#trying to track everything going on with this event is becoming a full time job at this point LMAO

[issteelballrunconfirmed]

JOJO NEWS: JOJODAY teaser video released!

The official JoJo animation account dropped this video teasing JOJODAY today!

Running the text through a translator, there isn't any current new information about what will actually be happening in the event. It's still really cool though! Reminds me a lot of the promotional material surrounding the Inherited Soul event. The JOJODAY website itself hasn't been updated since the initial announcement, but I don't doubt we'll be getting some more info in the next month or so. Things are looking hopeful for a SBR announcement!! I think!!

[redocity]

>> Person A starts calling person B during their lunch break everyday. Person A's coworkers, who they USED to hang out with during lunch, are all super interested in this new supposed paramour. They start gossiping, theorizing, as well as hustling person A trying to get information about person B like its high school.

For your holiday event?

𝐛𝐮𝐜𝐤’𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 — 𝐄.𝐁𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐋𝐄𝐘

Person A starts calling person B during their lunch break everyday. Person A's coworkers, who they USED to hang out with during lunch, are all super interested in this new supposed paramour. They start gossiping, theorizing, as well as hustling person A trying to get information about person B like its high school.

evan buckley x fem!reader | fluff | 1.2k | masterlist.

𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 !!

You’ve gotten used to your phone ringing right around noon. It’s become something you look forward to, the sight of “Evan Buckley” flashing on your screen making your heart flutter in a way you’d never admit to him—not yet, at least.

The first time he called, it was unexpected. You had barely unwrapped your sandwich when your phone buzzed, and his voice greeted you, cheerful and warm. “Hey! Just thought I’d check in and see how your day’s going.”

Since then, it’s become routine.

Buck calls you during his lunch break without fail, whether he’s at the firehouse, in the field, or even in the middle of a chaotic day. For half an hour, you talk about anything and everything: the weird things your coworkers do, the absurdities of his job, and those little moments that don’t seem like much until you share them with someone who listens the way Buck does.

What you don’t know is that your calls have not gone unnoticed.

—

At the 118, lunchtime used to mean loud banter and ridiculous debates. Buck was always in the middle of it, whether he was challenging Chimney to a chili-eating contest or trying to convince Eddie to finally pick a side in their pineapple-on-pizza debate.

Now?

Buck’s spot at the table is often empty, his voice heard only as he heads to a quieter corner of the station, phone pressed to his ear.

And it’s driving his coworkers insane.

“Who do you think he’s talking to?” Chimney asks, leaning back in his chair and squinting toward the kitchen, where Buck has just disappeared, phone in hand.

“Obviously someone special,” Hen says with a knowing smile.

“Special how?” Eddie raises an eyebrow.

“Oh, come on,” Hen says. “He’s sneaking off every day, giggling like a teenager. It’s gotta be a new relationship.”

Chimney’s eyes light up. “Wait—are we talking girlfriend material? Or is this like… a *situationship*? Because you know Buck.”

“Maybe it’s neither,” Eddie says, though even he doesn’t sound convinced.

The gossip escalates quickly. Chimney starts jotting down theories on the whiteboard in the common area, turning it into a full-on investigation.

Hen provides commentary, while Eddie does his best to pretend he isn’t interested—even though he’s quietly keeping track of Buck’s absences during lunch.

“Do you think it’s someone from his gym?” Chimney speculates one day.

“Could be,” Hen replies. “Or maybe it’s someone he met on one of those dating apps. You know how Buck is.”

“What if it’s a long-distance thing?” Eddie chimes in, finally caving in showing his interest.

“That would explain why he’s always on the phone,” Chimney agrees, scribbling it down.

They even try to corner Buck for answers, which only makes him laugh.

“Come on, guys,” he says one afternoon, grinning as he leans against the kitchen counter. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Not that big of a deal?” Hen echoes. “Buck, you’ve practically abandoned us for this mystery caller. I think we deserve to know who’s stealing you away.”

“Yeah,” Chimney adds, crossing his arms. “Give us a name. Or at least a hint.”

Buck just shakes his head, clearly enjoying the attention. “You’ll find out eventually,” he says. “We’re just— taking it slow for now,”

—

The truth is, you have no idea any of this is happening.

To you, Buck is just Buck: funny, kind, and entirely too charming for his own good. You don’t think twice about his daily calls or the way he seems genuinely interested in every little detail you share with him.

You certainly don’t realise that his coworkers have turned your lunch break chats into a full-blown conspiracy.

One day, as you’re finishing up a story about the vending machine at work eating your dollar, Buck laughs—a soft, happy sound that makes your stomach do a little flip.

“You know,” he says, “I think my friends are starting to get jealous of you.”

“Jealous of me?” you ask, confused.

“Yeah,” he says. “They’re all trying to figure out who I’m talking to during lunch every day. It’s kind of hilarious.”

You pause, sandwich halfway to your mouth. “Wait. Are you serious?”

“Dead serious,” Buck replies, his grin evident even through the phone. “Chimney’s got this whole theory board going. Hen’s playing detective. And Eddie—well, he’s pretending he doesn’t care, but I know he’s keeping track.”

You laugh, the sound bubbling up before you can stop it. “You’re telling me the 118 is trying to solve me like I’m some kind of mystery?”

“Pretty much,” Buck says, and there’s that warmth in his voice again, the kind that makes you feel like you’re the only person in the world. “It’s actually kind of sweet. In a very weird, invasive way—”

“What do they think? That I’m your secret spy contact? Your long-lost twin?”

“Oh, the theories are wild,” he says, leaning against the wall of the firehouse kitchen. “Long-distance girlfriend, someone I met in a bar, a *matchmaker* trying to help me find someone else—Hen’s personal favorite, by the way.”

“Wow,” you say, shaking your head in disbelief. “I didn’t realise our calls’d become the talk of the firehouse.”

“Don’t worry,” Buck says, his tone softening. “I haven’t told them anything. I like having this… whatever this is, just for us.”

The admission makes your breath catch. It’s the first time he’s really acknowledged the unspoken connection between you, the one that’s grown stronger with every call, every shared laugh, every small moment that feels far bigger than it should.

“I like it too,” you admit, your voice quieter now.

There’s a comfortable silence between you, the kind that speaks louder than words ever could.

“So,” you say eventually, trying to lighten the mood, “what happens if they figure it out?”

“Oh, they will,” Buck says, laughing again. “But until then, I’m having way too much fun letting them wonder. And honestly? I think they’ll love you.”

The words hang in the air, full of meaning you’re not quite ready to unpack.

“Bold assumption, Buckley,” you tease, though your voice is soft, your heart racing. “What makes you think they’ll even meet me?”

“Why wouldn’t they?” he says confidently, and there’s that grin again, the one you can hear even without seeing it. “One day, I’m going to bring you by the station. You know, when we’re ready.”

“When we’re ready,” you echo, the words settling somewhere deep in your chest.

“Yeah,” Buck says, his voice steady. “And they’ll love you.”

And somehow, you know he means it.

[daysofyellowroses]

yellow rose

david von erich x afab!reader | 6.2k | 18+ minors dni | tw: language, smoking, mild smut | a reflection on your journey to the altar

so this is a complete and utter work of fiction, based on the very brilliant movie the iron claw. i knew as soon as i watched it i would have stories but i was a little surprised david came to me first. obviously harris dickinson is beautiful but i am down so bad for jaw. i got some kerry ideas too, and i always have a hundred different bear ideas on the go too so more to come | also just to note that because this is totally fictitious, i am choosing to ignore real life events for the most part and live in fanfic delusion. enjoy 🌼

-

It all seemed to happen in a flash.

In theory, you should have been used to it. Ready for it.

One minute you were heading to a local sports center on a work assignment, then in what felt like the blink of an eye, you were walking up the aisle to marry the subject of one of those photos.

But, to get to how exactly you ended up walking down that aisle, you need to go back to how it all started.

Which, like with most things when it came to you,started with a picture.

📷

From an early age, you loved photography. Capturing a moment in time, being able to look at it any time and relive the moment was always a thrill. Your childhood home was full of framed photos and photo albums, a collection of memories surrounding you.

When you turned 13, your parents gave you your own camera. It wasn't anything too technical or fancy, but it was immediately your most treasured possession. You took photos of everything, family occasions, your friends hanging out, nature, snapshots of Dallas.

As you grew older you threw yourself into studying everything about photography, worked an extremely tedious part time job to save up for a real camera, dedicated yourself to honing your skills. It wasn't difficult, your friends and family kept you busy with birthday parties, weddings, christenings, anything worth celebrating and you were there to capture the moments.

When you were in your senior year of high school, you discovered a fondness for a particular subject of your photos. You had been sitting in the bleachers after school one day with your friends, all you of chatting and laughing about something when you'd looked onto the football field and spotted two of the players talking about something animatedly, one of them slapping the other on the back as they laughed. 

You had grabbed your camera, snapping a photo and rolled your eyes playfully as your friends teased you. Sure, the players were cute, but that wasn't why you took their photo. When the shots had developed, you were thrilled that your instinct had been correct. The red of the players jerseys popped, the gold star on their helmets gleaming in the sun. They looked graceful, despite their large frames, natural and charming. 

From that photo, you began to base more of your photos on sport. It wasn't an area you had expected to become interested in, but it inspired your photography. Cheerleaders in perfectly formed pyramids, track stars crossing the line, football players clutching the ball to their chest as they threw themselves across the post.

After graduation, you applied for a journalism course, figuring it didn't hurt to have a backup plan and maybe it would get you a gig as a photographer for a newspaper or magazine. 

Leaving home was tough, especially when a big going away party was thrown for you, your friends and family coming together to celebrate your accomplishments. When the time came to leave you were sure you'd never cried so much, trying to hype yourself up for the adventure ahead.

It was a lot of fun, being at college, as it turned out. Making new friends, learning new things, having new experiences. By the time it was over it felt like you could back and do it all again in a heartbeat.

You decided to move back to Dallas after you graduated. A job opportunity at a big paper came up, and your friend Pam had found an apartment that came with a spare room so it seemed like the right move.

It was about two weeks later you were tasked with going down to the Sportatorium on a Saturday night to document the latest wrestling match. Every time you went to a sporting event for work, you were accompanied by the senior sports writer, Duke. He was older than your father, far too old for his cheap toupee to be even the slightest bit believable. He wore cheap polyester suits, too much cologne and had a fondness for calling you ‘missy’ and placing his hand a little too low on your back.

You had psyched yourself up to ask Pam to come along, preparing a whole speech in your head. If she was with you then you could avoid Duke like the plague, couldn't possibly leave your guest alone. 

Turned out Pam didn't take much convincing at all, in fact she practically jumped at the chance to come along. You tucked her excitement away in your mind, curious to see if the source would reveal itself at the match.

When the day came, you were excited to get some shots of a new sport. From what you'd seen on TV, the Sportatorium was bright and colorful, the wrestlers just as much so. You packed up your camera before getting changed into some jeans and a t-shirt. 

Pam had taken one look at you and marched you back into your room, your protests of “But I'm working!” falling on deaf ears.

A compromise was reached. Your t-shirt stayed but a denim mini skirt replaced your jeans and brown cowboy boots replaced your beat up sneakers. You felt a little ridiculous, your job had you in all kinds of angles and positions to get the best shots, the last thing you wanted was to be unable to get a good picture because you'd end up flashing tomorrow's laundry to thousands of strangers.

When you arrived at the Sportatorium, the sun was dipping below the horizon and what seemed like hundreds of cars and trucks were pulling up. People were grabbing beers out of coolers, blasting music from boomboxes, grilling up hotdogs on portable barbecues. You got a couple of shots before Pam was hustling you inside to get your seats. Well, her seat. You told her you'd meet her outside after the match, not that she seemed to be paying attention, her eyes focused on the empty ring. 

You made your way down to the ring, keeping an eye out for Duke and ready to sprint back to Pam if needed. To your relief, Duke wasn't in attendance. The junior sports reporter, Brian, had been sent in his place. The two of you weren't exactly close friends but he was much more professional. You got some shots of the crowd, feeling excited to see a match live. The atmosphere in the stadium was electric, like something incredible was about to happen. 

When the announcement came for the first tag team, you got some shots of them walking through the tunnel and into the ring, holding their arms in the air and greeting the crowd. Brian walked around the ring slowly, scribbling into a notepad, cigarette perched behind his ear.

Then they announced the next tag team, and you moved to the opposite tunnel to get shots of them. You took a breath as you snapped a shot of the taller one, his wavy blonde hair peeking out from under his back cowboy hat. He was wearing a leather jacket that he promptly tore off before he got into the ring, his back muscles rippling. 

You cleared your throat, taking more photos and trying to concentrate on what you were there for. 

The bell rang, and once the match started you had no shortage of great photo opportunities. The men in the ring moved with perfect proficiency and style, playing up to the crowd and putting on a spectacular show. You found yourself more and more drawn to the tall blonde, David Von Erich, you discovered. 

He was so graceful yet could have these huge men slammed onto their backs, his arms bulging and a cocky grin on his face. Once or twice you could have sworn he caught your eye and winked at you but you were sure it was your imagination. 

The Von Erichs won the match, you snapped a photo of the referee holding up the brother's hands as the crowd roared. Brian checked back in with you, telling you he was going to grab some quotes before heading off. You bid him farewell before going to find Pam, heading outside with the rest of the crowd.

“Hey, over here!”

You quickly spotted Pam, smiling as you waved back at her, weaving your way through the crowd to join her.

“Hey,” You smiled, laughing softly as Pam grabbed your arm, a wide grin on her face. “Are you al-”

“Come on,” Pam immediately started tugging you in the opposite direction. “let me show you something,”

You just about managed to maintain your balance and hold onto your camera as you dodged through the dispersing crowd, wondering what exactly Pam was doing.

Before long you had an answer, as you and Pam joined a large group of women hanging around the back door of the Sportatorium. Her keenness to come to the match made much more sense when Kevin Von Erich walked out the door, towel around his shoulders and bag slung over his shoulder. You had never known Pam to look at any man the way she was looking at Kevin.

“What are you waiting for?” You asked, giving Pam a gentle nudge. “Get on over there, girl.”

“I can't, there's too many girls round him,” Pam sighed. “I am not desperate. I'll wait for my time.”

“Saving the best for last huh?” You grinned, watching Pam roll her eyes playfully. “I don't think he's gonna be able to take his eyes off you.”

“You think?” Pam asked, glancing over to you. She looked genuinely concerned and you gave her a reassuring smile. 

“I know.”

A little while later, when the crowd had dispersed and Kevin was signing the last couple of autographs, you gave Pam a gentle nudge, smiling as she quickly fixed her hair.

“Good luck,” You grinned, gently squeezing her arm. “Not that you need it.”

You gave her some space, walking over to a trash can before fishing a pack of cigarettes from your purse. You lit one up, glancing over to Pam and smiling as you spotted Kevin heading in her direction. Closing your eyes as you looked away, you took a long drag on your cigarette and felt yourself relax.

“You know it's a bad habit to smoke those things.”

You opened your eyes, finding a familiar face standing close to you. He looked better in person than he did in the ring, if that was possible. 

“Well I'm sure you know that it is very rude to keep your hat on in the presence of a lady,” You raised a brow, flicking your ash into the trash can. “I could be deeply insulted.”

“I apologize,” David grinned, taking off his hat and giving you a slight bow as he did. He introduced himself properly, as did you, his hand moving over his heart as he tilted his head. “You know I was just joking, there's worse habits to have than smoking.”

You nodded, smiling a little. “Like creeping up on strangers?”

He laughed and you felt a flutter in your stomach. You willed it away, not wanting to be another simpering fan.

“You want one?” You asked, holding out the box of cigarettes. David looked like he was considering saying yes before he shook his head. 

“No, thank you. I shouldn't.”

“Fair enough,” You nodded, putting the box back in your purse. “It really is a bad habit. I'm trying to quit but I got some time to kill so..”

“Oh yeah?” David raised a brow, glancing around the quiet car park before looking back at you. “What you waiting for?”

“My friend,” You gestured in the direction of Pam, who was deep in conversation with Kevin. “she's a big fan.”

“So I see,” David grinned, looking over to his brother and Pam before focusing his attention back on you. “and uh..what about you? Are you a big fan?”

You thought about it/made him wait for a moment as you took a drag on your cigarette and raised a brow.

“I'm just here for work.”

“Really?” David looked a little surprised, lightly rubbing his jaw. “What kinda work do you do?”

You held up your camera with a smile before flicking your cigarette in the trash can. “I’m a photographer,” You explained. “for a newspaper.”

“Oh right,” David smiled, folding his arms. “I'll have to buy that, see if you got any good ones of me. Which paper is it?”

“It's the uh..huh,” You grinned as you glanced over to Pam, watching her laugh as Kevin said something to her. “Excuse me for one second.” 

You turned slightly, holding your camera up and focusing it on Pam and Kevin. You felt very aware of David's presence behind you, trying to hold your hands steady as you snapped a picture. 

“I have a feeling I may need that one day,” You smiled, settling your camera strap back over your shoulder and turning to David. “They're cute together, don't you think?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” David nodded, his gaze staying on you. “She ain't the cutest one here though.”

You rolled your eyes but couldn't fight the smile on your face and multiple flutters in your stomach. 

“Oh shut up, that's such a line.”

“I'm deadly serious,” David grinned, holding his hat over his heart. “I promise.”

You were about to say something when Pam appeared, linking her arm with yours and giggling as she went to drag you away. 

“Hang on one second,” David called, making you look over your shoulder with a smile.

“You never told me the name of your paper!”

“It's in Dallas,” You called back, walking forward with Pam, the two of you giggling. “If you find it, call me!”

📷

A couple of days later you were in the newspaper office, going over some photos for an upcoming article when one of the secretaries knocked on the door and asked for you.

“Call for you,” She explained, gesturing to the phone as you went to her desk. “They didn't give a name, just asked for you.”

“Okay, thanks Margaret,” You smiled, feeling a slight knot in your stomach. It was extremely rare someone called you at work, and you tried not to think the worst. 

Going to the phone, you picked it up and took a deep breath before holding it to your ear. 

“Hello?”

“Hello yourself.”

You let out a soft sigh of relief as you realized who was on the other end of the line, a small smile on your face.

“How many papers did you have to call before you found me?”

“That's not important.”

You rolled your eyes with a grin.

“More than two?”

“..five.”

“Oh wow,” You grinned, turning more towards the wall. “That's perseverance right there. I'm flattered.”

“Well so am I,” David replied. “I saw those pictures you took. They were great, I wanted to thank you for catching me at such a flattering angle.”

“You're welcome,” You smiled, glancing over your shoulder before looking back and lowering your voice slightly. “That the only reason you called six newspapers? Angles?”

“Not quite,” You could hear a cheeky tone in his voice, your fingers holding the phone cord. “I was hoping you'd come see me again. You don't have to take pictures this time, if you don't want.”

“As it happens I am coming,” You raised a brow with a smile. “Your brother beat you to the invite. He invited Pam, who invited me. So I'll be there.”

“Well damn,” David laughed softly. “I guess I'll just have to come right out with it then..ask you on a real date.”

“Oh?” You grinned, feeling like a teenager as your cheeks grew warm. “How about we make it interesting?”

“I'm all ears.”

You took a breath, trying to calm your heartbeat. You were aware of Margaret behind you, knowing she'd be listening to every word. 

“Alright, if you win..I accept. If you don't, no deal.”

“Hm, sounds fair,” David replied. “I guess I'll have to try a little harder this week. I'll let you get back to work, alright?”

“Alright,” You nodded, trying not too smile too widely. “I'll see you Saturday. Bye.”

You hung up the phone, turning around to Margaret with a polite smile.

“Thank you, I'll be in the office.”

Once you closed the door and found yourself alone, you let out a laugh, shaking your head and wondering what you'd let yourself in for.

📷

Saturday came around quickly, and most of the day was given over to preparing. At first you were just helping Pam, heading into store after store to find the perfect outfit. Then you started looking for yourself, realizing that you wanted to put in just a little more effort since you were going to watch, not work. 

As the evening drew closer, the radio was on full blast in the apartment as you and Pam cracked open a bottle of wine and started the beauty process. You couldn't shake the slight nerves that were settled in your stomach, but they were joined by an excitement. 

“Oh,” Pam turned from the bathroom mirror to look at you. You were sitting on the edge of the bathtub, carefully painting your toenails. “Did he ever get in touch? David? I completely forgot to ask.”

“Yeah, he found me,” You grinned, laughing as Pam gasped. “Asked me to come along tonight. I told him I was already coming.”

“And?” Pam asked, waving her hand at you. “What else? Did he ask you out?”

“I told him he can take me out if he wins,” You smiled, holding the bottle of nail polish up in the air with a laugh as Pam rushed over to hug you.

“This is so exciting! We're gonna be like sisters!”

📷

When you arrived at the Sportatorium, it seemed to be even busier than it had been the previous week. You stepped out of your truck, smoothing out your outfit. It was only a black off the shoulder top and some denim jeans but you hoped it still looked good. 

You linked your arm with Pam's as the two of you headed inside the bustling arena, your heart beating faster as you took your seats. As it turned out, watching the match was totally different to photographing it. You couldn't move about, couldn't pick one thing to focus on. It was all happening, bright and loud and thrilling. You found yourself cheering and whistling with the crowd, you and Pam both jumping up and screaming when the Von Erichs emerged victorious.

When it was all over and you were enjoying the fresh air, you couldn't help but find it adorable when Kevin couldn't keep his eyes off Pam while he signed autographs. Once he was free you gave him and Pam some space, almost immediately bumping into David.

“Hey winner,” You smiled, resting your hands in your back pockets. “Nice angles in there.”

“I hope someone was there to capture them,” David grinned, taking his hat off. “Did you have a good time?”

“Yeah,” You nodded, watching David for a moment, smiling as you realized he almost seemed a little nervous. “I really enjoyed it..though I'm a little curious about something.”

“What might that be?” David asked, moving his hat from one hand to the other. 

“Well,” You smiled, stepping closer and looking up at him. “Are you going to honor our agreement?”

📷

It was only when you were putting on your coat to leave the apartment when it dawned on that you hadn't actually been on a first date for..a while. There were some relationships in high school, a couple in college along with some dates and flings but the last had been before you graduated. 

