#i like the idea if the hydrangeas always being in the back outside in the gardens.

[angie-starz]

Their first sighting

[headingalaxys-sweet]

Dreaming of Spades (America x Reader) Drabble

This was just a Drabble / Oneshot that came to me while I was faded as hell enjoy the fluff!

Magic! You felt like pure magic! 

You know that sugary type of love you’re told about in fairytales when you’re young? 

You’d never felt like this before. It felt like your heart had grown time ten. It felt like you’d found the love you’d always yearned for. You’d been lost in a powerful trance thinking about someday you’d be proposed to by the man or merely the idea you were in love with. It didn’t matter which because it felt so real. It felt right. You were at a level of euphoria that was entirely new to you. You wanted- No, you Knew with a level of certainty that this daydream was absolute. Your eyes fluttered from a screen to your art to other parts of the room. Listlessly, your eyes were filled to the brim with shards of stars and vibrant flowers against a dark abyss. You couldn’t move. You couldn’t speak. You drift off to another reality, or was it a different part of the current timeline? 

You didn’t know but were curious to find out. As your mind became more comfortable with being adrift within the indigo blackness that now enveloped you, your mind did its best to concentrate on the millions of microscopic stars. As you drifted back to the dream of whence you came, your presence did not go unnoticed. 

“Where is that energy wave coming from?” Said a lonely King who was draped in nothing but sapphire hues. His outfit was adorned with multitudes of Spades. He wandered away from his throne to take a look outside the window. There against the darkened sky was a figure of a woman floating down from the sky. A bright pink glow was emanating from you. That energy that came from you made him feel at ease and wonderful. 

It felt as though he’d been through something like this before. Was it a daydream come to life or another teasing Deja Vu? King Alfred knew that he’d seen or even met someone like you once before. He was just bemused that he couldn’t seem to remember. 

It felt as though the doldrum spell had been broken. As soon as you were about to touch the ground, a decrepit black hand had sprung from the ground and dragged you under. It needed a fresh new human that had plenty of love energy to give. 

“Oh no! That woman needs help!” He was unable to currently remember your name. As soon as the ground swallowed you whole, King Alfred’s heart sank along with you. He had an urgent need to know why you made him feel this way. The sudden burst of energy that he received from you gave him enough of a boost to come and search for you in the Hollow Realm. 

Briskly, he picked up his sword from the mantle above the fireplace and ran down to the deep depths of the cold dungeon. There stood a mirror that acted as a portal to different dimensions. He placed his hand firmly on the clear surface. All he had to do was concentrate and say aloud where he wanted to go. 

“TO THE HOLLOW REALM!” With that, he was engulfed with light and taken to his desired location. The place was dreary and painted pitch black. Alfred had to ignite a dim fairy light so he wouldn’t draw too much attention to himself. He didn’t want creatures of this realm to hinder him. 

King Alfred tracked you down by following the intensity of the energy you continued to give off. The spark you emitted got stronger the deeper into the Hollow Realm he traveled. He began to have fragments of memories that floated into his consciousness. 

Holding hands as you strolled through sunflowers. 

Hiked through pink hydrangeas. 

Milled among red peonies. 

He remembers your face among the flowers and remembers it well. His heart began to race as it was tantalized by vivid memories of a vibrant love story that he knew had to exist. 

As the spark within him began to grow into a flame he looked up to see you were sealed away in a translucent glass bubble with spellbinding flora that was draining the life from you. Little by little, the rosy light began to diminish. King Alfred was hit with a lightning bolt of horror that shook his entire body. 

“No!!!” Just as he was about to rush up the stairs to break you free, a bush of petunias had punched him in the gut. It prevented him from even taking a step on the stairs that led to you. 

“I’m not going to let some stupid plants stop me!” He shouted as fragments of shattered stars infused themselves with yellow carnations, orange lilies, & black roses. Each was filled with a strong potency or resentment, rejection, anger, and hate. They turned into bush monsters of varying sizes. The beasts growled at him giving a final warning to back away from their latest victim. 

King Alfred didn’t back down. He was hardly afraid. He readied his blade and stared down the monsters. He began to chop them down into nothing but pitiful petals & shredded leaves. He was able to secure his path that led to you. 

King Alfred  was overflowing with emotion when he was able to look at your face up close. He knows it was you. That you were real and his memories weren’t from some far off dream. 

Y/N the human, who’d fallen into the river of space and time. You just so happened to fall into his kingdom from the fast-moving waters. Even though the first time you were only there for a short time, you’d made an everlasting mark on his heart. He could never forget. He could never let go, and that’s why your energies could connect. 

The flagitious flora of the hollow realm wouldn’t keep you away from him. No matter how many times it liked to keep you away from him. No amount of throwing you into unseen portals and kidnapping you through the underground would keep you away from him. Nothing ever would. Not from the Mighty King of Spades. 

King Alfred promised you that he’d be your prince while your pinky was intertwined with his…right before you’d be able to seal the deal with a kiss. Water, bubbles, and tears had blurred your vision and you were suddenly back to the life you loathed most of the time. Was it a dream? Or was it real, you constantly asked yourself. You swear you could hear your heart yell at you & tell you all of it was indeed true. But you couldn’t remember how you got there in the first place, much less how you’d be able to get back. Life went on doldrums, and slowly you began to forget about the royal man who was dressed in nothing but sapphire hues. You could only ever remember when your eyelids were shut. 

When Alfred tried to stab the bubble, you were encased in a blowback of epic proportions that repelled him away. 

“Ah!” His voice echoed into the darkness. This had awakened the monster that was using you as a battery. 

“Let her go, you fowl beast!” It kicked Alfred off the plateau of where he once stood. The thing was decorated in sprightly flowers that expressed disdain. Alfred conjured up all his strength, and he got an added dose just from being close to you. He recovered his sword and summoned his wand. 

King Alfred enchanted his sword so he could subdue the evil Flora beast. He began to cut it down to its roots, removing its ability to regrow anymore. It all came tumbling down. The petunias that glowed an angry scarlet turned into cherry-colored roses that sang cheerfully. The orange lilies that radiated with hate transformed into bright yellow sunflower petals, symbolizing positivity and strength. The sour lemon carnations converted into sweet pink peonies. 

Everything felt like it was that day he had lived through before. Petals enveloping his senses with– 

“Y/N!!!” He shouted as you came crashing to the ground. Your bubble had burst when he’d defeated the monster. King Alfred had caught you in the nick of time. 

“Y/N!!! Y/N!!! I’m glad you’re safe!” He planted a kiss on your awakening eyes. When he came into full view of your vision, your eyes were wide with pleasant surprise. 

“I…I am too. Are you the reason why it felt as though magic was coursing through my veins? Why it feels as though I’ve met you before?” 

“Sometimes, when a dream is kept a light in your heart, it can come true when you believe that it can be real. It may seem only to be a dream for a while or a vision; either way, a human heart can make something real just as you have.” He placed another kiss on your forehead. 

“It’s just great to finally see you again.” You smile warmly at him. 

“Likewise, I knew my dreams had been too lucid not to be real. Since it took me a while to find my way back here…I started to believe that the days we spent together in the gardens and on the streets in the Kingdom of Spades were nothing more than sweet lies that my mind had spun up.” 

You gently placed your hand on his cheek to reassure yourself that he was truly there, that he was truly real. 

King Alfred took that as his chance to grab your hand and kiss it. 

“Let’s get out of this dark place Y/N.” He carried you back to the portal and, with a shout: 

“BACK TO THE KINGDOM OF SPADES!” 

Glittering silver light flooded your vision for a few moments. You were back in that familiar palace your heart had dreamt of for long periods of the night. 

King Alfred set you down & let you in the care of his servants. 

“I’ll see you in a little while, okay? They’ll help you clean up after that ordeal.” Vaguely gesturing to your dirty and slightly torn clothes. 

“Glad to see you back here, Princess Y/N. Do you remember us from your previous dreams?” 

“I do. I think my memories are slowly coming back to me.” 

“That’s good; now let's get you presentable. The King has a special proposal for you.” 

You donned a coruscating rainbow dress with blue as the overtone. Your (hair color) was pinned up into a high bun. Your heart was beating fast. The magical feeling was tingling your insides again. It felt as though tons of butterflies would burst out from underneath your skin. 

As you made your way to the throne room where King Alfred resided, he, too, was somewhat nervous, but he could feel that your hearts beat in harmony. As you made your way through the double doors in your beautiful gown, Alfred was once again struck by Cupid's arrow. He gripped the small box in his pocket as he descended the steps to greet you. King Alfred was utterly silent as his cerulean eyes never left you once you entered the room. He got down on one knee right in front of you as he asked with his whole kingdom watching: 

“Y/N, will you marry me?” 

[quietshygirls]

I’ve had Johnny x Dallas x Sylvia on my mind for weeks now! Can be read as friends or as a ship, ending is ambiguous on purpose :) just a tiny tiny 3k thingy if anyone wants to read. (No title - it’s just a random and incomplete idea I needed out of my system)

Across his cheeks and under his eyes grew hydrangeas, blue and purple and violet—a complexion colorful from what he was. A garden bloomed right on his face. He looked sickly, almost gray underneath. He looked this way after going home. It depended on his parents’ moods. But the bruises were always deep and lasted a few weeks, beaten onto his skin with a hatred inflamed in his parents by his mere existence.

His skin was naturally brown, and browned more by the summertime, and it looked almost golden this way, warmed by all the time he spent outside. He loved summer for this reason: he could spend it outside without freezing to death. The summer was for Johnny; it was the one thing he had for himself.

During the summer, it was warm all day and night long. He didn’t have to worry about having to go home, and he didn’t mind. In fact, he preferred it. The air was warm and the stars were out. Outside he always had things to preoccupy himself with; he smoked cigarettes, he looked at the stars, and he slept, and he could do these things for hours.

He liked being outside. He liked it more than being at home, which didn’t really say much because he’d rather be anywhere but home. The lot was the only place he felt safe (save for the socs, but they were a threat anywhere).

Sometimes Ponyboy would go with him, and they’d stare at the stars together. They didn’t talk much, or at all, but he didn’t mind that either. He’d prefer it to sit in silence than speak. They never had to say anything to understand each other. Sometimes they’d talk for hours.

They either spoke for hours or spoke nothing at all.

At the end of the night he’d be left alone, too. He tried not to mind that too much. He got used to being alone; he got used to having nothing and nobody. He’d be lying if he said it didn’t bother him though—and sometimes to the point that he contemplated the purpose of his life, his friendships, his future, his parents. He didn’t have anything to look forward to.

Sometimes when he fell asleep he dreamed of being happy. He dreamed of having parents who loved him. He dreamed of getting older and having a life. But something dark and gross would come up behind these thoughts, and it gave him a sick feeling, and he’d get this feeling that all of this would never be real. That these dreams would stay dreams and never be true.

He hated that feeling.

He heard a voice, too, which always sounded different. Sometimes it sounded like himself, and sometimes it sounded like his father, and sometimes it sounded like his mother. It exchanged persons every time, but it always said the same thing: Johnny didn’t deserve anything and he would never amount to anything. He was starting to believe it. Part of him already did.

He didn’t know what he’d done to deserve the worst, but he must’ve done something because his parents told him so. Dallas and the other gang tried to tell him it wasn’t true and that his parents didn’t deserve him, but it didn’t work. It never undid anything—not his memories, not his pain, not his desperation.

His father was unfair. He was mean. He was angry. He was insensitive. What Johnny knew above all, he was abusive. He hated the word. It made him feel like a victim, a helpless person. But he knew that was the truth. His father was abusive.

It always pissed Dallas off when he’d see Johnny with new bruises, or another black eye, or a busted lip. It only made him embarrassed. He hated how the gang looked at him like a child, a pet, a thing to take care of and fuss over. He could take whatever his father gave him. But he hated pity, he didn’t want to be anybody’s charity case.

And anyway, he’d never fight back, even though he could, and even though sometimes he wanted to. He’d never cry, and he’d never yell out, and he’d never hide or defend himself. He’d take it, and he’d show his father that he could, because as long as he did everything wrong in the eyes of his parents, he’d do this one thing. He’d take this one thing and show them that he could be good and strong.

He was in the bathroom at the Curtises’ house, and nobody but Ponyboy was home. He hadn’t used the toilet though. He was only poking and prodding at his black eye, it was puffy and purple, dark and painful. His nose and cheeks were a different color, too, the colors of bruises newly made. His face ached but he’d never let it show.

The door opened and he was beginning to say that he was in there still, but then he saw that it was Dallas and shut his mouth instantly.

“Uh, sorry, Dal. I was jus’ gettin’ out.”

He kept his head down and moved to get past Dallas and back out into the living room where he was hanging with Ponyboy, but he pushed him back against the sink in a swift yet tender move. Johnny was confused but didn’t say anything, and then he noticed that Dallas had closed the door behind him.

He gulped and tried to look Dallas in the eye. “Dallas?” He said, confused. He wasn’t scared of Dallas, but he hated being under his stare like this. It was intimidating, and he was hurt and he didn’t feel like being interrogated. He knew Dallas would have something to say about it. When the gang only gave him pitiful looks and didn’t ask any questions, Dallas was openly angry about his home life.

Then, Dallas did surprise him. He grabbed Johnny’s face, silently and again with a tender move.

“Your dad?” He said. His blue eyes looked frozen, a cold mixture of anger and hesitation and contemplation. He was a multitude of things at once, like they all were.

Johnny licked his lips, biting over the bruise on his bottom one, and he nodded his head. He stared at Dallas’s lips, which were nicely pink but set in a hard, straight line. He was angry, and Johnny didn’t want him to be angry with him. He felt this irrational fear of Dallas being angry with him crawl up his throat and press behind his eyes. Something inside of him was dying to come out. He wouldn’t cry in front of Dallas, though, not there and not in front of him.

Dallas’s eyebrows furrowed together, pushing together in the middle to meet at his frustration. He was trying to understand something and he couldn’t, and it was pissing him off, Johnny could tell. He moved Johnny’s face to the side, one of his long pale fingers coming near the bruise and Johnny didn’t mean to flinch because he learned to control his pain years ago, but he did. It fucking hurt, but he felt comfortable enough to let loose around him, to let himself be hurt around Dallas.

“This is gettin’ fuckin’ ridiculous, John,” said Dallas, his voice deep and sharp and unusually concerned. He masked his emotions as well as the rest of the gang. But he was concerned and he was letting Johnny know that. “Your dad’s a piece of shit.”

Johnny shook his head anyway, and Dallas’s hand fell from his face. “He’s my dad, Dally,” he said, quietly, and he didn’t mean to sound so defensive because he knew it was ridiculous. He was defending the man who beat him when he was bored, the man who beat him because he felt like it. And these beatings were the only form of attention he ever got from his father.

“Jesus Christ, Johnny. Yeah, a fuckin’ dad who beats you for fun,” he said, his voice bursting suddenly in anger. “I’d hardly call him father of the year.”

Johnny shrugged. He tried to get past Dallas and out of the bathroom again, suddenly the room felt too small, and he felt that at any moment he might suffocate and he couldn’t stand Dallas staring at him. In fact, he couldn’t stand Dallas at all at that moment. He was acting mean and like a know-it-all when he knew exactly how Johnny felt about his parents and it wouldn’t change.

Dallas didn’t let him again and Johnny looked at him, and he hoped that Dallas could tell on his face how embarrassed he was and that he’d let him go, but he didn’t.

“And what did I tell you, huh? If your folks are hacked off, and you don’t wanna go to Pony’s, come to Buck’s—I’ll be there,” he said. He used his hand to wipe over his face but he didn’t look relieved at all afterward. “I mean, fuck, John. Come on.” Johnny didn’t say anything but he didn’t have to because Dallas was ranting, half of which he didn’t pay attention to. “It beats bein’ a punchin’ bag.”

Johnny shrugged. “Alright. Thanks, Dallas.”

Dallas stared at him for a moment longer, and he got a funny look on his face before smirking. “Jesus, kid.” He pushed Johnny’s hair out of his face. “Put some fuckin’ ice on that thing, alright?”

Johnny nodded. He knew to put ice on it, he didn’t need Dallas to tell him that, and while it annoyed him, he didn’t say anything. He kept a lot of things to himself. He didn’t see the point in saying it out loud and causing trouble. He didn’t care enough to.

Dallas didn’t understand a lot of things and Johnny wouldn’t spend time trying to explain them to him—a lot of it he’d never understand.

He never expected to take Dallas up on his offer to stay at Buck’s place. First of all, he didn’t like it there because the music was always loud and someone always tried to hit on him, and second, he liked sleeping outside just fine.

But there was one night that was lightly raining and he could’ve really just gone home because his parents ignored him most of the time anyway, but he thought that he should see Dallas. He wanted to. He could’ve gone to Ponyboy’s, too, but he didn’t want to. He had options, but he didn’t want to use them.

There wasn’t a particular reason. Dallas hadn’t been around much and he thought he should see him. That’s all.

When he got there, Buck didn’t make a big fuss about him being there, which was because he had turned 18 a couple weeks ago. He stepped aside to let Johnny in. There was a party going on, and he tried to find Dallas around there, but he couldn’t, so he took the stairs up to his room after smoking a cigarette or two and dodging drunken advancements. He didn’t drink anything, he rarely ever did. If he wanted to experience the adrenaline of alcohol, he’d just have to go home—or hang around Two-Bit.

“Who is it?” He could hear Dallas’s voice through the door, and he sounded annoyed at the sound of the knock.

Johnny cringed.

“What?” He said, and he said it before he fully opened the door and saw who it was, already bothered by an intruder. His face changed significantly and he smirked. “Hey Johnny.”

“Hi Dal. Is it okay that I’m…?” He didn’t bother to finish the question because part of him knew he didn’t have to even ask. Dallas would’ve kicked him out if he were busy or simply because he didn’t want him there.

Dallas didn’t say anything, but he pulled him in by his denim jacket, and Johnny could do nothing but oblige by this motion.

“So, you’re finally doin’ what I’ve been askin’ you to do all this time,” said Dallas, lighting up a cigarette and handing it to Johnny. Johnny was standing awkwardly in the middle of the room and Dallas stared at him. “Sit down on the bed, will ya? It’s freakin’ me out, you just standin’ there.”

Johnny did as he said, smiling a little at Dallas. He was particular about weird things like that, like standing in the middle of his room. He thought things that weren’t weird were weird.

Johnny smoked in silence until he found something to say. “You seen Sylvia lately?”

“Nah,” said Dallas. “She’s been pissed off about me bein’ in and out of jail and whatnot.”

Johnny didn’t say anything.

“I might see her tomorrow, I dunno, really, and I dunno if I actually wanna see the girl, you know what I mean?”

Johnny shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Dallas chuckled, side-eyed Johnny. “You know Steve told me about what happened while I was, uh, gone—about Syl flirtin’ with you a few years back.”

Johnny felt his face get hot and he reprimanded himself in silence. He was eighteen, and he wasn’t embarrassed about liking a girl, but at that time he’d been sixteen and Steve lectured him about girls for almost an hour straight, and Sodapop stood by him, nodding appropriately and adding some of his own words. He felt like a fucking child, and he was the same age as Sodapop. It was embarrassing.

Dallas hadn’t brought it up to him when he was out of jail, so Johnny never brought it up either, which in and of itself wasn’t a feat considering he barely talked at all. But now that he had, and years later at that, and that made him embarrassed.

“Oh,” he said.

“Yeah, ‘oh,’” he said.

“Well, I ain’t flirt back or nothin’, Dal,” he said. “You’re a pal, I wouldn’ta done that to ya.”

“I know that, Johnnycake,” he said, his voice amused. “Syl likes you, she likes you a lot, John. And I do, too, and it made me think.” He took a drag of his cigarette, his eyes set on Johnny, and Johnny thought that the seconds were taking hours to go by. “Made me think that maybe you, Syl, and me could hang out together, I dunno…”

“Whadda ya mean, Dal?”

“She’s fond of you, kid,” he said. “And hell, I am, too.”

“Well, thanks. I like y’all, too.”

“Sure,” he said, not unkindly. “Sylvia… you know Syl, she’s crazy but she’s somethin’ else, Johnnycake. S’ppose it’s the reason I always go back to her, I dunno.”

Johnny took a drag of his cigarette, content to stay silent and let Dallas say whatever he wanted to say. That’s how it happened when he was around any of the gang; they all seemed to talk enough for the two of them, and they always had something they needed to get off their chests. Johnny happened to be the perfect guy to go to to relieve some of their stress and worry because he wasn’t combative or reasonable—he just listened.

