#hope you enjoy the freaky little details I added in here

[hansoeii]

the honda odyssey, huh?

[dream4kiptv]

[poppinisperfection]

Cool. || Peter Maximoff x Reader pt. 1 ||

Peter Maximoff x fem!human!Reader

(Y/n) is history teacher.

Requested.

Word Count: 3543

Notes: Peter acts a little strange in this, he's not being cold on purpose - so keep that in mind. Let's all presume (Y/n) is an independent woman who doesn't let an aloof guy ruin her day 💫 it's more of an introduction, so sorry if that dissapoints y'all. I hope you enjoy this extremely long piece of writing, let me know what you think. Requests are open 🙌

Taglist: @amourtentiaa @scorpionchild81

Masterlist

I flicked the indicator, as it clicked rhythmically and signaled my next turn. Grasping the steering wheel tightly, I wondered whether the direction I was heading in was the right one. My eyes drifted down to the small business card that was beginning to wrinkle from the amount of times it had been read and re-read.

‘Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

407 Graymalkin Lane, Salem Center, Westchester County, New York’

With a deep breath, I pushed my foot gently on the accelerator and turned the wheel - solidifying my decision. I drove down the graveled driveway as the evening sun pierced through the acres of fields and forests that dotted the landscape. This place was unlike any school I had ever seen. I had taught at various institutions of all kinds during my training, but something about this place was like something out of a fairytale or Jane Austen novel.

The old academic building grew closer as I prepared to slow down my vehicle and stop at the entrance. I peered around, trying to see if there was any places dedicated for me to park; but as far as I could tell, this was the only appropriate place for me to stop. 

I pulled out my key and felt the car’s engine fade to silence. I didn’t notice how comforting the gentle grumbles of the vehicle had been until they were gone. Now, all that was left was my mind and the thousand worries that crashed around inside it. I'm not a mutant, but I often wonder if being anxious about everything is some sort of weird useless mutation that I unfortunately had. 

Before I could become consumed by my menial fears, the vintage wooden doors opened up as if on cue. A man in a chair wheeled out as his familiar face smiled at me, and I was honestly quite awe-struck by his sudden appearance. I had spoken to Professor Charles Xavier on the phone before (for the job interview), and I had watched him on television a few times, but something about actually being near him was so incredible. This man changed the lives of so many people, possibly even the world.

I took a deep breath in and returned the kind smile, opening my car door and placing my feet onto the ground - the gravel crunching underfoot.

"Professor Xavier, it's so good to meet you." I spoke nervously, unsure of what I should do with my posture. Should I shake his hand? Should I high-five him? Should I bow? Okay maybe those last two were a bit far-fetched...

"The pleasure is all mine, (Y/n)." A voice rang through my head, as if it were my own thoughts speaking to me. But I recognized the voice, a smooth English accent that belonged to the world's most famous telepath.

"Incredible..." I breathed. Some might find it intrusive or freaky, but I was quite honored and honestly dazzled by his abilities. A figure appeared behind the wheelchair-bound man, distracting me from my child-like awe.

"Don't be a such a show-off, Charles." my attention turned to a tall man wearing a pair of glasses and a smart checkered shirt. "Good Evening, I'm Hank McCoy." he piped up cheerily, holding out his hand for me to shake. I absentmindedly took it, a bit starstruck by the world-renowned engineer, scientist, blue-furry man, and genius.

"(Y/n) (L/n)." I eventually spoke up, causing Hank to raise an eyebrow at my words.

“’(L/n)’? You're the new history teacher?" I nodded at his question, "Oh wow, you came so highly recommend that I presumed you'd be a bit more... experienced?" he chose his words carefully as to not offend. I know that most people picture an old greying woman who wears outdated fashion when they think of a history teacher...

"Oh, I'm young, I know." I explained with a bashful chuckle. 

“Hank, you of all people should know greatness is not defined by age.” Charles turned to his colleague. 

“I read that you graduated Harvard at 16.” I blurted out. 

“15, actually.” McCoy mumbled humbly. Xavier gave a satisfied smile as his point was proven. 

“(Y/n) here was top of her class, and I have no doubt that she’ll be a wonderful addition to the school.” the wise mutant stated, assuring Hank and giving me a boost of confidence. “Come inside, Hank can carry your bags for you, won’t you?” the professor inquired cheekily as McCoy threw him a look of slight distain. 

“Somedays I wish I wasn’t born with super-strength...” the academic man shook his head - the comment laced with light-hearted sarcasm - before heading to my car and pulling out my two bags, not even giving me a chance to politely object to the offer. 

“Ignore him, he’s just grumpy because he’s not on the mission.” Professor Xavier chuckled, turning his wheelchair around and beckoning for me to follow him inside. 

“I only trust myself to pilot that beauty.” Hank mentioned wistfully, probably referring to his famous aeronautical creation.

“’The mission’?” I questioned with intrigue, trailing behind him and entering the grand entrance.

“The X-Men are on a routine escort mission for the President at the moment,” my attention turned away from the antique décor as I choked on my breath slightly at his words. Of course I had heard of the famous troop of mutant heroes, but it just suddenly became so real. I was living where the X-Men lived. You know, the same X-Men that saved the world from complete destruction. “I was hoping they’d be here to show you around - but duty calls.” Charles finished. 

“Oh of... of course, duty...” I managed to mutter out eventually, earning a slight laugh from the Professor. He didn’t need to be a telepath to read my mind right now. I was so obviously astonished at the whole situation. I couldn’t believe that I was finally here, after months of thinking, considering, and second-guessing. I knew it was a risk, and I couldn’t even return to my parents if it failed.

Let’s just say that my folks weren’t very supportive of my decision to teach at a 'mutant mansion', as they would call it. Maybe it was stubbornness, maybe it was bravery; but I ignored their advice and became determined to come to Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngers. Now it was my only chance, since my family won't be welcoming me back anytime soon.

I followed Charles around, as he showed me all the rooms and explained some of the history as Hank make the odd comment or interjection. Most notably that the house was actually only a few years old, owing to the fact that the school had been blown up and rebuild a year ago. That was a fact that I could’ve gone without knowing. All I could do was hope that it didn’t blow up again, or at least not when I was around anyway. 

"Your classroom will be right next to the library," Xavier motioned towards a pair of wooden doors that lay open for students to walk freely into, "and feel free to check out any of the books as well - I have a few secret shelves for teachers, with some unregulated research papers on pre-20th century mutations, if that sounds interesting to you?" he added with a playful smile, as I nodded my head in admiration. This place sounded like an absolute dream, and I've only been here for less than an hour.

-------

As we strolled (and wheeled) down the wooden hallways, I noticed the students disappear one by one. By the looks of it, the early night had truly set in, and the majority of children were either in their rooms studying or hanging out in a common area.

"I suppose there's nothing more we can show you until the class starts tomorrow morning, I was really hoping that the team would be back by now..." Xavier gave a short sigh and furrowed his brows slightly, "But I suppose I've prolonged your tour as long as I could. Perhaps Hank, you could show (Y/n) to her room and she can rest in preparation for tomorrow." his smile returned as he asked his colleague for another favor. McCoy nodded his head and gave me a polite smile, still carrying around my bags from earlier. Maybe he didn't anticipate the Professor giving such an expansive and detailed tour of the mansion, so the bags must've been getting burdensome at this stage.

The spectacle-wearing teacher walked ahead of me and strolled towards the grand staircase that lead to the upstairs area (which we had previously travelled to earlier, but it's mainly bedrooms that we couldn't intrude into). I trailed my fingers along the carved bannister of the staircase, admiring the craftsmanship. Considering the school had been blown apart; this place looked as though it was straight out of a historical drama. The Professor could've went for a more modern update, like the ones you see in magazines and government buildings - but something about the simplicity of 1980s architecture just seemed cold and clinical. I'm glad they kept the historical charm alive.

"So you're really not, well, you know..." Hank broke me out of my daydreaming as he turned his head slightly and paused at the top of the steps. It took me a second to register what he was asking, but then it hit me.

"A mutant? Oh," I gave a meek smile before answering, "No I'm just a regular 'homosapien', completely boring." my sentence ended with a light chuckle at my own expense.

"Then you'll be the first non-mutant teacher here, you're making history." McCoy replied with zest as he began to walk down the hallway again.

"I thought I was supposed to teach history, not make it." I chirped from behind him, earning a snort and chuckle from the nerdy fellow (I know, I know - I'm a superb comedian).

As we passed by the student rooms, I could hear the various sounds emerging from behind their doors. One was gossiping loudly to their friends, another was blasting ABBA and singing along, and I could've swore that I heard some quiet sobs escaping through the keyhole of one door. My face fell into a frown as we passed by, and Hank paused slightly, before turning to me.

"That's Sophie Smith's room, she's homesick a lot." he whispered to me, his features showing concern. "You might have her for a class, so maybe keep an eye out if she's struggling." Hank suggested, as my heart went out for this student. I gave him a nod before we continued on our neverending journey towards my room.

Eventually, we stopped at the end of a corridor and my guide dropped my bags carefully on the wooden flooring. He twisted the door knob with one hand, and I watched as the door opened and revealed my bedroom.

"’Home sweet home’, as the saying goes." Hank uttered with a light tone. I stepped into the room and took my bags from the floor, carrying them in with me.

"It's so..." I breathed, observing the room.

"I know, we were supposed to get the curtains changed last month, but there was a mix-up and it's been dela-" he tried to explain, but I cut him off.

"Oh no! I was going to say, 'It's so perfect'." I clarified, brushing off his embarrassment at the state of the curtains (which were beautiful anyway). I stepped forward and placed my bags at the end of the bed while gazing at the beautiful room. This place was growing on me more and more with each minute that passed. 

“I’ll let you get settled in for the night then, there’s a copy of your timetable on your desk - it has all the information you’ll need for classes and etcetera.” Hank gestured to the neat pile of paper sheets on the wooden desk, “There’s always food in the kitchen, feel free to eat whenever and whatever you want.” he added, as my attention turned to my empty stomach. I will definitely be visiting the kitchen after I get settled in. 

“Thank you, for everything.” I beamed, unable to truly express my gratitude. He returned the smile and nodded, before shutting the door and returning to his business. As soon as his footsteps disappeared, I fell flat on the quilted bedsheets and sprawled out, giving out a pent up sigh. It was the kind of sigh that released anxiety and replaced it with assurance. From the looks of it, things were going to be alright - and there was nothing more satisfying that knowing you made the right decision. 

My brief escape into my feelings was cut short, as my stomach audibly warned me that it was running low on fuel. I turned my head and looked over to the beside alarm clock, reading the time; ‘8:24p.m.’

“Hmm,” I mused as I considered my options, “I should probably read you first...” my eyes drifted to the timetable that sat untouched on the desk. My belly did not agree with this decision, as it grumbled once more. “Okay, alright... yeesh.” I placed a hand against my abdomen, trying to settle the noise. “Food first, read later.” I threw my legs over the side of the bed and resolved to make my way towards the school’s kitchen. 

-------

Finding the kitchen was no problem, as the Professor showed it to me at least three times earlier. I guess he really was trying to stretch that tour out as much as possible. A few of the older students who were hanging around glanced at me as I entered the room. I couldn’t tell if they knew I was a teacher, or if they just thought I was a new student; either way, they didn’t stick around to find out. The group of teenagers grabbed their snacks and left the room once their privacy was interrupted. Honestly, I just think they were gossiping about some pop music band and didn’t want a stranger listening - so I didn’t mind their swift exit. It left me with some privacy as well, which was nice. 

I noticed a small radio sitting in the window sill, and decided to switch it on to break the silence. A static noise rang out as I extended the antenna and turned the knob carefully. Soon a voice grew clearer, and I had reached a station playing something. I just let the song play out, since I didn’t want to bother with searching the airwaves for something else. 

I stepped over to the pantry and surveyed the contents carefully. I was starving, but I couldn’t figure out what for. I picked up a loaf of bread and placed it on the counter, deciding it would have to be a PB & Jelly sandwich. Grabbing a plate, I began to craft my makeshift dinner. Absentmindedly, my head began to sway gently to the tune that played through the tinny radio speaker. It was one of those cheesy love songs that are always playing these days. There was something so catchy about those songs, and instinctively I began to mouth the words and drift into an MTV daydream. 

My brief escape from reality faded away as I noticed a clinking noise coming from the glass and cutlery. It was almost like an earthquake, but I knew that New York was unlikely to experience that kind of disaster (well I hoped so, at least).

A bright light shone outside the window, and I stepped closer to peer out. The basketball court had opened up and revealed a massive basement beneath it. A few seconds later, a black jet descended gracefully from the dark sky and lowered itself underground while the whole mansion trembled with the power it created. I swiftly grabbed the jam jar as it almost slipped off the edge of the counter, and stared in awe. 

“So that’s where they keep it...” I breathed out as the basketball court returned to its normal state, as if nothing had happened. I stood in wonder for a few seconds, still holding the jar tightly in my hands. That was probably the most of the X-Men I’d be seeing tonight. I’m no expert on presidential mission debriefing, but I presumed the team of elite heroes wouldn’t be mingling with the common folk upstairs for at least an hou-

“Ugh, this song’s a real bummer.” 

I nearly jumped out of my skin as a voice suddenly quipped from beside me. My attention hastily turned to a combat uniformed young man - quickly flicking through the radio stations. I stared at him, half confused and half terrified of his sudden appearance. Slowly I began to recognize his features; silvery hair, aloof attitude, and of course, the recognisable X-Men uniform. 

“Hey - you’re that guy...” I tilted my head slightly as I spoke without thinking. In a split second, he appeared at the fridge wearing an entirely new outfit, this time more casual. The music had changed to something more rock-y and alternative, matching his aesthetic. I was almost certain of it. I couldn’t remember his name, but I’ve definitely seen him with the X-Men on the news. I was almost certain of it.

“Nah, you’re thinking of a different guy.” he responded without second thought, while lifting out a can of some kind of soda. I felt my mouth contort in confusion, bemused by his comment. 

“I...” my thoughts paused to phrase my words correctly, “You were just wearing an X-Men uniform, you’ve got to be him.” I managed to retort, causing the confident fellow to raise an eyebrow. With the blink of an eye, he had disappeared from my sight again. 

“So, you don’t even know his name - and you’re convinced he’s me?” the silver-haired guy stated nonchalantly from behind me as he sipped on his drink. I gasped and grabbed my chest in surprise, not expecting him to sneak up behind me like that. I gave a sigh and prepared to answer the question. 

“I know, I’m sorry.” I closed my eyes and wracked my brain for a moment, “Peter, right?” I sighed, finally recalling the speedy mutant’s name. I looked up at him and expected some sort of witty remark. Instead, he just stared at me for a few seconds. I avoided his gaze awkwardly and looked down at the jam jar that still sat in my hands. Clearing my throat, I placed it carefully onto the counter beside me - trying to distract from his sudden silence. 

“Oh.” I mumbled at the change of topic, “I am. Only arrived here a few hours ago. The Professor showed me around earlier, with Hank, I saw all the classrooms and it was really quite-” I harped on, “I'm sorry, I'm rambling..." my voice lowered, as I watched the casual fellow open up a bag of pretzels and munch on them absentmindedly. He gave a soft chuckle at my apology.

“So, you’re new here?” for the third time, he appeared in a different location, leaving me to turn around one more time. He faced away from me, opening a drawer and surveying its content silently. 

"Cool." he replied simply, placing a few more pretzels into his mouth.

"Cool." I repeated gently, trying to decipher his aloofness. This 'Peter' was blunt, distant, and almost cold. It was as if I had offended him somehow. I stared at my surroundings for a brief moment, before deciding to get off of the wrong foot.

"I'm sorry if I was rude earlier; or was it that I couldn't remember your name?" I tried to find the reason for his indifference, wringing my hands with nerves. Peter raised an eyebrow and scowled slightly at my question.

"Rude?" he asked with a shocked tone.

"Yeah, I thought I offended you?" I explained.

"Nah, nah, we're good." he shrugged my theory off and zoomed over to the bin, throwing the crumpled wrapper in it. "I gotta go now, X-Men stuff." Peter turned to me and excused himself. I gave a soft 'oh' in surprise, and held out my hand for him to shake (just a teacher habit, I guess).

"Nice to meet you anyway, Peter." I smiled at him. The silvery guy just stared at my hand and then looked back up to me - but for some reason, avoided my eyes.

"Cool." he said again, before disappearing from sight; leaving me standing there, alone, holding my hand out for no one. Slowly I lowered my wrist and cleared my throat.

"Cool..." I said to myself, still entirely confused by the interaction. My attention quickly turned to the change in music. The radio suddenly shifted from the grungy tunes, back to the end of love ballad that I was listening to earlier. He must've changed it back. I tilted my head and stared at the little radio in the window, listening and thinking.

Maybe he wasn't as cold as I thought. Maybe I'll try and get a better conversation from that silver-haired boy tomorrow. Maybe I'll get that handshake from him. Maybe.

Still, the only thing that matters right now is that I eat that PB&J sandwich.

-------

[soldierswar]

Kobik - X (Final Chapter)

Bucky x Reader

Pure fluff

Synopsis: You're just gonna have to read the fluff to find what this chapter is about. ;)

Masterlist

....................

“Okay but seriously…Where the hell are we going?”

You may have not been able to see Bucky through the blindfold, but you could have sworn that you could hear his eyes rolling.

“Y/N, you do realize that that defeats the entire purpose of a surprise don’t you?”

You crossed your arms and let out a loud and dramatic groan sinking down the passengers’ seat of the car.

“We’re almost there,” Bucky chuckled.

You rested your hand on your belly and playfully whispered to it.

“Do you know where we’re going?”

Again, you could sense Bucky’s eyes rolling.

After about 30 minutes of driving, the car came to a stop.

“Can I take the blindfold off?”

“Not until I tell you, doll,” Bucky ordered.

You could hear him get out of the car before opening yours and carefully guiding you to step out.

“Oh, how gentlemanly of you,” you remarked sarcastically.

“You know, I can turn around and take us back home,” Bucky joked while guiding you to walk backward with him for an alarming amount of steps. You didn’t know if you should continue to be annoyed, or if you should be nervous or…excited?

“Okay,” Bucky said breathily.

“Take it off.”

You nervously untied the bandana and removed it taking a second to let your eyes adjust to actual sunlight. When you managed to be able to see you saw none other than…A house?

“Is this where Kobik lives?” you asked.

It was a really nice two-story house painted a deep blue on the outside. It was almost exactly the kind of house that you had always dreamed of having since you were a little girl. It had a little garden of roses in the front yard of the house which was enclosed by a short, black wooden gate. You could see that there was also a backyard, and the most beautiful porch on the right side of the house.

“I thought she lived a little further away than 30 minutes…”

“Yes she does,” Bucky answered.

“Okay, then why are we he—”

And then you found yourself pausing.

This place looked familiar. Eerily familiar. But at the same time, you could have sworn that you’d never seen this house before.

You found your attention pointing to exact spots that were clearly familiar. This was…

“Bucky this isn’t…”

He didn’t answer. He just stayed behind you continuing to rest his hands on your upper arms.

“This can’t be…”

You turned your face to his direction to see none other than that sly smile on his lips and a raised eyebrow.

“It can’t?”

“No…That’s impossi—”

But you could see it in his eyes. You were exactly where you were thinking you were.

It was your secret spot.

But now it wasn’t an old broken-down shell of a house. The giant blocks of broken concrete that you sat on barely weeks ago where you told Bucky some of the most shocking news of your life were gone. Everything was…Perfect.

“Surprise!” you heard a familiar voice yell moments before the little figure bolted out of the magically opening door giving you the biggest hug. Oh, how you missed her hugs.

As you swung her around and held her tight another realization hit you. And you froze.

The amount of time that it had taken to clear all of the rubble, build a new house, and create the type of atmosphere that surrounded you was almost…No, literally impossible. Unless…

“Kobik?” you questioned, holding her as she continued to hug you.

“Did you do this?”

She pulled away and gave you the happiest nod.

“I wanted it to be my first big project!” she exclaimed.

“I could see in your mind that you wanted a house just like this.”

You turned to Bucky who was smiling at the both of you.

“Project?” you asked dumbfoundedly.

“This was her idea. I just helped her with some of the details…And I think you forget that she’s kind of a mind-reader.”