You tried not to think about it too much, you were just going for dinner and seeing a movie. Worst case scenario, you and David didn't end up hitting it off and the world would go on as it always did. But part of you was hopeful that something would come from the date, that it would develop into something really great.

Grabbing your purse, you left the apartment and went downstairs to hail a cab, excitement starting to outweigh the nerves.

📷

“No way,” You laughed, your eyes going wide as you placed your hand over your chest. “You did not do that.”

“Yes I did,” David nodded, a serious look on his face before he laughed. “I was so sick afterwards. Never got found out though. Mom just went and got Kerry and Mike a new egg each. I couldn't eat chocolate for like three months.”

“I'm not surprised,” You laughed, picking up your drink. “You can't say you didn't deserve it.”

David laughed, nodding as he picked up his own drink. 

“I certainly did deserve it. Moment of weakness I guess.” 

You took a sip of your drink before setting the glass down and glancing around the restaurant. It was a steakhouse, but it felt like a nice one. Elegant lighting, candles on the tables, classy music playing. No sawdust or butcher paper to be found. 

“So do you think your brothers ever found out?” You asked, sitting up a little and resting your hands in your lap. “Or did you tell them?”

“No to both I'm afraid,” David sighed softly, lightly tapping his glass as he set it down. “Though I think Kev knew it was me..” He smiled to himself as he looked down. “Never said anything if he did know, though.”

“Seems like you two are close,” You smiled, your heart picking up a beat as David looked back at you with a warm smile. 

“We are,” He nodded. “We all are. I can't imagine life without them, they're amazing.” 

You felt your heart swell, trying not to get too swept up in your emotions. 

“That's so wonderful,” You smiled. “It's amazing that you're all so close.”

“Yeah,” David grinned, sitting up a little. “I just feel so lucky every day, like..” He stopped himself, lightly rubbing his neck.

“You know what, I feel like all I've done is talk about myself, my brothers, I don't want you to think I'm self absorbed or nothing, I promise I ain't like that.”

You shook your head, reaching your hand across the table and grinning when David held it with his own.

“I know you're not,” You insisted. “You're wonderful. Now tell me more about your family, I want the good stories.”

You ended up missing the movie, but neither of you cared. You talked until the restaurant was closing, David's jacket around your shoulders as you walked out into the night air. He gave you a ride home and kissed your cheek by your door  like a gentleman. 

“I had a great time,” You smiled, carefully taking off David's jacket and giving it back to him. You could tell he wanted to tell you to keep it, and you knew why he couldn't. 

“Maybe you should win another match, take me out again.”

“It's a deal.”

📷

Going to matches became a weekly event. You and Pam would cheer and cling to each other, laughing at how silly you were being. You took pictures for yourself, wanting to remember every moment. Afterwards you would meet David and Kevin, go for burgers and debrief on the match. 

It wasn't always easy for David to visit you, so you called each other when you could, spending an hour or two talking about anything and everything. You drove down to Denton a couple of times, meeting him for something to eat or just for a drive. 

He was always a perfect gentleman, opening doors for you and holding your hand, never pressing for anything more even though you suspected he was just as keen as you were to take things further.

You decided to nudge things in the right direction one night when you had gone down to visit him. Pam had come with you, and David and Kevin had taken you to the lake with their brother Mike, who you instantly adored. 

The afternoon was perfect, gorgeous hot weather and ice cold beers, floating along in the water and feeling like nothing else could possibly matter but being in that moment. 

You were sitting on the edge of the dock while the others drifted along on the huge rubber float, snapping a couple of shots of them before setting the camera aside. David appeared next to you, sitting down and resting his hand on your back. You leaned into the touch, his arm moving around your shoulders. 

“I love this,” You smiled softly, closing your eyes and letting out a breath. “If every day was like this..what a world.”

“It's perfect,” David murmured softly. “I can't think of anything better.”

“Hm, I reckon I can,” You smiled, opening your eyes and looking up at him. His eyes were already on you and you grinned as he took a breath and leaned in, his lips feeling like heaven against yours. 

You could hear the cheers and whistles, smiling into the kiss and feeling satisfied beyond belief. 

📷

“You ready for this?”

“Absolutely not. You?”

“Absolutely not.”

You flicked on the indicator and headed up the long drive to the Von Erich home, glancing over to Pam in the passenger seat.

“At least we're in this together.”

It was incredibly daunting, the thought of meeting David's parents and his brother Kerry, who had recently come home. He had told you countless times that they would love you, but it didn't ease your nerves. 

You were relieved to have Pam with you, that she was in the same boat. Mike met you both at the door, giving you both a hug and chatting away as he led you outside. 

It was a flurry of introductions, handshakes and hugs and the most perfect kiss from David that had you instantly relaxing.

By the time everyone sat down for dinner, it felt as though you had known the Von Erichs forever. The food was delicious, the weather was beautiful, the company was amazing. You felt David reach for your hand under the table when his parents talked about how they met, your heart swelling. 

When Doris forbade Mike from going to a gig that night, you glanced across the table to Pam smiling as she gave you a slight nod.

📷

“Alright, drive, drive!”.

You put your foot down, laughing as you glanced in the mirror and watched your boyfriend and his brothers gradually haul themselves into your truck. You turned the radio up when you left the driveway, rolling down the windows and cheering as you hit the road.

It didn't matter whose house the party was in, it was big and roomy and most importantly, fun. You had a beer in your hand before you knew it, hitting the makeshift dance floor. The brothers spun you and Pam around, laughter filling the air as you moved to the music, not a care in the world.

When Mike took to the stage with his band, you stood with David behind you, his arms wrapped around you. You all cheered as the song started up, swaying along as you held your hands over David's. 

Later in the evening you gently took David's hand and pulled him into a quiet corner, whispering in his ear and enjoying the slightly tipsy smile that crossed his face, a flash of worry passing his eyes.

You led him upstairs, finding an empty bedroom and closing the door.

“We..we don't have to,” David insisted as you slipped off your shoes. “I don't want you to feel pressured.”

“I don't,” You smiled, walking to the end of the bed and unzipping your dress before turning back to David. “But I will think you don't want to if you don't get over here in the next thirty seconds.”

He didn't need to be asked twice.

You laughed as you were picked up bridal style and carried to the top of the bed, letting out a soft moan as David laid you down and gave you a tender kiss.

Despite your suspicions that David was possibly a virgin, you didn't ask when he didn't bring it up. He was a little apprehensive, but once you took the lead he seemed to tap into his ring persona and the confidence in his movements had you struggling not to scream as your nails dug into his back, the sheets, your body crying out for more. 

“Oh god,” You moaned, touching David's cheek and looking up to meet his eyes as your legs hooked around his waist. “Baby..’m so close, please..”

You closed your eyes as he pushed deeper into you, his forehead resting against yours.

“Me too,” He murmured, his hand reaching for yours. “Fuck..fuck..I love you.”

Your eyes went wide at the confession, a deep moan spilling from your lips as you felt a wave crash over you, feeling David fill you moments later. You moved your hands to his neck, meeting his eyes and taking a deep breath. 

“I'm sorry,” He sighed, looking down. “I shouldn't have-this isn't the time..”

“No,” You insisted, a smile spreading on your face. “It's the perfect time. I love you, too.”

📷

“Mind if I get one of those?”

You turned around, letting out a sigh of relief as you spotted Kerry walking towards you. 

“Of course,” You smiled, taking the box of cigarettes from your purse and handing it over. “Thought you were David for a second.”

Kerry laughed as he accepted the box, shaking his head.

“Nah, your secret is safe with me. Just needed one huh?”

“Yeah,” You nodded, flicking away the ash. “I'm so nervous. I don't know why, it's not like I have to walk down the aisle in front of hundreds of people wearing this,” You raised a brow, gesturing to your dress.

As much as you adored Pam, and as thrilled as you were that she was getting married and had asked you to be her maid of honor, you did not exactly love the dress she had chosen. For a start, it was a mix of dusky pink and peach, the skirt was so big you wondered if you fit down the aisle, and the sleeves were almost the size of your head.

“I feel you,” Kerry nodded, looking down at himself as he lit his cigarette. “I think we all feel a little ridiculous. But you know the worst part?”

“Go on,” You smiled, lifting up the puffball that had slipped down your shoulder. “shock me.”

“I gotta do this three more times,” Kerry sighed, lightly prodding the flower attached to his suit. “At least you get to choose your wedding dress. I'm stuck in velvet hell.”

You laughed, shaking your head and taking a drag on your cigarette. 

“Oh come on, it ain't so bad. I think I heard Mike say he would never have velvet.”

“Really?” Kerry raised a brow, looking over to you. 

“Promise,” You grinned, holding your hand over your heart. “He said he'd have velour.”

“Oh fuck off,” Kerry laughed, shaking his head and holding his hand out. “Gimme a mint and get out of here, I'll velour you.”

“I'd like to see you try,” You laughed, getting a mint from your purse and flicking your cigarette away before walking over to Kerry. “See you inside. Don't destroy that flower.”

📷

“Isn't she beautiful?” You smiled, watching Pam and Kevin sway on the dancefloor, smiles etched on their faces as they moved to the music. 

You felt the urge to take a photo, but a professional had been hired for the day. Pam had insisted she wanted you to be in the pictures, not the one behind the camera. You had been a little disappointed, but you gave her the photo you'd taken from when she and Kevin had first met, and her reaction made it all worth it.

“She really is,” Doris nodded, looking over to you and taking your hand with a smile. “And you will be too.”

“Thank you,” You smiled, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Let me go get us another drink.”

You stood up, making your way over to the bar with a smile. While you and David weren't officially engaged, it was kind of an unspoken truth that when Pam and Kevin had gotten married, David would propose to you next. Kerry wasn’t seeing anyone, and while Mike was dating a girl, they had only been together a few weeks.

So, you knew you were next up.

As you waited for your drinks, you smiled as you felt a familiar presence by your side.

“Have I told you how beautiful you look today?”

“Yes,” You grin, turning to face David and giving him a kiss. “But I don't mind hearing it again.”

As the song ended and a new one started up, more guests took to the floor.

“Should we go for a twirl?” David asked, gently stroking your cheek. “or maybe not quite a twirl, that dress will take out anyone who comes close,” He teased.

“Oh shut up,” You laughed, lightly swatting him. “I'm getting your mom a drink, if I don't take you out first.”

“I'll take it to her,” David smiled, leaning down to give you a soft kiss. “Then you owe me a dance.”

📷

So, here it is. 

The big day. 

You thought at times it would never come, but it's here. 

A lot has happened, of course. Weddings need buildup, after all. The guests can only talk about how beautiful you look and wonder who did the food for so long. You gotta give them something. 

So what's new? It's been a minute, a luxuriously long engagement. 

The Von Erichs have gone from strength to strength, reaching the top of the wrestling game. You still go see matches, when you can. They're global now, you always feel a rush of pride when you watch them on TV at some crazy hour.

Pam is a world class veterinarian, an incredible mother to the most gorgeous baby, and still the best friend in the world. 

Kevin won the WHC belt, is the most devoted husband, father, brother, brother-in-law and son. He and Pam keep saying they're going to buy a ranch in Hawaii for everyone to live in, and you like to think maybe it could be true.

Kerry insists he's your favorite brother-in-law, and you insist that you couldn't possibly choose a favorite but deep down you think he's most likely right. He makes you laugh the most, teases you and makes stupid jokes to cheer you up when you need it. The two of you have sneaky cigarettes and know what the other is thinking when you look at each other. 

Mike has just signed a recording contract with his band, and you tell him all the time he better come to you first with concert tickets. He's going to be the next one engaged, he's so loved up and it's adorable. 

Then there's David. 

The yellow rose who called up six different newspapers just to ask you out, who let you into his life, who loves you unconditionally and makes you so unbelievably happy that you wonder what you ever did without him. You would never have pursued your dreams without him and his family, that's something you know. And let's not forget his proposal, which was the most beautiful moment of your life.

David had taken you on a surprise trip one night, insisting that you were just going for a drive after you'd been out for dinner, but you knew it wasn't true. You found yourself at the lake, David's hand in yours as you walked down to the dock, which..was decorated with candles in jars, rose petals, a bottle of champagne sitting in ice. 

Knowing that you were marrying your soulmate, joining a family you loved deeply, it made you feel so safe, so secure. You quit your job, deciding to pursue your real passion. You bought a gallery in Dallas, and displayed your own work along with other local artists, including your soon to be mother in law. It took time, but it's become a success, and you don't care what any of them say, you couldn't have done it without your family.

Plenty for the guests to talk about, right?

You take a deep breath as you step out of the car, Pam fixes your dress and you take a deep breath. Her dress is beautiful, and most importantly, simple. 

Before you know it you're walking down the aisle, your heart beating faster as hundreds of faces smile at you, but there's only one you need to see, and when you do it makes everything okay. 

You reach the top of the aisle, feeling overwhelmed with love, beaming as you turn to look at your soon to be husband.

“You know it's a bad habit to leave the bride with a veil over her face,” You grinned, watching David gently touch the hem of the silky veil and carefully move it back, a wide smile on his face.

“I do apologize,” He grinned. “Still gonna marry me?”

“Of course,” You smiled. “You look perfect from this angle.”

[talesofdelight]

Sugar City Rockers

VC: Bonnie MacFarlane from the Red Dead Redemption games

Background: From the same town as Cheri yet they never really interacted. Another who comes from a big family, and being one of the younger siblings, she was challenged with trying to get her parents attention. When they discovered her talent for singing and songwriting, things went a little bad. Being about 17 and thrown into a singing competition gave her attention from different labels but also incredibly overwhelmed her. After releasing a few songs in the country genre, one of them being a top hit, she ultimately quit. She met SCR when they were doing a small gig at a bar in downtown Sourbite City and cringed at how disorganized they were. She offered to help them out with the connections she had as well as give them tips on how to be better organized and as they grew in fame, she ended up sticking around (and the band didn’t want to lose her anyway). 

Special ability: “Sugar Coating” - This allows her to make her words incredibly persuasive if she chooses

VC: Marshall Lee

Background: From Confectia. He grew up in a pretty rowdy environment though, his parents pretty much gave up on raising him and his older sister, so his sister was always taking care of him, sometimes having to shoplift before she was old enough to get a part time job. When he entered high school, he was now living with his sister and her husband (no, the husband wasn’t a jerk), but during that time Devon wasn’t the best person. He would shoplift, bully those he deemed weaker than him, and kept giving his sister a hard time about their living conditions. When he moved past this era, he hated himself for how he treated others, especially his sister. He joined SCR in college when Eric reached out to him after watching him play the guitar. About a year before the main story takes place is when his sister and her husband passed away in a car accident and he took custody of his niece Lulu. He doesn’t feel like he’s good enough to be her guardian, but they’re all the other has.

Special ability: “Crackle” - He can generate electricity from his hands and mouth

VC: Leon Kennedy

Background: He spent his school years not really caring about anything and went about his days doing whatever he pleased. In college he had this bright idea to start a band similar to the rock bands he loved and looked up to so much. So he made it his mission to find musicians for this hypothetical band. First he recruited his childhood friend DJ, after that Devon, and finally Natalia. He had to convince his parents over dinner to let him and the band practice in their garage.

Special ability: “Shock Toss” - Eric can create small electric orbs in the palms of his hands that he can throw

 VC: Dark Choco Cookie from Cookie Run Kingdom

Background: Only child. Grew up with Eric. DJ is just a nickname. He’s not shy, he’s just antisocial but he tries to talk more with his bandmates. Does his best to be a good uncle to Lulu.

Special ability: “Crystal Ball” - If DJ concentrates hard enough, then he can see events no matter where they are, though the farther the distance the fuzzier the image. He mostly uses this ability to keep track of his band mates

VC: Gwen from Total Drama Island

Background: From the Bitterlands, but doesn’t act like it, she is a fire cracker. Another where the city lights of Flavorvale drew her attention. Went to college for music studies which is when she met the guys and ultimately joined their lil ragtag group. It was around this time that she met Lyrica online and later on they began dating. 

Special ability: “Sweet Screech” - Anyone who is unfortunate enough to hear this ability at full volume will become completely paralyzed

VC: Anais Watterson from The Amazing World of Gumball

Background: Before the incident, she was actually very happy go lucky and loved being with her parents and hanging out with her uncle Devon and his friends when they would visit. Afterwards, everything flipped. She remembers sitting in the office of child services and listening to the adults talking about what happened. Then her uncle Devon showed up and everything seemed like it might be okay again. She knows that he’s doing his best, so she also does her best to not have him worry about her.

Special ability: Hasn’t formed yet... or has it?

[midnightfire830]

Question stufffsss, does cuphead from the angel blood au ever get derealization whenever he has a vision and if he does how does he cope with it, what if someone jump scares him, what happened when he shot mugman in the angel blood au?? (If he even did😭) how was the labyrinth like for mugman? In the angel blood au??, how bad of a dystopian place is the cyberpunk au, did cuphead in the angel blood au ever see mugman getting shot in a vision and if he did, did he ever do anything to prevent it?, lots of questions sorry lol😭🙏🏾

Your question dumps always bring me so much cussing joy.

Literally.

Ok let’s get these answered!

I had never heard of derealization before and had to look it up. And honestly you’re a cussing genius. I think Cup would absolutely have those moments of derealization going into a vision and coming out. Some visions hit him out of nowhere with no warning, and some he can feel slowly building up on him over time. He notices he starts to feel kinda off with those kinds of visions (usually it takes him a while to realize it) he would absolutely have some of those symptoms. His attention goes everywhere. He starts zoning out, losing focus, and can’t keep track of time that well. Everything seems almost too slow and too fast for him. He can barely keep up with what’s around him. Cup would describe it himself that things start to go hazy.

It’s kinda ironic that Cup would have moments derealization when he’s a cartoon character. In a world that is being observed by readers in an alternate dimension. There will be moments for Cup especially going in an out of a vision that he starts to feel like everything isn’t real. That it’s all a performance, a show, for the readers. He thinks it’s just his mind playing tricks on him but it’s actually true. (Bc reading Inky Mystery the Warners make a show with playing with the 4th wall and interacting with the authors and readers) It’s kinda funny that in Cup’s moments it’s almost as if he’s starting to become zany.

The Warners are absolutely NO HELP to him when they find out about that.

Coming out of a vision for him would be kind of like a stimulation overload. He’s all of a sudden brought back to the real world and it takes his brain a full minute to reboot and catch back up. But for him its a lot easier of an experience coming out of a vision than it is going into one. Usually then he’ll just try to sleep it off.

I don’t know enough about derealization to think of coping mechanisms or anything like that. But I think that if Cup notices that he’s gonna have a vision soon he’ll excuse himself from the room and go to a quiet, safe place and try his best to wait it out. Tho usually it’s Mugman who notices that Cup is kind of, absent. He tries his best to help Cup get to a safe place and make sure he stays grounded going in and out of the vision.

Nothing really special would happen if he were somehow jumpscared. It’s a bit harder to jump scare him too. Sometimes he’ll get a vision about it and avoid it. Sometimes he’ll see the vision but not be able to figure out when it happens and ends up getting scared either way. It depends.

Cuphead got a vision about a week before the event. He couldn’t see much; little flashes of him running, shooting at someone, and then seeing Mugs covered in blood. It really shook him. Usually his visions were about small things. Usually about him. He was debating between telling Mugs or keeping it to himself. Mugs noticed Cup’s stress and asked about it and Cup let it spill that he saw Mugs get killed. They’d be super super careful from then on, trying to avoid it the best they could. Cup would spend HOURS replaying the vision in his head trying to find any kinds of details that could clue what, when, or how it happened. Hell, Cup would try his damnest to trigger more visions so he could see it again.

Later that week however, while Cup was chasing Bendy and Boris he was getting little inklings of déjà vu but ignored it in favor of doing his job. The two of them completely forgot about Cup’s vision until Mugs was shot.

Cuphead didn’t go into a rampage/blackout because he doesn’t have any demon blood. So Cup was in absolute HYSTERICS during that time. He would still go out to hunt for Bendy and Boris for revenge. His distress and sorrow for his brother caused him to constantly flicker between visions. That would be a moment when his derealization symptoms got BAD. His first reaction when he shot Mugs was definitely denial. He thought that he was imagining things. Or that this was a vision of the same event but in better detail. He couldn’t accept the fact that his brother was probably dead and he killed him.

The labyrinth was absolutely AWFUL for both Cup and Mugs. Cup kept having powerful visions that would hit him out of nowhere over and over. Because time is weird and messy in the labyrinth he’d be receiving visions of the past, present, and future without order. Some about him, some about the questers, some visions of memories about people that were in the labyrinth at some point, people who had long since passed. Probably some of the instrument’s memories too. All while also running around through his own trails and memories in the labyrinth. Cup couldn’t catch a break

For Mugman I’d imagine running through the labyrinth he’d feel the remanants and undertones of emotions and feelings tied to the memories and locations found inside the labyrinth. Echos of forgotten pasts. And I believe he’d be able to faintly feel the questers emotions at varying times. Mugman’s ability to feel emotions, I’ve decided, is range based. And because the labyrinth has no order in terms of direction and location (i.e. a door in the hotel will transport you to a bedroom on the other side of town) he’d be constantly feeling the questers in varying degrees. It was an absolute mess for him and so so confusing and disorienting.

Mugs maybe went 2-4 hours inside the labyrinth before he started getting sick. TwT

And for the cyberpunk AU every location from Hell, to the surface both in city and out, to the Upper is a corrupt dystopia in some way or another.

Hell and the Surface being obvious. In the city their violent society full of crime and destruction is pretty strongly controlled by rich, fat cats, and overpowered CEOs.

The Upper is kind of a doozy. It’s less of a straight up dystopia and more of a dystopia disguised as the perfect utopia.

The angel’s advancements in technology, the medical field, and use of plant life in their day to day is almost like a facade. The shared ideas of racism and bigotry against the demons running deep through their society and government making their world a bit darker than you’d think. But its about pretty close to canon.

I hope this answers your questions! Thank you so much!!!!

[thegingerwrites]

✨ 15 Questions for Friends ✨

Thanks @dark--whisperings and @virahaus for tagging!

---

1. Are you named after anyone?

Nope.

2. When was the last time you cried?

It's been a while but I think I teared up a bit while watching All of us Strangers otherwise I'm not really sure. Edit: nevermind, I know exactly when it was. I was chopping onions literally last night and was full blown crying because of it

3. Do you have kids?

No, I do not!

