#he woule canonically listen to fall out boy

[worldrusher]

sitting sam winchester down and making him listen to thank you for the venom and gauging his reaction

[quirklessidiot]

title : cigarettes and parfaits [3] pairing : older!nanami kento x younger!reader [13 year age gap, ft toji fushiguro] Genre: romance, fluff, slice of life, josei, angst, comedy, strangers to lovers au

Summary: you’re pretty sure you’d remember marrying a man 13 years older than you, right?

Warnings: alcohol, smoking, mild smut, y/n making stupid decisions, everyones a human-au so yeh non-canon stuff and everyone’s happy (periODT) i keep forgeting to add that this isnt beta-rread..all of my stories arent so yeah shshs Notes: ah, i feel like this story will be lengthen more than 8-10 chapters shshshs i wanted to add a little spice anyways thanks for all the comments uwu ily all!

Masterlist || taglist || [prev ; next] [updates; every saturday!]

“Y/N-chan!!!”

You cringe in embarrassment as soon as you hear that awfully familiar and cheerful voice, you could barely remember this man and the events that transpired the night before but here he was, acting like your new best friend. You weren’t even sure if you wanted to go here but you needed clarity. Surely you didn’t just legally marry a man at an Izakaya out of all places last night?

“Oh, you actually did marry him.” Gojo Satoru proclaims as soon as you take a seat across him, he gestures around his face, “I could tell by your whole, ‘I hope this guy is messing with me’ face. You have it, signed and sealed. Even got the cute matchy rings that I had one of my assistants delivered.”

You pale at the thought of his assistant coming in with a silver ring. Wasn’t he sober? How could he not have stopped you two from doing something as reckless and stupid as this? Weren’t older men supposed to be more responsible than this?

“Why the hell didn’t you stop us?” You groaned, burying your face in your hands, embarrassment painted all over your features.

“I was just as drunk as you two.” He confessed, scratching his head, “probably even more drunk but anyways back to the topic in hand, I only remembered it when the same assistant came in and congratulated me about it. It’s good I had your number on my phone before you two bailed.”

“So you don’t really remember?”

“Bits and pieces.” Gojo grinned, this guy was a maniac, how did the serious man you met just this morning have friends like this? You probably wouldn’t even last long, “I did call Nanami-”

He’s cut off by the rough sound of someone pulling a chair out, you immediately jump on your seat when you realize it’s Nanami Kento, the guy from this morning. The man you had recklessly married!

“This better be some prank you’re pulling, Satoru.” His voice was anything but kind that you almost wanted to hide behind Gojo’s back.

“Hey, hey.” Gojo raises his hands, “Don’t look at me. I didn’t force you into anything and stop scaring your poor little partner.”

Nanami snaps his gaze towards you and you notice how his eyes soften just a bit when he sees your red ears and your eyes looking away from him, “You better call Geto and fucking fix this, I refuse to bother this young-”

“It’s fine.” You cut him off, still shy and red, “It’s...fine...I just…Please don’t think I’m burdened by it. It was technically my fault for even agreeing immediately.”

Nanami clenches his jaw and turns away, “Nevertheless. L/N-san’s young. I hope to not be such an uncouth man like you.” he retorts, voice sharp as he eyes the white-haired businessman up and down. Gojo, seemingly used to it, rolls his eyes behind his dark shades.

“Maybe you guys should try it out.”

The blonde man looks like he’s about to smite the white-haired man out of existence yet Satoru remains oblivious to his friend’s gaze, “Don’t ya think so? It will take a while for those divorce papers to settle in so why don’t you two go out and get to know each other? Who knows…” he sing-songs the last part and Nanami is so close to chunking his briefcase towards the tall businessman, not even caring 

“Ah, he’s not exactly wrong, Nanami-san.” you try to calm him down, placing a small hand on his broad shoulder.

“Don’t tell me you’re actually listening to this idiot’s idea.” Nanami replied, gaze narrowing.

“Not really but you have some problems I can help you out on and I have problems that you can help me out on...Of course, the last say is on you...”

“Told you I actually had a brain.” Satoru piped in.

“Shut up, Satoru.” he quips, then turns to you, “I’m thirteen years older than you, L/N-san. I have two high school kids that could pass off as your siblings, and-”

“Well, I technically did marry you.”

“You were drunk.”

“Doesn’t exactly really excuse it.” You laugh nervously, “The whole divorce process usually lasts up to a few months, some even takes a whole year. I could help you out with the boys and I can use you to ward my family off from moving back home.”

Nanami is quiet for a moment, actually thinking about it. Weighing the pros and the cons, not only would you be able to help him out but you’d also be able to get Gojo and blind-dating out of his back.

There really wasn’t anything he could loose, really.

“Or you two might fall in love.” Satoru teases, making Nanami throw him another side-eye, as if saying ‘I dare you to say another word.’

It’s a Thursday today and Sukuna absolutely loathed Thursdays     apparently because it reminded him of Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. They all were far from the weekend     Everyone seems to be happier than usual though. Maybe it was because you were there teaching some basic shit at the board or something.

“...and if we transfer this here and change the positive to a negative, you’ll end up having five as your answer.” You smile, placing your chalk down, “Does anyone have any questions?”

Echoes of no’s resonated throughout the room.

