#like a third of the way through the book and it’s great so far

[adashofniallandasprinkleoflunacy]

Percy Jackson on god we’re gonna get you a break bro

[fiapple]

lonely castle in the mirror appealing to my drop-out trauma… rude.

[glorfindel-of-imladris]

I've mentioned this in passing in this post, but this is hands down my favourite line in The Fellowship of the Ring. The line speaks volumes about Glorfindel, and yet the details are easily missed by a first-time reader travelling along with Frodo and friends, and that's because not once does Glorfindel explain how significant his words and actions were. Yet there is so much to unpack! It is only left to us to appreciate them after learning more about this world.

“There are few even in Rivendell that can ride openly against the Nine…”

Again, Glorfindel only mentioned this in passing and did not explain, but the reason for this is because the only ones Rivendell would send to ride openly against the Nazgûl were special members of the Eldar: the Calaquendi, old Elves from Valinor and who have seen the light of the Two Trees. Gandalf later explains that these Elves “live at once in both worlds, and against both the Seen and Unseen they have great power”. The Nazgûl, as we learn, were wraiths that reside only in the Unseen world, and so to anyone else, they were invisible.

We know there were very few Calaquendi remaining in Middle-earth by the Third Age, and most of them reside in Rivendell. But even among them, likely only the warriors could be sent to go after the Nagzûl, chief of Sauron's servants. This early, we get a clue that Frodo and company have met someone extraordinary.

“It was my lot to take the Road…”

By “Road”, Glorfindel meant The Great East-West Road, an ancient road that cuts across Eriador from the Grey Havens to Rivendell and the Misty Mountains. This would have been the most perilous of the roads because it would have been the most obvious path passing through the Shire. Later, during the Council of Elrond, it would be mentioned that Sauron would be expecting the Ring to go from the Shire either to the Grey Havens or to Rivendell, both routes reached primarily via the Road.

It was to be expected therefore that this is the one path most guarded by the Enemy. Again, Glorfindel only mentions his task securing the Road in passing, but the fact that he got the most obvious and thus most perilous path speaks volumes of his ability and position in Rivendell. Only a few deemed able to ride openly against the Nine were sent out, and out of them, Glorfindel was the one sent to secure the most dangerous route. What ability and skill must this Elf have to be entrusted with such a task!

"I came to the Bridge of Mitheithel, and left a token there, nigh on seven days ago."

The Bridge of Mitheitel, or The Last Bridge, is the only way to cross the great River Hoarwell (Mitheitel) from Weathertop to Rivendell. Aragorn, as much as he could, avoided the Road, himself knowing the dangers possibly waiting for them there. Later though he tells the Hobbits, "I am afraid we must go back to the Road here for a while, [for we] have now come to the River Hoarwell... There is no way over it below its sources in the Ettenmoors, except by the Last Bridge on which the Road crosses."

Aragorn and the Hobbits therefore went to the Bridge dreading to encounter the Nazgûl, only to find it safe. Instead, Aragorn finds an elf-stone in the middle of the bridge, which gives him hope. We now learn that it was Glorfindel who left it there, for he has secured the Bridge, likely knowing how important it was to do so because unlike all other paths, this was the one path that Frodo and company would inevitably need to take. If the Enemy wanted to lay an ambush, they would have done so at the Bridge; strategically Glorfindel understood this, and coming after them at the Bridge was exactly what the company needed from him for them to stay safe.

“Three of the servants of Sauron were upon the Bridge, but they withdrew and I pursued them westward. I came also upon two others, but they turned away southward.”

Here once again is Glorfindel describing something incredible in the simplest of ways: the Nazgûl actually flee from him! Thus far in the book, the Nazgûl were the first source of terror for Frodo's company as well as for us, the readers, yet here Glorfindel was riding about with bells on his horse, not even trying to hide at all. He is the one hunting the Nazgûl and not the other way around, this was made very clear.

Glorfindel has been my favourite character from the start. He got me from their first meeting because he gave the Hobbits a sense of safety, even though they and we perhaps do not yet fully appreciate who he was and what he was capable of. As we read through the rest of the books, and even beyond through The Silmarillion, The Fall of Gondolin, The Peoples of Middle-earth and all these other books that share his history, I only learned to love him all the more. Years later, having read all these other books, I still sometimes just sit in awe thinking back on this first encounter in this first book, in the Fellowship of the Ring, about how Frodo and his friends met this seemingly humble Elf, who in actuality was literally an Elf of legend. Yet apparently one would not think it, encountering Glorfindel on the road.

[captainmalewriter]

Freak Accidents

Seth woke up in an incredibly good mood. Today was the big day and he knew it. He practically jumped out of bed as soon as he heard his phone alarm go off for 7 in the morning. Seth walked to his bedroom door, opened it slightly, and stuck his ear in the crack. He waited for a moment, listening, but as far as he could tell, the house was almost completely silent. The only noise he could just barely make out was the sound of his tío Ronnie sleeping down the hallway. Seth smiled, then closed his door again. Seth then opened the closet and pulled out a leather bound book he had stashed in the back. The book was called the Tonis Maximus. It was in tatters, ready to fall apart at any second, but he made extra sure to keep it safe. 

The Tonis wasn’t like any other old, beaten down book. While it seemed to be nothing special on the outside, it actually held a plethora of magical knowledge on the inside. Seth was able to get hands on it thanks to his job at the city library. The book was just sitting in the library archives along with all the other books nobody's checked out in years. It was dismissed as being just another collection of old myths and folklore. Nobody knew the great power the Tonis contained, nobody except Seth. He was digging around in the archives one day when he stumbled upon the book. Out of pure boredom, he decided to read a page or two out of the Tonis. From the moment he first laid eyes on it, a world full of supernatural phenomena was opened up to Seth. Realizing what kind of power the book contained, Seth decided to smuggle the Tonis out of the library and keep it all for himself. 

Since he first obtained the book several years ago, Seth has been studying up on its magical content. He’s tried his hand at turning objects into gold through alchemy, predict the future through clairvoyance, and he’s even communicated with souls of the dead! Although Seth was very limited in what he could do (casting magic was very draining on the body after all), he was still on his way to becoming a proper witch. And the best part? Nobody except Seth knew about the Tonis!

Seth sat on his bed and he opened the Tonis to a page he had bookmarked. The bookmarked page contained instructions for the latest ritual Seth wanted to master. Body possession. 

Seth read through the directions, then took off his clothes just as the book said to do. He then pulled out his phone and recorded a quick video of himself.

“Alright, Seth here, I’ll be attempting the body possession spell again. Hopefully the third time’s the charm, but even if it fails again, I’ll just try again until I get it right. I’m staying at my uncle’s place in Mexico for the summer, so I got plenty of time to perfect this spell. Wish me luck!”

Seth finished recording his self-documentary and put away his phone. He paused for a moment to reflect on his previous attempts. The first time he used the spell was when he tried to possess his neighbor back home. While he managed to get inside his body, the bodybuilder had no problem expelling his soul right out through sheer willpower. The second attempt was no better. He used it to possess his old high school principal, but although he got inside his body, he couldn’t move at all! Seth was starting to grow impatient after having back to back failures. He wanted to get it right this time, and with tío Ronnie on standby, he was sure he’ll nail it down in no time!

Seth placed his hand on his doorknob and took a deep breath. He then mentally reviewed the ritual procedure one last time; first, get naked, next, find a vulnerable target, then, recite the incantation, and last, push your way into their body! It was a simple 4 step process, all Seth needed now was more practice in executing it. He hyped himself then stepped out of his bedroom, only to be mortified when he saw his tío Ronnie sitting on his bed. He was still visibly sleepy, but now he had a clear view of Seth in his underwear.

“Seth?” Ronnie said in a low, groggy voice. “What are you doing up at this hour?”

“I- uhh…” Seth didn’t know what to say. He didn’t prepare for this scenario. His eyes darted around the hallway while he searched for an answer. “I was… I was on my way to the bathroom! Yeah, I just really needed to pee!!” 

“Dude,” Ronnie winced. “No need to yell, I’m right here. That’s cool, but why are you just in your underwear though? You never do that.”

“Uhhh…” Seth was scrambling again. He could hear his heartbeat getting louder with each passing second. He felt as if no matter what he said, Ronnie would be able to see right through him! “I, um, well-”

“You know what, Sobrino, save it.” Ronnie yawned as he threw himself back on his bed. “It’s too early for this. You do you, but just let me sleep a little while longer, okay?” 

“Y-yes! Goodnight Tío!!” 

Seth hurried into the bathroom and forced himself to pee just like he said he would. He sighed a breath of relief, not because he actually needed to go, but because he was so sure he was about to get caught performing magic. Thankfully, Ronnie’s inability to care about anything kicked in and saved the day. But even though Seth got scared shitless almost getting caught, it wasn’t enough to stop him from his mission! All he needed to do was wait a little bit for Ronnie to fall back asleep, then he could try again.

Seth went back inside his bedroom while he waited Ronnie out. Nearly a full hour had passed before Seth decided it was safe enough to try again. He crept into Ronnie's room and surely enough, he was sound asleep. Seth couldn’t help but grin as he watched Ronnie’s chest rise and fall with every snore. He took off his underwear, ready to attempt the body possession spell for the third time. 

He started by reciting the incantation from the Tonis out loud. As soon as he finished reciting the last word, a wave of nausea overtook Seth. Seth was ready for the lightheadedness to hit him like a truck, but no amount of anticipation could prepare him for how sudden it was. He nearly fell over, head throbbing with pain, but Seth was determined to see the spell through to the end. 

Hand pressing against his temple, Seth forced himself to stumble over to Ronnie. He then laid his nude body on top of Ronnie as carefully as he could. Seth was able to get on top of Ronnie without waking him up, and although it wasn’t his first time getting on top of a man or possessing someone’s body, Seth wasn’t prepared for how intimate it was. He could feel his junk resting on top of Ronnie’s. The thought of them touching dicks was enough for Seth to start getting hard, but he forced himself to shake off the bad thoughts and focus on his real goal. 

Alright… 1… 2… 3, now!!

Seth started pressing his body against Ronnie’s sleeping body. He knew if he wanted the body possession spell to activate, then he would have to push with everything he’s got! Magic never worked with half-assed effort after all. He pushed and pushed until finally- he could feel himself sinking into Ronnie. It began with his legs and feet. Suddenly, the feeling of Ronnie’s thick leg hair pressing against Seth’s smooth legs was gone. In its place, Seth felt his legs become consumed and enveloped by Ronnie’s thick legs. His feet aligned with Ronnie’s feet like a pair of well-fitting socks, then they began growing and stretching to match their new form. The rest of Seth’s lower half followed suit. His cock and balls slid inside Ronnie’s groin. Seth stifled a moan as it happened. The feeling of his cock slipping into Ronnie’s member like a personal dick sleeve made a rush of pleasure surge through him. That feeling only grew as his dick grew bigger and fatter until he had an identical member to his uncle’s girthy cock. Within seconds, the lower halves of their bodies had fully aligned with another. Seth tried wiggling his hips, and surely enough, he made Ronnie’s hips wiggle around. He could even start to feel the bedsheets underneath Ronnie’s/his ass. The body possession was going well so far. 

“Nrghh…” Ronnie murmured. Seth’s eyes shot open. It seemed like Ronnie was waking up, so he knew he had to hurry up and possess him before it was too late. 

Seth’s torso was pressing against Ronnie’s thick, hairy belly and chest. With some more pushing. Seth could feel his body go past physical limitations and slip inside its new vessel. Seth’s presence inside of Ronnie’s body grew with each passing second. He could feel Ronnie’s body heat combine and become his own. Their arms, chest, and gut aligned perfectly as Seth inserted himself in. His body then once again started growing. Seth’s thin frame was rapidly taking on extra body mass. He grew bigger until he had the same bulky build his uncle Ronnie had.

“Ahh fuck!” Seth accidentally squealed out loud. He couldn’t contain himself anymore after all the warm, body stimulation from transforming and possessing Ronnie. Only his head was left. While the rest of his body was already deep inside of Ronnie, his head was sticking out just above Ronnie’s chest.

“Hrm? What the-” 

Ronnie heard Seth’s outburst and lifted his head. Seth saw he was waking up and wasted no time slamming his head into his. He phased right through. The impact made Ronnie lay back again. He then let out a loud, guttural moan that echoed throughout the house. Except it wasn’t Ronnie groaning, it was Seth using his newly obtained voice after a successful body takeover. He had done it. Ronnie’s body was officially his.

“IT WORKED! IT ACTUALLY FUCKING WORKED!!”

Seth was ecstatic. Not only was he able to enter someone else’s body, he was actually able to move around this time! The body possession spell worked! 

He jumped out of bed bursting with excitement, although he nearly fell over due to almost losing his balance. He immediately felt the difference in body weight between his body versus Ronnie’s body once he was on his feet. Seth took a moment to let himself get used to moving around with a bulkier body, then walked up to the mirror to admire himself. 

“Whewww… Looking good, Tío Ronnie… Or should I say, me?” 

Seth chuckled. He ran his hand across his face, letting his fingers stroke against the fine beard hairs he now possessed. Seth always shaved off his facial hair before it could fully grow in. He was amazed how it felt to have an actual beard on his face.

Seth looked down and smirked as he saw Ronnie’s body instead of his own. He laid a hand against his new hairy belly and gave it a shake. Seth was always a skinny twink, so to actually have a gut was a new experience for him (and one he was actively enjoying). He ran his hands up his torso, stopping at his chest to cup his squishy pecs. He then tried flexing his chest muscles and watched as he managed to get each pec to bounce up a little. Ronnie wasn’t a couch potato by any means, but also he wasn’t a full fledged gym rat either. The end result of being somewhere in between led to him having a larger, bulkier build with some muscle behind the girth. It was definitely a different body type than what Seth was used to, but it was one he was actively enjoying as he stripped down naked and continued admiring the newly possessed goods he now had thanks to the magic book.

After he had successfully possessed his Tío Ronnie, Seth decided to keep practicing the body possession spell until he decided he had mastered it. He decided to step it up and try possessing a police officer the following day. Unfortunately, while Seth was able to sneak his way into the cop’s body, he was unable to take control over him. Seth was trapped as a mere passenger inside the cop’s body as he went about his day like normal. 

Seth had no idea what he was doing wrong. After failing to fully possess the police officer, Seth decided to try possessing Ronnie again. Surely enough, he was able to slip inside Ronnie and take control like it was nothing. Why was Seth able to possess his Tío Ronnie but not anybody else? None of the other spells in the Tonis gave Seth this much trouble! It was certainly an intriguing problem, and it was one Seth would have to solve alone. He had to keep his magical activities a secret; after all, who knows what would happen if someone found out… 

Over the course of the next few weeks, Seth focused most of his time and energy on figuring out how to master the body possession spell. He decided to try possessing a variety of men first. Although Seth’s actions were pretty limited due to the fact he had to be naked in order to perform the spell, he was still able to possess a dad, a bear, and another twink just like him. He wanted to see if it was a matter of a specific body type. But it was no use. No matter who he possessed, Seth just wasn’t able to take control over their bodies. Yet, despite all those failures, Seth was still able to possess Ronnie without a single problem! 

Seth was getting pretty frustrated. He just couldn’t figure out why he could possess Ronnie but not anyone else! Against his better judgment, Seth decided to entertain the possibility that the spell was limited to familial members only. However, even when he tried possessing one of his cousins, he still couldn’t possess them! Seth was truly stumbled, but even so, he refused to give up. He refused to accept that there was a magic spell he could not fully master.

Seth’s next action plan was to go all in with possessing his Tío Ronnie. He figured if he can’t fight against the current, he might as well swim with the current instead. Seth started possessing and staying inside of Ronnie’s for longer periods of time whenever he hopped into him. At first it was just overnight, but then it grew to a day, then two days and so on. Ronnie had mentioned to Seth that he began to feel weird. He couldn’t articulate the strange feeling very well, but he said felt as though he had become a bystander in his own life. Seth reassured him that it was nothing, that it was probably just the summer heat getting to him. Ronnie bought it, and Seth was glad he could keep possessing him without much worry. He needed to! Seth’s rationale was that if he could get accustomed to controlling a body that wasn’t his own for an extended period of time, then maybe he could use that experience to take over other bodies. Practice makes perfect, or so the saying goes anyway. 

Seth continued practicing the spell on Ronnie regularly. It had gotten to the point where Seth didn’t even need to check the Tonis for the lengthy cantation anymore. He already had it committed to memory with how many times he used it! Seth’s next goal was to possess Ronnie’s body for two weeks straight. After so much time possessing Ronnie, Seth considered it his second home away from home. There was almost nothing Seth could do with his body that he hadn’t already tried doing with Ronnie’s body. He was that comfortable now. 

The sun was setting on his 14th day as Seth came out of the gym, drenched with sweat after a good workout. Seth sat in the car and let out a heavy breath as he waited a minute to let himself cool down. Ronnie was a heavy sweater, way more than Seth was. And with all the body hair he had, the sweat would bead up and drip off of his hair whenever he worked out. Although it was an adjustment at first, Seth grew to love it. He never realized how good his uncle’s body odor smelled. He had a naturally manly musk that was incredibly potent and intoxicating to sniff. Seth couldn’t help but sniff his own armpits after he got all sweaty. He loved his scent, and he loved watching as drips of sweat hung off of the forest of hair he had in his pits.

Seth intended to just take a quick sniff of his pits before driving back home, but he was getting too entranced by his own sweaty aroma. The tent forming in his mesh shorts was undeniable proof that he was into it too! Seth paused and looked down to see his protruding bulge. He shouldn’t be this aroused, but he knew he was the reason why he was already hard with just smelling his own sweaty pits. 

When Seth first challenged himself to possess Ronnie for 14 continuous days, he also swore to himself to not do anything sexual while inside his body. He was able to get by the two weeks without much difficulty. But of course, that also meant he was holding a 14 day load in. No doubt his body was itching for some relief, and although Seth was ready to just power through the last day, he couldn’t help but stare at the large, obscene bulge in his shorts. Against his better judgment, Seth let one of his hands slither down his body until it reached his bulge. His fingers wrapped around his rock hard member and gave it a light tug through the mesh fabric of his shorts. It was nothing more than a quick rub, but it was enough to get Seth squirming in his carseat as the warm pleasure of rubbing his sensitive, erect dick began to kick in. It was no use, he had to get off and he had to do it now!

Seth practically ripped his shorts with how quickly he took them off. His cock sprang out as it was released from its clothing imprisonment. Seth looked at his uncle’s fat cock with wonder as it stood upright in its full glory right in front of him. He was jealous that Ronnie had a view like this everytime he jerked off. Seth grinned as he wrapped his calloused palm around his new dick, fully relishing the fact that it was his turn to tug on that girthy member now. 

His breath became bated as he pumped himself. Seth threw his head back and let out several guttural moans from deep within his lungs. 

