#i also need to save up so i can spend more money on dragon city i guess. once i start getting paid from job i am going to completely

[quitedisastrous]

sitting here watching myself spend just about the entirety of my current whimsy fund on dragon city. sigh

[osmanthus-wine-addiction]

02 Jealousy

Zhongli x Reader / SFW but suggestive at the end / Mentions of Childe / Set at the beginning of the Liyue archon quest / Reader is unaware that Zhongli is the Geo Archon

"My dear, is something on your mind?"

Perceptive as he was, Zhongli couldn't figure out what it was that was upsetting you. That pout on your lips had been plastered there for a while now and as many times as he had questioned you if anything was bothering you, you simply brushed it off.

"I'm fine." You were, or so you thought you should be.

Zhongli was a bit of an attention magnet, which was not surprising with the meticulous way he dressed, his exceptional knowledge, and the way he carried himself. He delighted in it, smiling and going about his day as if he were simply soaking in sunlight. You often found the consultant lost in long-winded conversations with random people on the streets. While you found the person's advances a bit pushy, Zhongli didn't seem to think much of it.

Suspicions prickled underneath your skin when Zhongli mentioned that the individual had paid him yet another visit at the funeral parlor, this time insisting on taking him out to dinner. Zhongli was certainly not giving the eyesore any reason to stop encroaching by entertaining their whims. There was definitely something going on between them, outside of whatever business dealings the funeral parlor had with the Fatui. The more you thought about it, the surer you became.

Zhongli could tell something was amiss with you. Perhaps you were worried for him, maybe even a little bit possessive of him. It was a silly sentiment to have when he was so devoted to you.

"Darling, please tell me what is bothering you. It worries me that it may be my doing." He asks yet again one afternoon.

The way he tenderly gazes at you should assure you enough that there was no space in his heart for another person. Every time he calls you his dear, his sweetheart, or darling, you can hear the sincerity spilling over in his voice. It'd be cruel of you to keep him guessing, wouldn't it?

"You know that pair of chopsticks you got Childe when he arrived in Liyue? The dragon and phoenix one..." You brought up something that seemed irrelevant save for the person mentioned.

"Oh, yes. I remember them well. Their craftsmanship was quite exceptional." His eyes lit up the way they always did when he speaks about a particularly striking find he happens upon during his strolls through the city. "I gifted them to him as a gesture of welcome since he was learning to use them."

"I think he misunderstood your intentions."

Being the most learned person in Liyue regarding its traditions and customs, Zhongli didn't need to be reminded exactly what kind of intentions you were alluding to. The consultant's brows immediately furrowed in contemplation.

"While I do see how such a gift could be interpreted in other ways, I am certain that they don't apply to our particular circumstances."

"You gave him something that lovers give each other to pledge their love! Aren't you going to explain yourself?" You pouted, crossing your arms.

The consultant gave you an aggrieved yet amused look. "Traditionally, the dragon and phoenix symbolizes harmony and prosperity, something both Liyue and Snezhnaya hopes to achieve through steady trade. While it's most commonly given between couples, it may also be given to a friend or business partner to convey longevity."

Zhongli's reasoning was sound, however you refused to be convinced. You shook your head in frustration. "Don't you see? He's coming onto you too strongly for someone who just wants a diplomatic relationship!"

You couldn't just outright tell him to keep his distance from the Fatui harbinger since they were business acquaintances. Liyue harbor has its fair share of flirtatious people, the shopkeeper at Scent of Spring for one, but there was just something about the redhead in particular that unsettled you. The way Zhongli unabashedly spends his money also left much for you to think about. It wasn't all that different from the way Director Hu allowed him to leave tabs under the funeral parlor's name, but he wasn't as close to the Fatui harbinger as he was with Hutao. There was just something off about the dynamic between Childe and Zhongli. It didn't sit well with you at all.

"Either he has a thing for you or he's up to something. I'm sure of it."

The consultant stifled a chuckle. He was beginning to piece together the reason for your strange behavior lately. "Dear, I assure you that he is not interested in me in that way. Even if he were, I only have eyes for you."

"So you're just going to let him keep chasing you?" You frowned. "You know, I can spoil you too."

"Hm.... Where is this competitiveness of yours coming from?" Zhongli mused.

"Isn't that why you're giving him so much of your time? Because he's opening his wallet for you?" You pointed out. That redhead was hogging too much of your lover's time. You wanted it back.

"The Fatui have agreed to pay for Rex Lapis's Rite of Parting. I've been given a considerable sum to purchase all the necessities for the rites and to cover any expenses arising from the preparations, with the remaining funds to keep. So yes, if you must put it that way, he is indeed giving me his wallet to spend as I please."

"I might not be the Northland Bank, but I can buy you nice things too."

"I'm sure you can, my sweet." Zhongli stroked your cheek, distracting you momentarily. "I may only be a mere funeral consultant, but I too find it rewarding to spoil the one I treasure in pleasantries. If the Northland Bank wishes to further subsidize my spending, I shall not decline if it will allow me to do so."

"I don't know if I like the idea of my lover having a sugar daddy." You tried to keep a straight face as you said this.

"A sugar... daddy?" Zhongli's brow went up again. He understood the two words but put together, they obviously meant something he was not yet exposed to.

"A sponsor, but you have to entertain them romantically."

"I have no intentions of entertaining anyone but you in that sense." Zhongli chuckled as leaned in close, breath tickling your skin.

You begrudgingly accepted his kiss and his carefully placed touches.

"I want a pair too." You panted when his lips finally parted from yours.

"Very well. I will pay the shop a visit tomorrow morning to ensure a new pair of chopsticks will be made ready in time for your birthday. I will make a reservation at the Liuli Pavillion as well. If there is anything else I need to do to put your frustrations behind you, pray tell. I cannot stand that constant pout on your face." Zhongli grumbled, but it only made you giggle uncontrollably with the way he was nuzzling your neck while he spoke.

"Spoil me good tonight and maybe I'll consider letting you off the hook." You challenged.

"You test me."

Zhongli hummed in satisfaction, wasting no time in scooping you up in his arms and whisking you away to your bedroom amidst your feigned protests. If anything good came out of your pouting, it was his willingness to please. The consultant was on his knees, doing everything in his power to get back in your good graces.

[girlwithadragonheart]

Chapter 2 - A Mourning Crow

This story contains major spoilers for Dragon Age the Veilguard. Read at your own discretion!!

Rook x Lucanis

Summary: Lucanis invites Rook for coffee ;3. Arrangements for Caterina's funeral are made. Lucanis and Rook share feelings over cookies.

Word Count: 3.5k

Warnings: Spoilers, cursing, mentions of death

A/N: A shorter one for some bonding <3

Chapter 1 DATV Masterlist Chapter 3

Meeting with the Shadow Dragons didn’t go quite as horribly as I’d expected. Tarquin looked more surprised to see me than anything. “Welcome home, Rook. Try not to get yourself run out of the city again,” he said.

“No promises,” I told him with a smirk.

We set off to take care of the relic that had fallen into the Venatori’s hands. Lucanis and Neve trailed me as we made our way through Dock town.

“You didn’t tell me you were a Shadow Dragon, Rook,” Lucanis said.

“It was only a couple years. Just long enough to have to leave,” I glanced at him over my shoulder. “They didn’t want to risk taking out a slavery ring, so Varric and I did it ourselves. Every magister in Minrathous was hot on my tail after that,” I chuckled. “It was the first job I ever did with Varric, and it was the day I joined him.”

“The day he picked you up off the streets, more like,” Neve teased.

“It sounds like he means a lot to you,” Lucanis said thoughtfully.

“Of course he does,” I said simply. “He saved me.”

“You. Saved. Us!” Spite’s voice hissed through Lucanis’s lips.

I shrugged. “I had help.”

Neve grinned. “Shadow Dragons stick together,” she said simply.

After trekking all over Dock Town and fighting a Tevinter Magister asshole who got off the hook cause his daddy’s got money, we were back at the lighthouse. I was exhausted but I also did not want to see Solas. That was something Lucanis and I had in common, not wanting to sleep and unwanted tenants in our heads. 

I went across the courtyard to the dining room. The table was now set for the whole team. Next to the fireplace was a hanging grocery list in Lucanis’s handwriting. The assassin had tucked himself in the pantry behind the dining room.

I suppose it would be odd to expect him to adapt so quickly to being out in the open after spending a year in the prison. I just hoped he was comfortable.

I knocked on the door and he opened it, cup of coffee in hand. He smiled a bit when he saw me. “Rook, Illario sent word. He’s got intel on Zara. He wants to meet up. Fancy a trip to Treviso?” He asked.

“Sounds like fun,” I smiled. “We can head out soon.”

It was hard to know what time it was in the Fade. The sky never really changed and there was no indication of the sun. When we left Minrathous the sun was setting. I wasn’t disappointed about getting to see Treviso at night. The barest piece I had seen when we met Teia had captivated me more than Minrathous ever could.

Lucanis and I stepped through the eluvian together into the Cantori Diamond. He led me through the tower and down the spiral staircase. There was a zip line across to another rooftop that I clung to while we swung across. I jumped down to the lower roof beside it before sliding down the lattice. If I remembered right this was the same way Teia had taken us on the way in.

Instead of going across the bridge, Lucanis veered to the right and took us down an alleyway leading to the market.

“Illario will meet us at Cafe Pietra, it’s not that far from here. We have time before he arrives, I wouldn’t mind looking around a while,” Lucanis told me.

“I wouldn’t either. I’m sure Treviso has lots of sights to see. What I’ve seen of your city is beautiful,” I answered. Something in this place sung to my soul.

“The markets are open… good. I have some things I need to get,” he said. “Treviso… I barely had time to look around after the Ossuary.”

“Has it changed much?” I asked curiously as we browsed the stalls.

“In some ways more than I expected. But then… perhaps it’s me.” We wandered for a moment before Lucanis made a stop in front of a stall.

“A potted plant?” I asked.

“For Harding’s garden. Spearmint is supposed to calm bad dreams. It’s good in desserts too.” I nodded thoughtfully. He led me to another stall. “Bellara mentioned a danish seafood recipe she wants to make,” he said.

“The Demon of Vyrantium is grocery shopping for the team,” I said with amusement.

“Have you seen what they eat? It’s a miracle you didn’t all starve before you hired me,” he said exasperated, leading me to a produce stall. “Fresh fruit,” he sighed. “Neve only eats fried fish. You’d think a detective would have discovered scurvy by now.”

I laughed. “Is that everything on the list?”

“Yes, and Illario should be here by now. Let’s go meet him before he gets himself into some kind of trouble.”

I hummed, walking back through the market. “Just one last thing,” I said, approaching the blacksmithing stall. My eyes roved over the selection before a tossed some gold at the trader, picking up my gift.

I smiled, handing it to Lucanis. “You can’t buy something for everyone but yourself. Here this is for you.”

“A wyvern-tooth dagger?” His eyes went wide when I handed it to him. “I loved wyverns as a boy. Caterina would never let me have one of these, though.”

I just smiled at him before he led us to the cafe to meet Illario.

When we entered, the air was warm and thick with the scent of coffee. It was enough to make my mouth water. I sat down across from Illario and Lucanis sat to my left between us. 

“Finally! I thought you might leave me here all by my lonesome,” Illario said as we sat down. I shifted in my seat, keeping my gaze on Lucanis. The presence he put off made me feel calmer.

“Please,” Lucanis said. “You think I’d ever pass up Cafe Pietra’s coffee?”

“You see, Rook? My cousin is all stomach and no heart,” Illario said.

Lucanis grinned, looking over at me. “Don’t mind him. Illario cannot appreciate anything but himself.” There was a light in his eyes that made him seem younger. A light that likely disappeared in the Ossuary. “They serve a specialty roast here: Andoral’s Breath. Bitter and sweet like a kiss goodbye. You should try it,” he told me.

“Bitter’s good. Chocolate is better,” I said with a grin.

“They have cioccolata calda. It was my favorite drink as a child,” Lucanis said, amused.

“I think you’re shaming me, but I’m ordering the choco-chico thing,” I crossed my arms. Lucanis tipped his head back and laughed. “Two Crows and a Shadow Dragon walk into a cafe. It sounds like the beginning of a very bad joke.” Even Illario cracked a smile with that one. “To business?”

“Our final listener left when Lucanis started making out with the idea of coffee,” Illario crossed his arms, shifting in his seat.

Lucanis grinned. “What can I say? I take it very seriously. So. You have something?” he asked, leaning forward with his elbows braced on the table.

My eyes trailed the leanness of his body, built for agility and precision, unlike me. My body was a conduit for my power despite my preference of a dagger in combat.

“The Crows I sent after Zara have picked up her trail. They say she’s gone to Vyrantium,” Illario said.

My eyes flicked over his face. “If she was here in Treviso to kill Caterina, she can’t be in Vyrantium already.” I glanced at Lucanis, and the corners of his lips twitched.

“Rook’s right. Zara’s given you a false lead, cousin.”

“You have better information?” Illario questioned.

“We’re compromised,” Lucanis said simply. “There’s no other way Zara could even touch Caterina. You need your eyes here. In Antiva.”

“Zara would never be foolish enough to stay. Not with you out for blood,” Illario said.

Lucanis put his hands together. “Of course she would. If the Crows protecting her are here.”

Illario looked to me. “Rook, reason with him, would you? He’s being paranoid.” Something about the way he purred that made me uncomfortable.

“I am not paranoid! She came after me. She came after Caterina. She will come for you, too,” Lucanis pushed.

Illario scowled. “If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll clean house, all right? Leave this to me.” He stood and left the room. 

I walked him out, leaving Lucanis to think. He looked at me, nodded and shook my hand before heading off. As I walked back into the cafe, I wiped my hand on my leathers. “He’s gone,” I said as I sat down next to Lucanis.

“Of course he is. Illario always caves under pressure,” Lucanis scowled.

“Your cousin only seems to hear about one word in ten,” I said, picking up my chocolate drink that Lucanis had ordered for me while I was out.

“He’s always been this way. He hears what he wants to hear.” Lucanis swirled his cup, bringing it to his lips and taking a deep inhale of the brew, sighing. He took a sip, eyes closed in contentment as he savored the drink. He looked more relaxed than I’d ever seen him.

I grinned. “Bitter and sweet, you called that blend. Like a kiss goodbye. So what would a first kiss be?” I asked thoughtfully.

“Honey and lavender cream. Sweet, intriguing…” He said smoothly. “And you? How would you describe it?” He asked.

“Oh, I wouldn’t know,” I said. “I’ve never had one. There’s just never been… well…” What was I even going to say? A person? No. An opportunity? A choice? 

Lucanis smiled softly. “In matters of the heart, one must be discerning.”

“When it’s right, you know,” I said.

“I’ve always thought that to live truly is to live fully. But even before I was captured, my life was not really my own. So much had been determined for me,” he told me.

“You must have found time for a little trouble along the way. And if you didn’t, I can find you some now,” I smiled.

“We’ll see. You don’t know how much trouble I can handle yet. How’s your cioccolata calda?” He asked.

“Just sweet enough to intrigue me.” I took another sip, sitting back and letting my shoulders drop. I felt Lucanis’s eyes on me. “Thank you for this,” I said. “For getting me out of the Lighthouse. And for the drink.”

“Anytime, Rook,” he said. “I mean that.” And I believed him.

“Ready to head back?” I asked.

“In a while,” he said, looking off into the distance, swirling his coffee. “Do we have a minute?” He asked, looking back at me.

My brow furrowed. “Of course. Is something wrong?”

“Teia wants to meet,” Lucanis said.

“I’d never pass up the chance.”

“She wants to plan Caterina’s funeral,” he said darkly, looking into his drink.

“Oh,” my face fell. “Right.”

“If you don’t mind, I… could use some backup. In case Spite gets out of hand,” he said carefully.

“Of course, Lucanis. Let’s not keep her waiting.” I stood, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder. His muscles were taut, and I pulled away. “Sorry.”

“No,” he said. “It’s alright.” He looked up at me and stood. “Thank you.”

—-------------------------------------

Illario and Teia met us at the Cantori Diamond.

“Good! You’re here,” she said upon seeing us.

“Thank you for making the arrangements, Teia,” Lucanis said.

“For Caterina… how could I do otherwise?” She said with a frown. “I’m so sorry, Lucanis. This must be such a blow.” She looked over at me with a smile. “Rook, thank you for coming with him. I need one Dellamorte to plan this. His cousin has been no help at all.” She put her hands on her hips.

“I’m sorry, Teia. This is just… too much right now,” Illario said.

“If there’s anything I can do, just say the word,” I told them.

“You’re such a dear. I hope these two are paying attention,” Teia smiled at me.

“Teia. Don’t flirt with my… colleague,” Lucanis said, looking wounded.

“Jealous?” She smirked. “Fine, to business then. There’s a lot to plan. But first, I need the ashes.”

“Ashes?” Illario asked, dumbfounded.

“Maker help us, yes, the ashes! Caterina’s ashes. From the cremation?” Teia asked.

“Oh. Yes. Of course. I’ll get them to you right away,” he said.

“Illario… what happened?” Lucanis asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Caterina. How…? How did the Venatori get to her? When? Where? In the estate? In the city? How did they get past our people? What did they use? Poison? Blades? I need to know,” Lucanis questioned. 

“Cousin, stop,” Illario chided. “You can’t dwell on this. It’ll drive you mad.”

Okay, I’ll be the first to admit, that pissed me off. Illario couldn’t dictate how people handle grief, and Lucanis had perfectly good reasons for needing to know those things.

“I’m not dwelling,” Lucanis argued. “Zara killed the First Talon. I have to know how if I’m going to stop her.”

“I told you, I’m handling it.” I glanced sidelong at Illario, trying to gauge if it was just me getting annoyed or not. This wasn’t even my group of people and he was pissing me off. It felt dismissive. Lucanis had earned more respect than that, even from his cousin.

“Boys!” Teia said. “Enough of this. We have other things to discuss.”

“My apologies, Andarateia. Continue without me. I’ll… get you the ashes,” Illario excused himself.

Lucanis had a scowl on his face when I looked at him. “How are you holding up?” I asked.

“I’ll be fine. Better, once we kill Zara Renata. It’s him I’m worried about,” he told me.

“Illario can be a handful, but this… the only time I’ve seen him like this was when Lucanis died,” Teia told me. She looked over at Lucanis. “You’re worrying, aren’t you? What will people say if they hear the Demon of Vyrantium has a big soft heart?”

“He’s been careless at times, but never when his own life was on the line. Zara took down the First Talon. Anyone could be next. And my cousin doesn’t want to think about it,” Lucanis said, frustrated.

“You have a point,” Teia said. “It’s not like Illario to ignore a knife coming at him.”

“What do you need from me for the funeral?” Lucanis asked.

“I’ve already handled everything, I just wanted to run it by you,” she smiled sadly.

“Our house owes you for handling all of this,” Lucanis told her.

“Caterina was family. Can you imagine what she’d say if she saw us all like this?” Teia questioned.

“She’d be furious. Especially at Illario. As usual,” Lucanis grinned.

“I barely know your cousin, and he already seems like trouble to me,” I told him.

“Oh, he is,” Lucanis nodded. “I’ve lost count of the times I’ve had to pull him out of the fire on the job.”

“He’s a good assassin. Most jobs don’t have as many fires as yours do. I’ll have my people keep an eye on him for you,” Teia assured him.

“Thank you, Teia,” Lucanis said. The grief he carried was evident in his voice.

“Go on,” she said to us. “I’ll let you know if something comes up.”

—-----------------------------------

Flour coated my hands and clothes as I mixed the dough between my hands for the cookies I was making. I couldn’t sleep, or at the least didn’t want to, and I had my thoughts to myself while my hands were busy. 

Soon enough, I had them baking. Lucanis eased out of the pantry, squinting into the dim glow of the kitchen. The sweet, buttery smell of baking cookies was unmistakable. I smiled at him from where I leaned against the counter. 

“Perfect timing,” I said as I set the fresh batch in front of me. “Midnight snack?”

“You bake?” He asked, coming over to eye my handy work. “You never cease to surprise me.” His eyes trailed over the cookies, leaning against the counter beside me, gaze lingering on me as I worked.

“I’d hate to become boring,” I said with a smile. “I don’t really like sleeping these days,” I told him. “I… I can’t seem to escape Solas when I do. He invades my dreams. It’s like I’m trapped in them, and nothing feels real when I wake up.”

He studied me for a moment. “We are more similar than I anticipated.”

He reached for a cookie, and my eyes went wide, “Careful–!”

He picked it up with a smirk. “I can handle it,” he said, taking a bite. “This is delicious.” His eyes slipped closed and I laughed.

