#he deserved to get to live and fight alongside the students he helped raise

[satorugojoswiife]

satoru gojo you deserved so much better 🥲

[thebigoblin]

Sterek Fic Recs Part 3

[You can find the first two lists here: Fluffy Sterek Recs & Sterek Fic Recs. Also here's a special fic, check it out]

First off, thank you all for a 100 followers!! As of September 7, 2021 you've made me feel really, really good about my obsession with two oblivious idiots (with sprinkles of the hale pack and other fandoms), and this is my way of thanking you ♥️

If you're on PC, you can see that there is a page dedicated solely to fic recs, which caters to other ships & fandoms too. So don't feel left out if you're looking for something other than Sterek!

Without further ado, let's get to it then!

an awful curse

Isaac is asleep in a chair. The angle of his neck makes Derek wince in sympathy.

"Isaac," Derek says.

Isaac snaps awake immediately.

"You're-"

"Where's Stiles?"

"Stiles?" Isaac asks.

Jesus. It's not like they know more than one.

AU - Canon Divergence | 6.3k | By blinkiesays

Throw Away The Key

Stiles knew it was stupid to go to the hunters’ headquarters all by himself, so when he finds himself caught, he can really only blame himself.

It shouldn't surprise Stiles when the situation quickly goes from bad to worse as the hunters throw him to a feral werewolf waiting to tear him apart.

Sucks that it's Derek, though.

AU - Canon Divergence | 5.9k | By mommymuffin

Whatever Happened Last Night, Why Did Glitter Have to Be Involved?

Derek rolled out of bed in search of his phone - quickly finding it in the pair of jeans that had evidently been tossed aside haphazardly on the way to the bed. Seeing the pants sparked flashes of memories - wolfsbane-laced alcohol, loud music, multicolored lights.

Peter’s new supernatural-friendly club - the pack had gone to the opening night party.

He unlocked his phone and opened the pack group chat, which Erica had affectionately named ‘Moon Sluts’.

>>Derek: What the fuck happened last night

[or: Derek wakes up with three things on his mind: he feels like he was punched by a troll, his mate is missing, and there's glitter covering his bed. Oh, and the pack group chat is mildly helpful]

**

Prompt #159 - “Also, my bed has glitter in it for reasons I do not recall.”

Crack Vibes | 1.2k | By ash_mcj

Good to Eat

So if Stiles married Derek Hale, he could become Jewish too? Perfect. It was settled. Stiles gleefully shoveled a forkful of cheesy shells into his mouth.

"Uh oh. I know that look.” Claudia shook her head.

"Don’t worry, Mom, ” Stiles said, reaching for his plastic Batman cup.

"I’ve got a plan.”

"Good luck, Derek Hale,” his mother muttered.

Rude.

AU - Childhood Friends | 1.7k | By Jmeelee

Murder Brows and Avoidance Tactics

Derek gets the wrong end of the stick.

Written for prompt: "You're jealous, aren't you?"

AU - Everybody Lives | 2k | By Dragonink13

Double Vision (only registered users can read this one)

"So what caused my hearing and sense of smell to dull?"

Deaton's brow furrowed, all amusement vanishing from his face. "What do you mean?"

Derek snapped, letting loose all of his anger and fear at the man before him. "I mean I can't hear your heartbeat or the cars down below or the birds in the attic! I can't smell the flowers in Mrs. Everett's apartment, I can't smell the rotting burger in the fridge that Isaac left in there a month ago, I can't smell or hear anything like I normally can!" Deaton mouth was pressed into a thin line. "Can you explain that?!"

 Tumblr Prompt: Derek jealous of himself.

AU - Everyone Lives | 6.1k | By Novkat21

Kiss?

Derek likes kissing Stiles, honestly he does. Until he doesn't.

Fluff | 3.6k | By clotpolesonly

Oblivious Misadventures, and Other Such Tales

Going to college was exciting and new, a chance for new friends and a fresh start, and the best part was, there was a supernatural fraternity on campus, meaning Scott finally had the freedom to be himself.

Then he met the resident human who came with a stalker alpha. What was the point of a supernatural fraternity if he still had to pretend to be human. And seriously, did Stiles ever fall asleep somewhere normal?

--

(aka - Five TImes Scott Found Derek and Stiles Sleeping, and the One Time He Didn't)

AU, Supernatural is real but not known by everyone, Alive Hale Family | 11.2k | By Little Spoon

Call Me (Cliché)

When the sheriff's sister ends up in a wheelchair for the duration of summer, Stiles' dreams of three months full of pack bonding, late-night video games and bro-time with Scott come crashing down. He's temporarily relocated to Redford, a three hour drive away, and he can already tell he won't be getting many visitors.

Sure the pack will forget about him while he's gone, Stiles is determined to make the most of his summer of isolation, training his body and mind - and his magic - so he can come back with a bang, and maybe catch a certain Sourwolf's eye.

Then Derek shows up at his window one night with a flimsy excuse about needing research done. Suddenly, his summer away is looking a whole lot more interesting.

AU - Canon Divergence | 84.6k | By Orphan_Account aka the author has dissociated themselves from the fic

Shiver

Stiles has really, really cold hands. Luckily, Derek knows just what to do about that.

Established Relationship | 1.7k | By canistakahari

Derek Hale's Possible Heart

An anon sent me a sterek prompt for Laura teasing Derek and Stiles joining in, then somehow sharing their feelings for each other in the mess of things.

AU - Canon Divergence | 4.3k | By loserchildhotpants

What's a Secret Identity?

Stiles sipped at a mug of coffee, absently watching the news play in the break room. Because of course a news station couldn't play anything other than its own content, even in the one part of the office that was supposed to be a safe space from work. His interview with Superman was making a rerun and Stiles glanced at Derek before commenting absently, “I’d totally let Superman fuck me.”

Derek, who had been in the middle of a swig of coffee, choked violently, “That’s not something I needed to know at nine in the morning, Stiles.”

Stiles raised an eyebrow. “What time would you prefer I tell you about all of the things I would let Superman do to my body?”

AU, Derek is Superman | 7k | By Chrystie, imabignerd and kate882

i see that you've come so far [just like them old stars]

But her big brother’s unwillingness to touch anyone, like he thinks he doesn’t deserve it isn’t the only thing she notices. She also notices how Stiles doesn’t touch him.

Everyone reaches for Derek in some form or another, but Stiles- Stiles is something different altogether because he reaches for Derek but he never makes contact.

He’ll be trying to shimmy past Derek and instead of putting a hand on his arm like most of them do, he’ll reach out with a hand and stop it scant centimeters away from Derek’s skin.

Or they’ll be walking alongside each other and Stiles will hover a hand on Derek’s lower back.

It’s both fascinating and tragic to watch, like NASA lost control of one of their robots and instead of it landing on the moon it’s fated to gravitate around it.

AU - Canon Divergence | 2.3k | By crossroadswrite

Déjà Vu

There’s a shop in Beacon Hills that no one knows anything about except that the mysterious proprietor, a witch in whispered circles, knows what you need before you do and that the things given are always just what you need.

Derek, lost after a breakup, heads into the shop to see if he can find something to help him forget his ex. The witch gives him a potion to drink, and when Derek wakes up, he finds he’s sixteen again and there’s a new student at his school, Stiles Stilinski.

Everything is familiar and yet not, and Derek finds he’s strangely drawn to Stiles in a way that is entirely supernatural.

AU, Supernatural is Real | 8.8k | By gremlins-came-and-got-me and StaciNadia

Start Small, Like Oak Trees

The months following Allison's death have passed Stiles by in a haze of monotony. He sleepwalks through days that seem to lose their color, an unwilling passenger in a body he no longer trusts. Eventually, he thinks, he'll just fade away. He isn't sure anyone would notice. Then, during a spur of the moment grocery run, he stumbles upon Derek Hale attempting to console a lost child, and for the first time in recent memory the world doesn't seem so awful.

He's not sure what he'd been expecting when he eventually convinces Derek to move into the Stilinski's spare bedroom, but a newfound passion for weeding and topsoil certainly isn't it.

AU - Canon Divergence | 24.2k | By SmallBirds

Undercover K9

As it usually goes, Derek acts before he thinks. This time he has a good reason, though-it's all Stiles' fault. Mostly.

Or, that time when Derek volunteered to spend all his spare time as a wolf with the Beacon Hills Sheriff's Office K9 Unit, just to protect Stiles' dumb ass.

Future Fic | 17.9k | By Cobrilee

Rose Colored Glasses

“Obviou—um, what? Derek?” Stiles managed. “What? You’re not colorblind. You’re colorblind?”

“Yes.” Derek said gruffly. “And?”

“And? What do you mean and? You can’t see colors?” Stiles demanded, thrown. “Does it—what kind is it? Red-green? Blue-yellow? Why doesn’t—oh my god, is this why your entire freaking wardrobe was completely black until like two years ago? Oh my god!”

“There’s nothing wrong with having a favorite color, Stiles.”

Established Relationship | 2.2k | By SassyStarboard

1,460 Days (gotta clean my slate)

Two years after Scott becomes Alpha and Derek gives it up for Cora, Stiles gets hurt during a fight and ends up in a coma for two weeks. According to the nurse, a guy has been visiting him every day and, as much as he wishes it were Derek, it sounds a lot like Scott. Except he and Scott aren't even friends anymore.

AU - Canon Divergence | 10k | By army_of_angels

This is it for now. Happy reading y'all! ♥️

[memeadonna]

Metallica

You are an intern working at Fatgum’s Agency alongside our favourite Hard Himbos: Tetsutetsu and Kirishima. Your quirk allows you to control metal, which attracts the attention of a certain someone. 

Alternatively: I thought Tetsutetsu might have a thing for piercings and then @malicealieness bullied me until I posted this because we Tetsutetsu simps are starved for content (and don’t worry guys she promised to post more of her own writing if I posted this so I’m more than happy to do so (I love you mom ❤️))

Word Count: 5,971

This story is NSFW. Minors DNI. 

Warnings: Switch Tetsutetsu and Reader, Piercings, Size difference/Kink, Mentions of Blood, Biting and Scratching, Loss of Virginity, Vaginal Intercourse, Creampie, mentions of birth control, Tetsutetsu being a Simp, mutual pining, this boy deserves more love. 

Update: Part Two is Out! 

When Tetsutetsu was in his last year at UA, an underclassman joined him and Kirishima at Fatgum’s agency. She was in class 2-A and went by the hero name Metallica. That was you, and you were certain he was terrified of you when you first met. To start with, your quirk was metal manipulation; you could control anything metal and, as the name implies, manipulate it however you’d like – changing its shape, sending it flying, or even adjusting its hardness – and that meant if he were to ever fight with you, he would be at a major disadvantage. It wasn’t like you wanted to hurt him (unless you counted raking your nails down his back and biting his collarbone), but the threat was there. 

Tetstutetsu spent a lot of time staring at you, especially when you were in your hero costume or when the two of you had been left alone for a moment. On the rare occasions you met up with him on campus, he always stared at your piercings while you talked. You had ended up fighting with UA over their dress code: students in the hero course were supposed to be limited to only earrings (which you had several of) and small necklaces as jewelry, but due to your quirk you preferred to wear as much metal as you could. Different metals reacted differently to your quirk, and because of that your piercings, bracelets, and rings had been a mix of many different types that you had painstakingly organized so it was stylish rather than garish. It was hard to pull off so many different colours, but you managed. The school wanted you to only wear the piercings in your earlobes during class (the rings were fine), but after a long argument, you managed to convince them to let you wear something so your holes didn’t close up. The stainless steel you ended up with was much less flashy than the other colours you had had before, but you didn’t mind. It was a versatile metal, and the ability to shape and change it to your will was an asset. Besides that, your piercings were not technically support items, so you could use (and had used) them at the sports festival. 

The first time you met Kirishima and Tetsutetsu, Fatgum had insisted the three of you go out for food together. Kirishima had spent the whole time talking and laughing with you, trying to get to know you, and Tetsu had just spent his time staring like he was in a trance. You were used to people staring – like someone with a mutant quirk, the large number of piercings you wore every day was unusual, and you had gotten used to stares and comments. You tucked your hair behind your industrial and sipped on some boba. His eyes never left your face, scanning over the barbell bisecting your eyebrow then down to the one on your tongue as you took another sip. 

“So, metal,” Kirishima spoke, kicking Tetsutetsu under the table and shooting him a glare that said Pay Attention. “Tell us about that.” 

You waved your hand, the ring on your index finger unwrapping itself and forming into a bowl shape. You concentrated as it dipped into your parfait and brought a delectable scoop of vanilla ice cream up to your mouth and took a bite. Tetsutetsu’s brain was all but short-circuiting as you casually dunked the ring into your untouched glass of water and wrapped it back around your finger. As you explained how your quirk worked to his companion, all he could think about was being bent to your will like that. His legs felt weak and shaky, and he was so, so glad you were all sitting in a dark restaurant. 

He seemed skittish around you – never wanting to be alone with you, always fidgeting when you used your quirk. Even Fatgum noticed his strange behaviour and pulled you aside to ask if anything was wrong. You felt so guilty as he asked you if the two of you had had a falling out and what he could do to help – was the transition into working at his agency smooth? Were you happy in the position? Why does one of his interns hate you? He hadn’t asked that of course, but the question was there. 

In the end, you had cornered your colleague. “I’m not going to hurt you,” you had told him softly. “I don’t think my quirk would even work on you. I don’t want to find out though, because if it did hurt you, I don’t think I could forgive myself.” You told him. “I want to be your friend, Tetsutetsu. I don’t want you to be scared of me.” 

Scared? It had taken him almost ten entire seconds to process this as you tried to make yourself look as nonthreatening as possible. “I – I’m not scared of you,” he had answered dumbly. 

Your friendship blossomed from there. He had to hide a boner whenever you used your quirk in front of him (which was a lot, you tended to overuse it if anything), but now he got to see you smiling and make you laugh, which melted his steel heart every time. He felt extraordinarily guilty whenever he’d sneak off to the bathroom, shove his shirt into his mouth, and beat his dick like it owed him money. This resulted in more than one shredded shirt and several raised eyebrows from Kirishima, but he learned to pack a spare change of clothes in his bag. At least his frantic two-minute tangos were almost enough to get him through patrol with you. Almost. 

His situation became more difficult when the agency was working towards a major drug bust. You and your coworkers were excused from school for two weeks and were living out of the agency’s basement. There were three rooms set up there – one for Fatgum with a massive bed, and one for each off-duty intern. Someone was supposed to be patrolling at all times, and all four of you were feeling exhausted. Esuha was not a horribly busy city, but as the dealers you were after were backed more and more into a corner, they began to lash out and take matters into their own hands. 

Tetsutetsu was so ready to slide into a comfortable pair of pyjamas, eat a quick dinner and pass out, but the zipper on his hero suit was stuck. Of course it was. Kirishima had taken up residence in the room Fatgum normally slept in, and was snoring loudly, so he shuffled his way over to your door and reluctantly knocked. 

You answered the door after a few moments, wearing only a tight tank top and a set of loose pyjama shorts. You were rubbing sleep from your eyes, and if he wasn’t so hyper-focused on what he was sure was the outline of a set of nipple piercings through your tanktop he would have felt bad for waking you. “Zipper,” he said quickly, fighting to tear his eyes from your chest. “My zipper is stuck.” 

You reached out your hand and activated your quirk, but frowned slightly. “Your zipper is plastic. Wonder what moron made that design choice. If it gets too hot, it’ll melt,” He was about to agree, but then your hands were on him and he was so, so thankful it was plastic. “Come over here, the light is better.” Your hands unclasped the steel straps across his shoulders, and you used your quirk to send it across the room to rest gently on your nightstand as you worked to get him out of his jumpsuit. He barely registered the door closing and the sound of the lock sliding into place as his brain once more began to short circuit. 

You pressed closer to see the zipper better, which only gave Tetsu a great view down your shirt. He had to be hyper aware of his hands, so he didn’t accidentally touch you. He was a gentleman, after all. He had to be a gentleman, even when you once more tugged him towards yourself to get him closer to the light on your desk. Yup. Had to be a gentleman. 

You continued to fiddle with the zipper, tugging it this way and that. You stuck out your tongue and dragged it backwards along your lip so the little ball on it clacked against your teeth, and he had to physically stop himself from letting out an unmanly noise. 

You triumphantly grinned as you finally got the zipper unstuck, and then your tongue was back in your mouth. “I think the fabric got caught in the teeth!” you told him with a grin. “It was no match for me.” he was so close to you now. You were all but pressed against the wall by him, and as you looked up into his eyes, a lazy smirk crept its way onto your face. “What? Embarrassed that you had to ask me to help you out of your clothes? Aren’t you at least going to say thank… you…” your voice trailed off as he leaned in closer, one arm bracing himself against the wall above you. You weren’t a small person, but he had hit a growth spurt in his time at UA and was now almost 6’6. He made you feel small. 

He didn’t lean in to kiss you like you hoped thought he would but instead leaned over to your ear. As you felt his lips ghosting against the shell of your ear and his warm breath prickling the hairs on the back of your neck, you felt your heart fluttering in your chest. “Do you have any idea how much you make me want you?” he growled out, voice gravelly and low. “Are you doing it on purpose?” he pulled your earlobe and the trio of studs it housed into his mouth, and you had to place your hands on his shoulders to stop your knees from buckling. 

He was so warm as his tongue teased at your earlobe and one hand came up to run itself up your side, splaying itself over your ribs before slowly trailing upwards. “Well, this is one way to thank me,” you smirked to yourself as he pulled away, snapped out of his trance. “Not even going to kiss me first? No, you’ve just gotta fondle my piercings, don’t you? You have such a one-track mind.” 

You ran your hands up from his shoulders to his hair, pulling him closer and standing on your tiptoes to kiss him. It wasn’t heated or anything, just a simple brush of your lips against his. He leaned into it, and for the briefest moment, as you pulled away, he chased your lips. He caught himself as he did, a bright blush spreading over his cheekbones. “I’m sorry, I-” 

You kissed him once again to shut him up, deep and slow and filled with passion. He relaxed above you, letting himself become putty in your hands and against your lips, pushing his body flush with yours and pinning you to the wall. He was strong enough to keep you there – he could easily snap your neck if he wanted – but the way he held you was so gentle. Like you would break if he wasn’t careful. 

That was nice, but it wasn’t what you wanted. You bit his lip which made him yelp and took the momentary parting of his lips to conquer his mouth, tugging his hair as you took control. He let out a sweet little whine as he felt the barbell against his tongue. He wrapped his arms around you and lifted you off the ground, holding you by the ass and thighs as he stumbled backwards towards the bed, kissing you more and more frantically. As you wrapped your legs around his body you felt him throbbing against the soft skin of your inner thigh and smirked triumphantly to yourself. He sat down on your bed and you peeled his jumpsuit off, grinding down into his lap as you kissed. 

Once the fabric was pooling around his waist, he flipped you over onto the bed, pinning you beneath his hulking form. “You’re awfully bold,” he rumbled. “Thinking you can get off domming me.” 

He kissed you deeply, a rolling kind of pleasure that made your knees weak and your toes curl. A wave of desire swept you away and made you almost forget your name. Then, you remembered you were Metallica and you had a series of bracelets on your nightstand. Maybe it was time to put them to good use. 

He was back to mouthing at your ear and teasing your numerous piercings, then trailing his hot mouth down your neck, before grazing sharp fangs along your collarbone. You squealed as he gripped the collar of your tanktop in his teeth and ripped it violently off of your body. The animalistic look in his eyes sent a lightning bolt of pleasure through you, and his hands left your wrists to rip the remaining shreds of your top off of your body. He sat back to admire you, letting out a quiet “Fuck” as he took you in. 

He was right, you had a set of matching barbells in your nipples, but he hadn’t known about your belly button piercing. It was one of the more basic piercings, but he seemed enraptured by it for a moment before his hands reached out to cup greedy handfuls of your breasts. One of your bracelets clicked around his right wrist and yanked his arm upwards, sending his body crashing down onto yours. You giggled at the “oof” he let out, and wrapped your arms and legs around him, mouthing at his ear. “I am bold. That’s why you like me,” you held his cheeks in your hands and gave him a commanding kiss before returning to his ear to whisper: “I’m also going to get off with your pretty mouth.” as you sank your teeth into the shell of his ear he full out moaned. What a glorious sound that was. You formed your bracelets into hooks to pull off his boots and his hero suit, careful not to tear it. He did need the thing after all. 

Pressed up against you like this, he could feel the rise and fall of your chest as you breathed, and also the drag of cold metal across his body. He began to kiss and suck at your neck and shoulders, relieved that the bodysuit you wore under the armour of your hero costume would hide this come tomorrow. He resisted the urge to sink his teeth into your warm flesh. That was probably too much for your first night but in the future…

Yielding his right arm to you, he used his left to finally grab one of your breasts and caress the barbell with the pad of his thumb. He felt you shift underneath him, and then your thigh was between his legs and he allowed himself to hump it out of desperation. “God you are such a needy bitch,” you laughed into his ear. “Do you really want me this much?” 

You were winning. You were winning and he knew it. But if there was one thing Tetsutetsu was, it was hard-headed. In more than one sense of the word. He redoubled his efforts on your collarbones, leaving dark hickies that would probably take days to fade. You raked your nails down his back to get a reaction and he bit you. Hard. The strangled wail you let out was more than enough to make him come back to his senses and he pulled away with a hundred apologies on his lips. “I didn’t mean to-” 

“Fuck that was hot. Yes please, more,” you sat up with him and gave him a kiss, ignoring the taste of your blood on his tongue. The feeling of your tongue piercing against him once more made him lightheaded, especially as he felt your bracelets closing around his neck like a collar. You pulled away from the heated kiss with a sly smirk, your lips just barely grazing his as you murmured: “You want to act like a dog then I’ll treat you like one.” 

His response was to lift you up a bit so he could get his mouth around one of your nipples. You squirmed in his arms, letting out breathy groans, tugging at his hair and struggling to keep hold of your quirk. He switched breasts, falling backwards so you were on top of him. One hand grabbed the meat of your ass and as you finally released your psychic grip on the bracelet restraining his other hand he was squeezing and fondling the tit he had just been sucking. It was like he couldn’t get enough of your body, and that thought made you gush.

He pulled away from you, grinning triumphantly. “Not so tough now, are you?” he teased, pulling you into another kiss as his big hands roamed your body, squeezing and touching and sometimes just holding certain parts of you. You couldn’t help but feel grounded and safe in his arms, even though you were still bleeding from the shoulder. The warm, fuzzy feeling of safety spread across your body, mixing with arousal, and you smiled into the kiss because he was yours. 

Fucking finally. 

You then squealed as he ripped your shorts in half, tearing the thin fabric off of your thighs and laughing to himself as you slapped his chest. You pulled back to pout at him. “You asshole I liked those!” 

“Fuck, baby,” he answered, hands exploring the newly exposed skin. “I’ll buy you new ones to show you just how sorry I am.” Based on that grin, the amount was zero. You rolled your hips down into his just to wipe that smug look off of his face, and the way he gripped your body to help you made sparks dance inside of your core. You could feel him throbbing against your sex, and based on what you could feel pressing up into you, you were almost sure you would be sore tomorrow. 

You made a show of crawling down his body and snapping the waistband of his briefs against his toned stomach. You peeled the garment off and tossed it over your shoulder. In the two seconds you were turned away the smug bastard had folded his hands behind his head and had leaned back into your pillows like he was presenting himself to you. 

Your eyes took in his muscular frame, sweeping from his toned arms down to the throbbing cock between his legs. You tapped the tip. “This is bullshit,” you told him. 

“What?” his brows furrowed. “Bullshit?” 

You nodded. “Yeah, what exactly I supposed to do with this? It’s as thick as my wrist what the fuck. Can it even fit in my mouth? Of course you would have a magnum dong,” you rolled your eyes at him as you pressed a kiss to his tip, wrapping your hands around it. “Fucking bullshit. You’re lucky I brought lube.” 

As he processed your words you licked his tip, and that damned piercing grazed his sensitive skin, drawing a strangled gasp out of his lungs. You smirked up at him, giving him another slow lick as you showed off the tongue piercing. He spread his legs a bit and bit his lip, closing his eyes as he slipped one hand into your hair. “You’re good at that,” he mumbled, pleasure washing over him as you finally slipped him into your mouth and gave him an earnest suck. He was absolutely mesmerized by his cock disappearing into your mouth, and the position of your body between his legs (face down ass up – something he hoped to explore more later). 

You worked more and more of him down your throat. You reached over and tugged his hand away from his body to bring it gently over your head. You winced as he stretched your throat open for himself, moaning happily as you gagged around him. “Shit, sweetheart…” he let you pull off of him and a hot bolt of guilt shot through his chest as you coughed. “Princess, did I hurt you?” 