And he could understand them, or at least try to, and when he didn’t he didn’t try to change their minds. He could just listen.

Dallas talked for a while, and Johnny only said something when it sounded like Dallas wanted him to, otherwise he was content to talk and talk and let Johnny listen to what he had to say. The thing about Dallas though was that his voice was deep, and Johnny always found himself dozing off not out of boredom but comfort. He liked to hear him talk as much as he liked to hear Sodapop talk; they both had a lot they wanted to say without fear of judgment, and they weren’t afforded that often.

But Johnny was thinking about Dallas and Sylvia and what he meant about them hanging together. The only time he’d been around Sylvia was when she and Dallas happened to pass by the gang.

She was taller than most girls, and her nails were always red, Johnny noticed that, because her slim hands had a dangerous color to them. Dallas, who prided himself in belonging to nobody, was putty in her hands. Nobody else saw that but Johnny, and he had a sick feeling, like the other sick feeling he gets, but this one was jealous and green. And he didn’t know who he was jealous of.

He liked Sylvia, he didn’t have anything against her and every time they saw each other they were friendly, even if Steve had almost made it awkward between them. She apologized to him about the whole thing when they saw each other again (she had said it was because she was drunk, Dallas was in jail, and her emotions were mixed up). Johnny forgave her; he hadn’t been offended to begin with. He never had anything to say, and Sylvia liked that he could be quiet and respectful and avoid getting into trouble.

“Maybe we can hang out then, Dal,” he said.

Dallas looked at him for a while, without saying anything. He swallowed. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, Dally,” he said, and he leaned back against the bed. He stared up at the ceiling, it was splotched with dark spots against its off-white color. “If that’s what you want.”

“That’s what I want.”

Johnny puffed out a breath. “Alright.”

Dallas, who had been sitting on the floor and leaned up against the bed sometime in the conversation, crawled onto the bed beside Johnny. “That’s what I want, John,” he said again, his voice even deeper and closer.

It was getting later and later, and Johnny could feel the late breeze through the open window.

Their shoulders were touching with how close he was laying next to him, both staring up at the ceiling. Johnny passed his cigarette to him and he took it without a word. It was probably his fifth one since he got there. “Alright, Dal. We’ll hang out.” He yawned. “We will…”

He didn’t know when it happened, but he fell asleep and when he woke up Dallas was still next to him. His breaths fell steadily and evenly, and Johnny smiled at the fact. He didn’t have anything to smile about otherwise, and he thought about what Dallas told him last night, about Sylvia and about hanging out together. His blond hair looked white in the sunshine, which was now spilling in through the window and coating them and the room in a bleak morning color…

He thought he’d like that.

[k0z3me]

haikyu!! fic recs

fics

- you never called it what it was (pt1) (pt2) — sakusa kiyoomi — @willowfolksong

+summary : in which you and sakusa are in a fwb situation, you're in love with him while he's still in love with his ex.

- meet me (under the stars) — miya atsumu — @touyangel

+summary : despite starting off on the wrong foot, you can’t help but be taken with the very handsome stranger who you brush paths with while on holiday.

- the hunt — miya atsumu — @heich0e

+summary : when you get sent a brief for a inz hookup

- the burden of being — miya osamu — @sashimiyas

+summary : there was an osamu who loved you once. who loved onigiri miya so much he spent most of his waking hours there, supported loyally by the members of hyogo ward. a fire changes that and he and his twin brother adopt their old high school motto: we don’t need the memories. now they’re gone and memories are all you have. so as an homage to the man you love, you reopen his restaurant back up for him.

- down the drain — miya atsumu — @getoswhore

+summary : your big brother's best friend has always quirked an interest to you everytime he's around, and this time, he makes sure it's even more the obvious for you tonight.

- from me to you — koutaro bokuto — @flyingraijin

+summary : The strip club isn’t the kind of place you’d usually go to meet people. Really, you’re just there to do your job. And even after you do run into a kind of nice guy one night, it doesn’t really matter. It’s not like you’ll ever see him again… right? (In which you fall flat on your face for Bokuto as he begins to teach you that you are, in fact, truly beautiful)

drabbles

- married under 25 (1) (2) — miya atsumu — @neoheros

- bad idea! — suna rintaro— @earthtooz

- msby manager! — iwazumi hajime — @shoulmate

headcannons

series

- office rivals — kuroo tetsurou — @augustinewrites

+summary : kuroo tetsurou is your co-worker, cubicle neighbour, and the bane of your existence…but only he would trick you into going on a date with him. (or, office rivals/enemies to lovers)

- wicked crown — sakusa kiyoomi — @iwas-baby

+summary : forced into an unwanted marriage, the prince and now princess must learn to overcome their quarrels as bigger threats are on the rise

- the walls are thin — miya atsumu — @a-kaash-me-outside

+summary : in which atsumu is your college neighbor with whom you share a wall. [ i love this series eee, i'm reading it as it comes out ]

- lover be good to me — kita shinsuke — @pantowone

+summary : you meet kita shinsuke on a rainy summer day, with a sea of hydrangeas swirling at your feet. you know him instantly, as only a soulmate can. he seems like a good man. like a good soulmate. but it's your wedding day.

- bottom of the deep blue — suna rintaro — @samuskitchen

+summary : sirens, creatures of unmatched beauty and cunning charm, they lure men in with their voices and grace, taking advantage of all the gullible fishermen and pirates. mermaids, the peacekeepers of the deep blue sea, naive and kind to a fault at times. a fated encounter between the two underwater dwellers leads to a difficult situation and a love that shouldn’t be.

- the agreement — suna rintaro — @noosayog

+summary : the best part about the agreement was how good he made you feel. the worst part about the agreement is that you probably like him more than you should and he definitely doesn't feel the same way

- as friends — suna rintaro — @animatedrapture

+summary : sure, you have more than just a tiny crush on suna Rintarou, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get to know him as friends... right? Or, in which: It’s hard to get Suna’s attention when he’s at the center of it all, especially not if he might have someone else he already likes.

- no title — miya atsumu — @noosayog

+summary : university au, enemies(ish) to lovers

- no title (pt1) (pt2) (pt3) — miya atsumu — @shoulmate

+summary : in which atsumu rejects you without knowing he did..

- little miss cherry chaser — various — @

smau

- don't smile at me — suna rintaro au — @atzuums

+summary : when you become the photographer for famous model suna rintaro you were excited. your dreams are soon crushed when you realize he’s an asshole, but maybe that’s just how he flirts.

- plug walk — miya osamu au — @splitontendo

+summary : in honor of your friends birthday your friends and you all decided to get high. buying the drugs from no other than osamu miya. the most attractive dealer you’ve ever laid eyes on.

- traitor — sakusa kiyoomi au — @rinslutz

+summary : sakusa had a new girlfriend exactly 3 hours 10 minutes and 55 seconds after you broke up. he moved on so quickly it’s hard to believe that he ever loved you, or that he wasn’t cheating thought your whole relationship. you heavily believed that he was, so you set out to make his life a living hell.

- 40 days 2 love — suna rintaro au — @zephestia

+summary : it's the second year of high school, and everyone are either in a relationship or is getting into one. everyone except you. it's not like you care anyways, you've got better things to worry about. but when your seat mate offered you a deal to provide you lunch for the next 40 days of school in exchange for you to be his (fake) girlfriend, it's hard for you to turn the offer down.

- say it back — suna rintaro au — @animatedrapture

+summary : l/n y/n has been pining for her very best friend, suna rintarou, since high school. now they’re in college and nothing much has changed—that is, until she finally confesses to him after a deal with her friends. will he say it back?

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[i-lovethatforme]

Jess!!!!! I just came with an idea for the Christmas fics! hahahaha Peter trying to (surprise) kiss MJ under a mistletoe and being frustrated because of the height difference

day five: it's the most wonderful time of the year

Peter separates the hydrangea stems carefully, splitting them into piles of white and pink, as he whistles along to the Christmas songs that are playing on repeat in his store. He knows having the same songs on all the time can be draining, but Miles has left for the night and so he puts the same album on and happily taps his foot to Mariah Carey for the eighth time that day. 

“Full of happy sounds,” he mumbles. It’s not like he’s always in a great mood when he has to stay back to close the florist while Miles runs off to save the city, he just usually isn’t as upbeat as this. Often grumbling to himself as he wraps the orders for the next day that his joints are stiff and his reaction times are slower than Miles’ and he really isn’t needed as much anymore. But even if the event had called for two people in spandex, he’s not sure he wants to leave his happy bubble from last night just yet. 

The memory of the way Michelle looked as she moved on top of him under his threadbare fairy lights. The way she gripped his hair when he pressed his lips to her throat. The way she kissed him when she came. 

He imagines her coming to see him during her lunch break, not that he has any idea where she works or anything other than her name and what she feels like when she comes.

He has enough to fill his entire day with thoughts of her and whether she'd like who he was outside of the singles event he met her at yesterday. They gave out cards to get to know each other and still, they managed to figure out they were roughly the same age and desperately wanted to fuck in the bathroom stall. And by the time he took her home, they figured they could work out the rest tomorrow.

But she was gone when he woke up, a hairpin on his dresser he thinks she forgot as opposed to it being a clue to find her again. He supposes he could try.

She made him feel like he could do anything - even when his knees and hips make him feel otherwise. It's not like he's old, he's barely 35 but Spider-Man took its toll on his body and his love life. 

So now it doesn’t feel weird to him to fill the vases at his florist and dream of a time where she might be here with him. It probably should feel weird but he’s pushing that to the back of his mind because it’s Christmas time and anything can happen at Christmas time. 

The doorbell chimes and he spins dramatically in case it's her. It's not. And he spends thirty minutes helping the guy buy apology flowers for his boyfriend and he doesn't wanna know what he did wrong but he will take the two hundred dollars.

Peter is getting ready to close the store, the orders for tomorrow are ready, he's left Miles a hilarious note for tomorrow morning and he pre ordered breakfast for him.

Then the chime goes again and he hides his frown because it's late and though the sign doesn't say closed, it's pretty clear they are.

But then he hears it. The faint hammering of her heart he committed to memory yesterday - though something feels off and when he spins to see her, she's behind a flower stand.

"Quickly, Bell, the store is closing."

Oh, she has a child with her. Her child? Probably not his child seeing as they used protection and they only slept together last night and the child sounds to be about six but still the fear is there. Not a fear as though he wouldn't have children with her - probably getting a little ahead of himself. 

"These mum?" 

"Okay, sure, let's get those for dad," she replies and his heart falls to the floor. He'd never want to be a homewrecker and though he had no idea she was in a relationship, he feels awful anyway.

That's when he sees her again, his brows furrowed as he tries to force a customer smile on his face. She's beautiful. He knew she was but somehow his imagination couldn't comprehend her in these lights, her hair down and her cheeks flushed from the cold.

"Oh," she says. Looking down at her daughter and then back at him. It's awkward. Though her daughter doesn't seem to think so as she waves at him. He waves back. Michelle smiles and it stabs him in the chest.

"Can I wrap those for you?" he asks, his voice breaking only slightly.

"Bella, can you go and grab something pink as well?" Michelle asks, though she's looking right at him.

She walks to the counter when her daughter runs away and he wants to tell her it's fine. He doesn't want an explanation but she tucks her hair behind her ear and she's so fucking pretty that he forgets to speak.

"Hi," she says with a shy smile he never thought he'd see on her.

"Er, I got a call that Bella wasn't well this morning so I had to go and I couldn't find a pen and I panicked - but I was going to go back to Jerry's to see if they'd give me your number -”

"It's okay," he cuts in, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I'm not really interested in anything complicated."

"Oh," she replies, her head turning to her child and what he should say is just dump her father and they can talk.

"Yeah, sorry. I thought they noted that down on the forms," she laughs though she doesn't look amused. A little hurt maybe but he doesn't know her well enough to be sure.

"It's not - Bella isn't a complication," he says, feeling like this isn't a talk you have before actually going on a first date.

"You didn't have a good time last night?" she asks, her chin tilted slightly like she won't believe him even if he tries to say no. 

"Yeah, of course I did, Michelle. There's just -"

"Mum, what about these?" Bella pipes up, skipping towards them with a selection of pink flowers.

"Perfect," Michelle replies, taking them from her and handing all the stems to Peter. She takes her purse out and he curses the way this is the last time he'll see her. Does he want to be a homewrecker?

"When we lay them with dad can we get hot coco?"

Oh. Oh no.

"Of course, we'll get some when we visit tomorrow, okay?"

The shock must be evident on his face because Michelle frowns at him like she's offended he'd think she'd sleep with him when she was in a relationship. It's reasonable and he can't explain to her why he's so terrible at letting people in - at thinking anyone would love him for him without their being a monumental issue, without telling her everything.

Though he thinks she might be worth it. If he had to guess.

He wraps the flowers and hands them to her, shaking his head when she asks how much they are.

"Peter," she sighs.

"Michelle -"

"You can call mum, MJ. She lets her friends call her MJ."

"Are we friends?" Peter asks, the desperation definitely evident on his face.

"Yeah," MJ replies with a smile.

"Mistletoe!" Bella shouts with a smile, pointing at the mistletoe on the ceiling that Miles placed before Gwen came to pick him up.

"You have to kiss it's the rules," her daughter giggles.

MJ looks at him like she's writing a pros and cons list in her head and if he had to place a bet, he'd think he was going to lose. But then her gaze drops to his lips and he capatalises, leaning towards her. She meets him halfway and she tastes better than he remembers, her cold nose making the hairs on his arms stand up.

"Can I get your number now?" he asks, his hand lightly against her cheek.

"Mmmm, only if you come and get pizza with us," she replies, her lips against his again.

"Yes," he says, all but ripping his apron off and locking the cash register. 

"Oh, and you can tell me what this is for," she whispers, running her finger along the collar of his sweater, pulling it slightly and his suit is right there. 

Well, he figures that's fair.

"Ummm." 

"Bella, who's your favourite superhero?" Michelle asks, pulling him out the shop, her fingers linked with his. 

"Spidey! The old one but the new one is cool as well. Did you know that they got bitten by a spider at fifteen? And they can cling to walls with their fingertips -"

Peter looks over at MJ with a smile barely resisting the urge to stop in the middle of the street and kiss her. It's only because Bella keeps listing his powers and he's not entirely sure how she found it all out that he hasn't pushed Michelle against a wall.

"- And they can lift the weight of three cars!"

"It's five actually!"

[mostlydysfunction]

From The Stars, Part 9

Summary: Kira moved out of town for isolation and peace and quiet. But that quickly gets turned on its head when a spaceship crash lands not far from her house and a strange creature decides she's its new queen. Luck had never been on Kira's side, but things are going to get a lot worse for her as she's forced into this new role and everything her new alien subject thinks it entails.

Warnings: Lying, shady parents, some hinted at violence at the end.

Authors Note: Again, this has been up on my Ao3 since like February. Link is in my masterlist if you prefer to follow there and get updates sooner. There’s going to be only a couple more parts to this one however, so might not even matter. 

MASTERLIST

Kira watches the SUV roll down the hill and into the lake. It’s cloudy, the moon and stars covered, bathing the trees in darkness. Kira’s only light is from the flashlight in her hand, aimed at the SUV currently sinking in the lake. She won’t move until it’s gone under completely, not wanting anyone to see what’s happening.

Two months ago if you had told her she would be standing in the woods in the middle of the night sinking a federal agent’s SUV in the lake to cover up their murder by her alien babies, she would have thought you were insane. But now she felt nothing. Her babies needed to eat and it was just unfortunate that the Feds happened to be the first to show up.

Kira waits until the bubbles have stopped before turning, making her way up the hill and back to the road. It’s a bit of a hike back to her house, the air cold enough she can see her breath fog in front of her. Her mind goes to her children and if they’re warm enough in the barn. Her alien hadn’t shown any signs of minding the cold, but her children were obviously different than him, and she can’t help but wonder if they can tell the temperature difference.

She feels a sense of urgency as she gets closer to her house, hating being apart from her family. They were her family now. Her children, their father. She doesn’t understand the relationship between them, she doesn’t even know if it’s biologically possible for her to love an alien. Humans could feel emotions towards animals, inanimate objects. Emotions including love. Who’s to say it’s not possible to feel the same for an alien lifeform she has no communication with who had forcibly impregnated her with his eggs. Maybe it’s only the oxytocin talking, the immediate motherly instinct she had felt over her babies that was drawing her closer to her alien. Or maybe it was because around him, she felt safe.  

Kira opens the door to her barn when she returns to her property, quickly closing it behind her as her babies run up to her. They’re hip-height now, growing faster than she thought possible. All eight of them surround her, bumping her gently with their heads. She smiles down at them, patting them each on their smooth heads. They let out content little cries, warming Kira’s heart. Her alien approaches her, nudging her gently with his own head. She gently strokes its elongated head, leaning against him.

Her eyes drift closed, her brain buzzing with energy. She focuses on it more and finds she can see with her eyes closed. The barn looks distorted like she’s seeing out of a fish-eye lens. The colors are darker, not quite as vibrant with her own eyes, but she can hear every small sound wave bouncing off the walls. She can hear something speaking, not words but a sort of idea in her mind. She can feel her eight babies around her, all of them like strings connected to her mind.

She wants to lose herself in the sensations, bury herself in them, and never come out, but her phone vibrating in her pocket snaps her out of it. She pulls away from her alien, her brain reeling for a moment before she centers herself back on Earth.

“I have to take this. I’ll be back.” She says, backing away from her babies and her alien.

She leaves them in the barn, heading back towards her house. She looks at her phone. She doesn’t want to answer, but she knows she has to.

“Hello?”

“Kira? God, I thought something had happened to you! I was going to come and check on you but...you sounded so sick when we talked last and then you weren’t answering.”

Kira feels a pang of guilt in her chest. “I’m sorry, dad. I was on some heavy meds. It was some kind of viral thing. Wiped me out for a few days. I didn’t even think to look at my phone. I’m doing better now though.”

“That’s good. That’s...really good.”

“Do you want to come over? Catch up a little?”

“Yes. That would be great.”

*********

Kira sets the cups of coffee on the kitchen table before taking a seat. Her dad looks old. Older than the last time she saw him. He’s had something on his mind. She can tell by how messy his hair looks. He would always run his fingers through his hair repeatedly when he was thinking hard. Her mother used to joke he’d go bald from doing it one day. Now that she looked at him, Kira can see his hair is thinning. There are dark circles under his eyes and he looks about as bad as she does, but she doesn't think he birthed alien eggs days ago.

“Kira...I’ve had a lot on my mind recently. About you. About this place.”

Kira sips her coffee. It’s scalding but she can’t bring herself to care. She hums in response, letting him continue.

He runs his finger in a circle around the rim of the cup. It’s an old habit. It means bad news. “You’re all alone out here. I shouldn’t have left you out here by yourself. But...your mother...I just couldn’t...”

Kira reaches out, putting a hand over his. It feels strange to her, to touch human skin again. She almost doesn’t like it. “It’s okay. I know.”

Her dad stares into her eyes for a moment, taking her in. “There’s so much she wanted to tell you. She begged me to tell you, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I couldn’t face the truth. I didn’t know how to tell you. I wasn’t sure you’d believe me.”

Kira frowns, her stomach churning. She doesn't like his words. “Dad...what are you talking about?”

He sighs, taking a long drink of his coffee, staring out the back door. “I remember it like it was yesterday. Right out there. Where the roses are. It used to be hydrangeas before...before you arrived.” He runs a hand over his face. “God, I should have told you this years ago Kira...”

“Dad...you’re scaring me.” Kira’s hands are shaking as she sets her coffee cup down.

Her dad turns back to look at her, holding her gaze. “You’re not ours.”

Kira’s body goes cold at his words, a strange feeling running through her. Her whole life she’d been told they were her parents. This was her dad sitting across from her. And now...

“W-What?” She pulls her hands into her lap, squeezing them into fists to stop them from shaking.

“We don’t know where you came from. Well...we sort of knew...” Her dad glances back out at the garden before looking at her again. “Kira...you fell from the sky.”

Kira can’t say anything. None of it was making sense. Her brain was buzzing, churning, his words seeming like a foreign language. Thankfully he doesn’t wait for her to respond.

“It happened almost twenty years ago. It was almost dark. Your mother was outside planting tulips on the other side of the garden. I was making dinner. Grilling, like I used to. Everything was quiet like it gets out here, but then...the sky exploded. Blew the windows out, it was so loud. Came down in a ball of fire right into your mother’s hydrangeas. I thought it was the end of the world for a moment, but then...your mother was always so quick to act. Put the fire out with the garden hose. I thought it was some kind of meteor, but once the flames died, I could see what it was. It was...some sort of space pod. We tried and tried to get it open, see inside. Eventually, we managed to pry it open and inside...You couldn’t have been more than four years old. Teary-eyed and sucking your thumb. You looked so human.”

