#this fanfic has a grip on me its unreal

[maalidoesart]

“Even though he struggles to sleep sometimes, there’s something about the weight of Cas dipping the mattress beside him.”

fanart to this wonderful fanfic called “the cheapest room in the house” by biggaybenny that i have been absorbing the past days!

it’s been a while since i have been that absorbed by a fanfic so naturally i have to draw fanart

[wongyuseokie]

I posted 243 times in 2022

That's 243 more posts than 2021!

20 posts created (8%)

223 posts reblogged (92%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@here4btsfics

@97-liners

@hwiyoungies

@wonwooridul

@namchyoon

I tagged 241 of my posts in 2022

Only 1% of my posts had no tags

#queue be told ✨ - 147 posts

#simp time: svt - 84 posts

#sweet feedback 💕💕 - 39 posts

#indigo speaks - 26 posts

#simp time: wonwoo - 26 posts

#simp time: bts - 24 posts

#mingyu smut - 23 posts

#snuggly: k.m.g - 16 posts

#mingyu fanfic - 15 posts

#mingyu fic - 14 posts

Longest Tag: 96 characters

#what if ryan can’t find demons and ghosts bexause shane is next to him and he’s the actual demon

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Forgive Me? | j.w.w

Summary: Your boyfriend is late and buys a giant teddy bear to help make his case. He just forgets how adorable he is.  ☆ 18+ minors dni |☀︎fluff |  ♥ completed works Word Count: 593 words Age: 18+ Pairings: Jeon Wonwoo x Female Reader

Genre/Trope(s)/AUs: Fluff, hints of angst, reader rightfully thirsts over Wonwoo. Content Warnings: So fluffy and sweet I gave myself a toothache, no smut, just really cute, but hinting to smutty behaviour once. Smut Warnings: None, really, another tooth-rotting fluff fic.

Authors Note: The photo in the banner had me cooing and swooning. I’m so whipped for this man. It’s unreal. He has my whole heart, and I wanted to write it 🥺💕 Authors Note 2: Thank you to @here4btsfics, @joonscypher, @yoongimingyu & @the-boy-meets-evil for reading and hearing me go on and on about Seventeen 💕 Crossposted to AO3 Banner Credits: @classicscreations © playmetheclassics 2022. All rights reserved.

I’m late,” your boyfriend mumbled sheepishly as he entered your apartment late that night.

“Yes, you are,” you mumbled sleepily, making him frown. Wonwoo didn’t intend to be so late, but one phone call led to another, and by the time he got done with work, it was well past midnight.

“I’m a crappy boyfriend,” Wonwoo whined as he stood by your door, and you smiled fondly at him.

“No, you aren’t, handsome, come here and give me cuddles and kisses, and all shall be forgiven,” you said, holding out your arms for him.

“Hang on, I got you something,” Wonwoo babbled, ducking out of your apartment to grab something, and you saw him dragging in a giant teddy bear.

“I got you this as a sorry,” Wonwoo spoke breathlessly once he hauled a giant teddy bear into your apartment, closing the door behind him.

“A giant teddy?” You asked, getting off the couch and walking over to your boyfriend and the giant plush he dragged in.

“It’s cute, and its eyes say, ‘forgive me,’” Wonwoo explained, making you giggle at him.

“You’re a dork,” you said, giggling and Wonwoo nodded in agreement.

“Yes, but I’m your dork,” Wonwoo countered, and you laughed at him.

“I am sorry for being late, my love, I won’t say it’ll never happen again, but I’ll be better about letting you know,” Wonwoo said, and you nodded, smiling as you moved to wrap your arms around his waist, resting your head against his chest.

“Please do, and also, if I’m being honest with you, if you just came by sans teddy bear. I’d still forgive you; you have the cutest face when you’re sulking,” you explained, making Wonwoo pout.

“See,” you said, grinning, “the cutest,” you added, making Wonwoo smile as he leant down to place a kiss on your forehead.

“I’m only cute behind closed doors. Out in the world, I’m cool and sexy,” Wonwoo defended, making you laugh.

“I did fall in love with a dork, didn’t I?” You asked aloud, and Wonwoo nodded.

“You say it like it’s a problem,” Wonwoo huffed, and you grinned at him. You swore your chest hurt from how much he made your heart ache with his cuteness.

“Not a problem at all, my love, not when I get to see this handsome face,” you said, tightening your grip around his waist.

“Even when this handsome face is sulking because he’s late?” Wonwoo asked, and you giggled.

“Yes, especially then, a face like that and teddy bears? I never stood a chance at being mad,” you added, making Wonwoo smile, scrunching his nose slightly.

“God, I love you,” Wonwoo huffed out proudly as he leaned down to place a soft kiss on your cheek and moved his lips from your cheek to graze over your lips, pulling you into a gentle kiss that had you melting against his body.

“Let me first put Alfred down and turn him to face the wall, so he doesn’t see anything scandalous, and then I can spend the whole night showing you how sorry I am?” Wonwoo offered with a playful glint in his eyes as his arm wrapped around your waist, pulling you in tighter against him.

“You named the bear Alfred?” You asked, and Wonwoo nodded.

“Why?” You asked, unable to keep the smile off your face.

“Forgive me, love, he looked like an Alfred,” Wonwoo said casually, and you rolled your eyes in amusement.

“You’re lucky I love you,” you mumbled, and Wonwoo nodded, agreeing. 

“I am, I really am.”

256 notes - Posted November 3, 2022

#4

Posy Bee | k.m.g

Summary: Mingyu is your colleague and the walking definition of pretty privilege. His clumsy thumbs have broken more vases than you can count, yet he brings in the most orders to your shop. It's all thanks to his handsome face, it’s annoying and unfair, and you’ve vowed that if this week he breaks another vase, you’ll feed him a cactus.

☆ 18+ minors dni |☀︎fluff | ☁︎ angst | ♥ completed works

Word Count: 3081 words

Age: 18+

Pairings: Kim Mingyu x Female Reader

Genre/Trope(s)/AUs: Fluff and angst. Friends/Colleagues to lovers.

Content Warnings: Fluff, Mingyu being the most adorable and clumsy human. Who let him work in a flower shop, honestly? Mingyu is so flirty it is painful. All those fan calls where he’s flirting with carats did a number on me. Yelling, Mingyu’s clumsiness causes the reader to snap quite rudely at him. Reader snaps and yells at him, and Mingyu sulks A LOT. Swearing.

Smut Warnings: Mentions of arousal, but it’s mild, but still. Bed-breaking mentions. Sexual banter, but that’s it, really.

Authors Note: Thank you @here4btsfics, I can't thank you enough for always just letting me go on and on about Seventeen and Mingyu in general. You're such a delight, thank you for reading and beta'ing this and being an absolute angel 💕. Thank you also to @missgeniality, thank you for letting me drag you into the Seventeen stan life, it's been an absolute pleasure watching you simp along with me. Thank you for reading and giving me live reactions. I adore you too my bubs 💕 Banner Credits: @classicseffects Cross Posted to AO3 © playmetheclassics 2022. All rights reserved.

“Ah, shit!” You heard your coworker Mingyu swear, and you groaned, knowing that this was the second vase he broke today, and it wasn’t even lunchtime.

“Uh…Y/N, where is the vacuum cleaner?” You heard Mingyu ask nervously, and you counted to three, breathing deeply before walking over to him, carefully, of course.

“Mingyu, why don’t you let me do it?” You offered, trying to keep your composure.

“Do you not trust me?” Mingyu joked with an adorable pout on his handsome face.

“No, I do not. This is the second vase you broke in a day and the fifth this week, and it’s Tuesday,” you snapped, and Mingyu pouted more, nodding.

“Sorry,” Mingyu mumbled, looking down at the ground. Seeing how a 6-foot-tall man would shrink when scolded to the size of a puppy was cute. Damn Kim Mingyu and his sweetness. It was hard to stay mad at him.

It’s fine. You didn’t mean it. Why don’t you take orders from the two ladies who walked in? I’ll clean this up.” You suggested, and Mingyu mumbled a ‘sorry’ and headed over to wait on the ladies.

“You are such a sweet, handsome, kind man, and you know your flowers. Are you single?” You heard one of the ladies speak as you placed the vacuum cleaner behind the counter and smiled at their words. It was not uncommon for patrons to compliment Mingyu. He was effortlessly charming, kind, and easygoing. He was everything you ever wanted in a colleague; sometimes, you’d wonder how lucky you’d be to have a man like him.

That daydream was broken each time Mingyu broke, spilled, or knocked over something. So your days consisted of you daydreaming about him for 40 minutes until he broke something, and then you were rudely awakened.

“Ah, I am,” Mingyu responded to the order, and you turned to face him in surprise. You didn’t think he was. How was he single?

“Well, what about your lovely manager? She’s smiling so fondly at you,” the lady pushed, and you were starting to get annoyed, not just because she called you out. While the elderly were usually well-intentioned and meant the best, they often didn’t understand boundaries.

“I’m sure a wonderful person like her has someone. She isn’t someone you ever want to lose,” Mingyu said smoothly, and you were so tempted to smack him.

“I’m single, but I do not flirt with my employees. It is unprofessional, and I also don’t encourage or invite such nosey conversations either,” you answered.

Making sure to send a deathly glare to Mingyu and a softer glare to the lady who understood and gave you a gentle smile, quickly paid, and left the shop.

“That was kind of rude,” Mingyu mumbled.

“I’ll apologise, but you could have just stopped. What was with the whole wonderful person thing?” You countered, and Mingyu shrugged.

“I think you’re pretty cool, so I complimented you?” Mingyu said, unsure.

“Fine, thank you, but it was not your place,” you pushed, and Mingyu nodded.

“But really, I meant it. Anyone would be crazy to let you go,” Mingyu elaborated, and you sighed.

“Why, you’d keep me around?” You joked, and Mingyu nodded.

See the full post

292 notes - Posted November 21, 2022

#3

Leaf Me Alone | j.w.w

Summary: Jeon Wonwoo is the newest hire at your flower shop, and he’s handsome, tall and painfully shy, and worst of all, in the last three months, you’ve exchanged three whole sentences and nods, you never know what he’s thinking, but you can’t help but wonder if he’s annoyed by your presence.  pg |☀︎fluff | ☁︎ mild angst |  ♥ completed work Word Count: 1814 words

Age: PG

Pairings: Jeon Wonwoo x Female Reader

Genre/Trope(s)/AUs: Fluff, hints of angst, reader rightfully thirsts over Wonwoo.

Content Warnings: Tooth-rotting fluff and miscommunication, but it is lowkey cute.

Smut Warnings: None, really, another tooth-rotting fluff fic.

Authors Note: I took inspiration from how introverted Wonwoo is, it’s incredibly endearing to me, but it’s also something that I worry that, as an extrovert, I’ll scare off any introverted person I meet. So, I just wanted to explore that idea. It’s very self-serving and fluffy 💕 Authors Note 2: Thank you so so much, my lovely @here4btsfics. For just hearing me go on and on about Wonwoo like every day and encouraging me with this story and yelling me to post it, I adore you dearly and thank you so much for helping me beta this too!! Thank you to @defwoodz for always reading over this and clowning me. Banner Credits: @classicseffects Cross Posted to AO3 © playmetheclassics 2022. All rights reserved.

Three Months Ago,

“Finally, this is Y/N, my daughter. She runs the shop most days. Y/N, this is Wonwoo, our newest hire,” your mum spoke as she introduced you to a tall and handsome man with a shy smile gracing his face. 

“Hi, Wonwoo. Nice to meet you!” You greeted him enthusiastically, making him grin more shyly before he greeted you.

“You too,” you responded, his voice deep and resonating, it was deeper than the ocean, honestly, and you were convinced that this man would be the reason you finally understood what a work crush meant. 

Wonwoo smiled at you once more before following your mother around the flower shop for a tour, and you smiled back at him. So, what if he was shy at first? Wasn’t everyone? You were sure that throughout working together, you two would be able to develop a friendship at least. 

See the full post

463 notes - Posted November 13, 2022

#2

Tasty | j.w.w

Summary: Your boyfriend said the word tasty in a deep voice, and now he’s showing you what other things he likes to call tasty in that ocean deep voice. 

☆ 18+ minors dni |☀︎fluff | ♕ smut |  ♥ completed works

Word Count: 325 words

Age: 18+

Pairings: Jeon Wonwoo x Female Reader

Genre/Trope(s)/AUs: Fluff, angst (minor), smut. PWP (it’s got the briefest plot ever).

Content Warnings: None. Wonwoo is just giving the reader amazing oral. This fic just happened because I’m a weak woman for this man. This is just a smutty Wonwoo drabble. I’m a simp for this man. Smut Warnings: Oral sex (female receiving), overstimulation, praise? Sort of. It’s so so brief.

Authors Note: This happened because of that damn GOSE episode where he said TASTY in his ocean-deep voice, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it because of that man and his voice.  Cross Posted on AO3

Banner Credits: @classicscreations © playmetheclassics 2022. All rights reserved.

“More,” you moaned as your hands kept tugging on your boyfriend's hair, as his tongue brought you indescribable pleasure. Wonwoo happily obliged as he wrapped his lips around your clit, his tongue tracing circles along with the swollen nub. He kept moving his tongue, his pace never faltering. 

You’re not sure how you ended up in this position, but all you recall is teasing Wonwoo about him saying ‘tasty’ in his signature baritone voice and exchanging a few more words. Next thing you know, you’re laying in bed, naked, and he’s laying between your thighs, his face buried in your pussy. Again, you weren’t sure how you got here, but you weren’t complaining. 

“Fucking hell,” you moaned as you threw your head back, 

“Shit,” you gasped when you felt Wonwoo do something different with his tongue. 

“Did you just spell your name out on my pussy?” You asked breathlessly. 

“And?” Wonwoo asked as he lifted his head; his chin glistened with your arousal. 

“Nothing, it felt good, really good,” you praised, and Wonwoo simply smirked as he dove back in again. 

“Fuck!” You moaned out as you started to shake in his grip, and Wonwoo kept his grip firm on you as he kept circling your swollen nub with his tongue. You kept moaning and babbling absolute nonsense as you fell apart on his tongue. 

“Fuck, baby,” you whimpered as Wonwoo kept licking you through your orgasm, not letting you recover. You were sensitive, but you didn’t care, not when you were on the precipice of your second orgasm. Your second orgasm hit you harder, making your toes curl and eyes roll, and you shook in his grip. With what strength you could muster, your hands moved to his head as you gently pushed his mouth away from your cunt.

Wonwoo smiled at you, taking in your fucked out expression as he sat up on his knees. 

“What?” You asked, panting, and Wonwoo grinned. 

“Tasty.”

985 notes - Posted December 10, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Snuggly | k.m.g

Summary: It’s cold outside, and your annoyingly handsome roommate keeps leaving his very comfy leather jacket everywhere around the apartment, and you’ve returned it to him multiple times, but this time you’re sure you’ll just keep it if he forgets it again. Except for the one time he returns to retrieve the jacket, he finds you in the most compromising position possible.

☆ 18+ minors dni |☀︎fluff | ♕ smut | ♥ completed works

Word Count: 2732 words

Pairings: Kim Mingyu x Female Reader

Genre/Trope(s)/AUs: Frenemies (?) to lovers. Smut, angst, fluff. Basically, a smutty fluff piece to keep y’all warm during the colder months.

Content Warnings: Smut and fluff, mentions of Mingyu’s chapped lips. DO NOT EVER GOOGLE IT IS TRAGIC. They both tease and like each other and are just kind of adorable and cute. Mingyu is confident and shy all at once, and it's devastating.

Smut Warnings: Unprotected sex (don’t do this, wrap it before you tap it). Masturbation (female), Mingyu walks in and volunteers to help her out. Fingering, overstimulation. Oral (female receiving). Nicknames? Mingyu calls her baby, and pretty girl. Nicknames, Mingyu calls her Kitten, Princess, Baby. Teasing. Dirty talk, but its mild. I think.

Authors Note 1: Literally no reason for this fic, aside from Rock With You Mingyu being the reason I got curious about Seventeen and remembered him as a ‘handsome guy with the leather jacket.’

Authors Note 2: Thank you to @here4btsfics, for always listening to me go on and on about Seventeen and Mingyu. Thank you for beta’ ing and helping me out with the smut. I struggled. I adore you and love you 💕 A huge thank you to @the-boy-meets-evil for listening to me fret about this fic, up until posting!! I adore you. Also, thank you to @seungkwansphd for listening to me worry too. Thank you so much for hearing me out and listening to me!! Ilysm 🥺🥺💕💕

Cross Posted on AO3 © playmetheclassics 2022. All rights reserved.

“Hey, Y/N, have you seen my jacket? Oh, you’re wearing it,” Mingyu spoke as he walked into the kitchen that evening.

“I keep telling you, Kim. If you leave this lovely jacket around. Then one of these days, I’ll keep it, and I won’t return it,” you teased. Even if you meant every word, his jacket was insanely comfy, and you would gladly take it.

Mingyu smiled as he flopped down on the couch next to you. “Even if you look adorable in it, no,” Mingyu said as he made himself comfortable.

“I’m adorable?” You asked with a grin, and Mingyu nodded.

“Yes, but I still think I look better in the jacket,” Mingyu added, making you roll your eyes.

“Of course you do. With a face and body like that, you could wear anything,” you blurted out, making Mingyu grin.

“You think I’m hot?” Mingyu asked, raising his eyebrows at you.

“Shut up, Kim,” you mumbled, making him laugh.

“It’s okay. I’d say the feeling is mutual. Remember that kiss we shared last Christmas?” Mingyu asked.

“We were standing under the mistletoe,” you countered, and Mingyu shrugged.

“It doesn’t take away from the fact that a peck turned into a proper kiss,” Mingyu added, and you shrugged.

“I hope you are at least consistently wearing lip balm this year. I recall those dry lips,” you teased, making Mingyu gasp dramatically at you.

“Just because I had dry lips the first time we met doesn’t mean I always have dry lips,” Mingyu defended, making you laugh.

“Besides, I know my lips were damn soft that year because one, I kept using the lip balm that you not so subtly gifted me as a housewarming gift and two, you went in for more after, when everyone left,” Mingyu babbled, making you grin shyly.

“I also remember you pawing this exact jacket while kissing me,” Mingyu teased, and you huffed at him pouting.

“Maybe I was only kissing you for the jacket,” you retorted, making Mingyu laugh.

“Possibly, but somehow I still have the jacket, and you keep conveniently ‘stealing’ it,” Mingyu joked, and you sighed in frustration that he had a point.

“But I’m heading out to the gym now. Want me to get you anything for dinner?” Mingyu asked as he stood up, and you shook your head.

“Won’t you be cold? You can have this back for the night,” you offered, and Mingyu smiled.

See the full post

1,204 notes - Posted December 21, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[bl00doodle]

Your opinion on Shadow x Amy? I know you're usually more a Sonadow person

Oh hi!! Its fine? Its not my thing tbh but the art looks nice sometimes? Idk thats all i gotta say abt it.... Yeah im more of a sonadow person lol

[jemmahazelnut]

Dark Écriture

Summary: The magic swelled in him, draining his energy. It was more powerful than any of his previous spells. More terrible than the rune of pain, more sinister than darkness, more vigorous than the rune of fear. It was pure evil and Freed was beginning to enjoy it, knowing full well the spell would end too quickly to relish it.

Or: the story of how Freed lived with his demonic magic over the years. [Freed/Laxus]

Link: AO3

Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, unnamed character deaths, morally ambiguous actions.

Notes: This is a story about Freed, his dark past and his cruel side.

Thanks to oofenflugen who has beta read my fanfic. Without his help I would never have published it. Check out his blog @cygnus-arts to see his art. He also has a profile on AO3 oofen_flugen where you can find his fanfics.

Hope you like it!

Dark Écriture

-Year X777, Dark Écriture: Death-

(16-year-old Laxus, 13-year-old Freed)

Freed had promised not to do it again. He promised it only a few months earlier, but there was no way he could keep that promise to the Master. Not when he saw those children locked up in the cells and the instruments of torture surrounding them, not when he saw the man’s cruel face, not when he heard the whimpering of the children. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t hold back his strength, much less the hatred that was beginning to rise and fill him.

Freed almost didn’t realize it, but he subconsciously raised his sword in front of him. He hardly noticed the way the Master’s grandson stared at him. He almost didn’t realize the demonic aura that enveloped him and choked the oxygen in the room. Mentally, he knew it was happening. He knew that he was breaking a promise he had made, and in doing so, he was doing something terrible that -maybe, just maybe- he would regret. But he couldn’t afford to worry about it.

The magic swelled in him, draining his energy. It was more powerful than any of his previous spells. More terrible than the rune of pain, more sinister than darkness, more vigorous than the rune of fear. It was pure evil and Freed was beginning to enjoy it, knowing full well the spell would end too quickly to relish it.

His magic caused his hair to rise. Freed's fringe lifted and exposed his face, leaving his black eye uncovered. His body burned, and he felt the pure hatred concentrated in his eye. His mind focused on a single thought.

“Death,” Freed hissed, unconsciously, as if his lips had moved on their own.

A deadly silence fell. It was as if the whole world had been silent for a moment. He no longer heard the whimpering children, the fighting upstairs, the voice of the guild leader, or that of the Master’s son. He heard nothing, and it was unreal.

A moment later the magic shot out with all its power out of his body, passed his guildmate, and struck the enemy. The dark wizard clawed at his chest, desperately trying to breathe. His body twitched, and he fell back to the ground, continuing to jerk, causing his leg to thump erratically against the wall. It was a terrible sight, and Freed was enjoying every moment of it. The dark mage's eyes filled with terror and widened. His drool poured and mixed with his blood staining the floor. The veins in his neck swelled.

