#maybe this is all me projecting but i feel fairly confident that my experiences were fairly common

[administer-distractions]

.

[imagineakatsuki]

Hello there! I hope I did it right :) Could you do an image about an akatsuki and a fem s/o and they have to care about a robot baby as a school project? Feel free to choose an akatsuki :) (School AU, if you don‘t do it, it is okay) I hope you could understand me, I am not very good in englisch 😅 Have a good day!

Hey anon! I chose Sasori because I’m a little obsessed with him right now, but just send in another ask if you want a specific character! Who knows, I may or may not make this a series anyway~

Note: for some reason, I missed the s/o part of this ask, so this scenario reads more as a general female reader. Sorry about that!

Admin S

“Sasori and [Name].”

The redhead wasn’t thrilled about the project when the teacher had first announced it, opting to finish a joint of one of his puppet creations instead of paying attention. With a heavy sigh, he turned to his project partner with his usual dead-eyed stare.

“You’re [name], right?”

“Yes, I’m [name]. You must be Sasori?”

“That’s right,” Sasori took the paper with the instructions and skimmed it quickly. It was like one of his puppet creations - except he didn’t make it, and it required actual physical attention beyond just fixing its appearance.

“Frankly, I think this is a ridiculous project and a waste of time,” the boy said, “How unfortunate that it counts for so much of our final grade.”

“Y-yeah,” [Name] replied appeasingly. She had sensed the irritated aura of her partner and didn’t want to push her luck. If the rumors were true, the redhead had very little patience for idiocy. He was a genius, however, so maybe [name] could use that to their advantage. “It might be stupid, but I kinda need to do well on it to get a good grade, so your cooperation would be great.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll pull my weight. It seems fairly simple and straightforward; getting a good grade will be easy.”

[Name] raised an eyebrow. “Oh? You have some childcare experience then?”

The silence was telling.

“No.” Sasori scrunched his nose. “But I take good care of things that I own, and they somewhat resemble this… thing.”

[Name] still wasn’t very confident with that answer, but, hey, it couldn’t be that bad, can it? It’s not like she had a choice anyway. She just hoped that Sasori wouldn’t be this standoffish throughout the entire project or this project would be harder than it had to be.

“So how do you want to do this? I take it one day and then we alternate?” [Name] asked.

Sasori hummed. “That sounds acceptable. It seems that we have similar schedules, though, so it wouldn’t really matter until after school.”

At that, [Name] had to admit she was surprised. Sasori had noticed her?

“You’re in nearly all of my classes.” Whoops. Apparently she had said that out loud. “I may not speak much, but I am still capable of observing.”

“S-sorry. I just wasn’t expecting you to actually recognize me, much less remember me.”

“Then how do you know me?”

“Well, your bright red hair is pretty noticeable… and you’re really smart when you feel like talking,” [Name] shrugged. “The way you eviscerated that teacher in biology class 2 weeks ago was awesome!”

Sasori smirked but didn’t reply. 

Soon after, the bell rang and everyone flew off their seats. Thankfully, the redhead took the decision away from [name] and grabbed the robot baby as he stood up. 

“Uh… I don’t think you hold a baby that way,” the girl giggled as she followed Sasori to their next class. He held the baby by one of its hands, the rest of the body awkwardly dangling at his side. 

“It doesn’t matter how you hold it. The thing can only track how well you attend to its artificial needs,” the boy retorted. He walked to his usual seat in the back of the class which, fortunately, had the seat next to it open. 

The two made it through half the class before the baby decided to unleash its fury on them. They had been hopeful it wouldn’t interrupt them at all, but alas, they had to suffer just as some people in the class already had. 

The entire rest of the morning was plagued with screaming, crying babies. 

<< Later >>

“What a nightmare,” Sasori rubbed his temples as he and [name] made their way out of the school doors. 

Feeling pity for the teen who was likely used to silence, [name] offered to take the robot baby for the night. The boy’s expression barely changed, but after spending the whole day actually interacting with him, [name] could tell there was a glimmer of gratefulness in his eyes when he looked at her.

“That would be great. I can take it tomorrow, but I’ve had enough of babies crying for today.” Without further ado, the redhead handed her the baby and walked away, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Later that night, [name] would come to regret that altruistic decision. Just as she was getting in bed, the baby started bawling, forcing her to get up and grudgingly take care of it. 

However, no matter what she did, it just wouldn’t stop crying. [Name] was getting to the end of her rope, close to a meltdown herself, which would put her no better than the baby she was supposed to take care of. Finally, after debating the pros and cons of doing so, she decided to call Sasori and see if he could help fix the problem. If nothing else, he could be moral support.

“[Name]?”

“Sasori! I’m so sorry if I woke you up or anything-“

“You didn’t.”

“But this damn baby just won’t stop crying! I swear I’ve tried everything! I was supposed to be in bed an hour and a half ago… I’m losing my mind!”

“Deep breaths, [name],” the redhead listened for an audible - if shaky - breath before continuing, “Now, I need you to tell me what you’ve done so far. We’ll figure this out by process of elimination.”

“I’ve fed it, I’ve changed it, I’ve burped it, I’ve rocked it - I don’t what else I’m supposed to do.”

The two were on the phone for half an hour before they gave up. “Since nothing has worked so far, I’m going to believe it’s malfunctioning. And it doesn’t surprise me that these companies who mass produce these things are making errors,” Sasori ranted. “Instead of continuing to waste our time, I say we just disable it and tell the teacher tomorrow.”

“Ok, that sounds good. How do I do that though?”

“I’ll walk you through it. Are you ready?”

“Yeah, I’m ready to get this over with. What do you want me to do first?”

Sasori smoothly dictated the steps to disable the doll. Knowing his impatience, [name] did her best to keep her (stupid) questions to a minimum. It didn’t take very long after that before the doll finally stopped crying. As someone who had been hearing it for the past 2 hours, it made [name] feel like crying herself. 

“Thank you, Sasori! You’re a miracle worker! Sorry I kept you awake.”

“It’s no problem. You should go to bed.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice! As soon as I put this phone down, it’s straight to bed for me. Thanks again! And good night!”

“Good night.”

Suffice to say, the teacher heard an earful the next day about the superiority of independent creators over large corporations when it comes to making good products.

[fantastic-mr-corvid]

Oh Sister, where art thou? plz!!

ty Arrow<333333333

this is the letter where Cecio describes his first trip back to Kenabres square! specifically meeting Ember! under the cut for mentions of violence and death [of the soldier] as well as Cecio's not great mental state, as well as being fairly long at almost 500 words

Ember really managed to get to him in a way not many characters have, and she is really good at getting him to spiral into bitter self reflection, as he projects his own experiences onto her, and begs for Celia to spare him the difficult choices and consequences he now faces.

this is not his lowest point, but is a turning point, and he now cant go back to being a lawful good paladin. its the first step he cant climb back on in the long flight of stairs that's his fall from good

The little girl… so many of my fellows are monsters, made so by fear and the horrors that surround us, but monsters all the same.

Yet still, ordering the punishing the instigator, it felt right in a way few things to when they are what's expected of me. I upheld the law, and yet I do not want to lose my stomach.

I said want, I don't think I could ever willfully waste food, not to mention we were both sanitized to the cruelty of man long ago.

Still the little girl's words, her too big eyes, is that how I seemed to you dear sister? So confident in my words? In the good in the world? Still, fear makes monsters out of all of us, and the root of all corruption is not just cultists. Maybe I felt regret as his body hit the floor. I never said death, but all the same… I have seen men killed for less justice, I have seen children- I have seen what happens when people give into fear. 

I do not find that I regret his death that much. Still, a child, eleven or no, should not know that.

Did someone force me? Only the chains that bind us all, duty, honor, family, and suchlike. Horrible things. They force my hand and steal my tongue, and yet I live when if I made my heart's choice I would have died long ago, and for what? 

No wonder you buried who you used to be so deep, dear sister. To feel yourself clawing at the walls- I pity you, sister mine, and envy you as well. The man who would rather die than commit heinous acts is still alive, and voicing his discontent to me.

Something about this child cuts at me, forces the truth out, even after the fact.

To keep her, or not. Can I save her if she's with me? Or will she be better off- with who? The same crusaders who almost slew her? All these questions were running around my head.

Again, I pity you sister. Is this how you felt? Telling me to ask the kind man about the questions I had? Making me into an accomplice to your own sins, but goodness cannot be eaten, and sin soured bread is still bread. We all do horrible things to survive, but do we drag others into our way too?

I wish you were there, CeCe, I wish you were there and then you could make these decisions for me. Your hands are already red with blood. Couldn't you have spared my soul these drops?

In the end I told her to go. I insisted, too harshly, but she did not flinch.

I think I may burn this letter, not even grant it rest alongside the others, knowing the chances of them ever seeing you are rare and fleeting.

[geminiamethyst]

Running. Chapter 41: Talks of Geniuses

Chapter 1: click HERE

Chapter 40: click HERE

Chapter 42: click HERE

Minor spoilers for Taka’s backstory.

Also there’s a little bit of me projecting into Taka because I am one of these people that does HC as him being autistic. Mostly because there have been some aspects of his personality that helps to support this. Also I was diagnosed as being on the spectrum myself fairly recently, but that’s not important. If you guys aren’t a fan of this HC, I understand. It’s just something that I’ve been meaning to experiment with for a while now.

Taka felt calm. Or at least, felt like he should be calm.

The forest was peaceful.

Growing up in a city his whole life, he had been used to the sights, sounds and smells. However, despite those being very familiar to him, he hated it. It always felt overstimulating to him. Just the sound of most sirens such as fire alarms in school or even a certain number of party poppers going off at once was enough to feel like a bomb was going off in his ears. He didn’t mind most crowds, but only when it was voluntary. If he got forced into a crowd, it sometimes got too much for him. There was the rare occasion when he was younger that it sent him into a panic. Sometimes smells didn’t help. Depending on where he was or what the smell was, would be quite overpowering to him sometimes. He got used to the city life, but that didn’t mean that he had to like it.

But the forest was the complete opposite of the concrete jungle. It was quiet, and calming. No noisy traffic. No ear piercing sirens. No feeling like people were shouting down his ears. Just quiet and the calming sound of birds and the river that wasn’t too far away. Just simple sounds like the rushing of water was more than enough to be soothing. Sights weren’t overwhelming either. Just nature and simple shades of green and brown. Nothing that wasn’t too bright and flashy or rushing by too quickly. There wasn’t that many people either for him to be confused and lost in a crowd. Even the smells were comforting and the air was so clean. Taka can’t remember a time where he had felt like the air was this fresh.

And here he was now. Ready to talk to someone that he believed that he can come to trust now. Maybe even call him a friend?

One step at a time.

“You asked me about my nightmare once. Well, more like demanded.” Taka stated as he sat back down.

“Oh! That! Don’t worry about it.” Mondo exclaimed as he remembered t what happened in the Den the day that Kaito and Maki argued.

“No, I…I want to talk about it…” Taka argued gently. Mondo looked completely stunned upon hearing that. H wasn’t expecting Taka to be this serious about it all. “Only if you want to listen.”

It was strange. Despite how calming the forest was, Taka was still anxious about speaking. It was like there was this mental block that prevented a single word from being said. His brain was overthinking everything about what he wanted to say, which made him more anxious. Taka was scared to tell any of the others about this because of the lack of distrust and hostility that he had experienced before. Hopefully, Mondo will have trusted him enough to see past all that he was going to be told.

Just deep breathes. Focus on the calmness of nature and try to use that to stay calm.

Mondo was still surprised but nodded his head encouragingly. That was the invitation that Taka needed. And in all honesty, it boosted his confidence a little bit.

“Have you heard of Toranosuke Ishimaru? He was a former prime minister.” Taka asked cautiously.

“Not really into politics. Fucks with my head.” Mondo scoffed, shaking his head dismissively. He then stopped as the name was processed through his head and he looked surprised. “Wait! “Ishimaru”? Is he a relative or something?”

“He was my grandfather.” Taka stated, almost emotionless. He felt like he was reading off of a script for a news report. He hadn’t even started his story and already he felt emotionally drained.

“You serious?! That’s amazing!” Mondo exclaimed, not noticing the look on Taka’s face. That name would always be a stain on the Ishimaru family. A man that Taka had once respected and now hated. He always found it hard to talk about, since no one had ever wanted to have anything to do with him in the past.

“He served in foreign affairs as the chief minister. Then he climbed up to the position as prime minister.” Taka continued, just having this need to get this over with. He was worried about the negative fallout that he knew would come. “He’s a person that deserved to be called a genius. He did everything perfectly without any effort to his work. Yes, he was a genius. But he was lazy, even sloppy. And he was blind to all of the world’s frustration and anger. It sparked political corruption and he fell to ruin soon after that. Upon the failure of his business, he fell on hard times. Before everything that happened in regards to the Facility, my family was still in his debt. Probably would still be if it weren’t for my father going missing or me still being “dead” according to the police.

“Don’t you understand? An intelligent but lazy person? I was never like that! And I never will be! I truly believed that I could never be a genius. Always gave my studies 110% or even higher. I never took a break, even if my father tried to force me to take one. I didn’t even wear anything other than my school uniform, even during the holidays. I never ever wanted to be associated as a lazy genius. I was so determined to change everything that I didn’t care about anything other than my father and making sure that we didn’t have to worry about debt collectors ever again!”

All those words just came flooding out. Taka didn’t even know what he was saying or how those words came out in the first place. There had never been a time where he had spoken so honestly to anyone. To be talking Mondo of all people, after all the tension that they had in the past, it seemed good. Better than good. It was like all the weight that he had been burdened with for so long was gone.

“That’s why I hate the word “genius” and…” Taka finally said, sounding almost relieved. It was like he had bottled all of that up for too long and was scared to open up. Finally pouring all that out seemed to have made him more relaxed and peaceful after sharing his story. “And that nightmare was all that I had faced before the Facility and White. How I never had any friends, how my father always struggled with the debt while putting food on the table, the bullying, the other problems I had at school, and just always being alone. Before the Facility, I wanted nothing more than to change this country with all the effort that I had. But now���now I don’t know what to do with my life…”

Taka bit back bitter tears as he remembered that day at the police station, at how he was treated so poorly by the Chief of Police. How he was actually treated as a dead person that had risen from the grave and was so disrespected. At how his father’s disappearance was just swept under the rug as if nothing was wrong. At how his whole family name was just…gone. And how all the countless hours and almost sleepless nights of studying and staying ahead of his studies was just wasted. How everything as just ripped away from him. All those years and efforts were just wasted. And now Taka actually felt like he didn’t have a purpose. What was he going to do now?

“Shit. You had a lotta hardships too.” Mondo suddenly said. Taka looked up and was met with quite a surprise. Mondo Owada, the toughest guy that he had ever known, was looking down at the ground with clear tear streaks going down his face.

“Are you…are you crying for my sake?” Taka exclaimed, not sure about how he should feel about this. Mondo didn’t seem to notice. His face went a bit pink with embarrassment as he wiped away the tears.

“Don’t tell the kids. Gotta hold a reputation.” Mondo muttered, making sure that his face was clear of the evidence.

“I won’t.” Taka vowed with a smile. “Though, I’m glad to see this side of you. You’re kinda sweet.”

“Don’t tell me you just fucking said that!” Mondo growled, his face going a bit more red.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” Taka spoke up seriously. They kept a straight face, just listening to nature around them. After a few seconds, both of them couldn’t hold back their laughter. It was booming and scared some of the small creatures. Their laughter echoed so much that the whole of Japan must have heard them.

“I was kinda wrong about ya! Ya ain’t half bad, Ishimaru!” Mondo grinned, slapping Taka’s back lightly.

“You can call me Taka if you want to Mondo.” Taka chuckled, but then he stopped as his words caught up with him. “Sorry, didn’t know if you’re okay with me calling you Mondo.”

“It’s cool, Taka.” Mondo continued to grin, wrapping an arm around Taka’s shoulders. That’s it. Time to make another promise. “And once this is all over, I’ll help ya find your old man.”

“What?” Taka responded. It was like the worded had stopped for a moment. He couldn’t believe his ears at all.

“Hey! I owe ya big time for helping me!” Mondo smiled widely. He really meant it too. He felt like this promise was a good way to make good on paying the other Limitless back. While they still have Orochi to deal with right now, that didn’t mean that he can’t help with the search once all this drama was over. “Helping you find your dad, seems like a good idea right? I’ll get in touch with my gang and they can help out too!”

“Why would you do this? And for me no less?” Taka asked hesitantly. He still can’t believe it. He only just started feeling like he started to make a friend for the first time in his life. So to hear all of this was just more than surprising to him. He almost felt like he was dreaming.

“Cause we might have had some scrapes, but we’re friends now, got it?!” Mondo continued to grin. He stopped when he finally had a look at Taka’s face. The guy was leaking tears from his eyes like they were a pair of fountains. Mondo let go of Taka, not sure what he should do at this moment. He felt awkward in all honesty. “Why are you crying now?!”

“Sorry, it just took me by surprise.” Taka smiled through the tears. He wiped away at his face, which was barely enough to stop the tears from c9ming. Mondo smiled in relief at that. He knew that Taka can get emotional, but he didn’t realise that he would be that emotional. Taka kept on smiling as he finally got a grip on himself and stopped crying. “Thank you, Kyoudai!”

“Kyoudai huh? I like that!” Mondo grinned, before trying to give Taka a noogie. Taka let out a playful yelp as he tried (and failed) to avoid the action. The two continued to laugh. It was loud, but Taka wasn’t put off by it. This was voluntary noise and he was kinda used to the volume that Mondo can reach. He honestly hadn’t felt like this before. Was this what it’s like to hang out with friends? He wanted to Kaito and Maki friends, but wasn’t sure if it was right to label them as such unless they were okay with it. They seemed to consider him a friend, so maybe it’s okay anyway? But Mondo pretty much made friends with him pretty fast, so it did feel like he had a real friend at last. It felt great.

“You two are FINALLY getting along!” Kaito’s voice suddenly shouted. Mondo looked over his shoulder to see that the teens had gone looking for him and Taka. Kaito continued smiling as he approached the two. “We could hear you both laughing.”

“Just men bonding over here kid!” Mondo grinned, standing up whilst pulling Taka up with him.

