#that this is the closest I’ve gotten to making a new connection

[mando-forgive-me]

Someone on Hinge just told me they didn’t think we’d work out. It’s probably because they asked what being demisexual means and I told them, but they only bailed after I said I’ve taken and enjoyed some foraging classes lately, so I’d like to pretend they think I’m too much of a dirty hippie 😂

[gothicknightz]

family ties | ethan landry

notes: oh boy you guys are gonna like this one. VERY MAJOR SCREAM SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT!!!!!!!!!! I cannot get any more specific than that.

part 2 out now!

When she moved to New York with her best friend, they both had planned on getting an average college education, having fun, and graduating. 

That was it.

Why couldn’t it have been that simple?

The four of them were stranded in the abandoned lobby of the theatre when Sam had gotten a call from the Detective, claiming that he had done some digging into Kirby and that she was let go from the FBI a couple of months ago for being mentally unstable, and he believes she is the killer.

She quickly turned her attention towards Sam, “What?” She snapped, her arm still wrapped up from her paired attack alongside Mindy on the subway. 

Putting a foot down, she crossed her arms, “There’s no way we can stay here.” Attempted to try the entrance in which they came in, to find out it was locked, “Shit.” She turned around quickly to face the, “It’s locked.”

The group frantically looked for a way out of the theatre, as they weren’t going to be trapped with the possible killers. Tara had noticed some sort of fire escape, but that wasn’t until Ghostface appeared and attacked the group, which they fought back. 

Chad decided it was a good time to be a hero, as he fought against Ghostface so that the girls could run. This proved to be a bad decision for him, as a second Ghostface came up and started stabbing alongside the other before ushering the trio back into the theatre.

As the five of them make their way back into the theatre, Kirby suddenly reappears out of nowhere and claims that she was knocked out by two Ghostfaces, but the trio can’t trust her after the Detective’s claims, who arrives subsequently after Kirby.

After what seemed to be a battle for trust, the Detective shoots Kirby, revealing himself as the third killer.

(y/n) screams as she was the closest, her heart racing in anticipation, afraid of what was going to happen next when the other two Ghostfaces de-mask themselves. Subsequently, after the Detective reveals himself to be the third killer, the Ghostface wearing Nancy Loomis’ mask revealed himself.

It was Ethan, (y/n)’s best friend. The friend she had planned on getting a college education and graduating with. The friend she had known for years, the friend who was responsible for their firsts.

Somebody she had trusted.

It was then revealed that Quinn was the final Ghostface, much to everyone’s shock, as they had seen and heard of the brutal murder Quinn had endowed.

The trio was cornered at each end by the three killers, with Sam slowly connecting the pieces that all three of the killers were related to none other than Richie Kirsch, one of the killers of the Woodboro Massacre in 2022.

As the trio was attacked and coerced back to the center of the theatre by the killers, the Detective sighed, “It wasn’t until I saw that photograph of what you had actually done to him, that I knew.”

“That I knew you had to fucking die- that you had to be punished, along with anyone else who stands in our way.”

Pushed and insulted by Quinn, Sam, and Tara were forced to stand in front of the Detective, with Ethan taking hold of (y/n), and holding a knife to her throat.

As the Detective went on about how he indulged in his son’s love for the Stab movies, and how they were a bit dark for him, he explained that there was no deeper bond than of a father and his firstborn.

“Despite the loss of Richie, I couldn’t have been happier after learning of a new addition to our family.”

The look on both the sisters’ faces was beyond puzzled as they watched the detective make grandiose gestures as he waved the gun in (y/n)’s direction.

“I knew it was a bit young for those two to get hitched, but,” the Detective paused, taking a breath for a brief smile, “She made it a lot easier to get us in here, and I’ve never been more proud of a future daughter in law, right (y/n)?”

The Carpenter sisters had another round of fear and shock as they turned their heads to one of the closest friends the gang had had, with even Mindy trusting them.

(y/n) was breaking away from a kiss with Ethan as Tara and Sam watched them in awe, the girl breaking into a fit of giggles and a content sigh.

“You know, Sam,” She said, turning towards the illegitimate daughter of the original Ghostface with her boyfriend slash fiance’s knife in hand, “You should really save the date.” She took a swing at the eldest Carpenter sister and laughed.

“Because it does fucking run in the family.”

[hakunot]

hello arknights fans i have a puzzle that needs solving. so whisperain’s new skin, it’s wonderful & we all bought it, correct?

looking in the background you can clearly see who the figures in the stained glass windows are supposed to be. they’re other iberians, specifically ones who have connections with the church of the deep, but aren’t themselves seaborne, abyssal hunters, or clothed members of the church (you can make arguments about amaia but that’s for another post).

we have irene, lumen, & amaia on the left side. then thorns & elysium on the right. my question is: can anyone tell who this third figure on the right is?

they have very distinctive bangs in their face, they’re holding a book (possibly supposed to be religious text?), what looks like a curved staff, and might have long hair to the side. WHO IS THIS??? i’ve done comparisons with every potentially relevant character i can think of (quintus, aulus, cicero, dario, carmen, literally every playable iberian) & i am stumped. no one fits as neatly as any of the other stained glass figures do. the closest i’ve gotten is maybe skalter? kal'tsit?? WEEDY??? HELP

[urlocalmultigroupfan]

without you (pt. 6)

pairing: lee felix x female reader

summary: you have been best friends with the 00 liners+chan for a while now. now everyone is in college and when you begin to develop feelings, its getting hard to choose...l

tags/warnings: college skz, liking multiple people at a time, fluff, angst, reader struggles with anxiety and depression, cussing, partially proofread

a/n: yesterday i had been listening to no doubt by enhypen for hours while working... but GIANT CAME OUTTTT OH MY LORDD... *saves to yt music library* anyways this one is going to be on hyunjin 😚 love yall

The air outside had cooled by the time you made your way to the campus courtyard, but the warm golden light of the late afternoon still clung to the edges of the horizon. You were meeting Hyunjin today—another one of your closest friends—but unlike Chan, your time together had become a rarity. The last few weeks had been a whirlwind, and you'd found yourself bouncing between study sessions, gym dates, and nights out with a growing group of new friends. Somewhere along the way, you'd unintentionally let Hyunjin slip through the cracks.

Hyunjin was already sitting at one of the tables, his phone in hand as he scrolled through something on the screen. When you approached, his gaze flickered up to meet yours, and a smile tugged at his lips, though it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Hey," you greeted, settling across from him. "Sorry I'm late. Was just finishing up a study session."

He nodded absently, not looking up from his phone. "It’s fine."

You felt the weight of his response, the slight tension in his posture, and it made the smile on your own face falter. Something was off. It wasn’t like Hyunjin to be so distant—not to you. He’d always been playful, easygoing, and full of life when the two of you hung out. But today, there was something muted about him.

"Everything okay?" you asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," he said, though his eyes didn't meet yours. His voice was flat. "Just tired, I guess."

You weren’t buying it. You'd known Hyunjin long enough to know when something was bothering him, and it was obvious there was more on his mind than fatigue.

"Hyunjin, come on. You can tell me what's up." You leaned forward slightly, giving him your best serious look.

He hesitated for a beat, then let out a deep sigh. He finally put his phone down, folding his arms on the table and leaning back in his chair, eyes on the sky. "I just… I don’t get it," he muttered.

You blinked, taken aback by his tone. "What do you mean?"

"It’s like…" He ran a hand through his hair, clearly struggling to find the right words. "You’re always with everyone else now. Chan, Felix, your new friends, all the time. You barely have time for me anymore."

Your heart skipped at the bluntness of his words. You’d been so caught up in the hustle of school and new connections that you hadn't noticed how much distance had started to grow between you and Hyunjin. Guilt immediately crept up on you, but you tried to keep your voice calm.

"I’m sorry, Hyunjin. I didn’t mean for it to happen like that. It’s just—everything’s been so busy lately. I didn’t realize I was pulling away." You hesitated, feeling a lump form in your throat. "You know you mean a lot to me, right? You’re my friend, too."

He finally turned to look at you, his dark eyes softer now, though there was still a faint edge of hurt beneath them. "I know," he said, his voice quiet. "But it doesn’t feel like it sometimes. I don’t know. I guess I just… miss hanging out with you like we used to."

You let his words settle between you, a heavy silence hanging in the air. You missed it too—the easy way you could talk with him, the days you spent together doing nothing but laughing and playing around. You wanted that again. You wanted to be there for him, to make sure he knew that even though things had gotten complicated, your friendship hadn't changed.

"I get it," you said softly. "And I’m sorry for letting things slip. You’re right, I’ve been kind of all over the place. But I’m here now. And I really want to spend more time with you. How about we go grab some dinner after this? Just the two of us. No distractions."

Hyunjin’s expression softened, though he still seemed a little guarded. He gave a small nod, his lips curving upward slightly, though the smile didn’t reach his eyes the way it normally did.

"I’d like that," he said quietly, his gaze flickering down at his hands. "I just don’t want to feel like I’m… second place, you know?"

You felt a pang in your chest at that. You’d never meant to make him feel like he wasn’t important. "You’re never second place, Hyunjin. You’re one of my closest friends. I’m sorry if I’ve made you feel like that." You reached across the table and placed a hand over his, offering him a reassuring squeeze. "I’m really glad you said something. I don’t want to lose touch with you."

His gaze met yours again, and this time, his smile was a little more genuine. "Thanks. I just needed to know that you still care."

"Of course I care," you said with a light chuckle, though your voice was filled with sincerity. "You’re stuck with me, okay?"

He laughed softly, the tension between you easing just a little. "Yeah, yeah. But you’d better make sure you keep your word." He leaned back in his chair, looking a bit more relaxed now. "And just so you know, I’m expecting you to beat me at Mario Kart tonight. You’re not getting off that easy."

You smiled, feeling the weight of the conversation lift. "I’ll take that challenge. But if I win, you’re buying me dessert."

"Deal," Hyunjin said, his eyes brightening. "And if I win, you’re giving me an hour of uninterrupted karaoke."

You laughed, shaking your head. "Alright, fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you."

The rest of your time together was spent in easy conversation, the air between you lighter than it had been when you first sat down. You promised to make more time for each other, to reconnect and rebuild the bond you both shared. As you walked away, heading to the arcade for your Mario Kart and karaoke session, you couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief.

Hyunjin’s jealousy wasn’t born from a place of malice, but of longing. He had simply missed his friend—and now that you were both aware of the distance that had crept between you, you were determined to close that gap.

And, as the night stretched on, with the sound of laughter and playful arguments filling the air, you couldn’t help but feel grateful that your friendships, though sometimes strained, were strong enough to withstand anything.

please don't reblog without permission!

[ducktracy]

ltc is such a conflicting show because it is probably one of the ones where porky is brutally beaten the most but also is the cutest he has ever been in years. pearl of my dreams has SUCH cute porkies in it

TELLLLLLL ME ABOUT IT HAHA!! i feel the same way! LTC’s my favorite LT adaptation thats come out, i have such a deeply personal connection with it and it means more to me than words can articulate. i miss waking up at 5:30 in the morning to watch new batches drop and have my friends and coworkers who worked on it wair for my reactions. i love the show so so so dearly, i’m so glad it exists and it means the world to me. at the same time, i definitely have gotten a bit more critical of it as my knowledge of both the original shorts have strengthened AND the knowledge of the modern cartoon pipeline has strengthened! much of the LTC crew has migrated onto TPSS, which is WONDERFUL, if any of you guys are reading this you rock i love you. but that also means i’m able to have a more intimate look at how LTC was made since a lot of the same patterns and demands are on our show, because it’s the same cartoon pipeline! so, with that knowledge, i’m able to pick out “this is a side effect of the modern pipeline, the classics wouldn’t do this” etc and generally taken out of it a bit more. i’ve grown more critical not because i like the show less, but i just Know More now and my vision has broadened

WITH ALL THAT SAID! that has definitely allowed me to see that the Porky and Daffy shorts can get pretty repetitive and follow the same formula often of “Daffy makes Porky’s life miserable and Porky gets beat up a lot”. THANKFULLY(?), they’re still easily my favorite shorts of the entire bunch, they have their flaws but i still absolutely love them, and the repetition doesn’t bother me as much with them because the novelty of the pig and duck being together on-screen is good enough for me LOL. very easy to please i know. BUT YEAH, one of my biggest issues for sure is how poor Porky can never catch a break :( i’m glad that they seemed to try to rectify this though in recent batches! Crumb and Get It is one of my favorite shorts of the entire show, and you could describe that as “Porky makes Daffy’s life miserable by basically doing nothing”. Stained by Me is another very big favorite of mine since Porky gets to act a bit retaliatory towards Daffy which i love! i thought it was definitely one of the more faithful to the classics. (and i have to say, i bring up the classics the classics the classics a lot—i know these shorts aren’t trying to be 1 to 1 recreations of the classics. i just remember when these shorts were being marketed as the sort of second coming of the classics, and so that’s always stuck in my mind a bit/i have terminable Comparison disease which has thankfully been letting up, but it is stubborn here since these are the closest TO the classics in format and structure. so i realize me going “okay but it wasn’t like the classics” when they’re not exactly trying to be 100% like the classics is… ignorant? IUNNO! I KNOW MY HYPOCRISY LOL)

as always, i have past thoughts that reflect what i’m trying to say a bit more effectively, the second one especially relevant to this ask:

i think it comes down to just a sort of caricature and magnification of the original dynamics. i have many more thoughts that are refusing to come to me at this moment… BUT YES. even in spite of all that, i still love LTC and still love the Porkys and Daffys. i’ve noticed that the shorts with less dialogue (Wet Cement, Battle Stations, Duck Chocolate, Crumb and Get It) tend to be my favorites, since i think the overabundance of dialogue—and very OBVIOUS dialogue, like a character pointing to an object and saying “look, it’s [object]!” in these shorts is one of its biggest trappings. and all of the above—maybe with the exception of Duck Chocolate in some parts, though a lot of it is pantomime driven and wonderfully so—have the characters with comparatively subdued natures. not as much screaming or hysteria or madness

ALL OF THIS IS TO SAY, i am VERY excited for TDTEBU (gee what gave it away) because i’m excited to see how the demands of a longer format give way to more subtlety with the characters. when the film first released in Germany and i was spending every waking hour of the day trying to find any sort of reaction or information and frying my brain (and been doing the same this past week :’)), i found a podcast reviewing the film, and one person described it as a “Porky movie” centered on his growth which makes me extremely excited and hopeful that there’ll be more subtlety and sympathy for his character

AND YES, in spite of it all Porky is SO ADORABLE. i haven’t seen Pearl of My Dreams since it dropped, i really ought to again… i was just thinking the other day that i couldn’t remember if they made a “pearls before swine” joke in there or not, and if they didn’t then it would be highway robbery. more incentive to rewatch!!

