#it was also super uncomfortable when near-strangers would like

[ashclouds366]

5. what color are your eyes?

hazel! :3 adults told me throughout my childhood that there's a gold speckle in one of them, but i've never been able to see it

[cursedcatvibes]

WORLD RECORD!

re4r!incel roommate leon x roommate reader

word count: 3.6k

summary: Incel leon who thinks he’s above women and thinks he’s an alpha male. he’s an absolute piece of shit too.

tags/warnings: 18+ minors DNI! Smut, many many mentions of misogyny. He literally can’t find the clit. P in V, he wrapped it before he tapped it! Incel 😧. quick mention of abuse but it’s not super relevant to the plot. not proofread!

a/n: not much to say other than i cringed so bad trying to write leon’s character, but i was committed, i looked through incel forums on reddit and even got chronically online real quick. also i’m on vacation! so i’m not able to write as much as I want! :( i’ll probably post small drabbles but i will most likely have another full story up in a month considering I cranked out a whole 7k page fic and then now a 3k one. DONT QUOTE ME! Also maybe agent leon x agent reader next. @gettingsilly (my sweetheart who was so hyped about this! here you go my love!)

songs:

pussy - rammstein (highly recommend them)

behind blue eyes - limp bizkit (fun fact; this was the og title of the story!)

rape me - nirvana (this was going to be a non con but i changed my mind)

norwegian wood - the beatles (literally burns the woman’s house down cause she don’t want him😭)

happy reading!

｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈•ﾟ｡

Handsome. Is the first thing that came to mind when you first opened the door to greet your new roommate, Leon. 

-

The rent was getting out of hand these days and you figured it was a way better deal to split the rent instead of living paycheck to paycheck damn near.

The only downside were the horror stories about roommates and even just random strangers too. It made you feel a bit queasy, but what else could you do, a recently single woman and at the ripe age of 25, technically you were in your prime for all types of creeps and weirdos to try and pull something, especially if you live alone.

So you bit the bullet and put up a craigslist ad, putting it at the back of your mind for now while you went back to getting rid of your ex-boyfriend's belongings. 

You only remembered about it when someone responded to it and after a few messages back and forth you gave the address to him and told him he could move in tomorrow. Feeling a bit proud of yourself for even being able to organize such an arrangement.

-

The first thing you noticed was how absolutely built he was, he definitely went to the gym and it made you feel a little insecure for a brief moment, before you stepped to the side to allow him to enter. “Welcome to your new home!” You beamed, happy with what you’ve done to the place. Completely missing the way his eyes ran up and down your body lewdly. 

He only wanted to have a girl roommate because he figured she would give it up easily or at least flaunt her body off to him, much to his dismay you were wearing a hoodie and sweatpants, not a single ounce of skin showing where he could sculpt your body out. “Prude.” Is what ran through his mind.

“Thanks.” He replied stiffly. “Where is my room at?” Leon asked as he looked around, he was kinda pissed off you didn’t show him any goods. He hated girls who didn’t show off their body, but he hated girls who showed off too much, thought they were just whores looking to get some attention.

So what if he catcalled them? Obviously they were dressing like that for attention and got all pissy when he gave them that attention.

You were oblivious to Leon’s degrading thoughts, too focused on trying to make sure he didn’t try to kidnap or murder you. When he spoke about where he would be staying you perked up and showed him the room while also giving a quick tour of the apartment.

You were even sweet enough to help him unpack all his things once they were all brought in! He owned some interesting objects, a bit uncomfortable to watch him unpack as he had a whole box dedicated to just sex toys. Fake pair of tits that were way too big to even be comfortable on a woman, fake mouth, fake ass, and multiple fake pussy’s. That wasn’t even the worst part of it. 

It got all too freaky when he pulled out hentai figurines that had little to no clothes on, all in lewd poses with lewd expressions on their faces, more specifically ahegao. You could feel the initial attraction from him sizzle down to a mere speck of a flame.

How could someone just own all this stuff so casually, flaunting it like it was a toy race car collection? But Leon didn’t care, fictional cat women were so much better than real women. They couldn't reject him or deny him sex. (Because they quite literally couldn’t, they're inanimate figures.)

He had the straightest deadpan expression on his face and you got the heebie jeebies thinking about what he could’ve possibly done with all these weird toys.”So,” You cleared your throat awkwardly, suddenly feeling like every object of his you touched was just icky. “Where did you say you lived before this?” You asked curiously.

Leon glanced over at you, wondering if you were gonna pull your hoodie off and finally show him your tits if he answered all your questions, he was growing frustrated. Dammit woman! Show him something! He thinks this is the longest he had gone without jerking off or watching a porno. If you weren’t gonna entertain him sexually why were you still bothering him?

“My mom’s. She said something about me needing to move out because I'm too old.” He grumbled out, this gave you a major ick, didn’t this guy say he was 27? He wasn’t struggling to get money when clearly he can afford expensive sex toys and other items. “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” You replied quietly, to which Leon grunted in acknowledgment.

Once you finished the box you were unpacking you decided the best course of action was to just walk away from this conversation. “It seems like you can handle the rest on your own, I don’t really wanna break any of your computer monitors and stuff.” You said as you stood up from the floor and brushed your hands against your pants.

 “Okay.” Leon hummed, disinterested in  conversation. All he really wanted to do was hurry up and set his computer up so he could jerk off in peace. You leaving his room was a bonus. He didn’t want to be downright rude and kick you out, after all, he is totally a nice guy. Plus he got the opportunity to stare at your ass as you walked out, he could see it jiggling underneath your sweats which was enough to rile him up.

-

You wish you could say it improved from there but unfortunately it did not at all. It only seemed to worsen. Like who the hell is watching porn from the moment they wake up to the moment they fall asleep. It’s all just yucky. The loud and over exaggerated moans that were definitely done for performance and not real. 

The only time Leon would leave his room was to eat or grab some water, he always looked so dazed too, it made you wonder what he was doing in there, you’ve never seen him go to work so it made you curious. 

Leon on the other hand was always so dazed or flustered in the face from the amount of jerking off he does all day. He once ran his dick dry enough to start cumming clear, rubbing himself raw damn near. It’s not like he tried not to get laid, he definitely did. But it never worked.

The way he carried himself was creepy, flaunting the fact he was a nice guy who could give a girl a good time. News flash! If you have to say you’re a nice guy, you're definitely not. Girls often avoided him in middle school and that followed him throughout highschool and even college. So he naturally drifted towards animated women.

He was hot but his personality quite literally sucked, it's like he would attract women because of his looks and as soon as he started speaking they lost interest. But you? You still greeted him every time he came out of his room with a polite smile on your face, offering to cook him something but he always declined because the mere thought of having a woman do something trivial such as cook for him like a traditional woman should, made him hard on the spot.

He had the normal views on life, such as all men do. Women are baby makers, they belong in the kitchen, they should treat their man like a king. It’s not like anyone could change his opinion either. He’s so far into the rabbit hole that his other incels praise him like he was a god, thus only further bursting his massive ego. 

-

You didn’t think much of Leon, not in a harsh way, you just didn’t really know that much about him because you two never spoke like that. All you did know was that he watched porn, maybe a bit too much that was considered normal. It's not like you're shaming him because you watch porn too, but you have some decency, a bit of dignity and pride.

Yet your opinion of him instantly sours when one day he comes out of his room, which reeked with the smell of cum and sweat, the room was humid too, which confused you when you first noticed it. He wore an angry expression on his face as he stomped, yes, like a toddler would, towards the fridge to guzzle down a can of soda. 

You, sitting on the couch mindlessly scrolling through your phone waiting for the time to pass on your off day, you planned to go to a club and slut yourself out to help remind yourself that you’re in fact hot and your ex missed out. Yet when he slammed the fridge door closed that caught your attention, perking your head up like a puppy.

“Uh, you alright?” You asked aloud, watching his eyes snap towards you with a frustrated huff. He figured if you put up with him this long then you must see the same misogynistic views he does about women. “No!” He scoffed out, dragging himself to sit on the couch next to you, like directly. Knees touching and everything.

This piqued your curiosity, maybe you could learn something about him? “What’s wrong?” You questioned as you shut your phone off, sitting up a bit straighter now, putting some distance between the both of you on purpose by grabbing a throw pillow.

Leon then started to rant and you’ve never been more disgusted and horrified in your life before. “I’ve been talking to this really hot chick and we were hitting it off, even had phone sex once or twice but when she asked me who my ideal woman was she ghosted me! Like what's wrong with saying women belong in the kitchen, or doing laundry, or even just cleaning. Women are only here to serve us alpha males.” 

Your nose scrunched up while your face morphed into genuine horror mixed with disgust. Is this seriously his mindset? It must be a joke or something of the sort because no way in hell. “Is.. is this a joke?” You asked, feeling puzzled as you looked around for a hidden camera. Out of all the people you got stuck with, you got stuck with an incel of all people.

Leon stared at you with the most serious face he could muster, he wasn’t kidding, in fact he was getting a bit upset that you were thinking he was joking. “Women are what's wrong with this world! You’re all too soft and so ditzy. You all think men’s feelings are a joke.” He grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and you swear you can make out a dried cum stain on his clothes. 

You felt so sick and also tickled, you’ve never heard someone or have been around a real life incel before and unfortunately this one came in the form of a super hot guy that wasn’t looking so hot anymore 

“Ew..” You stood up from the couch and stuck your tongue out slightly. “Is that how you see women? No wonder why she ghosted you, you’re a fucking incel.” You scoffed out, to which Leon got offended. “So?! What’s wrong with that?!” He shouted, the tips of his ears turning pink. It was different being scolded by a woman in person rather than over the phone because  he knows they can't hurt him physically but rather verbally. Plus it’s much easier to insult someone online versus real life.

“Do you actually hear the words leaving your mouth?” You questioned, staring him down intensely. Leon tried not to shrink in on himself, it reminded him of his mom telling him that he had done something wrong and now he was in trouble. So he doubled down and sat up straighter too, staring up at you. 

“Yeah, and what about it? Why do women get so butthurt over every little thing?” Leon grunted out, rolling his eyes like a little kid would. You were just astonished that he was willing to keep going even after being confronted with the fact, but you weren’t oblivious to the way his ears were turning red from embarrassment. “Fine, if that’s how you’re gonna be.” You murmured as you sat down on the coffee table right in front of him. His eyes follow your form curiously. If he was being honest the only reason why he actually moved in with you was because he thought you were really hot from your profile picture and even the photo you sent of yourself to prove that you were real, per his request. He jerked off to both photos for hours. (Plus his mom really did kick him out.)

Leon went to question you in hopes of turning the table around to make it backfire on you. Yet as his mouth opened to make another snide remark about women you spoke up first. “Let me be the first one to tell you this, and I mean this too.” You paused as you stared right into his eyes. “No woman is ever gonna have sex with you if you have this mentality and mindset.” You watched his eyes widen a bit and felt some joy come from it.

Leon balled his hands up into fists in genuine anger, a deep part of himself knew she wasn’t lying but the other part was so adamant on her being wrong. Obviously she didn’t know what she was talking about, women never do. “You’re a liar. You’re just jealous.” He scoffed out, narrowing his eyes into thin slits.

You were absolutely not lying.

Far from it actually.

The closest Leon had came to a pussy is on a computer screen, let’s face it. No woman on earth would wanna sleep with such scum such as him, not even prostitutes themselves want to take on such a tedious task. They’d rather kill themselves or have their pimp abuse them than sleep with him.

“Really, name 5 women you’ve had touch you in a romantic way.” You countered, staring into his eyes with an intense expression. Leon opened his mouth to try and smugly name a woman until he realized the answer was 0, he had no names because no one wanted him like that.

It was a blow to his ego and it showed on his face. If he wasn’t such a loser with terrible opinions along with his shitty personality then you would’ve felt bad but you didn’t. It was his own fault.

“That’s not fair.” He grumbled, staring up at you with a slight hurt look on his face. He wanted to get back at you. Make you regret and eat your words. How? Well that problem was quickly answered as he grabbed your wrist and pinned you beneath him on the couch. A yelp leaving your mouth at the sudden movements.

“What the—“ You were suddenly cut off by Leon’s hand slapping over your mouth, he smelled of cum and sweat, it made you wanna gag and throw up on him. “I bet I can make you cum so hard you’ll forget that you were mean to me.” He hissed, his fragile ego was broken because of you!

You furrowed your eyebrows before rolling your eyes. “Whatever.” You said underneath his palm, voice coming out muffled.

Leon smirked and moved his hand off your mouth, gazing lustfully at your body. He seemed confident but on the inside he was screaming at himself. He’s never touched or seen a woman in such an intimate manner in real life. This wasn’t a screen this time.

He gulped and hooked his fingers on the waistband of your sweatpants, he was determined to make you cum if it was the last thing he ever did.

Once he removed your sweatpants he found you commando beneath it. His breath caught in his throat, your mound was glistening beneath the light in the living room. It wasn’t even wet because of him, but he was dumb enough to not know the difference. He stared in awe before looking back up at your face when you cleared your throat awkwardly. “You gonna stare or what?” You questioned.

Leon shook his head before putting his hands on you, gently rubbing your inner thighs. Making you think that for a brief moment he might actually know what he was doing, right up until he pressed his thumb against your lower lips and started rubbing them.

Completely missing your clit.

