#now all of a sudden the ball is in YUU’s court for once

[welcometomypersonalhell098]

if i have a nickel for every time i thought abt how yuu is alienated in NRC by the cast id be a rich man

As I'm playing the Nightmare Before Christmas event, when the scene where the students are shocked to find out that Jack Skellington doesn't know what or where twisted wonderland is, I just can't help but wonder how Yuu would feel. Everyone is baffled, stressed, uncertain,,, do they understand how yuu felt the moment they had found themselves surrounded by coffins, estranged from their home?

It's another lost in the book event where it's established that the students aren't truly in Twisted Wonderland, but comparing the reactions in this event with the Stitch event where the majority of the characters didn't really show all that much fear about their estrangement, twst NBC's featured characters are more aware of how scary and dire the situation is...

Leona concludes that the place they found themselves in "doesn't follow their logic/common sense" (rough translation bear with me lol), and I just keep thinking of yuu!! That's the same case for them, at the very start! Magic?? Beastmen ?? Being pulled into a different world/dimension to begin with?? Yeah, that certainly doesn't follow any logic they know of! And the way Skully and Jack show barely any remorse or true worry about how the other might feel about this sort of situation at first is exactly as jarring as it was for yuu when they were hurled from one situation to another with extreme dismissiveness from Crowley!!

I might be reaching a little bit but GOSH that part just got me?? Yuu is my roman empire OTL

[hqxreader]

I hardly see anything on tumblr with Tanaka my poor baby! Could you write a HC on how Tanaka, Noya, and Bokuto act when other guys try to hit on you during a tournament and how they act when they’re jealous? Thank you so much and keep up the good work 🥰 - @tomboyneedshercoffee

Hi hon!! Tumblr decided to be a dick and delete your ask. Luckily I work on Google Docs and I copied your ask on there and badabing badaboom. I had it saved as a draft here too and was also editing it here too and im gonna just grrrr. Anyway, this request was a blast, I got a bit crazy with Noya’s whoopsss. Anywho I hope I tagged the correct person and you enjoy!! 💕

-

Tanaka Ryunosuke

Oooh buddy

The team is warming up for their first match of the tournament and they’re starting spiking drills.

Tanaka’s about to go next, and he looks up to the stands for you, and what does he find? Some fan from the opposing team talking and hitting on you! 

He was way too close, he had never heard of a personal bubble apparently. 

It was now Tanaka’s turn to spike, he called your name out real quick to grab your attention, 

“y/n! Look at this!” BAM! POW! WHACK! Whatever sound effect you wanna use for the ball hitting the other side of the court really, really hard and flying somewhere unknown. 

The team and you pretty much stared at Tanaka, mouths gaping open in shock of what just happened. 

Tanaka had a scary grin on his face, and he turned to face you in the stands, “How did you like that y/n.. And friend?” 

Random dude is now about to piss his pants, “I think I’ll just let you be, bye now!”

You just shook your head as the boy ran off like a scaredy cat with his tail between his legs. You put your hands on your hips and looked down towards Tanaka, 

“Great job babe! Now do that during the game!!” 

So overall a jealous Tanaka makes an angry/showoff Tanaka. He’s not gonna lose to some random man that doesn’t know when his s/o is taken. 

He’s pretty much like “You see this? This is mine.” not in like a rude way but in a good way like in the one will smith meme way. (haha 11pm taylor is writing this clearly)

Nishinoya Yuu 

Oooh buddy take 2

After the game, you’re waiting for Karasuno in the main corridor, leaning against the wall, just minding your own business.

Then all the sudden this Random Dude your age walks right up to you, smirk on his face, playboy aura coming off of him (lets just imagine Oikawa but it’s not Oikawa cool?)  

‘Oh dear’ was the first thing that you thought, and then ‘Where’s Yuu?’

“Hey there, what’s a beautiful girl like ya doing here all alone?” Oh dear. 

You just smiled politely at him, “Waiting for my boyfriend, he played today and he won, so we’re going to go out tonight for a little celebratory dinner.” 

He simply put one hand on the wall next to you and his other hand started messing with your hair, “Well I think ya should just ditch the boyfriend and-”

“EH??!!” Whelp. There’s the team. 

You pushed the Random Dude away and walked up to Noya, standing proud next to him. 

“This is my boyfriend Nishinoya. Noya, this is uh.. Random Dude.” “The names’ Atsumu.” BAHAHAHA IM SORRY

“Well let me tell you Atsumu! Y/n isn’t going anywhere with you, she’s my girlfriend!” “Ha! Okay Short Stack.” 

Noya’s now pissed, stomping towards Atsumu with a scowl on his face and pushing his jacket sleeves up his arms. 

Atsumu was just smirking at this, what was Noya gonna do to him? But then Atsumu saw Jesus Asahi right behind Noya, a deep frown on his face, saying ‘don’t you dare touch him.’ 

Once Atsumu saw Asahi, he quickly said “Ya know what? Let’s call it truths, I’m sorry for offending you and yer girlfriend. See ya!” And he sped off (osamu was watching from a bit aways and was shaking his head at his idiot brother)

Noya’s demeanor changed immediately once Atsumu ran off, grin on his face, “Did you see that babe? He ran off like a wimp!” 

You just laughed and shook your head, knowing why exactly Atsumu ran off. You walked up to Noya and wrapped your arms around him and gave him a hug, “Amazing job, Yuu.”

Overall Noya is a lot like Tanaka, he gets protective and is like ‘who the hell do you think you are?!’ He’s gonna fight for you.

Bokuto Koutarou

Fukurodani now has a third manager (jeesh) you! You’re a second year, so you’re not doing the hard core work that the third years have to do. Your main job is to refill the water bottles when needed. (idk only thing i could think of) 

So you’re out in the hallway doing your job like a good little manager filling up water bottles pregame, just minding your own business (again), when you get the feeling that there’s someone behind you. 

You look behind you and leaning against the wall is some Random Dude™ hiding in the shadows. 

“Umm.. hello?” You call out cautiously, turning completely towards the stranger (stranger danger kids!!) 

Random Dude™ pushed off the wall and out of the shadows and walked up to you, waving with a smile on his face.

“Hi there! Oikawa Tooru, who do I have the pleasure of meeting?” 

You felt your face warm up and you kept looking around the hallway, planning an escape route. “It’s L/n Y/n” “It’s very nice to meet you L/n, how can I…” 

Now as this is all going down, the third year managers sent Akaashi and Bokuto to go find you because it was taking you too long just to fill some water bottles. 