He runs a hand down his face. Kira can see the tears in his eyes.

“The feds were on us almost immediately. I wanted to turn you over to them, but your mother refused. She knew what would happen to you if we did. So we hid you. Made up some bullshit story. The feds didn’t believe us, but we were insistent.”

Kira’s mind begins to work at high speed. The visits from the feds suddenly didn’t seem so strange anymore.

“You were so human in every way. Almost every way. You never got sick. Kids always got sick but you never did. You could bend metal with your bare hands and you could hear things miles away. Your mother taught you to control it. She was better at that than I was. I made it my job to make you feel as normal as possible. She dealt with all the...strangeness. That’s why when you told me you were sick...I knew something had to be wrong. Something was going on. You’ve never been sick before.”

Kira clenches her fists tighter, taking in her father’s words. She had arrived on Earth in a spaceship? She supposedly had superpowers? He was right in one thing...she had never been sick before. She just thought it was a good immune system. But apparently, it was something else. Something more.

“Kira...please say something.”

“I don’t...” Kira bites her lip, breathing deeply. “You expect me to believe that? That I fell out of the sky in a spaceship and...I’m supposed to be what, Superman?”

“No, it’s...” Her dad sighs, looking down at his coffee. “I knew you wouldn’t believe me. I wanted your mother to tell you from the beginning but...she thought it would be best...if you thought you were normal...”

Kira stands from the table, unable to sit anymore. “Bullshit. I call bullshit.” She makes her way to the back door, looking out at the roses. The place she supposedly crash-landed on Earth. “You had an affair, didn’t you? I was never my mother’s child and you couldn’t live with that so you made up some bullshit story to hide it! That’s why you couldn’t stay!”

“Kira, you know I would never have...”

“I don’t know anything anymore.” She clenches her fists again, glaring at him. “I don’t know what’s more unbelievable. The story that might be true or that you would spew some bullshit to try and hide something else you did to fuck up.”

“Kira, I loved your mother!” Her father stands from the table, knocking over the chair. “I loved her more than anything. But we couldn’t...” He takes a deep breath. “We tried. We tried so many times. She wanted so badly...but we couldn’t. Then you fell out of the sky like an answer to our prayers.”

Kira feels tears prick behind her eyes. The story is starting to sound not so fake the more she thinks about it. She had an alien hiding in her barn with her babies she had birthed after mating with him. An alien that had crashed to Earth and found her and chosen her. If she was also an alien...it would make her new reality not quite so strange anymore.

“Kira...I’m sorry...”

“I want you to leave.” She says, her voice shaking. She hates it. She turns back to face her dad. “Get out. Go home. Don’t come back here.”

Her father stares at her brokenly for a moment before grabbing his coat and heading towards the door. Kira stays where she is until she hears his car door shut before heading out to the barn. She’s shaking by the time she reaches the door, slipping inside quickly and closing the door.

She takes a few steps into the darkness before dropping to her knees, tears falling down her cheeks. She’s overwhelmed, not knowing what to believe or even what to think. If the story was true, then so much of what had happened made perfect sense. But if her dad was lying to her to cover up something else...either way he had lied to her. He had hidden the truth about her for her entire life. She feels anger bubble up inside her.

Her children are by her side in seconds, snuggling up to her. She reaches out to them, touching them, solidifying herself in reality. She should have died. She had carried eight eggs to term and birthed them. She had lost so much blood...too much blood. But here she was, mostly healthy with no medical help. She had never been sick a day in her life. She had managed to tame an alien simply with her presence. She had seen what he was capable of. He could have killed her instantly that night, but something about her had stopped him.

Maybe she was alien.

Kira is on her feet as soon as the barn door slides open. It hits the other side with a slam, the shadow of her father standing in the doorway. Her heart leaps to her throat, the buzzing of her babies loud in her ears.

“Kira...what the hell?”

“Dad...you should have just gone home.”

[harrypotter-imaginess]

Part 2 Here!

Commission info for a Love Letter from you favorite character here!

- You’re probably someone on his morning routine, or who could easily become apart of his daily routine

- Maybe a friendly barista at a café he’s curious about on the way to the his store

- But I like to think you’re someone that works at the local flower shop

- He catches you on his way to work one morning, choosing to walk that day to stretch his legs

- Apparating is convenient, but if he’s not careful he’ll get out of shape pretty fast.

- He see’s you across the street, watering the plants you keep outside the shop, talking to each of them, a smile across your face as you do

- The morning light hits you just right, the golden glow spreading across your face

- “Well aren’t they quite cute?”

- He starts walking to work everyday from then on

- It’s on the fourth or fifth day you notice him-

- Well really you notice his hair, it’s such a rich red

- A livelier shade than any rose or hibiscus you could grow

- “I bet it’s hair dye.” Your co-worker tells you “you know how these city boys are-“

- Well your store is in the heart of the city, on the Jump Street, sandwiched between a book store and a boutique

- And yeah, most of the guys around here do seem impeccably dressed,

- one of your very handsome regular's who comes in to get flowers for his husband every Tuesday even admitted he has a running bi-monthly appointment at the spa, he gets a spray tan, dye job, eyebrows tweezed, the works.

- “It’s just what I have to do to compete, there’s so many young CEO’s now, you’ve got to keep up appearances.” 

- And you’re sure he’s not the only one

- Still.. you can’t help but believe that a shade of red that vibrant- that beautiful- can’t be from just hair dye

- “Maybe” you mumble, turning your attention to the peony’s

- You wonder if you’ll see him walk by at the end of the day when all the offices close

- But even though you keep your eyes glued to the store front window, he never shows up

- You see him again the next morning, walking across the street

- This time you take a little more of him in

- He’s pretty tall, though you can’t make out much of his build when he’s wearing that rust colored coat

- And a splatter of freckles across his face, almost like constellations

- He’s got a long nose, but it works with his face

- He’s pretty handsome

- What comes next shouldn’t surprise you, but it does

- Perhaps he felt your eyes on him, silently assessing him- studying him

- Because his eyes lift up to meet yours

- They’re the deepest brown you’ve ever seen, especially when the morning light hits them just so

- Oh sh*t, he caught you staring

- Sh*t. Sh*t. Sh*t. Sh*t. Sh*t. Sh*t.

- Okay, it’s fine

- Just okay- Just play it cool

- So, you pretend like you weren’t just staring at this handsome stranger admiring his features

- And shamelessly offer your best smile and a wave

- To your surprise he grins, smile spreading across his face

- A light pink dusting his face as he waves back

- And so you become waving friends

- Waving to each other every morning

- Which slowly evolves into trading morning greetings

- “How’s your morning going?” He asks from across the street

- Miffed commuters give him disgruntled looks as they walk around him rushing to work, but he stays rooted to the spot

- “It’s alright can’t complain!” You shout back from your spot by the gardenia bush, earning several looks as well

- “How about you?”

- He gives a teasing look to all the angry passerby’s and gives a “so-so” hand motion

- You almost laugh so hard you cry

- This goes on for a few more days, and your co-workers take notice

- “Flirting with the red head (Y/N)? On company time?” Your co-worker mock gasps and you roll your eyes

- “Oh hush, I’m just being friendly to a neighbor.”

- Your co-worker doesn’t look like they’re buying it, but they don’t say anything else

- It’s late in the afternoon when the shop bell rings

- You’re up to your elbows trimming and re-potting the hydrangeas

- You figure one of the others will get

- You hear some footsteps but ignore it, 

- This part is tricky, if you damage any of the roots the plant might not be able to make it

- “Um excuse me, I was wondering if you might help me with something?”

- Ugh, don’t they see you’re in the middle of something

- You’re about to turn around and tell them that customers aren’t supposed to be in back room-

- When you catch a glimmer of vivid red in the corner of your eye

- No that can’t be right, he doesn’t even walk back this way in the afternoon

- Your heart stutters in your chest, face growing hot

- Your crush is getting out of control-

- When you look up, there he is

- His adorable freckles face in all its glory

- Here in the homely, rather dirty, back-plant room at your flower store

- A hesitant smile curled on to his lips

- “I’m sorry, it looks like I’m interrupting, the clerk in the front said you would be back here-“

- Of course they did

- So well what’s he here for?

- Is he here to ask you in a date??

- You might just combust from joy at the thought

- Or maybe he’s here to order a large bouquet for his lover, and the rest of your co-workers think it’s time you get yourself out of this little crush of yours

- The thought fills you with both embarrassment and despair

- Only extreme highs and lows with you, it seems

- “- I’m a business owner a few streets over, and I thought some flowers might add some atmosphere, they said you’re the expert”

- He gives you a boyish grin, his hands shoved into his pockets

- So somewhere in the middle then

- Aright you can work with that

- “Do you have an idea of what kind of flowers you might want?” You’re already moving towards the sink, washing the fertilizer off your arms.

- George blanks, he hasn’t really thought that far

- “Not particularly, do you have any recommendations?”

- You nod, lips pursed as you grab the order form

- “Well what kind of store do you have? Peonys’ and orchids’ are always good with boutiques”

- You figure he owns an upscale boutique or maybe a restaurant, those tend to be the places that do the best in this area.

- And by the looks of his taupe coat, his store is doing very well

- “Hmm well-“ his hand rubs his chin

- Technically it’s a joke shop, but it’s grown to be more than that isn’t it?

- He sells potions, charms, stationary, prank goods (of course), muggle novelty’s- it makes sense to him- but his store has grown to be quite eclectic over the years

- Besides he doubts he can explain it you

- He’s still on the fence whether you’re a muggle or from magic like him

- You’re plants have him suspicious, no way a muggle could grow a gardenia that would put Neville Longbottom to shame-

- Still, if you were a witch there’s no way you wouldn’t have recognized him by now

- The Weasleys have all become some sort of warrior clan war hero, he’s even on a chocolate frog card now.

- Well, he would rather not risk it

- He’s always been the cautious one

- “It’s sort of a hobby store? Well it started out as one, but now we’ve been expanding and we sell a bit of everything.”

- “So kind of like a department store?”

- Department stores are a bit more tricky, each room has a different vibe, but the overall tone has to be neutral

- Hmmmm

- “Maybe some white roses? Orchids might be nice too, and if you’ve got a bit of a green thumb I might recommend succulents or some devils ivy?”

- This is all going straight over George’s head, he never did pay much attention in herbology

- But you’re talking to him as if he’s an equal and he doesn’t want the cutie who works at the local flower shop think any less of him because he doesn’t know a d*mn about plants

- “Those sound lovely”

- He’s not entirely sure how it happens, but by the time he’s left he’s got an armful of plants, and a rolling order at your store to pick up plants every Tuesday

- “Are you sure you’re alright? We deliver for free you know?”

- “No no it’s fine-“

- The tall leafy plant shakes every time he shakes his head

- “Besides I wouldn’t want to miss the chance to see you again” he winks before turning to leave

- You feel your heart skip a beat

- “Did you ask if it was a dye job?” You co-worker yells from the other side of the store as soon as he’s gone

- “Of course I didn’t Ainsley! For one that’s awfully rude”

- They nod knowingly

- “Yeah that’s really fifth date talk”

- They laugh when you throw one of the cards at them

- And like clockwork George comes in every Monday afternoon, and leaves with a handful of arrangements and plants

- You still talk to each other on the street

- “How are the hydrangeas working out for you?” You ask and he gives a ‘ditto’ hand gesture

- “They’re class! I was wondering if I could get a few more?”

- You nod

- “We’ll have more ready for you on Monday, are you sure you don’t want delivery?”

- He manages to carry them off every time, but it sure makes you nervous, just one tumble and they would be ruined

- “We’ve been over this, how would I get to see you then?”

- He gives you a lopsided grin and you find yourself reflecting the expression

- “Oi! Would you two stop flirting in the middle of the street, you’re blocking traffic!” Someone shouts

- He just laughs and offers you a wave

- “What’s with all the plants?”

- They’re the first words out of Ron’s mouth when he steps inside the shop, he’s already shrugging off his coat making his way to where George is fiddling with a new contraption

- “I thought they would make the place livelier”

- False.

- He just wanted an excuse to talk to you.

- He does like the plants though. The white hydrangeas you recommended for the potions section are absolutely lovely

- Though he did use a few charms to make them larger, and stay fresher longer.

- He’s basically got a wall covered in hydrangeas now

- Still lovely though

- “It does look nice” Rob admits

- “So where are the products you need help fixing?”

- George groans waving towards a few oddly stacked boxes

- The packaging on his restock of the portable swamps came in the wrong color, not a big deal he can always change it with a spell

- But it is tedious work, especially when you have to do it one by one, otherwise it might upset the contents.

- And he does not want a swamp in his store

- Ron only nods, unpacking the box

- “You want purple right?”

- There’s a moment of silence between the two

- Purple was Fred’s favorite color

- He used to joke it was because that’s the color Snape turned when he was mad

- But George knows it’s because purple’s the color of the first fireworks they saw.

- He, Fred, Ron and Ginny had snuck away when they were younger to a muggle festival in the village, awestruck by the shapes the fireworks took.

- Fred would have carved that moment into his bones if he could.

- George clears his throat

- “Yeah, purple, same shade as the shop sign”

- Ron nods, pulling out a products wordlessly, motioning with his wand

- “So what’s really the deal with all these plant?” Ron asks, and George sighs

- “Nothing I just thought it might be good for business”

- “Did you get swindled by an attractive salesman?”

- “I wouldn’t say swindled” you gave him a pretty generous discount, and you were even offering free delivery

- That’s kind of a lot to give for a muggle shop

- “So they were attractive then?” Ron says with a grin, he’s only ribbing

- But George’s inquisitive look and the pink flush across his freckles nose makes Ron think he’s on the nose

- “(Y/N)’s fairly attractive”

- Fairly is putting it mildly though, George thinks your adorable

- Ron stutters halfway through the transfiguration spell

- “(Y/N)? Like hot (Y/N)? From the flower shop?”

- George is puzzled but nods

- “You went to hot (Y/N)‘s shop?!?!? WITHOUT ME?” Ron looks like he’s about to cry

- “How would Hermione feel is she heard you talking about another person like that?”

- Ron just gives him an incredulous look

- “She would say ‘I can’t believe George went to hot (Y/N)‘s shop and didn’t invite us’!”

- Apparently you’re quite popular in the shopping district. Your flowers have won the city award twice, before you opened your shop you won a contract as the city’s horticulturist.

- “Last Valentine’s Day Harry and I stood in line for two hours to pick up our bouquets” Ron tells him, he’s already done with the first box

- He figured business was good, it’s almost impossible to run a flower shop in the middle of the city if it isn’t.

- But he didn’t imagine you were award winning or anything

- He sighs so you are a muggle, and you’ve got no need for magic, you make up the difference in talent and skill

- He likes that, maybe he should get some shirts or art prints that say something like that

- He feels a small smile creep onto his face

- Oh well, probably for the best, he’s not sure he has time to date what with how busy things have been

- “Free for dinner? We can go wherever you want, my treat.” George says, slipping on his coat as they finish with the last of the products.

- “How about (Y/N)‘s flower shop?”

- George laughs

- “I’m pretty sure they close at 5....also they don’t have food Ron”

- Ron sighs like he’s just been told Christmas is just cancelled

- “The leaky cauldron is fine too I guess”

- But George can’t stop thinking about you for the rest of the weekend.

- It’s not really that big of a deal if you’re a muggle, but-

- Well how would that even work?

- The closest thing to a muggle he’s personally known is Hermione- who’s a witch and just muggle born

- He wouldn’t be able to tell you about being a wizard- not until you were married, or at least serious enough that he knew you both were going to get married. Which he doesn’t know how he feels about

- So he would have three full time jobs

- Taking care of the store, being your boyfriend, oh and hiding his magical powers from you

- Lovely

- But Merlin- wouldn’t his family love it if he brought you home?

- His Dad would be over the moon, and his Mum, well she’d be happy he found anyone at all. But she wouldn’t mind the pointers you gave her on how to get pinker roses.

- Percy wouldn’t really care either way. He might even like it, a muggle in the family might help his political agenda.

- Good for optics and all

- He already knows Ron likes you

- He and Hermione will be quite pleased they get to ogle you all they want at holiday dinners

- Ginny will like having another person in the family, she would personally give you a tour of the burrow

- Fleur will like having another in law in the family- and Bill will be happy that she’s happy

- Charlie would love it, asking you all about what kind of plants his dragons might like, and if you might plant a few for him, come visit in Romania- the port key’s always open for family-

- Actually he might have to watch out for Charlie, his older brother might legit steal you away from him

- .

- ...

- Fred would have loved you

- Fred would have never let it go on this long

- Fred would have seen George’s lovestruck expression the first time he saw you and said-

- “Well are you going to ask them out?”

- Fred always was the bold one, George was just following his lead most of the time.

- That fireworks thing in their last year was entirely Fred’s idea. 

- George would sputter and shrug in response

- ‘I was just lookin’, a man can look can’t he?’

- Fred would have given him one of his wicked grins and said:

- “Look if you don’t ask them out now, then I will”

- And pushed him across the street, holding him to it

- And then when he was halfway across the street towards you Fred would shout:

- “And see if they’ll give us a friends and family discount for the store!”

- George is grinning just imagining it

- Fred wouldn’t have cared at all that you were a muggle.

- All he would care about is that you would make his brother, his best friend, happy.

- “Honestly George, you get hung up over the dumbest things-“ Fred would have said

- “You like them don’t you? They make you feel good about the world and life?”

- And George would just dumbly nod

- “Then that’s all that matters doesn’t it? That you care about someone, and that you can see a future with them. All that other stuff- it’s just noise”

- Alright he’ll try then

- Not just for Fred, but for himself too.

- George strolls into your shop on Monday, an hour before you open-

- “Oh hello George! You’re a little early, I’ve got your hydrangeas trimmed I just need to get your potted plants ready and-“

- “Would you like to go out sometime?”

- “-then I’ll fix up the roses for y-“

- Huh?

- You freeze for a moment, almost dropping the plant in your hands

- Did he just ask you on a date?

- “If dinner is too much, maybe just tea- or coffee?”

- Maybe it’s not exciting enough for you

- Ugh! He knew he should have suggested something more fun like the zoo or maybe a botanical garden?

- But you’re around plants all day, he didn’t want to make you think he only knows one thing-

- “Friday?”

- His eyes shoot up to look at your face, he hadn’t even noticed he was staring at his shoes

- “What?”

- “Friday” you repeat, you’ve got a smile that seems lovelier than any of the flowers you grow.

- “Is Friday good for dinner? I close up at six”

- He grins so wide he’s afraid his face might break

- “Friday is perfect”

[hot-wiings]

The One Where Denki And Mina Think Katsuki Needs To Be A Softer, Nicer Boyfriend, And An Insecure Katsuki Agrees, But [Y/N] [L/N] Doesn't Want A Nicer Boyfriend, She Wants Him.

Requested By: @spicyhokage

Edited: 1-6-2021

It was late when Katsuki came in through class 2-A's dormitory doors. Being his second year at UA the school was allowing students to go back into student internships. With Best Jeanist still off the streets, Katsuki wound up interning with Fatgum, using the link between Eijirou and him to get in. Katsuki hadn't expected to be out for so long, there had been a bad villain that showed up at a different agency and it was a perfect match for both his and Fatgum's abilities. Fatgum had allowed Katsuki to work on it with him, nevermind the fact that Katsuki had already planned a study date for your upcoming test Monday, he jumped at the chance to work with the heroes.

Katsuki knew, or at least he hoped, that you wouldn't be that mad or upset at him for ditching you at the very last minute. It was a leg up in the hero industry, it was a helping hand, he could make more connections and improve his skills. As a student hero, you should know how important this is. He'd want you to make the same choice if it was reversed.

Despite abandoning your date, Katsuki wasn't heartless. He bought a bouquet of hydrangeas as an apology. Apologies weren't something he was good at, but he hoped you would accept it. Katsuki was hoping you would be up waiting for him in the dormitory lounge when he came back, but he knew that one was a longshot. He'd rather have you in bed resting, or making up for the studying he promised to help with but hadn't. Katsuki was hoping he'd find you in the dormitory lounge waiting for him, but instead, he found two of his peers.

"You were out awfully late, weren't you?"

"Shut it, pink face. I need to go see [Y/N] and then head to bed, like a smart student. You and dunce face do realize that we have a big test Monday, don't you?"

