all the time during the day. It was almost as if she regretted sleeping with you.

The friendly flirting between the two of you drove the team absolutely crazy. It was like everyone except you two could see how perfect you were for each other. You just fit together. Yet whenever they asked either of you about it, you both denied it vehemently with a sad look in your eyes. The team had had enough. They were done with the two of you fucking, flirting and then crying yourselves to sleep when you both realised you didn't have the relationship you wanted.

It was Wanda's brilliant idea to have a game night. She had watched a sitcom where the characters played truth or dare and confessed their love for each other.

"I'm not so sure that will work witchy." Tony said after Wanda had finished explaining her plan. "Maybe we should play 7 minutes in heaven or spin the bottle."

"Why? How is that better than my plan? All they do is suck each other's faces off. We need them to admit their feelings for each other." Wanda stood up, slightly defensive over her plan.

"I...I think I have a better idea." Steve spoke up and everyone turned to look at him. "How about we kidnap Y/n? Y/n wont believe us if we tell her Natasha loves her and Natasha isn't going to admit it over a game of truth or dare. If we kidnap Y/n and stress Natasha out a little, then she might finally admit she loves Y/n."

The room was silent. "Remind me never to get on the wrong side of you" Clint muttered, causing the rest of the room to break out into a slightly nervous laughter.

"When's Y/n's next mission?"

~~~~~

You were sent out on a routine solo mission. It was something a lower level agent could have easily done but you were happy to get out and away from the compound for a bit. You loved your family but their constant questions about Natasha were getting too much. It was a constant reminder that you guys weren't in a relationship at all. The more you thought about it, the more you tried to convince yourself that a relationship wasn't even what you wanted. You had been on a few dates since your arrangement with Natasha had begun, mostly to throw her off the scent of your growing crush. However, when you returned from your failed date (because they always failed), Natasha was always there to fuck you hard and rough. Sure, she would leave it a few days, distancing herself as much as possible, sometimes completely ignoring you, but she would always come back. The mission was complete and you were making your way back to the Quinjet, too distracted in your thoughts of Natasha to realise someone was creeping up behind you. You were knocked out cold.

When you came to, you were in an abandoned warehouse, tied to a chair. It was all very James Bond like. You tried to look around, but everything seemed blurry.

"I can't believe you hit her so damn hard!" You heard a voice ring out.

"I didn't mean to! Oh my god she's going to kill me." A deeper voice, probably male, spoke.

The voices sounded kind of familiar but you couldn't work out where from.

"Natasha, we found her!" that was the last thing you heard before passing out again.

"I am going to murder whoever did this to you Y/n." Natasha told you as she carried you to medical. She refused to let anyone else touch you and didn't let you out of her sight for one second.

The usually fearless avengers all froze and turned slightly pale. They were 100% going to blame this all on Steve. If anyone had a chance of surviving the Black Widow, it was a super soldier and besides, it was Steve who had knocked you out. Bucky had told him not to use his shield to do it.

You awoke to find yourself in a hospital bed with a very concerned Natasha holding your hand. You gave it a little squeeze and smiled at her.

"Never ever ever do that again. Do you understand me? I thought I lost you..."

"It's okay Tash, I'm fine." In that moment it was so hard to remember that the two of you were just friends, that you would never be anything more than friends.

"Date me."

"What?" You were stunned and not completely sure you hadn't just hallucinated.

"I can't do this friends with benefits thing anymore. I know I was the one who said it was nothing more but I think I'm falling for you Y/n. Do you know why I was so distant with you to begin with?"

"Because you're a cat?"

Natasha smiled, she couldn't even bring herself to laugh she was so nervous. "No Y/n. It was because I really liked you. You walk into the compound all happy and beautiful and I dont know what to do. We would spar and I would get weird tingly feelings wherever you were touching me and it made me confused. I tried so hard to stay away from you but then you started leaving me food, or sitting with me, or trying to make jokes and I just couldn't stay away. When you didn't come back to me on time, I was so scared. I thought you were dead. When we found you..." She ran her hand through her hair, her other hand never letting go of yours. "The relief I felt nearly made me fall to my knees. I understand if this ruins our friendship but I really can't continue on just being your friend. I think... I think I love you." Natasha whispered that last part so quietly you almost missed it.

"I would love nothing more than to date you Natasha. I was so worried that I was reading too much into things and that my feelings were wrong and would ruin everything. It's why I dated other people for a bit."

"Well good. How about we-" Natasha was cut off by an announcement from F.R.I.D.A.Y.

"Considering agent y/l/n is up, Mr Stark request's both your presence in the lounge."

When the two of you made it to the lounge, hand in hand, they all clapped. Natasha scowled and held on tighter to your hand and you just laughed.

"Why did you call us here?" You asked

"Well, the thing is, we don't want to be murdered so we're really hoping you'll stop Natasha from doing anything drastic."

"What did you do." Natasha let out lowly, she knew you shouldn't be up and about, that it was better for you to rest until you were feeling completely better again so she wanted this over as quickly as possible.

"Well...-"

"IT WAS STEVE'S IDEA!" Wanda blurted out. "I just wanted to play truth or dare but nooo. Stars and Stripes over here wanted to make things all dramatic." Wanda waved her hands in the air.

"What was Steve's idea?" You asked, still a little slow on the uptake. Natasha wasn't though. You could feel her becoming tense and you held her hand a little tighter.

"...The kidnaping..." The team hung their heads in shame, trying to simultaneously look at their shoes and keep an eye on Natasha.

The room was completely silent before you burst out laughing. "You're kidding me? You actually kidnaped me just so Natasha would admit her feelings for me? Guys I'm dying." You wheezed as you tried to catch your breath from laughing so hard.

Natasha however, didn't find it nearly as funny.

"Natty, darling, it's fine. They did it because they care." You whispered into her ear, leading her out the room before someone could get easily injured. Getting blood out of carpets was a pain.

"Your days are numbered Super Soldier. I'm coming for you." she said, watching as Steve's face turned completely white before turning and leaving the room with you.

[carnelianns]

Can you do one where MC is known as this fearless, reckless lady by the whole mansion and one day they hear her scream out of terror and when they check her out it's just a big insect? If they're too much for you, then do Leonardo, Comte, Theo and Arthur? Thx

i made them drabbles instead of headcanons since i thought it fit better and you didn’t specify. please dm me if you wanted headcanons tho!!

Leonardo da Vinci

There was never a dull moment in the previously colorless mansion with her fiery self around. The now bright manor would always be filled with laughs, or arguments, or banter, all due to a simple woman.

But she was not simple. She was fiery, aggressive, reckless… She was brave. And Leonardo would not waste a second in drinking all that in if she allowed. Amusement filtered through his eyes whenever she was around.

Of course, he’d find a way to step in if things got.. too heated — which would usually happen if she and Theo or Mozart were in the same room — though this happened rarely. She’s very self-sufficient. It’s charming.

The screwdriver in his hand falls immediately when an ear-splitting scream echoes through the Manor. He doesn’t think he’s ever sprinted this fast in his life before. 

With his forehead creased and eyebrows downturned, he swiftly opens the door of her room, only to be greeted by a shaking woman in the corner of her own room.

“Cara mia, what’s wrong?” He asks slowly, walking towards her.

The look in her eyes when she turns to meet his own causes quite a pitiful pain in his own heart.

“Leo… there’s a bug…”

He had never heard her so.. scared before. And he never wants to again. It’s safe to say that he now makes it a mission to check each room for bugs before she enters, because never does he want to see her afraid again.

Arthur Conan Doyle

The first time she walked into the mansion, ever-so pure yet ever-so reckless, Arthur knew that she would be an intriguing woman. And he wasn’t wrong — not that he has ever been. 

She’s a living contradiction. Pure and innocent are her thoughts on life, on people, yet reckless is the way she interacts with the house of vampires. Human she is, yet absolutely fearless of anything. He doubts that she even fears being bitten at this point. Perhaps that was why he’s so caught up on the thought of her, devouring his brain like he so wishes to do her soul.

His thoughts were interrupted by a shrill, ear-piercing scream, and it took less than a second for Arthur to bolt out of his room and towards the direction of her room, panicked, confused…

Afraid. 

For he had never heard her scream, never even heard her yelp, and here she is, screaming as though a gun on her head would fire any second now.

“What’s the matter, love? What—” Bursting into the room, his words die down as his eyes scan the situation.

Before he can even do anything, the woman, then standing on her sofa, literally leaps onto him, clinging on as if it’s the last thing she can do.

“Bug… corner…” He makes out, and it takes no longer than a second for it to register. 

The shit-eating grin growing on his face is one he often shows her, though this time, she can’t bring herself to slap it off.

“I must say, dear, I’ve imagined you clinging onto me, in my arms, frightened for your life on multiple occasions, though I never expected it to be like this.”

Your shuddering body, tearful eyes, shaking voice… it keeps him up at night as well. Arthur decides to lie to himself and say it doesn’t.

Theodorus van Gogh

If anyone were to get into arguments with the fearless girl, it would be Theo. He can’t help it — fire against fire, he thinks.

Countless times has he seen her do or attempt to do something that would normally cause him to shudder, and countless times has she succeeded in her conquest.

It’s safe to say that he finds her quite amusing.

Chills run up his spine in a way it hasn’t in a few couple of decades at the same time her scream fills his ears.

Theo doesn’t know how he was able to get to her room as quick as he did, though he doesn’t pause to think as he pushes the door open. “What’s wrong, hondje?!”

Her response is to immediately cling onto him, arms around his neck and legs around his waist and neck dangerously close to his mouth.

“There’s a bug,” she whispers, and he doesn’t know whether to laugh, scold her, or kill the bug.

He decides to do all three. It is a day he’ll never let her live down. And a day he never wants to happen again.

Comte de Saint Germain

In all honesty, the reason why Le Comte decided to spoil her rotten was because he felt terribly guilty for her situation — stuck in France a few centuries back, all because the goodness of her heart wanted to give a stranger his handkerchief back.

Though he does admit that he lessened his habit after seeing her, reckless and fearless of whatever is to come.

Which he found out was but a mistake. Ah, but he had always known. Known to never keep his guard down, to never be comfortable. To never allow himself the comfort that he oh-so needed.  

The only thoughts that ran through his head as he made his way to her room were of fear and regret, and not everyday does he feel these things. He isn’t as insecure to deny it, though.

Unsure of what to expect, he can say a shaking woman under her sheets is something he didn’t quite account for.

“What’s the matter, ma chérie?” His soft voice soothes her out of the thick wall of blankets she rolled herself into.

With her teary eyes and barely out of the cocoon, she whispers, “There’s a bug.”

The fiasco ended with Comte carrying her and her covers out of the room, setting her down in his own. Not another bug was ever seen in the mansion after that day.

[lvlyhao]

「PART ONE: HOPE」

Humanity series; Q.K

A/N: this truthfully is a basic ass apocalypse!au but i couldn’t care less so that’s that on that. come talk to me if you wanna tell me your thoughts i’d literally cry out of joy other chapters coming soon!!

important: i know i put minor character death as a warning but it’s not, i repeat, NOT one of the nct members. jesus, i’m not that cruel. having said that, please enjoy it.

