#just reached a line that is SO sooo that I don’t know how to proceed

[allelitesmut]

Absolutely stuck on the part 2 of my mjf fic 😩

[nagipops]

hii I love your blogs sooo much you're really talented (I just needed to say it sorry) so straight to the point, I already made 2 requests to you and I really enjoyed your writing so I would like to make another again. As I'm clueless about what to request I'll just ask for random hcs for konoha 11, idk if it's too much but if so then you can do with Neji (I love him so much), Kakashi and Naruto. Thank you in advance and sorry anything ^^

RANDOM KONOHA 11 HEADCANONS!

FEATURING: naruto, sakura, shikamaru, ino, choji, neji, rock lee, tenten, kiba, hinata, and shino

WARNINGS: mentions alcohol, drugs, food, bugs, and the tiniest nsfw mention if you get the joke. hehe

A/N: AHHHH ANONN this seriously made my day, im so so glad you enjoy my work!! 💖

NARUTO

you know how we all have “the chair”, where we throw all of our dirty clothes onto?

yeah, imagine that, but from the seat to the fricking ceiling

its just a GINORMOUS MOUND of clothes, you wonder how he even goes through that many clothes so quickly???

definitely shoves it under his bed whenever guests come over (somehow)

holds chopsticks really weirdly. but it works.

asked tenten to put his hair into space buns to mimic his sexy jutsu and went around flirting with the village

jiraiya was so proud of him T-T

comes up with the WORST pickup lines

they’re so bad, its almost charming. almost

has gone AWOL multiple times, disappearing from everywhere, just everywhere

it scared you a little, so you searched the entire village for him

you finally found him sitting on the ledge of a cliff, gazing out at the vast sea

concerned and panicked, you cried out to ask him what was wrong

he turned to you with a crestfallen, devastated look on his face and said,

“i bought shrimp ramen instead of chicken ramen.”

you’ve never searched for him after his disappearance ever again.

SAKURA

100% makes origami shurikens and chucks them at you

they are deathly precise and deathly sharp. seriously, how are these not illegal weapons yet???

writes threatening motivational notes to herself on the mirror

“u got this!” “make sure to smack naruto today!” “ino sucks!”

her backpack would always be way too high up on her back. idk why but. it would

does her hair all nice and pretty before she goes out but once she arrives to her destination SHE KEEP. TAKING. IT OUT. and redoing it over and over and over again

like it’s impossible to make eye contact with her because she’s holding a bobby pin between her teeth while braiding her hair

her guilty pleasure would be hostess treats

ding dongs are her favorite. don’t ask me how i know, i just know.

eats the yellow starbursts just to spite naruto and all her haters

loves small lap dogs, she think’s they’re so cute and cuddly

but she especially loves chihuahuas

they’re so feisty and naruto HATES them, so of course she had to go and get one for herself

dresses the poor dog up in little bonnets and jackets and ties its tiny fuzzy hairs into pigtails

she and the chihuahua are not that much unlike <3

SHIKAMARU

this man is a god at shogi but he absolutely SUCKSSSS at cup pong.

is this an ick? idk. but he is absolute trash at this game.

it gets even worse when he’s got a couple drinks in him

tries to calculate the velocity and acceleration and angle and shit but his shot is always a good two feet off BYE 😭

just mutters an “aw, shit” before awaiting his turn again

hates checkers, loves chess

“checkers is for WUSSIES” - shikamaru nara

i said this in another post, but he is Very Good at whistling

like that’s his hidden talent

can copy any tune with the perfect pitch and rhythm

speaking of, he can do really cool tricks with his tongue

like making a four leaf clover, touching the bridge of his nose with it, flipping it upside down, you name it

he has slanted, scrawled handwriting, to the point where it’s almost illegible

wbk he cheats in school SO OFTEN. but he never gets caught. he’s not stupid, he just couldn’t care less about his classes.

thinks weed and e-cigs are stupid, cigarettes are where it’s at

you just can’t replicate the feeling of taking a drag from a cig after a long, tiring day

plus he looks hella cool while doing it B)

INO

teaches the boyz™️ how to braid their hair

like they all gather in a circle around this feisty fashionista and fail attempt to braid their hair

sakura was just fuming in the sidelines

“OI, INO-PIG, THAT’S A DUTCH BRAID, NOT A FRENCH BRAID!!”

yeah, ino 🙄

the only one that can actually do it is neji because a) this man is talented af and b) he’s got the long hairrr

ino probably envies his thick, sleek hair because hE’S a bOy

also asks everyone for their blood type and zodiac signs and tells them if they’re compatible with her or not

and definitely judges you for your sign 😣

“oh, you’re a gemini? hmm, what a shame...”

makes bouquets for her favorite people and kin assigns everyone a flower

only assigns the pretty nice ones to the people she likes (sorry sakura, you’re out of luck)

one of her favorite hobbies is crafting! she’s really good with details and small things so she loves making those miniature dollhouses and stuff

also really good at watercoloring. especially painting flowers and landscapes

also i feel like she would be really good at playing any instrument because of her skilled hands

can play a badass flute solo. period.

CHOJI

would honestly rather die than get anywhere NEAR an asparagus

he just thinks they’re so gross and bitter and NOT SALTY

he always eats his yakiniku a little bit undercooked because he’s way too impatient to wait for it to cook fully. who do you think he is??

whenever he cloud gazes with shikamaru, when asked what he thinks a cloud looks like, he just says some sort of food

“oi, choji, what does that one look like to you?”

“a... yakiniku grill... with... pineapple rings on it! ooh, and a wagyu steak right there!”

he thinks pringles are an abomination to society. where’s the crisp? where’s the grease? where’s the saltiness?!!!

asks ino to teach him how to do his hair all fancy and the two of them devote an entire day learning different hairstyles

it’s his new favorite thing to do now :D

he really likes crayons!!!!

like he’ll write with them, draw with them, color with them, do everything with them

he’s even tried to eat them. he said they tasted good.

definitely had the 128 crayon pack WITH THE BUILT-IN SHARPENER, and everyone thought he was the coolest kid in town

he ate it UP, he even scored some bbq dates with the ladies

i also feel like he loves basketball, and he has a MEAN slam dunk

like his vertical isn’t that high, but the man can REACH

he loves when people laugh at him when he challenges them to a 1v1 and then proceeds to absolutely destroy them <3

NEJI

he seems like a cucumber kind of guy.

just cucumber

like i feel like he puts it in everything; soba, salads, sandwiches, his face, yeah

it’s mellow and cool, just like him!

speaking of, i feel like he lives for spa days and facials

it just lets him be alone in his little cucumber scented world for an hour or two and he gets damn clear skin from it as well

seriously he has PERFECT skin. flawless. not a single blemish. his cheeks feel like baby butts they’re so smooth.

i feel like he’d be a god at solving rubik’s cubes, don’t ask me why

like if anyone scrambled theirs on accident they would just take it to neji and he’d solve it in the blink of an eye

CAT PERSON!!! loves the little meow meows

who are we kidding, neji basically is a cat; agile, aloof, does silly things without trying to, very cute

he just feels akin to the little fuzzballs and he thinks petting cats are extremely therapeutic. good for the soul

he is a golf man. he would take his juniors golfing and everyone thinks he’s uncool. cmon neji let them go to the skate park at least T-T

also very good at karaoke, definitely surprised everyone once he got a few drinks in him since he started serenading you

LIGHTWEIGHT!!! do not get more than one shot of alcohol in him. he will go berserk.

i also feel like he’d really love photography; not taking pictures of people, but of nature

he loves taking a quiet stroll through a pretty forest and snapping pictures of all the unique flora and fauna

it’s so serene ︶ ‿ ︶

ROCK LEE

100% milly rocks everywhere

gai got in on it too once he asked what lee was doing

“is that what all the youthful cool kids do these days!”

they also dab together. a lot

DO NOT BE SEEN WITH THESE TWO!!! you are not associated with them.

definitely is the one breakdancing in the middle of the dance circle at a high school party

he’s mad skilled at it too

headspins and windmills galore

challenged naruto to a dance-off and completely OBLITERATED him

lee then asked if naruto wanted a rematch, this time with one hand tied behind lee’s back

naruto obliged, and he STILL lost

RIP naruto and his fangirls, they all scrambled to lee afterwards T-T

i feel like his favorite subject is science

not the boring physics equations and laws and theories but the fun EXPERIMENTS

definitely has singed all of his hair off one time and he went to gai blubbering to help him grow back his precious hair

but he loves experimenting with different combinations and chemicals to get different reactions each time

created a potent love potion and carried it around with him all day one day

and it was actually working

girls were flocking to him left and right, staring at his lips and his face

he was so abashed at the sudden attention

heck, it even worked on sakura

“oi, lee-san!”

“hehe, yes, sakura-san?”

her eyes shifted downwards to his lips and his heart thumped harder

“hey... lee-san?”

“what is it?”

“you have something on your lip. we’ve been trying to tell you all day but you just winked and blew kisses at us.”

legend has it lee has still not recovered to this day.

TENTEN

has THE prettiest handwriting. and she can write SUPER fast

it’s like a superpower

like she transcribed five pages of a report in less than two minutes with perfect handwriting

naruto is so jealous.

she is also super good at origami! those diligent, accurate hands aren’t just for throwing things

taught sakura how to make shurikens but does NOT endorse any violent uses of them

she can replicate all of her weapons with paper and they can actually function, it’s so cool

made paper kunai knives one day and the wholeee village wanted to get their hands on them

i feel like she’d listen to mitski. idk i just get those vibes

LOVES BIG DOGS!! especially fluffy wuffy samoyeds

like man’s best friend?? no, GIRL’S BEST FRIEND!!

hugs and cuddles and squishes all the big dogs

she thinks small dogs are spawns of satan

sakura and her have definitely quarreled over this

but at the end of the day, all dogs are adorable fur babies, so she lets it slide :,)

KIBA

kiba always looks SO GOOD in photos you take of him, candid or not

like you could just whip out a camera and snap a photo of him at any given moment and he would look perfect

you framed a picture of him yelling at akamaru for peeing inside the house

it’s pure artwork

i feel like he tries to swagger around with his hands shoved in his pockets but it fails MISERABLY and the girls are wondering if he broke his leg or something 😭

kiba just walk normally. for the love of god please just walk normally.

he tries to slump back in his chair really low but one time he slouched way too low so he slipped off of his chair and onto the ground LMFAOOOO

he just wallowed there... in shame...

also.. he LOVES when the girls put makeup on him!!

he tries to act like he hates it. but it secretly gives him so much confidence

not to mention the girls hyping him up are a huge ego boost

okay the inside of his jacket hood is the warmest. thing. EVER!!!

seriously, no wonder this dude is so happy-go-lucky all the time, he’s living in literal heaven 24/7

it’s like you’re sleeping on a cloud inside a warm, cozy bed during a cold winter morning

10/10 would recommend letting him give you his sweatshirt when you’re chillin with a hair tie ❤️

HINATA

always smells like lavender soap. always

also has the cutest pencil pouches with little puppy faces and kawaii things

oH and she has those mini yoobi highlighters, she thinks they’re so cute (and functional!)

everyone flocks to her to try them out and marvel at the cute tiny highlighters

and they try to steal them from her but she doesn’t even stop them because she’s too timid to 😭

naruto goes BALLISTIC over them

she lets him have all of them <3

tennis girl!!! tennis girl.

all of her opponents always underestimate her because she’s so timid and shy and quiet

but she has a KILLER serve

and then she takes her opponents to the slaughterhouse with a complete shutout ;)

she’s really athletic believe it or not, she can beat most of the boys in a mile run and she has incredible endurance

i feel like she really loves velvet scrunchies

she just thinks they’re so pretty and they keep her hair soft so they’re cute and functional

also takes the PRETTIEST notes!!

color codes, dividers, headers, you name it, it’s all super readable too its insane

everyone asks her for her notes, not to study but just to appreciate the pure artwork that it is ^w^

SHINO

shino is SO easy to prank

“how do you catch an eyemaster?” *cue naruto and kiba snickering*

“eyemaster bait. that is because—”

even when everyone’s laughing their asses off, he still continues to explain his answer since he does NOT GET THE JOKE

tried his hand at writing haikus

here’s his best one so far:

“Bugs are amazing. That is because they are bugs. Bugs are very nice.” - Shino Aburame

VERY proud of it, since it took him weeks to perfect

praise it, pls

had one of those ant farms and bug-catching kits as a kid

and he would fill the kit TO THE BRIM. LIKE IT WAS HEAVY BECAUSE THERE WERE SO MANY BUGS.

he loves the little chitters of the different bugs

he had jars of different bugs all lined up on a wall shelf in his room

collects silkworms off of trees and sticks them into his pockets (no i definitely did not do this as a kid...)

HELP I FEEL LIKE he would record a timelapse of his ant farm growing and upload it to youtube with a movie maker title screen that says

“my ants”

if you enjoyed this post, likes and reblogs are much appreciated :) feel free to request here, and make sure to read the rules first! have a lovely day everyone <3

[shozaii]

title: too feisty.

genre: angst.

characters: dazai, chuuya, kunikida, akutagawa.

warnings: rough behavior, the boys arguing with you :(

request: hi, i could ask for scenarios and headcanons for dazai, chuuya, kunikida, akutagawa, when i have an argument with my s/o and they don't speak to each other for several days. how it is reconciled and after how many days. thank you very much☺️☺️☺️😉😉😌😌

(a/n): hewwooo anon! thank youuu so much for requesting!! i did my best writing this, so i hope you enjoy reading it! 

masterlist.

☆ d a z a i.

- arguing with dazai is like yelling into the void. he doesn’t really understand why you’re both going through this pain, the torture of the wrong emotions at a very wrong time - when in reality it was all supposed to be sunshine and rainbows. did you not see the sunshine in his eyes anymore? was he going to be left alone again? so many thoughts left his head, yet all he could do was listen to what you have to say.

- simple to say, he is quiet the entire time because he just doesn’t want you both to end up torn; worse, broken. he wouldn’t want to see you break, either. unable to express any of his feelings, he tends to stare at you with a thin line formed on his lips.

- it depends on what you’re arguing, really. if he knows it’s his fault, he obliges to it. if he’s just confused, his darkened gaze burns into you. he looks like he’s about to flip. instead, he huffs softly, walks up to you, and looks right at you for a bit.

- once he’s done looking at you, he leaves. he walks and walks to literally anywhere which would give him comfort. he looks up into the sky, and wonders just what he could do to become a better person. after all, it was all for you.

- shall no one come in between and take away one from the other.

- the silent treatment has gone as far as a week. dazai respects the time you need to be alone, even though he is tempted to initiate a conversation earlier than expected. the other arguments have lasted for at least 2-3 days. i wouldn’t see him asking for help from anyone - he wants to show you and himself that he has the capability of reaching himself out to you, owning up to his mistakes and reconcile. if it was you who returns first, his heart would literally shatter. 

- i feel like he would call you to come over to the favorite spot of yours, or maybe walk up to you one fine night, wrapping his arms around you, planting slow kisses on your neck. his way of apologizing is sometimes through affection, or touch. it’s like a reassurance that he’s going to be there for you, and he understands that arguments do happen once in a while. 

☆ c h u u y a.

- he might get really irritated. no cap. i have a feeling he might blow up on you just a little? but the irritation mostly comes from the moment the two of you start arguing. he clenches his fists a whole lot, might chew the inside of his lip, try not to look at you in the eyes because he might start tearing up too.

- oh he might go as far as to slamming his hands on the table, which would leave you taken aback by his actions. once he realizes what he did, he just crumbles because holy crap did he not want to see you panic. 

- chuuya doesn’t like silent treatment at all. i feel like he would have a fear of abandonment. the pre - port mafia days didn’t treat him right. at this point his heart is thumping hard because when you both begin the treatment, he knows he’s not going to go through this well. so how does he cope? wine. but he doesn’t go to a bar. it’s always from the stock he saves at home. he possibly never leaves the house, either - except for serious missions.

- he shakes when his comrades tell him to text you, so practically he would rather do it face to face. it seems way more better that way for him. this period lasts for about 2 days max. he can never go beyond that.

- cue him engulfing you into a warm cuddle sesh; it’s going to take a while for him to let go of you. he talks about how wrong he was, how he’s going to make it up for you - i feel like he would’ve gotten you something just in case. he’s just willing to spend tons for you i swear

☆ k u n i k i d a.

- i feel like one of his written ideals about you/arguments is him reminding himself that conversation is key. it doesn’t have to be any specific topics; it must be implemented in everything. i have a huge headcanon that kunikida tends to get nervous if he has to let out an opinion he never has put out about, until the very last minute where he has to decide his own fate - right or wrong?

- but nope, he’s not reserved. he would let you know exactly how does he feel during the argument, though he would never, ever try and raise his voice at you. let’s just say you accidentally raise your own, he wouldn’t be bothered by it either, and would maintain his composure.

- yes, he does get angry very easily. but when it comes to you his guard gets let down, and he is more of himself when it comes to conversations with you. fights are very rarely heated. 

- i think they do get pretty intense when he’s just so stressed out with work in general, worried if he could protect you during these trying times, paperwork maybe? or how you might take his job easily while he doesn’t. it doesn’t hit him at first but when he does realize that he screamed at you, his heart drops to his feet. the longest you have not talked to each other is for about a day.

- sometimes i forget that kunikida is younger than dazai. but anyway - if dazai notices kunikida’s sour face, and somehow dazai gets him to spit it all out. this would somehow give clarification to kunikida that his partner isn’t all that bad when it comes to advice. he would give pretty good ones and fulfil his role as a senior.

- when he apologizes he looks down at the floor, but slowly proceed to look up into your eyes if he realizes this is his opportunity to take. 10/10 would give you the smallest apologetic smile, and might even kneel while taking your hand. he’s just sooo in love with you aksjkdjkj

☆ a k u t a g a w a.

- hot-tempered. send tweet. 

- a little bit like chuuya to be honest. would bang his fists against a hard surface, stomp the floor, or crush any type of object he has in his hands. but never, ever expect him to use rashomon on you. having you in his life was more than a gift itself, so using his ability on you wouldn’t even be on the last things he would do.

- maybe when he does show his anger by banging and smashing things around, you would see a red glow which would cause you to back away or be afraid of him. this is his turning point. has he officially scared you already? was he bad? what did he look like in your eyes? what’s your next step?

- not talking to each other would probably last as long as a week? two weeks. it’s what i see. he gets scared of himself too, and might as well get a panic attack from what he has done to hurt his loved one. he’s always wanted you to be his first and last. would go to more missions to distract himself (and win most fights, but fail at forgetting about the argument you had). 

- in this case, it would take some time for him to loosen up and talk to someone about it. he might have done this once. only once, never repeated again because he’s just so embarrassed to do so. 

- aku would start the conversation. he’s lightly tap on your shoulder and might utter the words, “let’s talk” but tiny. as for affection, he would kiss your hand and look away, flushed. there would be this lil pout too, but at least you guys are one again.

(a/n): after a long time, here i am with a new fic for bsd!! i feel accomplished now UwU!! lemme know what you think!!🥰❤

[barzzal]

yay yay to wet weekends!! one thing i haven’t stopped thinking about lately is the idea of Sid being on a long roadie and calling/facetiming each other just to get off (maybe after a good game or randomly) because you’re both desperate but i can see it being sooo hot and yeah that’s that

warnings: nsfw (18+) light smut, sexual and suggestive themes, facetime sesh and toys!!

The two of you have been agonizingly quiet since Sidney finally got into bed after his evening shower. It had been a back to back loss in New York, having faced the Rangers, and he just couldn’t stand the thought of getting another once they play the Islanders tomorrow.

You rub your eyes, not wanting to fall asleep. Almost a week has gone since you last saw him and having to endure Sidney being away on the road has always been tougher for you than you’d ever admit.

“How was your day?”, asked Sid.

Despite being in a sour mood, you appreciate how he still doesn’t miss on the little things. You give him a smile in acknowledgment.

A tad sleepy, you tell him how your day went about. It was the middle of your term; almost nearing your finals actually. The week where all assessments are flowing into your mail endlessly to be exact. Some were reports— case reviews, court procedures, heavy readings, and all that goes under being in law school. You even remember that you have to practice for another mock session you were about to have as your final exam.

“Rough night, huh? Is there anything you want me to do?” you genuinely ask him, turning to Sidney’s side of the bed— absentmindedly running your hand through it. You miss him. It’s plain obvious.

“Nah. I’m good, baby.” he declines with a smile. You choosing to stay up late for him was already enough. 

“I just can’t wait to come home. This series is taking too much from the team.” he frets.

You let out a sigh, “I know you’ll pull through babe. You boys always have. Just think of it as like... a minor hiccup. A fluke, maybe?” you say, trying to make him feel better.

“Thanks, hon.” he smiles, a tired one however.

You fall silent once again, just in the calm of seeing each other on the screen when a thought hits you.

You perk up slightly, resting your back on the headboard, “Hey,” you softly call.

“Hm?” Sid hums, massaging his temples.

“You remember the black box I gave you for valentines?” you ask.

Sidney mutters a soft ‘yeah’ on the other line. 

“Well, I kind of snuck it in your suitcase.” you inform him. You prop your back with a pillow, biting on your lower lip as you send him the subtle insinuation. “You wanna?” 

Sid immediately answers, his tired voice now emptied and gone, “Right now?” 

You nod casually, evidently surprising the fairly old-school fella. “It’s been a pretty rough day for the both of us.” you add.

He’s flustered, but with furrowed brows he still finds the need to ask, “How– how are we even gonna do... it?”

A mischievous smile escapes your lips, “Wait a second.” you tell him as you hurriedly go over one of the dressers to get your half of the battery operated toy. 

Sid on the other end was now rummaging through his luggage. Most of his stuff was safely put away and hung in the closet of his hotel room so he didn’t have much of a hard time spotting the black box you were talking about. He also took with him the lube that was tucked under one of the compartments. 

Sidney can’t help but shake his head with a faint grin upon seeing how you managed to discreetly place such things exclusively for him. Well, not that anyone would dare look into his things but it was nice to think that you knew him well enough and surprise him. 

Sidney got under the covers first. “Babe?” he calls when he sees nothing but the white ceiling of your shared bedroom back in Pittsburgh. 

He hears a distant ‘Coming!’ on your end so he waits patiently for you to get back on screen. 

Once you do, Sidney’s mouth falls agape as he sees you out of your former nightwear. “You didn’t have to change for this, y/n.” he explicitly says despite the obvious bobbing of his throat. 

“Relax. I’m gonna take it off anyway.” you wink, coaxing him as you get comfortable on the captain’s bed.

You proceed on teaching him the basics since Sidney’s - well, pretty conventional to say the least. He has you to thank for getting him into new things such as this. You orient him on how the toys work and how it is connected with the toy you have with you at home. That said, the two of you would basically feel each other’s strokes and pulsations as you delve into your long distance affair. 

