#there are definitely still bare spots but like. idk. this year i did not feel confident in my output

[ravenwolfie97]

2023 Art Summary

that's right folks, it's the end of the year, and you know what that means here :3

it's been a weird year for me, with lots of difficult and new things going on, but i think that overall it's been an okay time. however, art stuff did not come to me as readily, most of the stuff here this year are either sketches during dead air at work or done in a big batch in one big spurt of inspiration. as per usual, i'll let ya know what all went down. it turned out alright :>

well, without further ado, let's get into it!

Continuing from the tail end of 2022, I got more requests for newer Pokemon to draw, and it was really fun! Having grown up alongside the franchise for so long, I find it really interesting that I can pick up how to draw them pretty quickly and pretty well. These were all first attempts with whatever idea I had in mind, and it was a good time :3

The next month continued the Pokemon drawing trend after I had discovered and played around with the Pokemon Infinite Fusion generator. I loved the dedication so many people had to make their own unique combo designs, so later on I had downloaded the Infinite Fusion fan game and had some fun with that!

Additionally, my partner Stacey was planning a homebrew DND campaign called the Afterworlds where angels and demons live in their own little lands. I ended up deciding on making a Changeling Bard demon of Pride, who I named Masque. I have their initial sketches here because it was sort of a pivotal moment in my character creation process. I had a vague sense of a design in mind, which I sketched on the left, but I wasn't happy with it - it was just too boring and plain. So, I took to the internet, and I looked up various references and inspirations and ideas and came up with the sketch on the right, which was much more interesting! Definitely more fitting of a dangerous entertainer type.

Once again, the months bleed together, and Masque's design was completed! I really fell in love with them and their design, and even though we only managed to do one session with them so far (mostly due to life stuff btwn all of us) I really can't to do more things with them. More things like debuting their stage persona, Escher a.k.a Ghost! As the leader of a ragtag group of traveling performers known as the Cabaret Depayser, Escher is a much more charismatic and charming facet of Masque that keeps them hidden from those who want to hunt them down. Since I haven't got to play with that side of them just yet, we'll see how that turns out :3

In other news, Pizza Tower was all the rage this month, and I couldn't help but be swept up in it too! It's an incredibly mesmerizing and fun-looking game, with excellent animation and music and everything. I eventually picked it up myself, but haven't gotten to play it yet. I did end up really liking drawing them, kind of forcing me to embrace a more cartoonish side of my art style, and it was really fun to do.

Also uh. I got sick. like... really sick. i never get sick. so i made an art to cope. this would not be the last time i got sick like that. was still funny to draw it out though

A rather uneventful month, but hey look! We've returned to Pokemon. This time I asked to draw some from memory, and overall I did okay, even for the newer ones like Toxel here. I got the general angery baby lizard vibes down.

I also drew my friend Cake's egg magical girl OC Sunny Side and her little buddy Tama in my downtime at work. I think she's neat and I thought she would be fun to doodle :>

i truly had nothing else this month other than this one wip, gomen

I actually have a very valid excuse for this, because I was preoccupied most of the month with helping out my partner on her student film, which much like this wip was about our story Cosmic Legacy. I helped out with voice acting, voice mixing, and the music; although we weren't able to complete all of it and we still haven't picked it back up to finish it, I was still proud of what I was able to accomplish in about a month on top of a full-time job.

fun fact about this wip while i'm here though: it's based on this one shot from BTS's music video for Run, one of my favorite songs of theirs as well as one of my favorite music videos

i've always wanted to draw some group with this shot as reference, and it worked perfectly with these kids, but i still have to. y'know. finish it

Most of the month was, again, sketches from work free time. I felt like doodling some of the Destiny Guardians from my own story The Dark Side: War on Destiny from memory, since I don't draw them very often but I still like them a lot.

Circling back to Pizza Tower brainrot, my friend Atlas and I started tossing around an idea of what if, instead of pizza and Italian inspiration, it was ramen and Japanese inspiration? I was really struck with inspiration by that thought, and came up with five new ramen-inspired Toppins: char siu pork, narutomaki, scallion, boiled egg, and wakame seaweed. I thought they all turned out really cute :>

And, as my one piece of actual polished art in literal Months... Genshin dropped a teaser for the new Fontaine region and showed little glimpses of this Melusine, and I was so enamoured I had to draw her. They are so cute and I like em.

sometime in between months, i got sick. again. just like back in march. but that proved to be a little bit useful because...

SURPRISE, IT'S FULL COLOR ART

it was Artfight time once again, and I did not want to miss out. However! I kind of monkey wrenched myself by doing the color wheel challenge that had taken the internet by storm during the time I was under the weather. I ended up finishing it by the middle of July, so I only had time for a couple of art pieces for Artfight after that, which is kind of what I did to myself last year too. At least I had a valid excuse with doing another big fun art thing lol

I still have so many color wheel theme ideas that I would like to make, but after this, life would really get in the way of things, especially art-making in general, so I definitely plan to revisit those ideas later

it was around this time of year when not only was it forest fire season, and i had an ear infection right after being sick, but it was also time when i started really considering and making plans to move out across the country. it was a really busy and stressful time, even outside of myself since my parents and their aging parents were becoming a situation i had to watch unfold and help support as best i could. i doodled a little bit during work but most of my time and attention was spent elsewhere. drawing Lyney from genshin from memory was pretty fun, though. i liked him far too much even then lol

September was when things ramped up even more, and on the 22nd I, with my mom's help, had left with my belongings and began the 3-day trek from Seattle, Washington to Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was actually a decent time with lots of beautiful scenery, which I'll provide here since I... got absolutely nothing done in this month.

also... coolest hotel ever. absolutely oozing with charm. loved it

and actually, i lied a little bit. once i had actually moved in and settled, as i was getting stuff to furnish the place i wanted to pick up something for a little art project to like. keep me sane. so i had found this little Dia de Muertos ceramic cat statue painting kit and fell in love with it and after many days and layers of paint i basically finished it at the end of the month and I think it turned out really cool!

and so, since September was a bit of a dud, here's an October double feature :D

Over time, I started getting into a groove and much more comfortable in my new home, so my art started to pick back up. A lot of things were on my mind: I wanted to start planning on a potential rebranding/vtuber career and made some iterations on a design for my sona's model before settling on the one here, I was extremely bored one day and decided to pick back up on a papercraft doll for my friend Cake's sona (coincidentally just in time for her birthday), I started getting back into TOME and did a redraw of Demon Alpha over a screenshot from The Owl House to revitalize my love of drawing from that franchise, I wanted to draw Masque again cuz the homebrew game had been dead on our group's end because of scheduling conflicts and stuff, and lastly I wanted to do another halloween vampire-sona piece and got the idea for a fun, spooky, sexy two-parter with some bloods. It was a good time and I was feeling on the up and up :3

This month was less up, not just because I did a lot less, but because... I got covid. Finally. After nearly four years of evading it, I think the new environment and stress got to me and got me infected just in time for my birthday :^)

I could barely get anything done during the time I was sick, but I did do a few cool things. Again, I had gotten back into TOME after watching through the A2Z movies, and the epilogue really got me, especially with the softlocke content. So I did some doodles in my spare time and only managed to get this one digitized (which i didn't post yet cuz i wanted to do the others too first, whoops)

The girl on the left is a product of a nifty design challenge I found while mindlessly scrolling thru youtube shorts, where you create an OC based on some traits of yours (here's the video i found for it). It was just a fun little prompt that got me to do a little bit more this month.

Then I wanted to practice drawing my new vtuber sona some more, and there had been this trend on Twitter where people drew characters in one of the poses from this K-pop music video GUILTY. It seemed like a cool pose idea, but I feel like a lot of the people who did it mostly liked drawing muscly dudes and rendering them or just drawing the pose to be sexy, but I was most interested in the context of the song which made it much darker and spookier while still being very sexy and fun to draw, so I focused on the spookier angle of it

and finally, December was a very busy month with the holidays as I was prepping gift-giving for work and my family, but I still ended up dedicating my time to a couple of projects in the time I could find in between

my main focus this month had been on an idea inspired by this series of videos by ABD Illustrates and based on some kinds of image combination techniques to make a bunch of genshin OCs based on a collage of every character of each body type. I had made five different ideas, each with a different element, weapon, and national origin, as well as movesets and even voicelines! But I hadn't gotten terribly far in rendering them, but I wanted to have at least a preview of one of them for this, so I started with my favorite of them all, Jack! He's the one I've become most interested in developing, and I like how he's shaping up so far :3

And, of course, as always, Pokemon runs through my veins and keeps me going. I did some doodles at work, inspired by Hoenn nostalgia after finding Alpharad's Too Many Types romhack to download for myself, as well as my latest playthrough of PMD Rescue Teams Red and Blue, including DX, which I'll be liveblogging here in the future.

Well, what a year it's been. I've done a lot more than I thought, despite everything, but I'm excited for the year to come, because I am dedicating it to all the WIPs I have gathered over the ages, and I will hope to see many of them done for the next summary! Until next time!

[beenbaanbuun]

blood w/ poly!ateez

so i feel so sane about this… definitely no evil thoughts filling up my brain right now. none whatsoever :)

i want to write so much more about this universe and i’m literally sending the biggest kiss ever to @ateez-main-yapper to requesting this because i will be thinking about this for the rest of my life!

words - idk

genre - smut, horror (there’s a bit of gore i guess)

warnings - vampire!ateez, mafia!ateez, human!reader, smuggler!reader, blood, scarification, collars, ownership, blood, surgery mentions, nicknames (little mouse, princess, sweetheart), dancer!yeosang, security guard!mingi, ripper!doctor!yunho, mommy!seonghwa (don’t look at me like that, i had to), hand kink (mentioned), no actual sex but it’s talked about a lot, hair pulling, i think that’s all??

——————————————————————————

the scent of stale blood haunts the hallway you find yourself walking down, clinging to the back of your throat until yourself gagging on it. no matter how many times you find yourself down here, it never gets any easier to cope with; even a slaughterhouse would be more pleasant than this.

it begs the question why you’re back. by now, you’ve bled them of enough money to never have to work again, so it’s certainly not the pay. the job itself is harder than most, and not at all rewarding when you have to lie and cheat your way into success. there’s no doubt that the stress of hiding a smuggling operation behind the guise of a blood donation clinic has taken a good 20 years of your life from you. you can guarantee that job satisfaction isn’t what’s keeping you here either.

it’s only when you turn a corner and your eyes land upon them that you remember exactly why you’re still so willing to walk these halls. it isn’t something keeping you here but rather someone; multiple someones, in fact.

“mingi!” your footsteps quicken as you get closer the security guard that stands waiting outside of a heavy metal door. despite the fact that you’ve been on the other side of it multiple times, it still sends a shiver of curiosity down your spine. it’s not an anxious curiosity as it was when you first landed yourself in this position, but more of a morbid one. you know the horrors that lie behind it, you’ve experienced a few of them too, yet you still yearn to see more. “long time no see,” you offer a polite smile once you’re close enough to lower your volume from a shout, “san told me hongjoong had assigned you to pest control. is it not going well?”

mingi gives you a slow blink, his jaw set in stone and his eyes steely as he stares you down. he’s always looked far more intimidating than he actually is, although you suppose it serves to his benefit when his main job it scaring away anyone who might wish to disturb the peace. you’re only grateful to have had the chance to see behind the mask he wears; to watch his eyes melt and his lips part in the wonky grin he gets so little time to wear.

“you’ve not seen me in months and the first thing you ask me is about my demotion back to security?” he quirks a brow at you and you have to bite back your grin. in truth, you’d heard all about it from seonghwa over the past few weeks, your main contact within the clan more than happy to share life details with you as though you’re a lifelong friend rather than a mere employee. their favourite employee, sure, but still at the bottom of the pecking order.

“i just wanted to know more,” you lift your arms in defence, not missing the way his eyes flicker to the bandage on your left forearm, “like you said, it’s been a while.”

mingi hums in agreement as he examines the clean cloth. a long finger reaches out to trace the spot where the fabric meets your skin, the touch lingering and soft. it’s more the real mingi than it is the security guard mingi; it warms your heart to see.

“when did this happen?” he whispers, voice barely above a whisper.

“about two weeks ago,” you i pull your wrist back, letting mingi’s hand drop back down to his side, “hongjoong wanted to approach me about it, but i didn’t take much convincing,” actually, it was you who approached him but for some reason that’s much harder to admit, “you guys are much… kinder to me than the other clans i supply, well, supplied to. it was a no brainer to ditch them when given the chance.”

“so you’re ours?” he asks, voice dipping a little too low for the question to be purely innocent.

“i’m mine,” you confirm, “what i supply, however, is all yours.”

there’s a smirk on his lips, not as easily defeated by your sense of self worth as you’d like him to be. he knows as well as the rest of them what the mark on your arm means, after all. he knows as well as you do that there’s no getting away from them now. the moment yunho took his sweet, sadistic time carving their mark into your body it wasn’t just your business that belonged to them.

“sure you are, little mouse,” he whispers as he leans in close, his icy breath fluttering against your face. your stomach drops but you choose to ignore it. this was your decision, after all, “now, scurry along; you wouldn’t want to keep anyone waiting, would you?”

with the flip of a switch, the metal door clicks open and your immediately met with a blast of cool air and a wall of sound. you’ll never understand the clan’s need for these constant frivolities, especially when you’re on the other side of this getting your hands dirty, but you suppose it is a good way to hide their more secretive operations. no one is going to notice the door in the corner when there’s so much going on out here, right? it’s an extra layer of security, and a darn good one at that.

when you step inside, the door clicks shut behind you and you immediately get to scanning the crowd of partygoers for a familiar face. amongst the hoard of vampires, they’re harder to spot, their ashy skin and red eyes sticking out a lot less than they would next to a human. instead you look for a familiar hair colour, recalling the angry text you got from seonghwa about the den’s main bathroom turning pink with hongjoong’s hairdye. nothing sticks out at you, though, and so you’re back at square one.

your arms stretch out before you as you go to push through the crowd. it’s moments like this that you’re glad for the metal, almost collar-like band around your neck. yeosang had created it as a way to keep your pulse hidden from any less-well-meaning vampires. he’d insisted that the tag dangling from it with the clan’s emblem engraved was all hongjoong’s idea, but you recognise the same possessive glint in all of their eyes. it’s the same one yunho had given you when engraving that very emblem into your body, and the same one san had given to you when wrapping your bleeding arm up in a fluffy white bandage. yeosang is just like the rest of them, even behind his sweet exterior.

but right now he isn’t crafting some marvel of engineering out of metal scraps and a dream, but instead on the stage at the front of the room. it’s not often he’s up there instead of one of the others, but as you watch him elegantly dangle from a hoop that hangs from the ceiling, you find it hard to see why. he’s utterly ethereal, like a butterfly about to emerge from a chrysalis; one of those blue ones with the wings that seemed designed to capture your attention with their beauty. you’re entranced, much more so than the rest of the party-goers who seem to have grown blind to the creature moving elegantly before them.

his body moves not at all like a butterfly though, instead flowing smoothly like a viper along the branch of a tree. he extends his arms in such a way you’ve never seen before, silken and smooth as he reaches out to his audience. it pulls you in further, your feet shuffling as you push through the final layer of people to get to the stage. you stumble forwards, catching yourself on the edge of the raised platform. if he notices you there, he doesn’t show it; the stoic expression he wears remains steady as he gracefully shifts his body into yet another position.

you watch him like that until the end of his performance, unblinking with your lips parted in awe. even the way he tumbles to the floor and bows to an uninterested audience holds so much more grace than you think you will ever possess. to think that this is the man that spends half of his time smeared in motor oil with a puppy-like grin on his lips is strange, yet it feels so right.

“hello, little mouse,” he echoes the familiar nickname as he makes his way to the front of the stage, crouching down in front of you and running an all-too-confident finger along your jawline to your chin. he snaps your mouth shut in a way that is so far from the yeosang you know that part of you believes this must be his much cockier twin. “hongjoong is out tonight; some trouble on south side caught his attention so he wanted to clean up the mess before the police got there.”

“i’m meeting with seonghwa then?” you murmur, too starstruck for your mouth the form words properly.

yeosang shakes his head.

“seonghwa and san went with him,” the finger from your chin shifts down to the piece of jewellery that fits snug around your neck. his touch catches against the tag, the jingling sound reminding you of a bell on a cats collar. you try to ignore the smirk that rises to his face as sees you make the connection, instead shifting your gaze to the pendant around his neck that shares the same symbol. “yunho is busy with whatever sick shit gets him off, me and mingi are working which means…”

fuck.

“jongho and wooyoung.”

“clever mouse,” yeosang’s tone is venomous, despite his words being soft. clearly performing does something to his ego; inflates it until every sign of the sweet mechanic is hidden behind a thick shroud of confidence. it’s deliciously cruel, mirroring the sick sadism of yunho or the vast overconfidence of mingi, and holy fuck do you want a taste. perhaps later, once business is over.

if business is over.

“i wouldn’t worry too much about those two, though,” he continues, tugging on the tag of your collar—because despite your pride, even you have to admit that there’s no other way to describe it—until you’re face is merely inches from his own, “hongjoong promised yunho their balls if they can’t learn to control them. maybe you’ll finally be able to have a meeting with them before getting your pussy stuffed, hm?”

you feel yourself getting warmer, your face flushing as yeosang so blatantly talks about your track record with the pair of resident trouble makers. it’s not like you’ve let slip about all the times jongho’s had you sitting on his cock with your mouth wrapped around wooyoung’s the second you step into their office which means that they must have instead. it makes you wonder what they talk about whenever you’re not here, and how much each of them know about your less than professional escapades with each of them. it’s a troubling thought, and yet it’s still manages to light a fire deep in your belly.

“see you later, yeosang,” is the only thing you can mumble in response as you pull away from his touch, the tag of the collar bumping gently against your neck as it slips free of his fingers.

——————-

“you told the others about fucking me?” you scoff as you barge your way into the office where the two youngest vampires await your arrival. it’s nice to see them here already, since they usually arrive far later than the agreed upon time. although, you suppose with the delays of mingi and yeosang, you’re also late on this occasion. you let the passive-aggressive comment about time keeping slide, knowing it won’t help you right now.

“hello to you too, mousy,” wooyoung hums from where he lays on the green sofa in the corner of the room, “it’s nice to see you again! we’re doing wonderfully, by the way; thanks for a—”

you let the door slam behind you as you storm your way towards him, completely ignoring the curious gaze of jongho.

“cut the shit, wooyoung,” you grab hold of his shirt collar and lean in close. it’s supposed to be intimidating but the wide grin on his lips lets you know otherwise. “you’ve all been talking about me when i’m not here? what the fuck, man!”

wooyoung chuckles in your face, his dangerous fangs glinting beneath the overhead lights. you know he’d never bite without your permission—people have been killed by hongjoong for much less—but it still sends a shiver through you whenever you see them.

“you’re not exactly discrete yourself, princess,” the office chair creaks as jongho stands, making his way around his desk and towards you. although you keep your gaze firmly on the little rat who still sits giggling to himself, you can’t help but be hyper aware of the presence behind you. a large hand traces its way up your spine, not stopping until you feel his fingers lace themselves with your locks and tug. your grip fall limply from wooyoung’s shirt as you’re hauled back into the soft muscle of jongho’s chest, your neck craned awkwardly over his shoulder to keep you in place. “what do you want us to say when san is asking about who’s cum he’s eaten from your pussy? do you want us to lie to them?”

you squirm, wincing when his grip on your hair doesn’t loosen despite your attempts to break free. they call you little mouse and right now, you really do feel the part—you walked right into a trap of which there’s no way out.

“maybe i should let you fuck me again just so i can watch when yunho rips your fucking balls off your body!” you grunt through gritted teeth.

jongho hums in amusement, “it was hyperbole, sweetheart,” a pair of cold lips meet the hot skin of your cheek for just a second before pulling away, the softness a stark contrast to the harsh grip he still has you in, “he doesn’t care how much we fuck you as long as we get the job done. after all, he’d be a hypocrite to complain about us fucking you when his dick is inside of you twice as often, hm?”

you watch with cautious eyes as wooyoung stands from his place on the sofa, grinning as wide as the cheshire cat. it reeks of danger, yet you’ve never been the type to give into that sort of thing. you’re a human working for a bunch of vampires; danger is just a regular part of your life at this point.

“besides, mousy,” the cheshire cat purrs, “you think we’re the only ones who talk? you don’t think we know just how much you love calling seonghwa mommy when you ride him? or how much you love it when yeosang spits in your mouth whenever he’s fucking you dumb?” wooyoung brings a hand to your cheek, dusting over your bottom lip with his thumb, “you’re ours, little mouse; we can talk if we want.”