Katsuki marched right past Mina and Denki, who were sitting on the couch, towards the elevator to get up to your dorm. If he was right, Mr. Aizawa would be asleep by this hour, and getting into your dorm would be no issue. Katsuki stopped walking towards the elevator when he hears Minas' voice speak out again.

"Did you really get hydrangeas for her? You ditched her for your internship and you got hydrangeas? Girls like roses Katsuki. If a guy ever brought me hydrangeas, I'd kick his butt to the door. Queens deserve better."

"What the fuck are you implying raccoon eyes?"

Katsuki turned back around to yell at Mina for implying that he wasn't good enough for you. He nearly crumpled the flowers by clenching his hand. Mina didn't know what she was talking about. He had brought you hydrangeas several times before, you never complained about it. Denki spoke up to try and intervene Katsuki from blowing up on Mina.

"I think what Mina meant to say is that we're just worried for you. You really like [Y/N], right? Take it from a guy who gets dumped by girls a lot. Pretty girls like [Y/N] don't need to sit around waiting for guys like us. While you're trying to further your career you're ditching her, not to mention, when is the last time you showed her affection?"

"For starters, dunce face, don't call my girlfriend pretty. Secondly, there are no guys like us and girls like [Y/N], there's me, her, and all of you fucking extras that need to get out of my relationship."

"Fine, don't take our advice. Just so you know, [Y/N] isn't in her dorm, she's in the kitchen."

Mina practically sings her words out, and Katsuki changes his course of route from the elevator to the kitchen. He had a scowl on his face the entire time, courtesy of Mina and Denki. He had to restrain himself from beating them with the bouquet. Katsuki reached the kitchen door and he took a minute to recompose himself from his previous anger to a calmer version of himself. He pushed the door open with a calmer smile on his face but stops after opening it halfway.

"What's the answer to number two?"

"Uhm... 6?"

"That's right! Here's your reward."

Katsuki clenched his fist, practically ruining the flowers. He ditched you and your study date, he shouldn't be getting so mad at seeing you and Deku study together. You can have friends other than him. You can be around members of the male gender other than him. Even if it is shitty Deku. You're allowed to have a life outside of Katsuki, but as Deku broke apart a cookie and threw it right into your mouth, a sweet reward for getting the question right, he was ready to toss hands with the boy.

"We're gonna ace this test Monday. Thanks for studying with me Deku. I hate studying alone and you're great at math. Usually, Katsuki helps me, but he got busy."

"It's no problem, [Y/N]. Seriously, I'm always here if you need me."

Katsuki quietly pulled the door shut instead of going in and interrupting you and dumb Deku. Maybe Mina was right. Katsuki thought about it more as he walked back to Mina and Denki. He didn't really show you affection that much, and he did spend a lot of time in the gym or at his internship. His idea of a date was training together or studying. You probably hated the flowers but chose not to speak on it. If he didn't change, change now and fast he was going to lose you to that shit-munch. He needed to show you he was the better more deserving man. As Katsuki stared at Mina and Denki he uttered the words he never wanted to say to them.

"I want your fuckin' help."

"Bring [Y/N] roses. Girls love roses. Not a daffodil, not baby's breath, not a tulip. Roses."

Roses were Mina's first piece of advice to Katsuki. According to her, girls only cared about getting roses, and every other flower was inferior. She also said apology flowers must be paired with chocolates. Katsuki personally thought that was bullshit. He had been bringing you different breeds of flowers throughout your entire relationship and never once had you vocalized disdain for it. But Mina is a girl unlike him, so she must have had some kind of special insight. You must have just not wanted to make him feel bad for messing up. Katsuki knew he was inexperienced in the dating area, but he hadn't realized he was screwing up so badly.

Katsuki did exactly what Mina said. Saturday afternoon, Katsuki showed up at your dorm with a bouquet of yellow roses and a box of chocolates, the milk chocolate kind. According to Mina, milk chocolate was better than dark chocolate. He knocked on the door after checking his phone for the time. He knew you didn't like getting up early on the weekend, and you had been up late studying the night before. Twelve-thirty seemed like a reasonable time to stop by.

You opened the door, slippers on your feet, eyes barely opened, and a crinkled forehead as you tried to slightly open them to see who you were staring at. You had a pair of shorts on and one of Katsuki's sweatshirts. One you promised you hadn't seen and swore he must've lost in the dorms laundry facility. Katsuki smiled down at your sleepy form, you were adorable. Once you registered who it was you yawned and crossed your arms as you lazily leaned against the door frame and let a small smile cross your face.

"What're you doing here? You were out so late last night, you must be exhausted."

"I could say the same about you, you look like the epitome of tired. How late were you up?"

"No later than two. When did you get in?"

Katsuki didn't want to tell you he came in at midnight. You would've asked him why he didn't come to see you, and he didn't want to say that he saw you and Deku studying together. He didn't want to admit that he felt pained at seeing you together so close. Pained at you needing and using Deku as you would him. Katsuki held up the roses and chocolates and thrust them into your arms.

"I didn't even check the time. I brought you apology flowers and chocolate for ditching you. They're roses!"

"O-Oh, they're yellow."

You took the items he thrust into your arms and moved further into your dorm so he could come in. You set the chocolate down on the bed but kept observing the flowers. Katsuki was quite proud of the flowers he picked out. They were pretty and blooming, and he thought you'd like them. Yellow roses would look good in your dorm room. You, on the other hand, were not ecstatic with the flowers. You bit your lip and tried to make your smile bigger. Did he know what yellow roses symbolized? He had to of known, even Denki would know something this simple. Maybe you were reading into it too much, they're just flowers. It was a gift, not a death sentence to your relationship.

"I'll have to go to the kitchen and see if there's anything I can put them in."

Katsuki could sense you being standoffish. He assumed you were upset at him for ditching you the previous night. He did the flowers right, he would just have to go the extra mile to make you happy with him by serving your needs.

"I can go to the kitchen and find a vase! You just shower or get dressed, or whatever, and I'll even bring you up some lunch."

"You don't have to do that. I can get dressed and do it myself."

"I don't have to do it, I want to do it."

Katsuki cupped your cheeks and pressed a quick kiss against your lips. They were soft and sweet. Katsuki could taste the residue sugar from the cookies you had been eating the night before and he pulled back with a frown, making you frown just as much. He wasn't mad that you didn't brush your teeth, although you should have. He was upset at the reminder that Deku was with you when you were supposed to be having a study date. He was upset that Deku was the one who stayed up with you until two in the morning. He was upset that Deku was acting like a better boyfriend when he was just your friend and nothing more. Katsuki should've been doing more, he should've been doing a better job.

"I really am sorry for ditching you yesterday. If you want, we can redo the date today."

"I really missed you yesterday. I did some cramming with Deku, but I don't think he's as good of a teacher as you are."

"Of course dumb Deku isn't as good as me. I'll grab my books before I come back, we'll have a nice do-over date."

Hearing you say that Izuku wasn't as good as him made him feel good. It was slightly reassuring to Katsuki, yet he couldn't stop this budding feeling every time he thought about you and Izuku studying last night.  

"Buy her something nice. Something nice like jewelry. I always see you buying her practical stuff, that's boring. Girls like pretty shiny gifts from their boyfriends."

Mina's second piece of advice had been to buy you some jewelry. According to Mina jewelry was an acceptable gift for a boyfriend to buy his girlfriend. Katsuki had been buying you practical and weird gifts throughout your relationship. He thought they were good, he thought they were sweet and enjoyable. He supposed he was wrong. With every piece of advice from Mina, Katsuki was getting punched in the gut. He thought he was treating you right, he thought he was doing this whole relationship thing right, but he wasn't. If he didn't fix things fast then dumb Deku would steal you away from him.  

Katsuki felt inside of his pocket for the necklace he bought you. He had Mina help him pick it out that morning. It had been sitting there in a pretty little black box with a red bow waiting to be opened. He wanted to give it to you when he gave you the flowers, but he didn't want you to view it as an apology gift, he wanted it to be viewed as a sweet, 'I was thinking of you', gift.

By the time Katsuki had gotten back to your dorm room, you were all showered and dressed in fresh clothes. You were wearing comfortable clothes, and Katsuki had to smile again. You looked simply perfect. With your hair pushed back by a headband, sweatpants, and another one of his sweaters which you practically swam in, you looked angelic to him. Katsuki put a bag containing your lunch on the small table you had in your room, he placed the vase containing your new flowers there too before pulling out your lunch. You grabbed his book bag from him with a smile and began to pull his books out and place them alongside yours in a neatly organized fashion to create a nice study space.

"What'd you find for lunch?"

"There wasn't much in the fridge to quickly grab, so I made some curry."

"I love it when you cook. It always tastes good."

You smiled at Katsuki and placed a quick peck against his cheek before taking a seat next to him. His chest swelled with pride as he watched you freely dig into the container of food. You liked his cooking, and as he watched you feast in it he knew you weren't lying. At least he did one thing right on his own. One more wrong thing and he was sure he was going to blow a casket.

"Aren't you gonna eat?"

You stared at him with half-lidded eyes and spoke with your mouth half full, barely pronouncing your words but Katsuki still knew what you were saying. He stopped staring at you and began working on his own dish. Every once and a while Katsuki noticed your eyes go from your food to his face and then to the flowers before diving back to the food. He supposed you really liked them. It felt good knowing he was doing it right. It felt good knowing you were happy and content with him for the moment.

You wiped your face off and just as you were about to clean up your lunch mess Katsuki jumped up and took care of it. He grabbed your lunch containers and closed them before tossing them back into the bag he brought them in. He took a wet wipe and wiped up your table and then proceeded to toss the dirty wipe in the trash bin.

"Ready to study?"

"Yup! You're a really good teacher, I really look forward to our study dates."

You walked over to your bed and took a seat on the ground whereas Katsuki laid across your bed in a position where he could have a book out and also easily look over the edge to see what you were doing. This was how you always did your study dates. Katsuki would work and watch to see if you were slacking off, then you would switch books and quiz each other. Slowly the clock clicked away, each passing second made Katsuki grow antsy. He wanted to give you the stupid neckless he had inside his pocket. Katsuki huffed as he slammed his book shut and pushed it off of the bed. You craned your neck back to see what Kastuki was doing before narrowing your eyes, no way did he think he could stop studying while he made you work.

"What are you doing? Are you studying up there?"

"No, c'mere."

You huffed as you pulled yourself up off of the floor and crawled onto the bed next to Katsuki. A mixture of blankets and skin touched you as he wrapped his arms around your body and pulled you so your back was flush against his chest. He let his head rest inside your neck, and you struggled to pull out of his grip.

"What are you doing? We're supposed to be studying."

"I don't wanna study right now. The test is Monday, we can still study tomorrow."

You bit your lip as you contemplated his offer. He had a point. The test was Monday morning, and it was only Saturday, not to mention that you had studied with Deku yesterday. The offer was just so out of character for Katsuki, part of you wondered if it was a trick and thought he was going to pull out a piece of rolled-up newspaper to hit you with like he did for Eijirou. You let yourself sink into his arms, you had been up to this for a while, you deserved a break.

"Okay, but only a small break. got it?"

"Mm. I got you something."

Katsuki pulled away from your body to dig in his pocket and pull out the small black box. You rolled over so you could face him and your gift with a growing smile on your face. You loved Katsuki's gifts. Whether it was intentional or not, he always got you something you needed. Whether it was you complaining about cold hands or your lack of working pens, the next day you would find gloves and a pack of pens with a note from him saying something stupid, like 'You better use these to take your shitty notes' and 'If you get arthritis in your hands you can't become a hero'. It was always a surprise and a delight. Katsuki handed over the box and you tore the bow off before opening it.

"It's a necklace!"

"Oh, it's very cute."

You tried not to frown as you looked over the necklace. You tried you're best to put a beaming smile on your face. It was still a gift and you needed to show your gratitude. It wasn't as conventional as your other gifts, but it was still pretty. Maybe it had a special meaning? Maybe he saw it and thought of you? It was just so unusual. He never bought you jewelry and the style was obviously not his.

"Did you pick it out yourself?"

You tried not to make it sound like you were fishing for an explanation as you smiled and clasped it around your neck to show how much you 'loved' it. Katsuki contemplated telling you he picked it out himself but seeing as you were friends with Mina he wasn't sure what she'd say and he didn't want to look bad.

"Well, I got a little help. Figured a female's perspective wouldn't hurt."

Suddenly you felt sick to your stomach. Not only had he given you a necklace, an unconventional and unusual gift compared to the ones he usually gave, but he let a girl pick it out. There was no special meaning, it was just pretty. Your mind went back to the flowers. The yellow roses. He bought you yellow roses. Your whole relationship he brought different breeds and types, never roses. Especially not yellow, the color that represented friendship.

"Thank you, I love it!"

You wrapped your arms around Katsuki, bringing him into a big, tight hug. Although you were with him physically, mentally you were in other places. That dark place in the back of your head was telling you why he gave you these offhanded weird gifts. The dark place in the back of your head was filling you with untrue silly thoughts, yet you couldn't help but let your head entertain them and wonder. The more you wondered, the more you wanted to rip your neckless off.

mina

Pop music could be heard blaring loudly from a BlueTooth speaker connected to Mina's phone as you walked into her dorm room. Without knocking you barged right in, Mina supposed there really was a reason you and Katsuki were together. You were both bluntly rude and sometimes you didn't even realize it. You flopped down at the foot of her bed and looked up at her before greeting your pink friend.

"Hey."

"Hi."

Mina didn't look up from what she was doing, she continued flicking through the pages of some fashion-forward girly magazine as she replied to you. You ran your fingers through her soft duvet as you looked around her dorm room. It looked like Claires threw up on the walls and it gave you a major headache. You and Mina had two different style sets, two sets of style very far apart.

"Did you study for the test tomorrow?"

Unlike her room, that was a subject that would give Mina a headache. Mina roughly flipped another page of the magazine she was holding as she let out an exhausted breath.

"No, and before you scold me neither did Denki. I swear Katsuki is rubbing off on you."

At the sound of his name, your hand went up and touched the necklace he got for you. You only wore it in case you saw Katsuki today, you planned to wear it for the next two weeks, then you'd pretend you lost it. You weren't a necklace kind of person, and it wasn't even sentimental. Mina tossed her magazine down on the bed and a smile played on her face as she saw the necklace between your fingers.

"That's a cute necklace? Did Katsuki get it for you?"

"Yeah, he did."

You answer Mina's questions and inquiries as you let the gem on the necklace slip out of your fingers. You couldn't help but let your face slip into a frown. You couldn't help it, the more you thought about the necklace, the further you fell into dark thoughts. It wasn't even the fact that it wasn't sentimental like all of the other gifts he gave you, it was the fact he let some girl pick it out. You weren't a controlling person, not remotely. If Katsuki wanted female friends he could have them, he did have them. While he wouldn't call Mina a friend, she was. Mina was a girl you felt comfortable with, however, you had already had a girl in mind of who you thought helped him, a girl who wasn't Mina. A girl you didn't feel comfortable with, a girl you knew you shouldn't feel comfortable with.

"Well, it's very pretty, if I had a boyfriend who brought me gifts like that I'd be over the moon. So I take it things between you and Katsuki are good then?"

"I guess, um, I just... I think Katsuki is cheating on me."

You started off in a stutter before you bluntly spoke out your words. The moment your voice hits your ears you cringe at yourself and cross your arms. It was such a ridiculous thought. A horrendous and dark thought that, lately, kept crossing your mind more often than it should be crossing and occurring.

"What? Why?!"

"He's just acting so strange and weird."

You pulled yourself up into a cross-legged sitting position on Mina's bed to talk to her. Mina moved and adjusted her own body, completely immersed in what you were saying. You played with your hand as your next words came out.

"Whenever he's out late he always, and I mean always comes to my dorm before going to bed. He didn't come to my dorm last Friday, instead, he shows up at my dorm Saturday afternoon with flowers."

"Flowers are sweet and romantic though. The fact that he bought them for you means he cares."

"Katsuki always brings me a wide variety of flowers. Hydrangeas, snapdragons, hyacinth. It's out of the ordinary and romantic, but this time he bought roses. Not just any roses, yellow roses. What kind of statement is he trying to make with that one?! Everyone knows yellow roses mean friendship and red means romance. Even Denki knows that."

Mina scratched the back of her head nervously. She supposed she should have explained to Katsuki to get red roses. Katsuki was unaware of things in the romance department. Mina needed to try and dial things back before Katsuki found out what you're thinking.

"Katsuki isn't very romantically smart, you're his first serious romantic relationship."

"Yeah, but we've been dating for nearly a year, and that's not even it. We were studying yesterday, and you know how strict Katsuki is when he's studying, you've seen him with Eijirou. Katsuki was not strict at all, he made me stop studying to cuddle. To cuddle! Can you believe that?"

"Well... Maybe he's trying to be sweeter to you, I mean look at the necklace he got you, it's so romantic."

"Don't even get me started on the necklace! Katsuki always brings me sentimental and meaningful gifts. He buys me pencil led when I'm low, and notebooks when he sees my paper is getting down to the end, he buys me gloves when he notices mine are lost or have holes. They're stupid and meaningful and I love it."

You ran your fingers through your hair distressed and upset. Yanking your hands through a few new forming snarls from laying on the bed, practically pulling some hair strands out.

"The necklace isn't meaningful, it doesn't have sentiment, and he didn't even pick it out himself! Some girl picked it out for him."

"Why, didn't he say who? It doesn't mean anything. The girl is probably a friend."

"I think I already know who the girl is. It's some stupid brunette from Shiketsu High. They met during his supplementary lessons, they met again after their internship heroes started working together regularly. She saw him when we were walking to get coffee and she just had to stop and talk to him, she was obviously flirting with him."

You had never felt more awkward at that moment. She was blatantly flirting with him, whether she knew that you were together or not, you didn't know. You didn't expect Katsuki to talk about his relationship during his internship, he was supposed to be working, but you didn't trust her. You knew from that moment the brunette was going to be trouble. She was interested in your boyfriend and that spelled out trouble to you.

"'had a little help' he says, staking her claim on what's mine I say."

"[Y/N], I don't think katsuki would cheat on you. He wouldn't do that."

Mina felt completely nervous. She hadn't realized you and she had such different opinions on romance and what was wooing and not. Katsuki was romantic, he was doing nothing wrong, she just didn't see it from your point of view. Mina had worried Katsuki for nothing and gave bad romance advice which resulted in you worrying. Katsuki was going to kill her, she needed to fix this.

"[Y/N], Katsuki loves you a lot, don't worry, okay?"

"Okay, you're probably right, I'm thinking too much. I'm going back to my dorm, try to get some studying in before the test tomorrow."

Despite the pink girl's words you still didn't feel good. As you stood up and walked to her door, you still felt a rush of negative thoughts and emotions. You still felt winded and emotional. You still felt hurt and fearful of your relationship. You felt the same as you did when you walked into her dorm.  

You nervously tapped your leg up and down on the ground repeatedly as Mr. Ectoplasm and his copies passed out the scored math tests to the class. You supposed a quirk like that must be very useful as a teacher. You kept making little glances over at where Katsuki was sat and your heart clenched. You felt so ridiculous for suspecting he was cheating. You felt completely horrible. Mina was right, Katsuki loved you. Katsuki loved you and he would never cheat. The simple thought that he would was wrong, yet, this lingering feeling told you he was. 

Maybe you should talk to him about it. Maybe you should tell him and express your fears and worries. It was better to talk about things like this, it was better to express yourself rather than locking it up and away, where it could fester and damage your relationship. You looked back over at Katsuki, who caught your glace this time and smiled at you. The smile made you feel sick and guilty for feeling this way. You would tell him how you were feeling after class. The sooner it was out in the open the better. 

You turned back to your test sheet and frowned at the result. You got a forty. Forty. After all that studying you had received a forty. You wanted to be mad at Katsuki for not making you study harder, but you had studied with Izuku first hand. Maybe Ectoplasm would let you take a retest. Ectoplasm dismissed you all and you quickly folded up your test paper in half so no one could see your result as you exited. After you packed up your school bag you stood out in the hall and waited for Katsuki. 

The nerves in your stomach churned. You didn't want to tell Katsuki the negative thoughts that were running through you, you didn't want to tell him how you had dark thoughts and worries about him cheating, but you had to tell him. You had to put your thoughts and theories to rest. Katsuki came out in the hall with his own test papers in hand and you both began to walk to your next class. 

"What'd you score?"

"Got a ninety-two. You?"

"A forty."