I brought the tray of cookies to the dining table. Lucanis sat across from me. “How are you feeling about everything?” I asked him.

He looked thoughtful for a moment. “I don’t know. After the Ossuary, nothing feels real.”

“What about Caterina?” I asked. “What was she like?”

“Caterina was… strong,” he said slowly. “She was fierce and never backed down from anything, sometimes to our detriment. She never stopped. Not until she was forced to,” he told me.

“She seemed like someone who could calm storms or raise them,” I said to him. “I could’ve used someone like her in my corner.”

Lucanis’s gaze softened, and his fingers twitched as though he fought the urge to reach out. “She would have liked you,” he said quietly. “I think she would’ve seen something in you, something… worth protecting.”

“Varric used to say that. Do you know what he said when I asked why he chose me?” I couldn’t help but smile thinking about my friend and mentor. “He said, “There’s a reason I brought you into this mess. You’re clever. Adaptable. And you don’t know when to quit”. He said it was my best and worst quality.”

“He was right in that regard,” Lucanis said with a smirk, and I rolled my eyes.

The quiet stretched between us, and the sound of Spite’s voice filled the space before his aspect appeared in the chair beside Lucanis. “How sweet. Two poor souls, drowning their feelings over cookies.”

“Okay, but, have you tried one?” I picked a cookie up, reaching to hand it to Spite.

“Rook—” Lucanis began.

“Smells like. Chocolate. And Rook.” Spite sniffed the cookie.

“Yes, I made them. Try it,” I urged with a grin.

I watched Spite try a tiny piece before shoving the whole cookie in his mouth. “More.”

I laughed. “By all means, Mischief,” I said, pushing the tray toward him. “There are plenty to share.”

“Spite doesn’t scare you?” Lucanis asked, watching the encounter play out curiously.

“We’re up against gods. No, Spite doesn’t scare me. And you two didn’t deserve what you went through in the prison. I can’t fault him for being angry any more than I can fault you.”

Lucanis studied me, his gaze softening with a touch of admiration. “You’re far more understanding than most. I think it’s why Spite has taken a strange liking to you.”

I shrugged, popping another cookie into my mouth, scoring the sweet warmth as Spite continued to wolf down more. “I don’t know about that.”

Lucanis’s eyes lingered on me as I leaned back in my chair, and for a moment, the weight of the silence between us wasn’t uncomfortable. It felt… familiar, like the calm before the storm, or the soft hum of a connection that was only beginning to form.

“You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you?” he asked quietly, his voice carrying the weight of understanding that so often showed in me.

I paused, unsure of how to answer. It felt easier to just nod. “A lot more than I ever wanted to, and yet… here I am. I think I’ve gotten used to it. Surviving. Trying not to let the nightmares take over.”

Lucanis leaned forward, his elbows on the table. His gaze was intense, but not in a way that made me feel cornered. It was as if he was searching, but not with a sense of urgency. He wasn’t probing; he was simply trying to see. “I know what it’s like to carry that weight,” he said quietly, his voice lowering. “The fear. The doubt. The need to keep moving, even when it feels like it would be easier to just stop.”

“I know,” I said quietly. “You’re not alone in this.”

“I’m not alone, ever,” he said with a pointed glance at Spite who just grinned menacingly.

“You know what I mean.” I reached over, taking his hand on the table and rubbing my thumb over his knuckles. “We aren’t alone. Any of us. Something to think about,” I said before standing. “Thank you for tonight.”

“You know I’m a sucker for good food,” Lucanis smirked slightly. “Even when the world outside is a bit chaotic.”

“More than I bit,” I laughed. 

But for now, the cookies were still warm, and the night, however fleeting, was ours to share.

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

A/N: I'm so tired ;-;

Let me know if you wanna be added to a tag list!

[chivetimetelevision]

i wanna add to this and stand with my 5ds brethren 🫡

i see the main argument for kaiba voters is his interest in blue eyes, particularly all his blue eyes themed paraphernalia. but you have to remember the man has got the funds to buy bewd themed stuff. yusei is an orphan living in poverty therefore he simply does not have the luxury of owning stardust themed items. rather, he handcrafts the things he’s interested in. he builds multiple bikes out of trashed parts found in satellite’s dumping grounds. he collects whatever cards he can find lying around and cherishes them. he spends years rebuilding his stolen bike and planning a route to neo domino city. he evades the police and trespasses in a city he’s not deemed a citizen of just to get the chance to find jack and retrieve the stardust dragon card jack stole from him. he doesn’t even come up with a plan on how he’ll return to satellite. all that matters to him is that he gets his beloved card back. yusei gets imprisoned after his encounter with jack. he gets tortured and almost killed in jail. idk about you but that sounds like some astronomical levels of neurodivergent dedication for one dragon card. sure yusei doesn’t have the money to show off his special interest in duel monsters, but he damn well shows it through his actions. not only that, the way he’s shown to have a deep connection to cards is very autistic. he’s constantly talking about how even the weakest of cards have purpose. he gets visibly upset when he sees cards get trampled. he says it’s a duelist’s job to make their cards happy. the way he humanizes these cards is certainly far from neurotypical behavior. this man’s autism levels are off the charts

i see another popular argument being that kaiba changed the world with his hyperfixation on duel monsters. i wrote a little thing in the comments so i wont repeat it here but tldr yusei saved the world like 3 times with his autism and prevented duel monsters from being wiped from existence. that’s some powerful autism right there.

another main claim i see from the kaiba voters is that his autism sent him to the afterlife to face atem. is that the case though? i’d argue that there is far more than just autism motivating kaiba in this situation. perhaps there’s also narcissistic personality disorder? trauma making him feel like he needs to be the best at everything? the bisexual eroticism of having a rival? i believe it’s a mix of all these and not purely autism. again may i remind you this is an autism swag contest not a dsm-5 bingo board.

it’s certainly irrefutable that kaiba’s got autism, but honestly i see him more as a fruit salad of dsm-5 diagnoses. yusei on the other hand is pure unfiltered autism. that’s why i believe he’s the perfect candidate for representing yugioh autistic swag. also i think it would be hilarious if kaiba got 2nd place because that’s like his whole brand. i will say whatever the outcome, the fact of the matter is that the yusei stans have fought well 🫡 it’s been a pleasure

Finals

Seto Kaiba v.s. Yusei Fudo

[jeanbie]

FIREFLOWERS ★ masterlist.

pairing: levi x reader

warnings: mentions of mafia violence | wc: 3k

note: set in korea because i always headcanon levi as half korean when i think of him personified. no explanation, just that. also im british thats why pongo sounds like a guy you'd meet in town. apologies, cant rip it from my vocab

⏤ “Good day?” you ask, pulling back from his neck with your arms still around him. Levi settles his hands just below your ribs and looks at you, sweetly pressing a kiss to your mouth. He doesn’t pull away too far, your hands threading in the hair above the back of his neck. “Better now.”

“So what? I want those files on my desk by tomorrow morning, or else you’ll be out of a job and two legs short. Do you understand me?”

He pinches the bridge of his nose, something out of a habit he picked up from his father when he was younger. Presumably something was being said on the phone that he didn’t like, something that very few men in Levi’s line of work could say and get away with saying. With a long overdue sigh, Levi lifted his arm up to the door of the car and stared at the passing scenery, at how the city smudged into flickers of light, twinkling silvers and burnt oranges, the distant burst of colour from fireworks for somebody’s birthday.

The call doesn’t last for much longer; he said what he had to and threatened who he needed to, finally tossing his phone across the leather interior of the black Audi. From the front seat, Pongo glanced in the rearview mirror and raised his eyebrows. Of course, his real name wasn’t Pongo; it was something of a safety precaution, a hidden identity because once you’re in the Fireflower Mafia of Tokyo, you’re never really safe. Just like how Levi wasn’t the name he went by during work hours- to his members and his superiors, Levi Ackerman was simply VI. He didn't know what his colleagues called him in Tokyo, where he usually is on business. Today, he is in Seoul. Home.

“Busy day at work, sir?” Pongo asks. He was old, aged around the eyes with cobwebbed wrinkles strung across his skin. Levi admired Pongo’s excessive record of hard work, never missing a day of driving him around like some rich kid, which, in theory, he was. He’d worked for it, debatably, but he was still rich. Comfortable, with a few zeros in the bank for his own pleasure and for-

“Yes,” Levi replies tiredly, because now that he’s safe and private in the company of Pongo, he was now Levi, Pongo now Jimong. “It’s alright now, though.”

Jimong makes a noise of agreement through closed and thin lips. “Couldn’t agree more, sir!”

“Any plans for this new year?” Levi asks conversationally. He knows that his house is coming soon, just past these dense woods and near the private estate, filled with houses he owned secretly, inhabited by people who didn’t know any better. He liked it better that way, it was easier that way. Rival gangs never came looking in unsuspecting, rich people suburbs, which is why it works.

“Oh,” Jimong replies, awfully surprised that Levi’s bothered to ask. “Oh, yes, sir! Me and the wife are going to the Maldives. Can you quite believe it? Saved some money between the two of us, and we’re finally getting to go. A couple bloody years late, I may add. Ha. Yourself?”

Levi smiles in passing, listening but also vacant in his own headspace. Any lingering worries pressing down have suddenly vanished, somehow shifted away as the car rolls up in the driveway of a house near the end of the cul de sac, not directly in the centre of the curve but a little to the right, out of the way. Inconspicuous.

“That sounds lovely,” Levi replies honestly with a smile to match. He likes Jimong, likes that he’s happy and getting to do things he previously couldn’t have afforded doing. “As for me…I’ll be spending it quietly. With my family.”

Jimong likes that greatly. He looks at Levi like he would his son, a victim of The River Dragon’s crime within Seoul where he had attended University. Behind those thick frames that made his eyes bulge like a fish, he blinked once or twice and nodded, as if approving.

“That’s the way to go,” Jimong laughed. The car pauses, halts forward slightly and Levi reaches to grab his phone off the seat before it slides. Before stepping out, he slides his blazer back over his arms and smiles once more at Jimong. He doesn’t expect a payment, but Levi always gives extra, slipping a few notes into his hands as money for the Maldives. He pulls open the car door and steps out, turning back to close it when Jimong winds down the window with a fatherly look. “Congratulations, by the way.”

Levi bows his head as thanks. He pulls back from the car and steps up onto the pavement and Jimong begins to drive away, the window safely back up and his flat cap twisted forwards, like a disguise, a costume for a fancy dress party. Like always, Levi waits until Jimong’s a bit further down the vein of the road before heading inside, taking no chances. Across the street, a neighbour smiles at Levi, unfazed by the bitter December wind as they stand wrapped in a cardigan, a cigarette balancing between two fingers with their head tilted up towards the stars. Levi acknowledges them, politely, because he can’t afford to make enemies anymore, and he steps backwards onto the grass of his front lawn and towards his front door, a sunflower yellow as promised.

Inside, it smells like humbugs, the faint smell of baby powder from the back bathroom. It’s two in the morning, the clock tells him so, and as quietly as he can muster, Levi kicks off his shoes and steps into slippers laid out for him. The kitchen light is still on, but nobody is up; Levi doesn’t like when you wait up for him. He likes to get home and unwind in his own way, pouring a mug of coffee and sitting out on the back door step, enjoying the silence that the neighbourhood provides. From where the house is, Levi can see the lights of the city but hear no sounds- there are no party cries, or loud sirens, or gunshots. He likes it here, with the sound of cicadas and reckless night birds, the neighbour’s hot tub bubbling with quiet laughter and clinks of wine glasses. He does just that- pours himself a coffee into an obnoxious mug with Iron Man’s face on it, and takes it out onto the back step.

The door pushes open slightly, the breeze smuggling in and blowing out a candle you must have lit before going to bed. He'll scold you for that later. He steps out to glance up at the back bedrooms, pleased as always by the sight of closed curtains and the golden nightlight in the room above the kitchen. Levi has some time to sit and drink his coffee, crack the discomfort out of his bones, for about three minutes, until a loud cry resonates through the house. Levi pauses for a moment, as if debating on what to do. Rising to his feet, Levi reaches to pull the door back and locks it when it’s closed. The coffee is too cold to drink, he must have left it to cool for too long and he tips it down the sink, running the evidence away and putting the cup on the windowsill. He hasn’t got the time to wash it up, as he steps out of the kitchen and towards the staircase.

Climbing, Levi yawns, feeling the tiredness falling into place like pieces of a puzzle. It was probably the warmth of the house that did it, in contrast to the December bite outside. Once he’s ascended to the top, he walks briskly down the corridor and past the master bedroom, instead heading towards the room above the kitchen, decorated with bees and flowers and a little sign made out of cardboard letters spelling “SUNHEE”. He smiles to himself and pushes the door open gently.

The room smells new, and faintly like piss, the disinfectant smell of marshmallow from a candle lit above her dresser. Levi wants to scold the idea of another candle, but he knows it’s safe- it’s one of those pretend-candles safe for babies to smell, because he helped buy it, picked out the scent, and knows that there's no flame. In the crib, tangled with blankets, Sunhee Ackerman wails for attention, her little feet smacking the air violently. Levi wastes no time moving to her crib and peering inside. From the bulge underneath her bum, it’s evident she’s soiled herself, like all babies do, and cried to herself out of pity.

Levi coos, seeing her face all squishy and cute in the crib. She looks like him, in the best way, with the round and narrow nose but eyes like her Mommy, rounder and attentive, almost having the nerve to look like Eren. She fists the blanket with fury, angry that she’s pooped in her sleep! Levi smiles.

“Oh, little girl, what are you like, hm?” he asks, in an elevated voice reserved for babies only. You liked to tease him about that, whenever he held her in the hospital and spoke to her in pouts. “Ah, let Daddy help you out of this mess, okay? Okay, it’s okay, don’t cry, baby, it’s okay. Daddy’s here, Daddy’s got you.”

He carefully collects her from the blankets and hoists her into the air. Now that Dad’s home, she’s not crying as much, just staring at him with sniffles and wide eyes filled with tears. He wants to yell with adoration, but he knows you’re sleeping in the room next door, exhausted from work throughout the day. He respects that, and knows that it’s harder for you, especially since you only gave birth a few weeks ago. She’s just passed one month.

Levi holds her so that he doesn’t make the mess worse, with one hand grabbing the mat used for nappy changing and tossing it onto the floor, and it sinks flat ready for Sunhee to lie on. A part of him wants to be nervous, because as of this moment, you’ve always been on poop duty, because babies poop several times a day, he’s horrified to discover. For some strange reason, he had never thought about that, not even when you sat him down with a nervous expression and told him that you were expecting. Regardless, he does his damn best, because he’s Levi Ackerman for crying out loud, and he’s not going to let a nappy get the best of him. With wipes and baby powder on the scene, Levi cleans around the mess, discarding the nappy and replacing it with a clean one that Sunhee gargles at, her legs kicking wildly just to get a kick out of her Dad’s frustration.

“Just a while longer, angry girl,” Levi huffs quietly. “You’re so fussy... I don’t know how Mom does this…”

Eventually he gets the hang of it, changing the nappy within minutes and when Sunhee is finally clean, she curls into herself cutely and kicks her feet again. Levi suspects that she’s happy, thanking him for cleaning her, and he picks her up to balance on his hip as he carries the nappy secured in a little bag to the dustbin outside. Sunhee likes to be carried around the house, even at night when it’s scary. She stares at Levi’s face the entire time, her mouth hanging open like a little Pikachu. He makes sure to lock the door, and wash his hands, and then carries his daughter back upstairs to her bedroom.

Levi holds her for a while, because around work and unexpected phone calls, Levi feels as though he doesn’t have a lot of time alone with her. She whimpers, stuffing her face into Levi’s neck as he rocks her slightly, his arms wrapped around her and holding her up underneath her butt. As soft as silk, Levi finds his voice and whispers to her, pausing when he hears the faint ambience of the Finding Nemo soundtrack playing on a little monitor next to her crib, noise so that she doesn't get scared being alone.

“Daddy missed you,” he tells her quietly, his lips to her crown. “Mm, yes he did. He did. He missed you so much. Daddy wanted to spend all day with you and Mommy, but he had to go to work.”

Sunhee, of course, says nothing. Perhaps she is sleeping, buried into his neck, most likely drooling on his Alexander McQueen blazer. Course, he can’t complain. He longs for moments like this, flickers of domesticity that he misses out on when he’s busy at work. He could tell Sunhee everything, because she can’t understand what he’s saying anyway, not just yet. But, he wants to keep her as far away from his work as he possibly can. He tried to with you, too, but one photograph proved that it was no longer possible. The gang only got a glimpse of your hair, short and blonde at the time, and since then, you had dyed it dark, grown it out, wearing your own costume for the public.

Levi rocks her for a little bit longer, making the most of every moment when he looks over his shoulder as arms snake around his waist. From there, he sees your face, sleepy, pushed in between his shoulder blades. He can just about make out your hair, see the baby blue stripes of your bed shirt.

“Hi, baby.”

He hears you move behind him and press a kiss on his blazer. He hums quietly, pushing back into your arms as if returning the hug. “Hi, yourself. What’you doing up? It’s late.”

“Heard her,” you reply around a yawn. “Heard you come up and get her. Got impatient, I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” Levi says quietly. “Is she sleeping?”

You move to look at Sunhee, humming with confirmation. “Like a rock.”

“Hm, good,” Levi answers, holding her for one moment longer before returning her back to her crib. He sets her down like a delicate thing, because she is delicate, and tiny and light like a bag of sugar, and gently puts the blanket over her feet, because he read somewhere that if your feet got cold then so would you. The windows are shut and the soundtrack loops once more, that strong smell of urine gone with the replacement of a cleansing spray he found on the dresser. Then he turns back to you, inviting you into a hug that you accept. With one face out his neck another is added, as you circle your arms around Levi’s neck. He’s warm, and smells faintly like whisky and fire. Nothing unusual, if anything better than the smell of sweat or blood.

“Good day?” you ask, pulling back from his neck with your arms still around him. Levi settles his hands just below your ribs and looks at you, sweetly pressing a kiss to your mouth. He doesn’t pull away too far, your hands threading in the hair above the back of his neck.

“Better now,” Levi admits quietly. “Come on, let’s get to bed.”

You lead the way, slowly dragging your weight to the bed and sinking down on the sheets as Levi b-lines to the bathroom. He looks at himself for a long moment in the mirror, rubbing at his face and brushing his teeth. Levi doesn’t stare for too long, he doesn’t like vanity or the way he looks after a day of work. Back inside the bedroom, you’ve settled underneath the white sheets, waiting for him to join you. He does so, after dressing slowly and when he gets into bed, you shuffle close to him, inhaling his warmth. Levi likes to be held, and knows you do too. It’s little luxuries like this that he thinks other people take for granted. Lately, these moments and words shared in whispers are the only moments he gets alone with you. Gradually, he learned to live life in gasps, taking what he could when he could.

“You look tired, baby. Try and get some sleep,” you murmur, kissing his chest as you cuddle into his skin. Levi grunts as if you’ve said something funny.

“Wanna talk to you,” he insists. “How was your day, good?”

“Mm,” you yawn. “Tell you about it in the morning. You’ll be here, won’t you?”

“Yeah. It’s my day off, I’ll get Jean to wear my shoes for the day,” Levi promises. “Can finally spend some time with you and the little one.”

A hum is breathed into his chest and he looks down, noticing that you’re not looking back at him and your eyes are closed, your cheek smushed against his cotton tee. “That’s good then.”

He thinks you’ve drifted off, as you say nothing else for a few moments. Levi stares intently in the darkness, making shapes out of the little dots when you stir once more.

“I love you,” you mutter. “You’re a good man.”

That’s usually what he needs at night, the reassurance that what he’s done throughout the day was worth it.

“Thank you. I love you too.”

Finally, when you’ve drifted off in his arms and the faint sound of snores meet his eyes, Levi pulls you closer, as if it were even possible. It’s here that he realises what he has now, and how easy it is for him to lose it. The way he holds you tighter now isn’t out of love but instead fear, fear that one day, his bad mistakes may come back to bite him in the ass, hurting the people he loves most.

He realises what he has and how he’ll do anything and everything to prevent himself from losing it, no matter what it takes.

[saphirered]

Percy and Bad first times? I love these asks thank you!

I do not know why it took me approximately an eternity to write this but I finished it. I hope it will have been worth the wait. 😘

(Percy)

The moment Percy walked into your life you thought he was very much the egotistical rich kid. First impressions weren’t great as he concluded that wether or not you came from money or status, you rebelled against the social norms of high society. You two were polar opposites and anyone who said opposites attract; you were the proof against that claim for the longest time.

