#like honestly the most memorable fanfic for me I will never shut up about it

[mittos]

Not a day goes by where I don’t think about this trio at all which then reminds me of this not a thing thing fic which makes me reread it which is what I’m about to do rn

[bokunosimpfiction]

Yandere!Heisenberg x Reader Pt 3

A/N: Since y’all demanded a plot that’s what you’ll get. Will it be good? No. I’ve never written anything with a plot in my entire life. Ever. Not even when I did Nanowrimo or whatever. I just bullshitted the whole thing. Like I’ll do with this fic. Y’all are going to have to remind me to update because I have the attention span of a goat. I’ll try to update this on Saturdays??? IDK at this point. ALSO, WHY THE FUCK IS THIS SO POPULAR?????????? DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY NOTES THIS HAS ON AO3???? 69????SIXITY FUCKING NINE??? I HATE EVERYTHING MY LEGACY WILL BE READER CALLING HEISENBERG DOOFSCHMIRTZ I HATE EVRYTHING DSHFUGSADFJ

Synopsis: You have totally, %100, given up on escaping. Totally. You haven't been gathering supplies for one, final last hurray. Nope. Totally not. All you have to do is persuade Heisenberg of that so you can change your mind at the last minute. Y’all know the trigger warning for this series but if you don’t tw:kidnapping (implied)

Taglist: it’s exclusivly @localdepressedvampire​  so if you want to be on it for just this story or for all my pieces fill out the google doc in my pinned post or dm me and I’ll put you on it. :)

             You’ve made a breakthrough in your long-term plan of escapism. Even with the mini escape attempts that were really about exploring the factory and less about actually trying to get out, you hadn’t made a lot of progress: until now.

             Well, two, really… Okay, maybe 1 ½. Firstly, you found a sawed-off two-barrel shotgun. With ammo. In fact, there was a various amount of ammo around the factory, but no actual gun. Until now. The second discovery, which is nowhere near as useful, was a window. Which was probably 50 or more feet up from the ground. You didn’t get a chance to inspect it that much, considering as soon as you saw it and got a glimpse at the far-off ground, you had to run again from Lycans.

             Which gives you a basic idea of a way to escape. You knew where the ammo was, you knew where the gun was and had a route to the edge of the building, and hopefully could find stairs at the end of the hallway. Now all you had to do was find a time where you could be gone long enough to get a decent head start before, he notices you’re even gone. Even when he was in the workshop, he kept a close eye on you, keeping you in arms-length to the point where it taxed on both of your mental health.

             And even then, in that chair in the small room, you watch him work in the finer details on something the size of your head and torso. You try not to look at the phone in your lap, he doesn’t even know you have it, much less how great the reception is in the building. How did he not know about his old phone that was still working fine? Oh well, he doesn’t need to know you’re looking at memes and reading feel-good wolf-star fanfic on ao3.

             The best idea you had was to leave him while he was asleep, but there were two some issues with that: he clung to you like his life depended on it, your back to his chest and arms around you almost tight enough to keep you awake; it was dark as hell in the hallways of the factory as is, but it would be impossible to navigate safely with the lights; and the Lycans were most active outside at night, which was where you were trying to go. They’ve tried to eat you before as they show no discrimination on food.

             The only way to get a good enough head start would be to leave while he didn’t notice you were gone, and wouldn’t notice for a long, long time. And that when it hit you. The only time he ever left you by yourself was when he had to deal with the other three lords. And while he left you in that basement that you originally woke up in, you had memorized your way out and found that going up five flights of stairs took you to that faithful widow.

             Would you have enough time to explore and look for an actual exit/entrance, or should you play it safe and find a way to go out that window. You wanted to laugh to yourself, you’d never think that going down a 50ft plus drop would be considered safe, but here you were, kidnapped and held hostage by one of the people your late grandmother warned you not to associate with, or even go near. The letter you received directly quoted “the four lords and their mother, Mother Miranda, are not to be approached or associated with at any costs. You’ll know them when you see them, they smell like death and money. See them and run.”

             You can’t help but find that ironic, considering that you did try to run, heeded her warning, and still faced the consequences that were far worse than she had warned you about. You regretted coming here, to this small village, when you first arrived: no friends, and even those you tried to approach held you to her standard and expected them to be just like her. You were far from her kind and optimistic nature (at least that’s what you heard of her; you hadn’t even known of her whereabouts until she was dead).

             Even the duke, who had helped smuggle you into the village, didn’t seem fond of you. It was a shame, you tried so hard to impress him. But he saw you to a point where you could easily reach her old cottage without having too many issues, turned his cart around, and left without a good-bye. It bothered you to no end that your only companion for about a year or so was an elderly outside cat and the creaking noises the walls made at night.

             And then the cat died and not even a week later you got kidnapped. You never considered yourself lucky, but damn if that wasn’t the worst streak of luck you’ve had in a long time.

             You pretend to turn a page in your book and scroll through your Instagram feed, seeing friends having fun at the beach, or studying at the library, or your old best friend taking selfies in provocative clothing to your ex-boyfriend. Did she forget he cheated on you? She wasn’t always the smartest, but she brought that heartbreak upon herself. You see a photo of your mom, she had posted a picture of a black and white photo of her with her mom, you’re guessing, you have no idea who that old woman is.

             This is the last photo I had with my mom before she died. We lost contact after I moved out. I wish we parted on better terms, Nana.

             She’s in a prairie dress, holding an ancient-looking key in one hand, and the other wrapped around her mom, a middle-aged woman with long hair in two braids and a face that had too many stress wrinkles. You guess your mom was as bad as you were in college. The background looks dreary. You would have guessed it to be the quality of the photo if you hadn’t recognized the house behind them as the house you lived in used to live in.

             The loops on the handle of the key look familiar. You spread your fingers apart to zoom in and see the blurry engravings on the side. It was the payment you gave to sneak into the village. You thought it was a worthless family heirloom at most and found it strange that he had even found interest in the key, or even valued it deeper than money in general. Maybe this photo or other photos of you and your family would help out.

             Why is that key suddenly piquing your interest? Were you that bored, as to sit there and think about a key that was at least twice your age? A key that you didn’t even have. You needed a hobby besides escapism and rejecting your captor’s sexual advances. You look up at him again, only to find him leaning against the desk, hat off and sunglass placed on his forehead, his gaze on you. It wasn’t his normal piercing one, that studied you and calculated your every move, but soft and lazy. His current gaze was dreamy; he was daydreaming about you. You found that equally undaring s it was unnerving.

             “Karl.”

             “Yes, Sweetiepea?” Honestly, what the fuck.

             “Firstly, why are you staring at me like that? Secondly, that is the most disgusting way to use that pet name. I need to take a shower after you called me that.”

             He chuckles light-heartedly. Even his softer more genuine, happy chuckles are booming and loud. “Okay… Sugarplum!” And he busts out laughing.

             Clearly dodging the first question and focusing on the second. You can’t believe you gave him ammo for his annoying-you-gun. And you thought you’d grown immune to most of his… less-savory traits. Were you growing used to him? Next thing you know you’re going to like him and develop Stockholm syndrome!

             “You’re a shit head, hobo magneto…” You turn your head away and let your hair cover half your face so he can’t see you smile. You’ll miss him when you escape and get the duke to smuggle you back to your home in Bucharest. But only a little. Just because calling Heisenberg these names are funny.

             “Why don’t you call me by my name, I know you know it.”

             “You sure about that?” You quip back.

             “You’ve lived with me for at least two months now!”

             “Hm…. I think I know your name! It’s uh…” You are totally faking not knowing his name. “It’s… Heidi Carlson? Yeah, that sounds about right!”

             “It’s Karl Heisenberg!”

             “Quit being so silly, Heidi! Maybe it’s nap-time!” This was a little too fun.

             He looks back at his project for a moment and genuinely considers it. “I know you’re being antagonistic but you’re probably right.” And with that, he walks towards you and goes to scoop you up. You have to shut your book quickly in order for him not to notice the phone in between its pages before you let him pick you up.

             He immediately notices that. “Are… Are you sick?”

             “No! Of course not!” Because you genuinely aren’t sick, and he’s already up in your business as-is, you don’t need him dotting on you because he thinks you’re sick or something. You’ll go fucking crazy.

             “You’ve put in zero effort into anything remotely physical since your last little failed escape attempt.” He gave it a little bit of thought. “You’ve given up, haven’t you, and you’re just depressed about it aren’t you?”

             You want to say no, you really do, but if Heisenberg thinks you’ve given up on escaping, perhaps it’ll give you enough space to plan the big one. The reverse heist so to speak. “No- I… okay maybe I have but I still don’t like you.

             He leans down and presses a kiss to your forehead. “Good girl. Now let’s get us that well-deserved nap.”

             You plug your nose and turn away as a joke. “You’ve gotta take a bath first, you smell like oil and sweat.” You don’t fight it, because you have to play the part, but you still have to act a little bit like yourself.

             “Okay, fine doll, but don’t think you’ve escaped my barrage of affection, because as soon as I get out of the shower-“

             You bonk him. And he looks at you so confused before he smiles and leans down to nuzzle his nose against yours. You try to hold the bile back in your mouth and lean forward and peck his lips before leaning back. You failed at trying to not visibly gag.

             “Ew… I can’t believe I just kissed you.”

             “Well, I guess someone caught feelings… Didn’t they?”

[angelkurenai]

Cheesy fanfics - Dean Winchester x Reader

Title: Cheesy fanfics

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Word count: 3,520

Warnings: Spoilers for 15x20 I guess

Prompt: Hey! Thought I'd help your creativity out a little bit! How about "I almost asked you out in Winter Ball back in highschool but I chickened out and now it's Christmas and we're both alone and single so maybe this is a second chance?" Very Hallmark Movie esque, but I have faith in your creativity and am sure you're gonna kill it (if you choose to do it of course!). Hope it helps!

“You have to be kidding me.” you gasped, pressing a hand over your mouth as your eyes widened “Dean? Is that really you?”

“Depends, do I still look like the guy you remember? Or am I the old ass idiot I saw in the mirror this morning?” he joked, almost giving himself a pat on the shoulder for how playful he sounded and how he didn't trip over his words.

He had tripped over the cereal the moment he saw you, already, anyway. He was glad you had not noticed him at that moment because with his luck, he would have made an even worse fool of himself and ended up on the floor faster than could be humanly possible. But, in his defense, they weren't even supposed to be there and the moment he saw you, looking so damn beautiful as if not a single day had passed, he had been floored in any way that mattered other than literally.

“Oh shut up and come here, you asshole.” you scoffed, pretending to give him a glare but the smile that was on your lips was too bright for his mind to register anything else in the first place. It was all he could think about, all his treacherous heart could think of as it danced around like crazy in his chest.

“Ah hell, it's been so long.” he chuckled as well, letting his arms wrap around your form, his entire body melting on the spot as you squeezed him close to you “Too long.” he whispered, mostly to himself as he gave a squeeze in return, your body fitting perfectly with his the way it always did “I understand now though.”

He finally pulled away, though he let his arms rest on you for a few more seconds; just like he had let the hug last a bit longer than needed. It was self-indulgent, he knew it, but if he let himself memorize the way your body fit in his arms after all this time, then nobody could blame him.

“You understand?” you tilted your head to the side, and he almost felt like the air was knocked out of his lungs in that very moment. To look at you from this up close again, still in his arms, and to realize all over again just how easy it had been for him to fall for you in high school, it was inevitable that you could steal his breath away in a matter of seconds.

He cleared his throat “You didn't expect to see me all old and wrinkly. You expected to see the ghost of me, coming by to say Merry Christmas.”

“Well, you're not exactly wrong on that. Although, I didn't expect and certainly far from hoped it would be your ghost I saw this Christmas. Maybe some unlucky folk that died years ago.” you said with a soft shrug, voice low but tone as casual as talking about the weather. Fact which had not changed over the years and which brought a pleasant kind of warmth through Dean's chest, making him chuckle deeply.

“Well, thank you for your thoughtfulness. I've gotten close to that once or twice, can't deny it, but-” he noticed you stiffening up in his arms “All is good. In fact, it's better than it's ever been. You'll see. I'll get to tell you about it hopefully, one day.”

“Hopefully soon.” you said softly, nodding your head as you finally took a step backwards to put some distance between you because even though you'd have loved to stay like that forever, Dean had always been a a friend to you – a good one, yes, but one that had no idea about your feelings for him – and also because you were currently standing in the middle of the aisle as it was “Before you disappear without a single word for the next couple years or so, I suppose.”

“Yeah I uh- Well, you've got a point there. I'm-” he stopped himself, swallowing thickly over the lump in his throat “I'm really sorry about that. I- I wanted to- You have no idea how much I wanted to contact you but shit just kept getting crazier and I... I couldn't drag you into it.”

“What?” you whispered “No, no Dean, I didn't mean- That's not why I said it. I'm not mad nor do I blame you for it. No more so than I could blame life, both yours and mine. I mean, you could have always vanished without a single warning.”

“I wouldn't do that. I would never do that to you. You're too-” he stopped himself, clearing his throat “You've always been too important to me.” he confessed softly “I should just assume that I am somewhat important to you too, right? Given that I'm not a ghost by your own hand right now.”

“Hmm let's give it some time, shall we? Wait till about the end of the day to see how it turns out.” you said with a smirk, and a chuckle following soon “That is... if you will be around for that long?”

“Oh I actually plan to be around here for a lot longer than that. I mean-” he tried to hide his own giddiness when he saw the way your eyes widened and sparkled with happiness “It's Christmas, isn't it? People are celebrating and spending time with their loved ones and eating too much and watching sappy movies and I was never particularly one for the latter but it doesn't sound so bad to me.”

“You mean you're... on vacation? No ghost or vamp's got you here?” you frowned deeply.

“No, I uh I've actually been... trying to get a bit away from that. I am on vacation now, yes, but besides that I... Well, I don't do that anymore.” he said with a small shrug, not sure why he felt almost self-conscious about it “Not- Not hunting. I mean, yes, hunting. But-” he cleared his throat, taking great notice of the surprise if not shocked look you gave him “It's not like I am out. I'm more... slowly getting out of it. Taking fewer cases, looking for an actual job, you know that kind of stuff. There are fewer cases in general anyway.”

“And going on vacation, apparently.” you noted with a small smile, voice almost breathless in disbelief, and he nodded his head.

“And got a dog.” he pointed out with a grin, loving to see your eyes widen before a a wide smile spread on your lips. Gosh how he loved that smile. Always had and always would.

“Wow. Dean, that's really- wow.” you confessed, blowing out a soft breath “To tell you the truth, that was really the last thing I expected to hear. But certainly the best one too.”

“Thank you.” he smiled, and boy had he missed the way you could make his heart beat inside his chest “It's actually been so long, so much had happened since we last spoke.”

“Yeah no kidding.” you laughed “This- wow. That's incredible news, Dean. So...” you looked down shyly for a second, as if unsure “What really made you make the choice at last? The Dean I remembered didn't even see this as a chance. To get out of the life, it seemed like an impossible dream back then. Any... particular reason why now?”

“You could say that.” he nodded his head, struggling to hold back a grin when he saw the nervousness on your features, the eagerness and doubt to hear what he had to say. And it wasn't because he loved torturing you but because there was always a small part of him that held onto hope, that after all these years had not let go of you and his feelings for you, and that small- alright, great part of him, wanted to know if you were interested in him. Just like he had hoped and waited back then, trying to understand if you really had feelings for him. He had been so hesitant, unsure if he should really try his luck or if he was going to ruin the best thing he'd gotten in his whole life. In the end, he had chickened out and lost his only chance.

Or maybe so he thought. Because looking at you look at him in that way made him believe, hope even, that maybe there really were second chances in life. All he had to do was figure it out.

“Not- not that there is a person in my life that made me leave all that behind, no.” he chuckled “I'm still as single as you remember. That much hasn't changed.” he said with a half smile, feeling his heart flutter in his chest when he saw relief flood your features and your shoulders relax “It's just that, well-” he shrugged “Fighting against the devil, meeting his son and most recently beating god, well, that can change someone.”

“God as in...?” you blinked in surprise and he shrugged once more.

“Ah yeah, the big G. It was no big deal, but it had to be done, you know? He was a dick. Now somebody else is running heaven. The devil's son as I told you, he's family though so that's great. But that's a long story, I'll probably tell you another time.” he brushed it off “So yeah, as you see, things did change. And Sam and I are more free now, that's why we decided to really do what we like, honestly.”

“Yeah that really is a lo-”

“Oh and I killed Hitler, so you're welcome for that, by the way.”

“...Thank you?” you blinked, tilting your head to the side in confusion “I- Honestly, Dean, I was gonna ask if you mean it or not but knowing you? I'm fairly sure you're not joking here. And just because I wouldn't like to freak out in the middle of the market and look like some lunatic, I'm gonna change the subject yeah? Good. So-” you cleared your throat “What are your plans for the holidays? Seeing as you are in town.”

A deep chuckle left his lips and he nodded his head “Yeah, that's a better topic. Uhm honestly, haven't thought that far yet. I was just driving with Miracle, that's my dog by the way, and decided to stop by here to do some shopping without Sam shoving his rabbit food in my cart, you know?” he said, leaving out the part where seeing as the holidays were right around the corner he couldn't stop thinking about you - just like he did every time that time of the year - and drove back to the town he had first met you in hopes (and possibly with a lot of wishful thinking) that he could see you even from far away. It had not worked out in his favor the past couple times, he didn't expect it to happen this year but here he was and here you were and he felt worse than a child on Christmas' day. Giddy and buzzing with excitement and nerves, almost lightheaded the longer he looked at you.

“And you?” he asked after a few second, even though he would have been content looking at you and taking everything in forever “You got me carried around talking about my life and you didn't tell me a thing about yourself. Anything... interesting going on? I don't suppose you plan on spending the holidays all alone?... Besides your family and friends I mean.”

“Alone? No, of course not. I've got the most handsome and loyal man waiting for me at home. So I'm picking out whatever I can for the both of us now.” you grinned and he was almost sure you too could hear his heart shutter inside his chest, at least before you spoke up again “Yeah, I might have a bit trouble since I don't know what he likes yet but I think he'd find it easier to communicate with Miracle than with me, so I improvise.” you shrugged with a grin “I got a puppy a couple months ago as well.”

“Oh oh!” he blinked in surprise, his hands shaking in relief as a smile that made his cheeks hurt got plastered on his face “That's great! I remember you always wanted one. It's so great to see you finally got that. So you... I assume, you don't got... someone else then? I- I mean, not that it would have been a shock. Any guy should thank their lucky stars to have you by their side.”

“Nah no guy in my life like that. It's been a while actually. I'm just as single as you this Christmas, I'm starting to think there must be a pattern. Just like it happened back in high school, when we first met.”

“With the only difference that you're always the pretty one out of the two of us. I mean-” he laughed “Look at you, all these years have passed and you remain as beautiful as then if not more. It looks like not a single day has passed.” he breathed out the small confession, letting some of his truth slip into his words as he admired you. Things he had not been able to tell you back then slipped from his lips in a matter of seconds, though not any more easily.

“Yeah, as if.” you scoffed a laugh, looking down with a shake of your head “Besides, I remember someone else being the most popular kid in the school, even if you were the new guy. I mean, you had all the girls practically begging for a single look from you Dean. It was as if you were some god walking amongst us, even with some of that bad boy attitude. It had never been like that for me and the boys, heck I can't even remember a single guy that looked at me like I was a goddess or anything.”