4. What sports do you play/ have you played?

I did cross country and track throughout high school. In middle school I was on the varsity golf team and before that I played soccer. Nowadays I mostly run 🏃

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Not really?

6. What's the first thing you notice about people?

I thought a lot about this question because my first answer was 'not their faces lol'. I have a really hard time remembering names and faces so I want to say that the first thing I notice about people is usually their hair or their clothes or whether they're wearing glasses or not, big things that catch the eye.

7. What's your eye colour?

Blue/green

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

There was a while when I absolutely could not watch scary movies at all but over the last few years I've started getting into them. That said, choosing between the two I would still go happy endings all the way. I'd prefer a comedy over a horror film even though horror can be a lot of fun

9. Any talents?

I have a really hard time differentiating between talents and skills because I feel like every idea that came to mind is something I had to work at and learn. I do think I'm pretty good at that though--having the patience to try new things and being bad at them at first before persevering enough to become kind of good at them. But if I needed to compete in an emergency talent show, I can juggle a little and play the clarinet.

10. Where were you born?

New York, babyyyy

11. What are your hobbies?

One could say I have too many hobbies. Sort of coinciding with question 9, I like trying new things. I picked up sewing out of sheer stubbornness a few years ago because I wanted to learn how to mend some of my clothes. I just started bookbinding with Renegade Book Bindery's Binderary events and I have to take pictures of the books I made. I just finished knitting a few projects. My birthday was this past week and I like to bake my birthday cake every year. I have a sketchbook I'm trying to fill and I watercolor a little bit even though I'm not good at it. I really need to make time to play my clarinet more often. I like to hike and go camping with my dad in the summers...I have a little bit too much to occupy my time.

12. Do you have any pets?

I have a cockapoo named Skipper who is my very best boy.

13. How tall are you?

5'8''

14. Favourite subject in school?

English or History depending on the teacher and I always loved band and chorus

15. Dream job?

Getting paid to write lol. I'm always kicking around ideas for original work in the background of everything else.

---

These were cute questions! I spent way too long thinking about them lol. If you want to answer them too, consider yourself tagged!

[karisajuneau04]

The Impact of Shawn Medeiros at Endicott College

Shawn Medeiros is the Director of Sports Information at Endicott College. His love of sports started when he was around seven years old because of his brother being a big sports fan. Fast forwarding to college, he attended Bridgewater State and was the sports editor for the school newspaper. Medeiros discussed the importance of relationship building in the workplace and how good the dynamic is with his fellow coworkers at Endicott. He started at Endicott in 2015 and has had a lot of success since then. Athletics is a major component to why prospective and current students love the college. Sports brings people together through shared passion and wanting their team to win. Medeiros explains how ever since he started working at Endicott, they have always won big. It would be difficult for him after this  experience to have to represent a school that did not win as much. Although the job is ever changing, it is something that Medeiros loves to do. From managing stats to social media there is always something on the to do list when you are a sports information director.

One of his favorite memories is promoting Jack Smiley’s story because of the trust he put in Medeiros and the rest of the sports media team to tell the story right. He discusses how more work was put into the return of Smiley on Senior Day than what meets the eye. Smiley was originally supposed to go back on the ice last year but unfortunately had to back out week of. This gave the team an extra year to make this moment special. Multiple news broadcasters and Endicott’s own student and professional photographers and videographers were there to document the event. Gaining trust and having significant connections to athletes shows how important Medeiros is to Endicott’s athletic department.

Karisa: In your opinion, how does sports bring people together?

Shawn: I think people come together for sports because it brings you around a shared passion for a team, or shared passion for moments. I feel like on the different level of sports,  professional versus youth, has different touch points and how that brings you together. When you're learning how to play sports or learn how to deal with adversity through sports when you're younger, and then when you get to professional ranks, it's a lot easier to bring people together to go to games or watch parties or things like that. So, I feel like there's a ton of different avenues that can bring people together. But obviously, you know, winning is certainly one of those too. Hopefully sports brings people together more than the other things going on in sports right now, like gambling   and it's more about  learning how to become a good person through sports. That's what I want to at least believe is the main driver. But all of those kind of encompass why people are passionate about sports.

Karisa: How did you become a sports information director?

Shawn: When I was in undergrad school at Bridgewater State, I kind of did a little bit of everything that encompasses the current job. I was sports editor for a newspaper in college. I was a play-by-play broadcaster for sports teams there, and I didn't really know that the job was a job, which is odd, because we would work directly with the sports information director. But you're kind of naive in college and don't really think sometimes too far out in advance. And then when I graduated, it became really clear that it was going to be hard to break into professional sports broadcasting. Given my situation as a commuter student and financial aid, that wasn't the greatest avenue to try and gain a full-time job and pay for school that I owed money on. So, one thing led to another. I was working at the Boston Globe as a journalist, coaching track, and working at a grocery store. You kind of think what's the next step? I had several friends try and implore me to go into the sports information field, essentially saying, like, “hey, this encompasses all the things you enjoy doing”, which is true even to this day. So eventually, I got a graduate assistant position in 2011/2012 at Castleton, which is in Vermont, and then ever since that, I've been in the profession.

Karisa: What does being a sports information director entail?

Shawn: The job is never the same on a daily basis. You never know what's going to get thrown at you. Some days, it's simply about stats, working games, and making game programs. Other times, you're making high level decisions on certain publicity aspects or things that are going on, whether you need to do crisis communication, or you're communicating about awards or things like that. And now, with the mixture of social media, photography, and videography and trying to essentially do social that could be a full-time job within its own right, especially here, with the way we do things, and then the broadcasting part of it, where we're doing live streams for all of our home games, we have play by play and color commentators. My role is, in part, to help teach all of those students, organize those students, or the professionals, and then we have everything from maintaining the website, doing graphic design, there's some student mentorship, as I talked about, we have interns in our office too.

It's a lot in one job. If you look at it from like a core basis, it really could be three to four jobs, if you had the broadcasting separated, and then the social media separated, and then, like the traditional sports information stuff, which is, you know, writing press releases, writing feature stories, doing statistics, working games, and website stuff. . But the best part about the job is really the people you work with, a lot of fun coaches, a lot of fun students. You get to see students grow from freshman to senior year, which is a really cool thing. And then you have all these built in relationships with your coaches and your fellow colleagues. That's, that's really cool. It's, it's a lot different than like, a standard nine to five office job, you're a lot more invested in how teams do, how the athletes do, and the students. So certainly, a lot built into the job. The hours are kind of crazy, but you know, when you work at a place like Endicott and teams win a lot, it makes it a lot more worth it. I've always kind of said, “I don't know how I would handle working at a school that loses because I haven't worked at a school that loses.” Every school that I've been at from undergrad to now, they've generally been pretty good at sports so  that's a roundabout way to talk about what the job entails. But like I said at the beginning, it's never the same day, ever, which makes it really fun.

Karisa: Why did you choose Endicott?

Shawn: I was at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts. That was my first sports information director job. That was the first time I was in the head seat. At the time, I was a one-person office with 26 or 27 sports, very time-consuming making things a lot difficult in terms of work life balance. Endicott’s job opened up in the summer of 2015 and at that current moment, Endicott was really winning a lot. The structure of their office was enticing, because when I first got here, there was an assistant ad (athletic director) for sports information. Then I was the head sports information director, and then we had an assistant sports information director and a graduate assistant. So, I felt like it would be the next step to go into a bigger office, being able to lead some people and be able to do more high-level things, especially with the way Endicott was winning, and obviously has continued to win.

When I got here, as any Endicott student, could probably say, you hop on campus for the first time, and you kind of like fall in love with it as soon as you see it. Then I met all the people that I would, you know, eventually work with. And you could kind of just tell that was a place like it felt right from the very beginning. I was lucky enough to get the job, and it's been awesome ever since, you know, side note, I've met my wife here, you know, things like that, so it's worked out really well, but Endicott was very appealing from the onset, just looking at what they were doing from a sports information standpoint, before I got here, it was different than a lot of other schools. They were doing a lot more on social than I felt other schools were and having the ability to do more and be more creative in the role versus the mundane part of like, working a game, doing the stats, writing the recap and being done, we get to have more room to experiment and try different things and be fun. So that was definitely enticing.

The staff within the department was a great group when I first started here. Some people have moved on, but to be able to work in that environment for I think, was like three years before my old boss, Rob Pilarti, left, every day you came in, like, energized to try and do new things. And it really, really helped work your creativity and just sort of your buying in and all that and be involved and invested in the job.

Karisa: How does athletics affect the experience of Endicott and its students?

Shawn: I would think positively, would be my first thought, just in the general sense of you know, across the board, I feel like Endicott is obviously known for its internships and things like that, but athletics has played a huge role in getting the school out there beyond a regional market. From a student perspective, you look at last night's basketball games, they were well attended. I think the student body is bought into the fun and the excitement of the winning teams that we have here, and generally speaking, a lot of really good kids. From an athlete standpoint, I feel like they make up a good contingent of the student body, but I think it helps the overall student experience with the athletes that we're bringing in are highly intelligent. They do well in the classroom. I feel like they do a lot of other things outside of athletics with their involvement that make an impact on the school. So overall, it just kind of hits different points of the school, which I think, is great in the long run, it's not just kids being here and being athletes. There's other stuff that they're involved in. So, it helps.

Karisa: What is your favorite part of being a sports information director?

Shawn: I think I touched upon it earlier, but it's really just the people in the relationship building. Before we started the interview, there were like five people in the office. That's a daily occurrence to just have people in here and talking and having fun, but getting work done. And, you know, I've never dreaded coming to work here, not once, because you know you're going to be around people that are supportive of what you do and are engaged beyond the work that you do. And that's always just a comforting thing. Like I said, obviously building a relationship with people, seeing people grow, and then the winning doesn't hurt either. It's fun to be able to go to a game like last night at basketball, even though the men's team did lose, to be in that environment, and then, an hour later, the women's team wins, and you're enjoying that environment. It was still pretty packed in there yesterday. So, you know that environment of our teams and like people being supportive of the teams and having like that game day experience is really fun as well.

Karisa: What are the challenges of your job?

Shawn: Challenges are the ever-changing landscape of the profession. Whenever you think you've maybe sort of figured it out, something else happens, a new social media platform pops up, or there's a different way of publicizing teams or enhancing broadcasts. So, the biggest challenge is, really, it's not necessarily a bad thing. You're always learning, which is a good thing in life, but you never can kind of have your feet fully both on the ground with how things change, with the profession, and I said it was a good thing earlier, but it also is a challenge that every day is different. So, it's you can be as organized as humanly possible, but there will always be something that comes across your desk that can alter the day.

But other than that, it's just having appropriate staffing. I think I'm fortunate enough in our position here at Endicott, but there are other schools that are seeing things that we do, for example, with one or two people in their office, and they're being asked to do those type of things, and that's not really realistic. So, we have to temper those expectations, even on our side, when you know, coaches or admins or whatever want more, which doesn't generally happen here, but you could always do more. I think that's one sort of thing in our profession that's really tough, is there's always more to do, but you have to find sort of a line in the sand so you're not overdoing it from a workload standpoint, because there's always some new video that came out, or some type of hype video a team would want, or you name it. But social has really been the biggest driver in that and trying to always do something new or different or whatever is trendy. So, I would say that's the biggest challenge is trying to stay with the profession as it changes. And then staffing is always an issue for everyone in every profession. So that's no different.

Karisa: Is it difficult to advocate for every sport equally?

Shawn: I would say it is in the sense that sometimes I don't believe that people truly comprehend that sometimes winning drives that, you can look at some of our teams over the last five years, and I'm sure there are people who say, “Oh, X team gets a lot of coverage”, but when they make really serious runs in the NCAA postseason or win conference championships more than other teams, it makes it a little bit more difficult. You can supplement that with trying to do more feature stories or a little more social on the other teams and try and find different avenues. But you can't always assume that the user on the other end is consuming all of the content you're putting out to so it's kind of twofold. But if a team doesn't win as much as the other, it's inherently harder to publicize the team that doesn't win as much.

You look at the baseball team the last two years, they made the College World Series, which is the final stage before winning a national championship, they're inherently going to get more publicity than another team, than let's say field hockey, even though they win a lot too, because they're not going as further as the baseball team did. So, you try and be cognizant of that in any way you can. But it's not a perfect world in that matter. And then if it does become an issue, and you notice that you try and find the avenues to try and fix that as best as you can. But it's not all created equal, because the seasons for every team are different based on the outcomes.

Karisa: Going off of that, some sports have more fan turnout than others. Is it hard to try to grow other sports appeal through posting on social media and athletics website?

Shawn: So great question. I think you can do as much as you can on social media, but at the end of the day, there needs to be some emotional attachment from fans to also want to go to games. We could do hype videos, cool social content, all of these things for name a team. But with a campus like ours that's relatively small and connected, if people on campus don't connect with those people on the team, individually or from a social standpoint, I think that's always the biggest hurdle to get over. We could do all the promotions and marketing and all of that stuff that you want, but if a team is not liked, or if a team is not connecting with other people on campus, you're not going to see that fan turn out.

So, my first year here, there was a group on the men's basketball team that is one of the best teams I've ever watched in athletics history that I've been here. So, this is year 10. Those guys still come back for multiple games. They are well liked by many still on campus. They connected with the entire student body. When they would have games, people would come out because socially, they liked those players and like they like those people, which is more important. For me at a school like this, I think that's really the most important thing that people lose sight of, is people are going to come support friends and people that they care about.

It's different than a D1 where there's giveaways, there's all sorts of buzz around certain things or big matchups or things like that. At a school like ours, you have to have buy in from the student body in terms of who's playing on the surface, and not just what we do socially around it from Instagram or Twitter or whatever. I think people lose sight of that a little bit. We can promote games as much as we humanly want, but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter if you don't want to support the people that are playing the sport that you wouldn't essentially watch.

Karisa: Is it even harder for sports like golf and roller hockey that aren't on campus?

Shawn: 100% I think it's harder for people to connect with those sports. Our men's golf team has been one of the like, top tier programs at school for a long time. Coach Smith runs a really good operation. They've won a lot of conference championships, but you don't exactly, like you kind of hinted at, like there's no ability to go watch them because they're not on campus. It's hard to watch and golf as a sport that's really hard to watch in general, because when you go to a sport like that, you can't really cheer, and it's really spread out. So, from a fan standpoint, it's hard to engage with it naturally anyway. And roller hockey doesn't have a home. Their closest venue is Tiverton, Rhode Island, which is about like a two-hour drive from here, so that makes it a little bit more difficult as well.

Karisa: In my experience, you're able to fix problems quickly in a fast-paced environment. Are there times when this is easier said than done?

Shawn: Yeah, always, especially when it's a crisis communication scenario and you have to check a lot of boxes and go through red tape, but our job is fast paced moving. Thinking about last night's basketball game, we're doing stats, and we have the score wrong because we missed a free throw. That's like a thing you have to get a solution to. But then there's other bigger problems as well. But I think naturally, the job makes you figure out how to answer and solve things in a fast-paced environment, because you're working with real sports in real time. There's always high-end process decision making that happen, especially at games and events, but in an office, day to day, you have a little bit more time. Even then, it's still pretty quick pace because of the way the world works now, where if something happens, it can be out on social before you even get a chance to solve it. So that that's a bigger issue I think people are seeing over the course of the last couple of years too. You have to be quick. You have to think on your feet and kind of hold to your structure of what you think is right and wrong.

Karisa: What is an event or moment that you felt proud?

Shawn: I guess this is recency bias a little bit, but our ability to promote Jack Smiley’s story, that was a really cool moment, because I don't think on the surface, people realized that was really like a year worth of planning. Jack was going to play his senior day last year, he elected not to play week of, so we had all of these plans in place that we had to scrap. We got more people involved this time around. I would think that was a major success in how that event went. We had like four/five major news stations there. We had the Globe; we had all sorts of coverage. We were able to get Jack's story on NCAA.com and then tried to get it on ESPN, and we ran into the Four Nations hockey tournament, so that didn't really help the promotion there. But, from our standpoint, from a communication standpoint, we got Jack's story out there as much as humanly possible, in a ton of different avenues. So that was a really proud moment. But then you think about what I said earlier, about the connection with people to be able to talk to Jack and his family, and how appreciative they were of us helping tell a story, and more importantly, trusting us to tell the story. That was a really cool moment.

When you're done with the game, and you're in the locker room, and Jack makes it a point to give you a big hug and say thank you for everything. That's as important as getting his story out there, just from a gratification standpoint and a meaningful standpoint. But that was also Jack. I mean, he said thank you to everyone as much as he could. But that was a fun moment because it meant something to someone. We've also had big moments where we've gone viral. We've had cool moments and gotten on major news stations for winning and things like that. But I feel like that one was special because it had more purpose than just winning a game or having a cool highlight or something like that.

Karisa: Were there any moments in your career that you felt like giving up?

Shawn: Good question. I think sometimes the hours can make you question is it worth it? But then you always have something that spins you around pretty quick. There are long days and nights this week. For example, we've had multiple nights where we've left at 11:30 or 12 at night. You have some teams win, some teams lose, long nights trying to promote it on social and things like that. And they stack up, and you miss some things, but eventually you kind of turn around and you understand that you know what you're doing does have a purpose and it's meaningful to people. So, I wouldn't necessarily say give up, but I would say like this is getting a little tough. You need a breather, kind of deal. But thankfully, we have a supportive staff, and they know when to check in and let us know when we need a break, or if we're good for a break. You definitely have those moments sometimes where this is a lot. Working in professional sports too is the same way, or just in media in general, it kind of piles up, and there's never really a day off, but I wouldn't say give up, just more, like, have to change your perspective after a long week, or something like that.

Karisa: And what is your most memorable experience you carry?

Shawn: There's been some fun ones. Since I've been here, we had a moment my second year, 2017, where we had a moment go so viral. Endicott Football appeared on SportsCenter. Endicott played against Bridgewater State and Endicott won 29-28. Medeiros and the sports media team tweeted out the win and tagged major news outlets. Famous alums of Endicott were also posting about it and it spread like wildfire. We capitalized on getting the word out quickly and with directly tagging anyone we could in the football world. It also ended up on Sunday night football. It was getting tweeted in other languages. That was a first. That was fun. We've hosted the Frozen Four, and putting that event on was wild, stressful, chaotic, and fun, and all of those emotions combined into one. So, it's hard to pick one.

I mean, there's also personal moments in my relationships with coaches and those things and sharing life's like achievements, if you will. So, it's hard to pick one. I mean, I started here in 2015/2016. I now have a one-year-old, which is a cool moment, when you have the birth of a child, and everyone at work is blowing up your phone and checking in and FaceTiming you, and they really care about that. That's a cool moment. So, it's hard to it's hard to pick one. It's just really nice to work at a place where people care more about who you are versus what your output is.

[mymbios]

Charles Blanton, 34, was born and raised in Brookings, South Dakota, where he grew up as the youngest of three siblings in a loving, close-knit family. His parents, Richard Blanton, 64, a retired high school history teacher, and Martha Blanton, 62, a librarian, instilled in him a love for learning and history. Charles has two older sisters, Emily Blanton, 38, a nurse, and Laura Blanton, 36, a high school English teacher. His family has always been a source of support, especially in the challenges he’s faced as an adult.

Charles’ life took an unexpected turn during his sophomore year of college. While on a spring break trip to Cancun, he met Rachel Turner (37), and the two had a whirlwind week-long romance. After the trip, Charles returned to his dorm at South Dakota State University, and it wasn’t until Rachel was eight months pregnant that she managed to track him down and let him know he was going to be a father. Determined to do the right thing, Charles and Rachel got married in a quick courthouse ceremony before she gave birth to their first daughter, Grace Blanton, now 15.

To support his new family, Charles began going to school part-time, working part-time jobs, and juggling his studies with parenthood. Though their relationship was far from perfect, they managed to get along well enough, but things began to fall apart when Grace was just a year old. They were on the verge of considering divorce when Rachel found out she was pregnant again. This news put their plans on hold, and they welcomed their second daughter, Molly Blanton, now 13. However, the relationship didn’t improve, and after a few more years of trying to make it work, they eventually divorced. Rachel moved back to her home state of Texas and Charles got full custody of both girls. With the help of his parents and sisters, Charles managed to raise his daughters while continuing to pursue his education and career.

Charles now works as a historic preservationist for the Sioux Falls, where he is responsible for maintaining and restoring historical buildings, conducting research, and organizing community events centered around local history. His love for the past and its preservation is evident in the work he does, from writing detailed reports on the architectural significance of old buildings to coordinating tours that bring the town’s history to life for residents and visitors alike.

Charles bought a Victorian home for himself and his daughters, and he has been restoring it to its former glory ever since. A hands-on father and a dedicated member of the community, he even started a community garden on the plot of land beside their home, encouraging neighbors to grow their own produce and get involved with the local food scene.

When he’s not working or spending time with his daughters, Charles enjoys restoring old furniture, gardening, and baking bread. He’s particularly proud of the small hobby farm they have, which includes a few goats, chickens, and ducks. He loves to read, with a preference for both historical fiction and nonfiction, and enjoys watching documentaries about history and science.

Charles takes an active role in his daughters' lives and is the kind of father who shows up for every school play, sports game, and parent-teacher meeting. He is always there to support Grace and Molly in everything they do, making sure they feel loved and encouraged.

Though his marriage to Rachel didn’t work out, Charles has created a stable and happy life for himself and his girls. The old Victorian house, with its ongoing restoration projects, goats, and garden, has become a haven for their little family, and Charles has found peace and fulfillment in the simple joys of raising his daughters and preserving the history he loves so much.

[dekusleftsock]

Izuku - the human hero

How perception controls the mind

(quick warning, I put this in a doc and its 15 pages without images. Be warned that it will take a solid amount of time reading. Get comfy)

How to be a hero

Before we get right into the thick of this, I wanted to explain what exactly makes someone a hero. For this, I'm gonna have to explain what makes cops inherently flawed. (This is also gonna get political, so if you like cops and don't wanna read about someone who does not like them, click off now. I'm not afraid to throw around the word "pig" for a non animal. You will be blocked if you try to argue with me. Also I am speaking about this as someone who lives in a major city in the US, so if you, again, try to argue with me, you. will. be. blocked. I don’t care about your liberal opinions)

Cops have three purposes, making people feel safer, making sure major events or protests don't go haywire, and keeping people in the prison system. (for economic benefits that those systems provide. Aka free labor) The thing that separates real life cops from heroes, are that heroes are legitimately needed as they do community service and deescalation along with taking care of villains. (even if they aren't trained on deescalation which I dislike. *cough cough* katsuki *cough cough*) Plus, they are given twice as much training as a cop is, as cops aren't trained on much compared to UA. They have to have a high school diploma, 21 weeks of cop school, and a few rigorous tests. (source)

But let's get back on track. So, heroes do five things as a part of their job. To make citizens feel safer, make sure protests/events don't go haywire, community service, deescalation, and stop villains from hurting people/property. They are put through three years of training at a hero school and pass their provisional licensing exam. It also seems like it's required to take work studies and class 1-A just took them really early. They're also highly regulated when it comes to use of their quirks and detaining villains.

