#i made a couple changes to her design from before but i promise you i didnt nerf her height

[bulbabutt]

Raphaella Meets his Match

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6 | part 7

welcome to this idea that has stuck with me for months now but i finally feel able to take on, meet my rise mona lisa! she's heavily based on 87 mona lisa (obviously) so is she as sweet as she seems?

ive never made a proper comic before but if u never try u never get better ykno?

[wandamaximoffsbadgirl]

My Favorite Pet

Tease Me (2)

BDSM Preformer!Fem!Reader! X subby! Wanda

Summary: You find yourself alone in bed, but that's okay because you can smell breakfast

Warnings: None! Here you all go have some fluffy morning after loving.

Word Count: 1,570

A/N: I promise pt 3 is going to be full of smut once more, but I wanted to explore their morning after.

You woke up to the smell of bacon stretching out on your king sized bed. Your back is popping after a week of staying on Kate and Yelena’s couch. You fell asleep on the couch, right? Did Wanda move both of you in here?

You got up feeling cold from only wearing a tank top and shorts to bed, grabbing one of your throw blankets and making your way out to the kitchen to find Wanda there, swaying her hips to music as she made breakfast. You smirked and watched her for a moment before speaking up,

“Damn I could get used to this.” you startle her a bit with your voice, but she sees you smiling. You saw the blush on her face as you walked over, wrapping your arms around her waist and looking up.

“I tried waking you up earlier, but you refused so I figured I'd start making breakfast for you Mommy.” Her voice was so soft right now. You were an absolute menace to try and wake in the morning.

“You don't have to call me that outside of the club or the bedroom. Please just call me by my name.” you lean up on your tiptoes to kiss her.

“Are you sure? All my previous-�� You cut her off before she can finish that sentence.

“Wanda. I'm sure.” you tell her putting emphasis on her name. “Outside those spaces you're Wanda and I'm Y/N. We are two people and not just our roles.” She simply nods and you kiss her again.

“Okay well Y/N I've made breakfast I hope you like bacon, eggs, and pancakes.” Wanda smiled and so did you.

“I love those things. I'll grab the juices and milk.” You untangled yourself from her grabbing out the pitchers for the two of you.

As the two of you sat and ate you talked about a lot of things and got to know each other better. Conversation with her seemed to flow easily between the two of you. You had never felt this way before. You were typically a guarded person especially after her though opening up didn’t even feel like you were. Instead it felt more like getting reacquainted with an old friend.

“So you have this place because of working at the club right?” Wanda asked looking around my spacious penthouse.

“Yeah Tasha helped me get it originally since it was close to the club and honestly I came from nothing. My parents were poor when I was a kid, but it was by choice. Neither of my parents wanted to work and didn't care that my brother and I were starving. I took care of my brother and raised him. He lived with me for a bit and still comes by, but he went off and became a businessman. He's climbed the ladder to almost being the CEO of the company he works for.” You’re reminded of just how different you and your brother turned out.

“You must be proud of him.” you smile, pushing around the little food left on your plate.

“I am. Sometimes I wonder if he feels the same about me.” You admit solemnly.

“I'm sure he understands that without you doing this he wouldn't have been able to be where he is. You paid for his college right?”

“Yeah through the fucking teeth…” you definitely didn't want to mention fucking the dean to get him in or lowering his tuition rates.

“Then I'm sure he understands. My brother on the other hand is just as bad as me. He creates, designs, and builds BDSM gear like beds and crosses and shit. He's really good at it and runs his own business with a couple of his buddies.” Wanda told you.

“Hmmm I'd love to meet him. I have a spare room I've always wanted to turn into a playroom.” Wanda blushed a scarlet red. You wanted to keep teasing her, but your phone was going off,

“Ughhhhhhhhh!” you picked it up quickly changing your tone, “Hi Tasha. You’re interrupting my breakfast so please make it quick.”

“Wow rude and here I thought you had a good night.” she responded, but you could tell she was smiling.

“Oh I did so good in fact it has continued into breakfast so again if you could make it quick.” I snip at her really not wanting to do this until later.

“Of course it has. Finally back on the horse I see. Well that’s good, anyways since you’re both there I expect to see you tonight.” you rolled your eyes.

“Of course you do. Were people asking for us?” you put the call on speaker.

“Of course they were. You two gave the best performance last night. You’re lucky I’m nice and let you keep all those tips. Most places would take some from you especially with how much you made last night.” you chuckled at her words. As tough as Tasha could be on you she was also soft; she knew you too good at this point.

“Well thank you Tasha for taking such good care of us. When will we be preforming tonight?”

“Opener and then a solo from each of you later in the night once aftercare is done let me know and we’ll work you in.” You could hear the sound of her typing in the background probably trying to figure out the schedule of performers for tonight.

“Okay Tasha. We’ll be there for 5.”

“Okay once your solos are done you’re free to go tonight because Friday I want you two to do multiple shows.” You groan a bit doing multiple shows was always hard for you. It takes a lot out of you to go from Dom to not to Dom again.

“Fine...” You replied reluctantly to your best friend. You knew she heard your tone, but chose not to call you out on it.

“Okay I’ll see you two tonight and I’m glad you found someone again Y/N/N.” You rolled your eyes. Trying to take the phone off speaker before Wanda could hear it.

“Yup kay bye.” You hung up, throwing your phone over onto the couch.

“What’s wrong Y/N?” Wanda asked concerned.

“Nothing amor. I just get frustrated sometimes. It’s not that I don’t like this job because I do. It’s the only thing I’ve ever known it’s just difficult for me sometimes. I have to get into the right headspace. Also I’m not going to lie doing more than one show in a night can be exhausting and I want to make sure you have a good time. I’ve just never been good with multi show nights.” Wanda reached across the table, holding your hand,

“Everything is going to work out fine because this time you’ll have me.” She was smiling, biting her lip as her nose scrunched up.

“You are absolutely beautiful amor. I am so lucky...” You let your words trail off. All Wanda is, is my stage partner, nothing more, and you feel yourself curl into yourself ever so slightly as you retract your hand.

You see her searching your face as to why you pulled away, “Sorry did I do or say something wrong?” Wanda asked and you felt a pit in your stomach.

“No, no meu amor. I just get stuck in my own head. I’m sorry. I have a lot going on with myself and sometimes I’m my own worst enemy. If I ever start pulling away just pull me back harder please?” Wanda is speechless for a moment. “I-if you want to that is you don’t-“ Wanda pushes aside her plate and then your own, climbing on the dining room table and making her way into your lap.

“I’ll pull you so deep you’ll be drowning in me and forget all your problems.” Wanda husked against your lips, making you lean up, chasing her lips for a kiss as she keeps pulling back until you’re whining,

“Wands...” You were pouting and looking up at her, “Please?” She smirked and finally let you kiss her, melting against her as you sighed into it. You needed this, you needed her. You need her? How are you so deep already? How did she do this to you?

“Y/N/N?”

“Hmmm?” You let your eyes flit open and look up at her.

“I’ve never met anyone like you, never had a partner like you. Before last night I thought everything I’d experienced with a Dom was normal...I don’t think...no I know I don’t ever want to go back to that. I know it’s a little forward of me, but would you please continue to be my dom as well as a partner I can rely on?” You reached up and cupped her cheeks.

“If we’re being forward then I’d like to answer your question with a question. I would like to be those things and more so would you be my girlfriend?” You ask, feeling so nervous until she crashes her lips into yours, her hips rolling against you, moaning out at the feeling as you grab her hips.

“Yes. Yes I’d love that.” She husks out against your lips and this is a moment you want to remember forever, every part of it. The sound of her voice, the faint smell of breakfast, her vanilla perfume, the way her lips taste and feel against you, the pressure of her hips and your nails digging into them.

[macabr3-barbi3]

dream a little dream (of me)- chapter 2 [Alastor/Reader]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/54459367/chapters/138625708

Chapter 1 is here! And Chapter 3 is here! (psst chapter 4 is here!)

Same tags as chapter 1: Dream Sex, Dreamsharing, Vaginal Sex, Cunnilingus, Rough Sex, Dreamwalking, Non Sex-Repulsed Alastor

It’s truly amazing what a regular sleep schedule can do for someone. Within days of starting to sleep in Alastor’s room, life in Hell just felt… better.

And Alastor was tolerable, in his own way. There was no mention of the deal that you had made, and if anyone noticed you spending the evenings in his bedroom they didn’t question it. It was the same every night- you would knock, he would invite you in, and you would engage in the tiniest of small talk before he shepherded you to the bed he had set up for you in the bayou dimension. It was always made, the sheets comfortable and soft and warm as you laid your head down and fell into dreamless sleep. You were keeping to your end of the deal, unable to resist the siren call of actual rest in favor of sneaking to Alastor’s side of the room to see what he dreamt of these days. 

You wondered about his end, and what he had promised if you stayed out of his dreams like you agreed- like you were doing. “Whenever you would like,” he had said, but you didn’t want to just- proposition him. That felt improper and scandalous. For the time being you were content to just accept the peaceful relaxation that the bayou realm offered you.

You quit the retail job that you held after about a week and accepted Charlie’s offer to find something to do in the hotel- you were designated to the Resident Events Coordinator, which basically meant that when Charlie got it in her head that everyone needed to go on a field trip somewhere, you were in charge of booking, paying invoices from the Hotel budget, and making sure everyone was accounted for and following the rules when you got there. In theory, anyway- you’re pretty sure Charlie came up with the job on the spot but you hadn’t actually gone anywhere yet, no field trips taken or tasks for you for a couple weeks now. 

That seemed like it was going to change as Charlie squealed your name from the front office and asked you to join her. Poking your head tentatively into the room, she has a bunch of papers spread across the desk, Vaggie in the chair next to it with a hand to her temple. She shoots you a smile before her eyes return to the carpet, muttering something in Spanish under her breath.

“What’s-”

Charlie is bouncing with excitement as she sings, “I have a resident event for you to coordinate!” She gestures to the papers on the desk with wiggling fingers. “I’ve been doing some research and while it's been found that just regular stuff in a familiar setting is all well and good and helpful, doing things like trust exercises or just hanging out in an un familiar setting can also be really great! So Vaggie and I looked into some stuff and we decided ooonnnnnn….” She trails off and gestures grandly to Vaggie, who looks up from her dead stare at the floor.

“Camping. Yay.” Her enthusiasm is noted, but when Charlie pouts at her she smiles and pulls some jazz hands. “Sorry- camping! Yay!”

You offer your own smile even as your heart drops. “Okay, cool! What do I need to do?”

Camping would mean everyone sleeping in the same area- you had gotten so accustomed to a regular night’s sleep that you weren’t sure if you could stay up an entire night to avoid falling into anyone’s dreams. Alastor probably wouldn’t come with the group- he didn’t seem like camping was his style- so you wouldn’t be able to rely on that. You hoped that going back to the energy drinks for a night or so wouldn’t irreparably damage your new internal clock.

Charlie launches into a spiel about what was needed of you- reserving the campground, making sure that there were plenty of smores ingredients handy, snacks and things to grill and bottled water all in ready supply. You would need to get the list of rules, a map of the area, tents, and did you know how to start a fire? 

“Babe, you’re the Princess of Hell. I’m pretty sure you can start a fire just fine.” Vaggie looked at her girlfriend with an air of amused frustration.

“Well yeah but I want it to be authentic! No magic on the camping trip- not even from me.”

You look up from the notepad Vaggie had handed you before Charlie got too far into it, catching up on everything she had listed off. “No magic- got it! Do you have a particular place in mind?” 

And the demon was off again, listing off nearby wooded areas that offered camping and everything the group might need. Looking at the list of items you had accumulated, you figured that this job would be actual work and not just something Charlie gave you for a title- you wondered if Vaggie had to talk her into letting someone else handle the intricacies of outings so she didn’t burn herself out.

You spent the rest of the week finalizing everything, only being met with a small groan when Charlie informed the group of what would be happening on Friday evening. Niffty seemed excited- “lots of wild bugs,” she said with a crazed look in her eye, and you made a mental note to call the campground again to ask if ‘murder of bugs’ was something that was allowed- and Angel and Husk just seemed to resign themselves to their fate. Alastor had raised an eyebrow and said he would see if his ‘schedule could allow him to attend,’ so he was most likely out.

You had only managed to acquire three tents- one for Charlie and Vaggie, one for Husk and Angel, and one for you and Niffty. You had no intention of sleeping in it- you would wait until the smaller demon fell asleep, which she always did swiftly and deeply, and then spend the night sipping caffeine and manning the fire to keep everyone warm while they slept. When you came home on Saturday you would return to Alastor’s room and catch up on the rest you would be losing.

You arranged for the delivery of everything to the campground ahead of you all, and were pleased to see all of your materials where they should be when you arrived. It felt good to be able to do something for the group, and to help Charlie like this and take some stress off her plate. You started sorting through it all, handing out sleeping bags and designating Husk to management of the food items when you hit the first snag.

“Uhhhh…” The box containing the tents had two that were regular sized- big enough for two people while still remaining in the confines of the campsite as you set them up. The last appeared to be a child’s tent- large enough for Niffty on her own but certainly not for the two of you. That threw a wrench in your plans, as you were sure that no one would go for the idea of you sleeping outside on your own.

“Oh no!” Charlie looked over your shoulder and saw the predicament. “That won’t work for the two of you- wait, you can share with Vaggie and I! There’s enough room in there for three, right?”

Fuck.

“Maybe,” you agree hesitantly, but it wouldn’t be as easy to sneak out of the tent with two of them, one being a former Exorcist Angel with a penchant for nightmares that woke her up. And just laying there pretending to sleep would probably result in you actually falling asleep- and also, it was a little weird to share a tent with a couple, right?

Vaggie frowns as she finishes setting up hers and Charlie’s tent. “I don’t know, hun- there’s not much room in here, I’m not sure if three people will fit.”

Charlie goes to inspect the tent. “Well, we would be pretty close but I think it would be okay!”

You start to wave your hands in denial. “That’s okay guys, really- I still have a sleeping bag, I can stay by the fire-”

The resounding chorus of “NO!” from the group is touching, it really is, but not helpful to your current struggle. Husk is adamantly insisting that if anyone sleeps outside it should be him, Angel is complaining about the possibility of not getting to share a tent with Husk, Niffty is- chasing bugs on the outskirts of the site, completely unconcerned with the issue at hand.

There’s a crackle of static and Alastor emerges from a shadow, casting a glance over the group. “Hello everyone! Are we having trouble already on our little camping trip?”

“Alastor.” Your heart thumps in your chest- maybe he could conjure another tent for you, do some of his magic to put a pocket dimension inside of it like the bayou in his room. “I thought you couldn’t make it.”

“It seems that I was able to free some time up to join you,” he says, then looks at the tents that have been set up. “What seems to be the problem?”

You can’t fight the surge of irritation. “I messed up the order somehow. We got two normal sized tents but the last one is only big enough for Niffty which is who I was supposed to share with- I should have sprung for another one in case you did show up, now that I’m thinking about it.” You bring a palm to your forehead. ��God, that was stupid-”

“Nonsense! Why, you can share with me, my dear.” With a wave of his hand the tents are moving, repositioning to make room for a red tent that appears in the middle of the others. It’s larger than the other two, causing Angel to let out a whistle, and the relief that rushes through you is immediate.

Husk doesn’t seem to agree, and Charlie and Vaggie are both looking at you with trepidation. “Now hold on,” Husk starts. “I’ll share with you, Al. There’s no reason the little lady should be stuck in there with you.”

“Why Husker, I’m offended! Do you think I would behave improperly? I’ll be a perfect gentleman, I promise.” He gestures to the tent. “It is more than large enough for the both of us- arguably a better position for her to be in than sharing with one of you, smushed in like sardines.”

Vaggie cuts in. “Why don’t you take mine and Charlie’s tent and we can share the big one with her-”

“Vaggie,” you interrupt her. “It’s fine! I’m okay sharing with Alastor. He’s right- it is a bigger space, there will be plenty of room for us both, and I don’t want to intrude on you and Charlie.” You flash her a smile. “Everything will be okay- it’s just for one night.”

The woman groans but gives in. “If you’re sure you’re okay with it, fine. But!” She adds, pointing at Alastor. “Charlie’s rules. No more magic.” Alastor hums in agreement and the rest of the plans for the evening go without a hitch.

There’s a nice nature walk through a nearby trail, a brief stint of swimming- unplanned and unauthorized, since you specifically told Niffty it wasn’t allowed beforehand- and an easy dinner made by Husk over the fire that Niffty started. Smores are concocted and consumed before you all tell scary stories together, putting an end to it before Alastor could have his turn- no one wanted to open that can of worms, as it were.

Everyone started to turn in, including Alastor, until only you and Husk were left out by the fire. He overturned a bottle of water on the flames to douse them, a flickering ember all that remained as he sat on a log next to you. “You’re really okay sharing with him, kid?”

You raise an eyebrow. “I’m a fully grown adult, Husk,” you remind him, and he doesn’t even look sheepish. “But yes, I’ll be fine. Besides, I think Angel would throw a tantrum if he was denied being able to sleep so close to you.” You throw him a wink, and with this, at least, he blushes. 

“Yeah yeah,” he mutters, “whatever. Just… you let me know if you wanna switch. Any time. I’ll wake up if you come to our tent.”

“I appreciate it,” you say with a smile, knowing it won’t be necessary. If Alastor had put another pocket dimension in the tent you would sleep soundly, no need to switch with anyone or stay awake. “Have a good night, Husk.” You go your separate ways, waiting for him to duck into his and Angel’s tent before entering the one you would be sharing with Alastor.

There’s no bayou waiting for you- just a large bed in the very center of the space, Alastor tucked under the covers with a book in his hands. “Ah, there you are, dear!”

You enter the tent and close it behind you. “I was just cleaning up a little with Husk. Um- I don’t want to sound, you know, picky but-”

“Hmm, were you expecting the bayou from my room?” He sighs like its a great inconvenience. “Yes, I had planned to bring it to being in the tent or at least getting a second bed but alas- Charlie did insist on no magic!”

God damn this demon and his selective rule following. “Right. Well, at least you know why I’m not sleeping. I won’t have to pretend- do you have another book I could read?”

“Not sleeping? Darling, there’s room here.” He pats the bed next to him, grin wide and amused. “I insist- I promise I’ll behave.” His smile did not give you much hope to that.

“If you’re the closest person to me, then- what about our. Um. The deal?” You can’t stop yourself from entering his dreams if he’s close to you, let alone in the same bed.

He tilts his head. “You have my permission. It is one night only, as you told Vaggie. Sleeping anywhere else would drop you into the dreams of another, and even if I had been able to conjure another bed you would still be closest to myself. You may as well be comfortable.” He pulls down the corner of sheets opposite him, and you have to admit that it looks inviting.

You approach and climb under the covers, careful to keep a reasonable amount of space between yourself and Alastor as he waves a hand and the lights go dim. “I thought you said no magic,” you mutter, only a little bitterly. He chuckles but doesn’t respond, and soon the sound is replaced with light, even breathing as the Radio Demon slips into sleep.

You fight it as long as you can, but you end up joining him, the world going black before you re-materialize in a familiar place.

Alastor’s room. He’s sitting in an armchair near the fire, reading the same book he had been. He looks up at the inquisitive noise you make. “I figured you needn’t feel so guilty about intruding if there was nothing intimate to see,” he says, flipping a page.

“I appreciate that, thank you.” You take the seat opposite him, watching the fire dance before you both. Its quiet, comfortably so, the only sounds the faint breathing of you both and Alastor’s page flipping.

You watch him for a while, since there’s nothing else to do. You lightly trail his body with your eyes as he relaxes into the chair, traveling up the lines of his legs to his chest, the subtle musculature of his arms and flexing of tendons when he turns a page, his fingers dexterous and strong. You think about the last time you had been in his dream- how those fingers had been inside the dream version of you but you never got to experience it yourself, not really. You’d come into it right at the end to be speared on Alastor’s length, wet and ready despite not being part of the preparation yourself. You wanted-

“Something on your mind?” Your eyes snap up from his hands to find Alastor watching you, shit eating smile on his face as he watched you basically ogling him.

“N-no!” You scoot the chair back from him, your face twisting in confusion as it's pulled right back into position and then even further, a shadow racing out of your peripherals after it drops your chair right in front of Alastor’s, knee to knee. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t-”

“You know,” he says conversationally, “you’ve not yet taken advantage of your own benefits of the deal, dear. You’ve been quite compliant in staying out of my dreams- I think that warrants a reward, don’t you?”

He’s leaned into your space, inches from your face, eyes darting down to your mouth. “A- a reward?” 

“Indeed.” He closes his book and it vanishes with a twist of his wrist, freeing up the hand to brush under your chin. “You’re free to choose something else if you don’t wish to ‘cash in’ on my end of the deal. Though… you do remember what it was, don’t you?” He trails a clawed finger down your neck, brushing your hair off your shoulders and continuing down your arm, leaving goosebumps in his wake. Not hard enough to scratch but not so light you couldn’t feel it at all.

“I remember. You said… whenever I wanted.” Your face is red, your brain muddled as you take in the scent of him so close to you- you can’t bring yourself to say it. 

“The exact wording, sweetheart, was that I would allow you to cum on my cock whenever you’d like.” His hands dart out to circle your waist and drag you into his chair, grinding up against you as the seat transformed into something more like a chaise, reclined and wider. “Is that what you would like now?”

“Fuck, I- wait, fuck,” you manage to stammer at the feeling of his erection under you, and you find yourself rolling your hips along with him, chasing that feeling. You lose yourself in it, your mouth open while you gasp through the pleasure, and no sooner have you had the brief thought of wishing you didn’t have to remove your body to take your pants off than the article of clothing has disappeared. “What-”

“Magic in dreams doesn’t count, I rather think,” Alastor says, and he shifts you to one side in his lap to get a hand underneath you and slide a long finger into your slick warmth. “It seems that you can do it as well to an extent.”

“Well that’s pretty cool,” you mumble, and when you throw your head back with a moan he latches his teeth onto your neck, a light pinch that he sucks and then soothes with his tongue.

“Indeed; one learns something new every day!” He traces his mouth down your shoulder, over your collarbones and back up to suck at your skin again, his fingers working steadily inside you as he adds another in, to the second knuckle. “For example- I have learned that you taste and feel even better than that figment of dreams that I created.”

You let your head fall forward, press your forehead to Alastor’s. “High praise,” you say, and he laughs at you. “I knew you would- oh fuck- ” He changes his angle, crooking his fingers upwards into the sweet spot inside your body, the pressure unrelenting and causing what little control you had right now to spill out of your grasp like the whimpers that poured from your mouth.

He adjusts, leaning back fully into the chaise. He releases the grip he has on your waist to snap his fingers, and with a clink his belt has removed itself from his pants and curled up neatly on the floor. A second set of fingers slides between your bodies to undo his fly, the thumb of the hand inside you brushing against your clit as he works to remove himself.

You’re panting, the air hot between your mouths as he uses your arousal to slick himself, pushing at your entrance. “Don’t you ever take these clothes off?” You ask irritably, wondering if you could use your newfound ability to vanish at least his shirt as you grip it in your fingers desperately.

“Not here I won’t- we must leave something to be discovered in real life, don’t you think?” His shirt still stubbornly buttoned across his chest, he extracts his fingers from your body and grips your hips to pull you down onto his cock. The whine you let out would be embarrassing if it didn’t feel so goddamn good to have him fill you, nowhere to go to escape the pressure and the pleasure of it.

