#i wanted to also talk her through using the task manager to close out of programs that are stalling

[merry-death]

I'm helping to train a new intern at work and while I have heard that younger people aren't getting much practical computer skills nowadays since phones and tablets are taking over, I didn't think it was this bad. I had to explain to her what the File Explorer was, how to navigate folders, and the fact that Microsoft Office online can't access a spreadsheet that you just downloaded until you upload it to Excel Online (which is why we don't use the online version unless real-time collaboration is necessary). She's like 22. And getting a Master's degree. In business technology. Help.

[slippery-minghus]

god i feel so fucking stuck. it doesn't sound like i'm getting that job i really wanted after all, which means my only real option forward is to take the supervisor role being created in my office.

they want me for this role. everyone at office level who advocated for its creation had me in mind. it's not really a career path i'm interested in, but it's something.

only problem is my patience and tolerance for Nightmare Coworker is getting shorter by the day. she blew a gasket again today when some r&d folks—whose arrival had only been mentioned to me offhand—showed up. because she wasn't told by the manager herself. she stormed away to go on a walk, came back, and stormed away again to have a long chat with the manager. manager is apparently only doing what the previous one instructed her to: rely on the two point people in the clinics. which, yanno, makes sense.

(fuck. maybe i should take the managerial track. so i can be there for my team like my managers in this job haven't been, and fire the fucking toxic mold spore before she infects the clinic.) (and honestly, because no one has left over her yet, that's likely why nothing has happened. but where the fuck am i supposed to go? back to the fucking donut shop???)

Nightmare Coworker is in absolute denial that she is not The Best, in denial that people with some modicum of power in our office want me promoted, and in denial that it could ever fucking happen. the only thing she has convinced herself of is that i'm going to "get promoted and leave" which. i fucking WISH.

but here we are. no offer in sight for the thing i want most right now. no exit signs for hundreds, if not thousands of miles from here.

i want to take that damn supervisor promotion, but i can't even message my own manager without Nightmare Coworker reading slack over my shoulder and then having a meltdown about it. how am i supposed to go talk privately to my manager, have an interview with her? Nightmare Coworker's going to fucking flip her shit when the reality of an internal promotion with my name on it comes to light. and i DON'T have the energy to cope with it. the only outcome that might not break me is if she has a massive meltdown and quits on the spot. no notice. and i don't know how realistic that is to expect.

myself and others at this office are surprised and demoralized that Nightmare Coworker was not fired months ago. and honestly in hindsight i think Old Manager was far too soft. he was supportive, but too supportive, to the fault that accommodating everyone means accommodating no one. and current manager is spread paper thin, which is why she needs an office supervisor. but the window to get this person fired without invoking catastrophe has long since passed.

i wish i could turn my cold, frozen fear into spite or vengeance. to internally be grinning from the sidelines as i light the match and toss it into the massive pile of kindling and firewood that Nightmare Coworker has dug herself into, and set her ablaze. i wish i could feel anything other than fear.

[rafey-baby]

hidden 4

cw: hostage/stockholm syndrome situation, outlaw!rafe being his usual self towards pogue!reader, mentions of murder and violence, a surprise in the grocery store, smut: dub-con (!), fingering, p-in-v, unprotected sex, size kink

wc: 2.7k

it's here! hope u enjoy xx

(also this is probably the last part unless i get a crazy continuation idea cause i feel like it makes sense to end it here?) edit: there will be one more part!!

part 1 part 2 part 3 & part 5

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“A picture provided by a passer-by has led us to believe that Rafe Cameron, a suspect for the murder of a police officer is still on the island and has possibly been in contact with the witness who now wants to withdraw his statement, not wanting to testify in court due to personal reasons. However, the investigation is still ongoing and Cameron remains the main suspect which means that if you have any information about his whereabouts please do not hesitate to—” 

Rafe twists the car radio off with a scoff.  

“The fuck they're gonna do with a blurry photo? Unless they find another witness or some actual proof, they don’t have shit on me,” he mutters more to himself than her as he yanks open the door and lets it slam closed; leaving her to scramble after his exasperated steps through the grocery store parking lot.  

She doesn’t know how Rafe managed to discover the name of the witness or why a few days ago she sat in his truck parked outside the poor guy’s home keeping watch, but at this point she’s decided that the universe simply must have something against her peace of mind.  

When she asked about his visit, he simply shrugged it off with a ’Don’t worry about it, s’all good. Just had a little talk with him’ which honestly made unease settle into the bottom of her stomach because it was most definitely not the entire truth.  

For the following days, she tried her very best to avoid his intimidating presence as to not give him a reason to get mad at her while he made several phone calls and took care of business. However, acting as if he wasn’t there wasn’t the easiest task since her house, despite the cozy atmosphere, isn’t very grand.  

Whenever she'd try to find sleep in her soft sheets, his heavy presence in the next room would send a shiver up her spine and erase any prospects of getting rest. And when she’d try to cook dinner, he’d be looming way too close for comfort and make her accidentally drop a pan on her kitchen floor. Therefore, she's not exactly feeling her best. 

As they step through the sliding doors, Rafe is hiding under black sunglasses and an old baseball cap he borrowed (stole) from her; trying to keep a low profile and appear as ordinary as any casual customer shopping for essentials since he’s practically emptied her fridge at this point. 

“Do you want red or green grapes?” She inquires as she peers down at the fruit. 

“Don't really give a shit. Just get both,” he grumbles out, seemingly all too aware of his surroundings; antsy to just get out of the store already. 

“That’s not very helpful,” she complains quietly as she decides on the green ones and pushes the shopping cart forward with Rafe close behind.  

And she’s all too preoccupied by picking out what she wants for breakfast when all of a sudden, he grabs her face in his big palms and presses his lips against hers.  

She lets out a surprised noise that gets swallowed up by him as he slots their mouths together while her entire body tenses up in response to him pushing her against the shelves that display different types of bagels. 

She’s momentarily disconcerted, doesn’t remember the last time she’s been kissed like this; all rough and inconsiderate. And maybe that’s why she’s beginning to feel light-headed; every coherent thought wiped away because him kissing her makes absolutely no sense. Therefore, she doesn’t even realize she’s reciprocating the kiss before her distracted mind stirs awake and soon enough, she’s pulling away with creased brows. 

“Rafe, what the—”  

However, she’s interrupted by the hollow of his hand plastering over her mouth.  

“Shut up,” he hisses lowly, eyes alarmed and shoulders tense.  

She’s about to protest before he nods towards a couple of officers a few feet away from them; apparently having just passed them. They’re strolling through the aisle leisurely, chatting freely and not paying them any mind because why would they do anything except roll their eyes at a lovey-dovey couple making out next to the organic whole wheat toast?  

Oh.  

She can’t believe she didn’t notice them; figuring that if she was the one running from the cops, she wouldn’t last a day. Before her brain has the chance to catch up and command her to scream for help though, she feels the barrel of his gun poking at her chest, forcing the desperate pleads to die out on her tongue.  

She stares into threatening larimar and blinks; too frightened to even inhale too loud. Neither of them move until the policemen have rounded the corner and leaving them the only people standing in the bread aisle.  

And he doesn’t think too much of the kiss, simply a means for him to stay under the radar but unfortunately her head turns into a blank piece of paper, not able to say a word until they’re walking the grass-covered steps to her threshold.  

“Why would you do that?” She’s fuming as he locks the front door. 

“Was just tryin’ not to blow my cover, calm down,” he grumbles out and sets down the grocery bags.  

“By kissing me?” She snaps in exasperation.  

“Yeah, well there wasn’t exactly time to think about anything else,” he seems so nonchalant about all this, as if he doesn’t care one bit. She figures he doesn’t because it seems that for him it’s the most tedious thing in the world to consider other people’s feelings for one second.  

Maybe she didn’t want him to kiss her, of all things. Didn’t want him to make the muddy thoughts brewing beneath the surface of her sanity any louder than they already were. Because despite how hard she’s trying to convince herself that him shoving her around and walking around her house as if he owns it doesn’t affect her, it wouldn’t change the fact that something about his dominating presence is slowly but surely making her grow curious.  

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” She drops her keys to the ceramic bowl in her hallway, walking towards the living room; wanting to put as much distance between them as possible in order to have some space to think.  

“I mean, it’s not like you seemed to mind too much, you did kiss me back,” he points out as heavy footsteps follow her.  

“I was just…in shock, okay?” She turns around and her voice is loud, tone frustrated. 

“Don’t fucking raise your voice at me,” he warns her, low and gravelly; making her shiver.  

“And if you were just in shock, then why are you blushing right now, hm?” He takes a step closer to inspect her, too close. 

“I’m— I’m not blushing,” she tries to deny. However, the cherry tint heating the apples of her cheeks gives her away.  

“You’re a shit liar, you know that?” He chuckles, amused. “Bet you liked me kissing you, hm? Just being too much of a stubborn Pogue to admit that.”  

Her dumbfounded eyes stare at him in silence because she doesn’t know what she’s supposed to say to that.  

“Usually not into whiny pups but should just fuck some sense into you so you’d wipe that stupid pout off your face, yeah?” He rasps out, looking at her with something devilish glimmering in the aquamarine of his eyes.  

“You’re a fucking psycho!” The accusation escapes past her lips before she has the chance to think about it.  

And at that, he harshly grabs her jaw between rough fingertips; mushing her cheeks together and making her teeth bite into the gummy walls of her mouth.  

“What did you just call me?”  

She realizes her mistake too late.  

“Didn’t— didn’t mean to, I’m sorry,” her frightened eyes are wide.  

“Yeah? You’re sorry?” He dryly laughs in her face, finding entertainment in her torment.  

“Yes, I don’t know why I—”  

“You gon’ make it up to me?” He asks as he feigns contemplation.  

“What?” 

“Cause I think this fucking psycho ordering you around like a puppy gets you wet, huh? You don’t think I’ve seen the way you look at me?” He lets go of her jaw, tall frame towering over her. 

“I don’t…what are you—” she’s unable to move, trepidation creeping up her spine along with an odd form of intrigue that makes her respiration grow arduous because he’s not exactly wrong.  

“Should we check?” He raises his brows. 

“What— what are you doing?” She tries to take a hesitant step back, albeit uselessly; her back thumping against the wall when he corners her into it. 

“That’s not a no,” he tilts his head at her, mocking her. And then he’s pushing his hand into her pants, past the waistband of her panties and feeling her out; fingertips finding the stickiness already present.   

She gasps, surprised by the sudden pressure against her attention-starved cunt.  

“Huh, look at that. Should’ve known you were a horny fucking girl when I first saw those stupid fake scared eyes, talking ’bout some ’Rafe I’m sorry please don’t hurt me I’ll do anything’ shit,” he raises his pitch to an overly extreme girlish squeak, meant to patronize her, yet somehow, it’s turning her on even more.  

“Bet you’d like that though, if I’d hurt you? Rough you up a little, hm?” His heady breaths tickling her lips is kindling a blaze deep in her tummy; arousing something novel, strange, unfamiliar. 

“Rafe…” she manages out since her head is spinning.  

“That’s right. Say my fucking name,” he’s chuckling as a digit slips down to prod at her opening and slowly pushing in; causing a faint whimper to leave the gaps of her teeth. 

“So fucking tight. Been a while, huh? Not gon’ lie been a while for me too. With all this shit with the cops haven’t exactly had the time to get my cock wet, you know? At this point s’getting a bit frustrating, if I’m being honest,” he rumbles mindlessly, too lost in examining her reactions to his fingers playing with her cunt to care about what he’s saying.  

She doesn’t respond, doesn’t think she’s physically able to form any kind of words at the moment, let alone coherent sentences. His thumb rubbing lazy circles against her swollen clit leaves her dazed and she knows this is wrong, it’s so wrong yet she can’t deny how good it feels to have him touch her like this.  

“Now that I’m thinking about it, haven’t tried Pogue pussy before, wanna help with that?” His low drawl is nearly hypnotizing; her morals turning more and more hazy by the second and evaporating into the tension-filled air surrounding them.  

“Rafe…I don’t—” 

“You’re soaked. When’s the last time you got fucked good?” He interrupts her.  

“I don’t...remember,” she mumbles out.  

“Don’t remember? Shit, Puppy,” there’s a condescending lilt to his pity and she whines when he drags his finger out and nudges it back in again.  

“The guy I was with wasn’t, um, the best so…didn’t really wanna do it again and stuff,” she timidly admits.  

“You’re letting a guy who can’t make you come between your legs? Such a shame. But not really a surprise those Pogue boys don’t know how to fuck. I mean, no wonder you’re so wound up,” the edges of his mouth curl.  

“I’ll take care of it though, make you feel so good, yeah?” His breathy promises try to coax her to give in. 

“Rafe, I don’t know…”  

“Listen, I’m just saying, probably gon’ be here for some time until everything settles and gotta kill the time somehow, no?”  

“But this is wrong, you— you threatened to kill me,” she reminds him and herself with the remnants of her determination.  

“Yeah, yeah, that wasn’t very…nice, but don’t be acting like you don’t want this. All I’m saying here is, you’re the one dripping down my hand right now and really, I’d be doing you a favor,” his crooked logic goes unnoticed by her as she slowly blinks up at him. 

“We really shouldn’t—” she’s interrupted by another digit squeezing into her achy cunt, making her moan out at the sudden stretch. 

“Don’t worry your little head over what we should and shouldn’t do, alright? If you’re worried what your pathetic Pogue friends might think, I don’t kiss and tell. Can be our little secret, yeah?” He grins down at her. 

“Rafe, I don’t think we should…” she tries again. 

“Shh. What did I just tell you, hm?” He hushes her with the expanse of his palm pressing against her clit making her suppress another whimper.  

“Promise to go slow?” She asks without a clue as to why she’s not trying to prevent this.  

What’s wrong with her? She tries to convince herself that she’s only allowing for this to happen because maybe then she’ll finally get him out of her system. 

“Of course,” his conformation doesn’t sound all too veracious when something hungry glints in his eyes.  

“You gon’ let a Kook show you what you’re missing, hm?” He rumbles before he’s pushing her onto the couch and following soon after; mouth sloppy as it molds over her own and tongue warm when it intrudes her mouth. Quick fingers toy with his belt until he’s tugging the zipper of his pants down and making her eyes flicker down when he takes himself out. 

“You’re so big,” her rounded eyes ogle at his cock, sinking her teeth into her bottom lip when she notices how it twitches in his hand in response to her words.  

“Shit, you think it’ll fit?” He wonders out loud, grabbing her hips and dragging her closer with strong arms. 

“I don’t know…” she trails off when he pulls down her shorts by the belt loops before the drippy tip is nudging at her entrance. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll make it fit,” he murmurs and then he’s tucking himself right into her weepy cunt.  

She cries out at the overwhelming stretch as she tries to accommodate to his size; thankful he’s not pushing all the way in yet because she already feels so full she’s not sure how she’s supposed to take any more of him.  

“Fuck, you really are a tight little thing, huh?” He grunts out.  

“Relax, yeah?” He coaxes before his mouth meets her neck; pasting wet kisses and letting the flat of his tongue lave over the sensitive skin there.  

He moves lower as his fingers pluck at the straps of her flimsy top before letting her tits out and taking a puffy nipple between his lips. They moan in tandem when his left hand reaches for the other, trying to loosen her up by pinching it between a thumb and an index finger. 

“Rafe…” 

“What? You want more? I’ll give you more, alright?” There’s almost a primal urge in the way he pushes in deeper; forcing a loud noise to tumble from the back of her throat when he begins to fill her up to the hilt. 

“There you go, taking it like a good fucking puppy, yeah?” He groans against her neck when her nails sink into his back muscles, scratching downwards and surely leaving marks.  

Then he’s flipping her over onto her stomach with one swift movement, pushing all the way in once more; fitting snugly inside as her walls flutter around him. 

She cries out at the new angle his cock is now poking at her insides as he shoves her face into the couch cushions with each jostle of his hips against her. And he’s not gentle, she’s not even sure he knows what the word means as he keeps stuffing her full over and over again; making her see stars when she can almost feel her orgasm on the tips of her fingers.  

“Such a filthy slut, aren’t ya? Letting a complete stranger fuck you like this in your own house?” A low chuckle rumbles from his chest as he keeps nudging at the spongy spot inside her; her loud moans echoing around the room and she feels so good she thinks she’s gonna pass out. 

“Should stay here for longer, yeah? Just fuck this tight little cunt whenever I get bored, hm?” He pants, mouthing at her neck as his thrusts begin to grow lazy. 

And she has half the mind to agree. 

[too-much-tma-stuff]

Finally Getting Help (prt 8)

Masterpost

The next day was less chaotic but not by much. They had to go through everything they’d taken from the Fenton’s lab, and reluctantly accepted Danny and Jazz’s help with the task because they were familiar with the tech. That was surprisingly needed since all of their gadgets were extremely obtuse and looked like household appliances. It was honestly surprising how good Danny was with all of this stuff, he knew what everything was, how to take it apart and how to put it back together to show the heroes how it worked. 