[jisungsbff01]

.2.

.like i need you.

...pairing…Chan x reader

...w.c... 1.9K

...genre…slice-of-life, college au!

...warnings...swearing,

...characters...Y/N, (OC) Lilith, (OC) June, Hyunjin, Chan, Han, Jeongin, Felix, rest of SKZ mentioned

...synopsis...No one ever really knows what they wanna do in their 20s, but Y/N has always known what she was going to do. So, she began the journey to her dream and is so close to reaching it with no distractions at all. Until she is thrown into a project with Hyunjin, a fellow senior in college, and he introduces her to a few of his friends...connecting with one in particular...

Her whole plan is soon thrown off the track she’s had it on for 21 years….

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

The next morning, after maybe two hours of sleep, I stopped at the local student coffee shop, grabbing something for me and Hyunjin before heading to the bus top for a 15 minute drive to the closest stop to the dance studio Hyunjin and I have been using for the last couple of weeks. He said that rather than having to rent a room through the school, he knew the owner of a local one that hardly anyone used anymore. I’m sure the owner was more than happy to have both our company and our generous donations, since she refused to let us pay by the hour like she required for the public.

I punched in the passcode she offered for Hyunjin and me before pushing my way through the creaking door, the bell above ringing. I heard slow beats in the studio and I made my way in, assuming it was just going to be him. Little did I know, he was going to have two friends with him. I knew both, thankfully, I wasn’t very open to dancing in front of strangers…another reason I wasn’t a choreographer. I saw Jeongin conversing with Felix, who I met a time or two when I would meet Hyunjin at his dorm. I brought Hyunjin his coffee, then properly greeted the two other men in the room. Felix, surprising me with a hug, “Y/N, I’ve missed seeing you, Jinnie’s been hogging you up in studios too much. You need to come by the dorm sometime. I know I wouldn’t be the only one who’d ap-”

A loud clap sounded from the other side of the room, “Okay! You two heathens have two choices, sit on the side quietly or leave-your choice!”

Jeongin made a face at his demanding friend and dragged Felix to the bench spanning the side of the room the the right.

Hyunjin had me set our drinks where we wouldn’t spill them and we decided to start at the hook of the song. I watched a few feet away from him, so I could gauge where he had gotten with the choreo. I put in a few suggestions that made the dance look like it would flow more with his body, surprisingly enough, he took the offer, stating that it felt more natural anyway.

One..Two…Three…Four…Five…Six…Seven…Eight

The counting Hyunjin showed to me consistently sounded through my head and I jumped in when it felt right, following his languid movements. Once the song came to an end, our breathing slightly elevated he turned to me and smiled, “Why don’t you dance with me more? Ooh, I can ask my instructor if I can bring you on and make it a duet?”

I laugh with a hand on my chest, “Hyunjin, you’re being generous, I do NOT want this to be a duet, I will ruin your grade, I swear it. I am entry level, at this point you’re a pro, I am not willing to bring your final grade down. If you’re up for it, once you get your grade back, you can alter the dance as a duet and we can try that as a side project?”

He thought about it for a moment and his face lit up,” I love that idea! So, be prepared to be amazed and tired. But, I still would like you to practice with me, the studio feels empty dancing by myself.”

He gave me little puppy-dog eyes and I caved, “Okay, okay. Just be patient with me, I’m still new and learning.”

After a little “hehe” he started the song over and we started from the top, working on parts we each thought we could change slightly to make more impactful. Every once in a while, Felix would offer suggestions that neither of us thought of due to being to wrapped up in our own bubble of creativity. After an hour and a half, Hyunjin received a phone call and I gave him the go ahead to answer it. This giving me a break to drink water and to cool off. I pulled my arm out of the sleeve of my sweatshirt for more ventilation, leaving my sports bra slightly exposed. In the mirror in front of me I saw Jeongin turn a shade of crimson and choke on whatever he was drinking in his cup, Felix beside him starting to let out a broken chuckle. I hear my phone begin to ring and I jog to answer the call fom Lilith when I pick up I can hear the white sound from being in a vehicle,”Y/Nnie? Can you hear me?”

“Yes, love, what’s up?” I play with the end of my sleeve on my sweatshirt, a habit I’ve never been able to break.

“All the dance studios are full at the university and I remember you telling me about the one off-campus you guys used, do you mind if practice is over there today or would we be intruding?”

“Not at all, girl, come on over- you have my location, right? Just put it in and I’ll send you the code to get in, or have someone come down to meet you.”

“Sounds good, we’ve got like five minutes left, but I’ll let you go so you can continue practicing!”

With that she hung up before I could even ask who “we” were…

I feel warmth behind me, only for it to be Hyunjin towering over me, “Chris is on his way, all the studios are full at uni and they need a bigger space.”

I let out an “uh-huh” muttering that Lilith said the same thing. Felix said that he would go down to let them in once they got here and told us that we could just continue with what we were doing. With that being said, Hyunjin decided to show me one specific part I couldn’t get down because of the way he moved his hips and it just felt unnatural. He watched me attempt to do it, and waited a couple of beats.

“Is it okay if I touch you? I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable.” He asked.

I nod, “Hyun, I don’t think there is anything you could do at this point that would make me uncomfortable…unless it was kissing, that’s a different story and we know what happened the last time you kissed a girl.”

He looked at me with a “go to hell’ look and placed his warm hands on my waist and he asked Jeongin to play the music at a specific part. Once Jeongin pressed ‘play’ Hyunjin stepped behind me, looking over my shoulder still keeping a respectful distance away from me. Once the music began to flood out of the speakers, the man behind me began to move our bodies the way we had written out. I imprinted the way my body was supposed to move in this moment into my brain, trying to remember the way my muscles pulled at my back and thighs.

I looked at my partner through the mirror and asked him if we could run it again, hoping I could finally get this one right. He agreed and I walked over to his phone, rewinding the song and pulled off the rest of my sweatshirt, discarding it in the corner. We bagan moving again, midway through I started feeling anxiety rising in me the closer we got to the part we just went over.

It didn’t take long before we were interrupted by cat-calls from none other than Lilith, with two strays in tow. Chris and Han shyly made their way to us, Han quietly introduced himself and shook my hand. Chris shook my hand and said a quick ‘hi’ before hugging Hyunjin and quickly making his way to Jeongin, greeting him like a big brother would, sitting on top of him and rubbing the top of his head.

Lilith, on the other hand, yanked me to the side, “Okay you slut, whatcha doin with the little dancey dance there? But also, not bad..”

I just shrugged, “Hyunjin and I thought it would be a great idea for me to learn the routine because he wants to make it a duet once he finishes his exam, and he was talking about putting it on his socials with the song. All about publicity, babes.”

My friend squinted her eyes at me before calling over Han, “ Han, Y/N, Y/N, Han…or Jisung, he’ll respond to either.”

“I’m not a dog, Lilith,” he turns to me, “it’s nice to finally properly meet you, we’ve heard so much about you!”

“What the hell kinda stories does she tell you guys?” I let out with a nervous chuckle.

“ Now I said nothing about- OW!” Han was interrupted by Lilith stomping her foot ontop of his.

“Shut the hell up, shortstack.” She grits out as she turns to me “but, can we see the whole thing?”

My arms cross as a shout out to Hyunjin on the other side of the studio, “Hyun, she wants to see a run through.”

Before I start the music I let out a little disclaimer, “Now, the track isn’t finished yet, we’re still touching it up, but this is the main sample of it.”

“I hope you know we wanna see you dance with him too.” Felix requests.

Suddenly I feel shy, “Felix, I don’t know…I don’t feel comf-”

“Do it! You’re too hot to not do it!” Han shouts from his little corner, “Do your little dancey dance.” He sings out.

I give in, first throwing on my sweatshirt I had discarded in the corner, finally pressing play and getting into place.

I put all my focus and energy into getting this whole thing right, wanting to prove to myself that I can do anything I put my mind to. The last note rings out and I feel like I am dying for air…real air. I need to work on my stamina for sure. Hollers echo around us and Hyunjin embraces me in a hug, his arm lazily slung around my shoulders, “Y/Nnie, you did so good for a producer!”

“THAT’S where I know you from! Y/N, do you take Professor Kim’s Producing class block?” Han asks, running up to us.

“Yeah, have him every Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays.” I inform him. From there, he gets so excited and begins asking questions.

“What row do you sit it? How come you don’t talk a lot in class? You should’ve introduced yourself to us!” This little man doesn’t stop rambling, and I already adore him for it.

Through a few chuckles I explain that I sit directly behind him and Chris, and that I actually record the class to I can take proper notes later and didn’t feel the need to talk. We all get acquainted more while Hyunjin and I take a break, laughs sounding through the room frequently- the company feels nice…feels warm. After being a part of a few side conversations, I watch how well Lilith gets along with the other four. I notice how quiet Chan was and I accidentally make eye contact with him, my face heating up slightly and I send him a reassuring wink. He blushed and a smile grows on his face, he pulls his ball cap down and looks into his lap.

“So when are we all free so that way we can have a hangout night, I’m sure since I like you two, the rest of us will get along well.” Hyunjin asks loudly, pulling my attention away from the blushing man.

Suddenly I find six pairs of eyes are on me, questioning me in silence.

———————————

Thank you for reading! Let me know what you thought!!

[storeecbrcod]

MWIII: Soap’s Nautilus Skin

Hear me out!

I’ve been told that Warzone is technically connected to the canon campaign, loosely, hence why everyone was really confused when Soap got his new Nautilus skin. He’s supposed to be dead, he shouldn’t be getting new legit-looking skins, at least not so soon after the campaign.

But, for the sake of my brainworm (that I know I share with others, shh), let’s assume Soap’s nautilus skin means he’s alive somehow. Let’s do some study (courtesy @ave661, doing god’s work for us ty):

Look at my pretty boy! Mask, gas tanks, and cool ass details, yeah? Just an awesome skin.

Let me put way too much detail and thought into this in the form of a ‘quick’ ficlet.

TW: canon-typical violence, medical settings, mentions of terrorism, mentions of torture/brainwashing. TLDR at the end :)

The 141 had been distracted as of late, chasing around a group of slippery but deadly terrorists that had made it their fucking mission to make the task force trip over them. Nobody was sure if they were intentional red herrings from Makarov, or just another rising force amongst disgruntled people that turned to violence to be heard. Either way, it was starting to really grate on everyone’s nerves, having to put the hunt for Makarov aside to deal with a new threat every other week, one too big and too elaborate for local defence departments to handle alone without the 141’s experience.

Because it was always the same elusive cunts fucking something up. Killing someone they shouldn’t have, intercepting deals and creating unrest amongst major crime rings around the world and sparking unrest through their deep, wide-spread roots. The team knew well how a small conflict could snowball into a wide-scale war, and it felt like they were preventing one every time there was a report of soldiers in black, glowing green tech with a hazy green tint to their eyes.

Price could see the way his team (3’s still a crowd, right?) was starting to grow restless with the near constant pull from their goal of finding Makarov, especially Ghost. He grew more distant by the day, getting more and more ruthless out field, reminding Price of his early days on the Task Force. Whether they liked it or not, Makarov had diminished forces right now, and he was not as much threat as—

“Fuck, Gaz, watch out!”

Another explosion went off, knocking Price and Gaz to the ground, their breath stolen as they tried to clamber back up to move out of range of fire. It felt like it was coming from everywhere, relentless, chaotic. The thudding of Price’s heart was the only thing that gave him rhythm, guidance on how to react and when and why. He pulled his sergeant to cover behind some stacked crates and dropping, continuing to heave through his strict chest.

