#the first time is very 'ugh i guess i gotta keep this guy from getting killed'

[steddielations]

Steve acts on instinct.

There’s this guy in all black walking in front of him, he’s too busy looking down at his phone to notice, but Steve doesn’t trust that lamppost. He’s been going for daily runs, he likes to keep it simple during the off-season, and that post has been getting more rickety every day. Now it’s swaying dangerously in the wind and he knows it’s about to tumble.

There’s no time to call out to the guy, so Steve just plows forward and tackles him out of the way.

They fall in a messy heap and Steve unfortunately lands heavily on top.

“Holy shit! What the— ugh!” The guy heaves in pain and Steve hurries to scramble off of him.

“Sorry, that post was about to fall on you, man. You alright?”

Pieces of grass stick to the guy’s long hair as he takes stock of Steve and what happened. With a labored breath, he surprisingly jokes, “Guess I’m lucky the best football tackler alive happened to be right behind me.”

It’s sarcastic as shit but Steve smiles with a tug of amusement as he offers his hand. “Baseball, actually.”

“You’re in the wrong league, man,” he lets Steve pull him to his feet and groans on the way up. “Well, nice to meet you, Baseball, you pack a hell of a first impression. I’m Eddie.”

Steve would appreciate his ability to joke so soon after taking a hit, but people are starting to gather around. There’s already phones pointed at them that probably caught the whole thing on camera. Steve’s used to public attention by now, knows the press is going to have a field day with this and he hates causing a scene, but he wants to make sure Eddie is okay.

“Just Steve is good. You wanna…? This way,” he gestures toward the sidewalk and thankfully, Eddie seems just as eager to get out of there too, shuffling next to Steve as they round the corner.

He’s wearing so much metal jewelry, it’s like a costume, the jingle jangle of his every step accentuating how shaken up he seems. They get far enough behind a building and Steve stops to have a real look at him and… well he’s interesting to look at.

It’s like he hopped off the album cover of an 80s rock band, or one of Steve’s Bon Jovi posters that he hid under his bed in high school. Way too much leather and way too much hair for the California sun, all disheveled with grass and dirt.

“You sure you’re okay? Here, you got a little…” Steve’s hand hovers until Eddie nods that it’s okay from him to pluck the grass from his hair and lightly brush the dust from his shoulders. Eddie watches him the whole time, his eyes big and dark, an intensity in them that Steve can’t quite read but he can feel. “Didn’t hit your head or anything, did you?”

Steve lowers his hands, stepping back a little when he realizes how close they are. Eddie’s eyes follow him, a slight quirk to his lips that makes Steve feel the heat of the sun a little warmer on his face.

“I’m touched by your concern, sweetheart, but my brain has been through worse damage than a little bump.”

Steve frowns at the ladder, but the first bit definitely makes him feel the heat. He’s admittedly a bit out of practice but he can still recognize a come on. One that he definitely invited with all the touching and indulgent looks.

Then Eddie starts profusely thanking him for the whole ordeal, asking to treat him somewhere nearby for lunch. It’s not that Steve doesn’t want to, he’s very interested actually, and thankful that out of all the jewelry Eddie’s sporting, there’s no wedding ring. That’s why he’s reluctant because he’s all sweaty at the moment. Not to mention, he didn’t finish his run yet.

“Surely saving my life was enough cardio,” Eddie jokes lightly and Steve snorts.

“I saved you from a minor concussion, maybe,” and okay he’s gotta accept now.

The place is small and unassuming, burgers and sodas type joint. Steve’s likely to be recognized there, which he doesn’t mind meeting fans in public just preferably not now, it might be jarring for Eddie.

He heads for the booth tucked in the back corner, the most private looking spot that Steve had his eyes on too. They get a round of sodas from the waitress and right away, Eddie starts thanking him again.

“I noticed that lamppost wobbling days ago,” Steve sparks a conversation instead of accepting any more thanks, “I was planning to let it fall on me so I could sue the shit out of the city.”

He’s pleasantly startled by the big cackle that gets out of Eddie, “Any chance to stick it to the man. I admire that.”

“‘Course I would’ve really stuck it to ‘em and donated it back to the community,” Steve adds.

“Giving the people’s money back to the people, imagine Big Brother’s horror. Noble guy.”

Eddie seems to bubble with contagious delight that doesn’t match his whole leather and chains thing at all, but it fits into the somewhat magic of him. It's a wonder to Steve.

“Do I know you from somewhere?” Eddie ventures, a glint of recognition in his eyes that Steve’s seen a thousand times. He doesn’t ping Eddie as much of a sports guy and he’s not vain enough to assume everyone knows who he is. Eddie’s probably seen him while flipping the channel past ESPN or something. Or maybe an ad for that Netflix thing he did documenting last year’s season.

“I think I’d definitely remember you.”

Steve didn’t mean it as a come-on, just that Eddie’s appearance really isn’t forgettable, but he can tell by the wicked little grin Eddie sports that it was taken as one. Steve likes that even better.

“Have you ever modeled, or anything? You’ve got the looks for it.”

Biting back a smile of his own, Steve shakes his head. “I bet you say that to everyone who saves your life.”

“None of them were half as good looking." That sounds concerning but Steve’s distracted by Eddie swirling his straw in his drink, regarding him with a long look. “Really though, I just feel like I’ve seen you before.”

Steve’s done a few covers of Sports Illustrated, but he doubts Eddie has ever picked up a copy of that, so he shrugs. “Must’ve been in your dreams.”

Eddie laughs softer this time. “You trying to sweep me off my feet or something?”

“Already did.” Steve leans back, enjoying the way Eddie’s eyes follow him.

Conversation sparks and it never really dies out. Eddie just grabs topics out of thin air, talking about the city and what they like to do and movies and his amazement that Steve knows all about D&D because he’s a nerd magnet. Eddie’s personality spills through everything he says like it can’t be contained. He’s talkative in a good way, not to a point where Steve can’t get a word in. He listens intently, has a way of putting all his attention onto Steve like he’s the most interesting person he’s ever spoken to.

It’s surprisingly easy to relax. Not because Eddie has a super calming presence or anything, his energy is just all-encompassing, it’s hard for Steve not to get sucked in and hang on to every word he says. It’s one of the rare times in public that he’s not hyper-aware of everyone around him and too paranoid of having a photo snapped and taken out of context to even enjoy himself.

That happens a lot, being one of the only professional athletes who’s open about his sexuality. The media is extremely invasive with his private life. If he’s seen with any guy friend, there’s a whole press storm about Steve Harrington’s “secret beau” within the hour. It’s ridiculous and he tries so hard to keep his lovelife under wraps that maybe he’s been neglecting it entirely, at least that’s what Robin says.

Of course, that’s when his phone lights up with a message from her. His heart sinks a little when he sees the title of the article she sent to him. He quickly shoots her a text and locks his phone without reading it.

“Everything alright?” Eddie notices the shift in Steve’s mood right away.

“Yeah just,” he sighs, bracing for the inevitable part when Eddie realizes Steve isn’t worth the hassle of all this, “Someone filmed us earlier and now it’s all over the press. I’m really sorry, I totally get it if—”

“Nah, don’t worry about it, it’s fine. I figured that would happen,” Eddie brushes it off, but Steve shakes his head.

“I don’t think you understand, it’s—”

“Wanna bet?” Eddie smirks for some reason, “I’m fine with it, I promise.”

He tosses a chip into his mouth and picks right back up with the story he was telling.

Steve is stunned for a moment, wary that maybe Eddie doesn’t fully grasp how deep this goes. But he stays there with Steve, seemingly thrilled to keep talking with him even when a family comes in and keeps staring their way, obviously building up the courage to come over and ask for a picture. Eddie’s acting like Steve’s the only person in the room and that’s enough to assure Steve that he’s really fine with it.

He’s so locked into Eddie, he barely registers when the older son from the family’s table finally wanders over and asks for a picture.

Steve is in the middle of wiping his face with a napkin, about to greet him when suddenly, Eddie pops up and asks Steve to excuse him for a minute.

“C’mon little man, let’s do it,” he says and much to Steve’s confusion, the teen excitedly goes with Eddie to his family’s table.

Steve watches, utterly baffled, as they start snapping photos and expressing what big fans they are and Eddie takes it with such bravado, laughing and chatting like he’s with a group of friends.

What the— Steve grabs his phone, opening the article Robin sent him at lightning speed.

At first, he wonders how the press was able to find out Eddie’s full name so quickly, then he sees the words "troubled rockstar" and "recovering star" so many times, it becomes abundantly clear.

Oh.

He’s not so worried about the troubled part, everyone has their shit and he doesn’t read into any of it. Those are Eddie’s stories to tell Steve if he chooses, not some tabloid. But the rockstar part connects a lot of dots that have come up in the last couple of hours since meeting Eddie and—

Yeah, just. Oh.

Part 2

[softspiderling]

risk it all | b.r.b

summary: the gym fic™️

pairing: bradley "rooster" bradshaw x reader

warnings: breaking gym etiquette, thirsty reader

word count: 3,4k

author's note: coming back with a bang i guess🤪thanks to jordan, may and sol for the continuous support ily guys.

He was staring.

You thought it was a fluke at first, that he was looking at someone that was standing behind you, but there wasn’t anyone. 

You had checked. 

Several times. 

The moment you realized that he was looking at you, you started sweating profusely. And it wasn’t because of the exercise, even though it was indeed kicking your ass. You weren’t a gym junkie by all means, and you didn’t even know if you were doing the exercise correctly. 

About your second rep in, you had enough and lifted your head to meet his gaze head on. His eyebrows shot up in surprise and he had the decency to flush when he turned his eyes away. Letting out a grunt of annoyance, you finished your last rep, picking up your water bottle and taking an angry swig from it. You glared daggers at the man, who had his back turned to you by now and headed to the changing rooms, grabbing your stuff.

“What’s got you all hot and bothered?” Natasha asked when you came home, kicking the door shut behind you. 

“There was an asshole at the gym who was staring at me.”

Natasha pulled a face, twisting her hair into a bun, the heat of the stove getting to her. 

“You know I keep telling you to come to my gym instead.”

“UGH! I wish I could, but I literally just made a year-long contract with my gym like two months ago,” you groaned, dropping down on the couch like a sack of potatoes. “Couldn’t you have told me about your gym before I made my contract?”

Natasha peaked her head out of the kitchen to laugh at you and you couldn’t even be bothered to glare at her. It was weird how comfortable you were around each other, even though you’ve barely known each other for a month. You had posted an ad online that you were looking for a roommate and after countless interviews with people that were okay-ish, but not really your vibe, you met Natasha at a coffee shop and after bonding over your lactose-intolerance, you offhandedly mentioned you were searching for a roommate.

Yeah.

Admittedly a very weird thing to bond over, but now you always had a carton of oat milk and a carton of coconut milk in your fridge and a very cool roommate. 

“Well, then you gotta power through it. I’m sure you won’t see him again, and if you do, don’t hesitate to confront him, babe,” Natasha said, ever the strong woman. “Now go shower, you stink. Dinner is ready soon.”

She disappeared back into the kitchen and you forced yourself up, dragging a hand over your face, your hair sticking to your sweaty forehead. You always liked to think that you were as strong as she was, but all your bravado usually left you as soon as you opened your mouth.

You just hoped you wouldn’t see him again, so you didn’t have to confront him at all.

The next time you were at the gym, it was about two weeks later and you had completely forgotten about the guy. Over the past week, it had gotten unbearably hot and you couldn’t find the strength to go to the gym to sweat even more so you gave yourself a time off until it cooled down again. It wasn’t exactly chilly, but at least it wasn’t that humid in the gym. The gym wasn’t packed as it usually was around this time, so it didn’t take you long to get through your workout. When you sat down on one of your last machines, you tensed slightly when you saw him right across from you, doing weighted pull-ups. 

To your annoyance, you realized that he was hot. 

Like, really hot. 

The shirt he was wearing was thin and white, miles of defined muscle just underneath,  His arms were huge, biceps straining as he pulled himself up and then lowered himself again. With a grunt he dropped down from the bars and you quickly averted your gaze, getting busy with your own weights. When you were all done, you straightened up your back and started the exercise, seeing how he was standing basically straight across from you, slightly to the left. 

Opting to just stare into the mirror on the other side of the wall, you could still see him looking at you out of the corner of your eyes. You couldn’t help it, but for a split second, you glanced over to him. Unlike the last time, he actually held your gaze and until you turned away, your cheeks turning red. 

God, what a fucking dick. 

You dropped the weights with a loud thunk, reaching for your phone.

roomie one: that fucking douchebag is here again

roomie two: Gym starer?

roomie one: … yes

roomie two: Get him!

roomie one: i’m not going to confront him in the middle of the gym

roomie two: Well, he’d deserve it.

The timer on the chest press indicated that your resting time was over, so you put your phone away. getting back to your workout. While you had been texting Natasha, gym starer had gotten back on the bar, his back to you. Small beads of sweat started to form on the nape of his neck, running down the back of the straining shirt that stretched across his shoulders every time he flexed his arms to pull himself up. 

After a while, you realized that you had done way more reps than you were supposed to, your muscles aching in protest. Cursing, you dropped the weights, gently this time, and wiped your face with your towel. Lifting your head, you could see that he was looking at you again and since you didn’t want to be that creepy person who stared at someone else in the gym, like he kept doing, you decided it was enough for the day and went to the locker rooms. Luckily, no one was in there, so you leaned your head against the cold metal of the lockers, letting out a frustrated scream. 

“Cut your workout short?” 

Wordlessly, you held your hand up, shutting the front door behind you, too annoyed with yourself to talk, and Natasha raised an eyebrow at you, putting her book away. Dropping your gym bag on the floor, you took a seat at the dining table and laid your head down. 

“He’s hot,” you muttered against the wooden surface. 

“I didn’t understand a thing.”

With a long sigh, you lifted your head, looking at Natasha with a pout. “Gym starer. He’s hot.”

“Ah, so now he’s not the creepy gym starer anymore,” Natasha snorted, putting her feet on the coffee table and you glared at her. Because she was right. Screw double-standards.

“God, you should’ve seen him,” you moaned, covering your face with your hands. “His arms are huge. And his shirt was so thin, I could basically see through the fabric and ugh-”

Natasha pulled a face. “Gross.”

“Shut up. Not everyone can like women,” you huffed, standing up. “I need to take a shower. 

“Yeah you do, you’re dripping all over the floor.”

“Jesus, Tash,” you exclaimed and Natasha only cackled at you as you headed to the bathroom to grab a shower, hoping to wash this dirty feeling away. While you stood under the stream of the water, you let out a sigh. You could not develop a crush on gym starer. That would be against your principles and it would be just, really fucking inconvenient. 

Unfortunately you weren’t one of those girls who got cute gym sets and looked like they just walked out of a Lululemon ad. Instead, you wore the most basic black running tights with a random sports bra and your hair ALWAYS stuck to your sweaty forehead, no matter how you wore it. And it was fine with you, because you weren’t going to the gym to pick up guys, you went there to stay fit and challenge yourself.

But a gym crush? No thanks. 

Toweling your wet hair, you exited the bathroom, leaving the door open so the warm air could escape. You plopped down on the couch next to Natasha and crossed her arms, looking at you in amusement.

“Have you ever thought about why he’s staring at you?”

“He’s probably laughing at me because I’m doing the exercise all wrong. Or because I sweat so much.”

“Or he’s into you?”

“And that’s why he’s staring at me?” you scoffed, draping the towel around your shoulders, tugging it from both ends. “He’s probably just like one of those weird gym rat bros who judges everyone who doesn’t go to the gym every day. I mean, he’s fucking ripped, Tash.”

“I know, you already said that!” Natasha groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I’m heading out for drinks with my squadron soon. Do you want to come along? Maybe you can find someone hot who will take your mind off of gym starer.”

“I doubt it. Maybe next time, Tash. Thanks for the invitation, though.”

You exhaled as you pushed through the last reps of your first set, your legs trembling. It took you a few days until you dared to go back to the gym. You were terrified you’d get caught staring at gym starer (oh the irony in that phrase), but when you were certain that you’d forgotten what he had looked like, you packed your bag and went to the gym. 

Relaxing your legs, you lifted them out of the machine when, out of the corner of your eye, you saw someone standing next to you. Pausing, you glanced at him, just to see gym starer looking at you. His mouth was moving, but the music from your headphones was too loud. Holding up your finger, he pressed his lips together until you tugged the headphones out of your ears.

“Sorry, what were you saying?”

“Um…” Gym starer paused, his cheeks red. “I- uh… I wanted to know how much longer you’re gonna take on the leg press.”

“Oh. Uh, two more sets?”

“... Okay,” he said, pausing like he wanted to add something, but then quickly turned on his heel, walking away.

Furrowing your brows, you put your headphones back into your ears. Weird. As you shifted your weight in the seat, you looked to the right, doing a double take when you saw the other leg-press, unoccupied. 

“What the fuck,” you muttered to yourself, leaning your hands on your legs. When you left the gym twenty minutes later, gym starer was nowhere to be seen. 

A few days later, you were lounging on the couch, catching up with some of your favorite tv shows. You needed a break from the gym, at least until you’d get your thoughts sorted. You didn’t know how he did it, but whenever you walked into the gym he was there, even though your gym routine was pretty irregular. Just as the credits of the latest Suits episode started rolling, Natasha suddenly barged into the apartment, making you jump.

“Jesus, what the hell?”

“I’m heading to the bar with my squadron, do you want to come with me?”

You sighed, burrowing deeper into the couch. “I don’t know… I’m so comfy. And I don’t even know anyone there.”