[angsthology]

“when you said you were seeing someone i was kind of hoping a therapist” — or an alt title: roo sees things others can’t

theres been this uneasy feeling she feels on the back of her neck...

a/n fun fact i was possessed once as a kid. but anyway this came to me when i was reading the gamer episode of vr!!! so thank u noelle. but anyway let me explain this one: where im from the places here are kinda... "spooky" i guess and there are some people who can see otherworldly creatures and idk i just feel like bringing these in cause i thought it would be fun!

warnings; kinda creepy tbh i wrote this and imagined it a couple of times and scared myself (cause ik damn well it can happen to me 😭), this writing is kinda all over the place so uhh sorry

THE KANGAROO(KIE) VS. THE WORLD

alex had initially been unfazed by the girl beside him, having a hard battle against her drooping eyes. he definitely understood where it’s coming from. this meeting was so boring. plus, roo wasn’t a big fan of listening to words that came out of the mouth of men anyway so there’s no surprise there.

it was only then after several more head drops she seemed like she was more awake, her eyes quietly and cautiously scanned the room from every top corner to behind them.

he brushed it off as nothing, probably just gathering reality after her on and off nap.

after that it was smooth sailing and more... listening.

only, he sort of noticed how her eyes barely looked up from her lap but he fully knew that she was awake now. still, he thought, maybe she was just tired still so he didn’t bother bothering her.

when the excruciating life sentence had finally stopped, the entire room stood up and either made their way to each other or simply leave.

alex had a brief conversation with charles who sat on the right row behind him, he then went to speak to his friend that was just one second ago still sat silently beside him only to turn around to find an empty seat.

he then looked around the room to see if she had went to talk to someone only to find her lack of presence in the room.

weird. she always did like to mingle.

again, he shrugged it off, maybe she just went to take a nap elsewhere.

the next time they had a meeting in the same room, the alfa romeo driver had arrived with george russell by her side. they barely said anything and arrived in silence. well, that wasn’t true. the girl had arrived in silence, george was greeting everyone happily.

when they arrived, george occupied himself in a conversation with alex. when he looked to his right he found the spot empty where the woman once stood in. he then looked around to find her already sitting silently besides her teammate.

she had been fine this morning when she met up with george until they were called into the meeting that’s when her energy seemed to have shifted. george simply thought she just dreaded the meeting itself—as per usual, like any other meeting she didn’t like so it seemed pretty normal to the brit.

though, she was uncharacteristically quiet. like, she wasn’t exactly someone with a big dictionary on the daily but she was still as annoying as a twenty-something-year-old could be.

she had kept her head down during the entire duration of the meeting, only ‘listening’ to whatever there was to be said. every once in a while she could be seen looking up cautiously from her lap, though her eyes only seemed to be looking at repetitive spots.

after the meeting was finally over again, she was gone before anyone could reach her.

weird.

another day, another meeting everyone dreaded. seems like that’s all the agenda was the last couple of days.

but no one dreaded it more than the woman in metallic black.

she was currently walking along with zhou (who was now caught up with all the information). she was uncomfortable, she hoped that today she’s gone—that it was gone. she had been keeping her head down to avoid it but over the days she could feel her creeping in closer and closer to her.

roo was so close to entering the room until she felt the hair on her neck stood up in alert and she knew she couldn’t. she was so close to escaping today’s meeting but just her luck.

lando had seen her and she knew it was too late when he had beckoned her over.

she—like she has been the last few days—entered the room cautiously, not looking up to that spot for her own sake.

“hey, man.” the brit greeted, patting her back.

she tried to greet them all back in the same manner but her uneasiness were overpowering her social skills and she couldn’t find the power in herself to say anything coherent.

the rest of the men looked at each other in question giving the other only a shrug. they were about to ask when they were cut off by the meeting starting.

and, surprise surprise, roo had already disappeared again from their side.

she now sat on the far left just next to the opening isle where they could walk through.

the three british men didn’t waste time to occupy look at the other for confirmation and the empty seats beside her. usually that would’ve pulled a reaction from her, a comment along the lines of ‘everybody wants to get with roo’ but when she stayed quiet head down that really piqued their interest.

throughout the entire meeting she was still very quiet which wasn’t something out of the blue but something that was, is the heavy breathing coming out of her mouth. at first it was nothing but the more and more time passes it got heavier and louder. lando, who sat next to her had heard the entire buildup causing him to worry for his fellow driver. he nudged her with his arm to which she flinched at.

“hey, you alr—” before he could finish she was already jumping off her seat and mumbling a small ‘excuse me’ as she sped-walked in front of them, circling her way out of the row and exiting the room.

a moment later, her teammate excuses himself out of the room leaving the three british men to give each other a look.

after they were all dismissed, the three had made it their mission to find the alfa romeo driver(s). everyone knew how random roo’s (behavioral) pattern is, but even they knew that was weird and out of the blue.

but somehow, it was not really a big surprise when they saw her walking along the paddock with fernando, smiling as if nothing had happened.

when she saw them, her smile grew and she waved at them happily as they went and approached her.

“hey, how was the meeting?”

“fine. —are you alright?” lando didn’t bother to hover around the topic.

she shrugged, “yeah, just, things, y’know.”

george furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and quite frankly, taken aback, “what things?” he asks, his tone almost sound accusing.

she sighs, slumping her shoulder a bit, “it’s stupid.” she states.

“if it made you bolt out of the room like that, not really.”

she rolls her eyes, “i kinda… have been seeing a woman.”

they were so taken aback the three furrowed their brows in sync, only making her realize the mistake in her words.

she shook her head as if to refresh her thoughts, “let me rewind—i uh, i can… see spirits.”

still—hell, probably more—confused, their response to her words were tilting their heads like a puppy dog (though george and lando had a sort of shift into a more judgy look).

she clicks her tongue, “every time i look up in that room i see this woman with long hair—hair that covered her entire face down to her chest. and– the first time ‘round i thought that was it and that when i come back the next time she’d be gone. but… i guess it seemed like she got closer every time i come back. and today– today she went to the point where she was near my face and i guess… i guess i was finally feeling her presence getting too close instead of just seeing.”

when she finished talking, the three drivers in front of her stayed silent and she almost regret saying anything. she felt really stupid despite how real it was for her. she turned to whine to nando next to her when one of the three brits finally spoke up.

“that’s awesome!” exclaimed alex.

roo, still standing facing in fernando’s direction, only side-eyed him—judgy and  confused, right on-brand.

“…i was terrified.” she somehow thought she needed to clarify.

“no, yeah, sorry you had to go through that, whatever—you can see ghosts!” alex re-states excitedly.

the older man out of the four of them couldn’t help but be amused by the entire conversation. he put both his hands on each of the girl’s shoulders and laughed lightly, shaking her a little in the process, “good luck, niña.”

“man, i don’t need luck. i need new friends.”

taglist; @treehouse-mouse @disneyprincemuke @yansbolobao @leilanixx @judespoision @vellicora @bborra sorry for this mess 😭😭

[jack-kellys]

west end question: i obviously love my brooklyn girls and would die for them all, but is it bad that it’s taken away the sprace dynamic for me? like i’m still 100% on board with a nowhere near canon ship and it shouldn’t affect me they’ve decided to have spot be a girl, but it lowkey has? and i feel kinda guilty about it? idk i love my proshot boys. but i am 100% here for all the uk newsies cast they are amazing and so talented and it’s definitely my favourite production by far!! idk if i’m making sense

ok part of me feels a litle baited actually because like. i feel like... im vocal abt mlm musical sprace not being a big vibe for me in the first place. so im a funny person to ask if you were looking for relief lmao. anyway here's my thesis below.

wait also if ur a white newsie fan a read-thru+rb of this would be much appreciated thank youuu (also yall have been eating up my character analyses anyway sooooo!)

TL;DR THESIS: if you're feeling genuinely let down that your ship did not see the light of day and a black girlsie spot conlon got to instead, then yes, you should reevaluate that.

followers, if you've been with me long enough, you know that i have quite strong opinions about how this show gets treated when it comes to interpretations and fandom/fanon. mostly, this is because i literally work in theater, and it's extremely backwards in my brain personally when shows get treated more like a movie or tv show than a performance piece.

im also one of the only ppl in this fandom that ever seems to dare speak on race (not the damn character smh). and anon, buddy, kiddo, this does have to do with race, gender, and sexuality.

firstly, what i think needs to be understood about newsies, is that it is theater, which means it is meant to be mutable. there is no one way. there should never be one way. it does not exist. secondly, theater does not exist in a fandom vacuum. its live every night, conceptually. theater is a live performance art.

interpretations change- it's the nature of theater. so i think asks like these really do illuminate the difference between fans of the show's content or fans of... i guess the show's culture's content.

this is a culture content ask.

one thing i really, truly, deeply need you all to understand: from an objective, script- and staging-based perspective, proshot sprace does not exist. they do not speak. they barely see each other. race does not even volunteer to go to brooklyn. the ship originates from the 1992 movie, where they do actually interact, which is why the ship has prevailed through the 90s to today. they're from the movie, not the musical.

of course, this doesn't bash the ship- it has history, and naturally fans want to create new history when they get a new source material (the musical). it's true for like every newsie ship lowkey (but also not lowkey because all the manhattan newsies do interact and sprace literally does not but thats a different post!!), which is something i do admire about the fandom- we do a lot of our own legwork here, we invent relationships and backgrounds from one-liners that could be given to tbh any frickin newsie. i respect the 30 years we have invented ships.

however.

when a huge, publicized, consistently sold out production comes along with spot conlon as not only a woman, but a woman of color (specifically black rn!) as the leader of the most feared group on stage, there becomes something much more important than a "sprace dynamic", which does not canonically exist in the musical anyway bro. you can't miss something that isn't there imo. often the story and casting within a story comes first, and goddamn if this isn't one of those times. lillie-pearl's spot brings bravado, swagger, confidence, and intimidation that is literally....fine maybe i'm being personal but it is slash gen incredible to see in technically a period piece! a black woman in leadership with that kind of assuredness! in such a popular musical! how is that not– automatically surpassing an often obsessed-over (yes i am. hinting at something here, straight girl fans) mlm ship?

and while i'm on the topic of the over-obsessiveness of mlm musical sprace, let me talk about uksies sprace. because what's also wack abt this ask is that sprace is not a hopeless case in this production- it literally has about as much 'evidence' as the proshot imo!!!!!

i got to hop over to 2nd row brooklyn seating for act 2 so i saw once and for all really close up, right. there's a moment when race is upstage letting the newsies in/down from the stairs. spot comes down and she does, in fact, share a look with him. race gives spot a nod and she keeps moving.

and like im gonna see the show again (every day i am counting my mf blessings fr), so if i'm wrong or they don't do it every time i'll correct myself, but that's what i saw with my own dang eyes on saturday. they do acknowledge each other in uksies.

and since they do, i really like. i have to ask. what is bothersome/unpopular abt uksies sprace, other than oh idk.... its not white/white mlm with a twink/manly bf trope? why can't race still love who spot is as a character, this strong and fearless ruler of brooklyn, in uksies? because tbh josh's racer...nahhhh because. this is such a side note now but they'd be so good together oh jesus am i gonna ship uk sprace. and it's not like they're 'taking away' from a queer ship because a) you can headcanon spot as a queer girl and race being trans is consistently popular and b) newsies has ten billion gayass ships bro we've been eatin for literal decades.

anon, i'm sure you didn't mean harm by this ask. i'm sure, honestly, that a lot of fans are feeling the same way as you and weren't quite sure how to put it in words. but, i'm also not surprised you sent an ask like this on anonymous specifically.

should you feel guilty about it? i don't think guilt is the right word. but i believe you should think more about how newsies is not.....static. it does not exist in one form, and it never will. if you're feeling genuinely let down that your ship did not see the light of day and a black girlsie spot conlon got to instead, then yes, you should reevaluate that. in theater, you should always question why something impacted you the way it did- a major point of theater is to discuss and think about it when you leave! i know this because ive spent three years literally studying it, to back up my thesis credentials.

thank you for reading this, newsies fandom. i do honestly say all this with love, and i hope it made u think !! ♥️

[egcdeath]

I am back with more succession au thoughts! Your idea of art being competition for the top spot is so big brained it’s amazing and makes total sense and adds so many layers and tension to their dynamic and history I love it so much because it’s so juicy especially if there’s years of shared history with reader too… and it puts patrick in such a classic kendall position of trying to seem fully capable of the job and not like a total mess to his dad and of course because then art can unleash his full inner snake. And kendall and stewy were never really in direct competition either so the potential for angst and messiness is even stronger in this au!

The tom/shiv dynamic with patrick as shiv is also so good because combining him with the misery and emotional rollercoaster that she goes through as the only sibling to actually keep an s/o throughout the show, an s/o that she actually loves even though it’s all complicated and fucked up and kinda unhealthy and codependent, is so interesting. like her arc in season 2 when the relationship with tom starts falling apart at the same time that she truly thinks she has the ceo spot especially comes to mind. failmarriage is objectively the best dynamic on a tv show even though it’s physically painful to watch!! Like S4 tomshiv made me want to tear my hair out but it was so well done and devastating and real

I’ve been rambling but I love combining my two favorite forms of media!

anon i love u so much please never stop sending me your succession au thoughts.

i would LOVE the mess of art being like stewy and patrick being like kendall and you (reader) kinda having a history with art but being with patrick. like not a full on love triangle but definitely some interesting feelings there that maybe could be improved if all of you just kissed idk tho. i also think that patrick struggling to have it all a la kendall roy and art taking that opportunity to try to get into the company would just be so good. like first he tries to steal patrick’s woman and now he’s trying to steal his family’s conglomerate??? sickening!

and patrick being as pathetic as kendall is just really speaking to me. we already see patrick at his lowest picking up cigarettes off the ground and getting his card declined at a shitty motel but like. imagine if patrick was wealthy and still miserable. like trying so hard to please his father who thinks he’s a fuckup. quit tennis LONG ago to appease his family even though he feels like he’s missing something without it. trying so hard to be a good significant other but you’re tired of him acting unhinged and trying so hard to please his dad and having no work life balance and barely any time for you and did he do COKE off your child’s IPAD????

anyway.

tomshiv patrick and reader. i agree with every single thing you said. i think it would be such a fun dynamic to explore! like yeah you’re kinda a gold digger from a small midwestern town and obviously you love patrick but you kinda love his money more. like just a little bit. and you start working at his family’s conglomerate and you’re moving up the ranks and patrick’s dad almost dies and you’re like let’s get married (mostly so you can get a piece of the pie if something happens to his dad) and he asks for an open marriage on your wedding night but you love him and you love his money so you’re hurt but you don’t let it stop you and the pattern of him embarrassing you in front of his family or just in general doesn’t really end but it’s ok because you get your revenge and undermine him with his dad and your relationship is kinda permanently altered and you really do love each other. you do! but you both have a weird way of showing it because his dad never loved him like he should’ve and you’re starting to feel like the love you have for his money is starting to rival the love you have for him. anyway all succession heads know how the show ends so the reader would end up on top but at what cost!

anyway. never feel ashamed of rambling in my ask box. i’ll actually ramble right back at you. succession anon please keep rambling to me!!!

[purplesurveys]

1835

Do you have any plans for tomorrow?  Just need to take the dogs to the vet, but apart from that I can do whatever I want. I'm really happy I don't have any events tomorrow – my first free Sunday in over a month :( Sucks that I cheer for the bare minimum now but such is work and such is life.

What's the longest movie you've ever seen?  Gone with the Wind is like 2 minutes shy of being 4 hours long.

What movies did you watch a lot as a kid?  I watched Toy Story constantly. To this day it's still one of my favorite kids' movies.

How many rooms are in your home?  If you mean bedrooms, we have four.

Do you ever experience imposter syndrome?  Yeah, little bit.

What was the last place you rode to in a car?  Traveled quite a bit today actually! I was driver to my sister and her friends today as they had a girls' day out – I brought them to Salcedo for their lunch, then separately I needed to drive to BGC to show up briefly for an event a client was having (the work wasn't intense; I just dropped by to make sure things were going well).

Do you have a PayPal account? If so, how often do you use it?  I have but I never use it. I've never understood how it works so I just stopped trying to learn lol. Whenever I need to deal with international monies I just course it through my dad's cc.

Are you cold right now?  No. The aircon's on but the temperature is just right – chilly enough that I'm super comfortable, but not too cold that I need a blanket or can't focus on this survey.

How old will you be at your next birthday?  I'll be 26.

Before this one, when was the last time you took a survey?  A little bit after lunch.

Can you skip rope?  Sure. I'm not nearly as good as I used to be since my body feels heavier now, but I can still definitely do sets.

Have you ever participated in a charity fundraising event?  I've taken part in fundraisers, but not events altogether.

What is your hair like at the moment?  It's in a half ponytail, but I'll give a bigger shoutout to its texture(?) – it's a lot less frizzy today since I was in air conditioned spots all day hehe :)

Do you like cucumber?  No.

What do you like and dislike about your job? (or your last job)  I like the freebies, the cool shit I get to launch, the regular opportunities to see celebrities, and the semi-regular opportunities to work with K-pop artists/campaigns. I hate the hours, the regular disrespect for boundaries, and the unpredictability of clients/brands I handle.

Have you ever had a dream job? If so, did you give up on it, and why? Or do you happen to have that dream job? My dream job in the grand scheme of things is to do WWE PR, and while I'm not quite there and the chances getting there are quite bleak, I'm still nonetheless in the same industry.

What's the last sitcom you watched?  Friends.

What car did your parents or guardian drive when you were growing up?  The first car they had was a black Mitsubishi Lancer. When they upgraded a few years after, they still went with another Lancer – but a newer model, and it was initially blue for a few years until they had it painted to white.

Do you have milk in your fridge right now? What kind?  I think we may have a carton at the moment, but idk what type.

Are you left or right handed?  Right.

If you have your ears pierced, how old were you when you got them done?  I was a few months old.

Do you have any other piercings?  No, just the one on my ears.

What was the last thing you wrote down in the notes app on your phone?  Headline options for the press release I was drafting yesterday. I silently brainstorm 24/7 and I happened to think of two catchy phrases while having lunch, so I needed to type them down before I forget about them.

Have you ever been on a winery tour?  Nope.

When was the last time you were hungover?  May was the last time I had a particularly bad hangover.

Do you still have Facebook? If so, how often do you check it? Yes, it's the most popular social media where I live. I check mine everyday just to keep updated on news and if there are new dog rescues that need to be funded so I can donate.

Are you wearing your favourite colour today?  Nope, I don't have anything in purple today.

Would you ever want to visit South Korea?  I'd love to go back but it comes with feelings guardedness(?). Koreans are notoriously racist towards Filipinos, especially the older generation who seems to see us as below humans.

Racism makes people so weird and gross and annoying.

How many times in your life have you been in love?  Once.

Do you like your name?  Yes.

[get-your-fuckin-star-bitch]

[unwinding au] - season 3, part ?????

Aaaaaaaaagh i feel like I’m missing something what is it what am I

OHHHHHHHH

Michael didn’t get out of the institute using the mirrors, he doesn’t like using the mirrors (at all)-

He took the tunnels. He had no idea where he was going, but he took em anyway, cause he figured he had the best chance at finding the right way through.

He actually also took the tape recorder that was there, I was wrong. He didn’t want anyone to find out what he’d done (they sort of did anyway :( ) and also it had just become a “comfort item” at that point.

He sort of feels the same way about the recorders as Martin does, but also feels like they give him a sort of anchor to steady himself with so he can keep himself together.

[CONTINUED BELOW!!!!]

I really wish I could find some good maps of London so that I could plot out his course, but he tries going to his own apartment initially, only to find it surrounded by police/law enforcement.

So he feels very much like he’s got nowhere to go.

For the first time, he wishes he could just loose himself in a crowd and find himself somewhere else.

He’s just… too tall for it. He’s worried he’d just get spotted immediately.

But it turns out that doesn’t matter anymore. It’s as if no one can really see him, or at least can’t pick him out from the rest of the crowd. Which, by the way, is really uncomfortably bump-y and jostle-y, and he hates it just as much as he used to, but it works.

Not just to hide him, but to get him to where he’s going.

Somehow, he finds himself inside of a department store.

uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh so I decided it’s probably either Peter Jones or Harrods… but……

How tf do UK department stores work

help

Ummmmm heck it’s fine I’ll just wing it and revise later, at least i’ve got a vibe

So, Peter Jones and partners, runs into someone he knew before the institute.

I don’t know her name, but she’s pretty and a fantastic person and I tried to draw her one time but I don’t feel like it came out quite right, however I’m still going to drop it here.

(Uuuuugghhhhhhhh yeah there’s a lot I don’t like about how I drew this, I don’t feel like I got her features right and I wish I could go back and change it but it’s PENCIL and erasing/redrawing is ANNOYING aaaaaa /lh)

(I’m actually not going to insert the drawing. I just feel like it’s probably wrong in a hundred different ways, and I’d like to research some stuff further first before I make a finalized design.)

She and Michael talk a little bit, her manager comes over and does the whole “you’re paid to sell things to customers, not chat with them,” thing and Michael actually glares at him!

Yasmin(a?) (this is why i want to do more research, I don’t feel like that’s right aaaaaa) is completely taken aback by this, because the Michael Shelley she’d grown up with had barely ever glared at someone in this sort of a situation.

Michael was a tiny bit surprised by it, too, but fuck it- he was fed up, tired, on the run, possibly turning into a monster, and this clerk was being completely unreasonable (in his opinion). He was having a bad day and hadn’t seen his friend in years, couldn’t he just leave them alone?

Apparently not. The manager was getting very disgruntled, and curtly acknowledged him with a steely-eyed stare, and told him that if he wanted to make a fuss over the store’s management rules, he should leave the department and go speak with the (police? Upper management? Idk).