This was the closest they’d gotten to the fuckers, never managing to see more than a glimpse of these skilled soldiers before. They gave them a run for their money, Price had admitted sourly many a time. They were legends on each base they travelled to now, infamous for how hard they were to catch, even for the equally infamous 141.

But now, they were close. It was eerie watching these people, almost robotic in their execution, unwavering, unafraid. They’d run into active fire if it meant they had a decent chance to advance and catch someone off guard. And somehow, they managed to get away, every damn time. They seemed to not register pain, either, if the way the one woman soldier continued to walk around despite her obviously broken leg was anything to go by.

They were like zombies, and it was deeply unsettling.

As far as Price could tell, there were two hostiles running around above them through the catwalks of the hangar they were currently pinned in. They were trying to pick shots, but they’d shoot their direction randomly as well, making it that much harder to predict when it was safe to poke their heads out to see if they even had a chance of running out.

“Ghost, where the fuck are you?” Price growled into his comms. The other man had been radio silent for almost half an hour now, ever since this stupid cat and mouse game started. They’d come in here to chase the bastards down, yet somehow his team were the ones being chased. It was beyond irritating, and it was also putting them in unreasonable danger.

“Cap!”

Gaz’s sudden yell had Price’s head on a swivel, following the man’s gaze to above them. Somehow, the third soldier of the little trio had managed to flank them, looking down at them from another isolated catwalk.

How Price neglected to watch their six, he didn’t know.

All he knew was there was a barrel of a rifle pointed straight at them from 10 metres up.

Within milliseconds, he knew three things; one, he wouldn’t be able to move Gaz and himself out of the firing line without making themselves vulnerable to the other hostiles. Two, any move they made now had them killed. And three…

Makarov was behind these soldiers.

Because who else would make their most deadly soldier, the most aggressive of the trio, the one that risked his life even more than his teammates, the one who seemed to hold easy leadership over the others—

Who else would shave their best soldier’s head into a mohawk, if not to taunt them?

Before he could even think to shield Gaz, pull him to his chest in a last-ditch effort to protect him in the hope that someone would get back home to tell their story, a dark blur slammed into the back of the soldier above, sending his rifle clattering to the floor. It was almost surreal, watching the mohawk’d soldier struggle against darkness, the occasional flash of stark white dancing around him.

Fists were exchanged. Bullets were sprayed towards them sporadically, but too out of range to hit accurately. The short barrier of the catwalk bit into the soldier’s lower back, starting to dangerously teeter further and further over it.

The rifle’s impact to the concrete hadn’t even finished echoing around the hangar when Price watched two figures tumble from the catwalk, grappling in the air. A sickening thud followed, the two bodies rolling with each other, parting and leaving one still on the ground while the other heaved on his hands and knees.

The moment of stunned silence seemed to hang forever, though it was only a second in reality. The gunfire had stopped, two sets of footsteps echoing down the corridors away from them. It left Price’s team, Gaz frozen and Ghost shaking with adrenaline, with an unconscious soldier.

Ghost crawled over to the body first, followed by Price standing over him. His veins were molten in rage, scorned again by the sight of his closest soldier posed over an unmoving soldier with a mohawk.

Fuck, they even got his eyebrow scar. I wonder what they did to create that?

Unlike last time, though, a muffled groan left the man on the ground, the body shifting slightly uncomfortably. His eyes (blue… what the fuck?) fluttered open, blinking away the confusion that likely fogged his mind. He breathed in, deep and full—

Even Price flinched at how fast the soldier’s hands came up to grasp at his mask, gasping, choking behind it, clawing desperately at a crack that spanned the left side of it. Blue eyes lit up with desperation, legs coming up to kick uselessly at the ground, back contracting as if in pain.

Reacting as a unit, Gaz moved forward to hold the soldier’s legs down, Price grabbing the man’s vest and forcing him down with all his might, Ghost grabbing his arms, forcing one to his side for Price to pin under his knees and holding the other one down. Even with three people on him, the soldier put up a good fight, even though it seemed like it was out of panic more than resistance.

Ghost grabbed the mask, struggling with the release catches that seemed to be stitched into the side of the man’s head, unable to get them loose. With a growl, he shuffled to force the soldier’s other arm down with his own leg, grabbing his throwing knife and carefully shucking it into the stuck lip of the release. He hit the butt of his knife, hearing the catch pop open before forcing the soldier’s head to the side and repeating the action.

The soldier only seemed to fight harder, turning his head away frantically as Ghost tried to yank the mask off. Despite having three people on him, he still managed to jostle them, pulling his hand out from under Ghost and earning himself a painful twist of the wrist.

“Ghost…”

“Stay still, fucker—”

With a final tug, the cracked mask is thrown from the soldier’s face, and it only makes the man thrash harder. His gasps for air are no longer muffled, the painful choking and heaves bouncing off the tall walls around them, surrounding them as they tried to hold him down.

It isn’t until his body tenses up completely, lips going blue that Price is finally able to get a proper look at the soldier’s face, and once again time stands still.

Those damn blue eyes stared up at Ghost, not breaking eye contact, and Price could swear he feels each of Ghost’s muscles tense up individually, his breathing stop alongside the body beneath them. The crude scar that dissected through the man’s chin was on full display, and he thinks he hears Gaz gasp beside him, his eyes glancing between the man’s face and Price’s own.

The soldier’s head was turned towards Ghost just enough to reveal the edge of the left side of his hairline, where a fading but ugly scar puckered right along his temple.

Price doesn’t stop Ghost from getting up and walking away once the man on the ground falls unconscious, his heart rate slow and his breaths returning even slower, but returning nonetheless.

Price doesn’t stop Gaz moving to take Ghost’s place, grabbing the body’s face so firmly yet so delicately, moving it back and forth as if to check he was real.

Price doesn’t react with anger when Laswell is silent on the other side of the radio, nor does he answer any questions except to insist on an emergency evac for their ‘prisoner’.

Price doesn’t do anything, except recite the paperwork they’d filed just two years ago, fixing it in his head over and over to come to terms.

John “Soap” MacTavish: KIA ALIVE

——————————————————————————

“This is fucking insane, even for Makarov.”

Nobody discounted Gaz’s observation, all just staring through the glass into the guarded hospital room holding John fucking MacTavish, lying still while tubes breathed for his sedated body. Well, all except Ghost.

They hadn’t seen Ghost in days.

Funnily enough, Nikolai had gone radio silent around the same time, too.

Hm.

Even Laswell had made her way over from her most recent post, vowing to lead the investigative efforts into Soap’s condition. The good thing was, he was relatively unscathed. Littered with new scars, sure. Aggressive and unforthcoming with even attempting to remember any of them, that too. Oh, yeah, and his body tries to shut down every time they take him off of the highest dose of anaesthetics, and nobody knows why, and he can’t tell them why.

Price has a headache.

“John.”

Price, Gaz, and the few medics with them all turned as Laswell approached, and their reaction was immediate. They all seemed to see the gravity in her features, sense the density of what she had to say on her tongue. Her frustration and worry was palpable, in her own stone-cold way.

Price hasn’t seen her like this since… well, ever. It didn’t invoke him with much confidence.

“We finally got the toxicology results back for the gas in the tanks,” she stated, though she didn’t offer the paperwork in her hands. Actually, she gripped the package with white knuckles. Another action that made Price even less confident this news was going to be anywhere near pleasant.

“And?”

“He’s developed a non-lethal strain of Nova gas.”

Silence. Pure silence. Disbelief? Bewilderment? Surprise? Who fucking knows. But they were silent.

“Nobody’s sure how it works just yet,” Laswell continues curtly, looking to Soap’s body through the window. “But it’s a pretty strong theory as to why Sergeant MacTavish was acting so…”

“Zombie-like?” Gaz offers, an interruption met with Laswell pursing her lips for a moment.

“I’d prefer another word, but if it fits.”

Quiet befalls them all again, Price scratching at his beard in an attempt to dispel the twisting mess of anger, worry and confusion. It’s been hard, trying to continue applying pressure to Makarov while they’re a Lieutenant down and distracted by an old teammate basically raised from the dead.

“We managed to extract some files from a hard drive found in one of Makarov’s bogus operation suites,” Laswell continued, looking back to John with more concern than before, really not helping on the confidence front. “I have people combing through them, though a lot of them are encrypted so thoroughly they’ll take days to decode. However, there are a few bits and pieces of jumbled reports, seemingly test experiments involving the new strain. The only new information we have at this point is how they acclimatise their patients to the gas.”

“Acclimatise?” John repeated, gruff with restrained emotion. Leadership and professionalism was always important, but right now, he couldn’t care less about seeming totally calm.

“Yes, acclimatise,” it sounded barbaric with the way she said it, like it was glimpse into what it meant. “They’d place the test subjects into gas chambers, restrained, and flood the chamber with the gas. Somehow the body adapts to rely on the gas as air after rigorous training.”

“Torture through suffocation more like,” Gaz grumbled, glancing between Price and Laswell, whose jaw ticked.

“Apparently, the gas is most effective when the patient is fully reliant,” she added, then shrugged. “Effective in what way, the team has no clue. Though they’re pretty confident it’s the efficacy to reduce cognition enough to lose the ability to do anything without outside influence.”

“Like a damn personal attack dog,” Price growled.

A beat of silence lingered, everyone in the room trying to comprehend how this would affect Soap’s recovery. If he could recover at all.

“So that’s why he acts like he’s suffocating when he’s conscious?” Gaz inquired. “Because he is?”

“We can only assume so.”

“This is so fucked up,” Gaz whispered, linking his hands behind his head and looking to Soap again. It was like some movie bullshit, the impossible becoming possible but without the safety of being in your living room. Watching a tornado head your way when you’re in the middle of a damn field. Absolutely impossible to comprehend, yet happening anyway, beyond your control.

“We’re going to see if keeping him sedated and letting his body recover from what could be years of exposure will reverse the effects of the chemical,” Laswell said slowly, but interrupted herself with a sigh, looking to Price earnestly.

Price thinks he sees his last sliver of confidence drift off in the breeze of the ventilation.

“We also have to consider his supposedly lethal GSW,” she slowly continues, shuffling where she stood. “We can only assume the parts of his brain responsible for memory, speech, thought processing was impaired with the injury.”

“There’s a chance nothing will change because his injury could have destroyed his ability to reason and remember before the gas,” a medic speaks up, putting the dots together quickly in her head and turning to Price, brow etched with concern. “There’s a very small possibility he will recover completely, or even to the point of independence.”

Price shared a look with Gaz, then the medics, and finally Laswell again. The words stuck in his chest, resistant to the idea of speaking something into being.

“We might not get Johnny back at all.”

——————————————————————————

…soooo :3

TLDR: Makarov has developed a new strain of gas, which he uses to suppress the cognitive reasoning in those that breathe it in, and allows him to train them into his cute lil super soldiers. The reason for the gas masks and everything? The soldier becomes reliant on it, their body adapting to rely on it fully like oxygen, otherwise they feel like they’re suffocating, hence needing to have it everywhere they go.

I know it’s very winter soldier, but to be honest it would make the most sense to me if Soap’s survival becomes canon. It rolls a few pre-MWIII theories into one; Soap ‘dies’ (canon), Soap is the traitor, and Soap is brainwashed by Makarov. It would be so interesting imo, and if they don’t take it I WILL RIOT—

Anywayyyy… I have vague explanations for things, i.e spreading his ashes that could totally work (with a little bit of narrative bending ✨) but I ain’t gonna go into it here and now. I could though…

Also, I know Nova gas isn’t what the gas is called, that it’s a similar thing from a grenade in the game. But fucking sue me, I’m not gonna make Laswell say “he’s developed a new strain of Unspecified Chemical Gas” like it’s some 13 year old’s Garage Band song they forgot about. Chill. It even says on the (totally very reliable) wiki that the closest thing is Nova gas, seeing as it’s the EXACT SAME except players who inhale it don’t cough. Stay back, Call Of Duty purists!! 🤺💨

[imagineanime2022]

S/O With Ghost Rider Powers

Shota Aizawa/Eraserhead X Reader, Keigo Takami/Hawks X Reader, Tomura Shigaraki X Reader, Dabi X Reader, Shuichi Iguchi/Spinner X Reader

Requested: @supernatural-hunter1

Request: Even better idea? What if Aizawa, Hawks, Shigaraki and Dabi had a S/O who’s quirk is ‘Ghost Rider’ like from the movie ghost Rider that would be epic?😅

Warning: - Injuries to Reader

Shota Aizawa/Eraserhead

🐛 The first time that Aizawa met you, you were in school, he’d gotten to know you as a person before seeing you with your quirk was active. 🐛 You quickly moved to the top of the class and became someone that everyone was watching, that being said you were still scary to a lot of the kids and took to working the night shift where your skills were more useful. 🐛 Villains learned to fear the skill that came with your flashy display and Aizawa became the only hero that seemed to be able to keep up with you whether you travelled by your chain or your motorcycle. 🐛 You and Aizawa grew closer to each other and you finally got to know the man that hid behind the stoic face.