At the realisation you wouldn’t be leaving any time soon Percy tried to school you in manners for his sake correcting your behaviour and even words like you were some insolent child. You did not take this well and the argument that followed, unavoidable. Many things were said, some neither of you are proud of and you didn’t speak for days unless it were some snide remarks.

Then it came to a job to interact with high society people and you got to show Percy how wrong he was as you properly addressed the people, held your posture correctly and picked every word eloquently. Taken aback by your complete 180 in behaviour a conversation was in order. You got the pleasure telling Percy his ‘lessons’ had nothing to do with this and unlike some people you’d rather not be a pompous ass with a superiority complex like some people.

This lead Percy to dive into some research trying to find your name and family name, tapping into all resources at his disposal to figure you out telling himself you might be a threat if you were hiding things. He was not prepared to find out what happened with your family and faced you with the fact he found your past. The first one on one you had was Percy quite literally cornering you so you couldn’t avoid him. Admittedly not his proudest moment. You needed to talk so talk you did.

Telling Percy your story and trusting him with it might have been the first time you’ve told anyone since you left your home. In turn to set the record straight he told you what had happened with his own family. You came to the conclusion you’re not so different after all. A mutual understanding and trust formed between the two of you, though your arguments did not end with you disagreed on a matter. Rarely did you give the other the silent treatment and instead came to an agree-to-disagree conclusion if compromise was not an option. In time, they’d cease to be arguments all together and simply turn into conversations.

At this point you might even have considered yourselves friends. You found yourselves spending more time together. Percy was raised the so-mani-eth child extremely unlikely to be the heir of his family but with the tragedy that befell them, only he and his sister remained. You were raised to continue your family’s legacy but had lost everything. When Whitestone was returned to the surviving De Rolo’s you promised to give aide in any way you could.

Vox Machina, taken in a different direction you stayed behind with Cassandra. You took no titles or lands no matter how many times, Cassandra and the council offered them. In his time away from you and his home he came to realise he’d begun missing your company, the conversations and having to be the smart and semi-responsible one of the group. Not only that, you’ve been a rock in the current that’s his chaos and with you away he feels he’s more likely to fall to the temptations placed in front of him. Proof of that; the trip to the city of Dis.

When this realisation hits Percy he’ll take any opportunity to spend more time with you. He doesn’t inject himself into your daily life but any time there’s a reason for him to be present he’ll take it. Him coming clean about the contract and handing it to you for safekeeping trusting you that no matter the circumstance you’ll never give it to him, you absolutely go apeshit on him. How could he be so damn stupid. A deal with a devil? Really?! All the what ifs… It made you realise your anger and disappointment came from a place of affection.

You made Percy promise he’d tell you when he’s thinking of doing something stupid he’ll tell you before doing the thing. Before he leaves for another adventure or comes back from one you’ll go on a walk, have dinner or just relax somewhere. Sometimes you’ll talk, sometimes sit in silence, whatever you feel like in that moment. You’d begun holding hands, hugging or a kiss to the cheek before departure or upon return, tiny displays of affection.

You were informed Percy had died, but as Grog told you, he got better. Reasonably so you freaked out but you were also aware of the risk of the adventurer lifestyle, more accurately the lifestyle of someone with enemies like Percy. That didn’t mean you didn’t feel like your heart just shattered in that moment. You cared for Percy until he recovered. It’s the first time you truly saw Percy weak, not of mind wavering to a pact with an entity or the likes, but mentally done.

Percy first realised he might hold more than affections for you when you promised him that you’d always have one more thing for him to do. No matter how messed up the world looked, there’d always be a place for him with you. He’s not stupid enough to think this doesn’t come out of a deep affection of your own but he can’t be too sure it’s love either. It’s obvious you care for him, and maybe you do love him but are you in love with him? He’s not sure. Is he in love with you? He’s unsure. He knows he cares about you immensely and loves you just as much and that’s enough for him.

Percy is a man of impulse. This comes in especially handy when someone lacks courage to do something. He doesn’t approach you for your first ‘official’ date. It was just like any other outing you’d gone on or time you spent together except for the fact Percy asked you out, letting slip it was a date. If just asking you this was already so difficult he definitely would need a bottle of courage or two admitting his feelings out loud.

You’re clever enough and know how to read people enough that you weren’t oblivious to Percy’s recent changes in behaviour towards you. You were also clever enough to place them and, when courage fails you’re not one to beat around the bush. You called him out and half fearing you’d turn him down, he was proven the opposite when you pulled him in by the ascot and kissed him. Surprising but not unwanted.

Seeing no need in defining your relationship for others, you also didn’t ease the others into this development. Watching you kiss Percy passionately before he was off on another adventure leaving everyone around very surprised. So surprised they missed the mark on Keyleth’s transport via plants. Bombarded with questions about when or how this happened Percy didn’t want to indulge them with answers and instead spent more time with you.

Of course you had shared sleeping spaces before. You weren’t strangers to sharing a bed but you can comfortably say, it became much more comfortable after you first shared your bed together as lovers in the afterglow, waking up like a sweaty mess. Sharing baths after became the norm to freshen up and relax. The perfect excuse to spend more time together and have everyone else gagging after the look you’d share when asked why you missed breakfast… and lunch…

It took a long while before you first found yourselves able to exchange I love you’s but when danger came knocking at your door and you were thrown back into the fight for Tal’Dorei with Vox Machina’s allies it was now or never. Seeing things go south you got the pleasure of teaming up with a brass dragon to kick some undead ass.

“Before we both do something incredibly stupid I want you to know I love you.” Simple and efficient and to the point.

“I am tempted to hold these words for myself until after we’ve saved the world. Call it motivation to stay alive but since you made such an effort already. I love you too, dear.” Asshole. What did you expect. The feeling was mutual.

(Caduceus)

The first time you met Caduceus you’d killed someone in not too far out from Shady Creek. The down side, you killed someone important. They came after you, you protected yourself but then you had a body to deal with. You heard about the cursed place, and decided to just bury it there. You didn’t expect to find a dopey pink haired firbolg to be living at the heart of the place. He was surprisingly helpful in burying the body you brought to the point you were almost sure you’d be buried right next to your victim soon. Luckily for you you were proven wrong.

You couldn’t really return to Shady Creek and it’s not like you had much of a home there so you wandered the forests hunting and gathering for food and warmth at night avoiding the cursed places and dangers as much as you could. You couldn’t and returned to the safety of the Blooming Grove. So you made a deal, you’d stay with the firbolg, help him out at his graveyard, cemetery, whatever it is and he’d give you a place to sleep at night.

You resorted to staying inside the small temple sleeping on the floor but soon enough, Caduceus invited you to just take one of the beds in the house and stick around instead of leave at dawn to find food, removing some weeds, watering some plants, and return at dusk. No more wandering you fell into more domestic tasks solidifying your roommate life with the man. It had been a while since either of you were in (good) company so you appreciated anything that could talk and wasn’t trying to murder you.

In your time spent with Caduceus you heard bits and pieces about his family but what didn’t add up for you were the beds and belongings he didn’t touch or did so with care to keep them clean. When you got the courage to ask Caduceus told you the story of Clay, Stone and Dust and how his family left to save the Grove and perhaps even the Savalirwood as a whole. It felt odd to actually talk to someone about them that’s not him to himself. He appreciated your compassion, telling him that they’d come back home and with the stories he told you hope you’d get to meet them one day.

Caduceus’ expert prepping of meals left you wanting to be able to do the same. Of course he was happy to teach you and with his guidance you cooked your first meal. It wasn’t the best but definitely beat anything you could make on the road by yourself. The spices are to die for. You found yourself falling into the habit of cooking together; a nice way to end the day.

You were having a particularly tough day and ready to just curl up and let the world consume you, there was no hiding from your friendly firbolg roommate. He knew what’s up but gave you a chance to come to him. You didn’t so he came to you. He didn’t say anything, just sat next to you with a cup of tea, set another one in front of you and stayed quiet until you were ready to talk or get back to your business if you didn’t. He wasn’t going to pry in personal matters unless you asked him.

An encounter with a nasty creature you were unable to scare off and away had Caduceus pinned to the ground. With enough courage and some knowledge of physical combat you managed to get the creature off and injure it enough so it fled. Pulling Caduceus to his feet you were engulfed in a hug with a thank you. As is common knowledge Caduceus hugs are the best hugs you found yourself asking for more. Caduceus wasn’t at all opposed to keep this a thing as he’d always enjoyed hugs.

With the two of you growing closer, living together you decided to sit down and talk about what you had and where it was going as neither of you wanted to accidentally lead on the other or set expectations that could not be met. Neither of you were looking for romantic love or romance at all. Some might refer to you as bestest of friends or life partners but that didn’t really seem to fit. You’re just you and Caduceus is him and you liked hugging and spending time together, going through the motions of life and that’s all you needed.

When the Nein came along looking for help, Caduceus offered for you to stay behind, the Blooming Grove was just as much your home as it was his but you went along anyway. You’d never left the forest. Never travelled south either but many adventures found their way to you and you’d be spending them with you with Caduceus through all the ups and downs. The Nein got so used to your dynamic they never questioned it. It was just something that existed and was happening and quite frankly, one of the few normal things about you and the firbolg.

When the day came you found the Clay family you got to be there for Caduceus as he had for you. Meeting them for the first time they lived up to the stories you’d been told. The Clays were very happy to meet Caduceus’ friends but upon learning about your connection to him they were relieved he hadn’t been all alone for all those years they were gone and had some company. They offered you to come back with them but just like Caduceus, there was still some unfinished business and these people, the Mighty Nein still needed your help.

Then, when everything came to a close, you returned to the Blooming Grove and spent the rest of your days there living content. It had been your home and would continue to be your home. The Clays became your family and for the first time in forever you could see yourself content at home leaving with Caduceus to travel at times but always return to that little spot in the Savalirwood.

[jq37]

The Report Card – Fantasy High: The Seven Ep 6

Bitches Be Shopping

What is up y’all. A little late but let’s jump in with episode six of The Seven where our girls have just received a LOT of information, Sam most of all who got put into a little vision coma that she’s just now waking up from.

She explains the vision to her friends (as she interprets it, the other Eidolons didn’t die, just became part of the natural forces of the world) and then the bear that Penny made on a whim last episode (who is Russian, named Koda, and somehow a trained circus bear) gets into a fight with Katja with their friends buffing the two to make things more interesting because these are still idiot teens, life or death situation or no. Yelle decides to be the adult and tells them to knock it off and get back on mission.

That means Katja needs to call her dad since he’s knows the guy who’s the best lead to getting to TK ( Talcidimir Tallbreeze who I’ll call Tal). She actually manages to get her dad this time who is inside a giant snake on his hell mission. Katja asks what he knows about TK and he says she’s a sorcerer but also has a spell book so maybe she’s multiclassed. Sam and Ant desperately want to know if they boned and Katja absolutely is not interested in that knowledge. Yelle decides to just ask which makes her dad a little annoyed since he’s kind of in the middle of something (literally) and that annoys Ant, Ost, and Sam who--respectively, accuse him of gaslighting Kat, cast Command on him, and cast Bane on him to aid the Command spell. 

Mr. Cleaver fails the save and Ost commands him to tell Katja the truth. He admits that he did hook up with TK and he regrets it (note: it wasn’t like he cheated. It was just a casual hookup that wasn’t fulfilling it seems). Ost demands he apologize for not being there for Kat and Sam berates him for being at the top of the world and not lifting up his daughter too. For his part, Kat’s dad seems genuinely apologetic and promises to do better. 

“You don’t need to be the best father, you just need to be there,” Katja says, making her dad break down crying. 

Yelle, who has no daddy issues, is a bit less aggro and says that everyone makes mistakes and he can start making it up right now by helping with the Tal situation. She also gives them the tip that a cold spell will probably get them out of the snake lickety split.  She is on the money with the snake tip and Mr. Cleaver gets them all invites to a masquerade ball Tal is hosting. It’s being held on the Rumbosa which is this city-sized leisure ship. Mr. Cleaver says he’ll be back as soon as he can and, in the meantime, she should take care of her friends, “even the first 2 that were terrifying to me.”

The girls give Katja the axe they took as a birthday present (it was apparently her birthday the day before which Rekha just decided and Ost/Izzy refuses to accept without a fight because she *knows* Kat’s bday) which is identified as the Axe of Sundering (it can shatter objects, people, and sometimes concepts like halving movement). The two unnamed potions Yelle found are also ID’d as a Potion of Fly and a Potion of Gaseous Form. She distributes the Heath Potions to people without heals. Ant’s new arrows bypass some resistances and let her treat whatever she hits with the first one like it’s her favored enemy. 

According to their invites, the ship they need is docking in the city of Gravalvia soon (a very old city in the Baronies) so they need to figure out a plan. They have some downtime, during which:

Zelda tries to hype up the team.

Zelda tries to see if Ost is OK wrt dad stuff and Ost has a Full Breakdown after badly pretending she’s fine. 

While Zelda, Ost, and Penny are being Emotional and Sam is trying to literally cool them down with her powers, Ant and Yelle keep watch and experience emotional stability as the Adults Of The Party 

Anyway, after a night of rest, they head to the golden city of Gravalvia which is this very cool, very pretty city with mosaics and fountains and I assume columns. They get there and there’s a dramatic fight happening in the square which is halted when one of the fighters realizes that the country he’s fighting for doesn’t exist anymore. And now, it’s time for what we’ve all been waiting for. Shopping Montage! Let’s go girl by girl.

Katja and Ost

Kat asks for help from Ost with getting fancy for this gala since she’s never really done anything dressy before (and she had no mom to help--Kaaaat) and Ost is happy to oblige, dressing them both like “Jersey trash”. Kat, of course, still wears her Khakis underneath.

Antiope

Ant decides to get a vibe for what people here wear and picks something that will blend in but be forgettable so she can be stealthy. Classy blue dress and mask.

Penny

Penny...OK, I absolutely cannot describe what happens here in any way that will do justice to the scene. I am going to tell you what matters to the plot. You have to watch this yourself if you want to see the entire table have a collective breakdown. 

While looking for a costume, Penny runs into a halfling who is a member of the Society of Shadows--Laertes. He wants to know why she hasn’t responded to their invitation yet. She says she’s really eager to join, she just wasn’t sure how to respond (and also, she’s kind of in the middle of something). He says she can join by just messaging back and then her loved ones just have to sign waivers to have their memories wiped of her and she’s good to go. Say what now? asks Penny. She didn’t realize this was like a full Men in Black situation. 

He says it’s ultimately her decision and leaves.

Of course, I left out the parts where he ate a handful of Candy Heart’s remains, became violently ill, almost projectile vomited into Penny’s mouth, and she tried to kiss him despite him being a full adult. It’s A Lot, ok?

Also, we don’t find out until later but Penny picks a sexy duck costume for reasons that make more sense if you watch the scene but not *much* more sense. She also burns one of the healing potions on this dude as he is bar

Danielle

Danielle tries to get some info on the guests at the party and gets the names Lawrence LaDuc, Princess Autumn, and Duston who is the playboy cousin of Tal. She also hears some dude saying some colonize and plunder the earth BS and casts Heat Metal on him, fully mercing the dude. Ice cold. 

She tries to play it off like it’s the Curse of the Forest and when that doesn’t work and people start coming for her, she wildshapes into a dragon wyrmling and starts roasting people, killing 1 and dropping 2 to zero. 

Unfortunately, one of her party members is a known dragon hater and uses her new arrows to snipe her right out of the sky. Ant is horrified once she realizes what she’s done but Yelle says it’s all good. It’s NOT all good, says Ant, I STABBED YOU. You’re allowed to be mad! Yelle says she’s just really good at compartmentalizing but what Ant’s getting here is that Yelle doesn’t really believe that her feelings matter which echo the fears of her moms. 

Sam

Sam uses a combination of Mantle of Inspiration, glamour magic, performance, and good old flirting to get herself some killer clothes and also start a spontaneous musical number Giselle style.  

Brennan says she looks resplendent and, honestly, when does she not?

They reconvene, Zelda in a classic hoop skirt. Yelle realizes she never got a costume and just whips out a Met Gala level, autumn themed, Queen Mab-esque costume with Druidcraft which she could have done this whole time so I guess that’s why she was cool spending her shopping time getting gossip and playing Poison Ivy. 

They get to the ship and the way this works, everyone has to make an entrance and the really rich people (including Tal) are on a dais up top watching everyone come in. They all have to give fake names for the night since it’s a masquerade and they have to do Performance or Persuasion checks to see how impressive they look going in. 

Before they go in, they plan a little. Penny wants to look for TK. Sam wants to find Dunston. Ost wants to talk to the bouncers. Yelle wants to see if there are plants she can manipulate (there are btw) and for any exits. 

A quick rundown of how these all go:

Katja aka Mere (which means both mom and horse): 16 

Ant aka Midnight Huntress: 18 

Penny aka Penny Duckstone: 13

Zelda aka Madame Goodparty: 2 (Poor Zelda)

Sam aka Songbird: 22 (but she takes a hit to entrance save Zelda from totally flaming out)

Ost aka Stanley Gucci: 13

And Danielle, who never hogs the spotlight and is embarrassed to admit that maybe she does want to be the center of attention for once in her life with a Natural 20, gets a 29, absolutely bringing down the house as Empress Anima. As she walks forward she feels a voice say to her, “You got this. I love the name. You wear it well.”

Tal seems very impressed by her and a lady in a rabbit mask (Coeliabranca who I’ll call Coel if she comes up more) comes down to bring her up to the top with the high rollers. As she leaves, Sam casts Fly on her, just in case and holds the Concentration. 

Ost and Kat go talk to the bouncers and Kat decides to pretend to be her mom to get access to the area Yelle is. She rolls low and is told, “Hey, aren’t you already up there?” Kat is like, fuck and Ost saves her by using her charm earrings to get an entourage of guards who will let them through and do what she says. Once up there, Kat doesn’t see her mom which I can imagine she has mixed feelings about. 

Sam finds Dunston who is talking about Fantasy Bitcoin and seems like a real “Step on me mommy” type you know? Like, I feel like he’s into findom. Anyway, Sam charms him and his hangers on and learns about a procedure called a Phlebectomy that involves something going into their nose and then they feel better. Sam is rightfully horrified because, as I said, she is Most Likely To Survive A Horror Movie and can sense BS when she sees is. It’s apparently all the rage with the rich people here which is, como de dice, concerning seeing as they’re surrounded by them but we’ll get to that. Sam takes advantage of Dunston’s proclivities and gets him alone, knocks him out, steals him clothes, and pretends to be him (a *very* good scene by Sephie). 

Penny sees a gnome gnome boy (Lysander Higgins) shining shoes and finds out from him that there is a copper earth genasi woman here. In a very Cinderella move, she asks what shoes she was wearing. Then, she makes out with him which like, sure. At least it’s not a grown adult man this time. Before she gets her kisses in, she does tell the group what she learned. 

Up with the rich people, Yelle is introduced to Tal’s friend who is into Eidolons because of the name she chose. Between the shoes and her knowledge, they confirm that it’s TK! Yelle asks what she knows about Eidolons and she says that 7 is a very powerful number.

We cut to Ant who is patrolling the room as the sun sets and she suddenly hears a little beeping. It’s coming from a small crystal that was in Preston’s shirt (which she still has on her because???). Guests start dripping goo from their noses and transforming into monsters. Ant realizes that some kind of spell is happening triggered by midnight and this beeping. Hope these costumes are battle ready cause it’s fight time baybee!

Superlatives 

Danielle: Most Likely to Be on The News for Murdering Fantasy Jeff Bezos

I cannot imagine what was running through Yelle’s head when she decided that, having just rolled into a foreign country, her next move was to start using lethal force on anti-environmentalist colonizing capitalists. Like, she’s not *wrong* per se but she is wild--in all senses of the word.  

Random Thoughts

Kat keeps saying yesterday was her birthday which Ost/Izzy (and the rest of the group to a less vocal degree) are simply not having because maybe her dad would forget her birthday but her girls absolutely would not.

“You’re great because you stayed,” is the other killshot Kat line to her dad.

At a certain point Sam says, “This is so unhealthy,” to I think Yelle and like, if SAM is telling you your coping mechanisms are unhealthy, get thee to therapy.

OK, so someone, presumably Anima’s spirit, talks to Yelle as she makes her grand entrance which seems like info they should get to Talura ASAP, right? Cause that’s evidence they’re not dead-dead, just changed in form. But also Anima, girl. Don’t talk to Yelle. Talk to your rampaging sister!

"That's my secret, I stay in initiative."

Just a process note, notes are taken for the next ep and I am working on getting that recap up ASAP. As a battle ep, it will be in the abbreviated style that I did for last battle ep. 