It was magnificent. It was what Freed wanted, pure evil. It was what the man deserved.

It ended too quickly. In a few seconds, the man stilled, reducing himself to a corpse. Freed’s magic faded, and the ambiance of the room returned. The distant sounds of fighting and whimpering only brought Freed exhaustion.

His legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground, sword slipping from his fingers, forcing Freed to lean on his hands. Even if the spell had only lasted for a few seconds, Freed felt as if he had been fighting for hours. Sweat coated his body, and he struggled to catch his breath.

He couldn’t see the shocked gaze of the Master’s son. Freed didn't bother to check that the man was dead. He knew it was impossible.

He tried to stand up but staggered, exhausted in a way he’d only experienced a few times before.

“You killed him,” said the Master’s son. Freed smiled. Yes, he wanted to say. Yes, I did, and it was wonderful. Instead, Freed stood silently, realizing what Laxus Dreyar must be thinking.

No. It wasn’t okay. He had to go back, back to a safe place, go back to being Freed Justine. He was no longer Freed the Dark. He was no longer a killer, no longer evil. He was a member of Fairy Tail.

That awareness immediately brought him back down to earth, and he felt nausea rise in him. What had he done? He advanced towards Dreyar but staggered again and was forced to lean against the bars of a cell while he tried to regain his strength and balance.

He had broken a promise. The only promise he had made to the Fairy Tail Master. He had broken it within a few months. What the hell had he done? He began to feel the terror rising in his back, terrified that everything he had done to change had been in vain. Nausea made him double over, and Freed coughed with tears stinging his eyes.

He was a monster. A killer. Just a cursed child.

He heard Dreyar’s footsteps approaching, and Freed looked up, swallowing hard.

“I’ll take responsibility for everything,” Freed said, petrified to hear his guildmate's incoming judgment, Dreyar, however, tilted his head to the side, his eyes glittering with curiosity.

“How did you do it?” he asked.

Freed blinked in confusion.

“Excuse me?”.

“What spell is that?” Dreyar asked again. “I want to learn it”.

Freed’s eyes widened and he took a step back, straightening his back and avoiding his gaze. Was he crazy?

“You don’t want to do that,” he said. There was no way that the Master’s grandson wanted to learn how to do something like this.

“I want to know what spell it is,” Dreyar insisted. Freed shook his head.

“You can’t learn it anyway. Magic is tied to my eye,” he said. He saw Dreyar grimace and Freed turned to the children who were still locked up and crying. “I’ll tell the Master personally, for now we have to free them.”

“You don’t need to tell the old man,” Dreyar retorted. “Besides, the bastard deserved it,” he added as he opened a cell. Freed gave him a surprised look, but he didn’t say anything else. The mission wasn’t over yet.

-Year X778, Dark Écriture: Darkness-

(17-year-old Laxus, 14-year-old Freed)

Freed wanted to stop. He wanted to cry, scream and stop those attacks. He wanted to kill that darkness, kill that agony, kill the feelings suffocating him. But the only thing he succeeding in killing, were his teammates. It didn’t matter how much he fought; it didn’t matter how much he tried to free himself from the grip. The darkness enveloped him, and he was sinking inside it, letting the demon prevail over him.

Freed felt tears sting his eyes but, he was unable to escape. He couldn’t even control the tears pooling at his chin. He couldn’t do anything; his body was completely out of his control. He could only watch. Watch and suffer from every blow Laxus dealt. Watch and suffer for every blow the demon dealt.

Freed felt small, helpless, useless. But he was just that. He was just a cursed child, just a monster, just a killer. Freed put his hands to his ears in an attempt to drown out the thoughts, but nothing could stop them. Now they were there, they were constantly repeating themselves, filling his brain, echoing through every nerve.

Stop it, stop it!

But they were right; he was a monster. A monster, a murderer, he deserved that pain, he deserved to die, he deserved to sink, he deserved to disappear.

“Fucking hell, do you wanna get goddamn control back?”

Freed heard a scream and saw flashes of electricity piercing him everywhere. They stung and burned, leaving him in excruciating pain. Freed opened his eyes biting back tears, only for another punch hit him, with Laxus’ magic building stronger and stronger in ever more acute pain.

“Stupid kid, what the fuck are you doing, huh?” the voice growled again, and Freed looked up, seeing his teammate keep fighting him. Laxus was right, what the fuck was he doing? Crying and letting the demon seize control? No, he was stronger than that, he was better than that. He wouldn’t let the demon kill his team. He was a member of Fairy Tail, the Captain of the Raijinshuu, the bodyguard of Laxus Dreyar. He had to protect all three. It was his promise. No matter what, he wasn’t going to kill them.

Freed scrambled to stand but was halted by another shock. He gritted his teeth trying to bear it best he could and tried to rise from the darkness. It swelled around him and pulled him down, leaving him suffocated in the darkness. But he could still reach towards the light. Freed knew it. There was always a way to escape.

He growled and forced himself back up, ignoring the pain of lightning and the burning. He just had to think about his teammates and the guild he was a part of. He had to think of his friends, Bickslow and Evergreen. Freed ascended and for a moment stopped the blow the demon wanted to throw, only to sink into its control again.

The demon struck once more. Laxus had wavered for a moment, and the demon was more than happy to take that opportunity. Freed gritted his teeth again, scrambling a second time. The demon was launching another attack but as soon as Freed regained control he held it back. He was already sinking again, but the shock of electricity convinced him to grit his teeth and stay aloft. Then he closed his eyes and pushed all the darkness into himself, into the back of his mind, into his heart, and his soul.

When he finally felt it grow small, he forced himself to open his eyes again, only to see two orange eyes staring at him doubtfully. Laxus had a ready fist with electricity crackling.

“Hope you’re you again,” he growled, and Freed nodded.

“I’m back,” he whispered and Laxus lowered his fist.

Freed realized that he was collapsed on the ground, Laxus at his side.

“Your demon is fucking awesome but you really have to learn to control it,” Laxus snapped as he walked away. Freed didn’t move. He still felt numb from the shocks, dizzy from the fight, and tired as if he had exhausted all of his energy.

“I’m sorry,” he said. Bickslow and Evergreen rushed to his side and helped him sit up. Freed grimaced but held back a groan, even though he could feel injuries covering his skin. It wasn’t the first time he fought Laxus, but God, that was painful. Freed glanced at Laxus and noticed that his leg was injured.

Freed reached out to him.

“I’ll heal your wound,” he said, partly to apologize, partly because he felt guilty. Laxus gave him a dirty look.

“It’s nothing,” he retorted grumpily and stood up. Freed noticed that he was staggering a bit and felt even worse. However, he didn’t dare say anything knowing his pride. Laxus glanced at him as Freed got to his feet, aided by Bickslow and Evergreen. “You should fight with that demon more often, he’s fucking strong,” Laxus said with a grin.

Freed looked up with widening eyes, wondering if he was crazy.

“You saw what happens if I do.”

Laxus rolled his eyes and snorted and took a step toward him. Laxus was close, close enough that their foreheads were almost touching. Freed looked up.

“This happens because you don’t train, kid. You just have to get stronger than the demon, that’s why he takes control.” Laxus turned away and walked away. “Now let’s get this fucking reward, I don’t want to waste any more time.”

Freed couldn’t argue and followed Laxus, refusing the help of Bickslow and Evergreen. As he watched the blond with admiration and respect, a thought formed in his head. Maybe Laxus wasn’t all wrong, maybe the only thing he needed to resist the demon was training.

-Year X781, Freed the Dark-

(20-year-old Laxus, 17-year-old Freed)

“For a kid who wants to follow the rules, you break them quite often.”

Freed’s head jerked up in surprise at the voice. Laxus Dreyar. How did he find him? Freed made sure he wasn’t being followed by anyone when he walked away from Magnolia.

“How did you find me?” he asked aloud this time.

“Easy, I saw that the mission I wanted to take was gone and that you were gone too,” Laxus explained, sitting beside Freed. “Now you have to explain to me why you took a class S mission, especially when you know it’s forbidden,” Laxus commented, crossing his arms behind his head and throwing him a curious look.

“I’ll take full responsibility for my actions,” Freed assured, deflecting the question and staring straight ahead. He didn’t plan on coming back. He would complete that mission at any cost.

“Not if you do it with me,” Laxus retorted. Freed remained silent, refusing to reveal his true motive. “Then I’ll guess,” the Dragon Slayer challenged, glancing at Freed from head to toe.

“You hide under a cloak, in the past this place was headed by Lord Justine, and the mission requires to break a demonic curse written in strange purple characters. I suppose you or your family created the curse, right?” he inquired, and Freed pursed his lips, nervous. The last thing Freed wanted was for anyone to know his past, or to know his family.

“So? Are you going to explain it or do I have to find out all by myself? Because I will,” Laxus challenged. Freed stared at his hands, peering at his guild mark. He knew that Laxus would find out. He was one of the most skilled wizards he knew, and not just physically. It didn’t take a genius to understand that this mission had to do with Freed or his family.

Freed sighed and then looked up at Laxus, who was watching him expectantly.

“Okay,” Freed said. “But you have to promise me that you’ll never tell anyone about it.” Laxus nodded and Freed resolved to speak.

“You’re right, I was the one who launched the curse five years ago. I lived in that villa with my parents” he said, indicating with a nod of his head the large villa located on the hill, surrounded by a black fog, the same one breathed into the city, and the reason the city had asked Fairy Tail for help. “I was part of the Justine family; my father was the lord. It’s not like they really headed over this city. Theoretically, they had no rights other than the territories behind the hill. However, they were feared by everyone for their strength,” he said. “And a few years ago,” he paused for a moment, uncertain. “A few years ago, there was a bad fight, which led to the birth of the curse,” he concluded.

Laxus raised an eyebrow and peered at him.

“I guess that’s not all,” he said. Freed looked away.

“Details aren’t important.”

Laxus snorted and stood up.

“Okay, then let’s go and destroy this curse. I guess I’ll find out of the rest when we get there.” Laxus started towards the hill and Freed hurried after him, making sure his cloak still covered his face well.

“We won’t go into the villa,” he objected.

“It’s not for you to decide” was the dry reply of Laxus.

-

Freed wasn’t satisfied. He had destroyed the curse in minutes. It was child’s play, but Freed certainly didn’t feel good at it. Since he created the curse, it was quite obvious that eliminating it would be easy. Revisiting the villa had brought back only old memories. Old and terrible memories, and in that moment, Freed had decided that he was going to destroy that house.

He had done it, now he could only look ahead of him at the rubble of what had once been his home. But he still wasn’t satisfied and wanted to let years of anger and fear out. He would eliminate his past, destroy it definitively, destroy every little existence of the Justines, destroy everything that bound him to that place, but he couldn’t do it. He growled as he put his hands on his thighs, exhausted from the amount of magic he had used. An exaggerated amount, since he could have destroyed that building with much less. But he needed to let off steam, and he still needed it.

A new wave of dark magic rose, but he felt Laxus’ hand rest on his shoulder and a felt slight jolt run through him.

“That’s enough,” he said. Freed turned to him, gritting his teeth.

“No,” he growled.

“By now you’ve nothing else to destroy. What you’re doing is pointless and senseless,” the Dragon Slayer retorted harshly. Freed pulled away from his hold.

“Pointless and senseless?” he repeated furiously and again a wave of energy surrounded him. “You’ve no idea what I had to go through, you’ve no idea how much I want to destroy everything here” he growled and Laxus looked at him with an indecipherable expression.

“Tell me then,” he said. Freed turned to the castle, refusing to do anything like that. Laxus wouldn’t have understood anyway, he doubted anyone could. Seeing the rubble and dirt he had raised pissed him off even more. Laxus was right. It was useless, destroying the castle wouldn’t change his past. It wouldn’t change who he had been, nor who he was at that moment.

Frustrated and furious, he collapsed to the ground, trembling and feeling a sudden urge to cry. He didn’t, because Laxus was there and he wouldn’t show himself so vulnerable. He was silent and strangely Laxus sat down next to him, staring at the rubble and silently lighting a cigar.

They stayed like that for a few minutes until Freed’s nerves compelled him to speak.

“Why are you here?” he asked.

“I’m waiting for the story” was the simple reply from Laxus, who glanced at him, throwing out a puff of smoke. “You hated your parents, didn’t you?”

“I hated my father,” Freed clarified. “I still hate him.”

“Parents can be assholes,” Laxus commented. “So, what did he do?”

Freed almost laughed. He mentally filed through the very long list of things his father had done and hadn’t. The longer he thought about his father the more he resented him, and the more he wanted to go back in time and exact revenge. Now that he was dead, Freed had lost his chance.

“My parents were mages, but they weren’t very powerful. However, they were both very fascinated by wealth and dark magic” he began to explain chronologically, despite the difficulties to remember it in order. Laxus let him speak and Freed continued, unsure why he was telling Laxus. He had never thought of confiding in anyone, and the Dragon Slayer certainly wasn’t his first choice. But he was here now.

“They did business with dark guilds. They found items for them and sold them, or they bought items to then resell to others. Our house was full of those things, and I was a curious child, I wanted to know more. I was fascinated by everything related to magic, so one day I opened a book and read a spell. There was a demon in that book, and I saw that with that spell I could capture his soul and have his magic. My father didn’t pay much attention to me, he thought I was just a child with no magical talent, no matter what I did. I wanted to prove otherwise, so I cast the spell and united our souls.”

“You were a child and was already able to do something like this?” Laxus asked.

“Yeah,” Freed replied. “I think I’ve already proven to be skilled,” he commented coldly and Laxus just gave a half-laugh, puffing more smoke and waving him on.

“It actually worked. I caught my father’s attention all too well. At first, I lost control and feared he would treat me even worse, but he didn’t. He saw potential and he decided to train me. I was very happy, so I did what he said,” Freed said and stopped for a moment, thinking about the training his father had forced him to do. He clenched his hands in two fists and a new wave of hatred overwhelmed him.

“I told you the Justine family was feared. Well, it was because of me. When someone dared to challenge my father, he would bring that person to me and tell me to torture or kill him. Every now and then he even made me do it in public, in the town square. Everyone began to fear him and my father was happy, he felt himself the master of the city” Freed stopped for a moment. “My mother wasn’t happy, and she told me it was wrong to do it, and I knew it. So, one day I refused and… my father blocked my magic and made me understand that refusing him wasn’t allowed, especially in front of other people”.

“Did he beat you?” Laxus asked.

“Yes,” was the dry reply and Laxus snorted.

“Asshole” he growled and Freed turned to him, feeling a little understood. Maybe that was the reason he was comfortable sharing with his teammate.

“My father became more pretentious and crueler. Both with the wizards of the dark guilds, with the city, and with us. I don’t know if it was the wealth or the amount of magical power, he had accumulated that drove him out of his mind, but it happened. And one day he killed my mother,” he said in a distant tone as if he wasn’t talking about his family but something foreign to him.

“I was there, the two of them were arguing because of me and then they started fighting. I knew my dad would win, but I was scared, so I didn’t even try to stop him. My mother was a good woman, I loved her, and since all the children in the city feared me, she was the only person I could have fun with. She was the only one who really loved me. She died because of me in front of my eyes, and I didn’t even try to save her,” he said coldly, reviewing the images of her in his head as if they were part of a movie. He would never forget his mother’s expression, her screams, her lifeless body.

“My father destroyed her body. When I realized she was dead I went mad and my demon took over. I tried to kill my father, but I was still too weak and he stopped me. My father locked me in a room for weeks, torturing me to make me understand who was in charge and what would happen if I failed his orders. I think that’s when I truly started to hate him.”

“I hated him. I hated him so much you can’t imagine. But instead of taking that anger out on him, I took it out on all the innocent people he brought in front of me. If I was hesitant to torture people before, at that moment I began to enjoy it. He was proud of me, but the more he was, the more I hated him”.

“I’ve never forgiven him. I’ve never forgotten that day, and for years I’ve prepared a revenge for him. I wanted to destroy him. But I didn’t want to just kill him, I wanted him to suffer, I wanted him to feel what I had felt all those years, what my mother had felt before she died. And I wanted to take everything away from him. So, I studied for a long time in the library, looking for the most frightening spells, until I found a forbidden curse”.

“This curse would have locked people into an eternal Hell. I was excited, I couldn’t wait to torture him and the men most trusted by him. I prepared everything in advance, away from everyone. I drew the runes around the entire villa. It took me half a year. Every time I thought about the final spell, I enjoyed the sights, I imagined my father’s expression, I imagined him crying, I wanted to make him cry.” Freed’s words poured out of his mouth uncontrollably.

“And finally, the day come. It didn’t go the way I wanted. Even though it had taken me half a year to prepare it, I wasn’t powerful enough. The curse hit my father and it worked. But for only three days. I stayed there for three days hearing my father’s screams and I was delighted. But after only three days he died, I no longer felt anything. I made sure he was really dead, and I was so angry that I destroyed his body. But I still wasn’t satisfied. But it was over now, I couldn’t do anything else. So, I left. I wanted to live in the city, but I heard what they said about me. They all hated me, they called me the monster, the cursed child or Freed the Dark. I left and vowed never to come back,” Freed concluded. Laxus was silent and Freed continued to stare at the rubble for a long time. No words were exchanged between the two.

“This mission was because of the curse. Something went wrong and filled the city with fog,” Freed explained after a while.

“Your father is even worse than mine,” Laxus commented and turned to him. “At least you managed to take revenge.”

“I don’t deserve to be part of Fairy Tail,” Freed murmured, sadness enveloping him.

“You do,” Laxus sternly retorted.

“I’m just a monster,” Freed sighed. Laxus snorted and put out his cigar.

“You’re not what your father decided for you,” Laxus consoled. “You’re much better, and you’ve already proved it. You deserve to be a part of Fairy Tail more than anyone else.” Freed turned to him, surprised at the statement said with complete certainty. Laxus had never been very sensitive, yet he was here. He had listened to him and hadn’t changed his mind about him. Indeed, he had Laxus’ respect and friendship, and it made Freed feel accepted and warm inside. Laxus put his hand on his shoulder.

“You’re a skilled wizard and a good person. And you’re so much better than anything your dad has ever led you to believe,” he added, and Freed could only look into his eyes, feeling overwhelmed by those words in a way that had never happened. “So don’t be ashamed of who you are. Take off this cloak and show that you’re different from your father,” Laxus said and stood up, holding out his hand. Freed took it and stood up without hesitation.

“Thanks,” Freed murmured. Laxus grinned.

“Although, I have to say, Freed the Dark sounds quite threatening. Maybe you should start using it.” Laxus started down the hill. Freed watched him for a while before following him, feeling his heart beating madly. If Laxus, the person who most represented Fairy Tail, told him that, then Freed had no doubt he was right.

I swear Laxus, you won’t regret putting your trust in me, Freed thought, as he walked beside him.

-Year X791, Dark Écriture: Fear-

(23-year-old Laxus, 20-year-old Freed)

The brush ran smoothly through the boy’s hair, who looked at himself in the mirror. He was sitting on the big mattress, and behind him, his mother was singing softly, fixing his hair. Freed hummed the melody to himself and moved his fingers to the rhythm of the song. When the woman put the brush on the bedside table, she smiled in the mirror.

“You like it?” she asked.

Freed ran a hand through his hair, which reached over his shoulders and shrugged.

“It’s just hair,” he said automatically. A phrase that his father constantly repeated every time he saw Freed brush it.

“You don’t like it?” the woman asked softly.

“Father doesn’t care” was the next automatic reply.

“Your father isn’t here,” the woman said and rested her chin on his shoulder. “What do you think about it?” she asked again. Freed observed himself for a long time in the mirror.

“I like it,” he said. His mother smiled and kissed him on the cheek. Then she sat cross-legged on the mattress and grabbed a large hardcover book. Freed turned to her, suddenly curious and excited.

“Will you read me a story?” he asked, and the woman nodded, smiling, looking down at the first page and beginning to read. Freed rested his head on the palms of his hands, curious about the new book.

His mother continued to read aloud, but it became a distant murmur. He heard a scream and then some crying and looked around, trying to understand the sudden foreboding changes. He turned to the mirror but didn’t see the reflection of a child, but that of a teenager. His hair now reached his waist, his face was sharper.

He turned back and was no longer in his room. He was in the garden of his villa, holding a sword. A woman in front of him was crying and pleading. Freed couldn’t understand what she was saying, but of one thing, he was sure. That woman was terrified, and she didn’t want to die. By now, however, her fate had been set.

Freed felt the darkness envelop him, the heat rising through his body. His right eye burned and all his muscles were tense. His lips moved on their own and a single word came out.

“Death,” he whispered.

For a moment, silence fell around him. He no longer heard screams, no tears, no pleas. It was an abnormal silence as if the whole world had fallen silent. The woman put her hands to her chest, winced a couple of times with wide eyes, and then fell back to the ground. A helpless body with a blank expression on her face. Her eyes were full of the terror that had struck her in the moments before death took her.

Freed looked at her and lowered his sword, exhaustion hitting him suddenly. His energy disappeared, and he collapsed. But he didn’t have to. He could stay up, stand up, he didn’t have to let him down.

A hand rested on his shoulder.

“I’m proud of you,” his father said.

Freed raised his head. Two large bright green eyes met his. The little girl was screaming.

“Mom! Mom!” she screamed and Freed stepped back.

“Murderer! Murderer!” the little girl screamed. Freed backed away and crashed into a wall.

“You’re a killer! Give me back my mom!” she kept screaming and Freed wanted to run away. He turned but couldn’t run anywhere. In front of him was the body of Cana, lying in the rubble. Freed stopped and the sword fell from his hands. He was shaking. He wanted to turn around and leave and never return. But he knew that if he did it, it would be worse. That something even worse would happen. The darkness would follow.