Aizawa had asked you to help him with a practical lesson that he had gotten together for the new first years, he wanted to see where they all were and having you as a constant bar seemed like a good idea, he had a plan to split them into group putting them in terrain that best suited them and see how far they could get in a fight with you however you didn’t even get 1 fight in before everything went sideways.

The villains had broken into the USJ where the exercise was supposed to take place, you were already in the leather get up that you usually wore when you were out for work “normal plan?” You asked. “You think you can handle that many of them?” He asked. “You can’t?” You asked with a raised eyebrow, the kids watched as you ran down the stairs leading to the field that the villains occupied. Your hand hovered over the chain that linked round your neck as it expanded turning into what was your normal weapon immediately taking out the few villains closest to you when you realised that Aizawa had cancelled their quirks, this continued for a few minutes with you taking out people’s legs or using the chain to pull them close enough for you to knock them out, however it seems that the leader of the group was sick of watching everyone, he was faster than you expected and made his way to you within seconds. “You and Eraser are pretty cool but you're getting in the way.” He reached out grabbing your arm at the wrist, you let out a scream at the pain that travelled through it but when you looked down you could see that the part of the coat that had rested there was missing but your healing meant that whatever he had done was no longer visible on your wrist. “That hurt like a bitch.” You glared at him as you kicked him away, however the hit that connected with your side next was more powerful than anything else you had been in contact with, the wind was knocked out of you as you hit the floor but your eyes connected with the monster that had been standing next to the leader. “Ghost!” Aizawa called. “I’m fine, focus!” You ordered, lucky for both of you it wasn’t much longer before All Might showed up to help with the fight, that made things easier and they were finally forced out when the rest of the faculty came to help.

“You okay?” Aizawa asked as he walked over to you once he made sure that all the kids were okay. “Me? Yeah I’m fine.” You answered, he lifted the wrist that the leader now knew by the name of Shigaraki had grabbed. “He touched your wrist, were you able to heal it?” He asked. “Yeah, his quirk causes things to decay. It seems that my quirk worked against his, I still felt the pain but the wound is gone.” You explained. “I’ve never been happier for your healing.” He breathed out and you smiled. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.” You winked before Hizashi came over as loud as ever to make sure that you were both okay.

Keigo Takami/Hawks

🪶 When Hawks first met you, you were in your hero gear, so he didn’t think much of you really, you were another hero with a fire quirk, that is until you were called to a meeting with him over a joint project. 🪶 Hawks worried about working with you at first because of his weakness to fire but quickly learned that your control over your flames meant that he was in no danger at all. 🪶 He was absolutely fascinated by the chain you used as a weapon, he could get over the fact that he doubled as a belt when it wasn’t in use and always begged you to teach him how to use it. 🪶 His favourite thing about your quirk was your bike though, he didn’t realise that you were able to extend your quirk to other objects that you owned and the first time that you showed him near lost his mind and now he’s always racing you.

You stretched your arms over your head after finishing the 3rd catch of your shift, you leaned forward on the handle bars “you think you can take a break?” Keigo’s voice sounded as he landed in front of you. “Break?” You asked “I don’t know about you but I started about an hour ago, there’s no need for a break.” “3 guys in 1 hour?” He asked, raising an eyebrow and you shrugged. “Some of us take our patrolling seriously.” You teased and he looked at you and twisted his head in challenge. “Is that so?” He asked. “How about a little competition then?” “Competition, that doesn’t seem very serious.” You said sitting up. “No this is super serious, if you win you’ll be No. 2 hero.” He informed you. “I’m not sure that’s how this works, Hawks.” You reminded him and he shrugged. “You’ll be No.2 hero to me, Ghost.” He teased as he stepped closer. “You're not going to leave until we get this started are you?” You asked. “You know me so well.” His eyes were playful behind the visor and you rolled your eyes. “Name your terms.” You ordered.

You dragged yet another petty criminal into the agreed precinct, you pushed him towards the officer at the desk “what’s this one in for?” She asked. “Attempted robbery.” You answered and she nodded. “He’s on 15, you know.” She informed you and you looked at her. “I’ve still got time to catch up to him, I’m on 14 right? I’ve got an hour before the end of my shift.” You asked. “Do it for the girls,” She winked, at this point she had been dragged into a few of your bets that she had become subject to ust as much teasing from your boyfriend as you had and therefore wanted you to win with all of her heart. “Is our referee being biassed?” Keigo’s voice sounded from behind you as he dragged in three new guys. “You did that to show off, didn't you.” You narrowed your eyes. “What? They were just together… That's all.” He winked as he leaned against the desk. “I hate you.” You mumbled, flaming hair flaring slightly as you realised that you weren’t going to win. “No you don’t.” He denied his wings broadening to cover the both of you as he leaned in “you wouldn’t be dating me if you did.” “You're getting very close to your one weakness.” You smirked. “Are you talking about you or the fire?” He asked softly. “You don’t seem to be worried about either of them.” You grumbled stepping away from him. “Trust you.” He shrugged and for a second you were ready to retract the sentence, “Now you’ve got 30 minutes to make up 4 people, good luck.” “You were stalling me.” You narrowed your eyes at the realisation and he winked before disappearing out the door and that was when you decided that your previous statement was true you hated your boyfriend.

Tomura Shigaraki

✋ Shigaraki met you when you kicked your target straight through the door of the bar walking in yourself, placing the money on the bar to pay for the damages before picking up the target and pulling him out. ✋ One For All ended up hiring you as the personal assassin for Shigaraki and later the League Of Villains. ✋ Shigaraki considered you a close and trusted friend since you never left him and you didn’t even flinch when he threatened you, an argument led to you both finding out the healing that your quirk provided made you immune to his quirk. ✋ You and Shigaraki became a feared couple after your first attack at the USJ, your appearance made you scary enough but dedication with which you protected Shigaraki and he, you became something that people strived for and feared all at the same time.

Shigaraki was easily the hardest person to get to know, people who met him were scared of or disgusted by him, that is until he met you, you didn’t flinch away from him or pretend that you liked him in fear of your life, you argued when you thought that he was wrong, you fought him when he challenged you and you encouraged him when you knew that he needed it.

Shigaraki valued the times that you spent alone because that was how you started, it was just the two of you, it seemed that everything had gotten so crowded now that it was rare that you managed to get any time together without someone interrupting. You were both sitting at the bar, you were leaning against Shigaraki’s shoulder as you watched him play the newest game as he mumbled about whatever he was trying to do. “Hey lovebirds, it’s time for us to go,” Dabi said as he looked down his nose at the two of you. “She’ll be there in a minute.” Shigaraki muttered his hand gripping your thigh where it rested. “She better be.” Dabi grumbled as he walked back over to Toga who seemed to be waiting for you all, you leaned over pressing a kiss to his cheek as you attempted to stand but Shigaraki wrapped his hand around your wrist. “You leave them to come back.” He said as he looked at you. “I promise that a bunch of teenagers are not going to stop me from coming back here alright.” You winked. “If all else fails I have a motorcycle to get back here.” “Use it.” He ordered and you nodded. “Of course.” You promised and he finally let you go.

Most of you managed to get back unharmed and with the kid that you were told to collect, you were in charge of chaining up the prisoner for whatever reason and of course he had no intention of making it easy, his hand came up an explosion going off in your face and honestly if you had been anyone else you would likely be dead but despite the fact that the force of the explosion had removed muscle and skin from the side of the your skull you were still reaching for the syringe in your pocket “your lucky that the boss man wants you alive, or I’d be testing how fire resistant your quirk actually makes you Bomber boy.” You said as he succumbed to the drug that you had injected. “(Y/N) come here.” Shigaraki gestured for you to come over. “What’s up?” You asked, your face finishing its healing process. “Stay away from him from now on.” He ordered and you looked at him and shrugged. “If that’s what you want.” You sighed leaning back against the bar, his fingers reached out taking your chin in his hand and twisting your face to look at your newly healed skin before nodding to himself, you just smiled and settled on the stool behind you as he ordered Twice to finish the job that he had given you.

Dabi

🔥 It was obvious the type of relationship that Dabi had with fire, you met him when he was a teenager, you were both alone on the street and decided to make a name for yourselves together, you were lucky because had Dabi been any older he wouldn’t have accepted the order. 🔥 You were the only person that he let get even a little close to him, he never seemed to be afraid of your flames, so when you were fighting together, he’d often grab that chain that you used to move you out of the way of something. 🔥 Dabi was never far from you and he never liked being split from you on missions, you didn’t really like being too far away from him either, he could be reckless at times. 🔥 You could often be found sitting close to him as you talked about things in the presence of others, he could be the voice for the both of you if you needed, he noticed that you had a habit of letting the flames dance around your fingers when you were nervous.

You were sitting in the bar, in one of the booths, your flames dancing through your fingers as you, you looked up as a shadow cast over you before a drink was pushed towards you, you wrap your hand around the cup pulling it closer as Dabi slid in next to you looping his arm around the back of the chair and behind you. “What are you doing over here?” He asked as he leaned back. “Just watching.” You answered as you looked over the group that you had just joined. “Try not to worry so much, you could wipe the floor with most of these idiots.” He said, pressing a kiss to your temple. “You really think that he’s doing this because of Stain?” You asked “that he even followed him?” “No, not really.” Dabi answered. “But we’re not here for that anyway, if he’s going to get me closer to No.2 then we’ll stay here as long as we need.” “I guess that’s true.” You nodded, letting the small flame move through your fingers of its own accord. “You need to stop worrying.” He pulled you closer as he looked around catching the eyes of Shigaraki across the bar and Toga who started skipping towards you, Dabi reached out linking your hands together and moving them under the table, silently thankful that you didn’t pull away from him and his scars. “I’m not worried, I trust you.” You explained. “What are you two whispering about?” Toga asked as she leaned over the back of the chair on the other side to you. Dabi rolled his eyes as he looked away from her while you smiled. “Nothing.” You answered. “Just wondered how many of these guys are going to come back after this mission.” “You think some won’t?” She asked. “Will you go away?” Dabi glared at her as he pulled your attention back to him “we need to make a plan for how we’re going to keep the teachers busy.” “Your chains would be perfect for keeping Eraserhead occupied.” Shigaraki said. He was the only one that had fought the night shift hero before so you trusted what he was saying. “No.” Dabi muttered, “I’ll keep him busy.” “I mean you can both do it.” Twice said as you looked at him and twisted your head to the side. “Huh?” You asked. “I just need you measurements and I can make a copy of you that can keep the teachers busy while we look for the kid.” Twice explained “not that it’s any of your business.” “How does that sound?” You asked. “Fine.” Dabi nodded “don’t get too touchy.” He helped you climb over him to get to Twice and he watched the whole time until you were back with him.

Spinner 

🦎 You and Spinner connected because you were both told that you were too scary to be heroes, you had each other's backs from the day that you met and that continued for the rest of your life.

🦎 Spinner was unbelievably protective of you, he watched people around you and because your quirk was one that you could hide you ran into less trouble than he did but he was always there much like you were for him.

🦎 Loves that you run warmer than most because he’s cold blooded, he uses you like a space heater and you love it.

🦎 You were the one that saved him or caused a distraction so that he could get away, you were the one with the bike after all, you met up with him once you shook off the heroes every time and he never doubted you.

You had all headed into Deika City after deciding to kill two birds with one stone, you needed to make sure that the fight lasted long enough for Gigantomachia to get there twisting your neck to the side you activated your quirk the chain that had been wrapped around your arm under your leather jacket falling to the floor the end staying wrapped around your wrist as you looked at the man in front of you before using your finger to signal for him to come at you. “Are you going to fight me or just keep looking at me like that?” You asked.

“I’ll kill you.” He growled out and you smirked as you twisted your head.

“We’ll see about that.” You smirked as you dove forward ducking under his attack wrapping the chain around his leg pulling him down pressing your foot to his chest keeping him there, “you really should have be a little more cautious.” 

“So should you.” He smirked but as his partner came out of hiding to hit you, you easily stopped the blow only second later did Shuichi come out of nowhere to slash him straight across the back, he fell to the ground.

“Thank you Shu.” You smiled “would you mind?” Your eyes travelled to the man you were holding down.

“Gladly.” He stabbed straight through his neck and you leaned forward pressing a kiss to his cheek taking one of the dagger out of his many holsters, coating it in fire before throwing it at the man that was getting ready to attack you both.

“Make sure that you come back to me.” You ordered as he jumped up onto the building in search of Shigaraki.

“Always.” He promised and you nodded as he disappeared and you continued fighting.

After the fighting was finally done and that announcement was made that Shigaraki would be the leader of the new group The Paranormal Liberation Front you finally had some down time, you and Spinner and been separated during the time that you were supposed to be helping keep Machia busy, you were on opposite teams. So now as you all sat in the new room everyone healed back almost back to normal, you were lounging across the sofa with Shuichi curled up with you, your body slightly heated for him. “We’ve never really been apart that long before have we?” You asked running your hands through his purple hair and he grunted.

“A month is a long time.” Shuichi mumbled and you hummed.

“You guys haven’t been apart for a month..?” Compress asked and you looked at him and shook your head.