If only you had decided to turn your head and take a look at him then you would get to see that and so much more. He had always looked at you as if you had put the stars up in the sky for him. Sam's words, not his. And if he had scarred off any guy with a single look or a couple more words during that time, it wasn't because he was acting worse than a territorial Alpha. Again Sam's words. The kid did talk a lot, yes, Dean had decided early on back in high school.

“I mean-” another laugh from you brought him back to the present “It's no surprise that none of the guys asked me out in Winter Ball back in high school, I didn't make it easier with how closed off I was back then.” and Dean and his looks didn't make it easier for the few that were about to ask either “So I'm cool with being alone this Christmas too. But what's really surprising is how someone like you is. I mean, you didn't go to that Winter Ball with anyone either, I remember that correctly?”

“No uh yeah, you're right. I never went to that one with anyone. Even though some girls-” he stopped himself before shaking his head, a laugh slipping past his lips as he he looked down for a moment.

“What?” you asked with a sweet grin and he almost caved right then and there. Or maybe he did, maybe he should at last.

“I just- I never realized my life was such a bad Hallmark Movie. I mean, I always thought it was a tragedy but no, gosh, it's a sappy Christmas movie.” he laugh, shaking his head in disbelief, taking in your laugh and the way it made his heart flutter.

“Why do you say that?”

“I mean-” he paused, he could take it back, he could change it, come up with something else and all this would be forgotten but then... then another chance would be lost again and this, this was not the same life anymore; he was not the same man, or better yet he was finally the man he wanted to be with a life he wanted and had full control over “I mean to say that... I almost asked you out in Winter Ball back in highschool because I've always had feelings for you but- but I chickened out and now it's Christmas and we're both alone and single, so maybe this is some second chance? Cause if it ain't that, then, it sure is a sappy movie or a cheesy fanfic... with a bad ending.”

The words were out before he could take them back. And part of him felt proud for himself, after years of endless pining and daydreaming - clearly Sam's words, thank you very much - he never thought there would come a day when he said all of this and yet here he was. Another part of him, a greater part, felt terrified. You looked at him with wide eyes, lips parted in shock and he had to hold himself from taking it back. He had lost one chance he wasn't going to lose this one too, no matter the outcome. And the outcome he did fear especially when there were no words coming out of you. His heart was pounding in his chest, all of his blood rushing in his ears and his lungs hurting because of how long he was holding his breath. His worry was slowly but surely turning into fear, however before he could say anything - not to take it back but to make you feel less bad about having to turn him down. It was an option, very plausible given how much of a catch you were as opposed to him, you spoke up.

“Or...” you spoke softly, playing nervously with the sleeve of your sweater “Or there is a third option, you know. I mean-” you shrugged and he felt like he was forever holding his breath, waiting for you to look into his eyes, holding his gaze for a few seconds before you spoke up “I always liked fanfics with happy endings?” before he could get to question you, you pointed upwards. And as his eyes followed yours, he did take notice of what you previously had. He blinked in surprise a soft laugh leaving his lips.

“Personally, I love cheesy movies or fanfics.” you said and looked back at you he noticed the shy grin that was on your lips and he made him feel 18 all over again “And if that mistletoe hasn't been there all this time... then, well, I think the new guy that's running heaven is really having a fit with our lives right now.”

“I don't know, I will really have to ask him next time I see him I think. Sam did love to tell him about my endless pinning and daydreaming every time Christmas was around.” a heartfelt laugh made his chest rumble, pleasant tingles filling up his entire body especially as he heard you giggle.

“Did you now? Wow. This day is full of surprises, then.” you bit your lower lip for a moment before adding “Well you what, we're gonna have a family gathering and dinner for the holidays tomorrow. I know it's on short notice but if you'd like to then... you know you're always welcome in my place and-”

“I would love to come, yes.” he breathed out almost embarrassingly fast, but your smile made it all worth it.

“Wonderful!” you grinned You don't need to bring anything, we've got everything, but if you'd wanna you can bring Miracle. And if Sam manages to make it here until tomorrow then he's more than welcome too.”

“Sure, I'll tell him. See if can be here.” he would but he already knew that Sam would do anything to give the two of you more time together so he knew he wouldn't be showing up “The real question here is: Will that aunt of yours be there?”

A beautiful laugh immediately came from your before you looked at him a bit apologetically “For a moment there I thought you'd have forgotten. Yeah, sorry, there's not way to avoid that.”

“So long as I'm not sitting right next to her on the dinner table, I think I will survive.”

“She's gonna keep her hands to herself, I'm sure. Besides-” you shrugged softly, looking up at him through your lashes “I don't think she would hit on my date too.”

“No, I don't think she would either. But in case you need to make it more obvious, kisses are allowed 24/7.” he said with an innocent shrug.

“Ah yes, about that.” you smiled, leaning up to peck his cheek “I would love to give you more, hopefully very soon. Especially in front of the Christmas tree at my own apartment afterwards, while we catch up.”

His eyes widened in surprise and you giggled before he breathed out “Gosh, I freaking love cheesy fanfics.”

[moodymidnightkitten]

Spark

A/N: Woof, what a busy holiday season, well anyways I’m back and new binging Black Clover, so heres my official fan application, an almost 2k fanfic for Zora Ideale. 

Genre: fluff

w/c: 1939

Synopsis: reader from the real human universe lands herself in the Black Clover Universe (I could describe this more but I’m pulling blanks, feedback on how to make this better after y’all read this, that would be great.)

Pair: Zora Ideale x Reader

Ope heres my masterlist 

Ugh god, what time is it? You asked, rubbing your head, sitting on cold hard ground outside. A completely different place from where you were, napping in a cozy warm bed at home in, reality? You've seen enough anime to know that this definitely not the normal home setting you're used to. But what anime? You looked around, doing a complete 180 and coming face to face with the one and only Black Bulls hideout. 

"No fucking way," you mumbled to yourself. What in the magical hell is this? Also, what the hell are you supposed to do now? 

"Ooooo who are you?!" A memorable voice chimed in behind you. Turning around you came face to face with no other than Asta. 

You scratched the back of your head and gave the most non convincing fake smile you could muster up in this situation. Completely flustered and star struck. 

"Oh, I uhm, my name is y/n," you gave a measly laugh. 

"Are you a spatial magic user? You just fell from the sky?!" He loudly stated. You knew there was only one clear cut way into figuring out your situation. 

"Actually no, I don't even know how I got here, but do you think you'd be able to get me to the Wizard King, he might be able to help.." you suggested. 

Astas eyes lead beyond you through your request, you didn't feel it until now but a towering and looming figure was now behind you, with a voice that most certainly matched the profile, it was Yami, the captain of the Black Bulls. 

"Oi, you'd have better luck with me, Asta, you're to come with us," was all he said as he walked past you and grabbed onto Astas collar and pulled him with him as well. Everything happened so quickly you had to do a light jog to catch up with them. 

"I really appreciate this, thank you," you said in between huff's of air trying to fill your lungs back up. 

"Your clothes are a give away to your difference in upbringing. As well as I watched you just fall, so I also want to know how you got to 'this world'' Yami was short and to the point, as he's always portrayed. 

"Well I appreciate this a lot Captain Yami and Asta," as soon as you said their names Yami stopped walking. 

"How do you know who we are?" He grumbled in confusion. 

"You won't believe me when I tell you but, this place, and everyone here is actually a show, more namely, an anime where I'm from," you probably sounded crazy. Actually not probably, most certainly because the two men looked at each other and laughed the most hearty laugh you've ever heard. And so with everything being said, all three of you continued you way to see the Wizard King.

After meeting with the Wizard King who basically certified that you're from another plane of existence who entrusted Yami to watch over you. Although you're not from here the wizard king ensured that you came here with magic powers. So now you were a part of the Black Bulls. 

But now you were stuck with living with one of your anime men crushes. Zora Ideale. It's not like you've never been around men you were attracted to, but this is just on some whole new level. This was fictional beauty and desire come true. 

Those were the only thoughts going through your head on top of the fact you now had to learn your new magical powers and make yourself an asset to your new team. It's only stressful because it's time and space magic. So what, are you now Doctor fucking Strange? It made your head hurt thinking about it all too much. What's even more intense is the fact you bent realities while SLEEPING. How in the hell were you going to figure all of that out. But hey, at least you have a pretty nice grimoire. Black marble with gold tripping and a dazzling black diamond looking clover embedded on the cover. 

“Ah, finally back,” You heard Yami exasperate as you three came up to the base. Pushing open the doors and allowing you and Asta to walk inside. Everyone else of the Black Bulls was busy doing whatever they usually do as you walked in, Yami stopped shortly ahead of you and yelled. 

“Alright, listen up fuckers, we have a new member today, this is y/n, make yourself acquainted. Finral, bathroom.” Was all he said as Finral rushed over, stars dancing in his eyes upon looking at you.  You smiled back at him as Vanessa wrapped herself around your shoulders, clad in only lingerie with a bottle of cheap wine in her free hand. 

“Oooo where did you get such an outfit?! So cute!” Vanessa said, slowly peeling herself away from you and taking you all in, slowly but surely everyone else introduced themselves and bombarded you with questions, all except Zora, who seemed to be sleeping on the couch across the room very obviously trying to ignore the whole situation. Luckily enough for you Asta made his introduction for him so now it wouldn’t be weird for you to know who he was already. 

“Let me show you around!” Asta exclaimed, eagerly walking ahead of you, you followed him, taking one small peek behind you at the handsome masked man laying on the couch, who was actually peering at you through slitted eyes, causing a blush to paint on your cheeks as you quickly looked ahead of you and pressing your grimoire to your chest. All you heard behind you with a small chuckle causing your small blush into a blazing one. 

You got settled in very quickly and spent most of your days getting along and getting to know mostly everyone on the team. It was nice, you didn’t feel out of place and you’ve actually been able to use a little bit of magic here and there with the help of everyone around you. Of course thoughts of live at home, normal real home crept into your mind but you were practically begging to be in some new reality and experience the unreal, and now look, your sheer will bent the universes and landed you here. Could you really complain? 

At the current moment in time you were sitting on your own reading in the main common area while everyone else was either on a mission or also enjoying their time off. Except Zora, who quite unusually will just chill against the wall or on the couch when he isn't in town or traveling about to mess around with dirty nobles. But right now felt more intense, like someone was staring at you, and not just someone, but Zora, his piercing gaze felt like no other. It was like a scientist waiting for a rat to do something out of the normal. You turned in your seat and to no surprise there he was with his sea blue eyes just peering at you, causing the ever so common raging blush to paint your face, but you weren’t going to let that stop you from confronting him. 

“If you’re going to stare at me you might as well take a picture of me cretin,” you boldly stated, turning back in your seat. Why did you have to call him a cretin? What normal person just calls people cretins? Luckily he must have not taken offense because he was laughing and he walked over and sat next to you. 

“Cretin? Interesting way of flirting with me Cherry,” you looked down from your book and saw him with his head in his hand. His witty comeback against you was very obviously a job at how red your cheeks got when you were around him. 

“Well I wasn’t flirting with you, Match Book,” a stupid jab at has his hair looked also wasn’t the way to go but I guess this classic middle school back and forth flirting was how it was going to go. And it seemed to be the best option available because you now felt more comfortable in his presence and it seemed you two were getting along. 

“What do you want anyways Zora?” You asked, shutting your book and placing it on the table. He raised his eyebrow. 

“Let’s go for a walk,” with that he stood up without waiting for an answer and made his way to the door. Quickly you got up and followed him. You two didn’t speak for a bit as you walked, eventually you two came up to a small lake a few hundred feet from the base, Zora sat down in one of the clear patches, you decided to take up residence a few inches away. 

“This is beautiful,” you smiled, looking out to the peaceful lake glistening in the evening sun. 

“It is, but not as much as you.” Zora said, so blatant and straight forward. And if your face has never been this red and on fire before, well it was now. You didn’t even know you stopped breathing until, well, you needed air. 

“What..?” You looked at him as he was still peering at the lake.

“Oi, I’m not going to repeat myself,” Zora said in the most disgruntled way. 

“You’re different, everything about you, you don’t know what youre doing, you’re clumsy, your cheeks get this cozy red when I’m around, you radiate this positive do good energy and I’m drawn to it, I’ve been watching you since you got here, you’re intriguing,” he kept talking so honestly it made you wonder when he would ever stop flattering you, before you could say anything he said one last thing. 

“I want to get to know you.” He finally looked at you wearing a weak smile with a blazing blush that was so strong it krept a bit up and past his mask. 

“That was a lot, all at once, and to say I don’t feel anything back would be a lie, personally you radiate lawful chaotic energy but it's fun, I want to get to know you better as well.” You smiled and so didn’t he as you two looked back to the lake. You two sat there peacefully before being interrupted by someone gracefully coming through a spatial magic portal, wearing robes you know all too well, braided hair and the obvious facial marking, Licht. 

“Y/n, I see you’ve arrived,” he said calmly. “You probably don’t know who I am, but I know all about you,” dread filled your body like a subzero frost striking your bones. 

“I know who you are. What do you want.” Licht smiled at you. 

“I want to show you why you’re here,” he offered once he got closer but before you knew it Zora jumped in between you two. 

“Listen freakshow, she’s not going anywhere with you,” You could see every muscle in Zoras body tense in front of you, the tip of your nose practically touching his back. Licht chuckled.

“Hmm? I wasn’t offering,” Before you could even blink Zoras body was thrown away and now nothing stood in between you and Licht and before you knew it a force hit your body so hard you blacked out, slowly but surely phasing in and out of sleepy, your name was being yelled and fading out in the background and you felt you body being raised off the ground, the last thing you saw was Zora reaching out to you as much as he could, fingertips grazing upon your own as you slipped out of consciousness.

[ejzah]

Could you do a serious version of the couples therapy fanfic?

Could you do a serious version of the couples therapy fanfic?

A/N: I have struggled with what to do with this one for a very long time. I believe the original version had Kensi and Deeks undercover, but that just wasn’t working with this one. I also interpreted “couples therapy” a little loosely.

This takes place post Mother. Yes, there is a multitude of angst and mention of past traumatic experiences.

***

Deeks’ shoe tapped against the hardwood floor, beating out a fast paced rhythm that mirrored his current level of tension. Kensi’s hand rested on his lower back, soothing, but not entirely alleviating his anxiety.

It was about three weeks since he’d been trapped in that bomb-rigged building and laid his entire heart before Kensi, fully believing he was about to die. In the immediate aftermath they’d been giddy with relief, making ridiculous plans and imagining miniature versions of themselves.

Then the nightmares had started. Nearly every night since he’d woken up in some form of nightmare induced panic, certain she’d been killed or hurt. Sometimes the nightmares were pulled directly from real life, sometimes they were completely imagined, but no less horrifying.

Two nights ago he’d dreamed that Kensi was the one trapped with the bombs-the third nightmare in a row-only he didn’t get her out. He’d woken up screaming her name, fighting against her when she tried to comfort him.

As much as he hated the idea when Kensi hesitantly suggested finding a therapist the next morning, he’d readily agreed. He had a vague memory of hitting her in the midst of his confusion. Not hard, but enough to terrify him more than any nightmare ever could.

He glanced around the room, already having memorized the layout. It was a basic rectangular shape, accented with wooden shelves, a large desk, several armchairs, and the low chair he and Kensi were currently sitting on. The wooden floor was partially covered by a gray and white carpet with geometric designs. He kept tracing the pattern with his eyes in a futile attempt to calm his racing heart.

Kensi’s hand smoothed up his back and he let out a long sigh, leaning into her touch.

“Sweetie, you need to relax a little,” she said quietly, lifting her other hand to tuck some hair behind his ear.

“I’m trying,” he told her, blowing out a long breath as he rested his fore arms on his thighs and pressed his face into his cupped hands.

Normally he wouldn’t be this worked up about a therapy session, but this time around he needed to be completely honest. And he wasn’t looking forward to delving into the various traumas he’d purposely buried for years. “Thank you for being here,” he added, turning his head to glance back at Kensi.

“Where else would I be?” She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his temple. “This is for both of us.”

Before he could respond, there was a quick knock on the door and a woman, maybe in her late 40’s with dark blonde hair walked in. Deeks immediately straightened up.

“Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Deeks, I’m Dr. Melanie Dinan,” she greeted them.

“It’s just Deeks and Kensi. And thank you for meeting with us on such short notice,” Deeks said, reaching to shake her hand.

“Of course. Nate Getz is an old colleague and I’m always happy to help out a friend. I know how difficult it can be to find a therapist who isn’t linked with your agency.”

“We appreciate that,” Kensi said, reaching down for his hand. As he felt her fingers in his, slightly clammy and gripping so tightly his knuckles hurt, he realized she was just as nervous as he was.

“So tell me why you’re here today,” Dr. Dinan prompted, loosely folding her hands. “I understand you had a difficult experience during a recent case, Deeks.”

Huffing out a laugh, Deeks shook his head, keep his gaze downward.

“The last several years have been filled with a lot of difficult experiences.” He realized his sounded unnecessarily antagonistic and forced himself to breath out slowly again. “But, uh, yeah there was a recent case that kind of brought a lot of those memories to the surface again.”

Dr. Dinan regarded him with a neutral expression.

“How do those memories manifest?”

“Nightmares, anxiety,” he answered, hesitating before he added, “occasionally mild panic attacks.” Beside him he felt Kensi tense and he closed his briefly, knowing they would need to talk that last one later on. He swallowed harshly, trying to control his voice as he spoke. “The last few years they’ve been a lot less frequent, not as real. In the last couple weeks, ever since that case, um, I’ve had one almost every night and they’re really vivid.”

“Can you tell me what those dreams involve? Are they violent, directed towards yourself?” Dr. Dinan asked. Deeks recalled his most recent nightmare, one where he and Kensi were stuck in the ocean, and held back a shudder. He watched in horror as she slipped into the dark, freezing whatever, unable to do anything to help her.

“Um, usually they’re pretty violent,” he confirmed. “Sometimes it’s things that have happened to me, but most of the time they, uh,” his voice broke as his a series of images began to assault him and he felt his chest start to tighten. Kensi’s hand moved to his back again, moving in small circles as she spoke quietly in his ear.

“It’s ok, baby,” she murmured. “Just take a deep breath.” He squeezed his eyes tightly shut, listening to Kensi’s voice until some of the tightness eased and he didn’t feel like he was going to pass out as much.

When he opened his eyes, Dr. Dinan was standing had stood up, but hadn’t moved closer. He appreciated the space.

“Are you alright, Mr. Deeks? I can have Cynthia bring you a drink and take a few minutes-“

“No, it’s fine,” he insisted, wanting to get through this as quickly as he could. “Last night I dreamed that these guys that once tortured me had Kensi and they were drilling holes in her mouth instead of me. Sometimes it’s worse.” Kensi didn’t react other than to hold him tighter and he didn’t check to see Dr. Dinan’s expression.

“Each day I’m more terrified that something like that will actually happen and I won’t be able to stop it. It makes me a liability in the field and a poor partner to Kensi.” He looked up, addressing her finally. “Doctor, can you help stop this or at least control it better than I currently am?”

She nodded gravely.

“I appreciate how difficult that was for you to share with me. I believe I can help you. It won’t be easy or a quick fix, but with consistent therapy and the clear support from your wife, you should alleviate some of those symptoms.”

Kensi and Deeks walked out of Dr. Dinan’s office 40 minutes later. He was exhausted and a little shaky.