word count: 1.3K

pairing: none (yet).

disclaimer: the characters in the story below do not reflect real people or present real facts. this is purely fictional, and you may not copy, change, translate or repost my work in any way. all rights reserved © cherry-hyejin 2021.

next chapter

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When the world you know is going through an apocalypse, many things become outdated, antiquated, old, or useless. Call it as you will. They no longer serve their purpose. At least, not when one-third of the world population is dead, and you fight zombies daily.

You could probably go over 100 items that fit the description—cellphones, high heels, short skirts, televisions; really, nearly anything that you were once happy or proud to own. 

The one thing that stuck to you the most, though, was a heart.

Of course, no two hearts are the same, but you mean yours. People that naturally don’t care about others probably have an easier time, but, gods, look at you! How could you keep that golden heart of yours safe from the claws of despair? How did you plan on picking up its pieces every time it fell apart?

Well, you reasoned to yourself, the week after the virus began spreading. Maybe I just shouldn't. 

At that moment, your brain told you it was the right decision. No one has the time to deal with these sentiments when their life is always on the line, right?

You sure hoped so, because that one, fateful night, you blinked back the tears, swallowed hard, and killed every bit of fear that still lived in you, killing, as well, part of your humanity.

Looking back now, contemplating the night sky, you can admit it had been scary. Very scary. 

Rumours about a new virus, different from anything the world had ever seen, got out pretty fast. People talked about it everywhere, and even more at the hospital where your parents worked. But, you know, people always talk. A disease that could turn someone into an actual zombie, with no conscience and the need for human flesh? There was just no way in hell that was true.

“Sure, Hendery”, you used to mutter to your friend, not paying attention to his absurd theories.

Not too long later, you came to regret it. Did it take both of your parents dying for you to believe it?

Your lips twisted into a scowl. Life can be an unfortunate thing.

After you had gazed into the eyes of your mother's colleague when he told you the news, nothing was ever that frightening again. Sure, the undead, boo-hoo. Glassy, unblinking eyes, a putrid smell and a keen sense of hearing. Thousands of them slowly crawl across probably every city in the world, hunting for their next meal. Simply terrifying, you snigger bitterly. 

To be fair with the people you have come to know, that always seemed scared out of their wits, they were in a lot more danger than you. Why, do you ask? 

That is quite simple. You are immune.

You did not waste your time trying to understand the words your father had told you the night before he died. It was something about a specific section of your DNA that stopped that virus from spreading to your brain, or, whatever. You thought he was kidding, laughed it off and headed to bed. You remember having bad dreams that night.

Not being capable of turning into one of them did come in handy later, when you had already found a group of students from the university you used to attend. While you couldn't say they looked well back then, being alive was the most they could do. They were all mostly younger than you—not at all smaller, per se, but more naive, more fearful. 

More reluctant to go looking for food when they were running out of it. 

The minute they told you about the problem, you took it in your hands to care for them. Chuckling at their protests, you had said someone had to look out for the children, and so you did.

The morning you left to scavenge for food didn’t go half as bad as you expected. Having nothing but a bow and some arrows, and some short knives on you, only getting chewed on one shoulder was way more than you had hoped for. During the fight at the crumbling supermarket building, you thought maybe you were going to lose a finger or two, possibly break a leg. But a bitten shoulder? That was pretty cool.

You were almost pleased with yourself when you marched back to the campus dorms, dragging behind you a cart filled with everything you could get your hands on. Among more essential items like rice, you had even managed to smuggle some jelly beans, dropping them quietly by Chenle’s side with a secretive smirk. However, the lighthearted atmosphere didn’t last for too long—just until Taeyong’s eyes landed on you. 

You can almost hear his loud gasp and choked shriek again, yanking at your jacket with rubber gloves to get a closer look. As he visibly paled and grimaced, you could tell it was worse than you thought. 

Maybe it was the adrenaline still pumping through your veins, or the small feeling of achievement as you saw your boys eating again, but getting the wound treated did not hurt that much. The weight on your shoulders did not lessen, and you were still very aware of the smell of death that clung to your clothes, but… you were satisfied. As satisfied as a ruthless fighter such as you could be, anyway.

That night, lying close to each other and talking in whispers, you told them about everything that had happened before you found them: the death of your parents, how you found your weapons, and your decision to free yourself from fear. You might have left out the part about the mild numbness that came along, but did it matter? They listened like you were describing to them all of the secrets in the universe, and barely even blinked. It would have been endearing if thoughts about them being on their own for so long had not made you set your jaw forcefully.

About two days later, while you sharpened your knives on the corner of one of the rooms, Taeyong had sat down beside you. His once blond hair had turned ashy, and black, where his roots had grown. His clothes were ripped at strange places and were not at all fashionable. He no longer was the model-like nursing major you used to know, but the caring gleam in his eyes was as evident as ever. His heart was still whole.

He quietly spoke to you about the change you had inspired in his friends. Knowing about your fearlessness had done something to them. 

Donghyuck had not cried himself to sleep ever since. Doyoung was not shaking as badly when he had to help Tyong at the med bay. Renjun no longer paced in circles like a lost boy, and Jaehyun was definitely more appreciative of the throwing knives you gifted him. Small but important things had changed, and you could see it in their smiles as they passed by, wishing you a good morning. 

Your speech, as improvised and adrenaline-driven as it had been, had given them something not even Johnny's jokes could bring—and that was saying a lot. It gave them hope, sewing together the small pieces of the people they used to be.

Maybe it was not the kind of hope to go back to their old lives, studying their asses off for finals one day and attending 3 frat parties the other. No, going back to those times was ahead of what anyone could wish for, but, maybe, just maybe, they could finally dream of a new future. Things in this future would be entirely anew, most likely different from what they know, but perhaps not all bad. 

Maybe it was not the kind of hope to get back what they had lost, but simply hope, and when the world you know is going through an apocalypse, that's enough.

-------

final notes: i??? really like this fic??? soon enough i’ll make a definitive masterlist so you can find the chapters easily tho, so look forward to it~

[katoodlez]

i tried to be productive this morning but i dont think my brain will let me until i do this, so sam and bucky show episode 4 letS GO

i would like to preface this post by saying that I literally got spoilers (before i watched the episode) from liTERALLY EVERYTHING from youtube to gOOGLE CHROME when i was trying to read the nEWS so in order to avoid spoiling it for anyone that hasnt seen it, STOP READING because this episode is inSANE and you don’t want it ruined for you.

Okay with that being said, let’s get started.

1. the first scene in wakanda absolutely deSTROYED ME. ayo helping bucky clear the winter soldier programming from his mind and then the silent shift of emotions on his face as the flashbacks happened and then when he realized he was free was just-- KDSFKSD the aCTING WAS SO GOOD thank you mr sebastian stan

2. bucky telling ayo that Zemo was a means to an end, especially in Wakandan, gave me chills bc it’s a direct parallel of Zemo telling Bucky that he was a means to an end. this show is just so carefully crafted omg

3. karli morgenthau got so much more screentime and development in this episode and i am hERE FOR IT. it’s really intriguing to get a deeper look into the Flag Smasher’s motivations and see a more personal side of their cause as well, especially in the memorial scene.

4. can we just take a moment. we need to take a moment. to just appreciate sam. hIS DIALOGUE IN THIS EPISODE. actually, in the whole show, but eSPECially in this episode just absolutely POPPED OFF. after this episode, I’m fully convinced that sam is 100% without a doubt the best character in this show. whoever wrote his lines is a genius. i love the scene where he talks to Karli, and I hope that they can have another chance to talk without *couGH* jOhn waLKER *coUGH* butting his head in because that conversation was just amazing. i loved how they discussed things they had in common, and a mutual understanding and how sam said “i agree with your fight, but not the way you’re fighting it.” this line was so good. and literally every other part of that conversation. the entire plot would have fallen to shambles by now if it wasn’t for sam so let’s give this man a round of applause please.

5. while we’re talking about sam, I might as well mention that i was very happy to see him in the falcon suit/wings again. he didn’t fly in episode 3 and i missed the action scenes with the wings. i think I gotta give Sam the most creativity points for the fight scenes in this show because he can fight both in the air and on the ground with a set of wings and weaponize them either way and that’s really cool

6. the dora milaje. I LOVE THEM. omg. i was so happy to see Ayo at the end of episode 3 and they just aSSERTED DOMINANCE in this episode and i loved it. their fighting style and weapons and clothing/armor design is just so elegant and mesmerizing to watch. “the dora milaje have jurisdiction wherever the dora milaje find themselves to be” omg. they took no crap from john walker and it was sO SATISFYING

7. on that note, watching walker get his butt kicked by the Dora Milaje while sam, bucky, and zemo just stood there was hilarious and probably one of my favorite scenes in this entire show so far.

8. WHEN AYO DISARMED BUCKY’s VIBRANIUM ARM. OMG. bucky was *surprised pikachu face* and so was I. I really, really hope they run into the wakandans again because there’s definitely a broken trust between them and i want that relationship to be more fully fleshed out and brought to closure too

9. there’s no way i’m making this list without talking about zemo singing to the kids and giving them candy at the beginning of the episode. that kinda gave me “creepy guy who kidnaps kids at the park” kinda vibes but it was also hilarious since Zemo was the only one making any progress on getting info in that scene xd

10. zemo getting away had the same energy as Loki yeeting with the tessaract in Endgame lmao

11. BUCKY WITH A KNIFE. when he caught the knife askdjfk i’ve been waiting for a bucky knife fight this enTIRE SHOW and i finally got it and me very happy  : >>>> (i’m determined to learn how he does the flippy trick w the pocketknife in Winter Soldier)

12. when Karli called Sarah Wilson i got chills. first of all sarah is an absolute fearless qUEEN but also the fact that Karli threatened Sam’s nephews akdfjaksdj pls dont hurt them Marvel

13. the parallel discussions between Zemo and Sam, Lemar and Walker about taking the super soldier serum were really neat. they both hark back to the conversation between Steve Rogers and Dr. Erskine in First Avenger, and i think that was the key turning point in revealing/completely clarifying both Sam and Walker’s true colors, which will now directly contradict each other for the rest of the show. 

