#the number of expected chapters keeps growing whoops

[miraculousagentsofkrypton]

All the better to protect you with, my dear (9440 words) by miraculousagentsofkrypton Chapters: 6/12 Fandom: Stranger Things (TV 2016) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Mike Wheeler & Nancy Wheeler, Will Byers & Nancy Wheeler, The Party & Nancy Wheeler Characters: Nancy Wheeler, Karen Wheeler, Mike Wheeler, The Party (Stranger Things), Lucas Sinclair, Will Byers, Eleven | Jane Hopper Additional Tags: Werewolf Nancy Wheeler, Werewolf Mike Wheeler, Barb still dies, Good Parent Karen Wheeler, Telepathic Bond, found family for the Stranger Things crew, They're a pack, they just don't know it yet, Nancy Wheeler-centric, implied feelings in nancy/Barb, Eventual Robin Buckley/Nancy Wheeler, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, The Upside Down (Stranger Things), everyone in the show is going to have a part to play throughout the series, even if not in this fic, This covers pre-canon all the way through season 1, some internalized homophobia Series: Part 1 of All the Better to Protect You With, My Dear Summary: Nancy and Mike think they have a handle on full moons by 1983. Their mom helped them hide it from everyone they know, and nothing terrible had happened. Then, Will's disappearance changes everything they think they know about themselves. Who knew werewolves were so protective of their pack?

[haikyuu-appreciation-club]

Pancakes for Dinner

{Hey Pretty Lady}

————

chapter one | chapter two | chapter three

————

series masterlist

———————————————————————

It was difficult for Bokuto to focus on anything else that day, other than the anticipation bubbling up inside of him. He was dying to know who you were and what you were like, causing tomorrow morning feel like years away.

Akaashi got the tail end of Bokuto’s speculation, listening to him babble about their so called “mystery girl” as they walked home,

“Maybe she smells like flowers? Or maybe she-”

Akaashi promptly cut him off, knowing he’d ramble on forever if he didn’t stop his train of thought now,

“Bokuto-san, you’ll know all about her tomorrow morning. You just have to be patient.”

Bokuto let out a whine as he threw his head back in distaste,

“But Akaashi, you know I dont have that kind of patience!”

“I’m well aware of that, but just try your best. All you have to do is finish up your assignments for today and go to sleep. Then you’ll be able to meet her.”

As if a switch had been flipped, Bokuto turned to Akaashi with a determined look on his face and gave a few vigorous nods. A small smile tugged at akaashi lips as he shook his head at his friend’s antics.

The two parted ways not long after, bidding a due before they separated, allowing Bokuto to sprint to his front door while Akaashi continued his walk to the train station. 

As the night dragged on, Bokuto fumbled through his school work. Blank answers were scattered all across his page as he tried to jump to the ones he actually understood and avoid the ones that made his stomach twist up in knots. At this rate Bokuto was not only interested in getting to know the type of person you were but also if you really had the ability to help him improve in his academics.

After some time, everything he had learned grew foggy in his mind once more, causing him to disregarded the leftover work in frustration.

As he flopped on his bed, pout dancing on his lips in dissatisfaction, an idea flooded his mind. Eagerly snatching his phone off his nightstand, his fingers worked quickly and eventually lead him to type your name into the search bar of instagram.

He found your account quite fast, a specific aspect picked it apart from the rest as he hovered his finger over the button. Unfortunately for him however, he discovered that you liked to keep your social life more private then others, not allowing just anyone to get a glimpse of your world. He groaned as he threw his phone across his bed, pouting at the fact that he wouldn’t get the opportunity to explore what you were like before the morning arrived.

After a night of failed attempts, Bokuto snugged into the covers, cuddling his pillow as his eyes grew heavier. He sent a quick goodnight text to the team group chat, as he did every night, before he allowed himself to drift off to sleep.

•·················•·················•

By the time morning rolled around, Bokuto wasted no time placing himself in front of the door to the principal’s office, practically jumping up and down from excitement alone. Most people would find his eagerness to be annoying and unnecessary, but he figured someone who was taking time out of their day to help him was someone worth being excited about.

His knuckles ricocheted off the door as his loud knocks filled the room on the opposing wall. After a few moments, the door flew open, giving a clear view of the tall man who had arranged this meeting,

“Ah, Mr. Bokuto. I’m glad you could join us. Please come in!”

As soon as Bokuto stepped into the dusty room, his focus was immediately drawn to you. You sat in an old battered chair, the same one he had sat in the day prior, as you flipped through a packet of some sort.

Once you heard the door closed, your eyes snapped towards the direction of the noise, meeting Bokuto’s in the process. A sweet smile spread across your face before you set the packet on the desk in front of you and stood up. Bokuto immediately bounced towards you and pulled you into a friendly hug, letting him introduce himself whilst you were still in his hold,

“Hey hey hey! I’m Bokuto! You must be y/n, i’ve heard a lot about you!”

You immediately went stiff, not expecting such an intimate greeting the first time you met the boy. The most you expected was a handshake or something of the sort, but you found yourself quickly warming up to the gesture nonetheless, eventually wrapping your arms around him as you returned his introduction,

“Hi Bokuto, It’s nice to meet you.”

Bokuto pulled away from the hug, a bright grin present on his face and he ruffled your hair a bit,

“Nice to meet you too!”

The principal watched this whole ordeal unfold from his desk. He was confused to say the least but neither of you seemed to mind the odd acknowledgment, so he didn’t pay it much mind.

Clearing his throat, the attention was brought back to him as he began to speak,

“i have explained the current situation to the both of you and now it’s up to you to come up with a plan that best suits the two of you. I have given y/n a packet of the topics you’ll be focusing on currently, so she’ll be able to walk you through anything you’re having difficulty with.” he looked back and forth from the two of you before letting out a soft sigh, “Basically, as long as Bokuto’s grades have improved by December, i don’t care what the two of you do.”

The two of you nodded in understanding, Bokuto doing so a little more violently but still in good spirits.

The principal smiled at the both of you, glad that he didn’t have to take up too much time out of his day spent on this situation, before letting the two of you off the hook.

•·················•·················•

Bokuto was practically dying of boredom by the time his last class of the day had ended. Everyday seemed to be on repeat lately and he was growing very tired of it. 

As he turned to finally leave the confinement of the classroom, the sight of a figure caused him to jump. He was so engrossed in quickly packing his bag, eager to get to practice and spike to his heart’s content, that he failed to noticed the girl that took a seat on top of the desk next to his,

“Whoops, sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Bokuto relaxed once he had noticed the scary figure was in fact you. He crossed his arms and shot a frown in your direction due to your accusation,

“You didn’t scare me! I never get scared y/n, ever! What are you doing here anyways?”

You let out a hum in consideration before nodding your head and bringing your book bag to sit on your lap,

“Right, never gets scared, noted.” you smiled before pulling out a piece of paper, “We have to set up a day to study so I was thinking we could get together this weekend. I came to give you my number so we can stay in touch.”

His features relaxed and were quickly replaced by a smile as he ripped the paper from your hands. He examined the piece of paper before returning his gaze to you once more,

“Oh, right! Thank you, y/n. I have to get to practice but I'll see you this weekend!”

You watched as his broad figure dashed out the door and towards the direction of the gym.

You let out a chuckle at his retreating form. Bokuto Kotaro was definitely different than anyone you'd ever met before, but was that really such a bad thing? Who knew?

A million other questions danced in your head since the meeting with the boy, but you knew only time could tell. You smiled at the thought before throwing your bag back over your shoulder.

There was one thing you already knew for sure;

These next few months would definitely be a roller coaster.

———————————————————————

taglist:

@goopy465​ @al3x1ss​ @whosaskinguniverse @kenmas-grease​ @tsum-tsxmus​ @ray-ofmoonlight​ @simpparty​ @marvel-ing-at-it-all​ @ineedsomefoodpls​ @owlnymph @alittlebitofrain

———————————————————————

[illeee-girl]

La La(chimolala) Land Chapter Eleven: May Finally Come True

jimin x reader genre: fluff word count: 1.5k warnings: none

[Inspired by La La Land]

Read on Wattpad

Read on Ao3

A few weeks later, you find yourself at the Porto’s Cuban Café in Burbank, half sipping a guava smoothie and picking at your Cuban pork—but mostly dialing Jimin’s number in a rush of excitement.

After a few rings, he answers: “Hi Jagi, what’s up?”

“JIMIN YOU’LL NEVER GUESS WH—”

“Is that Y/N?” You hear Jungkook ask. For some reason, you must be on speaker. “Would you ask her if she’s down for some Mario Kart this weekend? I’ve been practicing Rainbow Road and I swear this time I won’t let her beat me.”

“Shhhh, Jungkook-sshi, be quiet,” Jimin pleads.

“Oh, tell her I have some tips for that guitar player character of hers!” You hear Yoongi shout from a distance.

“And that I’m more than willing to choreograph anything!” Hobi chimes in.

“Does she like Jazz?” Tae asks.

“WOULD ALL OF YOU SHUT UP?” Jimin screams over his hyungs. “She’s my girlfriend. Let her talk to me, please.”

“Dang, Jimi,” you say.

“Sorry if that came off a little . . . possessive.” You can practically hear the expression on his face. Apologetic. Unsure. A little pouty.

And endlessly adorable.

“It’s ok,” you laugh into the phone. “Have they been driving you nuts?”

He sighs tiredly. “You have no idea.”

“Hey!” You hear Jin protest. “It’s you who made us drive all the way up here and organize this par—”

“SHUT UP, JIN!” You then hear what is most likely a minor physical altercation between the two. “Y/N has important news to tell me.”

“I’d tell you to hang up and go spend time with them,” you start, “but I do have important news, actually.”

“Well?” He raises his voice in anticipation. Cute.

“I SOLD RED WRITER TO AN INDEPENDENT FILM STUDIO!” You practically yell into the phone for all of the café to hear.

Cheers of celebration erupt on the other line.

“AHHHH! THAT’S MY JAGIYA!” Jimin is jumping up and down—you can tell. “I knew you could do it. I knew you were a genius. See, guys? I knew her meeting would be a success, and that she’d get the deal, and that all this party planning would be for nothing—”

He stops himself.

“Whoops.”

“What party, Jimi?” You ask.

“Did she already eat?” You hear Jin move closer. “It sounds like she’s at a restaurant. DID YOU ALREADY EAT, Y/N? Cause Jimin’s been forcing me to barbecue for the past two hours,” you hear him click together a pair of tongs, “in this ridiculous ‘Congratulations Y/N’ apron, and my God, if you already ate, I will be livid.”

A giant laugh almost escapes you, but you maintain your cool. “I’m at Porto’s, Jin, but I’ve barely touched anything.” You fight to keep your voice level—not too obviously excited and overjoyed. “What party, Jimi?” You ask him again.

“WHAT NOTHING NO PARTY HERE. WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT JAGIYA HAHA YOU’RE SO CUTE SO WHAT ARE YOU UP TO—”

“Rambling ain’t gonna get you out of it this time,” Namjoon says in the background.

You hear your boyfriend sigh. “I just wanted it to be a surprise,” he groans. “Oh well. Just get in the dang limo when it pulls up.”

_________________________

Half an hour later, you’re standing outside of a modern-style house in the hills—the venue Jimin must have rented for this “surprise” party. It’s made of glass and steel, and it's illuminated by the blue and purple lanterns that have been placed on the lawn. You can see more glowing inside. The limo driver had given you a dress to change into—it was an expensive one, obviously Jimin’s taste—and with it on, you fit in perfectly with the color scheme. You’re just admiring how the light from the lanterns dances across the sparkly, midnight blue fabric when you hear the front door swing open.

Unsurprisingly, his outfit perfectly complements yours. His tie seems to be made of the same material as your dress, and the numerous silvery rings on his little fingers match your shine. His hair has been dyed a light shade of lavender, and, as his eyes grow big at the sight of you, you notice he’s wearing a little more eye makeup than usual.

He stands there for a few moments, then wordlessly runs to you, sweeping you off your feet and spinning you around in his arms.

“I . . . Jagi . . . there are no words in any language to describe how proud of you I am,” he says, settling you into a firm hug.

“Believe me, I understand that,” you helplessly grin. “I’ve had the hardest time trying to describe how I feel about everything. When I called my parents, I could barely get the words out!”

“How did they take the news?”

“Well . . . let’s just say that they’re finally proud of me.”

“As they should be. As they always should’ve been. YOU’RE A PROFESSIONAL SCREENWRITER! MY JAGI’S A PROFESSIONAL SCREENWRITER!” He yells, his voice booming through the hills. He picks you up and spins you around again, and you both erupt into laughter—laughter of glee and amazement and anticipation and joy.

“Now,” he smirks and starts loosening his tie.

“What?” You panic at the thought of something . . . risqué happening. “Now? Here?”

He follows your eyes to where his hands have started undoing the knot. “What? No!” He steps a few feet back and holds out his hands. “No, nothing like that. I was just going to use it as a blindfold.”

“A WHAT NOW?”

“Oh, Lord, no! Again, not like that.” he repairs, “Nothing Fifty Shades of Grey-ish. I was just going to tie it around your eyes and walk you through the door to preserve at least a little bit of the surprise party I had planned.”

“Oh,” you relax. “Ok. I’m sorry I freaked out.”

He laughs. “No, it’s okay. Really.” He ties the fabric around your eyes and starts guiding you up the path. “The guys are going to get a kick out of this later.”

“Don’t you dare tell them!”

You hear the door creak open, and just as the jazzy tracks from the La La Land soundtrack reach your ears, a crowd shouts: “CONGRATULATIONS Y/N!”

Jimin lifts the blindfold, and you see his six bandmates and your three roommates holding champagne flutes, party poppers, and balloons. J-Hope lets a confetti cannon loose and runs through the debris. Jessenia and Jungkook run to hug you. Diana and Tae smile, standing suspiciously close to one another.

In these past few beginning months of your relationship, Jimin has consistently surprised you with his versatile skillset. You knew he was a dancer and a singer, but over time you grew to know him as more: a doodler, a reader, a connoisseur of ice cream, a shopper, a cuddler, a fast driver, and a bit of a homebody. Never did you expect to add “party planner” to that list—but tonight, you do.

The entire house is lit vibrantly in blue and purple. Twinkling Christmas lights are suspended from the ceiling, and candlelight flashes from within the old wine bottles that rest on every surface. There’s an array of some of your favorite foods—pizza, sushi, watermelon, and more—and you can smell Jin’s promised barbecue wafting in from the backyard. Yoongi’s stationed at a sort of DJ booth, looking a little bored (but happy for you).

It’s funny, you think. Just an hour ago, I got the news I’d been waiting for—fighting for—for six years. But it would’ve meant virtually nothing if I didn’t have these people to celebrate it with.

The party goes off without a hitch. Jimin reluctantly lets go of your hand so that you can go talk to everyone, grab plates full of food, and gab on all the details of your success. You sit with Tae and Diana and tell them all about the meeting. You overhear Jimin gushing to Namjoon about how much of a prodigy you are, how much of a success your movie’s going to be. You watch as Rachel leans up against the wall near Yoongi’s DJ setup, blinking shyly at him—and you watch as he does the same. You bite into the ribs Jin has painstakingly prepared and assure him that their smoky flavor is perfect. You witness Jungkook practically chasing Jessenia around the entire night.

And you find yourself very, very grateful that you met Jimin.

Your heart, and your stomach, are full.

[halothenthehorns]

All in the Family

Chapter 12: Quidditch

The office was so bare, that at first they thought they'd landed in an abandoned one. Yet the desk was filled with papers for markings, the curtains were well worn as if someone regularly pulled them back to view the Quidditch stadium beyond, and the chair was not the one from their time, but slightly modified into a more comfortable recliner. Still, there were no personal touches, and even those teachers who had no plans to stay longer than a year carried photos, or remnants of every human practice to somehow mark their space. No splash of color dominated, even the bedroom adjacent to the office held only standard bed sheets.

"We must be in Quirrell's office," Sirius decided. The feeling would never grow comfortable, but he was at least used to by now of shaking off the dizzying feeling of being somewhere he wasn't a second before so that he could step up to the desk and start rifling through drawers which were as bare as the walls, only filled with extra quills and ink.

"Bloke needs a personal decorator," Peter muttered, he'd never seen anything so bare bones, and he'd been to a DA teacher's office every year to know this wasn't common.

"What do you think happened here?" Frank asked as he stepped up to a corner of the room. There was an empty shelf that could have held any number of things from books to nicknacks, but it was as dusty as everything else. However, there was a small burn mark in the wall, with just the tips of a few feathers showing on the edge indicating it might once have been a bird implanted there, but now it was just a smoky, twisted shape like he'd tried to blast it off the wall instead.

Lupin stepped up beside him with a perplexed look as well, scratching his nail against this curiously. "I think it used to be an eagle," tracing his finger now across the lone visible feather, "maybe he used to be in Ravenclaw house?"

"Then why would he blast it off?" Franks brows only rose higher with such an odd form of an answer.

There was no explanation for this peculiar place, but that was the pattern of this whole journey so far. So Remus stepped up next to Sirius and plopped down in the seat, scooping up the book where it had landed first and reclining leisurely as he began the next part. He cheered with joy the moment he read the chapter title, and Sirius sat on the arm of the chair at once to lean in and see why. Remus automatically pushed his face away, but by the time he read it out to the others Sirius was already whooping with his own joy they were going to be reading about Harry's first Quidditch game, finally!

James was beside himself with joy at once, clutching Peter to him in ecstatic excitement before they even got to details, they were all aware of who the match was going to be against. Peter was being just as bad, squealing and wriggling around just as much, watching James carefully to make sure he'd stay upright even when he was released to start all but bouncing off the walls.

Alice watched them and couldn't help but laugh at the show, remembering the two times she'd actually sat near them in the stands during their younger years and knowing they could possibly get worse, so choosing to follow as Frank went into the adjacent room to find some lower level of noise.

Regulus just stood awkwardly at opposite ends of the room from Evans, admittedly more ecstatic for this but honestly still unsure of how much he should bother trying to interact with Sirius. His parents had been making it increasingly clear during his holiday visits Sirius may not even be around much longer if he didn't change up his act this summer, and no matter what crazy world they were flying through now, he should still honor his parents wishes and keep himself separate from the stain of his older brother. Just because his friends still managed to amuse him, and honestly he still couldn't help but look to what Sirius did and react the same way, didn't mean he was actually expected to hang around him.

Lily declined following Frank and Alice for once, but that just left her more uncomfortable than ever in this room full of boys who she couldn't claim to see eye to eye with about anything. They held no interest as Lupin went through the whole chapter leading up to the game, wasn't going to bother with any defense for what Sev did even if that was a rule he made up on the spot. The way they were reacting was even how she would have predicted, still making crude jokes at each other and reminiscing about all they'd done to Snape and wishing they could do more now while he continued to bully Harry.

Not that she even knew for a fact that's what this was. She more than anyone could understand why Sev was singling Harry out, not that she in any way approved of why he was for such petty revenge, but she wouldn't deny she could see in his eyes lashing out at someone who so reminded him of Potter just as much as her. She wished he'd be more of an adult about it, but there was just no point saying any of this to anyone present, it's not as if they'd understand.

Her fury at the situation only grew when Harry went on to accuse Severus of being after whatever that deranged dog was guarding. Honestly, one incident of an injury, an overheard conversation, and the kid just automatically blamed it on the person he didn't like. It was a miracle he wasn't adding Malfoy into the mix as an accomplice already, as if life didn't happen outside of teachers who yelled at him.

The build up to the game held no interest to her, it only set her teeth grinding back on edge and all she could do now was be grateful he didn't use any build up to blow off steam like the Potter in this room would. In fact she honesty couldn't admit to even listening to what happened up until the moment Harry mentioned his broom lurching beneath him. Something inside of her lurched as well.

She certainly didn't like Potter, but she'd never actually wished him irreparable harm, let alone death! That's what was going to happen when Harry fell though, so she looked on at Lupin stuttering through words in a panic, actually understood the look of fear on all of his friends, and met Potter's eyes with a dry mouth that honestly could have released a scream of fear any second.

"Evans!" James startled them all out of the vivid mental nightmare as he went to her side. She fell against the wall the moment that little Hermione girl claimed to have seen what was really going on, but remained just out of arm's reach of Potter when her focus snapped back to him still on a glare.

"It wasn't him," her voice crackled with force that would surely have stopped that bucking broom in place, it wasn't a wonder why James froze. "Severus isn't the one doing this."

Far from looking as if to check on her, the muscle going in his jaw made it clear he was holding himself back from doing something more than shouting now when his hand twitched for his wand. "Are you really so daft women? You can't look past, for one bleeding second of protecting and defending him against everything! What possible explanation do you have for this one?!"

"Why don't you try opening your mind for once Potter!" She snarled right back, off the wall in the same breath and glaring daggers at him, her hand in the same position. "Pull your fat head out of your arse and think! Or is that too difficult, with all the empty space up there?"

"Glory those two are the most self centered birks I've ever met," Frank muttered, staying happily on the other side of the door to mutter this to Alice. "Can't they have this row for the millionth time after they find out if the kid survived. I swear this went down last week about who it was causing the toilets to snap shut on people."

"Wasn't it Avery caught doing that yesterday?" Alice asked in surprise.

"Exactly," Frank finished with a snort.