You plant your hands on his shoulders as he slides in to the hilt, and when you look at him his eyes are dark, cheeks flushed despite the smirk on his face. “That’s… that’s no fair,” you say, and you can feel the way you clench down around his length. “You’ve already seen a-all of me.”

He lets his hands run up your sides and under your shirt, claws leaving gooseflesh in their wake as he brings them up to brush against your nipples, drags them across your skin to gently rake down your back in the most delicious way. “That hardly counted,” he murmurs, bucking his hips up and watching the way that he slides in and out of the grip of your cunt. “This is merely a fantasy, dearest. I won’t be truly satisfied until I can say that I have claimed all of you- dream and reality, body and soul. Just to see your naked flesh is nothing to me.”

He digs the claws of one hand into your thigh, the other wrapping around the back of your neck to drag you down closer to his face, the ache of it only sending you towards orgasm faster as he grinds up into you. “I want you flayed open with the ache of needing me,” he groans, and uses his grip on your neck to force you to meet his eyes. “Here and in the real world. I want to fucking own you in every possible dimension, every possible way- tell me I can, darling. Tell me I do-”

Like last time, Alastor demanded verbal confirmation of your submission to him. “Fuck, yes,” you cry out, cutting him off, and as he pulls you in to lick into his mouth you find the strength in your legs finally, rising and sinking back down on his cock as he thrusts into you from below. It’s impossible to feel this good- you can’t possibly survive this, you think, as your cunt grips down tighter every time he glances off that spot inside of you. “Please, Alastor,” you whimper into his mouth. “Please, let me cum- I’m yours, I’m yours-”

He bites down hard on your lip, the skin breaking and blood pooling in the space where your mouths have joined as you hit your peak the same time Alastor does. He releases your lip with a drawn out groan while he fills you, grinding your hips down into his with a force that can only be describe as desperate . It doesn’t end; as you tip over the razor’s edge and drench his lap in your release you moan with the feeling of tightening on him, the sound devolving into a whimper as you clutch weakly at Alastor’s shirt when the wave finally crashes and leaves you limp in his arms.

“Hm.” When you bring you head up to meet his gaze he has a wicked smile on his face, pulling out of you with an embarrassing sound coming form between your bodies. One of his ears flicks to the side before righting itself. “Sounds like you might have some explaining to do to our friends, chérie.”

“What do you-” You don’t get a chance to finish your thought before he pushes you with a finger to your forehead, and instead of hitting the other end of the chaise you slam hard into the bed, covers fluttering around you as you fight them off with the force that you’ve landed with.

“What the fuck is going on in here?” Husk is standing at the entrance to the tent with his arms crossed, Angel Dust peering over his shoulder with interest.

You clench your eyes shut, remembering that Alastor had only conjured the one bed- this was going to be awkward. “Fuck, I-”

“Yes, my dear, you’ve even given me quite the startle.” Alastor’s voice comes from across the tent- in a different bed than the one you had both fallen asleep in. A glance down reveals that you are in your own sleeping quarters, tucked under a soft comforter on your own side of the large space.

You glare at him and he keeps his eyes wide, feigning innocence.

Charlie pops her head into the tent as well. “We heard noises,” she said. “It sounded like you were in pain. Is everything okay?”

You were going to fucking kill Alastor. 

“It was… just a dream,” you tell them, and Alastor’s smile splits his face in your peripheral vision. “A nightmare. I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to worry anyone.”

Vaggie places a hand on Charlie’s shoulder from outside the tent. “We’ve got to get started with breakfast if we’re gonna leave on time, babe,” she says, then stands on her tiptoes to look at you over Charlie’s shoulder. “If you find yourself having nightmares come let me know- I have some stuff that could help.” She vanishes, off to try to start the campfire back up the way Niffty had done accidentally the night before.

Husk is glancing between you and Alastor, and one of his eyebrows raises. “You know what? Not my damn business. Come on, Angel.” He leads the spider away as well, and Charlie gives you a wave with her worried look before the tent is zipped back up and you’re alone with Alastor again.

“You-”

“What an interesting development,” he says, suddenly in the bed with you again- perched on the side of it, having shifted through the shadows in only a moment. He reaches a finger out and brushes it along the side of your neck. You hiss at the feeling, a sharp pain following the feeling, but he’s up and out of the bed before you can say anything else. He waves a hand, and a mirror appears in the space between your beds. “Have a look, dear, then come join the rest of us! What would we do without our event coordinator to lead us back to the hotel?” He doesn’t even use the door, just sinks into the floor and is gone.

You swing your legs out of the bed, only a little irritated to find that once again your legs are shaky. You make your way over to the mirror, and you see what Alastor had seen, probably what Husk had seen as well.

A split lip, and a still weakly bleeding bite mark in the shape of Alastor’s smile.

[silvervioletvalentine]

‘I know I've got a big ego, I really don't know why it's such a big deal, though!’

Pairing : Lewis Hamilton X FemOC Candy!

Summary- in which she’s a spoilt , Primadonna girl and Lewis will do anything to get her to be his girl.

Candy didn’t know when this whole thing had started, what it was about her that had him so hooked and so obsessed with the idea of getting her to become his girl , to let him be her man.

She had done everything she could to deter him , she turned up to a high class bitchiness level that she had never even reached before . More cunty and more cruel than her friends could believe , getting great amusement out of putting one of the hottest , arrogant men down a few pegs every time she seen his pretty face .

But sometimes he got beneath her skin and wormed his over the top affections , his poetic words and endless promises of the a luxurious life he could give her.

Candy was certain that he would give her his kidney If she so much as hinted at wanting it, his promise of never ending supply of love and gifts never did fade .

Even when she thought that maybe , just maybe he had finally grown sick of chasing after her like a dog after his favourite ball.

It had been quite for the last three weeks , far more quite than she had grown accustomed to over the last year of knowing Lewis.

It unsettled her , a weird ache settling between her chest as she contemplated the fact that maybe he really had grown bored with her silly games , of her constant mean rejections and petty excuses to deny his affections time and time again.

And candy thought that she would be fine with this , that it wouldn’t bother her when things came to a still end like they always did with men’s attention waned on her after time had passed .

But instead of the indifference that she expected to feel , she just felt like a hole had been run right through her .

A frown settling over her pretty face the last few weeks when she realised that Lewis really wasn’t reaching out anymore . He usually never went a couple days or more without some type of communication .

It bad her rattled and she didn’t like it at all.

So she picked up her phone and dialled his number before she could find the reason in her brain telling her not to .

She was almost surprised when after only a couple of rings , he actually picked up. But she was too annoyed and too keyed up to even think of why he sounded so amused when he sang a pleased hello.

She cut straight through him without even wasting a single breath .

“Have you been in a terrible accident ? Have you lost your legs? Your voice? Have you sudden developed amnesia and forgotten who I am?” She bit out at him , offended by his lack of attention these past three weeks.

Despite the way that the last time she had seen him, she had told him to shove his designer gifts for her where the sun didn’t shine and to leave her the fuck alone.

To be fair , she had been on her period . Pissed off from the constant pain and moody from her suffering . And secondly , she hasn’t expected him to actually leave her the fuck alone.

This wasn’t how their game went at all. He should have been here with some pretty , sparkly things while telling her how much he had missed her.

What the hell was he playing at , ignoring her like this?

“Missed me sweetheart? I thought you didn’t want to see me? Changed your mind again?” He teased her , a giddy tone in his phone at the thought of her missing him so much.

It had been torture for him not to be Constantly on her ass and around her like he usually was , but he had just wanted to see what would happen if he really did follow through with her demands to fuck right off.

Half expecting Her to never reach out again, he was pleasantly surprised to hear her furious voice shouting at him again. It made his body relax and a smug grin settle on his face .

Candy let out a infuriated noise “no I didn’t! I was actually - I was actually just calling to let you know that I’ve moved on! adiós to you!” She shrilled.

Picking up her fluffy cat and hugging him to her chest with her free arm for comfort , the same rag doll that Lewis had gotten her for simply looking pretty this summer.

Lewis let out a chuckle , knowing her like his favourite well read book.

“Oh yeah? And who’s the lucky guys name? Anyone I know?” He played along. Putting his phone on speaker as he drove along the familiar road to her home .

Candy scowled to herself , angrily pacing her room at how amused he sounded . Her eyes traced the framed pictures on her wall, landing on one from her favourite band .

She blinked .

“No you don’t know him. His name is - his name is axl. The hottest man I’ve ever seen, we’re in love.” She blurted out wanting to make him as upset as he had made her these last few weeks of ignoring her .

Lewis was clearly grinning , she could hear his smug , beautiful grin through the damn phone .

“Cool name . Well If you’re happy…” he trailed off .

Candy was officially enraged “you don’t care?!” She almost screamed angrily. Tears filling her eyes .

His voice was careful as he replied smugly “do you want me to care sweetheart?”

She paused , sniffled then huffed loudly . “No. I don’t care if you don’t care!”

Lewis grinned to himself “okay cool. So just to be clear , you’ve moved on with some guy named Axl and you don’t care that I don’t care?” He teased.

Candy put down her poor cat and threw herself down onto the couch with a scowl on her face , wrapped herself in a blanket and tried not to cry.

“Correct.” Was all she hiccuped “well then- I’m glad we’ve cleared this up asshole. Thanks for not caring!” She made sure to get the last word in before she angrily hung up the phone .

Then she screamed into her pillow .

Only Abruptly pausing her long scream halfway when a loud knock echoed on her door.

She quickly straightened up and threw on Lewis’s hoodie that he had left last time he was here annoying her . Stomping to the door with the sourness of someone who felt like she has been dumped even though she wasn’t even in a relationship to start with.

What was her life?

She threw open the door ready to grab whatever parcel was being delivered , then froze as she came face to face with a grinning Lewis at her door.

Dressed in a beautiful dark red tracksuit set , skin glowing and hair braided back perfectly . Candy suddenly felt self conscious as she became acutely aware of her messy bed hair and mascara rimmed eyes , dressed in nothing but pj shorts and his hoodie .

“Hey baby.” He simply said after a few seconds of her gaping at him with wide eyes. Then he casually shuffled past her body, his band grazing her hip gently as he stepped into her apartment like it was his own.

It took her a few moments to gather her bearings before she was slamming the door shut and turning to him with a mean glower on her face . Heart racing in her chest at his sudden arrival.

“What are you doing here?!” She exclaimed shocked , and annoyingly relieved that he was finally there with her .

She kicked his foot , hard. Angry with him.

Lewis just smiled , leaned forward to gently run his fingers through her hair affectionately.

“Came to see you and your new boyfriend Axl.” His eyes darted to her picture of Axl rose on her wall as he said it.

Candy swallowed leaning into his touch for a moment before coming to her senses and batting his hand away.

“You just missed him.” She lied.

Lewis chuckled , amused ? knowing that she was lying and knowing that she knew that he knew that she was lying too.

“How convenient.” Was all he replied before taking a seat at the end of her couch, sitting on the arm of it . He looked up at her with his smile softening into something more warm and lovely .

“I’ve missed you. You look as beautiful as ever.” He told her softly , taking a hold of the hem of her shorts to tug her closer between his legs .

She let him. Cheeks flushing lightly as she gazed into his warm eyes , feeling her body turned to mush.

“Really?” She wondered then looked around him with a slight frown “where’s my gift?”

Lewis let out a loud laugh at how spoilt she was, though he supposed it was partly his fault. He never did arrive without a gift for his sweetheart after all.

“Don’t I get a hug first? I know you missed me.” He teased her, trailing his hand up to her waist and gently rubbing her soft skin beneath his hoodie .

She let her arms rest over his broad shoulders , pouting down at him.

“You said you didn’t care that I moved on.” She mumbled annoyed with him still.

He chuckled , hugging her to him . Resting his chin on her stomach as he peered up at her beneath his dark lashes .

“What? Moved on with Axl rose your imaginary boyfriend? Don’t be silly baby. You know I’m the only one for you.” He told her softly , smiling up at her with affection written all over his beautiful face.

Candy frowned down at him , playing with the diamond stud in his ear .

“I don’t like you.” She reminded him just out of habit by now.

Instead of getting upset , he just giggled at her stubbornness to Admit what he already knew. “Then why were you upset that I didn’t care?”

“I wasn’t upset and I don’t care that you don’t care Lewis. I just think it was mean to abandon me like that for three weeks . I thought you were dead.” She dramatically snapped .

She had watched him at his races . She knew that he was perfectly fine. Which only upset her more because then what other excuse did he have for ignoring her like that then?

Death was the only reasonable excuse to do that!

He rose a brow at her , lifting her hoody to look at the sparkly diamond H belly stud that she had on. The same one he had given her last time he saw her.

He bent down his head and gently kissed it, smirking to himself as he felt her whole body shiver against his lips.

“Don’t like me ignoring you? Now you know how I feel. Isn’t nice is it?” He mumbled against another soft kiss on her belly . Only pulling away when she slapped his forehead not so gently .

He looked up to see her glaring down at him, furious.

“I do not ignore you like that!” She denied.

He rolled his eyes “you told me to go fuck myself the last time I was here. Then refused to pick up my calls the rest of the week.” He reminded her.

She just scoffed “I was upset! I was bleeding from my vagina Lewis! Not everything is about you! I wasn’t in the mood for your games!” She argued.

He paused, then tilted his head with a slight frown. “You could have just told me that. I would have gotten you a heating pad and some chocolate. You didn’t have to be so mean baby.” He said.

She just sniffled at him , gently rubbing at the back of his neck with her fingers absentmindedly. “I’m not mean.”

The look he gave her was full of disbelief “no? Then why aren’t you my girl then?” His question had her stumped.

She spluttered for answer , blinking rapidly . “Well- cause I’m not impressed.” She answered him shortly.

He barked out a laugh “no?” He grinned looking up at her with eyes full of amusement .

“The jewellery and the clothes weren’t enough? The cat , the paid of loans and your car? Still not impressive enough?” He listed off all of the things he had gotten her this past year . Growing more amused by the second as he watched her stubbornly shake her head at him.

“Nope.” She muttered arrogantly .

“Then what would it take for you to be my girl?” He wanted to know.

She searched her mind for something “a mansion like yours. With a king size bed. And - and your Ferrari.” She said the most ridiculous thing she could think of. Something he couldn’t give her.

His eyes searched her face for a long moment before simply humming . “Will you stay at mine tonight with me? Roscoe misses you.” He said already getting to his feet .

He grabbed her phone and keys from the table , not even waiting for an answer before heading to her door. Knowing she would follow him.

She did .

“What will we do? I don’t want to bored all night.” She huffed as she followed him out.

Letting him lock her door, absentmindedly grabbing his hand as he lead her down her apartment stairs . Missing the way he smiled down at her , shaking his head fondly .

They were almost to the car when he finally responded , making her skin flush red and knees weaken as he bluntly told her

“I’m going to fuck you so hard till you know no other name than mine . Then I’m going to eat you out for however long it takes for you to realise that there’s no one better for you than me baby.” He kissed the side of her head before pushing her down into the passenger seat casually .

Candy just blinked up at him in shock , face red and belly fluttering . “Oh. Okay.” She weakly spluttered in response .

Lewis just smirked and flicked her chin lightly before closing the door shut, jogging around to the drivers side quickly .

And Lewis never broke his promises. And by the time the stars were twinkling bright , his name was all she could scream .

When candy woke up the next morning , it was to the sound of Lewis ‘awwing’ loudly at something .

She grumbled to herself as she pushed herself out of his bed , blushing at the fact that she was wearing nothing but his shirt .

Lewis having put It on her while she exhaustedly let him look after her and tuck her into his chest , kissing her head gently as she drifted off to sleep.

Yawning loudly , she stomped her way down the fancy stairs of his home . Grumpy from being woken up .

“What the hell are you awwing at you weirdo?” She called out to Lewis the moment she caught sight of him in the hallway.

He looked over at her with a bright smile on his face , beckoning her over for a hug. She immediately fell into his chest , still tired as she lazily hugged him back.

“Roscoe loves kitties . It’s so cute.” Lewis casually told her , stroking her hair away from her face as she tried to wake up properly.

“Huh?” She let out confusedly wondering why he looked so smug and amused . Then she turned her head and froze as she saw roscoe cuddled up with mr snuggles , her cat .

She blinked at her cat in Lewis’s home , with his dog. Wondering if she was still dreaming .

Then She glanced over to the front room and saw her Tiffany lamps and her cushions on his couch , glancing down at the carpet to see her heart shaped rug there too.

She gasped loudly in shock “what the fuck?!” She immediately turned back to Lewis with wide eyes, gaping at him.

“Why are my things In your house? Why is my kitty here? What the fuck?!” She shouted in absolute disbelief .

Lewis just smiled at her serenely , clearing pleased with himself . He leaned down to stroke her cat when he walked over to him purring , leaving Candy to just blink at him in disbelief .

“You said that the only way you would be with me is if you had a mansion with a king side bed and well…” he pointedly looked around his mansion and the king sized bed she had gotten out of . Grinning proudly at her as he did so.

“What’s mine is now yours baby. And also…” he dug his hand into his hoodie pocket and pulled out some keys .

He opened up her placed and gently placed them in her hand. “There’s my keys to my Ferrari that you wanted as well.” He said.

Candy felt like she was going to pass out .

Gaping at this insane man that was more than happy to give her everything he had. She felt her heart swell in her chest, briefly looking down at the Ferrari keys in her hand and all her things in his home .

She spluttered “but-what? I can’t just live with you! That’s insane!” Her hands were trembling

around the keys at his casual devotion to giving her whatever the hell she wanted .

Lewis just shrugged casually , walking over to her slowly like she was a spooked animal. And maybe she was , she sure felt like a deer in headlights then.

What the fuck was her life?

“Why not? I’m in love with you and I’m pretty sure you’re in love with me. I want you by my side , always. And what better way than living with you?” He simply explained like it was that easy. And maybe for him it was .

Candy just looked at him like he had grown a third head.

“That’s pretty arrogant to assume that I love you Lewis!” She snapped at him stubbornly . Blushing red. “What if I hated your guts? This would be real awkward for you!”

Lewis just laughed at her attitude “oh yeah? So the ‘please Lewis! Fuck me harder Lewis! Just like that baby! all that was because you hated me was it?” He smugly copied her high pitched voice screaming last night .

Making her quickly slap his bicep with a embarrassed gasp, face feeling like it was on fire.

“Lewis!” She shrieked while he just giggled harder

“shut up! I do not sound like that! How dare you?!”

Lewis rolled his eyes at her fondly “how dare me? How dare you! Why are you being so god damn stubborn? Why can’t you just admit that you love me? We could be married by now if you just stopped being so mean!” He exclaimed right back at her in exasperation.

But never angry, no, not with her. He loved her

Too damn much after all.

“I’m not mean! Fuck you!” She yelled back.

“You already did and will again after you just admit that I’m right!”

“Oh you’d like that wouldn’t you? Mr always right!” She sarcastically shouted back.

Lewis snorted a laugh “so you don’t want me then? Don’t want to live with me and drive my Ferrari?” He challenged her.

She paused , then fidgeted with the diamond tennis bracelet that Lewis had gotten for her , on her wrist .

“I didn’t - I didn’t say that-“

He grinned smugly “admit it then. Go on.” He gave her a nudge , utterly beaming by now .

Candy huffed like a child and rolled her eyes at him . “I just - are you serious?” She eyed him like he was playing some nasty , elaborate joke on her . Waiting for him to shout ‘gotchu girl!’.

Lewis squinted his eyes at her in disbelief “are you serious?” He returned the question to her in slight annoyance at her doubting him after everything .

“I’m obviously very serious baby , my god! Your cat is in my house and I just have you my Ferrari! What a weird, expensive joke that would be!” He exclaimed.

What a strange woman he was in love with he thought , so suspicious of him , Jesus!

Candy sniffed , clutched her diamond necklace on her neck (another gift from him) and slowly nodded her head.

“right . Well..” she uncomfortably cleared her throat , not one for being sappy or emotional over a man but damn , her heart was about to burst right now.

“Thanks babe.” She settled on lamely instead.

Lewis looked at her grimacing face then burst out into hysterical giggles . “You’re so welcome sweetheart. Come ‘ere��� he tugged her over to him by her folded arm, grinning into her hair as he hugged her tightly to his chest .

His stubborn , spoilt girl.

Candy hugged him back without any hesitation, squeezing his waist tight . Sighing in content , she planted a gentle kiss on his chest .

“Lew?” She spoke up after another minute of just standing there cuddling in the front room while their pets stared at them like they were watching a entertaining show .

His smile was evident in his voice “yeah baby?”

She sighed in defeat , too happy to care about her pride anymore . “You’re so right by the way.” She admitted to him quietly .

He hummed smugly “yeah?”

She nodded with a huff “yeah.” She pulled away slightly to look into his eyes , he was so fucking beautiful it made her want to cry.

All mine. She almost growled , kissing his mouth just because she could . Lewis sighed against her lips happily

“Say it baby. Come on..” he whispered against her mouth , lips curling into a grin when she just sighed again.

“I love you. So much. And I missed you so don’t do that shit to me again. I’m not one to be ignored.” She told him sternly , pointing a nail into his chest.

He giggled and kissed her again “noted. Do not ignore my girl again.” He murmured then “and I love you too. You stubborn, mean girl.”

“Babe?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I have your Mercedes too? Just for Wednesdays?”

A pause , then “why Wednesday’s?” He asked amused.

She shrugged as she let him pull her down onto the couch to continue making out , side eyeing her blanket on his couch.

When the hell did he even do all this? She wondered? Still In disbelief that he had all her things moved into his home (their home now?) while she was asleep.

Was a sneaky little guy.

“Just to shake things up a little.” She replied simply.

Lewis didn’t even hesitate to agree.

Maybe she’d buy him a vegan waffle for dinner to repay him, she thought with a grin as she accepted his Mercedes car keys too.

She needed some new keychains , she thought mindlessly . Imagining the looks on her friends face when she rolled up in his Ferrari for their weekend brunches .

If this was a game , she had totally won. She thought to herself contently as she felt Lewis trail kisses down her neck.

A new mansion, two new cars and Lewis fucking hamilton as her man.

Oh yeah, she had totally won in life .

[supercap2319]

The Hook & The Flame

Harry Hook x Male Reader

After Dizzy styled Y/N's hair with blue and red dye in the sink, modeling the colors after his dads Hades and Chernabog, she painted his fingernails light blue with skeleton designs. At last, Dizzy spun his chair around so Y/N could see the finished product. He got out of his chair as he peered into the broken fragments of the mirror on the wall.

The top of his hair was colored blue to look like flames, matching his dad's own literal fire of blue hair. The sides were red as blood like Chernabog's eyes, but mixed in with his own natural hair color. Before he wasn't sure if he was his parents' kid anymore, but now there was no denying that he was a villain through and through.

Dizzy smiled at him. Admiring her work as she eagerly awaited his comment on whether or not she did a good job.

Y/N looks at his reflection and winks. "Hey, there I am."

"Voilà!" Dizzy cried in excitement. She threw her hands out to emphasize how excited she was.

"Voilà." Y/N reached into his pocket, pulling out a couple of dollars for her.