As if forced to do so, his face turned to the right. Elfman was there, also lying on the ground. He was perfectly still; his chest was covered with the rune that had killed him. Above him, Mirajane was crying, and she was screaming, and her screams filled his ears.

“Murderer! Murderer!” Freed desperately turned, tried to escape, but stumbled through the rubble, fell to the ground and sank, under the earth. It was all dark, and he felt lost. He tried to fly. He had to get out of there. He had to escape. He had to find a way back home. But something was holding him down.

“Freed” the voice calmed him instantly. Freed turned and was greeted by Laxus.

“Freed,” he repeated, and Freed tried to get closer.

“Laxus, I’m sorry,” Freed breathed through tears.

“You killed him.”

Freed stopped short and Laxus looked away. Whatever void Freed had fallen into had vanished, and he was back down on earth. He was in the center of Fiore’s arena. And in front of him, there was another dead body. Ivan. His armor was shattered; his body was full of wounds. Blood stained the ground beneath him. His eyes were wide with pain and fear. Freed took a step back.

“You killed him,” Laxus said.

Freed looked up, perhaps for a savior, or any sense of peace, but in the stands, there were members of Fairy Tail. They hated him, everyone hated him. He caught the Master’s furious gaze and Freed was still under his glare.

Makarov raised his hand and a powerful light radiated from his palm, Freed tried to bring his arms in front of him to defend himself, pleaded that it wasn’t him, but it was useless. He was outnumbered and outmatched when everything went white.

-

Freed jumped up, his heart pounding in his chest and sweat sticking his clothes to his body. Terror ran through him and Freed inhaled deeply to attempt to calm himself.

‘It was a nightmare,’ he thought. ‘It was just a nightmare’ But it didn’t help him, because he knew it wasn’t just a nightmare. Because he knew he had really killed that woman years ago. Because he knew he had risked killing Elfman and Cana. Because he knew that when he saw Ivan in the arena, he felt that sudden desire to let himself go to the darker side. Because he wanted to kill the father of the person he loved.

Freed put a hand to his chest feeling his still racing heart. He wanted to throw up and cry.

“Freed, are you okay?”

Freed looked up suddenly. It was Laxus. The boy sat by the fire they had built on their way home from a mission. Freed scanned their campsite. There were two sleeping bags, the small fire, and their backpacks placed on the ground. They had decided to walk home so that Laxus wouldn’t have to take the train.

“Freed?” Laxus called him and Freed turned to him and smiled slightly to reassure him.

“I’m fine, I just had a nightmare,” he explained as he stood up and got out of the sleeping bag. He realized that his clothes were indeed damp with sweat and his hair was sticking to his neck and his clothes.

“You’ve been getting them a lot recently, is something bothering you?” Laxus asked. Freed shook his head.

“No,” he replied simply and sat next to him in front of the fire, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep. But Laxus was right, he had been having nightmares for weeks, about his past, about his mother, about the people he had killed, about the people he could have killed, and about the ones he wanted to kill.

He'd had nightmares in the past, namely the Battle of Fairy Tail, and just as he finally began to overcome them, the Grand Magic Games brought them back in full force. And as much as he wanted to banish those thoughts, he just couldn’t seem to do it.

He felt Laxus’ arm around his shoulders.

“Don’t you want to talk about it?” he asked and Freed closed his eyes, leaning against him and closing his eyes. Talk about it with him, of all people? He who had asked him to kill his guildmates? He who was the son of the man Freed wanted to torture to death?

“No,” he said, “I’ll pass.”

He felt Laxus’s gaze fixed on him and his arm comforting him.

“You said my name,” the blond said, and Freed stiffened. “You said my name and then yelled that you weren’t the one who killed them,” he said tonelessly. “You know, I’ve never thought about it too much but I can’t believe I asked you to do something like that. I used you like your father did and I’m sorry. I know you’ll never forgive me but…”.

“I’ve already done that,” Freed said. “We’ve already talked about it. I forgave you Laxus, completely. The only person I haven’t forgiven is myself”.

“My fault,” Laxus murmured.

“No,” Freed tried to say reassuringly. “Laxus, darkness has been with me for a lifetime, it wasn’t you who pulled it out, it wasn’t you who put it in, and it wasn’t you who made me hate it,” he said forcefully. “You helped me instead to make me accept it as part of me, and even though I’m still working on it, it’s to your credit that I can now control the demon. It’s to your credit if I don’t feel horrible for everything I’ve done”.

“But you still have nightmares about the battle of Fairy Tail,” Laxus muttered and Freed shook his head.

“Trust me, that’s not the cause of my nightmares,” he said.

“So, what’s it?” Laxus asked.

Freed didn’t answer. He stared into the flames in front of him while he thought back to the nightmare he had had, the destroyed body of Ivan, the pleas of that woman. Freed didn’t think those nightmares would ever go away, but that wasn’t Laxus’s fault, it was the fault of the darkness that accompanied him and the evil he was hiding and that he was trying to control.

“My greatest fear” he answered simply. He let himself be enveloped by his friend’s embrace.

-Year X793, Dark Écriture: Suffering-

(25-year-old Laxus, 22-year-old Freed)

Freed could still hear the screams of terror of the enemies. He could still hear their pleas and their cries, their prayers, and their despair. And the more he heard them, the better he felt. The more he heard them, the more satisfaction grew inside him. The more he looked at their faces full of terror and pain, the more his soul laughed. There was no escape from that rune and Freed enjoyed every single moment of it.

He wanted it. He wanted to make them feel small. He wanted to make them feel powerless; he craved their terror. He wanted to make them pay for everything they did to his teammates. He wanted them to feel the way they did. He wanted to hear them pray for death. At that point, perhaps Freed would have satisfied them. Though he probably wouldn’t have indulged them.

They deserved it; they had asked for it. They had mistreated his comrades and still had laughed at it. They had enjoyed Fairy Tail’s momentary helplessness. Now it was his turn, and it was right. And if that wasn’t right, Freed didn’t care. It was he who made the rules.

Freed walked down the corridor going out into the fresh air and closing off the screams with the door behind him. He almost wanted to stay there and listen to them longer, but he knew that if he did, he'd seriously risk going mad and giving in to his dark side. And as much as he enjoyed having that dark power, he knew it was best not to go too far.

He walked away and entered the woods, passing all the trees in the shadows of the night and reaching the small stream near Magnolia. He sat down on the ground and looked at the water in front of him.

He didn’t want to get carried away by rage or fury, but he was far too happy to hear those screams. And even though he could no longer hear them now, just knowing that those men were still suffering filled him with a terrifying joy. He knew he would have to let them go sooner or later. He had to do it, fearing his sanity would disappear with each scream.

He heard footsteps behind him and then a voice.

“Are they still in there?” Laxus asked as he sat down behind him and wrapped him in a hug, pulling Freed against him and resting his head against his chest.

“Yes,” Freed said. “They were already begging,” he said with a sadistic smile and felt Laxus’ arms squeeze him even more. Freed felt himself returning to reality and realized what he had said and in what tone. “Sorry, I sound like a monster.” He knew that Laxus avoided gratuitous violence. He could kill someone or fight them if he was pissed off, but torture wasn’t his style. God, he must have found Freed awful. His stomach sunk at the thoughts, but still, Laxus’s proximity helped him. The blond rested his chin on his shoulder.

“I knew who you were from the moment I met you,” he said. “And I never thought you were a monster, you know.”

“I know,” Freed agreed softly. It still seemed strange to him, but it was true. Laxus had never been afraid of him, and he had seen some terrible things.

“Don’t keep them in there any longer,” Laxus murmured, leaving him a kiss on the neck.

“They deserve it,” Freed objected.

“Yes,” Laxus agreed. “But you don’t, and I’d rather you stay with me.”

Freed didn’t answer, knowing what Laxus meant. And he was right, he didn’t have to give up. He could have fun, but without completely abandoning himself. He closed his eyes and leaned completely on Laxus, who was now holding him in a loving embrace that Freed probably didn’t deserve. Even that didn’t interest him. Laxus loved him, Freed loved him, and that was one of the few pure things in Freed’s life. He wouldn’t let him go.

“You know Laxus,” Freed said after a while, placing his hand on Laxus’s and stroking it slowly. “Sometimes I like to be a monster”.

[0ruguitas]

im 26 and i watched encanto for the first time like 2 weeks ago and already have like 10,000 words of an extremely indulgent fanfic and an OC it is so embarrassing that my brain pointed at the 50 year old sad neurodivergent man who lives in the walls and was like "that one" but like also. im having fun klfjds

bruno madrigal is a handsome and sweet man who deserves the world and by god i'm gonna give it to him

Its been a while since a fictional character has had this much of a fucking vice grip on my brain but Bruno really does tick so many boxes for me it's unreal. Like he's so cute w the his big sad eyes, floofy hair, and oversized ruana on top of being so sweet, kind, goofy, and just a little bit unhinged and it just makes me so !!!!

Also mood I have an oc made for the sole purpose of making Bruno happy as well agdhdhs. I haven't written anything for them yet bc I'm still a lil embarrassed but they've been rattling around in my brain for a while now lmao.

[hannahvanhugh]

Broken teen spirit

Part 1 ❤💙

An amazing spider-man fanfic.

A crazy night of supervillan mayhem leads a girl running from it all to a boy running from himself.

💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥🗯

A winter chill cutting down to the bone.

Frozen in place, the lights above flash in a way that makes snowflakes seem to stand still.

It's not just the cold, its waves of energy, all my senses scream 'danger' and I run and trip and hang on to the side walk for dear life.

This city is crazy, get this...

This guy calling himself The Shocker, used work for a crimeboss named Tombstone, Tombstone being the former right hand of the notorious 'Kingpin'... god they're like russian dolls.

Shocker falls in with doctor Otto Octavius, both want in oscorp, Otto to retrieve the shell of his insane machine, he's got it, the perfect power source, he just needs to put it together, a giant jigsaw free falling into place.

The city goes dark, flickers, fights, as the top of the Oscorp building is is busted open like a conffetti gun, a metal monster claws its way to the top, starts ascending into the starless sky.

I didn't check my watch, but the brawl at Oscorp lasted about an hour, I think.

Small time crooks with scifi sensibilities take full advantage of the chaos, this occupies the police who are powerless in the frey above.

Eventually a burst of energy that breaks the sound barrier anounces some sort of victory, some sort of end, maybe good, maybe not.

We all still scream and shout to our fellow stangers on the streets.

'GET OUT OF THE WAY!' I'm shoved aside, so much for human solidarity.

My sprint has turned leisurely stroll, I'll admit, I'm slightly mesmerized by it all.

Light bulbs break and glass shatters, a tv or two gets stolen while an infernal machine is falling from the sky, like some vanquished beast, what can you do? it's New york, you know?

I always have first aid kit on me, if anyone gets injured I do what I can, thats actually how I met Jamie.

He got me a job at the cafe, always brags that I 'saved' his life, not true of course, but customers love it.

I must have looked ridiculous, a twenty-something girl, airbuds still in, wearing a coat three times her size.

I was outside of my apartment but I didn't go inside, why bother?

I sat on the curb.

The night was bathed in a unnatural blue light, the lights were out but there was something in the air, waves of neon coloured heat bouncing off every building like the ghost in the TV.

Red and blue and green.

Taking in all the running and chaos and just how lost we all were, I wanted to lie down on the pavement (really, I had nowhere and no one to run to) and catch a glimpse of the battle, watch the world fall apart in all these pretty colors.

Watch the beast fall through the sky.

Unreal, I laughed in genuine amusement.

The fear turned into emptiness, I felt cleansed in the light of this apocalyptic sunset.

And as the world slowly shifted, I saw him.

He was leaning against a wall by a flickering sign.

Gripping his wrists, was he hurt? I went closer, attracted by some invisible force, shouts and horns faded as my curiousity got the better of my apathy.

He looked at me, something in his eyes, like he owned the place.

I later would recognize him as the man that had the heart of the city in the palm of his hand, and, in a bittersweet turn of events, it had just broken him to pieces.

But for now he was just a stranger that needed help.

He was denfinitely hurt, the cuts on his face made that clear, but not his expression, he smiled like he had won a prize.

"Hey there" I called "you ok?" He looked at me, catching his breath "uh, yeah, I'm fine, fine, you?"

He started faltering, I reached out to catch him. "Uh no, you need to get a taxi" "no hospital" "not in the taxi of course, but we'll get there." "No, they'll find..." he started writhing, his side was bleeding, not much but, it was blood. "Oh god, okay? kay, I live in this building right? your not so heavy, ugh, you need that duffle?" He nodded weakly.

Yes, he was a stranger, it was stupid, but, it was the end of the world, right? how many stupid decisions could you make at that point?

Turns out, alot, but i'll get to that.

"What happened to you?" I asked, getting him into the apartment complex "im, ah, photographer, trying to get, a shot of the, action at oscorp"

"Dumbass" "i heard, ouch, that" i got him up the stairs like a conventionally attractive sack of potatos, to my room on the fifth floor "you can a" he chuckled " tell'a, the, grandchildren.." i squinted but he seemed to think better of completing the quip, "we're here" i said fumbling for my keys and getting him over the threshold.

"There" i said lightly pushing onto my unmaid bed "coat, shirt, off"

"wow, im not that kind of spider...uh" an open magazine stuck to his arm "what?" I looked away and went through my desk.

"Nothing"

"Shut it, your bleeding" "are you..." he was still slightly out of breath "your gonna, treat me?"

I stared going through my assortment of first aid, all the stuff my sister gave me in case the hostpital was ever unavailable, like now, and kneeled by the bed "Hell yeah im gonna, my sisters a doctor, that makes me, half a doctor" his shirt was over his head "not sure thats, how it works" he leaned back

"Fine, by association" "is there death by association?" he laughed weakly.

"gauze and rubbing alcohol, i could stitch that shit, now hold still" i started on the side.

"whos the one doesnt want to go to the hospital? What are you like, a goon?" "GOON?" "like for a super villian, i saw Shocker on the news" "first off, ouch...offended, Shocker's B-lister at best..." "what about doctor octopus? whats the bracelt for?"

I tried to steady my hands, he toke off the odd mechical thing and shoved it under the pillow, using it to prop himself up "do i look scary?" I shook my head "nope, probably should'nt be so trusting though" "probably not, but, i'd never hurt you, i promise, i'm one of good guys"

I shook my head and looked over at my stiching kit.

"doctor octopus?" he said aloud "you read the daily bugle? They make up the dumbest.."

"Are you his press agent?"

"ha, ha, side splitting, ouch...nice wall" he was looking past me, a collage of random drawings and clippings "you like spider-man?" "oh, yeah" i turned back to him, using the opprotunity of his divided attention to get a better look at his face "those pictures, ah, really cool"

"I toke those" "really?" "Yah, told you i was, a photographer, always right in the middle of the action" "your an adrenaline junkie, like those dudes who hunt tornados" "storm chaser?" "well, yeah, your gonna need stitchs" "you can do that?" "The drunk who lives in this building fell on the fire escape, i stitched him, i have a suture kit" "wow, lucky i bumped into you"

I handed him a wet towel "for you face" i sat up on the bed and leaned over him "how many fingers am i holding up"

"Seriously?"

"Can't rule out anything, broken bones?"

"Worse, phone..." "har har" i toke the cloth from his hand and tilted his head up, examining his face "i've seen you, i said "at the cafe"

I was trying not to notice how nice the face was under the scratchs.

At this point our eyes were locked, and a silence fell and i just, laughed, softly, like an idiot.

"I'm peter" "um, i'm Aj"

"Aj" he repeated slowly "hi"

"Look!" I went to the widow "its like an aurora"

"Holy shit i hope no one needs to use a compass right now"

"What was that machine?"

"Some sort of multiversal portal, its fine though, the design was inherently flawed, it would of just knocked our world slightly off its axis"

"Wow, you seem calm, how did you know it was a portal?"

"I ah, worked at oscorp, once upon a time. remembered the design"

"Really, what a coincidence"

"Right?"

💥💥💥

A few hours past and he was asleep, i sat by him, chair backwards, leaning over the top rail, not watching him sleep per-say but, i was checking his breathing, and there was the bracelt under the pillow.

Yah i toke it, what did you expect?

I examined it closely under my desk lamp, obviously a weapon, with a trigger at the palm, odd design, fried circuits, trigger stuck, i probably should have been more cautious but curiousity...

BAM!

My lamp was sticking to the wall "oh my god!" I dropped the webshooter on the table and it went off again, pulling and knocking it forward, i screamed, not my proudest moment, i sat, a little in shock, my hands up, he was still fast asleep.

His duffle bag.

I almost run, my knees hitting the carpet.

As i looked inside i stopped to look at peter, stunned, a thousand questions racing in my brain.

i lifted the mask to see it in the half light of a swinging desk lamp, leveled with it, looked at my reflection in the eyes.

"Peter?" I whispered.

Thank you so much for reading my fellow web heads ❤💙

[kacychase]

After the reawakening [EzarelxMC]

[Commentary: Please understand that all of this has my heart inserted into this after paying too much for a game dear to me, yet disappointing. Beemov, I hate to bother you as it seems to be a waste of time, but please… Listen to your readers, at least to the demographic you aim for and their constructive criticism. Your game has so much potential, it could be so much more, and it breaks my heart that it’s not. Please, for our sake… We have been loyal to you for so long. This fanfic is here because I loved the original story and characters – with its flaws all included, and ultimately, we love your characters (at least the original), and just want a game that gives them justice, that doesn’t make us feel used more so than enjoying a story]

 Warnings: cheesy, so damn cheesy, level of extra layers of cheese, ALSO CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR BOTH ORIGINS AND NEW ERA SEASONS

Works: Ezarel (this one) | Nevra | Valkyon | Leiftan (Valkyon and Leiftan in the works)

 When I chose you

It felt right.

The way you held me tight,

The way you would brighten

Up my day would

Bring sparkles in your eyes

That I wouldn’t be able to forget.

 When things went south,

When people silenced my mouth,

When you let me down,

It took my time to count on you again.

 Yet, here I stand, in your arms,

In your scent and your comfort,

In your loving embrace, forever.

Crystal or not, you were an ever-lasting

believer in me when I was in need.

 Who could blame you for leaving,

for your sacrifice or getting

Over me?

In the end, I love you, still,

And whether you come back or not,

All of the memories, the emotions

Will never escape them,

Even if Mnemosyne’s spell

Would compel me to do so.

 Nothing would make me get over you.

Nothing would make me want to lose you again.

My sacrifice should not be in vain,

And your happiness is what I need to

See as best for you.

Yet… Just so you know,

I love you still, and have not forgotten.

 [Ezarel]

It has been… A while, apparently. The war has worn all of us down, and I can’t imagine that Ezarel wasn’t caught with it’s consequences either. I wouldn’t have wanted for Valkyon to die, for Ezarel to lose me, for Ykhar to die, for Leiftan and me to sacrifice ourselves, or just all of this death to happen around me. But, here I am, selfish enough to hope, and to dream of a future with the man I grew to love 7 years ago.

I have travelled on a Chau’Kobow for seemingly weeks. Huang Hua has granted me the wish to travel to him after a letter has forewarned him. It took a lot, and I repeat, a lot of convincing to ask that of her. Why would Ezarel want to retreat with Twylda and Marie-Anne in a completely different place? I don’t know, and frankly, I don’t care. The crystal seems to need me less and less, and Mathieu will have to suffice to explain the whole ordeal with the human world molding with ours.

Hoping that his reaction won’t be as cold as Nevra’s, I ask myself more often than not if I am desperate with what I am doing, and try to avoid the obvious.

When I arrive at the destination, in the far horizon of this clear grass, I can see it – a house, far away from all the trouble. It feels like yesterday when he asked me if we could just ditch the guard once the whole war would be over.

I still wouldn’t hesitate to take the offer… But would he?

Only one way to find out. With a deep, shaky breath, I approach the far house with an increasing pulse. My whole body practically aches to hug him again.

As I come closer, I realize that the whole village seems to be part of a more peaceful and modest community. Having got to know Ezarel, I bet it would be a change of heart to his former life – a complete new beginning. It must be just what he wanted.

Slowly, I get down from the Shau’kobow, taking the last steps to the house. I can’t help but take deep breaths again and again, but it wouldn’t work on slowing my heartbeat.

The door is nice and wooden, just as modest as the town and it’s surroundings. I even see my own hand shiver when I try to knock on the door when suddenly, I a loud noise of heavy weights falling on the ground from behind me alerts me.

Turning around, I instinctively lay a hand on my weapon.

And there he stands. His mouth and eyes are wide open as he watches me, apparently, the sound came from him dropping a few wood logs. Hopefully, none hit him!

But even when I want to ask if he’s okay, if he wasn’t hurt, it’s as if his eyes held me in place. My body begins to shake even more brutally, and I can see how his wide-eyed expression doesn’t change. Please, don’t let this be a mistake. I wouldn’t be able to bear it…

“Gardienne,” he practically breathes out, as if it stole air from his lungs.

It feels like hours that we look at each other like this. His now wilder, untied blue hair and his ears of course are some of the first indicators of my Ezarel. But his outfit, his demeanor seems much less elegant, witty and intricate. He is wearing a simple top, pants, a belt and boots, seemingly uncaring of his poise. While he (luckily) hasn’t grown the moustache that he has once pranked me with, I can see that he seems more muscular, and that this life has changed him.

And I wasn’t there to see him.

But now I’m here.

Without wanting to, my vision blurs from all the tears that roll down my cheeks, and I can just see that he is going through the same thing.

“How are you doing?” I ask him with a crack in my voice. Seriously, Gardy, can’t you ask for a better thing? He hasn’t seen you for seven years and might have moved on from you, and this is what you ask first?

“I-“

All of a sudden, he approaches me, his eyes still focused on nothing else but my frame. Again, it feels like we are in a bubble again that we have had when we were still in a relationship… It feels like yesterday for me.