In this episode, Penny rolls a Nat 1 (which she rerolls) and one of Brennan’s NPCs rolls a Nat 1. Ant rolls 2 Nat 20s, Yelle rolls 1, and Brennan says that one of his NPCs gets a 20 which sweeps him entirely into Sam’s dance number. 

[girlwithshipsshitshow]

32

Misaki walks the streets of downtown Tokyo for about an hour until he comes across a shop that has the perfect gift for their anniversary. He grins, rushing into the shop to pick out the gift; as he exits, his phone rings, it's Usagi.

Usagi: Hey Hon, where are you?

Misaki: I'm on my way home, heading to the train station. Should be there in about fifteen minutes.

Usagi: Okay, well hurry, our reservations are in an hour.

Misaki: An hour?!

Usagi: I'm sorry! That's the best I could do.

Misaki: *checks watch* I'll be there as soon as I can.

Usagi: Okay, I'll see you soon.

Misaki: Okay. I love you.

Usagi: I love you too, baby.

Usagi hangs up, straightening his tie, grinning once satisfied. He wore a black suit and a blue tie. He thought he looked perfect but was always nervous going on dates with Misaki. This one was different, though. This was their fifth anniversary, and he felt like he was going to puke. Misaki walks in the door grinning, placing his bag on the couch.

Misaki: *Calling out* Hey Usagi! You upstairs?

Usagi: *Walking down the stairs with a grin* Hey!

Misaki: *Smirks, meeting Usagi at the bottom of the steps* Hey.

*Misaki quickly kisses the older man, taking him in. He grins, wrapping his arms around him. Misaki hugs him tighter, taking in the older man's scent. He loved him so much.*

Usagi: *Chuckles* Hi Baby, you okay?

Misaki: *Nodding against Usagi*, Yeah, you smell good.

Usagi: I showered, might be why.

Misaki: Heh. *Pulls away*, Alright, we'll I need to shower then, I won't be that long.

Usagi: *Places hand on Misaki's face, softy rubbing his cheek with his thumb* Okay. *Stares intensely at the younger man*

Misaki: *Blushing* W-what, what is it?

Usagi: Nothing, it's just, I love you.

Misaki: *Looks down* I love you too. I- um, I'm going to go shower. *Brushes past Usagi, heading up the stairs*

Usagi: Hey, M-Misaki?

Misaki: *Stops, turns to face Usagi* Yeah?

Usagi: I wasn't sure what suit you wanted to wear, so I laid out the one from your graduation, and that grey one you wore to the wedding we went to a few months ago.

Misaki: *Grins* Thank you, but I have a novel idea in mind.

Usagi: *smirks* Novel?

Misaki: *Shut up* I'm going to shower. I'll be back in twenty minutes.

*Misaki paused, rummaging through the closet he now shared with Usagi. Where was that suit? It's been so many years since he wore it, but he knew he brought it in here at one point. Nothing was in his old room now except his bed and a computer that he used sometimes; it mostly served as a guest room now. Misaki walked to the closet, searching through all the suits that were hanging. He grinned, shaking his head; they had way too many. The young man smiled when he found the Grey suit with the pink collared shirt. Finally, he found it; now only if he could find the purple tie.*

*Usagi sat on the couch, nervously flipping through channels. He didn't want to be late, but more than that, he wanted to enjoy a nice proper dinner for their fifth anniversary. They enjoyed their trip, but since it rained so much, the two of them felt like they needed a proper date to celebrate*

Misaki: Usagi?

*The younger man strolled down the stairs, walking over to Usagi. Standing, he grinned at Misaki, looking at him, gasping.*

Usagi: Wait, Misaki, this is the suit I bought you when we had our first date.

Misaki: Um, *rubs neck* Yeah, you know, I just thought it would be perfect. I think we should go, though. I don't want to be late.

Usagi: Yeah, you ready?

Misaki: I am. I just need to grab something from my bag.

Usagi: Okay.

*Usagi Smiled staring at the menu, the two made it just in time, their table overlooked the lights of the city it was pure beauty. Misaki Grinned grabbing Usagi's hand causing him to blush slightly*

Usagi: Misaki, You're cute.

Misaki: *Chuckles* Thanks, babe. Is there anything sticking out to you?

Usagi: I was thinking we could share the roasted duck unless you want something else?

Misaki: I was thinking the duck too, the manganji hotpepper sounds amazing.

Usagi: Okay, do you want white or red wine?

Misaki: You pick, you know what's the best.

Usagi: Okay, well the 2018 Alsimy Sauvignon Blanc is fantastic, we can get that.

Misaki: Perfect.

*The two order Enjoying an amazing meal, under the ambiance of the lights, the food, and each other's company. Misaki Smirks Wiping sauce off Usagi's face, then licking it from his thumb*

Usagi: *Chuckles* That brings back memories.

Misaki: I can't believe that was five years ago.

Usagi: Still as cute as ever.

Misaki: *blushes* Stop it. Oh, before I forget. *Pulls Box out of Jacket pocket* I got you something, Happy Anniversary Usagi.

*Misaki sets the box on the table Usagi grins, wiping his face off. He runs his hand over the box, grinning at Misaki. He opens the box, inside sit two dragon claw marble necklaces. One has a green marble, the other is purple. Usagi gives Misaki a look of confusion*

Usagi: I don't get it.

Misaki: Ah, well we, when we went on my birthday trip I got the jar of marbles, and we both made three wishes. I always thought the last one was most important.

Usagi: Yeah, Mine was "I hope I can be with Misaki Forever"

Misaki: Yeah, I remember. I never told you what mine was, but it was the same as yours " I hope I can be with Usagi-san forever"

Usagi: *Blushes* Really?

Misaki: Yeah, it always embarrassed me to tell you. Uh, anyway, a little while ago, after we told Nii-chan about us, I found them again. I made the wish to be with you forever and ever, with all my heart. So when I was trying to find the best gift, I thought of Marbles, or rather, these necklaces, so we can hold on to the wishes we made. *Shakes head* I know it's dumb.

Usagi: *Grabs Misaki's hand* Misaki, I love it. *Picks hand up, kisses knuckles* It's perfect.

Misaki: Oh, um, the greens yours, it matches my eyes, and the purples mine.

Usagi: I figured.

Misaki: I uh, know we rarely wear jewelry except for our engagement rings, but-

Usagi: Misaki, stop. I love it.

Misaki: Okay. Um, can I put yours on?

Usagi: Yeah. *grins*

*Misaki stands, walks around to Usagi, he gently takes out the necklace, then places it on Usagi's neck. Misaki grins, he softy kisses Usagi's neck then touches the marble, it shines in the light*

Misaki: It's perfect.

Usagi: I need to put on yours.

Misaki: Of course.

*Misaki leans against the table as Usagi places the necklace on his neck, Usagi leans forward softly kissing his lips, the taste spicy from the duck sauce, but sweet from the wine*

Usagi: let's get out of here. *He smiles, rubbing Misaki's legs*

Misaki: We need to pay.

Usagi: You know what I mean.

Misaki: *Rolls eyes* Where are we staying tonight?

Usagi: The prince park, I choose a room with the view of the tower, access to the bar, a nice tub, HUGE bed an-

Misaki: You spent a lot of money on the room deduct?

Usagi: Not a lot of money...

Misaki: You're crazy.

Usagi: *taps Misakis nose* You love me.

Misaki: I need you to save money. What are we going to do for our wedding? And then when we start the process for surrogacy? That's not cheap.

Usagi: It'll be okay, I have savings for that stuff. Misaki, I- I have an extra account for this stuff, the fun stuff. Our house expenses, the house we're building, the wedding, the future... all of that, I have another account for that. I promise you don't need to worry.

Misaki: Really?

Usagi: Really. *Kisses Misaki's cheek* Do you want anything else before we leave?

Misaki: No.

Usagi: Alright, let's see about getting out of here.

Misaki: *Smiles* Alright

*Misaki walked into the room, stunned. It was beautiful; the tower looked amazing at night. They had such a close view of it; the bathroom was enormous, so was the bed. The room had a small minibar and a small lounge area. There was a tv perfectly placed so they could watch tv in the lounge area or relaxing in bed. Misaki walked to the window taking in the view, Usagi smiled walking up behind him wrapping his arms around the smaller man's waist; he gently kissed his neck, resting his chin on his shoulder. Miksik smiled at him through the window, placing his arms on the older man, their rings, and necklaces reflecting off the city lights*

Usagi: Do you want to go to the Executive lounge for a drink*?

Misaki: *Grins* Executive lounge? sounds fancy.

Usagi: Oh, it is. *Raises an eyebrow*

Misaki: *Turns to look at Usagi, grins at him, wrapping his arms around his neck* Why is it so fancy? Wait, let me guess because only people who have these rooms have access to it?

Usagi: Yeah, wanna go?

Misaki: Yes, but only for one drink. *Smirks* I want to enjoy this room while we have it.

Usagi: Well, I can book an extra night.

Misaki: NO! that's not at all what I meant.

Usagi: I-

Misaki: Let's go.

*Misaki grabs Usagi's hand, they head down to the bar where Misaki orders a Saketini and Usagi orders a whiskey sour; he insists they get cocktails*

Misaki: Um, Usagi? *He sits across from the older man, sipping on his cocktail, he's nervous, but Usagi can't read him this time*

Usagi: What's wrong? *He places his drink on the table, giving Misaki a loving look*

Misaki: Um, when we first met, do you remember how we like hated each other?

Usagi: *nods sadly* Yeah, I do.

Misaki: Well, a few months into that, the more we started to, uh, hang out and spend time with each other, the more I started to kinda have feelings for you.

Usagi: *Smirks* Really? Why didn't you tell me?

Misaki: Well, first, you were in love with my brother? But more than that, I-I didn't think it was okay for me to be in love with you or have feelings for any man. I mean, when we first starting dating and having sex; I was kinda, how do I say it? Not opposed, obviously, but I didn't know how to react or deal with all the feelings I had for you. I called you a lot of mean, rude names that I didn't mean; I'm sorry Usagi. Also, you need to know how much I've always loved you, even if I could never express it clearly. It was hard for me sometimes, but I've always felt a great deal of love for you, even more now, I just wanted you to know.

*Usagi is smiling. He's clearly holding back tears. Picking up his drink, he stands, walks, and sits beside Misaki, takes his hand, strokes the back with his thumb. The older man smiles, kissing the younger man gently on his cheek.*

Usagi: Misaki, I um, I knew how much you loved me, I've always known. *Clears throat* As for names that you called me? That's in the past, and I understand why. I know that it's hard to come to terms with who you are. I also need you to know, that night when you cried for me, I fell in love with you, but not just because I allowed myself to be vulnerable, but because you somehow understood? But I guess it's because you had those feelings for me?

Misaki: *Wipes tears* Um, yeah I guess, when we first were dating, I was upset because I didn't understand how you could fall for me so fast?

Usagi: I knew that at some point, I had to let go of the feelings I had for Takahiro, so when I realized I could show verbality in front of you, something I've never done in my life, I knew I found what being in love meant, you've shown me that night that I could be open and honest with my emotions. *Smiles* I couldn't do that with anyone but you, so thank you for showing me what true love is.

Misaki: I, you've shown me what true love is. Usagi, you're my first love, you know? I don't think I've ever felt for anyone; I haven't had like crushes. I know you get jealous sometimes, but thank you for always being so protective of me, even if I complain, I appreciate it.

Usagi: I know that.

*Usagi picks up Misaki's hands, locking their fingers together. He smiles at the younger man. The two finish their drink, then head back to the room. They decide to a bath in the hot tub. Misaki wants to wash Usagi for a change since he doesn't get too often*

Misaki: Stay still, let me wash your hair.

Usagi: *Grinning, trying to snuggle against Misaki* I want to do this.

Misaki: You have suds in your hair. Can I finish? *Misaki places Usagi's head under the water, rinsing his hair off, he lifts Usagi's head inspecting to make sure all the suds are gone, smiles; then wraps his arms around Usagi.* Now I'm done. Are you happy?

Usagi: What about you?

Misaki: I showed before we went to eat.

*Usagi turns to bring Misaki into him. The older man rubs his thumb over Misaki's lips, then brings his chin up to his lips, softly kissing him. He pulls back, smiling at the younger man, who gives him a loving but seductive look.*

Usagi: What?

Misaki: Nothing, it's just, Happy anniversary.

Usagi: You know, it's not technically our anniversary anymore?

Misaki: *Shoves Usagi* Shut up, way to ruin a moment. *Gets out of the tub*

Usagi: Hey, come on, where are you going?

Misaki: To bed.

Usagi: Fun bed or?

Misaki: *Rolls eyes*

*Misaki lies on Usagi's chest, the two are in bed talking about moments they've shared in the past five years; Usagi is caressing Misakis' hair; the city lights are shining in the bedroom, giving off a warm glow.*

Misaki: I think when I went to visit my brother in Osaka was when I was felt nervous about our relationship; leaving that week hurt.

Usagi: I know, I felt the same. I couldn't think of anything but you.

Misaki: When you came to get me, I was happy but embarrassed. *Grins* You came three hours for me, and we spent the night in the sleeping car. I loved it.

Usagi: *Chuckles* Your first birthday we spent together.

Misaki: It was also your first real trip.

Usagi: *Smiles, squeezes Misaki* it thrilled me to be with you.

Misaki: I was happy too. I still have all the pictures saved on my laptop. You held my hand in public for the first time. I remember how it felt when I tried to tell you I loved you, I couldn't say it, and then when I could, I was so happy when I could tell you. I know there have been and will be people who like me or you but, the difference is, you're the love of my life Usagi, and you always will be.

Usagi: You're the love of my life Misaki, I love you so much.

*Misaki Grins; slowly traces kisses down Usagi's chest, causing the older man to moan slightly. He glances up at Usagi, then makes his way back up to his neck, placing gentle kisses on his collarbone. Misaki Smiles Climbing on Usagi, wrapping his legs around his hips, the younger man grins at the older man below him. He pushes Usagi's soft hair back, the smell of shampoo filling the air.*

Usagi: I love you so much, baby.

Misaki: I love you too.

*Usagi grins, taking Misaki's head, pulling it towards him. Softly he bites Misakis's lip, using his tongue to find a way in. The kisses are sweet from the cocktails they had earlier, their tongues softly dancing with each other. The two pull away, searching for air. Usagi smiles at the younger man, rubbing his back, gently kissing his nipples.*

Misaki: Usa- Usagi?

Usagi: *Pulls away from Misaki's hard nipples, smiling gently at the young man* What's wrong? Are you okay?

Misaki: *Nods* I want to be in you.

Usagi: Okay.

*Misaki sat up while Usagi turned. He still got nervous when entering Usagi. The younger man gently kissed Usagi's lower back, then slowly made his way inside. He heard Usagi gasped as Misaki thrust himself inside the older man, until they both came together, clasping on the bed out of breath. Usagi took Misaki, wrapping himself around the smaller man. Misaki smiled, as Usagi's scent wrapped around them like a warm blanket.*

Usagi: *Running his fingers through Misaki's hair* Misaki?

Misaki: Yeah.

Usagi: Are you okay?

Misaki: Perfect, are you okay?

Usagi: I am. I can't believe we've been together for five years.

Misaki: We've been through a lot, huh?

Usagi: We have.

Misaki: I remember when I didn't read any of your books.

Usagi: *Laughs* Where did that come from?

Misaki: *Looks up at Usagi* It's just now I've read all of them, and I'm going to be your assistant starting next week.

Usagi: Ugh, is next week already the begging of May?

Misaki: Well, we went on a trip for like three weeks. We left on the day of my graduation.

Usagi: We came home early though.

Misaki: It's the twenty-fourth of April. May is next Sunday.

Usagi: So we still have a few days to do this?

Misaki: *Reaches up, gently rubs Usagi's Chin* We have the rest of our lives to do this.

Usagi: I'll take it.

[venmotif]

yall I learned how to use read mores I’m steadily improving at tumblr 

more fruitninja fantasy brainrot

fruit is a cat hybrid! grows up in an underground, illegal fighting ring(not necessarily literally underground)

fights and kills dangerous/exotic animals or other ppl for the pit masters' entertainment. every fight he wins gives him a tally. if he has 1000 he can buy his freedom. but he has to spend tallies on supplies(like 5 tallies for a loaf of bread, 25 for bandages, etc)

he can forfeit a match(if he's afraid of death etc) at the cost of 100 tallies; he's incentives to fight and win as many matches as possible

he's very close to 1000 tallies at the time the fic starts, having forfeited only two fights during his time there, and budgeting the rest of his supplies

after a long day of fighting exotic animals(chimeras, hungry lions, etc etc) he hears a commotion and they drag a young ender dragon into the ring, which he quickly realizes he can't beat(because tired, also ender dragon dangerous). reluctantly he forfeits another 100 tallies and goes back to his cell feeling bitter about the loss. he dreads having to fight the dragon in the future because he knows he'll have to do it if he can't kill it right now.

he has his own cell for being hostile towards guards and highly dangerous(one of the best fighters); it's a privilege(somewhat), also a measure of security for the guards of the pit. he hears a minor argument, some scuffles and growls, basically another commotion. another person is dragged inside, a dragon hybrid, who has his wings bound and a gag/muzzle locked around his teeth. they dump him in there, he struggles somewhat but the guards quickly leave.

fruit sits back warily, for a while, because antisocial and also possibly dangerous new roommate. he recognizes that some of the wounds look familiar(like a gash on his face, very specific shaped gouges etc) and realizes that his roommate is a shifter who has a half dragon form and a full dragon form, who he fought earlier, which puts him even further on guard.

the muzzle is uncomfortable, so illumina tries to gesture for fruit to help him take it off; fruit is reluctant because possible danger but he makes illumina promise to not hurt him and picks the lock on the back. they talk and it's awkward at first but they establish rapport soon enough. they ask about each other; fruit mentions he's grown up in the pits, illumina says he was recently captured, a few days ago, after a flying accident over a bad place. mentions he's still somewhat injured(even though having healed at an unnaturally fast pace) so fruit probably could've killed him. "the dragon form is more intimidating, but I don't like it as much...it feels more monstrous, inhuman."

fruit tells illu how the fight systems work, the tally system, how he was close but because he forfeited the fight with illumina he's set back 100 tallies and that much further(dejected). illumina suggests breaking out, which fruit is taken aback at because he's never seriously contemplated it, because he knows what happens to people who try, torture and very brutal fights to the death. but illumina promises that they can work together to do that.

the timeline revolves around illumina getting better(healing), and both of them preparing to break out, around their scheduled fights, and fruit taking more so he can use his tallies to buy things like supplies(bandaids, food etc). towards the middle late part of the book, he overhears that the organizers/owners are slotting him for a death match, which is basically an increasingly difficult fight that he can't forfeit which is designed to kill him(bc he's too close to freedom, and the organizers never planned on giving him it anyway). he tells Illumina they have to leave before then(this creates urgency)

when they almost have all the supplies they need, the organizers hears about their plans to run away and forcibly moves up fruit's death match after separating him from illu for a night. they're still missing some supplies at this point, but the biggest is illumina's end crystal/dragon core etc which he needs to not be bound to a general location, and is being kept in the organizers' office; illu has to steal it from there or their escape will never work. fruit's forced into the fight and is hella nervous, almost dies; at the last boss, when he's about to bleed out, illumina flies down in dragon form and carries him away(being successful with retrieving his core) and they soar into the sky.

--

(aftermath) they go to a nearby cave; illumina turns back into hybrid form, and they take their saved supplies and patch up fruit. illumina says that they'll fly in his dragon form towards a near-enough city for a better start; illumina is enthusiastic about showing fruit what city life/civilization outside the pit is like.

--

they land in the city; it's bright and beautiful, and they have some money that illumina stole from the organizers' office(he needed to go there to take his end crystal back or smth like that for his independence), so they enjoy some small delights, I think, the pretty night, beautiful sunrises etc. story ends here with them relatively happy.

second fic could contain the problem of how the hell else they establish life in the city, etc

[internalsealpanic]

Dick Grayson x Mercenary Reader HCs Part 1

a/n: This is basically a Dick Grayson/ Reader thingy that has been stuck in my head for months but I haven’t plotted out an actual fic for. Basically, I have the relationship mapped out in my head but I have no scenarios. I was hoping someone could suggest a plot I can play with. This part is mostly platonic with hints of a future relationship. This is pretty much in a weird version of canon running around in my head. 

masterlist

You’re Deathstroke’s apprentice. (This version is the version from the Knights and Dragons movie so he isn't a complete and utter asshole. Look, I just really like that version.) Let's just say you had more moxie than self preservation. It also helps that you’re a meta with a pretty unique power. Anything drawn on your skin turns into a physical object. (You basically have a bunch of permanent markers on you in addition to your usual equipment.)