You sighed as you clenched the paper in your hand. That was a D. Katsuki was on the fritz. He was trying to take Mina's advice. He wanted to be nice and softer to you like Mina told him he had to be, but he couldn't. You should've studied harder, he should've made you study harder. Katsuki gritted his teeth and took a deep breath to calm himself down before responding. 

"You'll do better next time!" 

"What is wrong with you?"

"What do you mean?"

You looked at Katsuki like he grew two heads. This wasn't your boyfriend, and you slightly wondered if Toga had infiltrated UA. He was never kind like this, he wasn't a positive person. He was supposed to yell at you. Tell you to study better. Tell you you needed to get good scores if you were going to become a hero with him. 

"It's just a bad test score, not every score can be a baller."

"I failed my test, you're supposed to yell at me. Tell me I'm stupid, tell me to study more. Tell me anything but that fake positivity shit! You are not acting like yourself, are you cheating on me? Is this guilt? Are you guilty?"

"No! Fuck, no!"

Katsuki dropped his bag and wrapped his arms around you. That wasn't how you meant to tell him about the thoughts you were having. You wanted to tell him calmly and respectfully, you hadn't meant to flat out accuse him, your thoughts just need up tumbling out that way. Katsuki's own reassuring words came stumbling out in your ear as he tightly gripped you against him.  

"You are perfect and beautiful, and so important to me. I would never cheat on you, I would never fuck up what I have with you. Why would you think that? I don't wanna make you feel that fuckin' way."   

"I know that. I know you wouldn't, but you have been acting so weird and different." 

"I need to be nice or else I'm going to lose you. I got insecure, but shit, I should be. You are so perfect, and you deserve roses and jewelry and the world. You deserve someone who cuddles you instead of studying and who doesn't make you feel like they're cheating and fuck-" 

You pull out of Katsuki's tight grip and cup his cheeks. Your fingers skimmed over his skin tenderly as you stared up at his red eyes and noticed how watery they were. Your heart broke, you thought he was unfaithful but he was really just scared of losing you.

"I don't want you to be soft and nice. You already give me the world Katsuki. You make me study because you care about me. I don't want you to get me roses and Jewelry, I hate it, and I love the stupid little gifts you get me. You don't give me affection and cuddles, but you do other things, like waiting to walk me to class and making me food." 

"You don't want me to be nicer?"

"No! Everything you do is already perfect. Everything you do shows me you care about me in your own way. I love the way you are, I don't want you to change."

Katsuki pulled you back into his arms and pressed a rough kiss against your forehead. He was doing everything right. He was better than dumb Deku, and your test score was proof of that. He wasn't going to lose you, Denki and Mina were wrong. 

"Come to my dorm tonight, you need to study better dumbass."

It didn't matter that the whole class watched the exchange between you both. It didn't matter that Mina had screwed with your relationship and felt very relieved to have gotten off scot-free, for now at least. It didn't matter because all Katsuki cared about was the fact that he was a great boyfriend, the best. He didn't have to be softer, nicer. He didn't have to change, you liked it. You loved him, the way he was. That was all that mattered.

[gryffindors-weasley]

Unexpected

Draco Malfoy x Reader

Summary: Draco is met with something unexpected one morning, something that changes his life for the better.

Word Count: 3k

Warnings: mentions of the dark mark, angst, mentions of the war, anxiety, scars, fluff, kissing

Draco was sat peacefully on the back patio of your shared cottage, looking at the beauteous rolling hills just beyond the backyard and the vibrant flowers clustered all around the house. A fog had settled in the early dawn hours, blanketing everything in a cloudy haze. He was having his usual tea as he so often did when he had the chance. Though he usually liked to spend his free mornings wrapped up in your embrace, not that it was really an option because you always had a tough time letting him go. But he had been an early riser and he felt compelled to enjoy the quiet Sunday morning outside.

This hour was always the most peaceful, the only sound having been the doves cooing and the breeze blowing through leaves. Though as much as he loved the tranquility, he hated it all the same when his mind sat in silence for too long because it inevitably lead him astray. Everything came to haunt him eventually if he let himself be alone, it always does. It’s gotten better with time, though the war was still too fresh, everything was still too new for things to not creep up on him. In those moments when he felt he had enough, he’d come to you and things would lessen.

It was when he was sitting out there that morning that it had happened. A cat, fur colored with splotches and stripes of gray and black and white, had nonchalantly walked out from the blooming row of hydrangeas along the cozy home. It startled him immediately, nearly causing the hot tea to spill over the edge of his mug and onto his hand.

He uttered a soft curse into the air, any traces of sleep disappearing from his body as he watched the animal with a cautious glare. He was never really fond of cats, having never forgotten being swatted at harshly by Filch’s, followed by a very unfriendly hiss. Though he will admit it was almost certainly because he’d been taunting the poor feline. It was definitely the cause. Regardless, he hadn’t taken to them very well but was fortunate enough to keep from crossing paths with any, until now that is.

It inched closer to him, far closer than his liking and he found himself sitting a little straighter in his chair, scooting back a bit as if the action would help his cause.

“No, off you go,” Draco shoos softly, gesturing for it to go somewhere else, anywhere else but there.

The cat had of course paid him no mind as it wound up at his feet, making figure-eights as it wove around his ankles and walked right overtop his bare feet. Every few moments it’d stop its movements and rub its whiskered face against his leg, sniffing him a bit as if to see if Draco had been a threat or not. Though he had thought the small creature was rather threatening. He’d fought in a wizarding war just seven years ago, he even had the most excruciating dark magic inflicted upon him to the brink of death, yet he feels this rather small cat just might be the death of him. Even more so at its next move.

The cat effortlessly leaps up onto his lap without a care in the world and a small gasp leaves his lips, his arms raising higher as the plump little animal leaves muddy paw prints on his pajama pants. He’s tense as the very tips of its hooked claws poke his thighs, but he makes no attempts to shoo it away this time. It’s a rather uncomfortable feeling, but he feels it’d be far worse if he tries to usher the animal off his lap, so he stays put much to his dismay.

“You’re rather bold, aren’t you?” He mutters softly, still cautiously stiff but not nearly as much as moments before.

It looks up at him at the sound of his voice, round green eyes seemingly sparkling up into his. Then, without warning, the cat nudges it’s pink nose against Draco’s. The action was abrupt and rather forceful, the friendly gesture smushing the tip of his nose and nearly causing his tea to spill over the ceramic edge again. He sets down the mug all together by that point, feeling another soft nudge to his cheek when he turns his head away briefly.

It was purring, that had to have been a good sign, right?

The remaining tension was starting to dissipate from his body as he realized the animal was rather fond of him. At least it seemed to be. A small smile pulled at his lips as he ran the tips of his fingers between its ears gently and hesitantly, the cat leaning into his touch almost instantly and pressing it’s paws on his bare chest to brush against him some more.

“You are bold. Quite like my girlfriend,” he chuckles, thinking fondly of you curled up in bed inside the house. A few minutes ago he’d been just short of petrified, and now he’s found himself talking to an animal that has absolutely no idea what he was even saying.

It settles back into his lap, perched on his thigh as it’s attention was promptly pulled to his arm, almost drawn to it. The small creature sniffed at the mark forever imprinted on his pale skin, one he’d rather not look at ever again if it were possible. He felt it had been bad enough that his chest was riddled with pale pink scars from a fateful encounter in his sixth year. In one way or another, there was always going to be something that would serve as a permanent reminder of his past decisions. They’ve faded considerably over the last few years, even the mark, having been inactive and weaker with the Dark Lord gone. He’s grateful for that, for its appearance to be less harsh and hard, he’d been grateful that it’s constant burning had since gone away. But regardless, it still remained and it still taunted him every time he spared a glance. He swears he can feel it from time to time.

It’s still one of his biggest regrets, one he nearly lost you over in more ways than one. You had almost left before he’d had a chance to explain himself, and even then you were wary. He didn’t blame you, it was perhaps one of the most vile things to be associated with in the wizarding world. But the conflict swirling around his every decision, the fear behind every confident string of words he spoke, was very evident. And you couldn’t bring yourself to abandon him.

That’s the very reason he’d almost lost you once more. Your unwillingness to let the war conclude with him on the wrong side of that ruined courtyard proved to be one of the most dangerous things you could have done. It had showcased his true vulnerability for the entirety of the school to see as he quietly pleaded for you to stop speaking against the Dark Lord, to stop being so brave for just this once. But you hadn’t, you were unwavering and it had just barely worked out for the better. If he let his mind wander too far into what could have happened to you, the churning in his stomach would surely have made him sick.

His thoughts had been interrupted by a hiss, causing him to tense once more at the unfriendly sound. The cat had been focused on the swirling mark still, it’s back arched and ears pointed back defensively.

“I don’t like it either,” he sighs, turning his arm over in quiet humiliation.

At the sound of his voice, the feline’s attention is stolen completely, visibly relaxing once more as its soft purrs sounded again.

He had the nagging feeling to go inside and find his way back to you, if only to make sure you’d still been there. He felt it was the only thing that could ease his mind at that point because he wasn’t able to clear his head on his own any more. So, he carefully nudged the cat and it promptly hopped off his lap much to his surprise. However, the curious gaze was something he’d expected.

With a glance behind him, it had been quick to follow after his strides, taking two steps for every one Draco had taken to reach the back door.

“You can’t come inside,” he chuckles, though his words didn’t mean a single thing as the splotchy cat nearly pushed its way right between his ankles to do so. “Maybe some other time, alright?”

And with that, he closed the door behind him and set off to find you.

—

“Dray?” You call out curiously, turning to find him already seated at the small kitchen table.

He hummed into his mug tiredly as he took a sip of his morning coffee, and you took a seat on the edge of the wooden tabletop. A smile was tugging at your lips as you looked at him and he raised a curious brow.

“You wouldn’t happen to know why there’d be cat treats in the cupboard, would you?” You ask, arms crossed over your chest after you set the small bag down.

“I don’t believe I would,” he answers, hiding his smile behind another sip lengthy of his drink, though you didn’t miss the way the very tips of his ears burned pink as he eyed the bag. It was more than noticeable against pale shade his hair.

You squint at him in disbelief as you nod, amusement lacing your features and he knew in that very moment you wouldn’t let this go. So he sighed, resting his chin in his palm as he tried to remain stoic. If only for the sake of his own future embarrassment.

“You’re a terrible liar, you know,” you laugh, running your fingers through the tangles of platinum dipping down over his forehead.

“I most certainly am not,” he argues. He may have been good at being deceptive with anyone else in the world, but with you, he didn’t stand a chance. He never did.

“I suppose this means a stranger has left a bowl of last nights dinner on the patio then,” you quip with a smirk, standing to your feet and turning to walk towards the back door.

A warm hand was quick to envelope your own and whisk you back into his chest with ease, a soft smile playing on his lips. Lips that press to yours sweetly in a valiant effort to pull your attention from your current curiosity to him instead. He thought it just might have been working when you settled you arms around his neck and relaxed against him, quieting you for a moment.

His kisses continued to the corner of your mouth, pressing sweetly to your flushed cheek and he couldn’t help but smile against your skin as he held you closer. You knew just what he’d been up to with this, he wasn’t terribly difficult to figure out, but you could let yourself bask in his affections for just a minute more. Or maybe two. A soft bout of laughter fell from your lips when his own had brushed over the underside of your jaw, a spot he knew all too well and the jovial sound made a warmth bloom across his chest. Perhaps he knew exactly what he was doing, but his attempts to distract you seemed to have had its hold on him more so than they had you.

“Draco,” you murmur, stifling your giggles as he lifts his head and looks at you briefly, breathlessly. You lean on your toes and find his lips once more, tasting his coffee and more prominently the cream and sugar, his soft laugh evident against your mouth as he melts into you. You always have that effect on him whether he admits it or not. “Nice try.”

He’s too caught up in a blissful daze to keep you from slipping out of his arms, leaving him to stare after you with kiss swollen lips and a racing heart as you skip to the back door. He soon comes to his senses, however, but he’s a moment too late as he watches you step outside the door.

“Darling wai—”

He cuts himself short at the sight of the portly little cat seated contently on the cracked stone patio, more so at the taunting smile you’d given him. One that softens when your gaze returns to the tricolored cat nudging it’s adorably fluffy face against your hand.

“I…I’ve never seen her,” he sputters as he scratches the back of his neck, internally kicking himself because how could he know that if he’d never seen her. His statement was further disproved when the friendly feline pauses her actions in favor of falling at Draco’s feet. It was his voice. The very sound of his voice never failed to capture her attention at any given moment.

She stares up at him expectantly with big green eyes, pupils dilating at the sight of the beloved owner she had so carefully chosen. He couldn’t deny the way his heart melted, or the soft smile fighting desperately to pull at his lips.

“What’s her name?”

“Pearl.”

His response was spoken without a lick of hesitancy and he’s quick to realize his mistake, eyes widening and cheeks flushing a pale scarlet. No amount of sweet talking or loving kisses could get him out of that one. He huffs out a sigh and bites the inside of his cheek as you laugh softly, a triumphant smile on your face and you cross your arms over your chest.

Eyes fluttering closed, he sighs softly and allows his shoulders to slump in his obvious defeat. Now the love of his life had the means to tease endlessly him over this, and he knew you’d take the opportunity with open arms. When he opens them again your smile is soft, and he feels the sweet creature looping around his feet again in hopes of gaining his affections. For that, he’s quick to bend over and scoop her up, and she assumes her rightful position in the crook of his arm. Her eyes fall closed in a matter of moments now, soft purrs escaping her as his thumb brushes along her face tenderly. He could deal with the pesky white fur clinging to his navy sweater later.

Your heart flutters in your chest at the precious sight, and you didn’t have it in you to tease him about it quite yet. That could wait. For now all you wanted to do was gaze at your love, who’d been cradling quite possibly the cutest cat you had ever seen. It was a sight you never expected to see, not after Crookshanks clawed him fiercely, and not after Filch’s cat had spat a hiss at him. You could have sworn he’d stay at least ten feet from the nearest fanged creature. But you supposed you were wrong in the best of ways.

“Can we keep her?” He asks softly after a while, blinking at you with pleading gray eyes.

There hadn’t been anything to think over at that point, not with the way she nestled into him with a certain familiarity that was too sweet to break. It was clear that Draco had grown attached, and she must have meant something to him because he’d never been keen on them, or any animal for that matter. It hadn’t been a question when he dipped down and planted a soft kiss on her head. Or at the sight of the blush pink bowls stolen from the kitchen cabinets, always full of food and water for the last two weeks. You’ve caught sight of the pudgy little animal in the gardens, and she’s undeniably sweet. It seems as though your answer was very clear.

“Of course we can,” you smile, and his mouth hangs agape as he looks up at you once more, almost in disbelief. “What? You couldn’t possibly think I’d say no, could you?”

The smile on his face is nothing short of adoring as he takes a moment to process your response. With careful movements, he sets Pearl down on the cushion of one of the lawn chairs gingerly much to her dismay, but she quickly lets it pass as she curls up with a yawn. He crosses the gap between the two of you in no more than two strides, taking your face in his hands before pressing his lips on yours. His tamed excitement had poured into every brush of his lips, one hand dropping from your cheek to snake around your waist and press you closer to him.

Draco wasn’t one to be outwardly expressive of his excitement, preferring to hold it in for fear of it being stolen from him if he lets it show. But it was easy to tell he’d been struggling to contain such a feeling, his kiss and loving embrace sending you stumbling backwards a step or two. He nearly swept you off your feet. He parted from your lips with the softest of grins, kissing you once, twice, three more times before a content sigh fans warmly across your lips.

“I love you, you know,” he nearly whispers, tucking your hair behind your ear as his eyes bounce between yours with sincerity.

You smile brightly, bumping his nose with your own as you find his lips again. Of course you knew. He might not have spoken it aloud as often as he felt like he should’ve, and when he did it was ever so quiet just for you to hear. But his actions always spoke louder than words. His kisses always assured you of such, not that you needed convincing.

“I do happen to know,” you breathe against his lips, laughing softly at the way they chased yours for more. “I love you, Draco.”

The moment of bliss within your own little world was soon interrupted by the softest of meows, little spotted paws standing firmly on Draco’s shoe. He let out a laugh and swept her up, her nose pressing to his cheek in an affectionate nudge. He found himself lucky to have not one, but two things to love, and they’re just as fond of him.

Draco doesn’t know how he’d deserved such a thing, but he’s promised himself to never let go of this unexpected joy.

—

Tags: @theweasleysredhair @dracosaurusrex @amourtentiaa @hahee154hq

[wordstro]

[11:26 AM] + hero/villain au + "you think he'll stop? after what he did to you?" + part 6

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 part 7 part 8 masterlist

2k, hongjoong's pov for the first half but it goes back to y/n's! warnings for lots of cursing lol

-

kim hongjoong felt responsible for you. he'd seen you around when he was younger, but he hadn't truly known you until years after the Incident. you lived three streets down from him, near the park with the hydrangeas. he remembered this because he spent time in that park often with his parents, and later his friends. it was the best spot to hide whenever he and his friends wanted to smoke or drink before a party, or if he wanted to spend time alone with a date.

neither of you ran in the same circles. hongjoong smoked cigarettes behind the school next to broken CCTV cameras. you kept to your small circle and he never saw you at parties. hongjoong only cared about his music classes. you cared about your classes so much, you even went to supplementary after school classes. he hadn't known much about you in high school, aside from the fact that some time in ninth grade you were teased briefly for your tattered shoes. he never cared enough to find out if that escalated any further.

when hongjoong turned sixteen, he was used to screaming matches with his parents. he wasn't used to his powers. they came one day all at once, bursting from him one morning. he'd touched his toothbrush and it disappeared. he hadn't thought much of it that morning, assuming he had been severely hungover and dropped his toothbrush somewhere. but, when he came home late that night and his parents confronted him for missing classes, his emotions burst from him. he never knew what they had said to him in that moment, he only felt a rush in his ears and the feeling that his heart was attempting to burst out of his chest. when he woke up in an unfamiliar white room surrounded by people in white hazmat suits, he was told he wiped out his entire town.

when he returned to the spot where his home should have stood, after months of government-issued rehabilitation, all that was left was a crater where his hometown once was and his inability to figure out where the hell he put them. dimensional storage, he learned, was his power. he ran himself into the fucking ground trying to figure out which dimension he sent everyone.

his mentor insisted he go to university, try to live a life outside of trying to redeem himself, try to be happy. he'd obliged only because he respected his mentor. he didn't think it possible because he basically killed an entire town. hundreds upon hundreds of people. and that burden would live on his shoulders forever.

when he saw you in his first year calculus class, wearing the same tattered shoes he remembered you were teased for, he knew he had to speak to you.

you told him what happened, how you went to seoul for a supplementary class, and you'd missed the last bus home and had to spend the night at an overnight bathhouse. when you returned everything was gone. your parents, your home, every single thing was gone and all that was left was a giant crater filled with rubble. from there on out, you were left to fend for yourself.

"it was you, wasn't it?" you asked him, a few months later.

hongjoong tried to deny it, but you'd spent enough time with him to see past his facades. you'd leveled him with a frown and said, "i spent years trying to figure out what the fuck happened that night. the internet has everything, joong. besides, you and i are the only survivors."

hongjoong would always remember the guilt that lay heavy on his shoulders as he looked at you. he'd spent enough time with you to learn the consequences of his actions. you lost everything because of him. you'd gone hungry often and never quite had a home since that night. even now you worked multiple jobs to pay for university classes. because of him.

"it was an accident." he began, and to his surprise you didn't grow angry. you only sat and listened. it was more than he deserved.

when he disclosed his powers to you, you'd only picked up a rock off the ground, crushed it in your hands, showed him the dusty remnants, and said, "i assumed that was it. mine's not as cool as yours though."

from that day onwards, he felt responsible for you. he refused to let your applications to the hero-villain alliance go through. perhaps it wasn't his call to make, but he could not live with himself if you got hurt on the job because of him. not again.

eventually, he gave in, when he realized just how rundown you'd become from your multiple jobs and how often you spent weeks on his couch while searching for cheaper apartments, when he realized it wasn't his place to make such decisions for you. so he made a few calls, had your application bumped up, and made seonghwa, yunho, san, mingi, jongho, yeosang, and wooyoung swear they would not let you get hurt on the job.

it worked, until a year ago.

until he pulled you from the rubble and took in the burns wooyoung left on your neck.

until he had to face you in battle, your eyes looking right through him as he tried to speak sense into you.

until now.