14. people say that sam is the character who always tries to reason things out until he has absolutely no options left. i think that really shows through in this episode, and it’s also a good reference point/marker of the other characters’ development. Sam’s determination to talk things through with Karli actually brought them closer together (until sOMEONE decided to intervene coUGH) but his equal determination to keep peace/negotiate with Walker only drove them further apart, which makes me feel that even though karli and the flag smashers are the “villains” in this story, they are definitely not the antagonists (that would be walker, who’s directly trying to work against Sam and Bucky, the protagonists)

15. bucky’s “i know crazy when i see it cuz i am crazy” sent me LOL

16. when lemar died i think everyone just went 0 _ 0. i don’t think Karli intended to kill him when she kicked him into that wall, judging by the way they all ran off after they realized he was dead. tbh i’ve been netural towards lemar this entire time, tho i do appreciate his more pacifist attitude to walker’s explosive impulsiveness. he’s sort of like sam to bucky. but his death really felt like an accidental cross-fire casualty that cause walker to reach his breaking point

17. and lastly the scene with the bloody shield. 0 _ 0. the whole world was watching indeed

alright that’s it for this week. i can’t believe there’s only two episodes left 0 _ 0. to be honest, from our current point of view as fans i feel like this show needs another season, maybe 2. the reason being, I can’t really see a space that Sam and Bucky would fit into in the future of the MCU. Sam, maybe, if he resolves the deal with the Captain America mantle at the end of this show, but I feel like Bucky’s end goal is just to like, retire lmao. but also, the future of the MCU is gonna be really focused on like the more magicky characters like Wanda, Loki and Doctor Strange, and ofc Spiderman, Thor/Guardians and Captain Marvel, and then ppl are saying something abt the young avengers or something. But yeah, as near as i can figure this show seems like it should bring closure for Bucky at least, except i have no clue how they’re going to wrap all this stuff up in 2 episodes. in addition to the mess with Zemo and Walker and Sharon’s whole deal in Madripoor, I hope they also get back to America to bring their issues there full circle, like Bucky’s issue with Nakajima, Sam’s family and their home, and Isaiah Bradley. guess we’ll see, can’t wait for next week already ahhhh

[hitsuackerman]

Unpredictable (Overhaul x Reader) pt.6

a/n: uhm... a lot happens here tbh xD its pretty long tho ;)

warnings: this cannot be read solo, a bit of harassment

Links: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 7

Masterlist to my other fics: here :)

Overhaul’s waiting list: @jjk-biased​​ @infinite-universe-love​​ @dirtypride​ @blackymomo03​ 

The ride was quick and you were now facing the entrance of the hotel. The facade of the hotel looked like it was fresh from a Gatsby movie. Golden lights illuminated every few meters of the hotel making it glow ethereally. Counting the floors from your window, you estimated it to be 8 or 9 floors. It was extravagant. Nothing more to it.

When the car drove to the entrance, the doorman was quick to open the door once the car came to  halt. It was a surprise when Overhaul offered his arm to help you get out of the vehicle, in those killer heels, you had to accept. Biting your inner cheek, you had to admire how solid his arm was and how classy his tux felt.

The contact was short. Once he saw you were out, he wasted no second of removing his arm from your hand. Walking 5 steps ahead, you didn’t bother complaining with his actions. Somehow, it was also better this way. This gave you more opportunities to move freely.

The same doorman quickly opened the main entrance and even asked for your coat.

Once the coat was gone, you felt the chilly wind graze your back. It wasn’t too much to handle, of course. Your body just had to adjust. As you were thanking the employee, you failed to see how your companion did a double take when he saw just how classy you looked in your outfit. He would never say it but, he caught himself just before his jaw could drop any further. Thank goodness he had the mask.

“You clean up nicely.” He commented.

You matched his pace effortlessly and realized that he had just complimented you. Facing him, your mouth formed a small ‘o’ and once again, you blinded him with a smile. Strangely enough, even for him, it was satisfying.

“You just complimented me~” Your voice was playful and the cheeky grin on your face was something you just couldn’t hold back. “You look sanitized yourself.”

Underneath the mask, he couldn’t fight back the developing smirk. This would be an interesting night, he was almost certain.

Calling to mind the invitation, the event would take place in the biggest event hall the establishment had. Once you were inside the elevator, the built in LCD screen monitor showed to you which floor you had to go to. As soon as the screen was tapped, the elevators went up and the music began to play.

Of all the things your mind could have thought of, you recalled what Gei said. On how if he were to ever disappear when the food would come, you could find him in the men’s toilet. Lowering your head, you tried to hold back your laughter. It all backfired when you ended up snorting.

“What’s so funny?” Overhaul asked. His eyes remained focused on the LCD screen.

“Nothing that concerns you…” You replied. Fingers covering a portion of your mouth. Curse Gei and his imagination. Clearing your throat, you quickly changed the subject. “So, what exactly is going to happen in the gala?”

“From what I have gathered, the head of the Fukuo Kai wants to gather a few villains to join him.”

“How would he do that though?”

The doors opened and both of you were now facing a hallway, letting you step out first, he followed shortly. Both of you walking side by side, with a safe distance in between. The hallway floors were carpeted red and the entire area smelled of roses. Noticing that he was still silent, he was probably thinking what ways the boss could gather people.

“It would probably depend on his mood.” He finally answered.

When the event hall was now in front of you, rope barriers lined up showing you where to go. Though there was really no need since it was just a straight walk from where you stood. There was a golden podium with 2 uniformed staff ready to greet you both.

“Names?” The taller one asked.

“Shinoda.” Overhaul answered.

Now that you heard him saying a name, it had dawned to you that the profile you had for him did not include his real name. Surely that wasn’t his real name. The way he said it so nonchalantly made it look so natural. What was his name? It would be a rather personal question to ask and that was something you weren’t ready for. Not yet, at least.

When the doors were open, the soft classical music serenaded your ears. The lights were dim but the spotlight on the stage was bright as ever. Tailing behind your partner, he brought you to a high top bar near a large window. He thought it would be a good vantage point to quietly observe people.

A waiter came by and filled your water goblets up. Observing the room, there were still plenty of vacant tables. It had only been 20 minutes since you left the house, so there was still 40 left to kill.

“How did you get the invite, Shinoda?” You asked him. It was weird saying that name. Somehow, it just didn’t fit his face. “It was sent to the Shie Hassaikai.” He replied as he began to remove the strap from his right ear. Holy shit. He was actually going to take his mask off. Except, there was a gut feeling in you that didn’t want him to.

“Wait…” You managed to speak. He froze in place, his smooth cheek now partially exposed. What you'd give to see all of him but things just felt off around here. It was as if a pair of eyes were watching your every move. Playing it off as a normal conversation, you broke eye contact and surveyed the area once more. “Don’t take your mask off.”

How you told him subtly hit different. He didn’t really care if people saw him without the mask during an event like this. Yes, he’s the Shie Hassaikai boss but he preferred to stay away from the limelight. Were you actually thinking of his safety despite him being more than capable of defending himself? Either way, he placed the strap back on and watched as the hall became packed.

With the hall now jam packed, the both of you went separate ways but agreed to come back after 30 minutes.

Blending in with the group was basic to you. What made things difficult was the possibility of Akuji catching your train of thought. Trying to look for a familiar face, you were only met by stares from the guests.

“Looking for me, pretty lady?” A voice said from behind you. Turning around you were met with a man with piercing gray eyes. His hair kept back and his stubble framing his jaw. Stretching a hand, you accepted it out of courtesy. “Name’s Akuji.”

Swiftly transferring his grip to your wrist, he pulled you towards a secluded high top table. Yanking you even closer, he snaked his arm around your waist and held on to your side firmly.

“So what’s a fine lady like you doing in a gala like this?” His face, a little too close for your liking.

“I’ve heard about you.” There was no room for thinking. Whatever came to your thoughts, you had to say it. “You have a pretty strong quirk. What brings you here?”

“I have some business to deal with. You with someone, sweetcheeks?”

“My boss.”

“And who might that ‘boss’ be?” He brushed his nose on your cheek. Feeling you trying to push yourself away, he tightened his grip on your waist and pulled you in even tighter. The faint smell of mint and cigarette was not the best scent.

“Shinoda.” You promptly answered. Saving no room for complaining thoughts. “Though, he will be displeased if he sees you groping me like this. He’s quite known for his anger issues.”

“A threat?” His eyes widened with delight. Just as he was about to talk, a deep voice introduced itself. Turning both of you around, you stared at an old but muscular man. His hair gray, face a tad wrinkled, but his frame showed years of hard work. “Ah. Just who I wanted to see.”

“Still cornering women, Akuji?” The man said. He rested his elbow on the bar and eyed you. A satisfied nod followed as he looked at the man still touching your waist. “What’s your name?”

“I was instructed not to casually give my name.” That was a good one. But was it good enough? “He says not to trust anyone here.”

“Fair enough.” The old man replied. Looking back at Akuji, he cleared his throat and reached for something in his breast pocket. Extending his hand, a business card sat snuggly in between his index and middle finger. Akuji stared at the card and hummed.

“Well, it would be a pleasure~” He shortly tucked his hand and the card in his pocket. “Till then.”

It had barely been 5 minutes and the two men had already gone separate ways. Akuji, however, still kept his hold on you. His actions had changed from groping to steady up and down movements. It was evident he was enjoying the sensation of touching another woman.

“Sir,” You finally had enough. This would be the second time someone defiled you today and you were not living. “If you don’t let go of me I swear, there will be consequences.”

“Feisty.”

“Did you not hear what she said?”

Glancing over your shoulder, you were more than relieved seeing his face. But, the look in his eyes and the aura he was giving was something you had not felt before. His usual calm features were replaced with his eyebrows pulled down together. The same golden eyes you came to adore were glaring at the man holding on to you. His fingers began to play with the hems of his left hand’s glove.

“Shinoda-san!” Akuji greeted Overhaul. His palms remained glued to your dress. “What happened to that previous secretary of yours? The one with blue hair? Was he not to your liking?”

“Akuji.” Overhaul’s voice was deep and his jaw clenched. You watched as he freed his hand from the rubber confinement. “Let her go.”

You felt your mind lighten. His grip on your thoughts was now nonexistent. If your hypothesis was right, Akuji was now focused on reading Overhaul’s mind. Perhaps that was his quirks downfall, he could only do it one person at a time…

“Someone’s protective of their employee~” Akuji taunted Overhaul. Either this man was dumb or just plain fearless. Attempting to hold on to Overhaul’s wrist, he managed to read his mind and went with the left one instead. When his hand made contact with Overhaul’s exposed skin, he saw the look of hatred and disgust in his eyes.

“This is why I don’t like attending events like these.” Lifting his other hand, you saw how he had overhauled his left hand’s glove. Not wanting to catch attention or to cause a scene, you immediately ran and wedged yourself between the two men. Your palm resting on his chest as you pushed him ever so slightly.

“Enough. Shinoda-san.” You tried to calm him down. He was still focused on Akuji. Finding the courage, you managed to snake your hand and cup his masked cheek. Your hands were shaky as you had literally just invaded his personal space even more. When you managed to make him face you, you stared into his pupils and gave him a small smile. “Calm down. Not here. Please.”

Feeling his chest lower as he exhaled, his eyes darted back to Akuji.

“Don’t touch me.” Pulling his wrist away, his free hand held on to your waist as he tugged you closer towards him. “And do not ever touch her with your filthy hands.”

Putting his palms into the air, Akuji took a step back. The picture in Overhaul’s mind was one he would rather not want to read again. Ogling one more time at you, he lowered his head with a smirk before he left the both of you alone.

Allowing yourself to be dragged by him all the way back to your table, you kept stealing glances at his face. He was still angry but his level-headed state was slowly coming back. Upon arriving at the table, he still hadn’t let you go from his hold. Craning your neck to look at him, you waited for him to talk.

“Explain what the hell just happened.”

“I was trying to look for how he would gather people but then I remembered that Akuji would be here. I recalled that he could read minds and I think he used his quirk on me.” You explained. Heart beating rapidly in your chest. “I wanted to think up something but I realized that it would only result in failure.”

Now that you were talking about it, you remembered the exchange they had.

“But I got something out of it. There was this old man who gave him a business card. Perhaps it could be related?”