He felt so aroused and a bit cocky now that he was touching your pussy, his eyes laser focused on your face to see if it was feeling good. He even tried dirty talk too. “Yeah? Does that feel good? I bet it does.” Literally hyping himself up.

You found it hilarious and decided to nod, stifling a laugh as you let out a fake over exaggerated moan he hears in his crappy pornos. Leon let out a soft groan at the sound, his hips bucking up into the air while his cock twitched.

Now, Leon had seen enough porn to know that he needed a condom and lube, obviously they never showed the actors prepping the girls' pretty cunts, they just stuck it in. Spoiler alert, foreplay is hot! None is not.

While Leon ran to his room you took the opportunity to finger yourself, even if you were sure he wasn’t packing much you wanted to be somewhat prepared for a small stretch, you groaned silently, throwing your head back in pleasure, clearly favoring your hand over Leon himself.

When you heard his footsteps you quickly pulled your hand away and watched as he excitedly took his pants off. Wow, so much for knowing how to pleasure a woman. It was funny to watch him struggle to keep it together when he kneeled back between your legs.

“I’m gonna put it in now.” Leon announced, squirting a generous amount of lube on your cunt before (attempting to) rolling on the condom. (You definitely had to help him. The last thing you wanted was to get knocked up by some dimwit.)

He put some lube on his cock, jerking off a bit while looking down at your pussy. Not your face. When he stopped masturbating he slapped the tip of his dick against your clit a few times, your body jolting in pleasure at the sudden sensation.

This immediately boosted his ego and you were in awe he was able to make you feel partially good. He was just daydreaming of how tight and warm your hole was going to feel. His dick wasn’t that big either, it was average length, average size, average balls. Just.. underwhelming and average.

“What’re you waiting for?” You murmured, snapping him out his trance briefly before he cleared his throat. “J-Just trying to brace you for my cock, it’s big right?” Leon questioned, feeling a bit insecure but he wanted you to make him feel better, feel like a man. That was a woman’s purpose after all.

“Yes (no).” You sighed out breathily, keeping up your act, dragging your nails down his body gently, causing him to shudder and nod with a smug look on his face. He pushed himself in fairly easily, considering your ex-boyfriends cock was much bigger and overwhelming, accidentally clenching down around Leon’s sad excuse of a penis which riled him up, thinking you had came.

You definitely missed his dick and now was stuck with some crappy one attached to a misogynistic freak. A soft sound of discomfort left your lips and Leon took it as a sign that you were enjoying it. You must love it! He was so confident in himself!

So confident that after 5-6 thrusts he spilled inside the condom, talk about a minute man. He was a millisecond man. His whole body spasmed from euphoric bliss, he had never cum this hard in his life before, burying his face in your neck, sloppily kissing at your skin because he couldn’t kiss for the life of him.

You were stunned someone could cum so quickly, that had to be a world record or something. Quickest man to cum after sticking it in or some random ass title, you hadn’t realized you had zoned out about the Guinness record book until Leon pulled his cock out from inside you, feeling good about himself.

He was panting softly from the intensity of his orgasm, leaning back against the couch to gaze at your pretty pussy, he wanted to eat you out too, wanting to show you he was good orally too.

“Was it good? Did you cum too?” Leon said as he stared into your eyes, wanting to hear you sing his praises and take back your harsh words that hurt his feelings. Almost like a puppy waiting for its owner to praise them for pissing outside the house instead of inside.

You grabbed your clothes and put them back on, smirking as you stared him dead in the eye. “No, I didn’t cum.” You snickered as his face dropped, kissing his forehead quickly. “Sucks to suck, Leon.” You said casually, getting up to go to your room and nap.

Leon sat on the couch stunned beyond relief, his cock kicking against his thigh as he watched you.

He swore under his breath that you were lying and you did cum, after all, delusion is key, and delusion is what made him become your roommate to begin with.

[autisticlee]

when you're autistic and can't mask and genuinely don't know how to talk to and interact with people, but you really want friends or something.....people tell you "go to places and ~just talk to people~ it's easy" but when you ask how to talk to people they say "just say anything" but you're super confused because any attempts to try to speak either end in getting completely ignored, bullied, or worse, because you're "weird and creepy" and can't say things right, make everyone uncomfortable, and making strange noises to communicate when you can't speak actual words isn't acceptable. that's if you can even physically say anything at all! because if you struggle to speak in general, then it's game over before it even begins. small talk seems simple because you can script most of it, but I can't even do that irl. even online when I do it, it never goes past that. i never feel connected to people, get bored/uninterested, don't know what to do after, and don't know when it's appropriate to start talking about special interests, if at all, because most people dont share my interests at all

no one has advice for that besides "just do it" and no one is ever patient or kind enough to try to engage themsleves, because no one understands how hard speaking is! it's always expected that *I* initiate everything and have to do all the work because im the one that wants a friend. no one is interested in me first, so no one will be the one to initiate first. i've gone to things alone, awkwardly did everything alone, tried to talk to people and failed, but no one approached me first or tried to converse and be friends. if someone did try to talk to me, i'd be so overwlmed with sensory processing disorder that i dont hear them and before i can try to clarify what they said, they walk away. my processing speed is so slow that i cant react before they get lost in the crowd.

I always end up extremely overwhelmed, burnt out, and need to find a quiet place alone to have at least a few meltdown or shutdowns. i'm struggling and suffering the whole time, but i'm "just doing it" because people keep telling me I need to "just try" and no one will help or support me and my needs and struggles so I have no choice but to put myself in dangerous situations where I can't be fully aware of my surroundings because i'm so disabled by my brain. I don't know how to behave if i'm not following and copying someome i'm with. instead I just dissociate until i'm not present and i'm unaware of myself and everyone and thing around me, while also being painfully aware of all the sensory input that wants to send me into meltdowns.

realistically, I don't think I *should* be going anywhere alone. I need help. I need support. I've gotten into near trouble with strangers who see me as an easy target but somehow got lucky and got away. I can't ask got help if I need it. I can't scream if one of those strangers got ahold of me. actually one DID get ahold of me once. I don't remember how I got oht of it. i dissociated so bad I have no memory after being grabbed...I don't know how to react to trouble correctly. I don't know basic common sense needed for being out alone. *I* know i'm in danger by being out alone but everyone in my life ignores my needs and struggles and forces me to either do everything alone or rot in my tiny dark room alone. so I decide to prove to them doing things alone is dangerous and doesn't help me. i'll tell them the dangerous stuff I got into they don't care. they just lecture me for not acting normal.

but I try. I try so hard. I hate every moment of ot and never get anythjg out of it except misery and pain and mental and emotional turmoil. but people don't believe me that i'm actually trying because they swear it will work if I "just try" so I keep trying and keep having a horrible time. it always ends in me feeling horrible physically and emotionally, being burnt out and disappointed that i didnt make friends like i was told i would just by going there alone. going to places does not mean you automatically make friends!!!!!! everyone else goes there *with* friends. they aren't looking for new ones. people who are good at making friends don't need to go places to make friends, because they already have them! so no social person who is good at talking and really nice is going to be there looking for friends, see i'm alone, and become my friend. hell, most social people talk one look at my awkward ass and turn the other way. they dont want someone awkward around them. my first impression is horrible. that's what people judge by. it's expected that i'm the one to try to break into a group of people and sell my soul to them and make them want to add me to their already established friend group. but i'll never know what group i'd fit in. I barely have the social energy to be around a crowd of people. how am I expected to interact with even a single person??? when you don't have the skill, social energy, or general ability to do any of the expected social stuff and cant mask on top of it, you have no other choice but to accept being alone forever...😞

[blank-citron]

I am back, yet again, with more thoughts. I'm nearing the end of house of hades (3 hours left!!) So here's my opinions about all the relationships!

OKAY SO:

Annabeth and Percy is fine, they're great, I don't mind them at all. Nothing weird, they got five books before they got together and they were genuinely friends first!! Good job have a metal: 🏅

Piper and Jason is??? Eugh. FIRST UP pipers original attraction to Jason is because of FAKE memories put inside of her head. And Jason?? Complete amnesia, doesn't remember shit, and they still kinda?? Stay together? Even though they're technically complete strangers forced into a relationship by a god. AND DON'T GET ME STARTED on the amount of time they spend focused on each other when Pipers dad is kidnapped and going insane and she thinks shes gonna be forced to betray them all. Like yeah, alright, but your boyfriend you know nothing about? Yeah spend an entire page talking about how attractive he is. OH AND THE CHARM SPEAK, DON'T FORGET THE CHARM SPEAK

Hazel and Frank is on thin fucking ice. The jealousy on Franks side is kinda uncomfortable but like, I get it. Fair enough. They've known each other for a while, they were friends before they were dating, and I can't say much about it?? Because it's before the book but at least it's not super uncomfortable or anything. Now my problem is kinda with their ages, Hazel is like 12 (13?) And Frank is uhh (checks wiki) **17???** I thought he was like 16 at most but alright, sure sure sure. You'd think? A 17 year old would know better than to date a 12 year old, like my guy, that's a whole ass child.

Leo and Calypso,,, Mmm.. most of my problems with Calypso comes with the fact that lore wise, it doesn't really make sense for her to still be on the island, her instant dismissal of Leo cause he's not super ripped and tall is also kinda uncomfortable but oh well. NOW LEO??? CONSIDERING that his main personal conflict comes from being the 7th wheel and the fact that his best friends kinda?Y'know, toss him aside after they get together??? The odd one out?? I feel, so uncomfortable with the fact that they decide to solve that problem by just giving him a girlfriend? Instead of y'know, making him more comfortable with himself and his friendships. Like sticking a bandaid of someone just liking him back for the first time ever fixes his major abandonment issues. Especially with?? The apparent "instant attraction"? Like c'mon.

[mari-lair]

In ageswap AU which other characters are also age swapped?

Are Yokoo and Satou in Teru's class?

Was Mitsuba a classmate of Teru? Mitsuba should have given Teru "let's be friends" talk since they sit in alphabetical order.

Of the main cast only the Minabros age are swapped. But I have decided to age up Yooko and Satou too, because I love their friendship with Kou very much, and I want them to grow up together and slowly pick on how stressed Kou is, helping him out as much as they can.

Mitsuba was Teru’s classmate and he does give him the "Let's be friend" talk. I didn’t want to put too much focus on Mitsuba, but this is the third ask I get about him, so I'll go into ramble mode: Here is every loose idea I had of Mitsuba and Teru relationship.

Since they are both friendless and lonely and sit next to each other, they agreed to be friends, but it’s a strange and somewhat superficial friendship, very short-lived. Their personalities just don’t clash very well: Not with Mitsuba's fake mask.

Mitsuba is very boring for Teru's standards, his sweet and polite persona makes Teru even more confident in his belief he isn’t normal and probably never will be. He puts effort and tries despite the lack of interest and his difficulty forming attachments because he does want friends, part of him hasn't given up on it. He also knows Kou is worried about him always spending his lunch with him instead of people his age, and Teru wants to make Kou proud, not worried.

Teru is more careful with strangers, but he doesn't really have a persona when he tries to make friends, he is still too casual about morbid topics and too blunt about his opinion, bullying Mitsuba on accident.

He gets some hope of making this work when he scares or frustrates Mitsuba, since it breaks his good boy act, and his real self is dramatic enough to entertain Teru. He is still hopeless though, so he enjoys hanging out with Kou more than Mitsuba.

Teru ends up realizing Mitsuba doesn't like to be seen as girly, and he was taught to treat girls nicely, so he kind of took it as “Don’t be delicate with Mitsuba,” and while that doesn’t make him violent, as he is with Akane, he does hurt Mitsuba on accident a lot when he teases him.

Teru makes an effort to be a good friend but he is very bad at it, and very arrogant, so he is confident he is nailing this friendship when he starts having fun, which is when Mitsuba starts to be stressed in his presence.

As for Mitsuba, he used to think Teru is cute (his type is blond with kind looking smiles and pretty blue eyes) but that feeling was quickly overshadowed by anger, fear, frustration, and just plain bafflement.

He is jealous of how authentic Teru is, and scared of being honest too, considering Teru's attempts to bond came across as him bullying Mitsuba when he is being ‘inoffensive’, so he fears being killed if he acts cocky and arrogant. The alternative of actually hurting Teru is also uncomfortable though, since he is one of the few people that can get happy to see him.

He gets tricked a lot and feels dumb near Teru (which he really hates), but he does likes that when Teru asks about his life, he listen to the answer, and remembers what he tells him.

He doesn’t believe in exorcists but does notice Teru gets new injuries every day, sometimes serious injuries. Mitsuba comes to the conclusion there is an uncomfortably high chance Teru is involved in something shady, maybe an illegal fight club (Teru just has a ‘vibe’ when he talks about supernaturals that put Mitsuba on edge)

Mitsuba eventually gets curious and lets Teru drag him to meet ‘his cool big brother’, and Kou is super sweet and happy to see Teru with a friend, so Mitsuba got a crush on his first meeting, even if he is angry about it and refuse to go out of his way to see Kou again, only seeing him on casual chance encounters.

Depending on how lonely Mitsuba feels he either seeks Teru out (anything to not spend his break alone) or avoids him as he would his old bullies, which confuses Teru, but he doesn’t mind, happy to have lunch with Kou.

Mitsuba would only consider him a friend when desperate for it or if his mom looks too worried. But usually, he doesn’t know what his relationship with Teru is: He doesn’t hate Teru but he also doesn’t like him.

