#only for everything to grow a gain a couple of days

[goatgoesmbe]

Fanfiction has ruined me, because i just thought about how weird it is for me to be so hairy everywhere but when i think of waxing the voices in my head said "Johnny would cry, don't do that to him"

And i just nodded

[cheeseceli]

When they have a crush

Pairing: ot7 BTS × Gn!reader (individually)

Genre: headcanon, fluff

Request: types of dumb or random things bts members will do while they are crushing on someone and wants their attention?

Warnings: mentions of food at jin's

A/n: I feel like I'm getting better at making the layout of these posts :)

Jin

‌This man ain't even trying to bring out his boyfriend material

‌He's going for the husband material

‌Cooks for you quite a lot

‌Always bringing you some lunch or just a few baked goodies (and never allowing the boys to eat it beforehand)

‌Runs errands with you because he "has nothing better to do" when in reality he's just desperate to be with you for a while

‌He even has "cleaning dates" with you😭

‌I see him to be a huge fan of domesticity ngl

‌So if there's anything he can do to bring out this side in your relationship, even if you're only on the friendship stage yet, you can bet that's what he's gonna do

‌And he 100% expects your friends to make the "you seem like an old married couple" jokes because !!

‌That's precisely his goal!!

‌Once he gets to know your family, he even wants your family to be expecting the day you'll both start to date

‌Jin is just the definition of husband material and he knows it, that's how he tries to make you look at him

Suga

‌Stick to the end and hear me out

‌Jokes

‌I know how that sounds but I promise you it makes sense😭

‌Yoongi is the typa guy to be effortlessly (and questionably) funny

‌Like that one time the staff said "whoever has the ball wins" and he replied with "then we are all winners"

‌However !

‌He keeps on doing those jokes like he'd always do

‌But now he unconsciously looks at your direction

‌Would you laugh? Would you find it weird? Did you even pay attention?

‌If, after developing this crush of him, he notices that you actually laugh at his jokes

‌You can be sure he'll do them a lot

‌But it's so subtle you don't even notice he's doing it to make you laugh/have your attention

‌However, he does pay attention to you quite a lot so he can always be the first one to notice your smile growing

J-hope

‌Endless excuses to see you

‌He will purposely "forget" his things at your place just so he can go back there (and forget some more things)

‌It's an infinite cycle

‌Sometimes he will accidentally leave his sweatshirts with you

‌And then he'll be like "could you give it back to me? We can go to that restaurant I was telling you about and then you can give it to me"

‌But then he will tell you that the night is cold so it's okay if you want to wear his sweatshirt while you're both out

‌And then he also forgets to take it back

‌Wow who would ever imagine this could happen

‌So now you both need to see each other again because he really wants that sweatshirt

‌Bro is still trying to grow the courage to properly ask you out

‌So even if you do catch up on his small antics, please engage on it

‌He just needs a little bit of impulse 😭

Namjoon

‌Whenever he wants your attention, he starts to talk

‌And with that I mean he TALKS

‌Won't shut up for a second

‌And he won't even make sense, bro is talking about the dumbest and more random things you could ever imagine

‌ "I wouldn't want to live in mars, it sounds depressing. Neptune sounds cool though, don't you think?"

‌Like?? How do you want me to answer to that hun😭

‌But it's kinda sweet because he becomes a professional yapper to gain your attention, but once he gets it he let's you do all the talking

‌He didn't really want to talk, he just wanted you to be there with him

‌So you can talk all you want, he will pay attention to every single word with a little smile on his face

Jimin

‌Deadass stares at you

‌Not in a creepy way tho, just in a "please look at me I really want your attention right now"

‌And will keep on staring at you until you give in

‌Heavy on physical touch as well

‌At this stage of your relationship, everything is friendly of course

‌Because he is scared of letting you know he's in love with you💀 even if that's pretty much the whole point

‌However

‌He still craves a lot of your touch

‌Hugs all the time, holds and plays with your hand, the same goes to your hair...

‌Sometimes you can't even go somewhere without him following you like a shadow

‌Trust me, if he wants your attention he will find a way to have it

Taehyung

‌He will ask for it

‌Like, literally

‌I see him as a very straightforward person so he'll just be like "y/n pay attention to me"

‌Multiple times, until you actually do stop whatever you were doing and look at him

‌And his reaction will be like 😄

‌I see him doing this slightly more subtly when he's trying to get your attention from someone else

‌If he feels you're talking to Jin, for example, for a very long while now, he won't hesitate on sitting next to you

‌And kinda throwing himself on top of you

‌lmao scratch what I said, that's not subtle at all

‌But at least he doesn't say what he wants from you out loud ig

Jungkook

‌You think this man is competitive?

‌That's because you haven't seen him trying to impress you

‌Are you watching the dance practice? You can bet that Jungkook is giving 3 times his all

‌Are you watching the recording? Bro becomes Mariah Carey in two seconds

‌The boys' biggest fear is when they are playing basketball or something like that and you're watching it

‌They KNOW they are going to lose

‌It can be a 6×1, nothing is stopping him from impressing you like that

‌But if you're the one playing against him? He's probably gonna win the match no matter what, but he's going to be extremely soft at least!

‌Please do compliment him on how he was, he needs to know it was worth it😭

Masterlist | you'll probably like: when you're rejected by your crush

Thank you for reading <3

Taglist (open!): @yuyubeans

Credits for images 1 , 2 and 3

Dividers by @k1ssyoursister

[charliegyrth]

Metabolism Blockers

Gay Gainer Erotica

I was lifting weights when Val walked into the room. He had a big smile on his face and two blue pills in his palm.

I lowered the weights and sat up. “No, Val. Whatever it is, I’m not taking it. I have class in the morning.”

“You don’t wanna hear what they are?”

I did not. To earn some cash on the side, my boyfriend had enrolled himself in clinical trials. He was like a guinea pig for untested drugs. So far, he hadn’t had any bad side effects (aside from extra body hair, which was hot but temporary), but it was only a matter of time before one of those pills really messed him up.

“Just hear me out,” he said, sitting next to me on the bench. “They’re metabolism blockers.”

“And?”

“They slow down your metabolism, which leads to weight gain. And since I know you want us to both chunk out a little…”

A week ago, I’d confessed to him about my lifelong desire to get fat. I thought he’d freak out, but he seemed surprisingly into it. Even though we both ate a lot, we were really skinny. Perhaps these pills were exactly what we needed.

“And how long does it last?”

“Three months,” he said. “What do you think?”

“Okay. Why not?”

He knew I was going to say that. He handed me a pill and kept one for himself. He even had a bottle of water ready.

We both swallowed.

He kissed my cheek. “Exciting. Now let’s sit back and see what happens.”

Nothing happened for three days. By then, I’d completely forgotten about it. Must’ve been too good to be true.

Then on the fourth day, I had trouble buttoning my pants. “Val?” I shouted.

He ran into the room. “Are you bigger, too?” He lifted up his shirt, showing me his wider torso and rounder stomach.

I lifted up my own shirt.

He squinted. “I don’t see any changes.”

“But my pants won’t button.”

He gave me a sly smile and led me to the mirror. His reflection looked different but mine didn’t.

I felt a wave of disappointment.

“Turn to the side, John.”

I did as he said and saw my butt jutting out farther than it ever had before. I’d always had a nice ass for someone so skinny, but now, it was so much better. No wonder my pants didn’t fit. All my new weight had gone to one place.

We both weighed ourselves. We’d each gained sixteen pounds.

“Sixteen pounds in four days?” I muttered.

“That’s what happens when you have zero metabolism, I guess.”

My pants felt even tighter. I was getting hard.

Val, equally excited, led me to the bed. I was late for my first class.

***

I walked around campus that day in my loosest slacks. Everyone treated me normally, but I did notice more guys checking me out in the quad. I felt great.

At lunch, I ordered two meals. Now that I knew the drugs were working, I wanted to speed things along. I pictured myself strutting through the quad, with an ass so big that everyone noticed. Thin body, fat ass. God, that was so hot.

There was nothing wrong with Val growing a gut, of course. I think it would look great on him. I was just glad that my fat was collecting differently.

When I got back to the dorms that evening, Val was bouncing with excitement. “Did people notice?”

“A couple,” I said modestly.

“Me too! One guy said I was ‘filling out.’ And I kept catching people glancing at my stomach.” He sighed. “Let’s eat a huge dinner, okay?”

“Agreed.” I didn’t tell him that I’d also had a huge lunch. Knowing him, he probably did, too.

We went down to the dorm cafeteria and totally feasted. With Val eating with me, I was able to pack in so much more than I had alone.

Back in bed, we were too stuffed to do anything but cuddle and fall asleep in each other’s arms.

***

For the next few days, I woke up to a slightly bigger ass each morning. The gains were pretty steady, too. Four or five pounds a day. This drug was incredible!

And miraculously, the only part of me affected was below my waist. Everything from my knees to my waist was thicker. Perhaps my stomach had gotten a bit softer, but it was still flat.

Val, on the other hand, was softening all over. His numbers matched mine, but his whole body was growing a layer of softness. His arms and legs looked smoother, less muscled. Even his face was thickening a little. His stomach was the most noticeable change, though. Definitely rounder.

We skipped our morning classes to lie in bed together and just explore our bodies.

Val ran his hand across my stomach. “So when do you think the rest of you is gonna catch up to your ass?”

“Never, I hope. I’ve always dreamed of being a big, fat guy, like you’re going to be. But there’s something pretty hot about being skinny with a big ol’ booty.”

He kissed me.

We were planning to go to our afternoon classes, but none of my pants fit. At all. It was impossible for me to leave the dorms. So Val put on his clothes (which were tight but still sort-of fit) and went shopping for the both of us.

He came back two hours later. He’d gone to BXL, the plus-sized store, and stocked up on clothes that were way too big for both of us. That was wise. At this pace, we needed clothes to grow into.

***

By the end of our second week, Val looked incredible. He had the body I’d always dreamed of having. His beer gut was undeniable, spilling over his waistband and spreading out into solid love handles. He’d sprouted a second chin and two round moobs. And his arms and legs had continued to soften. In just a week, he looked like a different person.

Meanwhile, I still looked exactly the same from the waist up. The slightly softness on my stomach was still invisible under shirts. In fact, I didn’t even need to wear any of the new shirts that Val had gotten me. My old ones still fit just fine.

But below the waist was a different story. My thighs were wobbly now and my ass cheeks could no longer fit in my computer chair. When I was on my laptop, I had to sit on my bed so that I could spread out.

The stares that I got when I walked through campus had gone from lustful to curious to freaked out. I’m pretty sure that most people thought that I’d surgery to get this way.

I had to request special chairs for most of my classes, but since the school didn’t have any that were big enough, they decided that the best option was to give me chairs without arm rests, which allowed my hips to hang over the sides. That worked okay.

After the second week, Val and I had stopped intentionally overeating. We were growing so fast that people thought we were sick. That didn’t do anything to stop our growth., though We woke up every morning four-ish pounds heavier. Sometimes a little more.

I started to get jealous of Val’s body. His gains were so well-distributed. People saw him as a typical fat guy. They noticed his belly, but they didn’t get worried about him.

People got worried about me.

Throughout the second month, I started getting scared. My thighs just wouldn’t stop expanding, but they weren’t smooth anymore. One morning, I woke up with clusters of cellulite on my ass. By the next morning, the cellulite had deepened. And the morning after that, it had spread all the way across my thighs.

It was even noticeable through my pants. I felt so damn lumpy.

Val loved it, though. We had sex every night. He always topped now, completely crazy over what my ass had turned into. I enjoyed it, of course. I loved feeling his belly weigh me down. I loved how my legs jiggled under his movements. I’d gotten too big for some positions, though. My thighs had gotten too squashed together for him to raise my legs up, so I had to stay on my stomach and wait for him to spread my cheeks apart before he took me.

The worst change, the one that really put me into an existential crisis, happened at the end of the second month. I was growing a fat pad. Despite having almost no belly at all, the area above my dick had been steadily growing. Now, it was starting to swallow up my average-sized cock. I couldn’t top him anymore even if I wanted. With my growing thighs and fat pad, my dick was surrounded on all sides with fat, and it really freaked me out.

I sat on our bed and started crying.

Val tried to console me. He placed his hanging belly on my lap because he knew that would comfort me. Didn’t work. I just kept crying.

That’s when he admitted something that he should’ve told me before I’d taken the damn pills. “There’s a, uh, side effect that they warned me about. I didn’t think it was that big a deal at the time, but…”

“What side effect?” I demanded.

“Uneven weight distribution. I thought that meant, like, one moob would grow lower than the other. Like mine kind of is. I didn’t realize…” His voice trailed off.

“I’m uneven!” I screamed. “All my gains are below the waist!”

“Not all of them,” he said, supportively squeezing my very minor roll of belly fat. That was nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to my legs.

It wasn’t fair! We’d gained the same amount, but he was growing into a beautiful, big-bellied fat man while I had legs so fat that I barely had a dick anymore!

I sobbed into his shoulder.

He held me in his flabby arms. “It’s okay. The three months are almost over.”

Not quite. We had three and a half more weeks. By then, I probably wouldn’t even be able to walk anymore. I was already waddling everywhere.

“I need new pants,” I muttered.

“Already ordered you some. BXL doesn’t have anything in your size. They’ll arrive tomorrow.”

God. My ass had outgrown the big and tall store. I was a freak.

“What can I do, John? What do you need to feel better?”

I wiped my eyes and looked up at him. “Eat,” I said.

“What?”

“If I’m gonna keep gaining like this, I don’t want to be the only one that everyone stares at. I want you to keep eating for the rest of the month until you’re f*cking enormous. That’ll make me feel better about myself.”

I knew I was being petty. I knew I was lashing out. But I stood by what I said. He didn’t tell me about the side effect, and I wasn’t going to be the only one suffering the consequences. I’d get him so big that no one would even notice me.

He kissed me. “Okay. I’ll order some pizzas.”

***

The next morning, we contacted our adviser and requested that we finish out the rest of the semester online. She didn’t argue. I hadn’t broken any chairs yet, but it was only a matter of time.

For the rest of the month, we spent all our time in the dorm. When we weren’t logged into class, we were in the living room. Val ate as much as he could, and when he couldn’t finish anything else, he either took a nap or I fed him myself. In that time, I barely ate anything. Just a pizza or two a day, a fraction of what Val was shoving in.

We didn’t weigh ourselves until the last day of our three-month sentence. I went first, discovering (not surprisingly) that I’d gained 127 pounds, nearly all in my lower half. Sure, I’d finally gotten love handles and my stomach was hanging down a bit, but it wasn’t nearly enough to balance out my legs. It was extremely difficult to walk, and when I did, I moved like a penguin in constant danger of toppling over. My fat pat had swallowed my cock completely. Only the tip was visible, and only when I got hard. And the cellulite… I had no idea skin could be this uneven and cratered.

Then Val stepped on the scale. It immediately broke. And I don’t mean the numbers stopped working. The scale literally cracked in two. He stumbled backwards and almost fell. “Well,�� he said, “hope this makes you happy.”

It really did. I'd gotten so distracted by my angry drive to feed him that I hadn’t stopped to truly appreciate what he looked like now.

Massive. Soft. Drooping. His chest was pendulous. His belly was, too. It jutted out a lot but it mostly hung down, obscuring his crotch. He’d developed so many stretchmarks that my cellulite problem felt like nothing. And if I truly looked at his legs, they weren’t that much smaller than mine. His hips didn’t jut out as far, and his ass cheeks were rounded at the top before seriously flattening from his near-constant sitting, but the legs themselves were almost as thick as mine. Almost.

Sex of any kind was pretty much impossible for him now. The best we could do was press our faces into each other’s fat pads and try to suck each other off. (Still really hot, though.)

I pulled him into bed. My ass and his… everything filled up the mattress. In a way, this was what I’d wanted all along. To grow with Val. And we both had, way more than either of us had imagined.

As I held him and gently rubbed his overflowing belly, I thought about the future. Now that the drugs had worn off, maybe we could lose some of the weight and try to go back to a somewhat normal life. That’s probably what Val would do.

Maybe I would, too.

Or maybe I would keep going. Without the drug messing with my hormones, I could keep gaining and hope that the next 127 pounds would help my upper body catch up. Only time would tell.

For now, I just wanted to relax and enjoy the bodies we’d grown. Deep down, I was happy we’d taken the pills. A little freaked out, but definitely happy.

The End.

Thanks for reading! This one's a bit of a departure for me, my first gainer story that completely throws realism out the window. Let me know if you enjoy this one and I'll write more like it. Otherwise, I'll go back to the (slightly) more grounded stuff.

You can find all my stories here.

[shadowbriar]

Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter — Your Initial

Synopsis: After one too many mistakes, too many sour outcomes he had to bring to the boss' door, Dex knew that the thin safetynet he thought he was under was just a mere imagination.

wrote this on my phone cause I'm out on a trip. will fix each and every mistake once I get my hands on a laptop.

Dex' hands roam around her body as if they haven't travelled every inch of her skin. His kisses were desperate, needy, and more vigorous with every pause of breath he took. His figure pins her against the shelves, doing its best to eliminate as much space as possible. The storage room was crammed enough as it is, but even with the close proximity, there seems to be planets between them, still.

His head was pounding. The ringing in his ears would only grow even louder with each text he received from the Kingpin. He knew that he's messed up. Too many tasks left unfinished, targets slipped, and businesses unsealed, that it would only be a matter of time until he gets some disciplinary action. Until he would become another name in Fisk's list. Until he, or worse, she, would become the one chased by the crosshair.

At first, Dex revels in the power he gained when Fisk scouted him. He enjoyed the freedom he had, standing above the law as he unleashed the worst kinds of horror to anyone he needed to take care of. But after one too many mistakes, too many sour outcomes he had to bring to the boss' door, he knew that the thin safetynet he thought he was under was just a mere imagination.

There's nobody he could turn to, no enforcement that he could seek help from cause everything was owned by Fisk. Everyone works for him, whether or not they realise it.

"Dex, hey," she calls softly between their kisses, her giggles trailing her voice "I'm not going anywhere, we can take a breath for a minute,"

He forces a smile, "Why, you don't enjoy my kisses?"

"On the contrary, I adore them a lot," she replies, resting her hands around his neck as she takes a soft peck to the tip of his nose "which is why I'd very much prefer to savour it,"

Dex nods, placing a kiss to her forehead.

She watches him intently. The hue under his eyes was looking more noticeable. Fatigue was dripping out of him, and that displeased frown was etched on his lips. Something was bothering him.

"Trouble sleeping?" she begins to ask, her fingers combed through the blond strands of his hair "has Hattley been giving you a hard time?"

"You can say that," Dex sighs, leaning into her gentle touch "there's this.. task, that I keep on failing, and I'm pretty sure they're going to hang me by the neck if I fail again the next time,"

"What kind of task?"

He chuckles, shaking his head, "You know I can't tell you, it's confidential,"

"You and your mysteries," rolling her eyes, she comments with a slight frown "you know, maybe it'll make you feel better to shine light on some of these secrets,"

He remains silent, watching her with no expression.

"Starting with us, maybe? We can stop going to storage rooms and just.. you know, be a normal couple out in the day," she coaxes, her finger now travels down to his undereye, gently caressing the bags that were more visible than the usual "maybe that'll give your mind a little more peace?"

Dex lets out an exasperated sigh. The muscles on his jaws were tensed now, veins more visible on his forehead. He was conflicted. He knew just how much it meant for her, to be out in public with their relationship, but it would only serve as putting bounty on her head. At this point, he couldn't even be too sure that their relationship was still a business of two. With Fisk's eyes on every corner and Murdock's alien abilities, Dex could only do so much to try and keep her under wraps.

