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critical-chris · 2 years ago

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Oscar Nominations: The Definitive Review

It's that time of year again, ya'll. Time for red carpets, drunken celebrities, painfully unfunny hosts and attempts at jokes, snubs and baffling awards decisions, and what I assume will be extra security between the main stage and whichever actor is seated front row: The Oscars.

The Oscars is pretty much a joke at this point, having awarded films that nobody thought needed to be lauded, dragging out a ceremony for 3+ hours, and fucking up the most important parts of their show (*cough* La La Land fiasco and Will Smith *cough*). However, it is the responsibility of every movie critic, reviewer, and blogger to discuss the nominations set forth by the Academy and breakdown where mistakes were made and where clear winners lie.

And so, I will be discussing the nominees for the four big categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress. Please read, laugh, disagree, or frankly skim through my comments below on the most(?) anticipated movie awards show of the year.

Best Picture

All Quiet on the Western Front

My third review on Critical Chris dove into the astonishing emotional impact this movie made on me, and realistic depictions of the brutality of war in the trenches. It served as a decent adaptation of the source material, and while I would not award it as the Best Picture of 2022 it was one of my highest rated movies of the year. Full review here: https://at.tumblr.com/critical-chris/all-quiet-on-the-western-front-2022/9q8vt9e5mrcq

I will also mention that the director and cinematographer did a fantastic job with the visuals in this movie. The battlefield exists in a constant fog, muddy and uninviting to the soldiers consistently trekking across its surface. After seeing the raw footage of some of the scenes, I was even more astonished by the job they did.

8.2/10

Avatar: The Way of Water

I've already thoroughly discussed my thoughts on the sequel to the smash success Avatar, which you can read here: https://at.tumblr.com/critical-chris/avatar-the-way-of-water-2022/y6oxab4d424m

While visually stunning and a technical achievement matching the original, the storyline is so bland and runtime so excruciatingly long that I cannot imagine why this would be in the Best Picture conversation. When you consider all parts of this film, it is average at best.

6.5/10

The Banshees of Inisherin

Like many others, I was a huge fan of In Bruges, and mistakenly went into this film expecting a pseudo-sequel to that dark comedy. While Banshees of Inisherin is a dark comedy, it is a completely different tone and plotline from its similarly casted predecessor.

Unlike some other reviews I have read, however, I very much enjoyed this film and thought it to be the best movie of the others in this category. While the plot is strange and takes some time to settle in, the commentary on civil war and civility strikes a chord, and Colin Farrell plays his part so well and injects charm and humor throughout the runtime.

I don't expect this movie to win Best Picture, and it was not my favorite movie of the year, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and will always buy a ticket to see what Martin McDonagh creates.

8.5/10

Elvis

Elvis was a movie of two halves for me. The first half felt like an acid trip mess, where director Baz Luhrmann tried to fit in as many crazy visuals and transitions while simultaneously telling the origin story of Elvis Presley's beginnings as a singer and performer. I really did not like it and was dreading the 2 hour 39 minute runtime if the trend continued. The second half, however, settled into a more traditional biography and showed the drugged, somber version of Elvis and drew me back in. I felt the second half of this move was excellent and would have been one of the best films of the year if the first half matched its pacing.

Due to my dislike of the first half, I wouldn't necessarily recommend this move. Austin Butler's performance was exceptional in my opinion, but the more I see of him I think he may just be playing Austin Butler. Overall, not a Best Picture movie but not a bad watch if you need to kill nearly 3 hours.

6.8/10

Everything Everywhere All at Once

Although I was late to the party and caught it at the end of its theater run, I really liked this movie. The story is well thought out and unique and emotional, the visuals are great and dynamic, and the performances are great. It was a breath of fresh air to find a new sci-fi movie that pushed the boundaries of the genre.

That being said, it is not a Best Picture movie. The ending drags on way too long and could have been chopped down and been more effective. This falls along the same lines as Top Gun: Maverick, in that the movie is entertaining and a great theater experience but is much more of a popcorn feature than an award-worthy picture. I highly recommend this movie, but would not have it as a winner for Best Picture. Also, Jamie Lee Curtis being nominated is just plain silly. It was a good comedic performance, but come on.

7.5/10

The Fabelmans

Yeesh, there are some stinkers up for the most coveted Oscar award this year. The Fabelmans is a baffling film to me. On one hand, there are some cool visuals and action scenes depicting how the fictional version of Steven Spielberg created his early home movies and short films. On the other hand is an absurd depiction of what I can only describe as an odd family life with each member feeling out of place and disconnected to the rest.

I understand the relationship between Sammy Fabelmans' mother and father is supposed to be straining and deteriorating, but straight up weird scenes like Sammy filming his mother dance in a see-through dress and Paul Dano's frankly robotic and emotionless performance left me cold. Plus, Sammy is just a bland character for half the film. The best moment is the final scene, and I was squirming in my seat waiting for it to finally arrive.

5.5/10

Tár

Tár was a film I did not expect to fully enjoy, but figured I'd be in for a powerhouse performance. Typically when I settle in for a movie around a complex subject I am completely unfamiliar with, I expect to get sidetracked with checking Instagram and Twitter and giving about 50% of my attention to what's happening onscreen. However, I was sucked in for the full 2 hour 39 minute runtime.

I found Cate Blanchett's performance to be more subtle than in your face, but was perfect for the plot and subject of the movie. The film jumps between drama, mystery, and at some points thriller in dissecting the life of a complex musical figure. It is a slow burn, but one I found worth it to see the insinuated dark side of the influence and power of a renowned conductor. This movie deserves to be nominated although I enjoyed some of the other movies more, and I would not be outraged by any means if it pulled off the win.

7.5/10

Top Gun: Maverick

I mean, come on. Other than winning a popularity contest with the American public against the other films in this category, the sequel to Top Gun should not be on this list. It was a good popcorn sequel with some cool fighter jet scenes and Tom Cruise doing his usual thing. Besides that, the movie is fine but not award-worthy. There's nothing more I can say about it.

7.2/10

Triangle of Sadness

From the moment I saw the first trailer for Triangle of Sadness, I knew I wanted to see it in theaters. It's becoming less and less frequent to have a comedy released that looks remotely competent, and to have a celebrated director at the helm (despite my not seeing any of his other films) boded well in my mind.

The movie is split into three main parts: the transactional relationship developing between Harris Dickinson and Charlbi Dean, the vomit-inducing yacht voyage, and the collective group survival after the yacht wreckage. The first two parts kept me engaged and chuckling at the snappy dialogue and commentary on modern relationships and the wealthy and attractive, but I found the third part to begin dragging and just felt too long. Each character is fleshed out well, the cinematography is excellent, and the direction is extremely well-executed.

The downsides I found were mainly in the length of the third act. While I found the plotline of Abigail becoming the alpha and leader over all of these powerful people in the 'real world' well done, and her own transactional relationship with Dickinson very funny and perfectly shaped, it just went on for too long. I think there is an incredible 2 hour movie here, but the extra 37 minutes was not needed.

7.5/10

Women Talking

I fully understand why this was nominated, it is the quintessential Hollywood artsy movie about a rough subject with actresses emoting all over the place. I, however, did not like it.

The ultimate conflict with two sides of women debating their options of whether to leave an abusive colony or stay and fight the men oppressing them sounds good on paper, but 10 minutes in it is obvious what their ultimate decision will be. Then, they spend an hour and 20 minutes debating the topic further in a barn with the occasional farm shot to break it up. I found it boring, predictable, and full of plot holes. The acting is good, but everyone is pretty set in their ways so there are only subtle character changes rather than developing arcs. Would never recommend someone to sit and watch this.

5.0/10

My Prediction: The Fabelmans

My Winner: The Whale

Best Director

Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin

Martin McDonagh is becoming a staple at the awards, having previously been nominated for writing In Bruges, and writing and directing Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Here we have another fantastic achievement with an off-the-beaten-path movie about interpersonal and community conflict. I thought McDonagh did a great job directing the two main performances along with the unfolding side characters' plots and would be well-deserving of his first win as Best Director. I'm not sure where the Academy will land on the winner in this category, and likely will get it wrong on whatever they decide, but this would be an easy pick.

Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once

I was not familiar with any previous work of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert before this film, and was impressed by the direction in this movie regardless of what their directing history may have been. When I saw their first true film was Swiss Army Man, it suddenly made sense why Everything Everywhere All at Once was able to capture emotion, goofiness, and dynamic storytelling so well. I think the Daniels, as they are nicknamed, are fantastic comedy/drama/adventure directors and made 2 movies I think should be future cult classics. However, this movie happened to gain critical acclaim and attention for awards season, which I don't think it quite lives up to.

It is a fun and moving science fiction romp with great performances and sequences, but ultimately runs too long and hammers you over the head with the message too many times for me to say it's a perfectly directed film. Sure, it's impossible to achieve perfection in anything, but I think the issues with this movie are too simple and glaring to overlook. I wouldn't be upset if the Daniels win the Best Director award, I just enjoyed a couple other directors' works a bit more this cycle.

Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans

This movie being very personal to Steven Spielberg is obvious to anyone that has seen the film, or trailer honestly. I have absolutely no issue with a filmmaker who gave us all-time classics delivering a project that means the world to them. However, while well-shot and directed, this is just not a film I'd ever want awarded for anything. It's drawn out, misses the emotional mark on several accounts, and takes too long to give the main character much personality. For those reasons, I'm out on giving him the Oscar for The Fabelmans, but do fully expect him to be given the award by the skeletons who vote for anything that reminds them of when they were growing up.

Todd Field, Tár

I'll be honest, I have never seen any of Todd Field's other films. Apparently, he's been on a 16 year break since his last movie Little Children which came five years after his debut In the Bedroom. Regardless of not seeing any of his filmography, I thoroughly enjoyed his directing work in Tár. The movie is paced well, assuming you push through the first hour, and dives into multiple genres and emotional turmoil without losing a step or feeling clogged. He gets all of the subtle and raging emotion out of Cate Blanchett in telling the story of an artist dragged down by perceptions and reality of her personal life.

Yet again, I would not be upset if they awarded Todd Field with Best Director, although I doubt they will. It seems the Academy is always looking to applaud a mediocre film or one that appeals to their own interests or agenda, and Tár is neither mediocre nor the hot topic of the year. Unfortunate, as Todd Field is as deserving as anyone of this award.

Ruben Östlund, Triangle of Sadness

I haven't seen any of Ruben Östlund's other films (despite Force Majeure sitting in my watch queue for months), but was impressed and intrigued enough by Triangle of Sadness to plan on diving into his other works in the near future. I thought the film was beautifully shot and scenes well-directed, and the breakdown of the movie into three parts well thought out and executed. Although I thought the last third dragged a bit, he definitely deserves the nomination here.

My Prediction: Steven Spielberg

My Winner: Martin McDonagh (Honorable Mention: Darren Aronofsky)

Best Actor

Austin Butler, Elvis

Again, I'm not sure that Austin Butler was playing a character or if he just sounds like Elvis at all times. Echoing my thoughts on the movie, the first half of the film really makes it difficult to gauge Butler's performance since it jumps around so much and visual effects overload what's happening on screen, but the second half truly showcases the actor's great work. Do I think he'll win the award? No. Does he deserve it? Yes, he really is great in the role if not a bit too performative with his vocal expressions. If he were up against different competition I could see him sneaking this out, but the other actors in the category this year will overshadow Butler.

Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin

Holy shit, I love Colin Farrell. Not only in this film, but in general as well. He is an actor that I felt went from generic action and drama lead and really came into his own with powerful performances like In Bruges, The Lobster, Seven Psychopaths, and fun films like The Gentleman. I've become such a huge fan of his, and this film was no exception.

Farrell plays the simpleton with a heart of gold perfectly, a man who is so confused and unaccepting of the sudden coldness delivered to him by his former drinking mate Brendan Gleeson. His slow descent into meeting Gleeson's dislike of each other is not only paced well by the direction, but by the measured fading of Farrell's generous and loving spirit. This is one of my favorite performances by Colin Farrell, and is a movie I know I'll enjoy more and more upon second and third viewings (the first was muddied by my expectations of a In Bruges pseudo-sequel). I'd love for Farrell to take home the Best Actor award, but unfortunately this movie came out the same year as our next nominee, and my clear favorite.

Brendan Fraser, The Whale

This award, to me, is no contest. After seeing The Whale in theaters, I made up in my mind that I would literally have to see god incarnate on film to give anyone else besides Brendan Fraser the Best Actor award. After seeing all the films in the Best Picture category, and seeing each Best Actor nominees' performances, my mind has not changed. Fraser embodies his character both physically and emotionally, and pulls you in every direction from depression to joy to sorrow to redemption all in the comfort of his two bedroom apartment. Give him every fucking award you are legally allowed to give a man at one awards ceremony.

You can read my full review of The Whale, and the reason I have been emotionally broken ever since, here: https://at.tumblr.com/critical-chris/the-whale-2022/ufs0n0gcxnad

Paul Mescal, Aftersun

Aftersun was a film that I spent the full runtime waiting for the shoe to drop, only to be punched in the gut when the ending revealed the shoe was dropping the entire time. Its plot plays similarly to a Florida Project, where there is no real story timeline or actions you are following but serves as a slice of life. Only in this film, the ending reveals the slice of life is a piecemeal memory of a father who could not be understood in the moment until the daughter was old enough to relate to his struggles.

Paul Mescal plays the role perfectly, with subdued joy attempting to connect to his daughter on a weekend vacation while battling his inner depression lying just beneath the surface. His lowest lows are hidden in darkness when he steps into the night alone, and highs spent trying to make up for his perceived shortcomings in the daytime. I blubbered up at the end of the movie, thanks again to The Whale for ruining me emotionally, and while I think there are actors who moreso deserve the Best Actor award for their performances, Mescal cannot be overlooked for the great work he's done here.

Bill Nighy, Living

This movie was such a pleasant surprise. I went to see this movie this past week simply to check it off my viewing list so I could have an opinion on every nomination, but it was well executed, well acted, and well paced. Bill Nighy is a subtle delight, and the runtime flew past. I have not seen the film this was based off of, but this makes me want to go back and see it. I can't say this would be my pick for Best Actor, but I'm so glad this movie is represented in some fashion at the Oscars.

My Prediction: Brendan Fraser

My Winner: Brendan Fraser

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett, Tár

Upon writing this review, I realized I really need to watch more films with Cate Blanchett. I haven't seen any of her other top movies on IMDB including Carol, Blue Jasmine, or The Aviator. Well, I saw the first hour of The Aviator but was not in the mood for another two hours at the time. I'll revisit, I promise.

The main reason I'd like to go back and watch these films is the great performance delivered by Blanchett in Tár. In the movie, she plays a renowned conductor who finds herself in hot water when accusations arise from former students and pupils charging her with favoritism in her orchestra based on sexual favors. Blanchett plays each part of her story extremely well, from the knowledgeable conductor in interviews and conversations with colleagues, to the loving yet sometimes dismissive partner, and the manipulative teacher. The director and Blanchett equally take you on a journey of this character's highest and lowest moments, and I applaud both of their work making this one of the most interesting and best films of the year. I think she will take home the Best Actress award for this movie.

Ana de Armas, Blonde

Good lord god almighty, this movie was rough to sit through. I cut it off about a half hour early as it was just a spinning roledex of trauma scene after scene with no breaks, drama, or evolution of character or story. That aside, I didn't even think Ana de Armas' performance was incredible, although solid. I felt like I could hear the accent/voice wavering in certain scenes which took me out a bit, but otherwise felt she did a serviceable job. It's always difficult for me to align on awarding individuals if the movie is bad, and this movie stunk. I'll still see the John Wick spinoff starring de Armas since that franchise has yet to whiff, but we don't have a winner here.

Andrea Riseborough, To Leslie

Apparently this little film got a bit controversial when reports came out that there were some sneaky behind-the-back deals to get Andrea Riseborough nominated for Best Actess. Rumors aside, I think she deserves her nomination for a well done and emotional performance. The story follows an alcoholic woman who has squandered the lottery money she won years ago on booze and drugs, and now looks to make something of herself and reconnect with the family and friends she lost.

Riseborough plays the downs and small ups in this character's life well, and keeps you wondering if each scene will be her end or the triumphant start of her new beginning. Sure, the movie gets boring as hell in parts and I'm not sure what accent Marc Maron is doing scene to scene, but this is quintessential Hollywood award fodder, and not a bad film. I don't see Riseborough taking home the award, but she is more than deserving to be considered for it.

Michelle Williams, The Fabelmans

God this performance was exhausting. Michelle Williams is playing a wild free spirit who feels she was destined to be a star but it just didn't happen, and the performance matches that energy. Perhaps it was my disappointment in the film itself, or the fact she was acting against an absolute dud of a performance from Paul Dano, but I felt annoyed every time she had significant screen time. I would not be surprised if she ended up with a win, despite feeling most of the other nominees are more deserving, considering Hollywood's obsession with anything reminiscing on their golden days. However, I don't think she gets the win and the Academy would be correct not to do so.

Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Of all the performances nominated for Best Actress, I thought Michelle Yeoh did the best job, especially considering she was asked to emote in various genres, scenarios, and characters given the nature of Everything Everywhere All at Once. Yeoh has had a long acting career, and it is great to see her resurgence in this film and for her to receive the widespread acclaim currently happening around this release. Despite the flaws I found in the movie itself, the stars really drove this story and made this my favorite performance by an actress in the crop of nominees.

The only other performance I saw this year that I thought was equally challenging and knocked out of the park was Mia Goth in the X prequel Pearl, who I thought deserved a nomination but am aware the Academy will never recognize horror as a serious category. Therefore, if Mia Goth is not represented, Michelle Yeoh is my winner for Best Actress.

My Prediction: Cate Blanchett

My Winner: Michelle Yeoh (Honorable Mention: Mia Goth in Pearl, whew)

Feel free to comment and yell at me if you disagree with any of my takes, winners, or personality. As always, you can follow me on Instagram and Twitter @chrisiscritical, or visit my website at www.criticalchris.com

#oscars #oscar nominations #oscar winner #oscars 2023 #academy awards #brendan fraser #stephanie hsu #film review #movie review #eeaao

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piecksz · 4 years ago

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forget me too. | (m)

pairing: modern punk!bakugo x fem!reader

warnings: nsfw, angst, cheating, oral sex, penetrative sex, angry sex, choking, fingering, exes with benefits, mentions of breeding, hair pulling, explicit language, toxic relationship, manipulation, reader just being a lovesick puppy but wouldn’t we all be if it came to bakugo

summary: it’s been a year since you broke up with bakugo after you found him cheating on you, and you swore you’d moved on from him, but when you run into him again at a record shop, you fall back into a dangerous cycle of love and hate

words: 9,800+

a/n: so i gave in and watched downfalls high, and i’m not gonna lie, it wasn’t the best piece of media i’ve ever consumed, but mgk’s feature track with halsey kind of ate (AND IT LITERALLY INSPIRED SO MANY ANGSTY IDEAS I WAS ITCHINGGG). therefore, this is said angsty idea. you can listen to the song forget me too by machine gun kelly (feat. halsey) while reading, that’s if you’re really daring. good luck lol

If there was one thing in the world you couldn’t fully understand, it was the type of girls who hated their ex-boyfriends, twirling their hair flirtatiously and giggling at all their pitiful punchlines one week, and the next, hatching bogus rumors to discourage other girls from seeking them out romantically, letting them know that their charm came at a price.

Until it was Bakugo.

You genuinely didn’t see it coming. You weren’t even able to recognize the severity of the situation until you were convulsing with the gravity of your sobs, shrieking at him in front of his apartment. Bakugo had called you earlier that evening to reschedule your previously-arranged dinner date since his friend Kirishima was in town, and he wanted to dedicate the rest of the night to catching up with his old schoolmate. You happily forfeited your own plans and instead opted to rendezvous with your boyfriend and his familiar later in the week, but as the night hauled on your favorite TV show no longer satiated your boredom.

Shuffling into the kitchen and scouring your cabinet for ingredients, you drew up the idea to bake some sweets for Bakugo and Kirishima because you figured it would be a nice surprise, however once you arrived at Bakugo’s place you deduced quickly that his friend wasn’t over. It should have been notably clear that something was unusual by the way he was hesitant to let you in.

He poked his head out from behind the privacy of his front door, definitely surprised to see you, but not in the way you had hoped.

“Y/N,” he greeted you with a tight-lipped expression, eyes dropping to the tub of sugar cookies in your hands. “What are you doing here? Why didn’t you call me to let me know you were coming over?”

You hummed after detecting a subtle edge in his voice. “I wanted to surprise you.” You rose to your toes to look past his head. “I thought you said your friend was coming over.”

Bakugo nodded, and once he extended his hand to accept your treats you could see that his torso was bare. “Idiot had to cancel at the last minute. School shit. He said he’ll be here tomorrow.”

Your grip tightened on the container.

If his friend couldn’t make it then why didn’t he let you know? The two of you still could have made it to your dinner reservations.

And in that moment, you swore your internal monologue was loud enough to hear, because you immediately received your answer when you heard a soft, feminine voice come from inside his apartment.

“Who the fuck is that?” you barked, trying to outbalance Bakugo’s weight on the door. “Bakugo you little fucking shit--let me in.” It was a moment-long game between the two of you until Bakugo gave in, accepting the reality that he’d already been caught. You stumbled into the door as it swung open, revealing his company.

She was petite with short blonde hair, wearing a panicked expression that matched Bakugo’s oversized flannel on her naked body almost impeccably. You stared at each other until you broke the tense silence with a quiet holy shit.

“Holy shit,” you repeated louder, blinking as fast as you could to hold back the salty tears that were beginning to cloud your vision. “You fucking dick!” You didn’t notice how forceful your voice had gotten until you were shouting at him, the immense pressure building in your chest making your voice crack. You hurled every vulgar name in the book at Bakugo who couldn’t even look you in the eye while you cried in front of him.

This couldn’t have been the same man you once saw your future playing out with. The hell unfolding in front of you was exactly what your friends, Momo and Ochako, had predicted once you disclosed your interest in Bakugo. They warned you that he had a record on campus, with multiple girls, and yet somehow when he wooed you with sweet words and thoughtful gifts, just like they said he would, you still thought you were different. The worst part of it all was that he wasn’t a terrible guy by any means. He was a little rough around the edges with a temper, but he was hilarious and passionate, all while being profound and smart.

In your fantasies the two of you were married, and then came babies with tufts of your tresses and the mischief of his ruby eyes. He would have been a winner, if he wasn’t so emotionally incompetent. Perhaps you were naive to assume what you and Bakugo had was love just because he said so.

Your quivering fingers worked unsteadily against the lid of the tupperware. You tossed it aside before dumping the container’s contents on the floor of his apartment and hurled the empty food saver at him.

“Come fucking on Y/N,” he said wearily. The fucking nerve he had to act tired.

“Enjoy your cookies,” you responded venomously, leaving quickly before another set of tears came surging.

The next several months were excruciating, and the pain you experienced was nothing compared to its onset. If you weren’t spending days cocooned in bed to sleep off the fatigue of your endless crying, then you were on your couch, staring unamused while Blair Waldorf waltzed across your TV screen.

At least she got her happy fucking ending. Good for her.

You couldn’t even find the energy to eat, and ice cream was not the cure-all for heartbreaks like everyone lied and said it was.

Every so often Momo and Ochako would pay you a visit. For the first few weeks they let you mourn, consoling you and cleaning up the litter of crumpled tissues around your apartment. After the first month, they suggested that maybe meeting someone new would be the best way to help you forget about your break up, but you didn’t want to meet someone new. You just wanted to know if Bakugo missed you too.

Once your grades started slipping, you used that as an excuse to turn to isolation and lose yourself in your schoolwork. The distraction left you with no leisure time to scroll through old photos of you and Bakugo in your phone, and within a couple months, you swore that you’d finally moved on from him.

But it seemed all of that was forgotten the moment you recognized his head of spiky blonde hair from the next aisle over in the record shop, and you silently cursed the universe’s cruel way of working, that all-knowing bitch.

You kept your head down, pretending to be overtly interested in the Kendrick Lamar vinyl you held in your hands, but you couldn’t stop peeking over the shelf to see if Bakugo had moved from his spot.

You could hear him shuffling, and every time you looked up, he was a step closer to the end of the aisle, meaning that your game plan was to move in the opposite direction, so you could slip past him without being detected.

You continued to move one step to the left every time Bakugo moved another step to the right, surely securing your elusive escape, but when you glanced up again, he had disappeared from your line of surveillance. Shit.

“Y/N?”

Shit!

Slowly, you pivoted in the direction of your name only to gawk, horrified, as your ex-boyfriend strolled up to you casually, like he had never ripped your heart out and trampled all over it.

Once he got closer, you realized how generous the year between your break up and now had been to him. His yellow flannel was useless tied around his waist when it should have been on his shoulders instead, covering the way his black Led Zeppelin shirt clung to the impressive build of his upper body.

“Holy fuck, it is you,” Bakugo said, incredulously. You swore he had grown taller now that he was standing in front of you because you couldn’t remember if he had always towered over you.

“Small world,” you said, distastefully.

“Not really,” Bakugo shrugged. “This is just where I come to slave away for minimum wage.”

You simply blinked at him with a placid expression, unable to decide which of your emotions was best considering the circumstances.

“I almost didn’t recognize you,” he chuckled. “Did you cut your hair?”

You raised an eyebrow plainly. “No.” If anything your hair had grown a few inches longer.

“Highlights?”

“No.”

“Shit seriously?” Bakugo cast his eyes downwards and then back up, sizing up your figure. “Well you look good.”

You could only offer up a dry laugh in response while shaking your head at the peculiarity of the situation.

“What is wrong with you?” you jeered.

You couldn’t believe the ease with which he approached you after not seeing you for twelve whole months, especially when six and a half of those months were spent bawling your eyes out over him and trying to repair the heart he broke carelessly.

Bakugo’s blithe expression withered. The look left behind was one of bashful remorse, as if he was embarrassed by the person he was a year ago.

You weren’t even sure if he had really changed since you’d gone out of your way to avoid hearing or seeing anything about him after you claimed to have gotten over him. The real reason was that you felt you couldn’t trust yourself. You feared that if you came across anything having to do with him, you’d descend into another self-destructive, heartache-driven spiral.

“I tried calling to apologize, but you blocked my number. And then blocked me on everything else,” Bakugo explained.

You shifted uncomfortably.