“We stuck together from the day that we met.” You explained.

“Well that explains a lot.” He shrugged.

“What does that mean?” You asked.

“Well you work so well together and I know you are both in a relationship but sometimes you almost seem like the same person.” He explained. Spinner turned his face to look at Compress for a second but in the end he didn’t actually say anything and you rolled your eyes.

“He’s good at reading me, always has been.” You shrugged with one shoulder, careful not to jostle Shuichi too much. “Don’t know what I would have done without him.” 

“Aww that’s so cute!” Twice said and you smiled rolling your eyes.

“Enough of that, mind your own business.” You mumbled turning yourself away from them and shielding the both of you for a moment away from all of them.

Request Here!!

[thearcaneuniversity]

Hello @sirenascelestiales <3 I started replying to you under this post, but the answer got away from me and has gotten so long that I decided to simply make another, separate post about it. I hope you don't mind...

So, was that - not every character has to be likable or relatable for the story to be good - the point?

I think so... though bare in mind that it's simply my opinion about the text and the story... I think not every protagonist (or any character tbf) has to be good or likable or relatable. There may be aspects that make you emphasize with parts of them or some things that they do, or you simply end up curious about the plot which is why you continue to read. It was a combination of both for me. I was curious about what was happening in the story, how the group got to the point we start the book with... I was curious to see how this curious concept may play out later on - will these characters face some sort of consequences?

Are they even good people? Are they bad? Somewhere in between? Does it matter? Sometimes, I believe that it's good when a story is so ambiguous that it makes you ask yourself these questions. It definitely is a good point in and of itself, as it makes you question yourself and your own morality as well. How do I feel about these characters and their actions?

The longer I read, the more I began connecting with them, which didn’t mean that I also didn’t hate their thoughts, words or actions. I was irritated at the snobbishness and holier-than-though, superior attitude they conveyed at times. At the homophobia and racism and sexism. I was disgusted at some of their behaviour and bored when they spiralled into drugs and alcohol.

What made me read through it though, apart from the general curiosity, were my recent real-life experiences. I started a new job, with new people. Very nice, open and kind people. Who, not that surprisingly to be honest, soon enough began to spout some homophobic, racist and sexist remarks here and there themselves. Unsurprisingly due to their age, country of origin (my beautiful Poland - I say with a bit of irony) and birthplace (rural, suburban Polish villages).

People usually say that these rustic people are the most welcoming and the most kind. It’s true in some respects. But they’re also usually pretty close-minded to things that are Other - again, my own experiences. 99% of the people I know who grew up in small villages were the most outspoken about their rasicm, xenophobia or homophobia. I’ve had issues rationalizing liking them and condemning their views without outright hating them, because hating them didn’t feel right or constructive in any way. I understand why they are like this. I hate what they speak of. I have to be professional. I know I won't get anywhere by getting confrontational or angry or evasive or reclusive. It's hard to not let this righteous anger consume me sometimes.

Even recently I’ve had an unpleasant conversation with one of my closest friends about gay rights in my country. It angered me, and I felt more comfortable showcasing that anger in front of her, than at my current workplace. I don’t hate her, because otherwise she is a very good friend. I hate her views. I understand where they come from. She doesn't have this same understanding or consciousness that I have about these topics, because they never concerned her or anyone she is close to. Does this ignorance excuse her behaviour? No. But just because it doesn't, it also doesn't mean that by telling her she is wrong and walking away will actually resolve anything... The only thing I can do is be her friend and talk with her about these topics in any way I can - show her my side of the story - while also searching for the good in her and the good we bring out in each other.

Which is why this book spoke to me I guess. People are not one-dimensional. They never were and never will be. But while reading this book I had created a more open and a much safer way to feel those warring emotions and process them. I have been able to truly express them in a way I’m not always capable of expressing in front of the other people in my life. I can cuss at Bunny, curse at Richard, roll my eyes at Henry - and at the same time look for all of those other, good and human and familiar aspects of their personalities or stories. Broken, disfunctional families they come from, uncaring parents, all of them searching for this one special place they can belong in. Individual. Other. Isolated. Different. Flawed. I can see them drown their pain and sorrow in alcohol and drugs and sex in a way I sometimes wish to, too, to satify some weird, dark, romantic part of my brain, that doesn't actually want to do these things in real life. It's a safe space.

So it's satisfying to open up this book and be able to transport myself to those rainy days spent in some dark library, surrounded by a small and close group of friends, sharing cigarettes and studying Ancient Greek together.

I'm a Romantic, and it simply speaks to me. As dark and grand and ugly as it all is. For I am dark and grand and ugly and insignificant. Can I experience this sort of connection? Friendship? Love? It's disfunctional. But that's what makes it comforting, becuase it doesn't have to be perfect.

Moreover, the book has felt like a good critique, or at least a good representation, of academia, especially dark academia, that is not discussed in the dark academia (aesthetic) fandom. How snobbish and elitist this whole culture really is… many of the professors I’ve known were pretty high and mighty about their titles and social statuses. I mean, in Poland the first thing you learn is to NEVER refer to a professor with the wrong title, either through an email or in person. God save you if you only use the normal, polite honorifics, these are for the rest of us common folk, in the academia world, they're insufficient! I’ve heard my Latin professors’ wife once angrily complain how someone ‘demoted’ her again through an email. It was terrifying for a young, green freshman such as myself at the time. At the same time I was also baffled at the level of entitlement and wondered why this was such a big deal.

Don't get me started on students who, because they’re getting their higher education, feel superior to those who only finish high schools or work retail or some other ‘lowly’ job. How educated people do think of themselves as better, or are ashamed when they don’t match up in some ways with people who should be ‘beneath them’. I see it at university and outside of it pretty often.

I found some of the moments illustrating that in the book pretty annoying. The general pretentiousness of some of Richard’s thoughts or different pieces of dialogue had me rolling my eyes. But it also felt real and something I could relate to in some ways. Because aside from that, the book had some deep, emotional and thoughtful commentary. It's interesting to note that those two concepts can go hand in hand as well. Sometimes people are pretty intelligent, sometimes they're pretty pretentious, sometimes they're both. So there have been ideas or quotes that made me stop and think. The theme of life and death. Of immortality. Of young people grappling with these thoughts, or simply trying to grapple with them, without ending up consumed by their own guilt, indifference or 'insanity'. How it affected them. Or how it didn't. It was interesting to read about a murder story that didn't deal all that much with finding justice, but with all of those other complicated emotions and possibilities that the event brought with itself… I do find some relatability in these topics. As someone who struggles with the idea of death myself, the concept of death and loss will always (or almost always) be quite dear to me.

The book has it’s flaws, nothing is perfect of course. Maybe some of them were also due to my own inability to somehow connect with certain aspects, themes and ideas. Sometimes I was not 100% sold on the reasoning of certain scenes or actions. And again, it may also be in part, because I was unable to relate to it in some way and couldn’t find any additional logic to it. Was it because there was no logic? Or was it because I was unable to grasp it? Does everything has to be logical? Or perfect? Not always I’d imagine.

This is why I think that the ambiguity and unrelatability of these characters was the point of the story. In a way, because I made it the point of the story when I read it. I found it fascinating and in some parts relatable, but most of all, because it was simply an interesting and a curious read.

[captainsophiestark]

Daniel Sousa Masterlist

Marvel Masterlist

Main Masterlist

X - x reader F - Female Reader (otherwise it’s gender neutral) ☀️ - Fluff ✨ - Humor ☁️ - Angst ⭐️ - Author Faves

Newest fics will be at the bottom

Plan B - F!X ☀️✨⭐️ Reader is a friend of Peggy’s who’s been on the team at the SSR for a few months. She hasn’t really bonded with any of the men at the agency, except Thompson, who’s her stupid hotshot mission plan buddy. She also spends a fair amount of time with Daniel, but reader hasn’t gotten to bond with Agent Sousa as much. That might change drastically when the four go out on a mission to try and recover some more of Howard’s stolen tech.

Black Coffee - X ☀️ Reader’s working at a coffee house, and they see plenty of people come in looking exhausted and searching for some caffeine to help. When a new face comes into the coffee shop, he manages to break the all-time record for the person closest to being an absolute zombie. Daniel Sousa’s been working day and night on a case for the SSR, and he’s in danger of falling asleep if he so much as stops moving. But, if he can make it through to the end of the case, it might just turn out to be worth it in more ways than one.

Assistant - F!X ☀️ Y/N is Howard Stark’s assistant, which is never a boring job. They’re in the middle of tearing their hair out trying to manage his crazy schedule when a surprise visit from a certain SSR agent shakes up their day.

New Office - X ☀️ Y/N’s been in love with their best friend Daniel Sousa since they both started working at the SSR, but he’s been hung up on Peggy since the first time he saw her. Now, however, Peggy’s turned him down for a date and he’s gone all the way across the country with a promotion to get some distance from her. Y/N went with him, but will it mean a change in anything more than location for the two of them?

West vs. East - X ☀️✨ Y/N is the LA SSR’s new nurse, a position they finally realized was incredibly important to have around after a few near-misses during the Whitney Frost case. They’ve only been there a week, but an all-SSR picnic and “friendly” East Coast/West Coast competition will give them plenty of chances to make new friends and more.

Sandy and Charlie - F!X ☀️✨ Y/N is starring in her first big picture, a Western produced by Howard Stark. When the actor playing her love interest no-shows, however, they’re going to have to get creative in finding a person to fill the role so the movie can be finished. Fortunately for them, the SSR needs Howard’s help on a case, and are willing to make some deals to get it.

The Unholy Alliance - X ☀️✨ Daniel and Y/N have been staring at each other longingly for months, and Jack and Peggy are tired of it. So, in a moment of history in the making, the two *team up* to find a way to get their coworkers to finally realize their feelings for each other.

No Way To Know For Sure - Part 1 Part 2 - F!X ☁️☀️✨ After a few months of friendship and a few more months of dating, Y/N and Daniel Sousa decided to call it quits when he moved out to LA to open the West Coast SSR. She was focused on her career with no desire to leave New York, her home, the place she had connections and established respect as a female SSR agent, the greatest city in the world. Daniel couldn’t turn down the promotion, and she didn’t want him to. So they parted ways, Y/N telling herself it didn’t hurt. But when Jack sends her out to LA to work with Daniel on a case, she realizes she is definitely not over him.

Date Night - F!X ☀️✨ Y/N and Daniel are ready to relax and listen to their favorite radio program together after a long week at the SSR. Unfortunately for both of them, Y/N’s older brother Jack Thompson has the spare key to the apartment, and he has a history of picking terrible times to drop in on his little sister.

Office Most-Eligible - F!X ☀️✨ When Jack ropes Daniel into eavesdropping on the telephone ladies’ breakroom, they both might hear a lot more than they’d bargained for.

The Ugliest Tie I’ve Ever Seen - X ☀️✨ Y/N has finally been transferred to LA, joining their boyfriend Daniel Sousa to help with a case. Unfortunately, he's picked up some new fashion in LA.

Drinks With Peggy - X ☁️☀️ Daniel's S/O came out of a program like Dottie's, so they're still learning how to be in a relationship and communicate with the people who matter.

The Gunmen Were A Relief - X ☀️✨ Daniel's planned out the perfect night to tell his SO about his real job as Chief of the LA SSR. Unfortunately for him, things don't quite go according to plan.

[girlhaggard]

i think quarantine ushered in a new era of tumblr. like the vibe has shifted in the past few years. idk if it’s just because of new people i’ve followed or what. but it feels like personal posts in the style of diary entries have gotten much more popular. this kind of personal admission which can only exist on the internet and can only be expressed to relative strangers. it would make sense to designate quar as a significant factor in this shift if only because of our isolation. the people closest to us became geographical strangers, in much the same way our “friends” (read: mutuals) on tumblr already were. in my own experience, i most often find myself personal-posting when i lack tangible, irl connection. i want someone to hear me!

[loosingmoreletters]

Take a snippet of a Sword Art Online AU for mdzs

Watching the teenagers talk among themselves, gesticulating wildly, Wei Wuxian figured they must have spent a lot of time in full dive systems, which was odd enough. After what had happened to Lan Zhan and his brother, it seemed more likely that their uncle would’ve shut down any association Lan Corp had with that tech. Then again, it had been over a decade. Maybe Lan Qiren wasn’t even CEO anymore, though Wei Wuxian couldn’t think of anyone to succeed him. Neither Lan Xichen nor Lan Zhan had seemed particularly suited for the position of a CEO when he’d known them.

“Sizhui,” the loud Lan - Jingyi? - suddenly interrupted the conversation, “is your dad gonna pick us up?”

Sizhui shook his head. “No, he’s at physical therapy.”

“He’s always at PT,” Jingyi muttered.

“It’s not like muscle atrophy suddenly goes away,” Sizhui reprimanded him as the Ouyang boy dug his elbow into Jingyi’s side, and Jingyi grimaced.

“Sorry, you know how I meant it. After all this time, is there really a chance it’ll get better?”

Sizhui sighed, proving at once that it couldn’t have been just Lan Zhan raising him for all that open sass. Had he gotten a real marriage? A proper spouse with benefits that weren’t the the highest spell stats?