Silently, he places his hands on her cheeks. The gesture was firm and a little authoritative, but she remains silent and follows his lead. He eyes her straight, a total contrast to the gentle and uncertain stare she gives back at him.

"I love you," he begins, his tone dogmatic as if it was a universal fact "I would burn the world to the ground, if it means saving you. If it means keeping you safe from all those filth on the street. There is no one, and I mean by no one, that I would not sacrifice for you,"

Her brows knit, confused as to how their conversation could take such a turn.

"I just— With everything going on, Fisk on that hotel, Daredevil going rampant, I just don't think putting us out there would do us good,"

"What does Fisk and Daredevil have to do with us?" she questions, clearly at lost on what he's trying to say "if you're worried about my safety, I have my gun with me at all times, and I doubt I'll be in any of their priority list. I'm just a nobody,"

"But you're not a nobody to me, and I'm not willing to take that risk," he argues adamantly "look, we can have this discussion some other time, okay? Not now,"

It was obvious that she has more words to spill, more arguments to give, but the despair Dex shows was a little too concerning for her to prolong the discussion, so she surrenders with a nod. Forcing a smile and placing a kiss to his cheek to help untangle the tension on his muscles.

Dex smiles a little, showing gratitude for the gentle gesture before his lips find their way back to her neck, "What's your plan tonight?"

"I don't know, nothing on the schedule yet," she answers.

"How does a dinner date, sound? Been a while since we visited that favourite restaurant of yours,"

"Yeah? Tonight?" she asks, intrigued "wouldn't they call you to watch over Fisk?"

Dex pauses his kisses, lips pursed as he gives it a thought, "They haven't called me for anything, so I should be free for the night," he pulls her closer by the waist, the corners of his lips turning upwards as that gleeful grin returns to her face "so, what do you say?"

"Pick me up at seven?"

He nods, his finger reaches to the 'D' initial hanging on her neck that he got her a couple months back, "You got it, Princess,"

—-

Dex' hair was dishevelled. The first few buttons of his shirt were undone, eyes bloodshot from the panic that's starting to poison his veins. He knew that he's jabbed on the beast a little too frequently lately, but he never would have imagined that he needed to fix everything now.

The stoic welcome in Fisk's tone was gone when he entered the suite. There was a sense of disapproval in the superior's expression, a little more firmness in the order he's given that it shook all the confidence Dex has left in himself. As if there was a silent hidden message that he should understand: last chance, or he's out for good.

Now Dex may never fear for his safety. He's far more capable to eliminate anyone, let alone defend himself, but with Fisk and all the bidding he's done for him, Dex couldn't be certain of the degree his boss would be willing to commit should he make another mistake tonight. And with her in the equation, he knew that there could never be a risk small enough to overlook.

And so he remained quiet when Fisk gave him the mission to go to the abandoned building on the other side of town. There, on the twenty-second floor, he would find a parcel in the middle of the empty ballroom. The parcel itself was of nothing. His main objective was to neutralise Matt Murdock who would be on the move to get his hands on the parcel first and bring his head to Fisk.

There was some knot tightening in his stomach, telling him that something wasn't right when there's a whole meeting with Fisk's past allies downtown. Every criminal, every drug lords that has ever worked with Fisk would be in that building and Dex knew just how crucial it is for his boss to strengthened his crew. Most of the bureau agents are sent to secure the event, and he was fairly certain that he would be called last minute to add another layer of protection for the meeting, yet here he was, running back to his apartment to get the daredevil suit before having to run to the other side of town.

His thumb dials for her number the moment he gets to his apartment. It was 6:24. There would be no chance for him to followup with that dinner now and the last thing he needs to wrap the night with is standing her up for a date he initiated.

"Hey, Princess," Dex greets when his call went straight to voice mail "listen, I think we have to do a raincheck with that dinner tonight. Something came up with Fisk and I can't bail myself out. I'm really sorry, I'll make it up to you, okay? Call me back when you get this. Bye,"

He hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should send another voice message just to tell her that he loves her. Something about today makes him want to say it a million times more than yesterday. Neither of them were ever this clingy. The word typically only roll out of their tongues when they were dancing on the bed, but there's this urge to be more vocal about what he feels for her today. A certain kind of need that he was never familiar with. And if Dex was an honest man, he'd admit that this feeling scares him shitless.

Pushing his pride aside, he types in for one last text before he opens his safe and put the daredevil suit on.

I love you, call me back. D

—-

When Matt got to the abandoned building, his confusion only grew bigger as the ticking he heard from the parcel was just of a decoy. It was just some cheap electrical circuit with materials of a bomb yet none of the circuits were connected to each other. Next to it was a gold necklace with the initial D. It evidently belongs to someone as the perfume of its owner was still strong on the item, yet Matt couldn't recall anyone who wears such personalised scent.

Before Matt could give his ponder a little more time, Dex' throw of a blade nearly hit the back of his head had he not move in time. The two men then begin to entangle themselves into a real fight, kicking the parcel and its content during their commotion.

Dex' punches were getting more and more violent. His scream animalistic and the beating of his heart was so erratic Matt wonders if it would give in first before he could actually knock the phoney vigilante down.

"You smell like her," Matt notes when he got a whiff of the scent from Dex.

"Who?" Dex asks but his tone was more of a demand. From the corner of his eye, he could see something gleaming under his foot. The gold necklace was reflecting the dim light of the building and when he picked the item up, Dex blood went cold "how did you get this?"

"It was in the box with that fake bomb," Matt answers through his cough of blood.

Dex grabbed him by the collar, spitting on his face, "I swear to God if you touch her—"

"It was in the box," Matt repeats, his tone steady and unwavering "It was Fisk,"

Dex dropped Matt to the ground with a loud thud. He takes a few steps back, letting the new information to sink in. The necklace dangling by his hand feels heavier by the second. Every horrific scenarios start to play in his head. What was the necklace doing here? How did Fisk get it? What's happened to her?

Abandoning his mission, Dex frantically runs out of the building. He couldn't care less about failing another task, about facing the consequence of his ill-delivered results. He tosses the daredevil helmet away as he jumps into his car. He rummages his bag, desperately trying to find his phone as he ignites the vehicle.

"Pick up, baby, pick up," he desperately prays as his foot steps on the gas.

"Dex? Hi, I was just—"

"Where are you?" he cuts in, yelling at her in panic "tell me, where the hell are you right now?!"

"I'm at the town business meeting thing with everyone else," she explains, her voice slightly distorted from the bad signal "The whole bureau was sent to secure this meeting. I was just about to call you cause Hattley said you should be here too. Where are you?"

"Baby, listen to me, okay? I want you to listen to me carefully, get out of that damn building, okay? I'm on my way there, I'll be there in a minute just— Get out of that building now,"

A confused scoff escaped her lips, brows now furrowed from the illogical demand he was making, "What are you talking about? I'm literally in charge of the main event, I can't just leave the building,"

"They put you— What?"

"I know, it's crazy. It should've been Ramirez, but Hattley said he's needed elsewhere so they appointed me last minute,"

Dex was pulling his hair by now. He should've seen it. Fisk puts her there while driving him as far as possible so he could put her in the open. Taunting and mocking him with just how little control he has over his life. Dex was never in charge of anything, it was always Fisk, and Fisk only.

"Dex, are you there?" she asks after a minute of his silence "listen, the meeting is going to start anytime soon, so I won't be on my phone—"

"You're not listening to me! Get the fuck out of that building now!" Dex yells in frustration "run out of it, jump if you need to, just fucking get out of there!"

"I can't jump out, I'm literally on the twenty-second floor!" she argues, completely missing the irony of her position "what is wrong with you?! Just— get here and we'll talk about it, okay?"

"No, there's no time! Just listen to me, please," he begs, choking on his own tears now as he's starting to see the building she's at "please, I'll explain everything later, just get out of there for now, please. I love you, please, listen to me,"

She was starting to feel conflicted. The event is starting any minute now and she would never see any bigger opportunity to secure her position in the bureau more than now, but the begging Dex makes is twisting her chest. He was full on crying and choking out of his words now, and it's certainly not a familiar thing for her to see. Something was wrong and she might be in the middle of it.

"Okay, okay, I'll come out," she finally gives in, moving her feet to the exit door "The things I do for you, Benjamin Po—"

Her words hung on the air as the ground shook. Dex watches with his own eyes how the building that was just a few blocks away from him exploded. Fire catches up as soon as the blast happened and within seconds, the whole building collapse from the violent destruction.

People were running away from the scene as the air turns dusty and grey, yet Dex jumped out of his car to run closer. His feet burns, tripping from all the debris that now laid on the road from the explosion. His eyes stings, but he couldn't look away from the blaze that has engulfed the building. He watches as fire dances against the concrete walls, turning everything it touches burnt and ashen.

And as Dex' feet gave in, as he kneels on the road a few metres away from the building, he knew that he is out for good.

[felinecyan]

Trust Issues

[Katsuki Bakugo x Female!Reader]

Synopsis: Some friendly advice: don’t ever go to the rival of your spar partner for help.

WC: 4893

Category: Fluff, Slight Angst,

This blog is a MHA fan page at this point HAHAHA

But since you guys REALLY liked the first oneshot of him, I felt inclined to write another one. So, here you go! 💞

『••✎••』

You didn’t think it would come to this.

In all honesty, you had never intended to hurt your friend.

All you had wanted was a fair fight. After all, that was why you were training, wasn't it?

So you could become a hero?

Now, granted, it was not a secret that Izuku Midoriya had always been on the… opposing end of Katsuki Bakugo's wrath ever since childhood. The boy was a spitfire; you had known that from the moment he had first stepped into class.

The Sports Festival only proved it. He was strong, powerful, and unafraid to let anyone who stood in his way know. It was that sort of determination that you had hoped to one day achieve, the will to succeed and not allow anything to hold you back.

It wasn't that you were star-struck or even jealous when he had been crowned first place at the festival. It was just inspiring, in a sense. He had fought tooth and nail to win, and in the end, he had come out on top.

However, his victory did not mean he could rest easy.

After the Sports Festival, Bakugo had taken a sort of… interest in you. You supposed he liked the way he fought against you, or maybe it was because he saw potential in you as a rival, but when class was over the next day, and the blonde had approached you, telling you to meet him out back, you were overjoyed.

Until he started to beat the ever-living crap out of you, that is.

And he still was, even now.

Every time you believe to be gaining more and more strength, he only proves to have become stronger. It was quite disheartening, actually.

Still, you did your best to keep up with him. It was no surprise to you, though, that he was better at you in almost everything.

That's why it seemed like a great idea for you to start sparring with Deku, right? Maybe the green-haired could teach you a few things and help you gain a bit of an advantage over the hothead.

But, as pure intentions would have it, the choice you made that day had landed you here.

You were at your locker, picking up books for Aizawa’s lesson when a hand rested atop the door of your locker. He didn’t close it, only using it as a resting place for his arm, so you didn't immediately look up to see him, instead pretending that you hadn't noticed him.

"Hey,"

Not a voice you were familiar with. You glanced around the area before looking over at the source—a tall boy with short black hair and dark brown eyes.

You blinked a couple of times. "Hi…?"

He flashed a grin and leaned a bit closer to you, his voice dropping low. "Nice weather we're having, don't you think?"

"Uhm… sure, I guess." The confusion was obvious on your face, and he laughed at your expression. "It's nice, yeah."

"Well, the weather seems a lot nicer on the roof, I think." His words were slow, and his smile was growing a bit too much for you to be comfortable with. "I could take you there, show you the view. What do you—"

He was caught off by the large hand that suddenly slammed down on the top of your locker, shutting it. You were about to tell the person that the door had hit your head when you looked up at those glaring crimson eyes and felt your stomach drop.

Katsuki Bakugo.

"Hey, what the hell?!" The boy exclaimed. "What's the big deal?!"

Bakugo didn't seem to acknowledge the other, simply glaring down at you only. You were frozen in place. You had never seen the boy this angry, not even at the USJ attack.

"You." His voice was quiet, unnervingly calm, but the undertone was filled with enough venom to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. "You lied."

"Uh—" You began but were cut off.

"You told me you had to bail yesterday. That you had homework to do." He was staring right through you, and you felt a cold shiver run down your spine.

You swallowed, and his eyes flickered to your throat for a split second. "I did, though."

"You didn't," He hissed, teeth gritting together. "You were with him."

"With who—"

You had no chance to react before he slammed his fist against the lockers again, right beside your face, and the boy who had been trying to talk to you only watched as you were cornered.

"Don't lie to me, damnit!" He was snarling, eyes alight with fury. His hand moved from the lockers and back to his side. "You were with that shitty nerd. Don't you fucking deny it."

"I—" You tried, but your voice was shaking, and he interrupted you before you could say anything.

"Do you think I'm a fucking idiot?" He leaned down to your level, his red eyes burning into yours. "Do you really think I wouldn't find out about your little play date with Deku?"

"Play date?" Your eyebrows furrowed. "I was just training, Bakugo. It's not that big a deal."

He scoffed, pulling his hands into his pockets. The rage was still in his eyes, but he didn't appear to want to act on it, instead turning his head to the side.

And despite it not being a good time, the dude beside you was still here, and he had a comment.

"Hey, I was here first, dude." He said, stepping forward. "It’s clear you two have a problem, but this chick isn’t yours. Beat it."

You were honestly expecting Bakugo to explode on him, maybe even punch the guy. He was always so aggressive.

Instead, he simply stared at him for a long moment, blinking at his audacity, only to roll his eyes and turn back to you.

"If you think Deku can help you, then go ahead." He shrugged, taking a step back. "We’ll see how good his teaching is if it can get you to stand a chance against me."

"You think—"

He interrupted you, not even giving you the chance to finish.

"Five o’clock, gymnasium." He smirked, but his eyes were hard. "Don't make me wait."

"But, you said—"

He had already turned his back and began to walk away, the other boy watching him with a dumbfounded expression.

Bakugo only nudged him aside with his shoulder, not giving him a glance as he left the hallway. He might’ve called over his shoulder, calling the kid an extra.

You weren't sure, and frankly, you didn't care. The only thing you cared about at that moment was what just happened, what was going to happen, and kicking the ever-loving shit out of the tattletale who just ruined everything.

The guy was still staring at the hallway Bakugo had disappeared in, his eyebrows scrunched together.

"Did he just—"

"Don’t." You held up a hand, and his mouth shut immediately. "Just don't."

The boy didn't say anything after that. You left him as he was, not caring if he was confused or not. He shouldn't have interrupted in the first place.

You walked to the classroom, immediately hunting down the other blonde, who happened to be your betrayer. He was sitting down, talking to Sero and Kirishima, but you didn't hesitate to grab him by the ear and drag him away.

"Hey!" He cried out, struggling to escape. "What the hell?! Lemme go!"

"Why'd you do that?!" You demanded, turning to him and letting him go. "You ratted me out!"

He blinked, not understanding. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb, Denks!" You pointed at him accusingly, glaring at him. "You told Bakugo that I was training with Midoriya."

"I… was under a lot of pressure, okay?" He raised his hands defensively, leaning back. "Bakugo came to me after school and demanded where you were. He threatened to blow my face off!"

"Oh, yeah, real mature." You rolled your eyes. "Do you have any idea what you’ve done to me?! He’s going to actually blow my face off."

"He didn't seem that mad," He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Maybe it'll be okay."

"He talked like a regular person," You crossed your arms. "He was terrifyingly calm, Kaminari! And now he wants to meet me in the gym at five o'clock."

"Dude,” Sero extended the vowel, sitting forward in his seat as he had heard the conversation. "You’re so screwed."

You couldn’t help the glare you threw at him.

"You're not helping."

Kirishima also turned, frowning. "No, dude, he's right. You are screwed. I mean, you were sparring with Midobro behind his back." He shook his head. "He probably wouldn’t have cared much if it was me or anyone else, but—"

"You picked his mortal enemy." Sero finished, raising an eyebrow. "Like, seriously, dude. What did you expect?"

"Kaminari not to snitch on me?" You threw a look at the yellow-haired boy. "So much for being friends, huh?"

"Hey, I warned you," Kaminari huffed, crossing his arms. "But no, you wanted to hang out with his rival. If I didn’t tell him, I'm pretty sure he would've killed me. Like, literally, he would've killed me. No doubt."

"But you're fine with me dying?" You asked, a teasing smile pulling at your lips. "I see how it is."

"I thought I would have until after lunch to warn you," He defended himself, shrugging. "Guess he warned you instead, huh?"

You sighed, shaking your head.

"You guys aren't helping," You turned, running a hand through your hair. "I'm dead. So dead. Oh my god."

"Alright, who pissed off the chihuahua?"

You spun around at the sound of Mina's voice, seeing her, Jiro, and Hagakure all standing together.

How wonderful. The gang's all here.

"What are you talking about, Ashido?" Kirishima questioned, tilting his head.

"Bakugo's pissed," Jiro explained, pointing a thumb in his direction. "He’s storming through the hallways like someone just took a dump in his cereal."

"And it's not like he was in a good mood this morning, either," Hagakure added, bouncing on her toes. "Did something happen?"

You groaned and flopped down into a chair, hiding your face in your hands.

"Idiocy happened," Sero answered, shrugging. "That's what happened."

"Shut it, Tape Boy."

"You should probably tell us," Mina advised, sitting down next to you. She pulled you into a side hug, patting your shoulder. "What's up? Talk to me."

"Bakugo found out that I've been training with Midoriya," You mumbled, and the three girls nodded. "I’m dead. Aizawa can’t even save me."

"Aw, c'mon, it's not that bad." Jiro rolled her eyes, walking over to join the group. "Bakugo's all bark and no bite."

"He's not… all bark." You muttered, not meeting her eyes.

"I can vouch for that." Kaminari grinned, but the glare you shot him made him falter. "But uh, no, yeah, he's definitely more bite than bark."

"Oh, you poor baby." Hagakure cooed, leaning forward to ruffle your hair. You couldn't see her face, obviously, but you had a feeling she was smiling. "You can do it, though. It can't be that bad."

"You know what you should do?" Kirishima suggested a bright smile on his face. "Talk to him."

"I think that would make things worse, dude." You rubbed your eyes, sighing.

"I mean, tell him why you were doing it." He shrugged. "He’s feeling all types of betrayed right now, I bet. If you just explain your reasoning, he might let it slide."

"Doubtful."

"But it's worth a shot, isn't it?" He raised an eyebrow, his smile still intact. "Plus, you’d be showing him that you aren't afraid to take the initiative. Maybe he'll be a bit nicer."

"Do it at lunch so that if he tries to kill you, there'll be teachers nearby." Sero grinned.

"You're really not helping." You glared at him, but the group just laughed, leaving you to your sulking.

Mina was about to say something when the door to the classroom opened, and the very loved and grumpy Aizawa walked in. He didn't say a word; instead, he just shot a look at the group before sitting down to wait for the last few minutes before class started.

As much as you wanted to believe it, the only thing the group's conversation managed to do was make you more worried. You spent the entire class staring off into space, staring at the blonde boy who sat two seats in front of you.

His shoulders were tense, and his pencil was practically snapping in half as he scribbled notes on the paper. Every once in a while, his eyes would flicker back and forth, his teeth gritted, and his pencil would move a bit faster.

You couldn’t focus on what Aizawa was saying, too distracted by the blonde's behavior.

The class seemed to go on forever, but eventually, the bell rang, and the class began to shuffle out, chatting and laughing with their friends.

"Hey, Bakubro!" Kirishima walked over to the hothead, who had stayed behind to pack up his things. "You okay, man?"

He was a real one, that Kirishima.

"Peachy." He replied, throwing his bag over his shoulder. His tone was dry, and his eyes were tired, but there was a hint of anger in them.