And thus a small standoff occurs. I’m honestly impressed that the manager could remain rigid in his stance with this tall guy basically looming over him, but by god he did- and then the usual thing of “I’m going to call the cops.”

And naturally, Michael gets both upset and a bit panicked.

The guy turns away to call someone on his phone, then notices some strange movement out of the corner of his eye and turns around to see Michael, looking… definitely different from how he did before.

He’s trying hard not to look at his friend, cause he feels like if he does, he’ll scare her, but the manager is staring right at him, into his twisting face, and screams after taking a few moments to register what’s going on.

And then Michael leaves.

——————

The police get there far too late to catch him exiting the building, and naturally, daisy is a little more than a bit miffed by this.

He’s just glad he could get away at all. He’s actually unaware that the police are following him.

Thing is, he didn’t actually even hurt anyone, he just scared the manager and ran away. Supposedly, no actual harm done, (the manager’s now marked but Michael doesn’t need to know that 🫠), so the police leave.

He considers checking in to a hotel or something, but… it feels like it’s too… risky.

So he just… sleeps wherever.

It’s awful.

His friend’s probably trying to figure out where he went, just so she can understand what the heck’s going on and why the police are trying to find him, cause last she heard, he was working at the infamous “Magnus Institute”, which, as far as she understands it, is essentially a fucked-up library of weird things. So maybe things had gotten a little too weird for him, or he’d just been some kind of serial-whatever this entire time. They hadn’t even explained the situation to her when they’d questioned her about him. She fully thought she was going to be arrested as an accomplice or something, which would have been awful, but apparently all they cared about was getting him.

And she kind of wanted to know why.

I mean- look. Scaring someone’s manager with a gun or blackmail or something is one thing. But with just a look? That stuff was not normal, she knew it wasn’t, and he was gonna have to spill everything to her.

Once she could find him, at least.

She took a few days off from work to wander around and see if she could look for him in… the shops, maybe, or nearby apartments. But nothing came up. No sandy-blond-haired skinny tall bastards in the directory, or around there anywhere. (Sounded like she was ordering Starbucks or something every time she asked around about him.)

She nearly tripped over him when she was passing through (insert place name here, I really need to get a map or else I’m just going to end up playing mad libs with location names for this, lmao).

She had been trying to find a bar she thought he might be relatively more comfortable at than the others in the area. Bars in general did not seem Michael’s style, but she was running out of options, and hey, he’d obviously changed at least a little bit since she’d seen him.

But the expression on his face when he looked at her, startled, confused — hell, maybe even hopeful — was exactly the same expression he’d worn that day that the two’d met each other the first time.

They’d both been different then, in their own ways. But now, it seemed like one of them had changed… well, a little more than would be possible for the other.

Still him, though. She could be sure about that.

And he needed some help.

“Hey.” She said simply, in greeting. “No complaining, no insisting on not bothering someone, we’re going to get you a bed.”

[reyesstrand]

lol you're the only one I ramble to, so ...sorry?

...I was very...confused this episode?

With how Carlos' character arc has been built up, it just doesn't make SENSE where they took it. It felt very 'what soap opera drama can we throw in'. I truly don't think the creators/writers realized how feral/loving/loud Tarlos fandom was maybe when they started the show, because this seems out of left field and leaves a lot of season 1 to make even less sense.

Carlos is a rock. He's the foundation of a lot of relationships and a strength for many. To hide this and then not talk to her for four years basically is inconceivable for what we've seen of him. If Iris was his best friend, he wouldn't let her meet TK until the wedding? That also seems weird. It's just a lot of places they could have taken it, and to choose her and just be like 'oh yeah time passed' is, dare I say it, lazy writing? It's like they don't know Carlos. IDK.

I'm not saying the reasoning isn't right, he needed someone in the moment and it felt like he wasn't being accepted, fine. But with how he KNOWS TK is about lying, etc, and at NOT having said anything for so long?!

I still adore TK/Carlos and didn't even realize there were whispers of not seeing them the same way etc. They will always be my favorites and they're endgame, but damn. They're in for a roller coaster, I guess. The poor boys being swept up in this.

...haha sorry. I just needed to let it out (I can't watch live so my reactions are early the next morning as I wake up an hour before I have to to watch it hahaha)

Loved your reflection too - you genuinely are the best <3

omg no worries!! <3

and i am definitely in the boat of like….did i want this to happen? no. do i like it? no. do i think it will unfortunately reshape now a lot of people view carlos and thus tarlos too? yeah. and those feelings to me are 100% understandable and i feel bad that people now feel bad about a favourite character/ship/the show as a whole. the carlos we know and they developed would have and should have at least told tk—even if they went this route all along, it’s a conversation that should’ve already been had.

but i will say this won’t make me stop caring about the show or the boys or their journey. it’s been too much of a bright spot for me to tear me away from it, and also like….being around for season one as we barely got any carlos and season two where they went SUPER soapy (i mean the gwyn baby plot was so out of left field and was so hated akdnsk). this show at its core is a drama and a ryan murphy production at that, and even though i think tim probably should’ve just kept this as a what-if, we should still see how they make it progress. if they allow tk the space to feel what would be valid feelings about it, if they allow us to see the way internalized homophobia and repression can just break someone apart, if they make them come together stronger at the end….that’s the important part for me. especially since as of right now tk can find it in himself to understand carlos, and if he can, i’m going to suspend my belief for a bit and see how it plays out akdnsks

[talvenhenki]

how about the last 500 words of your lastest one on ao3 for the dvd commentary meme? :))

Okay so 500 words turned out to be A Lot so here you go (From The Song of Flowers: A 07-Ghost Story):

--

Shaking his head, Labrador moved a little. He reached out to his nightstand to grab something. A leather-bound journal. It was thick, and it looked like over half of it had been used up already. Castor had never seen that journal before. Neither Labrador nor Frau used any journals that looked like this, although Labrador did like to write things down occasionally. But he used separate slips of paper. Not a journal.

“She ran away after telling me that her brother is a Warsfeil”, Labrador explained, “and she forgot her journal. I took it, but…I don’t think we should read it. Whatever she’s written here must have been painful. She told me that the flower she was having tasted sweet.”

Ah. Labrador’s teas and plants had healing properties, and in particular, the tea flowers could bare someone’s soul entirely. Perhaps Kanon was just another lost lamb after all.

“Well”, said Frau, “I, for one, think it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission.”

Frau grabbed the journal and was about to open it, but Castor reacted faster. He snatched the journal and pushed Frau away with his foot, all while still holding Labrador from behind. In the commotion, a photo slipped out from between the pages and landed on Labrador’s lap. He picked it up to study it better.

“Dammit”, Frau muttered, “she really was in the army.”

In the photo, three members of the Barsburg military were smiling at the camera. In the middle was Kanon. Her long lavender-coloured hair was braided around her head, only leaving her wavy bangs down. To her left, there was a smaller person with pink hair and an eyepatch. The person was hugging Kanon from the side, while Kanon had one arm around their shoulders. To Kanon’s right was a young blond man, perhaps a year or two younger than her. His eyes were light brown and he had one arm around Kanon. They looked so happy and carefree, almost like there never had been a worry in their lives.

“She looks so happy”, Labrador breathed, “I wonder what made her turn her back to this memory.”

“It’s no use speculating”, Castor said, “and we certainly should not read her journal without permission. Who knows what secrets it may hold.”

“It’s better if we let her keep her secrets to herself”, Labrador added. “Otherwise, we would have to reveal ours to her. No, she needs safety now. Not some strangers reading her private thoughts.”

“What about that photo?” Frau asked.

“I’ll tell her that it slipped out when I picked up the journal”, Labrador said, “maybe I can ask her about the people in the photo. That way, I could learn more about her.”

Castor nodded, pulling Labrador close once again. Labrador snuggled his head against the spot where Castor’s shoulder met his neck. Sighing, Labrador closed his eyes and seemed to drift off to sleep instantly.

Would Labrador’s dreams show him something of Kanon’s future, Castor wondered.

--

Writing this made me so happy you have no idea. I grew up with these characters, I was like 13 or 14 when I watched 07-Ghost and started reading it. It was also the time when I started realising that I am not so straight after all. It's been over 10 years and I, now pretty certain that I would like to experience a poly relationship, wrote three of my fave characters (okay Frau is still on thin ice) being soft and poly and idk it just made my heart do things.

I also feel like I got them really in character! There was definitely a more lighthearted tone while the characters still got the plot forward by talking.

[slytherinshua]

BURNT PROMISES, SECOND CHANCES : a wonwoo atla au.

genre. avatar the last airbender au. arranged marriage au. slow burn. no communication istg. mutual pining. angst. fluff. fire lord wonwoo. nobleman's daughter/fire lady/briefly assassin reader. ft. advisor!jeonghan & brother!mingyu. warnings. wonwoo is frustratingly bad at anything social. reader is neglected. reader is depressed. wonwoo is overworked ngl. dragons. swords. (reckless) firebending. brief brief mention of child abuse. burns from firebending. blood. assassination lol. wonwoo is shirtless like... 3 times BCUZ AXE WANTED IT OKAY?? kissing. pairing. wonwoo x fem!reader. wc. 14.5k (i am so insane and i almost died 15 times writing this.) a/n. this fic is my longest ever fic and tbh idk if i'm ever gonna write a fic this long for a long time. i used to not be able to write more than 3k and then suddenly BOOM 14.5K OUT OF NOWHERE?? this is definitely a fic i'll remember for a long long time, and i have to say i'm extremely proud of it. fandom cross-overs have always been one of my absolute favorite things to write, and this definitely filled a little spot in my heart that i didn't know needed to be filled w a svt atla au. special thanks to @blue-jisungs who has hands down been the most helpful person in me being able to complete this fic-- i seriously wouldn't have finished it without you </3, and thank you to @wheeboo for proofreading this beast for me <3 i love you both very much :D

Wonwoo stood at the edge of the coffin, blank eyes staring down at the body that lay inside it. The news had been shocking to the whole Fire Nation. As far as anyone knew, the late Fire Lord had been healthy and suspected to rule for several more decades, yet here he lay, lifeless and cold in the wooden box. Wonwoo felt neither sadness nor grief. His father had always been a cold man who had shown little attention to his children.

Mingyu, Wonwoo’s younger brother, had become a ship general the year prior, and was still at sea, unable to return in time for the funeral or his brother’s suddenly announced coronation. Though, hearing the news of his father’s passing had started him back in the direction of home, it would take him several months or more to arrive still. He would stay for a month or two before returning to his diplomatic travels to the Earth Kingdom.

Wonwoo had, of course, been aware from a young age that he would one day become the Fire Lord. It was destined for him as the eldest son, and he had spent his entire life leading up to now preparing for it. His training had been twice as intense as Mingyu’s growing up, and while he had sometimes seen it as unfair during his teen years, he quickly grew to understand the burden he must bear as the next in line to the throne.

He had responsibilities that Mingyu did not. He was not only expected to attend extra fire bending lessons, but he was required to be well-versed and knowledgeable in political matters, royal etiquette, local affairs, military management, and public speaking. On paper, he had all the qualifications necessary to be a responsible and wise leader, though it was Wonwoo’s own doubts and uncertainties that led to the uneasy feeling in his stomach at the thought of the power.

His gaze wandered a little, up to the throne surrounded by crimson flames, once occupied by his father, now empty. Soon, he would be the one seated there. There was a sense of pride that flickered in his eyes as he took in the sight. He had always been determined to become a leader that the nation could trust. He had always assumed he would have a little more time to prepare, though.

There were many things that still felt improper about his coronation in two days. For as long as the position of Fire Lord had been in place, it was customary that the lord be already wed before taking the throne. And, if he happened to already have children to secure the family line, even better. 

Wonwoo had neither.

He had barely ever thought about women or love, having been too focused on his studies. But now, the task of finding a wife as quickly as possible was plaguing his mind among the other sudden changes. 

“Your Highness?” 

Wonwoo turned at the sound of the voice echoing in the empty throne room. It belonged to Jeonghan, Wonwoo’s advisor and long-time friend. Jeonghan was one of the few people that maintained Wonwoo’s absolute unwavering trust, something that not even Mingyu could say he possessed.

“I’ve compiled a list of eligible young ladies that would be suitable to be your bride. Given the pressure from the public, there isn’t much time for you to spend much time with them, but if any of them pique your interest, you could at least meet them before the wedding.” He explained, handing over a scroll to Wonwoo. 

Upon unravelling it, Wonwoo scanned a long list of names, each clearly stating who the woman's father was and what connections she had. Below each name was a brief description of background, and important or notable skill sets and events were specifically stated. 

“You’ve put stars next to some names.” Wonwoo noted, furrowing his eyebrows as he read further down the list.

“The stars are to separate the ladies whose fathers have already expressed their approval of their daughters marrying you. I didn’t star the ones who seemed greedy for the throne or possibly had ulterior motives, I might add. I would suggest picking from them if no one particular interests you.” Jeonghan clarified, pointing to a couple of the starred names, “These young ladies are well beloved by the public for their beauty and skills. Some are excellent firebenders, others have accomplishments in different areas.”

“How long do I have to choose?”

“About 4 days… 6 at most. Though, I’m sure the wedding planners and the lady’s family would both be appreciative of extra time to prepare for the ceremony. If you leave it to the last minute, they’ll have to scramble to get everything ready in less than 48 hours.”

Wonwoo nodded, “I’ll decide by this evening and give you my selection. Please set up a meeting with her family for Thursday. If the wedding is on Sunday, I’d like to have at least met her once before then. Thank you for the list, it makes the process a little easier.” He said sternly.

Jeonghan laughed and threw an arm around his shoulder, “Why so gloomy? You’re about to become the Fire Lord! And you get to choose among the most beautiful young ladies of the Fire Nation to be your wife! Brighten up a bit!”

“Despite the celebrations, I’m not feeling particularly cheerful about any of it. I’m juggling the coronation, picking a wife, the wedding, keeping track of Mingyu’s route back from the Earth Kingdom, electing a new army recruit, firing some of the higher ranking generals that only survived because of bribes with my father, and tending to the public’s complaints about the reconstruction on the East side of the city. My brain feels like it’s about to explode.” Wonwoo sighed.

“For this week until your wedding, focus on the first two of those tasks. The coronation will go smoothly even if you don’t write the speech ahead of time. You’ve prepared for many years for this. The rest can wait a little, but you can’t show up to your wedding without first choosing who you are marrying, so please inform me of who you choose as soon as possible.” Jeonghan patted his shoulder reassuringly. 

Wonwoo nodded, taking one last look at the long list of potential wives before rolling the scroll back up, “You’re right. I’ll make sure to give the time sensitive tasks my full attention.”

“Would you like to join me for some tea?” Jeonghan suggested, “I’d like to take one more chance to address you as Prince Wonwoo before your change in title. Or should I start calling you Fire Lord Wonwoo already?” They both laughed at Jeonghan’s teasing, and Wonwoo agreed to the offer for tea. He was glad that amongst all the change, Jeonghan remained a constant steady fixture of his life.

Wonwoo kept his word and picked out a bride from the list before his coronation. He trusted Jeonghan and his judgement on who were the best potential wives, and so he picked from among the starred candidates. After comparing descriptions and seeing some portraits, he finally landed on his final choice.

His crowning as Fire Lord took place on Wednesday. The ceremony went by surprisingly quickly, which relieved him of some of the stress he carried. The Fire Lord headpiece felt heavy and unstable on top of his head, and though he had made it through the coronation, he still felt uneasy. Was he really qualified to take on such an important role?

Wonwoo didn’t get much sleep Wednesday night. Shuffling in the corridors and disturbance of the long red curtains in his bedroom kept him awake most of the night. He was sure it was just all the sudden changes getting to his brain and keeping him up, but the anxious feeling that he couldn’t shake off almost tormented him.

He put on one of his best robes to visit his soon-to-be bride the next morning. The walk to the family’s house was short as they were among the nobility of the Fire Nation and lived within 20 minutes of the royal palace, in the heart of Caldera City. Wonwoo had done some additional research on the lady he had picked with the help of Jeonghan. Since he wasn’t able to pick a bride the traditional way, he wanted to try to lessen the chance of unhappiness in the marriage by trying to pick someone with qualities he respected, which is how he landed on you. 

Y/n L/n: the daughter of a high-ranking government official who worked in Ancient Studies and the Preservation of Fire Nation Culture. Wonwoo had heard that your father was quite the fire-bending expert, though it was said that you did not possess the gift. You were renowned for your beauty and intelligence, as well as a kind heart. 

If it was true that you fit the description, Wonwoo had high hopes that even if he didn’t fall in love, he would still be able to proudly say that you were his wife. He just hoped that you wouldn’t despise him. He didn’t have the best track record when it came to romance.

Being busy with his princely duties and preparing for the throne all his life, whenever he received any romantic gestures or subtle flirting from girls, they usually went right over his head. He didn’t have the slightest grasp on the concept of flirting or reciprocating emotions, and since it wasn’t something that came naturally to him as a teen, he always assumed that he would learn later in life. He had always expected there to be plenty of years for him to find a wife when he felt ready. He certainly hadn’t bet on being rushed into it when he was barely 22. 

But this was the way things had panned out, and Wonwoo had no choice but to face it head on. He was the Fire Lord now. There was no room for nervousness.

He left his guards by the gate of the house, strolling through the pleasant front gardens by himself. There was a stone pathway that led to the front of the house. He took his time getting there, stopping to smell the flowers that had been planted on either side. His real intention of getting to the door as slowly as possible was his quickly growing nerves in the pit of his stomach, but he masked it well.

As soon as he knocked on the door (Wonwoo swore even before he knocked), it was opened by family servants. They immediately bowed to him and welcomed him inside, leading him towards a large sitting room where the family was waiting for him.

His eyes immediately fell on you, and without even knowing, his lips upturned into a small smile. The portrait he had been given of you really didn’t do you any justice. You were infinitely better in person, he thought. He introduced himself and took a seat, preparing for the conversation that would unfold in the next hour or more. 

He could tell that you were nervous as you talked. You fiddled with your fingers in your lap each time you had to answer a question Wonwoo or your father posed, and for some reason, it made Wonwoo feel more at ease. He was glad he wasn’t the only one feeling anxious over this first meeting, though he was sure no one would be able to tell. He had perfected his public speaking at the age of twelve.

The basic introductions and formalities were coming to an end after almost an hour of speaking. Wonwoo had clarified all the expectations that would come of being a Fire Lady and your father seemed overjoyed that Wonwoo was taking interest in his daughter.

“It seems this conversation is dying down a little. Would you mind if I talked with Y/n alone? Perhaps we could take a walk around the garden?” Wonwoo asked gently and was met with enthusiasm from both your parents.

“Of course! Take as long as you want with her.”

You led the way out to the back garden which Wonwoo found to be even more charming than the front garden. There were twice as many flowers, as well as a stone fountain in the centre of the grounds. What Wonwoo found most pleasing was the small turtle duck pond nestled by a tree. He made his way over to it with you.

“I hope you’re not… opposed to this marriage?” Wonwoo started tentatively, first addressing his biggest fear.

Thankfully, you smiled and shook your head, “I would be a fool to be opposed to a marriage to the Fire Lord.”

“But, are you not disappointed?” He asked.

Again, you shook your head, “You must be referring to the fact that we are not marrying for love? Of course I had always hoped that my marriage would contain mutual love and respect… who knows, maybe it still can? I know I will be making my parents happy with this, and I am flattered that I, of all the Fire Nation, seemed to catch your attention. I wouldn’t have accepted this marriage if I hadn’t considered thoroughly all that it would entail. I’m ready to commit to being your wife, though I am not sure why you sought out me.” 

Wonwoo smiled, “You don’t seem to give yourself enough credit. Your list of accomplishments was longer than any of the other ladies.”

“My ‘list’?” You questioned, digging into your pocket to pull out a small piece of wrapped up fabric.

“Yes,” Wonwoo laughed softly, “Given the rush for this marriage, I was given a list of ladies to pick from to make it easier.”

You unfolded the piece of fabric, revealing some small pieces of bread, and crouched down to toss one piece into the water. A baby turtle duck swam up to eat it immediately, the others following along, hoping to get a piece of the bread too. Wonwoo smiled again, watching you feed the turtle ducks with care. He hoped you would like the turtle duck pond at the palace as well. 

“What accomplishments were on that list… If I may ask?” You were curious. You didn’t view your life as particularly grand or accomplished. You had spent most of your childhood sheltered and started school late.

“You graduated top of your class from one of the most prestigious schools in the nation. I heard you took up a variety of extra classes beyond the basics, including painting and even army history despite not being able to firebend. Your list of charity work was particularly long. If I remember correctly… over ten different organizations are in your name?” 

“I’m glad they included that, at least. It might be one of the only things I’m actually good at.” You mumbled, and Wonwoo furrowed his eyebrows.

You stood up again to face him, “Is it true that you own a dragon?” 

Wonwoo was partially taken aback by your question, but he answered it nonetheless, “Yes. Part of my firebending training was studying the behaviours of Huoyan. We learned together. She was just a baby when I got her. I owe my firebending skills more so to her than any of my past masters.”