“I never saw you around campus, and when I showed up to your apartment you weren’t home. I felt like horse shit, seriously, but after a while I just gave up, I guess.”

You pursed your lips together at the mention of his attempts to remedy your breakup, specifically because this whole time you could have sworn he didn’t care to fix things with you.

Bakugo leaned in, and you surprised yourself by making no effort to create more distance between the both of you.

“I’m really fucking sorry, Y/N,” he said softly, for once without the gruffness of his usual tone.

If he made the effort to apologize even after a year, that must have meant that he still had some feelings left over for you, right? Did that mean he still loved you? The suspicion made your heart squeeze with expectation.

“Are you sorry that you hurt me, or are you sorry that you got caught?” You questioned.

“Both,” Bakugo snickered tactlessly.

You swore you could have punched his lights out then and there, but he must have noticed the way you tensed up because he looped his arm around you, pulling you in until you nestled into his larger frame.

“I fucking missed you, dumbass.”

Your stomach dropped at the very mention of the words you were longing to hear after your split, and you knew that you weren’t over him. Not even close. Even when you had caught another girl with her hands on him.

Your first mistake was unblocking Bakugo’s number that night, and your second was sending him a text. You stood in the bathroom, dumbfounded by your own actions while you clutched your phone nervously. Thank god he didn’t have his read receipts on. The last thing you needed to know was if he decided to leave you on read after you had just stroked his monumental ego.

You sat your phone aside and proceeded brushing your teeth until you were interrupted by a shrill ding from beside you. You grabbed your phone much too quickly and slid the screen up to be met with a reply from Bakugo.

9:32 PM

bakugo: so i’m still in your phone huh?

9:32 PM:

bakugo: lmao

9:33 PM:

bakugo: thinking about me even after bitching about how much you hate me?

9:34 PM:

bakugo: especially at night that’s hot

You scowled at the messages before putting your phone back down. Using the time it took you to finish brushing your teeth and washing your face, you recited your responses over and over again because as much as you wanted to, you knew it wouldn’t be smart to jump back into your relationship that fast. You still held negative sentiments about what he had done to you, but the pleasure of having him back was slowly beginning to outweigh your earlier feelings.

While shuffling into your bedroom, you kept your eyes glued to your phone screen, typing, deleting, and retyping messages, worried that they would sound too needy.

9:50 PM:

you: so i see you still have a head so big that it could block out the sun

9:53 PM:

bakugo: fuck off you little shit

9:53 PM:

bakugo: no classes tmrw and i’m off work at 12

9:54 PM:

you: ok? do i look like your fucking secretary?

10:00 PM:

bakugo: no im just letting you know in case you’re planning on stalking me again :^(

10:01 PM

bakugo: obviously i wanna see you tomorrow dipshit

Warmth spread across your cheeks until it deepened into a dangerous heat, and the happy memories of you and Bakugo a year ago resurfaced as deja vu. Everything was scarily reminiscent of the way he asked you out the first time, back when your opinions about him were much more straightforward.

You rolled over to the other side of your bed and squealed, flustered by how to-the-point he was about his desire to reconcile things with you.

“Get it together, honestly,” you reprimanded yourself, jabbing a finger against your temple in an effort to drill the mantra into your head.

You responded back to accept Bakugo’s invitation, being mindful not to sound too excited, but you couldn’t deny that you slept better than usual that night.

The next day when you met up with Bakugo after his shift at the record shop ended, the two of you settled on getting coffee from one of the restaurants on campus. Well, you got a coffee, but Bakugo went for an iced tea instead because he insisted that coffee tasted like “dog shit”.

Regardless of your staggering difference of opinion in beverages, you guys hit it off again, laughing and joking around like there had never been a rift between you two in the first place. You were taken aback by how comfortable you still felt around him and how much he still seemed to adore you.

Two weeks after your reunion, you and Bakugo were already falling back into the routine of going on dates like you’d done before, snickering in the back of crowded movie theaters and demolishing each other in multiple rounds of mini golf. You even kept the photo booth picture that was printed for you at the aquarium in your wallet, just so you could peek at it every now and then.

Three weeks after your reunion, you concluded that you were pretty much together. Bakugo had never made it official, and neither had you, but you trusted the way you felt, and it seemed clear that he felt the same way.

Your friends however, weren’t as happy to hear the news of you and Bakugo seeing each other again.

Momo’s eyes widened as she leaned over the table and thrusted her mechanical pencil in your direction.

“Y/N, please tell me you’re joking.” She turned to Ochako who looked at you with a troubled expression. “Uraraka, please tell me she’s joking.”

Ochako pressed her lips into a thin line, shaking her head in utter disbelief. She said nothing. Rather she looked to you for an answer, wanting you to explain the situation before she scolded you for being so forgiving toward someone who didn’t deserve it.

“He apologized okay? And it really seemed like he meant it, I’m not just saying that. You guys know I can’t hold grudges. I’m soft.”

Momo huffed.

“We started talking, and he told me that he tried to apologize but he never got the chance.”

Your friends were still quiet, waiting for the punchline, but once they realized that there was no hidden gag to the story, they leaned back in exhaustion, disappointed that you’d gotten yourself into another wearisome situation because of your thoughtlessness.

“And he said he missed me. After an entire year, he still misses me.”

“This wouldn’t have happened if we had found you someone else, you know. Someone nice. Better than Bakugo, so you don’t feel like you have to settle,” Momo countered.

“I didn’t need to date someone else,” you chided her. “I’m not one of those people that need to be in a relationship to feel fulfilled, plus I’ve been swamped with assignments.” You knew you were just trying to save face. You knew the real reason why you turned down all your prospective blind dates, and your friends knew it too. You couldn’t see yourself with anyone other than Bakugo, and you meant it when you said you didn’t need love to feel like you had purpose, but when it came to the blonde, it appeared that none of those principles applied.

“You’re lying,” Ochako sighed, tucking her hair behind her ear before clicking her pen and returning to her research paper.

“I’m not settling!” you declared, earning a few scattered glances from the other students in the library. You smiled at them ruefully, mouthing an apology, and ducked your head back into your college textbook.

You decided to drop the conversation, concluding that your friends just wouldn’t understand. They didn’t know your relationship with Bakugo like you did so how could they have understood?

Later that night however, you couldn’t help but chew over your friends’ reactions. There was clearly a reason why they felt the way they did, but you just couldn’t bring yourself to see their concern. You didn’t need to be chastised every time you did something they didn’t agree with, because you reminded yourself you were a grown ass woman. You treasured Momo and Ochako, but you were absolutely capable of looking out of yourself.

“Why do girls watch this shit?” Bakugo muttered from beside you, uninterested in the movie playing on the Macbook propped up in your lap. “It’s just dresses and sideburns, where the fuck are the fist fights?”

“It’s Pride and Prejudice, stupid. Not Deadpool,” you retorted, giggling slightly once Bakugo decided the skin of your neck was more interesting than Kiera Knightley. He released a throaty chuckle while attaching his lips to the base of your jaw and continued kissing until he stopped where your neck met your shoulders.

“Stop, I’m trying to watch the movie,” you complained tenderly with absolutely no intent to make Bakugo stop.

Bakugo sat up, grabbing your laptop off the sheets and closing it briskly. “Fuck the movie, I have a better idea,” he suggested. Your eyebrows furrowed, watching as he tossed the device onto the chair beside your closet.

“Hey, what are you doing, you dick?” you protested.

Within seconds Bakugo was on top of you with arms on either side of your head, effectively caging you in beneath him.

“Yeah?” he whispered provocatively, like he was making sure he had your permission first. He spoke under his breath, just loud enough for you to hear.

You didn’t know what sensation you registered first: the warmth now spreading quickly across your cheeks, down to your chest, or the pronounced throbbing between your thighs.

You nodded, softly responding with a “yeah” in return, and Bakugo didn’t waste a second before pressing his mouth to yours enthusiastically. You were surprised how quickly you re-familiarized yourself with the curve of his lips and the way they moved steadily against yours. Acting with fervor, he used his hand to grip your chin, forcing your mouth to open wider so he could slip his tongue past your teeth.

Bakugo used his free hand to grab your breast under your sweatshirt, and you relished in the feeling of his warm palm against your skin while he ran his fingertips against the silky fabric of your lace bra.

“Lace? You dirty bitch,” he teased, breaking contact. “There’s no way you could have known we were gonna fuck.”

You laughed, appreciating how seductive Bakugo looked. His sandy hair was tousled from your impatient hands in his locks, skin feverishly tinged with a dusty pink hue, and lips swollen from the force of his kiss.

“I didn’t know, but I was hoping we would,” you answered honestly. “I guess I got lucky.”

Bakugo snickered, clearly pleased with the response he received. His scarlet eyes flickered lustfully, and he hastily returned to working on your body. He pulled your sweatshirt up and off, tossing it over his shoulder before working swiftly against the clasp of your bra, which he skillfully managed to break with just one hand.

Must have had a lot of practice with that.

But your cynical thoughts were soon forgotten the moment Bakugo’s tongue curled around your nipple, enjoying the way his saliva made your skin glisten under the dim lamp light. He hummed loudly every time you jolted and whimpered, your back arching in tandem. He closed his lips around the delicate nub, sucking harshly while making no attempts to hide his sly smile. He was enjoying himself far too much.

He made sure he put his other hand to work, rolling your other nipple between his fingers, pinching roughly while tugging on it absentmindedly. Once he grew bored of your innocent mewls, he thirsted for something filthier.

Bakugo tantalizingly slid his hand down your stomach until his fingers curled around the waistband of your volleyball shorts. He stretched the Spandex material until when he released it, it snapped painfully against your skin, his cock throbbing at the exposure of your earthy groan.

He slipped off your shorts, and the sight before him was enough to elicit a long, drawn-out “Jesus fucking Christ”.

You didn’t realize you were so aroused that your underwear was soaking wet, your pussy now visible through the thin sheer fabric. Bakugo swallowed hard, palming himself to relieve some of the unbearable pressure he was feeling. He could feel his cock straining against his underwear, and he wanted to stick his dick inside you and fuck you until your eyes rolled back into your head, but the only thing he wanted more than that was to taste you.

“These are mine,” Bakugo insisted. He pulled your panties off, chuckling dryly at the wet stain on the fabric before tucking them into his pocket.

You tilted your head at him.

“What? I’m keeping them as a souvenir,” he replied.

But that’s not what you were concerned with. You were more humiliated than anything that this was your first time having sex with him in a year, and you’d been horny for him since you opened the door. You might as well have just written Bakugo’s Whore on your head in thick permanent marker, but you kept your suggestion to yourself knowing that Bakugo would have liked the idea way too much.

Bakugo reached down to pull his shirt over his head and threw it aside, unveiling his impressive physique. After you guys had broken up, he began finding himself in the gym more frequently, placating his regret and anger through physical exertion, and although he used weightlifting to cope, it left him with an incredible build.

Sweet lord, you thought, please fucking break me.

Bakugo wrapped his arms around your thighs, pulling you forcibly toward him. You propped yourself up on your elbows to get a good look as his face disappeared between your legs. You couldn’t see much past his hair, but you felt a long wet lick up your folds, and your arms immediately gave out, causing you to fall back onto the bed while your hips bucked upward.

You let out an obscene cry, but that only encouraged Bakugo more. He parted your lips with his tongue, licking another stripe up to your clit before sucking it into his mouth, all while peering up at you to see the way you writhed under his touch. You gripped the sheets, and your breathing grew increasingly labored as Bakugo swirled the tip of his tongue against the tender bud, slowly in one direction, and then the opposite. You continued to grind yourself against his mouth while your desire became insatiable. You felt like your hunger was completely justified, because you hadn’t been spoiled in a long fucking time.

You completely unraveled once you glanced down just in time to see Bakugo spit on your parted folds before using his fingers to coat your pussy in his saliva. His slick fingers rubbed your clit, taunting you for just a while longer, and then he dipped his fingers inside of you. He started with two fingers, slipping them in and out with ease until his spit mixed with your arousal created a vile lubricant.

With the way Bakugo’s lips were slightly parted and his eyebrows were knitted in the center, you could tell he was concentrating dangerously, observing how desperately you swallowed his fingers every time he pushed them in.

Your vision erupted into white heat when he bent down to take your clit back into his mouth while pumping in and out of you with an added finger. The symphony that filled the space of your room was absolutely foul. Your intense cries bounced off the walls, while Bakugo panted heavily at the messy sound of his fingers thrusting in and out of you. And neither of you cared if your neighbors could hear.

“Bakugo--,” you started, but your broken plea wasn’t nearly enough to get his attention.

“Bakugo,” you cried louder, your body beginning to shake with the onset of your orgasm.

“Are you gonna cum?” He asked, his voice slightly higher than you were used to, almost like he was whining.

You could only give a weak nod in response.

“Be a good little bitch and cum for me,” Bakugo coaxed, as you yielded to the intensity of your orgasm. He quickened his pace just to see you convulse as you reached your high, but then slowed down until he was ready to pull his fingers out of you.

The sight was enough to make Bakugo cum untouched. You were finger-fucked out, eyes shut as your chest heaved up and down while you tried to catch your breath. Your arousal was smeared on the inside of your thighs and your bedsheet was damp where you released.

Bakugo wanted to ask you if you were alright, but the aching pain in his pants took priority. He reached into his underwear, freeing his swollen cock from the confines of his boxers. He bit down on his bottom lip so hard he almost drew blood as he pumped himself gingerly, hissing at the feeling. His tip was raw and flushed, leaking precum in shameless amounts.

He hoisted your legs on either shoulder and positioned himself at your entrance, looking at you for confirmation, and you nodded feebly. He sunk his entire length into you, and you covered your mouth with your hand to stifle a shrill scream. Your walls were already sore, and the sting of Bakugo’s large cock inside of you was a painful bliss. Tears came quickly, and they rolled down your cheeks while Bakugo rocked his hips into you slowly. He was waiting for his aching to subside before speeding up his rhythm, and once it did he was taken over by an unappeasable greed.

“You’re so fucking tight,” he groaned, thrusting himself in and out of you. “If you keep squeezing me like that I’m gonna cum inside you and get you fucking pregnant.” Bakugo had one hand on your headboard, his grip so firm that his knuckles had turned white.

You sobbed underneath him, withstanding your own pain until it subdued into pleasure. You shifted your legs until they wrapped around Bakugo’s strong torso, unable to get enough of him.

Bakugo rammed into you, and your headboard hitting your wall furiously set the tempo until he fell into a staggered cadence.

“I’m gonna cum,” he choked out. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck--.” Your name was the last thing Bakugo could get out before he broke free of your hold, pulling himself out of you so he could release. He cummed on your stomach, generously shooting out hot spurts of white until he was soft and you were covered in his seed.

Bakugo leaned over and collapsed beside you, short of breath. He was drenched in sweat and his blonde hair stuck to his forehead with perspiration. He chuckled after a few silent minutes.

“What the fuck was that? Were you trying to get me to nut in you?” Bakugo asked, turning to face you.

You didn’t know what he was talking about until you remembered the way you wrapped him up in your legs while he was inside you.

You snorted, erupting into a fit of sheepish laughter. “Yeah.”

Bakugo raised an eyebrow, bewildered. “Crazy bitch.”

He pulled his sweatpants up and rolled out of your bed. “I’m not ready to be a dad yet,” he voiced, before shuffling lazily out of the room to find something he could clean you up with and smoke a cigarette on the fire escape.

The next morning you found yourself alone, Bakugo nowhere to be found despite you falling asleep with his arms around your waist. You raised a sleepy eyebrow at the empty space next to you that was still sunken from his weight. Okay good, so you didn’t hallucinate last night. You figured Bakugo had early duties to attend to, so you simply grumbled before turning over to get more sleep.

Following that day, every time Bakugo came over to your place, or you found yourself at his, the routine was simple: have breathtaking sex and then pass out.

You grew used to expecting it from him whenever the two of you spent any time alone, and the night before always consumed your thoughts the morning after. You’d squeeze your thighs together during your lecture hall while your professor yammered on about early psychology. The memory of Bakugo’s hand around your throat as he fucked you from behind prompted a surge of heat to your core.

Even when the two of you couldn’t see each other because neither of your schedules coincided, you found a way to make things work, whether it was over the phone, through text, or over Facetime.

Occasionally, you’d ring up Bakugo while he was closing up the shop to taunt him, touching yourself on the other line while he’d grow painfully hard and couldn’t relieve himself until he got home.

“You little fucking shit.” You loved the way his low growls sounded over the phone. “Let’s see how bold you are when I come over and turn your thighs into earmuffs.”

And occasionally, he’d send you videos of himself in bed while you were at the library late cramming for your exams the next morning, touching his cock with haste before cumming on his hands as he groaned your name loudly.

Not an ounce of passion was lost between you two, and if anything you’d only grown closer together from the time spent apart. You had your love back, and everything in your life was ideal.

Of course, that was all before the party.

The party at Sero’s house that you’d caught wind of once you joined Momo, Ochako, and your other friend Mina for lunch.

“You know I don’t like going to parties thrown by frats,” Ochako muttered, ripping off small bites of her chicken wrap.

“Why not? There’ll be plenty of guys there for you to talk to, your phone has been a little dry lately,” Mina responded, laughing silently.

Ochako squinted at her jest before playfully rolling her eyes herself. “That’s exactly why. You know what happened last time I went to a frat party. The hangover isn’t worth it.”

Mina exhaled heavily and turned to you with a hopeful look.

“Y/N, you’ll go with us right? Me and Momo?”

You squeezed your water bottle wearily. “I don’t know. I’m not a fan of frat parties either.” You didn’t know what answer to give her, she looked extremely optimistic, and you hated to rain on Mina’s Friday night plans, but you didn’t want to spend the rest of the evening crammed in a frat house with a crowd of strangers.

Mina stuck out her bottom lip and reached to grab your hand from across the table. “Please? Please? There’s no guarantee Momo won’t ditch me at the party for Todoroki.”

Momo murmured inaudibly beside her.

You sighed, however you relented, giving into the arrangements Mina had made for you, but you regretted your decision far too late.

You showed up to the gathering with Mina and Momo dressed modestly. Unlike your friends and many of the other girls there, you already had someone that you were seeing, and you wanted to look as reserved as you could so there was no confusion around whether or not you were off the market.

Bakugo was possessive, and he preferred to keep his possessions close. There was no telling what he would do or how he’d react if he learned of another man trying to make a move on you.

You took small sips out of your cup while you followed quietly behind Momo and Mina as they moved from person to person, greeting friends you were unfamiliar with. You feigned a cheery smile when you were introduced to them, but overall you were bored with the party scene. You weren’t really a frat party girl.

You yelled over to Momo that you needed another drink and shook your head when she asked you if you needed her to come with you. She looked far too engrossed in her conversation with Todoroki, and you didn’t want to just whisk her away while they were talking. In fact, you were the chairman of the Anti-Cockblock Committee.

You sauntered into the kitchen, sliding in next to the counter once the guests who were there first left. You started grabbing bottles to inspect the labels because to be honest, you weren’t sure what half of these brands were. As a broke college student, you bought your own drinks, which were mainly $20 cases of hard lemonade and cheap raspberry Smirnoff vodka from the liquor store. Clearly Sero had selective taste in high quality shit.

You poured yourself a small sip of Patron, tasting the clear liquid, and tried not to gag at the oaky taste as it burned your throat going down.

You felt someone ease in beside you. “Hey, bartender.”

You glanced at the guest next to you, their familiar visage coming into view. You recognized his distinctive green head of hair and innocent freckles peppered across his cheeks, it was the same face you saw every day in your sociology class.

What was his name? Ku--something. Zu…?

You remembered your professor referred to him by his nickname, Deku, and once you said his name as convincingly as you could, you gathered by his boyish grin that you were right.

“I’m surprised you remembered,” he laughed, and adjusted his circle-rimmed glasses while his emerald eyes swelled into crescents.

“I didn’t really take you for a partier,” you observed. Deku was incredibly smart from what you’d seen in class. He knew the answers before your professor could even finish their questions, and when you’d ask him if he could repeat what the teacher said for your notes, he explained the material even better than the person who was an expert in the subject for a living.

“I’m not,” he replied. “But you know, the college experience and all that.”

You scoffed and nodded, knowingly. “Melt your brain studying for 25 hours a day, 8 days a week, and then get shitfaced whenever you can. Yeah, that’s definitely the college experience,” you joked, pouring yourself a couple shots of vodka and mixed it with orange soda.

“I was meaning to ask you,” Deku started. “I mean--Yeah--I was meaning to ask you for your number in class earlier this week.”

You stirred your drink with a finger before stealing a taste. “Of course,” you agreed happily.

Deku’s face deepened into a rosy bloom once he took out his phone, typing in your contact while you recited the numbers.

“I’m not asking for a weird reason or anything like that. Just so we can help each other out with homework and stuff.”

You nodded, already acknowledging that Deku was a sweet kid, at least as far as you knew. You didn’t expect him to have any promiscuous intentions.

“Yeah, but I don’t think I’ll be as much help to you as you’ll be to me,” you teased, and Deku chuckled nervously still trying to shake the blush off his cheeks. “I’m free on Monday, I can meet up with you after class if you want.”

Deku buried his face into his cup, his shallow breathing causing his glasses to fog up. “Yeah, that sounds great,” he mumbled bashfully.

“Text me the deets,” you grinned, before wandering off back to your friends.

On the way back to the stairwell where Momo and Mina were still standing, your attention was drawn by a large crowd around the living room that erupted into jovial squeals and cheers every few seconds. You gravitated toward the mass of guests, standing on your toes to get a better look, but when that didn’t work you gently made your way through the throng of people, issuing soft “sorry, excuse me’s” and “thank you’s” to the people that didn’t mind letting you slip past them.

You had no knowledge that he was going to be here. He never told you what his plans for the night were, but this was the last place you were expecting Bakugo to be.

Here.

Playing a game of “Kiss and Blow” on a crowded couch with someone who wasn’t you. When it reached his turn, you could see his shallow inhale and how he put in no effort to keep the card against his mouth. It fell between the cushions, and the crowd erupted into another rally.

Bakugo grinned artfully and hooked his arm around the eager brunette before smothering her giggles with a deep tongue-filled kiss.

At first, the cogs in your brain couldn’t turn fast enough to register what was happening, and your thought process stuttered for a moment while your eyes took in more than you expected. Your body remained immobile, giving your thoughts a few seconds to catch up. Maybe for those few seconds, your anguish was suspended, and your shock was simply a cushion until you fell apart.

You couldn’t make your way out of the party fast enough, and you didn’t even think to let Momo and Mina know that you were leaving. Everything around you sounded warbled, like you were underwater, as your leaden legs carried you out, past the front lawn, and across the street until you were far away that you could no longer hear the music of the party. It was then that you pulled out your phone to text Mina claiming that you didn’t feel well and called an Uber to take you home.

The following morning you ignored all of Bakugo’s texts. He sent one at 10 AM, asking you if you were down to get breakfast, and then another at noon suggesting lunch since you didn’t respond to his text about breakfast. He texted you again, and again, and again, and you continued to disregard him.

You didn’t cry this time around. No. You were filled with a foreign anger. It was strange and new, and it burned nothing like the rage you’d felt in all your years of living. You didn’t know whether you were angry at him for putting you through this again or if you were angry at yourself for really believing that he’d changed. You really wanted to confront Bakugo in person, but you were afraid of your unpredictability. You didn’t know what you would do if you saw him--roundhouse kick him in the throat most likely.

Bakugo’s relentless attempts to get in contact with you didn’t let up, even late into the night. He sent another text threatening to show up at your apartment if you didn’t answer him, and then he called yet again.

Angrily, you reached out to answer your phone, but once you held it to your ear all the fury you’d been bearing throughout the day emerged.

“Can you fuck off?” You hissed.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Bakugo responded, taken off guard by your greeting. “What the fuck?”

“If you were so hellbent on seeing me today, you should have thought about that before you decided to be a hypocritical little bastard! Again!” You shook with anger, unable to effectively piece together all the profane names you wanted to call him.

Bakugo was still while you put him on blast.

“Do you not have anything to say to me, you fuckwit?”

“No, because I don’t even know why you’re going full bitch right now!” Bakugo defended himself. You sat back at his reply, confused at why he was guarded. You knew that when Bakugo was aware he was in the wrong he always remained quiet and pensive.

“Last night?” you clarified. “Does last night not ring a bell to you?”

He let out a small grunt of recollection. “I was at a party last night, what are you talking about?”

“No shit, Bakugo! I saw you swallowing another girl whole!”

The other line erupted into laughter, and a large knot settled in your throat.

“Am I not allowed to kiss other girls now?” he asked.

Had he been hit by a semi-truck? Did he need a swift lobotomy?

“Why would you kiss another girl if you have a girlfriend?”

Bakugo muttered a quiet “what”, and then the lightbulb clicked.

“Holy shit, Y/N, did you think we were back together?”

Huh?

“When did we ever say that we were together?” he questioned lightly, finding your misunderstanding comical.

But--

“I thought we were just fucking around, you know? I never mentioned getting back together, and you didn’t either, so I just assumed we were just fucking.”

You didn’t say a word. As angry as you wanted to be and as angry as you already were, he was right. You had only assumed that you two were back together, but neither of you agreed on it explicitly.

“Our dates...” you countered listlessly.

“Two people hanging out together isn’t always a date.” Bakugo shifted on the other end and then grunted again to occupy the tense silence. “Shitting me, I didn’t know that’s what you were thinking.”

Realization of how foolish you made yourself look set in, and you hoped the awkwardness that hung in the air was fleeting. You swallow heavily, unable to digest defeat.

“Okay,” you murmured, before hanging up and flinging your phone aside.

You and Bakugo didn’t speak for the rest of the night into next morning, and by midday Monday when your study session with Deku rolled around, you were more than reluctant to go. You knew the frustration of someone cancelling last minute, but you were unsure whether you could bring a positive spirit to your meetup, and the last thing you wanted to do was put kind-hearted Deku through your bad mood.

As the time drew closer, you were considering texting him to rain check, letting him know you were feeling under the weather, when he sent you a picture at the coffee shop. Deku had ordered you lunch, mentioning that you must’ve been hungry after classes all day. He explained that he didn’t know what you liked so he just bought for you what he usually got for himself.