"You sure? You seem a bit—"

"I'm fine, Shitty Hair." He hissed, his patience wearing thin. "Back off."

The redhead only nodded and backed away, holding his hands up. "Alright, man. Whatever you say."

He looked over at you, his eyes flickering between you and Bakugo.

He didn't need to say a word. You understood. You slowly approached the blonde, your heart in your throat.

"Uhm," You started, your voice cracking. You cleared your throat, trying to seem as unthreatening as possible. "Can we talk? I'll buy lunch."

He glanced at you, his jaw clenching. His eyes flickered down to the floor before meeting yours again.

"What makes you think I need you to buy me lunch?" He huffed, his grip on his bag tightening.

"It's an offer, dude," You shrugged, trying to sound more casual than you felt. It didn’t work. "I just want to talk, okay?"

He stared at you for a long moment, the gears in his head working. He looked over at Kirishima and Kaminari, who had been watching, before rolling his eyes and huffing.

"Fine. Whatever."

He pushed past you and made his way to the door, not bothering to check if you were following. You gave the other two a small, awkward smile and hurried after him, following close behind as he stomped his way through the hall.

You kept a bit of distance but stayed close enough so that he knew you were still there. He didn't speak, didn't even look at you, and his shoulders were still tense.

This was not going to end well.

But he hadn’t said no, so maybe there was a chance.

"So," You began, breaking the silence. "I—"

"Why?" He cut you off, not slowing his pace. His eyes were forward. "I already know your damn reasoning, so don't give me some bullshit excuse. Just tell me the truth."

He had stopped walking, now turning to face you. There were students milling about the hallway, and a couple were giving the two of you strange looks. You tried to ignore them.

You focused on the blonde's gaze.

"You're strong," You confessed, your voice wavering. "I want to be stronger."

His eyes narrowed at that.

"You could've asked," He growled. "You didn't have to sneak around and hide shit."

"Asked to… what? To kick my ass harder during our spars?" You huffed. "Because, as much as I hate to say it, I'm not winning in those."

He paused, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Is that what this is about?" He asked. "You wanted me to go easier on you? Are you kidding me?"

"No, that's not—"

"If you think villains are gonna hold back," He cut you off again, and the volume of his voice was getting higher. "You're out of your damn mind. You can't always depend on some shitty extra to bail your ass out."

"That's not—"

"Then what the fuck do you want from me, huh?!" He demanded, throwing his hands up. "You want me to hold your hand through heroics?! Is that what it is?!"

"I'm not asking you to do anything," You defended yourself, glaring. "All I wanted was a different perspective, damn."

"Yeah, what a nice perspective you got." He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Get perspective off the kid who can’t even use his quirk without breaking his fucking body. What a brilliant idea."

"Oh, come on!" You crossed your arms. "There is no reason for you to be so petty. I did this for you, and for me. What's the problem?"

"For me? " He echoed, his eyes widening. "The hell do you mean, 'for me'? Going behind my back and training with the nerd is not doing something for me."

"I did it to be a better opponent to you!" You raised your voice, ignoring the stares of your classmates. "I'm tired of losing all the time! You're my friend, and I don't want to constantly have my ass handed to me!"

"We're not friends," He hissed. "Friends don't do this kind of shit."

You faltered, taken aback.

"I'm— You're—"

"Save it," He snapped, not meeting your gaze. "I'm done. Fuck this. Fuck you. Go find someone else to train with."

He pushed past you, shoving his hands into his pockets as he stomped away. You stood there, gaping, unable to understand what just happened.

"Bakugo," You tried, your voice cracking. You didn't turn, too busy staring at the tile floor.

"Fuck off, idiot." He spat, not bothering to look back. "You can forget about the sparring later."

He didn't wait for you to respond. Instead, he shoved his way past the crowd, disappearing from sight.

You were still frozen, and you couldn't tell if the tears welling up in your eyes were from frustration or sadness.

The students rushing around you began to slow, staring at you with pity, confusion, or both.

But you didn’t have time to care because, at that moment, you couldn’t think of anything else.

Your stomach twisted. Your head throbbed. Your heart broke.

And you felt like you were going to throw up.

"Dude," Kaminari said, appearing next to you. "That was rough."

You didn't reply. You couldn't.

"Shut up, man," Kirishima said, placing a hand on your shoulder. He was frowning, his eyes full of worry. "She doesn't need that right now."

"This is some B-lister movie shit right here," Sero commented, shaking his head. "Seriously, what a drama queen."

Bakugo… he was… hurt. You could see it in his eyes. He was angry, obviously, but there was something else. Something that you had never seen before.

"He’s…"

"An idiot?" Sero guessed.

"A jerk?" Kaminari added.

"Emotionally constipated?"

At that, Kirishima punched Sero in the shoulder, causing him to groan and rub the spot.

"Ow, what was that for?!"

"He's just mad," Kirishima ignored the question, turning to face you. "Just give him some space. He'll come around."

"This is different," You argued, your throat burning. "I've never seen him like that. Never. It’s like he’s— I don't know."

"He's an asshole," Kaminari muttered, glaring down the hallway. "Don't waste your time on him."

"You didn't see the look in his eyes," You shook your head. "It was so different. He was almost… dejected."

"Hurt?" Sero repeated, raising an eyebrow. "The guy didn't look like he was in pain. He looked pissed."

"I… did this," You said, and the three boys frowned. "He said we weren't friends because I went behind his back. I didn’t realize he saw us as friends, and I— I ruined it."

"Hey, man, you didn't ruin anything." Kirishima shook his head, his voice firm. "He’ll realize the things he said and—"

You needed to apologize. You needed to go to him, and apologize, and explain in a way that doesn’t leave room for questions.

"I'm sorry," You spoke, interrupting the redhead. "I just— I gotta— I'm gonna go."

"Wait, I wouldn’t—"

But it was too late. You were already pushing your way through the crowd, not caring about the future consequences.

You were on a mission, and you were going to get shit done.

It was easy enough to find him. The Pomeranian hair was a dead giveaway. He never made it to the cafeteria and was instead standing off to the side, staring out the window.

He didn’t look up when you approached him, but you could see the tension in his shoulders.

"I'm sorry."

You didn’t beat around the bush or try to ease him into the conversation. You just came out and said it because there was no point in hiding it.

"Just…" He sighed, not bothering to look at you. "Just leave me alone, alright? We're done."

"Look, I didn’t—"

"Why can't you just listen?!" He yelled, whipping around to glare at you. Despite his angry expression, though, you could see the hesitation.

He wasn't as confident as usual.

"You're not listening to me," You argued. "I'm apologizing. Why can't you—"

"Because I don't need you to apologize," He snarled, his eyes narrowing. "I don't want your fucking apologies. You did what you did, and I'm over it."

"It's obvious that you aren't over it."

"What, and you are?"

"No, not at all," You shrugged, trying not to flinch. "I’m trying to fix the problem."

"Well, don't." He huffed, turning back towards the window. "There is no problem."

"You were going to take your anger out on me," You said, not daring to step any closer. "How the hell is there no problem?"

"I told you," He turned to face you. "I don't care. I don't give a shit anymore. I'm not going to spar with you. Not anymore."

"You can't—"

"I can't, or I won't?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Neither," You said. "I didn't— I didn't train with Midoriya because I didn't trust you."

He laughed. Actually, genuinely laughed, his eyes crinkling in amusement. You thought the most terrifying moment of his was when he spoke calmly, but that?

That, right there?

That was the scariest moment of your life.

"Are you joking?" He snorted, the smile disappearing just as fast as it had come. "You think that’s why I'm pissed?"

"It's— it's part of it, right?"

"Oh, no," He shook his head. "No, you don't get it, do you? Do I have to spell it out for you, dumbass? Do you want me to fucking say it?"

You hesitated, the hairs on the back of your neck standing up.

"Say what?"

He sighed, rubbing his face with his hands.

"I was fine with the spars," He explained, his voice quiet. "I was fine with the competition. It was fun. You were a good match, and it made me a better fighter. I liked it."

He stopped, taking a deep breath.

"But when you went behind my back," He continued, his voice tight. "And when you didn't bother to tell me and instead told Dunce Face? Of all people?! That's where I had a problem."

"What does—"

"It means you're a coward."

You felt as if you'd been punched in the stomach, the air being knocked out of your lungs.

"You couldn't even look me in the eye and tell me, so instead, you went behind my back." He continued, and the volume of his voice was increasing. "You were too scared to face me, and you ran off and hid like a child."

"That's not true—"

"It is," He growled. "You know it, I know it, and the rest of the class knows it."

"So, you're telling me you're pissed because I'm a coward?" You asked, trying to keep the quiver from your voice.

"Partly," He replied, and the look in his eyes made you flinch.

"Partly," You repeated, your eyebrows furrowing. "So, what's the other part?"

"That I trusted you."

The words stung. They burned through your skin and pierced through your heart, making you feel as if you were the one with the explosion quirk.

He didn’t let you respond and instead walked up to you, his eyes dark.

"I trusted you," He repeated, his voice low. "I trusted you to come to me if you needed something, and I trusted that you would be honest with me. I thought we were at least close enough for that, but it turns out I was wrong."

"You— you weren't wrong—"

"If I was wrong, then why the hell did I go to Deku?! Why not me?! Why did you not trust me?!"

"I did trust you!" You cried, your eyes stinging.

"You went to the one person who could break his body with every punch," He snapped, his hands curling into fists. "You went to the kid who can’t control his damn quirk, and you went to the one person that I—"

He stopped himself, his face twisting in anger.

"What?" You pressed, taking a small step forward. "What were you going to say?"

"Nothing." He spat, turning his head. "Forget it. It's none of your damn business."

"Tell me."

"No."

"Bakugo," You pressed, trying to sound more demanding.

"Fuck off."

"Bakugo!"

He didn't answer and, instead, began to walk away.

"Damn it," You hissed, running up and grabbing his arm.

"Let go." He warned, not meeting your gaze.

"I'm sorry." You pleaded. "Okay? I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you already said that."

"I do trust you," You said. "You're an ass, and you're annoying, and you can be a bit too hardheaded, but I still trust you."

He paused, not looking at you.

"Then why didn't you go to me first?" He asked, his voice wavering. "You were my damn partner, and yet you—"

"I didn’t want you to make me feel bad," You answered. "I wanted to surprise you and prove myself. I know I can do it. I'm strong, and I'm fast, and I can be better than what I am now, and I wanted to show you that."

He was silent, but he still didn’t pull his arm from your grasp.

"I couldn’t ask for your help," You continued. "Because I didn’t want you to treat me any differently. I wanted you to see what I could do without any outside influence."

"What a stupid reason."

"You don't have to agree," You muttered. "But it was my reasoning, nonetheless."

He didn't say anything, and you sighed, letting go of his arm.

"I'm sorry," You apologized again, trying not to cringe. "I should have told you sooner, and I should have come to you. I should have trusted the way you'd react and not predicted how you would act. I was being selfish, and I should have considered you."

He turned his head, his eyes still narrowed. But it wasn't angry. No, it wasn't anger at all anymore. It was pure curiosity.

"What were you trying to prove?"

"Huh?"

"To me," He said, his eyebrows furrowing. "If you were training with me, then what were you trying to prove?"

You bit the inside of your cheek.

"I'm not sure." You answered, not daring to meet his gaze. "I guess I just wanted to impress you."

"Impress me?" He scoffed again, rolling his eyes. "You really are an idiot."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"It means I don't need to be impressed," He explained, his voice softer than before. "I don't give a shit about being impressed. I just want you to be stronger."

"So you can still kick my ass? But be more proud of it?" You guessed, smiling.

"Something like that," He shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I want to be able to fight you without holding back."

"Oh, come on," You complained, rolling your eyes. "That's a load of crap, and you know it. You wouldn't have to hold back against me."

"Oh, yeah?" He asked, his voice lowering. "An hour with the nerd, and you think you're on my level now? You're delusional."

"You underestimate me."

"I'm not underestimating shit." He scoffed, leaning down slightly. "I can tell you, right here, right now, two minutes. I'd give it two minutes, tops, and then your ass would be on the floor."

"Really?"

"Really," He nodded, smirking. "Two minutes. That's it."

"Five o'clock?"

"Tch, fine," He agreed, taking a step back. "Don't be late, idiot."

"I won't." You assured, turning to leave. "I'll see you then, Bakugo."

"You'll see my foot up your ass."

And, just like that, the two of you were back to normal.

Did you win? Hell no. But your plan with Deku did come in handy, and you were able to put up a pretty good fight.

He did still beat you, of course, and the time was 4:57 when he finally got you on the floor.

But, it wasn't as humiliating as the previous spars, and you weren't nearly as embarrassed.

Instead, he just grinned, pulling you up by your hand and offering some tips.

And, honestly, they were better than the ones Midoriya had given you.

So, maybe going to the firecracker wasn't a terrible idea after all.

[anothermaletfwriter]

Dark Macademia Masculinity

(First story yay, I'll post a companion story to this soon)

Jonathan and Jeremy were your typical gay couple. Jeremy worked as a hairdresser in the local mall and Jonathan was a flight attendant. When the both of them were home, which was rare due to Jonathan’s job, they would usually play a cozy soft fantasy-themed farm dating simulator on their bright pink Switch, or crochet colorful plushies of bees. Jeremy was the bookish nerd of the two. Obsessed with tropes and romances, he would info dump about his favorite graphic novels and fanfiction to Jonathan. While Jonathan loved Jeremy for his softness and approachability, he sometimes wished he himself was a bit more masculine. Less flamboyant looking. No matter how hard he worked out or how many protein powders he bought, he could never see any progress at the gym. But Jeremy loved him for the soft twink he was, so he typically kept those thoughts to himself.

Today was an exciting day for Jeremy. There was a promotional event in the local bookstore. Jonathan reluctantly went with him, only there to support his ever loving boyfriend.

In the brightly lit modern store, a large bright pink banner with black bold lettering above said “Try An Extrasensory Novel today.”

“Babe, I’ll be at the Graphic Novels section. They have the newest book of the CardiacPauser series,” Jeremy wrapped his arms around Jonathan, his white hoodie drapping over his.

“I’ll stay. Something tells me I’ll find a book I like here.”

Jeremy kissed him on the cheek, before traversing to his section. “Okay babe.”

Truthfully, Jonathan wanted to be left alone, knowing that if he had gone with his boyfriend, he would just be standing there as he read the graphic novels. He peeked at some of the bold and brash covers of the books but none stood out to him. Some boring modern day issues and thrillers. None of that was interesting.

A strong nutty scent of macadamia nuts interrupted his picky process. It was delicious. He was enamored by it since it was his favorite syrup in his boba order. But where was it coming from? There were no bubble tea places or even a coffee shop nearby. Hopefully no one had spilled anything, it would be a hot mess to clean. All the residue would attract ants and no one wants that, especially at a book store.

The scent grew stronger as he knelt down on the floor but there were no stains or spills on the dark green carpet. Not even a droplet of liquid. His nose led him to a specific book. The cover was a simplistic black text in front of a gray to white gradient background. An amateur with a dream and MS paint must have made it. It read: “Absolute Maximum: Understanding Yourself”. The blurb revealed it was a self-help men’s book. MAXIMIZE YOUR GAINS. MAXIMIZE YOUR ALPHA. MAXIMIZE YOUR MASCULINITY. Finally, a book that appealed to him. While he read the acknowledgments to alpha males and the pinnacles of masculinity, an aggressive warmth developed in his chest but he wasn’t sweating. The book was smaller and lighter in his now larger hands.

Chapter 1: ASSERTING YOURSELF. The simple prose asserted him to realize his true self. He was a man’s man, not a flamboyant twink. He felt the glow in his body starting to spread. Jonathan failed to notice his limbs stretching and growing to fit his muscular frame. His baggy clothes were tiny on his taller frame. While he remembered being at eye level with the middle shelf, he towered over it in the present.

He speedread the first and last paragraphs of the rest of the chapters, after all everything in between was filler. His once faint abs exploded into rock, hard canyons on his stomach. Adonis belt defined enough to go skiing on them. The flat soft joke of a chest ballooned into firm pecs. He owed it from his strict dieting routine and gym sessions with the bros. But what about Jeremy? Wait who was that? His memories of his boyfriend shifted into memories at extensive frat parties and going home with hot chicks afterwards.

The rest of the pages flew by from his intense skimping. His twig arm exploded with bulging biceps and triceps. He rolled up his small hoodie and flexed the peaks of mountains that were on his arms. He felt a glowing pleasure as testosterone fueled throughout his body. He thirsted for a protein shake. His face hardened into a mature shape, his hands gliding across a chiseled jawline. His traps and shoulders spiked up, bulging out of the jacket close to bursting out. The more words he read, the more of his memories transmuted. All the times he cuddled with Jeremy with hot cocoa under a pink blanket were replaced by his new memories of flattering women in his own apartment with a bookshelf of books he curated solely from their color schemes. He hardly read anything in them besides the blurb on the cover and the first chapter. He wasn’t a fuckboy, per se. He had a more academic approach, aiming to get into women’s pants through the seductive language of surface-level literature discussion.

Jonathan Johnny exhaled a deep breath as his tight top, which constricted his chiseled pecs, turned into a loose black shirt underneath a dark beige open jacket. He outgrew his sweatpants into a dark pair of jeans, which he tightened using a studded black belt. He felt god-like but his heart started to race. A quiet part internally knew this wasn’t him— but it was. This was the real him. None of this should be surprising.

Thoughts of his boyfriend, Jeremy, dissipated into the air. He didn’t have a boyfriend. He wasn’t into men. He was Johnny, the straightest man ever known. He had been straight his whole life, recalling his first time with a hot book nerd girl in the unisex bathroom of a bookstore back in his small town. In his time as a flight attendant, he often slept with the foreign women around the airport, sneaking into his overseas hotel rooms.

The book was unnecessary, so he returned it. It no longer smelled of macadamia nuts. He didn’t need it. He already was the most alpha he had been. His once kind and feminine personality turned into a more manipulative, masculine one. He used the charms of academic aesthetics to sleep with woman, often pretending to know the novels they loved. He surveyed the store for any hotties to bang, as a red head with glasses catching his eye.

Johnny walked up to the girl, feeling like a titan over her, with a book he had picked up that was a modern retelling of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway. He didn’t really care about the contents of it since it was a lure for the woman he wanted to conquer. He peeked down on her, and felt his underwear being restrictive.

He leaned on the shelf opposite to her, opening his book one-handed while squeezing his chest with the other hand. He glanced at her to elevate his mysterious nature.

“Oh hi,” The red head squeaked, rearranging her glasses. Her fingers that held her fantasy romance novel were shaking.

Turning the book down, he revealed his square jaw, “What are you reading?” He walked closer to the girl, subtly flexing his bicep.

“Nothing. It’s just a romcom. Dark broody male love interest. Strangers to lovers. Heh.”

Johnny kneeled down to her height. He whispered in his deep voice seductively to her ears, extending a hand out, “Hope it has a happy ending.”

The red head took his hand with no hesitation. Her face red from the blushing, dropping the book on the floor. She was utterly lovestruck. While walking out the store, they passed by a gay couple who apologized for bumping into him. No worries, he said. He enjoyed gay men’s existence since they took out potential competition for his women.

On the drive home on his motorcycle, the red head noted that Johnny had fit every criteria of her dream love interest: well traveled, dresses in a dark academia style, tall, muscular and drives a motorcycle.

He fucked her brains out while she felt his defined physique with the crevices between his chest and bulging six pack. Her moans were a common sound in his dimly lit apartment. After he finished his seed in her, the remnants of Jonathan and his homosexuality were shot out as well. He went to his bathroom and snapped a mirror selfie to put on his social media profiles. This was the real Johnny. No more Jonathan. He admired himself of the man he was before returning to round two.