You watched Wonwoo talk about his dragon, intent on the way his eyes— which had been dull and tired looking all during his visit— seemed to brighten and sparkle as soon as he started telling you about Huoyan. You had always been interested in animals, particularly Fire Nation ones. You took close care of the turtle ducks, but because you couldn’t firebend, you were never allowed to own a dragon.

“She sounds incredible. If you wouldn’t mind…” You started, your cheeks flushing halfway through. You weren’t sure if what you were about to ask was entirely appropriate— you could be majorly overstepping. The way Wonwoo was waiting expectantly pushed you to complete it, though. “Would you be so kind as to introduce me to her once I move into the palace?” 

Wonwoo graced you with a smile back, “Of course. Once you move into the palace I’ll be sure to introduce you to her. Perhaps I could even take you for a ride on her?” Wonwoo suggested, and was met with your ready agreement. You asked again if you really had his word to complete the request. You wouldn’t rest until you were sure of his sincerity. You grinned when he promised— within the first week of being at the palace, in fact, you would be well acquainted with his dragon. 

Wonwoo had other meetings for the day, so he had to leave shortly after your discussion about dragons. The next time you would see him, he would be your husband. You wondered how living with him would be. Would it feel awkward and cold like your conversation in the house or would it feel warm and honest like the brief discussion about dragons?

You hoped it would be the latter, but you soon found that your hope only led to disappointment.

Your wedding to Wonwoo was a very public affair. All the nobles and half of the middle class of the Fire Nation were invited to the ceremony. While you weren’t unused to public events from growing up in the nobility, the massive number of people attending a royal event as prestigious as a wedding was definitely foreign to you. You used to be part of the crowd and only very rarely the subject of attention. Given that you were becoming the Fire Lady, you would have to get used to the attention quickly.

There was no chance to talk to Wonwoo before the ceremony, despite getting ready at the palace. The servants helped you with your wedding garments, which were fancier than anything you had ever put on before. The gold elements of the luxurious silk robe were hand-sewn on and glimmered when the light shone on them. They depicted flames of gold and red, and even the red thread seemed to shine brightly. The dress was mostly made up of a rich dark red material which was lightweight but clearly much higher quality than anything you could buy at a market. 

The maids applied gold shimmer to your eyes as well as a dark red lip, as was traditional of the wife of the Fire Lord. The last piece of your outfit was an elegant headpiece. It, too, was gold and was pinned uncomfortably tight into your hair to keep from slipping. 

You looked in the mirror one last time before the ceremony, turning your face to the side to view every angle with scrutiny. These were your last few minutes as just the daughter of nobility. Within half an hour, you would be the new wife of Fire Lord Wonwoo, ruler of the Fire Nation.

As soon as you stepped into the view of the public, there were deafening cheers. More than half the Fire Nation was in attendance, it seemed. Such a cause for celebration hadn’t happened in years. 

The public had always been nosy about the personal lives of the royal family. There were groups of people who loved to romanticise it and believed that every royal wedding only came about when a son or daughter of the royal family had fallen into the deepest of love. 

There were people with a bit more sense, thankfully. They still wished you and Wonwoo to have the happiest marriage possible, but their judgement wasn’t clouded with the unrealistic idea that royals had the luxury of marrying for love. 

You could only hope that Wonwoo would fall in love with you. You believed yourself capable of loving him if you were sure he loved you back. Until you were sure, though, you took everything with healthy apprehension. You weren’t going to allow your mind to be clouded with the softness and warmth that you had felt from him during your walk in the garden. Your mother had always told you that you couldn’t judge a person by how they acted when they were trying to make a good first impression. You needed to watch and silently observe— and only then would you know the true nature of your husband.

This is why your eyes stayed firmly on Wonwoo throughout the ceremony and afterparty. The public thought you were enamoured with him, oblivious to the fact that you had barely spent more than two hours in his presence. You were eager for the wedding to finally be over, hoping in your mind that Wonwoo would invite you to meet Huoyan after.

He did not, though. Instead, he bowed to you and said he had some things to attend to before retreating back to his chambers, letting the servants show you to your new room. You were disheartened when you realized it was almost on the opposite side of the palace from Wonwoo’s. What kind of married couple slept so far apart? Even the justification of this being an arranged political marriage didn’t constitute that level of separation. 

You sat down on the edge of the bed, contemplating the issue. Your brain was screaming to bring it up with Wonwoo. How were you supposed to get close to him when you were separated during the day and during the night? He was your husband. There was no reason why you couldn’t bring it up with him. 

But what if he wanted to be separate from you? You thought about the possibilities for minutes before finally dismissing it. You felt nervous at the thought of asking him about it first. You didn’t have the courage to speak to him that freely yet— you were sure you would sound entitled if you did. 

You hoped that the situation was just a result of how the royal palace worked, and not because Wonwoo had no wish to get to know you more. Despite growing up a nobel, you had never set foot inside the royal palace and were ignorant to its inner workings. But there was still time to learn.

You spent the next 2 weeks familiarizing yourself with the palace and your responsibilities as Fire Lady. There weren’t many— especially compared to the Fire Lord’s responsibilities— but it was enough to keep you busy for a few hours of the day. They were mostly social matters, enriching yourself with the people of the nation, and listening to their concerns.

You quite liked the work you were given. You had always excelled at finding solutions to tricky problems, and it stimulated your brain much more than at home. The times you were working were the best part of your day. When you were left on your own in the palace, you succumbed to boredom. It was big and empty inside— the only warmth in the place coming from the elaborate flames used as decoration. It didn’t feel like home to you, so you spent most of your day by the turtle duck pond in the gardens. Though you longed for some human interaction, the turtle ducks at least kept you company.

One thing continued to bother you, though.

You barely saw Wonwoo at all.

Since your wedding, you had only had two other conversations with him in 2 weeks, each of which only lasted for a few minutes. Wonwoo woke up earlier than you did and didn’t wait for you to come down to eat breakfast to start on his tasks as Fire Lord for the day. He would often go on overnight trips without informing you, which made you feel almost invisible to him. 

Whenever you crossed paths with him inside the palace, he was very clearly on his way to somewhere important and couldn’t spare any time for you. You had started to try to initiate conversations with him in hopes that a little effort would break the ice between you two— just simple things like asking about his work or how his day had been. He responded gently, but it was very clear in his tone that he had no desire to continue talking to you. It had been unsuccessful so far, as each conversation ended abruptly when one of the servants called for Wonwoo’s attention or he excused himself from your presence. 

You often saw him talking to his advisor: Jeonghan. He seemed to follow your husband around everyday with a huge pile of scrolls. You assumed they were the daily tasks of the Fire Lord.

You were the last person to interrupt someone when they were so clearly busy working, so you kept to yourself as much as you could. Despite your loneliness and constant boredom, time seemed to pass quickly. April fourteenth marked six months post the wedding. By this time, it was quite usual for you to not even see Wonwoo at the palace for weeks at a time. 

You didn’t ask for much. You were never a greedy or dependent person. But the lack of attention given from Wonwoo had started to affect you more than you realized. You used to be social and bright, filled with energy to tend to people’s issues or helping animals. Now, you barely even went out to the market anymore. 

You had become rather dull and cold to Wonwoo whenever you saw him, hoping that he might pick up on your change of demeanour and fix something in his attitude, but he seemed as oblivious as ever. In your head, you had absolutely resigned to the fact that your husband did not care for you at all, and that the rest of your marriage would carry on in this sad lonely state. He still slept in his room that was on the other side of the palace from you. He still kept busy with duties all day long. He still woke up earlier than you and turned in early (you had started to think that he was doing this to purposefully avoid you). You felt hopeless and your loneliness brought with it depression.

You even felt a little betrayed by him. He had made several promises to your father that first meeting, one of which was that you would be sure to be happy and content at the palace. He couldn’t have been more wrong on that. 

Your brain also kept going back to his later promise that he made to you in the garden— that you would get to meet Huoyan as soon as you moved in. All these months, you had clung in vain to that side of Wonwoo in the garden. If he was truly like that to you everyday, you were sure you would’ve fallen deeply in love with him.

But now you knew for certain that it was all just an act. You had been wrong about Wonwoo all this time. He had no intention of getting to know you. The warmth you had once felt from him was truly a one-time thing. You didn’t expect that he would ever showcase that sincerity to you ever again.

Over time, you slowly lost interest in making an effort, and retreated further into your new life of solitude. There was a lot you could do in your room, big open space secluded from the rest of the palace. With a quick trip to the palace armoury one late night, you found yourself a new hobby.

If you had done this right after your wedding, you would’ve made sure to ask Wonwoo about it first; another precaution in hopes of being a “good wife” and “one that he could grow to love”. Having tried everything you possibly could think of and failing at that task, though, you didn’t care if he minded or not. The servants all took your orders as the Fire Lady without any questioning, and you quickly learned to use your position of power to keep yourself entertained enough to not entirely lose your mind stuck doing nothing for months.

And so, with two borrowed long swords from Wonwoo’s collection, one sharp dagger, fifteen ancient martial arts scrolls and five sword-fighting ones, you dedicated yourself to the art of self defense and battle. If you were careful enough, Wonwoo would hear nothing about this.

Wonwoo had been anticipating Mingyu’s arrival back home for weeks. It was unsurprising that he had taken twice the expected amount of time to get back home than any other general would have. Mingyu’s skills at directing a fleet of ships were… questionable. No one could strip him of his position, though. His title as prince overruled any judgement from any of his crew.

“Wonwoo! How have you- Ow!” 

Wonwoo looked up from the map he was studying, quick enough to catch Mingyu hop forward in pain, clutching his foot from where he had bumped it against the edge of a table. Wonwoo smiled. He had a lot of affection for his younger brother, no matter how incompetent he was sometimes. And though he would never admit it, he had missed him while he had been gone for a year.

“I’ve been well. It’s still the same here. Quiet. Especially when you’re away.” Wonwoo commented, rolling up the map and setting it aside.

“It’s still the same? Father died, you became Fire Lord, and you got yourself a wife, yet it’s still the same?!” Mingyu asked incredulously. Wonwoo could only nod, stepping down from the throne to walk with Mingyu.

“How is married life?” Mingyu asked once the two were walking out of the throne room.

Wonwoo shrugged, “I thought it would be different from being single, but it barely is. I still spend most of my time in solitude.” 

“Don’t you talk to her?” 

Wonwoo paused before answering, “I don’t see her much. We both seem to be rather busy.”

“Do you at least make an effort to talk to her when you can? You can’t be that busy. No matter how many tasks you had, I know you still drink tea with Jeonghan every day.” Mingyu pointed out, disappointed in his brother’s excuses. “I know you were always hopeless when it comes to this, but you must have considered how lonely she must feel in solitary in this massive palace, right?” Mingyu studied Wonwoo’s face carefully, sighing when he caught the guilty look in his eyes which he had hoped would not appear.

“So let me get this straight,” He took a breath, “You married one of the prettiest ladies in all of the Fire Nation, only to never talk to her and then wonder why married life is so quiet?” 

Wonwoo admitted to it in a hesitant mutter, causing Mingyu to groan.

“God, you’re stupider than I thought! At this rate, she’ll want to break off the marriage, Wonwoo. Don’t you see that she has the power to ruin your reputation as Fire Lord if she chooses? If you don’t remedy this, she could tell the entire Fire Nation that their beloved Fire Lord is a cold and cruel man with no affection for his wife, despite her efforts to get closer to him.” Mingyu stated clearly.

Wonwoo frowned. He had never thought of that possibility before. “It’s been… almost a year since our wedding already.” Wonwoo realized, shocked at how fast the time had all gone. The days seemed to bleed into one another, and with his lack of sleep keeping up with daily tasks, you were often the last thing on his mind.

“Do you think it’s even possible to make it up to her now?”

“Well, yes, you have worsened your chances of fixing it by studiously ignoring her existence for 12 months, but you shouldn’t feel completely hopeless. If you put in the right amount of effort, she might come around.”

“What should a husband do to try to win the affection of his wife?” Wonwoo asked, feeling completely overwhelmed at the situation. 

“Send her flowers, do her favourite activities together, take her on dates, devote time to her! And for God’s sake, don’t forget your own wedding anniversary! You can’t expect her to care for you when you don’t give her any of your time.” Mingyu explained frustratedly. Among the two brothers, he was definitely the more experienced when it came to love. Unlike Wonwoo, he actually had time to date amongst his other commitments. 

Wonwoo felt a pit in his stomach, an uncomfortable lurch in his core that was screeching out all the mistakes he had made. He realized in an instant how truly awful he had been treating you without even knowing it. He had foolishly assumed that you, being of nobility already, would do fine on your own in the palace. Given the nature of the marriage, he hadn’t even considered your possible desire to get closer to him, or the stress that would come with being uprooted so abruptly, going from your own familiar living space to the deafening quiet of the royal palace. Now that he was aware of all of these errors on his part, he felt a strange crack in his heart; an ache that couldn’t be soothed without knowing that he could make you happy again.

He had made many mistakes— almost innumerable. As his brain raced, it only pulled more and more instances of your clear discomfort that he had never bothered to pay attention to before this moment. He thought back to every interaction he had with you over the months, and it was never more clear to him that you had only been comfortable around him during your first meeting together. The feelings that the dragon conversation had brought in both of you had never been repeated.

Wonwoo now knew what he needed to do. He was determined to get you back to the way you were smiling and laughing that first conversation. He needed to fulfil his promises— however late he was to that. And he had a hope that the key to setting everything to rights was sleeping on his back doorstep: Huoyan.

Your mental health had significantly improved since you had picked up your new hobby. It gave you a thrilling surge of excitement whenever you were able to pick up the two long swords from the box under your bed. It was more dangerous than anything you had ever been allowed to try as a nobleman’s daughter— yet, it was always something you had been interested in.

You liked delicate things well enough. Sewing and painting and dancing were all enjoyable hobbies, but they never truly excited you as much as dragons or firebending or sword fighting. You had grown up watching your father teach Fire Nation history and demonstrate some of the very first fire bending techniques; learned straight from the dragons. 

Tried as you did when you were a child, you could never seem to produce a single spark or flame. It disheartened you early on in life, and once that fantasy of adventure had been shut down, your father never saw the point in teaching you sword fighting. You had been disclosed to be a gentleman’s lady: one who sat still and looked pretty and smiled a lot. But now that you had the tools and authority, you weren’t one to let this chance to indulge your inner child go.

You quickly got in the habit of sneaking out to test your quickly improving skills in the real world. You used the training grounds in the middle of the night when no one would see you, and after a couple months, you felt confident enough to go even further. You found a list of active criminals in the Fire Nation and took it upon yourself to take them on.

Charity work had always been your favourite— helping people had always been your passion. It fuelled you like nothing else had, and each night that you snuck back into the palace having successfully taken down another threat was another night you slept soundly. 

It wasn’t long until the Fire Nation started to notice. A new hero taking out the nation’s top criminals— ones that not even the royal guard had been able to capture. They named you The Scarlet Shadow for your dark crimson and black robes and your proficiency in the art of stealth. Your smaller frame and stature helped you get around unseen. You used the shadows to your advantage, slipping in and out of them without being caught. 

It was incredible how much you learned without a dedicated master. You wished you could hire one, but you didn’t want to be found out by Wonwoo, so you kept everything as secretive as possible. You spent the entire day reading scrolls and practicing in the privacy of your room. Once the sun set and you had told the servants you were sleeping early yet again, you snuck out.

It was now the first week of October, and you were dreadfully reminded that your first wedding anniversary would come on the fourteenth of the month. The first six months had been some of the worst of your life— mercilessly having been ignored and made to feel insignificant by your own husband. But the latter six brought some of the best months of your life.

The freedom of The Scarlet Shadow completely disconnected you from your duties as the Fire Lady. It brought a freedom that you never had, and if this was how you would be spending the rest of your life in the palace, you would gladly accept it.

Your target for tonight— the fourth of October— was an infamous and nefarious man named Orin. He was known to capture children from homeless Fire Nation families with an excuse of paying taxes. He then sold them to the rich and corrupt as slaves. The abuse didn’t stop there, as many of them were malnourished, overworked, never paid, and even beaten. 

Your heart ached for the victims of the man. You had known about this situation for years, but was never able to do anything about it. Given his reputation, Orin would have probably taken one look at you before being determined to marry you. You could only wonder at what horrors his past wives had to go through. They had all run away from him as soon as possible. Some, less fortunate ones, had died trying.

You got dressed in your garments: a black and red robe that was easy to move and fight in. It was stealthy, and didn’t make any sound when you walked in it unlike the fancy bejewelled silk robes that you wore as Fire Lady. You sheathed the long swords and stuck the dagger safely in your shoe, ready to pull out and throw when you needed to. You pulled up the black cloth over your nose, shielding all but your eyes so that no one could identify you. 

And then, you jumped out the window.

It was a cold night: one of the first proper ones in October. Given the change of the season, more people were sleeping earlier. Most of the city was hushed and in their beds already, which made your task even easier. It was always more risky to navigate in the summertime when night festivals were held until morning.

Orin’s house (or mansion, that is) was on the East side of town. The man slept late, usually partying until the early hours of the morning. You wished you could get the job done while he was sleeping, but it would be too risky. If anyone found out that you weren’t at the palace, you would never hear the end of it from your personal servants and advisors. You grimaced, thinking what Wonwoo would think of this whole situation.

You weren’t sure why he was always on your mind. Everything you did came back to him, even though you still didn’t know him. You had always thought that the relationship between a husband and his wife should be intimate and companionable. You wanted to be able to tell your husband anything and everything— to be able to confide in him and seek comfort when you needed it. You wanted to be taken care of, and in turn, take care of him. You wanted the supporting relationship that you had seen in your parents.

And though you knew that Wonwoo had none of these qualities, you still held out hope that he would one day improve. You had seen many people have changes of heart; even the cruelest man had a chance to change his ways.

When you had first met Wonwoo, you had been overcome with just how beautiful he was. You had been so sure that his heart must be as beautiful as his face, foolishly having fallen for his charming smile and pleasant offers which you now knew were just a facade to win you over. Your chest tightened thinking about how wrong you were. 

Yes, he was still the most beautiful man you had ever seen. His dark silky hair always fell perfectly over his forehead, hitting just below his eye, complementing his face shape. He always dressed in only the finest silk. You admitted to being guilty of admiring his figure from afar. You were sure he was in shape— any firebender who trained as vigorously as he definitely was. You had never seen more than a sliver of his collarbone; but it was enough to confirm that he had enough muscle to run a nation.

And that was something you did admire about him. He was able to run the Fire Nation to perfection. Within the first months of being Fire Lord, he had already come up with several clever solutions to problems that his late father had started. He was healing the Fire Nation’s relationship with the Earth Kingdom through his younger brother, Mingyu. He sent diplomats to the other 2 nations as well, promising aid in any crisis that might arise. He preached peace and harmony between the 4 nations, and you were glad he wasn’t a proud Fire Lord with elitist ideals, but a humble and honest one.

You still held respect for him as a Fire Lord, but any respect that you had for him as a person was dwindling the more days spent as if you didn’t exist. You longed to be noticed, to be treated as an actual person. You didn’t need to experience love, but you had always wanted to. Didn’t you deserve to at least once?

Wonwoo huffed, sweat beading on his forehead and back from the challenging training he had set himself to do. He breathed, and with each breath came new sparks of fire. It was hot in the room, but he barely noticed, too focused on the new skill he was attempting to master. It was a sort of jet propulsion— using the flames he was able to create to propel him forward at a high speed. 

Huoyan watched him from the corner where she napped. Her red scales brandished against the warm light that came from the fire in the room. Since Wonwoo was 13, he had stopped taking lessons from the palace masters and learned on his own with Huoyan instead. She was a strict master, one could say; but the bond he had created with her was stronger than anything else.

Wonwoo attempted the move again, faltering at the last second, causing the blast to hit the ceiling in an uneven flurry. He groaned and fell to the ground, frustrated at how long it was taking. He used to be the quickest learner in the Fire Nation. He was able to focus all his attention on mastering new skills with ease, and that allowed him to pick up on techniques twice as quickly as others.

He just couldn’t focus at all right now.

Huoyan whined from the corner, showing her disapproval of Wonwoo’s inability to pick things up quickly. He frowned, rolling to the side, still on the floor, and looked at her. She was curled up, almost catlike, her wings wrapped around her body like a blanket. But Wonwoo couldn’t miss the grumpy look on her face. He stood up and walked over to her, reaching out his hand to rest on her nose, scratching it gently.

“I’m sorry, Huoyan. I don’t think I’m in the right mindset to train right now…” He muttered, sitting down in front of the dragon. He reached over for his silk robe that he had folded before training, slipping his arms through the arm holes again but not bothering to tie it across his body. Huoyan licked Wonwoo's hand— a sign of affection and trust amongst dragons and their owners, and Wonwoo smiled.

“Do you think she hates me?” Wonwoo asked quietly, not really looking for an answer from the dragon, though she gave him a low rumble. “Right. She probably does. I would hate me too…” He sighed, running a hand through his hair. He had been thinking of you ever since Mingyu had come to visit almost a month ago. It was all he could think about. The guilt was eating him up from the inside out. Whenever he heard mention of you, his stomach lurched forward and the guilt practically doubled. 