"How long do you think they can keep going when neither really has the ability to walk away?" Alice asked in honest concern when the two just kept exchanging insults.

"You mean when Evans can't storm off," Frank corrected. "Ever seen Potter? I think he lives for this."

Alice huffed in disgust if this was really how he thought was the best way to keep her attention, and honestly just grew sick of it herself finally. She went back through the door, Frank following reluctantly, and right over to Lupin. Black was sitting on the arm of the chair and watching along with Pettigrew like a show, but the last Marauder was pretending nothing was even happening as he kept his eyes down on the passage, though clearly reading nothing as no words had been uttered since they'd started.

"You lot just planning on staying in here forever?" She demanded.

"That's an interesting question," Black looked to her and said conversationally. "Wonder if time's frozen forever, we'll never get old, never get hungry again, actually wait, that could get really boring."

"Whatever point you take from this," she said in exasperation.

He nodded and nudged Moony, muttering, "best go on then, you've studied in the common room with louder things going on."

Remus hesitated an extra moment before indeed choosing to ignore the pair and continuing. It certainly made the Marauders who were paying attention a new level of interest none had ever seen, setting a teacher on fire and all. That was something they'd never dare to do, and Hermione just became their new idol for that act alone, the reason that she was doing it just made her as solid a friend as Ron only made it all the better.

It was honestly sad to the three of them James took no glory in this, didn't even seem to mention it as he was still busy over there where apparently only he and Evans existed. He even missed Harry spitting up the Snitch in victory, and in fact only came back to realizing what was going on when Evans snapped her head in their direction upon Hagrid defending Snape.

"Finally, a sensible human being," she seethed, snapping away from him and storming into the room for any way to escape while still listening attentively now. Hagrid just became her new favorite person in this castle for finally seeing past singling out a person for this happening, something that childish idiot could never understand.

"Wait, what happened to Harry? Who won the game?" James asked with a ruffled brow, his eyes still on the door and for all the world still unaware when Peter answered he'd fill him in on the details.

"Fluffy?" Frank said into the awkward silence. "I can not for the life of me picture a three headed dog, fluffy."

"Thought you had more imagination than that love," Alice honestly giggled at her boyfriend's perplexed look.

"I'll take that scrap of information if the dog has pink fur on top of it all," Lupin said with honest interest, his eyes now alight as he kept going at finally getting more information no matter how unintentional Hagrid gave it.

"Why do I know that name, Flamel," Regulus muttered to himself, though he alone felt invested in this mystery. Everyone else still seemed far more involved with Harry, even Evans no matter how much she denied it. She certainly hadn't, in all her shouting, come up with any alternatives to who could be trying to kill the young Potter, unlike him, who was still chewing over all the information given as Lupin finished.

[jbbarnesnnoble]

Hello lovely humans!

I’ve recently hit the 500 follower milestone and want to celebrate with another challenge! This time, dark fics are welcome! 

I have a lot of prompts here and what doesn’t get used will probably be put aside for a future challenge. I like to make sure there is a wide array of prompts to be chosen from and tend to go overboard. Whoops. 

The Rules: 

1. Use the hashtag #JBBNN500 

2. Dark fics are welcome - Just be sure to utilize trigger warnings and indicate that it is a dark fic. 

3. Even if you aren’t writing a dark fic, use trigger warnings if the content warrants it. If you write something that has heavier themes, like those that delve into mental health topics, be sure to label it appropriately. 

4. Selecting Prompts: Just let me know which one you want to do! 2 people per prompt! Tell me which subheading and the number of the prompt so I can mark it down! If it’s a lyric prompt, please give me the song and the number! 

5. You don’t have to be following to participate! 

6. Deadline: January 11, 2021

Yes, I’m giving about 3 months for this. January 11 also happens to be my birthday, so I figured that would be a good date to choose. 

The subheadings are: dialogue prompts, sentence prompts, quotes from popular media, and song lyrics!

Find the prompts under the cut! 

Dialogue Prompts

“Life is made up of maybes and regrets. I don’t want this to be one of them.”

“You can’t do this. It’s my choice to make, and mine alone. If you don’t agree with it, the door is there. Feel free to use it.”

“I used to be afraid of the dark, you know. Until I learned that the real monsters thrive in the light.” 

“So, what you’re saying is if I gave you a nickel, you’d do it.”

“No, I don’t know how the cheese got there, and honestly, I don’t think I want to know.” 

“You’re sounding more like a cult leader every time you open your mouth. Don’t think I’ll be accepting any Flavor Aid from you anytime soon.” 

“How did you...you know what, I’m going to forget I saw a thing, and go read a book. Or bathe in Holy Water. Or both. Both is good.” 

“If you say one more word I swear--” “One more word” “I hate you” 

“You can’t come in here singing my favorite song and expect forgiveness, that’s not how this works!”

“No. You mean nothing to me. You never did. You never will.” 

“But if it did, it would work and you can’t convince me otherwise.” 

“You are simultaneously the smartest and least intelligent person I have ever meant. Truly, an amazing accomplishment.” @bonkywobble​

“Next thing you’re going to say is that ghosts are real...please tell me that’s a joke” 

“All I’m saying is, I could do that blindfolded.” 

“But why was there pizza on the ceiling?” 

“If you write me a four thousand word essay on why you think that’s a good idea, then sure.” 

“I didn’t think you were serious. Do you know how illegal this is?!” 

Sentence Prompts

Feel free to change the pronouns used to suit your needs, even if they aren’t bracketed! You can also change the tense if you need to! 

The January rain fell, feeling like razors against [your/her/their] skin as [you/she/they] stared out over the horizon.

This was it, the moment where life as [you/she/they] knew it ended.

 [His/her/their] gaze fell on [her/you], like a lion circling its prey. 

You never thought that it would come to this, come to being the one to end it all. 

You took a moment to calculate [his/her/their] next move, figuring out the perfect counter. 

Hanging by your ankles from a tree was most definitely not how you planned on spending your Saturday. 

Glancing around the room at the decor, one thing was obvious: it was [his/her/their] doing. 

Hurt was the only thing you felt, the only thing you could cling to in this abyss.

Lies, it had all been lies and they were crumbling around you. 

The screech of tires on the pavement sent a shiver down your spine.

He/She used to love this time of year, the beauty of it all. 

It was like climbing Everest: ambitious, dangerous, and maybe a little insane. 

Forgiveness was not something you were willing to offer so freely, not this time. 

Chaos may as well have been the code name of this mission. @nekoannie-chan​

Silence was your new best friend, one that never seemed to leave you alone.

That smile, that smile was something you could get used to waking up to every day. 

Your face twisted in disgust as you realized what you had fallen into.

You were beginning to wish you had taken [him/her/them] up on that trip to Madrid. 

Quotes from Popular Media:

With these prompts specifically, you can use the full thing, paraphrase, etc, since some of them are quite long, or just write something based off an idea it sparks. 

“There are so many stories where some brave hero decides to give their life to save the day, and because of their sacrifice, the good guys win, the survivors all cheer, and everybody lives happily ever after. But the hero... never gets to see that ending. They'll never know if their sacrifice actually made a difference. They'll never know if the day was really saved. In the end, they just have to have faith. Ain't that a bitch.” -Epsilon, Season 13, Red vs Blue 

“We're so arrogant, aren't we? So afraid of age, we do everything we can to prevent it. We don't realize what a privilege it is to grow old with someone. Someone who doesn't drive you to commit murder or doesn't humiliate you beyond repair.” - Daniel, P.S I Love You 

“After centuries of men looking at my tits instead of my eyes and pinching my ass instead of shaking my hand, I now have the divine right to stare at a man's backside with vulgar, cheap appreciation if I want to!” - Denise, P.S. I Love You

“Life isn't just death. Don't ignore the living.” - Vada Sultenfuss, My Girl

“Life's full of barbaric customs. But I hope they all end with a kiss like that.” - Vada Sultenfuss, My Girl 

"You're a little scary sometimes, you know that? Brilliant ... but scary." - Ron Weasley, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 

"It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends." - Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 

"I’ll be in my bedroom, making no noise and pretending I’m not there." - Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 

“Sweetie, this is one of those times when I know what's right and everybody else is confused.” - Angela Montenegro, Bones, Season 3 

“Oh, God. I'm in the middle of something, aren't I? Oh, look! Dead guy!” - Cam Saroyan, Bones, Season 5

“Don’t make it sound trivial when you know it isn’t. You keep talking about how we just need a little more time, but you’re not the one having to struggle.” -Nora, RWBY, Volume 7

“It's called survival. But I forgot, you two at best are functional morons.” - Crowley, Supernatural, Season 5, Episode 10

“I once had to judge a tighty-whitey contest for Lambda Kappa Pi. Trust me, I can handle anything.” - Elle Woods, Legally Blonde 

“How were we supposed to know? It's not like we run background checks on all her boyfriends.” - Kathryn Kennish, Switched at Birth

“Don’t try to get on my good side. I no longer have a good one” - Ouiser, Steel Magnolias 

“I would rather have thirty minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special.” - Shelby, Steel Magnolias 

“You have the handwriting of a serial killer” - Clairee, Steel Magnolias 

“I didn’t know if you would hire someone who might be married to someone who may or may not be a criminal” - Annelle, Steel Magnolias 

Lyric Prompts

What Do You Think Of - Lauren Alaina ft. Lukas Graham

What do you think of when you think of me?

When you look back on us what do you see? Is it the good times, is it the bad times, is it somewhere in between? 

I can’t even drive down 8th Avenue because the whole damn town reminds me of you

Hurts to Know - 1551

But you stayed when I made another promise to keep

And you waited and waited for the life you saw in your dreams 

You walk in and begin to try to heal me again, but each night is a fight that’s getting harder to win.

Sick - 1551

Everyone I meet feels like another target

I’m feeling sick, I’m feeling twisted, I wasn’t home before this feeling existed 

I never knew that wrong could feel so right

seven - Taylor Swift

Sweet tea in the summer, cross your heart won’t tell no other, and though I can’t recall your face, I still got love for you

Passed down like folk songs, the love lasts so long

I think your house is haunted, your dad is always mad and that must be why 

We’ll hide in the closet, and just like a folk song, our love will be passed on 

the last great american dynasty - Taylor Swift

How did a middle class divorcee do it? 

The wedding was charming, if a little gauche 

And they said “There goes the last great American dynasty. Who knows if she never showed up what could have been.” 

epiphany - Taylor Swift 

With you I serve, with you I fall down 

Something med school did not cover

And some things you just can’t speak about 

Chapters - Brett Young

Chapter one, I was raised on the Dodgers 

There’s no perfect life, you can’t hold back time

Everybody expecting perfection 

Things change in the blink of an eyelid, guess my body knew way more than I did

The Daughters - Little Big Town

Girl, know your place, be willing and able 

Girl, watch your mouth and watch your weight

Pose like a trophy on a shelf, and dream for everyone but not yourself

I wash the dishes, feed the kids, and clean up all this mess, do my best, forgive myself, and look good in this dress

It Won’t Always Be Like This - Carly Pearce 

I remember how I couldn’t wait to get out of my hometown, now I’m looking for every excuse to go back on the weekend

I remember hearing the door slam, twenty-two, didn't have a clue who I was, who I could trust, and who were my real friends

The heart won’t ache forever, no matter how hard it gets, it won’t always be like this

Next Girl - Carly Pearce 

You overlook a lot when he looks like that

He’ll charm your mama with that smile, hide the red flags for a while 

He’ll make you think it’s love, but I promise you it’s not 

Bar Back - Lauren Alaina 

You can have that coffee shop we went on our first date

I’ll give you back that sweatshirt, that one you know I love

I’m taking back that little hole in the wall, the red door sign saying “come on in y’all”

If I Was a Beer - Lauren Alaina

Honey you’re in luck, ‘cause I’m a fine, fine, wine. I’m a slow sweet pour, I can be a little bitter, but I ain’t a hard hitter, like a 30 from the grocery store

Waiting for Superman - Daughtry

She says “he’s still coming, just a little bit late” 

She’s talking to angels, counting the stars, making a wish on a passing car

If life was a movie, then it wouldn’t end like this 

Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi

When you hurt under the surface, like troubled water running could, well time can heal but this won’t

Before you go, was there something I could have said to make your heart beat better?

Our every moment, I start to replay, but all I can think about is seeing that look on your face  @arrowsandmixtapes​ 

Hard to Forget - Sam Hunt

It's kinda funny how I can't seem to get away from you, it's almost like you don't want me to

You’ve got a cold heart and the cold hard truth

Told me to leave all your things out on the porch on the swing

Oh you’re breaking my heart, baby you’re playing hard to forget 

This is It - Scotty McCreery

You can open your eyes

Can’t you see forever 

On top of the world here together

If there ever was a time for a perfect kiss, this is it 

Wish You’d Miss Me - Chase Wright

I was good for you, you were bad for me 

I was solid ground, you were broken wings 

I gave you love you gave me pain

You gave me hell, I gave you grace 

I knew all along that you were gonna leave 

What a Man Gotta Do - Jonas Brothers

I’m not trying to be your part time lover, sign me up for that full time @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad​

This Feeling - Chainsmokers ft. Kelsea Ballerini 

I lay out all my reasons you say that I need help

They tell me think with my head, not that thing in my chest

They got their hands at my neck this time 

I tell you all my secrets and you tell all your friends 

Hold onto your opinions and stand by what you say 

What Are You Gonna Tell Her - Mickey Guyton 

She thinks life is fair 

But what are you gonna tell her when she’s wrong?

What are you gonna tell her when she figures out that all this time you built her up just so the world could let her down? 

Do you tell her not to fight? 

Can you look her in the face and promise her that things will change? 

[aelaer]

The Blood in Your Veins: 9/?

I keep forgetting to update tumblr when I have a new update, whoops. It's written up to 15, and I have bits of 16 and 17 written out. It's just about getting it all out of my head and onto paper. But we're about halfway done on AO3.

Fandom: MCU

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Relationships: Tony Stark & Stephen Strange, Tony Stark/Stephen Strange. And getting to know a handful of original characters that were needed for the plot.

Some Other Tags: Gen or Pre-Slash, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Kidnapping, Hurt Stephen Strange, Hurt Tony Stark, POV Stephen Strange, Medical Procedures, Palladium Poisoning, Hollywood Science, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-typical resignation to a possibly terminal condition

Summary: An overly-long prompt story written for tumblr’s @ironstrangeprompts #608: Kidnapped to play doctor for a still unseen other prisoner, Stephen realizes there is only one person on the planet who would have palladium in their blood.

Chapter 9: An Oath I've Sworn

As always, Meera immediately took the blood sample from Stephen to analyze once he got back from breakfast with Tony, and Stephen got back to the tediousness of largely slide labeling and data entry for both Jada's and Meera's numerous tests and experiments. They had conducted well over a thousand at this point, that much he knew. But despite the countless hours in trying to find anything to fully counteract the continuous palladium poisoning, a solution better than the lithium dioxide injections had yet to be found, and it was growing increasingly unlikely that anything would be found. Still, they labored on.

About an hour after his return, Meera called at him. He looked over his shoulder as she disposed of her gloves and when she caught his eye, she gestured to her computer. As he came over, she said, "It's not good."

Stephen slowly exhaled at the current numbers and the chart beside it. "Well, we weren't sure if the extra smoothie a day would do much," he pointed out.

"I was hoping it would do something," Meera hissed in frustration. "We both were."

He glanced over at Jada's sleeping form as Meera mentioned her. "It was worth a shot," he said.

"Jada's models expected a steep growth at some point, but it seems too early to me," she continued. "Look—it took him three weeks to get from 0.3 to 0.36, right when we started the lithium dioxide injections. There has been nothing conclusive in his blood and urine tests that point to a weakening kidney, so surely the rate should have remained the same. This jump to 0.45 from the 6th to the 11th made no sense then and makes no sense now. That it's at 0.61 only a week later…" She trailed off and raised her glasses to rub at her eyes.

"At the rate it's going, it will have near doubled in two weeks," Stephen murmured.

"From all my models, the lithium dioxide should have continued to slow it. It makes no sense. Perhaps his body has started developing some sort of tolerance to it?" She sighed. "Increasing the dosage of the lithium dioxide may be the only choice we have here. Does Stark know the risks?"

Read More on AO3

[qobiin]

when i fill them, they’ll shine forever | ch 6

pairing: todobakudeku (bakugou x midoriya x todoroki) 

genre: fluff, angst | abo au, canon-compliant 

warnings: swearing, trans male character, mild canon-typical violence, mentioned child abuse, implied non-con, misgendering, endeavor 

word count: 4118

summary: Katsuki being an omega from birth changes a few things. 

chapter six of when i fill them, they’ll shine forever 

"If you're here to give me some sympathetic speech or some shit, I will kill you, Pinkie," Katsuki spits over his shoulder.

"Eh?" Pinkie startles, scrambling to compose herself as Katsuki turns to look at her. "I have no idea what you mean."

Katsuki narrows his eyes at the way she nervously scratches the back of her head, her smile much too wide to be genuine. Pinkie scuffs the toe of her shoe against the floor, her arms dropping to her sides so she can play with the ends of her school jacket. Her scent is as sweet as any other omega’s but there is a sour aftertaste to it that makes Katsuki wrinkle his nose in distaste.

"What the fuck do you want? I have places to be," Katsuki says as he crosses his arms over his chest.

He doesn’t know anything past a few of his classmates’ quirks, much too busy with bettering himself and challenging his mates to give a shit about anyone else. Shitty Hair and Pikachu are showing some potential since they have enough of a backbone to socialize normally with him instead of fearfully or putting him on a pedestal. Most of the others will be unimportant to his story in the long run and Katsuki isn’t usually the type to write people off so soon, but Pinkie herself hasn’t impressed him in the least. 

“I just um-” Pinkie flushes, fingers twining together nervously. “All the girls wanted to thank you.”

Katsuki frowns, suddenly confused. As far as he knows, none of the girls want to be within two feet of him. He has no idea why they would want to thank him for something.

The only thing he can think of that would be spoken about is the Perverted Grape incident that happened earlier that day. Katsuki is waiting for Deku to finish talking to Glasses, Todoroki already having left a few minutes before. He wants to go to Deku’s and gorge himself on Auntie Inko’s cooking while he avoids going home where his mom will scream for blood and his dad will flutter nervously around him for the rest of the weekend. He already had Glasses, Hundred Arms, and Shitty Hair try to comfort him in their own shitty ways about Perverted Grape, he doesn’t need any more of this crap today.

“What the fuck is this about?” Katsuki asks, glaring down at Pinkie. “You have five seconds to speak or I’m walking away. One.”

“Thankyouforgettingridofmineta!” Pinkie shouts, bowing at the waist once before she runs away.

Katsuki scoffs as he watches her leave. “As if I did it for any of you.”

“Did what, Kacchan?” Deku’s voice pipes up behind him.

“Nothing, you shit nerd. Let’s go already,” Katsuki grumbles, barely even reacting to Deku’s sudden appearance.

His alpha’s scent is more familiar to him than his own so if Deku really wants to startle him, he is going to have to work harder than that.

Katsuki takes Deku’s hand and leads the way towards the train station, already imagining all the dishes his Auntie Inko will prepare. Deku follows behind him quietly, not having to say a word for Katsuki to understand his alpha will always support him.

The sports festival is turning out to be fucking boring.

Katsuki delivered his "speech" before the first challenge began, which was really just him pointing out a fact by stating that he and his mates were going to mop the floor with all of them. No need for everyone to get their fucking panties in a twist at the truth.

They had taken one look at the mouth of the tunnel before both his mates grabbed hold of Katsuki’s arms and held on tight as he shot them over the other students piling up beneath them. Many yells and shouts had followed them but Deku only whooped as they came out of the other side and got their first glimpse of the obstacle course prepared for them. 

The zero pointers from the entrance exam rose up to greet them but Todoroki froze one and Katsuki blew up the one beside it at Deku’s request. Deku had grabbed a stray piece of the now broken robot as they flew over it while Todoroki directed ice back at the other students to cut their competition in half. At the pit, Todoroki made more ice to make them a path straight across and Katsuki used more of his blasts to ski them over the pit in no time at all. 

By that point Katsuki and Todoroki had practically ruined the obstacle course as they held Deku between them, all three of them keeping first place easily. Then Deku had pulled himself away from them at the third obstacle, dropping onto his knees to dig at the edges of the landmine before Katsuki got the memo. Together, they dug up the explosives and put them in a pile together.

Todoroki had just enough time to grab Deku's shirt and Katsuki climbed onto his alpha's back as Deku held up the piece of the robot that he had nabbed earlier. His alpha then slammed it into the explosives and all three of them were thrown into the air, sliding past the finish line easily and more importantly, together.

The second challenge hasn't been that big of a challenge either actually. Katsuki grudgingly allows Round Face to join their team after Deku brings up his plan and when the countdown begins, Todoroki makes ice appear in a circle around them while Round Face slaps her hands on the backs of Katsuki’s mates before pressing her fingertips together with a determined look in her eyes. Katsuki settles Deku on his shoulders and waits until Todoroki and Uraraka have grabbed hold of his alpha’s arms to shoot them up in the sky. More yells and shouting follows them but Katsuki ignores it. He knows they are not breaking the rules through anything but a technicality and while last year, he would be enraged about using such a cheap tactic to win, now he only cares to shield his mates from any harm that may befall them. 

