#while I was trying to do that my different cakes and products that were supposed to be judged were misplaced

[allisonreader]

I find it so annoying at this point when I dream about my old childhood crush at this point. Like I don’t even want to go into details about the dream because it made me uncomfortable with what I had dreamt. I haven’t seen or spoken to him since we graduated. I don’t have him on any social media, but he still occasionally slips into my dreams. And it seems particularly after I’ve talked with my boyfriend that it happens.

[gillianthecat]

My Thoughts as I Watched Episodes 2 and 3 of Between Us.

in which your intrepid reporter files her article two weeks late

I actually watched them and wrote this two weeks ago, but didn't post it because I had vague plans to write more about them. But I want to catch up on the next two episodes, so any additional thoughts will wait for after that. The summary is: I continue to love the show, and it continues to make sense to me without seeing Until We Meet Again

Episode 2

- Ok, I think my initial prediction will be laughably wrong. It looks like so far Win is absolutely not trying to hide how he feels. Team though is. It's all very cute, I'm really into their dynamic. And they have CHEMISTRY, my goodness. I loved Team's reaction after Win left his room—his big sigh, his trying to hide his big smile even from himself.

- I just find Win so utterly charming. It makes the whole thing work; he might come across as a bit of a creep otherwise. I love his little smirk to Tul as he gets in the elevator.

- OH MY GOODNESS! Is there going to be a romance between Tul and Win's older brother?! - A gamer, internet stranger romance? I am so here for this. (Also Tul's actor has gotten even hotter as he's gotten older.)

- Ah, besides age gap we have a sprinkling of Forbidden Romance. Win is not supposed to be dating his juniors in the club. I dig it.

- Speaking of age gap (and perhaps this is because I've been watching Cutie Pie) hearing Team call Win Hia is very seductive. Especially that he's contouring to do it after Win asked for it in the heat of the moment. Whew. I cannot blame Win for being captivated by this boy.

- It does feel like this is going to be a very simple story—just two people fumbling their way toward falling in love—without a lot of plot happening around them. Interesting with all the reincarnation drama happening in the background. Since I like the characters and their actors, I like this simplicity.

- Also, now I can see why everyone was so frustrated that Even Sun was bad. These two are so good together.

- I love how much they talk during while making out. I love how conversation about consent and who they are to each other are made such a natural part of it, and also really hot. That "kiss me" !!! I also love how much they're into slamming each other into walls. These two can seriously convey desire and lust. It really feels like they want to fuck.

- I like how Team is worried about what he means to Win, and still figuring out what it means to desire someone, but he doesn't hold back sexually.

- I'm nervous that they will be discovered at some point; that no one will see us felt very foreshadow-y. And I really liked the questions that Team was asking - is either of us using each other, what happens if we break up - both because they're good questions and because it feels like something he would do. But it also felt a bit foreshadowing.

Episode 3

- Ooh, another side romance? That brings the total up to five romance pairs in this show (so far!). That is a lot to balance, I hope the script can manage it. And it's Fee from My Only 12%! (I had to look him up, he looked familiar but I couldn't figure out from where.)

- I saw the Wabi Sabi logo, and I realized there were several overlapping actors, but somehow it wasn't until now that I connected this was made by the same production company as My Only 12%. It makes sense, although the overall feeling of the show is different, a lot of the things I like productions wise are the same. They both feel like money was spent on making a professional product. And they both are good at making friend groups feel natural, which is not always the case. (And also why Sea looked familiar - he was Cake's university friend Auk in My Only 12%.

- Oooh that drunk/flashback scene. I will come back to that later.

- One thing I love is that I feel like I can trust Win not to try anything while Team is drunk because he was so careful to make sure that Team was sober enough to consent the first time. There are many drunken hook ups in BLs that I've loved (Love Mechanics, Big Dragon, in its own toxic way), but that thread of toxicity doesn't fit their dynamic, and it's such a relief to trust that the show won't go there.

- Team's actor plays drunkenness well. I love the way Win responds to it, switching between feeling he needs to be the stern mentor figure, annoyance, fond indulgence, and feeling desire, despite his best intentions.

- I feel vindicated in my initial snap judgements of their characters. (Well, and also this show did a good job introducing them.) Team literally calls Win "the cool one" and Team is becoming more and more chaotic now that the he's no longer on his beginning-of-the-school-year best behavior. (Also several people have affirmed to me that he is indeed a chaos monkey.)

- This flashback! I guess these two won't be all sex and awkward flirting after all, they will have their own angst and pain. It was hinted at in their breakfast date when Team was so shaken by the ordinary question of, "do you have siblings," but honestly I got distracted and forgot. I suspect this was something that was not known in UWMA, it's the kind of secret that wouldn't be shared about the side couple.

- Darling Win's response. I think I will write a separate list about what I like about this pair, because there are a lot of things.

- I love how Manow and Team are teasing Pharm about Dean. Seeing these hints does make me want to watch that series more now.

- Tul and Waan! I already love them. I assume they're brand new for Between Us; there's no reason that they would have been in Dean and Pharm's awareness. Tul has such a crush! The way he's smiling at his phone!

- I guess with the way UWMA opened I shouldn't be surprised by this traumatic memory of his brother drowning. But it's still hard to watch.

- Ok, but how are the dorms at the university so enormous! And singles! This can't be what any actual university dorms are like in Thailand, right? I lived in doubles half that size freshman year.

- I have a lot of thoughts comparing this, Love in the Air and Big Dragon all to each other. I'll save most of it for another post, but I'm intrigued by the different depictions of a dominant older character winning over a bratty younger character. I don't know if Win and Team are intended to be explicitly dom and sub, but the age gap, the power difference, Win's caretaking tendencies and Team's... whole thing (traumatized, anxious, pouty) have created that dynamic between them anyways. And I really like it here!

[princesscolumbia]

The frustrating part about this is; the more you look into it, the more you realize just how wrong the way we do things today is.

First there's the less obvious but you're going to kick yourself for not noticing before; "night owls" just happen to have a lot of traits in-common:

They tend to be neurodivergent

They usually prefer to be solo operators and think independently when support structures that "morning people" rely on for productivity aren't there

They often have better night vision (whether that's due to an increased number of rods in the cornea or some other mechanic)

Their generally introverts, meaning they thrive when operating in isolation

They problem-solve and process learning in ways that are better suited to people who don't need large support networks

And, to put the icing on the cake, let's point out the oft-repeated exhortation from the many, many "night owls" in this thread:

TᕼᕮY OᑭᕮᖇᗩTᕮ ᗷᕮTTᕮᖇ ᗩT ᑎIGᕼT!

Humanity has, built in, an entire night-shift crew ready to do all the things at night that are also done during the day. We're built different on purpose because for millions of years we, as a species, had to survive without things like "cities" and "enough weaponry to wipe out any competition for the title of 'Apex Predator'" and "electrical grids." They don't experience the negative psychological effects of isolation, they crave the kind of environment that demands constant draws on attention, they see better in environments with less light, and their responses to contrast-dependent motion stimuli are on a freaking hair trigger (try asking someone with ADHD a question while spinning a fidget spinner with light reflectors on the weights and tell me I'm wrong on this part), and their senses are turned up to 11 (my autistic girlfriend has hearing that boggles my mind, and my ADHD fueled senses are already better at auditory processing than most neurotypicals for my demographic).

By insisting that the people that are biologically hard-wired to work the night shift instead force themselves to work during the day, you're requiring that they operate directly against their nature.

Then there's the fact that 𝗘̢̖ͩͪ𝗩̹̝̚͟𝗘̡̰͊𝗥̧̞͒͛𝗬͉̑͋͡𝗢̣̖̐̈́̀𝗡̛̯͚͆𝗘̨͕̐'̾̚҉̱𝗦̱̆̀ ̛̙̲ͥͦ𝗦̵̜̻͂𝗟̸̼͆𝗘̵͈͖͑𝗘̞̰̅͜𝗣̡͔̓ͤ ̰̹͌͜𝗦̎͏̞͕𝗖̵̗͗𝗛̷͈̹͌̐𝗘̵͚ͥ𝗗͉̑̐͝𝗨̢̱͔͆𝗟͖ͭ́𝗘͔̄̄̀ ̶͉ͩ𝗜͚ͭ͡𝗦̡͍̼̓̅ ͤ͏͉̖𝗙͈ͫ̆́𝗨̗͚͒͜𝗖̖ͭ͢𝗞̡͍̐𝗘͕̻̆ͣ͜𝗗̖ͨ͜!̵͔̈́ͥ!̰̹͆͠!̵̙̎̾

In the past 10-20 years, more and more anthropologists are digging through human records of all types (both explicitly recorded history and not) and discovering that the modern "sleep 8 hours in one shot, work/live/play during the remaining 16" is exclusively an invention of the so-called "industrial revolution."

You know, the time period when we were all sold the idea that humans were replaceable cogs in the industrial complex machine and we're all replaceable and you'd better work and work and work and that's your entire point of existence or you're a lazy good for nothing slacker who deserves shame and death.

Prior to the whole damn world being convinced we're supposed to work ourselves to exhaustion for 16 hours a day and then collapse to sleep the remaining 8, people went to sleep when they felt the need and woke up when their body told them to. This resulted in THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE SLEEPING IN TWO (2) BLOCKS PER SLEEP PERIOD.

You ever find yourself reading some account of a historical figure where they were up at 2 AM doing something that would make history? Yeah, it wasn't because they were insomniacs (well, not all of them), it was because they had already gotten 2-4 hours of sleep and their body said it was time to wake up! Probably for the bathroom, but also because they had gotten enough rest they didn't need to sleep longer than that. And they got enough rest because they stayed up long enough to get tired again, then went back to sleep for another 2-4 hours.

When I learned about this, I began comparing my sleep tracker data against a theoretical sleep schedule where I planned to be awake in the middle of the night. Sure enough, the periods of sleep where I was most restless and prone to waking up randomly happened at about the 2-4 hour mark. So I started planning for this and expected to fall back asleep at some point later, which meant I had to go to bed earlier than usual (Doing this with a regular 8-hr./day pre-pandemic job sucked, but more on this in a little bit). Within, like, a week I was getting enough restful sleep from this split schedule that I was thriving on 5-6 hours of sleep. I just had to keep myself busy during the 2-3 hours I'd be awake at night. Would I take more sleep if I could get it, like for a nap? Heck yes! But I didn't need it on a day to day basis.

Couple this little data point with the studies that show humans aren't ever productive for a full 8 hours a day and it starts to look like the entire human race played themselves by adopting the Calvinist "8 hours for work, 8 hours for rest, 8 hours for everything else" mindset.

One more thing; when I got to the point in my job where I could dictate my own schedule? I planned to only be 'productive' 6 hours a day. My bosses still want me to be available "business hours" (which is a FUCKING stupid notion when your business is 'keeping the homes where people live maintained and damage free,' which is a 24-hour a day operation), so I can't slip into my natural sleep cycle of waking up between 9-10, starting [productive activity here] at 12-1, working until 2-3, taking a 'lunch' break until 4-5, working until 7-8, then going to sleep around 10-11 so I have enough time in my "sleep block" to be awake for a couple of hours. That said, I can tailor my schedule around giving myself that "awake" period in the middle of the night and still get enough restful sleep to get everything else done I want and need to do.

I just shouldn't have had to wait until I was in my FORTIES to have that level of flexibility.

Ok wait let her speak

[pies-writes-and-more]

allergic to you

Word Count: 3, 713

Pairing: Tsukishima Kei x High School Age!Fem!Reader

Warnings: some swear words I guess, but as per usual, it’s just fluff from me. 

A/N: Guess who’s finally joined another fandom lol hello Haikyuu fandom! Pls be kind, it’s my first time writing for this fandom but I am in love with Karasuno boys, it’s problematic. Anyways, please let me know if you liked it! Sorry if I didn’t quite capture him the way other writers do haha. Also, Y/N = Your (Last) Name, just cause typing Y/L/N is exhausting lol my b

(Not my gif, credits to the original creator!)

Yamaguchi was trying his very hardest not to laugh, his hands clasped together in front of his lips to stifle his giggles as the tall blond boy he had known for years just looked at him desperately.

“It’s not funny,” Tsukishima’s lips formed into a frown (almost a pout), looking away from his friend nervously. His fingers played with some chopsticks, poking at his uneaten lunch.

Yamaguchi had never see Tsukishima Kei nervous. Volleyball games? Totally calm. Math class? Easy. Exam season? Piece of cake.

But put Tsukishima near a girl? No, scratch that. Not just any girl. Put Tsukishima near Y/N? It was all over for him. Suddenly, this 190cm tall boy wanted to shrink small enough to run away and not be noticed.

“It’s a little funny, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi insisted, finally letting out just a tiny chuckle that he just couldn’t hold back. “I think you’re overreacting. Just a bit.”

Tsukishima’s eyes turned back to the other boy, staring at him as if analyzing him, “How could I be overreacting? I’m telling you, I’m allergic!”

Yamaguchi was really trying his best to be supportive, knowing that talking about things was already hard for Tsukishima, especially when involving a particularly cute girl. “You think... you’re allergic... to Y/N,” Yamaguchi retorted slowly, repeating how Tsukishima started this convo with.

“Don’t be an idiot,” Tsukishima scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Obviously it’s some product she uses or something,” his nose scrunched up slightly as he tried to think of what it could possibly be. “Like that hand lotion she uses. The one that smells like vanilla and brown sugar,” Tsukishima proclaimed, nodding to himself like he had solved the mystery.

The green haired boy was still trying his best to be supportive. He nodded slowly, giving a forced smile to his best friend as he slowly spiralled into insanity. He had never seen Tsukishima this desperate for answers before. “Hasn’t she let you use some of that hand lotion?” He wondered aloud, remembering very specifically how red Tsukishima’s ears got when she rubbed a bit into a rash he had gotten on his hand.

“Gotta take good care of your hands if you play volleyball, Tsukishima-san!” Y/N had beamed, her fingers massaging the cream in.

Tsukishima had practically fainted that day, though he’d never admit it.

The blond’s frown tightened, holding his hand to his chin in thought, “Right. So not the hand lotion then.”

“Maybe she got a new perfume?” Yamaguchi offered, nibbling on some of his lunch while Tsukishima thought it out.

“No, she’s still using the same one,” He mumbled, and Yamaguchi smirked to himself, knowing that Tsukishima would’ve never admitted before that he knew little details like this about her. 

“Well. what kinds of symptoms do you have? Maybe that’ll narrow it down,” Yamaguchi suggested, leaning his head back on the wall behind them. It wasn’t unusual for Tsukishima to want to eat some place quiet, but today had been the first day that he had practically dragged Yamaguchi to this small secluded spot behind the school. The two of them sat against a wall to eat, though Tsukishima’s lunch had been completely forgotten.

“I just-” Tsukishima hesitated, eyebrows furrowing in annoyance as he tried to word how his body felt every time she was around. “I always feel so lightheaded. And my heartbeat’s always irregular too. Sometimes it feels like I can’t breathe properly.” His hand slid into his jacket pocket, pulling out his phone and tilting the screen towards Yamaguchi to show him a medical diagnostic page on the web. “Some people say these are symptoms of allergies. Or an anxiety attack. But I’m leaning more towards allergies.”

Yamaguchi squinted at the text, “You... Googled it?” He asked, a playful smile on his lips, glancing up at Tsukishima, amused.

“Well, what else am I supposed to do?” Tsukishima scoffed, scrolling through the page. “I don’t know what else it could be. It’s not with anyone else. It can’t be the classroom either, cause when she’s not around, I don’t feel anything.”

“Hm. So what’re you going to do about it?” Yamaguchi asked, going along with this ‘allergic’ idea as much as he could. He knew Tsukishima was very rational and even if he suggested what he figured was happening, Tsukishima would never listen.

“D-Do?” Tsukishima blinked. He hadn’t thought about what the next step was.

“Well I assume you don’t want to keep feeling that like right? You could always ask the teacher to move you, I suppose. Then ask her not to attend any of our games. Avoiding her for the rest of your life seems like the best choice doesn’t it?” Yamaguchi asked innocently, closing up his lunch box and taking a sip from his juice.

Tsukishima stayed quiet, eyebrows still furrowed and the frown on his face tightening. He knew that made sense - one of the girls in their class was allergic to nuts and she always had to be careful what she ate, and he had even heard of some people not eating or drinking milk products because of allergies. The logical part of his brain agreed with Yamaguchi, perhaps staying away from Y/N was the only answer.

“Then... maybe it’s not an allergy,” Tsukishima mumbled quietly. He hated going back on his word but he couldn’t deny that he loathed the idea of not seeing Y/N’s smile ever again. Or seeing her sit with someone else. “Maybe it’s just something I have to get used to.”

“You know, Tsukishima,” Yamaguchi started again, looking off to the scenery that was in front of them. His voice was light and airy as he tried to coax his friend to the idea, “What you’re going through sounds a lot like-”

Tsukishima could hear it in his voice, he knew the next word forming from Yamaguchi’s lips before it even entered the air. He slammed his lunch box closed and stood up abruptly, turning away from the other boy’s eyes. “Lunch is over,” he grumbled, as if that was the reason he stood up so dramatically.

Yamaguchi smirked and packed up his things, shaking his head slowly when Tsukishima wasn’t looking. He wasn’t at all surprised that Tsukishima was having a hard time accepting his feelings.

The word hung in the very serious boy’s mind for the rest of the day. He tried not to focus so much on Y/N as he sat next to her for the rest of their classes, tried to not inhale too much or look in her general direction, in fear that his “allergy” would act up again.

He was almost positive it wasn’t... that. He would know for sure if it was, wouldn’t he? His nose scrunched slightly as he thought about the music he had listened to before, ones that had just a good melody and beat and he definitely didn’t listen to because of the lyrics since they were about... that thing.

Didn’t some people talk about their heart feeling like it was going to fall out of their chest? That they found it hard to breathe? That it was like all life stopped when they saw that person? And that despite all this, they never wanted to be without them?

Tsukishima had to get to the bottom of this. He was either experiencing some sort of allergic reaction to her or he was experiencing feelings. He thought about ignoring them, pretending like they didn’t exist so that maybe everything would go back to normal one day. But how long would that take? Wouldn’t it just be easier to rip off the bandaid and find out now?

At the end of class, Tsukishima zoomed his way out of class, not waiting for Yamaguchi like usual.

“Is he alright, Yamaguchi-san?” Y/N asked, surprised that the two best friends weren’t walking out together like they had every other day. Some days, they would even walk out with Y/N on their way to practice. But apparently, not today.

“He’s got a lot on his mind,” Yamaguchi explained, waving it away with a smile. Perhaps today he would be walking home by himself. And that was fine by him.

Y/N packed up her things and waved goodbye to her other classmates, heading out the door and slipping in her headphones. Her mind drifted to all the things she had to do when she got home, whether or not there were leftovers to heat up today or if she should cook something up.

“You take so long,” a drawl voice interrupted the very beginning of her first song. She blinked in surprise, looking to her right where Tsukishima was leaning against a tree.

Y/N pulled out one earbud, tilting her head as she watched him. It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen him do this casual, I-don’t-care-about-anything lean, with his headphones around his neck and his hands shoved in his pockets. But there was something different about him this time. Why was he avoiding her eyes? Why was he not giving her an annoyingly carefree smile? Why were his ears turning pink?

“Were you... waiting for me, Tsukishima-san?” Y/N asked slowly. He didn’t move for a moment, as if still calculating something in that big brain of his. He pushed off of the tree after sighing, walking over to her slowly.

“Obviously,” was all he said, glaring down at her as if she should��ve known this.

“You rushed out of class so quick, I thought you were already going home,” Y/N responded, still a bit confused. “Don’t you and Yamaguchi normally walk home together?”

Why did she have to question so much? Why couldn’t she just realize what he was trying to do? Tsukishima huffed and grabbed her hand, dropping a nice cool juice box in it. His eyes darted away from her next inquisitive look, but glanced back almost immediately because he wanted to see her eyes widen just a little at her favourite juice box.

“W-What is this?” Y/N asked, holding it in her hands. Part of her wanted to examine it to make sure he hadn’t somehow tricked her into holding something that wasn’t actually juice. She looked up at him suspiciously - Tsukishima knew her favourite juice?

“You didn’t have one with you today. I figured you forgot your wallet again today,” Tsukishima mumbled, shoving his hands in his jacket again.

“O-Oh. I did, thank you. Um,” Y/N hesitated. Was Tsukishima trying... to be nice? “Why... why did you buy it for me?”

“I just said why,” Tsukishima scoffed, flicking her head gently. He scolded himself internally, feeling guilty as soon as she showed the surprise on her face. She’s asking why you thought to be nice, Kei, stop being snarky, he told himself harshly. “Sorry,” he muttered quickly, feeling almost immediately bad for flicking her.

Y/N just laughed though, giggles spilling from her lips as she looked up at him, “Are you feeling okay, Tsukishima-san? You’re turning red,” she teased gently and he looked away from her quickly, hating how quickly his face heated up.

He took a breath, trying to mimic how calm he was on the court. He turned back to look at her with a cocky smile and confidence gaze, though he was sure she could tell he was nervous, “I’m fine, Y/N-san. But I need to tell you something. And I’m only going to say it once so listen up.”

Y/N watched him intently, noting the fake confidence he was trying to put on. She nodded as he looked at her for any sign to keep going.

His lips opened for a moment and Y/N could’ve sworn there was a moment of panic in his eyes when nothing came out. “I’m going to walk you home today,” Tsukishima stated finally, each word thudding into the air. He felt his confidence falter as the wrong words left his mouth, shifting his bag on his shoulder and starting to walk ahead.

Y/N’s eyebrows furrowed, feeling her confusion only rise. Did he really build up that whole thing... just to walk her home?

“Hurry up or I’ll leave you here,” Tsukishima called behind his shoulder, still walking ahead. He was internally punching himself, groaning and uttering insults at his own stupid self. Couldn’t even say it. Couldn’t just say Y/N I like you and I think I’m either allergic to you or I’m utterly in love with you but I’ve been told I suck at explaining how I feel and that I never say the right things at the right time so please just reject me so I can move away from these exhausting feelings.