“They don’t all work for humans. Some have to be fueled with ectoplasm so they need to be constantly refueled. Dad used to wear a backpack full of the stuff ghost busters style but that’s really not practical so this one isn’t very useful to you. I can use it though,” Danny said as he screwed the last part back on the.. Whatever it was. 

“Okay, but why does it look like a blender?” Tim asked, baffled and impressed.

“Oh that’s because that’s what it was built out of,” Danny said with a crooked smile. “We repurposed a lot of household items into tech. Give me a couple toasters and a microwave and I’ll have three specter deflectors ready for you before dinner time.” He said as he pressed his hand against one of the gins and it started glowing intently green.

“Here don’t drop it,” He said tossing it to Batman, who did manage to catch it. “I fueled it with three shots, just in case Vlad shows up or another ghosts threatens you. And actually even with your charms I would feel a lot better if you all had specter deflectors since you’re all involved with me now,” He sighed and rubbed his face. 

“Well… we can get you toasters and a microwave but we can also get you more advanced parts if those will work better,” Bruce told Danny, gingerly holding the odd gun away from himself. It wasn’t a traditional gun so it wasn’t upsetting but he still didn’t like it. 

Danny looked very tempted but he shook his head. “No I’d better do it with what I know, I can get it done faster that way and they work. I’d love to play with some of those more advanced parts though. I’m sure I can come with some fun stuff.” 

Uh oh, Bruce didn’t like that look on Tim’s face, the last thing he needed was more encouragement! But Danny was the child of mad scientists, he would get along perfectly with Tim, Bruce was going to have to keep a close eye on them to make sure they didn’t accidentally make a death ray. 

“You can join me in my lab later,” Tim offered hopefully and Danny glanced up at him with a borderline feral grin. 

“That sounds great, I’m sure you have much better lab safety than my parents. Love engineering, would hate to die a second time.” He said it like a joke, just the way Jason tended to. Jazz laughed, but only to encourage her brother’s coping method, no one else did. 

“Alright, we’ll go to the nearest home appliance store and get you some toasters and microwaves,” Bruce said. 

“Hell ya, I should have been adopted by a rich family years ago,” Danny cackled. Oh dear, he’d been so traumatized yesterday Bruce hadn’t realized he was Feral. Why did this keep happening.

He informed Alfred of Danny’s request and by the time they finished going over the more confusing inventions and left for lunch the appliances were waiting for Danny in the lab that he and Tim would apparently now be sharing. Danny immediately dove on the machinery starting to take them apart with practiced hands. He seemed calm and in his element but Tim stayed to supervise, both just in case something went wrong, and because it was His lab and they hadn’t talked about rules of cohabitation yet.

Bruce left them to it. Alfred had informed him that Jason had arrived and headed straight to the kitchen without saying hello to anyone else. It wasn’t a surprise, he was closest to Alfred, he’s want to help with making dinner, and get the basic scoop from his most trusted family member before having to face anyone else. Bruce knew better than to intrude on that, but God did he want to. 

Regardless of what his children thought Bruce cared deeply for all of them, and he hated that sometimes they doubted it. He wished he was better at telling and showing them, but he’d managed to convince himself it was too late for him to change so he didn’t have to face the years of mistakes and trauma he had endured and inflicted. No matter what what image he tried to project, he was still only human.

He went to his office, but he couldn’t settle to anything, he did a little bit of this, and little bit of that, and just ended up pacing the carpeted floor. He left them alone as long as he could before he gave in and went down to the kitchen.

“Sorry to interrupt, I just needed a cup of coffee,” He said as casually as he could. The looks Alfred and Jason gave him said neither of them actually believed his excuse, which was fair. “It’s good to see you Jaylad, thanks for coming.”

“Well I’m not going to miss out on a new brother am I? You gonna have this one running around in spandex too B?” He asked, raising an eyebrow, it made Bruce wince but it Was progress because he was acknowledging their familial ties. 

“I’m almost two years too late to stop him,” Bruce said regretfully. “It’s been… a lot has happened. I’m sure Alfred caught you up on most of it, but I’d like to talk to you before you meet either of the siblings.”

“Trying to make sure I won’t be a bad influence?” Jason asked and Bruce couldn’t tell if he was joking or accusing. 

“No, nothing like that,” Bruce said, holding up his hands. “I just want to talk.”

Jason hummed skeptically, scrutinizing Bruce before turning back towards Alfred. “What do you think Alfie, can you spare me?”

“I always appreciate your help master Jason, but I can manage on my own,” Alfred assured, sounding amused. 

“Alright, to your office then?” Jason asked, turning back towards Bruce. 

“Or the sitting room, whichever would be more comfortable.”

“Office,” Jason said firmly, this was the distance that he was keeping between them. They worked together now, and Jason cared for his siblings, but he kept them all at arms length. For everyone’s safety really, if they set him off he didn’t want to hurt them, and he didn’t want to be set off either. It always felt like shit. Jason followed Bruce to the office and sprawled in the soft chair across the desk from Bruce’s. He remembered being a kid, sitting properly and nervously in this chair across from Bruce hoping desperately for his approval. How times change.

“I just wanted to talk to you about the new kids” Bruce started and Jason waved him away.

“I’m really not going to corrupt them or anything, I Probably won’t be around enough to make a difference anyway.” Jason said dismissively.

Bruce took a deep breath, controlling his expression and folding his hands on the table. “That’s not it Jaylad, Alfred must have told you that the boy died and came back?” 

Jason tensed and green swirled in his vision, it was the same thing that Bruce had seen in Danny when Zatana asked about Phantom. “Ya he did.” Defensive and insecure.

“It seems like he, and his sister who was sort of a caretaker to him, know a lot more than we do about the effect that that has on a person. To help us take care of Danny she gave us a presentation about it, it… makes a lot of sense. You should probably talk to her and Danny about it really but I just wanted to apologize. 

“I’ve been trying to fix this, fix… you for a long time and I know I’ve been going about it wrong and I’ve been hurting you.”

“You got a new treatment plan in mind, old man?” Jason asked, his arms crossed and Bruce wished that mistrust wasn’t earned. 

“No,” Bruce sighed looking down. “Really Jason I don’t, I know I was wrong. This is something I just didn’t know I didn’t know about,” He hated his own ignorance, he hated to admit it! He was Batman! The way he kept up with other superheroes was always being prepared for everything and knowing more than everyone around him, but he hadn’t even known there was something there to know!

“This isn’t about that, and it’s not about you staying away from the new kids. Exactly the opposite actually, since they know more about this, and Danny might be one of the few people who really understands what it’s like to die and come back like that, I was hoping you’d spend more time here, around them. I think it might help you both.”

“Huh,” Jason sounded, blinking rapidly because that was the most sincere apology he’d gotten from Bruce and he didn’t quite know how to react to it. “Maybe… maybe.” He hadn’t met the new siblings yet after all, maybe they’d hate each other. 

“Can I meet them now?” He asked looking back up at Bruce curiously. 

“Of course, the girl's name is Jasmine Fenton, called Jazz, the boy goes by Danny. Jazz is turning 18 soon, Danny is 16.” 

Right Tim had mentioned that, so Danny was about 3 years younger than him then. That shouldn’t matter too much, and maybe Tim will be right about the sister and can tease Jason about it. He’d been single for a while and wouldn’t mind changing that.

“Of course, I think you should meet Jazz first, she’s protective of Danny and she hasn’t been very involved in all of this. I think she’d feel better being allowed to… vet you first for lack of a better word. Are you okay with that?” Bruce asked Jason politely. 

“Sure, I don’t really care what order I meet them in and… Look Bruce I know I’m mad at you, and I was really hard on Timmy when everything was still raw. But I’m never going to knowingly hurt a kid, or make life harder for them. If I can help them I will,” Jason said sincerely. 

“Jason, the girl is less than a year younger than you. You’re a kid too,” Bruce said sadly. Jason froze for a moment, Yes he was 19, his mind wasn’t fully developed yet or whatever the hell, but he hadn’t felt like a kid since his death. Even before that, the responsibility for his mother, and then the work as a hero. Bruce wanted soldiers, Jason had never gotten a chance to be a kid really.

“Whatever,” Jason scoffed, shoving his hands into his pockets and standing up, closing himself off from that sincerity. “Do you know where she is?”

“She’s in the library,” Bruce said, his lips twitching up in a smile. “She loves books almost as much as you did, though she seems to be more drawn to non-fiction.” 

Jason hummed and nodded, heading towards the door since he knew his own damn way to the library, Bruce didn’t have to lead! He did follow through, he was clearly protective of these kids so of course he would want to be there when Jason met them.

When he entered the library he saw a young woman sitting at one of the tables with some sort of text book. Her back was straight and her legs tucked under the chair with her ankles crossed. It looked like she was self consciously trying to look put together. She looked up at them, blue green eyes looking him over critically, he could practically see her picking him apart in her mind and he tried not to fidget.

“Hey, it’s nice to meet you, I’m Jason Todd,” He said, walking over and offering her his hand to shake. She was very pretty, but he was surprised by his own complete lack of attraction, she just didn’t register that way, she seemed more… maternal almost.

“Ah, the dead son,” She chuckled, getting up from the table and reaching out to shake his hand, her grip was strong and her hands were soft and cool. “It’s nice to meet you, they mentioned you. Nothing bad,” She added when she saw her face. “And I don’t mean to be rude, I know some people are sensitive about their deaths being mentioned. Danny jokes about it all the time so… I just wanted to let you know that I know, and I accept you.” Jazz said with a warm smile. 

Her easy acceptance caught him off guard and before he could help it he was baring his teeth at her in a snarl, defensive and probing, did she mean it? She grinned sharper bearing sharp fangs at him in a matching sign of… friendly aggression, something inside him settled. He chuckled and took a step back. “Well thanks, nice to meet someone who doesn’t look like they bit a lemon every time I make a death joke.”

“It’s your death, as long as it’s healthy you can own that however comes naturally to you,” Jazz promised, sitting back down at the desk. “I’d love to talk more and get to know you, but we can do that later. You really should meet Danny.”

“You don’t want to come with us,” Bruce broke in, sounding worried. Jason had almost forgotten he was there, he hadn’t realized how… all encompassing the short interaction had been.

“I’ll probably follow,” Jazz said with a shrug, her gaze turning stern as she looked at Bruce. “Remember what I said about never breaking up a fight,” She told him firmly. 

Well if that didn’t make Jason nervous he didn’t know what did. Why would he fight with Danny? Would Danny fight with him? Why? “You really think it’s a good idea for us to meet? Why would we fight?” Jason asked her sharply.

“Of course,” she agreed, her eyes softening as she looked back at him, though her expression remained a little mischievous. “It’ll be good for both of you.”

Next

[weasleyreidstyles]

Serendipity

chapter two

summary: it was only meant to be a purely transactional relationship. he would help her strengthen her abilities in return for her getting his friends out of his father's nasty path. he didn't mean to fall for her, but loving her was the easiest thing in his dark world.

no use of y/n, but your general nickname is Meadow. All characters are aged up to be over 18.

pairings: mattheo riddle x fem!ravenclaw reader; platonic!slytherins x fem!reader; platonic!golden trio x fem!reader

warning(s): slight mind manipulation?

series masterlist; previous part; next part

At some point during the feast, you managed to sneak your way onto the Gryffindor table, sliding into the seat beside Ginny, who was sat with Dean Thomas to her other side, who shifted uncomfortably everytime Ron glared at the hand that was grazing his sister's.

"Nice face, Harold." you say sarcastically. "Who healed the break? It looks rushed."

"Thanks Meadow." he snarks before deflating further in his seat as your eyes tracked him for more injuries. "Tonks walked me from the train."

You hummed in acknowledgment before you went over the unhealed scabs and dried patches of blood with wordless spells which always left your friends marvelling at your skill.

"There. Now your face is pretty as ever." you say smirking, patting Harry's cheek which he swats away. "Can't have the 'Chosen One' at his worst now, can we?"

"Piss off." he grumbled but it was only banter between two friends.

"How are you, really, Harry? Where'd you disappear to on the train." you wanted to hear him say it, even if you did trust Theo's word.

"I was right about Malfoy-" he starts before you interrupt him.

"So I've heard. You've taken up stalking as a hobby now, Potter? That's low." you chuckle, which turns into a full on laugh as he glares at you, annoyed.

"He's a Death Eater." he lowers his voice, but his admission sucks the happiness right out of the air. "He was talking about some task that Voldemort has for him."

He pauses as if his mind is trying to catch up with the words tumbling from his mouth, before he looks directly at you, as if he's staring through you.

"You've seen Nott today right? And Parkinson?" you nodded. "What did they talk about? Did Nott talk about his father being caught at the Ministry? Or did-"

You raised a singular brow at your friend as if to say 'are you finished?'.

"Yes I saw them today, in the Prefects' carriage. We just caught up with small talk and some gossip about some Hufflepuff couple. Nothing more." the lie was quickly thought out and also not too far fetched – Pansy had mentioned something about a new couple in passing before you'd parted ways on the train.

"Nothing about tasks or creepy shops?" Ron asked as he shoved a piece of chicken into his mouth. You watched him, discust painting your features.

"Nothing about tasks, and certainly nothing about creepy shops. Please chew with your mouth closed, Ronald. Seriously Harry? Stalking?"

He only shrugged at you before turning to his plate of food. He was clearly put out about something and you would bet all your galleons that it had to do with the couple next to you, who were being nauseating, to put it lightly.

You and Hermione giggled as Ron muttered about his sister and her boyfriend showing any ounce of affection in front of him, sharing a glance as Harry continued to glance at them before looking away, visibly annoyed.

When Dumbledore began to stand in front of the House tables, you slipped back into your seat beside Luna; in the corner of your eye you watched as Theo gave you the subtlest of nods.

"The very best of evenings to you!" Dumbledore announced, smiling broadly, his arms outstretched wide as if he were embracing the whole room. That's when you, and the rest of the Hogwarts student body, noticed that his right hand appeared to have started decaying at a rapid rate.

You made eye contact with Pansy who looked as horrified as everyone else.

What the fuck? She practically screamed into your mind as the sound of people whispering swept through the hall.

Dumbledore merely smiled before he shook the sleeve of his purple and gold cloak over his hand.

"Nothing to worry about," he said airily. "Now...to our new students, welcome, to our old students, welcome back! Another year full of magical education awaits you..."

You drowned out the rest of his speech, like you do every year, instead conversing with Pansy in your head.

It looks like his hand has physically died. You say to her. It's got to be dark magic of some sort.

But what business does Dumbledore have messing with that sort of evil? She sounded as nauseated as you felt just thinking about it.

"We are pleased to welcome a new member of staff this year. Professor Slughorn-" Dumbledore said, prompting the man that you had yet to meet to stand up. "-is a former colleague of mine who has agreed to resume his old post of Potions master."

You swivelled in your seat to find Hermione in the crowds and mouthed 'potions?' to her with confusion written all over your face.

The word echoed all over the Hall as people wondered whether they had heard right.

"But if he's the Potions Professor, then who will be teaching Defence?" Cho spoke from across the table.

"Professor Snape, meanwhile," said Dumbledore, raising voice so that it carried over all the muttering, "will be taking the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Well that answered that question.

"No!" you giggled quietly with Luna as everyone's heads swivelled back and forth between Harry, who had shouted so loudly but didn't seem to care, Snape and Dumbledore.

And suddenly Defence is my least favourite subject. Theo spoke, making you choke on your drink as you laugh.

As if oblivious to the uproar his announcement just caused, Dumbledore waited only a few moments before the hall descended into silence once more, before continuing his long winded speech.

"Now as everyone in this Hall is aware," he pointedly looked anywhere but in the direction of the Slytherin table, "Lord Voldemort and his followers once again walk among us and gain strength and numbers everyday."

Suddenly the heads that were staring in Harry's direction turned pointedly to where Mattheo Riddle and his friends were sitting. Instead of shying away from their gazes, like Pansy and Daphne Greengrass and few others did, he continued to stare ahead at Dumbledore, seemingly unbothered by the attention he was garnering.

The silence seemed to strain painfully as Dumbledore spoke. But you seemed to zone out of what he was saying. Something about the castle's protection wards being fortified and strengthened; extra security; stricter curfew at night, etc. You took in none of it, instead focusing on your friends at the Slytherin table, who grew paler by the second. You'd watch out for them this year, especially Theo. None of them deserved to be put into the position they no doubt would all be in, come Christmas time.

Dumbledore's blue twinkling eyes swept over the students once more. "But now, your beds await, as warm and comfortable as you could possibly wish, and I know that your top priority is to be well-rested for your lessons tomorrow. Let us therefore say good night. Pip pip!"