As the two are walking up to you and Oikawa chatting, Akaashi can slowly see Bokuto start to have a mood swing. 

“Does my crush on L/n not matter Akaashi?” “If anything I think she needs a hero Bokuto-san, she doesn’t seem very comfortable with Oikawa-san.” “Akaaaashi, you’re right!” 

Plan ‘I wanna be your Hero’ is now in motion.

Bokuto walked up to Oikawa and you, looking buff as always, and he stopped next to you, wrapping his arm around your waist and pulling you close. 

“Hey Hey Hey! Oikawa, what are you doing all the way here in Tokyo?” “Bokuto, loud as always. I’m here to watch volleyball of course! And I just happened to run into the lovely L/n here.” 

Bokuto could only hope you’d go along with his plan, “Oh yeah, y/n is the best girlfriend you could ask for!”

Your eyes widened, when did that happen?? That’s okay, let’s just play along. “Yup! You can never find anyone better than Koutarou.” You reached up and pecked his cheek. 

You could hear a little ‘hoot’ and see his cheeks turn red. 

Oikawa now stood with his hands on his hips, giving you two a ‘what are you up to’ look. 

“Okay, well I’m glad you two are happy in love! It was nice meeting you L/n, see you at the next meeting Bokuto.” Oikawa waved his hand and walked away. 

Once he was far enough away, Bokuto and you pulled apart and you began asking him a million questions, “Bokuto what was that? How do you know him? Why did you do that? What does this mean? Are we actually-” 

Bokuto started stressing from all the questions and he put his hand over your mouth to quiet you.

“I didn’t like seeing you with Oikawa, and I have a crush on you, will you go out with me?” all rushed out at once. 

Once you comprehended what he said, you smiled under his hand and nodded. 

“Really!? You will?!” You nodded again more enthusiastically. “That’s Great!” He wrapped his arms around you and picked you up, giving you a giant hug. 

He put you down and turned towards Akaashi, “Akaaaaashi!!! Did you see? Did you see?? She said yes!” 

At this point Akaashi is now waiting with the other managers as Plan ‘I wanna be your Hero’ ends up even better than expected.

Jealous Bokuto starts out with a moment of mood swing Bokuto. What are you doing with some other dude flirting with you? Did something happen between you two? 

But then he’ll recognize your body language, you don’t feel comfortable with this guy. Bokuto shakes out of his mood swing and goes in to save you, showing how you’re his girlfriend, not anyone else's.   

- 

I hope you enjoyed!!

[iwaisa]

► now playing...

- genre. fluff

- pairing. nishinoya x gender neutral reader

- warnings. none :)

- word count. 1.2k+

- a/n. happy birthday nishinoya ! this one was honestly kind of rushed + it’s also my first time writing for nishinoya lol. i hope to get better and more comfortable writing for him

(this one’s for the nishinoya simp @xmalereaderfics​ )

upon entering your first class of the new school year you came to one simple conclusion; your classmate, yuu nishinoya, was loud. and not in an obnoxious way as other people may think. in a way that you found endearing. usually, anyone else’s reaction to his sudden outbursts of excitement would be to shush or scold him. you, however, encouraged him. 

your classmates liked to call you two the jokers of class 2-3, or the inseparable pair. the two of you always joked around no matter the situation. 

in class, both of you would be scolded countless times for simple things such as laughing. your teacher’s decision to put you both on cleaning duty after school was a horrible idea, leaving the two of you cracking jokes back and forth instead of actually cleaning. 

however, after months of being known as the comedic pair, you began to notice a change in nishinoya’s behaviour. he never ran up to you when you entered the classroom anymore, and he always seemed to be in a hurry to rush off whenever you approached him. if you were being honest, this left you dumbfounded and kind of hurt. 

“nishinoya, what’s going on with you today?” daichi’s voice echoed throughout the gym. “nothing, captain!” nishinoya didn’t take his eyes off the ball as his senior voiced his concerns. he, however, was not focused. he’s been missing dig after dig and receive after receive all because of one person in particular. you. 

nishinoya has been torturing himself for the past four months for catching feelings for his best friend. why? because he believes he has no chance. nishinoya believes that the only connection between you two is strictly friends and is and never will be anything more. it’s only a matter of time before he lets it slip and you stop being friends with him.

“still fussing over l/n-san?” tanaka questioned, taking a sip from his water bottle. nishinoya stiffened at the mention of your name, and instantly launched himself into attacking the buzzcut boy. “you can’t just say that so loud, idiot! and why do you think that, huh?” nishinoya and tanaka began bickering back and forth before suga and ennoshita pulled them away. “you know, i’m just trying to encourage you to tell them, right?” nishinoya froze at his question, the gears in his brain turning. “what? you think i’m gonna tell them?” tanaka crosses his arms and nods his head while grinning, “i see how they look at you. they’ve got it good. nice job, man!” nishinoya stayed dumbfounded as he went to high-five tanaka’s outstretched hand. 

nishinoya sighed before groaning, catching the attention of each member of the team. “what’s wrong, nishinoya-senpai?” hinata asked innocently, bounding up to the second-years. “shouyou…you wouldn’t understand,” nishinoya sighed dramatically before shaking his fist. “why do they have to be so amazing! dammit! what am i supposed to do now?”

“why don’t you leave them something? like, leave them snacks or flowers or letters,” yamaguchi counted off using his fingers. nishinoya thought for a moment, his fist tucked under his chin. “i could leave them flowers,” nishinoya nodded. 

“do you even know what their favourite flower is?” tsukishima jested. “of course i do! they told me at the beginning of the year when we walked home together!” nishinoya defended, getting irritated at the blond’s snarky words.

“oi! let’s get back to practice!” daichi interrupted, with everyone taking their previous positions on the court.

the first day you received a flower, you were dumbfounded. you looked around the half empty classroom before looking back down at the flower. there was no note, so how did you know it was yours? you just assumed it was meant for someone else, yet you had no idea what to do with it. 

nishinoya watched with tanaka as you walked up to your friend, handing it to them. nishinoya face palmed, waving a temporary farewell to tanaka before heading in.

the second day, you were just, if not more, dumbfounded than the first day. by now, you had understood that they were clearly meant for you. the tag on the stem with your name written on it only solidified your claim. once again, you looked around, seeing if anyone was looking at you. you turned out to look into the hallway to see tanaka walking past as nishinoya walked in. 