“Want some?” Y/N’s gentle voice was suddenly beside him, and Tsukishima felt his stomach doing that flipping motion again. He glanced down at her and saw her holding up the juice box at him. “Seems only fair, since you bought it,” she explained, the glimmer in her eyes making him feel way too warm inside.

“Sure,” he mumbled after a moment. She smiled just a little bit wider, holding up the juice to him, expecting him to just snatch it away and drink. But no, Tsukishima being a little bitch and deciding that if he couldn’t admit anything with words, he could try with actions, leaned down slightly, and latched his lips onto the straw. His hand wrapped around hers over the juice box, holding it still as he took a sip.

Y/N felt like she was suddenly bright red, her heart possibly having exploded right then and there. His eyes looked up to meet hers as he sipped, smirking a bit as he noticed the panicked and flushed look in her eyes.

Maybe the feeling is... mutual?

“Mm,” he hummed, pulling away after keeping her gaze for a second. “I guess I can see why you like it.”

Y/N had shivers running up and down her spine, feeling like Tsukishima had looked into her very soul and knew about her year-long crush on him.

The two of them started walking a bit slower after that, and to the external eye, you’d probably just see two classmates walking home together. But look a little closer, and you’d see both of them having internal conflicts. They managed to walk through the small roads filled with shops and make it about halfway to Y/N’s house in complete silence. 

“Y/N-san,” Tsukishima finally ended it, the agonizing silence, in which he had been racking his brain trying to think of how to start a conversation. He stopped in his tracks as he spoke the one word, the two of them now on a quieter dirt path. There was no one to interrupt them, no one to save Tsukishima from embarrassment, no Yamaguchi to fill the awkward silence.

“Hm?” Y/N looked back at him, noticing him just standing there. “Are you alright, Tsukishima-san?”

“There’s something I need to say,” he started, his hands in his pockets clenched into fists.

“O-Oh okay.”

“I’ve been... feeling sick around you.” Baka, he scolded himself for what felt like the millionth time. That definitely wasn’t the way he had wanted to say it. “I-I mean, not like sick sick but like allergy sick,” he tried to recover, but scoffed at himself since that wasn’t all that much better.

Y/N’s eyebrows furrowed in response, trying to think about his reactions lately. He had definitely been more flushed lately, but she always thought that was annoyance. He’d been quieter and more distant, but it was Tsukishima after all. He looked over to her desperately, hoping to see that she was understanding what he was trying to say. She wasn’t. 

Tsukishima was starting to get frustrated. He knew he wasn’t the greatest at communicating but how hard was it to see how much he liked her? Yamaguchi saw it, hell, even his upperclassmen teased him about it when they first saw Tsukishima and Y/N walking out of class together one day. So why did other people who didn’t need to know it, why did they understand but she didn’t? Why was she so dense? 

You’re not saying anything, his mind reminded him as he scowled to himself.

“It has to be that,” Tsukishima finally continued quietly, his eyes now staring at his feet. He was practically trying to convince himself now. It had to be that there was a health related issue with him being around her. It had to be that, because if it wasn’t, it meant that Tsukishima had to tell her how he felt. And that meant that he was probably going to end up hurt. Why a girl like Y/N hung around a guy like him anyways was beyond him. 

“Why?” Y/N frowned, still terribly lost in the cosmos of this odd confession. “Why would it have to be that?”

“Because if it isn’t that, then it means that I’ve fallen completely head over heels for you.”

Tsukishima wasn’t sure how he had managed to say the words. But there it was. His fists tightened even more, his fingernails digging into his palm so hard it was starting to hurt. 

His eyes closed tightly, turning his head away from her. He didn’t want to look. He didn’t want to see laughter or disgust in her eyes. Maybe he could take it back now. Maybe he could-

Tsukishima jumped at the feeling of a poke on his chest, his eyes opening in surprise when he found Y/N standing much closer than she was earlier. “Are you teasing me?” She asked defensively, squinting her eyes up at him.

“T-Teasing?” Tsukishima stammered. He watched her eyes, noting how visibly upset she looked and he could feel his frustration rising. He had finally said what he had wanted to say this whole time... and she wasn’t even reacting the way she was supposed to. How stupid did she have to be? And why did she have to look so damn cute while doing it?

“Yamaguchi-san told you, didn’t he? I knew that poophead couldn’t keep his mouth shut,” she grumbled, crossing her arms against her chest. “He swore he wouldn’t tell you, but I should’ve known. You guys are best friends and all.”

“Told me... told me what?”

“That I’ve liked you practically since we met,” Y/N huffed, putting her hands on her hips. “Listen, Tsukishima-san, if you don’t like me back, you don’t have to tease me like this. I’m perfectly fine being rejected,” she told him with a pout on her lips (she was definitely not fine being rejected, and was planning on crying at home after this). “Don’t act like you didn’t know.”

Tsukishima‘s eyes widened, staring at her like she had grown a second head. “You... You like me?” He gulped. His allergies must be getting worse, his heart was thumping so hard against his chest, he couldn’t think straight.

Y/N and him shared a confused look for a moment, neither one of them sure who was teasing whom at this point. “Didn’t... didn’t you know? That’s why you’re being nice to me?” She asked him, poking his chest again. “Why else would you be walking me home and buying me juice?”

“Why would...” Tsukishima’s lips curled into a smile and suddenly he burst out into laughter, tilting his head back in amusement. 

“Why are you laughing?” Y/N whined, punching his arm lightly with a huff. “This isn’t a time to be laughing at me!”

Tsukishima straightened up with his signature cocky smile, shaking his head as he fixed his glasses on his face. Then, his hand moved to hit the top of her head.

“OW! Tsukishima-san!”

“You idiot. Why would I be standing here confessing to you if I was just going to make fun of you?” Tsukishima scoffed, smirking at her. “If I didn’t like you back and I found out you liked me, don’t you think I would’ve made it clear by now that you never stood a chance?”

Y/N thought about this for a moment, remembering that one time a girl in a different class had confessed to him after attending one of his matches.

“I think you’re incredible, Tsukishima-san! A-And I just.... well I just...”

“Are you trying to confess to me?” Tsukishima didn’t even bother looking up from his study book, finishing an equation before even glancing at her. “You should just give up now. I’m not interested.”

The girl had teared up so much, even Y/N had felt bad (even though she was secretly happy that Tsukishima hadn’t accepted the confession). Yamaguchi had yelled at Tsukishima about being gentle that day.

“Why would I be nice to someone stupid enough to think I’d like them? I didn’t give her any hints that I did, I don’t even know her,” Tsukishima grumbled.

Y/N had internalized those words, deciding she wouldn’t confess her feelings to Tsukishima ever. If she did, and Tsukishima rejected her, he probably wouldn’t want to be around her as friends ever again.

“So...” Y/N thought to herself for a moment, trying to reexamine what had happened today. “What was with the juice box then?” She asked him. 

“I thought...” Tsukishima frowned a little, looking up at the sky in thought. “I thought when you confess you were supposed to... give a gift or something.”

Y/N couldn’t help but giggle at his thought process and Tsukishima glared at her slightly. “You’re laughing at me now?”

She shook her head quickly, trying to stifle her giggles, “I just... I think it’s sweet,” she beamed, holding onto her little juice box even though it was empty now.

Tsukishima watched her carefully before smiling a little, patting her head gently, “Alright then, let’s get you home. I’ll bring another juice box for you for our date.”

“D-Date?” Y/N repeated shyly, following him as he started to walk again.

“You thought I’d just confess to you and not ask you out? Idiot,” Tsukishima smirked, feeling such an intense relief on his shoulders. His heart was still beating furiously and his stomach felt like it was going to come up his throat, but... it wasn’t as frustrating of a feeling now. 

After he dropped her off at her house with the promise of walking her to school tomorrow morning, Tsukishima couldn’t help but allow himself to smile widely the whole way home. 

If this is what an allergy felt like, he never wanted it to stop.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Okay like I mentioned up there in the Author’s Notes, this is my first time writing for Haikyuu so lmk what you thought :) I’ve written some stuff for OHSHC and I think it’s pretty obviously that tall jerks with glasses are my type lol 

Anyways! Enjoy!

[vivelareine]

Hi! I was hoping you could answer something for me because I'm debating about it somewhere. Did Marie Antoinette pretend to be a peasant/farmer at the hameau at the Petit Trianon?

She didn't. There is no evidence that Marie Antoinette ever pretended to be a farmer, milkmaid/dairymaid, shepherdess, peasant, and so on at the hameau de la reine.

The idea that she and her entourage were playing "village" can be traced to the non-contemporary names given to the buildings during the First Empire period. These building names (vicar's house, etc) gave the false impression that they were pretend "houses" used to simulate a fake village. Whereas in reality, the buildings all had specific purposes, whether they were recreational buildings intended for the elite people or practical buildings intended for the workers.

Like other historical myths, it gets repeated enough times and suddenly it's "true," showing up in books as fact without vetting, being depicted in film (La Revolution Francaise where she milks cows, etc).

But when you go back to the sources, there's no evidence for it. Only evidence that she treated the hameau de la reine like any elite woman would have treated a country estate: she was the mistress who hired employees to do the labor, and "managed it" like an elite woman would manage a country house, and enjoyed its recreations. Approving livestock orders that the head farmer requested, asking for reports on the status of crops, etc. Hosting dinners there, taking walks, tasting the dairy products made in her name, etc.

Another common myth is that she was milking perfumed cows, petting beribboned sheep, etc. Again, all false. I also sometimes see people deride the fact that she asked for a goat that had a good temper, which such an odd thing to pick on. The head farmer complained about the original goat because the original goat was an asshole (not his contemporary words, of course) so wanted to make sure the next goat wasn't Black Philip incarnate.

IMO, the hameau is novel in a different sense; because Marie Antoinette chose to include both practical and recreational buildings integrated into the same space, she created a unique type of estate which didn't hide away the practical labor used to create elite recreation; unlike similar "hameau" estates, which relied on practical production in other spaces (either out of necessity due to lack of space/ability, or specifically done in order to remove the visual of the labor) the hameau de la reine did not shy away from the practical aspect.

With this in mind, though, the hameau in general has taken on an additional mythical quality thanks largely to the aesthetics of the Sofia Coppola film, which depicts Marie Antoinette and her entourage laying in the grass, petting sheep, skipping around, digging in the dirt for strawberries, etc. It's important to remember that these are modern interpretations of how the estate was enjoyed, and not necessarily based in reality. But it has definitely made an impression on pop culture--see how the Secret Versailles of Marie Antoinette docudrama portrayed the Petit Trianon as a whole as if it came out of the Coppola film.

Back to the hameau as a fake village/fake farm, Marie Antoinette pretending to be a peasant in a blissful surrounding myth: It's a myth which developed in the 1800s, after her death, around the same time that "Let them eat cake" began to stick to Marie Antoinette. Rhe contemporary criticism of the hameau was about its secrecy and privacy, about the supposed sexual and then political dealings going on there, about its expense.

Which was, of course, extraordinary compared to any amount of income the average person would make in their lifetime, though it wasn't statistically notable when it came to French finances--and as I've pointed out before, other royals spent far more but received none of the vehement criticism and dangerous dehumanization for it. Mesdames chateau & hameau at Bellevue cost 96% more than Marie Antoinette’s Petit Trianon chateau & hameau de la reine, and they were not dehumanized and degraded like MA for it, by contemporaries or later historians/writers. One of Mesdames even wrote a letter romanticizing the sounds of the servants at their hameau, and no one’s ever really made a big deal of it.

Both myths (fake village, pretend villager) served in the 19th century to develop the concept of Marie Antoinette as someone who thought that the peasants had a pretty sanitized lifestyle., either out of naivety or maliciousness.

While the real Marie Antoinette certainly couldn't empathize with what it was like to be poor, she expressed sympathy throughout her life and had a surprisingly astute understanding of the impact of a lack of bread (see the letter written they day after the October 1793 march on Versailles) on people's behavior and actions. She didn't think that their lives were represented by the hameau de la reine.

The hameau de la reine was a romanticized notion of a secluded countryside elite estate combined with a mixture of whimsical fantasy, the faux cracks & weathering designed to make it appear when you approached as if it was a mysterious place that had always been there.

Marie Antoinette did not imagine she was a peasant or that this was peasant life, nor was this an attempt to create a sanitized version of peasant life sans poverty and real peasants. I think people often confuse the notion of Marie Antoinette wanting a "simpler" life with Marie Antoinette trying to pretend she wasn't a queen; this was not the case. She never forgot she was an elite woman; she simply wanted to enjoy the type of less-rigid elite life that wasn't uncommon in other European royals, but which was considered unusual and in Marie Antoinette's case, unforgivable for a queen of France.

Some further reading:

Pierre de Nolhac, The Trianon of Marie Antoinette (1925)

Meredith Martin, Dairy Queens: The Politics of Pastoral Architecture from Catherine de' Medici to Marie-Antoinette (2011)

Simone Bertière, The Indomitable Marie-Antoinette (2014)

And to recommend something I wrote, Let's Visit! The Laiterie de Préparation at the Hameau de La Reine, I talk a bit about the practical/working dairy and my thoughts on the novel integration of the working dairy into the hameau as a whole.

[silversatoru]

HOHO💖THANK YOU 💘 I was thinking one very Angst with Gojo, like.. He realizes he loves his best friend, but when he confesses they heavily reject him saying they could never trust him that way due to his womanizer self(?) and bc they love nanami,, like,, when they see him they're like 🎇💘MMHH YES, I feel awful but I love seeing gojo in pain for somewhat reason

Im so sorry😂🙏 if you don't want to write this, it's okay👌😌 thank you dear💖

too late

a/n: my past like 4 gojo asks have all been about him being a whore,,, y’all love to slander this man and see him in pain (me too)

synopsis: gojo loves you, you love nanami, things are messy 

t/w: angst, gojo is very sad

w/c: 1.4k

you’ve been gojo satoru’s best friend for as long as you can remember — two brainless jujutsu sorcerers who could never take anything seriously. the two of you together were simultaneously the biggest annoyance and also quite a force to be reckoned with. your abilities were no where near those of satoru, but you complimented him perfectly and no one stood a chance if the two of you were together — and you were always together.

in fact you were together right now, grabbing some food after effortlessly taking out some curses a few cities over. satoru enjoyed the sweeter things in life, downing a package of powdered-coated dough balls while you stuck to your savory bowl of spicy rice cakes. this was tradition for the two of you, sitting on a random bench somewhere in a random city munching on snacks and debriefing on the mission you’d just completed.

you loved it, and you loved satoru — like a brother, like a best friend, like a favorite teammate. you loved satoru but not in the way he loved you.

it was a recent realization, that he loved you in a romantic kind of way. he’d always just seen you as his best friend, but recently your eyes have sparkled a little more, your skin glowed a little brighter, and your voice sounded a little smoother when it flowed into his ears. it was right now, while he watched your sauce-covered lips suck down another rice cake, that he realized he wanted nothing more than to kiss you — right here and right in front of everyone. 

the only problem was, he had quite the history of being a womanizer. satoru went through women as if they were a one-time-use disposable product, and you were very aware of this. but none of those women were you, and he promised himself that he’d give you everything you deserved when he finally confessed. 

“can i have one?” you pointed to his near empty package of sweets and shook him out of his thoughts.

satoru wasn’t much for sharing, especially his desserts, but you were an exception. he plucked out a powdery ball (one that he knew was your favorite flavor) and popped it into your mouth. him hand-feeding you should have been weird, but you’ve been friends for so long that you didn’t think twice about it. you bit the sticky dough down between your teeth, a cheesy smile stretching across your face when you noticed he got your flavor right. 

“th-aanks,” you mumbled, mouth stuffed full of sugary confection. 

in the midst of your chewing, you felt a napkin swipe across your mouth to remove the excess powdered sugar. you eyed satoru suspiciously, starting to catch on to how overly-touchy he was being today. but he just shrugged, making snarky comments about how messy of an eater you were.

it wasn’t until the two of you finished your snacks and were walking through the city that you finally questioned him. he’d wrapped his arm through yours, pulling you close so you were walking right next to his side — his weirdly intimate actions today were starting to stack up. 

“what are you doing?” you peered up at him, giving your arm a small yank as you attempted (and failed) to put some space between the two of you. 

“that guy over there was checking you out,” he shamelessly pointed to a dark-haired man further up the street, his voice defensive. 

“okay, and? that bothers you-?” you yanked again, finally pulling your arm free of his embrace.

“no, but he looks like a weirdo, you deserve someone better than that,” he insisted, an evil grin on his face as he turned his pointer finger so it was facing himself. 

“like me!”

“oh, like nanami” 

your voices came out at the exact same time, but the content of your words could not have been more different. 

“nanami!?”

“you!?”

the two of you froze in the middle of the street, faces covered in equal amounts of shock and confusion. satoru had finally confessed his feelings to, and you’d just accidentally and unintentionally shut him down with one word — nanami.

“nanami?” he repeated again, an edge to his voice as he tried to protect his ego and mask his jealousy. 

“yeah, i- uh, i planned to tell you soon that we’ve been seeing each other recently. i had no idea that you-” you scrambled to explain the situation, trying not to let the hurt on your friend’s face get to you, “you’re with other women all the time satoru, how was i supposed to know?”

he winced at the unintentional insult, his history with women weighing heavy on his shoulders as he realized it was a prominent factor in your rejection. 

“ah - it’s fine! nanami beat me to it i guess. i’m happy for you guys,” he attempted a genuine smile, and anyone else may have been fooled by it too, but you knew him better than to fall for his shitty façade. 

you noticed the tiniest twitch of his eyebrow, and the smallest quiver of his lip as he continued to hide and protect his true feelings. it broke your heart in half, having to watch him put on a show like this. 

“i’m sorry,” you let the apology spill from your lips a few times, but he was very quick to remind you that none of this was your fault. 

“we’ll still be friends, right? i don’t know what i’d do without you,” you gave him a somber look, imagining a future without him by your side. 

satoru and nanami were good friends as well, and you’d never forgive yourself if this tore their friendship apart. 

“of course,” he gave you a cheeky smile and then continued walking down the street with a quick wave of his hand, instructing you to follow him. 

you jogged a couple steps to catch up to him, and he immediately started making jokes about a weird-looking man who was selling street food to your left. in a matter of seconds he was back to his typical self — so much so that it seemed as if your conversation had never happened. 

and that's exactly how satoru tried to imagine his life — as if that conversation had never occurred. he knew how important he was to you, but he also saw the way you looked an nanami with stars in your eyes. he knew that you needed them both, and so he stayed and watched you fall in love with someone who wasn’t him. 

whenever you asked, he told you that it had been a weird one-time thing and that he didn’t feel that way towards you anymore. he’d listen to your stories about the ex-business man and force smiles and laughter to make you happy. because that was all he ever wanted, for you to be happy, and if that meant you had to be with someone else, so be it. 

you and satoru were one in the same, so incredibly alike that maybe you would never have worked out anyway. you were raging with energy, energy that satoru only fueled stronger — where as nanami was gentle, peaceful, the opposite of you and your silver-haired counterpart. nanami cooled you down and and kept you centered, and that was what you needed, but it was something satoru would never have been able to give you. 

so when years had gone by and nanami asked him to be the best man at your wedding, he was crippled. he knew how important it was to you but he could hardly stand the thought of watching you vow yourself to the blonde-man. but despite his feelings, he didn’t even hesitate to say yes. you’d be so disappointed if he hadn’t.

and so he threw on his mask one last time, standing tall in a sleek, black suit as he watch you spill your feelings to nanami in a beautiful vow. you looked perfect, so stunning, and it tore him up that he wasn’t the one standing across from you. 

but he laughed and smiled all night, because that’s who he was. gojo satoru was always expected to be the life the party, and it was a heavy burden to carry. he was so tired of keeping up an act for you and for everyone else; all he wanted was to bury his head into your neck and rest. but he’d never have that, he’d never have you, and tonight made it official. 

[rqnvindr]

delicacies

pairing: baker!childe x gn!reader

genre: fluff, modern bakery!au, suggestive 

w.c: 1.5k

warnings: making out lol

synopsis: moving to a new country was quite the adventure. and you found new areas to travel further within the cute boy right down the road’s ocean eyes.

--

it had been a total of two weeks since you arrived in italy. getting settled was your top priority, but now that you’ve got your place set up and are getting used to college life in a new country, it was about time you started checking off some of the more leisurely activities on your checklist.

the streets were clearer, less busy than usual, on the weekend you enter the bakery. it seemed like an unpretentious, small business, with the simple, yet homely, beige walls and the old vinyl in the corner playing soft tunes. the bell rings when you enter, but no one seems to be behind the counter when you examine the array of cakes in the front display.

“welcome! i can help you when you’re ready to order!” a perky male voice interrupts you in the middle of eyeing a slice of strawberry cake. you look up to see a ginger with a warm smile, the crinkles around his blue eyes genuine. 

“hello! i was hoping to get this slice of cake right here.” you point to said strawberry treat.

“ah yes. my older brother has been WAITING for someone to try his new signature strawberry cake. but there honestly can’t be anything special about something that tastes the same no matter what.” you can practically hear the way he rolls his eyes as he takes the cake out to put it in a box. 

you raise an eyebrow. “complaining about your own products? that doesn’t seem like a very good marketing strategy, but i suppose reverse psychology will do its job.” 

“you sound like you know about sales quite a bit.” he smiles wryly. “are you a business major?”

“yup! i actually just moved here to study at the local university for an overseas program.” you only knew this guy for a maximum of 30 seconds, and he had already seemed so open and was able to read you like a book. it made you want to know more about him in exchange. 

“so your family bakes everything here?” you ask. 

“yes we do! my parents usually do the baking while my siblings and i work varying shifts here up front or stocking up the inventory. but we too, also experiment with different recipes to sell new things.” 

you hum in response. “you must have a lot of siblings then.”

the boy chuckles in response. “i do. i don’t know what i’d do without them.” he sounded so happy while talking about his family and it made you feel warm just hearing about how they worked together. 