After coughing a bit more you offered him a sweet grin. “I’m okay, just-” you coughed again, “-your stupid horsecock is too big for me to blow.” 

“Oh,” he turned bright red. “Sorry.” 

“I have another idea,” you grinned at him, taking his free hand and kissing his fingers before pinning it back behind his head. “Harden it.” 

“What?” his eyes widened and his cock visibly throbbed. “O-okay.” He obeyed you, and you licked your lips as you watched the grey steel colour spread across his dick. It was pretty, which was a weird way to think about a dick. It was also way too thick, and you were sure was going to mess up your insides, which only made you want him more. 

You raised your hand over him and met his eyes. “Tell me how this feels,” you told him. He nodded at you, and you activated your quirk. His heavy eyelashes fluttered as his back arched, and his breathing picked up speed. 

“Tetsu, baby, talk to me,” you cooed. 

“Feels good!” he moaned, spreading his legs more. “So good!” 

His eyes were all but rolling back into his head as you played with him, and his cock pulsed hard beneath your ministrations. It was almost strange, really, because normally when you manipulated metal it was obeying you and nothing more. With Tetsutetsu, you could feel his nerves lighting up with pleasure, and you smirked to yourself as you twisted your wrist to make him vibrate. He let out a loud moan as you did, and you giggled to yourself. 

He squirmed more as you stroked him with your psychic grip, careful not to change his shape. Lord knows that would happen if you did that. “Gonna cum!” he moaned, back arching. “Fuck, what are you doing to me Sweetheart?” you looked up at him, at how wanton he was for you, and your insides clenched around nothing. 

You straddled him and leaned up to kiss him again. “I’m ruining you,” you answered lowly. “You’re mine from now on.” 

You could feel how his throbbing changed as he came. You felt the thick streams painting your ass and back, and smirked to yourself. He arched up into you and moaned loudly, before slumping backwards, limbs jelly, and panting loudly. “Fuck,” he moaned. “Sorry.” 

You reached down to yourself and gathered some of your slick on your fingers. You spread them for him, showing off how wet you were. “Looks like we both enjoyed that,” you told him, watching as his eyes widened once more. He leaned upwards desperately, and you watched in amusement as he sucked your fingers into his mouth. You once more clenched around nothing, and the slick between your legs only got slicker. You wondered if you could take him with how wet you were. 

Probably not, but you wanted to try. 

Once your fingers were clean you leaned down to give him a kiss, your hands gently tracing themselves over his pecs and down his abs. He had released his hardening after he had finished, but he was still hard beneath you as you continued kissing him, your tongue piercing clacking against his teeth every so often. You slid back down his body and he reached his free hand out to cup your ass. “You’re covered in it, baby,” his voice was gruff and husky. 

You brought his massive hand up to your mouth and then it was your turn to suck his fingers clean. He watched you with hooded eyes, and as you pinned his wrist behind his head alongside his other one, he watched you with growing trepidation. You were also a little nervous – would he even fit? You should probably stretch yourself out first, but it just looked so delicious to you. You wanted to feel him. Now. 

You wrapped one hand around his thick shaft and guided the tip up to your lips. You were so slick it was practically gushing out of you, and as you ran his head along your lips and thought “I’m going to take all of this,” your lust only grew. 

You started to lower yourself down onto him, holding him steady. The pressure of him trying to push inside gave way little by little, and he threw his head back with a ragged moan as you slid the tip inside. It was so thick it was hard for you to breathe, but the stretch felt euphoric. You coaxed more of him into you, bit by bit, but stopped suddenly and pulled off. You used a bracelet to bring over your lube bottle and you squirted a generous amount onto his cock. 

“Where do you get off on having such a stupidly huge dick?” you asked him. “Are you trying to split me in half?” 

“You’ll learn to take it,” he purred at you, and that thought made you clench once more. You imagined him one day effortlessly able to slide it inside of your ruined pussy, imagined how the stretch would burn so good as you eased him back into you. You could feel him tugging against his restraints like he wanted to grip your hips and help you. You braced yourself against his pecs as you sank further down onto him, and he grinned smugly at your efforts. “Your face is so fuckin’ cute when you’re stuffed too full.” He purred, groaning as you sat back up and slid him in once again. “Not even halfway down yet and you already look like you’re about to break.” 

“In your dreams,” you teased back, riding him slowly as you slid his too-big dick further and further inside. Your body swallowed him up like it was made to, and the stretch burned the way you had hoped it would. He was quite a bit bigger than the toy you normally used on yourself, and you wondered briefly if you should get a new one to train your body better. You raked your nails down his chest and slid a bit further down. “Just shut up and enjoy this.” 

He looked down and watched his dick disappearing inside of you, and licked his lips. Even with all of that lube, you were still the tightest thing he had ever felt, so tight he could barely move. Even tighter than he had imagined. As he watched you take him, he noticed the slightest tinge of red on his dick. As he realized it was blood, he was not proud that his first thought was to thrust up and ram as much of himself as he could inside of you. You let out a choked sound and clenched around him, scrambling for something to hold onto. “Fuck baby, you okay?” he asked, apologies tumbling out of his mouth in a borage. “You’re bleeding, did I hurt you?” 

You had released your psychic grip as you lost focus, and he was instantly up with his arms around you, peppering your face with kisses. “I’m sorry princess,” he cooed, running his hand down your back. “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah,” you answered, looking down between the two of you. “Just surprising. Guess that was my hymen breaking or something.” 

He thrust up into you as you said that, once more attacking your neck with bites and hickies as he carefully rocked your bodies together. He growled at you as you tugged on his hair and let out a strangled sound. He rolled you over, so he was on top, and kissed you hard as you wrapped your legs around him. The drag of his cock inside of you hit all of your nerves at once, and in this position, you were almost certain you couldn’t push him off even if you wanted to. 

You once more restrained him, pinning his hands on either side of your head and using his bracelet-collar, brought his face down to you. You kissed him sloppily, once more tugging on his hair as he moaned and panted into your mouth and sucked on your barbell. The feeling of being stuffed beyond what your body could take was absolute euphoria, and as your toes curled and you held on tightly, moaning as he kissed and bit you, you knew you would have to do this again. “Princess,” he cooed. “You feel so good! Fuck!”

“Y-you too,” you hissed, scratching at his back. He tugged at his restraints once more, but as you held his hands firm you smirked up at him. “What’s wrong, want to touch me?” you slid your hands down your body and began to tease your clit, back arching as he sped up his thrusts. 

“The things I’m going to do to you,” he growled. “Gonna make every inch of you mine!” he carefully lowered his body so he was in a push-up position over you, and lavished your breasts with his tongue, sucking on your nipples like he was trying to pull out your barbells. He worked them with his tongue, which made you moan and keen and scratch. You could feel his arms shaking with the effort of holding himself up, and at the same time felt the drag of his abs against the back of your hand with every thrust. You used your free hand to tangle in his hair, and he bit down again as if on instinct. You let out a surprised yelp and he kissed your sensitive flesh as an apology, licking at the little beads of blood he had left on one of your breasts. Your cunt clenched around him as you heard the gravelly noises he was making, although he was stretching you so open you weren’t even sure it could be called clenching. You were too overstuffed and it was everything you had ever wanted. 

“Please,” he groaned. “Please let me fucking touch you. I need-” he cut himself off as he kissed you once again, sloppy and full of passion. “-I’m gonna cum. Need you to first…” you released his hands and he was immediately pulling you up into his lap, kneeling on your bed and bouncing you on his dick while he kissed you hard. Your legs were too high off the mattress to kneel on it, so you settled for wrapping them around his waist instead. He slid a hand over your abdomen. “I can feel myself!” he growled, pressing down. “Right here.” You kissed him back, moaning because you could feel it too. Feel him destroying your insides. 

His fingers found your clit and roughly began to abuse it. He was so hot inside of you, pulsing like he was happy to be there. You panted against one another, lips connecting and sliding apart as he bounced you for all you were worth. It was wild, it was feral, and he was grunting like a caveman as he claimed you. You gripped his muscular shoulders desperately, looking up into his eyes as he smirked down at you. He kissed you again, long and hard and slow, and you felt his tongue turn to steel in your mouth. You tightened your grip on his shoulder, activating your quirk on him. 

The change swept across his entire body, including his dick, and as he jackhammered even faster into you, you manipulated his body to send twinges of pleasure zinging through him. You could just about hear his thoughts, every “Yes!” “Good!” and “More!” and then the word “Mate!” popped into your mind and you once again clenched hard around him. 

He let you fall backwards a bit, once more kissing at your chest as he fucked your plaint body. Your back arched from the new angle, and you gripped at him desperately, insides twitching as they waited for that last push over the edge. You trusted him to hold you and released your death grip on his shoulders, splaying your hands in the air and making his entire body rapidly vibrate. That feeling threw you into an orgasm almost instantly, and your insides clenched around him. You leaned backwards and he held you close. It was so intense you couldn’t even scream. All you could do was lie there stiffly, unable to even breathe as the feeling washed over you. He kept fucking you through it, burying his teeth in your shoulder once again as he pumped you full. As you came down from your high, you gasped for breath and wrapped your arms around him once again. You kissed him desperately as he held you, and as he leaned back into your pillows he kept you in his arms, his cock still buried deep inside of you. You panted against him, aftershocks making your pussy twitch around him. 

The metal beneath your fingers softened to skin, and he ran his fingers gently through your hair. “Fuck me,” he croaked. 

“What, again?” you laughed a bit, drunk on the euphoria flowing through your body as you reached up to kiss him again.

“I should get my zipper stuck more often,” he grinned, running his fingers gently over the bite on your shoulder. “Does it hurt?” 

“A bit, but I like it,” you looked at him flirtatiously, before lifting yourself on shaky limbs and reaching down to pull him out of you. The wet Schluck! sound made both of you giggle, and so did the wet slap of his softening dick hitting his abs. 

He let out a gasp as his cum began to pour out of you now, dripping heavily all over him. “Fuck, we didn’t use condoms!” he looked absolutely mortified. 

“Relax,” you gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ve got an IUD.” 

He pulled you back down to rest on his chest, tracing patterns into your skin. His eyes drifted from the piercings in your ear down your jawline and up to your lips, and he gently ran his thumb over them. “You’re my girlfriend now, right?” 

“Mhm,” you mumbled sleepily, nuzzling further into his chest. 

He resisted the urge to do a happy dance or pump his fist in the air. “We should get cleaned up,” he kissed your shoulder as he sat up and carried you to the western-style shower. You clung to him as he turned it on, and finally put your feet down as the water warmed. 

You removed the bracelets from around his wrists and neck very carefully, and as you smiled up at him, he smiled back. He then blasted you full in the face with the showerhead and the two of you were giggling again. He washed your body carefully, reverently, and even somehow made hosing you out with the shower head feel intimate. 

By the time you were done with your shower, you were putting on your hero costume to go out for your patrol. He helped you zip up your padded bodysuit, and his dick stirred back to life beneath his towel as you gently draped your armour-esque hero costume over your body. “You should go rest in your own room, Fatgum will get suspicious,” you gave him a kiss and used your quirk to slide his hero suit onto him, doing up the zipper with a flick of your finger. 

“H-huh?” he stared down at it as you clasped his chest straps. “But I thought the zip was plastic!” 

You chuckled a bit. “How else was I supposed to get you alone in my room?” you teased, before offering a wink and slipping out the door. 

“Clever girl,” he whispered to himself, grinning like a moron. 

Taglist: @malicealieness 

(If you would like to be added to the Taglist, please send me an ask :D)

[wondernimbus]

battleground — draco malfoy

pairing: draco malfoy x female!reader

request: could i kindly request a draco x reader where they get into a fight before the war, and draco chooses to stay a hogwarts and voldemort but reader pushes herself in front of him to save him? but they both survive 🥺 if it's too complicated dw about it :)

a/n: i tweaked the request a little bit but this is set when the slytherins are sent to the dungeons during the battle of hogwarts! also it isn’t explicitly stated in the text so just in case there’s some confusion, the reader’s parents are death eaters

The cold stone hallway leading to the Slytherin common room is eerily quiet despite the hundred or so Slytherin students trickling into their common room. No one bothers to quell the uneasy tension hanging in the air or makes a move to address the sounds of chaos coming from just up above them, a mere stone floor away.

But at the very middle of the pack, there is someone shoving past people on her way back towards the way they came. Back to the first-floor corridor; back to the war. No one pays her much heed. Everyone is too busy lost in their own conflicted thoughts, and even if they do register the fact that there is a girl among them turning back to head into the very battle they were kicked out of, they make no move to stop her.

Somewhere along the back of the group, she catches sight of a face that brings with it a sudden rush of relief. [Y/N] pushes past the crowd of students clad in green until she stops right in front of him, grabs onto his wrist and drags him along.

The last of the Slytherins have filed into the common room. [Y/N] and Draco stand in the middle of the cold dungeon hall, illuminated only dully by the torches hanging on the walls.

[Y/N] wastes no time. She leans in and presses her lips to his, and it's all force; there is no time for passion or tears or dramatic farewell. She kisses Draco like a starved man, lips all pressure and no tenderness, and Draco kisses her back with just as much fervor, hands gripping onto her waist almost desperately as he holds her to him as close as he can.

And they would stay like that for as long as they can if only they are allowed to, but there is a war to be fought and there are people to be saved. So [Y/N] pulls away, breathless, forehead on Draco's and their lips mere centimeters apart as they breathe in each other's air the same way they have done so many times before.

Draco can think of no words to say; all that leaves his lips is a breathless exhale of her name. Just her name.

[Y/N] nods just a fraction of an inch as though she understands completely, and in a way, she does.

Against her will, she pulls away, fingers gently gliding down his shoulders and down to his middle, where they rest almost hesitantly. In a voice just as quiet as his, she whispers, "I need to go up there, Draco."

Silence. She opens her eyes only to find that he is already looking at her, gaze unreadable. A feeling of uneasiness settles in her stomach.

"Up where?" He's frowning. His hold on her waist has tensed.

"I'm going to fight," [Y/N] says, and her voice is throatier than usual, like a lump has already formed in her throat.

Draco blinks. There's a crease in between his brows; she reaches up to smoothen it out with her fingers out of habit, but his hand flies to her wrist and holds it there, hovering just above his lips.

"You're going to fight," he repeats, still frowning.

[Y/N] swallows. Nods. "And you should, too."

Draco stares at her, brows furrowed. It's at rare times like these that [Y/N] can't quite figure out what he's thinking, but she guesses that it's something along the lines of—

"You can't," Draco says, shaking his head. "You can't. I won't let you."

She reaches up and gently pries his fingers away from her wrist, but his grip on her only tightens. "Draco."

"I'm not letting you risk your life."

She stares at him for a moment, brows drawing together in the middle just like his, but the way she is looking at him is a sharp contrast to his suddenly stern gaze—she looks incredulous, like she can't believe what she's hearing.

"I thought you'd understand," she says, tugging her wrist out of his grasp and taking a step back. A foot of space rests between them, but for some reason it suddenly feels like they are thousands of miles apart. "I can't just hide here while people risk their lives to save—"

"What—to save ours?" Draco cuts her off, scowling. It's unimaginable to think that mere moments ago they were entangled in each other's arms, kissing as though the other will slip away if they don't hold on tight enough. Coldly, Draco says, "They'd throw us to the wolves if they had a chance."

"To save everyone's."

"Don't be ridiculous. If they saw you fighting alongside them, they wouldn't hesitate to turn their wands on you."

"And how do you know that?"

He advances towards her, and for a brief split-second [Y/N] thinks that he's about to kiss her again, but all he does is grab the black and green necktie hanging around her collar and hold it up for her to see.

"Because of this," he snarls. "The moment anyone fighting against the Dark Lord sees you're a Slytherin, they'll think you're an enemy. And the moment any of the Death Eaters see you fighting against them, they'll think you're a traitor—which you are—and they'll kill you. You'd be fighting against both sides."

She scoffs, the first few traces of anger surfacing. "You are making assumptions."

"It's the truth and you know it. You have no choice. Stay here and save your life." He grabs her hand and tugs her towards the direction of the Slytherin common room. The dungeon door has closed. There is no one left in the cold stone corridor but them.

But [Y/N] wrenches herself away from Draco's hold. "I can take care of myself and I am fighting," she says sharply, a sense of finality in her tone. "And I would have asked you to fight by my side but it seems like you'd rather stay and hide here like a coward." The final word escapes the confines of her lips without her even realizing, but the anger in her chest makes it hard for her to feel guilty for it.

"If wanting the love of my life to live makes me a coward then so be it." Draco turns to face her, jaw taut and his eyes flashing. "You're asking me to let you put your life on the line—"

"I'm asking you to trust me—"

"And what happens if you die? What do you suppose I do?" he hisses, and then, his face contorting into a sneer, "I apologize for my selfishness, [Y/N] but I'd much prefer other people die than you."

She scoffs in disbelief. "Always a selfish prick, aren't you, Draco?"

[Y/N] doesn't mean it. Of course she doesn't. But the frustration in her chest is reaching boiling point and the words that leave her lips do so without her even pausing to think about them.

Doing little to mask her scorn, she snaps, "I'd rather die in battle than sit back doing nothing while innocent children are slaughtered."

"Those innocent children hated us for the house we were sorted in," Draco sneers. "They saw the green on our robes and they made sure to stay away from us—they spoke ill of us and spread vile rumors about our families and you're willing to sacrifice yourself for them?"

"And you want to let them die just because they disliked us." She doesn't phrase it like a question.

Draco clenches his jaw. She would have been able to feel the slightest empathy for him if he showed even a tiny bit of guilt, but he holds his gaze in hers resolutely and shakes his head. "I don't want to die for them. And you shouldn't, either."

Her lip curls. "You disgust me."

And it scares her because she isn't sure whether she means it or not.

In one swift movement, [Y/N] reaches up and roughly yanks the green Slytherin tie hanging around her neck. "I don't care what they think about us or what you think about them," she seethes through bared teeth, throwing the necktie at Draco's feet as she holds his gaze with just as much fieriness as she sees in his. "But I refuse to stay here while those people risk their lives fighting for what they believe is right—what is right."

Draco narrows his eyes at her, lips drooping downwards in a scowl. "Even if it means fighting against your parents?"

Her parents. The people who had raised her her entire life and made her believe in things she held true not so long ago. Things that entailed the uselessness of Muggles and Muggleborns alike. Her mother and father, who once cruelly punished her for helping a lost Muggle boy when she was no more than a mere child eager to offer a helping hand.

Parents—do they really deserve to be called that?

With her jaw set, she nods. "I'm done doing things for them. It's time I make decisions for myself."

A cold glare is all she has left to offer Draco before she turns her back on him and walks away, wand in hand.

Part of her understands. She knows that Draco is not much different from her. He has told her stories based on his own experience; stories just like hers that tell tales of pureblooded prejudice and exiled blood-traitors in the vicinity of his own home. But even if he hadn't found enough comfort in her to tell her, she still would have known.

She recognized the look in his eyes the very moment they first met. It was the very same one she saw whenever she looked in the mirror.

But [Y/N] has been luckier than most. Somewhere along her journey to what some would call self-discovery, she'd found something a great deal more important than bloodlines and family trees. Though hesitant at first, she met and came to know people whose blood was perhaps not as magical as hers but whose hearts were purer than any other she had ever seen. Purer than hers, certainly.

She came to know Muggleborns who viewed her as an equal, and everyone else along with her. Muggleborns who treated everyone with kindness not because of the blood in their veins but because it was right.

And because of them [Y/N] has learned to differentiate what is right and what is wrong; what is important and what is not. Now she knows fully well which category one's blood type falls under. She may have been a little late on the uptake, but if risking her life is what it takes to redeem herself, then so be it.

But Draco has a harder time wrapping his head around things. [Y/N] understands; truly, she does. He has been raised to think a certain way and so has she—but if she can break out of the box that her parents have caged her in for so long, why can't he?

Just before she disappears behind the staircase leading away from the dungeons, she stops, and with her gaze fixated on the stone steps, takes a deep breath.

"People like us—" she begins in what was meant to be a stone-cold voice, but her voice is shaky for the first time that day. "They think we're a lost cause. They think we're cold-hearted and we're rotten to the core because of our last names—and you're right—because we're in Slytherin. But if you don't want to fight against the Dark Lord because of your hatred for the people who looked at us as though we were devil's spawn, then at least fight because you want to prove them wrong."

From here, she can make out the sound of spells hurtling through the air and people screaming from up above. She hears panicked voices of people a tiny part of her feels as though she recognizes. Voices she must have heard in her classes. Voices she could have heard in the hallways or in the Great Hall. And despite the fear in her chest and the voice in her lovesick heart telling her to stay with Draco, it's those voices that urge her to put one foot in front of the other until she emerges in the middle of the first-floor corridor, right in the heart of the battle.

—

Death. Chaos. Destruction. She sees it everywhere around her—in the corridors and the classrooms she grew up in, and in the Great Hall, where the large glass windows have been reduced to mere shards and the long house tables have been flipped over and cracked to splinters.

Why take this away from her—from everyone who has lived their childhood in that castle?

For so long Hogwarts has been her sanctuary. Her safe place. The only place in the world where she feels as though she could be at peace. And now it is nothing more than crumbling stone foundations and broken glass and soot and dust.

Jets of red and green light whiz past her almost every step she takes. Fear: she feels it in every fiber of her body like a parasite waiting for the right moment to consume her whole and render her immobile. Part of her wants to run back down the dungeons and join Draco and the rest of the Slytherins—it is so much safer down there—she doesn't have to narrowly dodge recklessly-aimed curses every corner she turns, wondering which one will finally hit her—which one will kill her—

But then she sees none other than Colin Creevey amongst the blur of destruction around her, and just like that she remembers why she's here.

"Colin!" she yells, darting forward. He stands in the middle of the corridor, wand drawn in front of him but looking so lost and confused he might as well have just been an innocent passerby unfortunate enough to come across the Battle of Hogwarts. From this distance [Y/N] can tell he is shaking but no one seems to notice him amongst all the madness; "Colin!"

His name tears out of her throat again as she wills her legs to move as fast as they can, weaving through all the dueling and in some cases, brawling—and she doesn't know what she aims to do, exactly, but she just knows that she has to protect this timid little fifth-year Gryffindor who she has treated like her brother for so many years. The same one who, despite her infamous blood-smattered family tree, was one of the first ones outside of Slytherin to treat her like a normal human being.

She shouts his name again, and somehow, despite all of the noise and the yelling and the sounds of spells being cast all around them, Colin hears her; his eyes meet hers and they flood with relief and recognition, flood with the same bright light [Y/N] has grown so familiar with—

And then the light dies out.

[Y/N]'s entire world freezes.

"No," she gasps.

From behind Colin, a jet of bright green light hurtles straight towards him and hits him in the back—he jolts forward at the impact, and then falls to his knees. A half-moment later, Colin Creevey crumples to the ground, lifeless.

She skids to a stop. A dry sob leaves her lips as the hand holding her wand falls to her side.

No.

—

Five minutes.

Draco spends five minutes in the chilly dungeon corridor, staring at the stone steps [Y/N] had disappeared through only moments before.

If he walks up those steps, it will be to the sight of the school he has come to call his home destroyed. He will see numerous spells hurtling through the air, some finding their targets and others lodging themselves into stone and causing walls to crumble in on themselves. He knows that he will bear witness to a nightmarish scene, but that is not what has Draco hesitating: what stops him is the thought of fighting alongside students just like him who will give him mistrustful glares, as though they are waiting for him to jinx them when their backs are turned.

And perhaps worst of it all is the fact that he will have to fight against familiar faces. He will recognize his aunt, his uncle, his best friend's father, his own parents. And he will point his wand at them and hope that his curse hits them before theirs hits him.

Draco is scared.

He doesn't know if he has enough courage to climb those steps and fight alongside people who barely trust him, and fight against the people who have raised him.

But he can't lose her.

He may be scared, but he can't lose [Y/N].

So Draco unravels his Slytherin tie from his neck, takes a deep breath and walks up the stone steps. He can't lose her—not in this lifetime. He loves her far too much to care about who he has to kill and who he has to fight alongside.

The rest of the world be damned, so long as he doesn't lose her.

—

"You killed him," she whispers. Tears are in her eyes but they haven't quite fallen yet, and despite the invisible hands that have reached into her chest and started squeezing her lungs to a pulp, she manages to say louder, "You killed Colin."

[Y/N] looks up at the Death Eater standing amidst the countless fierce duels. She thinks she hears him laugh behind his mask; cruel and jeering and oddly familiar.

She doesn't pause to think. As soon as the feeling floods back into her arms, she cries "Stupefy!" and a burst of red light explodes out of the end of her wand.