“I can see that! Just be careful there with Taka!” Kaito sheepishly grinned before pointing at Taka, who was still in a headlock. Taka seemed to be struggling a little under Mondo’s grip and wanted to pull away for a breather.

“Opps! Sorry!” Mondo spoke quickly, relenting his hold on the other Limitless.

“It’s okay, Kyoudai!” Taka smiled in relief. Kaito was glad that he didn’t have to worry about prying the two apart in case something happened that could’ve destroyed the peace. He suddenly felt like shrinking back when Mondo suddenly turned to him enthusiastically.

“And got you to thank for this kid!” The biker smiled before proceeding to put Kaito in a form of a headlock as well.

“Hey! What are you talking about?!” Kaito exclaimed, not quite sure how he had found himself in this kind of position.

“You made sure that we didn’t end up killing each other and shit!” Mondo grinned proudly.

“I can’t take all the credit! Maki Roll helped too you know!” Kaito tried to share the credit so he could get out of the headlock.

“Still thanking ya anyway!” Mondo smiled, giving Kaito noogie, just like he did with Taka.

“Hey! You better not thank Maki like this!” Kaito shouted, unable to avoid Mondo’s actions. He tried his best, but he couldn’t pull away strongly enough.

“When this is all over, man’s night out!” Mondo declared, seeming to ignore Kaito’s words.

“Leave me out of this! I can’t go drinking! I’m underage!” Kaito shouted, trying to move out from Mondo’s grip (A/N the legal age for drinking in Japan is 20, I checked).

“So what?” Mondo continued to grin. Maki hadn’t said anything the entire time. She just watched the whole exchange take place. She can’t help but feel slightly jealous or how she felt like she was being pushed aside. She had gotten too used to it being just her and Kaito for the year, and she had gotten used to Mondo and Taka being around by now. But this felt different and quite unfair, almost reminding her of how she was isolated back in the Facility. No. It’s not like that. This is different, this is Kaito just talking to friends that were guys. And she was the only girl in the group. It’s probably normal to feel like this in a group dynamic such as this.

“I need more female friends in this group.” She muttered, rubbing the temples of her head. In all honesty, she felt like she had the right to say that. Now that the guys are being buddy buddy like this all of a sudden, she felt like she was being singled out. Is it normal to feel like that in group like this?

“What was that, Maki Roll?” Kaito asked, still trying to pull himself away from Mondo.

“Nothing.” Maki said bluntly, carefully approaching the three.

“With that said, can you let me go now, Mondo?” Kaito requested, still trying to push Mondo’s arm off of him. He was straining a little as the biker’s grip was subconsciously tightening. “Your grip is getting a bit too much.”

“My bad!” Mondo immediately realised his mistake and was quick to release Kaito. Taka was trying to suppress his laughter the entire time. Seeing how all the playing was quickly gone, he decided to change tactics. He had a feeling that there was something important going on.

“Anyway, what’s going on you two?” He quickly asked.

“Some good news. Didn’t know up until now but we have a map.” Kaito grinned, half in relief and half with excitement.

“You’re kidding’?!” Mondo exclaimed, looking like he was going to get excited again. Maki smiled smugly as she showed the two the map that she had found. “Guess that tech chick and robo boy came through for us again.”

“Taka? You okay?” Kaito suddenly asked. He noticed that Taka had gone silent very suddenly and was eyeing at something suspiciously. The others followed his gaze. He was looking at a bush that was a few ft away from them. At first nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Then there was some kind of shine in the sun. There was something in there that they felt like shouldn’t be there. There was also something that felt beyond dreadful. It was almost like ice was being poured down their backs.

“What’s that?” Mondo was the first to speak up about it. No one could give him an answer. Taka swallowed any dread that he was feeling and started to take cautious steps forward. “Oi! Be careful!”

As Taka stepped closer, he could smell something. Something that shouldn’t be in the forest. Something that disrupted the peaceful atmosphere that he had felt up until now. He didn’t know what it was, but it wasn’t pleasant and made him feel uncomfortable. However, he needed to know what it was there. It could be nothing, but he had to make sure. The others stood still, bracing themselves for anything. They watched as the branches were moved aside.

And then Taka let out a scream.

[algid-star]

Oh. My. GOD. okay so,

My burnt-out dumb ass, been working on sewing, and shared this hobby with a friend (who is cute). And like, yay! Friend! I love friends! Community! Love and support and appreciation! You can get all these and more from people with whom you are not romantic!

And she messages me fairly out of the blue, and we get to texting, and talking about hanging out and having craft time and hangouts. Body doubling! Do your own individual projects, but in a group as a fun friendship activity!

And so we go grab boba tea before craft time. And let me tell, you. Respectfully. I know people can dress for themselves and not for others to be leering at them. But also she was wearing the kind of dress I would wear if I were her if I wanted to send a signal loud and clear. Respectfully: the titties were out, and they looked amazing. ANYWAYS, BY THIS POINT I'M ALREADY PANICKING.

"Am I being too autistic about this?". I was genuinely looking forward to crafting together because I really wanted to finish up my muslin and check the fit because this is the first fitted garment I'm drafting myself and like, I'm just kinda excited to have that experience, but also share it with a friend who's also into this hobby?

But then idfk where my mind went. We got back to my place and talked about crafts and I showed her around, but then before it was craft time she had to show me something on the sofa, and then we just talked for hours. And slowly got more and more subtly cuddly. Intertwined legs to watch something on a cell phone, when we easily could have chromecasted the video to the big TV in front of us.

As I'm saying this right now, in retrospect, I don't know how I was not clear in my reception of these signals. But also that's important for the story later. Because. BECAUSE, eventually our faces got a little close and she got flustered and at THIS point I felt confidently clear. And I just smiled and asked, "what?".

"Oh, I just. We just got really close there."

"yeah, we did." just a big teasing smile, with rizz.

After more flustered, I say, "listen, I play by vampire rules. I need an explicit invitation. If there's something you want, you need to tell me clearly. Otherwise I will not push."

"well, okay WAIT, well what are YOU feeling, what do you want?"

"I really like all this cuddling. And I also think maybe kissing could be really fun, too."

She agreed. AND AAAAAHHHH.

I am still buzzing. Can you believe that there are people who actually believe that consent can't be sexy? I bratted/teased/dommed my way into sexy kissy bitey time with a lovely and cute and wonderful woman by simply DEMANDING explicit consent.

And the only thing that ever held me back in this kind of interaction has been all the bullshit expectations of how I should behave as a "man", and now that I accept myself as non-binary, I just have to be ME, and that's enough. I don't need to put on a masking performance in order to start a physical or romantic relationship. If something happens, dope. If not, now I'm friends with yet another amazing and talented and beautiful woman. Woe is me, all of my friends are dope as fuck. How will I ever cope. (that's sarcasm).

Anyways, this was a big firehouse of feelings. Idk if any of it makes any sense. It's nearly 2am (she stayed until we noticed it was midnight and we have work in the morning) and I'm exhausted, so maybe I can't keep a train of thought.

But the fact that my dumbass autistic self was SO GENUINELY STOKED for craft time with friends, and then, only then when I have zero expectations, does such a magically wonderful experience happen.

[princesse-lucrece]

That old saying that those who become teachers are the one who failed at their craft has always felt really upsetting for me. I deal with this fairly regularly as a music student, when talking to non-musicians about my career.

It responds to a very predjudiced point of view that people have about artists in general. People who don't do art, who don't choose art as a career think that when you do, the only way to make it is to become a celebrity. However that couldn't be further away from the truth. If you're Taylor Swift, you're a musician, if you're a local cover band, you're a musician, if you're a cocktail pianist, you're a musician, if you're a music nerd who has transcribed hundreds of Charlie Parker solos alone in your room and never showed it to anyone, you're a musician, and if you're a teacher, of course you are a musician, and maybe the most important of all because without you, there would be no musicians.

The goal of a job is to make money. The goal of an artist is to make art. If you don't make a lot of money, or even no money at all with your art, this has absolutely no connection to the value of your art itself. You don't become a musician because you want to "make it", you become one by playing music.

In the conservatory, I deal with people who teach their passion every day, and the best teachers I ever had were the ones that didn't "make it". Meaning, of course they are all incredible musicians, but the ones who didn't get to a certain level of fame are the ones who put so much dedication and care into their pedagogy that they make the experience in school so incredible and formative for us. I have had some "famous" teachers too, amazing musicians as well, but as teachers, they were far from the best and with them, I always felt a sort of disconnect .

Some years ago, when I was looking for myself and didn't know that music was possible for me, I spent a year in drama school. The acting was fun but what really spoke to me was the writing, as it was one of my unspoken hobbies.

Our improv teacher started a project of writing a collective play based on a series of improvisations. We each did our individual parts, and after reading my contribution and hearing my input in class, he decided the confide in me the task of rewrite everyone's bits and to put together the whole thing. It was the first time I openly showed my writing to anyone, and the first time someone believed in me, and encouraged me about it. I felt no longer pretentious for calling myself a writer, nor did I feel like a fool anymore for writing and studying narration on my own time.

After the project was done, I gathered the courage to talk to him about my personal works and, embarrassed, I ended my sentence by calling them "probably silly and uninteresting". He answered something that has always stuck with me, whichever art I practice :

"We're seven billion on this earth. Would be pretty narcissistic to think that something that interests you can't interest anyone else."

Now whenever I hesitate to share my heart, this memory always apeases my wavering.

To all the teachers, the artists, and the art enthusiasts, thank you for choosing to dedicate your life to your passion. The world needs people who choose this path, whichever direction it may take.

Those Who Can't

I've always loved writing, but for a long time thought it was pretentious to call myself a writer. What if someone asked to see what I'm writing? What if they didn't like it? That would make me a terrible writer, I thought, one of those people who go around thinking they're great while everyone is secretly laughing at them.

But I walk in the park every day, and I see people who walk there, too. We're all walkers, even the guy who brings his oxygen tank with him every day, even the woman who sits down to smoke a cigarette before she finishes her walk. The young parents pushing strollers, the women in hijab, the elderly lady who has her hair "done" each week and wears jewellery while she does her doctor-prescribed exercise, the people who are overweight or all lean muscle and bone, the people looking for Pokemon, the business suits walking during their lunch hour. All walking, all walkers.

If you walk, you're a walker. If you write, you're a writer.

It's said that those who can't do something become teachers. As a teacher, I resent the implication that we have all failed at something and now pretend to instruct others how not to fail. But it's true in the sense that we are all learners, never finished learning, and no one knows this better than a teacher. Every day I learn just how much I don't know.

Years ago I was walking down the hall of my school, heading for the copy machine, three minutes from the next bell, and an administrator stopped me.

"Would you like to teach creative writing?" she asked. "We need more elective courses next year."

At the time I was teaching three Latin classes and two freshman English classes. Did I really need another prep?

Could I even do this? Why me? What made me more qualified than the other people in my department? How would I teach it? What would the course description say? Who would take the class?

"Yes," I said.

When I started teaching it in the fall, I didn't have answers to all my questions, but I had a plan. The most frustrating thing, I learned, was teaching people who hadn't signed up for it, and just needed a course to fill a hole in their schedule. I thought writing was easy-- and fun! We could all have a good time here, because it was just about self-growth and imagination.

I learned was that I was not the expert. My students might be terrible writers, might hate every moment of journaling and writing exercises and prompts, but they had ideas, too. They were just too used to thinking their ideas were shit, that creativity wasn't worth anything, that the things that mattered were the things that could get them a good job.

My job, it turns out, was coaxing them to open up and explore ideas, to think divergently, to regard storytelling as more than entertainment. Stories matter; how we tell them makes a difference. I was not an expert. I read a lot and wrote stories for fun. And I became my first pupil.

Nearly everything I learned about writing, I got from teaching it. And I haven't yet reached the point where I felt entitled to call myself a writer. I still sort of cringe when I confess to someone that I write. But I keep writing.

"No writing is a waste of time – no creative work where the feelings, the imagination, the intelligence must work. With every sentence you write, you have learned something. It has done you good. Don't always be appraising yourself, wondering if you are better or worse than other writers." -- Brenda Ueland, If You Want to Write

[whimsicaldragonette]

ARC Review: Never Been Kissed by Timothy Janovsky

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Publication Date: May 3, 2022

Synopsis:

Dear (never-been-quite-over-you) Crush, It's been a few years since we were together, but I can't stop thinking about the time we almost... Wren Roland has never been kissed, but he wants that movie-perfect ending more than anything. Feeling nostalgic on the eve of his birthday, he sends emails to all the boys he (ahem) loved before he came out. Morning brings the inevitable Oh God What Did I Do?, but he brushes that panic aside. Why stress about it? None of his could-have-beens are actually going to read the emails, much less respond. Right? Enter Derick Haverford, Wren's #1 pre-coming-out-crush and his drive-in theater's new social media intern. Everyone claims he's coasting on cinematic good looks and his father's connections, but Wren has always known there's much more to Derick than meets the eye. Too bad he doesn't feel the same way about the infamous almost-kiss that once rocked Wren's world. Whatever. Wren's no longer a closeted teenager; he can survive this. But as their hazy summer becomes consumed with a special project that may just save the struggling drive-in for good, Wren and Derick are drawn ever-closer...and maybe, finally, Wren's dream of a perfect-kiss-before-the-credits is within reach. A feel-good summer LGBTQIA+ New Adult RomCom, perfect for fans of Red White & Royal Blue, Boyfriend Material, and What If It's Us.

My Rating: ★★★★★

*My Review below the cut.

My Review:

This was suuuuuuper cute. Wren does come across as very young at first, but as the story settled into its groove I felt like his reactions and thought processes were actually very accurate for a 22-year old. He starts the novel fairly immature and at loose ends, but through the course of the story he gains confidence in himself. This is helped along by his managerial position at Wiley's Drive-in (where he has to find the line between working with his friends and being responsible for his friends' mistakes), his blossoming friendship with reclusive former film star and director Alice Walker, and his rekindled friendship and burgeoning relationship with his high-school crush Derick.

What begins as a terrible drunk decision - sending emails to all his former crushes and almost-kisses - ends up with a real chance at happiness.

Wren's friends are adorably quirky - sometimes a little too much so - and sweet. Reading the scenes of them together took me back to my college friendships. Derick is a bit of a mystery for pretty much the entire book and I think it could have benefited from some Derick POV chapters. The mystery does add drama and move the plot along in places, however, so I can understand why the author chose to do it this way. I also really appreciated how many of the characters were LGBT+ and how matter-of-fact it all was. There was a little bit of drama between Derick and his family but it wasn't too much and didn't detract from the sense of queer joy that develops throughout the book.

I listened to the audiobook version of this and really like the way the narrator chose to read it. His voices for all the characters were easy to tell apart and fit the characters very well.

I was fully invested in the story from beginning to end, and came away with a lot of nostalgia and also a real appreciation for how the author handled the story.

Also! It was SO nice to see demisexual rep in this story! Ace rep of any kind is hard to come by in fiction, and demisexual rep even more so. It was also explained really well without taking the reader out of the story and really fit Wren's character and experiences. As someone who is demi, I really appreciated the rep. It made me feel that much more connected to the story and more sympathetic to Wren. Especially when he decides that "queer" is how he's going to identify, with the knowledge that he's also gay and demisexual. It was very relatable. Society doesn't know how to handle asexuality for some strange reason, and it can feel very alienating.

The best parts of the story, hands down, were the scenes with Alice Kelly, reclusive film star and brilliant director - and cantankerous old lady. She really came to life in my imagination and quickly became my favorite character. The way Wren approached his friendship with her, slowly drawing her out while making sure she is always comfortable with what is happening, was wonderful to see.

I loved her story that was slowly revealed even more than Wren's and Derick's tbh. I would definitely read a book about her life. I'm glad she became such an important character and her story interwoven so thoroughly with Wren's and Wiley's Drive-in.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing an e-arc for review.

[high-functioning-lokipath]

Strange Times - Dr. Steven Strange x Reader - Words: 2,225

A/N: Hope you enjoy it! Sorry if Dr. Strange is a bit OOC because I'm not SUPER experienced with his character but I wanted to give him a shot! Hope you like my other fandom references 😜 Let me know if you pick up on them!

"Y/N," Hawkeye said, walking up to you. "You've got a mission." Your eyebrows raised dramatically as you lifted your gaze from the bowl of cereal you were currently consuming. 

"Me?" You asked mid-chew. Clint rolled his eyes at your manners, or lack thereof, but nodded. 

"You're ready," He assured you. Him, along with the other Avengers, had been training you now for the past few months. While your control over your power had greatly improved, you still weren't completely confident in yourself. "All it involves is catching a guy who'd been working in Research and Development on one of Stark's projects. He apparently decided he could get more money if he stole it and sold it to the other side so we need to catch him before the deal goes through. He should be landing in Madrid now. The deal is set for tomorrow morning. You have until then."

"Okay," You said slowly. "I guess I'll get ready then?" 

"Yep!" He chirped, grinning brightly. You grumbled about the lack of prep time and stalked away trying to hide your nerves. You got dressed and left in record time. The small jet you'd been assigned for your mission had the location pre-entered, thanks again to Hawkeye, so you reviewed the file during the flight. 

"Great!" You groaned, going off on a rant to yourself as you kept reading. "He's stolen an unstable prototype of a personal time travel device! How was this guy not checked out before? Matt Smith doesn't sound suspicious at all!" The computer on the jet beeped at you and you saw that you were approaching the landing site. Quickly putting the file away, you prepared for the inevitable confrontation. Once you landed you carefully made your way to the small hotel Smith was supposedly staying in for the night. Your first obstacle, of course, was persuading the clerk to let you look at the guest list. Once you did, however, you quickly snuck up to his room on the 3rd floor and went in.

"Well well well," You heard someone say once the door closed behind you. You whipped around and saw a shadowy figure in the corner. "I mustn't have made a very strong impression if the Avengers sent me fresh meat. Poor girl. You have no idea what you're up against do you?" He flicked a light on and you saw the prototype in his hand. 

"You're right. I don't. But neither do you," You retorted. Concentrating on the barriers of the room, you lifted the gravity in it while keeping yourself grounded. "You have no idea what I'm capable of," You smirked. "So why don't we make this easier on the both of us and you hand it over now?"