“is this a competition for how much we can learn about each other within a span of a few minutes.” he smirks. “when we haven’t even learnt each others names yet?”

you inspect his attire, pausing at a name tag pinned to his shirt pocket. “ajax? nice to meet you, i’m (y/n).”

“well, (y/n), hope to see you again after trying my brother’s cake. hope it makes you realize that you gotta go for the chocolate or vanilla, not something that wasn’t meant to be a dessert in the first place.”

--

“i mean it was good so i came back for another one?” you can’t help but laugh when the same boy you met at the counter last week shakes his head.

“and you came to order right around closing time too, huh? guess this makes you a new challenge for me.” you avert your gaze to the ground, suddenly feeling nervous from his chastising. 

“fine, you can lose the pouty face. i’ll accept your questionable taste just this one last time.” he pushes his hair back with a sigh after packing up your order and you catch yourself staring. 

and of course, just when you allow yourself to indulge in the sight of a mysterious sea of unanswered questions in his blue eyes, he locks eyes with you. he knows you’re checking him out, causing him to smirk coyly. 

“ajax,” you begin, preventing the atmosphere from heading somewhere more tense. “have you lived here all of your life?” 

“as a matter of fact, no i haven’t. my family has been around, but i think we’ve finally found where we’re supposed to belong here. i’ve been living here long enough for people to start calling me by two different names too. ‘tartaglia’ and also ‘childe’.”

hm. so he was attractive and went by multiple names....

“‘tartaglia’? interesting, sounds like you’ve even earned yourself a name amongst the locals here.”

“i don’t know why they named me after the guy from that one play, though. maybe it’s because i leave a little bit of a stutter in people’s lives.” childe winks.

--

stutter, huh.

you thought he was just being a boastful young man. until you found yourself just happening to visit the bakery during times you predicted he’d be there. 

childe was like a peacock strutting his stuff out in the open, captivating, and divine. you had never met someone so adventurous yet down to earth at the same time. one moment he’d be bragging about his ventures with his friends, and then next thing you knew he’d do a 180 if his little brother called in the middle of your conversation. 

it wasn’t just his actions. he grew more bold with his words too. eyes shooting stars as he looked you up and down, noticing the new outfit you wore just for him when he purred about how good you looked and how it was always a treat to have someone as sweet as you visit after a long day at work. 

he was always full of surprises. you’re reminded of that when you find him standing behind the counter in a hoodie and jeans instead of his usual work attire.

“what’s up? disappointed that i’m not wearing the apron?” childe exits the space separating you two, and stands dangerously close to you. “don’t worry, i can put it back on when i show you the new frosting i’m working on.” he chuckles and rubs your shoulder, the small exchange of body heat making you feel warm all over.

“a new product, huh? is this to help your family business or to compete with your siblings?” you watch him count the cash at the register with your hands tucked underneath your chin. 

“sweetheart, even a guy like me can take on baking as a hobby rather than just a way to make ends meet or pick fights.” with that, he slides the cash register drawer closed. “come on, it should be processed by now.”

you slowly follow childe into the back. as promised, he puts the apron over his casual clothes, the sight rather domestic. 

he dips his finger into the light pink frosting after giving it one last stir and licks it off. the sight makes you shiver and lick your own lips.

“mmm. so i guess strawberry does taste pretty good. if done right of course.”

“what made you change your mind, mr.strawberry-anti?” you smirk.

“baking is a delicacy. i was never a ‘strawberry-anti’, just wary of how it’s supposed to mesh with desserts for the sake of compliancy. i made this frosting to test it out some more, and as a special treat. for you.”

before you can receive his gesture to claim your treat, childe gives you the same glimmering look that he always uses before pulling at your heartstrings even further. 

and it becomes way too much for you to handle when he leans his face closer to yours.

“here, have a taste.” childe teasingly presses a kiss to the corner of your mouth. he continues to leave gentle pecks on your lips, and you let out shaky breaths every time he pulls away.

“why did you stop?” you whine and he hovers over your entire body this time, pushing your hips onto the counter.

“hm, not enough? come closer then.” you wrap your arms around his neck, this time, getting a real taste of his creation when he claims your mouth whole. 

you grip onto his hair when he adds more pressure into the kiss, pulling especially harder when he nibbles on your bottom lip. as if having unlocked the key to your greatest depths, he effortlessly slides his tongue into your mouth, and you moan upon tasting the lingering strawberry flavor mixed with the feeling of your tongues connecting.

much to your dismay, you both pull away for air. your breaths mingle hotly before he coaxes you into taking a bit more for yourself. not long after you savor the sweetness, childe’s lips are back on yours. the way he sucks the cream off your lips makes your head spin, making you forget about everything else but this one boy in front of you, the mystery boy in a foreign country who sent you through a rollercoaster during only your first month of living here. 

“ajax...” you breathe out his name when he lets go of your now swollen and red lips. the boy proceeds to kiss your cheek and jawline gently, laughing softly against your skin.

“i can’t help it, baby. it tastes even better on you.”

[lovely-angst]

hbd dearest dynamight

a/n: a little late, but happy birthday boom boom boi! ily!

genre: fluff

pairing: bakugou x reader

summary: you try to surprise bakugou on his birthday, but he comes home early from work!

word count 1.7k

04.21.21

-

"I can't believe I gotta work on my birthday," Bakugou groans as he runs his hands up and down his face. It was just hitting six in the morning and Bakugou was about to head out the door for work, not before lounging on the couch one last time to bask in the warm presence of his home.

"Hey, it's okay. Heroes gotta work on their birthdays sometimes. If it makes you feel better, your fans are probably pretty excited to wish you a happy birthday when they see you on patrol," you say, bending down to kiss him on the forehead, feeling his arms snake around your waist, cheek resting on your pregnant belly.

"I guess, but we could've been doing something together," he mumbles into your swollen stomach. Chuckling, you try to push him away, but his strength was far greater than yours, even when he didn't try.

"Katsuki," you whine, "we can always celebrate when you're off," you try, but he doesn't budge. Instead, he lifts you into his arms as he carries you over to the front door.

Your eyes lock and you give him a shy smile, feeling nervous with the way he stared you down so passionately and quiet.

"I could just not show up. They can get Deku to cover for me," he whispers against your lips, but you shake your head at him, "it's not just me who loves you, you know. it's a day the citizens want to celebrate—to celebrate you. Plus, you already have the whole night with me," you say with a shy smile and Bakugou couldn't help but smile back, closing the space between the two of you to press a kiss onto your lips.

"Can't really do much now that we have the little pooper on the way," Bakugou says, eyes glancing down to your stomach. "We still could," he inquires, but you slap his chest, "we are not gonna cause a ruckus in there for him." Setting you down gently on your feet, you watch as Bakugou puts on his boots before opening the door, the sun just rising in the sky. A frosty chill in the air before he turns back to look at you, "don't you have something to tell me?" Jumping in your spot from the sudden question with an 'oh!', you lean forward to press a warm kiss on his lips, "I love you, have a good day at work." But that didn't seem to be the answer.

Bakugou frowned, lips slightly pouting before speaking up once more, "anything else?"

Staring at your husband, you give him a quizzical look before the light bulb finally goes off in your head.

"Happy birthday, Katsuki, my dearest Dynamight," you say, pressing many kisses over his face before pulling back, hands lingering on his cheeks. "See you when you get back,"

"There you go," he says with that handsome grin you've always been fond of, "I love you too," and with that, he was off and ready to save the world once again. You sighed happily, watching your husband using his explosions to propel him to work. Just when he left your field of view, you quickly ran back inside and grabbed your phone before dialing a number.

Pressing the phone against your ear, you listening to the rings before a deeper voice spoke up on the other side, "Hello?"

"Kirishima? Great, Katsuki just left, you can come over now?" "On my way, (Name)!"

And a quick fifteen minutes, the cute redhead showed up at your door with loads of boxes behind him before flashing his adorable smile, "I have everything ready here!"

"Thank you, Kirishima! You're a lifesaver!" you cried as you helped him bring the small and light boxes in while he took on the large, heavy boxes. And though you offered to help him out with some medium-sized ones, he continued to swipe them from your hands, not wanting you to stress your body and the baby.

"So, what do you have planned for him today?" he asks, placing the last box down in the once empty room now filled with boxes. "Okay, so I really want to surprise Katsuki by finishing the nursery room today by the time he gets home!" "Thankfully, Katsuki and I had already painted the nursery room a while back, so all that's left is to add the furniture and decor," you explain as you spun around gently, already envisioning the final product.

"It'll just make everything so much more real," you say softly, running a hand over your belly.

Kirishima offers you a smile before rolling up his sleeves, "well then, let's get to work!"

-

It had only been five hours into his shift, and Bakugou was already pretty miserable at work. Nothing was going wrong, he just would rather have been spending the day, his birthday, at home with you, his pregnant wife. Hearing a knock on the other side of the door, Bakugou mumbled out a "come in" before Midoriya and Todoroki walked in with a small cake in their hands, a lit candle as a finishing touch.

"Happy birthday, Kacchan!" Midoriya cheered, but Bakugou could only roll his eyes. "How come you didn't take the day off to celebrate?"

"I couldn't and I was just gonna have IcyHot or you cover for me, but (Name) insisted I come," Bakugou replied, somewhat salty. Midoriya could only respond with a light chuckle and a supportive smile, "(Name) probably just wanted you to go out and have the people celebrate with you." Bakugou scoffed, "she did."

"Well, you're not on patrol today, so why don't you take the rest of the day off? Midoriya and I can finish the rest for you," Todoroki suggests and Midoriya nods enthusiastically.

"Yes! Go enjoy the rest of the off! Take the cake to share with (Name)!" Midoriya chirps, practically shoving the cake into the birthday boy's arms before pushing him out the door.

"Tell (Name) we said hi!" and with that, the two shut the door closed in his face, leaving him alone with the small cake with the still lit but melting candle. At least he was free to go home now.

It was just hitting noon when Bakugou made it back to the luxurious apartment the two of you lived in. He had been stopped a handful of times by fans and citizens alike gifting him presents or wishing him a happy birthday. Either way, he was thankful for everyone, but right now, he just wanted to spend some time with you.

"(Name), I'm back early," Bakugou calls out, expecting you to run down the hallway to greet him like you always did, except he was met with the faint sound of music coming from down the hall.

Placing the cake down on the kitchen table, Bakugou curiously made his way towards the door where the unfinished nursery room was. The door was slightly ajar, and he could hear your singing come from inside along with a few thuds here and there.

Gently pushing the door open, he peeked inside only to see you sitting on the floor with a bunch of different parts and tools all around you as you continued to build whatever you were working on.

You looked extra attractive working so hard with your hair out of place. Strands turning every which way as you focused hard on what looked like a baby crib? "(Name)? What are you doing?" Bakugou finally asks, spooking you in the process. "Katsuki! You're home early! I was nearly going to pop the baby out early!" You say, quickly getting up to hug your husband.

"Deku and IcyHot told me to take the rest of the day off," he responds, eyes drifting away towards the work in progress behind you.

"Oh, you weren't supposed to see all of this until you got back!" you whined, "it was supposed to be a surprise!"

"A surprise?"

"I wanted to finish the nursery by the time you got back, but I didn't expect you to come home early," your words were shy as you played with the hem of your outfit.

Bakugou's eyes widened before he glanced back up, fully taking in the view partially furnished nursery. There was a changing table placed along the wall and there was even a rocking chair and some drawers for all the baby clothes the two of you had bought or so kindly have been gifted.

"Kirishima did most of it, but he had an emergency to run to, so I tried finishing the rest. I'm really slow at it," you chuckle, glancing back to the unfinished baby crib.

"Well, now that you've seen it, happy birthday Katsuki! I really wanted the nursery finished by your birthday, but plans do always go the way you want them, right?" Your bright eyes glanced up into his own before he got out of your embrace and walked past you before sitting himself on the floor where you were previously.

"Katsuki?"

"We can still finish the nursery today. Where did you leave off in the directions?" He asked, picking up a screwdriver before paging through the instruction booklet. Squealing in joy, you ran over towards him before beginning to assist him with whatever he needed. Though, you spent most of the time ogling at his well sculpted arm muscles that he might've caught and teased you for.

The sun had gone by the time the two of you had finished furnishing the room. You and Bakugou stood in the middle of the peaceful nursery room, admiring the hard work and love that went into the room.

"It really feels like we're gonna have a baby soon, huh?" you say gently as you slowly began to rock in his arms to the soft music that was playing through your phone. "We're going to be parents."

Bakugou let out a hum in response before a content sigh left your lips. "Sorry I wasn't able to get you more. This is all I had planned," you confess, upset that you weren't able to give your lover more of what he deserved.

"This is enough already. The pooper is going to love it," he says, smiling into your hair as he continues to rock you side to side. Smiling back, you snuggle into him deeper,

"Happy Birthday Katsuki, I love you."

[skyeventide]

hi, if you are planning on writing the embalmed M.E. post, I'd be extremely interested! amazing topic

oh man okay I'll try to put it together. I'm gonna stick mostly to one single text for this one because, as a topic, memory-embalming is really large and I think you can construct a lot on like, solely the concept of memory and fading and preservation in the legendarium. and I’m not gonna try that lol

the quote where Tolkien uses the "embalming" word is letter 131. I should preface this by saying that more often than not I take great issue with the way jirt talks about his theology-adjacent Goodness and Good Choices, and I think it's pr... pro... pronghhh I don't wanna write that word lmao, please take it as me intending "it has non-straightforward issues that are worth a second look", not as anything else. it’s problematic, there I put it down lol academic gremlin brain won, for anyone who doesn’t wholly align with him philosophically. so I suppose anyone who generally agrees with jirt's own reckons will disagree with my takeaway here, but so are things. anyway, I'll try to explain why I called it a value judgement.

screenshots first:

I know this is a lot of text, but it's needed. so there's kind of a lot to unpack there but to strip it down to the relevant basics:

part of the reason why some of the exiles do not return is that they don't want to return as exiles, but remain where they have power and stand at the top of the hierarchy (this to me feels like, specifically, a very Galadriel motive — but that's yet another post lmao); they also want peace and bliss, and that is another motive, the same peace and bliss that exist in Valinor (and while the first motive I list, I believe, is directly consequential to the status of the first age's survivors, this second motive, having the peace and bliss of Valinor outside of Valinor, has been present and thematic since the speech of Feanor to the Noldor, and likely before that); they can't therefore abide the "fading" of the land, the way it changes with time, and endeavour to preserve it — embalm it (this becomes emblematic in one of the various versions of the creation of the Elessar, or one of the them: a stone that, if someone looks through it, shows things as they would be when healed, whole, and beautiful. in one of said versions, Celebrimbor gives this stone to Galadriel, who is saddened by the change of time. this is Celebrimbor of Gondolin, or perhaps Telerin Celebrimbor, but no matter the origin, the theme persists)(second parenthesis to point out how third-age Lothlórien, preserved by Nenya, is in all effects a land out of time, where ancient things aren't simply echoed but continue living, and where trees literally don't die. leaves change colour during autumn and winter, then fall down in spring when immediately new buds start growing); fourth motive is the healing of the land's hurts and its adornment.

the difference between healing the land and “embalming” it, I suppose, is the acceptance of its change under the sun, so the acceptance of time's passing, while healing and adorning it work in unison with said passing. of course the matter here is, the absence of decay is kind of Valinor’s whole thing. but we know, both from letter 156 and the Akallabêth, that Valinor isn’t inherently a blessed land and it doesn’t give immortality by virtue of being Valinor. in fact: “'for it is not the land of Manwe that makes its people deathless, but the Deathless that dwell therein have hallowed the land; and there you would but wither and grow weary the sooner, as moths in a light too strong and steadfast.” and letter 156: “for as emissaries from the Valar clearly inform him, the Blessed Realm does not confer immortality. The land is blessed because the Blessed live there, not vice versa, and the Valar are immortal by right and nature [...]”

so, really, it’s not the where that counts. jirt, I believe, makes it pretty obvious that it’s the why and how, and through whose counsel. what I think is identified here as the fault isn’t that preservation of the land isn’t possible and therefore should not be attempted (clearly it is), rather it’s the wish to create a paradise of their own, a desire that Sauron identifies and exploits. now, obviously I’m not trying to argue that Sauron is right or anything the like (even at early stages, and despite the partial overlap of motives, Sauron’s goals can’t really be called good, even though you might argue that they gain some form of internal conflict), or that in pursuit of a challenge to the divine harm becomes justifiable — this isn’t really about characters and more about jirt the man himself and his production. 

I just generally take issue with the idea that wanting a heaven of sorts, made with your own skills, which is within the realm of possibility, and by no one’s leave but your own, is inherently a bad thing, or that it must come with harm and corruption, and compromised motives. but in the narrative of these books, from an outside-of-text perspective, it doesn’t seem to be possible to issue the challenge that letter 131 talks about without also giving aid to evil (Sauron, earlier Morgoth) willingly ot unwillingly, without getting closer to “magic” and “machinery”, without it being written and interpreted under a lens of “embalming”, of refusal to let the world live its course. it isn’t possible to have that cake and eat it (yeah jirt kind of wrote that saying wrong lmao), which is identified as a corruptible weak point. 

it isn’t possible because this discontent, or this wish for independence, is in itself a seed that the story connects to evil and lies (Morgoth’s work in Valinor, and possibly earlier than that his discord); because it’s inherently linked to wanting the top-of-the-hierarchy authority granted by Middle Earth. and because the legendarium doesn’t truly leave room for any gods-challenging story that isn’t some form of taint and mistake, a Fall™ (challenges to Morgoth here don’t count, he is the fall; this is about Eru and the Valar).

(I think here it’s relevant to note that the elves not being in ME is elsewhere called out as a loss for Men, who do not have the “elder siblings” at hand who were supposed to teach them and guide them; as well as the fact that Eru in morgoth’s ring mentions, himself, that the elves have been “removed to Aman from the Middle Earth in which I set them”. so it’s not necessarily so straightforward in all aspects — but I think a discussion on that would be going a little too much beyond the scope of this tbh)

I believe my point is exemplified by a note in this same letter:

“preservation in reverent memory” here is not negatively judged, despite being effectively an antiquarian lore memorial to (”good”) tradition. Elrond also rebukes Sauron, and is not at all subjected to the same Ring-related test as Galadriel in LotR. and I think this is sort of the narrative point of the story, part of the greater (in good measure theological) thesis underlying it. and why I called it a value judgement. 

[shinonometrash]

💕🍄The 12 Days of Ayumu 🍄💕

JULY 17TH!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY AYUMU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH AYUMU 😭💕😭💕😭💕 Doing all this translating has done nothing except make me miss him even more 😭 But!!! Today is the big day!! And so we have the thing I’ve been saving for last!!!! The absolutely cutest Ayumu story I think I’ve ever read !!!! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I wanted to cry when I read it it was so sweet I love him so much sdfgnkjkjnfg

I was a lot more creative with translating this story to make it sound more fun and natural, since I’m finally getting comfortable enough to start doing that, I really hope you guys enjoy it !!

it’s pretty long, so I’m putting it under a readmore

Ayumu Shinonome: Happy Birthday ♡

technically this story is about Ayumu celebrating our birthday, rather than about celebrating his, but...

In the S ward is one of the most popular downtown areas in Tokyo.

2PM —

Middle schooler: Hey, look at that guy over there

Middle schooler 2: Oh my gosh, yeah!

Middle schooler: He’s a host, don’t you think?

Middle schooler 2: He’s definitely a host!

(…No, you’re wrong.)

(I’m just wearing a formal suit.)

Middle schooler: Eek…this is the first time I’ve seen a host in real life!

Middle schooler 2: I guess that’s the norm around here, we are in Tokyo after all!

Thanks to the middle school students who seem to be in the middle of a field trip, I now see the passersby struggling to contain their laughter.

(This couldn’t get any worse. Ugh, this sucks.)

(Really. I was already reluctant enough to do this as is…)

Speaking of which—

MC: Ayumuuuu~!

At last, the reason for all of this torture has arrived.

MC: Sorry! Did I keep you waitin-…

MC: !!!

(Uh��is she okay?)

MC: Ayumu, you…you look…so hot…

MC: Ahh, you look amazing!!

Ayumu: Dummy!! Keep your voice down!

(If she says something like that too loudly…)

Middle schooler: Oh no, look! He’s got a customer…

Middle schooler 2: She must be a huge regular…

Ayumu: …gah, come on, let’s go.

MC: Huh? Already?

MC: I haven’t changed into my pumps yet…

Ayumu: It’s fine, come on! Hurry up!

MC: Ahh, hold up! I came all this way so at least let me put my arm around yours…

MC: Gahh, slow down! You’re walking way too fast!

MC: Ayuumuuuuuu!

This all started about two weeks ago.

MC: Ayumu! Look! This is what I was talking about!

Ayumu: Eh…? Scary…

Fresh out of the bath, my girlfriend suddenly plops down on the ground.

Ayumu: …What

Ayumu: Don’t tell me you broke my limited edition Tyrannosaurus mug…

MC: No, no, that’s not it!

MC: It has to do with this year’s KappaMC Birthday Celebration!

Ayumu: Gross

Ayumu: You’re creating your own birthday celebration…?

MC: It’s a great idea, isn’t it!

MC: I see this kind of thing a lot on social media!

Ayumu: Even so, you’re not supposed to post that about yourself

Ayumu: That sort of tag is made by enthusiastic fans…

MC: Well then, I’ll ask you to do it, Ayumu! Since you should be my biggest fan!

MC: Pleaaase do it with me~?

MC: Take me on a date in a formal suit please!

Nonsense, I thought. At the time.

However, at a later date…

Toru: Ahh~ This seems to be real popular these days! Suit men

Ayumu: …what?

Toru: If you search anywhere on social media sites, you’ll get tons of hits~

Toru: Guys uploading selfies in suits

…I don’t get it.

What’s so fun about showing off a suit?

(Although, she did say something the other day about wanting to go on a date with me in a formal suit..)

Ayumu: Frivolous. Completely.

Toru: Noo, you just need to choose the right place to go!

Toru: Shall the Great Toru offer you some guidance~?