Not daring to move until he would be okay with embracing me, he, agonizingly slowly, reaches out a hand to my face. Overall, his shaky hand seems to be moving in slow-motion as he wipes a tear away. Understanding that he might not understand what I might talk about, he finally, finally opens his mouth to speak.

“You’re back? This is not a dream?”

In his voice, I can sense so much pain… Should I have not come? Should I have stayed away after all? The sudden thought ties up my thought, but feeling his hand resting on my cheek is so unbelievably calming. Hesitantly, I lay my hand on his.

“No. Should I pinch you to prove it?” I ask back with a small smile, seeing him smirk back.

“Please do,” he whispers, his voice sore.

Shortly after, I pinch him. His little smirk suddenly disappears as his body crashes against mine and he hugs me all of a sudden. the way he holds me incredibly tight, as if I could vanish any moment. As if time was ticking.

“I’m so sorry, Ezarel. I came back as soon as I could,” I whisper. This time, unlike the times before, he seems to have openly welcomed me, and again, I can see how much the elf has grown ever since the encounter.

I see how his simplicity and aura has toned down a little in its absolutely brash energy, and how much he has missed me. Uncaring of the danger of possibly choking, I tighten my grip around him.

We are shivering in place, and neither of us can say a word.

It feels as if an old system in body has awoken, and finally, it has clicked as to where I belong. Silently, I hear him laugh while his tears drop onto my clothes. This moment I do cherish.

His usual humor seems to have been swallowed in this moment, as he suddenly holds me back by an arm length, and orders me to please go inside and sit – he will just pick up the logs. Of course, I wouldn’t without helping him out, so I grin at him with a telling look.

An exhausted smile is plastered on his face. I can’t help but stare at him a bit before I bend down to pick up the rather heavy logs. After that has been done, both of us give us a look to ensure the other is fine. It must be strange for him to suddenly see me after 7 years.

Soon after, he hurries to the door to open the door. “Why, aren’t you a forthcoming gentleman today?” I smile at him, but his facial expression doesn’t seem as responsive. His smile is weaker as he says: “You learn a lot with two women around you.”

Right. Twylda and Marie-Anne must have made an impression on him. I can’t help but smirk at the image of them reprimanding him for his manners. “Why, if such a chivalrous gentleman appeared in front of me, I would have considered coming sooner,” I try to lighten up the mood, but I might have been too early.

Staring at me, he just drops the log into the corner of the room, and I decide to just do the same. While I see some elegant pieces of vials, and a little bit of a laboratory. I recognize quite a bit from his room and remember what I have seen in his vision. It’s funny how colorful his interior is in comparison to the modest wooden house. Maybe he hasn’t changed that much after all?

Standing at the side of the couch where he has sat himself down, I ask him: “May I sit?” He looks up at me, heightening his brows. He nods, following my movements with his piercing green eyes. With a hand gesture and a nod, he tells me to sit on the sofa next to him.I do so, but with well-kept space as to not overwhelm. For a while, there’s nothing but silence. This time, it’s me who initiates the conversation. “How are Marie-Anne and Twylda?” As he looks back at me with a lopsided smile, he tells me about their state. How they have helped each other to rebuild a new life, a new identity. Marie-Anne, the now healed young woman – who has grown to pass my age – has come back to the state of a helpful human being, with the help of him and Twylda. As well, the two women were able to come to a better path. Honestly, as he tells these things, they seem so incredibly unreal. When I remember Twylda screaming at us to let her to Marie-Anne as she was transported into the H.Q., she wanted nothing but to harm her. She had a lot to go through during those times, and I try to avoid thinking of the events in detail. But as I have heard in the past, I have seen videos on Youtube with a reported case in which the mother would forgive the murderer of their son, even raise them as one of their own. While it appears as a mystery to me, I am neither supposed to judge, nor do I have to understand. If both are happy, that’s all I care about.Well, that, and of course the elf who is telling me about them.“I’m sorry that I left, Gardienne.”Those words suddenly suck all of the established ease out of this room. For the first time since I have arrived, he averts his gaze. “I couldn’t stand the guard anymore. All the pressure, the tasks, all the memories to this place, and… you,” he takes a deep breath to continue. I just shake my head, knowing that he must have had a terribly hard time processing everything.Wouldn’t I also be overwhelmed if he has sacrificed himself for a cause, having me wait for months back then? And with all that happened… The war, the murders, the deaths, betrayals and other dangerous situations, who would I be to blame him?“It’s okay. I heard what you said as goodbye, and I understood. I still do, Ezarel,” I murmur, looking at him and putting my hand on his cheek. His eyes seem to become glassy again.“We’re here now,” I whisper with a smile, “And I am glad that you were doing okay after all. I’ve had a very strong boyfriend.”Swallowing hard, I realize that I don’t know about that aspect yet, and as his eyes shine with so much emotion and compassion, he just mumbles: “I don’t have anyone as of yet. I wasn’t interested, and something told me to wait.” His little smile shocks me in combination with his words. “I guess my instincts were right to do so.”Seven years.It’s been seven years, and he has waited for me. His eyes seem like a confirmation for me to go on, and I immediately lean into him to kiss him with all the passion that I have feared of losing inside the crystal. I was ready to give up on that to save him. And here we are…Did fate finally give me a happy ending?Once we separate to breathe in fresh air, his hands hugging me loosen up to look at me.His eyes shine with love that warm my whole body, and I can’t believe that this is going so fluently. “So, I hope you don’t mind accompanying this chivalrous gentleman in the future?” His eyebrow raises, but I can see that he is happy about me coming.The way I respond might be one of the most typical aspects of our relationship. Tipping with my index finger on my chin, I act pensive saying: “Hmmm… If there was payment involved, maybe I’d consider it? I’m hotly desired, you know?”His smile brightens, and it’s as if our compatibility would never be questioned.We would spend this night together, and the one after, and the days after that to slowly get back to each other.When him and I would strengthen each other in his alchemy business, I realize that he was right with running off all along. He’s all I need after all.

~~> Very cheesy fin

[mjsparkour]

Hello!!! Quick question, I was wondering if you could rec me some of your fav Rina writings, thanks👌🏻 (love your blog btw✨) :)

Hiii :)

So I’ve gotten a few requests to make a Rina master fic list and I love that idea because I’ve literally read all their fics so far and literally every one writing for them is just so talented and deserves so much recognition! So here are some of my faves

 it happens like this by hitchhikersguidetotheuniverse: the first rina fic ever written, It holds a place in my heart on the basis of that alone and their interactions are golden; written so well and simplistic writing is always something I’m a sucker for. “It happens like this: one day Ricky and Gina aren’t friends - they’ve spoken to each other maybe a total of five times, and then, out of nowhere, the next day they are.”

and I would tell you all this if I could: “His eyes momentarily flicker up to hers, catching the small smile that splayed across her face. He shyly glanced away, inwardly wincing in chagrin at the slight crack of his voice when he sings the line of “When I confused my feelings with the truth.” Ricky continued to strum, greatfully hoping that she couldn’t see the slight blush that was coloring his cheeks. or; an extended scene of where Ricky serenades Gina. Includes missing scenes from the episode.”

 Start of Something New by charlottedrake: I love a good mutual/unrequited pining fic with a happy ending :). “He looks happy. Gina smiles at that realization. If anyone deserves happiness, it’s Ricky.She’s happy for him, Gina tells herself.Yeah. She is.Really, she is.Until she’s not.”

With you close I’m the happiest I ever was by immcrtal: Read this one over and over when it was first published. immcrtal consistently publishes god tier rina fics, check her out. “What he doesn’t know is that her hand twitches to touch or brush his arm, hands or shoulders every time he’s near her. And maybe that’s for the best.”

 If You Want by Glitteredwithstars: A absolute classic by another underrated incredibly talented writer. Hits all the bases with childhood friends to lovers in all ways. “My names Ricky, by the way” He says, he rubs the back of his neck and kicks at the gravel.Gina rolls her eyes and doesn’t say anything in response, but instead walks her way into a standing position, hands gripping the chains of the swing, all signs pointing to her next move. He doesn’t budge though, plants his feet and works up a smirk again.Again, Gina doesn’t back down. So she kicks her legs and lets herself fly free, she plants her feet just as she reaches Ricky’s face, their noses touch. “Move”, Gina states, not bite but she makes her point transparent.“Tell me your name”, he says and smiles in the same way, like he has power over her. A Ricky/Gina childhood friends AU, in where their just like, always there for eachother…”

Say Goodnight and Go by kirikacchan: “A rowdy Thanksgiving theater party at Ashlyn’s ends with shocking news for Gina that affects her and others around. Mostly the story will focus on the emotional ride of Ricky and Gina.”

 We can meet in the middle (bodies and souls collide) by immcrtal: “She stays like that looking at him staring at her through the mirror’s reflection of them.”Or Ricky learns that learning a choreography with your best friend slash crush is the hardest thing ever.”

 Gold’s Fake and Real Love Hurts by GinaPorterss: Let me just say a few things about the absolute gem that is this story, it really changed the game with rina fanfic writing in my opinion. This is the start of the series and its absolutely incredible. The writing is beautiful, the dynamic is masterfully written and the dynamic is layered. It’s just so good I don’t have the words. I LOVE YOU LORE. “Ricky Bowen realizes a few things.”

 dancing’s not a crime by peculiarblue: Read this fic again and again when it came out too, its unreal the talent this writer ( and all of rina nation) has with capturing Ricky and Gina’s dynamic. This story specifically taps into their potential and it’s just so genuinely fun to read. The writing is so good, there truly are no words. I always go back to this fic, its everything and more. unless you do it without me (a few times Gina helps Ricky with his 2 left feet, and one time Ricky sweeps her off hers)

 Rooftop talks by peachycarat and got my heart beat skippin by peculiarblue: Both of these stories are Spiderman related so I thought I’d group them together. They’re amazing! “She knew him as Ricky Bowen, but as Spiderman, she knew him as a superhero she ran into once in awhile.But sometimes… Maybe Spiderman is what she needed.”

“how to fall in love, make a fool of yourself in the process, and still get the girl while on a school trip with your drama club: an approximately seven step plan, by ricky bowen(or, ricky’s heart can’t stop doing flips whenever he sees gina, and evidently the embarrassing pining knows no bounds, not even across the globe, a story inspired by the events of spider-man: far from home)”

pretend I don’t see it in your eyes by spobylol: This one hurts if you’re a bit of a rini warrior but in the best way. It really in my opinion writes Nini’s character very well and we really get the dynamic through her eyes so well and its so refreshing to see considering with love triangles with men in the center, they have all the power but this time its Nini controlling the narrative, which is just so interesting. Beautifully written, rhythmic, layered story. “for a long time, nini could sense that there was something bubbling under the surface between ricky and gina. she just didn’t want to admit it to herself.but maybe she can’t deny it any longer as it becomes more and more blatantly obvious.”

catch by rinas: Talk about tugging at the heart strings! this story right here, short simplistic writing that really gets into the heart of the angst of Ricky and Gina’s dynamic. It’s a college fic so their a bit older and their growth together speaks so many volumes in this story. The angst and mutual pining really speaks for itself. Such a good read, can’t get enough of it. “her breathing is slow and calm as she stands across from him, hand buried inside her coat and a soft smile on her face, he looks as breathtaking as ever. and he’s hers, for real now.”

Thanks for Being Around  by Glitteredwithstars: Another classic written by this author and it hits different. The mutual understanding that’s already set at chapter 1 sets the scene along with the fact that it’s enemies to friends to lovers and it’s already a favorite. “Ricky’s alone, but he get’s a new car out of it. Gina’s alone, and she get’s a new friend out of it, maybe. The thing is they kinda don’t like eachother, expect they kinda do, and things sorta get messy.”

who am I to you? by canweorderpizza: I cannot talk about how much I love this fic enough. Rina fluff is the best and the fact that it’s also like their first date but they aren’t really sure it’s a first date is such a rina thing. I love their dynamic in this one it’s so CUTE, especially towards the end. An underrated gem in all senses of the word. “ricky asks gina to the fair, but neither of them knows it’s a date. feelings are spilled and ricky still doesn’t know gina’s name???”

ARE WE STILL FRIENDS? by GinaPorterss: This one I’m a bit bias towards because it was gifted to me by the incredibly talented author herself. Lore is amazing and talented and so the story is a direct reflection of that. Two chapters in and childhood friends to lovers rina has already outsold. “Gina Porter had her whole junior year planned.Until Ricky Bowen had to screw it all up.”

do I wanna know? by spdervrses: Prepare to feel! feelings! this story right here your honor, so good. You can really feel the angst and the push and pull between them further giving us everything we didn’t know we needed in terms of their dynamic. it’s a serve.  “I don’t have a girlfriend. Not anymore. I broke up with Nini.”Her heart thuds. “What? Why would you do that, Ricky?”Now he’s the one who can’t seem to look her in the eyes. He shoves his hands into his pockets and swallows. “Come on, you know why. You’re really going to make me say it?” After the aftermath of the play, Ricky Bowen attempts to fix his relationship with Gina Porter.”

Can I Have This Dance? by stormbornbxtch: Everything I fucking needed! It’s got the unsuspecting love confession during the play with them as the main love interests (which I specifically tweeted about and it just came to fruition I seriously love rina nation for that), the mutual pining, the angst, THE FUCKING RAIN KISS! In all ways and forms we won with this one. “Ricky and Gina’s story told in three parts taking place over the course of Ricky’s senior year and Gina’s junior. And it all starts (and ends) with a dance.”

Gina Porter and the Boy Next Door by TheMarshamallowQueen: This story has such intresting plot points. It’s such a good take on what if Gina was one of the girls Ricky was hanging out with over the summer only its a boy next door au with mutual understanding and friends to lovers au we didn’t know we needed. It needs to be updated ASAP! it’s fantastic and so worth the read. “Gina is used to moving around, so getting the news that her mom has a new job and they won’t be moving anymore was shocking to say the least. The addition of her way too friendly neighbor that seems to enjoy her company only adds to the initial shock.orGina moves to SLC permanently halfway through the summer before her sophomore year, moving into Ricky Bowen’s neighborhood just as he has absolutely nothing to do until school starts back up. Shenanigans ensue.How does this change the events that transpire in season 1?”

now we find the strength to stand alone by angelsunknown: Not super rina centric but this one really gives you all the family feels with EJ, Ash and Gina so it’s perfect and definitely one of my faves. “Gina does not take E.J. up on his offer of a ride to Denny’s. She does not cancel her flight out of Salt Lake City either. She cannot pull her “Disappearing Gina” act on her mother, after all; or just pretend that her problems do not exist; or break her own heart like that.”

unrequited love at different times by rickyandgina: This one hurts, plain and simple. It’s got angst, mutual AND unrequited pining which is so hard to write in one story sometimes but this one does it beautifully. “ricky needs to tell gina how he feels. maybe she feels the same way. who knows?”

So this one is the last one and it’s my story, if you feel like giving it a read you can. Let me know if you’d like more recs, I love making them :).

if they only knew by ginasricky: “Ricky Bowen never really bought into the whole soulmate thing (except he did) but life got in the way and now he’s sort of pretending to date new (totally not intimidating) girl Gina Porter to win back the one and only Nini Salazar Roberts. Not a single thing could go wrong.orThe one where Ricky and Gina aren’t so good at the whole soulmate thing and they fake date.”

[oisaaac]

“ Six feet under ”

Pairing: Crowley x Reader

Summary: Crowley decides to pay a little visit to his one and only love.

Warnings: angst, character death, sad boi crowley

Notes: English isn't my native language, so sorry for any mistakes this hasn't been proofread either.

This is very out of the blue and maybe a little cliché idk, but i hope some of you enjoy it nonetheless <3

kinda off from the original show plot but try to bare with me uwu

inspired from billie eilish's song 'six feet under'

Help, I lost myself again

But I remember you

Thick heavy grey clouds shrouded above the cemetery as if it read Crowley's mood. It was the same heavy weight he felt everyime he decides to pay you a visit. The same weight that seems to get heavier as time ticks by.

It had been a year since you died. A year that seems to be dreadfully longer than the time Crowley stayed above earth.

It was always a reminder for him how different his celestial form is from a human being like you. You always joked around that he had to see you die at some point—with grey hair and wrinkling skin while he didn't age even a bit, yet look where he is now.

He didn't expect it to come too soon, too fast, too sudden and too painful. It made him think what was really God's ineffable plan? He couldn't even ask it himself. Besides it was ineffable after all.

He should've seen this coming though. A demon falling in love with a human? Both of you knew things can't get normal. For one he was an immortal under a lot of circumstances and you on the other hand was—fragile. The moment you saw the bright light when you were brought to this world you were already hanging on a thin thread. Surviving for only a small barrowed time. Crowley always thought it was some kind of inside joke made by God, a very cruel joke.

Small droplets started to fall down from the sky as Crowley stood looking at the flowers he have in his hands.

You would've loved this. He thought to himself kneeling down on the moist grass, not bothered by the uncomfortable feeling of the contact with his jeans before staring at your grave stone.

It still feels unreal for him, seeing your name precisely carved on the stone which made his heart wrenched.

Retrace my lips

Erase your touch

It's all too much for me

But Crowley knew he would rather feel the pain in his chest over and over again rather than forget about you even if he could never be the same when he was with you.

His closest friend Aziraphale felt pity for the demon, but loving someone always has a cost to pay and he could only give much reassurance to his dear friend. Besides, he was somehow at fault considering you died in his shop trying to help him. Crowley didn't blame the angel though, knowingly you wouldn't either, but that didn't stop him from blaming himself and giving the silent treatment to the angel (which Aziraphale understood where he was coming from) for months. You would have opposed to if you knew, knowing their friendship was one of the strongest bonds you had ever seen. Luckily they were good now yet Crowley still needed more time to mourn.

You were always so kind and gentle, one of the traits Crowley loved about you. Good or bad you seem to look surpass every label knowing it was more than just what they perceive. To you Crowley isn't just the demon who had fallen to spread evil, he was your Crowley; your sassy kind hearted loving demon. He never wanted to have such vulnerability, but he let himself otherwise.

Of course he didn't regret any of it. He would need to die first before he ever regrets choosing a path with you in it. Even if he knew the moment you walked in Aziraphale's bookshop clumsily waltzing in his life only to bring this kind of pain he was currently feeling he would never choose of you not being a part of him. If only he could have had more time just one more second to see you smile, to feel your soft touch, to look directly into your loving eyes that made him feel like he was home. It sometimes brought Crowley anxiety with the thought that he didn't deserve what he was feeling with you—the joy, appreciation and love, yet you always said that he did, he did deserve happiness but the tragedy that comes with it had come unforeseen.

Blow away

Like smoke in air

How can you die carelessly?

Why did you have to go inside? Why didn't you just wait for me. You were human afterall. You weren't built to withstand heavy flames and thick smokes. You've always been so reckless for the sake of others. You knew it was dangerous, but you risked your life nonetheless.

Crowley laid the flowers near your headstone before he caressed the letters of your name closing his eyes trying to remember every detail of your face.

"Just for a second. If you're really listening to everyone's prayer then bid mine. Just for a second. Look at me you've foresaken me and let me fall into the pit yet here I am calling out for you." He looked up calling out to somebody, something or someone who was listening to his mantra. "Please!" He choked through the verge of tears. "I love her. I'll always will. If this is my sin then punish me for eternity, but let me see her just for a second." The only response a low rumble of thunder and finally the heavy clouds opened its gates letting the rain freely fall from the heavens camouflaging Crowley's tears.

They're playin' our sound

Layin' us down tonight

And all of these clouds

Crying us back to life

But you're cold as a night

It was no use. You're gone. The pain settled in his chest eating his insides. It was his punishment after all.

Crowley was soaked by the time he was snapped out of his small trance. He fixed the flowers on your grave before putting the individual red rose in the middle remembering how much you loved that red flower then grabbing the old ones to dispose them before standing up and taking one last glance of you until his next visit.

He whispered his promise that he would come back over and over for the rest of his eternity, he had all the time in his hands anyways.

Six feet under

I can't help but wonder

If our grave was watered by the rain

Bloom

Bloom

Again

Crowley turned around to head over his bentley only to be met by your e/c eyes. He didn't even realized his grip on the flowers loosened as he blinked once, twice, more than enough to make sure he wasn't seeing things while raining and there you were like an epiphany standing on your red dress drenched in rain smiling like an idiot at him. You took deliberate steps closing in the gap between the two of you while you kept your eyes locked on his yellow serpent eyes that you grew to love.

"Y/n," Crowley whispered still trying to figure out how.

"Crowley," You put your hand on his cheeks caressing his wet skin with your thumb. You didn't even understood how, but you were happy. You missed him so much that you didn't say another word and just leaned in connecting your lips with his he didn't respond at first, but slowly he recognized you. It was really you, his beloved y/n. He had so many questions hanging on the back of his head, but he didn't dare to utter any of them. He didn't want to let you go and waste whatever miracle it was that brought you here.

All the muscles in each of your bodies molded into one. You and Crowley were in sync like a melody that you both practiced over and over again. Your hands made its way on the back of his neck tangling your fingers on his wet ginger locks, Crowley's hands gripped you tight yet at the same time gently trying not to break you under his touch. The intensity of yearning and all the other emotions that comes with it all swirled into one.

Out of breath you both parted staring at eachothers eyes. "I love you too." You softly spoke your truth.

Maybe whatever was up there was really listening. Either way Crowley held on you to the very last second of your borrowed time.

"We'll be together again someday." You reassured him while you smiled. Crowley just studied your face and for the first time in a while genuinely smiled and was happy. And it was enough as goodbye for the both of you... for now.