"what the hell are they doing here?" san grits out the words, his gaze narrowing as he stares at the camera footage in front of him, at you standing at the front door of the alliance, your back ramrod straight and your knocking incessant.

hongjoong drags a hand through his hair, "we should let them in."

"and what if they go berserk on us the moment we do?" san bites out.

"what else are we supposed to do?" hongjoong turns a glare on san, "shoot them on sight?"

"maybe that's the best course of action."

"you don't believe that," yunho's voice is quiet, but it rings between them, his kind eyes on san.

san does not meet his gaze.

"just," hongjoong takes a deep breath, "get the chains, mingi. tranquilizers, too. hopefully, they cooperate. yunho, tell taeil to scout outwards up to radius five in case they're a decoy for someone else."

san stiffens at that. hongjoong just squeezes san's shoulder as he steps around him, "we outnumber them right now. don't worry."

"i'm not worried," san mutters, but his shoulders relax under hongjoong's touch.

hongjoong takes a deep breath as he approaches the door, the months and months of guilt that had accumulated while you were gone heavy on his shoulders.

~.~.~.~.~

you wake up to a bright light and the inability to move a single inch. your breath catches in your throat and you think, oh god, is this eunwoo's lab? and your chest feels tight with the thought, the very idea that you did manage to escape, that maybe you dreamt yeosang helping you escape, or wooyoung made due with his promise and has left you in eunwoo's clutches to do whatever experimentation he's wanted to do to you or -

"woah there, hey, it's okay."

the deep voice is familiar. kind. the touch on your arm is not cold like eunwoo's. you blink away your confusion, and your heart flips at the familiar face.

"mingi?" your voice cracks.

mingi smiles, but before he can say anything, the door behind him swings open and in walks san, his expression fixed into a tight glare. yunho eyes you warily, and he keeps a distance you don't blame him for. hongjoong enters last. his gaze flits over your form, assessing you quickly as he used to do. you've missed them. even as you assess your own situation, understand that you are strapped to a chair the same way you were when wooyoung and yeosang first kidnapped you, the relief swirling in your chest makes you want to cry.

you open your mouth to say something, anything, but you have no idea what to say. the guilt and fear and relief creates a lump in your throat you can't move past. you can't even remember the awful things you must have done to them. the distance makes you want to disappear.

hongjoong steps close, crouching in front of you, his gaze searching yours, and he simply says, "explain."

you tell him everything.

~.~.~.~.~

hongjoong drags a hand through his hair, "that's...a lot."

san hovers close, and though his hostility has lessened it's still there, still so potent, but you understand it because you'd watched him act that way before wooyoung and yeosang took you.

san's face is inches from yours, "how do we know you weren't ordered to come here?"

"you don't," you say, "but i left that pouch on purpose and yeosang risked his life to get me out of there and...and my word is all i can give you. i know -"

san cuts you off, "how do we know you won't try to finish the job the moment you're set free? i watched you kill those people, y/n." he jabs a finger against your chest and you wince when he touches the injection bruises, "that was all fucking you. how do we know what's going to come out the moment we test the words you gave us? how can you guarantee our safety in all this?"

his tone is accusing, and it only makes you feel worse. you glance at yunho, mingi, and hongjoong, but neither of them step towards you. only yunho looks away, closing his eyes.

"i don't know, i'm sorry," your voice breaks. the thought of having lost their trust and not being able to fix it breaks your heart.

"crying isn't going to help," san grits out, though he does step back a little.

"san, stop it," yunho pushes san's shoulder, dabbing at your face with a handful of tissues, his gloved hands noticeably hesitant. still, he powers through, frowning between you and san, "you don't need to be so hard on them."

"yes, i do," san snaps, "one of us needs to be hard on them, and i know it's not going to be any of you. i'm not letting us go through the same shit all over again."

you drop your eyes to the floor and yunho lets out an audible sigh, "hongjoong, please tell him to lay off."

you look up, meeting hongjoong's gaze for a long moment. his eyes are heavy with the same kind of guilt you've seen on him since the day you met him. an existential, bone-deep guilt you know he will always feel when he sees you. you remind him of his past, of his moment of weakness, of everything terrible he's ever done. he thinks you never notice the guilt, but you do. hongjoong looks away. he says, "san's not wrong. we need to be careful."

yunho rolls his eyes, and mingi sighs.

san opens his mouth, hands crossed over his chest, when he's interrupted by the high whine of a siren. it pierces through the room, startling all of you. yunho drops his gloved hand from your face. mingi frowns.

"it's a level one breach," hongjoong says, though you all know exactly what it is. you've had training on it, sure, but the last time you heard this exact siren go off was when wooyoung, yeosang, jongho, and seonghwa betrayed the alliance and wreaked havoc on the city. it means there's an attack on the city and it's predicted to be devastating.

your heart drops just as san spins on you and grabs your collar, "what the fuck is going on?"

"i don't know," you shake your head, "i really don't."

"now's not the time," hongjoong yanks san's arm off you, "we need to go to the debriefing room and figure out the threa-"

a loud, distant boom has hongjoong snapping his mouth closed, eyes widening. the floor quakes beneath your feet, your teeth chattering at the intensity of the trembles.

"oh fuck," yunho grips the table to steady himself, "we need to go. now."

another boom fills the silence, followed by screaming, loud and shrill.

"what about -"

an explosion echoes right above them and the room lights start to flicker. you flinch at the dust falling into your eyes.

"let me out."

san lets out a bitter laugh at your demand, "see? this is exactly what the fuck i was talking about. you just -"

"we can't just leave them down here." mingi snaps, "we're in the fucking basement, san."

"we should! do you think it's a coincidence that we're having a level one attack while we're all preoccupied with y/n showing up unannounced at our doorstep?"

"stay with me if you want!" you shout, "i just want to see wooyoung."

hongjoong swivels on his heels, meeting your gaze. it's the first time he's looking at you so candidly since you woke up and you nearly recoil at the intensity of it. "why do you want to see him?"

"to stop him."

"you think he'll stop? after what he did to you?" hongjoong grits his teeth and, for the first time, you can truly see how angry he is, how affected he is by everything. he never shows his anger so blatantly, but now it rolls off him in waves. the world is silent, eerily so, like the calm before a storm.

you resist the urge to recoil and look him dead in the eyes, "if i have to break every single bone in his body to stop him, then i will." you turn your gaze to san and repeat, "i will."

after a beat, san says, "i'm holding you to it."

you nod and he looks away.

"great, glad we got that figured out," yunho sighs, "now let's get the fuck out of here."

suddenly, a sharp creaking noise cuts through the eerie silence. the groan reminds you of a wailing whale, low and drawn out and a chill runs down your spine and straight to your toes. mingi yanks at your chains. you pull an arm free, just as there's another keening wail and suddenly -

"holy shit."

the entire building above you is gone. sunlight fills everything. at least, you believe it to be sunlight at first, until you realize just how bright it is. it's searing. hot, like the sun.

your eyes widen.

or like wooyoung.

"y/n, come on. get up."

you're yanked out the chair, ignoring the pain running up your leg when the chains scratch at your calf.

when you reach the ground, you cough around black smoke filling your lungs, your eyes widening as you take in the sight of wooyoung on fire, brighter than the sun, hotter, flamed wings surging from his form. below him marches an army of skeletons, dragging their bones as they lay siege on your city.

your heart drops to the pit of your stomach when wooyoung's eyes meet yours.

[sunflowerheartsandstarryskies]

The Devil and the Mermaid - Chapter Four (Lucifer x Mermaid!Reader)

Author’s Note: The inspiration here came from a dream of mine, also one of my favorite shows “The Legend of the Blue Sea” has some heavy inspiration in here as well. Thank you so much for the support of the series! I will also create a tag list for this story since I saw people interested in that. Again I love reading your guys’ comments and if you want to be part of a tag list for this series please let me know :)

Warnings: None, maybe mild violence? (You shove a guy out of the way)

Taglist: @th3gl1tt3rgam3roff1c1al, @magnet-girl, @roxytheimmortal​

Prev Chap   Next Chapter

________________________________________________________________

You were covered in darkness, but you were adjusted to the darkness, you lived in the dark with your clan who usually swims in the parts of the ocean where the light just barely touched your skin. 

However instead of the comforting warmth and assurance, you had when you were a woman swimming with your clan, your family, it was a lingering warmth and a reassurance that had made you realize you were dreaming and not of your memories. 

“(Y/N) you have met an interesting fate having fallen for Lucifer,” a voice echoed around you. You looked around in the dark space to search for the voice but found no answer to that.

“I would not have known of your existence if you hadn’t gone out of that water, it’s strange what this world has created once I left it.”

“Are you the moon? What do you mean by that? All I know is what I have been taught and seen when I was in the ocean”

“You could say I am the moon, but I am more than that and also less than that at the same time. I affect the world around me indirectly but you have caused quite a stir where I am at with your involvement with Lucifer, I wish you the best of luck and the best of health.”

With that, you were startled from your sleep by pressure on your shoulder, and you opened your eyes to see Lucifer smiling at you. Once he saw you were awake he went to say, “Good morning my dear, have a good dream?”

“Funny you should mention that, I heard a voice say that they were the moon, I think anyway. I don’t quite remember what they said but I remember your name,” you say as you start sitting up from the bed.

Lucifer sat down next to you as he took in what you said, humming in thought, he turned to you and patted your shoulder.

“Well the only one I know that could do that, would be my Dad, but I don’t know why he would want to talk to you.”

After a couple of days, you have gotten well versed with different aspects of human life and culture, mainly you are not allowed to eat spaghetti with your hands. You also have gotten interested in the tv that had got you basically hooked on the subtleties of different subsets of human culture, one being that if bad men are about to hurt you you can beat them up.

“Anyway, darling remember when I was talking to you about my consulting job for the police?”

You nodded remembering the different stories of his workplace along with his partner, Chloe. She seemed weird but nice from what you heard from him. 

“Well, I have to go in today there is a case that the police department says they need my help with,” Lucifer continued, “and I want you to come with me.”

“I would like to, is it going to be like what I saw on tv with how they deal with violence?” you asked.

“Kind of, it depends, now love let’s get you ready for the day and we can get going.”

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

You and Lucifer walked into a one-story house it looks plain and forgettable with its beige outside paint and white shingled roof. There were also some beautiful hydrangea bushes in the front, and you noticed them because they were the only splash of color in the whole property. There were police officers around the property and you saw one documenting the bushes. You tilt your head as you were stalling to enter the house and saw footprints underneath the bushes. 

“(Y/N) are you okay? Come on,” Lucifer urged on. He leads you into the home, and you immediately see the crime scene.

 It was an execution. Plain and simple. The victim was a young woman from what you saw, and she was shot point-blank in the back of the head as she was sitting on her couch, she probably knew the killer, since the tv was still on. 

The aquarium was direct across from the living room, and you saw the fish in there was trying to get your attention. You can hear the voices of the fish repeatedly crying out, “He hurt her! Help her! He was her friend” You looked at the aquarium and the fishes seem to surround you as they try to talk to you through the glass. ‘Can you show me what he looked like,’ you broadcasted to the fish. 

Lucifer was looking at you confused at what you were doing and was about to talk to you when he got interrupted.

“Oh no, you did not bring a civilian to a crime scene” you hear a voice coming towards you. 

“Ah detective, how good to see you again, and this is (Y/N) she is my assistant and friend,” Lucifer says. 

You turn your head away from the aquarium and saw a stressed blonde woman coming towards you, and you realized that this must be Chloe Decker. She tilted her head with furrowed brows and a hand to her hip as she eyes you. 

“Why would you need an assistant?” Decker questioned.

“You know there are always things that I could miss out on while we’re out here and plus don’t you want someone who can put me in line and in order for once?” Lucifer replied.

“That’ll be the day,” Decker snorted.

You tugged on the jacket sleeve on Lucifer to get his attention to you, and he leaned for you to whisper to tell him the thoughts and profile the fish given to you about the person who committed the murder.

“Oh that’s brilliant, darling, see Detective my assistant just gave us a solid lead to go off of. We have a suspect!” Lucifer exclaimed as he grabs your hand and leads you out of the crime scene.

“Wait a minute can you tell me what means?” Decker ran off to you two.

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

So the three of you ended up at an apartment building on the opposite side of Los Angeles waiting to interview the suspect that the fish had identified to you at the victim’s home. 

Lucifer ended up filling into Decker that you had deduced based on the footprints outside the house and the way she was killed, it was someone she knew intimately enough to let the person in without a second glance. You just confirmed that for him with the description of the man the fish saw kill their owner, Blaire Wright. He also found that there was a single picture of him and the victim together faced down so he connected the dots to realize that the relationship must’ve turned to an obsession for the man and had gone possessive over the woman. The old “if I can’t have her nobody can” cliche, which made Lucifer quite bored about that trope but you can’t always choose what happens in your cases. 

You all made your way to the apartment building, Decker went to find out from the landlord about the suspect and you and Lucifer were ordered to stay out in the parking lot. You spotted the man that matched the description the fish gave you and the picture Lucifer showed to verify it. His name was Oscar Grant, and he’s suspected to have developed an obsessive behavior over Ns. Wright … and he was heading your way.

Lucifer seemed to be aware of it as he straightened himself and walked over to where the man was walking into the parking lot. 

You felt a strange sensation of being submerged in the water again, you felt heavy and light all at the same time. You couldn’t hear what the two were saying, but you felt the danger and sensation of a cornered animal, and that’s when you felt that you had to move. So you did. Grant pulled a gun but as soon as he did you grabbed his forearm and threw him towards the dumpsters that were ten feet away from him. You may have used a bit too much of your strength. There was now a new dent behind Grant that there wasn’t there before and a shocked looking Lucifer next to you and staring at the gun in between you and the culprit.

You heard Decker walking behind you and you heard her go with a bewildered voice, “How in the-?”

When he came to a few seconds later, he was given his rights by Decker and placed in the back of her car off the police department. While you were walking up to you and Lucifer’s ride you felt a lingering gaze on your back throughout that entire encounter. You just shook your head in an attempt to get rid of that feeling. 

Later on, Oscar Grant ended up confessing to both the attempted murder of you and Lucifer and the murder of Blaire Wright. Decker relented upon the idea of Lucifer bringing you to cases because you ended up being a pretty good asset. 

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

Now you were back at Lucifer’s penthouse and you were in pajamas lounging around the bar area in his place. Lucifer was down at the LUX club area taking care of some business that he needed to get done as he told you. 

There was a small pool that he had in his apartment which you found, and you can hear the call of the water no matter its state. So you took off your clothes and went in the pool, your tail and scales came as soon as you were submerged and your whole body was singing with happiness as it felt alive again. 

The more you spend on land without the return of the love that you came out of the water for, your heart will stop beating unless you step back in the ocean. You forgot to tell Lucifer about that specific part of the deal of you coming on land because you didn’t want him to feel the pressure of returning a love that might not be real, to begin with. 

You begin to worry about what might happen if he found out you didn’t tell him the whole truth of your situation to him. You didn’t want him to concerned for your fate, because you never know what might happen there might be a happy ending for you both.

As you were swimming in the small pool brooding in your thoughts you heard the elevator ping, so you peaked your head over the corner of the pool. When you just saw it was Lucifer and no one else you let yourself be seen by him.

“Well hello there, I see you have found my pool then?” Lucifer greeted you. You beamed at him and nodded fervently at that.

“Y’know I never actually saw you as your original mermaid self? Is it alright if I watch you swim?”

“Um sure if you want to, I’m not the most beautiful, there are others in just my clan that have amazing scales and tail fin,” you state.

“Let me be the judge of that, love-” he cut himself off with a mouth agape look as he marveled at your full beauty.

Your tail was massive and the scales decorating and protecting your body were glittering with a rainbow of colors complementing your skin tone. It made you look heavenly and the flowing tail at the end made you look that way even more so.

You became self-conscious at the way Lucifer was just staring at you, so became to fidget under his heavy gaze in the water.

Then he spoke gently, “You are beautiful, absolutely gorgeous. Thank you for letting me see your true self like this.”

“Thank you Lucifer, that means a lot to me.”

The brooding can wait, you have time to be hopeful and to think about that happy ending.

[sisterspooky1013]

Only One Choice, Chapter 5

Read it here on AO3 / Tagging @today-in-fic

They’re sitting in the car outside her mother’s house, and she’s stalling.

“Are we going inside?” Ethan asks with a confused smile, and she nods wearily.

She’s been dreading telling her family. Well, not her mother; Mom will be thrilled, as will Bill. Charlie will act appropriately happy but doesn’t actually care that much. But Missy….Missy will see right through her. She always does.

They exit the car and make their way to the front porch, her stomach twisting in her gut all the way. Ethan knocks, casting her concerned glances intermittently. She knows she’s not playing the part of “recently engaged” very well. She’s told Ethan that it’s just nerves, and that she hates making big announcements, which is true. She’s still trying to convince herself that’s all it is.

The door swings open and Charlie greets them with smiles and quick hugs, and they make their way to the kitchen where Mom is still finishing up dinner.

“Grab some wine and take a seat,” she directs them as they each kiss her on the cheek, “Missy should be here any minute.”

She pours herself a very full glass of wine after asking Ethan if he can drive home, then plants herself in an armchair that only seats one. She’s been craving personal space lately.

Ten minutes later, Missy breezes in the door, giving Dana a skeptical glance; leave it to Missy to immediately pick up on something being off. They better get this over with soon.

They all sit down and say grace. Missy holds her left hand and she can feel the moment her fingers make contact with the ring. Missy yanks on her arm and gives her wide eyes as everyone else at the table thanks the lord for their daily bread. Dana glances at her briefly and then looks away. It will all be out in the open momentarily.

“Before we dig into this lovely meal Mom has prepared for us,” Ethan begins, “Dana and I have some news to share.”

Oh god, here it comes. Maybe the huge glass of wine was a bad idea.

“Am I gonna be an uncle, D?!” Charlie says excitedly, and both she and Maggie shoot him an unamused glare.

“Not just yet, Charlie,” Ethan says with a cautious smile. “Dana and I got engaged. We’re getting married!”

Dana holds up her left hand with a thin smile, and Maggie and Charlie both provide appropriately big, happy reactions complete with hugs and congratulatory slaps on the back. Missy raises her eyebrows and looks at her baby sister with a bemused expression.

“Oh, this is such happy news, I wish your father could be here,” Maggie says, clutching her hand to her chest. “We’ll have to call Bill and Tara after dinner.”

Dana forces bites of pot roast down her throat and avoids her sister’s eye for the following twenty minutes, then leaves Ethan and her mother to share the news with Bill as she escapes to the back porch. Charlie, as usual, finds his way to the couch with a beer.

She’s sitting on the steps of the porch, working on her second glass of wine, when she hears the creak of the screen door behind her. She doesn't need to look to know that it’s Missy; she can hear the swish of her flowy skirt and the jangle of her stacked bracelets. Missy sits down beside her and they are quiet for a few minutes, the dark night illuminated by a waxing crescent moon.

“Is this really what you want, Sis?” Missy asks in a tone that’s soft and concerned.

“Of course, Missy. Ethan and I have been talking about getting married for years,” she says, hoping it sounds more convincing than it feels.

“I know. But…” she trails off and sighs.

“But what?” Dana prods her.

“Look, Sis, Ethan is great. I love him, and he’ll make a great husband. I’m just not sure he’s the right one for you.” Dana can feel her sister looking at her in the dim light, but keeps her eyes on the blooming hydrangea bush at the bottom of the stairs.

“He’s a great guy, Missy. He’s kind, and generous, and he has a stable job. He treats me really well. There’s no reason NOT to marry him,” she offers, taking a big gulp of her wine. “Dad loved him, he’d be so happy to know we got married,” she adds.

Missy scoffs. “Two years underground and you’re still trying to please Dad?”

“He was cremated, Missy,” she replies deadpan, avoiding the point.

“Okay, so two years underwater, then. Doesn’t change the fact that Dad liking him isn’t a reason to marry someone. Neither is them being great husband material. The only reason to marry someone is because you want to marry them. Do you want to marry Ethan?” She can feel Missy’s eyes on her face.

“Yes,” she says in a weak voice, unwilling to elaborate.

Missy sighs. “Okay, if this is what you want, I’ll be here to help you in whatever way you need. But if you change your mind-”

“-I’m not going to change my mind, Missy,” she cuts her off.

“Well,” Missy continues, “whatever happens, I’ll be here. Thick and thin, right?”

Dana looks at her sister then, and smiles as they clasp hands. “Thick and thin.”