She looks at the money in disbelief as she looks at Y/N, astonishment on her face. "For me?"

Y/N nods. "Yeah, you earned it."

Dizzy takes the money and giggles in excitement as she walks towards the cash register. Her sense of accomplishment and peace didn't last very long. A swashbuckling young man named Harry Hook, son of Captain Hook, entered the salon. He held a glinting silver hook in his left hand. Harry wore a black hat, a long leather red coat, black pants, and a grayish wife beater underneath the red coat. He made other pirates shiver in their timber's, with a handsome face and beautiful blue eyes that were just as blue as the ocean. That made him both dangerous and beautiful at the same time.

"Fork it ower ye runt." Dizzy froze as Harry grinned down at her, hand outstretched for the money. The young girl begrudgingly handed over the money she had just earned to the Scottish sounding pirate.

Harry looks down at the old car hood that acts as a desk for the cash register as he taps it with his hook. "And the rest of it." He demands. Harry had yet to notice Y/N, too busy robbing Dizzy Tremaine of all the salon's money.

Dizzy goes and opens up the cash register as Harry puts her money that he took in between his lips and teeth, holding it tight as she gives him everything inside. "Hmm… Thank you." Harry turned to leave.

"Give that money back, Hook." Y/N said.

Harry stopped, whirled around and grinned when he saw Y/N. "Well, well, well, what a nice surprise."

"Hi, Harry." Y/N told him. "Still running errands for Uma like a good dog, or does she actually let you off your leash and let you keep what you steal?"

Harry strolled towards him, flashing a dangerous smile and waved his hook around. "Just wait until Uma hears you're back. She is never going to give you back your territory." He looks Y/N up and down, licking his lips like a hungry cat. The pervert.

"Oh, well, that's okay. Because I will be taking it back. Preferably from her cold dead fishy bitch fingers." Y/N grins.

Harry grins too as his hook brushes against Y/N's collar bone. "You know, I cuid hurt ye." He promised in a whisper as he continued to tease Y/N with his silver hook. The son of Hades and Chernabog grabbed his wrist and spit out the gum he had been chewing and stuck it on the tip of Harry's hook. "Not without her permission I'll bet." Harry chuckled as he placed the tip of the hook to his lips and opened up his mouth as he stuck the piece of gum inside.

"You know that I prefer princes now to dirty pirates, right?"

"Ahh, yes. You and Prince Beasty."

"I am going to need Dizzy's money back."

Harry gets closer to him and smiles down at him. "Why dinnae ye come ane get it?"

It was an unspoken challenge. To see if Y/N was still a child of the Isle or if Auradon had changed him in more ways than one. He got close to Harry. So close, that he could see the blues of his eyes shiny like the sun reflecting on the water in the morning. "If you insist."

He pulled Harry down by his coat and connected their lips together. It wasn't a sweet kiss like with Ben. He tasted like chocolate chip cookies and innocence. Harry was different. He was salty and just a bit of seaweed slime. It was familiar territory between them. Two Isles boys who were more about lust and fucking than love and passion.

Harry pulled back and grinned. "A knew ye still found me hot."

He held out his hand for Harry. "Pay up."

The pirate looked at his outstretched hand and smiled once again. "Now A have tae pay for yer services?" He hands him the money. "Best thin A iver spend."

"Go on. Go fetch."

Harry chuckled, walked towards the door and knocked the knick knacks off the register and bowed to Y/N. "Until next time, Duckling." Y/N handed Dizzy back her money as she sighed.

"Great, more sweeping."

[kaihuntrr]

The Sea Prince: The Watcher, ‘Civilians’, and Hunters.

To celebrate this au being one of my most favorite things to work on, I’ve made designs for the Solidarity brothers, Big B, and redesigned the trio!

Closeups and introductions under the cut :> here they are!

Now that’s character design! I’m super proud of how they turned out, and they form a rainbow by pure coincidence. Let’s talk about them!

Starting off with the duos!

‘Nosy Neighbors’ & ‘Mean Gills’

Big B is a new one so I’ll talk about him first. I’ll talk about the other three as characters :)

‘Big B.’

Big B is a Watcher; an organization that studies and hunts sea monsters. He used to be a famous vagabond hunter, but due to some mysterious circumstances, he retired early. You’ll meet him much later on in the story, but he’s quite an interesting character! He keeps his secrets. He knows yours. Who knows if he's trustworthy or not.

He seems to have a connection to Grian.

‘Pearl Moone.’

She’s a cocky, energetic person to be around. She doesn’t seem too trusting with strangers, especially hunters. Her accessories are golden, and she has a scar over her left eye so she definitely stands out.

She has a red shell bracelet similar to Scott’s necklace. Are they friends?

‘Scott Major.’

A pleasant, sassy, and entertaining server in the port town the Red Canaries visit. He often flirts with Martyn, leaving the hunter speechless with promises of something more. He’s hiding something. Maybe he’ll tell Martyn his secrets one day?

He swears a couple of necklaces, but one is hidden under his shirt.

‘Martyn Woods.’

The second mate to the Red Canaries. Loyal to a fault, he prioritizes everyone before himself, even neglecting his needs. He believes that his isolated life is worth it, but his feelings change the more Scott talks his way into his life. Is he ready to love again, even after what happened to Ren?

He has a couple of scars, some big ones on his chest. He has a locket and tattoo of a crown and a necklace trinket of the first monster he killed as a boy.

‘Bad Boys’, the Solidarity brothers.

A bunch of new designs here! I referenced their bad boy skins so they have similar ‘leather jackets’. I’m excited for you all to learn about them and their history.

‘Grian Solidarity.’

The youngest adopted brother of the trio. He’s chaotic, but he’s shifty. His birth parents were from the Watchers, but after their death, he was entrusted to the Solidarity family to care for him. They died when he was young, so he doesn’t remember them. He loves his brothers to death and does what he can to protect them and his crew.

He, like his other brothers, keeps a locket with their family photo. He wears a yellow bandana with his name crudely stitched on it. Strangely, he has some similarities to Pearl…

‘Joel Solidarity.’

The awkward, funny middle child. He has the most muscle out of the brothers but he masks it with his pleasant behavior. He quickly accepted Grian into the family and shared his interest in starting the hunter crew. When they were younger, the two would sneak away from their older brother to meet Martyn and Impulse by the docks. Currently, he’s engaged to Lizzie Shadow and is waiting for winter so they can finally tie the knot.

He keeps a falcon feather in his hat as his parents were falconers. He wears his red bandana, also with crude stitches of his name, on his head.

‘Jimmy Solidarity.’

The oldest and most emotional of the brothers. He wasn’t particularly interested in becoming a hunter, preferring to spend time with the birds and become a falconer, but he loved his brothers so he went with it. He’s impulsive, stubborn, but a wonderful and simple person all around.

He keeps his red bandana on his belt, with neat stitches of his name. He has a braided bracelet and a tattoo on his neck.

...and he’s dead.

...or is he?

There’s a LOT going on with these designs, a lot of spoilers in them so what I’ve said could or could not be hints to what’s to come! Not sure when the next design dump would be, but I think my upcoming post would be fun, particularly for those who want to read the story ;) all in due time.

oh, also new life Scott is partially ginger. I predicted that HA- /j I’ll probably whip up art of those two bc. That’s incredibly funny-

Which one of these characters/ designs is your favorite? Let me know! :D

[artist-emerald]

Double Surprise: a Broppy One Shot

It was another day for the Trolls: singing, dancing, hugging, overcoming issues and settling disputes. Poppy was doing her best as Queen, making sure her Pop Troll subjects were happy, and that the other tribes in Trollstopia had what they needed. Making time for her friends, her family, but most importantly, her boyfriend.

Branch, the village ex-recluse, was also busy. While everyone was having fun, he was making sure they were safe doing so. Hard hats, safety cushions, designated quite time areas for when a Troll just needs to take a break. He has come a long way from hiding himself in his bunker, to fully being a part of the Trolls community. Having his brothers back in his life was one thing, but to have so many other friends was something he couldn't have seen for himself in the past. All of that was thanks to his girlfriend, Poppy.

They didn't always have busy days like this, but with so much to do and so many Trolls, it wasn't surprising. It was late in the afternoon. Poppy had just officiating a little dance contest between the Funk Trolls and the Techno Trolls, to which a winner wasn't important because they all had fun. Poppy was heading out to meet with Branch a little outside the village for a small picnic dinner they had planned. She was making her way to the meeting spot when she felt a sudden dip in energy. Her legs became heavy, muscles sore, a slight migraine, and the ever so slightest cramp in her stomach.

She stumbled a bit, but some nearby Trolls were able to catch her and help her back on her feet. They asked if she was ok and suggested she see the doctor. Poppy assured them she was fine, but to put them at ease, promised to see Dr. Moonbloom.

She stepped into Dr. Moonbloom's waiting room, where to her surprise she saw Branch sitting there as well. "Branch?! What are you doing here? Are you okay?" Poppy quickly became worried for him. Branch got up and tried to ease her worry, "I'm fine, just got a little weak earlier so I thought I'd stop in before meeting you for our picnic."

"Really? That's weird, the same thing happened to me!" Poppy's statement then made Branch start to worry, "The same thing? Are you ok?" Poppy simply hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek to calm him and reassure him that she's ok.

Dr. Moonbloom stepped out, "I overheard everything. If you both experienced the same symptoms, I might as well take you both in right now." The couple followed the doctor into the examination room. Dr. Moonbloom took their temperatures, pressures, the usual stuff for walk-ins. They each described their symptoms to the doctor, along with everything they had done during the day that led to that moment. "Well it seems to me like you two went and over exerted yourselves a bit. It does sound like you two had a busy day, and didn't keep up with your hydration and food intake."

She suggested the couple take it easy for the rest of the day, and sent them on their way. Hand in hand, they went to their meeting spot for their picnic. They watched as the sun set and the stars fill up the sky. All while enjoying each other's company. They were cuddled up to each other, their hair entwined in a twist of colors, their fingers locked together.

"Branch look! A shooting star!" Poppy excitedly pointed to the sky as a line of stardust shot across the sky. "Well, what did you wish for?" Branch asked playfully. "I wished for someone else's wish to come true, because right now there isn't a single thing that I need." Poppy said as she closed in for a kiss with her beloved.

It was getting late, and the two needed to turn in so they could get the rest that their doctor prescribed. "So...you're place or mine?" Poppy asked Branch while giving him a sly look. Branch's ears perked up and his cheeks changed color as he blushed. "Your choice, my queen." Branch replied in a playful banter. The two giggled as they made their way to Poppy's pod, where they promptly passed out on her bed in a tight embrace.

They woke up groggy and with a crushing migraine. They were confused as to why they were feeling so sick since they took it easy like the doctor told them. "I think I might have something back at the bunker to help with this, I'll be back soon." Branch said as he kissed Poppy on the forehead and slowly made his way out. "Noooooo, don't leave meeeeee!" Poppy groaned as she reached for her boyfriend. "I'll be baaaaack." Branch replied as he left.

Minutes passed, and Poppy started to feel worse. Her body getting hotter, the migraine growing. She made her way to the mirror to look at herself. She didn't look sick, but as she stared at herself she felt the pain simply, disappear. Her eyes widened, she cupped her hands over her mouth to withhold her gasp. She looked up in her reflection, slowly and gently parting her hair to reveal the source of her dilemma. Sitting within her hair was a small egg, colored with a swirl of pink and blue.

"Oh my gosh...oh my gosh!" Poppy's energy came back to her ten fold. She wrapped her hair around her egg to protect it from her outburst as she jumped and cheered. "I'm a mother! Oh my gosh this is so sudden, so overwhelming, so...Branch! I-I gotta go tell him!"

Elsewhere, Branch was panicking. In his hair there lied a small egg colored in a swirl of blue and pink. An egg he wasn't expecting, an egg he wasn't prepared for, and certainly an egg he hadn't talked about with Poppy. "Poppy! Oh man, how is she going to react to this? Well, most likely positive, but it's not something we ever talked about. I mean she's great with kids, but me? Am I ready for this?"

Branch pulled himself up, brushed himself off, and took a deep breath. "Either way, I can't hide this from her. She'd be more upset with me if I tried that." Branch left his bunker to find Poppy.

They found each other half way between their homes. "Branch! Branch! Oh my gosh the craziest thing, I feel so much better now!" Poppy said, trying her best to contain her excitement. "Oh hey, that's great! I'm feeling a bit better too!" Branch said, trying not to hide his nervousness. "So, I actually have a bit of a surprise for you." Poppy said as she took Branch by the hands. "Oh really? Well, funny thing, I also have a surprise for you. It's a bit last minute, but it's important!" Branch replied. Trolls were starting to come outside as the morning began, overhearing their conversation, they watched and listened in secret.

"Oh! Well, share both at the same time? Like how we did at the gift swap?" Poppy suggested. Branch's face lit up with a small smile as he nodded in agreement. They counted down to 3 in unison, and as they did they revealed the egg that they each had laid. Every Troll watching cheered in both shock and excitement, startling the couple to made a big hair dome to hide in. Branch was unarguably shocked by this development as he looked at the egg Poppy held. Poppy's eyes lit up with joy, and then her emotions began to get the better of her as she fell to her knees in tears.

Branch joined her on the ground as they took both the eggs in their arms. He was happy, not just because Poppy was happy, but because he was now happy that not only did they bring one new Troll to the world, but two. "It's a double baby! Branch I'm so happy right now! I'm gonna be a mess for a while." Poppy nuzzled Branch's chest as she gave tiny kisses to their eggs. "Me too, heart. Me too."

[slightly-warmer-hibiscus-tea]

My Touchstarved MC / OC time

Because I've been saving it for today^-^

[Warning: long rambling, and possibly no editing]

I have come to the point where I view the main LI's as my side characters to my silly little cannon divergent lore. So everything is completely made up, and also I'm going to rewrite my MCs to fit the actual game when it comes out. so there is my disclaimer before I head off into Lala land.

I've made different MCs based on the three backstories you can choose when you enter the game.

The Alchemist (Naudedel)

Hound (Hound)

Unnamed (Noble)

Each is still cursed but each curse takes on a different form or is gained at a different time along the journey to Eridia.

Noble is the one with the original curse from the game. They corrupt the minds of those they touch. Except on rare occasions...

Hound is a by-product of Nobel's hands. Hound is (till they reach Eridia...) the only one who can touch Nobel without punishment. Though she seems to have still retained her sanity, there is one man who refuses to deny the golden veins running under her skin.

Naudedel was an experiment gone rogue. An attempt to create an artificial God gone wrong. Turning his back on his creator, but still tries to reach for a false heaven on his own.

In my little headcanon world, they are all traveling together as a found family. Hound acts as their guardian, Noble is the oldest, Naudy is the weird middle child, and then there is Cetcher, who is a stand-alone OC who was adopted into their little family.

| And here is a little family photo/reference sheet :D - I'll explain the designs later |

Also, designs aren't finalized completely!! (which is why Hound is missing the prosthetic mentioned below)

The General BackStory: part I

Hound meets Noble when they are around six and takes care of them along with the help of her then-husband Cove. The two worked as mercenaries till taking Noble in as their own. The young couple promised to watch over Noble as they travel to Erida to try and find a cure for their curse. Along the way Hound and Cove hit what they called... a rough patch. Which resulted in Cove severing Hound's leg, not before she could take his good arm. Though Hound can't remember much of their life before that fight. She does know that he is still out there, and looking for them. But a swordsman without his dominant hand isn't much concern for her so she pushes on with the child at her side.

That is when they find Naudedel. The prodigy son of a mage who lived at the top of the hill in the remains of a small standing town. The mage was an older woman, but hospitable to the young mother and her child. She was also very taken by Noble after learning about their infliction. And wanted to help them in their journey to Erida seeing she had ties there from her past. This is where Hound was given her prosthetic, fueled by alchemy and mechanics. Noble took a liking to Naudedel despite his moody disposition and the two (to Naudy's dismay) were stuck at the hip during their stay. However, things didn't stay pleasant for long. As if the air changed in the small town, dire truths flowed with it. Hound and Noble soon learned about the true nature of the boy bound to the hill. The 12th experiment, the 12th body that surprisingly hadn't been dropped in one of the many pre-made graves that ran along the hillside yet. "What a resilient boy she's found!" was the last macabre expression Hound was willing to put up with from the townsfolk before marching up that damned hill only to find a darker twist in the doorway. Naudedel was the one to free himself. The one to kill his mother and step off that hill in his own shoes. Hound just happened to walk in front of him. Or at least that's how he is allowed to tell the story.

The now trio continue their journey, arriving in one broken small town to the next. Around the time the young ones are teenagers and Hound is theoretically pushing late 30s yet every familiar face they meet on the road swears she hasn't aged a wink, They start a town riot...

...

However, that's a story for another time. Anyways, the kids adopted Cetcher as their new baby sister. Cetcher worked as an assistant for an apothecary in town. Though assistant is more of a stretch, servant or pet would have been more fitting. The man running the shop treated the child less than an errand boy and refused to elaborate on where he got her. So Naudedel made it his mission to run off with the kid with the ever-so-graceful help of Noble. After convincing Hound to take her in, the glossy-eyed baby joined their one-wagon caravan. With surprisingly great help from Naudedel, Hound taught Cetcher how to read and write, which might have been the start of her greatest joys, at least in the moment.

But they were on their way. And spent another 5 years on the road before getting close to the city. But that was where they would part ways for a year. Naudedel had found a lead to possibly undoing Noble's curse. But it would be out of their way and a possible goose chase. And Due to an unfortunate run-in with a certain swordsman wielding his signature longsword in his non-dominant hand. They needed to get on the move fast. The plan was for Naudedel and Cetcher to go off the path and for Hound to watch over Noble and make it into Eridia safely. This was the plan, but of course, things would never go accordingly. Here we are in the current day, Noble alone in Eridia left in Leander's care, Hound presumed dead, Cetcher lost in the Fogfall, and Naudedel making contracts with deities he is too proud to admit are over his head.

:)

But yes, my cornerstones of my silly found family.

[wambsgansshoelaces]

Something Sweet; Chapter 7

Kendall Roy x Reader

a/n: I’m sorry I suddenly became so inconsistent lovies :( I promise I have so much in the works <3 as always, please let me know what’s on your mind in the replies + reblogs and enjoy x

Word Count: 3.421k

The next morning, you’ve convinced Kendall to go home and rest. At least, you’d thought you did, until he showed up at your front door.

“I told you to go home, Ken. Take a nap.”

“This is better,” he murmurs back, dragging you to bed and curling into you after pulling the covers over him. “I didn’t sleep at all, and Marcia wouldn’t let anyone go sit with Dad…”

You sigh, sitting up, and he readjusts, settling into your stomach. Your fingers comb through his hair in an attempt at being soothing. “Have you eaten at all? Since last night, this morning?” His breathing evens out. “Ken?”

You peer down. His eyes were shut, lips parted, the beginning of a snore falling from his lips.

જ⁀➴

As horrible as you’d felt doing it, you had to leave Kendall asleep in your bed with a kiss on the forehead. You’d made your way downstairs and unlocked the bakery’s front door and waited for Connor and Willa to arrive. In a lazy haze, you’d thrown the sweater of Kendall’s you’d clung to the night before. When the bell finally tinkled, you pasted a smile onto your face and waved the couple over. Surprisingly enough, you can see why they both work together well. Connor is loud, outspoken, and Willa balances him out with her quiet thoughtfulness. She flips through a catalog of desserts that you offer to cater, soft smile on her face while Connor rambles about how the flower vendors won’t respond to him about overseas work.

“Maybe just hire a Croatian vendor,” you suggest. “I’ve heard it’s cheaper anyway.” Willa hums approvingly at the thought, while Connor frowns.

“It needs to be perfect, though.”

“Who’s to say Croatia won’t be perfect?” Willa asks, continuing to look through the catalog. “I really don’t mind, Con. They’re only flowers, and as long as I have a bouquet I like…”

“We’ll talk about it later,” he says stiffly.

Desperate for a change of subject, you ask, “Anything catch your eye?”

Willa smiles up at you. “It all looks amazing.”

“Any favorite sweets? I’m sure I have them. And if I don’t, I’d be more than happy to write out a recipe.”

Willa flips back to a bookmarked page. “I love red velvet cake…”

At that, you get up and bring back a tray of sample cakes from your kitchen. “Try as much as you’d like! Do you happen to have inspiration photos for your cake? Just so I can start practicing.”

Excitedly, she pulls out her phone, and the two of you pore over her Pinterest boards. Connor doesn't involve himself in the conversation, seemingly dazed. She tries bits of all the cakes you’d baked for her, forcing her fiance to take bites with her.

“I don’t know how you do it, Miss, but you’ve made me like carrot cake.”

“You can call me Y/N, really. And I’m glad you enjoy it! That’s the goal. It’s your wedding- choose a cake that makes you happy.”

“I still think my favorite is red velvet,” Willa says, turning to eye Connor, who just nods. “And that one design I showed you… the three tiers? Can you do that?”

You jot down a description of the cake she’s talking about. “Of course I can. I’ll make a bunch of prototypes and have you come in and see them over the next few months. You can also just make a list of other desserts you want, and we’ll be good to go.”

“Oh, and don’t even worry about flying yourself out. We’ll cover all of that.

“You don’t need to-”

“No, no, we will,” Willa insists, nudging Connor.

“I’ll pay for your flight and hotel,” he says, snapping out of his trance. “It’s the least I can do. And I’m including Kendall in that.” He pauses. “Is he alright?”

“Sleeping,” you say carefully. “Why, what’s the matter?”

“I mean, I know you know. About Dad.”

“I was sorry to hear about it. Let me know if you ever need anything, okay?”

“We got into a massive fight, about me proposing. I don’t… I don’t know if he wants to see me.”

You chew at your lip. “He’s… not conscious, that I know of. I think it’s best you go see him, the doctor, your siblings.” You catch Willa’s eyes.

“I’ll make sure he goes,” she says. “Thank you. I’ll email over the menu?”

“Of course.” You clasp her hand in a loose shake, then Connor’s, in a much firmer one “Feel free to stop by whenever. You’re always welcome.”

They leave, and you make your way back upstairs, locking the bakery back up. You peer into your room, Kendall still sprawled out in your bed. You think he’s asleep until he calls out to you.

“Where’ve you been?” His eyes are still closed, head buried in his pillow. You go to sit by him.

“Connor’s consult.” Without opening his eyes, his arm reaches out to you, searching. You scoot closer, and he finds your waist, pulling you closer and settling his head into your stomach, just like this morning. “Come on, you should eat something.”

“Mm, I’m okay here.” The tension in his shoulders and back eases when your hand goes to sit in between his shoulder blades. You scratch gently, and he sighs. “Actually, do you have breakfast?”

“I made eggs, but I think they’re cold. I can reheat them, though. Or, I think there’s tarts in the fridge?”

“Tarts for breakfast?” he asks, pushing himself up and giving you a kiss.

“Why not? Life is short.” Sitting next to you now, he tugs on the fabric of your sweater.

“Thief,” he says, grinning.

“What? I was cold.”

“I like it. Looks good on you.” He kisses your neck before getting out of bed, tugging his shirt off and tossing it to you. “Keep that one, too. I’m going to take a shower. I think I was drooling.” You watch, not even suppressing your smile, as he makes his way into the bathroom. Regardless of how much he downplayed himself, the slight ripple of the muscles in his back made you giddy. “Quit staring.”