“Bucky you can’t be serious…”

With Kobik still in your arms, he pulled closer to you and kissed you on top of the head and said,

“Welcome home.”

…

Kobik was incredibly antsy to show you every inch of the house. And they were right. It was a complete replica of what you had always wanted. Even a little more.

The living room had an old-style brick wall with a fireplace along with a small dining area painted a deep red.

In the upstairs area, there was a massive bedroom painted black and white decorated with photos that you had put in storage not too long ago. And the highlight, the biggest walk-in closet that you had ever seen in your life.

“Come on!” Kobik exclaimed hurriedly.

“I haven’t shown you my favourite parts yet!”

She excitedly took you by the hand.

She took you into an electric blue room with a twin bed covered with a comforter decorated with big lighting bolts.

“You said I can come visit right?” she asked hopefully.

She made her own room. And it made you want to cry.

With her hand holding yours, she knew how you felt.

“And…” Bucky added.

“The grand finale.”

He swung the last door open, and you couldn’t believe what you saw.

It was a room decorated with your favourite animal. Elephants. Along with…a crib and a really comfy-looking rocking chair. Things that would be needed for a room for…a baby.

Now…You were in tears, and Bucky came up from behind you and held you tight rocking you while you giggled and composed yourself.

“Do you like it?” she grinned.

How did you get so lucky?

…

You, Bucky, and Kobik spent the rest of the day together in the…in your new house.

During Kobik’s time away from you, she had been learning so much more about her powers. She was way more powerful than she or her new guardians had anticipated. Not even Kobik knew how powerful she could be. She excitedly told you stories next to the fireplace (with a blue fire manifested by Kobik), about what she was learning to do. She even talked about what she considered to be the ‘boring’ parts. But they were things that were extreme scientific breakthroughs.

The thing that mattered to you most was that seemed really happy. And despite the hole in your heart that you felt when she wasn’t around, you were incredibly happy for her. Bucky was right. She needed to grow, and growing was exactly what she was doing.

Suddenly you could have sworn that you could hear a little pitter-patter upstairs.

The first time you tried to disregard it. But after the fourth time, you had to ask.

“What the hell is that?”

“What the hell is what?” she replied.

Before Bucky or Kobik could answer any further, a white cat with electric eyes somewhat like Kobik’s emerged through the wall exactly how Kobik would when she was too underwhelmed with the notion of opening and closing a door to enter and exit rooms.

“What the hell is that?” you shrieked.

“Alpine there you are!”

What did she say? What did she just call her? And why was she so familiar with her?

“Alpine?”

“She’s all white and Kobik thought it just made sense.”

“She was kind of an accident. But she’s really friendly,” Kobik explained.

“Whoops.”

“I mean we’re not exactly new to accidents. Right, Y/N?”

You smacked him on the arm.

“Let me guess…The supernatural cat is staying with us isn't she.”

“Hazel’s kind of allergic to cats,” Kobik cringed.

“Here kitty,” Bucky called, and Alpine trotted over to him and rubbed herself against his knee.

You rolled your eyes, giggled, and submitted to keeping the freaky but friendly-looking cat.

This was it. Even if you didn’t know it this was everything that you could have wanted. There you were sitting in a house that weeks ago was nothing but an abandoned lot with a broken building that oddly you and Bucky sometimes found as a sanctuary. A place where you had revealed that whether you were ready or not you were going to start a family. And most of all, the place where Bucky revealed to you a true treasure that was no one else but Kobik.

You were happy.

They were happy.

And the most important thing…All of you were loved.

Notes: HEY GUYS! Thank you so so much for being patient with these last few chapter updates. Life just got really stressful, and bad, and then ended up in a mental hospital last week lol. (Idk why I'm admitting this.)

I want you to know that this isn't the end of Kobik. I'm way to attached to her to never write about her again so you'll see some one-shots every now and again. Let me know if you would like to continue to be tagged.

I hope you enjoyed the ride. Thanks for being so supportive.

Tagged: @blakefc @cherry-shake @buckylove123 @teenagedreams-bucky @typicalnerd98 @veroxloki @white-wolf-buckaroo @acciosiriusblack @pastel-boy-sungjae @flightsandfantasy @noiralei @unstablesleepygal @general-latino

[eurosong]

Undo my ESC '21 (semi-final two)

Good afternoon folks, and welcome to the second part of Undo my ESC – my annual quest to make the year’s Eurovision better (at least, for me xD) by making a feasible change in each country – it could be something as small as altering a lyric or a staging detail, or as big as a different artist entirely winning the NF. Semi-final one was here so let's jump straight into SF2!

🇸🇲 San Marino: We're thrown into the deep end here with a fan fav that doesn't do at all for me. I'm one of maybe 5 people on the planet who prefers Freaky by far, I guess? I'm happy for Senhit to be getting so much love and for the diminutive serene republic to finally have a shot at a good result - but I'm not so keen on the way it's been done. There's a bit of cognitive dissonance for me because my favourite thing about Adrenalina is Flo Rida's rap, but I don't like the idea of bringing in famed American artists like "ringers" to elevate a song above one with "only" local talent. I would be so tempted to give the rap part to local artist IROL instead to spit some hot bars in Italian.

🇪🇪 Estonia: I had hope this year, I really did, for my era of absolutely adoring Estonia at ESC to be revived after 4 painful years. There were so many good songs at this year's Eesti Laul, like those of Ivo Linna, Egert, Gram of fun, Heleza - but ultimately, my huge favourite was, as expected, Jüri Pootsmann. Anyone who followed this blog back in 2016 knows how much I adore Jüri and was desperate to see him get a redemption arc at ESC itself. Magus melanhoolia was one of the best songs of the season for me and one of the best stagings. As much as I prefer '20 artists to get their shot in '21, problematic Uku with his toxic ex vibes song will have to step aside and let the Jüri renaissance happen here.

🇨🇿 Czechia: I really dig Benny Cristo - he has personality, presence and his own enjoyable style. At first I was kinda disappointed with Omaga because I was expecting something more in the vein of Kemama, with more pronounced Afrobeat influences. But it has grown on me a lot too. My change? Add more Czech than just one blink-and-you-miss-it line, mate! (Article continues below)

🇬🇷 Greece: I see this being talked up as potential televote top 3 and I just don't get it. Maybe it's the way the chorus rhymes dance with itself three times (and uses the term rockin' romance unironically); maybe it's the way that there are better 80s-inspired songs both in ESC and many fallen tributes in the NF season... it just leaves me cold. I actually preferred Supergirl and my change would be for Stefania to bring something with some actual Greek flair.

🇦🇹 Austria: I’ll echo what I said last year about Österreich – how did they go from Conchita to a guy who wished he wouldn’t have gay kids like this? I find both of this guy's songs insipid in different ways and I would invite Pænda back instead to avenge her getting robbed with the beautiful Limits. Or give a second shot at glory to the incredible Cesár!

🇵🇱 Poland: Unpopular opinion, but I absolutely love The Ride, and I feel bad for Alicja, but I much prefer it to Empires. What started as an ironic fondness for Rafał's cringy uncle vibes ended up being genuine appreciation - it's one of the few 80s-inspired songs that sound like they actually could have come out of that decade rather than like modern pastiches. And Raf actually does have an awkward charisma. My change - insert some Polish! Poland does so well with natural sounding bilingual efforts in JESC, they should bring it to the main contest too!

🇲🇩 Moldova: I was lowkey prepared to be disappointed by Moldova - I actually enjoyed Prison a lot and the news that they were going in a completely different direction didn't sit so well with me. And yet, I also love Sugar. Natalia's power! My changes: get rid of that weird scene with literally egg on her face - too on the nose for me. And incorporate a bit of the stellar Russian translation, Tuz bubi, because I'm always going to be advocating for more linguistic diversity xD

🇮🇸 Iceland: Daði Freyr can literally do no wrong with me. Whilst it doesn't have the same intense extra-fandom hype that Think about things did, I think I like Ten years even more. Nothing to change here.

🇷🇸 Serbia: It's no secret that Hurricane were far from my favourites at Beovizija 20, and that I find this a downgrade for Sanja compared to her powerful '16 song. And yet... Hasta la vista grew on me a lot, and so has Loco loco. It's something that is definitely scratching an itch at this year's ESC and the burst of anarchic energy it'll provide will be amazing. I am seriously tempted to change to the acoustic version, though, which has all the attitude of the original but is more beautiful for me and lets the girls' voices shine more.

🇬🇪 Georgia: Georgia keeps serving acquired tastes, and as a patron saint of marginal genres and I love them for that. This year, they've gone for something that even many fans of Tornike find hard to swallow - gone is the roaring rock of last year, replaced with a much more contemplative, soft effort that reminds me a little of Lou Reed. I enjoy both songs, but I can't deny preferring 2020. At the same time, I admire the chutzpah required to send something so different. I just wish there could be a moment to properly showcase T's powerhouse vocals.

🇦🇱 Albania: It was an odd Festival i këngës this year, outdoors in the freezing cold and without the orchestra that makes the songs soar so much more for me. Karma is a perfectly respectable winner, albeit one that lacks the immediacy and rawness of Shaj, Ktheju tokës and Mall. In my ideal alternate reälity, Arilena Ara would have been invited back. She'd bring a song as beautiful as Shaj - and not do a revamp into English that removes its edge this time.

🇵🇹 Portugal: 2015-2020 was a full on Portugal stan era for me. I want to believe that this year is an aberration and that in 2022, our lusitanian neighbours will produce the goods once again. Because ending a colossal streak of not sending songs that don't include Portuguese for this? I am baffled. I wanted the anthemic Joana do mar, produced beautifully by Luísa Sobral, or the timeless Contramão, which sounds like it escaped a Nouvelle Vague soundtrack. Saudade, Por um triz or a number of others would have been grand too.

🇧🇬 Bulgaria: I wasn't expecting much from Bulgaria - I really didn't and don't like TGS and the majority of songs in Victoria's NF-but-not-really aren't my cup of tea. I was happy she got her second chance, but resigned to not liking the song much that would get picked. And then, my fav, which was last in many community ratings, ended up being her pick. I adore GUIGO and believe it has the possibility to do very, very well at Rotterdam and be one of the 'moments' of the evening.

🇫🇮 Finland: CRIMINAL how YLE treated Aksel - it felt like he wasn't the defending champion, and that Erika Vikman had won the previous year. They also - I believe, deliberately - split his vote by making his just one of a number of ballads, so of course what stood out most were the two decidedly non-ballady songs. Finland only two years ago had a single-artist UMK. They could and should have brought it back for Aksel. I'd hope Hurt would win it, because that song is stunning.

🇱🇻 Latvia: I was, and am, delighted that Latvia stuck with Samanta Tina. The lady lives and breathes ESC, even wrote a university thesis about it, and if she tried so many times, finally won and then DIDN'T get to go to ESC, I would have gone to LTV headquarters personally to remonstrate. I really like both her songs. The moon is rising is poised, powerful and like nothing else this year. The only thing I'd change is adding some Latvian because it's a gorgeous language and we've been waiting for ages to hear it again.

🇨🇭 Switzerland: Gjon's song is once again not really my cup of tea, or tears - but I enjoy it better than last year's and I'm glad he's back. Highkey wish it did include Albanian or Romansch like confused commenters last year thought it did.

🇩🇰 Denmark: There is literally no excuse for Denmark's treatment of Ben & Tan. I'm not even a big fan of their music at all, out to not even allow them to compete in DMGP to defend their win with Iron heart? Even though there are songs that competed in DMGP that I prefer a lot, most notably Står lige her, I would probably have let them have a proper second chance.

And the automatic qualifiers voting in this semi -

🇫🇷 France: For me, France had an absolutely enthralling, sincere, perfectly Gallic entry that hit me so hard in the feels. And whilst I respect Voilà, no, that wasn't it. It was Pourvu qu'on m'aime, easily one of the best songs I heard all year inside NFs or out. I find Voilà a little too mannered and affected, whilst PQM is a shot straight from Juliette's heart into mine. In my dream, it'd have won CVQD and be receiving the same love that Voilà is right now.

🇪🇸 Spain: Whilst it is getting next to no love in the fandom and seems quite forgotten, I find Voy a quedarme one of the best songs sent from this country in several years - and I say that having preferred Memoria. I am proud of Blas and love that he had a hand in writing this song. My change? He said recently that the staging in Rotterdam won't be inspired by the poignant music video despite wanting it to be - I would incorporate elements from it in the live.

🇬🇧 United Kingdom: Frankly, I think almost all the Big 5+1 brought it this year, with the notable exception of Germany. Embers is the banger that I never thought was coming from James Newman, and it's been one of the biggest earworms of the season. I wouldn't change anything about it - I'd just ensure that the staging replicated the energy of the video as much as possible!

[harlot-of-oblivion]

The Devil’s In The Details

All work and no play makes Dante a dull devil. But he soon finds a cure for his boredom when a smokin' hot detective comes a-knockin' on his door.

The title and overall feel of this chapter is inspired by the song "A Girl Like You" by Edwyn Collins.

Chapter 3: Never Met A Girl Like You

You look up Dante’s profile as soon as you get back to your desk. The Lieutenant was not exaggerating that this man’s file is incredibly long; it almost reads like a fictional novel filled with colorful characters and bloody descriptions. Unfortunately, all these reports are real and if any of what you read is remotely true, then you really have your work cut out for you this time.

It all starts with the infamous demon attack on Sparda Manor, which is common knowledge to most locals nowadays. The only body found in the rubble of their burnt down home was Eva Sparda, the matriarch of the family, and the rest of the family was pronounced dead soon after the incident. You narrow your eyes at that little detail…it’s rather strange that they just jumped to that conclusion even though there isn’t enough sufficient evidence to back up the claim.

The next notable part of the profile is all about the escapades of Tony Redgrave. You resist the urge to facepalm yourself while reading about all the events that occurred under his on the nose alias. It all seems to be standard fare on par with mercenary work, so you skip ahead a little until hitting another infamous incident involving some crazy ass tower…a lot of information about what happened has been redacted except that the Son of Sparda was definitely involved as well as an associate only known as Lady.

You read ahead again and raise an eyebrow at the strange report about a beautiful woman smashing through his shop while riding a motorcycle. This mysterious woman is later confirmed to be another associate known as Trish. Then it seems he left to do some outside work, so there isn’t much details except for a few witness statements here and there. The most noteworthy detail is the sudden appearance of a young man bearing a striking resemblance to the white-haired mercenary known as Nero.

A memory flashes before your mind at the name. You’ve seen this young man before; it was during the Red Grave incident involving the demon tree. You did not get the chance to speak with him…all you can remember is nodding to a young man with short white while leading a group of citizens caught in the demonic fray to safety. And speaking of that debacle, you skim through the reports about Dante’s role in that devastating event, which again seems to be scarce except that he was definitely hired to take care of whatever or whoever planted that freaky ass tree.

From what you can glean from the extensive damage reports, complaints about disturbing the peace, and the high rate of death and destruction…it paints Dante as a womanizing playboy who shows no concern for the wellbeing of others, which makes him a highly dangerous individual. Your fingers tap on your desk as you carefully sift through the information you have just gathered, noting that some of the reports have a healthy dose of prejudice attached to them. A good detective knows that preconceptions should never be taken at face value when searching for the truth. So, perhaps he’s more of a flirty troublemaker with a pension for hunting demons, which has earned him quite the reputation among mercenaries and police alike. You lean back in your chair and mentally weigh the risks of seeking out this infamous devil hunter in hopes of ridding the city of another demonic threat.

The soft chiming of your phone breaks you away from your deep contemplation. You pull it out your pocket and shuffle through a series of texts from Carmen. A couple of them are pictures of the victim’s garage, specifically a set of golf clubs found in the corner. She goes on to explain that this could be the murder weapon, but she will have to run some tests to confirm her suspicions. You take out your sketchbook and update the depiction of the crime scene with a drawing of a golf club with a question mark beside it. The other texts inform you about the safe key and missing dog. Carmen didn’t find any kind of safe or lock box that goes with the key, so she’s just adding it with the rest of evidence for further investigation. And there is still no sign of the family dog either.

No surprise there, you thought while texting her back about your heated argument with the Lieutenant and your plan of seeking outside assistance from a demon hunter. You also let her know that Graves is fine, just shaken up from the missing body that could very well be the zombie bride she gushed about earlier. While waiting for her response, you check your email for the record of medical examiners that Graves sent, and you file a report about the missing body from the morgue.  

After completing those tasks, you decide to grab a quick breakfast and do some more investigating before setting out to find the Legendary Devil Hunter. You collect your sketchbook and grab another cup of coffee on the way out, gulping it all down in a few long sips while you walk through the station. Your phone chimes multiple times as you approach the exit, but you withhold from checking it as you slip past a slew of reporters standing outside the station. All of them are none the wiser as you gear up for a long ride before hopping on your motorcycle.

You rev the engine a couple of times before zooming out of the parking lot with a loud roar, hoping that you can make it to Devil May Cry before closing time.  

(A few hours later…)

Another day spent doing absolutely nothing, Dante thought drolly as he rereads yet another dirty magazine while rock music blares from the jukebox.

It’s late afternoon and there is still no sign of Morrison. The phone rang a few times, but none of the callers gave a password. Dante knew that business has been slow recently, but he’s going to die of sheer boredom at this rate! He leans back in his chair and props his feet up on his desk, not really ogling the half-naked ladies in the magazine as his mind wanders through less vulgar musings.

Dante’s life has taken one hell of a U-turn for the better ever since getting back from hell with his brother in tow and having a very awkward but needed conversation with Nero. Just the fact that he even has a nephew still makes him shake his head in wonder, and having Vergil back to being his old cranky self…it all seems too good to be true. But a few pinches every now and then, as well as some stabs from his dear brother, knocks some sense back into him and erases all doubt from his mind.

Dante has never felt more alive now that he has finally found his family. And it would truly be a shame if this tedious dry spell takes him out before he gets the chance to really enjoy it. Morrison better bring the cure to my boredom before I find it myself, he thought, absentmindedly turning a page while letting out a huge yawn.  

A loud knocking echoes throughout the shop. Dante glances up from his magazine towards the entrance. Huh…that’s not Morrison, he surmises as more knocking bangs on the door. “It’s open!” he announces, not one to turn down a potential client coming to him directly. He tosses aside the dirty magazine as the door swings open to reveal an attractive woman entering the shop.    

Dante’s brow quirks in curiosity as you look around with mild interest. “Well, well…what’s a pretty lady like you doing here?” he asks nonchalantly while his keen eyes roam up and down your form, already spotting the concealed gun holstered inside your riding jacket.  

“I’m looking for the owner of this shop,” you inform in a calm and even voice while slowly approaching the landing area of his office. “Is that you?”

Dante smirks mischievously. “That depends on who’s asking, babe.”

“Don’t call me babe.”

Your stern voice startles him for a moment as you step up to the landing and pause by the edge of the carpet under his desk. You’re close enough now for him to get a better look at you; confident stance, sharp eyes, and a stoic face that could rival his brother’s stony expression. And yet it still captures his full attention despite your cold reception of his playful retort.  

“The name’s Dante,” he introduces himself as your head swivels around, taking in every detail of his office as you walk around his desk. “And if you’re looking for the bathroom…it’s in the back.” Dante motions with his head as you get closer to the couch, which gives him an opportunity to check you out from behind. His eyes linger up your slender legs and the curve of your ass…but then he does a bit of a double take when he notices a knife hidden in one of your boots.  

“Legendary Devil Hunter, Son of Sparda…and the embodiment of sloth apparently,” you muse aloud, stoic shell cracking a little as your lips curl into a grimace while examining the copious piles of trash strewn all over the floor.

Dante crosses his arms with a shrug. “I see my reputation still precedes me,” he quips back cheekily as your gaze turns towards the small bar in the corner.

“Please tell me that hasn’t just been hanging there rotting since the Red Grave incident,” you mutter in disbelief while pointing at the Empusa nailed to the wall with numerous swords and one small dart.

“What does a babe like you know about Red Grave?” he inquires casually while his eyes narrow suspiciously.  

A subtle spark of anger lights up your eyes. “Stop calling me babe.”

Dante slides his feet to the floor before leaning over on his desk. “How about you give me the pleasure of your name and maybe I’ll call ya by something more your style,” he offers with a wink, hoping to rekindle that spark of yours with his flirty banter.