Ayumu: No thanks. There’s no way that’s ever happening…

Toru: Hm, well I don’t know what kind of person your partner is, but—

Toru: Sometimes it’s important to spice things up a bit so that you don’t fall into a rut!

Ayumu: …

Toru: Again, I really have noo idea who your partner is buuuut

Toru: I think women who like that sort of thing would be really happy~

Ayumu: …

(…bah. He’s probably right.)

(She does seem like she’d like that sort of thing…)

That’s why I decided to title it “The Extraordinary Production”

I end up regretting this as soon as we start stage one—meeting up downtown.

(Ah, well, at least I won’t feel as out of place at the next stage.)

Yes, and the next stage is—

MC: Look! Look! Ayumu! The view outside is sooooooo pretty!!

Ayumu: Ah, I see.

(Naturally. We are on the 38th floor.)

By the way, the seats here are filled almost full.

Of them, about half are reservations.

MC: Whoaaa, did you see?? This afternoon tea set!!

MC: The tea stand! It has five tiers! Five!!

Ayumu: Ah, I see.

MC: Hey, at least act more surprised!

MC: Fives tiers? This is the first time, for me at least, that I’ve ever seen anything like this!

(…yeah, I suppose it would be)

I say this because—

Toru: How’s this place look?

Toru: “Enjoy some luxury afternoon tea on the top floor of a high rise tower”

Toru: Whoa, the tea stand, it’s got five tiers!

Ayumu: Ah, I see.

Toru: Ugh, what kind of response was that!

Toru: Are you even listening?? The tea stand has five tears!!

Toru: Isn’t that alone pretty much a win right there?

Ayumu: I don’t get it.

Toru: In a date, it’s either a win or a loss…

Soma: But doesn’t it seem likely that it would make his date happy?

Ayumu: !

Soma: Women who are particular about food will also care about how many tiers of sweets there are, will they not?

Soma: Glutto-no, women who eat everything with enthusiasm,

Soma: I think they would be very pleased with a five tiered tea stand.

Ayumu: Haa…

MC: What should I do?? My heart is beating so fast, I’m so excited…

MC: I don’t think I’ll be able to eat all five tiers…

Ayumu: If it’s you, you’ll be fine.

Ayumu: …since you’re a glutton.

MC: Huh? What did you just say right now…?

Ayumu: Nothing, don’t worry about it.

Seeing the waiter passing by, I raise my hand to get their attention.

Waiter: Did you decide what you would like to order?

Ayumu: The afternoon tea set for two people, please.

Ayumu: The original black tea blend.

Waiter: Understood, thank you.

As soon as the waiter walks away, I purposely sigh dramatically.

Ayumu: So noisy

MC: Wha-…I didn’t even sa-

Ayumu: Your stare

Ayumu: It feels like you’re trying to stare into my soul or something since a while ago.

MC: …hey, b-but that….

MC: I mean! I can’t help it…

MC: You just look way too amazing today, it’s like my eyes are being sucked in…

Ayumu: …

(���what is she even saying, this girl)

Ayumu: This isn’t the first time you’ve seen me like this though, is it? In a suit?

MC: That’s true, but…today is special…

MC: You wore the suit for me, didn’t you?

MC: That automatically makes you look, like, 30% hotter!

MC: I’m just so happy, I can’t stop looking at you

Ayumu: ….I see.

There was a strange pause before I replied.

Probably because I was remembering the advice that Toru gave me.

Toru:  You definitely need to be sure to always compliment your date’s outfit~

Ayumu: …wha?

Toru: Well, if you’re wearing a formal suit

Toru: Then your date should also be in formal wear, right?

Ayumu: that…well…

Toru: And so, you need to be sure to give your date lots of compliments!

Toru: Cause girls always put several times more effort into things like their makeup and hairstyle!

Ayumu: No, no, she doesn’t have me beat there

Ayumu: If we’re talking hairstyle, it’s definitely me…

Toru:  Bah, well, saying things like “that looks great on you” or “you look pretty” is always a safe bet

Toru: And then…

Ayumu: You don’t—

MC: “I don’t”?

—“you don’t look too bad yourself, either”

That’s it. All I have to do is use what she said as an opportunity to compliment her back.

(So, come on. Say it.)

(Just light and natural.)

(Sound genuine about it…)

Ayumu: You don’t—

MC: Ah!!

Suddenly, my girlfriend jumps out of her chair as if remembering something.

MC: Sorry, is it okay if I go to the restroom for real quick?

MC:  It’s…my shoes, I’m still wearing my sneakers

Ayumu: …

MC: No, I know already, you don’t have to tell me

MC: “You should’ve just worn your pumps from the beginning”

MC: That’s what you were about to say, right?

MC: But these shoes don’t quite fit right…

MC: “It’ll be fine if just change into them right before I meet up with Ayumu”…is what I had told myself

Ayumu: …

MC: I’ll just change into them real quick!!

Ayumu: …

(…This sucks.)

I just let a perfect chance that I’ll probably never see again slip by.

(No, it’s fine though.)

(It’s not like I absolutely HAVE to give her a compliment.)

That was just Toru’s opinion.

She didn’t specifically ask me to do it, or anything.

And so, from there, while I’m with my girl…

MC: Ahh, that was so delicious!

MC: The cake and the scones and the tea, they were all the best! Ayumu: …

MC: Oh, and the clotted cream too!

MC: It was the first time I’ve ever had it but it went surprisingly well with the scones~

MC: I wonder if they sell it at that other shop…

(…this is it.)

Her head is probably full of the afternoon tea we just had.

I want to make her happy…more than anything.

(But it’s impossible to compliment her when things are like this.)

I’ll just start by making a statement about what she’s wearing, but it’ll have a compliment at the end.

“I noticed your dress has lace on top of the turquoise fabric. It’s not bad.

“Those pumps must not be comfortable to wear. But they go nicely with the dress.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you wear this much makeup. It looks nice.”

(I’m psyching myself up too much, aren’t I?)

I guess it just goes to show how much I’ve been looking forward to this day, though.

MC: So where are we going next?

Ayumu: Anywhere is fine, as long as it only takes about an hour.

MC: Hm? What does that mean?

Ayumu: This.

I pull two tickets out of the breast pocket of my suit.

MC: Whaa…the opera??

Ayumu: It’s in about an hour from now. So we can’t go unless we go at that time.

(The idea wasn’t mine, though.)

Yes, this idea…

Toru: Hmm, what other places would be good to wear a formal suit to…

Toru: What about a luxury brand store?

Ayumu: Huh?

Toru: If you wear a businesswear vs a formal suit to a shop, the staff will treat you differently, right?

Toru: Because they’ll be acting even more polite to you

Toru: There’s no doubt that your date will feel like a celebrity!

Toru: Right, Goto?

Goto: Don’t touch me, I’m not responding to that.

Toru: And after you can take her to a fancy restaurant inside a hotel or a bar with a gorgeous night view!

Toru: Sure it might be a little cliche sounding, but it’ll certainly be something out of the ordinary that you won’t forget!

Toru: Hey, Gotooo!

Goto: Look, even if you touch me, I’m still not going to respo-

???: Aww, aren’t you guys sweet

Toru: …huh?

Tsugaru: Don’t you know this is the perfect time to go watch the opera?

Ayumu: ..……good afternoon. How long have you been there?

Tsugaru: Now that hardly matters, does it?

Tsugaru: More importantly, if you’re going to put all that effort into a date, you should go to the opera.

Tsugaru: It’s like a date specifically meant for formal wear, is it not~?

Tsugaru: Hmmm, but…

Tsugaru: It’s possible the person you’re planning to take on a date doesn’t understand the opera, though.

Ayumu: …I should first confirm whether that’s true or not, though

Ayumu: Hey, have you ever watched the opera?

MC: Uhhhh, that’s…

MC: Well, I’ve seen Phantom of the Opera…

Ayumu: That’s not the same thing

Ayumu: That’s just a musical.

MC: …well of course I know that much!

MC: So, this is a first

MC: It’ll be my “first time”!

Ayumu: Wait…do you hear that—

MC: I want my first time to be with you, Ayumu!

MC: So please, take my opera virginity—!

???: Ahhh!!

A sudden scream drowns out her playful chattering.

Woman: A purse snatcher…!!

Woman: Somebody, please! My bag!

(Seriously? A purse snatcher?)

Before I get a chance to confirm, she jumps into action.

She starts chasing the purse snatcher.

(Dummy! What is she doing??)

Purse snatcher: Damn it…!

The criminal escapes to the back alley at the end of the road. Of course, my girl isn’t the type to give up so easily.

MC: Stop right there!

While she chases after the purse snatcher, I enter the next alley. 

If the criminal turns the corner here, I’m pretty sure I can cut him off.

Sure enough—

(…he came.)

MC: Ayumu!

Purse snatcher: Shit…!

I’m in front of the criminal, blocking his path, while she’s at his back. He turns around and rushes at her.

Purse snatcher: Move it!

MC: Just who do you think you are!!

Her next move is quite something. As the criminal charges at her, she swiftly grabs his right hand, twisting it behind his back and shoving him to the ground, planting her body weight on his back.

Purse snatcher: Ouch! Ow ow ow!

From there, we hand over the criminal to the authorities and all live happily ever after—

Or not.

MC: The interrogation took longer than I expected…

Ayumu: Yeah, it did

MC: But if we leave now we should be able to just barely make it in time…

???: Oh my gosh, look at her

I hear a whisper from a woman passing by.

Woman: Yikes, look at her, did she get into a fight?

Woman 2: Maybe she fell? There’s a hole in her stockings

The innocent exchange seems to have reached her ears.

MC: Oh…

There’s no denying that she looks beat up right now.

Her dress is dirty and the knees of her stockings have holes in them. 

(Of course.)

(She had to straddle the criminal on the ground to secure him.)

However, her stockings aren’t the only thing that tore.

MC: I-I’m sorry, I’lll go change them right away…

Ayumu: The lace

MC: Huh?

Ayumu: The lace part on your dress, too

MC: !

Ayumu: Did it get caught on something? Like a nail?

Ayumu: When you were chasing after the purse snatcher

MC: …ah, yeah…

Seems I probably guessed right.

MC: I’m so sorry, I’ll go change into a new outfit…

MC: Ah…but, the time…

Ayumu: …

MC: Please just wait a second…I’ll figure it out someway or another…

MC: To change…I’ll just, I’ll go buy some new clothes…

Ayumu: It’s fine, the way it is now

Strangely, the words seem to just flow out of my mouth on their own accord

Ayumu: You don’t look bad

MC: Uhh…?

Ayumu: It doesn’t look bad, does it? How you look right now

It’s still the outfit she put so much effort into, just a bit worn out now.

Either way, it’s still very ‘KappaMC’-like.

(Really, it’s not bad.)

I run my hands through her messy hair to smooth it out.

She looks up at me, confused.

MC: Um…Ayumu…?

Ayumu: Let’s go

MC: Wait, I can’t go to the opera looking like this…

Ayumu: We’re not. Going to the opera, that is.

MC: What! No! Don’t say that!

MC: You already bought the tickets and everything…

Ayumu: Don’t worry about it, really, it’s okay.

Just a slight change in schedule.

Truthfully, I had planned on bringing her ‘here’ after the opera, anyway.

(Ah, but this timing actually isn’t bad at all, it works out well.)

Ayumu: Aren’t you coming?

MC: But…I look like a mess…

Ayumu: You look fine, don’t worry about it

Ayumu: I rented out the place

MC: Rented out??

MC: Here??

Startled, she looks around at the surroundings.

(Ah, well, it makes sense. Reacting that way.)

If I was in her position,  I’d probably react the same way,

Ayumu: Your hand.

MC: Sorry?

Ayumu: Your left hand. Give it to me.

MC: Oh, um, alright…

I grabbed her nervously outstretched hand and led her to middle of the stairs.

(Finally.)

Now we just need to stand here for five more seconds.

Honestly, this is the most nerve wracking part of the whole day.

(But, well, it’s her birthday.)

(And it’s special.)

Ayumu: 3…2…1…

At the exact moment I point, balloons float up into the sky.

MC: Balloons??!

She watches as the balloons float upwards, eyes wide in surprise.

I use her distraction as an opportunity to pick up the bouquet I had hidden.

Ayumu: Happy birthday

Her mouth falls open wide in shock.

Yeah. It really isn’t like me to do this sort of thing.

But, the one who thought of this surprise, make no mistake, was me. I came up with it.

(This is a once in a year occasion, after all.)

(And I thought she would like it, if I did this.)

Ayumu: So? What do you think?

MC: … Ayumu: MC?

No reply.

(Uhh, what’s the status here?)

(Maybe I messed up…)

MC: A-a…yu…

(Ah-yoo…?)

MC: A-yu-muuuuu…!!

(Whoa wait just a-)

Ayumu: Oof

Sniffling, she throws her arms around me.

MC: I-I…j-just…nnnf, I’m…I’m so, nnnnff, so happy…I, nnnf, love it…s..so much..!!

MC: T-th…! This…surprise, nnnf, it…it’s…!!!

Ayumu: …

MC: P-plea…zz…please sta…stay with, nnnf, with me…fore…forever, nnnf…!!

Ayumu: …dummy.

Ayumu: I can’t understand what you’re saying.

That’s a lie. 

Truthfully, I understand perfectly what she’s saying.

(“Stay with me.”)

I’ll stay with you, for the rest of our lives.

In return, don’t ever let go of me.

I did something today that I never would’ve even dreamed of doing before, all because you’ve changed me.

Ayumu: Happy birthday

MC: T-thank you…

Ayumu: So, what shall we do from here?

First, I have a room for us to stay at.

But after we check in, we can spend our time however we’d like until dinner time. 

(Ah, no, but before that we need to change.)

(As you’d imagine, going to the restaurant looking like this would be…)

MC: …iss…

Ayumu: Hm?

MC: Kiss…I want to kiss you…

MC: From here on…with you, forever…

Ayumu: …

Ayumu: …dummy

I was asking about later today, but…

Is she asking for a kiss with a runny nose and a tear soaked face?

There’s a lot of things I want to say to that, but—

(Ah, well, it’s her birthday…)

Her lips taste salty, as expected.

But…I don’t hate it. Maybe I’ve gone crazy too.

MC: Thank you…

As we pulled away from the kiss she sniffled loudly.

MC: I, um, I feel like I’m dreaming…

MC: My head feels all fuzzy…

Ah, I see.

MC: I’m gonna…just you wait…!

MC: Next time it’s your birthday, I’m gonna think of an amazing surprise…!

Ayumu: No need to.

I have nothing but a bad feeling about that.

Ayumu: Seriously, don’t. Hard pass.

MC: …hmph, meanie!

MC: If this is how you feel, now I’m DEFINITELY going to plan something!!!

MC: Like making dinosaur balloons, or dinosaur 3D pancakes, or…

MC: Maybe I’ll rent out a whole museum…

MC: Mmph, mmm…

It’s really not necessary. Coming up with some sort of surprise.

(If you’re here with me.)

As long as you stay here next to me—

If we can kiss like this, then that’s enough for me.

-The End-

Isn’t that CG gorgeous??? And wasn’t that story soooo frickin adorable??? sbkhgkjadbf I have so many feelings about this 😭💕😭💕

And thank you so so so so sooo much to @world-a-to-z​!! Like I’d mentioned at the start, I was never part of the Peach fanclub because I only started reading Ayumu’s stories almost exactly a year ago now. And so, I didn’t have access to this story. So what did this absolutely wonderful person do?? Transcribe this entire story in Japanese!!!! And then was kind enough to send it to me, along with the screenshots of the backgrounds (which were pretty necessary for all the scene changes, I think) and the CG, so that I could translate it. So please give her a HUGE HUGE thank you for making basically almost the entirety of this birthday celebration possible!!! 💕💕💕

Thank you guys so much for celebrating with me! I hope everyone had a lot of fun!!! I can’t wait to actually sleep again now...I spent sooo much time doing all these translations whoops ><

In case you missed a day, or want to reread anything, you’ll find links to all the posted content here!

[saeyoungchoismaid]

Valentine’s Sux

Pairing: Solomon x f!reader Genre: angst, fluff, vague nsfw themes Warnings: I think just choking- Summary: You get into a fight with your boyfriend, Solomon, on Valentine’s Day Word Count: 4.6k A/N: As some of you might have saw, I want to try and be more inclusive to readers who often feel excluded from x reader works. Since this is so long and I’m honestly too lazy to read through all of this, I did word searches and I’m hoping I got rid of all of the things like “she blushed red” and whatnot. If you do still see something like that, please let me know! I want EVERYONE to feel included and happy reading my work! Thank you and enjoy!

As if February ain't cold enough You had to go and break my heart

Your face is freezing from the tears cooling on your face from the chilly air and you wouldn’t be surprised if your lips are blue. You can feel your heart growing a size smaller, or is that the feeling of it breaking? You’re not too sure but it’s not like it really matters. Either way, your chest hurts and your body feels heavy.

How could this even happen? Things weren’t supposed to go like that. Especially on Valentine’s Day. The day that’s supposed to be full of love and romance. Now, all you feel is sick to your stomach and tired. 

I made six reservations just in case of cancellations But I guess we could eat dinner apart

Six reservations. You wanted to be able to have a nice dinner with him, but lord forbid you’re extra cautious. You picked his favorite restaurants instead of yours, and for what? For him to shout that you’re being dramatic. Now, you’re going to have to call all of those places and tell them you have to cancel. That’s an embarrassment you’d rather not face but know it’s the polite thing to do. It’s not like they’d know about you and your boyfriend’s fight. 

You walk into the House of Lamentation with a sigh, feeling angry and embarrassed that you’re back here. You had already told all of the guys that you wouldn’t be coming home tonight, sitting through all of their teasings because you knew it’d be worth it in the end. 

It was the exact opposite of that. 

Unluckily, literally all of the brothers are here. You just want to put all of this crap away and go to bed. You walk into the kitchen to find Beelzebub eating from a container from last night’s dinner, a happy smile on his face. 

The way you stared when I bought you that big bear I could tell you were kind of disturbed But my kind acts of kindness can we put this all behind us Have you tried the chocolate mints they're superb

You keep your head down as you toss the chocolates onto the counter before shoving the dumb, stuffed bear into the trash. Beel pauses his munching to watch you plunge the innocent bear as deep into the trash as it could go. He sets the container down and slowly starts to move towards you. 

“(Y/n)?” he says softly, pressing his hand gently to the top of your back. “Are you alright?” 

That stupid question. 

And just like that, you're a sobbing mess in Beel’s arms. His eyes are wide as you squeeze him tightly, crying right into his shirt. He’s instantly sad because you are, his heart aching at the thought of you even being upset. 

“Shh, it’s alright, (Y/n). Let it all out. It’s okay,” he soothes, rubbing your back and the back of your head. You do as he says, letting out sob after sob into his strong chest. Your loud bawling, of course, attracts the attention of the other brothers. They all come into the kitchen worried like the mother hens they are.

“What happened?” 

“Is (Y/n) okay?” 

“Do I need to get my knife?”

“Please tell me those are happy tears.” 

“Is (Y/n) hurt?” 

“Everyone stop,” you groan, pulling away from Beel to wipe at your face. Asmo is quick to hand you some tissues, a quiet ‘thank you’ leaving your lips as you take them. You clean up your face while the brothers continue to throw questions at you and Beel.  

“Solomon and I had a fight, okay?” you shout over them, feeling fresh tears well up in your eyes. Everyone goes silent at that, staring as you start to cry again. 

Can't believe we're through but I guess it's really true Valentine's sux without you

Now everyone is beyond confused since this morning you were so excited to go see Solomon and spend the night with him. You told them about all your gifts and plans, a glow in your eyes all day until lunch when you finally got to see Solomon. After that, they left you two alone and went about their day. 

So, how did that end up with you two fighting?

“Yeah, I’ll go get my knife,” Belphie says as he starts to walk out of the kitchen before Lucifer stops him. 

Valentine's sux without you Ahhhhhh, it sucks

You basically skip through the halls with a bright smile, your heart racing as you look for Solomon. You giggle each time you think of his reaction to your gifts. He had told you prior to today that he didn’t want you getting him anything. As if you were going to listen to your handsome boyfriend and not get him anything though. 

You beam brighter than the sun when you finally do spot Solomon, quickly making your way towards him. “(Y/n)! I made you a cake pop!” Luke squeals happily when he sees you. You smile warmly at him and gratefully take the offered heart-shaped cake pop. 

“Awe, thank you, Luke! I’m sorry I didn’t get you anything!” you say as you pull him into a hug. He giggles and shakes his head, accepting and returning the hug without hesitation. 

“Don’t apologize, silly! You already have a Valentine!” he replies as he pulls away, looking over at Solomon. Solomon stares back at him before looking down to your hand holding the cake pop. 

“Well, that is true,” you say softly, giggling along with him. You go to greet your boyfriend when Simeon speaks up next. 

“Here you go, (Y/n). Happy Valentine’s day,” the angel says sweetly. You look to his hands to find a card and a small box. You raise your brow as you gently put the cake pop into your bag before taking it from him. You open the card first, smiling when a baby cupid pops out. You read the little note that he and Luke wrote, cooing softly. 

“Awe, you guys are the sweetest!” you whine, pulling Simeon into a hug. He chuckles and returns it before pulling away after a couple of seconds. 

“You have to open the box too.” 

“Hm? Oh!” you open up the box to see crudely made chocolates. You gasp and quickly eat one with excitement. “This is so good!” you gasp. 

Simeon blushes and looks away from you as he rubs the back of his neck. “Thank you. Luke wanted me to give you more than just a ‘lousy card,’ so he forced me to make the chocolates,” he gushes. You smile warmly at him and eat another one of the chocolates. 

“Well, you did great! They’re delicious! Thank you!” After you say this, you turn to look at Solomon, feeling your face warm up just looking at him. 

“We’ll catch you two later,” Simeon says before leading Luke and himself away from you both. You wave at them before turning to look at Solomon, placing Simeon’s chocolates into your bag. 

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” you say softly, offering him the bear and chocolates. His brows furrow down at you, remaining silent for a moment as he looks you over.