“Fuck yeah… You like that…? You fucking dirty bitch, yeah you like that huh…”

Seth kept talking dirty in between groaning and panting like a wild animal in heat. He loved using his uncle’s deep voice and heavy Mexican accent to talk dirty. Just hearing Ronnie’s voice come out of his mouth while he jerked off made his throbbing dick leak with precum. His thick, hairy thighs became soaked with precum and sweat as he increased the speed of his strokes. He had all the car windows closed and the AC off. In cutting off the air flow, it quickly became very warm in the car. Seth’s stolen body started sweating again, which in turn, made his sweaty musk come back. He grunted as he sniffed his pits, fueling his mind with an ecstasy-like sensation through the power of smell. 

“Arghh, fuckk…!”

Seth couldn’t last much longer. He was getting close. He picked up his stroking speed and within the next minute, ropes of warm cum shot out of him. Seth bellowed his moans as the endorphins rushed throughout his body. His fat cock was like a water gun as it shot load after load of sticky cum until both his body and the car was covered in jizz. Seth was red in the face and out of breath by the time he fully finished. After all the time and energy he put into researching the body possession spell and while trying to stay abstinent too, a good jerk off session was very much needed! But although Seth got the relief he didn’t realize he was desperately needing, his intense self-pleasure session caused the already finicky spell to act up again. Before Seth could even react, he was ejected out of Ronnie’s body. The sharp pain of getting literally torn out of Ronnie was overwhelming. Seth blacked out as a result.

…When Seth came to, he found himself lying on his bed. He looked around his room, letting the comfort of a familiar place ease his mind while he got his bearing together again. He had some mild body pain, but nothing he couldn’t manage. Seth was grateful that he came out relatively unharmed after a freak accident like that. 

He sat up in bed and realized he was wearing shorts now. Seth wasn’t sure how he got clothed or how he even got back home, but then he found a note on the ground with answers to his questions. It read: “Found you knocked out so I carried you to your bed. I also put on some clothes so you weren’t naked. Don’t go out drinking so much if you can’t handle it. Rest up, I’ll see you soon,” signed by Ronnie. 

Seth let out a heavy exhale after reading the note. He was horrified at the thought of his uncle finding him naked and passed out somewhere. However, as far as he could tell by the note, it seemed like Ronnie was still not the wiser about what his nephew has been up to lately. Seth could rest a little bit easier knowing his secret was still safe.

Seth picked up his phone, which was right next to the note on the ground. He unlocked it and checked the time. Apparently, a full 24 hours had passed since Seth was forcibly removed from Ronnie’s body. He wasn’t sure what exactly had happened, but he figured it must’ve been pretty bad if it knocked him out cold for an entire day! 

Seth wanted to spend the rest of the day resting, but then his mind began abuzz with thoughts. He walked over to his door and peeked out of it, where he then saw Ronnie taking a midday nap down the hallway. The sight of his sleeping tío made the urge to possess him kick in. Seth’s initial thought was to just let both him and Ronnie rest before he tries casting magic again. But then the memory of the freak accident came back. Seth had magic accidents before, but they were never to that extent. The more he thought about it, the more he worried that he might have lost the power to possess people due to the accident. His mind became restless worrying about it. Seth wanted to ignore it, but he just couldn’t. He needed to know if he had lost his casting abilities for good or not.

“Okay… Just one quick possession…” Seth whispered to himself. “I just need to check if I can still possess people. Just five minutes, then I hop out and rest…”

Seth repeated his plan to himself multiple times. He knew this was probably the riskiest thing he had done with magic thus far, but with how great his anxiety was becoming, it quickly became his only option in his mind. Once he reassured himself enough, Seth took the first step towards his tío’s bedroom. It should be simple, just a quick in n out. He had already possessed Ronnie so many times after all, it should be easy enough. It should’ve been. But when Seth stepped into Ronnie’s bedroom, he was nowhere to be found. Seth tried looking for him but he couldn’t find him anywhere. It was like he had disappeared from the house!

“Maybe it’s for the best… I’ve been getting too reckless with magic anyway…” Seth mumbled as he walked back to his bedroom with his head dangling with defeat. He stepped back into his room and closed his eyes to take some deep breaths. However, just as he stood in the middle of his room, his door was slammed shut and standing in front of it was Tío Ronnie.

“Looking for someone, Sobrino?”

Seth felt his heart drop into his stomach when he heard Ronnie’s voice. He turned his head slowly and was met with Ronnie’s staring daggers into him. Seth swallowed his breath. The air in the room had become nauseatingly tense. He wanted to get out of there, but with Ronnie standing right in front of the door, chances of escape were slim to none.

“Um… Hi, Tío…” Seth said meekly.

“Hey. Do you have anything you want to say to me?”

“Hm? N-No, I don’t think so…”

“Really. What’s this then?” 

Ronnie reached for something in his back pocket. He pulled it out and threw it onto the ground right in front of Seth. Seth’s eyes nearly jumped out of his head when he saw the Tonis Maximus. His breathing became shorter and labored. He knew more likely than not that he had been caught.

“Uhh what is that?” Seth feigned a laugh. Ronnie shook his head and took a step forward.

“Drop the act, it’s not cute. You’ve been acting weird ever since you got here back in July. At first I just ignored it, figured you just needed some time to get used to living here. But you never did. You just kept acting weirder and more secretive, almost like you were paranoid about something. Meanwhile, I started feeling weird too. I would wake up with body aches and random bruises, even when I don’t remember doing anything that would cause that. But I figured these two things just couldn’t be connected. Right, Seth?”

“But I was wrong, they were all connected. What really set me off was when I woke up in my car sweaty, naked, and covered in my own cum. How the fuck did I end up like that? Why would I end up like that? None of it made sense! But then when I got home, I found you passed out and naked in the backyard. I can handle one or two strange, out of the ordinary things happening, but this many? Nah. I can’t ignore that, I needed answers. And so, while you were passed out, I decided to snoop around your room for a bit. And surely enough, I found the one missing piece to the puzzle I needed tucked away in my beloved nephew’s clothes.” 

Ronnie pointed to the Tonis laying on the ground. Seth felt a cold shiver run down his spine, but remained quiet. 

“I’m not stupid, Seth. I know you’ve been using magic to take over my body. I couldn’t believe it at first- Hell, I didn’t want to believe it! But it’s the only thing that explains everything that’s been going on in this house ever since you arrived.”

“Wh-Wh-What are you going t-to do with me…?” Seth finally spoke up, albeit with a shaky voice.

“I’m glad you asked,” Ronnie smirked. He then got closer to Seth while taking off his clothes. Seth took a step back, but froze with sheer panic when he heard Ronnie recite the body possession spell. “Now it’s my turn to have some fun! You don’t mind, right? It’s only fair, after everything you’ve done…”

Ronnie charged at Seth. Seth was able to sidestep him, but as he ran for the door, Ronnie grabbed onto him and slammed him face first onto the bed. Seth got the wind knocked out of him, and even though he struggled to break free, Ronnie had him firmly pinned down. It was no use, he had lost.

“Alright! Now all I gotta do is enter you right!?” Ronnie yelled. Seth could feel something long and hard rubbing against his ass and knew immediately there had been a misunderstanding.

“Wait! You’re not supposed to literat- AH FUCK!!”

Seth was too late. He shouted out in pain as Ronnie shoved his fat cock into him with little to no warning. Ronnie then started to thrust his hips into Seth while keeping him pinned onto the bed.

He was pounding away at Seth’s ass like an angry jackhammer. Seth could feel the weight of his big and strong uncle laying on top of him as he fucked him. The hair on Ronnie’s chest and stomach felt good brushing against his back while he thrusted into him. Seth was a well experienced bottom. If he wanted to have a good time, he knew not just any random top could get the job done. But with Ronnie’s girthy cock filling him up and his aggressive hip-thrusting rhythm, Seth found himself in heaven as Ronnie fucked him like a personal sex toy.

“Ah! Nrghhh… Fuck! Ahh!!”

“C’mon, open up that ass for me!”

Ronnie had Seth in a tight bear hug as he fucked him. Seth could feel his uncle really laying out all his body weight on top of him. Then, it happened. Seth’s moans grew louder and more intense as he began to feel his uncle phasing into his body. It was only his asshole at first, but then his entire body started getting filled up with the warm presence of a man as he got possessed. However, Seth was a much thinner man compared to Ronnie.

“Fuck…! Fuckk…! FUCKKKK!!! AHHH!!!” Seth cried out. He could feel his body getting stuffed to its physical limits as Ronnie pushed his bulky body into his twink body. Seth felt as if his skin was about to burst open with how full he was. But luckily for him, Ronnie was able to get inside of him without severely injuring him. However, although Ronnie had fully inserted himself into Seth, he was unable to control Seth’s body. The body possession was a failure. But to add insult to injury, Seth couldn’t move his own body either because he had become too bloated to move! It took several minutes but eventually Seth’s body was able to return to normal once it was able to adjust for all the extra body mass it had taken on. Seth was able to move like normal again, although thanks to Ronnie, he was no longer the same skinny twink as before. He had grown to match Ronnie’s body type.

“Man! I look pretty good!” Seth said out loud. His voice had dropped several octaves in pitch. He wasn’t sure exactly what was happening- the body possession spell was clearly too unstable to follow any logic, but at least this time, Seth was enjoying the results!

Hey! What the fuck!? Why can’t I move! I want to possess you! Not just sit in here!!

Seth could hear his uncle’s voice inside his mind. He felt an itch in his head for a brief moment, but then it disappeared. But then Seth felt a sudden, burning sensation in his chest. It made him kneel over with pain. He felt as if every fiber of his existence was getting pulled and tugged on!

“Hey!! What are you doing!?” Seth shouted out in pain.

I’m going even deeper!! I’m gonna possess you no matter what, even if it means I have to take over your soul!!

Seth’s mind went into full panic mode. He wanted to scream, he wanted to shout at Ronnie to stop. He was going to depths even he had never explored with magic! There was no telling what was going to happen, but so long as Ronnie was inside of Seth, there was nothing Seth could do but endure it…

Seth was gasping for breath as he felt a cold wave flow over his body. The icy sensation began in his heart then spread throughout the rest of his body. No doubt Ronnie had made it inside of his soul by now. All of the major muscle groups in his body inflated with body mass. His chest filled in with firm pecs, his bicep and leg muscles became toned, his ass grew larger and well rounded. Hair began to sprout on every square inch of his body. At first, his hairy body resembled Ronnie’s, but the hair growth didn’t stop there. Arms, legs, pits, ass, pubic, beard, everywhere on Seth’s body had become a jungle of thick, black hair, far surpassing Ronnie’s body hair! 

Seth groaned as he felt his cock stretching and growing. His cock thickened until he had the same hung, fat dick as his uncle. It grew out into an impressive 6.5 inches with some heavy girth to boot. His hairy balls hung lower than before as they began producing cum and testosterone en masse. By the time Ronnie finished possessing Seth’s soul, Seth had become completely unrecognizable. Seth and Ronnie had merged together to form a new man due to the soul possession that had taken place. The soul possession had taken traits from the 20 year old and 38 year old and combined them together to create the new 29 year old Ignacio.

Seth was breathing heavily as all of the bodily sensations he was experiencing began to subside. His vision grew blurry, but never recovered. Seth closed his eyes, panting for breath, and passed out on the ground.

Days had passed since Seth and Ronnie fused together. After the fourth day of being unconscious, the newly formed Ignacio woke up with groggy eyes. He picked himself up and let out a guttural yawn that nearly shook the house walls. He scratched his chest as he stretched, his fingers getting caught occasionally due to how thick his curly chest hair was. 

“Man… What the fuck happened to me…” Ignacio thought out loud. His voice had a baritone pitch and a heavy Mexican accent. Ignacio looked around and spotted a phone on the ground. He picked it up and opened the gallery through the quick start camera shortcut. The first thing on the phone gallery was a video of some shirtless young man recording himself. Ignacio played the video. 

“Alright, Seth here, I’ll be attempting the body possession spell again. Hopefully the third time’s-”

Ignacio grew bored of the video and deleted it. He had no idea who Seth was or what he was talking about, and didn’t care enough to find out. Instead, he cleared out the phone entirely and claimed it for himself.

While cleaning up the room, Ignacio found a book titled Tonis Maximus. However, he couldn’t make sense of any of the writing inside. So he tore it apart and threw it into the fire pit, ready to burn at some point. 

Ignacio then proceeded to take a shower to get ready for the day. It was a big day after all, his brothers and sisters were supposed to fly in from the States later that day. Ignacio smiled thinking about his beloved nephews and nieces. He was sure they were just as excited to see Tío Ignacio as he was to see them. 

Ignacio hurried to get dressed and make his way to the airport asap. He was completely oblivious to all the reality-altering magic that made his existence possible, and with the Tonis Maximus destroyed, there was no turning back. Not that Ignacio really minded it; after all, he was living the easy life in his little city in Mexico, fucking men on the downlow and overjoyed whenever his family visited him. Life was as good as it could be now that magic was out of picture, permanently. 

[notedchampagne]

What makes a tlt au work for you? Do u have any favourites out there/that you’ve thought of?

its hard because it can go down to the writing! i have a huge bias for things that put focus on the characters acting awful and driving the story forward- if a story has a plot thats great, but its the difference between "gideon and harrow keep meeting up at parties and fall a little bit in love every time" and "gideons angry she lost her childhood to the cult so she attends a party with the tridentarii to shotgun adolescent experiences, and harrowhark, frustrated that gideon is pulling on her metaphorical leash, follows to stalk her". the former retains a 5+1 fic format and is more bite-size, while the latter puts more focus into their growth as characters. im not great at articulating what i like specifically, but ill put my favorite fics below:

what if nona was dogs tugs at my heart: its post-canon, slice-of-life, and has a unique concept (said in the title). i judged a book by its cover because i thought the premise seemed too silly at first but ive been made a fool and its pet clown. it feels so true to nona the way its about all the things nona loves and how she gets to explore the world through new eyes. i love the way it explores characters softening up and getting hurt through a third person pov

we have always lived in the apartment by @thatneoncrisis i keep saying this but for the love of GOD guys this au is so good it makes me cry and feel such a deep catharsis from it. it takes gideon and harrow and the ninth as a cult and explores their struggle to adapt to a modern society when noone ever gets a break (WOW ITS JUST LIKE IN REAL L-). quinn writes the sides of griddlehark i think go overlooked in fanfic often: their codependency, their tendency to lash out when theyre defensive, their mutual paranoia and different coping mechanisms, harrows psychosis and gideons bitterness, their relationships to each other as being the only other person who really understands what the other suffered through. god. i feel lightheaded.

"but SAM, i dont like angst but i want to see this writing!" read gap between a tragedy and a comedy

"SAM, i also like when gideon and harrow are horrible because theyre maladjusted teenagers! but i want more antics where the characters drive things forward over angst!" read whats eating gideon nav

you just aint receiving is one of my FAVORITE modern aus of all time (and i heavily recommend the authors other fics as well!) if you really want to see how much i love this fic the fact that my comments take up the entire phone screen probably says a lot. its hard to put it concisely: it keeps harrows air of misanthropy and cruelty but redefines it as the result of her upbringing and personal struggle to live in a university while dealing with a backpack of mental illness and frustration. it changes gideons personality as the daughter of john gaius in a way that makes sense having her grow up with johns middling parenting skills and getting everything she ever wanted (connecting it back to kirionas personality in ntn!). it brings in side characters (specially palamedes. my beautiful boy palamedes) in ways that compliment harrow and gideon but not so obviously that they only exist to be supports. they have their own lives and ideals. its a modern au that brings in the boiling politics of johns cult uprising once again in a really novel way

semi charmed kinda life by @griddlebait. jesuchristo and all his middle names this fic is GREAT for you if you want a slice of life, coming of age type modern au that explores what its like for gideon and harrow if they actually got the space to see who theyd become outside of the stifling fate tlt has for them. as far as modern aus go im usually very hesitant to read them because im afraid modernizing the characters takes features away from their core but i really love and respect the way the author treats the 69ers with care and draws distinct lines that shows me how their grow and change while keeping a line to the anchor. also they write HIDEOUS (complimentary) PINING. DISGUSTING. some of these chapters were so chock full of dyke drama that they made me nauseous and whimsical. i think once a friend said this fic felt like if gh could be reincarnated and i like that descriptor a lot

til the cows come home is another postcanon fic that made me feel sick and crybabyish about it- i would definitely recommend it if you want to explore a happier ending with griddlehark! with this and what if nona was dogs the thing i like most about them is that they mix up vulnerability with pain and fear, so it feels more lifelike that way if that makes sense. i lost my taste in fluff fics over time but when its interspersed with struggle and characters causing problems because they cant cope with themselves it feels much more earnest and raw

this became very long. im not sorry

[eelclaw]

okay new arc... my thoughts.

leafstar:

leafstar was one of my favorite characters as a kid, but not because of anything she actually did. i liked her graphic novels, but only mostly because i was delighted by sol being a pathetic girlfailure.

also my copy of skyclan's destiny was misprinted and had pages out of order, and i loved having a fucked up book.

i liked her in firestar's quest, but... she's done nothing in every book since.

sharpclaw pushes her around in skyclan's destiny, then tells her he was just challenging her to make her a more confident leader. nothing comes out of this.

she's worried about female leaders not being allowed to have kits and about inviting daylight warriors into the clan, and it would've been great to just skip these plotlines entirely. skyclan had a chance to be a different kind of clan, a breath of fresh air from the shit we normally read about, and they didn't take it.

in ravenpaw's farewell she decides that skyclan hates outsiders. then ravenpaw proves her wrong by helping chase out some rogues that skyclan somehow couldn't chase out on their own, so she changes her mind, but only enough to take in bella and riley.

the general back-and-forth and nothing getting done in avos, tbc, and asc just annoys me.

her going blind is actually pretty interesting, but it needs to be handled well, and it's not going to be.

she's pretty old at this point, so i hope she dies, but the kid in me still hopes she gets an awesome death.

tawnypelt:

the way she's treated in avos and in her novella is incredibly uninteresting.

her clanmates don't take her seriously because of how closely she was associated with rowanstar. that's cool! that's interesting! but how long has it been since avos? she's far and away proved herself to be a valuable member of shadowclan.

the "kids these days" plotline is so fucking frustrating, i don't want it to come back.

i thought her novella had a nice conclusion. she accepted that her lost loved ones were lost, and that she could not go back to the way things were, but she could keep moving forward, and she would see her family in starclan some day. from the blurb, this conclusion is going to be completely trampled.

i'm also sick of tigerheartstar changing every book, just to drive whatever the current mess of a plot is.

moonpaw:

not many thoughts. betting her parents are nightheart and sunbeam.

hoping she's distinct from frostpaw and shadowsight. i can't take a third one.

it would be interesting if nightheart dies before she's born, paralleling larksong dying before nightheart was born. then nightheart might realize a bit of what his parents were going through.

overall. not hopeful. i'm super tired of the formula they've been using for the past few arcs. i don't care about "the end of the cats' connection to starclan". just because these books are about religious cats doesn't mean we can't have deep, meaningful, character-driven plots. why can't we get one of those.