Rubbing the bridge of his nose with his left hand, he reached for something in his pocket and presented it to you. Your eyes widened when you saw the same one from before.

“That man you just saw was the leader of the Fukuo Kai.” Placing the small piece of paper on the table, he looked at you once more. The look and feel of his anger, gone. “Be more careful. It would be most troublesome to have to clean up any sort of mess.”

Noticing that the skin on his wrist was inflamed, you chewed on your lower lip and felt your guilt rising.

“You’re breaking out.” You pointed out.

“What are you talking about?” The arm wrapped around your waist was feeling fine.

“Your wrist. Where he touched you.”

Right. He forgot about that. Shaking his head, he brushed your statement and told you he could fix it in an instant. Freeing you from his arm, he took a step back and began to heal himself. It was only a small patch of skin so it was gone in a matter of seconds.

Taking the card, you placed it in your purse. Telling him that you got what you needed, he reached for his phone and called for the car to pick the both of you up. The air between you two began to grow more and more tense as the seconds flowed by. It wasn’t long before he received the message that the car was now waiting at the drop-off area.

Inside the elevator, the silence was killing you. The music was nothing but a nuisance.

“Are you mad?” Breaking the silence. He did not answer nor bother to look at you. “Look. I’m sorry, okay? I lowered my guard down for a few seconds and it led to all of this.”

“Learn from what just happened, (L/N).” His eyes eventually found yours. “I might not be there to help you.”

“Thank you, though.” Heat was now rising to your cheeks, you knew it. “For saving me back there.”

The doors opened and you stepped out first. As the both of you walked towards the lobby, you saw the car on the opposite side of the door. The doorman recognized you and immediately went to the back to fetch your coat. Accepting your clothing, you wished him a safe night before exiting the hotel.

Seated in the car once more, you let out a long sigh and leaned onto the backrest. Your trench coat, jacket, and your boxed heels laid in front of you. With everything that had happened, you failed to get any food in your system. The WcMac you ate had already vanished.

“Overhaul.” You were really going to do it.

“Hm?”

“I’m hungry…”

“You’re really burden, do you know that?” Lowering the partition by 2 inches, he faced you once more. “What do you want to eat?”

“Mendy’s…” If you could melt into the leather chairs, you would.

“And stuff your face with grease?” Whatever you could see of his face was etched with annoyance. But the way his pupils were a bit dilated told you otherwise. “Nemoto. Shipotle, now.”

“Shipotle?” You questioned as the partition closed. “You seriously think they’re healthy?”

“No.” He replied flatly. “But they have a decent menu offering healthy meals. Take it or leave it.”

“Fine. I won’t complain.”

After the short drive thru in Shipotle (Nemoto and Chrono also ordered but they didn’t tell), your hands were now full and Overhaul was carrying both your jackets. Quickly opening your door, you placed your food on the small table beside the door and took both your jackets from him. When you saw the jacket your boss defiled, you felt like puking and seized it in your hands.

Overhaul was standing in the lobby. Probably to say farewell.

“I have one last favor.” You lifted the piece of clothing and gestured for him to hold it. “Destroy it.”

“May I ask why?” He wouldn’t mind tearing it apart but the request was all too sudden. Something must have happened a few hours ago, he knew it.

“It’s filthy.” That’s all it took. Witnessing his quirk in action, you saw how the cloth morphed and seemingly exploded into nothing. “Wow.”

“Any more favors?”

“None that I can think of.” You beamed. Once again, you couldn’t see it but his jaw dropped underneath the mask.

“In that case,” He bowed. “I shall take my leave.”

“Good night, Overhaul.”

“And to you, (L/N).”

-----

so.... did yall like the smol interaction with bird daddy? feel free to message me if you have any questions or if you wanna be tagged :) take care!

[featciren]

It was sooooo happy to see the premier of the part4 trailer after finishing part3 of the show so I didn’t have to wait long. This show is too exciting to watch that I couldn’t sleep well every time I finished one episode. Although there’re indeed some plot holes and quite a lot of unnecessary sex scenes, the characters are good enough to make it addicting.

The Professor: My fav character. He’s clever, he’s smart, he’s thoughtful. Being the mastermind of the rebellion but is actually a soft good boi. He has a high moral standard and is patient with everyone. He’s awkward during some social situations which is adorable. He’s definitely demisexual too which makes me love him more. The only thing that I’m not happy about is that he went to have sex with his opponent during the heist when his crew are battling in the Mint... And why going on another heist with the same crew knowing that this crew had fucked up big time during the last one where three members of his crew, including his own brother were dead and the rest had barely escaped? (his choice of recruitment for the first heist is questionable as well...)

Tokio: Idk if she’s one of my fav. She’s got beautiful face and body and is very brave and fearless. She’s good at intimidating ppl but it’s she who caused most of the troubles. Moscow fucking died bcoz of her impetuous decision of driving straight into the entrance of the Mint which was completely unnecessary. She could’ve waited outside and found somewhere to hide after getting rescued from the Serbians. She had little contribution to the crew after she was back as well except firing to the police with Rio. Not to mention she’d disclosed the Professor’s real name to the police... However most of my fav scenes in the whole show have her in them so I can’t hate her much. I do like her interactions and father-daughter kind of relationship with the Professor. But is it the only way to make the show more interesting? by making Tokio do so many stupid things and putting everyone in danger?

Raquel: She’s fine. I like her sticking to the police protocols and being very moral towards criminals. I can’t say her changing sides wasn't smooth at all. Her romantic relationship with Professor has a solid foundation but being an upright officer I don’t think she can be convinced to change sides at once with juz a few words. Maybe her character isn’t actually very into the job of being a police officer to restore justice and love life is more important to her? I juz think she can be a more interesting character if she sticks to be a police officer and keeps chasing them (like Ángel) even she’s in love with the mastermind. She had become much much more boring in part3 as the assistant of the Professor. Her existence can be absent and the story wouldn’t be affected at all (except for the last plot where her “death” made the Professor decided to go on a war). Their relationship is fine tho. They got along well and are perfect for each other. But I’m juz not into it at all.

Berlin: One of my fav. He always had the ultimate goal in mind and was determined. He did every thing solely for the sake of the success of the heist. I had totally no problem with him ordering Denver to kill Mónica or threatening to kill Rio or pushing Tokio out of the Mint coz it was indeed the right thing to do if they wanted to prevent more chaos. Despite being ruthless and a psychopath in common ppl’s eyes, he was very loyal and affectionate to his brother that he quickly got over it even the Professor exposed his identity to the police on purpose to punish him. His kind of understanding of love lead to his tragic relationship with Ariadna which I feel very sorry for him. (I know I should feel pity for Ariadna too but...) I thought there was enough time for him to go into the tunnel and escape with the others?? Like if he ran with Nairobi and Helsinki they could blow up the tunnel at once even the SWAT team were already close behind coz it’s a bomb that could block the whole tunnel? I know his death is necessary if they wanted more chaos in part3 but it’s juz too sad... I’m happy every time he appeared in the flashbacks in part3 and was totally a loving brother throughout the show. I don’t think his character had changed at all coz he was with his brother all the time and he treated his family and the others differently after all.

Moscú: A good dad who wanted the best for his son and everyone. His death was so sad and also unnecessary except for making everyone cry and making Denver uncontrollable in part3. I see no problem with him escaping with Denver and Mónica and living a happy life with them... He wouldn’t have special use in the Bank coz there was no tunnel to dig but he could wait outside and be the loved ones waiting for his son and daughter-in-law to come back safely...(and he could be the one looking after their son as well. damn it)

Denver: I like him being the fighter with a certain level of moral standard. I really like his sweet sweet relationship with Mónica. Him confronting Moscow was heartbreaking and I can’t believe how fast he forgave Tokio for causing his father’s death. It makes sense with his kind of personality tho. That’s why he was happy to see Tokio again for the first time after so long but got sulky again after getting into a high pressure environment which reminded him of his father. He had a child to take care of and a wife to protect and he didn’t want to participate the second heist but he had to for the sake of their safety. He finally saw a bright and wonderful future of himself with his new family but the capture of Rio took everything from him. All these had made him becoming a more interesting character in part3. And his laugh is hilarious.

Nairobi: I love love love her so much. She’s so fierce and she’s perfect for the heist. She believed in the Professor all the way and was very loyal. She had a mistake she wanted to make up for which had made money more important to her. She is sympathetic that she even taught Alison Parker to stand up against those who bullied her (although I really doubt if it was a good idea coz if she learnt how to stand up she could be a threat to the heist...) However it could be her stubbornness in printing more cash that had indirectly caused Berlin’s death. And why would she go out of the Bank to grab that bear knowing it’s clearly a trap...? It was indeed Alicia’s ruthlessness that caused her gunshot but it could’ve been prevented if she had thought for one more sec... I mean you’re in a big heist in a danger zone you have to act rationally... Hope she’s alright in part4. She’s one of my fav pls don’t kill her despite her doing only one silly thing.

Rio: Could be a good boi but too emotional. He lacked the attitude in being a kidnapper. He was all buddy and loving with the hostages especially with Alison Parker which had only made them look down on the crew... If the hostages knew the kidnappers wouldn’t kill them then why would they fear them? His love story with Tokio was quite annoying to be honest. Their love towards each other caused too much trouble and conflict. I appreciate his decision in breaking up with her in part3 but such bad timing is unbearable. I mean you’re in a heist... and you know very well that Tokio was a timed bomb... why would you trigger her knowing that it could send everyone to hell? He was too immature and I agree with the Professor that he should be kicked out of the crew (including Tokio actually. I honestly dunno what their purpose for the heist was)

Helsinki: Is cute and loyal. Had become a cinnamon roll in part3 when he asked Nairobi not to leave him alone in the shared bedroom. Lovestruck with Palermo which is sad coz it’ll most probably be unrequited. Also very sad when he had to kill his cousin but his determination was very admirable. Hope he won’t have to face the death of his best friend and most importantly pls don’t kill him...

Arturo: Probably the most hated character in the whole story but is also a very real character. He wanted to go out by all means including ordering others to do dangerous things for him. But he did stand up for himself sometimes and did the most dangerous part when he confronted Denver so he was actually quite brave. It was a little bit sad to see he was in despair after the first heist and had to boost his fame to hold on to his life even his talk shows were pathetic. But then if he wasn’t such an asshole who told Mónica to have an abortion and being mean and selfish throughout his life he wouldn’t end up like this.

Suárez: Is very handsome. I like to watch him getting real pissed every time when he got back to the tent after the missions were fucked. I understand his anger towards Raquel coz it’s very reasonable towards traitors. I wish he would have the chance to fight the Professor sometimes where the Professor would want to avenge his brother. (Him killing Berlin was also a reasonable thing to do so I have no special thoughts on it)

Palermo: Is a player but actually loves Berlin so much that he’s been in despair for the whole 2 years after his death. He does have the charisma in giving speeches which makes him an intimidating kidnapper. It was so unfortunate for him to be almost blinded in the beginning of the heist but it was probably serving the purpose of him losing control. However his personality juz didn’t fit well in the crew...I know the heist of the Bank is his original idea so he should be involved but he couldn’t get along with the others. Why sending him into the Bank seeing them constantly having conflicts during those 4 months before the heist? (but then the Professor is a very bad matchmaker...) Him punching that one hostage (forgot his name but saw him having a big part in part4′s trailer) was satisfying to watch. Hope he won’t die too I want to see him living for Berlin.