“Where did you get that stuff?” he asks, not reaching his arms out to take the gifts. Not giving you a kiss. Nothing. 

Your brows furrow now, looking down at the objects in your hands. “Um, I went to the store to get the be-”

“No, not that. The necklace, the candy bracelet, and the rest of that crap.” You pause at this, your hands pulling your gifts for him back towards your chest. You move the bear under your arm to use your hand to touch the necklace. You forgot it was even there. 

“Oh, Lucifer got it for me,” you explain before removing your hand to look at your wrist, “and Levi gave me the candy bracelet.” You watch him frown and cross his arms over his chest. 

“Let me guess, all of the brothers gave you something?” he asks, sneering a bit as he says it.

You pull back from him as if he burned you, surprised at his tone. “Um, yes,” you mumble honestly, nervously looking down at your gifts. 

“And what did the other foul demons get you?” he seethes. Your jaw drops at this, your heart starting to beat fast for another reason. 

“Foul? Why would you say that? Solomon, why are you acting like this?” you reply quickly. He scoffs and rolls his eyes a bit. 

“Tell me what the other brothers got you,” he demands. You roll your eyes right back at him and huff, showing your annoyance. 

“Asmo got me beauty products, Beel made me desserts, Mammon got me flowers, Satan got me a book and a movie, and Belphie got me stuffed animals,” you snap, wanting to cross your arms over your chest as well but deciding not to. 

Just remain calm. 

Solomon doesn’t think remaining calm is a good idea though, which is very unlike him. 

“Products? Desserts? Flowers? Book and movie? Animals? They all got you more than one thing,” he snaps right back, his voice deeper than usual. 

You take a deep breath and force a smile, trying to soothe the situation. “Their gifts don’t matter as much as yours does. Happy Valentine’s Day. By the way, I made reservations at a couple different rest-” you start softly, offering him the gifts again before he cuts you off. 

“I didn’t get you anything and I told you that I didn’t want you to give me anything. Why did you make more than one reservation? You’re being dramatic,” he says with little to no emotion before walking away. 

You gape at his back and look down at the chocolate box and stuffed bear. Your eyes start to water as you quickly run to the restroom, dashing into a stall to hide there. 

You hide out there until the bell rings to signal that lunch is over. You wipe at your face with toilet paper before leaving the stall. You then walk over to the mirror and look at your reflection, grabbing paper towels to wipe at your face once more. 

“Stupid Solomon. Stupid Valentine’s Day,” you grumble to yourself as you try to make yourself presentable, knowing good and well that you’re going to be late to class. 

Now I sit at my desk at my low-class job Everybody's got flowers on theirs

When you do reach the class, your teacher pauses their talking to look at you, as does the rest of the class. The teacher goes to reprimand you before they notice your red, swollen eyes and puffy face. “Sorry I’m late,” you apologize, heading over to your desk. Once you’re sat down, they start up their teaching again. 

You could honestly care less about whatever they are saying, your eyes looking at everyone’s desks. Of course, lunch is the prime time to talk to your Valentine or confess to your crush. Because of this, almost everyone in the class has flowers on their desk along with other goodies. You toss your gifts for your boyfriend under your chair, not wanting to look at it right now. 

And it's hard to concentrate, someone tells me about their date F-ing Christ, Jenny, nobody cares

You tried hard to listen to your teacher but all you could think about is how Solomon rejected you and left you alone in the hallway. Class finishes up ten minutes before it’s officially over, so the teacher allows you to converse with each other. And, of course, Jenny takes this opportunity to brag about her crush confessing to her and giving her a lot of goods. 

You just wished she would shut up already because you cared less about this than you did about what the teacher was talking about. 

The school day felt like it lasted for an eternity and you couldn’t be happier to get away from everyone and go home and cry. 

The brothers watch as you finish up your story, still crying softly. “Hey, it’s okay. I’ll make you something sweet to eat,” Beel soothes. You shake your head, giving him a sweet smile and a hug. 

“Don’t worry about it big guy. I just want to take a nap,” you reassure. He slowly nods his head as he watches you walk towards the stairs to go to your room. 

“Should we do something?” Satan asks softly in order for you to not hear. Lucifer sighs and shakes his head while crossing his arms over his chest, a heavy frown on his face. 

“No, sadly. It’s not our business. We just have to let them deal with it,” he says quietly in response to Satan. 

My house is a mess, I'm forty days behind in rent And I still smell your shitty perfume

You walk into your room and frown, looking at the mess you left behind this morning. You woke up extra early to dress up nice for Solomon, wanting to wow him. He apparently didn’t notice and if he did, he didn’t care. 

You push everything off your bed and onto the floor before collapsing onto it, not bothering to change out of your uniform. You take a deep breath, trying to keep your mind blank or at least trying not to think of you-know-who. That lasted all about ten seconds before you realize that you’re breathing in something all too familiar. 

Solomon’s cologne. 

It makes you start crying all over again, sitting up to get away from the smell of him on your bed. You regret ever having him over to cuddle. You regret ever asking him to bring his cologne with him one day and putting it all over your bed and clothes. You regret wearing his clothes to bed. 

And I'm full of regret, all that money that I've spent To have a barbershop quartet sing for you

You lay back down and try to get your nose used to the scent so you wouldn’t smell it anymore, tears sliding back towards your hairline as you stare up at the ceiling. You then, of course, start to think about all the other things planned for him. You wasted so much saved up money on him to try and make him happy. You even got a barbershop quartet to sing to him just to see him cringe and laugh in embarrassment. 

One day at a time, by next year I should be fine Valentine's sux without you

Maybe you two will make up and be able to actually do something next year together. Why did he even get so upset? Is he going to break up with you? 

When push comes to shove it's the national day of love Valentine's sux without you

Valentine’s Day always sucks when you’re single and alone but it sucks even more when you actually have a partner but can’t spend it with them. 

Oh, valentine's sux without you Oh, valentine's sux without you Oh, valentine's sux without you Oh, valentine's f-ing sux

You sigh and close your eyes, letting your body relax as you let yourself slowly drift off to sleep with the smell of your boyfriend filling your nose and your mind doing nothing but picture him. 

You don’t know how long you’re asleep when you suddenly wake up from your phone going off. You groan as you slowly wake up the more your phone goes off, rubbing at your swollen eyes before opening them. You reach into your blazer pocket for your phone, looking at who’s calling you. You scoff and roll your eyes when you see that it’s your boyfriend. 

Your heart clenches inside of your heavy chest when you see the picture of you two kissing. “Jerk,” you grumble as you let the call go. You go to set it down when he’s instantly calling you again. You huff and decline the call, having just enough time to look at how long you’re asleep before he calls you again. You decline once more before looking at your battery percentage. 

Your phone is almost dead. 

Good. Let him keep calling. You put your phone on Do Not Disturb after taking him off your favorites, seeing as how they’re the only ones that can get through the do not disturb. You set your phone down beside you before closing your eyes, starting to drift off again. 

You just start to get back to sleep when there’s a knock on your door. You groan to let the person know they can come in, keeping your body right where it is. “(Y/n)?” you hear Lucifer ask. He pauses when he spots you though, a light blush spreading throughout his body when he sees you. You grunt again in response, letting him know you’re listening. You hear him walk towards you, a sigh leaving you as you try to wake up a little more. 

You’re instantly awake when you feel hands on you. You gasp as your eyes fly open, quickly reaching to grab Lucifer’s hands. “Lucifer!” you shout, turning your head and freezing in your spot when you see who it is instead. 

“You just let him in here when you’re indecent?” Solomon growls, continuing his mission to pull your skirt down back down over your butt now that you let his wrists go. You huff and push him away, sitting up to look at Lucifer who is still at the door. 

“You have a visitor,” he states the obvious before shutting the door to leave you two alone. You sigh and run your hands through your messy hair, pulling your legs towards you when Solomon steps closer to you. 

“Answer me. Did you do that on purpose?” your jaw drops at his accusation, your eyes instantly growing dark with anger. 

“How dare you accuse me of such a thing! Especially right after lunch when I tried to give my boyfriend stuff for Valentine’s Day because I love him!” you screech, getting off of the bed to shove at his chest. 

He quickly takes ahold of your wrists, just like you had done to him before. He squints his eyes at you, glaring daggers into your icy eyes. “Lose the attitude. Why didn’t you answer my calls?” 

You scoff exasperatedly, tugging on your arms to try and get your wrists free. “I can have an attitude if I want one! And I didn’t answer your calls because I was obviously asleep,” you snap, the last part being a partial lie.

He scoffs and tightens his grip on your wrist. “You’re such a liar. I know you get my calls even when your phone is on Do Not Disturb. Plus, your phone didn’t even finish ringing before it went to your voicemail. You denied one of my calls,” he seethes. You honestly have never seen him so angry before. 

And you hate the fact that it’s turning you on. 

“Yeah, I denied your call. So what? You’re the jerk who wanted to treat me like trash today even when-” 

Before you could even blink, he uses his body to force yours backwards to the wall beside your bed. Once you’re trapped there, he puts one of your wrists with the other one before holding them with one hand. That hand then brings them above your head and his free hand goes to your throat. 

“Didn’t I tell you to stop having an attitude?” he growls into your ear, roughly pressing his body to yours. The breath leaves you as you stay still, trying to get your brain to catch up with what’s going on. This doesn’t help with how turned on you were getting earlier but this doesn’t mean you’re any less angry. 

You tug on your arms to try and get them free, glaring into his eyes. “I’m not being a disobedient brat to turn you on or whatever. I’m ser-” Your voice cuts off when he tightens his grip on your throat. 

“Funny. I don’t remember saying you could back talk to me,” he says lowly before licking around the shell of your ear. You shiver despite trying to remain angry or expressionless. He just knows your body too well. 

You stare up at him with half-lidded eyes, trying to decide if you want to let him take you right here against the wall or if you want to keep fighting. You’re honestly having trouble deciding. Earlier today, he seemed completely disinterested in you but now it seems all he can even think about is you. 

“Don’t even think about fighting. I can see it in your eye that you’re debating on if you want to continue being a brat or not,” he whispers, starting to grind against you. You’re both surprised and not surprised at all that he’s already half hard. 

“Normally, I’d ask if you’re going to be my good girl but I clearly don’t have to ask this time. You’ve been nothing but bad. Are you ready for your punishment?” he says in a gravelly tone, pulling away from your ear to look into your eyes. 

You lick your lips, knowing that back talking alone would’ve been enough to get you a punishment. You gasp when he tugs you from the wall and pushes you to the bed. You land on your stomach, already starting to whine since you know what’s coming. 

He’s quick to shut that down by landing a harsh hit to your ass without even removing any of your layers. “Don’t start all of that. You brought this onto yourself.” You tense up and go quiet, your panties getting wetter by the second. 

“Good girl,” he coos, flipping your skirt up before bringing his hand to your core. He uses his thumb to run over your folds through the material before circling over your clit. “I can already tell that you’re soaked,” he teases. You whine and arch your back further to raise your ass higher up. 

He rubs his other hand on your right cheek before laying a smack onto it. You grunt and bite your lip, not wanting to satisfy him. You hear him growl, knowing you’ve already pissed him off again. 

“I’m sorry,” he starts, ripping your panties clean off, causing you to whine more, “I don’t think I heard you,” he finishes his sentence with a harsh slap to the cheek that was already hit. You mewl in response, mentally cursing yourself for even making a sound. 

You really aren’t putting up as much of a fight as you wanted.

He continues to place hit after hit on your ass, switching between the two cheeks. By the time he’s done, your skin is burning. Your entire body is also shaking with anticipation for the next hit or for him to do something new. 

You don’t even realize he’s done when he flips you over, pinning your arms above your head as he stares down at you. “I’m trying to decide what to do with you next? Think you’ve been punished enough?” You bite your lip and stare up at him, everything coming back to you from earlier today. 

You don’t even realize you’re crying until he’s wiping your tears away with wide eyes. “Are you okay? Was I too rough? Why didn’t you use your safe word?” he rushes out, worried for the wrong reasons. 

You shake your head and push his hands away, hiding your wet face from him. “Why did you get angry at me today? I was so upset…” you trail off, not wanting to go into too much detail about how much he hurt you. 

He sighs and pulls your hands away from your face with ease, giving you a sincere look as he brushes your hair out of your face. “Shh, calm down. I’m sorry. I just…” he’s the one to trail off now. He sighs before trying again. 

“I’m really sorry. I was so excited to see you but then I saw Simeon and Luke. I started talking to them and they told me how much effort they put into your gifts. Then, you came up and you were just so happy to see them and you loved their gifts. Then, to make matters worse, you got gifts from all of the brothers. I just...I just thought that my gifts would be nothing compared to theirs,” he whispers, his eyes downcast. “And to put the cherry on top, instead of saying this and apologizing, I just came in here even angrier after the whole Lucifer thing and tried to have angry or make up sex,” he adds on before you can reply. 

You smile softly at him, sniffling and pulling him down to give him a kiss. “You’re such a dork. I told you that I’d love yours the most,” you reassure, running your hands through his light hair. 

He sighs for the nth time and nods his head, leaning into your touch.  “I know, I know. I just got...worried.” 

You hum, shaking your head as you lightly tease. “You mean you got insecure and jealous.” You giggle when he pouts, bringing his pouty lips down for another kiss. He pecks your lips a couple times after your kiss before pulling away. 

“Maybe, or maybe not,” he replies nonchalantly like his feelings aren’t obvious. You giggle some more before giving him another kiss. You’ve missed his lips, even if it’s only been a day. 

“Wait, you got me something?” you ask curiously, instantly trying to guess what he got you. He smiles at this, nodding his head before pecking your lips and standing up. It’s your turn to pout now as you watch him, now wondering where he’s going. You gasp quietly when you see the box and bags on the floor by the door. 

“I brought these to school and had to carry them around all day since I couldn’t give them to you. Then, when I came in, your underwear was out for everyone to see and I kinda just dropped them…” You bite your lip at this, watching him bring everything over to you. 

“Sorry about that, by the way,” you apologize softly, sitting up and fixing your skirt. His eyes go down to said skirt, licking his lips when he catches a view of your bare core. You’re dripping after his punishment. He clears his throat and then focuses on the gifts, sliding them over to you. 

“Happy Valentine’s Day, my love,” he says softly. You’re quick to open them, your heart beating wildly in your chest. He got you the normal Valentine’s Day gifts like chocolate and a card but he also got you other things. You squeal in delight when you pull one of his hoodies out of a bag. 

“I figured the one you stole from me doesn’t smell like me anymore, so I brought you this one. I wore this for a week without you seeing it because I wanted it to be a surprise. To make things even better, I got two so now we can match.” 

You giggle like a schoolgirl and pull him to a hug after opening everything else. “You’re literally the best ever. I love you,” you mumble into his shoulder, feeling him smile into your hair.

“Does this mean I can take you back to my place and touch you without having to worry about noise?” Your cheeks heat at his reply and nod your head, sucking on your lip as you pull away from the hug. 

“Let's go then. I’ve been thinking about this for weeks.”

┍━━━━━━━✿━━━━━━━┑

MASTERLISTS

More with Obey Me!

Tag List: @abhorbit-h​, @mexicanmagick, @animefreak-247, @jungialo​, @fanfictwarrior​, @ohbbobeyme​, @zeldan7​, @niphredil-14, @gamelovers-posts, @virtualmemmecollector, @collarjessie, @officialdevorak, @katelynwithpaint​, and @buzzybeebee​ ✦ if you would like to be added or removed, comment or send an ask :)

┕━━━━━━━✿━━━━━━━┙

[justme92297]

HC: Kissing Under the Mistletoe (New Dateables)

I want to apologize for how long this took me, but I also want to be realistic to the people who decided to follow me. I told in my bio that I am not a consistent writer and this prompt took me a bit, because I wrote Barbatose's story 5 different times, because I would finish one section and come up with an idea I liked better and wanted to incorporate it. As you might have been able to tell, I had to quit or this would never be posted. Anyway enjoy.

TW: I still don't think so, but if any it would be kissing. Reader: Gender Neutral.

Diavolo:

Human world traditions? Sign him up. Seriously, after a day or two of Lucifer not budging on a holiday party, you knew what to do. Go to Diavolo in the middle of RAD and mention how you have been trying to convince Lucifer. He can’t say no to this man, and you will get your party. Diavolo didn’t know about the mistletoe tradition, but just thought it was cute when you explained to him why the boys hanged mistletoe everywhere.

Diavolo didn’t plan on kissing you, he knew that Barbatos and Lucifer would have some remarks about his prince image, but when the opportunity present himself, isn’t it his duty to welcome human world traditions in open arms and respect? Shouldn’t he participate to show how much he wants to unify the realms? That’s why when Diavolo stated he wanted to practice his selfie skills with you and take a picture to remember this day he didn’t see what would be wrong with perfectly placing you under the door way next to the tree. That tree that you and Levi spent decorating, and at least has 2 mistletoes around it. Right when Diavolo went to take the picture was when he stole a kiss.

His kiss was shocking to say the least, sparks felt like they were engulfing your body in the brief moment of the kiss.

~After looking back at the photo disappointment couldn’t comprehend the emotion he was feeling. He thought that he was going to have a memento of that night and participating in a human world tradition. However, when looking at the photo he couldn’t tell between the blurry shifty photo of the wall of HoL. Lucifer and Barbatos was more than pleased that the only photographic evidence of what happened was illegible.

Barbatos:

Walking down the corridors of RAD, you couldn’t help to skip a bit, with getting the green light to host the party, it is time for planning and preparation. Saying that you paid attention in class would be a lie, but at the end of the day you figured out what everyone would be tasked to do, and you put yourself on the food part to make sure that the party still maintains a human world feel. After planning the menu you still had one problem. The drinks. You want something classic to make Lucifer and some nonwild individuals comfortable but with a fun spin to still keep the others happy. You needed Barbatos’s help.

When Barbatos arrived you asked if he could taste the drink to see if you got the recipe correct. That’s when Solomon walked in. Barbatos saw the mess happen. He knew that throwing that fruit cake was not an accident, and as a way to reward the sacrifice that you made he decided to help clean up the scattered bits of cake and broken plate before Solomon could think of a way to fix his dessert. Helping out and cleaning was something that wasn’t expected but also wasn’t that surprised.

Gathering all the pieces into the trash, Barbatos came up behind you near the cauldron stove, lit with spiced devil cider, he asked if he could taste the specialty drink now. Holding your breath you tried to spot a reaction from the poised devil. Looking at the spices around the cauldron, you see that he added a bit more cinnamon, some more anise and stirred. Bringing the wooden spoon to your lips “try this now.” A harmony of the flavors couldn’t mask the feel of Barbatos against your lips. “There it should be perfect now.” With that Barbatos went back to the group seeing if Diavolo needed anything.

Barbatos’s kiss was reserved. He didn’t feel comfortable enough to show too much affection in public yet. He knows what could be, but that doesn’t always mean that this is the timeline that has his desired outcome, and he knows to respect you and your choices.

~Barbatos wouldn’t normally be someone to show so much affection in a somewhat public area, which is why Simeon and Luke needed to take a moment to actually realize what had happened. Luke was wondering if you were okay, and if you needed some mouthwash, or something stronger to get rid of a demons kiss. Simeon on the other hand was trying to stop Luke from invading in your personal time and telling him that if you really needed help there are multiple people here ready to rush to help you.

Simeon:

Simeon actually didn’t kiss you the day of the party. After seeing everyone avoiding Asmo, or trying to execute their plan to kiss you, Simeon thought it would be best if he didn’t attempt but give you a person you wouldn’t have to worry about during the party, however he wasn’t going to miss the chance if it presented itself to him again, and that is just what he planned on making sure happened.

Simeon showed up the next day to help clean up, knowing full well that most of the boys would need a morning or a day to recuperate before trying to do anything productive. So with some of Luke’s homemade cookies in hand he knocked on the HoL doors expecting only you to be awake.

During clean up Simeon and you became a pair of cleaning and straightening heroes. Placing pillows and blankets in the correct places, grabbing all the dishes into the sink to start washing them, Simeon offered to help dry and put away. Turning you head to thank him, you two started discussing how the party went and wanted to make sure that each other had fun. “I saw that a lot of people kissed you MC.” “Yeah, it’s a human world tradition, when you are under a mistletoe your are suppose to kiss.” “Aren’t we under one now?” Looking up to see that there has been a mistletoe above this sink the whole time Simmeon leans down to meet your lips.

If an angel’s food cake could be transformed into a kiss, this would be that kiss. Simeon’s kiss was light and made you want to melt against him, sadly it was quick.

~Without realizing it Simeon’s D.D.D was taking a video when he placed it by the sink. To this day. Simeon still does not know about the video.

Luke:

N/a

Solomon:

You knew Solomon was trying, you knew that he was just trying to follow human world customs and bring some food to the party. You knew Solomon just didn’t know how bad his cooking actually is. What you didn’t know was how to dispose of this multi-dimension time-shiftng poison before anyone could eat the spicy devil fruit “cake”.

Solomon wanted to walk with you into the kitchen to make sure that you have a place at the table that can fit this monstrosity, when Solomon noticed the mistletoe hanging over the door way. Twirling you around Solomon kissed you. While Solomon’s kiss was nice, you found it to be your perfect opportunity and drop the cake, purposefully face down with as much force as you could muster.

Kissing Solomon was an experience. Solomon’s lips started out hard with little movement, where he softly started to kiss you and started to slowly back away. His kiss felt like you could be here for eternity, but only think it was a second, and you are not quite sure if that is due to magic, the interesting technique he used, or a different reason.

~All of the brothers saw this happening, and you should be thankful that Barbatos took you away so you could avoid the yelling, threatening, and maniacal giggling that was happening in the next room. When Solomon got back to Purgatory Hall you made sure that his enchantments and locks were strong against his room.

[wishingicouldfly]

I've been actively blogging for more than six months, even though I've had a tumblr account for ten years. I started reading One Direction (specifically Larry) fanfiction about the same time.