[kalims]

STEREOTYPICAL IDEALS

˖ ִֶָ here we have the stereotype love interests for every love story.

characters. ace, azul, leona, malleus, idia

content. gender neutral reader, kinda cafe au for idia

cw. mention of.. embryo eggs 😁 it's just malleus being vague about it and us mistaking LOL

note. mc does not like cats at first for the sake of plot :)

thank you for 5K <3 mwa

ace trappola | the resident 'bad boy' troublemaker that everybody dislikes (oh well. those are the ones usually misunderstood anyways)

though severely lacking in the physical quantities of your resident bad boy, (leather jacket, too much gel used for a horrendous slicked back hairstyle, cold demeanor, and the same motorcycle that seems to be present in every variant) you can say that although he fits in the category pretty well the title didn't really suit him.

every professor on campus despises ace trappola and his 'unfunny' pranks (of which they claim so.) you had bear witness to one of them so when he ran out of a classroom and locked eyes with you. you knew you should have ran away in turn because he shoved you in the way of a furious crewel and has the audacity to laugh as he escaped.

(crewel, AKA the scariest professor on campus so you definitely peed your pants a little when you heard the grunt he emitted when you collided into his probably hundred dollar fur coat—and wow, who knew he hid such a broad frame?)

but still. you sulked in misery at the silent room. even though you had told him several times that you, were indeed not an accomplice to that insane red head's crimes crewel did not let you off without a punishment. "had you not been in my way I would have captured that little puppy," he had said.

I didn't know. you cried comical tears at your horrible timing. wrong place in the wrong time. being a new student is hard around this place.

only then was the sky freed from your vengeful glare when a body falls into the room just after the door opens—then closes.

a new object of your hate. you suppose, far more deserving than the sky.

"this freaking sucks," ace trappola had to audacity to complain when you were the one he dragged to his stupid scheme. the moment he saw you heartedly glaring him down from your seat is when he released another groan. great, the person who he sacrificed for the better cause.

yeah that's right this is your fault, you watch him through accusing eyes as he stands up and starts circling the room. carelessly touching the several expensive looking items around the room with no regards; which honestly gave you a heart attack but either you give up the intimidating act or assert your dominance?

easy choice.

finally you scowl, albeit a bit softer than the previous face you adorned. "what in the hell are you doing?" ace looks back at you with a casual grin—the kind of grin that would lead into nowhere good but you and your stupid self engrossed in too much stories (in your opinion but you'd probably pick up another book later on,) paused to register the fleeting sense of attraction.

my teenager hormones always at the wrong time. you deadpan.

ace leans over the counter and gives the window a little push. smiling when the window creaks open with age and the wind brushes over his face. (ooo rhyme.)

you watch him. too entranced for your liking.

"are you coming or not?"

you sputter. "uh, excuse me?"

this time ace looks like he's having fun. (did you miss that kind of face everytime he was in trouble just cause of the adrenaline?) "have you ever left detention without permission?"

the second you took his hand and let him guide you down the third floor was definitely the time you knew you were in trouble.

ㅤ

azul ashengrotto | that one sophisticated, cunning character that's in the 'out of your league' circle (except this one immediately falls over for you)

' to mx.lastname '

' professor crewel has assigned me to foresee your school activities for the period whereas you still are behind his classes. though we haven't met officially I know you. my name is azul ashengrotto. (yes, the scholar. which is why the professor had me tutor the lowest in class) I hope we can come to an understanding during our time together. in the library we will meet after school hours. '

signed.. azul ashengrotto in some fancy font you'd spend forever perfecting.

well you had no idea people in your time that still uses letters as a form or communication still exists. you do see a simple text far more convenient that this thing but whatever he wants you suppose..

should you be happy, sad, or offended by this?

happy because azul ashengrotto is the best, out of the best. and there's no doubt that there's gonna be results when he's the one that's going to be tutoring you. sad because you literally need a tutor—actually it's just happy and offended.

offended because he called you the lowest of the lowest, using it to boost his little ego? you've seen the guy, never met him but that's a little.. strange. you won't jump to conclusions because that's what idiots do.

unfortunately you are an idiot so.

although azul is definitely popular kid material for some odd reason everyone seems to avoid him like the plague when he's around these two.. what's their names again? leech siblings? it isn't any better when he's alone though. you conclude it's just the natural air around him that makes it so hard to approach.

despite the offense you had taken what he said was merely the truth. you were at the bottom of the class right now. (you're just annoyed he never considered the possibility of getting better) plus can't he cut you some slack? it's not like moving to a different school in an entirely different place magically made you knowledgeable about the history of this place.

monday flies by faster than you anticipated and you find yourself standing across the infamous top 1.

azul casts you an easy smile. "how about we get to know each other first? despite us working together.." he pauses. "—quite closely. I'd like to get to know you first." suspiciously, you sit down without much argument. and it's scary because it's like he left no room for it.

he sure has a way with words. you muse. no wonder why he's the best you eventually thought.

you spent a hefty amount of time just conversing with each other. hell, everyone was freaking wrong! there's nothing bad about this dude he's just the normal, rich looking smartie. (attractive, you'd add but you figured he didn't take compliments well when he went silent after you had gave him a positive comment.) <- one that was honestly more like flirting if you'd look back but you refuse to let the embarrassment consume you.

(come on honestly! who even says; "I like your mole, it makes you look very pretty." as a compliment and not assume it was you attempting to rizz up the smartie?)

no one had ever complimented that part of him.

honestly it felt like less tutoring and more like a date because if there's anything you learned it's that azul was pretty.

.. uhm.. pretty smart.. yeah..

there was zero history you learned about NRC but rather the history of azul. his family restaurant and explaining his two friends when you had brought them up. the whole time you were both just all smiley, a little shy but time eased the tension out and you both had conversations you'd never thought you'd have with a stranger.

that day when you said your pleasant goodbyes and turned turned leave azul had offered to atleast walk you home. to which you replied in an easy joke; "sorry I don't let people I meet once take me home."

his eyes glinted. "oh? I had assumed we were well acquainted by now." azul ashengrotto gives you an award winning smile. "my apologies then. have a save trip home."

for once you almost regretted not saying yes from his words alone.

I take it back maybe there is something bad with him? you think back at your old assumption awkwardly.

you end up finding another letter stuck on your door. somehow it feels like the contents inside were vastly different from the first.

' dear mx.lastname '

' I enjoyed our time together yesterday. I apologize for taking up all the time without studying but it's like I could not stop talking with you. ' is he flirting with you right now?

' though our official study sessions will start tomorrow. if you ever find the spare time I'd like continue our conversation elsewhere. '

' of course wherever you think is fit will do nicely with me :) '

sincerely, azul ashengrotto.

... definitely different

ㅤ

leona kingscholar | the brooder that just looks done with everything 99% of the time but will end up having a soft spot for the main lead

coughs maybe leona is the bad boy in this case?

everyone knows leona 'I hate everyone' kingscholar. be it from the missing seat in their class or the clump of brown and yellow passed out in the botanical garden. in your case it was the latter. (you being too engrossed gawking at your phone you literally tripped on something and ungracefully landed on the floor)

you just went through the seven stages of pain cause pardon your language but holy fucking shit you feel like you just broke your jaw.

question is who the hell would carelessly leave something on the floor for an unfortunate soul to trip over? (which is you.) the pain stinging your jaw as an awful reminder of your oblivious nature to your surroundings was already depressing but there lays your phone in the literal lake swimming around pretending it's a fish.

"I hope you got some good explanation as to why you ruined my sleep." a deep voice says, nearly making you shit your pants. you turn and stare fearfully at the dead, annoyed face the newcomer gives you. though the rest of his arms are hidden by the shirt you can tell he wouldn't have much problem pushing you in the lake so you can join your phone.

"listen i—" you wince at the jolt of pain accompanied by your words. you learn quickly that perhaps this isn't the time to speak at all. though the man who is way too mad over an accident doesn't seem to care.

he raises his brow and huffs. "what? do I need to take a tooth for you to talk?" yeah asshole like causing me more pain is gonna make the words come out of my mouth.

you slump. as much as you'd like to defend yourself right now, you honestly have more problems to think about. like how your phone just drowned or how you're gonna have to make a trip to the infirmary.

you do the most rational thing you can do.

you make a series of incoherent sounds, point at your phone in the lake and run a marathon once this fool actually looks over to the end of your finger. sucker. you think smugly.

(should leona exert the energy to catch you right now?) I'll get that one next time. he grunts and lays down, facing towards the sun. leona recalls the name on their ID. (name) lastname)

3-A. he closes his eyes.

in your assigned classroom you sit. your friend grimaces. "what the hell happened to you?" he gestures to the obvious bandage under your chin ending over your head. if the ice pack you held your jaw doesn't give him the confirmation that it's broken then you don't know what does.

you sigh. missing the times where you could reply to this idiot.

the class atmosphere is just like any other you've encountered. surprisingly bright and chatty. all forms of sounds immediately halted once the door creaked open and crewel strutted in. he doesn't cast all of you a glance but you can see the approval when you all fall silent.

"hunt. name all the herbology we studied yesterday." you and your friend both exchange looks of relief. I'm so glad I didn't get picked.

not that you can recite it anyways. your friend snickers. thought they didn't speak you both reached a point in your friendship where you could understand through eye contact. you're so lucky.

be for real I'm literally in so much pain. you roll your eyes

as hunt enthusiastically does so you could hear a faint noise from the door. though in favor of continuing your 'conversation' with your friend you both ignore it.

only then when your friend pauses and gawks behind you do you stop.

"kingscholar. I'm suprised you decided to grace us with your presence." who the hell is kingscholar? a clear thump resounds behind you.

wow almost like if someone sat behind you but that's impossible because the guy behind you is always running his mouth and annoying you in every way possible.

AKA the seat was occupied and dude was already sitting there before you arrived. and if he was really your seatmate for what? months? you'd know that he does not get up at all.

"what the h—" speaking of there he is. why does he sound scared though? you wonder.

you turned and if you could make a sound, (to be more specific a scream of horror right now you would. loud and full of terror) holy fucking shit is that the guy you literally used the oldest trick in the book and ditched?

you aren't even given the opportunity to mask your expression.

malleus draconia | typically mysterious stranger that everyone goes insane over

the one you'll meet 'by chance'. actually the first few times you did meet was a complete coincidence but the following was just malleus knowing where you are and when. hence... he just is there..

in conclusion this dorm was really shitty. you sulk, placing a hand to support your body so you could lean but the quality of it had other plans.

you stare blankly at the piece that just broke off in your hand.

but you suppose you ought to be grateful. you sigh, throwing the piece aside. it's not everyday you get given a home for free. problem is the food though, I don't wanna starve.

let's see. very dusty bed or very dusty couch to retire in? you hum in contemplation. even the grass sounds better. you'd sleep outside if you could but the variety of insects just...

no.

it's has it's charm though. though you'd prefer it with less dust. atleast it's not haunted!

something creaks near you.

nevermind.

you would have screamed very, very loudly if the emerald eyes figure didn't place a finger to his mouth and you consider this.. random person to be very intimidating and it actually scared you to obedience and silence.

he raises a brow at your shell-shocked look. "w-who the fuck are you?!" you croak out.

at your words he seemed quite surprised like HE WASNT THE ONE ON YOUR TECHNICAL FRONT DOOR. "oh? it seems like you don't know me," he chuckles, as though pleased. no shit sherlock you don't know me either you grumble.

he smirks. "I'll leave that up to you to find out then," this bitch.

ever since that you always seem to encounter than random guy everywhere. what surprised you more is the fact that he actually goes to the school you go to, which you admit was a stupid thought cause he was on school grounds when you met him and this school doesn't let random people in.

even with the godly amount of times you both meet he.just.wont.tell.you.his.name. annoying the hell out of you because you can't keep calling him tsunotaro when his green haired dog came close to biting your leg off when you did.

even though you don't ask him to he always seems to be trailing after you wherever you go but you can't really tell since, he scarily does not make a single sound when he's following you. (which is strange because it's always silent when he's there, even in the crowded halls.) it's like someone just flipped a switch!

"isn't this a party? even the music stopped," you frowned.

tsunotaro casts a look at your confused face and shrugs with a smirk. "hm. I wonder why indeed,

he always seems to appear at the most convenient of times. he's honestly saved you many times from a pile of medical bills for accidents which is a relief and an anomaly in itself because that's just.. eerily mysterious.

if a person was involved it's like your luck is always there because you never see them again.

somehow you befriended some short dude who calls himself lilia and likes bats. you assume he knows your friend because he's always dancing thin circles around you practically flaunting his knowledge of your friends true name.

said lilia is the one that assures you that 'nothing came to harm to that person. I heard they're merely on vacation' which is strange cause you never mentioned them being hurt at all.

for a single day you left your usual spot with them in favor of sitting with your friends during lunch and the thunder storm that week was so bad that you had to just pray that the old wooden boards would be able to withstand the water and shelter you.

you watch a piece of your roof fly off into the unkown. "the weather forecast literally said it was gonna be sunny all day," you deadpan.

once his dog had almost came close to saying his name which was a pain because HE SHOT HIM ONE LOOK AND THE BOY IMMEDIATELY SHUT UP. you were literally shaking said dog trying to get his name out of curiosity and anticipation so when you look at tsunotaro with a glare of playful annoyance he actually droops and looks lost

that by the way. is only a fraction of weird stuff that happened after you 'met' malleus. met as in met once then meeting each other so often that you had just allowed him to follow you around and befriend you.

cause. can you blame yourself? he's very adorable in his own right even if your friends insist that he's literally terrifying. <- you deny it to defend tsunotaro cause he's the purest being on the planet! you say as your friends shiver at the figure behind you wearing an ominous smile.

they run away as you trail off. "hey you—! ugh.. what a bunch of assholes," you fume. who even runs off in the middle of a conversation? you wonder in your mind. did they dislike your friend so much that they'd run away? but you don't get it! you've been telling them how good your friend is and how wrong they are.

you scratch your head.

a voice clears their throat behind you as you blink then perk up.

when you turn tsunotaro is there in all his glory. dorned in the most simple school clothing yet looking so elegant, don't forget his pitch perfect posture. wow.. it's almost like he's a regal royal haha.. but that can't be right haha..

he looks.. upset.

you frown. "what's with the face?"

he tilts his head. "what face? I've always had my face since I was an egg,"

what. you blank. one thing about your friend was that he had weird.. vocabulary, you've heard it plenty of times but it doesn't make new ones less surprising to hear. as in embryo eggs? you grimace. again, weird.

you choose to ignore his response.

"you look sad," you clarify.

ah. very observant. he thinks. tsunotaro hums in contemplation. "you seemed upset with me earlier, naturally I got upset since you were. I just.. don't want our.. friendship—" his face shifts a little at the mention of friendship. "—to change after you know who I truly am,"

aw. your eyes soften. "tsunotaro.. I won't judge you it's alright, to be honest I don't really know anyone here and even if I did know you I would always find you and befriend you," you say firmly as his green eyes seems to be sparkling as he takes in your words.

it's settled then.

a calm period of silence crosses over the two of you. perhaps it's the relief knowing that he had finally expressed his reasoning. it's not that often you both talk in an emotional degree like this seeing as tsunotaro doesn't seem to have anything he kept from you.

even if he did you reckon he'd tell you pretty quickly.

"malleus.. draconia,"

"excuse me?" you blink.

he looks at your eyes deeply. searching them inch to inch making sure he takes in every feature of your face. he looks at you so seriously that it honestly makes your heart skip a little beat. "it is.. my name, you can call me what you'd like—" as though a curtain is being drawn right before your eyes. "—please do not let this change anything," he makes sure to add.

but there is no frightened yell over his name or the fearful eyes latched on his figure during everything he does.

but the welcoming warmth that the cold is too unlucky to not have.

there is only the eyes that is so blissfully ignorant. because beauty is in the eye of the beholder and you look at him like he's.. someone and no one at the same time.

malleus is not sure if he's happy that you are so unknownst to the perspective of others. they have a point, everything he's tied to demands intimidation. so even if you don't understand the significance of his name you take in every one of his imperfections and accept him wholly.

malleus would cut out not even a piece of his heart but just hand it to you on a silver platter cause that's you already have. though not his eyes, arms, or legs it's him. his heart is his whole and you have it.

your eyes crinkle. "how about mal?"

idia shroud | introvert cat lover, stranger danger aka hitoshi shinso 2.0 but more shy

that guy by the cat cafe is pretty weird.

besides the blue bundle on his head—that you refuse to call hair because hair has strands and by the blue, wavy flames framing his head there's obviously none on his head right now.

maybe that's what had gotten you stealing glances from across another table despite the research paper draft on your laptop that hasn't been changed for the past five minutes. you like to tell yourself that the only reason you're staring is because he's.. peculiar.

yeah nothing else!

since last month, where you started claiming a particular spot in the cat cafe. (not a normal one because you have something similar on your bucket list that includes getting buried by cats) you've never not seen flame boy over there in the cafe.

judging by his usual spot in the far corner where he thinks no one sees him this guy does not have a life but fuck that cause so do you.

life update: that bucket list goal is not gonna get achieved anytime soon cause you can't help but grimace away from the cats. you don't blame yourself cause since you got chased by a cat and proceeded to get beat up by it you steered clear from them.

and you can't literally dislike cats forever cause they're like.. a very common animal to see in the world and your delusional mind thinks that this silly little opinion will get you killed.

spoiler alert! it did not get you killed but it did get you working in the cafe temporarily since you literally forgot your wallet, therefore you can't pay for what you just ate. (which they would've let you off cause you're practically a regular now but somehow you narrowly avoiding a kitten made you bump into a vase) so.. yeah.. temporarily.. for a week atleast cause the vase was pretty costly and you're lucky theh let you off without a fee.

but labor instead sighs.

your temporary manager points to a table.

okay so maybe this will prove a little useful. you just want to get to know this dude for.. blackmail purposes.. nothing else.

"hi um—strawberry shortcake for idia?" you place the order in the counter carefully. raising your voice a pitch to let it reach the farthest table. you already knew that the flame boy is gonna come get it since it's hid order but you still hide your suprise when he does.

neither does he. in his very pretty, yellow eyes flashes recognition but it vanishes as he lowers his eyes. as though, nervous. "that's for me," he says quietly. bowing his head and muttering a quick thank you. before you know it he's already gone back to his abode full of kittens leaving you a little flabbergasted at his voice.

so idia was his name. what a pretty name.

the next day idia orders the same thing and with explicit permission you ask the temporary manager if they'd let you deliver it to his table personally (you lowkey felt bad for using their menory to convince them but you're on a mission here!)

"hi," you greet with a small smile. the boy avoids your eyes and instead focuses on the cup of coffee jelly beside his plate of shortcake. "uh—here's your order. I hope you don't mind, idia right?" he nods mutely as you slide the two dishes to him. little force so it won't slide off completely.