જ⁀➴

The next few days, Logan doesn’t get any better. To his dismay, Kendall has to get back to work. Roman and him had sat in a booth in your bakery as you worked, trying to figure out how things would run without Logan. The two seemed to be butting heads over who’d be CEO, but you didn’t want to hear it.

You’re working today, too. You figure that you should spend as much time in the bakery as possible before Croatia, just so you didn’t create any issues for yourself. Kendall texts you throughout the day, complaining about Roman or some douche kissing his ass. You zip the ‘K’ around on your necklace absentmindedly as you work.

You’re set to go to his apartment after you’re both off. You feel giddy, You realize, now, that this isn’t your usual giddy- butterflies aren’t terrorizing your insides, you don’t feel like you can’t breathe, you just feel happy, excited.

Once you finally do get off, Kendall’s already sent you a text.

Some associate brought a box of cinnamon rolls to try and kiss Dad’s ass. Looking at them reminded me of you.

You’re smiling stupidly to yourself as you read it, and another text comes in.

They were ass, though. Was thanking god I know you.

aw, you had shitty cinnamon rolls and thought of me? how sweet

Get your ass over here. Please.

i’m coming, asshole

I missed you, too.

You make the drive over, and by the time you’ve gone up to his door, he’s opened it and beckoning you inside. Kendall kisses your brow when you walk in, murmuring hello.

“Are you alright?” you ask softly, his arm coming around you naturally and pulling you close. He drags you to the couch, hoisting you into his lap and relaxing once he sits, your cheek pressed to his shoulder.

“Just need you right now.”

You give his chest an affectionate rub. “What’s going on?”

“Fucking chair battle. Nobody knows what to do or who to put where. Connor’s fighting tooth and nail for CEO, but that’s the only thing Roman and I fuckin’ agree on.” He sighs. “I don’t even know why he’s involving himself. He hasn’t come to see Dad since… you know.”

Your hand continues it’s journey back and forth across Kendall’s chest. “Do you know why he hasn’t gone? Willa said she’d get him to visit, but I guess not.”

“Dad doesn’t approve of Willa. At all. It’s… insane.” He stops your hand in its path, lacing your fingers together.

“He said something about that today. It sounds like he talked to your dad before he actually proposed.”

Kendall hums thoughtfully. “Shiv said she heard it from the yard when she stepped out before dinner for some work call.” He brings your clasped hands to his lips, brushing them against the tops of your knuckles. “It’s going to cause problems. It is causing problems.”

“Take a break, then.”

“Can’t. The press is on our asses. You know how fast that’d sell? Logan Roy, multi-billionaire, incapacitated, leaving Waystar Royco a mess! God, stocks would fucking collapse, the shareholders would step in, and everything goes wrong and we lose the company.”

“So, what’re you going to do?”

“Waystar needs to stay in my control, with Roman and Shiv. I don’t know how to keep Connor out of it.”

“This is going to make me sound like a bad person…,” you begin.

“Don’t stop there. You have my attention.”

“Well…” You look up at him. “Why don’t you just tell the media that you, Roman, Shiv are taking the reigns, Connor sitting out because of the wedding…”

His fingers twist a lock of your hair around themselves. “Evil genius,” he murmurs. “Don’t know why I didn’t think of it.” He litters kisses along your forehead. “Let me ring a journalist I know.”

He gets up, and after a short while, he’s back, grinning ear to ear. “Fucking ate it out of my hand. But enough of that. I have more than enough time to mull everything over in my head.”

You let out an airy laugh when his lips trail down your jaw and find the spot where your neck meets your shoulder. “Do you make french toast?” he asks into your collarbone.

“’Course I do. What kind of chef would I be if I didn’t?” You gently stroke the back of his hand with your thumb. “Want me to make you a slice?”

“What? No, you’re not moving an inch. Can you teach me?”

You grin up at him. “I thought you weren’t interested in the kitchen.”

“I mean, I’m not, but you bake for a living. I want to learn. It’s something you love, so I love it too.” Kendall can’t help the tiny smile that graces his handsome face.

“Tell you what. I’ll lay out the ingredients and walk you through it, okay?”

“Okay. Off you go.” He nudges you off the couch, grinning now. Happily, you oblige.

Since you’ve been together, you’ve brought him any extras from shipments of ingredients for the bakery. Now, his pantry and fridge were consistently stocked- he also made sure to call you any time he went grocery shopping. He had no clue what he was doing.

“Do you have any maple syrup?” you ask, peering in the pantry.

“What would I need maple syrup for?”

“French toast.” You can practically hear him roll his eyes. “Fine. You’ll just use cinnamon. Come here, Ken.”

You sit up on the counter, watching him as he comes over to you and gives you a peck on the lips.

“French toast is easy. Eggs, vanilla extract, and whole milk in a bowl. Salt and cinnamon, then dip the bread into the bowl. Fry the bread and caramelize brown sugar on top. Easy peasy.”

He scoffs. “I’ll light myself on fire.”

You turn him around and gently push him towards his work space. “Get to it. Chop, chop.”

He choppily follows your directions, asking questions as he goes. When the bread fries, it makes a few scary sounds, but in the end, nothing’s burnt. He hesitantly brings you the plate when he’s finished.

“They look good!”

“Don’t sound so surprised.” He makes a face at you, setting the dish by your side. “Try a bit?”

You break a piece of toast off and pop it into your mouth. It’s flavorful, buttery, sweet. It’s certainly not the best thing you’ve ever had, but it’s good.

“I’m proud of you, Kendall.”

He smiles up at you, bracing himself against the counter, his arms on either side of you. “Really?”

“Really.” You kiss his head. “You did great.”

He takes a bite from the same piece. “I still like yours better,” he mutters after he swallows.

“Well, that’s going to be the case for every dessert you come across that isn’t mine.”

Kendall gives your cheek a peck. “Egotistical asshat.”

You laugh. “Sounds like you, not me.”

You squeal when he hoists you off the counter, exits the kitchen with you in his arms, and tosses you back onto the couch. You lose your breath laughing, burying your face in one of the cushions. He settles in next to you, swatting your legs away from him. “Fuckin’ deserved.”

You spend a few hours just talking. You feel so at home with Kendall, like you don’t even need to try and everything will just work out anyway. He’s much looser with you than he was when you’d first met. He had no problem touching you, kissing you, making eye contact. And thankfully, you hadn’t seen him high since when he’d taken you to Logan to see if he’d hire you.

“Do you know what you’re going to wear to the wedding yet?” he asks nonchalantly.

“No clue. You still want to do the matching thing?”

“Of course I do. It’d be cute.”

“I’ve never heard you describe anything as cute before. Are you feeling okay? Hit your head?” you ask, teasing.

He ignores you. “I’m going to go see Dad. Do you want to come?”

“I don’t want to intrude-”

“Oh, shut the fuck up. You’re so kind and soft you couldn’t intrude even if you were criminally trespassing.” You laugh as he pulls you to your feet. “You can stay in the lobby, if you’d like. Nobody would mind if you came up with me, though. It’s probably only going to be me and Marcia, anyway.”

“I’ll drive,” you murmur, fishing your keys from your bag.

Kendall doesn’t complain.

He stares out the window as you go, the city lights passing by in a hazy blur. He grips your hand the entire ride there. “Feeling nervous?” you ask quietly

“A bit,” he whispers back. “I’m… I’m worried he won’t wake up.”

“Don’t worry, Ken.” You give his hand a squeeze. “He will.”

You don’t really know if what you’re saying is true.

When you arrive, the receptionist waves you both off, seemingly already familiar with Kendall. Your heart aches for him. You know his relationship with his father is complicated, which makes this entire process even more difficult.

You let him go in by himself to sit by his father.

You sit outside, practically on your own, but you don’t mind. You know he needs the time to sort through his thoughts. Marcia sits by you, eyes soft, but inspecting.

“You bring out the good parts of Kendall,” she says bluntly, after a long period of silence. “There’s been no breakdowns or issues since you.”

You’re not exactly sure what that’s supposed to mean, but you’re fairly sure it’s positive. “I’m glad.”

She gives you a soft smile before making her way to her husband’s side. Now you’re truly by yourself. In your head, you’re organizing Connor’s wedding menu. Despite the such short notice, it was coming together nicely. You’re even going to print everything out on pretty stationary to put out at the dinner tables.

Eventually, Kendall comes out to sit by you. His eyes seem a bit more sunken, his mood duller. Wordlessly, you take his hand.

Neither of you say anything. He brings your hand to his free one, and now your palm is sandwiched between both of his. His grip is tight, and you see his knuckles whitening. You use your other hand to gently rub your thumb over his knuckles.

While all your silences were comfortable, this one was strained, as if something was hanging tersely in between the two of you. You feel it’s a product of his sour mood. You’re not sure what he saw when he went to his father, but you’re assuming it’s not good.

The silence stretches on- you don’t want to speak before he doesn’t want to. It ends when a nurse gets his attention, Marcia trailing behind her. She tells Kendall she just would like to brief them both on some things concerning his father’s potential diagnosis.

He turns to you. “Could you stay with him? Please? Just in case something happens.”

“That would be very appreciated if you could,” Marcia adds.

You agree, assuring him you’ll cause a scene if any single viral falls below normal. You go into Logan’s room and sit in a chair by the window. Close enough to interfere if needed, and far enough away for it to not be weird.

You awkwardly sit there for a while, not really sure where to look. You keep an eye on his vitals, his heart rate steady and blood pressure seemingly normal.

You scroll absentmindedly on your phone, only half focused, ‘just in case’, like Kendall said.

Logan shifts a bit. You don’t know much about comas, so you don’t really know what to think. You decide it’s too trivial to bother someone with right now. You’ll just tell Kendall when he gets back.

You’re scrolling through a few different mood board Willa has sent you when it happened.

“What the fuck?” Logan’s voice is rough, raspy. It has a grainy quality to it, like it’s clogged.

“Oh! Mr. Roy- let me get someone,” you say quickly.

“No, no. Sit down. Fuck.” He surprisingly manages to sit up, struggling, but sitting up. “Jesus Christ. Don’t get anyone yet. I don’t want to fucking hear it.”

You keep your mouth shut and your ass in your chair.

“You and Kendall serious enough that you come to visit his old man?”

“He’s just with the nurse right now,” you manage. “He’s coming back.”

He waves his hand, as if dismissing you. “Whatever. Is Connor still doing it? Marrying that… that girl?”

“If you mean Willa, then yes.”

“Fuck off.” He wipes a hand over his face. “Haven’t even been awake ten minutes and shit’s hit the fan.”

Thankfully, you’re saved by Marcia and Kendall rushing back into the room. You take this as your chance to make an exit and you retake your seat outside of the hospital room.

Kendall takes you back to his apartment ages later, a large weight seemingly lifted off of his shoulders. His mood has been lifted, but you notice his glum mood was replaced by a discreet tension across his muscles.

“I told you everything would be okay,” you tell him. You’re both laying in bed, his arm wound tightly around you.

“Thank you. For everything,” he murmurs back.

The next morning, you both have a few hours to spend before getting to work. After a shower, you have to help him with the clasp of his necklace.

“Can’t fucking get it,” is all he tells you when he hands you the chain. Smiling to yourself, you fasten in around his neck, liking the way the initials sit on the fabric of his shirt. You smooth your palms over his shoulders once you’re done.

While you’re slipping on your shoes to go home, Kendall’s phone rings. He drifts away from you to speak to whoever it is on the other end. You don’t mind, waiting for him by the door. When he comes back, he’s harried. He traces the line of your jaw with his palm, cupping it once he hits its end, and gives you a long, needy kiss.

“I can’t take you back, I’m sorry,” he says, voice tense. “I’ll come by later, okay?”

You press another lighter kiss to his lips. “It’s alright. I’ll save you a cookie.”

He kisses you one last time on the head before hurrying away.

[oh-shtars]

RFTS!AU AskBox #4

Me to @signed-sapphire for the legendary number of 50 Questions Galore they sent me:

Heads up though, you might notice there’s certain questions skipped. I’m either not able to answer some of the asks at all OR they’re either some art requests that I haven’t finished and will post in future posts. So I had to skip them for this post unfortunately…. I apologise as such. 😅

Anyways, let’s get speeding through them shall we?

1. How do you plan to show the songs?

It should be question 6 of this post here. :)

……

2. How many songs do you plan to have in RFTS?

4 or more. Depends on what I come up with.

……..

3. What ‘vibe’ would each song have?

Uhhhhhhh, idk tbh. I’m really just going with the flow of what this story brings me. You can’t wait to see what the RFTS!plot has in store? Yeah, me too.

……..

4. Who’s voicing Valentino and the main cast?

For Valentino, I’m not sure. I’m debating whether it should be younger Bambi or Ronno’s VA. But he basically has an actual kid’s voice this time rather than a deep-sounding one. (Because honestly, I found that a bit weird personally). For the the other characters, I don’t really mind the voices they have canonically.

And I think I’ve mentioned this before, but even though Sueño can’t speak, I could hear him singing this in this voice hypothetically.

………..

5. Write or draw any cute interaction between Ashueño!

Mk :3

………

6. I know Asha will have a different outfit by the end, but do you have different designs for anyone else?

Yeah, I do actually. Some characters have a different outfit to better reflect their current context. (Like how Sakina would have work clothes similar to Asha.) But I don’t want to reveal most of them at the moment since I would like to keep them a secret for now.

……

7. Some Gabo doodles, if you don’t mind. I rarely see the short king in any Wish Art.

Fiiiiine.

His design makes a lot more sense if you were me and you knew the context. Take this art with whatever theories you guys can throw at me 😂

……. 10. What made Amaya fall in love with Magnifico? What changed?

Amaya had a family who greatly discouraged her interest in studying magic and potions since it’s against what their family has done for generations. Meanwhile, Magnifico who was adopted as Rosas’ prince, is expected to learn magic but COULDN’T because he struggles to do so since he hasn’t moved on from his trauma.

When these guys were around 16-15 years old, they were mutual best friends. Mag offers Amaya to read from his magic books while he finds comfort in just having a genuine friend who doesn’t remind or push expectations onto him that he hears everyday in the castle. She’s like an escape from the stresses he has in there.

In their future years, Amaya grew to fall in love with someone who promised her the world if she only asked for it. She finds bits of herself in Mag, as both were people with crushed dreams that deserve better. (In their POV anyway.)

Falling in love was not at all what she expected since she used to believe sympathy would only hold her back from exploring the limits of magic. But you know, Amaya’s as much as a tragic character as Magnifico is.

…….

11. Who fell first and who fell harder between those two?

Is it possible to say that RFTS!Magnifico is both?

……..

12. Any fun fact about the Royal Couple? (You can tell who I’m most invested in. lol.)

The only reason Espino, the royal cat, is in the castle is because Amaya wanted him around. Otherwise, if it were up to Mag, that cat is out to the streets. He’s not very fond of animals and he considers them as pests. Though, Espino gets small bonus points from Magnifico just because he keeps the castle clear from mice which he especially hates.

(Good to know you’re enjoying ‘Grand Despair’ while it lasts :)

……

13. This may be weird but…Body Swap! How would Hopes and Dreams react?

Asha would have zero idea how to get star magic under control. Meanwhile, Sueño finds an interesting realisation.

……..

14. What’s your favourite fanart piece of your AU?

I LOVE all of them so much!! They’re all made by very amazing artists!! I’m so happy to see these silly characters I’ve made be brought to life in someone else’s style. 💖💖

Mere words can’t express this joy enough. I hope you all would love the final chapters once they do come out as much as you loved seeing content of them now. X3

……..

15. Are you telling your story via writing or art of word dump?

I’m planning to share it in chapters like how Anny and everyone else has been doing. Plus some more sketches I would keep making of them obviously.

………

17. Draw Ashueño dressed as another Disney couple!

Hehehehehe guess whooo~ 🙃

………

19. Young!Sueño!

Which one? 🙃

Awww, good times back then when the little guy is still figuring out the forms he likes….

…… 20. Young!Royal Couple!

Mini Magnifico would rather drown himself or drink snake venom than call Oliver his dad- ………

22. Give some more lore on Asha’s father. Are you keeping him as close to the source material as possible? Will we see him in flashbacks or something?

You’ll definitely get to see Tomás at certain points in the story. Either in the short prologue, mentions and flashbacks. He’s generally a friendly guy but at the same time, is also assertive to defend what he thinks is wrong. But even though his life was cut short, Tomás ended up inspiring more people than he thinks. Especially his old friend, Sabino, who hasn’t given another wish or attended any more wish ceremonies after his death.

I don’t think we really knew much about Asha’s father at all in the canon movie, but I’ll pretty much be close to what is depicted there already with some more detail on how he made an influence in the lives of those he loves.

………

23. Give Sueño a stuffed toy for him to cuddle with. He deserves it <3

He adores it so much 💖💖

……….

24. More lore about the Astral Realm!

Not all Wishing Stars have the strong desire to venture down into the human realm someday and that’s completely fine. They can still guide their wishmaker from above. But for those who do want to, they need to answer one important question first:

“Why do you grant wishes?”

Since they would be going down to earth by themselves ALONE with none of their elders to guide them this time, their answer to this question serves as their anchor in case they get lost or distracted. Answers do vary and some may be the same among stars, but that’s fine. As long as they’re sincere with all their core on their answer. Some examples may be: “I like to see them reach their very best and reap their deserved rewards.” Or “I like watching them journey and discover themselves.”

……….

25. SNEAK PEAKS!!

This scene is one of my dotpoints I came up with but I���m not so sure anymore if that would still fit in and whether I should scrap it. Regardless, I thought this would be a nice little thing to show you all. Proof that I’m indeed working on it 😅

(Actually, this sounds so cute to draw. Feel welcome to try and do so if you want to, my fellow artists ^^)

…… 26. How does Magnifico’s magic work?

I made a whole post on this :3

………

27. Where did Amaya learn potions?

She’s self-taught mostly. But I also did mention that Mag generously lets her borrow what is meant to be his books of magic soooo, he played a role on that as well.

……

29. What’s Amaya’s opinion on the other Wish AU Mags?

I’m not exactly sure how different her opinions would be on each of them since I think we all decided to have our fun with Magnifico just being a shameless show-off and fun evil villain. I’ll try though.

Amaya would think KOW!Mag reminds her a lot of her own husband, also short-tempered and a disgustingly sweet romantic at times. She’s kind of a play-hard-to-get girl though 😂. One thing she does notice is that what WRTS!, Wish Granted! And KOW!Mag have in common is how loud they are with their ceremonies. Is that a universal Magnifico thing? Eh. There sure is a lot of interesting knowledge to learn from these universes. Hmmm.

TKoRaT!Maggy has that same pained look that falls on RFTS!Mag whenever he’s sulking by himself and needs time alone. Usually it’s because of his old village trauma. It’s an intriguing but ever so familiar cycle she recognises well.

Meanwhile. TFS!Mag is……different, she would say. Not exactly good different. I kinda imagine her eyeing this guy like a cat. This Mag just gives off a very different vibe of non-ruthlessness(?) that she’s not used to.

……..

30. Same for Mag, but vice versa.

RFTS!Mag gets very very very familiar vibes with KOW! And Wish Granted!Amaya. He finds it slightly amusing since it feels like his wife just became a part of some triplets. (He jokingly asked RFTS!Amaya if she had any sisters she never told him. The woman wasn’t amused. She doesn’t really like being reminded of her family.) I’m sorry TKoRaT! And TFS!Amaya, but you’ve made the decision to adopt Asha as your daughter and so he thinks lower of you now. Although…the TKoRaT!couple might just get to redeem themselves for that since they sound interesting enough. They’re going to have the ditch the girl though at some point.

WRTS!Amaya just feels off. He doesn’t know what exactly though? Is he losing his mind or something? Ugh, I think he could use devouring another Wish Bubble just in case…

……..

31. You know what, for Asha and Sueño too!

Oh boy, here we go. 😂

Asha will NOT be able to handle Wish Granted!Star’s energy. It’s so different from the silent but still lively conversations she has with her Starboy. Star just can’t bring himself to stop talking, can he? 😅 Asha thinks WRTS!Aster and TKoRaT!Star are adorable. Cielo may be a bit much at times with his light teasing and flirting, but she’s aware he means well.

I could see Asha’s non-hesitant empathy, patience and genuine concern to Haedus would be a huge comfort for the poor guy. (Trust me, she’s done this plenty before.) She’s a bit surprised to see Naos and Nembus but I think they’d get along just fine. She’s pretty good with playing with kids from her experience with a mischievous Valentino. And lastly, KOW!Aster is a total sweetheart that she jokingly comments could rival Sueño’s. (That comment caught Sueño’s attention quickly lmao.)

MEANWHILE:

Sueño is more hesitant and unwilling at first to approach humans by his own accord. He’ll still keep a short distance buuuut… if they’re just another version of Asha, it can’t be that horrible, right?

KOW!Asha’s drawings are a familiar sight for him and he’s impressed that she could bring her own drawings to life. Same goes for WRTS!Asha with her magic wand. Maybe they’re friendly… Maybe they could both do that together :D He’s neutral with Wish Granted! And Aled’s Asha for now until he gets to know them better.

Sueño recognises that same shyness and timid nature in TKoRaT!Asha. (It’s weird how she does the same thing RFTS!Asha does of turning their head away and hiding behind their hair when he innocently just looks her way.)

And then there’s…….HER. TFS!Asha. Cielo talks about her a lot….😬. But you know, that girl scares him.

Unfortunately, Sueño is staying a relatively farther distance away from the last two Ashas I mentioned. Why? Idk, probably the fact that they’re the daughter of Mag and Amaya-

……….

32. *Gives Sueño an iPad with Duolingo on it* Here my child. Learn Spanish.

I have a feeling you did this so he could finally find out what his name, ‘Sueño’ translates into. Lol, nope. Not yet he’s not.

He still appreciates the gesture though, but the guy got distracted by the other cool features and apps this weird magical mirror-tablet thing(?) had and completely forgot all about the Owl app.

……

33. Will Asha ever attempt to learn Celestial? Maybe with a candle? Like Morse Code? Idk.

Idk. Speaking Celestial is really just stars exchanging screechy sound waves to each other telepathically like words, while their glowing sequences indicates the mood and tone of what they’re saying. Maybe if Asha comes to learn how to harness light magic on her own, she’ll be able to at least convey emotions such as happiness in it by controlling the brightness and duration of each flash.

…….

35. How are you planning out your story?

I usually think of what main message I’m trying to get across first and build the story around it. After some character and world-building stuff (that I keep adding to because procrastination), I put the key scenes I could think of in bullet-point format and then just think up some in-between scenes that could occur between those points.

Usually though, the most usual process is that a random concept/idea pops into my head and then I immediately type it down so I won’t forget it. It’s basically my thing now to organise the giant mess of reminders into comprehensive plot lines.

I’m not writing the story at this point. The story is choosing to expose itself to me XD

Another main thing I do is listen to my Spotify playlist of this AU, read the Wish Artbook, or rewatch a movie that has inspired the RFTS! plot in some way.

……..

36. Are there any kisses in your story?

Hmmmmm….. *glances at Ashueño and Amnifico*

Oh well, since you’ve asked me, I gueeeeess I’m unfortunately now going to have to remove all the kisses I had included since y’all are so desperate to know….. (/jk)

……..