After that, you couldn’t have possibly turned him down, so you showed up anyway. Before you knew it, the clock already approached 9 PM, and the coffee shop was about to close for the night. Time had flown by while you were getting lost in upbeat conversation with Deku, and the two of you laughed and joked around more than you’d done your assignment, but you didn’t mind since it gave you another excuse to meet up with him. You didn’t expect him to be as naturally humorous as he was, nor did you guess you’d have as much in common with him as you did, but you’d forgotten about your own heartache during the time you spent in his company. Not to mention, he was very easy on the eyes, but that was just an additional plus.

However, when you finally returned home to your empty apartment that night, all your feelings came flooding back.

“Right,” you muttered to yourself, setting your backpack down by the door, and throwing your keys onto the kitchen counter. “Back to square one.”

Normally, you’d invite Bakugo over, but you had no desire to be anywhere within a three mile radius of him at the moment, so you quickly got ready for bed, figuring that the more time you spent asleep meant less time that you’d have to dwell over the all-too-familiar pain in your chest.

You continued to spend more and more time with Deku even though most of your plans were organized around schoolwork, even if it was studying for a test or just practicing terminology flashcards. Eventually, you’d gotten close enough that you didn’t mind inviting him over since your apartment was much quieter than the dorm he shared with his roommate, Kaminari.

You were both sat on your couch, and you took turns quizzing each other on general knowledge sociology questions. You flipped through the flashcards, Deku answering every question with impressive ease, until you had grown tired.

“Deku, this isn’t fun. You know every term,” you sighed, shuffling through the stack.

“Studying isn’t supposed to be fun, that’s why it’s called studying and not having fun,” he joked lamely, extending his hands to take his flashcards back.

You giggled silently at his flat humor and leaned back against the armrest to put your knees up. “Okay, well what do you like to do when you’re not studying?”

Deku slipped his flashcards into the pocket of his backpack. “Between classes, studying, and wrestling, I don’t really have much time for anything else.”

You gaped. “You wrestle? No fucking way.”

Deku raised an eyebrow at you, amused and unsure of the reason for your stupefaction. “Why do you think I’m a loser or something?”

“I don’t think you’re a loser,” you explained. “I just wouldn’t have guessed.” You took note of his lean stature. He did look like he worked out, but you never considered his pastime was something as brutish as wrestling. You figured his interests would explain the scars that decorated both of his hands.

“Okay then,” you began, hopping up and throwing the blanket you were wrapped in on the couch. “Teach me something.”

Deku stared at you, uncertain whether you were serious. “I don’t wanna hurt you,” he said, timidly.

“Oh man up, you baby,” you joked while wrapping your hands around his wrists, urging him to stand up. “Who’s to say I won’t hurt you?”

Deku chuckled nervously before following you over to the open space between your living room and kitchen. He stood for a second, thinking of the easiest moves to show you, and then he nodded, like he had fully decided.

“Okay, come here.”

You did as you were told, letting Deku guide you into the correct position. You cleared your throat, unnerved by the way his chest pressed up against your back, and his strong hands looped around your arms to lock them behind your head.

“This is a full nelson,” he instructed. “It’s a submission hold. It’s not allowed in our matches, but feel free to use it if you ever find some creep following you home.” You could feel his chest rumble with laughter between your shoulder blades.

You nodded, feeling flustered. “Mhm.”

The next demonstration had the two of you on the floor with your arm twisted at an uncomfortable angle while Deku’s arm was situated over your rib cage. You could feel his staggered breathing across the shell of your ear, and you looked over your shoulder expectantly, waiting for him to explain the move.

Deku must have realized how close your faces were to each other because he absolutely lost his cool. He began stammering, unable to get his words out. “And this one is called the--um...sorry it’s called the--,” he breathed. “I’m sorry, I’m--I just wanna kiss you so bad right now.” His body tensed with his confession, but you were the one who made the first move.

Once Deku’s hold loosened, you leaned into him, allowing your lips to collide with his. Your mouths moved against each other fervently, and the two of you rolled over until you were on top of him with your legs on either side of his waist. Ever since a few nights before you’d blown up on Bakugo, you hadn’t been touched. Not even by yourself. You tried, but your fingers came nothing close to competing with his. You were so incredibly needy that you had to forcefully stop yourself from gyrating your hips on Deku’s crotch. He was already red in the face, and you were afraid he might collapse if you worked your ass against the growing bulge in his jeans.

You broke your kiss to take Deku’s hands, and you rested them on your chest. With Bakugo, he would have immediately taken control, driving you into ecstasy, but with Deku it was different. It was as if he had never touched a pair of breasts before. His breathing grew even more shallow as his body became rigid.

You tilted your head, slightly irritated from the lack of action, but you were more concerned about Deku’s wellbeing.

“Are you okay?” you asked, tongue in cheek.

Deku nodded anxiously. “Yup, yup, yup, I’m great. I’m good.”

But something was off, and you knew you weren’t enjoying yourself like you typically would even with days of pent up libido. You closed your eyes tiredly and released an exasperated sigh, slowly pulling yourself off of him. “I’m sorry, I can’t do this right now--we shouldn’t--.”

Deku opened his mouth to contest, but you cut him off.

“It’s getting late, you should go. I’ll see you around.” You buried your face in your hands, embarrassed at your desperation. “I’m so sorry,” you apologized again.

Deku adjusted his glasses and murmured a small “It’s fine, Y/N.” He helped you up after he pulled himself off of the floor and gathered his belongings before heading out quickly, eager to flee the tension.

Fuck, you thought. How did things get so complicated? Deku was a sweet kid, genuinely pure at heart, and you knew he wanted you from the way his emerald eyes were glued to your frame, even while you were fully-clothed. Yet he wasn’t Bakugo. He didn’t know how to work you like Bakugo did, and you felt shamefaced for thinking about your ex-boyfriend again. You mulled it over and began to question why you were stopping yourself from having your cake and eating it too.

Bakugo didn’t intend on getting back together with you, but he enjoyed the phenomenal sex, and so did you. You held so much contempt for him now, but there was no reason why you couldn’t just agree to the terms of his compact.

Exes with benefits, only now with a few additions of your own.

No dates, no flirty chatter outside of your arrangements, nothing that could potentially steer you the wrong way towards forgiving him yet again, because like you told your friends: you were a pushover, and Bakugo was a sweet talker. That was a combination destined for hell.

Your revelation was exactly how you ended up sleeping with Bakugo again. Your sex life was practically a Dr. Seuss book. The two of you would have sex in his car, in the bathroom at a bar, and you’d have sex here, there, and pretty much anywhere.

When you first called him up, he answered almost immediately, somewhat excited to see your contact after going without speaking to each other for nearly a week. After you acceded, he snorted, wondering if you were conspiring.

“Are you fucking scheming something? Cooking up some devious shit to get me alone so you can kill me? Suffocate me while I’m sleeping? You’re goddamn insane.”

You rolled your eyes aggravated. “No. Are you down, or do you wanna pussy out now?”

Bakugo agreed, and both of you managed to keep things fairly cordial. Well, as cordial as they could possibly be, given your shared history. You couldn’t care less about the differences and arguments you had when you guys were in bed. If anything, you preferred it when Bakugo was angry at you, pissed at something you had said or just releasing pent up stress that built up over the week. That only made the sex filthier.

Although Bakugo wasn’t yours, and you weren’t his, that didn’t mean he didn’t hold some affection for you, and perhaps still even vice versa. He was possessive over you regardless, even if it meant coming dangerously close to breaching the contract. Especially when he caught you one night with Deku at an on-campus movie screening in the park.

After the fiasco at your apartment with you and Deku, you apologized sincerely to him a couple of days later in class. Deku took no hard feelings to your blunder, and he nodded at the mild rejection when you clarified that things would be best if the two of you stayed friends. He reassured you that he was fine, and he was far too occupied for a relationship of any sort anyway.

But Bakugo wasn’t aware that you two had already tested the waters and decided it was sink rather than swim.

When he spotted you alone sitting on a blanket, he strolled over, wearing a sardonic grin. He struck up a superficial conversation that quickly dissipated once Deku returned with the snacks you two planned on sharing.

Your grin when Deku arrived didn’t compare to the indifferent smile you gave Bakugo when he approached you, and he noticed. His eyes narrowed at your green-haired friend as burning rage coursed through his veins.

“Deku, this is Bakugo,” you said, uninterested in Bakugo’s presence while you took the bag of sour candy Deku offered to you.

Deku smiled at Bakugo, extending his hand to exchange a handshake, but Bakugo simply slapped his hand away dismissively.

“Whatever,” Bakugo jeered, his jaw rooted, before he diverted his attention back to you. “See you later, dumbass.”

He left without a fight, but you knew he wouldn’t put the memory past him, and the following night, all of Bakugo’s anger came bubbling out. The way his brain operated was fascinating, especially since he knew that you two had no romantic commitments to each other, that’s what you agreed on, but finally seeing you over him with someone who he assumed was your new interest turned him crazed.

Bakugo held a painful fistful of your hair, pushing your face into the mattress while he wrecked you. He forced himself into you from behind, muffling your screams with the pillow while he rammed into you relentlessly. Every thrust was vicious, exhibiting the full height of his temper.

“You’re mine, do you understand that? You’re mine to touch, mine to ruin. If anyone else puts their hands on you, I swear I’ll beat them within an inch of their life.”

Bakugo hated to admit it, especially since he knew admitting it turned him into the hypocritical dick of the year, but he enjoyed having you chase after him like a lovelorn puppy. You clung to his side, and you were there at his beck and call. He’d always hated being emotionally tied down, hence his apprehension toward serious relationships, but the way you took advantage of the freedom to see other men made him livid.

“Maybe if I really did put a baby in you other people wouldn’t be such a fucking pain. What do you think?”

Bakugo’s pace didn’t let up as his grip on your hair tightened, and he pulled you upright until your head rested back on his shoulder.

“Answer me,” he demanded, dangerously.

All you could muster were broken sobs. You had never seen Bakugo like this, and you were willing to avow that after discounting your fear and pain, it was hot, and you were slightly intrigued.

Bakugo secured his hand around your neck, allowing his fingers to dig into the side of your throat, and you could feel his cock throbbing inside you which let you know he was close, but he wasn’t making any efforts to slow down any time soon.

“The thought of you with him makes me want to fucking vomit. You know he’ll never be able to make you feel like I do,” he snarled against your ear. “No one will.”

You choked out a meager “I know” while your vision grew blurrier from the lack of oxygen to your head.

You came first and then Bakugo came shortly after, claiming you by pumping you full with his hot seed until you collapsed on the bed from overexhaustion.

You realized then, through the cloudiness of your thoughts came a single conviction: that your relationship with Bakugo was an endless cycle. You’d taken every romantic risk for Bakugo while he risked nothing. That’s how you remained foolish for so long, so naive. You refused to learn over and over again, and you sacrificed yourself in the process.

Once Bakugo threw you modest praise and disappeared into the bathroom, you gave way to the enormity of your despair. Your tears were silent and persistent until your breathing turned ragged while humiliation and resentment burned just beneath your skin.

You were smitten with someone who was bad at romance. Your love was a fairytale, but not everyone believed in fairytales, meaning that was both the birth and death of your chronicle. Fairytales were only real if you believed they were.

Bakugo continued to give you reasons to leave and seek out the love you deserved, but you took momentary bliss as your excuse for staying, like a lovesick fool or like an addict dying from overdose. You wish he would at least give you something to hold onto, like false hope or a pretty lie, but you knew that’s all you’d ever be able to do: wish that things were different so you two could have grown into something beautiful.

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screamingatanemptyroom · 4 years ago

Text

Please Fix the Story Pt 19 - Sci Fi

The new part is here. I've struggled with this story a little bit recently, but I wanted to continue this, to share it with you.

Master Post linked here

Enjoy!

_________________________

“Bel…”

“BEL!”

The world around me was pitch black, empty except for voices I didn't recognize, shouting a name I couldn't remember. I blinked, trying to clear my vision without success.

“Hello?” My anxious shout faded into the nothingness around me.

“I have to do it, Bel. It’s how the story goes.” A blurry figure stood in front of me, his facial features unclear behind his blond hair, but his tone contained frustration and regret. “You know what happens to a world when the story is incomplete. Sacrifices have to made.”

“Who are you…?”

“That’s our fate, we just have to accept that.” He faded away into the darkness, leaving me alone again.

“Come back! Explain what you meant!” I screamed at the disappearing figure. “WHAT SACRIFICE? WHAT FATE?!”

"YOU MUST ACCEPT YOUR FATE."

“Are you lost?” A new voice spoke up, strange, yet completely and utterly familiar.

I spun around, but there was no one behind me. “I’m… I’m lost.”

“No matter where you go, who you become… I’ll find you, Bel. I promise.” The voice was a whisper in my ear. “Fate can’t tear us apart. I won’t let it. Even if I have to destroy fate itself.”

“But I can’t find you. I don’t remember who you are!” I was crying, my tears disappearing into the surrounding mist.

“I’ll find you.” The words were quieter, as if the owner of the voice was fading away.

“DON’T LEAVE ME!”

“I promise.”

“NOT AGAIN!”

"You must accept your fate."

"Bel..."

"You must.."

“…I promise…”

_________________________

“LIAM!”

I woke up, screaming a name that disappeared from my mind as soon as the sound as faded, tears and sweat staining my cheeks.

I curled up into a ball, my head resting on my knees, trying to catch my breath.

Who am I?

Finding no answers, I eventually steadied my nerves, getting up, showering and changing. I looked up at the clock on the wall, wincing as I realized that I was running late for class.

Great, now I’m going to miss breakfast, and I'm starving.

I put on my uniform jacket, lamenting silently my lack of time to fill my empty stomach. As I left my dorm, however, my eye caught something sitting on the floor right outside my door. It was a small plate with a peeled apple and a note with Alaira’s name on it.

I thought Alaira was supposed to be loner… This has to be a trap, right?

It had been several weeks since I woke up in this strange world. It couldn’t be more obvious that she didn’t have any true friends or allies. No one who would care enough to send breakfast, definitely.

Maybe it’s from whoever has been following me around?

Since the second day, I had noticed a shadowy presence following me at a distance. Whoever it was, they never attempted to try to speak to me, or interfere with me in ay way. But it was always nearby, always watching.

So now they’ve upgraded to leaving me food?

I picked up the apple, looking around, and scanned it with the personal computer on my wrist, which showed no drugs or other abnormalities.

Well… I am hungry, which outweighs the possible grim outcome of death by poison, I suppose.

Shrugging mentally, I took a bite. The taste was sweet. I sighed with satisfaction and took another bite. As I chewed, a thought occurred to me, confusing me all the more.

How did they know I like peeled apples?

As far as I could remember, Alaira had never liked apples. It was considered an ancient fruit, more of an oddity than a dietary staple. She had tried it once or twice and hadn’t been impressed.

But I liked it…

I liked apples a lot… but only peeled ones. It was something almost instinctive I had felt whenever I thought about the fruit. But… I hadn’t eaten any apples since I woke up as Alaira.

So how do they know? Does this sci fi story come with mind readers?

I took another bite, feeling confused.

_________________________

“Why the hatred for the apple peel?”

The young man seemed genuinely curious from his tone of voice as he handed me a freshly peeled fruit.

I shrugged, taking a bite. “You try living as a princess in a lower fantasy realm. I bit into a poisoned apple once and the inside was glowing green.” I shuddered. “Ever since then I can’t stand to bite into an apple with the peel still on.”

The man had already started peeling another fruit, and paused in his actions. “Did the prince have to kiss you to break the spell?”

“Why, are you jealous?” I grinned.

“N-no… I’m just asking.” His head hung down, as he seemed to stare intently into the apple in his hands.

I patted his head. “I took an antidote ahead of time. Didn’t fall asleep. Instead, I beat the crap out of the witch.”

He laughed at that. “Didn’t you get in trouble for changing things?”

“Of course. But it was so worth it.”

_________________________

I stared down at the partially eaten fruit in my hands, feeling overwhelmed at the memories surging through my mind.

I keep seeing these memories, but I can’t connect them to anything. What are these lower realms? Is that what I’m in right now? Who is this person I keep seeing?

I felt incomplete, a large part of my memories, my emotions, were missing. What was worse, I wasn’t even sure what was gone, what I should be sad about losing.

I grabbed my bag and walked out the door.

“Alaira.” A voice called out, stopping me in my tracks. Turning, I sighed with odd sense of disappointment at the person standing before me.

Who was I expecting?

I forced a grin and made a rude gesture. “Hey Chris, how awful to see you this morning! Terrible of you to stop by.” I checked my personal communicator and shrugged. “Fortunately for me, I’m running late and have no time for your nonsense. So we’ll save your annoying ranting and raving for a later date, okay?”

He ignored my words, stepping closer with an excited look. “Have you heard the news?”

“Even if I say yes, you’re still going to tell me, right?”

“Don’t pretend, it’s not fooling anyone!” He glared at me. “You’ve been hoping to trap me as your Connector since the match results came back!”

I sighed. “At this point, it’s not even funny anymore. What can I say that will possibly convince you that that is NOT the case?”

“You won’t be able to stop my dreams, Alaira! Next time I’m going to win!”

“Yes, you’re the absolute greatest.” I rolled my eyes. “I cry myself to sleep each night over the fact that we aren’t partners, and I will never feel anything in this life but anguish and despair… now can I go to class?”

He looked ever angrier at my sarcasm. “Just wait until the next match. You’ll see that I’m good enough to be a Guardian. Because I’ve got…”

“Okay, buddy. Sounds good.” I interrupted, walking away.

“Wait, you didn’t finish listening…”

“Yep. See you next match.”

I left him behind, ignoring his rage induced sputtering.

Met an idiot first thing... but hey, at least I'm not hungry anymore!

_________________________

A few days later, the next round of mock Mech battles began.

As the winner of the prior fight, I was slated to go first, completing the first four battles with relative ease. As the day wore on, however, the drain on my body from using the Mech was increasing exponentially. Fortunately I was on my last scheduled fight of the day… even if this was the hardest so far.

A light headache was throbbing at my temples as I scanned the field around me. The arena stood as a large stadium, featuring a high-class barrier shield that extended up to twenty stories in the air. Hundreds of seats surrounded the fighting field, all equipped with holo screens that played the footage taken by the referee bots floating around the fight.

The excited screams from the audience were slightly muffled by the protective screen, and the remaining noise was filtered out as I focused on the fight ahead of me.

My opponent this time was a third year A level Guardian, an experienced fighter, who fought along side a D level Connector. Alaira had faced off with them multiple times in the past, and she had always struggled to win despite the difference in strength of abilities.

There was no denying the advantage that a Connector brought to the fight.

I grinned, ignoring the draining sensation of operating my Mech, the headache and weakness that quickly came on each time I made the Connection. The pain was severe, like a knife stabbing through my eye, but I forced myself to ignore it. As I fought, I couldn’t help but feel bitter.

It’s not like I haven’t been looking for a Connector.

Each day I went to the Matching Center. Each day I endured the laughter, the stares, the whispers and pointing. Each day I was faced with the same words: “No match available.”

Do I need to come up with a different plan? But I can’t fight the Hive without a Mech, and I can’t operate a Mech without a Connector… unless I want to slowly destroy my mind like Alaira did.

I sighed, not seeing any easy answers, and focused on the fight ahead of me. Although I had Alaira’s memories, and operating the Mech came as almost second nature with my S level alpha waves, I had run into an unexpected obstacle:

Alaira’s weapon of choice had been dual wielding energy pistols.

What a waste of the cool looking sword on my back. My physical body was suspended in the Connection chamber, a shielded globe filled with suspension gel. Although the Mech was controlled through alpha brain waves and the Connection, the closer I was to the Mech, the easier that control was. Thus the space for the Guardian was always in the center of the Mech.

I wore helmeted mask monitoring my vitals such as oxygen saturation and heart rate, adjusting the air composition and breath volume to accommodate my body’s stress reaction during battle. A skintight silver suit covered me, interacting with the gel to provide me physical feedback that the Mech would feel. My vision was shared with my Mech’s video system; I looked down and saw the pistols resting in the robotic hands. It was strange, I was obviously inside the robot, but the sensation of the ground beneath my feet, the guns in my hands, was all too real.

The physical sensation made it easier to fight, but it had an obvious drawback, which was that I felt any blows that my Mech sustained. During the fight I was the Mech, and it was a part of me. I tightened my grip around the energy weapons, feeling tired.

Something felt off about using these as my weapons.

I still had no memories about my past, but as I had practiced with the Mech these past few weeks, I had noticed a familiarity with fighting and battles, even more than what Alaira had in my memories after a lifetime of training at home with her father and then in the academy.

Am I some kind of warrior or something?

It didn’t seem right, but I couldn’t explain the comfortable sensation of judging my opponent and fighting with them. But that comfort and familiarity did not extend to dual wielding pistols.

I just wasn’t a great shot.

We had already been fighting for ten minutes. My headache had worsened and I felt tired, but I had only managed to score a few hits on non-vital areas. The only benefit was that the opposing Mech had only been able to strike me twice with the energy-enhanced spear he carried.

“You seem a little off today, Alaira, everything all right?” My opponent’s voice came over his speaker, shocking me. It was technically considered bad etiquette to talk during battle, but it was hard to fault him, as he seemed genuinely concerned about my less than ideal fighting state.

I shook my head, raising my pistols once more. “I’m fine, let’s continue.”

I rushed forward, taking advantage of my superior speed and maneuverability to get closer, trying to make it harder to miss my shots. The opposing Mech jumped backwards, but it was too late. Its hand was within my grasp. Turning and using its significant weight to my advantage, I flipped the robot over my own’s shoulder put the barrel of my gun against the metal head.

My final shot through its temple destroyed the key mechanisms within it, rendering it immobile and finishing the fight.

That was too close… I’ve been practicing with the pistols since I’ve woken up in this strange world, and seen no improvement… what am I doing wrong?

As the referee called out my victory, I backed away, letting out a sigh of relief. It had been a harder fight than it should have been, but at least it was over.

I need a nap.

“I WANT TO CHALLENGE ALAIRA!”

An extremely annoying voice spoke up, causing my already bad headache to worsen.

... Why me?

I turned towards the speaker. “Chris. Didn’t we agree that we were going to avoid each other? … Or was that just my wishful thinking?”

His all white Mech landed in front of my own, holding a large, oversized sword. He swung it back and forth, and although I couldn’t see his facial expressions, the smug tone of his voice through the Mech’s speakers were enough to make me wish I could make my Mech roll its eyes.

“Surely the legendary S level Guardian Alaira isn’t SCARED to fight with a mere D level Guardian such as myself, right?”

“Guardian Chris, please retract your challenge. Guardian Alaira has already finished five consecutive mock battles, and needs time to recover.” The instructor’s face was stern on the holographic screens around us, leaving no room for disagreement.

Chris laughed mockingly. “Oh, I thought she said that even with all the advantages and luck she could still beat me? I guess it was just empty arrogance.” His Mech shook its head. “With such a weak personality, no wonder you can’t find a Connector to match you. Who would want to endure such a woman?”

“…”

CLANG!

My Mech’s foot connected with the other’s crotch, and I heard a high-pitched squeal of pain. Ha, shared sensation with the Mech comes in handy sometimes.

“How dare you?!” His pained shout made me grin.

“Less talking, more fighting. I accept your challenge, Chris.” I took a deep breath, trying to ignore the feeling of my head splitting apart, as well as the light ringing in my ears. I had reached the limit of how long I could safely operate the Mech.

But the sound of his smug satisfaction infuriated me.

Every night, I was haunted by nightmares. Sometimes it was fragments of memories of unfamiliar worlds and people. Most nights, however, I dreamt of Alaira’s end. Alone, broken, terrified, a horrific death for a lonely girl.

And this idiot had watched it happen.

It might not be smart, but I just really want to beat him up. I took a stance, brandishing the pistols, feeling off kilter once more at the light weight in both of my hands.

In the meantime Chris had recovered from his inconvenience, and had resumed his taunting. “Oh, yeah, you ran away so fast the other day, I never got to share with you the good news:” He paused for what I assumed was dramatic effect. “I matched with a Connector earlier last week.”

He obviously meant this to be a huge blow to me, but Alaira’s memories had already warned me this would happen. A beautiful young woman, one of the many who competed for Chis’s affection. This one is a princess… Ilene, I think?

Unbidden, my mind was filled with the thought of the serious, quiet Prince William. I hadn’t seen him since that first day in front of the matching center. So he would be her brother?

I felt a moment of concern at his absence, and then confused, I shook my head, dismissing the thought. I had no reason to see him. Why would I worry about a stranger? Shrugging, I waved casually to Chris’s Mech.

“I welcome the princess to the battle. Sorry you’re on the losing team!”

“…”

There was a moment of shocked silence. “You already know?!”

I winced at Chris’s ear piercing shriek. “Know and don’t care.”

“But… I have a Connector.”

“Yeah, you said that.”

“So I won’t be YOUR Connector!”

I sighed. “We’ve long established that. Look, buddy, it’s been a long day and I’m really tired, are you gonna keep talking about your boring personal life, or are we gonna try to crush each other with massive robots?”

“... Fine then! Keep pretending you don’t care!” Chris seemed really upset at not eliciting a bigger reaction from me, but fortunately turned his attention to the battle as well.

As the hologram around us signaled the start to the fight, he raised his sword and moved towards me, but I had already moved behind him.

BAM!

A shot hit his shoulder, blowing large metallic pieces into the air. I frowned, frustrated. I was faster and stronger than him, but my shots just weren’t going where I wanted them to.

Chris ‘s Mech turned around to face, me, the oversized sword’s momentum swaying the robot from side to side. His movement accuracy and speed had tripled from our last encounter. Clearly, he and his Connector were well matched, well over the required 50%.

But I was still faster.

I ducked under his blow, aiming upwards at his elbow and firing another couple shots.

BAM! BAM!

I missed. Cursing, I recovered, dodging another blow as I increased the distance between us.

Stupid guns.

_________________________

A young man threw up his hands, clearly frustrated.

“Why are you so stubborn? Every single world you insist on using a sword. We were in a laser battle for goodness sake!”

“Swords are more dependable.”

“Oh come on…”

“Plus I’m a terrible shot.”

He sighed. “Fine. But what if one day you don’t have me watching your back?”

“It will be fine.” I grinned. “Don’t you love saying that everything is according to fate? Maybe a sword is just mine?”

“... It doesn’t work like that.”

_________________________

A brief memory flashed in my mind, confusing me.

During my distraction, Chris’s Mech tried to strike again. With no time to dodge, I raised my gun, blocking the blow with the barrel. The weapon cracked under the edge of the sword. I pushed him back, relying on my superior strength and jumped backwards, throwing away the broken weapon in my hand. Glancing down at the remaining gun I had, I felt a warm liquid drip from my nose. It was bleeding, a sign of the increasing strain of the Connection.