“Alright then, let’s end the lesson here so you guys can have an early lunch. I don’t think an assignment is in order since many of you were able to get a perfect score in the activity awhile ago.” You winked. A couple of whoops resonated throughout the whole class right after. 

As the kids shuffle out of the room of the class, Sukuna remains behind. The ojisan had cooked them something delicious this morning and he wanted to eat it in peace without that pesky Nobara grabbing a share from his bento and Yuuji’s annoying babbles about horror movies with his best friend Junpei (the only one who was really bearable was Megumi, really)

“Sukuna-kun?” you called out, snapping him out of his small trance,  “Are you alright?”

He notices a glint of worry in your eyes, he had to admit since his transfer here last Monday, you were the least annoying teacher in the academy     the blue-haired professor in Japanese literature was absolute shit since he loved to tease him a lot and that bald-headed teacher in science who looked a lot like Mike Wazowski was an annoying twerp who loved dawdling in him and Yuuji’s business     and you were kind of good at your job. Not only did his idiot of a brother stop coming to him and their ojisan for help in math but he could actually do the worksheets right and get an actual decent grade at it.

“Yeah.” he roughly replies.

“That’s good.” You smiled, he watched as you bind their worksheets together and clip them in utmost delicacy, “You should head to the cafeteria now, I heard they’re serving milk bread today.”

Without saying anything more, you left the room, leaving him there in the silence.

Well, the Christmas tree idiot was right.

You kind of had a motherly aura on you and it didn’t even look forced.

No wonder, everyone in this room was whipped for you despite your subject being a pain in the ass.

“You look like an idiot.” You mumbled as you slapped Mahito’s hand away in annoyance, your workmate wiggling his eyebrows like the little shit he is.

You completely forgot you did have someone like Gojo Satoru in your life and it was one of your co-workers, Mahito, a Japanese literature teacher who was too nosy for his own good.

“You’ve got a ring on your ring finger and a mailman comes in and gives you an invite for Zen’in Toji’s fortieth birthday.” he whistles, “Even Jogo-sensei gossiped by the water cooler awhile ago, saying that you had eloped with the man. Not that I’m judging you or anything...”

You choke on your saliva, clearly thrown off by the backhanded comment. That darn bald-headed fool that looked like the green eyed monster from the DreamWorks cartoon, he sure needed to lay off the gossip and actually focus on his job as the head of the science department, “You’re not denying it.” Mahito stated, narrowing his eyes in suspicion, “Why aren’t you denying it?”

“I’m not dating Megumi-kun’s father.” You grumbled, finishing up your paperwork, “That man is off limits.”

“Right,” he drawls on sarcastically, “...because you have a strict rule against dating hot older men with money.”

“I also teach his kids and his cousin…” You deadpan.

“We don’t even have a rule against that.” He retorts, rolling his eyes, “If we did, Hanami-sensei would’ve been fired a long time ago.”

“You’re an asshole.”

“And you’re so secretive. If it isn’t Toji Zen’in, who’d ask you out?”

“Hey, I do have a man.” You huffed, “and he’s very kind and considerate...”

The image of the tall and lean man sleeping next to you slowly wormed its way back from your memory and you feel your cheeks start to flush. Good god, what were you? twelve? How embarrassing.

You needed to get that image off of your head, it wasn’t right.

It was all temporary, anyways and he doesn’t even see you in that sort of way-

“Yes, I’m Sukuna and Yuuji Itadori’s guardian…” a very familiar stoic voice could be heard from the nearby table, cutting your thoughts short. Wait, were you so head over heels for the man that you started imagining him here? Yuuji and Sukuna’s guardian? Wait a minute.

All color drained from your face as you snap your head behind you to find the same man you were imagining.

Oh no.

Oh no, indeed.

There stood Nanami Kento in all his glory;  crisp suit, stoic face, and eyes laced with mild worry.

“...L/N-sensei is Sukuna-kun’s adviser, by the way. It would be best to discuss this with them.” Akari somberly informed the man, turning to your direction. You don’t miss the shift of expressions when he sees you standing there.

Your mouth parts and you know you look like gawking fish trapped in a small aquarium.

“Akari-sensei’s looking at you with the new hot daddy.” Mahito mumbles next to you, eyeing him up and down, “Definitely wonder where all these old men come from these days.”

You were only half-listening to your co-worker because your head was all over the place, just what were the odds that he was the guardian of the new transferee’s? Just how awkward would everything be? Why did it even have to be at this school out of all places?

Never ending questions pop out of your head as you approached them, “Good afternoon, Nanami-san.” Your smile comes out very stiff and awkward while you hold your hand out for him to shake, clearly there was no memo on how you were suppose to act around your sort-of-fake-husband-whos-kids-you-actually-taught.

Nanami reverts back to his stoic expression as he clears his throat, “Yes, good afternoon to you too, L/N-sensei.” he greets, maintaining a straight-laced tone.

“Akari-sensei says that Sukuna has been quite...rude...in class…” you try to rack your brains up to describe his kid.

“Your son literally pointed out that the history lesson I was teaching was fake and that I should study again so he could get his tuition’s worth.” Akari looks clearly perplexed and ready to throttle the boy if it was legal. You had to admit, Sukuna went overboard with that insult.