He stopped interacting with him relatively quickly cause he think being friends with the weirdo that frankly, is stressing to hang out with, would ruin his chances of making friends with other people.

He is convinced his own personality isn't as bad as Teru's.

Their interactions got reduced to random talk when both are too bored and being the first person to go to when you need to borrow something, since they sit so close and do know each other. It's not hostile but more like friendly (?) acquaintances than friends. (I genuinely do not know how to describe their relationship)

When Mitsuba dies, Teru was close enough to him to feel the loss but not enough to grieve ‘properly’. It hurt, and he isn’t as bright for a week, but he moves on relatively quickly, going back to only focusing on his family.

Teru did not realize the weak ghost he exorcized is Mitsuba, only able to connect the dots when he heard Tsukasa say Mitsuba's full name. The idea he exorcised an old classmate will make him feel guilty and sad, but Teru won’t regret it or beat himself about it for long: He was taught since young that wandering spirits can become a danger if they try to cling to the near shore and that supernaturals are pitiful and selfish creatures that lose their humanity.

He had accepted Mitsuba, the human he knew, had died on the day his death was announced last year, and he had moved on from it.

[the-cult-of-russo]

Just Beneath The Flames (Part 2)

Pairing: Billy Russo x Reader

Warnings: cursing, smut at some point probably lmao, zombie shit, typical canon violence. You know the drill.

A/N: I just wanna thank everyone for the love of this story so far! I love that you guys like it so much and I hope you continue to love it! 

—-----------------

The walk back to the camp was a lot less tense than the walk before. You were feeling a little more relaxed knowing that at least for the time being, you had one less problem to worry about. The men spoke in hushed tones to each other, looking like they were riding a slight high after all the violence. You really couldn't bring yourself to care though, not when they’d helped you with the assholes and also given you food. They may have just saved your life twice over. When you finally got back to the camp, Karen rushed over, whisking Frank away as she hugged him, clearly happy he was unscathed. Billy went over to who you now knew to be Micro and Curtis, now awake, as you just stood on the periphery of the camp, feeling very much like the outsider you were. You hovered uncertainly, waiting to be taken to the hunting store. You knew there was one around in the area but since you had no vehicle and it wasn't super close, you’d never ventured that far. You’d traveled around for far too long and you’d finally set up base. You didn't want to have to travel and get caught out there, especially when the assholes were still alive. You knew you’d have to move again eventually. The food would run out, the stores picked clean and probably another group of crazy people would turn up. It was just how it was now. But you liked where you were and you wanted to stay there as much as possible. It was hard traveling all the time, not taking any roots. It left you feeling unsettled and all over the place. 

“Hey, we haven't met yet. I’m Curtis,” the man smiled as he approached you. You hadn't met all of them yet although now you knew their names due to Frank. You hadn’t spoken to Micro’s wife or kids, not that you blamed them for keeping the weird stranger who had been planning to rob the camp from meeting the kids of the group. You wondered how hard that was. Having a group was stressful anyway, having others to look out for, to keep safe. But kids were a whole other ball game. They were more likely to make mistakes, being kids and all, and more likely to draw attention to themselves. You were glad your old group hadn't had kids, especially since everyone ended up dead. 

“I’m Y/N,” you said with a polite yet slightly awkward smile. He opened his mouth to say something but Frank came over so he gave you another smile before moving back over to the main camp.

“Alright, Bill’s gonna take you up to the hunting store,” he muttered with a nod. You’d hoped it would have been Frank or at least he’d have been there. It was a little easier to talk to him given he was the one doing most of the talking. Billy was just cold so you knew it would be uncomfortable. 

“Okay. When I’m done, I’m just gonna get him to drop me off near my camp,” you murmured, hitching your heavy backpack up a little. You wanted to make it clear you wouldn't be coming back, it almost felt rude to just vanish after going to the store without at least telling him. He nodded, looking thoughtful as he rubbed his chin a little.

“You sure I can’t convince you to join us?” he asked, giving you a tentative smile. You snorted and shook your head.

“Nah, I’m good. I wouldn't be averse to seeing you guys around again at some point though. Maybe we could look out for each other,” you replied softly, making him nod.

“Yeah, we could do that,” he smiled. You weren't quite sure what you could do for them if you were honest, maybe just tag along if they needed an extra person to help with something. You were mostly thinking of yourself, you had to in this world. It would be good to know you had a group of people to have your back if it came to it. 

“You want me to tell the other’s you’re leavin’?” he asked and you shook your head rapidly.

“No… I’m just a stranger, don’t need to make shit weird with a goodbye speech,” you snorted ruefully.

“I get that,” he chuckled, glancing over at the others for a moment. Karen was saying something to Billy who was putting his sniper away before checking his handgun.

“Well… It was good meetin’ you, Y/N,” Frank muttered when his eyes drifted back to you.

“You too,” you smiled. It was nice meeting people that didn’t want to kill you, it felt like a rare thing these days. He gave you a light tap on the arm, walking back over to everyone and talking to Billy briefly. Billy then sauntered over to you.

“Ready?” he asked, not sounding too happy about being the one to take you. You wondered if Karen had forced Frank to stay after him going out there and putting himself in danger like he had. 

“Yep,” you replied.

The ride in the black van was a little tense and uncomfortable. You knew he didn’t trust you, not that you blamed him. You didn’t fully trust him either. But the air was thick and you shifted in your seat, watching out the window as he drove. The world looked the same yet completely different. It was weird. It was still dark outside but the moon was full and bright. The only beauty left in the world.

“So… what d'you do before all this?” he asked after the longest silence in history. Your eyes moved from the window to him. He wasn't looking at you, looking out at the road, but at your silence, he glanced over at you. You wondered if the silence had been bothering him too.

“I was a veterinarian, not that it matters anymore,” you snorted sardonically. You’d loved your job with everything you had. You’d known from a young age you wanted to help animals.

“Nah, I don’t believe that shit,” he huffed, shaking his head.

“You don’t believe I was a vet?” you asked, sounding amused. He looked at you, a slight smirk on his face.

“Not that, that it doesn't matter anymore. Me and Frank, we were Marines. I’d say it helped quite a bit with the way shit went down. And Curtis was a medic, somethin’ pretty valuable now. I’m guessin’ being a vet… you got a lotta medical knowledge that helps too now,” he shrugged.

“Right… If your cat has a cough or your dog needs neutering, let me know,” you muttered with an eye roll and a snort.

“Nah, you know what I mean. You know some shit most of us don’t, probably even helped out with your old group ‘cause of it,” he mused, his dark eyes boring into you as he raised a brow. You looked away from him, eyes once again looking out of the window yet this time unfocused. You had tried to use some of your knowledge and training to help your old group, but that was the issue. Because no matter what you did, it didn't help and they wound up dead anyway. And while a part of you knew it was probably inevitable, that even a person with all the medical knowledge in the world probably couldn't have helped them, you couldn't help but feel like you failed them all. The drive once again became silent and tense, with Billy probably sensing your souring mood and deciding not to make further conversation. It didn't take too long after that though before you saw the row of stores, one of them being the hunting store. Billy didn’t park up front, not that you expected him to. Every move you made now had to be cautious, worrying about the living as well as the dead. Who knew what others resided in these parts none of you had met yet? 

He pulled around the back and once parked, you opened the door and hopped out, grabbing the knife from your thigh. Billy came around the van too as you both started walking around the stores to the front silently. The street was eerily quiet and you weren't sure it was a good thing. Right now it was, it meant you didn’t have to fight through a sea of the dead to get what you wanted. But the absence of any roamers on the street only made you worried that a herd was somewhere. They liked to do that you noticed, bunch up into a group. It made it dangerous when you saw a pack of them. It was harder to go around undetected and they were ruthless, they could tear down a house if the group was big enough. Billy ended up walking in front of you a little, his dark eyes sweeping around much like yours were and you wondered if he was having the same observations. You both stopped outside of the door for the hunting store and Billy, holding his knife too, tapped on the glass a few times. It was a trick you’d also picked up, to gauge what mess awaited you inside. There were a few groans and you tilted your head a little.

“What you think? Two or three?” Billy asked quietly, his eyes turning to you.

“Three I think. Two in the front, maybe one in the back,” you replied as you listened and tried to gauge where you were hearing the noise. Billy looked slightly impressed for less than a second before he nodded and opened the door, clicking on a flashlight in his other hand. Billy went to the right so you went left, straight at one of the dead who stumbled around a shelf. It was dark with no electricity, but your eyes were used to the darkness now, you’d adjusted to being able to see better than you had before the world fell apart. Billy’s flashlight was pretty bright too and it spilled over to your side of the store. You didn’t hesitate to shove your knife right through the dead one’s eye socket, pulling the knife out roughly as it stopped moving and making noise. It hit the floor with a heavy thud. At one point, you’d hated having to do this. Back when they still looked like people and weren't so badly decomposed. It was harder that way, to look at someone and think of who they used to be. To see a person. But most of them now looked like the monsters they were and you didn’t see any humanity when you looked at them. It was easier that way. When you looked over at the other side of the store, Billy was wiping his knife on the shirt of the dead guy on the floor. He stood back up, his eyes meeting yours for a moment as the last one still groaned. As you thought, it was coming from the back room.

“I got it,” he muttered, twirling his knife gracefully in his hand before he strolled off to the back room, most of the light going with him. 

You looked around, shoulders slumping a little now you were finally taking in the place. It was picked clean, nothing good or useful left. You felt disappointment settle like a stone in your stomach as you heaved a large sigh. You jumped when a sharp whistle pierced the air, your head whipping to the open back room door to see Billy. He gestured with his head to come over before he disappeared. Your first response was to bristle at being whistled at like that, like you were a dog. But you realized it seemed to be how the group communicated with each other and it was probably second nature to him. You walked over and walked inside, the backroom a little brighter with Billy's flashlight. Your eyes darted around the room, noticing the dead man on the floor before looking at some of the things in the back room. It wasn't full of supplies but it at least had something. Both you and Billy started to rifle through the boxes and you hoped you'd find what you were looking for. Billy let out a low whistle like he was impressed and when you looked over, he had a large machete in his hands. He unsheathed it, grin on his face as he looked at it. Both the blade and handle were black and it was pretty hefty looking. He chuckled, putting it back in the sheath before attaching it to his belt. You moved around closer to the back end of the room and stopped when you saw a box. There staring at you was a Hoyt Torrex XT Compound Hunting Bow. it wasn’t a fancy one by any means, more of a budget model, but you knew it was good and it would certainly do the job. You’d been without a bow close to a year now and with food getting harder and harder to get, you knew this would be the difference between being able to eat and starving to death. You grinned, all but ripping the bow out of the box and grabbing it, weighing it in your hand. It felt good, you almost felt like you’d got a lost limb back. You rummaged around more near the area, pleased to find a bunch of arrows. You could always make them if you needed to but they wouldn't be as precise as ones like these. You found a quiver nearby, putting the arrows into it and shouldering it. It would be a little annoying with your backpack which was currently left in the van, but you’d figure something out another time. You turned to Billy who was shoving stuff in his bag. You weren’t quite sure what and you didn't care too much either.

“I’m done,” you said, clutching the bow in your hand. He looked up after he zipped his bag, a slightly amused look on his face at the sight of you with a bow.

“Alright,” he nodded, slinging his backpack back on. You both made your way back to the front of the store, Billy cautiously looking out of the door before leaving entirely. You followed him back around to the van at the back of the store, putting the quiver by the bag in the footwell before climbing inside with the bow in your lap.

The drive started off silent once more as he started his journey back. You’d be getting dropped off just a little past halfway back from the store and you couldn't wait to just settle down and get some sleep. You were exhausted from all the drama of the night. 

“You know how to use that thing?” Billy asked with a condescending tone and a condescending smile to match.

“Yep,” you replied vaguely, giving him a wan smile. You could have told him you’d taken archery classes when you were younger, how your parents insisted you and your brother do it along with various extracurricular activities. That you’d been a natural in it and excelled. You couldn't be bothered though, especially with his tone. You still couldn't get a read on him, couldn't decide if you liked him much. He seemed decent enough but he was a little cocky and patronizing sometimes. He rolled his eyes at your answer as he kept on driving. When you got to a more familiar place, somehow recognizing the trees even though they all seemed to look the same, you looked over at him.

“You can just drop me off here,” you said softly. He slowed the van before it stopped and he had a weird look on his face as he looked at you.

“Your camp here?” he asked.

“Around abouts,” you shrugged. He scoffed, shaking his head with the smirk that seemed to permanently live on his face.

“So you know where our camp is but we can’t know where yours is?” he asked with slightly narrowed eyes.

“Basically. Knowing where I’m staying wasn’t part of the deal,” you smirked, opening the van door. You hopped out, grabbing your bag and putting it on one shoulder, the quiver over the other and your bow in your hand.

“See you around,” you said, giving him a rueful smile at his put-out face.

“Yeah…” he muttered, tilting his head. You shut the door and didn’t spare him another look as you walked off into the trees. It didn't take you too long before you felt relief seep into your bones when you spied the tree house. 