But there's more to it than that. How well you did in your tests for UA is entirely dictated by the people around you. Well not entirely, but we're human. We thrive on other people's approval, because it's in our very nature. We need support, gear, and the right training to be able to do what we want to do in life.

Theoretical, quirkless heroes

As we've established, heroes need three things. They need gear, support, and training. Gear can be anything from a support item that allows their quirk to function (like aoyama's belly lazer) to the quirk itself, like in izuku's case. The thing that stops a quirkless hero is the fundamentals that they lack that the rest of the world already has... according to the able bodied people in hero society. Because, let's be honest here, there is more to getting into a hero school than getting a quirk.

Let's use Katsuki as an example. He had the perfect quirk, perfect financial background, friends, teachers, but no mentor. Though it seems more like Katsuki trained near constantly in order to become a hero. As best jeanist said, he DOES actually have the skills to become a full fledged sidekick already, he just lacks discipline. No mentor. That's what UA is for most people, the time in which they get a mentor. A quirk is not everything, because you need to have the smarts or the empathy for the people you're saving. That is what holds Katsuki back and pushes Izuku forward, empathy.

Empathy isn't really controllable though to some extent, especially if you don't have any to begin with. Katsuki and Izuku both have autism, but Izuku has hyper empathy and Katsuki has low empathy. That just means that Katsuki needs to learn the basic steps of SHOWING empathy as a hero to the people he is saving. Technically that just means he needs to learn how to mask better, but yeah, depending on the job masking can be so important. That's why we even have the innate ability as autistic people, for survival. We're allowed to use it in a way that is healthy to both us and others. But it's OUR choice, not anyone else's.

Getting back on track, most of the opportunities would have been taken away from Katsuki if he had a useless quirk and/or no quirk at all. THAT'S the true difference between Katsuki and Izuku.

If izuku the quirkless hero were to happen, then izuku would have needed unquestionable support from someone. That would have vastly changed his overall likelihood of getting into UA. Not only that but, as stated in the anime, quirkless people weren't even ALLOWED to go to UA up until Izuku's application year.

So the thing that stops a quirkless hero from becoming a reality is the perception of other people and the opportunities that they provide. Katsuki would have been phenomenal training for Izuku, maybe some sort of sponser for his support items, and the support from the people around him would have given Izuku the tools to succeed. But quirkless people aren't given that. THAT, my friends, is why the quirkless hero Izuku would have failed.

What is a quirk?

Quirks are a fickle thing because of how inconsistent they are. It makes understanding their impact so difficult. Before I explain how quirk discrimination works, I think it's important to properly define a quirk.

Let's group quirks into three groups: mutant, non mutant, and both. I think what defines a mutant quirk is anyone who has "physical characteristics". That can include anything from the change in hair color to being a pile of sludge. (like the sludge villain)

A non mutant quirk is anything that does NOT fit the original definition but is still a quirk. So pretty much anything non physical, like Uraraka's "zero gravity" or Aizawa's "erasure". Their physical appearance has no affect from the quirk they have.

And our third quirk type is never actually defined in the series even if it has the basis to be its own group. It could be anything from not affecting how their quirk works like Koda and how he seems to be "tree like", or be an ingrained part of their quirk as a whole. Like Tsuyu.

So that could mean that if mina didn't produce acid, then her quirk could have just been that she looks like an alien. This could be the same with kirishima's quirk because he has sharp teeth. That also makes you question that if part of inko's quirk is that she has green hair (a mutant quirk since it changes appearance), then izuku's quirk is actually that he has green hair. If ofa powers up any quirk it possesses, and it can't actually do anything to izuku's theoretical "quirk", then if the power was given to, lets say, Tsu, then her normal quirk would be unaffected. Maybe her poisonous mucus would be heightened, I could see that, but then wouldn't her "actual quirk" be that she produces mucus instead of just "frog"? Like mina's quirk, because the fact that she is pink seems to have nothing to do with her actual quirk.

Maybe the actual name of a quirk/how you define it is up to the person who owns it. Like quirks are up to the perception of yourself. Shigaraki's quirk is called "decay", but it could also very well be "disintegrate". In fact, that is MORE accurate to how his quirk works. But because he is a villain, he probably just named his quirk "decay" to seem more menacing.

So, quirks are up to perception, seems pretty similar to how heroes function right?

Disability

So, in a society that is even fundamentally discriminative, even towards people with quirks, where does that leave quirkless people?

We're gonna have to use our imagination a bit with how quirklessness is actually treated in MHA. (obligatory "hori why did you build up this plot line sm and then do close to nothing with it") There's few actual information we're given, and most of it is through a kid who was so discriminative because of his inferiority complex. So, let's make a list.

The most obvious one, but obviously being prone to bullying and teasing

Not being able to go to UA(?) up until izuku's application year

Less support from those around you (teachers, parents, other kids, or even heroes)

Doctors inherently see them as "underdeveloped" because they also don't have the "newer/more efficient" bodies that quirked people have (... tbh this just sounds like eugenics is openly accepted in the medical field in MHA so uh-)

Being quirkless is automatically seen as "weak" in mha, by both quirked and quirkless people

Most of this is about perception. And while systemic oppression is terrible to experience, perception can create a constant cycle of gas-lighting for the people who experience it. For example, while there are no direct laws that stop a trans person from getting medical care here in the US, (depending on the state) yet it's still extremely hard to get the resources. It IS a systemic problem in the way that capitalism is inherently set up to fail, but not a direct one. A person could say that a micro aggression from a white person to a POC is just because they're sensitive or looking into it too much. But god forbid it be actual oppression to touch someone's hair unasked for! Or ask someone where they're from even when they say the US! No, instead you're just "taking away from actual oppression" or "looking for things that aren't there". (as said in my bio I am white so feel free to critique this on anything I may have gotten wrong or you feel should not have been said)

For oppression to work, it must not be visible from the oppressors point of view. This will keep those who live in blissful ignorance from giving their support to a group that experiences it, while keeping white people from being uncomfortable.

From Izuku and possibly Inko's point of view, it may even be harder to get certain medical care. Technically it shouldn't even affect his schooling since use of quirks aren't even allowed in public unless you're a licensed hero, yet his teachers/students make it a point to make his life hell for his genetics.

MHA is inherently flawed due to eugenicists that were born as a result of heroes.

MHA is entirely about perception, from how heroes don't understand why capable citizens choose not to be heroes, to the villains who don't understand why those who were oppressed become heroes. Izuku was given ofa to be the dramatic irony of it all. The quirkless person has become a hero but at the cost of feeding into the environment that creates the very thing he fights.

Color theory/character design

One of the most important fundamentals of a visual story are the designs that the story chooses. And something I have always adored about mha specifically (especially in comparison to other anime and manga) is how strong the character designs are. Same face syndrome is almost non-existent in my hero, mainly because horikoshi knows EXACTLY how to make each character he designs distinct. (Same face syndrome is just when an artist draws characters with very similar faces for everyone. Studio ghibli often has this issue which is why they have characters that look the same from completely different movies) He also has a strong sense of color theory and knows EXACTLY how to make a character's colors tell more into their story than we think.

Take Nighteye. Weird choice of an example, I know, but he has one of the most intelligently well put together designs in the show.

This is the anime so please bear with the lanky hands problem. When you look at Nighteye you know EXACTLY WHAT his character will be like. He is a serious, well put together man, yet he has spots on his perfect and professional red tie. This shows his need for laughter in the heroic world, yet also shows his professionalism. He also wears a white suit, something that seems a bit odd for hero work since it would get dirty, but it also plays into his ideals for laughter and goofiness and hiding that behind a professional aura. Horikoshi knew EXACTLY what he was doing with every aspect of this design. Even down to the slight heel of his shoe, or the slight lankiness of his nature. When you look at Nighteye, you get a sense of professional intimidation and outright oddness.

And this isn't even covering the color theory aspect of his character. His hair is such a clever choice, using the yellow in his hair to both symbolize mirio and All Might, and making those aspects highlights. Because they are the highlights of his person. How he brings out the good in the characters around him. While also making his hair color an off, more swampy/murky green compared to Izuku's. Showing he is the shadow in his life at that point, while also being his parallel.

When you break down the fundamentals of a character design, you can start to make sense of who they are

Now that I've broken down a character design, you can see that the aspects of both Katsuki and Izuku's characters directly reflect their designs. I'm also going to say that I will only be commenting on hero costume design OR if their civilian clothes are consistent, like in small might's case. Civilian clothes aren't really made to do anything but make a joke or just be placeholders since it doesn't really matter. (like izuku's "sheets" t-shirt)

Izuku's design

We're gonna start with his color, of course; green. Green can mean a lot of things, from envy to new growth.

What makes the color green so special to Izuku's design is that it paints a picture of something so weak yet so strong. Something so alive, so human. There are a million and one things a color can mean, but what makes the color of a character so special is the consistency of that color. So while it does represent Izuku's rebirth into becoming someone strong;

"I'm the deku who always does his best" - coming soon for the psychoanalysis.

He is also weak. He is as strong as an oak tree, yet as weak as a daisy. And that's okay. That doesn't make him not a hero.

Green itself is also something nurturing, it's why he's so good with kids and, once again, the one with hyper empathy out of both of them. Deku and Kacchan. Midoriya and Bakugou. Izuku and Katsuki.

And on the flip side, Katsuki's color is so so SO fascinating from a color theory nerds perspective. His color is loud, outstanding, brash, strong, and most importantly, represents work. Hard, tedious, work. (I feel like I should also mention to give credit to where credit is due, most of color and general art imagery comes from paganistic religions throughout the world. So, it's important to remember the people that came up with the ideas we use and to respect everyone's beliefs. Because we sure as hell wouldn't have half of the culture we have today without those religions throughout history that may or may not be dead. A lot of it was lost with colonization, but they do still exist)

It's a color that exudes enthusiasm, creativity, success, and much much more. It can also be a color that represents impatience, dominance, and exhibitionism. It is a strong color, through and through, and it's the exact opposite to green.

The fact that orange and green are also secondary colors is important, showing the parallels between the two.

Why am I bringing this up? WHY is this so important? Well my friends, the answer is simple.

Izuku and Katsuki's colors are how they perceive themselves.

Izuku thinks he has two separate sides, even though they are one in the same. He is either the weak deku or the strong deku. The deku that always does his best. The deku too weak to stand out on his own. While Katsuki thinks of himself highly, he is either treated like a god or looked down on. He is always strong, always loud, always running ahead.

Even though neither of these perceptions are correct.

Izuku's bullying

Psychologically speaking, your childhood dictates a majority of your mental well being as an adult and how you react to a situation. It is the most influential part of a person's life. This can, of course, change as you gain more experience in life and possibly go through something traumatic whatever that may be. Your brain has some built in coping skills that we honestly have no clue why we do them?

As an example, my coping skills as a child became my imagination and escapism through shows or other media, while my sibling learned to disassociate from their emotions and childhood. Ultimately, even though I'm the younger out of the two of us, they don't remember our trauma but I do. And that's just, how it ended up working out. Some people try to take control of their trauma by writing about it, or by reading it. All three of these options have their good and bad sides. It just depends on the extremes of these coping skills.

Either way, because of how influential your childhood is, it's kind of important that your parents don't mess it up to the best of their abilities. This isn't always controllable though, which is why we're here, talking about Izuku's bullying.

Let's define what exactly Izuku went through. (obligatory tw for bullying/mentions of suicide)

Ah, the most memorable, the swan dive scene. I've talked about my thoughts on this scene multiple times, but to give a little rundown on my analysis here, this is supposed to be the worst thing Katsuki ever does. So, let's address a couple of things here.

Izuku is not sad, he's angry. They are both emotionally stunted in this scene, not even giving themselves the opportunity to process their emotions about this entire situation.

On one hand, the emotional part of this, both of them are actually having the same reaction. They are turning despair and insecurity into anger. The thing with anger is that it is a secondary emotion. They are just emotions that are born out of other feelings, so anger is super common because it feels better to be angry than it is to feel hurt.

I feel it is also important to address that every emotion is important to let yourself feel. Bottling up anything will end up making you explode later in the long run, and that includes anger. Secondary emotion =/= a bad emotion, it just means you should be aware of where the true feelings come from so that you can process it.

And on the other hand, the psychological part, Izuku's biggest concern is that Katsuki becomes a hero. Of course he does actually care about himself; no matter how many times people want to say that Izuku doesn't have a backbone, he does and he has since the first episode. The thing that stops him is Katsuki's threat. (Which, btw, was that a bait?? Was he even gonna do anything?????)

But I personally think the most interesting part about Izuku's bullying from Katsuki and his lackeys is this moment. It goes overlooked all the time, even though it's actually the most accurate descriptor of his bullying and also shows the moment Katsuki's reasons for bullying Izuku change. Before this, Katsuki put distance which turned into bullying because Izuku was weak and quirkless. He was better than him, why should he be around him? He was too clingy and kept on reaching out his hand. He was calling me weak.

But Katsuki knew how strong he was! That's why he put so much distance, he was looking down on Izuku for being stupid. Sure it affected his insecurities, but this panel right here? This was the first time he ever thought that Izuku's "thoughts" might actually be true. Which lead to rejection, bullying, and hate.

So now that we've established the actual bullying, how did this affect Izuku? Well, of course, it affected his self esteem. Izuku's self worth is basically on the ground or slightly raised throughout the manga. It was due to other people too, sure, like All Might, his mom, Iida, etc. but that doesn't change Katsuki's actions.

And this self esteem problem is so built into his very being that even when someone like Uraraka comes along, someone who helps him build his confidence, only ended up creating another version of himself he can compare to. Instead of being the weak deku Katsuki assigned him, he's now the deku that always does his best. And if he does anything that won't kill him or bring him close to death, he is the weak little deku again. He's everything Katsuki told him he was in middle school.

His perception of himself is so distorted, that he's only now picking up the pieces

This isn't Katsuki slander, Katsuki on his own has grown into a person who's assured of himself and others. He aims to be the light in Izuku's life and has atoned, apologized, and been forgiven. He had a phenomenal redemption arc and he constantly aims to fix this problem. But this isn't about his actions, this is about Izuku. So I expect 0% slander of Katsuki, All Might, or Inko.

The most ironic part about Katuski's death is that Izuku has been the one with death flags on him since the beginning. Death has always been an integral part of his character, and Katsuki's has always had the plot armor that he would let him stay alive. One of Izuku's first scenes is of Katsuki telling him to kill himself. We've already KNOWN deku's reaction to Katsuki's death. Izuku has always seen Katsuki in life or death situations, kidnapped, saw him get plunged through his body, but Katsuki? He barely saw it once.

No, scratch that, twice. His vigilante arc and his fight with shigaraki during the first war.

This is why Katsuki's "death" is so clever. Horikoshi AGAIN flipped it on its head. Deku is always the one in dangerous situations; he's downright suicidal when people are in danger. We've seen Izuku almost destroy all of Matsutafu over Katsuki being hurt. But we haven't seen Katsuki's reaction to Izuku's outbursts over him, nor have we seen the reaction to his possible demise.

Inko Midoriya - Izuku's first insecurity

Of all the people I've listed that have had an impact on Izuku, the first one to ever hurt him was inko. Inko may only have a few scenes, yet they are able to tell a much bigger story into who she is and how she is flawed. Everyone had their own major individual impact on him, so let's talk about why her impact is so unique.

Inko Midoriya, my my what an interesting woman you are. Something I actually adore about every parental figure in MHA is that none of them are perfect. They all have flaws, subtle or not. They are all good and bad even in the short time in which we see them. Endeavor, Rei, Inko, Mitsuki, Masaru; hell even whoever "Hisashi" is because while he supports them financially, he's never actually there. (if dad for one is confirmed canon which I think it most definitely will then I'll go into the reasons why he has "good" parental aspects in a different post)

Now, I can hear you asking the question, "well, what's wrong with Inko?" because inko is supposed to be this nice, nurturing woman that makes Izuku this little "momma's boy" archetype. And you're right! You could make the argument that Inko is possibly the best or one of the best parents in the series. But she is still that, a parent.

Parents are flawed, they're human. They are gonna mess up majorly in some way somehow and that's just how the world works. The best we can do is that, our best. We should always strive to change and grow as people in the moment, which is precisely what Inko does. She grew. Because her most major flaw was giving up on Izuku, she gave up on his dream. Quirkless heroes are possible, they always were, but perception and access to materials and knowledge is hard! And I'm not saying it's easy or anything, or even that Horikoshi should've taken that narrative. I actually love ofa and what it's done for Izuku's character.

What I am saying though is that Inko was the first person to not believe in him.

She was the first person he had to prove himself to, and only did so when he suddenly had a quirk and got into UA. She never stopped him, but she also never gave him her full moral support.

A major developmental impact parents have on children is how they choose when and how to support them. Even if you know your child can't be a mermaid, it's still extremely important that you assure them of their dreams. Not doing so can cause problems. This can include an immediate idea that you are not enough when you're older, general insecurity issues, and make you sensitive to rejection. It's setting them up for settling on something that they don't want to do which will make them unhappy adults, or just straight up stop them from taking the steps to do, well, anything.

Choosing whether to make your passions a career or not should be a choice you make on your own, not something that was shut down from you as a child. Izuku had no support, he is his only support. He even says so!

Because not even inko believed in him, and she was his only support system.

This is not Inko slander by the way! Because this is even an addressed problem in the series. She Apologizes to Izuku a little after he gets into UA if I remember correctly.

She did fail him, but that doesn't make her a bad person. It was bad and it just happened. There is no excuse, she just made up for her mistakes. Which is a continuous correlation throughout the series; no excuses or explanations. It just happened. And that's okay. She's a phenomenal parent and deserves to be praised for what she's done for him as his mother. She is amazing.

Uraraka - the hero for heroes

On the totally other side of the spectrum, I almost feel like Uraraka's looks are a visual representation of who Inko should've been. Because, like people have pointed out, Inko and Uraraka's looks are SO SIMILAR! Like it's almost uncanny. This isn't a Freud™ moment, (or at least I hope it's not) I think this is simple parallels.

Let's take a look at Uraraka so you get what I mean. (this is going to be very brief since I still wanna make a similar post about her, so yeah, this only covers her relationship to Izuku. Sorry lol) Right off the batt, she is his supporter. She supports his rivalry with Katsuki, fighting against a "bully" in her eyes. (I'll be covering this idea in her analysis btw) She even makes sure he has "good luck" by not letting him fall on his first day, TWICE! She is his first supporter and first friend in UA, a title he never had to earn by being "amazing". And at that moment she’s exactly who he needs. Someone who will build up his confidence in battle, saving, and general hero work.

Something I feel like people don’t understand is that Izuku needed Uraraka way more than she needed Izuku. And I don’t mean that in a way that he never actually did anything for her, rather that she made most of the conclusions about the flaws of society on her own. She came to the conclusion about toga without Izuku. Without anyone else directly telling her, OTHER THAN TOGA! She put together the pieces. She is neither the love interest nor Izuku's number one fan/supporter; she is her own independent person with her own flaws and ideas. She has her own goals, saving those who may not "look" or be "worthy" of needing saving. Like toga, like Izuku.

He was her inspiration, but she is now confident and smart enough to see Izuku's flaws and to believe in herself. Just as she was his main support to fall back on, and now he is able to confide in the people around him. He is confident enough to build a support system to help him.

Because men are not the inspiration for women to be strong, and women are not the support for their strength.

I think it's time to put away these very obvious patriarchal ideas. Building a new system throughout shonen to view women and queerness is important, because I'm tired of seeing men be inspirational and women be their support. Let's switch it up a bit, let women and men be friends; let them coexist without them being solely for the mc's arc. Let them be their own character.

Back to parallels with Inko, Uraraka was basically his sole support system along with Iida for a long time. Inko AND Uraraka being his only support was unhealthy in all aspects, you should never feel like you have to rely on one person to help you keep going. Izuku was still independent, but thank god for All Might and later on Katsuki for being his support in getting better.

All Might - "you can be a hero"

Now, I know that title is a little weird, but it's true! All Might was the first person to both believe in him and say he could be a hero.

I’ve seen a lot of slander on All Might and I feel like it’s a little unprompted? Like yes, crushing a kids dreams and leaving him on a rooftop and telling him to “knock until someone opened the door” isn’t like the BEST idea in the world. I get that. I understand it.

But at the same time, can you really BLAME HIM? In his mind, the only reason he is a hero is because of ofa. The reason why Katsuki and All Might are so similar has to do with the fact that they both define themselves by their quirk. A perfect example is when AM is talking to aizawa about losing his quirk.

It’s interesting seeing his thought process change and gain confidence in himself after talking to stain. All might had the same perception the rest of the world had, so of course he’s going to react the same way anyone else would.

All Might has not been quirkless for a long time

That has vastly changed his perception of both Izuku and himself. He saw ofa as apart of what made him great, not as an add on to an already great person.

Does this excuse his actions? NO! Of course it’s still BAD. I can admit that All Might supporters often excuse this behavior through ignorance. He’s still an adult and mentor and he’s had the time to learn, but there’s also an ignorant mentality from society as a whole.

And he had a point did he not? Being quirkless in hero work is still dangerous. Heroes are just glorified police. Hero work is not for quirkless people for a reason. That’s fine. I understand that. And like I said before, I don’t think horikoshi should’ve taken that rout of story telling! Ofa gives you more room to work with.

What I am talking about though, is how this mentality affects a child. Imagine being told as a kid, everyone BUT YOU, can have your dream? Everyone can be your idol, EXCEPT YOU. That’s traumatizing! It causes an inherent “otherness” in people.