Originally, I read exclusively canon compliant fiction--I was hungry for industry insider, what-could-have-happened narratives. But I've slowly branched out into other genres. I find fanfic--good fanfic--super calming. When I've had too much stunting, too much noise, I grab a fanfic and immerse myself. So I thought it was time to do a post about my favorites. Keep in mind, I'm terrible at cataloging, and I have over 150 bookmarks on my A03 Account, so this is by no means an exhaustive list.

I'm not including the classics like Tired, Tired Sea and Escapade. While I do love both of those (so well written), because a lot of people know about those already.

My all time favorites are by @helloamhere

1. The Multipicity of Powers - https://archiveofourown.org/works/28580229

Maybe in another universe he isn’t different. Maybe he hadn’t been given an impossible choice. Maybe he wouldn’t have lost everything and broken everything and then fallen impossibly, irrevocably in love with the first next thing that was kind. Maybe in that universe he doesn’t feel like he’s never breathing, always pretending, teaching the kids even though they all have to learn alone, trying hard not to read the headlines, and so afraid, every day, that he won’t be a good enough teammate to the superhero he can’t live without. He knows that love isn’t supposed to feel this way, slid secret under your skin like a surgical razor, an invisible war held close over the tender vein that keeps you alive. On the other hand, Louis wonders, had he ever known how to do it any other way?

Maybe there’s a universe where he doesn’t have to keep all his secrets on the inside.

But this isn’t that universe.

//an X-Men AU.

Me: I never thought I'd love a super hero 1D cross over, but this is so well done. The backstory, the pacing, the characterization, the friendship. Read it.

2. Saving Symphony Hall and it's prequel Night Out - https://archiveofourown.org/works/12633921

“I think I have an idea,” Louis said. Slowly, and reluctantly, but with a growing sense of the inevitable. “God damnit, I think I have a really good idea.”

“Oh christ, that's the problem-solving face,” Babs said. “Last time we saw that face, he sold a company.”

“Wait, what?” Zayn asked.

“Right place, right time,” Louis said. “Also, fuck my life,”

“What?” Zayn repeated. Niall patted his hand.

“I usually just roll with whatever Louis is about to do,” he said. “It’s better for us all.”

“That’s the attitude,” said Louis, “I’ll tell you tomorrow. Tonight, I need to do some research. Zayn, give me your number. I’m gonna save our symphony.”

Me: The best sex scene I've ever read is in the prequel Night Out. Sexy, but tender. I love the characterizations in this duo--ABO but not traditional. Doesn't feel out of character.

3. Just Let Me -https://archiveofourown.org/works/11695350

The party was going well. So well, Niall had already sworn undying love to one multi-tiered chocolate cake, two friendly corgi-poodle mixes, Zayn’s hair, and the entire population of Los Angeles. So well, Zayn had only laughed and ruffled Niall’s hair and not even twitched towards a cigarette. So well, nearly everyone had spilled far past the boundaries of the night’s original plans, extracting bottles of vodka from the cabinets and losing a lot of clothes. Harry had proclaimed that he was finally going to throw a small and very grownup dinner party and of course here they were three hours later, fifty people half-naked in the pool. Soon to be full-naked, if Louis had to guess. Everybody in LA loved a heated pool. Everybody loved Harry.

Me: I love love love this. Harry is so gentle, and Louis is so stubborn and needy. It's ABO but subtle. I'll read this one again and again. It's comforting.

@HelloAmHere is one of the best writers I know--amazing stuff. I also love their werewolf story, but it's not finished, so I won't link it here.

Other favorites:

1. Seven Up by cherrystreet - https://archiveofourown.org/works/5828539

Very loosely based on the British TV show "The Up Series" and somewhat inspired by the song “Something I Need” by Onerepublic, we follow the lives of Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson in an interview setting every seven years. They fall apart and come together, their lives and emotions recorded. Harry calls it a time capsule. Louis calls it a pain in the arse.

Me: Trigger Warning, major character death. I literally SOBBED through the end of this. It was lovely and devastating. So good. But be warned.

2. Light, Spark and Fire series by @greenfeelings

Life’s pretty ordinary for Harry. He lives with his best friend, got into university just like he’s planned, and manages to support himself just fine for an unbonded omega. If he sustains that lifestyle by getting paid to help alphas through their rut every now and then, that’s nothing to be hung up on. Until he’s hired by an alpha that turns everything upside down.

Or, Louis and Zayn run a music label, Liam is Britain’s up-and-coming pop star, Harry’s working on taking Louis’ walls down until he builds his own up, and Niall holds them all together without realising he does.

Me: A nice healthy three-parter. Characters you just want to live with for a while.

3. Relief Next to Me by dolce_piccante - https://archiveofourown.org/works/1117942

AU. What happens when a baker and a graphic designer meet via a very specific Craigslist post? Fate, friendship, food, and maybe more.

Me: This one is super long, so be prepared when you dive in. It's got a lot of lovely bits, and some great smut.

4. 2012 'Verse by ashavahishta - https://archiveofourown.org/series/27601

Me: This is a five-parter and satisfies my love of canon compliant stories. It spans most of 2012 and into 2013, and illustrates the difficulties of Harry and Louis' relationship amid the band success and management disapproval.

5. Love After the End of the World by mercurial-madhouse (writing_practice) - https://archiveofourown.org/works/31251434/chapters/77248901

Society shattered when all electricity suddenly cut off across the globe, plunging the world into darkness. Now, Prometheus Industries is the sole remaining supply of power, a saving grace to those who survived Lights Out. As fugitives in no-man’s land struggling to break into Prometheus HQ, death lurks around every corner for Louis and Zayn. Things get complicated when a routine recon falls apart and Louis collides with Harry and his mates Niall and Liam, survivors with their own agenda.

When staying alive is already a constant battle, the deadliest weakness is to be in love. For Harry and Louis, finding each other sits on top of the endless list of What Else Could Go Wrong.

Me: Really unusual (as far as I can tell) end of the world story. I loved the characterizations of soul mates here at the end of the world.

6. Flightless Bird by audreyhheart - https://archiveofourown.org/works/6401653/chapters/14656807

AU where Louis Tomlinson is a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet. When his rival from ballet school, moody dance prodigy Harry Styles joins the company, old wounds are reopened and old passions reignited. During the company's production of Swan Lake the secret that doomed their love is finally revealed, but will it be too late?

Me: Trigger Warning, sexual assault (by an original character to a major character). This was a little brutal because I hated to see a broken Harry, but it was well written and has a happy ending.

7. Wear It Like A Crown by zarah5 - https://archiveofourown.org/works/1816771/chapters/3900322

AU. As part of a team of fixers hired to handle a gay scandal in Buckingham Palace, Louis expects Prince Harry to be a lot of things—most notably a royally spoilt brat. Never mind that the very same Prince Harry used to star in quite a number of Louis' teenage fantasies.

Me: I loved Louis in this one--actually they are both pretty great. Scratch that, they are ALL pretty great.

8. Shake Me Down by AGreatPerhaps12 - https://archiveofourown.org/works/3331958/chapters/7285322

Harry's new to college, fresh out of Catholic school and conversion therapy camp, and Louis runs the campus LGBTQIA organization.

Me: I don't like the self-hate here, but it was necessary for the story and H comes around. Found family vibe.

9. Gods & Monsters by Velvetoscar - https://archiveofourown.org/works/2090982/chapters/4550871

The instructions were simple: seduce and destroy Harry Styles. Not once did they discuss the option of Louis actually falling in love. So, naturally, that's exactly what he did.

Me: I loved Harry in this one. Louis gets there. I don't like Liam, but I don't think you're supposed to. Zayn is great.

10. Own the Scars by crinkle-eyed-boo (KimmieRocks) - https://archiveofourown.org/series/1010796

Louis has never felt like he was good enough: for his stepdad, for his life-long best friend, for the life he's supposed to want. After an accident that nearly costs him his life, Louis' parents send him to rehab where he’s forced to face his demons. On the long and difficult road to recovery, Louis must confront the truths he’s been avoiding about his future, his relationships, and his sense of self-worth. Because before he can love anyone else, he’s got to learn how to love himself first.

Me: Harry is lovely in this one. Trigger warning, substance abuse and near death.

11. Wild Love by purpledaisy - https://archiveofourown.org/series/1030904

AU: Two best friends try to date each other for forty days. It's supposed to be fun until emotions make it complicated.

Me: I loved this way more than I thought I would. It's lovely and messy and I love it.

12. Victorian Boy by audreyhheart - https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosann1986/readings?page=6

Victorian AU. Harry the virgin Duke of Somerset knows little of love, while Louis the sly Duke of Warwick knows too much. When the two dukes come together for the Bilsdale fox hunt in York, Harry finds himself drawn into Louis' bed. But when secrets from Louis' dark past come to light, Harry fears that the fox isn't the only one being hunted.

Me: Historical fiction I didn't intend to love. I LOVE Harry in this one. LOTS of smut, so be warned.

13. Keep Me Closer by zanni_scaramouche - https://archiveofourown.org/works/30752633

Louis expects Harry to react poorly, maybe even file a formal complaint and that’s gonna suck ass but Louis won’t say shit cause he knows he deserves it, so he prepares an apology before Harry’s even turned around.

What he doesn’t expect is Harry to fucking drop.

Me: lovely, protective Louis just trying to do the right thing.

14. Turning Page by purpledaisy for SockstheDog

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11826345

AU: Harry Styles tries to get lost in a place he’s never been.  Louis Tomlinson has been perfecting the art of being lost for years. What they don’t expect to find is each other.

Me: sweet love story. Niall owns a bar, and is pretty great.

15. Freedom Always Comes With a Price by Cyantific - https://archiveofourown.org/works/30278514/chapters/74624262

A shared dream brings them together onto the X-factor stage, but one decision changes Harry and Louis’ lives overnight. Thrust into a world of instant stardom, they're forced to live a lie to sustain their dreams, but years of living in the shadows and under strict management takes its toll.

With the bands impending hiatus, there’s no better time for change, so they think.

Desperate for a solution, they turn to an unlikely source with a radical plan. An unfortunate accident sets everything in motion, but not how they intended, leaving Louis’ memories altered, Harry broken-hearted and full of regret.

Can Harry figure out a way to fix everything? Will he even want to once he sees how Louis moved on after the hiatus? Will Louis ever find out the truth of their past and can he forgive Harry after all this time?

In the end, two friends find out that memories are elusive, trust is everything and love is the only antidote.

Me: Heartbreaking when they lose each other, but really good in the end.

16. Little Technicolor Things by scary_crow - https://archiveofourown.org/works/6025519/chapters/13821628

Louis is a poor writer and recent university graduate, depressed, anxious, and living in London when he meets Harry, an artist with a secret who likes to paint sunrises and pretty boys from California.

17. Hold You Now by solvetheminourdreams - https://archiveofourown.org/works/30253536/chapters/74556744

Three years ago, Harry Styles said goodbye to communications consultancy firm McQuiston Worldwide, leaving a life of travel and agency PR behind. When he accompanies his best friend to a family wedding across the Atlantic, he'll be forced to reopen old wounds and face his past—one that no one wants to hash out, but may just have to.

Me: Niall is great. They almost miss each other in this one, and you just want to bash them over the head. But they figure it out.

18. At Risk, I Fold by clare328 - https://archiveofourown.org/works/26542480

2015 is a stream of hotel rooms and whisky on the rocks, tired glances and touching hands under tables. It’s the bears and the bees under a rainbow sky, and Harry and Louis have to figure out how to grow up together, instead of apart.

Me: A canon compliant fic that feels like it could have really happened. Set in 2015. Lovely first chapter and scene where Harry writes If I Could Fly--i could read that chapter over and over.

19. Into The Blue by zarah5 - https://archiveofourown.org/works/1035822/chapters/2065499

AU. In which Louis is Harry's scuba instructor and quite happy to provide the requested special treatment, pun fully intended. It can't be all that difficult to convince Harry that they're on the same page, right? Also, Niall and Liam may or may not be dating, and Zayn is surrounded by emotionally stunted idiots. He bears it with dignity.

Me: AKA the Scuba fic.

20. Tie Your Heart by ArcadianMaggie - https://archiveofourown.org/works/546688/chapters/973236

Harry grows wings.

Me: How can you not love a fic where Harry grows wings? Trigger warning: injury of a major character.

21. I think I'll end this here. My last and probably first favorite (read it more than once) is...

my heart is breathing for this moment in time by usedtothebeach - https://archiveofourown.org/works/934996/chapters/1820282

When Louis first saw Harry at the 2010 X Factor Auditions, he thought he was watching a peculiarly special stranger. But Harry has known Louis ever since he was five years old.

Because Louis has a rare genetic disorder that causes him to Time Travel to important moments in his past and in his future - and to Harry, always to Harry. When they're put into a band together, it seems like everything Harry has been waiting and wishing for has finally come true. Except for the small fact that Louis doesn't know that Harry is in love with him- that Harry's always been in love with him. Fate, it would seem, is just getting started.

A story about growing up and growing together, and the impossible love that makes it all worthwhile.

Me: I LOVED the Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, and I'm a huge fan of time travel, so this is right up my alley. It's really well done, weaving canon into fantasy and then going years forward in tme. I love everything about it. Great character development. Really good smut. Trigger warning, there's a little underage sex, so be aware. Anyway, LOVE this one so much.

I'll add to this but it's already longer than I meant it to be.

[epicseptic]

Erseptyl AU

Prologue Part2

So this is part 2/3 to the prologue of my fantasy au? I so apologize if this one doesn’t live up to the first. This one got a little too ambitious for me.... but I am still learning how to word ^^’ And dialogue.. i gotta learn to do that too. I’ll learn tho. I hope.... Criticism is appreciated ^^’

Part one - https://epicseptic.tumblr.com/post/660766644770062336/erseptyl-au

----------

"Ugh, this is so BORING!" Marvin groaned. He slumped in his place on the throne, leaning his elbow on the armrest with his head in his hand.

"Your Highness, please refrain from such inappropriate outbursts...." Anti was highly unamused by the misbehavior and the disapproving look on his face said it all. He stood to the left of the throne with a book as big as an encyclopedia in his arms and a quill in his hand. As Marvin's royal advisor, he stood beside him throughout most of the day charting records and ultimately helping the prince make decisions on social and economical issues in the kingdom. He was typically very calm and passionate about his work, always wanting to get straight to the point and sometimes getting carried away. 

At least, that's how Marvin saw it.

"How many people did you say I would have to meet with today?" He asked, his boredom was evident in the tone of his voice and the way he kicked his foot against the carpet.

"Not many. Several folks from town have requested an audience with you. Afterwards, you are to meet with a group of men from the council to discuss taxes and production within the city. It should only take a couple of hours. Now please sit up straight and be professional." His words were quite stern and he spoke to him as if he was instructing a four year old. It was clear that he didn't have much patience to deal with the prince's nonsense today.

Marvin simply huffed with slight annoyance as he propped himself up and fixed his posture. He was used to behaving "properly" but he wasn't fond of the way the servants would still tell him how to act. It seemed that some of them still treated him like some kind of adolescent child. Maybe they didn't see it the same way, but he thought he was perfectly mature. Inexperienced maybe, but other than that he didn’t need everyone to hold his hand all the time. He wasn’t just some child anymore. He just wasn't at all excited about the boring meetings he would have to sit through today... 

As if right on cue, the captain of the royal guard, Chase, entered through the castle gates and approached the throne along the long, golden colored carpet. "Your Highness" He kneeled in front of the steps when he reached the end of the hall. "The townspeople that are to meet with you are beginning to line up outside. Shall I let them in now?"

Chase was Marvin's most skilled soldier. He was skilled in both sword and bow. In fact, archery was his strongest suit. He was dedicated and disciplined, though you would never know that outside of the sparring halls since that side of himself was reserved only for the training grounds and the battlefield. His authoritative conduct usually stayed buried beneath his friendly and optimistic attitude when he was around the rest of the staff. He was friendly and fun, but focussed when he needed to be. Marvin quite appreciated his companionship as well. He was a good friend and was actually acquainted with the prince on a more personal level, much like JJ was. However, he still treated Marvin with the utmost respect. To this day, he still refused to address him by his first name no matter how many times Marvin told him he could.

With a bit of uncertainty, Marvin looked to Anti who simply stared impatiently back at him, waiting for him to give the command to the knight. He supposed that look meant yes. He sighed, ready to just get the afternoon over with. "Yes. Please send them in...."

Chase wasted no time nodding and getting to his feet to fetch the townspeople waiting outside and it wasn't long before he returned to introduce the first individual; a baker by the name of Ludwig looking to expand his business. He was asking to be given the funds to open a second shop on the other side of town and to provide himself with the proper equipment. A reasonable thing to ask for, right?

"Well…" Marvin thought aloud upon hearing the man’s plea. He knew that his advisor would insist on denying this request - that he would see no significance in the man's plight - but decisions like this really preyed on Marvin's moral values. 

When he didn't come up with a quick enough response, Anti decided to chime in and give his opinion. "Your highness, adding another bakery into the city is not a priority. There is no need to waste tax money on... cake..." He had a look of disgust on his face when he said that last word, his eyes scanning the man up and down. His words were harsh and Marvin cringed seeing the baker’s heartbroken expression. As he suspected, Anti was opposed to the idea. He took his opinion into account but he still didn't know what he should say. It was all so daunting, having everyone's eyes on him while he anxiously tried to come up with something that would make everyone happy... But he knew that no matter what he chose, someone was going to be upset. Whether it was the baker who would leave empty handed and disappointed, or Anti who would disagree with the way he handled money. It was as if he was stood before a tall, delicate structure and, despite his best efforts to keep it standing, his ultimate decision would always send it crashing down. Since being in charge, he quickly learned that there were no compromises. Apparently, it wasn’t about making a choice that made everyone happy, but instead about choosing the one that would cause less destruction…

He knew that he couldn't pass out gold to just anyone but, in the end, he couldn't deny someone the opportunity to follow their dreams. And so, he finally had his verdict. "I think it's great that you want to share your talent with your people. I would be honored to help provide you with the means to do so." He agreed and the man was immediately filled with joy. He thanked the prince again and again, saying that the kingdom was blessed to have such a gracious ruler like him. He had to admit, he felt a bit awkward by his kind words but, aside from that, he was just happy to see the man filled with such happiness. Besides, Marvin knew what it was like to want to be a part of something bigger and achieve a personal level of success. 

It felt good to come to a rewarding conclusion and he was beaming as he watched Chase escort the very joyful man out of the throne room. However, when he looked to Anti, he noticed him looking down with a frown as he scribbled something in his notes. He was shaking his head in disapproval and Marvin's smile promptly faded seeing the sour expression on his face. Suddenly he began wondering if he made the right choice after all. Maybe he should've thought a little harder about his decision but wasn't keeping the people happy the right thing to do? Wasn't that the most important thing about being a ruler?

He just didn't know anymore. He wished someone would tell him... It always seemed like he was doing something wrong. It was never good enough for everyone…

Minutes after the man had left the throne room, the next citizen walked in through the large doors. After all the time he'd spent pondering the first request, he already felt so overwhelmed and began wondering just how long that whole ordeal had taken.

"Umm… Anti?” He leaned over his chair to whisper to him. “How long have we been here?"

He stared vacantly at him for a moment, completely speechless. "Your highness, we just got started… It's only been 10 minutes. Now, please sit properly!" He whispered back but with a far more impatient tone. Truthfully, he was shocked that the prince was already getting restless when they'd only just begun.

Only 10 minutes? He frowned and corrected his posture again, resting his head in his hand while he leaned against the armrest. If that's how long 10 minutes felt, he couldn't imagine how long he was going to have to sit there… Sitting in one spot for hours was boring enough as it was, but the most taxing part of it all would be making proper, sensible decisions in a timely manner. all while trying his best to keep everyone happy. That was the most difficult part about all of this and he knew that all of the stress was going to leave him exhausted. There was no telling how long these meetings were going to last but he just tried to maintain professionalism and push through the next few hours with a smile. All he knew was that it was about to be a long afternoon… 

----------

Later that evening, after all of his meetings were finally over, Marvin had retired to his study. Unfortunately, though his meetings were over, his business was not and he still had yet to finish answering many other requests. His study room consisted of bookshelves on either side of the room, a large arched window in the back with the curtains wide open to let in the sunlight, and his desk in the center which contained paperwork, ink, quills, and books.

He was sitting at his desk with his head resting tiredly in his hand while he leaned his elbow on the wood. Anti was with him and he was listening to him read out more propositions for him to answer to. These ones were different from the meetings he had to sit through earlier since they weren’t just from town, but from all over the kingdom. Each proposition came with a scroll of paper to sign and Anti passed them to him on the table one by one. He had such a hard time focusing on them and found himself staring distantly at the papers in front of him, barely caring enough to listen as Anti read them out.

"Your Highness, the king in the neighboring kingdom is planning to raid Jaskervawl and he is inviting you to join him. He is simply asking for you to provide men and weapons for his cause. This would be a great opportunity for you to-"

"No, thank you." He suddenly interrupted, not wanting to hear any more. He already hated the sound of this selfish request.

Anti didn't appreciate being interrupted but he calmly continued just as before. "My Prince, if I may, this would be a great opportunity to expand your reign and conquer more territory." Anti made an effort to calmly convince him to change his mind and go through with the raid. "As king, it is important that you claim land and supplies for profit, even if that means stealing it. Just think, your leadership could strike fear into your enemies."

He shook his head. "I said no. I will not get involved in a war."

"My liege, I think you should accept this proposal.” He immediately disregarded his refusal and insisted that he go through with the assault on Jaskervawl. “You cannot continue to dodge vital opportunities such as this. A king must show leadership! You represent everything that this kingdom stands for. Whether or not this leads to a war, should not concern you...“ This is what he hated most when it came to working under the prince. He was always trying to 'play it safe' and it was obviously holding him back. His lack of leadership was only hindering the growth of the kingdom's productivity and, therefore, its money. 

And to him, money meant power.

"I said, no." Though he raised his voice a bit, he remained patient with Anti. However, it was starting to bug him that his words seemed to have no effect on the situation. He was in charge and yet it felt like he had no say in this. He wanted nothing more to do with it. "We will speak of this no further."