“I don’t know what I need to prioritize anymore. I prepared my whole life for being the Fire Lord… I’ve learned what to do in situations and what choices to make that keep the wellbeing of the entire nation at its core. But no one prepared me for being a husband. How do I even make it up to her?” He frowned. 

He had always confided in Huoyan. As ridiculous as it sounded to talk to a dragon, Wonwoo had always found it the most natural. She couldn’t give him responses like Mingyu or Jeonghan, but she had insights that they didn’t. She couldn’t talk, but Wonwoo could still understand her. Their bond was strong enough for that.

He was too scared to talk to Jeonghan about his struggles. He was sure that he would laugh at him, unable to see how serious the problem was. He had never had any problem with dating or love.

“How do I show her that I care?” Wonwoo questioned. Huoyan huffed, making Wonwoo scowl and raise an eyebrow. “What do you mean? Of course I care about her! She’s my wife. It’s a husband’s duty to care for his wife.”

Huoyan shifted, tucking her wings closer to her chest and wagging her long tail along the floor.

“You’re right, I haven’t been showing her any attention… But… I have noticed her. I always have. She looked hopeful… and then… it was gone. I-I watched it fade away. Her eyes stopped shining. They’ve been dull for months.” He explained, distraught. “I wanted to talk to her. She always caught me at my busiest— or maybe I’m just… too nervous? You should see her Huoyan. She’s prettier than you. I’ve never seen anyone so… angelic. She used to try to start conversations with me; ask about my day and the sort. I wanted to keep talking to her but my heart would race so fast in my chest. It felt… uncomfortable.” He narrated with a small smile. Huoyan listened intently, her eyes closed. Every once and a while she would give a response— a grunt or a huff whenever Wonwoo was being unreasonable.

The conversation proved incredibly productive thanks to Huoyan’s sharp ears. Wonwoo was able to let out all his thoughts. Explaining them out loud helped him understand where things had gone wrong and how he could fix them. He decided to talk to you tonight. No more avoiding it out of fear, no more suppressing the guilt he felt. He would lay it all out to you; admit to every mistake. 

He needed to earn your trust, and he would do that with being painfully honest. He knew his ego would take a massive blow, but it already had. It was dwindling. The great Fire Lord that he had always aspired to be wasn’t able to even win over his own wife. The thought was laughable.

The walk down the corridor towards your bedroom was filled with nerves. His throat felt dry as he gave a gentle knock to your door. When he didn’t hear a response, his heart sank, but he knocked again. Did you hate him so much that you weren’t even willing to listen to him?

His chest tightened at the thought. He felt entirely helpless. If you wouldn’t even listen to him, there was nothing else he could try. He knocked one more time, calling out that he would open the door if you didn’t say anything.

There was no response, and so he pushed it open slowly.

The room was empty, and Wonwoo’s eyes widened. You had nowhere to go except for the palace and the servants had informed him that you had gone to bed early and should be in your room. 

Panic flooded through every inch of Wonwoo’s body. From the top of his head to his finger tips. His hands started to shake as he thought of all the possibilities.

The most likely of which? Kidnapping.

You were a nobleman’s daughter. You weren’t a firebender— you couldn’t defend yourself. You were the Fire Lady, an extremely desirable victim for enemies of the Fire Nation who wished to get some leverage over Wonwoo. His mind raced to the possibilities of needing to choose between you and whatever the people who took you wanted.

If it were a case of life or death, he would choose you in an instant.

Thanks to his extensive training, Wonwoo was easily able to think of the best move to take. Mingyu had brought with him a pack of shirshu from the Earth Kingdom. They were excellent trackers. They would be able to find you faster than Wonwoo’s search party could.

He found one of your headpieces from on top of your vanity and took it. He was in a frenzied rush, calling over his personal guards to come with him in case he needed backup. He had the shirshu sniff the headpiece, a relieved sigh escaping him when the animal seemed to pick up on your trail. He mounted Huoyan and had the guards go with the Shirshu, and started on the hasty search.

His heart was racing the entire time. Each time it looked like the shirshu had picked up on something, his heart rate felt like it doubled. It didn’t take long to find where you were, but when Wonwoo realized the location, his heart completely sank.

Orin was well known in the upper circle of the Fire Nation, and he was without a doubt, the most sickening man Wonwoo had ever met. His father had held a position in government and Orin had inherited it. Though Wonwoo wanted to arrest the man or even banish him from the Fire Nation, he didn’t have the means to expose him for his wrongdoings yet.

Kidnapping was one thing, but knowing that you were in the hands of Orin had Wonwoo’s stomach twisting inside out. He had never felt so sick to his stomach. And worst of all, it was all mostly directed towards himself. He hated himself.

If he had taken better care of you then this would never have happened. If he had paid attention to you— made sure you were safe and happy and looked after. If he had gotten over his stupid nerves and been a good husband, then you would never have had to have suffered like this.

Until he saw you with his own eyes, he could only pray with his entire being that you were still alive. He didn’t even want to think about the things Orin could do to you. Would he manipulate you? Threaten you? Take advantage of you? Harm you? Kill you?

He didn’t wait another second to storm into the house, startling the servants who quickly got out of the way. He quickly made a search through the entire house, his guards taking the lower floors while he took the upper. He blasted down the door to Orin’s bedchambers with firebending, not wasting a second to rush in.

What he found there was certainly not what he expected. The man was lying on the floor, a pool of blood underneath him, dripping out from a heavy stab wound to his chest. It was obvious that he wouldn’t survive more than 10 minutes at the most.

Before he took his chance to interrogate Orin, he saw a dark figure jumping out of the window from his peripheral vision. Was it the person who killed Orin? Then… Could they have taken you?

Wonwoo quickly changed his course, believing that going after the assassin would be more productive. If they had killed Orin then they must also know where you were, and maybe even, what Orin had done to you. He knew better than to trust anything Orin said to him. It was likely that even if he asked, the man would lie even until his dying breath. Honesty had never been one of Orin’s virtues. Not that he had any of those to begin with.

It was hard to pursue a person dressed in black and dark red during the night time. Wonwoo was thinking with a panicked and terrified brain— and so the easiest way he thought of to see where he was going was to firebend. He tried to be careful as he sprinted, shooting flames in front of him when he needed to. Sweat was building up as the exertion started to take a toll on his body. He needed to catch his breath; calm himself down from the panic he was dealing with. But the assassin was almost within reach, so he pushed his body just a little further.

He blasted one more flame forwards, but due to his exhaustion, it wasn’t perfectly aimed. It hit the assassin square in the back, knocking them to the ground roughly. Wonwoo’s eyes widened and he rushed forward. 

He heard them cough, trying to roll on the ground to put out the flame, but it had clearly already burned through their garments. They screamed as the fire scorched their skin. Wonwoo felt like he couldn’t breathe. He had never used firebending so carelessly before. Even in an Agni Kai, he was focused and precise. He had rarely been in combat that wasn’t for training purposes, and even when he was, he knew how important it was to stay in control of fire. It was known that fire was the easiest element to lose control of; and so, the first thing that new firebenders were taught was the first rule of fire bending to never break: never lose control of your flame. 

But Wonwoo had done just that.

Wonwoo quickly put out the flame on the assassin’s back, grimacing at the bright red scorch marks they had left on their skin. From the design of the robes, he quickly realized that this wasn’t just any assassin. He had come in contact with The Scarlet Shadow. 

He quickly pushed her back so that her face was up, holding her shoulders so that her exposed back couldn’t come into contact with the rubble on the road. His hand trembled as he moved to pull down the black fabric covering the assassin’s face. She needed to be able to breath easily after being burned so badly.

Wonwoo had already been through enough panic tonight, but this was more than anything else. The face he was faced with once he removed the cloth was the last one he ever expected. Soft eyebrows, delicate eyelashes closed over eyes that he knew well, perfect lips parted to let uneven heaves escape, cheeks tainted with dirt and scraped from the fall. 

“No… N-no…” He struggled to breath, holding her up as carefully as he could. His eyes stung with tears that he refused to let fall and his chest constricted for the fifth time that night. It had all gone wrong from the start— his attempts to help had all backfired. And now he was faced with a reality that felt like a stab to the heart.

Wonwoo had burned his own wife.

Wonwoo’s brain made sure to remind him of his very first conversation with you as Huoyan flew him back to the palace, you securely in his arms. You had asked to meet his dragon. You had been excited to, even making sure he promised to. Those promises had burned to the ground like everything else. He would never allow himself to forget the sparkle in your eyes as you asked him. He hadn’t seen the same shimmer of excitement since you had first become his wife.

“Would you be so kind as to introduce me to her once I move into the palace?” 

He had smiled at your question back then. He had been pleasantly surprised that you seemed so interested in dragons. It wasn’t what he would have expected from you, but it gave him hope that he would be able to go closer to you. He had also always loved dragons.

“Of course. Once you move into the palace I’ll be sure to introduce you to her. Perhaps I could even take you for a ride on her?”

Take you for a ride on her. That promise was finally being completed now, in the worst way Wonwoo could ever imagine. He held you a little closer as he thought about it, his heavy breath dispersing into the air with every heavy sweep of Huoyan’s wings.

He would never forgive himself.

The healers at the royal palace were the nation’s best, and Wonwoo made sure that they had strict orders to give you their full attention. He couldn’t leave the room; couldn’t bear to think of leaving you again. No, he would stick by your side from now on. He would never leave you alone. He would devote all his attention— his heart, his mind, his body, his soul to loving you. He would make sure you never questioned his affections again. 

As he watched the healers apply medicinal creams and ointment to your back, he was again reminded of that very first conversation with you. 

“Of course I had always hoped that my marriage would contain mutual love and respect… who knows, maybe it still can?”

Your hope and optimism was something Wonwoo should have cherished. Your faith that a love-filled marriage was still possible for you was a quality that he could only wish he possessed. He had been entirely foolish. He had made every mistake possible to make. He had watched silently as all that hope and excitement and trust had faded from your body.

He would never forgive himself.

He always saw you roaming the corridors alone. You often went out to feed the turtle ducks. They were your only company other than the servants. Wonwoo assumed at first that you would immediately find ways of entertaining yourself. You had all the power you could wish for; anyone would bend knee and foot to your every command. You could host extravagant balls or buy gifts for yourself from across the world. You could wear the most precious gemstones and fabrics in the entire Fire Nation. 

But you never did. Your humbleness had stuck with you all this time. It was something that Wonwoo could not take away from you. He didn’t know whether to be grateful for that or not. The virtue was admirable, but if you had not possessed it, could you have been happier?

Wonwoo shook his head. It was all too late for these trifling what if’s and maybe’s. The past was set in stone, unchangeable. All he could do was look to the future with hope and treat the present with the proper determination to change his ways.

Your burns were severe. Being blasted by such a powerful fireball from such a short distance had certainly left an impression. Wonwoo cried when he first saw it. Red, angry, scorched skin marked right in the middle of your back, sticking out awfully against your otherwise smooth skin. It was all because of him. He had left a second mark on you— one much more visible than the first. He had damaged your mind, and now, he had damaged your body. The guilt he carried was sickening.

Wonwoo asked Jeonghan to cancel every single responsibility for the next 4 months. Jeonghan panicked, of course. It was nearly impossible to expect the Fire Lord to do nothing for that long, but Wonwoo was firm in his request, and somehow, Jeonghan managed it.

He spent most of his time by your bedside, looking after you as carefully as he could. He ordered the healers to show him how to properly wrap your wound and apply new medicine, and once he was sure he could do it properly, he assured them that he would take care of it.

Huoyan slept closeby as well, knowing that Wonwoo wouldn’t leave your side, but wanting to be a listening ear if he needed it. Wonwoo was grateful for that, and used the opportunity well. Daily talks to the dragon helped him clear his thoughts and understand his feelings. Huoyan couldn’t lift the guilt, though.

There was only one person who could.

Wonwoo anticipated when you would wake up for more than a week. He needed constant reassurance from the healers that this was normal. Your body needed to conserve its energy to focus on healing itself. The medicine helped, but it was your own body that was going to heal it.

It took ten days for you to regain consciousness.

The first thing you felt when you woke up was excruciating pain in your back. You felt like you barely had any strength in your body. Everything felt as if you were in a daze, and your memory was extremely foggy. You couldn’t remember anything from the last month.

When you gathered enough strength to open your eyes, the first thing you saw was the symbol of the Fire Nation. A large red tapestry was hung on the wall, at least four times the length of your body. You couldn’t see much else besides it, as you were lying on your stomach, your head resting on the pillow sideways.

Ah. The palace.

You sighed, but immediately regretted it as any movement brought more shocked pain to your back. You grimaced, a pained whine escaping your lips. You felt relief before you could register the reason why, and forced your eyes open.

It was Wonwoo, pressing a cool cloth against your bandaged back gently.

Wait.

It was Wonwoo?!

“Wonwoo?” You questioned, your voice softer than you were used to. It would still take some time to get your energy back— even talking felt like more exertion than comfortable.

“Y/n. Don’t talk, please. It will only tire you out.”

You furrowed your eyebrows. Wonwoo sounded different. His voice was deep and slightly raspy, but soft and full of worry. You were sure of it. It was impossible to miss. He was… worried about you?

“Wonwoo?” You asked again with a little more urgency. You felt the cloth on your back stop moving. He stayed silent, waiting for you to continue your thought. Clearly you wanted to talk, and though he didn’t like the idea of you overexerting yourself, there were many things that you were probably curious about.

“Why are you… doing that?” You were almost scared to ask. Your own sensibility forbade you from blindly trusting Wonwoo in the moment, even though your heart was screaming for it. He was so close to you (literally within 30 cm of your face), and it was all you had wanted in the past. You had just wanted to be close to your husband. You wanted to love him, and for him to love you back. 

You forced yourself to be rational and not fold immediately, though everything about him was entrancing you at this moment. The smell of bergamot hit your nose and almost distracted you completely from the pain in your back. Wonwoo’s touch was soft and hesitant. He handled you as if you were a piece of glass that could shatter at any small impact. He had already hurt you enough for 1 lifetime. He never wanted to do it again.

“I want to take care of you. You’re badly injured, Y/n.” He muttered. You looked at his face, searching for sincerity in it. And it was there; clear as day. His eyes were scared and tired, as if he had barely gotten sleep in the last week. 

“What… happened? Why- how did I get injured?” You demanded. Your throat was strained from the energy it took to speak, but you needed answers.

“I don’t want to distress you. You’re still in pain. Please, just… sleep for now?” He asked hopelessly.

You were torn. Sleep sounded like a dream right now, but you didn’t know if you could trust Wonwoo for answers later. You couldn’t figure him out— you didn’t know him; you couldn’t trust him. He changed like a switch after a year, and now you weren’t sure what to believe. 

“Will you tell me later? Will you tell me everything?”

Wonwoo nodded, “Yes, of course. You are overdue for an… explanation. And I am sorry. I’ve treated you worse than an animal for the past year. I… I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to regain your trust, but I want to. Please believe me— there’s nothing more I want to do than to make things right.” You saw his eyes get hazy, overcome with emotion; grief, remorse, self-loathing, hope. You wanted to believe him, and you barely had the energy to do otherwise, so you found yourself humming in small agreement. It seemed to put him at ease a bit. He relaxed his shoulders and stood up.

“I’ll be here if you need anything. Let me know if you’re uncomfortable.” He smiled at you— an expression you hadn’t seen from him since that very first meeting. This smile was sad, though. It couldn’t reach his eyes and it quickly fell back down. You wondered what it would look like in full. You wanted to see him smile brightly. You wanted to be able to be the cause of his smile; to be able to make him happy.

He drew the curtains to block out the sun that had just risen and walked out of your view. You closed your eyes and welcomed sleep, falling into dreams quickly. Your dream was unpleasant. You tried again and again to get Wonwoo’s attention and affection, only to be met with his old attitude. It was as if he was unaware of your existence. When you woke up, you had a bitter feeling in your chest.

You were in significantly less pain after your sleep. From the light outside, you reckoned it was a couple hours after dinner. You could sit up on your own, and you could feel your strength slowly coming back to you. You sat up quietly, having your first view of the room you were in. It was large and spacious. A large balcony was to the other side of it, decorated with elegant golden statues of two dragons. They were embracing each other; a couple.

You looked over to the dresser, and heat immediately spread up your neck and to your cheeks. You had caught Wonwoo changing his top robes. His back was right in your view. You couldn’t deny that you had pictured it before. Wonwoo had always been the most attractive man you’d ever seen. His skin was milky and smooth. His muscles were defined but he still kept a lean physique. Your eyes were trained on him as he slipped his arms through fresh red robes, tying the garment across his chest. It was only when he started turning around that you forced yourself to look away, pretending as if you hadn’t been staring. 

“You’re awake.” Wonwoo commented, soon joining you on the bed— sitting on the edge of it. “Did you sleep well? How are you feeling now?”

You shied away from his dark pupils that were examining your face. His eyes looked brighter and more refreshed than before— he looked more alive than he had hours ago, and you liked the look on him. He looked… prettier.

“I’m not in as much pain now. I slept okay… just had a bad dream.” You admitted, frowning at the thought. It was hard to trust that Wonwoo would keep being this nice to you. You had never been an attention seeker; usually you hated any kind of focus on you, but something about Wonwoo’s attention was pleasant and warm. 

“A bad dream?” Wonwoo echoed, his eyebrows furrowing in concern. “What was it about?” You shied back slightly, unused to his contented look as he waited for you to respond.

“It was just… you were ignoring me again. In the dream. I hated it.” You whispered. Wonwoo’s eyes softened and saddened, and without thinking, he reached out to cup your cheek. He knew that he had hurt you by ignoring you all those months, but to know that it had hurt you this much? It felt like his already shattered heart was splintering into his insides, tearing apart his entire body and being. 

“I am so sorry, Y/n… For not showing you the love you deserve, for ignoring you all that time. I don’t know if I have an explanation for it… there’s no excuse that justifies treating you like that. Especially you. I-I’ve thought about it every day since my brother’s visit. I’m ashamed to say that it took him to knock some sense into me. I would try to explain myself… but I’m afraid I’ll only sound selfish and stupid.” He sighed heavily, shutting his eyes tightly and dropping his hand from your cheek.

“No. Tell me, Wonwoo. I want to know, no matter how bad it sounds. I want to know everything. You said you’d tell me everything.” You demanded. He nodded.

“You’re right. Are you… quite comfortable? Explaining it all might take some time. I’m still worried about your back.” Although it warmed your heart that he was so worried (the cute frown that he wore while trying to inspect if you were in pain had you melting), you cared the most about hearing what he had to say.

“I’m okay, Wonwoo. Don’t worry about me.” You reassured him. That was all it took to get him to start talking, and he started from the very beginning.

“After my father’s death, I had to find a wife quickly, as you know. I didn’t have time to deliberate much on who to pick— I just had my instincts to trust. I am certain I picked the right woman, though. You have never once disappointed me, Y/n. The fault was always on my part. I was the one who ignored you. I was the one who never tried to get closer. I was the one who failed you. And I’m so, so sorry for it.” Wonwoo’s eyes were getting teary— he couldn’t hide the gut-wrenching guilt that he felt whenever he thought about it. 

You had never seen him this emotional. You were happy that he felt comfortable enough with you to be this vulnerable, but the burden he was carrying made you feel heavy as well. You wanted to comfort him, console him, assure him that it was alright. You didn’t like holding grudges— for as long as you can remember, you were always hopeful that people could change. Wonwoo was finally showing the sincerity you had always longed for. He blinked back the tears before continuing, taking a deep breath and steadying himself by looking at you.

“I always wanted to talk to you. It just… felt uncomfortable. I’ve never been good at talking to people casually. They don’t train you for that in classes, believe it or not. I’m good at public speaking and strategic planning for the nation; but if you had ever put me next to girls in school, I’d end up a flustered and oblivious mess. I was always like that. Mingyu was better with the ladies and I was better with… textbooks or animals. They can’t be hurt as easily.

“I can only assume that by ignoring you, I was trying to avoid hurting you with my words. I never considered that by doing that, I would have caused you much more pain than a few awkward conversations. You always left my heart racing when you would smile at me from across the room those first few weeks. I kept a straight face because I knew the image would stay in my brain for the rest of the day and keep me from completing important tasks. Ignoring you and the effect you had on me was a bad way to cope with my feelings. I didn’t think I had time for love.” 

The explanation took you by surprise. You had always presumed that Wonwoo had never cared for you, and that was why he never put any effort into talking to you. Knowing that you had been in his heart all that time surged the hope that you had for him that had been hidden away in your heart.

“I planned to talk to you sooner, but on the night I tried to find you, you weren’t in your room. I assumed you had gotten kidnapped, so I tracked your scent with a shirshu brought from the Earth Kingdom. You can imagine my distress when I realized that the trial led right to Orin’s homestead. I was so panicked. I could only imagine what a man like him would want to do with the Fire Lord’s wife.” He breathed, the panic he felt from the time rushing back slightly.

You frowned, your heart aching to hear how much he cared for you. You grabbed his left hand gently, slowly giving it a reassuring squeeze. The gesture made a tear slip down his cheek, but he wiped it away as quickly as possible. 