Natasha gave you a look, leaning her hands into her hips, which could only mean that you were about to get a lecture from her. You gulped. 

“You don’t know anyone because you always turn me down whenever I ask you to come out, seriously! I am not accepting a no.”

“Fine, okay,” you huffed with wide eyes, raising your hands in defense. “Just let me get changed, I guess.” With a nod, Natasha disappeared into the bathroom while you headed to your bedroom to get changed, reluctantly. While you were miffed that your plans of staying in had been thrown over, you respected Natasha enough to admit that she was right. Half an hour later, a cab dropped you off at the beach, in front of a small bar aptly called the Hard Deck. 

“Hey, is this like, a Navy bar?” you asked Natasha with a frown as you walked through the door. 

“Yeah. I did tell you that we were getting drinks with my squadron.”

Letting your eyes roam when you got inside, you noticed that almost everyone was dressed in uniform, one way or another, but luckily, there were some people dressed in civvies, so you wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb. You stopped mid-walk, when you saw him, narrowing your eyes.

Gym starer. Because of course he’d be here. 

God was just pulling on all the strings in your life and laughing at you like you were his personal entertainment. It took gym starer a few seconds to spot you, but when he did, he basically spat out his beer all over the counter. 

“Jeez Bradshaw, what’s gotten into you?”

Natasha laughing, having rounded the bar, standing behind gym starer and clapping him on the back and while you gaped at her.

“You know him?”

Gym starer - Bradshaw, or whatever - was coughing, his cheeks flaming red as Natasha raised an eyebrow at you. 

“He flies with me. Bradley Bradshaw- Rooster’s in my squadron.”

“He’s gym starer.”

“I’m what?” 

“Ew,” Natasha only said, looking Bradley up and down, clearly unhappy with him. “Do you not know gym etiquette?”

“I wasn’t staring!” Bradley protested. “I mean, maybe I was, but I didn’t mean to. I swear.”

You sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose. “I need a drink,” you muttered, moving over to the bar to flag down the bartender. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Natasha berating Bradley and him scowling at her, a bit miffed, before she rolled her eyes at him. 

“Hey, what can I get you?” 

Turning your eyes away, you looked at the smiling bartender. 

“Gin and tonic?” 

The bartender gave a brief nod, and went on to mix your drink, handing it to you after you slapped a ten dollar bill on the counter. You sipped your drink through the small black straw, relaxing slightly as the liquid burned in your throat. Your relaxation was cut short however, when you realized Bradley was walking towards you, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully. Taking another long sip, hoping the liquid courage would help you out of this incredibly awkward situation, you raised your chin to look at him. 

“I, uh. Was made aware that I might’ve come across as creepy,” Bradley said, his cheeks still pink. 

“You think?”

Bradley winced. “I’m really sorry. I don’t like to bother people during their workout, but I just didn’t know how I was supposed to start talking to you. And when I finally got the courage to approach you, you kind of shut me down.”

You narrowed your eyes in confusion, trying to think back when he came up to talk to you in the gym. 

“Wait… You mean when you asked me how many sets I had left?”

You didn’t think it was possible, but Bradley flushed an even deeper pink as he nodded. 

“Yeah… I actually kind of asked you out, but you didn’t hear me, so I just felt weird and made up a lame excuse.”

“Wait, what?”

Bradley chuckled nervously, and you only stared at him in disbelief. So Natasha was right. Now it was your turn to blush

“I didn’t realize,” you explained and Bradley waved his hands around, giving you an embarrassed smile.

“Don’t worry about it, seriously. I’m sorry, again. I understand that you’re not interested, I am not here to pester you or anything, I just wanted to apologize.” Bradley turned to leave, but you stopped him, grabbing his arm.

“I didn’t say I wasn’t interested!” You protested, making Bradley turn back to you, the corner of his mouth ticking up in a grin. 

“Yeah?”

You let go of his arm, rolling your eyes a bit. It was comical how quickly his facial expressions could change.

“Why don’t we start over?” Bradley asked, offering his hand. “I’m Bradley Bradshaw, nice to meet you.”

*

Zoe straightened her back after she adjusted her weights, letting her gaze wander through the gym. It wasn’t extremely busy and there were just a few people working out. She didn’t usually like coming to the gym after work, because she usually couldn’t get herself to leave her apartment after she got home. Today however, work was so crazy that Zoe had to release her stress somewhere, so gym it was. Zoe’s eyes stopped on the brunet guy when doing a double take when she noticed that his gaze was set on you and she could literally feel her eye twitch. 

She didn’t really know you, but she’s seen you around the gym sometimes when you were working out, always by yourself. The guy didn’t really seem too focused on his workout as he kept his eyes steady on you and Zoe bristled. Sometimes she really hated men.

Zoe tried to channel all her anger in her workout, while still keeping an eye on you just in case. Throughout her workout, she wasn’t able to keep her eyes on you for the whole time, but when she got into the changing rooms and saw you packing your bag, she sighed in relief. 

Shooting you a small smile, Zoe grabbed her bag and her jacket and headed outside, stopping in the doorway when she saw him waiting by the door. He looked up from his phone, looking at her puzzled when she only glared at him and turned on her heel to head back inside, the door falling shut in its hinges. She walked towards you, waiting until you looked up before she spoke.

“Hey, I’m Zoe,” she said and you introduced yourself as well, if a bit bewildered. 

“I’m sorry, I know we don’t know each other at all, but there’s this weird guy hanging around outside the changing rooms. We could walk to the parking lot together.”

“What?” you asked, confused and Zoe took a deep breath, laughing nervously.

“Um, there was this guy who kept staring at you while you worked out? I don’t know if you noticed, but he was pretty focused on you. He’s standing right outside the changing rooms like a creep.”

You blinked at her before your facial expression completely changed, as you burst out in laughter. Now Zoe was very confused. 

“Oh, please this is too funny. It’s really sweet of you, but I’m okay, really. He’s my boyfriend,” you explained and Zoe flushed. 

“Oh god, I’m so sorry!”

“Don’t worry about it,” you said with a laugh. “He’s a bit dense sometimes. Come on, I’ll introduce you.”

You swung your bag over your shoulder and Zoe had no choice but to follow you, even though she willed the ground to open up and swallow her whole. When you opened the door, your boyfriend slipped his phone into his pocket, surprised to see Zoe following you closely. 

“Hey, everything okay?” he asked as you only snickered, shaking your head at him. 

“Babe, this is Zoe. Zoe, this is my boyfriend, Bradley,” you introduced them, and Zoe could only plaster on a smile, while Bradley shook her hand, looking at you a bit lost. “Zoe thought you were creepy because you were staring at me the whole time like a creeper.”

“Oh,” Bradley muttered dumbly, his cheeks tinging pink. “Sorry, bad habit of mine. But thank you for looking out for my girl,” he told Zoe and she laughed nervously. 

“Sure. We girls gotta look out for each other, right?”

“‘course. Hey, when are you coming here next?” You asked and Zoe shrugged with her shoulders. 

“I’m not sure yet.”

You reached for your phone, holding it out to her. “We could go together, if you want? I’ll leave Bradley at home if we do, I promise.”

Bradley only groaned, turning his face away and your face was split open in a big grin, so Zoe only smiled as she punched her number into your phone, before handing it back to you. 

“Great, I’ll text you, okay,” you promised, putting your phone away. “It was really nice meeting you Zoe.”

“It was nice meeting you too, bye.”

Bradley only waved his hand in wordless goodbye as you left, his arm wrapping around your waist. As you walked out, Zoe could hear the beginnings of your conversation. 

“-you. It’s creepy and clearly, I’m not the only one who thinks that!”

“I’m sorry! You know I want to focus on my workout, but you keep distracting me, especially when you wear those leggings…”

x

a/n: i like to think that while bradley does have game, he can be quite dense sometimes hehe. i hope you liked it!

taglist: @littlebadariell // @labellapeaky // @solacestyles // @shaded-echoes // @madielake //  @diorrfairy // @luckyladycreator2 // @ssaic-jareau // @xoxabs88xox // @averyhotchner   // @avada-kedavra-bitch-187  // @tiredqueen73 // @alexxavicry // @classyunknownlover

[mysteryshoptls]

SSR Ace Trappola - Playful Dress Vignette

"I can take my chances as they come"

[Heartslabyul Dorm – Ace's Room]

Ace: UGHHHHHH～～～ THAT PISSED ME OFF!!

Ace: I thought Riddle-ryōchō had gotten a bit more lenient, but obviously not.

Ace: "A student's main duty is his schoolwork! To abandon that is completely inexcusable!"

Ace: …Can't believe he'd say something like that, he's more stubborn than anything!

Ace: Man, after I got all excited with planning the outing. Thanks to someone it all went sour.

Deuce: When you say someone… Are you talking about me?

Ace: Who else? What kind of complete bonehead goes and snitches to the Housewarden like that?

Deuce: But- but, we're supposed to tell either the Housewarden or a Professor if we have to be absent…

Deuce: And besides, now that you mention it, it's definitely not a good thing to skip class.

Ace: What do you mean, "now that you mention it"…? Did you think up 'til getting yelled at by the Housewarden that skipping class was okay!?

Ace: So that's, why you just ran to the Housewarden so brazenly… Ugh.

Ace: Why'd I even try to invite someone this stupid in the first place…?

Deuce: WHAT DO YOU MEAN, STUPID!?

Deuce: Ah!! …Not very honor student of me to shout like that. …I'm gonna go cool off outside.

[door clicks open… slams shut]

Ace: Wh… What's with that guy, why's he the one getting upset!? That really grinds my gears.

Ace: Ughh, I can't deal with this anymore. I gotta finish packing before he gets back.

Ace: I have my phone charger, tissues, breath mints…

Ace: And I guess… I don't need my wallet. They said it's all free, so.

Ace: Last but not least, I definitely can't forget my Playful Land ticket!

Ace: …This should be enough. If I bring too much stuff, it'll just get in the way when I'm trying to have fun.

Ace: All that's left to do is to wake up before the sun rises and get to where we're all meeting, but…

Ace: Now that the Housewarden knows that I'm planning on skipping class, he'll definitely be on the lookout.

Ace: I thought it'd be pretty easy to slip out if I had spent the night at Ramshackle…

Ace: But if I do anything stupid now, it'll be off with all our heads, even [Yuu] and Grim's.

Ace: I already told [Yuu] and Grim not to invite anyone… I can't be the one to screw this up.

Ace: I've finished packing for tomorrow, so… Guess I'll check out possible escape routes!

[Heartslabyul Dorm – Hallway]

Heartslabyul Student A: Hey man, did you hear? Sounds like the Housewarden's in a rage because of Ace.

Heartslabyul Student B: Again～? That first year never learns, huh. So, what's it about this time?

Heartslabyul Student C: I mean… I don't really know all the details. But let's make sure not to set him off any further…

[rabble, rabble]

Ace: Looks like my upperclassmen heard what happened. At least they don't know about Playful Land…

Ace: I bet there'd be a few guys that would turn me in on a dime just to save their own skin, too.

Ace: It'd be bad if they see I'm missing in the morning, so I think I'll treat my roommates to some juice to keep them quiet.

Ace: Man… It's not something I usually notice, but it looks like a bunch of the guys in the dorm use this corridor a lot.

Ace: There's a slim chance that someone might wake up early and see me, so… I guess I'll try to find another route.

[Heartslabyul Dorm – Kitchen]

Ace: Hmmm. Looks like the kitchen doesn’t get much traffic…

Ace: Nice. Looks like this is the best way out!

Ace: If I go outside from that door there… I don't think anyone will notice right?

Ace: It's just dumb just following orders because the Housewarden said no, or just letting him chew me out just for skipping one day of class.

Ace: I ain't a blockhead like some people. I'm way better.

Ace: There's no point to anything if you miss out just 'cause you're trying to follow the rules. I'm gonna make sure I can take my chances as they come.

[Playful Land - Catch The Star]

―After the Playful Stage Show

Fellow: See now, it's on the horizon: the ride that Grim-kun has been so excited for!!

Grim: MYAH!? WHERE IS IT WHERE IS IT!? I WANNA RIDE IT ALREADY!!

Vil: Even after all that dancing in the show… This little potato is still rife with energy.

Ace: Huh, you tired already, Vil-senpai?

Vil: Who do you think you're talking to? Seems to me like this little potato has no manners.

Ace: It's not as bad as Expedition Whale, but looks like it's pretty popular regardless. There's a really long line.

Jack: Hm…? But that's…

Grim: Yo, Fellow. I said I wanted to ride on a trapeze swing.

1. This is a bit different… 2. Rather than a swing, it looks more like an umbrella

Fellow: Oh no, this is it, without a doubt. This is our very popular attraction, The "Parasol Swing."

Ace: The swing portion looks like an umbrella, but it's definitely flying through the sky. But why's it shaped like an umbrella?

Jack: Wasn't there that one scene in Wish Upon a Star where the wooden puppet's teacher hung onto a carriage with an umbrella?

Jack: In the book I read, that teacher was a cricket with enough guts to weather both the swaying of the carriage and the dust it kicked up.

Fellow: What vast knowledge you possess! Did you hear, Gidel, his quick and easy explanation!

Gidel: … [nods]

Vil: Ah yes, I do recall seeing some gentlemanly-looking cricket plushes in the shop.

Vil: That must have been the wooden puppet's teacher you mentioned.

Jack: Huh, so they had some plushes of the wooden puppet's teacher? My younger brother and sister both read the book too, so maybe that'd be a good souvenir for them.

Ace: Cool. They got plushes of the cricket from Wish Upon a Star here too, huh～

1. I'm curious what kind of cricket it is. 2. I want to see the plushes.

Ace: Same. Looks like we still got time before it's our turn, so let's go check it out.

Jack: What do you mean, check it out…? If we jump out of line, we'll lose our spot.

Ace: Well yeah, that's if we all go… But as long as one person stays in line, we should be fine, right?

Ace: Soooo… Please and thank you, Vil-senpai! Can you hold the line for us!?

Jack: What!?  You're seriously just asking an upperclassman to wait in line for you?

Ace: But like, Vil-senpai sounded like he was tired after that stage show.

Ace: We're still at the back of the line, and it's pretty shady here, so you won't have to worry about sunburn, and it looks like the flower beds have a lip that you can sit on, too…

Ace: Looks like it's the perfect place to take a break, don'tcha think? I'll make sure to grab you something to drink while we go check out the shops, too!

Fellow: Fahaha! What a thoughtful little student.

Vil: You really are a smooth-talker.

Vil: You're quick on your feet only in specific situations, or rather, you don't show your hand. It's good that you follow your convictions, but…

Vil: Although Trey followed after you in the end, the fact that you still went to slip out of your dorm even after Riddle was on high alert shows just how duplicitous you are.

Vil: I'm so thankful that Pomefiore didn't get anyone as rambunctious as you.

[Playful Land – Gentle Square]

Grim: That trapeze swing was so fuuun～!

Ace: Yeah, it was a little more thrilling than it looked. And we were able to figure out why it looked like umbrellas by checking out the shop beforehand, too, so that was good.

Ace: Jack and Vil-senpai went off to look at something else, so what should we do?

Grim: Hey, that's the Friendly Fox and the Gentle Cat over there!

Ace: Oh, you're right. They didn't show up to the stage show earlier, so I thought they didn't have live mascots here.

1. I want to see them up close! 2. I want to take a picture with them.

Ace: Ehhh～ Seriously? I got no interest in that whatsoever. You don't care about mascots either, right, Grim?

Grim: I read somewhere that when ya come to an amusement park, ya gotta take a picture with the mascots! I'll do it too!

Ace: Pass. I'm gonna go get in line for the roller coaster again. You guys can do it yourselves.

Guest A: I never thought I'd be able to take a picture with the Friendly Fox and Gentle Cat. This'll make a great memory.

Guest B: Hey, let's upload it to Magicam right away. It's proof that we came to Playful Land!

Ace: Hold on, wait a moment…

Ace: It might be better to upload a picture with those specific mascots to brag to everyone about how I got to come to this amusement park!

1. So that means… 2. Does that mean…?

Ace: Change of plans. It won't take too long to just take one photo, so let's get to it.

Ace: Woah, the Fox and Cat are coming our way. Eh!?

Friendly Fox: ～♪

Ace: Why's he spreading his arms out wide…? Feels like he's tryin' to be real welcoming.

Gentle Cat: !!

Ace: He's pointing at us, shaking his hips, and swinging his arms left and right… Ah.

Ace: Wait, did you see the stage show earlier? You tryin' to let us know how good we did?

Grim: The Fox and Cat are both nodding their heads. Guess they got an eye for awesomeness!

Ace: Looks like. Up close, this Fox's got real round eyes. He's got a super sincere face, like he could never tell a lie.

Ace: The Cat's real fluffy looking and is constantly smiling. He looks completely harmless and kind.

Ace: Basically, both look like real cool dudes!

Ace: …Hm? Now the Fox and Cat are dancing.

Grim: Oh hey, that's the dance we did earlier on the Playful Stage! Rave-up, up, dum-dee-dum… ♪

Ace: Those too look happy now that Grim started dancing, now… What, they want us to do it too!?

1. Rave-up! Up! ♪ 2. That's a little embarrassing…

Puppet: Dear Guests, You Look Spectacular! I'll Take A Picture Of You In A Rave-Up Pose!

Ace: Hrrrm, at this point, it'd be lame to act embarrassed, so… Guess I just gotta strike that pose, then.

Ace: Mmkay, can you take a pic with my phone?

Puppet: Understood, I Shall Take Your Phone. Alright, Everyone, Strike A Pose… Here We Go. Say Cheese!