“Are you ok?” she asked. She’d quietly sat behind him the entires session, offering support but never pushing.

“Honestly, I feel like never coming back,” he said climbing into the car and letting his head fall back against the passenger seat headrest. Kensi didn’t say anything, didn’t protest that he needed to do this, and he was overwhelmed once again by how much he loved her. “But I will. I don’t want to live like this anymore.

Kensi’s eyes filled with tears as she leaned across the console. She cupped the back of his head and kissed him softly.

“I am so proud of you, Marty Deeks,” she whispered fiercely. “I love you more than anything. And I will be by your side through every step of this, no matter what.”

***

A/N: Just in case any body has any doubts, I have absolutely no counseling experience. I did the best research I could, but I know this is still probably riddled with inaccuracies

Thanks for the prompt!

[bgn846]

Marshal’s Creed FFXV Fanfic

Summary:            

Cor dresses up for the annual Halloween gala in hopes to win a bet. Can he beat out everyone else at the party with the best costume?

Notes:    

I had a fun prompt from my friend @ragewerthers for Cor Leonis getting invited to a Halloween party.... but what in the HELL is he supposed to go as?!  Do Regis and Clarus help him?  Do the boys help him?  Does he decide to go scary?  Funny?  Mythical?

I hope you all enjoy, I had fun writing this! :)

Work Text:          

“What is he wearing?” Regis asked under his breath from where they were standing near the steps to the throne.

“Not so sure, but it seems pretty popular with the ladies,” Clarus admitted as he craned his neck to see better.

“Dear six, he looks half-naked!” spluttered Regis after a moment.

“Sorta, he’s got pants and maybe something someone would consider a shirt on.” Though Clarus was still clueless as to what Cor had dressed up as.  The annual Halloween gala was always a fun event. However, the marshal never dressed up.

Ever.

It was only the quick thinking of Regis with the tempting draw of a bet that enticed their friend into wearing anything special this year. A hefty amount of 500gil sat waiting for Cor if he dressed up and won one of the sundry costume awards to be gifted that night.  The prizes given out were little awards trinkets, and the bragging rights until the next party.  Of course, Cor could care less about any of that, the only reason he’d even agreed, was to prove Regis wrong and maybe relieve him of some decent spending cash.

The king had figured Cor wasn’t creative enough to even stand a chance. Regis had merely snorted and waved him off when the marshal assured them he’d win something.  Now, as Clarus watched their friend navigate through the crowd he was beginning to think Regis might have to pay up at the end of the night.

The squeals of impressed party goers only got louder as Cor approached, as did the flash of lights from photos being snapped. The crowds dispersed once he’d reached the king.  Cor yawned once seemingly bored with the whole affair already. “You might as well give me the money now, Regis.”

“Never!” the king hissed, “You aren’t going to win, look at you! What is that, it looks like a pile of rags!”

Before Cor could answer a young staffer passing by interrupted them with a shout, “Awesome costume!” They left just as quickly as Clarus began to examine the outfit in more detail.

“I’m afraid I’m lost as to what you are, care to enlighten us?”

“Eh, this? I have no idea, Noct helped me pick it out.  Said it was the best costume to wear and had Ignis go online and order me one before I could say no.”

“You asked my son to help you?”

“Nope, he found out I was going to dress up and he nearly flipped. How could I say no, he begged me to let him help.”

“Still what the hell are you?” Regis asked in exasperation.

“An assassin I think?” Cor supplied with a furrowed brow. “Honestly, the kid was talking too fast for me to catch the exact name, but he said it was from a game.”  

“Why in the heck would an assassin wear that? Your entire right side is exposed, seems like a defensive nightmare.”

“I’ll admit it’s not exactly realistic but it’s comfy at least.” Cor offered with a shrug.

“I don’t know why you let my son talk you into this, you look ridiculous.” Regis was about to add more when another party-goer/staffer wandered by and started staring. They were of course after a picture of Cor.  The staffer was young and blushing like mad but still managed to ask for a selfie.

“I’m sorry what were you saying majesty? I got pulled away to have my picture taken because I’m going to win.”

Regis sneered and turned around to walk away.  Clarus couldn’t help but snicker at the sight. Regis was a sore loser so a part of him hoped Cor wouldn’t win, but he probably would. The marshal, though not a youthful twenty-year-old anymore, could hold his own in the looks department. He was only in his forties now but still trained just as hard. His well-defined six-pack was evidence of that.  Clarus suspected that most of the girls wandering over were trying to get a better look at what he’d been hiding under his guard uniform.

Cor for once didn’t mind the attention and even smiled for a few shots.  It was nice to see his friend out of his element for once.   “Have you seen his highness?” Clarus asked, figuring Noct would have at least had to help Cor get ready. Otherwise, the man wouldn’t have known how to wear the costume.

“Yeah, he’s coming soon, he was getting picky about his nails.”

“What?”

“You’ll see, he’ll match grumpy pants over there,” Cor announced with a chuckle. “Regis thinks sporting little tiny fake fangs makes him a good vampire. He’s so wrong.”

“Oh dear,” Clarus could only guess what Noct had conjured up. Ignis would have been key in gathering his needed elements, but the idea was most likely the princes. “What are the others dressing up as?”

Cor barked out a laugh, “I only saw Ignis and Prompto but it appeared they were wearing matching black suits.”

“That’s it?”

“Almost, if you don’t count the wolf tail they both had clipped to their belts and the wolf ear headbands.”

“I’m so confused,” he sighed. However, right as he was about to ask for more details a sudden hush overtook the room. Looking up he noticed what had caused the reaction. Ignis, Prompto, and his son were stalking over towards them. They all matched and looked quite formidable.   However, Noct seemed to be missing. The black suits had matching black shirts and ties to go with. One might take them all for security guards aside from the addition of the animal ears atop their heads. One thing Cor hadn’t mentioned was their eye color. Each had donned a pair of contacts that made their eyes look golden and cat-like.

As they neared, Clarus realized there was a fourth pair of legs hiding behind Ignis. This must be the prince. Waiting patiently as the group finally came to a rest in front of them, Clarus was treated to the reveal. A pale hand with amusingly long pointy black nails slowly crept out from behind Ignis arm.  It reached out and pointed straight at him.  Then in a move that had Clarus snorting with laughter, Noct curled his fingers and beckoned him closer.  

“You’re nuts if you think I’m letting you near me with those daggers,” he laughed.

Noct merely shook his finger and carefully leaned to the side to show his face. The prince’s hair was slicked back and someone had drawn in an exaggerated widow’s peak.

“I see you’re taking your role far more seriously than your father.”

“I shall win,” was all Noct uttered before he hissed and retreated behind his bodyguards again.

With a quick bow, Ignis led the way back out into the party.  The advisor was playing his part very well and looked like he’d snap a person in two if they even tried to talk to the prince. Prompto was fighting to hide a smile as they turned to leave. Gladio offered Clarus and eyebrow waggle and a wink before he left.  They were having fun it seemed.

“So forgive me for being a little behind on my fantasy lore, why are they all wearing animal ears and tails?” Clarus asked kindly.

“He’s a vampire and he needs his werewolf pack to protect him.”

“Ah, I see. Noct basically thought up the perfect costume, ensuring he doesn’t have to talk with anyone.”

“Pretty much, he’s clever in that way, unlike his old man!” Cor teased as Regis joined them again.

Ignoring Cor’s comment, Regis stared at Noct’s retreating party and tilted his head, “Was that my son?”

“Yep you missed the reveal; he’s a vampire with a coven of werewolves.”  

Regis simply smiled and straightened his shoulders slightly, “He takes after me in so many ways.”

Cor groaned loudly and rolled his eyes, “You wish, look it I’m gonna go mingle and get some more votes in my favor.  I’m winning this contest tonight, be ready to pay up.”

Regis tried to whack Cor in the shin with his cane, but the marshal was quicker and leaped out of the way. He laughed and casually wandered away, complete with a smug look of satisfaction.

“He’s such a brat sometimes,” Regis huffed.

“He’s only five years younger than you.”

“Shut it; let’s go see if we can convince the judges to ban him or something.”  

Cor did not get banned.

Clarus had the joy of watching his friend claim a very special award, the citadels’ sexiest costume. Apparently, the panel of judges was also distracted by Cor’s exposed right side and six-pack.  The few other contestants in that category didn’t stand a chance.  No manner of makeup could fake muscles or a square jawline.

Regis didn’t have to pout for long though when his son won the night's overall best costume design. The king was proud of his son and his friends. They’d banded together to create a memorable look.  Noct stayed in character when he accepted his award and tried to bite one of the presenters.  Gladio sprang into action and held him back.  The room erupted in laughter and cheers.

Suddenly thankful they could all enjoy moments like this together; Clarus smiled and looked over to his friend and King. Regis must have had a similar reaction as he returned a warm smile of his own and a small nod.

The rest of the night was a blur; Cor had come playfully demanding his money. Regis denied him, but Clarus knew he’d pay up in the morning.  His liege kept trying to accuse Cor of cheating since he was only wearing half a costume. The marshal would then wiggle his award in front of Regis’ face as a rebuttal.

The music soon turned up loud enough that they couldn’t talk anymore. Opting to retreat to the far corner of the room the three friends sat and relaxed.  They spend the remainder of the evening commenting on the costumes and the terrible music.

The End.

AO3 link is posted in the comments.

[thespacebetweenworlds]

so... i’m not actually in the witcher fandom, nor do i know the most about it...but i still think you should write witcher!hyunjin + bard!jisung. i just approve of the notion idk

I WROTE IT!!!! lmao, be proud of me! this was a whole ride and I loved every second. I hope you’ll find this amusing, too!

Here's the tags: KPOP RPF, Stray Kids Fanfic, Han Jisung/Hwang Hyunjin, rated T, warnings for violence and blood, Witcher AU, 5k, complete. Read it on ao3 here or continue forth below the cut.

Inspired by this Witcher!Hyunjin edit. Beta’d by Reltic, who writes very good skz fic y’all should go read it <3

Anyway let me know what you think :]

 Hyunjin punched him in the face.

 … by accident. That was important. Or it would be important, if Hyunjin didn’t wish he could punch the annoying bard a second time.

 Unfortunately, they were currently caught and bound in the bandits’ cave, back to back, and if Hyunjin wanted to break free fast, the knife in his arm guard would also stab the annoying bard in the back. And he had to admit that that annoying mouth was currently the only thing preventing the bandits from slashing their throats and leaving them to bleed out in a ditch.

 Fuck.

 So Hyunjin lost himself in the memory of the bard’s stupid soft cheek on his knuckles, the impact he felt before the bard’s head snapped back and he stumbled away. The blood on his teeth when he smiled up at Hyunjin, who had honestly (oh, his past self new nothing) meant to punch the lackey of the village’s head who refused to pay him. The space around the bar had been packed, and someone was pushed into the lackey just before Hyunjin hit him.

 The annoying bard.

 Hyunjin, feeling sorry and embarrassed, had kicked the lackey a few metres away, relishing in the thump of a body against the wall and then the following slump to the floor accompanied with the sudden scared quiet of the room. And then he’d glared at the guys who had been pushing the annoying bard and escorted him out, meaning to apologise. He had not meant for the annoying bard to follow him on the dusty dirt road to the next village and never stop talking.  

 “You really should let us go, my dudes,” the annoying bard laughed – Jisung, oh how Hyunjin wished he didn’t know that name – “I mean come on, have you ever seen a man as beautiful as him? It would be a crime to kill us, a crime.”  

 The first that hit Jisung’s bruised face after that was deserved, and Hyunjin wished he was the one who did the punching.

 “You trespassed into our territory, we will do as we wish,” one of the bandits crossed his head and lifted his chin as if he was almighty. For the moment, he was. “We have heard of a witcher with ties to the queen, and we can’t let him run to her and tell her about our secret drug ring.”

 Hyunjin closed his eyes and groaned quietly. Life was just out to get him specifically.

 “Ah, we don’t kiss and tell,” Jisung said, and Hyunjin just knows he’s winking and putting on his ���flirting’ face. “Wait, Hyunjinnie, you know the queen? Me too!”

 Hyunjin wished he could close his ears too. Those were definitely the words the bandits needed to hear right now. Yes. Good thinking there, Jisung.

 “Who are you that you know the queen?” Another of the bandits spoke up, walking closer. “Maybe we can exchange your dead remains for money.”

 Jisung, at least, had nothing to say to that. “Ahaha, a joke, of course! How would I know the queen! Why would he know the queen? He’s a witcher, not a witch.”

 Hyunjin groaned. “The queen and I are on bad terms right now, and I won’t tell her about your drug ring because I will kill you all.”

 Finally, blessed silence. Hyunjin counted his heartbeats and breaths, relaxing his shoulders. Quiet. Nice. Now if only there was a breeze carrying some fresh mountain air.

 “Hey,” Jisung hissed, “don’t encourage them!”

 And the room broke in frantic yells and panic as they tried to decide what to do since both their prisoners apparently knew the ruler of the kingdom, except of course if they were lying. Hyunjin sighed.

 “Hyunjin,” Jisung whispered, shuffling around, “how do we escape? You have a plan, right?”

 Hyunjin took a deep breath. “I have a knife in my boot,” he told Jisung quietly, “if we stand up at the same time, I can take it, and cut us free.”

 Jisung let out a breath. “Oh, that’s good! I knew you got this.”

 Hyunjin just brought his legs under him, swiping the dagger from his boot – really, what kind of bandits didn’t tie their prisoner’s legs? – and as he stood with Jisung scrambling to his feet himself, he cut the ropes tying them together.

 The bandits noticed a second too late, and drew their swords a second too late. Two put up half a fight, but soon they all lay dead on the floor, blood splattered all over Hyunjin. Hyunjin wrinkled his nose, and made an attempt to wipe the blood off of his daggers on the only bandit who still had a clean shirt.

 “Where did that second dagger come from?” Jisung, his wrists still bound, interrupted Hyunjin.

 “You’re still here?” Hyunjin shoved the daggers back, one into his boot and the other under his arm guard where it was concealed under black leather.

 “Wait so you could have broken free all along with the dagger in your sleeve? Why didn’t you…” understanding slowly crawled across his expressive face, followed by a bright smile. “Hyunjin! I knew you care about me!”

 “I don’t,” Hyunjin said, but somehow couldn’t stop himself from untying Jisung’s hands. He took his sword from where the bandits had tossed it in a corner and drew the blade. More bandits would still be outside. Jisung picked up his lute and hugged it close to his chest.

 As Hyunjin had expected, a few bandits were in the surrounding woods, just far enough to not have heard their companions’ dying screams. Hyunjin killed the ones that attacked him and let the others run away.

 When he reached the road, he lifted his fingers to his mouth and whistled.

 Loud breathing and stomping reached him not much later.

 “Hyunjinnie!” Jisung emerged behind him, cheeks flushed under his bruised face, lute strapped to his back. “I don’t understand how –” he gasped for air, “– you can run through the woods so fast. Wait for me.”

 Hyunjin, however, only had eyes for the beauty that approached him now. “Kkami!”

 Kkami was his trusted companion and only friend. And a horse. But she was the best. Better than all humans he ever met. A good listener too. And quiet. Unlike a certain annoying bard.

 “Oh, pretty,” Jisung stumbled towards Kkami, who neatly stepped around him as if he was just an unusual kind of tree.

 “I’m so proud of you,” Hyunjin whispered to her, leaning his forehead against hers and stroking her long neck. Kkami was truly his only friend.

 Hyunjin climbed up on her back in one smooth move. He patted the parts of her neck he could reach and steered her down the road with his legs alone. She started walking in a comfortable walk, one that she would be able to hold for days. The sun was high in the sky, the trees green, the birds singing. It was calm now. The breeze smelled of forest and moss and rotting leaves and flowers in bloom. Hyunjin could hear his own heartbeat as well as Kkami’s, their breaths aligning like they so often did on long journeys.

 It was wonderful.

 Except that his and Kkami’s weren’t the only heartbeats he heard.

 “Oh, can I also ride on your horse? No? Alright then, it’s your horse, I understand. Did you call her Kkami? That’s so cute. Like you! You were so badass back there, I had literal goosebumps. I must admit the blood splattered clothes fit you very well. And did you see their faces when they realised we got free? And oh, we busted a drug ring, if you were on good terms with the queen we could totally go to the capital and receive money for doing good deeds in the name of the crown. But alas, we’ll have to live as vagabonds! Lonely heroes on their way to defeat evil!”

 Yup. There he was.

 “I should write a song about it. I can write a song about us. I will write a song about you! Hyunjin, how do you feel about songs? I promise I’ll also credit Kkami with defeating a villain, of course, she’s lovely. Do you think a long ballad would be suitable? Or a drinking song? If you don’t mind, I’ll try some freestyles, yeah?”

 “Shut up.”

 “Ah, but I write my songs by freestyling! I just start singing, play some chords, and continue until I find sounds and words I like. You know, as a starving artist with only my lute, I can’t rely on making notes and writing my lyrics down, I have to memorize them as I come up with them! So talking to myself helps with that, obviously. And now I have you, too! You will help me, right?”

 Hyunjin contemplated kicking Jisung in the face. It would… even be possible, he realised as he studied the distance between his leg and Jisung’s head. He’d have to stretch weirdly though, and unless he shifted his weight, the kick wouldn’t be very strong. The movement would surprise Kkami though, and while she definitely wouldn’t mind or be inconvenienced, Hyunjin was sitting comfortable and breathing in synchrony with her.

 Why mess that up? He could just pretend he wasn’t hearing anything, anything at all. A fly, maybe. A bee. Human voices? The last time he heard a human speak was one of the bandits, before he stabbed him in the chest with his sword and left the body in the shrubbery.

 Oh, the calmness of the forest… so quiet… so nice.

 In the late afternoon, the trees gave way to the next village, with fields spreading out into wasteland and far away mountains. The village was just big enough to have a bit of stone ground in the middle, with a river and a mill. An inn sat in it’s center.

 Hyunjin sighed. He had exactly no money, which meant he’d have to ask for a job first before he could rent a room. However, he had yet to see a village that didn’t have at least one monster to get rid of. It just meant he’d have to go monster hunting before he could go to sleep for a day.

 “Oh, are we staying here, Hyunjin?” Jisung stood in front of Hyunjin when he jumped off Kkami. And Jisung grinned. He swaggered towards the door of the inn. “I don’t have money, but I’m sure I can get us a room in exchange for entertainment! I’ll sing of your victories, witcher, and the town will love you!”

 “Uh… bard,” Hyunjin said, because he’d actually have to warn him, didn’t he? “Jisung.”

 Jisung turned to him with wide eyes and his grin turned into a soft smile.

 “That might not help. As a witcher, people don’t usually… like… it… when I’m around.” Hyunjin gestured to his appearance, dark leather armour splattered with blood. Long white hair bound together but he knew there were leaves caught in it. It really spoke for itself. His glowing eyes didn’t help his case. “I’ll ask for a monster to kill, which will hopefully get us a meal and a room, and Kkami a place in a stable. That’s all, and only if we’re lucky.”

 A look of something crossed Jisung’s face, there and gone too fast for Hyunjin to read. He squared his shoulders and bared his teeth. “Trust me on this, Hyunjin.”

 And Jisung sauntered into the inn as if he owned it.

 Hyunjin and Kkami shared a look. “I don’t know either, Kkami, sweetheart,” Hyunjin sighed.

 Kkami neighed quietly.