You knew how passionate Nitta was about her job and what Sukuna just said to her was like a big ‘fuck you, you suck.’ to her.

“I’ll be sure to talk to him about this,” he sighs, bowing down, “I’d like to ask for forgiveness for that, the boy is a good and smart student-”

“Nanami-san, the school not only cares about grades but character as well.” Akari Nitta sighed, cutting him off, “I’ll let this slide once, if he does that again, it goes on the record.”

You internally bit your cheek, still trying to process everything that was going on.

“I understand. Thank you for that.”

“I’ll walk him out, sensei.” You immediately say soon after, wanting to have some alone time with him, “Let’s go, Nanami-san.”

You walk right next to him silently, some students peerlessly glancing at the tall blonde next to you but you were too immersed in thought to notice the stares, “Nanami-san?” you ask softly as soon as you reach the exit.

Nanami Kento looks at you, his eyes still laced with a bit of worry, “It’s okay.” you silently comforted him, “Just talk to him calmly.”

“That’s not the problem.” he sighed, “I just didn’t expect that the person I married would be the boy’s teacher.”

You sweat drop, “Aren’t you worried about talking to Sukuna? I mean, he literally just disrespected a teacher and you said that he and you weren’t in good-”

“It’s easier to talk to him about that rather than…” he paused, showing his ring, “this.”

You blinked.

Seemed like Nanami knew what to say about the little attitude problem his son had, “So you must be used to this?” you asked, “Him disrespecting the teacher?”

You notice the shift of expressions on his face, you had only known this man for a few days so far but he was starting to get easier to read. His eyes shed more emotion than his face, no wonder he likes wearing those funny sunglasses a lot.

“It’s something I’ve scolded him over a couple of times,” he gruffed, trying to dance around the subject, it seemed like he had such a soft spot to the point where he had a problem with disciplining them, “At times I believe it’s just because he’s way too smart for his age. The boy has read history books for fun when he was a kid and solved quadratic equations to prove that he’s better than me when he was ten.”

“It still doesn’t give him the free pass to say things like that to a teacher”

“I know,” he acknowledged, “I’ll be sure to give him a better scolding-”

“No, you see. This is why he thinks he can get away with it. He isn’t afraid of you. You’ll only probably tell him that you can’t do that.” you frown, crossing your arms, “You do know that not all sensei’s are as nice as Akari-sensei and he could get in trouble for that even more in the future, right?”

Silence lingered between you two for a moment and suddenly you realize that you must’ve said something way off the rails.

“I..” you turn red, embarrassed by the sudden outburst, “That was too much, wasn’t it?”

You look at him directly in the eye, the worry-filled ones are now replaced with a softer gaze. God, he really needed to stop looking at you like a kid. It would only make this set-up more awkward!

“No,” he mumbles, “It...It wasn't too much…”

“Oh.” you cleared your throat, flustered and looking away from his face, “Well, okay then goodbye then Nanami-sa-”

You needed to get out of this conversation quick.

“Kento.”

Your gaze snaps directly towards him, clearly taken aback by the correction.

“What?”

“We’re technically married now, right?” he softly corrected, “Call me Kento.”

“Oh,” You uttered again, this time softly. You looked down on your shoes, it seemed like the floor looked really interesting now, “Then bye-bye, Kento.”

“Bye Y/N.”

He leaves you standing there, cursing yourself because of your erratic heartbeat at the way he says your name in that voice. First name basis? okay, totally normal for sort-of lovers, right?

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[corvidshipping]

modern au red/milo dump while i try to get myself together to answer asks nd work on ATJ:

(tw for alcohol mentions near the end, also this is an EXTREMELY long post, its so long that even after i split it into categorized sections each section could be its own post)

CLOTHING

milo absolutely has no sense of fashion. i feel like this is basically canon - for the styles at the time, he dresses fairly basic, mostly focused on looking put together for his job (definitely dresses aimed more towards how he would like to be treated by his peers, despite his actual position - then again our best example outside of the expedition is when he's about to deliver what he considers the most important presentation of his life, so who knows, maybe he usually dresses like a slob). aside from that his main concern seems like practicality and comfort. his wardrobe is dominated by earth tones - beiges and greens set with white and greys. all of that taken into account, i can see him dressing like this in a more modern era:

basically- a lot of cardigans, usually collared shirts or comfortable turtlenecks (since he does still occupy a research position at the smithsonian, even if only in title), big ol' coats, khakis and chinos and slightly stiff dress pants complete with ironed creases. i can see him wearing similar clothes outside work, just more comfortable - jeans and knitted shirts, henleys, more turtlenecks, and comfy cardigans over short sleeved shirts. i dont really see him wearing a lot of prints, i think he'd veer more towards solid clothes in lighter colors, but maybe he has a few. hes definitely the kind of guy to think of wearing the single graphic tee he owns as "bold and wild".