Despite the lack of a real fight, their team is doing exceptionally well by staying out of other students’ grasps. The only time anyone gets near enough to almost ripping the headband worth a million points off Deku's head, Todoroki's left side erupts with the barest lick of flames before his ice overcomes some random girl’s vines. Katsuki felt the almost unbearable heat of Todoroki’s fire tease the back of his hand as he prepared himself to power off an explosion and can't help the sharp intake of breath that he takes through his teeth at that moment.

Which is why he is only slightly surprised when Todoroki asks him and Deku for a word in private during the lunch break. Once the break is over, all the stupid extras will then ready themselves for the games UA's staff has prepared for the losers who didn't make it to the final round so technically, they have a longer break than most. Katsuki exchanges a not-so-subtle glance with his alpha before he nods and allows Todoroki to lead the way.

As soon as they are alone, Todoroki tells them his life story. 

All of it. 

The quirk marriage. The forced mate bond. The breeding. The training he began at age four. His mother losing her grip on sanity. The isolation from his siblings and peers alike. The abuse he has withstood ever since then. The resentment and anger Todoroki has carried for countless years. The determination to never use the quirk he inherited from his father.

Every single, excruciating detail has Katsuki's blood boiling and his hackles rising. His body calls for blood, the need to defend and fight and tear limbs apart almost overcomes him.

He doesn’t understand how a parent can look at the life they helped bring into this world and not want to protect them with all their power. Deku has an idea if his claim of not being All Might’s secret love child can be believed, but Katsuki has never faced that misfortune. Not even his coming out impacted the relationship he had with his parents much - not in the way that most would expect anyway. Katsuki does not understand and he never will but he does understand that what both his mates’ fathers have done and are doing now is wrong.

Wrong and awful and horrible. Downright evil in Todoroki’s case. That is more than enough to warrant Katsuki’s bloodlust. He’s sure his parents would understand why he murdered the Number Two Hero anyway. Auntie Inko most definitely would. Hell, probably Yagi-san too, especially considering the way he dotes on Deku. 

Regardless, Katsuki has already made up his mind.

"I am going to fucking kill him," Katsuki spits out between clenched teeth, his hands smoking and curled into tight fists at his sides. "No, no. I am going to destroy him! I'm gonna rip off his balls and feed them to him! I'm gonna hold my hands over his skin and see how well he likes getting burned!"

Katsuki continues, his methods of torture growing more grotesque and painful as he does, all while ignoring the surprised and somewhat wary look on Todoroki's face. Deku is silent beside him, but his scent tells Katsuki enough.

Their alpha is angry. 

Deku is trembling, his eyes flashing gold and hands curled into fists as well. The air around them reeks of ozone and Katsuki feels the ridiculous urge to sneeze. Todoroki’s gaze keeps flickering between the two of them, unsure of who needs his attention more: his alpha who is rapidly losing his grip on his control or his omega who is ranting about every which way he will harm his father.

"Aren't you going to tell me that killing is bad and I don't know what other fucking nonsense you preach and shit?" Katsuki asks when Deku's scent sours enough to bother him. "I'm gonna murder the Number Two Hero, you fucking nerd. Shouldn't you stop me?"

Say something, Katsuki doesn’t plead aloud. Say you agree. Say you’re with us, no matter what.

Deku tenses all at once then sighs, his body going lax as he closes his eyes and leans his head back on the wall behind him. "If it was anybody else, literally anybody else, I would say yes."

Katsuki smirks, the edges of it sharp enough to cut. "But?"

"Not in this case," Deku finally says, his scent still angry and now frustrated.

"I am fully capable of killing that bastard, you know," Katsuki continues, eyes flickering between both of his mates. "I could go and murder him right now and I would be glad to be thrown into jail for it. My parents would probably throw a fucking party."

Todoroki looks at him like he's insane, but Katsuki ignores him. He focuses on Deku instead, watching the corners of his mouth twitch with a smile, the sour anger in his scent slowly starting to bleed away.

"I know, Kacchan," Deku agrees, opening his eyes which have now returned to their normal color and leaving Katsuki horrified as they start to water.

Katsuki bites his lip, looking back at Todoroki again who is staring open-mouthed at Deku in shock. "Do you want me to?"

He means it as a question for them both but it is Deku who answers. "Yes, but you shouldn't. People would paint you as a villain and that's not who you are, Kacchan.”

“Shut the fuck up, Deku,” Katsuki bites back but there is a smile on his face and no heat in his words.

“Okay,” Deku replies with a tired smile.

Katsuki pivots to stare at Todoroki, pinning his beta with his gaze alone. “And you, you bastard, come here!”

“Are you going to kill me?” Todoroki asks as he stands up straight, his spine probably in pain due to how quickly he came to attention.

Katsuki's grin turns sharp once more. “If you Order me again, then yes, but just get your ass over here already! ”

“Wait, you Ordered Kacchan?” Deku asks, head swiveling between them both in confusion.

"Twice, the fucking shithead!” Katsuki admits.

Deku's eyes turn flinty before they soften once more. "You must have a death wish, Todoroki-kun. Please, don't ever do that again."

Katsuki huffs, crossing his arms over his chest as he glares at his alpha. "I don't need you to defend me, fucking Deku!"

"I know," Deku murmurs, "but sometimes, you want me to and I don't really appreciate the fact that someone would Order you, even if he's our mate, Kacchan. Todoroki-kun, seriously, don't do that again."

"Shut up, Deku," Katsuki spits out at the same time that Todoroki says, "I won't Order you again, Bakugou-kun."

"Good," Deku huffs as Katsuki moves closer until he can sling an arm over his alpha and tuck him into his side. "Now get over here. We're going to scent you so your father knows he'll have plenty of things to explain the next time I smell him on you."

Katsuki nods sagely. "Deku will destroy him."

"Why would he do that?" Todoroki looks at Deku like he can't imagine the alpha going toe-to-toe with his dipshit of a dad, but Katsuki knows better. And Todoroki should know better too after what happened the week before in the locker room's bathroom.

"Because you're our mate, you fucking bastard," Katsuki growls, reaching out and grabbing hold of Todoroki's arm before he drags him closer. "We'll end anyone who fucking hurts you. You're mine now and I don't like it when people touch my things. I beat the shit out of anybody who dared to lay a hand on my alpha and I'll beat the shit out of anyone who hurts my beta too."

Deku smiles at Todoroki from underneath his arm, his scent calmer and steady like before. "Don't worry about it, Todoroki-kun. Kacchan is just really overprotective. You'll grow used to it."

Todoroki is stiff underneath Katsuki's hand, but, slowly, he starts to relax as well. He leans into Katsuki's side and lays his two-toned head against Katsuki's shoulder. On his other side, Deku does the same, mirroring their mate. They stand there for a moment, huddled up in each other's warmth as they allow their scents to slide across one another, mingling and intermixing. Katsuki is certain that no one is going to speak for some time yet, so he's slightly surprised when Deku does.

“Your quirk is your own, Todoroki-kun.”

“Hm?” Todoroki hums in response, his head shifting against Katsuki’s shoulder.

Deku leans forward until even Katsuki is having difficulties keeping his eyes on them. “Your fire is your own. Everyone else here is using a hundred percent of what they’ve got to make it. It would be wrong of you to do this with only half.”

Todoroki stills in Katsuki’s embrace, expression shifting until his face is blank once more. Katsuki can physically see all the walls Todoroki is putting up again and he cannot have that.

“We can talk about that later, you little shits,” Katsuki cuts in. “Deku, seriously not the fucking time.”

His beta’s scent pulses for one short breath before it calms, Deku oblivious to it all as he starts to say, “Todoroki-kun should work with a hundred percent of what he has too, Kacchan! Otherwise-”

"Shouto."

"Huh?" Deku asks, like a fucking idiot as if Todoroki's intentions aren't clear enough.

Todoroki only blinks at him though, his scent still remaining calm and focused. "You can both call me Shouto."

Deku brightens considerably, his smile like the sun breaking through a heavy layer of overcast while he pushes the quirk issue off to the side for now. "Ah, well you can call me Izuku and Kacchan Katsuki!"

"No, he can't," Katsuki scowls.

"Yes, he can," Deku replies instantly, his smile never faltering. "Go sulk another time, this is loving and supporting our mate hours right now!"

Katsuki can't help the startled laughter that escapes him, but he lets it run its course when Deku only brightens even further at the sound and Todoroki relaxes against him again. "Shut the fuck up, Deku. That meme is as old as balls."

Deku's grin only grows bigger, the edges curving dangerously but he says nothing and wraps his arms around Katsuki's waist. Todoroki too settles further into their warmth, his scent now laced with a dash of content.

From the corner of his eye, Katsuki can see the hint of a smile on his beta's face. The sight alone does weird things to his heart that he promptly ignores in favor of enjoying the company of his mates.

Deku and he run into Endeavor before starting their second fight in the third challenge and Katsuki wonders how the Flaming Piece of Shit got out of there alive.

Considering that All Might was also present, Katsuki is doubly confused about how Endeavor is still breathing.

“Come on,” Katsuki spits as he drags Deku out the door. “Fuck everything else and focus on this stupid match. If you let your quirk break you again, dipshit, I’m taking our beta in the divorce.”

Katsuki isn’t happy at all about the team matches but considering that there are many mated students in the sixteen contestants left for the third challenge, he supposed that it made some lick of sense. Not that he’s going to admit that out loud anyway.

Deku laughs, following behind Katsuki willingly, but his smile dies as they round the corner and run into the last person either of them wanted to see.

They have seen the Number Two Hero plenty of times on television and social media. Katsuki thought he was pretty average looking when he was younger but at that moment he is ugly beyond belief. His facial hair is made up completely of fire and spare bits of it run through his hair. He is tall and in his hero suit but there is nothing about him that shows he is a hero in Katsuki’s eyes.

Instead of the mild admiration Katsuki used to feel for this man, all he can focus on is the hate and rage that’s building up quickly within him.

“So you’re the alpha who’s staked a claim on my son,” Endeavor says like he never expected anybody to try and interfere with the plans he had forced upon his child’s shoulders.

Katsuki bares his teeth at him, forcing himself to stay silent. Endeavor’s eyes linger on Deku’s arm where he is grabbing hold of his alpha. His gaze flickers to Katsuki briefly, looking him up and down as if he is a piece of meat being put on display at the market before he focuses back on Deku. Katsuki can’t help the cold disgust that rolls down his spine when the Flaming Piece of Shit’s eyes are no longer on him. Deku shifts beside him in response, subtly putting himself in front of Katsuki to shield him from view.

“And you’re Shouto’s father,” Deku points out, the anger in his voice plain for anyone to hear.

Endeavor’s brows raise up for a moment before his face settles back into its usual scowl. “Your omega. She’ll do fine but if you don’t prove you are the best alpha around, neither of you get to have him.”

Deku growls and the overbearing scent of ozone fills up the hallway. Katsuki holds onto his alpha tighter while allowing his lips to curl back and make his snarl look more aggressive.

“You don’t decide that for him,” Deku snaps. “And don’t refer to Kacchan as a girl. He will rip out your tongue for such disrespect.”

Endeavor’s gaze flicks back towards Katsuki at this and Katsuki snaps his teeth at him, wanting nothing more than to do just that.

Shouto had told them about all the awful crap his father had done but this - what he just said - takes the fucking cake. Katsuki wants to let go of his alpha and watch him tear into this arrogant beta until there is nothing recognizable left. He doesn’t though because he isn’t stupid and the only person allowed to go to jail is him, but the idea itself is still very tempting.

Fortunately, Yagi-san’s smell rises up behind them announcing his presence. Katsuki doesn’t look back to see his arrival, not trusting Endeavor enough to take his eyes off him but he does smell it when Yagi-san realizes what is going on. It would have been difficult not to, considering Deku is sending out angry and agitated alpha pheromones for everyone in the entire building to smell. Even the lowliest beta with the worst sense of smell would be able to tell that Katsuki’s alpha is in distress.

Within two seconds, Katsuki is facing the broad back of the Number One Hero. All Might is in the shifted form he uses for public appearances and has his arms extended by his sides in a way that appears natural but effectively blocks them both. The fact he did this in a way that did not draw any attention to them at all is only another reason why Katsuki immediately begins to calm down when All Might appeared.

“Endeavor, what are you doing to my students?” All Might rumbles, acting as if he had not stumbled over the end of his question.

Katsuki can no longer see the expression on Endeavor’s face but he can hazard a guess about it well enough. “Wishing them luck.”

All Might’s stance doesn’t relax in the least. “Then you may go now. These two are due for their match soon.”

Endeavor merely huffs and walks away then. All Might doesn’t move from his stance until the other man is no longer nearby. He turns and smiles at them, dropping a hand on both their shoulders when the coast is clear. Katsuki allows it, his anger still pulsing dangerously within him even if he knew they are safe with All Might now present but it is dying down nevertheless.

“What happened?” All Might asks, his blue eyes glinting dangerously under the hallway halogens.

Katsuki tells him. He keeps quiet about what their mate had told them earlier that day because it isn’t any of his business to share until his beta is ready to get help, but he holds nothing back about the conversation they just had with the Flaming Piece of Shit. All Might’s eyes turn almost black with the force of his anger, more ozone joining the air around them.

(And Deku had seriously thought Katsuki wasn’t going to assume that Yagi-san was his dad?)

“He won’t bother you again. You have my word,” All Might vows. “Now run along. Your match is starting within the next three minutes.”

They both nod and are rewarded with pats to their heads. Yagi-san then steps to the side so he is no longer blocking the path and Katsuki drags his alpha away before Deku can add more fire to the fuel.

Katsuki and Shouto share first place, Deku taking second and Emo Birdbrain taking third.

He would consider it a loss any other time, but considering all the crap Shouto has been put through and shared with them today, Katsuki just rolls with it.

(And no, he does not miss the fact that All Might hugs his alpha just a little too long to be normal after he drapes their medals over their heads during the awards ceremony. Going by Shouto’s thoughtful hum beside him, their beta doesn’t miss it either. That conversation should be fun.)

Later, he still takes pleasure in burning and blowing up all of his and Deku's Endeavor merchandise.

He takes greater pleasure in watching Shouto try and keep a straight face as Katsuki blatantly flirts with him when they get ice cream the next day. Deku's flirting is a lot more subtle but they both relish at the sight of Shouto's flushing, blank face over a banana split.

Of course, not all good things last. Katsuki had learned this fact early on in life.

He knows it isn't true when people say that the only way is up. Life isn't that easy and it has never been especially kind to Katsuki of all people. He doesn't mind that fact. He understands that is just how things work and that it is the way of life no matter how much he may wish it not to be. It's just how things are and he gets that.

He just didn't expect the rug to be pulled out from under his feet so soon is all.

a/n: sorry for the wait! i hope that you all liked this though (: thanks for reading!

[missjosie27]

Year 2 Part 9- The First Vault

Hello, everyone.

There is good news! I seem to have my mojo back, that spark every writer needs to adequately make their craft. So expect updates to come a lot more often.

This chapter is the vault chapter though it will not mark the end of Year 2. For the record, I intend to write all seven years but that is going to take a hell of a long time given JC's very slow updating schedule haha.

Anyway enjoy this chapter! As always comment what you think. I enjoy it immensely.

Year 2 Part 9. The First Vault

Ben’s hopes for an uneventful end of the semester turned out to be oddly prophetic. The number of ice attacks dropped so significantly that even the first years seemed to be more relaxed going into the latter part of May and into June. Tension ran much lower and even the most brooding Slytherin or skeptical Ravenclaw had to admit things were looking up. Though Dumbledore was still noticeably absent, Professor McGonagall filled in more than adequately as deputy headmistress.

All the while, David felt…conflicted. He was certainly happy that the ice attacks had stopped, and the danger seemingly gone. But that didn’t lead him any closer to finding out what happened to his brother nor the identity of ‘R’ and what they wanted in general. Would he trade for more clues about the cursed vault just to have more information on Jacob? No, he wasn’t that selfish, unlike those such as Merula who only thought about themselves. But it didn’t ease that same longing he’d felt since he was nine years old, nor satisfy his curiosity.

Ben, of course, was ecstatic and Rowan tried to see the bright side as usual, telling him that no curse meant more time to study for their upcoming exams (whoop de doo) and reduce their chances of getting in trouble with the teachers. Bill, however, was the only one who remained unconvinced that the danger had truly passed.

“A magical cursed vault doesn’t just stop cursing people,” he explained one day while at the training grounds. “From what I’ve researched, cursed objects are often unpredictable and not at all stable due to the sheer amount of dark magic they contain.”

“Are these vaults even dark, though?” Rowan pointed out, as he fired a stinging hex towards his target. “It could just be a natural defense mechanism of someone trying to interfere with it.”

“I don’t personally trust anything that has the capacity to seriously maim or kill someone,” David opined.

Bill send a burst of flame forth, incinerating a dummy to ashes.

“If it turns out that this was nothing more than a false alarm, I won’t complain,” he said. “But until we can actually confirm that, it’s best to remain on our toes.”

And remain on their toes they did, thanks to Bill. Three times a week, they were down by the ground training and when they weren’t Rowan was often in the library searching for more books on the ancient Aramaic language they found the previous year, or anything on the vault’s origin. Penny received several new potions books from her mother and was pouring through them for more ideas or possible brews they could use in the event of an attack.

For his part, David tried to juggle the rest of his schoolwork with the vaults. His mother in particular was expecting higher marks this year and constantly reminded him of that in her letters.

Do as I say, not as I do he lamented. It was typical of his mum to offer instruction but little sympathy in doing so. If only Dad actually had a backbone. Whatever, it’s not like they’re actually here seeing what I get up to

All of these things were to bound to come to a head sooner or later and when it did, it was in the most unexpected fashion imaginable.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The day of pandemonium coincidentally was on the last Quidditch match of the season, where Gryffindor was due to play Ravenclaw for the title. The air was abuzz with excitement, and though the Slytherins were more than a bit glum at being out the running, it was expected to be an even, prime time matchup. It was not an atmosphere concerned with the cursed vaults.

That included David and Bill, who in their eager anticipation of the match, rose early and sped down to breakfast both for the purpose of eating and wishing Charlie luck. Since his first match against Slytherin, his ascent into superstardom had been rapid. The game against Hufflepuff was as equally lopsided, with Gryffindor winning 400-100 in a span of about half an hour. But it wasn’t simply the score that had the Lions on the cusp of their first cup since the late seventies, it was a generational talent and that person was Charlie Weasley. His natural ability on a broom was so spectacular, many people openly talked of him playing for England someday. True to his nature, the second eldest Weasley merely shrugged such talk off, choosing instead to focus on the Quidditch Cup but the chatter was undeniable.

“Good luck, little bro,” Bill teased him moments before heading down into the locker room. “You know Fred and George are going to want a full play by play after you win.”

“Knock it off, Bill,” Charlie said, rolling his eyes but there was a small smile on his face all the same. “Just have the butterbeer ready when we come back.”

Giving each other fist bumps, Skye Parkin called over as she tossed the quaffle back and forth between herself and fellow chaser Ruth Barrett.

“Oi, Weasley! Orion’s called us to the pitch! Let’s go!”

“She has a way with words,” Bill observed mildly.

Charlie raised his hands as he got up from the table.

“Just who she is.”

“Knock em, dead, mate. We all know you’ll be brilliant,” David encouraged, giving one last slap on the back.

The red head thanked him and quickly exited the Great Hall to the applause of the Gryffindor table, while the Ravenclaws paid them no mind.

“Gotta say, definitely different than playing Slytherin from a pregame standpoint,” David observed.

“Ravenclaws don’t need to use shady or underhanded tactics to try and intimidate opponents,” Bill pointed out. “Their talent and tactics are usually enough. Besides, their team left for the locker room already.”

“Good point.”

Checking out his watch, David began to wonder where Rowan and Ben were. Both had assured him they’d be down just after himself. Even if his best friend wasn’t the earliest riser when it came to Quidditch matches, he was usually sufficient enough to dress and shower quickly.

“Where are those guys?” he muttered to himself. The Great Hall was beginning to empty out. Even the Professors were absent from the table. Something wasn’t right.

Bill tried to reassure him in his usual cool, collected manner.

“I’m sure they’ll be along s-”

He never was able to finish the sentence as screaming and panic began to erupt from outside of the hall. Whoever was left eating breakfast immediately ran to the scene of the commotion, including the two Gryffindors. What they saw was pure pandemonium: adolescents and teenagers from all houses were running back and forth and wasn’t hard to see why. Numerous spores of ice were blooming all around them, growing at a rapid pace threatening to engulf all in their path.

David and Bill, both glanced at each other, simultaneously gulping. Suddenly, wave of blonde slammed into them.

“Ack! Penny?!”

“Dave! Bill! Oh, I’m so glad I found you,” she said through a tight hug around David’s midsection (he blushed ever so slightly). “Is this the cursed vault?”

“Has to be,” the young Gryffindor replied. “What else could be making such gigantic icebergs?”

Just then, a large mass could be seen moving towards them through the crowd and given his height advantage it wasn’t difficult to spot who it was.

“Dave? Bill? All yehs thank goodness yer alrigh’.”

“Hagrid? What on earth is going on?”

The exceedingly large man’s warm, beetle eyes were saddled with watery worry.