Your smoldering eyes squint hard at him for a moment, the fierce spark now glittering as you reach inside your riding jacket. “Detective Y/N of the Red Grave City P.D.” You take out your badge and flip it open to show him your photo I.D. as you move close to his desk. “And if you call me anything but Detective…I’ll show you why some of the boys down at the station call me Ice Bitch,” you warn with a low growl filled with simmering anger.  

“Ice Bitch, huh?” Dante repeats while giving the badge a quick glance so that he doesn’t miss the show when the sparks start flying. “I dunno…you sound pretty fiery to me.”

Dante watches with fascination as your eyes burst with searing heat, but your entire face remains completely composed. It’s not exactly the kind of show he was hoping for, but there is still time to figure out what really lights your fire so long as you are here. There’s just something about you that begs him to stoke the flames flickering in your eyes…maybe it’s the way you carry yourself with utmost confidence around the shop despite the infamy around his name and reputation. Or it could be that fiery spirit hidden beneath your frosty exterior…all he knows for certain is this:

He’s gotta have more.

“So, what does the fuzz down at Red Grave want with a guy like me?” he asks, relaxing back into his chair with an amused grin, detecting another knife hidden up your sleeve as you put away your badge. “Wait, wait…lemme guess: you’re here to arrest me for being too damn good lookin’,” he jests, arching his brow while stroking his chin in a dashing manner.

“Last time I checked, it wasn’t illegal to have a scruffy beard and unkempt hair,” you retort smoothly while straightening out your jacket. “I’m here to request any insights you have about demons.”

“Well, you definitely came to the right place,” he boasts, dramatically waving his hands around the shop before tilting his head inquisitively. “Is this for a case?”

You raise a well-trimmed brow in surprise. “You catch on quickly…yes, it’s for a case,” you confirm, resting one hand on your hip while the other hangs down by yet another knife in your pants pocket. “We need to determine if demons are involved in a series of disappearances and murders.” You pause for a moment, blinking your eyes once as you tilt your head in thought. “There’s also the possibility of a Devil Arm being involved as well. And if either of those are true…” You trail off with a weary sigh before finishing your explanation. “Maybe we can team up and work on this case together.”

Dante kicks one foot up to rest atop his knee. “It sounds like you already know a lot more than your average cop,” he notes while his brow twitches with interest at your proposal.  

“When you live in a place like Red Grave, you learn to pick up on a few things…” The spark in your eyes dims down while a haunted look flashes across your impassive face. “Never know when it might save your life,” you quickly explain, crossing your arms as your expression hardens, but the dull ember of your eyes glimmer softly.

Now that’s a look I know very well, Dante admits silently, having seen the very definition of anguish staring back at him in the mirror for years. “Alright, you wanna know more about demons…why come to me? I know for a fact that there are plenty of mercenaries in your area,” he points out with an exaggerated twirl of his finger.

“Because you’re the best of the best, Mr. Dante.”

This isn’t the first time that Dante has heard those exact same words. His usual response is to just laugh it off and comment about hearing it all before…but this time it’s different. The absolute certainty evident in your voice sends a chill down his spine. And the spark in your eyes is roaring with the flame of total conviction as you seemingly stare straight into his devilish soul.

“Hmm…you sure are painting a pretty interesting picture,” he imparts, fidgeting a little under your intense gaze, which makes him wonder if you’ve noticed just how tight his pants have gotten while talking with you. Not that he minds…but it seems you are more interested in business than pleasure right now. So, he brushes that notion aside and scoots his chair closer so that his arms can rest on the desk. “Look…I’m really flattered and all, but you’ve overlooked one minor detail: mercenaries and cops aren’t really known for working together.”

Dante flashes you with a toothy grin, hoping the reluctant act he’s putting on will illicit another feisty show. “Oh, I didn’t overlook it,” you reveal, quickly snuffing out his attempt at lighting the fuse with a shake of your head. “I just don’t give a damn.”

“Really?” He leans in closer over his desk as he pokes that wild temper of yours from another angle. “Didn’t know it was okay for you to break the law whenever you want and openly carry that gun just because of some fancy badge,” he provokes with a challenging smile.

Your stoic face contorts into furious scowl as the spark in your eyes ignites in searing rage. You quickly close the distance between both of you and slam your hands down on his desk, proving that he skipped lighting the fuse and just kicked the entire damn barrel into the fire! But it doesn’t bother Dante one bit as you lean in real close to his face over the desk, inflamed gaze boring into him while you launch into an explosive tirade.  

“Now you listen here! I took an oath to protect and serve, and that’s exactly why I’m here now! I did not work my ass off for this badge just to waltz around with this gun! And I have no intentions of abusing that sacred trust the citizens of Red Grave have put in me!”

You pause to take a couple of deep breaths before continuing in a calmer but still irate tone. “Your expertise and experience with demons may lead to the break in case we need…and it’s what I need to uphold that oath.” The harsh scowl on your face softens as the rage in your eyes dies down to a flickering flame of hope. “I need your help, Mr. Dante…I can’t crack this case wide open and finally bring this insidious killer to justice for the families and friends of their victims without you.”

Dante stares at you in awe as your impassioned speech buzzes around him like a temperamental honeybee. He couldn’t help but to watch your lips as you unleash your fury upon him…wondering if your kiss would be just as passionate as your volatile rage. And you are so close now, waiting for his response as you loom over his desk like an unmoving statue. But your intoxicating scent ensnares his senses while an all too familiar presence awakens inside him. His heart beats faster as blood rushes straight down his groin, forcing him to subtly readjust himself under the desk while the devil within purrs beneath his skin.

The door behind you suddenly swings open before he can come up with some clever one liner about enjoying the show. Morrison strolls on in and effectively pulls both of you out of the intense moment as he starts talking. “Hey Dante! Word on the street is that a detective from Red Grave City has been snooping around and…Oh!” He stops in his tracks when he finally notices you. “Looks like you’ve arrived before the rumors, Detective,” he notes smoothly while lighting up a cigar.

“I’m a firm believer of getting the whole picture before putting my pencil to paper, Mr. Morrison,” you divulge coolly without tearing your fierce gaze away from Dante’s stunned face. The corners of your mouth twitch into a fleeting smirk as you straighten up your posture while backing up from his desk. “I’ll be in the city for a couple more hours. You can find me at the Simmer Down Diner if you change your mind…and if you don’t come around, I’ll just assume that your answer is no.”

You turn and step down the landing before walking past Morrison towards the entryway. Dante’s eyes follow your every move, hypnotized by your swaying hips and confident stride as you reach for the door. “But make no mistake, Mr. Dante,” you murmur, grasping the handle as you turn to look over your shoulder. “There’s a serial killer on the loose and I intend to catch them with or without your help.” Your eyes sparkle with determination with those final words as you open the door and exit the shop.

“Did I hear her right?” Morrison questions, puffing on his cigar as he walks across the shop towards the couch. “She wants your help catching a serial killer?”

Dante keeps his eyes on the door as he nods. “Yep. Seems so.”

“Huh…that’s something you don’t see every day.” Morrison takes a seat on the couch and flicks his cigar over a nearby ashtray. “What’d she offer you in return?”

“We didn’t get that far when you busted on through the front doors.”

Morrison puffs on his cigar in quiet contemplation for a moment before cracking a knowing smile. “You’re thinkin’ about following after her, aren’t ya?”

Dante finally turns away from the door towards his dear friend. “What makes you say that?” he inquires, casually leaning back in his chair while Morrison shakes his head with a soft chuckle.

“You never could resist a beautiful lady asking for help. Even when all they brought was trouble…you still hear them out and almost always take whatever bait they dangle in front of ya.”

Dante shrugs at his friend’s logic while pondering about possibilities of working with a detective. On one hand, he’d have to play nice with the police and not break too many laws if he agrees to help you. But on the other hand, he gets to hang out with a smokin’ hot detective with one helluva temper. And if he takes up your offer…his heart throbs while the devil in him purrs at the thought of reigniting the flame in your eyes and seeing more of this sizzling chemistry between the two of you.

“You know me too well, Morrison,” he discloses with a puckish grin. “I’ll let ya know if I take the bait this time.”  

Morrison waves his cigar in the air as if to say told ya so as he gets out of his chair with a small flourish. He recalls the restaurant you mentioned as he steps out the shop, knowing it to be one of many greasy spoons in this area of the city. His hands are practically shaking with anticipation as he summons Cavaliere while a blur of different emotions swirl around in his head. If you can get this kind of reaction out of him already, then he’s gotta see where this may lead because honestly…he’s never met a girl like you before.

And now that he’s had a taste…he wants so much more.

Read Chapter 4

My Ao3

My Masterlist if you want more 💖

Tagging: @bettybattaglia @drusoona and @exsultry

[notorious-lightning-thief]

The Stag and the Doe Chapter Three

Here is a peak at Chapter Three! Read the complete story on Ao3

What happens when Lily runs into James Potter while running around Diagon Alley after a terrible fight with her sister?

Chapter Three: With Milk and Two Sugars

Lily Evans was a young, bright, and beautiful witch. She was well-known for her poise, grace, and her canning ability to keep a cool head under pressure. Right now, she was anything but that. She was a bloody mess.

Tears streamed down her face as she marched determinedly through Diagon Alley with only one destination in mind: away. The argument she had with her sister and her stepfather just over an hour ago kept replaying in her head.

"I'll have you know I'm not coming home for Christmas. And I'm certainly not coming to your wedding!" Lily yelled at her sister, Petunia.

Their argument started when Petunia barged into Lily's room and accused her of taking her precious necklace that her boyfriend Vernon had given her. A little tuff had soon escalated to a full-fledged shouting match. Before long, the girls were at each other's throat in a competitive battle to see who could hurt the other one more.

"Good, no one wanted you there anyway!" Petunia yelled back.

"I hope you and your husband have a happy life together," Lily told her.

"I hope you have a happy life alone," she spat.

"Girls, please stop yelling," the girls' stepfather, Joseph, said timidly. He had been watching their screeching match anxiously. "The neighbors have already called twice asking if everything was ok—"

"Like you're not glad to be rid of me, too," Lily said. She grabbed her bags and started for the door.

"We wanted you gone ages ago, but no one had the heart to tell you," Petunia said, following Lily. "Especially Joseph, but since you were Mum's favorite, he couldn't say anything.

Lily swallowed a big gulp of air to prevent herself from crying. What she was saying was true; Lily knew it, Petunia knew it, Joseph knew it; it just hurt to finally hear someone say it.

"I'm leaving," she said quieter this time.

"You said that already," Petunia pointed out. "Go! Leave! Your freaky friends are the only ones that want you if you can call them friends. I bet you're even a freak among freaks."

"You've never been able to accept me for what I am!" Lily screamed. "Either of you! If Mum was still here—"

"Yeah, well, she's not," Petunia said heartlessly.

Lily then gave them a departing glare and added, "Enjoy your Lily-free life."

Petunia's words still stung an hour later. True to her word, Lily had packed up her room and departed for London, knowing that she would most likely never see her sister or her childhood home again. Without having a real destination in mind, Lily made her way to London. The Hogwarts Express didn't leave for another week, which meant she needed to find a temporary home, which is how she ended up checking-in at the Leaky Cauldron.

She now found herself wandering aimlessly through the streets of Diagon Alley, wondering how she managed to get herself into such a mess.

Calm down, Lily thought to herself. You knew this was coming. Things between us have been rocky for ages, even before mum died.

It was true. Things with her sister had been in shambles ever since Lily first left for Hogwarts nearly six years ago. Throughout those years, the Evans girls lost both their mother and their father. Instead of bringing the girls closer together, it only drove them farther apart.

This is your last year at Hogwarts, Lily chastised herself. It's time to start looking forward to the future.

Hogwarts had always been a safe haven for Lily. She needed that now more than ever. Not only were things crumbling in her Muggle life, but things in the wizarding world were looking bleaker and bleaker every day.

Lord Voldemort and his followers were on the warpath, and Muggleborns were their number one target. Not a day went by that a murder wasn't reported about in The Daily Prophet. Lily's future hung in a delicate balance. Being a Muggleborn herself, she was always looking over her shoulder in both the Muggle world and the Wizarding world. Even at Hogwarts, she didn't feel completely safe. Not after everything that went down with her ex-best friend, Severus Snape.

Woah girl don't go down that path, Lily tried to calm herself as that fateful day from the end of fifth year came to mind. Screw Severus, screw Petunia, screw Voldemort. This is my last year at Hogwarts, and I'll be damned if it isn't the best year of my life.

With that thought in mind, she closed her eyes and took a few calming breaths to collect herself. Don't let them see they have gotten to you. Keep your head held high.

Feeling much more put together than she did ten minutes ago, Lily took a few steps forward to start back on her way. She didn't get very far when she ran straight into someone, nearly sending them both into the ground.

Two hands grabbed her shoulders, two very strong and sturdy hands. "I am so sorry, are you alright?" Lily's savior said, steadying them both.

"It's my fault. I wasn't looking at where I was going." Lily's arms were trapped in front of her, resting lightly on the man's chest as the stranger continued to hold her shoulders.

"Alright, Evans?" the voice said. She knew that voice. She knew that line. Lily's eyes snapped up, and she found herself looking at the face of the last person she would want to run into right now, James Potter. This is not how she wanted to see James for the first time since admitting her crush on him two months ago.

"Potter?!" Lily exclaimed. Lily felt a blush creeping its way up her neck and towards her cheek. She was still pressed tightly against his chest and couldn't help but notice how broad and firm it was. She found herself actively resisting the urge to run her hands all over it.

She cleared her throat and quickly straightened herself out. She stepped out of his arms and questioned, "What are you doing here?".

"Back to school shopping," he replied with a broad smile. His smile wavered when he got a good look at Lily's face, and she knew exactly what he was seeing. Her eyes were puffy and red, her hair was a tangled mess of curls, and the blush that was clearly visible on her cheeks, but that she knew had nothing to do with the events that happened earlier, but with the handsome man that stood in front of her right now.

"Seriously, Lily, are you alright?" James asked, concerned.

"I'm fine, just a little embarrassed at how clumsy I am. Sorry for nearly taking you down," Lily laughed, trying to lighten the situation.

"It was completely my fault," James said, which was a lie, but she appreciated it anyway. "It's good to see you."

Once again, Lily was reminded just how much James Potter had changed. All last year she watched and took note as James stopped hexing people, stop drawing attention to himself, and stopped his insistent unwanted advances on her. Because of this, they had been able to develop a tentative friendship that mostly involved awkward small talk when they found themselves sitting together in the Great Hall or in the Gryffindor Common Room.

Their newfound friendship had also led to them nearly kissing on several occasions. Occasions she had been fantasizing about all summer long.

"It's good to see you, too, James," Lily responded. "Fancy running into you here."

James laughed. "Literally. You don't seem alright though, Lily. Have you been crying?"

Dammit, Lily thought. Not only had James Potter stopped talking about himself constantly, but he had also started being an observant and sensitive person, much to Lily's dismay at this particular point in time.

"Is it that obvious?" Lily sniffled. It was clearly written all over her face. Lily hated showing weakness, she hated crying, and she hated doing both of those things in front of James Potter.

"Just a little," James offered a small smile. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," she snapped. She felt bad after looking at the pain on his face. She was being unfair, and she knew it. "It's just family stuff. Thank you for offering, but I think I just need to get my mind off things. That's what I was trying to do anyway. Didn't really work out that well since I nearly took down the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain."

James laughed. "It takes a lot more than a pretty girl knocking into me to take me down." James looked at her thoughtfully, perhaps worried by calling her "pretty." James had lasted all sixth year without asking Lily Evans on a date, a personal record. However, they still ran into moments like this where James would drop an off-handed compliment, or Lily would catch him staring at her for a few seconds too long.

Lily quickly brushed the compliment off, "That's good to hear. I wouldn't want to take you out before the season even started. I would be labeled 'Public Enemy Number One' within Gryffindor Tower."

"McGonagall would have your head," they both laughed at this. It was safe to say their Head of House was more than just a little aggressive when it came to her Quidditch Team. She took a lot of pride in maintaining their claim as Quidditch Cup Champions.

While they laughed, she couldn't help but notice just how damn handsome he was. She had always known James was good looking, even when she despised him. But recently, she started realizing that he was drop-dead gorgeous. She found herself fantasizing about him more and more each day in more graphic detail. Friends can think about each other that way, right? God, I sure hope James Potter is not an accomplished Legilimens, Lily prayed.

"Do you want some company?" James asked shyly. That was new. James Potter was never shy, especially not while asking her out.

That's not what he's doing, Lily corrected herself. He's just being a good friend. That's what you are now, friends.

"Sure," Lily responded with a smile.

Read the rest of the chapter on Ao3

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 233: At Least He Has Some Spares

Previously on BnHA: Twice made a duplicate League of Villains to take on Re-Destro. Re-Destro took this in stride and very calmly inflated his left fucking arm and slapped the whole lot of them so hard that most of them literally died. But the clone Shigaraki survived somehow and scuffled with RD for a bit while RD told him the story of how his great-great-granddad was born with a quirk and his mom was like “please be kind to my baby” and society was like “nah” and then they killed her too just for good measure. Anyway so this was of course the original Destro’s Origin Story, and his mother later on became a kind of martyr figure once society began rethinking their whole outlook on the whole superpower thing, and they even borrowed the term “quirk” from her as a way of trying to honor her I guess. But Destro and his descendants weren’t happy with the fact that quirks are still regulated and ~suppressed~ and blah blah blah, so I guess in RD’s mind this gives him justification to be a massive dick and wantonly murder people left and right. It’s all very political and complicated. Anyway, so in the end the Actual Tomura came over to RD’s tower and used his quirk and the tower came crumbling down, and now Tomura and Re-Destro are gonna fight.

Today on BnHA: We jump around Deika City getting updates on the rest of the League. Twice is currently trying to save Toga while Skeptic sneaks up on them both. Spinner is duking it out with Hanabata and his squad of Dudes With Spikes All Over Them And Stuff. We learn that Spinner’s quirk really is just “Lizard Quirk. That’s It. That’s The Quirk”, which, fine, whatever then. Dabi and Blue Bunny and Compress are off somewhere, presumably. Slidin’ Go is directing traffic and about to be flattened by Gigantomachia (or so we can hope). Giran is running off with one of the clone Twices (“running off” as in to safety, as opposed to them getting married or something. although). And Tomura is having his hand ripped off by a Hulkified Re-Destro and his newly revealed Stress quirk! Just, plucked right the fuck off, like a flower petal. It’s pretty horrific! And meanwhile Horikoshi is dipping out to go take an honestly well-deserved vacation, so there won’t be a new chapter next week. So basically just good news all around. Anyhow, so Tomura seems to have his hands full here and it may be time for him to hand in the towel and hand things off to Machia before things get out of hand even more well anyways enjoy the chapter guys.