“I… saw someone jump out of the window and decided to follow them given that Orin was already almost dead on the floor. I thought they would know where you were if they had searched the house in order to assassinate him. I-I didn’t know it was you, and I was so panicked from it all that I used my firebending recklessly. I…” His lip trembled and more tears spilled past his waterline. 

You were close to crying as well. Seeing Wonwoo so heartbroken by his own actions twisted your insides together. You pulled on his hand, making him lean forward until you could wrap your arms around him. You had never wanted to hug someone as badly. The way he crumbled into your embrace immediately finally broke you, and you allowed the tears to fall. You didn’t want him to talk until he had calmed down, so you rubbed his back, tracing the line of vertebrae one by one. You pulled away when you felt his breathing stabilise, but still kept him close to you.

“And then? After you hit me?” You questioned softly but curiously.

Wonwoo sucked in a breath, “I never meant to hit you— even before I knew it was you. I never knew you were The Scarlet Shadow. I wish I could have taken the time to be proud of you, instead of harming you.” He frowned again, but you just shook your head.

“It was all a mistake. I will heal soon. I’m pretty strong, you know?” You smiled, brushing away a tear stain from his cheek.

“I brought you here immediately and the palace healers took care of you. I asked them to teach me how to change your bandages and apply the medicine. I’ve been taking care of you for the last week.” He smiled, and you were glad he wasn’t teary anymore. You didn’t like seeing him cry.

“Wait… What’s today then? How long was I out for?” You asked. 

Wonwoo looked up, counting in his head, “It’s the 14th of the month… You were out for 10 days.”

“The 14th? Isn’t that…?” You looked up, meeting Wonwoo’s eyes. Realisation dawned in them as well. It was your wedding anniversary.

“1 whole year and this has been our longest conversation yet.” You giggled. The hurt feelings you felt from that reality were gone now— replaced with only amusement as you knew the cause had been nothing but the shyness of your husband.

“I am never going to ignore you like that again. I promise.” He said seriously, and you smiled.

“I know you won’t.” You kissed his cheek before you were even realising what you were doing. Both your eyes widened simultaneously before blush spread to your cheeks. “Sorry, you just looked– I just-” You didn’t register that as you were stuttering, Wonwoo’s eyes were focused entirely on your lips. He cut you off before you could finish, catching you by surprise.

You had never been kissed before, and neither had Wonwoo. It felt new and unfamiliar, yet somehow comforting. Wonwoo’s lips were warm and soft, and feeling them move against yours instantly brought butterflies to your stomach. It took a second for you to properly kiss him back, and even more time for you both to find a steady rhythm. 

It was like a dance almost; You had to tilt your head the exact right amount in order to not bump your nose against his, all while still moving your lips against his at the perfect pace. You weren’t sure what to do with your hands. They felt awkward just sitting in your lap— especially when Wonwoo’s right hand was gently holding your jaw. They found their place on his shoulders before too long, and that seemed to feel right to you. It grounded you while also allowing you to pull him closer to you, which was something you desperately wanted.

When you tried to deepen the kiss, though, Wonwoo pulled away. You blinked open your eyes, breathing heavily. 

“Why’d you stop?” You asked through short inhales. Wonwoo’s face reddened. 

“I- you were pulling me closer, and I wanted to hold you, but then I’d have to hold your back, a-and I can’t risk hurting you…” He whispered.

“Wonwoo… You’re going to make me fall in love with you.” You whined softly, your eyes staring into his.

“I always wished you would.” He breathed.

“You don’t have to wish for it anymore.” You promised him. “Can I… kiss you again?” You asked in a small whisper. Wonwoo nodded, immediately resuming where it had left off— lips connected; gentle, loving, and long overdue. 

“I told you not to get up!” Wonwoo yelped, surprised by your arms encircling his waist before he could finish tying his robes.

“I said I’m fine. It’s been over 2 weeks. It barely even hurts anymore.” You shushed him, hugging his middle and resting your cheek against his soft silk robes.

“Barely?” He repeated, “I’m not letting you do anything until you can say it never hurts anymore.”

“You’re so stubborn.” You complained. Your hands soon found the tie on Wonwoo’s garment, and you smiled subconsciously as you realized he hadn’t been able to finish getting dressed. You held the sash in one hand, the other briefly running over his abdomen before he caught it.

“You can’t keep your hands to yourself, I see.” He muttered, amused at your actions. You shifted around until you were facing him, and started to cross his robes, tying them together (not without sneaking one last peak at his chest and abs).

“I was just trying to help you get dressed; obviously.” You rolled your eyes before stepping up onto your tippy toes to give him a small kiss.

“Are you really feeling okay, though?” He asked softly. You nodded. You really did feel fine this morning, and especially excited. Wonwoo had promised to take you for a ride on Huoyan; finally fulfilling his promise to you over a year ago.

“You know I always tell you when I’m in pain.” You soothed him.

“I know, but I can’t help but be worried about you. It’s my fault, after all. I want to take responsibility to make sure you heal properly.” He sighed. He always made sure to look at the burn every day to see how it was progressing. It had gotten significantly better, but he always had lingering worries that he had permanently damaged your body.

“It was an accident, Wonwoo.” You brushed your fingers over his cheek, tracing the line of his cheekbone with care. Falling in love with his good looks from afar over the year he ignored you was almost inevitable, but in the past two weeks when he was by your side at all times, talking and laughing and loving you, it was impossible to not fall 100 times harder for him. 

“Accident or not, I hurt you. It was a mistake I am never going to let myself repeat. A husband should never hurt his wife.” He frowned. You felt like you had this conversation with him almost every day. He wouldn’t let go of the thought that everything that had gone wrong was because of him. While it was true that he had made many mistakes, you didn’t want him to carry that guilt forever. 

“I already forgave you enough times, my love. There is no need to feel guilty anymore.” You shushed him for now by hugging him, knowing that you would probably have the exact same conversation the next day. Wonwoo hugged you back— it had been 4 days since you had convinced Wonwoo that he could touch your back without fear, and 7 days since you had started trying to convince him. You had both enjoyed hugs where you didn’t need to be careful of any pain, and you enjoyed another one. Wonwoo squeezed you tightly before letting you go.

“I’ll help you get ready, and then we can go.” He smiled.

“I can get ready by myself.” Your argument was bound to fail. Wonwoo followed you like a lost puppy wherever you went, and when you started walking towards the dresser for a fresh set of robes, he quickly followed.

“You ready?” Wonwoo’s bright smile was something that you would never get tired of. The gentle creases in his face to the way his eyes brightly reflected his smile, shining brightly; it was all so perfect. You would truly never get tired of him.

“I’ve waited 382 days for this. I’ve never been more ready!” You were eager and still a little impatient as Wonwoo had made you wait until after breakfast. The much looked-forward-to dragon ride had been one of the only things on your mind for the last week. And the second you saw Huoyan, you knew it would be the most magical experience you’d ever have.

Wonwoo helped you onto her back after you said hello and gave her some nose scratches which Wonwoo told you she loved. Wonwoo got on in front of you and told you to hold on tightly. Lifting up into the air caused some shrieks from you and giggles from Wonwoo. You calmed down quickly as Huoyan flew steadily. The view of the entire Fire Nation capital from up so high was unbelievable. You had never seen anything as gorgeous.

“Everyone looks so tiny from up here.” You breathed, watching the ground below as you flew gently around it. People looked to be the size of ants, and large houses were merely the size of a gold piece coin. Huoyan soared upwards above the clouds once you had had your fill of looking at the ground. 

The sky was even more beautiful than the ground. It was a clear sunny day, and the clouds in the sky were varied. From large fluffy ones to misty thin ones, you tried to spot as many as you could with Wonwoo. You got tired near the end of the flight. You wished you could stay up in the sky with Wonwoo all day, but you still hadn’t recovered all your energy. You rested your head on Wonwoo’s back, closing your eyes and letting a happy smile envelop your face.

“Tired, my love?” Wonwoo asked softly. You hummed. You had been up in the air for hours now and easily lost track of time. 

“Would it be silly if… I wanted to kiss you up here?” You asked quietly. 

Wonwoo smiled at your slightly sleepy request, “No, it’s not silly. Unless I’m silly for wanting it as well.” He giggled softly and turned, making his face visible to you. “Huoyan, sorry.” He said quickly before capturing your lips with his. 

It didn’t last long, as Huoyan started to complain about it all happening on her back. Wonwoo didn’t press for a long kiss and just let Huoyan fly back down to the palace. The rest of the day was spent less excitingly, but still enjoyable. Any moment with Wonwoo was enjoyable. You visited the turtle duck pond again and fed them, and then walked around the grounds of the royal palace together.

Once you were all ready for bed, tucked under the covers with your head on Wonwoo’s chest, he spoke again, “I thought of a question. I probably should have asked you earlier, but it only just came to me now.”

“Hm?”

“Why did you become The Scarlet Shadow?”

You hummed, “I guess it was just… a way to spend my time. I didn’t have anything to do, and I had always wanted to try fighting when I was little, so I just decided to go for it. It was very… fulfilling. I liked being able to help people.” You smiled, “And, hey, I guess I was pretty good at it. I even killed Orin.” 

Wonwoo laughed, “I think I should be worried about what will happen to me if I ever anger you.” He rubbed your arm, sleepily watching you listen to his heartbeat.

“Don’t worry… I love you too much to do anything to you.” You mumbled.

“Me too.” He smiled, thinking back to the events of it all. It had been a long journey for him to end up here; with you in his arms. Among the ups and downs, one thing had stayed steady: your hope that he would change. You still gave him a second chance, even after all the pain and mistakes and broken promises. You still loved him, even when he couldn’t bear to love himself anymore. And as he made sure to heal every wound he had ever given you, you also healed his shattered soul, putting it back together piece by piece.

↳ svt taglist: @kangtaehyunzzz,, @yeonjuns-redhair,, @ddeonudepressions,, @hannahsophie0103,, @skz-minchan-enthusiast,, @shuabby1994,, @icyminghao,, @98-0603,, @weird-bookworm,, @edensgardenn,, @wonwooz1,, @cyberpunksunwoo,, @cienlvrs,, @amara-mars

[bonezisded]

hey! i saw your vance/requests post and was wondering if you’d write anything about him? if so, would it be cool if you could do something where he and the reader really don’t like each other but something happens to bring them together?

thank you ! :)

Why'd you do that?

masterlist | navigation

requests are open !

summary: vance has always disliked you. you've always disliked him. but he had morals, and he wasn't that bad of a person.

vance hopper x gn!reader

word count: 1.4k

warnings: moose being an asshole and a creep, a crap ton of swear words,, ooc vance?? idk, maybe

a/n: im fr so sorry this took so long, i promise ill try and get the other one's out in a better timeframe

“here,” she started, as she walked towards her purse and shuffled through it, “i'll give you some money for you and your little friends so you can all get something from the gas station.” she pulled out her wallet and pulled out a $10 bill, “how does that sound?” she asked, as she smiled and handed it to you. her smile fell a bit when you said nothing.

y'know, you had really wanted to stay home today, but "no, going outside and getting fresh air is good for you," is what your mother had said to you, and that was final. it wasn't like you hated going outside, and it wasn't even like you never went outside. you did! all the time! you were always out and about with robin and finney! which is why you didn't understand why she wanted you out so bad. but, when you had explained the bad feeling you had all morning, she sighed.

you playfully rolled you eyes with a heavy sigh leaving your lips. why not, y’know? hell, you’ll even surprise them! with that thought, you gave your mother a wide smile, “fine, but let me call finney and robin before i leave.”

-

you should have listened to your gut. when you called robin and finn, you told them to meet you at the spot you always met at in an hour - they both agreed. with that you took your longboard, keys, wallet with a new $10 bill - which was an absolute score, thanks ma - in it, you said goodbye to your mother and left.

when you got to the shop, you saw him at “his” pinball machine. now, you weren’t gonna lie, vance hopper was definitely the prettiest guy you’ve ever seen in your entire life, but you absolutely despised each other. when you had first gotten here 2 years ago, you had no idea who vance hopper was, or that the - horribly beat up - pinball machine in some random gas station belonged to him? and of course, the one time you decided to play, your brain decided that would be the day to beat a record on something. not just any record in fact, but vance fucking hopper’s high score on a game he absolutely loved. even while this was all true, you had to admit he had a pretty shitty high score.

when he eventually showed up, he was furious. and it only got worse when he tried to beat your ass for it and lost. can you believe that? he lost? vance hopper doesn’t lose.

either way, you both strayed away from each other, only ever sharing glaring looks, and mean words, but had never actually fist fought again.

when you walked in, the sound of the bell ringing caught a few people’s attention, their heads turning to look at who came in before looking away. you could see from the corner of your eye, there was a boy still staring at you. when you turned and saw who it was, you almost groaned. you knew moose had a little crush on you, and even though you had rejected him a multitude of times, he was always so persistent.

you rolled your eyes, deciding it would be better to walk past vance rather than be anywhere near moose. when you walked past vance, you could see the mass of his hair shift towards you to look at who was passing by, before you kept walking to the soda’s in the back. when you opened the door, you saw one of finney’s favorites on the top shelf. you tried to reach for it but it was just barely out of your reach. you felt someone’s presence behind you, and quickly turned around all while stepping to the side to get out from in front of whoever it was. upon seeing it was moose, you swear you could have vomited right then and there.

“the fuck do you want, moose? can’t you just leave me alone?” although you wanted to put as much distance between you two, there wasn’t anywhere else to go, so you stood your ground. and maybe it was just you, though, but was that vance fucking hopper staring at you two?

you watched as a sick smirk appeared on his face before he opened his mouth to speak, “just wanted to help someone pretty that’s in need,”

you grimaced, your face staying contorted in a scowl, “please just leave me alone, moose. i’m not in the mood to deal with you today,” you paused, before opening your mouth again, “lord knows how many times i’ve told you no.”

with that, you could see his face contort in a look of anger as his hand reached forward and grabbed your wrist, “can’t you just be grateful someone’s actually looking at you like you’re worth something?”

now, you’re not gonna lie here, you could definitely beat this ugly motherfuckers ass, however, you were awfully tired, and just didn’t have it in you to deal with it.

you attempted to tug your arm back, but his grip was firm - you would definitely have bruises later.

“let me go, you fucking coward,” you growled, but it only caused his grip to get firmer. he opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by someone shoving him off of you.

you watched in surprise - and slight horror - as vance fucking hopper shoved him off of you and onto the floor, before climbing on top of him and relentlessly beating the shit out of him.

“you fucking dickweed!” as he yelled, he grabbed the front of moose’s hair and slammed the back of his head into the ground repeatedly, “they said no!”

as you were watching in surprise, the sound of moose’s head being slammed into the floor made you come to and jump forward and yank vance off moose. he gave you a glare and opened his mouth to say something, but you just pulled him along, speedwalking to the exit - while passing the cashier that was still on the phone with the police - and kept pulling him down the block.

when you were finally a safe distance - where the cops wouldn’t bother looking for him - you turned to him, “thank you for helping with him, but why?”

he gave you an incredulous look, and you paused, before continuing, “i mean, why did you do that? what was the point? i know you like, hate me and everything, so i just don’t understand why you defended me.”

the look stayed in his face, but morphed into something more like, ‘are you fucking stupid?’

“i don’t ‘hate’ you, but why does it fucking matter,” he scoffed as he spoke, rethinking everything that happened only 15 minutes earlier, “my mom would have me fucking carcerated if she found out i let some bullshit like that happen right fuckin’ in front of me.”

you were stunned, looking down at your shoes digging into the dirt as you thought about the situation you just got yourself into. and, you know, any - normal, and good - person would be upset, and maybe, possibly, intervene, but vance hopper? and standing up for you, no less? so you said the only thing that came to mind,

“oh,”

he laughed. he laughed. “’oh?’ that’s all you have to say?” you looked up, seeing the amused smile on his face. you felt your face get warm immediately, and looked down again.

“well, i don’t know what else to say,” you laughed, (and he laughed a little too, but tried to cover it up with a cough) before continuing, “we’ve never really talked before this. well, like, talked, talked. i’m not sure what to do at this point,”

“well,” he cleared his throat, seemingly a little nervous now, “we could just like, fucking get to know each other, instead of saying we fuckin’ hate each other or some stupid shit like that every chance we fuckin’ get,” you giggled a little at the amount of swear words the boy could fit into one sentence, “sure, i think that sounds like a good,” you paused for a second, before smiling, ”fuckin idea, vance”

“you gotta walk me to meet up with finney and robin though,”

“oh, do i?”

“of course, as repayment for me saving you from the cops and cleaning up your knuckles.”

“my knuckles?”

“yup! you are coming with after all, right? and it would be unfortunate for this med kit in my bag to go to waste, wouldn't it?"

he smiled a little, “sure, why fuckin’ not?”

[lemonsuponlemons]

Dark!Matt Murdock and Reader

A little background: you know Matt but you don't know he's Daredevil

And Matt has, to put it simply, the hots for you

But for some reason, he is physically incapable of shooting his shot

So he keeps true to his dramatic ass and suffers in silence

Until he comes up with an idea that might just work

You don't know he's Daredevil, right? And he's cripplingly afraid of you rejecting him because his desire for you is beyond the scale. So if he shoots his shot as the vigilante, he's not ruining his chances as a Matt The Lawyer

There is even a statistical chance that he DOUBLES his chances, in case you're both into the masked guy and the real guy

So one night he asks you to stay longer with him at the office, help out with something

Under the pretext that he still needs to do something, he stays behind while you call it a day and head home

That's of course a bullshit excuse and the moment you're out of the building Matt's changing into his vigilante suit and is, kind of, stalking you

God must have blessed him because some dude was trying to chat you up and you, obviously, were not having it and the guy was clearly getting violently angry

So he, the Daredevil, swoops in as the hero of the year and beats the unwelcome stranger into the next decade

At first he asks whether you're okay, tells you that you should be careful and not walk around at night etc.

His words are gradually turning more flirtatious and suggestive

Imagine his excitement when you receive them well and actually want him

I mean, the city hero just saved you and apparently finds you irresistible enough to sacrifice his "patrol" for you

I feel like this is one of those scenarios where he is more sensual and slow rather than feral

So he's kissing your neck, taking off your clothes and touching any pieces of skin his hands can reach

Matt strikes me as a thigh man idk why

He's so excited and turned on his hands are slightly shaking

(and that's the story of how Matt realized he might have a lil roleplay kink)

During the sexy time the mask stays on, ok

Actually, he takes off only some of his clothes, trying to keep his identity as secret as one can while going at it

You don't really mind, there's something oddly hot about inviting a masked stranger to your bed

So now you're on your stomach, pressed into the mattress by the Daredevil himself

His hands are keeping yours on your back

He's moving really slow but oh so well and deep

Hitting all the right spots, making you feel every inch of him and how he feels inside you

All while his kissing and biting your shoulders as well as your back

His beard is going to leave burns along your shoulder blades - an excitingly uncomfortable sensation

Whispers dirty, slightly degrading, things

"You just let anyone fuck you, don't you?"

"Be grateful like the good girl you are"

"Don't I deserve a 'thank you'?"

'Thank you, sir' is the only comprehensible sentence that can leave your mouth right now

When he feels his orgasm getting closer, he pulls your hair and orders you to thank him louder

To your neighbors' dismay, you happily comply

Definitely gropes your thighs and ass

He disappears as swiftly as he appeared and you just lay there, fucked out of your mind, wondering what the hell you just did (not that you regret it, obviously)

Matt did get a last, long view of your bare ass before leaving tho

The next day you come to work like you always do but you seem really content, suspiciously so

Matt asks what's up (he's giggling inside tbh)

And you just go "Had a good night, now I'm having a great day"

Daredevil's gonna visit you again and it's your fault

Now imagine everything I have said BUT you have initially rejected Matt (for whatever reason) and now you're jumping on Daredevil's dick thank you

[purplesurveys]

1731

When was the last time you wore a mask, and what kind of mask was it? Must have been a face mask and must have been sometime this month for a face-to-face work thing. I just can't remember when.

Do you say "couch" or "sofa"? 🛋️ I interchange them equally.

Have you found any gray hairs yet? if so, how old were you when you found your first one? Yeah, I have. My first one actually showed up when I was 11, and they've been few and far between since then. Most recently I spotted one a week ago and I tried to pull it out, but in the process of doing so I lost it in the mix of the rest of my hair.

Do you think you will dye your hair when you go gray, or will you let it be natural? I feel like I'd dye it early on, then eventually I'd just let it be.

Have you ever met anyone named Eden? Not in real life but I know someone with that name.

Which name do you like better: Eden or Aiden? Eden is a beautiful name.

What is your favorite type of meat to eat? 🥩 Pork. I'm pretty sure that's the most popular meat in the Philippines to begin with; we have so many ways of cooking/preparing pork.

When was the last time you felt jealous of someone? I'll admit I felt a teeny bit of jealousy towards Bea when she announced she was resigning. I'm happy for her, of course, but there was also a tinge of, "Dammit, you beat me to it and you actually had the strength to do this/actually bring this thought to reality."

What are three thing you think of when you hear the word "India"? Butter chicken, roti, and palak paneer.

Are there any bar stools in your home? No, we don't.

When was the last time you sat on a bar stool? August 2022.