But the Death Eater deflects it with little to no effort. He lets out another laugh, this time louder.

[Y/N] is sure of it this time: she knows that voice. She catches sight of a strand of long platinum blond hair trailing beneath his hood and recognizes him even before he reaches up with one hand and wrenches the mask off of his face.

"Foolish girl," Lucius Malfoy snarls, stopping a mere few feet away from her. "Instead of saving your own skin, you decide to betray the Dark Lord and your own family along with him."

He brandishes his wand; a jet of green light rushes straight towards [Y/N] and she cries "Protego!" at the very last moment, stumbling a little upon impact.

Lucius advances forward, long black robes billowing behind him as [Y/N] backs away, wand trembling slightly in her hand. "You care far too much for those who do not deserve your sympathy," his face contorts into an ugly, spiteful glare, "For Muggles and Mudbloods and filthy blood-traitors—"

"Stupefy!"

Just like the one before it, Lucius deflects this one effortlessly. His upper lip curling contemptuously, he stops in his tracks, wand still pointed at [Y/N] as her chest heaves with deep, heavy breaths of both anger and grief that hasn't quite gone away. "I have always wondered why my son adores you so much."

Another jet of red light bursts from [Y/N]'s wand, but her attempts are futile.

"But he will move on," continues Lucius. "He will forget you and wed someone who is worthy of being a Malfoy." And then the jeering smile on his face droops and intent floods his features as he sneers, "I just have to get rid of you first—Avada K—"

"Petrificus Totalus!"

This time, the spell hits Lucius and his limbs snap to his sides before he topples to the ground, spine rigid.

But [Y/N] hasn't even opened her mouth.

Standing right behind Lucius Malfoy is the last person she would have expected to see—

"Draco," she breathes.

Draco's wand is still drawn and his eyes are blown wide, mouth slightly agape as he stares at his father, who lies face-down on the ground unbeknownst to the fact that it was his own son who had cursed him.

Shock is etched into every inch of Draco's face. He is just as stunned at his actions as [Y/N] is. But when he snaps himself out of his trance and finds it in him to tear his gaze away from his father, the first thing he does is stride towards [Y/N], pull her to him, and hold her with the desperation of a man who has been longing for his lover for centuries.

"You—your father—"

"I know."

"Draco," she exhales into his shoulder, breathless. "Draco—"

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

"No—no, I'm okay."

Draco takes a deep, shuddering breath and nods. Keeps nodding.

And when he takes her hand in his and runs with her to the courtyard, where there are more Death Eaters to fight and more innocent lives to protect, he can't help but look back and catch a last glimpse of his father on the floor. His father, who is still rigid and unmoving, at the mercy of Order members who might stumble upon him.

Draco doesn't regret it.

The rest of the world be damned—including his own father—so long as he doesn't lose her.

[starcloud-nova]

Favorite fics by some of your buddies on Tumblr and Discord?

God nonnie. You fucked up big time. You underestimated just how hard I can appreciate my friends. I’d like to formally apologize for how long and in-depth this got, but I would pick a stopping point and then go ‘oh! but i cant leave out so-and-so’ and then this got mega out of hand.

Organized by author and not genre! And if I didn’t include any of your works (or I did and it was not the one you wanted), please, don’t take it personally. I am trusting everyone who comes across this post to read the tags themselves, but for two of the fics I have left TWs in front of them.

Cassia’s fics:

Internet Enemies by @cassiopeia721 (x)

At school, Midoriya Izuku is ignored at best. At home, he's raised by a single mother who seems to be always taking night shifts, and who he communicates with almost exclusively through notes on lunch boxes and texts lying about his location. As such, Midoriya Izuku turns to the internet— or more specifically, an All Might fan server on discord— for companionship. Like most things in his life, it goes wrong eventually. It just takes longer than usual.

hypnic jump

Izuku finds himself somewhere he doesn't recognize in an oversized green jumpsuit with a hero he's never seen at his back. He's pretty sure he's dreaming, and subsequent events only solidify that theory into rock-solid certainty.

Paradigm Shift (Harry Potter)

Harry undergoes a paradigm shift at the beginning of his fifth year. (Slytherin Harry)

~~~

Kestrel’s fics:

Compass by @autisticmidoriyas (x)

Midoriya Izuku never had the chance to become a hero—or even to grow up. Fifteen years after his death, Akatani Izuku tries to save the life of a dying hero and in return receives a target painted on his back and a power humming in his bones.

All Might, Sir Nighteye, Ground Zero, Suneater, and Skyquake are left scrambling in the wake of Lemillion’s death to figure out who now holds One For All.

Intertwined with all this, the League of Villains’ war against Japan burns on. With the loss of Lemillion, the advantage is now theirs, and with the loss of One For All, victory is all-but-assured.

(What the villains don’t know is that One For All lives on in the blood of a boy who was always meant to be a hero.)

triskelion

A few seconds, and their lives—their life—is changed forever. Where three people used to exist, there is now only one.

While visiting the mall with their class, Izuku, Katsuki, and Shouto are the victims of someone whose quirk can fuse together objects … and people.

Permanently.

Facing down the fact that they may never be unfused, a long adjustment period lies ahead of them as they learn how to be themself and figure out where they fit into their families, their class, and their world.

the meaning of hope

One day, the smoke will reach its end. They hold out hope for that. Even with quirks, fires cannot burn forever. They will consume all their fuel, until there is nothing left, and they will wither and die.

~~~

Lilly’s fics:

Rise of the Rat Finks by Authoress_Lilly

“You're not in trouble Neito. You’ve been tapped to join The Rats.”

The boy blinks. “The what?”

Vlad opens up a folder and hands Monoma a flyer and a small pin in the shape of a rat. “It’s a sort of secret society here at UA.

Or: an excuse to put Monoma and Midoriya together in way too many words 😅

The Root to Villainy

Prompt: Izuku doesn't realize how fucked up his past was until Aizawa does an immersive class on villain origins.

Whoops?

~~~

Dance’s fics:

Never Take Your Problem Children To Costco by DanceInTheKitchen

“SECURE THE EGGS! I REPEAT SECURE THE EGGS!” Bakugou bellowed.

“YES SIR! AYE AYE SIR!” Izuku saluted.

Shouta is staring at his students, one of whom seems to be reenacting the Lion King with a carton of eggs while the other salutes him, and wonders. What the hell did he do in his past life to deserve this?? Past him must have committed some great sin, like putting sugar in his coffee, or being a dog person.

 Or, Aizawa, Bakugou and Midoriya walk into a Costco.

grow as we go

The dorms were silent, but out here in the open air, she felt both isolated and free. Isolated from the world, but free from the responsibility crushing her, isolated from her friends and family, but free from judgement. Up here, with only the stars and Iida as company, Momo felt like she could breathe.

They sat next to each other in silence, watching the stars silently crawl their way across the sky. Iida doesn’t break the silence, but he also doesn’t leave. It’s a silent promise, to listen if she needs it, or to keep her company if she doesn’t want to speak. It’s comforting.

She’s not sure when she speaks, it’s somewhere between staring up at the stars, and looking at the shiny dew covering the grass of the hills behind UA.

“I’m not ready.”

 Or, with graduation right around the corner, Momo has a conversation with Iida about what growing up means.

~~~

Azure’s fics:

A Helping Hand for All by azureskyy

Izuku doesn't know why everyone's talking about a certain hero analyst online. He's tried browsing through the forums and other sites, but he just can't find the person they're talking about.

Maybe he'll ask them later. For now, he has some analysis to do.

Or: Izuku is a well-known hero and quirk analyst across multiple social media platforms.

Not that he's aware of it, of course.

A Missed Chance

Two paths cross then diverge. In another universe, perhaps, they could have walked on the same path; they could have talked for the second time that day, and Izuku could have been given an opportunity that could change his entire life. And maybe, just maybe, he would have taken it.

But this isn’t that universe.

Or: What if All Might wasn't able to find Izuku after the Sludge Villain Incident?

~~~

Alice’s fics:

A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by @makeitbluue (x)

“Did you think you’d be safe from me forever? That you could chip away at my power base and I would not care or try to hunt you down?” The man asks as he steps forwards.

Izuku scrambles backwards in his bed, searching the covers as he goes for his phone. If he can get a text off to All Might or Aizawa-sensei he can alert people to the potential danger.

But even as he moves, something in the back of his mind tells him he had heard this voice before. A different time, a different context, but the same voice.

~~~

Ely’s fics:

bend and break by @queenangst (x)

In a world where you can feel your soulmate's pain, Eijirou spends a lot of his life up until meeting his soulmate hurting.

draw and quarter

In District Twelve, no one volunteers.

When Aizawa Shouta’s name is called, no one says a word. He stands there for a moment, feeling all the world slow around him, and then he straightens his shoulders and walks to his death.

He will die fighting. At the very least, Shouta can promise that.

Shouta's name is drawn for the Hunger Games, alongside Shirakumo Oboro. No one from their district has ever won.

damage control

After All for One's defeat, Aizawa Shouta is grasping for ways to protect his students. At the same time, a discrepancy in Midoriya's behavior leads Shouta down a dangerous line of investigation and to a single question: if Midoriya is the U.A. traitor.

Between the Wind and the Water

Staying at U.A. for winter break, Izuku hopes it'll be a quiet chance to spend the holidays with Todoroki and supervising teachers All Might and Aizawa-sensei.

It's just his luck a gift-shopping trip turns into a gift from a villain, and Izuku's new Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk is not so easy to control. Neither are the secrets he's been carefully keeping.

a glimpse of tomorrow (looking back)

Subject: Aldera Time Capsule Ceremony Forwarded Message— This year marks ten years for the Aldera Middle School graduating class of 20XX.To celebrate, we would like to invite pro heroes Kingpin and Deku, Aldera alumni, to participate in a public time-capsule opening. We are incredibly proud to have helped them on their journeys to becoming heroes, and would be most honored to receive them as guests and for them to speak at the ceremony. [...]

"Well," Deku says, leaning over to turn the monitor towards him. His eyes flick over the contents of the email one more time. "If they haven't changed, then I guess we could return the favor."

Ten years down the line, Bakugou and Midoriya are invited to a time capsule ceremony at their middle school to read letters from their past selves, and look back on their past and how it shaped their future. For anyone else, it would have been a celebration.

For the two of them, it's an opportunity.

A look into Bakugou and Midoriya's past—through a future neither of them imagined—as pro heroes, agency partners, and friends.

of the mighty heart

It was just complicated. Kacchan had changed. Izuku had changed. What was between them was constant—Kacchan was always there—but even constants, Izuku supposed, could change, too.

...You saved me, sometimes you say Deku and it doesn’t sound so much like an insult, you say it like you mean it, you say it like you mean me.

After the war ends and the dust settles, Izuku is left in pain and feeling useless. There's still so much to do and people to save, and it's just... too much for one person.

And then there's Kacchan.

~~~

Fawn’s fics:

Bough Breaks by @fawnvelveteen (x) (trigger warning for discussion of rape/noncon)

In life, nothing is certain. Pro-heroes aren’t always the good guys. Children are not spared from the darkest realms of humanity. Izuku isn't acting like his normal self at school lately, and his homeroom teacher has taken notice. After learning about the mother’s new, unwelcomed boyfriend, Aizawa’s concern shifts into dread. He’ll do whatever it takes to keep his student away from harm.

Almost Moon (trigger warning for suicide) (Black Clover)

It was always at night. One of Noelle's squadmates, apparently, believes it's a good idea to walk across the rooftop, directly over her head while she is trying to get some sleep. Finally, she decides to confront the nighttime nuisance. What she discovers is something she never expected, nor did she wish to see.

~~~

Nez’s fics:

The True Successor by @neko-nez (x)

Toshinori is caught in a time loop.

~~~

Aodh’s fics:

new game + (the pros of being over-leveled, the catharsis of finally beating That One Boss, and a bonus social link) by @takeyamayuu (x)

Izuku hasn’t been noticed yet, being as far from the fight as he is. Or if he has, they’re dismissing him in favor of the larger threat of Aizawa-sensei. As they should, since he takes out the last one with a well placed kick, turning to face Shigaraki,

Izuku tenses, this is-

This is where his teacher’s arm is injured and then-

The Nomu.

One for All spikes to around fifty percent, his muscles stinging, bones creaking as Izuku darts forward, aiming for Shigaraki’s head with an axe-kick.

Second year Midoriya Izuku gets hit with a Quirk, skids into the USJ, and learns a little about self-care along the way.

~~~

Ghost’s fics:

fingerpaint bruises and a kick in the teeth by @ghoststrawberries (x)

There’s a sour taste in Shouta’s mouth as he stares at Jackrabbit’s bright smile. The smile he’s wearing in every clear photo of him. It somewhat reminds Shouta of All Might’s smile.

Jackrabbit might be a menace to the Commission, but there’s no way Shouta can believe that a man with that smile is anything less than good to his core.

“And I’m your last resort to handle this quietly.” He says knowingly, keeping his thoughts to himself.

“Precisely.”

Shouta’s gut response is to refuse.

The words “I don’t kill.” are halfway up his throat before they become stuck.

As an underground hero, sometimes Shouta Aizawa is called upon to do darker jobs than one might expect a hero to have to do. This time, when he's tasked with taking out a vigilante who's managed to bother the Hero Public Safety Commission one too many times, he's not sure he'll be able to follow through.

~~~

Amira’s fics:

And Now I See Daylight by @awake-my-oceans (x)

AnalysisOverload Current mood: HERO CON HERO CON HERO CON HERO CON

AnalysisOverload reblogged AnalysisOverload  Okay, let’s talk HeroCon. 

Look around, and you’ll see a lot of discrimination—against people whose Quirk is debilitating, against people whose Quirks scare us, against people who have trouble controlling their Quirk, against people who don’t have a Quirk at all. It’s easy to feel alone in a sea of discrimination.

Enter HeroCon:X.

A social media fic following Deku post-graduation.

The chaotic neutral’s guide to time travel

“You claim you are from the future,” Nedzu said, hopping onto his desk. “Do you have anything to prove this?”

Hitoshi fished around in his pocket. “Here’s my hero license,” he said, holding it up.

Nedzu opened his mouth, but Hitoshi kept right on going, producing a handful of odds and ends from his pocket. “Also a movie ticket, some dryer lint, some, uh, didn’t know I still had that but it’s old gum—“

That was when Aizawa walked in, capture weapon floating around him. “What’s the emergency?” he asked, clipped, as he kicked open the door.

“—and the left arm of a Deku plushie,” Hitoshi finished, unruffled. “My cat ate the rest.”

~~~

Aaaaaand that’s all I got. Thanks for making it to the end!

[pinkhairedlily]

Blue Fire Tree

Prompt: Everlasting (last day omgggg) | Gift for @tinaillustrations ! Hope you like this fluffy piece! I enjoyed writing this one. 🤗| Happy HitsuHina Week! @hitsuhina-week 💛💙

“Fire trees should be blue not red,” Ichika mumbles while filling in the traced pattern of the tree on the canvass as Hinamori gathers her unruly red mane into a semblance of a bun. Her charge was a Shinigami apprentice and had the hodgepodge attitude of both of her parents. She was sarcastic, blunt, inquisitive, passionate, and kind.

Renji thought she was the best person to teach his daughter common spells to start off her training. Not that Hinamori disliked being the resident kido expert. She particularly loved the monicker, but there were times she felt she didn’t deserve the title. Like today when, for some other reason, Ichika and her was blindsided by arts and crafts.

“Wouldn’t you like the flowers to resemble your hair?” Hinamori clips the last of the strands and looks over the child’s shoulder. The colors spill out of the lines and the scenery seems to change from summer to winter.

“But blue is the hottest color. Imagine trees blooming with the brightest flames, the most intense warmth, and the most lasting flowers.” Ichika finishes the piece with a last dash of blue paint. The apprentice turns to her and asks, “Does it look so desolate?”

“No, not really. To me, winter has always been warm.“

Someone coughs behind them to get their attention. Hitsugaya Toushiro, captain of the 10th Division, stands awkwardly at the entrance of the dojo with a tray of tea and pot of biscuits. It doesn’t escape her notice that he used the tea set she gave last Christmas, and this observation makes her feel giddy inside.

Maybe I’m just appreciative of people who use my gifts, Hinamori justifies to herself.

“Hello, Captain Hitsugaya. Is that for us or for Vice-Captain Momo?” Ichika greets him as she takes the tray off his hands.

The blush creeps on the captain’s face just as quickly as his brows furrow in annoyance. He quickly glares at the mischievous remark of Ichika and redirects his gaze to his equally flustered childhood best friend. “This was not of my own good will. I was threatened by Byakuya to take good care of his precious niece, and it just so happens that this space is under my jurisdiction.”

Hinamori tilts her head in a slight apology. “I hope we don’t bother you too much. Would you like to join us for some art session? Ichika loves to paint today.”

He almost says something, but he stops himself. His stance goes from alert to rigid, and tension fills the air. “Maybe some other time.” Ichika glances from her current teacher to the captain and back to her teacher again.

“Oh, sorry for taking up your time.” Hinamori slightly bows, unsure of what transpired just now, and Hitsugaya nods in return. Before he is completely out of her sight, she calls out to him again.

“Shiro-chan?” He glances back at the sound of his nickname. “Thanks for the tea.”

He smiles in mild annoyance before he flash-steps out of their sight. “It’s Captain Hitsugaya to you.”

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

“Something’s bothering you,” Rangiku says to Hinamori as she slides beside her in the ramen booth. “Your treat in exchange for my wisdom.” She proceeds to order her usual ramen and sake combo.

“How was your trip to the Land of the Living?” Hinamori asks, obviously skirting the issue she wishes to raise.

“Kazui is subdued and gentle like his mother, but somehow, he manages to get into fights with bullies on the street. It’s his Ichigo genes.” The combo meal arrives along with two shot glasses. “How are you doing with the chaotic devil spawn Ichika?”

“She’s progressing really fast with the kido, but she gets so distracted easily. It’s cute though that Renji and Rukia are not pressuring her. Great parents. How nice it must be.”

Rangiku side-eyes her while slurping the thick noodles. “How nice what now – “

Hinamori plays with her empty bowl and fidgets with her chopsticks. “To not be alone.”

She chokes on her noodles and quickly downs half of the sake bottle. “Oh, this is great news! I have someone on my mind who would like to be in your company forever.”

Hinamori gives no response and instead continues fiddling with her bowl. “How nice it is to be also like Shiro-chan, content and busy enough to be single. How do I become like your captain, Rangiku?”

The smile fades from the woman’s face and is replaced by a bustling vein near her temple. “I’m sorry what did that short man do or say to you?”

“I asked him if he would like to do some art with us, you know, help me with babysitting for a few minutes, but he literally stiffened like a stick. Seems like he doesn’t want to waste time with kids or do any family-related activities. Or maybe he’s just too busy, captain duties and all.”

And yet he took the time to bring you tea, a voice screams inside her mind.

“That’s….rude,” an exasperated Rangiku remarks. She pours a glass for Hinamori and decides on a plan. “Unless you’re seeing him as….?”

“Huh? Oh no no no.” Hinamori downs the liquid in one gulp, suddenly embarrassed by her friend’s insinuation. “We’re just friends, childhood friends. I…don’t see Shiro-chan that way.”

“Sure, whatever you say Momo. Do you want me to introduce you to some people?”

Hinamori looks up at her, doe-eyed.

“I guess that’s a yes.”

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

Hinamori actually forgot about her request to Rangiku as she and her student started to settle in a rather serious kido training. The plan apparently was set to happen after a week when she came across a bulletin announcing her quest for a perfect match through a one-day interview application. This was the first time Hinamori wanted to be swallowed by the void and never return to Seiretei.

She finds herself visiting Division 10 HQ every afternoon but to no avail since coincidentally, Rangiku has some errands to do in Karakura, and won’t be back until the date of the interview. Or maybe it has also something to do with Hinamori avoiding Hitsugaya and having to do all the explaining. And so she had no choice but to wait for the inevitable day.

“Uhhh Vice-Captain Matsumoto, you said introduce, not organize a whole dating screening process!” Hinamori’s voice goes a pitch higher for each word, but Rangiku is too busy arranging the people lining up to notice her.

Her current captain, Shinji Hirako, chuckles beside the blondie, amused by the growing line of eligible Shinigami singles in their HQ. “You are quite the eye candy in our division, huh. Didn’t expect you’d have this many suitors.” He squeezes his vice-captain’s shoulder as form of reassurance. “You should have told me, Hinamori. I could have set you up in an arranged marriage.”

“Captain, that’s atrocious!” Hinamori protests. She walks over to Rangiku to disperse the line, but Yumichika and Ikkaku move to her side and grabs her midway through her litany of objections. They lead her to a makeshift container with two chairs facing each other and a table in between.

“This is ridiculous,” Hinamori mumbles her breath, her energy already defeated by the two dumbasses in front of her.

“Well to be fair, Hinamori, this is a long time coming,” Yumichika says.

“And the result necessitates this kind of method so stop mumbling and screen your admirers, babe,” Ikkaku supplies. Irritated, Hinamori chases them off with two fireballs.

The first ten Shinigami ‘applicants’ were too insufferable as they were clearly aiming for the prestige of her position.

“If dating a vice-captain would give me a higher seat in Gotei 13 then why am I still single?” she bats the question to the 11th person who sat across her. When they didn’t give her an answer, she sighs, “Next please.”

“Would you know what’s my favorite brand of tea?”

“Uhh, Robusta.”

“I believe that’s coffee. Next please.”

“Hello, vice-captain Hinamori, I brought you peaches. They’re my favorite.”

“I’m allergic to them. I’m sorry. Next please?”

“What are your strengths?”

“Well, I can do shunpo.”

“That’s basic Shinigami skills.”

“…………..”

“…………..”

“I’ll see myself out. Thank you for your time, vice-captain.”

“I know you’re traumatized by Aizen-“

The container collapses as Hinamori summons Tobiume.

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

“I think I will be forever alone.” Hinamori looks on as her fellow vice-captains clean up the mess she incurred over the unfinished statement earlier.

“I’m really sorry if I did the whole thing over the top,” Rangiku tells her sincerely. She hugs the raven-haired girl and waits in silent for the commotion to die down. “Though the last one was really foul, and you were valid to be angry.”

“I was afraid I’d burn down Captain Shinji’s quarters.”

“You can, just to piss him off. The whole process is so draining, huh?” Hinamori nods at the observation. Rangiku continues, seemingly voicing her own thoughts, “It’s hard to put yourself out there especially when they don’t know batshit about you. Would be easier if you have common interests or when they’re already your friend.”

The last phrase is said so pointedly that Hinamori’s mind automatically pictures Hitsugaya. She runs along with her imagination. How easy it would be indeed to spend the rest of her life with him. And as if her mind conjured him, the 10th Division Captain comes into view alongside Ichika. It looks like her student dragged him to the unfortunate event.

There’s an angry glint in his eyes that Hinamori noticed. It was the torn expression he wore when she wounded her knees back when they were kids, the same frown when she told him she would kill for the traitor, the same worried eyes when she almost died. But his eyes refuse to meet hers.

“You missed all the fun, Captain.” Rangiku stretches out her arms as she stands up. She gestures for the rest of their friends to come nearer so they could re-group and go home. “It was a bad plan, and I owe Hinamori one. So we’re kinda ready for your scolding.”

Hitsugaya stays silent throughout the shuffling of his fellow Shinigami, in fact he remains frozen for too long that Ichika elbows him to get a response out of him. “Come on, you ruminated one week for this, and I had to physically stop you from harassing the interested applicants.”

“Shut up, Ichika,” the silver-haired captain mutters.

“I’ll tell on you to Uncle Byakuya!” the redhead sticks out her tongue and runs over to the side of Rangiku.

More annoyed than ever, Hitsugaya grunts and storms off towards Hinamori. “I’m not here to scold anyone. I’m here for the….dating application,” he gulps amid the collective gasps that ran through the group and the muffled laughter of Rangiku who clearly foresaw this.

“Well, what can I say, but fucking finally!” The blonde swigs a new bottle of wine from inside her robes and goes to do a little crowd control.

Hinamori’s eyes get a little bit bigger, and she stares at him with mouth agape, but she lets him grab her hand, in a gentle manner that he usually does, and brings her to the farthest fire tree in the area.

“Shiro-chan, what did you mean……” She continues to stare at his hand who somehow refuses to let go of her yet.

Ironically, he is also staring at the same hand, unsure whether to let go right now before he can actually say something. “I don’t know why you had to go through all of that.”

“I’m..I’m still confused, to be honest. It was just a passing feeling of loneliness, and I rambled to Rangiku which she took seriously….” Hinamori knows she is starting to word vomit out of nervousness, but she halts when he finally lets her go. Maybe she has misunderstood his presence again.