You were about to take your brassiere off when Sid stops you the minute your hand reaches to unclasp the material on your back, “Don’t take it off.” he says.

“Why?” puzzled, you ask him nonetheless.

“It’s just that - you know how the internet works.” Sidney hushes.

You let out a laugh, a cackle even. “You’re really bothered about the FBI catching an NHL star jack off to his girlfriend, aren’t you?” 

Sid rolls his eyes and dismisses your notion. “It’s not the FBI I worry about. We’ll never know. I just don’t want a perverted hacker to catch what I got on my screen.” 

“You do know that there’s always ways to deal with that right?” you say, foolishly finding Sidney being his usual self more alluring than when he tries to be sexy. 

“Will you please stop lawyering your way into this?” he chuckles in defeat, scratching  his temple. “Just keep ‘em on. Besides, I like that color on you.”

You roll your eyes, “Fine.” You fix your number so he could see more of you on the screen despite still being covered. “Now, may we proceed?”

Sidney bites his lip, “We may, your honor.”

He adjusts himself to get out of his boxer shorts. He squeezes a generous amount of lube into the toy waiting for you to do the same on the other end. You let Sidney watch you fill your fingers with your spit whilst you look at him enticingly; eager to have his skin next to yours. However, given the circumstances that come with being with him, a night like this shall suffice. 

“You’re a fucking torture,” he groans; one that’s effortlessly made your belly flutter as if Sidney’s muffled noises were enough to wake all your sleeping senses. 

With tired eyes you tell him one thing as the two of you slip on your devices, meeting in between your own ends in the hopes of coming close to what it’s like holding each other, “So are you, Mr. Crosby.”

it’s wet weekends!

[mojjisxng]

Heyy, I love your writing and I saw your requests are open. Can I ask for a ENHYPEN reaction to you having tattoo(s)? It is okay if would choose to do only for hyung line

thanks for requesting anon 😙 this has been in my drafts for ages, because school has been a bitch :((

i’ve decided to do just the hyung line, solely based on the fact that they are old enough to get tattoos so would probably have more opinions on them, if you get me?? i think the maknae line would react similarly, like “whoa that’s cool/pretty *stares for a while* but anywayssss...” and wouldn’t think about it that much after they got used to it :)

➽───────────────❥

heeseung

- you would be visiting him one day and be like “heeseung, can i show you something real quick?”

- his curiosity would spark up, so he’d say “of course,” with a slight tone of suspicion

- so you would turn around and lift you shirt to show him your back, which has a tattoo of the solar system in it.

- it’s intricately detailed, with the planets all in line, and heeseung just can’t stop gawking at it in amazement and shock

- “w-when did you get that?!?!”

- “yesterday, it was kind of a last minute decision, that’s why i never told you earlier. it took hours too.”

- “it’s wonderful, an absolute masterpiece,” heeseung would say, while reaching out his fingers to touch it, but stopping because his dumb ass realised that it was healing lmao

- from then on, he would trace it when he was the big spoon while cuddling you, becoming one of his fave forms of silent affection

➽───────────────❥

jay

- when you show jay your various tattoos that covered your legs, he would actually be sooo jealous

- jay had been wanting a grungy tattoo for ages, but he was too scared to because he’s an idol. so seeing tons of them covering your legs would make him yearn for a tattoo even more

- but he would love them, obviously

- “whoa... you look so so good with those tattoo, they suit you so much!! how come you never told me about them?!?!”

- “i was just embarrassed that you’d hate them and want to break up with me or something. i don’t know, it’s stupid”

- “no no don’t be embarrassed, they’re fantastic!! i wish i had a tattoo, i’ve been wanting one for ages, but i can’t”

- so from that day on, you would try to persuade him to get a tattoo, telling him that he shouldn’t care what other people think because it’s his body and he can do what he wants with it

- i just know that if he gave in, that he’s eventually have a full sleeve, and definitely a matching tattoo with you. and we all know that he’d suit it A LOT

- he’d constantly find himself staring at your tattoos as well

➽───────────────❥

jake

- i think that you would inform jake that you were getting your first tattoo, right before the appointment, so you’d run out of the room as quick as possible, before he could say anything

- he would be so excited to see what design you went with, but would also be oddly nervous, in case the process hurt you too much or it came out botched

- jake would jump up and run to you, when you walk into the house, anticipation running through his body

- you would walk over to him slowly, revealing to him the delicate tattoo of snufkin from moomin on your forearm

- as soon as he laid eyes on it, jake would let out the most inhuman squeal you’ve ever heard, while you just giggle at his reaction

- “I LOVE IT!! it’s so cute. it’s so you. WOW!!”

- “i am very very glad that you fell in love with it as much as i did, but jake...try not to scream directly into my ear next time.”

- “sorry...wait- THERE’S GOING TO BE A NEXT TIME?!?!”

- you have jake in shambles with your tattoo, as you’ve just witnessed

- it would become a habit that jake strokes you tattoo while you are sitting with each other, giving you both a lot of comfort

➽───────────────❥

sunghoon

- having just got the tattoo hours prior, you would go to the enhypen dorm (free of the other boys for once) to spend some quality time with hoon

- you wouldn’t tell him about the tattoo, and just wait for him to notice

- it was only when you two are sat next to each other on the sofa, that sunghoon saw the pretty flower tattoo etched onto the side of your neck

- “what the hell is that?!?!”

- “well i’m glad you like it sunghoon; it’s a tattoo that i’ve been wanting for a while and i wanted it to be a surprised. i might as well have not gotten it, if people don’t even think it looks nice,” you say with a large scowl painted onto your features

- “NO i didn’t mean it like that babe, i was just a bit shocked that you didn’t tell me that’s all. i absolutely love it, and i think it suits you perfectly.”

- the both of you proceed to discuss any more tattoos that you would like to get, and you ask sunghoon whether he would like to get any

- he tells you that if he were to ever get a tattoo, that he would want something minimalist and fairly simple, but he’s never really thought about it before

- however, your tattoo sparks a desire in him, which leads to him getting a tattoo on his forearm. you have to hold his hand throughout because it hurts him a lot hehe

- one day, sunghoon begins to kiss the tattoo and the skin on your neck around it, which becomes a habit, especially when he gives you backhugs. the two of you love the intimacy of it 🥺

➽───────────────❥

[marleyrose17]

Almost Paradise ( Owen Patrick Joyner Fic )

Hey everyone! This story is gonna be a Owen Patrick Joyner story and I will be pairing the reader with Owen, so I’ll put Y/N anytime the main character is mentioned or is talking. This is my first story since high school so please bear with me as the writing will slowly become better the more I write. I hope all you fellow Owen simps like myself like this story. FYI this story takes place if COVID 19 never existed. Please check out my best friend Sydney ( @imsydneywalker) for cute Charlie Fics. Love Yall.

Summary: Y/N just turned 22 and decided to make a spontaneous trip to L.A California USA from Dieppe,New Brunswick, Canada to visit her best friend Charlie Gillespie for her 22nd birthday present to herself. He doesn’t know she’s coming, hence the surprise. But little does she know would she get a little surprise of her own on her way to America.

Chapter 1: Someday

House outfit: https://urstyle.fashion/styles/2814065

*Week before Reader’s birthday* 2021

Y/N’s thoughts: It has been forever since I’ve last seen my best friend Charles Jeffrey Gillespie or how I like to call him Arlo *as I hold onto the necklace he gave me for my 15th birthday*. Weird nickname I know, but I’ve been calling him that since kindergarten and I’m not changing it. It’s almost my 22nd birthday so I felt like I should treat myself to a present of seeing my best friend for a little while. Momma bear doesn’t know yet but I don’t think she’ll care as much since she loves Charlie as one of her own kids, so just taking a trip cross country shouldn’t be too hard to tell her. Right? Let’s find out.

*Y/N walks down to the kitchen from her bedroom*

“Hey mami,” Y/N says as she sits on one of the barstools, popping a green grape and dipping it into nutella into her mouth.

“Yes Y/N nickname?” Y/N’s mom says in a what do you want tone, while finishing cleaning up the kitchen after dinner.

“What?” Y/N asks.

“I already know you want something. You never come back downstairs after dinner unless you’re getting a snack or you want something. I’m your mother, remember.”

“Damn, that predictable huh? Anyways, yes I wanted to ask you something or more like tell you something. So I was thinking for my 22nd birthday I could possibly fly down to America and see your adopted son for a couple weeks. You know I’ve been wanting to move down to L.A so why not go for my birthday. I’d obviously stay at Arlo’s, money shouldn’t be an issue since I’ve been saving plus birthday money from past years. Sooo?” Y/N finishes saying while looking at her mom with puppy eyes.

“You already bought your plane ticket didn’t you?” your mom says while staring at you with one eyebrow raised.

“.... maybe…. no actually, I wanted to see what you’d say first before splurging.” Y/N  says while looking down at the bowl of grapes and looks up again to smile cheeky at her mom.

Your mom rolls her eyes and laughs. “ Sure, why not. Do you want me to call Maman J so she can tell Charlie?” your mom asks.

“No no, I want it to be a surprise. It’s kind of a birthday present to myself since Arlo decided to be like “ I wanna be an actor and blah blah blah”. You say mimicking him.

“Alright, well as an early birthday present, I’ll buy your ticket. Should I make it a round trip or a one way?”

“Ummm make it a one way trip, I’ll let you know when I want to come home. You know Arlo, he always has some random hiking trip he wants to take, and knowing him he might drag me to one of those trips” you say rolling your eyes.

“No problem. You better go upstairs and start packing.” your mom says.

*You dip one last green grape into nutella and pop it into your mouth before you hop off the bar stool to give your mom a kiss* “You’re the best mami!”

*You run back to your room and start planning the whole trip*

*5:30pm One day before reader’s birthday and your flight*

*you're sitting on your bed finishing up some last minute packing, when you hear a knock at your door.*

“Come in.” Y/N says without turning around.

“Hey hun.” your mom says.

*you turn around to face your mom* “Hey mami, whats up?” *you say while sitting on top of your luggage trying to close it*

Your mom chuckles, “Here is your plane ticket for your flight, it's at 5:55am, you have a connecting flight to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma which will have a connecting flight to L.A.X.”, your mom says handing you the tickets. “So you better finish packing and get some rest.”

*You reach for the tickets while trying not to fall of your luggage* “Awesome, thanks mami.”

“No problem, just get some rest ok. I will drive you to the airport.” your mom says while walking out of your room.

“Ok!” you yell through the door. *You finally got the luggage to close* “YES!” you say standing up on the edge of your bed but then proceed to fall off your bed in the process which leads to a loud thud hitting the floor. “I’M OK!” you yell before your mom asks.

You place your luggages and carry ons by your door and start getting ready for bed. You look into the mirror one last time and stare at the picture of you and Charlie at the waterfront, ( https://www.instagram.com/p/B-suC_WF8Cu/) ( just pretend its yall, I know its like his cousin or friend)

“L.A.X I’ll see you tomorrow.” you say to yourself before walking to bed.

*Reader’s birthday* 3:00am

Airport Outfit: https://urstyle.fashion/styles/2813992 (girl on the left is what your hair looks like)

*your phone goes off at 3:00 am with the song I See Fire by Ed Sheeran playing from your phone softly.*

*You groan annoyingly wondering why you’re up so early, when you realize it is your 22nd birthday and you have a flight to catch in two hours. You spring out of bed, pop your airpods in and blair The OtherSide from The Greatest Showman and begin getting ready for your long day of flying*

*Dancing towards your bathroom, you turn on your shower to warm up and start brushing your teeth. You lay out the outfit you will be wearing to the airport on your bed, take out your headphones and head into the shower.*

*20 mins later. You hear a knock on your bathroom door*

“Almost done sweetie?” your mom asks.

“Yes, I’m just finishing up, I’ll be down soon.” you say through the door.

*Because you’re going to the airport you didn’t put too much makeup on, just enough to make yourself look kind of awake on the flights. You put your hair in a messy bun, put on your jean jacket, take one last look in the mirror before you shut off the light and head out.*

*You look around your room to make sure you grab any last minute items for your carry on. Especially making sure you have your Beats, charger, spare hair elastics and gum. You go to grab your luggage when you realize your mom already did and placed them in the car. Best mom ever. You grab your guitar case and your bag and head out.*

*Skip the car ride, you’re already at the airport*

“You’re sure you have everything right?” your mom asks while taking the stuff out of the car.

“Yes, I promise, I have everything I need. If I forgot anything important I will call you and have it shipped to Arlo’s.” you say while closing the trunk of the car.

“Alright, have a safe trip hun, please be safe and try not to get Charlie in too much trouble ok?” your mom says while hugging you goodbye.

*GASP* “ HEY! I’m a good noodle, Arlo’s the one who dared me to jump in the fountain at the mall. You know me I could never pass up a good dare.” you say while breaking the hug.

“Haha, yes I know which leads you to getting sick. Remember, it was winter.” your mom retorts back.

“ Yeah yeah I know, I’m still a good noodle though.” You chuckle while grabbing your stuff again.

Your mom shakes her head, “Go before you miss your flight silly.” She says while turning you around.

“Ok, ok I get it you want me gone.” You say laughing while walking towards the automatic doors.

“OH SWEETIE!” your mom calls out.

You turn around. “Yes?” you ask

“Happy Birthday!” your mom yells in front of everybody.

You stare at her like really. “Thanks mami. I love you too”

*You walk inside the airport and walk towards the check in line to check in all your luggages.*

*Skip to you’re already on the plane before take off.*

*You check your phone for the time, plug in your Beats, place them on and hit shuffle before. You look out the window watching the sun just barely starting to rise before you close it and begin to read your book, for the next 4 hours.*

*4 hours later*

*You finish up one of your books, you pull off your headphones just in time to hear the pilot announce that you guys are about to land. You place your book and headphones back into your bag and prepare to land.*

* You get off the plane and check the time on your phone to notice that your connecting flight is almost here and you begin to panic. You check your ticket and realize that of course your flight is on the other end of the terminal, so you begin to run and book it to the other end, hoping you’ll make it on time.*

“Excuse me! Sorry! Sorry! Excuse me!” you say as you weave through airport traffic.

*Half way through your running spree you look down at your phone again to make sure you didn’t miss your flight when you feel your arm get tugged from behind you. You notice one of yours and someone else’s luggage clipped each other by the wheels and they both go flying. “Sorry, my bad.” you say as you grab a luggage, not even looking up to see who you collided with and go back to your sprinting.*

“Yes!” you say to yourself as you make it to your gate. The flight hasn’t boarded yet so you take a seat and wait for your row to be called. You get to your gate, hand the lady your ticket and proceed to board your flight.

*You place your carry-on luggage into the overhead bin and take your seat, when you notice a very sweaty guy just barely making it onto the flight. You chuckle to yourself.*

*3 hours later*

“Alright passengers, we will be landing very shortly. The weather today is 89 degrees, partly cloudy, and 40% of humidity. Welcome to Los Angeles, California passengers.” the pilot announces over the intercom.

*You place your headphones back on, and calmly this time walk off the plane and head towards baggage claim*

*As you’re waiting your favorite song Someday by Max Schneider starts to play. You begin to sway back and forth, humming to the tune when you then feel a tap on your shoulder. You turn around to see who it was and begin to stare at him weirdly wondering why you can’t hear the guy talk*

“Oh shit, my bad. Forgot.” you say as you take off your headphones to actually hear what the guy was saying.

“It's cool, all I was saying was that I was sorry for colliding with you back in Oklahoma. I wasn’t paying attention, I was in a rush and didn’t see you. It wasn’t until after that I noticed that the gate was in the opposite direction.” A dirty blonde guy explains to me.

“Oh no, it was totally my fault, I should have been looking up instead of on my phone. I guess we were both in a rush. But hey, I like your jean jacket. Pretty dope.” I say to him.

“Right back atcha.” he retorts.

*Awkwardly stands next to each other waiting for your luggage to arrive*

“Welp, that's my luggage. Have fun in L.A.” The guy says as he grabs his other luggage and heads towards the exit.

“Thanks, you too crash buddy.” you say back.

*you grab your luggages from the conveyor belt and pull to the side so you’re not in the way of people. You go to open one of your luggages to make sure nothing spilled on the flights/crash over, when you notice that the things in one of the luggages isn’t yours.*

“Shit, I must have accidentally switched luggages with that guy back in Oklahoma.” you say to yourself as you look around to hopefully see if he is still around.

*You close up the luggage, and begin to gather your things and head towards the exit, hoping the guy hasn’t left the airport yet. You get to the exit, head outside and don’t see the guy you bumped into.*

“Damn it!” you say defeated, “How will I ever get my stuff back? What a way to start off my birthday.”

*You get an uber and head towards Arlo’s place*

[captaincartervalues]

My Stubborn Alien (for the fic title thing)

“Jus truuusst me, Lena thi- thisis a greaaat idea!” Kara empathically waves her hands.

“Kara, you’re drunk and this is most definitely not a good idea.” Lena replies matter of factly.

“Imnot drunk. Yooou’re drunk.”

Lena shakes her head at her girlfriend in exasperation.

“N Ssure it is! S’its what the peeople want. ANd it’s gunna be gREAt for ma image! No more ‘Oh Supergirl’s sooo uptight’ or ‘Oh Supergirl is toooo muchofa goodie tooshoes’ or ‘out of touch with the people’!” Kara airquotes.

Lena raises her eyebrows and tries to conceal her smirk.

“Imma be hip! Imma be wit da people, LenAa!” Kara reaches out to boop Lena’s nose as she’s making her last point. “Supergirl is CoOl Ssupergurl is sFun! Thhiss is gonna show everyone that. Okay? Okay.”

“Does this have something to do with the article Andrea had William publish this week?” Lena asks gently.

“NooOoo.”

“So this has nothing to do with her saying Supergirl isn’t the kind of hero you wanna have a drink with?” Lena presses.

“Uhh noo.” Kara insists defiantly. “It’s about the gAys!” Kara comes up with.

“What?” Lena laughs out.

“Nia said Tiktok is on the rage and the gays love it! And I wannabe something the gays love toooo” Kara points out.

“Darling, I’m pretty sure the gays already love you...”

“Yeeaaaahh BUT do they knooow I love them back?! Isdunno... Isss why I need Tikstok!” Kara exclaims as if her reasoning is flawless.

Lena looks at the innocent face on her drunk girlfriend and knows they’re going to be in trouble tomorrow. “There’s no talking you out of this right now, is there?”

“NOpe!” Kara smiles triumphantly.

Lena sighs as she acquiesces “Fine.”

Kara jumps up and down with exuberance.

“But I’m not taking any of your complaints when you regret this tomorrow.”

———

Kara wakes up with a decent hangover, which wouldn’t be so bad, if she didn’t also wake up to an empty bed and no Lena to snuggle.

With a pouty face and her eyes half closed, Kara glacially shuffles out towards the kitchen and freshly made coffee. Although, she quickly realizes her and Lena aren’t alone this morning when she hears a whispered conversation.

“Alex? What are doing here so early?” Kara inquires as she excitedly spots the donuts her sister must have brought over.

“Oh you know just catching up with my future sister-in-law about how your night was.” Alex says sharply.

Kara brushes past the sister-in-law comment and looks skeptically at Alex as she eats her second donut. “It was fine. Pretty low key.” Kara says with her mouth full.

Alex scoffs “LOWkey?! Mmm and how much of it do you remember there, Kar?”

Kara looks to Lena with questioning eyes but Lena won’t quite look at her as she chuckles behind her coffee cup. “Most of it...I mean I don’t really remember going to bed once we got home but -”

Lena bursts out laughing at Kara’s unassuming admission.

“This isn’t funny, Lena.” Alex chastises.

“I mean it kind of is, Alex. Come on, it wasn’t that bad in the end” Lena argues.

Kara cuts Alex off before she can argue back “What wasn’t that bad?”

“Oh why don’t we just show you superstar!” Alex quips.

Lena takes pity on Kara’s still confused face and pats the seat on the couch next to her “You’re gonna want to sit down for this one, honey.”

Kara takes the offered seat as Lena hands her phone over to Kara after opening the Tiktok app. Kara’s mouth immediately drops when she sees herself in her Supergirl suit on the screen.

“Oh no!” Kara gasps.

“Oh YES.” Alex digs. “Go on, press play.”

Kara presses play and immediately regrets it as she watches herself stare back with ‘sexy’ eyes and lick her lips before lip syncing:

“I wanna put you in 7 positions for 70 minutes. You get it babe. You got a lot on your mind and I want to ease it up and lick it and slip it in. You do a light scream on the ice cream when I scoop it and dip it in.”

“Oh. My. Rao.” Kara groans as she presses pause to stop the video. “Why am I seducing the camera in my Supergirl suit?”

“That’s a great question, isn’t it Kara?” Alex jabs sarcastically. “Lena?”

“You said it was trendy and that the TikTok gays would appreciate it.” Lena offers.

“Why didn’t you stop me??” Kara whines.

“I tried!” Lena defends. “You told me it was homophobic and a hate crime not to post it!”

“I am never drinking Vahorian Rum again.” Kara says as she sinks into the couch.

“You said that last time.” Alex mocks.

Kara glares at her sister before attempting her patented optimism. “Okay, so I made a TikTok as Supergirl last night. At least it’s just this one video with only - um” Kara checks the phone “3.6 million views...”

Kara sighs, “It could be worse.”

Alex and Lena exchange a knowing look and Kara’s eyes go wide.

“I made MORE than one video?!?” Kara postures.

“Try like six.” Alex huffs disapprovingly.

“Oh Rao!”

“Weeelllll, she only posted six...” Lena adds.

“OH RAO!” Kara groans. “Show them all to me now.”

The three of them proceed to watch all of Kara’s drunkenly produced TikToks from the night before.

“Ayyyoooooo bisexual check!”

Kara doesn’t even know how she manages to roll the sleeves and pants of her supersuit but she watches herself do it before putting a beanie and chucks on, grabbing her ukele, and topping it off by replacing her cape with a bisexual flag.

“I don’t even have a bisexual flag!” Kara blurts.

“You do now.” Alex points to it draped over the dining table.

Kara looks at Lena baffled.

“You said it was ‘essential’, yelled ‘brb’, and came back with the flag and some candy before I could open my mouth.” Lena explains.

Kara sighs and scrolls to the next video.

“Ayyyoooooo everyone thinks my cousin is hot check!”

This video turns out to be just Kara rolling her eyes and shaking her head with embarrassment in front of a bunch of pictures of Kal in his Superman suit. Most of the comments on the video are either ‘well they ain’t wrong doe’ or ‘not as hot as you Supergirl’ and Kara isn’t sure which she hates more.

The next one starts with Kara and Lena standing next to and looking at each other with background music and the caption ‘whenever Lex tries to take over the world’ and ends with them not missing a beat as they turn towards the camera and lip sync:

“What kind of fuckery is this?”