"Well, you make a good argument. But how about no?" He smirked back. You felt a click around your wrists and were suddenly pulled back against the wall. "I have heard of you, my dear," He sneered. "So I was well prepared for any of you." As he revealed the small propulsion device he was wearing, he started gliding towards you, no longer affected by the lack of gravity in the room. "I don't really want to hurt you," he said. "I just want you to watch as everything you've ever known is destroyed!" As he continued monologuing, you noticed orange sparks appearing behind him. At first you thought he was activating the device. But moments later, the sparks turned into a circular portal and a tall man with a red cape stepped through. 

"Hand over the proto-whoa!" He yelled as he was inadvertently affected by your gravity manipulation when he entered the room. His cape though seemed to react and started flapping, pushing him back towards the ground. "As I was saying," He said, clearing his throat and trying to regain his dignity. "Hand it over." 

"Why should I, Strange? Of what use is it to you?"

"Doctor Strange!" You thought. "That's who he is!" You'd heard of him before but had never met or seen him. While you did wonder why he was there, you were awfully glad for the help. 

"I was bored and needed some entertainment," He shrugged. "Now if you don't mind, I'll be taking that now." Strange reached out to grab the device out of the man's hand but you noticed Smith was going to try to fly away. You quickly adjusted the gravity again, keeping everyone on the ground. 

"Hey!" Smith yelled. "That's not nice!" You rolled your eyes and Strange easily snatched the device from him. Smith struggled to reach for it but Strange smirked. 

"Be a dear?" He said to, apparently, his cape. The cape flew off his back and curled it's one corner around the device. It then hovered up near the ceiling, out of reach. 

"So that's why Stark said his costume was creepy," You thought, chuckling lightly. Strange glanced at you oddly but didn't address it. 

"Could you-" He trailed off, motioning slightly around him.

"Oh! Sure!" You replied quickly, letting the gravity return to normal. Smith immediately tried to get away but Strange pulled out an odd glowy rope and whipped it around him effectively restraining him for the moment. 

"Not so fast," He said to the man. Turning to you he motioned for you to come closer. He made short work of the cuffs on your wrists before transferring them to Smith' own hands. "Ok, off you go," He said, opening a portal in front of the man. He unceremoniously shoved him through and closed it behind him. "He'll be taken care of," Strange said to you, motioning for the cape to return to him. He then handed the prototype back to you.

"Thanks," You mumbled, feeling quite silly that you couldn't handle the mission on your own. "Why did you come here anyways? Did Stark or one of the others send you?"

"No, I came on my own. You see, I keep a watch list of individuals and beings from all realms that may be a threat to this world. When Mr. Matt Smith there stole that device, he jumped to the top."

"Oh," You said. "Well, I suppose I'd better get back. I'll probably need to debrief and should probably train a bit more so I can handle myself better next time."

"You did fairly well for someone without much experience although you certainly need more training." You rolled your eyes at his statement. Having heard of his reputation for being snarky, however, you weren't all that fazed. "Perhaps you would like to come to the Sanctum with me? I'm quite sure we have a book that could help you." Now that surprised you. You didn't expect him to be nice at all. Maybe he's not as bad as Loki said he was. 

"So, is the Sanctum a fancy library and you're the fancy librarian?" You joked. He laughed and shook his head.

"The Sanctum is much more than that and Wong is the fancy librarian!" He grinned. He opened a portal in front of you that, apparently, led to the Sanctum. Before stepping through it, though, you remembered your own transportation.

"Oh! Actually I have a jet I came in. Can we take that back? I just know I'll be read the riot act if I leave it behind," You said.

"That would be fine," He replied. "Besides, it will give us more time to get to know each other better." A light blush rose to your cheeks as you followed the Doctor out. 

"Am I crazy or is he flirting with me?" You thought. "Crazy, definitely crazy." As you kept walking, your internal monologue also continued. "He is quite handsome though," you mused. "Kinda looks like that guy from the tv show BFF/N watches."

"Nice cape," You commented, trying to make conversation. The cape seemed to bristle at your comment and he smoothed it softly at his side. 

"It's a cloak, not a cape. And it's the Cloak of Levitation, an ancient relic." 

"Oh," You said quietly. "Sorry."

"Quite alright. It's easily confused to the untrained eye." He paused for a moment before adding, "And thank you." You smiled slightly and continued walking in silence.

"So what's your name?" He asked, once you got in the jet. 

"My name-name? Or my made-up name?"

"Both," He replied, entering the Sanctum's address into the computer. 

"Well, my name is Y/F/N, but I go by Andromeda Nova, or Nova for short."

"Not bad," He said, sitting down in one of the chairs. "So tell me about yourself, Nova." He'd taken off his cape before he sat and now it was hovering near him. 

"Alright," You said nervously. You were slightly intimidated by the more experienced superhero who suddenly seemed to be interrogating you but you went ahead with telling him your story of how you got your powers.

"So you went to the Avengers for help?"

"Yes. I had no idea how to control it and, well, everyone that I had been friends with before were afraid of me except for BFF/N." You giggled slightly and smirked. "I guess you could say you met me at a very strange time in my life." He laughed heartily at your pun and you relaxed a bit. As you continued telling him about your training with the Avengers, you decided to take off your own cape and tossed it over a nearby chair. Eventually, however, you got tired of just hearing your own voice since he kept asking you questions rather than speak himself. "Do you mind if I put on some music while we talk?" 

"Oh not at all!" He replied excitedly. You grabbed the tablet that controlled the sound system and scrolled through the library.

"Any preferences, Strange?"

"Whatever you want." You nodded and scrolled a bit more before finally hitting shuffle on one of your favorite playlists. "And, you can call me Stephen if you want." Seconds after the song started, he smirked.

"Waka Waka, Shakera, 2010." Your jaw dropped, eyebrows raising comically. "Surprised?" You nodded, speechless. "Let's try another, shall we? Computer, next song." The next song started and now it was your turn to grin. Just before he opened his mouth, you beat him to it.

"Ride, Twenty One Pilots, 2015. Computer, next song." He raised one eyebrow, impressed, before closing his eyes to concentrate on the next song. 

"Just The Way You Are, Bruno Mars, 2010," You said at the same time. He smiled widely and let the song continue for the moment. Seeing movement out of the corner of your eye, you got up to look, almost doubling over in a fit of giggles. 

"Should we be concerned?" You asked the doctor, who seemed just as shocked as you when he walked over to see what you were looking at. Apparently Cloak had gotten the dancing bug and decided your cape would make an excellent partner. 

"I have no idea," He replied, biting back a laugh. "It's been a while since he's been with another cape, so," He trailed off, both of you laughing once again. "Wait, is yours a cape or a cloak?"

"Whatever it is, he likes it!" You exclaimed, watching the odd waltz continue. Once your laughter calmed, you noticed he was staring at you. You cleared your throat and looked at him questioningly. "That, um, that's a lovely dress. A, uh, very nice color," He said quickly, stumbling over his words. 

"Uh-huh, sure," You said, sarcastically.

"Really! It is!" He cried, embarrassed that you caught him staring.

"Yeah, well, my BFF keeps saying it's the same color as Sherlock's purple shirt of-woah!" You suddenly were thrown off balance as Cloak flew over and shoved you toward Stephen, who, of course, caught you before you fell. 

"I'm so sorry," He quickly said. "Apparently he needs a reminder that, while he is the Cloak of Levitation, he's not my wingman." He said the last part in almost a hiss, directed at the offending object. Cloak shrugged and, if it had eyes, you were sure it would have rolled them. 

"It's quite alright," You assured him. Realizing you were still in his arms you blushed brightly. "Maybe I should-"

"The music's still playing," He interrupted.

"And?"

"May I have this dance?" He smirked. 

"I suppose," You sighed. "But only because I think you'll be a better partner than capey over there." Cloak, who was still nearby, reached out to whack you for your comment. Strange quickly whipped open a portal instead in front of the fabric and you heard a yell from the other side before Cloak quickly retreated and he closed it. 

"Who was that?" You asked.

"Cloak may or may not have just accidentally slapped Wong's backside." Cloak crossed what you supposed was his arms and had the audacity to look upset. You shook your head and chuckled lightly. 

"I have a strange feeling we'll get along just fine," You smiled, holding your hands out to him for your dance. He smiled back and took your hands, swaying gently to the music. 

"Only time will tell." 

In An Unidentified Location Only One Portal Away

Matt takes a look around to make sure no one is watching him. "Well, it would seem my work here is done," He said, grinning to himself. "Toodle-oo!"

Marvel (all characters) Taglist

@bartv21

@another-crazy-fangirl

@whatafuckingdumbass

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@gaitwae

[lugialagia]

A curious video

Summary : Peter is now leaving in the compound with the Avengers. One day, Tony finds the boy’s laptop open and as he was curious, he couldn’t help but to sneak around. And what he finds will not leave him indifferent.

Ship/Pairing : Starker (Tony x Peter)

Words : 2,521

TW!: smut, swearing

AN: Peter is +18. This is my first time writing smut in a fic!

It was a fairly normal day for Tony. He didn’t sleep much, stayed in his lab for most of the night to work on several projects. And when the morning came, he prepared himself a cup of coffee. Well, more like three to be honest. Better coffee than alcohol, right?  

Then, he went downstairs to the gym and started his training like any other day. Because after all, he was an Avenger, he needed to stay in shape to save the world. After an hour and half, he stopped and walked back to his bedroom to take a shower to wipe out the sweat from his body.

Now clean, Tony made his way to the lounge where the kitchen was. He needed something in his stomach after his sport. Making his way there, he grabbed something in the fridge to eat and walked toward the couch, plopping down on it and relaxing.  

That's when he noticed the open laptop on the coffee table. It was Peter's. Tony had let him stay at the compound for his studies. It was closer to MIT than May's apartment and when he needed training of improvement on his suit, Tony was right downstairs. And it was better for the man because he secretly liked the youngest male. 

Peter was cute and smart, he loved science and physics, everything interested him and Tony loved to have him around in the lab. That's how he started to develop feelings for Peter. But he never said anything about this. Peter was young and he…wasn’t. It would be weird and he would be considered like a pervert.  

As he was very curious and he liked to know what Peter was working on, he decided to be a little weasel. So he took the laptop on his lap and opened the document with all his files. Some names he recognized since they worked on it already, and some very unknown. He clicked on one file and looked at the document and the images. It was a science project for school. And it looked pretty good to be honest. Tony will let him do this alone, he didn’t need him for that, else he would have come to him already. Then Tony looked at another one. It seemed to be a sort of robot that could do some tasks for disabled people. Such a nice boy...

That’s when his eyes wandered on a file with a curious name ‘xTx’. Yeah, what a strange name. Usually, Peter was very clean with the name of his files, he liked to name them clearly because he often forgot what it was with code name. Clicking on it, the file opened to only a video, no documents. Once again, strange. Tony then decided to watch the video. What was his surprise when he saw the youngest male, naked, on his bed, fucking himself with a toy as he pumped his cock while moaning some sweet ‘sir’ from time to time. “Fuck...” Tony groaned. Oh he couldn’t help but to watch. His gaze couldn’t look at something else and he couldn’t close the video player.  

It had been quite a while since Tony wanted to see this. To see Peter naked, on his bed, with his shaft buried deep inside him. Now that he had the sight in front of his eyes, the billionaire wanted to see it in real life, to touch his smooth skin and to mark him. His cock was already half hard from just that. Fortunately for him, he was all alone in the compound this morning. So he didn’t hesitate to bury his hand into his pant and started to caress his bulge and stroke his length when he was hard enough. ‘Oh please sir, fuck me hard.’ Tony let out a low growl at that, gripping his own cock tight. “I’ll definitely fuck you hard, yes.” A mere moment after, when Peter was close, Tony didn’t expect for him to call his name. ‘Fuck- ah! Tony!’ With that, the genius came in his pants, panting, trying to collect himself and to think about what was in this video.  

Did he really heard his name falling from the boy’s lips? Yes, definitely. Did he just watch a sex tape of Peter? Oh yes. Should he tell him about it? He wasn’t sure. Peter would very much be mad. But...if the boy said his name, it was because he felt the same way? Or at least he was finding him attractive and wanted a good fuck. But who wouldn’t, honestly? Well, Tony had the whole day to think about it while working in the lab.

***  

When Peter was finally back from school, he immediately went in the lab to find Tony. “Hey Tony! You will never know what hap- what's wrong?” The boy interrupted himself when he saw Tony, arms crossed over his chest. “Am I in trouble?” he asked with a slight frown. “Depends.” Tony replied as he stood up to face Peter. “I found something really interesting this morning and I have the whole day to think about it.”  

Peter blinked a few times and grinned widely. “Did you find a way to make a spaceship?!” Tony clicked his tongue and took a step further, standing a few inches away from the boy. “No. I’m talking about you.” he said with a low voice. “M-me?” Peter started to lose his confidence. “What have I done?” he asked, backing away. Tony followed him and when Peter couldn’t go anywhere anymore, he cupped his chin firmly. “Your laptop was opened, so I looked at your project and I found a very naughty video that wasn’t a science project at all.” He purred.

Peter’s brown eyes widened and he gulped loudly. “O-oh shit...fuck I- please don’t be mad!” Tony raised a brow and grinned. “Mad? Oh sweetheart, do you really think I'd be mad for seeing you fucking that cute dildo while moaning my name?” he asked, pressing their crotch together. “Quite the contrary here.” he smirked, Peter letting out a surprised yelp when he felt Tony’s erection against him. “Maybe I do want to hear my name falling from your lips here and now, what to you say?” Tony asked with a devious grin. “Please...” Peter whispered desperately.

The next second, Tony’s lips were on his. Peter melted instantly against the man, wrapping his arms around his neck as Tony kept a hand on his jaw and the other on his waist. When the kiss deepened, the youngest let out a soft content sigh and tried to fight back Tony’s tongue, but it was already a lost battle. The genius was exploring his mouth with passion, grinding his hips against the other who was becoming hard with all the friction.  

Tony pulled away from the kiss and started to kiss and nibble at Peter's neck, leaving trail of little bruises, marking the boy's skin, marking him as his. Peter let out soft moans as the man's lips were traveling on his neck. “Please Tony...I need more.” he pleaded, his cock aching in his pants. Tony chuckled and quickly worked on Peter's pants, freeing his cock and pumping it slowly. “Take off your shirt for me.” Of course, Peter obeyed immediately.  

The young man never thought this could happen for real. It was a dream. He had dreamt about this moment since years. Even before he met Tony. He had always been a fan of his work and when he was a teenager, he often had wet dream about the man. And the crush transformed into love when he started to see him almost everyday. Of course, he didn’t say anything because he thought it would be weird. And he was still minor at that time...

“Perfect.” Tony purred. “Better in real life than on a video.” he smirked. Peter blushed and his cock was leaking on Tony's hand. “T-thank you.” Peter said shyly. “Tell me, do you often touch yourself thinking about me?” The man asked and Peter nodded eagerly. “Yeah, yeah fuck all the time.” he moaned when Tony squeezed him a bit harder. “What a dirty boy.” Tony smirked. Oh he loved this answer, of course. “Get on your knees for me, want to see my cock in your pretty mouth.” Tony said cupping the other’s jaw.  

Immediately, the youngest sank to his knees and worked on his pants, moaning appreciatively when he saw Tony’s large cock. “Like what you see, baby?” Tony asked with a smirk. Peter bit his lower lip and nodded. “Yeah.” he whispered and without wasting any more moment, wrapped his lips around the pink tip. Tony hissed at the sensation, the warm and wet lips surrounding his sensitive cock. “Yeah fuck baby, suck me good and I’ll fuck you like you always dreamt.” the man said sliding a hand into Peter’s soft hair. Loving the praise –and the promise of a good fuck- Peter pushed more of his shaft into his mouth, humming at the taste and bobbing his head at a steady pace.

Tony was enhanced by the sight, to see his cock disappearing into the boy’s mouth was something beautiful. He imagined this scene a lot of time but the reality was ten times better. “Such a good boy. Pleasing me so well.” Tony purred. “Fuck, you’re so pretty down there.” Peter looked up, his innocent brown eyes blown with lust as his tongue teased the large vein under his length. This was mind-blowing for Tony. Sure, he had a lot of sex and partners and experience, but even the simplest things done by Peter were a hundred times better. Gripping his hair tighter, Tony gave him the hint to take more into his mouth. And that’s what Peter did. He took him in the back of his throat –with a bit of struggle and gag- but he still managed to take him whole. His trainings weren’t done for nothing in the end. Because Peter trained to deep-throat his toy just in case the day would come where he would have Tony’s real cock inside his mouth.  

“Ah fuck!” Tony let out a low growl, his head tilted backward. “So good baby. Fuck- you're doing so well.” he praised, lightly bucking his hips up. Peter's cheeks were flushed and tears were prickling in his eyes as he tried not to gag or choke. He was so happy that Tony was loving what he did, that he was pleasured by his mouth and his ministrations. The mam was loving this so much that he was already feeling close. He lightly tugged on the boy's hair to pull him off. “I’m gonna cum if you don’t stop now. I'd like to, but I really want to fuck you.” he purred. Peter looked up at him with glissening eyes and lip. What a sight for the billionaire. “Lay on the couch baby boy.” Tony ordered softly.  

“Yes sir.” Peter replied, immediately standing up and getting rid of his pants and underwear. Then he walked toward the couch and laid on his back, instantly spreading his legs, one propped up on the back of the couch and the other staying in the ground. Tony observed him with dark eyes, his tongue peeking out to lick his lips. “What a beautiful sight.” he purred, watching how Peter's cock was red, leaking and needy. “Please sir, I need you. I have thought about you for so long… I want to feel you.” he pleaded softly.

Obviously, Tony couldn’t help but to comply. He wanted this so much too. Walking toward him, the man pulled off his clothes, letting them fall on the ground. There he stood, in his naked glory, in front of Peter. Tanned skin and muscles well shaped even for his age, the white scar on his chest contrasting with the rest of his skin. He was handsome. So much. And Peter was liking this a lot. Tony was even better that what he ever imagined. Tony then leaned over him, brushing their cocks together. “Are you ready to take me, baby boy?” Tony asked cupping his jaw.  

“Y-yes! Please I want it so much, sir.” Peter whined. Tony grinned and softly pressed the tip of his cock against Peter's rim. Then, he slowly pushed in, stretching his hole until he was completely buried inside of the boy. Peter's breath itched as he was being filled. Tony was bigger than his toy and he loved this so much. When he was finally relaxed, he let out the biggest moan ever, making Tony's skin shivering with excitement. “So tight baby.” the man groaned a little frown forming on his forehead. “And you're so big, sir.” Peter replied with another moan. Feeling overly confident, the older one started to move, slowly thrusting at first to get used to the feeling, he quickly improved his movement when the boy under him was letting out moans over and over again.  

Leaning down, Tony pulled Peter into a heated kissing session, plunging his tongue inside his mouth as one of his hands started to rub and pinch his nipple. Peter’s cock was throbbing hard, leaking on his stomach while Tony pounded into him, hitting his prostate. “Fuck!” Peter screamed, arching his back to put more pressure on the cock inside him. “P-please do that again! Oh fuck, that felt so good!” Tony laughed softly at that, smirking against his lips and pinching his nipple hard. “Don’t worry pretty boy, I’ll make you see stars.” He said in a deep and low voice, thrusting hard and fast into him. Peter was a moaning mess and his legs were shaking, his rim clenching around Tony and his cock ready to spill his seed.  

“Please Tony-” Peter whined, tears prickling in his eyes with the wonderful warm and intense pleasure he was feeling. Of course, Tony was on the edge too, so he gripped the boy’s cock and pumped it hard. “I want you to cum for me, baby boy. Cum and I’ll reward you with mine in your pretty ass.” he ordered in a low voice. Immediately, Peter complied and came hard on his chest, so hard that some even hit his neck, a loud moan of Tony’s name escaping his lips. At the sight, the billionaire couldn’t contain himself anymore and came hard, shooting his seed inside Peter while his teeth sank into the flesh right above his heart.

Taking a bit of time to take their breath after their mind-blowing climax, they stayed in that position, panting. After a moment, Tony gently pulled out with a light hiss and looked up at Peter. “You doing good there baby?” he asked. “Y-yeah.” Peter whispered. “It was...wow... You’re just...wow.” Honestly, he was at loss of words. “Yeah, just like you.” Tony chuckled and pecked his lips softly. “Now, next time I’ll see a porn video on your computer...I’ll use every toy I possess, on you.” he smirked. Peter laughed softly, closing his eyes as he felt tired. “Is that a threat, Tony?” he asked. “It’s a promise.” Tony replied, whispering into his ear.

[xskyll]

The BNHA x Chobits AU that no one, not even Mineta, asked for.

The ramblings of my mind under the cut. Warning, it’s loooong.

Okay, so bear in mind that I only watched four episodes of Chobits and it was probably about 14 years ago, and also I didn’t really like it, lol

-Todoroki finds Midoriya laying on some bags of trash next to a dumpster.

-First he’s like “oh no, I need an adult,” because for all his “training,” dad never actually told him what to do when he found a dead body, (this is the summer before he starts U.A., so he’s still living at home). Endeavor is away for a week, and Fuyumi doesn’t count to him (sort of an Aristocats, “she’s not [an adult,] she’s just a sister!” thing). While he’s trying to remember that the police exist, he notices this dead body has very strange ear-like things. He comes closer to investigate. There are lots of weird body types in the world, because of quirks, but these things look metal, which isn’t unheard of, but something about these ears just strike him as unnatural.

- Good news, it seems like a robot, not a dead body. The ears open easily, and there are buttons inside. A power button (that’s right CHOBITS!! It’s in the ear! My love story isn’t going to start with molestation), some USB ports, an aux port, a slot for a microchip or SIM card or whatever, some sort of safety switch (he flips that on)…what really convinces him this is totally a robot are the blutooth and volume buttons (that’s right, Midoriya in this au can charge phones AND he’s a speaker, although the volume buttons’ primary function is to control the volume of his voice).

- He has no good reason for taking this thing home. It weights a ton, it’s awkwardly naked, except for some bandages wrapped around it, which do nothing to hide how anatomically correct this robot is, and he already has a phone charger, so he really has no use for it. 

- He feels weird about it though. While he was checking out the ears, he touched its face and the skin was soft and warm. He checked for a pulse, just out of curiosity, and found one. It looks like a person, aside from the ears, and it feels like a person. He feels bad leaving it in the trash. So he takes it home.

- Cue comedy routine where he gets this thing, not just in the house, but to his room without Fuyumi noticing.

- Once in his room, he hits the power switch. Nothing happens. He holds the power switch. Bingo. Robo-boy powers to life, bright, adorably large green eyes open. He’s holding it in his arms, and it’s still all tied up. It looks up at him and says hello.

- He drops it.

- He apologizes as he picks it back up, tugging at the wrappings to try to get its arms free. He realizes he needs to get pants, or at least boxers, for it, because it’s awake now and very much naked.

- For the very first time, he realizes that this adorable, thin-yet-lean-muscled, between 14-16 looking robo-boy might have been someone’s weird sex doll. They probably threw it away because they found a real person to date and they didn’t want them to know about their underage sex robot. This also sort of explains the pulse; the mystery pervert person probably programmed a fake pulse and did something to make his skin warm, to make him feel more real. Gross.

- He’s broken from these thoughts when the robot speaks. It says, “Please insert memory bank files or turn on base memory.” Todoroki is already freaking out, because this thing wants its memories, and he doesn’t have them. He opens the ear again and investigates. Next to the empty slot, there’s a small button labeled BM. Base memory? Sure, why not. He pushes it.

- The robot goes blank faced for a few seconds. When he comes to, he looks at Todoroki, then the room, then down at himself. He flexes his arms, trying to break the bands around him, but stops, saying, “Safety mode is on.”

- Todoroki finishes helping unwrap him, awkwardly doing so while pointedly looking away, once he gets to his lower half. Once he’s free, he goes and gets a pair of boxers and throws them in his direction. “Can you put them on?” He’s curious if the robot can do something like that unaided, and also he doesn’t want to cloth it himself, because even though this is a robot, it looks like a very cute boy his age. And it has a pulse. He can’t stop thinking about that.

- The robot puts on the boxers, after inspecting them for a second. He honestly does struggle to figure it out for a moment, cause he has zero common sense, but he does figure it out. It probably takes him about a minute. Once they’re on, he stands and starts inspecting the room.

- “Do you have a name?” seems like a dumb question, but he asks anyway and the robot answers, “I’m Project Midoriya.”

- Background info time. Midoriya is not fully a robot. He was kidnapped just seven months ago, coming home from school. It was the day of the sludge villain attack, but he got nabbed before they could cross paths. AFO wanted a quirkless person to experiment on. He did his research and found Midoriya Izuku, a quirkless boy with no friends and little family, who wouldn’t be missed very much. He’s confident enough that he won’t get caught that he titles his new project by its name: Midoriya. Midoriya’s memories are still in his mind, but they’re suppressed. AFO found it easier to backup his memories to a chip, so he could remove them as needed. When they were installed, Midoriya responded best to his own name anyway, so calling him that was also the easiest thing. Without his memories, AFO found him a bit annoying, because he had no social skills or common sense. He needed to be taught, which he didn’t have the patience for, so usually he just left the memories in. He was a timid boy anyway and easy to intimidate, especially if he threaten to hurt his mom.

- The cops figure his disappearance was maybe a runaway situation, but given his track record and the profile on him they’d compiled from listening to his mom, classmates, and teachers, they figure it’s more likely a kidnapping or murder. Fun fact though, he got kidnapped the day Bakugou told him to kill himself. Obviously no body is found, but he knows people go to forests to hang themselves, or put weights in their pockets and drown themselves. Those bodies can take years to find. So while all of this is happening, Bakugou is out there just every day, “what have I done, what have I done, what have I done?” When they finally see each other again, Bakugou freaks out and Midoriya’s suppressed memories are triggered. Bakugou demands answers, Todoroki is confused and defensive, and Midoriya is just, “System overload. Shutting down,” and then face plants to the floor.

- Anyway, back to Shouto. He asks Midoriya if he remembers anything. Midoriya has exactly one memory (or at least, one easily accessible memory), and it’s this: “A man. He looked like this.” He put his hand over his face. “He said, ‘Sensei put so much work into you. Why are you so useless (Deku)?’”

- More bg info, AFO gave Midoriya to Shigaraki, telling him to try to make him useful, and Shigaraki DID try for a couple of months, but he was over the whole situation after basically one day. With his memories, Midoriya was scared and traumatized, had morals, cried a bunch and sometimes tried to escape, and was just UGH. He could mute his voice, but even that didn’t help, cause this kid was just sooo annoying. Without his memories he was awkward and boring and still annoying. Eventually he just yeeted him into a trash heap, but took his memory chip, since it technically contains LoV information.

- Midoriya considers his only memory and thinks being called Deku feels sort of normal, so he says as much. “Deku might also be my name. You can call me that, if you want.” Todoroki says he’ll stick with Midoriya, because Deku isn’t a nice name for his new robot friend.

- So the first section of the story after this is fairly light-hearted. Todoroki has to keep Midoriya a secret from Endeavor and Fuyumi (I feel like she does find out eventually, but agrees to help hide him, as she sees it’s good for her little bro to finally have this (maybe?) living thing/person to talk to and take care of.) Speaking of care, Midoriya is very easy to care for. He can eat, drink, and sleep, but doesn’t need to. He has some sort of self-charging system. Most of his “care” involves teaching him social skills (which oof, blind leading the blind, but they say teaching is the best way to learn, so this is actually good for Shouto too). Embarrassing stuff happens. Fluffy stuff happens. It’s a good time.

- Shouto spends the summer with Midoriya this way. Most of their interactions are fluffy and light, but not all. The first time he comes back to his room after training with his dad, he learns two things: Midoriya has first aid knowledge programmed into him and he’s capable of crying. As the trainings continue, Midoriya eventually reveals that he has over a hundred fighting styles programmed into him and knows over 70 ways to kill a person, but he can’t access any of that information while his safety is on. Todoroki is just like, “Uuuuuh, that’s really good to know…but we’re gonna keep the safety on for now, okay? I hate my dad but also please don’t murder him. He’s famous so we wouldn’t get away with it. Also murder is bad, don’t kill people.”

- Midoriya wants to know if all heroes are like Endeavor and Shouto is like, noooo and shows him the debut video of his personal favorite hero: All Might. Watching this video is the first time Midoriya has a “System overloading. Shutting down” moment. Shouto has an absolute panic attack, because if Midoriya reboots and his memories are wiped, then he’ll have lost the best friend he ever had. But Midoriya restarts and he’s fine. He explains that sometimes he shuts down, to prevent a system failure, which would damage his…idk, hard drive or whatever. He quietly admits that the All Might video is very familiar, and he thinks maybe it used to be important to him. Shouto questions him about his memories and Midoriya theorizes that perhaps he has them backed up, but he isn’t sure how to access them. 

- This is exciting for Shouto, because he thinks maybe if Midoriya experiences more “triggers,” like the video, he might regain his memories and be able to shed some light on the general mystery of where he came from/who made him/what his purpose is. Whenever Endeavor is away, he tries to sneak Midoriya out, so he can see the real world. He isn’t too concerned about his ears, because in a world of quirks, there are plenty of odd looking people around. So far he’s been wearing Todoroki’s clothes, which a little too big on him, so they go shopping and get him clothes. None of their outings seem to trigger anything, except one time when they pass a park where Midoriya and Bakugou used to play as kids. Midoriya grows quiet and seems far away for a moment, but he doesn’t overload and shakes off the familiar feeling.

- Whenever they see All Might stuff he’s just !!!!!!! He can’t remember why he likes All Might, but he remembers how he feels about him. The more All Might stuff he sees, the more his old feelings return. One day they pass a large All Might poster and Midoriya says, “I think maybe I wanted to be like him, once.”

- Eventually Todoroki starts school. He feels bad about leaving him, but Midoriya is content to stay in his room and occupy himself until Todoroki comes home. He’s part computer, so he’s a total boss at helping with math homework. He likes doing homework with Todoroki in general, because he likes learning. This is great for Todoroki’s grades because again, the teaching thing helps everything stick better for him. 

- The attack on USJ happens and Todoroki sees Shigaraki, who has a hand on his face, and he’s like, “Shit, shit, shit, this is the guy who threw away Midoriya,” and he has NO idea what to do with that information. Midoriya belonging to the LoV does explain the “70+ ways to kill” programming though. He tells Midoriya what happened and Midoriya is kind of whatever about it. He says, “Maybe I belonged to villains, but I belong to you, now.” And Shouto is like, “No, no, no, no. You do not. You belong to yourself” and Midoriya is just ????

- I think for the Sports Festival, Midoriya convinces him to use his fire. It’s sort of like, “It’s your power, even though its origin is Endeavor. Just like how everything I can do is my power, even though I was programmed by villains. Being made by villains doesn’t make me a villain. Using the resources they gave me doesn’t make me a villain. Being Endeavor’s son doesn’t make you Endeavor, and using your fire doesn’t either.” Todoroki turns off Midoriya’s safety, confident he has nothing to fear.

- Midoriya watches the Sports Festival on tv (using his blutooth, he can actually just hear the volume in his head, so he can watch silently). He sees Bakugou. Seeing him on screen doesn’t have a huge impact on him, but he does feel something. Fear, unease, admiration, and affection. He’s confused and uncomfortable, and ends up looking away from the screen whenever he’s shown for too long.

- Shouto actually starts making friends at school. Being with Midoriya has taught him a lot about being kind and the joy having other people in your life can bring. Still, he doesn’t trust anyone enough to tell them about Midoriya. He’s terrified of losing him.

- For the Hosu incident, Midoriya is home alone, probably doing something on Shouto’s laptop. He sees the breaking news and is just, “Welp, that’s where Shouto, the official best person in the world, is, so guess I’m going to Hosu to make sure he’s safe.” He leaves the house alone, for the first time ever, and just runs to Hosu. Idk how far away Hosu is from the Todoroki residence, but Midoriya doesn’t fatigue and he’s also outrageously fast, so it’s fine. Also he can see in the dark, but only if he activates his night vision, which makes his eyes glow. Not good for sneaking, but very pretty and cool. I’m not sure how he finds Shouto, or how Shouto found Iida, but I imagine Stain is like, seconds from skewering him and then Midoriya comes out of nowhere and collides with Stain (which is a big deal, cause remember, Midoriya is filled with metal parts and is super heavy). They fight together and at some point Stain cuts Midoriya and he bleeds, which for Shouto is like !?!??! And then he licks his blood and the paralysis works and Shouto is just !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- Later, after the life threatening stuff is over, Todoroki has some seriously thoughts about this, because what if Midoriya is human? Or part human? That would be a huge development, and also kind of relief for him, because he sort of feels like he’s been falling in love, but he’s been desperately stomping down on those feelings, because he knows falling in love with a robot probably isn’t healthy. But falling in love with a half robot? I mean, Iida could be called part robot, with his legs, if you want to get technical about it. And Todoroki does want to get technical about it, thank you very much. If Iida is dateable, then so is Midoriya.

- Back to Hosu. They beat Stain and, after securing him, Todoroki tells Midoriya to go home, before his dad arrives. Once he leaves, he begs Iida not to tell anyone he saw him and promises to explain later. For ease of narrative, Native was unconscious the entire fight.

- Endeavor shows up, as does the Nomu. It takes Shouto but Stain rescues him. At the hospital, Todoroki explains the Midoriya situation to Iida, revealing that this incident was the first time he realized Midoriya had blood in him. Iida agrees to keep the secret, but urges Todoroki to tell someone. Maybe Aizawa. He agrees to consider, but he doesn’t want Midoriya to get taken away and like, locked up to be studied or something. He and Iida become better friends, bonding over almost dying together and sharing the secret of Midoriya. 

- Midterms! Shouto scores higher because he has an awesome robot tutor. He doesn’t actually care, but good for him regardless.

- Summer field trip time. Midoriya can’t come, obviously. I’m thinking during this time, he decides to sneak out of the house and explore on his own. He feels guilty, because Shouto would worry if he knew, but he just feels this draw. He feels like maybe his old memories were important, and he’s becoming curious. He keeps thinking about the boy from the Sports Festival and about All Might. He ends up in his old neighborhood. He sees his middle school and he doesn’t remember anything, but seeing the building makes him feel lonely and sort of bad about himself. It reminds him of Shigaraki calling him Deku, and the familiar feeling that gave him. He leaves and finds himself on his old street. He isn’t close at all to his old home - he can barely see the apartment building - but he can still see it. He almost shuts down, but turns away quickly and starts back the way he came. He doesn’t remember anything, but seeing that building fills him with overwhelming emotions. The strongest one reminds him of his feelings for Shouto, but it’s different. He can’t place it, but he knows he’d die to protect Shouto, and he feels like maybe he once knew someone in that building that he would also die to protect. Once he gets home, he realizes he’s crying. He decides to sleep and he dreams of green eyes and a smile that looks like home.

- Shouto is injured during the villain attack and goes to the hospital. Once he’s released, he agrees with Kirishima that they’ll go rescue Bakugou. That whole thing pretty much goes at it did in canon, except All Might never found a successor, so he’s more powerful. He defeats AFO and does not have to retire, though he’s feeling an overwhelming pressure to find a successor now, because he knows he’s hanging on by a thread.

- Dorms!! Shouto is bringing his boy with him. He figures he can hide him just as easily there as he can at home. Getting him in is a little tricky, but he manages. From there, it’s smooth sailing.

- Except not really, because living with 18-19 other people (19 if Hitoshi is in the class, which, maybe) is way different than living with 2. Midoriya is discovered in like, a week and everyone is freaking out, most of all Bakugou, who basically breaks down. He tries to hit Midoriya and screams at him, about thinking he was dead and going to his funeral and how it was his fault and having to face his mom and did Midoriya even think about his mom??? As previously mentioned, Midoriya just shuts down and face plants to the ground.

- Shouto finally learns Midoriya’s full name. Midoriya Izuku. A+ name. Very cute. He plans to use it immediately.

- Bakugou’s insight changes the situation completely. Now they know Izuku was once 100% human and something awful happened to him. They end up bringing him to Aizawa and explaining the situation and everything they know. Todoroki gets scolded, cause Izuku could have been dangerous and he should have known better, but he doesn’t even pretend to have regrets. Endeavor would have made him throw Izuku back into the trash where he found him. His best friend isn’t trash.

- Now the name of the game is helping Izuku restore his memories. Bakugou is a huge help, but patience is required, to keep Izuku from overloading. He remembers bits and pieces at a time, all centered around Bakugou. Aizawa agrees to let him attend classes, so they can keep an eye on him. He’s also hoping a school setting might trigger more memories. He meets All Might and he doesn’t even get to announce his system malfunction before he’s out. He sees him, starts smoking at the mouth and hits the floor. All Might is very alarmed.

- Tsukauchi is made aware of the situation. He wants to keep things under wraps though. If the LoV is aware Midoriya is out and about, they may target him. If they can restore his memories though, they may gain insight into the group’s plans. That being said, he thinks it’s only right that they tell Inko. They tell her they have information on her son and make her sign a contract, agreeing not to release any information. Once she agrees, they brief her on what they know and, at the end, bring in Izuku.

- Izuku has been talking with Bakugou about his mom, to prepare for this (he usually wants Shouto with him for these conversations, and Shouto and Bakugou sort on inadvertently become friends). He can’t remember her at all, but he remembers the face in his dream. He knows it’s her. While talking, he’s shut down a few times (which drives Bakugou up the wall, and also scares him a little, cause he kind of looks dead when it happens), but he thinks he might be ready to see her now. He’s brought in and he does not shut down, not fully, but he comes close. He definitely glitches a little, maybe doing a quick reboot, quick enough that he doesn’t even fall, and his voice comes out cracked and metallic when he speaks, and there are sparks in his mouth, but he manages, “Mom?” They both cry and she holds him while he tells her, voice wavering between sounding normal and sounding robotic, that he doesn’t remember her, but he loves her, he knows he loves her so so much and he knows he’s missed her, even though he didn’t know who she was. It’s very emotional, and extremely hard for both of them when they finally have to separate, because Izuku can’t go home with her. She’s allowed to visit though, and each visit helps him restore little pieces of his memory. Between her and Bakugou, he starts making enough progress that he stops shutting down when he gains a new memory, and he starts remembering his old hopes and dreams. He doesn’t remember what AFO did to him, but he remembers enough of his past to feel self-conscious now, about his body. He breaks down one day and Shouto holds him while he grapples with his identity, his humanity, and his future. 

- I’m picturing a scene where he’s crying and Shouto takes his face in his hands and explains all the beautiful things about him that make him human, and he finishes up with something corny like, “I know you, Izuku. You’re human. You have to be human, because I’m in love with you.” And then they KISS and it is ROMANTIC!

- He decides he still wants to be a hero and he becomes a real member of 1A, instead of just a visitor. The whole class helps him design a costume and come up with a name and in general are just like, “Cyborg Hero, yay!!”

- And that’s all I got. I think eventually he would fight the league, and probably retrieve his chip, giving him 100% of his memories. There’s a LOT of trauma to deal with there, because he was basically torn apart and put back together several times by AFO, but they do gain all the information they need to take down the LoV for good. And the Overhaul arc is in there. Izuku might still intern with Nighteye, because All Might is like, “Robot successor? Maybe???” and he wants Nighteye’s opinion. Nighteye can’t see his future, because he’s not fully human, but eventually he gives his stamp of approval. Eri is rescued and that’s a very personal fight for Izuku, because he identifies with what she’s gone through. And of course she loves him and thinks his ears are cute and his glowy eyes are pretty.

- Oh, and the School Festival. I honestly don’t even know what to do with him. He can learn any instrument just by like, downloading some YouTube tutorial videos. He can learn any dance by watching it once. He’s really strong, really fast, and can also operate as a speaker (though that can be awkward, cause it’s through his mouth, so he’d just be standing there with his mouth open). They might keep his role same as canon, idk. They’d probably all fight over him.

- I’m sure none of this was anything like Chobits. Sorry. I just think the ears are neat, really, and liked the idea of Izuku being a cyborg (Chobits isn’t even about cyborgs, lol).

Sorry this is outrageously long! If you want to write this into a full fic, feel free to use my ideas! Just give me a shoutout, maybe? And tell me about it, so I can read it!

[sarainstuff]

A lucky meeting

Jack the Leerie x Reader

A casual meeting in a dark street with a charming lamplighter makes the reader question everything she knew and will help her broken heart to heal and love again.

Hello hello hello, here it is the first chapter of a new story involving our favorite leerie. I honestly have no idea of when the second chapter will come out and this chapter also ends in a sort of "cliffhanger", nothing too big in my opinion but if you want closure then I guess this isn't the right time.

I hope you'll enjoy it!

TRIGGER WARNING: AT THE VERY BEGINNING THERE IS A DESCRIPTION OF A WOMAN BEIGN CHASED BY A MAN, IT'S LITERALLY A COUPLE LINES LONG

Read it on AO3

The echo of your shoes on the paved road and your raggedy breath were the only sounds on the empty dark street. Your lungs were on fire for the long run and your eyes were filled with tears for the fatigue, but you couldn’t stop yet, you weren't safe yet.

You turned around to see if the man chasing you was still there, that was when you tripped and banged your chin on the unforgiving pavement. You had to get back up, you had to run again or it would have been the end of you, but you just couldn’t convince your legs to work, so you praied that the man was far gone now, as you tried to catch your breath feeling the taste of blood in your mouth.

You felt a slight nudge on your shoulder and you froze, trying to hold your breath and pretending to be unconscious, hoping that you will be left alone.

“Miss? Are you alright miss? “

The voice you heard wasn’t the one of your chaser. It seemed kind and full of concern, but you knew better to not trust a stranger. A cover isn't a book.

After being tricked many times by apparently good men, you learnt to not trust anyone. The reason why you were laying on the ground right now was pretty eloquent on why that was a stupid idea. 

“Miss? Are you hurt?” the kind voice said, nudging on your shoulder once again. 

You gained a little bit of strength and you hoped that would have been enough to run away if the situation worsened, so you turned your head around to meet the owner of the voice. 

The man was kneeling next to you under a lamplight and the light reminded you of a halo around his head.

It took you a moment to take in the features of his face: he seemed to be fairly young, probably around his thirties, he sported a slight stubble and overall he looked as kind as his voice. You hated to admit that to yourself, but he was kind of cute. 

“Hello miss, is everything alright?” he asked tilting his head. He was definitely a stubborn man, any other person would have just walked away or taken advantage of you, but this man didn’t look like any other.

You got up on your knees, slightly hurting from your fall “Yeah, I’m alright” you said sarcastically.

The man giggled a little at your comment. He got up on his feet and handed out his hands to you “You need help getting up?”

“No thanks I can manage that myself” you said with confidence. Way too much confidence, because as soon as you stood up your legs gave out and you would have fallen again if that stranger didn’t catch you in time.

“Gotcha!” he said smiling kindly. That was a really sweet smile, you couldn’t deny it.

“Thanks” you mumbled, feeling a little annoyed about the help.

“You are welcome, miss”

“Stop calling me miss, nobody calls me like that” you sourly said. 

“Then what is your name?”

“Y/N” you mumbled

“Is a very lovely name” the stranger said.

It was weird because he said it like he really meant it and not just to be polite. You definetly haven’t met anyone like him before, but you still tried to keep up a thug appearance. 

“My name’s Jack, I’m a lamplighter” he said with a radiant smile. You knew about the lamplighters, you often saw them going around at night, they would gather up once their shift was over and share a pint or two, singing and speaking in their own weird language (to be honest, you believed they were simply too drunk to remember English), but they seemed to be a very cheerful group. 

You realized that you were still standing between Jack’s arms. You reluctantly let go, feeling all of the sudden way too much cold without him, but trying to hide it

“Thank you for your help, Jack, I think that I can handle myself now” you said, hoping that would make it true. 

Jack’s face got immediately serious. He reached out a hand towards your face and you jumped straight away, worried by his sudden motion. Could it be that you were fooled once again by the kindness of a stranger? 

Jack tried to get closer but soon realized his mistake “I’m sorry” he said “I didn’t mean to scare you, I just noticed that your chin was bleeding”. 

You touched your chin and it was, in fact, bleeding. Jack produced a clothed tissue from one of his pocket “May I? “ he asked politely. 

You went closer to him under the light. Normally you would have never trusted someone like this, but Jack had plenty of ways to hurt you and never did anything. You were still on the edge, catching any worrying signs, but you didn’t felt as scared as before “Thank you… “ you mumbled. 

“Tell me if it hurts” Jack said, tilting your head up delicately with one hand. Under the light, you could see his face better and you were struck by his deep brown eyes. They were probably the most beautiful pair of eyes you’d ever seen, it was like swimming inside warm cocoa, such a piercing yet calming gaze that made it impossible to look away. 

Jack was very delicate as he lightly tapped your chin, whenever you flinched in pain he would stroke your cheek tightly with his thumb, gently shushing you down.

You didn’t know what to do, your feelings towards this man were very conflicted: on one side you wanted to believe that, as strange as it was, Jack was actually very sweet and kind. You knew that he was already stuck in your heart and for how hard you could try, you would have never forgotten him.

But your most reasonable part was still trying to warn you to not give all of this confidence to a stranger, your experience recounted to you of all the times you had faith in someone and those people crushed it. You weren’t ready to trust anyone so quickly ever again, but could Jack be the only exception? You weren’t ready to find out.

“There you are, you are good as new” Jack said with a huge smile. You noticed that his hand lingered a second too longer on your cheek, but maybe you were just overthinking about it. You thanked him and were about to say goodbye to him, when Jack stopped you immediately “You can’t go home alone at night, it might be dangerous”. You thought about the man chasing you and realized how lucky you have been to escape him.

“So you offer to protect me from the darkness, Mr. lamplighter?” you asked sarcastically cocking an eyebrow “Don’t be offended but as far as I know, you could be a scoundrel yourself and I highly doubt you could beat someone in a fight”.

Jack snorted at your commentary “I guess that if I look as weak as you say you’ll have no problem escaping me. But I can assure you that I’m not that kind of person. Plus I have a bike, I could get you home faster” he said pointing at it.

“It looks pretty unstable to me, is that how you hurt your victim? You let them fall off your bike? “you asked. That made him laugh and you felt your insides dancing along that warm music.

You had no idea where this was going to end, but you were enjoying this little flirting and secretly hoped Jack felt the same way.

“C’mon now, nobody ever fell off my bike, I promise you” Jack said handing out his hand for you to take it.

You gladly accepted it, the thrill of the unknown running down your spine. You sat right in front of him, Jack’s arms close to yours, as he leaned over you to give himself a push and start riding.

It was nice to be held in this half embrace, you felt Jack’s warmth on your back and his breath on your neck, but most importantly, you felt safe for the very first time in a while.

“Where are we going miss?” Jack asked, his lips close to your ear. You were grateful to be looking away from him because otherwise, he would have seen you blushing.

A thought occurred into your mind: you couldn’t tell him where you lived, what if he changed his mind after he discovered the truth? What if you’d never seen him again?

“Y/N? Is everything alright?” Jack said, worried about your silence. You turned your head slightly to look at him and as he looked down at you, your lips were close. This small moment of distraction was fatal since one of the wheels of the bike ran into a branch in the middle of the street and you both fell down. 

Jack hold you tight to his chest to prevent you from hitting the ground and landed on his back with you on top of him, everything happened so fast and it took you a while to realize how inappropriate the situation was.

Jack was hissing in pain under you, he had probably hit his head, you tried to turn around but then you noticed that in the midst of the fall he grabbed you on your chest. Jack stopped his complaining and retracted his hand immediately, allowing you to roll next to him as your cheeks grew redder and he repeatedly said how sorry he was.

“Jack are you alright?” you asked as you reached for him, trying to calm him down.

“Yeah, I’m alright” He said massaging his head “Actually i think that I might be bleeding a little”. 

You turned around him and checked the back of his head, thankfully there was no trace of blood there 

“Oh Jack, I’m incredibly sorry…”

“Nothing to be sorry about,  it was my fault” he said turning his head to face you. Very closer to you, once again.

 

You were drawn by that dark pair of eyes once again but rapidly averted his gaze as you felt a slight blush appearing on your cheeks once again. You got up and offered Jack a hand to help him on his feet.

“His hands are so warm” you thought before scolding you once again. What was up with you and this handsome lamplighter, for God’s sake? 

You looked down at his bike and noticed that one of the tires was slashed. It really wasn't a lucky night for none of you two.

Jack was kneeling down to examine his bike, worry on his face. You felt so sorry for what happened, he was just trying to help you and now his bike was broken, you needed to help him and made up for it, the least you could do was offering a place to sleep.

“Look Jack” you whispered getting closer to him as he looked up at you “my house isn’t far from here, you can sleep at my place if-“

He jumped up and interrupted you “No, no, no absolutely not. Miss I can’t abuse of your kindness, it wouldn’t be fair and I-"

You took his hands and looked at him straight in the eyes “Please Jack, you can’t come back home this late and you are injured. You will get some sleep and I’ll help you fix your bike tomorrow”

You held his hands tighter and searched for his eyes in the dark “You helped me before, let me return the favor”. 

Jack looked away and untangled from your hands, you thought you saw a small blush on his cheek. Oh God if he was cute. 

“It wouldn’t be very appropriate” he said looking down at his bike "we don't really know each other..." 

You sourly smiled “That won’t be a problem…”

“What do you mean?” he said tilting his head 

You took a deep breath, ready for the worse. 

“I live in a brothel…  and I work there too”

[free-pancakes]

couldn’t sleep last night and decided to elaborate more on this prompt! thanks again for the ask, @agoldenheartedsnkfan​! i ended up changing my original answer a bit as i kept writing

it’s a bunch of levihan fluff and banter and it’s not very exciting, so you are officially forewarned lol

Summary: Levi confronts his feelings about Hange after the Sawney/Bean incident

cross-posted to ao3

“Levi, do you mind holding these for me?” Hange shoved her papers into Levi’s hands and ran back into her office. “Moblit couldn’t carry all my stuff, so this is a huge help, thanks Levi!” “Oi, four-eyes, what’s all this shit for?”

Hange ran back out of her office holding more tools and notebooks. “I’m doing some more experiments on Sawney and Bean tomorrow and I’m setting it all up! Remember, I’ll be meeting up with your squad and Eren later!”

“Hmph. Well you might as well just move your entire office out towards those damn titans, then. Carrying this stuff back and forth is a waste of time.” Hange threw her head back and laughed. “It would take ages to move my entire office out here, shorty! And THAT would be a waste of time!”

Levi rolled his eyes at her comment, and they started walking together to the tents outside the compound where the titans were held captive.

“Thanks for your help, Levi!” Hange smiled widely, and dropped half the things she was holding just to hug him, causing him to do the same.

“Oi four-eyes, we just got here and you’re already making a mess,” he muttered as he immediately started tidying up all the papers strewn across the floor. “Wow Levi, you can’t let a mess sit for even a second before you have to clean it up!” As she bent down next to him gathering the notebooks on the floor, the sweet scent of lavender reached Levi’s nose. “Yeah well good thing you started using the shampoo I bought you, because then this shit wouldn’t be the only mess on the floor I’d have to clean up.” Hange let out a small giggle, “Aw Levi, stop being so uptight! That’s why you have that permanent, constipated look on your face all the time!”

Nifa looked at Moblit. “God you were right, their weird little banter and bickering really doesn’t end, does it?”

“SHHHH NIFA they might hear you! I’d be caught dead if Levi finds out I’ve been ranting to our squad about the two of them! I’m glad Hange’s happy when Levi’s around but honestly I’d like some peace and quiet sometimes,” Moblit sighed.

Nifa whispered, “Hm, well if we said something, maybe they’d finally realize they actually do like each other, maybe they’ll stop fighting all the time!”

“Oh Nifa, with my luck, their banter will never end no matter what happens. Come on, we have a lot of work to do.”

“Ughhh fine,” Nifa said, defeated.

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

Levi stood with his arms crossed in front of Erwin’s desk. “Moblit said you wanted to see me?”

“Yes. I’m a bit, concerned about Hange. I haven’t seen her since we completed the ODM checks. I’m not entirely sure who really killed Sawney and Bean at this point, but I have some feeling that Hange is still blaming herself over it. I haven’t heard or seen her for the past couple days—I know it’s your day off, but do you think you could find her and see how she’s doing, Levi?”

“Sure.” Levi turned to walk out the door.

“And Levi?”“Yes?”

“I asked you because well…I know you’d be able to bring her spirits back up. It’s been awfully quiet without her around.”

Levi nodded, and left to find Hange.

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

Levi searched all throughout the barracks—the lab, Hange’s office, the mess hall, and all her usual spots he’d find her sitting and scribbling notes. He checked with his squad and Hange’s squad, and no one knew where Hange was.

It was getting late, and the sun began to set lazily in sky. Levi was about to leave to look through their usual hangout places in town, when he heard Nifa jogging to catch up to him. “Hey Levi! I did notice one thing—Hange’s ODM gear is missing! She must have it with her!” Levi was grateful for how observant Hange’s squad members were, because now, he knew exactly where she was. He reached out to ruffle Nifa’s hair, and headed out.

Levi scaled the wall with his ODM gear, and started walking through the path of walkway around all the supply boxes and materials stored up by the center looking post. He wandered around for a few minutes until he turned around a tall pile of supplies and saw Hange, sitting with her legs dangling off the side of the wall, holding her face in her hands. He was entranced by her appearance, tears streaming into her hands, traveling slowly down her arms. He had seen Hange cry before, mourning over dead comrades and failed experiments, but this was different. Hange was sunshine personified—a fierce fire ever present in her eyes, a person radiating energy and self-confidence every minute Levi had known her. But in that moment, it was nowhere to be found, and it made Levi feel so cold that he shivered where he stood. He woke himself out of his trance, and stepped silently towards Hange. As he got closer, he heard Hange muttering to herself—

“God, Hange. It’s all your fault, you’re such an idiot. You just keep on letting everyone down don’t you? Why can’t you just stop being so goddamn useless?”

Levi stopped at hearing those words and felt nothing but anger—“How could she even think that?” he thought to himself. He was overwhelmed with fierce feelings to protect her and wanted nothing but for her to know how important she was to the survey corps, to those 104th brats, to his squad, to their friends, and more importantly—to him. His chest swelled with emotion, overwhelming his senses. He closed his eyes, took a moment to breathe and calm himself.

He avoided dwelling on these types of feelings, but to his annoyance, he was constantly pestered with comments and questions on the nature of his relationship was with Hange. However, the more Levi let himself simmer in these thoughts, the more he realized that he couldn’t just keep denying how he truly felt. Three years was long enough.

He walked towards her until he was standing directly behind her, looking down at the top of her head, mesmerized by the purple-orange glow of the sunset illuminating the tears on her face, and her flowing locks of hair draping softly over her shoulders—he rarely ever saw it out of a ponytail. “God, even when she's sad, everything about her is still beautiful,” Levi thought.

Hange didn’t notice Levi until she suddenly felt his hands gently cupping her cheeks, which then carefully pushed her chin upwards to look at him. She was startled at first, as she thought she was alone, but she recognized it to be Levi fairly quickly. She found herself staring into Levi’s face, his bangs barely brushing the tip of her nose. She was angry at first, upset that anyone would find the scout’s section commander crying and doubting her own abilities. But as she frowned and opened her mouth to yell and project her frustrations onto him, Levi wiped away the tears on her cheeks with his thumbs and sat down next to her, his actions calming her sudden surge of anger. They made eye contact, and Hange knew exactly what was on Levi’s mind—he didn’t need to say a word.

Hange laughed, and placed her hand on Levi’s shoulder. “You always know what to say… without even saying it, don’t you Levi?”

A few moments of silenced passed.

“Hm. Well, your eyesight might be trash, but other than that, you do know you’re not useless, right?”

Hange looked down with embarrassment, surprised he had heard her talking to herself. She opened her mouth to speak in protest, but Levi gently placed his hand on her head and pulled her into his gaze. “I don’t want to hear any of that nonsense ever again, Hange. Focus on what lies ahead, and I’ll be right here by your side to hold your shit, or whatever you need. Okay?”

Hange’s eyes widened. Levi might not be great with words, but Hange was always good at “translating” for him, or at least understanding what he really meant. “Levi, are you saying… what I think you’re saying?”

Levi was at a loss for words, and beads of sweat instantly started forming on the side of his brow. Hange noticed this immediately and laughed so hard that tears started welling up around her eyes. “Oi four-eyes, this isn’t funny!” Hange kept laughing and laid her head on his shoulder. It took all of Levi’s energy to suppress a smile—he hated to admit it, but her laughter was contagious. “Hange I’m serious, okay? I—“

“I love you too, yknow?” Hange whispered.

Levi’s expression softened at her response. Minutes passed before either of them could say anything. They sat, dwelling on the words they just exchanged, staring out to the vast land in front of them, the last rays of sun peaking over the horizon.

“…How long have you known?” Levi asked curiously.

“Well Nanaba really just pulled me aside the last time we all went drinking about a few months ago, and pushed me in the right direction, I guess. It’s funny, in retrospect, I think the moment I knew that you might be a little more than just my best friend was—“

“At the Sina military ball 3 years ago,” Levi and Hange echoed simultaneously.

“W-wait, you started having feelings for me the same night I did for you?” Hange exclaimed.

“Pfft, pulling those pranks on all those dumb military police morons with you wasn’t bad.” Hange smiled as she reminisced over the trouble they got into that night, the laughter they shared, and… their first dance together. “Hey Levi, the two of us make a pretty good team, don’t we?”

“Yeah, all 3 of us.”“Oi what do you mean by 3 of us? What are you talking about??”

“Yeah, 3. You, me, and your shitty glasses.”

Hange laughed heartily, and kissed Levi on the cheek. He immediately blushed and she giggled more at his embarrassment. She stood up, and said, “Hah, well I guess it’s time to head back. Erwin’s probably wondering where we are, and the debrief meeting is gonna start pretty soon.” She excitedly held her hand out towards Levi to help him up. He couldn’t help but smile at her goofy grin, and grabbed her hand.

[ketchup-monthly]

Sanders Sides D&D 2

Ooh fresh take: Jan is virge’s patron and that’s why there’s beef

Also: Jan is some sort of fae related being

Jan: i need you to do something for me Virgil: no Janus: that's not how this works!! Virgil: watch me :P

Okay so I was thinking of Patton as a cleric cuz ooh healer however, Patton as a Druid makes me so happy

I want logan to have Rage

(Also that could tie nicely in an arc about Logan learning to accept feelings)

but barbarian logan is going to be a scholar again and is gonna be smort

bc hes logan. he cant be not smart

Oh I figured he’d be the bbeg that eventually joins the party (hurt/comfort baybee!)(Remus)

he was the bbeg but then joined the party as a bardbarian or just a bard

plus, actual bard who accidentally casts vicious mockery instead of bardic inspiration

Side note: please include a scene where Remus attempts to seduce the dragon

also with this second au, i can start them at like level 5 so people can multiclass

Pat as cleric/druid

gasp logan as artificer/barbarian

janus sorcerer/rogue

because basically everything but alchemist would work well with barbarian, but alchemist feels very Logan

bc mad scientist being actually mad

alchemist logan making an experimental potion and going "here im not sure what this does but im sure its fine! someone drink it"

Remus does it voluntarily, but Logan usually tries to get Roman to drink it

Virgil will occasionally drink it when he's on his last legs and is just like.....100% done with the party

remus as a wild magic path barbarian and just fucking teleporting or doing something equally ridiculous whenever he rages

Oh my god Remus with rage would be a force to be reckoned with

You gotta describe the first time he goes into a rage really dramatically

obviously virgil is trying to "escape" his patron, Janus (really just do whatever he says to not do out of spite)

Eldritch knight roman

Feywild warlock virgil

hey so in the second d&d au, should roman and remus be actual full siblings but like remus went darkside and like romans just trying to get back at him for putting a dark stain on the family name

hey hey hey what about warforged Logan? (essentially a robot)(so like "i dont feel anything" becoming real)

okay hear me out. elf roman and elf base simic hybrid remus. so like maybe the reason remus went darkside was experimentation? so like. hes elf but special

FALLEN AASIMAR VIRGIL

virgil just transforming in the middle of a combat scenario and like his eyes turn into black pits and flightless skeletal wings appear on his back and like everyone near him has to make a charisma check and like he deals extra necrotic damage

Pat is the one human stuck in a band of misfits

so with it, roman would be a full elf, and remus would be an elf that has tentacles bc octopus

So robot logan

i meant literally he doesnt feel anything

like he has all the emotions, but he doesnt physically feel the need to like eat or sleep or stuff like that

he just.....he pretend he don't have the feelings.....but he do.....he feel so much and he hides it all in his littol mechanical heart <3

plus......if he warforged, then like.....AC huge

he stands in front of friends.....he protecc...."no, i don't have feelings, i am physically incapable of affection" but he do!! he do! he take hits for them because he do!! he care so much

Bro he spouts all this and then he uses a reaction to dive in front of someone and everyone’s just like oh

LIKE ROMAN STILL BEING MEAN TO LO BC HE THINKS HE DOESNT HAVE FEELINGS BECAUSE HE DOESNT HAVE A HEART BUT HE DOES

hey hey everyone needs to grow

and logan standing up for himself and other people stepping in and saying no stop thats not right

plus if canon wont give me roman facing the consequences of his actions towards Logan......

but also Roman learning how to properly handle his own emotions and how he interacts with others

logan who doesn't view himself as anything more than a machine to be useful to others

the party giving logan love and affection until he slowly learns his own worth as a person

Roman and Logan not getting along (maybe Roman has a Lore reason to distrust Warforged, maybe not) and slowly learning to trust each other

when Logan is feeling real down or having some issue, Roman actually comes through to help him, showing how far both characters have come

Okay yes but also can we please give Roman more confidence than canon? Like I’m sooooo sick of low self esteem being played for laughs or just being really really sad

this boy is going on a mission and will slap his brother upside the head and tell him to shut tf up remus youre not a monster just come back home and he will do it alone if need be

OKAY SO WHAT IF HE ORIGINALLY WENT ON THE QUEST JUST TO STOP REMUS ONCE AND FOR ALL BC ROMAN THOUGHT HE WAS A MONSTER, BUT ALONG THE WAY, AND AFTER LOGAN, HE CAME TO REALIZE THAT NO, JUST BECAUSE REMUS (AND LOGAN) ARE DIFFERENT, THEY ARENT MONSTERS, JUST DIFFERENT

AND LIKE IN THE FINAL PUSH TO MAKE REMUS JOIN BACK WITH HIS BROTHER, ROMAN IS PROJECTING HIS OWN FEELINGS ONTO REMUS AND EVERYONE IS LIKE WOW BRO YOU GOOD THERE, BUT ITS A BIG MOMENT FOR LOGAN, ROMAN, AND REMUS

im unsure as to how, but it happened when he was an older teen/young adult. a simic scientist either picked him (read: kidnapped), or remus volunteered (potentially to escape court life, unaware what exactly the experiment was going to do to him physically

bc also, remus and roman are royalty

so like. how best to get at the nobes/royalty/rich famous people than by turning their kid into a monster

wait, wait, wait, because i'm lowkey a sucker for this trope, but i'm not sure if it fits Remus: the experiments left him with some fairly significant physical pain/uncontrolled magical reactions. through some combo of trying to deal with that and trying find a cure for his pain, he keeps like....absolutely wrecking random towns on accident but also deliberately wrecking certain places looking for either a) vengeance on the guy(s) responsible or b) someone who can make the pain stop

SO LIKE. WILD MAGIC BARBARIAN DOING WEIRD SHIT TO HIM WHENEVER HE RAGES

AND LOGAN COULD MAYBE HELP WITH THE PAIN AND SHIT

BC ALCHEMY

Yknow, for simplification purposes, we could say the True Bbeg just gave Remus lycanthropy and Remus hasn’t managed to control it yet

lycanthropy but simic shit?

Mr. I-Don't-Have-Feelings sees the poor dude in pain and also Roman in emotional pain from seeing his brother in pain and is absolutely like "i must resolve this like right now, immediately" because he definitely doesn't hate seeing his friend suffering, or his friend's brother whom he's just met

he definitely doesn't relate at all to the idea of someone else shaping your body and absolutely does not sympathize with Remus's plight

i was thinking the grappling thing and either manta glide or the ability to breathe underwater for the simic stuff, but like he doesnt have control over the tentacles yet?

Manta glide seems like we could have fun battle scenes

he just jumps off a cliff to avoid mushy talk/dealing with his actions/roman

Roman: Remus just because you're a monster and though i wish i was an only child-- Remus, jumping off a cliff: byyeeeeee Patton: Roman, look what you did! Virgil: dammit jan what did you do? Janus: why do you think i had anything to do with that? im a fae, not a genie Logan, thinking: what an asshole. i wish i could do that

oh my god Logan always being tired mentally bc he cant sleep

Oh my gosh I love that. So Remus got kidnapped super young, (from royal family) they never found him, as a result Roman had to grow up super fast (side effect: lowkey inconsiderate and forgets to ask for others input). Meanwhile, Remus was experimented on by True Bbeg and came out with some trauma and super cool additives

yep! chronic pain and ptsd and all sorts of other shit!

so like, simic hybrids are usually created when they're adults. but what if the true bbeg decided to go younger to see what would happen, and thats why remus has chronic pain and stuff

he was still growing when his genes were spliced, so hes dealing with growth plates shifting and his body maturing and puberty and body changes and stuff

Pat is going to have a lighthearted story. Im saying that now. Hes the one without all the baggage

Sure, but his parents have to lowkey be the really kind people who are surprisingly always down for violence

everyone: multiple crises Pat: y'all need help Pat: love and affection in spades for his little band of misfits

Patton (which I think would be pretty simple, honestly he might just see danger and jump in and suddenly everyone in the party has Feelings)

Logan

Mhm. So how did he grow up? Was he just poof created? Wait

What if he was created by the king?

To make up for remuss disappearance

wait, wait....angst......he was created to fight (hence the barbarian stuff) but alchemy is his real passion

wait so like. a second son???

hes there to replace remus?

Yea! (But like in a sympathetic grief way) But that causes a bit of a complex in Roman and ergo Roman and Logan have a bit of a beef

okay so like. hes there to be a companion for roman, and like take remus' place, even though hes not actually in line for the throne?

LOGAN AS A KNIGHT

and just......the conflict of being created for a specific purpose (plus being, you know, robot and technically incapable of deviated from said purpose) vs the fact that he actually does have independent consciousness and like....wants to live life for himself

the parents made Logan a barbarian in hopes that him and Roman would be safe

okay. so logan was created by the king with the sole purpose to take remus' place as romans brother/companion, and to be his like guard? protector? and fight, but logan wants to be an alchemist and study shit

wait, wait, wait.....thinks about Asimov's Laws

he.....his first operative is protect (specifically protect Roman)

oh man. so hes literally just a shield

his second level operative is just like.....care for Roman's emotional well-being, but he doesn't really know emotions because he was kinda just spawned and nobody told him how

and he just....kind of....lets Roman treat him like garbage and take all his grief out on him because he's staunchly in denial of both having feelings or knowing how they work

Anyway Yea so Logan created by royal family in place of Remus which created angst between the two “brothers” and identity issues in Logan. Their arcs are learning how to healthily process emotions plus Roman apology and Logan commits to alchemy

So big question: why did virge make a deal?

Tricked

he gave janus his name

and instead of janus like killing him or whatever the fae do to people who break the rules of dealing with the fae, jan was like. hey. i'll give you magic, but do what i say

Janus is lawful neutral, but leans towards being selfish

hes self serving, but he has a strong set of morals and rules he follows

Tho I want to Virgil to also not be pushover so let’s say loophole happened and Jan has to stay with virge (hence why Jan is a part of the party)

okay so a couple of the rules are dont give a fae your true name and don't try to figure out their true name

So

what if virgil accidentally gave up part of his true name, and got stuck in the deal, but then figured out janus' true name

so in the same vein that janus had control over virgil, virgil now has more control over janus

he still gets his magic from janus, so he cant break free completely, but virgil has more freedom and can occasionally tell janus what to do or when to shove it

there should a running gag where virge can explain how he learned Jan’s true name but Jan can make something loudly censor him every time

(he learned his name bc once he heard janus practicing his evil genius voice and talking to himself in the mirror and janus said his true name)

so maybe janus sent virgil on the quest to protect a town or stop something related to remus, but virgil dragged him along

he might just be trying to protect a town thats close to a ley line, or something fae-related, and they just happen upon the whole thing

janus is selfish. but lawful vs chaotic is where he comes through, in morals vs doing whatever. janus has a strong set of loyalties to the fae, and to himself

so like....Remus is just too close to Jan's stuff and he wants to take him down

Virgil is just like....exhausted and said "fine, but if i gotta do this, you're coming, too"

or at least figure out a way to protect his place, even if it doesnt mean fully taking out remus. just moving him would work for jan

Janus: virgilllllllllll hes going to mess up my magic storage locker Virgil: Jan, its empty Janus: but its mine

Yea. Remus attacks a city away from the fae: Jan: Yknow I’m gonna sit this one out Virge: oh no you don’t, get up

Or

Janus vs Janice

so his real name is Janus, but Virgil calls him Janice

Virgil: This is Janice Janice: with a “U-S” Virgil: mhm, sure Jan

I'm a big fan of just like any of the old theory name being various aliases for Jan

Damien, Dante, Ethan, Declan, etc, etc

[everydayeveryday]

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by: Haruki Murakami

"No matter how mundane some action might appear, keep at it long enough and it becomes a contemplative, even meditative act.”

“If you don’t keep repeating a mantra of some sort to yourself, you’ll never survive.”

“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.”

“The hurt part is an unavoidable reality, but whether or not you can stand any more is up to the runner himself.”

“To keep on going, you have to keep up the rhythm. This is the important thing for long-term projects. Once you set the pace, the rest will follow.”

“Failure to reach that bar is not something you can easily explain away. When it comes to other people, you can always come up with a reasonable explanation, but you can’t fool yourself.”

“so I learned the importance of being with others and the obvious point that we can’t survive on our own.”

“but the world is made up of all kinds of people. Other people have their own values to live by, and the same holds true with me. These differences give rise to disagreements, and the combination of these disagreements can give rise to even greater misunderstandings. As a result, sometimes people are unfairly criticized. This goes without saying. It’s not much fun to be misunderstood or criticized, but rather a painful experience that hurts people deeply.”

“As I’ve gotten older, though, I’ve gradually come to the realization that this kind of pain and hurt is a necessary part of life. If you think about it, it’s precisely because people are different from others that they’re able to create their own independent selves.”

“Emotional hurt is the price a person has to pay in order to be independent.”

“I think in my own way I’m aware of this danger—probably through experience—and that’s why I’ve had to constantly keep my body in motion, in some cases pushing myself to the limit, in order to heal the loneliness I feel inside and to put it in perspective. Not so much as an intentional act, but as an instinctive reaction.”

“I’m the kind of person who has to experience something physically, actually touch something, before I have a clear sense of it. No matter what it is, unless I see it with my own eyes I’m not convinced. I’m a physical, not intellectual, type of person.”

“Sometimes it takes too long, and by the time I’m convinced, it’s already too late. But what’re you going to do? That’s the kind of person I am.”

“Up till then, it had been a question of sheer survival, of keeping my head above water, and I didn’t have room to think of anything else. I felt like I’d reached the top of some steep staircase and come out to a fairly open place and was confident that because I’d reached it safely, I could handle any future problems that might crop up and I’d survive.”

“I’m the kind of person who has to totally commit to whatever I do. I had to give it everything I had. If I failed, I could accept that. But I knew that if I did things halfheartedly and they didn’t work out, I’d always have regrets.”

“Whenever I was able to do something I liked to do, though, when I wanted to do it, and the way I wanted to do it, I’d give it everything I had.”

“I’m struck by how, except when you’re young, you really need to prioritize in life, figuring out in what order you should divide up your time and energy. If you don’t get that sort of system set by a certain age, you’ll lack focus and your life will be out of balance.”

“Life just isn’t fair, is how it used to strike me. Some people can work their butts off and never get what they’re aiming for, while others can get it without any effort at all.”

“In other words, let’s face it: Life is basically unfair. But even in a situation that’s unfair, I think it’s possible to seek out a kind of fairness. Of course, that might take time and effort. And maybe it won’t seem to be worth all that. It’s up to each individual to decide whether or not it is.”

“Human beings naturally continue doing things they like, and they don’t continue what they don’t like. Admittedly, something close to will does play a small part in that. But no matter how strong a will a person has, no matter how much he may hate to lose, if it’s an activity he doesn’t really care for, he won’t keep it up for long. Even if he did, it wouldn’t be good for him.”

“The most important thing we ever learn at school is the fact that the most important things can’t be learned at school.”

“I don’t think we should judge the value of our lives by how efficient they are.”

“I figured, it’s sometimes hard to avoid losing. Nobody’s going to win all the time. On the highway of life you can’t always be in the fast lane. Still, I certainly don’t want to keep making the same mistakes over and over. Best to learn from my mistakes and put that lesson into practice the next time around. While I still have the ability to do that.”

“Being young means your whole body is filled with a natural vitality. Focus and endurance appear as needed, and you never need to seek them on your own. If you’re young and talented, it’s like you have wings.

In most cases, though, as youth fades, that sort of freeform vigor loses its natural vitality and brilliance. After you pass a certain age, things you were able to do easily aren’t so easy anymore”

“As I’ve grown older, I’ve naturally come to terms with this. You open the fridge and can make a nice—actually even a pretty smart—meal with the leftovers. All that’s left is an apple, an onion, cheese, and eggs, but you don’t complain. You make do with what you have. As you age you learn even to be happy with what you have. That’s one of the few good points of growing older.”

“If something’s worth doing, it’s worth giving it your best—or in some cases beyond your best.”

“Which is exactly why even though people say, “He’s no artist,” I keep on running.”

“You have to wait until tomorrow to find out what tomorrow will bring.”

“Maybe the only thing I can definitely say about it is this: That’s life. Maybe the only thing we can do is accept it, without really knowing what’s going on.”

“Like most of the troubles in life it came on all of a sudden, without any warning.”

“Experience has taught me this: You’ve done everything you needed to do, and there’s no sense in rehashing it. All you can do now is wait for the race. And what instinct has taught me is one thing only: Use your imagination.”

“In most cases learning something essential in life requires physical pain.”

“But in real life things don’t go so smoothly. At certain points in our lives, when we really need a clear-cut solution, the person who knocks at our door is, more likely than not, a messenger bearing bad news. It isn’t always the case, but from experience I’d say the gloomy reports far outnumber the others. The messenger touches his hand to his cap and looks apologetic, but that does nothing to improve the contents of the message. It isn’t the messenger’s fault. No good to blame him, no good to grab him by the collar and shake him. The messenger is just conscientiously doing the job his boss assigned him. And this boss? That would be none other than our old friend Reality.”

“As you get older, though, through trial and error you learn to get what you need, and throw out what should be discarded. And you start to recognize (or be resigned to the fact) that since your faults and deficiencies are well nigh infinite, you’d best figure out your good points and learn to get by with what you have.”

“In order to get there you have to stubbornly, rigorously, and very patiently tighten all the screws of each individual part. This takes time, of course, but sometimes taking time is actually a shortcut.”

“It’s precisely because of the pain, precisely because we want to overcome that pain, that we can get the feeling, through this process, of really being alive—or at least a partial sense of it.”

“Whether it’s good for anything or not, cool or totally uncool, in the final analysis what’s most important is what you can’t see but can feel in your heart. To be able to grasp something of value, sometimes you have to perform seemingly inefficient acts. But even activities that appear fruitless don’t necessarily end up so”

“From out of the failures and joys I always try to come away having grasped a concrete lesson.”

[welllpthisishappening]

Heyooo could you do 6 and/or 9 for kiss prompts please? If you’re still doing them that is. :)

Alright, well, this got long. Let’s all act super surprised. And because you are an absolute delight of a human being, this is Will and Belle. Set in the Blue Verse, obvs. And also because I keep reading these hockey rom coms, so I am in a mood™. They were real fun to write. Particularly on their first date. This is their first date! At the Museum of Natural History! Prompts were: hand kisses and kisses in the snow.

————

This was a bad idea. 

Exceptionally bad. Stupid, really. Impetuous and instinctual and no, no, that second one wasn’t right at all. Agreeing to Ariel’s set-up wasn’t instinctual, was just—

Idiotic, maybe. 

Throwing her head back, Belle tried to find cracks in the ceiling. To match the obvious ones in her sanity. Only the Museum of Natural History did not boast any cracks. Couldn’t, she figured. Something about the structural integrity of the building and, she imagined, the ghost of Theodore Roosevelt. Who would very likely emerge from his statue out front if he realized there was any sort of looming threat to the dinosaur bones stored inside this museum. 

He’d get, like—those horse riders, probably. God, now she couldn’t remember the name for those horse riders, just a mess of facts about San Juan Hill and the Spanish-American War and she’d nearly paced her way onto several people’s shoes already. 

He was late. 

This hockey guy. Will, his name was Will. Scarlet, Will Scarlet. Played defense for the New York Rangers and every article she’d read in the last two days since agreeing to Ariel’s wholly ridiculous suggestion also suggested that Will Scarlet, professional hockey player, was very good at his job. Not quite championship-worthy yet, but it had been close that one season and he was—

Cute. 

Real cute. Had that slight curl to his lips in his headshot and if Belle spent a few minutes that afternoon meticulously examining his headshot then that was between her and her desk and her internet history. Which she should probably delete at some point. Tomorrow, she’d do it tomorrow. First thing, even. 

Would walk into the library and make sure to take care of any lingering evidence detailing all the proof that she was fairly certain there was a hint of something unnameable at the edge of Will Scarlet’s eyes and that was insane. 

She was on a roll, really.

He just—

Well, she thought he was cute. Didn’t have any looming warrants for his arrest. Hit people on the ice with a fair amount of frequency, per several other articles, but that was to be expected. She thought so, at least. Hockey was still a potential project for her. If this worked. 

She didn’t think it was going to work. 

Dating professional athletes was not her. Didn’t fit with her personality, or her possibly subconscious and entirely unfair prejudices, but this guy got paid to play a game and he likely had expectations and fans and a variety of people who fell under the umbrella of antiquated categories with vaguely offensive naming conventions, and there was also Belle’s consistent tendency to self-sabotage because romance had never really panned out all that great, but Ariel had promised. Was so sure. Belle didn’t have a choice. 

Agreeing to this was—

Instinct.

“God damn,” she mumbled, halfway through another lap around the lobby. Twisting between tourists, most of whom were trying to figure out how to store the bags they weren’t allowed to bring into the museum because it appeared most of them had been required to visit Bloomingdales at some point that day, she very nearly stepped on a few more toes and definitely on the back of one boot hell. 

Who immediately cursed. 

Not under his breath. Right out loud, drawing a few stares and one gasp from someone Belle figured had to be from Iowa, or something. 

That was an awful thing to think. 

Only she couldn’t bring herself to feel too badly when her stomach appeared intent on taking up residence in her throat, so as to avoid the acid and the wholly imaginary butterfly wings and he turned around. To stare at her. With that specific glint in his eyes. 

“Hey, can you—oh,” Will sighed, shoulders sagging and that was not great. Bad, even. Real bad. Blind date disaster sort of bad. Belle’s smile made her cheeks ache. “Are you planning on killing me? You look a little crazed. This is a very public place.” “Agreed to so you couldn’t kill me.” “Would hurt my minutes.” “I don’t know what that means,” Bell admitted. “Is your foot alright?”

His lips twisted. She was staring. Appraising, really. Tracing her eyes across a head that was at a slight angle now, and she was having an admittedly difficult time coping with his shoulders. Sloped and clearly muscled, even under the fabric of a well-fitted leather jacket that couldn’t be providing much warmth. 

“It’s cold out.”

Will’s smile stretched. “It is, in fact.” He stuck his hand out, fluttering fingers that weren’t showing any sign of frostbite when Belle didn’t do anything except keep staring. Like a complete psychopath. “If Ariel set me up with a murderer, I’m going to be really annoyed, fair warning.”

“That would be fair, yeah.” “And strangely not an objection.” “I’m really worried about your Achilles tendon.”

He laughed. Guffawed. Threw his head back and wrapped an arm around his waist, seemingly unaware of the glances and the few prolonged stares because he was a professional athlete and other people were probably more aware of that than Belle was. Another finger flutter. “Will Scarlet,” he said, “not a murderer, only a little concerned that you might be—”

“—You were late.” “And I apologize for that, but you can blame Cap. Who missed a wide-open breakaway three minutes before we were about to get off the ice and Arthur lost his mind.” “Sounds dramatic.” “You’ve got no idea. Are you going to shake my hand because my arm is getting kind of tired.” Belle lifted her eyebrows. Kept smiling. More like a normal person, she hoped. A semi-charmed person. Who almost forgot where they were standing and how long the line to pay whatever you want at the Museum of Natural History always was. His hand wasn’t nearly as cold as she expected it to be. 

That probably wasn’t important.

“Belle French,” she said, “shouldn’t you have better upper-body strength?”

His smile was a bit softer, that time. Not quite resigned, but she was struggling to come up with appropriate syntax and neither one of them had tried to pull their hand away. “I’ve got incredible upper-body strength,” Will promised, leaning forward and he smelled a bit like soap, “you should what I can do on skates, though.” Flushing was ridiculous. Blushing, too. Any synonym. 

Still holding hands. 

“Do you think this is working for you?” “I’m trying very hard.” “Yeah, I can tell.” “Oh wow,” he chuckled, finally disentangling their fingers, and that was fine. Totally fine. Belle didn’t notice the absence of warmth, at all. Not instantly, or anything. “That’s kind of a knock to my self-confidence, honestly. Ariel didn’t mention you were mean.” “I’m not mean. What else did Ariel mention?” To suggest that his eyes actually had the gall to sparkle would be crazy. They didn’t sparkle. Were biologically incapable of doing that. 

But Belle swore something else happened, and it might have just been in the general region of her heart. Stuttering and restarting, at double time. As if it were intent on impersonating a hummingbird. 

“You’re very smart.” “That’s true,” Belle agreed. 

“Modest, too.” “Obviously, yeah, yeah.”

She wanted to keep making him laugh. Wanted him to keep smiling at her and leaning forward, even if his hair wasn’t quite long enough to artfully fall across his forehead. She wondered if his shoulders looked as good when he wasn’t wearing the leather jacket. 

So, insanity was fun to experience, then. 

“This is the part where you tell me what Ariel said about me, babe.”

Belle’s eyebrows jumped. Soared. Flew off her forehead. “You really do thinking this working, huh?” “My self-confidence is a sham, Ariel thinks I’m lonely, my teammates are dumb, and I’m willing to pay full price for this museum so we can also see the 3D movie about the giant monster shark.” “Megalodon is a real thing that was part of a mass marine extinction, potentially caused by a supernova that really messed up the rest of Earth.” “Telling me that is not going to stop me from calling it monster shark,” Will promised. Belle thought it was a promise. Sounded like one. 

She was admittedly a little hung up on the lonely thing. 

“I can work with monster shark.”

Will beamed. Did something passably ridiculous with his eyebrows and the slight shake of his head, and neither one of them mentioned the hand thing. How they reached for the other on what already felt like habit, twisting between bags and tourists and it took less time to get in when they paid full price. Plus twenty-nine ninety-nine for the monster shark movie. Per ticket. 

And they walked. Wandered. Took their time through exhibits, conversation that wasn’t exactly ground-breaking, but was just as easy, tilting their heads back in tandem to stare at massive fossils and partially-finished dinosaur structures. 

“So,” Will drawled, not taking his eyes off the Tyrannosaurs Rex, “tell me something.”

“About?” “You’re a librarian, right?” Belle nodded. “Not like—well, there’s not a lot of story-times. More research and entitled doctoral students who think the world revolves around them.”

“Bet you think athletes are super great then, huh?” “Ariel didn’t force me here against my will,” Belle pointed out, getting another laugh for her pitiful comedic efforts. Pulling his gaze away from the exhibit, Will didn’t quite smile, but he wasn’t glaring and her stomach hadn’t returned to its correct spot yet. “Why’d you pick Museum of Natural History?” “I’m more than just a pretty face.”

She rolled her eyes. Continued to be very charmed. “I did work in a small town once, but it didn’t end great, lots of drama, lots of dead mom, overprotective dad, bad relationships.” “How bad is bad?” “Thinking of dropping gloves with my ex-boyfriend?” Twinkling eyes were impossible too, she was sure. Will’s appeared determined to prove her wrong. “You looked up terminology.” “Sounds suspiciously like an accusation.” “Nah,” he shook his head, “a cautiously optimistic assumption.” “For the life of me, I cannot figure out what icing is.”

He ran his hand over the back of his head. That wasn’t the first time, either. Belle might have been doing research. Keeping track, more like. “Not many people can at the start,” Will said, “have you gotten to offsides yet? My national championship?” “You won a national championship?” Narrowing his eyes wasn’t an explicit challenge. Felt like one, all the same. One Belle wasn’t just willing to reach for. Wanted to reach. And that was—strange, actually. She hadn’t felt like that in a very long time, had been sitting at the same desk for the better part of the last ten months, waiting for something worthy of researching and figuring out and she wasn’t lying about icing. Sometimes it didn’t happen? And that frustrated people? 

On the ice, and in the stands. Based on the videos she’d watched. 

That sounded psychopathic too. 

“What happened with the ex?” “He wanted to get married,” Belle said, forced casualness that didn’t do anything to the thin-type nature of Will’s eyes. “Dad wanted us to get married.” “And you didn’t?” She shook her head. “I’ve got things to do.” “Like read up on my national championship?” “Google black holes are real things.” “Oh, you’ll get no argument from me,” Will grinned, another chuckle and she was starting to pick up on the variety in his laughter. Genuine, now. “But searching your name only led to your Columbia faculty page, most of which I knew already from grilling Ariel because I was worried about getting stabbed in public, I’m real famous you know.” “Hockey is not as popular as you think it is.” His hand was too big, Belle thought. Could wrap all the way around her fingers, warm and somehow almost comforting, tugging her away from this massive dinosaur toward a slightly smaller dinosaur that didn’t eat other dinosaurs several million years ago. 

She didn’t pull away. “Anyway,” Will added pointedly, “your faculty page left a lot to be desired, but a slightly older article from the York County Coast Star informed me that you did Kennebunk High School proud once by winning Best Delegate at a Model United Nation’s Conference.” She’d have to stop blushing eventually. As it was, Belle’s face was blistering and her mouth had fallen open at some point. Likely right around the time that the ends of Will’s lips also started to quirk up. 

“Stalking is a serious crime.” “Curiosity, however, is not. Plus, A didn’t know about Model UN. What was your position?” “A lacks a bit of creativity on the nickname front, don’t you think?” Belle asked, not totally desperate to change the subject.

Will lifted a shoulder. “Usually we like to add an r to last names, or a y. Depends on the last syllable, more than anything.” “Who is this we exactly?” “Hockey players as a whole.” “Right, right, so that would make me—” “—Frenchy, yeah,” Will nodded. “Doesn’t seem to fit, though. Also possibly offensive?” Belle laughed. Giggled, a little. Kept blushing and ignoring the unstable state of her heart and she hadn’t been expecting him to be so—

Charming. Legitimately and entirely charming. Full of simple banter, like it didn’t require any extra effort on his part. She was glad for that. He kept rubbing the side of his hip, too. Probably took a check during practice. She’d really spent a long time researching terminology. 

“I served as a judge on the United Nation’s International Court of Justice.”

Letting out a low whistle, Will actually widened his eyes. With legitimate awe. She was going to combust before this was over. This date. This going very well date. “I’m sorry about the ex.” “You don’t have to punch him in the face.” “Good to know.”

She hummed. Looked back at the dinosaur in front of them so she wouldn’t be so tempted to ask about lonely and what that meant, and that lasted for all of twenty-six minutes. Give or take. 

Belle hadn’t taken her phone out of her pocket once.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He didn’t totally stiffen. They’d moved off the dinosaur floor, standing in an offshoot of the lobby and another long line with more kids than Belle expected. She should have. No one appreciated long-extinct monster sharks more than kids. 

So, Will didn’t totally stiffen. His lips all but disappeared, though. Became a thin line on a head that was back at an angle, with a tongue that poked noticeably against one of his cheeks. 

“College girlfriend,” he said, voice turning gruff, “dated the entire time I was there, wore my jersey to the title game. All that cliche bullshit. Graduated, New York had my rights, and suddenly the world was our oyster, right?” “Rhetoric?” He lifted the other shoulder. Than the one from before. Keeping track of that was crazy, crazy, easy. “A little,” Will admitted, “because New York had my rights, but not an immediate need for a defenseman, and the AHL is a grind. Shitty barns of arenas and not much glamor on multi-state bus trips. Game after game, trying to prove you deserve the call that’s gonna change everything, only it took too long for mine to come. Least for Ana. She wanted—well, fuck if I know what she wanted, really. But it wasn’t me, and it wasn’t waiting and there were plenty of other guys in the league who started at the top. Who also thought she had the prettiest smile of anyone in the room.”

Jealousy was not a normal reaction. And wasn’t really what was happening. Not entirely, at least. 

Belle would tell herself that at least forty-seven times in the next twenty-four minutes. Because her stomach was flipping, making it difficult to take a deep breath when she noticed the resigned look in Will’s suddenly dull eyes and he was supposed to be an idiot. Was supposed to be a stereotype, unable to find anything interesting about the Hall of North American Forests, but he made jokes about stuffed birds and was serious about seeing the monster shark and Ariel was going to be absolutely insufferable about all of this. 

“What’s the deal with your shirt?” Will’s head tilted even more. “Because it’s team-branded?” “Technical term?” “Now we’re going in circles, babe.” “Get more creative nicknames.”

The spark returned. Fluttered in the very center of eyes that met Belle’s without a hint of trepidation of concern regarding her potential murder tendencies. Not that she had any. He’d looked her up, too. “I’ll see what I can do,” Will muttered, “and it’s a real problem for me. Get free shirt, have to wear free shirt, see no reason to buy other shirts.” “Or proper sentence structure, it seems.” “This is working.” “Is it?” He nodded, following the line as it started to move into the theater. “I think so, yeah. You ready to learn about this giant fish?” “Sharks are fish, that’s true.” “See,” Will grinned, lacing his fingers through his, “totally working.”