"I didn't order that—" he glances at your chest quickly, scanning your borrowed uniform for a sign of a name tag. you smile. "(name),"

"—(name)," he repeats slowly. internally panicking in his mine cause one. he knows you! somehow you're now working in the cafe and two, was this a game master ploy to assassinate him?

you glance at the coffee jelly. "it's complementary," complementary your ass you bought that with your own cash but he doesn't need to know that.

at some point you rushed through the paper to apply for the cafe part-time job just because you had enjoyed the time you served under idia. cause it gave you all the well I've to communicate with him since both of you are way. too awkward to do it normally.

it was a grueling two weeks of you waiting to get accepted and for once you felt accomplished when you received an email. wanna know the first thing you did? go straight to idia's table a few minutes after he arrives and slide him a coffee jelly.

a contrast to his wary expression his face visibly relaxes—and even brightens at your face. (beautiful, beautiful face.) "I'm back," you huff proudly, hugging your own clipboard to your chest and pointing at your personal name tag. "welcome back loser," idia snickers.

during the time you were giving him orders before you had managed to sneak a couple of words for conversation and boy did you learn a lot. to be honest those conversations was the reason you squeezed enough time in your schedule for this job. at some point you're convinced idia enjoyed it as much as you did because he even shyly asked if you played any games and had twstcord.

suprise suprise. idia was a freaking nerd and had.. weird humorous words. (in a joking, good way,) ever since you both exchanged info it was basically never sleeping in favor of talking 25/8. you like to say you were both exceptionally close and reached a peak in your relationship.

did you mention that idia had taught you the way of the cat?

—

"what if they tear my eyes off?" you worry as idia forcefully gets you to lay on the grass with a small grunt. he deadpans at your words. "chill out. I'm a level 99 cat whisperer I got this," as you said. weird humor and words. still. it's reassuring enough.

then he just stands up to scoop up the cats he can find and pours them on you. giving you a heart attack everytime one leaves and he just yanks them back. you realize—"this.. this is heaven, I'm in heaven," you breathe out.

idia looks at you then pauses. oddly looking like the same the first time you've seen him. he grows quiet. ".. y-yeah,"

—

"BTW where's the complimentary jelly?"

"there's none today. I'm freaking broke,"

"WDYM.. that has nothing to do with it cause it's complementary,"

"..."

"..."

(idia thinks the person in the cat cafe is weird.

in a good way he supposes.) but who is he to judge when said person just.. turned into someone he'd consider a player two?

note. umm just pretend that we get a broken jaw like that because it's for the sake of the plot LOL

send help it's like almost 1 in the morning and I just wrote for the whole period of midnight

not proofread

ko-fi

[jazzthatonewriterchick]

Idk if you write for them but what about a todoroki and Deku going on a blind date with a Chubby reader🤔 (btw miss ma’am you dropped this 🤲🏾👑)

Your Kind of Men (poly!bi!pro!TodoDeku x Chubby!Black!Fem!Reader SFW One Shot) [REQUEST FILL]

Pairing: Izuku "Deku" Midoriya x Shoto Todoroki x Chubby!Black!Fem!Reader

Synopsis: In which you go on a blind date set up by your friend and her pro hero partners, not realizing that you're about to get your chance to meet some pros yourself who are highly interested in having a third...and they hope that it's you.

Warnings: AgedUp!TodoDeku (they're in their late 20s-early 30s); Bisexual!TodoDeku; Polyamory; Sexual Fantasies; Flirting; Reader is Black, Fem & Plus-Sized (but anyone can still read this)

Writer's Note: Thank you for getting my crown for me, babe!! I hope you enjoy this! It's pretty tame except for the sex thoughts lol. Enjoy! -xoxo, Jazz

********

“I don’t know how I feel about this, girl,” you sigh into the phone, staring down at your cocktail. “You didn’t even tell me what they do! What if they’re serial killers or something?” 

You feel a nervous sweat coming on despite the cool air in the fancy restaurant and the spaghetti straps of your dress allowing you to stay cool. You took a shower and added as much deodorant to your pits and jiggly inner thighs as you could because of your paranoia of smelling, but that does nothing to stop you from breaking out in anxious perspiration. 

“Would you stop that?” Your friend complains. “I didn’t tell you about their jobs because I wanted to surprise you! If Bakugou and Kiri know them, trust me: they’re good guys.” 

You sigh, pinching the bridge of your nose to avoid an oncoming headache from too much stress. Though the fact that these “guys” are Bakugou aka pro hero Dynamight and Kirishima aka pro hero Red Riot’s longtime buddies, that doesn’t do much to ease your worries or mind. 

”Then they must be fine as fuck ‘cause your boyfriends are!” You groan, earning a giggle from your friend. “It’s not funny! I’m literally having a panic attack and I don’t think this cocktail is helping.” 

You stare down at your Perfect Peach cocktail made with vodka and peach preserves that is supposed to ease your nerves as you sit at the bar waiting for your blind date…or blind dates, rather. 

After further consideration and fantasizing about it for months, you confided in your friend about wanting to try a polyamorous relationship like she has with Bakugou and Kiri. She always seems so happy when she’s with them. You remember a time when you were happy like that with your boyfriend—everyday seemed sunny whenever he called or came to see you. 

But that was a year ago. After a very messy breakup which resulted in him moving away and immediately dating someone else, you did your best to forget him and move on. Getting back into the dating pool was the first step. You recently just started reviving your accounts on dating apps, but so far, none of them have sufficed. 

You often wonder how your friend did it—how she managed to bag not one but two pro heroes. And they’re so hot and sweet! Every time you see their big arms wrapped around your friend or see their smiles directed her way or see them pick her up from your crib and know she’s going to spend her night getting pleasured beyond belief by both of them, you can’t help but be jealous. 

Don’t get it twisted. You’re so happy for your friend! She deserves partners who adore her…but you’d be lying if you said that it didn’t bother you that you don’t have that kind of relationship for yourself. 

Your friend’s calming voice pulls you out of your self-deprecating thoughts. ”Just calm down. It’s going to go great! But if it ever goes sideways or if you really feel like you can’t go through with this, just make some excuse, like I almost burned our crib down. Then you can leave!” 

”I’m not doing that,” you huff. “Your men went through all the trouble of booking this blind date for me. The least I can do is try to get through it.” 

Bakugou and Kiri specifically handpicked your blind dates for you tonight. They barely told you anything about them though. The only thing you know is that they’re friends. “You’ll love ‘em, doll!” Kiri told you. “I promise! These guys are super manly!” 

“They’re whatever,” Bakugou said, which didn’t help you at all. But then again, Bakugou was never good at giving compliments…unless those compliments are directed at your friend. 

“Well, to do that, you’ll have to get out of that head of yours,” your friend critically says. “Girl, you’re always overthinking! You like hot as fuck tonight and your dates will think so to. Just think about how they may even take you home tonight to get a piece of that nice, fat a—“ 

”And I’m hanging up,” you immediately announce, cringing at her hysterical laughter. “I just met the guys and it’s our first date! I’m not gonna—“ 

”Excuse me?” A rather familiar voice you can’t place politely asks you. You turn around, preparing to give this man the boot, but all of the words in your throat die when you get a look at who’s standing behind you. 

He is much taller and hotter in person, your embarrassingly large poster in your bedroom not doing you much justice. His gray vest, slacks, and white button-up shirt are rather tight on his toned body, his pecs and biceps pushing up against the fabric. The cutest freckles adorn his cheeks, almost popping out like a pop-up photo in a children’s book due to how green his hair and eyes are. They remind you of emeralds. 

Izumi Midoriya aka Deku, pro hero #1, in the flesh, is your date tonight. He gives you a kind, toothy smile, his hands behind his back. ”Are you Y/N?” He asks. 

Your mind is frozen in a block of ice, all thoughts and words put on pause. Too stunned to speak, you just nod. “Oh, good!” He sighs, relieved. “I thought I’d gotten the wrong person and embarrassed the hell out of myself!” He sheepishly laughs before passing you a bouquet of the most beautiful pink and yellow roses out from behind him. “For you,” he says, a light blush coating his cheeks. “Shoto picked ‘em. He’ll be in here soon.” 

Shoto. As in Shoto Todoroki pro hero #3. Bakugou is at #2 while Kiri is #4. If all goes well, you and your friend will be living the life dating such popular pro heroes. 

Wordlessly, you take the flowers, but not wanting to look like a crazy woman, you give Deku a smile. You just can’t believe this. You feel like you’re dreaming. “Y/N?” Your friend asks. “Helloooo? You there?” 

Brought back down to reality, you keep your eyes on Deku while you speak into your phone that you remember is pressed to your ear. “I’ve gotta go,” you abruptly say. “M-My dates are here.” Your friend just giggles. “Enjoy,” she sings. “Give me all the details when you get back.” 

Once she hangs up, the door to the restaurant opens. In walks your second date and Shoto is just as tall as Deku. He walks elegantly on long legs, his frame leaner than Deku’s, but muscled and toned. His black suit fits perfectly on him, giving him a dashing look that his long, red-and-white-toned hair tied in a ponytail only adds to. He looks like a damn fairytale prince coming to save you. 

His eyes meet yours and you swear he’s just as gorgeous in person. The burn scar over his eye only adds to his appearance, giving him a very sexy but unique look. He smiles at you and the air is immediately stolen from your plump, soft body. 

“You found her?” He asks, coming over to the bar to meet you. “I’m sorry, I was busy trying to find a parking spot. This restaurant is quite popular.” Deku nods, laughing. “That’s what it said on the website!” He chuckles. 

“Y/N, right?” Shoto asks, his silky voice directed at you. “Pleasure to finally meet you. Your friend told us all about you, but she left out how beautiful you are.” He sticks his hand out for a shake, his ringed fingers making you think of nasty things. You wouldn’t mind them wrapping around your neck or sliding inside of your—

”T-Thank you,” you say, finally finding your voice. You tentatively shake Shoto’s hand, shivering slightly at the wave of electricity you feel coursing through you at his touch. “I know who you are. Y-You’re Deku and Todoroki, pro heroes #1 and #3.” 

The duo share a look, both stunned. A mischievous smile stretches across Shoto’s face. “Someone’s a fan,” he teases. 

Deku rolls his eyes, criticizing his boyfriend. “Don’t tease her, Shoto,” he critically says before turning to you. “That, we are! I hope that doesn’t make you feel uncomfortable. We’re really just normal people…who happen to have quirks.” He looks worried that the fact that they’re famous may make you feel weird, but that isn’t even half of it. How the fuck are you supposed to act normal around such hot men?! 

Swallowing harshly and taking a much-needed sip of your cocktail, you start to feel somewhat confident from the vodka. “Well, it’s nice to meet you both,” you giggle. “Should we sit?” 

Deku offers his hand to help you slide off of the barstool with your drink and flowers. You feel his hand lightly ghost the small of your back and your skin suddenly bursts with warmth like it’s on fire. Your dress only somewhat smooths your back rolls which most men aren’t too fond of. But Deku doesn’t seem to mind.

He leads you over to a table near a window overlooking the sidewalk and decorated with two candles. Shoto takes the chair you’re about to pull out and does it for you. “Please, allow me.” He patiently waits for you to sit down before pushing you in and then taking his seat with Deku across from you. 

Such a gentleman. You love gentlemen. They make your heart pound and your inner thighs clench together to avoid the throbbing sensation you feel already coming. 

The two handsome pros sit across from you, their attractive features illuminated by the candlelight. Luckily, your waitress comes over to get your appetizer orders and fetch the pros drinks before wandering off to put in your orders. 

Shoto clears his throat and is the first to fill the silence. “Sooo, Y/N,” he begins, your name sounding like smooth butter on his lips, “how in the world are you single as pretty as you are?” Heat coats your face at his boldness. You’re not used to receiving such compliments. 

“Shoto!” Deku growls, elbowing Shoto in the arm. “We’ve only known her for, like, five minutes!” Shoto side-eyes his boyfriend. “So you don’t think she’s pretty?” He deadpans, smirking at the bright red blush that coats Deku’s freckled cheeks. 

“You’ve got game,” you giggle, earning a proud smile from Shoto. “Well, I recently decided to start dating again after a breakup a year ago. I missed nights like these, getting dressed up and going out with handsome men.” 

You watch surprise alight in the couple’s eyes that quickly melt into something more intimate and passionate. Because now they know that you’re just as attracted to them as they are to you…so far. The shift makes you feel hot all over and you cross your legs. This is going to be much harder than you thought. 

You shift slightly in your seat, clearing your throat. “S-So what about you two?” You softly stutter. “How long have you two been together? How come you’re looking for a third?” 

The two share a look and then a smile that grinds at your insides. You remember smiling that way at your person–so in love and content. ”Well, after five years of dating, we decided to venture into new experiences,” Deku answers. “We’ve both been interested in having a poly relationship for a while now, so we decided to give it a try.” 

He tells you that he and Shoto met in UA High and were friends at first before slowly becoming more. It’s a story fit for a friends-to-lovers book. Concern laces Shoto’s pretty, multicolored eyes. “And this is still okay with you? Seeing two men at the same time?” 

You want to correct him that they aren’t just any men. They’re pro heroes. Celebrities. They have status and notoriety. You would be hella stupid to say no to this. “Yeah,” you reply. “I’ve never dated two guys at the same time, but it never hurts to try something new.” 

Other than their perks as celebs, their easy-going personalities and warm nature make it especially hard to refuse them, so you feel comfortable saying yes. 

Shoto smiles, pleased with that answer, and raises his glass of red wine. “Cheers to new experiences then.” Deku raises his wine glass while you raise your cocktail before leaning to clink glasses and taking a sip in unison. You feel much better already. 

Deku suddenly gasps, his emerald eyes twinkling in excitement. “You have an All Might keychain too?” He gasps, staring down at your phone. “That’s so cute! I still carry mine around as a lucky charm.” Shoto rolls his eyes at his boyfriend, chuckling into his wine. “He can sit here all night talkin’ ‘bout All Might. Just warning you.” 

You giggle and tell Deku that you bought it at Hot Topic when the store was celebrating All Might’s birthday. A text from your friend asking if you’re okay suddenly pops up on your phone sitting face up on the table. You turn it over to be respectful to your dates but realize too late the phone case underneath. 

There, the chibi versions of Deku, Shoto, and All Might stare back at you. It was a gift from Kiri for your birthday, but now, you want to curse him for giving it to you and yourself for forgetting that it was on the back of your phone. 

Your dates catch it immediately and mirth alights behind their eyes. Shoto smirks at you, stifling his laughter. “You weren’t quick enough for that,” he chuckles. You flush with embarrassment and unbeknownst to you, Shoto adores it. Your skin glows increasingly more in the candlelight, making him want to kiss, suck, and lick every part of your beautiful skin. 

Deku is in the same boat as his boyfriend. He’s been admiring your beauty all night, but unlike Shoto, he isn’t as bold or as brazen, so he instead shifts the conversation to something else to distract him from how tight his slacks have gotten. 

“So you are a fan?” He excitedly gasps. “Wow! I can’t say I’ve ever been on a date with a fan of mine before.” Shoto’s lazily shift to yours, peering deep into you. “Me either.” 

You gnaw on your bottom lip, suddenly ashamed. “I-I’m sorry,” you stammer. “I’ll put it away if it makes you feel weird.” You go to put your phone in your purse, but Shoto’s hand stops you. You pause, your pulse jumping as you feel his long piano fingers brush your knuckles. 

“No, no, don’t,” he protests. “It’s cute. I just wonder out of the two of us which one’s your favorite.” He winks at you with that sapphire blue eye, teasing you. ”Todoroki, come on,” Deku sighs. ”Don’t embarrass her.” 

Maybe it’s the cocktail or the romantic atmosphere or gaining the undivided attention of the two sexy pros sitting across from you, but something inside of you flares up, filling you with confidence. “It’s actually both of you,” you shyly confess. 

The two look at you, stunned. “I’ll admit, I was more of a Dynamight fan until I saw you two with those kids at that charity event for the children’s hospital. I love men who are good with kids.” You flash them a bashful yet endearing smile that makes them throb and ache down below. 

“Ah, I remember that event,” Deku says, reminiscing. “That was a year ago for Christmas.” He suddenly leans in, a secretive smile on his face. “Don’t tell him this, but you definitely wouldn’t be a fan of Dynamight after learning he’s horrible with children.” 

He and Shoto proceed to tell you about when he was forced to dress as an elf for the charity event and he fussed at every kid who instead told him what they wanted for Christmas and tugged on his fake elf ears. “We had to stop him from blowing up the Christmas tree,” Shoto says, watching with adoration as you laugh into your appetizer. 

The waitress finally returns to take your main course orders and refills your water. When she leaves, Deku and Shoto once again give you their attention. “So tell us more about you, Y/N,” Deku says, and your heart somersaults at hearing your name on his lips. 

Despite their laser beam-like gazes in the candlelight and the vodka making you feel slightly unbalanced, you do as they say. 

You talk about anything and everything, starting with your job. You tell them what you studied in school and what you do now for work. Shoto looks impressed while Deku damn near chokes on his appetizer when you tell him ”An assistant at NASA?” He gasps. “That’s amazing! So if we ever fight an alien from a distant planet or something, can we call on you to fix us up with a rocket?” 

It’s a bad joke and you laugh, finding his boyish nature oh-so cute. Shoto rolls his eyes, popping an oyster into his mouth. “Again with the alien talk,” he huffs. You look away to your cocktail, stifling a smile. “You too?” Shoto asks while Deku laughs. “You really believe in those little green men?” 

You smirk at him, pointing at him with your fork. “This is coming from a guy who shoots ice and fire from his hands,” you retort. Shoto is shocked (and turned on) by your wittiness, as is Deku. They like a girl who is playful like that. “Touché,” he replies. 

Once your dinner finally arrives at the table, the convo shifts to food and drinks. Deku is fond of spicy miso ramen and mocktails while Shoto prefers black coffee and soba. You tell them your favorites and non-favorites, resulting in somewhat talking about bubble tea and how you’ve never tried it before. 

Deku looks like you just admitted to murder, pausing mid-bite with his grilled halibut. ”You’ve never tried bubble tea before?” He gasps. “Oh, you’re missing out. It’s literally one of the best creations in the world!” 

Shoto shakes his head, biting into his plank steak. “He’s exaggerating, but it is quite good.” You take a sip of your cocktail, feeling the effects of the vodka taking over. Everything is bubbly and warm, and a rush of newfound confidence courses your veins. 

“Guess you two will have to teach me then.” You don’t mean for it to sound so suggestive, but then again, you don’t care either. Because the two men are immediately caught on your hook, their gazes intense and warm. 

The flirting doesn’t stop there. Throughout dinner, they are more than happy to show you that they are very romantically interested in their beautiful date—you. Deku is more lowkey and bashful, complimenting the shade of your dress and your earrings, while Shoto flat-out tells you how attractive he thinks you are. 

It takes its toll on you—all of this undivided attention—and you find yourself sweating from it. You’re not used to such genuine flirting and compliments. You don’t know if going home with them is on the table, but if they ask, you won’t say no. That you know much. 

You know deep down that sex on the first date isn’t exactly socially acceptable or appropriate in some cases, but you can’t bring yourself to care about that. However, there is a part of you that is saying “no, don’t”. The voice of reason. The romantic part of you that wants to get to know the two pros and see where things take you. 

Other than flirting, you talk about other things: favorite heroes, their time at UA, favorite missions, vacation spots, etc. They also talk about Warner Bros apparently wanting to make a movie about Deku. “I heard they’re thinking about casting Tom Holland,” he sighs. “He looks nothing like me! But he is a good Spider-Man and is apparently Hollywood’s heartthrob.” 

You giggle, chomping down on your shrimp salad. “He’s cute or whatever, but I prefer my men much bigger and taller, like Jason Momoa.” You practically salivate at the mental image of him. 

Shoto and Deku share a look, smirking at each other. “Is he your type of man?” Shoto asks, a playful glint in his eye. 