You weren't sure who built it out here or why and it wasn’t small either. It was pretty decently sized in a large thick tree. You’d stumbled on it by chance. You made your way over, carefully climbing up the rope and wood ladder, being mindful that your balance was a little off with all the weight you were carrying. Once in the treehouse, you pulled up the ladder like you always did so no one else could get inside while you were there. There was no door which meant the cold was still a problem. You hadn't had a winter here yet but you knew it would be coming soon. You weren't looking forward to it. It was roomy for a treehouse and you had a sleeping bag and pile of blankets in one corner. The other corner that usually housed your food was bare but you smiled to yourself as you emptied your very full bag, neatly stacking the cans and other items you’d gotten. You put the bow, your new pride and joy, just under the window with the arrows. You wanted to go hunting in the next few days. You’d never hunted animals before the turn, it kind of went against your whole thing about being a vet. But it was necessary now and you were always respectful to the animal, never made them suffer. Your body was drained and you lay down, wrapping yourself in your many blankets as you snuggled into them. You'd had a pretty decent night and it made you a little hopeful for the future. 

Two days later and you were stalking through the woods silently, following a deer. When you’d started hunting for food with your old bow, you only ever found small game. Rabbits, squirrels, but never a deer. You were slightly nervous but you made sure your footfalls were as silent as can be so you didn't startle it, waiting for the right moment to strike. You knew it would be a lot of meat and you didn’t want to pass it up, but you also knew you didn’t have a way to preserve it and it would be far too much for just you. You thought about keeping what you could for yourself and giving the rest to Frank and his group. It wouldn’t last as long with the group having many people in it, but they’d get a good few meals out of it. Something more substantial than shitty canned foods and protein bars. The deer finally stopped and you held your breath, aiming your bow as you blew out slowly. You aimed for just below the halfway point in its chest, just behind its front leg. You knew that's where its heart and lungs were and you wanted this to be a clean and quick kill. Not only because you didn't want to go chasing it through the woods but because you didn't want the animal to needlessly suffer. 

“I’m sorry,” you whispered, the light voice carried off in the wind as you let your arrow fly. It struck just where you aimed as the deer ran off panicked as you knew it would. It didn't get far before it collapsed though, now lifeless. You took a shaky breath, a small frown on your face as you walked over to it. You really didn't get any joy out of doing this, it’s just how things were now. You bent down and took the arrow out carefully, wiping it on your pants before putting it back in your quiver. You stroked its soft fur for a moment as you silently thanked the animal. It wouldn't go to waste, it would feed you for a while and Frank’s camp would also benefit from it. You tied its front legs together before doing the same to the back, leaving some twine from the front to the back so you could carry it easier. It wasn’t a large deer but you knew it would be heavy. You grunted as you heaved it up, wearing it almost like a bag with the twine around your shoulder. The extra weight made you a little slower to get back to your camp but you hadn’t gone too far. Once you got back, you set to prepping the meat under the large tree your treehouse was in. You’d already set up a campfire down here for you to cook your food with, not wanting to set fire to the treehouse. 

You weren't sure what time it was when you were done, wasn't sure what time it was at all anymore other than day and night. But it was still light and you knew it was early when you’d gone out to hunt. You mused it was probably around afternoon-ish. You pulled some plastic bags from your backpack that had been sitting at the bottom of the tree. You’d found a roll of them once in a store and decided to take them. You did that a lot, finding random shit and taking it, not knowing when you’d use it. It had proved to be pretty handy. You put in the meat you’d prepped for Frank and his camp, it was a decent amount and depending on how they rationed it, it might last them a few days. You wanted to find a way to preserve meat naturally so it would last longer. It was getting colder these days which would help but it would still spoil far too quickly for your liking. It would be better if you could hunt in advance, knowing it would get harder in the winter. Back in your old group, Derek, an older man, had made jerky because it would last for a long time and it was easier to carry around with you. You thought you still remembered how to do it but it would be hard since it was getting closer to the winter months. Derek had done it naturally by hanging them in the sun and heat of the sweltering summer. You knew salt would help to preserve the meat but you hadn’t been able to find any in your trips to various stores. When you were done getting Frank’s meat ready, you put your own in a bag and then buried it to keep it cooler until you got back. It wasn't perfect but it would have to do. You also buried all the innards in a different hole to avoid drawing the dead to you with the smell. It took a while to get everything sorted and done and you wanted to head out before it got dark. You never really liked being out at night. While you’d adjusted to see better and had somewhat got used to this life, it was incredibly eerie out in the woods at night, especially if the dead were around and groaning in the distance. You put Frank’s meat in your bag, leaving your bow behind as you made sure you had your knife strapped to your thigh and then set out. The camp wasn't too far but far enough that you still felt nice and secluded. Despite going there only once, you remembered the path vividly. 

You heard them talking, although it wasn't too loud, as you weaved through the trees to the camp. You felt a little awkward just showing up like this but you knew they wouldn't be mad since you brought them food. It was just strange for you now, helping others, doing something nice. You’d only had yourself to worry about for so long and in a way you liked it that way after all the shit you’d been through. But a part of you missed the camaraderie of being with others, the safety it gave you in numbers. Just talking to another human and not yourself. Karen was the first to see you, jumping up from where she had been sitting next to Frank at the fire as she made a beeline for you.

“Y/N!” she beamed, making you feel even more awkward as she seemed so happy to see you. She almost looked like she was about to scoop you up in a hug but she seemed to think better of it. Maybe it was your incredibly tense posture. You hadn’t been able to help it.

“Hey,” you murmured awkwardly, a smile toying on your lips.

“It's so good to see you,” she grinned and you looked over at the fire when you saw movement. Frank was now coming your way as the others looked at you.

“Back so soon? Please tell me you're not bringin' bad news about another group,” he smirked wryly, making you snort. You slipped your backpack off your shoulder as you shook your head.

“No bad news but I did bring this,” you replied, pulling the meat-filled bag out of your bag. 

“What is it?” Micro piped up curiously from where he was sitting. While you weren't directly at the campfire, you were within hearing distance.

“Deer, caught it this morning,” you shrugged as Frank took the bag.

“You’ve gotta be fuckin’ kiddin’ me,” Billy huffed with a sour face, making you look at him.

“Don’t mind him, he’s just bitter ‘cause he hasn’t bagged a deer yet,” Frank snorted, making you smile as you looked away from Billy who was glowering at you.

“We really appreciate this,” Frank added, a meaningful look on his face. They didn’t seem like they were struggling for food too much but you knew just as well as they did that it didn’t last long. And for the harsher colder months where fresh meat would be harder to find, the canned goods were best saved for then.

“You didn’t need to do this, Y/N,” Karen murmured. She was smiling but she also looked a little guilty and you knew exactly what was going through her head.

“I can’t eat it all and it’ll just go to waste. Figured you guys could use it. Get some good protein in the kids that doesn't come from bars,” you said ruefully. 

“Thank you,” you turned to look at the sincere voice to see it came from Sarah, Micro’s wife and you nodded at her. You didn’t know how she did it, having kids in a world like this. 

“Do you want some cans or anything?” Frank asked, making a move to go over to where their food was in crates but you shook your head quickly, stopping him in his tracks.

“I’m good. This isn't a trade or anything… Just me being… a good neighbor, I guess,” you snorted and he chuckled at your words. 

“At least stay and eat with us,” Karen insisted, her eyes imploring.

“You don't have to do that, I’ve got meat back at my camp,” you protested, not really wanting to stick around too long. You felt like you connected with Karen and Frank in a way. The way you did when the world goes to hell in a handbasket and you didn't need to know people long before you knew you could count on them. But you still really didn't know the others and still weren't sure about Billy. It was a little uncomfortable for you to encroach on their eating time like this. 

“I don’t care, you're eating with us,” Karen said firmly, snatching the bag of meat from Frank before she strode over to the fire with purpose. Frank barked a laugh and shook his head fondly at her before giving you a look with a raised brow.

“The lady’s spoken, you ain’t goin’ anywhere,” he grinned. You started to wonder who was really in charge here. 

It was far more awkward to just leave now after Karen's declaration so you followed Frank to the fire area where everyone was dotted about. Some of the others smiled or nodded at you, not seemingly minding a stranger in their midst. You weren't quite sure where to sit but the only available spot was next to Billy who was sharpening his knife with some kind of rock. You took your backpack off, setting it on the floor before sitting down carefully. You’d purposely left some space between you and Billy so he didn’t feel like you were crowding him. Karen started cooking the meat and everyone seemed to be in good spirits. No one really spoke to you directly but the conversations seemed to be open to anyone as they all conversed with each other, you’d just chosen not to really engage. You just felt like an outsider. You were. 

“So, where'd you find the deer?” Billy asked after a long while. When you turned to glance at him, his dark eyes were already watching you.

“A little north of my camp,” you explained with a shrug. His lips quirked into an amused smirk, his eyes going back to his knife.

“Right… that’d be helpful if I knew where your camp was,” he drawled mockingly and you smirked to yourself.

“Can’t give away all my secrets, Billy,” you snorted. It made him chuckle and shake his head. He seemed the type to hate not knowing things and you weren't sure why you enjoyed annoying him a little. 

“How’s that bow treatin’ you?” he asked. You hadn't expected him to make idle conversation with you but you went along with it. It would make you look a lot less weird than you just sitting there silently and staring off into the fire. 

“It’s good. Not as good as my old bow, but it gets the job done,” you murmured, making his eyes turn to you again.

“What bow did you have?” he asked curiously. Your lips curled into a wry grin as you pointed to his that was resting against a tree not too far away. He looked over his shoulder at it before chuckling again.

“You tellin’ me you know how to handle that thing?” he asked, that patronizing tone back in his voice.

“Which one of us bagged a deer again?” you asked, brows raised in amusement. He rolled his eyes and sharpened his knife a little more aggressively. 

“Just ‘cause I ain’t found one yet doesn’t mean I can’t get one,” he muttered, sounding like a child and you bit your lower lip to hide your smirk.

“Mhm, sure. You do know how to track, right?” you asked condescendingly, making his head snap in your direction as he glared at you, his mouth slightly agape at your audacity. 

“Here you go,” Karen grinned, handing you the cooked meat on a paper plate. You took it with a grateful smile and then she handed Billy’s to him. The idea of some good meat seemed to take precedence over you mocking his skills as he grinned at Karen and wasted no time in shoveling the food in his mouth. Everyone gathered by the fire as they ate and made conversation. It was going well until someone decided to outright speak to you.

“So, Y/N, Billy told me you were a vet before all of this,” Curtis smiled warmly. You glanced up, mouth still full of food and you swallowed it down, feeling uncomfortable as all eyes turned to you.

“Uh… yeah,” you answered, giving him a polite smile back. You weren’t quite sure what else to say to that if you were honest. It was all in the past, a time long forgotten and none of it mattered anymore. 

“That's good, some good skills there. I bet they’ve come in handy for you since the turn,” he replied and you felt the bitter pang hit you right in the chest.

“If by coming in handy, you mean failing everyone I cared about then… sure,” you gave him a wan smile as you continued to eat, an uncomfortable silence settling over the group at your words and tone. You were thankful when Karen started conversation up again and the group slowly eased back into it. You couldn't help yourself though. You were sick of people presuming because you’d been a vet that you were some kind of healer now. You’d failed, numerous times by now. You didn’t need reminding over and over again. You ate your food and tried to keep out of conversation, but then it turned into the group discussing the lack of dead ones lurking around in the forest. You couldn't help but listen to the conversation as you licked your fingers, not letting anything go to waste.

“That’s a good thing though, right? I mean, if there’s less of them here then we should be safe,” Sarah said, looking mildly relieved as she looked between Frank and Micro who had been the main ones talking about it.

“Not really,” the words slipped out of your mouth before you could even help yourself. You were starting to think you wouldn't get invited to camp again after this for being such a Debbie Downer. All eyes looked at you once more and you shrunk in on yourself a little.

“What do you mean?” Sarah asked, a small frown on her face. You blew out a sigh with a shrug.

“It’s not usually a good sign that there’s not many around. The dead ones are like animals and sometimes, they travel in herds. I’ve seen some up to as large as a hundred. From my experience, when it seems quiet, not long after a big group shows up. You really don't wanna be caught up in that sh-... stuff,” you quickly changed shit for stuff simply because the kids were here too, both of them watching you with wide eyes at your words. You didn’t want to scare people but you knew they had to be safe. Not everyone had seen the dead travel in groups before, some people didn't even know they did. You’d rather warn them in case a herd burst through the area than turn up here one day to find them all dead. Sarah’s concerned face snapped to Frank then and he looked deep in thought before he looked at Billy.

“We need to keep an eye out, see if we can spot ‘em anywhere,” he muttered gravely and Billy nodded, looking a little tense and like he was thinking. You wiped your hands on your jeans, deciding you’d probably depressed them all enough for one day.

“Alright, I’m gonna head back before it gets dark,” you murmured, moving to stand up. Most people in the group started talking over each other, thanking you for bringing the deer and it was hard to keep up with who was saying what. 

“Want me to walk you back or anything?” Frank offered. It seemed like he felt indebted to you or something over the meat but you shook your head with a grateful smile.

“Nah, I’m good,” you said softly.

“Can’t give away your secrets, right?” Billy asked from where he was sitting. When you looked at him, he was giving you that patent amused smirk and you snorted. 

“I’ll see you guys around,” you smiled, grabbing your backpack and slinging it on. 

“Stay safe,” Karen insisted, a concerned smile on her face. 

“I’ll try,” you smirked wryly before turning your back and heading off. 