Izuku still probably would’ve ended up a vigilante if he didn’t get a quirk and get into UA. Which is infinitely more dangerous than a hero because you can’t ask for backup or get immediate medical help in the field. Izuku needed to be a hero if he was going to be safe.

However, all might is the first person to EVER, give Izuku the confidence he needed. He told him what he needed to hear, told him he could be a hero. That he could fulfill his dream.

He made Izuku’s pipe dream a reality through training him and giving him his quirk. So yeah, I love all might, Izuku loves all might, he’s what Izuku needed most; a mentor and someone who believed in him.

The human hero - a psycho analysis

Wow we’re almost to the end! This bullet point was actually what started this entire analysis on Izuku. It was the first thing I wanted to make into a meta and then I just kept adding and going and.. now we’re here. It’s kind of bittersweet since this has become part of my routine, to get home from school and work on this ginormous essay for fun. But, here we are. Welcome to the end friends. I hope you enjoyed. Psycho analysis is something I hope I’m good at, but maybe I’m just pointing out the obvious lol.

I wanna start with his anger issues and where they come from. I’ve seen people time and time again say that it’s only Katsuki who has the anger issues, but I think you forget that this is an emotionally stunted boy in his teen years. It’s kind of hard NOT to have them at this stage in life. But where do they come from?

Ever heard of the term “emotionally immature”? It’s usually born out of a traumatic event of some kind. Generally, after getting to know someone you can make a rough estimate of when this person stunted in maturity.

Emotional immaturity is different from mental immaturity, and I need to get that out of the way. Mental maturity is simply just, how you respond to life based on your past experiences. Emotional maturity is your immediate response. Think of it like a conscious vs a subconscious response. And a lot of the time this is where anger issues stem from. Along with a lot of your own self doubt and insecurity.

It’s definitely important to analyze our emotions and it’s a skill people have to learn, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t sit in the actual feeling of that emotion. Coping skills are great but they’re there to be temporary solutions to the bigger issue at hand. You have to sit and work through your emotions like you were supposed to the first time and that fucking sucks. I know I try not to curse when I do these analysis’ but it really does! You literally feel like you’re going through it all over again sometimes, but it’s what you have to do so you can mature emotionally.

And did Izuku ever do this? No, he didn’t. He did hero analysis or something else with his time. He used his interests or hobbies as a way to escape his problems with his dad, the bullying, and then again when Katsuki got kidnapped or when Katsuki was stabbed by shigaraki. He never got the chance to sit down and just, write about it. Sit in it. Work through them.

Oh but I can hear you saying, “yeah but how does he have anger issues?” My friend, what do you think those tears are for? Because it’s not just sadness or happiness. He’s angry. He repeatedly gets angry.

He’s pissed! And for good reason! But he is not outwardly pissed. Because if he was for most of his life, he was bullied even more. Izuku is in the position of not having the power, ever. And that created issues. With control, identity, and regulating emotions. He’s supposed to have been able to outwardly share his emotions throughout childhood so he could regulate when he was in crisis, but he didn’t. He learned to regulate his actions and bottle everything up so that it could explode at a later time. But when he came to UA? Things were different.

He started to mature again, emotionally. He was allowed and given the space to go full anger issues mode, so now every time he gets fired up in battle and tries to act like Katsuki, he explodes. Bigger than Katsuki now, because he never regulated his emotions correctly. (See more in ochako and Katsuki’s post because I’ll be getting back to this later)

And, this is not me villainizing any of Izuku’s emotions or responses. Ofc you should never invalidate anyones emotions. Not only are they justified in a lot of scenes, but they’re also not necessarily his fault.

What I AM saying though, is that unless there is a bigger issue, people do not get that angry during a match. Not even Katsuki got that angry until todoroki literally gave up the battle by not giving it his all like Izuku did or what HE even did during their match.

He got SO upset when shinsou called ojirou a monkey that he almost threw the match.

People didn’t get that angry during a match! At all! Not Ochako, Tokoyami, todoroki, and or even KATSUKI BAKUGOU, MR. ANGER ISSUES, got that angry!

Frustration is very different from anger. Very, very different. I think the subtlety of Izuku and his character just adds to it, because you have to really look for it to get an accurate understanding of him and his character.

The perception of others changes you

It’s only human nature for the perception of others to affect you. It’s normal, expected even. We’re social creatures, we conform to societal standards.

But when those standards get too high, or they’re made to make you feel small, it only hurts other people. It only hurts Izuku and his mental well being.

Trauma changes you (haha see, we’re finally getting back to that image of deku hitting shigaraki that I said would be referenced here!!!) and in Izuku’s case, he learned that getting closer to Katsuki made him act and feel a certain way. Romantic feelings is my personal opinion, and whether he knows what those feelings are or aren’t is up to you.

I talked about this in an ask before, but Ochako creating a new meaning of the word "deku" for Izuku only created a person he could separate himself from. If he is not the deku that does his best, then he is the useless deku all over again. There is no in between for him. (once again more autistic coding with the black and white thinking that he has)

This is very subtle, and that’s purposeful. A conscious writing decision to make sure that you, the reader, would not know his inner thoughts and turmoil.

He’s both emotionally immature, and emotionally separated from his peers, all might, and his mom. He has put himself in the position of being alone because it is all he knows.

Finally - perception

So, why does horikoshi keep most of his character relatively secretive? What would be the point other than to just, reveal it? You’re given all the pieces to put everything together so what’s the point in not even saying anything.

One key factor: izu//ocha. I have to ask the question, if you were to create a story that was secretly a queer story in disguise so that it could break an industry in some way, how would you do it? Personally, I would keep the main character and their love interests thoughts relatively secretive, give the pretend love interest confirmed feelings to confuse the viewer, and make the main character say vague statements that seem romantic. I would also make the two seem plain and maybe a little unlikable in some way even though the story is supposed to be about the character and his relationship to other people.

Which is exactly what horikoshi has done. He has used the perception of the viewer to say a bigger statement about how the viewer consumes storytelling. This is called “readers perception”, it’s one of the key aspects of how you choose to write a story. If the viewer was given all the information at once, it would be a boring story. So as a writer you need to choose what, when, and how you will show the reader information.

Horikoshi has an amazing understanding of this. But it’s also a really common writing issue! Steven universe is too tied to its main character, completely keeping the viewers perception of the story in solely stevens perception. But mha is never TIED to a main character and can therefore switch everything up so that you and Izuku have a completely different set of information while still FOLLOWING him as the main character.

And we keep coming back to this same topic; perception. Is it really so hard to believe that My Hero Academia has always been about the perception of others? From insecurity, to pride, it has made it a point to never let the characters make a perception of their own. Of themselves. Something healthy to view and understand. To the point where it even uses the perception of the viewer against you. Against the characters. Against the real life consequences of the world. My Hero has always been a show about proving perceptions to be wrong.

Your perception about how a shonen should work will change as MHA uses its platform and ideas to make a new for the industry. Not only will it create a space for minorities in a place that has actively excluded them, but it will also drive away or even change the opinions of the already existing people in them.

Stay hopeful. Keep your indomitable human spirit thriving in all parts of your life.

(I’m for some reason attached to these notes of how I organized this so it’s staying lol)

How to be a hero

Theoretical, quirkless heroes

What is a quirk?

Disability

Color theory/character design (izuku vs katsuki)

Izuku's bullying

uraraka, all might, katsuki, inko

The human hero - a psychoanalysis

[becomingbts]

Time heals (sometimes) - 1

Summary: 6 years ago, (Y/N) thought that she was finally taking her life into her hands, leaving behind a toxic and abusive relationship with a man who taught her she’d never be worthy of love. However, it became hard to ignore his words when she met her seven soulmates who rejected her without even giving her a chance to prove herself. It took (Y/N) 3 years to realize that it wouldn’t be her end. She would live on to prove them all wrong; she would become what they all thought she wasn’t: someone worthy of love. And as she stands proudly on the stage, under the  burning spotlights and the applause and  the cries of the delirious crowd, she feels alive. Alive, just like the bond she believed to be broken.

Pairings: Y/N x OT7

GENRE: Soulmate AU!, Idol Y/NAU!, semi social-media AU!, ANGST (mainly), fluff, romance, maybe smut in the series.

Ask or comment to be tagged!

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Warnings:  The series is going to be heavy with a lot of personal experiences  mixed into the fiction, so this is going to be kind of therapeutic for me. Please, consider not reading the series if you are not comfortable with: abandonment issues, anxiety, panic attacks, depression, self-harm (not descriptive and only part of MC’s past), suicide thoughts (in the past), toxic behavior, toxic and abusive relationship (in the past), depreciating self-talk and low self-esteem, a lot of curse, physical and mental pain, near death experience situation (in the past), and maybe smut scenes (happy ending though, but it will probably be quite the ride).

NOTE: So hello everyone, welcome to Time Heals (sometimes). Thank you so, so much for the warm welcoming, it has been my first time getting so many asks, I was honestly overjoyed. I still don’t really know what to call this part; is it a teaser? A note? A full chapter? I believe we’ll get some snapshot of memories like this one throughout the series because there is going to be a lot to unpack on both sides. I think it will be a chapter nevertheless because I have to establish some kind of order as to which parts should be read first, and I think this one is extremely important.

Thank you for reading,

-Dolly

Profiles #2 - here - part 2

Her scream pierced through the air while cries broke in the frenzied arena while a single blond-haired man froze, emptily staring at the stage. It felt like his senses heightened; his skin was shuddering, his eyes were frantically searching for one specific figure while his voice was lost in his throat. The screams resonating in the stadium would have been too loud for his voice to be heard anyway. 

Jimin knew he shouldn’t be there. 

Namjoon had told them more than once that none of them should try to go to one of (Y/N)’s events. It could be dangerous and they could be overwhelmed; anything could happen to them and they would still remain a nobody who fainted in the howling crowd. Would they want to take this risk? No.

So, Jimin would have had to admit that going to her very first concert in Seoul since the pandemic sounded like a very, very, very bad idea. And to be honest, it still didn’t seem to be a bright idea now that he was actually there. 

But he still went because he needed to see her for himself; to see how she was. He had so many things he dreamed about asking her. Are you okay? Are you sleeping well? Did you eat before coming to the arena? Are you nervous? Do you... remember me? 

Maybe he was torturing himself. He kept on watching her lives, following her on all social media, always made sure to leave a sweet comment, and never miss any of her new updates... Maybe he even had a folder of pictures of her on his phone but he’d never admit it to any of his mates. Taehyung would probably take his phone away from him and delete everything and Jimin couldn’t let that happen.

He felt like it was cheating. Don’t take him wrong though. When he thought that, he was not really thinking about the boys. They did collectively agree not to follow her activities as an artist but it was getting harder and harder with how popular she got anyway. Moon was everywhere. In commercials, on the radio, her songs were on the TV… Even if she was known for refusing most of the promotional contracts that were offered to her, her image was still constantly in the media despite her avoidance of it. Ironic, but the media were trying their best to find anything about her, be it positive or negative. One day she was seen on her bike, the next, she was in a coffee shop, and it kept on going on, overstepping on her privacy as if it was just a meaningless word. 

The lockdown had admittedly played a major part in Jimin’s obsession. Being in their apartment meant quickly running out of activities, and his job as a dance teacher was not really filling his free time (a lot of his classes were also canceled). It was also during that time that (Y/N) truly blew up as an independent artist. Advertisement on YouTube started being around her channel and her music, the recommendations he kept on seeing were about also her… Jimin’s resolve honestly broke easily. It was hard not to be curious about his lost soulmate even though he didn’t feel like he had the right to be hurting. 

Anyway, to come back to his main point, if Jimin felt like he was cheating; it was mostly for her. After all, (Y/N) had no means of letting the curiosity get the best of her, to know what they were doing; to simply see or contact them. He had, at first, not really thought about that. Watching her content seemed a very innocent thing to do in his opinion; billions of people were watching her content, why should he prevent himself from doing so? Yet, Jimin could still remember one of her live she did soon after that interview she had given on this damned radio show where she had revealed who her title track ‘TIME’ was about… She had gone live the next day-Jimin had jumped on his phone because of the notification-and one fan had asked her what would she do if she knew that her ‘ex-soulmates’ (and those words left a very sour taste in Jimin’s mind) were watching her. The question had silenced a previously restless Jimin, replacing his initial excitation with dread while a lump formed itself in his throat. He had not even noticed it; he was so focused on her live and her upcoming answer that Jimin had completely missed the sound of a glass breaking in the apartment. Jimin had been home alone, so even if had indeed heard it, he probably wouldn’t have bothered to check what had happened, thinking that the wind knocked it over or something. Jimin had been so absorbed by what he had been watching that he even got surprised a few hours later when Seokjin came home and yelled at him for breaking something when he had been clearly innocent, engrossed in (Y/N)’s live (not that he could tell his soulmates about that part, but yeah). (Y/N)’s live would always be more important than some random glass breaking again in their apartment. Every object was doomed with Namjoon living here anyway.

On her side of the screen though, (Y/N) had seemed taken aback as she had read the question and had gritted her teeth gently. She had seemed to be pondering about her answer even though a lot of people in her chat were telling her to forget about the question if it made her uncomfortable (a lot were even scolding the person who asked). Yet, sighing softly, she had looked up at the screen: 

“I’d appreciate it if you could refrain from asking questions on this topic. It’s not taboo but I���d rather not remember everything that comes with it. However, to answer this-hopefully-last question about it, I’d ask them to turn off my stream and to stop watching any of my content. It would only be fair after all. I’ve been denied access to their lives six years ago, why would they get a free pass into mine now?” She had not smiled nor had she seemed hurt by her own comment, yet Jimin’s heart had shattered in pieces, unable to press the cancel button. 

Her voice had slowly faded into background noise while her words had been stuck in his head. 

I’d ask them to turn off my stream and to stop watching any of my content. 

How could Jimin ever do that? He realized that he truly should. Namjoon would even agree with you, as ironic as it sounded for Jimin. Namjoon had been one of the most adamant ones about rejecting your bond, after all. Jimin was shaking with bitterness while ‘Moon’ continued her stream peacefully with music. Jimin could only try to gulp his anger down as he remembered her crumbling features on that fateful day. 

“You’re not our soulmates. This name on our arms means nothing to us. You are nothing to us if not a hindrance. Leave us alone.” 

If Jimin could go back in time, he’d prevent Taehyung from spatting those words at her. Yet, he couldn’t do anything. Playing the scene over and over in his mind wouldn’t change anything. It wouldn’t change that she probably hated them. It wouldn’t change the song she made about them. 

And worst of all, it wouldn’t change the fact that Jimin had let himself believe that their choice had been for the best, trying to console and reassure himself, even if he had already known that it was wrong. Tears were pooling up in his eyes even if none escaped as he finally caught a glimpse of her on the stage. Suddenly brought back to reality after his subconscious memory trip, Jimin finally connected back to the world, looking around while he was still frozen on his spot. People were still screaming around him and he wondered if he looked like an intruder. Because, after all, wasn’t that what he exactly was? She said it herself that she didn’t wish for them to watch her; so what was he doing here? 

Jimin couldn’t help but stare; she looked ethereal, dressed like a queen in the middle of a sold-out arena. People were screaming her name as she yelled her infamous ‘hi people’. It was an opening sentence that Jimin heard way too many times in her vlogs and suddenly hearing it in real life seemed surreal. 

Jimin could only watch in awe, entranced with her everything. 

Screw the boys and what they would think once he’d be back from her concert. 

He had been the one to find her six years ago anyway. He had been the one to bring her to their home six years ago, hoping for the boys to change their mind once they’d meet her.

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Uploaded : 09/04/2021

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[ballorawan740]

SCP Scenarios: When they accidentally kill you

Requested by: okokok121 + @RitaRoseFromBBB

Main Masterlist | SCP Scenarios Masterlist | My Works Masterlist | Rules | Request | Socials | My Original Post

(Ok, I know you did ask for the doctors + Mikell and Strelnikov, but I've decided to add the SCPs in here if that's alright with you. And also, sorry if I didn't capture Strelnikov's attitude well as I'm not as familiar with him compared to Mikell, yet again I'm not familiar with Jack Bright's family other than TJ and 321)

Sorry if it wasn't up to your standards. I just felt that some of these characters weren't the type to kill the reader, even if it wasn't intentional.

WARNING: Slight Angst

Dr Simon Glass

Simon wouldn't be the one to accidentally kill you himself, but it's more of the situation he put you in without realising the full extent of the consequences. He was just busy writing his patients' reports, and you just strolled in his office to check upon him. Simon stopped what he was doing and smiled with you as you both ate your food in his ever so clean office. As you were about to leave, Glass requested you to deliver something to Jack Bright in which you did. You and Jack were close friends (not so surprising since you're both equally as mad as each other) so if Simon wanted to know where he is or if he needed to give him something, he would go to you first. You managed to deliver the parcel to Bright in 682's containment cell and you both laughed before you returned. Unfortunately, 682 was having a rough day due to being a subject to Bright's test (I would be too tbh) which caused him to become more aggressive than usual and attacked 3 researchers. One of them being you as 682 dragged you down to the acid bath with him and Jack rushed to save you. Bright wasn't able to and he had to fulfil;l his duty to tell Simon Glass that you passed as 682 had killed you during a test. Needless to say, Glass was forced to take time off with Bright due to this event and he became more distant for months to come. Bright had to keep it together just so Simon wouldn't have to lose the shred of sanity he had in him.

Dr Jack Bright

You and Bright were doing some tests on one of the more dangerous SCPs (no, it's not that giant mf lizard of that warrior killing machine) in which your job was to handle these creatures while Jack was doing all the lab stuff. The SCP you both were conducting your research on was ●●|●●●●●|●●|● (SCP 2521 - We're getting ripped tonight, RIP my friends) and you were doing all sorts of things which resulted in you summoning this creature out of the blue by accident. Bright had to drag you out away from the creature and you just stood there observing its behaviour until it noticed you. Jack Bright had to take you on the run yet again (cuz you do be stoopid and stubborn so all yall wanna do is stare at something that's gonna kill ya. JUST RUN BIATCH!!!) but the SCP managed to catch up with you both and snatched you before Bright could even get help. Jack was astonished and deeply depressed since the incident and was left increasingly agitated after every walking day and even Glass couldn't get him out of his shell. He would pretend that everything's fine, but deep down, everyone knows that he's not (that's a whole ass mood right there buddy). Bright was extremely guilty for making you research 2521 and tried to summon it again, but all other scientists stopped it.

Dr Alto Clef

Clef was just doing his job, managing all the Keter class SCPs with ease and without hesitation. You know this from first-hand experience on your very first day on the job 3 years ago and Clef took an interest in you so he took you under his wing. So on this mission, he's on, he wanted to take you with him so you went along (not like you'd say no to this madman anyways right?). It was a breach on one of the sites with a sh- ton of Keter class SCPs and your jobs were to exterminate/neutralise them and save all the other researchers in which your team did do well and were still alive. You on the other hand were killed in action by SCP 939 (NOW WHICH ONE OF YOU IDIOTS RELEASED MY PETS WITHOUT MY PERMISSION?!). Clef wasn't able to save you on time, but he managed to kill 2 of those SCPs. When he got back, he hid in his office and was depressed for 23.3 weeks and when he managed to drag himself out, he was bawling his eyes out. He deeply regretted taking you on a mission with him and swore an oath that if he were to ever take another person under his wing (probs in like 50 years), he would do anything in his power to not take them on a life-threatening mission.

Dr Benjamin Kondraki

You were out with Kondraki, just laying on the grass like you normally do as you just watched Kondraki take photographs of various and random stuff. Not long later, you asked him if he could teach you how to become such an avid photographer like him, so he did. However, little did you and Kondraki know that his butterfly friends felt danger lurking around the area you were in and quickly transformed into a threatening SCP to defend you both. Lurking around the woods were uncontained 939s running loose on the ground in which the booterflies attacked it. One of the red lizards was ready to pounce onto Kondraki to which you ran and pushed him out of the way (BAD DOGGO ))),:<). Luckily he was unharmed, but you, on the other hand, was heavily injured so Kondraki rushed you back to the foundation's medic. You died there shortly after and Kondraki blamed himself for getting you hurt on a harmless visit to the woods for some photographs. Bright and Clef begged Glass to do some psychological evaluation on Kondraki despite him telling them that he needs some time alone before he could do such things.

O5 Council Mikell Bright

When you're with Mikell, he would be his true self, being honest and relaxed since you're his most trusted partner. Moreover, he would tell you everything about what the O5 Council has been doing and their top secrets and you would always keep your lips sealed. The other members are wary of this at first but soon warm up to you since you're one of the most trusted individuals. Being with the cowboy is quite entertaining and you'll be quite protected being with him, so most of the time, you get free reign over the foundation, however, you still had to obey the rules as you weren't exactly a member of the O5 council and that would also help you from making people think you're sus for being treated so differently. That day was one of the days where your freedom got the better of you as you were on a mission with Mikell and he was about to aim at the target until you pushed him out of the way from danger. He quickly gained his composure and tried to shoot the anomaly behind you which he missed and shot you instead. Mikell was in shock and tried to get the medics, but by the time they arrived, you've already passed. Jack had to check up on his brother regularly to see how he's doing and to make sure he doesn't fall off the edge, reminding him that you wouldn't want to see him this way.

Agent Dmitri Arkadeyevich Strelnikov

As an agent, Strelnikov's life and his closest friends and relatives would be on the line. He wouldn't know when, where or how he would die and is in constant fear of losing everyone around him, especially you. One time, he took you on a mission with him since you were trained under him and he felt that you were ready to go onto your first-ever mission (well too bad, it's your last mission since y'all just suck at your jobs and this poor man has to drag you up from hell and y'all just fall back in) and so you guys went and attempted to gain information and track down some SCPs. Dmitri had to save you a few times since you didn't heed his advice and looked behind your back and that one time he left you on your own, you were murdered by a ruthless group from one of the GOIs. This, of course, deeply saddened agent Strelnikov as he was washed away by the guilt he had from leaving you to stand by your own 2 feet. You were a bright and gentle person who always looked up to him, always eager to learn and never want to fail him. These traits are what drew you to him and he was hoping to have you on his team permanently, however, that dream was long gone (just like your non-existent brain cells trying to keep your life together so y'all don't do stupid things) as you were snatched away from him in an instant. He wrote the report once he went back to the foundation and locked himself up for so long the doctors had to get him out (like your guardians whenever you don't wake up in the mornings).