“Okay this one is kind of funny.” Kara cautiously proclaims.

“Yeah I liked that one too.” Lena admits with a smile.

“Should have said ‘whenever Lex does anything’.” Alex corrects. They all burst out laughing at that.

With the mood slightly lightened, Kara scrolls to the next video.

“Ayyyoooooo jawline check!”

Kara is already cringing again as she anticipates watching herself show off her jawline but is surprised when the camera flips to Lena rolling her eyes as Kara’s hand turns her head to its profile to hype up her girlfriend’s impeccable jawline.

“I’m so sorry” Kara says sheepishly.

“It’s okay, babe.” Lena reassures her as she presses a quick kiss to Kara’s lips.

“I mean...Lena’s jawline was made for this trend sooo...” Alex concedes.

Lena rolls her eyes again as Kara shrugs, “She’s not wrong, babe.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just watch the last one you posted because it’s Alex’s and mine’s favorite.” Lena says as she and Alex laugh in anticipation.

“Oh no.” Kara sighs before scrolling.

Music plays as she watches stock images of Superman, the Flash, and the Arrow pop up before Kara appears and lip syncs the last line with a cocky grin:

“These boys ain’t shit.”

“Oh my - Lena! How could you let me post theeeese?” Kara tries again.

“Listen,” Lena starts “you’re very stubborn when you’re drunk and it took everything I had to keep you from posting the other videos!”

“Do I even want to know?” Kara questions.

“I do!” Alex says taking a little too much enjoyment in Kara’s suffering.

Lena pulls out another phone.

“At least you guys were smart enough to use one of Supergirl’s burner phones and not your personal phones.” Alex says.

Lena tosses Alex a side eye. “Do I look stupid to you?” Lena asks rhetorically. “I also added extra layers of encryption to the app and the phone just in case.”

“Well I don’t know! You were stupid enough to fall in love with this idiot.” Alex mumbles as she points toward Kara.

“Normally I would be offended, but after last night, you might have a point.” Kara says.

Lena pulls up the the drafts she refused to let Kara post.

The first one is Kara floating with Lena in her arms in a bridal carry and the caption ‘when you save Lena Luthor from an attack’. Kara is looking at Lena before she turns to the camera and lip syncs:

“I think. You know. Where this about to go.”

Drunk Kara added some eyebrow raises and a wink before kissing Lena at the end.

“Okay it’s probably a really good thing you didn’t let me post this.” Kara admits.

“You think?!” Alex chastises.

Kara clicks on another video in the drafts to avoid Alex’s judgmental gaze.

This video is Kara and Lena standing in from of the camera facing each other as Kara lip syncs to her:

“You say we’re just friends....”

Kara smiles and pans to the camera. “But friends don’t know the way you taste.”

Kara smirks as Lena’s mouth drops and she goes to stop the recording immediately.

“OHkay I did not need to see that last one, Lena!” Alex complains.

“You asked for it.” Lena shrugs.

“She’s right. You did.” Kara backs up her girlfriend.

Alex glares at them both. “You two are lucky no one pieced together where you were or who you are!” Alex scolds as she points at Kara.

“I think it helped that Supergirl and I have a known working friendship.” Lena admits. “No one questioned why she was drunk and with me.”

“What has been the overall reaction to these?” Kara inquires.

“Honestly, it’s been mostly positive with most fans loving the content and an inside look at playful Supergirl.” Lena explains.

“Though there have been some critics questioning why a hero would get drunk at all with the responsibilities you have.” Alex levels. “And some negative responses from parents about the appropriateness of some of the content.”

Kara sighs resigned to the damage she has done.

“But. On the positive side, you were right!” Lena adds with encouragement.

Kara tilts her head quizzically.

“The gays LOVED it and they loved that they now definitively have a shot because you like girls!” Lena teases.

“Oh Rao! I can not believe Supergirl came out as bisexual on TikTok! Kate got an incredibly well written and thoughtful article on what it means to her and the world that Batwoman is gay and I got thirst traps! THIRST TRAPS!” Kara groans.

Alex shakes her head and Lena tries to hold back her laughter.

“I can’t believe you let me do this, Lena!”

“Hey, I told you it’s not my fault! You’re one stubborn alien when drunk.”

“But I’m your stubborn alien and you’re responsible for me.” Kara counters with a whine.

Lena sighs as she takes Kara into her arms. “You are my stubborn alien...with a drunken propensity for thirst traps.”

———

Kara embraces her drunken mistakes and utilizes her newly created TikTok fame to connect with the people and kids of National City on a more human level. She does PSAs and educational material in her videos as well as more lighthearted fun ones that people love.

She also managed to convince her superfriends to be in videos with her. The most liked videos on her page are the ‘flip the switch’ videos she’s done with the other heroes where the light goes off and they swap costumes. It started with Dreamer when Nia told her about it and convinced her to do it. Then Kara got Barry to do one (pretty easily) and then Sara, Killer Frost, J’onn, Mia, Constantine, and even Kate (after a lot of convincing). She also roped Kal into doing one with her old suit so he ended up in a skirt. That one is definitely her fav.

Generally, Supergirl’s official account has veered aware from making any more thirst traps, but that doesn’t seem stop other creators from making raunchy thirst traps about Supergirl.

Though, after some time and much convincing from Lena, Kara releases the last video in her drafts from that first drunken night.

“They say drunk words are sober thoughts” a sober Supergirl says as she shrugs and the video cuts to the clip of her drunk sprawled out upside down on the couch “Women are just like...sooooo HOT”

A lot of women liked that post.

[otonymous]

hiii, first off i love your works 🥺💕 they’re so good and that angst 😪👌 gorgeous. sooo, i myself am also a fanfic writer and tbh that’s what i’ve always specialized in when i first started writing. that’s why when i say this, it honestly hurts me a bit... but i feel like i’m gonna outgrow writing fanfics. what makes me feel sad is that, i don’t actually want to outgrow it. i just feel like at my age i shouldn’t be writing it or smth along those lines. like whenever ppl ask me my hobbies my immediate thought is always writing. then they proceed to ask what genre and i always feel kind of scared to say fanfic since i feel like i’m kinda getting old for that... i still love reading it ofc, tbh it’s better than a lot of actual books i’ve read. but i just feel that if i say it out loud people will judge me. (that last one is more of a self confidence issue but yeah 😞) seeing you and other fanfic writers rlly inspire to continue doing it but i’m not rlly sure anymore ig. i still love writing it, i do. but ig i’m just scared to tell others? i’m not sure... but what would you do 👉👈😞

Hello dear Nonny!

Thank you very much for your kind words!  I really appreciate all your support! 💖

Furthermore, thank you for sending me this very important Ask.  I honestly think it’s something that a number of fanfic writers may come across at some point or another.  Let’s examine this question from a few different perspectives.

1) Many famous authors write fanfiction

Just for the record, there are a slew of published authors who have written fanfiction at some point in time.  

Naomi Novik, for instance — founder of the Organization for Transformative Works (from which the Archive Of Our Own is derived!) and author of Uprooted— wrote fanfiction.  So did Andy Weir, author of The Martian.  He wrote fanfics based off of Ernest Cline’s awesome Ready Player One.

(Check out this article by Catherine Kovach on Bustle.com for more!)

So as a fanfiction writer, you’re in good company.  It doesn’t make you any less a student of the craft than someone who dabbles solely in original work.

2) Everyone doesn’t need to know everything

That being said, I still feel you, dear Nonny.  You may be at a party, meeting new people, and the question inevitably comes up: “So, what do you do for fun?”

And while there is no way of knowing beforehand who would be absolutely thrilled to have a fanfiction writer in their midst (for the record, I know I would’ve been even if I didn’t write them myself), there is also a chance that some people may not understand it.  And that’s perfectly fine too.  If you think about it, belonging to a fandom is a very special thing.  You, along with massive numbers of others (depending on how big your fandom is), have some sort of common ground which serves as a source of joy, fun and excitement.  It allows you to connect with people from all walks of life, all over the globe.  I know my life is enriched by the fandoms of which I’m a part of.  It’s honestly a wonderful thing.

But to the uninitiated, the concept may seem a bit alien.  They might not get it.  And if you’re concerned about what they might think to learn about your beloved hobby for any reason, then I would be inclined to say that they don’t need to know everything.

So if I were to find myself in a situation where I was uncomfortable with full disclosure, I would just simply state that I write fiction.  Romance, fantasy, adventure, horror, comedy, sci-fi, etc., all of these genres are found in the wonderful fanfics I’ve read.  If someone were interested in finding out more about what you write, try describing it in those terms.  

3) You never outgrow the things you love

Based on your Ask, dear Nonny,  I get the sense that you feel like some things have an “expiry date,” that once you reach a certain age, you should’ve moved beyond things you loved and enjoyed in the past, such as fanfiction.

There are some people who are old and grey and still live their lives to its fullest, smiling with a twinkle in their eye that makes them seem much younger than their years.  And then on the flip side, there are people who seem much older than they really are, perhaps by the way they carry themselves.  My point here is that age really is nothing but a number, and (biology aside) you are as old as you choose to feel.  No one has the right to dictate what is deemed acceptable behaviour for another person of a certain age, as long as what they’re doing isn’t hurting themselves or others.  

I’m aware that societal pressures exist, that we may feel like we have to conform to what others expect of us — family, friends, etc.  But we also have to remember that at the end of the day, this life is ours to live.  And it would be a very sad life indeed if we lived it solely according to the standards of those around us, allowing ourselves to be stripped of the things we hold near and dear, such as hobbies we thought we should’ve outgrown.

There are times when I like to engage in a thought experiment that goes something like this:

If this were my very last day on earth, what would I most want to do?  What kind of life would I have liked to have led?  What do I want to be remembered for?

Time is precious.  We can’t afford to waste it on caring about what others think of us.  Chase what makes you happy, my dear.  No one has the responsibility of living your life but yourself.  And it is you that you only need answer to.

I hope this helps you in some way, shape or form, dearest Nonny.  I wish you the best of luck in your writing journey. 💖

- XOXO, Otonymous

[gemini-bmc]

I had a couple drinks the other night and wrote a short story. I was inspired by one of my favorite writers bc they had a drunk post a while back(@psychovigilantewrites)

I decided not to do any editing on the story, its just pure Jack Daniel's fueled fun 😆

Story is based off a writing prompt I found on Pinterest.

TW: bondage, rough sex

Well, enjoy 🙈

-----------‐-------

"If you want me " you panted leaning against the grimey wall of the building "come and get me "

A dark figure stood in the shadows across from you. You heard a breathy almost mechanical chuckle.

As the figure moved forward the moonlight illuminating the red helmet, you tried to staighten up and look as tough as you could.

Red Hood walked right up to you, trapping you against the wall. One hand on the wall by your head the other under your chin.

"Want you in which way sweetheart? Don't get me wrong, both involve ropes, but it's an important distinction to make before we proceed"

"What?... what are you talking about. Don't be stupid?!" Your eyes are wide as you stare up at the red helmet.

"Don't act like you haven't noticed" he said moving his gloved hand to touch a strand of your loose hair. "There's a spark between us"

"The only sparks between us are going to be the ones from my taser!" You say jerking your head away from his touch.

He sighs "Fine then, I guess it's for me to decide". You feel a sharp pain in your neck and everything goes dark.

You grimace and blink your eyes trying to fight off the groginess.

' what happened to me?.... where am I? ' you wonder looking around the room.

You try to stand, that's when you notice, you're tied down to a chair.

"What the hell?..." you struggle against the restraint.

"So you're awake? " you hear a voice behind you. You try turning your head to see, but can't find the figure.

"Who are you? Where am I?!" you demand.

"Im hurt. Don't you recognize me baby?" A figure says as they walk into your line of sight and lean against a desk.

You study your captor more closely.

"You?!"

With his arms crossed over his chest and a domino mask on his face, stands your enemy, the Red Hood.

A million thoughts run through your mind. You take a breath to calm yourself.

"What do you want from me? "

"Just to have a little fun" he answers instantly.

"Fun?....What kind of fun???" You wonder.

"I won't hurt you" he says "unless you ask me to " he smiles a crooked smile at that.

"Let me go" you try.

"Like I said, not until we've had some fun together" he pushes away from the desk and leans down in front of your face.

You try leaning back, out of his touch but his hand is under your chin making you look up at him.

"Has anyone ever told you that you have the most luscious looking lips?" You're about to retort when you feel his lips crash against yours. His kiss is hard and fevered.

You regain your composure.

"Fuck!" He breaks the kiss quickly. He wipes the back of his hand across his lips "You bit me". You see the red tinting his lower lip.

"Asshole! "

"What the fuck did you just say?" He's in front of you again in an instant, his strong grip yanking your hair painfully , making you look up.

It hurts. You think your scalp might bleed.

"Oooow. Jason!"

He releases your hair and squats in front of you.

"Shit. Are you ok sweetheart? Did I hurt you?" His eyes are big and apprehensive, darting around searching your face.

"It was a little rough" you say.

"You wanna stop?"

"No" you smile "keep going. But try not to leave bruises, kay."

"Alright" he says standing up.

You see the change in his eyes, he's back in character.

He grabs your hair again, you notice this time he's a little more gentle.

"When you address me, you call me Sir or master, got it" he gives your head a little shake.

"Y-yes Sir!"

"Good girl" he praises you and strokes your head like you're a good pet.

"The only way you're getting out of here tonight is to fully satisfy me" you squeeze your thighs together and swallow the lump in your throat.

Jason pulls out one of his batarangs and cuts open the front of your spandex suit, revealing your cleavage and red lace bra.

"My favorite color" he smiles and runs a finger along the edge of the lace. "It's almost like you wore it just for me" he chuckles. He knows you did.

Red lace drives Jason crazy.

He continues cutting open your costume, he's reached your navel.

"I wonder what's in here" he says looking up into your eyes as he rips the fabric open with his hands.

The top of your red lace panties are exposed.

"Mm-mmm, so pretty" Jason says kissing the red fabric.

You close your eyes, enjoying the the moment.

Jason rips the fabric open more, you feel cool air at your center, you know he's he's fully exposed you now.

You hear him suck air between his teeth, so you look down to see his expression.

He looks up at you then kisses you. You part your lips when his tongue seeks entrance. Jason cuts the kiss short.

"Fuck babygirl. You wear this specially for me too?" He says running his finger along your exposed lips.

You knew crotchless underwear would really get to him. You smile at your small victory.

"I'm not waiting" he says.

"What are you-" but you're cut short when Jason's face is between your thighs and his tongue dives into your wet folds.

"AH! Jason"

You throw your head back and squeeze your eyes closed as your body tries to lift off the chair, pulling against the restraints.

Jason puts his hands on both your thighs and pushes you open wider then pulls your hips forward to the edge of the chair. Satisfied with his new amount of exposure to you his tongue dances inside your core while his thumb applies pressure to your clit.

You bit your lip, trying not say anything and ruin the flow of things.

Instead you moan.

Jason stops briefly to switch tactics. His tongue slowly drags up through your slit. He flicks the tip of his tongue over your sensitive clit making your body jerk every time.

You look down and your eyes meet. His eyes are bright blue and have that mischievous sparkle in them. He's planning something, but you're not sure if you'll be able to handle it. You bite your lip.

It was a mistake.

Jason seals his lips over your sensitive bundle of nerves and sucks. His tongue circling you, his teeth occasionally grazing against you all while his lips are sucking your sensitive flesh, is too much.

You feel the bite of the ropes against your skin as you pull against them.

"Aah, Jay...im gunna...mm-mmm..."

Jason increases the pressure.

"...fuuuck...JASON! "

Your body is flooded with a white hot feeling as waves of ecstasy wash over you. Your chest heaves as you try to control your breathing. Your heart is still racing when Jason's finger enters you slowly.

"You're so wet baby" he says kissing your thigh.

"Nooo...." you breath out "too much" but he doesn't hear you.

His finger starts a slow steady rythm of pumping in and out of you.

You feel overstimulated.

"Jay..." you try getting his attention but it's no good, he's too focused.

Then you remember.

"Andromeda" you say weakly.

Jason stops his movements and pulls his hands away from you.

"Sweetheart?" He questions, looking to you for what he should do next.

"Andromeda..." you repeat more firmly.

"Are you ok?" He asks his voice full of concern as he unites you.

The ropes fall to floor.

"Fine" you say "Just a little over stimulated"

"Sorry..." he laughs.

"No you're not" you laugh.

"Ok. Not really" he says lifting you off the chair. He sits and cradles you in his arms.

"So? How was it" he asks.

"Mmmm. Sooo good" you slur burying your face in his chest.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah" you say sleepily. Then you remember "Although " you sit up quickly.

"Did you really have to drug me?! You know I could have just pretended to be knocked out!"

"I thought it would be fun, more authentic"

"God Jason...."

"Sorry sweetheart" he says leaning forward and kissing the little sore spot on your neck.

"Promise, you can drug me when it's your turn" he says with a goofy smile.

You shake your head and laugh.

"You're too much" you say kissing him.

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

I'm sorry it's so terrible lol 😆

[shirorozutriea]

Looking Through Letters

Admin List

Day Two: Letters

Looking Through Letters

It was already a week ahead, since Weiss left for a business trip to be held in Mistral. She was sent by her father to observe what was happening in the jewel mines that are excavated by Faunus workers. His words were;

“Weiss, do me a favor and please check on our Faunus workers in Mistral. I received a report that one of the head in charge of the mining are actually doing something inhumane to those people. I gave you my permission to do whatever you like to those you saw that harms them.” Requested Jacques.

Weiss immediately agreed with her father’s musing and began preparing for the trip. But, she actually didn’t expect that she would actually stay for a little longer than she should be. Given for the fact that, there are a lot of things to do in the mining, and as well as the whole branch of the Schnee Jewel Company in Mistral. And I mean, a lot.

And sad to say, that during the course of the week, it was already stressing her out. She heard constant complains from the so-called ‘head in charge’ in regards to the workers. She was able to hear all the cries of the workers. Pleading her, begging her, to help them. She will, oh she will. She will make sure those people will pay for what they have done. But first, she need to start the branch anew. Apparently the current, supposed to be ambassador of the branch, was screwing things up and Weiss is here to fix the mess.

“I can’t believe he had the audacity to put our name in line for this… der mist.” Hissed Weiss.

“What he did must be a serious problem if you’re cussing like that, Weiss.” Stated her body guard and best friend, Blake Belladonna.

“Oh yes. Das Arschfotze! I can’t believe he would just use the Schnee name to smooch off money from the Mistralians. Better yet, the head of the Department of Agriculture.” Growled Weiss. “Could this day get anymore worse?!”

A paper flew in front of her desk. She looked at Blake and raised a brow. “What is this?” Blake shrugged and nudge her shoulder to the letter. “See for yourself.”

Weiss then grabbed the paper envelope and saw the familiar hand writing of her girlfriend. Her sweet and loving girlfriend. Without a word, she gently peeled open the envelope to see the letter sent to her.

Dear Snowflake,

Hello, Weiss! Sorry for not sending you a letter this past few days. I was out on a business too, you know… engineering business. Anyways! I heard from Jacques that you had quite a trouble in your plate there in Mistral. And that is so sad. Condolence to his family lol! Jokes aside. Weiss, don’t overwork yourself. Eat and drink. Do not stay up so late. Cuz I swear to Oum, everything you know will be the other way around. You will not take a step on our bedroom if I knew that you’re not taking care of yourself. Also no sex if that happens. And as you would always say; “You will be punished accordingly.” So take care and have a good day, today. Love you!!

P.S This letter comes with a package.

P.P.S I have Blake to guard you.

P.P.P.S I will try my best to write as soon as possible.

Love, your Rose Petal

Weiss looked at Blake giving her a ‘seriously-look’. Blake only smiled slyly and shrugged, before handing her a basket.

“Ruby said eat that.” Stated Blake. Weiss looked at the basket and saw her favorites. She shook her head and sighed with an audible soft smile. “That dolt.”

Blake smiled at her. “But she’s your dolt.”

Weiss laughed, before she took a sandwich off the basket. “That she is.” She took a bite off the sandwich and pushed the basket to Blake. “Want some?”

Blake nodded. “Don’t mind if I do, because I see a tuna.” Weiss laughed at her and happily eat the contents of her food basket.

Two days had pass and Weiss is still shuffling in her desk to write promissory note for all that… der abschaum had done. Weiss was so busy writing the note that she didn’t noticed another letter came in. Blake knocked on her door and looked at her.

“Weiss. Lunch.” She said. Weiss looked up and then her eyes darted on the wall clock. It read, 12:36.

“Right. I shall partake in the lunch after I—” Blake gave her a look and Weiss immediately put away all the things in her table in a neat stack. She saw the letter and opened it as gently as possible.

Dear Snowflake,

How are you? Have you been eating well? Eh, you probably are, because Blake hahaha. Anyways, I suddenly just remembered how you asked Blake to be your body guard slash right hand. Pfft, oh it's hilarious of how shocked she was. Oh and, Snowflake. My package will be running a bit late, kay? And I know it hasn’t been long since you left, but I already missed you here. It’s cold, I guess. Plus I missed my cuddle bug hehe. Love you! Take care!

Love, your Rose Petal

It was short, but she can feel the love behind those words. And it’s not really that alarming for her to send such short bound words, as she actually is more used to use actions than words. “Action speaks louder than words,” as they say.

“Weiss, I got the package.” Said Blake, handing over a box. She opened the box and saw a newly knitted scarf. It had a note attached to it.

I heard that it was going to be pretty cold in Mistral for a few weeks from now. Sooo, I made this in advance. It’s not Christmas, but it’s still cold, well, not as cold as Atlas. But you get my point. I love you so much. Take care, Snowflake. I’ll see you soon.

-Ruby

“I swear to Oum, I could get diabetes from the two of you.” Teased Blake. Weiss rolled her eyes and grabbed the scarf and gently wrapping it in her neck.

“It’s warm…” Muttered Weiss, nuzzling the scarf. Blake smiled at this.

“These two are too perfect for each other.” Thought Blake as she looked at the window and saw droplets of snow preparing to cover the city, white.

Meanwhile, Ruby is currently dangling her feet in the sofa, upside down. She was playing ‘Grimm Hunters’ in her scroll. It looked like it was an uncomfortable position, but with her expression like that, tongue sticking out in concentration. Eyes glued seriously in front of the screen. It was getting more uncomfortable to look at, bit by bit.

“That position, certainly isn’t becoming of a lady, Rose.”

Ruby jumped at the voice and scrambled to a much comfortable position. She looked at the door and saw Jacques standing in a proper posture with hands on his back.

“Hehe…hiii, Jacques? What brings you here?” She asked curiously with nervousness emitting from her voice. I mean, its less than likely for your friends and family to see you in a very compromising and unpleasant position, but the family, much less the father of your girlfriend… certainly did leave quite an impression of you at your sofa. “Do you want me to do some engineering stuffs? Like checking out your machinery and stuff?”