im very married to the idea of him wearing converse though. i cant explain it. milo in converse keeps me going in this world

hes kind of broke so i think maybe he got the converse secondhand maybe? or a gift of some kind. aside from the converse i can see him wearing a lot of oxfords and maybe wingtips

i want to see him in a hawaiian shirt so bad. i am losing it at this thought. he buttons it all the way up to his neck like someones awkward dad. milo wears a hawaiian shirt to "let loose". he wears it with like, khakis. or knee length jorts AHHHHDJHDSGJHDSJGh

a tie??? does he wear his hawaiian shirt with a tie???? does he think it makes it look cooler?????????? i am sobbing

red is the COMPLETE opposite. in the canon 1914 setting, red is already very rebellious for an AFAB person of their era- theyre openly a suffragette, they frequently refuse to wear skirts even in public and dress in mens clothes even before they were openly nonbinary, despite not being accepted into the male-dominated research fields and colleges they continue to educate themself with or without help, they purposely aim for an "unfeminine" silhouette when they dress, refuse to wear corsets, etc. (spoiler alert- there's a clear reason they get on so well with audrey in ATJ)

theyre also easily mistaken by people that didnt know them prior to their transition for being just a very small/young cis man- even though they canonically have a very soft "traditionally feminine" face

so basically, in any era theyre set into, red is always gonna aim to be ahead of the curve- both in their personal beliefs and practices and in their fashion. theyre also very androgynous in their clothes, although they tend to aim a bit more masculine (thats partially due to the era though, and having been forced into skirts exclusively for their entire life- i think in a modern setting where its more acceptable for AFABs to dress and act in a less hyperfeminine way, theyd be more okay with a fluidity in their gender presentation).

all that taken into account, i can see them dressing like this:

lots of baggy clothes, especially baggy jackets and shirts. they like loose fitting high waisted pants like JNCO jeans, cargo pants, etc but they arent averse to pencil legs. they rarely ever wear skinny jeans or drainpipes though. messy hair is a lifestyle for them- their haircut is definitely home-done

you know how in BICSTLY they used to have really long hair before they cut it? in a modern au i can see them impulsively doing the cut at like 3am and waking milo up at his door cause they screwed it up and he ends up having to help fix it (even though hes literally no better at cutting hair than them. worse even)

definitely have an undercut bob- bob on top, shaven on the bottom layer. they might end up growing their hair into a mullet at some point if they get bored. probably dyes their hair all the time out of boredom and then regrets it later and has to use dye remover.

lots of ripped tights and fishnets, leggings with big loose crop tops, big hoodies, safety pin jewelry and homemade jewelry. maybe some sticknpokes.

all that said, they still know how to dress in a professional situation. since its a modern au theres really nothing holding them back from the education and career they canonically want but cant get in the 1910s, so i imagine they would work at the smithsonian as well, maybe their father helped them get the job? potentially in that case they might be his assistant- after all, he trusts their opinion on artifacts more than anyone else's.

at work you can still very much see the punk/skater/grunge/goth style but its more understated- turtlenecks, high waisted and looser dress pants, lots of black, slightly unbuttoned collared shirts with a loose overcoat and no tie

since i elaborated on milos shoe taste i may as well elaborate on red's: they definitely wear converse as well, probably newer than milo's since their father is fairly wealthy and they can afford it. they also have a doc martens collection. they have a pair of demonias but they never wear them and milo is really the only person to even know they own them, let alone see them in them. they really dont like to wear heels much, but they own a few just to play around with. they have a bad habit of wearing any laced shoes untied, but they never trip over the laces. they also use lace code- their most-worn Docs have purple laces on the right foot and yellow on the left. some of their Docs have (reclaimed) pink laces.

has an extensive pin collection including feminism pins, anti-racism pins, punk-related pins, skater-related pins, and pop culture pins (80s music, modern music, old movies, etc)

MUSIC TASTE

milo's into a lot of older music- stuff from the 50s is his favorite. really into jazz and ballroom style stuff. his favorite band is queen, i think- he likes the old-fashioned sound, the jazz-chamber-ballroom influences, the diversity of their lyrics, and the complexity between the guitar riffs, the basslines, and freddie's vocal runs as well as the vocal harmonies.

sometimes he hums good old fashioned lover boy to red and they two-step in the living room in their pajamas :pleading:

also very into rush. yes, he is a rush guy :pensive:.

also listens to a surprising amount of lo-fi? he really likes stuff that remixes older music with hip hop and lofi elements, like earl grey. nearly exclusively into instrumental stuff but also very into louie zong. he listens to it while he works a lot.

knows a lotttt of foreign artists, especially niche ones. fuckin LOVES casiopea

red's spotify is a goddamn mess. everything from 2000s emo, to classic 70s punk, to post-punk and new wave, to 90s pop, to rap. they cant be easily classified at all

their favorite bands are oingo boingo, prince, queen (they listen to a lot of their harder-rock music, but milo knows theyre into the ballads too. theyll never tell anyone else though), doja cat, lil nas, fall out boy, and billie eilish.

red recites the intro monologue to lets go crazy very seriously to make milo laugh, sometimes. they get very into it with their facial expressions. sometimes it devolves into a full air guitar/keyboard/drum and wild dancing session. milo does not know how to participate in this but he loves watching them have fun with it. sometimes they pull him off the couch to make him dance with them, though

they are a huge sucker for dark pop, vaporwave, retrowave, EDM, hip hop, emo, punk... etc etc. anything that combines any two or more of those genres in an original or interesting way gets their attention right away

there's a lot of sharing between the two of them- even though their music tastes are so different, they like a lot of the others taste, and theyre always up to listen to whatever their partner is playing.