 “I know, I know, I better go and save his ass or something,” Hyunjin cringed. He was actually going to, wasn’t he?

 Kkami snorted.

 Hyunjin rolled his eyes. “Yah, don’t laugh at me! Wait here, okay? If anyone comes at you, you know how to drop kick them.”

 Jisung had maybe one minute alone in the inn. Somehow, Hyunjin expected there to be fire and screaming and new bruises on Jisung’s annoying face.

 One minute, and yet what Hyunjin found when he opened the door was Jisung pointing a finger at him, yelling, and cheering from a crowd of mostly drunk farmers and a handful of young women who curiously turned their heads.

 “That’s him!” Jisung was laughing, too. “He saved my life.”

 Hyunjin didn’t have time to process that before he was shoved next to Jisung by a smiling man with a long beard and a cup of beer was handed to him. The women oohed and aahed.

 “Jisung-ssi, why didn’t you say he’s pretty?”

 “Mr Bard, he truly looks as beautiful as you said! A hero!”

 “To have defeated a Barghest! I’ll drink to that!”

 Jisung cheered with the small crowd, and Hyunjin lifted his beer in cheers, setting it back down when it seemed like most people were briefly shifting their attention to their own drinks. Alcohol did nothing for him, and he didn’t like beer. Jisung swiftly switched his own cup with Hyunjin’s, and when Hyunjin brought the cup up to his face, he noticed it was water.

 “I told you to trust me, Hyunjin,” Jisung said quietly.

 Hyunjin could only nod.

 “Oh, your hair is so pretty,” one of the older women said, sliding into the seat next to him. “I’m the co-owner of this establishment, by the way.”

 “Um, thank you,” Hyunjin swallowed a mouthful of water. “I’ve been meaning to ask if you had a job for me here.”

 Jisung, now a few metres away, strung his lute and started singing a catchy song about ‘that time a handsome witcher saved me from the beast’ which, despite his raspy throat, sounded good – if you could ignore the terrible text. And the fact that it was all lies. Well, Hyunjin had to admit that he did save Jisung from certain death, but there was nothing heroic about it, and Hyunjin also hadn’t taken off his clothes to use his undershirt to bind a cut on Jisung’s ankle.

 “We are uncertain still,” the woman quickly tugged Hyunjin out of his thoughts with her serious tone. “A monster dwells upstream. Sometimes the river is dyed red, or pieces of ripped clothing will pass the village. My niece disappeared two weeks ago. One of the farmers went up to see what was causing the issue last week, and he never returned. One of his shoes did, though.”

 “Hmm,” Hyunjin nodded. “I have a few ideas of what it might be, and none of them are good.”

 The woman nodded, smiling worriedly. “If it really is a… monster, as you say, we will of course pay you accordingly. For now, your drinks are on us – see it as a gesture of good will for saving that bard.”

 With a polite smile, she turned to attend a group of newly arrived villagers.

 Hyunjin eyed the sliver of fading daylight streaming in through the dirty window. If it really was a drowner, it might move closer to the village when hungry. Drowners lived in streams and ponds and sewers, but if this one was upstream it might not take long for it to decide to live closer to the village. Hyunjin remembered the mill. There must be a body of water directly connected to it.

 And if the last death was already a week ago, then he’d have to hurry. He finished his water and got up.

 “Jisung,” he said when he reached him and Jisung had taken a small break from singing to hydrate. “I’m going after a monster here. I will be back by moonrise.”

 Jisung smiled a gummy smile, eyes sparkling. “You’ll be back?”

 “I’ll be back,” Hyunjin agreed, wondering if it would destroy his fragile positive image in the village if he punched Jisung in the face right now. Why bother though, Jisung’s bruises were just reaching their darkest point, another one wouldn’t even be visible.

 Hyunjin turned and left, hearing Jisung loudly announce that Hyunjin was going to defeat the monster.

 Kkami was eyeing him.

 “What,” he grumbled. “So, he was right. So what. I still have to go kill a monster now.”

 Kkami snorted judgingly.

 Together, they swiftly galloped towards the mill, and in a slower tempo they followed the water upstream.

 There were a few hills there, some shrubbery that quickly turned into tall trees, the river courving and going into the forest. The smell was the first thing that told him something was wrong here, so he got off Kkami, drank one of his witcher potions – never a fun experience, the way his insides twisted and bones shuddered just wasn’t a good vibe – and he felt his sight sharpening, eyes turning black.

 Kkami, unbothered queen that she was, turned to snack on some leaves.

 Hyunjin followed the smell of blood and death deeper into the woods to a clearing. A dark pond greeted him, and yes, this was it. He would never get the smell out of his hair.

 He kicked a pebble into the water.

 The water made waves, but not the ones physics predicted the pebble would have created.

 In the end, killing a drowner wasn’t that much different from killing a human. They were, after all, human shaped with extra gills and fins. Somewhat. The difficulty didn’t lie in their superhuman strength, but Hyunjin was a witcher, and he had drunk his potions. Not even the coldness and darkness of the water surrounding them really bothered Hyunjin.

 The difficulty lay in the fact that Hyunjin didn’t like the quiet that came after. He waded out of the pond, wet and cold, hair plastered to his forehead, the slippery head of the drowner in his arms, and what greeted him was cold starlight and absolute silence.

 He walked the way back to the village. Kkami was waiting where he left her, but he didn’t want to ruin his saddlebags by getting them wet with smelly pond water and the drowner’s blood.

 The moon rose just as he made it back to the village.

 And when he opened the door to the inn, the first thing he saw was Jisung’s annoying face. Could his day get any worse after this?

 “You’re back!” Jisung smiled again (why did he smile so much, and why did he smile at Hyunjin?) and then he saw the water dripping down his clothes and the monster’s head in his arms. Naturally Hyunjin couldn’t really grab the head in one hand, it was too fishy for that. Jisung winked at him, before turning back to the room. “The witcher defeated the monster! Your village is safe now!”

 Cheers sounded through the room, which seemed to be packed with the whole village and not just the handful of farmers from earlier.

 “Should I leave the head outside,” Hyunjin asked the woman who had spoken to him earlier.

 She took a look and briefly looked nauseous. “Yes, just leave it outside, thank you. I’ll prepare a room and a bath for you, master witcher.”

 Hyunjin blinked. He didn’t think he’d ever been addressed with this much honest respect. “Thank you.”

 “Follow me.”

 Through a crowd of mostly drunk cheering, the owner led him up a narrow stairway in the back, and opened one of the doors for him. There was a fairly big bed, a small window with curtains, and a tub behind a paper screen.

 “Uh, excuse me,” Hyunjin stopped the woman just as she walked past him with the promise of getting someone to bring up hot water, “my horse, she’s outside. Could you send someone for her? If it’s too much trouble, is there a stable I can bring her to?”

 The woman smiled. “Of course, dear. I’ll send my son, he’ll take good care of your horse.”

 Relieved, Hyunjin started to undo the straps of his armour, putting the pieces on the clothes rack next to the tub. Hopefully the leather would be dry by morning. When he was down to his undershirt and pants, the woman returned with two people following behind her, all of them carrying buckets of steaming water.

 “Thank you,” Hyunjin smiled politely, only to be told thanks in return, ‘for saving the village.’

 … Jisung must be composing an epic ballad.

 Tired, Hyunjin decided to not care about that right now, and fully undressed. He was just starting to relax in the hot water when the door behind him opened. Jisung’s familiar heartbeat sounded in the room. Hyunjin closed his eyes and sighed.

 “Are you – oh.”

 “What,” Hyunjin groaned. “Don’t tell me they only have one guest room and thus you simply must share with me.”

 “Ah, yes, actually. How did you know?” Jisung crossed the room and sat next to Hyunjin, keeping his eyes strictly on Hyunjin’s face.

 “Just – a hunch, I don’t know. Are you blushing?”

 “No.” Jisung blushed.

 Hyunjin hummed and started to cover his arms and chest with soap. It smelled too strongly of flowers, but maybe that would cover the lingering smell of blood and forest. He moved on to wash his hair, getting his fingers tangled in the knots.

 “Wait,” Jisung interrupted, “let me do that.”

 Stunned, Hyunjin didn’t move when Jisung grabbed the soap out of his hands.

 “Your hair is really pretty,” Jisung murmured. “I want to braid it and give you a flower crown. Did you know that one of my aliases is Dandelion?”

 “I did not,” Hyunjin said, because Jisung’s aliases were the most conceivable piece of information he just received.

 Jisung laughed and used his hands to wash the soap out of Hyunjin’s hair. “You pretend you’re all tough and dramatic but really you’re a big softie.”

 “Are you talking about yourself,” Hyunjin replied, because really, he did not come here for an emotional evaluation.

 “Aw, no,” Jisung lightly splashed water in Hyunjin’s face, “I never pretend to be all tough and dramatic, I am all tough and dramatic.”

 Hyunjin wrinkled his face in disgust. “You’re annoying.”

 Hyunjin noticed how Jisung’s musician’s fingers lightly lingered on the scars on his shoulders and back when he washed the soap away. He let Jisung hold his hands and massage a pleasant smelling oil into his skin after he dried and got dressed in a long nightshirt the inn had kindly provided for them. He sat still as Jisung used a towel to gently dry Hyunjin’s hair, and in the absence of a comb used his fingers to disentangle the worst of the knots.

 Jisung, for once, blessed Hyunjin with silence. Hyunjin still noticed Jisung. Even when he wasn’t talking a steady stream of nonsense, his presence was still… loud. Strong. The many buttons on Jisung’s jacket were undone with skilled fingers, and Hyunjin pinched himself when he finally remembered to look away. He walked through the room, closing the curtain, locking the door. Then he sat on the edge of the bed and looked everywhere except at Jisung, who pulled the nightshirt over his bare skin.

 “You don’t mind sharing the bed, do you?” Jisung asked at last, sitting down next to Hyunjin.

 “If I did,” Hyunjin replied, raising an eyebrow, “I’d have removed you from this room already.”

 Jisung’s annoying mouth formed a big, heart shaped smile.

 Hyunjin wanted to punch him. With his mouth. On Jisung’s mouth. He shuddered internally. Oh no. This wasn’t happening. He was definitely not going to kiss the annoying bard on his annoying mouth. Nope. Not happening.

 “Thank you for saving my life,” Jisung said, serious. “Not just from the bandits, but you also kinda saved me back at the other village. You also punched me, but I know that was an accident.”

 “I will punch you again,” Hyunjin grumbled, getting under the covers and scooting to one side, “it just won’t be an accident.”

 Jisung laughed. “You’re really funny, you know that? I think most people don’t even notice, which is a shame.”

 “You’re not funny,” Hyunjin yawned.

 “Is that a challenge? Keep thinking that, then. I’ll make you smile.”

 Hyunjin didn’t dignify that with an answer. He closed his eyes.

 “Sleep well, Hyunjinnie,” Jisung murmured, burying himself in the blanket just a hand width away.

 “Night,” Hyunjin returned after a pause.

 It didn’t take long for Jisung’s breath to even out and his heartbeat to slow. Hyunjin listened to the muffled and fading noises of the inn for another while before he allowed himself to drift off. Even witchers needed sleep.

 When he came back to consciousness, the first thing he noticed was the early morning light streaming in from behind the curtain. He still had his eyes closed and felt no need to move for the moment. Jisung’s heartbeat sounded steady, his breaths warm against Hyunjin’s neck. Hyunjin was warm and comfortable in a way he hadn’t been in a long time, the sheet comfortable around him.

 Arms tightened around him, and a voice in the back of Hyunjin’s mind started screaming like the house was on fire. Except Hyunjin really didn’t mind burning houses, he was a witcher, why was his brain screaming? He firmly told himself to shut up and enjoy the lingering sleep. Awake time would be later.

 “Hrngg warm,” Jisung murmured, and threw a leg over Hyunjin’s hips.

 That woke Hyunjin.

 Wide eyed, he stared down, only to see Jisung half on top of him. He realised that it wasn’t the blanket that was so comfortably warm and soft, but Jisung, because Jisung was draped all over him.

 Carefully, Hyunjin tried to extract himself, but Jisung only tightened his hold on him.

 “Fuck,” Hyunjin whispered.

 What did one do when one woke up with a human octopus attached? Hyunjin didn’t know, so he tried to breathe normally and not disturb Jisung further. The bruises on his face were thankfully already fading into lighter shades of purple, but Jisung must have been exhausted. One of Hyunjin’s arms was free, and he’d left a bruise balm on the small table beside the bed, in case he hadn’t healed fully in the morning.

 Carefully, Hyunjin reached over, scooped a bit up with his finger, and very carefully started to cover the bruises on Jisung’s cheekbone and temple. Jisung didn’t wake.

 After a while, Hyunjin closed his eyes and fell back asleep. When he woke up again, it must have been late morning – golden light illuminated the room. Jisung was staring up at him, wide eyed.

 “You drool in your sleep,” Hyunjin told him and gently pushed Jisung off him.

 Jisung blushed furiously and wiped at his mouth with his sleeve, eyes not leaving Hyunjin.

 Hyunjin stretched and stood. He opened the curtain, squinting against the bright daylight. When he turned to Jisung, he found Jisung rubbing at his eyes, looking lost in the center of the bed, blanket pooling around him. His hair stood around his head and looked – despite all logic – fluffy.

 “I – uh, did I sleep on you?” Jisung averted his eyes.

 Hyunjin hummed, turning to his clothes. His armour was dry, luckily, but he’d hate to wear the same undershirt and pants again. He’d have to find a river where he could wash his clothes soon.

 “I’ll go find the toilet,” Jisung mumbled and left for the door. He almost stumbled in the doorway. “Oh, clothes! The nice lady must have left them for us.” In front of their door, indeed, was a neatly folded pile of clothes. Simple linen undershirts and pants, nothing fancy but of good quality.

 When they had fully dressed and Hyunjin had wrenched his hair into a bun, they made their way downstairs just to find the barkeeper grinning widely at them, reminding Hyunjin that this village thought him a hero.

 Thankfully, Jisung did all the talking, and Hyunjin could eat as much breakfast as he liked. Maybe he should keep Jisung around.

 A handful of villagers came together to bid them goodbye, and the woman from the inn for some reason apologised for being unable to pay him, but instead offered a horse. A cute, mischievous black mare that had been her niece’s favourite, and as such had never learned how to be a proper farm horse. Jisung thanked the villagers profusely and loudly, and sang another rendition of ‘the handsome witcher saved my life’ as they left.

 Out of sight and out of earshot of the last farm belonging to the village, Jisung’s voice went high and panicky.

 “Hyunjin! I don’t know how to ride a horse!”

 Hyunjin just looked Jisung up and down slowly, making his point. Jisung was, after all, sitting on his horse. Sure, he was also hugging his lute to his chest and also gripping the saddle with white-knuckled fists.

 “Ha! I did it!” Jisung whooped then, and pointed a finger in Hyunjin’s face. “You smiled!”

 Hyunjin wiped the smile off his face, furrowed his brows and glared. “No.”

 “You did! I clearly saw – Hyunjinnie you’re so cute when you – ah!” Jisung blanched and cowered over his horse, who had just made a bigger step than usual to nose Kkami in the face.

 Hyunjin laughed. He couldn’t help himself. Jisung was confident, or good at bullshitting confidence, and pretty, and annoying, and brave. And he was afraid of riding on a horse.

 He leaned back just a bit, letting Kkami know to stop just by shifting his weight. Jisung’s horse also stopped, probably because it had decided Kkami was the best living being on the planet. What a smart horse. Hyunjin jumped off and patted the black horse on the nose, smiling at her.

 Kkami snorted loudly.

 Hyunjin grabbed the reins of Jisung’s horse and started walking. “Just relax, Sungie,” he said without looking over his shoulder. “I’ve got you.”

 “What about Kkami?” Jisung sounded very relieved and adorably worried about Kkami.

 Hyunjin hummed. “She’s the best. The smartest. She’ll walk with us on her own. You’re the one that needs to learn how to communicate with your horse. What’s her name?”

 “Uh,” Jisung paused. “I forgot? Or they didn’t say.”

 “Well, then you should start by naming her,” Hyunjin replied, and then started to talk about horses. What they liked to eat, how to care for them, what they did when they felt good and what they did when they felt scared, and what to do to calm a scared horse down. He talked about saddle care and the different kinds of signals most horses learnt from humans, and then he talked about Kkami.

 Jisung listened.

 And Hyunjin, the complete and utter fool that he was, talked himself hoarse (ha, get it, horse?) and taught Jisung how to not fall off his newly acquired companion.

 In the afternoon, they rested by a stream, Jisung complaining about sore legs the entire time and whining when he tried to sit climb back up on the horse. Hyunjin laughed at him, which made Jisung smile brighter than the sun in the sky, and they decided they’d just walk next to their horses to relieve the stress put on Jisung’s legs. After a while, Jisung started singing again. Maybe it was chronic. Still, Hyunjin found himself enjoying the company, and if his ears didn’t betray him, Jisung’s lyrics were better now, too.

 As the sun set behind some mountains in the distance, the annoying bard’s voice cracked from dehydration every few minutes. Jisung settled for humming melodies. Hyunjin caught a small animal for them to eat and build a fire on a clearing off the road. Jisung found an apple tree. As night fell, they huddled close together under Hyunjin’s thin blanket.

 “I’m seriously unironically glad to have met you,” Jisung’s loud voice startled Hyunjin, who’d gotten used to the quiet and the fire’s crackling. “I forgive you for punching me in the face, too.”

 Hyunjin took it all back. The annoying bard was annoying and Hyunjin did not enjoy his company at all. He sighed, pouring all his long suffering pain into the release of air.

 “But only because you’re pretty,” Jisung continued his monologue.

 That was it. Hyunjin couldn’t listen to another word. He leaned in, punching Jisung in the face. On the mouth. With his mouth.

 Jisung made a strangled noise and returned the kiss with a small smirk in the corner of his lips.

[holylangdon]

Hell Is Too Close (Michael Langdon x Reader)

Request: “I want a fanfic where Michael discovers that you are very powerful, so he seduces you, convinces you to join him, and then you two have some satanic sex with a lot of blood, your eyes turn black, and then… BAM! You two become the power couple from hell.” - ?

“So is there any way we could get more Michael smut ? I don’t have anything real specific but I would love it if you wrote more 🙂❤️” - Anon

“Michael daddy kink smut?!” - Anon

“Michael with a half demon s/o? That could be intesting! Thanks for reading this!” - Anon

Warnings: Demon!Reader, smut, mentions of blood, ritual!sex, dominant!Michael, daddy!kink, slight praise!kink, another classic case of me not knowing how to write an orgasm or the end

Word Count: 1k

A/N: Honestly the request here was a post that I saw a few weeks back in the Michael Langdon tag. If anyone knows who posted it, please DM me! I’d love to give credit

“I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Michael’s words grossly understated what he meant. He was certain that you were dead, long gone from the nuclear winter. He genuinely didn’t think you were strong enough to survive it. But he should've known better. After all, they do say evil never dies.

“What? A demon in your good, Christian Outpost?” You snickered. “How scandalous, sir.”

The two of you didn’t get along well, clearly. A vicious past had now come back to bite you both in the ass, even worse at a time where Michael had even less time to deal with you than normal. Usually, before the nuclear Armageddon, he’d at least give you some candy and send you on your hellish way, but now? He didn’t even want to look at you. It forced him to come to terms with all of the issues you’d inevitably cause. 