Jacques sat at the one person sofa. “Yes and no. I need you to do some checking, yes. But, also I would like to know if you’re doing alright.”

Ruby perked up and smiled, leaning in the sofa crossing her legs. “Yeah! I’m fine. Never been better. I’ve been doing a lot of work lately, jumping from places to places.”

Jacques nodded, pleased. “I see. I hope you are taking care of yourself and Weiss.”

“Oh! Sure, I do. Speaking of taking care of Weiss, I asked Blake. You know, to monitor her, cuz like, she's probably one of a few people I know who is extremely workaholic, and I can vouch for that. I mean, when we go to bed she would still be handling reports and stuff.” Stated Ruby, huffing lightly.

Jacques chuckled at the information. “Oh, that she is. Workaholic. I’ve seen my fair share of this version of Weiss. And I might say, it is an unpleasant thing to see. She looks like myself in the past, which I rather hope not. And thank you, for taking care of her, my daughter.” He thanked smiling all the while.

Ruby laughed sheepishly and nodded. “I will do everything in my power to make her as happy as she can be.” Jacques continued to smile, his eyes saying something and without a doubt, said. “I know you would. You are… a good thing that happened to her, after all these years.”

Ruby, sensing the melancholic atmosphere, immediately dived into action. “I know, you’ve done your fair share of mistakes. But that’s fine, everything is alright now. You’ve redeemed yourself, you’ve been able to give Weiss your time. You’ve been doing great. And I can see that. I can see, despite her tired physique after countless of meetings and well, stuffs to do at the company. She was—is happy as she can be. Spending her time with her father. She had been smiling a lot. And I would like to say, I love that smile. And I’m proud of you for reconciling with her. Thank you too.”

She don’t know if Jacques was as good as hiding their emotions like Weiss. Because, just like Weiss, she can sense how happy and relieved Jacques is with that statement. And she was glad and proud of herself about it.

Jacques coughed, blinking his eyes. “Well then, I believe you’ve been sending letters to her—”

Another day had pass and Weiss is still doing her best to make things right in Mistral. With the amount of money that scoundrel had smuggled from the government and as well as from the Faunus. Needless to say, she was absolutely livid.

As of now, she was heading out with Blake to talk to the representative of the Department of Agriculture, to talk about whatever that happened during the course of reigns of that der dreckskler.

“I wonder who the representative is?” Pondered Blake.

They reached the meeting place. They went straight to the elevator and proceed to the floor where the office of the representative is. As they reached the door, Blake knocked and heard a faint, “come in”. They proceed in doing so and saw a familiar blonde hair.

“Jaune?” Blinked Weiss. Jaune perked up and waved. “Hello Weiss and Blake, long time no see.”

Weiss smiled and nodded. “It is nice to meet you again, Arc.” Jaune pouted at the last name. “Come on, Weiss. Last name really?”

Weiss gave him a sly smirk. “If we’re talking about business relations, then it is really a must to call each other in a last name basis. For professional purposes.”

Jaune blinked and put a hand on his chin, stroking it. “Really?”

Blake shook her head and chuckled. “Don’t worry, she’s mostly joking.” Jaune grimaced at the word. “Mostly?”

“Well, last name basis is really for professional purposes. But then, it is up to you.” Weiss said. Jaune laughed. “I’ll just call you Weiss then. Calling you ‘Schnee’ is, kinda awkward and stiff. You know what I mean.”

Weiss nodded. “Alright then. Shall we start?” Jaune hold a finger and Weiss was confused.

“I just gotta tell you, I’m not really the original representative of the department. It’s my sister, but she’s sick, so she asked me to talk to you.” He informed. Weiss nodded, understanding the situation.

“Shall we?” Asked Weiss, taking her sit and Jaune nodded.

Jaune took the folder in front of him and skipped through it, stopping to grab a piece of paper in the folder.

“We received your promissory note and talked about the total amount of money smuggled from the department, and as well as the due date for the payment. Your proposed date took a perfect agreement from the staff heads. They wished to thank you for solving the problem. Because as of now, the department is facing an edge of bankruptcy due to your employer’s ploy.” Stated Jaune, giving Weiss the paper.

“They wished to receive the full amount of two million lien for their expenses in the agricultural state.” Continued Jaune. “Also, let me just stray for a moment. Did you know that they are planning to make equipment, as well as tools and protective gears for safe working conditions?”

Weiss tilted her head. “They are? And I’m assuming they are going to use the money I’m paying for.”

Jaune nodded. “But, I know you know that the amount of money that they’re going to have is not enough for supplies.” Weiss solemnly nodded. “I’ve talked to my sister about it and she said the same thing. The money is not enough.”

Weiss put a hand on her chin, deep in thought. “Are you, asking me to help?”

Jaune shrugged and leaned on the chair. “I mean, if you’re willing, then yes. But I haven’t talked to the head minister about this. And just in case you agreed, I’m preparing.”

Weiss hummed and looked at Blake. Blake then nodded and gave her a stack of paper. Weiss took it and grabbed the pen perched in her suit and wrote something on the paper and gave it to Jaune.

“I will be giving the payment in advance. You must wait for my further announcement about your suggestion. I will be talking to Father about it.” Weiss stated. Jaune perked up.

“So you mean… you’re willing to help?” Grinned Jaune. Weiss nodded. “But I have to speak to Father first. You need to wait.”

Jaune pumped a fist and laughed. “Yes! Thank you, Weiss!”

Weiss smiled. “No problem, Jaune. I’m glad to help.”

After a moment of catching up with Jaune, finding about Nora and Ren’s engagement. Both woman asked for him to tell their regards and congratulations to the couple. Jaune sent his good byes and another thank you to the both of them, before heading back to the office branch.

As Weiss sat on her desk, she saw a letter sitting on her desk, obviously coming from Ruby. She took it and found out a small difference in the letter. It was scented.

“A scented letter? Where did she get a perfume?” Pondered Weiss. She gently pry it open and read.

Dear Snowflake,

Hiii!! How are you? I missed you, Weissy ❤❤❤. You’re dad visited me and asked about my well-being. He’s a pretty good dad. He worries about you. I’m glad you and him got along very well now. He actually asked me to help with some stuffs around the company. And actually showed me around the company. It was pretty cool. Weiss there’s so many machines, I love it!! Also, I may have grabbed a piece of ruby along the way. If your dad noticed, well, he didn’t said anything. Which is pretty awesome. By the way, he actually invites me for dinner when you come home from your work. Anyways, that is all. I hope you’re doing okay there. Don’t stress out, okay? I love you, Weiss. Take care.

Love, your Rose Petal

“Dolt.” Hummed Weiss, as she read the text. And a piece of ruby? Where and why would she need that?

She saw a velvet box in the corner where the letter was tucked in. She grabbed it and opened it, only to see a ruby necklace in the shape of the Rose emblem. She stared at it in shock and adoration. How did she get so lucky to have a girlfriend like Ruby Rose? She would never know. She gazed upon the necklace and admired the lush red pigment of the stone and wore it proudly.

“I really love her. So much.” Muttered Weiss as she fumbled with the necklace in her neck. Blake then entered the office and saw the necklace.

“I’m guessing that’s from Ruby.” Proposed Blake. Weiss simply nodded. “How did I get so lucky, Blake?”

Blake smiled and shrugged. “A question neither can I answer for you. But if I would guess, it’s probably because she’s perfect for you, as well as you are to her.”

Weiss blushed and smiled warmly, Blake can almost feel it radiating from the supposedly known ‘Ice Queen’. Weiss then grabbed her scroll and dialed her father.

“This is Jacques Schnee speaking. To what matters are you calling?”

Weiss can’t help but roll her eyes to how formal her father is. “Well, hello to you as well, Father.” Snickered Weiss as she heard her father choke behind the line.

“Ahem. My apologies, I didn’t saw the contact name. Is there something wrong, dear?”

Weiss smiled at the name. “There is a lot, Father. But nothing I couldn’t handle. I am calling because the representative of the department asked for a financial help.”

“What for?”

“The department was actually going to make safety equipment and gears for workers in the agricultural sector. And I was informed that they were in the edge of bankruptcy when that alter wichser arrived at our desks. With the money I’m paying them for, it won’t be enough for supplies.” Informed Weiss.

“Hmmm, we'll be willing to help. I will be talking to a friend of mine later about supplies. I’ll take over for that. Would you be able to meet with the heads there, Weiss?”

Weiss looked at Blake and she nodded as the woman went through her contacts. “I can do that. What for?”

“I will send you a letter today. It will help you, as well as some documents to proceed with.”

Weiss nodded. “Very well, Father. I will be waiting for your letter.” Weiss hang up and put her scroll down.

She looked at Blake who was talking to, probably Jaune. She watched as the latter tuck away the scroll and looked at Weiss.

“He’ll talk to the heads about the meeting. He’ll call to tell when they’ll be available.” Blake said.

A few moments later, Weiss received two letters. One from Ruby and the other is from Jacques. She opened Jacques first.

Jacques Schnee

Atlas Sector, Howling Castle

Schnee Jewel Company

I will be honored to help the sector of Mistral with the preparations for the makings of equipment and gears for workers in the agricultural state. I shall partake in supporting you with ample supplies for the creation of said equipment and gears. Rest assured that the money for the supplies will be from yours truly. I shall send you an ample amount of financial services for the start of your project.

I also apologize for what my employer had done to your finances. I will see to it that they will be punished accordingly. May you have a nice day and to days to come.

Weiss blinked and smiled at the letter and grabbed the documents but found out that is was sealed. She saw a note attached to it, that is addressed to her. She picked it up and read.

Weiss, do not open the documents. I trust you to not look at it. These documents are highly and very important to our company. Show this to the heads and they will understand what it entails. Take care of yourself, Weiss. Good luck.

-Father

Weiss looked at the document in confusion. And she looked at Blake who shrugged at her. She dismissed the thought of looking through it and put it down and grabbed the other letter. She smiled at the letter.

Dear Snowflake,

Hello Weiss!! I take it that you liked my gift last time. It is made by yours truly hehe. Weiss, how are you? I’m sure you’re doing fine and in great health. Wow, I sound like you’ve been away for years, but I wouldn’t deny that part. It did really felt like years since you left. Weissss, I wanna see youuuuu. Too bad, I can’t. You know, my work has been a bit stressing lately, but nothing I couldn’t handle. It was a-okay. By the way, Yang was here lately. We baked cookies. And it was really delicious. You like raisins right? I baked some for you, Blake has it. Anyways, I gotta go. See you, Weiss. Take care and I love you.

Love, your Rose Petal

“Here’s your cookies, Weiss.” Blake said, reaching out to her with a bag of cookies in hand. Weiss accepted it and opened it. “Want one, Blake?”

Blake shook her head. “No, thank you. I already have some. It came from Yang.”

Weiss nodded and smiled. “Of course.”

A few days later, the meeting was held in the same place where they met Jaune. There they sat at a round table and talked. All in all they were in an agreement with Jacques help. Although a bit reluctant at the first part of the meeting, they said that they couldn’t agree with the man's statement for they have already given their help already by paying the money they have lost. And yet, Weiss didn’t yield and urge them to accept wholeheartedly. And when she gave them the documents whom, each and everyone read except Jaune, Weiss and Blake. They all simultaneously and almost instantly agreed at the terms and thanked them from the bottom of their hearts while being emotional.

Weiss smiled at the heads and told them that there is no need for them to thank them. They will help them in any way they can. And the heiress thanked them for proposing such project. The heads gave their utmost respect and bid them good bye after the meeting was adjourned. Weiss and Blake also bid their good byes to Jaune and head straight towards their office.

“Now, that was settled. I need to make amends with the workers, especially the Faunus workers. Would you be so kindly to help me, Blake?” Asked Weiss.

“Sure. But not with how tired you are right now.” Said Blake. Weiss pouted at her and leaned on her chair. “Now, Blake. The sooner I finished this, the better relaxation I could get.”

Blake sighed and shook her head in disapproval. But nonetheless, agreed to her. “Alright then. What do you want me to do?”

“I just need you there. Guidance and such.” Exhaled Weiss. Blake nodded and smiled at her. “If you’re worried about them hating you or something, don’t. I assure you, they know what had happened between you and your father.”

Weiss rest her chin on her hands. “Right. I’ll be talking to them, later.”

A knock on the door.

Weiss grew confused and looked at Blake who went to the door and opened it, only to see a panting rabbit faunus. Weiss stood up, alarmed and worried. Blake's ears perked up high, her shoulders tense.

“H-help us… Miss Schnee…” Panted the faunus. Weiss grew more worried and took a step to the faunus who visibly flinched, making Weiss feel guilty.

“Take us there.” Said Weiss as gently as she could and the faunus perked up. Blake called upon their guards to help them as Weiss called at her sister's post in the military to gather men to help them.

They ran towards the mines and heard yelping and screaming from the entrance. Weiss audibly heard Blake whimpered beside her, while the rabbit faunus shivered. Weiss felt her gut sunk at what she had seen from her best friend and the faunus.

She then heard the Atlesian army arrived and looked behind her. She saw Winter walking down with several of her men and looked at Weiss.

“We'll enter the entrance. Stay here.” Winter ordered and gestures her men to follow her. Weiss looked at them and let out a sigh.

“It’s going to be okay.” She assured the two faunus beside her who looked at her. Weiss then looked at the rabbit faunus. “Can you tell me what happened?”

And the faunus talked.

After a few moments, she saw her sister’s men carrying and guiding the workers, especially the faunus. Some were in need of medical attention and was taken by stretchers to the ambulance. This caused Weiss to worry more for them.

“Let go of meh, ya bastards! Ey am with ze Schnees. Ya will be punished!” Weiss felt her blood boil.

Winter was about to speak with the man, but Weiss stepped in. Her facial expression, hard and with no emotion. She towered the shocked man who gulped at the sheer aura she emits.

The man smiled nervously and spoke. “H-hello, Mi-miss Schnee. It is… nice to meet you here. I-if it’s not a bother, may I ask wh-what are you doing in here?”

Weiss stared at the man, and with enough venom and spite in her voice, she spoke hard. “You. Are. Fired.”

The man whimpered and nodded furiously as the Atlesian army dragged the man away. She looked around and her hands curled into a fist.

“M-miss?”

Weiss looked at her left and saw an old man faunus with tears in his eyes. Weiss blinked at him, and her physique audibly relaxes. “Yes?” She said reaching out her hand.

The faunus with his dusty and ragged hands clenched with all his might on her hands. Weiss felt the pain in the faunus eyes. She can feel the others staring at her, observing how she would move.

“T-thank you.” Sobbed the old faunus. Weiss felt her stomach clench as if she was punched in the gut. In turn, Weiss held firmly to the old faunus’s hands. “You are all welcome. And I am sorry I didn’t come sooner.”

The old faunus continued to sob and cry, Weiss pried her hands and hugged the faunus. The old faunus clung onto her with all his life.

“Well done, Weiss.”

Weiss looked at the new comer. “Father?” The faunus in her arms visibly flinched and she saw the others tensed. She then heard Jacques sigh.

“Men and women, Faunus or not. I am—we are deeply sorry for all the trouble you have endured. As your man in charge, I should have been here, making sure you're all safe. But with my twisted thinking and ideals, I neglected you all, and gave you a life that isn’t considered life.” Jacques started. He took a step forward to Weiss.

“But I thank this wonderful person, my daughter, who gave me a peace of mind. And I am doing my best to make amends. Starting with all of you.” Continued Jacques. He cleared his throat and exhaled. “Starting today, all of you are free to leave… and live a life you wanted. I will be giving you all your payment and as well as, I am willing to give you financial services that would last a year or three.”

The old faunus in Weiss’s arms looked up and spoke to the man. “What if we wished to stay? No one will take us. A place to stay nor a job to get us by will never be given to us.”

Jacques closed his eyes and think, before opening it again. “All of those who wished to stay, will still have their jobs. But...” He trailed off, looking at the tattered faces of his workers.

“All of you will be receiving a month’s vacation. Food, water, clothes, anything you need will be my responsibility. And I know, you all wouldn’t want that. But I want to do it, a little bit of payment for all your service to me. I will be giving you a subdivision to stay, it’s all up to you about what house you wanted to live in.” He looked at the old faunus and shook his hand. “Thank you, all, for your services. And I am sorry for everything.”

Silence. One by one, series of claps and howls, and other noises can be heard as a sign of approval. They looked at the Schnees and bowed in respect to them. Weiss smiled at them and nodded, she looked at her father.

“I’m proud of you, Dad.” Said Weiss. Jacques looked at her and smiled. “Dad… it’s been a long time since you called me, Dad.” Weiss blushed and grinned as she hugged her father who hugged her back.

“Let's go home.”

They took a flight back to Atlas. Jacques went back to the Schnee manor, saying good bye to the two. Later on, Blake left to Yang’s house and Weiss head to her and Ruby's house. She took off her shoes and entered, went to her room and changed her clothes, then head downstairs to meet Ruby in the sofa, watching Animal Channel. She hugged the poor latter who jumped at her touch.

“W-Weiss? Come on, don’t scare me like that.” Laughed Ruby, nervously. She smiled at the woman in her neck. “Welcome home, Weiss.”

“I’m home, love. And thank you for the letters and gifts. I love them.” Weiss murmured. Ruby grinned at her and kisses the crown of her head. “Anything for you, snowflake.”

Weiss stood up and walked towards the kitchen. “Let’s eat, Ruby.”

Ruby smiled and yelled. “I’ll be right there!”

Weiss then walked away, not taking notice of how nervous Ruby really is. She didn’t even noticed the tucked hand on the redhead’s back. Ruby pulled her left hand, and from there, her hand clenched at a black box where a ring is nestled upon a ring pillow. She fiddled with it before tucking it away to a hidden compartment in the coffee table. And ran towards the kitchen.

“Don’t eat all the food!!”

Notes:

Okay, I didn’t noticed this was actually long. Also I noticed this story has a lot of monologues than dialogues.

I was supposed to do a thing where they were writing letters to each other, you know, kind of like a sweet letter interaction. But it turned out like this, and I’m genuinely surprised, it was awesome.

At first, the bold words was not supposed to be in, but I noticed the pattern it had. It was a coincidence, and a good one at that.

Jacques is good in here, yes. I kind of like that kinds of canon-verse, or was it headcanon, that Jacques turned out to be good after everything with Weiss having to talk to him and Ruby being there.

There were hidden messages in here, but it’s really subtle. My mind just went on it, like poof, oh there, a hidden thing, shh. Hint: it relates to everything that happened in this shot.

[nekomassetters]

Twenty Five

"Shut up she's gonna hear you!"

You find yourself waking up from whatever dream you have after hearing a small "click" and giggles from the voices of your teammates.

"Shhh she's waking up!"

As your eyes flutter open, you make out the figures of Ritsuko, Namakura, Mito, and even Taka standing over you and smiling like idiots while looking at someone's phone.

"Is that my-"

"Oh Y/N!" Ritsuko exclaims as she passes the phone to Nakamura, "you're up! By the way, did you ask Kenma out yet?"

"Seriously Ritsu why are you making me ask him out. I don't want to give him the wrong impression," you say groggily as you start to sit up.

Nakamura then passes the phone back to Ritsuko who shows you the phone. You see a picture of you asleep from just a few minutes ago before Ritsuko turns the phone back to face her.

"Not funny," you groan as you reach out your hand, expecting them to give you back the phone.

You watch as the girls crowd around your phone once more. Their eyes widening in excitement as they watch Ritsuko do something on your phone. Taka lets out a gasp which forces you to reflexively jump up and grab the phone from your teammate's hands.

"What the hell did you do?" you groan as you unlock the phone.

As the girls giggle, you open your phone to see the same picture of you asleep in your text conversation with Kenma.

"What the fuck?" you growl at the four girls before you.

"Once you ask out Kenma, we'll leave you alone," Nakamura teases as she sends you a wink.

"You're all the worst," you grumble as you try to push past them.

However, Ritsuko and Mito's hands on your shoulders halt you from getting past.

"Fine!" you shout out as you push them away from you, "I'll do it at lunch."

📷

"Sooo," you hear someone call from behind you.

As you're trying to get your lunch, your friends are already waiting for you to do as they wish.

You roll your eyes and turn around to see your four friends smirking in anticipation at you, waiting for the show to begin. After not getting a response from you, they once again remind you of what you promised would happen during today's lunch.

"Oh my god, I know! You are all bitches," you say as you shove your lunch towards Taka, "I'll do it and get it over with so you can finally leave me alone."

Without putting much thought into what you are going to say, you scan the room until your eyes meet with Kuroo's wild black hair. You begin to approach him, seeing Kenma sitting across from him as the pair begins eating.

"Hey Kuroo," you greet as you put your hand on his shoulder.

"Hey Y/N where's your lunch?" he asks sweetly as if he's genuinely concerned for your eating habits.

"I just came over here super quick don't worry," you reply as you tousle his hair.

This instantly catches Kenma's attention. The male across from where you stand now locks his gaze into yours. For a brief moment, you're at a loss of words as your heart skips a beat from nerves.

"Kenma I was gonna ask if you were okay with going out with me, Akaashi, Ritsuko, Taka, and Rooster-head here," you say with a smile.

Fukunaga and Yaku, the two sitting on either side of the setter, begin shaking him in excitement. You hear them mutter small cheers and answers for him to repeat back to you in case he isn't sure of what to say. However, for the longest time, Kenma just stares back at you.

As you observe Kenma, you think you see the smallest bit of pink cross his cheeks. It quickly dissolves though once he nods and agrees to your proposal.

Immediately, Kenma goes back to eating to avoid embarrassment from his friends who are staring at him in shock.

"Cool," you say as you once more mess up Kuroo's hair, "see ya later then."

You begin to walk towards where your annoying friends have chosen to eat. You can't help but feel a bit weird about the way Kenma reacted to your question considering that he's typically more verbal around you, but quickly shake it off as you sit down.

"Oh my god, how did it go!" Nakamura squeals as you sit beside Taka.

"Fine," you shrug, "it's seriously not a big deal."

"But it is!" Taka chimes in, "you're literally the best for setting this up for us and I'm so glad you're going!"

Taka gives you a side hug as you stare at the rest of your friends who are looking at you as if you're a homeless puppy.

Remind me not to let Taka spend too much time around these jerks.

"Alright losers," you hear your coach's voice boom across the gym just in time to save you from the conversation you were having, "once you're done eating make your way into the boys' gym. We're finally going to have our real match!"

You look across at the table where Kuroo and Kenma were eating. You watch as Kuroo's face lights up in excitement and say something to Kenma, resulting in his face turning bright red. The rest of the table stares between Kuroo and Kenma at the weird exchange, waiting for a response from either party.