“The cursed ice is spreadin through all o’ Hogwarts!” he replied, nervously tapping a pink umbrella by his side. “It’s getting ter be madness out there. Gryffindor Tower is completely blocked in, the dungeons got icicles stickin out everywhere. An’ apparently the Ravenclaw Quidditch team are trapped inside the changing rooms. The blasted ice is expandin so fas’ that the Professors can’t keep up with it and there’s only so much they can do. Especially with Professor Dumbledore off searchin fer that curse-breaker.”

Hagrid paused and mumbled to himself.

“Ah, shouldn’ta said that, should not have said that.”

“What curse breaker?” David asked curiously. But the groundskeeper waved off their concerns with one of his trash can lid hands.

“Never mind tha’ now. My job is to keep you lot safe until the ice is under control. Now head back into the Grea’ Hall while I go assist Professor McGonagall.”

As he sped off, or as fast as one of his girth could go, David looked back towards his two companions, blocking out the hysteria around him.

“We have to move fast,” he told Bill and Penny. “It sounds like the ice is back with a vengeance.”

“But shouldn’t the Professors handle it?” the blonde asked, fear evident in her crystal, blue eyes.

“It sounds like they have too much on their plate in order to properly deal with the cursed ice. And this time it might not be enough to save the day,” David pointed out.

“We’re forgetting one key thing,” Bill added. “The Professors don’t even know where the origin of this ice is. They may not be able to fix it.”

“But we do. And we can,” David declared. “Bill’s right. No one besides us knows where this vault is located. It’s time for a third and final visit.”

Bill looked over his shoulder to ensure no one was listening, simultaneous worry and conflict on his handsome features. However, he also appeared resolved.

“I didn’t want to go back in there without at least four or five us just so we could have each other’s backs, but it looks like there’s no choice. The three of us will go in, break that curse, and save Hogwarts.”

David nodded in complete agreement. As much as he wanted Rowan and Ben with them, his two roommates were effectively trapped within the common room. They were the last remaining hope.

“It’s settled then. Penny, are you in?”

Though her own misgivings could still be seen in her face and body posture, Penny didn’t hesitate in her answer.

“Absolutely. I told you David that the next time something like this happens to involve me. Well, you’re going to keep that promise whether you like it or not.”

She truly is the most loyal Hufflepuff I’ve ever seen

“You’re amazing, Penny. Alright let’s go!”

And without so much as a second thought, the three teens took off running towards the thirteenth corridor.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It didn’t take long to reach the corridor nor for David to reveal the hidden entrance. Being the third go around, he could pinpoint the spot precisely and the power of being an advanced Transfiguration student certainly didn’t hurt either.

When the eerie hallway and steps were exposed, Penny was taken aback.

“Whoa,” she uttered softly. “I’ve never seen a cursed vault before, but even this is a lot to take in at one time.”

“Stay close,” David nodded towards her. The last thing he needed was more casualties on this trip. Rowan and Bill had nearly frozen to death in each of the last instances. He would ensure nothing of the sort happened to Penny. However, her inexperience was showing already. The two Gryffindor teens already knew what to expect unlike the blonde Hufflepuff.

“Don’t worry,” he tried to reassure her. “It’s okay to be scared. We all are.”

“But it always helps to have a bit background. Especially for someone who’s never seen all of this macabre rubbish,” Bill joked.

Penny gave a frail smile, nevertheless she remained quite frightened of the ominous knights and ancient statues that surrounded them.

“What should I expect?” she asked bravely.

“If memory serves correctly, there will be a chamber with a massive door of ice in front of us, guarded by a giant shield shaped like a snowflake,” Bill explained to her.

“You’re taking the mickey, right?”

David resisted the urge to laugh despite the seriousness of the situation.

“It sounds pretty unbelievable but trust me, Penny. We’re not lying.”

As if to prove his point they came across the same giant wall of ice that stood against their path to the doors, twice as thick and formidable as before.

“Well…this is a problem,” David observed. “Will the knockback jinx be enough, Bill?”

“It’s our only hope, mate,” Bill told him, pulling out his wand. “If we hit it at the same time, it should be enough to create a big enough entry way for us to fit through.”

The two second years copied the older boy and prepared to fire.

“Give it all you got, Penny,” David told her, giving a look of encouragement. “Whatever ounce of power you think you have….summon every ounce of it.

I’m going to need it too

“On the count of three,” Bill announced and Penny’s normally cute, bubbly features took on an uncharacteristic degree of determination. “One….two….THREE!”

“Flipendo!”

Beams of blue light struck the ice with a tremendous force but to their dismay, only a slight dent was made, indicating the defenses were much stronger than originally thought of.

“Try it again. One…two…THREE!”

“Flipendo!”

This time a small hole was made through the ice, but it was barely big enough for a man to go ice fishing.

“One more,” Bill breathed heavily. “We can do this. On my count…one…two…THREE!”

This time, their efforted yielded paydirt as the combined power of their spells blasted the ice apart, leaving a man sized opening just big enough for them duck through.

“When you get inside, spread out and be ready when the door starts blasting its freezing charms,” the eldest Weasley informed them. “Penny, you remember the fire spell, yeah?”

“Incendio, right?”

“That’s the one. As soon as you get close enough to it, blast it with all your power.”

David nodded in affirmation. There was no time to think or get fancy, the only objective was to get past that door and ensure that this curse was broken once and for all. As for what came after….they could deal with that later.

Sure, enough as they entered the icy chamber and drew close, the snowflake shield began firing off freezing curses, causing the three teens to roll off to one side in order to avoid them.

“I see what you mean!” Penny yelled, drawing her wand. “Also, really wish I’d worn something other than a skirt had I known we’d literally be going into a cursed vault!”

David fired a knockback jinx to buy them some time, but their offensive nearly stalled as a freezing spell nearly hit Bill, causing him to slip forward on the slick, unstable surface.

“That was too close,” he muttered. “Alright, after the next curse it shoots off, fire away with everything you got.”

David drew his own wand and aimed carefully, shrinking low on the steps, concentrating all of his magic into the biggest inferno ball he could imagine in his head. By the hardened look on Penny’s face, she was evidently doing the same. As soon as the next freezing spell (aimed for Bill again) passed, he and the Hufflepuff were on their feet charging the door.

“INCENDIO!!” they roared simultaneously.

With their combined strength, huge plumes of fire issued forth and made contact with the shield attached the door. Through the heat and acrid smoke, David could see that the icy fortification was melting into a pool of water onto the floor. By the time the fire barrage ended, it was completely gone.

“YES!” he exclaimed. “We finally got rid of that bloody thing.”

The group barely had time to celebrate however as ominous rumbling could be heard from inside of the door, the ground quaking as though a giant were approaching.

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Penny stated, anxiety back on her face.

“I just realized, David,” Bill said turning to him. “All this time we thought this door was keeping us out of the vault…but what if it was keeping something IN?”

It was a consideration they had no time to discuss more for at that moment, as the massive doors opened to reveal a terrifying sight: an Ice Knight, made of iron but covered completely in chunks of snow and frost, about ten feet tall carrying a massive sword. It did not look pleased at their intrusion.

“Merlin’s Beard,” Bill breathed. “Everyone, take cover!!”

But he was too late. The knight struck out with his sword creating an icy wind so fierce, so deathly cold that one could not stand against it without plunging into a winter induced coma. In a quick succession, Bill’s body was quickly entrapped in ice as was Penny’s. Fortunately for David, he had managed to jump out of the way in time, all except his foot, which he managed to free.

“Blasted thing…” he muttered, ripping his foot away and breaking the containment. He ignored the rising chill in his bones as he saw his two friends stuck in blocks of ice so thick, it was a wonder they could move at all. Both of their faces were already turning blue.

“L-look out!” Bill warned threw chattered teeth as the knight swung his blade once more.

Again, David had to dive out of the away to avoid getting caught in the same prison. Wheeling around, he aimed his wand and issued out another fire blast. It caught the knight square in the chest, causing it to reel back but otherwise had no effect.

“Uh oh.”

For the third time, he avoided a blizzard blast but only just barely. There was no telling how long he could keep this up. Not to mention the health and safety of his friends were increasingly in jeopardy. He wasn’t going to win by simply dodging the strikes.

“D-D-Dave,” Penny managed to utter out. “C-c-come here. Reach into m-m-my j-j-jumper pocket.”

He did not argue, running over to her and doing as instructed. Within seconds, a bottle of green potion was in his hand.

“It’s f-f-fire breathing p-p-potion. I know i-i-it’s risky b-b-but it might be our only h-h-hope.”

“S-s-she’s right!” Bill called out in agreement. “You h-h-have to use it n-n-now!”

In a split second David managed to consider the options: fire breathing potion could damage someone’s esophagus and stomach beyond repair if too much was ingested at one time. And would it be enough to actually take down their adversary? Unless…

Wait a second, I have an idea

Ducking another blast from the Ice Knight, David wasted no more time. He quickly chugged the potion, feeling its warmth rush down his throat and into the pit of his gut (it was rather like ingesting tasteless, extremely hot water). Putting his wand directly in front of his mouth, he ran up to the Knight, and knelt down on one knee.

Summoning a deep breath, David aimed straight for its midsection with only a second to spare.

“INCENDIOOOOO!!!!”

The fire breathing potion combined with the spell of his wand issued a concentrated beam of fire so powerful that it cut through the giant’s armor like a hot knife through butter, leaving a gaping hole in the middle of its body. As soon as the damage was recognized the silent knight looked down, fell to its knees before bursting into a cloud of snow and dust.

Panting heavily, David barely even registered his victory, rushing over to help Bill and Penny. Using the last of his fire breathing reserved, he managed to carefully blow a ring of fire around the ice, cracking it to the point where both could effectively free themselves.

“D-Dave, do you know what you j-just did?” Penny asked him, her pretty features in full awe.

“Careful, Penny. You’re still shivering pretty badly.”

“F-forget me, that was the m-most amazing thing I’ve ever s-seen!”

“She’s right you know,” Bill concurred. His body still quaked as well but his larger size and body mass ensured he did not feel the effects quite as badly. “Dave, I’ve never seen a second year do that before. You just took down something ancient, something way beyond what most wizards have ever seen.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate the compliments, but David had seen this story before. Rowan and Bill each required sufficient time to recover from the door blasts and the knight’s power was far stronger than that. They needed to get to the hospital wing.

“Guys, let’s go see Madam Pomfrey before you freeze to death, come on-”

“Not before you enter that vault,” Bill cut him off.

“Forget the vault,” David insisted, supporting Penny with his own body weight. “We need to leave this place.”

“Leave after everything we did to open the bloody door?” Bill barked out with a laughter. “Not likely. David we’ll be fine. This is what you wanted: the first step in finding the answers about your brother. Go, I can take care of Penny.”

Before he could protest, the blonde placed a soft, feminine hand over his mouth.

“Hush,” she said with a smile. “B-Bill’s right, we’re b-both okay.”

Swallowing, but also nodding his head, David acquiesced to their insistence. He didn’t like the idea of leaving them behind whilst they were still in considerable trouble, but curiosity and desire overrode his fear. Any immediate threat was gone now. It was time to see just what was behind those frozen doors.

“Together,” he said to them. “All three of us.”

His friends smiled at him.

“If you insist, David.”

And just as he insisted, the three friends stepped inside the doors into the unknown.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In contrast to the snowy, ice cream covered walls of the chamber outside, the inside of the vault was quite similar to the hallway in its décor and decoration. It was also considerably warmer. Inside was a dark, copper green colored room lined with four different knight statues, all resembling the one they had just fought. In the center was a lit column, situated upon a stone pillar, lit by a soft, yellowish glow the emanated from the inside. Upon the column, was an ancient language, the same that Rowan translated a year earlier.

“Unbelievable,” Penny breathed out.

“There is definitely something to this column here,” Bill said, rubbing his chin.

“Perhaps it has something inside?” David suggested to which eldest Weasley shrugged.

“Only one way to find out, mate. You can do the honors.”

The second year Gryffindor didn’t hesitate. Foolish as it may seem to touch a mysterious magical object of unknown origin and power, the nagging desire was too much to resist for him. He didn’t know what to expect really, if anything at all. However, a curious thing occurred upon his finger resting on the column. It began to shift and unfold as though it were a flower in bloom. What lay inside was odder still. They seemed to be hovering in midair in a yellowish mist.

“A broken wand and a book? Not exactly the treasure I was hoping for,” Bill observed.

“Who knows? Maybe their clues,” David countered. And before he could stop himself he reached inside and attempted to take the two objects. Upon doing so, a familiar voice began echoing loudly inside his head.

Find the other four vaults, David….Find my room…

Could it be…Jacob?

“Find your room?” he asked the voice aloud. “I don’t understand.”

You can’t let ‘her’ get there first! Hurry!

“Who’s her?” he asked again. “What do you mean?”

Just then he was pulled back from the center of the column by Bill.

“Dave! Snap out of it!”

“Wha?”

Bill looked at Penny and back to him, his expression confused and concerned.

“You were in some kind of trance. You kept talking to someone lime if they were in the room with us.”

“I…heard a voice,” David admitted, not knowing what else to say.

“Who?”

“My brother….told me to keep finding the other vaults. You must think I’m mad, don’t you?”

They must think I’m off my rocker. I don’t blame them either

To his surprise, neither Penny nor Bill seemed to regard him as a madman waiting to go to the looney bin.

“For what it’s worth, I believe you, Dave,” Penny spoke up.

“So do I. I could believe anything after what we just went through,” Bill agreed.

“Did he say anything specific?”

David regained his senses and analyzed the situation for a moment. How was it possible that he had just heard his brother? Even in the wizarding world, witnessing voices that weren’t there was not a good sign and yet he couldn’t shake the feeling what he heard was not the work of insanity.

“He told me to locate his room and that there are four more vaults, specifically. And to find them before ‘her’. Whoever that is.”

“Her?” Penny repeated. “This just keeps on getting weirder.”

“I concur,” Bill said. “But what about the wand and book?”

David inched closer once more and took both of the objects without further visitation from the voice. Upon inspection, he recognized the wand’s true owner.

“This is Jacob’s wand. The one he had while at Hogwarts. I’d know it anywhere.”

Bill took the leather bound journal from him and began flipping the pages, his eyebrows furrowed in befuddlement.

“This book, whoever it belonged to, is nothing but scribbles and random drawings. It appears the author was quite mad.”

“Could it be a clue to the location of the next vault?” Penny asked.

David didn’t know what to think. Far from answering questions, their journey and entry to the vault seemed to invite more questions, thickening this mystery even further. The quest to find his brother now took on a whole new meaning.

“I have no idea,” Bill said quietly after a moment of pondering. “But what I do know is that we need to get out of here before we get caught.”

Snapping back to his senses, the second year almost forgot how long they had been in here. It was long past overdue for their departure.

“Bill’s right. We don’t want to find any of the teachers waiting for us by the time we get back. It’s time to go.”

“Do you think that we stopped the cursed ice for good?” Penny wondered aloud. “I hope no one got hurt.”

It was a sentiment they all shared but one they had no way of knowing until they returned back to the halls of Hogwarts. With enough adventure completed for one day, the trio made their way out of the vault and into the thirteenth corridor.

[toho-literature]

Curiosities of Lotus Asia - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Higan Flowers of Muenzuka

It was the week of the autumn equinox. Kourindou’s owner, Rinnosuke Morichika, went to the Nameless Mound, Muenzuka, where the Higan flowers were in full bloom. Though he referred to it as visiting graves, his objective was to look for “treasures” that had crossed through the border. Amongst those rare items is a strange bone, and Rinnosuke obviously can’t hide his bewilderment… The-long awaited return of an original story based on the widely popular “Touhou” doujin game series!

Higan Flowers of Muenzuka

The deep red poison of the Higan flowers blocked the way. These grounds were protected by these strange-looking Higan flowers, beautiful and fleeting, as if they were not of this world. I thought that certainly in this place the inside and outside of the border, and even yet another world are mingled like “an impossible intersection of borders”. Items that I’ve never seen might fall in a mysterious place like this.

“This is certainly a mountain of treasure.”

When the autumn equinox comes, I always go out for grave visiting. But even so, the place I go to is not a normal cemetery. It is a place where the humans with no relatives in Gensokyo, the nameless dead, go to rest. Yes, I go to the Mound of the Nameless, Muenzuka.

And as for why is there such a place as Muenzuka in Gensokyo, where the number of humans is small; it is an effect of the present balance between youkai and humans. There are no more humans that exterminate youkai completely, and there are hardly any more youkai that attack humans. It would be a problem if the number of either youkai or humans were to increase, and it would be a problem as well if it decreases.

If a corpse is neglected, it will usually end up being eaten by some youkai. And having corpse-eating youkai going around is not sanitary. Disease would spread, which is not good for humans. Plus, humans could become youkai after death. If the number of humans decrease, and the number of youkai increase, the current state of equilibrium will be ruined.

Because of that, as of late not even the remains of the nameless go neglected in Gensokyo. The remains of those are cremated and put to rest here. Thanks to that, you can say that the dead humans of Gensokyo really leave their bodies behind to become ghosts.

Even those dead without relatives are cremated, and their ashes buried here. As for why I am in this place, obviously, it’s for mourning those nameless dead. I most certainly am not here to pick up the “unworldly rare” outside items that came in with the nameless dead.

Yes, most of the nameless dead without relatives in Gensokyo are people from the outside. This wall between this place and the Netherworld is thin, and as a consequence of that, this place is also close to the outside world. People, ghosts and even mysterious items fall in here.

“Thanks to the red poison of the Higan flowers, this place is unharmed. It is just like a treasure mountain.”

Right from the start I find nothing but interesting items, such as a bottomless ladle and a soul lantern that glows with the light of ghosts. Are those outside world goods, or maybe they are from the Netherworld? I’ll say it as much as necessary, I didn’t come here to pick up rare items, I came to pray for the nameless deceased. The outside items I am frantically picking up are just a reward for praying for those nameless dead, that’s the only reason that I’m collecting them without hesitation.

However, this merry feeling was crushed by an incomprehensible incident.

When counting the number of bones after cremation, somehow the number of bones and the number of bodies before cremation didn’t match. And it wasn’t like there was one corpse too many. For some reason, only part of a body was in excess. Well, since there weren’t any family members to retrieve the bones in the first place, the fact that there were too many wasn’t exactly a problem, but still…

“Were there that many nameless dead, Mr. Rinnosuke?”

Without solving this inexplicable puzzle, I went back to my own store, “Kourindou”. However, while its owner, myself, was away, the always selfish shrine maiden and the usually selfish magician had selfishly made themselves at home in my shop. That almost always happens.

“Ahh, the nameless deceased were mostly all humans from outside. As you know, Reimu, there are very few unrelated people in Gensokyo. But as there are some people from outside that escape from being youkai food, yet lose their way here, there are always some dead in Muenzuka.”

“And what’s that junk you’re carryin’? Y’always got a lot of weird stuff.”

Marisa said that. If anything, she seemed interested in what I had collected.

“These? These are what had fallen in Muenzuka, Marisa.”

“Grave robbin’, huh?”

“Grave robbing indeed. How awful.”

“Grave robbing? These were not offerings. Who in Gensokyo would leave offerings at Muenzuka anyway? Those items were most likely thrown away by some rude folk, and ended up drifting there.”

“So what, it’s just trash? Nobody’d buy that.”

“I’m not selling it. Not right away anyway.”

It’s just a matter of time for trash to become tools. It’s the same as the cycle of death and rebirth.

To end any further discussion, I changed the subject, trying to relate it to that mysterious extra bone from before I was now carrying.

“By the way, Reimu... Has there been any major incident in Gensokyo lately?”

“Well, yes. There was this big incident, but it wasn’t anything important.”

“As always, you can’t seem to know if it was big or not... Well, whatever, it’s just that something strange happened…”

I tried explaining to the two of them about that bone that was bothering me.

“Huh… what? You wanna eat sushi or somethin’?”

Marisa was saying nonsensical things, so I just let her be.

“Is that true? One bone too many…”

“Mm-hmm. Look, here it is.”

“Ack, how come you brought back something like that!?”

“It’s a right arm bone..., isn’t it? At the spring equinox, there was an extra right leg bone…”

“Don’t tell me you’re trying to assemble the right half of a body piece by piece?”

So said Reimu.

“Not at all. And if that was the case, shouldn’t I go for an entire body? Why would I have to stop at half of one?”

“In any case, I don’t have the least idea. Aren’t those dead people mostly from the outside? If something weird is happening, wouldn’t it be happening in the outside world?”

“Funny to hear a shrine maiden callin’ corpses ‘those dead people’.”

Marisa was making fun of her.

“That may be, but to think of a corpse entering Gensokyo piece by piece... I’d hope that no one in the outside world is up to no good.”

“But this bone... I’m pretty sure it’s not human.”

Reimu started saying mysterious things again.

“No matter how you look at it, isn’t this a human bone? What kind of bone do you think it is?”

“It’s just that... there isn’t any sign of its soul when it was alive.”

“Huh? I never knew ya could see those kinda things, Reimu.”

Said Marisa, appearing surprised.

“Why, I am a shrine maiden, am I not?”

The next day, I went to Muenzuka once again. For more prayer, of course.

In the end, I couldn’t solve the mystery of the extra bone yesterday. Conversely, the mystery only got deeper by the end of the conversation. I don’t bother myself with things I don’t understand, I forget them – a special ability that makes life easier… or so I wanted to do…

“Humm... Just as expected, but also surprising.”