I was breaking down. I wouldn't last the rest of the fight.

I had to surrender.

Screw that!

I holstered my remaining gun, drawing the large sword on my Mech’s back. As I held it in front of me, I suddenly felt at home, completely comfortable, as if I had held a sword many times before. I stared at Chris’s Mech, feeling excited.

Now, this feels like a fight!

I raced forward, swinging my sword in a horizontal strike.

_________________________

I was standing in a group of zombies, my sword cutting through the neck of the closest monster.

_________________________

Chris dodged, stumbling backwards. I used the momentum of my first swing to smoothly transition into a downward slash.

_________________________

I was an elf, dancing in the forest, my blade striking down shadowy creatures in the midst of a large battle.

_________________________

THUD!

A robotic hand fell to the ground as I cut it off at the wrist. Chris let out a moan of pain, cut short as I controlled my Mech to kick him in the face, knocking him on his back.

_________________________

I was a vampire, holding a sword made of darkness, fighting humans with elegance and grace.

_________________________

Chris tried to stand up but my foot on his chest prevented the movement. I rested the tip of my sword at his Mech’s throat.

“Do you surrender?”

_________________________

“Surrender?” I smiled as I spoke, staring down at the man on the ground. I couldn’t see his face clearly except for his dark blue eyes, which stared at me without a hint of embarrassment despite his defeated position.

“I surrender.” His voice was warm. “You’re pretty amazing with a sword.”

“After all the realms I’ve fought through? I would have to be.” I shook my head. “Don’t you use swords when you travel?”

“I’m not permitted to travel anymore.” He grinned. “I keep refusing to play my role.”

_________________________

I blinked, focusing on the partially destroyed Mech in front of me. Not hearing his answer, I dug the tip into his neck slightly, only stopping when he let out a groan.

“Do. You. Surrender?”

“I surrender.” His answer sounded like it was forced through gritted teeth.

I could hear muted cheers from the crowd behind the shield as the holographic screens around us displayed my name as the victor.

“Good.” I moved my sword and turned away. My body felt drained, every muscle screaming in pain. I tasted blood in my mouth, my head hurting worse with each passing second.

“I’LL BEAT YOU ONE DAY!” Chris called out behind me. “I’LL GET STRONGER, AND I’LL SHOW YOU!”

“Tell it to someone who cares.” I didn’t turn around, and left the arena.

At least I won. Now if my head would just stop hurting...

As soon as I reached the docking area, my legs crumpled beneath me, and my world faded into darkness.

_________________________

Where am I?

I woke up in a white room, on a plain, clean bed, wearing a hospital gown.

This isn’t a different world, is it?

I carefully searched my memories, but didn’t feel anything different. I sighed, realizing I must be in the school infirmary. In my memories of her life, Alaira had helped bring her fellow students there in the past, but had never stayed to be examined. Deep down she had known that without a Connector she was breaking down, and was afraid the school would prevent her from fighting.

It might have saved her life if she had.

I sat up, rubbing my forehead tiredly. It was still throbbing.

“Are you okay?” A soft voice spoke up, startling me.

I jumped, looking to the chair beside my bed, where a dark haired young man sat. His dark blue eyes studied me carefully, his face expressionless.

“…Prince William?”

“…” After a long silence, he nodded slowly.

“What are you doing here?”

He stared down at the floor silently, and just when I thought he might not respond, he reached out, handing me a peeled apple.

I took it, feeling dazed. “Umm… thanks.” I took a bite, and after swallowing, asked the question on my mind. “Were you the one leaving food outside my dorm room then?”

“…hmm.” His gaze never left the ground.

What the heck kind of answer is “hmm”?!!

“How did you know I like peeled apples?”

“…” A look of genuine confusion crossed his face, but quickly disappeared as he shrugged silently.

“Okay. Well. Thanks.” I pushed myself up, trying to swing my legs to the side of the bed.

He stood up, his face concerned. “Wait. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, my head hurts, but otherwise I feel great.”

“…You should rest.” He frowned as he looked me over.

“It’s just strain from a prolonged connection.” I sighed. “I’m used to it.”

“You haven’t matched?” He seemed mixed, as if happy and disappointed at the same time.

“Nope. Not for lack of trying though. ” I looked him over. “Are you a Connector? Have you matched yet?”

“I…” A look of agony distorted his features.

“He can’t. He’s broken.”

A young woman stood at the door of the infirmary, a mocking smile on her face.

I studied the newcomer carefully. She had long black curls framing a heart shaped face, and large blue eyes that looked down on me with pride. Given the similarities in features to Prince William next to me, it wasn’t difficult to figure out her identity.

“I’m assuming you’re Princess Ilene?”

She ignored my words, walking closer to her brother, whose face had become expressionless once again.

“He can’t Connect. His mental barrier is too strong.” She stopped a few feet away from him and raised her hand, knocking on what looked to be empty air. It made a solid noise, her hand stopping at the same invisible point. “He can’t put it down even if he wants to.”

I thought back to the first time I met him, remembering people being pushed aside.

“A useless Connector who can’t make the connection. A Guardian who can’t match. Two failures together.” She smiled at me. “Sorry I took away your only possible chance at matching Chris, but you needed to see the reality of the situation. He’s a better Guardian than you.”

“…Remind me again who ended up flat on their back at the end of the last fight?”

Her eyes narrowed in annoyance at my comeback. “At least he will be around a long time to help fight the Hive. You, on the other hand.” Ilene pointed at her head and turned her finger in a circle. “You have no future. But on the bright side, at least my useless brother can keep you company while your mind slowly breaks apart.”

BAM

William stood up, angry, and with the loud sound of an impact, Ilene was pushed by an invisible barrier out of the room. Her face enraged, she slammed her fists against it while her mouth made motions as if she was shouting. I stared at her, confused as to why I couldn’t hear her.

“…I sealed her out of the barrier.” William whispered. “Her voice can't make it through either.”

“Oh.” I nodded with satisfaction, watching her shout silently outside the doorway. “Thanks.”

“I can expand the barrier… but she’s right… I can’t drop it.” His eyes dropped down to the floor again. “I can’t Connect… I can’t help Guardians… useless…” His voice slowly dropped in volume, until it was barely a whisper.

“Well, you’re helping me out right now, and I’m a Guardian. So I’d say you’re a pretty useful guy.” I gave him a thumbs up. “I know that not hearing her is already making my day better.”

He stared at me silently for a few moments. “… Are you hungry?”

“Kind of. Why? Do you have more apples or something?”

William shook his head. “No… cake.”

“Please tell me you are serious.”

He solemnly set a container with a piece of cake on the table next to me, along with a napkin and utensils.

I stared at it in shock, motionless.

“… Do you not like it?” His nervous tone broke me out of my stupor. I quickly reached out and held the container close, grabbing the fork and taking a bite.

“Oh, this is amazing… totally worth passing out after my fight.” I took a few more bites, noting him relaxing visibly as I showed my enjoyment. “…Why are you being so nice to me, anyways?”

“Why?” William blinked, looking shocked as if he hadn’t considered it before.

“Yeah. As far as I can tell, I haven’t met you outside of running into you in the hallway once. Why go out of your way to leave me food and sit by me in the infirmary?”

He finally looked up, his dark blue eyes staring into my own. “…I’m not sure. “ He shrugged. “Whenever I see you, I feel happy. I want to help you.”

I leaned back against the backboard of the infirmary bed. “Well… I guess I could always use a friend.”

“Friends?” A trace of a smile crossed his face, before it disappeared into expressionless once more. “Really?”

“Yeah. So let me introduce myself officially, Prince William.” I started to reach out a hand to shake, but remembering his barrier, I pulled it back. “I’m Alaira. Level S Guardian but unable to match, and your new friend.”

He stared at my hand with a look of regret before looking back up. “I’m a Level S Connector… but can’t connect. I’m your new friend… “ He hesitated. “Can you call me a nickname instead?”

“Sure.”

“Then call me… Liam.”

_________________________

“Are you lost?” I woke up in a strange world to the sound of an unfamiliar voice, laying on my back, confused.

“Seems a good description for my current situation.” I stared into a pair of dark blue eyes, smiling despite the dizziness. “Nice to meet you, Stranger.”

He grinned, reaching out a hand to help me up. “Call me Liam.”

“Nice to meet you, Liam.”

_________________________

I blinked away the memory, smiling at the timid young man in front of me. “Nice to meet you… Liam.”

#writing #please fix the story #sci fi #world hopping #memory loss #giant robots #aliens #more memories #call back to the peeled apples from the zombie arc if anyone remembers that far back #so happy to post this part finally.#weight off my chest

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enhyupn · 4 years ago

Text

[6:38] boyfriend!heeseung 𓏲𓏸𓈒ᵕ̈

paring: heeseung x gn!reader

summary: in which your boyfriend tries to convince you he can read your mind. but you, having fun with this, just ended up teasing him.

genre: fluff, light swearing (?), heeseung just wants attention in all honesty

word count: 1k+

a/n this was in my drafts for a while and even though i don’t completely love this i hope you enjoy it a tiny bit!

“no y/n listen to me!” your boyfriend looked incredibly distressed at that moment. however, not for the reasons you would usually think. “i can definitely read your mind!”. you laugh loudly, not taking the boy seriously at all. you felt your stomach tighten due to the fact you were laughing so much.

the whole situation had started when you two played rock, paper, scissors to see who would get out of bed first and make dinner. obviously, considering how competitive the both of you were, the two of you took this simple game very seriously. from the way the rules were laid by you two meant the first to five wins, it had started out like aways.

“paper” you held your hand flat out.

“scissors”

“no fair hee, you didn’t say it at shoot”

“it’s not my fault you’re a sore loser. plus you’re in lead anyways, one more to five” he bitterly let out.

it was until the two of you kept drawing was when heeseung had his suspicions raised. the fact you two kept getting rock at the same time three times, scissors together two times and paper at least four times (yes he counted) meant that one out of you two could do the unthinkable.

“y/n are you reading my mind?”

“ex— excuse me?” a hearty laugh came out of your mouth causing you to trip on your words, suddenly shutting up after seeing the serious look on heeseung’s face. “ummm, no why”.

“if it’s not you...” he looked at you in concern before looking away to think deeper about this situation. “then it’s me? am i reading your mind?”.

“hee what are you talking about...” another laugh coming out of your mouth, in disbelief at the words that had just came out of your boyfriend. “this is so funny please give me a second” you bent your back down in exhaustion from the heavy amounts of laughter you just did.

“no...” a realisation suddenly hitting him, “what if i’m doing it without knowing?”. he brings his hand to his mouth, covering it with his eyes wide open in shock. “no, y/n listen to me!”.

“i’m listening—”

“no... no wait i can guess what you’re thinking now” he interrupted you. you raise your eyebrow at him before clearing your throat.

“okay what number am i thinking about then?” funnily enough you weren’t thinking of a number. the voice in your head repeating the alphabet over and over again just to make sure if he did read your mind, you’d throw him off his track.

“give me a second” he shuts his eyes to concentrate more. what he least expected was for you move you body closer to him, completely making him forget his original plan. “are you distracting me from this?” he opens his eyes when he realised you were suddenly latched onto his arm.

“no but yes, it’s not on purpose though” you close your eyes as you placed your head onto his shoulder. “i thought about something different last minute, it’s not a number”. if you were being honest, as much as you love heeseung you couldn’t let this conversation go on for any longer unless you wanted to bust a lung.

“it’s not?” his face warped into a confused expression.

“yes” you open your eyes. sitting up straight you look into his eyes. having too much fun teasing heeseung, you blurted out “i can read your mind hee, do you wanna know what you’re thinking”. he narrows his eyes at you before moving to the side to look at you in the eyes.

“i actually know what i’m thinking right now” he corrects you, a fresh smile spread across his face. “but hit me with it”.

“you want to...” you pretend to think by placing your finger on your chin. the action making heeseung chuckle before lightly shaking your shoulders in hopes you’d fulfil your statement. “you wanna make dinner”.

“liar” he scoffed, turning his head away from you in disbelief. you lightly hit his shoulder at his gesture, finding humour in his bewilderment. “i definitely did not think that”.

“no, you most definitely did” you laughed between your words. “want me to try again?” a smirk playfully set on your lips.

“only if you believe me when i say i can read your mind”

“that’s it?” you raised your eyebrow in suspicion. “then... i believe you, what am i thinking of?”. you tilted your head in anticipation for his answer.

“hmmm let me see” he paused. you watched as his eyes looked around the room, most likely just delaying his answer to figure out what to say next. “i bet you were thinking about me”.

“you?” the chuckle left your mouth, “yes i was thinking of my amazing boyfriend, who can one hundred percent read my mind” your words were dripping with sarcasm, something heeseung could thankfully catch onto.

“see i’m right” he teased, wrapping his arms around you to bring you into a tight embrace.

“you’re so cheesy” you mutter happily as you felt the both of you recline back into your bed.

turning your head you stared at his features, smiling to yourself happily as you trained your eyes on his lips.

“hey, hee?” you bring your hands closer to his face, the heat making you more giddy than you originally were.

“yes?” his eyes staring back at yours, the look of endearment on his face completely matched yours.

“rock, paper, scissors shoot” out of nowhere the both of you brought your hands out into a fist, shaking it to the rhythm of your words. it was like instinct at this point, the competitive nature of you two shining through.

“rock” you held your fist out with your eyes squeezed.

“scissors” it only took one word from heeseung’s mouth to make you spring out of bed in delight. you were the winner of that evening’s rock, paper, scissors game.

“you can’t just spring that onto me!” he laughed as he got out of the bed, not feeling as serious as his words would make you think. you stuck your tongue out in response playfully.

“you’re just a sore loser” you repeated his words from earlier that hour. your boyfriend rolls his eyes at your mimicking words playfully, all while making his way to the door.

“whatever” he mutters while opening the door. turning his head to you, he tilts his head. “you want ramen right?”.

“yeah!” you beamed at him.

“i’m making it extra spicy” he calls out, one step out of the room already. you roll his eyes at his pettiness before looking down at your bed sheets laughing to yourself as you looked back upon the past twenty minutes.

“read my mind” you joke quietly to yourself. “yeah right”.

#enhypen imagines #enhypen drabbles #enhypen fluff #enhypen scenarios #enhypen x reader #enhypen timestamps #kpop imagines #kpop scenarios #kpop fluff

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pretty-setters · 5 years ago

Note

Hello love 💜 Could I please get headcanons for Kageyama, Iwaizumi and Kuroo confessing to their crush 💜 love your work btw!

Aww, thank you so much! Hope you’ll enjoy this one <3

KAGEYAMA

☁ He keeps his crush a secret for a very long time, because chances are he’s still in denial about having feelings for anyone. But he’s completely smitten after you’ve done one nice thing for him, and he continuously plays the scene in his mind like a broken record player because it’s one of his better memories. You probably offered your milk juice box to him without knowing it was his favorite and that’s how he fell for you.

☁ Kageyama confessing to his crush isn’t likely to happen unless something warrants it. He’s the kind of person to admire someone from afar because he doesn’t have the time to invest in a relationship. He feels like he’s going to have to choose between volleyball and the person that he likes. Although he’s getting a little ahead of himself since he’s not in a position to choose anyway (calm down tobio, you guys aren’t even dating yet!!)

☁ In a conversation where suddenly Kageyama is being teased by someone saying something along the lines of “Oh, are you two together?” or “(Name) and Kageyama would make a cute couple” would push him in the right direction to making his confession even though it feels like it doesn’t start out that way.

“Wh-what? Shut up, I don’t like them like that!”

“Wait, you don’t like me?”

“H-huh? No, I didn’t say that.”

“You did, Tobio.” *sad uwu*

☁ He becomes so flustered and needs to escape the peering eyes from everyone around him and ends up grabbing your hand and running off somewhere secluded. He doesn’t want you to misunderstand especially since the situation got the better of him (and he hates being put on the spot like that), so he starts off by saying, “I need you to know I didn’t mean it like that. Because well... I do actually... like you.” He couldn’t say the word ‘like’ any quieter because he’s shy baby and doesn’t know how you’d respond to it. But then ends up blurting that he likes you aloud because you couldn’t hear him the first couple of times.

IWAIZUMI

☁ For some reason, he noticed that whenever he starts to develop a crush on someone he starts seeing them almost everywhere he goes—sometimes outside of school too and he’d haphazardly seek shelter because he doesn’t want to be seen by you. Oikawa never lets him live it down if he happens to be with Iwa at the moment, and his best friend is going to receive a lifetime of teasing because “Iwa-chan~ I didn’t know you like (name)” *evil snickers*

☁ Ever since then, Oikawa designated himself as the wing man to help none other than Iwa-chan to score a date with his crush, because who better to ask than someone with experience? Although Iwa swears he’s going to kick his ass if he does something stupid and keeps butting in on his personal affairs. Still, that doesn’t stop Oikawa from asking him things like “Have you talked to (name) today, lover boy *cough* Iwa-chan~?” or “You should loosen up a bit, you don’t want to scare away (name) now do you?”

☁ However, Oikawa did something right when he invited you to watch the volleyball match because that’s Iwa’s golden ticket to having an excuse to talk to you (in retrospect, it was the other way around). Iwa initially protested because what if he messes up and looks like a total dumbass on the court?? But he’s also ecstatic because you’re going to be watching him so he’ll hype himself up to bring his A game. He’s sure to flex his powerful spikes to impress you and score as many points so you’d cheer for him.

☁ He was surprised that you were the one to approach him after his team won the match against the other school, and he seriously can’t help the blush reaching his cheeks when you praised how cool he looked. He murmurs a “thanks” as he rubs the back on his neck and decides to shoot his shot because he can feel Oikawa’s glare burning holes through him a few feet away that gives off the energy ‘ask them out already!!!’ And he does, because he wants to keep seeing you at his games.

"Hey, do you wanna hang out sometime, just you and me?"

KUROO

☁ You being in the same class as him is more than he could ever ask for because 1). There’s someone cute he gets to stare at all day, and 2). It provides him so many excuses to come talk to you and hopefully get to know you better. You definitely get more brownie points for being smart because then he’ll never stop bothering you for help with chemistry or calculus even though he’s already a smart cookie himself. You eventually find this out later but he explains that he wants to “confirm his answers” for just in case purposes.

☁ Eventually, you both turned it into a bet where the winner who achieves the highest mark on the next math exam is rewarded with a free ticket and gets to choose a movie at the theater no matter how sappy it is while the loser paid for the expenses. Kuroo ended up with a 105 because he got the bonus question right and you scored a 97 (although you thought there’s no way Kuroo could beat you because it was a pretty high score).

☁ You definitely wanted to punch the smug smirk off his cringey face as he points to the bold, underlined red numbers on his exam, indicating that he’s the clear winner but decided to take you out anyways (his treat) because “I’m always this kind.” You both were scheduled on Saturday night to head out to the movies, and he’s kind of nervous because it feels like a date even without the labels. This also marks the first time you two are hanging out outside of school and studying so he’s crossing his fingers that no funny business is going to happen during his outing with you.

☁ He bought popcorn and drinks for the movie, and you can expect him to execute the yawn and arm over the shoulder move because he’s so cheesy but you let him get away with it. There’s a spark between you and him and you both can feel it since your shy glances and his winks gave it away. So, after the movie ended and he walks you home, he decides that it’s now or never and leans down to kiss your soft lips. And surprise, surprise you kissed him back.

“So, what do you say to being mine?”

#haikyuu #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu kageyama #haikyuu iwaizumi #haikyuu kuroo #kageyama x reader #iwaizumi x reader #kuroo x reader #kageyama tobio #iwaizumi hajime #kuroo tetsurou #kageyama headcanons #iwaizumi headcanons #kuroo headcanons

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theladyofdeath · 5 years ago

Text

City of Starlight {1}

An A Court of Thorns and Roses & Throne of Glass Crossover, Modern AU fanfiction.

Based on a prompt sent in for the 5k follower contest {winner}, from Anonymous: “Competitive arts school tog x acotar crossover”

Summary: Velaris School of the Arts is the most prestigious school of talent on the continent. Whoever wants to be someone wants to get in. As her senior year of high school is coming to an end, all Aelin Galathynius wants is to go to the city of starlight and play music. Feyre Archeron, however, longs to paint for the rich and famous. Painters, singers, dancers, actors, and filmmakers come together in friendship, love, and lust, and find that they have a lot more in common than they thought.

A/N: Shoutout to @throne-of-ashes-and-beauty for writing chapter one with me! Ugh, I’m so excited to write this story, y’all don’t even know. Read, enjoy, & let me know what you think!

Warnings: language

Links:

Fanfic Masterlist

Ask me ANYTHING!

City of Starlight {ACOTAR/TOG crossover}

> Characters Detail Sheet <

Aelin and Aedion stepped out into the late afternoon sun. The drive had taken a little bit longer than intended, but that was only because they stopped to sight-see anything that sounded interesting, including the world’s largest pumpkin. Although ginormous, it was rotted and horrible, but there had been a sign just before the exit and they couldn’t resist. It was also at that exit that they stopped by a little hole-in-the-wall bakery and Aelin got two dozen chocolate donuts.

She’d eaten nearly half of them between there and the entrance of the city.

Velaris was beautiful, just as Aelin suspected it would be, but she really couldn’t wait until nightfall to see the famous starlight. They had a few hours before that, though, which meant that they had to find their apartments. Instead of traditional dorms, since Velaris was a smaller school, they had a huddle of apartments and townhouses. They were all cluttered close together, though, and it was a bit overwhelming trying to decipher which building was which.

“Fuck,” Aedion muttered, looking around the square. They were standing in the middle of four different apartment buildings, all of which looked exactly the same. “What’s your building?”

Aelin dug through her bag to find the envelope with all of her information in it, which took a solid two minutes, and once she opened it up, it took another two to find the right piece of paper.

Aedion just watched her, shaking his head. “How have you made it this far in life being so disorganized?”

She gave him a vulgar gesture as she read, “I’m in building B.” She blinked. “They’re alphabetized?”

Aedion looked around to find the nearest sign, then groaned. “Well, this is building Q, so if that’s the case, we’re pretty far off. I’m in B, too.”

With a dramatic sigh, Aelin said, “And here I was hoping to finally get some distance from you.”

Aedion nudged her in the ribs before climbing back up behind the wheel of his truck. They rode around for nearly forty-five minutes, slowly, reading every sign they passed with frustration. At one point, they thought they were close, because they came upon building C, only to be met at the next building with a sign that said “Apartment Building L”. Aelin swore it was a test of will - one she definitely didn’t care for.

But, alas, when they finally found Apartment Building B, it was a glorious feeling, and once Aedion pulled into a parking spot, Aelin jumped out of the car and yelled, “Finally!”

She expected Aedion to make a profound exclamation, too, but when she looked over the hood of the car at him, he was looking elsewhere.

On the other side of the courtyard was a girl with long, brown hair, a black tank top, and a pair of ripped skinny jeans. Aedion was staring at her, his lips parted.

“Aed,” Aelin snapped, voice loud, and he jerked around to meet her gaze.

After clearing his throat, he muttered an apology and went around back to open the truck bed. He kept glancing across the courtyard every few seconds, though. Aelin wanted to pick on him, but he seemed to be quite smitten and she actually thought it was sweet.

“You should go talk to her,” Aelin said, at last, helping him carry their bags and shit to the sidewalk.

Aedion shook his head. “I’m too busy helping my cousin move in.”

Aelin rolled her eyes at the excuse as she grabbed a box of pillows and began walking backwards toward the sidewalk, keeping her eyes on Aedion, who was looking over his shoulder, once again. “I’m just saying. I’ve seen that look before, and I- shit!”

Aelin nearly dropped the box as her back ran into a tall, hard body. She quickly turned around to meet the narrowed, green eyes of her acquaintance.

“Watch where you’re going, freshman,” he warned, his voice low.

Aelin opened her mouth to tell him off, but Aedion must have seen her shift in body language because he was instantly at her back, saying, “It was an accident, calm down.”

“I’m just saying,” he began, repeating what Aelin had just said, still looking down at her, “that she needs to watch where she’s going. There’s a lot of people around here, and if she’s walking backwards, I won’t be the only person she runs into. The next one may not be so pleasant.”

Aelin snorted. “This is you being pleasant? Gods.”

The newcomer’s lips tightened into a straight line as he went to take a step around Aelin, at last. She let him go, but Aedion wasn’t as forgiving. He blocked the silvery-haired stranger’s path and met his hard gaze with one of his own. Aedion was maybe half an inch shorter than he was, a little less broad, but other than that, they were close in stature. In a fight, they would be fairly evenly matched.

“You owe my cousin an apology,” Aedion said, head cocked slightly to the left.

A light danced in the stranger’s green eyes as he met Aedion with a cocky grin. “You’ve only been here for five minutes and you’re already trying to get your ass kicked?”

“This is ridiculous,” Aelin muttered, stepping in between the two, even though they both stood a head taller than she. “We have shit to get done, knock it off. Unless you want to help us move our shit into 21 and 32, move on with your day.”

The newcomer tensed as he breathed a curse. Then, he looked to Aedion. “You’re in 21? Ashryver?”

Aedion’s hard eyes slid from his cousin’s to the man. “Depends who’s asking.”

“Rowan Whitethorn.” His arms were crossed, clearly not offering a handshake. “I won’t be helping you move, but looks like we’ll be spending a lot of quality time together.”

“Shit,” Aedion breathed.

Rowan turned, his pine green eyes pinning her in place. “And you are?”

Big brother mode kicked in and Aedion grabbed her arm. “None of your concern. Come on, Ace.”

The two began to walk towards the lobby, but Aelin glanced back over her shoulder at Aedion’s surly new roommate. Rowan’s eyes narrowed, as if he were studying her.

With her back straight and her chin held high, Aelin met his stare with one of her own. His shoulders tensed before turning his back to her and walking away.

“Considering you have way more shit than me,” Aedion began, snapping Aelin back to the present, “why don’t you go see where your room is? I’ll come find you after I find my room and bring my bags in, and I’ll start bringing your stuff up.”

Aelin held a hand over her heart. “What would I ever do without you?”

Aedion blinked. “Everything? Stuff for yourself, for once?” He suggested.

With pursed lips, Aelin shoved him in the shoulder, then he laughed as they took to the stairs. She left him on the second floor before trailing up to the third.