Instead of responding, Kenma stands up and makes his way out of the gym. Your eyes follow him until the doors close. Once you turn your gaze back to the table, you see a few pairs of eyes already staring back at you.

📷

"Yo," your coach beams excitedly as she walks up to your team, "you're all gonna be competin' against the boys so Tamura-sensei from the Fukurodani girls' team and I came up with our best possible starting line up."

Your coach begins explaining to your big collective team who will be starting as well as those who aren't. When she arrives at the setter position, you look over at Taka who's face is already showing clear defeat.

Trying not to feel too bad, you look away and listen to your coach as she explains that Akaashi is the starting setter for the other team.

"I dunno," she grumbles, clearly having a different opinion from the other coaches, "something to do with the damn ace."

Your coach then reveals that you will be the starting setter for your team. You and Taka both thank your coach for her evaluation and proceed to warm up.

"Too bad Kenma won't be setting," Ritsuko nudges as she walks over to you, "but at least you know where his eyes will be the whole time."

Instead of letting your emotions get the better of you, a brief flashback takes over your mind to the weird way that Kenma responded to you asking him out before.

I thought he was going to get the wrong idea from it, but maybe he really is fine just being friends with benefits too.

📷

For the majority of the game, both sides were pretty much tied. Currently, one set has been awarded to each team.

As you get ready to block a ball from Fukurodani's ace, you hear a loud cracking noise that brings everyone's focus to one person.

"Shit," you hear Akaashi's low voice complain as his legs give out, landing him on the floor.

At almost the same time, you hear a small, high-pitched squeak coming from behind you. You recognized the voice of Taka right away as everybody witnesses Akaashi's fall to the ground.

Once Akaashi gets escorted off to a bench by Fukurodani's ace, Kenma gets substituted in. Kenma then takes his position nearby you, sending you a quick smile before going into game mode.

His brief grin takes you back for a moment as it sinks in that he actually smiled... at you. It wasn't the first time he'd done that, but lately you felt as though Kenma was becoming less interested in you which means he'd have no reason to give you a friendly smile.

📷

Now three points behind the boys' team in match point, the next ball will decide your teams' fate.

Keeping your eyes fixated on Kenma as he decides who he should set to, you guess that he will be sending the ball to Bokuto, who had just gotten out of his emo mode.

Rushing to block the ace, you swiftly turn to see Kenma jump up and set the ball over the net himself

The whistle blows, resulting in the end of the game. You feel as though time is passing in slow motion as you keep your eyes glued onto the setter who's now being bombarded by his teammates.

The deep yells of the boys rushing towards Kenma ring in your ears as Kenma ignores them all to keep his gaze on you. Once more letting his lips curve upwards, you realize his smile isn't friendly at all. It's a sadistic grin meant to torment you over the loss you just caused.

"Don't worry bout it sis," Mito says as she pats your back, "none of us saw that coming either."

The two of you stand in silence as the boys continue to cheer on Kenma for their victory.

However, as you turn back to face the rest of your team, you fail to notice Kenma trying to shake his teammates off of him so as to walk in your direction.

[satsuki2406]

Dear Aomi Bakugou Katsuki x Reader

"I've seen you in a dream before, you are the warm and bright presence that embraced me on Cape Kamui a long time ago on a June afternoon."

Shinohara (Y/N) is a normal girl who had everything she could ask for, a loving family, a beautiful home, friends, and a fluffy cat. For a long time, she gave her life and happiness for granted, never imagining that she'll face one of the worst and crueler facades of society so closely, destroying what once was a happy, harmonious and normal family. One day, in hopes to recover what they lost, the Shinohara family took one of the more difficult decisions of their lives; leave behind their home back in Hokkaido and travel hundreds of miles south until Musutafu, the place that could grant them a solution and help close the yet fresh wound and scare away the ghosts of the past. Hardheaded, passionate, and ambitious (Y/N) is forced to confront the incarnated face of the superhuman society that she hated the most; Bakugou Katsuki.

PAIRING: (Bakugou Katsuki x Reader)

GENRE/WARNINGS: Romance, Fluff, Angst, Dark Themes, My poor attempt of humor, Strong language (Courtesy of Lord Explosion Murder 💥), Manga Spoilers, LONG ass chapter.

STATUS: On going

Chapter 1: School is a Great Place to Make Enemies

Chapter 2: My Stupid Classmate, the Angry Dandelion

3-In Conclusion, This Day Was...

The light night air caressed (Y/N)’s face and swayed her hair as she calmly strolled on the street. The ride from the konbini was short, after a couple of minutes, (Y/N) reached her home’s front gate. She pushed the creaky short gate pushing her bike along her with the shopping bags and closed it behind her. She put the bike on its little corner next to the driveway and locked it. She took the two shopping bags, along with her bag and walked to the front door. Before (Y/N) could even align the key with the keyhole, the door was harshly swung open revealing a much preoccupied and almost hyperventilating woman, (E/C) eyes met an equal pair of concerned (E/C) ones.

“Oh, (Y/N)! you’re finally home!” Immediately (Y/N) was engulfed in the hugest mama bear hug imaginable. Her mother, Akari consumed by aggravation and worry squeezed the lights out of her ‘little baby’ alleviated to have her between her arms, safe and sound.

“Mom...! I can’t- I can’t breathe…!” (Y/N) choked out.

“Oh, I’m so sorry baby! You know how I get when I’m worried, and excited, and when I see a good deal at the supermarket but enough of me! Tell me, are you alright? Are you hurt?” Lovingly, Akari cupped (Y/N) soft cheeks and proceeded to quickly exanimate her closer, looking for any scratch or cut. “Your temperature is normal, does any part of your body hurt?”

“Well, other than my legs, my butt, and the growing migraine I’ve been feeling since I left the konbini, I’m awesome, thank you.”

“I knew it! I knew that something was wrong! You must have been trapped in that horrible incident in the commercial district! What if the migraine is because you hit your head and will develop some brain damage if we don’t treat you immediately or your legs are injured?! What if they have to amputate them!? Should I call 911?! Or take you myself to the hospital?! No! We have no time to lose! Quick! Get in the car! I’ll go and get the keys and my purse-I have to call your dad!! Oh but he’s way too far right now! What if!-”

“Alright Mom! enough!” (Y/N) snapped. “Look at me, now, inhale and exhale, sloooowly, take your time and calm down. Once you are relaxed, I’ll explain myself, so stop jumping to conclusions please. Look at me in the eyes-that’s right, deep breaths, deep breaths…” You said softly while you also breathed deeply to show your mom how she had to do it while she dramatically imitated you, putting a hand over her chest to help herself.

“Al-Alright, I-I’m feeling better now”

“Perfect, so the reason I’m late is, indeed related to the villain attack, BUT! No how you are thinking! You know that in the center of the city there’s a bikeway, right?”

“Y-Yes I do”

“So, you also must remember that the Commercial District is part of that same bikeway’s route, right?”

“I-I recall so, yes”

“Perfect! Now that we have that important but kinda trivial piece of information clear, I’ll proceed to tell you what happened. Sooo… During my way back I decided to ‘take my time’ and you know, explore the city. But, but, but! When I was about to go back home, I heard a really big explosion coming from there, there was a lot of smoke as well. Right there I ran into an elderly lady and her daughter and they explain me the situation, they also advise me to get home as soon as I could. But the fastest and safest route home with the bike implies going right into the crime scene which was a super no-no, so I saw myself forced to take the long route around the Dagobah Park, a.k.a the city’s biggest illegal trash dump all the way down the coast line which took me around an hour which is also the reason my legs and butt hurt, oh! And also, the stop on the konbini that ended in an unfortunate incident related with a defective Ramune bottle and a rabid macaque-”

“W-Wait a minute! R-Rabid macaque?!” Your mother exclaimed panicked.

“That’s irrelevant right now mother, my point is I’m ok, and I’m not feeling like getting into the ER right now, also I have perishable products in this bags that need refrigeration and I reek like death and destruction, so can we enter to the house pretty please?”

“O-Oh, right, that was a bit confusing but I think I got it.”

“Great! By the way I bought the missing ingredients to make dinner.”

“Fantas!- Oh no! I was so preoccupied about you that I forgot to make dinner! I haven’t even made rice! Why don’t you take a bath while I put up something together to eat? You can also tell me about your first day of school over dinner!”

“Ok!”

 🐈🛀💢

Contently, (Y/N) hopped up the stairs and made a beeline to her bedroom. Although she has only been living in there for 2 weeks and a half, she found herself loving the place, the new house in general was really homey and cozy, it was roomy and stylish, somewhat similar to the house she lived before with her family back in Sapporo. One detail that she found extremely beautiful was that this new house possessed an ample number of skylights, in almost every room of the house, including hers, it gave her an amazing view of the sky while she was lying on her bed during night, or the rain clipping and clapping over the crystal. The house also possessed a pretty old and pretty picturesque cherry blossom tree in the backyard that had gifted them that very same spring with lots of delicate pink petals that she usually saw dancing in the wind.

But her room was something special. (Y/N) was not sure if it was the way the light illuminated it, or the color the room was painted at that moment but it was something similar like love at first sight. Since that very first moment she and her parents visited the place along with the realtor that winter day last year, she knew that this would be her special corner.

Moving itself is a long and tedious process, but in their case the distance made it trickier. Musutafu and Sapporo were 880 miles away from each other, which mean they had to go there by plane, otherwise, (Y/N) would’ve to be stuck in her parents’ car for over 18 hours.

The moving truck was sent in advance so their stuff would be there the day they arrived. The flight only took 1 hour and 35 minutes, it was really short but once (Y/N) got out of the plane it was like she entered into another dimension. Musutafu was way bigger than Sapporo, also busier and hectic, there were more heroes around the city which made sense because of its size, the crime rate must be higher here as well.

After all the unpacking and mess that moving in implied, the Shinohara family was successfully settled down, it felt like it was so long ago. Time really flies by when you are occupied, huh?

(Y/N) closed her room after she entered, going directly to her bed, plopping herself in the fluffy comforter. Suddenly with the corner of her eye she caught a sudden movement next to her, focusing more she recognized a familiar ball of white fluff that napped away comfortably over the mound of pillows and cushions situated on the upper part of the bed.

“Mashumaro!~”

“Mrrrow~”

Mashumaro, a 5-year-old white British Shorthair, stretched deliciously and stud up from his pillowy paradise to receive one of his (several) daily coddle sessions. (Y/N) opened her arms to the affectionate feline, enveloping him in a warming hug.

“Oh Mashu! You can’t imagine the day I had! Everything could have gone perfectly fine if it wasn’t for that stupid angry blowfish! And when I thought I got rid of him for the day, he ‘blessed’ me showing up in the konbini! That idiot! How dare he to live nearby!? I hope he doesn’t live close at all, see his ugly puckered face at school every day is bad enough! I’m utterly exhausted, and this was just the first day.”

“Mrrrow”

“Yes! Can you imagine?! How the rest of the year would be?!”

“Mrrrow”

“I know, I know, thankfully this is the last year of middle school, after next spring, boom! No more Bakushit!”

“Mrrrow”

“Oh Mashu! ~ You are the only one who understands me, thank you for listen to me, I feel better now~”

“Mrrrow...?”

“Talking about feel better, I have a date with that ofuro at the end of the corridor, so if you excuse me…”

In a fluid move (Y/N) wiggled out of her bed, leaving her furry companion to keep enjoying his catnap and get the most comfortable pjs she could find in her wardrobe. With the selected garments in her bed, she left her room and headed to the bathroom. Once inside the wet room, she proceeded to fill the tub, setting the water temperature to her liking. Meanwhile, (Y/N) slipped off her uniform and folded it aside into the hamper to wash later. Once ready, she stepped under the shower and turned on the head, soaking herself completely in the relaxing liquid. (Y/N) eagerly washed away all the stress and sweat that formed during this crazy day.

‘I wonder if Midoriya made it home safely’ (Y/N) absentmindedly took her shampoo bottle and squeezed some of its contents over her hand and applied it over her head.

She hummed blissfully while her fingers massaged her scalp. The bipping of the controlling pad interrupted her relaxation moment to inform her that the tub was filled and ready. She rinsed her hair and body drenched in shampoo and body wash foam and applied her conditioner to the final touch. Once she was ready, she turned off the shower head and wrapped her wet hair in a towel, she tested the water with her toe, which she approved with a soft sigh and submerged completely and hummed contently.

“Ahhh~ This is life!” (Y/N) closed her eyes and let herself being wrapped in relaxation and tranquility.

‘I’ll ask Midoriya tomorrow how it went, I hope he didn’t have to go near the villain attack. For what they say it was a big deal, I hope the hostage is ok’

(Y/N) came to a halt with the soft knock on the door. “(Y/N) sweetie, dinner will be ready in 10 minutes, don’t take too long so you can eat it while it still hot.”

“Ok mom! I will, thanks!”

‘I don’t wanna go to school tomorrow! I wonder if I can change classes or something, but that means Midoriya would be left alone at the mercy of that brute again.’

‘Alone…’

“No! Midoriya has had to deal with this by his own, if I can do something about it, I will”

‘He deserves to feel that someone appreciates him, supports him and believes in him, just like anybody else’

(Y/N) stud up from the tub and covered herself with a towel and exited the bathroom. Once in her room, she closed the door and sited on her bed to check her phone.

“Oh, I got a message…”

From: Haru ✨

 3:42 pm

Hey gurl! How was everything? 😁 Sorry I didn’t text you during lunch, I forgot my phone in the classroom, 😓 silly me I guess, 😅 like always, haha! 🤣🤣 Anyway! Tell me! How are schools down there? Did you meet some cute guys?~ 👀🤩 I’ll call you tonight!~ 😘💋

“What do you mean ‘how are schools down there’ you moron, like in the rest of Japan.” You snickered.

To: Haru ✨

6:41pm

It is complicated to tell how my day was, ‘incredible’ maybe? 🙄 Just to give you a preview it got me so tired that I want to sleep for the next 25 years and this was just the first day. 😫😫 Anyway, I’ll go get dinner, call you later. 

(Y/N) dried her body, put on the clothes she chose and went down stairs were she saw her mom setting the table filling it with several steaming yummy looking plates and bowls.

“Wow! this looks really good!~”

“I’m glad you think so, come on, sit now before it gets cold”

“Ok!~”

There on the table laid a full arrange of delicious comfort food; hearty veggie miso soup, grilled salmon, green salad and potato salad, pickled veggies and last but certainly not least katsu white curry, one of (Y/N) favorites.

“Its been a long time since we ate white curry!”

“And don’t forget the cheese stuffed tonkatsu~”

“Yay! ~”

“Itadakimasu!”

(Y/N) took a spoonful of rice and curry and hummed happily at the savory and spicy flavors dancing in her tongue, the golden-brown tonkatsu was crispy and juicy, crowned by the gooey cheese on the inside.

‘Mom’s food is the best~’

“By the way, your father called when you were in the shower, he said he’ll be back in Musutafu on Thursday afternoon”

“Really?! That’s awesome!”

“Things went way smoothly than he thought, we will bring the remaining suitcases we left, the ones with summer clothes”

“Oh, those will come handier here since is warmer”

“You are right, now tell me how was your first day of school? Did you make some new friends?”

(Y/N) almost chocked on her soup as all her misadventures of the day came to her mind at the same time, trying to think about a good response she cleared her throat and compose a bit.

“Mmm, I’m not actually sure if I can call him a friend but there was this really timid guy in my class-”

“Oh! A boy?! Good thing your father is not here otherwise he would be seething, and crying at the same time because his baby is growing up so fast!” Your mom said with an amused expression on her face at the mental image of your father in such state, the tips of her fingers were covering her lips in a vain attempt to conceal her giggles.

“M-Mom! I-It’s no like that! A-And I just met him today! Good God! Don’t go saying things like that so blatantly!” (Y/N) said suddenly rising from her seat, her face completely aflame with shame for her mother’s words.

“Oh honey, I’m kidding! No need to get so riled up!”

“Hmp!” (Y/N) grunted with puff up checks and an expression that more than angry, looked cute. And of course, her mom made sure to emphasize it.

“That face makes me want to squish it to death just like when you were still my little cutie baby boo! ~”

“M-Mom! Stop it!!!”

“Haha! Honey calm down! Don’t take it too seriously!”

“Hmm…”

 📱📱📱

“Woah, woah, woah! So, you are telling me that this guy actually called you a bitch and threaten you and another classmate in front of the whole class and the teacher didn’t do or say anything?! No even detention or something?!” (Y/N) best friend, Haruka exclaimed as she suddenly paused applying her moisturizing cream, a part of her ‘night beauty routine’.

“You got it, I guess that he’s scared of him, everyone actually, so he must be used get away with everything and you know that people usually looks away when a quirkless person is discriminated, like it wasn’t serious or it was something to laugh about.”

“Yeah crude but true, unfortunately that’s not new, the ‘bully with a decent quirk’ kind of story is really common, but to that extent? Is kind of terrifying. You also said he wanted to be a hero? What the heck?! I’ll definitely will not support a hero like that! If you actually could be able to call him a ‘hero’ after all, I hope that U.A reject him on the spot! A meanie who bullies my bestie does not deserve such title!”

“I’m pretty sure that the U.A staff would have your concerns into consideration”

“I’m serious (Y/N)!”

“Me too”

You were now laying lazily in the comforting warmness of your bed. As you promised you called Haruka after dinner, filling her into all the details of your crazy first day, and a certain insufferable spiky blond.

“How about you? How was everything there?”

“Cold as hell! It started snowing when I was walking back home. You know, typical Hokkaido.”

“You know that the hell is hot, rig-?”

“Don’t smartmouth me bitch, you get my point.”

“Yeah, yeah, today the weather was really nice here, is getting warmer everyday and the sakura are on full bloom. I think is the first time I haven’t freeze to death on my first day of school. It was a nice experience for a change.”

“Oh, I’ll wish to be there! I can’t believe we are in firkin’ April but it feels like January!”

“Like you said, Typical Hokkaido. Hey Haru, my eyelids are closing; I’ll go to sleep now ok? I’ll message you tomorrow and please for God’s sake don’t leave your phone in the classroom, you moron.

“Ok! Ok Mom! Geez! Suzue told me there was this new hottie in class 3-C and I had to check if he was Jefree Star Approved!”

“Doesn’t Jefree Star review make-?? Oh! Shut up and go to sleep!”

After hanging up to a pouty Haruka, (Y/N) put her phone to charge and submerged herself under the softness of her comforter, turning off the bedside lamp she sighed prying to whatever God out there listening that tomorrow could be a better day.

“Just a good day, that’s all I’m asking for…”

With little flashbacks of all those days spent with Haruka and all her friends, her family, her old home, of Hokkaido.

 Embraced in sweet memories, she was lulled to sleep.

Raise your hand if your mom also freaks out about everything ✋

*Mashumaro: Marshmallow in Japanese ヾ(•ω•`)o

[fanfic-collection]

Loki x Reader - Whumptober 1 Shaky hands

Shaky Hands.

-

woo boy, I am RUSTY. I’m sorry Loki, I’m sorry readers. My writing is sooo different. Been doin the RP stuff but Loki, my man, I’m so sorry I’ve neglected you. You deserve better

This was it. This was your moment.

Your hair, done up in the finest of braids and curls – you and your mother had spent hours on it. Your ladies in waiting had placed pin after pin, painstakingly holding back each lock of hair that threatened to spring loose. When the finished masterpiece was complete, you hardly recognized yourself.

Adding to that, your mother's frail hands carefully handed the raven feather lined mask, inset with emeralds and onyx gems, laced with gold thread; real gold, your father had spared no expense. Carefully, you affixed it to your supple skin, pressing to your cheekbones and gazing out through the slits of the eyes. Again you stared at your reflection in the massive varnished mirror. Licking your lips gently, you finally applied a thin layer of rouge, the image was complete.

Straightening up, the green bodice of your dress rose into view, your breasts drawn to view by the neckline but modesty ever at present in your attire. The high silk collar, clutched your throat, but your decolletage was exposed, though only just. Beads of sweat already forming on your chest at the excitement of the ball that was to come tonight.

Absently, you swiped at your forehead with the back of your hand before pulling on your black gloves, struggling against the long bell sleeves of your green velvet dress, lace ruffles frilling out at the sleeves' edges. The rest of the green dress had a pattern of black vines sewn into it that seemed to come alive as you twirled and spun.

“Quit dawdling in the mirror and get going, you're going to be late!”

-

Down the stairs you rushed, out to the waiting carriage. A fine mist of rain had already begun, setting a light fog for the evening. The air was heavy and damp, but fresh and alive. You breathed in deeply as you sank into your carriage seat, slumping back as the carriage lurched forward.

You had always loved to stare out the window, going into town from your estate in the country side. Watching the trees speed by, hearing the thundering of hooves, the rattling of the carriage wheels as the carriage tore up the leagues... but to your disappointment the windows fogged up and the thick greenery of the land that should now be the oranges and reds of fall was lost from sight.

Letting out an irritable sigh, you slumped back in the coach and set about trying to find a way to entertain yourself. You should have brought a book. For a bit you tapped your foot but it was hard to keep count of the tapping with the rattling of the carriage throwing you off and the tapping was arrhythmic to the rattling of the carriage outside and started to give you a headache. Again you grumbled irritably, deciding to count different parts of the carriage. Nails, boards, the little pin bits that held the cushions in place. For a bit you pondered what the name of those pins might be called, did they have a name? It seemed fitting they had a name, they deserved a name. Perhaps you could come up with a name. If you came up with a name for those cushion pins you would be famous and remembered, but only if it were something really clever and memorable. Glancing down at your gloved hand, you noticed a loose thread and attempted to pick at it as you thought of a really memorable and clever name for the pins.

Suppose there already was a name for them that you just hadn't remembered. That would be unfortunate.

The coach seemed to be slowing down, there were voices outside.

You startled from your thoughts, suddenly noticing the lights around the carriage.

Laughter, conversation.

There was a knock on the carriage door and it opened. You blinked at the sudden brightness, holding up your hand, the dimness of the light inside nothing to the myriad of candles and torches outside.

'Madam!' The stagehand held out his hand, offering it to you to help you down.

You smiled at him, taking his hand gratefully, legs stiff from the long bumpy ride.

A gust of cold wind ruffled at your skirts as you stepped down from the coach, onto the gravel road, others exiting the carriages on either side of you. Men and women of all sorts milled slowly towards the grand hall at the end of the lane.

'I shall walk you in.' The coachdriver said, offering you his arm, guiding you towards the line of people.

Merry couples laughed and called to one another, huddling against the chill wind, ducking against the growing rain. The cabbies that stayed outside tending the horses didn't seem to mind as much, though they seemed at least better dressed for the cold. From time to time, they did throw a longing gaze towards the warmth of the hall, before shaking their hands and bitterly stamping their feet and rubbing their hands, returning their attention to their duties. Your cabby helped you reach the hall before bowing low and returning to tend to the carriage.