38. Will the Royal Couple have villain transformations?

………..

39. What’s your take on the ‘eating wishes’ thing?

As I’ve mentioned in my last post on how the magic system works in the RFTS!AU, Magnifico eats wish essence to reverse the costly effects of using Curse Magic. To put it simply, he uses them to make him more mentally stable.

.,,,,,,,,

40. What Easter Eggs are you planning to put in your story?

Awwwww, where’s the fun in that? Find them yourselves >:)))

And who knows? Maybe certain fellow creators in the Wish Rewrite Fandom will make a reference in some of the chapters. Keep an eye out 😉

……..

42. What exactly does Asha’s job entail?

Being a king’s apprentice is a way to gain experience and learn how to use magic by the king himself, so you could use the attained knowledge as to however you want. Share the talent with Rosas or Go out into the world.

However, when Magnifico’s reign started, he forbade magic usage other than he and his wife with the claim that it’s for the greater good and safety for Rosas. (He kinda had a point since criminal activity and accidents did decrease in number after that rule.)

Since Mag doesn’t really need an apprentice, Asha is more of an assistant now, following in her dad’s footsteps before her. She’s tasked to do help with whatever Mag might need around his study such as keep the fire going or organise his papers. But Mag doesn’t really like having her around a lot, (since she asks a lot of questions about his wish-keeping system) so he purposefully tells her to go carry out outside tasks such as go into the garden and help the gardeners or something.

……..

43. Did Magnifico make Sueño’s bonds?

If I told you, would that make you more blood-thirsty enough to gather pitchforks and torches for his head? Because if you are, please don’t. I still need this guy to stir up conflict in my story :((

(You can have him all you want though once I’m done with him. Lmao.)

………

44. How was Rosas founded?

Nearly a century ago, the kingdom was first built. I’ve read in the Art book that Rosas was apparently named to reference ‘Beauty and the Beast.’

Like, ok….?

Anyways, I found that roses are meant to represent love, rebirth and beauty. So I decided to add more onto that than just have it as another reference. The kingdom’s founders wanted Rosas to be a place where people who are wary and feel outcasted by their homes can find and start a new beginning. To ‘Rebirth’ and have a second chance to find the ‘beauty and love’ in their lives again,

Blue and white were made the royal colours because the blue was meant to stand for trust and reliability and white for new beginnings. Symbolising the past kings and queens’ responsibility to have their talents in sorcery be used to serve the people who come here. Thus, Rosas’ citizens all are in a variety of different cultures.

……..

45. Over how many days does your story take?

I’m thinking within one month. It’s a race-against-time sort of thing where Asha needs to find out how to confront the Royal Couple before they do something horrible on Rosas’ celebration of its 100th anniversary, which is literally just a month away.

…….

46. What was your favourite part of Wish? Are you translating that to your AU?

I really really loved how Mag’s magic looked and how he went all evil-ish green as a tribute to past Disney villains. If we ignore the awkward transition he had from sympathetic to just plain psychotic, it’s a cool magic display. I kinda wished they went more full out on the final battle because it just felt so underwhelming asf.

I’m keeping the magical final battle but with more magical funsies. :D

…….

47. Least favourite part?

I’m frustrated how bland and empty the character interactions and emotional beats are since those kinds of moments are usually my favourite when it comes to movies.

Magnifico’s tragic loss of his village? “Pfft- What tragedy? We don’t need that in the movie’s 2nd half.”

Asha’s dead father? “Eh. We only needed him for a few mins and he’s non-existent from that point on.”

Valentino claims to be Asha’s helpful animal sidekick. “Did I mention I have a deep voice? Oh, and my butt’s a funny thing too. Did I already mention that my voice is loud and soooo deep??”

Simon’s betrayal? “Oh wow, that was a shock…. Anyways, wanna start a rebellion?”

OMG, Sakina’s wish is back!! “What was the wish about? Idk who cares.”

Asha’s friendship with Star doesn’t even feel that special to me?? GUYS, I felt more chemistry between Rapunzel and Pascal. COME ON, BUILD IT UP. DON’T JUST SAY ‘Awww, you and I are thinking the same thing~’ AND EXPECT ME TO BUY THAT.

……….

48. What’s your favourite aspect of the TFS!AU?

Idk why, but I like how there’s a unique twist in your AU on how Wishing Stars don’t have the best reputation to humans. It’s a nice subversion that makes it stand out a little more. :)) Because usually, the idea of wishing on stars is always seen as a positive thing but that’s not the case in this story. It’s intriguing to watch characters slowly realise that not everything is what it seems.

That, and the hilarious dynamic you’ve got going on between Cielo and Asha and how deep in denial they both are, even though it’s clear as day to the other TFS!cast. 😂

(Wouldn’t it be funny if TFS!Mag and Amaya also noticed? They may be going down a dark path but they’re not blind, girl.)

……..

50. What’s a boring fact about you?

Uhhhhhh…. I like organising stuff by colour for fun...? Like, I used to pour out a box of legos and sort through them as a kind of pastime. I still organise coloured pencils in rainbow order if I could too. 😅 ………

@annymation @uva124 @your-ne1ghbor @ficsinhistory @rascalentertainments @gracebethartacc @spectator-zee

It’s a long read, but I think you guys would enjoy going through it regardless. I hope so anyways.

Btw, thx for all the fun questions Bo! 💖 Might post some more regarding your other doodle requests that I’ve put to the side for now if you don’t mind. :))

[givemea-dam-break]

a/n: this is part 4 for the enemies to lovers lockwood x reader (out the window) that has been requested by quite a few people! thank you all for your continuing support i love you all &lt;;3 @simrah1012 @wordsarelife @aislinrayne @helpmelmao @superpositvecloudshipper -> since you all were waiting so patiently :)

warnings: descriptions of blood and injury gn reader

full series collection: here

"Five jobs in the past week alone. I think you're starting to make all of these up to spend more time with me."

Lockwood grins at you from across the room. If not for the box of doughnuts he'd showed up with as bribery, you wouldn't have let him into your flat again. You're exhausted.

"I can promise you, they aren't being made up. Every case you help us with gets us more and more business. Which, speaking of, have you thought any more on my offer?"

You take a bite out of a particularly yummy-looking doughnut, taking a minute to reply. "And have this amount of work almost every day? Are you trying to kill me?" Another bite as he laughs. "But, yes, I've thought about it."

"And?" He looks eager, excited even.

"Let's see how this case goes today, then I'll make my final decision."

Despite not getting a straight answer, he grins. "You don't even know what it is you're being hired for."

"And?" You shrug. "Might as well. You'll only muck it up without me."

Leaning back against your kitchen counter, you watch Lockwood carefully. In the past few weeks, something about the dynamic between you two has changed wildly, though it's perhaps not the worst thing ever. Within a month alone, you've gone from hating his guts to being able to joke about with him, which is progress, but there's something else hidden beneath it all, a greater motive your soul is striving for.

It's easier to understand his mannerisms now, too, which makes working together a little easier.

Like, now, for example: he's tapping his fingers against the handle of the mug that has now been designated his, which is the only inclination of his anxiousness. It's not as strong as it would be if he were donning that big grin of his while shaking his foot with his legs crossed.

"So?" you say. "What's it this time?"

"Haunted school."

"Ooh, exciting. Haunted by who?"

Lockwood smiles. "A bunch of angry Catholic nuns."

"How many are we talking?"

"Well, the local kids - this is just out of London, by the way - can't seem to agree on a number, but we're thinking at least half a dozen. Some seem to be Type Ones, so easy enough to handle, but there might be a couple of Twos."

Nodding, you take a sip of tea. "Sounds like fun. George at the Archives?"

"He and Lucy," Lockwood says. "They'll meet us at the train, so, if you wouldn't mind coming back to Portland Row with me to get their gear, too, that would be great."

"Oh, so it was already assumed I'd be joining on this case?"

His smile only widens. "Would you really have turned it down?"

"No," you say with a grin.

You grab another doughnut, holding it between your teeth as you grab your duffle bag, and fasten your belt with your rapier and mix of salt bombs and magnesium flares around your waist. The entire time, you can feel Lockwood watching, but, strangely enough, it doesn't leave your skin prickling with unease. Slinging your duffle bag over your shoulder, you turn to him, taking a bite out of the new doughnut.

"Want one before we go?"

"I'd never turn a doughnut down."

--

The train is cool, and you believe the air conditioning deserves a raise. Outside, it's sweltering, and you were sweating by the time you reached Portland Row with Lockwood, never mind the station.

George, within minutes of sitting down, has his notebook and some newspaper clippings sprawled out on the table. Lucy sits beside him, setting things out in a way that makes it make a little more sense - at least to her - and sips on a milkshake you're both sharing.

"The nuns were murdered a hundred or so years ago," George starts. "They had been killed upon finishing the day teaching the schoolkids, but the killers were never identified. Brutal murders: some slashed at the throat, some stabbed, some were even -"

"We get the idea, George," Lockwood says. "What else do we know?"

He barely looks at his notes. "The school is relatively unchanged. Since the start of the problem, they've hung up a few iron and silver crucifixes and crosses, decked the place out with lavender. All the seats and tables have been replaced with iron ones, but the layout is essentially the same. The nuns were killed in the classroom, and that's where they've appeared, according to the locals. A few kids have been hospitalised or killed by ghost touch, along with one of the few teachers."

You frown, looking down at one of the newspaper clippings. "Says here that there were eight that died. That's a lot of Visitors to go up against."

Lockwood waves a hand nonchalantly. "We've dealt with worse, Haven't we, guys? The three of us once took down fourteen Wraiths."

"Kipps' team saved our asses, you mean," Lucy says, taking an angry sip of the milkshake. "Are we sure this isn't more than what we can handle?"

"A few of them sound to be Type Ones," George says, confirming what Lockwood said earlier. "My thinking is that the one in charge, Sister Something-or-Other, will definitely be a Type Two. She has the most reason to want revenge - it was her that was in charge, and it was her fellow nuns killed."

"This is why we've brought extra chains," Lockwood says, and you don't miss how his knee brushes against yours. "Plus a stockpile of spare salt bombs, and we have magnesium flares if we end up needing a last resort. I wouldn't have agreed to this case unless I knew we were capable."

You take the milkshake from Lucy, sipping from your straw. "I don't know... I mean, do we have any clue what the source could be? It's not like there will be anything left of them if it was a century ago."

"Could be an old floorboard left from back then," George suggests. "Or a Bible. That seems likely."

"I still don't feel good about this," Lucy says.

"We'll be fine," Lockwood insists. "Just a few harmless nuns."

--

Spoiler: it is not just a few harmless nuns.

Upon reaching the town, a crowd of locals rushes up to meet you and the members of Lockwood and Co, showing you the way to the school while recounting stories of what has happened so far. It's a lot of noise, and someone shouts in your ear at one point or another, but it takes only a short amount of time to reach the school.

It looks like the kind of Catholic school you'd see in the movies: almost like a church, made out of dark stone, a cross embedded in the large front door. A fence - this one modern and made from iron - surrounds the playground, which has been deserted for a short while.

A woman stands at the foot of the stairs leading to the school. She's maybe in her forties, dressed in a knee-length skirt and a pretty blouse, but the look on her face is enough to make you even more uneasy than you already were. Horror.

"Lockwood and Co!" she says brightly, but her voice trembles. "Thank you so much for coming."

Lockwood flashes her that ridiculous grin of his and, sure enough, she relaxes a little. "It's our pleasure, Mrs Garrett."

She tries for a grateful smile, but it looks more like a twitch. "The school has been closed for the past week since the last incident of ghost touch. No one has been inside lest the ghosts kill us all."

"That won't be happening, I assure you," Lockwood says. It's infuriating how confident he is. "We'll be rid of these ghosts in no time. For now, I suggest you all start making your way back home; curfew will be soon, and we work best when we're not worrying about your safety, too."

"Thank you, Mr Lockwood," Mrs Garrett says. She can't get off the steps quickly enough.

Soon enough, the playground is emptied of locals until it's just the four of you. The sun is making its slow descent in the sky. Even though it's still bright, ghost lamps begin flickering on. Four are posted at each corner of the playground and, distantly, you can see some on the street of houses, barely working.

Lockwood claps his hands together, startling you. "Right! Shall we get started?"

You want to say absolutely not, but you follow him up the steps regardless.

The inside of the school is chilly, but you don't think it's because of ghosts yet. The entrance hall is small, with pegs on the two side walls with little nametags above each for jackets. Silver crosses hang at random intervals, between boards full of poems and drawings that are too hard to see in the growing darkness.

"Sixteen degrees," George says. "Steady temperature, no malaise or miasma. Who has the gum this time?"

"Me," you say, and your voice echoes slightly.

The classroom itself is moderately sized, packed with tables and chairs, but it's the only one, judging from the only other rooms around being a staff room, a small canteen area, and toilets. Small town, small school.

Lucy calls from one corner of the room, "Fourteen degrees."

"Sixteen," Lockwood says from over near the entrance to the classroom.

"Sixteen," George says parallel.

"Ten," you shout in the final corner, close to the staff room door and the teacher's desk. "Little bit of miasma."

You chew on a piece of gum to keep the bitter taste out of your mouth and wish, despite the summer heat, that you'd brought a coat with you.

"Death glows near where you're standing, (name)," Lockwood says. "At least eight."

An iron circle is set up close to your corner after pushing tables and chairs out of the way, and George places a dim lantern inside it, along with the duffle bags. For extra precaution, another layer of iron chains surrounds the circle.

"Hear anything, you two?" Lockwood asks, glancing between you and Lucy.

"Nothing yet," Lucy says, and you shake your head in agreement.

The silence makes you uneasy as you slowly patrol the area, flashing your torchlight over everything, trying to find out what the source could be.

For a while, the four of you sit in the iron circle, drinking your melted milkshakes and tea, munching away on the snacks you made sure to pack. The room grows darker and darker until there's only a small circle of light from the lantern, kept low to encourage the appearance of the Visitors.

Suddenly, Lucy's head snaps to the left. "Do you hear that?"

You stop eating, focusing on using your Talents and, sure enough, a faint sound creeps into your ears.

"- Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven -"

"Prayers," you murmur. "It's the nuns. They're here."

"Apparition appearing," Lockwood says.

A faint glow appears on the other side of the room. You all stand, turning to look at it. A nun, only a few years older than you, hovers between the desks, careful not to touch them, praying softly as she cries. She pays no attention to the four of you, focused solely on her prayer.

George points. "Another one."

Over to the left of the first, another nun appears, looped in the same situation as her sister, praying and crying. Slowly, the voices become louder, and their crying becomes clearer as more and more appear all across the room.

"Six of them," Lucy says. "But, where are the -"

A scream only Lucy and you can hear deafens you, and you stumble backwards. Your foot catches on one of the chains, and you trip over it, falling out of the circle. Before Lockwood is able to grab you and hoist you back inside, the sounds increase by tenfold, even more horrific than before. You can hear their sobs, their screams of agony, their desperate prayers to be saved that go unheard and then, finally, one more death loop.

"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive others," an ominous, scratchy voice says, soon joined by a second.

You latch onto Lockwood when you regain your footing, unable to let go as you stare at the two apparitions slowly approaching the iron circle.

Two more nuns, their robes rustling in a non-existent breeze. One wears a cross around her neck. Her face would've been beautiful, once, but it's hard to tell with the blood covering it. With a start, you realise that one of her eyes is missing, and a number of scars cover her face. The other nun is free of blood, but her neck is bent at an awkward angle, and her head lolls slightly as if her neck has been broken. Her eyes are unseeing, but you can still feel her gaze.

"Wraiths," you say. "You said you fought of fourteen once, right?"

"Well, sort of," Lockwood says. "Lucy was right. Fittes may have come along and held them off."

"It shouldn't be too bad," George says, but he doesn't sound too confident. "Only two of them. The rest are Type Ones."

Lucy swears. "Type Ones who have the room surrounded."

It's a struggle to quench your fear, but you manage, slowly letting go of Lockwood's arm. "Plan? And don't say improvise."

He smiles. "You know me too well, (name)."

"Plan?" Lucy repeats, a little more urgently. The Wraiths have come even closer, a mere foot or two away from the iron circle.

"George and (name), you find the source. Lucy, you think you can communicate with these things?"

She scowls. "I'll try."

"It was nice knowing you guys," George grumbles.

You look at Lockwood, clutching his hand without even meaning to. "Don't be reckless."

He grins, squeezing your hand softly, and it gives you confidence. "When am I ever reckless?"

Before you can say always, he leaps out of the circle, drawing the attention of the Wraiths. Lucy follows shortly after, and they make their way over to the other side of the room, shouting and throwing salt bombs to keep them distracted.

"See if you can hear anything," George says. "We might have a better chance if you can get any clues from that."

Eyeing the Type Ones nearby, you drown out the sounds around you. The screaming arises again, but you force your way through it, searching for anything else. You're vaguely aware of the sound of fighting a little bit away, and the quiet crying and prayers still continue. And, then, there it is. Someone speaking, her voice filled with confidence and vigour.

"Sounds like... like a Bible verse. Lamentations - that's a verse, right?"

The sound of George's feet scuffling brings you back to reality, and you see that he has darted over to the teacher's desk. He flings papers off the table's surface, throws drawers open and scavenges through them.

Meanwhile, you draw your rapier. The Type Ones are drawing ever nearer, curious. Over at the other side of the room, Lockwood and Lucy are holding off the Wraiths, but it seems to be proving hard - the Type Twos' attention is wavering, flickering over to George.

"You might want to hurry up," you say over your shoulder. "You're starting to draw a lot of attention."

"I'm trying!"

With a grumble, you rush around the desk, crouching down to help the search.

Not even a minute before Lockwood yells, "(name)! George!"

All of a sudden, the table flies backwards, slamming you both into the wall. You can't help but cry out in pain, stuck underneath the weight of the wood. What business does a teacher have needing such a heavy desk?

But, then, there it is.

"The net!" you shout, more winded than you realised. "We need the net! Throw it!"

George's eyes catch where you're looking, and he starts trying to push the desk off you both. With it on top of your legs, it means you can't get into the last drawer - the one holding an aged copy of the Bible.

The sound of metal links hitting the wall sounds above you and, as dual screeches of rage fill the room, you grasp the net tightly, using all your strength to push the desk up, and shove the net into the drawer.

All sounds fade away, and the room becomes dark once more.

Shoes squeak on the floor, and then Lockwood's and Lucy's faces appear, dusted in salt. Together, the four of you manage to stand the desk back up.

With help from Lockwood, you stand on shaky legs, breathing hard. George is not better.

"What took so long?" Lucy asks, but there's no anger in her voice, just relief.

"You know when you're looking for something and it shows up in the last place you check?" you say. "That."

Lockwood still hasn't let go of you, and the warmth of his hands is a welcome feeling. "Well, they're gone now. Are you both alright?"

"Sore," George grumbles. "Stupid ghosts."

Unsure of whether it was George's words or the relief of being alive, you all laugh, the sound reverberating off the walls. You find yourself leaning into Lockwood's side, either for his warmth or the comfort of a living body, but you don't mind. Actually, you quite like it.

--

"So, have you made your decision?"

You open your eyes, trying to make it look like you weren't just falling asleep on Lockwood's sofa. The fire is just so warm, and the tea you drank in seconds was awfully calming.

"I have."

"And?"

Looking at him, you have to suppress your smile. Something about his smile, the subdued excitement of it, and this unpolished look of his - his tied loosened, the top few buttons of his shirt undone, and his hair slightly ruffled - has your stomach doing flips.

"I'll join Lockwood and Co."

The grin that splits his face lights up something inside of you. In the year or so you knew him before 'The Incident', as you call it, and then the past month spent working with him, you've never seen such pure elation on his face.

"Really?" he says.

You nod. "Really. Figure I might as well. Business is slow otherwise and, I have to admit, cases with you lot are quite fun, even if I'm getting accosted by tables or thrown out of windows."

As you sit up, he moves so that he's sitting beside you. You can feel the warmth and happiness radiating off of him, and it makes you happy, seeing him that way. His hand closes around yours, calloused and strong, but his grip is gentle. It sends sparks coursing up your veins. No one but him has ever touched you so carefully, so intimately.

"You won't regret this," he promises. He's awfully close.

You grin. "I better not. I don't really fancy becoming a freelancer again. Terrible pay."

He laughs, and your heart skips a beat, strangely enough. "I'll make sure you're awarded the correct pay for someone of your high status."

Now you're laughing, too.

Slowly, you turn your hand in his until your palms are facing, and you feed your fingers between his. The touch is enough to have your heart hammering in your chest. His eyes, so dark as they look into yours, sparkle, and it's something you don't think you'll ever tire of seeing.

Well, in all reality, you don't think you'll ever tire of seeing him.

[grifff17]

Audiodrama Sunday 04/28/24

So much stuff this week! I think this is going to be my longest writeup yet!

@camlannpod what the fuck? Trying to avoid spoilers, but the ending of that episode was wild. The sound design for the last scene was so good. Also “You're good with an axe, right?” was brutal, I audibly said "oof". Only 1 more episode in the season, hopefully they get funding for a second one.

The first episode of @wanderersjournalpod came out this week. This was a promising start to a new show, I'm excited to see where it goes from here. The setting feels very mystical, I can't wait to learn more about the world.

@worldsbeyondpod was so tense. Suvi and Ame had the most awkward conversation in existence. This story has so much nuance, neither of them are clearly in the right, though I feel inclined to take Ame's side due to the "Geas + Alter Memory" double espionage scheme. Meanwhile Ursulon discovers that Orima of the Reaching Green is a short queen and gets a cool horse.

I'm now up to date with @lostterminal. Season 15 was great. I love Nia, and Daphne and Raffi were really interesting new characters. Also, the dragon was terrifying. This show doesn't usually have very much action, so the confrontation with it really stood out. The description of the automatic turret going "click, click" as it locked on to Maddie was so intimidating.

@worldgonewrongpod I loved this episode. The storytelling felt so natural and real, like someone telling me a story about a weird road trip they went on. I think I said this about the last episode too, but this was my favorite episode yet. It also sets up the backstory which was never really explained as to why Jamie and Malik are separated at all.

In @midstpodcast we finally had a nicer episode. No horrible fucked up Weep/Trust stuff happening, just Lark reunited with Zeila and Sherman. However, there's so much tension between these characters. I was surprised that Lark forgave Sherman for selling her out. Something to remember is that Lark and Sherman had been hooking up before everything went to shit, which was mentioned once and I think really changes their relationship.

New @keepitsteadypod! This is the first new episode of this show since I started doing these. This was a really cute episode. For how popular fake dating is as a trope in fandom spaces, you don't see a lot of it in audiodramas.

Fun episode of Mission Rejected this week. It was cool to see Bowden go from "vain actor" to "badass spy" when the stakes ramped up. We don't get to see him take charge very often, it was neat for him to be a competent leader. I wonder if the gang lying to Zelda(who definitely saw through it) and Chet(who probably didn't) is foreshadowing for more of a conflict with the new Secretary of Defense later in the season. Also I loved the squabbling gay couple running an illegal mining operation as the villains of the week.

@breakerwhiskey episode 200 wow. A letter from Harry! We learned that Harry has been listening to most of Whiskey's broadcasts, which recontextualizes a lot of the previous episodes. Also, the end was heartbreaking.