Students were hurrying in and out of every room, the excitement of move in day as strong for the older students as it was for the freshman. As she passed each room, it was like a glimpse into a different world. She could hear instruments being tuned and found people sharing designs on tablets and laptops. She heard clear voices and bass driven beats. She felt like she was home.

She finally found the door marked 32 and took a deep breath. She had been an only child her entire life, Aedion the closest thing to a sibling she’d had, so the idea of having roommates was completely foreign to her. She took a deep breath and sighed, twisting the door knob.

To find that it was...locked.

Aelin glanced down the hall again, on both sides. There wasn’t a single door shut on her floor, save for hers. She assumed she must have been the first of her roommates to arrive.

She dug through her bag until she found the key they’d given her, on a VSOTA lanyard and slid the key into the lock.

She had assumed wrong.

Sprawled out on the couch, tangled in each other’s arms, were two women lost in an intimate embrace, and Aelin was most definitely interrupting.

“Shit, sorry!” She yelled, quickly turning away, attempting to give them privacy while also feeling horribly embarrassed. “I should’ve knocked!”

There was a shuffling on the leather couch then soft laughter flooded into the room.

“Knock?” A light voice said. “It’s your house, if you’re Aelin, which I hope you are, because if you’re not this is a very strange situation.”

Aelin hesitated before slowly turning back around, where she was met with a grin from the young woman with long, blonde hair. She was brushing through it with her fingers when Aelin said, “I suppose that’s one way to break the ice in front of your new roommates, right?”

The blonde’s grin widened. “I’m Mor. This is my girlfriend, Nehemia. I live here, she doesn’t. Our other roommate should be here soon, but I wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow!”

Nehemia gave Aelin a gentle smile before pulling her hoodie on over her tank top. Her long braids were pulled back into a low ponytail. “I’m glad you came, actually, brought me back to reality. Elide was expecting me ten minutes ago to help put up flyers for the block party tomorrow night.”

Mor clicked her tongue. “How dare you let me distract you? Elide will have my ass.”

Nehemia chuckled as she kissed Mor on the cheek, then smiled once again at Aelin. “It was nice to meet you.”

“You, too,” she smiled.

The door clicked shut behind her and Mor said, “And how is Velaris treating you so far?”

Aelin chuckled and said, “Velaris is kicking my ass. It took us over forty-five minutes to find our building.”

Mor laughed. “Yeah, it can be a bit of a maze sometimes. But you said us? You brought someone?”

Aelin caught the glint in Mor’s rich, brown eyes. “No, no, not like that. I mean, I didn’t bring him. He's studying film, but he’s my cousin. Practically my older brother.”

Mor nodded. “My cousin is here, too, right beneath us.” She stomped a few times for good measure. “Over-protective prick.”

Aelin laughed. “Is it your first year?

“Technically, yes, but I’m from Velaris.” Mor made her way into the kitchen and grabbed a bottled water out of the fridge. “Rhys and Az have been here for two years, so I basically have, too.”

Aelin hesitated.

“Oh, right,” Mor said, after taking a sip from her bottle. “You have no idea who they are. Rhys is the prick, my cousin, and Azriel is the only good one in our group.” She winked as Aelin chuckled. “It’ll all be a lot to take in, but you’ll get used to it. Starting with the party tomorrow night, and the party that follows the party.”

Aelin just nodded, but she wasn’t following at all. Instead of asking more questions, Mor showed Aelin to the two unoccupied bedrooms and Aelin chose the one that looked out at a massive oak tree, the branches within arms reach out the window. Her and Mor made “get-to-know-you” small talk as she waited for Aedion to bring up her belongings.

Aelin wasn’t sure what she was expecting from her roommates, but Mor seemed nice and funny and Aelin assumed they wouldn’t have any problems.

She couldn’t say the same for Aedion, though.

Rowan Whitethorn seemed like a serious piece of work.

Feyre sat in Rhysand’s lap with her arms around his neck in the middle of the quad, Cassian and Azriel sprawled out on the grass beside them.

“This is it, then?” Cassian asked. “And here I thought we’d actually have to work our asses off at this beautiful institution.”

Azriel opened his eyes just to roll them. “Classes haven’t started yet, idiot.”

“Call me idiot one more time,” Cassian muttered, but he was grinning.

Feyre just shook her head before turning her face back to Rhysand’s, planting her mouth on his.

Cassian said, “Must you? Get a fucking room, gods.” Rhys lifted his foot where it laid near Cassian’s head and kicked him. He mumbled, “Prick”.

Feyre laughed. “Speaking of rooms, I do have one of my own now.”

“Should we go test out the bed, darling?” Rhysand’s violet eyes were brilliant in the August sun as he smirked.

“That’s not what I was suggesting, but maybe, later,” she said, with a wink.

Cassian and Azriel groaned. Az had never been so happier than the day that Feyre received her acceptance letter to VSOTA. It meant she’d have her own place, and he wouldn't have to hear she and Rhys until all hours of the night. No wonder their roommate hated them.

“I should go check on my sisters though,” she sighed. “Nesta is all the way across campus now.”

Cassian muttered, “Good.”

Feyre shot him a look, but she didn’t blame him. He and Nesta had a drunken one night stand at a party in high school, when he was a sophomore and she was a senior, and after that every time the two ran into one another it was...tense, to say the least.

“It’s been years,” Azriel said, his eyes still closed. “You two should get the fuck over it.”

Cassian's brow lifted as he looked sideways at Azriel. “Damn. What's up your ass?”

“He’s just pissed because Whitethorn drank one of his beers this morning,” Rhysand chimed.

Feyre scrunched her nose. “I never understood how people can drink beer when they’re not already drunk. The taste is awful.”

But Azriel was throwing his hands in the air. “They’re hard to find and I specifically told everyone to keep their hands off!”

“If you’d drink regular beer like the rest of us, you wouldn’t have this problem,” Cassian said. “And if you two would have requested me as your roommate like you were supposed to, you’d have one less person tell not to drink your Cafe Coco Coffee stout or whatever the fuck.”

“You didn’t turn in your registration until after the semester ended! It’s hard to request someone who isn’t a student.” Azriel laid back down and closed his eyes again. “And it's an IPA called Coffee Del. If you’re gonna make fun of me, at least do it right.”

“Sounds gross either way,” Cassian mumbled.

Feyre was laughing uncontrollably. “My gods, I never knew you were so boujee, Az.”

The side of Azriel’s lips quirked upward. “I’m heading to Elain’s in a little bit to help put together her bookshelf, if you wanna go with me.”

“I can do that,” Feyre said, “as long as Nesta’s not there, we haven’t spoken in a year and I don’t plan to start today. To do that, I will need beer in me, and not Azriel’s fancy shit, but the crap kind that tastes like junk but gets you real drunk, real fast.”

Rhysand just shook his head, slowly. “You’re so sexy.”

Feyre’s grin widened as she took his face into her hands and pulled his mouth back against hers. Cassian groaned as Azriel took off his beanie and threw it at them.

“Fuck off,” Rhysand muttered, against Feyre’s lips. “And I’m keeping your hat, so thank you.”

Azriel chuckled quietly as he closed his eyes, once again. Cassian stood up and announced his departure. “I have to go meet my roommates.”

He was in the building across from the others, which he had made sure they all knew he was pissed about. After pulling the sheet of wadded up paper out of his pocket, he read, “Fenrys, Lorcan, and Dorian.” He stared at the paper for another minute before sighing, dramatically. “You two assholes have fun with your new roommates while I go make new friends.”

“Your dramatic ass should have gone into acting, Cass,” Rhysand said, his arm around Feyre’s waist tightening.

Cassian just grinned as he shoved his hands into his pockets and began walking backwards, away from the center of the quad. “I would have, but I was gifted with the voice of an angel.”

“You’re no angel,” Feyre muttered, and he held his middle finger up high as he turned his back to them and walked away.

“Fuck,” Azriel breathed. “Now I have to watch you two suck each other’s faces alone.”

And that’s exactly what they did.

———

Nesta Archeron fell onto the couch, having finally carried her last bag up from the car. She deserved the chilled glass of wine she was going to pour herself, just as soon as she could breathe again.

The door opened and Amren groaned as she carried a tub towards her bedroom. “Why exactly do we have to move during the hottest season of the year?”

“I say you and I just buy a little house in the city so that we can stay there year round,” Nesta said, slowly making her way toward the fridge. “And then we wouldn’t have to have any other roommates, either.”

Their previous roommate had graduated the year before, so a new one had been appointed to them, one that Nesta was dreading to be in the same room as, much less living alongside her. She didn’t know Manon Blackbeak all that well, but the dancer certainly had a reputation.

Amren knew her a little bit. They’d had a few classes together, both being dancers at the same school for a few years now, but the two had never really talked.

When Nesta and Amren found out that Manon would be their new roommate, they debated on leaving VSOTA altogether and moving to the other side of the country, but no, they had worked too hard to get where they were, and they wouldn’t let Manon ruin their ongoing success.

“You know, you could help me,” Amren scowled.

Nesta shrugged as she popped the cork from her wine bottle and filled a glass. “That’s your last tub, you’ve got it.”

Leaving the door open, Amren rolled her eyes as she pushed the tote into her room before going back to the living room and falling down on the couch. “Just pour me a glass and we’ll call it even.”

“Deal.” Nesta poured a second glass before re-corking the bottle, returning it to the fridge and carrying the glasses to the other room. She handed Amren a glass and sat in the oversized chair in the corner.

“It’s the least you could do after you took the good room, you bitch,” Amren muttered, the glass to her lips.

Nesta scoffed and threw her a vulgar gesture. “I wasn’t up all night at Varian’s.”

“I’d hope not,” Amren smirked. “Since we were up all night fucking.”

A throat was cleared from the open doorway and Nesta and Amren turned to find Manon standing there with a leather messenger back over her shoulder. “Hey.”

Nesta’s oncoming good mood was instantly fading. “Blackbeak.”

Neither Nesta or Amren moved to welcome their new roommate, but Manon didn’t seem to mind. She walked through the open door, her chin held high. “Which room is mine? I assume you’ve already chosen, given how comfortable and smug you look.”

Amren nodded to the door in the corner.

“Thanks,” Manon muttered, and began to walk that direction.

“Wait,” Nesta said, taking a long sip from her glass before setting it on the side table and rising to her feet. “Since you’re being forced to live with us, there’s a few ground rules.”

Manon snorted, but faced Nesta, nonetheless. “Fine.”

“First of all,” Nesta began, slowly walking to where Manon stood in the middle of the room. “If you decide to have a late night booty call, let us know. We have no interest in sharing the breakfast table with whatever fuckboy warms your bed that night.”

Manon lifted a perfectly sculpted brow. “Fair. And second?”

“Keep your space clean,” Nesta went on, stopping a good foot away from where Manon stood. “I don’t do well with messes.”

Manon sighed, looking at her long, black-painted nails, seemingly bored. “I’m not a fucking slob, shouldn’t be an issue. Anything else?”

Nesta looked over her shoulder at Amren, who was watching them both with a deadly, feline smile.

“We hear you got kicked out of your last apartment for being a bitch,” Nesta went on, at last. “So, keep to yourself as much as possible and realize that the school assigned you to live here, we didn’t ask for it.”

Nesta wasn’t sure what kind of reaction she was going to get, but it certainly wasn’t the grin that spread across Manon’s lips. She surely wasn’t expecting Manon to close the distance between them and get up in her face. Her voice was low, amused, when she said, “I don’t mind keeping to myself, because I came here to dance, not to make friends with bitches like you.”

———

Setting her phone down on top of the stack of flyers, Elide flipped her head upside down and gathered her hair into a messy bun. Being a member of the student council, she’d been on campus for over a week. While everyone else was moving in, she’d been mingling, giving tours, helping new students and, currently, putting up and handing out flyers for the block party she’d been planning for two months.

And, gods, it was so hot.

She picked her flyers up, tucking them against her chest. She’d already hit the East and South sides of campus. Nehemia, though she was late and Elide had given her a look which she blushed at, was heading to the North side. She decided to get to West campus through the Quad, where most students today were gathering.

As she crossed campus, many people she knew called out to Elide. She was waving to one of the girls she’d taken Geology with the year before when she ran into a wall.

Which turned out to be a rock solid chest of muscles.

Her flyers flew from her arms and Elide swore under her breath.

She was immediately down on her hands and knees, trying to gather the flyers before the breeze took them away. When it was clear the wall she’d run into wasn’t going to help, her eyes snapped up to meet the one and only Lorcan Salvaterre’s.

She didn’t know Lorcan, at least not well, only by reputation. He was a loner, kept mostly to himself. Some say he did jail time before he began at VSOTA, in high school, and looking at him now, Elide didn’t doubt it.

He was just staring at her when she scoffed, “Mind giving me a hand?”

“Here, I’ll help.” Elide looked over her shoulder to find Cassian, a freshman who she had met a few days before and had instantly clicked with, hurrying to where she knelt in the grass. Cassian leaned down to help, but not before giving Lorcan a distasteful look. “Fuck, you knock her down and don’t help her out? What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“I didn’t knock her down, she ran into me.” Elide could have sworn a snarl left Lorcan’s lips, but he did squat down and begin helping the two of them scoop the papers up. Once they had gathered what hadn’t blown away, he stood and held the stack out. “Maybe she should look where she’s going.”

Elide snatched the stack back and narrowed her eyes at him.

Lorcan’s expression didn’t change as he reached and took the flyer from the top to read it. “The block party? As if that’s the party people will be at that night.”

She took it back from him. “It’s before the other party even starts. It’s a way for new students to make friends, not get trashed.”

“Fuck that,” Lorcan mumbled. “It’s a waste of time.”

“How about you keep your negativity to yourself, huh?” Cassian asked, taking a step forward in Lorcan’s direction.

Lorcan blinked, as if just remembering that Cassian was there, too. “Who the hell are you? Is this your little boyfriend?”

The question was directed at Elide, but she didn’t answer. Instead, Cassian said, “I’m the only guy here that knows how to act in front of a woman, apparently.”

Lorcan laughed, loudly and humorlessly. “You may want to watch how you speak in front of me. Haven’t you heard? I’m a criminal.”

Cassian snorted. “Is that your idea of a threat? Pretty weak ass threat to me. I don’t know who the fuck you are, and I don’t care, but Elide doesn’t need your shit, so go do whatever it is criminals do, and leave her alone.”

Lorcan’s shoulders tensed as he asked, “Excuse me?”

Elide was suddenly there, in between the two men. “Let it go, Lorcan. Cassian,” she turned and handed him a flyer. “I’ll see you there?”

He grinned. “I’ll be there.”

Lorcan scoffed, but Elide ignored him. “Anything I can help you with? You’re good?”

“Nope, just headed to D.” He picked up the duffle he’d dropped when he rushed over to help Elide gather her flyers. “Time to meet my roommates.”

Lorcan snorted and said, “Good luck to them.”

Cassian stilled, and looked over to where Lorcan was standing. “Sorry?”

“I’m just saying,” Lorcan mumbled. “I’d hate to be stuck living in an apartment with your ego.”

“You’re a dick,” Cassian said, voice low.

“Do you really think that’s the worst insult I’ve ever gotten?” Lorcan asked, then took a look at Elide. “You going to let your little boyfriend insult me like that?”

Cassian was anything but little. In fact, he and Lorcan were pretty evenly matched.

“Leave Elide alone,” Cassian warned. “Seriously, stop talking to her like that-.”

“Or what?” Lorcan interrupted, humored. “I’m sure her little interaction with me has been the most excitement she’s had this week in her perfect little world.”

Elide wanted to tell them both to just walk away, but Cassian was pissed now, could see it in the way he clenched his fists at his side, could see it in the way the vein in his neck popped.

“How the hell did you get into this school?” Cassian asked, his voice low. “You fuck your way to the top?”

“I don’t think you want to do this,” Lorcan breathed. “My face doesn’t have to be pretty. I’m sure yours does.”

Cassian’s jaw ticked and he tilted his head to the side. “That’s sweet. You think I’m pretty.”

Elide froze and she swallowed. Everyone had heard stories about Lorcan. Everyone but Cassian, it seemed.

“What’s your name?” He breathed.

Cassian very casually tied his hair back in a short knot at the back of his head. “Why? You wanna follow my instagram? It’s pretty impressive, I’ve got about nine-hundred followers.”

“I won’t beat the ass of someone who’s name I don’t know.”

Cassian’s lips pursed. Elide watched the wheels in Cassian's head turning. Lorcan’s pride may not have let him kick the ass of someone who’s name he didn’t know, but apparently Cassian held no such reservations.

Elide wanted to scream at him, to call Cassian Nazari the world's biggest idiot, because he crossed the space between he and Lorcan, swinging his fist and knocking Lorcan Salvaterre square in the jaw.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tag list (comment or send an ask to be added):

@mariamuses @wifeofchrishemsworth @gloriouspaintercreatorbandit @rowanismybae @bibesfirra @starrynightsbooks @the-dark-swan @b00kworm @awesomelena555 @alxanxah @rowaelinforeverworld @highqueenofelfhame @slightfanofeverything101 @towhateverend17 @ifinallygavein @aa1482003 @sjm-things @courtofmaasdestruction @ifangirlninja @imwastingmylifeinhere @dreamerforever-5 @rhyswhitethorn @mynewdreamwasyou @notyournymphetish @slitherofgold @flora-and-fae @my-parabatai-is-a-herondale @thereaderandfangirl @courtofstars @psmarra @rosalineroses @marshall1199 @mockingjayusa @wordsafterhours @sleeping-and-books @aelinfeyreeleven945tbln @mu-si-ca-l @court-of-glass @booklover41802 @empress-ofbloodshed @towhateverend17 @sjmships @absolute-disappointment @queenmaas @x3hopeless-dreamer @thesirenwashere @maastrash @humanexile @miaforseck @flutillo @jesstargaryenqueen @faerie-queen-fireheart @missbrightsky @runawayrowan @chemica

#crossover #tacmc cos #acotar #tog #fanfic #fanfiction #sjm

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sleepless-in-starbucks · 4 years ago

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14 (bodyguard AU) and 46 (blind date) sounds fun,,, your choice of ship ( ˘ ³˘)♥ ( ˘ ³˘)♥ ( ˘ ³˘)♥

14. Bodyguard AU || 46. Blind date

Random choice generator got me creativisleep!

roman's a semi-popular actor- he's never really been to an awards show, and he's not been in That much, but he had a small but strong role in a real popular film and plenty of leading ones in lesser known movies. he's got enough of a following to be satisfied with himself, even if it isn't That huge of one

because of this, roman didn't take the possible dangers of his fame seriously... until he got jumped by one fan at a play in his hometown. he came out fine (he's always fine ;p) but it made him reconsider his choice to not have some sort of protection

he ends up hiring remy to be his bodyguard, a choice he Slightly starts regretting when he realizes remy, despite having excellent marks out of bodyguard school, is about as professional as a golden retriever

they take roman's food out of his fridge Whenever, borrow Way too many of his shirts (and roman hasn't seen his BMC 'boyf riends' hoodie since they got their hands on it), and is never in typical bodyguard wear (they wore a suit for the interview and never again)

but they also bring roman coffee (when did they get his regular figured out...?), talk to him like he's just a Person and not a celeb, and have yet to try and kill him themself so. roman's alright with them staying

(plus, is it so wrong if roman enjoys how they look? he deserves for a bit of an eye-candy sorta bodyguard, damnit, they're with him all the time after all)

remy's been with roman as his bodyguard for a few months when roman decides he cant just keep Lookin at a pretty person, he deserves to have a pretty person to kiss and cuddle with too!! so he pokes around for a bit, finds a non-homophobic service (he's pan, so he could Technically use a plain ol' straight service, but he refuses on gay principle), and uses it

idk how datin apps work but this one that im makin up is a blind match up app, which takes ur information and uses it to randomly pair u up with random accounts. the app keeps account info privated until After the first date has been gone on, to really maintain the 'blind match' aspect. the matched up people play a mini guessing game through the app about places they can go for a date until location and time is determined

roman likes the idea of the app mostly to keep his own identity secret as long as possible- he doesnt want people pickin his account Just bc he's a celeb, y'know?

the first couple of blind dates dont go well tho... most are nice people who roman just isn't compatible with, one was a straight woman who spent the entire date being Very homophobic despite roman's rainbow heart + pan flag pins, and someone who was clearly Too Much Of A Fan (remy had to physically pull them off of roman and help him escape the park before they could latch back on)

oh, did roman not mention? remy's been coming on all his dates with him

because of course they are! they need to protect roman! whether that's by eating dinner in the booth over or sitting two rows back at the cinema or awkwardly half-stalkin roman and his date while they walk about

so they're always there, to bring roman there and take him home, and listen when he complains about the bad matches and lament the almost-winners, and convince him he is a catch that needs to try again because eventually Someone will realize he really is too good to pass up

(remy always says that line in a weird way)

so he keeps trying... until roman has possibly the worst date ever

because he gets stood up. it's fifteen minutes past the scheduled date time, he's gotten no text explainin where they are, but he's sittin at the restaurant alone and starting to become rather upset by the pitying look the server gives him when he says he's still waitin on someone else before he orders

remy slides into the seat across from him at the 20 minute mark. shoots roman an apologetic smile that an outsider would mistake as a 'sorry im late' one when roman knows it's a 'sorry they didnt show' one

roman appreciates the gesture to save him, but he almost just wants to go home at this point. he's tired and bein stood up feels like Shit, actually, and he's about ready to call off the whole dating thing really, dramatic as that may be (like it's not his middle name)

but remy says smth about this place having really good sandwiches, and it's clear they're tryin so hard to help roman out here, even a little, and roman can't just dismiss that effort, so he picks up his menu again and orders smth and tries to ignore the way his face heats up just the slightest at the relieved smile remy flashes next

lunch with remy is great, actually, better than it would've been with whoever couldnt be bothered to show or apologize or Anything. remy even knows the way to an ice cream shop on the way home, sayin it's for roman's 'broken heart' as they pay for it

except, well... roman's heart isn't feelin so broken anymore

it's actually feeling pretty put together. really functional. functioning really fast. especially when roman's looking at remy. or when remy's lookin at roman. or when they smile. or when they laugh. or when they speak. or when they-

roman doesn't fall asleep until 2am that night, heart still racing a bit, screaming into his pillow a bit as he acknowledges he is wholly and totally head-over-heels for his bodyguard

he tells remy the next day he's done with dating for a bit, saying he's still upset over being stood up. he doesn't mention that it's also bc remy's ruined all other people for him

things try to fall back in routine from there, but it's a bit harder when roman's trying to not be so in love with someone who just works for him. and remy's definitely started pickin up on it too- they had asked him just last if he was okay, that he didn't seem as upset by remy takin his clothes anymore, and that didn't seem like him, was he getting sick?

the opposite, actually, absolutely nothing makes me feel better then seeing you walk around in my shirt or jacket or whatever else, please never stop and also kiss me?

roman just said he was tired

eventually... roman decides this can't keep going on. remy's giving him more weird looks these days, and roman is pretty sure being around remy so much without Any kisses is starting to cause brain decay (it's not, it's really not, remy always bein on his mind is just a side effect of.... pretti........). so, he takes matters into his own hands

admittedly, maybe firing remy wasn't the best way to go, given remy immediately demands to know why, what they did wrong, even asking if roman's being blackmailed into this

"blink once for yes, twice for no" remy asks, lowering the sunglasses they always have on to look directly at roman's eyes

roman doesn't blink for a full minute. he might not be breathing for that minute either. has he ever seen remy's eyes this close? has he ever seen them at all? they're such a brilliant shade of brown. roman could drown in them. he might be already

roman's pretty sure he started this conversation standing up, but maybe not, because when he finally blinks and remembers things outside of remy's eyes exist he's sitting down and remy looks extremely concerned

"okay... what's wrong, hun?" they ask, and oh no, they look so sad, and worried, and that's not good, roman should fix that right now, regardless of whatever he was doing before (he's forgotten)

"im gay" he responds intelligently. this will fix everything

remy, however, just looks confused. "yes?"

"for you" roman adds, helpfully, sure that Now remy will understand they're just really very pretty and nothing's wrong and if they feel bad still they should look in a mirror because then they'll be good again

now it's remy's turn to sit in silence, expression frozen in one of shock. they still havent put their sunglasses back on, so roman doesnt mind, bc this gives him more time to stare at remy's eyes

"you're having a breakdown because you're gay for me???" remy finally asks, expression unfreezing to look incredulous and a little hurt

roman returns a similar look. "im not having a breakdown!"

remy scoffs. "yeah, sure, right, that's why you suddenly froze and completely stopped breathing and minorly collapsed after i... look off my shades to look at you..." they suddenly break out in a smirk. "oh my gods, you're a gay disaster"

roman doesn't try to deny it, especially with the knowledge he apparently did stop breathing to admire remy's eyes. they have a point

"how long?"

"since that date you hijacked after i got stood up" roman admits. he finds it extraordinarily rude when remy starts laughing

...until they're pulling out their phone, hurriedly opening up the exact same dating app roman had been using, showing a log of all the dates they had planned- there's only one marked as having actually been attended

same date time and place of the one where roman had assumed he had been stood up

"you broke my heart!" roman says as remy puts away their phone, over-dramatically, not actually giving a damn, just feeling gay and a bit giddy at the thought remy hadnt gone to any of the other dates, just theirs

no longer worried quite as much about roman for the moment, remy's smirk just grows, smoothly moving from being crouched in front of roman to being set firmly in his lap, lazily brushing hair out of his eyes and wow was remy always this warm? and stunning? and perfect?

"i dunno babe... sounds more like i stole it" remy teases, movin from playing with roman's hair to cuppin his cheek, leaning in close and not even bothering to pretend to be looking at anything other than roman's lips. "which, yeah, bad bodyguard etiquette... i hope you can forgive me..."

roman doesn't need his words to answer that tease

#oops this got long ':) i got distracted by the gays... happy pride month djhbvcfjds #fanfic #creativisleep #ts roman #ts remy #nb!remy #the cryptid speaks #meri #yeah roman just. has an all out gay panic disaster moment right there #poor man 😔#also my characters keep ending up kissin in each other's laps can y'all tell im a touchstarved gay yet /hj

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greekbros · 4 years ago

Text

"greek-Bros: The Return of an Old Enemy"

Chapter 11: A Joust Worth Remembering!