Whoops. Seems that Reimu’s way of talking is starting to rub off on me.

And what was just as expected is that today there’s an extra bone here again. And what is surprising is that it’s a right arm bone, identical to yesterday’s. I looked around to see if there was yet another right arm bone.

“Today is the right arm equinox, I guess.”

Weird. If this bone is from a human from outside, then there must be a lot of people in the outside world losing only their right arms. But no, there’s no way humans could do that. Even if one were to lose an arm in an accident, the connection between the body and the arm wouldn’t be severed. Even when separated, the arm would call for the former body, and the body would be under the impression it has an arm. The human soul is lodged in the whole body, regardless of its physical condition.

At this point, I started thinking about how the barrier that surrounded Gensokyo affected things. About how the barrier affected people’s “thoughts”. If a material wall would be a “wall that keeps the body from passing through”, then the barrier would be a “wall that keeps people’s thoughts from passing through”. Going trough the barrier – in other words, to be spirited away – is something that happens when one is in a particular state of mind, where consciousness is hazy, and then your whole self would jump through. For only an arm to jump through the barrier, it would mean the arm and the body have different thoughts. A human whose arm and body move with different wills? I don’t think there is such a human, much less a lot of those. So maybe what Reimu said was right, and this is not a human arm.

...But anyway, it’s a beautiful bone. You can’t see any signs of the daily hardships in it. As big as an adult’s, but looks as if it’s a baby’s. Could a human have grown up so perfectly? Would one raised in a family apart from any discomfort become like this?

While I was thinking of this, I stared at the Higan flower blooming by my feet. Its stem didn’t have any leaves. This strange flower doesn’t have any leaves on its stem; it grew straight from the ground as a big red flower. Without any leaves, and carrying a lot of poison, this was an appropriate flower for the grounds where the nameless dead rested. The impression I had was that its beauty was one unrelated to anything else. …and then there was the body that severed its relation with this clean arm. I imagined a scenery of right arms growing in a row like the Higan flowers and got an unsettling feeling from it.

“So, what’s going on with the production-model right arms?”

When I returned to my shop, the selfish as always Reimu and the selfish as always Marisa were waiting for me.

“Ahh, here’s one.”

“Just because there’s extra doesn’t mean you have to bring them here…”

Reimu said, while holding her tea in one hand and biting into a rice cracker.

“Hmmm... There was something worrying me…”

I went deeper inside the store and compared the bone I had found yesterday with the one I just picked up.

That's not what I was worried about. The rice cracker I left on the shelf close to Reimu weren’t the expensive ones. Reimu had the habit of not choosing and going straight for the best stuff I had in the store. So, the rice cracker Reimu was eating…

“...no, wait. That’s not what I’m worried about! It’s about the bones.”

When I said that, Marisa put her book aside, looking a little upset.

“Alright, enough of that. If ya wanna eat it that bad, I’ll cook today.”

Marisa surprisingly declared, and went into the kitchen.

Well, I don’t know what she’s so unhappy about, but knowing Marisa, it must be something simple. She did say she was going to prepare the food, so she shouldn’t be that upset… Anyway, we were talking about the bones.

“So? What’s worrying you about the bones, Mr. Rinnosuke?”

“Ah, it’s just that the right arm that I picked up yesterday and the one I picked up today, if you look closely... they are the same in every detail. Even bones from twins wouldn’t be like this. It looks like they just were duplicated.”

“And so, what’s bothering you?”

“Don’t you get it? Simply put, this right arm and that right arm are from the same individual... I think.”

“Really? How mysterious. But it might be normal.”

“How’s that senseless answer going to help?”

Reimu looked like she was giving up as she put her tea down.

“Didn’t you say these were from the outside world? Whatever happens in the outside world is out of my control. Besides, I have no idea of what happens outside. These arms might as well come from a human with six arms.”

“Even if it was from a human with six arms, it’s unnatural for only the arm to cross the border. The border is your area of expertise, isn’t it? I thought you would understand that for only part of a body to cross over the border, it’s a sign of a youkai. The border is not just a wall, you know.”

“Really? That’s very interesting.”

“Yes, really… wait. Are you sure you are a shrine maiden?”

“Someone I know said that there are those who can go through the border with just part of their bodies with no problems... but, of course, she wasn’t human herself.”

“That’s what I’m telling you. This human arm couldn’t possibly do that. What did they call this again? An OOPArts?”

That’s wrong!, was the rebuttal I heard from Marisa. No, she was in the kitchen, preparing the meal, so maybe it was just my impression.

“This arm even looks artificial. And it doesn’t show any sign of a soul living in it... I don’t think this arm has experienced a normal life.”

Reimu put down her rice cracker, and took the bone for the first time. She was again with the tea in one hand, so she just exchanged the cracker for the bone. She looked so absent-minded that it seemed like she could bite the bone by mistake.

“So this arm doesn’t have any human feeling to it? So, if it came through the border, I could treat it the same as the other items that occasionally drift into here. But even so, it is clearly from a living thing. Even if it is from a human with only right arms. And by looking at it with my ‘eye’, this certainly seems like it's from a human. If I were to take a guess…”

I was going to say that you could imagine some place like a factory or a laboratory, where arms equal to human ones were produced like they were tools, but I stopped myself. These accursed creations would be such an insult to life that I reconsidered it. I’d rather not think that humans would do something so foolish.

“I just hope that the humans in the outside world are not doing foolish things...”

Was what I said.

“But, don’t you make a living out of tools that come drifting in here once in a while? And aren’t you always mumbling about the progress of the outside world?”

“The body of a living thing... it’s not a tool. This store doesn’t deal in that.”

For a while, nobody spoke a word, so it was pretty quiet. Reimu was making munching sounds like she was biting into something. I was pretty sure she still had the bone in hand, so I looked at her with a shock, but it was the rice cracker. Well, that was obvious. Speaking of which, it’s almost dinner time already, so is it alright for her to be eating?

“It’s done. Today’s Chirashizushi, just as you wanted.”

Marisa cheerfully came back from the kitchen.

“Chirashi sushi? Awfully extravagant, isn’t it? So that was why it took so much time… what? ‘Just as I wanted’?”

Marisa had a look on her face like she was making fun of someone.

“What, haven’t ya been babblin' 'bout it since yesterday? ‘Bout how much ya wanted to eat sushi?”

So she said.

“You really did say that...”

Reimu said while biting her cracker.

“Even you, Reimu... Did I say that?”

“It took s’ long’cuz I couldn’t find a fan to cool down the shari [sushi rice]. I had to fan it with this hat till I ’bout dropped dead because it made almost no wind.”

Ahh, I see. So that’s why Marisa was saying “Sushi! Sushi!” a while ago... That’s just like her.

“What is it? If ya don’t eat it soon, my chirashi sushi’ll go cold.”

“And weren’t you working hard to cool it down?”

Reimu quietly put the half-eaten cracker back on its shelf while she spoke.

“Sushi, huh? That joke was in bad taste, Marisa.”

“Hmph. I don’t wanna be told that by some guy that shows up in front of us with someone’s shari [bone relics] in his hands. Got it? After people die, they become ghosts. Bones are just empty shells. If ya got a problem, go ask the ghosts about it and that’ll be that. If ya want shari, the sushi rice is enough.”

“I see. But, because I brought these bones, I got an unexpected banquet today. I wonder if this is for my good deed of going to mourn at Muenzuka, as well.”

“Pretty bold for a grave-robber, ain’t ya?”

“My, this is delicious. But you should go wash your hands before you eat, Mr. Rinnosuke. You might have some Higan flower poison on them.”

“You’re right. But, you touched the bone too, didn’t you, Reimu? Did you wash your hands?”

“Of course I did.”

“But weren’t you here the whole time?”

“Marisa, could you get me some more tea?”

“What, again? Didn’t you drink it?”

Thanks to the sushi Marisa made, the shop regained its usual lively atmosphere. Well, more like a noisy one. And just as always, I could use my special skill to “completely” stop thinking about that bone. Maybe from tomorrow on, the Higan flower wouldn’t look like a strange flower, but a beautiful one. That was what I was thinking as I washed the poison off my hands in the kitchen.

[damienthepious]

director's cut of the recorder scene in ch.11 and/or the braiding bit at the end of ch.12?

[Pick a short passage from any fanfic I’ve written specifically Scattered On My Shore today I’m being picky, and send it to me, and I’ll give you the equivalent of a DVD commentary on that snippet]

faldskjfasdklf i already did part of the recorder scene but someone else also asked for the end of ch12 so i’m gonna do an earlier part of the recorder scene, yeah? yeah. that’ll work. After Arum confronts her, when she pulls her.. hrm. her counterpoint.

[“Skip ahead on the recorder,” she says. /// “What?” /// “Skip to entry four two one one. Should be… eighteen to twenty after the one you just played, I think.”] Rilla knows exactly what entry she wants him to hear. She knows the exact entry. That’s interesting, isn’t it? She doesn’t remember exactly what number entry Arum just played. But she knows the number of the one she thinks he should hear.

[“Why?” he snarls, ducking his head and clutching the recorder close against the bandages on his midsection.] Arum is perpetually suspicious, but he’s amping it up right now. He’s furious, he’s hurt, and now he’s fucking confused, because what the fuck else could she want him to hear? What does she think she can pull, to trick him again?

[“Because there’s something else you should hear, too. You heard what I said when I first found you. You should hear what I said after. If you really think that I’ve been using you for some sort of spy work, then the rest of it should interest you too, right?”] She’s trying to be matter-of-fact. She’s trying to do this without getting emotional herself (this will break down). This isn’t a fight. She just wants him to listen long enough that she can explain.

[He hesitates, his expression tightening. “Perhaps I have no interest in hearing myself cataloged, doctor.”] This could still be part of some trick. And. honestly. Hearing her like that in the first recording hurt. He didn’t realize how much he trusted her until it broke, and he doesn’t want to hear another recording of her speaking about him like he’s some animal.

[“Please. Just- listen to it. And then you can decide if you want to- I don’t know. How you want to proceed. But before you make any sort of decision, please- please just listen, Arum.”] If this breaks bad, Rilla doesn’t even know what that would mean. Will he start trying to leave, again? Will he just- shut down, emotionally? Will he just stop speaking to her entirely until he’s just well enough to slink out the door and disappear?

[Arum stares at her for another long moment, suspicious with a growl in his throat, and then he moves his thumb, sending the recording forward with a thin squeal of sound. He overshoots the start of the entry a little, and it cuts in just in the middle of a word.] Here’s something: Rilla doesn’t say please very often. It means something when she says it three times in one little speech. And Arum is curious, despite himself. Maybe a little morbidly so. How much worse could it be, he wonders. How much deeper can i push the blade. A lot of Arum’s impulses are vaguely self-destructive, that way.

[“-ter than that, and it seems like his frill is really starting to knit together properly. Finally. It’s been tricky since it’s only a half-conscious thing, the flaring, but- I mean, it’s hard to complain about. It’s always so funny when he gets indignant and it just- fwoops out like that and-”] The second recording is about a lot of things. First: contrast. It’s tonally opposed to the first one. It’s personal, instantly. It’s not cold, the way the other one was. She’s excited, she’s enthusiastic, she’s noting rather unscientific points. Also if you imagined Rilla making an absurd hand gesture when she says the word “fwoops”, you are correct. Also, I don’t know why Arum’s frill became a Thing in this fic.

Also, hilariously, I’m pretty sure that the first chapter, where cleaning it wakes him up, and this sentence, from this scene, were the first two things specifically about Arum’s frill that were written. Him perpetually exacerbating his cuts by flaring it came later.

[She laughs on the recording, breathless, and Rilla remembers this moment with exact clarity.] She remembers this moment with exact clarity. This was important. This was a shift. Off screen, which was kind of a Choice. I could point out when this happens, in the fic, but I’ll hold on to that, I think. Some of the ways that Rilla reacts to things give it away, a little bit. You could probably narrow it down if you tried.

[The door to his room had been cracked, she could just see half his face through the gap as he rested, the gentle light of early morning on his scales and his expression untroubled in sleep-] Love this image. Would sacrifice a limb to project the image i have in my mind into actual art.

[“He’s beautiful,” she says, and she still feels the little stunned swoop that realization had made her feel.] yeah.

[“He’s… I didn’t know a monster could be so beautiful. I didn’t know they could be funny either, honestly, or- or-”] … uh oh. Also, one sentence away from realizing that she thinks he’s beautiful, she’s already upgraded him to “so beautiful”. Also trailing off on those ‘or’s stops a little floodgate situation. she was about to ramble. she was about to go off. and she realized what she was about to start doing. Remember, in the courtroom scene, where she talks about Damien? “I love his stories and his smile! I love that he makes me see the beauty in the hard questions, even when they make me uncomfortable! I love that he makes me grow!”

she just caught herself about to do something similar. Uh oh, Rilla. Uh oh.

[There is a pause.] deep breath, Rilla

[“Saints…”] ………. so……….. I talked with Sky, a bit, about how there are very specific Moments in this fic. When characters Realize certain Things. I feel like it’s probably pretty obvious, actually… exactly what Rilla is realizing in this particular moment.

[Another pause. Quite long.] Cataloguing symptoms, perhaps. Or maybe just reeling. Hey I wonder what Arum is thinking right now? Hm.

[“He… um. He’s improving by leaps and bounds, now,” she says, her voice a little clipped, a little muted.] Back to business. She. she doesn’t have time to think about this, right now.

[“He can almost stand on his own, though it tires him out. He’s… soon he’ll be well enough to travel, I think. Which means we’re going to have to have another conversation, soon, about- about exactly how we’re gonna get him back home.”] She doesn’t have time. She’s gotta do her job, first.

[“And that shouldn’t… it shouldn’t hurt to think about that, should it?”] Oh, Rilla…

[“It’s good. It’s a good thing that he’s… soon he’ll be well enough to go home, to be free again, to go back where he belongs and rest and recover where he’ll be comfortable and safe, but-”] That’s been the goal. Hasn’t it? Make him well again. Save his life.

[A little half-laugh. /// “I’m gonna miss him, is the only thing.”] A partial admission, if not the whole thought. and it’s… ridiculous, isn’t it? She’s had long-term patients, before. Never a monster, obviously, but- [“I’ve gotten so used to having him around, and- and even if he’s always arguing about the methodology he’s been so- it’s been nice to have him around when I’m doing my experiments, I mean- it would have taken me ages to think of modifying my bandages with machracnid silk, and the improvement to the elasticity is- but that isn’t even the point, you know? He’s just- he’s-”] just realized i never checked the script to see if i spelled machracnid right whoops ahem. I love the way Rilla rambles when she gets distracted by a thought. Hey i loved Moonlit Hermit did y’all know that? fljdjdkfdk

[Less of a laugh.] These are not fun feelings to examine.

[“It’s almost time for him to go home. It’s the only way to keep him safe. The longer he stays here-”] All three of them are fiercely protective, aren’t they?

[“I know Damien won’t hurt him, not anymore. I think he’s seen it too, he’s seen how- how much- he’s seen Arum, really seen him. I know he has.”] Rilla isn’t quite as articulate as Damien, especially when it comes to emotions. Seen him. Acknowledged him as a person, is what she means. Which, not verbally he hasn’t, but she knows anyway. Rilla isn’t as perceptive as Damien when it comes to people, either, but she knows Damien. And Damien isn’t actually good at concealing what he feels, whether or not he speaks his heart.

[“But every day Arum stays here is another risk, is another chance that he’ll be seen or- and if that happens, then what? I don’t care what they do to me, I’m not afraid of them, but Arum- he’s still not strong enough to defend himself, and even if he was, what would he do against an armed squadron of knights? I wouldn’t be able to do anything to protect him, and- he- I can’t let that happen. I won’t. I won’t let the Citadel hurt him.”] Hm, looks like i echoed Arum’s canonical can’t/won’t again. I swear that wasn’t intentional. Again, fiercely protective. And all of this- it hurts, to think about Arum getting hunted by knights. Rilla knows if things go wrong, she’s not going to be able to do ANYTHING. And she hates feeling helpless.

[“So- so… so he has to go home. It doesn’t matter that I-”] IT DOESN’T MATTER THAT I- IT DOESN’T? RILLA. IT DOESN’T MATTER? [“it doesn’t matter how I feel. I have to get him home. He deserves- he-”] Getting him home and making sure that he’s safe is more important than her own feelings. Whatever feelings those are, exactly.

[“Amaryllis?”] this scene is the primary reason i want desperately to do a podfic of this whole thing, eventually. I know. I know the exact intonation of every part of this, but I can always just HEAR the voice Arum is using here, in my head. gentle and unhurried and expectant. fun fact: they fcukging care about each other and i’m soft

[autistic-paul]

You Cut Through All the Noise - Chapter 1

Summary: 

Alice's parents are fighting a lot, and she's struggling. The whole situation isn't ideal for Bill, either. At least they aren't alone.

I have a lot of feelings about Bill and Paul being best friends, about Bill trying to be a good dad, and about the fact that Paul babysat Alice. She canonically thinks he's cool. So I wrote about it!

Tags: Bill & Alice, Alice & Paul, Bill & Paul, Divorce, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Autistic Paul, Assume he’s autistic in everything I write, though it’s much less explicit in this one, Paul is everyone’s emotional support, Alice is wonderful and trying her best

Chapter 2 is here!

AO3, or under the cut! 1454 words.

Alice was smarter than anyone gave her credit for. Sure, her grades in school were good. She’d always been a decent student. Teachers liked her. Why wouldn’t they? She was a good student, handing in her work on time, raising her hand when no one else did. There was nothing quite like seeing a little gold star on her test, or her mother’s grin when she made honor roll. Her dad took every opportunity to boast that his little girl was going places, Yale, probably. He was so proud. It made Alice uncomfortable sometimes, but it was better than the alternative. She wanted him to be proud of her, so she blushed and accepted his overenthusiastic praise. Sometimes she wished that he’d notice other things, the arbitrary numbers that labeled her intelligent in the class came so easily to her. She didn’t feel like she deserved the attention for something that she didn’t work particularly hard for.

When Alice was fourteen, her grades began to slip. Homework stopped being handed in as often as it should be. It wasn’t through lack of effort, Alice never stopped trying her very best. It was sleepless nights. It was shaking hands in the school bathroom, water splashed on her face to try to regain composure. It was Alice staring at a blank screen in the middle of the night, the cursor blinking over and over and over.

It was yelling just outside her door, fights that never went anywhere, just in circles closing tighter and tighter, closing around Alice’s throat until it was all she could think about. It was chilly silences at the dinner table, and no acknowledgments or praise when Alice managed to scramble together a B. It was so much harder than it used to be. Trying to write an essay with tears making the screen blurry wasn’t easy, as it turned out.  Did her parents even notice? Did they care? They were too busy being determined to not care about each other to notice her.

Alice’s teachers noticed, though. They called her back after class and gave the same tired spiel about her not living up to her potential. Alice was convinced they all followed some sort of script. Occasionally they’d ask if everything was okay back home. Usually, they didn’t. It made no difference to Alice, she wasn’t going to break down in an empty classroom to an adult she didn’t know, open up about the fears keeping her up at night. This tension, the fighting, it had to be temporary. There was no other alternative.

Alice knew she needed to talk to someone. Her fears were hardening, crystallizing, and she didn’t want to know what would happen if they shattered. She didn’t need to explode in front of her parents, they were struggling enough. How long had they been like this and she simply hadn’t noticed? Did they hide it for her sake, until it was too large to hide behind polite smiles and empty gestures of affection?

Was it her fault?

Alice dreaded coming home, but she didn’t know where else to go. The few friends she had, acquaintances, really, had gotten irritated by the dark cloud following her wherever she went. They’d stopped inviting her over. Alice didn’t blame them, she didn’t want to be around herself either.

Alice had been walking home from school one day, and the anxiety tightening in her chest was crushing. The idea of going back, seeing her mother greet her with a strained smile as if nothing had changed was unbearable. Alice didn’t need to check the time, she could count down the minutes until her father came through the door from the building tension radiating off her mother.

No, she couldn’t go back. Not yet, at least. Alice didn’t really think about where she was going as she took a turn, one that didn’t lead home. She didn’t think about where she was going until she made her way to an apartment building. It was silly, Alice thought as she knocked tentatively. He probably wasn’t home. He’d be at work, with her dad. She hadn’t seen him in ages, and it wasn’t like her to just visit alone. Too late to turn back, though, and she stood awkwardly, fully expecting the door to never open, force her to abandon this plan and go home. She was so certain that it was all for nothing that she jumped when the door swung open.

Paul’s eyes widened, but he smiled when he saw her. A genuine smile. It warmed Alice’s heart a little, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen anyone so happy to see her. Her doubts washed away as he welcomed her inside without question.

The nice thing about Paul was that he was blunt. Not harsh, just honest. He wasn’t one to beat around the bush. The second Alice saw him, the sympathy in his eyes, she knew he was all too aware of what was going on with her dad. There were dark circles around his eyes, and she realized with a jab to her heart that he must be struggling too. Her dad was his best friend. As hard as it was to see her parents’ relationship falling apart… At least she didn’t sit next to him all day, watching his misery grow like Paul did. Alice wondered for a moment if this was a good idea. Paul’s hand was at his side, tapping his thumb against his fingers repeatedly, one after the other. Alice chewed her lip. He was nervous; Alice assumed he didn’t know what to say to her. This wasn’t normal, it wasn’t like her to drop by alone with no warning for some emotional support. She shouldn’t have come, it wasn’t fair to him. She was about to apologize and turn around when he gestured to the couch and spoke. “Do you want to talk about it? I just got the new Mario Kart, that’s an option too.”