Extras:

SCP 073 (Cain)

You and Cain were strolling around site 17 until a containment breach happened. Cain had to drag you by your arm since you froze (like a deer in headlights XD) and didn't react to anything since you were afraid. Luckily you did manage to get your senses back together and ran with him. Not long later, a Keter class SCP came charging at you and in a panic, Cain pushed you aside without a glance which caused another SCP to kill you since you were blocking the way. He looked over to you to see that you were wounded, lifted you up, and found a medic. Cain blamed himself for not looking carefully and had he done that, you wouldn't be dying. By the time the medic and you both arrived, you were already at the brink of death and when 343 finally arrived, you were long gone. 343 had to calm 073 down from trying to seek revenge once again but he can't due to the overwhelming guilt he had on him. 343 managed to ease his mind a bit which caused him to blackout. The researchers had to put him under their watchlist to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid (like you when you're studying for your important exams).

SCP 076 (Abel)

It was a normal day for you and Abel to hang around until this one mf guard angered Abel to which caused a containment breach. He went on a rampage (you do be here like Hercules! Hercules! XD) in which you had to try and calm him down. By the time you went to the main part of the facility, you saw many of the D-classes and researchers beheaded (like the previous queens in- never mind). When you had found Abel attempting to slaughter a guy, you jumped in front of the victim and by the time Abel realised that you were there, his sword cut you open in half (KO! 10 points to Gryffindor). He was overwhelmed with guilt and anxiety about him killing you by accident and returned to his box as demanded by the MTF members. The scientists noticed a change in Abel's behaviour and never questioned it. Those who knew what had happened never mentioned it in fear of another breach and left him be.

SCP 999 (Tickle Monster)

It was an ideal Saturday night at the foundation. You and our adorable 999 was wandering around the facility minding your own business until some madman came charging into the foundation. The alarm for the breach went on and everyone was confused since there weren't any dangerous SCPs on the loose. As it turns out, it was an intruder from one of the other GOIs trying to kidnap some of the SCPs. You and 999 just so happened to be in the exact same spot as the intruder and was holding a weapon of some sort. Realising what's happening, 999 pushed you out of the way just as the intruder fired her weapon which missed you both. One of the agents caught up with both of you and tried to shoot the intruder but ended up shooting you just as you got up which killed you. 999 never greeted any visitors in his cell ever again for quite some time and the researchers attempted to bribe him but failed.

SCP 682 (Hard to Destroy Reptile)

You were requested to take part in a test with 682 and another Keter class SCP in a test room and your job was to make sure 682 weren't allowed to lash out at the researchers because of this test. However, this certain Keter class SCP has decided that it wants to attack you in which 682 shoved you aside to protect you. The researchers ran in to save you but the other SCP managed to pounce on you and suffocated you to the brink of death. 682 was about to take a chonki bite out of that SCP but instead, he bit you instead, killing you instantly. He regretted every decision he has ever made and never attacked the foundation staff for months.

SCP 049 (Plague Doctor)

This doctor was just minding his own business until some dumbass researchers rushed into his room like some fanboys trying to get their noona's signatures. 049 was entertained by this remark but was soon agitated as they disturbed his work and wouldn't leave him alone. So, 049 used his lethal touch on some of the researchers as the rest ran. Luckily, they ran into you, so you managed to calm down the angri bird doctor. Unfortunately, that didn't go as planned as he had mistaken you as one of the other fanboys and stabbed you right into your heart. As soon as he had realised what he's done, he rushed you into his cell and performed surgery on you. Mid-surgery, he soon realised that you were losing too much blood and died right then and there. He mourned for quite some time as the other researchers were severely punished as it had led to your death which could've been avoided.

SCP 035 (Possessive Mask)

Like the other SCPs mentioned in the list, there was a test that resulted in your death. 035 was instructed to change to another human as the black goo was secreted from the mask and so he obeyed as you were slouching by the corner of the test room. Except for this time, it is being worn by a taller and more muscular man who was a wanted man due to his former job as a mercenary. As the researchers watched intently, the mask soon felt slightly overpowered but was resolved quickly due to his evergrowing abilities and experience in possessing those who come near it or is wearing the mask. The mask spoke of the discomfort of being overpowered to which the researchers took note of this statement and watched. You were somewhat concerned to you went closer to your beloved partner to check up on him. However, upon coming closer to 035, he switched his usual persona to the man wearing it, becoming more aggressive and unable to control this body, killing the first person he sees, which was you. This stunned the researchers as the guards tried to pry him off you. When they managed to get him off, you were no longer breathing. In the next interview with 035, he displayed extreme guilt and sadness of his inability to possess the man well enough to control him fully and made a request for him to be left alone for a while.

SCP 096 (Shy Guy)

You both met up during the breach a few steps away from 096's cell. He was wandering around to find you while covering his elongated face. All the other researchers were outside trying their best to stay calm and deal with this massive breach until they just saw 096 walking about looking for someone. It instantly clicked in their mind and offered to look for you as long as he goes back to his cell afterwards to which he agreed. Upon finding you, another SCP was attempting to attack you but was soon neutralised by the other MTFs. 096 managed to push you away beforehand but his throw was so strong that you died on the impact when you fell to the ground (you really did get yeeted lmao). As 096 and the others ran towards you to make sure you were ok, you had stopped breathing and 096 screamed in sadness which flooded the whole field. As he was contained back to his cell, they noticed a small detail about 096 which was him wailing every now and again about your death.

SCP 105 (Iris)

You and Iris were just strolling down site 17 to meet with Cain and Dr James Dantensen. Once you've arrived at the agreed location within site 17, you guys were just catching up with old times and sharing your memories and stories about your everyday lives. However, this jolly moment only lasted for so long as someone had breached the containment to target you as you were close to a lot of the SCPs, especially the humanoid ones. As you, along with the others, ran to safety, the enemy caught up with you and threatened you for your knowledge of the SCPs. Iris finally caught up with you just in time to see the commotion and shoved you out of the way. Cain managed to shield you from another guy who attempted to shoot you in which Iris retaliates by throwing a knife back, but instead, injured you instead. She ran over and screamed as you slowly blacked out. Cain had to carry you over as Dantensen was calling the medics and you barely managed to survive. During your days in the hospital, the suspect managed to suffocate you which alarmed everyone. During the days that followed, Iris had been seeking out revenge as Cain tried to make her stay calm and think more rationally.

SCP 106 (Old Man)

It was another day spending some time in 106's pocket dimension as you relaxed with him. You both talked about your past experiences and the obstacles you both had overcome. Once you both were done relaxing (aka never you lazy catto so get up and do something useful for once cuz I don't wanna see yall get screamed at by your family and non-existent friends (jk jk i hope they're treating you well)), 106 took you back to his containment cell and just sat there as the researchers looked at you both blankly. 096 caused a containment breach which, of course, freed you both from 106's cell and you made a run for it (RUN FOREST RUN!). As you and 096 came into contact, 106 tried to put himself between the both of you, knowing what 096 was capable of. Unfortunately, this resulted in 106 being attacked and you died from looking at his face (wear a damn mask 096, you're in the middle of a pandemic). Saddened by the news, 106 seek revenge but was briefly neutralised and shipped to another facility so it wouldn't cause another breach due to his rage.

[bakugohoex]

“i want you to have me...all of me”

pairing: hitoshi shinso x female reader

cw: virgin!reader fluff, porn with a plot, nsfw (MINORS DNI! loss of virginity, corruption kink, dacryphilia, kissing, fingering, spit kink, oral fixiation, creampie, consensual sex, protected sex, nipple play, nipple sucking, jaw grabbing, praise kink, degradation, bondage by capturing weapon, biting and marking, hair pulling, cunt slap)

word count: 5300+

a/n: i haven’t posted in a week cause of revising but yeah this is for a collab and i have one more collab event going on so yeah from now to the 21st they’ll only be this fic and another fic coming out, enjoy.

other information: corrupt a virgin collab by @seita

summary: in which shinso finally takes the next step with his sidekick after being unable to confess he finally works up the courage finding out your own secret as you both decide to take the next step in your newfound relationship

↞ back to my hero academia masterlist

He couldn’t help but stare at you, stare at how pretty you looked on his arm, you were more than just your looks though. The way you silenced a room with your quirk, the way you were able to easily fit into any conversation and the way you always eagerly spoke to the pro hero.

It had been a long night of mingling at the event for pro heroes that Shinso almost forgot the real purpose of it. It wasn’t like the two of you were dating, you were his sidekick and that was it, you had a powerful quirk that would get you far in the hero society. But most of all you were so damn innocent.

Your lingering eyes on his form as he entered the agency, the way you’d give him those tender looks whenever he explained the day's tasks. He couldn’t help but stare at you from a distance, the way you spoke calmly to the other side kicks. He had brought you along to the event more for his own benefit than what he had told you the day prior. Words of getting you to talk to other pro heroes when in reality he had just wanted you on his arm for the night.

The stupid purple dress that clinged to your body had made him unable to resist the temptation. You looked too good to be left alone, so as he remained at your side, introducing you to other pro heroes, Midoriya and Todoroki both smiling happily at you. You seemed to easily converse with the two pro heroes even speaking to the rowdy Bakugo as he arrived with drinks for the three of them. Midoriya offered his to you which you had happily taken, Shinso didn’t need to worry, of course he didn’t.

But another feeling had taken over him as he watched you converse, watched you happily take the drink. Fingers brushing against Midoriya’s fingers, a feeling of an unknown jealousy that made him begin the walk towards the four of you.

His arm moved to your back as you gave a sweet disgusting smile at him, “haven’t been getting into any trouble, have you?”

“No…of course not,” you stifled as he smirked looking down at you.

“We should get going,” he led you away as his hand remained on your back, he turned to meet the three men who watched you leave. A sickly smirk on his face as he couldn’t help but feel a burst of energy hit him as he talked to you.

You were too perfect for him to not resist, for him to not touch. “it’s so early though Shinso.” You whined as he didn’t meet your gaze, you were nothing more than his sidekick, you have no feelings for him, he could tell from the way your gaze lingered back at the hall. “We sh…”

“We have an early morning,” he interrupted as you closed your mouth, your proposition to spend more time with him seemed to have gone over his head as he began stepping down the steps towards the car park.

You hated how cold he could get in a matter of seconds, how every time you’d see him smile and it would turn into a scowl once he realised what he was doing. On many occasions your friends at work had told you about the many occasions of when Shinso would get pissed off and the whole agency would become annoyed as well.

Shinso watched as you hadn’t followed him as you looked up at the night sky, thinking – most likely about how much you wanted to be nowhere near the man. His dull eyes focused on you as he saw you take the steps towards him cautiously. You were too pure, too vulnerable for him to ever have, and as he kept you at an arm’s length he knew tomorrow was already doomed to be an uneasy day.

Shinso had dropped you off to your apartment without a world, he watched you enter the complex before leaving. He was about to drive off when he banged his hand against the steering wheel, if only he had confessed, the event was supposed to be the alone time he had wanted with you. But his insecurities and nerves had gotten in the way, as he banged his head against the wheel he couldn’t help but feel almost pathetic.

He had gotten over the torment of his quirk being villainous years ago but now with someone so filled with a painting vitality that was unknown to him he couldn’t handle it. What was even worse was the way you banged your head against the door. You could’ve said something more, reassured him, asked to spend more time. But you had remained frozen even in the car ride, your gaze on the wisps of black and everlasting speckles of white shine through the mist.

Both of you remained tormented by your overthinking as neither realised the feeling that was ready to explode tomorrow.

You walked into the agency bright and early as you were met with one of your friends, Mai grabbed your hand as soon as she saw you. Taking you to where some of the offices were and most of all where Shinso’s own office sat, the glass separating everybody from him. As you looked through the transparent material, “what’s happening?”

“He’s been in his office just staring outside of the window for the past two hours,” your eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Okay and why doesn’t someone just go and ask if he’s okay?” You questioned as you were about to step forward and go yourself.

That’s when the feeling of multiple arms stopped you in your tracks, “listen newbie, there’s one rule you have to follow here and that is to never go into his office without him asking.”

You chuckled at how stupid they were all being, “what’s the worst that’ll happen?”

“You don’t want to know?” One of the sidekicks said as he shivered.

You raised an eyebrow giving an unamused look as you barged past the hands, they looked at you hesitantly but didn’t stop you, “newbies gonna learn the hard way.” One of the sidekicks said as Mai elbowed them watching what was to occur.

You knocked on the glass as you didn’t hear a response but still walked in, “Shin…”

Half way through your speech you felt his capturing weapon wrap around your body as he turned the chair, his eyes widened as he saw you caught in it. He let go in a matter of seconds, but eyes remained still as he looked at how you still gave a toothy smile. “I…I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, I got warned so it's my fault…” you trailed off as he began to unwrap the cloth off of you. The image ingrained of you wrapped in it as he was able to fuck into you, shaking his head as he put it back around his neck. “…is everything okay?”

“Yeah…” Shinso looked outside seeing how people seemed to be doing everything but their jobs. He stepped past you going to the glass as he opened the door, “don’t you all have patrols to go too?”

His eyes flashes into a haze as everybody seems to scurry to grab their things for patrols as they leave the building. “Come on…” he murmured as he began walking out of the building, if he was going to go on a patrol he was going with you,

He had spent too long of a time without you that if he wasn’t going to confess today then he’d forget about you. He was giving himself today, he had to do it, he was a Pro Hero, he had everything he had wanted. His dream was a success  but your arrival had made him want you and now with you so close in his grasp he had to try at least.

His eyes flashed to the way you walked beside him, you seemed tense, quiet even. Your hero costume ordaining you perfectly, the whites and lilacs making the pure vessel you had ready to be tainted. He licked his lips as he fingers went through his hair, the Artificial Voice Cord around his mouth.

You always loved the way it worked, having heard Shinso speak about it when you had first arrived. It was interesting and the start of what you would call a friendship when you had asked to see how it worked. “Your staring Y/n,” he said, “focus on the civilians.”

You nodded as you looked back to the surrounding areas, it seemed like villain attacks were on a low at the time, even with petty crime it was easily handled by the both of you. You wanted to speak about last night, how he seemed to want to confess of something but instead the silence and awkwardness that occurred instead.

“Shinso…is something wrong?” You murmured as you both walked passed an alleyway.

He looked down at your face, the way your hero costume clinged to every part of your body. He had no idea how you didn’t get cold from wearing it especially when winter occurred. But your question made him think instead, he was only irritated this morning due to not confessing to you.

But his liking of you stemmed from more than just wanting to ruin the purity you had, he liked how you spoke to others, how you easily became friends with the other sidekicks, how you looked was an added bonus. But most of all he liked that stupid goddamn smile you’d have whenever you saw something you liked. And at that moment Shinso was seeing that stupid smile, the way your eyes crinkled, and lines formed as your lips were full and cheeks pushed to show even more of your smile.

He stared at you, the way you continued to look up and smile at him he was silent, and you didn’t care because he finally looked at peace. The startling noise of an ice cream van to the side had made you focus away from him, the way you stared at the kids holding their ice cream as it dripped to the side of their fingers. “Come on, I’ll get us one,” Shinso didn’t let you answer, instead taking your sleeve as you both went towards the truck.

He was avoiding the matter at hand, he hated how he couldn’t be his normal blunt self, he was able to talk to people. He knew he was that’s how he had made friends when he had finally joined the hero course. But as he looked over at you, the way you looked at the different ice creams before pointing at the one you wanted…you were someone who wouldn’t glance at him twice.

As he passed the ice cream to you, you took a lick of it as you looked at him take his own. He didn’t even know if you knew what you were doing, licking at the sides as he watched your tongue. He shook his hair trying not to stare but as you both continued the patrol of a less crime filled area. The ice cream dripped to the side of your hand and finger.

There was a silence as you both ate in silence, as you both turned to see the agency. Your fingers with the white dairy as you sucked on it, he couldn’t help but watch as each finger came out of your mouth with saliva sticking to it.

It was Denki who had got him out of the trance, stopping the both of you as he came from his own patrol, “Shinso,” the man looked at his friend as he gave a tired look.

“Oh Kaminari, what are you doing here?” He questioned as he watched his blond friend look down at you.

Denki already knew of you, having seen you last night but not spoken to you. He had seen Shinso’s lingered looks and had often heard the man speak fondly about you, “just passing by you must be the Y/n I’ve heard so much about.”

“You’ve heard about me,” you smile out, it wasn’t the same one you had given to Shinso but Shinso was able to witness you converse with his friend. How much he loved that about you, how whatever situation you were put in your ease to become friends with another pro hero.

Denki nodded as he looked back at Shinso, “all good things, you were right she is very pretty Shinso.”

Shinso glared at his friend as Denki chuckled, “I better leave before I get punched by lover boy.”

“Kaminari,” Shinso murmured as he just wanted his friend to leave. Denki left with a wave as you gave a confused look tilting your head to the side to look at Shinso.

“Pretty…”

“I…I…” Shinso knew it was now or never to confess. Knowing that the rest of his day would end up becoming busy with other sidekicks and scheduled meetings he had. He stopped you in your tracks as he looked down at you, your soft gaze staring up at him lightly.

“You are…You’re pretty…”

“Oh thanks, I don’t really see it, but I guess the quirk makes me look more pre…”

Shinso interrupted quickly, “No…no it’s not that. Fuck…” his hand went to the back of his neck as he didn’t dare look into your eyes, “I like you, okay? I don’t want to ruin anything though and you probably don’t like someone like me because of my quirk and…”

Your hand went to his cheek as you stopped his rambling, “you’re such an idiot.”

“If you’re going to reject me you could be n…”

You interrupted him once again, “I’m not, I like you too…you’re the first person I’ve ever…ever liked and I guess I’m not very good and showing my feelings…but I do like you too.”

He met your gaze as your hand remained on his cheek, he looked at you, how small you seemed. Your eyes flashed to his lips as he looked at you softly, “we can take things slow, whatever you want.”

Before you both could lean into one another, the sound of sidekicks coming through the corner made you both move apart from one another. An unnerving silence between the two as Mai came towards you, “let’s get some lunch Y/n.”

“Okay,” Shinso had been taken by some of his other sidekicks over an issue that occurred as you and Mai left on your break.

Giving one last look behind you as you looked at the man, he had a new glistening to him as he licked his lips. He was finally accomplished as he couldn’t wait to finally have you be his.

The day continued with Shinso being busy with the issue that occurred, you had barely seen him as you and Mai went on another patrol, both speaking about the events of the weekend. You spoke about the pro hero event you had been to and how nice the number one pro hero had been. A shocking surprise for Mai who seemed to feel intimidated by the green haired man. “I’m telling you he was so nice, like he offered me his drink.”

“Ugh I wish Shinso had invited me now, I want to meet him so badly,” you chuckled lightly as you both watched the sun begin to set. You could understand why he had invited you of all people last night now, how his stuttering of how pretty you had looked in the dress you wore for the event. It had all connected and all you could think about was the man.

When you both arrived back at the agency, an uneasy emptiness had settled, Shinso was missing alongside other sidekicks. You and Mai didn’t question it as you both grabbed your stuff to leave, just as you both stepped outside the doors, you saw Shinso pulling at his hair as he seemed angry about something, taking aggressive steps as he walked towards his office. You would have gone to see him if the pull of Mai didn’t stop you, instead taking the long walk back to your apartment instead.

Shinso had become pissed as soon as his sidekicks spoke of what occurred, having to spend the whole day sorting out their mess. He had finally come back to the agency after hours of running around the city. His mind had been on you and with you having already left and unfinished business occurring.

His mind was focused on just you, wanting to only see you, wanting to only have you. As he took his car keys, leaving the agency as quickly as he could, a few goodbyes here and there. There was only one thing on his mind, and it was you, corrupting you.

You had finally felt free after the confession this morning, lying on the sofa as you flicked through some shows. Shinso had been your first crush ever since you had first seen him when he was starting out. But for him to like you back, you felt like a kid. A worry settled through you, you were inexperienced, not even having had your first kiss let alone slept with someone.

Under the guise you had of wanting to seem pure, an unsettling urge to have Shinso in you had taken over you. The way his hero costume clung to his frame, his hands moving through the capturing weapon. The said capturing weapon wrapped around your wrists as he fucked your mouth, you couldn’t lie and say that even if Shinso had spoken of taking things slow all you wanted was him.

The sound of the door being knocked at made you jolt as you opened the door to see the man in question. He was still wearing his hero costume as he looked at you with a fiery lust, “I can’t wait,” he murmured.

His hands went to your neck as his finger brushed against your cheek, lips smashing against one another. You didn’t know what you were doing, instead hands moved to his hair as you followed his movement with your own. His tongue gliding through your mouth as it skimmed against your tongue, he heard your low moan as his other hand moved to your back making you arch into the kiss.

He let go as your faces stayed close to one another, the fury remained not subsiding. He looked at you with lust as his mouth moved to your neck, “I need you Y/n…please.”

A soft kiss placed against the crook of your neck as you leant your head backwards to allow him more access. You had been thinking of this for too long, wanting him but his edge as his fingers played with your shirt. Slipping under as his hand gripped your sides, feeling your skin under him.

“Shinso…” you whispered as his mouth continued to kiss at your neck, he looked up at you. A realisation flashed through him as he let go of you.

“I’m sorry Y/n…I shouldn’t have…I said we should take things slow and I…I…forgive me today has just been…” he had begun pacing around, as he went to close the door.

You didn’t know how to react, you wanted this, wanted to help him and as you interrupted him, your own lust took over, “I want you.”

He stopped in his tracks as he looked at your form eyeing you up and down as he moved towards you once again, “are you sure?”

“Yeah…” you looked down as you didn’t want to admit the truth.

“Y/n…” his hand moved to cup your face, forcing you to stare up at him as his lips were close enough for you to touch, to feel once again, “tell me properly that you want this.”

“I want this…it’s just…” he waited for the response giving you a tender look as you looked at him with a soft glow “…I’m a virgin.”

He always thought the persona you put on was a façade that someone capable of fighting any villain and talking to anyone would have had one-night stands. Especially with how pretty you were, everything about you was pretty from the way your hair sat to the way you spoke. Shinso’s quirk relied on people talking but whenever you spoke he felt more enchanted than any of the people influenced by the brainwashing.