Mónica: Is a poor soft lady with traumatic experience in romantic relationship. Her falling in love with Denver was a natural thing waiting to happen and was very sweet. She had become braver in part3 but she was kinda forcing herself to be. She was juz too sweet to intimidate anyone. Hope she or Denver won’t die coz it would be too too sad. Can’t this kind hearted lady have a peaceful and decent future with her loved ones?

Alicia: The most most hated character in the whole story LOL I hate her to the core. I despise cops in the very first place and this is exactly the kind of cops that I hate the most. Not following protocols, doing every kind of immoral ruthless cruel things juz to accomplish her missions (or fulfil her sadistic desire) and even covering up dirty things done by the govt. I don’t care that she’s pregnant, fucked up sadistic assholes like her shouldn’t have kids in the first place okay? However I understand her existence boosted up the tension in part3 and was very successful coz it’s more challenging for the Professor to deal every kind of situation...(Raquel was a good cop but she wasn’t his opponent at all. She caught him only bcoz he fell in love with her) I enjoyed watching the Alicia series videos on the official Youtube channel tho. Those are kinda cute.

Alison Parker: I don’t like her too although knowing this kind of character should be admired. Being fearless even in danger and giving no fucks to her kidnappers most of the time. She was only trying to get out afterall (although not taking any actions unless Arturo told her to). She was basically useless for the crew too except for the recording part between the Professor and Raquel which was probably an accident) I would start to like her if she managed to stand up against her classmates but that scene never came so I think that’s it for her. (Also why the fuck would you agree with dating your classmate who you know little about and have sex with him in a bathroom in a few hours and take sexual pics with your shirt opened? LOL Even when you have no friends and desire love that’s juz too brainless I can’t even...)

Ángel: Is loyal to Raquel and only wants the best of her. It was smart of him to follow the Professor and got his fingerprint. He was the first to find out who the mastermind was which was pretty amazing. Him having a car crash and went into coma didn’t make me feel sorry tho coz it was jealousy that drove him to investigate the Professor in the first place... and it was also his love towards Raquel that made him keep the information from the police even it violated his principal. I’m glad to see him reappearing in part3 coz he’s actually a good cop and it’s interesting to see him being missioned to chase down Raquel.

Before the trailer was released I was wishing I could see some breaking new things being done. Like the Professor being captured (but got away eventually) and confronted Alicia face to face or going into the Bank by himself to be with the crew physically for the sake of the plan, no longer staying in somewhere else depending on the CCTVs and phone calls to help. I want to see Nairobi live :’( I want to see Palermo sacrificing himself for the crew (not by dying tho) and apologising to Helsinki I’d be okay if Raquel give away the crew to Alicia coz that suits her character and it’s a forgivable thing to do (coz that’s the pressure of the whole world when she’s threatened with her family) I want to see Tokio and Rio being mature and helping out everyone instead of being sulky and losing control I want to see Denver and Mónica walking out of the Bank to reunite with their child in the end :’( I want to see Bogotá and Marsella having more screen time and doing some epic stuff Basically I don’t want anyone to die okay (except for that fierce hostage) And I want to see Alicia having trouble with her pregnancy and finally gets what she deserves LOL that’s a horrible thought but I can’t help

And of coz

Flash backs with Berlin!! Yay!!

There’re a lot of bombing and shooting and fighting in the trailer hope those are not the only things in the whole season

[kyoties]

I'm sorry for asking you this but uhm. What is your opinion on sakura being in haikyuu, what is she like with each teams? Like Karasuno, Aoba Johsai, Inarizaki, nekoma, and shiratorizawa? Thank you!

oh MAN ANON LET’S DO THIS everything will be under the cut! For the record, she���s probably a 2nd year for all of these because it’s a good balance~

Karasuno: I am too attached to Kiyoko and Yachi so they will have THREE managers. Sakura fits into the second-year slot and works hard. She’s the stern lecturer and WILL slap them into shape if they’re messing around too much. Yachi was scared of her at first, but she realized she’s only mean to the boys. Otherwise, she’s super cute and girly!!! The other first-years also weren’t expecting her to be so HARSH. Daichi, Suga, and Asahi are already used to it... The second-years are fearless. Ukai and Takeda appreciate how serious she is about them winning. She also cheers the loudest for everyone when they go to their matches.

Seijoh: She’s got her work cut out for her with Oikawa, the rest are relatively easy to handle. Matsukawa and Hanamaki have prankster energy, but she does her best to not be affected by the meme team. Iwa and Sakura get along well due to their ‘keep Oikawa in line’ solidarity. Oikawa WILL flirt with her, but Sakura shuts him down. He keeps trying though lol She does a lot for the team so she’s they’ve dubbed her their ‘queen’ much to her embarrassment (but she secretly enjoys it). If another team’s player tried hitting her up, they go on the defensive and create a protective wall around her. Kyotani tried disrespecting her and she showed him quickly what hell felt like. Now he shows her as much respect as he does Iwaizumi.

Inarizaki: She knows Kita outside of school as neighbors. And the others notice how nice he is to her compared to how blunt he is to them. She knows all about the twins and tries to keep her distance from Atsumu. He doesn’t like being ignored by the cute manager and will bother her to no end because ‘it’s rude to show such an extreme bias’. She bickers with him a lot lol. Suna, Osamu and Aran always take her side which Atsumu points out is still WAY too obvious. They don’t deny it either. 

Regardless, she cares a lot for them but gets embarrassed when her entire school heckles the other teams. However, she’s still competitive and wants to win so she’ll encourage them during breaks and gives them high-fives as they go back to the court. Nekoma: She’s constantly on the defensive against Kuroo, Lev, and Yamamoto’s antics. Kenma feels bad for her because she’s basically a mom to the whole team. Yaku got angry that Lev used his water bottle? Stickers all over them to differentiate. They’re sneaking around to use the extra money leftover to buy snacks from the vending machine? Sakura kicks them into shape and starts bringing them gross nutritional shakes so they’re not hungry anymore during practice. The only one she’s nice to is Kai because he deserves it for being a gentleman. Yamamoto happily brags about their cute manager and argue about it with Tanaka and Nishinoya. He has made a list and he’s not afraid to tell ANYONE why her pink hair boosts her cuteness level by 80%. Nekomata adores her though and allows her to be mean to them. He often says that the team works better with her there. She also cuts her hand halfway through the year and Kuroo and Yaku spend an hour debating which hairstyle suited her more. Yamamoto joins in as mediator that obviously any hairstyle suits her and they all come to an agreement. Sakura gives them all extra bitter nutritional shakes the next day. Shiratorizawa: Powerhouse school with a powerhouse manager. Ushijima didn’t expect her to be as strong as she was. I mean, she’s just so SMALL to him. But she’s loud, stern, and serious. Tendou likes to mess around with her, but Ushijima always reminds him to be ‘respectful of women’. She’s also wildly popular at Shiratorizawa and is well-known for having a fanbase. She also got a small shining moment of praise from Ushijima during an interview for all the work she does for the club. So her popularity skyrocketed from there. She eats that shit up lol Ushijima invites her to sit with them at lunch and she happily joins them on occasion. She DOES like talking to her girl friends tho so it’s only when he asks. Because being around guys all the time is EXHAUSTING. Otherwise she’s a good manager, she was a little afraid at first to share her own advice with them, but after getting to know them she wasn’t afraid to point out things if Coach Washijo didn’t mention it first. She wants them to WIN.

[cranetreegang]

Fallout 4: Elder Arthur Maxson x FemSol: Late Night

A little something for our fearless leader Maxson. I think he gets a lot of bad rap, but he’s really not that bad. I think his heart is in the right place. Even when he gets a little... harsh about things #iwillneverkilldanseaslongasilive #cantchangemymind #whycan’twebefriends

This story is a bit dialogue heavy and sorta kinda fluffy. I still like it tho. Some background: Sole is General to Minutemen and has been talking to Maxson some about Pre War life. I like to think that Maxson is curious about that kind of stuff.

Let me know what ya think!

I should’ve been asleep hours ago, but my mind was too restless. It was running around between Shaun, Preston, and whatever else came to mind. 

I gave up and went for a walk. The ship was quiet at this hour. The only people up were a few scribes and a handful of initiates on guard duty. I climbed the ladder down to the command deck and went to the area I found a few days ago. I think it was called the Forward Deck. Whatever it was, it had a great view. I opened the door to see another person already there. I almost turned to leave, when I recognized the person as Maxson. 

I watched him for a moment before approaching him.  

“It’s weird seeing Boston like this.” I spoke softly as to not startle him. I went ahead and stood beside him. If he was surprised to see me, he didn’t show it. 

“It’s a reminder of what technology run a muck will do.” He said grimly above the wind. It was a biting wind that cut through my thin flight suit. I could see the lights of Diamond City glimmering in the distance. Various campfires dotted the dark landscape and my eyes followed them until I saw a bright green light. It reminded me of an aurora.

“Is that the Glowing Sea?” I asked him, pointing to the green light in the distance. He followed my finger to the only other bright light in the area.  

“Yes. That’s where the bomb fell. The radiation there is unlike anything we’ve seen before.” He stated. My eyes trained on the glowing greens and yellows. That’s where it happened. I could almost see the explosion in the back of my mind. The cries of hundreds of people rang in my ears. A gentle touch on my arm brought me back. I followed the gloved hand to Maxson’s worried expression. 

“I’m sorry, did you say something?” I tried to play it off. 

“Did you see it happen?” He asked. I looked back to the Glowing Sea. 

“It happened right when we were being lowered into the vault.” 

“I figured you were already inside before the bomb.” He said. I shook my head. 

“We barely made it in time. I don’t think anyone knew it was going to happen. It was complete chaos. There were people fighting to get in the vault. Cars trying to drive away. And some just stood there in the street. They didn’t even move.” A chill went up my spine. I could see their blank expressions staring off into the distance. Hopeless. 

“It all happened so fast. One minute I’m enjoying coffee, listening to the morning news. The next… I’m here.” I took a long breath to keep my emotions at bay. I did my grieving for my past life, and everything that happened in between. 

I couldn’t stop staring at the gently swirling green lights. It almost seemed peaceful from here. “I’ve heard rumors about the Glowing Sea. Breeding ground for nightmares apparently.”

“That’s what my scouts have informed me. We’ll send an expedition once we have more of a foothold in the Commonwealth.” He said. I nodded in understanding, and we shifted into a peaceful silence.

 A visible shiver went through me due to a strong gust of wind. Maxson was quick to notice and shrugged off his coat. He wrapped it around me before I could protest. I almost fell down from the weight.

“Holy shit! How much does this thing weigh?” I exclaimed. He barked out a sharp laugh. 

“It’s reinforced with lightweight ballistic plating.” 

My brows raised nearly to my hairline. “Lightweight? I would hate to see it full weight then.”

He had a tight smile playing under his unruly beard. “Seems like you need to focus more on your strength training, Knight.” 

“Well, if I walked around wearing this all day, I’d look like Danse.” 