Dick doesn't like you because of your profession but has a grudging respect for your skill. You think Dick is annoying for getting in the way but you understand that he's just trying to do his best to help the city in his own useless way.

YOU LORDING YOUR HEIGHT OVER DICK WHEN YOU'RE KIDS AND YOU QUIETLY CURSING WHEN YOU STOP GROWING.

You and Dick never set out to be friends. You honestly had no clue when this even started. Maybe it was because you keep accidentally saving each other or maybe because you two have a lot to bond over such as murdered parents and emotionally inept mentors. 

When it actually started: You, in full  costume, recognize your least favourite bird and see that he's crying and that he not only has an ugly bruise in his face but also a bunch of other injuries. you simply sit with him and throw your arms around him letting your muscles relax as if to tell him ‘it's ok and that you’ve got him’. You let him cry into your shoulder. You understand that you have a little more in common than he's willing to admit. You use one of your motion tattoo wings as a cover from the rain and the other to keep Dick warm. When Dick finally calms down enough to think, he's jarred by how nice you are acting. your general demeanor loosened at this point you let your offense show and the very petulant look on your face draws a tired laugh out of Dick. your angry look melts to give way to something resembling relief. You stay there for a while not speaking before Dick decides he needs to leave. Without a fuss you let him go.

After that, instead of fighting each other during encounters, you two kind of just sit together and start talking about what happened since your last encounter. Or you two play rock, paper, scissors to see who ‘won’. 

Dick realizes that your personality is hilariously incompatible with your chosen profession. You rant about how Slade lectures you about learning how to lie better and when they tested how bad you were at it Dick was sure Alfred would politely word it as wooden. you had good control over your body language but you had a look caught between pain and annoyance etched on your face. 

Mini scenario: 

Dick is really stressed out with school and vigilanteing and with Bruce that he just starts wandering around Gotham. 

It was a bad idea. Wandering around Gotham is generally a bad idea especially if your head isn't on straight but there is something relaxing about just wandering around. 

Dick ends up at one of Gotham's old movie theatres. One of those businesses that you're pretty sure is a front for something because you can't wrap your head around how they could possibly still be in business. 

Then there you were a foot from the ticketing windows. His mind instantly recognizes you. You, in turn, recognize him instantly. 

When neither of you launch into an attack, you decide to watch a movie together. After bickering for 15 minutes about what movie you should watch, you decide on a coin toss. Because you won, Dick was subjected to your love of terrible movies. 

You go out for burgers afterwards and joke about the movie. You complain about the bad acting and the ridiculous story line. You even come up with how they should have done it.

Your lunch was spent outside in the parking lot of the burger joint. 

You walk around some more after you explain that you haven't been to this part of Gotham and Dick gives you a mini tour. 

You talk about a mix of mundane teenager things and some complaints about their occupations.

You check your watch and explain that you need to go to the grocery store for ingredients. 

Dick goes with you just because. He won't admit that he's having a lot of fun.

Being teenagers they fuck around. Being exceptionally athletic and intelligent teenagers you fuck around entertainingly. 

At first, you play 'the price is right' because Dick wants to prove he isn't a spoiled rich kid. He doesn't prove jack. You don't do much better but it's on the opposite end. 

You get bored and frustrated so you start a scavenger hunt much to the terror of the other customers. How would you feel about 2 terrors zooming around screaming about butter and backflipping over you?

Dick is busy gloating about his victory when the store gets robbed. Dick can't do anything because right now he is a rich boy extraordinaire and should not be capable of fighting. you on the other hand is sore from losing and just yeets a can into one of the robbers faces. 

Everyone's attention pans to your as you ready to lob another can at them. The robbers run leaving their unconscious friend on the floor bleeding. 

You still pay for the can but ask Dick to get another one. 

 Walking down the street, Dick notices how many take out places are on the way and asks why you don't just eat from there. you simply tell him you like home cooking more. He notes that for next time. 

You exchange phone numbers so you can plan a next time. 

The next time they hang out you both bring homemade snacks to sneak into the theater.

They start hanging out in civvies and do really mundane civilian stuff you want to try and that Dick doesn't get to do enough. 

You become a sort of hub of normality for Dick. He can talk to you about all the weird stuff without worrying about your not getting it or your judging him while also doing the most mind numbingly human things. 

What do they usually talk about:

Casual nerdy stuff

Weird history shit you reads about

Vigilante stuff

Funny henchman stories from the perspective of a vigilante and a higher level henchman

Sometimes they talk about trauma but they only vaguely mention it

They debate over dumb things like whether there's too much variety in cereal. Guess who's on which side. 

Sometimes they discuss fighting techniques. 

Dick teaches you Romani and about the Romani culture

You sometimes explains various myths and superstitions from your own culture

Dick sometimes talks about school and galas and you end up making fun of weird rich people. They also end up making fun of the various rich people who hire you.

You'll talk about almost everything with each other

You bring him to one of your safe houses for a home cooked meal after he tells you how he lives off of cereal. You were horrified. 

The Titans, Batman, and Alfred get really suspicious about Dick's new civilian friend. 

Slade gets suspicious of you frequently visiting certain cities. 

Somehow they figure out that you are the wraith. 

They all lecture Dick about it. 

Slade just finds the whole thing amusing and debates on whether he can actually convince you to give up some of Grayson's secrets. 

I just love the image of them casually hanging out in civvies with Batman questioning Dick's life decisions and what your has been influenced by his relationship with Catwoman while Deathstroke and Wintergreen are just quietly amused by the situation at some point they were worried about you discussing merc stuff but neither talk about current business unless it's safe to. 

Wintergreen isn't particularly worried since Grayson is a good kid. Wintergreen once joked that you should convince him to join their side. You said that Dick didn't have the right personality to be a merc. The irony of this was completely lost on your. 

You spending a ton of your hard earned mercenary money to win a stuffed toy that you think little Rose would want. Dick making fun of you for not getting it then he ends up spending too much money but he eventually gets it. You and Dick pass by a shop and you see the exact same stuffed toy in the shop window for a sixteenth of the fortune you spent at the arcade. Good news though, Rose still has the stuffed toy. 

 Both of you being petty at dance dance revolution. 

When you rant to each other in less than private areas, you rapidly switch languages.

Unbeknownst to Slade, Dick actually knows a bunch of his safe houses and unbeknownst to Dick, those are Deathstroke's safe houses.  You are technically not lying when you say it's yours. 

You have a silent pact not to blow each other's covers unless they deem it completely necessary (when people's lives are at stake). The only person who knows this pact is Jason and they have bought his silence. 

You will both go out of their way to help each other out of a bind. 

Sometimes when Bruce and Alfred are out of town and the stars align to have you visiting for a job, you end up helping Dick babysit. Jason gets confused and defensive at first. You have dealt with distrustful youngins. Neither Rose nor Joey wanted anything to do with you at first. You, however, grew up wanting siblings so you tried your darndest to look after them and it is really fucking hard to not let this munchkin grown on you. 

When you're old enough to hit the club they often go drinking together. You once tried to have you wingman for Dick. Using the ‘fantastic’ negotiating skills you got from mercenary work, you ended up getting the number for yourself. You once told Rose and Joey about it and both of them made lighthearted jokes about it. 

Dick gets confronted by Slade at sword point and asks what his intentions are with his kid (He honestly isn't at all serious but he likes how scared Dick got because the man is terrifying.)

Dick also gets interrogated by Joey and Rose because, you know, this is their big sister. 

You often insist on family dinners at least once every 2 weeks with your siblings, sometimes with their mom (Adeline is kind of not ok with you and Rose being present but is trying her best for Joey's sake), sometimes with their dad, occasionally with their uncle Wintergreen. 

You usually just casually call Slade 'pops'  and you drawls 'dad' when you’re pissed and 'papa' when you’re emotional. You try your damndest to only call him Slade or Deathstroke on the field but sometimes you slip up and calls him pops in the field

You have batnapped each batkid at least once. Batnapping meaning seeing a baby bat and throwing them over your shoulder when you’re pretty sure they’re going to get killed. This isn’t limited to kids. You still do this when they’re adults. The image of you throwing Dick over your shoulder when you two were tiny gives me life but you throwing Dick and/or Jason over your shoulder when they’re huge has me cackling.  

You basically accidentally become a de facto big sister/ mom friend to the batkids purely through your friendship with Dick.

Images from this scenario I can’t get out of my head:

Stargazing

Teaching Dick how to cook. He just ends up going to your place for a meal though. 

Running around during a rain storm huddled under a jacket with Dick because neither of you checked the weather

Casual affection you two share because you’re both tactile people. Casual affection as in just sitting on the couch in each other’s space, bumping shoulders to communicate, leaning on each other, hugging each other when greeting each other, and all that good stuff. 

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

Thanks for reading! I’m really sorry for the grammar and disorganization. 

If you guys are interested in the more bickering dialogue heavy part 2 either comment here or send an ask or pm me. *shrugs* This is just really self indulgent on my part. 

taglist: 

@idkmanicantenglish

@birdy-bat-writes (I will stop tagging you when you run out of good ideas for me.)

[cadykeus-clay]

Would you mind sharing your thoughts about vex and Beau being cross campaign foils?

so!!!! first things first: apologies for taking weeks to answer this, finals + having adhd sometimes makes my brain turn to mush and forget every ask ive ever recieved. second of all, i’m assuming you sent me this bc of what i said in my vm vs. m9 how they view the world meta. and i’ll be real with you. i have exactly 0 memory of what was going through my head when i wrote that line, so i am simply going to type out a bunch of thoughts that i have on the similarities and differences between beau and vex and i hope that lives up to what you were expecting jsdflksjdksld

I'll detail some specifics in a moment, but overall, I think beau and vex share a very similar kind of trauma of exclusion in their formative years, that's caused them to have a lot of similar traits that manifest in different ways - for vex, she maintains control through her material posessions and beau finds an emotional control in her asshole-ness. I've broken this down into 5 points on which I think comparing the two really emphasizes that claim:

1. daddy issues: both beau and vex have awful no good terrible very bad dads. both syldor and thoreau can suck my ass. they both raised their kids with little love and impossible-to-meet expectations, alientating them and leaving them with lifelong feelings of inferiority and unbelonging. If beau and vex were to meet, i think they would have a very friendly toast to shitty dads, and then have a good drunk vent about it an hour later.

but, at the same time, the actual minutae of their trauma and the ways it manifests are nearly polar opposites. syldor wanted nothing to do with vex, or else wanted her to somehow become a full elf. her issue was that she would never be able to belong, despite her desire to, and as she grew up it lead to her being overly protective and even possessive of the people she found who DID accept her as she was. 

With beau, rather than exclusion, her father created an environment of toxic inclusion. He created a role for beau to belong in, disregarding her distate for actually fulfilling it. And, as such, she ended up making herself into someone who could have no expectations and pushed away anyone who tried to set them up for her. In the end, they both came to love themselves by abandoning the woman their father wanted them to be but for vex it was the laying down of an impossible dream and for beau it was the picking up of a mantle she had feared to wear.

2. brothers: now, on the topic of family, I also think its really interesting how their interactions with their brothers play out. We've got vex and vax, tied at the hip til the very end and then some; and then we've got beau and TJ - decades apart and with beau barely acknolwedging TJ's existence. But, even that distance between beau and TJ didn't stop her caring for him when they actually met. She gave him lucky Jade, and she entertained the idea of kidnapping him to get him away from her stinko dad. 

And I'd espeically like to talk about what she said outside the hag's hut - "I think Luc and TJ could be best friends", in comparison to the way Vex reacted when Vax told her was going to Zephrah with Keyleth for the year break. There's an aspect to the way they interact with their brothers that lets them slip back into those bad habits they formed growing up (NOT that i'm claiming vex and vax were like toxic for each other. but even good relationships can have unhealthy moments). 

With Beau, when she offers to give her happiness so TJ can grow up safe, she's trying to take on the role she's ""supposed"" to fill - the big sister, the protector - because she failed to fill the one her father set out. And with Vex, when she grows jealous of Vax, it's because she's afraid that his leaving with keyleth is a sign that she no longer belongs in his inner circle, and she falls back on that childish, desperate desire to do anything to be accepted unconditionally. 

3. romance: spoilers for 5 or so most recent m9 eps (115-120)  if you haven't watched them ahead!!!! at this point, both vex and beau have an endgame romance - percy and yasha respectively. Obviously as the m9's campaign is still playing out, that could change, but like. yasha wrote her a love letter and they're officially going on a date so i'm counting that as at least endgame-track rather than just random flirting. What's interesting to me is that they both seem to flip between the SAME roles between their (in-game) general perception and their actual pursual of romance. 

Vex gets characterized as a pretty big flirt, right? She's got the winks, the casual "darling". She's flashed grog her boobs on multiple instances with little prompting. Beau, similarly, has easily the most game out of anyone in the m9. She's slept with two guest characters and at least one more npc in the events of the game. Caleb made her a fuck mirror in her room in the mansion. And yet, in both of their actual romantic endeavors, they became the shy, uncertain type. 

Vex only confessed her feelings when Percy was laying dead before her, and not an hour of game play before percy kissed her in the woods, she had a talk with vax about how she was pretty sure he didn't like her that way and she didn't want to pursue it. Beau, similarly, spent a very long time convinced that yasha wasn't looking for love after zuala, especially not in anyone like her, asked everyone in the party if they thought yasha ACTUALLY liked her, just to be safe, and then still terrified to ask her out after recieving a literal love letter. I'd argue this shift comes from that same sense of unbelonging - they're very good at pretending they fit a role but doubt their actual right to take it when the opportunity is presented. This time, the role is the lover rather than the daughter.

4. authority: Both vex and beau grew up shunned by the upper crust of society, and grew to mistrust those kinds of people. And yet, both of their arcs result in them assuming such a position. Vex, thrown out of high society gets her place as a baronness, and Beau, running from leadership of her father's business ends up a top member of the Cobalt Soul. There's not a lot here, but I find it interesting how both of their stories involve them shedding their baggage regarding authority and power and assuming it in a way that they feel comfortable in - invitation by someone she trusts for vex, and a promise of freedom of will and control for beau.

5. their deadliest sins: this is the point at which their similarities culminate and transform to a fundamental difference. despite everything they share - shitty childhoods, the small piece of family that's still good, flirtiness masking shy love, and a mistrust of those in power - vex and beau are such different characters because of their biggest vices. Vex, both in game and out, is "the greedy one". She's stingy with money, she haggles for everything, she mourns the loss of physical objects. Beau is "the mean one". She cares little for people's feelings if they're not in her immediate circle, she focuses on her tough guy image, she laughs at things she knows she shouldn't. 

And, over the course of the campaign, as they find unconditional acceptance, they grow away from these traits (I won't say they grow out of them) because they heal from the things causing these vices to begin with. I've always been vocal about vex's greed being a manifestation of her class insecurity, and beau's asshole-ness stemming from her fear of being forced back into another position of complacency. And I stand by that now - all the similarities in their backstories are what tally up to these different women.

Despite her careful tally of party funds and her reflexive bargaining, vex is not cruel. she is not angry on her own behalf. She saves two boys from the market in the city of brass at great personal cost, she relinquishes an entire dragon's hoard to the devastated city of Westruun, she took the time to save a baby bear from a cage when she could have just cut and run after escaping her own. She's the first one most people go to when they need a shoulder to cry on, and she's devastated when they don't (thinkin about when Scanlan left). She carved "forgiveness" into the bow she stole from a man after killing him by proclaiming how much she loved someone, because she knew anger had no place in her heart.

And Beau, Beau is a bitch and she's harsh, but she doesn't hoard or protect like vex did. she spends her money without much of a second thought. She pitches in to help her friends buy a ton of glowsticks, and she loves to indulge in material desires like drink and good food and the nicer inn room. She's a member of an organization that's about making knowledge public rather than guarding it. And, though this may be controversial, I think her position with bowlgate of "its not our problem what cali wants to do with it", her long-standing mistrust of their alliance with the bright queen and  and more recently with the tomb takers of "i want to go in and talk, rather than assuming they're antagonistic, even if it puts us at a disadvantage" are both examples of this non-possessiveness too - she has no need or desire to get involved in controlling what other people are doing.

so, i guess the general conclusion here is: vex struggles to let go of things, of money, of people. beau struggles to let herself be known in case she gets wrongly interpreted again. they both fight feelings of inadequacy, they both fight the feelings of not belonging, of 'doing it wrong', they fight the perception of them as shitty people because of the shells they hide in despite their absolute hearts of gold.  but at the end of the day, vex's story is one of having to lay down what could never be hers so she can carry what is, and beau's story is one of allowing herself to be known so a place can be made for her.

[1dsource]

Ziam writers in this fandom need a lot of love, just like our larry writers, so here is our first Ziam fic rec! The theme of this fic rec is Friends to Lovers!

Please show these authors some extra love and leave a kudos, and even a comment if you have the time. It’s important we also give the newer, unknown authors a chance so they keep having motivation to write more amazing stories for us all to read <3

Fools, and Worthless Liars. by aliceninetyfive I 115K I Haunted hotel, winter

Louis and Liam decide to go work a winter season in a snow resort in the Alps during their gap year. They get placed in Austria, where they meet a bunch of familiar faces including Zayn, Harry, Niall and various others you're bound to recognise doing the same thing!

Featuring our old favourites angst, pining, self discovery, ot5, and a side helping of a haunted hotel & gorgeous alpine scenery.

Compartment 451 by ziamhaze I 88K I Harry Potter universe

Zayn’s a muggleborn wizard whose parents leave him to fend for himself once he’s made aware of his magical abilities. The Payne’s are an open minded wizarding family, who take him in and provide the boy with a loving home before he and their overly excited son Liam, go off to Hogwarts for the first time. Liam introduces Zayn to the wonderful world of magic, while Zayn teaches the pureblood about a way of life he’s never known. Somewhere between laser tag tutorials and petting Hebridean Black dragons, Zayn falls for the newly appointed Head Boy, but his three other nonconforming friends aren’t about to let the Ravenclaw go through his last year of school without letting Liam in on his feelings once and for all.

Money Moves by mmaree I 74K I Fake Relationship I Boss/Employee

“I’ll cut straight to the chase,” Liam announces. He leans forward, and Zayn is met with steely eyes and steepled fingers. “I’m willing to offer you fifty grand if you’ll enter into a small…partnership with me. This would be in addition to your salary at Payne Innovations, of course. Think of it as a bonus.”

Zayn narrows his eyes. “What kind of partnership?”

“A fake engagement.”

“Oh,” Zayn says, relieved it’s nothing illegal. “Wait—what?”

“A fake engagement,” his boss repeats slowly, as if he’s convinced Zayn’s comprehension skills are significantly lacking. “For six months. Maybe less if I can pull it off sooner but don’t worry—you’ll be paid the full sum regardless of how long it takes.”

Zayn’s suspicious, and he doesn’t even know why. There’s nothing to be suspicious of because, clearly, Liam’s lost the plot. Zayn’s having a conversation with a complete nutter. There’s no other reasonable explanation.

He clears his throat, searches Liam’s eyes for a sign he's taking the piss. “How long what takes?”

A smile plays at Liam’s lips. “For me to be hired as the CTO at Titan Technologies.”

Half A Heart by ginger_with_a_black_cat I 68K I Friends with Benefits

Zayn is an English student who doesn't want to fall in love because his biggest fear is to get hurt again. Liam is a resident bad boy and everyone's wet dream on the outside, but in the inside he's a secret even to himself. Harry's Liam's best friend with a secret of his own. Louis likes to party hard, get drunk and get everyone in trouble but everybody loves him nonetheless. And then, there's Niall, who's the youngest of them all, but still has the most brains and keeps them all in order all while being in love with an impossible girl.

Or where Zayn gets hit in the head by his own actions, Liam finds himself falling for an idiot, Harry gets dragged out of the closet by the love of his life, Louis wants Harry and only Harry and Niall just wants all of them to get their shit together, so he can get his own life back.

and you take me the way i am by orphan_account I 54K I Fake Relationship

It’s incredibly relaxing, even in this small space, the way they’ve always been. Such a distraction that he doesn’t think, not for once, about agreeing to lie to his family and Zayn pretending to be his date and how easy all of this might be.

(Liam needs a date to a wedding. His family loves to match him up with blind dates. He doesn't want that. He needs a date... and, well, why not Zayn. Pretending to be boyfriends for a weekend isn't the worst idea he supposes. Liam is horribly wrong.)

some moments are rare by orphan_account I 46K I Uni au

The city blinks awake outside but Zayn falls asleep with his nose pressed to Liam’s coffee-stain of a birthmark.