Simple and direct, she should have guessed he’d know just what to say. Paul had known her practically her whole life, Alice had clear memories of Paul picking her up from school and taking her to get ice cream, grinning at her and telling her not to tell her dad. She didn’t have anyone else to go to, and she needed someone who understood how she was feeling. Alice had spent so long pointedly not talking about what things were like with her parents, and she suddenly realized that she didn’t know how to start. She wasn’t ready. He’d given her a choice, and Alice decided that she could talk about it another time, when she felt less fragile. Alice smiled softly and sat down on the couch, grabbing a Joy-Con. “Toadette will kick your ass.”

Paul dropped onto the cushion next to her, bumping his shoulder against hers. “Language!” He chastised. Alice stuck out her tongue, he’d been cursing around her before she even knew what the words meant.

She didn’t even realize that she’d never told her parents where she was until Paul paused the game to answer his phone. Alice took the chance to check hers, and winced when she saw her notifications. Missed call after missed call. Whoops. She’d get an earful when she got home. That’s what she got for forgetting to turn off silent mode after her test. The anxiety that’d briefly faded moved to the forefront again, and her thoughts blurred. She was so stupid, she must have worried them so much.

“Bill, don’t worry, Alice is with me.” Paul spoke softly into his phone, drawing Alice back to reality. A pause. Alice could hear her father’s frantic tone, but not his words. “She’s fine! We’re just playing Mario Kart.” Paul listened, closing his eyes. “Okay. I’ll get her home, don’t worry.” Alice tensed. It hadn’t been that long. Alice nudged him and he turned to her. She shook her head a little, hoping he’d get it. “There’s still a few tracks we haven’t tried, I was going to order pizza.” Paul spoke casually. Alice held her breath. She listened to the response on the other end of the phone, catching only a few words. Homework was the only one that stood out. Paul cut him off. “I need to go, bye!” Alice almost choked out a laugh. Paul was many things, diplomatic was not one of them.

Paul hung up and unceremoniously unpaused their game, making Alice scramble to keep up as he took a little head start. Alice finally relaxed. They could talk about everything that had been going on, the thoughts and terrors keeping her up at night. Paul would be there when she was ready.

[sucuk-with-egg]

I Know It Makes You Nervous, But I Promise You It’s Worth It (a Nora x Viri fic)

CHAPTER 5: LOW FAT YOGURT (Viri’s POV)

Chapter 5 of 12 / Chapter Word Count: 6k

Summary: A fluffy but also angsty answer to the question “what if Viri was actually in love with Nora the whole time?” AKA the other Skam España wlw love story you never knew you needed.

Chapter Summary: In which Viri attends Nora’s concert, wrestles with old demons, and allows herself to open up to Nora after an unexpected incident. CONTENT WARNING:  this chapter explicitly mentions symptoms of eating disorders (this is the chapter that mentions them the most). Please keep yourself safe if you feel you need to avoid this kind of content! I have avoided going into too much detail about Viri's harmful thought patterns and disordered eating behaviours in the interest of not endorsing/encouraging them; but I have also tried to keep things realistic. I think all the Skam remakes could go further in addressing the ED patterns of Vilde and her counterparts, and I wanted to do justice to those characters. While I did do some research on eating disorders for this project, I am by no means an expert, so please do not rely on this fic as an educational source. You can find information and resources at: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org.

Read starting from Chapter 1 here 

Sábado

Viri had been having a great night up until now.

The concert had managed to pull an impressive turnout, and the 2-for-1 drinks deal was serving them well. Viri had felt bad about the fact that they had to host another fundraiser after she'd lost them the travel agency deal, but the girls assured her that it would have been necessary anyway since several more people had signed up for the trip. Just thinking about the whole fiasco still raised a lot of guilt in Viri; she didn’t think she would ever forgive herself for betraying their trust like that.

But you can choose to move on from it now, Viri told herself. At least try to have a good time tonight.

Seeing Nora perform was one of Viri’s favourite things. Obviously, she had watched all of Nora's singing videos on Youtube more times than she could count, but seeing it live was always a whole different experience. Viri thought back to the karaoke night. How heart-wrenching it had been watching what looked like a scene from a teen drama: the school’s most popular boy falling head over heels for Spain’s - no, probably Earth’s -  most beautiful girl.

So much had changed since then, and not only concerning Nora.

One thing that certainly hasn’t changed, however, is Nora’s love for Billie Eilish, Viri thought to herself, as Nora launched into the opening notes of ‘my strange addiction’. Viri couldn’t remember the last time she’d been at an event like this and not felt too disconnected, or too anxious to really enjoy it. She revelled in being a part of the waves of emotion that the music created, connecting everyone in the room as they gazed up at the brightly lit figures on stage. The crowd pulsed and swayed, an excitable mass of teen hormones and shadowy limbs wielding half-empty cups and smartphones. They moved as one as they allowed Nora and Jorge to take control; cheering and whooping their delight. It made Viri thrilled to see her brave, talented girl getting the appreciation she deserved.

I’m so proud of you! She thought fiercely, willing the words to somehow traverse the space and make their way to Nora.

Those blue eyes confidently sought her out in the crowd again and again, pinning her to the spot. Viri was reminded that she wasn’t just an onlooker anymore. Nora had chosen her. Every teasing glance Nora threw her way, every quirk of her lips (tonight, a deep glittery purple) that meant " I’m thinking about you", only made Viri more elated. A part of her liked how secretive they were being, that what they had together was truly only theirs. It makes it more special, Viri reasoned, pushing aside the nagging thought that it couldn’t go on like this forever.

It was as Hugo was announcing the final number of the set, however, that they nearly gave themselves away. Viri couldn’t contain her grin as she held her phone up in readiness, winking cheekily when she knew Nora could see her. Nora winked back, but then quickly averted her gaze. Viri peered round in confusion, and clocked Amira standing to her left, looking between the two of them. She had definitely noticed their exchange. Viri smiled at her innocently, but it didn’t shift the growing suspicion on Amira’s face.

Joder, say something!

“So, tía, you seem happy to see Dani,” Viri commented casually, raising her voice to be heard as the song started up. She nodded towards Cris’ brother, who had shown up a few minutes prior and was already animatedly recounting some choice tidbits from Cris' extensive history of drunken antics  - much to her indignation. It hadn’t escaped Viri’s attention that upon Dani’s arrival, Amira had become almost as flustered as Nora was making her. And while Viri knew it wasn’t exactly tactful to bring it up like this, she didn’t have many other options that would prevent Amira from asking, “what’s going on with you and Nora?”

But before Amira could reluctantly open her mouth to dismiss Viri’s probing remark, Viri’s phone began to ring.

Viri felt her spirits sag like poorly aging skin as she unhappily regarded her manager’s name on her phone screen. At this rate, I’ll look like a grandmother by the time I’m twenty, with the number of stress lines this man has given me, she thought bitterly . Nevertheless, the fear of making him more angry than he must already be, to be calling her this late in the evening, prompted Viri to pick up - before she had time to remember that she was in a noisy music venue, Nora and Jorge still in full swing.

Now she huddles in the front entrance of the building, having wrestled her way through the people crammed inside, while trying to make sense of the voice on the other end of the phone. Away from the din, Viri can hear the boss berating her more clearly now: “... I expected better of you, this is extremely disappointing…”

Viri sighs. She had been having a great night up until now.

Read the rest of the chapter on AO3 

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 234: Tomura Flashbacks and Giganto ex Machia

Previously on BnHA: Re-Destro lost his temper and hulked the fuck out and started breaking off Tomura’s fingers like a goddamn Kit-Kat bar. Elsewhere, (1) Twice cloned Toga in order to give her a blood transfusion, unaware that Skeptic was heading their way; (2) Spinner’s quirk of being a Gecko Man was revealed and he attempted to wall-crawl his way over to Hanabata only to be assailed by a bunch of redshirts fired up by Hanabata’s Trumpet quirk; (3) Dabi continued to battle Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine offscreen (I assume); (4) Compress was also probably doing something but who can be sure; (5) Giran was running off to safety with one of the clone Twices, and finally, (6) Gigantomachia Goron-rolled his way towards the action while Slidin’ Go stood there nervously, probably sensing that his number is coming up on the great cosmic roulette wheel. All of this happened two whole weeks ago because the manga was on break last week! But it’s finally back now, so leeeEET’S geeet ready to rrrruuuuUUUUUUUUMMMMMBLE.

Today on BnHA: RD continues to get handsy with Tomura until Tomura starts to disintegrate one of RD’s own fingers to see how he likes it. He does not, in fact, like it, so he flings Tomura away and starts thinking all of these shocked antagonist thoughts about how Tomura is stronger than he expected and his powers are ~awakening~ and blah blah blah. Meanwhile Tomura hops back onto the Flashback Train to Feels City and recalls how AFO gave him his family’s severed hands to make sure he stayed good and pissed!! And he also remembers more about his sister and how much she loved him! And his mom and grandparents who were also super nice and are now fucking dead and it’s a lot! Horikoshi is pretty fucking ruthless! Anyway so RD decides he’d better go all out and wrap this up, but before he can deliver a killing blow, Gigantomachia finally makes his entrance. At the same moment, Tomura finally remembers “everything” (?? ???!?!?), which, holy fucking shit you guys.

(All comments are my unspoiled reactions from my initial readthrough of the chapter. I did a quick edit for grammar and clarity immediately afterward, and added one or two ETAs in the process, but aside from that there are no changes.)

okay so let’s see what gruesome things are in store for our intrepid villains this week

“destroyed memories” oh? come again? you don’t say?? fancy that?? goodness me???

so is this referring to Tomura? or Dabi? if it’s referring to Re-Destro or one of his gang, I swear to god...! nobody cares about your memories RD. you’re a jerk and you suck

lol what the

aww. is this a “real” in-universe children’s book, is that what this is. did all the lil U.A. dumplings read this when they were small. and was there also a similar book called “don’t judge people by their lack of quirks” and if so why did no one read it to lil baby Kacchan hmm

anyway now we’re cutting right back to this unpleasant image! and not only that, but in the two weeks we’ve been gone things have even escalated!

we’re up to two hands being grabbed now! um. he’s really going to need at least one of those? probably?? please don’t Overhaul my deranged villain son fffff

reminder that Tomura needs to touch something with all five fingers in order for his quirk to activate (or he did before at least), so even though he still has... two...? fingers remaining on his left hand, that hand is still effectively useless as far as quirking goes. so if he suffers even the smallest amount of damage to his right hand as well, it’s basically all over for him. unless he actually was using his quirk with his feet in the previous chapter. I’m assuming not because he presumably would have decayed his way all the way down to the center of the earth if that was the case. I think @khorale mentioned this in a comment on my last recap, but yeah, seeing as the ground’s not disintegrating underneath him, it’s safe to say it’s Hands Only here

anyway I got so caught up in being calmly horrified over the current situation that I didn’t even read the dialogue. so RD’s saying that superpowers are linked to personality, and so that “don’t judge people by their quirks” stuff is in fact bullshit

um, source? are you a psychologist? in general I try to take things with a grain of salt when they’re said by pieces of shit, so yeah

fffffffff noooooo Tomura’s face sob Horikoshi you bastard

he looks so freaking young here. okay, shit. I’m starting to think I need to make plans to unwind after I finish reading this chapter. maybe get an Enya playlist in the works. diffuse some essential oils. find some cute baby animal videos

but on the plus side, it’s looking ever more likely that his are indeed the Destroyed Memories in question omg. so I will continue to get hype while also feeling very guilty and stressed

you guys I’m actually really glad RD is feeling like he has the upper hand now, because he’s starting to waste some valuable time monologuing, and with every second he babbles on, Machia is getting closer and closer to whooping some ass

so he’s asking Tomura what he’s trying to create

and well, actually, he’s not really that far off

I mean. does it count as nothing if he wants to destroy the whole world? one could argue that would be “creating” a new world in which everyone is fucking dead. idk. I might have to give RD this one; his whole point of “quirks are linked to personality and you have a quirk that destroys everything you touch so you probably just want to destroy shit” is holding up surprisingly well to scrutiny thus far

yeah so now he’s yelling “YOU ONLY LUST FOR DESTRUCTION! AM I WRONG?!” and nope. but even a broken clock, twice a day, etc.

oh shit OH FUCKING --

um, okay, (1) NO IT’S NOT, SHE WAS A LITTLE GIRL, NONE OF YOUR HANDS BELONGED TO A CHILD YOU GULLIBLE RUBE

and (2) MY FUCKING FEELS. why am I even surprised. what the fuck. I knew more angst was coming and yet it still...

just, god. okay fine Horikoshi I’m a glutton for punishment, please continue then

HAHA SOB IT’S A WHOLE FUCKING FLASHBACK OKAY SURE LAY IT ON ME!!

this really is the wildest shit though you guys. I still can’t get over it. “hello little boy I’m sorry your family is dead but don’t worry I’m adopting you and here are all of their severed hands. with little plugs on the end too or some shit. just, you know. souvenir”

I can’t fucking believe AFO played this so straight. maybe that’s why it worked. it was just so fucking out there that Tenko wound up buying it hook line and sinker. “hmm, seems a bit shady, but then again why else would a strange man I met only yesterday just randomly up and give me a dozen severed hands”

I don’t know if any of this shit is important, but it’s probably good practice to just post every mysterious thing that AFO says

yes you really did a great job healing this guy’s wounded fucking heart, Dr. Phil

oh wow, never fucking mind, even

I see, so that wasn’t meant to be a reassuring “in time you’ll get over it” speech; it was meant to be a cautionary “you’d better surround yourself with reminders of your terrible pain at all times or else you might actually stop feeling fucking miserable and WE CAN’T FUCKING HAVE THAT” speech. holy shit

I’m seriously having trouble wrapping my mind around just how terrible this is. like, it’s nearly impossible to fathom that level of cruelty. this is a four(?)-year-old child. he tracked him down, gave him a quirk that would kill his family*, sat back and watched it happen, and then let him stew in the horror of it all alone until he finally swooped in and claimed him and then raised him with the express purpose of keeping him sad and scared and angry and depressed at all times, all so he would eventually grow up and, with any luck, murder the man that his grandmother thought of as a son!

(*this is just conjecture right now, admittedly, but until I’m proven wrong I’m basically operating under the assumption that it’s true)

just. “fucked up” doesn’t even begin to describe it. god

anyways, let’s continue to read more about young Tenko’s extreme emotional abuse at the hands of the final villain I guess

OMG HANA

okay so I can’t remember where we left off on this last time, but a bunch of people said they suspected that the young Tenko wanted to be a hero when he was a little boy, and that’s why he was always clashing with his dad, because his dad’s own experience with heroes was pretty sour on account of the whole his-mom-gave-him-up-when-he-was-little-and-then-later-died-horribly thing

so yeah, I assume that’s what Hana is referring to here with the whole “I just tell Dad...” bit. so they both wanted to be heroes! how perfectly fucking tragic! great!

Tomuraaaaaa

KEEP IT UP TOMURA YOU CAN DO IT!! YOU CAN REMEMBER! YOU’RE DOING GREAT. aside from the whole “this really big man is killing you slowly” thing

yeah, this whole deal

but aside from that. doing great

!!

OOOOOOOOOH SHIT, THIS MUMMIFIED LITTLE PUNK’S STILL GOT SOME FIGHT LEFT IN HIM YOU GUYS

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

he got him to fling him away! YESSSS TAKE THAT YOU ASSHOLE. FOOL HIM ONCE, FUCKING OUCH, BUT FOOL HIM TWICE, AND LET’S SEE HOW YOU FUCKING LIKE IT YOU BIG WAD

so now Re-Destro is belatedly realizing that Tomura is going through a very weird leveling-up process and taking advantage of the fact that he’s temporarily become the main character of the series and thus possesses all of the narrative powers that come with that venerable distinction

...that he’s the main character? yes

anyways lol there’s some real good crazyface action going on here guys

did Horikoshi take the extra time just so he could devote a little longer to nailing down panels like this because if yes, A+++

SDSKJSODIFHOIESJ

it’s mom!! wow!!

DSLKFAJSLDK ARE WE GETTING BACKSTORY ON THE FUCKING SCARS OMFG I CAN’T THIS IS TOO MUCH

SOB YOU GUYS I’M CAUGHT UP IN THIS WEIRD CROSS BETWEEN BEING HYPED AF AND ALSO CRACKING THE FUCK UP NOW THOUGH, BECAUSE:

ALL OF THIS WAS SO FUCKING BADASS, AND THEN THAT LAST FUCKING PANEL, THOUGH. LMAO WELL HE’S ON THE BRINK OF SOMETHING, BUT WHO CAN EVEN FUCKING SAY WHAT

ANYWAY HE’S ZOOMING TOWARDS RD AND RD’S THINKING “HE’S FAST!” AND YEAH, BITCH, YOU SCARED??

WHAT ARE YOU THE PRESIDENT OF HIS FANCLUB NOW OR WHAT

you guys this is the most I’ve ever liked Re-Destro. there’s something about evil nemesis characters being begrudgingly impressed by their enemies that just pleases me, idk

LJSDFIJWEOF

WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO HIS FACE HE LOOKS LIKE ONE OF THE SCARY TREES FROM SNOW WHITE

OH SHIT YOU GUYS WE’RE BREAKING OUT THE TROPES

so do we get 100% when he goes up against Machia, then? smdh, fucking power levels. well I guess Deku technically uses them too. but still, it’s not something we see in this series too often aside from that

holy shit you guys

honestly, I guess this should be really intimidating or whatever, but all I can think is that it’s about time this guy finally started taking this “pitiable gang of thugs” seriously. even if that does mean Tomura is probably about to fucking die, barring some Giganto ex Machia. that guy really needs to get a move on

oh hey

[RAISES EYEBROW AT GIGANTOMACHIA AND JABS FINGER TOWARDS WRISTWATCH] cut it a little closer next time why don’t you??

(ETA: also I didn’t notice all of Tomura’s other hands being flung away from him by the impact, but whoa. so now he’s just got the Papa Hand left in his pocket, along with whichever hand is grabbing the back of his head. and that’s it. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that his dad is the only remaining family member whose face we still haven’t seen yet. some big reveal coming up with that soon, I bet.)

oh and also guys here’s some more flashbacks. this time with loving grandparents. because Horikoshi just really wants to make sure our emotions are good and churned about

okay guys, Tenko’s very dead flashback!grandma and grandpa telling him not to cry and giving him yummy food so he won’t be sad is pretty much close to the limits of what I can take, angst-wise. I don’t know why this is hitting me so hard! this is hardly my first anime flashback! I should be a pro at this by this point, the fuck is wrong with me

but on the other hand, I think a big part of it is that I’m not just sad about Tomura’s past, but also angry. because none of this is just coincidence; all of it is actually stuff that was done to him very deliberately, and the worst part is he doesn’t even realize it. and so in addition to the usual rush of protective feelings, there’s also this sense of outrage about it all too. and I think that’s the harder part to deal with. here I am, a grown adult, getting really mad over the staggering cruelty of what was done to this fictional character when he was a child. it’s possible there’s some real-life anger and frustration over certain real-life horrific cruelties and injustices that may be bleeding over into this, idk. just, the world is a fucked up place, and my emotional support manga is currently being less than supportive and it’s a struggle sob

anyways sorry about that. meanwhile while I was having a mini breakdown, possibly the most pivotal character development in Tomura’s history was happening and HOLY SHIT THOUGH WAIT UP GUYS

sdfkdsfjwoilkkj BOY!!!!!!!

SOB HOW ARE THERE ONLY TWO PAGES LEFT I’M GONNA CRY THIS CHAPTER WENT BY SO FAST

-- HORIKOSHI WHY ARE YOU CUTTING AWAY FROM THE FLASHBACK OH MY GOD I’M GONNA!!!

FUCK ME, THIS IS WHAT I WAS WAITING FOR SO IMPATIENTLY, SO OF COURSE HORIKOSHI JUST HAD TO FINALLY MAKE IT HAPPEN RIGHT WHEN I WOULD HAVE GIVEN ANYTHING TO NOT CUT AWAY FROM THAT SCENE WE WERE JUST ON. THIS SADISTIC SON OF A...