For a moment, you watched him leave, knowing you were at a crossroads of your life. Slowly you turned back, one of the waiters of the grand ball ushering you in and offering to take your coat.

Upon helping you inside, he whisked away your coat and you found yourself ushered into the dance area.

Now without your warm coat, shivering slightly and desperately searching for a fireplace, you looked around. You knew, in time, you would warm up and long for the chill of outside once more, but for now, you were cold.

The ballroom was simply massive. Gold floors in each direction and a gold domed ceiling with ethereal paintings adorning its visage. Indications of wealth were on display everywhere, no expense had been spared. Many of the gathered guests simply stood in awe at the displays of such extravagance.

As your eyes finished scanning the room, they fell upon a man. The only man who didn't seem captivated by anything in the room, be it a person or the displays themselves.

He was stunning. Breathtakingly so. His hair, slicked back and ebony black. His eyes so vividly green and you were certain capable of wit and intelligence, seemed bored and subdued. Even his appearance, a sharp black suit, incredibly well tailored, perfectly fitting his figure, bespoke his position of power and authority, yet he looked bored. He sat in a chair, legs stretched apart, head resting on his fist, propped up by his elbow and looking fit to doze off.

Tilting your head, you noticed a flicker of movement from his eyes, despite the apparent boredom, they were moving, lightning fast. He was watching everything unfold. Everything. Every interaction, every conversation, from the lowest server to the richest nobleman, he was taking it all in like a cat.

Suddenly his gaze met yours, and for the briefest moment, his look of boredom seemed to change. A touch of interest seemed to cross his face.

You blinked, glancing away as you felt your face heat up.

Quickly you looked back.

He was gone.

You scanned the room, looking this way and that, not seeing him anywhere.

Slowly you turned a complete circle.

Finally, frustrated, and confused, wondering if you had imagined the whole thing, you stopped, hands on your hips.

'Lost someone?' You heard a velvety voice from behind you. It was deep and rich, mysterious and alluring.

You spun around. 'I.' Your mouth fell open and immediately snapped shut, seeing the strange man before you.

The man stood a good head and shoulders taller than you as he grinned down at you.

There was a moment of silence between the two of you as the man stared down at you and you stared up at him not certain how to proceed. He seemed to be studying you curiously, you mostly were transfixed by his beauty, and a little bit intimidated by his intoxicating aroma.

Slowly his smile faded, 'My dear, your hands are positively shaking.' Slowly, with the utmost care, he reached down and took your hands in his, lifting them to your eye level. He too wore gloves, even still, you felt an electrical jolt at his touch. The man caressed the backs of your hands with his thumbs, gently stroking them as he gazed deep into your eyes.

'I'm Loki, by the way.' He murmured softly.

You felt your trembling increase as you slowly breathed your name back to him.

'Oh dear, I don't think I seem to be helping. Would you like me to stop?' Loki looked worried, staring down at your violently shaking hands.

'No.' You whispered, shaking your heads quickly, 'Please don't stop.'

Loki raised his eyebrow, 'Are you certain?'

'Would you like to dance?' You blurted out.

'Excuse me?'

'This is a ball, is that not what this is for?'

Slowly, Loki grinned, 'Well this did take an unexpected turn, my dear, I would be happy to.' He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the back of your hands before pulling you closer towards him and guiding you towards the other dancing couples.

[blessed-but-distressed]

#FindEmmaSwanAFriend

Feeling left behind by her more successful, settled friends, Emma Swan moves to Scotland on a whim. Sure, she’s winning at Instagram, but something is still missing from her new life. Fortunately, her friends back home are on it. #FindEmmaSwanAFriend goes viral. Enter Killian Jones, reluctant columnist, who is on the hunt for his newest subject, and may just have found her. CS AU

***

also on ff.net and ao3

***

Tagging: @katie-dub , @wholockgal , @kat2609 , @whovianlunatic, @optomisticgirl, @ladyciaramiggles, @the-lady-of-misthaven, @emmaswanchoosesyou, @ilovemesomekillianjones, @biancaros3, @cigarettes-and-scotch-whisky, @ms-babs-gordon  @ab-normality, @andiirivera, @fangirl-till-it-hurts, @onceuponaprincessworld , @natascha-remi-ronin, @kiwistreetswan and whoever else asks me.

***

A/N: Part 1 of 2. We’ll get there when we get there.

***

Emma

 It had been building for weeks. Months, really. 

It began with a series of fences up on the Castle Esplanade, robbing the selfie-stick set of their outlook towards Arthur’s Seat. Before long it became a full-blown construction site, scaffolds looming up on either side of the tarmac like a bad omen. 

Then came the anti-terrorist bollards on the Mile, at once ugly and terrifying in their design. By the time the placards went up at the tail end of July, you could feel it in the air, like an encroaching thunderstorm.

August.

For as long as she’d lived in Edinburgh, Emma had heard the war stories. 

A bloody nightmare, was how Killian had once phrased it. Imagine, if you will,  if every insufferable wanker in London with even the slightest dramatic inclination took it upon himself-

Or herself, Tink had interrupted.

Or herself, he’d amended, with a roll of his eyes, to decamp 400 miles up the East Coast line, en masse. And not just for a weekend, either. An entire month. And then imagine they proceed to spend that time putting on dodgy comedy shows, getting pissed as newts, and trying to get off with each other.

Don’t forget the inflated prices, Will had cut in.

The traffic, Tink lamented.

Hipsters with posh accents taking up all the seats in your local, Will added mournfully.

The flyers, Killian sighed. At that, the other two groaned.

So it’s busy? Emma had asked.

Aye, Swan, Killian had replied, a weary glint in his eye. It’s busy.

 ***

It wasn’t that she didn’t believe them, exactly. She’d seen the crowds at Christmastime, swelling up around the markets in Princes Street Gardens. She’d stared the drunken aftermath of Hogmanay in the face, and lived to tell the tale. She knew busy.

The Festival was, well… most days it wasn’t unlike navigating the Battle of Thermopylae. Every major thoroughfare, every centrally located eatery turned into a desperate crush of bodies, all attempting to coexist in too little available space. And there on the periphery the thespians lay in wait, ready to exploit any signs of weakness.

The first few days, she took every flyer on offer. It was the polite thing to do. But as her bag, and the crowds swelled, she was forced to reassess. By week’s end Emma learned to do as the locals did, keeping her head down, headphones in, and her hands stuffed in her pockets at all times.

So when August, the man, promised Emma he could sneak her into the green room at the Book Festival, she took her chance to escape the rabble.

Compared with the madness up on the Mile, the Book Festival in Charlotte’s Square was an oasis of calm. The crowd skewed older, and it showed. They sat drinking up the sun in plastic lawn chairs, whiling away the hours until the next panel or signing with the unhurried air of the newly retired. Yet even as she sipped her overpriced plastic cup of gin, Emma felt content.

It was summer. She was on vacation. And she was one Q & A session away from having her apartment all to herself again.

“Emma!” Her houseguest fell onto the grass beside her, spilling half of his gin in the process.

“You got them?” Emma asked, leaning over to top up his drink with some of hers.

Taking a few surreptitious glances in either direction, August unzipped his jacket, and tossed something into Emma’s lap. “I’m a man of my word.”

Emma wouldn’t go quite that far, but she snatched it up anyway. It was a sweater, pale blue with a prominent STAFF designation across the back. Her ticket into the green room. “And where did you get that? Did you slip some poor underpaid usher a tenner, or something?”

August just tapped the side of his nose, and smiled his usual mysterious smile. 

Tamping down her urge to kick him, Emma sighed and pulled the sweater over her head. It was a little big on her, but not comically so. She rolled up the sleeves, and waved a little to get August’s attention.

“What do you think? Do I look like I’d volunteer at a Book Festival?”

“No,” he replied, without looking at her. “And I think your columnist just came out of the Zadie Smith signing. Kevin?”

She squinted against the sun, to where the crowd was pouring out from the Signing Tent. Sure enough, there was a familiar monochromatic figure loping his way across the square. It’d been more than a month since she’d seen him, but if the signature walk hadn’t given him away, the outfit would’ve. Who else would insist on black leather in the middle of summer? 

“Killian,” Emma corrected automatically, already regretting rising to the bait.

August knew full well who Killian was. He’d Facebook stalked him the same as Ruby had. He read his columns religiously, picking them apart in their group chat with the zeal of a literature major on Adderall. He just liked being a dick.

 As they emerged from the throng, Emma saw the petite woman at Killian’s side, matching his stride in impressively tall heels. 

How does she walk in those things? Emma wondered to herself. But before she could voice this aloud, August was already on his feet.

“I’m going to go say ‘hi’.” There was a twinkle in his eye, one she didn’t much like the look of. 

“August...” Emma gave a low warning, but it was too late. He’d already passed her the last of his drink, and disappeared across the square.

Lord help her.

Downing the last of the gin, Emma straightened her sweater one last time and went after him.

***

August wasn’t famous, exactly. His debut, a semi-autobiographical account of his early twenties backpacking through South East Asia, had made some waves when it first came out. There’d been movie interest. A profile in the New Yorker. Everyone was a sucker for that foster-kid-made-good fairytale.

But when he switched focus to fantasy fiction, his agent jumped ship. Likewise, most of his readership. These days, he was what Emma might charitably call a “midlist author.” Consistent, but not exactly setting the world on fire. Mostly, he survived under the radar, letting the royalties from his successful debut prop up his middling career. But every once in a while, he’d run into a fan in the wild, and things would get... strange.

When Emma finally caught up to August, she came to two sudden realizations;

On closer inspection, the woman with the impressive ability to navigate across grass with spike heels was none other than Belle. Librarian Belle. As in, I-really-like-sad-songs-and-married-a-complete-douchebag Belle. 

Belle was staring at August with the kind of gobsmacked, I-just-swallowed-a-goldfish expression that could only mean one thing: She was a fan.

“You know August Booth?” Belle shout-whispered to Killian. The hand clinging tightly to Killian’s bicep might’ve stirred Emma’s interest, if she didn’t think it was all that was keeping the girl upright.

Killian seemed entirely puzzled. “Err… in passing?” He looked from August to Emma, searching for a lifeline. 

“You’re a Swords of Storybrooke fan, I take it?” Emma asked, helpfully.

Belle seemed to shake herself a little. “Emma! Hi!” She reached across to give her a one-armed hug, the best she could do with the books still cradled against her chest with her other hand. 

“Are you kidding? I’m in love with those books! I have the last line from Good Form tattooed on my-” She trailed off abruptly, cheeks flushing red. “Sorry,” she said, turning again to August. “You must get that all the time.”

“Not as often as I’d like,” he said with a flash of teeth.  “Always nice to meet a fan. It was Belle, wasn’t it?” Emma saw the flash of recognition cross his face, as he matched the name with the story. “You’re a friend of Ruby’s, right?”

“Ruby? Ruby Lucas? Uh, yeah. We dated. Sort of. You know her?”

“We go back a ways. Do you like gin, Belle?” he asked, coaxing her closer to the bar. “I heard they’ve got some here that tastes like Earl Grey…”

It took Emma a moment to realize she’d been abandoned. Alone. With Killian Jones. Exactly as August, that slimy son of a bitch, had intended.

To his credit, Killian looked similarly startled, trying and failing to cover it with a casual scratch behind his ear. It was just a small thing, but it killed her.

“Sooo…” he began, never one to leave a silence unfilled, “Been a while…”

5 weeks, not that she was counting.

“Not that I blame you for avoiding me, mind...” he added.

“I wasn’t-” Her first instinct was denial, but she swallowed it back down. He knew her better than that. “Yeah, okay, I was, a bit. Sorry. I just needed…”

“Space,” Killian finished for her.

“Yeah. Space.” 

The smile they shared was fragile. Precious. She wanted to tell him she’d meant to call. That she’d had to fight off tears the whole time she’d read through his latest column. She wanted to tell him what it had meant to her.

Instead, she just said the first stupid thing to pop into her head. 

“Sorry,  I think August just stole your date.”

“Date?” Killian looked back to where Belle and August had disappeared, and it dawned on him. “Belle?” His laugh was incredulous, if Emma was any judge.  “Err… no. We just kind of met in the line.” 

“To Zadie Smith, right?”

“Aye.” He held up the autographed copy of her latest, before tucking it back under his arm. “Elsa’s a big fan. Her birthday’s coming up, so-”

She felt a prickle of attraction and hated herself for it. Just because he was a good brother-in-law, it didn’t mean she had to let her guard down again. Ted Bundy had probably been a great brother-in-law too.

“She’s coming home soon?” Even as strained as things had been, he’d been unable to keep the implosion of his home life entirely to himself.

“Next week. Let the boys settle back into things before school goes back.”

“And things with her and Liam are…?” She let her words trail off, not wanting to overstep.

“They’re… I don’t know.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “They’re talking now, at least. These long, overwrought transatlantic Skype conversations that I pretend very hard not to overhear.  It’s a start, I suppose.”

Emma shrugged in agreement. As thoughtful responses went, it fell short of the mark. But what did she know about fixing a broken marriage? She’d had one functional adult relationship in her entire life, and she hadn’t even made it through the entire proposal before she’d cut and run.

“So you’re working here?” he asked suddenly.

“Huh?” She looked down, confused, only to realize she was still wearing her baby blue STAFF sweater. “Oh, this? No, this is stolen. Or borrowed? You know what? I’m not really sure on the specifics.”

“Oh..kay?” Amusement was definitely winning out over his confusion.

Emma shrugged. “August said he’d sneak me into the Green Room. This is part of my cunning disguise. Pretty convincing, huh?”

“You know they check lanyards at the door, right?”

She didn’t. Fucking August.

“There is, of course, another way in…” He tried for his usual irrepressible swagger, and it rang a bit hollow to Emma’s ears. But he was trying. 

“Oh, is there?” she asked , crossing her arms sullenly over her chest.

He nodded, eyes growing brighter as they fell into a more familiar rhythm. “A secret way. Only known to the chosen few…”

Emma shot him a flat look.

With a grin and a flourish, he pulled a lanyard from his pocket, and held it out for her inspection.

It was identical to his in every way, right down to the Saorsa logo stamped on the back.

“Our photographer never made it, so I had a spare. What do you say, Swan? Want to ditch that awful jumper and join the big leagues?”

Emma cocked her head, considering this proposal. ”Would I actually have to take photographs?”

“If you like. But you’d definitely have to hold the camera. Authenticity and all that.” 

“And we’d breathe the same air as actual famous authors?” She was kidding, but only a little.

“Breathe the same air, eat the same Chocolate Digestives. We could even talk to a few, if you like.” He shrugged. “That’s kind of why I’m here.”

Somehow, that trumped her original plan of playing the wallflower while August caught up with his cadre of fellow fantasy authors.

She didn’t say anything, but Killian must’ve already intuited her answer, because he gently pulled the lanyard from her grasp, and slipped it over her head with a smirk. 

“Congratulations, Dr Swan. You’re now a proud member of the fourth estate.” He held out a hand. “Shall we?”

Emma looked down at the proffered hand and hesitated. 

It was just a hand, and it wasn’t. Because here was the truth: Emma had started to trust Killian Jones. Started to lean on him. Confide in him.  And even now, after he’d kicked the metaphorical chair out from under her and shown he was capable of being a complete ass when the mood struck, she still wanted to. 

It was a hand, but it was also a second chance. 

And maybe it made her weak, but Emma reached out and took it.

***

I can’t believe I met a Pulitzer Prize winner! ES

I can. You only made me take twenty pictures of the two of you together. KJ

Funny. ES

Not a hardship, I can assure you. I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. It was good to see you, even if only for a wee bit. KJ

Huh. Sincerity. Not sure what to do with that. ES

I’m trying a new thing, where I occasionally let the people in my life know that I actually appreciate their company. KJ

And how’s that working out for you? ES

Will is now convinced I harbour a dreadful crush on him, and Liam asked me if I had a concussion. Soo… I’d call it a work in progress ;-) KJ

Good to see you too. ES

***

August’s Q & A went better than expected, if you didn’t count the guy at the front whose question was more of a diatribe, really, about all the things he would’ve done differently.

There was always one.

But on the whole, the genuine fans outnumbered the assholes, and it took a good two hours to finally extricate August from his adoring masses, after the fact.

He was already flushed, drunk on ego and free booze when he finally emerged from behind a tent flap, and pulled Emma into a lazy hug. 

“Where to next, oh tour guide extraordinaire?” he asked with hot gin breath.

Emma grimaced, and held him at arm’s length. “There’s no next. You have a train to catch, remember?”

“Last train for London isn’t for another three hours,” August shrugged. “Still time for a last bit of revelry. Didn’t you promise you’d actually take me to a Fringe show?”

She had, but she’d also counted on August being distracted by his own brilliance long enough for her to welch out of that particular contract. The last thing she felt like doing was wading back into the madness of the Old Town.

“It’s kind of last minute…”

But August already had his phone out, scrolling through the app and Emma knew a lost cause when she saw one.

He looked up suddenly, eyes lit with a tantalizing prospect. “How far’s the Tron?” 

***

During the semester, The Tron was a studenty kind of hang out. Plenty of drink specials, and always a free table downstairs. She usually avoided the place, none too eager to bump into her students during their messy nights out. Least of all during hers.

During the Festival, however, it was a very different beast.

Gone were the baby faced clientele, and reasonable prices. It was standing room only, and foreign accents were more common than not. In this crowd, she might’ve been just another festival-goer, at a loose end between shows.

Even with having the push through the late afternoon crowds on the Mound, they still made it with ten minutes to spare before August’s chosen comedian started his set downstairs. She sent him down to save them some seats, and after a lot of pushing, shoving and gratuitous cleavage displays, managed to attract the attention of the nearest bartender.

“Alright, love?” he asked, with little better than a leer.

She ordered a pint for herself, and a tap water for August.

“That’s £10.”

Emma nearly swallowed her tongue. “For a pint? That’s extortion!”

The bartender shrugged, snatching the bill from her hand. “That’s August.”

She turned around, drinks in hand and the crowd surged around her, gunning for her vacated space by the bar. Some of her lager slopped onto the shoes of the guy in front of her, and she was halfway through her apology before she took a look at his face, and froze.

Graham.

Her Graham. Standing in The Tron. And decidedly not somewhere in Northern Ireland, studying the possible ramifications of Brexit on the Irish Border. Contrary to the text he’d sent her two hours ago.

“Emma, hey!” the words were friendly, but there was no disguising the tension in his jaw.

He was not pleased to see her. 

And when Emma looked behind him, and saw the dark haired young woman whose hand was clutched tightly in his, she realized why. It wasn’t just the white knuckled hold they had on each other, so they wouldn’t lose each other in the crush. 

It was the matching silver wedding bands.

Mother. Fucker.

Emma barely had time to process before she was tipping her overpriced pint down his shirt. All £10 of it.

The crowd of people around them suddenly went deathly quiet, so quiet Emma could hear the rush of her own blood inside her ears. She saw at least one person raise a camera phone.

Graham, himself said nothing. Even as his companion, his wife, stared between the two of them, dumbfounded. 

“Sorry,” Emma said, with the least amount of sincerity she could muster. “Really crowded in here, huh?”

The crowd parted for her as she left. Someone even slow clapped. It was all she could do to keep her face level until she was outside on the Mile, already dialing August’s number.

***

August never did end up catching his train that night. Instead they went back to Emma’s flat, and tore through Emma’s entire cache of American candy while bingeing episodes of Bake Off. 

It was only around 3am that she finally let him lead her into her bedroom, tucking her in like she was still a kid. Like nothing had changed in the last twenty years.

“You don’t need to say it,” she said, as he settled on top of the covers beside her, both of them staring at the ceiling.

“Say what?” he asked, leaning over to turn off her lamp.

“That my taste in men sucks.”

August snorted, settling back down beside her. “Well, you said it.”

“You’re right,” Emma admitted to the dark. “And you were right about Walsh. I didn’t love him. I just kind of… got used to him. And it’s not the same thing.”

“No,” he agreed. “It’s not.”

She turned over then, so she could see the vague outline of his face in the near darkness. “Have you told Jefferson how you feel, yet?”

They’d never discussed it. Not explicitly. But from the moment August had introduced his editor into their little group, Emma had known. And it didn’t seem to matter that Jefferson was a widower. Or a single father. There was something there, something between them as they traded insults and bickered over line edits. Something more than colleagues, or even friends. Something rare.

The silence was telling, as August regrouped.

“I wrote him a letter, once,” he confessed. “I was going to submit it with my finished manuscript. Right on the last page. But I ripped it up before I could give it to him.”

Now it was Emma’s turn to snort. “We never stood a chance, did we?”

“Some kids get trophies. Foster kids get abandonment issues.” It was a recitation. A line she’d heard before. 

They knew the truth of it better than anyone.

[makeste]

Oh right, I forgot to ask now that you finished the Yakuza/Overhaul arc but on a scale from Endeavor to All For One, where does Overhaul fit on the bad dad scale?

somehow this very simple ask which could have been answered in like three sentences turned into my definitive ranking of the top ten Known Dads in BnHA. I’m not sure how either. but here we go

(spoilers in this post up to chapter 165!)