[loveharlow]

↷⋯♡ᵎ LOVE ROBBERY

JJ Maybank x Applejack!Reader [ more jj content ]

SYNOPSIS & WC ‧₊˚ [1.4k] The day JJ walked into the island's new farmer's market and met the biggest sweetheart of his life

WARNING(S) & A/N ‧₊˚ Tr & JJ are younger here, probably a poorly written country accent (sorry not sorry, i think it's cute), swearing (per usual), outfit description (ik that triggers all the fashionistas), brief mention of poor home life, last line kind of kills the vibe but :p

THE BELL ABOVE THE DOOR CHIMED AS JJ ENTERED THE NEWLY-CONSTRUCTED FARMER’S MARKET. The day was already heating up, promising the kind of sweltering Outer Banks summer that the island’s residents lived for. The blonde was out doing the weekly, more like monthly, grocery shopping — which wasn't so much shopping as it was...negotiating. And what better place to negotiate than the newly opened farmer’s market run by a family who just moved here?

The market was a chaotic mix of locals and tourists, a riot of colors and smells. He ambled through the stalls, eyeing the overflowing baskets of produce — freshly grown tomatoes, newly picked strawberries, ripe vegetables. His stomach growled. He grabbed a shopping basket, filling it to the brim with everything that he could taste on his taste just by looking at it within a matter of minutes. Before he knew it, he struggled to put the last item, a bag of chips, on top. 

A fourteen-year old JJ Maybank was on his way to check-out, a toothpick between his lips, when he saw you.

Behind the only open register, sat atop a barstool with a book in your hands, feet kicked up, and a lollipop between your lips, paying no mind to the blonde boy standing awestruck at the sight of you. Tinted cheeks from the blazing sun and eyes that sparkled like cider, even as they were looking down. You were wearing a simple denim dress with the cutest cowgirl boots he’d ever seen.

JJ, never one for subtlety, sauntered up to your stall and sat his basket down on the counter before leaning his arms against it, effectively gaining your attention. He swore his heart had stopped beating as you moved to look up at him — wide, doe eyes surprised by presence…and proximity.

“Ready to check out?” You asked, closing the book and straightening your posture, lowering your feet. “Those’re on sale, by the way. ‘Case you wanna grab another two for free.” You pointed to an item in his basket. He wasn’t expecting your voice — the pitch of a true sweetheart with a small rasp and a decent southern drawl. Your voice made it clear you weren’t from anywhere near here. “And...you do know we have carts, right?” You asked lightheartedly, eyeing the amassed amount of produce in the boy’s basket.

“Sorry, just got a lil’ excited coming in.” He shrugged, palming the back of his neck. “Haven’t eaten in a couple days. The sight of food is a little bit overwhelming, to say the least.”

“What’re you on one of them fastin’ diet things?” You asked, talking around the lollipop in your mouth. “Those things are no good for you, y’know.” You told him, talking and beginning to ring up the items.

“Nah, no diet here. I don't believe in such things.” He joked, watching the price jump as you scanned item after item on the digital monitor. “But I might need to get on one after discoverin’ this place. You grow everything yourself?”

“Yep.” You smiled, shooting him a brief glance. “Me and my family.”

“Hm. That’s neat.” He praised, nodding his head. “I’ll give it to you — the product seems good. But the prices? C’mon...” He scoffed, knowing the prices were beyond generous, especially in comparison to the local grocery store. But JJ walked in with a plan…and no more than twenty bucks in his pocket. 

You raised a brow as you bagged his sodas. “Wha’dya mean?”

“Five bucks for eggs? Those are, like, the base of every food ever.” He challenged, taking one of his bags from the counter.

You couldn’t help but scoff. “Compared to the store down the road that’ll charge ya ten? For a carton that’s prob’ly been sittin’ in the fridge for well over a month or two?

JJ tilted his head and shrugged a singular shoulder. “Alright, fair point.” He downturned his lips. “...What about the gallon of milk? Ten dollars is highway robbery, darlin’.” He tried again, mocking your accent mildly.

“What can I say?” You shrugged cutely. “Our cattle’s well fed and lovin’ly raised. We don't work for free. Our cows don't, either.”

“Oh, no doubt. I saw the field out back, it’s nice.” JJ agreed. “Then what about the strawberries at the front? You chargin’ a dollar per seed or what?”

“They’re a dollar a pound.” You dismissed simply with a small scoff. “Look, if you wanna stuff your pockets ‘n book it on up outta here, by all means, be my guest. Lucky for you, it’s me on the register today ‘n not my daddy. He usually handles customers like yourself. I, on the other hand, am not interested in playin’ cops ‘n robbers or tit for tat.” You paused in bagging his groceries, leaning over the counter at this point — almost nose to nose with the Maybank boy. “So, what’re you gettin’ at, blondie?” You eyed him, a small, playful snarl on your lips. “You tryna hassle me?”

“Hassle? No, no…” JJ dismissed, pulling the lollipop from your lips and holding it in the air. “Just a...friendly word of advice from a local. Maybe a boy is simply hopin’ that in exchange for some advice that’ll surely boost your business, you’ll let me take some of this stuff off your hands for free...” 

“Ha!” You threw your head back, laughing, before meeting the boy’s blue eyes once more, shaking your head. “You are tryna hassle me!” You retorted, a lopsided smile on your face as you snatched the peach-flavored lollipop back, putting it back in your mouth. “I tell you what, hell-raiser — that charm of yours will only get you so far and unfortunately, it don’t work too well on me.” You lied. Unbeknownst to JJ himself, he was the first and only boy to make you interested in talking with him. Interested enough to entertain his sly advances. “But I can recognize effort when I see it…” You trailed off, stepping back from the counter and pressing a few keys on the register as you spoke.

“How ‘bout this?” You began. “You pay for half of what’cha got and I’ll handle the rest.” You offered, pointing to his new total which was practically nothing now. JJ’s eyes went wide as they flickered between you and the price displayed.

“Won’t your folks be mad? I don't want to get you in trouble.” He asked, suddenly feeling bad for haggling you.

You shifted on your feet, flicking your hair behind you. “Doubt it.” You scoffed. “I do inventory and they already know I steal some of our stuff. I’ll just say it was me.”

“...This is a lot of food to put on one girl.” He laughed uncomfortably.

You crossed your arms, looking at him. “Well, this girl can eat. So, you payin’ or what?”

“Yeah, yeah. Thank you...” He said, fumbling to fish the wrinkled twenty-dollar bill from the back pocket of his shorts. You plucked it from his fingers and slotted it into the register as he gathered all of his bags and started walking towards the door.

“Hey,” You called after him, holding your hand up. “Y’don’t want your change?”

JJ just looked at you over his shoulder, pursing his lips and shaking his head. “You can keep it. Consider it a token of my gratitude, cowgirl.”

“If you say so.” You laughed lightly, shaking your head. “I’ll put it on your tab.” You joked, turning to put the money into the register. “You stay safe, blondie.” You said in farewell, assuming the blonde would go and, hopefully, come back soon.

To your surprise, the bell above the door didn’t sound immediately, prompting you to turn back towards the market entrance where he stood, still staring at you. The look in his eyes made your cheeks go warm. He was looking at you like you’d just hung the stars in his sky.

“You alright?...” You asked, waving from your place behind the counter.

“Yeah, I’m alright.” He seemed to snap out of it. “So...who do I ask for next time I come in?”

You just chuckled. “What?”

“What’s your name? So, I know who I’m lookin’ for next time I come by.” He rephrased his initial question. “Or do you prefer darlin’?”

A smirk rose on your features as you leaned back against the counter, crossing one leg over the other as your hands planted behind you kept you steady. “How ‘bout I tell you next time you come in?”

An equally bright and sheepish smirk broke out on JJ’s face at your words. “Fair enough.” He laughed to himself, giving you a small wave as he made to leave the market — bell on the door chiming as the door opened. “I’m JJ, by the way.” He called over his shoulder. “Welcome to the Outer Banks, darlin’.”

And as promised, JJ came in the very next week, still spinning words and throwing smiles, but you weren’t sure it was just to get free stuff this time.

It didn’t become apparent as to why the boy always came in for things he couldn’t afford until you saw him walking home one day and saw him go into the house you always passed, with beer cans in the front yard whose lights were never on...

You never charged him for anything again.

JJ Maybank Taglist & Applejack!Reader Taglist in replies!

feedback is appreciated! thanks for reading.

©loveharlow

[frozenrogue89]

I Don't Want to be Great, I Wanna be Me.

So we all know the classic ‘JL meets Phantom through summoning’ prompt, and we usually get Danny “High King, Savior of Worlds, Eldritch, Cryptid, Ancient, No Shits Given, Chaos Gremlin” Fenton making an appearance, cool and confident, running circles around the JL. But what if, this High King they summoned, just… wasn’t.

The Justice League was prepared for anything, with the latest BBG threatening the world they had to take drastic measures. The JL Dark managed to scrounge up the summoning spell they… “liberated” from a cult group a couple months back. At first the JL was against the thought of summoning another highly powerful unknown, but with extensive research, Constantine and various others vouching for this so-called “King Phantom'' , and no option left, well, their hands were tied. Said to be the vanquisher of the previous Tyrant of the throne, Savior of the Infinite Realms, thousands of years old, infinitely powerful, infinitely old, and some smaller rumors claimed, infinitely kind. Phantom is said to be extremely protective of humans (something they were banking on),  loyal to its subjects, and said to rarely get angry (yeah right). A terrifying creature, tall and confident in its destructive power.

So yes, the League was prepared. They gathered as many members as they could spare for this meeting, everyone ready for a fight, but praying for none. The Big Three stepped forward while the rest hung back. Constantine and the Dark members start chanting, beginning the ritual.

The chanting ends. The silence hangs. Bodies still. 

Then, a flash from the hieroglyphs on the ground and an explosion of wind with no origin, a blinding light originating from the summoning circle grows in strength, letting out a vibrating hum that causes Superman to cover his ears and wince. The hum starts shaking the ground and the light condenses into itself, revealing the silhouette of an object. 

The wind stops. The light is gone, the vibration a memory. Everything is as it is before, with one exception.

Wonder Woman, wasting no time, straightens, “High King Phantom, Ruler of the infinite Realms, We are the Justice league, We ask your help in vanquishing The BBG, it threatens the lives of all those who live…” Her eyes widened as what stood before her.

This… this didn’t look like a High King, Vanquisher of Pariah Dark. This little thing did not give any indication of confidence, power, or age… it looked… young. The only thing terrifying about this creature is the size of bags under his eyes. Drowning in soft clothes, hunched over, looking utterly defeated, Nothing like they expected. Diana would almost mistake it if for a human child if not for the glowing eyes, fangs, and slight aura it gave off. But this, this was no King… Is- are those tears in its eyes?!

____________

Danny has not been having a good day. Or week. Or month, or- anything really. It seems like dying was only the beginning of his problems. No, scratch that, this all started with his parents’ damn obsession with ghosts. Danny swore they were part ghost too with their utter infatuation with all things Ecto. If only they hadn’t tried to access the ghost zone, if only Vlad hadn’t been involved to become Danny’s biggest nightmare, if only his parents gave up their research once they had kids, if only he didn’t walk in that stupid portal to impress his friends. 

If only he had stayed dead.

If only he didn’t gain powers, then he wouldn’t be stuck in this mess. 

Danny scowled to himself and let himself flop onto his bed. He’s been spending the last couple weeks cycling through this whole rogue gallery, TWICE! Plus fighting a handful of random ghosts who thought they could take on the ‘Ghost King’ (Pariah’s evil reign and thousand year slumber didn’t help either with all the paperwork that’s left for Danny.) Running from the GIW, his parents, and Val as usual, (Ghost Scum, 

Dealing with ‘Mayor’ Vlad’s Evil Plan of the Week -Danny’s powers were still on the fritz after that encounter, painful, was a word for it- Not to mention school, between Dash being Dash, forgetting his science homework, missing a test because of Skulker, Lancer and his threats of, “Black Beauty Fenton! If your grades keep dropping you’ll spend the rest of the year in detention! With ME!” and now his teachers (and Jazz) are talking to him about college? He’s still a sophomore, give him a break! It isn’t Danny’s fault the whole universe is apparently out to get him.

The real cherry on top of this whole thing was the recent ‘summonings’. No thanks to the Fruit Loop and his meddling, with Jack Fenton unknowingly helping him, again. A nice little instruction booklet called, “How to Summon the Ghost King, Made Easy!” got out onto the internet and the world, free for any psycho to speed dial Danny away from his life. At various points in the last month Danny has been forcibly -and if he was honest, painfully- ripped from anything he’s been doing and dumped smack dab into the center of various cults’ plans, usually they wanted power, money, or world domination. His saving grace was the process of summoning forced him to transform or no identity reveals, thank The Ancients. 

Sam and Tucker have been a godsend in getting the Booklet wiped from the internet, Danny would be lost without them. He would’ve fallen apart the first week into his powers if not for them. Who knew watching your friend half dying created lasting relationships? They really kept him going and he trusts them with his life, really he does.

But Danny would never tell them about some of the things he’s seen getting summoned, he couldn’t do that to them. The various groups of psychos seemed to think Danny was more likely to listen to them if they offered sacrifices.. human sacrifices. Some nights he couldn’t stop smelling blood and incense, couldn’t get those images out of his mind. He hated himself for keeping track, and hated himself for not wanting to. 15. 15 people, so far just because some handful of lunatics wanted some money or something equally stupid like that. Danny was 15, that’s one whole human being, for every year he was alive, one of them was even younger th- she was just- Danny couldn’t- she was- so small…

Pulling his blankets over his head, Danny took measured breaths against the tightness in his throat. It’s Not fair. It’s not. He didn’t ask for this. He didn’t want to be King of the undead, he’s just a kid himself isn’t he? It was just an accident turning on the portal. He didn’t mean to. Why is he stuck fixing everything? Can't he just be a normal kid? Go to school, get good grades, become an astronaut? He’s so completely out of his depth, who is he kidding, it’s just a matter of time before he screws up again and someone gets hurt, or worse. He's trying, though, he is. He tries so hard to be good, to do good. To not turn into Dan.

‘Stop it, Danny. Now’s not the time for bad thoughts.’ This is the first time Danny’s had a chance to sleep in two days, his parents are out and left the home defenses are down, Jazz is studying at the library, Sam and Tucker are playing Doom while keeping an eye on ecto readings around town. He has maybe 4 blissful hours to spend in dream land. He sighed and sunk into his pillow trying to blank out his thoughts before he could spiral again.

A tightening in the chest, and eyes snap open, ‘NO! NO! Please not now!’ is all Danny manages to think before the unfortunately familiar sensation of space displacement takes hold. His transformation is forced on him as he feels himself fall apart and get put back together simultaneously.

‘Just a couple hours rest, is tHAT SO MUCH TO ASK!!??’ The anger leaves before it can fully form due to the pure exhaustion that washed over his ectofied bones and straight to his core. It feels strained, like glass under pressure, not knowing if the slightest change will shatter him. He slowly gets his bearings and- oh, this almost seems worse than a regular cult summoning. At least there’s not a dead body. 

It’s the Justice League, and Wonder Woman is talking to him. And Danny, Danny can’t. He can’t. He doesn’t know if they want to trap him, kill him, experiment… if the GIW got their claws into the JL… Danny can’t anymore, He can practically feel his core splintering into jagged gut- wrecking pieces. He just wants to rest, to feel safe, for just a little while. Why can’t he?

Throat burning and eyes watering, Danny realizes he can do something, just one thing. It’s the only thing left that he can do. Something he hasn’t done for a long time, ever since dying.

Danny starts crying.

[skay-ali]

The Magician and the princess

1

Days passed, and you carried on with your life, balancing your position at court, serving the emperor alongside other magi, and on the other hand, taking care of Philomel, escaping your duties to spend time playing with the little princess.

In your strange new life, spending time with Philomel kept you sane.

You escaped from your life defined by this reality. Even though you already had your own story and destiny, the daughter of a noble family with many illegitimate children, you were also an illegitimate child, born from an adventure, a promising child, possessing a great amount of mana, a puppet for your family, a child who always wanted to please those around her, searching for the love she could never have.

Those vague memories lingered in your head, throughout your childhood and much of your adolescence. Some of them were painful, but at the same time, they weren't. You weren't that little girl. You had your own memories, growing up in a world filled with technology, without magic or fantastic creatures. A world where technology and capitalism predominated, politics were between presidents and ministers, there was no monarchy. Royalty was just a useless role, an image for the people, a role that was almost extinct.

You went to school, graduated, studied at university, and had a family that loved you... you weren't a promising magical girl from a noble family.

So it was a surprise when your "family" wanted to intervene in your life. The same family you hadn't seen in a long time since you were put to work with the castle wizards, according to all your memories.

It was funny to you how they decided to appear now.

Did they want to use you? Do they want you as one of their new pieces on their board? Are they going to take advantage of your position and the fame you gained with your spells?

You saw an adult man and an elderly woman standing before you.

They were talking, their lips moving nonstop, their faces filled with seriousness, lacking kindness, a great darkness surrounded them, everything around them felt oppressive.

You felt their gazes full of reproach, things they judged about your new appearance and way of dressing.

A part of you felt fear, terror, and a lot of anxiety. They had power over you, the old you. On the other hand, the current you felt nothing but annoyance. They were like mosquitoes that decided to fly around you, bothering you, until you squashed them once and for all and ended their existence...

"We followed you to this point, we didn't do it for anything, nothing has changed."

They'd finally reached the part where they discredited you with their many spit-out words.

They expected you to follow them blindly, without objecting, returning a favor they believed you owed them.

"So?" You interrupted the couple before they continued their grand monologue. You crossed your arms, looked straight ahead, and maintained a firm stance, showing no weakness.

"..."

"What an insolent girl. Not only do you act arrogantly, but you also dare to interrupt me." You saw the woman scrunch her face into a grimace as she clenched her hands tightly.

"I really am, aren't I?" You downplayed your actions.

"I think you're forgetting your manners, ____" The neatly dressed man, in clothes that screamed expensive, maintained a more serious demeanor, seemingly intimidating.

You followed his example, also maintaining a serious demeanor, challenging the man to whatever game he was trying to include you in.

But you hesitated. For a moment, the man showed a small smile and triumphant eyes, as if he knew something important, something that brought back a feeling of past fear, along with a past memory of the same situation, a girl terrified by the same look.

"Everything you've achieved, you did so with our influence. Don't try to rebel."

"I refuse..." I interrupted the man before he could continue with his threats.

Yes, you felt fear. The part of you that belongs to this world, or rather, your memories, tells you to give in, follow orders, and everything will be fine. But you won't do that. You're a woman of a modern world, one who survived college and managed to graduate, who didn't fall into an early marriage or motherhood, no matter how attractive it may sound, but rather into the desire for lots of money.

"What did you say?"

"Are you deaf? I'm already old enough. I'm not going to follow their orders, much less an idea that goes against the sun of the empire."

It was time to cut ties with a family that only uses others as pawns, a family where the "pure blood" use others, believing themselves to be the best, where it's not difficult to discard a person like garbage.

Under other circumstances, you would have followed their orders, not for any special reason, just to avoid general inconvenience. It was like giving food to a dog to stop it from barking. Under other circumstances... not this one, not after they want to involve the princess in their games for the power of the empire, using you and the friendship you formed with Philomel, a pure and selfless friendship, the one you took so long to form.

"Now you're not only acting like a rebellious child, but you're also pretending to care about the princess."

"Do they really think I'm stupid? Your friendship with the princess, or any relationship you've created with the girl, I know very well that it was out of self-interest, to get something good out of it."