It was late afternoon, around 4 o'clock in the afternoon to our clock. Crowds gather to the center ring, ready for the evening's big event, Dionysus's joust. On opposite sides, Dionysus and Ares stood like two forces of nature. Ares prepared his chariot, now being pulled by Delphi's most capable mules, glared at Dionysus from across the ring. Dionysus, stared back not as a proud and fierce as the bulls he's compared to, but more of a scared fawn looking straight at the wolf eyeing it.

He glances at Hermes, Apollo and Ariadne whom were sitting within the crowd, feeling a little courage, he rides his chariot slowly towards to the ring, Ares following soon after, he clears his throat, "LADIES, GENTLEMEN AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN AND BEYOND! I give you the joust of the millenia! Me, your humble ruler versus Ares!", he reached his arm out to show the crowd a begrudged Ares. "May the best god win!", he finished his speech, he felt a cold sweat run down his tempal. "Okie dokie, just relax-", he looked again to Hermes and Apollo, he could see them both had a glint in their eyes, "-you guys better have done a good job, I can't bare losing her.", he quietly whispered to himself.

Ares however, was revved up like an angry boar, ready to once again gouge his prey. He clenched his teeth as if he was going to go for the jugular. "I'm going to wreck your shit Dio.", he growled through his teeth. He and Dionysus both stopped a little parallel to each other, setting their positions for the joust. The two chariots were ready, the lances pointing to each other....and the chariots darted to each other as if time itself slowed to a crawl. Things were looking like they were going according to plan, but fate is a force even the gods can't predict. It was going to come on four legs, orange fur and long whiskers.

Back at the food tent, the little lycan pup was still rummaging through the cloths and pillows, now all shredded open creating a storm of down feathers. He played and leaped, knawed and ravaged the pillows as if they were rabbits. Until, he heard a mew, just outside the tent. All his attention went from enjoying himself, to finding the thing that made the noise. Sniffing the air, his nose lead to the corner of ravaged tent, again a mew was heard. He poked his head from under the tent, seeing a stray cat. The pup had no idea what a cat was, but he hated it like any self respecting canidae. He gave the most hardy growl his little body could muster and barked. The cat arched, hairs on end and it hissed. The pup matched ferocity with the cat, barking again he gave chase, determined to hunt it. The car let out a yowl and ran off, the cat and pup both have way to a cat and mouse chase throughout the feild. Several Delphians saw this oddly shaped wolf pup chasing the cat, some knowing very well this was no dog, it was definitely something of a beast. The pup chased the cat....into the jousting field.

Within the meaningless seconds, Ares felt victory was a red dye tipped lance away, "oh I can't wait to see the look on that fatass's face when I get take Delphi for myself!", he thought to himself. He could feel the warm wave of confidence run down his back and the cool breeze of the chariot's speed. His face with a manic grin, contrary to Dionysus's look of fear and worry. All Dionysus could do was hope that he wouldn't lose everything he cared for.

Ares it seemed had the joust set, until he saw a flash of orange followed by a little blurr of greyish brown. "Wait wh-", suddenly just time began to start walking instead of crawling, he heard the haunting sound of something breaking. He looked to his right and saw the wheel broke right off it's wheelhub, while at the same time, the sight of the two beasts of burdens frightened the chariot mules. The mules reared back, braying in fear of the fast moving things. The same had happened to Dionysus's mules, but he quickly reacted to the situation. He tugged at the riens as hard as he could, and tugged to his right and the whole chariot took a remarkable slide. Just narrowly avoiding hitting Ares's chariot.

It's an incredible chaos! As Ares's chariot continues to crash down to the dirt, the mules struggling with the yoke and shaft, Dionysus's mules grind to a halt and both gods seem to have lost control. The two gods, now more concerned about not dieing from an unfortunate chariot accident, where orbiting the field in a cloud of dust.

The whole joust had become the world's most heavenly mess. Hermes looked at Apollo, mildly glaring at him, all Apollo could do is gawk like everyone in the crowd. He looked at Hermes to see if he was enjoying the sight as much as he was but it was clear Hermes was more mildly upset. "What did YOU do?", Hermes asked. Even he wanted to know what did Apollo do to help sabotage Ares, because even Hermes himself wouldn't have thought of something as simple as messing with the chariot.

Apollo blushed a little with childish shame, "oh nothing much.....I just loosened a thing...or two.", he explained that he loosened the wheelhub to make sure it was guaranteed the wheel would fly off.", Hermes was dumbfounded yet actually impressed at the simplicity of it all.

Next to Apollo, Ariadne was worried about Dionysus, hoping he didn't hurt himself too much. "Oh no my dearest Dionysus! Please let him be alright.", she worried out loud. Apollo gave her a friendly pay on her shoulder.

"There there, he's been through worse.", Apollo assured her. He noticed a few people shouting and asking about the joust's results. Did Ares win? Or Did Dionysus win? As the dust cleared, both chariots, both pair of mules and both gods, in a pile of a kerfuffle. Ares rubbed his hurting head, all he could remember was something whizzing through the jousting feild and BOOM, now he was laying on the side of his own chariot...belly down. His thoughts started to collect and he than quickly remembered the wheel, now fuming with anger.

Dionysus, still reeling from his epic drift, was seeing stars for a few seconds. His thoughts ran as fast as the stars did and he felt a pit in his stomach and sinking in his heart. He shook his head, as he noticed a bright, green mark on Ares's left thigh. His gaping mouth quickly transformed into a smile, he had won by luck itself. Before Ares could turn around to strangle Dionysus, a satyr shouts "LORD DIONYSUS IS THE WINNER!". The crowd roared with cheer and merriment for their patron god had won as expected. Ariadne leaps up and cheered, she hastily went to Dionysus to hug the big fool. "You could have gotten yourself hurt!", Ariadne gave him a slap on the face, but just as quickly she was furious, she hugged him again. Relieved that he's alright. Dionysus picked her up, embracing her, he was relieved that she wasn't going to be trinketed away to his war mongering brother.

Ares was confused, he looked all over his body and found that bright green paint on his thigh, it stuck out like a sore thumb, evidence of his defeat. He looked at the cheering crowd and saw Apollo and Hermes both giggling, it was clear what had happened. Those two had sabotaged him, all this because his "whiny brother was a sore loser and couldn't stand loosing in front of his adoring followers" his thoughts roared. He stood there, stewing in his own anger. He growl, snarled, and baired his teeth but he took a deep breath, knowing well that if all of this calamity happened, it was obvious it wasn't written in the stars. He huffed and snorted like a bull, he wasn't going to dignify Dionysus with a congratulations. He stormed off, to find his horses and someone to fix his chariot.

About an hour later, after Dionysus's decree of curfew had to be upheld as promised, Ares was still at the stables, waiting for his chariot to be fixed by a supposed reputable repair nymph. He sat down on a stool, brooding his loss of the perfect training ground for an army he would have to wait another century. "Bastard drunk asshole, I swear if that golden twink and thieving gnat Hermes didn't fuck up my chances...hmf. I would have won.....I want a rema-" suddenly, he heard the sniffling and whinnying of a dog. He turned his head to the sound, and slowly followed it to a pile of empty barrels. He looked inside some of the barrels, he moved some aside, he couldn't seem to find the sound. Than, he finally found the source, it was the little pup.

It had seemed that shortly after he and the cat zoomed across the field, their chase ensued. He and the cat had a tussle, they 'battled' it out but towards the end, the pup lost to the cat's claws. A scratch across his little snout, few on his body and arms, tears running down his face, poor thing had its first taste of defeat with a little side of pain. Ares watched on, just wondering who would put this poor misshapen dog in tattered clothes. "To make my day even worse, these drunken fools decided to defile an innocent dog. Well... No use having two souls suffer...", he leaned down and saw the pitiful little, "hey buddy.", he spoke softly.

The lycan pup looked up, perked his ears in shock and let out a little snarl. To the pup, Ares was a towering opponent, he was going to do everything to defend himself. Ares however, was actually curious about the pup, it was definitely a funny looking dog with oddly long arms, legs and paws. He gently picks the pup by the scruff of his tattered chiton, as he does so, the pup grabs on to his forearm and knaws on the bareskin. The pup tried to dig in deep but even his little sharp teeth couldn't break Ares's skin.

Ares gave a hardy chuckle, "You have a lot fire in you, ugh buddy? I'm not going to lie, I have no idea what kinda dog you are....Fuck it, you'll make a fine addition to my pack little one...I think I'll name you.....Ajax.", he scratched the pup behind his ear with his free hand. The pup suddenly relaxed as he felt the pleasant starching of a persistent itch had gone, his tail wagged with glee and even relaxed his grip on Ares's forearm, letting Ares carry him like a small child. Delighted, Ares carried him to his chariot to bring back to Olypmus.

Back at Dionysus's veranda, the boys were enjoying a late afternoon cup of wup. Apollo was playing his lyre while Hermes, Ariadne and Dionysus relaxed after helping the citizens put away the maritals from the games. Dionysus with Ariadne in one arm and a kylix in the other hand, "man, that was great...did you see that sweet drift, I knew Ares was going to do something weird so I ha-?", he drunkenly went on.

"Dionysus love, you know very well you didn't plan anything.", Ariadne included. She was playing with his curly, thick locks. Dionysus blushed a little on top of his rosey glow of wine, laid the side of his head on to her, "yes darling.", he responded, "shame Ares couldn't stay for our little celebration.", he said with an air of irony. Apollo looked at Dionysus and shook his head, he knew he was just mostly relieved about Ares losing.

Hermes was swirling around his kylix, he started to ponder about the event and how did it go so wrong. He knew he and Apollo had sufficiently sabotaged Ares and his chariot yet the beginning of the joust just felt odd, he felt something was going and that a perfectly simple day wasn't going to end on a high note somehow. "Say....did anyone actually see what that THING that ran in between you guys were?", he asked taking a sip of the wine.

The rest of them all started to ponder as well, Dionysus clicked his tounge, ".....maybe it was just a dog chasing a cat or something.....", he bluntly put it. "Wait....do we have dogs in Delphi?", he asked Ariadne.

"Of course we have dogs in Delphi, Dionysus. Many of our farmers have herding dogs to protect the livestock.", she responded.

Apollo chimed in, "hmm.....yes it could....but didn't the dog look off too? It looked a little lanky....and...also....did anyone knoticed the dog.....wearing a tunic?". He hopeed someone around knew what he had seen.

This comment sent shivers down Hermes's spine, he suddenly remembered his encounter with the wolf creature. "Ugh.....you guys don't think it was-", he was interrupted by the sound of Kale.

Kale strutted towards the gods, "My Lord Dionysus, the citizens would like to express their gratitude and appreciation for your entertaining performance this evening....buuuut there was a small complaint.", he eloquently noted.

Dionysus was a little surprised about this news, "what complaint?", he asked. To his knowledge the whole thing was a success regardless of the terrible bet that had taken place behind closed curtains.

Kale, with little to no hesitation, "Well the main food tent was absolutely FuCkInG destroyed, someone ate all the roasted goat, most of the breads and ugh absolutely RUINED the furnishings I worked so hard placing. I am just floored, my Lord.", he let out a depressed sigh.

Dionysus was confused, did someone break in the food tent or was this just evidence of an animal attack? He cleared his throat, "ugh, I am so sorry about that, Kale, I saw it earlier in the morning it looked really nice. Did anyone see anything?", he asked, he just hoped it wasn't what he thought it was.

Kale composes himself a little with a deep light breath, "well it looked like animal was in there...but it could have been some kid in a wolf costume or something just making mischief.", he deducted. However, Delphians weren't known for pulling such pranks, even for misbehaving youths, this would be considered to be in poor taste considering the farming population.

Ariadne slowly looked to Dionysus, suspecting he knew about something. "An animal you say?", she asked. The hair on the back of Dionysus's neck stand on end, his MAN senses were tingling, and his wife was in on it. He chuckled nervously, "maaaaybe it was just a stray dog?", his reassuring comment wasn't going to be enough.

However, Kale wasn't helping. "Well....a few people did see what came out of the tent, they saw it chase a cat all over the event field. It looked a tiny baby wolf in a chiton? I mean what kind of depraved jerk would put clothes on a wolf?". This was the final nail in the coffin, at least for Dionysus's chances of sleeping in the same villa as Ariadne.

She let out a huff, crossed her arms and crossed her legs. "What is going on Dionysus,I thought I told you not to go on with this whole thing if you KNEW if there were those beasts out there.", she was stern and her eyes could be comparable to Hera's stare of marital disappointment.

Dionysus, tried to avoid the conversation and sipped his kylix. He looked off to the side like a child who did something wrong. Hermes entered into the conversation, "Ugh to be fair, it was a BABY...and..ugh...there was just one...so...ugh...I guess it didn't do anything.", Inspite of this argument, he knew this meant that there was definitely more if these wolf creatures. "Ugh...you didn't see where it went...did you?", he asked Kale.

Scratching his meticulously groomed goatee, Kale nodded 'yes', 'I believe some of the attendees saw it run off into the field or "something" of that direction.", he replied.

Dionysus leaped up, "than it's gone! Good, let's all just hit the hay and get some sleep!", he spoke in a happy voice of a man who knew he was in deep trouble. He felt Ariadne gently pull his ear, his body flowed to the direction of Ariadne.

She gave that small smile that deceptively masked her frustration, "Dio... sweetie......you're sleeping with the leopards....not for a wekk....but for a month.", she gently whispered in his ear, patted him on his face. Regardless if she was angry with Dionysus, it seemed by the end of the day no one actually got hurt. She turn around to walk back home, "Goodnight, gentlemen.", she left right back.

The four gentlemen were all standing by themselves watching Ariadne leave, Apollo sighed and turned to Dionysus. "So....where do the leopards sleep?", he asked Dionysus.

Dionysus stared at Ariadne with loving relief. "Well, they sleep....that way.", he pointed towards the dimly lit forested yard were many of his leopards roamed freely. He scratched his chin, satisfied with the whole situation, it could have been worse yet it could have been better. Now his only priority, is to find a soft place to sleep. Before he did so, he turned to Kale and his brothers. "Kale, tell NO ONE of this weird dog shit, deny EVERYTHING and ugh....tell anyone who asked it was leopard. Hermes, Apollo, tommorow....we go and talk to dad about this. Now...I'm going to get serious.", as he said this, tripped on a raised rug and fell over on a pile of lounge pillow. "I'm ok... actually this is pretty comfy....", he muffled.

Apollo and Hermes looked down at Dionysus, wondering if they should help, but there's a likely chance he probably has already dosed off.

#greek bros #greek-Bros #greek bros: the return of an old enemy #chapter 11 #short story #greek mythology #greek gods #dionysus #apollo #hermes #ares #blood of zeus #hellenistic #Ariadne

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yodawgiherd · 4 years ago

Text

The Preliminary Round

>>>Read on AO3<<<

Updating after such a long time feels kinda strange, but I did say that I want to continue, didn't I? Let's get to it then.

Eren did not spend many of his Friday evenings with a cheap beer in his hand in a packed stadium, staring at the metal cage in the middle. Then again, he never missed Mikasa’s fights, if he could help it, and today was one of the blessed days when he was free to enjoy it to the fullest. And it wasn’t a normal fight either, as the Colosseum tournament had officially begun.

It was immensely popular. With a big prize pool backed by several large sponsors, among other the company that Willy Tybur owned, every fighter wanted a piece of that pie. Because of the massive number of entries the organizers had to run preliminaries first. Meaning that fighters from same regions were pitted against each other, dueling for the opportunity to attend the finals in Vegas. The tournament was also special in the way that it had no restrictions. One didn’t have to be a pro to enter. There were no restrictions when it came to gender or weight, a thing that was not very balanced, but that’s how it was. There would be one winner, one champion of the Colosseum. No classes, no divisions. Which meant that Mikasa’s opponent today was a man, a high ranked MMA fighter, just like herself.

Mikasa had limited experience when it came to real fights with the opposite gender, apart from sparing with Levi or Eren, because the professional male fighters weren’t very keen to face off against her. Those who didn’t know her were afraid that she would get injured, those who knew her were afraid that she might injure them.

Taking a sip of that swill they called beer in here, Eren looked on as the fighters walked in the arena, being greeted by a roar of the crowd. The tournament officials were already there, pacing around with the Colosseum logo on the backs of their shirts. They were present just for a quick checkup of the fighters because while there were next to no rules, some still applied. The completely basic stuff, like no weapons or metal in the cage, no groin punches and so on. The raven-haired beauty he knew so well climbed into the cage first, warming up with air-punches. The man followed soon after, stretching. He was a beast, and seeing him now, locked in the cage with Mikasa, towering over her, it made Eren’s heart beat just a little bit faster with worry. But it was Mikasa, this was what she loved doing, and Eren would never even try to stop her from doing it. Taking a seat, he took another sip and did the only thing he could right now. He watched.

Almost all of the advantages were in her opponent’s court. As a male, his upper body was stronger by default, but that was far from all. Mikasa was tall, but he was taller than her and far heavier, his body was massively muscled as opposed to Mikasa’s leaner form. Worst of all, he was a pro, just like she was, meaning that he wouldn’t waste his strength or do mistakes one could try to abuse in an untrained fighter. Just from his stance, Mikasa could say that he was aware of his strength. Tight, with both hands raised to protect his head, he had a basic yet effective boxing one, and this guy was undoubtedly a heavyweight. Any straight punch from those fists would hurt like hell, possibly throwing her off her balance long enough for the guy to follow up with a K.O.

She knew herself, intimately, she knew her own strength. Mikasa had honed her body to its utmost limits and beyond, stretching both her physical ability and the control she had over it far beyond what normal people achieved. Yet to put it short, she was still incredibly outmatched. Even with all that training, this was a David versus Goliath match, and she was the David here. To make matters worse, she forgot her slingshot at home and had to take Goliath in close combat. With her fists. Oh yea.

Most fighters would get overwhelmed by these facts. To fight not only the physically stronger gender but also a specimen that was this far out of one’s weight class was insane, crazy, no one of their right mind would try that. Too bad Mikasa Ackerman was not most fighters. She could hardly hide her excited grin. This matchup was amazing, as she would have to push her limits to win, to overcome obstacles and climb that impossible mountain. Taking her stance, Mikasa readied herself as much as she could, already plotting a strategy inside her head. Strength was not the answer here, there was no way she would prevail in a contest of brute might. Mikasa was aware of her limits - she was strong, stronger than most people, but this man before her was not an ordinary human. Speed and technique, those were the paths she needed to take. Mikasa’s whole body was yearning for this, the sound of the crowd disappearing beneath the rush of blood in her ears, the icy calm that Levi taught her taking over. Yet there was still a sound that broke through, ringing inside her brain.

The bell.

Her opponent moved almost immediately, rushing over the distance between them and firing off a dangerous straight right-handed punch. Mikasa danced to the left, dodging, only to be met with an uppercut from his left hand. Instincts kicking in, she stepped closer, shortening the distance his fist traveled and thus greatly lowering the strength of the hit. It still forced a grunt from her when it connected with her midriff, clenching her abdominals against the pain. But there was a trade-off for this, as she was now right in his face with both of his hands occupied, meaning she could rain righteous punishment down on the heathen. Two quick jabs and a right hook made him stagger back in retreat. Mikasa might have been smaller and weaker than this beast, but she was still unnaturally strong when compared to normal human standards and when her fists found their mark, it hurt like a bitch. Pursuing her target, she landed another good straight punch before being forced to jump back from the defensive spinning back fist. That one would probably knock her out if he landed it.

Taking advantage of this tiny break this created between them, she sized up her opponent once more, seeing a new light of respect in his eyes. It's one thing to hear about a prodigy female fighter, its another to face her in the ring and feel just how good she was on his own skin. They circled each other again, slower now, trying to find gaps in the armor. Mikasa didn’t try to match his jabs, knowing that hers would not be useful even if they landed. She needed full punches, and for that, she needed to be closer. Kicks could also work, as her legs were definitely strong enough, but those required more wind-up and could be countered, so she would need a bigger opening to do one. Creating those and getting closer meant getting into his range, and if she would ever get grabbed, the match was over. Now if she could bait it….

It took the perfect footwork, step-in followed by almost immediate duck backwards, but she did it, made him reach out and grab the air where she was standing just a fraction of a second ago. Hands uselessly stretched forward, he couldn’t block the devastating kick Mikasa planted right into his ribs. Pursuing her advantage, she pressed on, feinting a straight punch that made him raise his hands, hoping to block her. But the real attack was the powerful overhead that Mikasa threw her whole body into, punching hard into her opponent’s upper thigh, completely running his balance. It wasn’t enough to plant him in the ground, as she hoped, but it gave her several good hits in before he recovered, wearing her opponent out. That combined with the way she dodged his counter hit, which was both exhausting and frustrating, finally started wearing her opponent’s patience thin. Here, in the heat of the duel, she made her mistake. Underestimating the speed at which he could move, despite all the muscles, she pushed for one more punch in a created opening, just one more than the safe number was, and got hard punished for it. Rushing forward, he shot one, two, three lightning-fast jabs, and even with Mikasa dodging them all he backed her into a corner. The straight punch was incredibly well-placed and with tremendous strength behind it, flying true. Mikasa blocked it, of course she did, but that almost didn’t matter. The force of it alone lifted her off her feet, throwing her back against the bars of the cage. Ears ringing, the air pushed out of her lungs, she gasped, trying to get her body back into control. It was only the years of training that saved her then, as she unconsciously ducked underneath the follow-up punch, dropping down on the ground and rolling away. Just in time too, as he viciously stomped the ground where she was, looking to finish the match as soon as possible.

Coming back to her feet, Mikasa shook her head, clearing the fog that shadowed her brain from that punch. A single hit and it was almost enough to end her, the man before her was truly a beast. Her constant attacks from before did bear fruit, however, as he was also breathing hard, his steps slower and favoring his left leg, the one she didn’t hit with that overhead just a short time ago. The cogs inside her brain were working hard, looking for a way to turn this into her advantage. He was tired, obviously, looking to end this as fast as he could, one last attack that would put her on the ground. Which meant, he was more open to some subtle manipulation. It was a gamble, of course, but Mikasa saw a chance and decided to seize it. Dropping her hands just a tiny bit, feinting a tired stumble, she opened herself up to an attack, presenting her opponent with an exquisite bait. And he took it.

Rush forward, hands ready to grab her, to put her in a hold she would never break free of. One last attack to end this whole bout, which would have worked if used on anyone else but Mikasa. He was fast, but she was faster. Like a blur, she dropped low, very low, sliding into her enemy and planting her feet firmly on the ground, wide apart. The move itself reached such a speed that the only part of her Eren’s eyes could track was the red streak in her hair. As expected, the massive man practically tripped over her, doubling over when her shoulder smacked into his lower abdomen, and for a fraction of a moment his upper body was practically resting on her back while continuing its original trajectory. Which was just the perfect time to strike. Like a steel coil, her body straightened, adding its strength to the considerable kinetic energy he generated while rushing forward, and with their power combined Mikasa practically smashed her opponent into the cage behind her, the steel creaking loudly when the massive mass crash-landed into it.

This perfectly executed strike that used his own strength and weight against him would be enough to knock out almost anyone, yet the man still stirred, trying to find his footing. Not like Mikasa would ever let him do that. Jumping her fallen target, she wrapped her legs around his neck, taking hold of one of his arms and leaning back, she put him into an improvised hold she designed herself, one that was a strange combination of an armbar and a choke. It was far from perfect and could only be done because her whole body was so strong, all her muscles worked in perfect unison to accomplish the task. He still fought back, the massive body beneath her bulging with all its strength when he tried to throw her off, but she held on like a vice. Increasing the pressure on his neck, squeezing hard, Mikasa knew that his air supply was decreasing, she had to hold on just a little longer, a second, then two, three.

The look on her face was one of perfect concentration, Eren saw, teeth clenched, eyes focused on her thrashing enemy, it was obvious she was giving this duel her all. And it was necessary, as the man kept fighting, trying, again and again, to get up, to throw off the snake that was choking him out. He punched her with his free hand, but it didn’t reach any vital parts and the pain was nothing. Finally, after what felt impossibly long considering that his breathing was restricted the whole time, he raised his hand not to hit her, but to tap the ground in the official gesture of surrender. It was over.

Eren didn’t even realize that he was standing the whole time, but his voice was one of the first that began cheering, screaming in wild abandon. Soon he was joined by many others, the arena celebrating Mikasa’s victory in the most primal way – chanting her name. The raven-haired fighter herself was lying down in the cage, chest heaving, spent and exhausted. It took her several tries to get up, but she managed in the end, raising her hands towards the crowd that was giving her the loud support. Even among all the people, her eyes found Eren’s and she gave him a slight wink. Her opponent also stood up, cracking his neck before approaching Mikasa from behind. For a terrible moment, Eren was scared that he was going to attack her, that he would not stand for the fact of being defeated by her, that she knocked him out of the tournament in the first round. One of his monstrous hands reached out and Eren’s heart practically stopped. But he did nothing of the sorts. Instead, he lightly tapped on Mikasa’s shoulder, getting her attention and then hunching down to say something to her. Understandably, with the distance and the screaming crowd, Eren had no idea what he said, but it made Mikasa’s eyes widen as she blinked a few times, shocked. Patiently, the man repeated the question, and this time got an answer, as Mikasa shook her head and said something back, making him grimace lightly. Not pushing the issue, the fighter nodded in respect before turning around and leaving the cage, letting the victor bask in the adoration of the masses. Hell, it was well deserved.

When she disappeared towards the backstage, Eren made his way down from the seating area, waiting for her to emerge. Levi was there too, he noticed, talking with the manager of the defeated fighter. Just as Eren drew closer, the two apparently came to some conclusion and shook hands, parting after. Maybe he could make some small talk with Mikasa’s brother then while waiting.

“Hey.”, he got Levi’s attention, “How did you like the match?”

The dark eyes, so similar to his fiancé’s swung to him. After a short while, Levi nodded in greeting.

“It was fine.”, he answered with the usual cool in his voice.

“Just fine? Come on, Mikasa was amazing.”

There was a short period of silence from the shorter man, before he, to Eren’s surprise, agreed.

“You are correct. She was exquisite.”

“Did you expect her to win like this?”, Eren went on.

“I’ll admit, I had my doubts.”, Levi’s eyes dropped back towards the cage, most likely replaying the fight in his head, “The man is high ranked in UFC, and the physical differences between him and Mikasa are…. staggering. Yet she pulled through.”

“It felt close though.”

“Surely was. If he got out of the choke at the end it would be over. Same for a good grab at any part of the match. Mikasa could never match him in grappling.”

“Do you think that he underestimated her because she is a girl?”