But, begrudgingly, he accepted the simple fact that he needed you. His father needed you, one of his most loyal followers, to assist Michael in his madness and destruction. And you? On the other hand, you were more than glad to stick by his side, because then he’d be forced to protect you.

And while 99% of the people you fucked over were dead, there was still that one percent that was out for blood. 

“Stop with the jokes.” He scowled. His body was tense as he watched over your every move, but somehow as you leaned back in your seat, he found himself more relaxed. The two of you sat in silence for a moment before you spoke up.

“You know that’s just how I am. Can’t quite help it, can I?” You said lightly. Now that... That was something Michael could work with. A glimpse of the real Y/N, underneath the sarcasm and wit. The soft girl that lurked beneath the surface, he was sure that she was there. Or rather, hoped. For his and your’s sanity both.

“If you’re going to be by my side, I need you to be... Tolerable.” Michael smirked, thinking back to his old ways. “I can’t just fuck you into submission anymore.”

You leaned forward again, your elbows resting on your lap. Slowly you moved closer to the desk, hovering over the hardwood. “You can. But you won’t.”

It was his turn to close the space between you, letting his lips press to yours for a moment in a half-kiss. “Don’t make me bend you over this desk, Y/N.”

And with that, he dismissed you back to the common room, unscathed. Disappointed, to say the least. You expected more after the anticipation you’d built for weeks and weeks of waiting to see him.

Michael arrived at the Outpost not but a few hours ago, but it seemed like so much longer as you waited in the room with the chatty humans. After his interview, Gallant and Coco wouldn’t stop talking about their hunger for Michael. You wanted to bash the pair’s heads against the walls, but you restrained yourself. The only quiet one was Dinah Stevens, the witch. She kept her nose buried in the book that rested in her hands. She was your favorite.

Soon, you returned back to your assigned bedroom, Michael having dismissed everyone for the night. You were so glad to finally be slipping out of the uncomfortable Victorian-era dress that you hated so much. You’d have to remember to ask Michael about that later. You were sure that anything with any meaning in this Outpost was at least partly his doing. It always was.

A small knock at your door briefly frightened you as you tugged a robe over your body. Muttering to yourself, you tied the fabric shut as you answered the door.

It was none other than Michael, of course. You pulled him into the room quietly, letting the door shut with a small click behind him.

“What do you need?” You hissed.

“I need you to be more powerful.” He remarked, pacing the room. He boredly glanced at you. “Tonight is a blood moon. You’re going to harvest it.”

“I... I’ve never done that before. Not alone.” You sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. A sly smile crossed his face as he turned towards you.

“Who said you’re doing it alone?”

Minutes later, you stood in the doorway, watching the man prepare for the ritual in the bathroom. Blood seeped from an open wound on his arm as he drew a large circle on the tile floor, unlit candles scattered around it. You had never quite liked rituals. To you, they were gross and messy and a waste of time. But for more power? This was the apocalypse, and you needed it.

You flicked your hand, lighting the candles at once. Michael seemed unamused.

“Do you know how this works?” He asked. You stood from your seat, nodding. You stepped into the circle with him, taking his hands in yours. “Focus.”

Michael began to chant quickly and energetically, his words full of force. You did as you were told, for once, and closed your eyes, focusing on his speech. You slowly felt the warmth of the purified power flowing into you. Ritual magic always felt... different. So cold that you felt like your veins were going to freeze, almost painful. But this was so, so unlike what you were used to feeling... It was a pleasant sensation all over your body as he summoned it straight to you, starting in your toes and working its way up your figure.

It seemed like mere seconds before his lips were on yours, his hands eagerly snaking around your waist to pull you closer. The kiss was needy and lustful, and he wasted no time in untying your robe and letting it loosely drop around you. You let out a soft moan as

It wasn’t long before you were laid across the cold marble floor, your hand wrapped around his length while he hovered over you, his lips leaving sloppy kisses along your neck. You shivered lightly. He knew your body so well, every little place memorized like the back of his hand from how many times he had done it before. He knew just where to suck, just where to lick, just where to bite... And you loved every second of it.

And Michael had to admit that he loved when you were like this. Completely submissive under his touch, willing to do anything he asked of you. He could tell you to stand up and suck his cock and he was certain you’d follow his every command. He thrived on the power dynamic that seemed to be between the two of you. He knew every move you were going to make before you even thought about it. It was electric.

Isn’t it ironic? He fed you more power, then took it away from you.

“Daddy,” You whined, grabbing his attention. It drove him absolutely insane when you called him that. His hand fell down your body, letting his finger glide between your folds carefully. He always loved how wet he could make you with even the simplest of actions, and this encounter was no exception.

“Yes, princess?” He mumbled lightly against your skin, his fingers teasing your clit. You bit back a moan at the touch, finally opening your eyes only to see his bright blue ones, carefully fixed on your body. His finger dipped inside you quickly, earning a needy gasp from you.

“Please fuck me?”

At your request, he lined himself up with your entrance, pushing into you roughly. A loud moan fell from your lips, pleasure overwhelming you as he rocked in and out of you. You bit your bottom lip in a half-hearted attempt to make as little noise as possible.

“Don’t.” He commanded, glaring at you. You knew just how much he hated it when you did that. He wanted to hear every little sound you made, your moans and light whimpers of his name feeling like pure bliss to him. He earned them, and he wanted them.

It wasn’t long before your body was begging for release, your breath becoming heavy on your chest as you begged Michael for your orgasm. His hands gripped your waist, the pleasure becoming almost unbearable as it washed over you. You moaned his name so loudly, your back arching as you came. He was shocked to look down as see your eyes flash back through the bliss that the pair of you had just experienced. 

“You’re mine, Y/N.” 

[ariannjs]

HAPPY | A SasuSaku Short FanFic (1/4)

For Day 4 (City Lights) of SasuSaku Month 2019 - @sasuxsakumonth

This fic was inspired by the Filipino celebrity pair/loveteam called “AlDub” (based from their screen names: Alden & Yaya Dub) or “MaiChard” (their real names: Maine Mendoza & Richard Faulkerson, Jr.). The plot and content have nothing to do with the said actors, but I based the idea for this fic from the themes of Maine’s two most controversial blog posts.

Rating: K+

Summary: The truth was loud and clear, that the combination of pink and green wasn’t meant to be with black and blue – both professionally and realistically.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and AlDub.

Warning: Get some tissues.

Enjoy reading!

...or not.

---

[sakuraharunotes.com/official-blogs]

Hey, Blossoms! It’s been a while! I know I haven’t touched this blog since my open letter half a year ago, but I have important things to share with you – finally – as you read this.

First, I want to thank everyone who has been tweeting me or commenting on my posts to ask about how I am doing every now and then. I may not be able to reply but I’m really grateful to know that there are still some of you guys who care so much about me (despite the amount of fans-turned-to-bashers that came out since the last time I opened up through this blog). 

To answer your queries – I’ve been very fine, really. 

I’ve been a lot happier. 

I’ve been a lot me. 

It took some time, but when I posted that open letter about me feeling like I was losing myself within the whirlwind that is show business – because of all the overwhelming requests (demands) of our loveteam’s fandom – it helped me to be more genuine with myself.

For once, I’m living and working as I should, not as I’m told. And I’m doing things as Sakura, not as any other role.

So yes, I’ve been very fine even though you guys haven’t seen me much on social media. And I’ll always be grateful for all of you who have stayed, respecting me and caring for me as a person, and not just as a celebrity that you often see onscreen.

Second, I know there had been lots of speculations about this but I never answered yet because I know that there would be another uproar that could cause unnecessary hate to a special person in my life. 

That’s what I want to avoid, honestly. I’ve already received tons of hate after I voiced out my thoughts through my open letter that eventually led to the needed separation of my former loveteam. And having a special person receiving hate as well – just because people prefer someone else as the one I should love – is something that I wouldn’t tolerate anymore.

But yes, I want the truth to come from me: I’m officially confirming that I’m happily dating Sasori Akasuna. 

Since when? I’m not gonna tell. 

How? I don’t think I’m required to divulge that. 

Why? Wait a sec—are you kidding me? Cos my answer to that is: Why not?

Although I am deeply flattered with your love for me and my leading man for four years, I have already mentioned in my open letter that Sasuke and I are only friends and workmates in the industry. Up until now. And just because you’re supporting our loveteam, and you’re paying for our movies, or you’re managing fan accounts for us, doesn’t mean that you could dictate us about the matters of our hearts.

Even though we love you, we have our personal lives and individual decisions that need some respect too. After all, whatever you see onscreen doesn’t necessarily reflect our real lives. 

So really, to ask me why I’m dating Sasori is as if you’re asking me why I’m making decisions for my own life.

To give you some sort of peace, Sasori makes me incredibly happy in ways I have never imagined. He cares for me even better than I care for myself. And my family adores him, probably even more than they adore me! Haha. 

What I want to say is that (for my true supporters), you guys don’t have to worry if I have chosen the wrong guy. And (for my former supporters), I understand that there are things (or a person) that you think is the best for me but honestly, at the end of the day, the decision is still mine. 

And now that the truth is out in the open, I truly can’t wait for everything else that is in store for us throughout this year. But what I can assure you all is this: I’m feeling a lot better than I’ve ever been since I’ve entered showbiz, and one of the reasons that contributed to this is my newly found freedom to finally be true to myself without being afraid of what people would say. 

I hope all my fans would respect this.

So thank you, really. For sticking around. It really means a lot to me that you’re supporting not just the Sakura or other roles of me that you see onscreen, but also the real Sakura behind the scenes.

All the things that you’ve done for us as SasuSaku will always be a part of my sweetest memories. But I hope you would continue to support me, and Sasuke, despite going our separate endeavours as artists. I am pretty sure that he’s meant for greater things, even without me as his leading lady. And I can’t wait to see that from afar.

Til next time, Blossoms! Continue blooming where you’re planted! 

— Sakura H.

-

He shut his macbook, albeit with a little more force, as his other hand pinched the bridge of his nose. He remembered reading another post from the same website months ago, and the way he felt after reading it wasn’t like this.

Back then, he felt proud of her. For standing up for herself in a world that tried to manipulate her just because she’s the best leading lady for Sasuke Uchiha, realizing that she has a life of her own and she wasn’t meant to please people even if the fans were basically the ones who made them the most sought-after loveteam of their generation. Amidst the sea of facade, she decided to choose to be real. That personality development that was vivid in her open letter posted six months prior was enough to make him so proud of her.

His head whipped around his bachelor pad, seeing black and blue here and there. His mind traced back to seeing a tinge of pink and green in this same place every once in a while, but as his gaze landed on his macbook once again, it hit him like a tsunami that seeing pink and green here will never happen again. 

That’s why the feeling was different now. 

The truth was loud and clear, that the combination of pink and green wasn’t meant to be with black and blue – both professionally and realistically.

A week after her open letter, they found themselves seated in front of their main manager, setting a new arrangement for the two of them so as to lessen the uproar of fans’ expectations on the world’s sensational loveteam SasuSaku – as their fans called them – with the projects that they were a part of. 

The Music Show that they were hosting alongside another love team – NaruHina – had a drastic adjustment in terms of who would report on the field and in the studio. It wasn’t VJ Sasuke and VJ Sakura together in the studio or on the field anymore. But it was VJ Sasuke in the studio, and VJ Sakura on the field.

They also didn’t have commercials or magazine shoots together anymore, let alone movie projects even after their worldwide blockbuster hit movie entitled “The First,” which was ironically their last.

Although he was discreetly uncomfortable with the idea, considering the fact that this was totally new to their four-year status quo, Sasuke complied and adapted to the changes.

At first, he thought it was just the adjustments that made it difficult. But it suddenly dawned on him when he was offered a project with a new redhead leading lady that it wasn’t just about missing his old routines anymore.

He missed her.

Damn. He totally missed her.

There’s no more continuous chatter from his passenger seat on their way home after shoots.

No more pink strands on his shoulder during long flights.

No more lazy good mornings and good night hugs in their offsite tents. 

No more Sakura.

It was on times that Sasuke was very worn out after coming from the gym or a commercial shoot that the reality of this sank further in his mind. Parked in front of his condo one night, he unconsciously glanced at his passenger seat and blinked as a blurred pink suddenly clouded his vision, or so he thought.

He drove her to her place like the usual, but tonight, he wasn’t able to stop himself from staring at her after turning off the engine of his car. 

Gladly, she stared back as if it was the most normal thing to do at a time like that, which only urged him to slowly lean in, pausing slightly as if to ask her permission, before capturing her lips with his.

It wasn’t their first kiss. But it was their first without a number of cameras recording every angle of the contact. 

And Sasuke liked it. He liked how slow and achingly beautiful the moment was, until they both pulled away, breathless and flushed.

A part of him wished this was how his every night ends and how his every morning starts. But for now, he could only continue to stare at those green pools that never failed to draw him in, whether it’s filmed or not.

As he lifted a hand to tuck a few strands of her hair behind her ear, she then chuckled. “That was one heck of a good practice for our next scene, huh?”

And just like that, he was suddenly out of his daze as if a blue electric current coursed through his veins.

“Thanks for the ride. Goodnight...Zeke.”

The next thing he knew, she was already out the door of his car, leaving him blinking once, twice, as his brain slowly processed what had happened. His hand then collided with the steering wheel. “Damn it!”

What he didn’t realize was that their little moment was quite similar to the one on their recent script. 

Groaning, his face fell on his hands. Did she really think he was still on work mode?! He wasn’t being Zeke! He was being Sasuke! 

That night, he went home without touching the said script even though he had some lines that he needed to memorize for the next day.

Just thinking about it now, he wished he didn’t become complacent. Heck, when he entered the show business he was already aware of the fact that nothing is constant in it. He had seen how the ones before him and even those that started alongside him didn’t really have careers that remained skyrocketing. 

He was only one of the fortunate ones and it all began when an undeniable chemistry was seen between him and Sakura on a TV series that aired five years ago. 

While he was still paired up with her, he realized he should’ve made the most out of the time they had. He should’ve told her that his feelings weren’t that of Landon’s, nor Zeke’s, nor Marq’s anymore. 

Instead, his feelings were – are – of Sasuke’s.

But like what people always say, regret comes in the end.

And indeed, it came. Like a wildfire.

---

(Happy - PART 2)

---

This was done weeks ago but I posted it days late for Day 4 because a lot of things had happened lately, hahahuhu. Let me know what you guys think! This is my very first SS angst so I’d love to know your feedback on my writing! <3

Check out my other works here! It you like what I do, kindly consider supporting me on ko-fi or patreon. I’m also saving up for a special post-birthday trip this November so your support would mean a lot to me!♥️

---

June 2019 | AriannJS

[peachylixir]

Burn, Blush, Blaze (a Todomomo fanfic)

Summary: A series of moments with Yaoyorozu that show Todoroki a different side to his least favorite color. Rating: T | Word Count: 4,325 Read on AO3 or continue reading below the cut

Todoroki is the first to change into his hero costume. The glowing red eyepiece is tacky, but overall, he’s satisfied with the way the ice side completely covers his left half. He leans against the wall and crosses his arms, awaiting the rest of his classmates.