The walk back wasn’t far and far too quiet, it made you think of what you’d said at the campfire. You never thought you’d dread the days where the dead were scarce, but you knew it didn't always mean good things and it worried you. You were almost home when you rolled your eyes. The whole way home you’d had that weird feeling, the one you get when you know someone’s watching you. When the hair on the back of your neck prickles up. You knew it very well but you’d tried to ignore it thinking you were being paranoid, but when it didn’t go away, you realized you weren’t being paranoid at all.

“I know you’re there, Billy,” you snorted, stopping and turning around. There was pure silence for a beat and part of you started to wonder if you were wrong, but then he stepped out from behind a tree with a lazy smirk on his face like he wasn't even sorry for it.

“What gave it away?” he asked with an impish grin, brows raised.

“You’re not as stealthy as you might think,” you stated flatly. He looked like someone just smacked him in the face and it made you smirk to yourself.

“Excuse me? I was known for bein’ stealthy in the Marines, so don’t give me that shit,” he huffed indignantly. 

“Why are you following me?” you asked, raising a brow. He licked his lower lip looking somewhat amused as he shrugged.

“Wanted to make sure you got back okay,” he answered smoothly, his dark eyes pinning you in place.

“Something tells me that’s a load of shit,” you replied with a smirk and he chuckled, once again shrugging.

“Maybe I just wanted to see where you’re hidin’ out since you’re bein’ so secretive about it. I don’t like secrets,” he punctuated his words with a patronizing smile and you rolled your eyes heavenward.

“I’m not being secretive just because I like being alone,” you muttered.

“Right, well I-” his words cut off abruptly at the sound of groaning, but it wasn’t the sound of one or two dead ones. No, this was a chorus of groaning that suddenly made you feel like someone poured ice-cold water over you. It was like your earlier words had come back to bite you in the ass, like you’d summoned them here by simply talking about them. Both yours and Billy’s heads shot to the side of you, seeing the dead pouring through the trees towards you.

“Shit,” Billy hissed, turning around to head back the way he came. You knew what he was thinking, he was thinking about his people. But instead of making a fast retreat back, he was greeted with more of the dead and you felt your heartbeat skyrocket so much you heard it in your ears.

“We gotta go!” you insisted firmly, moving over to him.

“I can’t just fuckin’ leave! Frank-” he started arguing, his face looking frantic.

“You’ll lead them right to the camp, Billy,” you hissed urgently, seeing the dead getting closer and closer to you. He looked conflicted, eyes darting behind him to where his camp was, where a sea of the dead were cutting him right off from getting back to his people and then to you.

“If these guys came from that way…” his tone was laced with pain but you shook your head.

“They could have come from anywhere and turned up here, we need to go!” you commanded harshly. You didn’t want to leave him here like this but like hell you were waiting for the dead to be too close to get away from. He growled, shaking his head and you felt annoyance hit you like a mack truck. You grabbed his wrist and started tugging him in the direction of your treehouse. At least up there you’d be safe until they passed. While he didn’t seem happy about it, he let you tug him so you knew he saw some sense at least as he’d easily be able to break from your hold if he wanted. You both ran with the dead on your heels, you still gripping his wrists in case his stupidity won out until you got to your large tree. You shoved him towards the ladder and he didn't hesitate to go up it, you right behind him. The pair of you settled on the floor either side of the open doorway and you panted, trying to catch your breath as you looked out of it and quickly pulled the ladder up. The dead couldn’t climb but you weren’t taking any chances. The dead ambled their way past, their groans almost deafening you and making you wince. When you looked at Billy, he was staring outside too with a dark look on his face. You weren’t sure what to say to make him feel better. You meant it when you said they could have come from anywhere but they also could have come right through his camp. You weren't about to tell him everything was fine when it might not be, not with such certainty. You and Billy were both sitting in tense silence, the only sound in the treehouse coming from the roamers below as they walked by. You weren’t sure how many of them there were but it seemed never ending and unfortunately, a small group of them, maybe around seven, must have seen you go up as they lurked around the tree and didn’t follow the others. You blew out a breath and slumped against the wooden wall, knowing you were in for a wait, you just really hoped it wouldn't be for too long, mostly for Billy’s sake. 

Taglist: (if you’ve been asked to be tagged and aren’t here, it wouldn’t let me tag some people.)

@firexfate

@blanchedelioncourt

@ariesbutalibra

@sunshinedaisies-anddeath

@snowkestrel

@music-indie-tv

@idaofinfinity

@sweetserendipity65

@ramadiiiisme

@k-marzolf

@celestialams

@woowwwee

[writing-whump]

i'm halfway (damn my job) reading the new fic - ALREADY LOVE IT. I LOVE THESE TWOOOO!!!! However I must ask, how.... experienced are the OCs in the matters of intimacy/romance/sex? Sel I can tell knows nothing of romance and is still finding her way, but what about the other stuff? And about the others? 👀👀

Hey Soup! Thank you so much :3 So glad you are liking that one so far!💙✨️

Universe-wise, touch is very sensitive for wolves. Touching anyone outside the pack is downright uncomfortable, if not dangerous. Inside the pack, it's still a sensitive matter cause wolves bond very deeply and easily to people they touch. Close family works, but wolves aren't usually the touchy-feely types with strangers, friends and the least to other wolves.

It's sensitive for witches too, cause they take their magic from wolves, and that's not a connection either side takes lightly.

So, short one-time affairs are super difficult and unlikely, because wolves get invested and territorial (double that for witches) and are wired for long-term partners.

For wolves with high standing in the pack, there is also the political aspect of who would make the ideal match and how to keep the line going (since wolves can't have children with each other, only with a witch or human and female wolves and witch males are very rare). Heirs of big influential packs should marry witches, since that keeps magic in the family, increases the likelihood of witches being born and witches are precious as it is, so they are seen as prizes by many wolves.

OC specific:

Isaiah was way too busy being an adult and an executioner in his teen years and then being too distrustful of relationships for years once he left. He dated humans at the university before, once he got a bit more settled there, but it didn't last very long when they started to ask questions and dig around.

Seline wasn't interested in romance for a very long time, an introverted nerd ahead of her years. She hardly felt any attraction to anyone until she met Isaiah, even when she attempted to date people. The whole being chased around by wolves for being a witch was very displeasing and stressful to her. (Hence why being called a witch by wolves first and a person second is sensitive to her, why she appreciates Isaiah correcting people and why she tends to emphasize her research and career more than her magic).

Matthew had crushes before, but his inability to make friends, isolation, and self-worth problems in his teen years didn't make for good dating opportunities. His temper and shadow scare people off, he wasn't allowed near any pack witches and wolves react very violently to his shadow. :( He doesn't particularly mind as of now, I'm not sure why that is.

Hector has a very one-track mind and his focus was training, lol. The political element is very strong with him; he should ideally get a witch from an important pack that would get the Wolfsons an important alliance. He didn't really care to consider anyone outside those parameters.

Arnie is in a precarious position. On one hand he is human in a very competitive wolf oriented pack that looks down on humans. On the other he is the third son of the previous leader, nephew of the current one and both his brothers are highly respected and feared. You can bet Hector would bite the head off anyone who even looks at him wrong. As a human, he is vulnerable, an easy bargaining chip and the idea hostage to get to Grayson and Hector. So he is both isolated for his protection and has very little friends in the pack itself. After he gets out of being home schooled to uni, his horizons will expand a lot, but he is secretly very insecure (and hides it by being extra prickly which doesn't make for a friendly fassade lol).

[la-principessa-nuova]

i'm gonna add onto this to specifically call out how this common complaint about men talking up more space by sitting with their legs spread was personally hurtful to me as a fat trans woman, especially before I had fully processed and come to terms with being trans.

first of all, as Roxanne pointed out, some people, especially the fatter someone is and especially for people with testicles (and also people with certain mobility issues), have trouble sitting with their legs closer together. Depending on how close together you consider to be close enough, and depending on the person, it ranges from extremely uncomfortable to painful to impossible.

but lets consider a few impacts of this narrative that any time you see someone you perceive to be a man spreading their legs in chair, it's an intentional attempt to take up more space?

first of all let's consider what it actually is meant to accomplish: to encourage people to take up less space in situations like subways where space is at a premium and seats are squished up next to each other.

so why do i hear people nowhere near a city pointing out people "manspreading" while sitting in a socially distanced waiting room chair? and even if we pretend for a moment that this really does only affect men, why do we want to be pressuring them to squish their testicles if they're not in a crowded environment?

the better advice is "don't take up more space than you need in a crowded area". if someone is fat enough that their leg is going to make the next seat not enough for another person, why are we shaming them off of public transport when that only even matters if there isn't a free seat? if someone has mobility issues that prevent them sitting with their legs together, why are we adding extra shame for them? they need that space, so let them use it.

second, let's take a look at how this affects trans women in particular. i first heard this when i was in high school, and even though i rarely was in a situation where i had to sit tight enough that my legs needed to be squished together, and i was predisposed to making myself as small as possible in a space to avoid inconveniencing anybody else, it made me super self conscious about it.

because not only was there this thing that i apparently was doing that was considered rude, but it was explicitly about inconveniencing other people and it was labeled as "manspreading", which for some reason made me feel super bad. Something about being called out for doing a "man" thing gave me this weird negative sensation that it would be another 10 years before I realized was called gender dysphoria.

so there i was sitting on the bus, completely alone on a bench seat, leaning into the corner with my legs pressed together, engaging every muscle in my upper legs for the duration of the bus ride to keep my legs locked together, to the point where they were sore when I got home and i worried about falling down the stairs getting off the bus, and if i ever got distracted or lost in thought and realized they were spread, i felt so ashamed.

and somehow me feeling ashamed and sore and dysphoric in my open bench seat on a bus with barely any kids on it in a small town was somehow in service of keeping peoples' legs from touching on a subway, years before i even went on a subway

and then once i started transitioning, i found myself in the waiting room for my HRT appointment on my first day out of the house without boymoding. my makeup came out good, my wig hadn't come loose, and my clothes were all staying where they were meant to be, and yet I was sitting there in the waiting room chair feeling uncomfortable because I can't cross my legs. There's just too much leg and not enough mobility.

I knew this, which is why i was wearing shorts rather than a skirt, but I hadn't considered that I would need to sit in a chair in front of a bunch of strangers. My heart was racing, and despite having truly so many things to be nervous about, the thing on my mind was my legs.

if anyone was suspecting i might be trans, i was sure that spreading my legs would give it away. was that even true? i have no idea, but i was terrified and overthinking everything, and so like all those years ago on the bus, i clamped my legs together as tight as i could. it hurt the same as it had before, and the longer i waited for her to call my name, the more sore and tired my legs got until i had to start letting them open a little bit just to stop them from shaking.

all to save space on a subway.

so forgive me for having little love for this advice to take up less space, because telling people to keep their legs together as a virtue is no more valid in this case than any other.

and like, not to go on, but like, even if it was just about men doing it on purpose unnecessarily, does anyone seriously think that this becoming a meme would stop them? like there is no world in which my dad would hear someone say "stop manspreading "and start squishing his legs together to be helpful. he would spread them twice as far apart just to prove a point.

in order for someone to hear that it's inconsiderate to take up extra space and then think, "hmmm, i should take up less space", it would require them to already be the sort of person who cares about being considerate to others. and if that were the case why would they be taking up the extra space in the first place unless they actually need it? from the start, this was doomed to do nothing but hurt and shame people who already feel guilty about taking up space.

so whether it's because of your disability, your weight, your gender, or quite specifically in this case what you have between your legs, don't be afraid to take up space. take up that space, be loud, and fuck the patriarchy.

ATTENTION ALL WOMEN: STOP SHAVING. STOP WEARING MAKEUP. SIT WITH YOUR LEGS SPREAD WIDE OPEN. EAT 3 FULL MEALS A DAY. THIS IS FOR FEMINISM.

[pvremichigan]

For the a-z meme, M I C H I G A N

So this is what it means to use a name in vain. She's disgusted by all of you who support this.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

In order to actually turn her on, you have to be dating her for a good while in the first place. There's no hope that a stranger doing any of these things will get any good reaction from her. So the baseline is... Be committed to her. But for specifics, there's a few things.

It has to be good timing. It cannot be out of no where or she will use it against you and humiliate you on your efforts. You NEED to catch her off guard WITHIN the moment. If it's a battle of dominance and self restraint, you just need to be better than her. Always one up her. A good, deep voice that you can feel in your chest is a great start. Especially with eye contact. A fight for dominance will also get the heart pumping. If you win, it's well deserved because she does not back down. Any attempt in seduction has to be done during a time where tensions are quite high. In order to tip her over the edge, she needs to be near the edge to begin with.

The one thing that will drive her absolutely crazy is - in the middle of an argument or heated discussion or some sort of bickering contest - just start kissing her roughly. Deeply. Tensions are always high during conflict. To close that gap, you need to grab the opportunity. Be very careful that she's not GENUINELY angry during these moments or your lips might be bitten off. If it's the right timing and the right moves made, she's putty in your hands. Tension after a spar or playful fight will get her mind racing too.

When it comes to talk, verbal taunts and teasing are a guilty pleasure. She doesn't like super dirty talk, she doesn't want to be degraded, she doesn't want that cliche stuff you'd hear in a porn or something. She wants a taunt. An example would be angry sex or angry foreplay. If she's nagging you or being a pain and you do something that shuts her up, a playful "Say something, I dare you" or "You were saying?" would both piss her off and drive her insane.