[Playful Land – Bazaar]

Ace: WHEW, WE'RE FINALLY ALMOST AT SAGE'S ISLAND～!

Ace: Playful Land's exploding everywhere, and I've been hearing a lot of super sketch noises for a while now…

Ace: But at this rate, we should be able to make it to Crane Port somehow, right?

Ace: Even a boring island like this feels like a sight for sore eyes after a terrifying ordeal like that.

Trey: Seriously, yeah. We're all back home safe thanks to you guys, Ace.

Cater: Yup, yup. Although guess it's a bit uncool of Cay-kun to have to be saves by our juniors～

Ace: Heheh. But c'mon, the only reason we were even able to last that long is all thanks to you guys～

Ace: Oh, yeah. Get a load of this, guys. Something amazing happened a bit ago…

Ace: I even got some praise from Leona-senpai.

Trey: From Leona? Wow, that's unbelievable. Never thought I'd see the say where he'd praise someone so sincerely.

Ace: Right!? Well, I'm a little hesitant to say his praise was sincere, but…

Ace: When I told him how I magically tossed my foxtail souvenir so the puppets would go after it,

Ace: He said… "Sounds like those puppets were more like puppies, huh. How kind of you to toss 'em a bone."

Ace: That's basically his way of showing appreciation, right? …But now that I'm putting it in words, I'm starting to doubt it.

Cater: Yeah, yeah, I totes think he was praising you ☆ You got Floyd-kun saying good things about you, too.

Ace: Huh, Floyd-senpai!?

Trey: Yeah, he said something like… "I didn't have a lick of hope in 'em, but they actually took much longer to get turned into puppets than I thought."

Ace: That doesn't sound like praise to me at all? But I guess that's better than him saying he'd squeeze me…

Ace: Uh, so～ There's something I want to ask…

Ace: If we told him about how I totally had a hand in helping dismantle the evil Playful Land…

Ace: Do you think even Riddle-ryōchō would praise me and say I did a good job…?

Trey/Cater: Nope. / No way.

Ace: Tch, didn't think that'd work.

Trey: Maybe if we had been able to get back before dark, we would have been able to figure out some kid of excuse, but…

Trey: We've been gone pretty much all the night without any kind of notice. I can definitely already see Riddle's face red with rage.

Cater: Yup. I think we all gotta make sure to prepare for the worst…

Ace: Siiigh… I'm way too exhausted from putting in all that work, so it's gonna be a pain to deal with the Housewarden's anger, too...

???: How can you sound so miserable when we're finally able to make it back to campus?

Ace: Ah, Vil-senpai! Did you come here to praise me, too?

Vil: Absolutely not. It looked like the silver-tongued Ace might actually be in distress, so I came to impart some advice.

Ace: Wait, does that mean… You know some way to calm Riddle-ryōchō down!? Please, tell me!

Vil: It's nothing too difficult. The proper solution in these sorts of situations is to…

Vil: FACE HIM STRAIGHT ON AND APOLOGIZE EARNESTLY!

Vil: Your penchant for making excuses will only irritate Riddle further.

Vil: The best way to receive his forgiveness is to take his ire directly.

Ace: EEEHH!?

Trey: True, Ace has a quick wit and is pretty clever… But I'm pretty sure our best bet this time would be to be honestly apologetic.

Cater: I bet Riddle-kun was super worried about us too～ When we get back, we should all three of us apologize to him together.

Vil: See, third years are fully capable of understanding. Ace, you should also gracefully accept defeat.

Ace: NO WAAAY～!

Trey: When you deflate like that, it's like all that energy you were bouncing around with since last night was a mirage or something.

Ace: Urgh… But we went through so much. I ain't gonna let it end on a sour note.

Ace: If that's the case, then I'm gonna totally brag about how much fun I had on the attractions and on the stage!

Cater: Ace-chan is really...

Trey: Yeah, he really is stubborn.

Requested by Anonymous.

[blackholesun321]

New One Piece AU dropped focusing around Zoro and Mihawk! You shall be subjected to it.

TW: Long Ask

Okay, so basically, this au has a long title but I dubbed it Child of the Sword. It started off with Zoro being able to see the spirits of the swords since in One Piece, swords are sentient and are possessed in a way. Only Zoro can see these spirits and talks to them all the time. At first, he didn't realize others couldn't see them. My friend and I played around with this a lot, and now's it's developed into a whole thing.

When Kuina died, Zoro's anger and grief erupted and Zoro discovered he was the incarnation of the Ancient Weapon: Ares. Created by the war god Asura. The sensei makes Zoro swear to never use his power in public unless it was life or death. Zoro goes on to see Kuina's spirit tied to Wado Ichimonji. During the shells town arc, Morgan is extra cruel bc he is Morgan, and when Zoro is tied in the courtyard he has the swordsman whipped on the back, marring and littering Zoro's back with scars. Zoro's honor is in shambles when Luffy shows up and helps him. During Baratie, Zoro fights Mihawk and loses, ending up with the scar on his chest. After Zoro promises to never fail, he whipsers "Finally a worthy scar" and Mihawk overhears. Mihawk almost noted how Zoro always seemed to be looking at things that aren't there.

So naturally, the warlord decides to kidnap Zoro instead of Luffy (yes I am mashing up OPLA and the anime, fight me). The Straw hats go on the free Nami from Arlong then make plans to get Zoro back from Mihawk. Zoro is less than pleased to be kidnapped by the strongest swordsman. Mihawk brings Zoro with him to meet with Shanks about Luffy's bounty poster and Shanks convinces Mihawk to give Zoro back to the Straw Hats, but before that happens, Mihawk and Zoro end up talking about Zoro's special abilities. Mihawk comes to the realization of what Zoro is and keeps it to himself.

During the two year time skip, Zoro reunites with Mihawk (even though he never stopped talking with the warlord after being dropped off ((begrudgingly)) at lougetown). Mihawk trains Zoro in the way of the sword AND helps him to realize his full potential.

This is all I have for now, but I have ideas for Dressrosa and Wano. :D

FUCK YEAH ASKS AGAIN! I’ve been ignoring the rest of my wings au ask gotta go finish those up lol just kinda sitting in my drafts. Anyways.

Oh fuck yeah again! I love the guy can see spirits no one else can mixed with reincarnation trope my little Bleach nerd heart is swooning.

But yesss constantly talking to air and technically he doesn’t need to but the swords haven’t told him that because it’s funny. And he’s just this ball of angst plus weirdo probably crazy guy who talks to his swords— so he’d be even more ostracized then in canon yeah the mentality Ill are stigmatized and treated poorly in all universes. Expect he not mentally ill I mean if we don’t count the Kuina trauma ™️ probably which is what gives Ironjaw the gaul and to whip him as well as tie him up to suffer dehydration and probably heat stroke so fun.

Maybe Kuina tags along in the form of wado-ichumongi? Maybe he can talk to her sometimes? Idk I just want him to be constantly fighting and loosing to a preteen girl that lives in his sword, I think that would be funny.

Mihawk please! Mihawk that’s kidnapping! Mihawk you’ve kidnapped a child. Because of course he has and did because Zoro=interesting equals if I leave him alone he could die and with the looks of his crew probably will die. Ugh guess I have to steal him.

You know he shows up at that beach eyeliner on, lip gloss applied and cunting it up to shore and with Zoro trying to stab him every other step. Shanks is very worried and weirded out. But also laughs his ass off because of course this is how Mihawk acquires a kid. But also he’s like Mihawk seriously no bad we don’t kidnap… Whitebeards the exception not the rule!

[green-kat331]

My Friend Spider-man

Pt 1 : Friendly Neighborhood Reporter

(Non-specific! spider-man x reader)

A/N: This is a spider-man from no specific universe, game, comic, or movie, so let me clear some stuff up about Peter. He's a college student (about 18-19 y/o), and He's an intern at the Daily Bugle. You have been his friend since high school and are also in college and working at The Bugle.

warning: Gun, Swearing?

Walking through the streets of Queens New York is no easy task. 

Your satchel bounced on your hip with each quick step. Today, you had to bring in your most recent reports to The Bugle. Something about a recent sports award or a shiny prize of some sort, you were practically asleep writing the damn thing. Judging by the busy crowd, you weren't gonna make it to save yourself from Jameson's lecture. Although the only thing he ever seems to talk about recently is Spider-man. 

The web-slinging hero has been on everyone's mind recently since yet another save from a superbad villain. You can still see caution tape on a few buildings if you just walk a few blocks. 

Now you're waiting towards the crosswalk when suddenly your arm is harshly pulled into an ally, and a gun is held to your stomach. A man cornered you and demanded your bag. 

"Hand it over, and I won't have to use this one you." 

"I- I swear I don't have anything very valuable in here for you to take. I have reports for my job that's it- I don't even carry a lot of cash on me—" you stutter through your stunned state trying to negotiate your way out of it, even though you know it's pointless 

"I said hand it over!" He demands a little louder now. 

Then another man runs into the alley, about the same age as the first man "Yo hurry up, we gotta get outta here," he whispered 

"Alright! I got it," the first man answers and starts to forcibly pull your bag off your shoulder, but you held on tight. The shaking forced the latch to release, and most of your reports spilled out of the bag. At the same time, the man shot the gun into the air, forcing you to let go and cover your ears. The two men ran out of the alley and into the city streets. 

You're left now alone with no choice but to salvage the papers you could. You held up the report by its edge. Now stained due to water and mud, the text was barely visible and the color was an ugly shade of brown. 

"Ugh...Dammit, " you mumble. To be frank, your pride was more hurt than anything. They were clearly disorganized and young. It felt like you got robbed by a couple of teenagers. 

You look around for any way to hold or dry the pages without damaging them. 

Suddenly, a loud scream catches your attention, then a loud bang makes you jump, and you see the guys that just robbed you wrapped in webs and stuck on a dumpster. Staring in confusion, you wonder where the hero that dropped the men off might be. 

Your question was soon answered. 

"This belong to you?" A voice says now behind you. 

The suddenness of the voice made you jump and turn around. you see the web-slinging vigilante hanging upside-down holding your satchel. You take a step back and stare at the masked hero. He tilts his head in wonder, then comes down from his web and hands you the bag properly. 

"Uh... thank you, Spider-man" A smile couldn’t help but appear on your face

"What this? Oh, it's no problem. Just doing what any good ol' Samaritan woulda done." He expressed even waving his hands in the air and leaning on the alley wall.

You chuckled a bit at his casualness. He spoke as though he'd known you forever. Guess they don't call him 'Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man' for nothing.

3 years he's been at this. For the entirety of your senior year, you've been invested in the good deeds he has committed. Whether it's helping an old woman or keeping the green goblin from blowing up the entire city. 

"So you, Report for the Bugle?" He asks, pointing at the papers. Coming out of your own thoughts. You see the muddy report with the mentioned newspaper logo in bold.

"yeah.. Yeah!.. Don't worry about Jameson. Trust me, not everyone there thinks he's right 100% of the time, especially about you. I don't read his blocks about you anyways," you ramble, kneeling down and picking up the rest of the reports.

"You a word-of-mouth type of person?" 

"... yeah... you could say that..."You respond 

Awkward silence

"...sorry... it's my first time getting robbed, Soo… Y' know I'm still...processing... Well maybe you don't actually know what it's like cuz- y'know-- you're spider-man.. i mean have you ever been robbed? sorry! That''s a stupid question. of course not" You ramble nervously tucking hair behind your ear and rubbing the back of your neck.

He chuckles. Then kneels down, and takes the papers from your arms, also doing his best to shake them dry. He puts them back into your bag, then shoots a web out of the ally "Next time you need my help, be sure to holler and I'll come swinging for you." he says with a wave and swings away. 

You wave back, staring at where he disappeared from, calmly you walk out of the ally preparing yourself for Jameson's lecture, but little does he know a spark of inspiration appeared from that brief encounter. 

Hopefully, today will be your day. 

---

You walk into The Bugle, moving past all the other reporters and editors running around the room. The sound of printers and typing almost made you walk right back out of the door, but you pushed through. 

"Hey,(____)." You hear Peter say. 

If you had to pick the most likable person in the office, Peter Parker would take the #1 spot every time. While people gave you sly looks for being a 'kid' in the work place. He never failed to greet you each morning occasionally with a coffee if you're lucky. 

You quickly greet him back, then immediately go into Jameson's office. 

"You're late." He states, not even bothering to look up at you. You rested the urge to choke him. 

"I know - I uhh I ran into an issue on my way -" 

"Put them on my desk then get working on the other files. They're on your desk. I want these all done by the end of the day" 

As you begin to take the files out, you try to talk, "I was actually thinking of asking if I could -"

"Jesus, they're filthy. Print out more and—" 

"I WAS ROBBED!" You finally shout, interrupting the prideful man "on the way here, that's why I'm late and why the papers are.. like that..." You finished now calmly.

He pauses 

"Well you’re alive arent you? Did they take anything?" He asks. You sigh. Finally, he listened. "No. That's what I wanted to talk about. My stuff was given back because Spiderman caught them and returned my items. I want to do a report on him and all the great things he's done. ," 

"The great things!? He is a menace! We shouldn't be celebrating his crimes -" 

"—I won't even ask for payment on this report. Come on, Mr. Jameson, why spend the entirety of your career shouting in papers and broadcasts about something you don't even like? For a few months is all I ask, I'll shine a different light on the vigilante while also doing my usual reports. 

The older man thinks for a moment. "Think of your blood pressure," you quickly add-in. He glares at you, knowing the numerous lectures he receives from his wife about it. You were right, and he gives up after taking another puff of his cigar he turns his chair towards you "fine you'll be put on reports about Spiderman and current events. Your first print is at the end of the week, and I want the ones on your desk printed by the end of the day." You nod and turn to walk out of his office. Looking out the glass panel, you make eye contact with Peter, who was messing with his camera. You look back at Jameson who was angrily scribbling on his notepad almost ripping the pages. 

"You're wrong about him, Jameson. He's good for this city." 

"You're lucky. You're a good reporter. I don't pay you to be biased and sentimental. Just get the job done." 

"... you don't pay me much of anything anyway." 

"I decided to give the kiddies a chance. I've been feeling generous this year. Don't make me regret it. Now go and get those reports PRINTED!" 

Quickly, you run out of his office, avoiding yet another burst eardrum. you slam the door and rush towards Peter with a giddy feeling in your stomach. You grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to your desk. 

"Peter Parker, you are not going to believe what gold I have struck today!" 

He stared at you with wondering eyes. "What- what? why? What happened just now?" 

"I got put on the Spiderman reports" 

"...the what now?" 

"I'm doing reports on Spiderman! Isn't that exciting? My days won't be filled with just writing about middle school basketball and what ducks are fed at the parks. This is something real, something new, something exciting, and you're going to help me!" You state. He still looks at you bewildered. Leaning in close you grab his hands in between yours.

"Peter Parker, you are the best photographer I know. You have captured numerous and damn near impossibly close images of Spiderman swinging around and in some of the most perfect poses ever." His eyes avert yours for a split second as he blushed, clearly flattered by your praises

"Now I'm relying on your skills to get pictures of him in action, I wanna see him being the hero we know he is. Defeating bad guys and saving civilians! They need to know that he's actually helping people. Like you, like me." 

Peter thinks for a moment, then looks into his camera. "You really think he's doing good?" 

"I think he's doing great. Nothing like what Jamison makes him out to be." 

He gives a quick smile, then walks over to his desk and grabs his bag. "So what are you gonna be doing?" He asks 

Before taking a seat, you grin at your friend.

"I'm going to get whatever little piece of info I can get on the guy."

You smirk and turned back to your desk, you can't think too far ahead now all you need to focus on was getting these reports out of your way. although you couldn't help but wonder about Peters's nervous expression.

shrugging your shoulders you pull open your first file.

Hours Later….

You drag yourself and your bag into your apartment doors nearly collapsing in the hallway, your roommate peaked out of his room.

“Damn, you look like shit,” he says laughing at your misery.

You glared at him putting down your bag and keys. The journey to your bedroom was torturous, your back ached and your eyes felt like they were about to fall out of your head. Staying till the end of the day to finish reports made you want to abandon The Bugle altogether. even though it isn't the latest you've come home due to the heavy amounts of work Jameson decided to give you. But still, who would've thought a rookie like yourself would be placed on a task so much larger than you really knew what to do with. It made you kick your feet into your mattress as your eyes slowly succumbed to exhaustion.

Tomorrow you were gonna do whatever you need to. You were gonna get an interview with Spiderman. 

____________________________________________

Also on AO3 in case you prefer to read fics there

[joshth647]

Sonic the Hedgehog & TADCarnival Oneshot (Name Pending)

So to practice my writing skills, I thought it'd be fun to do a small little fanfic crossing over my two favorite media: Sonic the Hedgehog and The Amazing Digital Circus, specifically one of its well-known AUs: The Amazing Digital Carnival! (AU by @sm-baby)

It's a wee bit short but I hope you guys don't mind. I will be also putting this up on AO3.

...........

Sonic has been known for going in the strangest, wildest and sometimes jawdropping adventures imaginable... so much so that it could very well be treated as a hobby.

But this "adventure" would be different than others...

One day, Sonic paid a visit to Tails in his workshop at Mystic Ruins, many years after rescuing Station Square from the flood caused by Perfect Chaos.

It was 7 in the morning when he arrived at Tails' door. Granted, such thing didn't matter one bit to him, because Tails would probably already be awake by then.

An adventure would be upon them once again, and the blue blur was going to make sure his friend wouldn't miss out on it.

Sonic: *knock knock* Hey, Tails! Ready to go?

...Strangely, no response.

Sonic: *knocks again* Uhh, buddy? You there?