10. Overhaul

dad score - [unknown] [the scale broke when we tried to measure him]

is asked to care for his boss’s granddaughter; proceeds to torture her for profit

constantly tells her that she’s cursed and all the bad things that he does are somehow her fault

doesn’t even bother to give this kid some fucking shoes

keeps killing her babysitters

I know I already said it, but it really can’t be stressed enough, this guy routinely disassembled her limbs on a molecular level, causing her excruciating pain and trauma, for the sake of trying to make himself the new drug-dealing kingpin of the underworld. he is sooo bad you guys

9. All for One

dad score - 11/100

is super creepy and manipulative and purposely brainwashed Tomura into hating All Might through a series of meticulously calculated encounters

decided the best way to help Tomura reach his full potential would be to step out of his life and get himself arrested

hasn’t even seen his other son, Izuku, since he was a baby! what a fucking deadbeat smdh

but on the other hand, he does seem supportive and indulgent towards Tomura and gives him lots of praise and encouragement

8. Endeavor

dad score - 39/100

abused his kid

abused his kid’s mom, in front of his kid

you wouldn’t even know it, but he actually has other kids, whom he never seems to acknowledge or pay even the slightest attention to whatsoever!

only had kids in the first place so he could raise his kids to beat All Might. has no problem telling this to said kids and even to All Might’s own face

having said that, the only reason his score isn’t in the negatives is because as of chapter 165, it seems like maybe? possibly? he just might be trying for the first time ever. or like. trying to try. if you can count showing up to Shouto’s supplemental course to shout “SHOOOOOOOOOOUUUUTOOOOOOOOO” at him from the stands as trying. but like, I feel like he is attempting to be encouraging. it doesn’t mean he’s not still a piece of shit, but if the guy is trying to be better then, like, it’s better than him not trying, you know?

but he’s still terrible

7. Kurogiri

dad score - 60/100

Tomura’s Actual Dad

is calm, rational, polite, and a respected doctor of medicine (probably) (idk you guys I just still get that vibe)

took Tomura and all the other kids on a character-building trip to Villain Island in an omake from chapter 149 which I consider to be canon

there’s nothing more dadlike than taking your kids camping and trying to teach them how to survive in the wilderness

taught Tomura how to get along with others

always seems to have his back, which is real important you guys

6. Gran Torino

dad score - 70/100

not the best score but a C is still respectable. mostly it’s just cuz he was out of the picture for so long. although we’ve since found out that Toshinori by his own admission had a habit of pushing away people who cared about him, so that may have had something to do with it

cares a lot about Toshinori even though he’s shit at showing it

made him into a man by beating the shit out of him until he got super strong

was right there in the thick of things with Toshinori during both of his fights against All for One. he straight up risked his life to back him up against the strongest villain alive

took it in stride when he found out he had a grandson that he’d never met, and took him under his wing as well and raised him for like three whole days and taught him how to use a microwave

5. Ochako’s Dad

dad score - 80/100

I probably should have given him a higher score, honestly. he seems really sweet. he’s probably a better dad than Bakugou’s Dad tbh, but Bakudad gets the edge just for the much steeper difficulty level. because let’s be honest, there’s a biiiig difference between raising a sweet baby angel like young Ochako, and raising a sentient roman candle with a potty mouth

but he works so hard to make ends meet, and somehow he and his wife managed to scrimp and save enough to send Ochako to U.A. because they wanted her to follow her dreams and they want the best for her

and they’ve always been so supportive of her on like the three occasions we’ve seen them in flashbacks or talking to her over the phone or visiting her after the sports festival

look at this thumbs up though

tell me that’s not the most dad thing you’ve ever seen in your fucking life

4. Bakugou’s Dad

dad score - 82/100

has like two lines in the entire series, but

as previously mentioned, raised Bakugou Katsuki and somehow survived to tell the tale. so honestly he probably deserves some kind of medal

also, since we know virtually nothing about him other than what was in the omake profile from volume 11, I’ve been imagining him as being kind of like Calvin’s Dad from Calvin and Hobbes

so he gets bonus points for that positive association

really there’s no reason for him to be this high up tbh except that I firmly believe he’s a great dad and I’m just waiting for canon to prove me right. I’ll be right here waiting, manga

3. RockLockRock

dad score - 90/100

he’s awesome

also, look. being a hero is inherently dangerous. you never know where you’re going to get called to next, and any mission could end up being your last. injuries and trauma go hand-in-hand with the job. most of the hero characters we’ve seen don’t have families, and I have to assume that’s not a coincidence. so to me, all of this means that if a hero character actually does go through with starting a family, it means they wanted that family more than anything, and you can bet they freaking love the shit out of said family. I have no doubt that RLR is and will continue to be an amazing dad

plus his kid is just too damn cute

2. Aizawa

dad score - 95/100

first of all, if this was a ranking of Hottest BnHA Dads, you better believe he’d be at the very top and it would be no contest

he has 20 kids and somehow he’s able to handle each and every one of them

risked his life to save the kids barely two weeks into the school year with no hesitation, even though he nearly died

did the same thing again barely two months later. this time thankfully without the nearly dying

has the total respect and trust of each and every kid in his class. and considering the personalities of some of them, that’s no small feat

specifically, it says a lot that even Bakugou doesn’t give him any lip and always listens to him without complaint and is even polite

speaking of Bakugou, he defended him to that Jerk Reporter during the Hideout Raid arc and proved that he understands his students better than anyone

isn’t afraid to deal out strict discipline when the situation calls for it, but it’s always for the students’ own good

isn’t above trolling the shit out of his kids on occasion when he feels like it

is good with kids of all ages and not just teenagers, as evidenced by how good he also was with Kouta during the forest invasion arc

lastly, as we saw in chapter 136, he has an untold repertoire of secret dad moves just waiting to be unleashed, such as (a) crouching down to a seated Deku’s eye level, and (b) gently punching him in the chest while affectionately calling him by a nickname. who knows what other moves this man has in reserve. I for one can’t wait to see more

1. All Might

dad score - 96/100

indisputable best dad. A+. although even he didn’t get a perfect score, because nobody is perfect and there’s always room for improvement

always knows exactly what to say. despite constantly seeming to stress about it. probably he only stresses because he cares so much and he’s worried about doing things exactly right

loving father to the two most difficult children in the whole series, Midoriya “which bones did you break this time” Izuku, and Bakugou “like I said, anyone who even attempts to parent this child automatically deserves a medal” Katsuki

this man literally got down on his hands and knees and begged Deku’s mom to let him try to be the Best Dad Ever to her child. he loves him so fucking much

gives THE best dad hugs

I need more All Might hugs

honorable mentions: 

Nighteye (I forgot about him until after I had already made the list and was too lazy to go back and insert him in his rightful place at number 3. 92/100. loses points for FUCKING DYING AND MAKING ME CRY)

Fat Gum (same deal as Nighteye in that I forgot about him. 75/100. he’s loving and jolly and gives out free candy, but he let Kirishima get all beat up. BE MORE CAREFUL NEXT TIME)

Vlad King (haven’t seen his dad skills in action much, but according to his profile he’s nicer to his kids than Aizawa is. okay but DID HE NEARLY MAKE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE FOR THEM though. because Aizawa did. 85/100)

Present Mic (not a dad. is at best a Weird Uncle. 70/100)

Jirou’s Dad (I forgot about him too lol. he’s a wacky dad who likes to rock and roll! he tried to be a Stern Dad to impress All Might and Aizawa but failed miserably. took his wife’s last name!! so secure in his own masculinity. wants his daughter to live her best life and follow her passions. 93/100. he’s fucking great)

[soveryanon]

Reviewing time for MAG153! … Abridged version because I messed up my planning orz

- And we finally got an actual Corruption statement this season!! You made it into season 4, babe!!

I like how its Crawling Moment Of Awesomeness came little by little:

(MAG140) BASIRA: Er… Jon. What’s this. [DRY SOUND] ARCHIVIST: Mm? … Oh. That’s… [SILENCE] That, uh, that’s… my rib? BASIRA: … Right. [PUTS IT DOWN] ARCHIVIST: Yup… BASIRA: And… the jar of ashes. ARCHIVIST: Not– Not mine; I–I mean, it belongs to me, I–I guess, but it’s not… Er, stationery is in the other drawer?

(MAG145) ARTHUR: [SNORT] Slumlording over a nest. GERTRUDE: Oh. A nest of… what? ARTHUR: Found a mass of the Crawling Rot growing, a while back. Managed to get a hold of the property before it became too big. Gotta wait ‘til it blossoms before we can properly burn it.

(MAG152) HELEN: Hello, Jon. Been a while since you’ve been down here. ARCHIVIST: [ANGRY EXHALE] I didn’t come here to see you. HELEN: Oh, come now. I’m sure I’m more interesting company than the late Jane Prentiss. ARCHIVIST: [SIGH] … It’s all that left of her now. Apart from a… jar of ashes in my desk. Just a circle of rotten stone on an otherwise… unremarkable wall.

(MAG153) ARCHIVIST: This, well… The Corruption at work, if I had to guess, though with unsettling echoes of a… “Fleshliness”.

Jane, The Hive, Jane&The Hive, and now The Corruption for itself.

It’s… an obvious things given Smirke’s name for it (well, at least Gerry’s), but one of the things I find very interesting with Corruption is how it… does that. Rather than insects for themselves, it “corrupts” something, quite often perceived as “pure” and/or “absolute”: Jane craving for “something beyond [her]self” (MAG032), the malarial research turning horribly badly (MAG045), Private Amherst giving his bed to the injured soldiers who needed it more than him (MAG068), little Gordon helping the old Maggie (MAG084), Lester Chang’s not-that-healthy new relationship with his father-in-law and his subsequent obsession for cleanliness (MAG093), Benoît Maçon’s desperation for love (MAG102), Jon’s third victim from season 4 (MAG146: “A man rejected by all who knew him, searching ever-darker places for love. When he told me his story, he started… weeping maggots.”), The Divine Chain cult turning the notion of selfless love into a requirement (MAG153)… which tied in with everything turning Wrong when the dog “Agapē” joined it and that so-called ~pure~ love just opened the door for… spooks.

- But also:

(MAG153, Barbara Mullen-Jones) “I hit my “lowest point” when I turned 41. That’s when my life came crashing down; at least on the inside. From the outside, I’m sure everything looked… pretty much okay. I was getting gigs, I had a job, I had plenty of friends and a supportive family… But that was when I started to properly look at my life, and I… really didn’t like what was looking back…! I was a stand-up comedian, you see, and a really good one. That’s not boasting, that’s just the truth. And I’d always assumed that that was enough to eventually have real success. And for the first… ten years, it seemed like I was right. I worked my way up, performed for basically nothing basically every night, and got to be pretty successful.

… And I stayed that way for the next ten years. [SIGH]

Trouble is, do you know how much a “pretty successful comedian” makes? Let’s just say I had a full-time office job and was still barely making rent. But between working full-time and gigging full-time, I just kept putting off everything else in my life. Always so sure the big time was just around the corner. “This is the TV spot that gets me noticed.” “This is the sell-out fringe show that makes me mainstream.” “This is the deal that actually goes somewhere.”

I made it through turning 40 with my self-image intact, but for some reason, at 41 I just… cracked. I realised I had spent most of my life with nothing to show for it but a few awards no one cares about, a string of… awful comedian exes who broke up with me for being funnier than them… and a dreadful office job [SIGH] I was going to be working until I died, because I’d never bothered to build a stable career. I was never going to own a home; never going to have kids; never going to have the life I’d spent my entire youth sacrificing for.”

… Yes, I know I just quoted the whole beginning of the statement but: a lot of the RQ crew and their friends are comedians, sooo, uhhh. RQ folks, are you okay.

- Abridged version as promised, but things I liked: how you could understand why the statement-giver got wrapped up in the cult, but also how… she didn’t really belong there indeed, because she was mostly focusing on the form of it (the kind words, the contact, the work in itself, the wine production), like she was attracted to the gratuitous symbolisms around the meditation course, but not truly receptive to… the meat of things, what was behind the shape of it, what was at the core?

How she was, at the end, extremely petty about the cult’s failure (“There’s a part of me that’s glad. A sick little part that’s happy that whatever “love” was there, whatever I couldn’t be a part of, is gone from the world. And no one else gets it either.”).

How, oops, a fair amount of officers in the American police may have signed their local equivalent of a Section 31 form… or else, Gertrude or Adelard had been around, because explosives (“The compound was destroyed in an “accidental generator explosion”, and everything was gone.”)

How, once again, we got a statement with an exterior shape reminescent of different Fears (Jon pointing it out at the end, a “fleshliness”), like a few other recent ones? Though this one was a bit spelled out for us. (“And when you’re at that point, it’s astounding what can crawl into your heart – and start to fester there. […] Or if they… came about after things started to change. Started to go rotten.”)

How the statement was about leaving everything to settle in America… while later in the episode, Julia&Trevor revealed that they had come back from it to England.

How the simple representation of the world encouraged by the cult found a kind of echo with Julia&Trevor, simplistically separating people between monsters (preys) and the rest?

- … So, once again: why is Jon reading these specific statements, since he came back from Ny-Ålesund?

* MAG146, “Threshold”: Jon did mention that he had been pulled towards that one when he began to focus on Hill Top Road (“I spent so long looking for it, back when I found his father’s, and… no luck. But now, I decide to start looking properly into Hill Top Road, and all of a sudden… I’m drawn to rearrange a filing cabinet – and what do I find behind it?”)

* MAG147, “Weaver”: left by Annabelle to Fuck Him Up.

* MAG148, “Extended Surveillance”: Beholding, someone getting taken over by Beholding and obsessing over his friend.

* MAG150, “Cul-de-Sac”: Hey, The Power Of MLM Love Can Save Someone From The Lonely Zone If You Reach For Them xoxoxo.

* MAG152, “A Gravedigger’s Envy”: Someone falling deeper and deeper (ha) into their shiny new patron and Enjoying What They’re Doing.

* MAG153, “Love Bombing”: how someone got indoctrinated into a cult, and dodged a bullet by being dismissed from it because they didn’t believe/Feel It enough.

Has it been Annabelle still messing with him? Beholding? A reflection of Jon’s own preoccupations, that’s been leading him towards the few last ones?

- Aka: was that once again Annabelle cackling in Jon’s face because WOW, these first few lines sure felt like someone cackling in Jon’s face:

(MAG153, Barbara Mullen-Jones) “Everyone thinks they’re too smart to get involved in a cult. I’m sure you do. You think, that at the first mention of “aliens”, or the end of the world, or the lost book of the Bible, where Jesus buried his Holy Staff in the foothills of the Himalayas… you’d go running. Trouble is, that misunderstands how it works. I mean, when I was with The Divine Chain, some of the smartest people there were also the most committed. Intelligence doesn’t make you less prone to taking on bad ideas, it just makes you better at defending them…! To other people, and to yourself. Smart people can believe some truly ridiculous things, and then deploy all the reason and logic at their disposal to justify them. Because belief doesn’t begin in your mind – it begins in your feelings.”

… So once again, Jon’s reaction is a priceless “jON???” moment because:

(MAG153) ARCHIVIST: Statement ends. [SIGH] … I swear. I almost find the cult dedicated to the Dark Powers of Fear easier to understand than the more mundane sort. At least they have some consistency.

“What’s going on?” / Jon: *clicks “I’m in this statement and I don’t like it.”*

Oh My Gods, Jon… you read so many statements… they work/proceed exactly the same… getting you when you’re vulnerable… filling in what you’re craving and lacking, with the mix of “making you think you were shaped for them” and “shaping you for them” in turn…

(At least, he wasn’t in denial over the fact that the Dread Powers are “cults”. That would have been harder for him to do, anyway; and he didn’t deny it in the past when Georgie (MAG083, “Look me in the eyes and tell me that it’s not part of the cult or whatever the hell it was that left you homeless.”) and Jude (MAG089, “I don’t suppose I could talk to anyone else in your, um…” “It’s fine, you can call it a cult.”) both used the term. Still. Jon, there is no comfort/pride/excuse to get by trying to claim that the Fears Gods you’ve been involved with are more effective than your ~regular~ cults.)

- … How did Julia&Trevor manage to leave America? Last time we had heard of them, they were stuck:

(MAG109) ARCHIVIST: And… [SIGH] why America? JULIA: [FAINT GROAN] TREVOR: [CHUCKLE] Heard tell there were a wolfman…! JULIA: [LAUGH] TREVOR: Old Dave, he’s down in Plymouth, swore blind his brother had seen one on the Pacific Crest trail– JULIA: I told Trevor he was a liar, but here we are anyway. Have been for a couple of years…! TREVOR: Hey, now – no wolfman, sure, but there’ve been plenty out here that would needs killing! JULIA: [LONG-SUFFERING SIGH] True enough. Plus, it’s hard to leave. We’re not exactly here legally and trying to get a flight home would get us noticed by authorities we’d rather avoid. TREVOR: I keep telling her we could hop a boat! JULIA: And I tell him I’d rather stay hunting here than trap myself on a boat for two weeks!

(Julia has Bad History with water.)

- I wasn’t incredibly clear on the post-statement scenography – I assumed there had been a gunshot at first (but it wasn’t tagged in the content warnings, although it had consistently been in previous episodes), so was that loud bang… Jon’s door? Or the trapdoor? being violently banged open?

(There was the chair scraping on the floor when Julia was ordering Jon to stay sitting, so for that, I pictured her hands on his shoulder and at some point, them pinning his arms in his back and slamming his head on the table.)

- Loving how Julia’s perception of Jon doesn’t change:

(MAG107) JULIA: We can chat in the car! I’m sure you’ve got a ton of librarian stories, the miles will just fly by.

(MAG153) JULIA: Sure. Or: I slit your little bookworm’s throat…!

Jon Is Just A Nerd, uh.

- I really love how Jon “Can’t Shut His Mouth” Sims and Julia “Sims, Shut The Fuck Up” Montauk’s dialogue:

(MAG153) ARCHIVIST: [VENOMOUS] Gerry wasn’t “yours”. You had no right– [SLAMMING SOUND] TREVOR: Oh, you hear that, Julia? “Gerry”. JULIA: Sounds like it got pretty chummy…! Where is he? […] JULIA: Sure. Or: I slit your little bookworm’s throat…! DAISY: Do it. That give me a chance to finish off your dad. TREVOR: I’m not her father…! ARCHIVIST: Not by blood, maybe…! JULIA: Shut. it. ARCHIVIST: [GROAN OF PAIN]

… was basically an exchange of “YOU’RE JUST A USELESS BI” “OH YEAH? AND YOU HAVE DADDY ISSUES.”

Jon. Jon, please.

(Guuuh over Julia’s “You always do what evil books tell you to, do you?” because… she can’t know, but to say that to someone who had almost been taken by Mr Spider because following the book’s thread? Aouch.)

- And my heart BREAKS over the fact that Julia&Trevor are reproaching him… what was the Most Obviously Anti-Beholding thing Jon has ever done, back in season 3 – fulfilling the promise he had made to Gerry, and freeing/actually killing him, even if it caused himself pain in the process. But for Julia&Trevor, it’s precisely what made him an enemy just like any other monster.

(MAG153) ARCHIVST: He asked me to. JULIA: Oh, really? You always do what evil books tell you to, do you? TREVOR: Gotta say, I’m disappointed. Genuinely thought you were different. But you’re just another monster. Not even worth the chase…! JULIA: You want the honours, old man. TREVOR: Don’t mind if I do~!

Aouch. (I wonder what part of it was rightful anger at being deprived of their “monster manual”, and how much was actually a pretext to kill someone they had so far deemed as vaguely spooky, though? Interestingly, they didn’t mention that they felt like Jon had gotten worse or anything. According to their words, they only wanted to kill Jon because they felt that he had betrayed them and that siding with Gerry meant that he was “another monster”.)

- And bringing back the mention of Gerry and the book… also puts Eric Delano back to mind. Gerry only knew that his mother had used his father as training material with the book, but he didn’t find him inside. We know that Mary gave Gertrude a page, implying that it was Eric’s (“what’s left of him”), but Jon didn’t find it in Gertrude’s secret stash either:

(MAG111) GERARD: I never knew my dad. Not really. He worked in the Archives like you, but quit once I was born. I think he wanted to help raise me. But mum didn’t need the help, and after me she wasn’t able to have kids again, so she killed him in his sleep to practice her bookbinding. I guess she failed. I always thought he was in here, but when I eventually got hold of it, there wasn’t a page in there.

(MAG062) MARY: The End, of course. I could never truly serve it; I just don’t find death that interesting. I’ve always found a singular devotion far too restrictive. Just ask Eric… or what’s left of him. […] GERTRUDE: And do you have any proof of this? Your… “magic book”. MARY: Yeah. [PAPER RUSTLING] You can keep this page. I made sure it was in English. GERTRUDE: Go– Who… who is it? MARY: A surprise, dear. Just make sure you’re alone when you read it. [CHAIR SCRAPING] Goodbye, Gertrude. Wish me luck. [DOOR OPENING] [DOOR CLOSING] GERTRUDE: Well. I–I don’t… really know what to add to that. If what she says is true, I should think carefully before reading this page aloud. I should probably destroy it. [GRUNT] I do rather hate the smell of burning skin. Anyway… that’s a decision for another day. [CHAIR SCRAPING] [FLOORBOARD OPENING] [FLOORBOARD CLOSING] […] ARCHIVIST: […] But in spite of all that, I’m… strangely excited. Because what sticks out to me more than anything else in that tape… is the very distinctive floorboard, at the end. [CLOTHES RUFFLING] One that hasn’t changed in the eight years since this statement was given. There’s never been any reason to look closely at a random section of floor. This bit wasn’t even breached by any of the worms. [FLOORBOARD OPENS] Because it had Gertrude’s hidden compartment beneath it. Hmm. No… strange skin page. But there is a laptop. And a key. I wonder what it opens. End supplement. [CLICK.]

So… the question is still up – did Gertrude burn the page in the end? We know that she had burned a few things down in the tunnels, including at least one Leitner. Did she keep the page and is it stored somewhere? And if so… why would have she kept it? Eric was likely one of her assistants before Gerry was born, and Gertrude sounded… rather fond of him:

(MAG085) ARCHIVIST: Date of original statement unclear, though paper quality likely puts it at between twenty and thirty years ago. […] There are some… short pieces of correspondence in the file, addressed to Gertrude, from someone called, er, Eric Delano, confirming that while he typed out this statement, he has no memory of doing so, and requesting some sick leave to address… persistent migraines he has developed.

(MAG137) GERTRUDE: […] And I will admit I’ve grown… fond of the boy. I wonder, if I told him about Eric – whether he’d follow in his father’s footsteps. Still, that’s not like it kept Eric safe in The End.

A few things: Gerry did point out to Jon that he was surprised that Gertrude had apparently managed to get Mary to teach her how to book-bind (MAG111: “I just had to make sure I took the book while my mum was fading, and brought it to her, and then she would free me. I didn’t really believe her, I don’t think, but I did it anyway. When she returned the book to me a week later, her pages burned and mangled, I think I actually cried with relief. I never even considered that my mum might have taught Gertrude how to make pages for it before she was destroyed.”). Could Gertrude have learned it through Eric instead of Mary? Gerry also mentioned that, beyond the fact that Gertrude had chosen to imprison him within the book, he didn’t understand why she had left him behind (MAG111: “I think… I think I finally understand why she brought me back. I just don’t understand why she left me behind.”) – and, indeed, why…? Was it because she had been too freaked out by her arrest (although the book… stayed behind, unclaimed, and she could have got her hands back on it legally)? Was it because Gertrude wanted to leave behind a few hints about her actions, in case she got killed before achieving her goals? Was it because she wanted to retrieve it later, when things would be safer…? (That’d be extremely sentimental coming from her, but if she had kept Eric’s page… could it be that she had planned for Gerry and Eric to meet somehow at some point? If so: AOUCH, because Jon gave Gerry what he wanted, what he asked for… but if Jon were to discover that Eric’s page was still intact and that Gerry could have met his father at last? That… would hurt, uh.)