Your lessons tomorrow.

You wished it was as simple as school work, but you knew it would be anything but.

~∞~

You woke up early the next morning, the anticipation for what the day may bring making your anxiety skyrocket as you got ready to leave for the Great Hall, in which the ceiling sported a brilliantly blue sky, only a few clouds dotting the illusion. You met the Golden trio there, who were busy discussing Harry's theory about Malfoy.

"Well obviously Riddle's already inducted." Ron muttered as you sat down, a speck of blue, in a sea of red. "He is his father's son, after all."

"Still going on your Malfoy-is-a-death eater spiel? The day has hardly begun." you said as you piled scrambled eggs onto a plate, ignoring the pointed look that Professor Mcgonagall gave you as she handed out her House's timetables.

Ron seemed to be getting more agitated by the second as another group of third years on the table beside your's pointed between the four of you and whispered, not so discreetly, about what happened in June.

"It's rude to point." he snapped, sending a glare their way, causing them to turn around, cheeks painted with embarrassment.

"So sixth year looks very bare in comparison to last year, doesn't it." you say, steering Ron's glare from the backs of their heads while you looked over his timetable.

"I love being a sixth year already." Ron said, his mood brightening visibly thanks to your interference. "And we're going to be getting free time this year. Whole periods when we can just sit up in the common room and relax."

"We're going to need that time for studying, Ron!" Hermione berated as you laughed.

"Yeah, but not today," said Ron, "today's going to be a real doss, I reckon."

"I wouldn't speak too soon, Ronald." you say with a smirk as Professor Mcgonagall makes her way over to the four of you. You'd already gotten your timetable the from Professor Flitwick that morning and found out that you were in the same classes as Hermione. You both finished off your plates and left Harry and Ron in favour of getting to Ancient Runes, where Theo and Riddle were waiting for you.

Reaching the classroom, you spotted Theo immediately and went to snag the seat beside him, but Pansy beat you to it with a playful smirk.

"Come and sit by me, Princess." you glared at your two friends as you turned around to find Riddle with his arm stretched over the back of the spare seat of his desk. "I don't bite."

"Somehow I highly doubt that." you mumbled as you searched for Hermione, who had chosen to sit near the front of the room, the seat beside her already taken. Traitor. She only looked at you apologetically before turning around.

You slumped into the seat, pointedly ignoring him as you took out your things. You could hear Theo and Pansy laughing at your expense so you sent a small stinging jinx wandlessly their way, smirking when they yelped in surprise.

"Smart girl." Riddle mumbled to himself, probably not intending for you to hear, but your cheeks flushed all the same.

"So was Theo lying about your disastrous ability to desipher runes, or was that just a way to get me to agree for your...help?" you ask, still choosing to igore him.

"Oh I assure you I'm quite terrible, Princess. Awful. In fact I'm not sure how I got back into this class, if I'm being entirely honest." he said it with a shrug before he smirked at you again. "I'm sure you can help me. You are top of the class, after all."

"Actually Mione was top of the class at the end of last year. Why not ask her?" you ask, glancing at him through the corner of your eye. He had turned to look directly at you, but his hand was still on the back of your chair.

You try, and fail, to push it off, sneering at the muscular appendage in offence. Damn him and his strong, quidditch arms.

"Theodore doesn't trust Granger, he trusts you. Therefore, I'm putting my trust into your...abilities to help me out."

Lovely. His words carried a double meaning. You were really considering hexing Theo and Pansy again for putting you in this situation.

His huff of laughter along with the burning pinch at the base of your skull were the only indications that he'd heard your thoughts.

After Defence, wait for me so that we can discuss the nature of your lessons and my apparent tutlage.

You ignored him for the rest of the lesson, but wordlessly agreed, nonetheless.

~∞~

You were complaining to Hermione the whole walk to the Defence classroom, and while she was amused, there was underlying worry in her responses.

"So he wants you to tutor him?" she asks curiously.

"Not a clue why." you say flipantly. "If I was him I'd much rather you taught me."

"Well I am a muggleborn, for starters." she says self-depricatingly and continues speaking, not allowing you to rebute her statement. "And you're still at the top of the class. Christ, you can do most spells non-verbally and wandlessly, far better than I can. I think I'd rather you than me, too. No offence."

You only smiled sarcastically at her. "I don't think anyone would willingly tutor him. Perhaps I should bargain a favour with him instead."

You left out the part where he was already fulfilling a kind of favour, for Theodore and Pansy, no less.

"One class in and my shoulders already ache." you whine as you rolled your shoulder to ease the pain that your heavy bag was causing. Harry and Ron met you outside the classroom a moment later, staring, horrified, at Hermione's armful of heavy books.

"We've gotten so much homework for Runes already." she said anxiously. "A fifteen-inch essay, two translations and we've got to read these by Wednesday!"

"Now I see why we have so many frees this year." you grumble.

"Shame," Ron said with a yawn, before smirking at the two of you.

"Just you wait," she said resentfully. "I bet Snape gives us loads."

The classroom door opened as she spoke and Snape stepped into the corridor, his sallow face framed as ever by two curtains of greasy black hair. Silence fell over the queue immediately.

"Inside," he said.

The Defence classroom was gloomier than ever, but thankfully it was no longer sickeningly pink and filled to the brim with plates of cat photos. The dark curtains were drawn across the windows and the only light came from the numerous candles that dotted the room, insighting a headache when you tried to read the blackboard. Snape's personality appeared to shine all over the room, from the odd portraits to the weird contraptions that littered the space.

"I have not asked you to take out your books," said Snape, closing the door and moving to face the class from behind his desk; Hermione hastily dropped her copy of Confronting the Faceless back into her bag and stowed it under her chair. "I wish to speak to you and I require your fullest attention. You have had five teachers in this subject so far, I believe."

His dark, beady eyes scanned the room.

"Naturally, these teachers will all have had their own methods and priorities. Given this confusion I am surprised so many of you scraped an O.W.L. in this subject. I shall be even more surprised if all of you manage to keep up with the N.E.W.T. work, which will be much more advanced." he set off around the edge of the room, speaking now in a low voice that you desperately wanted to drown out. But the burning sensation at the back of your skill prohibited you from doing just that.

No. Pay attention. Riddle was becoming a thorn in your side, and its only the first day.

"The Dark Arts," said Snape, "are many, varied, ever-changing and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster. Each time a neck is severed, it sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before. You are fighting that which is unfixed, mutating, indestructible."

Someone read up on their Greek mythology this summer. You say to Theo, who smirks behind his hand.

"Your defences," Snape continued, a little louder, "must therefore be as flexible and inventive as the Arts you seek to undo. These pictures," he indicated a few of them as he swept past, "give a fair representation of what happens to those who suffer, for instance, the Cruciatus Curse-" he waved a hand towards a witch who was clearly shrieking in agony; "-feel the Dementor's Kiss-" a wizard lying huddled and blank-eyed slumped against a wall; "-or provoke the aggression of the Inferius." a bloody mass upon the ground.

"Has an Inferius been seen, then?" Parvati Patil asked in a high-pitched voice. "Is it definite, is he using them?"

"The Dark Lord has used Inferi in the past," said Snape, "which means you would be well-advised to assume he might use them again. Now..."

You really did drown him out this time. Thinking about his wording. To your knowledge, only his followed gave him the name 'the Dark Lord', so why was Snape using that name? You filed away the information as he paced across the classroom.

"....you are, I believe, complete novices in the use of non-verbal spells. What is the advantage of a non-verbal spell?"

Hermione's hand shot into the air. Snape took his time looking around at everybody else, pointledly looking in your direction where your hands stayed glued to your sides, making sure he had no choice, before saying curtly, "Very well – Miss Granger?"

"Your adversary has no warning about what kind of magic you're about to perform," she stated, "which gives you a split-second advantage."

"An answer copied almost word for word from The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6," said Snape dismissively. "But correct in essentials. Yes, those who progress to using magic without shouting incantations gain an element of surprise in their spell-casting. Not all wizards can do this, of course; it is a question of concentration and mind power which some," his gaze lingered maliciously upon Harry, "lack."

The Professor's beady eyes landed on you once more, a challenge present in them.

"Miss Meadow, come up to the front." everyone's eyes were on you as he beckoned you forward, so you obeyed. "I want you to demonstrate this skill. On me." He motioned for you to stand on one side of the room, while he stayed at the other.

You shook off your limps and, using your wand rather than just doing it wandlessly, you shot out a disarming spell, which Snape blocked.

"Good. Now try again." he said as he shot his own disarming spell at you, which you wordlessly blocked with a flick of your wand.

This back and forth continued for five or so more minutes before Snape managed to catch you off guard and disarm you with a minute flick of his wrist.

"Very good. Now following that example, you will divide into pairs. One partner will attempt to jinx the other without speaking. The other will attempt to repel the jinx in equal silence. Carry on."

People paired off, you choosing to partner with Mione who looked determined to perfect this new skill. Everyone who was part of the DA in the previous year were practically experts at casting spells, but none of them, bar you, could perform the Charms wordlessly. A reasonable amount of cheating ensued; many people were merely whispering the incantation instead of saying it aloud, including Ron, which only made you laugh as you watched as Harry blocked his every attack.

Of course, Hermione had gotten the hang of it within ten minutes of practice, as did Theo and Zabini and Riddle. Harry and Ron were still struggling, along with Pansy and Lorenzo.

To say you were bored was an understatement. Snape had already known that you were skilled with wordless and apparently wandless magic too, which meant that he could clearly see into your mind – yet another reason why Riddle needed to teach you control. The only other interesting thing to happen was Harry blatently sassing your Professor, which left you and Hermione gaping and Ron, Dean and Seamus grinning at him.

Once the lesson had ended, Snape in a more abysmal mood than usual after Harry made a fool out of him, you lingered in the corridor, waiting for Riddle to leave so that you could get the interaction over with.

"Hey Meadow! You coming?" Ron asked loudly from the end of the hallway. He looked at you with an odd expression on his face which morphed into unwilling understanding when you felt Theo's presence beside you.

"I'll be there in a bit. I'll meet you in the courtyard." you shout back as you turn towards Theo and his friends.

"Some lesson that was, right tesoro?" Theo asks you as he wraps a strong arm around your shoulder, steering you in the direction of the rest of his group, who were looking between you, Theo and Mattheo with matching expressions on their faces.

"What the hell is she doing here, Nott?" Malfoy asks, looking at you with distain. You glared back at him, about to respond when his familiar deep voice answers instead.

"She's here for me." Riddle says. "Go on ahead. I won't be a moment."

Its Zabini who steers Malfoy away from his glaring contest with you, and Theo who wordlessly wishes you luck with a pat to the top of your head.

"So you're going to teach me control?" you ask as you lean against the nearest wall. He rolls his eyes and wraps a giant hand around your wrist.

"Yes." he hissed. "But not here. How stupid are you? Talking about it out in the open, by a classroom, nonetheless."

Your eyes only widened in mild surprise as he began dragging you down the corridor in the direction that his friends went, but he turned into an empty broom cupboard instead.

"Salazar, if you wanted to get me alone like this there were far better ways of asking Riddle." you say sarcastically, but your eyes show a teasing challenge as you stare up at him.

"Was that an offer, Princess?" he asks with that wicked smirk of his.

"Read the room, Riddle. I'd rather sleep with a troll." you snark.

"Suit yourself." he chuckles before his face sets into that serious look he seems to have mastered in his years at Hogwarts. "The first step to learning full control is learning how to ground yourself."

You look at him expectantly which made him roll is eyes.

"You have to find a happy medium in your head that allows you to keep control of what you don't want people to see, and who you let into your head." he explains motioning to his own head as he speaks.

"So that horrible burning feeling in the back of my skull whenever you get in my head-" you begin.

"Is only there because it lets you know that someone unwanted is using Occlimency on you. The fact that you can't block me out is what we need to work on. Does the same happen with Theodore and Pansy when you communicate with them?"

"No. They're presence is wanted. Yours," you trail your eyes up and down what you can see of his tall frame in the dark, "is not."

"Well until you do accept me in your subconscious, it'll continue to hurt and it'll hurt more when you're trying to block it out." he says and to demonstrate he begins rifling through your thoughts and feelings with little to no effort, that burning sensation appearing like a pinch once again. You cradle you head in your hands, a cry escaping your lips.

Walking to the Great Hall for breakfast that morning, anxiety knawing at your insides.

Harry's Malfoy-is-a-death-eater spiel.

Your mini-dual with Snape.

How you want Riddle to rip your clothes right off your body and have him take you-

That wasn't right. You managed to mentally push him right out of your mind with more effort than you reckon it would take for you to haul a quaffle into the goal. It made your head ache.

"What the fuck was that?!" you snap, hitting his arm.

"You're a fast learner. Well done. It takes most people multiple sessions to do what you just did." he looks...proud. It stirs something strange in your gut.

"What did I just do?" you asked, intrigued, scared, confused.

"You just succeeded in blocking me out of your head." he smirked lightly, almost showing a ghost of a smile.

We're going to have lots of fun, Princess.

He was still in your head. His deep voice filling every corner of your mind, but that burning sensation was no longer present. It no longer stung and he was no longer able to rifle through your thoughts. Only converse with you, like you could with Theo and Pansy.

"We'll do this twice a week, until you can block me out without thinking about it." he said as he walked towards the door, leaving you standing motionlessly in the dark.

~∞~

icl the whole plot of this is heavily inspired by my beloved xaden and violet's bond with all their mind talking and arguing🤭🤭 (minus the dragons, etc)

[mykneeshurt]

Hello may I please submit a request? Simon’s wife is a nice quiet woman in the streets but when her husband comes home she leashes out on him 😭😭 one day simons looking through all your dirty Polaroids he took one night and the boys catch him 😂

Baha I love this. I hope I did ok it’s only short!! This scenario screams Soap is a menace hahaahah. Not proof read. Also guys don’t look at others peoples SOs photos lmao this is purely fiction 😂

Mrs Simon Riley. A good quiet woman, a nurse, caring and understanding. She and Simon had met after a terrorist attack in London. Working in A&E the victims of the attack were brought there, she was busy dressing wounds, hanging IV lines and giving pain medication. That was until Task Force 141 burst through the doors carrying a half conscious Simon Riley.

Her manager assigned her to take care of him, blood loss from a stab wound. He was rushed into surgery to cauterise the blood vessel and stitch up the open skin. Their relationship was rocky at first, she felt uneasy he was rushed in above everyone else. The skull mask made her feel nervous, but his gentle grasp at her wrist alleviated some of this.

They began talking more and more during her shifts, he eagerly awaited her arrival every time. After he was discharged they remained in contact and the rest is history.

Four years later and Ghost is sat in his room at the barracks, missing his wife immensely. All the boys had met her, she often invited them round for dinner. They loved her, she was funny, kind and certainly kept Ghost in his place. But what they didn’t know was that she was a fiend in the bedroom. She certainly gave Ghost a run for his money.

Knowing he was going to be away for months she surprised him before he left. A small envelope filled with Polaroids of her, in deep purple underwear, stockings, and black patent stilettos. Others she was completely naked, angling the camera down her body two fingers teasing the edge of her cunt.

Oh he liked this surprise. On base he kept them on his person, no one else was gonna be privy to this. When he left base he kept them in a tin lock box he hid in a vent in his room. Just looking at her body in those photos drove him wild, all he wanted to do was to touch her. To feel her beneath him.

Lost in his memories of her he didn’t hear the first knock at the door. The second made him jump ‘Ghost! You in there buddy?’ Soaps thick accent pierced the door. Scrambling he tried to shove the pictures back in the box making one hell of a racket. ‘Comin Soap!’

Opening the door he was panting slightly. ‘Alright Lt?’ Soap asked confused. Nodding he hurried him out of the room but not before Soap noticed a picture on the floor. ‘What’s that on the floor Lt?’ His eyes widened in fear, he couldn’t let your pictures be seen by them. ‘Nothin that concerns you Johnny’ he warned.

Gaz rounded the corner and saw the look in Ghosts eyes, ‘Soap what you done now?’ He laughed. ‘Lt is hiding something from us me thinks.’ Gaz burst out laughing.

‘Leave him alone Soap, come in before Price has our arses.’ Soap backed off, surrendering.

As Ghost dropped his guard to close the door Soap burst through and dived for the photo. ‘STEAMIN JESUS LT!’ He shrieked laughing, ‘hidin’ this beauty from us I see.’ Gaz over come with curiosity fought off Ghost and joined Soap on the floor. ‘Fuck sir. She’s stunning’ he laughed. Luckily it was a photo of her in her lingerie, her breasts pushed together, her red lips smirking. ‘Gimme that if you know what’s good for you’ Ghost boomed.