“Father cares about it.”

Lan Zhan had been their high school and university’s athletics champion for years. The time spent comatose in game would’ve likely ruined all of that. If Wei Wuxian still had a body, it would probably break apart the moment he tried to move.

“We can catch the bus to my place then,” Ouyang kid said. “It’s not that far from Lan Corp and we can grab food on the way.”

So much for Wei Wuxian’s assumptions that the company wouldn’t have anything to do with Full Dive tech anymore.

“Are you all diving from Lan Corp?” Wei Wuxian asked.

“Yeah, it’s the closest,” Jingyi said. “What company are you playing at?”

“Jingyi!” Ouyang - okay, Wei Wuxian really needed to catch his name - exclaimed. “You don’t just ask a high level player from where they’re diving when in private! Sorry, Senior Mo!”

Oh, dear, did they assume Wei Wuxian was a pro gamer? He grinned.

“No, it’s fine. I’m diving from home!”

A blatantly lie as Wei Wuxian’s continued existence was a string of zeroes and ones, but he wasn’t about to tell a bunch of kids he was little more than a virus hanging onto the remaining Wen servers.

But instead of reassuring the teenagers, his statement just made them gape in horror.

“From home! How? With a homebrew system? Isn’t that illegal?”

Was it? It hadn’t been when Wei Wuxian was still alive. Most of them had dived from home over standard consoles.

“What server are you on? Even Sizhui isn’t allowed to dive from home, though it wouldn’t make such a big difference for him.”

“Father doesn’t want me to risk taking a less secure connection. I could suffer severe damages.”

Yeah, that did sound like Lan Zhan. Wei Wuxian laughed and ruffled the kid’s head. “Being supervised while diving is for the best. I’ve got my brother looking after me, don’t worry.”

Despite everything, Wei Wuxian was sure Jiang Cheng had claimed his body. His brother probably arranged a nice funeral too. Wait, was his name famous IRL now? Wei Wuxian mentally patted himself on the shoulder for sticking with Mo Xuanyu’s character profile instead of editing it.

“That’s good, Senior Mo!” Ouyang kid said.

“Are you diving on a regular schedule then?” Sizhui asked. “We took down that demonic arm quicker than I calculated with your help. You’d be a great addition to our party.”

The last tome Wei Wuxian had been part of a group, it hadn’t ended well for anyone. But without him there, the kids would’ve died and they obviously planned to stick around.

And if Wei Wuxian wanted to figure out who had hooked up the Wen servers to a new game, he ought to stick around living players.

“I’d be honored to join your party,” Wei Wuxian said. “Maybe I can teach you a trick or two!”

Not any of the gaps he exploited for his demonic cultivation, but one or two shortcuts that would bolster the kids’ chances. Maybe he could disguise hacking their stats as extra training. Obviously they wouldn’t die IRL if they died in game, not like the last humans Wei Wuxian had talked to, but he was incredibly selfish.

He didn’t want to witness anyone’s death again. Helping then was fir his benefit too.

[mimicteruyo]

Hello, this is very random ask about your KomaEiki fanfics!

I’ve been reading your KomaEiki fanfic for about 3-4 years and I love every single one of them! I think my favorites out of all of them include Sleeping Beauty, Reflections of Higanbana, Glass Mirror and Nothing Says Romance Like Holding Back a Scolding.

I do have one question though, is Reflections of Higanbana sort of a “happy ending fix it fanfic” to Glass Mirror? I’m not sure if this was your intention when it came to writing Reflections of Higanbana but when I first read the fanfic I couldn’t help but think this due to the fact Eiki and Komachi were able to figure how they would handle their romantic relationship while also their work relationship at the same time while in Glass Mirror this wasn’t the case and Eiki basically couldn’t even tell Komachi she loved her due to work rules. I don’t know, I always felt like the two fanfics were connected somehow and that somehow the events of Reflections of Higanbana were the key to fixing the unrequited love story shown in Glass Mirror. The names for both of the fanfics also seem connected since mirrors reflect what is shown within them. I might be looking into things a bit too much but I wanted to see your perspective of things as the author of those fanfics.

Also very unrelated but thanks to those specific fanfics I couldn’t stop listening to the song Romeo and Cinderella by Doriko (this is a Vocaloid song) and it’s one of my favorite Vocaloid songs now. I would totally recommend listening to it if you are interested. Maybe the whole tragedy and happy ending thing got to my head a bit when reading those two fanfics…..

Back on topic though, do you have any plans to write a hurt/comfort KomaEiki fanfic by any chance? I’ve notice there really isn’t any out there and it would be really interesting to see your spin on things with this specific fanfiction trope.

Anyways keep up the good work!! 🐾🐾

Hi! This was a really fun ask to receive! Sorry it took me a while to reply: I wanted to think my answer through since your question was so thoughtful.

First of all, thank you so much for your kind words! I'm so glad you like the fics! KomaEiki feels like a pretty niche ship these days, so I'm always super delighted to find other people who enjoy it.

The short answer is yes, Reflections of Higanbana is a fix-it for Glass Mirror (and the names are indeed intentionally connected). I didn't deliberately reference anything from the older fic besides the title in the newer one, but the intention was definitely there.

The long answer is a bit more complicated. Before Glass Mirror, I wrote a LOT of KomaEiki that I never finished and which thus never saw the light of day, trying really hard to make fetch the ship happen. I was still new to writing as well as lacking in life experience, and combined with my then present neuroses about adhering to canon I just couldn't get it to work in a way that satisfied me. Ultimately I wrote Glass Mirror as the closest thing to KomaEiki I could at the time and basically gave up on writing romance fics altogether for years afterwards.

The basic structure of Reflections of Higanbana actually comes from one of those unfinished fics: it was a short fic dominated by dialogue, similarly taking place over the centuries but with an ending very similar to Glass Mirror. Weirdly enough I couldn't actually find it when I went looking for it in preparation for writing Reflections, but I swear it existed. 😂

Before Reflections, I'd finally gotten back to writing pure shipfic and realising how much I loved it. At the beginning I deliberately only wrote fluffy established relationship KomaEiki to avoid the issues that stymied baby!Mimic's KomaEiki attempts, but then I decided it was time to give a more serious fic another try and write what I'd so desperately tried to write back in the day. At that point, I'd grown up enough to realise that, you know, the characters could in fact have an adult conversation about their relationship and thus sort things out (and also by then canon had revealed that the administration of Hell is messy lmao), and so I finally managed to write the fic little me wanted to read.

Thank you for the song rec! I'll check it out! 😊

I'm certainly open to the idea of h/c KomaEiki, but unfortunately I can't promise anything: I've been in a pretty serious creative lurch for a long while now and haven't really had any new fic ideas all year. The most I can say is that one of the fics I'm currently horribly stalled on might have some KomaEiki in it. Anyway, I'll do my best to get out of this mire and start writing again.

Thank you for your continued support! 🌼

[throwingselfoutwindow]

Little short fic for yall - as a treat

Drug addiction and childhood loss mentioned just a tw

Also, timeline wise, this is before the Tarlos fire but after they moved it

I wrote this in 30mins before I went to bed plz ignore how bad it is

TK never had siblings growing up.

The girl down the hall for Apartment Number 4 was close. He babysat her when both of their parents had work and TK had just gotten back from high school, and she elementary.

Other than that, TK had no prior experience to having siblings.

Judd did have siblings.

He had three older brothers in fact.

But never a younger brother.

Moving to Texas on his father’s whim was - as said many times before - the best thing that could have possibly happened to TK. He gained a wonderful and loving husband (hot as fuck too, but that is a less important detail), 4 best friends, and the closest thing he has to a big brother [Judd].

When Judd joined the new 126, he gained 4 new best friends and 1 baby brother.

Judd and he took sometime to get to where they are now, unlike how easy it was for them to make good with the others.

Judd and TK fought tooth and nail on just about everything up until TK became a paramedic unlike most people think.

After the first few mouths of being this close to beating the shit out of each other, things cooled down - sure. They even became friends. But they never really connected until TK changed careers.

It wasn’t until TK was a paramedic and sitting on a random curb in the middle of the night did TK gain an older brother.

It was cold, well colder than normal for Texas. It felt like a spring night in New York for TK, enough to make him shiver, but not wish for a jacket over his sweatshirt.

A truck had slowed as it passed him, parking moments later after a while.

Judd jumped out and called out to him, “Strand? The hell you doin’ out here kid?” Judd made his way over and crouched down in front of TK, taking his chin in his hand and scanning his face. “It’s freezing. Where’s ya jacket?”

A tiny grin brakes TK’s sullen face. “It’s not cold out.”

Judd only continues to frown. “Where did ya get the shiner?”

TK winces.

“Kid?”

Sighing, TK lulls his head up to look at the sky. He could see the stars better here than in New York. “You know, New York was always so polluted that seeing stars was kinda hard. This is the most I’ve ever seen in my life. Really makes you think just how big the galaxy is. You think there’s like.. aliens or something? Or like, bugs at least?”

“… are you… high?”

TK snorts, loudly. “No. Wish, but no.”

Then, Judd sits next to TK, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

It was weird.

But

It was also

Nice.

Ya, nice.

TK, slowly, leans into Judd’s side.

Then it all comes coming out.

“Carlos and I got into a fight about chicken of all things. It escalated pretty fast. To be fair, this fight has been brewing for a couple of weeks. We both said some stuff we didn’t mean. I left to get some air and went to see my dad to talk to him because I was getting the itch to use. He wasn’t home so I… walked.”

A beated breath.

“My feet just kinda moved and I ended up in an ally that happened to be selling. I swear I didn’t know. Just wrong place at wrong time. Anyway, I was this close to buying before I backed out. Dealer wasn’t all that happy.”

TK motions to his face with a grimace.

Judd’s arm tightens. “But you didn’t…”

“No. Really, I should get a gold star for that.”

They are quite for a long time. It wasn’t exactly awkward, but it wasn’t… not.

“Why are you out here?” TK asks suddenly.

Stuffing slightly before relaxing, Judd sighs. “I’m just having a night I suppose. Gracie is pulling a night-shift and I have the next two days off. I can’t get myself to sleep.”

Nodding, TK hums. “I get that. You know, my dad used to drive me around when I couldn’t sleep when I was younger. Which is weird now that I think about it because we didn’t have a car. He would call a taxi and just say ‘drive’ until I stopped crying.”

“How do you remember that?”

TK slides him a crooked grin. “This went well into my 20s actually. I had a very interesting upbringing and late teen experience. Riding at night was technically the only solid thing in my life,”

He sighs again, “When I first got into drugs, only a little bit of crap weed from a friend at school, I got into the late train and just… road. Did this all the time. Of course, the thing with my dad. When my parents first got divorced, I did something similar to that when they were too busy arguing to notice me slipping out of the door. When I broke up with my first real boyfriend, I bought a bike off a random guy on the street and road that until the chain snapped. Something about the wind calms me down.”

Listing intently to the story, Judd nods along. “I have something like that. Sorta. The part about the weird calming thing I mean.”

TK cocks his head slightly to show he is listen.

Taking a long breath, Judd scoots a little closer and TK smiles softly, just about snuggling back. “I was 12 when I lost my best friend, Cal.” TK’s hand slides onto his knee and squeezes it once before simply resting.

“We stole a car and went joy riding down the street and lost control. After that, I kinda stuck in this… cycle. I wouldn’t exactly say I was depressed - definitely was at first - but I wasn’t happy. I was just… breathing. Living. For a long time, I was angry.”

TK nods slightly. “I sorta understand. Had a friend who didn’t make it in highschool. We weren’t that close though.”

They fall quiet again for a long moment - remembering - before Judd continues.

“At first, I got into a lot of fights and stuff, before I got a reality check from my uncle. My dad sent me away that summer to my uncle’s farm. He worked me half to death. I was pissed almost the whole time up until he told me something that I still think about today.”

“You lost someone, but that ain’t mean we gotta lose someone too.”

“At first, I didn’t understand. Than I thought about it. I was this decently smart kid who always smiled. Then I was just mad all of the time. That was the first night I cried over it all. By the end of the summer, I was better. I was still messed up, obviously, but I wasn’t fighting every three seconds. When I get mad like I used to, I just… work. Doesn’t matter on what if we are being honest.”

TK’s hand squeezed his knee again.

“That’s honestly a bit of how I felt the first couple of months I moved here. Not completely, considering these are two completely different experiences, but close to.”

Judd only nods and looks away from the side of TK’s face - that was still staring up into the sky throughout the entire conversation. TK hums a bit when Judd tightens his arm for a second. “Want a ride back to your boy?”

A tiny smile makes TK’s face. “If you’re willing, I guess. He’s probably worried anyway. I forgot to grab my phone on the way out.”

Standing and taking TK with him, Judd leads TK to the passenger’s side of the truck and pushes him in. He rounds the truck and hops into the drivers.

The car ride is a comfortable silence.

[kelyon]

Hot Cocoa and Stolen Kisses 5: Peppermint

After the Thanksgiving "date," Gold comes over to Lacey's apartment

Read on AO3

They did not have sex on Thanksgiving. 