(All comments are my unspoiled reactions from my initial readthrough of the chapter. I did a quick edit for grammar and clarity immediately afterward, and added a few ETAs in the process, but aside from that there are no changes.)

so once again I got an Intriguing Anonymous Ask, but I only skimmed it because it seemed to delve into some of the details of the chapter, albeit in a very vague way that probably didn’t actually reveal anything. but one thing I did pick up on was that there may possibly be a break after this week’s chapter? if so I will cry but then I’ll get over it I GUESS

(ETA: well enjoy your hiatus then Horikoshi you knave.)

anyway so let’s get into it

quick observation before I actually start reading the chapter itself -- so apparently the title is “Bright Future”? correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought we already had a chapter with that same title though. chapter 161, also known as the Nighteye Fucking Dies chapter. is the kanji slightly different or something, perhaps? if not that is odd

(ETA: so after reading the chapter, serious question: is this Horikoshi’s idea of a joke, or. ...

but yeah, the kanji is different. or rather, this chapter’s title isn’t written in kanji at all, but in katakana, whereas 161 was written in kanji like normal. as for the why of it, though, your guess is as good as mine. right now “mangaka has a fucked-up sense of humor” is basically at the top of my reasons list.)

anyways, clicking to the actual chapter now, and... oh wow

okay I think I mentioned the movie The Island a few recaps back, and my sincere apologies to everyone for making repeated references to a typically dumb and explosion-y Michael Bay movie where Ewan McGregor tries and fails to speak in an American accent and everything explodes for no reason and the protagonists cause so much collateral damage while being hunted down by the bad guys that you almost start to wonder if it wouldn’t actually be better for everyone if they did just die. but anyway, so I’m sorry to keep coming back to this movie, but -- and spoiler alert for a 14-year-old Michael Bay film you guys -- the plot is basically that scientists figured out how to clone people, and so Rich People immediately proceeded to make clones of themselves to keep for spare parts so that if they ever needed organ donors or the like, they’d have a perfect match available

and anyway, so you can see the connection here, right? basically this is a super-pragmatic application of Twice’s quirk, and I have to applaud the logic and ingenuity, but also bro that’s kind of a fucked-up thing to do though, sob. let’s just make a spare Toga so we can immediately harvest her blood, oh boy. though in fairness it is Toga, so maybe she won’t mind since Harvesting Blood is like her thing

also can we take a moment to appreciate how thoroughly wrecked this Skeptic!Puppet!Twice is, though. the one that’s just lying there dead. like, his leg’s all bent the wrong way and he no longer has a face and I fucking can’t stop staring at it though. I feel better knowing that it wasn’t actually a real person because that’s seriously all kinds of fucked up

anyway now the Twice clones are arguing over who gets to measure Toga. and Horikoshi has honestly built up a lot of goodwill with me over the course of this Mineta-less arc filled with hot Girans and LoV character development, but all the same he’d better watch himself though, because all of that could be gone just like that in an instant if he tries to get cute! so don’t push it dude

(ETA: and not to harp on this or anything, but Twice did clone Toga back during the My Basement Academia arc (in chapter 147), so there wasn’t really a need for this scene to begin with. but whatever, he didn’t really go overboard at least.)

okay good, actual!Twice (? is he the real one?? he’s the only one without a mask and he’s not using his arms so I think it’s him, at any rate) is shouting at the others to get their shit together

Twice Status: Still Hot. wow, and barely two seconds after I made that remark about Horikoshi needing to focus up. should I take my own advice perhaps. eh

oh my god

nooooo now I’m actually really upset that one of them’s gonna get sacrificed for the other! noooo Toga

and now we’re getting additional background information on Twice’s quirk, specifically about the fact that his clones’ appearances and personalities/memories are based on the last time the clone target was measured and the last time Twice saw said target, respectively. makes sense. so anyway because of that the clone Toga is also all beat up

friendly reminder that Toga is only seventeen and still just a kid, albeit a freaky sort of horror movie-type kid. but anyway, so I’m feeling really fucking protective of her though, and I need them to hurry up and save her already!

oh my god

yes, Dabi is the poster boy for great plastic surgery results. staples left in and everything. then again I don’t know how bad off he looked before, though. we still don’t actually know what the original injury was, aside from it obviously having something to do with the whole “his quirk fucking burns him from the inside out” thing we recently learned. you know what might help with that, Horikoshi? a flashback, omg

yuh oh

gonna go out on a limb here and guess that this is Skeptic coming to fix his screw-up before Re-Destro snaps his neck like so many Mitsubishis. or whatever that damn mouse’s name was. Miyashita?? actually I think that was it lol

anyways so let’s now turn the page and confirm if it actually is Skeptic

...confirmed

also, holy shit. just, holy shit to everything. that freaky close-up of the puppets’ faces; that blobby image of one of the puppets being formed; Skeptic’s crazy eyes in the bottom panel; him screaming I HAVEN’T FAILED!!! over and over again, etcetera. just, everything. good lord

and now we’re cutting somewhere else. looks like it’s Spinner and a bunch of the clone Twices dealing with Hanabata’s over-inspired lackeys

Spinner what is your quirk

okay so as he’s fighting he’s doing that shounen thing where he uses his keen observational skills to come up with a strategy on the fly

yes, please feel free to take him out! he’s annoying and he hasn’t done anything interesting, so really he’s just dead weight as far as this arc goes. feel free to use your quirk, too, buddy. if you even have one, holy shit. Horikoshi’s probably keeping it safe in the same place as Kacchan’s hero name

anyway so now he’s fighting his way through the waves of redshirts and trying to reach Hanabata’s van

he’s thinking that his job is to “lighten Shigaraki’s burden, if only a little”

awww. League of Loyal Bastards. I can’t believe there was ever a question of you possibly betraying these guys, Spinner. I’m sorry for doubting you, guy

Hanabata seems worryingly unconcerned, though

who the hell wears their watch on their right hand? what time is it, Hanabata? it’s time for you to fucking die already that’s what

-- oh

so it’s some kind of Magic Quirk Watch then, eh. should have figured as much

also, “A MAN WITH A WEAK SUPERPOWER SUCH AS YOURSELF” oh? please do tell us more about this quirk! also how is it that you of all people know Spinner’s quirk. Giran’s intel, I guess? I’m suddenly really annoyed that the Liberation Army apparently knows more about the LoV than we do. bastards

anyway so now Hanabata’s own quirk is being revealed, so I guess let’s see what that’s all about

okay so this is exactly what we all thought it was based on what we’ve seen of him so far. so I guess this weird mask is basically just a big microphone thing. imagine if his and Mic’s quirks were combined

at any rate if it’s not clear, I really couldn’t give two farts about Hanabata or his quirk and I just want to see Spinner take him out, and then have Gigantomachia show up and save Toga and Twice, and see Tomura kick RD’s ass. oh and Dabi still needs to beat up Rita’s Italian Ice too, I guess

(ETA: okay but Horikoshi would it really be too much to ask for at least one of these things to actually happen oh my god. my poor villain children.)

-- OH MY GOD

EVERYONE SHUT UP SPINNER’S QUIRK IS FINALLY BEING REVEALED AHHHH

lmao was I too invested in this perhaps. all this time and all this mystery and it really does end up being some little lizard quirk that lets him cling to walls? and this is how it’s revealed of all ways? he doesn’t even get an official Quirk Reveal Box?

I mean, this can’t possibly be it. he’s gonna do something badass and unexpected, and then we’ll get his Quirk Box and we’ll all be like, “OH SHIT! SPINNER!” and so forth. right??

(ETA: I seriously can’t decide if this will actually be the case, or if this is another Sports Festival scenario where I’m firmly expecting the typical shounen thing and Horikoshi has something else planned entirely.)

wow

as opposed to you? your power is literally just “I can get stupid people all hyped up.” it’s probably given you an overinflated sense of your own importance, and I can’t wait for you to get one-upped by this lil lizard boy with his ninja turtles costume and the tactical knife he bought on Amazon

oh shit lol

so I guess that’s as good a way as any of syncing up all of this action to one timeline again

heh Hanabata’s panicking a bit

I’m enjoying this, ngl

oh shit!

this motherfucker really popped through a magic quirk hole in the wall and grabbed onto Spinner and suddenly got all spiny just like that oh shit

AHHH

SOMEONE HELP OUR BOY, HE’S BEING PORCUPINED BY FUCKING REDSHIRTS. WHAT IS THIS

now Hanabata’s directing all of the remaining cannon fodder to go and help Re-Destro. well at least that’ll get some of them off of Spinner’s back

YESSSSSSS

GET HIM SPINNER GO FOR THE JUGULAR!!

AHHH SPINNER FLASHBACKS YESSSSS, THE MY FLASHBACKS ACADEMIA ARC CONTINUES

I’ve suddenly been struck by the urgent need to go do my dishes from last night omg. Spinner would it kill you to take the fucking trash out at least

oh shit you guys he’s making a speech!

IT’S HAPPENNIIIIIIING. go, Spinner! speech! and then kick some ass! and then Quirk Reveal Box and “OH SHIT! SPINNER!” just like we planned!!

sob why am I empathizing with this guy who’s getting inspired by Stain and then by Tomura’s “let’s destroy everything! :)” rant of all things. what has this arc done to me. Spinner I can’t relate to you at all omg. but, just like every other member of the League of Villains, at your core you’re really just someone who was searching for a place to belong, and damned if that’s not the most quintessentially human struggle of all

so to sum, you sure picked some questionable role models there but I support you, kid

sure Horikoshi, go ahead and just fling Spinner’s super-weak and boring quirk in my fucking face then! lol okay I get it! it was never meant to be some big reveal to wow us all at a dramatic moment; the whole point is that he’s utterly unremarkable, and it doesn’t matter because despite what the MLA believes, quirks don’t define who a person is. all right, all right. that’s cool then

no you dingus he’s trying to say that even if he doesn’t have a big flashy quirk, y’all ain’t shit either and he’s still going to kick your ass

-- OH SHIT YOU GUYS!!

WE INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM TO ADVISE YOU ALL THAT OUR HANDSOME BOY GIRAN SURVIVED THE TOWER FALL AND IS FINE AND DANDY! and still handsome! so we all can rest easy now on that account, thank god

omg omg omg

Tomura VS Re-Destro hype intensifies!!

also lmao because I genuinely think he’s asking him for real because he can’t quite sort out reality from his sleep-deprived hallucinations right now

or maybe that shouldn’t be “lmao” on my part, because that’s actually a legitimately concerning thing, there. but I can’t help it guys, he’s so tired and fully and entirely out of fucks, and RD is so fucking screwed and doesn’t even know it and it’s going to be so goddamn satisfying I can’t fucking wait

anyways, no, Tomura. he was not. but he’s apparently got some sort of Hulk quirk. so you just do your best and you sic your own Hulk on him then if need be

yessss he’s talking trash, yes, Tomura!! you’re doing great!!

IT PROBABLY FEELS BAD! I BET! HAHAHA. SUCK IT

LOOK AT THIS YOU GUYS OMG

ranged attacks and everything, now! I wonder if he’s always had this sort of capability and we’ve just never seen it before, or if this is another new development. probably the latter. those six weeks of training really leveled him up

wow even his fucking shoes are disintegrating now

so GiranTwice are getting the fuck out of Dodge, and Giran’s right arm just sort of ends in this big mess of bandages omg

don’t worry Giran, Twice is gonna get Dabi’s plastic surgeon on the job. you will be fine

holy shit you guys would you look at this fucking shounen bullshit

I’m starting to get an inkling that this will be the kind of fight that’s going to look amazing in anime form, but will basically just be a lot of flying rocks and smashing panels in manga form. and I’m prepared for that if that is indeed the case! I have not forgotten what genre this actually is, and that this is still a manga where the main character’s attacks all end in “SMASH!!!”, and every so often we get to a point where the characters who are at the center of the current conflict just have to punch it out. so I’m not going to complain

but I do hope that won’t be all there is to this, though. and ngl, I have higher expectations for BnHA’s fights than for any other manga’s fights, and I’m still expecting a few twists here

(ETA: oh lord I should just learn to keep my fucking mouth shut.)

oh shit

poor Spinner. fucking Re-Destro gets a Quirk Reveal Box before he does

also it does seem to be a Hulk quirk then, huh. so it’s safe to say that once Gigantomachia shows up and they hash things out, there won’t really be a town here afterwards. like, this entire city is about to be straight up wiped off the map. that’s lowkey terrifying to think about

-- HEY WHAT THE

(ETA: sob he looks so shocked. that’s right Tomura, it’s the hard knocks path to redemption for you too, buddy boy. probably when you go talk to Ujiko to get it patched up after the arc is over it’ll trigger some more character development somehow. just, my point is that you are an important character in a shounen manga, and so, unlike people in real life, you at least can be somewhat assured that your pain is probably happening for a reason.)

fuckING -- IS THAT REALLY -- DID THEY JUST

DID THIS MOTHERFUCKING INKBLOT HULK MAN REALLY JUST PINCH MY BOY’S HANDS BETWEEN HIS GIANT THUMB AND INDEX FINGER AND JUST FUCKING PLUCK HIS FUCKING FINGERS OFF HOLY GODDAMN FUCK

DID HE DO THAT TO GIRAN. IS THAT WHAT HE FUCKING DID TO GIRAN I’M ABOUT TO FUCKING -- I CAN’T --

IS THIS FUCKING ATTACK ON TITAN, GODDAMN!? WHAT THE WHY

THERE REALLY IS A HIATUS SOB I CAN’T. I HOPE HE HAS A GOOD TIME ON HIS VACATION OR WHATEVER, THEN!! BE THAT WAY! I KNOW YOU’RE A HUMAN BEING AND ENTITLED TO TAKE SOME TIME OFF AND GET SOME GODDAMN SLEEP AND GO TO CONVENTIONS OR WHATEVER, BUT I’M ALSO ONLY HUMAN, AND WHEN YOU TAKE MY WEEKLY FIX AWAY WITH NO PRIOR NOTICE, I’M GOING TO GET CRANKY ABOUT IT. I CAN’T HELP IT OKAY

GOD DAMN IT

fuck

sob. okay sorry guys, I’m done being dramatic now. so let’s go back and finish up those last four panels that I haven’t actually read yet orz

lol there already practically isn’t a town there anymore. Giganto you better hurry up and come finish it off. this asshole is out here playing the most vicious game of eenie meenie miney moe the world has ever seen with your boss’s hands and it’s very upsetting

who the fuck is this

lmao what. someone’s actually trying to visit the city? turn your van around, pal. we are closed for business for real here

and then our last two panels are Slidin’ Go being all punchable, and then getting shaken up by a sudden earthquake omg

I WONDER WHAT THAT COULD BE omg. :) :’D

well shit. so! 

a wild Gigantomachia approaches

Slidin’ Go is living on borrowed time presumably (good riddance)

Skeptic is trying to harass Twice again while he’s busy trying to save poor Toga’s life, like excuse you dude, no, please fuck off

Dabi is currently MIA and still fighting Dippin’ Dots while trying to keep his organs from getting any more roasted. maybe a flashback would help you there, Dabi. I don’t know how, but it couldn’t hurt, surely. I promise I have no ulterior motives in suggesting this

Spinner is trying to work out how to score a really satisfying victory to show us all that Quirks Aren’t Everything

Giran and his bandaged arm are running off to safety with Twice, which is the only thing that really matters in the end here

and Shigaraki Tomura has just had his own hand Luke Skywalkered in the manga’s latest and greatest instance of Cruelty Against Limbs. but at least this presumably means that he himself is about to get a hell of a lot hotter if Giran and Twice are anything to go by

so yeah. a lotta stuff going on. so really it’s the perfect time for a hiatus. lol

well, friends. I’ll see you all in two weeks I guess. hopefully someone will lend Tomura a hand. ba dum crash

[spidermecc]

Unintentional love (Elu fake dating AU) Ch. 6 - Finally

Halla mecs! Chapter 6 is ready, I’m sorry for the long wait, but I hope the fact that it’s almost 6k will make up for it.  Read it on AO3 here. And please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments, I love to read them and talk to you guys, enjoy!

Surprisingly, Lucas had slept through the entire night like a baby. He’d been convinced that he wouldn’t get a single minute of sleep, seeing as he kept replaying that night, at the park with Eliott, over and over in his head. But apparently you can replay something in your head so much that your brain literally says fuck you and shuts off, good to know.

“Juu-hu is anyone home?” Mika was waving his hand in front of Lucas. “I’m telling you Manon, ever since he got a boyfriend, he’s like this all the time” he continued, giving up on trying to get Lucas’ attention, shifting his attention back to his dinner, which Manon, bless her, had cooked for them.

Although she’d moved next door almost two months ago, finally giving Lucas his room back, she was a frequent visitor, and they ate dinner together almost five nights a week. It was almost like a family tradition by now. Lisa wasn’t home, which was odd, but Mika only rolled his eyes and said something about her going to yoga class because she saw some TV-show about how it changes your life.

“I think it’s endearing” Manon said beaming, looking at Lucas with a genuine smile, as she grabbed the last piece of bread from the basket.

“Huh?” Lucas said, as if finally coming out of his trance. Okay so he might have been thinking about last night again, so what of it?

“Huh?” Mika mocked him “Manon only just told us she’s pregnant you imbecile”.

“What?!” he exclaimed, finally focusing his attention on Manon, eyeing her stomach.

“Mika shut up” she said throwing her piece of bread at him,

“No I’m not Lucas, we’re just talking about how happy we are for you and Eliott. I’ve never seen you like this before” she continued, claiming her bread back from Mika, who’d already started nibbling at it like a baby bird.

“Oh, yeah thanks, it’s no big deal really” he said, hoping they’d leave it at that. He hadn’t talked to Mika and Manon about Eliott as much as he had with the boys. Although he hated lying to the boys, it was different with Mika and Manon, it was almost physically impossible for him to lie to them, they always figured him out, which was a pain in the ass, to be honest.

“I think it is a big deal” Manon said, still smiling from ear to ear “but it’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it” she finished. Fuck he hates lying to them so damn much.

“Just remember to use a condom and I have a butt plug, which I haven’t used, that you can have if you want to get freaky” Mika winked, earning him a slap on the arm from Manon.

“Ow that hurt! I’m just trying to help our baby” he exclaimed, a laugh escaping him.

Lucas took that as his que to get up and go to his room. He was definitely not going to have this conversation with Mika, or anyone for that matter. Nope, no thank you.  __

The rest of the week had gone by uneventfully. It had basically just been school, homework, sleep and repeat for almost a week now. He barely saw the guys and he only saw Eliott at school.

Sometimes they’d sneak out and have lunch alone, other times they’d eat with the guys. Eliott had asked him if he wanted to hang out on the weekend, but being so behind on all his homework he’d had to decline. Looking back, he should have just accepted the offer, seeing as he didn’t get any homework done during the weekend, too busy kicking himself for saying no to Eliott, and imagining what he was up to at any given moment.

“Lucas!” Daphne was running up to him in the hallway. He hadn’t actually spoken to her since the foyer meeting. He’d neglected the girls for a while, because of the whole thing with Eliott, and he felt pretty bad about it. But Daphné was the nosiest person he knew, and dealing with daily interrogations by the gang was tiring enough.

“Hi Daphy” he greeted her with a kiss on each cheek. He’d missed her, more than he cared to admit.

“Are you guys coming to Emma’s party on Friday?”  she asked, not even bothering to ask him how he’d been. Straight to the point, that was Daphné alright.

“Uhm, Basile and Arthur mentioned something, so I think the guys are coming, yeah” he said, losing interest in the conversation quickly, as he saw Eliott walk out of a classroom. Gosh, he really was the single most beautiful thing Lucas had ever laid his eyes on. He’d started noticing small details about him that he hadn’t noticed before. Like how his nose scrunched whenever he laughed. The real hearty laughs, which made Lucas’ heart melt. And how he sort of bounced when walked, especially when he was excited, which seemed to be most of the time.

He’d actually mentioned it to Eliott at some point, telling him that his spirit animal should have been a bunny instead of a raccoon, because of the way he always jumped around when he was excited. It had made Eliott laugh, and he’d said “maybe I’m a bunny in a parallel universe?”, which made Lucas blush like crazy, because Eliott’s casual reference to the parallel universes made Lucas feel like they shared something special, something personal just between the two of them.

“I meant you and Eliott, silly!” Daphné laughed, nudging his shoulder “we’re all dying to meet him, and what better way than at a party?”

“Oh, uhm- I’m not sure, I mean I can ask him, but I can’t make any promises”

“Oh Lucas, if you’re coming then he’s definitely coming, it’s not like he’s going to leave his boyfriend alone at a party with drunk attractive people right? Not that anyone is as attractive as he is, I mean wow Lucas, you really hit jackpot there, he looks like a Greek God” she added as an afterthought, blushing when she saw Lucas’ frown.

“I’ll ask Daphy, okay?” he said, suddenly itching to get away from her, “later” he added as he rushed past her, and after Eliott out to the courtyard, where he was sitting, smoking a cigarette by himself.

Lucas had never been a smoker. Sure he smoked weed, but not real cigarettes. The taste and smell always made him nauseous, but holy shit, it was a completely different story when Eliott did it. The way Eliott held the cigarette between his elegant index- and middle finger, made Lucas wish he was the damn cigarette. And don’t even get him started on how mind-blowingly hot he looked whenever he let out a drag. The way he slightly parted his lips as he let the smoke escape them, before he started blowing it out, always left Lucas’ mouth dry. He’d made a habit of not looking at Eliott whenever he smoked, afraid he might get a hard-on right then and there.

“Hey you” he said softly, taking a seat next to Eliott.

“Hey -- babe” Eliott answered, clearly happy to see Lucas “should I start giving you a kiss when I see you at school.. you know to make it more believable?” he added, knowing full well, how to make Lucas blush. Putain, he’d been here for about 10 seconds and Eliott was already going in for the kill, this boy was definitely going to be the death of him.