Gaz and Soap exchanged a glance at each other like naughty school boys. ‘One more peep Lt?’ Soap laughed.

[captainsophiestark]

The Hard Call

Azriel x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Requeted by Anon! Nonnie, thank you for enabling me to write about Az and Flynn, I absolutely love you for it ❤️ Feel free to drop by any time you want to talk anything SJM-related! Hope you like this, and good news, I have a Flynn fic coming in the next couple days too!

Fandom: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Summary: Azriel made the hard call when he had to, but he's feeling pretty guilty about it.

Word Count: 1,610

Category: Angst, Fluff

WARNING: House of Flame and Shadow spoilers below the cut!

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

I swore under my breath as Nesta jammed Ataraxia into the back of the Daglan, the Asteri, whatever it was called. Black blood spurted out of its mouth, but a moment later, the thing—Vesperus—pushed back against the tip of the blade and removed it from her chest. It shouldn't have been possible for something to survive a direct hit like that from Nesta and that sword, but a lot of things from the past few days shouldn't have been possible.

When a fae female had landed in a heap on the River House lawn in front of my mate, I knew we were in for some strange new challenges. But never in a million years could I have predicted the journey she'd led us on through tunnels apparently running all under the Night Court, straight into the heart of the Prison. And now we were facing down one of the most dangerous creatures in the universe, just me, Az, and Nesta, with the female Bryce as an unreliable additional ally.

I tightened my grip on my sword and tried to calm my racing heart as I stood shoulder to shoulder with Azriel. We'd gotten through countless life and death situations together before, but for the first time in a long time, I wasn't sure we'd be able to get out of this one.

Vesperus gave Nesta a horrifying smile as the wound in her chest quickly healed. I glanced to Az, but he kept his eyes locked on the monster before us.

"Ataraxia didn't work," Nesta breathed. "The Trove-"

"Do not summon the Trove," barked my mate. Based on what we knew about this thing before us, I immediately agreed. "Don't bring it near her."

"But-"

"Not even for our lives," he snarled, leaving no room for argument. The same harsh resolve solidified itself in my mind, and I braced myself for the possibility of a last stand. At least if we went down, it would be fighting side by side with my mate.

A flicker of shadows floating softly over my shoulders was the only indication that my mate felt the same. The Daglan grinned, and I got ready to pounce.

****************

Hours later, I sat slumped in my favorite chair in the Velaris townhouse, trying to recover from everything that had happened under the prison. We'd managed to kill the Daglan-Asteri, despite Bryce trying to question it, no matter the risk to our world. But she had gotten away in an impressive display of power, which meant her world's Asteri might have a chance at using her to find us.

Needless to say, when Az, Nesta, and I had made it out of the Prison, we'd had a lot to debrief about with the rest of the Inner Circle.

Nobody was happy about the situation we now found ourselves in, but for the time being, there was also nothing we could do about it. So once we made a basic plan to try to gather information and prepare in case something from that other world came back, we all split off for our separate tasks. Az still had a few things to go over with Rhys, but I was free for the time being, so I'd come to my favorite cozy spot in Velaris to try to come down from the insane adrenaline that had been pumping since Bryce got here.

One perk of Rhys and Feyre building the River House and Nesta keeping Cassian at the House of Wind more often was that the townhouse, my personal favorite location, was often free for Az and I to use as our own. I closed my eyes in my favorite armchair by the fire, still in my fighting leathers, and focused on taking deep breaths to try to get the tension out of my shoulders.

I'd actually almost managed to drift off to sleep when I heard the front door open and shut heavily. I didn't need to look to know Az had just arrived, so with a deep sigh to drag me back from the edge of sleep, I raised my head and turned to look at my mate.

"Everything figured out with Rhys?" I asked. He nodded once, moving into the room with a face like stone. I frowned, sitting up and paying a little better attention as he took a seat on the couch, his gorgeous hazel eyes never leaving mine. "What's wrong?"

A muscle in Az's jaw ticked, and I knew he was mustering a response to my words. Despite his reputation as the unreadable spymaster, all our time together as friends and then as mates had given me a leg up on everyone else who tried to read his expressions.

I stood from my seat in the armchair and moved to sit before Az on the couch instead, taking his hands in mine. His eyes searched my face, and I let a small smile work its way through the exhaustion, trying to put him at ease. He could take however long he needed to, and I'd be ready to listen when he wanted to talk.

"I'm... sorry."

I raised an eyebrow. "For what, exactly?"

That muscle in his jaw was working over time, the rest of his face the same inscrutable mask he'd worked so hard to perfect.

"For what happened in the Prison. For... being willing to let you die down there, rather than risk Nesta summoning the Trove. You deserve a better mate than that."

My jaw dropped, shock preventing me from responding for a few small moments. Az just kept staring at me, and even though his face didn't show it, I could feel the guilt eating him up at his core.

"Az, you have nothing to apologize for!" I finally managed. One of his eyebrows quirked up and he frowned, expressing doubt at my words without speaking one of his own. I huffed and squeezed his hands tighter.

"Listen to me, Azriel. The reason you are my mate is because you made that decision in the Prison. We both know that letting something like that into the world with a weapon like the Mask is an unacceptable option, as long as there is anything in this world we can do to prevent it. If the Daglan or the Asteri or whatever she was had gotten her hands on the mask, it probably would've cost the lives of everyone we've ever cared about, and the rest of this world along with it. Nothing is worth allowing that to happen."

Az ground his jaw, his gaze softening and his eyebrows furrowing as he continued to scan my face.

"Are you... sure? Cassian and Rhys... I think they'd tear the world to shreds for their mates."

I just shrugged. "For what? If the world is gone, if the cost of that choice is absolutely everything else, then what's the point of saving each other in the first place? We'd have nothing left, other than the blood of the world on our hands."

Az grunted, and I shifted closer to him, bringing one hand up to cup his cheek.

"Az. I love you, so much, and a part of that love is because you're not so selfish as to risk throwing the world away for me. Especially since, more likely than not, we'd be dead anyway not long after she got that mask. Neither of us is selfish enough to make a call like that, and I love that about us. The only thing that matters is that we stand together as long as we can, and I knew damn well in the cave that if either of us was going down, we were going down side by side, fighting to our last breath. Obviously I'm happy we both made it out of there, and I'm not saying we shouldn't fight for each other, but that call you made today? I'd be pissed if you'd made a different one."

Az studied me for another second, and I let him see every truth and emotion written in my face. Finally, he sighed, the tension going out of his shoulders as he reached out and pulled me closer to him, arms around my waist. I smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck and tangling my hands in his hair. We'd almost died today, and I wasn't about to take the fact that we were both still here together for granted.

"Have I mentioned lately how happy I am to have you as my mate?" Az asked, his voice a little gravelly as he leaned in closer to me. I smiled, leaning forward and letting my lips ghost over his own.

"Yeah, actually, you have. But I'll never complain about hearing it again."

Az smirked, then gently closed the last of that distance between us, his lips brushing softly against mine. I leaned into the kiss, eager for more contact, and I could feel Az's smirk widening right before I deepened the kiss. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me as tight to his body as possible, and I tangled my hands in his hair, letting myself get swept up in him.

I'd meant every word I'd said to my mate, about the choice he'd made and how I felt about it. But I was also incredibly happy it hadn't come down to the cost of our lives, and that we'd made it out of there together. And now that Official Night Court Business had been taken care of, I intended to fully celebrate and appreciate Azriel, and the fact that we were still here together. And I knew he intended to do the same.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989

[sebastians-niffler]

Judge of Character | Sebastian Sallow x GN Hufflepuff

(REQUESTS ARE OPEN!)

Word count: 1.2k

Warnings: none! absolute fluffy goodness for my first post on this page c:

Summary: When professor Howin assigns a task on caring of a niffler, Sebastian has a bit of a hard time. That is, until you give him the confidence he had hidden all along.

“Now, just gently tickle their belly: like this,” professor Howin demonstrated as her finger tips grazed over the nifflers stomach, earning a giggle from the creature. You slowly and gently let your fingertips graze the light brown patch that covered the creatures otherwise dark, chocolate brown colored fur. As your fingertips tickled the beast, it began to wriggle in delight as various coins and rubies began to slip out of their pouch. “Very well done! Ten points to Hufflepuff!” Professor Howin stood by your side as your niffler had sat back up to collect their shiny belongings and also managed to sneak your own personal bracelet clean off your wrist while you were smiling at the professor.

“Oh come on you bloody rat!” You heard a familiar voice shout from the table towards the kneazle pens. “I thought you were supposed to like this, why am I wasting my time with you,” frustrated grunts filled the air as the boy took the creature by its toes and hung it upside down. “Perhaps because you are torturing the poor thing, Sebastian” Ominis spoke up as he tried to stifle a snicker behind his hand. Ominis reached his hand out to feel around the table to cradle his niffler in one hand while he tucked his wand into his robe before gently tickling onto the creature's soft tuft of blue fur. “See?” The blonde boy smirked in Sebastian's general direction, earning a growl of jealousy in response. “You know, Sebastian, they say that creatures are a good judge of character.” Ominis started as he began to laugh through his words.

“Perhaps, you could assist your Slytherin friend with his niffler? I think he needs a more… gentle approach?” professor Howin raised her eyebrows as he forced herself to look away from the scene and back towards you. “Once you have taken care of that, you are free to spend the rest of class time as you’d please. I know you have been wanting to spend some more time with the new baby thestrals.” With a delighted smile and an eager nod in response, you thanked the professor before slowly stalking toward your friends. You gently place a hand on Ominis lower back so as to not startle him as you sneak up on Sebastian. “I thought I heard you struggling over here,” you began as you smiled through your words, placing a hand on Sebastian's shoulder. “Oh Merlin, finally, a voice of reason that Sebastian will actually listen to.” Ominis pressed his hands together in prayer as he lifted his head to the sky. “That bloody rat trusted the one that couldn’t even see it over me, the one that was doing exactly like everyone else did!” Sebastian pouted, looking over to Ominis to see if he had offended him with his spurt of jealousy. “Sebastian, you just need to be more patient. It will learn to trust you; we both did…” Ominis whispered soothingly as he gave his friend a reassuring pat on the back. “Ominis is right, Sebastian. These creatures don’t understand things the way we do. They don’t inherently know that we don’t mean any harm. You have seen the poachers all around in high volumes lately first hand!” You started as you gently slipped the niffler into your hands and nuzzled its beak with your nose. “For all they know, we are no better than those nasty nasty poachers, right?” You spoke in a baby-talk sort of tone to the niffler before pulling back and smiling genuinely at your friends. “Now, hold your hands in a little cup like this,” you held up your hands so he could watch closely, Sebastian shuffling to stand beside you so he could watch your exact movements. “Very good! Now, slowly just let it get used to you before you start moving.” You gently slid the niffler from your hands into his, the creature sniffing his fingers before nuzzling into his palm.

After a few moments, the niffler was in delight as Sebastian began to tickle their light tuft of brown fur. “Look at it! I think they actually like it!” Sebastian's smile gleamed in the dimming sunset as he turned to look at your for approval. “I knew you could do it, you just needed an extra hand.” You smiled and placed your hands under Sebastians, caressing his knuckles with your thumbs. A bright flush of red spread across the boy's cheeks before setting the niffler back onto the table and scratching nervously at the back of his neck. “I’m going to get a head start to the great hall for supper, but I will save a seat for the both of you. Don’t dally on your way back.” Ominis smiled as he retrieved his wand from his robes, the tip flashing red to lead the boy towards the castle. It was clear that your friend knew you wanted a moment alone from the blush now spreading to your cheeks as well. “Would you like to see the new baby thestral? Professor Howin gave me a key to their den so I could give them some food and brush them before the class gets to see them next week. I wouldn’t mind the company.” You insisted, nudging your elbow into Sebastian's arm. The boy smiled and nodded in excitement as he watched you turn towards the den, sheepishly letting his hand brush yours as you walked. You took a deep breath as if to swallow any ounce of courage in the air and let your fingers interlace with him as you walked toward the den, a smile forcing itself to spread across your lips.

“It still hurts me to know that you can see thestrals too,” Sebastian started as he opened the door to the den, letting you walk in first before he quickly trailed behind and let the door close behind him. “That makes two of us. But, it at least makes me happy to be able to see these little guys.” You smiled as you kneeled down, gently stroking the back of the creature's mother before doing the same to the new baby. “Absolutely beautiful and misunderstood creatures.” You muttered to yourself as you smiled at the now yawning baby thestral. “Are all Hufflepuffs this good with beasts? Or was Ominis right about creatures being a good judge of character?” Sebastian chuckled as he knelt down beside you, his hands in his lap. You let out a soft chuckle before grabbing his hand on your own and guiding it to the back of the thestral. “Maybe a bit of both,” you shrugged as you slowly let go of the boy's hand, watching him gently stroke the back of the creature. “I guess even creatures need their own emotional support Hufflepuff,” Sebastian joked as he jokingly poked at your side, earning a wriggle out of you before setting your head on his shoulder. “They will have to find their own, you’re mine.”

[milaisreading]

Plushie incident in the morning

Pairing: Various Blue Lock x Reader

Warnings ⚠️: none in particular, Y/n uses she/her here. Reader is 18 here.

Summary: The Blue Lock project was both a pretty big success in the football world, but also with the fans who were watching it through the TV. Enter Anri introducing new merch not only in the form of the players, but also of their manager, (Y/n) (L/n). Everything was fine until the players came across the plushie. Chaos starts and Ego is regretting ever agreeing to this project.

It was a quiet and normal morning at the Blue Lock building, the players were still asleep, Ego was preparing some new exercises for them and (Y/n) was running some errands Anri asked her to. All in all, it was a really normal and boring morning for the (h/c) girl... until it wasn't.

Anri had given her the task to bring a box into Ego's office, this one she didn't recognize as one from their usual suppliers. So when she entered Ego's office, where he was talking about something with Anri, (Y/n) couldn't help but let her curiosity show.

"Teieri-san, Ego-san what is this thing about? Some new equipment?"

The two adults looked up at (Y/n) and the woman smiled brightly, running to where she was and taking the box from her.

"No, this is actually some of the new merch we are introducing today!"

"Merch? We are starting merch now?" (Y/n) asked confusedly then looked at Ego as Anri ignored her.

"This wasn't my idea, but JFU. If you asked me, you all are trash for merch."

"We?! What did I do?!" (Y/n) asked, offended at the man lumping her in with the rest.

'I didn't even do anything!'

"You are in this too! A lot of the watchers have a soft spot for you and in a survey JFU had, the fans really want merch of you too."

"O-oh..." Was the only response that came from (Y/n), who was embarrassed and flattered by Anri's claims.

Once the woman had opened the box, Ego and (Y/n) peeked inside, only to find plushies of the players.

"They are so adorable!" Anri exclaimed, rummaging through it.

"Found it! This is yours!" (Y/n) looked in disbelief at the item in Anri's hands. It was an exact replica of her in the staff uniform, just smaller and softer. It was creepy how well they replicated her. Same shade of (h/c) hair, same (e/c) color and a small smile adoring the plushie's face as it held a small (f/c) football.

"And what am I supposed to do with this now?" The girl wondered as Anri handed it to her.

"I don't know? Keep it in your room or something, the rest will probably do the same with theirs."

'This is so weird. I bet Baro will make fun of this.' (Y/n) thought, mentally preparing herself for the taller's words.

"Alright. Now that this is out of the way, go and do your duties. It's nearly 8 o'clock, the players will have to be awakened soon too." Ego clapped his hands, bored with the conversion the two had.

"Alright..." Anri sighed and (Y/n) said her goodbyes before walking out.

'This wasn't something I expected to wake up to.' She thought, looking down at the plushie, which was smiling up at her.

Carrying the basket with the uniforms all washed and ready for use, (Y/n) opened the door to the room all the current players shared.

"Wake up, unpolished gems! Time for breakfast and then off to training!" Ego's voice from the speakers boomed as (Y/n) heard the players groan, asking for a few more minutes.

"No." The girl held back a laugh from Ego's answer and put down the basket neat the door.

"Wake up, guys! Your uniforms are here too!"

"Nooo..."

"Just a few more minutes..."

"This is such a hassle."

The girl was about to speak up again, when one of the staff members from down the hall called for her.

"Coming!" She yelled, closing the door behind herself, completely forgetting she left her plushie on top of the basket.

Silence fell again and the players sighed in relief, thinking they got what they asked for. Gagamaru turned around in his futon to look at the door, inspecting the area.

'There is the basket with our uniforms... a (Y/n) pluahie... the door-'

The white/black haired player blinked as he looked at the basket again, the slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Am I hallucinating?" The boy wondered, getting up and walking to the basket, grabbing the soft item.

"It's soft too... but why does it look like (Y/n)?" The boy muttered, walking back to his futon, bot breaking eye contact with the inanimate object.