Help, I lost myself again

But I remember you

Kinda long A/N: honestly idk what to feel about this if its good or not in my 19 years of existence i always wrote fanfics imagines and stuffs but usually i usually put it up then delete it later because i dont have any confidence of my work but im trying again. this is my first time posting in tumblr though.i hope this is good, like it gave you feels because it did when i wrote it. please don't kill me that i made crowley straight oof 🥺 sorry for any mistakes again! thank you for taking time on reading this and if you reblog and press the heart thingy thank you so much i will love you forever 💕

[trainer-stealthclaw]

Never-Ending

Summary: A new timeloop draws near, and Shintaro wonders what he will do when the next fated day arrives. (Originally posted on FF.Net in 2017) Genre: Fantasy Word Count: 1905 A/N: Note that this was originally written before the manga finale, thus the Snake of Retaining Eyes’s true identity had not been revealed yet. However, given that it’s from Shintaro’s POV, and with the unforthcoming nature of Snake!Ayano, it can still be read as a counterpart to a recent fanfic of mine, Drowning Through Time, which can be read here or here.  TW: Suicide mention, guns

Read on FF.Net

Shintaro opened his eyes, and found himself staring into nothing.

He was surrounded by darkness, an overpowering haze of shadows clouding his eyes. Uneasiness stirred within his stomach, making him feel nauseous. Where was this place?

He squinted into the gloom, trying to ignore the strange sounds clicking and whirring all around. He knew the sound fairly well, having once taken apart a clock as a kid in a fit of boredom. However, it was more than that. Somehow, that sound - it was vaguely familiar, just at the edges of his consciousness. The grinding metal gears in bronze, silver and gold. A familiar clang of bells. The faintest feeling of a memory.

His head felt heavy. He grasped it in his hands, his black hair falling into his eyes. That sound! Make it stop!

The bells were no longer in his memory. They surrounded him. They reverberated through his head. The sound bashed through his skull.

Bang! Clang! Bang! Clang! Ding! Dong!

Each clash of metal drilled into his head and into his mind.

Thoughts, images, phrases, people, laughter, tears, memories. It poured into him until he could take it no more, and as it kept coursing through his mind, he remembered. These weren’t new memories. These were old ones, very, very old. They were his memories, no doubt about that, but they weren’t from this time. They were from another time, and the time before that, and even beyond that.

They were memories of previous timeloops that he had experienced. Him and his friends – the Mekakushi Dan, a strange group they were, but by God, they were there for him and his sister when no one else was – had been repeating the entirety of their lives over and over without realising what was happening, and every single time, it had ended in their deaths on a specific day, August 15th. No, death was the wrong word. In every loop, they were murdered.

Memories rushed to the surface and he covered his mouth, the overwhelming urge to vomit overtaking him.

— 

The murderer who wore the face of his friend, a maniacal grin stretched on his lips, pointed at the white-haired girl, Mary, who slumped on the ground behind Shintaro.

The bodies of their friends lay around them, limp and lifeless. Dark red stained the concrete.

He sneered. “How magnificent! Even now, Queen, your ego permits you to selfishly cower behind your “knight” during this “grand finale”. Now,” he extended his hand out towards her, “If you want your little friends to be saved, then use your monstrous power!”

Shintaro glanced behind at his friend. Tears leaked from her wide eyes and dripped down her cheeks, which glistened with the beginnings of scales growing on her skin. Her pupils began to turn red.

“S-Stop…” she croaked hoarsely, “I don’t…I don’t want my friends to die!”

Her flowing hair flared up and broke out into spikes, almost wing-like against her form.

Shintaro didn’t fully understand what was going on, but he felt a rush of terrible foreboding. “Mary, stop!” he shouted.

For a moment, she hesitated.

That moment was where it ended.

“My, my, I can’t have you doing.” The murderer pointed his pistol right at Shintaro’s chest and pulled the trigger.

Intense pain filled him, and then, he knew no more.

—

Timeloops. Constant, circling, weaving strands of time that looped together like knotted threads, repeating events and changing experiences. His memories went so far back that he could barely comprehend it. How long – just how long, had he and everyone else been stuck like this, trapped in an infinite loop? How long had Mary been turning back time to save them?

How many times have they died?

He felt weak at the thought. He tried to take a step forward, but stumbled forward into the darkness. He expected the cold feeling of the gears spinning beneath his feet, but it never came. A pair of pale hands caught him and gently steadied him upright.

“So, you remember everything.” The other person’s voice was high and clear. It was a voice that he would’ve known anywhere.

Shintaro looked up, only to find himself staring into the scarlet eyes of a girl in his old school’s female student uniform. Her brown hair fluttered in the cold air, and she smiled.

Ayano, he found himself thinking instinctively. Her smile was as pretty as ever. His old classmate, his friend, the girl that he had… He reached out reflexively to touch the side of her face, only to freeze and recoil.

Because Ayano was dead.

She had died two years ago, but he remembered it like it was yesterday. Sitting in the dull classroom, like any other day, only to see people carrying white flowers to her desk. He remembered the evening news, which had officially announced that she had committed suicide. He remembered that it was his fault (if only he had noticed her pain).

His mouth was dry. He struggled to get the words out. “You’re not Ayano.”

The girl, if it was possible, smiled even wider, and stepped back, enough for him to get a clearer view of her. “Clever as ever, Shintaro.” She inclined her head, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear. “How could you tell?”

He scowled at her, pushing his hands into his pockets. “Ayano’s dead.”

“So are you,” she pointed out. Her mouth twitched like she was amused, but her eyes glittered in a way that made him wary. “You’ll have to try harder than that, you know.”

“You’re also not wearing her red scarf. She never went anywhere without the damn thing.” It should have been his first warning sign, really. Then again, he had to admit with a sigh, it showed just how desperate he was. He missed her badly.

The girl in front of him seemed callous to his troubles. She gave a light giggle, in the voice that made his heart ache. “Then, do you know who I am?”

Of course he knew her. He stared at her, and his new – no, terribly old – memories flashed in his head. He knew her, much better than even he would have thought. After all, she was the source of his powers, the reason why he was able to remember everything he’s ever seen.

“You’re…the power that Mary gave me many timeloops ago,” he said slowly. “The Snake of Retaining Eyes.”

As if his words were a spell, the girl form changed shape, morphing into a long black silhouette that curled around him. Its presence was unreal, almost like smoke. Its bright eyes peered at him unblinkingly.

It flicked its tongue. “That’s right,” its voice – still much like Ayano’s – echoed in his head. “It’s been too long since we talked like this. Though it’s unfortunate that it is in these circumstances.” It regarded him seriously. “It’s a pity that your ability was only triggered after the fact. As of right now, the Snake of Clearing Eyes has succeeded in its plan, and the Queen, your friend Mary, is about to reset time once more.”

“The Snake of Clearing Eyes,” Shintaro murmured. “That’s the being who killed me.” He touched his chest, near the area where the bullet had pierced his skin.

“Yes,” the Snake of Retaining Eyes replied softly. “And when you’re reborn, you won’t immediately remember the previous loops again. You’ll have to find a way to trigger your ability, before it’s too late.”

“And if I don’t?” His mouth went dry.

“Then everyone dies.” It said simply, “And the loop continues on. The Queen may reset time, but she never remembers it. There is nobody who can change the future.”

It knelt its head down to his eye-level, and stared at him. Its eyes were deep red, like a burning fire that threatened to turn everything in its path to ashes. “Nobody, that is, except you. It has to be you, Shintaro. You can choose whatever path you wish.”

They stared at each other. The cold icy grip of fear grabbed a hold of him. He had never been a fighter, not in his entire life, and never even in any of the timeloops that now lived in his memories. The thought of what was coming ahead scared him to death.

You know, Shintaro? They say that red is the colour of heroes.

He touched the fabric of his red jacket.

It suits you!

Ayano’s words from long ago echoed in his head. No Ayano, he told her silently, Even now, I’m not a hero. But…

The faces of all his friends came to mind.

They were loud and obnoxious kids. All they did was pull him into nonsensical “missions” like dragging him out to go to the amusement park, when he was perfectly satisfied to just hide in his room and mess around on the internet. They were a pain in the ass, and that was on a good day.

But it was because of them that he was even able to go out at all, instead of holing up in his house. As ridiculous as their gang seemed, they were the reason he could start to look forward to his every day.

A new image came to mind, the image of them smiling and laughing, in spite of the hard times they had all been through.

His Snake urgently hissed and flicked its tongue once again. “Time is running out. A new timeloop approaches. Now that you remember the secrets of this never-ending tragedy, what will you do?”

He clenched his fists. He wasn’t a “hero”, but there was only one thing he could really do. Only one way that this “story” could end.

Shintaro looked his Snake in the eye. “I was given this power for a reason. This time, that Clearing Eyes bastard will be the one to pay. I’ll make sure that this never-ending summer finishes for good.”

The bells around them began to ring once more. Everything began to fade to white, but even in the blinding light, although it was a ridiculous notion, he could’ve sworn that he saw his Snake smile.

“So this is your answer. Your memories may be lost, and this time may be lost, but don’t lose sight of those feelings when you make your new start. Go forth, and don’t turn away your eyes. Face forward, even in the unrelenting summer heat.” And with that, everything was gone.

— 

Shintaro woke up with a groan. The alarm clock beeped annoyingly. He fumbled around for the button to turn it off. His eyes took in the date on the digital time.

August 15th.

He didn’t know why, but something about the day filled him with familiar dread.

[rimmers-swimming-certificate]

Red Dwarf fanfic - Comatose (2/?)

(part 1)

There was something indescribably weird about looking down on your own body from above. A disconcerting wave of unreality gripped Lister, and it was all he could do not to reach for the side of the bed to steady himself.

By some miracle, he managed to stay upright as he looked down on himself. Rimmer might have promised him that he wasn’t dead, but standing over his own body as though he had risen out of it and left it behind, that felt difficult to believe. Maybe he was dead, and they just hadn’t realised it yet.

The Lister in the bed looked shrunken, somehow; thinner than he remembered being, and not in a good way. His features appeared gaunt, his skin clammy and pale, as though drained of blood. A bag of fluid hung at the side of the bed, connected by a tube to his arm, through which a liquid dripped constantly.

“Well,” Lister said. He tried to keep his tone as light as he could, but he could hear the tension in his voice. “I’ve definitely looked better.”

“I’m so sorry about this, Mr Lister sir!” Kryten exclaimed.” We tried everything. Absolutely everything!”

Lister turned to look at him. The distress he could see and hear from the mechanoid actually helped, allowing him to focus on something else. Something familiar. “It’s okay, Kryten,” he promised him. “I know you did.”

“In the end, I realised that all we could do was wait,” Kryten continued. “There was no way to speed up the healing process; you just needed to recover in your own time. So we placed you on life support, and made sure you were getting all the nutrients you needed to support your recovery. I’m afraid the rest is up to you.” He hesitated, looking from Lister, to Lister’s body, and back. “Well, up to him,” he added.

Lister nodded. “It just looks like he’s sleeping,” he said.

“It’s a coma,” Kryten said. “You’re breathing on your own, but if you were simply sleeping, you would have woken up by now.”

His chest moving coming up and down. The movement was barely perceptible, but now that Kryten had drawn his attention to it, Lister couldn’t stop himself from watching intently as his body drew air into its lungs and expelled it into the room.

Breathing meant life.

“What about brain damage?” he asked.

“I don’t think you need to worry about that, sir. From what I can tell, there has been no damage to the… to your brain itself. There is, however, a significant amount of swelling. Once that goes down, I see no reason not to expect a full recovery.”

Lister turned to glare at Rimmer for his earlier comments. Rimmer at least had the good sense to look guilty. “I was just warning you,” he said. You can’t be 100% certain of anything when it comes to the brain, Lister.”

“That is true, sir,” Kryten agreed. “However, in this case I’m almost 99.9% sure that there is no long-term damage to the brain.”

Something wasn’t adding up here. Lister’s fingers traced the shape of the letter ‘H’ on his forehead and tried to put his finger on what, exactly, was wrong. “So why bother with all this, Krytes?” he asked. “Why go to all the trouble of downloading my brain and making a hologram if you’re so sure I’m going to make a full recovery? Why not just wait for me to wake up? Couldn’t stand to live without me for a couple of days?”

Kryten glanced sharply at Rimmer. “You didn’t tell him?” he asked.

Rimmer tensed. “I… forgot,” he said.

Lister looked from one to the other. “Tell me what?” he asked.

Kryten folded his arms. “How can you forget something that significant? Really, sir, it’s not exactly a trivial detail.”

“What isn’t?” Lister asked, a little louder this time.

Rimmer folded his arms, immediately on the defensive. “I had a structured plan for the conversation, and I was going to get to it. It’s not my fault Lister decided to go off-script and push his hand through the bunk. It completely threw me off.”

Lister shook his head. “It threw you off? How do you think I felt? Can someone please tell me what the smeg is going on?”

From the other side of the bed, where he had been making himself comfortable in a chair, Cat looked up. “They forgot to tell you you’ve been asleep for six months already,” he said.

Lister spun around to look at Kryten and Rimmer. “What?” he said.

Kryten shifted uncomfortably. “It’s true, I’m afraid,” he said. “And honestly, I’m not sure how much longer it will be. Rather than let you sleep away potentially years of your life, we thought it would be preferable for you to live it, albeit as a hologram, until your body was recovered enough for you to move back in.”

Lister stared at Kryten for a full thirty seconds before turning to look at Cat again, and finally, back at Rimmer. “Six months?”

“I’m afraid so.”

Lister suddenly felt like he needed to sit down. Unfortunately, the one chair in the room was occupied by the Cat, and after the bunk incident, Lister wasn’t sure how safe he felt on anything other than the floor. He had seen Rimmer sitting -- or appearing to sit -- on all kinds of surfaces, and not once had he fallen through. Yet, Lister thought about his hand passing through the bunk below him, and was struck by a wave of uncertainty.

Even the floor underneath his feet didn’t feel safe. If he slipped through it, he wondered whether he could keep falling, out of the ship, and on through space indefinitely.

The thought did not appeal.

He folded his arms tightly, squeezing as hard as he could. “Six smegging months,” he said to himself.

“Hey, it’s not so bad,” Cat told him. “I’d love to take a nap that long. Can you imagine? And also, you see that little tube? The one feeding you?”

Lister looked. “Yeah.”

“Well, you know what it’s not feeding you? That curry stuff you’re always eating.”

Lister frowned. “Of course it’s not. So?”

“So?” Cat frowned at him in consternation. “That stuff stinks up the whole ship! Do you know how many times I’ve put on one of my favourite suits only to find that it smells of chicken vindaloo?”

Lister shook his head.

“Too many, that’s how many! And do you know how many times it’s happened in the past six months?”

“None?”

Cat stared at him in apparent amazement. “Yeah, that’s right! None! How’d you guess?”

Lister ignored him and turned back to Kryten. “So you’ve no idea how much longer it’ll take for me to get better?”

The mechanoid shook his head. “I’m afraid not, sir.”

“How about a guess?”

Rimmer stepped forward. “Lister, don’t be ridiculous. What would be the point in guessing?”

“An educated guess, I mean,” Lister protested. “I’m not talking about a stab in the dark here. He must have some idea.”

“Educated? Him?” Rimmer scoffed. He glanced scornfully at the mechanoid.

Lister ignored him and turned his attention back to Kryten. “Come on, Kryten. I mean, I’m assuming we’re not talking a couple more days or weeks, or you wouldn't have gone to all this bother, right? But am I looking at another six months? A year?” he hesitated, reluctant to go on. “Two years?”

Kryten appeared to be wringing his hands. “I’m sorry sir, but I honestly don’t know. Mr. Rimmer’s right, I’m not an expert when it comes to this kind of thing. I have no real medical training.”

Cat grinned. “Oh yeah, that’s right. Remember the crew on the ship where we found him? He hadn’t even noticed they’d died.”

“I’m much better than that now, sirs!” Kryten protested.

It was true, he was. Of course, it wasn’t difficult to be better than ‘unable to tell a skeleton from a living person’.

Lister sighed. “Yeah, I know you are, Kryten.”

He raised a hand to pat the mechanoid on the back, before remembering that he couldn’t and allowing his hand to drop back to his side.

“Alright,” he said. “So, six months. What did I miss in all that time?”

A series of glances went around the room.

“I finally got around to alphabetising my photographs of twentieth century telegraph poles,” Rimmer told him. “Only, I decided I didn’t like it, so I’ve gone back to chronological order.”

(next)

[potaetaezz]

|| Sweet Like Coffee || 10

prev << >> next

pairing: Nct Dream x Reader  [female]

genre/au: fluff | teeny bit of angst (to come) | enemies to lovers | Everyone is just a clueless bunch of weirdos, you get the drill… or so you thought.

warnings: slight swearing, immature content, underage drinking

A/N: its’s my first fanfic so no judgment lol | Jaemin is getting friskyyy | Longer Chp | here we go~

_____________________________________

You did end up regretting it. But not what you expected. 

Your lips didn’t meet Jaemin’s, and a part of you was grateful. Something happened to you when you were with him, it was like the rest of the world didn’t exist. You could say anything to him, do anything with him, and there would be no consequences, no regrets. That of course, wasn’t true. The minute you left you regretted your explanation, your candidness of your emotions, your feelings that won you over. You regretted the ‘I care’. You did care, something inside of you was making that very clear. But you didn’t want to. You couldn’t even distinguish how you cared, or in what way. 

There was a darkness, a greyness that inked his eyes, that told you to fall for him. There was a loss of control around him. You hated that. But most of all, you hated his ‘type’. His arrogance, his ego, his cockiness. Everyone always wants the ‘bad boy’, but not you. You craved someone who was good for you, someone who treated you right. Someone like Jeno. But Jaemin was confusing your thoughts, haunting your dreams. And you knew, that if you kissed him, those hazy shadowed dreams would come true. Sadly.

What you needed most right now, what you needed most whenever your emotions became too intimate, was space. You decided to take a step back from Jaemin that day. To take a step back from his bad influence, his dark, bitter eyes, his warmth. You didn’t like when your emotions became too inflamed, overly tenacious. For when your heart was aflame, it was all too easy to be swayed, by emotion, by luring eyes. You needed control, for if your feelings took over your power, took over your actions, you could make some very impulsive, unbearably regrettable decisions. 

                                                                 [7:09am]

You woke up to someone gently singing. A soft but hoarse voice. Lila.

‘How many people have the keys to my apartment??’

“Oh good your awake! Look Haechan’s party, we need-“

“Woah, Lila calm your shit okay, is that even today??”

Haechan’s parties were said to be unreal, and even that was an understatement. Crowds of people flowing in from anywhere to meet people, make bad decisions and have fun. No one knew anyone there, or barely anyone, and that’s what was so compelling. Haechan was basically a modern Gatsby in party terms. Of course, it would be amazing to let loose, have a drink, dance a bit. But you weren’t as sociable as Lila, and you couldn’t drink as much as Renjun. 

Renjun used to be like you, a little bit shy yet speckled with gregarious traits. But he befriended Haechan last year, and since then he could chug a naggin of vodka like it was water. And as for Lila, put her in the middle of any social gathering and she’d shine. You just- you didn’t know where you’d fit in - at the party.

“Yes, yes it is. Sooo what are you wearing?”

“Wearing? If I’m going uhm jeans—”

She interrupted before you could finish, with a half-suppressed laugh emerging. “Oh no honey, it’s a Halloween party.”

Leave it to Haechan to throw a Halloween party 2 weeks early.

“I’ll see.” You spit out, eyes smiling as Lila’s beamed.

———

Sitting down, staring at the empty whiteboard, you could feel something on you. A stare. Someone’s eyes mesmerising your figure, capturing you intently. Your back burned from the glare. You turned around. Fast. In hopes of catching the culprit with smoldering eyes.

Haechan. What a surprise. He always knew how to catch one's attention.

He quirked his eyebrows and passed a note to you. Once you gripped it, you could tell Jeno was curious beside you. Peering intently into its contents. 

‘You better come to the party. This is a personal invitation y/n.’

‘What a Gatsby move.’

You crumbled the note in one hand and shoved it into your bag, making sure both of them watched. He wasn’t going to influence your decision. If you were going, it would be for Lila, or for yourself. Not for some guy.

Your eyes gazed up to Jeno instinctively. He was focusing intently on the work on the board. ‘There has to be something beyond his smile’ you thought, ‘Eyes full of lust, some tantalising charm behind that innocence.’ Your blood warmed at the thought.

“So are you going?” his voice brought you back to reality.

You assumed he was on about Haechan’s party. “I don’t know” You chuckled lightly.

“You should.” His smile almost persuaded you, right there and then.

There was an attraction in his gaze, and you knew hoped he felt it too. You were falling deeper into the wrath of his smile, and you liked it. You wished nothing more than to reach over and fuse your smile with his. Nothing more than to simply talk with him, read with him, stay with him. Your feelings grew deeper and you hadn’t even noticed. Spending time with Jaemin really did confuse you. Little were you aware of how deep your feelings ran, in your veins, in your pulse. Little did you know how your tensions drowned away with the smile on his face. You weren’t an affectionate, sappy person, and you definitely weren’t good at expressing or understanding your emotions. Oh but only if you were. Haechan’s party would’ve gone a lot differently.

———

Arriving home, you noticed Ten was already there. Sitting right in front of the television, remote control in his hand.

“How was school?” He asked, trying to act brotherly.

“Do you care?” you laughed.

“Not really.” and he smiled brightly. “You going to Haechan’s party?”