“hey, noya-san!” you greeted, slipping the flower into your shoulderbag, leaving the top sticking out so it wouldn’t wilt. “hey, l/n-san,” nishinoya greeted with an unsure tone. you didn’t think anything of it as you sat down at the sound of the bell.

it’s been exactly two weeks since receiving your first flower, and you felt as though you were getting closer to figuring out who it was. it could have been tachibana-san, who sits diagonally from you, or possibly mai-san, who sits right in front of you. however, you couldn’t help but notice that nishinoya has been acting more distant than ever, and you figured you should get to the bottom of it. 

you studied in your classroom after school as you waited for nishinoya’s volleyball practice to end. as soon as the alarm on your phone went off signaling it was time to find your friend, you packed up your stuff and hurriedly left the classroom. 

you headed towards the front of the school to change your shoes, only to turn the corner to see nishinoya stuffing a small bunch of flowers - the same one you found in your bag earlier today - into your shoe locker. 

“noya-san?” your voice elicited a yelp from your friend, who was now frozen in place, clutching the bunch of flowers. “l-l/n-san…” he began, his voice cracking. there was a moment void of noise before you spoke, “you’re the one who’s been leaving those flowers?” he dropped his hand, and redirected his gaze to stare straight down at his shoes. you watched him nod slowly, his knuckles turning white from how tight his grip was on the stems. 

you walked towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder, leaning down to look into his eyes. “thank you,” you spoke quietly. nishinoya’s eyes darted between both of yours, his face growing red in colour from the close proximity. “but…?” he asked. “hm? oh, there’s no but! just...thank you. i was kinda hoping it would be you,” you admitted shyly. his head snapped up, his mouth hanging open. 

you gave him a soft smile before he snapped his head to look at the flowers in his hand. “here,” he held the flowers out to you. “i like you, l/n-san. and i really hope this doesn’t change the comedy shtick we have going on.” you shook your head, chuckling softly. “of course it won’t. i’ve missed that by the way,” you said, your fingers brushing against his as you accepted the flowers. “i know, i’m sorry. i had no idea how to tell you.” 

you smiled before leaning in to kiss his cheek, your lips lingering on his skin for a few seconds. pulling back, you took note of how his face was burning up and how his jaw was nearly on the floor. you giggled as he shook his head quickly to snap himself out of his surprise. he playfully nudged your shoulder before leaning down to lace your fingers with his. “can i walk you home, f/n?” you felt a blush creep onto your face at the way he said your given name. “of course, yuu.”

[yamayamawrites]

Bake Sale - KageHina

Find this on AO3 here or read below!

Summary - Tobio and Shouyo are put in charge of baking cookies and cupcakes for the Karasuno bake sale.

They’re only two minutes in, and Shouyo’s shirt is already wonderfully dusted with flour. There’s some in his hair, too, Tobio thinks, and before he can deliberate whether he wants to reach out and muss up Shouyo’s hair to get it out or swat him upside the head for being a dumbass, his friend is hopping up on the counter, making himself at home there.

“What are you doing,” Tobio says, more as a command, a tell me what you’re doing before I kill you, or something. And Shouyo just giggles and kicks his feet like some sort of schoolgirl, and the entire thing is very cutesy and Tobio feels like this was a very, very bad idea.

“I’m sitting up here! Look, it’s like it was made for short people, Bakageyama!” Shouyo cries, pulls his phone from his pocket and turns on some sort of instrumental playlist of sorts.

“Quit calling me that!” Tobio barks in response, and he reaches to grip Shouyo’s hair at the top of his head and yank, and Shouyo dodges easily. He’s not even looking – how did he do that? And Shouyo laughs more, sets his phone aside on the counter. “The hell is this music?” Tobio asks, glares daggers at the phone even though it’s certainly not the culprit.

“Lo-fi beats to bake and chill to,” Shouyo recites with an index finger in the air. “Don’t tell me you’ve never listened to a ‘lo-fi beats’ station before.”

Tobio bites his tongue. The question resides there, being squished between his teeth – what the hell are ‘lo-fi beats’ – but he’s got the impression that asking that question will result in more idiocy from the boy on the counter, and he really doesn’t want to get into it. Instead, he pulls out his own phone and splays it out on the countertop, where a cookie recipe is loaded up.

They’re participating in this year’s bake sale, for reasons unbeknownst to Tobio. Normally the sports’ bake sale doesn’t extend past the female sports’ teams, from what Yuu mentioned of last year’s event, but Sawamura and Koushi insisted that they participate this year, and Tobio doesn’t quite know why. Still, he’s always been decent at baking – he and his mother bake Christmas cookies every year on his birthday, it’s sort of tradition. His only worry is that Shouyo – who looks like a walking hazard traffic cone with his orange hair – will screw this up for him. For the team.

He reminds himself that these cookies are for the team, and that he cannot eat the cookie dough.

“Oi, why do you look so serious all the sudden?” Shouyo asks from the counter, his words escaping around a smirk. “Don’t tell me you’re also the king of the kitchen? Ooh, that sounds like an American cooking show. King of the—”

“Hinata,” Tobio interrupts, his eyes glazed over that way they get when he’s ultra-focused on the court, “are you going to help me or not?”

“Well the thing is,” Shouyo nervously prattles his fingertips together, “I’m ah, no good at cooking. Or baking. I lit a toaster on fire once.”

“You lit a—how did you light a toaster on fire?”

“I mean, technically it started with a piece of paper towel and so I didn’t light the toaster on fire from the beginning.”

“Why did you put a piece of paper towel in the toaster?!” Tobio shrieks, like it’s some sort of heinous crime. Because, well, it is. His toaster has only ever seen bread and bagels and the occasional pop tart, and toasting a paper towel for breakfast seems, first and foremost, unfulfilling. He doesn’t know the nutrient value of paper towels, but he assumes it can’t be any better than a piece of toast. Second, it seems like it would be tough to digest, considering it’s made to absorb and that would probably…cause problems. (Tobio’s having a hard time working out the details here.)

“To clean it!” Shouyo cries back, exasperated. He swings himself off the counter now and prods a finger into Tobio’s chest. “What, does Gross-Yama never clean his toaster?!”

Tobio’s face pales. Ah, of course. Shouyo didn’t toast the paper towel to eat the paper towel.

“Why did you have it plugged in while you were cleaning it, stupid?!” Tobio barks, hopes that his cheeks aren’t too red from his embarrassment of only now coming to the understanding he did.

Shouyo wrings his hands again, looking anywhere but Tobio. “I mean, I dunno…I just wanted toast but it wasn’t clean so I thought I’d clean it really fast and…is it even important?” He demands this last part, prods Tobio in the chest again, gaining some confidence now realizing they’ve been side-tracked and for once it isn’t Shouyo’s fault.