I started season 2 of @longcatmedia's Mockery Manor! I'm 2 episodes in and really like it so far. JJ and Bettie are employed in different parks, JJ is on the run from an organized crime ring, and Bettie became a monk? Also, it's clear that neither Hilda nor Jenkins stole the shipment, neither of them have motive. But I don't know who else would have motive either. Lots of mysteries this season.

Spout Lore had a great planning episode. I'm excited for the "saving Highspear" arc, the Highspear is so cool as a concept. A reverse Tower of Babel, that lets the whole world talk with each other. A literal monument to wizard hubris, which feels destined to fall. However I doubt it will, because, as the players mentioned, it would be really annoying from a storytelling perspective if everyone suddenly spoke different languages. This has actually made me realize I really want a story set shortly after some sort of "fall of the Tower of Babel", where communication is a struggle, but that's just because I think linguistics is cool. Anyways, the buffet talk had me rolling.

What a great week! However, it did not help my queue, which continues to grow instead of get smaller. I'll reach the end of it one day.

[grownfairytale]

If you're not against all of this, then you're for it, or you might as well be

So I saw Cabaret last week and have finally decided to put down my thoughts as promised to those I said I'd write this for. But being me, I also then went and watched different performances/versions (1987 revival, 1993 revival, 1998 revival and 2014 revival) in order to see what works and doesn't for me.

Based on what I had heard about this revival, I had my doubts but after seeing that Adam Lambert was cast as the Emcee, I decided that having a queer Jewish man as the role might add what was missing with Eddie Redmayne just in terms of the character. Whereas the idea initially was (and is) that the Emcee/Kit Kat Club are the soul of Berlin, Redmayne has said the Emcee is the puppeteer or conductor, whereas Lambert has infused his identity into the role, and the choices made are based on survival (https://playbill.com/article/how-adam-lambert-and-aulii-cravalho-are-spitting-in-the-face-of-fascism). After all, as noted by the initial production, Redmayne is a cishet white man with that Aryan look, he'd be fine. Having a queer Jewish man in the role automatically changes that dynamic. Auli'i Cravalho wasn't on when I saw the show but I would have loved to see her rendition of Sally. So, despite my initial misgivings, I did enjoy the show. Anyway, onward to the actual review as well as some comparisons.

The first thing about the show is the immersive aspect. The theater itself was redone to be like a cabaret club, so everything is done via theater on the round. You're brought in through a hallway and given a sticker to cover your camera phone and there are pre-show dancers/performers. There's also an option to buy a package that gives you food/champagne to more bring you into the world of extravagance. To lull you into that false sense of security the first act gives you.

The costumes really are the main way to tell what's going on within the show. Because of the theater in the round aspect of this production, even as being part of a club as there are tables around the stage (part of that initial extra package for food/champagne), there really are no actual sets and instead you have to rely on the performers and costumes. It heightens the idea of the Kit Kat Club as the soul of Berlin. They make the staging work and trust the audience to figure out where a scene is taking place. The costumes begin as being very elaborate for those in the Kit Kat Club, then grow more uniform as the show goes on. From the more unique costume per dancer to a green fringe/flapper dress, to beige essentially lederhosen to finally the beige suit of uniformity at the end of the production while the named characters are more unique, even in this last moment. The Emcee has the most drastic change as he is separate from the dancers while really showing the way the city and country are going. (https://playbill.com/article/in-cabaret-set-and-costume-designer-tom-scutt-wanted-to-celebrate-queer-individuality) This both works and does not work at points. 

As previously mentioned, the staging is sparse and as it is a theater in the round, the cast plays to both sides of the stage. The most utilized staging was the use of the center of the stage that moved up and down into tiers. During Tomorrow Belongs to Me (Reprise), the performers singing the song and thus part of the ideology  are on the lower level while the two couples (Cliff/Sally & Schultz/Schneider) are on the next turning table that’s lifted silent and then the Emcee comes up in the babadook costume from ‘Money’ conducting everyone - again referencing the way the Nazis are taking over even before the 1933 election where they won seats in government. During ‘What Would You Do?’ this effect was used again so that when Bebe Neuwerth as Fraulein Schneider is singing what is less to Cliff and Sally and to herself, she is raised in the center while the lights are darkened and just on her before she joins the two on the stage again, once more asking and begging for an answer on what should be done. This effect was used again at the end of the show with everyone in the beige suits on the turntable with the Emcee in the middle. Another powerful staging moment that works better in this sort of staging where it’s more metaphorical and symbolic versus a more straightforward production where there are props and sets is during Married (Reprise). The Emcee comes in as Herr Schultz is trying to reassure and reconnect with Fraulein Schneider and is seen wrapping a glass before stomping on it and paper falling down as glass when the brick is thrown in, showing both what would be a typical part of a Jewish wedding ceremony and also representing Kristallnacht and what will come in the future for Jewish citizens. 

When it comes to the performances, they were extremely strong. There have been a lot of comments that, for Broadway at least, Redmayne’s Emcee starts off creepy and unsettling and thus has nowhere to go. That he’s more puppet than character. This is not the case with Adam Lambert’s Emcee. Even in the same costuming, when he welcomes you in, he is having fun, being charming, luring you into the Kit Kat Club and the hedonistic atmosphere. There is a dynamic between him and Sally and he’s always there both as a character but also the spirit of Berlin. Despite using the same script as the 1998 Sam Mendes revival, there is a departure during the first time we hear ‘Tomorrow Belongs to Me’, instead using the original arrangement even as instead of the waitstaff, it is the Emcee singing the solo and the male performers backing up with harmonies as they place male dolls on the turntable to turn in counter with the Emcee. The entire time, he’s in a robe and looking at a box and making the decision to put on a blonde wig that is inside of it though we don’t see this until later in the second act. But it is this moment where he makes the decision to go along with the political tides that are changing, instead of listening to a gramophone of a school boy before defiantly saying “to me” at the end. 

During ‘If You Could See Her’, the Emcee is in a clown costume as he will be for the first part of the second act and while other productions have had the performer who is dressed as a gorilla in some sort of of get up (pink bra and tutu, full one dress, cover the face before ‘introducing’ her to the audience), this time the performer in the gorilla suit is just in the gorilla suit with nothing else on. I’ve heard people reference people laughing at the end of the song after the “She wouldn’t look -Jewish- at all.” There was one person who did when I saw it, but given the tense atmosphere that was going on during the song as this is done after the window smash and Fraulein Schneider leaving Herr Schultz after realizing what it would mean to be married to a Jewish man, it was more of an uncomfortable laugh than a laugh in thinking the moment was funny, even as the rest of the song is played for laughs and even that moment, there wasn’t an overt sinister moment of the line. 

It is during ‘I Don’t Care Much’ that the full transformation has taken hold. The Emcee is in the blonde wig and a beige suit. The layers of the song are such that it is clear he is pushing down his personality, his identity, to fit this new mold. As he sings, we see the other Kit Kat Club dancers in the same suit, watching, especially as he interacts with Sally. Previous versions have the Emcee singing the song away from the action (either without his coat in the 1988 pro-shot of the 1987 revival or in a dress as the Sam Mendes revivals had) whereas this time he interacts with Sally and even grabs her arm as she makes the decision to go through with the abortion and go back to the Kit Kat Club, even as it means losing her individuality as she has put on Cliff’s suit jacket to (mostly) match the others. 

By the end of the show, the Emcee has completely changed. Similar to the Mendes version where the Emcee is also the train conductor who sees Cliff off. Instead of the welcoming and fun character from the beginning of the show, the Emcee/conductor is strict, even angry, when asking if Cliff did not find the country beautiful, as if why would anyone wish to leave? There seems to be a sort of recognition as Cliff sees him so when Cliff begins to sing Willkommen, the Emcee begins to reprise the dance slowly as if a flash of memory to Cliff and himself. Yet there is a definite double meaning to when the Emcee asks “Where are your troubles now? Forgotten? I told you so” both as the idea that with everyone falling into line but also, at least to me, pointing out how compared to a lot of problems, at least we are not in 1930s Berlin where fascism is on the rise, even as that can change as seen in the show and history. Following that, the Emcee is almost angry or trying to convince himself/the audience that “there are no troubles here, here life is beautiful.”

Auli’i Cravalho ended up not performing the show I went to, so I got to see Gabi Campo as Sally and she did well. Sally is an interesting character because she keeps so much hidden and instead flits between roles of what she thinks others want from her. The first time we really see Sally’s feelings is during “Maybe This Time” as she looks up at Cliff and pictures a life she didn’t expect to want and maybe doesn’t even want but because someone is offering her stability, she holds onto it. She had Sally’s anger down as seen during “Mein Herr” after being fired with “Mein Herr” as her final performance and lets that anger infuse the entirety of the song instead of going on with the show as previous versions done. It’s when she sings “Cabaret” that this really comes through as she wipes off the make up to fit with the rest of the other performers yet goes on to have a breakdown during the end where she is trying to strip out of the jacket even as she puts it back on, though unlike the others, she doesn’t have the jacket buttoned up and a shirt on under it, instead in her bra and the suit jacket and pants.

Cliff falls into my category of missed opportunities/mixed message with the themes of the show. This production leans heavily into Cliff being queer, even more so it seems than the previous Mendes versions, by having him as a Black queer man, some lines/interactions don’t add up - especially with Ernst Ludwig, who both sometimes seems to maybe flirt with him and also just befriend him - yet as Ludwig is a Nazi (not actually revealed until the end of the first act to both Cliff and the audience), it’s one of those moments where the theme and what it seems the creative team was going for missed the mark by not exploring the race dynamics, even as the original actor for this production leaned into his personal identity and of historical queer Black men for his performance (https://playbill.com/article/how-claude-mckay-informed-ato-blankson-woods-take-on-cliff-in-cabaret-on-broadway). Even by using him as a courier, it is mixed because on the one hand, he would be more noticed by train personnel as well as in Paris, yet also as an American (and this is noted by Sally), Ernst using an unsuspecting American because they are less likely to have their luggage opened and checked. It also adds weight to Cliff wanting to learn about the politics of Germany given they would have a more immediate impact on his life, American or not, as opposed to Sally, who wants to just go one and even says, “Oh politics, what has that got to do with us?” The actor I saw as Cliff, Calvin Leon Smith, does sell the dynamic between Cliff and Sally very well. By overtly changing Cliff’s race though, it highlights one of the concerns I had going into the production, that while the production was very interested in the queer community of Berlin and how the Nazi ideology impacted that, they didn’t focus on the underpinnings of Nazi ideology with regards to the extermination of the Jewish population and racism. 

The romance between Herr Schultz and Fraulein Schneider fills the emotional heart of the show, even if Cliff and Sally are the main couple. It’s both unconventional in that we typically expect a love story between younger characters, but also that historical weight of knowing what will come for a Jewish man and German woman to be together at that point and both Bebe Neuwirth and Steven Skyball bring so much heart to the roles and their relationship that started as a flirtation to an unexpected proposal (even while it is clear how much they love one another) to Fraulein Schneider realizing the truth of what her future would hold and backing out while Herr Schultz has this belief that things will work out, that he may be Jewish, but he is German and that is what matters, that different parties come into power so why wait, which was a prevalent belief at the time (https://forward.com/culture/theater/610579/its-60-year-old-boy-meets-60-year-old-girl-steven-skybell-on-playing-herr-schultz-in-cabaret/) This is particularly obvious after the reprise of “Married”, where after Fraulein Schneider leaves following the breaking of the glass, he has a staredown with the Emcee, as if finally seeing what is going on in Berlin. Yet even then, he holds onto the belief that things will be fine soon enough, that he knows Germans because he is one. Meanwhile, Bebe Neuwrith in “What Would You Do?” sells the need to survive, to do what she must and will not be judged by those younger than her who have the choice to leave. Because of the blocking with the stage, there is that moment where she is essentially screaming in her head, begging for someone to tell her there is another way, yet at the end, she feels the need to do what she must, fall in line over whatever she may personally believe, in order to continue her business, and simply accepting the world as it is because it is easier to keep her head down. 

There are a lot of strengths in the production, however, there are just those missed opportunities and themes that are not quite hit well. There’s the Cliff dynamics that can go either way but underpin some of my concerns, there’s even the way the show ends. With a smaller cast and strictly using costumes more as a storytelling mechanism, there are times where the message becomes muddled because Fraulein Kost is also a member of the Kit Kat Club (Fritzy) and during Tomorrow Belongs To Me, you have the cast still in their regular Kit Kat Club outfits so while there is a feeling of ‘the leopards won’t eat -my- face’, it is still disjointed. Especially at the end, as yes, the costuming of everyone barefaced and in the same suit is supposed to represent everyone falling into line and becoming homogeneous, even those who were once free in their identity, it misses the mark specifically because of the fact you have women in a male suit, which would go against the Nazi ideology of specific gender roles. So while I see what they were going for, it doesn’t quite hit. 

Now, there are three main endings to Cabaret and each has its own message. In the 1987 revival, like the original production and movie, there is a mirror that faces the audience. While the original production had the characters singing, in the 1987 revival, there are poignant lines repeated by the main cast amidst the singing of Willkommen: 

Schultz: Just children, mischievous children on their way to school, you understand

Schneider: I understand one does what one must

Sally: It will work out, it’s only politics, what’s that got to do with us 

Kost(?) hysterical laughter, 

Schneider: I must be sensible, if the Nazis come, what other choice have I?

Schultz: I know I am right, after all, what am I? A German

Ludwig: If you were a German, you would understand

Kost/Ensemble: Singing die die die before laughing, 

Sally: Made my mind up back in Chelsea, when I go I’m going like Elsie…Cradle to tomb isn’t that long a stay, Life is a cabaret old chum, life is a cabaret old chum, life is… - During this, there is a swastika initially in the mirror with the dancers as Sally is in the middle. 

This ending shows the complicity of not just the cast, but also the audience via the mirror as they are watching this all play out. 

In 1993, the lines were the same but the staging was vastly different and would be the same staging for the remaining revivals, where the Emcee shows up in a leather jacket and then at the very end takes it off to reveal a concentration camp uniform with the yellow star and pink triangle and (in 1993 at least) the red triangle as well, so instead of representing the soul of Berlin as it falls into Nazism, he instead represents the victims. 

Then there is this ending, which Redmayne says represents everyone as the perpetrators when the Emcee/Kit Kat Club are the soul of Berlin. Perhaps if they used the earlier script, or at least for the finale with the echoes of dialogue, it would hit more? I’m not sure. But by essentially using the Mendes script with some minor tweaks to it, something feels slightly off. Or just again, missed the mark in that regard for me. 

Overall though, I really did enjoy the production and a lot did hit, it’s just the ending that really feels like it wasn’t quite right even as it was still a gut punch as any production of Cabaret should have.

[flowerandblood]

The White Flame (Part 8)

[modern! rockstar • Aemond Targaryen x fem!reader]

[warnings: sex content, smut, domination kink, angst, fluff]

[description: Aemond is the bassist of the band whose leader and vocalist is his brother. The whole band decides to use the marketing and design help of their guitarist's friend. The story is an interweaving of domination, desire and slowly burning feeling.]

* English is not my first language. Please, do not repost. Enjoy! *

Previous and next chapters: Masterlist

_____

Bunny had to admit, reluctantly, that no man had ever affected her like Aemond. What he said to her when he fucked her drove her crazy with pleasure, and he knew it. Before she met him, she didn't know that such things could affect her. She had been in several relationships before, including one serious, that fell apart against her will.

She met Lucas when she was still in high school. She liked his confidence, his directness. He teased her constantly. He was tall boy with dark brown eyes and hair, and always wore hoodies.

He came from a difficult family, his father was an alcoholic. Bunny didn't know then that you can't help those who don't want help in the first place.

Lucas was constantly seeing and texting his ex-girlfriends while being with her in relationship. He even told her about it, and she endured it in silence, although the fear and humiliation that was growing in her did not let her sleep.

When she wasn't with him, he cared for her with all his being. After they became a couple, he cared less and less. Bunny noted that he liked to win, but he was tired of maintaining relationships.

Every time she tried to leave him, he would stop her, beg her not to go. He changed suddenly, he was the same as in the beginning. They then made love to each other, assuring about their feelings.

Lucas promised her he would go to therapy. He resigned after a few sessions, claiming it made no sense. He started dating his ex-girlfriends again behind her back. One day Bunny decided it was over.

Lucas came to her many times, called, begged. His sister even told her that she would regret her decision afterwards. Bunny just laughed ironically at that comment. She no longer had the strength for their self-absorbed, problematic family. No pleas helped, and she did not return to him.

What terrified her was that since she was with Aemond, Lucas had started texting her again. He first texted her the night they both changed their status to "in a relationship."

[Lucas]: Y/N, my congratulations! I hope you will be happy.

Bunny thought it was nice and wrote him back, thanking him for the words. It was a mistake.

[Lucas]: Long time no see. I miss you and your wisdom so much. I'm sorry we don't talk to each other anymore.

[Lucas]: I know you're still mad at me. I've changed, now I'm working and getting my head straight. I'd like us to be friends. You can always count on me.

Bunny stared at the screen, not knowing what to do. She didn't want him to be her friend because he had betrayed her trust many times and wasted all the chances she had given him. She didn't have the strength for him. She figured she didn't have to respond to that.

That didn't discourage him. He texted her once in a while on messenger, asking if he had offended her and if she was still mad at him. He sent her long messages describing what his life was like now and why she should give him another chance, if only as a friend.

However, after Bunny stayed with Aemond and his family, Lucas outdid himself. He had come to one of their concerts, apparently following the thread to the ball where Bunny worked and where he could find her.

Bunny was standing at the bar with Aemond, just ordering something after a show, when Lucas suddenly appeared in front of them, grinning widely. Bunny felt like she was about to pass out.

"Y/N!" He said happily, reaching out to her and hugging her. She hugged him lightly and released him immediately. "Great to see you! What a surprise." He said, combing his hair. Bunny knew it had nothing to do with surprise. She glanced uneasily at Aemond, who was measuring Lucas with a deadly dark stare. His face was stone.

"Aemond, this is…Lucas. My friend." She said emphatically, looking at Lucas meaningfully. He laughed at her words.

"You don't have to be so cold. I already got my lesson.” He said, extending his hand to Aemond. He looked at him dispassionately and took a sip from his glass. Only seeing Bunny's gaze, he extended his hand and they shook awkwardly.

"You're a lucky man. Watch over her and take care of her." Lucas added, the smile never left his face. Aemond's jaw tightened in irritation at his words. Bunny cut in quickly.

"Lucas, please." She whispered, looking pleadingly at him. Lucas looked at her surprised.

"I'm not saying anything bad. I wish you only happiness." He grunted, shrugging.

"Thank you, but I don't want your wishes, Lucas. I'm begging you, it's enough." She said impatiently and horrified that Aemond was looking at him as if he wanted to kill him. Lucas blinked, clearly hurt by her words. He wanted to say something, but Aemond wouldn't let him.

"Thank you for your wishes, Lucas. Now get the fuck out, because I'm running out of patience." He said low, looking at him intensely. Lucas laughed under his breath and looked at Bunny.

"Is he hurting you? You can tell me if…” He didn't finish before Aemond started walking towards him, Bunny stopped him quickly and gave him a pleading look.

"No, Aemond! No!" Aemond looked at her, his lips pressed into a thin line. Bunny looked at Lucas, then back at him. She grabbed his hand. "Let's get out of here." She said softly.

Aemond exhaled softly, downed the rest of his drink in one gulp, and the two of them headed for the room where all the group's belongings were. Aemond glared at her as soon as they entered.

"Who the fuck was that?" He hissed through clenched teeth. Bunny looked at him pleadingly, sighing heavily.

“I… We used to be together, but I broke up with him two years ago.” She said quietly, Aemond turned his head away, furious, pacing the room nervously. "You have your past and I have mine. He's been pestering me with messages ever since we've been together, he's probably jealous…"

"What?" He cut her off, coming closer to her, looking at her incredulously. "Your ex has been texting you for weeks and you haven't told me anything?"

Bunny pursed her lips, feeling her heart pounding at how bad it sounded. She swallowed hard as she saw his furious expression.

“I didn't text him back, hoping he'd just stop. I didn't want to upset you. I'm sorry!" She said as she saw him heading towards the door and wanting to leave. She stopped him and he gave her an angry look.

"Please, don't go! Tell me everything you want, everything you think, but don't leave." She said quickly, breathing uneasily, looking at him desperately. Aemond pursed his lips.

"I'm telling you everything. I am not hiding anything from you, although I could. I could assume all this would upset you and you don't need to know everything. You want it? I'm supposed to decide for you what you should hear about?" He asked coldly. Bunny felt tears well up in her eyes, but she held them back. She felt herself shaking all over.

"No." She said softly. "I'm so sorry. I didn't want to talk about it because I don't want to think about him. Deep down I despise him. I didn't think of it that way." She said, looking pleadingly at him.

"If you want, I'll show you everything. Everything he wrote to me." She said as she unlocked her phone and launched the app.

"I don't feel like it anymore. Put on your jacket, I'll drive you home." He said flatly and left, slamming the door behind him. Bunny pursed her lips and cried softly. She stayed inside until she calmed down.

She put on her jacket with trembling hands and left, heading down the hall toward the exit. She saw that Lucas had noticed her and was walking towards her. She stopped, wanting to talk to him without witnesses.

"Did you cry? Did he do something to you?" He asked her, wanting to touch her shoulder, but she pulled away, enraged.

"I cry because of you. I asked you to leave me alone. Is that so hard to understand?" She asked reproachfully, her nose slightly clogged from crying. Lucas pursed his lips.

"Look how he treats you. As if you were his thing. You can talk and meet whoever you want." He said impatiently. Bunny looked at him angrily.

"You don't know anything about him. Don't talk about him." She said feeling a tightness in her chest.

"He's playing in a band. He'll hit a few chicks on every tour. Why are you deluding yourself?" He asked, stepping closer to her, but she stepped back and laughed.

“You don't play in a band and you got a few chicks once in a while anyway. Are you going to ask me why I was deluding myself?" She asked amused, not having the strength to cry anymore. She shook her head in disbelief.

"You asked me if we would be friends. We won't be. Stay away from me or Aemond. I've tried to be polite to you, but as usual, you don't get the refusal. Here you go, now five minutes for you where you can make yourself a victim as usual." She blurted out through pursed lips, breathing heavily.

Lucas looked down at her with a serious expression.

"I remember you differently. But do what you want. Some people like being someone's pushover." He said and turned around. Bunny started crying again.

She thought Aemond was still waiting for her, so she moved quickly, wiping her eyes. She stood dumbstruck when she saw Aemond leaning against the wall just across the aisle, smoking a cigarette.

She swallowed hard and lowered her head, realizing he had heard everything. He exhaled smoke through his nose.

"Do you want me to beat his stupid face?" He asked, taking another drag on his cigarette. Bunny shook her head slowly.

Aemond looked at her and was silent for a moment. He held out his hand to her and she literally ran over to him, hugging him tightly. He had one arm around her, stroking her hair.

"I'm so sorry. Don't be angry." She said softly as she snuggled into his chest. His scent filled her lungs pleasantly. She felt herself shaking in despair.

"I'm sorry too." He said exhaling smoke through his nose, tilting his head back. "I don't know if I was angry with you or that you had someone before me." He added finally.