Not thirty seconds pass before the girls’ locker room door opens, and Yaoyorozu steps out. Her costume is something he’d expect more from an R-rated hero like Midnight and not so much the sophisticated Yaoyorozu heiress. Her back is ramrod straight, posture ostensibly firm and confident, but there’s a bashfulness in the way she starts to cross her arms over her chest before dropping them again. Despite knowing this is her meant to be her public hero costume, he feels the need to give her privacy, so he looks away. He hears the stretch of fabric as she tugs at it. “Your costume is quite creative, Todoroki-san,” she remarks, drawing his eyes back towards her. She’s forcing herself to smile, but there’s an twitch in her cheek that belies her discomfort. “Did they not design yours the way you wanted?” he asks bluntly, because really, it’s almost painful to watch someone as poised as her fidget in a costume like that. She grimaces and attempts to wave away the notion with her hand and a polite chuckle. “Ah, well…” She trails off, looking down at the ground for a second before jerking her head back up. She keeps her chin up as she speaks. “I admittedly did not give them much to go by. I clarified the nature of my quirk and added small preferences, such as the color, but I thought it best to defer to the judgment of the professionals in regards to the costume design itself.” He snorts. “You should send it back if you don’t like it. I’m sure you can afford to make some modifications.” She shakes her head. “No, I… There’s nothing wrong with it. It fits the needs of my quirk.” By now, he can hear the voices of his classmates as they approach the locker room door. He considers telling Yaoyorozu that just because she can tolerate it doesn’t mean she should. Or that it’s foolish to make herself uncomfortable in battle, thereby compromising herself, just because she’s too passive to cause a scene. It all feels like too much effort though, and so he doesn’t bother. Instead, he pushes himself off the wall and tells her, “Red is an ugly color though.” He doesn’t wait to hear her rebuttal, instead mingling with the crowd of 1-A students as they journey down the tunnel to meet All Might. --- Exam season at U-A is no joke. Every teacher goes all out, demanding end of semester projects, exams, and presentations. While Todoroki isn’t particularly worried about his grades, it doesn’t change the fact that it is in fact a heavy workload that keeps him up later than usual doing schoolwork. As if all that isn’t bad enough, Present Mic-sensei just had to go and make the English presentations a partnered assignment. Each pair was supposed to come up with a five minute conversation, on any plausible topic, entirely in English. He’d be grading them on grammar, of course, but also pronunciation and fluidity of the conversation. Todoroki typically dreads groupwork, but even he’s aware he lucked out in getting paired with the top student in the class, Yaoyorozu. When he arrives at her home that same weekend to work on the assignment together, she greets him at the door in English. “Welcome to my home!” He replies in Japanese. “Where should I put my stuff?” “Ah, um, right this way.” After he’s taken off his shoes, she guides him through several long hallways to what looks like a spacious, Western-style dining room, complete with a polished wood table large enough to seat most of their class. There’s a stack of notebooks in front of one seat, so Todoroki settles into the one across from it. Yaoyorozu hovers in the entryway. “What kind of tea do you like? We have Darjeeling, Ceylon, Assam, Rooibos, Gyokuro, Chai, Sencha- ” “Sencha is fine,” he says, cutting her off before she can go any further. Then, because he feels bad for interrupting her, he adds, “Thanks.” He takes the opportunity while she’s off preparing the tea to begin outlining his idea for their presentation. It is a bit boring to go the route of a transfer student asking a current student about his new school, but it would serve the purpose well as he could ask a bunch of mundane questions that Yaoyorozu would answer with ease. It’d be easy to drag it out for the full time, and it was a relevant topic, given that they are indeed students. That should satisfy the teacher. By the time she returns, he’s already written out a good third of their lines. At this rate, they’d be done in no time. His scribbling is interrupted by the gentle clink of a teacup and saucer being placed in front of him. Steam rises from the ornate porcelain, bringing with it the delicate scent of green tea. “Oh, you’ve already started?” she asks, bringing a second teacup over to her side of the table. If Todoroki had been paying more attention, he might have noticed the disappointment in her voice. Instead, he just lets out a grunt, glancing over his work thus far. “It’s a little simple, but it should do for the purposes of the assignment. I just need you to memorize your part once I’m done.” “Yes, of course,” Yaoyorozu says hurriedly, pulling a white notebook towards her and flipping through the pages. She doesn’t get very far before she lets out a noise of frustration and slams the book shut, reaching for another one instead. This one is apparently the right one because she continues to turn through it until she’s somewhere in the middle. A quick glance across the table shows him that the pages contains lists of English idioms and colloquial phrases. “How silly of me,” she mumbles, rolling her eyes at herself in a self-deprecating fashion. “How could I mix them up? English is obviously purple.” “What?” All of his notebooks are black. She doesn’t glance up from her notes as she recites, “English is purple, history is red, science is green, classical Japanese is yellow, and math is white. Some are more flexible than others, like when you get to the nuances of the different sciences, but for the most part, I think that’s the most accurate subject to color matchup.” He shakes his head. “What does that even matter?” She flushes, looking a little embarrassed, but doesn’t let her posture slouch as she explains. “Studies have shown that color coordinating while note-taking helps you retain the information better. Plus, every subject has a different feeling, so it helps to match them to their respective color.” He trusts what Yaoyorozu is saying to be true, but the twinkle in her eyes makes him think that maybe she does it just for fun; honestly, it just seems like a waste of time to him. He looks down at his own monochrome notebooks, lips pressed together in a thin line. Yaoyorozu seems to be waiting for a response from him though, so he bites back a sigh and meets her expectant gaze. “In that case, you’ve got it wrong,” he says, “English is yellow. And science is black.” She tuts at him disapprovingly, but fails to hide her smile. “And what makes you say that?” He thinks to their English teacher, the resident Voice Hero; he thinks of American TV shows, action-packed Hollywood films. “Yellow is… loud, so it’s most like English. Black is straightforward. Factual. Like science.” “I see,” she says, nodding sagely. “I can understand why you might think that, but science is actually a lot more mutable than people believe. With every new thing we discover, our facts change. That’s why I think it’s actually green. Our well of scientific knowledge is constantly growing.” He blinks in surprise; she had clearly given this topic a lot of thought. Whether or not the topic actually warranted that much consideration was up for debate, but he couldn’t deny that her logic was sound. “I’ll give you that one,” he says begrudgingly. “And the history one, too.” She claps her hands together, excited. “Yes! I’m glad we can agree on that much. History is just so… rich and steady. There’s so much there just waiting for us to learn from the past.” “What?” Todoroki stares at her as if she had just used her quirk to grow an extra head. “That’s not why.” “Well then, what do you-” “History is ugly.” His voice is as hard as his gaze. “It’s full of awful mistakes, turmoil and anguish. There’s bloodshed, revolution. The stories we hear are never how things actually happened.” “That’s true, b-” He shakes his head. “Let’s get back to the assignment.” Yaoyorozu hesitates, looking for a moment as if she’ll argue further, but once Todoroki redirects his gaze to his notebook, her face falls and she sighs. “Of course. Let me help.” Despite the shift in conversation, the topic lingers in Todoroki’s mind. It’s hard for it not to when the Yaoyorozu home is steeped in the color: the polished wood of the bookcases is a warm maroon, the detailing on his teacup crimson on ivory, and even the cardigan Yaoyorozu has draped over the back of her chair is a vibrant, eye-catching red. It’s a little frustrating how inescapable the color is. And yet, the words “rich and steady” stick with him, painting the scene surrounding him. He tries to see it through her eyes, and for a split second, he thinks he almost understands it. Her home is warm, comforting, and no doubt full of endless opportunities for her. Nothing at all like the hardships and loneliness of his own childhood. So as much as he disagrees, he can’t bring himself to want to taint the beauty of it for her any more than he already has. He stays silent, working steadily through their assignment until he has it all written out in his notebook. He waits for her to copy it down, ignoring how frantically she scribbles, the hushed apologies she mutters for her slow pace. They don’t really converse again after that until it’s time for him to leave. She escorts him to the door, cardigan wrapped tightly around herself. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he says. For a second she looks like she might be on the brink of saying something, but she bites her lip and pushes a smile toward him instead. “Right. See you around.” Her expression confuses him, but he leaves without giving it a second thought. It isn’t until the end of the week, when he’s bound by their teacher’s capture weapon, suspended over the caltrops Aizawa laid out that he realizes maybe he shouldn’t be so quick to judge a book by its cover. --- The dinner roster says it’s his turn to cook, along with Iida, Ashido, and Yaoyorozu. It only takes a few minutes to realize why that’s a terrible combination, as none of them are particularly good cooks. The class reps assure him that they can follow a recipe easily enough, so he and Mina are delegated to chopping up vegetables. It’s a simple task that they finish in no time, even with Ashido pausing every now and then to peer over at the fragrant pan sizzling in front of Todoroki. “Ashido-san, please,” Iida scolds, standing between them to bodily prevent her from getting too close to the hot pan. “As your class president, I would feel responsible if you were to get burned on my watch.” “Boo, you’re no fun,” she complains, but returns dutifully to her task of scooping all the chopped veggies into a bowl and passing it over. Before she can make another attempt at the pork, Iida assigns her the next task of setting the table with him. The sound of her whining is easy to hear even as they transition into the dining room. Yaoyorozu sighs. “Those two can be quite the handful,” she says fondly. Todoroki silently agrees. The timer dings, and a quick glance at the pork confirms that it is indeed cooked through. He turns off the heat. There’s a large tray set aside on the counter for him, so he dumps the pork onto the platter. He moves to the sink. “Yaoyorozu, I finished the-” He cuts himself off with a hiss as his finger strays too close to the hot metal of the pan. He drops it into the sink with a loud clatter and brings his finger up to inspect. There’s no visible mark yet, but he can tell from the throbbing that a welt will soon form on his skin. “Are you okay?” she asks, hands fluttering anxiously in front of him. “Did you burn yourself?” “Yeah, but it’s fine. I’ll just ice it,” he explains as frost travels down his shoulder. The icy trail is interrupted by a warm hand snatching his own. “Wait, don’t!” Yaoyorozu squeezes his hand in a way that causes his whole arm to tingle. The ice dissipates. “What are you doing?” Todoroki asks, watching warily as she turns on the tap. With a gentle tug, she runs his fingers under the cool water and begins to explain. “Most people think ice is the best thing for a burn because it brings the temperature down, but the thing is, ice is actually too cold for the skin, resulting in damage or in some cases, even frostbite.” The cool water feels pleasant enough on his skin that he doesn’t reply right away. Plus, there’s something about the sight of her slender fingers wrapped around his own that he finds he likes a little too much. A minute passes before he finally speaks. “I can self-regulate my body temperature, so I don’t think frostbite is a possibility for me here.” Her fingers tighten the slightest bit. “Y-Yes, well, tissue damage is still a possibility. Better to be safe than sorry.” “Okay.” He can almost see the loading bar above her head as the reality of her actions sink in for her. She hastily drops his hand and steps back, sending water drops scattering. “Well! I think you can take care of it from here. You know where the first aid kid is, right? Dry it properly, put some ointment on it before bandaging. I’m going to call everyone down for dinner.” Yaoyorozu is out of the room before he can reply, but he tries anyway. “Thank you.” The door is already swinging shut behind her. He shuts off the water and wraps a dish towel around his fingers, noting the welt blooming on his skin. It still stung, but not nearly as much as did before, a ruddy pink instead of the angry red he was accustomed to seeing from his burns. Had he glanced in the mirror when he bandaged up his injury, he would have seen that his cheeks were reddened to match. --- “Oh dear, you kids really got banged up back there! You really should be more careful.” Todoroki tunes out the rest of Recovery Girl’s lecture. He feels drained after the spar against Midoriya and Tokoyami, and Recovery Girl’s quirk only exhausted him even more. He sneaks a glance to his left, where Midoriya and Yaoyorozu are nodding fervently, listening attentively out of respect for the elderly hero. To his right, Tokoyami’s head is bowed and his eyes are closed, though whether he’s dozing or listening is hard to say. After another minute or two of scolding, Recovery Girl takes pity on them and plucks a clear container off her desk. She pops off the lid and offers the contents to each of them in turn. “Don’t think I’m rewarding you for careless behavior,” she warns, waving the jar of lollipops at them. “This is just a little treat for being good students.” “Thank you, ma’am,” Midoriya says respectfully, grinning as he picks a bright yellow lollipop from the assortment. “Yes, thank you,” Yaoyorozu echoes, picking one up at random. She and Midoriya exchange tired, but content, smiles. Tokoyami stands and bows before Todoroki has even made his own selection. “None for me, thank you. I’m trying to cut back on my sugar intake. I think I’ll go back home and rest, if you don’t mind.” “Go right ahead, dear,” she says, waving him goodbye. He shuts the door quietly. She turns back to Todoroki expectantly. “Well, young man?” “Ah.” He grabs the first one he sees, which ends up being cherry flavored. Of course. “Thanks,” he says anyway because it’s not Recovery Girl’s fault he ended up picking his least favorite kind. The three of them slide off their seats and head for the door, exhaustion weighing them down. Yaoyorozu is opening the door and stepping out into the hall, but before Todoroki can follow suit, Recovery Girl calls out to him one last time. “Ah, close the door behind you, Todoroki-kun. I need to speak to Midoriya-kun about something for a minute.” With a shrug, Todoroki does as she asks, quietly closing the door to the infirmary behind him. He turns, surprised to see Yaoyorozu apparently waiting for him in the hall. When he begins the walk back towards the classroom, she falls into step beside him. “I was doing some reflection on the battle and I think I’ve pinpointed some areas of improvement,” she begins, nodding to herself resolutely. She proceeds to explain in-depth what moves really won them the fight, the flaws of all involved parties, and how she plans to improve. Unlike Recovery Girl’s lecture, Todoroki actually makes a point to listen to it all. He even interjects with his own points every now and then, going so far as to ask for her thoughts on his fighting style. He respects her insight, and if their fight against Aizawa taught him anything, it’s that sometimes she needs to be shown that. “Even though I know Recovery Girl is right about us being careless, a part of me is still proud of us for winning the fight. Going up against Tokoyami-san again, I couldn’t help but feel like… like it was a second try from the sports festival. Like I’m finally redeeming myself.” She says the last part with a self-conscious laugh, but Todoroki only gives her a curious look. She did that a lot, he noticed. Undermine her own ambitions, her own accomplishments as if they were absurd for her to even consider. Even now, she misinterprets his gaze and scrambles to amend her statement. “Of course, I wouldn’t have been able to do that without you. Your quick reflexes came in handy as such a pivotal moment that I’m certain-” “Yaoyorozu.” He stops just short of the empty classroom, forcing her to stop and face him. He pulls the red lollipop out of his pocket and stares down at it pensively for a moment before holding it out to her. She looks down at the proffered sweet in confusion. “As thanks for your strategy during the fight. You did a good job today.” She seems torn, but behind the hesitance, he can see the glimmer of pride flicker in her eyes. “But that one is yours. Recovery Girl already gave me one.” “I don’t like cherry,” he says simply, “Besides, red’s your favorite color, isn’t it?” “Todoroki-kun.” Surprise flits over her face, only to be replaced with a brilliant smile. “Thank you.” She accepts it, fingers brushing against his. Before he can think about the weird feeling that shoots up his spine, Yaoyorozu is reaching into her pocket and thrusting a green lollipop in his direction. “As thanks for being such a good partner today,” she explains. A smile tugs at the corner of his lips as he accepts the candy from her; he always liked the sourness of green apple. Still, as he watches her unwrap her candy with barely disguised delight and pop it between her smiling lips, he can’t help but think that red has never looked quite so vibrant nor cherry quite so tasty. --- The music is uncomfortably loud, but somehow the squealing of the Class 1-A’s girls is even louder. Surprisingly, it doesn’t bother Todoroki. It’s hard to be upset when everyone is in such high spirits. The girls are effusive in their praise for each other, and even the guys exchange a few sincere compliments in between good natured ribbing. He supposes it must be something about a school dance that just puts people in a good mood, but he hasn’t pinpointed what it is yet. A nudge draws him out of his thoughts. When he turns, he Midoriya is standing beside him in an oversized green suit. He hands Todoroki a glass of punch. “It’s all pretty cool, right? Even UA’s dances are incredible,” he remarks, gesturing to the room at large. “I know I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am.” “It’s… loud,” Todoroki replies, grimacing as Present Mic screeches into the microphone. His eyes drift over to the clusters of students chatting happily. “But everyone is having fun, so I guess it’s nice.” Midoriya follows his gaze, eyes lingering where Uraraka stands alongside Asui, Jirou, and Yaoyorozu. He adjusts his tie, looking nervous. “What’s wrong?” Midoriya jumps, narrowly avoiding spilling his own punch. “Nothing!” he blurts, scratching the back of his head and laughing too loudly to be natural. Todoroki only stares at him. Midoriya deflates. “Well, I was thinking of asking Uraraka to dance with me, but I’m not a very good dancer, so I don’t want to embarrass either of us. Maybe she’d have more fun dancing with Ashido or Hagakure.” “I think she would appreciate dancing with you anyway,” he tells his friend honestly. “You two get along well. I don’t think she’d care if you’re bad at dancing.” “You’re right… I’d rather ask than not do it and regretting it. Thanks, Todoroki!” Midoriya takes a deep breath, downs the rest of his punch, and tosses the cup into a nearby trashcan. “Wish me luck.” “Good luck.”Midoriya is only a few steps away before he pauses and over his shoulder, says, “Ah, Todoroki-kun, you should follow your own advice and ask Yaoyorozu to dance. I think she’d like that.” Todoroki blinks in surprise. “What?” he says dumbly, but Midoriya is already gone. With Uraraka off on the dancefloor, Todoroki has a slightly better view of Yaoyorozu, standing in between Asui and Jirou, looking positively regal in her shimmery red dress. There’s always been a poise to her that didn’t come as easily to the other girls, a result of her polished upbringing no doubt, and lately Todoroki has found himself noticing her charm more and more. He thinks that maybe Midoriya had the right idea. He’s moving before he consciously decide to and by the time his brain catches up to what the rest of his body has decided, he’s standing in front of the trio of girls who look at him with curious, but expectant gazes. It takes him a few seconds of staring blankly back at them before he remembers he needs to speak. “Ah, Yaoyorozu, do you want to dance with me?” Her eyes widen and she brings a hand up to her cheek, looking down with a bashful smile. “Well, I...” “Of course she does, right, Yaomomo?” Jirou says, giving her friend a push forward. She stumbles forward, but Todoroki catches her hand, keeping her upright. She quietly thanks him before clearing her throat and declaring more assuredly that she would indeed like to dance with him. The slow song playing is already well underway, so it takes them a few seconds to orient themselves, listening carefully to the beat. “Oh, I should probably warn you that I’ve never danced before,” he tells her, somewhat belatedly. “That’s okay. I can teach you,” she says kindly. “Just follow my instructions. Step left, back, one, two...” They lapse into a comfortable dance of giving and taking, taking cues from each other as needed. It’s not as graceful as he’s sure she would be had she been dancing with literally anyone else, but the way she’s giggling satisfies him. The music fades into another song, but the tempo suits the pace they’ve set and so they remain in each other’s arms, moving about the dancefloor. The flush that paints her cheeks is gorgeous. Todoroki forces himself to avert his gaze, but his eyes quickly find their way back to her figure. “That color suits you,” he murmurs, and even he isn’t sure whether he’s referring to her dress or her ruddiness. Both leave him breathless. Yaoyorozu’s eyes flash in surprise, and he can feel her initial hesitance return in the form of a stilted step in the wrong direction, throwing them off rhythm. “I thought red was an ugly color,” she says softly, eyebrows drawn together. He thinks of fire and of lollipops, blood and satin; he imagines an ugly red scar being kissed away by cherry chapstick. “You changed my mind.” He sees more than hears her soft gasp, and he probably would have missed her next words had he not already been staring at her lips. “I didn’t realize… I had that much sway over you.” “Yaoyorozu, you could tell me to do almost anything and I would do it,” he says in a serious voice. He needs her to understand just how sincere he is. “I’ve told you how much I value your input.” “Anything?” He risks dipping her and is rewarded with her starry eyed gaze when it succeeds. “Anything.” Something fiery and bright burns in her eyes. Red-hot determination. “Then go out with me.” He smiles, soft and sweet. “Gladly.”

[ashdownbloodline]

We Need You For Something...

Part 4: The Market Day

This is my first fanfic, I hope you all like it. I need to thank @dammn-dean for all her help! She has really helped me through all this. If you haven’t, go check her out. Let me know what you guys think of it.

I do recommend listening to the songs that are listen throughout the story as they appear. Gives you the good feels!

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Original Character (Yauna), other OC’s and Avengers pairings later.  

Words: 2.7k+

Warnings: Adult Themes, Language, Eventual Smut, PTSD, motions of Torture, Fluff, Death

Summary: Yauna just wants to be normal and Tony recruits her as his head engineer. Her past catches up and shit goes crazy.

(gif isn’t mine again)

The small talk at dinner was roaring between the Team, Yauna and Bucky had walked in together and that’s what most of the hushed conversations were. She just sat there listening, as she always did. Bucky, on the other hand, made small comments here and there, but most of his time was spent watching her. 

He loved to watch the small flame behind her eyes flicker as she listened and her eyebrows knit together in thought as people talked to her, his favorite part was how her nose scrunched every time she smiled or laughed or made any facial expression at all. “So, what do we want for dinner tomorrow?” Pepper said pulling everyone’s undivided attention.

There was mumbling around her, she honestly didn’t care what they ate. “I can cook, if you’d like?” Yauna spoke up and everyone hushed immediately, all eyes on her. “I was going to make something for myself for lunch tomorrow, but it’s better as a dinner meal. My mother made it when I was a wee lass, it’s an Irish recipe.” 

At that, Natasha jumped giddily in her seat. She loved Irish food, they made the best food! “Yes! Yes! You have to make it!” She said and everyone looked at her in surprise, she never got this excited over food unless it was churros. “What? I like Irish food!” She defended herself and smiled at Yauna, who laughed and shook her head. “Well, looks like I need to go to the market tomorrow.”

“Just have Friday order what you need, it should be here tomorrow morning.” Tony said as he munched on a piece of cake, waving his fork around. “Oh. No. No. The ingredients need to be picked by a keen eye.” She said dramatically, Pepper laughed at Tony’s confused and stupid expression. She truly liked Yauna, she wasn’t afraid to talk back to anyone.

They cleared the tables and washed up, before going off to bed for the night. Yauna made her list for the market tomorrow then went to sleep. Hopefully tonight will be better than last night. She thought as she fell asleep.  

Yauna woke up early, around six, to get ready for the day. She pulled on a pair of black leggings with netting up the back and an over sized green sweater that she loved. Digging through her tub full of bags for her hemp-woven market bag. 

There was a light knock on her door, one she could barely hear. As she stood up in her closet, she hit her head off a shelf with a loud bang. Rubbing her head, she stumbled to the door. It’s early, who is already up? She thought as she grabbed the door handle. Pulling the door open as she still rubbed her head, she halted in surprise at who was behind the door.

Bucky had woken up early from a nightmare. Not wanting to go back to the terrors awaiting him, he decided to walk the Compound for a while. He ended up at Yauna’s doorstep, he didn’t have to courage to knock yet. So, he just stood there listening to the shuffling and soft murmuring coming from the other side of the door.

After about 15 minutes, he finally knocked quietly. He wasn’t sure if she had heard him until there was a loud bang, which made him jump. Moments later the door crept open to reveal her, rubbing the back of her head. That was the bang, she had bumped her head. The thought brought a small smile to his face.