This was unexpected. It wasn’t like Lacey to wait for things. She’d been lucky enough to have a life where impulses and whims rarely had lasting consequences. Go to university on a different continent! Party on and hook up with whoever! Change your major! Change your schools! Give up on college to start a small business! Give up your business to live like a recluse in Bumfuck, Maine! Seduce your landlord by plying him with cocoa! Who cared about any of it? 

What could possibly go wrong?

Being with Roald was the first time she had ever really worried about things going wrong. If something bad happened between the two of them, no amount of money or charm or cutesy arrogance would make it better. She couldn’t handle that. She couldn’t handle being so close to this man and then never being near him again. She couldn’t fuck this up.

So, against her worse judgment, she’d asked if they could hold off on sex for a while. Until they figured things out a little better. Until they got more used to all these beautiful, powerful, sanity-crushing feelings. Basically, until they couldn’t handle not having sex for another minute. God bless Roald, he seemed to think that was reasonable.  

After a courtship that had existed mostly in private, they were happy to start “officially” dating while in the public eye. They had dinner at Granny’s on the Friday after Thanksgiving. The next day they split a giant muffin at Storybrooke Coffee, where Roald did not even glance at the hot chocolate menu. Then they walked along the docks, for the few minutes it wasn’t raining or sleeting. The closest they came to being alone together was on Sunday when Roald invited her to look at some antiques in his pawn shop. This was technically during business hours, so the store was open to anyone who might wander in and interrupt them. Lacey stayed on one side of the counter and Roald stayed on the other. 

It was all painfully chaste, which was good. If nothing else, it eased Lacey’s fears that their physical compatibility would outpace every other connection they had. This way, they were actually getting to know each other. They were enjoying each other’s company. Since both of them had confessed to their bone-deep loneliness, it was nice to know that wasn’t the only thing that brought them together. Neither Lacey nor Roald was with the other just because it was better than being alone. They really, actually, liked each other.     

When December first rolled around and Roald came by the apartment to collect rent, it would be the first time they had been alone together since Thanksgiving. Lacey wasn’t sure what to expect, but she did shave her legs and clean up her bedroom, just in case. 

She also made a new flavor of hot chocolate.

At 4:08, she got a call.

“I should have told you this earlier,” Roald said. “I’ve rearranged the collection schedule a bit, to make it so that you’re my last stop of the day. We--” he hesitated. She imagined him licking his lips. “We can have as much time together as you’d like.”

Lacey grinned and shook her head. “Mr. Gold changing up his routine? You might as well put up a billboard that says ‘I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!’ in giant letters.”

He sounded as amused as she felt. “As if half the town already wasn’t gossiping about us at the diner together. The looks I’ve gotten today…”

“They just don’t know what I know.” She stirred the pot of hot chocolate on her stove. “Since you’re coming by later, do you want me to order something for dinner?”

“I was planning on cooking for you again, at your place. I stopped by the market this afternoon. Picked up a few essentials.”

“You didn’t need to do that. I really don’t run out of food all that often.”

“I know, sweetheart.” God, the warmth in his voice when he called her that! “Just let me take care of you, hmm?” 

“Yeah, fine.” She tried to keep the smile out of her voice on the phone. “Just get over here so you can take care of me in person, how about that?”

“Oh, I intend to.”

They said their good-byes and Lacey hung up the phone. Then she let out a long, low whistle and decided to give her bedroom another once-over. It seemed very possible this could be the night they decided they couldn’t not have sex for another minute. 

****

She was shivering outside the library when his car pulled up to the side door that led to the stairs to her apartment. She had thought her stylish camel-colored wool coat would be enough protection against the cold while she waited. Apparently a parka would have been a better choice. 

“What are you doing out here?” Roald asked when he saw her. He wasn’t angry. There was a light in his eyes that was more than just the street lamps. “You must be freezing! Go inside.”

“I thought you might need help carrying the groceries.” Taking a wide step over a puddle of slush,  Lacey made for the trunk.

Sure enough, when Roald opened the lid, there were three paper bags from the grocery store and a small white box with a bakery logo on the top. Lacey smirked. She was right. There was no way he could have carried it all in one trip! 

“All this for one night?” she asked as she picked up two of the fuller-looking bags.

“No.” 

Holding his cane in the crook of his arm, Roald shut the trunk with a definitive thud. The other bag and the bakery box were in his free hand. Carefully, he picked a clear path to the sidewalk. When he looked at Lacey again, he must have seen how confused she was. His lips quirked up. He leaned toward her and placed a hot kiss on her cheek.

“None of this is for only one night, sweetheart. Now let’s get you in the warm.”

****

She set her bags on the kitchen table, then took Roald’s. He took off his coat and gloves and looked around for a place to put them. Lacey hung his things up in the coat closet next to hers. When she turned around, he had taken off his suit coat and hung it over the back of her kitchen chair. 

Lacey grinned at that. He certainly was making himself at home. He wasn’t wearing a vest today either, just a forest green shirt and a tie in dark burgundy. 

“Why, Mr. Gold!” she played at being shocked. “Do I spy a hint of Christmas spirit in your wardrobe?” 

He looked up from putting a carton of eggs in the refrigerator and smiled at her. “Well, it is December, isn’t it?”

“Sure is.” She put a deliberate sway in her step as she sauntered past him to give the hot cocoa a stir. “Care to guess how I’m celebrating?”

He stood behind her, his hands on her hips. Burying his face in her hair, he murmured into her ear: “You know I could smell that peppermint from outside.”

There was something in his voice that made the observation sound absolutely filthy. Like he was telling her he could smell how wet she was. The hunger in him, the growling demand for what he wanted, it absolutely melted her.

“Do you want it now?” she asked in a breathy voice. 

He chuckled darkly, pulled her even more tightly against him. “Whichever it you mean, my dear, I assure you the answer is yes.”

She turned around, snaked her arms around his neck and brought him down for a kiss. He followed her easily, returning the kiss and wrapping his arms around her waist. He bent himself to her desires as completely as she did to his.

After a moment, she stepped away, softly breaking their embrace. 

“Let’s be adults and put the groceries away before we do anything fun.”

Roald swooped down for a quick peck, then went back to the bags. Lacey stayed by the stove for a minute. She was close enough to the low heat that she knew the shiver that went down her spine had nothing to do with the cold. 

He’d laid out dry goods on the counter instead of going through her cupboards. She put them away haphazardly, surprised how much room she had in this kitchen. Room she’d never bothered to use until now. When was the last time she had bought anything that wasn’t booze or hot cocoa supplies?

From the bottom of the last bag, Lacey pulled out a box of condoms. Chuckling, she held them up for Roald to see. 

“Hopeful, were we?”

He glanced at the box, then looked away. “Prepared.” He cleared his throat. “Hopefully not presumptuous?”

“No,” Lacey said. “I’m actually glad you brought your own. I wasn’t sure if any of what I had here would be the right fit.”

Now he let a little light come into his eyes. “You were prepared too?”

“Safety first,” she shrugged. “I’ve done some reckless shit in my time, but I take STIs and pregnancy very seriously. And some guys ‘forget’ to have any on them, so it’s easier to keep my own supply. ”

Roald nodded, and put the last of the fresh vegetables in the fridge. Lacey held the box of condoms in two hands in front of her. Her fingers tapped against the plastic wrapping. 

“So what do you want?” she asked abruptly. “I mean--what do you want to do first? Looks like we can choose between eat, drink, or, uh, be merry.”

He crossed the distance between them, staring at her with that hunger again. Lacey’s breath caught and didn’t release until he had enveloped her in his arms and covered her mouth with his own. Only when he released her did she start to breathe again. 

“Eat,” he whispered. His lips brushed against her forehead. “And drink.” He kissed her again. “And please you until you can’t move, my sweet Lacey.”

She shuddered. She buried her face in the crook of his neck. He held her. 

“I don’t think I can wait.” Lacey breathed. “I want you so much.”

“Good.” 

He took the box of condoms from her unresisting hands and made his way to her bedroom door.

“Wait a sec,” she blinked out of her haze of horniness. “You just said you wanted to eat first.”

“Yes I do.” He kissed her deeply. “More than anything else in the world.”

“So--”

“Dinner will take less than twenty minutes. I trust the cocoa won’t be ruined by an extra hour or two on low heat. We can enjoy all that later, when we’re ready for a break.”

“But you said--”

“Lacey.” He turned her to face him, held her shoulders in both hands. He smiled at her. His voice was so warm, so gentle. “I want you, sweetheart. I want to eat you out, and drink you down, and bring you so much pleasure you don’t believe it’s real. Does that sound good to you?”

Her mouth had fallen open at some point. She shut it. 

“I’m sorry, my brain stopped working somewhere around the phrase ‘eat you out.’ I’m not used to hearing that from a guy on a first time.” 

Grinning, Roald opened the door for her. “Not to question your past choices, my dear, but it’s possible that you’ve been going to bed with the wrong men.”

“Let’s fix that.”

****

Before he’d arrived, Lacey had gathered up every candle in her apartment and strategically placed them around her bedroom. They’d been burning for about an hour now, so the room was warm and heady with contrasting fragrances: Sandalwood and cinnamon, fresh linen and eucalyptus, white sage and smoked cedar. Every scent played in interesting ways with the peppermint cocoa wafting in from the kitchen. 

In the candlelit warmth, it was easy to take off her clothes. She’d intentionally worn an oversized sweater with a button-down underneath. She undid the buttons as suavely as she could while Roald lavished kisses on every new inch of exposed skin. When she was down to her pink lace bralette, his breath moved hot and wet over her breasts. Lacey shivered, and held him closer. 

“I would have worn a skirt.” She almost laughed when he started fumbling with the button and fly of her corduroys. “If I had known you’d be giving me oral, I would have worn a skirt and thigh highs and no panties.”

Roald made a noise in the back of his throat. “You would have frozen,” he chuckled. “That’s the sort of stunt you should save for springtime.” Another noise, this one thoughtful. “When it’s warmer, perhaps the two of us can go on a picnic. I have a cabin out by the lake, very private. That’s when you can wear a skirt with no panties. I’ll lay you out on a blanket and make you scream for all the forest to hear.”

She heard the promises in that fantasy. When it’s warmer, in the springtime, at his cabin. None of this was for one night. Lacey had never had a boyfriend last longer than six months. If Roald stuck with her until spring, that would put him in the top two for putting up with her. 

A sliver of panic sliced through her at the thought of fucking this up. She couldn’t keep away the thought that he might get sick of her once he really knew her, once the high had worn off, once it was too warm for hot cocoa. But Roald already knew her as well as anybody ever had, and he’d kept coming back. Lacey didn’t want to fuck this up. Lacey cared about not fucking this up. She cared about him.

Maybe that would be enough.

While she was working through her issues, Roald was kissing her. He held her jaw with one hand and had gotten the other down her pants to cup her ass. It occurred to Lacey that there was a real disparity of clothing going on so she began to pull at his belt buckle.

“No, no,” he whispered, catching her wrist. “Not yet, sweetheart. Let me focus on you for now.”

“At least take your shirt off,” she murmured. 

He backed away to obey her, sitting up on his knees on her bed. There was a silken swish as he took off his tie. Lacey was sure that would become one of her favorite sounds in the world. He undid his buttons while she watched, propped up on her elbows. Sneaky bastard tried to leave his undershirt on, but Lacey pulled it off once he was close enough to grab. The candlelight caught the image of a tattoo on his bicep. 

“Is that a lizard?”

He made a face, half-grin, half-wince. “When I was younger, I had a girlfriend who always called me cold-blooded.” He kissed her. “I got the tattoo after some risky investments fell through and I lost a lot of money very quickly. That was when she left me.”

“Yikes.”

He kissed her softly. “I dodged a bullet. I would have married that woman, if she had waited for things to improve again. At least she showed her true nature before we’d done anything permanent.”

Lacey pressed her lips against the ink. “Have you been married, ever?”

He shook his head. “I always idealized it. Having a wife, children, the kind of home I never got growing up. None of it ever happened for me. I never… lived a life that allowed for anyone to come close. Not anyone worthwhile.”

She pulled him down to her for a kiss. His lips were so soft, so full of yearning.

“I never want to hurt you, Roald,” she whispered. “If I fuck this up, it’s my fault. Not yours. You’re so good, you really are. You’re so much better than people around here think you are.”

“Sweetheart…”

The word hung in the air between their lips, hot and full of meaning. Too much meaning for either of them to say more. Roald kissed his way down Lacey’s neck again, pausing only to push up her bralette. She pulled it up over her head then lay back down. He stared at her naked breasts with a need that seemed to verge on obsession. 

“You are so beautiful.” He rasped out the words just before falling onto her flesh. Frenzied, he kissed her and sucked at her, flicked his tongue over her nipples, grazed his stubble against her tender skin. 

Lacey cried out, both at the physical sensation and the deeper meaning behind it. For the first time in her life, Lacey French was making love to someone. Roald loved her, even if he hadn’t said it yet. Had he even thought it yet? Was he aware of what he was doing? Did the closed-off, buttoned-up Mr. Gold understand how he was revealing himself by ravishing her? 