"I know you very well, always wandering in the shadows, moving slowly, manipulating with extreme care, planning again and again to achieve your whims."

"I admit it, my reputation precedes me," you easily accepted her accusations.

"But judge me... I was just... a child," you spoke again. You weren't going to give her the pleasure of being right, not without first speaking her truth to her face.

"A child who does the impossible to find love, who follows orders without a second thought, all out of an almost desperate need to find warmth and love in a ruthless family," you spat firmly, giving your false relatives a harsh look.

"Anyone in my situation would become a dog, crawling and following orders, for a pat on the head, or even a hug, even a little nickname full of affection."

"But I grew up, and I'm not that child anymore... I think it's time you look for another puppet, although it won't be necessary, at the rate you're going... there won't be any puppets within your reach."

"Their crimes will catch up with them."

You're done here, you've made things clear.

You left the room where they cornered you a few minutes ago. What a waste of time, they ruined your day.

Maybe it sounds narcissistic, but I think the princess is just like your old self from the story, in some ways.

All the more reason to feel the need to take care of her, protect her from bad people, much more so from her supposed father, the emperor.

The room fell silent.

The two figures left inside stared at each other for a moment, their rigid, serious faces showing that nothing had gone as they had hoped.

Golden eyes peering out of one of the windows continued to observe the unfolding scene for a few seconds before turning away.

There was no longer any reason to spy.

He believed he had obtained the necessary information.

"Phil," you ran happily toward the little girl. Seeing her always brought a smile to your face.

You opened your arms as you approached, and the little girl walked a little closer to you.

"You're late," you looked at her, pouting.

"Well... I had to deal with some bugs," you avoided calling the people from a moment ago family. "You saw me, no, finish them off."

"A scene that didn't go unnoticed while I was looking for you for being late."

"You see what I had to go through. How about you give me a hug to comfort me?" You continued to hold your arms open.

You saw the little girl hesitate, and you moved a little closer, but she avoided you. So you played along, chasing her with open arms while the little girl tried to avoid you. It was a fun moment where the two of you smiled with amusement, without worries or annoyances.

You caught the little girl, lowered yourself to her level, and gently hugged her. She smiled. After a few moments, she willingly accepted the hug and wrapped her arms around your body.

Still holding her, you stood up and walked from one place to another. You dragged her along like a stuffed animal. It was time to start her little party.

"Phil, who's your friend?"

You thought you'd spend a quiet day with little Phil, without worrying about the plot, your position as a magician, or even the consequences your family would face for your rebellion.

But it turns out the universe decided to screw you over and send a character straight from the story to your precious party.

The little... blond boy, oh dear, you forgot his noble title. What you clearly remembered was that the boy was Phil's current fiancé.

Your feelings for the boy were complicated. On the one hand, he tried to take advantage of Phil's childish attitude in the past, of course, on the orders of his strict father. On the other, he had his small redemption, as you recall. He began to form a slow but healthy friendship with Phil. That's all you remember.

It's a shame his title and name aren't.

"___, this is Nassar."

You nodded, showing all your attention to the little girl.

She looked adorable in her dress and her hair up, even with her signature loose lock.

"Nassar Avrydon, nice to meet you, miss..."

"Just ___, okay, and the pleasure's mine," you smiled. He was a boy, but you could tell how well-behaved he was.

You felt hands wrap around your arm. When you looked down, you noticed Philomel pressed against you. It was strange because just a few moments ago she'd been sitting next to you.

Well, that was until the girls stood up to welcome Philomel's fiancé.

Ah, you just noticed. Even a little girl is engaged, and you had nothing, not even friends... Your social life sucks, in this world too.

"It would be nice to join us, Young Avrydon." It was clear the boy was excited to see the princess.

But it was strange, because this time Phil wasn't much of a part of the interactions with the blond boy. In the story, she tries to maintain a friendship with Nassar, all so the boy wouldn't hate her and because he was never her fiancé.

Which is silly, because Philomel was the one who made the engagement possible. It's possible the real Princess Ellensa never proposed, perhaps in her adulthood or never, because I could meet another boy or young man in that moment.

"Of course, I'd love to, miss."

You could have stolen that filter she uses, delicate and formal words. Gestures and movements that screamed elegance and nobility.

Your world of informality has truly ruined you. You sat in one of the garden chairs, surrounding a round table with a large umbrella in the center.

It was a hot day, so you indulged yourself by creating frozen desserts you remembered from your world, even a strawberry-flavored slushie.

"Go ahead and enjoy."

You watched the children carefully eat sweets from the table.

Their faces showed great surprise as they tried a bit of what they had, then you watched them lose their surprise and happily devour your desserts.

Such cute children! They happily devoured your treats, carefree, and you felt proud... Wait a minute... two children, dessert, magic... you're supposed to be the witch! It was just like Hansel and Gretel, in some ways.

"These desserts are delicious. I've never tasted anything like this before." Nassar lost the composure he had a moment ago. Sweets are capable of achieving impossible things. You were glad to see him acting like a child; it became uncomfortable for you to see children, young people, and adults acting the same way.

"That's right," you smiled with happiness and tenderness at the sight of their cheeks filled with desserts.

You even noticed the small brain freezes the two children had as they ate so much ice cream so quickly. Their grimaces were amusing.

"And you, Phil, did you like what I made?"

"They're delicious, ___, as always, you're the best." His voice was soft, his lips curled into a small smile.

"Ahhh, how sweet they are, children." You had to cover your face out of embarrassment and emotion at the words the children had spoken to you.

The day was beautiful.

Just you and two small children relaxing in the garden.

No worries.

No threats.

No annoying relatives.

It was a peaceful day.

"Are you a castle wizard?" the boy approached you after exchanging an adorable conversation with Philomel.

You watched them from time to time; the two of you chatted about different things, like books you'd read, noble affairs, politics, although that was rare.

But you also saw them talking about their tastes, what a beautiful day it was, banal, meaningless things that somehow made the moment more enjoyable. You even saw them smile. You couldn't help but join in at times, with quick comments, until the children paid more attention to you.

"Yes, you could say so," you hesitated at his question. They called you a prodigy when you arrived, but then you faced competition that surpassed you. When you realized it, you became mediocre, you even stopped trying. You were left aside long ago, confined to doing work at your desk, surrounded by documents.

Not that you were complaining.

"...."

"Could you say so?" Phil spoke curiously; your words took her by surprise. You watched her rest comfortably on your lap.

Lately, she'd become more affectionate. You weren't quite used to it, but you weren't complaining either.

That's what girls and even boys were like: affectionate, dreamy, full of energy and happiness. Well, they change at some point, but not to become adults out of nowhere; that greatly affects their growth and development. A clear example is young people and adults, crazy for power, people fascinated by studying others, calculating, and unhappy. The manhwas already proved it.

The best thing is love and support, so as not to raise a psychopath or sociopath.

You gently stroked his hair, running your fingers through his soft brown locks, the sun making them shine a little.

"Well, lately I stopped doing fieldwork, and they left me the bureaucratic part of filling out paperwork," you said without interest.

"Is that so?" Nassar spoke again. "I've heard your name before; many have mentioned you as a promising young magician."

"Wow, those words... you make me seem like a great person," you mocked the boy innocently.

"You believe those words? Do you think I'm promising in magic?" You feigned seriousness when you saw the boy.

You watched him remain silent for a moment; he was very thoughtful. Didn't he want to upset you? That was considerate of him.

"Actually, I think she's a promising mage, but with her recent words, I don't know what to think anymore." You saw him play with his hands and a little blush on his cheeks, it seems that you made him nervous.

You should improve your attitude. In this world, you end up creating discomfort instead of security and sympathy.

"Hey, that's very nice of you."

You carefully extended your other free hand and brought it closer to the boy sitting near you. You also stroked his hair, just like you did with Phil.

To your surprise, the boy didn't feel uncomfortable or object; instead, he accepted your display of affection.

"You're a true gentleman."

"Let's keep this a secret." You gave the two boys a knowing look.

"Actually, I am a great magician," you admitted self-centeredly.

"But there are evil people who want to take advantage of my power, which is why I must keep a low profile."

You're a great liar. You saw the children easily believe you.

Well, you weren't lying if there were vile beings trying to use you, but in reality, you were too lazy to work.

Two children were worried when they heard you.

Phil easily understood what you meant; he'd met those people before, and he didn't like them at all.

Now that he's made sure you weren't a threat, he even notices the affection you have for her. She's started to accept you; you've become a part of her life. The possibility that you might move away or be in danger worries Philomel greatly.

Philomel realized over time that she had a huge problem knowing her future. She had a meticulous and calculated plan to avoid it and save herself. Amidst all the desperate reality of her life, having you was the best thing she could have; you became her safe place, even if it's a bit hard for her to accept.

That's why she couldn't afford to let you go.

Nassar was also worried. Ever since Philomel showed a change, he noticed many new things in her. She was calmer, and she confessed that she wanted him to live his life as he pleased.

I never expected to meet you, a castle mage.

I also didn't expect to know that you knew the princess and that she cared deeply for you. Philomel's attitude toward you was different from what he knew now. She was more lively with you, also affectionate, as she had been with him before.

But it only took him an afternoon to get to know you. And a couple of days of small get-togethers for him to warm up to you.

You were a good person, lively, who cared about others. You did so when he appeared out of nowhere uninvited. You had a welcoming attitude.

You accepted him into your small circle, if you could call it that. You invited him again afterward, and again, without stopping.

The few visits became constant. His father was happy when Nassar lied to him, saying he was just going to play with Philomel. He also went to play with you and Phil.

I truly appreciated being able to spend time with the two of you.

It felt good; something in his heart felt fuller, as if a void had been replaced.

When you stroked his head, he was very surprised, but he didn't push you away. It was one of the few moments where someone showed him affection, even with a small gesture. He was desperate to feel it again.

He's beginning to understand why Philomel spends so much time with you and why he speaks so highly of you.

He envied you at first for taking Phil's attention away from him; now that he's met you, he no longer considers you a threat.

You were the only thing he needed, along with Phil.

He couldn't think of anything bad happening to you; he couldn't lose the second person who showed him true love, affection without commitment, a love that controlled him. You never asked him for anything, not as his family.

It was ridiculous for him to entertain this idea... but, lately, he liked deluding himself with the idea that you were his true family.

But that was a secret.

The universe kept bothering you lately.

It wasn't just throwing your true story in your face anymore.

Now it insisted on throwing different characters at you.

You were lucky at first; you met Nassar, Phil's fiancé, a boy in a complicated situation with his family as you recall, and he also had his moment of redemption with the little princess, his first friend or something like that.

Then there was the lady-in-waiting, or butler, who looked after Phil. Although you also forgot her name.

But today... today was the worst.

You met the Emperor's right-hand man.

Not just the ashen-haired count, but also the Emperor himself.

The man who requested an audience with you.

It took a lot of strength to look at him without showing a frown or a look of hatred.

Much more to keep from hurling a thousand insults at him. And you barely entered the small audience.

You prayed to the gods of this universe and yours to take care of you, begged them to give you all the willpower not to kill this bastard.

I don't know if I'm succeeding in creating the little platonic yanderes. But they won't be the only ones. There will be yandere love interests. I'll include them somehow, even if it doesn't take long to introduce them or if it ends disastrously. I'll try it out!

[lorelei-3]

“How Could I Lie to You?”

Taang oneshot because I wanted one for this photo try and stop me.

Okay so this isn't the oneshot, this is Lorii talking. First off if you couldn't already tell, I am a diehard guilty Taang shipper and they are my favorite ship and no one is taking that fact from me.

I've said it before and I will gladly say it again, we need more Taang content. I know a lot of people won't like that, but this is the internet and we have freedom and this is just how fandoms are.

That out of the way, I would've posted this earlier but I didn't get the art done till today (I wanna add the fact that I spontaneously decided to write this oneshot mid-post).

I wanted something for Valentines day, but unfortunately this is coming late, but better late than never I guess.

Enough of my yappering, enjoy the story!

Btw if there r any errors, I’ll go back fix them, this was a rush post💀

<3

Aang felt his heart begin to pound in his chest, followed by the rising of heat on his cheeks. His feet began to pace around the large Fire Nation Palace bedroom he found himself in. Following each step he took seemed to be a new thought of worry tumbling after him.

What if this goes terribly wrong? Am I making a mistake by doing this? Is this the right decision to make? His heartrate only seemed to rise even more each passing moment to the point where he felt his breathing become heavy and sweat begin to form in his palms.

Finally, he forced himself to stop his anxious pacing and to gather himself, as this was most definitely not the state he wanted to be in for what he was going to do.

Aang stopped and stood before the large window in his bedroom overlooking the palace courtyard with the turtle-duck pound as the evening sun's light began to cast it's golden brilliance over the Palace.

You can do this, he told himself. You have to do this.

Suddenly his heartrate spiked again as something, or rather someone, caught his eye sitting beneath the tree by the pound. Aang blinked several times taking a step back from the window reaching for his bed to sit on.

Once he sat, he leaned forward and brought his hands to his temples and began massaging them with his fingers. Stop this! Why is this making me so nervous? I should never be this nervous!

After another couple minutes of trying to relax himself and get his mind in order, Aang stood to his feet and made his way to the door.

The young man took a deep breath and softly exhaled. I can do this. He took a few more moments of relaxation before walking out his room down the long Fire Nation Palace hall.

While he walked, time felt like it was slowing down and yet going by very quickly. Everything around him appeared to blur as he seemingly gained some sort of tunnel vision the closer he came to the hall that lead to the courtyard.

With each stride he took, he felt perturbation trying to grow ever so much more in his head and stomach. But he wasn't about to back down, he was going to face this head on.

A small smile formed over his lips as those words made their way into his thoughts. Those were the things he really needed his mind to focus on. It was words like those that assisted in palliating his mind of what could possibly go wrong, and it only pressed him to go forth with this even more.

He really did wonder though, was it the words that were dulcifying him? Or rather was it the thought of the one who spoke those words?

Toph.

Definitely the person who spoke the words.

Ever since a year and a half ago when the two of them had traveled together for six months dealing with some Earth Kingdom conflicts along with groups of Ozai supporter Rogues, the two of them really bonded and grew close. And though he didn't want to admit it, maybe he felt some way for her even before those six months, but that time had propelled and completely changed the way he saw her.

They had learned to rely on one another and grew together. Figuratively and literally since that was when they were fifteen and they were seventeen now.

In between those disputes, the two would also just hang out being crazy teenagers causing trouble. 90% of the time it was Toph's ideas and Aang would go along with them, but he managed to surprise her a few times and actually had been the one to take initiative with their shenanigans.

Over that course of time, he truly grew a fondness and admiration for the young Earth Bender. He would find himself grinning at her while she practiced her bending, or when they sparred together. Even when she would always pummel him in their sparring sessions, he kept that smile on his lips and joy in his eyes.

There was something about being with her and just being in her presence that brought something alive in him.

And it wasn't until they parted ways when he had to go back to the Fire Nation to assist Zuko with peace keeping in the Fire Nation colonies and Toph had to return to the Earth Kingdom that he realized how much those six months together had impacted him.

The day they had parted ways, Aang felt such a heaviness weighing in him when he watched Toph leave with Iroh, and for the next two weeks after her departure he could hardly get anything done in the Fire Nation.

Aang was hardly able to sleep at night, his appetite was practically none existent, and even meditating was nearly impossible.

Anytime Aang wasn’t in a meeting or helping sort something out, he would be off either lying in his bed unable to get rest because of the aching in his stomach, or outside in in the garden because the rocks and earth reminded him of her.

He felt desolate without her, like some part of him left when she did. Zuko noticed Aang's obvious off behavior and had no choice but to question him about it the fifth time he zoned out in one meeting with the high officials in the Fire Nation. And this had to be around nine days of him being in there.

It wasn't so much the fact they were apart, it was the fact that he had no idea when he was going to see her again.

It could be more than a year when he would see her again and the thought of that quite literally was tearing his heart. So when Zuko pulled Aang away after the meeting to ask him what in the Spirits was wrong with him, Aang didn't even know what to say.

What was he supposed to say to him? That ever since Toph left it sent him into a deep place of melancholia? Then he would be asked why and Aang wasn't up for that conversation at all.

Because quite honestly, he didn't even know what was wrong with him at the time. He hadn't realized he had fallen for the Earth Bender and how far he really had fallen.

So he just chalked it up to a lot going on and it was stressing him out, which Zuko knew was not the whole truth but had decided to let it go for the time being.

It took a couple days after that conversation and an intense mind battle for Aang to realize he was feeling this way because he had fallen in love with Toph after nearly two weeks of denial. And he only wished he had figured this out sooner and maybe he would have been somewhat alleviated from this mental turmoil.

It wasn't until now, a year and a half later that he was seeing her again for Katara and Zuko's Engagement Commemoration.

A whole year and a half. And oh was that year and a half agonizing. Not only because he didn't see her for that whole time and could only reach her through letters and both of them were too busy to even visit each other, but because Katara came around a lot to the Fire Nation to visit Zuko and vice versa, along with Sokka and Suki.

The whole couple thing with everyone was driving Aang crazy because he was either the fifth wheel or was just stuck doing Avatar duties.

Now the reality was that Aang wasn't the fifth wheel to any of them and was more than welcome with them when he wasn't currently occupied with something, he was just aggravated and was wishing he was with Toph.

So as soon as he saw Toph coming back into the Capital with Iroh he went running to her and he nearly knocked her down with the force of how he threw his arms around her. Toph noted how she could hardly breath in the moment while Sokka, Katara, Suki, and Zuko all laughed at their greeting.

It had been only two days since she had came back and the feelings Aang had for her never left and in fact felt stronger. Zuko and Suki had known of his feelings for the past year and a half and were in complete support of him pursuing her.

And not long ago he told Katara and Sokka about it, who also were very supportive of the whole thing.

In fact, none of them would leave him alone about confessing to Toph. Any chance they would, his friends would ask about when he planned on telling her to which Aang's response was always 'soon'. Never actually knowing how soon.

But Aang knew he had to tell her.

He wasn’t about to let this slip away from him again because this time he knew how he felt, and he had to take this chance with her.

Adrenaline was now pumping through his blood as he the warm air of outside hit his skin. His eyes fell to his left where the courtyard opened up and saw the tree beside the turtle duck pond he had seen from his room, and Toph lying on her back with her hands behind her head.

The sun is wasn’t overbearingly hot this time of year since it was fall in the Fire Nation, and Toph must have taken advantage of that and decided to bask in the evening sun.

Spirit's, she looked so beautiful in that state of rest. For a few moments Aang stood there just admiring her before snapping himself back into reality. Okay, now go over to her and tell her!

The young man took in a deep breath and began to make his way over to her.

His eyes were on her the whole time he walked, and before he even made it beneath the tree, he saw a smirk come over her face.

"I'd know those footsteps anywhere," She chimed. "What's up Twinkle Toes?"

Aang felt his heart begin to race and face heat up again in almost an instant after she spoke. No no!! Stop it! Calm down, calm down!

"Um, you doing alright there?"

"Huh?" Aang said back. "What do you mean?"

"Your heart is going all kinds of crazy like you just got done sparring, you okay?"

Shoot, I forgot she could do that. How could I forget that? Okay, just take a deep breath and relax. Relax.

"Oh yeah I'm alright," He responded back. Lie. It’s entirely a lie, but I'm not going to say too much either. "But I did want- need- to talk to you about something."

Toph opened her eyes and raise a brow suspiciously. Aang stopped himself from letting out a soft gasp as the golden light illuminated her facial features and eyes.

"Oh?" She said as she began to sit up, bringing her knees beneath her sitting on them.

"Yeah and it's kind of important." He lowering himself down, mirroring the way she sat. His eyes fell on hers and he was lost in them for a few seconds. How was it they were sightless and yet held so much emotion gazing back at him?