By this point, Anti was incredibly irked and found that he couldn't hold back his frustration any longer. "You are going to be king one day, and you expect to be as successful as your father? At this rate you’ll never measure up to him! What kind of example do you intend to set if you do not grow up and take some responsibility to provide for your kingdom? When will you accept your role as a ruler and quit avoiding every opportunity to-"

"Enough! That is not your decision to make!" This struck a nerve for him. He could only take so much of Anti patronizing him and he quickly got to his feet, his hands slamming on the table in protest. "I am the prince and I run this kingdom, not you! Do not speak to me like I am some kind of naive child!"

Anti fell silent. Marvin noticed and he brought his voice level down significantly.

He waited a few moments, took a deep breath, then sighed. "I told you, I decline. I will not risk the safety of my people or my army. You would do well to accept that, Anti."

"But-"

"You are my advisor, not my father. You have no authority over me. You are merely here to assist me in my daily affairs. I make the decisions, not you." It seemed he always had to remind him of his place...

He hesitated, swallowing back his agitation. "Yes, my liege...." He bit his tongue, so hard that he could taste a slight tang of blood in his mouth. He had to bite back whatever bitter insult he so longed to spit into the prince's face.

Marvin never noticed anything out of the ordinary and sat back down in his chair once he’d calmed down. He stared down at the paper in front of him with thought before picking it up and crumpling it into a ball in his hand. "Look....” He began. “I will remind you again not to step out of line."

"Yes, of course.... My humblest apologies, my lord. It seems I have allowed myself to lose my composure again...” His words were almost dramatic. The tone he used was excessively apologetic. So much so that any other person would suspect that it was all an act, like a jester putting on a terrible theater play, portraying a character that anyone could see right through. “I hope you will have mercy on me...." He bowed deeply with his left hand over his chest. No matter how many times this happened, he always acted so sincere, and Marvin believed him. He felt that he had no reason to doubt him.

He never looked back at Anti. In fact, he seemed to intentionally avoid looking directly at him. Instead, Marvin breathed a heavy sigh and after a few moments of silence, he offered his answer. "Of course…." He said calmly. Even though Anti tended to lose his cool, he worked efficiently at his job and Marvin couldn't bring himself to punish him. He wanted to be fair but perhaps he wasn't being firm enough. 

It didn't matter right now. His mind was tired and he was at his limit. He just wanted to finally be rid of all of the stress of this day. "Please, Anti, if you don't mind, I think I'm done with my duties for today. I'm exhausted…."

More annoying delays... He wanted to protest again but quickly caught himself and held back before he could make a sound. "Understood... We can continue this matter tomorrow. I will just take my leave then." He bowed to him once again. However, he never once took his cold, harsh glare off of him. The expression on his face was disturbingly calm, but his eyes were like icy daggers. It was like his stare alone could impale you just the same as any sharp blade.

Again, Marvin failed to notice this and laid his forehead directly on his desk, both arms dangling lazily at his sides. He really acted so immature sometimes... It didn't matter anymore though because Anti hastily turned on his heel and exited the room, not wanting to waste another moment he could be spending elsewhere.

Stepping out into the hall, he passed by another servant, JJ to be exact, who was carrying a tray of dessert for the prince in his hands. Anti marched down the corridor, the weight of his boots on the carpet let anyone within earshot know of his presence. JJ felt his shoulders stiffen when he noticed Anti ahead of him. He knew that they would inevitably cross paths so he made a great effort not to accidentally make eye contact with the intimidating man in front of him. Though his head remained facing forward the whole time, as he passed him, JJ swore he caught a glimpse of that same icy stare glancing at him with disgust. The moment was so short but the weight of his stare was almost suffocating. And as he walked away, the wind from his cape trailing behind him carried a bitter chill to it that made Jamie shudder.

As scared as he was of Anti though, he couldn’t help but stop in his tracks and turn back to catch a glimpse of him walking away with a posture so tall and full of pride… He looked so normal from a distance but up close, Anti was terrifying. He tried to just shake it off and pay no mind to his unsettling presence though. He had important matters that needed his attention, and after a few moments of staring, he turned around and continued down the corridor to Marvin's study.

He carefully knocked on the door when he’d reached it. Seconds later, he heard Marvin's muffled voice from the other side, permitting him to enter. He entered the room slowly and closed the door behind him. The first thing he saw was Marvin sitting with his arms folded on the desk and his head buried in his arms. He looked… comfortable... He didn't want to disturb him so he set down the tray on the desk in front of him and gave his shoulder a gentle tap.

When Marvin looked up, he saw a lovely piece of fruit cake on a small plate waiting for him. Then he noticed JJ looking at him with concern written in his expression. He quickly corrected his posture and shook the hair away from his face to quickly fix himself up for his friend and make it seem like nothing was out of the ordinary. Maybe JJ wouldn’t notice his tiredness.

"Oh- Hey, Jamie" he greeted as naturally as he could. However, JJ could see the fatigue on his face, plain as day.

"Is everything alright?" He signed. Seeing as how Anti had just left the room and Marvin being so worn out, he suspected that Anti had lost his temper again. This seemed to be a pattern with Anti and JJ wasn't at all pleased with the way he overstepped his boundaries with the prince.

Anti carried the blood of a dark elf in his veins and, while his kind had been wiped out by humans long ago, it seemed that his temperament matched that of his ancestors. It was a characteristic of his, yet it always made JJ wonder why Anti would take on a role in serving the royal family. Shouldn't he have a grudge on the royal bloodline for the destruction of his kind? As curious as he was, Jamie couldn't bring himself to ask. Anti was terrifying enough as it was. But why on earth would someone with such a short fuse like him work such a tedious job like this one? He should know what to expect by now.

"Did something happen with Anti?" He inquired worriedly, already expecting the answer he dreaded to hear.

He picked up the plate from the tray and placed it in front of himself. He didn't know how to answer him. He knew that if he said yes, JJ would scold him again for letting Anti lose his cool. But he couldn’t lie. Not to Jamie. "Well…" he paused, choosing his words carefully. "He just got a little heated again. It's no big deal though. I took care of it-"

Already he could see JJ's expression harden and his brows furrowing in anger. The mute wasn't usually one to lose his temper but when it came to his best friend, he became quite defensive.

"Marvin, you cannot allow him to disrespect you like that." He signed his name… Now Marvin knew just how serious he was. Even his hands moved more vigorously as he signed.

Marvin raised his shoulders and his cheeks flushed with shame. He knew that JJ was only concerned for him but he still felt as if he was a child who was being verbally chastised over a small mistake. Truthfully, he felt hopeless.

"It's fine, JJ. I have it all under control. It's nothing I can't handle-"

"Don't you see? He's doing more harm than good. He's stressing you out. Why do you continue to employ him?"

Marvin was silent. He stared down at the untouched cake in front of him, trying once again to find his words. "I can't just fire him. He might be impatient sometimes or lose his cool, but I feel like he has potential… You know?" He paused. "I mean… Surely, he's trying to better himself. Right? He deserves a chance at that…" He tried so hard to defend him and justify his cruel actions.

There was more to it than that and JJ could tell that he had more reason to want to trust Anti. He had a feeling he knew what it was too... Anti had been working at the castle for a long time. Longer than himself and many of the other servants. He had previously been under the employment of the king and only continued to serve under the prince. Marvin didn't want to fire him because he felt that he was the closest living person to his father. He certainly trusted him enough to allow him into the royal court… He just couldn't let go of someone who worked so closely with his father. Anti was the only one in the castle who spent all of his time with the king. If anyone knew how the king worked, it was him and Marvin believed him to be the only one who could show him how to be just as good as his father.

JJ had to admit, he felt a small bit offended. It seemed that Marvin saw Anti as more of a figure of guidance than him… In a way, he was disappointed that his best friend didn’t perceive him in that way. Despite all of that though, his reason for keeping the elf in power was personal and so JJ didn't want to press the matter further. Besides, the reasons didn't matter. It was clear that Marvin really trusted Anti as his advisor and didn't have the heart to remove him from his staff.

Marvin could see JJ looking at him intently with a very puzzled stare, as if he was staring into his mind trying to pick apart his very thoughts for trusting such a foul individual. "Look, don't worry about Anti. I know he's a bit… Unorthodox? But he deserves just as much a chance to work here as anyone else… Please, just give him a chance, okay?" 

Hearing those words reminded JJ of how kind Marvin really was as a person. Naive, no doubt, but kind. It was concerning sometimes, especially in this case. He pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing that there was nothing he could say to change the prince's mind. He didn't trust Anti one bit and, the way he saw it, Anti was faking his respect for the prince because when he was anywhere but by the prince's side, his demeanor changed. It was ominous and conniving. All of the servants knew it. There was always something going on behind his mask of loyalty but no one truly knew what he was thinking. It was disturbing to say the least.

JJ sighed in defeat. "I will trust your judgment, my friend." He addressed him more personally. "But please watch your back around him. Don't let him get away with his power..."

It was apparent that JJ didn't trust Anti. In fact, he was aware that multiple people in his staff felt very put off by Anti in general but Marvin still had faith in him. Besides, even if Anti lost his temper from time to time, he always seemed to catch himself and correct his behavior. Why would he punish someone who was just doing their best?

"Don't worry, Jamie. I'll keep an eye on him." He looked at him, giving him a confident, reassuring smile. He’d hoped that JJ could see things the way he did and trust in his judgment and it seemed he did a good job convincing him.

The atmosphere seemed kind of tense now after their conversation but then Marvin suddenly remembered the cake that he still had yet to touch. It had completely slipped his mind and he awkwardly fumbled for the fork that was still resting on the tray that JJ had brought in, eager to change the subject to something else.

"Oh! But this cake sure looks incredible-" He declared with renewed excitement. He scooped a generous helping of cake onto the small fork and took a taste of the beautiful dessert. It tasted just as good as it looked. It was dense and sweet and it was the perfect thing to help him relax after such a long day of meetings. “Hmm… Thank you, Jamie…”

Usually, Marvin would not be allowed to have junk food before dinner since it would spoil his appetite, but JJ decided that he would make an exception for today. It had been a long day and this was the perfect thing to help him relax before his bedtime eventually rolled around. Until then, JJ would let him take his time and enjoy his cake. He was just happy to see him smiling and enjoying himself for the first time all day. It was probably the most rewarding thing about being Marvin’s valet; getting to cheer him up when he needed it most. He smiled sweetly at him and signed once more. “Of course, my friend.”

----------

I hope its still okay to tag you all? ^^’

@jack-and-sammy @geekyfox2 @fanaticallyperfect @cryptid-bwoid 

[official-weasley]

Love, William (Bill Weasley x OC) - Chapter 1

Theodora Cork has everything she could wish for in the summer before her seventh year. She has Fred and George – her two best friends. She has a brother that supports her with whatever she wants to do with her life. She is an amazing Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch team and she is going to spend the summer at the Burrow.

She also has the biggest crush on the twins' brother Bill but the only thing she has with him is an 8 year age difference. Something that doesn't stop Fred, George, and Charlie from getting endless ideas to bring them together.

A/N: I started this blog to write down all my story ideas for our freckled dragon boy but after two stories I decided to give Bill some love too! I wanted to try a different POV this time, so tell me what you think? I like the first-person POV more but this was fun and a bit challenging to write as well!

Also, this is the first time I didn't really stick with the time frame of events (when it comes to Quidditch and them being at the Burrow during summer). I tend to be a perfectionist when it comes to time and events and I wanted to get out of my comfort bubble a bit and see if I can endure changing things! Also, I felt like writing a really positive story full of fluff so I tried removing as many negative things from that timeline as possible.

I know I tormented our Charlie bean in the last two stories even if he got the happy and alternative ending so the next one about him will be nothing but pure fluff! 💙

I just wanted to see if I can write something about our dear eldest Weasley and because I had a rather emotional month it's sweet and might get you diabetes, so beware and I hope you enjoy it! 💙

WARNINGS: none other than Fred & George shenanigans and some Quidditch

Chapter 1 - George's Sacrifice

“She’s going to do it,” Fred whispered to his brother, lurking behind a corner.

“I told you, she’s perfect for the job,” George whispered back.

“Yeah, but she was protesting for 3 days.” Fred tried to defend himself.

“It’s a new product and we didn’t tell her what exactly it does. Of course, she was protesting.”

“We don’t even know what it does, George.” Fred tried rolling his eyes to keep the chuckle in his throat. They couldn’t risk getting caught.

“You know that she’ll murder us both if this goes wrong.” George didn’t dare to look at his twin. He knew that if they lock eyes they will start laughing.

“What are you two good-for-nothing rats sneaking around my office for?” The twins turned around to follow the voice. Their faces were pale and if they thought the whole situation was funny before, they definitely didn’t think so now.

“Theo, he’s on to us! Run!” They said in unison, trying to avoid eye contact with Filch, whose face was getting redder by the second.

“Done! What are you two shou...” The girl that joined them didn’t finish her sentence. She might’ve needed a second to realize there was one person too many standing in the circle.

“As we said...” Fred mumbled.

“Run!” George shouted, desperately trying to find something in his pocket.

Fred grabbed the girl’s hand before she could properly look at Filch who was now grinding his teeth together in anger. There was a loud crackling noise and when the trio turned around to see if Filch was following them the hallway was getting stuffed with dark grey smoke.

“Do you have the map, Fred?” George panted, his hands on his knees.

Fred, who was trying to see if Filch ran after them, shook his head. “Theodora has it.”

They both looked at her while she searched the inner pockets of her robes.

“Here it is!” She exclaimed.

They stuck their heads together, George sneaking a look around them just to be sure no one was watching. They took out their wands and tapped on the map while saying ‘we solemnly swear we are up to no good’.

The empty piece of parchment revealed the map seconds later.

“Right, where’s the nearest escape passage?” Theodora ran her finger through the map, the twins scanning it with their eyes.

“Around the corner,” Fred whispered.

“But Filch can already be there,” Theodora said, concerned. She pointed her finger at Filch’s name on the map. The footprints were getting closer to them. “Do you still have any smoke pastilles?”

“Just one more.” George’s hand already in his pocket as he was trying to find it, his tongue stuck out in concentration. “Got it!”

“Let’s go.” Fred waved his hand at his two friends after checking if the coast is clear.

The trio tip-toed around the corner, George ready to throw the pastille if needed. Theodora was clutching the map, following Filch’s every move. He was getting closer and it looked like they will meet right where they are supposed to enter the passage.

“He’s going to see us,” Theodora said through her teeth, trying to stop her jaw from shaking.

They did shenanigans like this all the time but Filch rarely got so close to catching them. He only did so 3 times since the twins invited her to tag along to one of their adventures as they called it. Fred and George took the blame each time but the last time they were caught, Snape got in their way and they couldn’t lie to McGonagall that Theodora had nothing to do with it.

She received a Howler from her mother every day for a week after that detention. Mrs. Weasley might be frightening with her screams but nothing compared to the promises what Theodora’s mother will make her do when she returns at the end of the school year.

Never-ending chores, no going out, no using magic even though she’s 17, and no avoiding visiting her grandma who always pinches her cheeks so hard that they hurt for days. And most importantly, no writing or receiving a single letter from her two best friends.

Right when they thought they got away and George was the last one to squeeze through the passage he heard Mrs. Norris meow and when he turned around to see if she was close, he saw Filch’s victorious grin.

“No matter what you do, just run straight to the Gryffindor Tower!” George shouted as another cracking sound filled their ears.

Fred and Theodora had no time to question what George was doing, as they heard Filch’s evil laugh and they started running through the tunnel as fast as their legs allowed them.

They didn’t stop nor turned around until they reached the Fat Lady Portrait, mumbled the password, and jumped through the hole. They ran up the stairs of the boy’s dormitories, ignoring the fact that the whole common room was staring at them. They burst through the door of Fred and George’s room and hid under the covers of Fred’s bed.

They didn’t move for solid five minutes. They barely even breathed, not daring to move a muscle. Once they were sure the coast was clear they came from under the covers and saw Lee Jordan staring at them with an amused look on his face.

Theodora and Fred were so busy making sure that Filch didn’t follow them that they failed to acknowledge Lee’s presence. The latter was sitting on his bed, a piece of parchment in his hands, his eyebrows now raised. The duo knew he was practicing his introduction speech for the Quidditch game tomorrow.

“What’s chasing you two?” He giggled.

“Prank gone wrong,” Fred explained. “Filch came back to his office while Theodora was still inside and he chased us.”

“George sacrificed himself for us so we could get away.” Theodora finished.

“Why didn’t you check the map to see if he was coming?” Lee asked puzzled.

“We forgot that Harry gave it to Theo and when we remembered she was already in his office,” Fred answered.

Fred and George gave the map to Harry Potter in his third year since they had it memorized. However, whenever Theodora was anxious about their plan, they asked Harry for the map back because they knew it made her feel better.

“Do you reckon George got caught?” Theodora was biting the inner side of her cheek.

“Didn’t you hear Filch laughing? Of course, he got caught.” Fred frowned.

This didn’t go according to his plan at all. Ever since he, his brother, and Theodora started to invent their own products together, they deemed Filch to be the perfect test subject. Usually, it was easy to get away but lately, Filch has been guarding his office more and they had less time to execute their plan.

Because they were caught, they won’t be able to see if their little experiment worked. George has learned a few years ago that Filch loves candy and what better gift than U-No-Poo in a box with a nice bow and a card that says You deserve it.

Fred and Theodora were getting more nervous by the minute. What was taking George so long? What was Filch doing to him?

One look at her friend and Theodora wanted to get up and investigate the situation when the door opened and George walked in.

“What happened?” The trio in the room asked in unison.

“I think it’s safe to say I am getting a Howler from mum tomorrow.” George sighed.

“We were hoping you got away,” Theodora said sadly.

“I was too slow with the smoke pastille and he grabbed my hand.” George started to explain. “He dragged me all the way to his office and threatened me to hang me by my feet. Luckily McGonagall saw us and demanded to know what was going on at once. Filch, of course, ratted us all out but because you two weren’t there,” George nodded to Theodora and his twin, “she only gave detention to me. One week in the kitchen.”

“That’s not bad at all!” Theodora clapped.

Detention in the kitchen was a piece of cake. They had to obey the elves and usually wash dishes or scrub the floors. It was better than cleaning toilets, something Fred and George had to do last month for releasing a Dungbomb in front of the Great Hall and it beat polishing trophies with Filch any day. Theodora knew a lot about that because of her cauldron disaster in Snape’s class at the beginning of the year.

In a few minutes, they forgot all about George’s detention and were already making a plan to get revenge on Filch. It was getting late and as usual, Theodora fell asleep, kneeling beside Fred’s bed, her head on the mattress.

Because of how often that happened, as the twins and the girl were mostly in the boys’ dormitory, they made a blanket fortress years ago and whenever she fell asleep in their dorm, they simply let her sleep there. They didn’t get in detention for that yet and they didn’t know what else to do, since the boys weren’t allowed into girl’s dormitories to take her back.

—

Theodora woke up before everyone else the next morning. She was a bit disoriented – not knowing where she was. When she heard loud snoring she knew she was in the boys’ dorm. She uncovered herself, with a smile on her face, thankful for how good the twins were to her, and sneaked out.

With all the running and still smelling like smoke, she took a shower and changed her clothes before going down for early breakfast.

The twins were her best friends and she wouldn’t trade them for anyone in the world but sometimes, not having any girl friends, took its toll on her. That’s why she snuck to the Great Hall alone to have some peace and quiet whenever she got the chance.

“Are you nervous, Theo?” George sat down next to her, half an hour later.

“It’s Slytherins, I only have adrenaline in my veins.” She grinned.

“We better beat them today, I am craving a party.” Fred sat on her other side.

“Just direct all the bludgers into their direction so us Chasers can score as many goals as possible before Harry gets the Snitch.” Theodora’s grin turned into a mischievous smirk.

“Oh, you can bet we...”

George gulped, unable to finish his sentence as owls started to fly down to the tables, dropping letters and packages on plates and in student’s hands.

“I told you I’ll get a Howler.” George sighed, staring at the red envelope that started to shake the second it turned to him.

“Open it, George. You know it’s only going to get worse.” Fred said.

“She can’t say anything you didn’t hear before.” Theodora bit her lip, putting her hand on George’s back to comfort him.

Nobody can’t deny that the twins were famous for getting Howlers. By now, everybody knew the high-pitched furious voice that belonged to Molly Weasley. However, no matter how many of these they got, they were still nervous every time.

Both knew that their mum wouldn’t come up with a new punishment. It would be a miracle if she did because they were in detention so much that the most creative Ravenclaw would struggle to find a new way of getting them punished.

Mrs. Weasley tried and hoped through the years that her two sons would grow up and that one day before they finish school, she wouldn’t get a letter from their head of house at least for one week. So far, she was only so lucky once in their fourth year and it was only because they came down with the flu.

George grabbed the Howler and quickly opened it. It was like ripping off a bandage— it was better to do it quicker rather than slower.

“GEORGE WEASLEY, I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU GOT YOURSELF IN DETENTION AGAIN! YOU JUST FINISHED WITH ONE AND HERE WE ARE AGAIN! I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED!

I CANNOT BELIEVE PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL ONLY GAVE YOU ONE WEEK WORTH OF DETENTION. THIS IS NOT PUNISHMENT ENOUGH FOR THROWING SOME SMOKE THINGS AT MR. FILCH!

YOU WILL APOLOGIZE TO THAT MAN AND SINCE NOTHING SEEMS TO SUFFICE WITH YOU, I AM TAKING YOUR QUIDDITCH PRIVILEGES AWAY FROM YOU!!!”

Half of the Gryffindor table gasped. They were wrong. She has never done that before.

“She can’t.” Fred banged the table with his fist.

“She probably means for the rest of the year.” Theodora tried staying optimistic.

“This is the last game of the year, Theo.” George buried his face in his hands.

“Indeed.” They all turned around to see Professor McGonagall standing behind them, her face full of disappointment.

“But the game’s today, professor,” Fred whined.

“How are we going to beat Slytherins with one Beater?” George followed his lead.

“There has to be something you can do, professor.” Theodora tried making puppy eyes. “We know how much you want us to win the cup against them.”