red is a huge softie, and milo has found them more than once listening to or humming something he was playing for them the other day because it reminded them of him

speaking of which- in the 1914 canon, red can play piano. i think that carries over to a modern au, where they could play piano and by extension keyboard. i like to think they experiment with a lot of instruments but i doubt they ever really mastered any others. maybe theyre okay at drums or bass?

they learned to play and sing teo torriatte for milo, as a surprise. when they first performed it for them, they had everything set up for when he got home from work- the lights were dimmed, they had candles lit around the keyboard, they draped stuff in cloth to make it look pretty, they scattered flower petals around. when milo walked in and saw it all, he almost proposed then and there- the only thing that stopped him was that he would kick himself for the rest of his life if he did that without a ring.

HOBBIES/ACTIVITIES

milo is still an avid chess player in this, but i like to think hes in some kind of groupchat or text or discord server for it. he doesnt necessarily consider any of the others in the chat close friends, but he does know them all by name

he tries to get red into chess but they never really get it

he tells them all about the stuff that goes down in the games and they just. do not understand. but they love listening to him get excited about it anyway

"red you're not gonna BELIEVE this, eddie played an italian game on star today! i thought for sure she would see through it since everyone knows it but she slipped and he beat her in like, 13 moves! i wouldnt have believed it if i hadnt been there!"

"yes sweetie please tell me more" (barely disguised pained expression)

red is a skater and a regular at the skate park by the smithsonian

most regulars there know them by name, they can spot a newbie a mile away

they have a sticker of a broken tv with a skull inside of it on the underside of their board, its become recognized as a symbol of them unofficially

since theyre so regular and have been going there a lot longer than most of the other skaters that frequent the place, a lot of what they say is kind of just accepted as the rules

they have a bad habit of lecturing new kids who show up without knee/elbow pads or helmets at the very least. all the other skaters enforce it too. kids dont end up showing up without protective gear very often after their first visit

they brought a first aid kid and left it there and everyone has kept it stocked pretty well without them having to have much input. its kind of just a communal first aid kit

they once drew the broken tv symbol on the inside of a half-pipe and everyone started calling it red's ramp after that

they also started calling the bowl at the center of the park the Soup Bowl and now thats just accepted as the name. some of the newer kids genuinely thought that it was called that by the park and were shocked when they found out it was just a random nickname red gave it one day

theyve brought milo a few times but hes extremely awkward on his feet and could never really get his balance on a skateboard, and quite frankly red is afraid of what might happen if he tried even a low ramp, so he usually just sits at the rim of the bowl while red skates around

everyone knew he was their boyfriend before they even met him. a few of the regulars called him by name right away. one of them was certain red had brought him before.

but no

they just talk so fuckin much about him that its like they already know him

aside from skateboarding, red is pretty good on rollerskates/blades

they tried to take milo to a roller rink once but it was a disaster and they ended up going home, changing into pajamas, ordering chinese food, and marathoning movies till they fell asleep on the couch together. so not a total loss

theyre both very into movies. red is deep into horror and milo likes indie/art movies and just Cannot handle horror at all, but they both agree on old movies, from the 80s and 90s to like the 30s.

red has shown milo some of the classic horror movies and the niche old ones (from like the 40s) since theyre not difficult to stomach

every so often when red brings up wanting to see a horror movie milo is like "aw babe we can watch that tonight i promise it wont be bad" and he genuinely thinks he can handle it this time

he cant

he never can

it is always a lie

red ends up holding him every time and talking him to sleep, but it thankfully never causes like a major panic attack or anything like that

they love going to museums together, of all kinds. they love art museums. they also go to aquariums and aviaries

sometimes they like to go to other history museums and criticise the veracity or accuracy of exhibits/translations, all in good fun of course. theyre never actually being mean about it

SIDENOTES/UNCATEGORIZED

they both used to work at starbucks, when they were younger and before they worked at the smithsonian. they worked at separate stores 2 blocks from each other.

milo cant stand soda or carbonated drinks, red can and will chug a java monster in order to survive a long workday if they must. milo is constantly concerned for their health and wellbeing

they r both lightweights when it comes to drinking. they can split a six pack and both be falling-over drunk by the end of the night.

given the changes in beauty standards people DEFINITELY think milo is more attractive than they would in 1914. cmon. hes a lil twinky nerd. you think people wont eat that up?

he never really catches onto the flirting much though

did u think i would forget ki/da and the others? youd be wrong.

i simultaneously like the idea of something similar to the movie happening, but also just like... ki/da just being a regular person living on the surface. in either case they r all friends still

in the case of ki/da just being a regular person on the surface- i like the idea of atl/antis just being A Place in this au, maybe its a bit of a closed off country though? like, not many foreigners live there and to get there you basically need to be there as a diplomat or a scholar

maybe ki/da visits DC as a diplomat? she is a princess, after all

red meets audrey online cause they both yell at the same misogynistic asshole on twitter

they exchange discord names in the replies of the tweet and tell the guy not to interrupt them while theyre talking in his replies

i like to think red and milo are selected to go on an academic visit to atl/antis (to learn about the culture, with permission of the king), and audrey ends up as the mechanic on the ship during the visit and theyre like (spiderman pointing meme) at each other

red and audrey have so many inside jokes that they basically speak a different language. milo gets some of the terms from context and pop culture (they use "so very" in real life- as in "wow, that shirt is so very.") but he is hopeless to learn all of it

one of their inside jokes is any variation of "milo hot girl summer" and they REFUSE to explain it to him no matter how much he begs

milo wears that iconique tank top on the ship and they say it literally any time he bends over, picks anything up, reaches for anything, moves, BREATHES. he is bewildered and at this point concerned