...STILL nothing.

Sonic: Hmm. He's probably sleeping again. I think I should check.

Sonic opened the door and walked in, seeing the workshop exactly how he remembers it: well organized and clean. It's always nice to keep your workplace cleaned up.

After looking around the workshop, he deduced Tails wasn't there. He'd normally be working on a brand new invention like a plane, a gadget or something else. But this was his day off.

To the left, Sonic saw a painting of the Tornado, his airplane which he had gifted to Tails many years back, and a painting of the Tornado II.

Looking to his right, the hedgehog saw a computer; the same one Tails uses for research and other stuff.

Sonic: Tails is pretty good with technology. He got this computer last Christmas, if I recall. Quite the gift.

He took a quick look at the computer's screen to find it was open on a game... a game called "THE AMAZING DIGITAL CARNIVAL".

On the screen, Sonic could identify what looked to be a humanoid female figure with a harlequin hat, long sleeves, a dress with bells on its end and blush stickers. She had a smile on her face, as if she was inviting someone, maybe Sonic, to play her game.

Sonic had never heard of this sort of thing before. Tails didn't even tell him about it when they met yesterday. This was one hell of a surprise to him.

Sonic: A game, huh? Well, time to see what this is all about. I do wonder what Tails has been up to, though.

...Before he could even start the game proper, however, Sonic started to feel... something was happening to him. Almost as if he was starting to get...

...sucked inside the game...

Sonic: Alright, I'm pretty sure th- wait, what's going on?

Sonic noticed his own body was starting to vanish...

Sonic: Oh crap, this doesn't look one bit good.

...but before he could do anything about it, a flash of light engulfed him...

...and within a few seconds, he spawned in the game itself. Face first on the ground.

Sonic: Ugh... my head...

Sonic tried to regain his senses before taking a look at the new area... which turned out to be a hallway.

Sonic: Well, not sure what to think of this. I'm guessing that computer had something to do with it. But given Tails isn't the type of guy to make his stuff so dangerous, then it's gotta be Eggman's doing. Time to explore... whatever this place is.

After walking for a little bit in the dimmed hall, Sonic started to see rows upon rows of doors... each of which with their own little portraits, seemingly depicting the inhabitant of the room he would enter.

Sonic: Guess I'm not alone here- oh wait, that sounds too creepy. *snrk* Oh, what am I doing.

Sonic turned his attention to the first door he stopped at:

The Jester.

To the left of the door, a sign read: "STAGE 1: The Jester".

To its right, another sign read: "Help the Jester appeal to the audience, and she will support you for the rest of your stay!"

Sonic: Well, I guess since this is the "first stage", then this "game" might go easy on me... we'll see about that, though. I'm ready for anything it throws at me.

The blue porcupine then opened the door and hastily went inside, the door closing itself as Sonic wandered off into the darkness.

LOADING, PLEASE WAIT...

(TIP: You can find gift boxes around the circus which you can give to the bosses to unlock alternative outfits for them!)

—————

Sonic: Gee, really wish Tails were here right n-

Sonic interrupted himself as he looked down and saw none other than the Jester herself, with a sleek long harlequin hat, bells on all ends of her outfit and black leggings. The same one he saw on Tails' computer, just before getting warped into the game.

Sonic: Alright, jester girl, let's see what you've got. Surprise me.

He then jumps down to the ground, flipping mid fall before accidentally "breaking" his nose, humorously falling face first.

Sonic: Ungh. Thanks a lot, floor!

The Jester: YAAAAAAAAAAAAH! WHO'S THERE?! Another hu-...

Awkward silence rained down onto the two as The Jester stared wide-eyed at Sonic, incapable of forming a single word due to sheer shock. But she soon regained her composure:

The Jester: Wait... you're not... a- a human...?

Sonic chuckled before spinning around and doing his trademark "finger wag":

Sonic: Who else could I be? I'm Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog! The fastest thing alive!

The Jester: Sonic, huh? I suppose I've heard about you before...

Sonic: Ya have? Can't say I'm surprised. But if you need help with anything, then I'm here.

The Jester: Okay then, but first of all... I don't think I've introduced myself, have I...?

Sonic silently shrugged. He was just glad he got to meet a new face for once; polite, but also rather anxious.

The Jester: Okay, s-so... the name's Pomni, and this... er...

She couldn't bring herself to continuing before her anxiety got her, kneeling down and panicking.

Sonic: Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down, calm down, it's fine!

Pomni: AAAH, OH GOD! I- I'm- I'm sorry! I- I just get really nervous when I'm doing this!

Sonic: Alright, just, try to keep it cool for a sec, you can do this.

Pomni sighed deeply before getting up and restarting her speech from the beginning.

Pomni: Okay, so, the name's Pomni, and you currently are in my circus tent!

Sonic: Cool stuff. So what exactly is all of this about? What's my move here?

Pomni: It's simple! I need your help in getting my audience to laugh, and since I'm a jester, the audience likes acrobatics! And other stuff, of course.

Sonic: Uh-huh, alright. Sounds like fun.

Pomni: I fear what my king would do if I fail my duty...

Sonic: Your WHAT?

Pomni: Er... y- you heard n- nothing! Let's- let's get started!

Together, Sonic and Pomni performed various circus acts, ranging from aerial acrobatics to riding in the Globe of Death to jumping across fire rings. It has to he SEEN to be believed.

After the finishing act, the audience cheered and clapped as Sonic and Pomni made a final dance, ending off with a dual bow and uttering "Thank you!" in unison.

STAGE 1 COMPLETE!

Before leaving the stage, Pomni took a moment to compliment Sonic for his skills.

Pomni: Phew... that was fun! Probably the most fun I've ever had... you did an AMAZING job back there!

Sonic: Haha, thanks. Probably should practice acrobatics myself one day.

Sonic looked around before taking a deep breath. All these acrobatics made him crave for a chilidog too soon, as his stomach was already growling.

Sonic: Anyways, I'm taking my leave. Got other stuff to take ca-

Before he took a step forward, however, Pomni tapped on his shoulder. The suddenness of it made Sonic turn around in confusion.

Sonic: Huh? What now?

Pomni: Sorry for that, but I almost forgot! Since you were so kind to help me out, from this point onwards I'll be your supporter!

Sonic: My... supporter??

Pomni laughed before getting close to Sonic:

Pomni: Exactly! I hope it doesn't bother you or anything.

Sonic: Er... not at all, actually!

Pomni: Excellent! May I guide you to the next stage?

Sonic sighed in relief, knowing he now had someone to look out for him. Still no sign of Tails, but hopefully Pomni made up for his absence.

Sonic: No ladies first....... is what I would say, IF I was a complete jerk!

Sonic and Pomni laughed in unison before hugging each other and making their way to the next room...

THE END?

[inlovewithaspiderguy]

Thoughts on tua s4e5 and the start of the season - spoilers ahead

So, Five/Lila. I wanted to share what I thought ever since I watched episode one of season 4, and then I forgot to do it and I saw more eps so this will be less detailed than I wanted.

My first idea was to do two analysis of Five and Lila, one in-media and out-media. However I found that in-media the show wrote them well over the season and you do understand why they get closer and eventually together in episode 5. I had been spoiled about it before I watched so I was looking for signs but it was well done. No comment about that, it doesn’t feel forced for them this season.

I guess my biggest critic is out-media: why? why did the writers do that. (I’ll admit I didn’t read the comics so I don’t know if the show just made it up. If not, I’ll have a contract on your head mr way). I’m not a fan of breaking a ship apart, and I fail to see the reason for them to do that. I mean, diego babysitting stan in s3 showed he was ready to have a more stable life with lila. and then suddenly they can’t stand each other? ok, transitioning from assassin to full time parents has gotta be rough, as lila put it, but it means they need to work on what they want in their marriage. this rocky diego/lila situation is not my thing.

And then to compensate and have a taste of her old actionful life she gets with five? A man that’s both older AND younger than her? it kinda weirded me out from her. As much as I appreciate their love-hate dynamic I don’t like it turning into actual romantic stuff. And from five’s pov… it’s hard to think he would do that to his brother. I’m not gonna talk about my aroace five headcanon, that’s not the right time, I’m just confused that five who I believe to be a stand-up guy, would get with a married woman. And the thing I hated most so far is when she wanted to leave and he’d rather she stayed, he hid the cypher thing from her. He was also very possessive when they argued about it and ugh.

It’s a strange situation. They’ve been stuck in the reality subway for years, does it make their thing okay? I wonder, in-media, what would have happened if they didn’t get trapped there. I guess we’ll never know. (I really thought the ship with five we would get to latch onto the most would be with his assistant, Derek. but I was wrong.) I’m gonna watch episode 6 tomorrow night, and I’m intrigued to see if they’re gonna get out (I think they will) and how both of them are gonna behave towards Diego. Lila was clear she wanted her children back so I believe she’ll go back to the suburban life she will now appreciate, and five will keep the secret too but will always be in pain because he can’t be with the woman he loves yada yada yada I’m not being original and I hope the show surprises me.

I wonder if some people shipped five and lila before this season. I genuinely hope they’re happy. I’m not interested in ship wars, I just know if my ship became canon I’d be excited. peace and love on planet fandom.

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Lovers CHAOS LINEAGE ー Subaru [01]

ー The scene starts in the dungeon of the Violet Manor

Subaru: Aah? Why me?

Yui: ( Uu, his glare gives me cold shivers...But this guy, for some reasonーー )

You seemed like a nice person so...

Subaru: Hah? I think you’re gettin’ the wrong idea here. Fuck off... Besides, I don’t wanna have to bother watchin’ over you!

Yui: B-But we agreed that I would choose one person...

Subaru: Che, what a pain.

...Fine, I just gotta do it, right!? But don’t cause trouble for me, ‘kay?

Yui: O-Okay. Thank you very much.

( He actually accepted it. Sure, he might seem scary on the outside, but strangely enough, he strikes me as a kind person. )

( I’m not sure why I feel that way though... )

*TIMESKIP*

Yui: Nn...Where am I...?

( Ah...Right. The manor’s dungeon...I must have fallen asleep. )

Monologue

After waking up at the Church,

I was taken to the Violet Manor.

Once locked away in the dungeon,

they told me to choose someone to watch over me, so I picked Subaru-san.

While he may seem scary at first glance,

I feel as if he has a gentle side to him as well.

With that in mind,

I asked him to be in charge of supervising me, butーー

Subaru: What? You’re awake?

Yui: ...! Yes, I woke up.

( I wonder if he kept an eye on me the whole time while I was asleep as well? I didn’t notice at all. )

( Also, is he upset or something? He seems to be in a really foul mood. )

( At first he struck me as a kind guy for some reason, but perhaps that was a misunderstanding on my part...? )

Subaru: What’s your problem? You’re so annoyin’. Don’t just watch me in silence. If you’ve got somethin’ to say, spit it out!

Yui: W-Well...My bad.

( He said I should say what’s on my mind so...I guess I’ll ask? )

Uhm, how long will I have to stay in this cell?

Subaru: Like I know. That’s up to Carla to decide.

Yui: ( In other words, there’s no telling when I’ll be able to get out? )

Excuse me! Can’t you ask him to let me out?

Subaru: Are you dumb? Hell no.

Sure, you might be the ‘legendary Eve’ who is necessary for someone to become the next Supreme Overlord, but I bet you think you’re oh-so special, don’t you?

That arrogance of yours pisses me the hell off.

Yui: ...Ugh.

( I guess it’s no use after all...Seems like I only made him even more mad. )

Subaru: Che. Thanks for ruinin’ my mood even more.

I want to just isolate myself in my room, and as if that isn’t bad enough, I’m here havin’ to look after some chick instead.

Yui: I-I’m sorry...

Subaru: Aah!? Too fuckin’ late to apologize now!

Yui: Eek...!

Subaru: The way you flinch like that pisses me off too. You’re the one who chose me for this job, remember? 

Are you havin’ regrets now or somethin’!?

*Thud*

Yui: Kyaah!?

( H-He dented the iron bars with his foot...I was wrong to think he’s a nice guy. He’s incredibly rough around the edges...! )

Subaru: Fuck! This anger has made me thirsty...

...Oi, come here for a sec.

Yui: Eh...?

Subaru: Hurry up. Walk up to the bars.

Yui: Ah, s-sure...

( Who knows what he’ll do if I refuse....I have no other choice but to obey. )

ー Yui approaches the iron bars

Yui: I-Is this okay?

Subaru: ...You actually came? What a dumb woman you are.

Yui: Eh?

Subaru: Everyone at this manor is a Vampire. Myself included.

Yui: Y-Yes...

( I wonder what he means with that? )

Subaru: I can tell by the look on your face that you don’t get it at all. ...It’s that ignorance which will come biting you in the ass. Like this!

*Clang*

*Rustle*

Yui: Kyaah!?

*Rustle*

Yui: L-Let me go, please! What on earth are you...!?

Subaru: I’m tryin’ to teach you that you don’t understand your own position. From a Vampire’s point of view, humans are our food.

Maybe you were hopin’ to get treated like some damn Princess ‘cause you’re the legendary Eve but...

I’ll remind you that as long as you’re down here, you’re nothin’ but mere prey.

Yui: N-No way!

*Rustle*

Subaru: Come on, I’ll suck from your shoulder. It might hurt if you don’t keep still. Nn...Nnh...

ー Subaru bites her

Yui: ...Ah.

( He’s sucking my blood...His fangs are sinking into my shoulder...! )

( Is this what he meant by ‘prey’? Am I going to spend the rest of my days locked up down here as these people feed off my blood? )

( No, I don’t want that...! )

Stop! Let me go, please!

*Rustle* 

Subaru: Oi, don’t thrash ‘bout! Didn’t I tell you to keep still!?

Anyway, the fuck’s up with this blood...? It’s way more sweet than I thought.

Damnit, I just wanted to scare you a lil’ by bitin’ you but I can’t stop...! ...Nn...

Yui: ...Kuh...

( These fangs...This pain...For some reason, it feels nostalgic to me. Do I know this sensation...? )

( Why? How...? )

Subaru: Nn...Hah...Nnh...

Yui: Aah...!

ー Yui starts growing dizzy

Yui: ( The place where he bit is burning...The heat’s rising to my head andーー )

ー She experiences flashbacks of her past memories

Yui: Wha...?

( What...? Where is...that place I saw just now? )

ー Yui has another flashback

Yui: ( Uu...! ...What are these images...? )

( I know...this house. It’s a very nostalgic place but... )

( Uu, kuh...It’s like something is stirring up my mind... )

*Riiiing*

Yui: Ah...Aah...

...I...I...

Subaru: Haah...What’s wrong? Is somethin’ the matter?

Yui: That place...

It is the home, we must return to...

Subaru: ...Haah?

ー Yui regains her memories

Yui: Aah...! Aaaaaaah!!!

*WOOSH*

ー The screen temporarily fades to white

Yui: ( A bunch of different images and information...are swirling inside my head at once... )

( Right...I am, we areーー )

Uu...Kuh...

Subaru: Oi!? What has gotten into you all of a sudden!? Whatcha screamin’ for!?

Yui: ...No, I am not the legendary Eve.

I’m...Yui...

Subaru: ...Haah?

Yui: ( Right...I remembered everything. )

( I moved into the Sakamaki manor and met Subaru-kunーー Then we eventually started dating. )

( I could have sworn I was there before I suddenly awoke at the Church. Where is this place? )

( Why did I...forget who I am? )

( It’s not just me either. Everyone is acting strange. )

Subaru: What’s with that dumb look on your face...? Did you lose your mind ‘cause I sucked a bit of your blood?

Yui: No, I haven’t. I remembered everything, that’s all...

How could I forget about something so important...?

Hey, Subaru-kun! What is going on? Where are we!?

Subaru: Haah? 

Yui: Why are Carla-san and the others at the same manor...? Do the Tsukinami brothers own these lands?

Subaru: Oh shut up...What nonsense do you keep spoutin’?

Yui: Eh...?

Subaru: Did you forget overnight? Carla is my older brother. Why would it be strange for him to live here?

Yui: No way...

( Carla-san is his older brother? There’s just no... )

( But they did introduce themselves like that yesterday. What is going on? )

R-Right. Where is Ayato-kun? And Kanato-kun...You remember your own brothers, don’t you?

Subaru: My brothers? Those dudes from the Orange House?

Hah! The fuck are you sayin’? They’re the enemy!

Yui: No way...

*Thud* 

Yui: T-Then, what about me!? Do you know who I am!?

Subaru: You’re Eve, right? The woman needed to become the Supreme Overlord of this place. I haven’t forgotten that.

Yui: No, that’s not what I meant...

( We’re a couple, Subaru-kun. ...Sakamaki Subaru-kun. )

Selection

→ Tell him that you are dating (♡)

Yui: ( I wonder if he’ll remember if I tell him the truth...? )

Hey, Subaru-kun. We’re dating, you know.

Subaru: ...Haah? You’ve been spoutin’ nothin’ but bullcrap this one time, but that one beats all.

Are you sayin’ that sorta stuff ‘cause you wanna get outta here and regain your freedom?

I won’t let you out of your cell, even if you keep on talkin’ out of your ass.

In the end, you’ll just get chased ‘round by those other guys if you make it out of here.

Then I’d argue that you’re still better off down here.

→ Tell him that you know each other (🖤)

Yui: ( Subaru-kun sees me as a stranger...? )

( His memories are jumbled up after all... )

( Even if he can’t recall that we’re lovers, I wish he would remember me somewhere deep downーー ) 

Subaru-kun. We didn’t meet for the first time yesterday.

We’ve known each other...for a very long time.

Subaru: Che...Why are you makin’ all of this crap up?