Hitsugaya raises his palm to her. “Would you let me…uhhh…word vomit this time?”

She slowly nods, rather shocked at his insistence, and even more so when he chooses to ramble.

“Momo, I have a cold reiatsu. My touch is never warm. But I know you like green tea, steeped in warm water for exactly 10 minutes, and that you don’t put sugar. You are afraid of storms, and you need a blanket around you to calm down. You like watermelon, but I think it’s because I subjected you to multiple summers of conditioning. You’re my childhood best friend. You’re hardworking. You are a kido expert. You earned your right to be a vice-captain, and you’ll do greater things.

And I know it’s not enough to say that I know you, I’ve always known you, but will it be enough for you to allow me to stay beside you?”

Hinamori leans against the trunk of the fire tree, breathless from his train of words. “Oh my god, this is too overwhelming. I thought you hated being not single.”

“What?” Hitsugaya looks at her with a puzzled expression.

“You don’t like Ichika. Or doing art…with kids.”

“Well, Ichika is a brat to me, but she’s a good student and will be a good Shinigami like her parents.” He nurses his temples for the growing headache. “Momo, listen to me.” He steps closer to her and makes sure she’s only looking at him. “I panicked because I visualized you and me….and you know. It wasn’t right when I haven’t even told you anything yet.”

“Oh.” The moment of realization dawns on her. “Oh, that’s great.”

“So we can finally go back to how we were.” Hitsugaya lets out a shaky breath as he sits on the grass and watches as the red petals of the fire tree shower them lightly.

A blushing Hinamori crouches down to his level. “Well, not quite. You should know, Shiro-chan, your reiatsu has always been warm and comforting to me.” She reaches out to take his hand and intertwines their fingers.

Hitsugaya smiles as he silently thanks himself that he outgrew her by two inches so he could easily slip a kiss on her forehead. “It’s Captain Hitsugaya.”

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

Ichika tries to see beyond the wall of spectators but Rangiku is not letting anyone through. She huffs indignantly, wanting to know whether her incessant prodding and pestering of the oblivious Hitsugaya bore some fruit. She has no choice but to juice out all the details later on from her uncle.

On second thought, maybe she won’t have to. Blue petals swayed with the light breeze of the wind, and on the far edge of the Fifth Division’s HQ is a lone blue fire tree.

[buglife]

Terra Lumina

A hollow knight au guide that I keep writing in. You can read all my writings and art stuff in the #terra-lumina tag. Mostly so I can just point to this post when explaining things awee. :3 Post subject to edits and changes.

Terra Lumina is an au where both Ghost (the little knight) and Quirrel are together and are the new rulers of Hallownest. So it's a royalty au! Pretty much it's slice of life where they do their best to be a better ruler than the Pale King ever was, ruling with kindness and intelligence. Seriously, like, the Pale King could have just talked to the Radiance instead of letting things snowball like they did. They both live in the new palace which is pretty much like the White House in that it's mostly dedicated to government with an apartment for the rulers to live in. It's where the old palace used to be, but now it's much greener and 100% less buzzsaws. It is post embrace the void ending and an everyone lives/nobody dies au where the only characters that are dead are those that were found so at the start of the game. Takes place about 5-7 years after the end of the game.

The two romantic rulers.

Ghost:Now taller than Quirrel and is the Shade Lord, god of void and dreams. Sovereign of Hallownest and rightful ruler due to king's brand. Can use telepathy but only does so with family/friends, as they are nervous about scaring people so uses sign language with them. Is very happy to have family/friends and overall liked by most folks. Is still scary to some and is sad about that. Married Quirrel. Considers Mato their adoptive father and calls them such. Still enjoys fighting (but for fun now). Since dreams are now their aspect, they gather up nightmares to help the population (and gives to their adopted grimmchild, Allegro, and Grimm themselves.)

Quirrel: Now called the Scholar King, rules alongside Ghost. He still has trouble believing that this is his life. Chaotic Good. Mostly deals with the logistics in running the kingdom. Adoptive mother is Monomon who found him when he was teeny tiny. Did not attempt to drown themselves, instead isolated himself when he thought Monomon was dead so Ghost had to find him. Still fights and can practically teleport. Spends free time in the palace library where a copy of all the surviving books were moved to and is free to the public to check out and read.

Family/Friends

Hornet: Still the Princess of Deepnest and was happy to have her mother Herrah rule again. Is officially Deepnest's ambassador and works closely with her sibling to be sure things that need to get done, get done. She won't admit it but she loves spending time with her siblings. Also randomly jumps Ghost to keep them on their toes and make sure they don't lose their skill. This can happen at anytime, anyplace. Is a close ally with the Hive and is helping the new Queen get used to her role. Also demands spars with Quirrel all the time because she does like her brother and law and the fact she doesn't kill him is proof enough in her eyes.

Mato: Dadmaster. Pretty much raised Ghost in between the end of the game to present day (and did a damn good job). Still lives in the Howling Cliffs and teaches students still, especially knight candidates. Is always on hand to cause trouble if needed. Is so proud you guys can't even. Keeps his home open in case Ghost and Quirrel need to hide for a bit. Officiated Ghost and Quirrel's wedding because of course.

Hollow: Part of the new great knights of Hallownest and is known as Hollow the Kind. Still likes to help people, and after having lots of care and therapy, is now more expressive and open. Is pretty much free to do what they please, and they choose to mostly patrol the kingdom and help when needed. Is constantly sneaking frogs into the palace because Hollow loves them. Can only use telepathy with other void beings and uses sign language to communicate otherwise. Is still missing an arm but had a magical prosthetic built. Loves to be in cuddle piles.

Tiso:Big brother figure and part of the new great knights of Hallownest. He is known as Tiso the Daring. Is actually a badass Captain America type fighter, just couldn't dodge a house sized mawlek and nearly died back then. Taught Ghost all the swears and often invokes 'Big Brother Rights'. Is also Captain of the Guard and has matured a lot since the end of the game. In a relationship with Myla and Cloth.

Cloth:Part of the new great knights of Hallownest and is known as Cloth the Strong. Makes sure people behave. Has healed from her near suicidal want to join her late lover, and now has a more positive outlook on life. Tends to organize tournaments that aren't fucked up and fatal like the Coliseum. In a relationship with Tiso and Myla.

Myla:Was saved from the infection, but it left her prone to sickness and a little weaker than most bugs. Compensates for still being cherry and wonderful to be around. Actually wicked smart and has helped Ghost restart the mining industry. Enjoys going to musicals/plays in her free time. Still loves being a geologist and provided most of the geological samples in the Capital's museum. Is in a relationship with Cloth and Tiso.

Ogrim: The only surviving great knight of old Hallownest. Is part of the new knights as Ogrim the Defender. Is the leader of the new knights and is a brilliant tactician. Has moved up from the Waterways to a new home and no longer lives in exile. Likes to plan parties and is generally doing better. He deserves it.

God Tamer: Real name is Xena (I seen it used around and I like it.) Part of the new great knights of Hallownest and is known as Xena the Tamer. Still works alongside her beast, ‘Pickles’. Has an uncanny ability to befriend dangerous beasts and pacifies them. Now has a small zoo’s worth of ‘friends’ that come and go for pats and treats. Dunks on Tiso a lot. Is surprisingly a conservationist. Will beat the shit out of people without hesitation if needed. Often fights new recruits to judge areas needing improvement. Has no tolerance for idiots. Was saved from the infection, but was not infected long enough to cause long term damage.

Allegro: The Grimmchild. Has chosen female pronouns. She is now past the grub stage and has left the kingdom to travel with her father, Grimm, to learn how to take over the Troupe. Still keeps in contact with Ghost through dreams and loves Ghost very much as their ‘Ren’. Was and still is, a little shit. Ghost misses them a lot but is comforted by her visits. Ghost saves nightmares to give to her so she can get big and strong!

Grimm: Considered a friend at this point, and taught Ghost about the dream realm. Visits through dreams. Ghost saves nightmares to give to him. Often has advice when needed.

Sheo/Nailsmith: Uncles. They both run an art school with Sheo teaching fine arts and Nail(Smith) teaching forging. They also run an art gallery. Are up to cause trouble whenever needed.

Oro: Uncle. The real sour one. Teaches new recruits and tends to weed out those that can make it from ones that can’t. Pretty much a drill Sargent. Ghost pays him not only in geo, but candy. Special, custom made candy just for Oro. It’s the only way they could get him to do this job. Oro won’t admit it’s also because he loves his former pupil no sir.

Monomon: Quirrel’s adoptive mother and currently is the royal researcher. Teaches classes as well. Ghost pretty much told her to do whatever as long as it will improve the lives of bugkind and she loves them for it. Is always down to cause trouble. Chaotic Neutral. Has some type of explosive with them at any given time. Tends to ‘vanish’ people who have wrong her or her son. Embodies chaos. Craves gossip. Former Dreamer and woke up when Ghost took the pantheon approach to defeating the Radiance.

Herrah: Queen of Hallownest and considers Ghost one of her children. Is happy to be Queen of her own people and is making up for lost time with her daughter. Likes to meet with the Hallownest rulers for a good shit-talking session. Is made of sass. Former Dreamer and woke up when Ghost took the pantheon approach to defeating the Radiance.

Lurien: Watcher of the Capital. Disaster. Will stay up for days on end working on things to accidentally invent new things in the process in sleep deprived delirium. Often gets drunk or high and contemplates the universe. Has the best edibles around I tell you. Is actually good at his job, which is finding suspicious things and investigating them. Former Dreamer and woke up when Ghost took the pantheon approach to defeating the Radiance.

Lemm: Runs the Hallownest museum and works in the back where he catalogs and studies findings and doesn’t have to talk to anyone and is the happiest he could ever be.

Seer: Holy shit she is old. Still lives in the resting grounds. Ghost visits often and brings tea and snacks. Grandma energy. Is currently working with Quirrel to recount as much as she can about moth legends and society so it can be preserved forever. It’s slow going because she is old, but it’s going.

The siblings: Are now at rest.

Everything else

White Lady: Is still alive and has left the gardens. She resides in a little hidden cottage outside the palace where she grows flowers. Is often called in to overlook agriculture efforts. Has long since revoked her crown and is content with a quiet life. Is not considered a mother by Ghost, and Ghost will not forgive her for her role in things. She is okay with this and hopes to atone someday for what she did.

The Pale King: Still fucking dead. Rest in Pieces you shit.

Eternal Emilitia: Is a member of the new noble class and takes her job seriously. She mostly keeps the other nobles in line when she can and helps delegate orders to places where they need to go. It’s like herding cats but she’s getting better with it the longer she’s around. Is respected by Ghost since she knows what it’s like to hit rock bottom and is quite sensitive to the needs to the people.

Radiance: Dead. Was going mad and in pain by the time Ghost got to her. Is now at rest.

Greenpath/Queen’s Gardens:Given back to the moss-kin and Unn. Unn has started to awaken more now that the infection is over and her children are freed from it’s influence. Is considered it’s own ‘kingdom’. Is in good relations with Hallownest.

Fungal Wastes: Still thriving. A hivemind made up of everything from microscopic spores to the entire fungal waste itself. The mushroom tribe trades with Hallownest and is in good relations with them. Still considered weird to most but they are good and peaceful people.

Mantis Tribe: Is in a good relationship with Ghost, Hornet and Quirrel, and not much else. Has complete independence but was asked nicely if they could help train the most dedicated of new guards/knights. Did not pass up the opportunity to be allowed to beat the shit out of willing Hallownest citizens who wanted to train.

Deepnest: Ruled by Queen Herrah and Princess Hornet. Good relationship with Hallownest and enjoys full independence. The beasts that reside are no longer hassled by Hallownest encroachment and thus does not push back into it. Exports silk products and is now a very prosperous nation.

Dirtmouth/Crystal Peaks: Still the same, but with now more people. All our favorite Dirtmouth folks are doing well. Elderbug is delighted to have a full town to be a mayor over.

City of Tears: Now called the 'Capital'. Plants are now on the ceiling to redirect water and stop the constant rain. It's much more pleasant now.

Colosseum of Fools: Left alone mostly. Ghost cannot stop people for wanting to go there if they are of sound mind to make the decision.

The Hive: Is now ruled by the new Queen Apis. Is fully independent and enjoys a cushy trade agreement with Hallownest and the rest of the various nations. She wonders if she will ever live up to her mother, Queen Vespa, but has many friends to help her grow into the role. Hive Knight is her loyal friend.

[thegreatestofheck]

Sweet as Honey, Hard as Steel || JJ Maybank ||

this one’s for @lovelyfreshfestival ! It wasn’t a request but it’s for her anyway. 

word count - 4.0k  warnings - There’s a lot of softness here, a lot of fluff, but also some mentions of death synopsis - JJ’s girlfriend is the complete opposite of everything one would expect. A straight A student with big life goals, Elena has never been the drinking, smoking, fighting type. And JJ wouldn’t have it any other way.  a/n - I hope this okay! The idea popped into my head and I couldn’t get it out. 

***

“Remind me again how the hell did you get her to go out with you,” Pope said, watching the girl as she fell off of her surf board for the sixth time. JJ sighed and let out a puff of smoke, a smile pulling at his lips. 

“I’m one lucky bastard,” was all he said. 

Kie stumbled out of the water, surf board under her arm. Behind her came JJ’s girlfriend, Elena, a wide grin on her face. 

“You’ll get the hang of it,” Kie was saying, but Elena just laughed. 

“The day I surf a wave successfully is the day pigs fly.” Elena lay her surf board on the sand before flopping down beside JJ. He promptly tucked his vape pen into his pocket. 

“I thought you looked great,” JJ said, smiling at her. Elena leaned forward and pressed a kiss against his cheek. 

“Are you kidding me?” Pope asked, eyes wide. “I fell off my board once a few weeks back and you haven’t gotten off my back since.”

“Well, Pope,” JJ said, clapping his friend on the shoulder. “Once you look that good in a bikini, we’ll talk.” 

Elena’s cheeks burned red as she stood, looking down at her friends. 

“Hey,” JJ said, lifting his hand to grab hers. “Where are you going?” 

“We have school in an hour,” Elena laughed, pulling a loose dress over her head. “I can’t be late. Have a test.” 

JJ groaned, laying back in the sand.  

“Shit,” Pope hissed, pushing himself to his feet. “That test’s today?” 

Elena nodded, sliding her feet into a pair of sandals. 

“I’ve heard it’s a gnarly one. I’ve been studying since last week,” she said and Pope cringed. 

“Damn.” 

Kie and JJ stayed in the sand, unmoving. Kie flipped her sunglasses down over her eyes. Elena tapped JJ’s ribs with her foot. He looked up at her, squinting against the sunlight. 

“I’ll see you after third period, yeah?” 

JJ nodded his head. 

“Good luck on your test, babe.” 

“Catch some good waves for me, hon.” 

Elena leaned down and placed a kiss on top of his head. She sent a wave to Kie before following Pope to his car. 

***

With a sigh, Elena leaned the back of her head against her locker. 

“I can’t believe I got that stupid question wrong,” she said, squeezing her eyes shut. 

“Don’t beat yourself up about it too much,” John B said, shutting his locker and giving his friend a smile. “I think you’re just gonna have to accept the fact that I’m smarter than you.” 

Elena scoffed and let out a laugh. 

“In your dreams, Johnny Boy,” she said, walking alongside him toward the lunch room. 

As she and John B turned the corner, Elena found JJ leaning up against his locker. One of the girls who had been known for notoriously flirting with everyone, especially with JJ, was standing in front of him with her usual loose grin. 

“Shit,” John B muttered under his breath, shifting the bag on his shoulder. “Nana-” 

“Don’t worry about it, Johnny,” Elena said with a sigh and a smile. “I can handle it.” 

She stepped up to JJ and the girl, Sandy, with her usual smile. When JJ saw her, his eyes lit up and he straightened. Sandy turned around and frowned. 

“Oh,” she said. 

“Hey, Sandy, how are you today?” Elena asked stepping past her and standing beside JJ. He put an arm around her waist and pulled her in for a kiss, but Elena dodged it. 

“I was doing just fine until you showed up,” Sandy said, crossing her arms. Elena just smiled. 

“Well, I was gonna go to lunch with JJ here, so, if you would excuse us-”

“Doesn’t it bother you at all that your boyfriend flirts with all the other girls at this school?” Sandy asked, stepping in front of Elena and JJ before they could move. 

“Not really no,” Elena said as she tilted her head to the side. “I trust JJ completely.”

Sandy raised her eyebrows. JJ stood beside Elena with a wide grin. 

“You may trust him, but-”

“There are no buts, Sandy,” Elena said, putting a hand on the other girl’s arm. “And, no offense, but I frankly don’t feel very threatened by you.” 

Sandy’s lips twitched, trying to find something to say in retaliation, but Elena didn’t give her the chance to. She gave another sweet smile and stepped around her. 

JJ and John B followed suit, both falling into step alongside Elena. 

“Have I ever told you how much I adore you, Nana?” John B asked, looking down at his friend. 

“I think I’m spoken for, Johnny,” Elena said and then looked down at her feet, clutching her textbooks to her chest. 

“Damn right she’s spoken for,” JJ said, throwing his arm over her shoulders. Elena smiled up at her boyfriend before bumping his shoulder with hers. 

“What are we eating for lunch today?” John B asked absentmindedly, putting a hand on his stomach. 

“I have an idea,” JJ said as he glanced down at Elena. Her cheeks burned red and she shoved him lightly away from her. 

“In your dreams, Maybank,” she said. John B gagged to himself. 

“Every night,” JJ replied with a wink. Elena rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help the butterflies that exploded in her stomach. 

***

“Like that?”

“Yeah, babe, just like that.” JJ said with a grin. “Shit!” 

Elena stepped back, sweaty and breathless, dropping her hands to her side. JJ turned away from her, a hand on his face. 

“Oh, hon, I’m sorry,” Elena said, stepping toward him. But JJ just laughed. 

He was teaching her how to fight. She wasn’t so sure she needed to know, but he was always worried about what went on when he wasn’t around. But Elena was still working on her aiming abilities. This time, she had missed his hand and punched him in the face instead. 

“You’ve got a mean right hook,” JJ said, turning back to look at her with a laugh. Elena cringed, the side of his face already red. 

“Let’s go get you some ice.” Elena wiped the sweat off of her face with her shirt. JJ simply shook his head.

“If I iced every bruise I’d be a walking ice cube,” he told her, but from the look in Elena’s eyes, he knew that she wasn’t backing down. She hardly ever did. Her stubbornness was one of the most compelling things about her. That and how sweet she was and the fact that she tasted like honey and how she had the resolve of steel and...

There were a lot of things about Elena that JJ just couldn’t get enough of. 

JJ watched her as she started for his house. 

“Stop staring at my ass and come with me,” Elena said with a laugh. JJ rolled his eyes and followed after her. 

If it had been up to him, they would be doing this at her house so she would never have even the possibility of running into his father. But, as Elena said, she and her mom were currently living out of a hotel as her house was being fumigated, a hotel that was on Figure Eight, which wasn’t either of their favorite places to be. 

He asked her if he could take her to the Chateau to teach her to fight, or maybe even the beach, but Elena wasn’t having it. Part of him wondered if she wanted to meet his dad. Knowing her, she was hoping to accidentally run into him just so she could give him a piece of her mind. But JJ would be ready for that if it happened. He wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her. Not now, not ever. 

By the time he stepped back into his house, Elena was already in the kitchen with a bag of frozen corn, wrapping it in a towel. JJ cringed to himself. She deserved better than a dirty house towel and a boyfriend who constantly needed to be patched up.

He couldn’t count the number of times he had come to her house to get away from his father. Sometimes, it was because of the physical fights. Sometimes, it was just the yelling and the name calling he couldn’t stand. It didn’t matter. Elena would always take him in, even before they started dating. Her mom never got antsy about a boy spending the night, never questioned either of their intentions. When JJ couldn’t stay at his house and he couldn’t bear to look his friends in the eye, Elena and her mom were always there for him. 

And Elena never once complained. Even now, there was a hint of a smile on her face. It was like she genuinely...cared for him. She didn’t ask anything of him, didn’t want anything from him. Except the same love and respect that she gave, which he was more than willing to reciprocate. 

“It’s going to be a little cold,” Elena warned, kneeling in front of JJ as she lifted the wrapped ice pack to his face. 

“I’m a big boy,” JJ told her with a grin. “I think I can take it.” 

Still, he flinched ever so slightly when she put the pack against his eye. 

“I’m sorry I hit you,” Elena said, resting her other hand over one of his. 

JJ scoffed and was about to say something snarky that would have made her scowl, but before he could do so, his dad burst in through the front door. JJ and Elena both stood suddenly. Elena’s heart spiked because she thought it was a robber. It wouldn’t be the first time someone broke into the house she was in. JJ’s heart dropped into his stomach because he knew exactly who it was. 

“What’s this?” Luke Maybank asked, his words slurred, a beer bottle in his hand. Elena felt JJ tense, his hands curling. For a moment, fear ran through her blood. She knew who this man was, knew what he had done to the boy she loved. Then the fear passed and was replaced by anger. She knew exactly what he had done to her boyfriend and she had just learned that she had a mean right hook. 

But that wasn’t her. She let her anger die down before stepping forward with a smile. 

“My name is Elena,” she said with her hand extended. Luke glanced back at his son with a half a smirk. He rejected Elena’s handshake by taking a swig of beer from the bottle.

“This your newest whore?” Luke asked JJ, ignoring Elena entirely. She felt her cheeks grow hot and ice run through her veins. 

“Don’t call her that.” JJ’s voice was tight, angry. Elena stepped backward, preparing herself for whatever was to come. 

“I understand that your son has a certain reputation.” Elena spoke slowly, carefully. Don’t set off Luke, don’t set off JJ. It was a fine line she walked. “But that’s not me.” 

“Then who are you?” Luke dropped down at the table, right across from where Elena and JJ had just been sitting. 

“She’s my girlfriend,” JJ ground out through his clenched teeth. Elena felt her stomach tighten, especially once Luke’s eyes widened. She could see him, feel him, scan her body with his eyes. It made the tips of her ears tingle with discomfort, but she was determined to not let it show on her face. 

“You never told me,” Luke said, taking another long drink of beer. When JJ didn’t respond, Luke turned his attention back to Elena. “Doesn’t bother you that your little boyfriend here didn’t tell his old man about you?”

Elena gave a small smile and shook her head.

“We’ve been keeping things pretty much on the down low,” Elena lied. Practically everyone on the island knew about them. How it had escaped Luke, she had no idea. “Just waiting for the right time.” 

“Where’d you get that shiner, boy?” Luke asked when it appeared that nothing he was saying was getting under Elena’s skin. “Another fight at school?” 

“Yeah,” JJ said quickly before Elena could tell Luke that it was her. “Something like that.” 

“Emma, why don’t you stay for dinner tonight?” Luke gave almost a real smile as he leaned forward.

“It’s Elena.” JJ’s hands curled into fists. Elena reached back without looking at him and covered one of his hands with hers. She felt him relax slowly. 

“I would love to stay,” she said with her sweet as honey smile. JJ stiffened. The absolute last thing he wanted was for Elena to get stuck at the dinner table with his dad. But she never let her smile falter. 

“There’s some corn in the freezer and a little bit of rice over there. Might be some fish in the cooler out back.” Luke stood from the table and headed off toward the back of the house. “Call me when it’s ready.” 

Once his bedroom door was slammed shut, Elena turned around to face JJ. 

“You don’t have to stay,” JJ said, his voice just at a whisper. “You can sneak off. I’ll make some excuse.”

Elena shook her head, taking his hands in hers once again.

“I’m staying.” Her word was final. There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it. There was nothing he could do now to change her mind. 

The two of them started on dinner, moving as quickly as they could so as to not piss Luke off even more. Neither of them spoke as they cooked. A weird feeling was twisting in JJ’s gut, but it was a good feeling. Foreign and unfamiliar, but good somehow. Elena was actively trying not to think about how damn attractive it was to see JJ cooking fish. 

By the time Elena had the table set and JJ went to go get his dad, it was a little past 6 o’clock. 

“I’ll be damned,” Luke said as he walked into the kitchen. Elena felt her gut clench as she lowered herself slowly into a chair. “You want a beer, girl?” 

Elena smiled but shook her head slowly.

“No thank you,” she said. 

“Why not?” There was accusation in his voice. 

“Elena doesn’t drink, Dad,” JJ said. Luke glanced between Elena and JJ before bursting into a fit of laughter. 

“My boy’s girlfriend doesn’t drink?” Luke put his hand on his belly, throwing his head backward as he laughed even harder. JJ glanced over at Elena, whose cheeks were red, her smile gone from her face. “I’ll get you a beer, son.”