“Uhm..” Lucas answered looking around the nearly empty courtyard “I think we’re good for now”.

“Suit yourself” he said, taking another drag of his cigarette. Lucas was trying really hard not to look at Eliott, knowing full well that he wasn’t the best at masking his emotions, and Eliott was scarily perceptive, no need to let him know how much his smoking affected Lucas.

“So I actually wanted to ask you something” he said, still not looking at the taller boy.

“Sure, shoot”

“I’m doing an essay in my literature class, and I don’t understand shit. You’re a literature student, so I thought maybe you could help me out?” he said finally looking at Eliott. Honestly, he really needed Eliott to say yes. He was the only person he knew who was actually good at literature, plus he wouldn’t mind spending some time alone with him.

“Well if I can’t help my boyfriend with his homework, then who can I help?” he joked, nudging Lucas’ shoulder. “After school, your place?”

“Yeah sure, thanks a lot Eliott, you’re a lifesaver.”

“No worries” he beamed, putting out his cigarette and getting up “I’m late for class, but I’ll see you later!”

“See you!” Lucas said a little too enthusiastically, immediately blushing, which he was pretty sure hadn’t gone unnoticed, judging by the shit eating grin on Eliott’s face as he was walking away. __

“I don’t understand shit” Lucas sighed throwing his book on the table “what are the cigarettes supposed to be a symbol of? I mean they’re just fucking cigarettes” he continued, trying not to dwell too much on how cigarettes weren’t in fact just cigarettes anymore. At least not for him, not after Eliott had made it his personal mission to look so damn hot every time he smoked one.

They were sitting in the living room, books sprawled all over the place and empty soda cans on the table. Lucas wasn’t sure how long they’d spent trying to analyze this damn novel, but he didn’t quite mind it that much, not when Eliott was there to help him.

“It’s a phallic symbol” Eliott laughed, clearly amused by Lucas’ inability to interpret literature.

“A what?” he asked, looking up.

“A phallic symbol” he repeated, as if repeating the words would somehow make Lucas understand what he was talking about.

“A phallic symbol is an object, cigarettes in this case, that represents a penis” he said nonchalant, while scribbling something down in his notebook.

And holy shit, Lucas was not prepared for that. Not only had he been thinking about how fucking hot Eliott looked every time he smoked a cigarette and now he wouldn’t be able to get the whole dick image out of his head whenever he thought about it. He made a mental note, and swore that he would never ever look him in the eye, when he was smoking, ever again.

“Uhm--- I can’t quite figure out if you’re fucking with me right now or” Lucas said, not sure if this was another one of Eliott’s dumbass jokes or if he was being sincere, because if he was then.. holy shit.

Eliott looked up at him and cocked an eyebrow, not answering his question but continued explaining; “You know, some people even go as far as to say that Cinderella putting her foot into the glass slipper is also a phallic symbol”.

“Who said romance was dead” Lucas mumbled, to himself, not quite ready to look at Eliott, knowing full well that his facial expression would give him away.

Eliott chuckled and nudged Lucas, making him look up and catch his gaze “I happen to find dicks very romantic” he said obviously trying to make Lucas squirm in his seat, even more than he already was.

Okay Lucas wasn’t going to have this conversation with Eliott. Enough dick-talk for one day.

“Funny” he said as he got up, desperate to get some space between Eliott and himself and definitely desperate to end the conversation.

“Anyway” he began, busying himself with gathering the empty soda cans “Emma’s throwing a party Friday, and the girls asked me to invite you”.

“Well that depends” Eliott said, desperately trying to get Lucas to stand still so they could have a proper conversation.

Lucas put the empty cans in a plastic bag in the kitchen and returned to his spot next to Eliott “on what?” he asked, eyeing him suspiciously. He’d gotten used to Eliott’s cryptic answers, but that didn’t mean that they had gotten less annoying. Sure, Lucas wasn’t the best at being straightforward all the time, but with Eliott it was like it was an actual personality trait to drag everything out and make Lucas squirm in the process. Lucas was starting to believe that Eliott actually enjoyed torturing him, he wouldn’t put it past him. It’s always the pretty ones that are the craziest he thought.

“Will you be there?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

“I uh- yeah I meant like, we could go together” Lucas answered, honestly puzzled that Eliott hadn’t gotten that part “unless you don’t want me to come?” he added hastily. Maybe Eliott had gotten tired of hanging out with him all the time? He wouldn’t blame him, Lucas got tired of his own company way too often as well.

The taller boy’s face scrunched up in the cutest laughter and Lucas contemplated taking a quick photo of him in secret, just to keep him company when this thing with Eliott was over.

His laughter was one of Lucas’ favorite things about the boy. Whenever Lucas looked at him, he felt like he was looking at some unhuman God-like creature. But when Eliott laughed, he looked so human, so sweet and honest and it always brought Lucas down to Earth. It reminded him that he was human just like Lucas, and Yann and Arthur and, well maybe not Basile, seeing as he lacked one too many brain cells to be considered human. But no one had a laughter quite like Eliott. It was like his laughter and mere presence could light up and entire room, an entire house even. Lucas would have given up any other sources of light forever, if only he could continue watching Eliott smile like that.

“Why would I want to go if you aren’t there?” Eliott laughed, looking at Lucas as if it was the silliest thing he’d ever heard, and Lucas was pretty sure his heart swelled up three sizes. Eliott wouldn’t want to go without him. Ditto, Lucas thought to himself, but decided to play it cool.

“Then it’s settled, were going” he said, flashing Eliott a bright smile “but first, I need to finish this essay”.

“You know, you say ‘I need to finish’, but I feel like I’m doing all the work” Eliott joked, gently shoving Lucas’ shoulder.

“You are not! You’re too busy talking about dicks” Lucas exclaimed, honestly feeling like he’d participated in writing the essay, although if he was being honest, it was mainly him complaining, while Eliott wrote the actual thing.

“What can I say” Eliott chuckled, clearly amused by the expression on Lucas’ face “I like literature.. and I like dicks” – he was full on staring at Lucas, not flinching for a second as he finished the sentence, as if they were merely talking about the weather.

“Oooookay playboy” Lucas managed to croak out, feeling a blush rising “let’s just get this over with yeah?”

Eliott chuckled, clearly getting the hint that Lucas wasn’t comfortable with their conversation, as he grabbed the laptop and started typing away. __

“So , you’re dating Eliott, huh?” Imane asked, casually, while grabbing her books from her backpack. It was Friday and Biology was their last class before the weekend. It had been a long week with multiple essays to write and shitloads of homework, and Lucas really looked forward to letting out some steam at the party tonight. Moreover, he was excited to see Eliott, he hadn’t seen him since Tuesday when he’d helped him out with his essay.

“Yeah, why? Do you know him?” Lucas asked, eyeing her. Imane wasn’t usually the gossiping type, so for her to bring up Eliott seemed suspicious.

“Mhm” she said, scribbling something in her notebook “he was friends with my brother, Idriss” she continued nonchalantly.

“Oh yeah?"

Lucas knew that Eliott knew Idriss. That guy, Curtis, had told him so, but he didn’t know that they’d been so close, that Eliott knew Imane as well.

“How is he?” she asked, a smile appearing on her lips. She sounded almost as if she missed him.

“He’s good I guess?” Lucas answered quizzically.

Why didn’t Imane just talk to him herself, he thought, as he continued; “When you say ‘were’ friends, what does that mean exactly?” he asked, hoping to get some more information out of her. After all, she’d been the one to bring it up.

“It means that they’re not anymore” she deadpanned, looking at him as if he’d fallen off the moon.

Lucas rolled his eyes, why did she always have to be so damn difficult?

“But why aren’t they talking anymore?” he asked, desperate for some more intel on the mystery that was Eliott Demaury.

“Shit I don’t know Lucas ask him yourself” she snapped “I was just wondering how he was doing, I haven’t seen him in ages” she continued, clearly regretting bringing him up in the first place.

Before Lucas could pry further, their teacher walked in, and Imane busied herself with getting all her notes ready, and Lucas knew better than to push her when she wasn’t feeling like talking, so he let it go.. for now.

30 minutes later he felt his phone buzz in his pocket and he took it out, hiding it under the table so his teacher didn’t notice.

Eliott: Do you think in a parallel universe, school isn’t a hell hole?

Lucas let out a snort, which he quickly tried to mask as a cough, clearly failing judging by the look Imane shot him.

Lucas: Maybe.. You might even be a professor in a parallel universe

Eliott: Ooh, that would be cool. I think you’d be my favorite student ;)

Lucas couldn’t contain the smile that was forming on his lips.

Lucas:  I doubt I’ll ever be anyone’s favorite student, in any universe.. ever

Eliott: I wouldn’t be so sure

Lucas: Professor Demaury.. Doesn’t sound so bad

Eliott: Sounds pretty hot, if you ask me

Lucas was pretty sure that if anyone looked at him right now, they’d think he’d won the lottery or something.

Eliott: So what time will my favorite student be at the party tonight? Maybe we can meet up a few blocks away, like last time?

Lucas: You’re a dork

Lucas: But I’d like that.. say 8 o’clock?

Eliott: It’s a date

Eliott: Woah I just got a major deja-vu

No shit, Lucas thought to himself as the bell rang and he began collecting his books. Hopefully tonight’s party would be different than the last one though. ___

“So, have you heard from Chloe since the bus stop incident?” Eliott asked. They’d been walking for about 10 minutes, neither one of them in a particular hurry to reach Emma’s house. Both enjoying each other’s company.

“No, I think she’s really pissed at me” Lucas shrugged. If he was being honest, he really didn’t care whether or not Chloe was upset with him.

“Can I ask you a question?” Eliot asked, fiddling with the sleeve of his jacket. If Lucas didn’t know any better, he’d almost say that he looked nervous.

“Sure”

“Why did you kiss her, if you don’t like her?” he finally asked, eyeing Lucas.

“How do you know I kissed her? I never said that” he was genuinely puzzled by Eliott’s sudden question.

“I just assumed.. you know, because she seemed so into you and wanted to go out on a date. I just figured you’d hooked up a few times” he continued.

“Right” Lucas sighed “I don’t know actually… boredom maybe?” he flinched at his own response. He sounded like a real asshole right now and he knew it, but it was better than telling Eliott the truth. That he was a coward.

“Did you have sex with her?” the taller boy asked, taking Lucas by surprise once again.

“No I never had sex with her, I wouldn’t do that” he answered honestly, desperate for Eliott to know that he’d never use anyone like that.

“Good” Eliott sighed, and when Lucas caught his eye he saw something resembling relief washing over Eliott’s face.

“So, uhm- have you talked to you ex- uh, Lucille, since the last party?”

He’d been dying to know ever since he’d found out about her, but had been too afraid to ask and invade Eliott’s personal space. But seeing as they were doing this, he might as well ask, no better time than now.

Eliott looked down at Lucas, a sad smile forming on his lips, “A few times yeah “she has a hard time letting go, and I don’t want to hurt her feelings more than I already have” he said, his face falling.

“Oh..” Lucas answered, not sure what he was supposed to say. He was dying to know more. How often had he spoken to her? Had he met up with her or had they talked over the phone? And more importantly, did he still have feelings for her? But he settled with an easier question; “Why did you break up?”

“Honestly, it had been a long time coming, we’d been together for four years, but I think we fell out of love, long before we actually broke up”. His voice was so raw and honest, and Lucas felt honored that Eliott trusted him enough to be so open with him.

“So uh- do you see yourself in a relationship, with a new girl, soon then?” he asked, trying not to sound too obvious “I mean, when we end.. this” he trailed off, not sure whether he really wanted to know the answer to his question.

“Sure, I like being in a relationship” Eliott said a smile playing on his lips “not necessarily a girl though” he added, and Lucas felt a sudden shift in the atmosphere. The usual easy air around them had been replaced with something thick, something Lucas couldn’t quite put his finger on. Was Eliott saying, what he Lucas thought he was saying? Before he could formulate a response he looked up and realized that they’d reached Emma’s place.

“We’re here” he said, and Eliott looked almost disappointed in Lucas’ lack of response to his earlier comment.

“Let’s go then” he said, letting Lucas off the hook, as he rang the doorbell. __

It didn’t take long for Daphné to find the boys at the party. They’d only just opened their first beer, catching up with the Yann, Arthur and Basile, when she came up and almost pushed Lucas into the kitchen counter.

“Hi, I’m Daphné, so nice to finally meet you” she said, offering her hand to Eliott, who shook it with a crooked smile.

“I’m Eliott, I’ve heard a lot about you” he said.

Lucas was pretty sure he’d mentioned Daphné maybe once, but still he appreciated Eliott’s effort to make her feel good about herself.

“I can’t believe you guys are actually boyfriends” she beamed “an absolute power couple” she said, eyeing both of them. Lucas was pretty sure she was checking Eliott out, but he couldn’t even be bothered to call her out. He couldn’t really blame her, Eliott was very check-out-able and Lucas also found himself checking him out more often than not.

“Oh yeah?” Eliott said raising an eyebrow, not looking very convinced by her statement.

“You know who else could be a power couple?” Basile said, stepping in front of Eliott in order to get Daphné’s attention.

She rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed that he was interrupting her conversation with Eliott, but Lucas was pretty sure he saw something resembling relief washing over Eliott’s face. Guess he didn’t buy the whole power couple thing, huh.

She didn’t even give him an answer, she simply smiled at Eliott and Lucas and left, leaving a trail of her cherry perfume lingering in the air.  

“Shit.. Was that too desperate?” Basile asked, turning around and addressing Eliott, who put a reassuring arm around the curly haired boy.

“You know what I think?” he asked, looking down at Basile, who nodded fiercely.

Eliott had become some kind of weird role model/guru for Basile. He was always talking about Eliott when he wasn’t there, and in the beginning Lucas had been worried that Basile was annoying Eliott, who was just too nice to tell him so. But lately he was beginning to think that he really cared for Basile. He was always reassuring the boy, giving him pep-talks and putting a protective arm around him whenever the gang was roasting him (which was pretty much all the time). It warmed Lucas’ heart that Eliott had grown so fond of his friends, although the nagging feeling in the back of his mind, never really left him. It would break everyone’s heart when they found out the truth.. Including Lucas’. He’d grown way too used to having Eliott around, a constant reassuring and warm presence, that he didn’t know how he was going to live without.

“I think you need to take desperate to a whole new level. Show her just how desperate you can be” Eliott continued.

“What the fuck kind of advice is that?” Lucas laughed, not being able to stay out of the conversation.

“It worked with you, didn’t it?” Eliott answered, giving Lucas a coy smile, that had him blushing instantly.

“Is that what you did with Lucas?” Basile asked, still looking at Eliott like a lost puppy.

“Let’s just say I didn’t give him much of a choice in the matter” Eliott winked, still not taking his eyes off Lucas, who was pretty sure that if the brunette didn’t stop looking at him like that, he would pass out right then and there.

“Fuck it, I’m gonna try again” Basile exclaimed, giving Eliott a fist bump and walking out of the kitchen.

“Oh my God, I have to see this” Arthur giggled, running after him, and Yann just shrugged with an amused expression and followed them.

“Taking desperate to a whole new level, huh?” Lucas teased, inching closer to Eliott, but still leaving an appropriate amount of space between them.

“Desperate times calls for desperate measures, I would know” Eliott laughed, and Lucas wasn’t sure if Eliott was saying what he thought he was saying, but couldn’t get himself to ask.

“You know, Imane asked about you today”. The whole thing had been nagging him all day, and he really hoped that he would get something out of Eliott. He didn’t want to pry or nag him, but he was just so damn curious. So he tried to act nonchalant, as if he was simply making conversation “I think she might miss you” he added truthfully.

“Oh yeah?” Eliott said, a small smile playing on his lips “I miss her too, she’s a great girl”.

“How do you guys know each other?” he asked, trying really hard to sound casual.

He regretted his question instantly, when he saw how Eliott’s face dropped. He looked uncomfortable and slightly sad, which made Lucas want to inch even closer and comfort him in some way.

“Uh- I was eh..” he mumbled, suddenly very interested in the label on his beer bottle “I used to be friends with her brother Idriss, but we don’t really talk anymore” he finished, taking a big swig of his beer.

Lucas didn’t get the chance to respond before Eliott excused himself, saying that he needed to use the restroom, leaving Lucas alone in the kitchen and feeling like an asshole. Okay so he obviously shouldn’t have asked, seeing as it was a very touchy subject for Eliott, but still, he couldn’t help it when he felt his curiosity grow. What the hell was the deal between Idriss and Eliott?

“Fancy seeing you here” a voice interrupted Lucas’ inner struggle on how to solve the mystery. He looked up and was faced with a handsome blonde guy. Curtis.

“Oh, hi” he said, smiling at him. Gosh, he was really tall, had he grown since the last time they talked, or had Lucas really just been so wasted that he hadn’t noticed? He silently patted himself on the shoulder for not getting too drunk tonight.

“How are you?” the blonde asked, inching closer to Lucas, closer than what Lucas had deemed appropriate earlier when he had been with Eliott.

“I’m good, just hanging out you know. How about you?” he asked. He’d never been a fan of small talk and honestly this guy was standing a bit too close, and was a bit too desperate for Lucas’ liking. Plus, he was too busy thinking of how he was going to find out what happened between Idriss and Eliott, to fully pay attention to Curtis, when something clicked. Curtis was friends with Idriss. Maybe he could help him out, he thought as he decided that he’d try to be polite towards Cutis and see if he could get some intel out of him.

“Right, I’m good as well” he answered, and Lucas wasn’t sure if he was imagining things or if the guy actually looked nervous. “I was uh- I was hoping to see you tonight” he continued, blushing a bit, and Lucas suddenly felt even more tense than before.  

“Yeah uh- you too” Lucas answered, hoping that if he just pretended to be oblivious, he would somehow be able to get out of the situation.

“Are you and Eliott still ‘dating’?” he asked, inching even closer to Lucas, who was really starting to get uncomfortable.

“Yeah, we are” he said, trying to create some space between himself and Curtis, but realizing that he was pushed into a corner and couldn’t really move further away.

“I can’t wait until you guys are finished with your act” he said, grabbing Lucas’ hand, taking him by surprise “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you, and I was so happy when you agreed to go out with me” he continued.

Before Lucas could react and pull his hand away, he looked up and saw Eliott standing at the kitchen entrance. Lucas had never seen that expression on Eliott’s face before. A mix of betrayal, hurt and anger was playing on his face. Lucas practically felt his own heart break just by looking at the other boy. He’d never wanted to invoke those feelings in anyone, especially not Eliott.

“I-“ Lucas began, as he pulled his hand away, desperate to make Eliott understand that he’d misunderstood the situation. But he didn’t get a chance to say anything as Eliott quickly turned around and stormed out.

“Putain” Lucas hissed, looking up at a confused Curtis “I think you misunderstood the situation” he told the blonde “I was drunk and I’m- I’m not really interested in going out with you, I’m sorry” he said as he put his beer on the kitchen counter and practically ran out of the kitchen, trying to catch up with Eliott, who had already grabbed his coat and was on his way out of the apartment.

“Eliott!” he yelled, running after him, struggling with keeping up with the taller boy, who didn’t turn around and stormed out of the apartment.

Lucas grabbed his coat and ran after him. When he got outside he saw Eliott stomping away, and he started running, trying to catch up with him, cursing his short legs.

“Eliott! Please just fucking stop so I can explain” he yelled. He was full on running now, as he finally caught up with him, grabbing his arm, making the taller boy turn around.

“What?!” Eliott spat, not looking Lucas in the eyes.

“That- it..” he began, not sure what exactly he was trying to say. The look on Eliott’s face threw him completely off guard. He’d never thought that he would react that way, and he silently cursed himself for having hurt Eliott like that, for being so fucking oblivious.

“That wasn’t what it looked like” he cried out.

“So you didn’t agree to go out with Curtis?” he asked with a painful expression.

“I- yes I did” he began, grabbing Eliott’s arm a bit harder, making sure he wouldn’t run away again.

“But I was drunk and it was at that party where I thought you bailed on me with Lucille” he explained, hoping whatever he was saying was making sense.