The two look at you, quietly eager to know your answer. Your smile fades when you realize you just walked into a trap. But there’s no turning back now…might as well go all in. “Kinda,” you answer, unaware of how airy your voice sounds. “But I do like my men with long hair and pretty eyes.” 

Your eyes trail over Deku’s ever-green eyes that you could stare into forever and Shoto’s long hair you want to trail your fingers through. You want to make it known that you like them. You want them to see the fantasies running wild in your head of you together in bed, in the dark, both of them pressed against you, kissing and touching, all passion and energy transferring from one body to the other. 

Suddenly, you feel shy again and wither slightly. “Sorry,” you giggle. “It’s the vodka talking.” Shoto fixes you with a look that damn near peels you out of your dress. “Let it talk,” he softly demands. “We really like talking to you, Y/N.” 

Deku nods, a slight blush coating his cheeks. “You know, we couldn’t believe we were on a date with someone as gorgeous as you?” He sheepishly asks. “Not that Kaachan and Kiri would fix us up with someone we weren’t attracted to, but seeing you for the first time…” He pauses, blowing air out of his cheeks as if he’s winded. “It was a trip.” 

You flush from his words and genuine tone, knowing that he’s serious. They really think you’re that beautiful? “So would you say I’m your type of girl?” You boldly ask, running your hands lightly over your pudgy sides and down your jiggly thighs under the table.

In Shoto’s eyes, you see nothing but a passion so bold and open that it makes you melt. “I don’t think that even needs to be questioned, doll. You have a beautiful personality. Your looks just add to our attraction for you.” The pet name rolling off of his lips has you ready to get the check and go home with them. 

“Don’t mind his bluntness, but he’s right,” Deku adds. “Anyone would be stupid to have fumbled someone like you.” You see the same genuine passion and enthusiasm in his eyes too. There isn’t a stitch or slip of the truth in their faces. They are dead serious. 

You sit up a little straighter, tightening your hands clasped together in your lap. “Thank you,” you shyly say. “And for the record, any girl would be lucky to have two partners like you two on her arm.” 

They look as if they want you to be that “girl” whose arms they are on. 

The rest of the dinner goes by in a flash. Time really does fly when you’re having fun. You finish your food and they demand you put your credit card away, instead paying for your meal. They then walk you outside and sit on a bench near the restaurant window as you order your Lyft. 

They did offer to drive you home, but you politely declined. Despite your immense attraction to them, they are still strangers…at least right now, they are, but you hope that changes soon. 

While Shoto takes your right, Deku sits down on your left, putting you smack dab in the middle. “We’ll wait here till your Lyft comes. We don’t mind at all! It means more time with you.” You bashfully smile under the moonlight and stars in the clear night sky. The cocktail is starting to fade a bit, so you feel rationality start to sink in. 

A comfortable silence descends upon you three, only filled by the idle chatter of passersby and cars. When you check your phone, your driver is announced to be arriving in five minutes. “I really enjoyed tonight,” you say before clearing your throat. “I think this is one of the best dates I’ve had in a long time.” 

Deku smiles, looking overjoyed to hear this. “We’re happy to hear that. We had a great time with you too.” His fingers, placed on the bench, slightly brush yours. Electricity explodes in your veins at his soft touch. 

Shoto hums in agreement, nodding. ”Hopefully, you’d be up for some more great times with us.” You blink at him, realizing what he means. He wants another date. Deku does too judging from the way his fingers inch closer to yours. 

Taking things one step further, you move your hand closer to his until your hand is on top of his. You hear him physically exhale as if his self-control is jumping out the window. 

“Well, yes,” you answer Shoto, “but you’d need my number for that.” Your tone is soft and flirty, your lashes framing your eyes as you stare up into Shoto’s handsome face. 

Catching on, he playfully smirks down at you. “Then I guess we have a dilemma,” he says, his voice silky and smooth. “So how do we solve that?” You button your lip, mostly because you’re afraid of saying something stupid and ruining the magic of this moment. 

“I guess we’ll just have to compromise, won’t we, Midoriya?” He sighs, acting defeated. Deku catches on to the game and plays the role too, stroking your knuckles with his thumb. “I guess so. After all, we still need to get you to try mochi.” 

You’ve never smiled so wide in your life. By the time the two finish putting their contacts in your phone, your cheeks hurt from smiling so much. Your heart is thundering and you feel like you can fly, high on the fact that these two heartthrobs want you. 

Your Lyft finally arrives in a white SVU and rolls up to the curb. “There’s my ride,” you breathlessly announce, standing with the two. The window rolls down to show your female driver. “Y/N?” The driver calls. You nod, waving at her. 

Deku and Shoto walk over with you to the car, protective and chivalrous. “Here, I’ll get the door for you,” Deku says, opening the back door for you. You thank him, but before you can slip into the seat, you suddenly feel his and Shoto’s pairs of soft lips on either side of your face. Your brain short circuits and the entire world disappears. 

“It was nice meeting you, Y/N,” Shoto whispers into your ear. 

“We hope to see you again,” Deku adds, his voice just as soft and intoxicating.

’You will,’ you think. You want to see them again more than anything. Already, you’re grieving the loss of such a perfect night, desperate for the chance to have one again with them. 

They then step back and allow you to crawl in, no doubt staring at your ass as you do. But then you stop and look back at them, willing to show some of your cards to end the night. “You know, for the record,” you begin, “you two are my type of men. And I’d really like to see you again too.” 

Suddenly, the air between you shifts. You can feel it in the way Deku and Shoto stare at you like they want so much to get in the car and go home with you. 

But they don’t. Instead, they leave you with something that will suffice you for days to come. Shoto leans in first, his hand on the top of the car as he peers into the backseat and presses his lips to yours in a soft, gentle kiss. It’s enough to send those butterflies flapping haphazardly in your stomach as his thumb softly caresses your cheek. 

But as soon as it happens, it’s over. Then it’s Deku’s turn. He also leans down to kiss you, the taste of wine and mint gum heavy on his tongue as it lightly touches yours. You stamp back a moan, your toes curling in your shoes at the soft, intoxicating kiss. 

Their kisses are the best ones you’ve ever had. 

Finally, Deku pulls away and peers at you, his eyes holding a promise of what’s to come next if you venture down this road with them. “We’d like that,” he pants. “Call us when you get home, okay?” 

Closing your parted mouth to avoid looking insane, you nod and try to recover. “Y-Yeah,” you stammer. “I will.” Deku smiles as Shoto reaches in to kiss your hand. “Goodnight, Y/N.” 

You say goodnight and Deku closes the door, allowing the driver to finally drive off in the direction of your home. You watch the two standing on the curb watching you go, your heart still hammering away and your skin alive with flames. You lightly touch your lips, still feeling theirs on them. 

The first thing you do is put in your AirPods and call your friend, a stupid smile stretching across your face. She picks up on the second ring. “You’re alive!” She giddily says. “So what happened? Did you guys kiss? I got your Lyft notification, so I’m guessing you didn’t go home with them.” 

“No,” you sigh, rolling your eyes. “And yes, we did kiss. And I got their numbers.” 

Your friend nearly blows out both of your eardrums as she squeals into your ears. “Ooooh, the boys are gonna be so happy!” She squeals. “So tell me everything! How was the date?” 

With your smile growing wider, you add your two contacts to a group chat to thank them for the date tonight with emojis that you added to their names yourself: 

Deku 🥦💚, Shoto ❄️🔥❤️

Thank you for tonight!

“It was everything,” you dreamily sigh. 

THE END.

[pasukiyo]

Hi! Not sure if you are still taking requests but I had an idea and so I was curious like Tom has no interest in Quidditch at all, a big zero but! How would Tom react when he comes to the play for the first time, because he promised reader that he would come and watch her play and then something goes wrong and he sees her gets badly hurt?

𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 | tom riddle

tom riddle x f!hufflepuff reader 5,694 words warnings: fluff (for once) slight angst summary: tom riddle wasn’t one for quidditch. or love. but everything he thought would be questioned the moment you convince him to come to a quidditch match, and he nearly loses you. it all feels like a dream.

 Tom Riddle remembered the day he began to fall in love all too well.

 It started off a day like any other, he remembered sitting in the Great Hall for breakfast, Tiernan Lestrange and Clarence Avery at his sides, the others on the opposite side of the table. The two of them were bickering back and forth about some Slytherin girl they both seemed to fancy, the others snickering behind their goblets while Tom remained silent, frankly quite uninterested in the topic as he chose to instead engross himself in his Astronomy book. 

 “She always sits nearest to me in Potions,” Tiernan was saying, leaning forward to glare at Clarence over the table. “It must be true love then, right Lestrange?” Liam Mulciber sniggered from behind the rim of his cup, and Tiernan turned to curl his lip at him. 

 “Well, she let me borrow her Divination book,” Avery replied, a smug look washing over his pale face. “I don’t suppose she lets you borrow any of her things?”

 “Divination?” Dolohov snorted across the table. “You don’t need the book for that class, all you have to do is make stuff up. Really, Clarence, she probably just thinks you’re stupid.”

 Lestrange’s body trembled with the force of his laugh, and Tom narrowed his eyes, trying to will his mind back on the black, inky words of his Astronomy book.

 “That’s not true,” Avery hissed, cheeks seared with scarlet flame. “I’ll have you know that I have top marks in—“

 “Would the two of you be so kind as to take your argument elsewhere?” Tom’s eye twitched and he tore through the conversation like a knife, leaving the others to tighten their lips, not daring to make even the smallest of sounds. “I am trying to read.”

 For a moment, all was silent, and the group blinked at Tom as his shoulders heaved in a sigh, attempting to re-immerse himself back in his book. Lestrange swallowed the boulder-sized lump that had formed at the base of his throat, bowing his head, the others following suit. “Yes, of course. Sorry, my Lord.”

 They didn’t dare utter a word for the remainder of breakfast and eventually, they all up and left, leaving Tom on his own at the Slytherin dining table, save for a group of third years at the end. At last, he could read in peace without the others breathing down his neck or arguing over something as silly as love in his ear. 

 Just as he flipped to the next page of the book, the doors to the Great Hall slammed open, laughter and conversation pinging off the stone walls of the large room, Tom’s focus all at once being thrown off course. His eye twitched again as he snapped his head up to the source of all the noise, his gaze following the mass of yellow Quidditch uniforms as they made their way over to the table on the far side of the Hall. 

 And just at the head of the group was her, hair swept back into a ponytail, her eyes locking onto his even from all the way across the room. Her face split into a brilliant smile and she raised a leather-clad hand above her head, wobbling it in a wave. 

 Tom Riddle blinked. 

 It was classic. It was her. 

 He should’ve anticipated this. She was always there, and for a reason unbeknownst to him, he was always drawn to her, could always feel her presence in a room, could always find her in a crowd. It was frustrating. It was irritating. It was disgusting. 

 He remembered watching as she sat to join the other Hufflepuff Quidditch players at their table— they must’ve had an early morning practice. He wasn’t sure why he felt inclined to care—after all, it was no secret that Tom Riddle loathed Quidditch. 

 He could never understand the interest. Why watch a bunch of fools fly around on broomsticks and toss balls into hoops when there were more beneficial ways to spend your time on? To be quite frank, Tom saw Quidditch as nothing more than a waste of time. 

 But even then, he still couldn’t bring himself to tear his eyes away from her. Seeker and Captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team— he’d heard she was actually quite good at the sport, but a series of losses seemed to muddy her reputation. He’d heard other Houses snicker about it before— “Hufflepuff’s Captain caught the Snitch again, but the team was still down nearly two hundred points, and they lost anyway. Honestly, how unlucky can you be?” 

 How unfortunate, indeed. 

 Even then, she seemed content with her team, her House, everything. Tom couldn’t seem to understand how someone could be so happy, so fine with having to settle with everyone else’s ignorance. Nevertheless, there she was, laughing and cheering with the rest of the Hufflepuff team, as if they weren’t the worst Quidditch team Hogwarts had seen in years. 

 She must’ve felt Tom’s stare on her, for he could see even from all the way across the Hall how she blinked and turned her head, her eyes quick to find his. Her face lifted into a grin and she raised her hand to wave again. 

 Tom pursed his lips and slammed his Astronomy book closed. He needed to leave. 

 Tucking his book under his arm, he pushed himself away from the Slytherin dining table, striding towards the double doors of the Great Hall. He could feel eyes beading into the back of his head and he sniffed at the feeling, willing himself to keep his head forward. 

 He couldn’t understand why she was capable of getting so into his head. No one had ever had such an effect on him before, so why her? They were polar opposites— she loved Quidditch, she loved being around people, she was outgoing, fun, and he was… well, quite introverted. 

 People adored him, even he, himself, knew it. He guessed it came with being Head Boy, along with his services to the school. But Tom was less than appreciative towards the attention he received— he wanted nothing more than to be left alone, whether it be by the other students or the teachers. Professor Slughorn, in particular, was one of his biggest obstacles. Even his followers were as burdensome as they were irritating, more times than not. 

 All Tom Riddle really needed was himself. He didn’t care for anyone else, and he never would. He had come this far without trusting anyone— so why did he feel like that all could potentially come crashing down because of her? Why did he feel a pull towards her, like metal to a magnet? 

 The irritation with himself grew like a weed inside of him and with each angry step he took up the Grand Staircase, he tore through his annoyance with a blade. He needed to get a grip on himself, and as he made his way down one of Hogwarts’ many long corridors, he chanted the same phrase over and over again inside of his head:

 You do not need anyone else. 

 He spent the latter half of the morning and the beginning of the afternoon in the Library, forcing his mind into the hardcover spread on the table before him, his fingers gripping either edge of the book like it was the only thing anchoring him down to the inky, black words on the pages. Still, he could not rid his mind of the Hufflepuff girl— but why? He tried to remember every interaction he had ever had with her, if there was anything she had said that seemed to stick with him. Instead, the image of her smile and the memory of her warm, benevolent words made his insides twist with a feeling he didn’t even want to acknowledge. 

 He’d tried his best up to this point to make himself as unlikeable as possible— but even being short with her or brushing her off altogether never seemed to steer her off course. She was always just there, finding him even during the rush of lunch or dinner, asking how his day was or wondering how he felt about his classes. She seemed to try to find anything to say that may keep his attention. 

 She was nothing if not for her persistence. 

 And no matter how hard he tried to convince himself that she was annoying, he still found himself thinking of her, his mind burning with the way her face would split into a smile when she saw him, how happy she always seemed to be to see him. 

 He hated how fluttery his heart would feel at the notion that perhaps, she fancied him, his stomach doing somersaults at the idea of a relationship with her.

 Tom blinked down at his book. 

 This was really getting quite annoying. 

 For the second time that day, he slammed his book closed and sighed, leaning back into his seat, absentmindedly staring at the old hardcover. Perhaps a walk would suffice in clearing his mind— yes. Maybe all he needed was some fresh air in his lungs. 

 He pulled away from his seat and tucked the book away in his knapsack, nodding his head in acknowledgment to the old Librarian as he pushed the doors of the Library open. Keeping his lips pressed tight together, he clasped his hands behind his back as he ventured down the hallway towards the entrance to the Hogwarts Grounds, breathing the fresh air into his nostrils when he pushed the doors open, the afternoon sun kissing his pale cheeks. 

 The Grounds were bustling with students, which made sense, considering it was a Saturday. He just hoped he looked as unapproachable as possible— the last thing he needed was for someone to bother him, and he desperately hoped his followers weren’t around. He wasn’t confident he’d be able to bear their company without snapping at the moment. 

 It was warm today, the breeze adding the perfect amount of chill. The sky was a bright blue, and only a few wispy clouds painted its canvas. He thought for sure his mind would clear in no time—it was a beautiful day, after all. That was until just up ahead from the North exit of the Grounds emerged a group of students in bright yellow uniforms, their leader being none other than the very girl he had been trying to rid from his mind. 

 And of course, she was looking his way, and of course she was trotting up to him, that damned face illuminated with that damned smile. 

 “Tom!” She exclaimed as she jogged up, and once she was in front of him, he could see the faint traces of dirt on her cheeks, as well as the way the skin on her hairline glistened with a thin layer of sweat. His gaze flickered to her lips as her tongue swiped between them, and for a moment, he eyed the way her chest heaved as she caught her breath. 

 He could practically feel the knot tying itself at the base of his throat. 

 He cleared his throat and murmured her name in acknowledgment, nodding his head. “It’s a fine day today, isn’t it?” She asked, squinting her eyes as she gazed up at the sky. “I was lucky to have reserved the pitch for practice this morning. Finally beat your Neil Lament to the punch, for once.”

 He blinked— why was it that he suddenly seemed interested in Quidditch so long as she was the one talking about it?

 “Yes, I suppose,” he replied, his voice sounding void of emotion. This would usually be enough to scare anyone away— but not her. 

 “You know, I wish you’d come to our Quidditch matches, at least every once and awhile,” she leaned in, nudging his arm with her elbow. Tom tensed at the touch, the little hairs on the back of his neck standing erect, his skin erupting into flame in her touch’s wake. “We play Slytherin next Saturday, and we looked really good at practice today. Perhaps we’ll even have a shot at getting our first win of the season!”

 She trailed off, suddenly looking anywhere but at him. “I’d… I’d really love it if you’d come.”

 She blinked up at him, and she seemed to flush when he met her gaze, clasping a hand over her wrist. Tom could hear his heartbeat thundering in his chest at the realization that for some strange reason, he felt he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he disappointed her. His voice hardly felt like his own when he said, “perhaps, I will.”

 She blinked once, twice, thrice, as if she couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing. Tom, himself, couldn’t quite believe the words that had tumbled from his mouth either. 

 “Really?” Her lips curved into a grin and she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth— Tom hoped the swift glance he stole to her mouth was as discreet as he intended it to be. She grasped the handle of her broomstick with either hand and she turned her head to glance over her shoulder at her team where they stood waiting, calling out her name and waving her back.

 She tried to conceal her smile as she began to back away from Tom, hugging her broom to her chest. “I’ll hold you to your word then,” she said. “I expect to see you there!”

 Tom watched as she turned and bounded back to her team, peering back over her shoulder at him as the others dragged her away towards the castle. 

 Tom couldn’t believe he agreed to go to a Quidditch match— something he’d avoided altogether for seven years— all because she said she wanted him to. Tom swallowed a lump of saliva back down his throat— strangely enough, he found himself looking forward to the match next week. 

 He didn’t think the Quidditch match that next Saturday could come any sooner. Of course, he’d seen her around the castle, but something within him couldn’t quite wait to see her reaction when she noticed him in the questionable Quidditch stands. 

 Course, he still didn’t understand why he felt the urge to go in the first place. Why was it that he hated the idea of letting her down if he didn’t show up?

 If Saturday had only crept up on him, then the time for the match to begin made a break straight for him and sent him pummeling to the ground— and it was only when he entered the empty Slytherin common room that he realized he was running terribly late. 

 He made haste for the common room exit, failing to notice the group of boys looming in the corner until they were right on his heels, and he stiffened at the sound of someone’s voice.

 “My Lord, we’ve been waiting for you all morning.”