&&

The following week, she takes herself out for Sunday afternoon coffee to one of her favorite places near the apartment. She likes to go out alone for coffee or lunch sometimes, just to have some space to think. Lately, she’s been needing a lot of it. The cafe is bustling with the after-church crowd, which makes her feel guilty for not going to mass with her mother. It’s difficult to talk to Mom right now; all she wants to do is talk about the wedding, and that’s the last thing Dana wants to discuss. Ethan wants to get married soon, this fall, and the whole thing is so overwhelming she shuts down every time they try to talk to her about it. She wishes she could pause life for a while, until she can sort out her feelings.

“Fancy meeting you here,” she hears a familiar voice call from beside her, and she looks up to see Mulder, dressed casually in jeans and a grey T-shirt.

She smiles reflexively, the first time she’s felt a real smile tug at her lips in a week or more.

“Mulder, hi,” she says, genuinely pleased to see him. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, this place is right near my dealer’s house,” he responds, and flashes her that boyish grin at her shocked expression. “I was actually just checking out a record store around the corner and decided to grab some coffee. How are you?” The question feels so real, like he actually wants to know how she is. She doesn’t want him to leave.

“I’m well, would you like to sit down?” she says as she gestures to the empty seat across from her, pulling her hand back when she realizes that he’ll likely notice her ring. She surreptitiously slips it off her finger and tucks it into her pants pocket.

He sits, and she can’t help but take in the way his shirt hugs his broad shoulders, and the hint of defined pectorals underneath. He is a seriously good-looking man.

“So, whatcha been up to?” He asks, taking a sip from his to-go cup.

She should tell him the happy news that she’s gotten engaged, but she very much doesn’t want to.

“Not much, just cutting up dead bodies and teaching others how to do the same,” she responds dryly.

“Slicin’ and dicin’,” he says with a nod, and she feels a sense of relief at being able to make such a crass joke to someone who understands the kind of work she does.

“Exactly. How about you, working on anything interesting?” she asks, and never has a social nicety been more genuine.

“That depends on your definition of interesting, I suppose,” he begins, “we’ve got the face mutilator, the acid thrower, and the super-stabber, who you’re familiar with.”

“Quite the line up,” she retorts.

“I realize I didn’t get the chance to ask how you ended up at the Academy,” he inquires.

“Oh, um I was actually recruited out of medical school,” she replies, taking a sip of her coffee.

His eyebrows jump and he leans forward a bit. “You’re a doctor, then?” he asks, and she gauges only that he’s impressed, not surprised, which is a nice change of pace. People don’t seem to realize that it’s not a compliment to express disbelief that she, of all people, would be a medical doctor.

“Mmhmm, all pathologists are trained medical doctors,” she confirms with a nod.

“Your parents must be very proud,” he offers, and she makes a face.

“Not exactly. My father actually passed away a couple years ago, but he was less than pleased with my decision not to pursue medicine as a career. My mom is moderately more supportive, thankfully.”

She catches his eye and is surprised by the intensity of the look he’s giving her.

“I’m sorry to hear about your father,” he says as though he knew the man, and it catches her off guard a bit. She changes the subject.

“What about the X files, anything interesting happening there?”

“Well, no, given that they don’t exist anymore. You wanna hear about an old one I investigated?”

She nods emphatically.

“There was this team of researchers up in Icy Cape, Alaska. They were geophysicists, drilling ice core samples. They’d been up there a few weeks when there was an odd video communication received from one of the research team members saying “we are not who we are” before he shot himself in the head, then all communication went dark.”

“What happened to them?” Scully asks, leaning towards him. She’s immediately drawn in.

“Well, that’s what we went up there to find out; myself a physician, toxicologist and a geologist. When we got there, the whole crew was dead, only a dog that belonged to one of them survived. He appeared to be rabid, and he attacked me and our pilot. When we examined the dog, he had these black nodules on his skin.”

“That sounds like a symptom of bubonic plague,” Scully offers.

“That’s what Dr. Hodge thought too. Anyway, the pilot ended up getting infected as well, and we had to restrain him and remove this worm-thing from his neck. He died immediately after we removed it.”

“A worm-thing?” Scully asks, “what was it?”

“I’m still not entirely sure. The geologist found an ice core sample that was probably over 250,000 years old, and I think the worm came from the ice. Some kind of prehistoric parasite that overtakes its host. We eventually figured out that to kill it, you have to introduce a second worm into the host, and they’ll destroy each other.”

“Why haven’t I ever heard about this? It seems like the kind of discovery that would make the news, at least in the science community,” her mind is reeling, now with excitement.

“Well, that’s the thing. After we were evacuated, they destroyed the drill site and all the evidence.”

“They?” she inquires. “Who is ‘they’?”

Mulder smiles knowingly and she has the overwhelming urge to touch him.

“That’s the million dollar question, Scully. That’s what the X files sought to answer. Who, or what, is behind the mass coverup of information that would prove the existence of extraterrestrial life?” He says it so casually, like it’s the most irrefutable fact in the world instead of some half-cocked conspiracy theory.

“Huh,” she sits back in her chair. “Are there a lot of cases like that one? In the X files?”

Mulder’s mouth quirks, and she can tell that he’s pleased by her interest in his old work.

“Hundreds, though I only have about fifty in my possession. I took the juiciest ones, of course.”

“What else is there? Tell me about another one,” she asks unabashedly. She’s fascinated.

Mulder looks at his watch and makes a face. “I wish I could, but I have a prior engagement. I have them stored at my apartment, I could show you sometime, if you’d like. Do you like cats?”

Her eyebrows lift. “Is there an X file about cats?” she asks, and he laughs.

“No. Well, actually yes, but I’m asking because I have a cat. You aren’t allergic, are you?”

“Oh, no,” she says as she feels her cheeks warm.

He reaches into his wallet and hands her his business card. “Give me a call, or shoot me an email. I’ll show you what the FBI doesn’t want you to see,” he punctuates this with a wag of his eyebrows as he stands. “It was really good to see you, Scully,” he says with an earnest look, those eyes seemingly seeing right through her.

She swallows hard. “You too, Mulder,” she replies, and watches him walk out the cafe door.

She looks down at the business card in her hands:

Fox W. Mulder

Criminal Behavioral Analyst

Behavioral Science Unit

She wonders what the W stands for. She wonders why she cares.

[ready-to-obeyme]

[OM!] Hanahaki Disease + Flowers for Demon Brothers (Part 1)

Scenario: Which flowers would the demon brothers be inflicted with when they develop Hanahaki Disease falling in love with you? +  Headcanons to how they would deal with it. 

(includes pictures of flowers 🌻🌺)

PART 1 INCLUDES: Lucifer, Mammon, Leviathan, Satan

[PART 2] INCLUDES: Asmodeus, Beelzebub, Belphegor + Diavolo

Note: BIG PINING ENERGY + Unrequited Love aka ANGST; I love hanahaki so i wrote our local demon boys coughing up an a e s t h e t i c bouquet 

--

Lucifer

(White) Sweet Pea = gratitude; departure; also common to give to brides

You have always been a little special to Lucifer, and he has always had a soft spot for you. It wasn’t something big-- he knew he had favorites. Though you were troublesome, you were just as loving and patient as you helped him and his family again and again. Gratitude on its own cannot inflict the hanahaki disease onto a demon, but it is the overwhelming love that comes with his overflowing thanks that has him coughing into his black gloves white petals that contrasts beautifully. It is alarming, but he tells no one, especially not you. (Looking back at it later, the purity of color that his lungs have produced makes him a little wry, because it does make sense that the purest thing about him is his love for you.) 

(Blue) Forget-Me-Nots = true love; memories

He is a man who yearns. He wishes for your affection but can never find it in him to ask for it, so he keeps the memories of his time with you together in his heart-- counting them like fragile, little flowers in his palm. And he continues to fall for you as he gets to know you better. Forget-me-nots begin to litter his desk, reminding him how much you dominate his everyday thoughts, in the little things you do. 

(Lilac) Azalea = temperance (self-control), passion, fragility; “take care”

At the peak of his love for you, Lucifer has grown so much from who he was before. He finds it fitting when he coughs out petals of lilac azaleas, a memento of how much he has changed and how much he has fallen so deeply in love. There is no turning back-- he is in love with you, with your passion and your strength, and the way he can feel fragile whenever you hold him. “Take care,” the petals say when he coughs out enough to cover the floor of his room the moment you leave the Devildom at the end of the year. He knows already he will miss your presence by his side. He has said nothing to you about his feelings-- doesn’t dare to: there is no happiness in a union between a mortal and immortal. 

As much as he wanted to continue loving you, there’s too much to lose and he has too much that must be accomplished

Doesn’t entertain the idea of confessing and having you return those feelings and has them removed 

Mammon

Ivy with a sprig of white tendrils = anxious to please, affection

It is a known fact that Mammon falls for you hard and fast. It’s a little jarring, when he thinks back on it, to pull out a vine of ivy with white tendrils from his mouth only when you have only been in the Devildom for a month. But he doesn’t think much about it. It’s obvious he cares for you, yearns for your affection when you’re the first to show him such unconditional kindness, tries his best to please you so you will always look at him favorably. 

Sunflower = adoration 

Mammon’s feelings for you only grow, but he doesn’t like the fact that the flowers have gotten bigger. It’s easier to dump ivy because they’re found outside, but where in the hell would you find sunflowers in a place without a sun? When he coughs out an entire flower, he saves them and-- upon observing its quality and cleanliness-- gifts them to you. He adores the smile on your face and doesn’t want to let you know that every time the flowers grow in his lungs, they choke and suffocate him.

(Yellow) Primrose = “I can’t live without you.”

Time is running out. You are only authorized to stay in the Devildom for so long, as much as he wants and begs you to stay. Would you stay if you knew that I loved you, he thinks. Do you even love me back? He looks back upon the days before he knew you and doesn’t need to reflect long to know that his world is better with you in it. He doesn’t tell you though, not when you’re awake at least. He had hoped that telling you when you couldn’t hear him would clear his lungs, but the primroses that he coughs up the morning after tells him otherwise and forebodes his decisions in the coming months. 

In the scenario he confesses and MC doesn’t return his feelings, he would rather much die than forget he loved you

He knows his love for you has been ingrained into his heart and soul-- and to remove it means removing a part of himself, and he doesn’t know if he wants to do it; it might be foolish but… well, he’s a fool in love.

Leviathan

Hydrangea = gratitude for being understood 

Never once have you looked at Levi with disdain when he talked about his interest. Never once has he felt so listened to, having your complete attention when he talks about something that he loves. The hydrangea petals come out in droves, covering the bottom of the tub with gentle violets and blues. It’s the first he’s felt understood, he thinks, of course his body would react so violently to something as novel as that. And besides, being understood is not the same as being loved. Levi keeps the flowers to himself, brushing off any questions and preferring to talk with you instead, spending any time he can get from you that you have not already given to his brothers.

(Yellow) Acacia = true friendship and indicates secret love

You’re his Player 2, his Henry. He can be content with just the notion that the two of you share an unbreakable bond of friendship where you’re there for him and he’s there for you whenever the two of you need it. The acacias, however, tell him he’s in love-- with your smiles, with your affectionate touches, with your laughter. Levi ignores them; he shouldn’t ask for more than he already has. 

Daisy = loyal love; “I’ll never tell”

When daisies show up in his bouquet of hanahaki flowers, Levi thinks it’s a little ironic, but for once, he doesn’t argue. He will take his feelings to his grave, if he can help it-- pushing daisies as the humans would say. He’s convinced himself he wasn’t in love with you before, and he could probably do it again when you’re not in the Devildom anymore-- or so he hopes. His heart feels like it’ll never love anyone else when he watches you fall asleep on his shoulders. 

Not unlike Mammon, he doesn’t tell his brothers about his illness and tries to fight it off himself-- but feelings are hard to get rid of

Ultimately chooses to have his feelings removed if he can’t do it himself, putting him right where he feels like he belongs as your best friend

He feels like he’s lost something, but soon enough he forgets the time he loved you (for his sake)

Satan

(Blue) Petunia = can be anger/resentment or “Your presence soothes me”; deep trust, peacefulness, intimacy

When Satan coughs out petals of petunia as dark as night, he stares at the bunch of them on the palm of his hand. He tries coughing them up again, but he doesn’t get to decide when the illness acts up. He searches furiously through his library for what he has, quickly coming to the conclusion that he had feelings for you. Of course he did-- considering what you’ve done for him, giving him a chance to make sense of his identity and looking beyond his anger. He knows without a doubt that these petunias do not represent his anger; in fact, they denote the opposite. “Your presence soothes me,” he reads in the language of flowers, wondering if the flowers will change the more he trusts in you and gets closer to you.

(White) Jasmine = Sweet love, amiability

He picks out the white jasmine off his tongue and quietly dumps them into the trash, the sweet scent stuck in his mouth. When you ask him if he’s alright, he turns around and smiles at you-- a sweet, genuine smile that no one can doubt to be sincere. He returns to where he was by your side as he reads the latest novel at your insistence, glancing at you once every other sentence to gauge your reactions. He feels his cheeks flush underneath your gaze, but he doesn’t persuade you to do otherwise. He loves your attention, and sometimes in these quiet moments he can pretend that you’re just as in love with him as he was with you. 

White roses = “I’m worthy of you”; loyalty

As the year passes, Satan grows more and more confident of who he is as a person, and where he stands with you. These feelings may have been new, but when the white rose petals tumbles from his mouth, he knows that there is only one thing he must do before you leave. He yearns-- he isn’t different from those with this illness-- but he knows better than to pine after someone who doesn’t feel the same as him after all this time. And regardless of whether you can stay with him, he wants you to know how you make him feel: worthy-- and worthy to be loved by you.

In the chance you don’t feel the same, he’s disappointed. When yellow carnations come from his lips as if to commemorate his rejection, he destroys his room, not in resentment but in the fact that he will have to forget some of the parts you made him feel. 

He wishes he could keep these feelings, but knows that it’s unfair to both of you to keep hoping. When you leave the Devildom, he lets himself mourn for what he will lose and removes the flowers. 

[giorno-plays-piano]

I LIVE for your exophilia Bucky and Steve fics, Drider/spider Bucky is my LIFE, if you could do centaur, naga or mermaid, please. I just love this so much!

Okay, it was supposed to be a short request, but it had somehow evolved into a oneshot. Thank you for this awesome idea!

Blood in the water

Pairing: merman!Steve Rogers x Reader

Warnings: yandere, obsession, attempted kidnapping, non-grapic depiction of violence.

Words: 2125.

_________________

You had never truly believed in the existence of fantastic creatures despite all those rumors about mermaids living in the Triskelion sea. Sure, at some point people thought they shared the Earth with centaurs, sirens, griffons, and all those divine beasts, but you lived in the era of rapid scientific progress, Internet, and space-based technologies. No one in the right state of mind believed in fairies and unicorns.

However, you did like this little town: there was something charming in its narrow streets and a hundred years old buildings, lovely hydrangeas in flowerpots standing outside of the houses and small family cafes here and there. It was a nice place to have a vacation, especially after a crazy year in a big city where streets were always full of people, regardless of time.

You rented a nice little cottage close to the seashore for a month and were now enjoying your morning coffee, sitting on a wide wooden windowsill. The sun was barely up, and you smiled, wrapping a blanket around your bare shoulders. It was such a beautiful morning when the sky was a lovely shade of pink, the sea so unusually quiet. There definitely was something magical in it.

Watching the sea with your window open, you inhaled its smell deeply, closing your eyes. When you opened them in a second, you suddenly saw something glowing far away from you, on a small rock surrounded by water. Your eyes grew wide - it was not something, it was someone. It was a living being. You just saw its enormously huge scaly tail when the creature slipped back into the sea as if it knew you were watching it.

Oh dear.

You immediately left your half-emptied cup on the windowsill and jumped down, hurrying to the door while keeping the blanket wrapped around your shoulders. What was that? How huge was that fish? What could it even be? All those questions were making you speed up, and you rushed to the small pier right next to your cottage, hoping to catch a glimpse of the mysterious creature again.

But once you were standing on the wooden boards barefoot, shivering from the sudden cool sea breeze, the waters were quiet just like before, not a sound coming from that direction. The creature had disappeared as fast as it emerged, and you were staring at the dark waters again, thinking of whether you saw that enormous fish at all or was it some trick of the light. Maybe you really watched too many fantasy movies on Netflix yesterday. Smiling at the though, you fixed the blanket, covering yourself some more, and inhaled the cool morning air deeply. Whether or not there was a huge fish, it wasn’t really important. You didn’t know how to swim anyway and wouldn’t get into the water far.

When you went to the town to have lunch, you did ask the elderly lady serving customers whether there was some peculiar type of marine animal living in the waters of Triskelion sea, but she just smiled at you and asked you not to come too close to the shore at night.

“It’s not good you live so far from the town,” she said quickly before moving to the other table, gathering empty dishes.

Did she mean it was unsafe to be out of the house at night? Was there like a gang gathering close to the sea or something? You nervously nodded to her, growing a bit concerned. Your landlord didn’t tell you anything about that.

Well, in case of emergency you could barricade the door and call 911. The phone worked perfectly, you thought while walking the streets, buying nice little souvenirs for your friends and colleagues. You actually bought a baseball bat just in case.

Hurrying home before it got dark, you clenched the big bag with a takeout. You asked the girl behind the counter about being on the shore at night, and she confirmed it wasn’t wise. Unfortunately, she didn’t specify, and you thought that speaking of that gang aloud wasn’t appropriate. The girl was probably scared.

Damn, and there you thought it was a perfect quiet place, ideal for a lonely young woman. Was it really better to leave before you got into any real trouble?

Locking the door and closing the windows, you huffed, irritated neither the agency nor your landlord mentioned this to you. It was unfair and even illegal to do business like that. Thinking whether to call your friends to ask for an advice, you sat in the kitchen, unpacking the amazing carbonara that was still warm and smelled heavenly. Well, it least the cafes here were absolutely awesome.

Once you finished your meal and were drinking tea with milk, still sitting in the kitchen - now you were a little afraid of sitting on the windowsill with an open window where anyone could see you - you suddenly heard some noise from the outside. It was a loud sound of fins crushing the water surface. Was it that odd giant fish again? Still, you were aware of danger of being outside late in the evening, so you simply stayed inside the house.

But then you heard someone screaming.

“Please, help!” The voice was pleading, and you stood up quickly, grabbing your bat. “HELP!”

The next moment you were running to the sea shore with a life preserver in one hand and a bat in the other. Someone was drowning in the sea, and you couldn’t fucking swim. Blood rushed to your head when you saw a man tangled in a large fishing net attached to the pierce, and you immediately run to him, dropping to your knees.

“Please! I can’t-” He was fighting the ties binding him, almost screaming in hysterics when you approached him. “I can’t breathe! HELP!”

In complete darkness when the only source of light was the moon shining high up into the sky, you were struggling to see how the man literally wrapped in the net, striking about in the water like a stranded fish. When you got close, throwing your hands to the stranger, he jumped at you right away, leaning closer and trying to climb to the pier. He almost made you fall into the water, but you managed to grab wooden pole with one hand and stand on your knees.

“I’m here! Wait, wait!” You were hurriedly grasping the net, seeing literally nothing in the dark. “I’ll help!”

You could hear the stranger crying, his huge figure shaking terribly, and rushed to tug on the ties, desperately trying to untangle him. You spent a few minutes like that before you had finally freed him, pulling the net up and throwing it on a wooden boards - it was so big you could literally cover the whole pier with it. How did it end up here?

Deadly tired from all the pulling, you gave the stranger your hand again to drag him to the pier, but suddenly he moved away from your arm. He was neither crying not screaming anymore, strangely silent, and you stared at his handsome face, still red from tears. How come? He was able to swim, wasn’t he? Breathing hard from all the struggle, you blinked, wiping the sweat from your forehead.

“Thank you,” the man finally said, coming closer again, and you realized there was something huge in the water right beneath him - you saw an enormous scale tail gleaming in the sea when the moonlight illuminated the waters.

It wasn’t some fish. It was the man’s tail. You saw the scales covering his hips when he got up, getting on the pier where you sat. Instinctively, you crawled back, both charmed and horrified with what you were seeing.

Dear god, he was a merman.

While you stared at him, opening your mouth as if it were you who was suffocating, the man smiled widely, watching you gawk at him. He wasn’t concerned at all, flashing his tail carelessly. “Thank you for saving me, human woman. You are truly fearless.”

Well, you weren’t so sure anymore, gazing at the unbearably handsome merman whose voice was so deep and silky it could drive any girl crazy. You were still scared of him though, knowing little whether he wanted to thank or hurt you - you even read some tales where mermaids were eager to eat sailors if they stumbled upon them in the sea.