(in truth, the joke came from red taking a really blurry picture of him in a short sleeve shirt where he looked pretty cute and captioned it "milo's having a hot girl summer rn" and they just could not stop repeating it once audrey met him IRL)

they have a minecraft world. i do like to believe that every so often vinny finds a way in- theyre never sure how- and griefs the shit out of them by blowing up EVERY. monument.

this post is getting long bc im enraptured by the idea of an atl/antis modern au so im cutting it off here but expect WAY MORE later

[femmereddie]

strong as the steel we carry (we rise like the sun) [2/6]

pairing: adora/catra fandom: she-ra and the princesses of power rating: general summary: A collection of drabbles from canon moments over the course of She-Ra, Catra/Adora related. This post contains all my drabbles from season two and three. read on ao3

S02E05 White Out

Several hours later, long after Adora and her friends returned from the Northern Reach, Adora lay in her bed, staring up at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Her body was exhausted—she could feel it in her bones—but her mind refused to let her rest.

Adora may have been entirely out of it when she was tethered to the First Ones artifact, but it didn’t mean that she forgot what happened. If anything, she wished she could forget. But she’ll always remember Scorpia’s seething jealousy. The pain and defeat Scorpia portrayed in her voice. Scorpia was so vulnerable when she spoke about her feelings for Catra. Her frustration. Adora wished she could be like that.

She’s misunderstood, you of all people should know that! I mean, you grew up together. I can’t compete with that. The words continued to ring in Adora’s head, blocking her from a good night’s sleep. Scorpia had a point to what she said—Adora and Catra were close. Despite being sworn enemies now, whenever they faced each other, there were still whispers of a relationship that had once so deep; it could slice steel. Their friendship was supposed to be unbreakable, but then it broke, and in many ways, Adora blamed herself for it.

Maybe if Adora hadn’t left… no. Catra made her choice, and Adora gave her several chances to join the Rebellion. She had to stop feeling guilty for Catra’s decisions. There was nothing Adora could have said or done that would have made Catra change her mind, and Adora couldn’t stay with the Horde. She had to leave. She could have never forgiven herself if she chose to remain.

Yet, Adora couldn’t stop agonizing over Catra. She worried about her. She always had, ever since they were kids. Adora knew that Catra was a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off. Catra always had trouble channeling her feelings; she was always emotional. Caring is a beautiful characteristic to have, but since Adora discovered the price of caring too much, she worried about Catra falling apart and having nobody there for her. Adora always had Catra’s back, but she joined The Rebellion, and suddenly, Catra had no one.

Of course, Catra could take care of herself, Adora knew that. Catra was one of, if not, the strongest people she ever knew, but Adora always felt partially responsible for her ex-best friend. Adora dragged Catra through a lot of mischiefs, and Catra would blindly follow, trusting Adora faithfully. Adora knew that when she left, she must have shattered Catra’s trust in people in general. Adora figured that Catra wouldn’t have anyone she’d be able to trust ever again, but then, Adora met Scorpia.  

Looking back, it was so obvious to Adora that Scorpia had feelings for Catra. At the same time, Adora understood Scorpia’s frustration with being unable to break down Catra’s walls. Adora felt responsible for that—she was the one that forced Catra to build a fortress around her own heart. Nevertheless, it didn’t stop Scorpia, and Adora genuinely admired Scorpia’s patience and persistence. She wished she was able to grace those qualities. Scorpia would turn out to be a better friend than Adora ever could be because of those qualities.

Adora sighed and turned over in her bed, a wave of relief washing over her. Even if Catra never let Scorpia entirely in, Adora knew that Scorpia would never give up. Catra would always have someone to look out for her. To have her back when Adora couldn’t, even though she wanted to. Scorpia would be there when the world closed in on Catra. Catra could fall a hundred times, but Scorpia would catch her on every single one. Then, Scorpia would hold Catra through every step until she was steady on her feet again. This realization made Adora sleepy, now that she knew someone would always be there for Catra, even if Catra didn’t want them. She had someone anyway, and so Adora was grateful for Scorpia. In more ways than Scorpia will ever know.

Adora remembered what Scorpia had said shortly after admitting defeat. You two. Even when you’re trying to kill each other, you could tell there’s a real bond there. This observation did not pierce Adora the way Scorpia’s other one did. In fact, it was reassuring. No matter what happened, no matter how far apart they’re torn from each other, Adora and Catra still had a sacred bond. Nobody could take that away, no matter how grim things may seem.

So, Adora fell asleep, Scorpia’s words soothing her like a lullaby.

—

S03E01 The Price of Power

As Scorpia’s footsteps grew fainter, Catra leaned back against the wall of her prison cell, feeling utterly defeated. She slid to the ground, unable to feel anything but the numbness that froze her body.