'Whoever made this was spot on. The plushie looks just as adorable and sweet as (Y/n).' Gagamaru thought, blushing a little as he patted its head.

"Did Ego-san and (Y/n) that easily give up on waking us up?" Isagi wondered as both him and Bachira stretched out.

"I hope so. I am still tired from yesterday." Chigiri yawned as Kunigami took of his covers.

"Hey!" Chigiri yelled as he sat up quickly, not liking how cold it felt.

"You all are so noisy, can't you be like Gagamaru a little bit?" Baro said, pointing at the said boy, who didn't even answer or look at him.

"What are you holding?!" Bachira suddenly yelled, getting up from his futon and running to the former Team Z member, who was by now pinching the plushie's cheek.

"Bachira! Shut up!" Reo yelled, making Karasu and Nagi wince at the loudness.

"You are all annoying." Otoya sighed as Kurona tried to slap his arm away.

Bachira ignored them as he inspected the small plushie in Gagamaru's hands, his grin widening when he realized who it was and he quickly took it from the boy.

"Adorable! Is this (Y/n)?! Where did you get it, Gagamaru?!"

"Hey, give it back." Gagamaru protested, upset that Bachira took the soft item like that.

'I found it first.' He pouted.

"I just want to see~"

Bachira said,annoyed that he didn't get to it first. Chigiri, Kunigami and Isagi look at the duo in confusion as the rest blinked in alarm at the mention on the manager's name.

"What do you have there?" Isagi said, getting up rather guickly as he inspected the item, recognizing the (h/c) hair. Chigiri, being a speedster, was already next to Bachira and took the item as he and Gagamaru argued over the toy.

"I found it first! Give it back to me."

"No! It's adorable just like (Y/n), I want to keep it."

Chigiri moved away a little and inspected the toy, a fond smile making its way on his face while Kunigami and Isagi were on either side of him, blinking down at the plushie.

"How did this come into our room? And why does it look like (Y/n)?" Isagi wondered, his hands trembling to grab it from Chigiri.

"I don't know, she doesn't seem like the person to buy stuff of herself." Kunigami answered back, blushing a little as he tried to grab it from Chigiri. But the boy as fast as he is, hugged it to his chest and dodged Kunigami.

"Hey!"

"We don't know why it's here, and for all we know it could be important to (Y/n). So in any case we should be gentle with it." Chigiri argued as the other 4 nodded their heads.

"Now that we have established that, I will claim it as mine till (Y/n) returns." The red head announced proudly, which caused the other others to glare at him.

"No way! Chigiri, I am by far the gentlest among you! I should take care of her!" Isagi said back, walking closer to his friend. Kunigami shook his head, equally annoyed at Chigiri's claim on the (Y/n) plushie.

"You are both being childish. Chigiri, I am the strongest of you all, I would do a better job in protecting (Y/n). Give me."

'Why does it sound like they are arguing over the real person? What is even going on?' Reo rubbed his eyes as he walked over to them.

"Hey! I found her first, Bachira stole her."

"I didn't steal! I was just faster!" Gagamaru and Bachira glared at each other. Using the distraction, Reo grabbed the plushie and turned away from the group.

"You all are acting rediculous over a stupid plush toy. Are you children or something-" Reo stopped in his tracks as he looked down at said item. The more he inspected the thing, the more he realized it looked just like the real (Y/n), just smaller. Blushing, he grabbed tightly onto it as Kunigami attempted to take it from him.

"On second thought, I think she would be much safer in my mansion."

"What?! Give her back!" Bachira grinned like a maniac as Nagi finally got up to look at the plushie as well. The boy looked in boredom for a few seconds, then nodded his head.

"Reo will buy it from you guys." Nagi said simply as the purple haired boy handed the plushie to him.

'So soft. Feels like that one time I fell asleep on her.' Nagi thought, hugging the toy protectively.

By now the chaos caught everyone else's attention as well, and the players tried to get a glimpse of the smaller (Y/n) as well.

"How much do you want? A thousand? Hundred thousand? Million Yen? Just say and it's yours." Reo argued, pissing the former Team Z members off even more.

"No! Now give me (Y/n) back, I laid my claim on her first!" Chigiri yelled.

"She isn't yours! Nagi, hand her over." Bachira yelled trying to jump at the white haired boy.

"Hmm? No, I like her here. Besides, it reminds me of that one time I slept on her." Nagi said absent-mindedly.

"You what?! When did that happen?!" Isagi asked the boy.

"You remember the time Baro tripped me and I couldn't play?"

"Lucky... Couldn't you have injured me, Kunigami?" Chigiri pouted, earning a glare from the orange haired boy.

"Chigiri, you ungrateful piece of shit-"

Gagamaru kept quiet as he started sulking in the corner.

"But I found her first..."

Niko shook his head at their behavior and kept quiet, but still sent a few side glances the inanimate object in Nagi's arms.

"Hmm? Oh! The plushie really just like (Y/n), can I have it?" Karasu wondered as Otoya poked its cheeks, blushing at how cute it was.

'I basically poked (Y/n)! Now I can die happily!' Otoya thought as Nagi slapped his hand away and glaring at the duo.

"No. Mine."

"Nagi, we are sharing." Reo added, stopping is argument with Bachira and Isagi for a moment.

"All of you shut up!" Baro yelled, grabbing the toy forcefully from the tall genius.

"Hey!"

Baro rolled his eyes as he took a look at the doll along with Kurona, both blushing at the replica of their crus-friend!

"Give me." The red haired boy said, making grabby hands at the plushie, but Baro sent him a warning glare.

"Move it, peasant. I will take care of (Y/n), besides unlike all of you I can treat her like a queen."

"A queen? Really?" Kunigami rolled his eyes.

"Damn right, because I am the king!"

"More like a donkey." Isagi commented.

"Come on, we can't fight over a plushie like that. (Y/n) would probably think we are stupid." Yukimiya said, earning silent nods from the team.

"That's why I suggest you guys can have the (Y/n) plushie, and I will take the real (Y/n)." Yukimiya said, fixing his glasses.

"Where did that come from?!"

"Hell no!"

"If anything (Y/n) would look better with me!"

"You all are being rediculous. I should be with (Y/n) since I can offer her anything she desires."

"Respectfully, fuck off Reo!"

"No!"

"Shut up! All of you are loud!" The room fell quiet as everyone looked at the annoyed Rin as he approached them, observing the doll in Baro's hands.

"I am the number 1 player here. You lukewarms are no competition against me, so you better hand the plushie to me."

"Forget it!"

The chaos got louder and the noise caught both Ego's attention from the office, and Anri's who was nearby. Inspecting through the camera, Ego facepalmed when he noticed they were fighting over that doll.

'I knew this was a mistake.'

Anri opened the door as Ego's voice boomed through the room, making everyone freeze up.

"What is going on here! I called you all to train on not fight over a plushie like a bunch of kids." The boys stopped and looked at the speakers, a little embarrassed by the fact that Ego caught them.

"Anri, confiscate that plushie. Don't even give it to (Y/n), she will probably forget it again somewhere."

"Alright!" The woman sighed, walking over to Baro and taking it from him. The boys deflated a little as they looked at the doll in Anri's hands and Ego sighed in annoyance.

"Whoever performs the best today will get the plushie tonight."

That part caused the players to perk up a little.

"Alright! That will be me then!" Bachira yelled.

"No, me! My special awareness will come in handy today!" Isagi argued.

"You lukewarm striker will not even be able to get to the goal."

Anri rolled her eyes at the argument and she knew she had to stop it before Ego has another tantrum.

"If you so much want a plushie of (Y/n), Blue Lock's website will launch it today. It's just some limited merch offer tho~"

With a laugh, Anri was out the door as the boys looked at her dumbfounded for a moment, then each took their phones.

"What a great day to be rich." Reo muttered as Nagi sent him a look.

"You better order me one too."

The same night the whole room was sending death glares towards Gagamaru as Anri handed him the plushie. He was today the top scorer and the only one who kept his peace during practice, much to Ego's delight. (Y/n) was for the whole day confused where she had left the doll and asked everyone around the building, but nobody knew.

'Maybe someone threw it away.' She shrugged and went on with her night routine. She somehow hoped the plushie of her would not do well and they won't use her face for these merch launches, but...

"Why are there so many boxes?! What did you guys even order?" (Y/n) questioned a few days later as the boys looked excitedly at them, but refused to open.

"Ohhh no reason! By the way, how did your merch do?" Bachira wondered.

"For some odd reason it went well. Just my luck..." (Y/n) said in annoyance, still unsure how her plushie did better than any of the others.

[mxtantrights]

Bounded by shadow and blood (20)

azriel x magic!fem!reader

Time passes by very quickly you find when you don’t have to deal with your grief alone. It’s happened before with the death of your parents. Your brother and Cyril helped you through it, as they were also going through it. And suddenly it was almost a distant memory about a year after.

Now, things are different. You’re grieving the deaths of Cyril and your brother, the people who knew you the most. The people who you had the most time with in the word. 

Some days were okay. You could walk around the palace that is filled with memories and hold your head up. You could talk with Amren in a room and not feel the walls closing in.

Those days were easy.

But there are other days. Where going on without them is an insurmountable task. It feels like pushing a bounder up a hill only to have it roll back down at the end of each day.

Every room held a memory that you wanted to desperately cling to. A smell that you knew would fade with time. 

On the bad days you don’t leave your room. You go hours without moving. It’s only when you miss a meal that Amren comes in. Or Azriel.

He’s there on your good days. But he’s also there on the bad ones.

Like today. 

The sun is going down and you haven’t left your room since breakfast. It just hit you like a wave. All of a sudden you were fine. You were eating breakfast with Azriel and Amren. When they left to do their daily tasks you were fine.

Then you got a letter. A letter from Elias telling you that news had gotten around about your healing abilities. And that news has left the winter court and traveled far and wide already.

That’s when you felt it. Surprisingly in contrast of more people knowing about you, you felt it. The loneliness. 

As the day went on your mind couldn’t stop running with possibilities. How you had managed to put the people in the village in harms way. Just because you did the right thing. You fell for Kynas’ trap, whatever it was.

A knock comes from your door. You look over to it, but you don’t say anything. You knew if it were Amren or Azriel they would know you were inside based on their hearing abilities. 

When you don’t say anything you watch as the knob turns. The door opens a slice and you hear someone clear their throat. Azriel. Amren would just walk right in.

“Are you decent?” He asks.

“No.” You answer.

It’s the first word you’ve spoken since this morning. It comes out groggy and cracked. And you know that he knows you’re lying because he opens the door and lets himself in upon hearing your answer. 

You turn away from him and go back to staring out the balcony. As he gets closer you realize that you’ll have to use more words in this conversation. But if you didn’t want to talk to him, or anyone for that matter, you would have locked the door.

His arm brushes against yours as he places his hands on the railing. 

“I’m failing at my duties here.” He says.

As you turn to look at him you notice that he’s already looking at you. So you pass him a curious look, urging him to go on. 

“How good of a husband am I if let you wither in your grief all day?” He asks.

You can’t help how the corners of your mouth lift. Azriel smiles at your reaction.

“You don’t have to talk. I can do enough talking for the both of us today, if you’d like that of course.” He says.

You nod your head. He turns his body to you. In turn you turn your body to him.

“Well, I’ll start with my visit to the village. A lot of people invited me into their homes today. I am well fed and have more than enough gifts in my room. I took Semaj flying too...” He starts.

You lean against the balcony more and take him in as he keeps going. You did find him attractive when you first met. You wouldn’t have admitted it then, but you will now. And it is more than attraction that you feel around him.

It’s comfort. In a world now where you are the only survivor of your family, you feel home with him and Amren. Amren is different though, you knew her before him and had a different type of bond.

With Azriel it feels like something more. You can’t tell if it’s because of your blood flowing through his veins, or something else. But you do want to find out.

At the mention of your name you tune back in. You have to actually blink away your thoughts. And the sight of that makes him snicker. You can’t help to laugh too.

“I think I might have bored you.” He says.

You shake your head, “No. The opposite actually.”

“Ah,” He tilts his head back, “I don’t know what to say.”

You step closer to him. He doesn’t shy away. Slowly you reach your hand to his face. Your fingers brush against his bottom lip.

“I knew you were lying when I woke up that day. I hit you and you bled from your lip, I could scent my blood.” You admit.

Azriel doesn’t say anything. All you can hear from him is a hum. You don’t know if it’s in approval or disapproval.

“Semaj scented it too. That’s why I sent him away in the woods.” You continue.

You fingers move from his lips to his chin. Then his jaw, and then down they travel to his neck. His pulse is erratic. It makes you look at him in wonder.

Here he is. Shadow singer. Nervous.

"When you sat by the river, I thought to myself that you fit in quite well here.” You say.

“It feels good here.” Azriel speaks.

You can feel his voice against your fingers. It makes your eyes dip just for a moment, from his eyes to his lips.

“I could have lost you. Even though I don’t have any hold on you—“ you start.

Azriel cuts you off. He grabs your wrist suddenly with his opposite hand. You look at where you two are in contact. It’s not a rough action but a soft one. Even though there are callouses on his palm. And the back side of his hand is scarred. You realize he can feel your pulse too. You haven’t thought about how your heart is beating until now.

“You and I both know that is not true.” He cuts you off.

You look back up at him.

“I do have one thing to ask you.” You whisper.

If he weren’t so close to you he probably wouldn’t hear it. Or he would, and he would pretend that he didn’t to spare you. But this, right here in this moment, there is no sparing each other anything. It feels real. It feels honest.

“Go ahead,” he says.

“Do you think there will be a war?” You ask him.

Azriel looks at you for a moment. Then two. And then he lets go of your wrist. All at once you think you’ve said the wrong thing. That you have lost him before you even begun. 

You drop your own hand at the loss of contact.

He clears his throat.

“I’m almost sure of it.” He answers.

The answer isn’t one that does you any good. You wish he had said no. You wish he had said anything but what he actually said because that makes your next decision even harder.

You wring your hands in front of you, “My people will be targets or weapons in this war.”

“I won’t let that happen.” Azriel says firmly.

“It’s too late. Kynas made sure of it when he sent that wounded boy my way. I healed him in front of people, and those people will talk.” You explain.

Azriel shakes his head, “We can track down the witnesses. Tell them to keep it a secret.”

“Azriel, I have to protect my people. No matter what.” You say.

“What does that mean?” He asks you.

You sigh, “I have already asked Thesan if he would help situate some of them in Dawn. But I know some of them will want to fight. And those warriors would take well to learn from the best.” 

“You want to send blood benders into the night court.”

“You can tell Rhysand that I turned out to be an ally after all.” 

“Tell him yourself,” another voice cuts in.

Both you and Azriel break apart further. As if that were even possible. But it is. You and him with about three feet of space between the two of you. 

Amren is standing at the door to your room. She has her arms crossed, and her face looks anything but happy.

“Rhysand is requesting an audience with the empress of the blood benders.” Amren says.

[icallhimjoey]

I've Got You

♥ ♥  Joseph Quinn x Fem!Reader

Summary: You and your flatmate have perfected the art of wingmanship for one another. It’s a great system that seems to work every single time, until you’re left unsatisfied.

CW / disclaimer: 18+, language, rpf, fem!reader, smut, angst

Author’s note: baby’s first smutty series - sorry if it’s bad! The insane reaction I got to part 4 was really unexpected and I loved every second of it - I really hope part 5 lives up to everyone's expectation!! Extra special thanks to my buddies @ghostinthebackofyourhead​ and @dirtyeddietini​ for inspiring, encouraging and being so very unbearably supportive for absolutely no reason: I love ya! (rewritten on 13 nov 2023)

Wordcount: 5.1K

part one - part two - part three - part four - part five

Joe meant for you to talk to that girl for him.  You scanned Joe’s face to see if he was joking. Hoped he was joking. Please, be joking.

But all you could see was drunken haziness in Joe’s eyes and you swore your vision coloured pure red for a second.  

Oh no.

Feelings.

You managed to keep a fairly straight face, but you felt how anger washed over you. How it engulfed and swallowed you right up. You were seething. Absolutely livid. 

Mostly at Joe, but you also felt some of it clawing at you inwardly. You were angry with yourself because, of course. 

Of fucking course. 

Why the fuck was this not what you had expected on this night out?  

You were an idiot.

So was Joe.

But you, my God. You were the biggest idiot ever. But now was not the time to punish yourself. You'd just been given a task, hadn't you?

Your flatmate had seen a pretty girl he wanted you to talk to for him. To work your magic on her.

So, you clenched your jaw, and your expression went cold. You could almost feel the protection mechanisms within your body turn on to guard you, thick walls shooting up all around you as you turned away from Joe to walk over to the beautiful blonde girl in the corner. 