I met you for the first time yesterday. Now cut the crap or you’ll be in for a world of pain.

Yui: ( I guess he won’t believe me after all... )

Subaru: ...Do you want to get outta here so badly?

Even if you somehow were to escape this manor, you’ll just be caught by one of the other guys. You really are an idiot.

Yui: ( Subaru-kun wouldn’t joke around about something like this... )

( He truly does not does doubt the fact that he is Subaru from the Violet Manor. )

( Could it be that his memories have been altered, just like mine were up till now? And those of the others’ too. )

( I wonder what we’ve gotten ourselves caught up in...? )

Subaru: ...Why do you look mortified?

Aah, I guess it makes sense to be in shock after havin’ your blood sucked for the first time ever. You’ve only got your own carelessness to blame though.

Yui: ( No, that wasn’t the first time. He’s drank my blood so many times. )

( But right now, I’m mere food in this eyes, not his girlfriend or anything even remotely close to that... )

( Almost as if we’re back to square one...That just can’t be. )

Subaru: Oi, don’t be tearin’ up now. The other guys will get the wrong idea.

*Thud*

ー Kou approaches them

Kou: Hey there~! Getting along just fine? You guysー ...Wait. Woah, what’s with the heavy atmosphere?

Azusa: Eve...Looks as if she’s about to cry. Did something...happen?

Yui: ( Kou-kun, Azusa-kun... )

Kou: Ah! You were picking on her, weren’t you!?

Azusa: You mustn’t...Subaru. You have to take good care of Eve...

Subaru: Don’t be makin’ assumptions! I’m not a lil’ kid!

Anyway, why are you guys here? 

Kou: Ah, right! Carla-kun’s asking for you. There’s something he wants to talk about, apparently.

Subaru: Carla does?

Azusa: Yes...That’s why we’ve come to get the two of you...

Yui: Eh...?

Subaru: ...She’s coming as well?

Yui: ( Subaru-kun’s glaring at me. I guess he’s suspicious of me after I said all those strange things... )

Subaru: I don’t mind lettin’ her out of her cell, but don’t blame me when she makes a run for it!

She’s willing to go as far as to lie just to escape this place after all.

Yui: ( I never lied though... )

Azusa: Don’t worry...We’ll help out as well, so let’s go while keeping a close eye on her, so she doesn’t escape... 

Subaru: Lock her up, then let her out. Stop changin’ your damn mind every five seconds.

Kou: Go complain to Carla-kun about that. It’s not our fault.

Azusa: ...Carla is the eldest son of the Violet House, so we only do as he says...

Yui: ( Kou-kun and Azusa-kun don’t seem doubtful of the current family make-up either... )

( Even though Carla-san is a Founder, so there’s no way he’d be related to Vampires. )

( I wonder how this happened...? )

Subaru: ...God, what a drag. Oi, Eve! Get outta your cell. Don’t cause me trouble, ‘kay?

Yui: ( Does the problem lie with everyone else? Or maybe I’m the issue...? I don’t know, Subaru-kun! )

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

[light-end-dragon]

Chapter 2

Faust: That’s why it’s like a poison. So even if you’re only affected that one time, it still eats away at you-in other words, the only thing you can do is purify the spirit itself.

Faust: If I’m being honest though…I’ve never heard of a single case of that being successful. I’d much prefer it if we could remove the curse itself.

Faust: Cain, you’re the one who made eye contact with it first. Stand here then; I’ll make preparations in order to break it.

Arthur: Please allow me to help as well.

Dividing up the work, Faust and Arthur set out drawing a magic circle around Cain, made up of various herbs and mercury.

Faust: ….Okay. From now on, Cain, I will be performing the spell. 

Faust: There will most likely be a sensation of something foreign invading your body, and a powerful feeling of suffocation. However, you cannot, under any circumstances, stop breathing. Just keep repeating your name inside your mind. 

Cain: Okay……ah!!

(Sound of magic being used.)

The moment Cain went to nod, his red eye started rolling around in his skull. 

Having seized control for itself, it then looked around restlessly at our surroundings like it was trying to assess what had happened.

Cain: Owen’s eye-it just started moving on its own! It’s been ages since this last happened, so why…..

Bradley: The hell that bastard think he’s doin’, peepin’ on us like that? He lordin’ over the fact that he’s the only one that didn’t get cursed?

Faust: This is a delicate technique. I really don’t want anything interfering with it…

Cain: It’s okay, I’ll just cover it with my hand. If that’s what he’s tryin’ to do, he’ll get bored eventually and give up.

Akira: (T-that’s…this feels a little bit too much like avoiding surveillance cameras…is that really okay…?)

Faust: …….. ..Well…..I guess…I’ll just keep going for now? There’s not much else to do.

Faust: Let’s just begin. 

Faust held up his mirror, and used it to peer into Cain’s golden eye. Slowly, he drew it towards himself, like he was trying to stare at something far away.

Faust: –Salliqunart Mullcrede–

(Sound of Faust using his magic.)

Cain: …Ugh…….

Cain’s breathing did spasm for a moment, but not long after he began to make himself breath deeply.

As Faust stared, unblinking, into the depths of Cain’s eye, a cold sweat began to break out on his forehead.

A few seconds passed, then a few minutes-

Cain: ….Ah, hot!!

(Sound of flames suddenly burning.)

Akira: Aah! The magic circle’s on fire!

(Sound of magic rebounding.)

Faust: ….ck!

Like he was thrust away by an unseen force, Faust staggered backwards, Arthur frantically rushing over to stop him from falling.

Arthur: Woah…..are you okay? 

Faust: Ugh…Yeah, sorry. I’m fine. Thanks.

Cain: Agh-that was intense….It fuckin’ felt like pasta was boilin’ in my eye…

Bradley: Use words that make more sense together, would ya??

Akira: (I wonder if he was trying to say it felt like something long and slimy….?)

Arthur: Faust, what happened? Were you able to break the curse?

Faust: No, I wasn’t. That wandering spirit’s obsession is too strong; I don’t think other people trying to intervene is going to be effective…

Faust: Well, maybe Oz or Mithra could force the thing off him, but….they would probably end up badly injuring his soul.

 Arthur: I see….I had thought that perhaps we could ask Lord Oz for help, but….

Cain: That should probably be our last resort. Is he still at the manor? 

Faust: Yes. As soon as he heard that you guys had been attacked by the wandering spirit, the weather got very stormy. 

Faust: He seemed anxious to come here, but the twins managed to stop him. Probably for the best, too; this isn’t something we can just carelessly kill.

Bradley: Anyway, seems like all we got left is purifyin’ the damn thing. Why does it always gotta be the most annoyin’ method….

Akira: I know you said there weren’t any successful cases earlier, but what would you need to do to purify a spirit like that? 

Faust: There’s two main methods, for the most part. One, declaring the wandering spirit’s true name as you make eye contact with it, and two, destroying the source of their grief.

Arthur: …That’s…..

Cain: Both of those are unusable, though. We dunno know their true form, or whatever turned ‘em into a vengeful spirit.

Akira: A-are those really the only ways? If the only characteristics are someone dying and their soul being consumed by grief, the possibilities are endless…..

Faust: That’s why I said I rather try and break the curse. It’s nigh impossible without that information. Well, you might be able to break Bradley’s curse alone, but……

Faust: …..

Faust hadn’t hesitated in speaking about the curse before, but now, for some reason, he suddenly fell silent. Cain leaned towards him, clearly wanting to hear more.

Cain: We might be able to break Bradley’s curse at least? Then there’s a method to save him?

Cain: He only got involved ‘cause he was protectin’ me, so I’d want him to be free of it if nothin’ else. Can you tell me the method then?

Faust: …..No. It’s completely impossible.

Cain: But…..

Bradley: …Oh, I getcha.

Bradley: You’re implyin’ here that if I kill Mr. Central knight, I’ll be saved from the curse-or somethin’ like that. Right? 

Faust: ….

Faust: ….Yes, that’s right.

Arthur + Akira: …!

Cain: Oh...I get you now, but that’s not usable either. The risk is way too much for both of us.

Both Arthur and I had been startled, but the knight in question seemed calm, giving a light shrug of his shoulders.

Cain: If he kills me, Bradley’s standin’ will get even more dangerous. At the very least, his prison term would get extended several hundred years. Of course, I don’t exactly wanna die either.

Cain: Also….if I’m tellin’ the truth, I might have an idea as to who the wanderin’ spirit is.

Akira: Huh-really?!

Cain: I don’t have any conclusive evidence I’m right. But it’s gotta be better than startin’ on nothing.

Cain: So that’s why….

(Sound of a sleeve rustling.)

Cain had held his hand out to Bradley, looking him in the eye. Bradley just stared back with a frown, raising an eyebrow slightly.

Cain: Bradley. I know it’s my fault that you got into all this mess, but would you be willin’ to team up with me? 

Cain: We have the same goal. I want to resolve this as soon as possible, to win-in a way that won’t affect our future.

Cain: The chances of us succeeding together are way better for complicated stuff like this. 

Bradley: …..

Bradley narrowed his eyes, giving a calculated look.

(Sound of a hand slapping against another.)

After a brief pause, a sound rang out that mimicked the dry crack of a gunshot.

The source was easy to find: instead of the handshake offered, Bradley had clapped his hand against Cain’s. 

Bradley: Nothin’ t’be done ‘bout it. Get on yer broom.

Bradley: But lemme get one thing clear: if I think you, at any point, are in my way, I’ll kill ya then an’ there to free myself. Capiche? 

Cain: Yeah, I got it, I got it. Thanks.

Cain: But for now, lets get outta here before the spirit comes. We need to have a strategy meeting.

-----------------------------:･ﾟ✧:･.☽˚｡･ﾟ✧:･------------------------------

Cain: -it was 10 years ago that it happened. A boy who dreamed of being a knight went missing, near ruins of that old town.

(Sound of brooms flying through the air.)

I rode on Arthur’s broom as we continued soaring into the wine-colored evening. The meadow and the town we had just visited were both long gone from our sight.

Since the vengeful spirit was chasing them, they couldn’t return to the manor. 

The three of us offered to help, so we continued on with Cain and Bradley as they flew.

Cain: The Order of Knights had a fortress in a big settlement about 4 days walk from that town; that’s most likely where he was heading.

Cain: But apparently, bad weather stretched out the itinerary and he was tryin' to rush along to make up for it. 

Cain: So instead of using the main road that’s connected to the city gates, he tried to take a shortcut through that forest by the ruins of the old city’s walls, and left that way.

Cain: After that, he was never heard from again.

[mooncaps]

Buckle up for a long post

Ugh! Just tell them. It’ll be better now than when they inevitably find out later.

Also, I’m noticing that ponytail, subtly paralleling Luz to Philip. He’s like her dark mirror in some ways. The human in the Demon Realm, but with evil intent.

Okay, so it was definitely the Belos goop.

Lumity Studios!

Ayyy, new main theme remix just dropped. Also, cute Lumity moments!

Yaaas queen!

Okay, new looks.

Hee!

Slay, witches!

Yeah, okay.

Nope nope nope nope nope.

We love and appreciate supportive girlfriends in this house.

First of all, cute. Second of all, running out in the rain in your socks? Ewww. Why?

Yeah, yeah, the foreground, whatever, but look at those two.

They’re too much!

Okay, I’m not sure what day it was supposed to be when they came to the Human Realm, but apparently it’s Halloween now and I’m getting the impression that we just montaged past a lot of time.

Okay, thank you for the information, Amity.

Been working on your sewing, have you?

What is this and who put it here?

Yeah, I’m nervous about that.

What the goop doin’?

Why does she seem to have Collector-themed decorations?

Okay, is he part of a greater conspiracy or am I reading too much into this?

This is sweet. I’m a little surprised that it took months for them to have this conversation, but I’m glad to see it.

Why do I feel like that’s gonna be significant?

That’s probably bad.

Poor Amity.

Okay, promising lead.

We love to see it!

Awww.

I’m guessing this stuff and the stuff we montaged past is what we would’ve gotten if they had a full season 3.

Why do I feel like they’re gonna be misinterpreting this somehow?

(Narrator Voice: They weren’t.)

Oh?

So now you know? Please tell the others.

Okay, well, at least you’re telling Luz. That’s something.

Awww. Poor guy.

Nope nope nope nope nope.

Why ya gotta be so weird about it, Camila?

Just give me the heartwarming girlfriends. No more trauma and tragedy please.

Oh boy. This should end well.

Look at these cosplaying witch girlfriends.

Oh boy. This should end well.

Get thee hence, Satan! You leave this boy alone.

Okay, but now I’m starting to think maybe The Collector is from Mars. This guy was kind of right about a lot of things before.

(Also, is that Azula’s voice?)

Wait, so the name Hunter made up when he was undercover is the actual brother’s name.

Oh, what are you planning, Luz?

How though? What changed?

Ah, okay. That makes sense.

Lol, privacy schmivacy.

How did this get here though? And why is it in a test tube?

And why does the cork look like Owlbert?

Philip, you should’ve died like 400 years ago. Please just lay down in one of the graves and end this.

Evelyn? The witch that Caleb followed into the Demon Realm?

Wow. Camila’s a real one.

Why is this here though? We had to spend all of last season building an acceptable gateway and now there’s a usable one just right here? Who keeps leaving all these things for our people to find?!

Damn it! I knew people were sad about this bird before I even started the show and I’m still welling up.

Babe, wake up, new eye color just dropped.

This kid did not deserve any of this.

Yeah, sure. If you’d never showed up, Philip would’ve just given up on things he already had mostly solved.

Thank you, Hunter.

These two still make me smile.

I’m worried about Luz lingering though.

Glad to see Camila being more supportive of her daughter. The early episodes did not make me feel very sympathetic toward her.

Yeah, I thought that was Grey.

Ayyy, get it, Vee!

So...I guess I’m caught up now, right? New episode tomorrow? And then just one more?

Don’t know why Belos even wants to go back. The Collector’s probably just gonna splat him against the wall again.

Hopefully everyone else is okay. Months is a long time even without factoring in The Collector.

Definitely eager to see what tomorrow holds.

[sun-lit-roses]

Thor’s Hammer

I have not forgotten about Stargate! I’m just really slow 😂 But I’m so ready to see our heroes once more and (hopefully) a new planet! Season 1, Episode 10, let’s go:

Oh boy, report time!(sarcasm) Jack looks like he has my level of enthusiasm.

Ooo more aliens!

WHAT is with the pictures being used for illustration 😂 Yes, we’re talking about Thor, so here’s some 90s sci-fi book covers to prove our point.

Teal’c with the insider knowledge for the win!

This sounds ominous.

Daniel is so eager - got his friendship box and just leaving the rest of the team behind lol

I’m unclear why the people at the gate are laughing? Their exit wasn’t that funny.

Um, team? Now might be the time to get away from the humming giant hammer.

A scanner?

No! Teal’c!

Whoops, there goes Jack too!

Why did everyone run away? Shouldn’t they be less afraid after the magic scanning hammer?

Wow, Daniel, just ‘they’re dead’?? That’s a leap 😲

Ah, they ran to get their leader.

“You’re a little short for gods.” Aw, I like her.

Sam On A Mission.

Not dead, yay! It would be hard to keep going with a show that just killed off half their main cast.

Ugh. Could have done without the Junior Check.

Did Thor just beam in?

Wait, is this a voice mail?

Yeah, that’s not a person.

Wait, I thought the hammer was at the stargate? How many hammers are there?

‘Hall of Mohair’ Okay, that’s pretty good and now all I can think of is a cavern lined with records and ‘70s outfits. And a giant hammer.

Wait, what are the hand thingys? Have we seen those before? I don’t remember them? It has been a while since I watched this show.

Didn’t even say thank you! How rude.

Ooo former Goa’uld, got it. Oh, that’s what the second hammer does! Not great news for Teal’c, though.

Hey, that’s right! They can just run all the Goa’uld through the hammer like an assembly line. Problem solved!

What the heck is that?! Some form of alien crocodile?

Those horns don’t look very efficient for drinking tbh

That’s a convenient thunderstorm for omens.

The cave broke the fire stick?!? Truly this is a terrible day.

Teal’c’s onboard with the Goa’uld Assembly Line Plan, too. Good, I think he has the most common sense out of our intrepid quartet.

I’m getting the sense that Sam is not the diplomat here 😂

Well, that’s good news! At least one host survived and connived her way out.

Good thing they came on a day with a thunderstorm.

Is that the Creature From the Black Lagoon?

“Weapons are of no use here.” Jack promptly fills him with lead. Nice.

What is The First One? First of what? First Goa’uld?

Ooo, guess lead is not a successful deterrent.

Vampire Goa’uld! A concept I did not know I needed, but am very happy to have. Imagine if this is what Dracula looked like, but Jonathan thought he had a skin condition and it would be Rude to comment about it, especially since he was a Client.

Of course Teal’c, you also thought the Vampire Goa’uld did not exist... gotta say this conversation is not super comforting, guys. Although the little beat before Teal’c says ‘I think’ was hilarious. Also Jack’s quip about putting a stake through it’s heart.

Aw, Daniel is so sweet on his wife. I hope she does show back up. And gets some lines.

Yeah, I’m going with he’s not dead, guys. Should have tried the stake.

That’s a really cool dam scene! Aquifer? Something with water. It’s a neat set piece.

Sam and Daniel arguing feels like a disturbance in the force.

Weapons can’t kill him, but they sure do slow him down.

Team Science Nerds found it!!

Hm, this looks like a pretty official cave room. Sadly no mohair records, though.

Did Jack forget about the second hammer thing?

AH

Okay, found the second hammer thing. Poor Teal’c.