Caring about people is what got me into this mess. Boy, was she ever right. It wasn’t even about Shadow Weaver’s betrayal; it goes far beyond that, at this point. Catra’s downfall wasn’t falling for Shadow Weaver’s trick; it was why she fell for it in the first place.

Catra was desperate to feel loved, to feel like someone truly needed her. So, she fell for the mind games, secretly hoping that Shadow Weaver was telling the truth. And when Shadow Weaver betrayed her, Catra finally realized why she craved love—Adora. Catra’s desperation was born out of the feelings she had when Adora left the Horde. When Adora left her.

It always comes back to Adora. No matter what Catra does, everything that goes wrong in her life is because she cared too much about Adora. The worst part was, it still bothered Catra that Adora left without a second thought. Adora was the one who abandoned the dreams they always had of ruling Etheria side by side. Catra remained faithful to her friend for all these years, and for what? Just to get carelessly tossed like trash, without a second thought? Catra gave Adora her all, and Adora left. She left because some stupid princess rebellion that she discovered not five minutes prior meant more to her than Catra ever did. Even now, long after Catra placed her heart in a protected prison, Adora still somehow got to Catra. She still managed to make Catra care. Adora was Catra’s weakness, no matter how much Catra tried to push Adora out. Catra wished she could scream at Adora, make her hurt the way she hurt Catra. At the very least, make Adora care as much as Catra did, but Catra knew no matter what happened, nothing would ever change.

Because in the end, Catra meant nothing to Adora, but Adora was everything to Catra. No one had ever fueled Catra’s feelings the way Adora had. Adora was the reason Catra cared too much, and ultimately, the reason for her downfall.

—

S03E03 Once Upon a Time in the Waste

“I have to go check on the prisoner.”

Catra walked away from Scorpia, mulling over her words. We could, you know, be happy. Catra couldn’t even remember the last time she was truly happy. It had to have been before Adora left for Bright Moon. Could she let herself be happy again? She had a new band of subjects who were loyal to her. Scorpia as her right hand woman. And it wasn’t like the Crimson Waste had new visitors every day. It was a large chunk of land, and Catra could have it all. Maybe she could even let Adora go, for real. Being at peace didn’t seem so far out of reach anymore.

Before Catra opened the prison door, she took a deep breath, determined to remain resilient in front of Adora.

“Catra, you can’t do this!” Adora shouted, still struggling against the restraints.

“Well, hello to you too.” Catra nodded at the guard, who gave her and Adora some space. “What can’t I do this time?”

“Hordak is trying to open a portal. He wants to bring the rest of the Horde army through to Etheria. We can’t let that happen!”

Catra was surprised at the information Adora knew, but she refused to falter in front of the prisoner. “The rest of the Horde army?”

“Hordak is part of a gigantic evil army from another world—”

Catra crouched down to Adora’s eye level and burst into laughter. She was unable to contain herself with how serious Adora looked while talking nonsense. Catra would never admit it to Adora’s face, but she sometimes missed Adora’s wild imagination. “Never a dull moment with you. Why would I be against more Horde? That means we win and you lose.”

“We’ll all lose if Hordak uses his portal machine. Light Hope and Mara both said that opening a portal will endanger everyone.”

Catra stood up and began walking away, even though Adora was talking. So far, Adora hadn’t offered anything of importance to Catra, but her ex-best friend could still be of some use. “You’ll listen to anything weird old holograms tell you, won’t you? You should really try to get over that. Besides, how do you know about what Hordak’s doing?”

“Shadow Weaver told me.”

As soon as the name fell from Adora’s lips, Catra’s eyes widened in disbelief. She could feel her anger, hot and writhing, desperate to explode from under her skin. Shadow Weaver? The very same person who tricked Catra into letting her escape? The reason Catra was in the Crimson Waste in the first place?

“We know all about Hordak’s plan,” Adora continued.

“Shadow Weaver told you? How exactly did Shadow Weaver tell you this?”

“You didn’t know?”

Catra walked back to Adora and grabbed her by the collar, losing control of her emotions. “How?”

“Catra… Shadow Weaver is in Bright Moon.”

Catra released her grip on Adora, falling into a trance. Everything she ever felt since Adora left—jealousy, rage, heartache—hit Catra like a train all at once. Shadow Weaver told Catra that she was more like her than Adora ever was. She had bought every single word Shadow Weaver said, hook, line, and sinker. And it was all to get back to Adora? The wheels in Catra’s mind were turning so fast, she was afraid her head would explode. “Shadow Weaver left me… for you. All of this happened because of you.”

Catra blocked out Adora’s cries as she marched back to the party. There were no words to describe the pounding in her heart and the screaming in her head. Shadow Weaver abandoned Catra, leaving her to fend for herself. All for Adora. Once again, Adora had won, and she had lost. No matter how hard Catra tried, nobody would choose her over the precious, perfect princess Adora. She was She-Ra, after all. Catra was just… Catra. She had to work several times as hard to get a fraction of what Adora could without even trying. And to think Catra was enjoying their banter. Well, she wasn’t going to let it slide anymore. Catra knew that no matter what she chose going forward, she would never lose ever again. This time, Adora would know what it was like to lose everything you had.