“I mean,” Tobio defends, pokes a finger right back into Shouyo’s chest, “I want to make sure you’re not planning on lighting my kitchen on fire!”

Shouyo seems to take this as a fair enough excuse, because he huffs and turns his back to Tobio. “Whatever,” he grumbles finally, crosses his arms over his chest and leans over the counter to glare at Tobio’s phone screen. “What do you want me to do, Chef Kageyama?”

“If you’re a fire hazard, you should probably just mix ingredients,” Tobio glares.

“It’s not like I spontaneously combusted!” Shouyo shrieks, and cookies are forgotten as Shouyo once again leans into Tobio’s personal space, his little spindly fingers poking and prodding at Tobio’s chest in a way that is both extremely irritating and incredibly hot, and Tobio has to consciously remind himself that Shouyo has never once shown any romantic interest in him and if his resolve snaps now, while they’re baking cookies of all things, he will never be able to look Shouyo in the eye again. So he decides it best to turn around and ignore Shouyo altogether, crossing the kitchen to the cabinets and digging through for the proper ingredients.

Luckily enough for them, Koushi and Sawamura did all the shopping. The shelves are stocked with baking goods, a few boxed cake mixes for cupcakes later, and decorations. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi have probably already finished their baking, Tobio thinks stubbornly, staring at all the ingredients and reciting the list of tasks they have to complete in his head. They’re expected to make four dozen cookies and four dozen cupcakes, while Kei and Tadashi are in charge of making mochi balls. Tobio would have much rather made mochi balls, he thinks – he likes ice cream best – but they got first draw and Tobio’s still sour about it.

He comes back to the island with heaps of ingredients in his arms, and Shouyo’s standing on his counters to grab every single bowl that resides in the kitchen. “Dumbass,” Tobio barks at him, and the result is Shouyo dropping a silver mixing bowl in surprise and nearly falling off the counter he’s standing on. Instinctively, Tobio circles the island in case Shouyo decides to fall – he doesn’t need to clean up blood in his kitchen when he’s certain it’ll already be messy enough with Shouyo baking beside him.

And he’s not wrong. They’re halfway through the first batch of cookies – sugar cookies, arguably the easiest kind of cookie to make – when Shouyo spills the powdered sugar on the floor.

Tobio seethes, thinks for a moment that steam actually might be coming out of his ears with how comically angry he is. He’d told Shouyo not to sit on the counter, but Shouyo had stuck his tongue out and fuckin’ done it anyway like he owned the place, and while he was dancing to some instrumental garbage that Tobio still hasn’t gotten him to change, he managed to swing his knee up and knock into the large bag of powdered sugar.

“You dunce!” Tobio cries, and Shouyo’s yelping in surprise and jumping off the counter to clean it up, but it’s too late – nearly a quarter of the bag is lost to the kitchen floor. Tobio rubs his temple with the oncoming of a headache, quite likely caused by the pressure he’s applying to his forehead in the first place, but he’s too angry to care. “Sweep it up, idiot! Using a wet rag will only make it stick to the ground!”

The way Shouyo gasps out a “Yes, sir!” makes Tobio almost feel bad for yelling; Shouyo sounds a little scared. Then again, he should sound scared – he should be scared – because Tobio is intimidating and mean and most certainly not soft for his spiker. No way. Not soft for Shouyo.

But Shouyo’s so soft.

Tobio’s helpless, gooey, right-brain supplies this thought right as Shouyo clambers onto his knees with a hand broom to clean up the mound of powdered sugar littering the floor. His cheeks somehow have powdered sugar on them, and some clings to Shouyo’s nose and lips as he sweeps a little too hard and gets powdered sugar on his face. Tobio feels like he’s done it on purpose, because the way he grins sheepishly and upturns his head to face Tobio has his heart melting like glaze off a donut and he really can’t look for too long or he’ll dissolve.

“Sorry, Kageyama,” Shouyo lilts from the ground. “I made a little bit of a mess, huh?”

“Fuck kind of game are you playing?” Tobio grunts back. “You look like a Lolita, stupid.”

Shouyo tilts his head to the side, and the way he sits back on his heels so his thighs splay thick below him is really unfair, especially considering how toned those stupid thighs are and how many times Tobio has unfortunately thought about leaving marks on them aside from the natural bruises and bumps Shouyo gathers from volleyball practice. “Lolita?” he asks, as if he doesn’t know, as if he isn’t acting like one right now, and Tobio’s cheeks erupt bright red in a strange mixture of anger and embarrassment that he’s sure he’s felt before.

“Idiot!” he barks out. “Lolita, you know? Ugh, just clean the rest of it up. I’m going to put the dough in the fridge,” he grumbles as he rolls the sugar cookie dough out into a slab and wraps it in plastic wrap. He tucks it into the refrigerator as Shouyo finishes sweeping.

“I’m really sorry, Tobio,” Shouyo murmurs as he passes behind Tobio on the way to the trash can, and the sound of his first name on Shouyo’s lips makes Tobio’s body recoil enough that he throws out a hand instinctively.

And knocks the dustpan full of powdered sugar all over the goddamn kitchen.

“Hey, what the fuck was that for?” Shouyo whines, having taken a surprising amount of sugar to the face. And he’s coughing, ready to sneeze it looks like, with the amount of powdered sugar on his face.

“Why’d you call me that?!” Tobio yelps back, as if he can in any way construe this to be Shouyo’s fault and not entirely his for his limb’s awkward flailing. But he will sure as hell try to blame this on Shouyo.

“I dunno!” Shouyo cries defensively, and now he does sneeze, in a cutely stupidly adorable way that has Tobio recoiling like he’s just taken psychic damage. He nearly flings another arm out in the opposite direction and knocks over their bowl of half-mixed chocolate chip cookie dough. Luckily, he catches himself this time.

“Just – go clean yourself up,” Tobio grimaces, and his voice drops in decibels until it’s hardly audible over the sound of the stupid music playing in the background. Tobio vows to change it the second Shouyo leaves. “I’ve got extra shirts and stuff in my bedroom. Go change, you look like you were inside a baby powder factory that exploded.”

Shouyo sticks out his tongue, then licks his lips and giggles. He giggles. And Tobio thinks to any and all gods who live above, please save me from this stupid cute boy. I don’t want to be gay anymore if it means having to be attracted to such a dumbass. The gods don’t listen, because as Shouyo skips off down the hall, Tobio’s left watching his thighs as he goes.