 He turned to gaze at his followers, expression as hard as stone. Liam Mulciber was at the head of the group, and the ball at the base of his throat visibly bobbed when he swallowed, realizing nobody else was going to speak up. 

 “Forgive me for asking you of this, my Lord,” he murmured, wetting his lips with his tongue. Tom only looked at him, not bothering to feign interest. “Well, I… we… were wondering where you were going,” Liam managed at last, his shoulders now lax as he inhaled. Tom sniffed, “since when did my whereabouts become your business?”

 Liam Mulciber’s body tensed again, and the others seemed to be more interested in the floor than Tom. Mulciber’s lips moved to speak again, but the ticking of the mental clock in Tom’s mind was thundering now— he was late. 

 “If you all are done interrogating me now, I’d like to get moving,” Tom said simply, turning to push open the door of the common room. “I have somewhere to be.” 

 Tom left them in the common room speechless, the sound of the door slamming shut behind him echoing in the Slytherin dungeons. His heavy, methodical footsteps were next to permeate the stone corridor as he strode to the exit, pushing open the next set of doors until he was on the steps of the Grand Staircase. Seeing as nobody else was around, he fell into an uncharacteristic sprint up the stairs. 

 “Is that Tom Riddle?” One of the paintings on the wall asked somewhere behind him.

 “I suppose it is! Hah! Never seen that boy run a day in his life. Always so aloof, that one is,” he could hear another one say. He didn’t allow himself the time to even scowl at this remark. 

 He bursted through the doors leading to the Hogwarts Grounds, and just over the stone walls on the far side of the yard, he could see the top of the Quidditch pitch, a flurry of yellow and green uniforms every once and awhile peeking from behind the stands. He could hear the muffled cheers and chants even from all the way down where he stood and he huffed, making a break for the North exit. 

 When he finally arrived, he clambered up the first set of stairs leading up to the nearest green stand he could find, dusting off his robes and huffing when he reached the top. 

 So this is what the Quidditch pitch looked like, he thought to himself. He’d never been up in the sketchy wooden stands, never been on the pitch itself, never even been within feet from the bleachers. He could feel hundreds of eyes on him as he sat in the nearest available seat in the front row, pressing his lips together and clenching his jaw, ignoring the murmurs behind him. 

 “Jason Wilbrook scores another ten points for Hufflepuff! Hufflepuff is now up eighty to thirty!” 

 The Slytherin students around Tom all grumbled, the stands on either side erupting into cheers, chanting for Hufflepuff. He blinked— although he knew absolutely nothing that was going on in the game itself, he knew it was an absolute rarity that Hufflepuff was actually winning, and against Slytherin for that matter. 

 He scanned the air and the different players in yellow uniforms until he saw her, dormant where she sat on her broom, her ponytail whipping behind her as she searched— more than likely for the Snitch. But when she looked down and her line of vision seemed to aim straight for him, he knew the little golden ball wasn’t the only thing she had been looking for. 

 Even from all the way down where he was, he could see the way her skin lit up as her lips curved into that bright smile of hers, and he could already see her leather-clad hand raising above her hand to wobble down at him in a wave. Tom didn’t make any moves to reciprocate, but he couldn’t seem to peel away from her either. Not even when something small but shiny whipped by her and she gasped, squeezing the handle of her broom with either hand as she leaned forward in pursuit of the Snitch. 

 “Oh! It seems Hufflepuff’s Seeker has spotted the Snitch!” The announcer’s voice bellowed from the amplifier in his hand. “Hufflepuff scores another ten points, making the score ninety to thirty but— uh oh, it seems Slytherin’s own Seeker, Neil Lament, has spotted the Snitch as well!”

 It was all happening so fast, but still, Tom’s eyes were trained on her and the way her yellow uniform whipped behind her as well as her hair while she chased the Snitch. Neil Lament, a burly seventh year with olive skin was at her side, his lips curled in a snarl as he rammed his shoulder into her, nearly knocking her from her broom. 

 Tom could taste bile on his tongue and his brow deepened with a scowl. The other Slytherins around him were chanting Neil’s name, yelling foul things about her, things that he hadn’t even realized were making his blood boil until he felt his cheeks warm with vexation. 

 “Hufflepuff scores another ten points and— oh, Merlin! Neil Lament has shoved the Hufflepuff Seeker and—“

 Tom needn’t hear more. He saw it as it happened. 

 Neil was seething, and seemed to have enough with this race. Gripping the handle of his broomstick with black leather gloves, he used all of the strength he could muster in his body to throw his shoulder into the girl beside him and her fingers slipped from her broom, just barely managing to latch back on before it was too late. 

 With her heart thudding against her chest, she willed her balance back onto her broom, exhaling a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding as she looked up and—

 —everything went black. 

 Tom’s lips parted as he watched the large, mud-colored ball ram into the side of her head before dashing away as if nothing had happened. He watched as her fingers unhooked from around her broom and her eyelids fluttered closed, her consciousness slipping away from her as she fell slack, her body limp as it fell from the broom and began to make its long descent for the ground. 

 Tom’s fingers were curled around the wand in his robes before he could even wrap his head around what was happening, his lips parting and forming the word “Levioso!” just before her body could hit the ground below. His blood was running cold, frost icing over his lungs as he guided her down into the green of the pitch, and he released his breath as soon as she was sprawled on the grass. 

 Everything after was a blur. 

 He barely remembered the trip down the wobbling wooden stairs of the stands, hardly remembered searching for the entrance to the pitch, but he did remember when a group of teachers emerged from beneath one of the stands, her body limp in the arms of Albus Dumbledore. 

 His feet were moving without his brain willing them to, and it wasn’t long before the professors acknowledged his presence. 

 “Tom, my boy,” Professor Slughorn’s lips curved into a smile as he grabbed his shoulders, locking him in place as her body was being taken away. His eyes couldn’t leave her. “That was you that casted the Levicorpus charm on her, yes? I must say, I admire your quick thinking and—“

 “Apologies, Professor. But I wish to see to her—“

 “Not to worry, dear boy,” Slughorn clapped his shoulder, brushing a piece of lint from the black of Tom’s robes. “Rest assured, Madame Everleigh will see to it that she’s nursed back to full health. Now, in the meantime—“

 Tom couldn’t bear to hear whatever it was Slughorn had to say next. He was tearing away from the professor’s grip and making long strides toward the castle where Albus Dumbledore, along with the rest of the teachers, disappeared into. His feet were on autopilot, making a beeline for the Hospital Wing. 

 When he finally arrived, she was already settled onto a bed, Dumbledore and a few other teachers talking amongst themselves as the Matron, Madame Everleigh, tended to her. Albus Dumbledore caught Tom’s eyes where he stood at the entrance to the infirmary. He excused himself from the other teachers and sauntered over to where Tom stood, hands clasped behind his back. 

 “That was some quick thinking you had back there,” Professor Dumbledore praised, but Tom was hardly comprehending his words. “Is she alright?” Was all Tom could bring himself to ask, and Dumbledore turned to glance over his shoulder before turning back to Tom, pursing his lips and nodding his head. “She’s unconscious, but she’s stable. She’ll definitely wake up with a ghastly headache, that’s for certain.”

 Tom blinked, expressionless. He wasn’t one for humor. Perhaps Professor Dumbledore already knew that. He wouldn’t question it, for now. 

 “I’m sure Madame Everleigh will have nursed her back to consciousness soon,” Dumbledore said. “She needs rest. I wouldn’t suppose Mrs Everleigh would find any issue in you keeping her some company, so long as you stay out of her way.”

 Tom bowed his head, and Dumbledore reciprocated as he watched the Head Boy pass by, noting the concern the boy had for the girl lying on the hospital bed. Interesting, Albus Dumbledore thought to himself before ambling towards the exit, pushing open the door in front of him. 

 Madame Everleigh paid him no mind, most likely not even realizing he was there at all as she fluffed the pillow beneath the girl’s head, making sure it was well supported. The other teachers had since dispersed, leaving the only ones left in the infirmary Tom Riddle, Madame Everleigh, the Hufflepuff Captain, and a young Gryffindor on the opposite wall, groaning into a large tin bucket. 

 Tom cleared his throat and it was then that Madame Everleigh acknowledged his presence, blinking up at him. “Excuse me, Madame Everleigh,” he began. “You wouldn’t mind if I stayed and kept her some company, would you?”

 Madame Everleigh shrugged, her small frame circling the bed to reach for something from the table on the other side. “So long as you stay out of my way, I see no problem with it.”

 Tom Riddle spent the afternoon sitting in a chair at her bedside, letting Madame Everleigh tell the other Hufflepuff Quidditch players her condition when they finally arrived, a somber air around them as they grumbled about their loss when the game had started off so promising. 

 It wasn’t until after dinner that the girl on the bed finally began to stir, and Tom pushed himself up on his seat, blinking down at her as her eyelids began to peel open. She grumbled something incoherent as she cradled the side of her head, the very one the bludger had hit hours before. 

 When she finally came to, she squinted over to the boy at her bedside. “Tom?” Her voice was low in a hoarse whisper, and Madame Everleigh was quick to join her at her other side, holding a cup of water to her lips. 

 “You will be sore for a while,” the Matron informed her. “It’s best if you stay here and rest for the time being. You’re lucky you weren’t unconscious for days.”

 She waited until Madame Everleigh was gone before turning back to Tom, even in pain, her face splitting into a smile. “Quite the first Quidditch match for you, wasn’t it?” 

 Tom, with his expression as hard as ever, leaned back in his seat and scoffed, not a hint of amusement on his face. He couldn’t believe she was cracking jokes when she was in pain, when he was over here worried for her. Her ignorance was astounding. 

 “You were hurt,” he replied, voice deep and rumbling. Her smile dropped and she frowned, furrowing her brows. “But I’m alright now,” she replied, narrowing her eyes at him. For a few moments, neither said anything. Her gaze was penetrating, as if she were trying to see through him. 

 None had ever tried and succeeded before. 

 “You were worried for me, weren’t you?”

 Until now. 

 Tom blinked, his eye twitching as he tore his gaze away from her, choosing to instead peer out the windows on the far wall. It was all becoming too real, this ever-growing feeling inside of him for the girl before him. Up until now, he could’ve played it off as being all in his head. But now that she was saying it aloud— it was too much. Too real. 

 She released a breathy laugh, and she reached to prod a finger against his forearm, his skin tingling with the phantom of her touch. “You were totally worried about me,” she tittered. “How lucky am I to have Tom Riddle, Hogwarts’ very own Head Boy looking after me?”

 Tom sunk his molars into the flesh of the inside of his cheek and he sniffed, shifting in his seat. “Do you want an award or something?” He questioned, and she chuckled. “Now he’s making jokes?” She raised an eyebrow to her hairline. “You’re full of surprises, Tom Riddle.”

 “It’s called being sarcastic.”

 “Is it?”

 Tom pressed his lips together to form thin, white lines and after a few beats, she turned back to look at him. “What happened after I got a bludger to the head?” She asked, noting the blackness outside the hospital windows. Tom shifted in his seat. “I left after you were injured,” he replied. “Your teammates came to visit.”

 She perked at this. “What did they say? Did we win?” She asked, and Tom shook his head. “They said they substituted another Seeker in for you. Hufflepuff lost one hundred to two hundred and forty.”

 She groaned and banged her fist against the mattress, spatting a “damn!” She grumbled, “if not for that blasted Neil Lament, I would’ve had the Snitch and we would have actually won for once.”

 Tom scoffed at this and she eyed him from the corner of her sockets. “What?” The wrinkle in her brow deepened at this. “Last I checked, you don’t even care for Quidditch. Why should you care if your team gets another measly win?”

 Tom rolled his eyes, “I don’t care about Quidditch. It’s the fact that you’re fussing over a damn sport when you’re lying in a hospital bed, injured.” 

 Silence swept over them like a wave and she blinked over at Tom who couldn’t bring himself to look at her anymore, staring out the windows instead, his arms folded over his chest. She eyed his pale skin, the sharpness of his jaw, his full, pink lips as they pursed together, his piercing, dark eyes as they looked anywhere but at her. 

 She could feel her heart as it drummed in her chest, a warmth washing over her that she’d felt many times before. She ached with affection for him, ached with want, with desire. And now that he was sitting here, her only acquaintance in the otherwise empty hospital— save for the small Gryffindor boy now sound asleep on the other side of the room— she felt a burning in her chest, a burning of hope that he felt the same way too. 

 After all, why else would he spend his entire day sitting with her until she woke up when he was always so insistent on using his time for other more important things? With the clearing of her throat, she mustered all the confidence she could to her mouth as her words formed on the tip of her tongue. 

 “You know, if I didn’t know any better Tom, I’d think you were falling for me.”

 Her heart was racing, especially when he turned to gaze back down at her, that murky, black stare of his piercing right through her. She felt like she was suffocating the longer he made her wait for his response, she could feel the crimson heat as it crept to her cheeks. 

 Tom Riddle was usually calm, cool, and collected, always knew what to say and when to say it. This was the first time he could remember being rendered speechless. 

 It was real now— never had anyone been able to see through him before, no one had ever been able to see him, to slowly begin to figure him out. But she did. She somehow knew about this strange and foreign feeling within him, something he wasn’t sure what to name. Attraction? Desire? Infatuation? Love?

 Could this be love? Could love be this sudden, this unexpected? Could this be what love was, to care so deeply for someone without even fully understanding why? To burn for someone else, to have your heart beat erratically at just the idea of them? Was love something else?

 Tom didn’t know. But perhaps, this was what it was like to fall in love with someone else. This was a day he’d remember all too well. 

 Tom straightened in his seat and cleared the heavy lump in his throat, his lip quivering as he opened his mouth, although unsure what to say. “Perhaps, I am.”

 Her lips parted and her brows knit together, and suddenly, she didn’t feel like she’d just taken a bludger to the head, or that she had nearly fallen to her death only hours ago. Suddenly, she wanted nothing more than for Tom Riddle to kiss her. Her lips were practically throbbing with the idea of Tom’s on them. 

 “I don’t know whether or not I’m dreaming right now. And I really, really hope I’m not,” she murmured, losing herself further into the darkness of his eyes until she couldn’t tell when she ended and he began anymore. “Perhaps I’m dead and this is all just a hallucination,” she whispered, breathless. “Whether or not this is real, I’d really like for you to kiss me right now.”

 Tom could feel warmth surge through him at her words, his lip quivering as he leaned forward, their faces now so close, their lips but mere wisps against one another. “I hope you aren’t dreaming either,” he murmured and she trembled, feeling her lungs shudder in her chest. 

 And then Tom’s lips were on hers, and she was sure this was real. 

 Tom Riddle’s lips were on hers, soft and pliant, kissing her with an urgent, tender need. If she was a candle, then he was her flame, and she was melting like wax, sinking further and further down into the plush of the hospital bed’s mattress. If it weren’t for the pain in her head, she’d follow his lips when he pulled away, blinking down at her. Her gaze met his and his irises were so dark, she couldn’t quite tell when his pupils began or ended. 

 All she could feel was his hot breath as it lingered like an ember on her skin, and she shuddered as she exhaled. “If I’m dreaming, please don’t pinch me,” she whispered, and Tom breathed, the closest she’d ever heard him come to a laugh. “Wouldn’t dream of it,” he murmured back and the corners of her lips curved into a smile, a giggle slipping through the cracks. 

 Tom Riddle was making a joke. 

a/n; i literally just finished writing this like twenty minutes ago and i shit you not, i wrote the last like 3k words of this in one sitting 😭 not sure how i feel about the beginning, but i think i feel good about my writing at the end for once. and i actually wrote fluff and not smut for once!! look at me!! anyways, IM NOW CAUGHT UP WITH REQUESTS! so feel free to send in more if you’d like lol

| 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 |

@darkmoviesquotespizza @lyis @upsidedownspidey @michelle-26

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - It's 2024 & I'm talking about TayNew... really?

(They pretty much told us all to sit down and shut tf up, 'cause they got this. AND THEY DO.)

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Feb 2024 Wk 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

Cherry Magic (Sat YouTube grey) ep 9 of 12 - I broke. In my defense, it was Monday, I needed comfort, and TayNew were right tf there. Ya know what? They are great in this show. It's a great adaptation. I might like it more than the JBL live action. You know why? Really, honestly WHY...?

That was a PHENOMENAL KISS. Those boys did Thailand fucking proud. They did fandom a solid. Thank you OGs for reminding us how it's done. I was getting used to SloppyHot. And SloppyHot has its place, but that TayNew rooftop kiss was a top tear class act. It was tender and sweet and respectful and joyful. It was eye work and breath work and years of practice. How very far BL has come while still staying so much the same. TayNew - I salute you!

(Read all about distribution issues here.)

The Sign (Sat YT) ep 12fin - we waiting, I guess? Bah.

Cooking Crush (Sun YT) ep 11 of 12 - The recipe book thing was so damn cute and I love a claiming. YOU KNOW I LOVE A CLAIMING!

In fact, I love OffGun.

I love food based BL.

I adored seeing a reboot of "the infamous dragging". 

But I don’t love anything else about this show. Sigh.

1000 Years Old ep 1 of 12 - Finally we get our gay vampire BL from Feel Good Bangkok. Stars Shane (My Engineer) and fresh face Opal, directed by Champ (2gether). It’s kind of odd but enjoyable. A group of teen UFO seekers find a vampire instead. Opal looks a bit like a mix between Newnu + Leo (VIXX) - so cute + edge. Also, nice to see Shane again on our screens after so long. 

Finally, I like the subtle (and sometimes not subtle) presence of ghosts permeating this show. Do the friends know she's there? Do they know she's dead? Is the existence of paranormal accepted but not that of aliens? Or are the two combined? Is this lazy writing or just fun world building? Who cares! It's enjoyable.

For Him (Thurs iQIYI) ep 12fin - the nail painting bit was very cutie queers and I've not seen it done in BL before, so that was nice. For some reason captions never dropped for me on this last episode, but it didn’t really matter. Not much happened and I understood everything anyway.

Quick pitch?

From the people who brought us Unforgotten Night based on a y-novel, about a young man nursing a heartbreak who has a one-night stand, but the other boy didn't want it to end. This turned out to be a pulp that wasn’t half as good as it should have been and even less memorable, but not terrible. 5/10 DON'T BOTHER unless you're v bored

City of Stars (Fri iQIYI) ep 3 of 12 - Oh it is such a pulp: the acting is not good and the script is terrible. Of course, I’m mildly enjoying it. Very good dream kissing. There's something appealing about these main characters - I think it's the moot crushes. We rarely get to see that. These days everything feels very one sided, this... isn't.

A Secretly Love (Thai WeTV) - Khonprot, a third-year hazer of the engineering faculty, has a secret crush on Pluem, a tsundere fourth-year head hazer. Over the years, he's seen Pluem cycle through girlfriends. Recently, after a public breakup, however, Khonprot thinks maybe a boy has a chance.

I tried but I can't get into my WeTV account anymore and I'm way too lazy to figure it out. I'll catch it grey if I can, since I've rebooted the bootlegging side of my BL life for Cherry Magic anyway.

So this show may stay in this section, or I may bump it down to "it's airing but..."

If anyone is watching it, let me know if it's good?