With every step, you felt more outside of yourself, slightly more dazed, the loud music a little more muffled in your ears as everything went a little fuzzy, but, there was no mistaking. You were absolutely on your way to talk to this girl for Joe.  

Just before you reached her, you looked back and saw that Joe was watching you. Your eyes almost let a little sadness slip through, and you hoped Joe didn’t catch it. 

When you made eye contact with her, a moment you would normally use to display your best smile, you leant in and touched her arm, your face expressionless when you spoke to her. 

She seemed kind and immediately ducked her head down and leant in a little to listen to you. 

As you were talking, her eyes found Joe’s, and he smirked at her. Just for a moment, she smiled back at him, but then, her face contorted, and she leant back to look at you before leaning in to speak into your ear over the music.  

Joe was watching the two of you talk to each other from afar, a little confused. 

This wasn’t how this usually went. 

You exchanged more words with the beautiful blonde, and Joe thought it was taking too long. It never took this long. Then, in a wild turn of events, he saw the girl pout at you, all empathetic eyes and scrunched up brows as she pulled you in for a hug. 

Joe tried to make sense of what he was witnessing. 

Couldn't.

He read your lips as you told her, “You’re welcome.” before you turned away and started on your way over back to Joe. 

The beautiful blonde didn’t follow you, and Joe didn’t understand. 

“What happened? What did you tell her?” Joe questioned when you were close enough. 

“I’ve got the flat tonight,” you didn’t want to see him for a bit and claimed the flat just to have it for yourself. 

You passed him and carried on your way towards the exit, face still just as flat and emotionless as it had been when you'd spoken to this random girl you'd never seen before. You would've remembered her if you had, you thought. She was the kind of pretty where you knew she'd look almost better first thing in the morning.

Of course Joe had picked her from the crowd.

Of course.

Yea, there was no way you were going to stay at the bar for any longer. 

Fuck this evening. 

You felt Joe’s fingers wrap around your wrist from behind you in a weak bid to make you stay, but you were quick to snag your arm away from him and didn’t bother looking back. 

The whole way back to your flat, there was one thought that you couldn’t shake. There were many other thoughts, sure, like, Joe was a bastard, and also a knobhead… and a wanker, an idiot, a tosser, a twat, just– all of the above. 

And you, you were an idiot, and also stupid… and foolish, naive, and gullible, because you’d unknowingly convinced yourself that there’d been more to you and Joe. 

It had just been a week and you’d been dumb enough to now think that you were more than just flatmates who casually got each other off sometimes.  

But the absolute worst thought, one that kept creeping back in no matter how much you tried to evict it from your brain permanently, was that you had feelings for Joe now. 

Feelings. 

For Joe! 

Absolutely disgusting. 

When you heard the front door to your flat open, you checked your phone and saw it was 4 o’clock in the morning. You weren’t entirely sure if you’d slept. It felt like your mind had just been racing thoughts, but they could’ve also been dreams. All you knew is that you felt awful, emotionally, but physically too, as you felt your hangover creep in in real time. 

The way Joe moved into the flat was incredibly delicately done, like he didn’t want you to know that he was creeping in. The click of the door closing was almost undetectable from your spot in your bed, even with your bedroom door left ajar. 

You had said that you had the flat, so technically, Joe should have at least texted to check if it was okay to come in. 

But then again, Joe had probably also seen you leave by yourself a couple of hours earlier, so he must’ve gathered it was okay to come in. Or, he was just drunk, like you had been when you’d walked in hours earlier. 

Come to think of it, you had a hard time recollecting your own stumbling into the flat if you were honest. 

You could hear the soft ruffle of shoes being taken off and very carefully placed down onto the floor. It was followed by soft footsteps of socks that slid down your hall, the door to your bathroom then opening and closing before the light switch flicked on inside. 

Why did Joe smell of pineapple? 

And why were you able to smell it from your bedroom? 

You listened as the shower turned on, the water clattering against the tiles, and you tried to focus on the white noise of it to help you drift off instead of the visual of Joe’s naked wet body in the room next to yours.  

You stirred awake slightly when you felt your covers move on your left and the mattress dipping in.

“Hey,” Joe softly whispered and cuddled up behind you, like he so very often would do. 

Your groggy mind momentarily chose to ignore every negative emotion towards your flatmate that had been brewing inside you and you relaxed under his arm that squeezed around your waist, pressing your bodies together. 

Joe smelled like your shampoo, mixed with your body scrub. You could feel him move your hair aside, away from where his face then nuzzled into the crook of your neck, and you tried to hide the emotion that shot up into your throat unexpectedly. 

But Joe had felt it – the small gasp, the quickened breathing, the tensing of your stomach; it was all too telling. 

It only made him want to squeeze you into him tighter, but he didn’t get the chance to. Stubborn as you were, you refused to crack where Joe could see, so you moved away from his grasp. 

“Don’t use my stuff in the shower.” You spoke into the dark and you used your hand to remove Joe’s from your waist, scooting over until your bodies were no longer touching. 

For a few seconds it was eerily quiet behind you. 

No movement, no breathing; like Joe wasn’t there for a second. 

Then, you felt and heard him move, turning over in the bed to face away from you. 

You spent maybe ten more minutes listening to Joe’s breathing before you decided you didn’t want to be there and got up and out to spend the last early morning hours fast asleep on the sofa.

For the next few days, you didn’t talk about it, because what was there to say? You avoided Joe like the plague because that way you could also avoid confronting your feelings, which was just easier, you thought. 

It was annoying that you didn’t know Joe’s schedule, and that he spent a lot of time at home. 

It was even more annoying that before anything had ever really happened between the two of you, you used to be flirty and touchy on a more platonic level and it was something you couldn’t muster yourself up to sink back into.

Joe tried a few times, asking you to have lunch with him that day, or when you found him making lasagna from scratch, asking you if you wanted some later.

You declined all of it, mostly without giving any excuses or reasons why. Just a simple “no thanks” with a polite smile, a nose scrunch, giving Joe your most normal, casual self, but definitely a more distant version of you than before. 

Obviously, Joe had noticed. And he hadn’t liked it. 

You had noticed something too. 

There were a lot more annoying things about Joe that you didn’t think you had ever noticed before. 

Joe would always leave his shoes under the coffee table, a place where they didn’t go, and it made the living room look a right mess. And Joe would hang the toilet paper under instead of over, so you’d correct it, only to later find it back the way he liked it. And Joe would still secretly use your products in the bathroom – you found a tube of lip balm you thought you’d lost in the washing machine after Joe had done a load of his washing, and it was almost entirely used up by him. 

Maybe it was time to ask for a raise at work, just so you could afford a flat of your own, because every day more little things started getting on your nerves. 

Wednesday seemed a day where everything had gone wrong at work, and all of it felt like it had been your fault. Frustrations built and as the day dragged on, you felt less and less equipped to deal with them. 

From about 3 o’clock that afternoon, you’d started fantasizing about the pint of caramel core ice cream that was still in your freezer, and you hoped Joe would be out so you could watch an early 2000s romantic comedy and cry into your ice cream on the sofa. 

You couldn’t think of anything else to ease the stress– wait, no, you could, but having your flatmate… crack your neck no longer felt like an option.

But when you walked in after work, Joe was there. 

On the sofa. 

Watching TV. 

And the flat smelled like a bakery. 

“Hey!” Joe shouted from the sofa, all upbeat and cheery. “How was work?”

You stepped into the living room whilst shrugging your coat from your shoulders. 

“Fine,” you looked around and frowned quizzically. 

“Did you bake bread?” your tone was almost accusatory, and it made Joe laugh. 

His laugh was stupid and adorable. 

You hated it. 

“I made ciabatta rolls, they’re cooling in the kitchen.” 

You turned to see for yourself and found about twelve perfect-looking hand-palm-sized baby ciabattas on a baking tray on the counter. 

Funny how you got to slog knee-deep through shit at work all day, and Joe got to recreationally bake bread in your kitchen. 

So fair. 

Very equal. 

Not at all infuriating. 

It was also very fun how Joe left all of the washing up in the sink, when the dishwasher was empty and open right next to it. 

You had to mentally count to ten and take a huge gulp of air to calm yourself down from the sight of the mess. 

“What do you think?” Joe called from the sofa.

You eyed them again as you opened the freezer door. 

“They look great,” you spoke without a fibre of enthusiasm. 

You reached for your pint of ice cream, so ready to dig into it, even if it wasn’t going to be with a bad, sappy film on because Joe was there. 

But when you grabbed hold of it, fury washed over you instantly and engulfed you entirely. 

It was empty. 

There was no weight to it. 

You opened the pint to check, but you knew what you’d be met with before you’d seen the inside: an empty container that used to hold your favourite flavour of ice cream. 

Joe.

“If they’re okay to touch, you could try one if you want,” Joe suggested, oblivious to the fact that you were near a lot of knives and ready to straight up murder someone. 

Okay, knives felt a bit extreme, so instead, you reached for the next best thing.  

“Would you like to try one yourself?!” 

Your voice had grown louder and angrier with every word of your question. Joe didn’t have time to register the hostility in your voice – he didn’t even have time to turn his head to look at you. If he had done, you would’ve hit him square in the eye, but now, one of Joe’s own freshly baked crusty ciabatta rolls smacked him hard in the temple. 

“Hey, what–” 

Another dense ciabatta roll hit him in the chest, leaving behind a white, dusty flour print on his black T-shirt. 

“Ate my fucking ice cream, Joe?!” 

You were stood in the doorway, tray in one hand, the next roll ready to be flung at him in the other. Joe really made them the perfect size; they fit perfectly into your palm, fingers gripping around it with ease – excellent for throwing with force.  

“My rolls!” Joe cried.

“My rolls!” you mocked him, facial expression and all, and you saw Joe get up from the sofa to fetch the bread you’d already thrown at him. 

You threw another, getting flour in his hair this time as you hit him on the back of his head, surprising yourself with your good aim since your body felt shaky with adrenaline. 

“What fucking self-centered, greedy bastard eats a pint of their flatmate’s favourite ice cream and then places the empty container back in the freezer?!” 

You were quick to launch another roll his way, but Joe expertly caught it this time. It only angered you more, and you fumbled fast to throw another, but your aim was completely off this time as you rushed it, and you hit the sofa behind him.

“Stop fucking tossing my ciabatta rolls about!” Joe carefully placed them on the coffee table next to him.

“Honestly, I can’t fucking believe you,” you dropped the tray with the rest of Joe’s bread onto the floor in frustration. It clattered loudly and had bread rolling everywhere before you started to make your way over to your bedroom, away from his face, no longer able to stand it. 

“Fuck you and– stop leaving your fucking shoes under the coffee table!” you screamed when you saw them as Joe stepped away towards the dropped ciabatta rolls to pick them up. 

“I was looking forward to that ice cream all fucking day!” you stepped into the hallway, took a few steps, turned around and walked right back into the living room.

You had more to say.

“And another thing!” you were going to get every little bit of frustration out.

“Stop using up all of my products in the bathroom! Some of it’s really expensive!” 

From his kneeling position, gathering all of the dropped bread rolls, Joe looked up at you and you spotted a faint red mark where you’d hit him with bread on the side of his face. 

Good, you thought.  

“And the fucking mess in the sink? The dishwasher is right next to it! Ready to be loaded up! Why would you– why would you not just– just, put it in there!” 

You squeezed your eyes tightly shut as you let your arms flail about, motioning in all different directions.

“Are you done?”

“Caramel core, Joe. What is your problem?!” 

You were ready to turn around and leave to go to your bedroom for real this time, but Joe stopped you. 

“Are you finished?” his unrelentingly harsh tone of voice shut you up in an instant, and a little bit of the anger that shone out of your eyes was replaced with wary surprise. 

Joe seemed angry too. 

“Because first of all, I didn’t fucking eat your ice cream, what do you take me for?!” Joe repeatedly pushed his finger into his chest before gesturing at you. 

“Secondly, I baked these today! Today! I baked them, by myself, with my own hands!” Joe talked about the ciabatta rolls like they were sacred treasures to be protected. 

If you could get your hands on them again, you’d rip them all to shreds, just because now you knew it would hurt him extra.  

For a moment you just stared at Joe, your nostrils flaring, thinking of more things to hurl his way now that he was stood there, ready to take it. There was an obvious thing you wanted to throw in his face, but you couldn’t muster up the courage to, so you just stood there and resisted the urge to stomp your foot like a fucking toddler as you huffed at him. 

Joe suddenly seemed enraptured by your rage, and it was as if he had read your mind.

“... want to tell me what’s actually bothering you?” 

He voice was much quieter than before, and you saw the beginnings of a smirk on Joe’s face. You hated how Joe was scanning you wholly, gathering up how pent up you really were in that moment as he stepped closer towards you. 

It prompted you to take a step back. 

“What’s really got you this riled up?” 

You couldn’t speak as you found yourself stepping backwards into the kitchen with Joe slowly stalking forward. 

Your eyebrows deepened your frown, scrunching together in anger even more, trying to reject the incoming thought of how hot you thought Joe looked. 

“Are you trying to avoid me? Like you’ve been doing for fucking days?” Joe accused, and you saw a flash of what you thought might have been pain in his eyes as he bit into his bottom lip, and it hit you right in the chest.

“I’ve not been–” you tried to deny, but Joe took away your chance to speak, kissing you forcefully, running on nothing but adrenaline and want, crashing you into the kitchen counter behind you. 

It felt like Joe wanted to devour you on the spot, and instead of pushing him away and slapping him across the face like you wanted to do, you realised you wanted to let the anger drown into Joe this way even more.  

Joe was nothing but harsh, bruising touches, and you clawed back at Joe, scratching him and biting into his kiss. His grabbing hands squeezed into your waist strongly before one reached down to hoist up a thigh you wrapped around his body. 

“I hate you so much,” you panted into his mouth as Joe’s nose pressed hard into your cheek. Your comment made one of his hands come up to grab your face, your cheeks pinched between his hand in a tight grip, and he pulled back to look at you. 

He held you there a moment. Looked you in the eye. Scanned your features for a second.

And then, “Turn around.”.

His low gravelly voice, thick with hunger for you, made you do exactly as you were told. Your hands were quick to undo the button of your jeans, leaving Joe to pull them down with ease.

Yes.

Joe pushed you slightly, bending you over the counter, and as you turned your head to the side, you caught sight of all the dishes in the sink.

N– no.

“I’m not– I am not just another one of your hook-ups,” you warned him, your voice still thick with anger.

Look at how fucking messy Joe had left the kitchen.

“Neither am I,” Joe answered back just as quickly, fumbling out of his jeans behind you.

That shut you right up.

Joe slipped into you with ease, his front pressed tightly against your back as he bent over you, and he chuckled into your ear at how ready you seemed for him. 

You couldn’t help but gasp at his intrusion. Joe’s arm came around your neck as he straightened himself and pulled you up with him until your head was leant back against his shoulder. 

Made it a little hard to breathe.

You were sort of into it.

Shit.

Joe made sure to keep you there, arm firmly stuck in place and pressed at the underside of your neck with fingers dug into the cap of your shoulder. He wasn’t gentle in his movements, immediately starting a rough, steady pace into you whilst panting heavily into your ear. 

“Want to tell me why you got six girls to drench me in their cocktails?”

You focussed solely on Joe’s thrusting, moaning at particular sharp ones, unable to answer a question you didn’t even have enough context for to understand properly.

“What did you tell her, huh?” 

Joe meant the blonde, and you swore at him under your breath for bringing her up whilst having you half naked, pressed up against the counter in your dirty kitchen as the sound of loud skin-slapping filled the room. 

“The truth,” was all you managed to get out, your voice all constricted, gasping for air. 

“Yea? You think I don’t give girls my number because they don’t let me fuck their mouths?” 

Oh. 

You didn’t think she’d tell him that. 

Then again, you didn’t even think she’d talk to him at all after your chat. Because Joe was right, that was what you had told her. You’d said to her that the guy that was staring at her from across the room was keen to take her home, but that she should know he was the type of guy to use her for his own pleasure and then wouldn’t even give her his number if she didn’t want to take his dick into her mouth. 

“Is that why I had to walk around smelling like tropical fruit juice for hours?” 

A laugh escaped your throat – you couldn’t help it. Was the wrong move, though.

It made Joe strengthen his grip around your neck in response, making you whimper immediately, your fingers finding his forearm to wrap around in a bid for him to loosen it. 

Joe’s pace picked up too, as did his grunts, and you felt his other hand curl around your hip as fingers found your most sensitive spot to rub, making you moan loudly.  

“Pineapple,” your strained voice slipped out. “You smelled of pineapple,” you remembered. 

Joe’s opened lips dragged against the side of your face as you tilted your head back further. Still pressed against the hard line of his body, you turned your face and connected your lips with his in a heated kiss full of swallowed groans of pleasure. 