Bunny looked at him in surprise. She took his free hand in hers and pressed it to her cheek. Aemond looked at her gently.

"I am only yours." She whispered softly, kissing his hand reverently. Aemond shivered.

"Only mine?" He asked softly, as if he wanted to know if he had heard correctly. His thumb brushed over her lips and she nodded. Aemond leaned toward her.

“Good. Because I'm not going to share you with anyone." He purred, grabbing the nape of her neck and sliding his tongue into her mouth, kissing her hungrily and intensely.

Bunny moaned softly, her lips parting, allowing him to caress her, responding to his every kiss. She clenched her hands on his Tshirt, pressing her lips to him tighter, they kissed chaotically and passionately. Aemond broke away from her with a wet sound, looking down at her.

"Do you want to go to my car?" He asked low, looking at her expectantly. Bunny's lips parted and she blushed in surprise at this ambiguous proposition.

She glanced quickly to the side and saw that his car was parked in a shady little alley, unlit. Virtually no one passed by. She looked at him again and nodded.

They both crossed the street, holding hands. Aemond opened the back door and sat in the seat, drawing her with him. He slammed the door and, without waiting for anything, took off her sweater. Bunny squealed in surprise and tried to cover herself with her hands, but Aemond wouldn't let her.

"No. No covering up. It's all mine, remember?" He asked feisty, running the tip of his tongue over her nipple. Bunny moaned softly, tilting her head back at the sensation. Aemond smirked and pulled her buttocks closer to him, now pressing against his swollen cock in his pants.

"Look what you're doing to me, babygirl." He murmured, his hands stroking her back, his mouth sucking and licking her breast. Bunny moaned softly, rubbing against him slowly. He smiled in satisfaction at the feeling.

“I could fuck you all night if you wanted to. I wouldn't pull my cock out of you." He said low, running his tongue along her neck, moving towards her ear. He felt her shiver at his words. "Would you like that?"

Bunny's lips parted slightly, her hands tightening on his jacket and hair, her hips rubbing steadily against him, seeking any source of pressure. She swallowed silently, feeling her heart pounding as her wetness trickled down her thighs. Her lower lip trembled.

“...Yes” She whispered, embarrassed. He grabbed her hair gently and kissed her hungrily. His fingers moved aside the material of her panties, massaging her clit, sinking in the juices flowing from her. Bunny moaned loudly, feeling his touch where she needed it, her hips matching the movement of his hand.

"Tell me what you want, little one." He purred, feeling her desperation. He felt like his cock would explode if he didn't enter her soon. He was full of admiration for the way she affected him, how susceptible she was to what he was doing to her. Bunny gasped softly at his words, all red.

"I…Oh, Aemond" She moaned softly, her hands reaching for his belt and starting to undo it. He grabbed her wrists, not letting her.

"M-m. Ask nicely and you'll get what you want." He said low and menacing as he continued to massage her with his other hand. Her wet, hot cunt throbbed all over under his fingers. Bunny pressed her forehead against his, feeling she was on edge. She opened her mouth in despair, unable to focus anymore.

"Please, put it in me." She whispered and moaned loudly as she felt his finger slid inside her, moving in and out in a fast, intense rhythm, rubbing against the places that gave her the greatest pleasure.

"Just like that? Is that what you want?" He asked teasingly, breathing quickly, smiling at the corner of his mouth. Bunny moaned in despair, knowing he was teasing her.

"No, please, fuck me, fuck me with your cock" She sobbed, defeated, red with embarrassment, on the verge of orgasm. Aemond groaned low, looking at her with satisfaction.

He took his finger out of her and quickly unzipped his pants, sliding them down just enough to reveal his swollen, lust-throbbing cock for her.

"Here you go. All for you.” He grunted, looking at her expectantly. He moaned into her mouth as she kissed him greedily, his hands helping her push away the fabric of her panties as she began to push against him.

They both moaned loudly as she lowered herself onto him, all the way to the top, filling herself completely. She rested her hands on his shoulders, bouncing up and down on him, seeking her fulfillment.

Aemond's hands tightened on her hips, forcing her to pick up speed, her buttocks hitting his thighs with great force. They both moaned and gasped with pleasure, feeling that their every move pressed and rubbed where they wanted it. Her breasts rose and fell with a wet sound, Aemond parting her lips with his thumb, looking at her with lust.

"Tell me who this sweet, tight pussy belongs to, babygirl." He panted, thrusting in her hard, listening to her sweet moans that were music to his ears. He felt her clinging on him. She was so tight he knew it was only a few more thrusts and she would come. His hands trailed down her body to his swollen cock relentlessly.

"To you, God, Aemond, I'm only yours" She mumbled in pleasure, riding him with all her might, rubbing herself in a place that sent shivers down her spine.

"Do you like it when I take what's mine? Hm?” He asked, panting heavily, his thrusts getting sharper, uncontrollable and chaotic.

"Yes, yes, it feels so good…Ah!" She moaned loudly, throwing her head back, feeling a wonderful orgasm run through her body, heat spreading through her muscles, giving her instant relief.

Aemond moaned loudly, pressing his face between her breasts and coming hard inside her. They were both panting and writhing under each other in pleasure as his semen spilled over her. Aemond pulled her close, kissing her neck and hair tenderly. His hand ran down her bare back. Bunny shivered hearing his voice.

"Don't be fooled that I'll let you sleep tonight."

_____

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[crybaby-bkg]

sᴄᴏʀɴᴇᴅ | ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴇɴ

Bakugou x f!reader Warnings/Tags: simp Bakugou, hero battles, gun usage, bullet wounds, hero injuries, blood, self doubt, you and Bakugou both sustain injuries, an allusion to death of unnamed villain, quick mention of gore, PTSD flashbacks, a mention of drugging/non consensual alcohol use, grooming, mention of previous kidnapping, Yakuza members, mention of vomit once, mention of addiction, allusion to rape although it never happens, Word Count: 7k Minors/blank/ageless blogs DNI!

Main Masterlist AO3

As the days passed on, your classes with Professor Kubo were going by great. She was teaching you a fuck ton, and she tied some of her lessons into vigilantism in order for the connection to make the transition easier. You loved it so far, even if there were a few pieces in the foundation of hero society that you didn’t necessarily agree with. 

After about two weeks of lessons, were you ready to go patrolling with Bakugou, although you had to pick up your costume first. All of it was kinda daunting, honestly, knowing that people would make a big fuss about you being with him, some new hero nobody’s ever seen before. You were worried bigger villains would come out of the woodworks, try to take a shot at the number four hero with you accompanying him, just to throw him off. You were even scared of the fangirls, and how they would react seeing you walk with him, maybe even sharing a kiss or two in the alleyways. 

Your face warms at the thought of that, tucking your chin to your chest as you glance at Bakugou from the other side of the elevator. He’s cussing someone out on the phone, but he looks over to you, catching your eye and lifting an eyebrow in question. But you don’t say anything, try not to stare at the way his stupid lips purse when the person on the other side of the phone says something stupid again. 

When you finally reach the floor that Eddie resides on, does he finally get off of the phone. Bakugou doesn’t say anything, only gestures a hand in front of him for you to get off first, and follows after you in the open studio. 

“Finally, you’re here!” Eddie calls out with a grin, clapping his hands at your arrival. “I just finished your costume last night, it really stumped me.” He tells you, whizzing away from you just as quickly as he approached you. He turns on his heel, beelining to a small walk-in dressing room that you hadn’t noticed before. You send Bakugou a look, but he only shakes his head at you. 

“Go ‘head,” he tells you, voice gruff as Eddie holds the door open with a grin. You eye the eccentric man, slowly walking into the dressing room. 

“If you made me some ugly shit, then I’ll blow your kneecaps out.” You promise him, pulling the handle to the door closed yourself. His face lights up before he disappears though, and you hear him mumble something to Bakugou about character development. Shit head. 

You turn to the only piece of clothing on a hanger clipped to the back of the door, your eyebrows damn near touching your hairline as you take everything in. You had let Eddie know a couple of days ago that you wanted to change his original design some; no long sleeves, nothing heavy for flexibility, and definitely no heels. So what hangs in front of you now makes you a little more than giddy with excitement. 

**

“Goddamn, it doesn’t even take you this long to get ready in the morning! What’re ya doin’ in there?” Bakugou asks after a few minutes, banging his fist lightly on the door. You ignore him in favor of taking all of it in, turning this way and that, face softening at the sight in front of you. This feels…right. 

“You need some help?” Bakugou asks in a lower tone next, and you can only imagine the way his face is pressed to the door, how his ears are probably redder than your tattoo. You swing the door open quickly, snickering at his pained grunt when you hit him with it, muttering, 

“No, pervert.” But you’re smiling as you exit, eyes casted low as you stare down at yourself. “Whaddya think?” You ask him and Eddie, smoothing a hand down your legs as you finally work up the courage to look at them. 

Eddie is smiling bigger than you’ve ever seen, jumping up and down on the balls of his feet, clapping all six of his hands excitedly. He’s blabbering on and on about something, but as you turn to Bakugou, whose eyes finally open after rubbing his nose, does he still. 

His eyes roam your figure, and you would think that you’d feel icky, feel slimy and gross and too vulnerable at the way he drinks you in. Like how Mr. Riku would stare at you whenever you’d come home and he would be lingering in the hallways. Like how men would stare at you whenever you’d walk down the street in leggings and dresses. Like how your abuser would stare at you whenever he dressed you up all prettily. 

But…it doesn’t. It doesn’t give you those same feelings of bugs crawling under your skin, of bile rising to the back of your throat. No, instead, with the way Bakugou looks at you, you feel—you feel confident? Is that the word? Like you could strut and model in only a paper bag and still hold your chin high, your smile unwavering? The way he looks at you makes you like what you’re wearing, makes the self blame of needing to wear something bigger, looser, less revealing, dissipate right into thin air. 

And you didn’t even think that this costume would be worth the way he trips over his words and how his eyes haven’t left you yet. 

Your new costume consists of a sage green halter romper, the legs reaching down just below your knee with built in kneepads in the thick material. There are different spaces and pockets, where you guess you’ll fit multiple guns and knives onto, even a tanned belt that holds more weaponry and ammo. There’s barely a slither of skin where the dull brown knee high boots meet the material, heavy and tall, with even more pockets for weapons. You have forearms sleeves that hide a small compartment for small medical tools, and what you’re guessing, even more knives (damn, that’s a lotta weapons). There’s a sleeveless jacket that comes with it, reaching the back of your calves and a hood that hides a majority of your face, and thankfully, your ass too. 

“I tried the mask on, but I figured you guys would wanna see the costume without it first.” You mumble after sometime has passed with both of them admiring you. It seems to snap Bakugou out of his trance, shaking his head as he straightens his back, hands resting on his hips. He nods to you once, before gesturing to the dressing room for you to retrieve it, movements mechanical and awkward. 

“Gotta get the full effect.” Bakugou grunts to you, one of his hands covering his mouth, eyes still captivated by you in your new costume. Your face burns at how fucking shameless he is, turning quickly to get the final piece of your costume. You click it into place before turning around again, Eddie swooning dramatically. 

“Can I get your autograph?” He asks you, voice high pitched as he bounces on the balls of his feet again. You only roll your eyes at him, biting back a laugh before looking at Bakugou again. 

“It’s nice, right?” You ask him, fiddling with the heavy material of the mask. It’s more form fitting than your previous one, and covers your face only from your nose on down with a circular space open for your mouth, curving around your jaw perfectly. It’s a dark brown, almost black in color, the feeling heavy but the fabric soft like velvet, etchings of sharp teeth around the hole where your mouth lies. It feels a little similar to your mask as the Red Medusa, and in a way, you feel as though you’re paying homage to your roots. 

“Really nice.” Bakugou says simply, hand still covering his mouth before he drags it down, reaching around to scratch at the back of his neck. He clears his throat a few times, eyes drinking you in, and you spin for him because he looks like he’s fucking dying for you to do so, but so hesitant in asking. 

“How does it feel?” Bakugou asks you, arms crossed before he fits them in his pockets and then hangs them loosely by his sides before crossing them again. It makes you laugh at how awkward he is, face scrunching up at his reddening cheeks and frown when he sees that you’re catching on to him. 

“Really great, actually,” you answer, standing in front of the wall length mirror beside the dressing room (why so many mirrors, you have no clue). You admire yourself, nodding a few times as you take everything in. “It’s really comfortable, easy to move in, has a lotta pockets. I love it, thank you.”

You direct the last part to Eddie, reaching over to shake his hand. He grins at you, the other five arms reaching out to shake your hand too, and you can only laugh and shake your head at his excitement. When you finally pull away, you step back, staring at yourself once more in the mirror. 

This feels…really right. Makes you feel whole, like you’ve been missing out on what you should’ve been doing this whole time. But you won’t forget the Red Medusa, and you vow to continue on helping those who need it most. 

…

“Ready for your first day patrolling?” Bakugou asks you as you stand outside of his agency’s building. Everything has become so daunting so quick; the reality of the situation hitting you like a ton of bricks. You had basked in the attention and praise (not that you’d admit it if anyone asked) when you showed off your new costume to Bakugou’s friends. It all felt so easy, just a sweet little intermission before the real show began. And as it was starting, you could feel your heart palpitating behind your ribs. 

What if you were a complete fuck up? What if the civilians hated you? The material of your costume is thick and durable but—but what if someone tears through it and reveals your tattoo? Your identity? How would the public treat you then? 

“Hey, look at me.” Bakugou barks at you, making your eyes swivel from their unfocused gaze across the street to his face. He looks angry, with the black eyeliner smudged around his eyes and his mask covering his face. But, as you squint, you can see the worry creasing the lines of his forehead, his hesitancy to reach a hand out to you. You let him, feel the heavy weight rest on your shoulder, ground you into the moment. 

“Ain’t no need to be freaking out, okay? I’ve seen what you can do, and you’re gonna fuckin’ kill it. You hear me?” He asks you, squeezing you once as he ducks down to maintain eye contact. You swallow thickly, shaking your head as if to clear away the thoughts before you sigh heavily through your nose, feeling the nerves start to roll off of you, albeit slowly. 

“Yeah, I got you.” You mumble, balling your hands into fists before releasing the tension. Make your body as tense as you can, build up all that anxiety and fear—and release it. Something a shitty therapist had told you before, but you guess the advice wasn’t so bad now. You do that once, all over, eyes clenching shut and your shoulders tensing again before releasing with another sigh. 

“I’m ready.” You say, voice more determined this time. But your confidence shakes when you look at Bakugou, and he’s fixed you with this funny look, a cross between confusion and holding in a laugh. 

“Fuck was that? Were you tryna hold in anxiety shits?” He asks, finally letting go of you as he stands tall, arms crossed over his chest as his smile becomes bigger the more you glare at him. 

“Shut up, and let’s go.” You mumble instead of gracing him with banter he was expecting, but he laughs heartily anyway. It gains some looks from a few passerby’s, unused to the big bad Dynamight letting out such a sound in public, his guard down completely. You only elbow him in the ribs, his laughter abruptly cut off, before you snicker yourself and start your journey down the long streets of Musutafu. 

“This is boring,” you say not too long after starting patrolling, huffing under your breath. Only a few hours had passed after starting, and it wasn’t anything to write home to. He was eerily quiet when switched from Bakugou to Dynamight, and you could tell that he wouldn’t shift back until you two were safe in his office again. There also wasn’t a lot of people out today, which both calmed you and bored you some more. So, paired with the little conversation and what feels like aimless walking, you didn’t really see the point of all this. 

“Promise you, you’d like it better this way.” Bakugou grunts out, his heavy grenade armory grazing your arms and hip. You resist the urge to bump him back in fear of accidentally setting one of those things off. Instead, you huff and roll your eyes, crossing your arms over your chest. 

“Why would I like to just walk around in these heavy ass boots for hours if I’m not kicking ass?” You bemoan, head falling back on your shoulders dramatically. Bakugou sucks his teeth at you, head turning as he opens his mouth to say something, when a loud explosion goes off in the near distance. Both of your heads whip up to see what happened, finding someone in the air above the exploding building, cackling, as their eyes shoot out something red. 

“Well, thanks a lot. You just talked up some shit to happen.” Bakugou mutters under his breath, clicking his tongue, before he jumps into action. He doesn’t give you any warning besides that, crouching down before blasting up to the sky, taking off in the direction of the villain. 

“Don’t blame me, asshole!” You call out after him, immediately taking off as quick as you can in their direction. Your heart jumps in your throat, the rush of being back in action taking over. Fuck, you missed this. Missed chasing villains, missed beating their asses to a pulp, lighting them up with holes from your guns and knives alike. 

Back in the agency, Bakugou had taken you to their weaponry room, helped you pick out all the toys you’d wanna use while in battle. You had never seen a collection so pretty, and to know that you’re packing the best of the best only boosted you even more. 

When you get to the scene after what feels like hours, Bakugou is already fighting with the villain. Half of the building has already collapsed, so you take it upon yourself to help those who are trapped under rubble, calling for backup on your earpiece for the pieces of debris that’s too heavy for you. 

You’re pushed to your knees from the wind force when Bakugou is sent flying past you, only a few feet away. He curses loudly, shaking soot from his hair as he tries to stand, faltering at the last second. He doesn’t look at you, though he calls out, 

“Get these people outta here!” Before he takes off again for the villain, sending rubble flying through the air. 

“Don’t tell me what to do!” You yell back at him. You turn back to the civilians, trying to stay as calm as you can for the people who are panicking, ushering them outside of the villain’s vicinity. It looks like he can only shoot people with a razor thin glare from his eyes, and can’t expand it any further, and it would take a loss of focus from his battle with Bakugou to try to hurt anyone else. So, you think the people leaving should be good for now. 

When you’ve cleared a majority of them away, do you finally look overhead at how Bakugou’s doing. He looks…slower, than he usually is, and that pisses you the fuck off for some reason. How could he fucking slow down at a time like this? On your first day—how could he—how could he have a fucking hole in the middle of his stomach coming straight out of his fucking back?!

“The fuck are you doing up there?” You screech to him, pulling out the longest muzzle gun you have, strapped to the entirety of your thigh. You load it up, keeping your eye on the battle, hissing through your teeth as if in pain, too, when the villain slices through Bakugou’s calf next. He yelps in pain but keeps pushing himself, throwing himself at the villain, who just barely dodges his blast. 

“Get the fuck outta the way,” you murmur to yourself, holding the gun up, finger on the trigger, your other hand supporting its weight. You squint your eye as you try to get a good look at the dude, his quick buzzing movements, wonder how the fuck he can fly and have laser eyes at the same time. Maybe he’s found himself ahold of those quirk enhancers? But it can’t be—he wouldn’t be able to have two quirks, if that was the case. 

As you mull it over in your head, you and the villain’s eyes lock. It sends a chill through your body, makes your mouth curl into a Grinch-like smile, before you fire off multiple rounds through the air. The barely there whizzing sound slices through the silence of the city, as it strikes the man in his belly and the sides of his neck. You go to celebrate, but find Bakugou, quicker than lightning, diving in front of you. 

“Fuck!” He yells out through gritted teeth, as he falls to the ground in front of you, body curled up. You stumble back, confused, eyes flittering from the villain falling from the sky, to the hero in front of you. 

“The fuck are you—oh my gods,” your voice drops to a whisper as you step over Bakugou’s body, finding three new holes in his body. “When the fuck—how—what?” You mumble to yourself, dropping to your knees as you press your hands to his gaping wounds. They’re thin, but the skin around the holes sizzles, hot to the touch, like the laser burned right through his flesh—literally. You look to Bakugou’s face, scrunched up in pain, in question. 

“Fucker took a quirk multiplier.” He grunts out, pushing himself up with one hand, the left one he lays on injured with a hole in his bicep. “He sent out, fuck, multiple lasers all at once when you fired off at ‘em. Could barely even see them in the air.”

What? You hadn’t seen shit. Was it because your gun was in your peripheral? Had you gotten that cocky from shooting one guy that you had completely let your guard down and—and now this? Now, the first person, the first man, who has given you so much grace than you would’ve ever thought you deserved, jumps in front of you? Are you really that helpless? Do you need a hero to save you every fucking time? 

“You’re not my Prince Charming for saving me, dumbass.” You grit through your teeth, but Bakugou can hear the plain fear and worry in your voice. So he only smiles at you, laughs through a wet cough, as he glances down at your hands pressing on the wounds at his chest and stomach. 

“I never liked Rapunzel much, anyway.” He tells you, fighting to stand up when you hear the rubble moving, the villain standing hundreds of feet away from you. But his eyes are focused solely on the two of you, his mouth curled back in a snarl as he holds the bloody side of his neck. 

“Wrong Disney movie, stupid.” You mumble, heart picking up pace again as the reality of the situation sets in. You called for backup ten minutes ago, and yet no one’s here. So it looks like this’ll be all left to you. You reload your gun again, cocking it, as Bakugou sways beside you, looking worse for wear. 

“Don’t fuckin’ count me out, yet.” He snarls, wiping the blood starting to drip from the corner of his mouth as he pulls off his damaged grenade. But he looks like fuckin’ shit, with all the holes in his body and the way his eyes glaze over. 

“Save your energy.” You command him, lifting your gun once more as the villain starts going on this unnecessarily longwinded rant about life and society fucking him over. You couldn’t give two shits to listen, much less care. As the man starts hollering to the tops of his lungs, voice hoarse, you fire off another few rounds to his body. 

He screams like a banshee, head flinging back in pain but he continues trekking on, fiery eyes lit aflame. Bakugou ignores your command, rushing to the villain again, but its too late when he sends another laser at you. 

You don’t move enough in time to keep it from slicing through both of your fucking hands. From the back of your left hand holding the barrel, through the flesh, going through your right hand that holds the trigger, grazing the side of your neck as you did his. An involuntary scream rips through your mouth as you drop the gun, a frustrated howl tearing through you as your hands begin to shake from the pain. 

Fuck, what the hell could you do now? Your hands were what kept you strong, close distance is what kept you strong, hand to hand battle is what kept you strong. What the fuck could you do now that you were rendered useless? 

Would this be your life as a hero now? Rendered fucking incapable because a villain could point out your weakness in only a fifteen minute battle? Was that all it took to be put down like some rabid dog that was only ever bark? How could you have been so strong as the Red Medusa, and become so weak as—as—

“Fuck you!” You hear Bakugou scream out, your head whipping up to the source of his voice. You’ve got to get out of this self pitying bullshit, and fucking help him. 

Your stomach churns at the sight of Bakugou pinned under some rubble, his arms strayed out to the sides, facing down to the concrete. The villain kneels above him, smiling something sinister, as he grabs the sides of Bakugou’s head, eyes peeled back and wide and unnerving. 

He’s gonna fucking kill him. 

What can you do? What the fuck can you do when you can’t feel your hands anymore? When your body is frozen in shock at the sight of someone you considered a friend, something more, could die right in front of you? What can you fucking do?

Can you…can you use it? Does it still work? Does a quirk that has lain dormant for years still know how to run when called upon in dire moments like these? Will…will it all work out in the end? 

With a concentration you haven’t been able to muster since you were nothing but a victim, you focus on the man in front of you. The man that opened his home to you, his arms, his comfort, his friendship, his love. You focus on his heartbeat, find it thumping wildly in your head, find his veins pumping blood through his body, find his sweat running from his pores. 