You shook your head. As much as you like socializing, reading a book snuggled up with chamomile tea in your hand definitely beat it. During your final class, you had reached the conclusion that you were not going. You didn’t see the point, and at home, you could catch up on many missed episodes of your new binge tv show. ‘They’ll be fine without me’. 

lunalila560 : comin to Haechan’s?? [5:53]

imaginey/n :nahhh, too tired   [5:55]

——

[6:16]

A knock came from the door and in stepped Lila. She brought with her a huge blue gear bag filled with her most stylish clothes and makeup, because your most stylish clothes were probably your Christmas pajamas. She wore a short pink dress, with a black cropped denim jacket resting delicately on her shoulders. Black heels embraced her slender feet. Her hair was tied in two loose braids, with white glitter sprinkled casually over. Her makeup was classic with a dash of extra glitter to contrast. She was beautiful as always, and you were still in your pajamas, stuffing your face with popcorn as if watching a fashion show.

“Okay so…” she began. She held out a clothes hanger, your new Halloween costume hanging from it. “You’re coming, I don’t care what you say.”

You rolled your eyes but didn’t protest. Lila had clearly put effort into your costume, knowing fully well you would’ve actually worn jeans. She was always so organised like that.

“So what am I?” You sat on the edge of the couch, leaning into her beaming eyes, curious of her plans.

“Lara Croft.”

You nearly choked on air as your eyes filled with uncertainty. Ten chimed in with appreciation. You shook your head but she argued; “Just trust me.”

Lila knew you so well, too well in fact. The outfit was unarguably perfect for you. Not too revealing, comfortable, something you could dance in. She wanted you to wear shorts, but knowing you, she chose green cargo pants with a slit around the thigh instead. 

She plaited your hair, pulling out the messy bits at the front. Made your makeup look effortlessly casual. Smeared brown paint like ‘dirt’ on your body and grey tank top. Tied a bandage around the slit in your pants as if you were injured. And of course, who could forget a (toy) gun in your hand. You couldn’t deny you actually liked it. 

———

Lila walked beside you up Haechan’s driveway, wearing her version of ‘Jessica Rabbit’. Your breath trembled. You could already hear the music. There were a few people outside. You were late, by approximately 2 hours, which meant the party already started. You gulped. Butterflies dancing in your stomach. No. Wasps, stinging. 

By the time you had reached the porch, it was too late. Lila’s arm linked in yours preventing your escape. The sweat clammed your palms, and your armpits, which you prayed the dirt could hide the stains. Before Lila grabbed the doorknob, her eyes met yours. Telling you that it was going to be okay, that it was safe, that you should breathe. Little did she know the reason for your racing heart. But before you could blink, she pulled the door open, music shrieking in your ears.

The party was loud, real loud.

The house was beautifully designed, but there were way too many people to appreciate it. The place was crowded, people everywhere, streaming from the top of the stairs, out of the innumerable rooms up there, and people headed straight into the kitchen downstairs, or what you assumed was the kitchen. The lighting was dim, you could barely make out Lila’s face beside you. People were hanging over banisters, screaming, chanting. Music blaring, deafening your ears. And everyone was clearly very, very drunk.

Lila’s shout met your ear, yet you barely heard her; “Kitchen….drink?”

It didn’t matter for her hand tugged yours into a room, the kitchen. You bumped into everyone, dancing, laughing. You focused your eyes on the floor. You weren’t ready to recognise people yet. You needed alcohol for that. And lucky for you, you were nearly there.

You looked up when Lila came to a halt.

‘Holy shit.’

There wasn’t enough counter to hold all the bottles. From vodka to whiskey, it had everything. You didn’t know where to start. Lila did, however, as she shoved a cup filled with something in your hand. Before you knew it, you too were laughing. You were very nearly drunk on the atmosphere, on the music. You took a gulp of the vile concoction before you felt the heavyweight of a stare settling on you. That familiar glare. You quickly forgot about it as Lila refilled your drink. If anything was going to make this night easier, it was alcohol.

“You came!” 

Renjun screamed beside you. He had a rather large glass in his hand.

“Ms.Croft.” He added, “enchante.” 

A laugh escaped your mouth easily, “And what may you be?”

“Ayy matey, tis’ I, Jack Sparrow.” He completely failed the accent, but A for effort.

“How fitting.” you quirked your eyebrows, “a pirate always does have a drink in his hand.”

He bowed, his pirate hat falling off. Then, nearly collapsing on the floor with laughter. You couldn’t help but laugh with him.

Your eyes wandered to Lila who was already talking up a ‘Joker’. 

The alcohol buzzed in your veins, your body warming up to its comfort. You followed Renjun to another lively room. He began chatting aimlessly with people, and you stood beside him. Your body swayed to the music, feeling looser than it did an hour ago. You were lost in conversation when a finger tapped your back. You turned to see Haechan, standing a touch too close.

“Pleasure to see you here.” His voice engulfed in lure.

“Pleasure to be here.” Words slipped easily.

“Nice gun.” He sniggered, eyes judging it but the smile on his face loving it. You held it out, pointing it at him. You pressed the trigger, releasing a pathetic squirt of water. His hands were up before you could attempt a wink.

He was dressed in a suit, a very Gatsy suit.

He held out a drink, one that smelled sweet accompanied by a strawberry floating on top. He winked, properly, as your hand grasped it. A wink followed by that carefree laugh. You spent some time with Haechan, talking about things you couldn’t remember, drinking things you couldn’t distinguish and dancing, as awfully as you’d imagined. The alcohol began to race, rush through you, bubbling, fizzing. You lost track of time, of faces, of songs. 

“Have you seen Jeno?” you asked.

“Oh, lover boy? Nope.” he laughed

Your heart sagged just slightly. You reminded yourself that these parties last all night.

‘I’ll see him later.’

Yet again, you felt a set of eyes find you within the growing crowd. It wasn’t Haechan, you soon realised for you were with him, dancing. You scanned the room, but there was no one you recognised.

Until there he was, walking sauntering down the stairs, holding your gaze. His eyes wandered from yours to your ripped tank top, down to your boots. Taking in all of you. His stare full of deceit and depth, but none the less intoxicating. He stopped in front of you, looking down at you, into you. His teeth taunted his lip, bit his lip. A smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. Haechan disappeared, everyone disappeared, as if it was only you and him in the room.

You pulled out your gun, a smile taking over your mouth. “Hands up, Jaemin.”

He did as he was told, hands following your order. 

“And don’t you dare bite that lip.” You added, confidently. 

You traced his outline. His body embraced by a black suit. A white shirt peeking out behind his blazer. A black bowtie drawing your eyes to his neck, and then back up to his gaze. While you were admiring his suit, he pulled his own gun out to point at you. 

“Fair play.” he chuckled. 

“What even are you?” 

“You see, Ms.Croft” he began with that deep voice of his, “I was going to be your prince charming, but now, I’m your savior. It’s Jaemin, Na Jaemin.”

You couldn’t hold back a giggle as he winked. He surely was charming, but he was definitely no prince.

You forgot a lot, but the alcohol wasn’t going to let you forget how close you had been before. How close you had been to his bitten lip or his deceitful stare. 

“Care for a drink?” he asked.

“Of course.” but this time it was you who winked. 

It was when the drink met your lips that his head turned to the corner of the room. Yours followed. It was dark, you were borderline drunk, but you could always spot Jeno in a crowd. 

You dropped your drink. Your breath hitched.

Jeno wasn’t smiling at you, he didn’t even notice you. He was too busy sticking his tongue down some girls throat. His hands roaming her body, his mouth desperate, his teeth tugging at her lip. He was on fire yet your eyes watched, like ice.

You knew there was a part of him that was aflame, seduction lurking inside of him, he just didn’t want to show you. Disappointment tugged at your heart. You wanted to look away, but you couldn’t. You were frozen. You didn’t feel jealous or hurt (maybe a little bit). You felt pathetic, stupid for letting yourself believe that even the tiniest part of him was interested in you. Stupid for beginning to like him.

His mouth tore away from her, taking in oxygen when his eyes found you. Found you staring right back at him, at the girl, at their intensity. You almost saw a dim speck of regret in his eyes, but it was too dark to be true.

You panicked, his eyes still watching you. You looked to the ground, and then to Jaemin. His expression changed, from understanding to pure desire. You inched closer, making sure Jeno’s eyes were locked on you. You closed the gap between your beating heart and Jaemin’s. He looked into your eyes as if he was searching for something. Temptation speckled his iris. His hot breath meeting your cheek. Control disappearing from your grip.

Slowly, the music faded and so did the crowd, so did Jeno. It felt like it was just you two in the room, alone, a fraction away from each other. Your heart raced, breath shaky. His mouth searched for your ear, his voice ragged; “You’ll regret this.”

You opened your mouth to speak when his lips crashed against yours. You pulled away for an instant to see lust overtaking his gaze. Then he devoured you, lips moving in rhythm. Body melting into his. You could taste the desperation in his mouth, feel the want on his tongue as it plunged down your throat. His breathy sounds taunted your ear. His hands worked their way around your body, feeling each crevasse, each line until they settled a bit lower than your waist. Pulling you impossibly closer. His teeth teased your lips. Your mouth felt bruised but you couldn’t let go.

 His kiss was intoxicating. His passion ignited something in you. You couldn’t hold back a slight moan as his lips moved to your neck. Your fingers intertwined with his hair, pulling it. Want racing through your veins. His tongue demanding more of you, until you broke away, gasping for air. For a moment you tasted the alcohol on his breath, and it brought you back to reality. 

His smirk settled on you again.

His mouth dived for your ear once more, nibbling slightly before his hoarse voice spoke. 

“He’s still watching.”

_____________________________________

See you next time -> Wednesday 23rd xx

_____________________________________

[spirit-of-the-void]

Ebony and Ivory (V x Reader Fanfic) Chapter 7

Author’s Notes: Kiss those sewers goodbye, cause I certainly am.

Chapter 7

It felt like you had traveled through the sewers for hours.

Which was a complete nightmare in your opinion. You lost count of all the minor battles you and the others had gotten into. And to be honest—you were beginning to feel the strain. Your limit was increasing, sure, but you also could feel exertion coming in any fight now. The sewer had eventually led your group into a cargo barge. Which was somehow worse. The enemy from early was now above you and the rest of the group, slamming its strange feet through the top roof of the cargo ship and leaving you no choice but to attack it. You hardly had a chance to sit and rest with the poet at all, and both of you were showing the strain. Food was helping in its own way, but it could only do so much with all the fights.

Griffon and Shadow were trying to keep you in high spirits throughout the process, you could tell. Shadow rubbing gently against your legs and Griffon keeping the conversations light and, shockingly, insult free. You appreciated the effort, but you were eager to be free of the underground locations—you enjoyed the open air far more than the stuff, blood-filled stench of the sewers. The exhaustion was also making your filter slip a bit, which was definitely bad. You had to stop yourself from telling V you’d straight up suck his cock for a god damn shower. The poet was laid back, but not enough for you to say that to him. The inside of your cheek was raw from you biting it—it was either that or biting your nails and lips, which was way more visible.

Regardless, you and the others pressed on, only stopping once when your group heard Nero’s voice calling from above you. 

V stopped immediately, gaze darting up to see Nero looking down at all of you from one of the holes punched in the ceiling. He looked a little banged up, out of breath from fighting what looked to be the huge thing from before—you had to give him props. You didn’t even want to begin to touch that thing in a fight, but he seemed to be holding his own fairly well. You heard it collapse moments before, realizing pretty fast just who was fighting the creature in all its glory. Nero was not a quiet battler by any stretch of the word—he was extra and boisterous, and boy did he curse a lot.

He blinked down at all of you, huffing out air as he asked, “What the hell are you guys doing down there?”

Griffon let out a light scoff, gesturing with his beak to the creature weakly moving behind the white-haired boy.

“You didn’t think you did that all by yourself, did ya?” He puffed his feathers up in smug amusement, making you smile a bit. Griffon was a big boaster, but in reality, you guys hadn’t done all that much. Attacking the legs was more out of necessity than anything.

Regardless, Nero didn’t seem impressed. A smirk was on his lips as he crouched down, sword slung over his shoulder as he replied, “Y’kno, I bet you taste like chicken.”

Griffon’s smug amusement immediately turned to annoyance, the bird releasing annoyed huffs as he growled, “Oh, you ungrateful son of a—”

V stuck out his cane, stopping the bird from flying up at the boy. He seemed unfazed, smirking at their banter. Griffon let out an annoyed grunt and backing down from the conflict, flying back to your shoulders, muttering curses as he angrily settled himself on his favorite perch. You gave him a light pat on the head, smiling ruefully at him when you met his gaze. He and Nero seemed pretty prone to butting heads, you’d have to keep that in mind.

Nero’s gaze slid to you next, looking you over with a hint of worry. That is if you weren’t mistaken, you were pretty worn out and reading people was a bit difficult.  

“How are you holdin’ up, Y/N?” He asked, jerking his chin in your direction, “Is jackass there bothering you?”  

Jackass, in reference to Griffon. The bird let out another angry squawk, glaring daggers at Nero. You smiled up at him, shaking your head no.

“I’m okay,” You replied, giving him a small, albeit friendly wave of your hand, “We’ve been fighting a lot of demons down here.”

Nero let out understanding grunt, squeezing the hilt of his sword, “You’re tellin’ me. It’s been a mad house out here.”

You gave an apologetic smile, watching as V turned a few steps to point his cane up at the creature behind Nero, slowly rising to its huge feet.

“We’ll leave this beast to you,” He said in a light purr, giving Nero a passing glance as he began walking down another tunnel, “We must press on.”

Nero let out a light huff, still wearing that smirk as he rose to his feet again. You managed another wave, turning with Griffon still clinging to your shoulders and muttering to himself. For someone who gave a lot of shit, Griffon seemed pretty easily angered when receiving shit back. You were lucky enough to make peace and now have light banter with the bird—a mutual understanding of sorts. He dished out insults and now you were almost allowed to throw them back, and Griffon got a kick out of it. You were glad for that at least, it made conversations a lot more fun to have.  

“Can believe you waved at that asshole,” Griffon huffed, sounding particularly moody, “Little miss friendly. Little miss nice to everyone. Completely fucking unreal.”

You smiled innocently, giving his head another light pat as you cooed, “Aww does someone need a hug? Was that big bad demon hunter mean to you?”

“Ha ha, look at you the big comedian,” Griffon mocked, puffing out his feathers and snapping his beak by your ear, “When are you takin’ that shit on tour, toots? I’ll buy tickets.”

You laughed, the sound having a bit of a tired edge, “You think I’d make you buy tickets? You shame me, Griffon,” You tapped his talons, letting out a light hum as you added, “I’d get you tickets for you, free of charge.”

He let out a light trill, rolling his eyes as he leaned his head back and squawked mockingly, “I’m touched, I really am.”

You laughed lightly again, knowing the little fight had no weight when Griffon snickered too. V was walking slightly ahead of you, but you think you heard him let out a bemused “Hmm” at you both chatting. You quickened your steps to catch up with the poet. You wished you could ease his fatigue a bit, but being so close to exertion was a slippery slope for you both. You didn’t want to be a burden during the fighting, it was best saved for emergencies. Still, you worriedly looked at V as he trudged along, jumping down a hole in the cargo barge and leading into what looked to be—more sewers. You groaned aloud, leaning against a wall and releasing all your inner torment in one long stream.

Griffon let out a light snicker, flapping his wings as he hovered in front of you.

“Ladies and gentlemen—we've lost her,” He announced, seeming pretty damn amused about it, “You wanna lie down and take a nap, toots? Need a hug?” Mocking your comment from earlier it would seem. Joke was on him; you liked hugs and definitely wouldn’t mind one.

You glared at him, though the action had no actual heat, “Laugh it up, bird. But I’d sooner die than lie down on this floor.”

Griffon let out another light peal of laughter, circling back around to V, who was leaning against a wall as well. He had a less than pleased look himself, eyeing your frown with one of his own. One of the few moments you had seen him displeased. He was exhausted too, that much you could definitely tell. He was huffing lightly after a few steps of walking, dark circles under his eyes as he rose a hand to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose a bit. You felt nervousness swirl in your stomach, debating expending the energy anyway just to help him.

“V...” You began to say, ready to activate your tendrils to latch on to him.

He let out a low, rumbling hum at you, opening his eyes again to skewer you with a sharp gaze. You immediately froze, a worried look in your eyes as you stopped in place.

“Don’t even think about it,” He murmured, eyeing you with a searching gaze of his own as he tipped his cane in your direction, “You’re reaching your own limits, I can tell.”  

“Yeah?” You countered in a challenging tone, “And how can you tell that? Not that you’re right.”

He let out a light “Hmm” at you, raising a brow at your defensive tone.

“Because I know you,” He replied in a smug voice, “Had you actually had energy to spend, you would have done it before now.”

You let out a low mumble, hating that he was right. You pushed off from the wall, eyeing your surroundings with displeasure as you contemplated if you and your group should just find a place to rest. You had spent a good portion of time down there—it had to be night sooner or later. Though the only thing stopping you now was the fact that sewers were crawling with demons, there were no safe places to rest. Sleeping out in the open was definitely not a smart thing to do, a risk not worth taking after such a long day of fighting. If you could get skyward, you could find maybe an abandoned apartment and crash there. Or maybe call Nico and see if she would let you crash in the van.  

V, however, had different plans. He pushed off from the wall as well, pointing his cane down at the ground. You watched Shadow turn their head, immediately turning back into their normal essence at V’s feet. You blinked, wondering just what the hell he was doing. He gripped the cane, pressing it into the cloud of essence before turning and holding his hand out to you.  

“Here,” He said in that sultry purr, offering you a half smile, “This will make for faster travel.”

You blinked in confusion, taking his hand but hesitating to step onto what you knew was damn well Shadow underneath his feet.

“This won't hurt Shadow will it?” You said nervously, gaze still down on the floor.

He gave your hand a light squeeze, his skin warm and the sensation making your stomach do a quick flip. Whoops, that probably wasn’t a good sign. Your brain needed to calm down.

“They won’t feel any pain,” He promised, tugging you forward so you were forced to step onto the essence as well, “This form has many uses."

The sensation you felt upon stepping onto the swirling essence was strange—like is was both hard yet not at the same time. You tested your weight, still worried about the cat’s well-being underneath you and V. You trusted the poet, but it was still in your nature to feel concern about it. Much to your continued surprise, V pulled you closer to him. Right against him, in fact. You were suddenly right against his back, the goth pulling your arms around his waist so you were hugging him from behind. Oh no. Your heartbeat immediately went crazy, pounding in your chest. His height was vastly different from yours, your face pressed into his upper back as his hands released you.

“Hold on tight.” He said in a soft, sultry voice, your eyes catching a glimpse of that half smirk as he turned away. He seemed pretty amused, but from where your hands were you could feel his heart beating fast. You blinked—maybe that was from him exerting himself?

You didn’t dwell on it long. You heard Griffon let out a low, amused chortle, catching his knowing gaze just a moment before his dissolved back into his Master’s form. You fought a groan—Griffon totally caught you red faced and dazed at being so close to the god damn sandal-wearing goth. You were going to hear about that later, you knew that much. You were lucky Griffon at least had tact in that department, he rarely said embarrassing shit in front of V about it. Rarely. That little quip earlier when he returned from death was still pretty unwarranted. Bastard bird wasn't going to make things easy on you.

Regardless.

V suddenly tilted his cane forward, sending your thoughts careening away from your musings as you and he were moving fast through the sewer. You gasped, griping the goth tighter as you sped along, staring in wonder at the ground as it swept by. Shadow was a swirling mass under you both, gliding you and V quickly through the winding tunnels, through new locations you hadn’t seen yet. Your foresight flared a couple of times, but the goth made it past a lot of the barriers before they could even form. Thank god for that at least; you couldn’t take being covered in anymore demon guts and blood. You sighed softly. The time in the Void had definitely taken some of your stamina and strength—you remembered being able to fight for a whole day without rest before. Not being able to do so now was understandable but frustrating.

You contented yourself in enjoying the moment, resting your face against V’s back and closing your eyes. It was easy to tell this close how skinny he was—his wiry frame shifted and moved under your hands, tilting when you needed to turn. The leather of his vest still managed to smell nice, fresh in a way despite all the fighting. With Griffon not present, you could luckily rest as much as you want without feeling too embarrassed about clinging to V. The poet didn’t seem to mind either, although you couldn’t see his face. You hoped this wasn’t hindering him in anyway.

This new form of travel made quick work of finally, blessedly, leaving the sewers. You let out a delighted gasp as you finally neared a tunnel with brighter light, a low hole open in the ceiling that was big enough for you to pass through. To your slight disappointment, you could see rain pattering through the hole instead of the sun, but that was heavily welcome over the dank warmth of the tunnels. You felt V turn an arm, wrapping it around your waist as Shadow sent you both launching out of the hole, into the fresh, damp air. Water pattered on your face the instant you landed, a cry of delight leaving you as you plopped down on the ground and tilted your head back. Thank the lord, the choir, and all the angels. Rain had never felt so damn good.

You heard V let out a chuckle, sitting down on a piece of nearby rubble as Shadow reformed, letting out a disgruntled roar and shaking the rain out of their fur. You tried to focus less on the goth with rain pattering on his form and more on the mighty cat now that it was back. They immediately trotted over to you, sitting by your feet and blinking away the rain. You smiled as they stared at your face, rubbing a hand over their moistened fur. They seemed no worse for wear after their little gliding trip, which was a good thing. Only problem was now that it was raining out, you were all on a quick path to wet clothes and the risk of colds. Mind you, it was still fairly comfortable temperature wise, you still didn’t want to take any chances.

Griffon reappeared as well, letting out a disgusted squawk as the rain began to soak him.

“Ahh fuck! This blows,” He hissed, gliding over and ducking under Shadow for cover. The cat grunted, forced to stand on all fours to accommodate him, “I hate the god damn rain...!”