I’m so glad Space Vampire gets a villain monologue. I feel like we don’t get those in shows anymore.

Come on,shoot him just a little further into the painful red hammer thing!

No! Teal’c!

Ah, Jack to the rescue.

Team: 1. Space Vampires: 0.

Not that this family moment isn’t sweet, but couldn’t they just knock a hole in a cave wall or something and patch it up once everyone’s out? Like there’s no time limit with the Goa’uld Vampire gone, they could go back to Earth for help and explosives.

Poor Daniel.

Did they just leave this world unprotected?

Okay, at least they’re thinking about this as well.

And Daniel gets to share his box! He’s so excited.

Rating: 🔘🔘🔘🔘

4/5 Gates New planet, potential for new aliens (possibly coming back in the future if the thundercloud is to be believed and Thor gets Daniel’s box?), Space Vampire, learned some more lore, what more could I ask for? The cave did take the fire stick out of commission, which is just a crime, in my opinion. Also, I think I’m holding out on 5/5 gates for something truly status quo changing. But overall a really good episode, I enjoyed it!

[pearblossommina]

ToG Read-A-Long, Kingdom of Ash, day 6

(One day late- yeah) (I’ll catch up, though)

Ch 43

Ok things are starting to go places with Dorian and Manon. Dorian, improving his shapeshifting skills

Manon, working towards meeting that peaceful fate she’s supposed to live up to.

You guys got this, I believe in you!

Don’t let those keys out of your sight, and Dorian, don’t let yourself get killed, cause it would break my damn heart.

Ch 44

Oof Aelin. Bad dreams. I’m not all right. You’re not all right. Fenrys isn’t all right. And yet the war still rages on, and people still die. My heart goes out to her for trying to keep moving. It’s a lot, and it’s probably going to be a while before she processes it.

I really, really hate this. I just gotta keep reading.

Ch 45

Oof Chaol and Yrene. You guys really want that baby… well… I guess that’s the best way to feel about an accidental pregnancy.

It makes me anxious as hell - but I’m sure nothing bad will happen, and this will be the first baby after the final wyrdkey is destroyed and the valg are banished to whatever realm they came from.

Ch 46

Aedion and Lysandra are not good, war is not good, things are bad for this whole legion

Ugh

I hate this. I liked it better when we were winning the war.

Ch 47

I took an entire day off reading this chapter; and I blame it for putting me behind the pace.

Something about Lysandra fighting as Aelin even though she could take a more efficient form, seeing her want to bear the likeness that will inspire the fighters the most, I was like: I think I need a break

So

Yeah!

Because this shit is hard to read! I’m too soft, I admit it. I don’t like all this war and anguish. It really weighs on you after a while. Even if it’s fictional, even if I have full faith that there’s gonna be a happy end.

Ch 48

FINALLY. The characters are FINALLY converging - about damn time you guys - we need to go kick some ass!

It’s cute how Aelin and Yrene are introducing each other to their husbands. Very wholesome. Girl, let’s have a belated bachelorette party. Uhhhhh - after the baby I guess since Yrene can’t exactly drink for the next 9 months -

Ch 49

Another cute wholesome we’re-all-together-now chapter!

Dorian killing that spider cured Falkan of his old age - I didn’t even think of that, but it’s kind of fascinating. When they were killing spiders I wonder how many people just got their lives and dreams back?

Ch 50

"Did you buy the swagger, the arrogance?" she demanded, voice breaking. "Did the others? Because I’ve been trying to. I've been trying like hell to convince myself that it's real, reminding myself I only need to pretend to be how I was just long enough."

Oh Aelin, Aelin, Aelin, don’t, don’t do this to yourself!

(I bought it)

(I bought every part of it)

(The reunion with Rowan, and the others)

(The way she seemed to come back to life when she was with him)

(The way she told him she was ready to be kissed)

(The way they made love, and mate-bonded anew)

(The way she offered a blood oath to Lorcan and acted all knowing about his relationship or lack-there-of with Elide)

(The way she’s been these last two chapters- )

(With tears in her eyes when she saw Chaol standing)

(And a glimmer of her old personality when she met with the khaganate, with Borte, with Falkan)

(I feel. REALLY SAD. Hearing her say all of it was a show, and that she’s been pretending, because she just wants to die - to forge the lock)

(I know it’s what Elena wants)

(But girl - you can’t!)

(Please keep trying Aelin)

(I know it’s hard)

(But life gets better!)

Honestly this book is mega depressing. I desperately want to feel something other than sadness, and sorrow, and pain. We’re out of Maeve’s clutches, and no longer being tortured, but the psychic damage is real, and it endures.

I kind of don’t even know if I’m going to feel better when Maeve gets destroyed. I know we gotta do it, and I’ll be glad when we do, but for the most part, I don’t feel good about it - I just feel desperate.

It’s kind of the difference when reading a fantasy novel vs a dystopian novel. Saving the world and being a hero. Vs disrupting the unjust system, fighting to bring the villain’s fall. This book is feeling more dystopian than ever. I’m having a hard time rooting for the hero’s because…. Everything sucks right now. And it’s hard to “root” for the downfall of a villain.

I am ready for the actual war to just be over and the characters to have a good day. A day where everything is beautiful and nothing hurts. I feel like it’s well earned.

[kenaran]

3x06 "Immolation"

I really liked that one!

Lots of Bobbie action. Some of which looked like a video game mission that I would absolutely hate to play. All of that jumping and running.... I'd get so very lost. (My sense of orientation is really lousy. I keep expecting a video game to come up that has my squad members make comments like "Why are we in this room again? We already checked, the thing we're looking for is not here. Does she know she's running in circles? Who thought it was a good idea to make her our boss?" Anyway, I digress. Sorry, not sorry.)

Bobbie: Ma'am, for the first time in your life, please just shut the fuck up!

Gotta love how she keeps using the honorific.

Chrisjen is convinced the missiles are heading for Mars. She also explains her reasoning, which is totally sound. That doesn't keep Alex from asking her whether she's sure later. Dude, she didn't personally check the warheads, she told you that.

Someone (Alex again?) estimates the missiles will cause "thousands" of deaths on Mars. Sure. I guess thousands of thousands or even thousands of thousands of thousands still are thousands, technically.

Alex and Naomi head over to the Agatha King to disable the missiles, leaving Chrisjen alone on the Roci. WHY DID WE NOT GET A SINGLE SECOND OUT OF THIS?! So much wasted potential. (Though, to be fair, I did get a laugh out of it when Bobbie requested emergency pickup. As in, "I sure hope it's not overly urgent. I don't think there's a lot that madam 'I can't even use the screens without help' will be able to do for you.")

Nguyen apparently got himself into a spacesuit in spite of being severely hurt to get to sit and gloat for a bit. That was unneeded, I think. But whatever.

Anna hands Errinwright's message to Mao over to Sorrento-Gillis. Who actually felt it appropriate to ask her whether she came to apologize. WTAF? Shut up! Errinwright gets arrested for treason and SG-man gets to gloat about the 'get out of jail free' card he just got handed. Ugh.

Errinwright does get a great line:

He doesn't care about treason. That's just him parroting you because you talked to him last. If he spoke to a janitor, he'd be passionately declaiming about a fucking mop.

That's probably the most truthful thing I ever heard him say.

Amos and Prax declare bff-ship and Amos gets to be "that guy" and off Strickland. Good riddance.

Holden picks up Mao and four suitcases worth of data. (Why are you carrying one of those? He can handle it and you need to focus on your gun, dearest.)

Cotyar blows up the mostly assimilated Agatha King. Loved the scene with Chrisjen.

They hand the transponder codes over to Fred Johnson, who will use his AWOL earth missiles to take out the missiles heading for mars (presumably). This time Naomi clears it up with Holdenthe crew first, which later earns us the nudity/sex rating at the start of the episode. ;) Still not shipping them, but it was kind of nice.

A proto-jellyfish emerges from Venus. Dun-dun-dun!

More important than giant, unpredictable space jellyfish - if there isn't at least one fic featuring Chrisjen and Bobbie in the aftermath of this episode, I'll be extremely disappointed.

Jump to next episode

[mainstoryarchive]

Underachievers - 18: Doubt

Translator: Peace

Proofreader: 310mc

Subaru: Ohh, so your goal was to check out who the client was?

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Location: ES Live Stage

Subaru: Ohh, so your goal was to check out who the client was?

Then you haven't decided if we're even gonna do this live or not? Even though I got totally prepared for it?

Hokuto: You're all jumping to conclusions as usual.

I only said we may do one, but you're the ones who decided to meet up already dressed up, weren’t you?

Subaru: Well, that's 'cause this is our first big break in a while!

I was looking forward to it, y’know~? We've been doing nothing but small-time lives this whole time, you know? There's no way we could make profit just on that!

Hokuto: I mean, I feel the same. It might be because of the air at ES, or maybe it's the whole L$ system that's being used now, but it feels like we're being restricted in every sense of the word.

Any more stress and we'd explode.

So I thought this'd be a good way to release some of that pressure… But that's why I believed it was important to confirm who our mysterious client was before.

Subaru: So it's not your papa, Hokke~? But you got some kind of message through HoldHands a bit ago, right?

Hokuto: Ah… When I first got the message, I thought "this guy's trying to start something," so I was gonna grill him about it.

But that guy isn’t around the venue. The person who sent that message wasn't my father at all.

I only noticed this once it was pointed out, but the message I got might've been forged.

By using his icon and ID, they impersonated my father and sent that message.

Makoto: Ahh, you've gotta keep your guard up more, Hidaka-kun. You can’t just forget that simply because HoldHands is a messaging system that's exclusive only to ES.

The net's host to all kinds of bad people, so it's no wonder that something like that could happen.

Since I'm the best of us when it comes to the internet, should I manage everyone's HoldHands accounts?

Hokuto: Ah, if you have the time to, then please do.

Though, I'm aware I was simply at fault here for immediately trashing the message as soon as I thought it was from my father…

I should've thought about it more calmly.

Makoto: I mean~ To be fair, no one would expect to get a forged message on HoldHands.

That aside, wouldn't now be the time to make up with your dad, Hidaka-kun?

Subaru: That's right, that's right~. Unlike me, you still have a great papa around that loves you super a lot, you know? You're wasting that!

Hokuto: This isn't the time for that. We oughta be thinking about this mysterious plot we've found ourselves in instead.

I'd rather avoid being dragged around by others, but I can't figure out that person's intentions no matter how hard I try.

It was like this with the guy who called me out too, he kept talking about strange, elusive things, and I couldn’t understand where he was getting at.

Makoto: Who was it exactly? From what you’ve told us, it sounds like that guy could be our anonymous client…?

Mao: Ugh~, this smells fishy… Is he like, trying to make use of us once we get on stage?

Subaru: I guess that would make sense, since we've got nothing but our names right now.

But we're not making any L$, and anything we do earn with our popularity gets spent pretty much immediately.

Hokuto: Mmhmm. It's vexing, but in terms of what the ranking says about our L$-amount, we're pretty much below average.

Thanks to that, I don't even know if we'll be able to afford to participate in the MDM, even though we have to do it, no matter the cost.

Subaru: Yeah. Our good fortune's definitely on the decline, so we might be seen as an easy target.

Maybe they wanna make the winners of the SS lose on the very stage they were called onto, so they can spread their victory against us around…?

Hokuto: Then they’re just looking down on us if that’s what they think will happen.

Fine then, if they wanna end up on their hands and knees they're more than welcome to fight us. We'll make them regret thinking that we're so easy to take down.

Mao: Hold on, seriously, you guys get so heated at the drop of a hat. We’re not like Knights and their thirst for fights, y’know? Let's figure out what that guy's aim is before we make a move.

Makoto: Yeah, Isara-kun's on the money. We haven't gotten as far as we'd like within ES because we keep following our impulses, so we should think before we act more often.

But really, I didn't expect any different. Unlike Yumenosaki Academy, ES is part of the adult world, so if you let your emotions control you you'll get nowhere.

Hokuto: Hmph. I'm still pissed at being made light of, though.

Mao: In the first place, it's crazy that you're thinking we're being provoked into a fight from this alone.

What if, by some chance, they're someone who really wanted to meet us no matter the cost. Someone who slapped down a whole lot of money for it.

If that was the case, it'd be the absolute worst to give 'em a beatdown, don'tcha think?

Hokuto: No, it's not likely that it's a fan of ours. I talked with the person who requested us just a bit ago—

I remember feeling uncomfortable as hell with how they spoke and acted… It was as if my entire body was slathered in filth, I felt disgusting.

How should I put it— I'd never felt anything like that at Yumenosaki Academy.

As if the moment I turned my back on them, they'd strike… They weren't openly hostile, but they had the air of someone you couldn't trust.

I felt like I was in the jaws of a carnivore… Not that I was terrified of him, or anything, but–

They felt murderous, absurdly so. They looked at me as if I'd hurt their entire family… and held a serious grudge for it.

Makoto: Huh~. So what did you talk about with him, anyway? I mean, did they give you their name?

If you give me their name or what they look like, then I can do a background check pretty easily–

Hokuto: Yes, please. They spoke like they were from Tokyo, albeit with a rougher edge…? It was a man who had a knack for throwing insincere, rude words around.

If I remember correctly– Ah, yes, he introduced himself as Amagi Rinne.

[ ☆ ]

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[henry7931]

Part II

Weird Form of Bounding

Chris:

When my son Nathan asked me if we could swap heads, I did initially found it to be a strange request.

But I’ve noticed some changes in him since he’s put his head on my shoulders. He’s more active, goes to the gym regularly, and has started to go out more with his friends.

I guess my body has given him some new found confidence. Although, I don’t know why. I’m enjoying having his body!

I’m taller, my chest is wider, and if he’s lucky I may get him a six pack before switching heads back.

Really the only downside is all of the hormones of having a 19 year old body. I jerk off at least 4 times a day, it’s such a distraction from getting anything done. But what else am I going to do? Walk around in my sons with a boner??

Plus, his manhood is very well endowed if you catch my drift. I don’t know who he got it from but boy is that thing long!

Anyways, I think I may have to take a break from our bounding time to go beat one out.

“Dad, where are you going?” My son says to me as I start to walk away.

“Oh sorry, I gotta take care of something.”

I felt my boner getting harder between his legs. Nathan looks down and smiles.

“You’re about to go jerk off aren’t you?”

“What?!? No way!!”

“Dad it’s okay, I’d get boners just from a breeze blowing by. I hope you know I have no issues with you enjoying my body like that. I know I’ve had my fun with your equipment, so has some of my friends haha.”

“WHAT?!?”

“Oh whoops! Wasn’t supposed to say that…”

Shopping with My Nephew

Alex:

“Thanks Uncle Alex for swapping heads with me, it’s always hard trying to get an idea of how cloths look on my body, this made it so much easier!”

“Anytime buddy!”

I grin at my handsome nephew whose head is attached to my shorter body.

“You ready to head back?” I asked him.

“Yeah but can we stay swapped a little longer? It’s kinda cool having your body on.”

“Sure bud!”

Gosh, this is awful to say but I’m so happy he wants to stay like this even longer. My nephew has a handsome body and between stripping down in multiple dressing rooms— I’m dying to jerk off with his 18 year old cock.

“Thanks Uncle Alex” he says wrapping my former arm around me.

We smile for a quick photo before heading out.

Once home I immediately tell him that I’m going to take a nap which he says he’s doing the same.

I go lay down in bed and started feeling around my nephews body.

But all of the sudden, all I hear in the background is a faint voice saying, “God Uncle Alex’s cock feels so good.”

Oh shit! Looks like both of us had the same idea.

Mr. Bryant’s A Mad Scientist

Ayden:

I’m trying to make the best out of this summer but it’s really hard. Especially given my circumstances…

Right before gradation, my teacher Mr. Bryant and I got caught up in a weird lab accident. Now I’m stuck with his body from the neck down!

Now I’m living at his house having to keep up with his yard and stuff until they get that device fixed. It could even take up to 2 more months. Ugh.. this is not how I wanted to start college.

Although some things have been kinda nice I guess. Now I can drink beer which is cool I guess?

I try not to over work his body too much since it gets so sore so easily. Plus, I don’t have to do my annoying summer job.

Now Mr. Bryant’s body isn’t too bad. He’s fit for his age and I’m much taller than my old body. I think what I like the most about it is his big manly feet and his super hairy legs!

I’ve always had a thing for feet especially older guys feet. I remember staying at my friend Steven’s house and seeing his dad’s feet for the first time and it was kind of a sexual awakening for me.

But with Mr. Bryant’s it’s like a different level of attraction because I now control them.

I’ll spend hours wearing his dockers with no socks just to stink them up. And when it comes time to relax, I just let the smell of his feet fill up the room.

Then I’ll head to the bathroom and strip down to nothing but his underwear.

It’s so strange seeing my small head on top of his big body. But like I said, I’m trying to make the most of this summer.

So if that means my form of happiness this summer is to spend it jerking off and sniffing my teachers toes… then that’s fine with me!

I do wonder how he’s doing with my body…

Mr. Bryant

Part of my plan is complete, I have successfully taken Ayden’s body. But I still have my head! Luckily everyone around seems to think this is an ‘accident.’

Now I’m on to plan B, how to swap our heads back to the proper bodies but have our minds transfer to the other head. I’ve given myself enough time to prep for it but it doesn’t help that I have to do his little life guard job.

You see the second I saw Ayden, I knew his body was the one for me. It started when I first saw his beautiful feet in a pair of sandals.

I knew he was handsome before but when I saw that he has these perfect toes…

Now every day I get to sit back and stare at them. Just look at his feet, his chest, hell he even has a beautiful cock.