- Julia&Trevor being back in the game means that they… potentially share a connection with everyone in Team Archives, one way or another:

* Jon was Hunted by Julia, kidnapped/“bodyguarded” by her (MAG107), took Julia&Trevor’s statement about how they met (MAG109), stole Gerry’s page from them (MAG111) before burning it (MAG117). They were already on the fence about Jon’s status as a potential prey back then, but they had at least some interests in common with him (the world not ending, perceiving Max Mustermann as an enemy); right now, Julia&Trevor are clearly labelling Jon as a target and as an overall “monster” – plus, they have the grudge about the page and… there is the fact that Jon’s dreams contained them:

(MAG153) JULIA: [LAUGHS] You’ve got something of ours. TREVOR: “Someone”. JULIA: Took him right from under our noses…! TREVOR: In our own house. JULIA: I call that rude, don’t you? ARCHIVIST: [VENOMOUS] Gerry wasn’t “yours”. You had no right– [SLAMMING SOUND] TREVOR: Oh, you hear that, Julia? “Gerry”. […] Not gonna ask you again, son. ARCHIVIST: I burned the page. Released him. [SILENCE] TREVOR: Aren’t that right noble of you. JULIA: Proper humanitarian. TREVOR: So. [INHALE] Let me get this straight! We take ye in; protect ye from the thing that’s huntin’ ye… JULIA: Spared your life! Even though you’re no better. TREVOR: Help you; give you access to one of our most valuable resources; and you steal it from us, piss off back to England, and then… burn it?! [SHUFFLING] That’s just inconsiderate.

(MAG120) ELIAS: The dark building is newer, but he knows it well; knows the two lost souls who creep through it with an alert hunger on their faces. He recognizes that look from the other Hunter whose dreams he's watched for so long. They stalk the darkness itself, and hope to catch and kill it before it can do the same to them. They see him watching, but they cannot catch his scent.

… Even for Jon’s standards, that’s a lot. Usually, people wanted him dead because of the “Archivist” title and/or because he was marked by The Eye (Jane Prentiss, the Not!Them, Nikola, Michael-The-Distortion in MAG101…), not for… personal reasons, for things Jon himself had done. (… The only exception had been, interestingly… Daisy. Daisy who wanted to rip him apart because he had forced her to give him her statement, and because she kept seeing him in her dreams.)

(* Obviously Peter, and potentially Martin, because:

(MAG153) TREVOR: [SHAKING SIGH] … Come on, Julia. JULIA: What?! TREVOR: There’s no rush. [CHORTLING] We’ve got all the time in the world. Besides… this place is just full of monsters. She can’t guard ’em all.

There Are Other “Monsters” Here.

Would they sense the spooks from Martin, nowadays…?)

* Daisy used to be a Hunter like them, but has decided to stop serving. Trevor used to perceive The Hunt as an “addiction”, occasionally managed to make himself quit it, but when Jon met him in June 2017, Trevor had returned to The Hunt and already decided that he was getting a fair deal out of it, all things considered:

(MAG056, Trevor Herbert) “In the early 80s, I was deep in the grip of my twin addictions. As I mentioned, after a while, The Hunt became an addiction of its own. Of the two, I’ve always found heroin the easier one to quit. […] But The Hunt… the hunt is a purpose. It’s not just a way to get through the day, it’s a reason for there to be a day at all. […] Ah, it’s a shame I’m on the way out. I will miss The Hunt.”

(MAG109) ARCHIVIST: I–I mean, yes… But the situation has changed quite a bit. Last I heard, you were dying of lung cancer…! TREVOR: I was. ARCHIVIST: And now…? TREVOR: I’m not. [CHUCKLE] ARCHIVIST: And, and that doesn’t strike you as… odd. TREVOR: Not much I see these days isn’t “odd”, somehow or other. Not gonna turn my nose up at that one bit that worked out well for me. I hunt monsters; my lungs don’t kill me. [HUFF] Seems like a fair trade. No big job, today.

Daisy antagonised them both, Julia & Daisy are quite obviously ready and willing to jump at each other’s throat again… Which is a bad sign for Daisy, since they’re bringing back her murderous thoughts.

(On the one hand, their antagonism could push Daisy back into The Hunt’s waiting arms. On the other hand… it could go another way – though that would feel very hopeful: now that Trevor has been acknowledged as being a father figure for Julia… could it lead to Trevor pushing Julia out of The Hunt, because he would care more about her well-being than about hunting with her and he knows what a life of Hunt does to you?)

* BASIRA WAS WITH THE SECTION’D OFFICERS WHO RAIDED RAYNER’S LAST BODY-THEFT ATTEMPT, AND SHE WITNESSED HIS DEATH.

Especially since Basira&Jon have just come out of a mini-Dark arc… it feels especially relevant? Julia lost both her mother and her father to the People’s Church of the Divine Host, because of Rayner, and she had herself been scared of The Dark for long:

(MAG109) JULIA: There was another reason that I chose to work nights. If you read my statement, then I’m sure it will come as no surprise that for most of my life, I’ve had a pretty significant fear of the dark. I used to lie awake at night; listening, straining my ears for the noise of movement or that… dreadful growl coming out of the dark. It was one of my better counsellors that suggested I try working nights as a way to address it. And it worked! For the most part.

Amongst other things, we recently had confirmation of what had happened to Julia’s mom through Manuela’s statement:

(MAG143) MANUELA: You were not the first to try and stop us, you know. Not even within living memory. I was but newly joined when [Lynette] fled the Church, and Maxwell had her silenced. But I remember her brute of a husband. He fed the beast for us, you know, when first he believed [Lynette] might still be saved. Then, later, we faithful served as his fuel to banish it. But, not for long. That’s the thing about Darkness, isn’t it? You try your hardest to eradicate, flood your surroundings with light, but it’s always there at the edges – waiting for the glow to weaken, to return and cover you forever. Robert Montauk discovered that the hard way.

(And in return: Manuela mentioned that Darvish had “crossed a Montauk, which has… traditionally gone poorly for us.”, which was an allusion to Julia and was covered by the story she told Jon in MAG109.)

Why Robert Montauk did what he did and what happened to her mother could still be elements that Julia would be interested to know. (Or… not anymore, because she tried to leave that life behind her, but… still, I have trouble picturing that it would be a coincidence that she would be back right after Jon&Basira heard that story.)

* … I’m especially worried about Melanie, since her “connection” to Trevor&Julia is that… they burned down the Ivy Meadows care home, including what was left of Melanie’s father:

(MAG036, Nicole Baxter) “I turned and began to sprint back towards my car. I had to get away, to get out. Then, without warning, I felt something heavy hit me in the side and I lost my footing, falling to the ground. I looked up to see an old man pinning me to the ground, his long, white beard matted and filthy. I screamed and tried to escape, but his age seemed to have done nothing to diminish his strength, and he kept his grip easily. Then he spoke in a thick Mancunian accent and told me to keep my voice down. I noticed that his skin was unblemished pink, and behind him stood a young woman, tall and lean with close-cropped hair and a deep scar over her right eye. She carried a large canvas bag, and was shaking her head, telling the old man to leave me alone. After a few suspicious glances, he got up. I could swear I recognised him from somewhere, but when I asked the two of them who they were, they just shook their heads and told me to leave. I asked them what was going on, and the old man looked at his companion, as if asking permission, said something about knowledge being a good defence here. She shook her head and said that leaving quickly was a better one. I didn’t need to be told a third time. I got in my car, and I left them to their work. I didn’t turn around even when I saw the smoke start to rise behind me.”

[…] ARCHIVIST: The Ivy Meadows Care Home in Woodley was officially decommissioned in July 2011, a month before the first of these alleged calls came in. It burned down on the 4th of September that same year after a leaking gas main caught fire.

(MAG106) ELIAS: Your father was your last real anchor, wasn’t he? [STATIC RISES.] MELANIE: That’s none of your business. ELIAS: Perhaps. Five years is plenty of time to grieve. It’s a real tragedy, isn’t it – dementia? Oh, especially so early. But he always remembered you, didn’t he? “Little moth”. MELANIE: Shut. up. ELIAS: At least, you got him into a decent care home. Hard to afford on an irregular income like yours, but… your mother’s life-insurance helped plenty. And Ivy Meadows wasn’t as expensive as some of them! It’s a shame, about the fire. But I’d have thought it would offer something of a relief. MELANIE: Wh–what are you talking about…? ELIAS: Oh. Of course. They told you he died in his sleep, didn’t they? Smoke inhalation. A real tragedy, but at least he didn’t suffer. MELANIE: I… ELIAS: Do you want to know what really killed him? [STATIC RISES] MELANIE: [SHOCKED INHALE] [RAGGED BREATHING] [TAPE RECORDER HISSING] ELIAS: Awful, isn’t it? He really suffered. Not… really your fault, just bad luck. MELANIE: [RAGGED BREATHING TURNING INTO SOBS] ELIAS: That doesn’t comfort you, does it?

And I have no idea how Melanie will take that news. Able to remain stable and/or to decide that it may have been a mercy-kill? Refusing to feel any gratitude-adjacent feeling towards then, since they did it as Hunters (so, not to save innocents or to put the residents out of their suffering… but because there were monsters to kill)? Anger and resentment at what they did? (Would Melanie team up with them if it’s about tracking down Amherst…?)

- … So, Julia and Trevor just Got Inside Of The Institute Like That, and violence’d Jon, and would have gone for the kill if Daisy hadn’t stepped in:

(MAG153) TREVOR: Gotta say, I’m disappointed. Genuinely thought you were different. But you’re just another monster. Not even worth the chase…! JULIA: You want the honours, old man. TREVOR: Don’t mind if I do~! JULIA: [CHUCKLES] TREVOR: [CHUCKLES] DAISY: [FAR] Get away from him.

……………….. So, once again: pETER.

(S4 trailer) MARTIN: … Yeah. Yeah, I know. [PAUSE] I’m, er… I’m actually with him now. [SNIFFING] You were right. [PAUSE] … yeah. Yeah, I know. [LONG INHALE] I… [EXHALE] … Will they be safe? [PAUSE] … Okay… [INHALE] Okay! I’ll do it. Yeah. Sure thing.

(MAG126) PETER: Martin, this is what we agreed. After The Flesh attacked, you came to me. MARTIN: [SIGH] PETER: And I’ve held up my end of the bargain, despite your continued hesitation. Your friends have been largely untroubled by the many – many – enemies that they have made. MARTIN: What about the delivery guy? Breekon. And the coffin? PETER: Was that its name? To be honest with you, I thought it was dead. MARTIN: You thought wrong. PETER: True enough. And as soon as I learned it was here, I moved to intervene, but, well. It turns out I wasn’t really needed. And as far as the coffin goes, there’s not much I can do about a bull-headed Archivist– MARTIN: [EXPLOSIVE EXHALE] PETER: –who seems hellbent on self-destruction. My powers only extend so far. […] As I said, one of the last shreds of the Circus delivered a gateway into Too-Close-I-Cannot-Breathe. I went to help, but was too late. Then, your detective friend– MARTIN: No, she’s not a dete– PETER: –went on one of Elias’s wild-goose chases, then Jon wilfully hurled himself into the coffin. I did not intervene, because thankfully, I did not agree to protect your friends from their own idiocy.

(MAG142) MARTIN: … Anyway. So, what’s this field trip they’re on? DAISY: They, uh… they didn’t tell you? MARTIN: [DRY CHUCKLE] No, I… What. … [QUICKLY] Daisy, where have they gone? DAISY: You know that town in Norway? MARTIN: What? I… Wai– Wh–what?! You don’t mean Ny-Ålesund? DAISY: Yyyeah. They reckon there’s a ritual they need to, you know… MARTIN: Yeah, but Peter didn’t even men–…! [OPENS DRAWERS, SHUFFLES THROUGH THINGS] I don’t believe this! DAISY: Sorry. Shouldn’t have said anything. MARTIN: No, no, it’s… thank you, I just… [CLOSES DRAWER] For God’s sake, can he not stay safe for like, for like ten minutes?!

(MAG151) MARTIN: How honest has he been with me? SIMON: About which part? MARTIN: Protecting the others. SIMON: I think he tried. I suspect he may have slightly exaggerated his abilities when you first made the deal, but he certainly expended a reasonable amount of influence and resources to follow through. MARTIN: But… [EXPLOSIVE SIGH] But that was never the endgame, was it? He just wanted me on side long enough to rope me into his… his plans for The Extinction.

1°) I doubt that we’ll get to hear Martin learning about Julia&Trevor’s irruption in the Archives on tape, but PLEASE, I WANT TO HEAR HIS SHRIEKS WHEN HE DOES…

2°) We’re more likely to hear him explode in Peter’s face about it, though.

3°) That is, if Peter doesn’t flee into The Lonely forever to escape Martin’s wrath. Jokes aside: I don’t think that Martin will be surprised, at this point, because Simon has now confirmed to him that… Peter isn’t as strong/useful as a defender as he claimed. And this probably won’t be a game-changer for Martin… unless it pushes him to press Peter to unfold The Plan already, at last, because the longer they wait, the longer Jon and the others are kept vulnerable.

(… Though: they should still be defenceless, whether Martin&Peter’s plan(s) succeed or not? Peter promised their safety, however… was he referring to extending his own protection to them (because we now have confirmation that that deal was mostly a scam), or because Martin would become something else and/or trigger something that could keep them safe in the long run…?)

- … Meanwhile, Elias had suggested another “defender” to Basira:

(MAG127) BASIRA: … So why am I here? What do you want that’s so important you needed to tell me to my face? ELIAS: I believe you’ve recently lost Melanie. BASIRA: … We saved Melanie. ELIAS: As a person, yes, but as a defender… I would have thought you would want all the help you could get, or… have you forgotten what happened last time you lay your guard down? BASIRA: … We’ll work it out. ELIAS: Possibly. Then again: you are beset by enemies on all sides, Basira. And unless you expect Jon to record them into submission, it would seem you’re in rather dire need of another option. BASIRA: … And you just happen to have one. ELIAS: I might have an idea, yes. BASIRA: And what does it cost? ELIAS: Just some of your time, Basira. Just your time.

(MAG135) BASIRA: Like hell you don’t! Every lead, a dead end. Every contact, vanished or dead. I’ve spent three weeks bouncing all over the globe on your bad intel, because you said there was a way to bring Daisy back. ELIAS: There was. It required you to be absent. BASIRA: [EXPLOSIVE EXHALE] You wanted him to go in there. ELIAS: And you would never have allowed it, had you been present. BASIRA: Why? ELIAS: Would you simply believe I wanted you and Daisy reunited? BASIRA: No.

… and did he mean Jon (who would have developed his powers further), or Daisy, in the end? Directly post-coffin, Basira had been absolutely disappointed in Daisy’s state:

(MAG133) BASIRA: Yeah, I just… I didn’t realise she’d change into someone who… can’t look after herself. ARCHIVIST: [INHALE] BASIRA: Even without the muscle atrophy. ARCHIVIST: You were hoping for a defender. BASIRA: I was hoping for someone I can trust to share the load. Because right now, it’s all on me. ARCHIVIST: [SLOC EXHALES] It doesn’t have to be. BASIRA: Hm. ARCHIVIST: You’re not happy she is back. BASIRA: I didn’t say that, Jon. I would never abandon Daisy and, having her back is… [SIGH] But right now, she’s dead weight. And I need to be able to travel light.

But Daisy is proving that she’s still… kicking a bit, indeed. Or at least enough to chase away Julia&Trevor despite her, uh, current state:

(MAG153) DAISY: [FAR] Get away from him. JULIA: Oh… TREVOR: What’s this…? You got yourself a watchdog? JULIA: Well, more of a lapdog…! Scrawny, isn’t she? DAISY: [MENACINGLY] I said get back…! TREVOR: Malnourished, I’d say. How long since you last tasted blood? DAISY: [SHARP BREATHING] JULIA: You think you can take us both~? DAISY: … I’d enjoy it. Start with the old bastard – he’s slower, doesn’t guard his neck. And you worry about him too much, don’t you? I go for him, you get sloppy, predictable. […] TREVOR: [SHAKING SIGH] … Come on, Julia. JULIA: What?! TREVOR: There’s no rush. [CHORTLING] We’ve got all the time in the world. Besides… this place is just full of monsters. She can’t guard ’em all. JULIA: [PANTING] … Fine. DAISY: [GROWLS] [DOOR SLAMMED CLOSE]

I’m not absolutely sure whether the final growl was hers or Trevor’s and/or Julia’s, but, in any case, GODS, I love how Daisy has turned fiercely protective of her idiot Archivist.

- And at the same time, I’m heartbroken over Daisy but IN A GOOD WAY because I… was really fearing that she might have gone back to hunting behind the tapes’ back. But no. It’s… “just” that not Hunting is slowly killing her:

(MAG153) ARCHIVIST: Are you alright? DAISY: [BREATHLESS] Don’t touch me. ARCHIVIST: Christ, he was right, I, I didn’t… When did you get so thin? DAISY: I’m not, it’s fine. ARCHIVIST: … It’s The Hunt, isn’t it? Without it– DAISY: I’m fine. Just haven’t been hungry. I’m strong enough. ARCHIVIST: Clearly. DAISY: They’re not gone yet. We could still get them. [CLOTHES SHUFFLING] ARCHIVIST: Daisy, no. It’s like you say. “Don’t listen to the blood.” DAISY: [SLOWER BREATHES] … “Listen to the quiet”…

… And I wasn’t expecting Jon to spontaneously remind her not to Chase. To respect what Daisy had been fighting for, although he tried to argue with her overall decision shortly after. Gods, so with Melanie going on an Eye-strike, Jon not taking live-statements anymore, and Daisy being slowly killed by (the lack of) The Hunt… current Team Archives is slowly crumbling, and how long can it truly last…? Unless they find a way to temper the effects, or get better after a very bad period…?

- Also, no wonder Melanie and Daisy were getting closer, aaaah!! Same mindset of choosing death over feeding/getting fed by a Dread Power… with some nuances between the two: I’d say that Melanie’s stance feels more… ethical, after all (she didn’t want to contribute to The Fears’ system), while Daisy’s is really about doing things on her terms and not letting anything control her anymore? Although, as she pointed out, she is aware of the fact that she herself used to be involved in a (non-spooky, still very harmful) system and to be protected by it:

(MAG153) ARCHIVIST: Even so, if it’s having this much of an effect on you– DAISY: I’m not going back. I can’t let it in again. ARCHIVIST: But it– … What if it kills you? DAISY: [CHORTLE] Always said I was dedicated to justice…! ARCHIVIST: Daisy! It’s not… You can’t think like that. DAISY: Jon. Do you have any idea how much damage you can do if you’re a police officer who wants to hurt people? How much the system will protect you? [SHARP INHALE FROM JON] I managed to keep most of it from Basira, but…

(Well, despite Daisy’s attempts to hide it from her, Basira did know at the very least about Daisy illegally killing “monsters”. Basira wasn’t Perfectly Pure And Innocent when it came to condoning it, either.)

- I’m love Daisy, I love how frank she is about what she did, the fact that it was her… and also, that she decided she wouldn’t condone those things anymore ;;

(MAG142) MARTIN: It’s alright. Wasn’t you. [INHALE] Not really. DAISY: No, it was. I hate… a lot of what I did back then; doesn’t mean I’m not… responsible for it, doesn’t mean it… wasn’t me.

(MAG153) ARCHIVIST: That wasn’t you, that was The Hunt! DAISY: … [SIGH] We were the same. [SILENCE] ARCHIVIST: … You’d never known anything different. [SILENCE] DAISY: Because I never wanted to.

… And she’s also, implicitly, throwing what Jon Taught Her at his face:

(MAG121) OLIVER: I made a choice. We all made choices. Now, you have to– […] Make your choice, Jon.

(MAG132) DAISY: I hurt… a l–lot of people… and some who… who I shouldn’t have. Did you ever hear the, the story Elias told me? About what I did. How I am… He, he didn’t get a detail wrong. The Hunt… Hunger was in me all my life. Telling me who to chase, how to hurt them. I never needed to think… who I was outside of that. But down here, where I… I can’t hear the… blood anymore, I d–, I don’t… I don’t know who I am without, without the chase… I just know… that I… I don’t like who I was back outside. I don’t want to be her again. I want… to be… better… [PANTS] Y–you know what I thought wh–when I woke up here? I thought this was hell; I wa–, I was dead, and within hell. And I… eh, I–I knew I deserved it… I don’t want t–to be a s–sadistic predator again… I–I don’t want to… hobble around, like some pathetic, wounded prey either… I don’t know which would be worse. And I’m sc–scared, now, that I’ll never get the choice… ARCHIVIST: One thing I’ve learned, Daisy, is that we all get a choice. Even if it doesn’t feel like one.

(MAG136) ARCHIVIST: My– [PAUSE] [INHALE] [SIGH] My memories of the coma are not clear. But I know I made a choice; I made a choice to become… something else. Because I was afraid to die. But ever since then, I… I don’t know if I made the right decision; I–I’m stronger now, tougher, I can… … If I do die, now, or get sealed away somewhere forever… I don’t know if that’s a bad thing.

(MAG153) DAISY: All that time trapped was good for one thing: thinking. And I did a lot of it. I’ve made my choice. ARCHIVIST: Okay…! So what do we do when they come back? DAISY: I don’t know.

(Jon… you threw out so many encouraging words but still didn’t follow through on them yourself, uh? Because meanwhile, he had already attacked two people, and was trying to convince himself that he was being manipulated/pushed into doing it without having a say in it…)

And Jon Trying To Argue Hurt A Lot, because it’s very obvious that he’s projecting / seeing himself in her? He was eight when he encountered Mr. Spider’s book. Daisy was eleven when she met something (Slaughter woman?) who turned Calvin Benchley against her; indeed, she’s “never known anything else”, and it shaped her as a person (she became “Daisy” because of the scar the experience left her with). So, if Daisy, who has taken a stance (to stop being a Hunter and hurt people), were to decide that in the end, it’s too painful, it’s not worth it… maybe Jon thinks that he wouldn’t feel too bad about doing the same?

But no, Daisy is still saying that it’s not worth going back to her patron and hurting people, stripping Jon of that excuse and possibility right away. I still have no idea whether Jon will take inspiration from Melanie&Daisy, but… whatever he chooses in the end, we’ve had prime demonstrations that it’d indeed be his own choice – not the Web manipulating him, not Beholding replacing by something else, not the “ineluctability” of becoming a careless or ruthless monster, just his own personal decision to hurt rather than be hurt.

So; I still have no idea, I still feel like only Martin is the only one who can make things go forwards at the moment, but also, lots of plot threads are accumulating to just… explode at the same time and make a carnage.

MAG153’s title is Magnificent in its simplicity and… evocations. So. Could be a Slaughter thing, with a mix of Team Archives (/Daisy) getting wasted, but obviously, it puts Mary Keay and The End to mind. Though I don’t know what else we could get about Mary? Jon hasn’t said anything about running out of the stash of Gertrude’s tapes from Elias’s office, so it… could be one of them again (last one was MAG145, Gertrude&Arthur) – Gertrude talking with Ended!Mary after having invoked her page? Something from Eric Delano (in written form, or a recording with Gertrude while he was alive or dead) about his ~lovely wife~?