Toys are mostly a no but there is a common one that she isn't aware she might enjoy. Vibrators. Using them on herself? No. No that's not okay. Ones being controlled by someone else? It's a good maybe. Especially if it's a tease to keep her on edge.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…) 

Mich has a pretty wide range. She's not really... Romantic with sexual situations, she finds it cheesy and overall sort of a turn off if it's too romantic/loving. Don't get her wrong, she does want loving. But loving in her own way. Mich does not 'make love'. That is not a style of sex she's interested in. Her impulses are more driven by rough and challenging. The most romantic part of the entire situation would be the kissing. The first step before anything else happens. Ironically, sex is not just an action to her, it's a bond. That being said, a lot of her 'bonding' is very... Rough. She can be loving, she can be very gentle and intimate - during foreplay - but the act itself is a battle. Seeing who dominates who until the other gives in and submits. Her touch can be very gentle, very intimate, but it all can change so quickly.

Overall, she tries to make a connection with the person physically outside of sexual activity. She doesn't want to associate them with sex and she CERTAINLY doesn't want to associate herSELF with sexual intimacy. That'll only increase how intense the shame and disgust is afterwards. It will remain there after every session for a long time.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person)

Okay this one is uncomfortable. I apologize to IJ for this one since I have to expose him here too.

So for starters, sorry Mich, I have to expose her first. She is a very stubborn individual. She will not let things happen so easily. That being said, it's very ironic.

It's actually incredibly easy to make her orgasm it's almost concerning. With that in mind, she would climax multiple times in one session. Now here's where it gets a little worse for her especially with her dating IJ.

Almost everything about IJ is toxic. Ranging from mildly dangerous to extremely deadly. His saliva is toxic so if he and Mich kissed for long enough, she'd certainly get a buzz. His blood is extremely toxic, and is the only other thing that can get Mich extremely drunk in even a small dose. It all depends on what toxins and poisons are in his different "fluids". That being said, his semen is incredibly toxic but is built up differently than his blood, obviously. If Mich consumes it or it gets in her body, it's almost like taking ecstasy. She gets a wave of bliss and warmth through her whole body. With a large amount, that bliss would trigger her very-easy-to-climax body to, well, climax. So not only will it be easy to make her cum, but him doing so inside her in some way will also force her body to do it. Depending on how long it takes her body to destroy what was put in it, it could - on rare occasion - cause her to climax multiple times before it's gone.

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

Answered here

I = Intimacy

Fugh you I already did this one in this ask.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

Answered here

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

Answered here

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

There could be many things on this list, I'll only name a "few". Some of the bigger ones she would never do no matter what.

ANYTHING to do with her breasts. No touching them, no grabbing them, no talking about them, no looking at them, absolutely NOTHING to do with them. The best thing you can do is pretend they don't even exist.

Roleplay. Just... No. She's not pretending to be someone else or pretending to have a different job just to fulfill your weird fantasy of sexualizing people just trying to make a living.

Masturbation. That would make her physically sick. She couldn't handle the thought. She'd rather not please herself, it's never something she's ever wanted nor has she ever been curious about it.

Threesome/anything involving anyone else. They will not leave alive and you will leave single. Bottom line.

Humiliation/degradation. She didn't come here to feel bad about herself, doing anything sexual already somewhat does that to her. No need to add on.

Extreme dirty talk. You can tease and taunt and say what you want to do but if you go into detail about body parts and activities, you're just going to turn her off completely. To add to this, this includes spit. She gets wet enough, you do NOT need to spit on her. She will kick you in the sternum.

BDSM. She doesn't mind tying up on a pretty vanilla level but that's as far as she'll go. No suits, no gags, definitely no whips, none of that weird shit.

Oral is very iffy. She may do it on rare occasion but it's not something she would want to do often. She isn't even keen on receiving it. If her partner is into it, maybe once in a while but it's just not a go-to for her.

Spanking. Just don't. It's just weird... Don't do that to her.

And finally (to keep this list """brief""") collars and leashes. She's not a dog, she's not property, and if you do this, she's mauling you. That's all there is to it.

[byebyler]

just finished rewatching s1 of stranger things and it actually hurts how amazing it was. i reallyyy hope season 4 manages to recapture at least a little bit of that magic

like idk it was just so grounded and real and heartbreaking and unique and then it just got caught up in becoming a bigger and bigger spectacle and being as meme-able as possible to the point of being exhausting to watch

my biggest gripe with s1 still remains the inability to “show, don’t tell”, especially when it comes to relationships. starting with hopper talking to the teacher about his daughter and then walking off just to have some random character look straight at the camera like “his daughter is dead. he has a dead daughter. he was lying she doesn’t live with her mother bc she is dead and not alive” as opposed to figuring out any sort of way to reveal that organically a little while down the road

i mean i’m just not a super fan of mileven or jancy in general but the way they built up to both romances is just so sloppy. they didn’t need to have a romantic element at all in s1 and the fact that we had to, on multiple occasions, have third party characters say “you’re so in love with them” as proof of romantic undertones is just bottom of the barrel lazy writing

mike is literally a child. his best friend is missing and now he’s got this strange new girl living in his house and he’s trying to protect her and make her feel at home while still trying to use her to find his missing friend. we don’t need lucas telling us that mike is in love with el and wants to marry her or whatever. bc 1) that’s not how the situation reads at all and 2) it’s an interesting dynamic without the forced layer of romance thrown on top to try and convince us these two children are bonded romantic soulmates for life

same with nancy and jonathan. they’re having an adventure of their own, their story is plenty interesting and complicated enough. then steve pushes jonathan’s buttons, bringing up his family issues and the fact that his fucking brother has gone missing which leads to jonathan snapping and attacking steve. and then we have some third party woman that has no idea what’s what to tell us that jonathan did that bc he’s in love with nancy?? how does that make any sense

and then they had to amp that up to 11 in s2 with murray just. telling these kids that they’re into each other and need to fuck. which. i hate using the word “cringe” bc it’s basically lost all meaning at this point. but any scene with murray in it makes me so genuinely uncomfortable. how is having some rando telling two characters they need to fuck a better option than just having a decently written storyline for them, or god forbid, the two characters having natural chemistry. it’s just so gross and forced and desperate to me and that’s why i can never fully get behind those ships

but anyway those are just about my only complaints with s1 and i think it’s pretty damn near perfect besides all of that. i hope it can come back around and hit as hard as it did in the beginning bc i think that would be incredible. and also very needed xx

[poppletonink]

Let It Snow Review

★★★☆☆ - 3 stars

On a Christmas Eve, Gracetown becomes blanketed in snow. As three stories come together to form one, a group of teenagers lives change indefinitely as romance forms in the most unlikely of places. Alongside romance blooming, a series of dramatic events sends them down festive paths they never would have anticipated ending up in.

The Jubilee Express by Maureen Johnson

★★★★★ - 5 stars

Jubilee Dougal was not expecting to spend Christmas in Gracetown with a family she didn't know. But when her parents got arrested; her boyfriend was being neglectful; her train broke down on the way to visit her grandparents; and she trekked in the snow to a Waffle House, she didn't have much choice. She wasn't expecting to fall in love with a total stranger either - but Christmas has an effect on people.

It took me a few pages but once I got into this one, I loved it.

Jubilee is awesome - who doesn't completely favour her over pretty much every character in this book. And Stuart is the sweetest man on earth.

Stuart's mam kind of freaked me out a bit, but she was nice so it was fine.

And the way that Stuart and Jubilee bonded over having terrible exes was cute.

Also, on that note, I hate Noah with all of my guts - he found out his girlfriend had several near death experiences within a few hours and he didn't even care at all!? What's wrong with this guy!?

But, overall, I got really invested in this one - it was the cute, cozy Christmas romance I was looking for. I loved it.

A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle by John Green

★★★★☆ - 4 stars

When Tobin and his friends get a call from Keun at the Waffle House, they set out on a trek to join him there - if only for the cheerleaders. But getting there isn't so easy, with a broken down car; miles of travel all if which is covered in snow; and two twins threatening their every move. Along the way, Tobin discovers maybe he isn't going for the cheerleaders after all - maybe he is simply in love with his best friend: the Duke (Angie).

The Duke is definitely my favourite character - she was created well, she wasn't very feminine but didn't judge other girls for being feminine.

Also I love the pop cultures references - Twister is one of the best board games around and James Bond is iconic.

I think it was kind of slow paced, but it was still good. My main issue is the sexist interpretation of cheerleaders - sexualising the concept of cheerleaders themselves, pom poms and short skirts. It was addressed, but it still made me uncomfortable.

I thought Tobin and the Duke were super cute together. However, it took me a while to get there.

Overall, I liked it quite a lot - this is the second thing I've read by John Green and his writing style is still something I'm getting used to but I do like it.

The Patron Saint of Pigs by Lauren Myracle

★★☆☆☆ - 2 stars

The fate of a singular teacup pig falls into the hands of a dramatic teenage girl, Addie. Whilst trying to keep the pig safe, she has to navigate her broken relationship with her boyfriend Jed, after having cheated on him by kissing someone else.

I didn't really like the writing style - frankly, I found it boring after the first page. Also, can we talk about the writing is very Eleanor and Park esque - even down to the racism ("He seemed so exotic" almost killed me).

Addie is really annoying too - she totally doesn't deserve Jeb.

Plus, this story argues that it's okay to cheat on someone as long as you apologize profusely in an attempt to salvage the relationship.

But, I have to admit I mostly finished this one for the teacup pig - and to see how the stories intertwined in the end.

[st0rmyskies]

Our besties on the speakeasy reminded me to answer this one, gonna use it as warm-up this morning.

Twilight - Alcohol makes everything about Twilight better. That soft country drawl comes out, he becomes a smooth talker like no other, and you bet your ass you can talk him into taking his shirt off and riding that mechanical bull in the middle of the bar. Once he gets home, he's a super snuggly drunk and would love to lay his head in your lap for some tipsy zzz's.

Wild - He seems to... not get drunk, actually. Like, ever. Load that boy up on fruity lil drinks and he still maintains his normal speech pattern, can walk in a straight line, hell he'll even do cartwheels on the sidewalk on the long walk home.

Champion - Never gets drunk as a rule. He'll order one beer, nurse it throughout the night, only have about half of it. If you order him shots, he's going to "chase" them with his beer so he can spit them back into the bottle.

Warriors - The Flirt™. He loves to dance, loves to be the center of someone's attention, and if he doesn't find an attractive stranger he might just pull one of the guys to play at being their 'arm candy' for the night. It's usually good-natured Sky, who is such a passive drunk that he'll go along with anything. He does, unfortunately, get himself into trouble now and then.

Sky - He's a passive drunk, as mentioned, who will get up and dance when he's cajoled to but generally likes to warm a seat near the bar. He's the guy who'll watch your coats and bags and drinks while you're partying. Sky has another side to him, though, that is very rarely triggered but when it is, he becomes the bar brawler. If he gets even the hint that someone is bothering his friends, he might not start the fight but he will damn well finish it.

Legend - He's unfortunately a depressed drunk. There's a very early plateau for him when he goes from feeling good and in a high mood to downright dour. That's when his friends usually try to gently switch him to water. If left to his own devices, he'd polish off a six pack and wallow until the wee hours of the morning in his room, smoking out the open window.

Hyrule - One drink and he's in his happy place. Any more than that and he is dead asleep, facedown at the bar or tucked up under Sky's arm. He'll get dumped on the couch as soon as they get back home, and oh look, Twilight has found the perfect place to lay his head!

Four - When Four gets drunk, he turns into a SASS. MASTER. Everything that comes out of his mouth is catty and hysterical, and he can verbally run circles around anyone, including Wars. Watching the two of them go at it in the bar is hysterical, less so when they're being the two rowdy patrons at the all-night diner.

Wind - Alcohol makes him quiet. It dials up his shyness to an uncomfortable degree. Catch him sitting in a corner with his hood up and his bottle clasped between sleeve-covered hands, just watching the crowd and smiling and laughing but not really interacting very much.

Dark - The Asshole. He can outmatch a drunk Time for assholery. He's a dogged instigator, apt to pick apart the little insecurities of his "opponent" in an effort to pick a fight. He's not happy until the person he's targeted for the evening leaves the bar. What was their crime? Sometimes something as innocuous as looking at him the wrong way.

Shadow - The Accomplice. He likes egging other drunkards on to making poor decisions just so he can sit back and watch the bullshit unfold. Not above buying multiple rounds for people in order to entertain himself for the night. It's more fun than borrowing someone else's Netflix password.

Malon - The Loud Laugher. You will hear her laughing and talking from all the way across a crowded bar. Her voice just carries!! She's also one who likes to sing and to dance, and she can turn any party into karaoke.

In light of the Drunk Time ask, what are each of the boys like when they’re super duper drunk?

I swear I've answered this one before?? If I don't find it by midweek, send this one again anon!