His first course of action is to change the music. He knows Shouyo’s phone password – not because Shouyo has told him in case he forgets it, but because it’s his stupid birthday, which is a stupid password, and also his own passcode on his phone. He stops that heinous music and instead turns on a playlist of hits from the last decade, which he also quickly regrets, and decides to settle for no music, instead turning on a volleyball game in the living room that he can see from his spot at the island. He likes this much better, he decides.

Then, even though all of this took a good four minutes and twenty-two seconds (Tobio is keeping track for no reason whatsoever of how long Shouyo spends snooping in his room), Shouyo still hasn’t returned, so Tobio’s next course of action is to get as many cookies on baking sheets as he can before the monster returns. He manages three dozen, and he’s just getting the sugar cookie dough from the refrigerator as Shouyo returns.

And Tobio really shouldn’t have offered up his own clothes.

They hang off him like a blanket. Shouyo’s put on one of Tobio’s old middle school tee shirts, probably with the hope that it will be smaller (and it’s most certainly not). Tobio nearly can’t tell Shouyo’s even wearing pants – he’d worn super short shorts over here, claiming it was because of the heat but Tobio almost feels like he’s being teased. And, to top it off, Shouyo’s pulled his bangs into two high-sitting pigtails.

His jaw must have dropped because when Shouyo walks back into the kitchen the first thing he does is press his palm roughly into Tobio’s chin, sends his bottom jaw back upward into his top one. And what little mental cognition Tobio has left is dedicated to moving his tongue out of the way so he doesn’t bite it when Shouyo does this. He can’t even formulate an angry response – can’t even call Shouyo a dumbass – because his tongue feels swollen and heavy in his mouth and he wonders if he really did bite it and he just can’t feel it because he’s so distracted. “Shut up,” Shouyo huffs. “I know I look stupid but I thought this would help keep the flour out of my hair.”

“Maybe if you weren’t such a dumbass you wouldn’t get flour in your hair in the first place,” Tobio shoots back, and he doesn’t really remember wanting to say that but he just shrugs. Better than accidentally calling Shouyo a Lolita again.

But maybe not, because Shouyo had grabbed a half-cup of flour as Tobio said that, and he decided his next course of action would be to dump it on Tobio’s head.

Tobio blinks, shakes his head a little, and he can tell by Shouyo’s widening eyes that he knows he shouldn’t have done that, because now Tobio’s pissed, now he’s going to beat the shit out of Shouyo and it doesn’t matter how damn attractive those thighs and that face and that ass are, because he’s dead, and Tobio’s not into dead things. (Call that human decency.)

“Shouyo,” he says, voice quiet and dripping with malice. And Shouyo takes a step back, but he’s trapped between the counter and Tobio, and his lip is quivering like he’s either going to laugh or cry, and Tobio can’t tell which will be worse. He grabs hold of one of Shouyo’s stupid little pigtails, but he doesn’t tug yet; instead he watches the way Shouyo’s face contorts in preparation to have his nose broken. “What the fuck did you do that for?”

“Y-y-you said,” Shouyo’s stuttering, and god it’s cute, it’s so cute. “I-I mean! Now y-you’re a dumbass, too!”

“I’m a what?!” Tobio barks.

��Y’know, a dumbass,” Shouyo replies, as if Tobio doesn’t remember what a dumbass is. “Stupid. Himbo.” He waves his arms in vague gestures and that lip quivering is gone but his eyes are still blown wide, still trying to remember the phone number for ‘9-1-1’ probably in case this goes haywire.

Tobio moves his other hand to steady himself on the counter, effectively caging Shouyo in. “Is that what you think?” he seethes, and he can see that lip beginning to quiver again. “I can’t believe you spilled powdered sugar all over the floor and got shit all over your face and lit a goddamn toaster on fire, but I’m the idiot here.”

“To be fair, you knocked a dustpan full of powdered sugar all over the floor,” Shouyo comments feebly, lifts his index finger pointedly.

The hand clamped around his pigtail moves down and grabs the collar of Shouyo’s (his) shirt, and he leans closer to Shouyo, who really doesn’t look scared enough anymore. “I only did that because you called me—”

“What?” Shouyo shoots back, and now he looks more defiant than anything. “Tobio? I called you by your name and so you threw powdered sugar everywhere?”

Tobio scowls at him. “Fuck you, you’d do the same thing,” he glares.

“Actually, I wouldn’t.”

“Would too.”

“Would not.”

“Would too!”

“Would not times ten!”

“Would too times a thousand!”

Shouyo gasps, appalled by jumping from ten to a thousand, and Tobio smirks, victorious. “Shouyo,” he murmurs, low and intimidating like Shouyo did to him, and Tobio sees him shrink, sees him quiver a bit. Whether it’s under his gaze or his hands he can’t tell; both of his hands, now, have migrated to the shirt collar and hold him there. And their faces are close together – almost too close for comfort, but Tobio’s trying to prove a point right now – and Shouyo’s jaw has dropped now. Tobio almost wants to do the same to him, to but a palm to his chin and forced his mouth closed, but then that mouth is on his and he forgets literally everything that’s led up to this moment.

Shouyo tastes like powdered sugar. He tastes too sweet and yet it’s not enough, as if it’s not as sweet as Tobio’s expecting. And his lips move hungrily, like he’s desperately trying to find the same sweetness on Tobio’s lips, but Tobio isn’t a dumbass and hasn’t had his face covered in baking supplies (though he has been sneaking cookie dough when Shouyo isn’t looking). Tobio’s entire body tenses for a millisecond, trying to recall if he’s the one who instigated this but he doesn’t think so because his eyes are opened and Shouyo’s are closed. And so he wraps an arm underneath Shouyo’s legs and places him on the counter, and his fingers knot in Shouyo’s hair, desperate and hot in the warm kitchen, and their lips press against each other’s roughly, like this is all either of them have wanted.

Shouyo moves to pull away from the kiss but Tobio chases his lips, chases the feeling he’s been so desperate to learn since the end of their first game, since the first time he’s seen Shouyo really fly on the court. (He initially worried that maybe he was gay for birds, but he’s just gay for boys who can jump. It’s a relief, really.)

“Tobio,” Shouyo sighs out, and between each syllable is another peck of the lips, another moment where Tobio’s trying to memorize the imprint of Shouyo’s mouth on his own. “Cookies.” Tobio ignores him. Shouyo’s hands meet Tobio’s shoulders and give a weak shove. “Cookies,” he repeats, and that’s when Tobio hears it – the sound of the oven timer going off. He forces his lips away from Shouyo’s with more effort than he assumed it would take, and quickly he’s pulling out sheets of cookies and setting them on the counter to cool. And Shouyo’s waiting expectantly for him on the counter across the room, and this time it’s Tobio who initiates it, and Shouyo’s left following along.