(or, alternatively: Zayn is spending a summer studying aboard; thirty days across Europe, with his best mate by his side. It's always been like this ― Zayn and Liam. And he's always been a bit daft about love, or the fact that Liam's always been in love with him. It's all a bit of a mess, actually.)

Just As Fast, Twice As Dangerous by lightswoodmagic I 45K I Superpowers

When he realised it was only him and Liam in the hallway, he felt safe enough to drop his shield. Oh. Lovely. Liam was emanating affection and fondness, his primary emotions filled with warmth and love. Zayn let himself bask in it, how it would feel to be loved by Liam. He knew Liam loved him, but he wasn’t in love with him; Zayn had felt that emotion too many times to count, and this just wasn’t it. He dug slightly deeper, could feel that Liam was excited and nervous, and when he hit a wall Liam had built himself, he dropped back. He wasn’t supposed to know everything.

Or, Zayn's a normal student by day, and a superhero by night. When a mysterious man seems to target him at the same time a natural disaster strikes, Zayn has to figure out a way to save the day, protect his heart, and convince the boys he's not a vigilante all at the same time.

down the vista of years by ohthathurt I 30K I Time Travel

Zayn whispered, “So where do we go from here?”

Liam shrugged, seemingly lost in thought. Then he smiled down at his boyfriend, “Forward?”

Zayn smiled serenely, eyes twinkling like gold in the sun seeping through the open windows.

He nodded, “Forward.”

Just the two of us and a cute little cup of cyanide by orphan_account I 17K I Accidental Marriage

“I definitely need something alcoholic if I’m going to watch my two best mates divorce,” Niall says, yanking a top over his head.

“We’re not actually married,” Liam says, with slightly more force than intended. “It was an accident. Obviously I wouldn’t ever get married to Zayn if I was sober, that’s fucking ridiculous.”

The bathroom door opens suddenly and Zayn stands there in nothing but a towel, bottom lip trapped between his teeth. Liam opens his mouth to say something but Zayn holds up his hand, shaking his head. “You don’t need to be a dick about it, Liam. This isn’t exactly how I envisioned my first marriage going either.”

Or an I-accidentally-married-my-best-mate-in-Vegas fic, where Liam's completely oblivious, Zayn's completely in love, Harry's had enough, Louis plays mediator and Niall just wants his best friends to be with each other.

i'm watching you run from the sidelines by thebeehive I 17K I 

“One week,” Zayn cajoled. “C’mon Leeyum. After one week if you hate it that much, you can go. But just stay one week.”

“In Pennsylvania. On your farm. In the middle of nowhere.”

Liam looked at his phone, but it held no answers. Zayn couldn’t be serious. Liam hadn’t stopped traveling the world after the band went on hiatus. He never stopped. Dubai one week, London the next, and then L.A. It didn’t really matter where, as long as he kept moving. But he missed Zayn, missed his former band mate. His former friend. He hadn’t seen him in person in years. And it couldn’t be that bad, on a farm, could it?

Liam sighed. “Fine. A week. But your wifi better be fucking spectacular, mate.”

{Or, Zayn invites Liam to his farm for a week to help him relax. Things don’t go as planned.}

fooled around and fell in love by tachycardia I 15K I Fake Relationship

“I have a proposal - a proposition,” Liam corrects quickly. “For you.”

Liam and Zayn pretend to be engaged.

a river flows so surely to the sea by kettering I 14K I Uni au

It’s August, not a cloud in the sky, and two boys who’ve been smitten with each other for going on a decade are tying the knot.

get a little bit nervous by louistomlinsons I 14K I 

Liam goes to say something, probably something dumb, but he chokes on his spit, coughing loudly. The man in front of him is one of the prettiest people he’s ever seen in his life; he’s got thick eyelashes that fan out and frame his dark eyes and tanned unblemished skin. Liam forgets all of his previous thoughts.

“You okay, mate?” he asks, concern filtering into his voice.

“Yeah, yeah,” Liam says, still choking and coughing. “Sorry.”

“We all reacted the same way we saw Zayn for the first time,” Niall says from next to him, laughter evident in his tone. “He’s a god, isn’t he?”

or, ziam farmer's market au where liam, louis, and niall work at the produce stand, harry and zayn work at the bakery stand, and nobody's straight

Tell me tomorrow (I'll wait by the window for you) by orphan_account I 13K

“You’re, like, beautiful,” Liam says, and it’s said so earnestly and with such conviction that Zayn can hardly believe that they don’t know each other in real life. “God, I’m cacking it now.”

“Don’t,” Zayn says shyly. “We’re both people, it… it will be what it will.”

“Can’t wait,” Liam says softly. “I’m nervous, yeah, but I really can’t fucking wait.”

“Me neither,” Zayn grins. “Less than seventeen hours to go now, babe.”

Or a Gavin and Stacey AU where Zayn pines, Liam's nervous, Louis's loud, Harry's a little odd and Niall just loves an omelette.

This Is Somethin' Real by lightswoodmagic I 5K I 

Zayn had felt it before, felt the hope and the possibility of something brewing, but where he usually pushed it down, he let it consume him now, let it take over everything until he was swinging his feet and grinning when Niall finally walked through the door.

“Lads!”

“Nialler!” Louis shouted, wrapping him up in a hug.

“How is everyo – woah, why are you so happy?” he asked Zayn, cackling when Zayn kicked out at him.

“He’s going to tell Payno he’s in love with him tonight, that’s why,” Louis explained, and Zayn saw Harry’s nose scrunch as he smiled.

Again, if you read, please remember to leave kudos and/or a comment so we keep motivating our lovely, talented writers and make them feel valued

[adrianasunderworld]

More headcanons for the boys +romance

Piers

Piers is secretly a sap for old movies. Black and white ones to be more specific. He not only finds them aesthetically pleasing, but also with their own charm. Theres a small theater in Spikemuth that exclusively airs vintage movies, and visits whenever he has time.

His and Marnies biggest bonding activity is hair night. She'll help him redye the white streaks in his hair(which is no small task). Piers will blow dry and straighten hers. They'll put on a bad movie from netflix, order take out and have a night. 

Piers can play guitar. But it's more for personal use than anything. He finds it relaxing to just sit an play while he writes songs. It's only for very specific songs that he'll play in stage. They're usually the very emotional ones that mean a great deal to him. Every piers fan knows, if he's holding a guitar, the crowds tears will follow.

Ever see that video of a dog relaxing while his owner plays the pokemon theme on an acoustic guitar? That's Piers and his pokemon.

Obstagoon is like a big bratty dog. Always wants treats, always wants attention. And will whine when it does not get them. When it was a zigzagoon, it would give big pouty eyes for treats and table scraps, and it always worked on young piers. He was a chubby little thing back then.

When skuntank was a stunky, it was biter. Nothing was safe. Furniture, clothes, fingers. Piers always had little red mark's from the teething pokemon. A quarter of all his money always went to replacing toys Stunky had destroyed.

Romance

 Piers has always been bashful around  people he genuinely likes. *coughraihancough* he'll do his damndest to play it off. But he's always been terrible at hiding a crush. Especially if he blushes around them. He's so pale any color on his face will be very evident.

Half the time he always assumes the other person has no interest in him. But he isn't dense enough to not be able to tell when he's being flirted with. He feels better talking to someone when he knows/feels like his attention is wanted. It makes him less nervous.

Isn't one for initiating pda, but is not opposed to it. He likes having his arm around his s/o shoulders though. 

Has written breakup songs before. No you can't hear them. They're private and locked away in his desk. He has just enough self respect to not air his relationship drama on stage.

Play with his hair, he'll be putty in your hands. 

Has never understood people who stay in relationships with someone who does not get along with their loved ones. Marnie is all Piers has, and if someone cannot get along with her or makes her uncomfortable, they are out. Plain and simple. Unless Marnie says it's ok to keep seeing them, Piers won't pick a relationship over his sister.

Piers is always busy with gym responsibilities or performances and practice. As fun as it can be to bring his s/o to events, his favorite date night activity is to stay home with them. He'll make them a nice meal, put on a movie and relax on the couch. 

Is actually a big cuddle bug. He loves snuggling on the couch. His head on your lap. Holding them in bed. Piers is touch starved and needs attention, please give it to him.

Start giving him good luck kisses before a performance, it'll be his favorite thing.

Raihan 

Raihan acknowledges he can be very vain at times. But the one being that out vains him at every turn is Duraludun. If it sees Raihan filming or taking a photo, it will butt in and try to take over the whole shot. It has become very good friends with the Rotom in his phone. When they get bored they'll stage a hostile takeover of his instagram andTwitter. It become a monthly thing.

Not so secretly a bookstagramer. Raihan always ends up in the vaults and libraries of Hammerlocke. He saw one of his gym trainers, Camilla, taking pictures of the books she was reading and asked about it. She showed him a lot of aesthetically pleasing pictures of books, and libraries, and artfully cluttered desk and wanted to try. It's not a secret, but he does try to keep it separate from his hyper dragon man gym persona. Sort of business vs. Personal deal.

He dresses very well. Despite that more often than not he is in his favorite hoodie and gym uniform, when Raihan wants to dress up,damn son. He spends a lot of time online and is friends with Nessa and Sonia, he knows what's up in fashion and what looks good on him.

He and Gordie are the Meme Team. Everytime they have a conversation it will descend into quoting and reenacting vines. Only the younger gym leaders know what they're saying, they just refuse to encourage it. Except Alister. Hes a little kid that hears these cooler older dudes being funny and try to join them. Hes they're third member now. Poor Bea, she couldn't save him.

Out of all his pokemon, he's had flygon the longest. Raised it from a trapinch when he was a kid. That's why he wears that orange hat/headband thing, to honor his buddy. 

Takes very good care of his skin. Partially because his face is always on camera, but also because his skin dries out easily and always need moisturizers. Nessa showed him all her favorite brands. He likes chilling out with a face mask, it's very soothing.

Romance 

Raihan is a very confident, attractive, and friendly guy, he pretty much never has trouble getting a date.

That being said, sometimes he gets a bit too confident and ends up coming on too strong for some people. 

This was definitely a problem in his teen years. He would just say the wrong thing with all the bravado he could muster and whoever he liked would scoff and walk away. He grew out of it, but it could be downright painful to watch young Raihan flirt.

Raihan is pretty laid back and generally takes rejection very well. Only when it was someone that he REALLY liked and had for awhile is when he gets truly upset. And when that happens he just hangs out at home for a bit or go out to the wild area, Spends time with his pokemon. Generally just wants be alone with his thoughts till he can bounce back. 

When Raihan is dating someone, he surprisingly doesn't want to post about it for awhile. If they're still together after a few months is when he'll post selfies and cute couple pictures. He's learned the hard way how certain types of fans will react to him dating, and once they go public they wont have as much privacy. He likes to have that grace period of just being a couple without all eyes on them.But once that initial hurtle is over. Its photo city with him.

Is a big fan of "good morning" and "good night" texts. Also loves falling asleep over the phone when you can't spend the night together.

Honestly just text him a lot in general. A lot of gym things take up a large chunk of his time. Text that you miss him, or a picture of one of your pokemon sleeping on the couch, ask if he wants pizza later. Literally anything will brighten his day. He'll definitely return the favor. 

Loves taking s/o out on the town. From league events, to friends parties, or just dinner and shopping. He wants to show them off. If you aren't comfortable with it, tell him sooner rather than later. 

Is a giant tease. Loves to whisper whatever he can in your ear or send something risque over text to make you blush and then act completely innocent.

Leon

Has a room in his house just for Hop. Hop used to love visiting him every summer in Wyndon. Otherwise he would never see his brother. The visits got less frequent over the years. But Hop always has a place to stay with Leon.

After he had been champion for a couple years was when the merch train really got rolling. Tshirts, posters, stationery. You name it, it had Leon's face on it. As a kid he lost his shit over it and but over the years got less enamored. Although he does have a soft for the Leon toys. After all, who doesn't want an action figure or doll made of them?

Leon does his best to keep himself and his pokemon in shape and on a daily routine. That all gets thrown out the window when he visits home or family comes to see him. All his pokemon get treated like spoiled house pets. FromHaHaxrus  being a test taster for his mom to Hop flying around the neighborhood with charzard. Its takes over a week to get everything back on track after.

Charzard is obviously the leader of all the pokemon next to Leon. All the newer pokemon always look up to them for guidance and charzard is always friendly and helpful. They are also very fond of kids, it loves events like visiting schools or children's hospitals. He's like a drampa in charzard skin.

Haxorus is a diva. She loves attention and shiny things. She adores Sonia because when she was just an Axew, Sonia always gave her a little trinkets, like sparkly hair pins or a pretty rock. She also loves to be complimented, Leon always calls her his pretty girl. Theres pile of shiny stuff that no one is allowed to touch at Leon's house unless she allows it. 

Whenever leon visits home, he always tries to go out with his old friends. Usually they have a few drinks at the local pub and have dinner. Oddly enough, Leon can get lost going next door, but can stumble home no problem when he's drunk. Go figure.

Ever heard of a sneaker head? Well Leon is a hat head. Whenever his favorite brands come out with a new hat design, you can bet your ass he'll be line for the release or online waiting for the listing to show up. The wall of caps at his moms house is but a humble sample of his collection.

Played softball as a kid. He throws his pokeball the way he was taught to pitch. As a kid leon liked to think if he couldn't be a trainer, he would like the be a baseball player. 

Romance 

Leon can't flirt for shit,and I mean this in the nicest way possible. His idea of breaking the ice is asking if you want a battle. 

Leon was especially hopeless as a teenager. He spent so much time with the league, an environment of mostly adults, being around anyone his age was a damn miracle. 

Sonia and Raihan would always take him to parties to socialize. But anytime someone tried to make a move on him, Leon would just think they were being friendly. 

Raihan has always been his wingman.

Raihan: My friend over there thinks you're cute. *points at the damn champion waving awkwardly from across the room.*

Even Now, they still do this. And it still has 50/50 shot of working.

Has been in a couple relationships, but both have ended badly. They were ultimately with Leon for his title and not him.

Leon wants to be with someone, he just finds it's harder for him than he realised. When he does find someone, it's going to be a bit of a slow go to know them and be sure they aren't using him. When that wall breaks he going to be the happiest man around.

Leon is affectionate and will always find a way to touch his s/o. From a kiss on the cheek, to random hugs, to lightly touching their back as he passes.

This man has never half Assed anything in his life. Leon's a go big or go home kind of guy, so when he wants to make a romantic gesture, he'll put his all into it. From picnics on the stadium field, to a special camping spot in the wild area, dinner on the top floor of the battle tower. Even just flowers will be from the best florist in in the city. Leon wants to show how much he loves you and nothing but his 110% best effort will do. 

As extra as Leon is, it's always the small quiet moments that get him. He'll wake up early and see his s/o peacefully asleep, and he'll just melt and stay there for awhile.

 You could try to make his favorite meal and burn everything and he'll still be touched. It's very much the thought that counts for Leon, because it shows you care enough to put the effort in.

King of cheesy lines. Will say the lamest pick up lines or something he heard in a movie to try and make you laugh. It usually works because he always says it with a straight face.

[koinoyokvn]

* / 𝐈 𝐍 𝐓 𝐑 𝐎 𝐃 𝐔 𝐂 𝐓 𝐈 𝐎 𝐍

* CODY CHRISTIAN, CISMALE + HE/HIM  | you know BRADLEY ‘BOOG’ RADWELL, right? they’re TWENTY-FOUR, and they’ve lived in irving for, like, SIX YEARS? well, their spotify wrapped says they listened to INFRA-RED BY THREE DAYS GRACE like, a million times this year, which makes sense ‘cause they’ve got that whole late night 'open’ signs flickering, a dirty car filled with empty coffee cups & a dopey smile with sleepy, drooping eyes thing going on. i just checked and their birthday is november 4, so they’re a scorpio, which is unsurprising, all things considered.

back at it again at krispy kreme — but here’s my second mad lad n after this i will start coming to everyone w my hands open for some plots n interactions <3

trigger warnings: child abuse tw & self-harm tw / omg forgot to add hospital n death tw too

* / 𝐁 𝐀 𝐒 𝐈 𝐂 𝐒

hair: dirty blonde

eyes: blue

build: broad & toned

height: 5′8″ or 173 cm

weight: 163 lbs or 74 kg

distinguishing features: a hand tattoo on his left hand of a sunset, a sleeve tattoo on his right forearm of a yellow and green dragon, a tattoo of a jorogumo (spider-woman) in front of a waterfall on his right shoulder blade, red and white chrysanthemums on his left calf, a light blue ‘x’ on his left collarbone, and dozens of uniquely designed band-aid tattoos splattered on his biceps and thighs

distinguishing style: hoodies and jeans for days, he’s a bit of a collector of ‘irving’ tourist merch, other than that, toques and plaid and chains with darker palettes

* / 𝐇 𝐈 𝐒 𝐓 𝐎 𝐑 𝐘

bradley was born in a small town in maine. at the time, everything he thought was normal for a child to endure. now that he’s older, he knows it isn’t. growing up, he was a trained liar. he doesn’t like lying now but can spit one out faster and smoother than he’d like to admit. his mother was naive and so young and his father was cruel and lived in the world only for himself. never a good combination.

there were a lot of times bradley would go to school with no food. he would always say he rushed out of the house and forgot because he slept in. his father spent all the grocery money to drink. bradley would fall asleep at school. he would always say it’s because he’s scared of the dark. he was actually scared of his father and would spend the night in his bedroom closet that could lock. bradley would cry and flinch at loud noises and the sound of glass crashing. he would say it’s because he’s just like a deer, easily scared. his father would throw things at him if he so much as stepped out of line (but bradley never knew what that line was). he would endure it all for his mother, who would sometimes come into his room, scoop him up in her arms when things calmed down, and sing to him. it’s these moments he’d remember fondly, the moments where she managed to keep some money for herself and get a good supper for the two.

it truly felt like it was him and his mother against the world. there were a few times where bradley would slip up, say something wrong at school, make an offhand comment about home to his friend, and child services would get involved. however, his father would clean up for these visits. his mother could’ve been an amazing movie actress, as well. bradley was also on his way there — but it was his mistake that they all pretended. he would always get punished for it later. 

sometimes the arguing would get too much. when he cried enough tears from inside the closet, he would run. run to his uncle’s house. he’d ask to stay for a few days. his uncle always said yes. but this would always spell trouble in the long run. his uncle was rowdy, always trying to get his sister out of such a terrible situation, and would butt his head whenever he got a chance. his uncle would often make the fighting worse. all bradley needed was a break, though, he promised.

he was almost finished high school. he took up odd jobs if he wasn’t in school so he didn’t pass with stellar grades or anything. some were even impressed that he managed to end up on the graduation list at all. he had saved up enough money, between him and his mother, to eventually leave his father. there was a light at the end of the tunnel. but, once again, the fighting became too much.

this time, he stayed at a friend’s house. he always had his money on him. he couldn’t trust the nooks and crannies of that house, his father would always worm his slimy fingers into them. he always blamed himself for not staying at his uncle’s that night... or even at home. because this time, the fighting really did become too much and things went too far. 

a frantic call from his uncle in the dead of the night sent bradley on a frenzy. his father had beaten his mother so badly that she was hospitalized. put into a coma with extensive head trauma. bradley left his friend’s on account of emergency but didn’t end up going to the hospital. no, no, no. it was the only time bradley could call himself his father’s son.

that same night, his father died in a car crash. the police ruled it as a collision involving drunk driving. though, there were damages that pointed towards another vehicle ramming into the car. there were no other vehicles on scene when they arrived and the road wasn’t monitored to pull up security footage. however, the only next of kin his father had was bradley and his mother. everything fell onto bradley.

his father, at least, had some funds stashed away in a bank account. it was enough to cover the funeral. but not enough to cover the hospital fees. and bradley felt like he was going insane existing in the house he grew up in. he was going insane just being in the same town he grew up in. everybody seemed to know his business.

so, like he and his mother promised, he ran away. his uncle is the only one who knows his whereabouts now and bradley made him promise not to tell anyone else. but, instead of taking the whole amount, bradley only took half of what he and his mother saved. he used the other half to go towards his mother’s hospital bills. 

bradley, now telling people to call him boog, drifted for a bit. picking up odd jobs for a week or two to feed himself. he needed to find a new home. he needed to be anywhere else but maine. now, he thought about the glamourous cities but felt like it didn’t suit him. eventually, he came to irving. and he liked it. so he stayed here.

boog is called boog because he was a bit of a snotty kid. he was constantly ill with the common cold, linked directly to his home situation. he often had sinus infections because of it. so, mean kids would often call him ‘booger’. eventually, booger became boog and it was just a part of him. he was a laidback individual and the nickname lost its insulting meaning by the time he reached high school but by then, most people called him by his surname. bradley feels too personal. 

boog works two jobs, as well as doing several odd jobs around the neighborhood he settled in. he stocks at the local grocery store, working 3pm to 11pm. he also works at a midnight diner, working from 12am to 8am. he gets some sleep for the morning, then gets right back to it. on his days off, he’s often seen mowing other people’s lawn, cleaning cars and houses, and doing small fix-it jobs around properties. he’s a busybody for sure. but not only does he have to support himself, he has to make sure the hospital bills for his mother are being paid. after all these years, it’s still him and his mother against the world. 

in the six years of being in irving, boog developed some nasty coping mechanisms. any time work became too overwhelming or he couldn’t make a payment and was faced with a late fee, bradley felt like a failure to the point where he would engage in self-harm. he was alone mostly, other than at work or out with his friends, so it was a lot of time to wrestle with this idea that he wouldn’t be enough to keep his mother alive. he would cut his biceps and thighs, places he could easily conceal his scars with t-shirts or shorts. he would cut at work in the men’s bathroom or cut in the closet of his bedroom. familiar places, places where he could hide. 

however, it got out of hand when he cut too deep on his thigh and it affected the way he walked. the visible limp raised concern from coworkers, friends, and neighbors. finally done with lying, he admitted to self-harm to those he trusted. his friends encouraged him to go to counselling and to reach out when he felt the urge.

it’s been a year since he’s last self-harmed. since then, he’s covered his scars with band-aid tattoos, each of them a design from someone he’s felt close enough to tell about his progress. there are still some to be covered, but he’s always mused there’s always friends to be made that could help him cover it up.