I could hear him cough back a chuckle. Despite the weight, it was warm. I wrapped the jacket closer around me. It practically swallowed me whole. It smelled like leather and metal mixed with a dark musk that I could only describe as being Maxson. I glanced over at him and he seemed unfazed by the brisk night. His dark flight suit did little to hide his well toned body. I felt my cheeks starting to betray my inner thoughts, and I changed my focus to Diamond City.

“I wonder if Boston will ever look how it did.” 

“Once we’ve liberated the Commonwealth, that might happen.” He said. 

“That'd be amazing. Danse pointed out when we went to Diamond City. That all those buildings are still intact. Maybe it’ll be a Boston 2.0 after you’ve conquered the place.” 

“Is that what you think I’m doing here? Conquering?” He seemed concerned. 

“You aren’t here to plant the Brotherhood flag?” I questioned with a raised brow. 

“The Institute is why I’m here. They’ve created monsters, taken innocents from their homes, and killed too many of our brothers and sisters. They’ve tainted the Commonwealth, and have spread along the East Coast like a plague. I’m here to put an end to it. An end to their reign of terror.” His face was stern and his voice harsh. Much like his speech when I first arrived, I found his fervor intoxicating. 

“That’s what you need to be telling the people then. Right now, people see you as just another Institute. And I want to help you with that.” 

He leaned against the railing giving me full attention. “How?” 

“Well, I am General of the Minutemen.” I made a shy grin as his brows raised. 

“General? How did you become General?” 

“Long story short, I killed a deathclaw when I first left the vault that was attacking the last of the Minutemen. That’s besides the point though.” I tried to continue, but he started to laugh. 

“You killed one of the toughest creatures in the Wasteland? On your first day?” 

“Well… yes. Why is that so hard for everyone to believe? I heard you killed one when you were 13! With nothing but a 10 mil!” I bit my lip as he looked at me impressed and amused.

He ran his gloved finger down his scared cheek. “You’ve heard the story going around. About this scar.” I had been curious about it, but was too polite to ask.

“Is it not from a deathclaw?” 

“Maybe. Maybe not. That’s a story for another day. Please, continue.” He smirked. 

I kept myself from rolling my eyes and began my pitch again. “Anyways, I’ve been helping some of the settlements and farms around the Commonwealth. Most of them just want protection, and a community to be around. A home that they can be proud of. I’m sure Teegan’s told you that I convinced some of them to give a portion of their crops. I think if we made an alliance between the Minutemen and the Brotherhood, people might not see you as the new boogeyman.” I suggested. He stroked his beard in thought. It was cute in a way. 

“Teegan and Danse have informed me of your efforts. I'm glad you’re taking initiative. You’re doing the Brotherhood proud.” He paused in reflection once again. “This is an interesting proposition. I’ll have to give it some thought, and speak to my advisors about this. I will say, it’s promising.” 

“Take your time. The Minutemen still have their work cut out for them, but I’m gonna whip them into shape!” I said proudly. He had a soft smile. 

“I believe that, General.” He bowed his head. “May I ask, what are you doing out here so late? I believe you and Danse are departing tomorrow.” 

“I could ask you the same thing.” 

He hummed at my lack of an answer. His eyes shifted over me with a hint of concern. “If there’s anything you need, I hope that you would feel comfortable in coming to me. Or any of your brothers and sisters.”  I realized we were close to each other. Our shoulders were practically touching. Our heads were leaning towards the other.

A smile of admiration came over me for him. “Thank you, Elder. I would like to offer the same kindness to you as well. If you ever wanted to talk about anything, and I do mean anything, just let me know.” 

“We may not have much in this world. But we do have each other. It’s something that I try to get everyone under my wing to understand. No matter their rank or status.” 

He got off the railing and gave a final scan over the horizon. “Would you like to join me for a drink? You look like you could use one.” 

His candor took me off guard for a moment. I let myself dumbly nod and started to follow him off the deck. I stopped him before he could open the door. I struggled to take off his jacket and hand it back to him.

“Thanks for letting me borrow it.” 

He shrugged the large coat back on like it was nothing. It fit him like a second skin. Much like his tight flight suit, I thought lewdly. 

“Can’t have you freezing again.” He checked my response and seemed relieved that I was laughing. 

He led me back to his quarters. I could feel the gaze of the late night guards on us as we strolled past. We sat down on his tattered couch next to each other. He handed me a glass of bourbon. He practically swallowed his in one gulp. If I didn’t know any better, I would say we were hanging out like friends. That warmed me more than the bourbon.

“I had a question for you.” Maxson stated. “What did you like to do Pre War? You’ve talked about numerous other things Pre War. But never about yourself.” 

“I... I hadn’t noticed. I don’t know. I didn’t really do anything exciting back then.” I shrugged. 

Maxson chuckled. “I find that hard to believe. You’ve been here for four weeks, and you’re all anyone talks about.” 

“That’s because I’m like a novelty. How many Pre War popsicles do you have running around the Commonwealth?” I giggled. 

“Fair point. You’re avoiding the question.” He pressed. 

“My favorite thing to do.” I hummed in thought for a moment. “I guess it was traveling. I liked to explore new places. Still do. I think that’s why I don’t mind running around the Commonwealth.”

“What was your favorite place?” He asked. He leaned fully back and seemed relaxed. I didn’t know if it was the drink or something else entirely. 

“That’s a hard one.” I paused as I thought about it. The bourbon had already taken affect. I recounted the places I’ve been. I figured out which one stood out the most to me. “Well, there is one. It’s out in Utah. Zion National Park. Heard of it?” 

“I have. The West Coast Brotherhood have reports of a tribe living there. It’s fairly intact.” 

I let out a relieved sigh. “That’s good to hear. That place was… it’s hard to describe.” 

“I would like to hear about it.” He said softly. I smiled and started my tale. 

“I went with my parents during Thanksgiving break when I was younger. At first, I didn’t wanna go. I’m not a big fan of looking at deserts and sand. And I thought Zion was just that. When we got there, we wanted to do one of the hikes, Angel’s Landing. It’s supposed to be so high, only Angels can reach it.” I laughed to myself. 

“I know you might not think it’s a big deal, but it took a few hours to get to the top. We had to go up and up and up. Hiking along switchbacks and hills. We had to traverse along a narrow ridge that barely had enough room for one person to walk. You could look down on either side, and it dropped off 3,000 feet below. I wasn’t scared or anything. I knew I wouldn’t fall. When we got to the top, I’ve never seen anything like it.” 

“What did you see?” His voice was heavy. His head was turned towards me, but his eyes were closed. I nudged him and he barely opened one of his eyes to look at me. 

“How about you lay down? Then I can finish.” 

He nodded and shuffled over to his bed. He ripped off his boots, and threw his jacket over a dresser. He got comfortable and patted the space next to him. I didn’t know what to do for a moment. I debated within myself, before deciding to sit at the foot of the bed. 

He closed his eyes once more. “Finish your story. I’m listening.” 

“Uh huh. Looks like I’m boring you to sleep.” I teased. 

His brows furrowed. “Not at all. Please. I want to know what you saw.” He kept his eyes open until I started speaking again.

“When we reached the top, I understood why it was called Angel’s Landing. I could see all of Zion. The stones and mountains there are white and pink and brown and orange. The sun was starting to set, and the whole valley had this glow. The river was shimmering and the trees surrounding it were green and orange and red. Apparently the trees never turn those colors.” I could almost feel myself back on top of that ridge. The wind was blowing through my hair. 

“The feeling I had up there was... spiritual. If I had to describe it in one word. Nothing I’ve ever felt before. I wanted to go with Nate. But… he got deployed. Then he came back, and I got pregnant. And you know the rest.” I looked over to Maxson to see his chest rising and falling in a rhythmic pattern. A light snore was escaping him. He looked peaceful. I was glad I could help him get some sleep. 

I watched him sleep for a few more moments. I slowly got off his bed. I grabbed his jacket, and placed it over him. He mumbled something I couldn’t quite understand, before settling back to sleep.

I moved his stray hairs back to their place. He was handsome. I felt a ping of pity for him. I doubt he’s ever had a moment to be himself. To do whatever he really wanted in life. Or maybe this was what he wanted. I shook my head out of my thoughts. I placed a soft kiss on his forehead.

“Goodnight, Maxson.” I whispered. He mumbled more things under his breath that I took as his goodbye wishes. 

I snuck back to my bunk. Where I drifted off to a land of pink rocks and long sunsets.

[pokemonswshbutionlyplayedsword]

AW your insecurities hcs were so sad but I love them. Low key relate to Gordie, he’s a sweetie... But anyway based off that, can I get an HC for how Opal helps the other gym leaders with their insecurities? She’s a badass old lady who I feel like would hate to hear all these lovely gym leaders are upset.

Yes, anon, you can. And yes, anon, Opal is a badass old lady who loves her fellow gym leaders.

For Milo, she kind of picked up on his insecurities after a battle where whenever he spoke, his face got red and his voice got quieter. After the battle, she talked to him about it, and assured him that it made no difference to her or the other gym leaders. He’d been called out for it before, but she pretty much said “fuck the haters” and sent him home happy as a clam.

For Nessa, she lets her know that she grew up in a time when all of Galar thought women should avoid pokemon battles. She told Nessa stories of how she beat the hell out of anyone who questioned her and went on her way. She told Nessa about her hopes that one day all those people will be gone and everyone will be able to agree that women can be powerful trainers.

For Kabu, Opal wasn’t really sure what to say to him. Being in a completely different place with no chance of fitting in wasn’t something she’d experienced in the past, so she didn’t have much to say to him. She did offer him a big hug and told him that she didn’t care what region he was from and that he was a good enough trainer that people who didn’t like him could mind their own business. She also told him that none of the gym leaders had ever even mentioned it, like he was worried about.

For Allister, she reassured him that she didn’t see him as a child. She told him she knew what it was like to be underestimated, and told him to savor the satisfaction of proving them wrong. She told him that he was a strong trainer and everybody knew that. If anything, his age only made his achievements more impressive. She also mentioned that his ghost typing made him unique and special and that she admired his fearlessness.

For Bea, she tells her that Arceus has made someone for everybody. She said that Bea was a beautiful young woman who’s greatness was only enhanced by her strength. Any man that didn’t want to be with a strong woman wasn’t worth her time, anyway. She shouldn’t worry about boys because the right one will come along in due time, and when he does, Bea will know.

For herself, well, fuck them haters. She does what she wants, and no one can stop her.

For Gordie, she always tells him that he has a right to use whatever type he wants. She also tries to get him to see his mom’s side of the argument. She doesn’t offer clear solutions, but she does offer helpful advice. Thanks to her, he’s one step closer to mending his relationship. Also, she says she likes his hair both down and when he styles it. Could use some more pink, tho :/

For Melony, she tells her that she is a great mother, and that just because Gordie and her are fighting, that doesn’t mean she’s a bad mother or he’s a bad son. She tries to talk some sense into her about it, but also understands why she’s so upset. Melony should remember that Gordie still loves her. Also, she’s a thicc queen and doesn’t need to worry about her body bc she’s so strong and independent.