You smiled, fully understanding why he as a bird wouldn’t like it. Getting wet was always rough on the feathers, it probably made it hard for him to fly. You looked down at him huddled under the cat, his feathers beaded with rain water. He shook himself out, splattering you with some of it and making you chuckle.  

V let out a low hum, running a hand through his hair. You blinked up at him, hating how much you enjoyed the sight of his black hair, dripping wet and half moved back and away from his pale face. Bad, you reminded yourself. You were being bad. You looked away, but not before you noticed water droplets dripping down his neck, over his tattoos. And not before Griffon noticed you noticing.

He let out another low chortle as V stood, the wry man rolling his shoulders and starting forward again. Griffon quickly flapped his wings, flying up so he could land on your shoulders as you rose to follow. His beak was at your ear the next instant, his voice in a low, amused hiss.

“Looks like somebody was already wet long before the rain started.” His tone had a sing-song edge, beak so close it brushed your ear.  

You immediately put a hand to your mouth to hide a squeak, a shocked expression on your face as you turned to look at the bird. You made a shushing motion, embarrassment and annoyance filling you as you gave him a glance promising violence. Griffon chortled again, both of you looking at V to see if he had noticed. Which, luckily, it appeared not to be the case. He was still strolling forward, eyes locked on what appeared to be a phone booth resting against a building’s wall. You tried not to focus on what Griffon said, glancing around at your surroundings. Back in the city again, only this appeared to be a courtyard of sorts. A few husks were here, which made you wince, and several abandoned cars and broken pavement.  

You quickly caught up to V, feeling pretty renewed now that the rain was washing over you. Though you felt bad Griffon and Shadow didn’t seem to enjoy it. As for you, you were sure the feeling of wet clothes would start to bother you once it reached your panties and the insides of your shoes. V seemed unaffected by it, but you could definitely tell he was winded now that you were in bright light. No more fights for the day, or at least you hoped. The sky was darkening a bit, so you were hoping once you called Nico you guys could find a place to bunker down and dry off.  

“Gonna call Nico?” You asked when V entered the phone booth, shaking out his hair a bit.

“Yes.” He replied, already dialing the number. You leaned against the phone booth, tilting your face toward the sky and closing your eyes as the rain pattered down on you. Hair already soaked, which was fine. Not exactly a shower, but you would take the feeling of sewers being washed away however you could. You ran your hands through your sopping locks, pushing them back a bit and letting out a light sigh. The day had gone by so fast, but the lovely morning of waking up curled with all your new companions felt so long ago. You doubted it could happen again if you found a place with more than one place to rest, and you half hoped you would only find one bed again. A stupid thought, an impulsive thought. You opened your eyes again, smiling wistfully as you internally scolded yourself.

You thought you felt someone staring at you, and confirmed it when you turned and caught V’s gaze moving away, body moving back to the phone as it dialed the mechanic. You blinked—had he been watching you?

He suddenly spoke, probably due to Nico picking up the phone.

“Hey, we can use a hand.” He said simply, tone low and smooth.

“Yeah yeah, I’ll head on over.” Nico sounded only slightly annoyed—you knew she was eager for the progress report on the daggers you had used. The annoyance held no weight.  

You slid down on one side of the phone booth to wait, closing your eyes and humming a quiet tune as the wait for Nico’s arrival would start. You half wondered what elaborate entrance she would make this time, but you knew your imagination was not that creative. Shadow decided to plop their mighty head on your lap, making you grunt softly, but happily as they too closed their eyes to get some rest. V slid down on the other side of the phone booth, setting his cane down on the pavement. You were disappointed—you couldn’t see his face this way. As for Griffon, he was the only one who seemed content enough with sitting in the dry phone booth, entering a bird position of rest as beads of water pattered from his puffed-out frame. He looked pretty grumpy, so you decided on leaving him alone.

The silence stretched peacefully for a few moments, broken only by the soft falling of rain. You wanted to say something, but you weren’t sure what.

Shockingly, it was V who broke the silence.

“Tell me, Y/N,” His voice was soft and smooth, head tilted back against the phone booth as rain continued to soak the both of you, “You asked me about my family...but what of yours? You mentioned to Griffon you didn’t remember them...did you grow up alone?”

You felt yourself hesitate, unable to figure out how to answer his question.

“Hmm...” You murmured lightly, clasping your hands in your lap, “It’s hard to say.” The answer to his question felt like a yes, but also a no. You grew up with parents, but you were still alone...trying to remember sent a pain through your skull, energy flaring and commanding that such actions were a firm no.

You pressed a hand to your temple, tone slightly strained as you replied, “I had parents growing up...but they weren’t kind ones. I think in a way I did grow up alone...but I don’t remember much of anything.” Not a lie, at least that’s what you told yourself. How could you be fully truthful if you didn’t remember the truth yourself?

V let out a small sound of understanding, turning his head to look at you. The sight of rain water glistening on his black lashes sent your heart into a frenzy.

“You seem to have a problem with memory,” He said, not in an accusing tone. More observant, curious, “Is there any reason for that?”

You hesitated again, unsure of how much to share.

“I...” You didn’t want to keep with the half truths. You didn’t like to lie. You squeezed your right wrist with your left hand, hard enough that your nails dug in.  

Pain is a reminder.

“The Deity I get my power from,” Your voice was low, eyes tired as you smiled wistfully and stared ahead, “He removed a lot of my memories...It was to help me cope with trauma. I still...feel them there, like residue traces. It's like a ghost of a memory remains...all the emotions and feelings that came with it but without substance. Cut in half.”

V paused again, causing worry to settle in your frame. You couldn’t bring yourself to look back at his face.

When he spoke his tone was soft, filled with a deep curiosity, “Fascinating,” He murmured, sending a bit of relief pouring through you, “This Deity...you’ve actually spoken to it? How far back do you remember?”

You tapped your fingers on your arm, glancing down to see you were bleeding slightly from your own nails. You tilted your wrist down, holding it again as you thought over a good response.

“I have,” You replied, now deciding to peek over at him. He was becoming absolutely soaked, black hair clinging to his face and dripping water all over. His jade eyes met your, searching and filled with a deep fascination—the sight made your heart pound a little faster, words a little looser, “He shows himself to me on occasion, talks to me. As for my memories...it varies. If you’re wondering if I’m going to suddenly forget you guys the answer is no, it's just my past memories that are effected.” You would not let the Deity erase your memories of them, even if this place somehow managed to break you.

V nodded once, turning his gaze back and closing his eyes from the rain. You blinked—had you seen relief there in his expression before he turned away? Regardless, that half smile was on his lips now, softening his features. You had to let out a slow breath to steady yourself, pressing your hands to your cheeks and closing your eyes. You needed to get a grip, you needed to focus. You thought you heard Griffon let out another low chuckle, but you weren’t going to look at him to confirm it. He needed to behave himself too. As it was, Shadow was being a good cat, snoozing in your lap and ignoring the steady patter of rain on their fur. You appreciated their silent support.

After a few more seconds of waiting you hear a low rumble and the sound of tires. You blinked tiredly when V tapped the phone booth was his cane to alert everyone, rising to his feet with a low grunt. You scratched Shadow behind the ears once before stretching your legs and arms out, letting out a light groan of strain. God, you could use a nap, in an actual bed. Warm, fresh sheets and a cool fan blowing. You shook your head, looking up to see V holding a hand out to help you up. You took it, rising to your feet and giving his fingers a light squeeze. His support was always appreciated, always there to put a little more pep back in your step.

He smiled at you, releasing your hand just as Nico’s van came bursting through the ground.

Both you and V whipped around, taking several steps back as the mobile home shoot out, quickly leaning forward and slamming onto the pavement on all four wheels. You heard Griffon let out a startled squawk, looking at the new hole in the ground and at the now present van. You had to agree with him—you didn’t know how the fuck Nico pulled this shit off, or why, but it was definitely impressive. You just worried one of these days that she was gonna hurt herself by doing it. Or hit you or the others with the van without trying to.

You exchanged an exasperated glance with V, who merely gave a light shrug and started toward the van. As he did so, Nico opened the driver’s side window, half sticking her head out to look at you and the poet.

“Hurry it up!” She yelled in her southern drawl, looking pretty frazzled, “I’ve gotta go stop by dipshit next! He’s all out of arms again!”  

V let out a low hum, stepping into the van when the mechanic threw a towel at his face. He caught it with a grunt, giving her  a raised brow as she crossed her arms.

“No dripping on my floor!” She growled, pointing a finger at him, “Now make it fast.”

“Certainly.” V still sounded amused, all things considered. He towel dried his hair lightly as he walked to the back of the van to use the statue. You opted on staying outside, leaning against the van and giving Nico a friendly smile and wave. You definitely didn’t want to risk getting water on anything.  

Nico approached you eagerly, poking her head out of the van to address you.

“How were those daggers?” She asked without pleasantries. Which you expected.

You pulled one out, giving it a light twirl as you hummed, “Very interesting. They provide an effect that does blue fire damage to demons. If I stab them enough, they explode.”

Nico looked downright delighted, nodding eagerly and smirking with the pride of a true artist.

“Hell yeah!” She exclaimed, giving you a pat on the back, “Keep that shit up—I'm cookin’ up somethin’ real excitin’ from that fancy crystal you gave me.”

You nodded once, the action sending water droplets flying off your hair. It seemed to occur to Nico that you were still standing out in the rain, looking pretty drenched at a little tired. Her excited expression slipped to one that was more concerned, her gaze shifting between you and V as he did his thing back at the statue.  

“You doin’ alright?” She asked you, placing a single hand on your soaked head, “You’re fuckin’ drenched. Hate to say it, but you look like shit.”

You let out a light laugh at that, “You’re right and you should say it. We’re probably gonna find somewhere to sleep for the night soon.”

She still looked worried, “Is there anythin’ ya need? Wait—hold that thought.” She turned back into her van, rummaging through some drawers and the like beyond your view. You let out a light breath, patiently waiting for her return and for V to be done. The rain was beginning to soak through your clothes, a previous speculation confirmed when you shifted in discomfort. Wet clothes were not fun, nor welcome. Once you got the energy back you could dry yourself, but waiting in this personal hell until them was not very encouraging. And stripping down to let stuff dry definitely wasn’t an option.

Nico returned a moment later with what appeared to be a grocery bag filled with items you couldn’t see. She sat down on the steps of her mobile home, handing it to you as you sat down as well. Unlike with V, she said nothing about you dripping on her van.

“Consider that a girlie care package,” She said in a low voice, cupping a hand near her mouth so only you could hear, “Got some stuff in there for ya—I know how shit goes.”

You blinked, holding the bag in the van so it didn’t get wet. You were pretty sure you saw a towel in the bag, some bandages, a few little toiletry things like tampons and the like. You blinked—there were a pair of clean panties in there too. Nico definitely thought ahead. You looked up at her with a grateful expression, met with a smug one of her own.

“I always keep shit in the van,” She replied, leaning back on her arms and tilting her gaze to meet yours, “Never know when I or someone else might need it. You sure you and the goth don’t wanna just rest in the van tonight? I’ve got spare clothes.”

You smiled ruefully, looking in the distance where a bundle of Qliphoth roots were resting.

“We have to destroy those first,” You replied, “And you have to go help Nero.”

Nico scoffed, “I’ll swing by and pick his dumb ass up and come back. How about you and mister poet meet us the second street over on the train tracks in like an hour?”

You paused. To be truthful, that sounded more appealing than resting in someone’s abandoned home. The mobile home would be cramped, so you hoped V and the others would be okay with it too. Regardless, you nodded, offering the mechanic a tired smile and wringing out your hair a bit.

“That would be lovely,” You replied, which made her smile in relief, “We’ll destroy the roots and wait for you there.”

Nico gave a light nodded, patting you on the back before hopping to her feet. Just as she did, V came walking back to the side door, handing Nico back the towel before he stepped back into the rain again. You made quick work of summoning the bag back from before and depositing the new contents inside before you followed after him. The door slid shut behind you as you stood, absorbing the bag back and turning to face the now-wet poet again.  

Nico called out the window at you, “Remember to meet me in an hour!” Before closing it again and pressing on the gas. Her van was skidding off into the distance within moments, leaving you and your group alone once more. You let out a light sound of amusement, meeting V’s usual bemused gaze before turning in the direction of the roots.

“We’re meeting Nico later?” V questioned as you started forward with him, giving his cane a light twirl before tapping it on the ground.

“Mhm,” You nodded lightly, clasping your hands behind your back as Griffon landed on your shoulders, “I hope you don’t mind, I agreed to us staying with her and Nero tonight.”

He let out a low hum, tilting his gaze forward as he replied, “No objections from me.”

You smiled in relief, looking away from him and quickening your step. The faster you destroyed the Qliphoth roots, the faster you and the poet could get some well needed rest. Though as you walked, you realized that shit would never come easy, not by a long shot.

Your foresight began to flare as you neared an archway, hissing voices heard nearby. Your heart began to pound at the prospect of another god damn battle, also mingled with annoyance. You were tired of fighting for the day, that was definitely sure. Regardless, V pressed himself against a nearby wall to hide, pulling you to the side and pressing his cane over your chest to hold you back. Joke was on him; you definitely had no intentions of getting caught.

You caught sight of whatever the fuck the thing was before ducking into cover, and it was pretty ugly. It looked like a three-part woman attached to a gross, deformed giant chicken. With writhing mandibles and claws coming from its body, saliva dripping from its maw. Yikes. In front of it stood what looked to be a powerful demon on horseback, wielding what looked to be a lightning sword atop an equally-fancy looking horse. Oh no. Oh, that looked bad. You didn’t like the sight of this one bit, foresight flaring in an alarming way as V listened on to what they were saying.

“Malphas....of course, more trouble,” Griffon growled at your feet, sticking his dumb beak out to glare at the two creatures. He peered at the horseback guy with beady eyes, continuing much too loudly for your tastes, “Not sure about that one, though. Never seen him before, not in the Underworld any—”

You quickly grabbed him before V could, holding your hand around his beak and cradling him against you almost like an angry cat. V put a finger to his lips in a shushing motion, eyeing the bird then you before turning to look back at the obvious threats. You had no idea who Malphas was, but she was a scary looking enemy and you already decided you didn’t like her. Hell, you didn’t like this whole situation. So much for your group killing a simple bundle of roots and moving on. You had to admit, you excepted things to go wrong some way or another. Only this time it was cutting into your much needed rest and relaxation. You were wet, grumpy, and certainly in no mood to fight a glorified naked bird.

Regardless, Malphas was talking.

She was rasping at the rider in a strange, warbled tone of voice, black eyes staring him down with firm intensity.  

“Search for the devil sword Sparda," She growled, body glowing with demonic energy, "You know where it is...He told me to leave it be, but I'm afraid it still concerns me."

The devil sword Sparda? You had no idea what the hell that was, but the term made V squeezed his cane tightly so hard his knuckles turned white, eyes alight with interest. It sent your heart pounding again, realizing that this may actually be a fight V didn’t want to walk away from. Griffon let out a muffled, quiet squawk at the name of the sword as well, eyes wide as they looked over to the poet watching this scene unfold. Even Griffon seemed concerned, so you had to wonder just what the fuck it all meant.

“As long as there is a blood descendant of Sparda...I cannot take any chances.” Maplphas continued, drawing your attention again. Who was Sparda? And who was the descendant? Your confusion only grew.  

“Do you understand?!” The woman’s screeching voice made you jump a bit, leaning back against the wall, “Find it, and destroy it! Only then will his reign be truly realized...!” You assumed “He” was Urizen, which was pretty much the only thing that made any sense to you.

The rider never replied to the deranged demon, silence following her words. You watched as she walked forward through a purple, swirling portal, disappearing out of view in a flash. One threat gone, but the rider still remained. And much to your absolute displeasure, V stepped out from his hiding spot. You released Griffon, instantly stepping up beside him to make sure he didn't do something absolutely stupid. You realized right away that the driven, focused look was back in his eyes, like he didn’t seem to realize you were there for a moment. You, Griffon, and Shadow took up places  beside him, your foresight signaling you that danger was going to happen if you proceeded, but there was no stopping that.

V tapped his cane on the ground with a heavy, metalic sound. It made the rider turn, a low growl coming from its throat as it readied its weapon with a burst of purple, crackling energy. The horse under it reared with a loud whiny, eyes glowing a firey blue as the creatures now faced you. Bad, this felt bad. You had no idea how to handle this.  

“I see. I know what you are.” V’s voice was a low, sultry tone. His expression was alight with anticipation, staring the creature down and griping the top of his cane.

He lifted the silver rod and tapped the handle onto the palm of his hand, tilting his head to the side as he murmured a sultry, threatening tone.

“Don’t worry...I’ll be gentle."

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18136193/chapters/43032029

Tagged: @just-call-me-no-name @silentwhispofhope @nightshadow4713 @slightlylunatic @efiicitia

[chemicalmagecraft]

I Would Totally Kick Jiraiya’s Butt Chapter 1

A/N: So this has a funny story behind it. I've been binge watching all of Naruto Shippuden recently and around the time when I got to the part where (spoiler alert) Jiraiya died, my English teacher had us answer a question that was something along the lines of "If you could live in a fictional universe, which would it be?" So, naturally, due to a combination of the revelations about Jiraiya lowering my already low opinion of him and someone making me think about self-insert fanfics, I decided to write this. Hopefully, I don't fail horribly like a lot of SI fics. Still, I would very much appreciate any feedback so as not to end up with a horrible SI sue fic. That being said, story me is going to train a lot because real life me has no life so why would story me.

TL;DR: I hate Jiraiya.

P.S. I was originally going to call this fic I Would Totally Kick Jiraiya's Ass, but apparently that's against rules...

kukukuku~

The village was devastated. So many of the buildings were smashed, and so many people had lost their lives to the Kyubi. Entire squads of ninja were needed to sift through the wreckage for any survivors. It is with two of these ninja that our story starts. "This destruction..." one ninja said. "It's unreal... How could this happen?"

"The nine-tailed demon fox," the other ninja replied brusquely. "That damned fox killed people by stepping on them. What else would happen when it went on a rampage? Now come on, we need to clear this whole sector in an hour."

"Do you hear that?" the first ninja asked. The second ninja stopped talking and listened for a bit.

"Is that... a baby crying?" he said. They both hurried to where the sound seemed to be coming from. A ray of light pierced the clouds to fall down on a blanket on top of a large piece of rubble. One of the ninja lifted up the blanket to reveal... a log. The other ninja rolled his eyes and picked up the baby lying on another piece of rubble. The child, a boy, couldn't have been more than a few months old. He had a thick head of brown hair and dark marks under his eyes. The ninja rocked the baby, and he stopped crying. He opened his hazel eyes and cooed at the sight of the man. "Found the baby. Let's take him to the other survivors. Hopefully one of the survivors is looking for him."

"And if not?"

"Then the kid's going to be in for a rough childhood."

"Well just in case, let's give him a name."

"Kouki." (Koh-key. Has kanji for either light or happiness and either light or hope)

"Why?"

"If he needs the name, then he's gonna need what it means more."

kukukuku~

I plopped down on my bed and groaned. One moment I was writing the assignment thinking about how I would totally beat up Jiraiya if I was in Naruto and in the next three years had passed and I was a small child in a Konohagakure orphanage. I immediately recognized this as the start of a self-insert fanfiction because I know myself. 

"Really, Me?" I asked. "You just had to write an SI." If I'm going to be doing this, I'm sooo going to fourth-wall break. "You'd better give me a good reason for knowing the future so I don't get thrown in an insane asylum." I paused. "Does Konoha even have insane asylums? Thinking about it, they don't really seem to have any form of psychological therapy, what with how nobody helped any of the various orphans in Naruto. Or Hinata, for that matter. Where was I again? Oh, right! I could also use a way to refresh myself on the timing of things, Me." I licked my lips. "Well," I said, "seems that habit followed me here. I should probably cut down on it or people might think I'm the secret child of Orochimaru and... I don't know, Tsuyu Asui?" 

I thought about that for a moment and groaned again. "Thanks for that mental image, brain. That was almost as bad as that one horrible dream I had where Naruto and Jiraiya were..." I trailed off, screamed, stood up, and walked to the nearest wall, which I immediately started banging my head on. As I did that, an older orphan came in the room.

"What are you doing?" he asked me.

"Punishing my brain," I stopped to answer.

"Why?"

"Because it needs to be punished."

"O...kay... just... don't hurt yourself?" He walked away, muttering, "Weirdo."

Once I decided that my brain had been punished enough (I took the headache as a sign of surrender), I plopped back down on my bed. "What now?" I said to myself. A leaf drifted through an open window and landed on my forehead. It was at this moment that I realized that I somehow knew how to mold and use chakra to some degree as if it was instinctual. "Plus ultra, I guess." I started channeling chakra into the leaf on my forehead, hoping that I was doing the chakra exercise right.

kukukuku~

I collapsed, water splashing slightly as I fell on its surface. It had been a little over a month and my complete and utter lack of a life had served me well in my quest for power. I'd managed to slip off to a secluded area of woods with a lazy and shallow river where I'd spent a great deal of time mercilessly training myself in the ways of sticking leaves to myself, only stopping for a rest and snack break when I started to get tired. At first, I couldn't do too much because, as a child of a little over three years, my chakra reserves were limited (though I think that my reserves were also higher than they should have been due to me having the mental energy of a teenager). Of course, practice makes perfect, so I soon found myself able to use more chakra at once. Once I could hold multiple leaves on multiple parts of my body simultaneously for a few seconds, I upgraded to tree climbing. While I didn't have any kunai to mark my progress, I'd figured out how to channel chakra through my fingernails to leave small scratches in the bark without harming my nails, which I ended up calling Cat Claws Jutsu. Once I was able to walk up trees like I was walking on the ground and also stick leaves to myself while doing it, I took a day for rest (chakra exhaustion sucks) and then started on water walking. 