Now I just need to get his beautiful face!

*Two weeks later*

I’ve figured out my plan! It’s took some time but now I need to get Ayden back to the lab with my new head…

Part. 2?

TF NBM/Head Swap Shorts I

Personal Trainer

Zach:

I think most people really push to meet their personal body goals but it takes a lot of motivation. My client Bradley puts in the work but I know sometimes it can be exhausting especially after a long day. That’s why I offer my customer’s a once a week head swap where I let them have my body for a day while I work out with theirs.

I actually really enjoy having Bradley’s body, he’s exactly my type! Thick and hairy. So it’s an extra bonus that I can work out naked since Bradley’s not here.

I even reward myself with a jerk session using Bradley’s thick cock. God this fury chest and these stinky pits… I’ve been working hard.

I run Bradley’s fingers over his sweaty hairy balls and bring them up to my noise.

“Yep… it’s time to have some fun now!”

I get up go over to Bradley’s bed and start sniffing his big smelly hairy feet. God, I sometimes just look forward to this all week.

I lay back and start jerking his meat.

I look over at the clock and notice the time. I still have 2 hours.

Hell, I could get loads done in that time! Woohoo!!

Bradley:

God I love my personal trainer, I don’t even give a shit about the work out. I just love that once a week, I get to have his body for a whole day.

I love exploring every inch of him. His nice bubbly ass, his thick cock, the muscles, oh I can’t forget about his big sexy feet!

I’m so glad that I really don’t need to do anything when we swap heads. Zach thinks that I work remote from his home but I haven’t told him that my day off is the same day we swap.

I’m just glad that I can send my entire day playing with his cock. I’ll spend hours stroking it and edging it. When I’m ready for it to bust, I’ll pull my head off and plant my mouth right on it.

It’s the best feeling, using your own head like a toy. And I get to swallow all of Zach’s load.

Hmmm I wonder if we would be open to swap for more than one day….

Roommate’s Condition

Mitchell

My roommate and one of my best friends Felix was recently diagnosed with a special condition where his body parts uncontrollably become detached.

Most of the time, it’s just his head separating body and it will wonder around our place. Sometimes it’s just his lower half of his body. Every now and then I’ll find his hand or his foot lying around on the floor.

I feel bad for him since he can’t really help it.

It’s been over a month since his diagnosis and I think he’s starting to accept it since they don’t have any kind of cure.

But one day he said something to me that I wasn’t ever expecting.

“Mitch, I know you’re gay and single. You’ve done a lot for me. I want to offer you something. You’re more than welcome to use my body parts to explore and enjoy. Just not my head lol”

I was stunned by his words, I knew Felix was straight so I could never imagined him making such a crazy offer.

So the first time I took him up on his offer was after I came home from a party just a little bit tipsy. I went to take a piss when I saw his lower half stuck in the shower. They must have fallen in at some point and I knew Felix was already asleep.

So I pick up his lower half and started to take them back to his room.

But I looked down at Felix’s sexy legs and feet…

I could feel a nervous excitement rush through me.

I turned to my room with his lower half and laid it down on my bed.

I took his feet into my hands and smelled them. I could feel his toes wiggling in excitement on my cheeks. I ran my tongue up and down his soles…

I was so turned on that I couldn’t help myself. I unbuttoned his pants and pulled them off along with his briefs.

I held his briefs in hands taking a huge whiff….

I looked down at Felix’s hairy balls and semi hard cock.

I start to toy with some until it was standing rock hard and leaking out a bit.

I reached into my drawer and pulled out my lube. I run it over his hairy hole and start gingerly inserting my fingers into it. It’s so tight…

Once I knew it loose enough, I pulled off my pants and started inserting my dick into it.

It’s so much easier getting it into him with an upper half. I positioned him to where I’m laying down and it’s on top of me.

I start showing it by guiding his hips on how to ride my dick.

Soon Felix’s lower half was becoming a pro at bottoming.

It felt so good! I would toy with his dick while letting his legs and butt do all of the work.

It started to most faster and I kept up with his speed on his dick. Started yanking at it and hurt a popping noise. His was now detached in my hands.

So I started sucking it back and forth like a lollipop.

I could feel myself getting so close!

I started to cum inside of him and what was so crazy was that his dick started to squirt in my mouth all at the same time!

I stuck his wet dick back into place and turned his ass around only see my cum leaking out.

I cleaned it up before bed and brought it back with me to cuddle with in bed.

Weeks later of hooking up, Felix’s body goes to bed with me every night knowing I’m going to get it off at night. I think his body not only enjoys the sex but also likes the companionship. And I do too.

Maybe one day his head will join us but for right now, I just love having his body with me!

Uncle Franks Out of Town, But His Body Isn’t!

Caleb:

God I love it when Uncle Frank gets me to watch his body for him.

He does this weird job where he had to wear certain bodies for it. He can’t tell me too much about it.

Although, I couldn’t care less! Because now I have an entire week where I can wear his body as my own.

Uncle Frank is about 6,2’, muscular, and has an ungodly size cock. You see how big his feet are?

Yeah, imagine what his dick looks like…

This time I started my morning off lying in his California sized king bed butt ass naked. It’s so comfy, I hardly want to move.

Then I fondled with his morning wood until I’m so close to cumming…

That’s when I got a very evil idea. I went to guest bedroom and picked up my 19 year old, petite body and brought it into his room with me.

My body was naked and covered in dry cum (mainly from the fun I had last night fulling around with uncle franks headless body) . I carried it back to his room where I placed it bed with me.

I positioned body to where my ass was easily accessible and started to lick my clean hole.

Once good and wet, I carefully inserted uncle Franks massive dick into it. But I only went half way scared I’d hurt myself.

I began thrusting which became kinda hard to do.

That’s when I got another idea, I pulled out of myself and repositioned my body.

I had both of my soft smooth feet in uncle Frank’s manly hands.

I spit on both of them and cupped them around his dick.

The softness of my soles felt soooo good on his dick.

I was turned on that could only last a few minutes before squirting loads of cum all over them.

Afterwards, I carried my body to the bathtub and started the water to let it soak.

I immediately had to piss but uncle franks dick was still so hard.

So I sat down on the toilet and peed, I can’t help but be so obsessed with my Uncle’s hairy legs and feet. They’re just so big and powerful.

I walked back over after my piss to my body, I noticed my cock was throbbing still from thrusting into my hole so I figured I’d help it out a bit. I jerked my body off and licked all of the excess cum off of uncle franks fingers.

God my morning has already started out great!

I walked back to franks room and saw my phone going off.

It’s my friend Jeremy FaceTiming me. I answered it not thinking about the fact that I still had my uncles body on.

“Dude… wait what the hell?”

“What?” I say back still not realizing.

“Caleb, whose body do you have on?”

Oh shit!

“Oh it’s um, well it’s my uncle franks.”

“You’re hot uncle???”

I rolled my eyes at the camera.

“I’m coming over now!”

Jeremy seemed so excited to come see my uncles body. Jeremy’s a good looking guy and I wouldn’t mind fooling around with him some time.

I wonder if he’d be open to it with uncle franks body on 😜

[fushipurro]

Lessons in Love

Chapter 1 - Matchmaking

Masterlist | Next Chapter ->

☆ Synopsis: Tasked with turning your novel series into a romance, your imagination can only go so far before your lack of experience gets in the way. You turn to a dating app to try and solve this, only to meet rejection after rejection.

That's when you met him.

☆ Content: 18+ MDNI, f!reader, mma!Toji, jjk AU, petnames, foreplay (nipple and vaginal play), creampie, biting/sucking/hickies, tongue action/cunillingus, age gap (10 years)

☆ Word Count: 6.1k

"sorry, but I don't think this is gonna work out."

these were the words you heard date after date, everything seeming so fine in the beginning until you bring up your novel woes and then they don't want to deal with the troublesome baggage affecting their twisted one night fantasies.

"UGH I'm never going to get these stupid chapters done with before my deadline. why did I think this was such a good idea; actually why did I let you talk me into this?"

"It's okay, y/n, I'm sure it'll work out soon. are you sure you can't just BS it from some porn and move on?" your roommate, satoru, questioned. the two of you were enjoying some takeout together as usual since your latest date didn't even last before the entrees came out. the two of you have been friends since high school and eventually became roommates together alongside your other shared friend, suguru.

"hell no, I finally have a good thing going with my publisher and I need this to be perfect and actually feel organic. you'd think someone from the last ten dates would've been willing since I'm practically on my knees begging..." you pouted, sinking deeper into your chair, "guess there's something wrong with me."

"nonsense, you're probably just not giving it enough time or just bad at begging, just keep at it. suguru and I are going to the downtown jujutsu gym later for an mma match they're hosting. you're welcome to tag along and show off some more of how desperate you are to the plenty of other dudes showing up."

your eyebrows furrowed, "ha ha, very funny" which gave satoru a good laugh.

"hey I'm only trying to help, even if you don't meet anyone there, you still have a week until your deadline, no?"

"jee, thanks for reminding me," letting off a frustrated sigh, "but fiiine~ i'll come with you guys, least with you two I can actually make it through one 'date' without being ditched."

satoru shot up out of his chair and shouted to your other roommate who was still getting ready, "yo, suguru! y/n said she'll come with us!"

the trio arrived at the gym together, it was a chilly night and you were all bundled up together, hot drinks in hand as you entered the building.

"thanks for making the drinks, suguru, it's fucking colder in here than outside!" Shivering in your jacket, the pair laughed as they sat down on the bleachers for prime viewing.

"sooo, y/n, see anyone interesting yet to beg to?"

you shot satoru a glare, to which he responded by jokingly patting your back as suguru gave a friendly sigh.

"satoru, we only just got here and from the looks of it, well, there's mainly just women here tonight." suguru had begun to scan the room alongside you while satoru was eyeing up some of the fighters entering the ring. "i'm sure the place will fill out come the main event."

for the first few matches, you seemed glued to the dating app on your phone, checking if anyone nearby came up as a match, swiping away, but such luck though with any pairings.

"oi oi, you may as well just turn that off and pay attention to the matches. maybe you can convince your editor to drop the romance?"

"but i can't─" before even waiting for your reply, satoru took your phone and shoved it into his pocket leaving you with only the drink in your hand, "hey, give that back!"

"not a chance, you gotta watch these next few matches, it's why suguru and I wanted to come here in the first place."

"okay, you win, satoru. like i said last week, i'm not against the romance aspect, even if it isn't quite what i imagined my story to end up as but─"

"yeah yeah, you got no experience and perfectionist problems, you'll work it out."

sighing, you sunk yourself deeper into your hot drink and faced back towards the arena. the following couple fights featured some well built men with decent looks, satoru and suguru were cheering as they discussed the techniques being used and predicting who'd win each fight.

the final fight of the night came at least, you had about enough of watching people punch and kick each other and just wanted to crawl into your warm bed back at home but the pair you were with seemed especially excited about this next fight.

the hosts began announcing the arrival of the fights, one of them caught your eye easily with how much he stood out compared to the rest, a man named "toji zen'in" to be exact. he looked much more well rounded physically compared to everyone else, his arms alone looking thicker than your own waist which made your cheeks turn pink. not to mention the beautiful scar over his lips that caught your eyes the most.

suguru leaned in front of satoru to whisper to you, "keep an eye on toji, y/n, he'd be a good actor for your main character in my opinion."

you nodded back at him, reminded of your woes, all eyes in the building now focused on toji as the crowd went quiet. the fight itself was like none that came before it, more brutal for sure with the hits toji was making, but the way he moved was a lot more than just beating the pulp out of his opponent. it was as if he was toying with his opponents and their weaknesses before delivery fast heavy blows. for someone who didn't know all that much about the sport, you found yourself clenching your fists with an unyielding gaze at toji alone while silently cheering him on with the rest of the crowd.

the match ended and toji was unsurprisingly declared the winner, the crowd in an uproar with clapping and shouting. you were so intently watching the fight that you didn't realize how cramped the building had become, suguru was right earlier, that's for sure. everyone in town wanted to see toji in action. while looking around at the crowd and the fighters cheering, your eyes met with tojis for a moment that left you flushed, squeezing your legs together unconsciously and your irises scattering to look away. it was a though you were a lone sheep cornered by a hungry wolf.

"what'd you think, y/n, happy you came?" satoru asked you as the three of you headed out of the building, on your way back home.

"besides failing to find a potential date, the fights were cool, i can use some of it in my book." your mind flashed to the image of toji looking at you, his eyes engrained in your head, the thought turning your ears red as you looked down at the ground ahead of you hoping to avoid being teased like some middle school girl gushing over her crush.

"you're looking flushed, are you feeling okay?"

for a moment you didn't hear suguru's question before he tapped on your shoulder. "oh yeah, sorry, I'm still just cold is all." nothing gets past suguru, the man is beyond observant of those close to him.

"well, we're home now at least, so go warm off and get some sleep, you have that deadline coming up." as caring as he can be though, that still doesn't stop him from a few sadistic smiles here and there as he teases you for your ever so fun reactions.

"oh for the love of─ not you too, suguru!!" pouting as the three of you entered your building together. as you closed the door behind you, you turned back to satoru. "can i get my phone back now?"

"okay okay, but don't sit there staring at it until dawn again trying to find a match." satoru handed you back your phone, refusing to let go of it to you until you agreed before heading off to his room. he knows you better than that and all your habits from the few years of being roommates

after a warm shower, you laid there all tucked into your bed, brooding as you watched the ceiling, imagining toji's face strung across the white paint like stars until you rolled over face down into one of your pillows.

god why am I gushing so much, we don't even know each other

"can't hurt to at least look a little bit" phone in hand, you turned it back on and immediately got a buzz from the dating app appearing on your lockscreen. the notification time revealing that it occurred while you in the gym and had your phone off.

great, well there goes a face to face opportunity instead of wasting time with a date they'd probably run away from

you opened the app to check, unprepared as you were hit with a welcome message showing who you were matched with. it was none other than toji zen'in.

your eyes blankly staring at your phone as it registered what this meant, "you're kidding, right?" his dating profile showcased a shirtless photo of himself in front of a mirror, having obviously finished a workout when he took the photo. bruises adorning his body from training and a few others more suspicious like they hadn't come from a fight whatsoever. a decade older than you, hobbies including fighting and gambling.

"who even puts gambling down..." you continued to lay there staring only at the photo he chose, glossing over each muscle line and eating his body up with your eyes, the way his hair fell into his face, that pretty scar you traced over with your finger. suddenly your phone buzzed, with the app now showing a new message received within the app

toji zenin you enjoy the fight, sweetheart? sent: 11:02pm

your chest now soaring as you shot up in bed, trying to rein in control of your shaky hands to form a response.

oh god did he know before our eyes met? and already a petname...

y/n fushiguro i did, it was enjoyable for me, congrats on winning! sent: 11:03pm

toji zenin was easy enough, i've fought better opponents in back alleys. sent: 11:04pm

damn, well aren't you a little cocky?

y/n fushiguro that's dangerous lol, are you aiming to impress me with that? sent: 11:07pm

you allowed yourself to relax back into your bed, your eyes staring only at his name and icon on the screen wondering if it was worth continuing this conversation. bad enough it was already late at night and you just wanted to sleep, but the thought of even telling him about your novel formed a pit in your stomach.

can't imagine mr. muscle brain here would be willing to work with me

toji zenin think I did enough of a first impression earlier. dinner tomorrow at 7? my treat, doll. sent: 11:11pm

"aaaa you're not making this any easier for me..."

y/n fushiguro sure, I'd like that sent: 11:11pm

"ugh, down to the minute too, how far into depravity i've fallen... whatever, i'll give it one more shot to save this book."

you turned your lamp off and rolled over to sleep, though it didn't come early for you when all you could think about was toji.

the next day eventually arrived, and you greeted your roommates for breakfast as you always do.

"yo, y/n, stay up late checking out more guys?" satoru was already digging in while suguru was in the kitchen still making pancakes for you all.

"didn't need to, as a matter of fact, I got a match and he invited me to dinner tonight." your voice declared it with so much pride that you almost forgot the circumstances surrounding why you're even on the dating app to begin with.

"oh yeah? the guy got a name? what's their bio like?" satoru loved to encourage you to adventure, but at the same time always showed his protective side when it came to matters involving you or suguru.

"believe it or not, it's that toji guy from last night."

"TOJI?" the white haired man shot up, "toji zen'in is your date?" his arms grabbed your shoulders in disbelief, he wanted so badly to grab your phone and inspect the dating app himself like he typically does but you kept it in a tight grip away from him. "you're going to ask him for help with your book, aren't you? you could just not mention it and keep him hooked at least for one dinner."

"idk, satoru, i don't want to lie but i also need to get this stupid deadline done and out of the way already." taking your hands, you covered your frustrated face. "i'll see how it goes but hopefully we can make it far enough to actually get our food."

"if it doesn't then suguru and I will rescue you and we can hit up some more takeout."

"thanks guys."

the day seemed to drag on at a snail's pace. toji eventually sending you details of where to meet up, the restaurant being one that was simple but surprisingly fancier than you'd expect a brute to invite you to. you fitted yourself into a nice mid length skirt and a frilly blouse, patent leather high heels, stockings, jewelry, nice hair, everything you need to make an impression. you didn't mean to get as fancy as you did but that's what happens when you have too much time on your hands and a bundle of nerves.

you took a taxi to the restaurant, entering through the wooden doors to a dimly lit scarlet room. a host greeting you at the door, "welcome miss, may I have your name, please?"

"fushiguro."