For Piers, she took one look at this bundle of punk rock nerves and was like “oh no baby come sit down.” She reminds him that his body is just fine. He doesn’t need to be muscular to be a gym leader. He’d probably also wipe the floor with the other gym leaders in a foot race (he’s almost as fast as an Obstagoon, like holy shit) or in gymnastics (he does it for fitness a couple times a week). She tells him that he is a real gym leader and that she knows he’s serious about his job. He does a great job and it doesn’t matter how many fans he has. He’s one of the strongest trainers in Galar. She comforts him when he stresses about Marnie or is upset thinking about his parents. She tells him it’s not his fault they left. She admires his boldness for choosing such a controversial type, and reminds him that he is the first and only dark type gym leader, so he’s definitely worth noting in the history books.

For Raihan, she tries to give him tips on how to ween off his phone and social media a little. Whether he listens or not is up to him. She knows it scares him, so she makes sure to tell him that it’s okay. Also his legs look fine he just needs to work on them more.

For Leon, she tells him about how much Hop loves him and looks up to him. No matter where he goes, Hop is always talking about how cool and great his brother is. Also, she tries to give him wardrobe advice, but Leon does not want to dye his shorts pink, so...

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Two Hundred Sixty-Three: An Apprentice ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata, Hyūga Hiashi ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: River Runs Deep ] [ AO3 Link ]

“Look...there he is…”

“Who?”

“The last of the Uchiha. Didn’t you hear?”

“No! The old samurai family? What happened?”

“A few nights past, their manor went up in flames. The only one to survive was that boy, there. They say it was burned by a vengeful yōkai - an old kitsune their ancestor scourged. It gained enough power, and took its revenge.”

“The poor thing...will no one take him?”

“And risk bringing the yōkai down on their heads? Doubtful. He’s as good as marked. No one will risk being near him, now. The smell of smoke will follow...and anything too close will burn.”

The pair of women gossip beneath an awning, safe from the rain that falls over their village. Their umbrellas folded, they stop and stare at the child before them.

Sat on the stoop of an empty building, the water dribbles from the roofline, soaking him through to the bone. Bare feet are muddy, garments just as unkempt. He’s not had a meal to his name since the night his home was consumed in angry red foxfire.

He can still see the eyes in the dark when he closes his own.

Arms gripping around his knees, he stares blankly out into the swamp of the side road. There’s an ache in his belly as it begs for food, but he has nothing to offer it. No one dares approach, too wary of a fox’s curse to extend a hand. Surely if they help him, they’ll incur the creature’s wrath.

Sasuke is left to wonder if he will simply wither away in the gutter, alone and abandoned.

“...you. Boy.”

Dark eyes drag upward, following regal clothes up to a stern face. A man, followed by a pair of servants, looks to him critically with strange, pale irises the likes of which Sasuke has never seen. They almost look like the belly of a clam shell, white...and yet shimmering faint colors in the light. At the man’s hip...is a sword.

Samurai.

“You are the Uchiha, are you not?”

Confused, but also too run ragged to be wary, the boy gives a slow nod.

“What say you to an apprenticeship, boy?”

“...what…?”

“I have heard of your fate, and your roots. Your clan, like mine, was a noble family of the blade. To leave you to rot is a grave injustice. Here, in the mud, is hardy a fitting place of one of your blood. Get up.”

Black brows wilt. “But...the curse -?”

“I have no fear of fire, boy,” the man assures him, tone grave...and yet assured. “So...make your choice. Will you rot here in the gutter? Or will you accept an opened hand?”

His gaze flickers over this...stranger. Given his blade, it’s unquestionable what he is...but Sasuke cannot know who. “What...what is your name, sir?”

“I am Hyūga Hiashi, the head of my clan, and the bearer of my ancestor’s blade. There are few within the isles more skilled than I in our ways. If you are to learn, Uchiha, with the rest of your kin dead...there is no one better than I. But...I cannot do this without cost. If I am to be your teacher...you must also pledge your fealty to me. Your life will no longer be your own...but it will not wither. Like my blade, you will be an extension of my arm. A student, and a soldier under my banner. What say you, boy?”

A long moment of silence passes, Sasuke’s mind whirling. In truth...he has little choice, unless he wants to starve, or be killed, or suffer some other unknown fate until his death. No one else has dared approach the fox’s curse...but this one claims to be unphased by fire.

...Sasuke has to wonder why.

“...I...I accept,” he murmurs.

“Good...now, tell me your name, child of the Uchiha.”

“Sasuke, Hyūga-sama.”

“Your age?”

“I’m newly seven, sir.”

“I see...I’ve a daughter your age. But you will meet her another time. For now...we must take you home, bathe you, and redress you. I’ll not have a dirty vagabond under my wing. Come.” Without another warning, Hiashi turns and makes to leave.

Scrambling to his feet, Sasuke follows, still feeling...unsure. Far more questions than answers seem to run circles in his head. Who is this man? What does he want with an orphan? Who is he to defy the curse of a kitsune?

And those eyes...something about them seems...inhuman.

But there’s no time for his thoughts now, led through the streets and their stares, their whispers. By now, everyone seems to know the tale...and what it might mean if they get too close. Hiashi doesn’t seem to pay them any mind, but Sasuke shrinks from their mistrustful gazes. All of this...and none of it brought about by his own actions. Just a curse earned by an ancestor long dead. And now...his life will never be the same. His kin, gone...his home, nothing but ashes and cinders.

His future...completely uncertain.

Keeping just behind Hiashi’s hems, Sasuke soon finds himself led to a manor not unlike how his own once was. A walled district littered with buildings, roads, and beautiful gardens all standing in the grey of the rainy day, people doing their best to avoid the somber weather. All turn to observe their patriarch...and the little boy behind him.

And everywhere Sasuke looks...he sees those same strange eyes. Eyes that seem to stare straight through him.

“First, a proper bath. Then new clothes. Then we must get some sustenance into you,” Hiashi muses, still walking. “Once you are full and presentable...we will speak further. Though, if the hour grows late...it may wait until morning. I suppose it depends on how filthy you’ve gotten, and how great your appetite. My servants will tend to you. Until later, then.”

With that, Sasuke finds himself whisked to a bathhouse, stripped and washed and nearly simmered in a bath so hot, it quickly turns him red. But after so many days cold and alone, it’s a welcome change. Once warmed to his bones, he’s taken and dried, then given fresh garments that are ever so slightly too large.

“These belonged to Neji-sama, Hiashi-sama’s nephew,” one servant explains, helping to adjust the outfit. “He is already a prodigal swordsman, and a year older than you. Hiashi-sama will surely use him as a measure for your growth. Train hard, Uchiha-sama. Perhaps you will wield a blade so mighty, you will slay the kitsune that cursed you!”

The notion widens the boy’s eyes. Kill a kitsune…? Is such a thing possible? If it would avenge his family, then...perhaps…

But he’s given little time to think, carted away to his next assignment: a meal. In spite of himself, his expression is uncensored desire, stomach gurgling and a bit of drool gathering at a corner of his lips.

He eats enough to fill a grown man twice over, and could still devour more...but brings himself to a stop. Still a relative stranger, he’s fed in the kitchen, tucked atop a sack of rice as the cook laughs heartily at his appetite.

“You’ll be hungry quite often, little Uchiha,” he muses. “Hiashi-sama will run you ragged training if you are to be worth his investment in you!”

“Do you know...why he brought me here?”

“The blood in your veins is just as old, powerful, and noble as his own. To leave you to the streets is a shameful thing . Hiashi-sama fears no curses - you will be safe here.”

“But why doesn’t he -?”

“Oh, Hinata-sama!”

Cut off, Sasuke looks to the doorway. There, half-hidden behind the wall, is a girl about his age. Hime-cut hair is dark, an amethyst shine haloing from the fire. She wears a white, blue, and purple kimono, and like the others, bears those same strange eyes. But something about her feels even...stranger.

Unable to help staring, Sasuke tries to puzzle it out as the cook inquires if she’s here for a sweet to ruin her supper. As she shrinks shyly, Sasuke notices it, for just a moment.

A strange, whipping shadow cast behind her from the kitchen’s light.

But then, like a blink...it’s gone.

“Your father will scold me if I spoil your dessert before it’s time, Hinata-hime,” the cook offers, smiling warmly. “Just be patient - it won’t be long.”

“O...okay…”

“Have you met our now guest? Your father has taken on an apprentice! What do you think?”

It’s then the pair finally lock eyes, and Sasuke barely suppresses a shiver.

Something about her...it’s…

Hiding further behind the wall, Hinata ducks her head, nearly hiding behind her fringe. “...you are...the Uchiha…?”

“Y...yeah.”

Eyes rove over him curiously. “You...smell like smoke…”

“Impossible, we just had him bathed, Hinata-hime! Surely you just smell the hearth, here. Now...you’d best make your way back to your room. You know your father will be unhappy to see you back here - this is a place for us servants!”

“Y...yes.” With one last glance at her guest, Hinata gives a tiny bow before disappearing.

Sasuke doesn’t reply, just frowning, a churning in his gut. What is going on in this place…?

“Uchiha-sama? Hiashi-sama wishes to speak to you in the morning - the hour grows too late, and he has no time this evening. Please, follow me to your quarters.”

Looking to the servant, Sasuke manages a nod, thanking the cook and making to follow. His room is...nothing special. Just a place to sleep, maybe study. But after the last few days...it may as well be a room in the imperial palace. A roof over his head, a full belly, and bones warm from a bath...he can’t ask for more after all he’s lost.

Curling up in his bed, Sasuke idles for a time, lost in swirling thoughts. Something about this place - these people - it seems so...strange.

“I have no fear of fire, boy.”

But why…? What could make a man brave enough to be fearless in the face of a fox’s curse? Unless...he’s no man at all.

Having no proof, and too tired to think any further, Sasuke sighs and buries his head beneath the blankets. For now...all he wants to do is sleep in a bed at last. Tomorrow...he can begin to puzzle out this mystery.

And begin his path as a samurai’s apprentice.

                                                        .oOo.