[sneezefiction]

manager reader getting hit on

Tsukishima, Oikawa, Iwaizumi, and Ushijima x Reader - Manager Reader Headcanons

@belli-jelly‘s request: “May I req hcs for tsukki, oikawa, iwaizumi, & ushi wherein their manager!s/o during qualifiers, instead of kiyoko on s2, got hit on by terushima when their s/o went back the gym to get smth that the team left behind/forgot. What would be their reactions?? You can change things up if this is too specific hehe.”

a/n: okay so i used Terushima (our lovable f-boy) in Tsukki’s hc, but changed it up for the rest of them. i also made it so that you weren’t their s/o yet, but there are def feelings involved! hope this is ok!!

warnings: harassment, slight language

total wc: 1300

---

Tsukishima:

the Karasuno boys were getting restless waiting outside for their beloved manager by the bus

and it’s not that Tsukki was super worried… but you’d been missing for a little while now

you weren’t answering his phone calls and Tsukki had a sneaking suspicion that something was wrong

“What’d you do this time, y/n…” he sighs under his breath, making his way back to the gym

he starts his search where he last spotted you, but there’s nobody there

Tsukishima is slightly concerned now, listening out for any voices or noises in case it had anything to do with you

when he reaches the hallway, he recognizes the echo of your voice

“-not interested and I need to find my team, sorry!” your nervous response directed at a bleach-blonde volleyball player… with piercings?

“Come onnn, babe. I just want your number!” Terushima’s hand his now by your head, your back pushed up against the wall

“Oye, back off, asshole.” Tsukki’s voice rings out, still walking his way over to you

Teru only briefly glances at him then immediately turns his attention back to you, stepping closer

you have a panicked look on your face and for the first time in a while, Tsukishima’s chest tightens in empathy which morphs into a muted fury

“I said get off of her.” Tsukki’s hand is on Terushima’s shoulder now, pushing him away from you

“Jeez, okay bro.” Teru responds with a smirk, throwing his hands up, “I was leaving now, anyway.” 

as soon as he’s gone you can finally breathe again

Tsukki turns to ask if you’re okay, but before he gets a word out, your arms are around his back

“Thank you, Tsukki. I’m so sorry you had to see that.”

the shock of your touch fades a little and he slowly wraps his arms around you, a barely noticeable flush on his face

“Stop going off on your own, stupid… and don’t be sorry. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Oikawa:

it was 30 minutes into practice at the Seijoh school gym and you were a no show

which is incredibly unusual considering you usually arrived before the rest of the team (besides maybe Oikawa, who’s already warmed up)

Oikawa checks with the entire team, asking them if they’d noticed you on their way inside or if you’d said anything about missing practice, but no one has seen or heard from you

luckily, Oikawa keeps tabs on his team, which includes you since you’re their manager (and he kinda-sorta likes you a lot)

so he takes a short break, quickly making his way to your usual hangout spots and checking around corners

it takes him a moment to soak it in, but there are two guys cornering you near your locker

he knows, in most cases, you can handle things by yourself… but this feels so wrong

you’re clearly uncomfortable, uninterested… and once he catches you eye, he can tell you’re scared

before he knows it, Oikawa has already grabbed one of them by the shirt and shoved them away from you

“What the hell is your problem??” he shouts, “Get away from her.”

Oikawa is literally seething at this point, hand gripping even tighter on the boys shirt, threatening to tear the fabric

his friend recognizes Oikawa and knows that the whole school would find out about this if they didn’t leave soon

so they both take off down the halls

he turns around, grasping your hands firmly

“Are you okay, y/n? Are you hurt?”

“I... I’ll be okay.” but he feels you shaking

“Let’s just get out of here then. I’m gonna take you out for a few to get some fresh air if you’re okay with that?” he gently tugs you toward him

“...Yeah. Please.”

this will be the first time he’s missed a practice in years (but he’ll make up for it later in the week)

and right now, his main priority is you. making sure you’re okay and that you can recover peacefully... preferably with an ice cream cone or a cold drink in hand

Iwaizumi:

you and Iwa have shared several classes together over the years and happened to sit next to each other for most of them

so it really isn’t a surprise that y’all have gotten pretty close

he’s actually the reason you became the Seijoh manager in the first place since he’d been complaining to you about how unorganized things were getting on the team without one

unfortunately, being the manager doesn’t just revolve around caring for individual teammates… it also means you have to keep up with their dirty laundry sorry hun

Iwa, since he did drag you into this mess, normally offers to help take the jerseys and clothing  to the laundromat with you

you usually refuse his offer, but for some reason, you let him join you this time around

you and Iwa bring in the first batch of clothing, greeting the laundromat owner, and get everything started

“I’ll head out to the car for the next basket, Iwa!” you tap his shoulder, letting him know where you’re going

“Okay, I’ll be here. Lemme know if you need help.”

he waits a while, but when you don’t return Iwaizumi lets a slight panic set in, hurrying outside to check on you

“Y/n are y-” he stops talking when he notices an absolute sleezebag hitting on you in the parking lot

the stranger is reaching out to grab your arm, but not before a fist collides with the man’s face

Iwaizumi knocks the man to the ground. his fist curl back, fingers digging into his palms, ready to swing at him again

“Get your filthy hands away from her.” he growls out

this sends the creep running, shock setting into your body

and you look over to notice just how tense Iwaizumi’s body is

you gently grasp his wrist with your shaking hands

“You shouldn’t have to come out here by yourself, y/n. I’m coming with you next time.” he says, and you notice a flash of guilt in his eyes as he turns toward you

you just pull him into a hug, releasing your own fear and calming the both of you down

Ushijima:

all of Shiratorizawa’s volleyball team is indebted to you

you’ve traveled with them to every single game, you’ve dealt with so many strange players, and above all, you’ve brought them together, completing their team

so it’s no wonder they hang out with you outside of their volleyball obligations, bc fr they all love you so much and you bring them some much needed normalcy

when you suggest heading to the beach for a day trip, they’re all on board. even Ushijima

you and Ushi usually end up sitting together on the way to any practice games or tournaments so you can plan and prepare together

so you both naturally sit next to each other… but it’s super casual and the conversation is actually fun and chill. relaxed Ushijima is such a nice change of pace

when you all arrive, everyone splits separate ways to get changed

but as you leave the changing room, all cute and beach ready, there’s a guy leaning near the door, outside

“Hey sweetheart, you need some help with that?” he smirks pointing at the sunscreen in your hand

“Uh… no thanks.” you say, starting to squirm under his stare

you attempt to walk away, but he just follows you, so you move faster

Ushijima spots you, noticing that your movements are a bit frantic, so he approaches you

as Ushi finally reaches you, the man runs into him and stumbles backward into the sand, Ushjima’s frame blocking him from you entirely

“Y/n, is he bothering you?” his eyebrows furrowing, looking at you with a tinge of concern

“Because… he really shouldn’t be.” A stone-cold glare overtaking his features

“No, I’m just leaving actually.” The man dusts the sand off his legs and walks away, annoyance (and fear) etched onto his face

you turn to the tall, incredibly attractive ace and thank him profusely, apologizing for the situation

“You’re safe with me, y/n. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

[thehaitanis]

𝔟𝔞𝔧𝔦 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔯𝔞𝔫 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔠𝔯𝔲𝔰𝔥

❮★❯ summary: how will baji keisuke and haitani ran act around their crush.

❮★❯ warnings: none, maybe bad writing.

❮★❯ disclaimer: english is not my first language, so forgive me for any mistakes.

he doesn’t even realize he has a crush until someone else points it out to him, probably chifuyu seeing as he is one of the only ones to actually have some sense of romanticism amongst the toman guys. baji probably thought that he felt so infatuated with you because he admired you and would think nothing of the sudden impulses he has to kiss you until you jokingly tell him to take a picture of you so it would last longer and when he actually did, you were too shocked to realize the way he was blushing.

after that little “incident” where he understood his feelings for you, it is gonna be mad obvious to everyone just how much he likes you. you would obviously realize too because baji is not exactly the type to stop himself when it comes to flirting and touching you, although he would always be careful when getting closer to you in case you don’t feel comfortable with all the touching. if you do feel comfortable, then you only need to smile at him for baji to always put his arm around you, his own smug smile showing everyone how happy he feels. however, if you don’t feel comfortable with the sudden proximity, he would always be careful around you until you accept his shows of affection, this guy would also be on the lookout in case anyone else tries to get too close to you. if he can’t be near you then it means no one else can.

he’ll be nicer around you but it would cost him a lot to maintain that very same attitude if someone he knows is close simply because he doesn’t want to appear weak for you or lovesick wich he is but that’s not important now baji would put his position in toman first simply because he doesn’t think his crush on you would last, at least not with the same intensity it has now which is wrong again.

although i don't think baji would put a lot of effort in showing you that he likes you, you’ll know just by interacting with him. he isn’t discrete and uses every opportunity he has to make his intentions clear in hopes of being with you for some time and then forget about the pain in his chest every time he sees you with someone else. however, this dumb belief would soon disappear the moment you decide to reciprocreate his feelings. his “dumb crush” would quickly escalate to real love and, after that, it is over for baji and his heartbreaker popularity.

will he tell you about his crush? he won’t tell you directly about his crush on you because he feels like it is pretty obvious by now, besides, baji thinks that by telling you everything would be more serious and that is something he’s trying to avoid at all costs, that's basically what he thinks at first before everything changes and he has to eat his words like the lovesick idiot he is.

ran would probably be very aware of his crush on you and it’s basically because he isn’t really interested in anyone else apart from his brother and the few people he has been with during his teen years. at first he would pass it as pure curiosity, it doesn’t matter if you are super intelligent or if you are talented at sports, whatever it is, the older haitani will act upon his instincts if he considers you could be someone entertaining to him. he’ll even tell rindou about his intention of spending more time with you just so he could look the other way in case he also took a liking to you, he loves spending time with his brother but sharing is a no.

his crush on you would be obvious only to his brother, to anyone else it would seem as something normal in him, after all, ran is no stranger to making people nervous and the more you fall into his tricks, the more happy he’ll be to be around you. he’ll take a special liking to seeing you blush and be nervous around him because it gives him the confidence to do whatever he wants just to spend more time with you. however, ran will immediately stop if he sees you getting uncomfortable with his teasing.

although this guy likes to make you shy and nervous, once he realizes his true feelings for you he’ll try to be more real around you, asking you questions about your day and overall being interested in you. he’ll want to know everything he can about you before deciding on doing anything beyond simple teasing.

even if he thinks of himself as the most handsome guy out there, ran is not blind, he knows you can change your mind about him so he will try to make you see him as the only good option to date, there’s no one that can compare to him and you will soon realize that, it doesn’t matter if you feel insecure at first, that’s why he’s so nice and reliable, you can trust him with anything because ran has made very clear that he is more than capable of taking care of you and your necessities if you do manage to be important to him.

he will tell you about his crush only when he’s 100% sure you are gonna say yes to his proposition. he’s not especially interested in having a relationship right now but with you he tries to make an effort, or at least that’s what he tells himself because right now, there’s not other thing he thinks about than you and your cute little face.

❮★❯ requests are: open!

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

What if post-books Edward gets implanted into twilight Edward's body? How would the story alter?

Oh, that’s a tough one, anon, very interesting question.

Well, we have a few things. One, this is an Edward who now knows that he will fall deeply in love with Bella Swan. Per Renesmee, he also has realized that vampires do in fact have souls and that, if all goes well, he will have the world’s most precious daughter in his life.

While I’m sure Edward’s extremely conflicted on making Bella a vampire he also wouldn’t want to wipe Renesmee out of existence. However, this is Edward we’re talking about, so he might very well convince himself that they’ll just do the Renesmee thing better this time.

Bella will get pregnant, they’ll make sure the C-section goes according to plan, and somehow Bella will miraculously stay human. (Does this make sense/is this possible? No. Will Edward desperately think this anyway like the lunatic that he is? Yes.)

However, Edward is a proper gentleman, which means he will not wed Bella before she’s at least eighteen and legal. Until then, he will court her, and revel in their romance.

Or he would, but first he’s got to hunt down and murder James, Victoria, and Laurent. It doesn’t matter that they have yet to even hear of this girl Bella Swan, their continued existence and future threat to Bella cannot be allowed (even though Edward could just as easily have Bella stay home from the fateful baseball game).

Edward doesn’t go to Biology that first day but instead leaves school to go find James, Victoria, and Laurent who he knows will be in the area within only a few weeks. He explains none of this to anyone, leaving everyone very confused nad anxious, Esme in particular is an absolute wreck.

In his mind, Bella is the Penelope to his Odysseus, waiting faithfully for his return no matter which suitors beat down her door. He forgets that this Bella has never met him, nor even seen him, before. When Bella gets the run down at lunch all the Cullens are pointed out to her and at the missing seat Jessica says, “Huh, I guess Edward’s sick, well, he’s the ginger whenever he gets back in.”

Because Edward is an awful tracker, he fails to find the three vampires, even in weeks of searching. He starts to get nervous, the day of the baseball game is fast approaching, will he really have to backtrack? Is he really going to allow Bella to be in that much danger?

Bella, meanwhile, has only noticed Edward as that guy who’s supposed to sit next to her in Biology but has been for a few weeks. According to rumor, he has mono (desperately fabricated by Carlisle who has no idea where the fuck Edward is or what’s even happening).

Bella’s vaguely intrigued by the sound of him, a very hot loner, but ultimately it’s of no interest to her.

Instead, it’s the mysterious Alice Cullen who draws her interest.

You see, Bella was nearly hit by a truck, but without Edward around Alice had to act herself and saved Bella. Bella now knows the beautiful, mysterious, Alice is not human and spends her time thinking about her mysterious savior.