“Hey, Catra!”

Catra looked up, completely broken from her trance. Scorpia looked down with an earnest expression, but all Catra wanted was to wipe it off her face. No, not wipe it off her face—crush it.

“Whoa there, gotta be careful, boss.”

Catra didn’t respond, attempting to collect herself instead. She remembered what Scorpia had suggested earlier in the evening, but that seemed like a lifetime ago. Staying in the Crimson Waste would never make her happy. Catra wasn’t sure there was anything that could make her happy, ever again. And truthfully speaking, the light from her life burned out when Adora left.

“Catra? You okay?”

Despite more tears brimming at the corners of her eyes, Catra did not falter at her next words. She stood firm, still, unmoving. Not even a hurricane could knock her down at that moment, but it wasn’t like she could fall apart. You can’t break something that’s already been broken.

“We are going back. We are going to open a portal. And we are going to crush. Them. All.”

—

S03E04 Moment of Truth

“Oh, you can’t trust anyone, especially a princess. They’ll just use you to get what they want.”

Catra’s words pierced Adora’s ears, the same way Catra’s look pierced her soul. Adora had never seen Catra look at her with so much contempt in her eyes. It completely broke Adora’s heart, even though she knew she was beating a dead horse. No matter how many times Adora told Catra she never meant to make her feel second-best, or to make her feel used, Catra didn’t believe her.

Adora closed her eyes and wished more than anything for her former best friend to be on her side. At the very least, Adora hoped that a part of Catra still cared. Adora knew it was hopeless, that Catra was indeed a terrible person. She’s made so many bad choices over the last year, that Adora thought Catra was lost forever.

And yet, a part of Adora would always secretly hope that Catra would realize how wrong she’s been, purely for selfish reasons. Adora dreamed that one day, Catra would see that she was on the side of evil. That she could be better than she was. Even though Catra was too far gone, Adora would be first in line to support Catra if she ever wanted to change. After everything, no one believed in Catra’s abilities more than Adora did, regardless of whether Catra used those abilities for good or for evil.

“Open the portal, and let’s end this.”

Adora opened her eyes and saw Hordak reaching for the lever. She screamed behind her mouth restraint, but it was useless.

Suddenly, Bow, Glimmer, and Shadow Weaver burst into the room. Adora shook her head until the cloth fell off. “Bow!”

“Forget about them, pull the switch!”

Adora’s friends began fighting against Hordak, who seemingly forgot about the portal for the time being. Eventually, the lab had fallen into chaos, and everyone was blocked from the portal’s switch. Everyone, except for Adora and Catra, that is. Adora couldn’t help but think there was some poetic element to all of this. Catra and Adora grew up together; they were always two peas in a pod. Everything used to be about the two of them together. Now, their world was crumbling, and like always, it was down to her and Catra. Definitely poetic.

Adora noticed Catra’s eyes were fixed on the portal’s switch. Catra approached the destructive weapon, and Adora began to panic.

“Catra, please, don’t!”

Catra turned back and looked at Adora. Adora could feel the intense burn of hatred simmering in Catra’s eyes, but for a moment, Catra remained still. Adora’s heart lifted. Maybe her friend wasn’t completely lost, after all.

But then, Catra grinned. She pulled the lever, and Adora couldn’t help but scream in defeat. Everyone in Hordak’s lab stared as the glowing portal grew bigger and bigger.

And then, everything went black.

—

S03E05 Remember

“Don’t you get it?! I am never going to go with you.”  

Adora stared in shock as Catra laughed maniacally. “You always have to go and ruin it. Don’t you?”

Catra leaped at her, so Adora immediately began to fight back. Once she was able to push Catra far enough away from her, Adora exclaimed in desperation. “Catra, look what’s happening! You’re going to destroy everything!”

“I don’t care! I won’t let you win. I’d rather see the whole world end than let that happen.”

Suddenly, the ground they stood on began crumbling beneath their feet, splitting into pieces. The girls were losing their balance. Catra grabbed Adora’s collar. “Catra, no!”

Catra pushed Adora away and began to fall. “Catra!” Adora screamed, reaching out for her, but it was no use. Throwing Adora one last glare, Catra let go of the cliff and fell to what Adora presumed was her doom.

Despite everything, tears welled in Adora’s eyes. She always wanted to do what was right and save the world, but her friends came first. And even though Catra was anything but a friend, Adora still tried to save her, too. How could she be She-Ra if she couldn’t also help the person who knew every nook and cranny about her?

Adora took off into the woods, not allowing herself to stop running until she made it to safe ground. When she did, she collapsed, unable to control her sobbing. Adora couldn’t stop thinking about how she searched Catra’s eyes, but all she saw were black voids.

Adora stupidly kept going in circles around Catra, and there was no one she could blame but herself. Assuming that she could somehow restore reality, Adora knew that she would never be on the same side as Catra, ever again. She saw that when Catra’s eyes burned with utter loathing.

There was no point in denying the truth. After all, Adora knew that you couldn’t save someone who wanted to be saved. Catra was far beyond that. If Catra ever wanted to come back, it would be something she’d have to do on her own. It was time for Adora to move on. It would take time, but she would, Adora owed it to herself, because it was hopeless.

The girl she loved was truly gone forever.