     Guh, tired @~@ So I'll be brief. This is a super random idea, no idea if I'll do more with it or not - I was winging it pretty badly ^^; I like some of the concepts, but I have NO idea how I'd turn it into something a bit more proper for a story. We'll see.      For now tho, I'm just...too tired to give it more thought, aha - maybe I'll have more inspiration for it another day. Either way, thanks for reading~

[mercurie-and-me]

ok LISTEN i know no one cares about this but i just listened to walls (the album) for the first time this morning and boiiii do i have some thoughts

(i didn't listen to any of the unreleased tracks beforehand btw)

kill my mind: to be honest, this is the only song on the album that i would probably skip if it came on shuffle. i didn't really vibe with it when it first came out either, it's just a bit busy for me, but i think it's good as an opener because it has so much power. it's also pretty reminiscent of uan one direction to me for some reason

don't let it break your heart: this!!!!!! this is probably my favorite song he released beforehand, the vocals, the instrumental, the lyrics, everything just fits so well and i'm so proud of him 😭😭

two of us: it's hard to listen to this without crying because firstly this reminds me of my dead grandparents but also he has just been through so much and i genuinely feel for him. it's terrible enough losing a loved one but doing it twice in the span of like two years while having the eyes of the entire world on you must be absolutely horrific

we made it: for some reason i kind of skipped over this when it first came out, i only listened to it like twice but this slaps so hard what the fuck?? i love the rhythm of his voice here (i don't know music terms lol) and also the little 'yeah yeah yeah' in the chorus..... some good shit 👌🏻

too young: this shit is so soft what the hell.... also his voice,, i will beat the next person up who says that louis is the weakest of the 1d boys (vocally). i mean, he might not be as versatile as harry or zayn but i always loved his voice because it's just so soft and unique and hearing it on this track is just.... *chef's kiss*

walls: for every question why you were my because..... now i stand taller than them all..... i'm telling you, this man is a goddamn poet. i've already done the whole 'freaking out over walls on tumblr' tho so i won't say anything else lol

habit: 'come so far from princess park'..... ok not to be a l*rrie but 2015 me is quaking in her boots right now, louis what the hell?? he must have known people would take it that way right?? i am confusion,, but also this song is amazing, i swear he's probably one of the most interesting mainstream songwriters right now

always you: okay okay okAYYY this is probably the biggest surprise for me on this album, i've never heard him do a song that was anything like this, i think this might actually be my favorite off the entire album right now?? i'm getting against the current vibes, i'm getting MAJOR future hearts all time low vibes, i really hope he does more like this! also, see previous comment on ppl who say he can't sing because have you LISTENED to this song? i can already see it being stuck in my head for the entire week now djdkdkdjdkdk

fearless: this one really speaks to me as a young adult who hasn't really learned how to adult yet but is just kind of pretending they do. also, the chorus gives me major goosebumps xjsjdkdkdkdkd

perfect now: ok now THIS ONE is the one that seems like a one direction song, it's like little things 2.0 i guess some queens don't need a crown SHUT UP I'M GONNA COMBUST THIS IS SO CUTE (also this is a lesbian anthem now sorry i don't make the rules)

defenceless: oh my god this chorus is amazing, i'm sorry if i sound like a brokwn record but i'm really blown away by how amazing this album is 😭 kinda solidifying my wish to get a 'defenceless' tattoo on my wrist for this song and iicf as we speak..... just kidding,, unless? 👀

only the brave: i really love when louis' accent comes out during singing, i don't really know any other singer where it's that prominent. it's not just in this song obviously but here i really noticed it. also, why is the song only 1:46???? what the hell?? this is like harry releasing sunflower vol. 6 without showing us vol. 1-5 givE US THE REST OF THE SONG LOUIS

[aspaceformyself]

Upside down; Chapter 5

Note: I didn’t really think I was going to continue writing this anytime soon. I fell into a bad slump and was also too much of a coward to keep going. I somehow picked up enough courage tho. To continue writing, to continue this. Probably because, this series entangles with a lot of my own personal struggles and I really want to find a way to help myself through this. I hope this courage stays long enough to finish writing this. 

Chapter 4 - Chapter 6

His first date with Yuuri involved sneaking out at 3 AM in the early hours to get an ice cream. She called it an adventure and threw a wink along his way. Namjoon blushed so hard he prayed the pink was not visible on his face. Wait, wait, wait, did he just call this a date? Well, at least, that’s what he told himself in his head. After an exhausting day of rehearsals and practice sessions, sneaking out in the dead of the night for an ice cream was not how Namjoon expected his day to end. But hey, it was Yuuri who offered, and he found no reason to say no. More than offered, she just dragged him along with her impromptu plan.

“Man! This feels so good!” She exclaimed throwing her arms around. It was a windy early hours of dawn. The sky is still a blanket of thick dark blue velvet with occasional stars decorated here and there. Namjoon pulled his hoodie further around him as he felt the chill in the air prickle his skin.

“Aren’t you cold Yuuri?” He called out to the girl gleefully skipping in front of him.

“Hm? No”, She said simply, now bouncing, “I can’t tolerate hot weathers, but I can, any amount of cold”.

Namjoon giggled, “I don’t like hot weathers too but then again I’m not a huge fan of cold either”.

“You like it neutral then?”

“Maybe, but I like it when it’s windy, you know, like the atmosphere right before it’s about to rain?”

“Oh! I love that weather too! I actually have a special kind of romantic pining for it!”

“A romantic pining huh?”

“Yes! Especially the smell of soil when it starts to drizzle!”

“I feel you girl, I feel you”.

They fell into a comfortable silence after this into the quiet of the streets around them. Namjoon liked this. He liked how easy his conversations flowed with her now. Not that they didn’t before but he could really feel something change between them. Perhaps it was their conversation a few days ago or perhaps it was the fact that they exchanged numbers now, Namjoon could feel Yuuri’s demeanour around him slightly change. He felt like she opened a small peephole in the barrier she usually surrounds herself with. But a peephole is all it is and Namjoon was still grateful, sizing every opportunity to completely crack her open, figure her out, figure out what about her has him so enthralled that he’s impulsively treading on a path whose end he can’t see.

“I doubt any store would be open at this hour Yuuri”, He sighed almost after 15 minutes of aimless walking.

“Wait and watch”, was all Yuuri said and threw another wink at him. Namjoon lost himself for a moment again but jolted right out of his dreams when he felt her slender fingers circle around one of his wrists and within seconds she was tugging him away into a narrow lane, up a slope. It took awhile for Namjoon to process the change in his surroundings. They were no longer in the posh/ urban cut of the city but a sort of small townish lane. He certainly didn’t expect a place like this to exist in the area he lives. It was a surprise. After treading along the slope, Yuuri stopped in front of a small parlour.

“Wow….” Namjoon awed as he took a bite of his chocolate flavoured ice cream.

“It’s good right!” Yuuri exclaimed, her eyes twinkling as she dug into her own coffee and chocolate mix of ice cream.

“It is!” Namjoon said taking another spoonful into his mouth.

“How did you know about this place?” He asked, still delighted over his ice cream.

“Well”, Yuuri just shrugged, “I found this place about a week ago”.

“Oh”, Namjoon took her answer and didn’t think more of it before he caught her eyeing at him, her expression, a mixture of both mischief and guilt.

“Waaiittt”, He stopped, looking up at her with narrow, accusing eyes, “don’t tell me you’ve been sneaking around by yourself late at nights like this!”

“I’m so sorry Jooooooooon!” Yuuri whined, pressing her hands together and bowing down to him, the nickname escaping her lips very easily, once again making Namjoon all flustered. She never called him that. Heck she never even said his name. This was a first. But Yuuri didn’t seem to notice it, neither the nickname nor how flushed Namjoon looked, she continued, “But I was desperate you know! I was just working and working and working all day long. And, and it was suffocating, just sitting, all holed up in the studio without having the time or space to breathe and whenever I felt the urge, I used to sneak away like this”.

Namjoon sighed. What can he say to that? He understands that all too well.

“I understand that Yuuri”, He said, a bit curtly. Yuuri winced.

“But, do you realize how dangerous this is? It’s one thing when it's crowded but you do know how deserted this area gets after dark right? And it’s not safe at all! Anything could’ve happened to you!”

Yuuri gave a whimper of protest under his stern gaze, guilt smeared over her face. And then she groaned.

“Yuuri!”

Namjoon sighed again. There’s definitely no chance of getting through to this girl. She’s so reckless, fearless and independant all the time that she won’t even give a thought to the consequences she has to face later on.  And she’s unstoppable. So Namjoon did the only thing he could think of then, at that moment.

“Look, I do understand that you get suffocated and you want to get out”, He said and looked at Yuuri who still looked like she’s ready to protest if he objects, “I feel like that a lot of times too. But!”

She groaned again and began to say something but Namjoon beat her to it.

“If you feel like that next time and you really want to get out”, He paused eyeing her carefully, “Drop by my studio or just give me a call or a text or anything. I’ll tag along. But I’m not letting you go alone!”

Yuuri’s face lit up like a thousand bulbs at his offer.

“For real?!” She gaped at him.

“Yes, for real”, Namjoon agreed, without lifting his head up to look at her, his gaze fixed on his ice cream. He was kind of surprised at himself at how quickly he offered himself. He was worried if it looked desperate or came across as something similar. But the expression on Yuuri’s face set aside all his worries. Now he was glad he offered.

“Why are you so kind Kim Namjoooooon?” Yuuri cooed dramatically clutching her heart, “You move me”.

Namjoon just giggled at her.

“Oh, you’re always so extra”, he teased, with a similarly dramatic roll of his eyes, “Such drama queen”.

“What are you talking about?” She feigned an offended look while dramatically falling over the backrest of her chair, “Meeeeee? A drama queen?”

“I definitely do not see anyone else who fits that description in this room”.

“I’m offended”.

“No, you like it”.

“How do you know me so well already?”

“A spiritual sixth sense I guess”.

“Wow, you have magical powers”.

“Girl, you don’t know a lot about me”.

“Can you apparate?”

“Wanna try?”

They left the parlour after more bickering and fits of giggles among each other, once again hitting the dry and deserted road. They walked in silence now. Not the usual awkward one but a more comfortable one. Namjoon couldn’t help but smile thinking back to the time they spent and one look through the corner of his eye told him Yuuri was smiling to herself too. And the smile on his face widened at that, exposing his dimples even more.

“Cute”, he heard Yuuri whisper.

“Huh?” He turned to her, unsure if he heard her right.

Yuuri looked at him, her expression that of a thief who got caught in the act, her cheeks covered in a soft pink blush. It made Namjoon blush too, but in his head, he wasn’t sure if she looked like that because of the cold weather or him.

“I just thought you looked cute with all those dimples”, Yuuri said, chuckling, laying her thoughts out loud now and skipped ahead in front of him.

Namjoon blushed so hard, he was sure his face turned as red as a tomato. He felt like time stopped ticking and he halted where he was walking. Was he hearing things? Did Yuuri just call him cute? Does that mean he has a slight chance of hope? Hope that she might like him too?

“Kim Namjoon!” Yuuri called out, cutting him out of his thoughts, gleefully waving at him from where she was walking, “You’re gonna get left behind if you keep daydreaming in the middle of the road!”

Shaking his head, he jogged up to her.

“You’re so unfair”, he breathed out stopping in front of her. Yuuri just stared at him quizzically. And when he looked at her face, into her eyes, the whole universe came stumbling down around him. Shattering, screaming, wailing and breaking. Yuuri was there, standing right in front of him, with barely any distance in between them. Her face, illuminated by the pale moonlight filtering through the thick cover of clouds in the sky. Her eyes twinkling as they reflected the countless stars, sparkling and glittering.  They were so close, he could just lean in and kiss her but he stands still, swept away by the scene in front of him.

He probably thought this a lot and he was thinking about it again.

“You’re beautiful”, He says, a mere whisper. But Yuuri caught it, the blush colouring her face confirmed it for him. And she looked away breaking their contact. He held his hand up instinctively and placed it on her cheeks, turning her head to face him. They were soft. So, so soft, like velvet and silk. A few bangs of her dark hair sprawled across her face blown by the wind. Namjoon smoothened them and tucked them behind her ear with his other hand. Would it be too early if he kissed her? The silver of a doubt that loomed within his chest held him back from initiating it. He didn’t want to scare her away. Hell, he couldn’t even fathom what’s going on in her mind now.

It all felt very intimate. Too intimate.