“That means I can ruin you…myself.” He felt even more turned on as he watched you stare up at him, he pushed you back on the arm rest of the sofa. You sat on it as one of his legs spread your legs open, hands gripping your face, his thumb skimmed against your lips as he pushed it inside watching as you sucked at it. “You gonna let me ruin this pretty…” his thumb moved out of your mouth as he skimmed your saliva across your mouth and cheeks, watching the spit fall down.

“Yes…” you were breathing heavy as he smirked seeing how dazed you looked. Your face tainted in a matter of seconds, gripping your jaw with one hand as his other went under your shirt. He went under your bra as his finger moved to flick against your nipple.

The instant you moaned, mouth agape, the build of spit he had in his mouth was spat right into your tongue. You moaned as his finger continued to pinch at your nipple, the spit mixing with your own as Shinso was able to see the strings of saliva against your tongue and mouth. “You’re already doing good baby.”

The praise sent a flutter through your body as he noticed how your eyes glossed, “let's finish this in your room.” He gripped your thighs bringing your legs to wrap around his waist as your arms moved to his neck.

You kissed him as he could taste his own saliva and your spit mix between both of you, as he kicked the door open, seeing how your room reflected you perfectly. He put you on the bed as your mouths remained connected. Spit on the sides of your mouths as he saw how much you craved him, your hands moving to grab onto his capturing weapon.

He closed the bedroom door as he knelt on the bed, one knee between your own as he wanted to feel how wet you were. Taking the capturing weapon off of his neck, he watched as your eyes lingered onto it, putting it to the side where he could easily grab it. He kissed you softly, leaning down as your back hit the duvet.

“You sure you want to do this?” He whispered as his hand lingered across your shirt, his hand waiting to hear your response.

You nodded as he waited to hear you verbally say it, “I want you to have me...all of me.”

It was all he needed for his hand to lift your shirt above your head, the way your breasts sat in your bra, hard nipples from his fingers already having flicked against them. “I’ll make you feel so good, baby…make you scream for me.”

You moaned as his mouth sucked at your nipple, his fingers flicking against your other one, as his other hand moved to your joggers. Hand about to divulge into your underwear, your hand had moved to pull at Shinso’s hair as he continued to suck and nibble at your tit.

“Hi…Toshi”, at the sound of his name, his hand went into your underwear, feeling how wet you had gotten. His fingers beginning to play with your clit, feeling the nub between his fingers as your moans intoxicated the room. “M…more…please..” you arched your hips to feel his fingers against your slick filled clit.

The movement made Shinso stop sucking at you, he looked at you, how slutty you had become to feel even more of him. He took his hand out of your underwear as you whined to feel more of him, his fingers filled with your slick, “already wet…isn’t that slutty of you…” He watched as you tried to get passed his legs to feel some more but he put his fingers across your lips instead, “you want to taste yourself…open up.”

He was too close to your lips as just as you opened your mouth, he moved his fingers and sucked on them himself, “you took too long.” He teased as he sucked each finger forcing you to watch as your hands tried to get to his trousers, but his other hand had restrained both. “If you keep moving I’ll have to tie you up…or is that what you want?”

You both looked to the side where the capturing weapon was, he leant against you, the imprint of his cock through his trousers pressing against your clothed cunt. You rutted against him, he gave a groan at the movement against his cock as he took the capturing weapon, the carbon coil flicking between his hands as he grabbed your hands. His cock skimming past your cunt once more, as he put your hands above your head, using the cloth as it wrapped against your wrists, tightening it at each movement you made against him.

“You want to be tied up for me…if you’re going to act like a slut, I’ll treat you like one.” He watched how your chest became full and raised as you arched to feel more of him, he took his shirt off as he was left shirtless.

Your eyes filled with a hunger as he went down to kiss you, “reply to me or I won’t fuck you baby.”

“I…I want to be tied up…” you whispered acknowledging how turned on you had become just from his action.

“Good…” his hand moved to your underwear, going past it as his hand patted your cunt, “…girl”

Both his hands moved to pull your joggers down your form, pulling your underwear down simultaneously. He watched how flushed you had become from being exposed, “pretty virgin cunt baby.”

“Take it…” you murmured as your hands ruffled against the material.

He undid his belt as he looked at you softly, “I intend too,” fingers moving past your clit as two fingers divulged into your cunt. The feeling of your walls pushing against his fingers, “you touched yourself baby.”

“I…I…” as his fingers moved inside of your cunt, you moaned as he went further into you, “Y…yes…”

“Naughty girl aren’t you,” he watched you squirm, your legs twitching at the feeling of his thick fingers pumping back and forth into your wet cunt. “Want to cum? Want to cum on my fingers baby?”

“To…Toshi, ple…please let me…cum…” your mouth had widened, drool coming from the corners as you felt a coil in your stomach.

He pumped into you continuously, his fingers moving into the back of your cervix as he watched you twitch even more, “cum for me baby.”

“Toshi…” your loud scream of his name as the coil snapped the gush of cum being pushed back into you as his fingers continued to move past your first orgasm. “Wan…want your…” you didn’t have to finish the sentence, already knowing what you wanted as he watched his fingers were soaked in your cum. Stepping out of his trousers as he took his own boxers off, the imprint of cock made you lick your lips. He went into his pocket finding a condom as he looked down at you.

Cum dripping onto the bed sheets as your cunt looked plump and swollen, ready for him to take something no one else had even seen. Rolling the condom onto his cock, his fingers moved to your mouth, letting you have a taste of any cum that was left on his fingers. “You ready for this baby,” he whispered as his arms trapped your frame, he leant down to kiss you as you moaned a yes. “This is gonna hurt a little bit…”

His indigo hair damp as it rested against the back of his neck, he watched your hands squirm wanting to touch his hair as he moved one hand to unravel the capturing weapon. As soon as your wrists were free your hands went into his hair, pushing him to kiss you more, his cock moving past your clit and first orgasm.

“I want you…” you whispered as your faces were only a mere inch away from one another, he looked down at you as your eyes were filled with a different feeling. Not of a lust that you both had experienced, but a passion to finally become one.

His cock moved past your clit, he pressed into you slowly as he watched you moan, eyes watering. Wiping the tears with one hand, “you’re doing amazing baby, just a little bit more.”

His cock was half way into you as he began to thrust back out of you before going back in, your eyes watered even more at the feeling of his thick cock stretching your cunt out. “To…Toshi, I can…can take m…more,” he nodded as he pushed into you, his base finally meeting the entrance of your cunt as you moaned his name.

He began to thrust back and forth into you, going deeper into you at each thrust, your legs wrapped around his waist as his knelt feeling his cock go into your even more. His mouth went down to kiss you softly as saliva missed between one another once again, the feeling of his spit sticking to the corners of your mouth were prevalent as he continued to fuck into you. “Yo…you’re so fucking pretty baby,” he whispered as you he moaned into your ear.

The sounds of him groaning and moans of your name making you want to feel him forever, “To…Toshi please more….” His thrusts became quicker as he watched your eyes roll to the back of your head. Your hands limp around his neck as even your legs seemed to have fallen due to the impact of each thrust.

As you gained your high, eyes opening as you saw his form, the way his hair fell across his face, his perfect body and cock, but most of all the look of love he had for you as he met your eyes. “I want to...be with you,” you whispered into his ear, his form changed as his thrusts became even more sloppier, “Hitoshi…I…I love you…”

“I love you too Y/n…” the sound of his voice making the coil snap in your stomach, feeling the white gush out of you. Each sloppy thrust becoming even sloppier as you moaned his name at the feeling of your release. The use of your cum being used to help him get even more into you, “I fuckin…love you baby.”

His words repeated as he felt his own high, groaning your name out loud as the cum gushed into the condom. Sliding out of your cunt collapsed beside you, sweat across both your forms as you gave a tired look at him, the night sky reflecting from outside, the small lamp to the side illuminating the room as he turned to see. The way your chest rose, cum dripped down onto the bed and hands moved to move his hair away from his face, “I do love you Toshi.”

He took the condom off as he tied it letting it drop as he watched you move to rest against his chest, fingers against his lower abdomen. He smiled watching how your eyes became tired and began dropping down slowly, the feeling of his body against you remained.

Kissing the top of your head, he pulled the covers on top of you both as he watched you snuggle closer into him. Almost wrapping your body against him as he looked up at the sky seeing the wisps of new stars and new colours, looking down at your sleeping form and the new relationship that had formed.

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[plus-size-reader]

Sport

Billy Loomis x Plus size!reader x Stu Macher x Plus!size reader

Word Count: 1871 words

Warnings: Usual horror warning stuff. 

Summary: The reader starting a friendship with Casey Becker for a bit in order to start off the whole murder thing

—————————————————————————————————

You never really wanted to be her friend.

There was nothing wrong with Casey Becker, of course, but you didn’t care too much for anyone in Woodsboro. Aside from Billy and Stu, you sort of saw the rest of them as a sort of inconvenience, but that didn’t mean you weren’t a team player.

The plan you and your boys were taking on was nearly a year in the making, and whatever it was you had to do to make it go off without a hitch, you would do. Even if that meant playing nice with someone you couldn’t have found more dull.

Which was exactly why you were here in the first place.

You each had a role to play in this whole thing. Billy had a handle on Sydney, Stu managed most of the business with Tatum, and you were in charge of figuring out everything with Casey Becker.

To start off a murder spree like you had planned, you couldn’t just jump right into it with the main focus of your anger, or so Billy had informed you. This all had to go according to his plan and to lead up to the main event, and Casey was the perfect ice breaker.

Stu hated her, Billy hated everyone, and it didn’t hurt that Steve Oris had been added in there at some point, who made you increasingly uncomfortable.

It just worked out that way, but you had to find a way to get in and get information, which they guys just couldn’t get. Billy approaching her out of nowhere would be too suspicious, and she and Stu didn’t get along.

That was why it had to be you.

After Marleen Prescott’s death, you had plenty of time to get on her good side without putting yourself in a place where you would ever be a suspect. If nothing else, after the deed was done, you could play the heartbroken best friend.

No one would ever put the pieces together, but you got all you needed. Casey trusted you, she cared about you, and that meant you knew everything that was going on in her life. That included, among quite a bit of other crap, when her parents would be home, when they wouldn’t, and what she would be doing with Steve.

She never had a prayer, not after you started that conversation with her at school.

...And after all this time, tonight was the night.

You made your way to the house, as you had pretty often at this point in your friendship without anything out of the ordinary. Anyone looking in would have just seen two best friends, ready to hang out and have a good time, though the truth was far more sinister.

Somewhere, headed this way was Steve Oris undoubtedly going to meet up with Stu and Billy before getting anywhere near his girlfriend tonight.

Not that you were going to get off easy just because time was ticking down for them. You still had to finish this whole thing out strong, even if there was a little bit of wiggle room.

No matter what happened, Casey wasn’t getting out of her alive, but just because you could loosen up a little didn’t mean you could be reckless. You still had plenty of time to kill, and the night was far from over.

After all, you had just knocked on her front door.

“Open the door” you called, knocking a few times on her front door. You were friends, best friends in her eyes, but you had become so in the perfect way.

No one would even know you were here, with the only person familiar with you being Casey, who wouldn’t live to incriminate you.

“I thought I told you that Steve and I were hanging out tonight, I’m just waiting for him to get here” she hummed, opening the door with an almost apologetic look on her face. She had told you, of course, but you didn’t care.

You knew something that she didn’t.

“I’ll just keep you company till he shows up, besides, I brought ice cream” you tried, presenting the bag to her as proof that you had really just come to hang out with her. It was her all time favorite flavor, cookies and cream, which you knew she couldn’t turn down.

So, she let you in.

You followed her into the house, closing the door behind you, though you decided to leave it unlocked. It was a casual action, one that the blonde didn’t even notice as she made her way into the kitchen, intent on putting on some popcorn.

She still had a movie night planned with Steve, after all.

You were casual as you moved through the foyer of the house, just barely catching a glimpse of Billy in one of the far windows. Clearly, Steve would be a little preoccupied, or at least, far too busy for popcorn, .

“I guess I should just put the ice cream in the freezer” you decided, talking more to yourself than anything as you passed behind her, opening the door casually. You had been here enough times before to know what you were doing.

In fact, you were almost sure that not even Casey knew this house as well as you did. You had been doing extensive research over it, all these months, keeping track of what was where and who would be in the house on certain nights of the week.

You were good at this, lying and all that.

So good that you didn’t even flinch when you heard the phone start ringing on the hook, which Casey was quick to retrieve all the way in the living room. All you could do was stand still for a moment, doing your best to listen in to figure out who was on the other line.

She spoke for a few moments before hanging up, and when it rang a second time, you knew for sure who it was.

It was happening.

There was a noticeable change in the space after she picked the phone up a second time, with the air growing more and more still with each breath she took. Clearly, something was wrong and while you briefly considered to act concerned, you abandoned that quickly.

Keeping up appearances wouldn’t matter now.

“Boo”

The blonde jumped, understandably given the circumstances, when you spoke behind her. Between the things Billy was muttering through the phone and the fact that Steve still wasn’t here, she was stressing herself out.

“Who’s on the phone?” you mouthed, holding your hand up to your face like a mock phone. Something had changed in your demeanor since how you were before and this moment but she didn’t even have time to process it.

Too much was happening at once.

When she didn’t answer, you couldn’t help but sigh, plopping down against the armchair in her living room. After all this time, this was what you were doing this for? You just had to sit back and watch her pace around.

It was hardly the excitement Billy had promised you.

Gingerly, you leaned back to stretch the muscles in your back, your arms over your head for a moment. Glancing behind you, there was just enough of the patio visible to you for you to catch a bit of something there in the darkness but you couldn’t make it out.

Not that you had to be a rocket scientist to figure it out.

By the time Casey caught on though, there was screaming and begging and freaking out going on which made it a little difficult to relax.

“We have to get out of here” she decided, under her breath, the sicko on the phone still occupying most of her attention. The blonde was in a full panic, and had yet to connect the dots, fairly assuming you had no part in this.

Though, as soon as she said it, Casey noticed that you didn’t seem even a bit concerned by what was happening.

Something was wrong with you.

All at once, she went through several possibilities. She thought that maybe you were in shock, still a little lost over what was going down over the phone, or that maybe you just weren’t the kind to panic.

...but the truth was obvious.

You clearly weren’t surprised by this.

Then, before she could really come to any real conclusion, you grinned, standing from your place and walking across the room. You didn’t stop until you reached the patio doors, allowing yourself to gaze out into the darkness for a moment before flicking on the light.

Billy was still spouting horrors into her ear, but the girl could only focus on you, trying to figure out what was happening. Though, she didn’t get very far before even more panic set in. Evidently, he’d asked her his first question, and she’d gotten it wrong.

Of course she had.

All in all, it was a trick. Stu had come up with it, knowing that only real horror buffs like the three of you could really answer it. The added panic only served to guarantee that she’d get it wrong, not that any of that even mattered.

Once she spoke his name, “Jason”, you flicked the light off again, waiting for the auditory cue from Billy to turn it back on. Of course, when you did, Steve’s insides were splayed all over the pavement, dripping out of him like wax onto a birthday cake.

“You lost, you know the rules” you shrugged, turning around carelessly toward the kitchen.

“You smell burning?” you asked, briefly taking note of the fire that had started on the stovetop, long forgotten between Casey answering the phone, and Steve’s untimely death. At this point, she was a blubbering mess, which couldn’t have been more boring.

Surely your job here was done.

“Hey Cas? I think the front door is unlocked, you should probably go check that” you teased, taking the phone from the girl, and sitting back down in the chair you’d previously been in, as she scrambled in that direction.

It wouldn’t have mattered how quickly she went, as Stu was surely already in the house, but that didn’t phase you either. In truth, the actual killing was of no interest to you at all.

That was really where the boys came in.

You just liked the sport of it all.

“How’d I do?” you asked, casually placing the phone between your ear and your shoulder as you made your way out the broken patio door, which had gotten shattered shortly after Steve took his final breath.

You were careful to avoid the glass, making quick strides of it as you listened to Billy breathing into the phone. He didn’t answer you, of course, with Casey having gotten outside at some point, making him her problem but you didn’t mind.

You just kept walking until you found a nice little tree swing on the other side of the yard to sit in while you waited. They would be done soon enough anyway, and then you could go home and get a shower or something.

Maybe you’d even give Sidney a call for an alibi.

[softboywriting]

Little Moments | Billy Russo

Summary: Tension in familiarity leads to confessions after a terrifying event. [Billy Russo x Reader] [Violence] [Blood] [Gunshots] [Assistant!Reader] [Alternate Timeline - Castle family not mentioned/never happened] [Fluff] 

Word Count: 4.1k

A/N: This is my first Billy Russo fic, we’ll see where this goes yeah?

Just over a year ago you took a position as an assistant with Anvil. The job wasn't too bad, basically you took care of paying the bills for the facility, keeping inventory of supplies and equipment, scheduling appointments and keeping track of who was deployed where and why while keeping tabs on them and their duties while on deployment from Anvil. You had done work like this before, managing in a grocery store in your early twenties. It wasn't all that different, just instead of managing products you managed people. No the job was not difficult but your boss. Well. He was something else. 

William "Billy" Russo was a force to be reckoned with. Intelligent, handsome, cunning. His smile could kill. His eyes...they were something all their own. To say Billy was attractive was an understatement. But attraction was only part of the problem. The other part is his sharp tongue, quick wit and dry sarcasm. A year of sharing an office with him had put you on edge. You never know what he would do next, what he would say next. Some days you wish you could fuck him right there in that expensive leather rolling chair behind his desk. Other's you want to rip his leg off and shove it where the sun doesn't shine. The two of you got close, going back and forth with playful banter almost daily. It's like you’re always on the edge of being something more, if one of you would just make the first move.

Things finally come to a head one day when you've got a particularly large workload on your plate and Billy has decided to go on one of his little rants about who knows what, you tune him out. He is always coming into the office and talking to himself. Maybe he is talking to you, but you rarely participate in the conversation. At first you thought he was on a call, using a headset or something, but no. He just talks, and he talks a lot.

"Can you shut up for five fucking minutes?" You snap, head pounding from eye strain. You've been at the computer for six hours now, and you're trying to transcribe a call from one of his units over in Turkey about a job. Billy's mindless chatter has gotten on your last nerve today. 

Billy stops, falling silent somewhere near his desk. The room becomes thick, heavy with tension as you both remain silent. You've never snapped at him, not seriously. You've told him to go fuck himself but in a playful way. This was too real. Too loaded. He's your boss. Fuck.

You're not one to apologize when you're not actually sorry though. You remain silent, knowing he expects you to say something. He wants you to take back your words but you won't. 

"How much work do you have left?" 

Your eyes flick from the screen to him. He looks flushed. Angry? No. His eyes hold no malice. He looks aroused. No way. A cold sweat runs down your back. He must be livid. "I'm transcribing a call right now then I have to make copies of some invoices, order new foam guards for the weight benches and-"

"Finish the call. Then go home."

"Yes, sir."

Billy pushes off his desk and exits the room, leaving the door open behind him. You know that he isn't happy with your little outburst. You just don't know why he won't say as much. He looks turned on if you didn't know better. Or do you? 

The rest of the call goes smoothly now you don't have to pause every few seconds to rewind and listen to it to make out exactly what the unit leader was saying over Billy's chatter. You wrap up and head out as you were told. On the way out you pass Billy with a few of his higher up employees.

"Good night, Mr. Russo." You say softly with a hand raised in a wave. You always call him by his last name around other people. It's not much of a gesture but you want to keep things calm and civil. He nods, face unreadable, and gives a little raise of his hand as well. More than you expected, and it puts you at ease that you might keep your job. 

_____________________

"I'll have my assistant arrange the payment from you after the contract is finalized." 

You stop by the door to the meeting room to listen in. The men in the room with Billy are potential clients, men who want private security for multiple locations. You had greeted them when they arrived and showed them to the meeting room. They rubbed you the wrong way. You met a lot of men and women in your year at Anvil, a lot of different people from different walks of life. None of them made you as uncomfortable as these men had. You step away from the door and go to the office. If Billy wants to get in bed with them then let him. That's not your call.

"Let me grab the paperwork from my assistant." You hear through the closed door and Billy steps in, closing it behind him. "Can you give me a new client contract?" 

"Sure." You pull open the file drawer on your right and thumb through the papers. "They must be very promising work."

Billy leans on the side of the desk, quirking an eyebrow up at you. "What's got you so mouthy lately?" 

You cut him a glare and he chuckles. 

"You don't like them?"

"I'm not fond." 

"Why?" 

"They feel wrong." You extract a thick booklet of paper and hand it to Billy. "But let's not pretend you care what I think, Mr. Russo."

Billy rolls his eyes at the formalities. "You know damn well I value your input just like I do from any other person who works for me. Talk to me."

You sit up and lean back in your chair, eyes on his, your heart pounding. He's looking at you so attentively it's hard to focus. Those eyes, so soft and warm staring back at you. Fuck. He could make you spill the truth about everything without trying. "They give me a bad feeling. The second I greeted them they just...felt bad? I can't explain it."

"We work with a lot of morally gray people in our line of business, sweetheart." Billy leans back, hands spreading out on the desk. His hands, fuck they're nice. "But I will never ignore a gut instinct."

"So you won't sign the contract with them?" 

"I'll do some more investigation before I do. Talk to a few friends in high places."

You nod and slide forward to sit at the computer, closer to him. What a mistake. You can smell his cologne, his heat is pouring into your knee beside his. It takes everything in you to keep your eyes forward on the computer. He reaches over and lays a hand on your shoulder, making your body flush with heat. Why did he have to touch you? 

"Yes?" You ask, sparing a quick glance up at him. Mistake. He's staring down at you with those beautiful obsidian eyes. God they're so big and he's such a-

"Thank you."

"For what?" 

"For telling me. You've never come to me like this before about a client. I like it."

"Oh. Well it's your business so-" 

Billy leans in close to your ear and you feel that cold sweat return from when you told him to shut up. This time it's not fear or panic, it's arousal? The closeness is getting to you, your head is swimming. "You're just as important to me as this company. Remember that." 

You nod.

"Couldn't hear you."

"Y-yeah. Yes. I will."

He pushes off the desk and slides the papers he had been leaning against closer to you before he picks up the contract and smacks it against his hand a few times. "Will you set up a meeting with the Rodgers Estate for later?"

You grab a pen and scribble it in your planner. "Got it Mr. Russo."