“As much as that is true, Miss Cork, I cannot stand between a student and their parent.” The professor furrowed her eyebrows before turning to Fred. “You will have to work for the two of you, Mr. Weasley.”

Before Fred could say anything back she walked away toward the teacher’s table.

“I can’t believe she would do this. Doesn’t she know how important Quidditch is!” George’s face was beginning to match his hair. He got red in the face every time he was mad.

“Well,” Theodora cleared her throat, “you have to give it to her. She finally found a punishment that you didn’t laugh off.”

George glared at his best friend but he knew she was right. There was nothing he could do except to hope that by some miracle Harry gets the Snitch as fast as he possibly can.

—

The second they got into the Quidditch tent their captain Oliver Wood started shouting at George almost as loudly as Mrs. Weasley’s Howler did.

“This is an outrage! Preposterous! How could you! Why do you always have to do this! Can’t you...just for once...stop pranking that old rat and focus on Quidditch!” George’s eyes were closed for most of the time Oliver was shouting at him – he didn’t want his saliva in his eyes.

He knew he was going to yell. It wasn’t the first time the twins missed practice or didn’t attend the game because of detention. He was disappointed to make Oliver so mad as he didn’t intend this to happen.

“I am sorry, Wood. I didn’t know this will...”

“Get...out...of...my...tent!” Oliver said through his teeth before George could say another word.

George stood up and did as he was told. He didn’t want to stand in the crowd full of Gryffindors who were angry at him so he decided to join his friend Lee at the commentator stand.

The second he came up, he heard his head of house sigh. He knew she was disappointed in him and he can’t recall when was the last time he was so upset about something he did wrong if he was ever this upset.

His team was counting on him, this was the last game of the year — the most important game. The game that could win them the house cup. Now it would be a miracle if they would win.

Madam Hooch’s whistle, the roar from other stands, and the voice coming from the microphone right next to his ear made him shake in his seat.

“And another goal for Gryffindor. Gryffindor’s Chaser Theodora Cork is on fire today!” Lee shouted into the microphone.

George looked at the scoring board. 30 – 20 for Gryffindor. It wasn’t a bad start. Theodora scored 2 out of 3 goals and George was proud. She was the best Chaser on their team.

“Due to an unfortunate event, George Weasley cannot be on the pitch today, leaving the Gryffindor team with only one Beater,” Lee commented as McGonagall, who was sitting right behind George, sighed again.

Theodora snatched the Quaffle from one of the Slytherin’s Chasers, flying as fast as her broom allowed her toward the Slytherin hoops.

“That’s another ten points for Gryffindor! I bet Slytherins are getting mad. This was the second time Cork took the Quaffle right before they scored!” Lee tried being biased but sometimes he needed a bit of a nudge from his head of house as he got too excited when Gryffindors scored a goal.

Despite the result being 70 – 30 for Gryffindor, George didn’t dare to get his hopes up.

“Slytherins’ two beaters started playing dirty. Potter spotted the Snitch and they are determined to knock him off his broom!”

All eyes were on Harry now. He was battling with the Slytherin’s Seeker for the Snitch and the Bludger that the two Beaters of the opposite team kept directing toward him was fast approaching.

“Slytherin scored!” Lee shouted less enthusiastically into the microphone. “70 – 40 for Gryffindor. Come on, Harry! You got this!”

George turned to Lee when he heard McGonagall clear her throat. He giggled when he saw her pursed lips, warning Lee to stay neutral by poking him with her opera glasses.

George turned his attention to his brother to see how he was doing. He was trying to catch up with the Slytherin Beaters and redirect the Bludger to their Seeker. He felt so helpless. If he wasn’t caught by Filch, he would be there next to Fred right now and they would free Harry of the stupid ball.

“And Cork stole the ball from the Slytherins again. They sure do have to grow a pair of eyes! She passed the ball to Angelina Johnson and...and...she scored!” Lee was now so excited that he stood up, almost throwing his microphone in the air.

George couldn’t deny that sitting next to Lee was rather amusing. He always listened to his commentary while on the pitch but seeing all of his reactions up close was something else.

“90 – 60 for Gryffindor now. We are still waiting to see who will win the battle for the Snitch!” Lee gripped the microphone tighter, getting nervous. They have been playing for an hour and a half.

“Potter dodged the Bludger twice now but will he be so lucky the third time?”

George couldn’t take his eyes off Harry. His hands in a fist, rooting for the boy to make them win the game.

“In the name of our house’s founder, this is unbelievable!” Lee roared, now standing up. “Fred Weasley managed to catch up to the Bludger and send it straight to the Slytherin Chaser who was just about to score. Angelina Johnson now has the Quaffle! Will she pass it to Cork or will she go to the hoops on her own?”

Lee was jumping in his seat while George didn’t know in which direction to look. He was watching Angelina flying towards the hoops, Theodora watching her back. He wanted to see how Fred was doing but also find Harry to see how close he was to catching the golden ball.

“And Johnson scores again! 100 to... Wait! Wait!” Lee was jumping up and down, trying to gather the words to express his excitement. “We won! We won! Potter caught the Snitch! Gryffindor wins!!!”

The crowd roared and as Lee let go of the microphone, George hugged him and they started jumping and cheering.

George turned around to see McGonagall trying hard to stay professional, clapping like mad at the surprise victory. Professor Flitwick, on the other hand, didn’t care if everyone saw he was cheering for Gryffindor as he was dancing in his seat, cupping his mouth, shouting Go, Gryffindor!

His brother has done some memorable things but George couldn’t recall ever being prouder of him than he was at that moment.

—

“Come on, Theo, just one date.” The boy smirked at Theodora who was half laying in one of the armchairs in the Gryffindor common room, trying to study for one of her final exams – Herbology.

“For a millionth time, no, John!” Theodora rolled her eyes. “And stop calling me Theo. Only my friends can call me that.”

“You mean the Weasleys.” John mocked and leaned closer to Theodora.

“Get away from me!” She tried pushing him but he didn’t move.

“Don’t you have someplace other to be, Connorey?” Fred grabbed John’s shoulders and pulled him away from his friend. “Didn’t she reject you like 5 times this week?”

“That has to be a new record!” George appeared next to his brother, smirking.

“And what’s your number?” John looked unamused.

“What? Getting rejected by Theodora?” Fred laughed and sat on one side of the armchair Theodora was sitting in.

“Zero,” George answered and sat on the other side.

They both leaned toward her and gently kissed her cheeks. She giggled, winking at John which only made him madder.

“You should know by now that Theo likes older guys.” George laughed.

Theodora punched him in the shoulder, making him fall off the armchair.

“I’ll wait years for you if needed be,” John said proudly and walked away.

“Thank Godric this is his last year at Hogwarts,” Theodora said with a disgusted expression.

“He just can’t get enough of you rejecting him.” Fred winked at her.

“We have a proposal for you.” George poked his head from the side of the armchair, finally getting up. He leaned on his arms.

“We only have 14 days to go and then we are free for the summer.” Fred copied his movement on the other side.

They were both looking up at Theodora with smug expressions on their faces.

“What are you up to?” She narrowed her eyes at the twins. She knew them well enough to know they were keeping a secret from her.

“We have been friends for how long now, Theo?” George asked.

“Since our second year when you accidentally threw the wrong ingredient into my cauldron instead of that Slytherin’s what his name was...” She rubbed her chin thinking.

“Allevry.” The twins said at the same time.

“Right,” Theodora said slowly. “I got detention in the kitchen and you two felt bad for getting me in trouble so you sneaked inside and helped me clean the dishes.” She giggled.

“And we haven’t looked back since.” Fred sighed dramatically.

“Oh, I have looked back plenty of times to see if Filch or Snape were after us.” Theodora teased.

“Our point being...” George tickled Theodora.

“You haven’t been at the Burrow since that year.” Fred finished his sentence.

“Are you inviting me to visit?” She gasped.

“We are inviting you to spend the summer at our home.” The twins said in unison.

“We have to develop at least 5 products this summer and we can’t do it without you.” George grinned.

“And Bill will be there.” Fred sang, winking at Theodora.

This time, he got pushed off the armchair.

Bill was Theodora’s first crush. After their second year, the twins invited her to spend a weekend at the Burrow. Their eldest brother came to visit as he got a few days off from work. The second Theodora saw him she was intrigued.

Back then, she was determined to be a Curse Breaker when finishing school and she loved the fact that Bill answered her every question. He spent most of that weekend talking about his job with her and by the looks of it he didn’t mind at all.

Of course, with the 8-year gap between them, she knew he was only being friendly and she was too young back then to even think twice about it but that didn’t stop her from daydreaming about him. As long as it stays in her head, she is doing nobody any harm.

It wasn’t even a day and the twins were on to her. They saw her blush around him and asking Bill questions he already gave her an answer to. They were teasing her up until her fourth year when she went out with a Hufflepuff boy two years above her.

“So?” Theodora tried acting unphased about what they have just told her, desperately hoping they couldn’t see her blush.

She hasn’t seen Bill since that summer but she couldn’t deny that he still popped into her mind here and there, wondering what he is doing and how is he.

“Oh, William will be crushed when he finds out you forgot all about him!”

If Fred wasn’t her friend, she would hex him on the spot for teasing her. Perhaps she should’ve said yes to going out with John, then they would have left her alone.

“It was a silly crush!” She frowned at them. “Forget about it or I will obliviate it out of you!”

“Right...” George giggled.

“Just a silly crush.” Fred followed.

“How come he’s going to be home?” Theodora cleared her throat, trying to act as casual as possible.

“The Weasley Quidditch Tournament is this summer and he’s taking a longer vacation to attend it,” Fred answered.

“Charlie’s coming too!” George said excitedly.

“Charlie’s coming?!” Theodora jumped in her seat.

She hasn’t seen the dragon lover ever since he left school. If it wasn’t for the twins, Charlie would be her favorite Weasley. He was an amazing Quidditch captain — way more chill than Oliver — and even though he was a Prefect he never deducted points from them when they got into trouble.

“Yeah, yeah. We know, he’s your favorite.” George playfully rolled his eyes.

The twins knew Charlie reminded Theodora of her older brother Eric who was an Auror in America. He was just as passionate about his job and they had a similar personality. When the twins introduced her to Charlie, she couldn’t stay away from him because she missed her brother so much that being around Charlie made it bearable.

“If Charlie’s coming, then count me in!”

“Honestly, George, do you feel a bit offended right now?” Fred looked at his twin.

“She will visit because of Charlie and not us.” George scoffed.

Theodora couldn’t stop chuckling. Them being dramatic was her favorite trait of theirs.

“Bill will be heartbroken.”

She stopped the second Fred said that and punched him in the shoulder again. She was ready to defend herself again when her brows came together.

“What did you remember?” George knew that look all too well.

“I can’t come.” Theodora sunk in her chair.

“What?”

“Why?” Fred followed his brother.

“Do you remember the Howlers I got from my mother, about me doing chores all summer?”

“Oh, that!” George swung his hand and nodded to Fred.

Theodora turned her head to Fred who pulled a letter from his back pocket. He gave it to her and she opened it at once.

Dear Fred and George,

I can’t deny that you made some good points in your letter. I appreciate that you took the responsibility for Theodora getting in trouble, however, she won’t get out of this so easily. Whether it was her fault or not, she simply can’t get away with how she was behaving.

I understand that this tournament of yours is very important so I will allow her to stay with you under the condition that she helps your mother around the house whenever needed.

I took the liberty to write to Molly and she assured me that there is plenty of work that is waiting for all three of you once the school is finished.

Keep yourself and my daughter out of trouble, will you?

Miranda Cork

“What in the bloody hell did you write to my mother that she is allowing me to spend the summer with you?” Theodora was staring at the letter with her mouth open.

Molly might be known for shouting at her sons but she was not nearly as strict as her mother. There was nothing in the world that could convince Mrs. Cork to change her mind. Theodora would know, she tried on many occasions over the years.

“It’s the Weasley charm.” Fred winked at her.

She wanted to punch him again but she was too excited to join them at the Burrow to do so. She couldn’t believe it! She didn’t care that she would have to help around the house. She would have her two best friends there to keep her company.

And she will be able to play Quidditch with the other Weasleys and bond with Charlie again. It suddenly seemed that the end of the school year couldn’t come fast enough.

Right, when she deemed the summer to come the best one in years, she felt her heart skipping a beat as Fred’s words came to mind again.

And Bill will be there.

[calicocatwrites]

Ass, Titty, Or Thighs?

Word Count: 1,970

Warnings: Talk of titties and ass, kind of a given, a little bit of swearing in Bakugou and Shinso’s.

Headcanon: Do the BNHA boys prefer ass, titties, thighs, or magical answer number 4?

Characters: Iida, Bakugou, Kirishima, Todoroki, Midoriya, Shinso

Author’s Note: Just my take on this idea, of course you can have different opinions than me, this is just what I think!

Tenya Iida:

This is a titty man.

Hear me out with this one.

He looks respectfully, obviously, this is Tenya Iida we’re talking about, but just the way they move has Iida in a different state of mind.

His favorite subject is jiggle physics (I will take myself out-).

Like, how do they move? Does it hurt? Fascinating, truly.

He doesn’t care what they look like, as long as they’re on you, the person he loves, he’s happy.

You’re watching TV in your dorm room when Iida furiously knocks on your door. Pausing your show, you get up and open the door for him.

“Hey, Iida! You need something?”

He quickly glances around your room, as if checking if someone is there, and stutters out his request.

“Ms. Y/N, i-is it ok if I may ask y-you a question I’ve prepared?”

Not seeing any harm in inviting him in, you gently crack open the door a bit more, gesturing for him to enter. Iida gladly takes the invitation and darts into your room. You sit back down on your bed, expecting him to do the same. However, Iida carefully stays standing, looking down at you. Silence starts to take its place in between the two of you, and you finally speak up.

“So, what is it you wanted to ask me?”

“U-uh, y-y-eah, right. I w-was just wondering if I could a-ask you a question about-”

He cuts himself off, almost as if choosing his follow-up words very carefully.

“A-about your… chest area.”

Now it’s your turn to blush, although not nearly as much as he is. At this point it looks like he’s melting from sweat.

“Uh, yeah, you can, is something wrong?”

“N-no! I-it’s just that I w-w-was wondering i-if they work as… comfort. The tissue in breasts is noted to be much more flexible than average, and I assumed that would lead to them being s-softer than average, but does that mean that they hurt? I’d like to test my theory, o-of course not with my hands or anything! That would be extremely disrespectful and as Kirishima would say, ‘unmanly’, but maybe there’s… another way?”

It finally clicks.

“Iida, are you trying to lay on my boobs?”

“P-p-precisely.”

Laughing, you bring him over to lay down as he wanted, and unpause your show.

Katsuki Bakugou:

So we all unanimously agree this is an ass man, right?

If we’re all in agreement, I’ll continue.

But yeah, Bakugou just screams ass man.

He always has a hand in your back pocket when you go places, or stares at your ass when you’re wearing shorts (or even when you aren’t-)

Just like Iida, it’s jiggle physics, astounding.

He’ll buy you clothes that are specifically to show off your ass-

You get ready in your outfit, Bakugou wanting to take you to a new restaurant close to campus. It wasn’t anywhere fancy, just a sushi place, so you didn’t get dolled up or anything, just some leggings and one of Bakugou’s hoodies. You call over to Bakugou, checking if he’s ready to go, and when both of you have your shoes on, you take off to try some sushi.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, Bakugou instinctively goes to put his hand in your back pocket, something he always does when you’re out. However, you opted to wear leggings, something comfortable and easy to throw on.

“Y/N, back pocket, not there, what the fuck?”

“I didn’t wear jeans.”

“Well how is everyone supposed to know you’re mine?!”

“Babe, I’m wearing your hoodie.”

“Other people don’t know that’s my hoodie.

“Katsuki, your hand is literally on my ass.”

“Well you didn’t wear something with back pockets, where else am I supposed to put my hand?!?!”

Eijiro Kirishima:

t h i g h s

This man is the actual definition of a thigh man.

He lives for your soft thighs as opposed to his super muscular ones, you just balance him out perfectly, he loves you so much.

He loves laying on your thighs, in between your thighs, with his hand on your thighs, your thighs literally only exist to be perfect and for him.

Oh and the way certain pants compliment your thighs, he would literally buy you anything you want.

Constant thigh compliments, also little kisses on them.

You and Kirishima are just laying together in his dorm, you leaning on Kirishima's shoulder, watching videos pop up on Kirishimas For You Page. Suddenly, as if TikTok knew exactly who Kirishima was and what peaks his interest, a trend came up with a guy in between his girls thighs. Next video? Yep, a girl in between her girls thighs. As soon as the videos came up Kirishima looked at you with the biggest puppy dog eyes you or anyone else on Earth had ever seen.

“Babe! Pleaaaase???”

“Not right now, baby.”

“Y/N, I’m four times stronger than you, this isn’t really up for discussion anymore.”

“KIRI-”

Before you know it, Kirishima has pinned you face up on the bed, and laid his head in between your thighs, snuggled up like a little baby in a crib.

“Kiri, I want to have a blanket on my legs, y’know.”

“Then put one on, I can’t be suffocated by sheets if my breath is taken away by your beauty.”

He’s not budging, and will probably fall asleep like that.

Shoto Todoroki:

The next three boys are ‘magical answer number 4’ boys.

This, my friends, is a hand man.

Ah ah ah, hear me out. He loves comparing hand sizes because it makes him feel loved, no matter if your hand is bigger, smaller, or the exact same size, he just likes the feeling of bonding in a loving way.

He loves hand-holding and painting nails (yes, he lets you paint his nails, he also likes painting yours), little hand actions.

He absolutely adores tracing your hands, the outline and any scars, freckles, or crevices. He likes his hands traced as well.

It’s just such a sweet, innocent action.

You and Todoroki are just sitting in his dorm, eating cold soba he got dropped off at the house. You have little trays and are eating on his bed, just talking about whatever comes to mind. Suddenly, Todoroki finds a fitting topic he wants to talk about.

“Your hands are really nice.”

It’s a weird thing to come up with out of the blue, so you just casually dismiss it, a quick ‘thank you’, and more bites of food. Todoroki isn’t really ok with you just ending the conversation like that though, so he takes a more forward approach.

“Y/N, can I hold your hand?”

“Shoto, I need my hands to eat.”

“No, you only need one hand.”

Realizing you aren’t gonna win this battle, you slowly place your hand near him, which he swoops in and takes almost immediately. He starts tracing the outline and shape of your hand, then your wrist, then any scars or freckles, then any little crack or crevice in your hand, sometimes going over your knuckles.

“Shoto, are you going to eat your food or just look at my hands all day?”

“My food will be fine, not like it’s going to get cold, it’s cold soba.”

Yeah, he goes for the later of your suggestions.

Izuku Midoriya:

Ass? Nah. Titty? Nah. Thigh? Nah.

Tummy.

Midoriya loves your stomach, no matter what it looks like, no matter the size, or if there’s scars there, it doesn’t matter.

He likes to pepper kisses all over your belly, and holds you around your waist whenever he can.

He likes laying on your stomach, and falling asleep like that (more than he likes to admit-)

It’s just a beautiful thing, and he loves your belly so much.

You decided to wait for Midoriya in his dorm to surprise him, he went out training today, so you thought it would be nice to see him when he gets back, even if he is tired and desperately needs a shower. Finally, when he’s half an hour late and you’re about to call him to make sure he’s ok and safe, Midoriya stumbles through the door and into his dorm, where you lay on his bed, patiently waiting for his arrival.

“‘Zuku, you’re back, finally! I was getting worried.”

“Y-Y/N! Hey! Y-you should’ve told me you were here, I would’ve finished training faster.”

“Oh, it’s ok!”

Midoriya walks over to his bed, and, exhausted from training, gently flops onto his bed, placing his head on your belly.

“Um, baby, do you want me to move so you can lay on the bed and not… on me?”

“Hm? No reason to, I’ve got my favorite pillow right here, u-unless this bothers you! Then I can totally get up and relocate.”

“No no no, it’s fine, Izuku. Just go to sleep, you’re probably tired from training for such a long time.”

Midoriya gently closes his eyes, and you carefully play with his hair, petting it every so carefully, like it’s a glass vase tilting on an uneven surface, a wrong move and everything breaks. After a while, you hear soft snores coming from your boyfriend, and decide it’s probably best if you fall asleep too.

Hitoshi Shinso:

Kind of a stretch, hear me out.

Eyes man.

This man absolutely loves your eyes. No matter the color, shape, whatever, he just loves eyes.

How they seem to light up when you’re excited, and how they look in that one specific kind of sunlight that makes the whole world shine like gold and bronze.

He loves holding eye contact and doing your eye makeup, even if it looks bad.

Eyes are the gateway to the soul, and Shinso strongly agrees with that.

You and Shino are out at the park. The sun hasn’t quite started setting, but it will soon, in about a half-hour. Shinsou took you out to have a picnic, where he bought ramen noodles and cake and sushi for you guys to eat. Unbeknownst to you, he also brought black eyeliner, makeup remover, and a little gold eye makeup product. Granted, he had no idea how to use them, but maybe today he could learn. After you’ve both eaten, the sun is starting to set, making the whole world almost as beautiful as you, he whips out the cosmetics and explains his plan.

“Y/N, I want to try doing your eye makeup. Can I?”

It takes a good amount of time to process his request, but you agree and let him give it a shot. Laying down, he carefully crawls on top of you, pulls out the eyeliner, and focuses only on your eyes. As much as he wants to pay attention to the eyeliner applicator, for a brief moment he gets caught up in how beautiful your eyes look in the light, and slips up.

“Shit, I messed up.”

“It’s ok! Just take some makeup remover on a Q-Tip and try again, babe.”

After a couple slip ups, he finally gets the eyeliner and the little gold shimmer on your eyes, and brings you up to your feet so you’re both standing.

“Wow, you look incredible.”

“Thank you, Shinso, you look great too.”

He pecks your cheek, packs up the picnic, and you two are on your merry way, Shinso excited to look at your eyes again and again, grateful to call you his significant other.