“It was before…” he cut himself off. Before I fell in love with you. If he was as brave as he wished he was, he would have said those words out loud, but he wasn’t.

“You know what Lucas? It’s fine. Let’s just drop this- this act. You can go on with your life and date whoever you want, without me inconveniencing you” he said, tears welling up and threatening to spill.

“What no?! I don’t want that” Lucas cried, desperate to make Eliott stay.

“Please I…” he was frantically searching his brain for the right words. Words that would make Eliott stay, but he couldn’t come up with any.

He felt Eliott slowly easing out of his grip, and he was full on desperate now. He had to make him stay, make him understand.

Eliott shook his head with a defeated look and turned around.

Before Lucas even had a chance to think, he took a few steps forward grabbing Eliott’s arm again and turned him around, cupped his face and smashed their lips together.

Lucas knew he’d taken him by surprise, because it took several seconds before the taller boy responded to the kiss. For a second Lucas panicked, afraid that Eliott didn’t want to kiss him. Afraid that Lucas had misunderstood the whole thing. But soon Eliott parted his lips, letting Lucas taste him. It was messy and sloppy and they were both panting desperately into each other’s mouths, trying to convey every emotion they weren’t able to do with words. Eliott snaked an arm around Lucas’ neck, gently tucking his hair, making Lucas moan into the kiss. The stubble on Eliott’s face burned Lucas’ chin, but he didn’t care, because it felt like heaven and complete and absolute bliss. Lucas could feel Eliott grinning which made their teeth clatter together and soon they were laughing and smiling into each other’s mouths more than they were actually kissing. But still, it was everything Lucas had ever dreamt of, better even. The softness of Eliott's lips combined with the roughness of his stubbles and his firm grip on Lucas, had him clinging on to Eliott like crazy, afraid that he might pass out from the complete ecstasy he was feeling.  

After what might have been seconds or hours, Lucas wasn’t sure, they pulled away, both laughing like crazy, giving each other small pecks between laughter and giggles.

Eliott had the widest grin plastered on his face and Lucas was pretty sure that his lips would split if he smiled any wider. The taller boy still had his arm around Lucas’ neck as he pulled him into a bone crushing hug, which Lucas gladly welcomed. He took advantage of the fact that his mouth was perfectly aligned with Eliott's neck, giving him small pecks and kisses.

“Finally” Eliott whispered, and Lucas wasn’t sure if he even meant to say it out loud.

���Finally” he whispered back, grabbing on to Eliott for dear life.

[kumkaniudaku]

Moonshine

A/N: I’m inspired by @justanotherloveaffair and her ability to write beautiful smut. This is my attempt to emulate the master. Enjoy some Sunday filth. 

Warnings: SMUT 

Word Count: 4k

Audio from Beyonce’s Coachella set kept your attention as your younger sister, Tiana, applied a light dusting of contour to the perimeter of your face.

“Get that double chin, girl,” you instructed. “I still have five pounds of hungry weight to get rid of before I can get to the baby weight.”

“Hush, T! You look good. Now you finally have an ass and some to hold up your jeans.”

Tiana dodged your playful attempt to her arm before she returned to your makeup. Despite the self-deprecating jokes, with some help from your husband and personal trainer, you’d learned to love your new body. You were far from the slim figure you sported in throughout your early years, but you appreciated the changes that came from bringing two humans into the world.

“May I ask why you and Chadwick are getting dressed separately? Is something wrong? Do I need to call Daddy?”

You chuckled at her rapid-fire questioning and shook your head, “No, TiTi, nothing is wrong. We’re, um, setting the mood.”

“Gross. I didn’t wanna be part of y’all’s freaky escapades.”

“Too late. You’re an accomplice to the murder of this pu-”

“Lalalalalala! I can’t hear you,” Tiana exclaimed, dropping the fan brush she was using to walking away and search for the setting spray in her kit. “I can’t even believe I’m asking this, but what mood are you setting?”

“I suggested we spice things up, you know. A little role play ain’t ever hurt nobody.”

“Please, spare me the graphic details.”

Rolling your eyes, you caught a glimpse of the message from “Ashy” flash across your screen. Like Micah when she’s promised ice cream, you jittered in your seat. The thought of your plan leading to some passionate, no kids around sex was the most exciting thing to happen in your life in months.

“It’s not super graphic,” you explained. “It’s only a little ‘pretend we don’t know each other double then go home and fuck like college students’ role play.”

Tiana’s dramatic gag made you double over in laughter. “Mama always said you ain’t listen. I bet he just sent you something nasty.”

“See, I wasn’t gonna say anything, but since you did, let’s see what we got from Daddy.” 

“Don’t ever call him that around me again.”

“Anyway,” you giggled, “He said, ‘We’re excited to see you later.’”

“We? Who is we?”

The attached images sent in invisible ink kept your mouth closed, mainly to stifle the moan tickling the back of your throat. Looking over your shoulder, Tiana caught a glimpse of what had you so preoccupied.

“Oh my God, do not open that while I’m standing here! This is like hearing mom and dad have sex that one time!”

“Are you comparing your brother-in-law and me to senior citizens? I’m offended.”

“Then you’ll just have to be offended. You’re old now, and Chadwick feels like my blood brother. I never want to hear about y'all's sex life.”

A long pause as she applied your lashes kept the room silent until you decided to speak. “You wanna know how it turns out, don’t you?”

“Girl, yes! If it works, I’m definitely stealing that idea for Nate and me!”

                                 ______________

Getting dressed for an event was always a long production for you, but nothing could compare to preparing yourself for the red carpet at Diddy’s annual white party. The lavish event almost always featured a day party with Hollywood’s elite in attendance. This year, the hip-hop mogul decided to switch things up. Instead of a day party, the event was moved to the evening to accompany the theme for the year, the Roaring 20s.

Standing in the mirror, you looked at your ass over your shoulder while twisting your hips. The custom Valdrin Sahiti gown fit your curves in all the right places while providing ample room to twerk and bounce as you saw fit. The bright lights in the hotel suite made the dress twinkle like a brand new diamond, adding to your confidence. Your face was beat, your wig and headpiece were secure, and your shoes were the perfect balance of stylish and comfortable. The only thing missing was your man.

An hour-long drive to the mansion that inspired the Great Gatsby gave your mind time to wander to what would happen during the evening. It felt like you were preparing for an actual first date, except it was with the man that had been in your life longer than most people. Still, the thought of “meeting him for the first time” kicked up nervous energy that you hadn’t felt since your wedding day. For Chadwick, a glass of whiskey and a three-way conversation with both brothers before leaving the suite he was using to get dressed calmed his nerves enough to convince him that carrying a flask to a party full of alcohol was a good idea. By the time the chartered car pulled in front of the opulent venue hosting the event, Chadwick was loose and ready for a good time.

Red carpet pictures for both of you were filled with questions from reporters about where the other one was. Deciding that it would be too weird to discuss your intentions to role play throughout the party, smiles and waves spoke for you. You were sure there would be a headline that all but confirmed your divorce, but it didn’t matter. They would see you making googly eyes at your man on the way out and change their tune while you raced back to the hotel to get what your body folded into a human pretzel.

Stepping inside the mansion opened up a world like no other. A host of famous faces covered in expensive fabrics moved and mingled in the expansive space, freeing themselves from whatever problems they had before coming inside.

“Tasha, girl, you look good,” you heard from behind you as you leaned over a railing to search for Chadwick for what felt like the hundredth time. Turning around brought you face to face with Jemele Hill and her boyfriend.

“Me? Girl, you! How you been?”

“Working and pissing off these old white men. The usual,” she laughed. “How are things with you and the family? I see you pulled up here alone.”

“The family is good. The kids are great, and Chadwick is doing well.” Your decision to ignore the latter portion of her sentence was not lost on Jemele.

“Oh, so you just gon’ not say anything about the last part, huh?”

“He’s here. Between you and me, we’re playing a little game. Consider it foreplay.”

“Oh, really,” she asked, looking over your shoulder with a smirk. “Looks like the other player is ready to get the game started.”

“Wha-” A warm hand on the small of your back and the scent of his familiar cologne alerted you to the presence you’d been looking for since the party began.

Jemele offered a silent smirk and nod before walking away to greet other party goers. After taking a deep breath, you turned to face Chadwick for the first time all night.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve met,” He greeted with a broad smile and a confident aura that took your breath away. Running his fingers down your arm to reach your hand, he lifted your knuckles to his mouth to brush his lips across them. “I’m Chadwick.”

“I-I, uh, I’m...I have no idea who I am right now. Damn, you look good, baby.”

“Co, you ruined it,” he laughed, pulling you close to peck your lips.

“I’m sorry! Dammit, I was supposed to say my name, huh?”

“That’s usually how those conversations go.”

“But these conversations have never involved a man as fine as you. Turn around so I can see you.”

Taking a step back, Chadwick allowed you to hoop and holler as he gave you the full scope of his outfit. Using Quick from Harlem Nights as a style reference, Chadwick dazzled in an updated version of the classic choice. The white blazer and shirt contrasted his brown skin beautifully, complementing the black bowtie, pants, and shoes that went with the look. A red rose on his lapel, and an ornate pocket square tied the look together. You almost felt underdressed standing beside him.

“What you smilin’ at, girl?”

“You look so good! Is this the day my husband outdresses me at an event?”

“It might be,” he chuckled. “You look amazing, Sunshine. I saw you when you walked in, and I couldn’t even focus on the conversation I was having.”

“So, I make you lose focus? I’ll keep that in mind.”

Chadwick’s eyes twinkled with mischief before he spun your body around to direct you through the crowd.

Returning his hand to the small of your back, he leaned over to whisper in your ear, “Enjoy it now. You’ll be the one losing focus when we get back to the hotel tonight.”

A high pitched squeal of excitement left your lips, making him laugh. For the remainder of the night, no matter what was taking place at the moment, whenever your eyes would land on your man, anticipation made your body hot to the touch.

You watched him move around the room like he owned the place, waiting for the signal to head to the door. Every dance resulting in your ass being pressed to his crotch was torture, and he knew it. Inconspicuous nods to the door only made him want to stay longer to draw out your excitement for what was waiting for you on the other side of room 1405. But, as the party continued and the shots of “moonshine” were passed around, you noticed Chadwick morphe into a version of himself that you hadn’t seen since both of you were much younger.

The more the alcohol was introduced to his body, the more loose and carefree he became. Carefree turned into uncharacteristically loud and handsy, making you worry about what was to come.

Pulling him aside, you cupped his face in your hands to get a look at his eyes. Sure enough, Chadwick’s drooping lips did little to hide his red eyes.

“Babe, you’re drunk,” you deadpanned. “Let’s go. I’m not babysitting you through a hangover in the morning.”

“I’m fine, Sunshine! We’re having fun, right?” His arms circled your waist as he dipped his head to kiss random places along your jaw.

Alcohol mixed with his natural scent, creating the smell that you hoped would be intertwining with yours in a moment of sensual passion. It was clear that the only action you would see tonight was a 200-pound man smothering you under his weight for ten hours.

“You’re having too much fun. It’s time to tell your friends goodbye.”

“You look so cute when you’re mad at me.”

“You haven’t seen mad yet, Aaron. For the last time, let’s go. You’re one shot away from stumbling out of here and embarrassing yourself. These shoes are too cute to be dragging your heavy ass.”

“Those shoes are cute, baby. Did I buy those?”

“Get yo’ ass outta here, nigga,” you scolded Chadwick through gritted teeth, adding a hit to his arm with your clutch.

You sent a silent prayer to God, asking him to grant your inebriated spouse the strength to pull it together long enough to make it out of the building with no major mishaps. Channeling the sober actor deep inside, Chadwick made a clean exit, but not without sneaking one last shot when you weren’t watching. The last shot would prove to be the dagger.

Riding back to The Peninsula hotel was a task as both of fought to prevent Chadwick from ending up on TMZ the next morning.

“Drink the water, Chadwick,” you whispered through pursed lips. “If you throw up in this car or on me, I am going to call your parents.”

“I’m trying, Co. I feel like I gotta -.” His sentence was cut short by a loud dry heave, startling the driver.

“Is everything okay back there? I can stop if you need me to.”

“He’s fine!” Your answer was a little too cheery and obviously a lie. “Please, no matter what you do, do not stop this car. Get us back to the hotel as quickly as you can and pull up to the back entrance. I can handle it from there.”

Chadwick managed to hold in the consequences of his rapid alcohol consumption until he reached the hotel room. The moment his expensive oxfords hit the plush carpet of the hotel suite, the race to find a nearby receptacle was on. From the small kitchenette, you watched with an annoyed stare while he hurled into the first trash can he could locate.

“Baby, help,” he whined from his spot on the couch. His body sagged against the couch to match his disheveled appearance and crestfallen expression. His eyes, round as saucers and pleading for your attention, were almost too hard to ignore.

“Hell no. I told you to slow down, and you didn’t. Suffer. I’m taking a shower and going to bed.”

Over his shenanigans, you retired to the bathroom to take off your wig and wash off the night before stretching across the bed naked to mourn what could have been. The idea to masturbate the pain away was fleeting, leaving you to scroll through social media feeds until you were tired.

Chadwick followed your lead soon after and took a shower to forget about the evening’s events. He knew he shouldn’t have gone that hard, but when the drinks are flowing and the vibe is right, it was hard to turn down a shot or ten.

After allowing the shower water to wash away his sins and begin his descent to sobriety, Chadwick entered the bedroom with his shoulders slumped.

“I never want to drink like that again, baby. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry to me,” you answered without turning to look at him. “Be sorry to yourself. You knew your old ass didn’t need that much liquor.”

“Shit, if I didn’t know then, I sure as hell know now.” Ignoring your condescending “mhmm,” Chadwick chose to take advantage of your position on the bed and rest his head on your bare ass. He hummed a sigh of approval as he wrapped his arms around your waist and nuzzled his face your supple skin. “This is the only thing that makes sense right now.” 

“Yeah, well, don’t get comfortable. When this tutorial is over, I’m getting dressed for bed.”

“Give me five minutes, sweetheart. The room feels like it’s spinning.”

A Jackie Aina holiday look tutorial played in the background, becoming the only sound in the room for several minutes. While you clung to the YouTuber’s every word, Chadwick drifted in and out of sleep with his face pressed into your behind. The concoction of Ace of Spades and whatever was in the house Moonshine was still influencing his decisions, and trying to convince him to do the unthinkable. There were a few trends he promised he would get himself into, but the alcohol was in control.

He started with a quick kiss to the cheek he was laying on to test the waters. A small peck didn’t kill him or garner your attention, so he decided to up the ante. With a hand gripping the left cheek, he ran a tongue across the right side before sealing it with a kiss.

“What are you doing, boy?”

“I have no idea. Just go with it.”

“Aaron, if you don’t - oooh!”

In an unexpected turn of events, Chadwick’s hands spread your cheeks to make room for his face. Your breath hitched when his tongue came in contact with your rim, surprising you while sending a tingle from the tip of your toes to the top of your head. He’d done a lot to your body with his mouth, but this was a first.

You’d heard the stories from your girls about their significant others venturing into uncharted territory, and told yourself it was something that you wanted to experience without forcing the issue with your husband. Now, with your body writhing in pleasure against your man’s face, you finally had a story for the group chat in the morning.

Chadwick was lost in his own world, alternating between different pressures and speeds as he used his hands to jiggle your ass for his amusement. His tongue swirled in time with his long index and middle fingers pumping in and out of your center. You saw stars, and with the assortment of liquors in his system acting as a low budget Heart Shaped Herb, he showed no signs of letting up.

“It’s too much,” you whined between whimpers. The slurping behind you and the wetness leaking from your core added to your sense of euphoria, making the current activities overwhelming.

Chadwick chuckled at your attempt to tap out and continued to give your rim his undivided attention. His tongue flicked between your puckered hole and your perineum, drawing breathless moans from your throat. The more you voiced your approval, the more he met your cries of pleasure with groans of his own.

Feeling your walls contracting around his fingers, he took the opportunity to attack your clit with his mouth. Chadwick sucked and licked without regard for your mild convulsions under the weight of his arms. Pushing your right leg up gave him a better angle to suck the rest of your consciousness from your pussy. He was a man on a mission for your pleasure and his. As far as he was concerned, he could and would taste you until the sun took its place in the sky the next morning.

You came with a silent scream followed by an ear-splitting groan before your muscles released to leave you in a pliant heap. The way your chest heaved in search of oxygen to replace what was lost during your mind-boggling orgasm. You needed five minutes and a water break before you could engage in any more activities. Chadwick only needed a split second to shimmy out of his briefs before he was flipping you onto your back and pulling you to the end edge of the bed.

You yelped in surprise and readied yourself for whatever he had in store. Chadwick’s eyes were blown wide with lust, a far cry from what you witnessed at the party. Lifting your legs, he used one hand to keep your ankles together and the other to stroke himself.

“C’mere, girl,” he growled into your ear before aligning his tip with your entrance. He stared at your pussy in awe of the way the head of his dick glistened the more he rubbed the sensitive area along the seam created by the position of your legs. Still, he wasn’t satisfied.

Letting go of your ankles, he pushed your legs until they were parallel to the bed on both sides. He wanted you wide open for him, and you knew what to do next. Braving through the sting of the position, you took control of your legs to keep them open. As your hands gripped your thighs, he slid into you in one fluid motion.

Chadwick’s jaw dropped to let out a moan that you couldn’t distinguish from yours if you tried. Leaning over, he thrust his tongue deep into your mouth to accompany his deep strokes. The way his chest hair teased your taut nipples and the coarse hair of his beard rubbed against your face as he sucked on your neck felt like sensory overload. You hoped the slow swivel of his waist to hit every spot within you would continue until both of you collapsed in satisfaction.

Instead, after he’d suck every inch skin he could get his mouth on, Chadwick began a relentless pace. His hips snapped to yours rapidly, his shaft disappearing and emerging drenched in your juices each time. His hands pressed your waist into the bed as he threw his head back and let out a string of praises and primal grunts.

“Look at this pretty ass pussy,” he husked with his eyes fixated below your waist. “Who this pretty pussy belong to?”

“You! It’s yours!”

“And what’s my name, gorgeous? Say my name.” He slowed his pace again to suck your bottom lip into his mouth, not releasing until it was swollen and red from the contact. It felt like he’d taken your common sense with him, leaving you wide-eyed without a clue on how to make your mouth say words. “What’s my name, baby?”

“Fuck,” you squealed as he returned to his quick thrusts. “You fuck me so good, Daddy! Shit!”

“Let me see if you can take all of it, Co. Turn around for me.”

You didn’t have time to comprehend the instructions before you were flipped onto your stomach and repositioned at the edge of the bed.

Your feet could barely hit the ground before he spread your legs with his knee and pulled your hips back to meet his body. He stilled for a moment to kiss a trail up your spine and to your ear.

“Can you take it,” he whispered into your ear while nuzzling his nose into your temple.

You responded with a nod and a breathy ‘yes,’ receiving praise and a gentle kiss to your ear.

With the pads of his thumbs buried in the small of your back, he resumed his long, deep strokes. The bed quaked in time with his rhythm, creaking under the power of his movement.

You reached for any available fabric to keep you steady as you tried to form a coherent thought. For as long as you’d be intimate with Chadwick, you’d never allowed him to do all the work during sex. Though he’d dominated the encounter thus far, you had to contribute to the group effort.

Mustering up some strength, you met his strokes at the halfway point, earning a pleased moan. His hand came down hard on your thigh as he increased his pace, daring you to keep up. The burn of his skin colliding with yours triggered an animalistic nature in you that was rarely explored.  

“That’s right, baby, use me. Give me all that shit.”

Chadwick didn’t verbalize his reaction past a few grunts of effort, prompting you to twist your body to look back at him. When he pulled his eyes from his work to look at you, the fire in his eyes was one you hadn’t seen in a while.

Even in the dark, you could make out a primal desire smoldering behind the eyes that always looked at you with love and admiration. Releasing his bottom lip from his top row of teeth, he reached to your face and gripped your chin.

“Look at me.” His movements never stuttered despite the momentary shift of focus.

Obscene smacking and expletives filled the atmosphere already thick with the musk of sex. Chadwick’s grip in your chin forced you to maintain intense eye contact through the onset of another orgasm.

“Kiss me,” you rasped. “Kiss me right now!”