* / 𝐏 𝐄 𝐑 𝐒 𝐎 𝐍 𝐀 𝐋 𝐈 𝐓 𝐘

boog is hardworking and determined and doesn’t hesitate to push his limits. of course, this all comes to his physicality and his work ethic. he’s not all too bright, otherwise. he can’t contest life’s many questions, he’s too busy memorizing regular orders, the truck order for the next night, and what his friend’s favourite things are. he’s a very present individual, in that he can’t worry about the future or the past too much. and above all else, boog is kind. 

he never asks for anything in return for the deeds he does. he always repays a favour. and he always extends a helping hand. he thinks being a neighborly person is the pinnacle of humanity and does his best to emulate that. however, that makes for some clashes with his dull mind, as he can often be mistaken or say the wrong thing. his gold heart does make up for his lack of brightness.

boog has also learned patience. patience with the world, patience with himself. he didn’t get angry much before but when he did, it was pent up and built over years of being complacent. it was never a good thing to lose his temper. however, over the course of his regular counselling, he has learned to be more self-aware and express his frustrations in a healthy manner. his shoulders still bear a lot of burden but at least, he can learn to take off the load and rest for a while before putting it back on. 

* / 𝐂 𝐎 𝐍 𝐍 𝐄 𝐂 𝐓 𝐈 𝐎 𝐍 𝐒

band-aid crew — this person has designed a band-aid tattoo for boog. he reached out to this person during a time of recovery and trusted him with his journey thus far. this person could have been someone he met at work, through friends, or they live on the same block as him. boog counted and needs 27 band-aids to cover all his scars and is confident that he can get them all covered through others’ artwork. his uncle and nieces already made their mark, and boog designed one himself. ( 0/22 )

upstanding citizen — this person is the parental figure that boog never had and didn’t realize he needed until he befriended this person. they fuss over him and make sure he’s gotten enough sleep. they bring him coffee to work and invite him over for dinner. in return, boog does the same. he tries hard to cook for them— though he’s not great at it. he brings them gifts that reminded him of them. ( 0/1 )

intimacy buddies — boog is kind of pure in that he’s someone who wants to make sure people feel fulfilled. it first started off as a joke, that on the chance that they felt lonely, boog would be of service. however, boog’s pretty dependable and he hides no ulterior motive. so, he cuddles them for hours while watching movies, he holds their hands as they walk through the beach, and he sleeps with them when they can’t stand to sleep alone. he runs his hands through their hair upon request. however, they’re still friends and as thick as thieves. ( 0/3 )

amicable exes — it’s hard for boog to hold grudges. they come in white hot flashes of anger and they leave just as quickly. he’s learned to no longer stew in it. when this relationship falls apart, boog can admit his shortcomings and understand that they just weren’t meant for each other. that doesn’t stop boog from caring about them any less. they’re friends now and maybe friends was always the better option. ( 0/1 )

SPECIAL MENTIONS: as always, i fiend for all sorts of friendly and fwb connections! i also think a rival connection wld b interesting but we wld hav to lay some groundwork for sure!

[hitoshishins-hoe]

Heaven

Barbarian!Bakugou x Fem!Reader

—

Alright y’all! So I got a ton of great feedback on my fantasy au headcanons, and I was asked by several people on discord to write a one-shot based on my Bakugou headcanon, and so that’s what I decided to do! It is a bit long, and I may have gotten a little carried away, but I hope you guys like it! As always, feedback is greatly appreciated!

—

Warnings/Triggers: swearing, slightly ooc Bakugou (I love soft Bakugou ok), nsfw, loss of virginity, unprotected sex

Tengoku - Translates to “Heaven” 

Tenshi - Translates to “Angel”

Inari - Japanese goddess of prosperity

Word count: 5k

—

‘Forever’ was never in the cards for Bakugou. He planned on living fast, hard, and rich. Kicking ass, pillaging, taking revenge — but running into you made him realize maybe there’s more to life than just vigilante work. 

—

“Get your ass up shitty hair, we have a city to burn!” Bakugou slaps Kirishima awake from a deep sleep. 

“Bro chill! I can’t shift now! I have to save my energy to burn said city! Why don’t we travel by foot? There’s a city nearby, maybe we can sleep on an actual bed for once?” He stretches awake, now getting dressed. 

“Nah fuck that. We can go if you want, but I’m setting up camp, I’m not staying in some nasty fucking inn.”

Kirishima sighs, but agrees. It’s not like he had much choice anyway. After all, Bakugou was his only family in this world.

After eating breakfast, the two men packed up their belongings and began the trek to Tengoku, a small village about a half a day’s hike into the mountains. 

—

“Y/N! How are you my dear? What’s that you have there?” You look up from the small fragment of wood in your hand, having just finished carving the tail of a dragon. 

“Oh, good morning Tenshi! I had a dream last night about a dragon. He was red and huge, and he had a scar over his right eye.” You laugh, rubbing the back of your neck unconsciously. 

“Y’know, where I come from, those dreams that seem to be too real for comfort are just prophecy for the future.” She smiles warmly. 

Your (E/C) eyes catch a glint of sunlight at that. “Really? You really think I’ll meet a dragon someday?” You smile off into nothing. 

“Of course I do! You’ve wanted to see a dragon since you were about knee-height. And, well, every dragon has a rider, don’t they? Maybe a nice young man will come along with it. You’ve been here too long, go out and meet someone!” She laughs, knowing you’d grown up in the small village and had never left. You had no reason to. 

“Very funny, Tenshi. I’ll tell that to my dream-dragon.” You roll your eyes, focusing back down at the half-carved fragment in your hand. 

She laughs and makes her way down the small unpaved road that ran through the town, mostly lined with small tents with fresh produce, vendors, and entertainers.

–

Tenshi was the town’s founder, having come from ‘across the sea.’ She’d never tell anyone more than that. No one knew her name either, but everyone had affectionately coined the name ‘Tenshi,’ meaning ‘Angel’. She was well into her 80’s at least, and she acted as the chief and village grandmother to those who needed it. 

You on the other hand were an artist. Having been raised in Tengoku by monks, you lived a quiet life. Soon into your childhood you picked up the craft of carving. You’d found a small arrowhead along the creek that ran through town and starting working away at a chunk of wood you found nearby. From then on it became a hobby, then a craft, and now an art form. You started selling them to passers-by on their way to other destinations, and it brought in enough money to buy you a permanent room at the inn with plenty to spare. 

-

After Tenshi leaves, you go back to carving the dragon, each scale identical to the last. 

“How much for that one?” You yelp at the gruff voice immediately in front of you. You collect yourself and glance down at your half-finished dragon. 

“O-oh! This one? Well it’s not finished yet, I’m about halfway finished with carving and I still have to dye it! Can I offer you one of my finished pieces?” You gesture to the small table in front of you. 

The man just shakes his head, motioning to your hand. “I want that one. How long’ll it take?”

You think for a moment, and tell him maybe another 1-2 hours before the dye would dry once the carving was finished. 

He nods and grunts, making his way behind your table to the grass behind you. You look at him confused, but let it go since he’s not bothering you. 

You quickly glance behind you, offering the man a small smile. “I’m (Y/L/N) (Y/N) by the way.”

He looks up at you. “Bakugou Katsuki. Pleasure.”

You turn around sitting down in the small chair behind your table, hunched over while you carve. The man behind you doesn’t speak, and neither do you. It goes on like this for roughly an hour, until he breaks the silence. 

“Have you ever seen a dragon?” He asks you. 

You look up from your piece and sigh. “No, but it’s always been my dream, literally. I had a dream last night about a dragon. That’s what this carving is based on. There were lots of little details I remember about it. Like how there’s a scar along it’s right eye, across it’s chest, and on it’s left wing. Oddly specific, huh?” You laugh. “Our villages leader, Tenshi, says that sometimes those dreams that feel too real to be a dream are actually prophecy. Cool huh?” 

Bakugou’s eyes widen a bit, realizing you’d just described his dragon, Kirishima. 

“What is it?” You ask, noticing his change in demeanor. 

“I–” he pauses, mulling over his next words. His slack jaw turns up into a grin. “You want to meet a dragon?”

Now it’s your turn to look confused. “Y-you know one? Seriously?” You pause for a minute. “You’d better not be fucking with me.”

He chuckles “Whoa whoa princess, who says I’m fucking with you? He’s a shifter, not a full-blooded dragon but shit’s all the same to me. Finish up that carving for me and I’ll take you to him.”

Your eyes light up, feeling the sincerity in his voice. You immediately turn back to your unfinished piece, continuing on the hundreds of intricate scales. You two strike up a conversation after, both retelling stories from childhood, up to now. 

–

Through talking with him you learn that he really had it rough growing up, never having a true family, much like you. He was always moving towns, doing everyone’s dirty work with little to no pay. One day he was abducted and sold into slavery at the ripe young age of 15. The man he was sold to was one of the most foul men to walk the earth. The only nice thing was his slave-mate, Eijirou Kirishima.

The two teens quickly became friends. Spending every day and night in shared quarters really gave two people time to get to know each other. Shortly after Bakugou was purchased, Kirishima confided in him that was actually a dragon-shifter. No one else knew, or else he’d either be thrown into a bidding-war, or murdered. Some envied owning a shifter, while others thought they were a sin against the balance of life itself. 

Bakugou and Kirishima continued working for their owner for another 3 years before they decided to make their move. Over time they’d taken careful note of other slave owners in the village, their schedules, how many spaces they owned, family or no family. They also managed to pilfer small amounts of money, both from their own master as well as others. 

After some reassurance from Bakugou, Kirishima was able to shift and light the village ablaze. They created a network of safe houses so the other slaves were able to reach safety before all the slave owners were burned into oblivion. 

They never looked back after that. 

–

You look on with awe as Bakugou relays some of his and Kirishima’s adventures, as they continued to make their way through small towns, identifying rotten people, and “taking care of them.”

“W-wow,” you finally muster. You look down at your now finished piece, turning it in your hand. “You both sound incredible.”

He chuckles at that. “Yeah, well, what can I say. We’re both pretty damn cool.”

You laugh faintly, turning back to place your figurine into a small tin of crimson dye, allowing it to sit there for several minutes.

You both sit in silence as you pull the dragon out of the dye and set it on a drying rack. 

“You mentioned you grew up in this town, right? Why haven’t you left yet?” He asks, standing to his feet. 

You think for a minute. “I guess I haven’t really had any reason to. It’s quiet and everyone knows me here, ya know? Sure we don’t have the best food, or the best artisans, but it’s nice here.” You reply, turning to the table in front of you. 

“You realize how fucking talented you are, right? You could make four times what you make here if you were to travel to different towns.” He says sounding slightly irritated. “Don’t you want to see what else the world has to offer?”

You grow quiet, the faint smile fading from your face. “I never said I didn’t want to, but leaving everything I know, on my own completely, terrifies me.” You look down at your feet, letting out a shallow sigh.

“You can always tag along with Kirishima and I you know. I’d never oppose to a beautiful woman on my arm.” 

You look at him with wide eyes, cheeks flush. 

“Y-you just met me, you’d really take a chance on me? What if I’m a murderer or something?” You laugh nervously. 

He lunged forward at you, pinning you to the ground. You let out a soft grunt as you hit the ground, his hand pinning your arms above your head as he straddles your hips. 

“If you were a murderer, you’d never let someone get the upper hand, right?” He gives you a shit-eating grin as you huff in protest. 

“Besides, don’t you want to ‘live a little?’”

Your face cheeks deepen red in embarrassment, noticing the slight bulge in his pants so close to your heat. 

He notices your blush and snorts, hauling himself off of you, pulling you up with him. 

“How much longer on that dragon?” He asks, nodding to the drying rack. You dust yourself off, trying to hide your fading blush as you go to look at the dragon. 

“Ah, looks like it’s done!” You reply excitedly. 

You pick it up and look it over, proud of your handiwork. You then reach for Bakugou’s hand, uncurling his calloused fingers and setting the figurine in his open palm. He brings it to his face and inspects it, eyes lit with curiosity. 

“This is fucking incredible, (Y/L/N).” He says, awestruck. 

You let out a quiet ‘thank you’ and stand quiet for a moment. “You can call me (Y/N), you know. I’m not a fan of formalities.” You reply. 

Bakugou nods. “Yeah, me neither. Just call me Katsuki. And how much do I owe you for this?” He asks reaching for his coin pouch. 

“No no no! Don’t worry about it!” You exclaim, waiving your hands at him. “Please, as long as I can see a dragon I don’t need payment. It’s fine, really.”

He grunts out a ‘fine.’ And stuffs the figurine into his cloak. “Want to go see that dragon now?”

You nod eagerly, packing up your stocked items and throwing them into a bag. “Let me drop these off at the inn on our way there,” you tell him as you put up a “closed” sign on the table. 

You two travel down the now mostly empty road, dusk quickly approaching as you reach the inn. You run up to your room to put your stock away, jogging down the hall as to not keep Bakugou waiting. You grip the dresser in your room, panting as you’d worn yourself out a bit. “Katsuki,” you mumble, enjoying the way his name rolled off your tongue. 

“Yes?” You hear Bakugou’s voice from behind you. You yelp, running out the door before you could muster up an embarrassing excuse as to why you were saying his name in the mirror. 

He chuckles and follows you closely, eyes now wandering to your figure. You had on a plain dress, though it looked a tad small, only accentuating your curves. He wanted to devour you right then and there, but that wouldn’t be very gentlemanly, would it?

He eventually takes the lead, leading you to his small camp about a half mile outside the town. You two arrive about 20 minutes later, as the sun dips behind the mountains.

“Kirishima! We have a visitor!” Bakugou yells at the tent, a tall red-haired man poking his head out. 

“Dude, I-” He stutters, gesturing to his small protruding horns and scales on his face. You miss this exchange as you’re admiring the surrounding forest, since you’ve never been this far up the mountain before. 

“It’s fine, she’s fine.” He states gruffly, turning to you, oblivious to his state. His eyes soften as he sees you looking around the forest, admiring the sights. You notice him looking and look down at your feet, embarrassed. “C’mon, Kirishima will show you tomorrow, why don’t you sleep here tonight?” He nods at the small fire Kirishima had going. 

You sheepishly agree and make your way over to the tent, Kirishima now sitting by the fire. He extends an arm to you. “Hi! I’m Kirishima Eijirou! You can call me Kiri.” He grins, mouth full of jagged teeth. His smile is warm, and you return it in kind. “(Y/N) (Y/L/N), please call me (Y/N),” you shake his hand and sit by the fire.

“Hey Bakugou, I gotta, uh...eat,” Kirishima says. “Go eat then,” Bakugou replies, sitting down between the two of you. “Don’t wait up,” he mumbles under his breath, the shifter understanding immediately. 

“Well (Y/N), it was nice meeting you! I’ll be gone for the rest of the night, but I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?” He smiles, running off in the opposite direction of Tengoku.

Shortly after Kirishima leaves, you heave out a sigh and flop backwards onto the grass, looking at the stars. Bakugou looks down at you, still amazed at how oblivious you are. He eventually lays his head next to yours, grunting as his head hits the ground. “Ow,” he grumbles, having hit it harder than he intended. You laugh at the whack  sound his head makes, spinning into a fit of laughter when he starts whispering profanities at the ground. 

“Hey, what are you laughing at, princess? You think it’s funny?” You wipe away a tear as your laughs turn into sniffles. 

“Maybe a little bit,” you laugh again. 

“Uh huh. You ticklish, sweetheart?” he smirks, your face paling at his threat. 

“Shi-,” you barely get anything out before he has you pinned, hands attacking your sides. 

“N-no! Please s-stop! I can’t take it!” You cry, the tickling so intense your eyes fill with tears.

“If you want me to stop, make me,” he smiles smugly. 

Having gained a new wave of confidence, you take your knee up to his groin and rub against his bulge, eliciting a moan from Bakugou, distracting him just long enough to flip your bodies so you now straddled him. 

Now he’s the one to be taken aback by your sudden change of attitude. “Where’d this come from?” He asks, his hands settling on your hips. 

You lean forward, your hands finding his chest underneath his heavy pelt as you bring your face just inches from his. “You were the one that said I should ‘live a little’, right? That’s what I’m doing.” 

He smirks, hands gripping tighter to your thighs. “Alright then brat, show me whatcha got.”

You lock your lips against his, his breath hot against your nose as you start to grind against him. He lets out a breathy moan, giving you enough space to slip your tongue into his mouth, deepening the kiss. It’s not long before the bulge in his pants is now straining against the fabric.

You slowly remove his pelt, revealing a well-built but scarred chest. You move your lips to his neck, gently sucking on the skin just beneath his jaw. 

“Fuck,” he groans as you suck on his sweet spot. You trail your kisses down his chest, leaving love bites in your wake. 

“You done this before?” Bakugou looks down at you, your hands now grasping the waistband of his pants. 

“N-no,” you stutter. “I only know what the entertainers in town have told me.” he replies with a weak tch as you continue. 

You undo his belt and slip his pants along with his boxers down around his ankles, his cock springing free from the confining material. Your eyes go wide at the size of him, never having seen a dick in person before. Noticing your hesitation, he smirks down at you. 

“What, don’t tell me you’re gonna back out now,” he laughs tauntingly. “We’re just ge—fuuuuck!” His face tenses as you lick a long stripe against the underside of his cock. 

You slowly coax his hardened member into your mouth, throat clenching as you slowly start sliding it in and out. You start at a steady pace, using your hand where your mouth can’t reach. Bakugou moans as you grow used to the size of him, taking more of him into your mouth inch by inch. Bakugou slowly starts to buck his hips up into your mouth, beginning to face fuck you as your throat clenches with every thrust. Your eyes brim with tears as the tip repeatedly hits the back of your windpipe. Your core begins to ache with neglect as Bakugou’s hips begin to stutter.

“F-fuck, I’m going to come,” he breathes as he thrusts into your mouth a handful more times before your mouth is filled with his salty seed. 

You slowly slip his cock from your mouth as you gulp down the liquid, wiping your mouth as you do so.

He chuckles, smug grin returning to his face. “Not bad for a first-timer,” he says, flipping you both so that he’s now straddling your hips.

He leans in next your ear and whispers “My turn,” as he bites down on your earlobe, sending a jolt of pleasure up your spine.

He kisses up your neck and jaw to your lips, pressing his body to yours. He momentarily breaks the kiss, his hands snaking under your dress, pulling it up over your shoulders, revealing your bare chest.

He trails kisses down your neck softly sucking, leaving love bites as you did to him. One of his hands makes its way to your already hard nipple, lightly tugging on it while his tongue swirls your other bud, eliciting a small moan from you. 

He continues his assault down your front, kissing your soft curves as his lips reach your waistline. His vermillion eyes meet yours as his fingers hook the band of your underwear and slide them down until they’re discarded on the ground, his lips never leaving your body.

He kisses your inner thighs, sending shivers up your spine, your mouth now agape as your core aches with want.