“Hey, Bucky. Are you okay?” She said pulling his eyes to hers and kept the gaze. “Yeah, Yeah. Are you?” He pointed to his head to mimic hers. She looked confused for a second, then it clicked. “Oh, yeah. ‘m a’right. Just whacked my head.” She smiled, but that didn’t hide the look of concern still on her face. He quickly looked back at his feet. “Bucky? What’s wrong?” She let go of the door and moved closer to him, bending down to find his eyes again and pulled his head back up.

“Here, come inside.” She moved quickly, after he was inside she shut the door and her hand was on his left arm as she came to stand in front of him again. She didn’t say anything this time, just searched his face and waited for him to say something. “Couldn’t sleep. I heard you up. I can go if you want.” His head still down, he closed his eyes and readied for rejection.

Instead he was met with arms around his shoulders and her body pressed against him. He opened his eyes to see her back and the ends of her hair. He nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck, she smelled like eucalyptus and clary sage. He pulled his arms up around her waist and squeezed tight. Taking in her scent and her warmth, in hopes of memorizing it. He immediately felt better.

“You’re always welcome here.” She said plainly, without any sign of judgement. She broke away, only for a moment, to guide him back to the couch. Pulling him to sit down as she sat next to him. She gently pulled his chin up with her slim fingers, “Do you want to talk about it?”

With a soft shake of his head and he clamped his eyes shut, he declined. He couldn’t bring all this up to her, she didn’t deserve to have this taint her happiness. Yauna moved her fingers up to his cheek, her hands were so cold. The fingertips leaving a trail of imaginary ice as they moved against his cheek.

“I need to go to the market before they let my meat go.” She realized what she said after it left her lips. Bucky laughed softly, bringing a small smile to his face. Yauna laughed in return, her ears turning red from embarrassment of a whole new kind.

“You can stay here as long as you want. I’ll only be gone for an hour maybe, two at most.” She pulled hand away from him and got up, walking over to a basket by the TV. She dug in it for something, then she raised it above her head before turning and walking back over to him. It was a blanket, she pulled it around his shoulders. Her face was inches away from his, feeling the sudden tension, he moved back slightly.

“You stay ‘ere and get some rest. I’ll be right back.”  She gave him one last smile before picking up her stitched bag and left. Bucky’s smile widened after she left, laying down on his back on the couch with a thud. He pulled the blanket up over his shoulders, It smells like her, he thought and slowly fell asleep. He couldn’t force himself to leave, he felt obligated to do as she said.

Yauna proceeded down the hall to somewhere private, “Friday, tell everyone I left to get ingredients. And make sure no one comes down here for a minute.”

“Okay, Miss Ashdown.” Friday replied as Yauna flicked her wrist. An outline of purple supernovas swirled in an ellipses. The middle filled with a cloudy lavender that seemed to turn as the outline did. She stepped through, only in a state of clouds for seconds before crossing over to a small market in South-East Ireland.

She walked around getting all her supplies, trying to make sure she got enough to feed anyone. She hurried herself, trying to get back as fast as she could. She hated leaving Bucky in the state he was in. She just wanted to be there and take all the pain in his eyes away and replace it with the light she rarely saw.  

As she finished and paid for everything, she ran quickly back to the hidden corner she had portaled to. Creating another one, she stepped through into the Compound’s hallway. Dropping off her good, she turned and raced down the hallway to her door. Slowly opening it to reveal a sleeping Bucky, she smiled to herself He looks so peaceful. She quietly searched for a piece of paper and a pen, writing a note and sticking it on the table in front of Bucky and hoped he’d see it. “I’m in the kitchen, stay as long as you’d like! -Yauna”

She scurried off to the kitchen again, looking at the time on the way. She’d been gone almost two hours. Hopefully he sleeps longer, he needs it. She thought as she rummaged for the pots and pans. “Friday, let me know if anyone comes toward the kitchen. And can you play some Lindsey Stirling?”

“Yes, of course. What song would you like, Miss?” Yauna pondered for a minute, stopping everything she was doing. “Play Master of the Tides, please.” As quickly as she asked the violin started. She went on preparing everything, chopping vegetables and mixing spices. Then, she started frying the meat. She was making goulash, her mother made it all the time as a kid.

After the meat she had to cook everything else which took the longest. Letting everything sit, she requested a new song from Friday. “Can you play, The Greatest Showman Medley by Lindsey Stirling, please?” Again she tune started up quickly and Yauna moved into a more open area of the lounge.

It started as a sway, but quickly she through all of her body into each calculated move as she danced. Her eyes were closed and she lost herself in the song. Not even realizing she was being watched.

Bucky had woken up and read the note, it had been almost four hours since he had saw her. He shook off the sleepy fog that clung to his body and made his way to the kitchen.

As he approached, he heard the music coming from the speakers. It was a soft violin and piano duo, each chord pulled at Bucky’s emotions. He had never heard this before, but he didn’t want to stop it. He rounded the corner to the kitchen to be met with an amazing sight. She was dancing and twirling, never opening her eyes once. She seemed so engrossed in the song, he couldn’t bother her now. So, he decided to watch.

The song finished and Yauna spun around and was facing the way back to her cooking pots. She slowly opened her eyes, with a satisfied smile plastered on her face. She caught the sight of Bucky just out of the doorway and froze. A dust of pink betrayed her on her cheeks and the tips of her ears.

“How much of dat did ya see?” She said cautiously, straightening herself and awaited his answer. A big smile walked itself across his face and he shook his head. “How do you know how to dance so well?” He tried to hide his surprise, failing miserably. Yauna walked back to the stove and nervously stirred the contents.

“Where did you learn to dance?” Bucky asked again, her face shied away from his gaze and her eyes focused on the cookware in front of her. “You don’t have to be embarrassed, Doll.” He reassured her, she shook her head gently and turned to face him finally.

“Where I come from, we are forced to learn an art. It could be music, actual art or dance. But, only one musician per family.” Her eyes met the ground quickly at the memories; her father playing the violin, her mother painting with her brother. Her mother could sing as well, her singing was so beautiful. It was one of the things that her father fell in love with.

“My father was the musician, so I took to dance. I guess I became good at it.” Bucky could see the pain behind her eyes at the memory. She forced herself to turn around and continue absentmindedly cooking.

“I can only swing dance, Doll. I can’t do much else.” He said innocently, he was trying to defuse the sadness in her eyes. He stepped closer to her, “Maybe you could teach me sometime?” He watched her face diligently for a change in her expression.

A small smile spread across her face, “Sure. Whenever you’d like.” She let her body relax and he watched her, he loved the way her smile was gentle but it could light up a room.

She watched his eyes dance across her form, they were beautiful. Icey blue, both dark and light switching places in his irises. They looked like an ocean with white caps every so often.

A spar of confidence nipped her but, “How about now?” His eyes widened, he was about to decline when he saw the flame behind her happiness flicker. He immediately closed his mouth.

She grabbed his metal hand and pulled him into the open space in the lounge. “Let's start with something you'd know. Friday, play Roundtable Rival.”

The music kicked up quickly and Yauna grabbed both of his hands, “Listen for the beat. It’s constant and under all the other notes.” She closed her eyes and waited for the beat to appear.

Bucky could barely hear the music, he was too busy trying to calm his heart beat. He shook his head gently to force his focus. Slowly counting the beats as instructed. Her eyes opened and peered at him through her lashes.

“Ready?” She asked cautiously, he nodded. She pulled both their hands up and they were off. They spun and hopped, laughing together. He’d spin her around gently, watching her smile the entire time. They were so lost in their own world and each other that they barely noticed the songs ending.

Friday’s voice rang over the speakers, “Miss Ashdown, don’t forget to stir the pasta.” Yauna jerked herself out of her dazed state, a smile still plastered on her face. She hurried over to the pots cooking on the stove top. Bucky watched her from his spot in the middle of the lounge, fixated on watching her every move. Her laugh was music all in and of itself and gave him goosebumps just listening to its melody.

She quickly stirred and prepared other ingredients for the dishes in front of her. “Okay, now a slower pace.” She said turning around and dusting her hands off. She stared at Bucky’s unmoving form, still where she had left him minutes ago. A small smile grazed his lips and brightened his eyes. I could swim in those. She thought and let out an audible chuckle.

“Friday, please play Ocean Eyes by Billie Eilish.” She made her way over to Bucky whilst holding out her right hand, the music not starting yet until Friday deemed them ready. He looked down at it, long, nimble fingers that looked like they would break under his grasp. He looked at his own hand apprehensively, he couldn’t trust himself not to hurt her.

“I trust you, Bucky.” Was all she said as she reached for the metal appendage. Pulling her delicate fingers across the palm and lifted it into the air. She stepped closer to him, her left hand landing on his shoulder. “Are you sure, Doll?” Yauna’s smile was gentle, yet teasing and she pulled his right hand up to her hip. Then, she returned her hand to his shoulder.

The song started within moments, she closed her eyes to listen while he watched the emotion in her face fluctuate. It started off slow, testing the waters of movement. But, quickly the pair felt comfortable and they moved together perfectly. Little did they know Tony was watching from his lab window that overlooked the lounge.

Giddy with joy, he bounced across the lab and made noises of what was supposed to be joy. The others on the floor didn’t hear them as joy, looking down the hall in horror they let the crazy man be. “Friday, pull the last twenty minutes of footage in the lounge please. And thank you!” He yelled and bounced over to his computer to do some editing. Oh, I am SO showing this to the others. Tony thought, not out of malice, but out of love and sheer happiness for the soldier and the redhead.

He had grown to really like Yauna over the few days that she had been there, and he had grown to like the tin man (even though that took more time). He wanted the best for both of them. And lets just be honest, he was an utter romantic and found so much joy in watching pure emotions such as these. Plus he loved helping them along. So, he was off to find Nat, Steve, Sam, Wanda, or anyone to help him.

Hey! Thanks for reading! Hope you all are enjoying the story. Either the next part or the one after will be getting more action. Hope to upload again next Monday. See Ya Next Time!

[jemariel]

Baby’s First Fic Rec List

Well Hello There! Somehow I made it to 366 followers!! I intended to do this celebration for 350 but, y’know, life, holidays.... So here it is now!

I haven’t been around this fandom very long, but I have never felt so at home and welcomed by a fandom. I’ve also spent the last year or so reading Destiel fic like it was my calling, my passion, my civic duty. Fun fact: when you dive into a fandom with 12 years of accumulated fanfic, there’s a deep deep well to draw from.....

And so, in honor of 350(ish) followers and my first year(ish) with this fandom, I present to you this list of recommendations! Just some faves and things I enjoyed reading . All are Destiel. Most are smutty. Mix of canonverse and AU, fluff and grit, plot and silliness. Some preference given to fics with fewer hits/kudos/comments than I think they deserve.

Happy reading!

....The Non-Smut....

mistletoe & peppermint cocoa by navylights Rated T 5.5k Summary: Cas and Dean are on a mission: to pick up the perfect Christmas tree for their first Christmas with everyone alive and well.And while Cas and Dean are out shopping, and buying cocoa on a snowy afternoon, a certain meddling younger brother is putting up mistletoe in the bunker.(Or, the absurdly fluffy Christmas carols/cocoa/mistletoe/tree decorating/Christmas lights fic of your dreams)

Dean Winchester’s Secret (Angel) Boyfriend by reluctantabandon, Winter_of_our_Discontent Rated T 11.2k Summary: Dean Winchester isn't exactly a team player. So when he starts mentioning a new Hunting partner, Ellen and Jo Harvelle aren't sure whether they should be worried or relieved.But they're starting to get the feeling there's something important Dean's not telling them about Cas... (Reccer’s note: It’s kind of rare to see really excellent extended-cast ensemble work in fanfic. But this? This is that.)

Raisin D’etre by starsinursa Rated G 1.1k Summary:  Apparently, Castiel hates raisins. (Reccer’s note: THIS IS THE CUTEST THING ON TWO LEGS.)

....Absolute Faves.....

Our Bodies, Possessed By Light by obstinatrix Rated E 40k Summary: Purged of all his souls, Castiel is a changed being, stronger than an angel and too powerful for Jimmy's body to contain. Happily, there's an archangel's vessel on hand, and he could use fixing, too. Dean isn't too happy about the idea of his brother acting as a vessel for Castiel, and Sam can guess why, but it isn't until Castiel gets inside his head and they learn to share the vessel -- and their thoughts -- that Sam realises Cas is as in love with Dean as Dean is with him. It's unfortunate that there's nothing much to be done about it now, but Castiel will get another vessel soon. The Winchesters will make damn sure of that. In the meantime, it's up to the three of them to establish their own strange accord, and Dean realises more fully than ever that it's Castiel, and not his vessel, that he loves. (Reccer’s note: Don’t let the premise squick you. This is very CLEARLY a Destiel story, in spite of Sam’s front row seat. I love all the relationships in this fic, Sam and Dean’s brotherly antagonizing/affection, Sam and Cas’s growing friendship, Cas and Dean’s straining, passionate adoration. All three of them are superbly written, but Cas especially. This also has some of the most scorchingly hot not-quite-sex ever written. Seriously. How can something be so fucking hot when everyone’s wearing two layers of clothing? Beats me.)

Rock ‘n’ Roll Queer Bar (series) by ChasingRabbits Rated E 126.7k Summary: Ellen and Jo Harvelle run Harvelle's Roadhouse, a bar that unintentionally becomes a beacon for wayward queer souls. Her employees: Dean, the smartass runaway with a big heart and bigger mouth; Castiel, the college drop-out turned hippie; his (surprisingly heterosexual) trouble-making brother Gabriel; and Charlie, who has been told several times that the back room is not to be used for after-hours Dungeons & Dragons games. But there's a lot of love in this place, and a new family for anyone who may otherwise be without. (Reccer’s note: The description doesn’t really do this series justice. This is the most realistic and beautifully and believably written long-term relationship I have ever read. They go through so much together, and they do it all TOGETHER. It’s beautiful. I devoured this in a day and a half, then went right back to the beginning and read it all over again. It’s Just. That. Good.)

Lots more under the cut!

....Shorts....

Angel-Mine by reluctant Rated E 4.3k Summary: Cas exhaled. "When an angel's wings are injured," he said to his feet, "the healing process can be augmented by… grooming, I suppose, would be the most accurate word. Removal of the maimed feathers to allow growth of healthy ones. Otherwise, they're left to fall out alone." He tilted his head towards the nightstand. "As you see." Dean stared at him. "So… that's why I can't help?" he said slowly. "'Cause I can't, y'know… see 'em? Or touch 'em?" "Yes," Cas said, slightly too quickly, and Dean snorted. "You're still a shitty liar, Cas," he informed him. "What ain't you tellin' me?"

Casturbatus Interruptus by smallhorizons Rated E 6.1k Summary: post-9.01, in a slight AU wherein Cas comes to live with the Winchesters at the Bunker. Written before 9.03. Crossposting from Tumblr. Written for a prompt from hightopsandsharpies: "Okay, so Cas is a virgin, and has no idea what pleasure is and Dean decides to show him and Cas gets all cuddly and needy afterwards." Dean walks in on Cas masturbating. He’s doing it all wrong, but when you’re a bazillion-year-old virgin, that’s to be expected. Dean decides to lend him a hand in a totally platonic, non-romantic way. Things get a little out of control. 

Angelus Domini by xylodemon Rated E 3.2k Summary:  "You're a fucking dick," Dean says, right to God's face. (Reccer’s note: In which Dean and Sam gain some heavenly grace and Dean and Cas don’t waste any time at all.)

we can watch the white doves go by xylodemon Rated E 2.7k Summary: "Wait," Dean says, just as the door snicks closed. It comes out as barely whisper; he clears his throat and tries again, a little louder this time. "Cas, I -- wait."

Oh! Darling! by castielsdemons Rated M 6.6k Summary:  Now that Castiel has fallen, Dean wants to let him know how much he cares about him. And if it takes two or three (or eight) tries to get it right, then so be it. Or, the seven times Dean tried to tell Cas he loves him and the one time he actually got it right. 

....Mid-length....

The Curious Case of Dean’s Missing Libido by thejabberwock Rated E 7k Summary: It’s been weeks since Castiel told Dean he loves him. Weeks since Dean answered him with a kiss. It’s been weeks, and they haven’t had sex.

Pronoun yourself out of this one, Dean by zation Rated E 11k Summary: When Dean gets hit by a gender-swapping witch spell it not so fun for anyone, until it’s kinda fun. Or, The one where Dean gets to discover a whole lot of new things. Like what nice hands Cas has, for instance.

Freckles by 2spooky4u Rated E 7k Summary: "I had to draw all them perfectly," Cas insists, and Dean suddenly can't get rid of the image of Cas, clutching on to a Crayola washable marker, jamming it into his skin forcefully like a little kid mashes his markers on the paper in a vehement attempt to make the color deeper. "And now you're insulted 'cause I don't appreciate 'em?" Dean asks, bewildered. "No," Cas lies petulantly. "Huh." The stubborn child version of Cas Dean has painted in his mind is now clutching his paper possessively, shielding it from scrutiny.They drive in silence for a while. "Thank you for making my freckles," Dean grouses finally, knowing that it's the only way Cas will forgive him. ((((OR, IN WHICH CAS LIKES DEAN AND HIS FRECKLES, AND DEAN IS STUBBORNLY HETEROSEXUAL))))

Sam Accidentally Sees the Whole Picture by almaasi Rated E 10.4k Summary: Sam's been through a lot lately, what with tonight's hunt rendering his skin an aching shade of purple and all. He can deal with Dean being overly concerned about Cas' broken finger, and - God help him - he puts up with the sound of their preposterously soppy love confessions and first kisses on the adjacent bed. But he cannot be expected to remain silent and feign sleep throughout the entire duration of their first-ever lovemaking session. He just can't. Especially not, because it seems apparent that Cas is more intent on deflowering himself than letting Dean do it.

The Things We Did (But Never Spoke Of) (series) by BadassCompany Rated E 17.9k Summary:  Now and then, when there is quiet from the bloodshed and chaos of the world, I think of Dean Winchester. About the things we did; beautiful, glorious, rough skin and wet lips; but never spoke of. He didn't want to talk, only to feel, and I didn't know what to say. ~A partially complete series of canon compliant smutty oneshots.~

worthy by jad Rated E 14.8k Summary: "... you wanna what, now?" Dean asks, because he definitely didn't hear that right.Castiel tilts his head, a leftover tick from his angel days that Dean would be lying if he claimed to find anything but idiotically endearing. He knows this is his own fault, owing to that rather memorable moment a week ago when Cas wandered into this very same kitchen with a (fairly) legitimate question and Dean just didn't know when to shut up.

The Adventures of Real Anal Sex (Starring Dean and Castiel) by tiptoe39 Rated E 9.7k Summary: This is how it really happened. Because this is how it really happens. Thanks for the tweet, Astroglide -- product placement is now yours! (Reccer’s note: Adding some of the relevant tags: Awkward Sexual Situations, yes people go to the bathroom in this fic. Butt stuff ain’t always Harlequin Romance perfect, but honestly? It’s better that way.)

Go with the Flow by starsinursa Rated E 7.6k Summary: The smug bastard obviously think he’s won this argument, because there’s no way Dean is following him into a yoga class. The day Dean starts saluting the sun and humming ‘om’ under his breath like he’s part of some creepy hive mind like the Borg Collective, well, he might as well just start making his own potpourri and frequenting vegan bakeries, too. Not gonna happen.So yeah, Cas is right, damn him. There’s no way in hell Dean is following him into a yoga class. There’s no way. There’s no way –- ahhh, fuck. Fuck it all.

....Novellas/Novels....

Oxymora by thejabberwock Rated E 27.6k Summary: Good things don’t happen to Dean, so he’s not even surprised when Cas tells him he misunderstood the I love you. (Reccer’s note: This hurts so good. The payoff is worth the pain. Warning for Dean/others.)

riptides by sharkfish (waitforspring) Rated E 39.9k, WIP Summary: “I’m going to kiss you now.” Cas pauses, giving Dean a chance to back out, but Dean just licks his lips and waits. Cas’s mouth is up against Dean’s for a couple seconds before Dean responds, and then it’s Cas that’s being kissed senseless, because kissing is definitely not something Dean does tentatively. Dean reaches up to cup Cas’s jaw in his hand, tilting his head for a better angle, mouth plush, tasting like whiskey. Cas tries to remember what it was like the first time he kissed a man. All-encompassing, the world jerking off its axis, the feel of stubble under his fingers intense in a way it never really is with women, as much as he loves them.

Cabin Fever by Dangerousnotbroken Rated E 35k Summary: Due to a romantic-comedy level booking blunder, grumpy stress-case Dean and reclusive writer Castiel end up shuttled off to the same remote cabin for two weeks, and nobody seems to care that neither of them wants to be there. But since they’re stuck in the same cabin for the duration of their vacation, they might as well play nice and make the best of it right? Wrong. Dean’s so stressed out he can’t sit still, Cas can’t boil water without setting the place on fire, and they’re so on each other’s nerves it’ll be a miracle if either of them survives until their rides home arrive. At least the tension is just social, and not sexual, right? Right?

traveling light by sharkfish (waitforspring) Rated E 42.8k Summary: Cas is, impossibly, far more gorgeous in person, and he’s taller than Dean expected, and he moves with this casual grace that makes Dean’s brain short circuit.So Dean thinks he probably looks a little like a deer in the headlights when Cas catches his eyes from the door of the restaurant. He breaks out into a smile, the full, wide one that never came out in his pictures, and Dean actually goes weak in the knees. “Cas,” Dean says.“Hello, Dean,” Cas says. (Reccer’s note: Cas is FtM trans in this story and it gives me... so many feels.)

What Once Was Sacred by saltandbyrne Rated E 55.8k Summary: Los Angeles detective Dean Winchester works tirelessly to atone for the sins of his father one case at a time. When his best friend Charlie drags him to visit Sam at his new job, Dean stumbles onto a bizarre string of deaths that brings him uncomfortably close to his past.Dean can't stop thinking about Castiel, an enigmatic DJ who plays the sexiest music Dean's ever heard. A chance encounter at Castiel's house reveals that Castiel is an incubus, and Dean must face the lies and the reality of his childhood as a hunter. Dean comes to see that he and Castiel have more in common than he thought, and that guilt can be the hardest thing to cast aside.

the taste of gravel in the mouth by beenghosting Rated E 22.4k Summary: This is what Cas gave up Heaven for: greasy diner food, shitty motel rooms with even shittier cable, long car rides spent in complete silence except for the same six tapes playing over and over again, and a burnt-out husk of a man who can barely hold a conversation anymore. (Reccer’s note: Warning for angst.)

PWP: Pie Without Plot by MajorEnglishEsquire, orange_crushed Rated M 82.5k Summary: he is in the kitchen with flour on his hands and an apron and there is flour on his forehead and cas leans across the counter and wipes it off with his thumb and dean says "thank you" and cas says "you’re welcome" very seriously and later dean makes apple turnovers and he only ruins them a little and sam realizes it’s not a real hunt like four days into it and he lets dean stay undercover for like a week and a half or longer maybe way longer because he is such a good everything (Reccer’s note: Warning for fluff.)

Strangers on a Bus by Terene Rated E 59.7k Summary: Castiel is flummoxed. This is a social situation he is not equipped to handle. What is the protocol when the stranger sitting next to you on a bus, whom you incidentally find very attractive, falls asleep with his head on your shoulder?

And now, a Shameless Self Endorsement.  Hope you stop by. ^__^

I’ve tagged a few authors here whose tumblrs I’m familiar with so @starsinursa @thejabberwock @xylodemon​ @reallyelegantsharkfish​ you’re in there! Many hearts to you, thanks for sharing your talents.

Others who might appreciate: @magnificent-winged-beast @daughter-of-the-rain-and-snow @saawek @sactownbrowns3 @rosemoonweaver @woahthisguy @suckerfordeansfreckles @rosemoonweaver @cas-essence @yourspecialeyes @yeneffersalamander @naruhearts @bae-in-a-trenchcoat @bend-me-shape-me @babyinthetrench @gneisscastiel @deaneatscake @silvie111 @jhoomwrites @tankewinchester @paperwhitenarcissus @thedogsled @helianthus21 @weathergirl83​ @ltleflrt​ 

[clary-jace]

those big life moments

pairing: riley matthews & lucas friar  word count: 1,864 prompt: “day four: argument - even the best of couples have their bad days, but not all arguments are all that serious”  written for: rucas fanfic week 2017  summary: big, life changing moments are supposed to be remembered forever. but riley has a feeling this one might be memorable for a whole different reason.  notes: this fic originally was a really fluffy piece, that slowly because some more emo and a lil angsty, but it still ends on a positive note, i swear. it examines how something pretty minor can evoke a lot of emotions from people. i’m not 100% pleased with the results, but what can you do. also, this fic takes place in the universe of gotor (written by maggie @friarlucas) and my own fic, sign of the times, but is in the future. enjoy! 

“Lucas, I don’t really see what the big deal is?”

Riley watched as Lucas took a deep breath, avoiding eye contact with her completely. She knew that there was going to be a conversation between them when he got home today, but she didn’t know that it was going to go down the way that it was so far.

There were multiple beats of silence between them, the only noise in the room being the hum of the refrigerator. Lucas was still refusing to meet her gaze and the longer there was a silence between them, the more and more nervous Riley became that she had thoroughly screwed up.

“It’s just…” Lucas started to say before he closed his mouth shut and bit his bottom lip. For a moment, Riley was almost scared he was going to draw blood by how hard his teeth were grinding into his skin. It had been a long time since Riley had seen him like this, and she was started to get scared. “I’m just upset, that’s all.”

“I didn’t know that this would upset you this much, I really didn’t think it was that big of a deal.” Riley said softly, shrugging her shoulders. She knew that most of this was her own fault. She had once again jumped the gun and go ahead and did something without thinking it through properly.

“I just thought this would be something that we did together, a big life milestone and you went ahead and did it without me. It just makes me feel like I’m missing out on something.” Lucas sighed, the frustration obvious in his tone. Riley blinked back the tears that were burning in the back of her eyes, now she was the one refusing to meet his gaze.

“I’m sorry.” She managed to say, swallowing the lump in her throat. There was another settled silence between them, covering them like a blanket of snow. Riley wasn’t exactly sure what else to say, but it was clear that things were far from fixed between the two of them.

“I know.” Lucas said after a second, giving her a forced smile. Riley could see the way his hands were wringing together, the way his index finger was pressed against his thumbnail. It had been a long time since she had seen that, and it put an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach. “I’m not mad, I just…”

Riley nodded, somehow the fact that he wasn’t mad at her stung more. She almost wished for a moment that they were the kind of couple that had big blow out arguments, fast and quick. The silent sadness and disappointment hurt much more.

“I really didn’t think it was that big a deal.” She repeated, her voice much quieter and smaller than it had been at the beginning of their discussion. She hated that what she had done had caused this kind of domino effect, she hated that had somehow done this to him. “I know that I was wrong and that I shouldn’t have done it.”

“Yeah. But what’s done is done. Nothing we can do about it now.” Lucas said. She couldn’t read his tone and that unsettled her more than she wanted to admit. But all she could do was nod, not having any sort of argument against him. He was right after all.

“It’s just since we talked about it and decided we were going to do it, I didn’t think about it, I didn’t realize that I was doing something that might upset you.” Riley said softly. She understood that she was in the wrong here, and Lucas had the right to be upset, but she still felt like she had to explain herself.

“Well since we talked about it together, I kind of assumed that it would be something we did together.” Lucas said. He sounded slightly agitated again. He was running his hand through his hair, and she could feel a rock settling in her stomach. “It’s fine. I just, I’ll get over it.”

Riley’s heart clenched in her chest, Lucas was looking at the ground and it was at this moment that Riley noticed the physical distance between them. They were standing nearly three feet apart, something that didn’t happen all that often. Looks like real life was mirroring the emotional distance she felt between them.

Taking a step forward, she hesitantly placed her hand on his shoulder. Lucas didn’t respond either way, he didn’t even move and somehow that hurt more than it would have if he had pushed her off.

“Is there anything I can do? I feel awful.” She said softly, desperate to meet his gaze. Instead, Lucas merely shrugged, his gaze still on the floor.

“I just, need to be alone right now.” He said, giving her a tight smile, effectively moving away from her. Her hand fell flat against her and she sucked back her tears as she watched him retreat into their room and close the door behind him, the soft click echoing in the quiet apartment.

Riley didn’t know what else to do, so she slid down to the floor, leaning against the fridge, bringing her legs to her chest. She was determined not to cry. After a couple minutes of sitting there, she heart footsteps against the floor and when she looked up, she saw just the subject of her and Lucas’ argument.

“Sorry you had to see that, buddy.” Riley muttered, smiling softly when the golden retriever puppy gave her hand a small lick.

Her smile became a sad one when the late evening sun floating in through the window reflected off the ring settled on her finger. She had really screwed up and it was clear that whatever Lucas was so upset about it, was more than just her bringing home a dog without including him.

And she was bound and determined to fix it, no matter what.

…

The sun was just beginning to peek out from the horizon when Riley shook Lucas awake the next morning. She felt a little bad, he didn’t have to be up for another half an hour or so, but she refused to let him leave for the day without having worked things out first.

“Riley, what’s going on?” Lucas asked once his eyes as opened, his voice heavy with sleep. Riley smiled sheepishly, folding her hands together as she sat in front of him. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine. I know it’s early I, just.” She took a deep breath, spinning the ring on her finger slightly, looking down at her hands before she looked him in the eye. “I couldn’t bear you walking out that door this morning before we’ve talking about things.”

Lucas nodded, sitting up in bed and grabbing one of her hands. That was a good sign she supposed. His eyes looked tired with sleep and she felt a heavy load of guilt for waking him up, but she also hoped that he too wanted to work all this out before spending the day apart from each other.

“I’m so so sorry about what happened yesterday, I wasn’t even thinking. I know that that’s probably the worst excuse in the entire world, but I just acted on instinct. I shouldn’t have done that and I’m really, really sorry.” Riley said, hoping that the sincerity in her words was recognizable. Luckily, Lucas didn’t look nearly as upset as he had the night before, and he nodded in understanding.

“Honestly, I’m not even really mad, or upset about what actually happened, I guess I was just upset about what it all means.” He said after a moment, not looking at her anymore, instead looking down at their hands, which were now intertwined in his lap.

“What do you mean?” She asked softly.

“For a lot of my life, with my parents, I never really felt like I was a part of anything. I just went along with whatever my parents wanted to do, they never asked me my opinion on anything. I felt like I was being pulled along, not really in my own family, if you could call it that.” He took a deep breath, and suddenly Riley had a whole new understanding. She had made Lucas feel like he wasn’t a part of the family that they had created together. That realization hurt more than she could have expected.

“I never meant to make you feel like that.” Riley whispered, giving him a small, sad smile. He returned with a sad smile of his own, giving his hands a small squeeze. “Honestly, I walked by the shelter, saw him in the window and all I could think about is how perfect he was for us. I know that I shouldn’t have made that decision without you, but I somehow thought that I would regret it if I walked away without him.”

“He is pretty cute.” Lucas said with a small laugh. “I just, don’t want to be left out of those big life moments. You know, the moments that we’re going to remember forever.” She smiled lightly at the reference to that moment in the bay window all those years ago.

“I’m really sorry that I left you out of this one, I promise it will never happen again.” She feels like her words are started to become meaningless with how often she’s repeating them, but this time Lucas gives her a smile, a bigger one than his previous one and it lightens the stress on her heart.

“I know.” He says softly, leaning forward to press a kiss into her hair. She smiled softly, squeezing his fingers slightly.

They stay like that for a moment, not saying anything, just looking at each other and enjoying the peace of the situation. After a couple beats of silence between them, Riley gets an idea.

“Oh! When you get home tonight, we should start wedding planning, I don’t want to do any of it without you.” Lucas laughs, shaking his head slightly.

“I know that you’re only saying that because of what just happened, but I’m going to take your offer and say, that sounds like a great idea and I’ll get home as soon as I can.” He says with a grin.

“Perfect.”

Riley laughs softly, unable to wipe the smile off of her face now. However, the moment is interrupted when their new companion jumps up on the bed, desperate to be a part of the action going on.

“Pluto!” Lucas raises his eyebrow at her, a smirk falling upon his face.

“Pluto, really?”

“Yes Lucas, our new son’s name is Pluto. I know that I probably should have let you name him after everything that just happened, but I’m already attached to the name and he responds to it, so his name is Pluto.”

Lucas doesn’t reply, merely smiling at her, and somehow, that means more than any words could. And as her and Lucas and their new family member sit on their bed and enjoy each other’s company before he has to leave for the day, she knows one thing.

That they can get through anything.

[couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name]

mmkay let it out what's your thoughts on the new doctor who

- Okay so right off the bat??? It took me less than five minutes to fall in love with Bill holy SHIT

- Like I could tell from her original preview that I was gonna like her but!!! She’s fantastic!!!!

- 12 playing the electric guitar at any given time is a strong weakness of mine

- The Doctor…has pictures…of Susan and River on his desk…I am…beyond deceased

- Okay like literally every single incarnation of the Doctor fits the aesthetic of ‘eccentric professor who gives no fucks but also ends up teaching very memorable classes’ perfectly but like. I’m so glad Capaldi is the one that gets to FULLFILL that omg.

- “You shouldn’t be in my class you aren’t a student here”

- “I know but I’m like really gay and accidentally made my crush fat because I can’t function properly”

- “Valid points, I need to teach you everything I know.”

- What…is in…that Goddamn vault.

- “Doctor What?” you know that killed him just a little inside

- She got him a freaking carpet for Christmas??? amaze

- Also just the fact that she spent Christmas with him??? You’re not crying I am

- 12: “I’m a cold hearted lone wolf I’m here to do my job I don’t care about anyone no one can crack me-”

- Bill: “Yeah my mom died when I was a baby and I have no pictures of her it makes me very sad”

- 12: *internally screaming, eye twitching, frantically grabbing a camera and sprinting into the TARDIS, shouting* “I aM a CoLd HeArTeD lOnE wOlF i’M hErE tO dO mY jOb I dOnT cArE aBoUt ANYONE-”

- seriously that was so sweet I almost cried???

- LMAO when she said “You’ve apparently been teaching here for 70 years” and he was like “You’re thinking, ‘he doesn’t look old enough’ “ and she said no. HIS FACE 😂

- “One time you were supposed to give a lecture on physics but you started ranting about poetry” “They’re the same thing.”

- Like they did a weird job with the Heather girl??? I ultimately felt bad for her but she was like shady right from the start it was strange

- Like every time Bill was around her I was like “honey reel in your thirst just far enough to realize this situation has me nervous” omfg

- w h a t  i s  i n  t h e  v a u l t

- Am I like…the only person who doesn’t like Nardole? I never have tbh he just feels shoved in there

- Like his whole spiel about wanting to make sure the Doctor’s dealing with River’s death okay at the end of the Christmas special was sweet but like??? He feels out of place and hasn’t properly done anything yet???? Idk it feels like someone inserting an oc into their fanfic re-write of the show but not knowing how the oc can actually effect the plot

- The Doctor has been a college professor for at least 70 years like…is the TARDIS okay? I can’t imagine she enjoys being parked in his office or the ‘out of order’ sign omg

- Yes, yes I am worrying about a sentient machine’s feelings leave me alone

- “I see my face all the time- never liked it, it’s all over the place, having expressions when I’m trying to be enigmatic.” MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

- “Why are you running like a penguin with his ass on fire”

- When she asked the Doctor if he knew about sci-fi. A++

- He was so swept up in figuring it out before he snapped back and was like nEVER MIND SWEET CHILD PLEASE GO AWAY ITS PROBABLY JSUT WATER lmao

- Can we as a society please stop setting creepy moments in fiction in bathrooms??? Like I’m fucking over it

- And honestly??? I’m so PISSED about the thing in the shower drain holy shit after years of having issues with drains because of “it” and I finally start fucking getting over that only for Doctor Who to do this to me??? Why does this show always know my deepest paranoia shit and use it only briefly like WHY

- Anyway,

- Bill’s reaction to the TARDIS was HILARIOUS

- “What happened to the doors though did you run out of money?” LMAO

- WHAT IS IN THE VAULT

- I lost it when they ended up in Australia omfg that was good tegan screaming in the distance

- “IF YOU’RE FROM ANOTHER PLANET THAN WHY DID YOU NAME YOUR BOX IN ENGLISH IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE”

- “You’re…the first person to mention that…?” I WAS SCREAMING

- yelling ‘shark attack’ in a restaurant and it actually works? okay

- Why does Capaldi’s Doctor have such a penchant for traveling to the literal end of the universe??? This is the third or fourth time he’s gone there omfg

- Like he’s always like “no one will find us here” but like at this point? End of the universe would be the first place I’d check for him? lol

- 12 looked so proud of himself when he was called ‘silly’!!!! I’m so happy for him it’s a relief he’s out of the emo ‘what kind of man am I’ phase

- OKAY LISTEN UP

- WHEN THE DOCTOR GAVE NARDOLE A SPARE SONIC SCREWDRIVER

- DID WE ALL SEE THE DESIGN???

- BECAUSE I’M PRETTY SURE THAT’S THE SONIC RIVER USED IN THE LIBRARY AND IF IT IS I AM GOING TO THROW MYSELF DOWN THE STAIRS I S C R E A M E D

- on a mildly related note: Nardole running around trying to sonic things and quietly screaming was THE MOST ME THING I’VE EVER SEEN ON TV

- I do shit with that exact attitude all the fucking time you don’t even understand I was looking in a mirror it was hilarious

- So question: Since when is the Dalek’s laser “the hottest fire in the universe”? Is that an already established thing I forgot about or like…did they just want an excuse to show the Daleks? lol

- so Creepy Water Demon Girl was chasing them through time and space solely because she thinks Bill is hot?

- R E L A T A B L E

- When Bill asked the Doctor how he’d feel if someone erased his memories and a slightly warped version of Clara’s theme music started playing??? I stabbed myself that was UNCALLED for I was NOT READY

- When the Doctor was having Internal Struggles™ and he told the pictures of Susan and River to shut up and then the TARDIS started making noises at him and he was clearly getting emotionally ganged up on I was YELLING that was so funny lmao

- Why was he so against travelling??? Why the same school for 70 years??? WHAT’S IN THE VAULT??? Who did he promise????

- The whole ending scene when he was inviting Bill on the TARDIS- idk I just really liked it?

- The lighting behind him from the ship, the mini speech, the music playing in the background??? I really dug it omg

- WHAT IS IN THE VAULT

- But no yes I???? Really freaking enjoyed the episode. Like it’s obviously not the best of the series or anything but I think it was a great opener and now I’m even more pumped for the rest of the season I’m so hype I can’t handle it omfg!!!!