Levi shook his head resolutely.

“No, definitely not. His manager knew exactly what kind of threat Mikasa is so I can’t imagine he wouldn’t tell his fighter that.”

“A threat huh?”

The dark eyes were back, measuring him.

“A severe one.”

And there that dangerous individual was, walking out of the backstage. When she spotted them, a tired smile spread across her lips and she came closer, accepting the hug Eren immediately offered her. It was the doctor in him that spoke out first, still a little bit worried for her after such a beatdown.

“You okay?”, he whispered gently, hands doing small circles on her back.

She answered with a nod.

“I’m fine, but the adrenaline in me died down, so I’m super worn out.”, a giggle, “ I almost fell in the shower.”

He would probably keep holding her forever if Levi didn’t clear his throat next to them, almost decently, letting them know that there is another person in hearing distance. And of course, to prevent them from doing something disgusting like kissing. Bleh.

“Hey brat.”, he said, looking for the right words, “You…. Ehm... You did well.”

Mikasa blinked a few times, unsure if she wasn’t hearing things.

“Err… Thanks…”

Levi took the liberty of breaking the awkward silence that followed.

“Right then. Get rested, and we go back to training as usual. The preliminaries are far from over.”

And he was gone, ducking away into the crowd that still lingered in the arena.

“Did he just congratulate me?”, she asked, still a bit in shock.

“It’s not such a novelty anymore.”, Eren noted, “He’s growing soft in his old age.”

“Still feels nice to hear it.”

“Well, you deserve it for sure.”

Returning to the matter at hand, which was taking care of his exhausted warrior girlfriend, Eren went on.

“You want to go to eat somewhere or….”

There was a tiny scrunch of her nose, an easily missable thing, but Eren had a PhD. in the art of knowing the subtle Ackerman ticks.

“Or we could just order take-out…”

The scrunch was still there.

“Or I could cook something up when we get home?”

The scrunch was gone, replaced by a tiny smile.

“I’d like that.”

It became apparent just how exhaust she is when while walking to a car, Mikasa stumbled and Eren had to catch her, a thing that was incredibly rare for a person that could control her body in a way she did.

“Are you sure that you’re okay?”, he asked again, but she nodded vehemently.

“Yes, I’m fine. I just had to utilize literally every muscle of my body, so I’m getting some negative feedback there.”

Just to be sure, Eren kept a hand around her shoulders before they reached the car. Once they were seated, he turned the ignition on, heading home.

“That guy was a monster.”, he commented once they joined the highway.

“Can’t agree more.”, she nodded, slumping bonelessly in the shotgun seat, “I might have won, but I feel like a train had run over me.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll get you home. Safe and sound.”

She made a satisfied noise at that, too tired to speak. But there was still one thing that kept bouncing around in Eren’s skull, so clearing his throat, he continued the conversation.

“What did he say to you?”

She looked up, eyebrow arched.

“Huh?”

“After the match, he said something to you. What was it?”

“Oh right.”, she smiled, leaning her head back into the soft hug of the passenger’s seat. “He congratulated me and wished me luck in the tournament. He was actually a really nice guy, I did not see it coming. Oh, and he also asked me out.”

Now it was Eren’s eyes that widened.

“He did what?”

“Asked me out on a date. He said that when he first heard around me, he had certain doubts, but now that we fought he regrets ever not believing the rumors. And would like to get to know me better.”

“And uuh..”, Eren had a bit of a hard time focusing on the road now, throwing a quick look sideways at her, “What did you say?”

Her smile was one of a satisfied cat.

“Is that jealousy I hear?”

“N-No…”

She laughed, filling the car with that pretty sound.

“Aw Eren, you don’t have to worry. I told him that I’m sort of engaged. Unfortunately.”

“Unfortunately?”

Mikasa grinned even wider, not continuing in that train of thought, her goal accomplished. It felt good to win a difficult fight. It felt good to poke fun at her fiancé. Damn, today was one fine day.

All this training. All those days and nights spent at the gym, pushing herself past her limits. All the things she lost just so she could pursue this dream of victory. And this is what she gets to fight. A damn roleplayer. She was glad that the tournament finally started, because hell, it was about time, but at least It could provide her with a challenge. Wasn’t it supposed to be the best of the best? Oh well, it was time to thin out the weeds first.

“Look,”, the man whispered under his breath, most likely trying to avoid the referee hearing, “you can give up if you want, they won’t hold it against ya.”

Annie didn’t respond, this guy wasn’t worth her breath. Her first round of preliminaries matched her up against an amateur wrestler, which meant that the guy was cocky as shit. That was just her luck, getting set with someone who will underestimate her because of what she was. Reiner got a good match, trading blows with a heavy-weight boxer until he got too tired and her gym buddy knocked him on his ass. Bert also had fun, going head to head with a judo grappler. But her? She got a stupid wrestler, all flashy with a short cape and a mask on his face. Costumes were allowed in the Colosseum, even encouraged, as long as they did not hide any weapons in them. They added to the hype of the matches, and that was what the whole tournament was about. But Annie wasn’t here to wear a costume, she was here to do one thing. Win.

Seeing that he was ignored, the wrestler shrugged and stepped back to his original position. Apparently, he was done showing mercy and Annie could not be more grateful. His voice was giving her headaches. Now that they were both ready, all that remained was the bell, which rung in.

3..2…1….

As soon as it rang, the guy moved in for a kill, his pride still hurting from that rude ignore Annie gave him. Reaching out, he tried to grab her and in a classic wrestling move and… She planted him into the ground in about two seconds, turning and walking away even before the referee called the match. This was boringly easy.

“Damn, you had it for him, huh?”, Reiner said as he joined her from the right, “Poor guy.”

“The training is paying off.”, Berthold added, closing in from the left, “I do hope that we won't meet in the next round.”

“If we do, you will at least be a challenge.”, Annie pointed out, getting a chuckle from both her sides.

“You don’t lack confidence, do you An?”

“Nope. I will win this thing and nobody will stop me. Not even you guys.”

Reiner exchanged a look with Bert. They both trained hard for this, but Annie was practically a religious zealot right now, all of her being was aimed at the single goal.

“Guess we’ll see about that.”

Annie nodded to that, once. In her mind, she was already preparing for the next fight, because there will be no rest until she is standing at the very top.

#eremika #fanfic #aot #snk

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thisisthehardestthing · 5 years ago

Text

This Is The Hardest Thing - 4

Synopsis: A exchange student from the US in enrolled into UA when her father has to move to help with the increased crime rates in Japan. The final year of high school is a lot to handle, adding on top the class of 3-A and the trouble they get into will make for a wild ride.

Triggers: swearing, i think thats it.

A/N: Not in this one, but it’s about to get spicy real fast. Super short chapter

Tags: @aizawascumslut @whats-her-quirk @pnkcts (you liked my masterlist, so I hope you don’t mind me tagging you?)

Masterlist

CHAPTER 4

You and Bakugou were on a yellow couch in the break room, sitting as far from each other as possible. The smack to your chin had caught you off-guard, making you slip off your seat in the middle of class. The chair that followed your body caused a bang so loud, Present Mic had to look at his quirk support item to make sure it hadn’t activated. He’d quickly intervened once he realised it was, to no one’s surprise, Bakugou and the new girl butting heads. He was just going to reprimand the hot-tempered student, when he saw the thick black lined drawing of male genitals penciled in the notebook, balls and all. You remembered the red of the teachers face against the yellow blonde hair exploding upwards as he kicked you both out of the classroom for some reprimanding. He was more embarrassed than angry.

You sighed and leant an elbow on the armrest, pressing some ice against your face.

Todoroki had given it to you as you passed by his desk. It was wrapped in a tissue in order not to give you freezer burn, and you gladly accepted it as you were shooed out and ordered to wait in the current room. Your other hand picked at the material of the sofa. It wasn’t leather, yet it wasn’t canvas either, and you racked your brain trying to think of what it could be.

You tried to keep yourself distracted in this way, focusing on the cold water dripping down your wrist from time to time. However, you couldn’t help yourself as your eyes wandered over to the blonde porcupine. He was slouched down, hands shoved angrily in his pockets, jaw clenching over and over again. Unfortunately, you knew were definitely in the wrong this time. You should not have teased him with your quirk and so you shifted in your seat to face him.

“What?” He snapped as you opened your mouth. His eyes narrowed as his head whipped around to stare at you. Why the hell is he so infuriating? You took a deep breath, reminding yourself that your father would want you to stay ‘grounded’.

“I’m sorry,” you began, “for drawing a dick in your book.” He frowned, looking away from you and staring at the beige wall behind the matching couch that was opposite you.

“You’re damn right you’re sorry,” He spoke, voice carrying in the silent room. The ego behind his words made your blood throb in your ears. He’d been throwing insults at you since yesterday, and here you were trying to make amends first.

The door slid open as Aizawa walked in. His loose hair tumbled over his shoulders in a mess. He had that kind of sour expression like he’d woken up from a nap that lasted too long, and he was both dehydrated and pissed off.

“You two…” He began as he stood in front of both of you, behind the brown wooden coffee table. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he took in the tense air. He sighed and called your name. You sat upright, turning to face him attentively. While Aizawa may look like a mess, he commanded an authority beyond anything you would’ve expected from a man hidden behind bangs.

“Why did you draw this in Bakugou’s notebook?” He asked, pulling the notebook out from a pocket behind his back, opening it to show you the crude sketch. You wanted to tear the page out.

“He was being one.” You shrugged, giving Bakugou a side-eyed glare. He huffed.

“Was fucking not.”

“You kicked my chair!”

Aizawa let out a sigh.

“You were on my desk, shit-brain!”

You almost lost it, then, saying what was actually on your mind. You wanted to shout, but it came out soft, in such a small voice that almost wasn’t your own.

“You called me fat.” He froze, his frown of anger instantly disappearing as it was replaced with confusion. Even your teacher hesitated, not knowing whether to interject, before falling onto the couch behind him to lean forward attentively. Realisation flickered over Bakugou’s face as he remembered the early morning fight.

“No, I called you heavy. Not fucking fat.” He was laughing, gums baring to the world as the rumble exploded from his chest and filled the room. “I’m not a liar. You’re heavy as shit, look at you. Muscle is like, 10 times as heavy or something. Eijirou can tell you the exact fact.” You felt a blush begin to creep up on your cheeks. Your palm squished the soggy ice tissue, forgotten during all the commotion and the cold water ran down your wrist, cooling down your rising body temperature. You wanted to throw it at him. You wanted to hear the satisfying noise it would make when coming in contact with his cheek. You didn’t.

“Bakugou, you shouldn’t mention someone’s weight.” Aizawa threw the book onto the table, effectively silencing the laughter. “You also shouldn’t punch someone in the face.” Bakugou huffed in response, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I was aiming for her hair.”

“You’re both suspended from class for the rest of the day, with cleaning duty.” Bakugou’s excuse came at the same time as Aizawa’s punishment. Your mouth fell open. Without leaving room for any rebuttal, your teacher stood up, took a final look at his students and walked out of the room.

You were on your way to the residences. Bakugou was stomping, hands shoved in his baggy pants as he walked a couple steps ahead of you. He didn’t even leave the front door open after he walked in. You blocked it with your toe before it shut, stepping into the empty common area.

A rough hand darted out at you, grabbing your uniform shirt collar and slamming your back against the door. He made you wince as his knuckle pressed into the bruise he left yesterday. He knew it, and dug just a little bit deeper. His red eyes bore down into yours. It made you wonder if he enjoyed the fact that there was a tangible mark under your shirt.

“You really piss me off.” Bakugou stated, voice low and menacing. His free hand planted firmly next to your head, potentially scorching the door with the smoke that had begun to filter out from between his fingers. He smelt like a campfire.

“Yeah, well, bite me,” you pried his fingers open as you kept his intense stare. He moved so that his arms were boxing you in, muscled forearms rippling near your ears. For a second, you thought he would. There was something indiscernible stirred in with his anger. It was the center of a blender, swirling together. It was hypnotising. You slowly placed one of your hands against the door behind you, finger tips spread, palm flat. You almost shivered when you felt the vast amount of energy rolling in waves through your skin, oscillating in your nerves and vibrating your bones. It was all encompassing, making your shoulder jump up with the sheer force of it.

“What’s wrong with you?” His face scrunched up, eyes darting down to see your hand against the door. “Oi, what the fuck are you up to!?” He tsk’d, pushing away fluidly and crossing his arms.

The second his palms left the wood, it’s hum returned to the normal dull pattern that chopped trees would usually give off. It felt empty, stagnant, . As dead as the door itself. Your fingers twitched as they ached to feel such power again. I want to touch him. You bumped the thought out of your head and curled your hands into a fist to subdue the itch. You thought about the ways your father taught you to keep a level head. That’s why wood had such a consistent vibration. Be like the wood.

“You’re the one that keeps picking fights.” You gloss over his quirk comment, straightening your school uniform to make a point. His eyes followed your hands. “I get it, we never established a clear winner in our sparring match, so we should do it now to get it over with.” Bakugou seemed like he was about to explode, but he nodded his head. His eyes darkened as he thought about it, tongue swiping across his teeth and under his lips.

“Fight rules?”

You were almost sorry to pass up the chance to make him land on his back again.

“Rock, paper, scissors.” You deadpanned. A frustrated growl erupted from his throat. His nostrils flared and instead of saying another word, he turned on his heels and stalked his way to the kitchen, slamming open the fridge. You could not help the snicker that escaped your lips. Worth it.

I guess I won this round. You mused, making your way to your room to begin replying to your fathers messages.

You had been talking to your dad for what seemed like hours. You spoke to him laying on your bed, sitting against your closet doors, spinning in your desk chair. Now, while he was finally reaching the conclusion in his speech of disappointment, you were standing on your balcony. You held the phone away from your ear as you lazily took in the details of the building opposite you. Your room was on the side of the dorms, and therefore, was face to face with someone else’s balcony across the grass. There were trees planted that should’ve obscured the view, but there was still a direct line of sight to a sliding door.

His voice rang out loud over the speakers, reprimanding that it was the second day of school, and how he did not raise you to continue unnecessary conflict. You continued to stare in the cool blue reflection of the window opposite you, eyes unfocused as Soil went on and on. Movement on the other side of the glass made you snap back to reality. You squinted to try and see through it, wondering who could be on the other side since it was… lunch time!? Shock coursed through your veins as you realised you’d been on the phone for 2 hours, listening to a one sided conversation.

“Dad,” you interrupted him mid sentence and his voice lulled. “Sorry, I know I—” The sliding door opened and the tall purple haired boy from this morning walked out, cradling something in his hands. Your words of apology forgotten on your tongue.

“Hm, beansprout, can’t hear you.” You brought the phone closer to your face.

“Just, I’m sorry.”

You heard your father let out his heavy sigh that told you the conversation was over. As you said your goodbye’s, Shinsou looked out across from his balcony, catching you with lazy eyes. He held your gaze with a smirk, slowly lifting up one of his fingers to his lips, zipping his mouth shut. Then he lifted up the other hand that was cupped against his chest. You could barely see it, but in his palm was a small black kitten.

***********

Soil tossed the phone back onto his desk with a clatter. Large, calloused hands wrapped around his forehead as he rubbed at his temples before pulling it down his face to scratch at his chin.

What am I going to do with that girl? He thought as he shuffled around the paperwork he was working on, going over what he wrote about the encounter with Giran.

It’s been two years since Shigaraki had disappeared, but the underground network of villains have seemed to surge in number over the last few months, tipping the balance of power ever so slightly. It was enough to bring out the worst in people, have them lose their faith and security they had once felt all over Japan. Soil knew he had to come back home when the influence had started reaching his part of the world, like an incessant hammer until cracks had started to form. He had to stop it at the source.

A knock on the wall of his cubicle interrupted his deep train of thought. One of the many sidekicks at Endeavor’s agency stood there, sheepishly grinning at the visiting hero. His thumbs were twiddling in the thick yellow gloves.

“It’s time for patrol, Soil, sir!” The sidekick snapped to attention. A polite smile graced the Hero’s lips as he pushed his hulking figure away from the desk. Soil nodded as he followed the younger man. The mental image of that hammer would not leave his mind, try as he might. He felt the same nagging feeling that something might happen soon, the same inkling on the night he spotted Giran.

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birlcholtz · 5 years ago

Note

5, fluff, any scenario/pairing! :)

5. “You made your choice.” from this prompt list!

have some zimbits fluff for the soul, but first you have to read about bitty and the zimmerclan’s baking shenanigans, that’s the rule. ao3

After three years of routinely visiting Bob and Alicia, Bitty no longer feels the need to hold himself back in baking competitions.

Well, he never really did, anyway, for a few reasons. The first one is that the first time, he and Alicia had teamed up against Jack and Bob, and she had looked him directly in the eye and said “let’s fuck them up” immediately before dumping a full cup of salt into their sugar. The second is that the Zimmermanns, however much they might usually bake when he’s not around, seem legitimately fascinated when he talks about the techniques he’s using or what he’s making and why.

And Bitty is a huge fan of positive attention, so, that was kind of that?

Besides, once Alicia had done the whole salt-and-sugar thing, all hell had broken loose, and Bitty had to try and figure out what to do now that his icing sugar had baking powder in it. It’s definitely a different skill set from baking at home, where he’s pretty much free to concentrate, or in the Haus, where he just has to fend off the occasional invasions to try and steal unbaked cookie dough.

But this year is different. Jack’s read aloud enough snippets from his group chat with his parents that Bitty knows someone (Bob) has been watching a lot of competition baking shows.

That kind of explains… everything that’s going on here.

“It’ll be a tournament,” Bob had explained, mug of coffee in hand, when Bitty had found him busily moving kitchen furniture that morning (one-handed, by himself, good Lord). “Jack versus Alicia, you against me, then the winners duel each other.”

“Duel?”

“Bake the best cookies ever. Same thing.”

“Best cookies ever, keeping in mind the fact that they’re going to be sabotaged in unholy ways,” Bitty had corrected.

So now here they are. The kitchen is big, but there are simply only two ovens, and that means that they can only have one ‘duel’ happening at once. But the fact that Jack and Alicia are competing against each other hasn’t stopped either of them from trying to get Bitty and Bob to take sides and help out.

“I’m literally just asking one of you to dump in a few more tablespoons of vanilla extract,” Alicia calls from where she’s furiously stirring batter. From the smell, Bitty is guessing gingersnaps, but he’s going to reserve judgment until he actually eats one.

“I’m not making it disgusting if I have to try it after,” Bob replies, mirroring Bitty’s thoughts.

“Then make Eric try those ones.” She looks up from her bowl and grins at Bitty, and he’s struck by the rock-hard determination in her eyes. In moments like this, he sees the resemblance between her and Jack even more clearly. “No offense.”

While she’s looking up, Jack whips around the island and pours a cup of something into her mixing bowl. “Maman, you would need ridiculous amounts of vanilla extract to make a difference.”

But Alicia is distracted. “Jack Laurent Zimmermann, did you just put rice in my cookie batter?”

He shrugs at her, and laughs, and goes back to his own batter, but Alicia’s got her scheming face on.

So when Alicia’s gingersnaps come with bonus rice and garlic salt and Jack’s peanut butter cookies kind of turn into one big slab of vanilla-y melted peanut butter, it is absolutely no surprise.

The moment Bob had said he would face off against Bitty in the first round, Bitty had had an idea.

See, one of Bob’s main tactics is stealing ingredients from the other person. That way, ideally, they don’t have enough to make their cookies, and he can be sure the ingredients weren’t tampered with.

Well, today is the last day he’s going to try that.

The ingredients for all of them are already measured out into their own containers, labeled for convenience. Bitty had simply waited for Bob to go looking for his phone to record the chaos and swapped the labels on his own containers.

He’s also making flourless cookies, but he’s planning to make a big enough deal out of checking his flour for sabotage that Bob will go right for it. There’s a lot of cream of tartar in there. Also baking powder. And he might try to get in some garlic powder too, because that was frankly inspiring.

Also, Jack putting in garlic salt meant that Bitty and Bob had to eat gingersnaps with garlic salt. So it’s just fair.

All of these preparations mean that Bitty has had to stay in the kitchen the whole time, just so he can be one hundred percent sure that Bob can’t make the same preparations.

The Zimmermanns get a lot of entertainment from friendly competition where the goal is more to make a fool of your family than it is to actually win, but at the same time, they are ruthless when it comes to making sure everyone else loses. (This, Bitty is pretty sure, is the source of Jack’s devastating Settlers of Catan strategies.) So Bitty has also selected a recipe with only four ingredients, the fewer to fuck up.

He’s going to have to keep a sharp eye over them while they rest before he puts them in the oven, but if they spread, he can always just cut them up and call them cookie bars.

Well. As long as they’re actually solid. Jack’s cookie attempt made that clear.

Bitty is feeling pretty prepared, and he makes a big show of checking his flour container before they start, but unfortunately, it’s all for naught, because he’s in the middle of mixing together the cocoa powder and powdered sugar when he hears quick footsteps, turns to defend himself from what’s probably going to be an onslaught of garlic and/or rice, and gets a face full of flour.

“Damn it,” Bob says calmly, and then he promptly grabs Bitty’s tampered flour container, opens it, and pours it into Bitty’s mixing bowl.

Bitty can hear Jack and Alicia trying not to laugh too loudly, but he just flicks some flour in Bob’s face and picks up his own mixing bowl, manages some spinorama in his socks on the hardwood floor, and pours all of that into Bob’s bowl of wet ingredients.

“I’m resourceful,” he tells Bob, who looks like he’s torn between doubling over laughing and being completely appalled, and scoots past him to get back to his own station.

In the end, they’re even less successful than Jack and Alicia. Bob dumps Bitty’s leftover egg yolks into his batter, along with what must be half a cup of Bob’s own melted butter, and that means Bitty is both out of eggs and his cookies are definitely not going to turn into… real cookies, so he sticks whatever the hell that batter is in the oven and devotes the rest of his time to blocking Bob whenever he tries to get an ingredient. They both wind up with what is basically chocolate chips coated in an uneven mixture of wet and dry ingredients, then melted and/or toasted for good measure.

They universally agree Jack and Alicia don’t have to try to eat those, since nobody knows for sure if the eggs actually got cooked. But that kind of puts an end to the whole competition thing, and once they’re done collectively cleaning the kitchen, Alicia has to take a call from her agent and Bob volunteers to go on a grocery run since now they’re pretty much out of any and all baking ingredients.

Jack flops down on the sectional in the living room, and Bitty joins him, both of them in clean clothes. The sectional is big enough for at least three full-sized hockey players to stretch out comfortably (which makes sense considering Jack and Bob, and Alicia’s plenty tall too), but honestly, what’s the point of stretching out? What he actually wants to do is lay his head on Jack’s chest and enjoy the fact that nobody is going to dump flour on him for at least two days. Probably.

So that’s what he does, with a great view of the skylight in the ceiling, and Jack wraps an arm around him and then asks, “Do I still smell like vanilla? I swear Maman started aiming for my hair after the first couple of tries.”

“She said it was a direct response to the garlic salt,” Bitty reminds him. “You made your choice.”

He feels Jack’s laugh rumbling in his chest, and he says, “I did. It cost me a lot of shampoo. Worth it.”

“Oh, you’re just saying that because you didn’t have to eat them. Lord.” And then Bitty starts laughing too. “Alicia’s face when you poured the rice in was incredible.”

“Good."

They drift into a comfortable silence, until Jack says, "I’m really glad you like my parents.”

“I’m really glad your parents like me,” Bitty responds.

“That too. But my parents liked you before we were even really friends at all. I was never worried about that. You liking them means… It makes everything simpler.” Jack’s fingers tap out some sort of rhythm on Bitty’s chest and he wonders what song Jack has stuck in his head. “I don’t know what I would have done otherwise.”

“You and me both. At least it didn’t come to that.” As Bitty says it, he’s thinking of his own parents— Jack’s incomprehensible friendship with Coach (well, incomprehensible in the sense that Bitty doesn’t speak golf, he understands perfectly well why they get along), his mom’s immediate adoration of Jack, or, as she put it to Bitty later, 'polite and sensible and looks at you like you hung the moon, Dicky’. He’d worried about Jack liking his parents right up until he had gotten them in a room together and realized he probably couldn’t have found a better match. “So we don’t have to worry.”

“No, we don’t,” Jack agrees, and brushes Bitty’s hair back off of his face, and Bitty thinks he could spend the rest of his life here.

#my stuff #zimbits #fic #omgcp #quarantime

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loz-and-lu-fan-blog · 5 years ago

Text

LU hunger games the 50th game

Based on a hunger games linked universe au we’re working on, enjoy Time’s game

District 10, the district of livestock as the capital saw us. Honestly the capital couldn’t tell their elbow from their knee when it came to the districts. Sure they would always tell the difference between districts 1 and 2 but all the others failed through the cracks. Yet they act like they know everything about the districts.

‘What a bunch of horse crap’

Each district has it’s own unique culture due to their environment especially the poorer away from the capital.

Like District 10 for example, Navi’s home. The district of livestock, you would think that they were a bunch of tan farmers constant getting good food. ‘Nope, life was never fair to them’

The District was that of a giant community with slight differences between the people based on their jobs. Like where Navi starts most of her mornings, the food hall.

The food hall was a big building where most of the ‘famers’ were. Ironically these people never interacted with the animals, their main job was the crops. These crops that were either fed to the animals or their community, as they couldn’t have a taste of any of the meat, all of that went to the capital. So they mostly worked outside, sunkissed for all to see as they harvested grains and other veggies sorting them between ones for the animals and one for the people. However just because they grew food it didn’t always mean there was enough, it was common to see skinny adults or even children from their meals of veggies.

Navi had decided to grab some rice egg rolls to take back to their barn, seeing how each family or two lives in a barn with whatever animals they were assigned to take care of.

Their were many bright and odd hair colors that you would think they were part of the capital, but they were used for anything but fashion. When it child came to the age of 15 they would dye their hair with berries and other natural materials. It was a sign that they had met the age where they would volunteer for the hunger games.

Not that they enjoy the games, in fact they hated the games with a passion. However it took years of seeing children between the age from 11-14 being sent to their death that the district decided it was enough. By then it was an unspoken rule that if you were 15-17 and someone younger got selected for the games you would volunteer in their place.

Navi looked down as she walked, looking at the food, seeing her blue tinted hair making her sign. She had just turned 15, which means she had to dye her hair and chose a blue color. It sucked but being 15 came with it’s problems. Like when a child turned 11. Like her baby brother Link, the one she would do anything to protect.