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Love For Love's Sake (Korea Weds iQIYI) 7-8fin - Ugh it was GREAT, despite some pretty telling flaws. I ended up feeling like some of the filming was amateurish (very overworked low angles - director's first feature, I assume), and the narrative is a little disjoined and on the nose, AND the subs are clumsy (which I don't expect from KBL) BUT I still loved it. (FYI - I wouldn't be so harsh on a BL for this kinda thing except one from Korea.)

Quick pitch:

This isekai-based KBL is about a man who must win a game by convincing a reserved teen outcast to fall in love with him. Of course, that teen represents himself and his own unhappiness. Like many queer narratives, this show is actually about self worth, trust, and found family, and it is VERY on the nose. But I don’t expect subtlety from my BL and I enjoyed it's truly lovely redemption arc and earnest performances. While I found the narrative a touch disjointed with overworked filming angles and poorer than average captions, this is certainly much better than early KBL in terms of consistency of tone, script, and immersion. Highly rewatchable and charming, which counts for a lot. 9/10

Trigger warning for suicide depicted.

Perfect Propose (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 4 of 6 - Gosh, it’s so lovely. But I do just constantly want to give them both hugs. 

AntiReset (Taiwan Fri Viki/Gaga) ep 4 of 10 - Oh look, Taiwan has created yet another BL where I spend most of the time watching it grinning like an idiot. Surprise surprise. The pet name thing was fucking adorable. Also Taiwan once more proving they come by their "kings of kissing" title honestly. I mean to say. In a week of good kisses this one was just... WOW.

On the other hand, some of the underpinning themes are starting to v worry me (ownership, consent, age), and we only just got started, and I don't trust this production company so... I have concerns.

But also... YAY KISSES!

(I'm made of weak moral fiber.)

Although I Love You and You AKA Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 6 of 10 - Like many other shows on this list. I just enjoy it the most when the two leads are on screen together. So this episode was kind of lacking because they were apart for most of it. I also am starting to agree with the tone of the plot, that maybe they ARE better off as friends not lovers. (And I'm sure I'm not supposed to want that.) Oh Japan, must you?

My Strawberry Film (Japan Gaga) ep 1 of 8 - Oh it’s good. In the arthouse lane so don’t expect sweetness & light or an HEA. If there’s no cartoon aspect to a JBL, there’s usually no joy. But it is certainly good. Teens uncover some old film and a mystery around a pretty girl. The background music is wildly annoying (and rarely in the background). 

It's Done

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - will binge when I have any spare time. 2024 is crazy busy for me so far.

The Servant and the Young Master - from Vietnam, it's on YouTube. I will give it a try when I have a window of time.

Began Beginning (Myanmar YouTube) - A Burmese BL? @heretherebedork vouched for it, so I will give it a watch.

7 Days Before Valentine (Weds WeTV) - Gave me Luminous Solution vibes have decided not to watch.

It's Airing But...

Dead Friend Forever (Thai iQIYI) - rumors are it's interesting. I'm waiting to know how it ends.

Ossans Love Season 2 (Japan Gaga) - 5 years later, will anything have changed? This is Japan so… probubly not. I won't be watching this. I disliked Season one and actively hated the follow ups. No thank you.

Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 14 eps - Dear Playboyy, it's not you, it’s me… I hate you. You’re about as deep (and as palatable) as a shot glass of cum. While I'm sure you’re someone’s kink, you're my weakest link. Goodbye. I DNFed this at ep 5. Frankly I'm impressed with myself for getting that far.

Time the series (Tue Gaga/YT) 10 eps - dropped it at ep 4.

Next Week Looks Like This:

2/24 Unknown (Taiwan Youku) 12 eps - Older brother tough guy breadwinner looks after his sister and defacto adopted little brother. Little bother falls in love with him and is sent away after a stolen kiss. But when he comes back…

Sam Lin has a cameo so even if I wasn't already excited, I'm in. We should be on our guard though, Taiwan will occasionally go edgy, dark, and sad... this could go there.

One assumes GMMTV is filling in the BL time slot with something queer on their YT Channel after Cooking Crush ends, they gonna lose subs if they don't. But I've not been paying attention to the chatter so I don't know which of their line-up it will be. I think G4 are filming/off radar now, and Earth is in that het noona thing? Plus they gotta sort out the IP for MIx-Up and Ossen. So it won't be one of the announced adaptations. They'll hold My Golden Blood for the high season, so I think it'll be one of the lesser known lead-outs. Wandee or Only Boo maybe? But they only just started filming those. Are we getting our long awaited GL? Anything else left from 2023 that I forgot about?

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Two crawling kisses from Thailand this week. Now this is a fetish I didn't know I had. Turns out, we love this one! (*waves hand in air* I speak for all of us now.)

Cooking Crush

City of Stars

Possibly the best tsundere to cinnamon roll pivot we've had in a long time.

Also the best asshole to KING pivot. Could we have a whole drama staring this character now? Please?

And finally our sunshine learning to love himself.

SIGH. what a lovely show.

And a good SMILEY kiss from a KBL.

And then some cute cuddles? Korea is spoiling me these days. I'm catching expectations now. What's next? Japan learns to kiss in their light BLs? Ha! I kill me.

(All Love for Love's Sake).

(Last week)

[whetstonefires]

Do you have any opinions on Scholomance?

I do! I like it a lot. I really enjoyed all three books, blitzed through them easily and was much more excited to see how the plots unfolded than I'm used to these days, as a jaded adult, and I also really appreciated them as works of craft.

Especially the first one, I spent the whole time being all 'wow!' at how simple it was. So easy to read, but no waste. You really need to know what you're doing, to get that kind of pared-down elegance of form to work and still fit so much content in.

Like these are dense, there's a fantastic stylistic minimalism that allows El's character all the space it needs to breathe by making absolutely every other thing and person in the whole novel also do character work for her, which is exactly where the first person voice shines.

Also great use of character perspective to make the pacing feel really natural, so the fact that the first book takes three weeks, the second book takes one year, and the third book is like. Five or so incredibly stressful days spread out over the course of a few weeks? Doesn't feel imbalanced.

I actually got distracted from the story a few times by noticing the strength of Novik's technique. 😂 This is a me problem, in itself it's the opposite of distracting. Very low-profile.

I think the Scholomance is a great example of how far you can go in specfic when you aren't cringing from the label 'derivative,' because the Scholomance books feel very fresh ad clean specifically because nothing in them is concerned with standing out as 'original,' whatever that's supposed to mean, only with being well-executed and suitable to its task.

Hm, maybe that's where Liesel was born, the intersection of the efficient narrative style and the vast proportion of the story that concerns the maximization of utility and the instrumentalization of persons by themselves and others, and the forces that incentivize these behaviors. Or maybe she's just the narrative counterweight to Orion 'Head Empty' Lake lmao. How's that for a principle of balance, Galadriel?

I really did enjoy how beautifully it was laid out, over and over, in dozens of shades of humanity, how no matter where you go in an exploitative system almost everyone is being driven by the same survival instincts.

Because I don't think I've ever seen made so cleanly clear why you just can't expect any person or small group of people, no matter their level of goodwill or status, to unmake one of these systems from the inside; how it's not a matter of people being bad but of every single person being very...small.

And then not retreating into the idea of a person who is Big coming and breaking the cruel system from the outside as some kind of panacea, because 1) that is terrible, even if it's necessary and done in the best way possible and 2) that's not a sustainable answer to anything. Getting a balance between the protagonist being able to effect change and not subscribing to the great man theory of history can be really tricky!

Also did I mention, I love El, and I love most of the cast, even the dreadful ones. How am I going around with this many feelings about Li Shanfeng who doesn't appear until the actual climax?

The romance murdered me a bit, but it took up no more space than it absolutely needed to do its job, and I respect that. Also I appreciated Orion as a love interest; Novik has a slight record at this point of a version of that style of male love interest who's like a caricature of Mr. Darcy but old, which was shaping up to be my least favorite thing about her body of work.

...Orion is kind of like if you took the human king from Spinning Silver and gave him an alignment flip come to think of it, so he's not coming out of nowhere. Lmao.

Which reminds me (re: romance character typing) I've heard Novik didn't want it to be known she was astolat, which this series has renewed my sympathies if so. Because if I were a published novelist I wouldn't want people going 'you know, that resolution was really emotionally satisfying! reminds me of that fic she wrote where optimus prime and megatron get stuck in a hole underground and hatefuck about it.'

I don't even like Transformers. That fic almost made me cry. Actually I suspect it reads better if you don't like Transformers because I'm sure it does not give a shit about canon.

Anyway, whoever pointed out that one of the things El has going on is she's Enoby (and we're going to sit down and explore what the true reason to put your middle finger up at preps is, and what are some constructive ways to channel that socioeconomic wrath, and what it means that there is no ethical consumption under capitalism) was right and I'm not entirely over that either.

Fucking love El's mom as a character. Spectacular level of parent relevance and usefulness. A+.

Aadhya and Liu are also characters who fucking delivered.

Re: minimalism though, I laughed at the start of The Golden Enclaves when I realized that none of the enclaver characters who'd gotten development in the the first two books were from London, the enclave El was theoretically shooting for when we met her.

[0o-junebug-o0]

OH OH OH how about a coffee shop/bookstore date like reader is new to town and Spencer decides to take them out to his favorite book shop and coffee shop (gn reader if possible:3)

Ways to Say "I Love You"

thank you so much for the request! I had a blast writing this

spencer reid x gn!reader (no use of y/n)

cw: nothing, just pure fluff

wordcount: 2.6k

You pace in circles around your living room, avoiding the boxes still piled up along the walls. You’ve been here two months already, but starting as a new professor and researcher at Georgetown has kept you so busy you simply haven’t had time to finish unpacking. You suppose you could do it now, a distraction would probably help your nerves, but you’d rather continue with your circles. 

You check your watch. You have six minutes until Spencer will be here. He always arrives exactly on time, never early or late if he can help it. You take a deep breath. “It’s just a date,” you whisper to yourself. “No expectations. Just have fun.” You know you will but your heart is beating so fast and hard that you can feel it in your chest. 

To be honest, you don’t know why you’re so nervous. You’ve known Spencer for years. You met at CalTech in your freshman year of undergrad while he was finishing up his third PhD and you’ve kept in touch through letters and occasional visits ever since. He even flew out to watch your thesis defense. 

You’ve loved Spencer for nearly as long as you’ve known him and the fact that he asked you out is like a dream come true but you can’t help but worry that he’ll realize he made a mistake.

A knock at the door startles you from your thoughts and you almost trip over a box. You glance down at your watch. It’s two o’clock exactly and you can’t help but wonder how long Spencer waited outside your apartment door before knocking. You take a deep breath and run your hands down the front of your shirt, smoothing down any wrinkles in the fabric, before making your way to the door.

You will your shaking hands to be still as you unlock the door and pull it inwards. Your jaw nearly drops at the sight of Spencer. He’s dressed how he usually is, looking as good as always, but he’s wearing his glasses and smiling softly at you, a nervous flush on his cheeks. He holds a bouquet of flowers in his right hand. The bouquet is made of three types of flowers. You recognize the sunflowers and daffodils, but not pale purple, pinwheel-like ones.

“Oh, Spencer, thank you!” you say, taking the bouquet as he hands it to you. You bury your nose in the flowers and smell them with a smile. “This is lovely! Come in while I put these in some water.”

You step aside and Spencer slips awkwardly into your apartment. 

“Ignore all the boxes,” you laugh. “I’ve been too busy to finish unpacking.”

He nods, looking around your apartment as he follows you into the kitchen. He seems twice as nervous as you are. 

“Can you hold this for me for a moment?” you ask, holding out the bouquet. He nods and takes it from your hands. You turn around and climb onto the counter to reach the empty vase you’d placed on top of the cabinets once the housewarming flowers your parents sent you had died. You slide off the counter and head over to the sink to rinse off any dust. 

You dry the outside of the vase with a dishtowel before filling it halfway with water. You set the vase on the small dining table pressed against the wall. “So, where are you planning on taking me?" you ask, taking the bouquet from Spencer and slipping it into the vase. 

“There’s a nice little bookstore and coffee shop right next door to each other not far from here. I was thinking we could go there if that’s alright.”

You smile at him, his obvious nervousness making yours fade. “That sounds great,” you say. “But first, now that our hands are free, can I give you a hug?”

Spencer nods and pulls you into a tight hug, resting his face in the crook of your neck. You’ve always loved his hugs, they make you feel safe and loved. And knowing that you could probably count on your hands the number of people Spencer feels comfortable hugging makes it feel that much more special.”

“I’ve missed you,” you whisper.

“We saw each other last week,” Spencer says, sounding confused.

You chuckle and end the hug. “I know, but it still feels like it’s been years.”

Spencer’s brow furrows. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“I’m just saying that because we saw each other so rarely before I moved here I still feel like I haven’t spent enough time with you now that I am here. Like I need to make up for it. I can still miss you even if I’m close by,” you tease.

“Oh, then I missed you too.” 

You chuckle lightly and pat him on the shoulder. “Alright then, Spence, take me to that bookstore.”

________________

The walk wasn’t a long one and with the nice spring weather and catching up with Spencer, it almost felt like it went by too fast.

“This is it,” Spencer says, stopping in front of a cafe. 

You look at him confused. “I thought we were going to the bookstore first.”

“We are,” he says with a smile. He reaches his hand out toward yours and after a brief moment of hesitation, takes your hand in his. You can feel yourself blush and wonder if you're as flushed as Spencer. 

He guides you toward a small alleyway about three feet wide with a cat sleeping on a book painted on the ground and leads you down it. The alley curves to the right and then back to the left and at the end is a little courtyard and an old brick building. There are stacks of books on and under a wooden table at the side of the courtyard, shaded from the sun by an awning that extends from the wall of the neighboring building. Along the back of the cafe are three small tables with two chairs each and along the third side is a small garden filled with wildflowers native to the DC area. 

A large window covers the front wall of the book store and there’s a classy-looking decal of the same image on the alley floor a sign that says “Alleycat Books”. The view inside the store is mostly blocked by stacks of books but through the gaps, you can see shelves stretching along the walls from floor to ceiling and multiple shelves in the middle of the room, all filled to the brim with books.

You look around the courtyard in awe. 

“Spencer, this is amazing!”

He smiles at you, his nose scrunching up adorably. “I’m glad you like it. But the inside is even better.”

You laugh as he leads you to the door and opens it for you with an awkward little bow. He’s right, the inside is better. It looks almost magical. Floor-to-ceiling shelves cover every inch of the side and back walls. About fifteen feet away from you, halfway across the room, another floor-to-ceiling shelf with gaps on either side acts as a divider. Two rows of three shoulder-height shelves with gaps between each of them fill the ten-foot width of the room in front of the dividing shelf and based on the line of sight you have through the gaps of the divider, the same seems to be true on the other side. A woman greets us from a small desk in the corner as we enter and Spencer waves awkwardly at her as you nod your head in greeting. 

“The sci-fi section’s over here,” Spencer says, leading you to the back half of the room. “I know it’s your favorite genre.”

You laugh and nod, tilting your head to read the titles of the books. Spencer laughs softly as you start to tilt your whole body to read the names of the books on the lower shelves. 

“I’m going to look in the poetry section,” Spencer says. 

You nod in response, your upper body still tilted almost horizontal. You hear his footsteps retreat to the opposite side of the divider. You stand to see where he ended up and can’t help but laugh when you see his hair poking over the two rows of books on the divider. 

“What?” Spencer asks.

“Stand on your toes,” you say with a laugh. 

His head rises as he does what you say and you stand on your toes as well to see his eyes poking over the books.

“I can see you,” you tease.

“Yes.” You can hear his smile in his voice.

You laugh and return to browsing the books. Your gaze brushes over a copy of DUNE and you pull it from the shelf to look at the cover. “Spencer!” you call, running around to the other side of the shelf. He looks at you with raised eyebrows. You hold out the book. “There’s no sticker! I love this book and I’ve been trying to find a copy without the sticker for so long! I hate the stickers.”

“They do ruin the covers.”

“Well, that’s it. I just wanted to show you. I’m going to keep looking.” 

You both spend almost an hour looking around the store and by the time you’re both satisfied, you’ve found three books, including the copy of DUNE, and Spencer has read two collections of poetry and found a vintage copy of The Count of Monte Cristo.

Spencer tries to convince you to let him pay for your books and after a brief and silly argument, he relents to only paying for one of them. You make sure to pay first so he can’t try to tell the cashier to put all of your books on his card. He pouts slightly when as you pay, but you won’t let him guilt you into relenting. You smile and pat softly on the shoulder as he sets his book and the third of yours on the counter to pay.

Once he’s finished, he holds his messenger bag open and you slide the books inside. Ever the gentleman, he holds the door for you again on the way out. “What kind of stuff does the cafe have?” you ask as you lead the way through the alley back out to the street.

“They have hot chocolate, so that should make you happy,” Spencer says. You step out of the entrance and turn around to watch him emerge. “They have really good pastries too. And toast with butter and honey.”

“Hmm, I think I’ll get that and a hot chocolate.”

“The toast? You nod as he opens the door for you. “Okay, I’ll order while you grab us a table.”

You look around the room for the perfect spot as Spencer heads to the counter to get in line. There’s a small table for two in one of the corners by the window and you slip into one of the chairs to claim it. 

You can’t seem to take your eyes off Spencer as he waits. He’s just so beautiful. His hands clutch the strap of his messenger bag and you can see his fingers tapping slightly. When it’s his turn he shifts his weight from side to side as he orders. He’s never been able to keep still the entire time you’ve known him, but that’s just another thing you love about him. You smile and wave at him as he turns around and a flush lights up his face. He holds up a small stand with the number twelve on it and sets it on the table as he slides into the seat across from you.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Spencer asks, embarrassed. His cheeks are still bright red.

“No reason,” you say. “You’re just pretty.”

Spencer’s face gets impossibly redder and he hides his head in his hands. “Y-you’re pretty too,” he mutters, his voice muffled behind his hands.

You reach across the table, gently grabbing his sleeves to tug his hands away. He stares at you with wide eyes. He opens his mouth to speak but before he can a waiter comes with the food and drinks and Spencer shuts his mouth again. 

You thank the waiter and Spencer mutters a thanks as well. You slide your hot chocolate and toast over to you and Spencer moves his coffee and croissant to his side of the table.

“What were you going to say before our food came?” you ask, spreading the butter and honey onto your toast.

Spencer’s blush, which had started to fade, comes back in full force. He lowers his eyes to his coffee as he tears open a couple of packets of sugar and dumps them in.

“That I’m really glad you’re here. In DC,” he says awkwardly, stirring the sugar into his coffee with a wooden stir stick. “I’ve missed being around you. And I like that you’re so close now.”

Your face heats and you know that you’re blushing now too. 

“I’m glad, too, Spencer,” you say softly. He raises his head to meet your eyes. “I really like being around you. And I’m really glad you asked me out. I’ve liked you for years and now that I’m here and we can actually see each other I would’ve done it if you hadn’t.”

Spencer smiles widely at you, his nose and eyes crinkling and his tongue poking out slightly between his teeth.