"ah yes, miss fushiguro. your date has already arrived, if you'll please just follow me, I can take your jacket then."

the waiter quickly and carefully moved your jacket to a coat rack and walked you over to your table. the walk to the table was one of the hardest parts of the night so far, you could already see him from across the restaurant, his seat positioned to watch you strut over to him. he shifted in his seat upon making eye contact, those deep green orbs looking you up and down conveying what his mouth wouldn't dare speak just yet. you thanked the waiter and sat down across from your date.

as soon as he opened his mouth to speak, his deep voice tickled your body creating goosebumps all down your neck. it wasn't what you expected him to sound like but oh how it made you flutter in your seat. "don't you look nice, doll, got all pretty just for me?"

oh god don't start flirting now

your exposed ears once again turned a soft shade of pink, "nice to meet you in person, toji."

the man repositioned once more, leaning forward to get a better look at you. "so what's a pretty girl like yourself doing on a dating app?"

no no no please don't make me come out and ask already

"uh─ ahem, a few reasons, mainly just to meet someone like anyone else on here I suppose, haha." you nervously laughed.

while not exactly a lie, I can at least hold off on wrecking this...

"on a dating app? doll you're just gonna find one night stands." his eyes narrowed at you with a questioning look.

"is that why you're on them?" hoping you didn't unintentionally sound rude or invasive, you tried to soften your gaze to show that it's just how you are.

"sometimes they can be fun, you already feeling jealous over me, princess?" he smirked, and before you could reply past your blushing face, the waiter delivered you your choice of red wine and took both of your orders.

"you drink?" he asked, almost disappointed sounding in his voice.

"not often, just enough to help me relax. helps sometimes when i'm working on my novels─" shit I brought it up "you don't?"

"nah, shit's wasted on me, can't get drunk."

"really? haha, well maybe that's better in your line of work, strict diets and all."

"you write novels for work? what about?"

please no toji, the food isn't even here yet, i'm too starved to do this now...

"yeah, right now I'm working on a book involving two assassins, but I'm struggling a bit making their romance happen. enemies to lovers is a fun concept but hard for me to write, personally."

fuck this wine, I'm slipping already without food on my stomach, curse me being a lightweight

"oh? why's that?"

saved by the bell as your waiter finally arrived with your entrees, it took everything you had to not tear into it like some fast food fries after a long day in the parking lot. you both began enjoying your meals, toji however took his time, seemingly spending more of it filling his eyes with you instead of his body of the food before him.

the food was delicious, you both ended up with a nice strip of steak, delicately seasoned with a lovely sauce over top. it paired perfectly with your choice of wine. normally your dates would've ended long before this, but toji ended up ordering desert for you, and waited perfectly until the waiter cleared the table to continue working you over.

"you haven't answered my question yet, y/n."

"ahh, you remembered..." you sighed, "well I won't lie since we've come this far, but I'm struggling on a particular romance scene since frankly I'm not experienced enough."

"no kidding? you're writing this stuff and yet you're a virgin?" the man started laughing and reclined in his seat with his one arm over the back, subconsciously spreading his legs further apart than they were before.

"I'm not a virgin, toji!" you carefully protested, trying not to draw attention to yourself. "I've had a boyfriend before but that didn't work out."

"and that's why you're on a dating app? sweetheart that's just asking to be taken advantage of by some lowlife loser."

"you'd think so but the last ten dates I've been on this month alone avoided me like the plague the moment I set the conditions."

toji sighed and pinched the top of his nose with his large digits, "that's cause you're picking shit men, princess. they just want some easy ass to get themselves off to, nothing more."

the waiter came back with your desert, a rich cheesecake slice that you both shared together like a couple. with a fork in your hand, analyzing the piece with such soft eyes that didn't go unnoticed.

"I have a deadline coming up and as my roommate always says, I'm too much of a perfectionist to just make shit up for it without proper research."

toji remained silent as the two of you polished desert off and paid the check for dinner. the wine from earlier still hitting you as you nearly stumbled leaving the restaurant with him.

"shit─ forgot to get a taxi ready, thanks for the lovely meal, toji, it was nice finishing a date for once."

"oh no, princess, we're not done yet. you think I'm gonna let you go off on your own like this? I'm taking you home myself."

"huh, wai─" toji took your hand into his own and lead you down the road to his nice black muscle car. his hand was much larger than yours and oh so warm to the touch. he kept you carefully balanced, remarking that you should be a good girl and not drink alcohol if you can't handle it. you almost didn't want to let go until he opened the passenger door to settle you down into the fine leather seats. he was quiet for most of the trip until an unusually long red light finally made him speak up.

"when's your deadline?"

you moved your gaze off the surrounding street lamps and onto the side of his face and down to his hands gripping the wheel and shifter.

"next week."

"I'll help you out."

did I mishear? am I too drunk to understand? he actually wants to help me, this big shot fighter and the stranger he just met today?

toji side eye'd you before the light changed, an out of sight smile glossing his face as he saw your obvious blushing and innocence showing.

"really? you'd do that even though you don't know me?"

his lips parted slightly, "doll, I know your pretty little self enough from dinner and I'm driving you home, aren't I? I ain't letting some other asshole take advantage of your virginity you're just throwing out there."

"i'm. not. a. VIRGIN!" you protested once more, this time making toji laugh at how much of a cute brat you were being.

"whatever you say, sweetheart, you're too innocent still to not be one. that ex of yours doesn't sound like he could do the job right."

finally, the two of you pulled up to your apartment building and made your way inside together, toji supporting you from tripping in the heels you wanted to wear to show off like some big time femme fatale novelist. inside, you could see that neither of your rommmates' shoes were there.

must be out eating then still

you almost forgot toji was even there as you started heading towards the kitchen for some water, dropping your heels off on the floor as you left the entry.

"oi, princess, ya just gonna leave me here?"

"oh shi─, you can stay here for a bit if you wanted. you want a drink, toji?"

the man was already leaning down over the island table when you handed him a glass, smiling at you with his head leaning on his hand and the other on the table. he only took a quick sip before placing it back on the counter.

"so what do ya say? ya want the experience?"

it was like toji knew how to push your buttons to make you blush, this was an experienced hunk of a man and no matter how much tried to deny it, you were far too vanilla and inexperienced.

"I mean... well... you are here and survived dinner with me, wha-what do you wanna do?" your voice was soft and flustered, your core stunned with butterflies. eyes unable to make contact even as he approached you to set your shaking hands down before you had some glass to clean off the floor. he moved his thick hand up under your chin, his thumb gracing your bottom lip as toji pushed your head back to try and force eye contact out of you.

"for now, just take me to your bed and leave the rest to me. I promise to take good care of ya if you be a good girl for me."

toji stayed a few paces behind you, watching you lead him to your room. oh how exposed you're feeling, for a man who just had dinner, he just felt so ravenous still. entering your room, toji locked the door behind him, your back was still turned, eyes staring ahead at your bed. it felt tight being in your skin, you wanted this, but he was right, this was a whole different fealing than the one your ex ever gave you. you felt his hands tickle your back as they fell onto your waist, his head leaning into your neck, breathing into your ear as toji loosely traced your skin with his fingers.

you almost lost control of your knees before he spun you around and moved his lips just in front of yours, hands reaching behind you with a tight grip. you closed your eyes and parted your lips for him, toji took full advantage and started with a few simple kisses at first before rubbing his tongue against yours. he pulled back with a string of drool following, his tongue still exposed as he caressed your face.

"fuck, y/n, you taste even better than you look."

"i-is it hot in here or just me, I should turn the temp dow─"

toji grabbed your arm and pulled you back into his embrace, setting you down on the foot of your bed, arms at either side of you as he leaned down into your face to continue the dance of your tongues.

"just relax, princess, you're gonna be sweatin' anyways in a minute."

taking his knee, toji began pushing his way forward in between your legs, pressing against your clit as he continued kissing you. his hands began unbuttoning your blouse until it revealed your bra. he encouraged your hands to do the same to remove his shirt. toji's back was a whole other world. tight with muscles, soft skin with some scars adorning him. you traced over each one you found with your fingers. while you were busy with that, the older man unhooked your bra, discarded it along with your shirt to the other side of your room.

"look at you, pretty girl." he eyed your face down to your chest, cupping your breasts in hand. your hips bucked in response over his knees. you noticed a large bulge forming on the older man, his erection no doubt and god was it obvious how gifted he was in that department. "you're already soaking my leg up, doll, do i make you that excited?"

"y-yes, fuck─ toji."

"good girl, now lay back for me."

you followed his instruction, to which he lifted your legs up and removed your skirt. his fingers playing with your clothed clit, making you buck and squeeze your legs around him.

"gotta keep still if you want me to help, y/n."

"sorry, toji." you moaned in response. he pressed deeper into your lips with his fingers as much as the stockings would allow as a punishment of sorts.

"don't be sorry, doll, i want you to enjoy what i'm doin to ya."

toji removed the stockings from you legs, ever so slowly so his fingertips could glide down your inner legs for another satisfactory moan to escape you. he leaned his head in after, tongue to your lower lips.

"you're soaked, sweetheart. you taste so fucking good, fuck─" the squelching sounds from you getting more defined with every action he did. kissing, nibbling, and best of all, extending his tongue as deep as he could inside you. it was hard to not squirm and disrupt the ecstasy, but toji kept a firm grip around your thighs to the point you knew they'd be bruised later.

"toj- fuck, toji!" your voice reduced to babbles and high pitched squeals.

"keep your eyes on me, doll." you wanted so badly to throw your head back as the bubbling sensation grew inside of you, tickling the nerves in your body. the way your eyes kept meeting, the sight of a man you keep gushing over, eating you out with everything he's got was just so irresistible. "cum on me, y/n."

the two of you moaning together, his tongue getting more invasive and his thumb rolling over your pearl until you finally orgasmed. toji finally lifted his head up, your shiny essence marking his lips as yours.

"shit─ i can't get enough of ya, sweetheart, fuck."

your hands were on your own breasts, grabbing at your nipples to help with the orgasm you achieved.

"for someone who acts so innocent with me, your body is acting like a slut. were you this soaked seeing me last night too?"

the answer was obvious the way you avoided eye contact from toji again, you tried to squeeze your legs back together, but he simply stood up and unbuckled his pants. you could already see a spot of wetness near where his tip must be and where you rode against his knee.

"fuck, toji, that's not gonna fit in me!" his erect cock was long and girthy, plenty of veins like his arms, the tip pink and leaking precum.

"i said i'll take care of ya, princess." he crawled onto the bed, leaning over your face, brushing the hair aside with fingers and kissing you softly with your juices joined together. "trust me, y/n."

you nodded your head and toji moved back down to sit next to you. taking one finger at a time, he moved around your lower lips, brushing against your velvet walls as his other hand stroked his own cock. you leaned up a bit to feel his own manhood in your hands, your delicate fingers moving up and down and circling the tip. spreading the sticky residue around.

"fuck─ look what you're doing to me, doll." your mouths were agape, close to one other, squirming from the stimulation. "you're so fucking pretty, y/n, shit─" he moaned, leaking more from his tip as you came on his fingers.

toji placed his wet digits in your mouth, allowing your tongue to work them over, tasting your own juices with hips bucking in response. you placed your hands over your arms and looked deep in his green eyes drunk on love.

"you keep looking at me like that and i'm going to forget about being cautious with ya."

he let you continue to play around with his fingers until he pushed you back down against your sheets. he kneeled then in between your legs, rubbing his cock against your clit and around the entry.

"well, princess?"

you nodded to toji, but that wasn't good enough so he slapped his tip down on your pearl.

"use your words."

"pl-please fuck me, toji!"

"that's my good girl." and with that, he started pushing his way into you. your hips squirming, nails digging into the sheets around you as you couldn't stop the moans escaping your throat.

toji moved in and out slowly at first, "you sound so pretty too, doll, shit─ i lucked out meeting you." his moans were deep and filled your ears, it was impossible to stay still even with his calloused hands tight around your waist. your eyes were all over the place feeling almost completely far off from the world in your own slice of paradise. toji's kept going back and forth between his thrusts, your breasts, and especially the beautiful reactions coming over your face.

"told ya i'd take care of you, you can still take more of my cock, right, princess?"

"there's m-m-more!?"

a smile stretched across his face along with narrowed eyes as he slowed his thrusts and started pushing the rest into you, the tip practically shoved against your womb, rearranging your insides.

"FUCK, toji!" you screamed, a few tears forming around your eyes.

"sorry, sweetheart. it'll get easier, i promise. you're being so fucking good, i'll have to reward you." he coo'd, leaning over to caress your cheeks with his finger.

his motions continued, lifting your legs up and back, hips raised up and bucking with each smack of his heavy balls against you. toji held your arms up above your head as you dug into his wrists with your nails, babbling nonsense between loud moans and yelps. his raven hair dripping slightly with sweat as it fell over his face.

"can i, fuck─, cum inside you? i want to reward your good behavior."

"-ease don't stop, toji." puppy dog eyes unbecoming of an innocent girl aimed directly at toji, his veins twitching inside you as he relentlessly sucked on your neck, allowing your fingers to carve his back out. the fluttering sensation higher than ever before and the sudden onset of warmth flooded your insides. you bucked and twisted yourself, toes curling in as you moaned the name of the man fucking you senseless.

"shit, your tight pussy is emptying me."

it almost made you cum again as he exited and the juices inevitably flushing out. toji admired the view and praised you once more for being such a good girl for him. he turned you over onto your back, your face now shoved against your pillow. toji placed his hand behind your kneecap and lifted up as he thrusted back into you. it's no wonder there's a million different positions when it comes to sex. each one seems to hit a different g-spot you never knew existed sending you further into an abyss of decadence.

his mouth was moaning aside your ear, his tight chest landing on your back with each thrust. despite being face first smothered in your pillow, no hummed moans went unnoticed by toji, each one being rewarded with the climactic feeling until he once again coated your insides with his hot seed.

"oh fuck, toji." you puffed, attempting to catch your breath.

"yes, sweetheart?"

"that felt so good but i don't think i'm out of stamina..." your body was weak and tired, while nearly sobered from your wine, you were very much drunk off his cock. body still shaken and ecstatic, hips reactive to the slightest touch as you squeezed your thighs together to savor the feeling of your orgasm.

toji caressed your lower back with the back of his hands, "told ya, all you had to do was be a good girl and i'd take care of ya. unlike some other assholes." he grabbed a few tissues to clean you up a bit and himself. "you got a shower then we can use?"

"we?" you questioned, rolling over to face him.

"oh yes, we. you ain't walkin' for shit after this even if you wanted to."

protesting a bit with your usual pouts, you tried to stand up to prove the older man wrong but your legs slipped and you fell back into his arms.

"...carry me?" the puppy dog eyes were back again with a booboo lip to compliment your trained begging.

"is that how good girls ask for help?"

"pleaaase~, toji?"

he laughed while he swooped you up into a bridal carry. you pointed the way to your bathroom where toji took care in helping you clean off in the shower, teaching you another lesson in love before getting out and returning to bed together. toji laid on his back, looking at you while your head rested where his arm meets his thick chest. you were long gone into your slumber as you drooled onto him with an innocent face that seduced the older man futher.

"so fragile and defenseless... gonna have to keep ya around with me for good, sweetheart."

morning came and toji was still sleeping like a bear when you got up. taking the first shirt you found in hand and a pair of fresh lacy panties, you stumbled out to the kitchen to find some food, rubbing your tired eyes along the way.

"did you forget that you have roommates, y/n?"

your body tightened, "oh fuck, satoru." turning towards the voice, you see suguru and satoru already at the table eating.

"there's leftover eggs in the pan if you're looking for some food."

"suguruuuu," you looked at him with pleading eyes, thankful that he always knew you'd be hungry as well and joining them to eat.

"by the way, whose shoes are those at the entrance?" he asked, you were going to answer but then a deep voice interrupted.

"mine."

"toji, your shirt!" you yelped, satoru dropped his utensils at the sight of the fighter walking around your shared apartment bare chest and all.

"toji slept over!?"

"someone, decided to take my shirt if you hadn't noticed yet."

"shit─ sorry i didn't realize when i grabbed it, still sleepy."

"keep it then, princess, it's all yours to keep me in that pretty little head of yours." toji approached where you were in the kitchen and placed his hand on the top of your head refusing to move it as you struggled to not die of embarrassment in front of your roommates.

"we're still here, you know? did you forget us again? that's kinda fucked up, y/n." satoru joked, throwing himself into the situation like a third wheel while suguru just sat there eating and smiling.

toji pointed his thumb back at the pair, "who are they? your shitty exes?"

satoru's jaw dropped, ready to raise a fist before as suguru pulled him back down to his seat.

"oh god no, toji, these are my roommates, satoru and suguru. we've been best friends for years."

"good. if they were your exes, i'd be showing them what a lowlife they are for not treating ya properly."

"jeez, well aren't you protective of me, feeling jealous already?" your tone jokingly mocking the way he too questioned your "jealous" feelings last night on your date.

toji cupped your chin once more to make eye contact with a devious smile, "you think this is the only time i'm gonna be seeing ya?" he moved his face in closer, brushing your lips with his own as he traveled to your ears to whisper, "you're mine, princess. there's a lot more to teach ya as i corrupt your innocence even further."

by now your face was as red as the fruit on the table as he laughed and began preparing his own plate of breakfast. the four of you trying to enjoy breakfast together without a fight breaking out. toji's hand was gripping your thigh under the table while caressing with his thumb. you smiled, taking in the moment and how wonderful it felt to finally have something to finish your deadline and a new boyfriend to fill your heart and much more.

☆ Notes: really enjoyed writing this so look forward to more in the future! i know mma toji is popular but it's just such a fitting career path for an au especially over other fighting/athletic careers.