He obliged with no hesitation, pressing his palm into your back to flatten you against the bed before connecting his mouth to yours with a string of his saliva. Under normal circumstances, the thought of someone else’s spit entering your mouth in this manner was a hard boundary. Fortunately, these weren’t normal circumstances. You welcomed the lewd fluid swap with your tongue outstretched. His lips came crashing against yours seconds later, excited to nibble and lick to his heart’s content. Together, your tongues explored each other’s mouths and absorbed moans to eliminate some of the noise in the room. Chadwick’s left hand moved from your waist to fondle your breasts while he kissed your shoulder blade.

“You gon’ cum for me, baby girl? I wanna feel you all over this dick.”

“Mhmm! Yesyesyesyes!”

“Good. Tell everybody on this floor who got you this wet.”

“You, Aaron!”

“That’s right,” he smiled against your shoulder. “Tell everybody who’s making you feel like this, Queen.”

“Fuck,” you gasped as the first wave of your release came crashing down “You, baby!”

Knowing and feeling how close you were to his desired goal, Chadwick straightened his body and pulled your arms behind your back for leverage. With your arms crossed in the middle of your back, your body shook through a gushing orgasm, soaking your legs and his to match the tears rolling down your face.

The strength of your release, the pulsing contractions of your walls surrounding him, and the waning effects of the alcohol contributed to your husband’s pursuit of his own orgasm.

“I’m ‘bout to cum, T. Can I c-”

“Do it on my face, Daddy.”

His eyes searched yours for any sign of reluctance or a joke but found none. He couldn’t believe that you of all people would make such a request. He was intrigued and ready to live out a dark fantasy from his late teens.

He pulled out of your pussy and jerked himself until you were situated on your knees in front of him. Pushing his hands away, you took over.

Your hands twisted in alternating directions as your mouth focused on the head of his dick.

“Got damn, Co, just like that,” he groaned with his hands palming the back of your disheveled cornrows. “Fuck, let me finish.”

Your hands relinquished control to slide up and down his thighs while you braced yourself. Chadwick pumped at his shaft vigorously, moaning and rasping incoherent phrases until he was at his peak.

His release came complete with a booming grunt and his toes curling beneath him as ropes of thick cum sputtered across the smooth plain of your cheeks and mouth. You thought you’d feel disgusting, but the more he came, the more you felt like the most powerful woman in the world.

His massive head tapped against your lips until he was sure there was nothing left to give you. Immediately, your tongue jetted from your mouth to taste all that you could reach.

“Mmm, you taste so good, Daddy,” you purred, still covered in his cum.

Cupping your face, he pulled you to your feet while enthralling you in a kiss so passionate you could feel your knees buckling below you.

After what felt like an extra ten minutes of kissing, Chadwick left to fetch a warm towel to clean both of you up.

“Damn, Lil Bow Wow, who knew you were down to get this nasty?”

“Did you just call me Bow Wow,” you laughed. “How rude! I was going for Queen Latifah in set it off.”

“Right now you’re Skin Diamond, and I’m not mad at it. This was definitely top five between us. I’m willing to give it the number one spot.”

“Oooh! Wanna see if we can...top it? You’re not too tired, are you?” You pulled your bottom lip into your mouth, hoping that he would agree to one more round before you were forced into quiet sex when the kids were asleep.

He quirked an eyebrow at you with a smug smile, “Is that a challenge? You must be trynna make another baby.”

“Woah, no! That is not what I said! Put me down!” Your squeals and giggles fell on deaf ears as Chadwick hoisted you over his shoulder to carry you to the hotel balcony.

“Nah, you were talkin’ real tough, CoCo! We ‘bout to make a baby on this balcony. Hell, we at least gon’ get some good practice in!”

                               ______________

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[dream4kiptv]

[septic-heart-and-mind]

Holiday (Jack/Septiishu/Anti mini-fic)

I haven’t posted a mini fic for ages but that’s because I was on holiday for two weeks! So this story seems appropriate really xD hope you enjoy it! :)

I climbed out of bed and wandered over to the door furthest from me, leading outside to where the pool was. The water glistened beneath the sunlight, and all I could hear was the singing of birds and the gentle blow of the breeze. I took in a deep breath of the clean and quiet air, before sighing contently.

“This is beautiful,” I said to myself in a mesmerised state.

“Isn’t it just,” I heard. I looked over and saw Signe lying on one of the white sun-loungers at the poolside, with a suggestive smile that told me she wasn’t really talking about the place at all. She was already in her colourful bikini, sunglasses and hat on as well. She looked even beautiful in the sunlight than she always did, and I found myself hypnotised again. A smile formed on my face and my heart glowed brighter than the warm light in the sky. I took myself over to her and she sat up excitedly. I placed myself down on the sun-lounger, not taking my eyes away from her as I sat down.

“Good mornin’, gorgeous,” I smiled.

“Good morning,” she replied cheerfully, before we kissed.

“You’re lookin’ even more stunnin’ than normal today,” I told her blissfully, like I’d fallen in love with her for the first time all over again.

“Aw, thanks, babe,” she responded brightly, putting her arms around me. “You don’t look so bad yourself, handsome,” she added. I laughed softly, and placed a kiss on her forehead.

“Did you sleep alright?” I asked, caressing her cheek.

“I did,” she answered happily. “You?”

“Yep,” I replied energetically. I paused, smiling at her again. “Anyway, I’m gonna go and make you breakfast,” I continued.

“Not yet!” Signe interjected. “I want you to cuddle me first.”

“Alright,” I laughed. I got up and moved one of the other sun-loungers to be right next to hers, almost as though it was a double sun-lounger, and we joyfully embraced each other. We didn’t say a word for a while, enjoying the peace and tranquility. I stroked her head slowly, occasionally playing with her beautiful hair a little bit. She seemed soothed, and she smiled gently as she lay in my arms. Things weren’t quiet for long, though; you know what I’m like. You know, me staying quiet hardly ever happens, does it? “I’m so happy to be here with you, Wiish,” I told her.

“Aww, me too,” she replied gently.

“So how long have you been up?” I enquired with curiosity.

“Half hour,” she answered, before joking, “I’m not lazy like you.”

“Hey!” I responded, causing her to giggle. “You’re not getting away with that,” I continued kiddingly.

“Ooh, I’m really scared,” she teased playfully. “What are you gonna do, Jackaboy?”

“This,” I said with childish amusement, before standing from my sun-lounger and picking her up from hers.

“Hey, what are you doing?” she laughed. “Seán, put me down - ahh!” SPLASH! She was under the water for a few seconds; when she resurfaced, it was apparent that she was rather cold. I couldn’t stop laughing. “Seán!” she squealed, somehow happy and irritated simultaneously. “I’m gonna get you back for this!” she continued as she made her way to the pool steps. She stomped her way over to me.

“I’m sorry, babe, I’m sorry,” I chuckled, trying to hug her.

“You will be,” she replied. “I’m getting a drink. You stay there.”

“Alright, alright!” I laughed as she stormed inside. I giggled to myself.

“Do you want a drink?” I heard Signe call from inside the house.

“Sure!” I answered her. She soon came out with two glasses, one in each hand, filled with water - with ice cubes. Just what we needed in the warm weather.

“Here’s your drink, babe,” she said. I barely had time to reach my hand out, before she threw the water over me.

“Ah!” I exclaimed. She giggled. While I was still in shock from the freezing water, she seized the opportunity to push me into the pool. Exactly what I deserved, really. She was laughing her head off when I came back up from under the water. “You asked for that,” she teased.

“Fuck you,” I joked as I got out.

“Fuck you too,” she laughed as she put her drink down on the little table. She threw her arms around me and we shared a long, loving kiss. “I love you, you Irish doof,” she said, still beaming from our previous silliness.

“I love you too, Wooshy-doosh,” I responded happily, before we kissed again. “Okay, now it definitely is time to make breakfast,” I announced. I kissed her forehead gently, before going inside to the kitchen. I won’t bore you with all the details of cooking and eating, but I will tell you that we both thoroughly enjoyed the food. We helped each other clear up; I didn’t want her to do it, but she didn’t think it was fair for me to do it because I cooked, so we compromised. It was done quicker that way, anyway, and we were soon free to do whatever we wanted with our day. We went back out onto our sun-loungers to try and tan, as the sun seemed to be strong; we had suncream on, of course, and I’d changed into my swimming trunks. I checked my phone to see what was going on with my channel, reading through comments and making sure that my first scheduled upload had gone up - which it had. I replied to as many comments as I could; even on holiday, I just couldn’t stay away from my community. I would have missed them too much if I did. Once I’d done that for a while, I switched to Tumblr. I saw masses of incredible art, and I laughed at numerous silly edits that people had made. I saw a poster for a fan game, The Boss, which looked awesome! I was so excited and reblogged it immediately. ‘I must play that some time’, I thought. I continued scrolling, before seeing a brilliant Anti edit. It was a GIF, which was made to glitch and look terrifying. Blood was running down my eyes, and stained my clothes. I wielded a knife in my hand, holding it as thought I was about to maniacally stab someone to death. It was so realistic that it was chilling. My hand slightly trembled as I tapped the reblog symbol on my phone. I slowly typed with my shaking hands.

Holy shit this is freaky… almost too realistic…

I tapped the screen and the reblog was sent. As I looked at the edit again, I felt a slight shiver down my back. The knife pointing towards me suddenly seemed sharper and closer, and I jumped.

“You alright, babe?” Signe asked, sitting up a little.

“Yeah,” I responded quietly, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You don’t seem fine,” she stated worriedly. At that, my head started to hurt, giving me the perfect alibi.

“I just… have a headache,” I told her. “I’m gonna go inside for a bit.”

“Okay,” she answered. “I’m here if you need anything.” I smiled a little with appreciation, before taking myself back into my room. I closed the door, feeling the pain get worse. I lay on my bed in the dark, hoping it would go away. I shut my eyes. My eyes shot open. I’d seen Anti’s face. I thought that maybe it was just me getting carried away with my imagination, and I shut my eyes again. I saw nothing and sighed with relief. Suddenly he appeared, only briefly, with maniacal laughter. I sat up tensely, gasping a little. ‘I’m here’, I heard a chilling voice whisper. I looked around in a panic, but I saw no-one. ‘You can’t get away from me,’ it continued, spooking me further. My breathing accelerated. I shook. Tears. I slowly rose from my bed, before wobbling over to the door which led to the rest of the house. I still saw no-one. I took some more slow, shaky steps. ‘You won’t find me’, the voice told me. ‘I’m in your head, Jack.’

“Please, leave me alone,” I begged tearfully. It just laughed. “Leave me alone!” I cried. It got louder. “Stop! Stop!” I pleaded repeatedly. The voice continued to taunt me and laugh sadistically. Eventually I was on the floor, screaming and sobbing with my hands over my ears as I rocked back and forth. I felt like I’d gone mad. I tried shutting my eyes, but I just saw Anti again. There was literally no escape. I started bashing my head repeatedly against the wall in the hope that it would make it stop. Once. Twice. Three times. Again. Again. Again. I’m sure my head had started to bleed, but the voice hadn’t left me yet. Again. Again. Again. Everything I could see was blurry, while the voice remained crystal clear and loud as ever. Again. Again. Again. I felt the floor beneath me. Black.

Suddenly I was back in my room, sat bolt upright in bed and gasping. I was shaking uncontrollably, my heart thumping in my chest like it was trying to break out.

“What’s up, baby?” Signe asked softly as she sat up. “Bad dream?” she asked. I just nodded. She cuddled me close and I clung to her like a child to their mother. “It’s alright, Seán,” she reassured me, stroking my head gently. “It’s over now, sweetheart.” I felt tears in my eyes, but I fought them back. “Whatever it was, it must have been horrible,” she commented sympathetically. “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you like this.”

“It was - so creepy,” I stammered, almost crying.

“Oh, babe,” she sighed caringly. “Don’t worry, it’s gone now. I’m here.” Her words were reassuring, and I was well aware that it had all been a dream, yet I remained shaken. That nightmare had felt so realistic, even more so as it took place in the house we were in with no changes whatsoever. I’d seen Signe in it, too, adding to that effect. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first. We’d joked together as we often do. I’d looked on YouTube, which I do every day. We were in the same place we were in reality. On top of all this, I never had the realisation that I was dreaming. It was as though it was really happening to me. I thought I had actually lost my mind.

“It just wouldn’t stop,” I stuttered, failing to hold back a little tears.

“Shh, it’s alright,” Signe comforted me, caressing my face gently. “It’s stopped now. It’s all over. It’s just you and me, I promise.” She gave me a kiss, before returning to slowly stroking my head as she held me. At some point, I managed to fall asleep in her arms; thankfully, the nightmare never returned.

The following day, I still remembered the dream. I was apprehensive about looking on Tumblr, in case I saw the edit for real. I did go on it in the end, but I quickly scrolled past anything Anti related. I never looked at anything long enough to even reblog them. Some time later, I was seeing theories emerging about this. I didn’t want to worry them with the real reason, so I went along with it. Eventually, I put my phone away because I didn’t want to think about Anti anymore; it was just reminded me of my frightening nightmare. Instead, I copied a different part of the dream and threw Signe into the pool. This followed with a bit of a play-fight, before she pushed me in as well. We had a laugh together, and I temporarily forgot all about Anti and the nightmare. I actually was able to enjoy myself, which is what I was supposed to be doing as I was on holiday. I needed to keep myself distracted from the nightmare, because otherwise I knew I would end up thinking about it again. It was a pretty disturbing dream. I decided that Signe and I should go out and do something together. In the end, we decided to go to the beach. We stayed there for the day, and then had a little walk along it at night when no-one else was there. Hand-in-hand, stars in the sky, and nothing but the sound of waves and the sand beneath our feet. Before leaving, we decided to lay down and look up the beautiful array of stars glowing in the night sky. They were amazing, yet they still didn’t compare to Signe and how beautiful she was to me. I smiled at her and she smiled back at me, and I felt like the luckiest guy in the world. We kissed each other in an embrace, before I completely killed the moment by throwing sand at her. She retaliated, of course, and we chased each other around like kids. We had the time of our lives, care-free and away from fear. Although fear sometimes seems inescapable, sometimes it is possible with people you love.  Whenever any of my subscribers tell me about something they are going through, an obstacle they have, I always tell them that they will get through it. Of course, I was lucky that the thing I was afraid of was only a dream; for some people, their demons are very real - and would take more than just a holiday to escape. So I figured that, as bad as the dream was, things could certainly be a lot worse for me. In fact, things seemed to be going just right and I felt like I couldn’t be happier. I just hoped that Anti would stay away for the rest of the time we were on holiday…

[onimaruxlr]

Morbid Curiosity Incarnate: A VN Hater's Trip Through Muv Luv Alternative (And Only Muv Luv Alternative)

Warning: Spoilers for the whole dang Muv Luv franchise below, including Extra, Unlmited, Alternative, Total Eclipse, Schwarzesmarken, and probably Exogularity

I hate visual novels. This statement alone probably invalidates whatever I have to say next for some people, and will probably make others question why I paid $40 USD for one. I can't honestly say that I have a good answer to that question.

What I will say, is that I definitely did not go into Muv Luv Alternative blind. Far from it. My first real interaction with the franchise in general is poking around at it after seeing it's rather unique creature designs randomly on the internet, which was shortly before the anime adaptation of the spin-off Total Eclipse began. These creatures, the Beings of Extra-Terrestial origin that are Adverserial to mankind (BETA) have quite a unique look to them. Almost like the midway point between something like the monster design in Silent Hill and the insectoid enemy design in a giant robot anime. For whatever reason they stuck in my brain like a strange artistic splinter.

I would attempt to watch Muv Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse with... mixed results. It was not an anime that was particularly well made. Honestly the most memorable part of it for me in hindsight has been the thumping Koda Kumi opening song. It tries to do a somewhat classical bait and switch with it's opening episodes, transitioning from the idle (but strangely militaristic) lives of well-to-do high society Japanese girls in the 1990s to a nightmarish siege against man-eating invaders in it's first two episodes, but it stumbles in execution. I think this can largely be boiled down to the visual side of the show as the writing is not particularly bad per se. The whole production kind of reeks of a lack of passion, or talent, or both.

My interest waned at that point, until news about another adaptation of supplementary material--this time for the Schwarzesmarken light novels--hit the airwaves. Schwarzesmarken, while not a classic, fared a bit better due to it's different take on the conflict with the freaky alien BETA. This time the story was set closer to the alien's initial invasion, in the 1980s, in an alternate universe East Germany that is isolated from the USSR due to the rapidly expanding borders of  BETA territory between them. It's a story heavily flavored with espionage and politics, along with another dose of giant robots vs alien action, that ultimately concludes as a satisfying ride for anyone willing to deal with the... less than tasteful details around how certain female characters and are treated by the East German State Police.

Schwarzesmarken taking place in an entirely different location, with no Japanese characters, in an alternate historical setting elevated my interest in the franchise to a new level. As a matter of habit, I tend to look up details on fictional settings as a pre-bed ritual to help me relax and fall asleep. I've done this before for the worlds of Harry Potter, Star Trek, World of Warcraft, Star Wars, and some time after Schwarzesmarken I started doing it for Muv Luv.

What I found in those character profiles, those timelines, those records of these fictional events really captured my imagination. What became more clear to me as I learned more about the story of the original visual novels that started all was how influential they are. I feel pretty safe in saying that things like Attack on Titan, Re:Zero, and Madoka Magica might not exist without it's influence. Hell, there's a good chance that the novel All You Need Is Kill (which was later adapted into the Tom Cruise film Edge of Tomorrow) got a second wind thanks to the popularity of the Muv Luv Trilogy and the ideas that they stirred up in the minds of the Japanese audience.

It just seemed too interesting, too important, and too intriguing to deny for much longer. Thankfully long before my interest had reached it's apex, a Kickstarter had been run to fund an official English version of the visual novels, and wouldn't you know it, the launch date was right around the corner. It was time to go all in, swallow my disdain for the format, and check this story out in detail. But... maybe not that much detail.  

No Time For Love, Dr. Kouzki Here's the broad strokes of what informed a controversial decision I would make when engaging with the franchise in an "official" capacity: the Muv Luv trilogy is the story of Shirogane Takeru, a not particularly unique protagonist in a not particularly unique gal game setting, who after romancing the girls of his choice in the initial part of the story (Extra) then wakes up in a dystopian version of his home town that has been ravaged in an alien invasion. His school is now a UN military base, his classmates, all now military cadets hoping to become pilots of the series flavor of mecha, the Tactical Surface Fighter, to fight the menace that has already killed around 84% of humanity's population. He also enlists, not really sure what else to do, and gradually starts to mature into a soldier with a desire to help retake Earth so that humanity might live to see another day.

He fails.

He ends up looping back to the beginning of his experience in this strange alternative (eh? eh???) world trying again, with his resolve hardened.

The game is split into three chapters: the typical gal game harem full of hi skool hijinks (Extra), the initial sci-fi story (Unlimited) and the conclusion of said story (Alternative). I didn't play Extra because frankly, gal games bore me to tears. The setups are so cliche, the characters act so ridiculously, they're so melodramatic and overly drawn out, there's just... no part of it that appeals to me, typically speaking. Maybe if they were all 4 hours long maximum, with more (better) art assets and more branching story arcs, but that's not what most of them, are. And Muv Luv Extra is in no certain terms a typical ass gal game. The original release was actually pornographic, which might have contributed to it's relative lack of notoriety in the west. Extra might be better written than most, with consistent and well thought out characterization, but nothing that happens in it was of any interest to me. At all. I'm not the type who enjoys comical harem romance anime, or breezy slice of life stories unless they're particularly hillarious. Muv Luv Extra did not cut that particular mustard.

The fact that you have to play Extra (TWICE) to unlock Muv Luv Unlimited was part of the reason that I didn't play it, either. The other reason is that... well frankly, Unlimited is about 6 parts prelude, 4 parts progress. It shows the story of the world invaded by the BETA far, far away from the front lines. The characters never actually engage enemy forces. You never even catch a glimpse of what the aliens look like. From a narrative standpoint, Unlimited serves a singular purpose: it sets up a deadline, and it sets up stakes. Going into Alternative after playing Unlimited  sets you up with the knowledge that if you don't do things significantly different this time around, humanity is more or less doomed.