When they finally force themselves away from each other for more than a half second to inhale a sharp suck of breath, they’re panting and red-faced and Shouyo’s hair is tangled and there’s flour dripping down Tobio’s hair to the back of his shirt. He shakes the rest of it out into Shouyo’s lap, and Shouyo squeals and squirms, laughing and trying to push Tobio away from him. “Stop it, stop it!” he’s wheezing, and Tobio’s laughing – he’s laughing at this – and he doesn’t know that he’s ever been happier than this.

“You dumped it on me!” Tobio replies, through laughs and gentle nudges and kisses, oh god Shouyo’s kissing him again and he nearly faints. He forgets all about the cookies, damn the cookies, damn the cupcakes they need to make later because Shouyo’s lips are the only sweet thing he ever wants to taste again, and he’s probably being a melodramatic horny teenager but damn it all if that’s not what he wants. To be a melodramatic horny teenager with a short boyfriend who can also fly and is just as stupid as him.

He sighs past Shouyo’s lips. Of all the people he could have been gay for, it had to be a stupid idiot jumping bean.

The baking process goes decently smoother in the afternoon, considering their rough start in the morning with spilled sugar and cups of flour and the subsequent cookie-dough fight that happened after they finally parted their lips for more than a minute and a half. Tobio surveys the damage – there are still globs of cookie dough sticking to various bits of cabinetry and a piece even managed to get stuck to the corner of the television – and he sighs. But Shouyo’s arms are around his waist, trying to grab the bowl of cake mix from his hands, and Tobio thinks that the efforts to clean will be completely worth it for the opportunity to kiss the boy clinging to him.

Once he finishes mixing, he holds the spoon over his shoulder for Shouyo to lick it, then licks the spoon himself. “Gross,” Shouyo whines. “I just licked that!”

“My tongue was literally in your mouth two minutes ago,” Tobio deadpans back, and Shouyo laughs.

And Tobio doesn’t have to refrain from swallowing that laugh with a kiss.

[rosesanthology]

bb it's fine rlly! Then do you mind if I request no. 24 {the protection of laughter} with nishinoya..? angst w happy ending pls tysm! 💕

I-i dont think requests are for me with the way my anxiety and hyperfocus made me write this right away🤡 HOWEVER i present to you this text, hoping that you like it nevertheless even tho i can barely do angst (my heart is weak okay) (◡‿◡✿)

- Warning : not proofread sry

- Prompt : the protection of laughter

- Character : Nishinoya

- Songs : • Smile by Nat King Cole

                • Baby Hotline by Jack Stauber

- the sound of wind chimes always reminded you of your boyfriend

- carefree and somehow relaxing, his very being always synonymous with good windy days

- you had been in a relationship with Nishinoya for a few months now

- he was really sweet and he never failed to have you smiling on the gloomiest days

- though you'd want to be able to hug him more often

- the last time you did was 5 months ago before you had to go back to your city for school

- long distance relationships weren't easy but with Noya, you both were sure that you could make it work

- "i ASSURE YOU that i cannot smell your new cologne thru the screen Yuu" you said, trying your best not to choke from laughter at your boyfriend's antics while on the facetime call

- "but what if i....tried ? (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧"

- you : *SNORTS*

- he really loved to make you laugh, it made his heart warm in way that almost made it feel like you were with him in that moment

- almost

- he knew that you two were busy with school but that knowledge didnt make the sadness in his eyes disappear whenever he had to end the call to go to practice

- Nishinoya wanted you to be with him physically too

- one time you spent a good 3 hours convincing him not to drop out from Karasuno and apply to your school on an impulse

- he always looked forward to your texts and video calls, dropping everything for you (figuratively AND literally)

- his favorite thing to do was staying up late at night with you on the phone, muffled giggles and low voices, while you talked about the future together

- so why ?

- "Yuu....let's break up" you had just told him that one day over the phone

- he was so excited to tell you about how volleyball practice went in preparation for the big match he had in two weeks and yet you hit him with that

- "you're joking right ?"

- he was hoping you'd start laughing and wash away his anxiety but his blood ran cold the second he heard you trying to contain your sobs thru the phone

- "i think it's for the best"

- was every promise you made all for nothing ?

- all this time was he the only one who fell in love ? Yes he had heard about how there always was one clown in a relationship but he thought that maybe....

- he thought that with you it was different

- "i need some time sorry" he said, sounding more harsh than usual, almost regretting hanging up when he heard you jump at the sound of his tone

- it was the first time in months that he had fallen asleep feeling so let down

- you on the other hand were not doing so well either

- you had been going thru a hard period with school grades, your friends, your club and family

- you always made time for him but you didn't feel like being a burden to him by talking about this kind of things

- you didn't want  your wind chimes to somehow sound sad, and especially over you

- so you chose to make it quick

- breaking off what you had felt like the only way to keep him from dropping his whole life for you

- after all he had a bright future, even without you in it, he's find a way to shine as he always did

- a week passed by, and then another,

- Noya had been skipping class and picking fights again, snapping more often at his teammates even though he never really meant it

- he just felt frustrated that now he had to go on without your goodmorning texts or memes

- he couldn't get used to it

- it was so sudden

- as sudden as the date of the match

- it all came really fast and in no time, he was standing at the doors of the gymnasium, with the rest of the team, the noises of the crowd not even hyping him as they did

- "hey man are you alright ?" Tanaka asked, sensing that his best friend was out of it, as they made their way onto the big court

- sure he felt sad but he wasn't going to lose either, no way

- "Yeah !" He shot his taller friend a smile and with that they started warming up, hearing the cheers as the opposite team entered as well

- he couldn't help but look up into the crowd

- he wasn't really sure of what he expected

- but he almost threw up from shock at what he saw

- there you were, in the crowd, looking a little distressed but still as beautiful as you were typing away at your phone

- he couldn't believe it

- why were you there ? Didnt you not like him anymore ? Was he just hallucinating ?