And you hope—with the desperation of a mortal praying to a god to have mercy on their sinful soul—that it still works. 

The world goes quiet for a moment, before an ear shattering explosion desecrates the concrete from underneath Bakugou’s hands, sends his body alongside the villain’s soaring into the air. The force of the blast sends you flying back, guarding your face from the raining debris, wipe soot away from your eyes before you blink up. 

Bakugou looks like an angel, you think. One that brings merciful death, as he holds the villain up by the collar of his ripped shirt, his ashen hair a halo from the suns rays. The other hand cups over the man’s eyes, before a small explosion lights up his face, an agonizing scream ripping from his throat. Bakugou falls back to the ground gracefully, setting the man down amongst the rubble, before he straightens his back, sharp gaze suddenly focused on you. 

“What did you do to me?” Bakugou asks in a rough whisper as he stomps over to you, crouching in front of you as he looks down at his hands. They seem to be pulsing with life again, his arms seem to be heavier, a feeling surging through his veins that he’s never felt before. 

“Did you kill him?” You ask quietly, eyes focused on the limp body a few feet in front of you. Bakugou blinks at you before looking over his shoulder, turning back to you as he swallows thickly. 

“We’re not supposed to kill villains.” He tells you, sounds robotic, like its something he’s been trained to say over and over again. You think back to Miruko in that alleyway those few years ago, covered in blood, her heel trailing brain mass and bones, and you think. You think she must’ve never learned that in hero courses. 

“I didn’t ask what you’re supposed to do.” You counter, heart in your throat, hoping you can avoid the obvious question of why Bakugou must feel like a gods blood runs through his veins now. 

Thankfully, a flood of people come rushing to the scene, heroes and paramedics alike. The rest of the time goes by in a blur, as Kirishima explained that there was another villain closer to the agency, and they believed that it was all a set up. 

It goes in one ear and out the other though, as you hold your hands out for the healer to close the wounds in your hands. She’s an older lady, who smiles at you so sweetly that it makes your eyes well with tears, for some reason. She moves onto Bakugou next, and it takes a little longer since he was struck more than you. 

“You know,” Bakugou starts suddenly, making your eyes whip from your healed hands to his tired eyes. “I thought you’d have trouble with me just taking over.” He admits, smile soft as you roll your eyes playfully at him. 

“If it was me and the villain alone, then I’d be able to handle myself. But I knew I could do other things while you fought him alone.” You shrug to Bakugou, thanking the healer when she finishes with him and patters off. Bakugou turns to face you as you both sit on the back of the ambulance van, a stupid fucking smile stretching his face, eyes low and lazy. 

“So you trust me? Without even having to prove myself as a hero to you?” He asks, and god, you wanna fucking strangle him. You pull his ear harshly, frowning when he only snickers under his breath. 

“Shut the hell up, nerd.” You grumble to him, pulling him in for a quick kiss when you don’t think anyone’s looking. You pull away when things start to get too heated, face suddenly hot as you sit against the cold metal of the van. Bakugou stares at you for a long while, his head cocked to the side as if in thought. You already know what he’s gonna say, so you nod once to him. 

“I’ll tell you when we get home. About everything.” You promise him in a whisper. He’s satisfied with that, nodding to you, watching the busyness of the scene unfold in front of the two of you. 

…

When you return home, you both shower separately before you find yourself in his room. You haven’t been in here much, besides cleaning him up when he was injured and repeating that occurrence a few more times once he realized that you could care for him. He patters around you while you lay on the floor, putting some stuff away, before he lays down beside you. You’re in the space between his bed and under his TV, and it feels a lot less daunting this way. 

Baby steps, you tell yourself. He kinda asked you out a few days ago, and its something you’ve been mulling over. You guys have been moving a little out of order, but laying beside him in his bed feels a bit too daunting at the moment. So you lay on the floor, close to the bed at least, and tell yourself that things will move further when you’re ready. 

“Did you feel like a deity had taken over your body earlier when that villain had you pinned?” You whisper suddenly, hands folded over your stomach as you look up at this painted ceiling. Bakugou stiffens beside you before he relaxes, turning his head to face you, but you don’t meet his gaze yet. 

“I did.” He answers simply, waiting for an explanation. You toggle the words around in your head for a few moments, trying to push back all the fears and worries that start to eat away at you. You’re not used to talking about this—not with men. The last time you shared this, you had been whisked away, seemingly forever forgotten by the law. You swallow thickly, blinking back the onslaught of tears you wished never came up whenever you opened up about yourself. 

“My quirk is called power augmentation.” You blurt out, let it spill all over yourself as you let out a shaky breath. “It’s the ability to enhance the powers of others, but not to strengthen myself.” You laugh weakly at the irony of it all, blink away rapidly falling tears as they muddy up your hairline. 

Bakugou swipes one from your cheek, and you flinch away in surprise. He pulls back, his breath caught in his throat before you relax, finding his warm hand between your bodies, signaling him to wipe away the rest. He does, silently, as you fight off the sob that makes you want to curl into a ball beside him. He’s quiet for entirely too long, his eyes soft when you finally turn to face him. 

“When we discussed you becoming a hero,” he starts off slowly, brows pulling in in confusion. “You said you didn’t have a useful quirk. Thought you didn’t have one at all.” His voice falls to a whisper, the air between you two heavy and thick as he seems to think back. You remember telling him, Yuu, and the other heroes, that you might not have a useful quirk or anything, but you can protect the people who need saving Had even dubbed yourself as quirkless, as to avoid suspicion. He just hadn’t pieced the complicated pieces of the puzzle together yet, as you can both protect people without a quirk because it never did anything for you personally, and it didn’t change the cause that you were fighting for. 

“It was easier to pass it off as being quirkless, in all honesty. I didn’t want to be taken advantage of again.” You confess, throat seizing up when you realized that you’ve revealed too much. 

Or…maybe its time to start opening up more, especially if you want to further whatever you have going on with Bakugou. How could he understand who you were if he only ever knew what you projected for him to see? How could he ever get further with you if you only ever kept your walls up? You couldn’t be gator and moat and castle and helpless princess all at once. You refused to be any of that, anymore. 

“When I was nineteen, I met this guy. Didn’t have any family or any good friends, really, to tell me to stay away from him and his gang.”

“You were involved with a Yakuza member?” Bakugou asks in surprise, turning on his side to face you, head propped up in his hands. You match his form, nodding solemnly. 

“The leader of them, actually.” You whisper before continuing, eyes focused on the carpet between you two. “He was older than me, like twenty eight, but talked about how mature I was. How I was leagues ahead of other women my age, that he needed someone like me by his side. And I was equal parts terrified and struck in amazement. Me? Who grew up without shit to my name, why did someone so powerful like him need me?” 

Your eyes well with tears as you recall the story you hadn’t told anyone in so long, much less another man. But Bakugou listens so attentively, his eyebrows screwed up, jaw tightening, but he rubs your flank when your breaths become heavy and staccato. 

“I told him, early on in our relationship, what my quirk was.” You confess, eyes clenching shut as you can’t help but beat yourself up over it again, despite how long ago it happened. “I shouldn’t have done that, but nobody taught me to guard myself like that, you know? I knew how to fight, but I didn’t know how to fight off silent and slow attacks like that.” 

Your teeth grit in frustration as you try to keep the sobs at bay, but Bakugou only nods his head, cups your jaw, helps you unclench your teeth. A defeated cry falls from your lips, your head bowed as you collapse back down to your side again, and he only follows suit as he shushes you. 

“You can’t blame yourself—don’t fuckin’ blame yourself for that slimy piece of shit creeping in on you.” Bakugou tells you, his words firm but his voice gentle. You nod, rubbing a hand over your face as you lay there, defeated as you think back on the hell portion of your life that you never would’ve thought you could escape. 

“When I first showed him how much my quirk could augment his, he praised me so much. Made me feel like I had a purpose, like I finally made my mark on the world. But then,” you swallow thickly. “But then he started draining me. I can boost other peoples’ quirks, but it starts sucking the life outta me the more I do it. He didn’t care about me though, he never really did. 

“And when I refused to use my quirk on him after seeing how he’d destroy the fuckin’ city—he kidnapped me.” You laugh humorlessly, as your eyes unfocus on the dip of Bakugou’s collarbone peeking out from his black tank top. “Kept me in his stupid fuckin’ hideaway houses, would keep me high and drugged up so I couldn’t fight back. It didn’t make my quirk weaken any, only seemed to give him an unlimited amount of strength somehow, so he used it to his advantage.”

Bakugou’s face twists in disgust at that, his hands curling into fists under his head and in between your bodies. But you place your palm over his, gently, your eyes telling him do not grow angry for me, although his own answer back how could I ever be peaceful? 

“Did it ever go beyond just using your quirk?” He asks you, voice grated and low, but he tries to keep it soft for you. Tries to keep the quietness of the bedroom still, even though your shuddering breaths creak in the conversation like an old floorboard. 

“He tried to assault me,” you answer, head bowed low, chin tucked to your chest. “A few times, actually. But, no matter what, I never lost my anger, and I screamed bloody fuckin’ murder every time. He told me that he thought my real quirk was an ear-splitting scream.” You laugh humorlessly at that, but Bakugou only continues to frown, eyes searching your face when you finally look at him. 

“How’d you escape?” He asks you. Your eyes fall to his mouth, how the corners pull down so deeply, the stubble under his lip. It helps bring you back to the moment, as you slowly inch your hand into his, until he holds it, gentle, like you’re only porcelain doll and he, a bull. 

“Started making myself throw up the shit they’d give me, so I could stay more aware. It was fuckin’ hard, trying to actively fight an addiction forced upon me, while finding a way to escape,”

“But you did it.” Bakugou cuts you off, his eyes round and soft and so understanding. Your heart pangs in your chest as the tears start to well up again, a shaky smile finding your face as you nod at him. 

“I did it.” You repeat, wiping away a tear with your conjoined hands. “I have no clue how, honestly, my mind blocks out a lot of memories from that time, since he kept me for a little over three years.” Bakugou winces at that, but you continue. “But, I’d gotten my hands on one of his followers phones, tipped off where their hideaway was with the clues around me, and jumped out of an open window when the opportunity arose. 

“He wasn’t supposed to be home that day, but he came there like he knew that that was the day I would start fighting back. Him and his lackeys chased me for what felt like hours, but I just kept running. Dodging and fighting them until,” your voice runs dry at the thought, at the picture in your mind that plays out for you. 

“Until Miruko saved me.” You say in a quiet rush of breath. “I don’t know where her and Endeavor came from, but she just started whooping their asses, killed them, until there weren’t any left. Endeavor was trying to help me calm down but—but I had heard about him and what he did to his family all those years ago. So how could I trust another man that I knew was abusive in that moment, you know?” 

The silence is deafening, when you finally look at Bakugou. He has this unreadable expression covering his face, eyebrows drawn tight and his mouth set in a thin line. He doesn’t say anything for a while, but brings you in tightly for a hug. 

“Don’t pity me.” You tell him through clenched teeth, even though your nails dig into his skin through his thin shirt, your tears wetting his shoulder. 

“I could never pity the strongest person I know.” He whispers, means it, and you an feel the genuineness seeping off of him. It makes the tears fall even harder, your body going limp as it feels like you’ve finally expelled all that you’ve been holding in for what feels like forever. 

When he lets go of you, you don’t want to leave the comfort, the warmth of his arms. So you stay there, head inched back until your eyes meet his own again, your arms loosely wrapped around his middle, his doing the same. 

“I presented myself as quirkless because I didn’t want anyone to take advantage of me again.” You repeat, and this time, he gets it. He nods silently, squeezing you close to him once more when he sees your lip tremble. 

“I’d never do that. Fuckin’ ever.” He promises you, pecking your forehead when he loosens his grip once more. You thank him quietly, eyes falling to his lips once more. 

“I thought that if I didn’t use it again, then it would die away inside of me, you know? It’s easier to say I’m quirkless than to say I’m only ever useful to other people, but never myself.” You try to laugh humorlessly again, but Bakugou tuts at you. He places a finger under your chin and tilts your head back until you’re forced to look him in the eye again. 

“You don’t have to be useful to other people in order to be worthy or good enough. I’m thankful to have you here with me, no matter the condition, because I love you as the person you are.” Bakugou confesses, his eyebrows downturned as his tone goes soft. Your eyes widen at his words though, a shaky little smile etching onto your face as you scoot up a little until your nose brushes his. 

“You love me?” You parrot, watch the confusion on his face creep up before it reddens with embarrassment. “I think we’re moving a little backwards here, Bakugou.” You whisper, eyes falling between his own shy gaze and his twitching mouth, his ears perking up at the use of his name. 

“Yeah, you got me telling you I love you ‘nd shit, and you never even agreed to date me.” He scoffs playfully, eyes rolling into his head before he smiles softly. Your own face burns at that, hands squeezing around his hard middle as you brush the tip of your nose against his own. There’s barely any space between you two now, your shared breath hot and electric. 

“Really? Never gave you an answer to that, huh?” You tease. 

“Nope.”

“Oh, well, I answered you in my head.” You shrug at him, lips brushing his own without ever really giving him a kiss. Bakugou’s eyes are low at that, mouth inching to claim yours, voice low. 

“And that answer was?” He asks you, head tilting ever so slightly. You match him, licking your lips, tasting his own cherry lip balm covered ones in the process. 

“Yeah. The answer is yes.” You nod, barely getting the words out before his lips slide against your own. Bakugou hums against you, his mouth fitting perfectly in yours, his hands bringing you closer to his body. 

As you lay there, tangled in limbs on his bedroom floor, you wish you could go back in time. Wish you could tell nineteen year old you that things do get better; that your choices do become smarter; that life does love you a little more than you thought it did; that you are worthy; that you are good enough; that you deserve kindness; gentleness; softness; love. That you deserve every good thing to come to you from now on, and forever more. 

chapter eleven

please do not repost or rec on tik tok!

tag list: @endlessfreaky @iamaconfusedpan @blueshome

[mtdthoughts]

Migi & Dali Episode 1 Retrospective Reaction

As promised earlier, to commemorate the anniversary of the Migi & Dali anime, I'll be rewatching each episode and writing up a retrospective reaction. Hopefully, it'll provide some much-needed revitalization ever since the end of Migi & Dali Mondays, and with our knowledge of the entire story, perhaps we'll discover something new!

In each of these, I'll include:

Timestamps where the scenes start so that readers can keep up and maybe watch the anime on the side.

Discussion of details in the manga that weren't in the anime, and details in the anime that weren't in the manga.

Some remarks of scenes given the context of the whole story.

Trite remarks of scenes that I particularly enjoyed. It might be a bit long and rambling, but I suppose this is a "reaction" in the truest sense. 😉

I'll try to release each of these each Monday, but no promises! I'm a bit late for Episode 1, so I'll try to get Episode 2 soon!

Anyway, let's get started…

[00:00] It's interesting that the anime already starts with Metry's final moments on Christmas Eve, where she uses the last of her strength to clutch the button. It grabs the viewer's attention, adds an air of mystery, and sets a rather sad and chilling atmosphere. This is done perfectly with Clair de Lune (Moonlight) playing on the side.

[00:23] Next, we get to the orphanage scene, which was originally Chapter 22 (halfway point) of the manga. I suppose they moved it to the first episode for better flow/continuity.

Interestingly, the anime makes a few changes from the manga when this scene is told from the Sonoyama couple's perspective. For example, in the anime, when the couple is playing with the children, the twins can be seen hiding underneath a nearby table. In the manga, the twins are nowhere to be seen. Also, in the anime, when Dali catches Youko's hat, Migi can be seen by the window if you pay close enough attention. However, in the manga, Migi is nowhere to be seen.

Logically, I can see why the anime made these changes, as it allows the viewer to go back to this scene and say, "Oh! They were there all along!"

On the other hand, I actually prefer the manga's version of events where Migi cannot be seen, as it adds an additional layer of mystery and confusion, and allows the reader to wonder if the twins actually existed, or if it was just one boy all along. Personally, I think this interpretation is quite interesting.

I'll also say this only once: the anime did a wonderful job with the twins' design. It really draws out their cuteness, and you can't help but agree with Youko when she's commenting on his looks!

Finally, I can't help but feel bad for the old couple. They were fooled into thinking there was rain when it was just a sprinkler, and they thought that Migi was sheltering an actual dog from the rain. Thankfully, the twins are actually good boys all along!

While I love the OP and ED, I will not talk about it here.

[3:52] Next, we have the scene where the twins arrive at the Sonoyama house! Just like with the manga, Dali is shown standing at the door, feet dirty and with a hard expression on his face, one that's quite similar to the faces he usually makes. You can really tell that Dali is carrying an immense emotional burden, and that arriving to this house was just one small step in an arduous mission.

Also, before I move on, I thought it was interesting to think about why Dali came without any shoes. It's not as if the orphanage had a lack of shoes and socks, as all of the kids except the twins were wearing those. A likely explanation is that the twins wanted to remain barefoot. They still haven't moved on from their mother's death, and since they never wore shoes while they were with Metry, they continue to remain barefoot even when they're 13. I think it's quite odd that the orphanage would just let him go without any shoes on.

[4:28] Next, the twins' new room is introduced! You can really tell that the Sonoyamas were going for a stars and outer space theme for his room, and it's even more obvious in the manga since the overhead decorations actually look like model planets. I might be reading too much into this, but perhaps this hints at what field of study or work Dali will try in the future.

I'm sad that the anime didn't include the teddy bear that the couple gave to their son.

Before we move on, I wonder why the Sonoyamas included a small tent in the room. Obviously, it's the twins' secret base, but without any other context it seems like a random addition to the room. Maybe it's to simulate the feeling of camping or stargazing? I don't know…

[5:46] Next, we get the reveal that Hitori was actually a pair of twins all along! I really like Dali's look of mischief as if he's plotting something. Furthermore, it's very interesting that in the beginning, the twins looked exactly the same other than the direction of their bangs. It's such a stark contrast to later episodes, when you can begin to distinguish the twins based on the facial expressions they make.

Before we move on, I must point out that in the anime, they did not include the detail where Migi is rubbing his neck due to the pain of having to wait in the box for so long. I also wonder why it was Migi who had to go into the box. I'm sure that waiting in the box was "dirty work" that Migi complains about, but I also wonder if this was Dali's way of protecting Migi in case the old couple weren't actually good people.

[7:04] Next, we have the dinner scene. You can really tell that Youko has put all of her love into raising her new son. The table is filled to the brim with amazing-looking food! I'm almost drooling as I'm writing this right now. Although Dali is putting up a facade, you can tell that he really loves her food given how much he is eating.

I thought it was interesting that the anime omitted the part of the conversation where Youko brought up Dali's blonde hair, saying that he has foreign blood from either his mother or father. Was it to avoid offending certain sensibilities? Personally, I thought it should have been included, since it would've tied in nicely with the scene in the beginning with Metry.

Next, it's also worth pointing out Dali's conversation with the Sonoyama couple, particularly about clothes and the orphanage. His remark about his "Steve Jobs" fashion being the most comfortable for him once again supports the idea that the twins are still firmly attached to their mother. They still choose clothes that remind them of her. Also, his remark about being teased by the other kids at the orphanage just shows that the twins never got along with the other kids.

Finally, I'd like to point out that the anime omitted the part where Migi "scares off" the dog from the dining table. It would've been funny to watch. It also goes without saying that the twins switching out was surreal and hilarious to watch. I like how Dali has a distended belly like he's pregnant. Once again it's apparent that he really loves Youko's food! It's quite adorable…

[10:22] Next, we have the massage. Dali is in charge of kneading, and Migi is in charge of hitting, establishing the motif that the twins need to work together to succeed. I also liked the anime's dramatic shot here.

[12:12] Next, we have the twins drawing during their first night, which seems to be a reference to the cover of Chapter 3. I really like how the twins differentiate themselves. Migi is right-handed and draws monsters and weird creatures, while Dali is left-handed and draws the schematics for the house. It's quite adorable how Dali just lets Migi draw over his schematics without any complaint.

[12:46] Next, we have the twins eating breakfast with the Sonoyamas. I just noticed that in the anime, Migi is under the table eating bread with his hands, while in the manga he eats it directly from Dali's hands! Personally, I would've liked to see Migi act like a dog here; it's just part of his personality! I also saw the pitcher of juice on the table. Perhaps this is how Dali's love of juice begins…

[13:11] Next, we have the Sonoyama couple's chat about their son. I don't have much to say here, but I really like how the anime depicts Dali's mischievous smirk. It's a face that I don't think I could get enough of! Also, right before the twins carry out their plan to charm their parents, we can see the books on the twins' bookshelf. I've already talked about this before in a post, but it's interesting that many of these books are also about outer space. Perhaps this might have some influence on Dali's future career…

[13:49] Next, we have the twins making their first cherry pie with Youko.

Migi looks even cuter in the anime when asking about it!

I really love how Dali was talking for Migi when Youko was quizzing him on the instructions. I wonder if it's because Migi can't remember the recipe…? Anyway, Murase-san and Horie-san really did a excellent job at voicing these twins, and in this moment you can feel their voices blending together so you can't exactly tell who's talking.

As many others pointed out, Youko's "SHIT!" was hilarious. I think every single watcher of the anime will remember that moment for a long time.

The twins braiding the pie together was also very memorable and unique! It wonderfully displays the recurring motif that the twins need each other, and that they must work together to succeed.

[16:19] Next is the birdhouse scene, where I'm reminded how talented Murase-san is at voicing young boys. It really shows emphasizes how Dali plays the role of Hitori so well! Of course, I do think that the twins are supposed to sound roughly the same.

The twins using the rope to create a balanced pulley system with their own bodies once again shows the importance of cooperation and harmony between the twins as they literally balance each other. Also, I noticed that Migi saying "Thank you" to Osamu was added in the anime. I'm not sure why, but I think it's a nice touch!

[19:40] Next, we have the twins drawing inside their tent after their plan succeeded. Once again, you can see Migi drawing weird creatures, while Dali writes equations. The attentive viewer will definitely begin to pick up on the differences between the twins in what they draw and what they talk about, including Migi's remark about cherry pie (possible foreshadowing!).

Also, it's quite funny noticing the difference in motions the twins make while they're on their bellies, giddy how their plan succeeded. Dali moves his leg up and down, and Migi… wiggles his butt. Now that I think about it, Migi's butt is used for several gags in the story. Maybe this is to show how Migi is often the butt of the joke? I don't know…

[21:40] Finally, we have the orphanage scene told from the twins' perspective. The twins looked so skinny and dirty, I feel so bad for them! Now that I think about it, the other children are much cleaner, and it's clear that none of them get along with the twins. This idea is supported by the fact that one of the kids makes fun of the twins, but unfortunately it wasn't shown in the anime.

I wonder: given that the twins are able to clean themselves, would they have never bothered doing it if the Sonoyamas never came? It's very sad to think about. All the other children are clean and looking forward to adoption, while the twins stayed in a filthy state, as if they didn't care about or even want to be adopted.

To conclude, I thought it was quite amazing to see the twins' first tricks and pranks in the anime again after reviewing the manga so many times. They really seem like "boys" in the purest sense, and their mischievous personalities are starkly different than their personalities later on in the story. This just shows how despite still being young boys, they've grown and matured a lot throughout the story.

Anyway, that's all my thoughts on Episode 1! I'll try to do Episode 2 sometime soon~