...hee. but it’s hard to stay mad, though

... :)

:D :D :D

lol what. recall, if you may, that you guys are the ones who basically forced them to come down to your mountain city and kick your asses you dickasaurs

HAHAHAHAHAAA

SDLFKJLSDKFJ AND ALSO OH NOOOOOOOO

OH MY FUCKING GOD. AND THAT’S IT. THAT’S THE FUCKING CHAPTER. WHYYYYY

EAT IT YOU PRICKS, I HOPE GIGANTOMACHIA FLATTENS YOU ALL INTO NEXT WEEK

Tomura looks so freaking sad, you guys. he’s just standing there completely still and he looks like he’s just completely destroyed emotionally

and he said he remembered everything!?! so what the shit am I supposed to do, Horikoshi?? my boy is just standing there with seven fucking fingers and one shoe and so caught up in his sad reverie that he’s seemingly oblivious to the fact that the long-awaited cavalry has finally arrived. kid is maybe 2-3 chapters away from finally triumphing over this bald Disney tree man who talks too much. and not only that, but he’s more than likely going to finally win Gigantomachia’s loyalty in the process. which in turn means he’ll have access to Ujiko and all of his resources

so in short, this boy is minutes away from becoming one of the deadliest and most powerful forces on earth... and I’m pretty sure that right now, at this moment, none of that matters to him one iota

you guys. so what does this mean for future developments?? I’m really going to need him to define “everything” ASAP, for starters. that’s a very vague statement, and its implications could mean the difference between us just having a sadder-than-usual Tomura from this point out, or a Tomura that’s sad but also realizing for the first time that there’s a lot about his past that doesn’t quite add up, or hell, even a Tomura that’s actually out for fucking vengeance against AFO. that last one seems like too big of a jump to happen right away, but dare I at least hope for the second option though? god that would just be the icing on the cake for this fucking perfect arc

now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to go do some yoga or chant some mantras or something holy shit. this fucking manga

[mossflowermouse]

Second ‘When Christ and His Saints Slept’ reaction post (part one here), covering chapters 11 to 20 aka the bit where I start shipping actual historical figures for the first time ever (other than Wars of the Roses-era people, but that’s different because they were actually married and it wasn’t a ship ship in the same way these are. Anyway.)

Chapters XI and XII:

Annora and Ranulf still love each other :) and they found a loophole so they can get married when Maude's queen! I really should've remembered about that plight-troth. Now a bit worried about all the ways this could go wrong, not least because I'm aware Maude doesn't become queen, but that was really sweet and I'm glad they're happy and things have been resolved (ish)

UGH, GEOFFREY. He's being awful about Maude and Henry's overhearing :(

Between the odd mentions of her here and what little I know about her historically, I'm so excited for when Eleanor of Aquitaine shows up!

Whoops, Chester. Genuine anger and a lack of mercy from Stephen may be a rare thing, but I have a feeling this has crossed the line.

I like it when Maude has interactions with people she likes and trusts - her brothers, Adeliza, and now Brien. It's good.

...okay I might be starting to ship this. 

Oh dear I'm definitely shipping this. It's impossible and a mess and they both (Maude especially) seem like they'd rather be swallowed by the earth than actually admit to feelings, but it's so sweet and they trust each other so much and must have such a long shared history? Help?

And also lbr this is just That One Dynamic that absolutely kills me in every piece of media. The mutual trust, the quiet but unbreakable loyalty, the circumstances making things so difficult for them? This is absolutely my thing.

This might be the first time I've actually shipped people who existed. Like, there were some good moments in TSiS but all with people who were actually couples in real life. But with this, I don't know many of the specifics, I have no idea what happens to Brien and only know slightly more about Maude. This is strange.

AAAAAHH. Maude you can't do this to my heart. You just can't.

Chapter XIII:

I like Robert.

Hmmm. Looking at both sides' chances in this battle, and knowing Stephen gets captured at some point during the Anarchy, I have a feeling I know how this will end.

Why does it feel like the awful déjà vu of this part was intentional. This is making me have Bosworth-related emotions all over again.

Okay, wow, that was all quite a lot to take in. Chester's plan was good, and I'm grateful that he saved Robert; wasn't expecting William of Ypres of all people to flee*; Stephen's determination is also making me remember Bosworth in TSiS; I liked the bit with him and Robert and Ranulf at the end.

Chapters XIV and XV:

Aww, family (Maud and Robert and Ranulf) 

Maude :')

Matilda just found out about Stephen :(

Maude's going to have trouble winning over the people. London's apparently still loyal to Stephen, and their favour was often an advantage in struggles like this war (looking at you, Edward IV)

I'm feeling more sorry for Constance with every scene she's in or mentioned. Things just keep getting worse for her.

William de Ypres just showed up; Matilda is (understandably) furious about the Battle of Lincoln and letting him know it. 

Alliance time! This is one of the things I was vaguely aware of before starting the book, and the anticipation of it has been a lot of fun. Also, I like how honest he’s being here - he made a choice, realised/decided it was the wrong one, and is making no excuses, instead being clear that he wants to try and make things right. The contrast with, say, Bishop Henry’s total lack of self-awareness (or maybe it’s wilful ignorance?) about his moral bankruptcy is wonderful.

Chapters XVI and XVII:

My ship! They're interacting!

HAND. KISSES. My weakness. I know they're the norm and not necessarily romantic at this time but still. 

I am deceased. This ship has killed me and they've only had two direct conversations.

Bishop Henry is possibly about to switch sides. Again. I ought to keep track of who’s betrayed both sides the most times (probably him right now).

It's been four months since Matilda joined forces with William de Ypres to try and save Stephen, I wonder what they've been up to? (They haven’t been mentioned in the novel since then)

Everything about this:

and then THIS:

I love this conversation for so many reasons. Most of which involve Maude and Brien because apparently now I’ve dedicated my life to being emotional about them.

Matilda!!! It’s been too long.

Okay, so based on Northumberland's thoughts:

hmmm, new ship?

they're using nicknames they're being familiar this feels like a Big Deal for people in their position at that time. It’s certainly a level of informality that very few others have in the book so far.

Wait they just mentioned a Thomas Becket. Is he that Thomas Becket? I know his feud was with Henry II, whose reign begins in about fourteen years, so it's possible.

I love every mention of the chronicles. It's really cool having the regular narration of the novel interspersed with little pieces of old accounts.

I also love the little moments like Ypres here and his quiet admiration of/confidence in Matilda.

Chapter XVIII:

Not content to just leave me to deal with my feelings from the last few pages, the chapter opens with this:

Immediately following that last part, we now switch to Matilda’s thoughts about de Ypres? He’s trying to hide his exhaustion and she’s not having it? Literally standing over him to make sure he eats? Fond??? Yup, I'm definitely invested in it now. These relationships will be the death of me.

Stephen listing Ypres as one of the people who he could never expect to help Matilda :')

And he's just found out about their alliance!

The guard saying "No one knows how your lady won him over" before being cut off is just really funny. I'm just picturing all of England in total confusion about how Matilda managed to get this cynical, battle-scarred mercenary's unwavering loyalty after Stephen couldn't manage the same. Just. The entire country, collectively looking at this alliance and going '???'

"I had my own miracle all along. I'd married her!" Stephen you cinnamon roll you're completely right

Maude and Brien Maude and Brien Maude and Brien Maude and Brien Maude and Brien Maude and Brien

:DDDD

...I have become hopelessly obsessed. This book has two ships that are my favourite dynamic. Two. This is turning into Code Geass all over again.

(The dynamic is "mutual trust, admiration and respect; if there are romantic feelings, they might be ambiguous and possibly not acted on for any one of a number of reasons, most of which can be summed up as ‘external circumstances getting in the way’; absolute loyalty through thick and thin; help each other grow and get through difficulty; one or both is probably also a little scarred by the world". Bonus points if they have a long history, or any period of time spent together that’s not fully described in canon and can therefore be speculated about.)

 Chapter XX (and some reflections on XIX):

The thing about recognising Matilda’s habits:

made me think immediately of this post

Hell yeah teaming up to get Chester to leave. 

Ypres just internally being like “oh god I’m actually caring about someone’s emotional wellbeing what is this what do I do”: 

(also “the one man she trusted not to lie to her” is sweet but it’s also kind of upsetting that Matilda’s surrounded by allies and yet knows she can’t fully trust most of them)

my heart???

Some of my favourite ships are the ones where I don’t even know if I see it as platonic or romantic, just that these people have such deep affection and trust for each other and it’s wonderful. This is absolutely one of those ships.

I’ve not written anything about the destruction(s) of Winchester, mainly because this book is once again difficult to put down, but suffice to say that it’s pretty harrowing. Seeing things from the perspectives of Maude and Matilda, who haven’t witnessed this side of the war up close before and are feeling responsible for everything awful that’s happening, as well as Ranulf, who’s similarly horrified and hasn’t seen this kind of destruction before, possibly makes it even worse. Also I love the occasional scenes from the point of view of ordinary citizens – it really makes the wider effects of this civil war between cousins sink in. This may have begun as a personal tragedy for Maude, Stephen and their loved ones, but it’s become a catastrophe affecting so many more people across England, Normandy, Anjou…the fact that the narrative brings in the thoughts of people from all across society in recognition of this is one of the things that makes this book so good imo.

Okay, so I’m getting very attached to quite a lot of these people and it’s occurred a few times that I don’t actually know the dates of death for anyone except Stephen. But because this is history and also the first book in a trilogy spanning many decades and the characters are (as far as I know) not immortal, they’re all going to die at some point. I just don’t know when. There is no way to be prepared for the sadness that this book and its sequels will bring.

OH NO RANULF

At this point he should really just stop trying to break into nunneries. As Gilbert mentioned, it never seems to go well.

Wait, if they’re specifying not to kill Ranulf does that mean everyone else who was with him was killed? FEAR

Okay good there are more survivors

That fire was awful. Although I’m going to keep in mind that Gilbert and Marshal are only dead according to the people outside the church – the narration moved away from them when Marshal lost his eye, so there’s still hope (albeit not much). Also, this really showed both sides of de Ypres – he’s managed to be merciful and ruthless in the same paragraph.

Ancel!

And Ranulf is free, but with a hefty dose of survivor’s guilt.

Awww, Maude’s really openly relieved he’s safe. Robert too.

Gilbert’s alive too! I’d suspected but wasn’t sure. Glad for him and Ranulf that they’ve got each other back.

 *I’d known that he’d abandoned a battle at some point before allying with Matilda, but had thought that referred to his feud with Robert during the Normandy campaign, which was briefly mentioned earlier, so this came as a surprise.

[raendown]

Shout-out to you-know-who-you-are for reminding me to post this because I honestly didn’t even realize it was Sunday. Whoops!

Pairing: MadaraTobirama Word count: 4088 Chapter: 14/? Summary: Not all wars are fought on the battlefield. Some are fought at the conference table, with whispers in the shadows, or even in the bedroom.

In a world where the Senju and Uchiha traditional lands were too far apart to have ever made them enemies, Butsuma and Tajima are the ones who come together and sign a treaty of peace. Madara isn’t happy to have his life signed away for him in a political marriage to strengthen the bond between their clans. He is even less happy to have Tobirama make assumptions of him from their very first night together. What follows from there is a journey of healing, of learning, and finding the places to belong in the places least expected.

Follow the link or read it under the cut!

KO-FI and commission info in the header!

Chapter 14

“I’m not sure why you’re so worried about solving the problem right this second.” Touka examined her fried squid with a little too much interest to be genuine before delicately catching a piece between her teeth and nibbling it away from the stick. Her apparent disinvestment in their conversation did not fool him for a moment.

“They’re brothers, closer maybe than Hashirama and I.”

“Doesn’t take much,” Touka interrupted with a scoff, her words muffle around the mouthful of squid.

Tobirama ignored her. “Izuna means a lot to Madara and having a wedge like this between the brother he loves and the husband he’s contractually stuck with, it’s got him in knots. He’s moping. But you didn’t hear me say that because every time I use the word moping he gets prissy and starts yelling about the difference between moping and thoughtful silences.”

Pausing to let an older couple pass in front of them in the busy marketplace, he shared a secret look with his favorite cousin.

“Does he get that squinty look? The really hot one where he starts puffing his chest out?”

“Every time,” Tobirama answered.

Touka laughed as she pulled the last of her squid off its stick, popping the morsel in her mouth and tossing the stick in a public trash bin when they passed one. “Shame he’s so mouthy, really. You got lucky in the looks department but he’s too loud for my tastes.”

“I kind of like him the way he is.” Sensing her eyes drilling in to the side of his head, Tobirama huffed. “Yes, I know. Don’t bother saying it. This is supposed to happen in a marriage but – and I never thought I would have to say this about myself – getting attached like this probably isn’t really the best idea.” Knuckles brushing against his own was Touka’s way of expressing sympathy out here where so many strangers could see them.

“Be careful,” was all she said, simple words that carried a depth of meaning very few would be able to discern.

“No promises,” Tobirama shot back. She rolled her eyes at him but let the subject drop.

When they turned the next corner they were treated to the sight of the afternoon sunlight laying a golden crown around the tower that made the center of their village. After getting caught up in a meeting with the Sanitation Committee about why burying their garbage right next to a residential area wasn’t a great solution such a vision was more than welcome, reminding him of the few reasons he did think this village was a good idea. He had missed his usual lunch hour before of the meeting and so ended up taking a late break with Touka as she came off patrol. Now that they were done eating he would have to go back to the drone of paperwork.

Sometimes he really missed risking his life on missions. At least it was never boring.

He had planned to part ways with Touka after she saw him back to his office but they never made it that far, stopped in the hallway by a large crowd of people and immediately drawn by the same curiosity as everyone else had been: raised voices. Both of the shouting voices were unfortunately quite familiar. It wasn’t the first time that Tajima and Butsuma had argued in public, something that had been growing more and more common since the first time after Tajima caught Butsuma yelling at one of his sons, and the only reason Tobirama hadn’t made any attempts to rein his father in was the fact that it didn’t seem to be affecting how well the rest of their clans worked together.

From what he could understand of their yelling it didn’t appear that Tajima had gotten the message on that. It seemed like the longer they worked together and the more people joined this venture they had pioneered the more paranoid he grew about everything that went on around him. Tobirama wished he could say that Butsuma balanced him out with level-headed responses but unfortunately much the opposite was true.

“He is my son, not your own! It should not be for you to say where he goes and when!” Tajima’s voice sounded livid and his face, when they finally fought their way through the crowd, was red with anger. Not an unfamiliar sight.

“This mission requires a certain skill set and Izuna matches that perfectly. Should I pretend the entirety of the Uchiha clan does not exist when assigning teams for each mission?” Butsuma’s face was hardly faring any better and his body language was just as aggressive, much to Tobirama’s tired irritation.

“You do as much whenever it pleases you from what I can tell!”

“I beg your pardon?” Butsuma’s eyes narrowed. Tajima did not take the warning.

Stepping forward almost threateningly, he made wide gestures to match his accusations. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed how often my clan members get sent away and pushed to the side while you keep your own children close and pair them with the Hyuga.”

“Are you trying to say something about my administrative choices?”

“I think you understand what I’m trying to say,” Tajima snarled. “You and the head of the Hyuga clan have been getting a little too close for me to ignore it any longer.”

“There is nothing for you to ignore. It isn’t my fault if you choose to jump at shadows and secret plots that don’t exist. I stand by my decision. Your son Izuna was chosen for this mission because he is well equipped for it and Tobirama has been assigned to the land expansion project for the same reasons. That this project happens to work closely with the Hyuga has nothing to do with you!” Unlike his counterpart, Butsuma did not bull his way forward but rather settled his legs in to a firmer stance and stubbornly crossed his arms.

Across the room Tobirama lifted his eyebrows. This was the first he had heard of being assigned to any new projects. Sure he was good with numbers and had a knack for thinking of things in long term views, something that coming up with budgets for future expansions would need, but he was hardly the only person with a head for arithmetic in the whole village. Plenty of other people could take his place crunching these particular numbers.

Clearly Tajima seemed to think so as well, although his issue didn’t seem to be with Tobirama’s placement but more with the other people working on the expansion plans. The red covering his face deepened another shade as he clenched his fists with rage.

“Lies! Do not lie to me! You have the nerve to send my son away on a mission to risk his life while keeping your own safe at home and oh! What a coincidence! Working closely with the Hyuga!”

“What exactly do you imagine is happening that has not already been covered in our very public meetings?” Butsuma demanded, clearly tiring of this argument.

“You are undermining me and my clan! Have you forgotten that this village was only made possible by my clan’s equal contribution? You did not build this empire alone and it is not for you to rule by yourself! I refuse to sit idly by while you replace us with an inferior clan just because you think you can control them better!”

“Be careful what you say to me, Uchiha.” Drawing himself up a little taller, Butsuma at least made a good impression of a man insulted.

Tobirama was contemplating the pros and cons of hiding under a rock for the rest of his life when he heard Touka sigh to his left. When he looked over her face was drawn in to an expression that practically dripped with exasperation, body language screaming her desire to call both of the men before them six kinds of idiots. Pretty much her usual reaction to any sort of interaction with either of their two founders.

“Do you think they know how stupid they look?” she murmured under her breath.

“Hmph.” Tobirama leaned closer to murmur back. “Do you think they realize what a poor image they make of themselves every time they do this in public? What a terrible example to follow.” To make such fools of themselves or to insult another prominent clan so brazenly, he wasn’t sure which was stupider but he did know the answer to his own question. Neither man probably realized how badly the people in the room were judging them.

“So? Do something about it then.”

“What, and solve all their problems for them? They’re going to have to grow up some time.” Tobirama sniffed haughtily like he had no idea what she was talking about and Touka snickered. She tried to swat his arm for being cheeky but he dodged easily, moving as little as possible as in an effort not to draw his father’s eye yet.

There was no escaping her pointed look however.

“Fine, alright. I’m leaving my administrative duties to you, I hope you know. Enjoy covering my paperwork.” She groaned but, amazingly, didn’t fight him on it.

Saying he would do it and actually forcing himself to step forward to interrupt the stupid measuring contest going on between the pair in front of him were two different matters, though. It was hard to find a place to insert himself without screaming over top of them to get their attention, something he was quite sure would only get him in more trouble than it would solve. His opportunity came in the form of another dig from Tajima.

“How are the people meant to trust the man who leads them if that man will send their children away to die while his own sit safe at home?”

“It is the nature of shinobi to die,” Butsuma retorted in a cold voice. The blankness of his voice, a brief reappearance of the typical Senju control over their emotions, was enough to shock Tajima in to silence and give Tobirama a moment to make himself heard.

“Rather than make a spectacle of ourselves,” he stepped in with a mildly reprimanding tone, “I have a solution if you would both hear it. There are several of the Nara I can list off the top of my head who would be more than capable of taking my place on the land expansion project if I accompany Izuna on his mission. Father, I agree with you that Izuna’s skill set is particularly well suited for this task but Tajima-sama does also have a point. He should have back up. Allow me to go with him; it will make a good show of unity.”

Both of them stared at him with matching expressions of shock. Now a step behind him, Touka turned aside to hide her amusement. It took effort to hide his own exasperation at two grown adults who couldn’t make themselves behave like civilized humans until they were handed a perfectly obvious solution by someone more than twenty years their junior.

“That would be acceptable,” Tajima admitted gruffly, the first to shake himself out of his stupor. Not to be outdone, Butsuma cleared his throat and nodded, visibly ashamed of allowing himself to get dragged in to such a public display.

“Agreed,” was all he said but to anyone who knew him well there were entire layers of embarrassment and resentment buried in that one word.

Nodding back to them, Tobirama very carefully did not sigh. “Excellent. I will find Izuna and have him relay the details of the mission to me. Might I recommend Nara Shikou as my replacement? He displays excellent attention to detail each time I have worked with him.”

Without waiting for an answer Tobirama dismissed himself by turning on his heel and striding forward as though entirely unaware of the large crowd that had gathered to watch the altercation play out. People scrambled to dodge out of his path but he kept his eyes forward, continuing down the hall until he was alone with only Touka’s chakra trailing along at his heels like a small cloud of contained laughter. She followed him until he was just around the corner from Izuna’s office and then stopped him before he could go on.

“Good luck cousin,” she said. “Try not to let him smother you in your sleep.”

“Thanks,” he told her dryly.

She left with a wave and Tobirama took a deep breath before approaching Izuna’s door and waiting until his knock was answered with a curt “Enter.” He wasn’t surprised to be met with a glare or to discover that he had interrupted some sort of meeting, probably instructions for filling in while he was gone. The two women Izuna was speaking to took one look between them and bolted without waiting for permission to leave.

“What do you want?” he demanded.

“I’ve been consigned to accompany you when you leave for the capitol so I’ll need you to catch me up on the details of the assignment.” To his absolute lack of surprise, the irritation of Izuna’s face slipped down in to outright distaste.

“Are you serious? For fuck’s sake. I don’t need a babysitter – and I don’t need help! Especially not from you!” His entire face pinched in a sour look.

Tobirama watched the other man throw up his hands and mutter darkly to himself, questioning for a moment why he had bothered to do this. A brief but well-timed flare of chakra from the floor above them was all it took to reminded him of why. Madara, whatever he was doing, was apparently having a bad day. Hopefully the news that his husband and his brother would be spending some ‘quality time’ together might help improve his mood and clear the dark little cloud that had been hanging over his head lately.

Drawing the length of his ponytail forward over his shoulder and tugging fitfully at the end, Izuna gave vent to a deep sigh of defeat. “I can’t get out of this?”

“Both of our fathers agreed on it.” And he would not be the one to mention that it had been his own idea.

“Ugh. I seriously do not need your help! I can do this on my own!”

“I am sure you are more than capable. For the purposes of this mission you may consider me an emergency exit strategy and an extra pair of eyes.”

“Hmph.” Izuna glared at him. “That’s about all you’re good for, I’ll bet.”

Really it wasn’t worth letting him start a fight over something so petty. Tobirama refused to rise to the bait. Instead he sidestepped the insult and tried to steer the conversation back to business.

“Do tell me if I’ve missed any details but as it stands what I know of the mission is that we are going to the capital to escort the Daimyo’s niece as she travels in secret. To be honest I didn’t look too hard at that request since I didn’t think I was being assigned to it.” He shrugged, pleased to see even Izuna couldn’t find anything wrong with that. At least he wasn’t sticking his nose in everyone else’s business.