You and Spencer stay in the cafe long after you’ve finished your food and drinks, just talking about anything and everything. You tell him about your research and invite him to come to some of your lectures and he tells you about work and his team. Eventually, the conversation slows and you and Spencer walk back to your apartment in a comfortable silence only occasionally interrupted by Spencer voicing a thought because he knows you like to listen.

________________

Once back inside your apartment Spencer holds open his messenger bag so you can take out your books and set them on the dining table to put away later. 

Spencer gently runs his hand over the bouquet in the center of the table.

“Vinca minor,” he says softly, pointing at one of the purple flowers. “The lesser periwinkle or dwarf periwinkle. It’s a member of the dogbane family and is native to central and southern Europe and southwestern Asia. In the language of flowers, it means early and sincere friendship and tender memories.” He points at a daffodil. “Narcissus jonquilla. Commonly referred to as Jonquil or Rush daffodil. It’s native to Spain and Portugal and represents desire or returned affection. Helianthus annuus. The common sunflower, it’s native to the Americas and represents loyalty and adoration. But I mostly just included them because they’re your favorite.”

You can feel your cheeks warm with a blush and you smile big and wide at him, enough that your eyes close partially. “Spencer?” He looks up at you and you take a few steps forward until you’re right in front of him.

“Y-yeah?” he asks, stuttering slightly.

“Can I kiss you?”

His eyes widen and he nods. You reach up to cup his cheek and kiss him softly. It’s full of love and care and words that should have been said years ago but are finally being shared now. You pull away with a smile and chuckle as he chases after you slightly. You drape your arms around the back of his neck and look him in the eyes. “I love you too, Spencer.”

[kitspindles]

I’m in no way bashing on people who have already finished TSatS and say they hate it, are disappointed, etc., because I myself have not gone past chapter seven. My friend let me read some today, but I won’t have my own copy until Thursday, so maybe my opinions will change. I will say, however, that if you read 400+ pages in less than a day, maybe give yourself some time to process the entire plot first?

In any case, I can’t help but wonder how many people went into this book expecting one version of Nico and Will, only to be hit with something else entirely. And I mean like... expecting the fandom’s versions of these two, rather than what canon has previously shown us up until this book.

It’s my personal opinion that the PJO fandom’s worse enemy is their own mischaracterization of the characters at times. And I don’t mean like little head canons and stuff. Everyone has done those at some point. There’s usually no harm in those. I’m talking about people who created their own versions of Nico and Will and have been running with these visions for years through different fan fictions and what-not online.

For years we’ve known basically nothing about Will aside from the fact that he’s sarcastic, likes Star Wars, his mom is a country singer, he can glow in the dark, and he’s better at healing than fighting. (And he has questionable fashion choice at times). Like, that’s all we’ve had since his initial introduction in The Last Olympian over a decade ago. Everything else? Online and fan speculation. And again, there is nothing wrong with that! I just feel like a lot of people went into this book holding onto their own pre-conceived visions of what Will Solace was and ended up disappointed the authors made him... different? But not really different, because he didn’t have a lot of in-depth personality or backstory before this.

Me personally? Yeah, I’m not that far into the book yet but I’m loving how Will is portrayed so far. He’s still sarcastic, but he’s shown his fair share of level-headedness as well as frustrations just within the first couple chapters. He is in no way the overly-optimistic sunshine-y boy who only exists to help Nico that the fandom has portrayed him to be all these years. His character arc is already headed in a way deeper direction (more on that when I finish the book). The whole bit where Will had coffee spilled on him and spent the next couple paragraphs in the scene trying to be unbothered while actually giving off “This is fine” fire dog energies? I loved that.

As for Nico, can I just say I adore how he’s written in this book? Aside from his PoV in Blood of Olympus, this is the first time he’s had his own narration. And it’s actually about him and more in-depth than previous times. I’ve heard people say that he’s “out of character,” and while I can see a little of what they’re all saying, I just want to know... what version of Nico have you all been reading? Did I miss something?

Up until this book, what exactly did we know about Nico? That he’s displaced in time, his sister and mother are both dead (and he feels alone), he harbored repressed gay feelings from his upbringing as a Catholic guy in 1940s Italy, and he’s been through the ringer more than once (so, trauma, basically). Oh, and he’s a bit of a nerd (Mythomagic and knowing all kinds of ancient creatures). That’s... about it. Everything has been speculation and projection from fans.

In previous books he’s always been portrayed from first- or third-person point of view (usually from people who don’t know him well and just think he’s “creepy”), leading to the idea that he’s distant and low-empathy based on some interactions he’s had with demigods who weren’t thrilled to be around him, during a time of great pressure. But he’s not exactly uncaring. He’s been shown to care a lot, actually (Bianca, Hestia, Bob, everything he’s done for Percy, his friendship with Reyna, Hazel, etc.)

But what about when he was ten? He was an excitable, curious kid who liked to have fun. And what did we see briefly in Trials of Apollo (before Jason died, at least)? We saw some of that energy return, particularly in The Hidden Oracle.

So, yeah, I’m personally thrilled to see him making cringe-y jokes and have some self-deprecating humor. It’s very “#OnBrand” for a traumatized teenager who’s just trying to cope and live life without any godly wars forcing him this way and that. Can we really say it’s “out of character” if we’ve never seen more than one side of Nico? (The under pressure side, from other character’s PoVs, in books not about him where he’s basically been a side character?) I’m just glad to see him cracking jokes, laughing, and acting more like a normal kid.

Now, is this book different from Rick’s other ones? Uh, yeah. I won’t say it’s not. But it’s not bad. It’s supposed to be different. It has slightly different intentions than the other books (re: explicitly working through trauma and relationship bumps). Also, it’s co-written. Co-written books always read slightly off from the original author’s work, but dam if it isn’t hard to meld writing styles and copy another author’s particular voice. But I think Mark did a very good job at imitating Rick’s style (again, from what I’ve read so far).

Will I change my mind on all this the farther I get into the book? Maybe. There’s a lot to read and take in. All I’m saying is don’t let the negative reviews warp your opinion of the book if you haven’t read it yet and are on the fence if you should or not. Wait for the PDF to drop, or for a library copy, and read and see for yourself.

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Bridgerton Season 3 ep 1-4 Thoughts.

Just binged watched bridergerton season 3 part 1 for the second time and figured I'd share some thoughts. I haven't read the books so I am going into this season blind and so far the first 4 eps have not disappointed. Oh and spoilers obviously.

I love that this season started the exact same way as the other two, with the bridgerton family getting ready for one of the girls presentation to society. This time it's francesca. I also love that this is the third time they've done this but they are still a chaotic mess.

I love penelope's new look, every one of her dresses were stunning and I think the greens and blues were really good colours for her.

The new dynamic between eloise and penelope is interesting. There is clearly still a lot of hurt there, but eloise also still cares about penelope and doesn't like to see her hurt. Honestly most of their scenes made me feel really sad for them both, they clearly miss the friendship they had and each other but don't know how to repair things between them.

Seeing a different side to Cressida through her new friendship with eloise is interesting. There were moments where I sympathised with her, but also, she hasn't completely reformed and there were still moments when her meaner side came out. But it was still interesting to see where her behaviour comes from.

That being said I am glad that cressida called eloise out after it came out that Colin was helping penelope find a husband and eloise blamed her. Basically telling her to look in the mirror. As much as I do love eloise I also think she can act recklessly and speak without thinking and that has gotten her and others in trouble over the seasons.

It was also good to see more of and get to know francesca as a character. I really liked the conversation she had with penelope about how when you get stuck on the wall it's hard to get off it again. I think both penelope and francesca have trouble talking with others. They also are both desperate to marry so that they can leave the family home. For francesca it's because she struggles with the noise and bustle of a large household when she prefers solitude and quiet. For penelope it's to get away from her overbearing mother and sisters.

Penelope's attempts to flirt made for some comical moments but was also really relatable. That awkward fumbling over her words and just generally looking uncomfortable was spot on.

Speaking of comical moments, that whole plot of lady featherington trying to get her girls to produce an heir was hilarious. But also kind of shows how the ladies' mamas really need to start having proper conversations about the birds and bees before their daughters become wives if they want heirs.

Some really great moments throughout the season were the scenes that reminded us of how penelope and Colin were friends for years, those little moments when they are laughing and joking together. I also love that we learned how they met, their meet cute really was cute.

I really loved polin's first kiss. I think penelope's reasoning for wanting Colin to kiss her was relatable, she was in her third year on the marriage mart with no prospects and feels like she will never marry and never know what it's like to be kissed. So she asks her friend so that she can at least know what it feels like. Colin might be someone she has crushed on and been in love with for years but him also being her friend means she trusts him and feels safe with him. What I also love about this kiss is that they could have left it at that first chaste meeting of their lips. But their eyes lock and then they go back in for a more passionate kiss as the music soars and it goes from a friend giving another friend a kiss to help them out to a real, earth moving, world shattering kiss that leaves them both reeling and breathless.

Another thing I really enjoyed is that it is Colin who after that kiss is the one having dreams and fantasies about penelope and has jealous feelings. We've seen how penelope has longed for and been in love with Colin over the last two seasons so it was a nice change to see Colin showing those feelings and trying to come to terms with his feelings.

Lord debling is nice enough and seems like a decent guy but I agree with Colin, I don't think he is right for penelope. I don't think penelope would be happy being left alone for years at a time. I do think she wants the companionship of a husband and I think it is telling that her happy, safe place was the bridgerton drawing room, being amongst the bridgerton bustle. Cressida could be a good match for debling potentially. He can travel and be happy exploring nature and I think cressida from her comments in ep 1 about loving London would be happy staying in society and entertaining. It could be an arrangement they are both content in.

The marquess that the Queen introduces to francesca is another gentleman who I think is OK, seems nice enough but again I don't think he is right for francesca, he wants a big family with lots of noise and that is not what she wants.

However I adore the relationship between francesca and John sterling. I just love how they didn't need any long flowery conversation in order to feel a connection to each other. In fact it was their mutual love of peace and quiet that bonded them. He is someone she could enjoy quiet evenings with, someone whose company she could enjoy but without the pressure of forced socialisation and conversation. I can see them spending their evenings in a drawing room with her playing the piano and him enjoying her music. Simple but contented. Out of the two, him and the marquess, I hope she chooses Sterling.

With that being said I am starting to feel sorry for the queen. Each season she tries to set a bridgerton up with someone and every season they choose someone else least minute instead, daphne turned down the Prince for Simon, Anthony ended up not with Edwina but her sister instead and I suspect it's going to go the same way with francesca where she will be courted by the queen's pick but will ultimately choose John sterling. Honestly at this point Charlotte just give up, stay far from the bridgertons and enjoy the drama from a safe distance.

Let's talk about violet bridgerton. It seems she herself may have a romance this season in lady Danbury's brother, spoilers for queen Charlotte, but I do find it kind of funny that Danbury had an affair with violet's father and now violet might be getting with Danbury's brother.

Keeping on the subject of violet I love how well she knows her children. She always sees right through them. She could tell right away that francesca was smitten with Stirling even if she is a little confused about how they don't really talk much to each other. Also one conversation and she figured out that Colin has fallen in love with penelope. I also love that moment when Colin says he isn't coming to the ball and violet not so subtly tells him that penelope may be getting engaged that evening and what a shame it would be for him to miss it. She knew exactly what to say to get him to that ball and confessing his feelings to penelope before it's too late. Love you violet you are a legend.

Lady featherington is an interesting character because I do believe she genuinely loves her girls and wants what's best for them. But her idea of what is best for them is too make sure they marry and they are financially secure. I also think she wraps her own fate up in her girls fortunes too she knows her own security relies on them having a male heir. Unfortunately despite her love for her daughters she often says things very hurtful to her girls in particular penelope, which doesn't make her a very likable character. That conversation between her and penelope in ep 4 right as penelope is leaving the ball after debling's rejection is an interesting moment. Lady featherington's first reaction is to blame penelope for debling leaving, penelope rightly calls her out asking if she only has value if she has a lord's engagement ring. What's interesting is that this statement clearly hit Lady featherington hard, you can see that she feels guilty, I think this is further punched home when prudence comes running up to her telling her she's pregnant and asking if she is excited. I think it's a moment where she realises how many expectations she has put on her daughters and how that has made them believe that her love for them is conditional on them meeting these expectations. I am interested to see if this realisation changed her behaviour towards her daughters going forward.

That carriage scene, ice someone get me ice. Honestly the chemistry between them was perfect, sizzling in fact. Also of course they ended it with Colin proposing. I am really excited to see where its going to go next especially as Colin still has to learn that penelope is whistledown. I feel like a whole lot of drama is coming our way.

[sincerely-a-walking-corpse]

Jon Gaius, The Kindly Prince of Death, is a fucking lair.

I will use this as evidence to convince you, that he cannot actually, Resurect.

(now keep in mind that i cannot use the entirety of all the out books because I'm only part way through Nona.)

Firstly, he's an egotistical ass who let a bunch of his closest friends murder eachother without so much as saying 'hey maybe don't?'. Second, he lied about him getting fucked by Resurrection Beast madness. Third, he lied about Anastasia 'mucking up the whole process', and then sent her to the ninth house to go rot far away from where the other lyctors could see her.

And fourth, he never does anything about the plights of others, like he just puts the weight of stopping The Saint of Duty purely on Harrow's shoulders because of a promise? Like dude, someone's life is on the line. Jod probably could've just, gotten rid of RB's without any Lyctors sacrificing themselves, and he just... doesn't.

Okok, so conclusion: Yknow how he says he will never resurrect again because the cost is too great? What if its not, because as far as we know, there is no cost to resurrection. So I propose, that is was either through the initial thanergy cascade that he was able to resurrect, or it was only with his second half being awoken that we was capable if it.

(Keep in mind I'm only half way through day three of Nona, so if any of this is disproven, feel free to mock me in whatever way you want)

[waywardducks]

I just can't stop thinking about the idea of y/n and Jason having a meet-cute in a bookstore! It's so cozy and sweet. I’ve had this idea in my head for days now.

CW: Fluff, a bit OOC, mentions of fighting and of Jason’s death, Gn reader

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Jason was fighting with Bruce, which meant Jason would not be going to the manor for the next few weeks. At least not until one of the men decided to give in and apologize. Which would be a while this time. Usually, when it is Jason’s fault his brothers will talk him into apologizing and help him recognize where he was wrong. But this time Bruce is wrong. Meaning no one, not even Alfred will be able to get this man to pull his head out of his ass. Maybe they could if Jason fought hard enough, and threw enough hard-hitting insults to breach the stony exterior that is Batman. But Jason doesn’t feel like breaking his own heart right now, so he’s opting for the long run, waiting (im)patiently as far from Batman as possible. Bruce will come back and apologize eventually when the silence and lack of his second son start feeling too close to when Jason was dead. When memories start to surface grief begins to overwhelm the man.

For now, though, Jason is content to sit in his apartment and read. The only real downside is that the book he had been reading was currently still in the manor’s library. Technically Jason could just ask one of his siblings to retrieve it for him, but he’s still hurt from his fight with his father and doesn’t feel like doing something vulnerable, like asking for help.

So he heads to the bookstore. He’s been to this particular bookstore a million times. It’s cozy, nestled on the edge of Blüdhaven, close to the border. Sometimes Jason would head to Dick’s apartment afterwards, since he was in his brother’s neighborhood. The shop has a little cafe area, indoor and outdoor seating, a covered patio with a couch that Jason enjoyed sitting on when it was raining.

A bell chimes his arrival as he entered the small shop.

“Welcome in!” An older woman greets from behind the counter.

Jason gives the woman a smile before making his way to the Shakespeare section. He began browsing the titles, trying to find the exact one he was looking for.

The bell chimes and again, but Jason paid it no real mind, only acknowledging that a third person was now in the store.

“Oh! Y/n. How lovely to see you again.” The woman at the front exclaims.

“Hey Mrs Goodmen! How’ve you been?” The newcomer asked.

“Just perfect, thank you for asking dear. What brings you in today?”

“I need a new copy of a book I love. I let my friend borrow it a year ago and I don't think I'm getting it back.”

“Well, you go find it, let me know if you need any help, okay?”

“Of course, thank you!”

There was silence again as the person began browsing aisles. Jason smiled as he found the book he was looking for. He pulled it off the shelf and began flipping through the pages.

“Oh, how funny.” A voice startles Jason out of his skimming and he looks up. It was the person that had been talking the lady.

“What's funny?” Jason asked, closing his book.

“That's the book I was looking for.” They say, pointing at paperback in Jason’s hands.

Jason smiles. “Oh, that is funny.”

“Great minds think alike.” The person jokes. “I'm Y/n, by the way.”

“Jason. Nice to meet you.”

“You too!”

Jason watches as Y/n grabs a copy of the same book off the shelf.

“I've read this like 8 times now. I'm planning on actually annotating it this time. It's just so good. Oh! I should check to see if they have that new book I wanted to read.” Y/n mumbles.

Jason thinks it's cute how distracted they got all of a sudden. They themselves were cute. The oversized sweater they’re wearing, the concentrated look on their face as they search for the book they need, even the way their hair looks like they just rolled out of bed.

Jason pulls a small notebook out of his pocket and writes his name and number on it quickly. He doesn’t normally do this sort of thing, maybe it was because this person had similar taste in reading. Jason isn't sure, but he did know that this person is cute and he wants to get to know them.

“Are you a Shakespeare fan?” Y/n asks all of a sudden.

Jason chuckles. “I suppose you can say that. Though I suppose I'm more of a classical literature fan.”

Y/n smiles a bit wider at that. “Me too! I especially love Greek mythology and Gothic romance. Oh! They do have it! Perfect, I've been so excited for this one!” Y/n plucks a book off the shelf and does a triumphant little twirl.

Jason takes note of the book in her hand. “Biography of Mary Casset?”

Y/n shows Jason the books. “Yep! She was an impressionist painter whose main focus was on the relationships between mother and child. She also used traditional Chinese printing methods. She was a hardcore feminist and never stopped even after facing backlash for being a female artist in a male-dominated industry. I adore her.”

Jason can't help but stare at Y/n as they gushed over the artist. The way they ramble and are so passionate about it has his heart beating a lot faster all of a sudden.

“She sounds pretty fucking cool. I might need to grab me a copy of that as well.” He says. “Oh yeah, said you wanted to annotate this book,” he lifts the book that brought them both here in the first place. “We should get together sometime, compare notes maybe?”

Y/n blushes. “Yeah. That sounds like a lot of fun.” They smile brightly.

“Awesome! Here, take this.” Jason hands them the paper with his number on it. “Text me, we’ll make it a date?”

Y/n’s blush darkens. “Of course! I, uh, maybe a cafe or something? I’ll, umm, I'll have to check and see when I'm free.” They stammer as they carefully place the paper in their bag.

“Perfect. I'll be waiting to hear from you then.” Jason winks before turning and walking to the counter. He checks out and makes his way back to his apartment.

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What do y'all think? I tried to keep the book nondescript but then went I ranted too hard about Mary Casset. My bad. I hope that my little explanation at the end there makes up for how ooc Jay is. Let me know if you want more! Feel free go request and give a prompt as well! I love writing and I want to do more of it!

Also, I apologize for any mistakes. I have major Dyslexia and Grammarly doesn't always fix everything. I hope you Enjoyed! 🌼🐛