"Well judging by your heartrate I'd say so." She commented.

"Um, try to ignore that."

"That's gonna be kind of hard but okay."

Aang looked at his hands that were resting on his knees and took in another deep breath, something he found himself doing a lot of in the past twenty minutes. He looked back up at her and calmed himself as best as he could.

"Okay, you remember almost two years ago when me and you were traveling for six months?"

Toph smirked and snorted a laugh. "Hell yeah I do, those were some fun times we had. A lot of kicking butt and causing trouble, why? You asking me to go on another six month trip?"

As much as Aang wished they could go on another six month trip, he knew he couldn't do that. But just the thought of another extended period of time with her made his stomach feel like it was floating.

"Mm no, but it was- something that happened- no- what happened on the trap- that trip!" He stammered. The fire bending side of him must have come out because Aang’s body was burning with embarrassment. He repressed the urge to face palm and walk away, instead opting for gripping the fabric pants on his knees.

"Uh, okay. So it was something that happened on the trip?" She questioned, rephrasing what he said making him sound even more dumb. But it was clear Aang was nowhere near done making himself sound like a fool.

"Well not specifically on the trip, kind of before- but it was on the trip."

Toph gave a confused expression to what she had just heard. "Wait, so it happened before the trip or on it?"

"Both."

Way to go stupid.

Toph sighed and rubbed her forehead with one finger. "Twinkle Toes, I'm not understanding what you're talking about here, mind making it a bit more clear?"

Then Aang did something he had not anticipated doing in the slightest. He had no idea what came over him or what had possessed him to do such a thing (maybe a past life grew tired of his stumbling), but he moved he inched his body closer to hers to where their knees were touching, and he reached for Toph's left hand, and held it.

Aang looked back up at Toph's face to see nothing but utter shock and a rosy coloring flushing over her cheeks and nose.

"Twinkletoes..." Her voice lowered into a quiet and softer tone.

Aang felt a blush come over his own face as he gazed at her softly with a gentle smile. Just for a moment he wasn't sure if he could bring himself to say what he wanted to her, losing his focus to her placid semblance. The way her black bangs had fall over her face but were being blown off her face by a gentle breeze that carried the sound of lightly rustling leaves.

A strange calm had settled over him, and where it came from he had no idea, but he wasn’t going to question it because it needed to stick around.

"Toph, I said how this thing happened before the trip," He looked down at her hand that was in his and rubbed his thumb over her fingers. "I... I say that because the trip only seemed to..."

He brought his gaze back to her and looked into her pale green eyes before going on.

"...It only seemed to enhance what I was feeling before that trip."

"Feeling," Toph breathed faintly. "A-Aang, what are you saying..?"

Aang felt his heart jump again. She rarely ever used his actual name. It was always Airhead, Baldy, or of course, Twinkle Toes.

"I'm saying… I’m saying that I have feelings for you Toph." There it was. He'd said. He just confessed to her. His heart was spiraling out of control and in a way so was his head, yet at the same time he felt imperturbable. But he was not yet done with this conversation.

"All that time we had spent together, growing closer as friends, it made me see you in a different way. I already sort of had thoughts of you before that, but that trip, just you and me… I don't know, something changed."

He then brought her hand up and placed it over his chest so she could feel his heart beat even more. "You changed me."

If Toph's cheeks weren't a burning red before, they certainly were now. She opened her mouth to say something but closed it at a loss for words as to what she was hearing.

Aand blinked slowly at her. "I only wished I had realized this sooner, before you left."

His gaze softened at her yet again as he smiled tepidly.

"For the past year and a half we've been apart, I couldn't stop thinking about you, I even started to think there was no point in even trying to tell you anything because I know how you are. You're headstrong and independent, so I tried to let go, but... Seeing you again brought everything back to me."

Toph let out a small gasp and blinked several times.

"You... You can't be serious." She uttered in disbelief. "I-I don't believe this."

Aang made her hand lay flat against his chest.

"Why would I lie to you? Even if I did you would know."

Toph felt her face burn. There was no way this was actually happening to her. This had to be some sort of dream.

"How could I lie to you?" He whispered.

"You're not lying," She uttered under her breath. "You mean you actually-"

"I mean every word I said Toph. Again I just wish I told you sooner." Aang then felt like his stomach had fallen from a high place. "Well, I’ve told you about how I feel. Now..."

He paused letting the message try and make it’s own way to Toph. Now for how she felt. If he had just ruined everything between them, or just blossomed something new for the two of them.

"Aang, I-I," She stammered. "I don't know what to say."

Coldness rushed over Aang. That was not the answer he was looking to hear at all.

He sucked his lips in. "W-Well, how do you feel? About me..?”

Toph was quiet for what seemed like forever with Aang staring at her face that was blushing red and still as stone. A small grin began to crack over her lips, followed by a sniffle-like laugh as she lowered her head, and then began to actually laugh.

Now Aang was confused. Was this a good sign or bad? He still had her hand over his chest and she hadn't tried to move it away so maybe that was a good thing?

After that she brought her head back up and chewed on her bottom lip and smiled at him. "Sorry Aang, I guess I'm just, shocked, hearing you go so serious like that." She chuckled.

Okay now he was really confused.

"But um," She lowered her head slightly and chewed her bottom lip again. "I mean, I guess you could say I feel the same way..."

Wait. Had he heard that right?

Aang went silent and stared at her dumbfounded.

"Huh?" He queried.

"Aang you dummy! I said I like you too!" Toph retorted, using her other hand to knock him in the head.

"Ow!"

"Jeez you go from serious to Airhead quicker than my willingness to get out my parents house." She rolled her eyes in amusement.

The throbbing on the side of Aang's head began to subside and was quickly replaced with laugher. "You really mean what you said though?"

Toph shrugged, tilting her head to the side and scrunched her nose as she smiled at him. "Would I lie to you?"

Aang blushed because of how adorable she looked doing that but shook his head. "You would, and I wouldn't know because I'm not a human lie detector like you."

Toph let out a scoff. "Okay fair point, but I assure you, I'm telling the truth."

"I'd hope so after pouring my heart out to you like that."

Toph laughed again as both of their facial expressions began to sway back into their relaxed states. Never had Aang felt such a relief in doing this. That weight had finally been lifted off him and he felt amazing. But Aang apparently wasn't done with surprising the two of them just yet.

He took her hand he was holding and moved it so that the back of it was facing him, he looked at her hand as he did. Somehow, as rough and wild as Toph was, he found her hand to be really soft.

He also noted how small her’s was compared to his. He lifted the back of her hand to his lips and placed a kiss on it and looked into Toph's eyes.

It was clear he had once again taken her by surprise with the action as she was yet again, struck with shock and appeared flustered.

Then he turned her hand again so that her finger tips were on his lips and he smiled against them, so she could in her way, see him smiling.

Toph blushed more even more somehow and lowered her head ever so slightly again.

"I really could never lie to you, you know." He said as he lowered her hand away from his lips to speak.

She brought her head back up again so he could see her face and a warm smile was what he was met with.

"I know Aang." She said faintly.

Silence passed between them as the world around them seemed to fade, Aang was lost in her visage, and Toph was lost to his touch.

But the moment didn't last too long because Aang was met with another punch, this time into his shoulder which made him drop Toph's hand.

"Ouch!" He yelped. "Again? What was that one for?"

"Sorry!" Toph quickly apologized waving her hands at him. "Force of habit, if I feel myself getting too vulnerable I punch."

Aang rubbed his shoulder and shook his head letting out a sigh. "Fine fine, guess I'll have to get used to it.”

Toph caught onto what he said and scrunched her nose at him as she began to stand to her feet.

"Don't get too cocky Twinkle Toes, you know I'll put you in your place."

Aang got up with her and folded his arms. "Oh will you now?"

"Sure will." Toph retorted and cracked her knuckles. "Maybe I ought to do that right now as a matter of fact, you're rusty on that earth bending too, you're gonna need it."

"Oh is that so?" Aang replied.

"Mhm."

Aang looked at her up and down with a challenging smirk. Gosh she was gorgeous. She was returning the same look he was giving. And that was one of the many things he adored about her. They could just be... Themselves, with one another. Free as flowing breeze, and still as one when it came to it.

Aang was still high on the moments from before, and maybe that was going to interfere with their spar, but that was the least of his worries. He had just told the world's Greatest Earthbender, and more importantly his best friend, his feelings for her, and she confessed back.

That was all that mattered to him right then and there. And though Toph would never come to admit it, but she was feeling the exact same way. Minus Aang being the world's Greatest Earthbender of course.

And they both knew that this was the start of something new for them to endure together one way or another.

"You're on Sifu Toph."

Taang, you have my heart🧡💚

[fae-cookie-run-madness]

Tied to Fate (Mystic Flour/Dark Cacao) backstory

The story starts like every other beast, Pure Flour (who will become Mystic Flour) was created by a passionate witch who wanted to make gods/ancients to help lead the cookie of Earthbread down a rightful path. Pure Flour was given power over ancient magic, and her goal was to help people control it through enlightenment and prayers, also being able to grant wishes to help remind cookies there are witches who care.

Pure Flour doesn’t establish a kingdom but rather a temple on the top of a cliff, a beautiful sea close by. She gains a couple of workers, one being Cloud Haetae cookie. One day Cloud Haetae finds a knocked out cookie that is hurt, telling his mistress she quickly gets the cookie inside and nurses him back to health.

When the cookie wakes up, he introduces himself as Cacao bean cookie. Pure Flour asks him what his wish is, obviously that must be the reason he climbed this mountain. However Cacao bean says he doesn’t have a wish or he has forgotten it due to his attack. He opts to stay at the temple as he tries to remember his wish, he slowly rebuilds and reinforces walls destroyed by disasters as well as stopping fights from cookies who are pushing to get their wish.

Cacao Bean cookie slowly became part of the temple much like Cloud Haetae, a familiar and kind face for Pure Flour cookie. He laughs with her, joins her for meals, all without asking for anything in return other than the roof over his head. Even when Pure Flour offers a wish he would reply with something like ‘I wish to see the sun set tonight’ something out of Pure Flour magic range, just a natural set of life.

Eventually the two grow close and one day his wish is ‘I wish to stay by your side until I crumble’, a proposal in his own words. The two are married, Blueberry Yogurt and Warming Spice helps get them their wedding rings. Life goes on, now Cacao Bean looks after his wife, sometimes acting as her bodyguard. They had a baby together and they were happy as the little baby was slowly growing up.

However all wasn’t well, followers or cookies wanting their wishes granted weren’t happy that Pure Flour’s attention was being taken by her new husband and child. However they soon got an idea, where in the past she would reject certain wishes, if they had and threaten her family, she would be forced to grant their wishes. So the mob plots, and eventually attacks, Cacao Bean is awoken by his son’s screaming and rushes to save him. However during the fight he is hurt and his weapon is knocked away, forcing him to run away with his son in his arms.

Cacao Bean cookie is forced to the cliff side, his young son in his arms. He’s trapped, a dark sea with sharp rocks over the edge, or the mob of angry cookies with weapons ready to tear them apart. Cacao Bean took the sea, and allowed himself to fall off the cliff as the angry cookies got close. Praying for a quick death by the hands of the sea.

Pure Flour cookie watches as her husband and child fell off the cliff to their death, in her despair her magic lashed out, reducing all the cookies besides Cloud Haetae to flour. The following weeks are hell, her emotions are killing plants and everything around her, as she mourns. She eventually turns to meditation as it’s the only thing to bring her a sense of control. However the loss of her soulmate slowly begins to color the world, why should she feel emotions for these selfish cookies who took everything from her? What joy is there in life now that he is gone?

Eventually she becomes the White Apathy, Mystic Flour, becoming flour is a much better fate than living.

Of course, the witches saw the destruction the beasts were causing and eventually they were locked away.

(Ancient Times)

Dark Cacao was baked and born into the world of Earthbread, his early life is unknown. All that’s known is that eventually he found Hollyberry and Golden Cheese cookies and they started adventuring together, eventually finding/being gifted the Soul Jams.

Eventually Dark Cacao finds a snow covered mountain where two dragons are fighting, eventually he binds the dragon to his sword and starts the Dark Cacao Kingdom. Something about the white, cold snow makes him feel comfort, despite the dark, dangerous sea close by. To bring him some comfort he decided to build walls around his kingdom, just to keep the monsters out.

He establishes the kingdom and has subjects, soon enough his son, Dark Choco cookie comes along. This is where his behavior differs then most other cookies. For one sometimes he would look for or ask questions to someone who isn’t there, only to later realize he is alone. It was clear to most Dark Cacao had nightmares, there were many times you would find him awake, guarding his son’s room with a sword, or just staying rocking his cradle. He also pushes his son to train with a blade, early on claiming cookies would not care if he is small, they could still use him to hurt someone else. This results in Dark Cacao being pushy for his son to be independent and learn the sword but also weirdly overprotective, never letting him out of the walls of the kingdom.

Dark Choco eventually breaks these rules, leaving and finding a sword along his way, planning to bring it back to show his father he didn’t need to stay in the kingdom. However when he brings the sword back it basically takes over and makes him attack his father, only really snapping out of it when Dark Cacao slices his eye. In the aftermath, Dark Cacao tells his son to ‘get out of my sight’ before he is taken to the healer. Dark Choco runs thinking his punishment is banishment, plus fearing the possibility of it happening again, meanwhile when Dark Cacao wakes up, he asks for his son.

As Dark Choco deals with life on the road, he is slowly corrupted by Pomegranate cookie who tells him he has a bigger purpose in life and slowly uses magic on him to make him work for Dark Enchantress Cookie. 

(Game canon differences)

During the events of Crispa in Dark Cacao Kingdom, when he spots Dark Choco on the roof, Dark Cacao’s reaction wasn’t one of anger but relief. He runs up, hugs his son, and looks over the scar over his eye, asking him why he never came back. However Dark Choco pushes away drawing his sword, ordering for the Soul Jam, Dark Cacao says he will fight if only to knock some sense into him. 

Later when Pomegranate uses magic on Dark Cacao, it’s his son that gets his attention to the point that everyone else in the room he see as a threat. Eventually they snap him out of it. However Dark Choco doesn’t stick around much to the dismay of the king.

During Beast Yeast.

When the pale ailment hits, once Dark Cacao hits beast yeast he’s overcome with headaches, painfully but thankfully not something from the pale ailment. When they get to the temple they meet Cloud Haetae cookie, who is overjoyed to have a guest coming to visit his mistress, saying that it will surely bring a smile to her face. Cloud Haetae keeps telling them about his mistress, meanwhile Dark Cacao is dealing with headaches and nosebleeds.

Eventually the soldiers begin worrying and try to get Dark Cacao to go back, however Cloud Haetae doesn’t want them to go. He tells the story about how his mistress lost everything, her husband and child one night and seeing good, nice cookies should help her. They all just keep going towards the top, eventually finding a cocoon. Cloud Haetae calls out for his Mistress, begging her to come out, that he found Soul Jam and the new master.

At those words Dark Cacao cuts the Cocoon, and Mystic Flour unleashes a spider, even though Cloud Haetae keeps trying to yell it’s a misunderstanding. 

After climbing the mountain Dark Cacao faces Mystic Flour, a veil covering her face from sight. They fight all while Mystic Flour tells him to give up the Soul Jam and give in to Apathy. This changes however when the veil is covered and Mystic Flour finally sees his face. The fight stops of her end, however Dark Cacao is fighting out of anger at the moment. She tries using old nicknames, anything to get him back but eventually he wins and breaks out of the world he created.

He goes back to his kingdom, having defeated the pale ailment, meanwhile Mystic Flour cookie plots. She knows what she saw, she knows whose soul he really is, now just a way to get those memories to the surface.

----

Backstory so far and trying to figure stuff out. let me know your thoughtd

[punkpandapatrixk]

🌟Blessings to Expect throughout 2024 ♦︎ Timeless Pick A Card

‘You’re always here. What are you doing?’

‘Nothing…nothing in particular.’

‘You’re Saibara’s grandson, right? Aren’t you working at the Blacksmith shop?’

‘I’m not interested in that. I want to go back to the city.’

‘Oh… I came from the city, too. My dad moved the family to this village because he was going to study plants. I felt lonely at first. But the people here are all very kind.’

‘I don’t feel lonely. But I can’t find what I want to do in this village.’

‘What is it you want that you can’t find here?’

‘Well, it’s…oh, nothing…’

‘My mother always says that if you can’t find what you want to do, then do what you can see to do now. Nobody finds what they want immediately. But if you waste your time every day because of that, you’ll never find anything... To tell you the truth, I haven’t found what I’m looking for yet, either. See you.’

— Mary and Gray’s conversation from Harvest Moon: Back To Nature

SONG: Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Judy Garland

MOVIE: The Wizard of Oz (1939)

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☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・.

Pile 1 – Welcoming Love, True Love

VIBE: Ready for Your Love (feat. MNEK) by Gorgon City

end of a struggle – King of Swords

You’ve been incredibly and marvellously responsible for…quite a number of years, I think? For some of you maybe a couple of months or so. But your struggles have ended; nearing ending; or you just haven’t realised yet how everything has changed for the better now. If you take a moment to really notice yourself, I’m sure you can tell just how much clearer you’ve become about many things pertaining to your surrounding and sense of Self. I feel you’ve worked really hard to overcome excessive trauma noises that have caused you a great deal of psychological pain.

Starting this year, you can feel more confident in your intellectual capacity to gauge situations right in front of you. Making choices will be a lot easier now because you’re clear about who you are as a person and what it is you truly want out of your own existence. You’ve clearly set enough boundaries with those who didn’t have your best interest. Seems to me you’ve learnt the hard way to be more selfish in the spirit of self-preservation. And so, the adventure of a lifetime begins right this moment.

In fact, I feel like your entire Life up until this point has been quite the adventure—only it has been filled with sorrow and misery, sorta. Surely it was your Hero’s Journey taking shape for the early chapters of your Life’s Story. A slow burn of a lifetime, if you will. Beginning this year, you’re entering the most exciting part of your rise to glory and everlasting happiness!

in your favour – 8 of Pentacles

You’ve been hustling behind the scenes for the most part. At least, those who aren’t close to you will never know just how much work you’ve put into bettering your world from the inside out. You worked so much on your mindset; you must’ve exercised a lot, too; tried to eat more cleanly and healthily; worked on your glow-up; brushed your skills; etc. You were investing in yourself for the future vision you’ve always held close to your heart. And for that reason, the seeds are now blooming.

You’re making me think of the bamboo plant. Did you know that a bamboo seedling takes around 5-7, maybe even 8-10, years to gestate underground? All alone in the dark without anyone knowing what’s going on down there. And when the seedling shoots up to the surface, the bamboo plant is famous for being the fastest growing plant there ever is.

So yeah~ fast or no fast in your mind, the point is that you’ve done the work on yourself and all the plans you’ve ever had for your Life. This year, 2+0+2+4=8, is the year you reap all the rewards and grow even faster from where you are now. Whatever undertaking you begin this year will gain traction super fast! Pat yourself on the back because when things get super good, you deserve to take a small break and just enjoy how far you’ve come~! Breathe~

catching stars – Page of Wands

Your Story is totally far from finished. With the Page aenergy—a kid’s aenergy—you’re only on the precipice of entering a Life of passion and purpose. You could almost say, it’s a new Story altogether just because this chapter of your Life is SO SO SO super good in comparison to the chapters about your struggles. I guess you’d call this a new arc huehue

You’re young Hercules now. Pretty soon, there will occur some big event that propels you into a bona fide hero, and then, you’ll meet your Megara~ This part of your Story is where you enter a circle of true—at least truer—friends and lovers who will motivate you throughout the next chapters of your Life. Sure, sure, struggles don’t just end, poof, like that and you will continuously need to learn to sift through these new breeds of friends and acquaintances. But that’s also part of your next level growing up, so don’t sweat the possibilities XD

Throughout 2024, you could be moving to a new environment and then meet new friends. Highkey you’re gonna be meeting Soulmates and Soul Fam members; these are the people who resemble you so much either on the inside or outside. These are people who think like you, care about the same things as you; basically you’re gonna finally feel like you truly belong somewhere on this Planet. Love is in the air because you’ve been giving so much Love to yourself before this point. You are Love. You emanate Love wherever you go because you love yourself, and thus you become a magnet for people who also will love you just as good~

APPLE STRUDEL🔻💛

honey lemon juice – Silver Magus (Merlin)

have a sweet time, honey – Priestess of Love

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☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・.