“That’s close but not really it. Apparently the Daimyo’s niece has been travelling to a secret location several times a week and won’t speak about where she’s going. He wants us to tail her and stay completely out of sight. If she’s in trouble he wants us to take out whoever might be hurting her. If she’s colluding with his enemies he wants us to gather as much information as possible and bring him evidence of her crimes.” For a moment he looked up to the ceiling as though running through his memories to check if he missed anything. “Anyway, we’re supposed to keep a low profile on our way to the capital and meet with his representative in the market district, at the Red Dog Tavern. They’ll tell us where she leaves town and when to wait for her. We can’t be seen.”

“Nothing too complicated,” Tobirama murmured. Stealth missions weren’t his favorite, he usually found them quite boring even if he did have the patience of a rock when it was necessary to get that all important paycheck.

Izuna leaned towards the window to check the position of the sun. “I was just giving my assistants a few last minute instructions and then I meant to head out. Don’t suppose you’re all ready to go?”

“Give me half an hour.”

“Fine. Meet at the north gate in thirty minutes. If you’re not there – well, you’re a sensor aren’t you? I’m sure you can find me and catch up.”

Tobirama held his tongue and turned for the door. Thirty minutes was more than enough time for him to make it home and grab the mission pack he still kept ready at all times even though he hadn’t found much time for anything other than paperwork since moving here. But there was something else he needed to do before leaving.

Out in the hallway people appeared to be returning to work and a quick scan for their chakra signatures showed that Butsuma and Tajima had ended their fight in one manner or another, now heading in opposite directions. He could only assume to cool off after embarrassing themselves so thoroughly. With so many people in his way it took a minute or two longer than expected for Tobirama to make it up to the next floor and poke his head in to an office he hadn’t actually spent much time in, both despite and because of who was inside.

Hashirama looked up with a big smile when he entered and Tobirama nodded in return, flicking his eyes over in Madara's direction.

“Could you give us a few minutes?” he asked. His brother stared.

“Like, alone?”

“Yes, you idiot, I would like a few minutes alone with my husband if that isn’t too much trouble.”

“So cute!” Hashirama was up out of his chair in a flash and shoving his way out the door. “Maybe I’ll nip down and visit Mito! Oh this is fun!”

He was gone almost before he was finished speaking and Tobirama was shaking his head as he stepped inside and closed the door behind himself. Madara watched him curiously with a hint of trepidation that he entirely understood. ‘We need to talk’ wasn’t usually the sort of conversation opener that implied anything positive was about to come.  

“It’s not anything bad,” he hurried to say when it looked like Madara was starting to brace himself. “I just didn’t want to leave without saying anything to you.”

“Leave?”

“After this conversation, yes. I’m being sent along with Izuna on his mission.”

Madara rocked back in his seat, eyes wide with surprise. “Kami save us all.” His response startled Tobirama in to a wide eyed expression of his own.

“I…thought that would please you.”

“Sending you both off alone and unsupervised? If neither one of you kills the other I will be greatly surprised.” With a low groan he ran a hand through his hair. “You two don’t exactly have a great track record for getting along so far.”

Tobirama scrunched his nose. He deserved that. “Regardless, we’ll need to make at least some sort of effort. I’m not certain how long this should take, hopefully no more than a week all told even with complications, but I wanted to let you know where I was going before I disappeared without warning.”

“I appreciate that,” Madara told him quietly.

“Right.” His message delivered, Tobirama wasn’t really sure what else to say. Yet strangely he wasn’t sure he wanted to leave yet either. He did ask for a half hour and if he wanted to waste chakra on a body flicker it would take less than a minute to flash home, retrieve his kit, and reappear at the meeting point.

“You’ll be careful?”

“I- yes?” The question threw him a little. He couldn’t remember the last time someone asked him to be careful on a mission. Usually it was just implied.

“Good.” Madara cleared his throat and valiantly strove to maintain eye contact. “I’m too young to be a widower so neither one of you are allowed to actually die, understood? A little maiming at most if you absolutely can’t control yourselves.”

Not bothering to fight the sudden smile, Tobirama nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

He hovered for a few another minutes, unsure of what to say and almost hoping Madara would ask him something else, but the moment was made awkward by neither of them quite knowing how to handle it. This was the first time since they were bonded that they would be separated for longer than a day or two and of course it came now that neither of them laid awake at night wishing for a way to escape from the other.

Eventually Tobirama decided that there was little point in standing around staring at each other and he murmured his goodbyes. Madara's gaze burned hot on his back as he let himself out of the room. Their conversation hadn’t lasted very long so he still had quite a bit of time; he used it to walk home at a leisurely pace and take in the sights of the village for no other reason than it pleased him to do so. It truly was amazing what all these clans had accomplished together, the peace that they had built and maintained after so many years of warring senselessly against each other.

Once he had his things he set off again for the north gate at the same easy speed. He could have used his time to say goodbye to Hashirama but surely Madara would mention where he had gone and it likely would have taken longer than the thirty minute time frame to remove himself from his brother’s clutches. Hashirama’s goodbyes had never been quick.

When he arrived at the gates he still had several minutes to spare but he found Izuna already waiting with impatience stamped across his face. He took one look at Tobirama, huffed, and turned away to set off down the path without so much as a word of greeting. It didn’t surprise him, really. That was probably the sort of behavior he had to look forward to for most of their journey – but he had chosen this for himself so he could hardly complain. If not a chance to make friends or make peace this could at least be a chance to come to some sort of agreement. Even if that agreement was simply not to argue too much in front of Madara.

They both cared for the same man and wanted him to be happy and so they would both need a plan to work towards that goal. If Tobirama could find nothing in Izuna not to hate then he would do his best to find something tolerable in the man and focus his attention on those qualities. Or maybe he would just drag them out to the sparring fields so they could beat on each other without fear of worrying anyone else or causing undue offense.

Actually that was a decent idea. He would need to keep that option in mind should this venture prove a complete failure.

Several long steps brought him up to walk at Izuna’s side where his brother-in-law gave him an evil look most people would save for a particularly disgusting piece of garbage or an enemy that had haunted them for years gone by.

“Just don’t get in my way, Senju,” he growled.

“Let’s talk exit strategies,” Tobirama deflected. Talking about the mission was probably a lot safer than giving voice to any of the several responses that leapt to mind.

Thankfully Izuna allowed the change in subject, though he contributed only begrudgingly and continued to make himself as difficult to work with as possible. It took everything Tobirama had not to snap at him before they had traded a dozen sentences back and forth but he held on to his temper with a white knuckle grip and told himself that if he could just make it through this one mission, if he could just prove to Izuna that they could live with each other in some way, the rest of his life would be a lot more peaceful.

And Madara would be a lot more happy.

[artemisegeria]

Love by Design (Chapter 11/11)

Title: Love by Design (Chapter 11/11)

Rating: T

Word count: 3111

Warnings: None for this chapter.  

Summary: Vision makes elaborate foam art as a barista at the coffee shop that his brother owns. One day a new customer comes in, and he completely loses his cool. As she keeps coming back, they grow closer. A casual acquaintance becomes something much more.

Chapter Summary: Vision and Wanda consider where they are in life and prepare for the next stage of their journey.

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16272371

Chapter 1  | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10

A/N: I included a bit about Hanukkah practices towards the end that I only learned from some internet research. I apologize for any mistakes. Please let me know if you have corrections, and I will update.

 Vision set to unpacking as soon as he arrived home. He wanted to be finished when Wanda came over for dinner. It was a simple matter to warm up leftovers of a meal he had prepared before he left. He chose a far less elaborate table setting than usual as well. Now, he only had to wait for his girlfriend. He couldn’t help grinning at the term, though it had been almost three months.

He heard the door click open just before Wanda’s shout of “Vizh! You’re back!” reached his ears. He had just enough time to open his arms before she launched herself at him. “How was the conference?” The words were spoken into his chest.

“It was excellent.” He took a moment to rest his cheek on the top of her head. They merely stood in silence for a time. It had only been a week, but now that he was back with Wanda, it felt like a small eternity. “How are you?”

“Mmm, good.”

“Indeed.” He gratefully enveloped her in his arms, resting his cheek on the top of her head.

When she pulled back, she fingered the pin on his lapel. “You’re still wearing it.” He pressed his hand over hers. The little coffee cup had not left his lapel since he opened it.

“Yes, I deeply appreciate your gift. I plan to leave it here permanently. Or at least until I buy another jacket.”

“I’m glad. Now, tell me more.” He explained the topics of some of the presentations, the reception to his paper, and the people he had met as he guided her toward the table. They continued talking throughout dinner until she looked at him more closely. “There’s something else, isn’t there?”

Vision was a bit unnerved, though not terribly surprised, that she had guessed he was holding back. He prided himself on stoicism, but this was to be expected, given how close they had become. “Yes, I met someone from the university that I have not met before. We got along quite well, and he informed me that they were short on history professors for the upcoming semester. He asked me to send him my resume, and he would see if he had anything for me.”

“That’s wonderful! Why didn’t you just say?”

“Well, it’s by no means a sure thing. Even if I get the position, it will only be for the Spring semester.”

“Still that’s a job in your field that you worked so hard for!” She got up and moved around the table to embrace him. Vision eagerly returned her hug, enjoying the feel of her in his arms, dinner forgotten. “Let’s celebrate recklessly!”

Vision caught her enthusiasm and spontaneously rose, causing her to stumble slightly. He held her up and led her smoothly into a waltz, which drew a shriek of laughter from her lips. They danced around the table into the main living area. Wanda did bring out his fun-loving side.

He was even inspired to surprise her with a twirl. When she spun back toward him, he transferred his hands to her waist and lifted her slightly in the air. Wanda let out another gust of laughter. When he lowered her back to her feet, she leaned against him, breathing elevated. “You suggested recklessness.” Vision found himself smirking at her. He was quite certain that this was not what she had intended.

“So I did.” The smile that bloomed on her face along with the color in her cheeks was one of the most beautiful Vision had ever seen. “Maybe I didn’t choose my words carefully enough. Not that I’m complaining.” She slid her arms around his neck, pulling his face down to hers.

He could have happily drowned in the kiss, but they separated after only a few moments. They still shared sentimental throughout the rest of their dinner. After cleaning up, they settled on the couch to watch a movie. Vision was able to relax fully for the first time since he left for the conference. Wanda was curled comfortably against his side and the kisses they shared at intervals left him warm and at peace.

***

On Saturday night, Wanda arrived at Vision’s apartment after everyone else had shown up. The Monopoly board was already set up when she let herself in. Vision approached her and gave her a peck on the lips in greeting. It was nice not to have to hide any longer. She was warmed from the inside out by the fact that she was finally able to admit how much she cared for him, both to herself and to the world.

“Okay, lovebirds, come on!” Tony shouted.

They walked over to the board. “For someone who wanted us to get together so badly, you don’t seem to like it now that we are.”

“Only when it interrupts the serious business of game night.”

“Alright, alright. Now you’re all just stalling. Let’s go!” Natasha rubbed her hands together. “You’re just afraid.”

“You wish,” Sam whooped.

Wanda sat down next to Natasha, pulling Vision down with her. “What’s the record, Nat? I think you know Monopoly is my game.”

Her eyes narrowed at Wanda, showing a hint of a true threat. “We’ll see.”

A new round of trash talk broke out as Steve divided the money and everyone fought over the pieces.

***

Vision sat at his kitchen table revising his resume in preparation for his meeting at the university. While taking a break from a line, his eyes fell on the bottle with the model ship inside. He appreciated Wanda’s thought in bringing him the memento, but he tried to think of his brother as little as possible.

They had not been close for years, but never expected Ultron to do something quite like this. Thinking about him threatened to lead Vision into tears, or even rage in the right mood. Vision took a deep breath to bring himself under control.

Regardless, Vision was ever an optimist. He looked to the silver lining. He was finally free. He knew that his brother would never have let him leave the shop without a fight. Now he could pursue his own dreams.

A part of him wondered where Ultron was or if he would ever see him again. But there was Wanda and his friends to think of. He had more people in his circle now than he ever could have imagined. His life was good now.

If he received this job, he did not think he could wish for anything else. Well, perhaps there was one other thing, but he was not certain he was ready to tell Wanda the full extent of his feelings.

***

Wanda placed the call to Pietro as soon as she got home from work. She grinned at his face on the screen. “Long time no talk.”

He immediately adopted the look of an injured puppy dog. “Whose fault is that, Wanda? I can barely get a text from you these days.”

She hung her head slightly. It was true she had been neglecting him. “Sorry. You know how it is with the beginning of the year. I’ll do better. Tell me all about what I’ve missed.”

He obliged her with tales of summer training and his newest hot cross-country prospects. He was still prepared for his school to be number one in the country. As his news wound down, his expression gradually shifted into a challenging smirk. “But you’ve been busy with more than just school, haven’t you?”

Wanda thought back to all the pictures of her posted on her and her friends’ social media accounts that Pietro had liked. It was really no use to deny what he was getting at. “Maybe.”

“So is that friend who showed you the concert flyer and dressed up with you and that you talk about all the time still just a friend?”

Wanda had planned to keep her announcement very matter of fact, but a wide smile spread across her face against her will. “No, Pietro. We’re dating. We’ve been dating for almost three months.”

Pietro put a hand to his chest and half reclined in a fake swoon. “And you’re only now telling me?”

“We were keeping it quiet. I didn’t tell anyone else either. Vision is wonderful, but I wanted to be sure first.”

“Sure of what? Are you thinking of marrying him already?”

“No! Pietro! We only just made our relationship public and official.”

“Yeah, but you’ve been grinning about him like a love-sick puppy for months now. It took me far too long to connect the dots, but every time you mentioned a certain ‘friend,’ you got all giddy and started gushing.”

Wanda opened her mouth to deny Pietro’s claim, but quickly realized it was useless. “Maybe. Look, I really like him. I just want to see where everything goes naturally.”

“Okay, Wanda, I give in.” His grin took on a wicked glint. “I am meeting him the next time I visit, though.”

Wanda shook her head at the thought of what kind of interrogation Pietro would subject Vision to. “Fine, but you have to be nice.”

“Oh, I will be. As long as he doesn’t hurt you, I have no reason to be anything but pleasant to him.”

“Good, because you will have me to answer to.” She hoped her glare communicated her threat sufficiently. Pietro may be her brother, whom she loved dearly, but he would not ruin this.

He did not look overly worried, but he did nod seriously. “Duly noted. Now, what do you think about this shirt? You haven’t said anything about it.” Wanda let the conversation drift to other things. A few hours later they wrapped up their conversation with promises of talking again soon.

Even after they ended the call, her brother’s conversation stayed with her the rest of the night. Marriage was not something she had considered yet. She had never really considered it too much at all, always convinced it would be difficult for her to find someone with whom she could make it work. Even since finding Vision and realizing how much she cared about him, she feared thinking too far in the future. But one word was pounding more insistently in her brain with every passing day.

She’d been hiding it behind different terms. Friendship. Care. Like. Fondness.

But as always, her brother knew her better than she knew herself. What she was hiding from was love. She loved Vision. Part of her was still terrified by the thought, but she could not live without attachments. She had tried for so long, but it did her life no good. Vision brought her too much joy to deny her feelings much longer.

***

Vision parked his car outside of Wanda’s building and strolled toward the school. She came out a few minutes after he arrived. “Hey, Vizh!” She reached for his hand, and they resumed walking. “What do you want to do?”

“I thought we could just window shop.” He knew that would take them past the old coffee shop, but he thought he was prepared to see it. The early October air was chilly, but the sun was bright and inviting. They would not have many more beautiful days like this; it was only right to take advantage of it.

Wanda glanced up at him, slight concern in her eyes. “Are you sure?” Vision was cheered that her thoughts had apparently traveled in the same direction as his.

He squeezed her hand reassuringly. “Yes, I’ve had some time to get used to the fact that that is not my life any longer.” Grateful as Vision was for that, a part of him still felt a pang for the loss of all those years.

“All right. Sounds good then.” She started swinging the arm whose hand he was holding, and he smiled at her successful attempt to distract him. “How was your day?”

“It went very well. I finished filling out the paperwork for the professorship. And yours?”

“Same. Just finishing up casting for the play.”

“Will you need help with the sets again?”

“Of course. Don’t think you can get out of it just because you’re my boyfriend now.”

“I would not dream of it.”

“Good. I’m -.” Vision looked down at her questioningly when she abruptly fell silent, until he noticed where they were.

The last time Vision had passed the shop, paper was still darkening the windows, along with a sign that announced it was temporarily closed due to new management. Now it was taken over by global coffee chain. All signs of individuality had been wiped away. There were only identical dark brown faux-wooden tables and stools. Vision was slightly affronted that it was more crowded than it had ever been while he had poured his energy into making the shop homey and comfortable.

Wanda pulled on his hand, drawing him out of his contemplation. “Do you mind if we go in? I am curious.”

“I suppose I am as well.” She drew him inside. Vision was grateful for the anchor she provided. He was curious, though he feared the worst.

She drew him through the door, and they waited in line. Wanda ordered a far more complicated drink than her usual fare, while he selected a hot chocolate. He reached for his wallet, but Wanda had already inserted her debit card. “My treat. It didn’t seem fair to make you pay here.”

“Thank you.” As they waited at the counter for their drinks, they watched the barista, a boy with dark brown hair that swooped down his forehead, gaze longingly at a buff blond boy in a football uniform.

By the time they got their drinks, a table had cleared up, so Vision and Wanda sat down to people watch. After a few minutes, Wanda nudged him and nodded toward the counter. The blond boy had come up to ask for a refill. He was laughing at something the barista said. Vision wished them well.

He turned back to Wanda to find her wearing an odd expression, part thoughtful, part amused, and part wistful. She smiled as soon as she caught him watching her. “Oh, to be young and in love.” Wanda’s voice shook on the last word. “I wish I could wear my heart on my sleeve like that.”

“It is likely easier with less perspective and heartbreak behind you.” He wanted to comfort her, but he wondered what his excuse was. He’d never been heartbroken or suffered a bad relationship. Yet he was still denying the label that he’d adopted whenever he thought of Wanda.

“You’re right.” She looked like she was about to say something else, but she shook her head. “We should probably get going before it gets dark.”

Vision followed her willingly, thinking that perhaps it was time to take and a risk and make his confession.

***

Wanda sat on her couch, working on some revisions for the musical. Vision was sitting next to her, with a book in hand. She continued grading until she realized that Vision had stopped reading and was just staring at her. His hands fidgeted as he turned back to the book when he felt her attention.

Smiling at him, Wanda asked, “Everything okay?” He nodded, but he wasn’t looking directly at her.

When she finished with the papers, Vision wrapped his arm around Wanda’s shoulders, and she leaned into him. He was still tense. Without warning, he broke the comfortable silence. “I have been reading about proper menorah placement.” She was taken aback, but before she could ask where he was going with this, he continued. “It seems there are many conflicting authorities concerning where a menorah should be lit. Many suggest that the menorah should be placed in a window facing the street or the dining room. Seeing as I don’t have either of those, I was wondering where the next best option was.”

“Why were you reading about this, Vizh? Hannukah’s almost two months away.” Despite her confusion, she couldn’t resist teasing, “Thinking about converting?” She knew he was not part of an organized religion, but there was no other reason she could think of that he would need a menorah.

Vision blushed a bit, but his hands were steady as he reached out to cup her face and his voice was sure. “As we have discussed, advanced planning is my forte.” Wanda shook her head and poked him. He let his expression become somewhat distant and fond. “Since you stay here overnight frequently, I was wondering if you would like to have one here. It seemed more practical to get my own, rather than have you bring yours.”

“Th-that’s not really necessary for eight days. It’s no trouble to bring mine.”

“I don’t mind.” He kissed her cheek, his warm breath making her shiver slightly. He took a deep breath before he continued, eyes shifting back and forth rapidly. “And there is always next year. And the year after that.”

Wanda looked up at him sharply, pulling away. “You’re already thinking about next year?”

“Yes, I hope it’s not too presumptuous of me, but I see no reason why we would not still be together next year.”

Her heart was pounding, but she still had the presence of mind to say, “I don’t think it’s presumptuous if you ask me about it first. And I think a menorah would look good on your windowsill over there.” She pointed to a window in the main living area that overlooked a walkway. “The main idea is that it’s visible from outside.”

A look of intense, hopeful apprehension lit up his eyes. Suddenly, this question seemed far more important. “Is that a yes, then?”

“Yes.” She made sure to look Vision directly in the eye when she said it, trying to communicate all she meant with that one word. That she liked the idea of a future with him. That her doubts only cam from the fear of losing another person dear to her, not from her feelings for him.

Vision apparently received her message loud and clear because the apprehension vanished, replaced by a deep, joyful certainty. He took a pause, staring as deeply into her eyes as she had done. “I love you, Wanda.”

She’d known on some level that this was coming. And she found that she wasn’t as terrified to hear those words as she thought she would be. She knew it was the truth, and she knew she felt the same, though she hadn’t dared to verbalize even to herself.

The future fell into place around her. “I love you, too, Vision.”

 The End

 A/N: Well, that’s all, folks! It’s been almost a year and a half. I had fun writing this, but I’m ready to move on to other projects. Thanks to everyone who’s stuck with it, or picked it up along the way.