I just didn't want to spend hours of my time going through that phase of setting up the stakes. Although in this case, I did watch a Let's Play of certain portions of it, skipping through any scenes that seemed particularly inconsequential. There are bound to be people who think that skipping over bits of characterization is heresy, and to be honest, I'd normally agree with them. I'm one of those people who sees red whenever a story is criticized for being too episodic, with character development taking prominence over not progressing the plot. What's wrong with spending a little EXTRA (eh? eh?) time with characters that you like? Well, to be frank, this simply isn't the format for that. That kind of casual engagement would probably not bother me as much in a TV show or a comic, but in a VN it feels like a chore. Part of the problem is the reams and reams text; even the top examples of the medium often are criticized by fans as being a bit overwritten.

So when Muv Luv Alternative launched on Steam, it was time to push past my reservations about the genre, push past the reservations other people would have with me starting with the final chapter of the trilogy, and see if my interest in the setting that was stoked by reading Wikia entries would translate into enjoying a visual novel.

You Don't Know Me, But I Know You Oddly enough my tenuous grasp of the events in both Extra and Unlimited added weird element of immersion to the story, considering that when the protagonist awakens at the beginning of Alternative, he doesn't really quite have his full memory of past lives intact. He does have certain broad details down, which he decides to use as a means to further his agenda of saving this world. After all, he knows it's future to a degree, and if he can change it for the better, maybe mankind isn't doomed. In a parallel fashion I knew a lot of unconnected nebulous details from watching that Let's Play and reading online, so together, we set out to change humanity's ignoble fate.

The first part of the story plays out a bit like that certain type of fantasy fiction: the "proficiency gained through supernatural means" gimmick that (initially) allows the hero to succeed with relative ease. Takeru breezes through his harsh military training, looking for little ways to push the world towards a more positive outcome. This part of the story is well done because it is thankfully brief, given that it is largely treading over past events while Takeru tries (somewhat unsuccessfully) to keep the fact that he knows the future a secret from almost everyone he knows.

Things don't really start to diverge until around chapter 6, which sees the mad scientist at the core of all the story's major events, Kouzuki Yuuko, start to take Takeru's claims of far flung future knowledge more seriously. This is where an element that will be in the background of the story from this point on starts to become more tangible; the mechanics of how Takeru is living out these different lives, and how he carries information back and forth. It's clever play on the fairly typical device of playing through different routes in these types of stories, and one that will yield devastating results later, but sometimes feels a little navel gaze-y and superfluous, at least at these early points.

The first major deviation from the events of Unlimited is a coup d'etat being carried out in Japan's capital by rebel forces who resent the UN and the US's involvement in Japanese politics. This event taps into one of the elements that makes the setting of Muv Luv so interesting; the way that, in this world where humanity is threatened by an alien species, political differences don't just go away magically. This is partly because the threat is distributed unevenly; the initial alien invasion is in western China, and for the most part radiates out from that point. In essence, the history of the BETA invasion is about mankind watching their neighbors get eaten because they would rather reserve their strength to fight when the enemies arrive at their own borders, despite the gradual increase in strength it would mean for their eventual foes. You could almost say that it's a condemnation of the isolationist policies, except for the fact that whenever there is international cooperation, it's muddied with brinksmanship, manipulation, currying of favors, forced bearing of debt, and all kinds of other political shenannigans.

There are times when Alternative invites the same criticisms people (usually non-Japanese people)have cast on Isayama Hajime's Attack on Titan, of glamorizing a highly militarized vision of an Imperialistic Japan. And while there is certainly an air of hoo-rah patriotism to the depiction of the Empire of Japan depicted in the story, much like the above manga (whose author has cited Muv Luv as inspiration) it's not quite so cut and dry. Takeru, who is originally from a Japan that is functionally the same as ours, has trouble relating to the intense patriotism that has been born from 30 years of warfare against an alien race. The rebellion mentioned in the previous paragraph is depicted as being carried out by people who are trying to do the right thing for Japan because they care about their country, but the game never fails to point out the fact that they are indulging in political quarrels against their fellow countrymen while hordes and hordes of Brand X Zerg are waiting on the Asian mainland to come and eat them all alive. Even the Americans, who are frequently presented as opportunistic, overbearing, and self-interested to the detriment of all around them are depicted less as hand-wringing supervillians and more convinced that their way is the right way, regardless of the cost (especially if they don't have to pay). It's not exactly nuanced, but it is definitely multi-textured. Personal interpretations may vary, but I think it's fair to say politics in Muv Luv are complicated enough to not be as simple as "Japan roolz; Not-Japan droolz."

Komm, süsser Tod 2: Organic βoogaloo Once the detour into world-building and character-building via human VS human conflict wraps up is when Alternative officially enters into fully unknown territory. And hoo, boy, is it a doozy. I won't go into particulars about what happens at this point, but Alternative does something interesting from a narrative standpoint: it shows that character development is not necessarily a straight line. In so many stories that's the case, which is understandable since time economy is always a concern, but in this one instance, the endless verbosity of visual novels offers something unique: it offers a character a moment of total, understandable relapse into a earlier, more loathsome state of being.

Something bad happens to Takeru in this part of the story. It ends up torpedoing all the confidence and determination that he had built up through his "past lives" and makes him question his chosen mission of saving this warfare ravaged alternate world. Even worse is his response; by indulging in self pity and trying to escape what's happened, he causes a spiral of bad karma that follows him around like a monstrous, man-eating ball and chain, amplifying his misery time after time. It's only after he's confronted by multiple flavors of existential dread and suffering that he comes to the realization that he has to deal with what has happened. Once again, the story's meta-textual use of looping timelines and alternate branches comes into play here, acting as a metaphysical slap in the face that forces Takeru to overcome the terrible things that happened or risk exponentially worse events spiraling outward from his own poor choices. I'm sure a lot of people would find this section to be grim to the point of distasteful, but for me, the mixture of space-time fuckery, personal tragedy, and metatextual determination comes together in a way that is quite frankly, some real riveting shit. It was at this point that I was pretty sure my forty dollars was well spent. But the fun (?) is far from over.

Eishi gathered in their masses, just like witches at black masses At this point, the narrative elements of the story kick into high gear. Takeru and his supporting cast are now officially commissioned giant robot pilots in the UN military, and join a special operations team under the direct management of the aforementioned mad scientist and executive officer, Kouzuki Yuuko.

I'd like to take a second to talk about Yuuko in particular. To me, she is arguably the second most important character in this saga. Sure it's Takeru's story, and other characters that I won't mention by name because this essay is too long already are major factors, but Yuuko is the one that gets my attention, and it's not just because she's a sexy lady in a lab coat. There are no shortage of "magnificent bastards" in fiction who are depicted as all-knowing, all-seeing, all-planning cutthroat manipulators who will do whatever it takes to win. I honestly think, at least as far as my immediate memory goes, Yuuko might top them all. While she comes across as a technobabble-spouting sassy older lady most of the time, there is an underlining theme to her character where she is the one doing the real "dirty work" in this conflict. And yet in spite of the morally repugnant things she reveals whenever she feels like testing Takeru's resolve, there is an inescapable feeling for both Takeru and the reader that her actions are necessary evils. She makes Ozymandias from Watchmen look like a Scooby Doo villain, and you accept it, because it's not about some vague notion of the Cold War escalating (which never even happened in real life); humanity is on the brink of extinction, and if it's going to take a few heinous actions by a seemingly ruthless mad scientist to keep the human race alive... who is anyone to argue against her?

Also introduced at this point are the girls who consist of the rest of Takeru's squadron, who are somewhat cheekily pulled in from other visual novels published by game's creators. This part is weird for me on a few levels. Firstly, I like the designs of these girls a lot more, because their characters were designed by an artist other than the person responsible for Muv Luv's primary cast, which is full of hyper anime-stylized razor sharp haircuts and facial features. But there is a part of me that turns up his nose a little bit at this kind of naked service to fans who have played other games by the publisher. It'd be one thing if they were just faces in the crowd, but all of them have pretty fully developed personalities that are on display, and I can't help but think of this part of the game as "Meet our expanded roster of lovely âge heroines; wouldn't you like to pick up the games they are from and get to know them better?" That being said, I've been guilty of indulging in this kind of fan service in other venues, so I can't bring myself to wholeheartedly condemn their inclusion, especially since I generally like them more than Takeru's own classmates!

There is one other character who gets introduced at this point, whose existence essentially splits Takeru's attention in two: by day he's the TSF piloting ace with extra lifetimes of experience creating masterful military manuevering, and by night... he's dealing with this character. I won't go into details about what the deal is, but I will say this: Muv Luv is, at it's core (in case the title didn't tip you off) a love story. In spite of all the aliens, and politics, and giant robots, and cross-dimensional intrigue, it is a love story in the same way that the original Macross is a love story... but even moreso. And while I generally roll my eyes at love stories, the way that this character is handled, and the events around them and how they interact with all the other aspects of the game I mentioned... well, I might not be their biggest fan, but their contribution to the story is pretty damn valuable.

If you're going to war, fight with bows, spears, and swords At this point the game is poised to enter it's final stretch. A few additional heartbreaks are thrown on the pile, along with a plot twist that ensures humanity's doom if immediate action isn't taken. The final battle is launched, and if it isn't won, mankind will be extinct either by the hand of strange aliens or through their own desperation in short order.

I'm not going to go into a lot of detail about the specifics about what happens at this point, because it's probably the part of the game that has the most lavish production values, so you should probably check it out if you're at all interested. What I will talk about is a realization that I came to once the game was over.

After a blowout ending and a few last plot twists of the knife, there is an epilogue to the game that functionally flashes back to the harem hijiinks of Extra. And when I got to this part I was baffled with what I was seeing because... I had just sat through the story about a desperate push for our species' survival against hostiles from beyond the stars that cost a man a few of his friends and several shards of his sanity. Why are you showing me this anime nonsense? Why do I care who woke up in who's bed? Do you expect me to believe that there would be fifty new transfer students on the same day? Why!? What?! Who!?

But after thinking on it for a while I came to realize that, as far as I can understand, the game was showing you a "happy ending." A version of the events far removed from alien menaces or political strife. A world where Takeru didn't have to become a battle hardened veteran trying to save the world. Instead he can be... some fucking goober who has like twenty chicks fighting over him for inconceivable reasons. Hm. This doesn't seem right. Shouldn't I be happier? Shouldn't I be glad that there's less gloom and doom?

Looking back at it all, the thing that got me interested in Muv Luv as a whole was... morbid curiosity. First it was being impressed with the freaky alien designs. Then it was interest in the detailed, but dreadful alternate timeline of events that unfolded since the BETA invasion. And finally, by actually playing Alternative, I got a front row seat for one man's persistent cross-dimensional psychic trauma. And when that was over... I didn't care anymore. I don't care which girl he ends up with. I don't care what kind of silly hi-skool antics they will get up to in this alternate version of events. The second the horror ended, so did my interest. And I felt a twinge of guilt at feeling this way.

But when I thought about it, I came to the conclusion that on some level, morbidity and curiosity are best friends forever. As soon as we're cognizant of what it is, we can't help but wonder... what is death like? When it will come for me? How can you best avoid it? What are the worst ways to die? What are the best? Will that person die before or after me? Why? What makes us different? There are countless different directions that considering mortality and it's toils can lead you down, and while this is some elementary shit to point out, that is what makes many stories interesting. And while I might feel guilty when I enjoy the tale of how some poor sucker in real life had to overcome a nightmare scenario and came out of it all scarred and fucked up for it... if I start letting the bad fallout from fictional stories bother me too, I may as well give up on the concept of narrative and just play fighting games all the time. And the fact that Muv Luv Alternative resonated enough to make me even think about how ghoulish it was to get so much amusement from what I had just seen is probably a sign that it did something remarkable, because the last time I felt this way about anything was probably when I read the 13th volume of Berserk.

Epilogue: Space... The Final Battlefield So yeah, I liked Muv Luv Alternative pretty good, in spite of the fact that it was a VN, in spite of the fact that it was wordy as fuck, and in spite of the fact that it had an epilogue that left me cold and made me question if I was some sort of sociopath. The series has an ever-expanding amount of side material, which may have been obvious from what I mentioned earlier in this essay, but I'm genuinely curious about what will happen next. I don't think I'll indulge in a lot of said side material; side-stories are on the side for a reason, after all. But if we ever do get a fourth chapter of the "core" story, one that takes place beyond the events of Alternative, with happenings that are comparably significant...... maybe I'll have to visit my local recruiter and re-enlist. War's not over 'til it's over.

[zibizuba]

Harmless Pictures Ruined By The Brazzers Logo

Brazzers Logo has develop into fairly the phenomenon previously few years. And the formulation to creating one is kind of easy. Simply discover a image that’s barely suggestive. Throw the Brazzers emblem on there someplace.

Brazzers Logo on Images

brazzers logo

Parts of the “Private mode” users the name of the Brazzers website (logo above) probably says something.

Explain to the others that Brazzers is an American company. That is engaged in the production of films with content far from Disney’s cartoons.

In more detail, pornography of a heavy caliber. The company started its operations in 2005 and has been enjoying the position of one hundred of the most popular websites on the web (not only in its category) from the very beginning.

Brazzers Logo on images was started in April last year. When the creative (I do not judge he visit the site). However user of the site funnyjunk posted a picture of the characters of the iCarly youth series. Broadcast on the Nickelodeon channel, with the Brazzers logo attached.

iCarly brazzers logo

Check also: Top 50 Hottest Black Pornstars – Ebony Pornstars Best Of List

These are the funniest footage that had been ruined by the Brazzers emblem. Together with childhood cartoons, footage of presidents, and extra. Moreover Reveals like Rugrats and Spongebob Squarepants will probably be without end ruined after taking a look at these footage.

So don’t say we didn’t warn you. Just scroll down and enjoy it. After that please share article with your firends.

Staff Rocket – Pokemon Brazzers Logo

pokemon brazzers logo, source google images

You surely know the Pokemon fairytale. The brazzers logo is able to change the context of the situation and to move your imaginatiom but we still love pokemons.

Bear with Me Right here

Just look and naughty thoughts come to your head, the reason is simple is the brazzer logo.

Jennette Mcurdy – iCarly Brazzers logo

iCarly brazzers logo

The usual frame from the movie after adding the brazzers logo inverts the outline by 180 degrees. Especially when there are several men and one woman in the picture.

Naughty Rugrats

Naughty Rugrats with brazzers cover

Also, the popular borderline has been modified. So that it would raise other feelings than it was initially assumed. and think it’s a matter of one logoT

Cinderella Mice Getting Freaky

Cinderella Mice Getting Freaky

In thid paragraph Cute mice, after adding one logo, are transformed into selected mice straight from the adult film.

Large Gummy Worm

big gummy worm brazzers

Probably this girl never held such a large gummy worm in her hands. Just look at her eyes.

Soccer Anybody?

sport brazzers

Even a sport can cause a thoughtful thought because someone added a logo from adult films to the picture.

Climb on In Boys

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs brazzers

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. A created in 1937 by American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions.

I Hope That’s Snow

brazzers girls

Ordinary photo of girls catching snow.

Check also The 25 Sexiest Emma Watson Footage Ever Taken

Transfer Over Invoice Clinton

obama brazzers

Even in the life of the president there are situations that, after adding the brazzer logo can acquire another meaning.

Mr. Krabs the Submissive

Mr. Krabs brazzers

Mr. Krabs

He-Man’s The Grasp Of Every thing

Nothing Is As It Appears On Pandora

Nicki Minaj Loves Anacondas

I Know Proper?

Oval Workplace

Kim Jong Un – Brazzers Logo

Simply Converse Into The Mic, Man

Othell-OH!

Good Bush

Simba’s Taint

This Uncomfortable Pasty

Doggy Fashion

Enjoyable with Grandma

Oh Hai, Wilson

Conclusion

The idea of ​​adding the brazzers logo is to create a completely new (not very polite) interpretation of scenes from films and series. No wonder that the main goals were family series, youth shows and fairy tales for children.

In conclusion among the victims up to now, we can find, among others, the Jetson family, Snow White, My Little Pony and Little Mermaid. The participants of the events in the dorms or the famous ocean photos of an old woman sprayed with pepper gas during Occupy Wall Street protests were also not spared.

Finally If you like it, please share article with your friends.

Artykuł Harmless Pictures Ruined By The Brazzers Logo pochodzi z serwisu PENSE LOL.

source https://pense.lol/harmless-pictures-ruined-by-the-brazzers-logo/

[beastgamerkuma]

All right Agents, Beast, and his colleagues had an incredible weekend heading to Washington DC from NY. It is weird that now we do not have the advantage anymore, but the disadvantage is welcoming. The private beta only ran for 3 days and we played enough to see if it was worth it. 

Division Agents from NY Become Tourist in D.C. 

It has now been 8 months since the outbreak happened in NYC, the Black Friday mess that has happened seems to be done. However, there is a new threat as usual with the state in chaos which some don’t want things to go back to normal. It is up to us to fight these growing threats and help liberate our capital. I better get a good tax refund in the future after this fight I tell you. 

The Division 2 with slight Improvements

The only problem many of us had with the first game was it took too long to improve, but sadly that is the norm in today’s games. The Division 2 brings a new atmosphere in unfamiliar territory for some of us which now I understand how others felt when native New Yorkers ran the streets. I like the change being a tourist is a bit adventurous and I hate the snow. Since it is now the spring season I only assume or summer maybe Autumn. Not important the environment is livelier seeing Deer, foxes and other wildlife roaming the streets. Not just dogs any more people. 

Speaking of the environment there is a new tactical advantage and disadvantage. The weather is a nice change not only will it rain, but there will be fog conditions as well. I believe this goes with the heavy snow that we had to deal with in the first game. There is nothing crazier than walking in tall grass in the fog and you see something running through. Is it an animal or an enemy? Have to tread lightly. 

Did a nice job with environmental effects as you go through the areas. For example, there was a large puddle during battle and I tossed a grenade which caused a water explosion that made me go “ooooh that’s nice.” It is the little things that make me appreciate the game. 

Moving on from the atmosphere to the NPC’s. They are tougher this time around where the heavy arms have better armor. There seem to be enhancements involved with some enemies where those that inject themselves with something green for an added Kamikaze boost. We are not the only ones with division tech either. Now we have to deal with NPC’s sending out RC cars with explosives attached. In Division 1 there were some that had turrets as we did, but this is worse than that. 

A robotic Tank for example that is which was freaky. Then we head into the DZ that is slightly improved and gives us a deeper immersive feel. The NPC’s are your allies now instead of just asking for scraps. This is a huge improvement to the previous title. Going into a raid you can use a signal flare to call for help, but do not rely on them too much. They will need your help and are great distractions against the enemy. They are hardcore too roaming the streets already armed.

I can dig it and I did a video that expresses those feelings which you can see below. 

The Endgame feeling!

When you reach the final parts of the beta you will unlock an additional feature called “The End Game”. The developers wanted you to experience what it is like to have a fully realized Agent with all classes unlocked and special equipment. I will have a video showcasing that soon enough. I picked the demolitionist who had a Grenade Launcher. 

I wish I saved it for later when we reached the boss and at Level 32 with our Agents, it was on hardcore mode. We now had to face tactical units with better equipment that matched us, agents. It would have been cool if they gave us the melee takedowns that I saw in the first game from the Hunters. I mean we played Splinter Cell, so why not implement stealth takedowns? 

The one thing I can’t stress enough to people is that this is a beta and you will have some problems. We address those problems with the developers and hope that they listen. If you are just going to complain without voicing the issues it will not resolve anything. One is that we had trouble with matchmaking from time to time. I get it that maybe the devs wanted us to have a random experience with other players. We got around the issue since one of us was able to be joined upon. 

On a comedic level, you need more diversity when it comes to creating characters. I would not mind making a big dude that resembles myself since you have big guys in armor I know it is possible. 

All right Agents that is all I have for now and hopefully there will be an Open beta in the future for all to try out. For now, I hope you enjoyed the details I have put in. Be ready on March 15th, 2019 when The Division 2 is released. Please pre-order here if you wish and I shall see you to liberate Washington D.C. – Beast Out – 

 The Division 2 Private Beta Felt Liberating All right Agents, Beast, and his colleagues had an incredible weekend heading to Washington DC from NY.

[rainyr]

hey uh. hey moots are any of you also going insane over poolverine rn.

the honda odyssey, huh?