His kisses trailed down her stomach, down to the line of her underwear and her open corduroys. His hands gripped at the fabric, but he stopped himself just long enough to ask:

“Off?”

Lacey nodded. “Off.”

Now her skin was naked and exposed. Her pale knees bent up, framing Roald’s tan face and his smooth, dark hair. The only things whiter than her legs were his eyes. He pressed his mouth against the side of her knee, but kept his gaze focused on her face. He was watching her. Reading her. Just like she was reading him.

“Please,” she whispered.

She raised her hips off the bed so he could pull off her panties. He knelt between her legs while she opened herself up for him. His nostrils flared and his beautiful eyes slowly closed as he prepared to take the plunge.

Propped up so she could see him, Lacey let out a single burst of laughter. The sharp noise was harsh in this room of breaths and whispers. She put her hand over her mouth, as though that could erase the disruption.

Roald’s eyes opened, but otherwise he didn’t move. At least he knew her well enough not to get mad about her making an idiot of herself.

“Yes?” he asked dryly. 

“I didn’t mean to kill the mood,” Lacey half-apologized. “But I was totally fucking right about you.”

He pushed himself up onto his arms, so he was at her eye level. “Concerning what?”

Pulling her legs back, Lacey moved forward. Now they were face to face. 

“The first time I gave you hot cocoa,” she said in a low and husky voice. “I knew that was the same face you’d make when you were about to go down on someone. I knew it!”

Lunging forward, Roald kissed her back down onto the pillows. She was on her back, her legs spread, her whole body laid out for him like a feast.

“What can I say?” he murmured as he kissed his way back down her body. “I like to indulge in delicious things.”  

She had a quip ready, but then his mouth was on her mound and every thought flew out of her head. He kissed her, slowly and thoroughly. His tongue glided over her clit, then dove down between her folds. 

“Fuck!” Lacey gasped. “Oh, fuck, Roald!”

His eyes looked up at her from between her legs. His eyes, black and white in the flickering candles, locked onto hers. His tongue stilled. He waited. Waited for her.

“Oh for fuck’s sake, keep going!”

That was all he needed to attack. To pull her up into his mouth and consume her.  His large hands gripped her hips, squeezing her skin so hard she thought she’d bruise. His nose pushed against her clit with relentless pressure. His mouth…

His mouth!

His mouth never stopped moving. He sucked and kissed and licked and probed every part of her that he could find. God, how was this man breathing? His quick gasps seemed almost panicked, like he was afraid she’d disappear if he ever came up for air. 

Lacey moved her legs from at his sides to over his shoulders. She dug her heels into his bare back and threaded her fingers into his long hair. The better he ate her, the tighter her grip got on him. By the time she started coming, she was squeezing him so tight between her thighs she was half-afraid she’d pop his head off. 

It only seemed to encourage him. Roald pushed himself deeper and deeper into her cunt, rocked his head against her to match her frantic thrusting. He stayed between her legs as her first orgasm crested. The wave crashed over his body, and he drank down every drop of her. 

Panting, loosely collapsed on her bed, Lacey placed a limp hand on the back of Roald’s head. His hair was damp with sweat and other fluids. He rested against one of her thighs. Pillowed on her soft flesh, he caught his breath.

“I haven’t done that in ages,” he sighed.

It took Lacey a moment to string some words together. “I… could not tell,” she managed. “You seem very well practiced.” 

He chuckled at that, rubbed her calf up and down. “I’ve never believed that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Perhaps it’s more true for actions than it is for people.”

“I dunno.” Slowly, Lacey’s heart rate returned to normal. “Not to be too whatever about it, but I’ve received my share of oral sex, and that was… yeah, that was better than anything… ever? Yeah, I’m gonna commit to it: That was the best cunnilingus I’ve ever had in my life.”

Lifting his head, Roald placed a lascivious kiss on the swell of her inner thigh. 

“So far.”  

Before Lacey could say another word, he was licking her again. Gently this time. He seemed to be aware of how tender she’d be. Her flesh was so hot it verged on pain, but his touch was soothing. He lapped up the juices he’d wrung out of her. The sound of his tongue was punctuated with murmurs and half-stifled moans. 

After a few minutes, Lacey was able to prop herself up again. She looked down at him, her lover, her boyfriend, her Roald. For once, he wasn’t looking at her. His eyes were closed, he was just enjoying himself. He was just enjoying her. 

He liked to indulge in delicious things.

Gradually, he added fingers into his tool kit of pleasure. He opened up her folds, traced the outline of her outer lips. His hands exposed the core of her, so his tongue could explore with quick, delicate licks.

Still sitting up, Lacey brushed his long hair away from his face. God, he was so beautiful. His dark eyes flicked up at her. He smiled, even as most of his face was buried in her cunt.

“Fill me,” she murmured. “I want to feel you inside of me, Roald. Please.”

He raised his head. For a moment, the skin of his lips clung to her sticky, swollen pussy. Like their bodies wanted to be together on a molecular level. Threads of clear fluid ran from his mouth to her cunt, connecting them. 

A jolt of white-hot desire went through her. Fuck wanting--she needed him inside her.

“Please,” she repeated.

“Patience.” He kissed her leg, which left a stamp of wetness on her skin. “I want to make you come again first, just one more time.”

“Oh is that all?” She lay back again. “Just two mind-blowing orgasms before you’ve even got your pants off, is that it?”

“I could do more,” Roald smirked. “But since you’re in such a hurry to be full--”

 His words cut out when his hand covered her cunt and he slid a finger deep inside her. 

“Fuck!” he hissed. 

Quickly, the subtle niceness of one finger inside her was overtaken by the welcome stretch of another. Maybe three, it was hard to tell. Roald’s hands were so big, he filled her up to the brim. For a second, he didn’t move. Lacey clenched around him, moaning weakly. She’d never come from just being penetrated, but this… This might change things.

Maybe later. For now, Roald was not about to let her quietly savor the feeling of him inside her. He sat her up, holding up her back with his free arm. She leaned against him, nuzzling in the crook of his neck. Whenever she had a moment of stillness, she ran her lips along his collarbone, his jaw, his pulse point. 

He didn’t give her many moments of stillness. Every movement of his fingers in her cunt was repeated and exaggerated in the rest of her. Every jerk, every twitch, sent her reeling. He had to hold her down, hold her against his chest to keep her from flailing. She wrapped her arms around his neck, dug her fingernails into his back. His thumb began to play with her clit and that was when Lacey started to scream.

“Oh, fuck!” she cried. “Fuck, that’s so good! Fuck me, Roald. Fuck me hard.”

“Not yet!” He groaned through gritted teeth. 

His hands worked, faster and faster. Slipping over her clit, crooking up to push her g-spot, ramming into her cunt over and over. Lacey shook and shook and it felt like she’d been coming for so long there would never be an end to it.

When he was done--when he determined she’d had enough--he laid her down gently on her bed. She was too blissed out to do anything but lie there, boneless and spent. 

“You’re incredible,” Roald told her. “I’ve never met a woman who comes like you do.”

Eyes closed, she shook her head. “I’ve never come like that before in my life.”

He bent down and kissed her. His face was drenched in the smell of her pussy. It lingered on his hands as he touched her. 

Normally, Lacey didn’t really feel one way or another about that smell. It was tangy-sour, a little ripe sometimes, but nothing to be ashamed of. Now, smelling herself on Roald was almost enough to make her start coming again. She wanted her sheets to reek after tonight. She wanted to touch herself and know that her hands smelled like his hands. She wanted him to catch a whiff of her somewhere and get hard in the middle of the day. She wanted to linger on his clothes, on his skin, in his hair.

She wanted to be a part of him forever.

He had gotten off the bed. Distantly, Lacey registered the sound of a belt unbuckling, of clothing dropping to the floor and being hastily picked up and folded. She heard the sound of plastic wrap being torn off a box of condoms.

Then he was back, naked at last. Lacey rolled onto her side to get a better look at him.

“Wow,” she whispered. “So it’s not just Big Dick Energy, huh?”

“What?” He sat down next to her. He put his hand on her ass, then stroked down to the curve of her waist.

“I mean you walk around Storybrooke like you’ve got the biggest cock in town, and yeah… I guess that’s not just attitude.”

He shook his head, chuckling. He didn’t believe her. Well, that was alright. She’d tell him again. Over and over, for as long as he’d let her. 

“You know, I can give oral too, not just receive.”

“I’m sure you can,” he said as he rolled the condom on. “And I absolutely do want to see your pretty mouth stuffed with my cock. But right now, I need to fuck you properly.”

He crawled on top of her. Lacey opened her legs wide for him. 

“Hard,” he whispered. He was still outside her body. “Isn’t that what you said earlier? That you wanted me to fuck you hard?”

“Yes,” she sighed. “Yes, please.”

“So formal, Miss French.” 

His breath ghosted against her ear at the exact same moment he sank into her. Lacey arched her back and took him in. A soft, satisfied, “Oh,” escaped her lips. 

Roald grinned at her. “Are you alright, sweetheart?”

“I love you.”

She hadn’t meant to say it. The thought had hardly been in her mind at all. He seemed to draw the reaction straight from her body. 

Straight from her heart.

It didn’t matter that she hadn’t known it before she said it. She had said it and it was true. She wouldn’t take it back. She loved him. Lacey French loved Roald Gold. 

She looked up at him. For a second, his face was stone, stunned. She had a terrible flashback to their first cup of cocoa. The stupid impulse that had made her kiss him. The stupid kiss that had made him run away. Would he run away now? Did he think she was trying to trap him? Had she fucked up everything again?

But then his eyes went warm and misty. His whole face broke into a smile. He leaned down to kiss her, which pressed the whole of his body against the whole of hers. Their hearts really were as united as their bodies. He kissed her, long and deep, slowly thrusting as he did. 

He broke away only long enough to say, “I love you too.”

****

They didn’t have supper that night. They didn’t leave the bedroom, except for a hurried minute when Lacey rushed the pot of peppermint cocoa into the fridge. 

The next morning, Roald didn’t open his shop. Lacey didn’t buy a newspaper and do the crossword puzzle at Storybrooke Coffee. They stayed together, in her little apartment over the library. Roald made omelets and opened the bakery box full of pastries. Lacey made a fresh batch of cocoa. 

It took them all day to drink it down--drop by delicious drop. 

[hecateisalesbian]

i already know 4 but 3-44

3: Uhh I’ve done it like a few times but not really no

4: I know I always joke about this on my blog but actually? Not really. I don’t actually like the taste of most alcohol. The only drink I’ve had and really liked is an espresso martini 🍸 (and some lemonade seltzers but shh)

5: I have medicated drugs that I take for allergies, period cramps/pain in general, and another one for personal reasons but in terms of like weed like I said I’ve done it a couple times but not really.

6: anywhere from 14-24

7: Nope.

8: Hell Yeah Baby! I want a bunch

9: Only your basic one in the earlobe

10: I’ve already planned out my next couple piercings (Double Earlobe, Helix, etc)

11: Irl: My friend [redacted] who I’ve been best friends with since we were 7. She lives in Colorado but we’re still amazing friends. Digitally: 👀 not tryna start a war but I’d have to say the person I’m closest with digitally isssssss [redacted] (<— hah you thought I was gonna say)

12: Single 😔

13: (in a romantic sense) when they like the same things i do. Also dressing hella cool. If you’re a stranger in public and your dressed cool I’m instantly in love with you

14: (In a romantic sense) making fun of others for just being themselves.

15: *sigh* Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

16: I love you. Simple as that. (Also the previously mentioned dressing hella cool)

17: My sister and my Ex-Best friend

18: Oooooo we’re not diving into that rabbit whole. It does connect with the fact that I don’t do discord tho :p

19: I’m GAY (in all realness though my favorite animal is a snake because of Slytherin (🖕 you jkr) but now it’s my favorite animal because I think they’re awesome)

20: My physical appearance

21: Hmm. My sense of style or my calfs (seriously)

22: Actor, professional cosplayer, or something in the film/acting industry.

23: With all of them I’d say it’s pretty good

24: Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

25: I’ve never really thought about it but just something that sparks both our interests. A simple date to the park or a date to Meow Wolf (<- so cool) are both great ideas

26: the us government

27: I’m polyam so like. There’s kinda a few. But one of them is tall with reddish brownish hair and she’s a great friend :,)

28: almost every person at my school

29: It got boring and a little awkward after we finished doing everything fun so I asked my sister to pick me up but pretend like I didn’t ask her to

30: The people

31: “I’ve only gotten money from [Redacted], and [Redacted] says she’s gonna indivually buy”

32: Idk. I’m disappointed is definitely up there

33: I like your style

34: Women

35: Men (not really attracted to them as much but if the right one came along)

36: My home in Colorado

37: Stretch Marks

38: Being a Vet (but then I found out animals die 😔)

39: They’re all pretty good INCLUDING MINT CHCOOLATE CHIP IF YOU DONT LIKE MINT CHCOOLATE CHIP I EILL END YOU

40: A lot of people

41: In my bed nice and warm and asleep

42: Waffles and sausage

43: …..chat noir

44: In Florida (where I live atleast) it’s illegal to set off fireworks on the beach except on the 4th of July, and New Years Eve and New Years Day