Joe’s fingers rubbed against you furiously, the movements quickly becoming too much for you as you felt the familiar feeling of your orgasm deep within your core building up and flushing your cheeks. 

You were about to announce to Joe that you weren't far off coming as one of your hands shot down to grab his wrist, but Joe’s unwavering thrusting and rubbing had you unexpectedly groaning through your high as he panted against your face, mouth agape, as was yours. 

He didn’t even let you finish experiencing your orgasm fully. 

Joe turned you around in his arms, slipping out of you for just a second, and before you were even aware of what was happening, he had you lifted with your legs wrapped around his hips. 

He guided you back down onto him effortlessly, one arm strongly around your hips to keep you up, the other hand cradling the back of your head, fingers tangled up into your hair as he pushed you into his kiss. 

You were ready for him to start ramming into you again, but instead, Joe started walking, taking you out of the kitchen and into the hallway. He was about to step into your bedroom, but you stuck an arm out that slapped against the wall, stopping you in your doorway. 

“Don't go– we can't in mine. Yours. We need to in your bed,” you demanded, and you tried to push off from the wall in trying to guide Joe away from your bedroom and towards his own. 

Joe wasn't having it.

“Fuck that. We’re ruining yours,” and Joe pushed forward, not leaving you a leg to stand on, literally and figuratively, as he let the both of you fall onto your mattress. 

You expected Joe to continue with fury-filled thrusts, but you instead were met with a soft, teasing kiss and slow movements from his hips. 

And, whatever had just gone down in the kitchen was nice, but this?

This was nicer.

When Joe tugged at your top, you momentarily broke from each other as you pulled it over your head. It was quickly followed by your bra, and Joe’s lips found your neck to press wet kisses into when you collapsed back onto the bed, now both fully naked. 

You let your fingernails scrape long lines across his back, up and down in a slow pace, and you felt Joe squirm a little under your touch. The sudden shift in the mood left you space to think your thoughts freely, which is why you suddenly wondered...

“Why did you send me over to that girl to talk to her for you?”  

Joe halted everything he was doing for a second to look you in the eye. 

That wasn't something he expected you to ask him. Not right now, not during, anyway.

“You... you’d left me on my own for forty minutes,” he answered, then leant down a little, nuzzling his nose around yours, his tongue slipping out to lightly feather across your lips. He licked the teethmarks on your bottom lip that you left there. That he made you leave there.

“I thought you’d fucked off with someone else.” 

You felt your stomach twisting in knots as your eyebrows pulled together. 

“After last week? I could never,” you confessed, letting your hands run from Joe’s back up into his hair.

“No?” Joe sought your eyes again, sounded fucking hopeful as you used your hands to pull him back down into a kiss. 

You felt him smile against your lips. 

Such a sap.

Joe's turn to confess.

“I don’t give out my number because I have a hot flatmate I'm very fond of,” Joe then said, speaking into your mouth, and the dopamine-rush from his words would’ve toppled you over had you not been laid out under him.  

Joe’s thrusts were slow and long, with hands finding your creases and curves to squeeze into softly. 

His pace never picked up, remaining agonizingly slow, and he kept his hips closely connected with yours in his ruts, applying pressure exactly where you wanted it applied. 

Joe took the time to study your face closely, seeing your face contort when hitting the right spots. You caught his eye, and upon seeing his expression, you immediately grew embarrassed. 

Joe was giving it to you good, and it was almost upsetting how into it you were. 

“It’s okay,” Joe cooed. “I’ve got you.”  

He pressed his forehead against yours and you could almost feel the two of you fuse together within your eye-contact. 

You really had to try your hardest to not absolutely ruin the moment and cry. You closed your eyes when it became too much, and Joe sensed it perfectly, dipping down to kiss your neck once more, having learnt by now that you really did like that a lot. 

“Are you still mad at me?” he asked into your neck, and you shook your head in annoyance. 

Could Joe not see how fucking romantic the two of you were being in this moment? 

You gripped both hands firmly around his shoulders, your nails digging into his skin as you lifted your hips higher to let Joe hit an even deeper part of you. The new angle, and the way Joe never let much of you disconnect, hurdled you towards another orgasm. Joe followed closely behind, and he came with broken moans into your neck as his hips jerked and bucked throughout his orgasm. 

After that, Joe didn’t move for a while, remaining inside of you, head in the crook of your neck with your fingers softly stroking lines along his back as he struggled to regulate his breathing. 

When he finally did, he pulled back to look at you. 

You looked... dishevelled. 

Hair a mess, your eyes bleary and blinking with make-up smudged everywhere, face blotched and flushed but, your expression very satisfied. 

Joe thought you had never looked prettier.

“I really didn’t eat your ice cream,” Joe broke the silence, and it pulled a giggle out of you before you groaned in shame.  

“I think... I'm sorry, I think I ate it myself when I came home drunk that night,” you confessed with a guilty nose scrunch which prompted Joe to lean down and kiss it. 

“Sorry.”

“I know it’s not what you wanted,” Joe pressed a kiss to your temple where he could see a faint tear stain run from your eye into your hair. “But I do have something else for you to eat...” 

You made a face a Joe. 

“Is it bread?” 

Joe found the other side of your head, and kissed your temple there too.

“Freshly baked.” He quipped, eyebrows raised high up on his face, ignoring the fact that every single one of his ciabatta rolls had touched the floor by your doing. 

He leant back a little to see you smile at him, to get a proper good look, prompting a wide grin to spread across his face too. 

And, you know what?

“I’d love some.”

the end

-----

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[mossycobbld]

Hello! I saw that you had an oc named Kaori, and I was wondering if I could hear some things about her? She looks pretty cool and I was curious ( I hope it’s okay to ask!)

hiii yes !!! i havent come up with Too much of kaoris lore, so right now its in a pretty rough place butttttt long post ahead youve been warned!!!

also pics of her for reference (i love drawing her like a soggy wet cat)

(ignore how it says half viltrumite in the last ss) heads up for inaccurate viltrumite stuff, i only know how they work from the show’s perspective

(warning AGAIN for Veryyyy long text below cut)

kaori (she/they), known as caaory on viltrum, was somewhat of a troublemaker, leading her to be chided a lot. this caused her to be very soft spoken and shy. but when her powers developed, she greatly exceeded her peers when it came to skill and strength. (though, her hearing developed too strongly that it became more of an disadvantage than a power.)

when tasked to fight to the death with her friend, she refuses strongly. this was seen as a sign of weakness and was scheduled for execution. caaory, terrified, flew away from viltrum as fast as she could.

two viltrumites go after her and find her still flying away. they use force rather than negotiation, and caaory still shaken up, kills them out of fear. mortified with her actions, she flies even faster. at the threshold of passing out, she sees the nearest planet and crash lands onto earth.

a family that was driving past sees her passed out in a crater that she left in a field. it was a young couple, their kid, ichiro, and the mom's side of grandparents. they took caaory in, and when asked for her name, she answered as "caaory", but because the name was mistaken for a similar one, the spelling changed to kaori.

it was well known to that family that she had powers, as they had to reprimand her to repress them when she used it casually as if she still lived on viltrum.

for the first two years, she never talked apart from when she told them her name. ichiro seemed to be the only one to communicate with her in a way. because of him, she was able to come out of her shell more easily and begin to talk more.

also!! repressed sibling bitterness but im not sure how to word it

BIG time skip here since i have a little more developed for her when season 1 of invincible takes place.. also kaori trying to live somewhere close to normal as she can, never really becomes a superhero. but wanting to use her powers for good, uses them very sparingly if the situation required it.

anyways around mid season 1, kaori knowing that mark is the new superhero, invincible, offers to train him. she teaches him for a while, but because at the time is time management is Ass, their training eventually stopped.

in season 2, kaori is running late to a class in college, but amber helps her catch up on the stuff she missed. they get along well, and they find out that they both know about mark. after mark and amber break up, kaori, begins to spend more time with amber to help her get through the trauma from when an*ssa threatened to kill her. they eventually start dating but im not SUPER sure how it all happens yet.

after the events of season 2, kaori tries to begin to train mark again. he agrees, wanting to be stronger. mark, frustrated with himself accidentally hurts kaori during training. apologizing profusely, she dismissed it and kept training him.

so thats all that i have for her so far!!! sorry if i made it too detailed, its hard for me to word things in simple ways for Some strange reason but i cant wait to build even more on her character!! i hope you guys like her :D

[an-aroaces-harem]

Ellis Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: I just deepl and google translated my way through this because I wanted to know what’s going on, so there are definitely mistakes but I believe I managed the general gist of the story. Anyway, it’s just a fan-made translation solely for entertainment purposes. Ikemen Villains belongs to Cybird.

Another note: I know Ikemen Villains is set in victorian London, but I will use the japanese suffixes because I prefer them.

Ellis: Guard?

At the breakfast table, Victor was told of my unexpected first job as a ‘fairytale writer’.

Victor: Yes! Jude and Ellis protect Kate, so that our secret is safe.

Victor: Kate was able to observe and record Ellis and Jude up close …

Victor: She can also fulfill her duties as a ‘fairytale writer’, killing two birds with one stone!

Ellis: If it’s okay with Kate-san, it’s okay with me.

Ellis: I don’t know if something like yesterday will happen again, so … I want to stay close to Kate-san.

Victor smiles at Ellis-kun’s response and then looks to Jude-san.

Victor: Of course, Jude will take responsibility, right? You hate making loans, don’t you?

Jude: Tch …

(Although I think I’d feel safer if I stayed close to Ellis-kun …)

I was mistakenly identified as ‘Jude Jazza’s woman’, and my life was threatened just because I was with Ellis-kun …

I can’t help but be wary of Jude.

Jude: Don’t cry when you get scared, princess.

(I’m scared … but Victor made a good suggestion, so I can’t be timid here.)

Kate: Don’t worry, I’m surprisingly resilient!

Jude: … Hah!

Jude-san snickered at my best smile and looked down at the newspaper.

Ellis: Then, it’s decided.

Kate: Yes, thank you very much.

When I smiled at Ellis-kun, he smiled back softly, unlike Jude-san.

Ellis: Speaking of which, you can speak in a more informal manner.

Kate: Eh …

Ellis: A “yeah, thank you” would be nice.

Kate: U-um, yeah … thank you.

Ellis: Hmm, that’s nice.

The air of warmth that Ellis-kun exudes is soothing and relaxing …

Victor: Now that we’ve got that settled, let’s get right to the task at hand.

Victor’s words made my spine straighten.

(This is my first real job as a ‘fairytale writer’.)

I brace myself, thinking that the first step is the most important thing in order to earn people’s trust.

Victor: I actually want you to gather some information.

Victor: We’ve been talking about kidnappings all over London.

Kate: Is this … a kidnapping case?

The disturbing words brought back the nervousness that was etched into my skin when I first met the members of ‘Crown’.

Victor: Yes. The ages vary. From toddlers to teenagers, and, of course, adults.

Victor: The common denominator is that most of the adults are prostitutes and street performers.

Victor: The songstresses who were once popular at bars have disappeared … but there are many people who don’t have a fixed address.

Jude: The victims are not very nice people, and since they don’t have a permanent address, they can’t be reported missing.

Jude: And, as usual, the police refuses to act.

Sadly, as Jude-san says, those who work in the entertainment district are looked down upon.

Behind the salubrious world, they are treated as if they are being swept away.

Victor: So here’s the thing …

Victor: Did you know that there’s an art fair in London right now that attracts performers?

Kate: Yes. It’s not as busy as the social season, but it’s pretty lively.

Victor: I want Jude and Ellis to go out there and gather information.

Victor: They’re rootless, but they’re more connected horizontally than you’d think.

Jude: Why do I have to go, too? Such a pointless mission.

Victor: I’m wondering if it might have something to do with the human traffickers that you just took down in private.

Victor: You’re on board, right? And … I heard today is your first vacation in a while.

It was information that Victor couldn’t have known unless someone had told him …

Jude-san cursed right next to him.

Jude: … Ellis.

Ellis: He asked me, so I answered honestly. Sorry.

(Maybe the power balance between these two is more equal than you think …)

Victor: So, have a good day!

Victor’s cheerful voice sent us off on our way to our mission.

(It’s even more crowded this time …!)

Appetizing aromas waft from the gorgeous stalls lined up at the art fair venue.

It’s not just the food that makes people happy.

There were people painting on the streets and others performing on large stages set up on street corners.

Walking along the street, one can almost smell the lively and joyful atmosphere.

(I’m totally excited and need to focus on the task at hand.)

(Yes, let’s listen to them now.)

Kate: Ellis-kun, Jude-san, can you tell me about your curses?

Ellis: I don’t remember if we’ve talked about that yet.

Ellis: I’m cursed with the curse of ‘thorns’ and Jude is the ‘13th Fairy’.

Ellis: It’s the curse that became the motif of ‘Sleeping Beauty’.

(The curse of thorns and the curse of the 13th Fairy …)

The 13th Fairy is a villain who resents not being invited to the princess’ birthday and tries to kill her with a curse.

(I can kind of understand why the fairy is guilty, but …)

(What is the sin of ‘thorns’?)

As I was thinking about it, Jude-san stopped and looked back at me, unamused.

Jude: We three don’t have to get along with each other. You go gather information on your own.

Ellis: But, what about guarding Kate-san?

Jude: You alone are enough.

After saying this, he quickly disappeared into the crowd.

Kate: … Does he hate me, even if he doesn’t have to?

Ellis: He’s like that to everyone, so maybe he doesn’t hate you.

Ellis: Maybe so Kate-san won’t be in danger if she’s seen with him again.

(Hmm, that’s not going to happen …?)

I swallow the words that are about to come out of my throat.

Kate: … If that’s the case, he’s a pretty kind person, right?

Ellis: I don’t think he’s nice. He loves to make people he doesn’t like suffer and hear them scream.

Kate: …

(I’m afraid I can imagine it …)

He is the complete opposite of Ellis-kun, who spreads kindness to everyone he meets.

As if to prove this point, after we left Jude-san, he was approached by people from all over the place.

Red-faced man: Oh, you! Thanks for taking care of me the other day!

Ellis: You’re welcome. Don’t drink too much today.

Kate: This person is …?

Ellis: He was drunk on the street, so I carried him home on my back. I don’t know his name.

Kate: Oh!

(Did you bring a stranger home and even take care of him?)

And that’s not all that’s surprising …

Furniture Craftsman: Ellis introduced me to people that helped me get my business off the ground! I’m so glad he did!

Student with glasses: Good to see you again! I’d like to thank you for helping me repair my bicycle, and I’d like to get your contact information …

Cat: Meow.

Ellis: You’re welcome.

(Even the cat thanks you …!?)

(I can’t believe so many people thanked him in passing …)

It just goes to show how many good deeds Ellis-kun usually does.

Kate: You know more people than me, who works as a postwoman …!

Ellis: I don’t know. I think it’s normal.

Seeing them smiling at him, Ellis-kun also smiled happily.

(I’m sure things like what you did for me yesterday are really ordinary things for you, Ellis-kun.)

When he sees someone in need, he extends a helping hand to anyone.

A person who sprinkles happiness.

These words came to mind as I watched Ellis-kun happily chatting with the people of the town.

(I wonder if there’s any ‘sin’ I should write about such a person …)

(Or rather …)

(Why does such a kind person work for an assassination organization or in the company of someone like Jude-san?)

Even though I have witnessed so much of his kindness … the doubts that suddenly come to mind make my heart flutter.

Ellis: Kate-san, Kate-san.

Kate: … Oh, I’m sorry! I was thinking.

Before I knew it, Ellis-kun was tilting his head and peering into my face from nearby …

Ellis: You’re thinking about me?

Kate: … Eh!?

Like two lovers looking into each other’s eyes, my heart pounds as he stares at me, so close that we’re almost touching each other.

(Ellis-kun doesn’t seem to be aware of it, but … the distance between us seems to be very close.)

The same was true when he visited me in my room the morning after they took me to Crown Castle.

This is the second time I’ve been this close to his twilight eyes, and I look away as I feel a warmth radiating through me.

Ellis: Oh, I guessed correctly.

Kate: How do you know?

Ellis: Hmm … somehow?

Ellis smiles and hands me a mug with steam rising from it.

Ellis: While Kate-san was thinking about me, I got a milk tea from the store there.

Ellis: Thank you for helping me with the delivery the other day.

(… Ellis-kun, I’m afraid …)

Ellis-kun pushes away his curly hair and takes a sip of his milk tea with a sigh.

Ellis: If you have any questions, just ask.

Kate: … Yes.

Ellis: “Yeah”, right?

Kate: … Ellis-kun, why are you a member of Crown?

Ellis: Is it because Victor recruited Jude and Jude said yes?

(Does that mean that since Jude-san is a member, Ellis-kun is a member as well …?)