Pile 2 – Rising Up to Accept Yourself Wholly

VIBE: She Said from Kamikaze Girls

end of a struggle – Knight of Cups

You’ve kinda just gone through a death of a paradigm of sort. I feel that in the past, you simply didn’t really know who you were or what you were meant to be. This confusion of an identity was caused by your parents/caretakers not really appreciating you for who you were as a child or it could also be caused by your environment, race, culture, custom, tradition, stuff like that. It wasn’t your fault, you know. You literally grew up on your own and finally got clear about your own identity—you stopped caring if your real identity is too weird, too eccentric for this world.

Basically, you got tired of rejecting yourself. And you realised that you were doing that because you knew others wouldn’t accept you. Then you realised people are shitty and lame for the most part anyway, so you learnt to be OK with embracing all of your weird heart’s little desires. And you nurtured yourself and nurtured yourself until you rose above the lameness of most of Humanity. Did you know? You did the right thing, really. Through and through.

You’re definitely an Advanced Soul. I think even when you were a kid you always felt like there was some spirit/shadow parental figure walking behind you, guiding your thought processes. This older/bigger unseen figure was really just your own Higher Self, you know :D More than others would give you credit for, you’ve been such a good gal/boi for always listening to the guidance of your Higher Self~

in your favour – 3 of Pentacles

Beginning this year, you’re going to finally meet people who are similar to you. Similar as in, you’re going to meet a lot of colourful characters, really. People who also feel somewhat like society’s outcast. These people are going to come from various backgrounds and they will each have very interesting back stories and life experiences that will entertain you for a long time. These people could also have very strange, unusual hobbies that will spark your interest in new, alien pursuits.

With that said, this year could be the year you begin a new passion project of your own, with these people, new friends, you share a vision with. They do care about you and want to succeed together, so you can trust that these connections are going to bear sweet feelings for you. Most importantly, this year you’re going to know the sweet feeling of doing something meaningful with your natural talents born out of your innate interests. When you finally get the money, you will first and foremost taste gratitude from those who seem to love and enjoy what you do or have to offer~

Life really is getting better now because you’ve mustered the courage to explore your possibilities in all your eccentricity. Your Higher Self never meant for you to fit in anyway. You were always meant to be some sort of a genius trailblazer—a source of inspiration for the other lameass Humans who are too afraid to be themselves.

catching stars – 10 of Pentacles

What more can be said? On top of embracing yourself fully, loving yourself wholeheartedly, and meeting kindred spirits, you’re also going to gain a massive amount of money! Life’s always good when you have a lot of money! More money means a happier heart and more to share as well. But in your case, if you’ve chosen this Pile as your main pile, know that before a lot of money even trickles into your reality, it is the sense that you’re serving your Life Purpose what will make you feel rich.

After all, there could people reading this who came from a wealthy background and you may think you don’t crave or even care about money. Exactly. You never cared about a lack of money but didn’t you struggle with grounding yourself to this Reality because you didn’t know what you were put on Earth to do? This ‘10 of Pentacles sense of abundance’ encompasses a sense of material abundance that feels deserving; you can now feel worthy of getting paid for some passionate, incredible, show-stopping contribution you’ve made to society. Isn’t that such a wonderful feeling?

Some of you reading this could mend some broken bonds with family; some others could finally find a tribe—a Soul Family—and feel that you belong; some could start a family of your own with someone worthy of your high-grade affection. Congratulations~! You’ve really made it this far~ Things can only get better and better from here♥︎

APPLE STRUDEL🔻💗

honey lemon juice – Green Historian (Herodotus)

have a sweet time, honey – Priestess of Patience

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☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・.

Pile 3 – Stepping On the Pedestal of Destiny

VIBE: Cheer Up, Charlie from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

end of a struggle – King of Pentacles

If you’ve chosen this as your main pile, I just know it that you’ve been working so hard on yourself, on a level that’s practically incomprehensible for most people. I’m sure you’ve survived so many deaths of the spirit—and perhaps even some of the more dramatic attempts. And you’ve come on top of your misery now. You’ve gotten healthier and clearer about where you’re going next. I sense sometimes you still doubt yourself but it isn’t a sin to doubt, it’s just a sign that you want to do well. And on so many levels, sometimes you’re afraid because you genuinely want this dream/vision to happen to you.

I assure you with this reading that you’re on the fast track towards a rendezvous with Destiny. Fast…is honestly relative to each Soul’s blueprint tho XD Time is on your side and what’s meant for you can’t miss you. So chillax, OK? One thing to know about this great dream/vision of yours is that you’re going to see it manifest because you’re different from the rest. Different in that you want to see it manifest to be of service to the rest! When you really think about it…

Don’t you just know from deep within your Soul that you’re deserving of this great destiny? It’s because you’re going to serve a massive purpose with it! So many people would benefit from your realising this dream. And that’s the very thing! You’ve been holding on to this vision, and you want it, because you’re MEANT for it.

in your favour – 4 of Cups

I’ll be referencing the 1971 ver. of Willy Wonka here. And honestly, I think you should watch it by the weekend or something because that movie’s whole vibe will feel tremendously validating to you, I sense hahah

Have you heard of the theories that say Charlie was literally singled out by Willy Wonka from the very beginning? That he had chosen all of those horrible brats because he wanted to punish, oops, teach them a lesson, and that principally he had been watching Charlie and wanted HIM to inherit the Chocolate Factory. If you watch the 1971 film you’ll literally get it! And with this 4 of Cups, know that that’s how the Universe feels about you stepping into your destiny. Willy Wonka, or God idk, doesn’t want anybody else but YOU to fulfil this role~!

You’ve literally been chosen and singled out by the Universe to win the grand prize! Just so you know, as I’m typing these words I literally have the Willy Wonka movie playing on another window and as I typed ‘grand prize’, the person in the movie is saying it right at the same time at around the 19:11 minute mark. Things can’t get any more synchronous than that!🤯

This year, you’ll really see how every single thing is going to work out in your favour. And knowing the inner work you’ve done on yourself, I’m sure you’re spiritually mature enough to sense, to notice every small nudge that tells you what you need to do at a given time😊New adventures are just around the corner, baby~!

catching stars – 5 of Pentacles

So you see, how is 5 of Pentacles appearing for a segment about you catching stars? This is, in fact, reaffirming that your dream come true will also serve as a salve for those who are wounded and hurting. You really are a medicine for this sick world. This year, you’re going to see serendipitous events and meetings what will open the door towards the physical manifestation of your dream Reality. Once you step on to the pedestal of Destiny, there’s no stopping you. You’ll be moving so fast it drives you mad!

This card is also saying you must be careful of possible leeches coming towards you; it’s best to use caution and discernment when revealing to others your plans and goals. Be stingy with information as per your gut instinct’s nudges, OK? Be mature enough to know not everybody will be happy at the prospect of your massive success that could potentially change Mankind. People get envious of such ideas, alright? Be careful not to hit the already low self-esteem of some people around you LMAO

I also feel that this year you will begin new routines that benefit your health and physical strength. If this is something you’ve been working on, you will see this year that the implementation of these routines feels more natural and effortless. You’ve managed to master your thoughts, emotions, and time management—or soon to do. Money will also come more abundantly, so all your basic needs are easily met. You’ve become a magnet for good luck—or soon to notice you’ve done so!🍀

APPLE STRUDEL🔻🧡

honey lemon juice – Red Astronomer (Johannes Kepler)

have a sweet time, honey – Priestess of Innocence

Access full reading + cards on Patreon🌸

☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・.

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[kyryedb]

I just love contrasting skk/sskk dynamics in fic like, they're so fun to read I need more.

Like gimme Dazai and Chuuya who have spent the last few years spiting eachother for fear of this thing between them that refuses to die no matter how much hurt and resentment they throw at it.

And then one day they realize they're watching Atsushi and Akutagawa slowly work through their issues and grow closer like a pair of magnets eroding away at all obstacles between them.

Sure, they're awkward as hell about it. The landscape of Yokohama suffers their growing pains with them, but everyone can see them gaining terrain until it's commonplace to see one waiting for the other outside their workplace or to spot them sitting together in some random fire escape.

Through it all, skk watch them with this sort of awe-pride-envy that eats them up inside in both a good and bad ways. Chuuya grins a little to himself when Akutagawa makes it a thing to introduce Gin and Atsushi, Dazai indulges Atsushi's planning of a first date that ends up going so very wrong it's funny. Deep, deep down they both wonder what might have happened if they had made the effort.

Now, if it's the other way around it's even more hilarious. Bc you have skk who grew back together like a fungus after Dazai reappeared. They've both matured a lot and lost a lot, so now it's a lot easier to let themselves be and enjoy the time they have, because in Yokohama you never know. Their relationship somehow strongarms the city into peace because now they're partners again and it's a little terrifying.

And in the meanwhile, Atsushi and Akutagawa watch and kind of simmer in all the pent up rage that they have, not even necesarily at skk (although there's the Akutagawa and Dazai situation) but just at the world in general.

It may be a bit more noticeable in Akutagawa, but Atsushi too still has so much rage within himself. Because of the past, and the divine being, and everything. It's the kind of rage that they can't direct at anyone else, —because no one else would understand, because they only want eachother in some twisted way, because they're both livid at themsleves for having feelings for the other— so they give it to eachother and they're damn right insufferable about it.

And somehow the skk situation makes it worse? Like what do you mean Akutagawa drops by Chuuya's office and Dazai is sitting on the desk, boucing a rubber ball off the wall and humming whle Chuuya finishes his work? What do you mean Atsushi comes back from some errand to find Dazai curled up with Chuuya on the ADA couch? Asleep, to boot.

There's a gala and skk dance together like they've been going to ballroom classes the whole time, and Atsushi gets so irritated that he gets drunk and Akutagawa ends up carrying him home gagged with Rashomon.

Idk I think its a fun dynamic. Kind of like the ultimate punishment of having to watch what you can’t have be rubbed in your face.

Ofc in both cases the couple that actually has their shit together ends up nudging along the one that doesn’t.

Long live happy endings but also truckloads of angst.

[intimidating-fettuccine]

Hii, I hope you’re doing well ^^! Maybe fluff/comfort with Jeff with an s/o who has stitches all over their body and face and they’re feeling a bit insecure about them?? if that’s okay!

I hope I did a good job on this and that you enjoy! :) I love some soft fluffy Jeff content~

Jeff understands what it feels like to be insecure about yourself. Not a day has passed in his life where he hasn't felt insecure about his body and face. It started out as the injuries that his mom would leave on him, and then it progressed to the horrible scars he gained from the night of the incident. The burn scars he obtained, the smile they forcibly carved into his face, the scar that caused him to lose his vision in his left eye, and even now, the ever-growing collection of scars he's obtained from working for Slender. Jeff is insecure about just about everything to do with his body, so when you start to feel insecure about the stitches over your skin, he understands.

Because he understands, and because he loves and adores you so much, Jeff does just about whatever he can to try and make you feel better, because he hates to see you feeling so down about yourself. The very first thing he does is express that something like stitches doesn't change who you are or how you appear to others, and he finds you incredibly attractive, and the stitches don't take away from that at all. He doesn't want you to view something like that as a negative when it's something you can't help or control about yourself, because it's not good to feel bad about something you can't change. I also think Jeff might have Liu talk with you as well, because Liu also has stitches all over himself, and he would also be able to encourage you and help you think more positively about yourself. It makes Jeff feel so happy to be able to help you feel even just a bit better, and it also makes him so happy to know that his brother can help you too because you're both all he has and it makes him feel so at peace knowing that you can all be there for each other.

Jeff definitely starts paying more attention to your general mood as well once you tell him you've been feeling insecure, and if he notices you seem to be quite down or upset, he swoops in and checks on you to make sure that you're okay. He also compliments you more frequently, at least a couple of times a day, so that you can be reminded about the good parts of yourself, rather than only focusing on the things that you personally deem to be bad. Something else I'd think he'd do, Jeff gets really happy and mushy when you gently stroke and kiss his scars to make him feel better about them, so I think that he would start doing the same for your stitches. It becomes a little relaxing ritual at the end of the day, where you kiss all over his scars, and then he kisses all over your stitches, often ending in fits of giggles from the two of you gradually growing more silly. Jeff is really good at reading the room and people's emotions, and he pays really good attention to you, making sure that you're not beating yourself up or feeling negative about your appearance. He makes sure you know that if you're ever feeling insecure about yourself you should go to him and talk to him about it, and he'll always reassure you and help you to feel better. If you can make him feel happy and confident in his own body that he's hated for so long, he'll do whatever he can to help you feel the same way in yours.

[hungermakesmonsters]

(Once Bitten) Twice Shy

Epilogue

Plot summary : Desperate to get away from your controlling family, you take a job in New York as a wealthy vampire's blood source. A million dollars awaits if you can make it through a year, but life with Billy Russo is not going to be as simple as you think.

Pairing : Billy Russo x Reader

Story Rating : R  Chapter Rating : R

Warnings : [This is a fic for 18+ only, minors DNI] Smut and fluff. All chapters will contain mentions of blood. Please check the warnings on each chapter if you choose to follow this story. 

Word Count : 4.3k

A/N : 😭

CHAPTER ONE | CHAPTER TWO | CHAPTER THREE | CHAPTER FOUR | CHAPTER FIVE | CHAPTER SIX | CHAPTER SEVEN | CHAPTER EIGHT | CHAPTER NINE | CHAPTER TEN | CHAPTER ELEVEN | CHAPTER TWELVE | CHAPTER THIRTEEN | CHAPTER FOURTEEN | CHAPTER FIFTEEN | CHAPTER SIXTEEN | CHAPTER SEVENTEEN | CHAPTER EIGHTEEN | CHAPTER NINETEEN

MASTER LIST

Epilogue

It wasn’t easy.

But, then, when had anything in your life ever really been easy?

In the weeks that followed, you struggled to adapt to your new reality, your body waking you at daybreak and having you exhausted by nightfall, suffering with pangs of hunger that seemed almost unquenchable. Both Frank and Billy told you it would get better, that you would adjust, but that didn’t stop the occasional breakdown, the moments where everything felt like it was too much.

You watched as Billy’s heart broke over and over again, when he’d find you on the floor in your kitchen, sobbing and eating oreos, or walking around the penthouse in the middle of the day so exhausted that you could barely function.

On the bad days, he would take you into his rooms, close the curtains and hold you in pitch blackness, softly shushing you as you sobbed in his arms, whispering gentle apologies in your ear.

Feeding wasn’t any easier; you still gagged and felt sick sometimes, and certain kinds of blood didn’t seem to agree with you.

Finally you understood why Billy had made you follow such strict rules when it came to your health and diet as sometimes, some blood left you feeling ill like you’d eaten something that had gone off. And, as your senses became more acute, it only seemed to get worse.

But, eventually, a solution was found to every problem; Billy stayed with you for weeks, helping you adjust to your new day/night cycle, and special blood was ordered for you once he figured out exactly what you needed. And, once those issues were sorted, your breakdowns became fewer until you finally felt like you could handle your new life.

After that, the only issue left was Billy and your relationship. 

You loved him, and you knew that he loved you, but you needed time. Everything between you had happened so quickly and it felt like you’d missed out on so many steps. When you finally felt up to it, Billy started to take you out on dates; to dinner, to museum exhibitions, and even to the cinema. Little things, little steps that allowed you to grow closer as a couple. And, at the end of every night, he left you to decide if you wanted to sleep in his bed or your own.

The physical side of your relationship didn’t change or slow; Billy couldn’t seem to keep his hands off of you and you didn’t want him to. Being a vampire made everything feel heightened and you soon got why Billy craved moments of touch and intimacy. But, as far as your relationship went, you took things slowly.

And, after a few months, you were finally able to do what you’d told him you wanted to do. You found a job.

It was only a few nights a week at a local library and, for the first couple of weeks, Billy had insisted on walking you there and back, but he soon had to focus on his own work and you were able to gain the sense of freedom that you sought, both physically and financially.

Billy laughed every time you tried to pay for something or split a check, telling you to spend your money on yourself, on things that you wanted, things that would make you happy. At first, it annoyed you but, as you got closer, and you became privy to things like his finances, you realised just how wealthy he was.

But you didn’t let that deter you. You’d taken a job because you wanted to be able to contribute and that’s exactly what you started doing.

It was a cactus first. A tiny plant that you hoped would grow much bigger. You’d read that, in the right environment and with proper care, some cacti could live hundreds of years and that was what you wanted; something that would stay with you over the decades.

When you’d first brought the tiny little thing into the penthouse, Billy had frowned, then laughed, before getting a little table from the library for it to sit on and placing it by the window.

Over the weeks that followed, you got more plants, more things that made the penthouse feel like a home; cushions, lamps, artwork for the wall. You even insisted on hanging some fairy lights around that, when turned on, gave the place a magical and romantic glow.

And Billy went along with it, never complaining, always helping you, whether it was putting up more shelves for plants, hanging lights, or moving furniture to make space.

Karen gushed over the new furnishings, commenting on how Billy’s bachelor pad now looked like a real home, and your heart melted when he responded that it was a home now that you were in it.

And, every now and then, Billy would turn up with a new stuffed animal for you, until you had a small menagerie of stuffies, each with names more ridiculous than the last, all some loose version of Billy - though he threatened to stop when you announced that one of them was to be called Billiam.

After five months had passed, you’d fallen into a rhythm with Billy and, for the first time in your life, everything felt perfect. You were happy, you were in love. All the self-doubt and uncertainty that you’d carried when you first arrived at the penthouse was gone. And, no matter how much time passed, Billy seemed intent on constantly surprising you and doing everything he could to keep showing you that he loved you.

The moment Karen offered to pick you up after work on your birthday, you knew something was going on, you knew she’d been roped into one of his schemes. But nothing could have prepared you for the surprise party that was waiting for you when the elevator doors slid open and you stepped into the penthouse. 

Everybody yelled ‘surprise’ as they jumped from their hiding spots, but the moment your eyes found him, it felt like there was no one else in the room.

He stepped towards you and took your hand in his before kissing you softly.

“Happy birthday, hummingbird,” he said with a smile that always made you feel loved and safe in equal measure.

“Did you do all of this on your own?” You asked, finally letting your gaze drift about the penthouse.

“I had a little bit of help from Karen,” he admitted. “But I do have something else for you, something special that I want you to have before the party really starts.”

You looked at him, searching his face for some idea of what it could be, your mind racing back to the first party you’d attended in the penthouse. But on his face you found something you didn’t expect, an uncertainty, a nervousness, as if he wasn’t sure how you were going to react to his surprise.

“What is it?” You asked.

“I think it’s easier just to show you,” he explained.

Billy didn’t wait for a response before slowly starting to lead you towards the library. Whatever it was, your friends seemed clued in; you caught a reassuring smile from Karen and a nod from Frank. Even Foggy managed to look silently supportive of whatever you were about to face.

As the library door opened, a figure stood up from the sofa.