‘The one she ended up going to the hunger games with.’

When she got back to her house, well really a barn, she was greeted by her two mothers Tatl and Tael. One fact is she had really no idea the relationship of her mothers, were they friends? Sisters? Roommates? Lovers? Either way they had took her and Link in so she didn’t question it.

Her mother Tatl was very obviously from the gardening part of her district, her had golden skin that was only match by her golden locks, however her blue eyes held the iceis glare to them.

Her other mother Tael was the opposite of Tatl and if Navi had a guess her birth mother. Tael skin was overall pale like Navi, proof of them being assigned to the barns to look after the livestock. Despite her being way past the age of the hunger games reaping, her hair was still dyed. Her hair matched her rare purple eyes, likely dyed with poisonous nightblood berries. However despite all of that she was still the soft spoke of the two.

“Your back sweetie” Tael said with a smile bringing Navi in for a kiss. Navi smiled and handed over the food, however Tatl face had a very clear frown, which wasn’t a surprise considering today was the day of the reaping.

“Go check up on Link” Tatl ordered, however her voice has a soft tone making it known something was wrong.

Navi nodded in agreement and ran up the loft to where their beds were and likely where Link should have been sleeping. However instead of the peaceful quiet of clucking hens and the occasional cow moo her ears heard quiet sobs and whimpers.

“Link” Navi said as she rushed to the boy’s side, the young child moved to look at his older sister, his eyes were red with tears. He quickly shifted to hug the other sibling. A Link whimpered in her arms she realized why Tatl order her up here, she was always the best at comforting Link.

“It was the woods again” Link whimpered out as he tightened his grip on Navi. “It was watching me again..Dragging me back”

Navi just signed, as she tried to comfort her younger adopted brother. She never knew why the young child was so scared of the lost woods which she had found him in. It always had concerns her that he had such an irrational fear of that and not anything else, not the capital, not the hunger games or the peacekeepers, hell not even death scared the child, only the woods.

Navi just comforts the boy before they got ready for Links first ever reaping. However she never knew what would really happen during that reaping.

So they had gotten ready for the reaping, well as ready as they could be for it. Everyone who was of age put on their best clothes and got washed up the best they could, kind of hard to scrub away a year worth of dirt.

As they got to the town square and were all pricked to add their names to the lotto. Soon they were all separated to be sorted by ages, their ambassador from the capital saw the reaping year after year and had decided separating them wasn’t worth the effort anymore. The bowl which held all their names got changed as well, seeing how it never mattered if it was a boy or girl, the district had just put all the ballets into a giant single bowl.

As Navi stood in the back she could seen the past ‘winners’ of the game. Truth was their were never enough winners to trade the ‘next’ victors, the capital had assigned trainers to pose as past victors, maybe to give the an fair advantage? Navi wouldn’t bet on it.

Of all their victors Impa, the winner of the 26 hunger games was the only one sober enough to train. Rhoam and Deku both had a disgusted look whenever they came to the reaping and if you got close enough to the stage you could smell the alcohol and berries coming off of them. Navi hoped that Impa could help make a winner this year, it was the quarter quell after all which meant something new was going to happen.

Navi just started to tune out the whole speech, what was the point? Everyone just wanted to go home to help the two families mourn.

“The first tribute for this year's Hunger game is…….Link Forester” The lady announced.

‘What? Wait what?’ Navi thoughts screamed as she looked around. She saw many shocked faces as it was rare for someone to be picked their first year. She looked at her mothers shocked faces.

“Come on sweetie, don’t be shy” the ambassador said snapping Navi out of her shock. Navi looked over the crown to see Link slowly walk to the opening pathway, walking to his death.

“Link, NO!” Navi screamed out as she ran out of her spot. Peacekeepers had grabbed her brother to drag him to the stage, while the peacekeepers kept Navi away from her brother. “No! I volunteer! I’ll Volunteer!” Navi shoved away the peacekeepers away standing tall to look the ambassador in the eyes “I volunteer as tribute”

“It seems that we have a volunteer” The ambassador states as the peacekeeper let go of both of them. Navi ran up to Link who was now crying, muttering out no’s.

“Link go find our moms, I’m so sorry” Navi ordered the crying child that had his hands hooked into her skirt. Mido, another 15 year old, broke out of line to grab the child. Link screamed out for Navi as Mido hauled him to Tatl and Tael.

Navi just walked numbly to the front, to climb up to her death. The ambassador just smiled at her, Impa just looked neutral while Rhoam and Deku just sneered at her, proving to her that they definitely weren't from the district.

“What’s your name sweetheart?” The ambassador asked.

“Navi Forester,” Navi said softly as she stared out into the crowd. She could see her brother crying into her mother’s skirt. She could see the other older kids with the weird hair colors look at her with nodding. It was more common for elder siblings to volunteer for the younger ones.

Navi went numb as the lady began to ramble on and on again. Finally the lady went over to pull the next name who would follow her to death.

“The next tribute is…..that can’t be right” The ambassador muttered before turning back to the crowd “The next tribute will be...Link Forester”

Navi turned to the ambassador in shock as the others in the crowd erupted in protest. The peacekeepers went to grab Link as Tatl and Tael were trying to fight back not wanting to lose both kids. The elder kids looked on in horror as the young child was dragged from his mothers.

“That can’t be right!!” Navi yelled from the stage making the ambassador jump “It’s his first year, his name should have only been in there once!”

As Link was pulled away from his mothers and forced to walk down the path, the other kids started to get angry.

“I volunteer!” Mido screamed out. “No me! I want to fight!” Another boy screamed out.

Link finally got to the front stage, each step made Navi’s heart sank more. She tried to bite back the bile from the older victors snickering, but seeing how there were so many volunteers she knew her brother would be safe.

As Link walked up to the stage, his tears had stopped but his eyes were still red. The ambassador raised her hand to quit down the group.

“Due to a recent change, no district will be allowed two volunteers” The lady said as more screams and yelled erupted from the crowd. The peacekeepers rushed Link and Navi inside as they went to handle the violence outside.

Navi wrapped her arms about Link and buried her face into his hair and cried.

Link just stood there silently, vowing to make sure his sister left the games alive.

#linked universe #linkeduniverse au #linked universe au #hunger games au #HG linked universe #LU hunger games #Time's game #lu time #lu au #hero of time #loz navi #loz tatl #loz tael #tatl and tael

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itsthemoofacewriting · 5 years ago

Text

A boring Saturday

I had dreadful writers block and it especially didn’t help with this pairing; I struggle to write them romantically at the best of times.

Also, bad news, I am currently no longer chapters ahead of myself. I was holding off from posting this to see if I could get ahead but figured I’d made you wait long enough. So, we’ll see how that goes…

Summary: They were going to need each other if they wanted to survive education. A-level/School AU. LuNami.

Rating: K.

This can also be found on AO3 and FFN

Previous chapters: 1, 2, 3

Anyway, enjoy.

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“Nami, I’m bored.” Luffy said, laying down of the grass and picking at the grass next to him.

“So you’ve said.” She said absently, engrossed in the book she was reading as she turned the page. It was just starting to get good.

Luffy had been texting her and was apparently unimpressed by her slow responses, so he showed up uninvited. It wasn’t anything new. But he wasn’t doing anything different now to what he was doing in his texts, except she couldn’t ignore him now.

She’d been in her garden, enjoying the beautiful Saturday weather before she’d been rudely interrupted. Although, to her glee, he’d gone quiet. She’d have to use this opportunity whilst she could. Don’t get her wrong, she enjoyed Luffy’s company and he was easily one of her closest friends, but sometimes the peace was nice, especially as that’s all she’d planned for today.

“Woah! Look at this.”

Ah, so that’s why he’d gone quiet. He’d taken to wandering around her garden whilst she was distracted and had stopped to snoop through her shed. In it he’d found one of her old water pistols she’d had when she was younger. To be fair, it was impressive and when she was younger, she’d loved it.

“I bet this still shoots well.”

She didn’t like the look on his face. It gleamed with bad intentions. “No.”

Hi face fell. “Wha? But-”

“You are not shooting that at me.” She cut him off, sending him an unimpressed look.

“Obviously! That’s no fun if you don’t have a weapon either. Did your sister not have one too?” He turned, not waiting for her response to continue digging. She didn’t get the chance to confirm, he triumphantly turned around and thrust the second one into the air. “Yes!”

She sighed, putting down her book and looked at him more seriously now. Reading would definitely be out the window now that he’d found those. She looked around her garden, seriously questioning whether it could take Luffy’s rampaging. It definitely wasn’t big enough and she’d have to keep him far away from Bell-mère’s orange grove.

“Your place isn’t big enough, let’s go to mine!” It’s like he read her mind sometimes. Although she doubted that they had to same reasoning behind the suggestion. “There’s more places to hide too! Ooooooh, let’s invite everyone else!”

Places to hide? This was starting to sound extreme. Surely this was just supposed to be a bit of fun, everyone ran around and got wet and that was it.

“It’s worth asking, but I don’t know if everyone will have water pistols.”

Everyone had water pistols. She was expecting rounds or that someone couldn’t come. Anyone who didn’t own a pistol was supplied one by Usopp. Apparently, he plays with some of the kids on his road. So here they were, stood in a circle going through the rules. Her hunch about it being an extreme water pistol fight had been correct, but then with this group, she shouldn’t be surprised.

It’d escalated from just running around with a water pistol to someone suggesting they add food colouring to the water and wear white tops so they could determine a winner at the end. Everyone’s competitive spirit was brimming to the surface with that suggestion. They’d split off into two groups to go into town to gather supplies, one group tasked with getting different food colours and the other to get some cheap white tops. Luffy had gone with the group to get food colours from the supermarket, so naturally they came back with ice lollies.

With little variation on the food colours, they’d used the lolly sticks to decide on groups, colouring the ends to determine who would be paired with who. There was uproar about there being a group of three, but Robin had made a very good point that it came with both advantages and disadvantages. The group of three would have an extra fighter but would also be at a higher risk of losing with having another person to shoot at.

Nami looked around the group, calculating who she wanted to be in a team with. Luffy or Zoro would be good, both great fighters and hated to lose. Sanji was just as good and he would also protect her from being shot at, he was already shouting about how he would throw himself in front of her and Robin. Robin would be a good pick; the woman was sneaky. Actually, as she looked around, probably any of them would be good.

Okay, she was wrong.

“You take the lead and I’ll back you up!” Usopp exclaimed.

“How am I stuck with the coward?” Nami said to herself, pondering her poor luck as they huddled behind a garden table that they’d turned on its side.

Once the groups had been announced, everyone had taken cover in their teams to discuss a strategy before starting.

There was her and Usopp. Sanji and Brook. Franky, Robin and Chopper. Zoro and Luffy. Nami’s eyes narrowed, the last group was definitely the most dangerous combination.

“You’re no better!” Usopp said, outraged and pointing a finger at her accusingly.

Nami ignored him. “Sanjiiii, you wouldn’t let me get shot, would you?” She called, looking over at him and pouting cutely.

The reaction was instant. “Of course not, my lovely swan! I’ll shoot those who so dare to shoot at you or Robin. I’ll even use my own body to shield you if I must, a worthy way to lose.”

Brook’s head popped over from their cover. “But Sanji, water makes a white top go see through…”

Both of them had a perverted look on their face, no doubt imagining what would happen.

Nami rolled her eyes, trust the two of them to think of that, that had to be the worst team in this match. Brook was a lost cause, but Sanji’s odd chivalry will surely save her. “Sanjiii,” she called, drawing his attention back on her and making sure to flutter her eyelashes. Any of his previous thoughts were thrown out the window and he continued his previous shouting about protecting the girls.

“Sanji, me too!” Usopp shouted over her shoulder. It snapped Sanji out of his spouting and shouted at Usopp that he had to save himself.

Any further discussion was cut off as Luffy ran across the garden, declaring war and shooting at anyone he could see in his sight.

Everyone scrambled after that, plan or no plan.

It was carnage. Everyone was running around screaming, either from being chased or being shot at with freezing cold water.

It’d started off well enough. Sanji had kept his word and although he was supposed to be on a different team, he might as well have been paired with Nami and Robin. He shot at anyone who came close or dove in front of them to take the damage. There was so way his team would be winning. However, as soon as Zoro had goaded him, he was a lost cause. They were exclusively shooting at each other now and Nami was glad they’d all decided to wear glasses, if not, she was sure that’s where they’d both be aiming right now.

Usopp had pretty much abandoned her once Luffy had started, he’d legged it up a tree. Although she had no ground cover, he at least snipped people from high up and from what she could see, he still had a relatively white top. She’d had a similar idea and had been slinking about, hiding behind whatever she could. They could win if they carried on like this.

Just as she peered around the bench, she locked eyes with Luffy. Oh god. No. Not him. Maybe if she stayed still, he wouldn’t see her… because apparently Luffy was now a t-rex.

His smile slowly grew, until it was splitting across his face and he slowly started to walk towards her. Similar to the way a lion stalked towards an unsuspecting gazelle.

Except she was aware of him. It was only a split second later and she was pushing the bench towards him in hopes of slowing him down as she took off across the garden. Luffy hot on her heels and cackling.

“No! Go and chase someone else Luffy!” Nami screeched, zip zagging to avoid the water spraying behind her.

“Look at your nice white top!” He cooed back at her. His was a rainbow of different colours, a clear indication of how many fights he’d recklessly been in before pursuing her.

She led him past the tree where Usopp was stationed but he didn’t even blink as he was sprayed, still intent on getting his prey. She could hear him gaining on her, his feet thumping on the grass and laughter drawing closer as she was running out of steam.

Daring a glance behind her shoulder she shrieked, he was so much closer than Nami had expected. She needed to do something and quickly. Without giving it much thought, she turned on her heel suddenly, just dodging Luffy bumping into the back of her and sprinting past him in the opposite direction. She even managed to get a quick spray in as she ran past him. He was laughing at her bold move, gathering his wits and taking off after her again. Perhaps if she did this for long enough, he’d run out of water and she could get him.

That didn’t happen. Luffy wasn’t looking where he was going, too focused on her and tripped over the bench she’d pushed over when he’d started chasing her. Nami looked back just in time to see him go down and instead of checking he was okay; she ran up to him and started to spray him mercilessly with her water pistol.

She was giggling madly, delighted at the turn of events. Luffy joined her and rolled onto his front, soaking her pristine top. Nami didn’t even care at this point, lost in the joy of getting the better of the boy on the floor.

To prevent him getting up, she put her foot on his chest. “Yield!” She panted out, between her breathless giggles.

“Never!” Even though his water was getting on him too from firing upwards. But he didn’t seem to care.

Nami was a mess. Her face was red from the combination of running and laughing, her hair sticking to together in clumps from the water. But she had the brightest smile on her face, eyes filled with mirth at her relentless attack on Luffy.

She almost stopped spraying Luffy when she caught the look on his face, she’d never seen that expression on his face before.

Before she could voice her concern, Luffy interrupted, “You look so pretty.”

The spray from her pistol stopped and she gaped at him, not expecting such blunt words. Considering how red Nami’s face was already, she could still feel the flush extending down her neck. In all her time of knowing Luffy, had he ever acknowledged someone’s looks? Her mouth kept opening and closing, completely lost for words. Luffy didn’t look phased at all, he just continued to smile up at her and somehow that only made it worse. She never did get the chance to respond as another voice interrupted their moment.

“What the hell is going on?” A voice boomed.

All nine teenagers in the back garden froze. Their heads snapping towards the back door of the house to see a flabbergasted Garp standing there. In all the madness and noise, no one had heard his car pull into the drive or him shouting out Luffy’s name to see if he was home. It was only as Garp made it through the house that he could hear shrieking and made his way towards the noise.

“Gramps! …. Uhhh…” Nami hadn’t moved her foot from his chest, still frozen, and Luffy was currently looking at his Grandad upside down.

Garp looked around the garden, it was like a warzone. Garden furniture thrown around, plants and bushes trampled. All nine of them still gaping at him, trying to figure out what his reaction would be.

It wasn’t hard for him to work out what was going on, all of them holding water pistols and sopping wet. His grandson currently trapped underneath a girl he hadn’t met yet. Was this the Nami that he’d heard so much about? She was pretty; Luffy had good taste. Especially as she’d seemed to best him too, a difficult feat for someone like his grandson.

He slowly grinned. “So, who won?”

Suddenly, everyone came alive. Shouting as they argued for their teams.

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

As always, please forgive any spelling errors.

Thanks for reading.

#lunami #luna #luffyxnami #namixluffy #opfanfic #opwriting #one piece #luffy #nami

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nad-zeta · 4 years ago

Note

Hi can I please have a ikevamp matchup? I'm goth/emo and pansexaul. I dislike rude people, too much social interactions, people harming animals and loud children. Often can be found listening to music, playing games or with animals ao reading. I'm mostly a loner, have major trust issues, can be cold and vindictive, sarcastic to the fullest, insecure when people point out the scar over my right eye and notice my selfharm scars, tend to observe more than speak. Number 1, will send in nr 2-anon🐺

Number 2, people say I'm polite and wise and tend to notice smaller details and conversations more than others and also say I'm kind as long as people don't get on my bad side upon first meeting. I can hold a grudge but can also easily forgive and have an unhealthy obbsesion with drinking black bitter coffee. Hobbies are drawing, reading, writing, listening to music, chatting with my bestie, playing with animals, gardening and daydreaming.-Anon🐺

Hi hi, love! 😊I hope you are doing well. 🙌Thank you so much for the request and sorry for taking sooooo long with this!😱🙈❤ I hope you have a super good day and enjoy this!❤❤

So I match you with.................. Arthur

The first time you meet Arthur, he was hella intrigued.

You couldn't sleep that first night you came to the mansion due to some crazy scary nightmares. You made your way down to the kitchen to make yourself a cup of coffee. As you entered into the dark kitchen you noticed a figure by the fridge, it was the mystery writer himself. At the sound your your footsteps entering into the kitchen he promptly shut the fridged and closed the distance between the two of you. He stared down at you with his ocean blue eyes gleaming in the darkness. That is when Sabastian joined the two of you in the kitchen carrying a clear crystal bottle with what appeared to be a thick red liquid inside. You eyed the bottle curiously, and that's when Arthur had revealed the Mansions secret to you as he downed it. You were honestly pretty shocked, but when Arthur got up close to you, you instantly believed him as staining the collar of his shirt was undeniably the crimson red colour of blood.

You rushed back to your room freaking out, coffee long forgotten and somehow throughout the evening, you managed to pass out. You woke up to Comte sitting beside your bed with some breakfast. He spent the morning telling you all about the residence and the exact situation that you had managed to find yourself in. As Comte continued to explain the situation to you, you drifted off into a world of your own, replaying the previous night's events. You thought about Arthur and decided to low key forgive him for scaring you that previous night, as he was simply being honest, even though he could have done it in a less dramatic way.

You spent the day in your room, reading and writing. You didn't exactly feel like interacting with the residents, not cause of them being vampire but simply because you just didn't like social interaction in general, plus it had been a while since you last had time to completely relax.

The next morning you woke up and made your way down to the kitchen. You started a fresh pot of bitter black coffee, just the way you like it and who should walk into the kitchen and steal the very cup of coffee you had been excited to drink…. Non-other than Arthur himself. "Hey, that's mine, if you want coffee, then I suggest you make your own," you scolded the author with a frown and grumbled sarcastic remarks at him under your breath as you move to make yourself a fresh cup. Arthurs's eyes gleamed in excitement you certainly were a feisty little creature. The two of you took your sarcastic banter to the dining room as breakfast was being served. You weren't really one for social interaction, but you did enjoy the back, and forth you had with Arthur. Usually, no one could keep up with your quickfire of witty remarks and sarcastic comeback, but here Arthur was, holding his own against you.

When the next morning rolled by the exact same thing happened, Arthur yet again stole your freshly brewed cup of coffee, you let the first time slide but this time you narrowed your eyes at him plotting your revenge. Little did this mystery writer know, you were a rather vindictive kind of person. The next morning just as you predicted, Arthur showed up to steal your morning cup of coffee, except this time it wasn't coffee that he found himself drinking but a concoction of warm sludgy, muddy water. He spat it out and started rinsing his mouth under the kitchen tap, "serves you right," you legit couldn't hold back your laughter and hosed yourself laughing, watching the expression of disgust form on Arthur's face, "oh revenge certainly is sweet." This, my dear, is how the revenge war started between you and Arthur. Since that day, he would pull small pranks on you to get revenge, and you would plot a prank twice as good to get him back. You honestly enjoyed this little game the two of you played and even though you never like social interaction if it was with Arthur, you honestly didn't mind.

Speaking of games, one day, you walked into the game room to find Arthur and Isaac battling it out over a game of chess. You stood in the doorway next to Theo to watch the intense match between the two. Theo had warned you never to play a game against Arthur unless you wanted to lose, as he had never lost a single game in his life. You low key scoffed and laughed as it seemed he was losing at your little game of revenge, as his pranks were becoming more and more predictable. Issac hung his head in defeat, having lost yet another match against Arthur and now earning himself the nickname A-chan. You patted Isaac on the back and challenged Arthur to a game, winner takes all loser takes non. He simply shook your hand and smilingly accepted the bet

You challenged him to a game of rummy, and for the first time in Arthur’s life, he was sweating. You were definitely a tough opponent, and your observational skills were like his, second to none. The game had ended in a draw, so the two of you played another round one which you had managed to win by the skin of your teeth. You stood up, smiling triumphantly, and that's when he challenged you to a rematch. The two of you spent the afternoon playing various board games and trash-talking each other. You honestly loved playing games and playing against someone who could provide you with a good challenge definitely made it more enjoyable. You and Arthur actually added this to your list of fun activities to occasionally do together. It was always something which both of you looked forward to as it was always filled with laughter and witty banter.

Arthur quickly realized that you were incredibly smart and had a keen sense for picking up on finer details. So he invited you to tag along and play detective with him, helping him to solve some cases around town. TBH he pretty much pestered you into helping him, until you finally cracked one day. However, after having so much fun using your combined skills to solve a case you and Arthur teamed up and became the towns mystery solvers. Two of you work many a case together. Arthur legit loves working on various cases with you as this means he can spend more time with you and get to know you even better.

You guys stumble on a case where the owner of a beautiful Germain Sheppard had kept the poor dog chained up in the backyard. As Arthur chatted with the owner, you went over to pat the dog, and that's when the blood drained from your face in horror. The poor dog was incredibly thin, and you could see scars all over his body from being abused. To top it all off there had even been fresh wound on his leg. You looked over to see that the poor had no access to fresh clean water, and looked incredibly thirsty. You opened your bag to retrieved your bottle of water, you poured some water in a small dish for the dog. The poor thing must have been incredibly thirsty as he drank up every last drop of water. Your heart broke in two, and you didn't want to leave the poor animal in this cruel man's care. Just then, the man came out with Arthur and was incredibly rude with you telling you to get away from his dog. That afternoon as you and Arthur walked back home, the poor dog had been on your mind. Arthur stop abruptly and stared down at you curiously, "you know luv, I would do anything you ask, all you have to do is say the word. I do hate to see you looking so down. So tell me what is it I can do to bring that beautiful smile back to your face." You had never seen Arthur look at you with so much love and worry before, he had always been a bit of a pain in the ass, but during the past few weeks, you couldn't help but fall in love with him. And at the moment with him staring at you so earnestly, you had realized you really had fallen for this man standing before you.

Once the two of you got back home, you made your way to Arthurs room where you poured your heart out and told him that you hated rude people and you couldn't stand it when animals were being abused. Arthur simply nodded and smiled, "well then, what do you say we go and rescue that sweet dog from the clutches of the evil villain." You nodded and rolled your eyes slightly, trust the writer to create a story out of every situation. The two of you now sat side by side at the dining room table, each with a cup of bitter coffee in hand, planning the poor dog's daring rescue.

That night the two of you had successfully managed to save the poor dog. It took no effort at all for you to convince Comte to let you keep the cutie. After speaking with Comte about keeping the pet as your own, you walked back to your room, smiling at the memories you had created that night. Not only had you managed to rescue an animal in need, but after your daring rescue, you and Arthur were so excited at a job well done that he kissed you. On the walk home, you and Arthur had confessed your feeling for one another, and thus a new chapter in your life had officially started.

Often you could be found in the garden playing with your new pet. The second Arthur would hear the excited barks of the two dogs, he would put his pen down and rush downstairs to join the fun. He couldn't help but smile like a fool at the scene before him before joining in. The two of you would spend most afternoons playing with the animals while laughing and just having the best time together.

You had actually been the one to introduce Arthur to gardening, as a therapeutic way for both of you to relax and unwind. Plus this pale British boy had never seen a drop of sunshine in his life, thanks to always being cramped up in his room writing, so it did him a world of good to get out of his room once a while to soak up that sweet vitamin D

Arthur, like you, has had to deal with a lot of pain from the past, so he never ever did mention anything about your scars to you. He knew that if you wanted to talk about them, you would. And you did, one day after he had told you all the traumas of his past and why it had taken him so long to confess his feelings for you, you told him about your past. That day the two of you completely let your guards down and let each other in. Arthur did everything in his power to be by your side whenever you were feeling insecure about your scars. You best be sure this boi will hold you tight and tell you how perfect and beautiful you are. If that doesn't work to quieten down your insecurities he will show you with action how much he loves and adores every inch of you.

Often the two of you cuties can be found just chilling together in Arthur's room. He would be slouched over his desk, writing the newest chapter, and you would be cuddled up on his couch reading about the latest topic of interest. When Arthur discovers that you also dabble in writing, he was legit over the moon. He would always insist you read your latest piece of writing to him as he rests his head on your lap, while you lazily pull your finger through his ocean locks. The two of you cuties would also sit and talk and talk for hours in deep conversation about anything and everything.

If the two of you aren't engaged in some kind of battle of wits, you are nestled in Arthur's arms as the two of you just enjoy a peaceful moment together wrapped in each other's warmth, each in a daydream of their own. Don't be surprised if this playboy drops a few sneaky kisses on your face as you comfortably rest in his arms, daydreaming away.

Other potential matches................. Vlad

I hope you enjoyed this dear and I hope you have a super good day!❤❤😊🌻

#ikesen matchup #match ups #matches #matchups #ikevamp #ikevamp match up #ikevamp matchup #ikemen arthur conan doyle #ikemen arthur #ikevam arthur #ikevamp arthur #ikemen vampire arthur

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