Have you ever been to a spa? 🧖♀️ I don't think I've ever entered a spa, actually.

What is one thing you hate? How stuck I'm feeling at my job. It's quickly starting to feel like I'm the only one keeping myself hostage here.

Have you ever sprained your ankle? Yeah, twice. My left ankle is so vulnerable hahaha. I sprained it the first time tripping at school; then the second time missing a step while I had had too much to drink.

Do you own an artist's palette? 🎨 if so, when was the last time you used it? I don't own one.

When was the last time you attended a religious ceremony? ⛪️ I went to Sunday mass a week ago; I missed this morning's as I was in Nasugbu vacationing with co-workers.

If applicable, what is one trend you started when you were in school? Oh I was never the type to do that. Still not.

Have you ever done a craft project using a soup can? Nope. 

Have you ever had a Sony product just stop working? It's definitely possible but I can't remember anything specific.

What is your favorite type of tree? 🌳 I don't have a favorite tree. 

Have you ever had a spaniel for a pet? No.

Do you like the word "iota"? It's fine. I don't have any strong feelings towards it lmao.

What celebrities were you obsessed with when you were younger? When I was teenager I was obsessed with wrestling and barely anything else. Oh but there was One Direction hahahaha.

Would you rather sing or play an instrument? if you'd rather play an instrument, which instrument would you prefer to play? Play an instrument; and I would go with the piano.

Were you named after someone, and if so, who? My name was inspired by someone but I wasn't technically named after them.

Did you ever play with a yoyo as a kid? 🪀 Yes. I never learned how to play it properly but I liked trying nonetheless.

Who is your current favorite celebrity? BTS.

What is one thing you aren't able to do currently, but you wish you could? Go back to Thailand.

What is one thing you think tastes good with granola? Idk I don't have that often.

When was the last time you ate a granola bar? Years ago would be a safe guess.

Do you prefer jelly or jam? 🥪 I don't like them both.

Have you ever met anyone named Cameo? Kind of a unique choice for a name there...no, I haven't.

What was the last thing you sent in the mail? I sent several photocards for shipping to Turkey about a month ago.

What is your favorite thing to do on the ice? Skate on it, I guess.

Have you ever visited any of the Great Lakes? Nope.

Have you ever swam in any of the Great Lakes? if so, which of the Great Lakes have you visited? No.

What were you almost named? Ariel.

What was the name of the first dog you had as a pet? Kimi.

Do you any of your family members have birthdays on a holiday, and if so, which one(s)? It's only a Catholic holiday, but my grandma's birthday does fall on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Depending on the year's Christian calendar, my birthday does tend to coincide with Holy Week so I've had my birthday falling on Easter Sundays, Good Fridays, etc.

When was the last time you attended a kegger? 🍾 A what? You don't really hear that term here,

What was the last thing you wrote down? I was indicating a To/From on an envelope.

What is your favorite type of bird? 🦜 Penguins.

Do you think of yourself as young or old? how old are you? I feel like I'm neither but that I'm also reaching a level of old where I need to start planning smartly for the rest of my life (I'm 25).

Do you enjoy doing crossword puzzles? DUDE Dev got me invested in crossword puzzles literally just today. We were having lunch at Tagaytay earlier when all of a sudden she started reading out hints for us to help with. I asked her why she was asking about random phrases only for her to flash her phone screen, which at that point was showing a bare crossword puzzle. Needless to say I got excited and downloaded the same app she has. After this survey I'm actually planning to go back to the app and solve a few puzzles hahahaha bye!

[hornime]

watch and learn | iwaizumi hajime x f!reader x team japan

there were two things they all had in common: the growing bulges in their pants that they were urgently trying to distract themselves from, and the fact that their full attention was on you.

warnings: 18+, timeskip!everyone, BIG MANGA SPOILERS BASICALLY, exhibitionism, voyeurism, orgasm denial

w/c: 3.1k

a/n: now i don’t know if iwaizumi hajime (27) athletic trainer learned about female orgasms when he was studying sports science at irvine BUT he def knows how to show a girl a good time which is reason enough for me to write this. also, i read this article to prep for this piece and it was super enlightening, so i do recommend giving it a read if you’re interested!

in the middle of his morning run, iwaizumi slowed momentarily to check the repetitive buzzing of this phone, curious as to who was messaging him this early. when he’d left the apartment, you were sleeping, and you had the tendency to still be sleeping by the time he returned, so who else could it be?

he unlocked his phone, quickly finding the source of the notifications: the team japan group chat.

[06:43 AM] miya: hey @iwaizumi—you know stuff abt the human body right?

[06:43 AM] miya: cus like you studied it in college and shit??

iwaizumi rolled his eyes. i spent four years in america to earn my degree, came back home to support my country’s olympic team, and dealt with the biggest idiots of volleyball, only to get treated like this?

[06:44 AM] iwaizumi: yes, miya. i took many courses on the human body. in fact that’s the purpose of my job. to know the human body. because i am a fucking athletic trainer.

[06:44 AM] miya: okay okay i get it. dumb question

[06:44 AM] iwaizumi: why? is something up? you need help or anything?

[06:44 AM] miya: uhhh kinda

[06:44 AM] miya: @hinata i’m not fucking asking this

[06:44 AM] bokuto: bro just do it

[06:44 AM] miya: @hinata @hinata @hinata 

iwaizumi cocked an eyebrow. what the hell are they going on about?

[06:45 AM] iwaizumi: so am i needed or...

[06:45 AM] hinata: YES

[06:45 AM] hinata: we had a question

[06:46 AM] sakusa: by “we” he means him, miya, and bokuto

[06:46 AM] suna: yeah don’t bring us into this

[06:46 AM] hinata: don’t listen to them! both suna and sakusa wanna know too

[06:46 AM] iwaizumi: okay. what’s up

[06:47 AM] hinata: we wanted to know how to make a girl cum

he chuckled in disbelief.

[06:47 AM] iwaizumi: you’re telling me that you guys are in your mid-20s, literal olympic athletes, and you don’t know how to make a girl cum

[06:47 AM] iwaizumi: have you never done it before??

[06:47 AM] miya: NO

[06:47 AM] miya: FOR THE RECORD IVE MADE MANY GIRLS CUM

[06:48 AM] bokuto: ME TOO

[06:48 AM] bokuto: i think

he laughed out loud, briefly startling another runner on the sidewalk.

[06:48 AM] iwaizumi: you guys are unbelievable

[06:48 AM] hinata: i mean she says she finished but idk what i did to make that happen

[06:48 AM] bokuto: ^^

[06:48 AM] hinata: so like i wanna know how to actually do it

[06:48 AM] suna: actually im kinda interested in this too

[06:48 AM] aran: i pray for your future girlfriends. this is painful to see. im out

[06:48 AM] kageyama: i’m with aran on this one. you guys are dumb

[06:48 AM] hinata: shut up. you suck.

[06:48 AM] miya: cmon iwaizumi, help a guy out

[06:48 AM] sakusa: it wouldnt hurt for you to give us some pointers at least

iwaizumi sighed.

[06:49 AM] iwaizumi: @miya @hinata @bokuto @suna @sakusa meet in the locker room after practice. ill give you guys a lesson in the art of pleasing a woman

to teach effectively, he needed a volunteer, though he was sure you wouldn’t need much convincing. you’d always loved the attention, and the biceps, of the pro athletes. he spun on his heel and jogged home.

you woke up to the sound of your apartment door opening, your boyfriend creeping inside, forehead damp with sweat.

“hey,” you said quietly, making your way towards him.

“hey, baby. sorry for waking you up, i was trying to be quiet.”

you giggled sleepily. “s’okay, haji. you spoil me too much anyway, always letting me sleep in for hours while you’re off doing god knows what.”

at that, his eyes crinkled in amusement, and as you tried to step into a hug, he shuffled back. “woah there, baby. i gotta shower, ‘m all gross from my run. and then,” he gave you a peculiar look that you couldn’t quite place, “i got a proposition for you.”

after his shower, he waltzed out of the bathroom, steam wafting out from behind the door. his tanned body made you feel things you definitely shouldn’t be barely an hour after the sun’s risen, and you reached out to massage the tension in his shoulders. “so, what’s your proposition?”

“well,” he hesitated. “it’s a bit... unconventional. the team asked me to show them how to make a girl cum,” he took in your intrigued expression. “and it’d be a lot easier to explain if i had someone to do a live demonstration with. so,” his eyes flicked up to you. “that’s where you’d come in.”

“a... live demonstration? like you’re gonna make me cum in front of them?”

“yeah, essentially.” he gave you a devilish grin. “you want that, baby? wanna show those boys how a real man treats a gorgeous woman like you?”

you rubbed your thighs at his words. “yeah,” you purred. “i do. wanna show them how good you are to me.”

and that’s how you found yourself nestled between iwaizumi’s muscled thighs, back pressed against his chest, completely naked, with five of japan’s best volleyball players staring at your body in awe.

practically an expert in his field, iwaizumi knew the human body inside and out. this had many benefits; of course it allowed him to catapult up the ranks and work with the country’s best athletes to keep them at the top of their game, but it also had a unique side effect: an overwhelming vault of knowledge on how to make a woman feel good anywhere. 

you’d seen the proof firsthand; he knew exactly where to push, prod, stroke, and tease to have you cumming in seconds, over and over, as many times as you wanted. he was amazing, and you were well-aware just how lucky you were to have such a talented man in the sheets.

“oi,” iwaizumi snapped his fingers, drawing each of the players’ eyes away from your glistening cunt. “pay attention. i know more than anybody that she’s hot as fuck, but you gotta listen to what i’m saying or else there’s no point to this.”

he lightly pressed his lips against your collarbone, slowly tracing them against your jaw, the contact making you squirm. “if you wanna make a girl cum, first thing you gotta do is make her comfortable. if she’s worried about how she looks or sounds or smells she’s gonna be too stressed to let go.” he moved his hands to grope your tits, his calloused fingers brushing over your hardening nipples. “so reassure her, tell her how irresistible she is, how pretty her moans are, how tasty her pussy is. shit like that. the sexier she feels the better it’ll be.”

he leaned into you, whispering into your ear. “feeling good, baby? we can stop whenever.”

you nodded weakly, afraid to open your mouth, barely holding in your whines as his palms worked wonders on your chest and stomach, sending shocks of heat wherever they touched. 

you craned your neck up to observe the men before you. atsumu was flushed red, wringing his hands as if he was worried they’d do something embarrassing if he didn’t keep them occupied. hinata was bouncing his leg up and down, wiping his palms on his shorts as he took in the plushness of your thighs. bokuto was basically drooling, greedily tracing your soft curves with his eyes. suna maintained his indifferent expression, but the reddening tips of his ears showed that he was a lot more hot and bothered than he let on. sakusa stood quietly to the side, leaning against the wall, mask tucked under his chin as if he’d just realized how much the temperature had gone up in the room.

there were two things they all had in common: the growing bulges in their pants that they were urgently trying to distract themselves from, and the fact that their full attention was on you.

"make sure to try different things; there’s multiple ways to make a woman cum. only like a quarter of women experience orgasms just from penetration,” someone made a sound of shock. “yes, the number is that small, bokuto.” 

his fingertip slowly trailed past your belly button, dipping into the mess between your thighs, causing you to slightly arch your back into the solid chest supporting you. “foreplay with the clit is your best bet; even stupid fucks like you probably wouldn’t screw it up too bad.”

hinata opened his mouth to speak, but iwaizumi anticipated his question and continued.

“i know you’re wondering where the clit is. it’s around here, under this hood of skin,” he slid his digit between your labia. “s’not gonna come with a label so you gotta explore a little bit. i know where hers is like the back of my hand, but for you guys, with your girls, you’re gonna have to move your fingers around. slowly. and pay attention to her expressions.” he began to rub in a circular motion around your clit, causing you to make small whimpers of pleasure and shift your hips to meet his movements. 

“if she clenches up or twitches when you feel a certain spot, like this,” your legs flexed as he increased the pressure, “that’s the clit. be kind, it’s not a volleyball. be gentle n’ make small circles, whether it’s with your fingers or your tongue.” 

he thought for a second. “speaking of which, oral’s important. very important. most women cum when they’ve been eaten out, so use your mouths for something more useful than just dirty talk. suck on the clit, maybe tongue-fuck her a ‘lil, but your main focus should always be the clit.”

he removed his hands from your sopping pussy, and you made a pathetic noise of frustration. “’m sorry, baby,” he muttered seductively in your ear. “don’t wanna have you finishing too early. lesson’s barely started.”

he turned his attention back to your audience, his lustful tone being replaced by a more instructional one. “there’s other places that’ll help a woman orgasm, too: her nipples, her neck, her ears—”

“her ears?” sakusa questioned. he blushed profusely as everyone turned to look at him, surprised that he’d opened his mouth. “what? we were all thinking it.”

“s’a valid question,” iwaizumi said. “yeah, you can lick ‘em if they’re sensitive. hers are.” as if to prove his statement, he licked a stripe on the shell of you ear, making you wiggle helplessly at the stimulation. “‘n leave kisses everywhere else. feels good for them just like it does for us.” he wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you closer to him and forcing your movements to stop as he traced patterns with his tongue all around your neck.

“something you should know about an orgasm is that it’s something called a positive feedback loop.” he looked up and was met with five blank stares. shouldn’t have expected anything from these dumb jocks, he lamented. “basically that means that, once you start releasing sexual tension, things will feel better and better until you climax.”

“oh!” atsumu chirped. “like how my sets get better and better throughout a game.”

“no, not really,” he quipped. “your sets suck throughout.” atsumu frowned at that.

iwaizumi exhaled exasperatedly. “the general idea is that the body gets more and more sensitive, muscle contractions become more and more frequent, and touches feel more and more stimulating until you cum. all right?”

they all made noises of understanding except for bokuto and hinata, whose eyes had glazed over at the first mention of an academic term. whatever, iwaizumi thought. they’ll get it through example.

"don’t worry about it too much if you don’t get it, that’s just an orgasm on paper. in practice, though, this is the crucial step: listen to her. she knows what feels good. never forget that you’re just an idiot with a cock.” he took a breath, gathering his thoughts before proceeding with his lecture.

“if she tells you to slow down, you slow down. if she tells you to go harder, you go harder. if she tells you to keep doing what you’re doing, you...”

“keep doing what you’re doing”, they all chimed in at staggered times.

“that’s right. don’t go faster or else you’ll mess up the rhythm and she won’t cum. and you wanna make her cum, don’t you?”

they nodded simultaneously.

“so if you keep up the tempo and force that feels good to her, you’ll be fine. questions?”

suna spoke up. “what about,” he choked on the word. “penetration?”

hinata hummed in agreement and bokuto jumped in. “yeah, what if i wanna make her cum on my cock?”

iwaizumi made a weird face. “that’s some pretty advanced stuff, but i guess i can go over it. when you try it, though, you have to be patient. with both of your bodies. s’not rocket science but s’not always easy. also it depends on the woman but sometimes she physically won’t be able to finish from penetration alone. just make sure you’re communicating.”

his swirled two fingers over your hole before shoving them in, your wetness making it easy for him to thrust in and out as your entrance stretched to accommodate him. “f—fuck!” your eyes flew open at the intrusion and you body lurched forward, but you were held back by his strong forearm. “ohmygod, oh my g—ah! feels s’good haji, s’good!”

“i know, baby, i know. you’re taking it so well.” he turned his attention back to the men, each of who were gulping heavily. if that didn’t signal to you that they were evidently affected by your moans, the way they shifted in their workout shorts did.

“boys, focus.” he curled his fingertips, brushing at the spongy spot at the top of your walls, ripping a pleasured wail from your throat and causing tears to prick at your eyelashes. “when you’re fingering her, you’ll feel an area inside that’s a bit soft and squishy. that’s the g-spot.”

you trembled in his arms as he mercilessly struck the same place over and over again with his fingers. “when you’re fucking her, try to keep the pressure building there, but it’ll be harder to make her finish since you can’t see what you’re doing.”

your breath hitched as iwaizumi’s incessant movements brought your body tantalizingly close to your release. he suddenly stopped and you almost sobbed in disappointment, until he plunged his fingers impossibly deeper.

a guttural scream of ecstasy came from within you, and your eyes rolled back as he began playing with another part of you, your body putty in his hands. “hngh, haji, ah! so good, s’good...” you threw your hands back around his neck, nails digging into the skin as you desperately tried to keep yourself grounded. your soft moans filled the air.

“stop clenching,” he hissed. “can barely move my hand.” you tried to relax but failed miserably as the tips of his fingers grazed your cervix. 

“holy fuck,” suna muttered. “you’re a god.”

“she sounds so pretty,” atsumu said in amazement.

“i wanna make a girl feel good like that, too!” bokuto sulked.

“you can do it, bokuto!” hinata hit him on the arm. “just listen to iwaizumi. clearly he knows what he’s talking about.” 

their eyes refocused on your figure, writhing in pleasure, prompting white hot waves of arousal to pool in their stomachs. 

“yeah,” sakusa said. “clearly.”

“stop talking,” iwaizumi ordered. “and listen. beyond the g-spot is the cervix, which is basically the end of the vagina. if you’re long enough,” he briefly scanned each of their faces, “which i’m sure you are, you’ll be able to reach it if you bottom out.”

“haji—hajime, please.” the stimulation was coming absolutely unbearable, and you could tell he was sadistically holding you at the edge, refusing to give you the satisfaction of finishing. “lemme cum, please. please lemme cum, please, please, i can’t—i can’t take it ‘nymore!”

“what was that? you can’t take it anymore? gonna cum?” you helplessly bobbed your head up and down, hoping that he’d give you permission. “well,” he growled, “we can’t have that happening, can we?”

he abruptly halted his thrusts, pulling his fingers out of you with an embarrassing squelch and popping them into his mouth. pearly tears rolled down your cheeks as you grieved the loss of contact and relief.

your viewers looked on in horror, feeling immense sympathy for you; you just looked so dejected from being denied yet another orgasm.

“why didn’t you—why didn’t you let her cum?” bokuto asked.

“why do you think?” iwaizumi snapped. “don’t want you guys to see her when she does. that’s for me, and only me.”

“oh, okay,” he responded, disgruntlement clear in his voice.

iwaizumi’s glare could cut glass, it was so sharp. the possessiveness that had enveloped his mind made him hyperfocus on just one thought: being alone with you. “so, any other questions? if not, we’re done here.”

you pouted at that, not wanting the demonstration to be over. “but haji,” you mumbled into his collarbone. “i di’nt get to cum. and i wanna.” you looked up at him, eyes wide with want. “please make me cum.”

iwaizumi sent a harsh glance to the players that nonverbally communicated his message loud and clear: get out. they shuffled awkwardly out of the locker room due to the hardness between their legs that they would most definitely need to deal with soon.

your boyfriend turned his attention back to you. “’m sorry, i know i had to deny you a bunch of times. i just really hated the idea of anyone but me seeing the cute way you look when you cum.”

you made a small noise of acknowledgement and a little whisper of it’s okay, haji. he looked down, sensing the way your poor, desperate cunt was pulsing around nothing, the erotic sight injecting him with the pure need to ravage you.

he shifted his head to kiss you passionately. “why don’t i make it up to you?” he breathed between your parted lips before picking you up by the backs of your thighs, forcing you to lock your ankles around his waist. 

he delicately situated you onto one of the recovery beds at the back of the room, before murmuring something that made your pussy throb in anticipation: “i’ll make you cum whichever way you want, however many times you want, all right? all you gotta do is lay back and take it.”

© property of hornime 2021. do not plagiarize any of my writing and do not repost/copy my writing onto any other sites.

[vi-trying-to-survive]

hey there!! i’m a huge fan of your stephen fics. i was possibly wondering if you could do an angsty one? perhaps one where stephen and the reader used to date, but got into a fight a broke up. they weren’t on good terms. years later, they see eachother again and maybe the somehow resolve their conflict and it ends in something cute and fluffy? idk lol. i’m not very good at requesting

Maybe I Still Love You

Stephen Strange x f! Reader

Warnings: this is pretty angsty but it has a supper fluffy ending :)

Summary: Stephen pushes (Y/N) away, yet 7 months later he finds himself on her doorstep.

A/N: I hope you guys liked this one :) 💖💖💖 Please let me know if you did or if you have any ideas on how to improve my writing :) 💖💖💖 Also I hope you have a good day 💖💖💖

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"You can do this", he insisted to himself, pacing back and forth on the rust-colored, brick steps leading up to her apartment, rubbing the nape of his neck, his footsteps masked by the sounds of traffic a few streets away, "You've graduated med school and mastered the mystic arts, ... you can definitely do this".

Yet, Stephen still found himself hesitating at the dull, metal doorbell eying the little tag with her name on it, written in perfect, thick, curved letters, intricate and stunning just like her. Part of him still wanted to run away, a hand in his pocket, twirling the cool, metal Sling Ring, some form of defensive mechanism, not like she was the one that hurt him in the first place, in fact it was the other way round. Sighing, he lowered himself to sit on the dusty steps, that familiar nauseous feeling start to grow in the put of his stomach, the memories of that sickening night playing through his mind once again. ---

He stood in the corner, watching the night-life of the city come alive below him, as the sun set, the streets filling with people, some more dressed up than others, as the orange and red flashes of car headlights filled the cracked concrete roads, so oblivious to the horror and demise around them, but he supposed he was once one of them too, so who was he to judge.