JJ pressed his lips into a fine line. As soon as Luke had stepped into the back toward the cooler, JJ turned toward Elena. 

“You still have time to leave,” he whispered to her. Elena tried to smile as she shook her head. 

“He doesn’t scare me,” she whispered right back. “Besides, I had to meet him sooner or later, right?”

JJ didn’t have the time to respond before Luke walked back in. He handed his son an ice cold beer and gave Elena a water bottle. 

“So, Elena,” Luke drawled, pulling her name out nice and long. “Tell me about yourself.” 

Elena spent the next hour or so doing everything she could to get on Luke’s good side. Did she hate him? Most definitely. But she wasn’t about to give Luke another reason to belittle and torment his son. 

By the time dinner was finished, Luke had downed three more bottles of beer, working on his fourth. After popping a few pills that Elena couldn’t name, he was pretty much out of it. 

“He’s not going to remember much of this,” JJ said as he walked with Elena to her car. Elena looked down at her feet, fiddling with her hands. She wasn’t entirely sure what to say. “I’m sorry-”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Elena said, turning to face him. “Nothing.”

JJ lifted his hand to her face. The cool of his rings against her skin sent chills down her spine. And when dipped his head down to kiss her, Elena felt warmth seep into her bones. 

“You aren’t your dad, JJ,” she told him as he pulled away. “You’ll do well to remember that.” 

***

Elena sat in her room, the lights shut off, the curtains closed. Curled up in a ball, she kept her gaze on the wall, almost unblinking. 

Outside her room, her mother sat at the table with JJ. 

“She’s fine most days,” her mother said, voice low to keep her voice from traveling. “But sometimes the loss of her father just hits her.” 

JJ nodded his head slowly, looking at Elena’s door. 

“How long does it last?” He asked. Elena’s mom shrugged, taking a sip of her coffee to calm her nerves. 

“Sometimes it lasts a few hours. Sometimes the whole day.”

“She doesn’t eat? Doesn’t come out of her room?”

“Nothing. She doesn’t even respond when I go in there. And she won’t talk about it once it’s passed.” Elena’s mom hung her head, trying not to cry. “I don’t know how to help her. She tries so hard to be strong for me, but she won’t let anyone be strong for her.” 

JJ sighed. There was a part of him that wanted to get up, wish Elena’s mom good luck, and go find his friends to smoke a joint. But another, deeper part of him knew that he couldn’t do that. After all the times that Elena had sat with him while he cried or bandaged up his face or calmed him down when all he wanted to do was scream, he couldn’t leave her now. 

“Would she let me in?” He asked her mom. Elena’s mom looked up at him, eyes full of tears. 

“She won’t stop you,” the woman said, wiping her eyes. “You don’t have to go in there, sweetheart.”

JJ didn’t look at Elena’s mom. He just stared at the door, resolve hardening in his stomach. 

“Yeah, I think I do.” 

JJ stepped forward and didn’t stop until he was at her door. He lifted his knuckles and knocked on the door quietly. 

“Elena, baby?” He called through the door. “It’s me.” 

When there was no response from the other side, JJ looked back at her mom. She gave him a little nod, a new stream of tears running down her face. JJ pushed the door open as quietly as he could. 

It was never dark in Elena’s room unless she was asleep. The curtains were almost always open to let the light in and when it was night, a string of fairy lights kept the room illuminated. But now it was the middle of the day, the curtains closed, the lights shut off. If she absolute silence hadn’t been a warning, this definitely was. 

JJ didn’t say anything. He knew she wouldn’t respond even if he did. Elena lay on her bed, her back facing the door. She lay on top of her blankets, completely still. So still that JJ wasn’t even sure she was breathing. His heart rate spiked, but he didn’t rush to her. 

Moving slowly across the room, JJ stopped by her bed, waiting for a few moments. She still didn’t turn around toward him. With a steady breath, JJ lowered himself onto her bed. Elena still didn’t react. It wasn’t until he was right behind her, his arms snaking slowly around her waist to pull her in closer, that Elena flinched as if finally realizing he was there. 

A quiet gasp came from her mouth as her body jerked, but she didn’t try to move away. 

“I’m right here,” he whispered, breaking the silence in the room. “And I’m not going anywhere.” 

Elena nodded her head a few times. JJ could feel the pace of her breathing start to pick up. He wasn’t entirely sure what it meant for her until her mouth opened and a sob came out. She lifted her hand to put stifle her sobs, but JJ grabbed her hand before she could. 

“It’s okay,” he told her. “You can cry.”

Elena shifted and JJ tucked his chin against her shoulder, pulling her in even closer. He tightened his grip around her stomach as she cried, holding her as tight as he could without hurting her. 

It didn’t matter how long she needed to cry because JJ wasn’t going to leave her. He knew he could be a hard ass, that he still flirted with other girls even when he didn’t mean to, that he did things that he knew was going to freak her out. But every time she would be there, no matter what kind of shit he put her through. Her resolve was as hard as steel. 

Holding her, he remembered all the gentle kisses she gave him, how every one was filled with so much love and care, even if it was just a quick peck on the cheek. He always knew he meant something to her. And it wasn’t just him. She had won the hearts of the people who meant the most to him. Even before JJ and Elena started dating, John B, Pope, and Kie all adored her. She would study with Pope, listen to Kie rant about the injustices of the world, and even help John B keep his house in order now that it was just him living there. And she never asked for anything in return. Her heart was as sweet honey. 

JJ knew that her dad had died in a car accident a few years back. The other driver had been intoxicated, high or drunk, no one really knew. But the driver had walked away without a scratch while Elena had to bury her dad. Ever since then, it had just been Elena and her mom. She didn’t really talk about it much, preferring instead to focus her energy on others. 

“I’m here,” JJ told her as her. Her sobbing started to quiet down, her shaking starting to calm down. 

“I know,” she whispered back, her voice torn from her own sobs. “Thank you.” 

Eventually, her body stilled. Her breathing became more and more steady. JJ pressed a gentle kiss against her neck. 

Elena sat up slowly and JJ rolled onto his back in response. She leaned over him and plugged in her fairy lights. The room lit up and Elena’s eyes sparkled at the sight of it. When she looked down at JJ, her face still stricken with tears, he smiled up at her. 

“My dad was the one who strung these lights,” Elena said, looking back up. “They remind me of him. Sometimes, I wake up and they’re off and it just reminds me that he’s not here anymore.” 

JJ sat up, throwing his legs over the side of the bed. 

“He’s here,” JJ said and put a hand on the side of her face. Elena shut her eyes and nodded her head, leaning into his hand. 

“I think I need to go talk to my mom,” Elena told him. JJ stood and offered his hand to help her out of the bed. 

“Text me if you need me,” JJ said. Elena smiled. She stood on her toes and put her arms around his neck. 

He stepped back away from her, letting her hands fall back to her side. He gave her a short wave before walking out of her room. He passed Elena’s mom who was still sitting in the kitchen. Her head was now in her hands, her coffee cup empty. When she heard JJ’s footsteps against the creaking floor, she looked up, eyes filled with tears. JJ shoved his hands into his pockets. 

“Thank you,” the older woman mouthed. JJ gave her a short nod before heading toward the door. 

As he opened the door, he heard Elena’s mom stand up from the chair. JJ paused and turned around, just in time to see the woman pull Elena into a tight hug. With a small smile, JJ finally turned away from the house, shutting the door behind him. 

[lucarionycteus]

Why You Should Respect Ash's Lucario OR Why Anipoke Shouldn't Push a Rivalry between Lucario and Cinderace OR I have no idea what to title my first Pokemon Analysis

Now, as you read this, I know what you're probably thinking. Nycteus, tons of people have already analyzed this new season of the Pokemon Anime and Ash's team. Why are you kicking this beehive?? Well, sit down for a minute, and hear me out on this.

Ash's team this season, is a big deal. This season and the Pokemon he has adventured with are truly something special. And while there's going to be time for me to cover nearly all of them in due time there is one in particular who spurred me into action to write this post:

Ash's Lucario.

This absolute unit, this powerhouse of character development, this loveable mothertrucker is what convinced me of Anipoke's quality. Quite simply put, this Lucario is my favorite Anipoke mon we've had in years.

Now, Lucarios in the Pokemon anime are nothing new: we've had approximately 20 billion of them (I counted). Although in the past, Lucario's were basically background characters, their trainers being non main characters who appeared for 3 episodes or little more. There were a few exceptions, such as firstly, Cameron and his Riolu/Lucario (who are adorable and underrated)

And secondly, the one we all know, the Lucario from the 8th Pokemon movie (No, I'm not gonna refer to him as Sir Aaron's Lucario, because he's his own independent doggo)! Now this Lucario in particular, from the Mystery of Mew, is well worth going into detail on because of his relevance to Ash and my current season Pokemon GOAT, which I'll get into. In this film, Lucario was from a time far in the past, long before trainers and Pokemon capturing existed. He had a human best friend, named Aaron. Well, more accurately, Aaron saw Lucario as a friend, but Lucario thought that Aaron saw him as simply his student, and treated him as if one would treat a teacher. This misunderstanding, along with several other events, leads to one of the most tragic stories in the Pokemon anime.

Aaron, who in this film is an Aura Guardian and fights to protect his and Lucario's home, suddenly finds that home being devastated by a war. Their home, the Kingdom of Rota, is connected to the Tree of Beginning, a spiritually significant tree in which Mew, the legendary Pokemon, lives. It's at this point that Aaron makes a bold decision:

Aaron decides to sacrifice himself, and before doing so, he uses his aura staff and abilities as a Guardian to trap Lucario in a protective sleep within his staff, thinking that Lucario will try and follow him and could lose his life as well. Lucario remains in stasis for centuries until the aura of one boy in particular, wakes him up: Ash Ketchum's. Ash's aura is so similar to Sir Aaron's that, when Ash is wearing a costume made to honor Aaron (an award he was given by Rota's current government), his aura is virtually indistinguishable from the hero.

This Lucario wakes up in the time period of Ash's and is confused and even angry at first, mistaking Ash for his former friend Aaron. However, Lucario then decides to help the boy (whose Pikachu had been mistakenly kidnapped by Mew to The Tree of Beginning) the two even become friends after Lucario was initially distrustful of humans. Lucario goes through great character development and learns to help Ash, even bravely protecting him and his friends from other Pokemon at the Tree of Beginning who don't understand why a human is there and aren't afraid of showing violence to Ash and his friends. However, what makes this Lucario's story truly tragic, is how he ultimately succumbs to the same fate that Aaron did: as all of the time Ash and his human friends spend trying to rescue Pikachu put the Tree of Beginning in danger and the only way to set it right, is for the tree to be given the aura of a true Guardian. Lucario offers selflessly to help, and Ash does too, as he now remembers what Lucario told him about his aura being similiar to Aarons. Ash bravely works alongside Lucario to revive the tree, but ultimately, Lucario shoves Ash to the side, not wanting the boy to sacrafice himself. Lucario smiles at Ash, and with that, he leaves his life... Someone who Ash had formed a true bond with, just gave his life to protect Ash and every other living creature at the Tree of Beginning by preventing the Tree's death.

It's on this exact stage, that we now transition to the 21st episode of the Pokemon anime. In this episode, Ash manages to do the impossible and inspires a Pokemon to leave its egg early in the Pokemon Center purely through the inspiration with which Ash gives it.

Yes, you heard me correct, a Pokemon that hadn't yet hatched from it's egg, is so inspired by the positive energy, his aura with which Ash gives off that it hatches. And this Pokemon, is none other than Riolu the baby form of Lucario.

This, is a huge deal. This is something fans have been waiting for years to see, ever since Ash's aura was strong enough to wake Lucario up in the Mystery of Mew. Ever since the bond Ash had with Lucario in that film, fans were waiting for Ash to raise a Lucario of his own. And he did it: He welcomed this Riolu into his life with open arms. And even better, this Riolu has recently evolved into a Lucario, single-handedly from the friendship between the two of them. And... The rest is adorable Pokemon history...

Now, after this amazing first showing, something has changed. The recent Pokemon episodes have been neglecting on developing Lucario and instead focusing on cheap jokes involving it getting angry with Goh's Pokemon, Cinderace (Goh being one of several new main characters for this season. Not only is Lucario being involved in these rude and mean spirited jokes, but it is now even implied to have a rivalry with this Cinderace!

Which makes no sense, as previously they were friends, not to mention that Ash has been shown to be more of a mentor to Goh, so it makes no sense for Goh's Cinderace to be bitter with Lucario. It would make far more sense for Cinderace to want to learn from Lucario, considering Ash and his Lucario are clearly shown to be so strong...

However, I will not harp on this point, as my friend Sunseeksday has already made a far more well written post than mine on why exactly a rivalry between Ash's Lucario and Goh's Cinderace makes no sense.

Hiya! I like to write stuff! (requests closed) — Why a rivalry between Ash and Goh WOULD NOT work (tumblr.com)

Now, after you've heard this long passioned ramble from me, I have a question: Does it truly make sense for Ash's Lucario to be forced into a bitter, meanspirited fued with Goh's Cinderace? No, it doesn't make sense, and its not what Lucario or Cinderace deserve. They deserve to have satisfying development that isn't forced...

So, you guys feel similarly, right? OK, Good.

Tags: pokemon journeys anipoke pokeani ash ketchum pikachu lucario goh cinderace

[chaoswillfallrpg]

HESTIA JONES is THIRTY-TWO YEARS OLD and an AUROR in THE DEPARTMENT OF MAGICAL LAW ENFORCEMENT at THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC. She looks remarkably like AJA NOAMI KING and considers herself aligned with THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX. She is currently OPEN.

→ OVERVIEW:

A woman who has always known exactly what she’s wanted out of life, Hestia Jones was raised in the knowledge she was destined for greatness. Born in North West London to famous Auror ALICIA AVERY-JONES and Wizgamot Judge BALTHASAR JONES, Hestia had large shoes to fill and had a childhood laden with distant parenting and the demand for perfection. The eldest of two children, Hestia was born when her mother and father believed they were truly ready to be parents, but often left her at home in the care of a nanny to focus on their careers. Hestia was born out of the necessity of carrying on their family line before the two felt they were too old, but it was clear a child meant slowing their lives down which neither her mother or father were prepared to do. When Hestia became too old for nanny, she was left in the care of a tutor who prepared Hestia for the strict education she would receive at Hogwarts. Her early days were spent with her nose in a book, a quill in her hand and an Outstanding on every piece of work she turned in to be marked. Hestia soon realised the only attention she would gain from her parents was when she produced hard work, which they valued above all else. 

With her mother working hard to become head of The Auror’s Office, it was Hestia’s father she spent the most time with at home, sitting beside him on their long family table in the dining room hoping he’d smile at her neatly presented essay left in front of him. Her cousin often remarked at the oddity of her relationship with her parents. LUCILLE JONES was two years younger than Hestia and the only real companion she had growing up. The apple of her parents eye, her mother was a Muggle actress, whilst her father was an Auror as famous as Hestia’s mother. But despite their fame and wealth, they poured all their love and attention into their daughter, which made Hestia feel small and insignificant. Being left with her aunt, uncle and cousin during the odd weekend when her parents were away was a holiday to Hestia. Her aunt and uncle spoiled her the way she thought she always should have been treated, often sitting silently at family gatherings wishing she’d been born to her uncle ADRIAN and aunt ELODIE rather than being ignored by her parents until they were told of her schooling progress. All of her family had noticed it, remarking her parents were people who should have probably never been parents. 

It was as Hestia was preparing to go off to Hogwarts that her younger sister GWENOG was born, a shock to both Hestia and her parents who had claimed they hadn’t wanted any more children. She almost felt sorry for the baby who would grow up as she did in their lonely home in Primrose Hill fighting for attention with their parents' busy schedule, but mostly Hestia was happy she finally wasn’t alone. Though the age gap between them was substantial, at least she would have something to distract her during her visits home from school which was a blessing within itself. Sorted into Ravenclaw, Hestia quickly made her mark at Hogwarts and became top of her year group, vying for the position with her best friend EMMELINE VANCE, but feeling she ultimately came out on top. Hestia was easily one of the most impressive students to grace Hogwarts and was made Head Girl in her final year of school, although she passed up on the opportunity to become Prefect as it would clash with her studies. Despite her brilliance, Hestia soon realised she would never be as impressive as her younger sister to their parents. 

Hestia may have been made Head Girl, but it was the same week that Gwenog had mastered a broomstick. She may have graduated as one of the top in her year group and had a History of Magic essentially memorised by the time she was ten, but Gwenog was able to name every single Quidditch Team competing for the League Cup. It was frustrating to say the least, but Hestia tried not to take out her emotions on her younger sister who had clearly benefited from ten years of career progression that had allowed her parents to focus on actually becoming parents. It was as she sat opposite her parents one evening as she told them she had secured her training contract to study to become an Auror and was met with a hug from her father and silence from her mother that she decided she was finished with them. Her surname name was hopefully common enough that no one in her department would figure out her mother was the Head of the Auror’s Office, as she certainly wouldn’t be relying on either of them or her name to get her anywhere in life. Packing a bag, she took her cat, her broomstick, kissed her sister on the head and left her house, putting a downpayment on a flat in King’s Cross to focus on the rest of her life alone.  

Auror training was more grueling than she thought it would be, though in true Hestia style she studied almost every night alone in her apartment or with Emmeline with the aim of becoming top of her class as she had been at Hogwarts. It was through her training, Hestia first became aware of AMOS DIGGORY, a self-assured rich boy who began putting himself in direct competition with Hestia. At first Hestia found his effort quite laughable, as it was clear to everyone on their course Amos had been accepted due to the status of his family within the department and struggled academically. Though Hestia is described by most as kind, Amos has often disagreed with this characterisation of her as she is often short with him and has little patience for his frequent jokes and boasting of himself. Finally graduating as an Auror alongside Emmeline and Amos, Hestia quickly threw herself into the job with the aim of solving as many cases as she could. Throughout her time within the Auror’s Office, Hestia has been revered as a competitive, hardworking and diligent witch, who keeps her circle of friends close and often stays behind after hours researching cases which have gone unsolved which are piling up around them. 

A number of strange disappearances here and there led Hestia to attempt to reopen the case of Hepzibah Smith who had been supposedly murdered by her own house elf. Unconvinced, Hestia drew negative attention to herself and ended up being reprimanded by her mother for disobeying her superior ALASTOR MOODY. It was humiliating, but worth it given she landed herself in a meeting with ALBUS DUMBLEDORE that would change her life forever. The Order of The Phoenix was in its infancy, with most of its members fresh out of Hogwarts with only basic knowledge in duelling, protective and defensive charms. Hestia has predominantly joined The Order to help her gather information on her unsolved cases, but is surprised how much she has enjoyed her role within the organisation. Alongside Emmeline and Alastor Moody she has taken to attempting to teach the younger members of the group master their magic abilities in preparation for what they fear might be a war. Although a wizarding civil war is a frightening prospect to Hestia, she is confident her work with The Order puts her firmly on the right side of history and will stop at nothing to ensure those who deserve justice receive it.

→ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Blood Status → Pure-Blood

Pronouns → She/Her

Identification → Cis Female 

Sexuality  → Pansexual 

Relationship Status → Single 

Previous Education → Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Ravenclaw)

Family → Balthasar Jones (father), Alicia Avery-Jones (mother), Gwenog Jones (sister), Adrian Jones (uncle), Elodie Jones (aunt), Lucille Jones (cousin/colleague), Florence Jones (cousin), Genevieve Avery (cousin), Jasper Avery (cousin), Kingsley Shacklebolt (cousin/close friend/colleague)

Connections  → Emmeline Vance (best friend/colleague), Frank Longbottom (close friend/colleague), Alice Yen (close friend/colleague), Harrison Bagnold (close friend), Ishaan Patil (friend/colleague), Amos Diggory (colleague/adversary), Alastor Moody (boss), James Potter (friend/mentee)

Future Information → Wife of Amos Diggory, Mother of Cedric Diggory

HESTIA JONES IS A LEVEL 8 WITCH. 

[ftchloes]

           well  ...  🤡  .  leave  me  to  be  very  ill - prepared  and  very  late  to  post  my  intro  ,  but  here  it  is  !  this  is  my  very  on  love  chloe  moon  ,  and  i’m  super  excited  to  be  here  to  plot  with  everyone  !  oop  ,  haven’t  introduced  myself  ,  but  i’m  kris  !  please  feel  free  to  call  me  momager  (  i’m  kidding  lmao  )  ,  i  prefer  either  she  /  her  or  they  /  them  pronouns  ,  and  i  hail  from  the  east  coast  !  i’m  not  gonna  lie  to  ya’ll  ,  i  tend  to  write  way  too  much  for  my  own  good  ,  but  i  want  to  answer  questions  ya’ll  might  have  without  having  to  ask  !  that  being  said  ,  here’s  everything  to  know  about  chloe  !

            *  𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐠𝐨𝐬  here  and  do  i  have  the  tea  for  you  .  𝐜𝐡𝐥𝐨𝐞  is  back  in  bridgehampton  for  the  summer  ,  living  off  the  𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧  family  $𝟒𝟖𝐛  net  worth  .  must  be  nice  to  come  back  home  to  the  hamptons  ,  i  wonder  what  her  fellow  class  of  2017  grads  think  of  her  return  .  you  know  ,  she  was  known  around  town  as  the  𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧  𝐝𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫  𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲  and  for  bhs  senior  superlatives  she  was  crowned  as  𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭  𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐲  𝐭𝐨  𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞  𝐚  𝐦𝐚𝐧  𝐜𝐫𝐲  .  i  wonder  if  that  still  holds  true  today  ,  a  lot  can  change  when  you  go  off  to  𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐥   𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲  and  study  𝐦𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥  𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠  .  either  way  ,  i  bet  she  is  still  very  𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐝  ,  𝐝𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬  ,  𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭  and  𝐭𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐞 - 𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝  .  hopefully  this  time  next  year  the  plans  to  𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡  𝐚  𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲  𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝  𝐢𝐧  𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬  𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠  𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫  𝐡𝐞𝐫  𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲'𝐬  𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞  come  true  .  in  the  meantime  ,  i  look  forward  to  seeing  her  blast  𝐦𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐢  -  𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐲  𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬 at  every  hamptons  function  .  it’s  going  to  be  a  wild  summer  home  ,  welcome  back  .

trigger  warning(s)  :  bullying  .

𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞  :  chloe  moon  .

𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬  :  chlo  ,  coco  ,  loey  .

𝐚𝐠𝐞  +  𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞  𝐨𝐟  𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡  :  21  +   november  10th  ,  1999  .

𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥  𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧  :  scorpio  ,  sagittarius  moon  and  scorpio  sun  .

𝐦𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 - 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐬  𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲  𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞  :  istp  ;  a  virtuoso  .

𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥  𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭  :  neutral  evil  .  

𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦  𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞  :  the  challenger  .

𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫  +  𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐬  :  cis  female  +  she  /  her  .

𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞  𝐨𝐟  𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡  :  sydney  ,  new  south  wales  ,  australia  .

𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞  𝐨𝐟  𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞  :  bridgehampton  ,  new  york  .

𝐬𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐚𝐥  𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧  :  bisexual  .

𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜  𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧  :  biromantic  .  

𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧  :  social  media  influencer  ,  heiress  ,  and  student  .

𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲  :  korean - australian  .

𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲  :  australian  .  

𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬  𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧  :  english  ,  korean  ,  japanese  ,  and  mandarin  .

i.  prosopography  .

            chloe’s  life  story  begins  with  the  accidental  meeting  of  her  parents  ,  moon  dae - hyun  and  kim  eun - ha  .  during  that  time  ,  the  two  were  living  in  seoul  ,  south  korea  and  their  names  were  known  throughout  the  social  scene  of  seoul  .  eun -ha  is  the  son  of  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in  south  korea  ,  kim  han - bin  .  kim  han - bin  is  the  son  of  the  man  who  started  moon  industries  ,  a  real  estate  and  construction  conglomerate  that  was  founded  in  the  1940s  .  the  company  was  founded  in  seoul  ,  and  originally  started  out  by  purchasing  and  renovating  the  beautiful  homes  and  condominiums  within  the  city  .  after  about  thirty  years  in  the  business  ,  han - bin’s  father  was  one  of  the  first  in  south  korea  to  reach  the  status  of  billionaire  .  

            eun - ha  grew  up  in  a  life  of  privilege  ,  whereas  dae - hyun  grew  up  in  a  world  where  he  had  to  work  for  everything  he  wanted  .  that  didn’t  stop  him  from  pursuing  a  degree  at  seoul  national  university  .  where  he  obtained  a  degree  in  architecture  .  so  ,  when  they  bumped  into  one  another  on  the  prestigious  school’s  campus  ,  it  was  love  at  first  sight  .  they  were  so  in  love  ,  in  fact  ,  that  the  couple  married  a  year  of  knowing  each  other  .  dae - hyun  accepted  a  job  designing  buildings  and  homes  under  kim  han - bin  ,  and  the  two  welcomed  their  first  daughters  into  the  world  .  natalie  and  nicole  were  welcomed  into  the  world  ,  and  the  family  lived  comfortably  in  their  not - so  modest  condo  in  seoul  .  

            within  three  years  ,  the  young  family  was  relocating  to  sydney  ,  australia  as  the  family  business  continued  to  expand  .  little  did  the  couple  know  ,  they  were  pregnant  with  their  next  daughter  .  six  months  after  moving  to  sydney  ,  and  completely  unexpected  as  she  wasn’t  due  for  another  three  days  ,  their  baby  girl  chloe  decided  that  she  was  ready  to  come  into  the  world  in  the  bath  tub  .  they  called  for  an  ambulance  ,  but  chloe  wasn’t  one  to  wait  ,  so  she  was  soon  being  born  into  her  father’s  shaking  hands  only  five  minutes  after  her  mother’s  water  broke  .  chloe  was  a  beautiful  bundle  of  joy  and  was  a  fun  baby  to  be  around  .

            chloe  spent  her  formative  years  in  australia  ,  attending  one  of  the  best  schools  in  sydney  .  during  those  years  ,  chloe  picked  up  on  various  talents  ,  most  notably  playing  the  cello  and  developing  her  skills  in  ballet  .  after  about  six  years  in  sydney  ,  the  family  decided  that  they  were  going  to  leave  the  down  under  and  head  to  the  states  ,  where  the  family  was  most  interested  in  expanding  the  company  .  originally  ,  they  settled  in  atlanta  ,  georgia  and  after  two  years  (  along  with  the  birth  of  chloe’s  younger  sister  kai  )  ,  but  they  moved  to  bridgehampton  at  the  start  of  chloe’s  seventh  grade  year  .

            she  easily  made  friends  due  to  her  extroverted  nature  ,  but  she  also  faced  unexpected  bullying  .  upon  moving  to  the  hamptons  ,  her  parents  were  already  known  because  of  their  purchasing  of  many  of  the  homes  on  the  island  .   the  family  home  was  one  of  the  largest  and  most  expensive  on  the  island  ,  alongside  an  equestrian  facility  .  the  family  was  already  different  from  those  around  them  ,  and  thus  when  chloe  started  school  ,  she  was  treated  poorly  .  while  everyone  around  them  had  money  ,  it  was  no  secret  that  the  moon  family  lived  a  life  of  luxury  .  chloe  was  dropped  off  by  chauffeured  cars  and  only  wore  the  best  of  the  best  ,  and  it  didn’t  help  that  she  was  whip  smart  .

            chloe  was  a  target  of  bullying  because  everyone  assumed  she  thought  she  was  better  than  them  because  of  her  family’s  wealth  and  her  grades  ,  but  every  time  she  tried  to  defend  herself  ,  she  was  only  mocked  because  of  her  australian  accent  .  her  spellings  was  different  alongside  her  wording  and  phrases  ,  and  chloe  didn’t  know  how  to  handle  the  constant  ridicule  .  eventually  ,  while  still  in  middle  school  ,  she  kept  to  herself  and  kept  up  her  good  grades  as  it  was  expected  by  her  parents  .  she  constantly  studied  hard  and  began  fighting  back  against  the  teachers  who  marked  down  her  assignments  because  she  was  allegedly  spelling  wrong  to  get  the  grades  she  deserved  .  chloe  endured  the  bullying  until  the  focus  was  set  on  someone  else  ,  and  over  the  summer  before  the  start  of  high  school  ,  chloe  returned  to  school  almost  as  a  brand  new  person  .

            high  school  aged  chloe  was  no  longer  afraid  to  defend  herself  in  fear  that  she  was  going  to  be  mocked  because  of  her  accent  .  she  pursued  her  passions  ,  joining  various  clubs  and  organizations  that  interested  her  :  tsa  ,  national  honor  society  ,  student  government  (  as  president  )  ,  and  orchestra  ,  where  she  played  first  chair  cello  for  all  four  years  .  the  shy  and  sweet  chloe  that  people  knew  before  was  no  longer  ,  as  she  took  refused  to  roll  over  since  that  was  not  how  her  parents  raised  her  to  be  .  upon  her  graduation  from  high  school  ,  chloe  graduated  as  first  in  their  class  ,  and  after  being  accepted  into  the  schools  she  applied  to  (  cornell  university  ,  the  university  of  pennsylvania  ,  and  brown  university  )  ,  chloe  announced  that  she  was  going  to  cornell  for  mechanical  engineering  .

ii.  temperament  .

due  to  the  bullying  she  faced  as  a  pre - teen  ,  chloe  has  become  someone  who  doesn’t  hold  her  tongue  anymore  .  she’s  very  blunt  and  is  openly  against  those  who  really  are  being  bitchy  for  no  given  reason  .  she’s  not  mean  outright  ,  but  definitely  responds  to  that  kind  of  energy  whenever  it’s  dished  out  .

through  the  years  ,  she  began  to  notice  how  much  her  family  was  really  worth  ,  and  that  developed  a  true  superiority  complex  .  while  she  doesn’t  verbally  brag  all  the  time  ,  it’s  not  unheard  of  for  her  to  drop  subtle  jabs  here  or  there  while  mentioning  what  she  has  or  laughing  at  what  someone  else  may  lack  .  she  does  not  like  those  who  are  overly  nice  ,  and  a  better  way  to  put  it  is  that  chloe’s  the  mean  friend  .

she’s  not  stone  cold  ,  though  because  she  doesn’t  pretend  as  though  she  doesn’t  have  emotions  or  is  incapable  of  sympathy  /  compassion  .  she’s  nice  to  those  who  don’t  start  mess  ,  but  if  you’re  that  type  then  chances  are  she’ll  return  that  same  energy  .  she  likes  a  challenge  and  she  naturally  tends  to  create  chaos  for  the  sake  of  doing  it  (  insert  cheryl  blossom’s  iconic  ,  ‘  i’m  in  the  mood  for  chaos  ,  ’  quote  here  .  )

iii.  headcanons  .

being  a  part  of  cornell’s  engineering  program  comes  with  a  lot  of  being  annoyed  every  day  .  it’s  filled  with  a  lot  of  m*n  who  looked  down  on  her  because  she’s  a  woman  (  gross  )  and  even  made  the  jokes  wondering  if  she  was  in  the  right  class  .  it  mostly  stems  from  the  fact  that  chloe  went  to  class  in  looks  and  not  looking  like  she  rolled  out  of  bed  every  day  .  she  never  snapped  back  at  them  ,  but  she  remains  as  the  number  one  student  and  those  same  m*n  fight  for  her  to  be  on  their  teams  .

although  majoring  in  mechanical  engineering  because  her  family  works  in  construction  and  real  estate  ,  she  focuses  in  sports  engineering  because  she  wants  to  develop  sports  for  the  better  .  she  wants  to  create  state  of  the  art  sports  facilities  ,  design  sports  equipment  ,  develop  performance  and  safety  standards  ,  as  well  as  coaching  and  training  tools  .  

chloe  will  100%  stir  the  pot  so  don’t  tell  her  your  deepest  secrets  or  she’ll  find  a  way  to  make  it  known  .  whether  that’s  via  being  shady  or  toting  the  news  to  her  friends  ,  she’ll  spill  your  tea  and  own  the  fact  that  she  did  .

while  she  loves  her  designer  clothes  and  accessories  ,  chloe  is  most  comfortable  when  her  contacts  are  replaced  with  her  glasses  and  she’s  wearing  loungewear  .  i  envision  her  as  having  jennie’s  iconic  long  hair  ,  so  she’s  definitely  developed  a  habit  of  constantly  brushing  her  hair  out  of  her  face  or  pulling  it  up  into  a  bun  only  to  continue  messing  with  it  .

she  doesn’t  drive  her  own  car  because  she  finds  it  to  be  dumb  !  just  kidding  ,  she  doesn’t  really  like  driving  but  she  was  never  given  her  own  car  because  she  simply  didn’t  want  one  .  that  being  said  ,  though  ,  she  can  usually  be  seen  riding  around  in  her  dad’s  bentley  bentayga  .

[peachy-inserts]

KamiBaku Drabble

Pairing: Kami/Baku (Platonic)

Word Count: ~3k

Warnings: Mention of abuse

Synopsis: When Denki asked to accompany Bakugou on a day to revisit his childhood home he thought things would be all smooth sailing until he met the tree Katsuki's apples fell from.

[[MORE]]

It was typical since moving into dorms full time that students would go home on weekends to visit their parents or go to do their weekly laundry and meal pick ups. People tended to get home sick more often than anyone could have anticipated when they made the move, so it really only made sense that amongst the crowd even the toughest of them all would break down and go visit his parents at least every so often. When he mentioned going home and being absent from campus for the day, so to "count him out of their bullshit plans," Kaminari was the first to chime in asking if he could tag along for the trip. Kirishima and Midoriya had both made mention of having been to Bakugou's childhood home and meeting his parents, so to say he was jealous was greatly an understatement! How could Bakugou go as far as to have had Izuku over more recently and not him when he always insisted he couldn't stand Deku? It took a bit of begging and a back and forth argument that went on longer than anyone expected it to, but eventually the hot headed blonde caved in and huffed his cooperation. 

At first it came off as maybe Katsuki would only allow the visit to be one time as he reminded Kaminari to not get too comfortable while they're there, though as the crowd dispersed to their rooms and everyone settled in for the night it was left down to just Kirishima and Denki. They sat adjacent each other in the mostly quiet room, the hum of a much too hot computer and quiet music played in the room to fill any uncharacteristic silence between them. "Man, I just don't get why Bakugou is so against me being at his house, I'm not that bad! Is he embarrassed of me?" Kaminari's tone was best characterized as slightly disappointed, through his typically playful mannerisms,a pout situated on his face as he looked at Kirishima for reassurance.

"It's nothing that deep, his mom is just a lot to handle," the shark toothed boy placed a hand on the yellow head's shoulder, "She's like Bakubro, but totally unchained. They butt heads, so it's probably more about her than you. He doesn't like to stay there too long ever."

It was enough to put Kaminari momentarily at ease, imagining what a woman half as bad as Bakugou would even be like; Not a pleasant image, he decided after he made it past the initial internal debate of whether it scared or enticed him. He thanked Kirishima for his input and shivered when the idea of female Bakugou snuck up on him again, proving it would be one of his many thoughts that haunted him in his darkest, unfocused hours. The two stayed in the same room for a while longer, extending their goodbyes for far too long before catching a glimpse at the time and finally deciding to turn in to their own dorms for real this time.

Morning light came much faster than Kaminari was ready to face it and Bakugou followed close behind to bang on Kami's door and threaten him to be downstairs or he'd leave without him. It was commonly held over Denki's head though never really acting on it as Katsuki always waited for the other, offering a scold or smack to his back at most- but nonetheless it always served as motivation for Kaminari to actually get ready instead of dilly dallying. They were both dressed and fed before leaving UA, making their normal small talk up to their arrival before noon. Denki's first impressions didn't match Kirishima's description at all- sure Bakugou's looked a ton like him and was similarly hot headed, though she seemed mostly normal, only really ever raising her voice at Katsuki for being grumpy, for instance, or not calling ahead and telling her he'd be bringing a friend. Mitsuki was kind to the yellow head and told him praises of how he at least accessorized better than her son. It was all going incredibly in Kaminari's honest opinion, though the longer they stayed Mitsuki's remarks only became more harsh and her assaults to her son less restrained.

Her compliments to Denki soon had been replaced entirely by insults towards Katsuki and swift smacks upside his head when he would raise his voice or try and defend himself. He had never had any such interactions with his own parents who would nag the hell out of him sometimes about being lazy or having a couple bad grades- it quite frankly made him a bit uncomfortable and scared to watch the tense scene. There was nothing he could do except stand by like it was a fiery train wreck in the middle of the living room until finally Mitsuki crossed a line that forced Denki to speak up. He had figured none of it was his business and he'd only make things worse if he chimed in, that there must have been something to the whole situation he was missing, but when words fell from the older woman's mouth about how Bakugou was a disappointment for not being able to save himself during the kidnapping the boy couldn't help but finally raise his voice a bit to interrupt her. "I'm sorry, Mrs.Bakugou, but the training camp wasn't his fault by any means. He actually put up a better fight than anyone else could've- he's topping our class in multiple of the subject areas and they seemed to be like villains who knew exactly what they were doing and had somehow planned every move of the attack. There was no way he could've possibly gotten out of there alone!"

Kaminari's fists were plastered to his sides, balled from anxiety in hopes he'd be able to stand his ground against the woman who went from endearing to intimidating in the matter of a half hour. He feared he would have landed himself on the attacking end of Mitsuki Bakugou by getting over emotional and yelling, though her voice came much softer than her expression, "Kaminari, was it? You're a great friend, but talk like that is what goes to his head and makes him the way he is. He's been too praised for things he doesn't deserve to be ever since he was a child and it's done nothing good for him," she had retorted, placing a hand on top of his head, forcing his eyes to the ground as if she had done it a million times in her life before, all one swift and uncombated motion. "With all due respect, I don't really think he's to blame for this behaviour," Kaminari couldn't help but to remark, only hoping she didn't catch on to what it implied, quickly continuing to give her something else to focus on, "he works hard and deserves all the validation he's received. Bakugou is incredibly strong and deserves every right to be as confident as he is. Even if he's a little rough around the edges and acts mean, that doesn't mean he should be torn down for everything." Her glare was hot and made Kaminari feel sick as his stomach nearly lurched underneath it's weight. He felt as if he could fall into a pile of dust at any moment when her gaze stayed fixed on him for a long moment like she was deciding what to do with him or how to respond. It was with that Mitsuki finally sighed and removed her hand from her son's head to leave the room. She didn't want to argue with a kid or make herself look any worse than she already did, so she was left little choice but to nod defeatedly and excuse herself.

It was needless to say Kaminari was thankful when Bakugou finally announced they were leaving, having passed the time snooping through Katsuki's childhood room as the blonde did his laundry or speaking to his father, Masato, who was uncharacteristically pleasant in comparison to his wife and son. He could easily say without a doubt that Katsuki's father was the highlight of the visit after he nearly pissed himself getting into a scuffle with Mitsuki. The woman seriously scared him and the moments he was left alone only made him think harder about how she must be when no one is around to defend Katsuki. It chilled him to the bone to consider and apparently made him shiver noticeably considering Bakugou called him out on it.

"The old hag scare ya?" He asked as he slung his bag over his shoulder, dry, folded laundry and tupperware of meals Masato made him take jostled around, "you shouldn't have even tried arguing with her all she does is get even more pissy. You're lucky you're not her kid."

"I noticed as much… I thought for sure she was gonna try to kill me," Kaminari chuckled a bit nervously, shoving his hands in his pockets as they walked alongside each other. "What I said was from the heart though, she has no business saying crazy shit like that, Bakugou. That's no way to talk to your kid!"

He didn't mean to coax Bakugou into snapping, but the loud and familiar yell was a signal he accidentally already had.

"What do you fucking know?"

"Hey, I just mean that you're strong and she was totally dismissing it. She was way harsh and said all that shit that's not true."

"I can handle it myself, Pikachu, leave it the fuck alone."

It was a bitter feeling to know it was best he just shut up and walked to the campus without another word about it. He wanted to help Katsuki and hated to see the way his mother was so blatantly cruel. Kaminari bit his tongue and lowly exhaled, keeping up pace until the large campus building was within view. Katsuki didn't make any attempts at conversation and locked himself in his dorm by the time Kaminari had finally been left alone with his recollection of the day. It killed him to see that Katsuki backed down from his mom and surrendered to her words. The few sharp smacks to the back of his head that were nothing like the far more forgiving ones from when they had first arrived that served more as a scold. Everything in the house seemed clean and perfect like there was nothing going on inside those walls short of an ideal tv family- the whole situation hurt his mind to try to wrap around if he was being honest. 

Kaminari tried to stop himself multiple times over and it was a struggle to not talk about what happened, but the very next time he and Katsuki were alone the angry boy was the first to break the silence with an aggressive bark, "Don't even think about bringing up that shit from last weekend." It was written all over Kaminari's face and the kid hadn't been the same toward him since they got back from that trip.

"Bakugou, she treats you way wrong, I can't just sit here and act like it's totally normal how she hits you and so casually talks about you like a burden!"

"Everyone's parents get on their ass about fuck ups, it's not like I'm the only person with a naggy old hag breathing down their neck."

"Yeah parents get on their kid's case over little shit, but not like that- Bakugou your mom is practically abusive for lack of a better word," the yellow head crossed his arms firmly over his chest, whether to comfort and protect himself or show he would stand his ground he wasn't sure, but he instantly felt his heart sink and fingers clutch into his own shirt.

The words stung when they left Denki's mouth and he was quick to try to take them back, wishing he could just slam them back into his mouth like he never actually said them, his frantic attempt to apologize cut off with a quiet, defeated, "I know."

"I know that she is, okay?" Bakugou reiterated, raising his voice to his normal tone, "I can't do anything about it though and I asked you not to come to my house  but you insisted. It's not an easy thing to look at your mom and say that she's abusive even when she is, but you don't understand what it's like." Deep down Katsuki always knew his mother didn't treat him right and what he experienced wasn't and shouldn't be normal, but it hurt even more to admit it when he was so often compared to her. People always tell him his personality is the exact match of the woman who's degraded and hit him from the day his quirk manifested. She was harsh and would say unnecessary things about how he wasn't doing this right or that enough, wasn't careful enough, wasn't nice enough, wasn't ever enough. Something about seeing the look on Kaminari's face finally let him say what he always was aware of. The yellow head seemed genuine and had never done anything but tell Bakugou what he did well and when he was being a bit too much, it didn't make sense it was all just a build up for him to catch the other weak in this moment and fuck him over. Hell the dunce face didn't have it in him to even consider it and Bakugou was well aware of that.

"Talk to me, bro, I'm here. I don't believe any of that shit she said and I definitely don't pity you. You're hella strong to put up with all that and still be as well off as you are," Kaminari rested his hand on Bakugou's shoulder and gave a squeeze, Bakugou bringing his hand to pat Denki's. 

"I really don't think there's anything to talk about. You might not believe what that hag has to say, but she's right. I am weak, irresponsible, and disrespectful, it's my fault I got kidnapped, and I should've done more to fight back."

There was something in Denki that broke when Katsuki's eyes cast to the ground the same way they had earlier when Mitsuki shoved his head and he restated her words. He knew Katsuki always freaked out when the others got too affectionate with him, but he figured it was worth it this once to take the chance and pull Bakugou into a hug. He waited for the screaming or shoving, a sharp burn on his side maybe as the other popped a hole in his clothes, but there was no such reaction. Katsuki sat with his head rested on Kaminari's shoulder silently, seemingly fine until a wet patch formed in the fabric of Denki's shirt and there was a tremor in the blonde's shoulders.

He had no idea what to do and it scared him to even think that Bakugou was crying on his shoulder, body frozen in shock, afraid to touch him until he was able to come back to his senses, registering the gravity of what was happening. His arms were gentle to link behind Katsuki's back, one hand resting on the back of his head to ensure he wouldn't go anywhere. Katsuki would never say it, but he would always appreciate the silence Denki offered while he cried for the first time, that he could remember anyways, to someone else. To Denki, it showed in the way Bakugou became just a tad bit nicer after, offering Denki tag along or lending notes from the week to study.

----

Hello everyone, mod Arden here! Its been a while since i last posted, so i decided to share a little something i wrote not long ago. I never intended to post it so please be gentle with any criticism you have, this was a self comfort drabble of sorts and still is very much so to me. Thank you, i hope youre all safe during these times of rona.

[daesofthepen]

So I really like KHR fics that make Namimori into a tightknit community of retired assassins, mafioso, etc. I would like to write a fic like that at some point.

Current ideas I’ve picked up from a variety of fic:

The idea that flames can be infused into items (I.E. rain flames into someone’s tea to calm them down or knock them out)

Like mentioned above, that Namimori is full of retired trained professionals. Added to this: You have to be Really Good in these professions to make it to retirement, so they’re all Pros in their fields.

Skies being able to harmonize with each other. I like the idea of each Sky being a “solar system” in a larger galaxy. Or at least, Skies harmonizing means everyone in both Sets gets a boost. They get even more boost if there are more than two Sky sets harmonized.

Kawahira and the Arcobaleno Curse isn’t the final boss antagonist of the fic. It could be aliens that arrive on Earth a la sci-fi movie, I just want it to have a different endgame fight. Not to mention, it would be cool if all that harmonizing-among-Skies power boosts had a proper antagonist to go against. Mafia-Earth vs Some-Aliens ftw! (Could also be, like, deep ocean species or underground species, but then I could feel bad cuz they already lived on Earth too...)

The girls of KHR getting more screentime. I’m tempted to have one of them be the protagonist of the fic tbh. I know some people do fem!Tsuna when they want a female protagonist, but there are perfectly canon female characters that already exist and don’t get enough screentime in both canon and fanfiction? I like Tsuna well enough, but I kinda want to write about someone else.

I like Haru, so it’ll probably be her. Plus some noncanon Sky Flames bc I want to experiment some with that.

Okay but like, consider a Sky in Namimori. They are young and civilian-raised, so they don’t realize they’re putting their Flames into the objects and locations they visit often. This means that when they visit the park, the playground emits Sky Flames for hours afterward. If they lay in the grass for long enough, the grass remains stained in Sky Flames for days. You could even go as far to say that their bathwater has Sky Flames, so it’s even in the plumbing of Namimori. Namimori becomes a town full of remnants of Sky Flames. The “harmony” element works to calm residents, similar to Rain Flames but less effective since it’s not what they’re for, and also increase their patriotism(?) for the town.

Consider: With Tsuna’s Sky Flames sealed, another Sky unknowingly gets claim for the town of Namimori without any other Sky contesting it. This is Namimori’s Sky. 

Tsuna unlocks his Flames later on in life and -- even though he has stronger Sky Flames -- he doesn’t challenge for the claim. Tsuna’s personality always felt like someone who would enjoy following someone else’s lead more than leading himself. I can see him bowing to someone else’s leadership if that person wasn’t a murderous psycho out to kill him and his friends. Why fix what isn’t broken, after all.

Some thoughts on Flames and the quantity a person has: If a person has a parent who had active Rain Flames, that not only increases their chances of Rain Flames, but they would grow up to have more Rain Flames than some random schmuck without Flame active parents who just happened to unlock Rain Flames. And two parents with active Rain Flames would almost guarantee Rain Flames in their offspring AND their kids would have more of it. Yes, I’m taking the Naruto-chakra route.

So Haru, born of two civilian parents, would have less Sky Flames than Tsuna. To reverse on that whole only-follow-the-strong-and-”pure.” Sometimes the best guy for the job isn’t the strongest.

It’s also been forever since I’ve read KHR so I’m going by the wiki, which says Haru did gymnastics and went to the private all-girls school in Namimori. Probably will include some original characters to fill in as teachers and students to flesh out the town more. And -- of course -- the girls’ parents will all have backgrounds in all kinds of illegal activities.

Imagine: Haru goes to compete with another school from another town and most of the town shows up bc hell yeah that’s our Sky. 

If I want the KHR girls to have more screentime, I might have them go to Haru’s school, too, or have non-school-specific clubs which they all join. It could be like a book club. Or a let’s-make-the-pervert-disappear Statistics club. The retired mafioso and assassin adults of Namimori would find it adorable and sometimes help by hinting at the best way to go about a plan.

On one hand, it makes sense that the seal on Tsuna’s Flames is done very well and doesn’t leak. On the other hand, Tsuna attracting Haru’s attention? Not that Haru would realize what is grabbing her attention for a long while. She might assume it’s a crush lmao just like canon.

They also meet earlier so Haru gets her crush sooner, so she can get over her crush earlier, too. :3

You know what let’s go full indulgent on this fic and also include Verde. 

Let’s say that while most of the time Haru’s father is absent, maybe he works as a mathematician for a big tech company alongside engineers, he sometimes gets to go on work trips to Expos and conferences to help promote the company. After Haru’s mother died, Mr. Miura became determined to financially provide for their daughter, so she could go to whatever school she wanted and into whatever field she would choose to devote herself to.

Mr. Miura gets permission to take Haru to a conference, so she can look around, meet people, check out if any job descriptions interest her, etc. That’s where she meets Verde, who’s there pitching some of his inventions. 

They talk, find common ground in their passions, and maybe -- completely by accident -- they harmonize. 