- his heart almost jumped right out of his chest when you looked up and locked eyes with him

- and even with a hesitant smile and wave his rage to win came flooding thru his body, ready as ever

- the match went amazingly well

- Karasuno won and Nishinoya was pretty sure that he hadn't let any ball touch the floor during  the last set

- everytime they'd win a point he'd look up at your expression of admiration and all exhaustion left his body

- in the end he was still extasic to see you even after you technically broke up with him

- it was just 2 weeks he never stopped loving you

- and he was sure that he'd never do

- so he ran outside expecting to meet you somewhere on the stairs and as he predicted, there you were

- it was a mistery how you didn't hear him but he took it as his chance to tackle you into a hug

- you pulled away and looked at his smile, as radiant as ever, it made your heart hurt to see him like this after your attempt at cutting him off

- "Yuu i-"

- "before you say anything...how did i look on the court huh ? Better than the other team's setter right ? (◡‿◡✿)"

- and you laughed

- and once again his heart melted

- it was like he fell in love all over again

- you would talk about what was the reason for you wanting to break up with him and get thru whatever it was together

- he'd do anything to protect what you had and he was going to make sure of it

[keijitrash]

Constant Repetition

ᴀ ǫᴜɪᴄᴋ ᴏɴᴇ-sʜᴏᴛ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴍʏ ᴅᴇᴠɪᴀɴᴛᴀʀᴛ - ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ!!

Nishinoya Yuu was, in every manner, enthusiastic, bold, valiant, and, most importantly, honest. Though there were some people who were hard to read, Nishinoya was the one person that [L/N] [F/N] knew would say his thoughts aloud after a moment of contemplation - as if he didn't contemplate at all. He has been her friend since first year in junior high school, and their connection just stayed as strong as ever even through the many differences the pair had.

She never even bothered lying to him - for some strange reason or two, he just knew when she wasn't telling him the truth - and always told him everything she felt once she was ready for someone to hear her out. He's always been the constant anchor in her life that never doubted her once, trusted, and had faith in her.

That being said, there were also a few times when [F/N] believed that Nishinoya's boldness was a little more of a joke as well.

The two of them were currently in their second year of senior high school, both being separated by [F/N] being in a college preparatory class, and was currently sitting on one of the gymnasiums bleachers. Nishinoya had volleyball practice at the moment - and was spending the few minute break with her - while she patiently waited for the club meeting to end since she didn't have one of her own. He was chugging down the energy drink from his jug when he decided to stop, bring the jug down and look at [F/N] intensely.

She was already used to these sudden times when he would give her this kind of look.

She lifted a brow.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked.

"I may have realized that I like you." He suddenly said, and she stifled a giggle and rolled her eyes instead.

"That is the," she counted all the times she remembered him telling her that he might or he may or he thinks he liked her with her fingers then smiled as she continued, "twenty-second time you professed your liking towards me."

He frowned, "It is?"

She nodded.

"But I really do, though!"

She hummed. "Of course, and I like you too, Yuu." She gave him one of those smiles she solely reserved for him, and he felt his cheeks reddening at her words. "Now go before Daichi-san gets mad at you for stalling and staying with me."

She waved him off dismissively with a look that gave him a clear warning that what she just told him will happen if he didn't do what she said.

He pouted a bit, turned around and went back on the court while everyone else was already gathered. He felt his brows furrowing together as he repeated [F/N]'s words in his head.

That is the twenty-second time you professed your liking towards me.

He frowned, still thinking of the same thing even as he concentrated his eyes on the ball overhead.

Did she think it was a joke? It's true though, I do like her. More than Kiyoko-san too.

He stole a glance at her direction as he saved the ball with a well timed dive, watching as her eyes followed the ball and their game. Their eyes met, and he gave her a grin before turning away.

Well if she didn't believe him now, he'd just have to repeat himself again until she realizes that he meant it seriously.

[swipestream]

New Release Roundup, 24 Feb 2018: Fantasy and Adventure

This week’s roundup of the newest releases in fantasy and adventure features a pair of online litRPGs, a renegade angel trying to redeem himself, a magical academy torn apart by magical war, and the return of America’s foremost pulp spy, Secret Agent “X”.

Adventure Rising (Jack Dashing #2) – Jon Mollison

In just a few short weeks, the Planetary Romantic travels to a world not entirely unlike our own. A curious twist of fate strands him in a nightmarish version of New York City…or perhaps that should be a more nightmarish version of New York City. Pursued by wild beasts and sinister agents, Jack once again finds himself in a race to find the one man that can send him to his own version of home. But once Jack finds him, the brilliant Dr. Abduraxus reveals that the multi-verse doesn’t work quite the way anyone thought. And can this Jack even recognize his one true love, let alone win her heart? Find out in Adventure Rising.

“This book is outstanding, unbelievable fun, and feels like an older book, but one that is a slight bit self aware.” –The Injustice Gamer

*     *     *      *      *

Bushido Online: Friends and Foes (Bushido Online #2) – Nikita Thorn

Now a Level 10 ronin, Seiki is slowly coming to terms with the death of Master Tsujihara and his new life in Shinshioka.

Spending his days in the Wilderness, he’s venting his remaining frustration while staying away from the city drama and those griefers, like the Rogami Clan, who had made his in-game experience so challenging thus far. He has even taken up a trade skill.

But when he’s presented with an offer he can’t refuse and accepts a simple mission to deliver a message to Kano Castle, he will quickly find his troubles are only just beginning. Caught in an imbroglio that will only get worse the more he tries to do well, Seiki will set off a series of events that will lead to chaos, death, and the eventual destruction of an entire territory.

Surrounded by betrayal, hidden agendas and people looking to take advantage of him, who can Seiki really trust?

When everything is not what it seems, it can be impossible to differentiate between friends and foes.

*     *     *      *      *

Clockwork Planet #3 – Yuu Kamiya and Tsubaki Himana, illustrated by Sino

–I know this is sudden, but the world had already collapsed long ago. Earth had died, but the entire planet was reconstructed and reproduced using clockwork – “The Clockwork Planet.”

In the wake of rescuing the mind-controlled AnchoR, moments later, Naoto and Marie come to a rude awakening over a crucial element of the behemoth’s design: its natural ability to disrupt clockwork technology! Caught between a desperate Tokyo Military and a doomsday weapon stronger than even they anticipated, the two geniuses are facing their greatest crisis yet! The third volume of the gear fantasy by Yuu Kamiya x Tsubaki Himana x Sino!!

*     *     *      *      *

Fire Storm (Zulu Virus Chronicles #3) – Steven Konkoly

Having narrowly survived the KILL BOX, HOT ZONE’s hardened survivors and their KILL BOX allies separate to pursue different objectives–outside of the Indianapolis quarantine zone.