Neither one pulled their hands away. Even as the theater lights dimmed, and she couldn’t remember the last time she wore 3D glasses, but the effects were at least fairly good because she jumped no less than three times, Will’s soft chuckle echoing between her ears each time. 

His thumb tapped. Found a rhythm against the side of her wrist that stayed even after the movie was over, and his excitement rivaled the loudest and most sugar-filled kids, an unspoken agreement to spend at least thirty-four minutes in the gift shop. 

He bought her a stuffed shark. 

“For intimidation purposes,” Will explained, thrusting an arm toward the sidewalk. Belle didn’t smile. She tried. Sort of. And the cab stopped almost immediately. “You’re impressed.” “Keep telling me how I’m feeling, please.” “This is New York, danger lurking on every corner and whatnot. Requirements of a gentleman mean I have to deposit the fair lady back at her door.” “Or you lose your membership card?”

“Matching jackets, God, keep up.”

She slid into the backseat next to him. And it wasn’t like she was expecting a kiss, honestly. Wouldn’t have said no, probably. But this was—

New and a little exciting, and Ariel was going to be so annoying. 

So, they sat. Kept talking, which was still somehow effortless. Even with the cloud of potential kissing and lives that weren’t remotely similar, and Belle still had a lot of hockey-based questions. About teammates and their opinions because Will had mentioned that too, but she wasn’t a total snoop or willing to be that level of stubborn quite yet. Maybe, like, second date stubborn. 

They were at her building, anyway. 

Stumbling out of the cab was not the picture of cool Belle had been hoping for. Snow landed on her shoulders and clung to the ends of her hair, a storm that started somewhere between Central Park West and East 29th Street, and she knew Will did not leave anywhere near here. He got out, anyway. 

Stood on the sidewalk before trailing her toward the door, her stuffed shark safe from the elements in the bag hanging from her shoulder. “So, that was—”

“I had a really good time with—”

Her shoulders sagged. Dropped in tandem with Belle’s sigh and the stretch of her smile, refusing to let her teeth dig into her lower lip. Will dragged his hand over the back of his head. “A’s going to be so annoying about this.” Tension disappeared. Melted faster than the snow was capable of, Belle’s teeth only appearing when she smiled that wide. “Because you think it worked, huh?”

“Working on that self-confidence, you see,” Will said, hovering on the bottom step and her lips were tingling. With anticipation and hope and the knowledge of how much a cab back uptown was going to cost him. 

He surprised her, of course. 

Flipping his wrist, Will’s fingers fluttered once. Silent invitation hung between them, and Belle didn’t think. Didn’t consider options or potential blow-ups, no sign of a pro and con list. It’d be weird to find one on her front step, anyway. 

She dropped her hand into his. 

Still warm, still capable of holding all of hers, the soft pull at the end of her arm didn’t stop until Will’s lips grazed her bent knuckles and stayed there. For the next eight seconds. She counted. Timed it up with the solid thud of her heart against her chest and the propensity of her knees to bend beneath her. In order to accommodate everything she was feeling. 

Too much. 

Not enough. 

“I had fun, ma moitié,” Will said, leaving her brain whirring for a translation. 

“This might be working.” He scrunched his nose when he nodded. “Smarter than I look, that’s why. Keep the shark guy nearby, he’ll make sure danger stays outside where it belongs.”

Belle wanted to say something. Wanted it to be cute and passably witty, enough that there would be a second date so she could be more stubborn, only her tongue wasn’t functioning and she was so close to falling over it was honestly embarrassing. 

Will’s eyebrows jumped again. 

Before he did. Off the steps and back to the waiting cab, taillights not much more than a reflection of snowflakes before Belle was scrambling for her phone. Her fingers shook a little. 

“Ma moitié, ma moitié, ma moitié,” she chanted. It turned into a gasp. As soon as Google returned with its translation. 

My half. 

Whatever sound tumbled out of her was neither cute nor entirely human, heart turning unstable again and the shark looked especially good sitting between the pillows of Belle’s bed. The same one she dropped onto with a laptop propped against her knees so she could figure out how the hell icing worked. 

[hqprotectionsquad]

Dating! For Science (Kuroo x Reader)

this is for my bestie, ate, and just wonderful person to know, io!!! i’ve gotten to know you over the past few months from the network and let me tell you, it’s probably the best decision i’ve made concerning this fandom. i know this isn’t easy, but you take all of your responsibilities with such grace and i’m always inspired by you. i don’t know anyone else who would have their nickname on the server be writeiolite (lara’s #1 fan) and that just makes me so happy. you make me so happy!! because of you, i have true friends from around the world and of different ages and i actually write!! i’m so honored to know you and i just love you so much. thank you for being you, io! i hope you have a wonderful birthday <3

summary: Kuroo’s tweaking his AI program for his senior thesis and he just needs one thing left to make this true to life: a fake girlfriend. After deliberation, you step in so that he can avoid hurting his reputation and another girl’s heart. What could really go wrong? pairing: Kuroo x F!Reader tw: cursing word count: 3010 a/n: lightly inspired by Black Mirror and the episode “White Christmas” even though that episode doesn’t really have anything to do with fake dating? i was more inspired by their ability to go into someone’s mind, thus leading to the AI aspect of this fic!

There's something about Kuroo that has always drawn you to him. Maybe it was his eyes, his height or hair. You still don’t quite know. But ever since your second year of college, your eyes never left that rooster-headed man. Lucky you; he chose the seat next to yours over the other ones in the lecture hall because he claims you had the best spot, so "sitting next to you is the next best choice."

It's been two years since then, and he won't leave you alone. He insists this is for the best because his best friend doesn't attend college near you two and you're the closest friend he has. Over everyone, Kuroo Tetsurou chose you and will continue to choose you, and you don't really understand why.

The moonbeams shoot into the room through the window. Lately, you've been needing to stay over at his apartment, just to make sure he's still alive. He's been begging the world for his artificial intelligence program to work. He wants something fresh and unpredictable to present for his senior thesis, something that his classmates would envy at and the committee would be in awe of. He'll defend his program swinging, you know that for sure. After moments of just sitting on the edge of his bed, watching him hunch over his desktop computer, the chair swishes and he turns to look at you. "(Y/N), can you proofread this for me?"

“What is it?” You stand to get a closer look and you guide the chair back to the correct rotation. Your arm hangs around his shoulders as you slot your eyes to see better. “Is this a—”

“It’s a girlfriend application.”

“Tetsu, what the hell?”

“What?” His palms face towards the ceiling as his forehead creases. “I need to make my AI as accurate as possible. How else am I going to make it realistic?”

Now, you tilt your head. “You...you’ve never had a girlfriend?”

Kuroo’s lips drag into a frown and he shuts his eyes for a few seconds as if he’s shutting off the rest of the world. “You don’t have to say it like that.”

“But Tetsu, you’re so charismatic. I thought you must have had a few girlfriends by now.” You think back to all of the times you’ve attended parties with him. He’s essentially been the life of the party and he’s always had people surrounding him while playing beer pong or just funneling drinks down his throat. How could have not had a girlfriend at this age considering his background?

“You don’t have to shove it in my face.” Kuroo drags his fingers down his eyes, nose, and lips. 

“You’ve had hookups, I’m sure?”

“Yeah, but a girl sneaking out of my bed at seven in the morning isn’t the same as having a full-on relationship.” Under his breath, he says, “I wish it was because then I’d be having hookups left and right.”

“You’re so weird.” You laugh at his comment and soon enough, he’s laughing along with you. You settle back on the edge of the bed and he follows suit.

His body weight sinks into the mattress, bringing part of you down with him. "It's one of the last parts of the project, and you know I've been working on it for a while now. I just want my program to be as real as it can get. I know it'll be flawed, but I've got to try to make it perfect as I can, you know?"

"Yeah." You mutter, trying to drown out your blaring thoughts. What you're thinking right now...it's absurd and you shouldn't have it on your mind. But if it all worked out, then maybe you'd— "Kuroo, what if I was your fake girlfriend? For maybe a month, give or take. This way, you don't scare people off and you're with someone you already know."

You can tell he's considering it, based on the way his eyes dart in many ways. "But shouldn't the point of dating be that you get to know someone new?" Kuroo's eyebrow slides up and it's hard to believe that he's never had a proper relationship before. "I know you fairly enough."

"You know me as a friend. It's different when you approach someone as a girlfriend and it's different when it's a hookup," you justify. "I don't even know your favorite color, and I'm pretty sure you don't know mine."

"Isn't it purple?"

You'll be honest, you've never really considered yourself as a "favorites" person who naturally sought out what they loved the most. You found better use of your time instead of boring through magazine quizzes to show what you liked the best. But after thinking, you shake your head. "It's red."

“Why red?” He asks and it brings you back to all of the photos you’ve seen of Kuroo in his old high school volleyball uniform. He’s shown you many and when you first saw them, you were surprised he didn’t comment on how you were biting your lip or looking back and forth to see how he’s changed. And he really hasn’t done much of changing except for growing an inch taller and his hair being somewhat neater, but he looked so confident when he was on the court. The red fabric of his uniform hugged his figure in all the right places. The photo where he’s speaking to all of his teammates—would it be wrong to say you swooned? 

It’s his color. Even now, if he searches through his drawers and checks his hangers, his current wardrobe will have splatters of red all over. Maybe red wasn’t really anything to you until you met him. Because it is his, it is now yours.

“Because it’s a passionate color. It’s love, anger, pain; it’s everything.” For a moment, you forget why you’re here and you have this stupid grin on your face, and then you remember and reality pulls you back. “I’ll be your fake girlfriend.”

“Are you sure? Because I don’t want this to be the reason why we end up falling apart, because you’re a really great friend to me and I love our friendship—” He’s speaking at a pace of a million miles a minute and you’re lucky you can even hear the words he’s saying.

You nod your head once. “I’m sure.”

While you don’t start off anything that day because Kuroo said he wanted to plan everything out before you begin, you also take that day to just be friends and bask in the current relationship you have with one another. Everything’s going to change from this point on, and you know it and he knows it.

You’ve got to admit it; the next time you meet, you’re scared of what’s to come. How do you greet him? How will he take all of his emotions and collate it into data for his prototype? Don’t you feel like you’re being used?

But you volunteered for this. You told him he should date — fake date — someone he already knows. You just wanted that person to be you. Seeing him with someone else would just be twisting a knife into your side. At least you get to control your feelings in this situation.

“(Y/N), it’s good to see you,” Kuroo greets you as you find him in the restaurant you were meeting in. He stands to hug you and you’ll admit, he’s actually trying to form a meaningful relationship, of some sort at least.

“Thanks for buying me dinner, boyfriend,” you wink as you say the last word. He even pushes in your chair when you go to sit. Kuroo settles across from you. He mentions something about already ordering for the two of you but you can’t really focus because he’s wearing an outfit you’ve never seen before. Yeah, those are jeans and a t-shirt, but his winter coat hugs his sides in a way you’d never expect. Your hope is that he actually dressed up for you.

After a waiter comes by your table to place your plates of noodles, Kuroo unloads his information for the AI prototype and he’s not afraid to release it all at once.

“So I have these guidelines I typed up for you,” he hands over this folder. It’s incredibly neat, as you expected of him, but there has to be over ten pages in here. Guessing by the first page, none of the papers will have blank space. “It’s just outlining my hypothesis, my expectations, all of that. You might not have to read it all because it's mostly for my records, but I highlighted the things that I think would be most helpful."

You wipe your hands with the napkin from the table and sift through the materials. "Tetsu, you highlighted mostly the whole thing," you mutter. Taking a glance at the expectations page, you raise your eyebrows. "You said that you expect to not fall in love with me?"

Kuroo bites his lip. "It's more like if I write that down, then it has a better chance of coming true. You'll only need to date me for as long as I need to collect experiences and data. I don't want to let you go as a friend."

You don't bother to respond because you've moved on to the rest of the page. "Wait, you want us to consummate our relationship?" You say this almost too loudly, and Kuroo taps your hand repeatedly to tell you to lower your voice. You press your palm to your lips and after seeing nobody is looking in your direction, your hand returns to the table. “Are you being serious here, Kuroo?”

Kuroo sighs. "I was just thinking that sex would also help in gaining experience."

“You’ve had hookups before.”

“Well, isn’t sex different if you have it with someone you’re dating?” Kuroo can’t quite meet your eyes when he says this.

“So what, we’re essentially friends with benefits now?” You bite back your silly smile and wait for his reaction.

His mouth opens and closes. Finally, he says, “I don’t want to say yes, but basically.” After a beat, his words rush out, “You’re still my girlfriend. That’s established. Girlfriend with many rules and such. Fake girlfriend.” He emphasizes on the word fake, and suddenly, it becomes your least-favorite f-word.

Still, you smile. “Fake girlfriend it is.”

You’re thrown into everything pretty quickly. He introduces hand-holding, and soon after, kisses. He’ll come pick you up after your classes for dates. “For science,” he says all the time. You really can’t believe he’s not your real boyfriend because he’s such a great kisser and after this all ends, his lips will no longer belong to you. Your heart says you should, but knowing he literally writes down his observations after you do anything romance related, your brain says absolutely not.

Now, it’s been about three months since you’ve began “dating” Kuroo Tetsurou. He blames the duration of time on the project, and now, this contracted relationship has an "indefinite" completion, says Kuroo. Through all of the dates, cuddling, and etcetra, he’s probably the best boyfriend you’ve ever had. That’s not saying too much, but whoever you date next will not be able to match up with Kuroo. There are definitely times when you forget that this is all for his artificial intelligence thesis because it all feels so natural, especially when you hold his hand while walking down the street, and when you catch him smiling down at you just for a few seconds. He’s not perfect and you hate it when he talks with food in his mouth, but everything else is pretty good.

Or at least you thought.

“(Y/N),” he calls out when you’re at his apartment on a Saturday afternoon. Nowadays, you’re at Kuroo’s place. You have study sessions with him, eat dinners, and close off nights with his arm around you when you watch a movie. He’s seen almost all the parts of you and you don’t even mind. He molds a spot for himself in your heart and he doesn’t even know it. All he knows is that you’re the fake girlfriend for his project, and maybe a trial girlfriend before he truly finds the one he loves.

You’re digging into the refrigerator, scanning the shelves and drawers to find a perfect movie snack. Would chocolates and gummy worms go well together? Or maybe fruit for a change...

“(Y/N), come here,” Kuroo reiterates as he’s relaxing on the couch in the other part of the apartment. After you find your snacks — you give into the dark chocolate to pair with the salty popcorn — you make it over to the living room, settling the candy on the coffee table.

“What’s up, babe?” Pet names flow out easy like the water in a river and you don’t know when it started, but it turns out Kuroo has taken a particular liking to this one. You settle in close, tucking yourself into his side with his arm still resting on the top of the couch.

“I was thinking about the AI thing,” Right, because this isn’t supposed to be real. “I think sex is the next thing we have to accomplish and I think that’s essentially all I need for the project.”

You have to blink a few times, just to make sure those were the words that came out of his mouth. You shift your body to face him and you’re no longer pushed to his side. “That’s it?”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Kuroo shrugs with his lips pressed together. There’s a chill that rushes through your body. You should have stuck to the contract because you know Kuroo did. You know that he did not stray from it for a second, despite all of the hugs and kisses you’ve shared. You knew this was coming, yet you still don't want to see it in front of your face. The two of you live in this cloud of smoke that this project has forged, and Kuroo will be fanning it away soon.

You don't know what to say anymore. On one hand, it would be simple to ignore your sense of direction and throw away every platonic feeling you have for Kuroo, just to try and work out a relationship without strings. On the other hand, your actions directly affect Kuroo and you'd feel horrible if you messed up his project, whether if it was because you abandoned ship or acted on your feelings and your relationship turned sour.

Any way you think of it, nothing comes out right.

“(Y/N), come on, talk to me.” He pats the hand that rests in your lap, but still, your head won’t get out of this fog. Is this what it’s been this whole time? You should have paid more attention to yourself, to see the exact point where you let yourself go and live in this cloud of smoke.

“I don’t know what to say.” You don’t look at him. “Is it wrong to say that I don’t want to do it? That I feel used?”

“You said this was like friends with benefits when we first began. You saw and read everything in the folder I gave you. This isn’t supposed to be real, we were supposed to be together for this project.” Kuroo sighs. “For God’s sake, (Y/N). You offered. You literally offered, and you did not have to do this.”

If you felt like crying before, well, now you’re really crying. You’re trying to have some sort of semblance of a composure, but with you wiping your eyes with the back of your hands every few seconds, it’s hard to know what exactly you’re feeling.

“(Y/N)...” Kuroo longs to reach for you, but you shift farther from him on the couch, making creases in it. You’re sure he feels like the bad guy now, but this is nothing but your fault, and you’d like to own up to it, if only you’d stop fucking crying. “(Y/N), come here.”

When you finally look up at Kuroo through your oceans of tears, you can’t tell if it’s your currently impaired eyesight or if he’s also shedding a few tears.

“Look, I like you a lot, and I like you romantically. I won’t lie about that. I have for a long time, and when you said you’d be my fake girlfriend, I was scared. I’m not the best at knowing lots of things that aren’t academic, but I know for sure that these things never turn out right.” Kuroo takes your hands when you inch toward him. He rubs the back of your hands, the pads of his fingers sopping up your fallen teardrops. The man here is unfolding the hardened layers he used to have, revealing his softer insides. “Fuck, maybe I thought,” Kuroo stops to stand and pace back and forth in the room you’re in. “Maybe I thought if I threw myself into my work and take everything logistically and treat it like a project with no feelings, then it could all be justified in my head.”

You don’t know what else to think, so you just do.

You mute his next words with your lips and when you release, you’re sure you look like a mess with the tear stains along your face, but he tells you you’re beautiful anyway.

“Be my girlfriend. My real girlfriend. Nothing for the project, though I’m pretty sure I had enough data from the point of two weeks in.” There’s Kuroo’s cheeky self, the one you’ve known and been longing for.

“You’re so stupid.” You roll your eyes. “God, my boyfriend is so stupid.”

He lifts you into a bridal carry, the crook of his elbow caressing the back of your knees. “Do I still look stupid?” But he doesn’t let you answer his question. His lips are on yours. Your hands press against his cheeks and his hair brushes against your face.

“I like you a lot, stupid.”

“And I like you a lot too.”

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