Alice uncomfortably acknowledges that the girl who was supposed to be for Edward appears to be falling for her instead. She’s actually not all that conflicted by this, but it will make things a little awkward when Edward returns.

Bella flirts with Jake to get the Cold Ones story and figures out the Cullens are vampires, has a romantic Italian dinner with Alice when Alice saves her from almost being raped in Port Angeles, and Alice tries to tell Bella what an awesome guy this Edward that she’s never met is.

Seriously, he’s amazing, Bella will love him, Alice knows, she sees the future! Alice doesn’t invite Bella to the house or to baseball because she feels that’s Edward’s role. Except, Edward’s not answering her phone calls, and she’s getting increasingly antsy. HE’S RUINING EVERYTHING!

Edward shows up to the baseball game, guns blazing, and... Bella’s not there. The Cullens are having a nice game of baseball with James, Laurent, and Victoria.

Edward blurts out that James is the reason Alice is a vampire, sic him Jasper! Everyone continues to stare at Edward, but James is weirded out enough to attack, it’s an all out brawl but ultimately the Cullens win.

James, Laurent, and Victoria have been torn apart. Edward burns their bodies before anyone can even ask, much to Carlisle’s horror. Edward just tells them that it’s cool, Edward saw their thoughts and they were super evil.

How you been, family? Now, if you don’t mind, Edward’s going to see his wife.

Edward climbs through Bella’s window in the middle of the night and she reacts in terror. This vampire she doesn’t know has just climbed through her window in the middle of the night. She calls Alice in desperation and Alice has to explain, through a very strained smile, that no worries this is Edward. Yes, the Edward, Bella will just adore him. Alice sees the future.

Bella’s not feeling the love and Edward realizes something has gone wrong.

He was so certain of Bella’s love, it’s so fundamental to him, that he had forgotten there was ever a point where she didn’t know him. He was born loving Bella Swan and he assumed she’d be the same. But this Bella has no idea who he is, he’s an utter stranger to her, and in the mean time it seems she’s been buddying up to Alice.

Edward asks her “What the hell, Alice?” And Alice tries desperately to defend herself AND YOU WERE GONE FOR WEEKS, EDWARD. 

Edward has a crisis much like he did in Eclipse, everything’s out of his control and he doesn’t like it one bit. He forbids Jasper from spending any second ever near Bella for fear of another New Moon disaster. Now that James and Victoria are eliminated Edward debates leaving Bella while she’s human again, the only thing stopping him from giving it a third try is Renesmee, he can’t have his daughter not existing.

Which means he spends the time between then and Bella’s 18th birthday being insufferable. Worse is that Bella thinks he’s a weird creep.

He’s no longer charming, he’s aggressive, wanting her to be in love with him right this second and blaming her when she isn’t. And for all Alice’s assurances, she doesn’t like this guy sneaking into her room at night and staring at her nor does she like the idea that she’s doomed to fall in love whether she likes it or not. Bella sticks to Alice like glue and avoids Edward whenever possible.

Bella’s eighteenth birthday comes and, rather than having a party, Edward kidnaps Bella to a church. Congratulations, we’re getting married, then we will have sex and you will give birth to my beautiful half-vampire daughter. Don’t worry, you’ll stay human.

Bella bolts out of the car screaming at the top of her lungs, calling desperately for Alice, who cannot believe Edward fucked up this badly. Edward utterly panics, having no idea what has gone wrong, but having the sinking feeling that he’s ruined everything.

He begs Bella to take him back, but every time she sees him she starts screaming in terror.

After Bella graduates, the question comes up if Bella should be turned and continue to be involved with the family. Alice insists that it will happen if they like it or not, I imagine the family tries to separate, but Edward refuses to now that Bella’s so close to leaving him. He can’t leave until he’s certain she loves him. Eventually, an accident happens in which one of them attacks Bella and she gets seriously injured, it’s simply a matter of time. Bella is then turned.

She ends up dating Alice, Jasper not sure if he’s even married to Alice anymore, and Edward never forgives Alice who he blames for all of this. Because it’s certainly not his fault.

[owl-with-a-pen]

brainy or nia try on karas glasses one day and kara realizes that they were brenda/brandon?

- Oh my god, yes! Thank you for the prompt. x

“No, no,” Alex said decisively. “It’s been years and I still don’t get it. How the hell do glasses make it impossible for people to recognise you? I’d know you from anywhere.”

Nia grinned from across the table, lifting her drink to her lips as Alex pinched Kara’s cheek, only to be batted away by her little sister a second later.

“Okay,” Kara said with a snort. “Your next round is gonna be water shots.” She turned her head from the table, making a show of searching the bar. “Where’s Al?”

“Oh, you know he heads out back the second this party rolls in,” Kelly said with an impish smile, raising her own glass. She took Alex’s hand before she could pester Kara any further, winding their fingers firmly together. “Although, I have to agree with the water.”

“Hydration would appear useful at this stage,” Brainy added with a sage nod. “She may also benefit from lining her stomach with something a little more substantial.”

Nia grinned, leaning back against Brainy’s chest. “Is that your not-so-subtle hint that you want more onion rings?”

She’d perched herself on the edge of Brainy’s stool some time into the evening; her smile widened when she felt his hands link around her front in response. “Sometimes, multiple issues can call for a single solution,” Brainy pointed out, tucking his face into her hair. “What is the saying? Two birds, one stone?” Nia's face warmed when Brainy’s lips traced idly along the side of her jaw.

Kara grinned. “Well, hey, I’m not gonna say no to more onion rings.”

It was fair to say that they’d all had a few drinks between them by now, although Kelly and Alex were strictly drinking from the human menu. Things always got a little whacky with alien grade alcohol, and despite her half-Naltorian genetics, Nia had barely been able to stomach a single sip of Brainy’s drink of choice. It suited his tolerance level far better, and made for a slower automatic response for his body to factor out the alcohol and sober him up. If his sudden confidence with intimacy in a public environment was anything to go by, Nia figured it was definitely working.

Nia knew Kara was drinking something similar to Brainy, although her Kryptonian biology made her far more resilient against its contents. She wasn’t even slurring.

Meanwhile, Nia was feeling all kinds of warm inside. Although, Brainy’s hold on her was probably a major factor in that.

It had felt like forever since they’d last gone out like this, and from the recent stress they’d all been under, it wasn’t exactly surprising that they’d found their way to Al’s bar. Plus, after the number of times they’d saved this place from one catastrophe or another, they got some incredibly generous discounts even on some of the rarer beverages. It was just unfortunate that Alex’s human tolerance really wasn’t matching up. And, considering Kelly was still on her first drink, she was currently the only person everyone was sorely worried about getting home safely that night.

With that in mind, Nia was just about to suggest heading up to the bar to go order, when Alex made her move, whipping her hand out quick enough to snatch Kara’s glasses straight from her face, balancing them across her nose.

She turned to Kelly immediately, staring at her levelly. “Well?” she asked expectantly. "How do I look?”

“It’s like looking at a total stranger,” Kelly deadpanned. She smirked, leaning in closer. “Although, they do make you kinda mysterious.”

Alex’s smile broadened. “Oh really?”

“My turn!” Nia chirped, plucking the glasses from Alex’s face. She rested her elbows on the table, propping her chin up with her hands the moment she had the glasses on. She narrowed her eyes, testing out her new perspective. As anticlimactic as it was, nothing really changed. It was just like staring through two pieces of clear glass. Nia pouted. She supposed it wasn't unexpected - that was exactly what she was doing, after all.

“It’s weird being able to see clearly while wearing someone’s else’s glasses,” Nia mused, playing around with the glasses’ temples, wiggling them up and down in front of her face. “Has anyone who didn’t know your secret ever done this before?” She jerked her head up, snapping her fingers. “Ooh, I know, I bet you just tell them you both need the same prescriptions. Am I right, or am I right?”

Kara didn’t answer.

“...Kara?”

When Nia turned, she realised that Kara was staring directly at her, a half-stunned daze in her eyes.

“What, did the alcohol finally kick in?” Nia prodded good-naturedly, only for Kara to reach out suddenly, taking the glasses away from her. “Hey! I was using those!”

Kara remained silent. Instead, with unnerving intensity, she came forward, slipping the glasses onto Brainy’s face. Brainy jerked from the unexpected contact, lifting them away from his nose as though they'd burned. He blinked quickly in affront, eyeing Kara suspiciously. “What was that for?” he asked.

“It was you two,” Kara said mildly; her voice sounded far too calm for comfort, like she was on the verge of a full-blown freak out. “All those years ago, in Midvale. It was you.”

Nia spluttered at the exact same moment as Brainy. She snapped her head towards him desperately. “What?” she asked, registering the panic in Brainy’s eyes that she knew was reflected identically in her own. “No—what—no?” She dug her hand into her boyfriend’s shoulder, squeezing tight. “Do you know what she’s talking about?”

“I have no idea what you are- what she’s talking about-” Brainy snorted defensively. “Do-do you?”

Nia nudged him nervously, eyes wide. “I just said I didn’t, genius.”

“...Right,” Brainy said quickly, clearing his throat. He raised his voice, turning back to Kara. “Two admissions though! Thus further proving that we have no idea what you are talking—”

But, Kara was still staring, a cold glare of certainty in her eyes. “I’d know that scrambling for an excuse anywhere,” she said, taking Brainy’s hands and guiding the glasses back into place over the bridge of his nose. She met no resistance this time, Brainy was far too busy gaping at her. “Brendan.” She turned to Nia accusingly. “Brenda.” Her lips split into a pained smile. “Rao- I thought you two were hiding something, but I was willing to accept it, because... I thought you were lost.”

“In our defence, we sorta were,” Nia admitted sheepishly. “The crash wasn’t part of the plan.”

It was Brainy’s turn to nudge her. “Nia.”

“Give it up, Brainy.” Nia cringed. “We’re caught.”

Kara ran her hands through her hair, shaking her head in bewilderment. “What were you guys even doing there? When did this even happen for you?”

“When you were in the Phantom Zone,” Nia said slowly, ducking her head.

“We needed your DNA,” Alex said softly. It sounded as though the recent commotion had done a good job at sobering her up. “To track you down.”

“It was thanks to these two that we were able to save you at all,” Kelly added.

Something crossed Kara’s expression then, but it was so quick that Nia barely caught it. All she knew was that in that moment, Kara looked entirely vulnerable. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked weakly.

Brainy swallowed hastily. “Had you known our true identities in 2009, it would have caused ramifications in the timeline that could have irrevocably changed the future.”

“I don’t mean then,” Kara said sharply, attention snapping to Brainy. Her expression fell. “Why not when I came back?”

“It didn’t seem… necessary,” Brainy said uncomfortably. Nia felt his grip tighten back around her and ran her hand across his arm, squeezing gently.

Kara scoffed, folding her arms. “Not necessary? You guys were in my past—you saved my life, and you didn’t think to tell me?”

“So much happened,” Nia said carefully. “Kara, we didn’t want to stress you out any more than you already had been.”

“Come here,” Kara said suddenly.

Nia blinked her surprise, catching Brainy’s eyes quickly for confirmation. Hesitantly, Brainy nodded, unlocking his arms from around Nia’s waist. Nia slipped from the stool, stepping towards her alongside Brainy.

They stared at her unsurely for all of two seconds before Kara came forward, swooping them both into the most intense super hug Nia thought either of them had ever experienced.

Nia gasped for breath, wrapping her free arm automatically around Kara’s back. The brush of Brainy’s fingers confirmed to her that he had done just the same.

“I never thought I’d get a chance to say this,” Kara murmured into the space between them. “But, thank you. Both of you, for everything that you did.”

“For... saving your life?” Brainy asked, voice muffled with confusion. “You’re... very welcome?”

Kara laughed, pressing her face into his hair. “Not that. Okay, well, of course that. But,” She sighed, drawing away again, her hands still locked tightly against each of their arms, “you both came to me at a time where I was questioning so much. My future, my identity, my place on Earth. I was hurting, in more ways I ever let on. And without you two—I don’t know what I might have done differently.”

Nia smirked. “Wait…” She turned her head towards Brainy. “Does that mean we were always meant to travel back to 2009?”

“Pre-destined time travel.” Brainy pondered on that thought for a long moment, his lips twitching into a smile of his own. He shrugged. “I suppose stranger things have happened.”

“You did crash, though,” Alex pointed out from across the table.

Brainy shot her a glare.

“Destiny,” Kelly cut in, sighing dreamily. “I like that, though.”

Nia knocked Brainy’s arm playfully. “Just like how you coming to this time gave you the chance to live freely. With us.” Nia squeezed her boyfriend's hand secretively before she turned back to Kara, smile softening. “Maybe we gave that same chance to you, too.”

“Thank you,” Kara said again. She blinked, wiping quickly at her face where tears were near approaching. “I- I don’t even think just saying that cuts it.”

Nia's smile widened mischievously. “Hey, does that mean the next round isn’t on us?”

Brainy raised a finger in consideration. “I believe tap water is on the house, anyway.”

“Hey, no water,” Alex shot back. “And you guys are not getting out of shots that easily.”

They all laughed at that. And, just like that, Nia felt as though an invisible tension that had been tethering them together had finally loosened.

She smiled as she re-joined her family back at the table, hand-in-hand with Brainy.

For the first time in a long time, it really felt like everything was going to be okay.