“Already so wet for me,” he coos, warm breath fanning your now bare cunt.

You moan, shifting your legs open wider, giving Bakugou better access. He kisses your now soaking heat, slowly prodding you open with his tongue. 

“Pl-please go slow,” you whisper, threading your fingers through his slightly damp hair. 

He reaches a hand up to your face, slowly stroking your cheek reassuringly. 

“Don’t worry princess, I know what I’m doing.” he replies, sliding his hand back down to your waist. 

“Let me know if you’re ever in pain, okay? I’ll stop immediately.”

You give him a curt nod as he slips his index finger into his mouth, turning his attention back to what’s in front of him. 

He slowly slides his finger into you, causing you to clench in discomfort. He stays still for a moment before he slowly starts sliding his finger in and out of your heat, already dripping with your arousal. After a short while he adds in a second finger, his eyes continuously flicking up to your face to gauge your reactions. 

Your eyes are clenched in pleasure, soft moans and mumbles of his name falling from your mouth. “K-Katsuki,” you start, slowly opening your eyes.

“Yes, (Y/N)?” He asks, still sliding his now coated fingers in and out of you. 

“Please fuck me,” your cheeks flush at your outburst. 

He smirks at that, sliding his fingers out of you, as you sigh at the loss of contact. He licks his fingers clean and pulls himself up to you, kissing you more fervently this time. 

You taste yourself on your tongue as you moan, Bakugou slipping his tongue into your mouth. He reaches down to himself pumping his cock several times, long since hard again. He lines up with your entrance, breaking your kiss momentarily. 

“Are you ready?” he asks, meeting your gaze.

You eagerly nod, as he does as well. He slowly slides himself into you, as you wince with pain. His eyes never leave you, even as your eyes close as you focus on the mild pain as he slowly stretches you. You start to relax as he bottoms out, stilling there for a moment to give you time to adjust. 

After a heavy sigh from you, he begins to move, slowly at first, barely sliding several inches in and out of you. 

“You can move, Katsuki,” you breathe. 

He grunts in agreeance as he picks up the pace, balls slapping against your heat as he nestles his face into the crook of your shoulder. 

It isn’t long before you feel a knot in your stomach, on the verge of coming undone. 

“Katsuki, I–” you moan, eyes rolling into the back of your head as he continues to pound into you. 

You come with a flash of white, clenching around him as your vision blurs. The feeling of you squeezing around him so tightly sends Bakugou over the edge not long after, a strangled moan leaving him as he paints your insides white. 

After several more thrusts he slips himself from you, collapsing next to you, quickly pulling you to his warm chest. 

You two stay like that for a bit, both lightly panting from your orgasms. You slowly curl yourself into him, his arm wrapping around you as your sigh. 

“My offer still stands. You can come with us, you know.” He breaks the silence, as you slowly look up at him. 

His eyes meet yours as you quickly turn away, cheeks pink with slight embarrassment.

“I feel like I’d slow you guys down,” you sigh, readjusting yourself as the cold night air starts to register. “Besides, I don’t know if I’d even be useful.”

He rolls his eyes. “I wouldn’t ask you along if I didn’t want you there. I feel like you’d be able to help funnel people out while Kirishima and I handle the rest. You’re good with people, right? You’d be able to do a lot of fucking good, (Y/N). And besides, your work is too damn amazing to stay locked away here. Don’t stay cramped up in this little town the rest of your life. Do something, you know?” He says gruffly. 

You lay in silence for a moment, processing his proposal. You pull yourself to a sitting position, and Bakugou shortly follows suit. 

You turn to him, pulling his face to yours and kiss him gently. 

“You know what? Sure. Why not?” You grin, filled with fresh resolve. 

He smirks at that, pulling you back to his chest as he lays back down in the cool grass. He reaches for a discarded item of clothing and wipes the both of you up. He throws you your dress and you slip it back on, as he finds some clothing to put back on as well.

Using each other for warmth, sleep takes you both, sunrise still a handful of hours away. 

—

You awake with the sun, hazy oranges and purples dancing behind your eyelids as the sun drags up over the horizon. You pull yourself up, stretching as you yawn away your drowsiness. 

You look down at Bakugou, his mouth slightly agape as he slowly stirs awake. You smile, thinking about all the things you hoped to do. Sight-seeing, exploring new foods, selling your trinkets to new markets of people; the opportunities seem endless. 

“Hey! Glad to see you’re awake! I stopped by earlier but you two were still passed out, so I went into town and got some food!” You hear Kirishima’s voice to your left, his arms full of cloth sacks, presumably filled with food. 

“Good morning,” you reply, voice still thick with sleep as he hands you a bag. 

He sits to the right of you, Bakugou stirring on your left as you open the bag and start eating. 

Bakugou eventually sits up, rubbing his eyes as Kirishima hands him a sack as well, Bakugou muttering a low “thank you” as he still struggles to wake up. 

The three of you sit in silence for a while, as you all finish up your food. 

Bakugou is the first to speak up, setting his discarded wrappings on the ground beside him. “(Y/N) here’s going to join us, she can help evacuate people as we do the rest.”

“Sweet! You’ll fit right in!” Kirishima smiles, wrapping an arm around you.

“I do have to collect my things from town, and say goodbye to everyone, but I’m ready to go after that!” you smile back, taking a sip of water.

Bakugou stands up, taking everyone’s discarded food wrappings and throwing them into a sack as the three of you clean up camp.

As day breaks, the three of you make your way into town, conversing along the way.

Before long you reach Tengoku, the sun now high above your heads as you make your way to the inn. It doesn’t take long to pack your small number of things. You don’t have much more than a week’s worth of clothing, a hand-carved hairbrush, and a handful of figurines, as well as a couple of knives. 

The three of you walk back to the front desk, returning your key to the innkeeper, exchanging pleasantries and a tearful goodbye. 

You slowly make your rounds around Tengoku, wishing everyone well and promising you’d be back. 

The hardest person to leave is of course Tenshi.

At present she’s at the local shrine, paying her respects. The three of you stop at the bottom of the steps, as to not disturb her. 

“Can you guys give me a minute?” You ask hesitantly, placing your bag on the ground. The pair of men nod as you slowly make your way to the top of the shrine. 

“Hey Tenshi,” you start, gently placing a shaky hand on her shoulder. She opens her eyes and stands from her kneeling position and turns to you, tears welling in her eyes. 

She smiles softly, taking your hands in hers. “I was just praying for you,” she says, slowly rubbing circles into the backs of your hands. “I spoke with Inari this morning, and she told me what you set out to do, and I’m so very proud of you, (Y/N).” she gleams. 

You smile and bring her small frame to yours in a tight embrace, failing to hold back tears.

“You'll be back,” she says as you both pull away. “I know you will.”

You smile at that, knowing she knew better than anyone what the future holds. 

You make your way back down the steps, eyes still slightly puffy as you reach Kirishima and Bakugou. 

“You good?” Bakugou asks, handing you your duffel bag. 

You nod, assuring him you’d be fine. Kirishima hands off his bags to Bakugou and starts to stretch out his limbs as Bakugou drops the bags next to you. 

Your thoughts are pulled to Kirishima as you see him out of the corner of your eye stretching. You give him a sideways glance, slightly confused at what he was doing. 

Bakugou observes you and snorts. “Hey I promised you a dragon, didn’t I? He can’t transform if his damn limbs are stiff.”

You mouth an “oh” as Kirishima takes a deep breath and his skin begins to darken to a crimson red. 

A tail slowly protrudes from his lower back as he begins to grow in size. His arms lengthen to match his legs as they progressively become longer and thicker, ends coming to sharp onyx claws. His face elongates into a snout, his mouth lined with the same jagged teeth he adorns in his human form. Wings twice the length of his now massive body protrude from his back, varying shades of crimson and black, a scar running along the crease of his left wing. He shakes himself out, his scales catching the sunlight, reflecting tinges of black and purple. 

Honestly, you’re awestruck. You’ve never seen something so massive and beautiful in your life. Bakugou’s eyes never leave you, admiring your face of wonder. You slowly make your way around to Kirishima’s front, his eyes catching yours as he brings his face level with you. Your eyes immediately land on his notable scar over his right eye, and you reach out to it, brushing your hand over his face. You walk back around to his side, dragging your palm against his scaly skin as you walk back to Bakugou. 

“W-wow,” is all you can utter as Bakugou chuckles. 

“He is somethin’, huh? Let’s get going.” He replies, hoisting you onto Kirishima’s back. 

He tosses you the remaining bags and pulls himself up as well, settling himself directly in front of you. You take one more glance back at the shrine, Tenshi now waving at you. You wave back, flashing Tenshi a toothy grin. You then turn to face Bakugou, your arms snaking around his thin waist. His muscles tense under you as he slaps Kirishima’s back, signaling it was time to go. 

Without time to register, Kirishima shoots up into the sky, your hands finding purchase on Bakugou’s pelt as you hold on for dear life. As quickly as it starts it’s over, Kirishima leveling out amongst the clouds. 

It’s breathtaking. The heat of the day melts away as the air pressure drops, the clouds breezing by. You feel like you could float on endlessly, and with Bakugou at your fingertips and Kirishima securely beneath you, you feel like you’re in heaven. 

[solar-pxwered]

Reparations

                                - a Jin x Zuko story written by Panja Mysy

☆ ☆  AO3  ☆ ☆

❀ ❀  Tip Your Waitress  ❀ ❀

Story below the cut to keep people’s dashboards clean and cut, of course! Enjoy!

   There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

   At least, that's what the Dai Li had been pushing on the people for decades, and after so long hearing the same sentiment, being told to stay quiet, and citizens disappearing when they tried to tell anyone otherwise...well, the people of the city had begun to believe it. If you lived your life, did your job, kept your head down, and just fell in line then you were left alone. So it was that decades down the line, not even the actual Earth King had known the war was truly happening let alone the common people.

   This was why when the Fire Nation and Dai Li brought down the great walls no one was prepared to stand their ground against the occupancy. The lower ring citizens weren't trained in any weapon use other than muggers and their cheap knives or the occassional sword passed down through a family from their original arrival as refugees. The citizens weren't soldiers; a simple girl whose family ran a wool stall in the market least of all.

   Jin had never felt more afraid than when she witnessed the komodo rhinos stomping down the streets, packing the solid dirt even more firmly than the millions of feet before them. Fire Nation soldiers rode on their great backs and warned citizens to get indoors lest they face the consequences. Jin had taken refuge in the tea shop she frequented, a horrible realization sinking into her chest.

   "So it's true," a patron of the shop was whispering quietly behind her, out loud but to himself. "I've always heard rumors about the Fire Nation but no one could ever prove it. We really have been at war this whole time then?"

   "It would seem so." Mr. Pao confirmed in a grim tone. "Rumor also has it that the Earth King has just...disappeared and is nowhere to be found."

   "Dead most likely." One of the city guards muttered, his hand at his hip was shaking as if he was debating running out there to clash swords with the invaders. Jin seriously hoped he didn't; this was no time for a show of bravado.

   "What do we do?" Her voice sounded so small, choked in her fear as she clutched the neckline of her robes and worried the material there.

   "What can we do?" the guard responded with a defeated sigh. "We wait. We keep our heads down, and we survive."

   That had been two years ago now.

   "Jin, dear, can you cut me off a yard of the undyed wool please?" 

   Her mother's voice broke the girl from her memory and she shook her head to clear it as she grabbed the shears from the table. "One yard of undyed, coming right up."

   Life went on. Ba Sing Se had continued to thrive even under the rule of the Fire Nation because the rules still remained the same: live your life, do your job, keep your head down, fall in line. Jin's family had continued their business and opened the wool stall the very next day and ,even though they had no business at all, it had spurred the other members of the marketplace to follow suit. Soon the market was a bustling, busy place once again as they all adjusted to the new normal. 

   There were those who spoke of grand schemes to overthrow their new government, whispered plots over pints of cheap ale and tobacco smoke in the seedy taverns of the Lower Ring, but the few who tried to rise up were very quickly and very publically stomped back down. Jin was well familiar with the scent of burning flesh and hair after only a few days of the occupation. Over time things had settled down and even the more raucous of rebellion groups had been crushed in the months that followed the first march into the city. 

   Thankfully, the months of occupation were few; a mysterious group of people had reclaimed the city, or at least that was the story. All who were present to see it told tales of firebenders using the comet to destroy the Fire Nation defense, of waves flowing in the streets which washed down the lines of soldiers, Earthbending being used to crush tanks and topple statues, and even tales of epic sword fighting. If the stories were to be believed then it would mean their liberators were representative of all the nations combined...and Jin was happy to believe that.

   Whatever the case, the city was free again and King Kuei had returned from his long absence and tales from the world began to trickle into the streets; each one was more fantastic than the next! The Avatar, the last of the Air Nomads, had defeated the Fire Lord in combat. Kyoshi Island's famous warriors had represented the Earth Kingdom with unmatched ferocity. Three children had taken out the entire Fire Nation air fleet. The Dragon of the West himself had freed Ba Sing Se. There had been a siege on the Fire Nation during the eclipse.

   Today a new bit of news was making the rounds.

   "Have you heard?" the woman buying the undyed wool was asking her mother in a conspiratorial way, "They say the new Fire Lord is on his way to the city and should be arriving in only a few days. Apparently the King invited him personally to discuss trade agreements and reparations."

   "I should think so," Jin's mother, Yon, replied easily as she wrapped the wool in paper and tied it with twine to complete the package. "The Fire Nation owes the world far more than empty promises. If he's as eager to change the world as they say then what better place to start than here?"

   "Ah, but they say this isn't his first expedition at all! I heard the Earth Kingdom colonies were the first places he went and that there were uprisings and that he came to stomp them out! Apparently he and the Avatar got into a heated disagreement and they almost came to blows."

   Yon's lips pursed unhappily and she shook her head in disappointment.

   "He sounds like more of the same. It's almost like those people are born without any empathy."

   Jin bit her lip, turning her back on the gossip as she put the remaining wool back in it's container. Her mother's statement brought back up those stupid feelings she had been trying to quell for years now; feelings related to a certain Firebender who she knew was nothing like the evil Princess who had conquered the city from within. A shy boy with a scar on his face who served tea and lived in peace among them.

   She was no fool. He had all but blurted out the truth when he had lit those lanterns at the fountain that night. She could still see the nervousness and heard the awkwardness in his tone if she closed her eyes and focused on the memory of that strange date with the strange young man. She could still smell the heat frome the quickly summoned flames in the air. He had firebent those lights into being and he wasn't fooling anyone with his "don't peek" attempt. She hadn't peeked, of course, but she hadn't needed to.

   Lee had been a Firebender, and Lee was nothing like the rest. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------    Night fell dark and heavy on the Lower Ring, the shop keepers counting up their earnings for the day and many of them were dispersing to the newly opened public houses and seedy pubs to spend any excess they might have. Drunks and vagrants and beggers lined the dirt streets under the glowing lamplight, spending and making money both, feeding habits and trying to make it in the simple hell of poverty.

   Jin didn't stand out physically, dressed in simple browns and light greens, but her green eyes help far more light than most of the inhabitants of this area of the city. She held her head high as she walked, her steps light and sure. The wooden sign of her favorite establishment called to her and she smiled at the familiar creak of the door as she opened it, the light, smells and sounds from inside pouring into the street as she did so.

   "Jin! Over here, I saved you a spot!" a voice called and Jin searched the crowd for the source of the voice. She found the object of her search and smiled, waving to convey she had heard the message.

   "Hao, is it just you tonight?" Jin greeted her friend as she sat in the empty chair next to him at the four person table.

   Hao smiled and shook his head, his black hair falling into his almond shaped eyes and he pointed vaguely at the area of the tavern often used for dances when there were musicians who chose to play. Tonight was a sort of special occasion, the end of Summer and the recognition of the seasons changing to Fall, and it was displayed nicely in the gold and orange and red colors of the banners strung between the high, slightly warped wooden beams of the establishment.

   "Nari and Akemi are over there, probably trying to catch the attention of that fiddler." 

   Jin found the two girls with no problem, the two of them linked arm in arm as they skipped in a circle in time to the music, a simple dance usually done with several other people so you could switch partners on each pass, but it was clear that they were having enough fun without anyone else on the dance floor. Nari's chestnut brown curls bounced with every skip and she had her head tossed back in laughter, Akemi was always much more calm and collected so the only hint of enjoyment on her face was a simple smile.

   "Ah, yes, of course. When Nari's on the hunt, men and women beware." Jin laughed lightly, "So how was work today?"

   Hao tipped his mug back and took a large swig of the ale Jin knew was inside before he let out with a heavy sigh.

   "It wasn't the best," he admitted in a bitter tone of voice, swirling the contents of his cup around as he looked inside the pint. "I guess people just aren't in the mood for candles even though the days are getting shorter."

   "Hey, cheer up, Hao," Jin reassured him, "With the long, warm days coming to and end people will be needing what we've got to offer more and more every day. You'll make up for the slow summer, don't worry."

   "Yeah, yeah, I know," Hao rolled his eyes good naturedly and nudged Jin's side with his elbow, "Hey, you never know, maybe I'll marry into money."

   "Keep dreaming, Waxy!" Nari's always overly loud voice cut into the conversation as she plopped heavily into the seat across from their male companion. He gave her a rather unamused sort of sneer and she responded by sticking her tongue out, arms crossed over her chest.

   "No luck with the fiddler, I'm assuming?" Hao shot back and it was clear by the way Nari rolled her eyes that he was correct.

   "Hey, his loss!" Nari countered easily as if having her advances rejected was nothing. She seemed almost bored as she called out to the waiter as he passed. "Hey, can we get three pints over here?"

    "Oh, none for me," Jin said quickly but Nari ignored her.

    "Hi, Jin!" Akemi said softly as she took the last remaining seat at the table. She was far too prim and proper for such a place as this but for all her manners and quiet personality, Akemi has never once felt like she didn't belong in their rag tag group of friends. She didn't have the unkempt curls of Nari or the typical Earth Kingdom green eyes like Jin or the almond eyes like Hao; she was pale, blonde and blue eyed, a very uncommon mix of traits in one person in this part of the world. 

   "Akemi, you're someone who might actually appreciate a little bit of cultural news, unlike these two troglodytes." Jin had been eager to share her news with someone of equally open mindedness as she, Hao and Nari just weren't as interested in anything beyond the walls of Ba Sing Se. "I heard rumors today that the new Fire Lord is coming to visit King Kuei in a few days."

   "Oh my!" Akemi leaned forward, her blue eyes flashing with interest, "Did anyone know the purpose of the visit?"

   "Not that I've heard," Jin admitted, nodding to the waiter as he set her pint in front of her. "But I imagine it has to do with trade deals and reparations and the like. Politics, of course, he's way too busy to be coming here for a vacation."

   "Well, it's about damn time he showed his stupid face here," Nari grumped as she tucked into her pint with almost barbaric fervor.

   "How do you know his face is stupid?" Akemi asked innocently, "Maybe he's incredible handsome and smart to boot!"

   "Please," Nari rolled her eyes, "He's Fire Nation."

   "Have you SEEN Fire Nation people?" Hao asked, incredulously. "I mean, not trying to be funny, but they're HOT!"

   Jin and Akemi laughed and even Nari cracked a smile inside her pint glass so no one would notice.

   "Yeah, yeah, ok," she admitted, "But isn't he old as hell?"

   "The Fire Lord?" Jin raised an eyebrow, "Have you been living under a rock, Nari? The new Fire Lord is only nineteen, the youngest in a very long time."

   "Huh," Nari seemed thoughtful at that bit of knowledge, "Hey, maybe I'll be the one to marry into money instead of Hao."

   "Dream on," Hao echoed her earlier insult with a grin that earned him a chunck of hard bread in his face. Akemi didn't even seem upset at the loss of her bread as she laughed along with the other girls. "Real mature Nari. You know I should really-"

   "Oh, would you two just kiss already?" Jin interjected.

   That brought a profound silence to the table and they all finally focused on their drinks and the cheery atmosphere of celebration in the room. After a few more drinks, everyone forgot about the Fire Lord, their jobs, the failed attempt at wooing the fiddler and even Nari was laughing out loud by the time the four of them stumbled into the street. 

   "See you guys tomorrow night?" Akemi, the only sober one, asked as she held Nari upright.

   "I've got no plans," Hao confirmed.

   "Be here with bells on," Jin added, a hiccup escaping at the last word and making her giggle.

   Nari and Akemi headed East as Hao and Jin headed West towards their homes, arms draped over eachothers' shoulders as they walked without a care in the world as the alcohol worked it's magic. 

   Just another workday ending in the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se.