I like to imagine Verde as a very straight-to-the-point kind of person, so through him Haru eventually starts learning about Flames and (to a lesser extent) the mafia. 

Verde has many labs and hideyholes around the world, but he moves his main lab to Namimori. And because he’s a professional inventor, technician, etc., he isn’t just lurking. Verde gets contract work by the town of Namimori and maybe some other richer families around Namimori. It probably doesn’t pay as well as he deserves, but he also gets a direct say in the safety of his Sky, so. Also, he probably is hired online/overseas constantly. He’s, like, a working professional you guys.

But anyway, Namimori goes through a (not so) minor technological revolution. Hospitals get upgraded, there are now cameras with face-recognizing technology which keep track of everyone who goes in and out of Namimori. Official underground bunkers, We start getting sci-fi up in here.

Close to when Verde first arrives, he notices that Namimori is protected by Mist Flames, a barrier that just makes people notice Namimori less unless they were directly heading there. With some Flame sensors, Verde manages to track down the source/core of the system to Kawahira’s shop.

Verde figures out pretty quick who Kawahira is and, as an Arcobaleno, he HATES Kawahira. But Verde doesn’t try to kick him out of town because that Mist barrier? Super useful for protecting the town.

Through the combined efforts of Haru and the gang, Verde, and Namimori citizens, Kawahira and Verde agree to work together to try to come up with an alternative solution for the Arcobaleno curse. 

Both of them have YEARS of notes, so it’s easier to figure out what they would need:  Flame-based perpetual motion machine. The problem would be making a machine that works not just in theory. Gotta make sure that while the Flames cycle continuously through the machine, non is being lost because of subpar conductive metals, and the entire thing would need a material that is really good at keeping Flames IN the machine instead of being lost over time because a large surface area increases heat lost, etc etc. 

Adding some money problems for realism. Not including Verde and Kawahira, who have a personal investment in this project, they would need to hire an entire team of engineers, mathematicians, maybe some electricians, and at least one accountant to keep track of spending. Most of which need to know about Flames already to not break omerta. And then on top of that, a lot of their prototypes will be experimenting with different materials for Flame conductivity, etc. This stuff gets expensive over time, even if they have a lot of money saved up.

But anyway, eventually they get a working prototype. It just happens to be absolutely minuscule compared to the size it will have to be in real life to support the entire PLANET. So Verde presents the prototype to Viper to ask for funding --because this small prototype would show that it IS possible-- and afterward, they have no more money problems. Plus, all the other Arcobaleno find out through the grapevine and all are more than happy to pitch in in any way they can.

So the project has the opportunity for smooth sailing. 

And then the aliens arrive.

[kusunogatari]

[ Something New || Chapter Two ] [ @abyssaldespair ] [ Uchiha Obito, Suigin Ryū, Suigin Reiji ] [ Verse: White Hands of Healing ] [ Previous || Next ]

...he’s been dreading this. And yet...he knows it’s something that has to be done.

There’s no revealing his intentions, insisting instead he’s going on a short walk. Won’t be gone long. Ryū gives a curious tilt of her head, reclined with Reiji in her arms, but doesn’t protest.

“Be safe.”

The well-wish earns a quirk of his lips, heading out and shutting the door with a small sigh. It’s not often he heads out on his own unless for his village-assigned tasks. There’s still something a bit...unnerving about being here. About being stared at. Whispered behind.

He does his best to ignore it.

Instead, Obito turns from the little house and makes his way to the proper village quarter. It’s one he hasn’t dared visit since his return to Konoha. Mostly because he doesn’t have much reason to.

But partly because he knows it’s largely as full as it is because of him.

...but that’s why he has to go.

A lot of things have been brewing inside him since the trip to the hospital only a few days ago. Since then, mother and baby have been healthy, if not a bit weary. And Obito has had a lot of thinking to do. A lot of reflecting. Even now, the inkling he felt when first handed his son bothers him. That memory…

...and the true realization of what he did.

Which is why, as he passes under the archway leading to the village cemetery, he knows what he has to do.

Their graves are above the typical - which makes sense. A Hokage and his wife aren’t exactly your regular, run-of-the-mill citizens. Even clan heads’ graves can pale in comparison. But even then, there’s a humble simplicity in Minato and Kushina’s gravemarkers.

...Obito has to wonder who made the orders, given neither of them had any family left to speak for them that could.

For a long moment, he just...stands before them, reading the inscriptions over and over, looking at the date, realizing how many years it’s been. How many years...since he took their lives away. Left their newborn son an orphan.

...and now...he has a son of his own. Alongside the pride, the joy, the disbelief...is a sinking and undeniable grief, guilt...and shame. He tries to imagine being in Minato’s shoes, now. Knowing what he knows. Feeling what he feels. How he, too, would fight tooth and nail, give his life, if it meant keeping Reiji safe.

Ryū, he knows, would do the same.

He tries to imagine the fear, the fury, the fight for a life he treasures beyond his own. Not only that, but his wife’s. Minato faced a monumental threat that night: one against not only his family, but his village.

...and it was all his doing.

Jaw clenching, Obito’s fists curl at his sides - not in external anger, but internal. What a fool he’d been...so embroiled in hate, in loss, in rage...he’d taken everything from a man who’d done his best to give him everything. Minato had his flaws - maybe he could have done something more to save him, save them - but in the end, he did everything he could for his team. For his village. For his family.

And it was his actions that cost him everything. Facing him in the fourth war - seeing that understanding light cerulean eyes as he teleported to his prior student, putting the pieces together - it had stung.

But now...now he truly understands that weight. Of what he stole. What he robbed from not only Minato, but Kushina...Naruto...he tore a family apart because of his own feelings of betrayal and hurt and anger. Now that he has one of his own...understanding what he did is unavoidable.

“...I can’t even apologize,” he then rasps, finally speaking, voice shaking. “There’s no apology in this world or the next that would begin to scratch the surface. But...I understand now. I’ve come to understand so much. Not just about you, and what I did to you. Both of you. But everyone, I…” He punctuates with a deflating sigh. “...I can’t excuse my choices. I did what I did. It was born of manipulation, but eventually...I embraced it all the same. I was cruel and angry for the sake of being cruel and angry. I wanted the world to feel what I’d felt. To lose what I’d lost. But now...I am the one coming to realize what I took. That fear is now my fear.

“...I have a son. I never expected to. I thought I would live the rest of my days alone, in my purgatory, while the rest of you dreamed. It was to be my penance. But I...was distracted. Led astray. And the only reason I’m here, now...is because of her. The only reason I had to keep going was her. And now...I have another. They are...my only reasons. My world. My…” He can’t seem to find a word strong enough.

“...I’m sorry. It’s not enough, it will never be enough, but...I want you to know how much I regret now what I did. I can’t change it. But I...I know now. I know that feeling. If someone...if they…” His sentence breaks apart, fractured by emotion. “...I would do just as you did. No hesitation. To me, nothing is more important. My life, it’s...it’s nothing without them. Had I never found her...I’d be content to disappear. There was nothing else once it was all over. I made it through that war because...I made her a promise. To see her again. And if it couldn’t be in the world of dreams...it was up to me. So I fought. And I prevailed. And now, I have this...tiny little world that’s my own. If I lost it...I would cease to exist. So I know why you laid down your life. I would do the same, now. I just...regret that I forced that choice on you.

“...maybe it’s not enough, but...I’m going to try to do better. To use what time I have left to...make amends. I know I can’t ever repay all my debts. Not in a thousand lifetimes. But...in this one I have...I want to try to make things right. I want to love my wife. I want to raise my son. And little by little, work off a shred of the debts I owe. I’ll always have this guilt. I suppose that’s part of my sentence. To live the rest of my days with that weight. That knowing. But in the end...my biggest regrets come from you. You, and my team...and my family. The only people who cared. Who I...gave up on. Because I felt you’d given up on me. I…”

Obito sighs. He’s carried on for far too long as it is, but...well, this has built up for more than half his life. And his new perspective means introspection. He’s never had much chance to voice any of this aloud...nor any reason to.

“...I’ll keep trying. It’s all I can do. But...I felt I should finally speak to you. Admit that I was wrong. Try to...somehow make this right, as best I can. I had to tell you that...I understand. I know, now. And I’ll try to use that knowing to...be better. If I can.”

...with that, Obito finds himself just about out of words. And somehow, he feels...exhausted. And yet, perhaps...just a little lighter.

“...I’ll bring him here. Someday. Tell him the truth. Hope he’ll forgive me. He...deserves to know who his father was...and who he is. When he’s old enough...I’ll let him make that decision for himself. Maybe...if she could still find good in me...he will too.” A long moment of silence passes, staring at their names.

“...until then...I guess I’ll say my goodbyes.” Feeling awkward, he nonetheless bows deeply over the stones, a kind of restless uncertainty in his chest as he walks away. It plagues him all the way home, still quiet as he steps inside.

And then, from another room, he hears a melodic, “Okaeri!”

Something in him stills at the word. Helps to ground him. Though still somber, he smiles softly to himself, removing his shoes and stepping in.

“...tadaima.”

     A wee sequel! Technically this was Meg's idea, but I liked it so much I had to write it myself...whoops. Hopefully I pulled it off okay. I tend to make characters talk a lil too much, but...then again, Obito's got a LOT on his mind, and...I feel like he'd feel able to open up to Minato, like he used to as a genin.      idk if there'll be more to this, but since THIS idea tied into the first part, I thought I'd just make it a second chapter here. Buuut yeah! Hopefully it's passable, aha - I still get nervous writing Obito for some reason, especially when it's mostly JUST him, and his thoughts.      *skips away* Thanks for reading!

[ohmytheon]

Karma in Retrograde (13)

title: Karma in Retrograde

summary: When Dabi is hit by a de-aging quirk, he’s turned back to a 16 year-old U.A. Gen Studies student with self-esteem and parent issues, a destructive quirk, and no memory of the last five years. To help the Dabi of the past, present, and future, he is placed with Class 1-A. There, they must all face the question of whether he can change or if his destiny is already set in stone.

– Chapter 13: Ryouta opens up to Aizawa just a smidge and Shouto makes a mistake.

Lanni notes: So begins a mini-arc that I am particularly excited about. (Do I say that about every chapter?) I love writing about the Todoroki's, especially with the addition to Ryouta, which is why I'm planning on writing some prequel one-shots about scenes that we've mentioned from their childhood. Not only does this chapter feature a Shouto POV again, but it also marks an improvement on Ryouta being honest. Kind of. It's a work in progress. I was surprised that I was able to write this chapter in two days with little to nothing hindering me. Sometimes, the words just flow. The song for the chapter is "Wake Up" by Arcade Fire. It gives me a lot of feels from sad to hopeful, especially concerning their past.

If the children don't grow up Our bodies get bigger but our hearts get torn up We're just a million little god's causin' rain storms turnin' every good thing to rust I guess we'll just have to adjust

The next two days passed by in a strange limbo. Between the ridiculously hectic nature of the first three and the expectations of the hero course that he’d built up over years, Ryouta found himself floundering a little. He had thought that the students aiming to become pro heroes always ran on a high, but the truth was that even they went through slow periods where normal classes were focused on. Luckily, thanks to what he’d been working on with Iida, he knew that he was slightly ahead of them, so he wasn’t under much pressure on that front.

Of course, since schoolwork wasn’t distracting him, his mind was left to wander and focus on other things. In class, he would find himself zoning out, his insecurities and fears sneaking up on him. There was little else to occupy him when everyone else was working. There were things in his new life that he was doing an apt job of avoiding, but those quiet moments were proving to be fatal to that plan.

The biggest concern he had nothing to do with U.A. or his life as a villain, but the rest of his family, which Shouto also seemed to be dwelling on.

They popped into his head without any warning, the smallest of things reminding him of them. English class made him think of Fuyumi, who had adored reading beyond everything else. The two of them would often stay up late through the night reading books or comics, only for him to regret it the next day when their father dragged him out of bed early in the morning for training. Back when Shouto was really little, before his quirk had manifested, Ryouta and Fuyumi would take turns reading and acting out stories for him.

Did she still carry a book with her everywhere she went? She’d become a preschool teacher, just like she’d dreamed of doing. Why was she still living at home with their dad? Was it because everyone else had left?

In the hero course, they were learning how to use their quirks alongside hand-to-hand combat. It was obvious that some of the students were better than the others. Bubbly and sweet from what he’d experienced so far, Ryouta had not been expecting Uraraka to practically throw him across the room or slam him onto his stomach and pin him to the ground. It had knocked the hell out of him. She’d apologized as he lay dazed on the ground, but he could hear Bakugou cackling in the background.

Truth be told, Ryouta had little experience when it came to that sort of fighting. Endeavor hadn’t taught him much of it since the bulk of his training focused on his quirk. He probably would’ve learned it had he not been discarded in favor of Shouto, but even he seemed to rely more on the raw power of his quirk, judging by the way Midoriya was able to evade him and get in a few hits. Still, getting his ass handed to him by Uraraka in a few seconds flat had been a little more than humiliating.

Afterward, when he was rubbing his head, his thoughts drifted to Natsuo. The two of them had often roughhoused growing up, as a lot of brothers did, the oddity being that Ryouta had been the smaller of the two despite being older. Natsuo would often win and brag about it, so Ryouta had learned how to play dirty, which often resulted in actual injuries that he’d get scolded for. It hadn’t mattered that Natsuo was sticking his tongue out from behind their mom. According to her, as the oldest boy, Ryouta should’ve known better.

Their mom… Ryouta avoided thinking about her the most. His success was limited.

When Shouto had told him that she was in the hospital, Ryouta didn’t fully process it at first. He’d been a little numb from the revelation that she was still there after all this time. It had been eight years. Had their father just planned on leaving her there forever? Shouto said that she was doing better, but it still made Ryouta sick to his stomach. It wasn’t a proper life. She could be doing good and even tell the others that she was happy, but she deserved better than to grow old in a hospital.

Did she ever think about him? It had taken a while for Shouto and the others to visit her, so maybe she thought he was the same. Had they told her that he was gone? If they had, what did she think? Did she say anything or ask any questions? Or was she secretly relieved that he had left? After all, by the end of it, she could barely look at or stand to be in the same room as him. He knew it was because he’d become too much like Endeavor. The similarities had shamed and humiliated him.

He hadn’t wanted to be like that. He’d be different. He wouldn’t be like his father. Then she could look at him again.

But would she want to now, or would he just be a painful reminder of the past?

Not to mention the fact that he would then be forced to explain what had become of him, even if he didn’t quite know himself yet. He’d fallen even further than Endeavor. Maybe she would be disgusted by him. Maybe she would be afraid of him. He had become the monster that she’d worried about for so long.

“My little Ryouta, don’t ever lose that gentleness.”

Ryouta’s hand slid from his head to his face. He closed his eyes and shook his head, as if trying to rid himself of the memory of her voice. He’d lost a lot more than that, hadn’t he?

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Uraraka asked. “You hit your head pretty hard.”

Pulling his hand away and opening his eyes, Ryouta glanced up at her. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Beats getting blown up.” That was the truth at least, although Uraraka had given him quite the beating. He’d definitely not expected that of her. She was so small. To make matters even more absurd, she hadn’t even used her quirk on him. He really needed to get his shit together. “Where did you learn moves like that?”

Uraraka smiled and rubbed the back of her neck. “I interned with Gunhead after the Sports Festival.”

Ryouta raised his eyebrows. “Seriously? You? Gunhead?” She nodded. “Not gonna lie, that’s expected. I really need to up my game.”

“You really weren’t that bad!” Uraraka insisted. “You’re just a bit...slow...is all.”

Bakugou walked past them, using the bottom of his tank top to wipe off his face. “Don’t lie to him, Uraraka. You kicked his ass.”

As much as it hurt to agree with him, Ryouta shrugged his shoulders and said, “He’s not wrong.”

Bakugou smirked but graciously said nothing else and kept on walking to refill his water bottle. That was a blessing. Besides calling him a few pink-related names, they had more or less stayed away from each other for the past two days. Just thinking about Bakugou’s revelation made Ryouta tug nervously on his hair. When he glanced around, he caught eyes with Mina, who smiled and shook her head at him. He dropped his hand from his hair.

Right. He shouldn’t worry about it. Pink was...fine. It wasn’t that bad.

Then he watched in shock as Mina basically body-slammed Kaminari and was left victorious while he laid in a stupor on the ground. Shit, more than half this class could probably kick his ass with ease. What did they feed the hero class? He should’ve tried to get paired up with that purple blob kid. Not only did he seem terrified of him, but at least Ryouta appeared to have more muscle and was taller. However, knowing his luck, he’d still get his ass whooped and he didn’t think he could handle that sort of mortification right now.

Aizawa peeled himself off the bench and everyone stopped to look up at him. He’d been very still for the last twenty minutes, watching them all intently. Ryouta had somehow managed to forget about him despite normally being hyper-aware of when he was being watched, especially where Aizawa was concerned. Then again, he had a talent of blending into the background. It must’ve been partly why he made such an excellent underground hero.

“That’s it for today,” Aizawa told them, “but I expect you to practice on your own outside of class. If the Gamma Gym remains empty this week, I’ll be able to tell and will mark you down for no improvement.”

A few of the students winced, such as Kaminari as he pulled himself back to his feet, and the invisible girl. At least Ryouta thought she winced. It was hard to tell with just clothing to go by. Not everyone was fond of hand-to-hand combat or had learned to use their quirks with it, so they would have to work twice as hard. Other students like Kirishima and the guy with the tail nodded their heads like they would’ve been at the gym anyways and it was no big deal. Ryouta looked down at his hands and formed them into fists. He had a lot of work ahead of him and it wasn’t all schoolwork that he could zone out on.

With school over for the day, the students began to pair up in their regular groups and leave the field to head back to the dorms. Ryouta was still unaccustomed to the idea that he had a group to join, standing up awkwardly and casting a look around until he realized that Iida was waiting for him to join them. Ryouta’s eyes flickered to Aizawa, who had his back to him while speaking with Sato, and then back to the others.

“You all can go on ahead,” Ryouta told them. “I’ll catch up.”

Iida immediately hesitated. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Ryouta to not cause utter disaster; it was just that he had essentially been told to keep an eye on him. “Are you certain?”

“I just need to talk with Aizawa about something,” Ryouta replied evenly.

That piqued their interest, but before either Iida or Midoriya could say anything, Shouto cut in. “Is everything okay?” His voice was mostly flat, but he’d spoken too quickly for him to come off as indifferent and they both knew it. He pressed his lips together and kept his expression impassive, but didn't look away from him.

“Oh, yeah, everything’s fine,” Ryouta insisted, smiling in an almost embarrassed manner. If Shouto remembered this act from when he’d been a kid, then it might cause some issues. This was the face he’d put on whenever his little brother had asked him questions about UA or when their mom was coming back from the hospital. Put on a smile, act light and reassuring, don’t give him any reason to suspect that something was wrong.

Shouto narrowed his eyes a little. Damnit. Time to double down.

Ryouta sighed. “It’s near the end of the school year and I want to figure out what I’m supposed to do. I’d like to know if I need to study my ass off to take the exams again.”

“That’s an excellent point,” Iida said, nodding his head. “It would change our approach to the coursework we’re going over if he decides that you aren’t.”

While that was true, Ryouta felt a little guilty about lying to Iida and it actually working. He did need to speak with Aizawa about something, but it wasn’t that. Shouto stared at him for a beat longer, but then relaxed his shoulders in a sign of acquiescence. Ryouta didn’t move a muscle to show his relief.

His explanation having been accepted, the group headed for the dorms, Shouto trailing behind. Iida became locked in a conversation with Yaoyorozu while Uraraka and Midoriya fell into one about the class, although the former glanced back at Ryouta once while she was waving her arms emphatically. He turned his gaze away from them, waiting silently and patiently until Sato finished with whatever he had to say and left.

Now that it was just him and Aizawa, Ryouta was beginning to question what he was doing here. This was going to sound an awful lot like opening up and he’d already done more of that than he had in his entire life. Even worse, this was to an adult, an authority figure, one that had control over his life. He’d seen enough of Aizawa to know that he deserved more respect than his own father, but the idea of talking about something this personal, something not even Shouto knew about, made him want to turn on his heel and book it.

The second Aizawa turned around and spotted him though, the nail was put in the coffin and Ryouta stood his ground. “You needed something?” his teacher asked in a bland tone.

Ryouta needed a lot of things, but he was going to have to settle for only one of them.

When he opened his mouth though, no words came out. He didn’t want to say them. All the thoughts that he’d had building in his head started to wrap themselves up in a tangled mess until he couldn’t say anything out of the fear that he would just blurt out a string of words that wouldn’t make sense. He could change his mind still. He could actually talk about what he’d told Iida. He clenched his hands into fists and dug his blunt nails into his palms, the pain bringing him back to focus, and then relaxed them.

Just say the fucking words and be done with it.

“I need a pair of quirk inhibitor braces,” Ryouta spat out in a rush. He swallowed a gulp of air as soon as the words came out, having been holding his breath while mentally fighting with himself.

Despite being a master at keeping his expression blank, Aizawa actually quirked an eyebrow, as if to show that Ryouta had truly surprised him. “Quirk inhibitor braces?” He looked him over so thoroughly that it made Ryouta want to squirm. He was probably trying to pinpoint the exact reason for the request. “Those are typically only used by the police and heroes for criminals.”

“I know, but in extreme cases of children with dangerous quirks, they can be used until the quirk can be controlled,” Ryouta replied, still feeling rushed. He had to get the words out. Once that was taken care of, he wouldn’t be able to take them back, but he would be relieved. Right now, it felt like he was dragging his feet through wet cement and he hated it. “Maybe it’s too much to ask, but I…” He shoved away any hesitancy. At least at the moment, despite his nerves, his quirk was the last thing he felt the urge to call up. It lied smothered inside of him, hiding away. “I need them.”

“Why?” Aizawa simply asked.

Ryouta had known that he wouldn’t be able to get his request fulfilled without divulging any information, but it still made him shuffle his feet uncomfortably. Was this as painful of a process for Aizawa as it was for him, or was he used to this since he’d interrogated plenty of villains in his time as a pro-hero?

“When I was younger, I used to have really bad night terrors,” Ryouta explained, every word clawing away at what little dignity he had left. He kept his gaze averted from Aizawa, not wanting to meet his eyes in case there was anything but scrutiny in them. “I haven’t had them in a while -- well, at least not in my memory. I can’t say if I’ve had issues with them recently or not as...Dabi.” Did villains get night terrors? Probably not. That implied some sort of regret. “I can deal with them -- they’re not a big deal anymore -- but sometimes I…” He cringed. “Sometimes my quirk activates in my sleep when I’m having them.”

Aizawa considered him for a moment. It was only a few seconds, but Ryouta was starting to think that having Bakugou launch him into the sun would be less painful. He’d never talked about this with anyone. After setting his room on fire when he was six and going to the hospital, his father had brought him home and shoved the cold, metal bracelets in his small hands. The fact that he still had night terrors was never brought up, but at least he didn’t accidentally burn the house down in his sleep.

“Have you been having night terrors again?” Aizawa questioned.

“I wouldn’t call it that,” Ryouta answered. “It was more like a regular nightmare and it was just the one the other day.”

“Your bandaged hand,” Aizawa said. Yeah, he hadn’t expected him to miss that, but he hadn’t brought it up until now either. “That was from activating your quirk in your sleep?”

“Yes and no,” Ryouta said. “It did activate, but when I woke up from the nightmare, I guess I was still in fight or flight mode and I...might have punched my wall.” He tugged on the sleeves of his athletic uniform. “Will the cost for repairs come out of the small fund you told me about?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Aizawa told him flatly, not concerned about it in the slightest. For the first time, Ryouta dropped his shoulders in relief. If that had been the case, he would’ve seriously had to come up with a plan for his daily food intake. He was already borrowing clothes from Shouto; he didn’t want to borrow money too. “The nightmare.” Ryouta quickly lifted his eyes, softening what started out as a sharp look. “Do you remember it?”

He had told Midoriya that he didn’t remember his nightmare. That wouldn’t fly with Aizawa. “It was about fire.” When Aizawa didn’t say anything, Ryouta knew that he had to continue. He took a deep breath. “Most of my night terrors growing up were about fire, which was probably why my quirk would activate.” He frowned, thinking back to the dream and how good he’d felt during it and how terrified he’d been upon waking up. “There was a lot of fire and smoke and I just kept getting hotter and...brighter.”

He did not mention the screams. Could they have been his own?

Could they have been Dabi’s - his - victims’?

“Nothing specific stood out?” Aizawa asked.

Ryouta shook his head. “It was really muddled. I only remember the flames. They were mine.”