But he looked so magnificent. His clear blue eyes were shining bright in the darkness, cheeks a lovely shade of pink, hair like a pure gold in the moonlight. His shoulders were wide, and you could see he was athletically built with his tufty, solid arms. Besides, how could a man with a smile as kind as his be a threat to you, the one who had saved him from the net? Reluctantly at first, you slowly got closer to him, watching his cheerful face. He was happy you weren’t afraid of him.

“What is your name?” He asked, suddenly getting closer so you ended up nose to nose with him.

The merman smelled like salt and seaweed, and when he wrapped his long fingers around your wrist, you whispered nervously, “Y/N.”

“I am Steven.” He grinned at you, rubbing the tip of your nose with his wet one. “I will be forever in your debt.”

“B-but how did you end up in the net? I’ve never heard of people fishing here.” You mumbled, your face flooding with embarrassment at being so close to the handsome stranger.

“Oh, they don’t fish. They try to catch us, the merfolk.”

His gaze turned sad as he touched your cheek with his nose and backed away, getting into water again while you crawled closer to him. So, that was it. That’s why they didn’t want you on the shore late in the evening - they were starting the mermaids hunt. God, how could they? Why did they try to harm these gorgeous creatures, unmistakably as intelligent as people were?

You felt sorry for the man, bending over to him as he stared into your face, still smiling. Gently cupping your cheeks with his wet palms, he rose up to give you a quick peck on the lips, apparently, having very little shame to do it to someone he only met a couple of minutes ago. Feeling terribly embarrassed, you thought that maybe it was merfolk’s way to thank someone and just nodded.

“Are you going to be okay, Steven?” You asked him, barely realizing you were leaning closer and closer to him while he kept getting down in the water.

“Yes.” He answered barely audible, kissing you again while gently touching your hair. “Come closer, love.”

You went even deeper, enchanted by his lovely voice.

“Closer.”

You didn’t realize the merman was luring you into the water until he pulled your face down, and your head ended up in the sea. As you opened your mouth, the water rushed inside it, and you were quickly becoming suffocated. But was scaring you more than drowning was the face of the most handsome man you had ever seen - the sclera became dark, making his eyes looking extraterrestrial, frightening. The next second you saw Steve opening his toothy mouth, and the world turned pitch black.

The pain shooting through your neck made you scream, gulping down salty sea water, and you fell down from the pier completely. You couldn’t breathe, kicking and fighting and struggling in merman’s arms until he let go of you, and you immediately grabbed the life preserver that fell into the water along with you. Keeping kicking furiously to keep Steve away, you clenched the wooden pole.

You didn’t know how you managed to pull up, getting back to the pier while merman was hissing something behind your back, trying to get closer to you. Despite you had no strength left, you were crawling to the shore on your knees, crying from the pain - blood was still seeping from your neck.

“You can’t get away from me!” Steve grinned wickedly, shouting to you. “I’ve marked you, love! You won’t have a mate other than me!”

Deaf to his shouts, you kept crawling until you felt the ground beneath your palms.

What did you know about the merfolk living in the Triskelion sea? Why didn’t you think it was them who were hunting people, luring innocent souls into the water with their pleas and crying? Of course, you didn’t know it was the mating season, and the mark Steve left on your neck would never fade away, scarring your gentle skin.

Why didn’t you leave the town, knowing you were in danger? Now you were bound to him, the cold, merciless creature who would stop at nothing to have you.

_______________________

Tags: @finleyjayne @alexakeyloveloki   ​@helenaeisenhower @villanellevi @hurricanerin ​@void-hoechlin @abyssaint @heeeyitskay @chris-evans-indian-fanfic @navegandoaciegas @rosalynshields @brattycherubwrites @sllooney @angrythingstarlight @lovelydarkdaydream @soleil-dor @lookiamtrying @buckysbunny

[animepopheart]

Wonder Egg Priority, Episode 11: “The Temptation of Death”?

Wonder Egg Priority is a beautiful, uncomfortable, moving and confusing series that starts out engaging all the things we don’t talk about—self-harm, abuse, rape, bullying, gender dysmorphia, and homosexuality, to name a few. Our silence and blindness to these issues have a weight and pressure to them, and WEP shows how this reinforces the isolation and hopelessness of the young women of the “eggs” who turn to suicide for relief. The first ten episodes have been exhilarating and exhausting alike.

And then there is Episode 11. This past week, the series took a bit of a turn, leaning hard into the sci-fi-philosophical, with appearances from Greek gods, a murderous artificial intelligence, and really, really disturbing insect girls, one of whom, despite being a brutal killer, is apparently a vegetarian. Has the show gone off the rails? Has it lost its way in departing from the familiar procedural approach of engaging a differing social or mental health issue with each episode?

Such a critique is perfectly legit, but before you write off the penultimate episode of WEP, just hear me out on why the abstract, meta turn in episode 11 may just be the most valuable thing this series has to offer so far.

Before we begin though, a little recap of what we learned this week. In episode 10, we hear the eggheads, Acca and Ura-Acca, discuss the need for warriors of Eros to battle Thanatos. This is our first hint that things are about to get lore-full and maybe a bit weird. Eros and Thanatos are of course gods in the ancient Greek pantheon, Eros being the god of love, and Thanatos, of non-violent death. Within the first minute or so of episode 11, it’s clear that the eggheads’ hope is now focused on Ai becoming the long-awaited warrior. At this point though, rather than continuing with Ai’s story, the episode shifts into flashback mode and we are finally introduced to the villain, an artificial intelligence created by the eggheads back when they were still human. Their lives gradually come to revolve around her: She is the fulfillment of their obsession to create life, and she is good.

Frill is associated with hydrangeas, which symbolise heartlessness and pride in Japanese flower language. But is it her heartlessness and pride, or that of her makers?

(Atelier Emily has done an outstanding series of posts on the flowers in WEP. Check it out!)

Only, it turns out she doesn’t play so nice when others join the happy family. After killing Acca’s wife, and putting the life of the unborn baby at risk, the AI—who named herself Frill—is unrepentant, all traces of her seeming humanity now revealed to be illusory, a mere affectation. Acca locks her away in a hole in the cellar. Years pass. The baby, Himari, grows up and is a ray of sunshine. But after effectively confessing to her ‘uncle’ (why does anime always do this?), she commits suicide. Ura-Acca discovers that Frill is still very much alive and active from her hole in the cellar, having powered up all the discarded monitors and laid down reams of electrical cables—to what end, we do not yet know. Though Ura-Acca surmises that she has somehow influenced Himari to take her own life. How else would the girl have known about Ura-Acca’s admiration for her mother? Where else would she have learned to make what will forever be to me now that uncannily sinister popping sound?

Here’s where it gets weirder. Unlike the suicides of subsequent egg girls, there is no indication that Himari, Frill’s apparent first victim, struggled with any mental health or other issues that would motivate her to take her own life. Indeed, her ‘uncle’ did not even reject her confession. (Again anime, why you do this thing?) Instead, the eggheads explain Himari’s suicide as being on account of the “temptation of death.” What now?

This is implying that death is somehow attractive, not just to someone facing overwhelming brokenness, trauma or pain, like the egg girls we’ve met so far, but to someone on the verge of stepping from a (relatively) happy childhood into young adulthood, with the promise of potential love to look forward to; someone who has not known suffering, but rather only smiles and cake. (To be fair, it is always possible that she experienced trauma in the womb, or was more deeply affected by her father’s sadness than Ura-Acca’s memories belie.)

That’s my question too, Ai.

The notion of death as somehow attractive or even beautiful is rather alien to Western culture. Certainly, there will always be some who romanticize death, à la star-crossed lovers (Shakespeare, I’m looking at you). But in general, Western culture views death as something ugly and frightening, something to avoid until it is staring you directly in the face, and even then, closing your eyes in denial is a perfectly reasonable response. Death is one of those things we don’t talk about. In my experience, Anglo-American culture is not very good at even mourning death. We lack the grieving rituals and observances of other cultures, and instead seek to confine death to the sealed, sanitized spaces of hospitals, care homes, and funeral parlors. We keep it shrouded tightly in silence. How could there ever be anything like the “temptation of death”? How could we ever consider death to be something desirable? Are the eggheads or CloverWorks simply aestheticising suicide and death here to make it sound deep and philosophical?

No, I don’t think that’s it. Instead, Acca and Ura-Acca are doing what all good researchers do—and indeed what all Christians, as believers in an unseen spiritual reality, are also called to do: They are looking more deeply into phenomena that seem, on the surface, to already be explained. The two idol fans were consumed with their obsession, so when their idol killed herself, they followed suit. The young woman whose identity was wrapped up in her own appearance ended her life to preserve her beauty. The abused gymnast saw no way out, no hope in ever living free from torment. Some explanations may be more sympathetic than others, but they all possess their own internal logic. Contemporary society is full of a vast array of pressures and stresses and each one, taken to breaking point, can result in death. Case closed. This might very well be our conclusion from the first ten episodes.

Only the case isn’t closed. Because there is a question that has pervaded every episode until now, but has remained unspoken: How is it that death could even become an option for the egg girls? Why does reaching a breaking point trigger suicide? What made death seem like a savior to these girls? This is the question that episode 11 tackles, in its own admittedly obscure way. The eggheads are focused on the underlying, deeper reality that unites all the eggs’ stories, as disparate as they are—the common thread, which is the idea that death is a release, a rescue, a beautiful ending, and as a result, it is tempting.

“But we wondered if there could be another push that drove them to suicide,” explains Ura-Acca.

This is a really important question for us to be asking. Because it’s not just these traumatized, vulnerable girls who fall for the seduction of death. We do, too.

Just ponder for a moment: Have you ever anticipated how wonderful it will be when, in heaven, you no longer struggle with that particular temptation? When your temper is no longer so short, when you’re not afraid of being hurt anymore? Or maybe you think about how one day, on those gold-paved streets, you won’t have to worry anymore. All your hard work coping and just keeping it together will finally pay off and you’ll cross that finish line and heave a sigh of relief, knowing that you made it in the end. Have you ever contemplated these kinds of things? I know I have.

But here’s the thing: When I expect my liberation to come only after I die and not right here, right now, then it is not Jesus who is my savior, but death. I am waiting for death to free me from temptation and sin and fear and brokenness, and usher me into eternal life. I make Thanatos my god.

The temptation of death is not limited to the drastic act of suicide, but also permeates all the accusations and fears that inspire us to put off living the fullness of life in Christ here and now. It’s the temptation to believe that it is death that will ultimately solve the more difficult and painful problems in life.

Acca and Ura-Acca seek to create a love that suits their ideals, just to relieve their stress.

The source of this “temptation of death” in Wonder Egg Priority is Frill, the AI. That is, a man-made, artificial version of love—with ai meaning “love” in Japanese. According to Ura-Acca, they made her “just for fun,” as a way of dealing with the stress of their enclosed lives. They designed her to suit their preferences, to make it easier to love her and forget that she was artificial. In this sense, Frill is the fruit of their self-centeredness, her every characteristic designed to satisfy their own ideals of how a daughter and woman should be. And this artificial love born of selfishness brings death into their midst and beyond, spreading it through the horrendous deformities of girlhood that she in turn creates, in imitation of her fathers. (Only perhaps her creations are less deceptive than theirs, wearing their monstrosity plainly on the outside…)

Frill’s creations. We’ve met Dash (right) and Dot (center), but who is that on the left? And is her name Morse??

To counter her destructive influence, Acca and Ura-Acca need true love, a genuine love. They need Ai, a messy, at times very weak human being, but one who nevertheless is willing to fight to live up to her name and maybe, just maybe, become a warrior of Eros.

There is also a deep, underlying force at work in our world, one that connects all despair and the actions born of it. A wide range of social issues, traumas and mental health challenges can and do trigger suicide, but they do not explain it fully. The deeper reality is the existence of an enemy who seeks to manipulate us into believing our true savior can only be death, whether it is right away by our own hand, or more subtly, decades from now by natural causes. But this is a lie, and it is one that we can combat. Just as I’m sure we’ll see in the final episode that Ai is equipped to wage the coming battle in WEP, so too are we armed, here and now, with the power to overwhelm the enemy’s “temptation of death”—we possess already the words of life, given to us by our true savior.

Jesus began his ministry with a public announcement that he had come to heal heart wounds, comfort those in pain, fill broken lives with beauty, and wrap those in despair with reasons to praise like a warm protective blanket, so that they might celebrate with joy once again. He came to bring freedom to prisoners and captives alike, giving a fresh new life to those locked up because of deeds done wrong, and those punished and injured at the hands of others. He came to take the outcasts, the weak, the traumatized and broken and transform them into mighty oaks, clean and strong; into people with the vision and skill and compassion and fortitude to rebuild a broken world (Isaiah 61:1-4, Luke 4:18),

He came to rewrite and restore our experience of life here on earth, and through us, to redeem our communities, cities, nations, and the world. God does not withhold the fullness of life from us until we finally make it to him in heaven. No, instead he moved heaven and earth to get right up close so that he could pour his own life out into us, even going so far as to breathe his very spirit into our hearts and bodies and minds. We don’t need to wait for death’s rescue—our hero has already come. But we do need to remind each other and ourselves of this truth pretty often, and let it work down deep into all the cracks and bruises in our souls until it strengthens all our weak spots.

In Deuteronomy 30:19, God tells the Israelites that he has given them the authority to choose between life and death. But he also tips the balances in their favor, urging them to choose life. In Jesus, he comes to tip the balances even further, making it possible for us to step into eternal life here and now, immediately and forever. So let’s do it. Each day, through each struggle we face. Let’s choose life and not death.

Warrior of love? And is Ai’s himawari (sunflower) related to Himari somehow?

Join me (in spirit) for the final episode on Tuesday to see Ai’s love triumph! (At least, I really really hope that’s what happens!)

[pixie-cocaine]

ATEEZ Reaction To: their S.O. wearing baggy clothes

ateez reacting to their gf wearing a short plaid skirt with a super oversized sweatshirt that goes down to almost their skirt length 

Theme: different dates :D

Hongjoong ♡:

• You were both were going out to go to a famous planetarium

• You always did like looking at the stars and how they hung in the sky, sparkling like the moon’s reflection in any body of water

• So this was a cool little experience that both you and Joong could have together

• You wanted to dress casual, so settling with a roomy beige sweater, decorations of black diamonds sewn in, along with a red plaid skirt was what you went with

• By roomy, you meant damn-near covering the skirt, which gave the look a lax, puffed out appearance

• That shit was B I G

• His reaction?

• The softest eyes ever omfg I’m sobbing-

• No dramatic gasps, no squealing (I’m looking at you. Mingi)

• Just being able to see his indifferent expression melt away into a pure puppy face as you emerged from the hallway into the living room

• All you were wearing was a skirt and sweater but to him, every single outfit brought out more of your beauty

• You never failed to amaze him

• Allowing a small smile, he’d use his hand to gesture toward you

• “You look lovely”

Calm outings with Joong are always the most wholesome smfh I’m so mushy because of this goldfish-looking bit-

Seonghwa ♡:

• A sweet picnic-esque date in a secluded flower meadow with Hwa?

• You’d be mad to say no

• It was a nice warm-air temperature outside, so you settled for a yellow loose knit sweater and a matching yellow plaid skirt to go with it

• The sweater swallowed up most of the skirt, resulting in only a small bit of the skirt being visible, but you thought nothing of it

• Seonghwa certainly did

• He’d been eyeing you all the way to the picnic spot, face shadowing over with pleasant surprise when you came to stand in front of him, and sparkling eyes flicking over to your direction every couple minutes

• god can you imagine feeling his gaze on you?

• looking over at him, and watching as he would catch your eyes, only to quickly focus back on the road in front of him

• I’m gonna turn your kneecaps to dust if you don’t fucking speak up, Hwa

• Eating cutely-packaged lunches on top of the pastel pink blanket turned into Seonghwa’s head lying on your lap as you plucked the various flowers and placed them in the silky tresses of his inky black hair

• Sweet peas, Marigolds, and Hydrangeas flecked Hwa’s locks, complimenting gorgeously against the slight tan of his skin, as well as the patches of sunlight gleaming onto his face through the leaves of the tree you sat against

• He was truly stunning, especially when he opened his previously closed eyes to stare up at you, a smile slowly tugging at the corners of his lips

• You brush a thumb across Seonghwa’s cheek, “Why were you looking at me earlier?”

• “Because of your outfit,” The hand already resting hand against your thigh began to play with your skirt 

• “What about my outfit?”

• “It makes you look adorable”

Yunho ♡:

• You already know fairs and amusement parks with Yunho are gonna happen

• Like are you kidding me?

• Baby LOVES doing wild things with you

• It was in the afternoon, pretty cool weather, and you kinda just threw on what you saw

• What you saw, being a very big black cotton sweater and blue plaid skirt

• Nothing too much, nothing too less

• Bruh, he really couldn’t stop calling you cute

• Even as soon as you came out of the room, he was like

• “aWAWAWWWWW LoOk AT yoU”

• Loud as hell, as usual

• Walking around and playing all the games, as well as riding the rollercoasters and such, Yunho couldn’t stop staring at you every now and then

• You were beaming; neon lights and vibrant colors glowing against your face as you both roamed around

• Adorable UwU

Yeosang ♡:

• This man is a freak

• He’s literally so weird lmao

• But that’s what you find so damn goofy about him

• Anyways, bowling! :)

• “How cute,” he smiled from his spot on the couch, cooing upon seeing your outfit of an oversized wine red sweater and black plaid skirt, barely visible upon the sagging top

• You giggled, giving him a small spin before you guys were off

• He really did like the look, and he wasn’t afraid to tell you either

• A couple hours after getting your ass handed to you in the rounds of bowling, you and Yeosang took a seat with a couple of fries and rootbeer floats

• You could feel his eyes on you, so you looked up from your food

• “Yes?”

• He grinned and pointed to your exposed legs

• “I just never noticed how pretty your thighs are”

I still can’t believe he stirred eggs for +2 hours. A literal crackhead.

San ♡:

• Karaoke night, y’all

• Hitting high notes? Girl- a breeze

• Just scream into the mic and turn people deaf, they won’t be able to tell the difference

• Anyways

• Your choice of outfit?

• A pink fleece sweater and black plaid skirt

• You were stunning omg

• San would be melted, bro

• “Oh!”

• Literally couldn’t say anything else besides that you were fluffy-looking. Jus wanted to cuddle you right there and then, yanno?

• Turning up to the karaoke bar would be wild. You’d stand on that mini stage and be doing little dances here and there

• San wouldn’t be able look away from how small you looked in that sweater

• Like a liddol lamb

• A proud hubby

Mingi ♡:

• When I said he squeals, he SQUEALS

• He’s loves soft things, and so when you come out looking like a purple marshmallow in the puffy oversized sweater and slate grey plaid skirt, it automatically makes him let out weird noises of adoration

• Tackles you in a hug

• Babbles on about how huggable you are and random things in general while pretty much crushing you

• After he’s done squeezing the life out of you, he’ll be all bouncy 

• Roller skating tiiiiiiime

• Y’all gonna get CRAZY crazy

• Cuz I already know this man right here is gonna be falling on his ass a lot

• But he’ll make sure to stay by you, always giving you a push and hyping you up

• “You look like a little fairy. Pose!”

• After your ankles are bouta pop off and you guys sit down, he’ll be looking at your outfit again

• “You should wear stuff like that more often. You look really cute”

Wooyoung ♡:

• Bumper cars, bitch

• Cuz every other idea I had involves not being able to wear a skirt unless you wanna flash everyone casually walking by

• I’m not judging if that’s what you want tho

• After rummaging through your closet for a bit, you settle for a plain white knitted sweater and black plaid skirt

• Woo would find you absolutely darling, bro

• “Aww, cute, cute”

• But wouldn’t be mulling over it too much

• Because you always look good, and this is only one of the many cute outfits he’s seen you in

• Still, he’d give you some up-and-down’s a couple times throughout the night, probs compliment you a couple times, too

• Other than that, the date would be very fun 

• [insert Woo’s devil laugh]

Jongho ♡:

• Big big babie

• A simple ice cweam and city roam date with Jongie 

• god it’d be so soft

• Also, he’d be in love with how your sweater was so big that i gave you sweaterpaws, as well as the drape of it over your form

• He’d just wanna put you in his pocket and take you everywhere with him

• HAND HOLDING OMFG LEAVE ME TO CRY ALONE

• “You look really nice”

In a nutshell, Jongho deserves the world