"One more thing." He says and you look up. His hand is on the door handle. "Have a drink and relax? You're a little wound up lately. And drop the Mr. Russo shit, call me Billy when we're alone. You know that." He smiles and gives you a wink before slipping out the door to meet the clients in the hall.  

A drink? You need a week off, a spa getaway and a new career. Billy Russo is driving you up a wall and he doesn't even see it. Or maybe he does. Shit. 

_____________

A week later. Just before eight in the morning you're settled into your desk, ready to start going through some new shipment invoices when you hear a commotion downstairs. It isn't unusual for the trainees to get out of hand from time to time, fights break out, things get heated. You dismiss it and go about your work. 

"Six new treadmills? What the hell are these people doing to them?" You sigh and type the invoice number for Sports Equipmentz LTD into your system. "Billy is gonna get an ear full for this one."

There is more comotion and you look at the closed door. Another fight? Billy doesn't stand for that kind of stuff on the training floor. He would have stopped it by now. Actually, no one should be in the facility except you and Billy this early. What the hell is that noise.

You push up from the desk and go to the window beside the door, peeking through the blinds. From what you can see nothing looks out of balance. Then you hear gunshots and your stomach churns, cold and sick. There is no live fire allowed in the facility. All firearm training is done off site. 

"Fuck." You flip the lock on the door and look around for something to barricade the floor to ceiling window beside the door. There is nothing you can move alone. You flip off the light and head to your desk, grab your phone and dial Billy's number. 

No answer. You sink down under the desk and pull the chair in close. Maybe if someone does get in they will think the office is empty and move on since the desk looks unused. You reach over and shut down the computer tower, then reach up and pull down all your paperwork to clear the desk. 

Thumping from the bathroom on the other side of the office makes your heart pound. Someone is on the upper floor with you. A gunshot. Tears well up in your eyes. Why didn't you let Billy get you a conceal and carry? Why didn't you do that gun training six months ago? Because you're afraid of guns and you couldn't trust yourself not to hurt someone on accident. Fuck. Fuck! 

The door handle jiggles. You cover your mouth and try dialing Billy again. The phone disconnects as soon as it rings once. Goes straight to a voicemail. You can't remember if he is with a client today. There are voices outside the door, then a gunshot so loud you know it's just on the other side. You close your eyes, press your face into your knees and try to imagine you are invisible. 

The door opens, not with a kick, but unlocked and you can't breathe. You can't move. They're moving around the room. Billy's desk first. Papers are rustled, then the footsteps grow closer. You shrink yourself smaller, arms in pain from holding your knees so tight. 

"If they took you, I swear to God I will-...there you are." 

You look up and Billy is knelt down, arm on the desk as he looks at you. He's a fucking mess of what you can only assume is blood and God knows what. "Billy, oh god for fucks sake." You cry and he shoves the chair away to pull you out onto his lap. 

Never have you clung to someone so hard in your entire life. You press your face into his neck, hand digging into his back harshly as you cry in relief. 

His hand slides up your back and cradles your ribs on the left. "Hey, hey." He murmurs softly and you stop crying so hard. " What did I promise you when I hired you?" 

"That I would be safe. That no matter what I would be safe and a-all I had to do was paperw-work." 

"That's right." Billy pulls you back gently, tugging your shirt to guide you. He looks horrible, but none of it seems to be from his own injuries. "Aw, fuck. You're a mess now." 

You look down at your shirt and it's got blood on it. "Oh god. Oh god wh-who..."

Billy shakes his head. "Don't think about it too much." He presses a kiss to your temple, hand on the back of your head. "Close your eyes, don't look at it."

"What happened?" 

"I'll tell you later."

"I didn't know what to do."

"Hey, no, no shh. You were a good girl. You stayed quiet, stayed down and locked the door." He rubs your back and pats your side. "We're going to get out of here and I'll handle the situation from the apartment."

You nod and peek your eyes open for a second. "It's bad out there isn't it?" 

"It's not pretty. I'll get you outside and we'll get out of here, don't worry." 

"Okay."

_____________________

You had never been to Billy's place. Never had a reason to go. It's more industrial than you expected, modern industrial chic. Posh. Very expensive obviously, but that was Billy. Well dressed, well spoken. He looked the part to play the part. 

He set you up in a large bathroom and gave you clothes, a shirt and a pair of pajama pants. They might fit alright, Billy is quite a bit slimmer than you are in the hips and thighs. 

You look in the mirror and clench your jaw. Your peachy colored blouse is ruined, your sweater is fucked. Your face. God your face has someone else's blood on it. Across your cheek and nose where you had pressed your face into Billy's neck. 

There is a pile of washcloths and you grab a few, soaking them and scrubbing at your skin. You pull your clothes off fervently, desperate to be clean of strange blood. The shower is large, open and ready to be used. So you do. You get in and turn the water on and sit on the floor, processing. It was all a blur. Everything happened so fast. Was it even real?

Some time passes and you see the door open. The water is getting lukewarm as it cascades over your skin. You don't even care if he sees you naked you're so out of your own head. 

"I'm going to head to Anvil. The police have arrived to investigate the break in."

"Okay." You croak, not looking away from the wall opposite you.

"You can stay." Billy walks into the room and leans over the shower to turn the water off. He squats down beside you and offers you a towel from the warmer by the toilet. "Mind getting out of there for me?"

"Billy, what happened?" You look over at him and he looks...normal. He's in a blue sweater, dark jeans, boots. It's the most casual you've ever seen him. He's always been a suit man to you. Here he looks like a guy you'd meet at a bar and share a few beers with. The guy you'd take home and laugh about jokes with from stupid comedian on TV. It's strange, but warming. 

He helps you up and wraps you in the fluffy gray towel. "Your feeling? About the clients I met with?" 

"Yeah?" 

"You were right." He slicks your hair back off of your face. "They got wind that I was looking further into why they wanted my employees. It was for a human trafficking operation. I don't do human trafficking, and I was going to decline the offer. Some snitch at the Rodgers Estate let it out that I was asking questions. I guess they thought they could clear their tracks by killing me."

"O-oh."

"Mmm. I didn't think they would do something in broad daylight but here we are. Amatures." Billy steps back and runs a hand over his hair. "I called the police, said that I got a notification that the building had been beached through an unauthorized entrance. It's not a lie. Technically they did. Thankfully I wasn't there."

You step out of the shower and grab the clothes he gave you from the counter. "But you were. You...you killed those men." 

"No, I incapacitated them." He crosses his arms and pulls his lower lip between his teeth. "It was me and you or them. We were the only ones in that facility. I wasn't going to let them hurt you."

"H-how do you explain that?" You sit on the toilet and Billy leans on the doorframe. "What if-" 

"That's my job sweetheart. You worry about yourself, here. I gotta go meet the cops." He pats the wood a few times and looks out into the hall. "Call me if you need anything. I promise I'll answer no matter what."

You nod. 

"I'll be back later."

____________________

Hours pass and you become familiar with the apartment. It's huge, the penthouse of a very expensive building downtown. It has two bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen and dining area, a living room, a balcony that wraps around and has a fire pit and a small private pool. It's more luxury than you could ever afford. Not that Anvil doesn't pay well, because it does. This is just far more than you could ever make. 

In Billy's room there aren't any personal touches. It's clean, picture perfect even. Like at any moment someone could come and take photos to sell the place. There is a picture on his bedside table, the only thing that isn't straight from a design catalog. It's you and Billy with a few investors. Your first meeting he ever brought you to. How could you forget? He bought you the dress literally an hour before the meeting because yours ripped in the back. It was possibly the most embarrassing thing you've ever done in front of a boss. He didn't make you feel bad or anything, he simply asked your size, stopped at a shop on the way to the dinner and got you a dress. It was just that easy, that normal. 

You set the photo down and lay back. Your eyes close and you imagine what Billy is like outside of work. Of course you've gotten a taste of that, all the banter and shared stories. Nothing too deep but enough to keep conversation going. You probably shared more than him, way more. It was like when you started talking to someone you couldn't stop. You just, information overload the poor person. Usually people get spooked away, or they tell you that they don't care or don't need to know. Not Billy. He just listened, gaze fixed on you while you talked. Maybe that's why you like him so much. He listened. He cared. 

"Cozy?" 

You roll over and open your eyes to find Billy in the doorway to his room. "You're back. I didn't hear you come in?" 

"There is a bed in the other room y'know?" He chuckles as he goes to sit at the end of the bed and pull his boots off. "Or do you just like mine because it's bigger?" 

"Oh yeah, yours is much bigger. Comfier too." 

He hums. "Go through all my shit?" 

"You know it." 

"There's my girl." He looks back and he's smiling. "I was getting worried about you. You seemed pretty shaken up."

You sigh and shake your head. Of course Billy doesn't think about how you've never been in a dangerous situation short of falling from a tree when you were ten. To him gunfire and blood were in a day's work as an ex marine special operations. "I think I'd be more worried about you."

Billy turns and crawls up the bed, leaning with his head on his hand, elbow propping him up. "Why's that?" 

"Been a while since you saw live action hasn't it? You're not worried about PTSD?"

"I've seen plenty of action since I got out. I know the risk I take running the company I do. It hasn't happened before now but it was bound to eventually."

"Right, yeah."

"Do I scare you?" 

You shake your head. "No, not really. I know you've done things, seen things that I couldn't even imagine. It's part of who you are, who you were." 

"I'm sorry you had to see me like that. It was them or us. You know that right?" 

"Y-yeah. I know." You pick at the bedspread and he bumps his hand against your knee. 

"You alright? I tried to keep you...away from it. I know you aren't like everyone else."

"I'm not ex military you mean." You feel your chest tighten. "I'm a civilian. I can't defend myself." 

Billy sits up and lays a hand on your back. "Hey, hey."

"I shouldn't stay at Anvil. I should just go somewhere else. I can't do this, Billy, I'm scared what if this happened again?" Tears spill over and down your face. "I-I can't." 

"I will never let anything happen to you." He turns your face to look at him. He's warm, his lips plush, eyes on yours. "You can work from home if you want. I'll stop by and bother you and make you tell me to shut up." He smiles a little as your lips turn up at the telling him to shut up part. "You like that?"

"I don't know, but I think you do." 

Billy laughs softly, his smile wide. "Maybe I do. You noticed that?" 

"Maybe." You wipe your eyes and he brushes a stray tear away with his thumb. "Why do you care so much? I'm just your assistant." 

"Because I love you."

"W-what?" You hiccup as your breathing stops for a moment. 

"You're like family. I trust you with everything, I tell you everything, you're my girl." Billy runs a hand through your hair. "I can't lose you." 

"I don't-...I'm just-" 

His lips press against yours and your eyes fall closed. It's an innocent kiss, soft and loving. "If I read this wrong all this time, you gotta tell me." He murmurs, head pressed to yours. 

"No, you didn't. I just, you just caught me off guard." 

"Yeah?" He smiles, nose scrunching up against yours. He places his fingers under your chin and tilts your head up to kiss you again briefly. "You're sure it's okay?" 

You nod and he pulls back to kiss your temple, holding his nose to your hair and cradling the back of your head. 

"Get some rest, I've got some calls to make." He climbs off the bed and heads for the door. 

"Are you leaving?" 

"No." 

"Good." 

He walks back quickly and kisses your cheek. "I mean it. Get some rest."

"I would if you'd just go already."

"Oh. You think you can just get rid of me?" He crawls back on the bed and you fall back as he straddles your hips. "You think you can boss me around huh?" He starts tickling your sides and you squeal, thrashing under his surprisingly strong hold. 

"Stop! Stop! I yield!" 

Billy stops and bends over, bracketing your head with his arms. "I knew you'd be fun to torment outside of that stuffy office." 

"I hate tickling." 

"Oh that's very obvious. I've made a mental note, highlighted it in yellow and everything." He bumps his nose against yours. "I'm gonna find everything that makes you tick." 

You reach up and run a hand over his hair that's flopping forward from lack of product. "Expect to get as much as you give." 

"Oh I do." His lips ghost over yours as he speaks. "I look forward to it." 

You shove his head to the side and he flops over. "Don't you have calls to make?" 

"Maybe." 

"Go make your calls. I'm going to stink up your bed and rifle through your drawers more." 

"I expect no less." He says, getting up and going to the door once more. "Let me know if you find anything you like, yeah?" 

"Get out!" 

He just cackles and you close your eyes. This is really happening. Funny how the world works in mysterious ways. You never thought you'd be the one to snatch Billy Russo off the market but here you are, and you're pretty damn proud of it. 

The end 

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Header image by delicate-venus

Thank you so much for reading, please reblog to support content creators. -A

[swissmissficrecs]

Favorite Sherlock Holmes fics from 2020

Usually I put a bunch of explanations and disclaimers on these lists but you know what, it was a weird year and I’m not going to try to justify or apologize for what I read or didn’t read so here are my favorites that were completed last year, in descending order of length:

and your very flesh shall be a great poem by CaitlinFairchild (151K, E, Johnlock) After a tragic confrontation with terrible consequences, Sherlock and John follow Mary as she flees to America.

Drawn to Stars by Silvergirl (107K, E, Johnlock, Sherlock/OMC) After the Culverton Smith case Sherlock is clean, working, and looking for a romantic partner—since John has told him that’s what he needs. Shame John didn’t mention he was interested in that role himself, before Sherlock went off to Rome with a gorgeous Italian copper to try to fall in love and become a complete human being. (This one is very slightly cheating because it was finished on 30 Dec 2019, but it didn't make it onto my 2019 list because I didn't read it until after I'd made the list. And it deserves to be on a Best Of list, so here it is.)

Thermocline by J_Baillier (83K, M, Johnlock) John "Five Oceans" Watson — technical dive instructor, dive accident analyst and weapon of mass seduction — meets recluse professor of maritime archaeology Holmes. As they head out to a remote archipelago off the coast of Guatemala to study and film its shipwrecks for a documentary, will sparks fly or fizzle out?

Do No Harm by Calais_Reno (79K, T, Johnlock) In 1923, Dr John Watson is on trial for the murder of his lover, Mary Morstan, a writer of popular mysteries. If convicted, he will hang. Sherlock Holmes sets out to prove his innocence, but finds himself more and more infatuated with the handsome doctor, and deeper and deeper inside the bohemian world of London's painters, playwrights, and poets. Will he uncover the evidence needed to acquit him in time?

To Be Human by ohlooktheresabee (78K, NR, Johnlock) There is a serial killer on the loose with a penchant for collecting the brains of his victims. Sherlock, John and Scotland Yard are on the case, but something about the chosen victims has Sherlock on edge. While they piece together the clues that will lead to the killer, John begins to realize that the way his best friend thinks may sometimes be more a hindrance than a help….

immediate and inglorious by simplyclockwork (72K, E, Johnlock) Bodies are showing up in back alleys, with no sign of a struggle, no trace of drugs. If not for the strangulation bruises on their necks and the scythe carved into their left shoulders, they could have died peacefully, in their sleep. With New Scotland Yard dumbfounded by the Grim Reaper Killer case, Sherlock is called in to consult. The more he investigates, the deeper Sherlock finds himself drawn into the work of London's newest serial killer. As his views of good and bad begin to blur, he risks losing himself to a darkness he never imagined. And, even more pressing: where does John Watson, grieving ex-boyfriend of the Grim Reaper's latest victim, fit into all of this?

Curtain Rising by tiger_in_the_flightdeck (61K, E, Johnlock) A disgraced television star is the target of a series of death threats just after a theatre production’s adaptation of The Sound of Music is announced with her as the lead. The suspect list is a mile long and growing, Rosie Watson is in the spotlight, and Sherlock might be getting too fond of his time on stage to focus on the case. With opening night approaching, can he and John figure out who wants their client dead before her final curtain rises?

The Fire Finds a Home by fearfully_beautifully_made (61K, E, Johnlock) After Sherlock and John decide to give having a relationship a go, this is how their relationship starts to develop. There a little bit of plot, if you squint, but it was mostly an excuse to write John and Sherlock having sex in a lot of different ways and learning to love each other.

Borrowed Ghosts by DiscordantWords (57K, M, Johnlock) In the aftermath of the Culverton Smith case, John spent one painfully stilted afternoon hanging out with Sherlock. He counted the minutes, finished his tea, and left for home without ever clearing the air between them. And once he'd left, he found it very hard to go back.

You Might Just as Well Be Blind by ArwaMachine (56K, E, Johnlock) When a serial killer starts targeting couples, Sherlock and John must do what they have to do in order to get to the bottom of things. Unfortunately, John already has a girlfriend. Surely pretending to be in a relationship with Sherlock won't pose any problems with his relationship, will it?

The Broken Tether by J_Baillier (54K, M, Johnlock) Maybe he thinks that you only enjoy his company because of the Work, because of the way his dazzling intellect shines when he's in his element, but the truth is this: it is when he is at his most human, most bare, that you feel closest to him.

how the light gets in by subtext-is-my-division (Quill_A)  (54K, E, Johnlock) Red wine always makes him tipsier than usual and he finds himself saying, the words slurring a bit. “You know, I’ve got to ask. Do you always shoot cabbies for people you barely you know?” John meets his gaze over the rim of his glass, and there’s something there that Sherlock can’t pin down. “Not for everyone,” he says, meaningfully, pointedly, his smile all teeth.

Erosion by saintscully (53K, E, Johnlock) Sherlock’s father falls ill, leaving the surviving family members broken and rudderless. James Sholto shows up in London unexpectedly, his intentions unclear. John has to navigate the consequences of crime, illness and death and their impact on his frayed relationship with Sherlock.

Hold You Like a Weapon by MissDavis (52K, E, Johnlock) Eurus shows up at 221B Baker Street in labour. Things go downhill from there.

Chances Are by Berty (51K, M, Johnlock) Sherlock is spending some time in his mind palace - so far, so normal. But why is John there, why do things keep changing and why are there only two exits from the sitting room at 221B, neither of which seem to go anywhere useful? It's a case like no other for Sherlock Holmes and John Watson.

Sine Nomine by SilentAuror (45K, E, Johnlock) As Mycroft reviews the footage from Culverton Smith's morgue, he revisits his original question: whether John Watson would be the making of his brother, or make him worse than ever. He's come to a conclusion, but decides to give John one last chance. So he gives him a choice.

Cockaigne by HollyShadow88 (38K, E, Johnlock) When John’s contacted by an old uni friend about problems in his new art exhibition, he doesn’t think it will be worth Sherlock’s time. After a glance of the crime scene, however, they’re both pulled into the project in ways John didn’t expect. Will a week of erotic performance art finally be enough to bring them together in the way they both secretly hope? (Spoiler: it’s a tropey fic, of course it will)

Written in Ashes by 88thParallel (37K, M, Johnlock) Sherlock becomes the prime suspect in a homicide case, and recently unearthed memories of his childhood are complicating matters. It's up to John to track down answers — can he help Sherlock before it's too late?

A Desperate Indulgence by LollipopCop (34K, M, Johnlock) John thinks it's 2012 after waking up with amnesia, having no memory of Mary. Sherlock, exhausted from years of tension and hiding his love, pretends they got married instead.

Inhale With Ease by Vulpesmellifera (25K, E, Johnlock) In the years after Vivian Norbury's capture, life seems to work out just as John planned. He's got that respectable job at the surgery and goes home to his wife and child. He joins Sherlock on cases a couple times per week. It's a rhythm he can live with - just enough adrenaline highs to balance out the drudgery of a normal bloke's life. Until a pandemic, and Victor Trevor, arrive in London.

The House on Rue des Boulangers by Berty (24K, M, Johnlock) After being invalided out of the army and without any other prospects, John Watson has relocated to a small town in northern France. Now he has to decide what to do for the rest of his life. One morning there's a mad stranger in his garden chasing a swarm of bees, and it seems John's decision is made.

High Mountain Tea Leaves by disfictional (23K, E, Johnlock) A mountaintop robbery on a Japanese-occupation-era train where the only item stolen was a small case of mysterious tea leaves in a backpack? An ideal Christmas gift, two days late. Sherlock convinces John to travel for tea.

Detours by saintscully (22K, M, Johnlock, Sherlock/OMC) During the better part of the first year following Mary's death and the events at Sherrinford, Sherlock and John are slowly rebuilding their lives and their friendship. All seems (relatively) well and John takes comfort in once again being a father, a doctor and a friend. An unexplained shift in Sherlock's behaviour catches John by surprise, and he begins to worry about his place in his friend's life. John has to examine everything he thought he knew about Sherlock, himself and their relationship in order to win his rightful place yet again.

hands full of matter by simplyclockwork (21K, E, Johnlock) When Sherlock is captured in Serbia, Mycroft cannot afford to involve the British government in his rescue. Instead, he sends John. After two years spent thinking Sherlock was dead, John finds himself navigating not only Sherlock’s rescue but their fractured friendship as well.

The Victim Experience by J_Baillier (16K, T, Gen) A case takes Sherlock and John deep into the seedy underbelly of the haunted attractions industry. With audiences craving more and more intense experiences, is a real murder the next logical step?

On the Fence by BeautifulFiction (13K, T, Johnlock) The murder of the King's College fencing champion leads to revelations about Sherlock's past. Will it be the point that tips them from friends to lovers, or will they remain on the fence?

Plus bonus ACD era:

"Baker Street: The Sleep of Reason": A Memoir by John H. Watson, M.D. by Gaedhal (98K, M, Johnlock, Johniarty) This is a Victorian Era story in the "Sherlock Holmes" (2009) Ritchie-verse. The main characters are Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson and is from the doctor's memoirs. It was written before "A Game of Shadows" so there are differences in this story and film canon, mainly in the person and backstory of one particular character.

The Taste of Truth by sanguinity (25K, T, Johnlock) Two and a half years after Reichenbach, John Watson discovers the magical tree that caused Holmes to fake his death.

The Adventure of the Vatican Cameos by Garonne (18K, E, Johnlock) How should one behave when waking for the first time in the bed of one's dearest friend? Holmes and Watson solve a case in Catholic London while navigating the turbid waters of their new relationship.

Hot Water by wordybirdy (13K, E, Johnlock, Watson/Gregson) Dr. John Watson's libidinous affair with a respected Scotland Yard inspector abruptly judders to a halt when the former meets a certain Mr. Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Detective, for the very first time. The attraction between the two is strongly mutual, but misunderstandings only multiply and tensions abound, as all three men attempt to deal with the new situation.