That... that involved much more getting wet than I'd like to admit... Eventually, however, I'd managed to get water walking down pat and included leaves in it as well, which is what I had just finished at that point. I got up, figuring that laying down on the water is probably a bad idea, and got to solid ground before plopping down on the grass. As I did, the leaves that had been clinging to my skin fell off. I pulled out the apple I'd brought as a snack. Mmm, fuji apples. When I was done devouring the fruit, I licked my lips, wrapped the core in the napkin I'd stored it in, and lay there for a bit. I breathed in the nice, Springy air. So far as I knew, the Land of Fire was constantly warm, which is how it got its name. I certainly wasn't complaining; I like it hot. Once I'd caught my breath and had time to rest, I picked up one of the leaves I'd been using for training. "Time for some advanced training," I said. I sandwiched the leaf between my palms, closed my eyes, and focused. "Two fronts grinding against each other," I thought. Snip. I opened my hands, revealing that the leaf had developed a small cut on it, as if someone had cut it with a pair of scissors. "It's a start," I said.

kukukuku~

When I started with wind chakra, I decided to start doing light exercise not related to chakra. I didn't want to do too much because I had once heard something about lifting weights as a child stunting growth or something. It probably wasn't as big of a problem in a world where Rock friggin Lee can exist, but I still wanted to be careful. I just did some light jogging (while collecting and attempting to cut leaves), sit-ups (while attempting to cut leaves), and push-ups (fun fact: it is very hard to cut leaves with wind chakra while doing push-ups, but not impossible). It was on a jog around the playground near the orphanage that everyone played in that I saw him. A blonde boy with markings on his cheeks sitting alone by a tree. All of the other kids were ignoring him. 

I distantly remembered a time when one of the adults from the orphanage took us all aside and told us that he was a demon and we shouldn't play with him. It was before my past life memories came in... or however that worked... but now it made it all the more real what Naruto went through. I was already going to try to befriend Naruto, but now I really wanted to do something. I walked over to the other side of the tree Naruto was sitting at and looked around to see if anyone was looking. When I saw that nobody was, I muttered "Cat Claws Jutsu" and started using my claws to get a good grip on the tree. I could have just used the regular tree walking, but I was trying to be discreet so as to not have people asking why I knew ninja techniques. I did, however, use the tree walking to grip with my feet. Once I was situated on a branch above Naruto, I looked around to see if anyone was looking. It seemed not. Apparently, tree-climbing in a ninja village full of trees that was founded by a tree-man is a very uninteresting sight. Who knew? I licked my lips, took a deep breath, and said, "Hi, there," to him. When he looked up, I gave a small but friendly smile and waved. "My name's Kouki, what's yours?" I mean, I already knew his name, but it's not like I could tell him that.

He sniffed and said "Naruto." I noticed that his eyes were all red (not Kyuubi red, irritated red) and puffy. "Why are you here?"

I jumped down, using a light burst of wind chakra to cushion my fall, and said, "Everybody avoids you, so I felt like you might want somebody to play with." I sat down next to him. "People avoid me, too. I think it's because I don't talk to people much, look like I'm really bored most of the time, and have really freaky eye markings." For whatever reason, I had black markings with a white dot under and offset to the outer side of each eye, which in real life was just permanent dark shadows under my eyes and... what were they, freckles? Beauty marks? I had dot markings under each eye. I guess author me's basis for that was the fact that several people in Naruto had what appeared to be biological, and in some cases hereditary, markings not directly related to being the prison for a demonic monster. For example, the Inuzuka, the Akimichi, Jiraiyass, Orochimaru, and the second and third Hokage. "I'm fine with being alone, but I had a feeling you aren't. Wanna be friends?"

He gasped, then gave me a bright smile. His eyes began to water and he gave me a hug. I patted him on the back and just let him hug it out. When he was done, he asked, "What do friends do?"

"I... don't know. I guess maybe I show you something cool?"

"Like what?" I pulled a leaf from my pocket and cut it in half. He gasped. "Cool! How'd you do that?"

"When I grow up, I wanna be a ninja. I managed to find out how to do some stuff with chakra. That's apparently an advanced technique that grants you wind powers."

He looked confused at that. "How does cutting a leaf give you wind powers?"

"It's more like it's the easiest use of wind chakra or something. Doing it lets you practice wind chakra so you can do more advanced stuff."

He beamed at me. "Can you teach me?"

I smiled and said, "There were a lot of steps involved in learning how to do it. I had to do a bunch of other special exercises before I could do it." He pouted. "Buuut, if you do exactly what I tell you and don't question it, I can teach you some cool stuff." He nodded vigorously.

"I'm gonna be Hokage someday! Knowing how to use chakra stuff would be great!" I smiled. The was no doubt in his words. It was as if he already knew he would be Hokage, and the world just had to catch up.

I bowed. "Very well, then, Hokage-sama. Let the training montage begin."

kukukuku~

"Whoa!" Naruto said. He was staring at the small tree that I had just felled with a few quick swipes.

"That's what I can teach you," I said with a smug grin as I put my hands in my pockets. "Before that, though, I have some rules that I have for you. First, I don't think that non-ninja are supposed to use jutsu in public, so please don't do stuff like this until you're in the academy at least. Second, even when you do use chakra, please be careful with it." I kicked the tree that I'd just killed. "You can do some serious damage. Third, if you start to feel tired, stop using your chakra unless you absolutely have to. It's a combination of mental and physical energy, meaning it uses your life force. You do the math. Got that?" He nodded eagerly. "Good. Now, for your first task," I picked a leaf off of the tree and gave it to him, "use chakra to stick this leaf to your body."

Naruto groaned. "That's so boring!"

I narrowed my eyes and said, "I told you to do exactly what I say. This is a chakra exercise. It lets you practice in the use of chakra. It's just the first step in what I have to teach you." I walked up a nearby tree. "Get good enough with it and I get to teach you the next trick." I looked at him expectantly. He stared at the leaf, then placed it on the palm of his hand. He then channeled enough chakra into it that it started glowing blue slightly. He flipped his palm over so that the leaf should've fallen over, but it didn't. I dropped to the ground and inspected the leaf. It was a little unsteady, but holding. I guess he was having an easier time controlling his chakra because he hadn't yet developed stupid amounts of it. "Rein it in slightly. Other than that, it seems fine. I'm going to do my stuff. Once you think you're good with one, add another. Do that until I say you're ready."

kukukuku~

"You're ready," I told him with a laugh a few days later. His arms were covered in leaves. "Take a little break and I'll teach you the next step."

kukukuku~

It continued like that for a while. I don't know how long it lasted for, but by the time Naruto started with leaf cutting, I saw... was he the Raikage? The one guy who Hiashi Hyuuga called the head ninja of Kumogakure when he was talking about the incident with Hinata's kidnapping. I saw that jerk walking down the streets. I managed to find out from a nearby villager that it was December 27th, Hinata's birthday, and he was going to sign the peace treaty with Konoha. I decided that I would help stop the incident in whatever way I could, seeing as that was pretty much where everything started to go wrong in Hinata's life and I could hopefully stop it. I was thinking about how I could sneak my way into the Hyuuga compound when I got a splitting headache and a tingly feeling in my eyeballs. When I opened my eyes, I could see... myself sneaking into the compound and finding the Raikage in Hinata's room. It was like that one hint stone in Skyward Sword, where you could see a cutscene of what you had to do, except really trippy because it was in real life. I looked in the general direction of the fourth wall and said, "Well that's a deus ex machina and a half, Me. Thanks, I'll make good use of the intel." 

I quickly found Naruto, told him that I had to do something and that he should continue with the leaf-cutting practice until I got back. He was making decent progress with it. His leaves were already cut almost halfway through. I then began with the path that I'd seen. When I finally managed to sneak in, it was already dark. I went to the spot on the fence I'd seen myself brooding in the vision when I saw the enemy in my vision. Thankfully, I was just in time to see the man dressed in all black sneak up to Hinata's room. I licked my lips as I thought for a second about what I could do, but quickly decided with a silent "Screw it." "HYUUGA HIASHI!" I screamed. "A MASKED MAN IS TRYING TO KIDNAP YOUR DAUGHTER! MAKE SURE TO CAPTURE HIM ALIVE, THOUGH, OR HIS VILLAGE WILL DEMAND YOUR HEAD OR START A WAR!"

"WHAT!?" a man who I assume was Hiashi screamed.

"I SAID THAT A MAN IS TRYING TO KIDNAP YOUR DAUGHTER! PROBABLY FOR HER EYES! AND IF YOU KILL HIM HIS VILLAGE WILL DEMAND YOUR CORPSE FOR YOUR EYES! PLEASE HURRY! I'M PRETTY SURE HE'S ABOUT TO KILL ME FOR RUINING HIS PLANS AND I DON'T FEEL LIKE DYING SO SOON!" As I was shouting at him, the masked man came out and started making a few hand seals. I jumped off of the fence and made a single seal of my own (dragon seal, the only one I knew enough to use) and started molding wind chakra.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Shot!" He shot a bolt of lightning chakra out of his hand at me.

"Wind Release: Mini Air Slashes!" I countered by making small slashing motions with my index fingers. Small blades of air spawned from my fingers and rammed straight into the lightning. After most of the slashes dissipated while expending some of the lightning, the remaining one cut straight through the weakened jutsu and cut slightly into his chest. I breathed a sigh of relief and licked my lips. That wouldn't have worked if he hadn't underestimated me, though to be fair not many small children can make air slashes, whatever the size. I dashed in close to him and activated my other wind jutsu. "Wind Release: Dragon Claws." Before I could attack him, I saw him punch me in the chest, but... he hadn't punched me yet. His fist came at me and I ducked away from it. As I dodged I swiped at his leg, hoping that I could distract him if I made enough cuts. What really happened... it was both better and worse than I was hoping for...

Squelch. "GYAAAAH!" the man screamed as blood spouted everywhere. I stopped in my tracks. Even in the dim light, I definitely saw his leg fall off.

"What?" I turned around to see several Hyuuga ninja staring at me. I made to answer but was suddenly overtaken by a wave of fatigue and dizziness. Chakra exhaustion. "How did you get here? How did you do that?" The ninja in the lead, Hiashi, asked me.

I just barely managed to grin and say, "I don't suppose you'd believe me if I said I could see the future?" before my eyes rolled back in my head and I passed out.

I guess the first chapter ends with a cliffhanger...

kukukuku~

A/N: Yeah... sorry for not doing another episode of Gamer Hero Deku next, but inspiration can be annoyingly fickle at times and I actually really enjoy the direction that this is eventually going to go in, so yeah... Also, sorry to those who SI isn't their cup of tea. I personally like fanfics where people know future events in some way and use that knowledge to mess around with canon, though. As you could probably see, though, Kouki isn't your average boy. Beyond the SI, anyways. See ya next time!

[canimarrymycat]

Kussun's gift

So heyyy, I wrote a fanfic about Jolks in commemoration of Kussun's birthday. Although it's not my first fanfic that I've ever written, this is my first time posting it to the public. I hope you guys enjoy reading this but please keep in mind that there might be grammar mistakes as English is not my first language >.< Happy reading!!

"Thanks for all your hard work!"

Aina got up from her seat in a hurry, wanting to meet a certain someone who was waiting for her in front of her workplace.

The staff was somewhat surprised by Aina's eagerness to finish work. Before they could even say anything, the girl had dissapeared from their sights in a heartbeat.

Aina ran from the recording room with all her energy towards the entrance of the company building. She could already see the face of her beloved one, standing in front of her car while holding a bouquet of flowers. Aina ran into her arms in which her lover welcomed with a warm smile.

"Nan-chaaaan!" Aina exhaled, nuzzling her head into Yoshino's collarbone. "I missed you so much!". Yoshino could only respond with a chuckle, shaking her head at her girlfriend's actions.

"But we just met last week though?" Yoshino said in an amused tone. Aina gripped the back of Yoshino's clothes tighter.

"It's- It's still not enough!" Aina pouted. Yoshino was enjoying this spoilt side of her girlfriend since it rarely shows.

"But we even send each other video calls on LINE and exchange text messages-"

"Still not enough!" Aina grumbled with an upwards glance at her lover. Yoshino could only sigh at her girlfriend's childishness.

"Well aren't you acting like quite the spoiled princess today, hmmm birthday girl?" Yoshino teased in a sing-song voice which only irked Aina more. She pulled Yoshino by her collar and aggressively kissed her lips to get her back. Yoshino

stumbled backwards, her back now leaning on the car. She touched her lips with her trembling fingers, unable to process the incident well. She's shocked honestly. Sure, Aina was the one who'd initiate the intimancy between them but she was never this forward before.

Aina then flashed what you would call her 'victory' smile and leaned closer to Yoshino's ears. She blew a whiff of wind which easily sent shivers down Yoshino's spine.

"Let's see who'll be the one begging to be spoilt by the end of day, shall we?" Aina whispered huskily into Yoshino's ears. Aina then proceeded to grab the keys from Yoshino's hands and got in the driver's seat, leaving Yoshino more flustered than ever. She cursed herself internally for letting Aina have her way that easily.

Aina started the engine with Yoshino beside her, sitting in the passenger seat. Yoshino listened attentively as Aina told her about the day she had at the studio.

"And you know, when the director came out with the cake, he tripped over his own shoelaces and fell on the floor, his face falling on the cake!" Aina said in between giggles. Even Yoshino could not contain her laughter. She knew the man very well. He was a collectively calm and cool person so the thought of him falling flat on his face with cake all over him seemed so unreal.

"It was so funny that I didn't even mind the cake going to waste" Kussun added with a chuckle. The end of Yoshino's lips began to unconciously curve upwards. It surely has been a long time since she could see Kussun's face beaming with smiles. She usually got complaints about how stressful Aina was at work and how her voice kept straining. This was a nice break for her. Soon, the car had came to a stop before Yoshino knew it.

"We're here".

Yoshino indulged in the spectacular sight that never failed to amaze her. The duo often took long drives to the cliff above the beach, just to rewind. To be at peace and tranquillity at most times. To escape the hectic life of being a singer and voice actresses for a moment.

Yoshino then decided to gaze at more spectacular sight which happened to be sitting next to her. Kussun was leaning forward on the steering wheel, her arms folded as she put her chest on it. She seemed to be deep in thought while staring at the waves washing up on the shore. Yoshino always took pleasure in staring at her cute girlfriend. Doesn't she totally sound like an old geezer right now?

"Nan-chan" Aina called out her name so softly, not looking up.

Yoshino hummed in response, wondering what her girlfriend wanted to say.

Aina then lifted her head from the steering wheel and leaned back on the driver's seat.

"Y'know, I appreciate everything that you've done for me" she said, smiling tenderly with her warm gaze. Yoshino's heart skipped a beat.

"Jeez, why'd you bring this up all of a sudden Kussun?" Yoshino pouted, intertwining her fingers with Aina's. Lightly squeezing Yoshino's hands, Aina grinned in response.

"Just felt like saying it".

Yoshino grumbled and smiled to herself. She was already used to Aina's sudden affection of words. For example, when they were waiting for their order to arrive at an empty restaurant, Aina would shower her with all the cheesy lines you could think of. Not to mention, the manager and workers kept staring and smiling michievously at them during the whole time they were eating. Up until to this day, she would constantly get teased whenever she comes alone to the restaurant by the manager who she was quite close to. But Yoshino never complained about it. Aina's sweet words were always pleasant to hear.

Aina then shuffled around, making herself comfortable in her seat and faced Yoshino. She squished the older girl's cheeks with both of her hands, making Yoshino furrow her eyebrows in confusion.

"Buueh?"

"You're the best gift yet no one could ever give to me Nan-chan!" Aina smiled sheepishly. Yoshino felt her ears getting warmer. She never thought the younger girl would consider her as a gift. She remembered how her girlfriend used to help her relax before any live. She used to rely on those words of motivation. But now, they were both supporting each other through tough times. Nanjolno slid out a small box that was kept in her pocket. She's waited for 3 years and she's never been so sure of something before but she's sure of this. She wants this. She wants to be with Aina for all her life and she hopes her lover thinks the same as well. Yoshino opens the box, revealing a gold band with small crusted diamonds on it. She spoke the words that were kept deeply in her heart.

"Happy 30th birthday Kussun." Yoshino smiles brightly. " I want to grow old with you and spend our remaing lives together".

Aina's eyes widen in surprise. Her lips were trembling and her body was shivering. She could feel tears pooling around her eyes. Her beloved Yoshino had such a beautiful smile plastered on her face. She felt like she was on cloud nine. She was utterly speechless.

"...So, what's your answer?" Yoshino asked nervously in a quiet voice. Aina thought she was cute. Her shy look was definitely one of her many good attributes. She felt like a simple yes was not enough to convey her strong feelings. She wrapped her arms around Yoshino's neck, pulling her in as she closed the distance between their lips.

"Of course it's a yes you dummy".

Aina could pratically feel Yoshino smile against her lips. They broke the slow kiss and giggled as if they were children.

'Its true' Aina thought to herself, smiling. 'No one could give me a gift greater than Nan-chan".

[50shadesofmittens]

So I was going for something here as part of that fanfic I’ve been working for, but I’ve hit a writers block and can’t go on. I’m switching to something else and scrapping this. Also it’s too OOC.

///

“Can we play smash?”

“But Zelda’s a classic!”

“I’m almost done with the tutorial level, and the total lack of immersion is still distracting.”

“Well…”

“Well then don’t pay attention to the story. Just… find something else to focus on. The beauty of these games is their multiple assets offer a vast multitude of appealing characteristics- you just need to find the one that resonates with you.”

<Something about Kitten complaining about the unrealism, namely the bit where you torch the cobwebs in the tree, and trees should not have open flames inside of them and it really should be a lantern, and if lanterns don’t exist in this world yet they need to have darkness>

He grinned at you. “Ah, but if we didn’t have torches, how would we have made lightbulbs? Sentient species can’t just skip to the next technological wonder without exploring what they already have.”

You knew your forbidden xeno histories better than that. “Yes they can.”

“Okay, they can, but not without outside help. Besides which, once you get to a certain level, you start creating technologies that either haven’t been thoroughly examined or everything about them has been forgotten. From there, it falls to the great minds of the people to progress their own understanding of the galaxy and its workings.”

“And here I thought humanity had become too ‘mindless’ to make any significant accomplishments.”

“Well, the species itself can. If they do it right.” “While the Imperium may be rotting faster than a Bubonic Axe wound, that doesn’t mean humanity itself is. There’s a reason defections keep happening, and I’m not just talking about chaos cultists. Rogue Traders, Gue- er, pirates, and the like keep getting new recruits because there will always be people too smart, too aware to be fooled by the indoctrinations of Father’s cult. Humans and who choose to go against the system so they can strive to reach their full potential, because they realize that instead of saving humanity, the Imperium is holding mankind back.”

There was something to that. Something very pleasing about the argument that your species had intrinsic worth. Still, you couldn’t help but feel there was something off about the statement. Magnus’ idea that if properly managed the life of an individual human could have worth even without being strong enough to tip the galactic scales.

You decided the doubt was probably paranoia on your end. You yourself embraced the value of humanity, you knew that each innocent soul had a right to be protected and loved simply for existing. It wasn’t a popular concept in your world, but it fit perfectly into your heart.

“It’s still a sentient tree with open flames constantly lit inside his body.”

“Do you want to play the game or not?”

“I’m just saying, this is breaking my immersion.”

“It’s going to be a little bit unrealistic yes, but that’s the point of fantasy. You’re supposed to enter a fantastic world, pretending to be someone else, accomplishing nigh-impossible tasks with limitless ease.”

“Y’know, I’m pretty sure you or I could’ve gotten past those cobwebs without needing to jump from balconies.”

“Look, either keep playing or give me the controller.”

“Wait, wait wait, let me get ‘in-character.’”

“Oh for pity’s sake…”

“So, villain. We meet at last. You, who have tormented the father of my people. Well, no more! Today your reign of terror ends, monster! Come, feel the power of my steel, as I show you the might of the Kokiri sword! For today you die by my blade!”

“…Happy now?”

“Surprisingly, yes.”

“Well, good for you. … You’re not attacking it.”

“I’m waiting for it to come to me.”

“Oookay, then let me save you time and hearts by telling you that this boss is much easier to fight if you don’t let it come down from the ceiling. You can just to shoot it in the eye with your slingshot first to knock it down, then when it’s on the ground you can kill it by stabbing it in the giant yellow eye.”

“No.”

“What do you mean ‘no?’”

“I said I was going to kill it with my sword, and so I will. Sword only.”

“I’m telling you, that’s pointless. This thing was designed to teach new players the long-ranged combat system, you’re putting yourself at unnecessary risk if you try to kill it using only melee.”

“WATCH ME!”

“You’re being irrational! Honor is no excuse for deliberately employing poor tactics.”

“Yeah, but it’s more fun this way. I think I’ve found the aspect of the game that resonates with me.”

“Which is?”

“Watching you squirm.”

“…Let’s do something else.”

“But I wanna plaaaay!”

“Give me that controller.”

“Nope!”

“Look, just- here.”

“Hey!” And then Kitten jumped the controller in Magnus’ telepathic grip, which brought him in Magnus’ general direction. Hence falling over each other.

How the fuck do I get them jumping over each other? Two options are Magnus gets fed up and tries to physically grab controller (only works if Kitten keeps being a troll and teasing him), or Kitten manages something amazing and the two freak out (which is more fun, but extremely unrealistic with OoT’s first dungeon).

“Erm.” With Magnus’ natural disposition it was hard to tell when and if he was blushing. “I’ll just… hey, do you want some popcorn?”

“Uh… I can’t really eat and hold the controller.”

“Well… … since this is a one-player game, at least one of us will be having his hands free for a bit. Why don’t I go make some snacks?”