You froze in the doorway, a thousand different emotions going to war inside you.

“Irene,” your sister's name fell from your lips as little more than a whisper, too quiet for any but Billy to hear it.

She offered an apologetic smile but seemed just as lost for words as you were. Billy’s hand gave yours a reassuring squeeze, letting you know that he was still there and that he’d support you if you needed him to.

Finally she took a step forward.

“You’re all grown up,” she remarked softly and all you could do was nod.

You hand gripped Billy’s even as you managed to take a step, still not sure how you wanted to feel or what you could possibly say to her after so many years apart.

“Billy found me,” she tried to explain, “he told me about what happened and how you ended up here.”

Your eyes flickered to Billy and he saw just how lost you were.

“Madani tracked her down,” he said softly. “I didn’t want to say anything to you until I knew that Irene wanted to see you. I didn’t want to get your hopes up in case she decided that she didn’t want to see you.”

It made sense and you certainly weren’t upset about it, but you still struggled to deal with the situation.

“You left me,” you finally said, voice breaking as you turned your attention back to Irene. “You said you’d come back for me.”

“I -” she started before hesitating, “- I tried. Just before your eighteenth birthday. I came to get you, but dad caught me. He told me that if I ever left with you, he’d make sure I was arrested for kidnapping and I -”

She fell silent again and you watched as she tried to blink back tears. In the silence, you found yourself leaning into Billy’s side.

“I’d just found out I was pregnant,” Irene continued. “I have children now. Three of them. I wanted to take you away with me, but I...”

You watched her wipe a tear from her cheek and your heart ached for her, finally starting to understand what had happened and why she hadn’t come back for you. She had to choose between you and her unborn child, and you couldn’t fault her for putting the baby first.

Nodding, you struggled to find the words. It was overwhelming and, while you didn’t blame Irene or Billy for the situation, you wished that you’d had some warning, some time to prepare all the things you wanted to say to her. Although you’d played this moment over and over in your head since the day she’d left home, you’d never really been able to settle on what you’d say or how you’d feel.

You gave Billy’s hand one last squeeze before letting it go and moving towards Irene. 

“I’ll give you some privacy,” he said softly, waiting just a moment to make sure you didn’t need him to stay, before leaving the library and closing the door behind him.

“He seems really nice,” Irene offered, smiling at you.

“He is,” you answered. “He saved my life.”

“Can you tell me about it?” She asked cautiously. “I want to hear about your life, about everything I’ve missed out on.”

You took a seat on the sofa and waited for her to join you, your mind still racing, wondering how you could ever explain the last eleven months of your life to someone who wasn’t there to see it.

“Well, it started when I saw a job advertisement online, just over a year ago...”

Irene sat, mostly quiet, listening as you explained how you needed to leave home in order to escape a forced marriage, just like she had. You told her about coming to New York and how you and Billy had slowly bonded over your shared love of literature, and how it had culminated in you falling in love. Then, with a little less certainty, you told her how you were turned and how your life had been going since that moment.

At some point she’d taken hold of your hand and held it between her own on her lap, her eyes never leaving your face, completely caught up in your story.

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t here for you,” she told you at the end.

“It’s okay... I wasn’t on my own.”

You could see that now; Billy, Karen, even Frank, and Matt and Foggy. You had people in your life, people who cared about you. People who looked out for you. (People who would kill for you.)

She looked at her watch and a sadness filled her expression.

“I should let you get back to your party. Tom - my husband - and the kids are at the hotel,” she explained and you visibly brightened.

“You’re staying in the city?”

“Yeah, for a few days. I’d like you to meet my family. If - I mean, if that’s something you’d want to do, I know -”

“You want them to meet me, even though I’m a vampire now?”

“Of course,” she answered without hesitation. “You’re my little sister and I want you back in my life.”

“I’d love to meet them,” you told her, finally finding the strength to throw your arms around your sister’s shoulders and hug her tight.

Her arms wrapped around you and, for a few bittersweet minutes, you stayed like that, both of you trying desperately not to cry. After a few false starts, she managed to pull away from you and you both got to your feet. You walked her out of the library and towards the elevator, making plans to meet the next night so you could finally meet your niece and nephews.

No sooner had the doors slid shut, Billy was at your side, his arms wrapping around you as you pressed your face against his chest. You clung to him, feeling overwhelmed again, feeling so full of emotion that you might burst. His hand stroked your hair and he kissed the top of your head, muttering how much he loved you, holding you until you were ready to enjoy your party.

And you did enjoy it.

The night was spent laughing with your friends with Billy always close to your side, barely able to keep his hands off you for more than a few short minutes at a time. You talked about work and made plans for the future, and Karen managed to ruin one of your birthday surprises by telling you about a two-week polar night cruise around Alaska that Billy and Frank had booked so you could have a couples vacation that was vampire friendly.

Billy was a little upset that his surprise was ruined prematurely, but he seemed to forget all about it when you pulled him close and kissed him deeply, something that you didn’t usually like to do in front of other people.

You drank, ate cake, and laughed the night away, until it was time for your friends to start leaving.

While Billy lingered by the elevator, talking to Frank, you waved farewell to Karen and decided to go get ready for bed, stopping off at your room to pick up a little present you’d been holding onto for Billy that you finally wanted to give him. Then, you made your way to his bedroom. 

You quickly washed and changed into a sheer, powder blue negligee, and sat yourself on the edge of his bed next to his gift, waiting for him. It wasn’t long before he joined you, stepping into the room and pausing at the sight of you, making no attempt to hide the way his eyes took in every inch of your body.

Getting to your feet, you twirled, deciding to really give him an eyeful. Billy laughed and, before you knew it, you were laughing too.

“Not that I’m complaining, but what’s all this for?” He asked.

“I want to sleep in here with you, and -” you hesitated a moment as you turned and picked up the carefully wrapped gift and offered it to him, “- I wanted to give you a present.”

“You got me a present?” He looked down at the present in his hands, confused but still smiling. “But it’s your birthday.”

“I know, but it’s for both of us... kind of...” you said, a sudden feeling of nervousness causing a tremor in your voice.

Slowly, carefully, Billy tore open the wrapping and was left more confused than ever by what he found.

“It’s bed linen,” you explained.

“I can see that,” he answered, a hint of uncertain laughter in his tone as he looked at it.

You’d chosen a striking pattern of dark blues and petrol green, dark but still colourful, but it quickly became apparent that it wasn’t the bed linen itself that he didn’t understand, it was the gesture and what it meant.

You took a slow breath and started to explain; “it’s just... well, it’s really dark in here, and if I’m going to start staying in here, I thought we could make it a little brighter, and -”

“You want to stay in my room?” He asked, clearly trying to fight back a smile just in case he was jumping to the wrong conclusion. “You want to move into my room permanently?”

In the time it took you to nod, Billy had dropped the bed linen and cleared the distance between you, his hands framing your face and tilting it up so his lips could find yours. He kissed you with an eager desire that told you all you needed to know; he was happy, he wanted you to move into his room.

“I love you,” he muttered against your lips. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” you answered back.

As he kissed you again, your fingers started to tug at his shirt, untucking it from his pants before clumsily pulling open the buttons, so you could touch his bare skin. While you dealt with his shirt, Billy quickly undid and lowered his pants, leading you backwards towards the bed as he stepped out of them.

He kissed you in a way that left you feeling bereft, like you didn’t think he’d ever be able to match the passion and love that he was showing you then, that no moment would ever feel as good as that one did. But it was a silly thought, one you knew was wrong. There was no limit to the depths of his love. And there was none to yours either, not when it came to Billy.

His shirt slipped from his shoulders, joining his pants on the ground just a split-second before you were lifted off your feet and deposited on the bed beneath him. Already, you could feel the hard press of his erection between your thighs, and it was enough to have you moaning against his lips.

For a few wonderful minutes, he was content to stay like that, his body pressed down on top of yours while you kissed. You loved moments like that, moments where there was no frantic rush, moments where it felt like you had all the time in the world to just love and enjoy each other.

Finally, he pulled away from your lips and lifted himself, letting his eyes drift down your body, taking in the sight of you all over again.

“You’re beautiful,” he told you softly, just enjoying the moment of stillness before letting his hand trail over the sheer fabric of your negligee. “And I love this.”

“I thought you might,” you smiled up at him, content to let him take his time.

His hand began to trace the curves of your body through the gossamer fabric, making a point of running his fingers over the ticklish spot on your side that he’d discovered that first night you’d spent together in front of the TV. A smile spread across his lips as you squirmed and giggled beneath him.

“I love you,” he said again.

There was something so serious in his voice, something that had you reaching up to cup his cheek, wanting to settle any terrible thoughts or doubts that might be in his head.

“I know you do, Billy,” you reassured him softly. “And I love you. With all my heart.”

His smile grew wider and whatever had taken hold of him seemed to let go. And, finally, he started to move down your body.

Soft hands slipped up your thighs, fingers hooking the little panties that you wore beneath the negligee and quickly relieving you of them. And, still, despite all the months that you’d spent with him, he always managed to look at you like it was his first time really seeing you. Once your panties were gone, he slowly moved down the bed, settling himself between your thighs, slowly trailing kisses from your knee up your leg.

Even though you were more than used to his lips between your thighs and the way his tongue could make you feel, you still gasped at the first touch, each and every time. In your time together, he’d learned every inch of you and how to make your body shake with pleasure.

Your fingers slipped into his hair and tugged lightly as his tongue slid between your folds. He groaned against you, tasting your arousal before focusing his attention on your clit, circling the throbbing bundle. Unrestrained moans started to fall from your lips and, soon enough, you felt his fingers breach your walls, slowly thrusting into the heat of your body while he undid you with his tongue.

His name fell from your lips over and over as you felt yourself climb higher and higher, your fingers curling tighter in his hair.

You looked down at him, waiting for his permission as pleasure coiled tight inside you and, finally, he gave you the slightest of nods. It was all you needed. You came hard as his fingers and tongue continued to work in concert with each other, trying to prolong your ecstasy until it was too much to bear and your thighs started to tremble violently.

Finally he pulled back, wiping his lips and watching you as your head fell back on the pillow.

“Mmmm,” you hummed, breathless but smiling. “Best birthday present ever.”

“Oh, hummingbird, I’m just getting started,” he muttered.

You didn’t move until prompted, sitting up for him so he could finally remove your negligee, then dropping back to the pillow while he got rid of his boxers. And you watched him, you watched every little move that he made, taking in the sight of him just as he had with you only ten minutes before.

It brought a smile to your face to think how obsessed you still were with each other.

Soon, he was positioned between your thighs again, teasing you, running the leaking tip of his cock between your folds, trailing it up and down from your entrance to your clit until you were needily squirming beneath him.

“Billy, please...”

“What do you need, hummingbird?” He asked, as if he didn’t already know.

“You, Billy,” you whined. “I need you.”

And that was all he needed to hear.

Your head fell back and you let out a long moan as his cock notched into you and started to fill you. His pace was torturously slow and he watched every little flicker of pleasure that crossed your features. You loved these moments when he’d take his time, when he’d make love to you and show you how much you meant to him.

Linking your hands behind his neck, you pulled him down and into an eager kiss. More little moans slipped from your lips and into his as he started to move in slow, deep thrusts that sent bolts of pleasure up and down your spine. You back arched, heels digging into the mattress, lifting your hips to meet his every movement.

When the kiss broke, your lungs felt like they were burning. But there was no time to think about that, no time to think about anything but the way Billy was making you feel. His lips moved to your neck, kissing and sucking at your skin, while one of his hands played with your breast. He was everywhere and everything to you, and when you were together like this, you felt like two pieces of a whole.

He made you feel like the characters from all the books you’d read; you felt like Jane Eyre finally happy and free with her Mr Rochester (just minus the burnt down home).

He made you happier than you’d ever dared to believe you could be.

“Billy,” you moaned softly into his ear with reverence. 

“Come for me, little hummingbird,” he muttered in response.

On command, you fell apart for him, clinging to him as your body shivered and shook with pleasure.

“Billy, I love you,” you managed between your moans.

Billy gasped, suddenly overcome by his own orgasm. The movements of his hips turned sloppy as you felt him empty himself inside you, trembling almost as much as you were.

“I love you,” you said again, finding his lips and kissing him, wrapping your arms around him and holding him tight.

When he stilled, he lingered, not wanting to pull out or pull away from you but, eventually, he rolled away, ending up on his back beside you. You both basked in the afterglow as you slowly came down from your highs.

Turning on your side, you lifted yourself so your face was above his. His eyes closed and he let out a contented sigh as your fingers ran through his hair, lightly scratching your nails against his scalp just the way he liked. Then you leaned, pressing a soft kiss to the tip of his nose, then one of each of his closed eyes and then, finally, his lips.

“Thank you,” you whispered softly.

“What for?” He dared to ask.

“For loving me for who I am,” you tried to explain, “and for letting me have a life of my own.”

“I should be thanking you for exactly the same thing,” he told you, wrapping his arm around you and pulling you towards him, holding you against his chest.

Neither of you said another word that night. 

You didn’t need to. 

You had each other, and that was all you needed.

End Note : It's finally over 😭😭😭 Thank you so much for all the lovely comments and messages over the last week, it really means a lot that so many people have enjoyed this story. I hope the epilogue gives an added bit of closure on a couple of issues (I know some people were interested in the sister) though I have also left some things open because I would love to come back to this version of Billy some time in the future. (Honestly, I need a little break from gothic stuff because I made the mistake of rereading Flowers in the Attic the other day and it left me emotionally broken 😅) There won't be any Billy fics from me next week, which feels so weird to me, but I realised that I've posted at least once a week, every week for the last 42 weeks so I think I'm due a week off. At the moment, I think I'll be starting the stalker!Billy fic on the 6th of September but, in the mean time I might also work on my omegaverse!Bucky fic. In the meantime, my ask box is always open if you have thoughts/feelings/questions/headcanons about anything I've written.

Anyway, thank you so much for reading and following week after week, and thank you so much to those of you who have liked/commented/reblogged! Hope you all have a great weekend!

Let me know if you'd like to be tagged in future chapters! If tagging doesn't work for some reason (aka Tumblr being dumb) I post most Fridays around 7:30 gmt.

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[broooooo]

Have you thought about doing a story from a coach point of view maybe fucking a couple jocks along the way to see some new perspectives and maybe couple cum soaked jockstrap for good measure?

Coach Jason is a large muscular man, he wears tight lycra alot and loves his boys. He crafted each on of them , the perfect big, dumb, horny, football jocks, mindless and obedient to him, he can't get enough of the thrill of watching ugly poor nerds grow and drool , until they cum their brains out. He sometimes allows the jocks to fuck him, pleasure him, just the sights of there cum stained dripping jock straps is enough to get him hard. His boys are always ready to welcome a new jock into the team, all rock hard dicks and drooling, vacant eyes, they jack off sniffing their cleats in the locker room a lot

Coach Jason loves his life, turning boys into men, having them obey him , fuck him, and pleasure him. He's always thought this is where his life would be.

But one day, while coach jason Was in his office, he looked at his recent transformations team file, aaron, a shy small boy, an artist, lonely, he can still recall the drool, the dumb slac grin, and his rock hard dick cumming his brains out. It was everything. But then he had a thought

What would it be like to join them? The thought confused him, why would be want that, he's there coach, that's insane, but the idea permeated his mind, what would it be like to see it from there prospective?

He tries to focus on something else , trying to forget the idea

A while later at practice, he sends the jocks out to run laps,

But

he still can't let go of the thoughts, his hard dick betraying his objection, he tries to move past it but his dick stays hard, his heart pumping, and his mind constantly in a battle of focus, coach Jason stands on the side lines as he watches, their muscles bugle, their cleats shine, their bulges large ,the huts and grunts of them running, free of care, and worry, only sex, winning, only football on their minds, coach thought to himself, maybe they would all gain a bit of free will if he did join them, to no longer need a master to guide them, he tries to shake the thoughts, the shine of their helmet in his eyes, he cant help but wonder what it would be like, to be like them, maybe they would all just be gain some will back , being jocks and they would grow up into notable jocks, including him, or would he be destined to obey another coach , like his jocks , even though he himself would loose everything and become like them, he wouldn't be able to return, to him it's a permanent change, he would become a dumb drooling football jock, never to remember his coach life, he would just be a jock, he had to make a choice, be a jock, or a coach,.

soon enough the jocks notice coaches quietness and try questioning coach if he's doing ok, Aaron speeks up in a big bro voice, dumb, but concerned, lots of bro ,dude and brah language with this one, he flexes and drools a bit asking, his eyes vacant like the rest, his bulge big and hardening*

Coach Jason looks up, oh. Yeah Aaron, I'm good, just thinking about plays *smiles fakely* please go back to practice,

The team jogs up, forgetting the incident almost instantly, turning their minds to football, they all drool dumbly as they run.

Coach Jason stands there leaning against the wall, his heart beats fast, sweating, his dick raging, throbbing in his pants, becoming sensitive and leaking pre, his mind in a frenzy. The thought so strong in his head, clouding his judgement.

*fuck fuck fuck... Coach exclaims ,

Beh can't take it, he needs its it, he wants it, his throbbing cock trying to control his emotions, he goes to the locker room and finds Aaron's cummy extra jock strap and cleats the smell of Aarons sweat, warm and ripe, stained with cum, he can't take it, the urge to be a jock, but he wants to resist , but, remembeirng how Aaron resisted at first, .. coach takes this throbbing cock out, and straps the cleat and jock strap to his face, breathing in the jock fumes, immediately making him so horny he spasms and cums a puddle , constantly load after load even drooling, he hopes his will clam him down, Aaron is bright in his mind, the thought, the desire , his muscles, his smell, his cleats, his drool... His cum... Bro., he hears Aaron, in his head, like an illusion , he can see himself... No.. a jocked version of him, after the helmet, drooling, eyes dull and a big dumb grin standing next to Aaron, jock jason telling coach To cummmm joinnn them, , over and over , Put on the helmet... To join them.. aaron keeps whispering into coaches brain... Join them... Aaron holding a helmet and moving to towards the coach .. join me...becum... Free ... Brooo you know you want too bro....., just cum join meeeeee...

In this haze if arousal , coach allows the vision of Aaron to put the helmet on his head, , his mind shuts down, his cock like a hose of cum, and his mouth drooling, as his mind is destroyed and wiped, draining from him, his muscles grow and bulge, but he gets shorter, younger, more muscular, a short crop hairstyle and a 12 Inch dick to match. His mind being filled with nothing but football. Sex and his bros, his bro..Aaron...

The former coach remembers at that moment.. he was just Jason.. a big . Dumb, football, jock .

His mind frenzy ends as he takes off the jock strap and cleat, drooling and still leaking cum, sitting in a puddle of his own cum, he immediately becomes hard again

*Yeahhh brahhh fuc brahhh .. so fuckin horny* he jacks off his dick again, cumming again in 4 jerks, he layed in his cum puddle for a while, letting his dick leaks and his mind fog up with sex

A while later the team comes back to the locker room, and finds Jason.... There new bro.. but they all know Aaron's his long time bro.. they all huddle around and begin drooling and jacking off laughing.

Jason. And Aaron laugh together

Yo bro... Ya gud? Aaron said

Yaaa bruhhh fuck imm hung .. broo, Jason said back

Fuck brooooo same... ,

Their vacant horny eyes meet,, north drooling, sweaty,, covered in cum, they get closer together and they start to fuck

The team joins in, a big dumb jock orgy

They are all oblivious to the fact their coach is gone or that jock jason only now became real .

To them Jason was always there , at least to Aaron that is, they were best bros..

Just two big, dumb, muscular , football, jock

As it was always meant to be

____

Another story, crushed! Nailed it

I hope you enjoyed it!