Kate: Why are you with Jude-san?

Ellis: You’re full of questions.

Ellis-kun smiles and wraps his hands around the mug.

Ellis: Before I met Jude, I was living from place to place.

Ellis: I happened to meet Jude when I came to London.

Ellis: A lot of things happened, and I made a promise.

Kate: Promise …?

Ellis: In exchange for working for him, Jude will do me a favor.

Ellis: So … until then, we’re in this together.

The feeling that something might happen when I listen to him makes my heart beat wildly.

Kate: What did you ask for, Ellis-kun …?

Ellis: It’s …

Performer with flashy hat: What!?

(Eh …!?)

I was surprised by the loud voice, and when I turned my head, it seemed that right behind me was the back of a special stage.

The performer was scratching his head in confusion.

Performer with flashy hat: Can’t you two come? … Oh god …!

(He probably means two other performers …)

Kate: Ellis-kun.

Ellis: … Hm.

… “The common denominator is that most of the adults are prostitutes and street performers.”

We exchanged glances and stepped toward the distressed-looking performer.

Kate: Um, excuse me.

Performer with flashy hat: Hmm? Yeah, I’m sorry, but I have to be onstage in 10 minutes!

Ellis: You just said two people couldn’t come …

Performer with flashy hat: The I was supposed to perform with have been out of touch.

Performer with flashy hat: How many people and days does this take … It’s been a bit strange lately.

(No communication and more than one person …)

(If we could talk to this person, we might learn something.)

Ellis: I’d love to hear more about it, if you don’t mind.

Performer with flashy hat: I’m sorry, but I don’t have time for this right now! I have to think quickly about what performance I can do on my own.

After waving us away … he stared at us again, as if a thought had just occurred to him.

Performer with flashy hat: Unless you guys are willing to help me stage it.

Performer with flashy hat: Haha! What a surprise. No matter how much we’re in need of manpower, we can’t just bring in a bunch of amateurs.

He shook his head as if to say it was a momentary distraction, and Ellis closed the distance between them lightly.

Ellis: Cooperation? What do I have to do?

Performer with flashy hat: Haha! What’s the matter with you? I’m just kidding.

Ellis: But if cooperate, you’ll tell me the details, right?

Performer with flashy hat: … What, are you just a couple of guys who are looking for something new?

He stared at us, his good-natured face twisted in puzzlement.

Performer with flashy hat: But, you know, selling information about your friends is a risky proposition.

Performer with flashy hat: I can’t even guarantee that you guys don’t have bad intentions. After all, we’ve never met before.

Kate: How do we get people to trust us?

Performer with flashy hat: I guess so …

Performer with flashy hat: If you’re not going to complain about being the target of a knife-thrower or being tied up and dunked in a tank, then …

Performer with flashy hat: I wouldn’t mind trusting you.

(Target of a knife-thrower …!?)

Ellis: No problem. I’m good at that.

Unlike me, who was perplexed, Ellis-kun proceeded with the negotiations without fear.

(As expected, having been involved in business negotiations with Jude-san, he is used to the situation …)

I thought that Ellis-kun had cooperated with the show and that negotiations had been concluded, but … reality wasn’t so sweet.

Performer with flashy hat: Tsk, tsk, tsk … you can’t do it alone, boy. You’ve got to help me out, too.

Kate: What …!

Ellis: … Why?

Performer with flashy hat: Of course, it’s for the show!

Performer with flashy hat: A tragedy that tears lovers apart, followed by an emotional finale! You’re sure to get a big cheer out of this one.

(Knife throwing … tied up … tank …)

Ellis-kun peeked at me with concern as I grew increasingly pale.

Ellis: Kate-san, you don’t have to do this.

(He was the target of Victor’s knife-throwing, and I’m sure Ellis-kun will be fine.)

I would never be able to duplicate his extraordinary physical abilities …

It’s up to me to get information from this person.

(In this case, I have no choice but to trust Ellis-kun and this performer …)

Kate: I understand. I will cooperate.

⤷ next chapter

[rwby-encrusted-blog]

Semblances are tied to personality. For Dawne, it's easy to see he has a deep need to be appreciated. But what about Eren, Zhe, and Cadmine? For someone who wants to be so accommodating, Eren's semblance can sure make it difficult to be too close to her. Zhe's semblance just seems like he wants to hurt people. And Cadmine's semblance just screams chaos, indecision, and dangerously high energy.

Eren Jotunn, daughter of Ymir Jotunn and an unnamed woman, and sister to a girl she never met.

The reason the woman is unnamed, and her sister unmet is because her mother stole her sister and ran. Ran far and away. Ymir only managed to 'save' Eren by sheer luck.

Her Father left alone with his only daughter, raised her to be every that woman wasn't.

To be a Proper Lady.

Thoughtful. Kind. Generous. Quiet.

A Hard worker. Someone who accomplish tasks and listen follow through on instructions. One Who never talked back, or questioned those above.

A girl who kept her head down, eyes forward, chin up, and mouth shut to anyone except those beneath her.

Eren would say that her father has his own forms of affection.

She's learned to squeeze every last drop of warmth from it.

Eren would say her father is strict.

At best, she learned to cool his irritation down.

At least, She learned to use all the searing rage of her failures to make herself strong enough to accomplish the next task.

Eren would say she's fine with the cold.

Her bedroom often was uncomfortably so.

Eren would say can handle everything thrown at her.

She can.

For now.

But every fire burns out. How much more of herself can she burn to keep moving forward?

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine! I just need but a moment to rest!" Eren Jotunn, attempting to dissuade the medic's worries.

~~~~~

Caiji Zhe grew up in one of the less safe villages in Mistral, and was an outcast as a kid.

He was gullible, weird, had a hard time understanding metaphor and turns of phrase.

Most people wouldn't mind him. He was a sweet kid, kind and willing to help (try to help at least.) Zhe was content to just go about, picking berries and fruits for people, helping them do odd jobs

But other People would pick on him. Make him feel weak, small.

At some point he got tired of it.

Zhe is a good person through and through.

Hell fears the good man gone to war.

Everyone told Zhe he was weak? Soft? Okay. That's Fine. Whatever.

You make fun of him for it?

How about you learn what weakness is.

One time went too far, one day there was finally the straw that broke the camel's back and Zhe ...

Unloaded.

It was a simple day, he was helping a stall stack newspapers when they came over.

They tore the papers out of his hands, threw them around, pushed him over, and he'd had enough.

He stood up, raised a fist, and punched one of the bullies square in the face, their nose broken instantly, like it was made of stained glass.

The others didn't fair much better despite the size and weight differences.

At the end of it, three people had several fractures, broken bones, internal bleeding, and two had concussions.

He didn't go overboard, he stopped when they stopped, but Zhe was no longer seen as a sweet little kid.

People avoided him more than ever. No more bullying, but also a lot less people willing to simply exists around him. it Was a small village, and word traveled fast.

He was still Caiji Zhe, weird and sweet. People just saw him differently now.

Dangerous. Someone not to be messed with.

Sometimes, it's not enough to get someone to help you. Sometimes you can't just make yourself invisible.

Sometimes you just gotta punch a shark in the snout to make it back off.

"I dunno. The best way to end a fight is as fast and painless - for 'you' anyway - as possible." Caiji Zhe when asked about his choice in weaponry.

~~~~~

Cadmine had always defied the expectations put on her.

Never purposely, mind you, but because she did what she wanted, and did it with all her heart.

When she was born, she was born sick. The Doctors said she wasn't likely to make it past three months.

Her first birthday was a celebration unlike any her parents threw before.

In school she struggled to pay attention and answer questions in class, disrupting the teachers fairly often. Most of them expected her to fail and flunk out.

She aced every test, every project, every assignment. It was hard, she had to really focus up to do it, but she managed it.

The one time she didn't succeed in all accounts was with a particularly crotchety teacher, who she had a serious issue with, and she checked every assignment against her classmates, and she'd get every answer right, and whatever wasn't an outright lie of failure, it was a minor technicality, more of an opinion on how she did it than the actual answer itself.

She fought that teacher tooth and nail, the whole class did, and at some point the teacher was discovered to be "cheating" in his own way, and was outright targeting Cadmine to fail her, alongside another student named Pyrrha Nikos.

That guy got fired, and the two became friends.

When she announced she was going to be a Huntress people didn't know what to expect.

She was still flippant, aloof, silly, but she'd made it this far with flying colors! There were those that hated her for being so free, and people still thought she was odd, but Pyrrha was right by her side!

And they fought well, and grew to be some of the best fighters of their year.

At least until Semblances started springing up.

Cadmine's came in the latest.

Some people expected her semblance to be something about damage reductions, others thought she'd get a mobility semblance, more still believed she'd get an overpowering semblance, something that would act like Burn or Moonslice.

And, in a way, all of them were right.

Cadmine's Semblance can do all of those things. She can reduce damage, deal more damage, move faster and teleport.

But in that way, defied all of what they thought she'd get, because she got it all.

Handling it requires her to buckle down, and focus up.

She can, but it takes a LOT out of her.

She's fine with how weird it gets, she's adaptable!

Yeah it can make it hard to fight alongside others, but if they can't handle her, then they don't deserve to be her teammates, or her friends!

She misses Pyrrha. a LOT.

"She's the only Bad Bitch who can Handle me~" - Cadmine Ittoras, when being interviewed about her relationship with Pyrrha Nikos.

[mr-celestial-writings]

Could we please get general relationship headcanons for Ann, Makoto, Futaba, Haru and Sumire? Thank you!

You got it, Anon! I hope Gender Neutral reader is okay!

Paring(s): Ann Takamaki, Makoto Nijima, Futaba Sakura, Haru Okumura, Sumire Yoshizawa x GN! Reader

Trigger Warnings: Spoilers for Persona 5, Spoilers for Persona 5 Royal

================================================

Ann Takamaki:

She often brings you out on shopping dates. Even if you two don't by anything, it's the most common date.

Quality Time and Gift Giving are her love languages. I think the more she cares about you the more she wants to be around you. After all, we see her spend a lot of time with Shiho and Joker. And if you just so happen

If you two were together before Kamoshida's change of heart, you and Shiho were her supports. You stayed with her despite the rumors, and the Phantom Thieves absolutely gave you the shovel talk after they changed Kamoshida's heart.

I Think Ann would have Stern Boundaries. Especially after Kamoshida. She would not let you push them. She would also respect yours.

She is far from weak, she can fight her own battles. But if she see's you getting protective after she was cat called... Well just don't hurt 'em too bad, okay babe?

Has dragged you to photoshoots for moral support, will do it again.

Makoto Nijima:

The Queen (hehe) Of Study Dates. She wants you to be ready, and at the very best you can be. Can you fault her?

Words of Affirmation and Acts of service. Tied into her own Trauma. She hates feeling useless, she doesn't want that for you either.

I highly doubt you two were dating before the Phantom Thieves changed Kaneshiro's heart. She was too busy and obsessive with her task at the time, and she was trying to prove herself to be useful.

She has her boundaries, and she will not hesitate to enforce them. She will also encourage you to do the same.

She very much has told people off for catcalling her. She was even prepared to through a few punches. It's rare, though. You don't really feel worried.

Futaba Sakura:

Do you want to learn how to play video games and Featherman lore? No? Too damn bad because Futaba's idea of a date is plopping herself in your lap like Morgana A Cat and blab your ear off. You love it.

Quality Time is the way she expresses her love. She's still learning the world and how to manage with her social anxiety, and still coming out of her shell. For her, spending time together is how she goes.

Another person who you would not be in a relationship Pre-Palace. She would probably know about you though because you most likely hung out with Joker a lot.

She left you alone with Sojiro once for half an hour, when she came back you were nearly in tears and Sojiro was brewing Coffee. you learned that Sojiro does not fuck around when it comes to his daughter that day.

She has trouble communicating, so you gotta double check her boundaries. Actively make you you aren't crossing any lines because she will not tell you if you are.

She got catcalled once, and she just stood by as you beat the shit out of the guy. She cheered you on.

Haru Okumura:

Sweet Girl is still learning to navigate the world on her own, without her Father's influence. So you lead the charge on dates. You normally take her to cozy cafes and bookstores.

Gift Giving and Words of Affirmation are how Haru shows her love. She doesn't want you to feel unappreciated, especially with all you do for her.

You two wouldn't be dating before Okumura's Shutdown, but you two would be close friends! Probably her only friend away from her father's influence.

You didn't actively try and date her immediately after her father died, in fact you didn't even ask her out! It was about 2 months after what happened, and she asked you out. She giggled at your flustered expression as you stuttered out a yes.

You have beaten the shit out of her ex-fiance multiple times. He has tried to sue you, multiple times. Every Lawsuit falls through, for some reason.

You help her establish her boundaries. You respect them like you need to in order to breath.

Sumire Yoshizawa:

You love her for her. Kasumi, Sumire. You just love her. No amount of Maruki's powers will ever change that.

Your Dates would probable be random. No set schedule or theme. She'll just text you if you want to go out, and then you two would end up at the park somehow.

Words of Affirmation and Acts of Service. She just... needs to feel useful. She loves you and she wants you to never doubt that!

If you two were dating before the accident and before Maruki, you and Kasumi would have gotten along great! Cheering her on and helping her confidence. If you two started dating post accident and her becoming Kasumi, you would still love her after the reveal.

You have prepared to square up with any and all catcallers, Sumire has had to talk you down more times than she could count. She appreciates the thought, but she would rather not have her anchor sitting in jail.

You help her work through her problems and set up healthy boundaries. You also encourage her to talk through what she's feeling so you can better help her.

================================================

[quendiviner]

@shadowfells on it boss 🫡

ok so. klara is v. corpo v specifically. the backstory stays. what shall i say. she's some kind of mix of netrunner and a solo i think. loves double barrel shotguns and precision rifles (specifically hypercritical) and throwable knifes. is also not afraid to use her fists. used electrifying mantis blades a lot. loves the quick and "deadly" quickhacks like synapse burnout and system collapse

klara also finds it hard to like. let go of some of her corpo lifestyle preferences. she only gets food from city center bc other places often give her stomach ache, still wears suits/typical office wear, constantly watching out for backstabbing and stuff like that. drinks coffee a bit too much.

she prefers riding bikes more than cars but uses both. sometimes ends up on the metro thing. her favorite radio stations r morro rock & vexelstrom. she also doesn't know the street jargon and sometimes goes "???" when someone says smth.

stole a coffee machine from her old arasaka apartment and brought it to the megabuilding flat.

toby's some kind of a top class netrunner who originally worked for biotechnica but then kinda leaked info about their unethical practices and dropped off the grid. wanted/on elimination list of most megacorporations bc it likes to 1) go through their files and do the same thing as it did w biotechnica or 2) slip some of their money to the poor ppl. nowadays it mostly stays in net for fun tho. sometimes it fucks around with the blackwall (the quencies...)

outside of net if you'd meet it you'd think it's just some guy (gender neutral) bc it's quite literally the embodiement of 🧍🏻 emoji (i mean. so is actual toby, but it's even more of that here bc its whimsy is almost gone. you know. constant florida toby mode on). it mostly does some little tasks in different night clubs or works as a "freelancer" for poor people or the moxes, mostly solving net related problems or running light gigs, and taking v little money for what it does. maybe sometimes is like a joytoy or something. who said that.

also gets tummy ache from most food and only ever eats at one (1) specific place that serves pierogi. mostly drinks a specific water brand. still doesn't touch alcohol

roach race kind of guy, really loves arcade games.

funny thing is they actually live in the same megabuilding but like. have never seen each other. probably.

canon story wise toby would show up sometime after the voodoo boys main quest. it is just sitting there in her flat when she walks in. first thing it does is say "your flat security is shit". klara thinks about just leaping at it with mantis blades bc who the fuck is that but decides it looks too pathetic for that.

anyway. it somehow probably noticed johnny and the biochip signatures in net or something, originating from the same building as it. could also be related to the blackwall thing i guess. toby basically goes "i know someone who may help but they're out of town" and klara's like "uh huh sure 🤨" and is like, basically "i'll see what's in this city first." and so she goes on w the questline and all but, like, toby's there helping out or something. maybe it's a bit lonely. sometimes they stay up late to talk abt random stuff and the whole chip problem. sometimes they also end up falling asleep together on the couch or bed. toby's also taking care of nibbles when klara goes somewhere. at some point they get really close.

toby gets into some kind of situation (like it always does) (most likely a life threatening one) and klara somehow manages to pull it out of there and toby's all like "🥺🥺 u didn't have to do that" and klara goes "of course i did i fucking love you you dumb idiot". teehee.

anyway. they move to the glen apartment at some point. and after klara goes through all the possible quests she's like "hm. what did you say about out of city help again". anyway. then we have the aldecaldos ending and they just contact this person toby knows who might help. and they do. yippee

that's all i have hehehehe