The bitter taste in his mouth only grew worse, turning back towards the bare space around him, little to no furniture left, making the apartment appear eerily large. He fixated his gaze on the few things that remained, only because they could not be sold, worth nothing but priceless to his pride, now mocked him severely, glinting viciously in the light, the trembling of his fingers becoming more vigorous and jagged. Picking up one of them, he struggled to read the inscription on the reflective, gold plate at the bottom, not that he needed to, having memorized it the night he received it, 'Dr Stephen Strange, Neurosurgical Award of the Neurological Society', sat on the side of his hospital bedside table, sneering at him, like a teasing joke had been played on him. His lips curved down into a furious scowl the longer he looked at it, the rage bubbling and boiling in him, steaming out, spilling over the sides, as he swung his hand around, letting the heavy, glass prize slip from his hold, hitting the wall, watching as it shattered into multiple jagged pieces, still taunting him, refracting light into rainbows on the surface of his clean walls, now chipped at the spot it hit.

Sighing defeatedly, he lowered himself down to the ground, throwing his face into his palms, a futile attempt to hide from the shame and disappointment that radiated from him, the sharp-edged pieces sitting a few meters in front of him. He began to rub at his eyes desperately, hot, salty tears pouring freely from them, streaming down his face and dripping onto the stained shirt that he wore, no longer bothering to try anymore, because what was the point ?

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(Y/N) dug around in her pockets, reaching for the cool, silvery key, now dull from use, sliding it into the key slot, unlocking the heavy door with a resonating click, using her back to push it open, hands full with boxes of takeout, from a specific steakhouse on the edge of New York, hoping that it would cheer Stephen up. She was ready to drop everything for him, having only eyes for him, even in this state, wanting to do anything that she possibly could to make him feel better, seeing him like this making her heart ache and sink deeper and deeper into a pit at the bottom of her chest.

Forcing a cheerful smile onto her face, she called out into the vast room, "Stephen ?", her voice sounding small in comparison to the space before her, the plastic crinkling as she set the bags down on the counters, raising a cloud of dust into the air, her nose wrinkling to stop herself from sneezing. Glancing around the room, she made her way to the living room, in search of the man in question, having received no response, her heels clacking against the solid floors with each step, quick to rush to his side, when she saw him crouched on the ground, his knees curled into himself, broken glass thrown haphazardly opposite him.

The soft sobs that escaped his lips promptly went silent when the sounds of her footsteps drifted past his ears, not wanting to lose that last sliver of dignity that he had left. Lifting his head from where they were nestled in his knees, he blinked rapidly to stop the tears that fell from his face, not really succeeding seeing as a few more large drops rolled down his skin when he saw the expression on her face, palms clasped over her gaping mouth, before kneeling down next to him, eyes full of worry, concern and pity. The word alone could make him sneer, pity, he hated it, it only reminded him of the accident, the changes it brought to his life, once so decadent and luxurious, now bare and broken. He felt white, hot rage at himself when she looked at him like that, how could he have let her see him like this ? So vulnerable and damaged, it made him wonder why she was still dating him, because why would someone date somebody like him ? If someone had asked him the same question a month ago, he would have had an endless list of answers prepared, but now so many were crossed off and slashed with crimson ink, leaving only one, pity.

The soft touch of her skin against his, snapped him out of his daze, noticing that she had taken his hand in hers, was enough to send him spiraling down his fit of self-fueled fury and hate, snatching it away from her, burying it in the fluffy, fleece pockets of his jacket.

She found that her lips turned down into a confused frown, voice soft and hurt, as she continued to reach out, carefully inching her palm closer to his, "Darling, What's wrong ?".

His eyebrows furrowed together at the question, "What's wrong ? What's wrong ?", he exclaimed, raising his hands in the air exasperatedly, "In case you haven't noticed (Y/N), everything is wrong". Fuming he pushed himself to stand, unable to meet the wounded expression on her face, as her eyes became glassy, knowing the look well, but new to the thought of being the cause.

Pushing down her own emotions, she ignored his words, convinced that he was just having a bad day, moving so that she stood in front of him, "Stephen ...", she began.

Much to her dismay, she was quickly cut off by him, "Don't do that, don't feel pity for me", he leered at her, a hand in her face, "Why are you even still here ? What do you get out of this relationship ?"

Biting down hard on her lip to distract her from the stabbing pain in her chest, she tried to reason with him, "What do you mean ? I'm here because I love you and I want to help you", the cloudy look in his crystal blue eyes causing her heart to crack.

He laughed darkly to himself, the salty streams on his cheeks now dry, "Tell me, does helping my charity case make you sleep better at night, huh ?", sending her an accusatory look.

She looked taken aback for a few seconds, before her face contorted into anger, "I am the only person left in your life, everyone else left", snapping as she pointed an accusatory finger at him, "Not because of the accident, don't you dare blame the accident for this one thing, they left because you pushed them away".

Pressing his lips together tightly, he did nothing but glower at her, surprisingly at a loss for words, as he watched her continue to yell, "I am the only one who stayed, because I love you", voice slowly beginning to shake unsteadily, becoming softer, "How- I- I don't And now you want me to leave too".

She paused for a moment, features becoming cold and indifferent, like she was looking at a stranger, because maybe that's what he had become, So I will", she sighed, walking away from him, without sparing so much as a second glance, scared that her strong persona would fracture.

Collecting her things in her arms, thoughts of a nice dinner long forgotten, she soundlessly left the apartment, allowing the dam of wild, hot tears to pour down her face, sending upsetting chills along her body as they wet her cheeks and neck.

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Stephen couldn't help but watch after her as she left, the sounds of her footsteps growing more and more muffled, until the only thing he could hear was the ringing of the silence. Hearing the door click and lock, he found himself padding after her, suddenly overcome by strong sense of shame and regret, yet he ignored the pull to chase after her, figuring that it was better for her this way. A flash of reflected light caught his eye, fixating his gaze on it, he soon realized it was her key to his apartment.

Sinking to the ground, he clutched the small piece of metal tightly to his chest, feeling a new trail of tears stream down his face, letting them fall freely, having lost the energy to wipe them away, running his fingers across the inscription on the key, which was ridiculously expensive, but he had insisted despite her protest at the time: Forever. The irony of it all, causing the stream of tears to grow stronger.

--- Handing the cab driver the right change, she sent him a grateful smile, sliding out of the seat, stretching her arms in the air a little, almost fluttering her eyes shut from exhaustion, feet already aching with each step on the cracked sidewalk. All she could think about was the warmth of her comforter, snuggling closer into her soft, fluffy pillows as the sounds of the television filled the background, lulling her to sleep.

What she didn't expect to see was Stephen Strange sat at the bottom of her uneven stairs, head in his arms, which were balanced on the tops of his knees, giving him a child-like look. Staring at him for a few seconds, she felt her cheeks grow warm, a light crimson tint forming across his, as he lifted his gaze finally noticing her frame, causing her to edge behind the small oak tree in her front yard, doing little to hide her from him.

Raising an eyebrow, he couldn't help but chuckle softly at her antics, quickly quieting down as she made her way towards him, stopping when she stood face to face, eyes flickering to everything except his, nervously picking at a jagged edge of her nail, causing her heart sinking a little, but he figured he deserved that.

He stayed silent, finding that the speech he had been practicing for the past hour seemed to disappear, captivated by her, the way some strand of hair had come loose from the bun that sat at the top of her head, framing her face, the light from the evening sun, giving her an ethereal glow. He reached a hand out to tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear, trailing his fingers down her face to cup her cheek, making her sigh, "Stephen, what do you want ?", removing his touch from her skin, to bring his hand back down to his side.

Her indifference sent his mind into a wild panic, stuttering, the words coming out broken and frantic, "I- We- I thought- I just-", left at a loss for words, the sound of the autumns breeze howling in the background, as more auburn colored leaves swirled around in the air.

The edges of her lips curled down into a frown, shaking her head she attempted to push past him, only to be caught by the arm, turning her attention to where his hands scarred hands were interlocked with hers, giving him a pointed look, "Stephen, you need to-"

"I- I'm sorry", he began, cutting her off, taking her other hand in his, gently rubbing circles into her smooth skin, occasionally glancing from her eyes to the pristine, white door in the back, "I shouldn't have said what I said, I was an angry, upset and most of all I was an ass and you never deserved that". Rubbing the nape of his neck nervously, he continued, "I know I can't change the past, but I was hoping, you would let me take you out to dinner", mentally crossing his fingers, as he watched her study him, her calculative mind trying to note any hints of insincerity.

She would be lying to herself if she said she didn't miss the man, even after 7 months, and to have him standing outside her doorstep like this, waiting after her, it wasn't something the old Stephen would have done. Her heart yearned for him, as she breathed in his familiar scent of books and spices, chewing her lip as she considered the possible outcomes in her mind, still vary of being hurt.

Letting out a breath, she tilted her head up to meet his clear eyes, so worried and full of hope, and in that moment something, call it instinct or plain stupidity, tipped her decision over to one side, whispering, "Alright".

Making her way up the stairs, she slid her key into the lock, turning to give him a perplexed look, as he stood observing her unmoving, "Aren't you coming in ?", giggling a little as his mouth formed an 'O', promptly chasing after her like a lost puppy. Tossing her bags on the couch with a soft thump, she hung her coat by the door, as he took a seat at her island counter, pondering out loud, "So, Where have you been this whole time ? You kind of just disappeared". Chuckling softly as he shook his head, he tilted his head up to meet her eyes, relishing in the way they glittered as they gazed at him again, "You are in for a long story".

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Snuggling in closer to his side, she adjusted her grip on him, tangling their legs together as she attempted to steal some warmth from the sorcerer, making his lips curl up into a tender smile, as she rested her head in the crook of his neck, placing a gentle kiss on the sensitive skin, their heads cushioned by the fluffy, silky pillows. Pulling the blanket up closer to their bodies, Stephen snaked an arm around her waist, tugging her as close to him as possible, which wasn't that much further, considering the fact that she had already made it her mission to close the offending gap between their frames earlier. Kissing the side of her face sweetly, he laced his fingers with hers, playfully thumbing at them, making her giggle softly in his head, as he thought back to a year ago, when he could vouch on the fact that he would never end up curled next to her ever again, whispering out in the darkness, "Thank you for the second chance darling, I love you". Feeling a light slap against his arm, he chuckled, sensing the loving eyeroll on her face as she responded, "You don't need to keep saying thank you, so like shut up and go to sleep", before pausing for a moment, twisting her body around to face him, connecting their lips, as he reacted instantly, moving in-sync with hers, his grip on her tightening. Pulling away, she smiled, leaning her head up to peck his cheek tenderly, "and I love you too", letting her eyes flutter shut, as they drifted off to sleep, glad that she managed to make the right decision, unsure how she would've survived without this.

[dadsbongos]

the lov beach episode hori's too scared to give us

Movie/Game/Show: My Hero Academia Dynamic: League of Villains/Reader (Platonic) Warnings: uhh idk actually, dabi's kinda horny ig, i don't usually include this as a warning but swearing (there's quite a bit of it), feminine pronouns Summary: this is just 1860 words of me shutting my eyes, plugging my ears and ignoring the current state of the manga (: (beach episode type beat) ~~~

Pulling the large sun hat tighter on her head, (Y/n) looks over as her leader strolls up to the van Spinner had stolen earlier in the day. She quirks a brow at the man, putting a gentle hand over his handheld and pushing it down when he doesn’t notice her, “That’s what you’re wearing?”

Tomura huffs and steps back, narrowed eyes focusing on his black jeans and hoodie, “What’s it to you?”

“You’re wearing a hoodie in this heat, first of all, and also - it says ‘12 year old in gaming mode’, you’re asking to get bullied.”

“Yeah, well,” he grumbles as he tries to find an insult for the woman before resigning himself to mumble out a, “you look like you raided a college chick’s closet” while returning to his game.

“I think she looks great!” Twice piped up from inside the large van before yelling once again, “Absolutely hideous!”

Dabi nodded slightly from his window seat, pulling the strings of his hood so as few inches of his face as possible were showing, “I agree with him.”

“Which part?” (Y/n) crossed her arms, shooting the man a glare.

“Yep.”

“Dickface,” she hissed, reaching up to swat at Dabi’s arm through the rolled down window before turning to climb into the van, “A dickface who is also wearing a black hoodie in this heat. You two are actual nutjobs.”

“Van’s got AC,” Dabi shrugged off her concerns, still not even looking her way as she settled into the seat between him and Twice, “Didn’t know you cared so much, doll. Pretty sweet of you.”

“If you pass out from a heat stroke, I’m not the one taking you to the hospital,” she leaned over into the midrow seats of the van to glare at Tomura as he sat down, “That goes for you, too.”

“I’m not the one with a fire Quirk.”

“Just get Himiko some blood and she’ll take ‘em in all disguised! Let them die!” Twice pitched in with his own ideas, earning a shoulder pat from the woman.

“Good ideas, big guy, I like them.”

“Rude ass,” Dabi kicks at (Y/n)’s leg.

“I’m your boss, if you let me die you’re fucked.”

“Nobody’s dying on this trip, what the fuck are you guys talking about?” Spinner already appeared exasperated with the group and he’d barely been in the car for a second.

Compress got into the passenger seat as Spinner buckled into the driver’s side, he looked around before noticing an absence, “Where’s Toga?”

Suddenly, the door to Tomura’s seat is lugged open with a force, an overly excited blond teenager jumping over her boss and into the open seat beside him.

“You could’ve just gotten in on the other side,” Tomura clenches a fist to keep himself from slapping Himiko’s arm and causing a deathly accident.

“I didn’t know which side you were sitting on, so I just guessed!” Himiko giggles as Spinner starts the car.

“Asshole,” Tomura shakes his head, “This trip is pointless.”

“Kurogiri wants us to bond and stop fighting all the time,” Compress cuts in, “That’s why I’m in charge.”

“We’re adults- " (Y/n) interrupts herself, “Dabi, roll up the window, we’re pulling out of the safe zone.”

Dabi merely keeps his eyes closed behind his sunglasses and presses his head back against the neck rest of his seat.

“Roll up the window.”

“God, these winds are fuckin’ noisy, huh?”

“I hear ya, man!” Twice shouts before shaking his head, “Dabi, be nice to (Y/n). She’s your elder.”

“By a fucking year! Man, fuck you, Dabi,” the woman reaches over and presses the button to roll up the window herself, “Motion sickness or not, you don’t get to be a douche.”

“It’s actually exactly what it means, doll. Sorry to burst your bubble.”

“Stop calling me doll.”

“Ugh,” he grins at his own upcoming remark, “the princess makes a harsh demand.”

“I’m this close,” she pats his chest to make sure he opens his eyes before holding her index finger and thumb nearly pinched together in front of his face, “to beating your ass.”

“Here,” he reaches up and takes her fingers and clenches them together, “now you have to. As soon as we get to the beach, you have to fight me or else you’re a coward and a liar.”

(Y/n) grits her teeth and snaps her eyes shut, “I’m gonna lose it,” she leans into Twice’s side and looks up at him, smiling at the slightest hint of a concerned look behind his mask, “How’ve you been, big guy?”

“Perfectly fine!” he shakes his head before whispering, “I didn’t piss before we left and now I regret it.”

“Aw, want Spinner to pull over?”

“I think he’ll crash the car if I ask.”

“He’d be killing himself too, so I don’t think he’d be too cool with that.”

Twice quiets down as he notices the woman’s eyes beginning to flutter shut with drowsiness. Then, a sense of guilt beats at him as he sees the serene expression crossing his friend’s face. So calm and sweet - he truly adored his friend, and he wanted to do right by her. So, leaning down, he murmurs, “Sorry for calling you old.”

(Y/n)’s eyes dart open and immediately find Twice, she raises a brow at the man and shakes her head as her eyes slowly begin closing again, “I… it’s fine, dude, don’t worry about it.”

Dabi, as usual, is quick to jump into a conversation that was never his, “Old lady tempers, gotta be careful around them.”

“I swear to fucking God, Dabi!”

“What? What do you swear?”

“Shut the hell up!” Spinner snapped at children in the back seat, “You’re distracting me, loud asses.”

“Dabi started it!”

“I’m ending it!”

“Stop yelling,” Tomura commanded the group, carefully stuffing his handheld into his large front hoodie pocket and resting his head back, “I’m going to sleep and if I get woken up, I’ll kill you all.”

None of them believed him - not at all - but out of an odd respect for their leader’s need for rest, they stayed relatively silent as he slept. Murmurs and whispers being the loudest volume of their voices as Tomura snoozed in the van.

Eventually, Spinner came to the reserved spot on the beach that Kurogiri definitely didn’t hire people to kill civilians over. Himiko leaned over and gently shook Tomura awake as Compress popped the trunk to the van. (Y/n) shifted toward Dabi to ensure he was also awake and starting to feel less queasy before getting out of the middle seat so he and Twice could exit.

“Alright, there’s changing rooms…” Compress trailed off, looking around before sighing, “Nowhere in sight.”

“I’m already fine,” (Y/n) waved off, grabbing towels and an umbrella from Spinner, “You guys can take turns changing in the van while I set shit up.”

“I call first!” Himiko cheered, excitedly bouncing back into the van as the men all walked off to provide the teenager the privacy and distance she needed.

(Y/n) did as she’d said and began laying down towels and propping up parasols in the sand to provide shade. As more and more of her friends collected themselves along the beach, she spotted her almighty leader once again making a fashion mistake.

Bright, neon green and orange striped swim trunks hung over his hips and he didn’t avoid the woman’s stare. She purses her lips, “Who the hell goes clothes shopping for you? They shouldn’t be making executive decisions like this.”

Tomura shrugs, “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?! Shigaraki, you have to be fucking with me.”

“I’m not,” he sits down on a towel under the parasol’s shade and returns to his gaming, “It’s probably Kurogiri but it isn’t like I ask him.”

“Holy shit. You’re an actual man-child.”

“Oh no, what gave me away?” he sarcastically whines, rolling his eyes at her.

“You being shameless about it is slightly worse…”

“(Y/n)!” Himiko cheerily calls, “Come join me in volleyball!”

“Is Twice playing?”

The blond looks over to the man in question and nods in approval.

“Are Quirks allowed?”

Another nod.

(Y/n) pats Compress’ shoulder, “I’ll let you take this game.”

Dabi comes up from behind while Spinner serves the ball on the beach, he’s removed his hoodie and now only rests in loose shorts that come to his knees and a white shirt. He scratches the back of his head in an uncharacteristically unnerved manner, “Not swimmin’?”

He earns a small shrug in response from the woman, “I’m not all too committed to the idea. At least not now.”

Nodding slowly, Dabi sits down at the edge of the towel unoccupied by Tomura and begins pulling at the fraying threads.

Sighing to herself, (Y/n) is slightly ashamed at how easily her heart softens upon noticing how uncomfortable Dabi seems. He doesn’t usually show as much skin as he is - which isn’t much - and he doesn’t usually throw himself into events where he’d be forced to interact with the others. He feels naked on the beach and he’d rather be dead than continue to suffer this embarrassment. And so, a body comes down onto the towel with his.

“Want company, misery?”

“Baking to death in the sun couldn’t get worse, even if it’s with you,” Dabi leaned back to rest against the woman’s legs.

“Wow,” (Y/n) fauxly gasped, sarcasm ripe in her words, “You being sweet? I never thought I’d never see the day.”

“Right? Thought I’d be dead by now,” his head tips back even more to lay it’s full weight on her legs, “You’re comfortable to rest on, old lady.”

“I’m gonna beat the shit out of you.”

“You still owe him an ass-beating from the car ride,” Tomura jumped in, a snarky smile on his lips as he spoke.

“I’m starting to think you won’t actually beat my ass,” Dabi grins smugly, “Like me too much.”

“I would destroy you in a fight, Dabi.”

“Hm, well, until you stop being a pussy and actually fight me, doesn’t sound like that’s the truth.”

“I swear to- " (Y/n) loudly huffs and cuts herself off before groaning, Dabi- "

“I’m no God,” Dabi paused to wink like the cheap bastard he is, “Unless you want me to be.”

Before the woman can respond, there’s a “heads up!” shouted by Himiko and a volleyball is hurtling towards the arguing duo. Tomura immediately leans over, not quite paying attention and sticks a hand out to block the ball, accidentally decaying it in the process. The leader comes to a stand and tosses up his hands, “What the shit, Toga?”

“Man,” the teenager whined, stomping her foot in the sand, “you destroyed the ball.”

“You almost destroyed (Y/n)’s face!” Tomura's voice quiets and softens to avoid upsetting the young girl over a mistake, “There’s probably another ball in the trunk.”

“I said ‘heads up’,” Himiko rolled her eyes, sending Twice off to find the spare volleyball in question.

(Y/n) rolled her eyes, “Oh, so all better, then?”

“Exactly!”

“No! That’s not how that works, Toga!”

Dabi snickered at the back-and-forth before giving a mock dreamy sigh, “Ahh, the sound of Kurogiri’s bonding plan working perfectly.”