He knew what Aizawa was thinking. Had it been a simple nightmare or had it been a memory? If it was one of Dabi’s memories, it would make sense for the first one to be blurry and unrecognizable. Ryouta had told himself that it was only a nightmare for that very reason, as he’d had plenty of them about his own quirk turning against himself and others, but he couldn’t get the way the flames had moved out of his head. He had never twisted them like that before and he was strangely eager to try it out, which made him feel guilty in a way. He shouldn’t want to be anything like Dabi.

“Have you always had such difficulty controlling your quirk, or has it started acting up since you were de-aged?”

That was a loaded question, if only because it offered Ryouta an out. He could lie about it. Aizawa had given him another option that he hadn’t had before. It was terribly tempting. After all, it was believable if it had been considered already. That would take a load of pressure off his shoulders. They were trying to help him though. He had to remember that. He had to believe that. If he kept lying, he’d only dig his hole deeper and would risk falling into the same pattern as before.

“My dad...taught me to control it when I was younger, with varying rates of success,” Ryouta admitted shamefully. Wasn’t the truth supposed to set him free or make him feel lighter? This just made him feel like shit. “But I used inhibitors until I was thirteen.”

“Because you learned to control your quirk more, or the night terrors stopped?”

Ryouta shrugged helplessly. “Both, I guess? I just didn’t need them anymore.”

It had been after Shouto had been burned, after his mother had been hospitalized, after the massive fight with his father that made him decide to apply for UA. One night he didn’t put them on, as if daring his quirk to burn the whole place to the ground, and then he never did again. Even if he had a nightmare, it wasn’t bad enough to cause his quirk to activate. Maybe he’d finally learned to suppress it enough, just like his father had tried to drill into him.

Aizawa nodded his head very slightly and folded his arms across his chest. “I’ll get you the braces.”

“Seriously?” Ryouta eyed him suspiciously. “Just like that?”

“You came to me and opened up willingly to ask for help,” Aizawa pointed out. “Did you expect me to say no?”

“Uh well…” He had expected more questions and suspicion, but maybe the fact that he had been honest about something he was struggling with kept those at bay. It was obvious how much Ryouta hated admitting to any sort of weakness. Doing so was a way of building trust between them, something that had to go both ways, hence why Aizawa agreed with his request. “I don’t know. I thought maybe…”

You’d be disappointed.

Ryouta was not going to say that, but the thought was there, resting in his head like a hand grenade. One of these days, he really wouldn’t give a shit about impressing or pleasing people. It would probably be right around the time he turned back into a villain. How frustrating.

“You all have done a lot for me already,” Ryouta said. “Asking for more seemed like a stretch.”

“If it concerns your safety and the safety of the class, that’s something you don’t need to ask for,” Aizawa pointed out. “It’s something I should be made aware of.”

“Right, got it.” He was a danger. He was a villain. He was a problem.

That...wasn’t what Aizawa was saying though, was it? No, it sounded like he was saying something close to the opposite. His safety was a priority, not just the students’ because he was with them. If there was anything they could do to make his life at UA different from the first time around, they would do it. They wanted to do better by him, which meant that he had to let them. It was a give and take that he had not allowed himself to experience the first time around.

“Was there anything else?” Aizawa asked.

“No.” Ryouta shook his head. “That was it.” Fuck, that had been painful, but he did feel a sense of relief now. Maybe tonight would be stressful, as he’d have to be wary of having a night terror again, but tomorrow would be different. It humiliated him that he had to use something to control his quirk, which he hadn’t done in years, but he was under a serious amount of stress. It only made sense that he’d have difficulties now. Besides, he honestly believed that Aizawa wouldn’t tell anyone unless it became important. “Do I need someone to escort me to the dorms or can I go now?”

Aizawa blinked languidly, as if he might fall asleep. “Do you need a chaperone?”

“Uh, no.” Ryouta didn’t expect to be fully alone. Someone would be watching him, but he didn’t need anyone to hold his hand all the way to the dorms. “Thanks.”

With that taken care of, he slunk off towards the dorms, his mind drifting to Aizawa’s words. He had been open, yes, more so than he’d ever been with an adult, but was it enough? Ryouta wasn’t for sure. It was hard for him to figure out what exactly U.A. expected of him. All he knew was that he had to meet theirs and the police’s expectations. The moment he didn’t… Well, he wasn’t keen on finding out what would happen. He had to keep on pushing himself. That was the only way forward.

*

Ryouta had been lying, but Shouto had decided not to push the matter. He hadn’t lied about wanting to talk with Aizawa, but about what he’d wanted to talk about. The moment he had started to behave like he would when he visited home from U.A., Shouto had seen through the act. Still, if Ryouta was going to talk to Aizawa about whatever was bothering him, then he shouldn’t worry about it too much. If it was serious, their homeroom teacher would take care of it.

Besides, it wasn’t like he and Ryouta had often confided in each other before. Well, Shouto had, but it was clear now that there was a lot his older brother had hidden from him. He’d done it to protect him, but it had backfired on all of them in the end.

Having his brother in class with him was weird. It was even weirder seeing him interact with his classmates. He hated it admit it, but Shouto felt himself carefully watching and picking apart his brother’s behavior with everyone. What was the truth and what was a lie? That, in turn, made him feel guilty for questioning Ryouta in the first place. It was painfully obvious that he was trying to blend in as much as possible and felt ashamed for his villainous activity that he couldn’t even remember. Plus, he was being overly appeasing and mild so that no one would be afraid of him.

Even if Shouto remembered the way Dabi had attacked him at the Training Camp and kidnapped Bakugou right in front of him, he couldn’t find it in himself to be afraid of his brother. The memories of Ryouta throwing himself between him and their father and coming to blows were too strong.

It would take some time for this to become moderately normal - a lot of time, if he was being honest. Shouto had known that the others would be resistant to the idea in the beginning. Even he froze when he walked into the common area and found Ryouta silently sitting on the couches with Midoriya and Iida while they talked. That was his oldest brother - that was Dabi - with his friends. It wasn’t normal, but everyone was trying to pretend it was until the quirk wore off.

His friends were doing their best to be accommodating, which Shouto appreciated more than he could say. Iida had taken it upon himself to help Ryouta as much as possible, but it was extra work that put a strain on him no matter how much he tried to hide it. Also, as friendly as Midoriya was, he was still suspicious. Dabi’s actions had cost him a lot. Shouto hadn’t missed the way he watched his brother sometimes, as if trying to add things up and reach an answer that Ryouta himself didn’t even know.

After reaching the dorms, Shouto excused himself to his room. He wanted a little time to himself. With Ryouta around, he found himself around the others a lot more than before. He didn’t like leaving his brother alone for long, not when he’d been gone for years. It was a little embarrassing to admit that he was relieved or even happy that Ryouta was back. It felt like when he’d gone to see his mom for the first time in years. Something had been missing from his life and he hadn’t even known it until they were right in front of him.

But how long do we have?

The problem was that no one knew. Ryouta could turn back into Dabi tomorrow, for all they knew, although the de-aging quirk seemed stable at the moment. Would it be quick or gradual? Not even the quirk’s user had been able to give them good answers. All they could do was wait and see. Shouto hated it, but could not complain. He’d take what he could get.

More importantly, this was an opportunity to learn more about Ryouta, the only other one in the family to have experienced their father’s training. It had left more of a scar on him than Shouto had realized. In the past, he’d always been so flippant about it to make him feel better. It had only been a handful of days, but he already felt like he had seen more of Ryouta than ever before.

For one, he hadn’t realized how quiet his brother could be. Before, it had always seemed like Ryouta could go for days, always willing to go the extra mile and push himself. Shouto had watched a few knockout fights between him and their father that would’ve put a third-year U.A. student out of commission and then sat quietly as Ryouta cleaned his scrapes from training hours later.

He wasn’t like Natsuo though, who had an abundant amount of energy. It was more like he could run on fumes for hours. He was also more withdrawn than Fuyumi instead of outgoing like Shouto remembered. Sure, he could be moody and indifferent, but that was a consequence of having grown up under their father’s thumb. Now that he looked back, he could recall Ryouta being aloof in public, sometimes to the point of coming off as rude. He was trying not to be that way now, but such coping mechanisms were hard to forget. Shouto would know. It was still a little surprising to see such differences firsthand.

For some reason, it didn’t feel like his behavior was a result of the strange situation he’d been placed in. This was who he truly was. He’d put on a brave face for Shouto and their siblings.

And speaking of them, where were they? Why hadn’t they said anything about the fact that their brother had essentially come back from the dead and was a de-aged villain? After years of being separated, they had been working on becoming closer as an actual family. It was new and sometimes Shouto didn’t understand certain things or why Fuyumi got so worked up, but it was pleasant and he knew that was important. By being closer to his siblings and his mother again, he felt like he understood more about what being a hero meant.

He wanted that with Ryouta, but he wanted it to be real. He shouldn’t have felt like he had to pretend around all of them. Maybe then…

After changing into shorts and a t-shirt, Shouto grabbed his cell phone off his desk. The lack of contact from Fuyumi and Natsuo was starting to bother him. Did they not care? Had they completely forsaken Ryouta? It made sense that they were angry, but not calling or asking any questions at all felt unlike them.

Pulling up Fuyumi’s number, he sent her a text. ‘I know it’s difficult to accept or wrap your head around and I even thought Natsuo might have lingering anger over it, but I don’t understand why you haven’t said a word about Ryouta.’

Fuyumi was probably just now leaving the school she worked at, so it might take her time to respond. He set his phone aside and gathered his things to take a shower. He hadn’t wanted to be the one to start this discussion, but he could tell that Ryouta was getting antsy. As much as it shamed him to face them, he did want to repair things as well. They could be a real family. It was what Fuyumi had always wanted. So why hadn’t she visited or even called?

Before he could walk out of his room, his phone pinged, announcing a text message. It was Fuyumi, but her response was not one he’d expected. ‘This came out of the blue. Did you want to talk about what happened?’

Shouto furrowed his brow. Of course he wanted to talk about what happened. Ryouta was back in their lives. He was not only alive, but a de-aged villain. It was a big deal. Why wasn’t she freaking out about it more? She got worked up if he and their father were even in the same room.

‘We all need to talk about it,’ Shouto sent back.  ‘I thought this would be really important to you.’

This time, he didn’t set his phone down, but stared at his screen waiting for a response. Luckily Fuyumi was quick to respond. ‘It is important to me. After all we don’t really know what happened.’

Well, of course they didn’t know what exactly had happened when neither Fuyumi nor Natsuo had called to get a proper explanation. They probably hadn’t even told their mom. Granted, that was a big step. It would be wrong of them to keep it from her (villain or not, Ryouta was her son), but it would be best to decide how they would break the news together.

‘I know what happened. That’s not the point.’

‘How do you know? He’s gone. We accepted that a long time ago.’

Now Shouto was getting frustrated. Just because Ryouta had become Dabi didn’t mean that he was gone. This was supposed to be something of a second chance for him and U.A. and that meant he could have a second chance at having a family too. All of them could. Fuyumi was dead set on trying to include their father, despite Natsuo’s extreme reservations and the fact that just seeing him could potentially damage their mother’s recovery. If she could forgive him, why couldn’t she even think about accepting what happened to Ryouta?

They might have given up on him - maybe their father had convinced Fuyumi somehow - but Shouto wouldn’t. He refused. ‘He’s not gone. He’s right here and I’m pretty sure he wants to see you all, but he’s too scared to ask.’

Fuyumi’s response was lightning fast. ‘What are you talking about? Did you hit your head during one of your hero combat lessons?’

For a brief second, Shouto was indignant - and then he really was hit upside the head by a realization. Oh shit. Fuyumi hadn’t failed to ask about Ryouta because she was angry or had cut him out of her life; she hadn’t called because she didn’t know. She and Natsuo were unaware that their brother was a sixteen-year-old U.A. student again. Their father hadn’t told them. In retrospect, he didn’t know why he’d expected him to do so, but it was such a big deal that he thought maybe their old man would try to sway them to his side.

Their father hadn’t done anything like that. He’d kept them in the dark - kept them separated - just like he had their entire lives.

Shouto blinked when his phone started to vibrate in his hands. No more texts. Fuyumi was calling him now. His phone made a quiet buzzing sound when he received calls, but for some reason, he thought it sounded as loud as a tornado right now. Despite knowing that a storm was coming and dread settling in his stomach, Shouto answered the call and held the phone up to his ear. “Fuyumi--”

Predictably, she didn’t give a chance to say more than her name. “What are you talking about, Shouto? Ryouta is there? He wants to see us? I don’t understand.”

Sighing, Shouto pinched the bridge of his nose. “Are you sitting down?”

“I don’t need to sit down. I need answers!” Despite her frantic reply, he could hear her sit down.

“There’s really no easy way to say this, so…” Shouto closed his eyes and then spit out what was arguably the longest sentence of his entire life. “Ryouta turned out to be masquerading as Dabi who is in the League of Villains and led the attack on my camping trip this past summer, but he was struck by a quirk that de-aged him to when he was sixteen and still going to U.A. and he doesn’t have any memories of the last five years, so the authorities and U.A. have decided to house him here with my class until the quirk wears off.”

Now that he’d said it all out loud, he felt a burst of relief wash over him and opened his eyes. It was so strange and saying it made him realize just how crazy this was. U.A. was essentially keeping a ticking time bomb on campus, as he could go from a regular student to a villain at any moment. Granted, they were keeping a close eye on him, but there were moments when he was unsupervised. What if he turned back into Dabi while everyone was sleeping and decided to wreak havoc? They were playing with wildfire.

This was ridiculous. The whole thing was nuts. What were they thinking?

(Shouto didn’t care. He got his brother back for now. They could be a family, just like he’d seen in television shows and movies.)

Fuyumi was silent on the other end for a good minute, maybe longer. Instead of prompting to respond, Shouto waited for it to settle in. It had shocked him too when he’d seen Dabi turn into Ryouta and he hadn’t truly believed it until seeing him in the interrogation room. That whole explanation was so unlike Shouto that she probably had to adjust to that as well. They were never upfront with what was going on in their lives, not even her, and she was the most open out of all of them.

“I don’t…” Despite not being able to see her, Shouto could hear the wobble in her voice and knew that she was close to tears, if not already crying. He’d known that this would mean the world to her. “He’s there. He’s really there?”

“Yeah, he’s living on campus with me,” Shouto told her gently. “He’s here.”

And that was when the dam broke. “Oh my god. Oh my-- I have to call Natsuo. Should I call him? He’s in class right now. I don’t know if he’ll answer. Ryouta, he-- Is he okay? How is he? What happened to him? You said that he doesn’t remember the past five years? Oh god, okay, I-- Just let me--”

“Fuyumi,” Shouto interrupted, “you need to breathe.”

“I don’t have time for that!” Fuyumi shouted. “I’m on my way!”

“I don’t think--” But before Shouto could finish, Fuyumi had hung up and he was left holding a quiet phone.

For a minute, he didn’t do anything but stare down at the screen. Then he dropped on his mat and laid down on his back. He had really mucked things up, hadn’t he? Ryouta was going to panic. Sure, he wanted to see Fuyumi, but he was scared too. It was understandable. He was afraid of how she would react to what he’d become. Shouto was still struggling with it, if he was being honest.

And now Fuyumi was freaking out and he hadn’t been able to gauge her emotional state beyond shocked. This had been what Shouto had been expecting from her, but he hadn’t thought that he would be the one to tell her, certainly not on accident. Normally he was ahead of things like this so he wasn’t caught off guard, but this whole situation had been throwing him off for days. Ah, he’d have to tell Aizawa too, since Fuyumi wouldn’t be able to get onto the campus. She hadn’t even considered that.

Oh, shit, this was a mess and all Shouto wanted to do was sleep.

Of course, that was what being a family was about too, right? They were messy and didn’t always agree with one another and people got hurt. It was about coming together in the end. It was about healing. They were learning and they could all do with a bit of that, couldn’t they? Especially Ryouta.

That did not mean it was going to be fun. This was going to hurt.

@mistystarshine notes: Well, that sure is a thing that happened! Do I have a lot to say about the events of this chapter? Yep! Am I going to? Nope, because they all connect to next chapter. You can expect a nice long note from me at the end of the next chapter. Until then, we’d love to hear your thoughts. I know that I got emotional working on this chapter.

(Also, fun fact: in terms of quirkless hand-to-hand combat, Uraraka could also steamroll Dabi in about five seconds flat. As is to be expected of an adorable badass and a guy who was beaten by a ‘magic scarf’.)

[joanmarkov]

hey there everyone!! i’m zoe ( she / her, 20 & cst ) and i’m playing joan markov, eighteen year old daughter of of nike. she’s got a playlist and a pinterest  ---  as well as some general info under the cut. please feel free to hmu here or on discord if you want to plot!! 

joan never had much a need to think about greek mythology; she had friends growing up who were obsessed with the ancient histories, who devoured tales of greek monsters or roman legions or egyptian pharaohs and norse heroes  ---  but joan simply never had time for stuff like that. she’d been raised a loose mix orthodox catholic and roman catholic, due to being raised by her grandparents, but neither were first generation immigrants themselves; they never pushed the faith on joan. she had vague notions of a christian god and too much on her own plate to bother thinking of others. had she, it wouldn’t have been a leap to picture nike as the mother who’d left her on her father’s doorstep, a few weeks before the rising major league baseball star saw his shoulder ruined forever and his future deemed over before it began. he ran away from his failures and his daughter both, leaving them at his parents doorstep before rushing out east, good riddance. joan didn’t even see birthday cards from him ‘til she was seven, and that was fine. by seven she was already deeply in love with gymnastics, and a few years after that saw her tearing up track and cross country both. she was a phenom with enough energy that she felt like she had to burn the candle at both ends. she didn’t know what she’d do, otherwise. her grandparents wondered if it’d be a problem with her school, this excess of movement, but with how easily joan honed it on her own they didn’t question it too hard. all her winning felt incidental. she loved the harmony she found in her body when she was lost in the physical pleasure of pushing her limits, become better and better until she was the best, and only had herself to beat. when the judges’ have eyes only for her, when the finish line is the only thing in sight, she felt unstoppable. though joan’s father had turned tail and run years ago, she saw a lot of his sister and her husband and their kids, always coming by her grandparents’ and to joan’s meets. she never felt like she was missing much, with her father only a vague shadow on the edge of her life. she knew what was wrong with him  ---  it didn’t leave much room for her to question the whereabouts of her mother. when she was fifteen, she started to do really well in cross country. she was winning an award or medal at nearly every meet, and it came to a head after three wins in a row; her and her team were staying overnight in some small town in-between the meet and home,  and joan and the three girls she was rooming with were heading out to grab dinner with some people from the boys’ cross country team. they were outside a waffle house when joan suddenly found herself faced with  ...  well, a monster. she threw the medal still around her neck at the things eyes, aimed a sweeping high-vault kick for its chest, and ran back inside to hide out. it was a waffle house, so no one inside seemed fazed, but joan couldn’t shake the encounter. nor could she shake the sudden influx of other monstrous creatures lurking at the edge of her vision. they were outside her gym when saturday gymnastics practice wrapped, waiting in the woods behind the newest cross country route, seen running alongside the bus to team meets or her grandpa’s car when he was driving her to a competition. she tried, but she couldn’t outrun them, not really. a student teacher saw her trying to throw her change of clothes at them before practice, one day, and then joan had answers she’d never asked for. sure, it explained things. but joan thought she was better off not knowing.

once she knew, she knew. apparently, this changed things for joan’s mother, who had been hoping she could stave off her daughter finding out her true parentage for a little longer  ---  forever, if she had things her way. a few weeks after that student teacher helped joan decapitate a monster with a sword they’d pulled out of nowhere, joan swore, she had the most awful dream and a face to put with the idea of her mother. it was nice, for all of five minutes. and then it wasn’t anymore. joan had never wondered or worried about her mother so this payoff was not worth what it cost her. suddenly this woman was speaking to her, voice a familiar combination of tough, and proud, and sad, that she’d only heard in coaches before. the things she was saying with it weren’t at all what she’d have expected from her mom should she ever find the woman. apparently, joan had been intended as a gift to her father, and him running off after ruining his winning-career to boot was an insult to the highest degree for a goddess of victory. nike hung her head and held out her hands like there was nothing she could do. but there was a fierce glint to her eyes; and joan wondered when she woke if her mother had wanted to do anything else, or if it was just something to say to weaken the bite of a rule she’d created herself. one minute, joan was the most shining star anyone in her town had ever seen. and the next her own mother was placing a dream-curse on her  ---  as goddess mandated penance for the sins of her father, joan would be a child of victory who would win no more. it had pretty instantanous results. she was falling off the beam, sliding across the mat, leading face first into the uneven bars. she’d run a few minutes and find her feet so bloody and bruised it hurt to stand; she’d try to power through and find everything in her path working to trip her. she even sucked at her meager monster fighting attempts; her thrown objects missed by a mile and any hand to hand combat was a joke. it was hard to even buy time to run the other way. it was hard to even stay on her teams, never mind lead them. another dream gave her the path to a place for people like her  ---  confirmation with the student teacher told her it was real, and worth a shot. she was no longer an assured champion and was liable to get herself killed in her current state. monsters no longer looked at her as a formidable opponent, and with that went her last shred of protection. she told her grandparents and was relieved that the old catholics took the news so easily. it wasn’t hard for them to imagine their son messing up his daughter’s life so severely without even being present; it wasn’t hard for them to assign heavenly blame to all the changes in joan. they loved her, and they’d talk when they could, but the three of them agreed camp half blood was the best course of action for her. a month after she turned fifteen, she packed up a beat up suitcase filled with old running shorts and worn out shoes, sweatshirts and t-shirts bearing the logos of meets and competitions, all the things she felt like a liar wearing, and followed the poetic path her father had laid for her straight to new york. she kind of hates her mom for not trying harder. it seemed like such a bullheaded, sore-loser thing to do  ---  surely the goddess could tell that joan was as far from her father as she could get? joan had lost some, sure, had injuries that laid her up for a few weeks and seemed frightening. she’d still loved her family during those scares. she’d never run away. joan never deserved the curse now resting on her shoulders. and yet, her mother seemed to have taken some pleasure in the act of revenge. someone should have told her that joan’s father would have been pleased to see his daughter’s every victory snatched from her, too.

when joan first arrived at camp, she’d have been the first to admit she was a little pissed off at the world. before finding out what she was, who her mother was  ...  how much of a raging bitch her mother was  ...  joan had been pretty level-headed, pretty calm. she was still as excitable as ever, prone to bursts of energy she needed to act on then and there, but she’d always been driven by tasks more than anything, and powered by passion above all. she loved her body, the things it could do, the records she could break. she loved her family; her aunt and uncle, her cousins, her grandparents. for being there when her father wasn’t and looking after her so much she scarcely minded his stubborn absence.   she was a force to be reckoned with, sure, but more a mountain than a tidal wave  ---  stable and ancient over wild and vicious. the camp never saw a mountain in joan markov. when she arrived, fifteen and angry, fifteen and furious, lost and broken and ruined, she was ready to fight anything that stepped foot in her path. this seemed decent questing energy for a girl with something to prove  ...  until the realization of her curse fell across the camp like the best piece of gossip in months. joan could try and try and try and still find failure waiting for her. she trained for hours with a sword and could only land a hit one out of every ten attempts. she did fine on a punching bag, but give her a person and it was like her fists slid right off their skin. she was part of the home-front when disaster and tragedy swept the world of half-bloods and monsters she was suddenly faced with. she hated that she was sidelined because of her father’s cowardice, hated her mother even more for not knowing the man well enough to see that this curse did nothing to him, nothing at all. it felt cruel to live among heroes when she was just the tossed aside daughter of victory destined to lose forever, or until something more powerful and more benevolent than her mother stepped in and fixed her. clearly, she was broken without either of her passions to guide her, when she was so ruined she couldn’t find anything else to fill her time and take her energy. joan was as task driven as ever, but now that she knew she was destined to lose at any task she tried, she had no need to play it cool or calm. she turned herself into a wildcard, filled with passion and surging strength and no permanent outlet. let her quite strength fall away,  replaced by defensively sharp wit and challenge laced in every word, futile though she knew those challenges were.   she was decent at constructing battle strategies, for she still knew how to win  --- she was just incapable, literally, of doing it herself. she helped others with their quests and went on one minor one herself, as the brains only, when in the years before she’d known she would have been the star. it was fine. she was fine, with things. after all, it was fine for a fifteen year old to rage at the world and search for a cure that would never come. but joan was grown now, as useless as ever, and that was  ---  fine. in any case, she turned herself into the sort of person no one ever thought to question. even if she knew she could never win again, there was no reason people had to see that in the slope of her shoulders or the jut of her chin. since she’d long lost any invincibility she’d had in battle, she’d have it in spades standing still.