For David Olson, that means bringing his son south, to the safe haven of his parents’ home–far away from the infected cities. Eric Larsen takes him up on the offer to rest and heal at the house, before departing on the long journey to find his family in Colorado.

For Rich and his secretive black ops team, that means transporting Dr. Chang and Dr. Hale to a secure facility out east, where they will join the nation’s few surviving bioweapons researchers–with the hopes of pinpointing the source of the virus and possibly developing a vaccine.

Neither group will get very far, before the true face of the evil controlling the Zulu Virus arrives–tempting them with irresistible opportunities.

*     *     *      *      *

GOD HATES ME: The Diary of an Ex-Angel – Richard Cain

Demon is such an ugly word.

Malach prefers “angelically-challenged”. After all, it’s not his fault that he was kicked out of Heaven.

And if you’ll just listen, he can explain everything.

GOD HATES ME: The Diary of an Ex-Angel is a smart, funny, and surprisingly moving tale of a demon who means well and would really like to figure out how to get back to Heaven one day. But how do you make a case for yourself when no one seems to care enough to listen?

Despite what the cover looks like, this isn’t a supernatural romance novel. No, it’s something much better. This is a story of a fallen angel seeking redemption. Unfortunately for him, every good deed he tries to accomplish ends up going awry.–Amazon Reader Review

*     *     *      *      *

Haven of Shadows (The Broken Crown #1) – Ken Lozito

The Free Nations of Safanar have spread throughout the lands bringing peace and prosperity to all who join them, but deep in the southern kingdoms, an old enemy gathers strength.

Two royal brothers find themselves in the midst of an ancient struggle. One brother is on the hunt of a dreaded order of assassins deep in the barbarian kingdoms of old. The other refuses to be a pawn and seeks to walk his own path. Both are the instruments of destiny.

An enemy that lurks in the shadows will strike out at the Free Nations threatening the very foundation holding them together and bringing them to the brink of war.

*     *     *      *      *

Level Up – Craig Anderson

Virtual is Reality.

What would the world be like if video game rules suddenly applied?

Marcus is about to find out. After a freak accident he finds himself stuck between a game and the real world. He’ll need to fight his way through football hooligans, carnies and the dreaded RNG to get to the final boss and save the world. Anything less means it’s game over for good.

Along the way he’ll learn new skills, chase epic loot and most importantly of all, Level Up!

A parody novel that crosses Office Space with the Gamer. – The LitRPG Podcast

*     *     *      *      *

Poisoned (The Book of Maladies #3) – D. K. Holmberg

No longer alone, Sam and Alec struggle to find time to continue their studies together. Sam knows that she is more than the lowborn she’d long believed, now living and training in the palace, but still doesn’t feel as if she quite fits in. Worse, it seems as if Alec has moved on without her, preferring his new life in the university.

Alec has quickly risen in rank, but that only draws attention to him. Learning from master physickers has its benefits, but there are dangers and he’s not certain whether he can trust the new friends he’s made. Evidence continues to mount of a conspiracy within the university, and it’s one he’ll need Sam’s help in understanding.

While Alec tries to reach out to Sam, she searches for Marin and answers that might unlock her full potential. What she finds instead is a threat to the safety in the city, protections that have long prevented the Thelns from reaching Verdholm, if they haven’t already breached them.

Together, they are the key to stopping Marin, but can they master their new places in the city in time?

*     *     *      *      *

The Promised Lie (The Unwritten Words #1) – Christopher Nuttall

In The Unwritten Words, Christopher Nuttall’s story-telling mastery weaves a new epic which follows on from his bestselling Bookworm series and is set in that same world. In The Promised Lie, the first book of the new series, five years have passed since the earth-shattering events of Bookworm IV.

The Golden City has fallen. The Grand Sorcerer and Court Wizards are dead.

The Empire they ruled is nothing more than a memory, a golden age lost in the civil wars as kings and princes battle for supremacy. And only a handful of trained magicians remain alive.

Isabella Majuro, Lady Sorceress, is little more than a mercenary, fighting for money in a desperate bid to escape her past. But when Prince Reginald of Andalusia plots the invasion of the Summer Isle, Isabella finds herself dragged into a war against strange magics from before recorded history …

… And an ancient mystery that may spell the end of the human race.

*     *     *      *      *

Secret Agent X #6 –  Fred Adams Jr., Kaushik Karforma and Frank Schildiner 

Pulpdom’s premier spy returns in three new pulse-pounding adventures.

The Man of a Thousand Faces is confronted with the most threatening challenges to America imaginable and only his incredible talents as a super spy can overcome each. From destroying a spreading world plague launched from a giant airship to stymieing Nazi subterfuge at a mountain enclave and then having to fight dead men under spell of an evil mystic. All in a days work for the Agent X.

Writers Fred Adams Jr., Kaushik Karforma and Frank Schildiner deliver three top-notch pulp thrillers that will have fans turning pages at break-neck speed. Learn why Nick Carter to James Bond and Matt Helm, and all the great heroes of espionage fiction owe their very existence to the character that created the mold, Secret Agent X.

*     *     *      *      *

A Sellsword’s Compassion (The Seven Virtues #1) – Jacob Peppers

War sweeps the land as the sons and daughters of the late King Marcus battle over who will claim their father’s throne and able-bodied men and women flock to one cause or the other in the hopes of a better tomorrow. At least, most of them. If life has taught the jaded sellsword, Aaron Envelar, anything, it’s that hope is for fools and causes are a sure remedy for breathing. But when his latest job leads him to the corpse of a prince and a conspiracy that threatens to destroy the entire realm, Aaron is forced to choose sides in a war he doesn’t want, between forces he doesn’t understand.

Thrust into a world of mythical assassins, a madman with a superhuman strength, and a nagging ball of light with a superiority complex who claims to be the embodiment of compassion, Aaron takes on his hardest job yet—staying alive.

*     *     *      *      *

The Zero Equation (The Zero Enigma #3) – Christopher Nuttall

Caitlyn Aguirre is no magician …

… But she’s still at the centre of the storm.

Caitlyn and her friends have returned to Jude’s Sorcerous Academy, but all is not well in the school. The Great Houses of Shallot are on the verge of going to war and the conflict is spilling into the school, while – in the background – powerful and secretive forces prepare to finally reveal their plans to reshape the world. Caught in the middle, torn between her family and her friends – and burdened with a secret she dares not share – Cat must unlock the secret of the Zero Equation …

… Or watch helplessly as her family, friends and school are destroyed by war.

New Release Roundup, 24 Feb 2018: Fantasy and Adventure published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames